Stressed [open]

[w i n d y o <3]

[Goodness, it seems like I haven't RPed in centuries]

Windchaser looked around. Was this her ShadowClan? Was this has precious Clan that she had turned away from, the Clan she had refused not to lead, and to let someone else. She was still Deputy, which was good, but did she regret not being leader... no, she didn't. The memory of her dear mother was still in her head, fresh. Althouh everyone else had forgotten, she had not.
Dogstar was a good leader anyway. He was strong and king, loyal and wise. And the loss of Curlyfur made him stronger. And Goldenwind.. the loss of him had made her weaker, less able to take stress. Ever since the kits- No, no thinking of them. They were gone, in WindClan now, being raised by Amber.
"My, my, my... how much has changed."

[/color]

[liobit]

Coyotepaw stalked up behind Windchaser on silent paws, one eye on the deputy and the other on the rest of the camp. Paranoid much? "Hey," he greeted quietly, hoping he didn't startle her. She looked like she was in deep thought.

[w i n d y o <3]

"Hello, Coyotepaw," she said, not turning around to look at the little apprentice. "How are you? Good, I hope." Windchaser smiled. "Don't worry, you aren't bothering me. Come, sit here if you'd like. I haven't been doing much all day." Her brown tail lashed up and downm, yellow orbs watching the camp and observing every movement.

[liobit]

Coyotepaw complied, padding up to sit beside Windchaser. "Um..." He hesitated, tapping the tip of his tail against the ground. His ears lowered slightly. "Could we, maybe...train or something?" He hadn't gotten out of the camp in a while either, and the young tom was itching for something exciting to do. "If you want to, I mean."

((Coyotepaw was accepted as an apprentice by Dogstar, but wasn't assigned a mentor...))

[w i n d y o <3]

Windchaser smiled at the apprentice. "I haven't trained anyone in a very, very long time. My last apprentice passed away. I seem to have bad luck with that. But, I'd be willing to give you some training tips. It's about time I get involved with this Clan again... after Moonstar's death." The apprentice was young, and she couldn't expect him to know who Moonstar was. But without a doubt, she would show him.

[liobit]

Coyotepaw offered up an eager smile. "Thanks!" Rising to his paws once more, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly this clan was comming out of to make Windchaser so...distanced. The young tom hoped he could find a way to remedy that.

[w i n d y o <3]

The brown she-cat smiled, nodding at the apprentice. The soft windhit her gentle face, reminding her of her apprentice days. She could barely remember her mentor, but she did remember that her mom trained her most of the time. "What do you know so far?" he inquired, trying to think of anything to teach him, anything special.[/size]

[liobit]

"Well," Coyotepaw paused to think, suddenly spacing out. "I know that if someone swipes their paw at you, you duck. If they leap at you, you get out of the way." His tail flicked as he paused again and looked back up at Windchaser. "I guess I don't know all that much, besides the basics."

[w i n d y o <3]

"Hm, well you can't be blamed for that. That is why you need a mentor, someone to teach you." Smiling, the bown deputy got up from her resting place, moss falling all over her. She shook is off, gracefully letting everything fall to the ground. "Show me a stalk." The first basic was the stalk, and hunting came before fighting. Most apprentices didn't fight, and if a war was coming, she'd teach him early. But now was the breath before the storm, and so far, no storm was sighted.

[liobit]

Coyotepaw nodded, heart fluttering with excitement at his first training session. He dropped into a crouch, trying to keep low to the ground and unmoving, but at the same time ready to move of needbe. Amber eyes found a piece of moss on the ground and made it his target, moving one paw foreward as smoothly as he could. The young apprentice slowly but silently moved forward, picturing the moss as something tastey.

[w i n d y o <3]

"Very good. That's a nice stalk, but keep your tail lower, ok? Now, when you stalk, move slowly... then pounce very fast." Windchaser got down low, performing a very low stalk. Winking at a split second, she jumped onto a nearby leaf. "There."

[liobit]

Coyotepaw nodded enthusiasticly, dropping into another crouch, this time keeping his tail low. Moving slowly toward the moss, the young apprentice suddenly bunched his muscles and launched himelf at his "prey" as fast as he could manage. Claws sunk into the piece of moss as he looked up at Windchaser once more. "How was that?"

[w i n d y o <3]

"That was good," she critiqued, nodding in approval. "Definitely good with the tail low. Now, before we continue any more basic training, I believe that one of the strongest things of a Warrior is history and knowing the history of the Clan. It is important to know the past, and how to respond to the future? Do you agree?" Windchaser, smiled, knowing the apprentice wanted to hnt and fight. But mental training and history were just as important.

[liobit]

Coyotepaw blinked, sitting up again. History? Well that was out of the blue. "Um, sure?"

[Frostwing :)]

((Mind if I join?))

[w i n d y o <3]

[Of course. I'm actually training him, but feel free to join.]

"Yes, history is a very important part of training sessions, and it doesn't feel right for me to start any training as a ShadowClan Warrior, if you don't know any history of the Clan. How can you be loyal to something you know nothing about." Seeing that this was most likely going over the young apprentice's head, considering he was young, she smiled. "What do you know of our history before I give you a brief overview. No, it won't be a long history lesson, but I think we should get some basics done, and learn more as we go."

[liobit]

Coyotepaw blinked again. Okay, guess I'm learning some history, he thought. "Um, I don't really know anything about ShadowClan's history. I get the feeling we always end up fighting with the other clans, though. Why is that?"

[w i n d y o <3]

"Well, generally, in the olden days of Firestar and Tigerstar, ShadowClan seemed to end up the 'bad guys'. Now, we're just a weaker Clan, evern since The Night came t our camp, destroying. You weren't even born then, and I was a very young Deputy. Moonstar, my mother, was killed, and Dogstar was named leader. I had felt it better not remain the Deputy." Seeing if the cat was still listening, she stopped, giving herself a lick. Willowtail then disappeared, and here we are, Arrowpelt the Medicine Cat. About all you need to know so far, I guess. Some basic history, you'll learn more as we go on.""

[liobit]

Coyotepaw's head cocked slightly to the side. "The Night? What was that? And why are we weaker?" He'd heard the names Firestar and Tigerstar before somewhere, but he wasn't quite sure where. He didn't know who they were though. He knew Dogstar and Arrowpelt, but he hadn't heard of Moonstar or Willowtail. But the young apprentice figured he'd learn more about the cats he was now living with through experience.

[[Swifty] Heels.Over.Head]

Tigerfrost looked out in the open as Firestar and Tigerstar's names came up. Both had been strong forest cats before her time. "You have not heard of the great Tigerstar Coyotepaw?" Tigerfrost stepped in.

[fireice]

[glow=blue,1,000]Fireice was sitting not far away, her pelt glimmering dimly in the light and her thundercloud eyes shining. "The noble Firestar and the powerful Tigerstar. Two cats that you were not to mess with." She sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws. "I have heard great stories of both, stories that you can sink your fangs into." Fireice closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "Yes, have you, young one," she pointed at Coyotepaw with her tail. "Ever heard of the time when Firestar led a murderous dog pack over the RiverClan gorge and drowned them?" [/color][/glow]

[[Swifty] Heels.Over.Head]

Tigerfrost was a little surprised at Fireice's arrival that she jumped. Fireice started talking about Firestar and Tigerstar, she had heard little about this story, just that firestar had led the dogs off the clift and some cat had died. "Do you know how the dogs found there way into Thunderclan?"

[fireice]

[glow=blue,1,000]Fireice nodded. "Yes, but I will start at the beginning." She cleared her throat and started speaking, her soft voice pronouncing every word dramatically and ominously. "Many, many moons ago, when Bluestar, Tallstar, Crookedstar, and Tigerstar had the responsibilities on their shoulders, an ear of darkness rose between ThunderClan and ShadowClan. Tigerstar wanted revenge on the deputy of ThunderClan, who, at the time was Fireheart...but we tend to call him the great and noble Firestar. And not just that, but the long past leader, Bluestar. Tigerstar wanted more power, revenge even, and set a trap to diminish ThunderClan's numbers." Fireice laid down and tucked her paws under her chest. "A dog pack, with only the lust to kill on their minds, made home at Snakerocks. Tigerstar put that situation under his control. Leaving dead rabbits that led to ThunderClan, hoping that the unsuspectiing ThunderClan would perish, he left a queen by the name of Brindleface at the camp's entrance. And Tigerstar knew that the dog pack would then have a want for more cat blood. Fireheart and Graystripe evacuated the camp and the ill Bluestar just in time, before the dogs attacked. But, wanting to get rid of the treacherous pack, Fireheart laid out a careful trap to kill the dogs by luring them over the gorge. All went fine until, just when he was going to bring the pack's leader over the edge, it grabbed him by the scruff and started shaking the life out of him. Bluestar appeared out of nowhere and threw herself and the dog over the edge. Throwing himself in the river to save his leader's life, Fireheart swam until he got hold on Bluestar...but it was too late. Not long after, Fireheart gained his nine lives and he led the Clan through greater times." Fireice ended her speech and waited for Coyotepaw or Tigerfrost to speak.[/color][/glow]

[liobit]

Coyotepaw blinked, amazed. "Wow. Firestar sounds like a great leader. But what did Tigerstar want revenge on him for?" What would ShadowClan's leader have against ThunderClan's deputy? "And if Tigerstar did become ShadowClan's leader, he had the power he wanted, right? What did he have against ThunderClan?"

[[Swifty] Heels.Over.Head]

Tigerfrost was surprised with Coyotepaws wanting to learn the history of Shadowclan. She decided to let Fireice finish the story rather than answer these questions herself, Fireice seemed to know the story very well, Fireice? Tigerfrost looked toward her

[fireice]

[glow=blue,1,000]"Well, I don't the story that good as it goes deeper into history, but I guess I can try. Now let's see, I'll just start at the beginning. Now I hope that everyone here knows that Firestar was a kittypet, right?" Fireice seemed to glow with pride but continued. "At the time he was a kittypet, Firestar was known as Rusty, a curious kitten who wanted to know what lay beyond the fence that bordered his garden. On day, he ventured over, hoping to find a better life. Well, a gray cat by the name of Graypaw challenged him. Rusty didn't give in like a normal kittypet and fought him right back. Bluestar and her deputy, Lionheart, saw his bravery and asked him if he wanted to join ThunderClan, and he accepted. Not long after he became an apprentice by the name of Firepaw, he and Graystripe figured out that Tigerclaw, who was now the deputy after Lionheart died, had killed the deputy that was before Firepaw came to the forest, Redtail. Tigerclaw was greedy and wanted power over all the Clans, and his first target was ThunderClan. But, after being exiled he became a desperate ShadowClan's leader. And everything goes into what I told you earlier." She sighed. "But his power lust is what got Tigerstar killed. It is a shame for a leader to go blind with greed and dies a shameful death." She shook her head.[/color][/glow]

[liobit]

Coyotepaw's eyes widened with surprise. "Wait, ThunderClan's great leader was born a kittypet? And Tigerstar was originally in ThunderClan, and was deputy?" Wow, that sure made things interesting! "But what made ShadowClan so desperate that they- uh, or we- would accept a ThunderClan cat as leader?"

[[Swifty] Heels.Over.Head]

Tigerstar was a very powerful cat, he convinced them that he was best and used Starclan as an excuse. He made the clan think that this would be best for the clan. Right Fireice? Tigerfrost was a little unsure of her answer.

[liobit]

Coyotepaw narrowed his eyes, and said almost reluctantly, "If I were around then, I would have objected to having a ThunderClan cat lead ShadowClan. It's not right." The fur on the back of his neck bristled slightly, but not at the thought of a ThunderClan cat as ShadowClan leader. No, Coyotepaw's thoughts wandered to his own father, a loner. Yeah, I should talk- I'm only half-clan myself. But a pure ThunderClan warrior...that's different. The apprentice found that his mouth had gone dry. Right?

[fireice]

[glow=blue,1,000]Fireice shook her head. "Yes, but that is only a little of what Tigerstar had said to the past ShadowClan." She got up from her uncomfortable position and stretched, her long tail curling and uncurling. She then sat down and spoke, her voice a little raspy from being so dry. "At the time, ShadowClan's previous leader, Nightstar, died of a terrible blackcough epidemic, and left a Clan too weak to bring up a new leader. Tigerstar took that chance and told them of the power that he would bring back, which he did, but for the wrong purposes."[/glow]