first steps || muse!

[LEAF !]

leopardpaw ,
apprentice of goldenclan.

he was so nervous, his fur could have fallen out right there and then. his first training session, and with a mentor he respected, no less. he was worried that his runt status and tiny size, as well as his quiet tone and his inability to properly fight, would put off barkfoot from training him. he was itching to get going, and traded places on his paws every heartbeat or so. normally, he was not this nervous about anything: he could explain his fears away rationally, or at least remind himself that there were bigger problems to be worried about. but this, this was the bigger problem. if he couldn't succeed at becoming a warrior, it would be the final pathetic straw that broke his proud father's back. his only son, looking just like his mother, a sickly weakling, tiny and small, and more prone to asking questions and listening to stories than getting into fights and proving his dominance in the proper warrior ways. what was to come? was there something he had to do, or prove? did he have to complete some kind of skills test? the only things he had heard from his sisters were scary stories, those invented to freak him out and set his timid little heart to beating unusually fast. but he calmed himself down with heavy, slow breaths and reminded himself of the stories the elders told. he knew barkfoot was a kind and quiet warrior, just like he wanted to be. their partnership was a grand choice by spiderstar - not that leopardpaw would ever question his leader's plans anyway - and this was all going to be fine, surely. he sat beneath the huge sycamore, tail twitching ever so slightly, and tried to look around for barkfoot. he would be here soon, surely: leopardpaw was, admittedly, very early for the time barkfoot had designated, and he did not begrudge barkfoot the waiting time at all. fidgeting, he thought he heard a noise, and called out. "barkfoot? is that you?"

[MUSE. ™]

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[bg=#000000] Sleep had not come easily to the tom that night. It never did, but with his mounting nerves about his first lesson with his apprentice.. Sleep was near impossible to come by. In fact, he only slept in very short cycles, the waking part of which were much longer than the sleeping. But never-the-less, once he got back from dawn patrol and and ate breakfast, he turned and headed back out of the camp, his paws feeling heavy. Young Leopardpaw had been paired with him for obvious reasons, they were both quiet and withdrawn.. Though Leopardpaw had a disability to overcome that Barkfoot had never had to deal with. Leopardpaw was very very small, being the sickly runt of his littler. Honestly, Leopardpaw was lucky to be alive. Had he been born to a rogue queen with no help, he may not have made it. But the Clan rejoiced in the fact that he had lived, they rejoiced in the birth of any kit.. Healthy or otherwise. Barkfoot allowed his feet to carry him to the Tall Sycamore, the very place where he had received his battle training. Barkfoot had decided it was best to start with it, since he was lousy at it.. And Leopardpaw was small.. So he would probably need all the help he could get. "barkfoot? is that you?" He heard the nervous voice of his apprentice call out. He twitched his tail appreciatively, Leopardpaw obviously used the senses he had been born with. Barkfoot strolled into the clearly, trying to seem at least a little authoritative. "Y-Yes, it was me. I'm glad to see you were paying attention." He sat down, and curled his tail very tightly around his paws. He was supremely uncomfortable, though he hoped it wouldn't show. "I thought today we could work on some of the very basics of battling." He mumbled, forcing himself not to look down at his paws like he normally did when he was speaking with others. "Do you know anything about fighting at all?" He thought it was a reasonable question, they had to start somewhere. words: 350 muse: okay.

[LEAF !]

leopardpaw ,
apprentice of goldenclan.

he waited nervously, his tail tip flicking left and right in time with his heartbeat. the sound approaching him had been his mentor: by a lucky guess, leopardpaw had presumed that the only cat coming past here would be barkfoot. if it had been anyone else, he would definitely have been red-faced for the mistake. thankfully though, his fears were allayed, but he was worried about the look of clear distress pasted all over barkfoot's brown tabby face. he knew that he was going to be a disappointment before they even began, and it seemed barkfoot knew that too. he giggled nervously, agreeing with his mentor. "i'll admit, i was a little on edge. i probably could have heard a mouse blink." he copied the stance of his mentor exactly, curling his rusty, black-spotted tail around his little paws. this was a really awkward moment, and leopardpaw hoped every training session was not like this in future. he didn't think he could handle being a continual disappointment, only an occasional one. nodding mutely to barkfoot's suggestion, he tried a small smile, which disappeared immediately with the mention of the word 'battling'. oh, excellent, his worst trait revealed straight off the bat. wonderful. "all i know is the warrior code: a noble warrior doesn't need to kill." to leopardpaw, that was the most important thing: the fact that a great warrior could be gentle and kind, without being seen as weak. those words were kind of like his security blanket, in a way. he tried to keep barkfoot's serious gaze, but he couldn't keep it up, and dropped his eyes to his paws, still tucked inside his tail. he hoped this wouldn't involve him having to fight barkfoot. that would just be embarrassing.

[MUSE. ™]

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[bg=#000000] Barkfoot smiled gently at the apprentice's first statement. Yes, it was clear to see that Leopardpaw was quite on edge, much like he had been upon first meeting his mentor. Barkfoot was certain that he had let down his mentor, absolutely certain of it. Compared to his brother, Barkfoot was laughable. Ah, well, there was no way Leopardpaw could disappoint him. He knew where real strength laid, and as long as Leopardpaw didn't make the same mistakes he had, he could still be a great warrior. Barkfoot watched, in almost horror, as Leopardpaw copied the way he was sitting exactly. He swallowed a bit, careful to keep his fear hidden from his apprentice. He just.. Wasn't ready for this. Surely Spiderstar knew that? Surely he knew that Barkfoot simply wasn't capable of having an apprentice. Barkfoot's green eyes studied Leopardpaw intensely as he spoke again. The statement.. Was almost sad to him. He nodded, in any case. "Yes, this is true." Barkfoot was able to keep the sadness out of his eyes at Leopardpaw's statement. 'So young.. If only that code had held true.' Barkfoot rose from his sitting position and walked closer to Leopardpaw. "Like I said, we'll start with the basics today." He said as he reached the apprentice, "Nothing too advanced, and we can move as quickly or slowly as you want." He was now standing in front of Leopardpaw. He could remember his battle training, partnered up with other apprentices from the start.. He never did well. He wanted to see just how good Leopardpaw was at fighting before he paired him with anyone other than himself. "Now, the technique we are going to use today is called the 'Front Paw Blow'. It is very very simple. You just bring your paw up, and then bring it down as hard as you can on your opponents head. It can be very useful if you get the chance to do it, because if there is enough force behind your blow it will disorient your opponent." Why couldn't he think of this stuff when he was fighting? He lowered himself down in front of Leopardpaw, "Practice the move on me a bit, but do not hit me hard. This is to just give you a feel of it. Claws sheathed, as always." He made himself comfortable. He trusted Leopardpaw to obey him. Leopardpaw was an ideal apprentice, not haughty or arrogant. words: 402 muse: good.

[LEAF !]

leopardpaw ,
apprentice of goldenclan.

at least barkfoot was smiling at him. that was always a good sign. spiderstar often had a smile on his face that didn't have any goodness inside it: mostly it appeared when he was upset or angry at another warrior. the look was a little scary at times. but barkfoot's smile as almost ... sad? there was some emotion there, hidden inside his eyes, but leopardpaw couldn't name it. it looked almost like when the elders reminisced about the old days. still he copied the smile, but leopardpaw's was one of true happiness, as he could only imagine that barkfoot would show his despair if he were truly disappointed in him. grinning up at his mentor, leopardpaw switched idly from one paw to the other. thank goodness, he had got the first question right. he remained seated as barkfoot walked towards him, bowing his head so he would not have to hold his gaze. the basics sounded like a good plan. the only training he had ever recieved was rough-and-tumble nonsense with his sisters, and even though he was the only male he had always lost. "that sounds good," he agreed, with a cheerful smile up at barkfoot, though he kept his eyes looking away.

he respected the warrior far too much to falter now: he had to do him - and everyone else, like spiderstar and his sire - proud. the front paw blow. front paw... blow. right, he could do that. unwrapping his tail from around his legs, it flicked like a whip back to behind him, where it settled restlessly. bringing up his left paw - which seemed more natural to him, for some reason - and looking at it, he determinedly ensured his claws were sheathed before reaching forward and batting barkfoot's head timidly. he hoped he had not hurt him! that would be terrible. he had closed his eyes while attempting the move, and so he could not gauge barkfoot's reaction until he opened them again, grimacing. "l-like... like that?" he stuttered, sitting back on his paws uncomfortably. probably not like that at all, he reminded himself, because cats in war did not bump each other. they fought with claw and tooth and muscle and strength, like his father had - or spiderstar or barkfoot - in the war. sighing, his entire body fell as he was disappointed in himself. but he couldn't bring himself to harm his mentor. it was hard enough for him to trap living creatures, like birds or mice, in his claws and toy with them, like some older warriors did. it felt somehow wrong. but hurting someone you loved; now that was even worse.

[MUSE. ™]

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[bg=#000000] Barkfoot wasn't disappointed at Leopardpaw by any means, but the feeble tap on the head was a little surprising. It was clear that Leopardpaw either didn't want to hurt him or didn't have the slightest idea of what he was doing. Barkfoot deduced that it very well might be both. Leopardpaw had been sheltered by every cat his whole life, this was no secret. His small, fragile, and sickly nature made his parents want to coddle him. This was natural, after all. No cat wanted to lose one of their kits, and Leopardpaw's amazing survival made him all the more precious to his parents. At least, that's how Barkfoot took it. But Barkfoot had already decided that Leopardpaw would receive no special treatment for his size from him. In fact, he was fairly certain that the apprentice didn't want special treatment from anyone. Barkfoot sat up straight, and looked at Leopardpaw. He didn't really know how to tell the young tom that he had made a mistake without hurting his feeling. He took to looking down at his paws, a habit that he'd never been able to break. "That-that was okay..." He said, barely over a mumble. He swallowed a bit and then looked back up. "But it's more like.." He raised his paw over his head and slammed it down on the ground next to Leopardpaw. "That." He said with a small nod. "You want to be sure to catch your opponent's head with the base of your paw, to increase the amount of damage you can do. Raising your paw up higher will increase the force with which you can hit your opponent, but it has a draw back. If you raise your paw too high, you will be exposing your underbelly.. This is something you must never do in a fight if you can help it." He smiled warmly at Leopardpaw, "I know it's a lot to take in, but for now lets just focus on getting the technique down. So you don't have to control the force behind your blow, try hitting the ground like I did." Barkfoot took a couple of steps back to allow Leopardpaw plenty of room to practice the technique. words: 368 muse: okay.

[LEAF !]

leopardpaw ,
apprentice of goldenclan.

leopardpaw gulped. he could see in barkfoot's eyes and the way he stuttered as he spoke that he was attempting not to hurt leopardpaw's feelings. he had his feelings hurt before, and he had always bounced back. that was what marked him out, aside from his small size: resilience. he would always get back up from a beating, physical or emotional. even when it would have benefited him to just stay down. silently, he watched barkfoot's demonstration. a sharper hit, more power, a strike from the lower foreleg and not from the muscles above it, bones extended, paw rigid. he thought he could do this after thinking it through. he used to copy his sisters all the time when they rolled over one another in mock battles. he could do this now. besides, as long as there was no chance of accidentally hurting barkfoot, he felt better about bringing more strength into it. raising his paw, he struck the earth harshly, as if he were squashing a beetle that had scurried into his gaze. with a little gasp at the slight pain which shot through his foreleg after the strike, leopardpaw mutely accepted barkfoot's recommendation of not allowing his belly to be attacked. he had seen what happened when a warrior did: it was not pretty. boy, was he glad he was not a medicine cat. "better?" he asked, looking up with a hopeful spark in his eyes. he couldn't help but wonder whether attacking with a strong blow from scrawny little muscles like his would work. claws might help, but if he struck with that kind of force with claws extended, wouldn't they shatter or something? he was so new to this, and everything felt wrong the moment he tried it, leaving a taste like putrefied freshkill in his mouth. he swallowed hard, trying to get rid of it. battling was hard, and no doubt terrifying. it was scary even just hearing about it, but to live through it? mortifying. he just hoped he could become accustomed to it soon: he felt he owed it to barkfoot to have a successful apprenticeship. and maybe then spiderstar would stop picking on him.