Through your Paces (Heatherpaw)

[mystic]

Finchnose
^{I am not distracta- oh look a butterfly!}

"Okay, this is something my mentor began to train me." He mewed. "I think he's got his stash of leaves somewhere here." He paused and grinned widely as the wind began to pick up. "Perfect." he purred. He climbed up onto of and old log, leaves in his mouth.

Carefully he set them down. "Okay, now. I'm gonna drop these one at time and you have to catch them before they touch the ground. Without damaging them!" he added. It was a exercise in both concentration, and precision. Those were both skills a warrior needed.

[sadiebutt]

Heatherpw nodded slowly. She had a gut feeling that this was a test she wouldn't pass. For a brief moment she thought of Lionpaw again. If she didn't do this correctly he say that he could've done it with ease. With a smirk she silently vowed that she wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of knowing she had failed at something, again.
"Bring it on." she meowed loudly at Finchnose. She could do this, or lie about to Lionpaw. No, she could do this.

[mystic]

Finchnose
^{I am not distracta- oh look a butterfly!}

The leaves were small, and rather hard to see. The fact that a wind was whipping across the lake from the moor didn't help in the least. Finchnose stood up on his hind legs and let the leaves float towards the apprentice one by one. Tough they moved slowly, they were erratic in movements and very hard to pinpoint.

"Come on! I know you can do it!" He mewed happily, flicking his tail. "Just concentrate, remember there's nothing in the world but the leaf."

[sadiebutt]

Heatherpaw whirled in place trying to catch a leaf. After batting at a few one was finally hooked on her claw and she brought it down to the ground. She frowned at the leaf looked up at Finchnose. "That was terrible" she meowed quietly. Taking her claw from the dry leaf she kneaded at the ground under her. Hopefully she could get better at these exercises as she practiced. She waited for Finchnose to speak, although he was only five moons older than her she liked to hear his suggestions and looked up to him.

[mystic]

Finchnose
^{I am not distracta- oh look a butterfly!}

Finchnose just smiled. "That's okay." He said brightly. "It took me a whole moon to prefect it." He smiled. "You have to empty your mind of everything but the leaves. If you concentrate had enough you can see it moving. Focus every part of your being on that leaf." He explained. "Then, when it is right in front of you, strike! Also, don't use your claws. Use the pads of your paws. This is about focus. Focus is what will keep you alive when you're in the heat of battle. Or at least that's what my mentor used to tell me when I started daydreaming during training. Then she'd clock me on the head... hard." He chuckled. "Let's do it with another leaf. Now empty your mind and concentrate on the leaf." He let one go and drift towards her.

[sadiebutt]

Heatherpaw glared at the leaf as it floated past. It swooped down towards her for a brief moment, that was when she pounced. She jumped sort of sideways, leaning more towards the right than the left. It threw her off balance even in the air but she managed to bat the leaf out of floating and fell with it. Lying on her back she chuckled and then peered in between her two front paws. As she fell she pressed them together hoping she had caught the leaf. Turns out she had. Her green eyes were lit with a hint of pride and she glanced up at Finchnose.

[mystic]

Finchnose
^{I am not distracta- oh look a butterfly!}

Finchnose smiled from ear to ear. "That was great!" He mewed happily hopping down. "I really think you're getting it." His tail was up as he walked towards her. "You're going to be a great warrior." He said "I just know it." He smiled at her. "Come on, I think I smell a mouse over there." he pointed with his tail. "Now crouch low. You need to concentrate on the mouse. There is nothing in this whole world but you and the mouse." He pushed her down with his paw. "Keep your butt down and sneak..."

[sadiebutt]

Heatherpaw giggled when he said 'butt' it was rather immature but it was still funny. She hushed up after that and kept low to the ground. Creeping slowly forward she punced and caught the mouse. Her claws slid into it's neck and she killed him with only a few marks left and barely any blood spilled. She removed her claws and licked the blood off of them. "How was that?" she meowed.

[mystic]

Finchnose
^{I am not distracta- oh look a butterfly!}

The tom grinned and flicked his tail. "That was great Heatherpaw!" he mewed. "We should get that back to the camp. Then I'll take you out hunting. The winter birds are still about. Your training with the leaf is perfect for catching birds." He began walking back towards camp with his tail up. "You know, I could talk to Palestar about being your mentor. I mean I'm still young, but you and I. I feel we have a connection." He smiled at her. "I miss ya." he mewed. "It's lonely in the warrior's den, with only my siblings. They... don't get me."

[sadiebutt]

Heatherpaw smiled happily. "That'd be great!" she purred excitedly. She picked up her catch and turned to Finchnose again. "Are we going back to camp now?" she mumbled through the fur. Her green eyes were bright, she felt rather happy about the thought of Finchnose being her mentor. Waiting for an answer she attempted to sniff the air but the only scent she caught was the mouse she'd just caught. And of course, Finchnose.

[mystic]

Finchnose
^{I am not distracta- oh look a butterfly!}

Finchnose smiled at her. "You know. I think you'll be a great warrior." he said. "better than me." He added. Then he walked with her to camp, tail high. A smile played on his lips and he sighed happily. He had spent the day with a friend and helped her catch a mouse. Now the only thing left was convince palestare to let him mentor a cat only five moons younger than him. That would be the hard part.

(just posting this to bring this post to a close)