gonna go far, kid ✦ toadpaw

[SMOKECLAW]

[style=width:350px; height:20px; background-color:#333333; color:#ffffff; font-family:georgia; font-size:9px; letter-spacing:1px;line-height:40px; text-align:center;] [/style] [style=width:330px; background-color:#cccccc; overflow:auto; color:#000000; padding:10px; text-align:justify;][style=width:330px; text-align: justify;][style=font-family: georgia; font-size: 10px; line-height: 130%; text-align: justify;]Smokeclaw was up early. He had work to accomplish today. And there was no time for sleeping in. If he wanted to catch his afternoon nap, he'd need to be finished training Toadpaw by noon. That would be a good 4+ hours. And the apprentice desperately needed it. Smokeclaw never slacked at anything, but with his new apprentice... Toadpaw was a pawful and grated so much on the tom's nerves he couldn't' stand to be around him. Still, Frogfoot was very much the same way. And when Smokeclaw had finished training him, the young tom was something of a force to be reckoned with. Smokeclaw took pride in making the best warriors. And he really couldn't let an apprentice like Toadpaw mess that up. He trotted briskly over to the apprentices' den and shouldered his way through the bush.

"Toadpaw, get up." He grumbled, prodding the apprentice with his claw. He backed out to wait for the sleeping tom by the entrance. He passed the dawn patrol as they padded back into camp. He gave them each a curt nod as they passed. Some of the younger warriors broke out into hushed whispers. A nod form Smokeclaw wasn't exactly easy to achieve. Still, he took no personal meaning in the gesture. Only those close to him received any sort of praise. And, at the moment, it definitely didn't include Toadpaw. "We have to be at the Ancient Oak before Quailfeather and her apprentice get there if you ever want to learn anything!" He called, annoyed now. "Not that you'll do anything useful with the hunting skills, anyway. Bitter lump," he growled, pacing as he waited.[/style][/style]

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[TOADPAW]

[style=width: 400; height: 100;][/style][style=width: 370; height: 400; background-color: 707070; padding: 15px; overflow: auto; text-align: justify; font-size: 10px;]He'd had a rather restless sleep, as was usual with such a crowded den. And it wasn't like Toadpaw was large or anything. In fact, he was one of the smaller apprentices in ThunderClan, so it wasn't like he needed that much room, but the young tom had a thing about being close to others mentally and physically.

So when Toadpaw was nudged by his mentor, he nearly flinched away, only holding his ground because he didn't want his dislike for touching to be confused with fear. Rising to his paws, he stepped over the other apprentices and popped out of the den, shaking moss out of his fur. Training? So early? Toadpaw thought, a little annoyed. It was almost as bad as having to clean the elder's den as the sun was just coming over the horizon.

The little tom moved around the patrol just coming in, casting them a look of annoyance, standing just far enough from Smokeclaw that he couldn't be swatted. So some hunting training...great, he thought, giving the older tom a curt nod. "Whatever you say, old man," was his only reply before he padded out of the camp, breaking into a run as he made way for Ancient Oak.

The two cats always butted heads, and some clanmates whispered that Toadpaw was going to make Smokeclaw's mentoring skills look bad, but the young tom didn't really think that it was so bad. In fact, he almost looked up to the tom, if he would ever admit something like that. Looking over his shoulder, Toadpaw spotted his mentor, but didn't slow his pace. When he turned his head back around, the huge tree was just a few bounds away. Slowing to a walk, the tabby inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of the forest.

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[SMOKECLAW]

[style=width:350px; height:20px; background-color:#333333; color:#ffffff; font-family:georgia; font-size:9px; letter-spacing:1px;line-height:40px; text-align:center;] [/style] [style=width:330px; background-color:#cccccc; overflow:auto; color:#000000; padding:10px; text-align:justify;][style=width:330px; text-align: justify;][style=font-family: georgia; font-size: 10px; line-height: 130%; text-align: justify;]“Old man?” Smokeclaw growled, his hackles rising. Before he could comment further (and promptly swat Toadpaw across the nose), his apprentice was already a few mouselengths ahead. Running away after throwing an insult? The large tom said aloud, not amused. His apprentice was showing a cowardice he had never had to deal with before. Annoyed, the warrior bounded from his position in camp and out into the awaiting forest. He made jumping over fallen logs and roots look easy while running, but it was with moons and moons of practice. Despite his agility, Smokeclaw could see Toadpaw in plain sight. The apprentice had gotten such a head start, there was no way his mentor would be able to beat him there. Hissing out of spite, the older tom skidded to a stop in front of his waiting apprentice. “Would an old man have been able to run that fast?” He said snidely, padding to a sunny spot in the midst of the otherwise shaded clearing. He took a deep breath in attempts to calm both his nerves and his fast beating heart. Perhaps getting Frogfoot out here the next time they trained would be beneficial to his new apprentice.

Give him a few words of advice on how not to make Smokeclaw angry. It was nice in theory, but his former apprentice was far too busy now doing patrols and hunting parties. As he should have been, of course. “Alright Toadpaw. This lesson will be brief and you should get this fairly quickly. Hunting a mouse is the simplest thing I can and will teach you, so pay attention. A mouse will be able to feel your pawsteps through the ground before he catches your scent. So, the trick is to out all your weight in your haunches and step lightly.” Smokeclaw tensed, his muscles going rigid as he dropped to a crouch. His tail was low to the ground, though he held it at an angle where it would not touch. As he moved, his forepaws made the lowest of whispers as they trailed along the floor. Standing back up, the focused look he had in his eye vanished. “Your turn. And once you’ve done it a few times, locate a mouse and catch it. Note I didn’t say try,” he added sternly, beginning to circle his apprentice with hawk-like eyes. Any mistake Toadpaw made and he would call it.[/style][/style]

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