[ShadowsongxFlamepaw] Are those just for decoration?

[EvilSilverDragon]

Smells of water and fish long faded, only vestiges of home to be seen lay in the faces of the scant survivors. There was a threat here that no one else seemed to be vocalizing if they even acknowledged it. Their youngest kits now growing into apprentices could not be blamed for not remembering the lands of their birth. Rockclan was in their veins; however, lightingclan was in their fur. More than once shes looked at a kit and couldn't remember which clan they belonged to.

A warrior like herself, well she wouldn't get confused about where she belonged. What about the kits and apprentices? Would they this clan be home so much that they would never want to go back? Would they even know what back was? Those ideas bit like fleas until she could no longer lay still. There had to be something she could do, some small way of keeping her clan alive.

From her perch, across from the kit den, Shadowsong started to figure out just what she would do. That wasn't exactly evident with the constant flicking of the tip of her tail. Deciding to mentor was calming, remembering her last hunt for food; however, competed in the still irritated warrior.

Fea Line

tag

 

[Fea Line]

Flamepaw slunk about quietly, tending to duties out of hte way of others. Things since the attack had been... well. Interesting. Ever since birth she had been cursed with only one eye, the other clouded and useless. Kind as her mother was, naming her Flamekit after her almost fire like colors, sometimes Flamepaw felt as useless as her blindness and wondered why she wasn't named Onepaw.

Still, she had just been growing used to working without the same amount of sight as others....then the dogs attacked. Freshly made apprentice, no training whatsoever, Flamepaw had done the best she could with the natural instincts she was given. Still. With a serious weakness, a dog sneaked up on her blind spot and laid open her shoulder before she could realize just what had happened.

Scared away by other brave warriors, Flamepaw had thus spent the rest of her days after recovering with her fellow clanmates in Lightningclan's territory. And so when she was able to get around without much trouble but a sore limp, she tried to make herself useful.

Slowly, however, she was finding herself just in the way more than helping. Confused, Flamepaw finished cleaning areas around the elders den and sat down with a sigh.

EvilSilverDragon

One broody paw coming right up! Forgive me, the need for backstory exploded from my fingers.

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Just when her decision was made, Forrestclan sent her the perfect apprentice. Most kits are unremarkable, other than that they added to the strength of the clan once they were old enough to become warriors. This one; however, she'd heard about directly. Whispers since the apprentice was just a kit. Worries from some, would the kit be a burden to the clan? With her eye would it be too dangerous for her to be anything except a medicinecat? That particular dismissal set her fur standing on end.

Dismissing a kit like that out of paw! Good intentions surely, she assumed those concerned only wanted for the best. There hadn't been any malice that she detected, if any held such they were smart enough not to vocalize it where Shadowsong could hear it. The idea that the poor kit was cursed to be a medicinecat just because of one little eye had always been a thorn in her paw.

Back then, the shecat did nothing about it. The dog attack created its own concerns. Flamekit lived, and now as Flamepaw there was something she could do about it. Leaping gracefully from her perch, Shadowsong trotted up to the sighing pile of fluff. Even knowing the answer, she asked the kit, "Flamepaw, where is your mentor?" So few of their clan left, surely she would have heard if another Warrior had taken to working with the apprentice.

Fea Line

*starts humming a song from mulan*

 

[Fea Line]

She had been completely lost in thought, so much so that when Shadowsong came up on her and asked her a question, Flamepaw near about leapt from her fur with a yowl.

Realizing now what she had done, she shrunk back towards the ground, looking apologetic, tail quivering as she did her best to sooth down her fur and become less poofy. “I...ah...oh. I don’t...have one...” she frowned, glancing hard at her front paws. She had only just been made an apprentice when the dogs attacked. The cat that was to have been her mentor....

Flamepaw shut her eyes at the thought and whispered a silent prayer to Starclan for Fernwhisker, the mentor she never got to know. She peered back up at Shadowsong questioningly. “Why? Did I do something wrong? I-i-i’ll Fix it i promise!” She said, now panicked and worried.

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Flamepaw's overreaction earned a deadpanned stare. Hidden under her paws were the claw holes in the dirt. That would hardly do well for her reputation. Swishing her tail lazily, Shadowsong watched the apprentice in her moment of silent grief. That was a feeling their whole clan knew and shared.

Chuckling a little at the reaction, there was no hiding amusement at the honest if earnest reaction. Smiling she stood up and gave one good stretch. "Alright, lets get to fixing that, apprentice. A fresh kill for the pile will be a good start." Trotting a few steps forward, she stopped and looked back. Her paws were planted, time for Flamepaw to follow.

Fea Line

 

[Fea Line]

Flamepaw blinked.

Then her head tilted.

She glanced around her a moment, as if trying to understand if the warrior was talking to her before realizing no one else was around. "Me?" she asked, blinking again, raising her hind end as if to get to her paws fully before slouching back down.

Wait wait wait wait wait. Didn't Jaggedstar need to make it official to give her another mentor?? Or was Shadowsong just trying to put her to work? Maybe the latter? Yeah...probably the latter. "Oh...oh!" she finally caught up and lifted to her feet, about flinging herself after Shadowsong.

A brief moment of needing to regain her compass with her one blind eye, Flamepaw almost smacked into Shadowsong but stopped just short. "We.....were going ...hunting?" she asked, hoping Shadowsong was just bringing her along....not going to make her....actually try. Not that she couldn't its just well..... she.... couldn't? With her eye.... "I don't...know if I'd be very good at it." she mewled softly, keeping her head low.

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Don't show Flamepaw you are amused, don't show flamepaw you are amused. Attempting her most aloof, Shadowsong just nodded and remarked, "You." She'd blame the wind on her whiskers twitching.

The enthusiasm certainly would have its uses, got to challenge it just right.

That last question earned a swift bat on her head. Just a touch to make sure she had the apprentence's attention, "Flamepaw, are those things on your head just for decoration?" No one doubts Flamepaw while she was around, especially not Flamepaw.

To finish her point, she walked around the younger shecat to walk up along side her blind side. Focusing so much on what she couldn't see, the kit was not paying attention to what else she feel. As she walked passed Flamepaw, Shadowsong made sure to brush against her whiskers. Just because she couldn't see didn't mean she couldn't be aware of what was around here.

Fea Line

 

[Fea Line]

The bat across her head made her leap in slight surprise before pressing herself low to the ground. "Wha!" she had meant to complain but stopped herself. She had promised she'd never be one of those apprentices. Not like Frostpaw of Lightningclan. Show offy, boastful, didn't listen to his mentor much. That just felt so wrong.

But Shadowsong didn't seem to care about Flamepaw's obvious handicap. Instead, she seemed.... well... encouraging. Despite the bop.

Not sure what exactly Shadowsong was getting at, Flamepaw tilted her head. "Decor....ation? But... I was born with this eye..." she blinked, Shadowsong disappearing from her field of vision before she could finish her sentence.

To say the she cat had caught her off guard doing this however, was a lie. She had become more used to making up for what she couldn't see than even Flamepaw realized. As Shadowsong crept around her, Flamepaw's ears swiveled, following her exact movement. The brush of whiskers against her own made her press herself up with a soft churr as she turned to look at Shadowsong, for a moment, seeming to understand. If only a little. "Oh..." she blinked, glancing back down at her paws.

Hunting was still very different however. "But I won't... exactly be feeling the prey. More seeing......and i guess smelling." she added, tilting her head a bit to the side.

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Every moment she moved, her eyes were studying the apprentice. Watching her ears move, Shadowsong smiled. Whoever dared to suggest there was anything wrong with Flamepaw wasn't paying attention.

Nuzzling her apprentice, cheek to cheek she said, "There is nothing wrong with your eye. Or your ears." That last part followed a chuckle in her tone. If she never hunted or battled as a warrior, Flamepaw would show them all it wasn't because she couldn't.

Grooming Flamepaw's forehead she asked quietly, "Eyes don't do a lot of good in a tunnel." Hunting was so much more than running down prey, while fun it could be a waste of energy. "If you wait, and listen, you can wait for the prey to come to you." Relying on just your eyes wasted all the other senses. But she'd learn, that was a promise.

Fea Line

 

[Fea Line]

The brief groom was calming and Flamepaw found herself letting out a soft purr. Shadowsong was so reassuring. Would Fernwhisker have been the same had she survived? Or... worse?

Flamepaw shivered and tried not to think about that for several reasons. Instead, she perked up and watched Shadowsong closely, nodding. “O-oh? I didn’t think about waiting till they came to me...” she blinked, glancing down at her paws as she kneaded the ground. She was good at being patient. Maybe that was how she could provide for the clan if not a medical?

“Are... are we going to try it?” She asked, wondering if Shadowsong knew of all the best places a one eye cat could learn to hunt. Flamepaw also wondered if she could actually do it. Or maybe she’d just be a bit slower but still as efficient?

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Whispering into Flamepaw's ear, Shadowsong stated, "No cat tells you that you can't do, even you." Standing up, she bumped Flamepaw with her whispers up in amusement. Trotting off a few paces she stretched out and shook off the world. Looking back at her apprentice she said, "Of course, we start with a tight spot."

It is all about working to one's strength. Teamwork is always important. It was also important to find a smaller cat to go after a particularly vexing rodent in a very tight hole.

Fea Line

 

[Fea Line]

Still hesitant, and perhaps just part of her natural nature, Flamepaw felt frozen on her paws before finally kicking herself into gear and following after Shadowsong, body still low to the ground as if she expected something to leap out at her at any moment.

A tight spot....huh? Was there that many out in the open? Flamepaw had only been outside Rockclan camp but once before the dog attack. And certainly not much after. Too scared and lacking a new mentor for most of that time, Flamepaw had set herself busy within Lightningclan borders. She could only imagine the kind of places Shadowsong had discovered.... and of all the places they could discover once back home.

Home....

Flamepaw let out a soft sigh. "A tight spot? So.... like a fallen...log?" she tilted her head, confused and curious.

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Shadowsong kept traveling at a normal pace challenging the apprentice to keep up. There was no difference between her or any other apprentice. She did offer, "You have your nose, ears and whiskers. Trust your other senses, and your Mentor. Keep that eye towards the ground though." Hard to smell or hear a rock or root before you go tumbling!

Fallen log? Maybe, if she was lucky. "That is one option, first we are going to check out a warren dug under a tree that is just perfect for you. There are lots of tasty options in smaller spaces." A stoat had mocked her for the last time. This might just be the proof that what she couldn't see didn't matter. But also that stoat had it coming.

Continuing with the wisdom she pointed out, "In a den, its too dark to see anyway. If a cat trusts only her eyes, they might panic when they can't see in a den. That is one of the many advantages you were born with." By the time Flamepaw earned her Warrior name she'd know what ever advantage is.

Fea Line

 

[Fea Line]

Flamepaw took everything in as Shadowsong spoke, trying her best to process all the information. "A ... warren..." she blinked, doing her best to keep up , mindful of any rocks or roots along the way. Her whiskers twitched against the wind as she picked up many different smells, all she was vaguely familiar with as they mingled on the fresh kill pile. Not so much of the scents while the animal was alive. Her first thought was rabbits. Those were fast and tricky. Surely Shadowsong had an easier prey in mind to start with?

"I... see?" Flamepaw responded to the rest of the comments. While it was true she was at a slight disadvantage with only one eye, her night vision being not as two fold as other cats, she wondered if she could still do it. "I... I'll try Shadowsong!" she churred, hoping the attempt at confidence would make Shadowsong even slightly proud of her at this point.

EvilSilverDragon

 

[EvilSilverDragon]

Shadowsong offered a pleased chirr, praising the flamepaw, "Thats all I ask, apprentice." Between her ears, whiskers and attitude, Flamepaw would surprise herself easily. Until then, it was her job to keep the kit going and build that confidence. Poor thing sounded like a mouse in an owl's nest!

Pausing for a few moments, she looked around at all the signs around her. An easy hunt should be just the thing. "Look over there, Flamepaw. Take in the scent" Over there was a clear trail left by prey, her stoat 'friend' by the pungent scent of it.

This was going to end up being too much information at once and she was not insensitive to that fact. "You won't remember all of this at one time, but take what you can." Demonstrating, she sniffed at the trail and studied the direction of the grass. "You can see, and smell, the trail left by your future catch. Its traveled this path often judging by the tracks. You can either find a spot like this and wait for dinner to return, or we can follow it to find the treat." Sure she offered the choice, but that was just an illusion and option for the future.

Nudging the apprentice with her head, gently she encouraged her, "Sniff, find which way the scent seems stronger and notice which direction the grass is going. You'll be able to show us the way." Step one was always finding the meal.

Fea Line