TOMORROW COMES TODAY — stormgaze

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—— Windy days were common on the moor, but today's weather in particular had Fallowpaw's mind racing. It was almost too easy for the apprentice to imagine the gale destroying everything they'd built up, ripping the ground from under their paws and sending all the prey flying — of course, in reality, that could never happen, but his imagination for disaster seemed to only grow with age. While there was fear in his heart, he wasn't about to show it, and definitely not in the middle of training. He was supposed to be preparing to become a warrior and join the ranks he had looked up to for so long, and how could he do that when he was here worrying again?

"It's kinda windy out here," was all that escaped the young cat as he cast a critical glance over the horizon. There, he could make out just a hint of grey, and while one could hope for rain, even he knew that wishes like that were foolish in the greenleaf heat. Turning his gaze toward the accompanying feline, he simply tips his head, awaiting an answer he knows he probably won't get. Stormgaze, his mentor, a strong warrior of Windclan and a source of some pity from the other apprentices, is one Fallowpaw knows to not be much of a talker and nothing else. While he respected the older cat for his skill, he sometimes wondered if their old leader had given him him as a mentor as one final punishment for his mouth.

Kneading his claws into the loose dirt, he pulled his eyes away from the other and settled them once more on the edge of the sky. "What are we doing today? Are we gonna practice battle moves again?" Surely they'd be doing battle practice, but he could never be sure.

[ [member=8868]STORMGAZE[/member] eep it's kinda short, i'm sorry!! ]

[STORMGAZE]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth; width: 450px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 12px; font-size: 8pt"]  If there was anything in this world that Stormgaze loved, it was Windclan's territory. Just the thought of running through the hills sent a shiver down his spine. But experiencing it, that was on another level of shivers. The feel of wind tackling your pelt, rushing through it and forcing itself through each hair. The loose dirt and pebbles curling under your claws, and the sting of something cold pressing against your pad paw; it was ideal. If Starclan was to look like anything, it would be the breath-taking view of being on top of a hill and just looking over.. everything. Cats, in groups, hunting in unison, together. The view of rabbits scurrying through the grass, leaving broken strands in their wake. Watching leaves being picked up by the wind as they travel through the fields. Then, the horizon.. It was god-tier. With the distant mountains hovering over, and the sun setting, so peacefully; you couldn't find anything else like it.
  Submerged in his surroundings, Storm had forgotten all about the little flea in his pelt. Shifting his gaze over to Fallow, he didn't bother to say anything. It wasn't like the child had expected him to say anything, in the first place, so why should he bother? Rhetorical question, don't answer. Hes not going to. Just as they were about to make eye contact, Storm aborted his eyes back to the fields. He wasn't sure why he was here, in complete honesty. It wasn't like Fallow was his first apprentice, he had been given one a few months into his warriorship. So why? If for any reason, what was the reason behind giving him this chirpy, over talkative apprentice? If he could ask, he would but alas, that wasn't in the options. Hollowstar was his leader now and he'd have to take this punishment through her time, as well as he could.
  Now for today's training - what to do? Hunt and bring home an old rabbit and maybe a vole? Or battle train and prepare for any invasion or attack? Another rhetorical question, it wasn't a debate. Though, it seemed that Fallow wasn't too interested in his decision. Flicking his ear in annoyance, the brown tabby squinted as he returned his gaze back to the young tom. "Do you not like practicing for battle? Would you rather be out there, all on your own, in the battle field, not knowing what to do? Watching your kin and clanmates die while you stand there, helpless, until you're put out of your misery? There's plenty of good hunters in this clan, not enough fighters. If you'd like to join them, be my guest but you're on your own. If you want to be able to lead them to victory, I suggest you give me a satisfying 'leap and hold' move. On me. Now." To be fair, he understood that Fallowpaw was simply asking a question but he had to maintain his image of the devil's incarnate. What fun is it being an understanding, kind mentor? Absolutely none, non-existing. Nope. Zero.


/dsflin sorry for the late reply but? it wasnt short at all and thats suddenly made me very scared of what one of your long posts looks like lmao - also if u need a reference for fighting moves, i took 'leap and hold' from the wiki

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—— Great Starclan, now that was an image. Fallowpaw could feel the thin fur along his spine rise as he envisioned Stormgaze's words. It was hard to imagine Windclan being invaded so harshly, much less being pushed to the brink like that, but he guessed he had to be ready either way. Would his mentor ever lie to him about something so serious? He was stern, of course, but the apprentice didn't think he could lie about battle. To do so would be taking things too lightly. "I wasn't saying that..." he muttered, exasperated already but not enough to convince himself speaking louder would make any difference. He probably wouldn't get an answer, and even if he did, he definitely wouldn't like it. Hunting was kind of boring, anyway; a lot of mentors were taking their apprentices out to do that and they always said battle training would be cooler.

Leap and hold? He could vaguely remember practicing that move — mostly from getting squashed. It was supposedly ideal for someone of his size, but he never quite managed to time his escape from its counter. Nonetheless, he needed to do it now. Readying himself in an atrack stance, the apprentice set his sights on the much larger cat in front of him. Today would be it. Today he'd do it right. He wouldn't impress Stormgaze, of course, but maybe he'd impress himself. Unsheathing his claws, the apprentice gathered his courage and leapt toward Stormgaze, attempting to land squarely on the other's back and sink his claws into his pelt.

[STORMGAZE]

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/Sorry!! I didnt see this until last night!

So, his words had reached the apprentice. Thoroughly, too, it seemed. Eyes taking in the sight of Fallowpaw, who appeared slightly scared, slightly worried, and pretty confused. Or lost in thought? Either way, they were thinking it over and seemed to end in the result of not arguing. Which was pretty amazing for Storm. He disliked getting into word fights, mainly because he always lost. Words and him, they just don't get along too well.

Storm's gaze made a sudden shift of satisfied to serious. The twinkle in his eyes were replaced with a spark of fire. Words might not be his strong suit but fighting was everything to him. It just, it felt good to fight. Not so much fighting but the aura of a battle, the feeling of - what was it called? See, words are no good. But it tingled in his heart and body. It made him feel young and reckless.
Carefully inspecting the child's posture, Storm noted down his position from his tail to his ears. Although the moment lasted only a mere second, he did his job decently well. After a few months being a mentor, anyone would get the gist of it, after all. The next second, Storm had no choice in watching or not. His eyes had to be on Fallow or he'd get another scar and he has enough of those for two cats.
Standing confidently, Storm almost took the attack. "This is a 'drop and roll,' a counter attack," and then, he demonstrated. Then, just as the name predicted: he dropped low and rolled to the side. Proceeding his roll, "and this is a half-turn belly rake." Already close to Fallow, he simply reached out his paws and raked his paws, sheathed, across the apprentice's stomach; finishing the move by suddenly standing from underneath the boy. Hopefully, unbalancing him and toppling him to the opposite side.

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