Rosewood could feel it - she was getting stronger every night she spent with Golem, her special trainer. She'd seen him grow over the moons, from an youngster to an adult, while she'd only been a kit her whole lifetime. She'd overheard once, that there was a kit in StarClan who grew up to be a youngster, but she'd clearly never seen StarClan or this mysterious Leopardpaw. She was certainly jealous at the prospect, but Golem had been the one to reassure her that she was growing ever stronger. Maybe she wouldn't be able to grow up like this Leopardpaw did, but she could easily be the strongest kit dead or alive in the whole forest! In fact, she knew that she was!

But tonight was different, she didn't feel like she needed to practice anymore, she felt like she could take on Golem as an equal. So, that evening, she pranced into his dream and looked up at him expectantly.

"Enough training! Fight me head on, Golem! I'm ready!" She had told him and he didn't protest. She scampered around him to get into position, her little claws poking out of her paws and she gave a mighty hiss. Golem stared down at her, the ever stern eyes of her mentor, but the rumbling growl that echoed out of his throat was scarier than anything she'd ever heard from him before. She bushed out her fur defensively and then started toward, planning to duck under him and swipe at his belly. She knew that she wouldn't be able to topple him over, no matter how strong she was - it was a matter of size. But that didn't mean she couldn't get to his delicate parts!

Sure enough, she zipped under his thick fluff and was turning to slash upwards when Golem just... stepped away, leaving her out in the open again. He looked down at her and stared at her, unblinking and cold as stone. She furrowed her brow and rushed at him to attack again, this time aiming for his paws, but when she ducked her head forward, she felt herself being lifted off the ground. That cheater, he'd picked her up by her scruff!
belloblossom — 02/12/2022
Golem had been training Rosewood since the first night he'd met her. She had seemed so easily impressed by his bulk back then and determined to grow up to be as strong as he. When he'd thought that she would grow up into an adult, like he eventually would, he agreed to train her. Even when it came out that she'd died long ago, he'd still felt the need to be there for her. He'd heard of her apparent caretaker, Burningnight, and while he never met the tomcat, he wanted to be there for Rosewood when she came to him. He fed her tales of how she was surely to grow stronger the more she trained and in some ways, she seemed to.

Her determination grew stronger every night and she was always willing to push herself a little harder every time they met. But... Golem realized after a moon or two that Rosewood was only getting stronger in spirit. Her blows still felt as light on him as ever and while her movements did become more controlled, she wasn't becoming faster by any means. By all accounts and purposes, she was still a toddling little kitten.

So when she came to him demanding a fight like equals, he knew that tonight was when he would have to show her what little progress she had truly made. He knew it was going to be a blow to her, but if she had truly made any progress in her training, than something like this wouldn't slow down her spirit.

Thus, when she'd come around him a second time, he'd just bent over and picked her up.

"No fair! You cheater! Put me down!" She squealed in outrage and he dropped her unceremoniously at the command. She stumbled with a cry and before she could get up again, he placed his paw down on her back and held her in place, unsheathing his claws and gently pricking them against her back. Rosewood became very still. Golem wondered if he'd gone too far, but then she mewed.

"You win, get off me." And he removed his paw. What was Rosewood planning on doing next? Was she going to attack him again? Or did she learn from this lesson?
belloblossom — 02/12/2022
Rosewood was close to tears - she thought that she'd finally gotten strong enough to beat Golem in a fight. She may not have been strong enough to push him over, but she thought she would at least be fast enough to inflict some sort of wound onto him. Instead, she felt as though he'd only made a fool of her and a fool she certainly felt like. She didn't seem to have improved at all! Had he been lying to her this whole time? She'd trusted him! He was her mentor!

She couldn't bring herself to look at him as she stood up, not at first. She stared at her paws, so small in comparison to him - all of her was so small in comparison... not just to Golem, but to any cat! She was never going to grow, whether it was to grow stronger or grow up! It wasn't fair! Her eyes stung as tears pricked at the corners. She heard Golem's weight shift behind her and she finally looked at him.

"Training is over." She mewed to him and darted off into the shaded trees, to mortified to say anything else.
Golem watched the kit dart off with a sad expression. Rosewood had to learn from this lesson - had to realize that she had become stronger from her experiences with him and in general too. He looked around the shadowed trees, noticing that they were starting to dissolve around him. He sighed - he must be waking up. He would see her tomorrow evening, surely. This couldn't be the end of their training forever, could it? (Fin)