training a swarm of locust [p]

[redshiftreign]

LOCUSTPAW TRAINING THRED
posts - [0/100]*
mentor - @Micanomancy [hawkfur]

training instances: 0/5

territory/border tour* -
hunting training* -
battle training* -
rabbit hunting* -
patrols -
battles -

meetings attended - 0/2*

*required

[redshiftreign]

"no colour anymore, i want it painted black."

[@/micanomancy [hawkfur]

blind, the lot of them. blind, complacent and passive. worse than kittypets, even. worse than. . .
locustpaw bared his teeth at the ground, every muscle in his shoulders tightening. it had been half-a-moon since his apprenticeship and the extent of his training had been occasional instruction on hunting crouches and the most simple battle moves. he hadn't even had a chance to leave camp yet, and it only made him fester in his resentment more- like a spark to dry tinder, the thoughts licked up his reasoning and replaced them with nothing but white hot rage.

rage.
that was one word that came up a lot in relation to the small, lanky tom. it fueled him, fed him, and nursed him like the mother he never met. it subsisted on the what-ifs and the wrongs, on guilt and regret and every slight the stars sent his way. it devoured him, and he let it.
in fact, locustpaw reveled in the white-hot anger, harnessed it, and focused it into the words that cut deep like claws on skin. he let it move him to speak and act, for fear he would be nothing without it.

he was tucked away on a ridge just behind the apprentice's den, which took several difficult steps up to reach, and was nestled perfectly out of sight of the main camp clearing. the only way to spot him was if one were looking up, behind the apprentice den from camp, or down at him from the ridge above. either way, he seriously doubted his mentor's capability to find him if he were not in the mood to be found- such as right now. he hated hawkfur's stupid smile, or how understanding he acted when insulted, or even just how he kept trying. locust hated him, and certainly made an effort to show it.

[Mica]

Originally Posted by redshiftreign

"no colour anymore, i want it painted black."

[@/micanomancy [hawkfur]

blind, the lot of them. blind, complacent and passive. worse than kittypets, even. worse than. . .
locustpaw bared his teeth at the ground, every muscle in his shoulders tightening. it had been half-a-moon since his apprenticeship and the extent of his training had been occasional instruction on hunting crouches and the most simple battle moves. he hadn't even had a chance to leave camp yet, and it only made him fester in his resentment more- like a spark to dry tinder, the thoughts licked up his reasoning and replaced them with nothing but white hot rage.

rage.
that was one word that came up a lot in relation to the small, lanky tom. it fueled him, fed him, and nursed him like the mother he never met. it subsisted on the what-ifs and the wrongs, on guilt and regret and every slight the stars sent his way. it devoured him, and he let it.
in fact, locustpaw reveled in the white-hot anger, harnessed it, and focused it into the words that cut deep like claws on skin. he let it move him to speak and act, for fear he would be nothing without it.

he was tucked away on a ridge just behind the apprentice's den, which took several difficult steps up to reach, and was nestled perfectly out of sight of the main camp clearing. the only way to spot him was if one were looking up, behind the apprentice den from camp, or down at him from the ridge above. either way, he seriously doubted his mentor's capability to find him if he were not in the mood to be found- such as right now. he hated hawkfur's stupid smile, or how understanding he acted when insulted, or even just how he kept trying. locust hated him, and certainly made an effort to show it.

Hawkfur was no idiot. He knew the troublesome cat he had been tasked with mentoring was trying to shake him like leaves from his fur. But Hawkfur was nothing if not stubborn, and had something the young tom severely lacked. Patience. Honestly, he was surprised Twilightstar had even granted him an apprentice, after everything. He was certain every cat in WindClan thought he was some monster that should be kept away from kits or whispered about in dens. He didn't mind so much, he was never very social to begin with.



Hawkfur strolled around camp, peering into each den and giving the cats there a nod before dipping out. In the short time Locustpaw had been assigned to Hawkfur, the apprentice had managed to sneak out, bite a chunk of fur off Hawkfur's shoulder, and disappeared for every training session. Hawkfur would be lying if he insisted it didn't bother him slightly. He wasn't sure how to get Locustpaw to take his apprenticeship seriously. Hm... perhaps none of the other warriors wanted the cantankerous tom, and that's why Hawkfur was chosen.


His ear flicked irritably, and he ended up scanning the ridge above camp. Maybe the ridiculous little flea-bag was staring down at him with that gleeful look on his muzzle. He didn't see any sign of a cat up there, so he huffed and tried the apprentice den again. Nothing. Hawkfur was going to give up, but as he crossed behind the apprentice den he happened to look up--praying to StarClan for mercy--and spotted something. He narrowed his river-blue eyes and stared at it, realizing after a heartbeat that it was... ears. Yellow and brown ears. He bared his teeth in a feral grin. "Got you." He muttered.



His knowledge about the area around camp helped him avoid the steep climb from camp, and he managed to reach his flea-brained apprentice's hiding spot. He remembered climbing up here with... her, when they were apprentices. The memory made his chest hurt, but he continued the climb. He'd have to tell Locustpaw about the easier route. Or... no, he wouldn't. He didn't want to encourage Locustpaw's bad habits. He swished his way through the brush behind Locustpaw. "Been a long time since I've been up here." He commented airily.

[redshiftreign]

"no colour anymore, i want it painted black."

[@micanomancy [hawkfur]

the green eyed devil-spawn had begun to satiate his fury with self-indulgent and quite. . . er concerning thoughts of bringing those around to writhing in emotional(or, more frighteningly, physical) pain. if he were to have one wish, it’d be to watch the world burn, himself included. he was so rudely interrupted by a familiar tom poking his nose through the brush behind him, sending the dusty yellow apprentice nearly toppling over the edge in surprise. he scowled at hawkfur when he said something along the lines of ‘a while since i’ve been here’ or whatever, and flexed his claws so they dug into the sandy ridge. he was one part small, five parts unwarranted anger, and two parts surprised. shake all that up together, and the result is a perfect locust-shake.

locustpaw snorted, “i didn’t know you could still climb; shouldn’t you be in the elders den, oldfur?”

the small tom slid past hawkfur and to the wider end of the ridge, making distance from the he. “what in starclan do you want? finally come to train? i almost thought old age was making you forget you had an apprentice to deal with,” the he-cat sneered.

[Mica]

Originally Posted by redshiftreign

"no colour anymore, i want it painted black."

[@micanomancy [hawkfur]

the green eyed devil-spawn had begun to satiate his fury with self-indulgent and quite. . . er concerning thoughts of bringing those around to writhing in emotional(or, more frighteningly, physical) pain. if he were to have one wish, it’d be to watch the world burn, himself included. he was so rudely interrupted by a familiar tom poking his nose through the brush behind him, sending the dusty yellow apprentice nearly toppling over the edge in surprise. he scowled at hawkfur when he said something along the lines of ‘a while since i’ve been here’ or whatever, and flexed his claws so they dug into the sandy ridge. he was one part small, five parts unwarranted anger, and two parts surprised. shake all that up together, and the result is a perfect locust-shake.

locustpaw snorted, “i didn’t know you could still climb; shouldn’t you be in the elders den, oldfur?”

the small tom slid past hawkfur and to the wider end of the ridge, making distance from the he. “what in starclan do you want? finally come to train? i almost thought old age was making you forget you had an apprentice to deal with,” the he-cat sneered.

Hawkfur bristled at the half-assed "oldfur" remark. "Been working on that one all day, have you?" He meowed simply, motioning for Locustpaw to follow him. "You see, Locustpaw, I'd love to train you if you stopped running away every time I go to find you." The red tom made sure the apprentice was following before continuing out into the greater forest. Leaf fall was well on its way, and he let the cool air and the scent of decaying leaves calm his frayed nerves from earlier. He had found his wayward apprentice, so that was step one. Step two, however, was getting him to listen... but as lofty as that goal felt, Hawkfur knew that eventually the sandy tom would have no choice but to heed what he was saying.


Where Locustpaw felt only rage and blinding self-loathing, Hawkfur felt absence. Not the absence of feeling or emotion, but the absence of kin, of friendship. The absence of faith in a higher power that would take everything from him and continue to haunt him by throwing a cat like Locustpaw at him. Because Hawkfur knew the irony of it. An apprentice with no parents, hatred stewing from every strand of fur, given to a cat who was commonly believed to have murdered his sister in cold blood.



"I was thinking we go hunting today." He meowed over his shoulder. "Put some of the crouches I showed you to use. But if you'd rather sit on that ledge and mutter to yourself, I understand. We can do it another day..." Hawkfur knew well and good the tactics to get a rowdy apprentice to listen. After all, he had been one, once upon a moon. He liked to call it gaslight, denkeep, catboss. What most of those words meant, he couldn't tell you.

[redshiftreign]

"no colour anymore, i want it painted black."

[ @Micanomancy [hawkfur]

locustpaw bared his teeth at hawkfur, but his mention of actually going out today seemed to placate the apprentice. he huffed and, though still glaring, agreed. "fine, whatever. i hate being cooped up in this stuffy camp anyway."

he stood and shoved past hawkfur, his shoulder brushing the warrior's as he found his tricky pawsteps down the slope into camp. his tail swayed with mild annoyance as it often did and he made quick pace. whatever. he'd make it seem like going out was his idea, and that hawkfur was the antagonizing one anyway. oddly enough, as hard has his mentor tried, locustpaw only interpreted it as pity and loathing.

[Mica]

[Hawkfur, he/him]
[ @redshiftreign [Locustpaw, apprentice]

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Hawkfur's blue eyes sparkled with barely concealed amusement at the way Locustpaw broke under the idea of going hunting. He let the cantankerous tom push past him, merely following quietly. He was a little slower than Locustpaw, with old injuries making his pawsteps careful, but he seemed unbothered by it. Let the apprentice think whatever he liked, everyone else did it anyway.


"So, tell me, how did you come to discover that ridge?" He meowed curiously, trying to start up a conversation instead of just walking in tense silence. He lead the way out of camp out onto the open fields. He was just headed towards some sparse brush halfway out across the territory, nearby the windy hills. The air was still, so he didn't think it would be safe for an untrained cat like Locust to be near a place where large birds could easily swoop down. They'd work up to that.

[redshiftreign]

"no colour anymore, i want it painted black."

[ @Micanomancy [hawkfur]

there wasn't anything quite like your first steps out of camp.

it's honestly breathtaking. even locustpaw struggled to find something cynical or negative to think, instead, with eyes wide he stopped upon the hill and stared out over the sprawling moors and endless planes. not a single thought crossed his mind for the longest eternity, and the sun painted the reeds and grasses in a beautiful light. did windclan territory go on forever? it sure seemed that way.

hawk-something-or-other asked him a question, and he didn't quite catch it. locustpaw tilted his head and pricked his ears. he remembered the question a moment after, and snorted. "found it myself while looking for a way to sneak out. if you weren't going to show me the territory, i'd show myself. at least you finally got off your ass and decided to be a mentor. i think i see why both our families left." the last few words came out bitter, and he instead turned his head to watch the horizon.

[Mica]

[ @redshiftreign - Locustpaw]
Hawkfur - warrior, he/him


Hawkfur had fallen silent quickly after posing his question, catching sight of Locustpaw's awe of the territory. He recognized full well the aw and fascination of an apprentice's first time seeing the territory, and even found it resembling his own reaction. He couldn't help the fondness that warmed his chest. Even now, the view from the crest of the ridge that backed their camp took his breath away, and had his fur standing on end. It was gorgeous. How the other clans could stand to be sequestered away in dense forests was lost to him. Hawkfur turned his head towards the sky and watched the fluffy white clouds skid across the sky with a blustering breeze that battered them slightly already. How could the other clans live without the sky free and clear above their dens? How could they stand to be so crowded in without the stars and the clouds to look down on them? It was a thought that had vexed him the moment he had seen the territory on his first patrol with his old mentor. He wondered if his mentor felt the same as he was feeling just then.


Then, Locustpaw's jab nailed Hawkfur right in the shoulder, and he was ripped from his daydreaming. "I think I see why BOTH our families left." Oh. Something sick and twisted curled in Hawkfur's stomach, and suddenly he felt a little more like swatting at the apprentice and showing him what disrespect got him from other mentors, but the thought was quickly swept away by a wave of shame. No, he wouldn't be that mentor. This tom did not deserve that. A beat of silence. Then:

"With the disputes and predators raging left and right, I and other mentors decided it wasn't safe to take you out into the territory to train. So we remained in camp. You know, we can do this another time, if you're not feeling up to learning and just want to say flea-brained things to me to get a reaction."