ALL UP IN MY MIND / training patrol

[Ekat]

There's one thought running itself tireless circles in Ekat's mind, trampling over the others in its path: Why me? Figfeather had called her name within the same sentence as being in charge of the training for patrols this time around — and Ekat was sure at first that she'd misheard. Or, at least, she'd really hoped that was the case. But the she-cat was not so lucky, and she trudges the path towards the sandy ravine on paws that drag along the grass despondently. Does Figfeather really think that Ekat is capable of leading a training patrol, her, who has never even trained an apprentice before? Did the lead warrior aim to humiliate Ekat by giving her a position she wasn't ready for, eager to watch her crash and burn? No, Ekat shakes her head as she reaches the edge of the ravine, picking along the riverbed and examining the clearing before her. She doesn't know Figfeather very well, but she's sure that isn't the case. More likely than anything, Ekat was simply a shoe-in with other, more capable warriors on more important duties. Ekat can't fault her for that. But all she can do is prove that, no, she isn't capable.

The warrior takes her time padding towards the center of the ravine, glancing about as dawn's light of the fresh leaf-fall morning strengthens slowly — brightening the sand beneath her paws and making her midnight-furred, forlorn body a conspicuous shadow in the middle of the daylight. Ekat's thoughts twist themselves into tighter knots the longer she stands there, feeling out of place, and her anxiety coils like a snake preparing to strike. The empty dip in the earth before her begins to look more like an arena, where Ekat would be tested and found wanting. She wishes to hesitate for as long as she can, drawing out the beginning of her inevitable failure until it passes over like a storm, but she can't stop her Clanmates from arriving. She dreads the sound of approaching pawsteps, and thinks of her father. Zemo was the one who had trained her, long before the two of them had arrived on SkyClan's border. She's different from her Clanmates, even the former kittypets — she had never stepped foot in this ravine for her own training. How could she be responsible for it now? But she waits, hoping she doesn't outwardly appear as distressed as she feels.​

 

[Orangestar]

Either unaware of or completely ignoring Ekat's concerns, Orangestar's eyes are faraway as she follows the dark-furred warrior into the sandy ravine. A pawful of Clanmates accompany her, curious and eager in varying measures. Orangestar glances skyward, hoping to catch a trace of cloud racing across the blue. Nothing. Beneath her long pelt, she feels the sun getting to her already. It's a good thing they're close to the river, even if it is dangerously low.

"What will you be teaching today?" Orangestar asks Ekat outright, her torn ear flicking. Her question is only partially for knowledge's sake; as time passes, Orangestar is becoming more and more aware of her sapped energy and the care she'll need to take with anything she does. A physical task such as sparring might just be enough to force her paws into watching from the sidelines, as much as they might itch to join in.

ooc ✧ 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦

• // @DOEBLAZE @edenberry ?! @tempest
• 
  
  [ art by pin ]
• ORANGESTAR ✧ she/her, leader of skyclan | seven lives
  
  
  — "a scarred white-and-ginger she-cat with brown eyes."
  — (undisclosed) mate to slate ; mentoring ashpaw
  — speech is in #D2977D
  — tags | penned by mercibun, contact on discord for plots.
  
  
  
  

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[edenberry ?!]

They do their best, to refrain from casting Orangestar spare glances... to ignore the nagging little fly between their ears that says they know something they shouldn't. Even if she had marched straight to the medicine cat's den, it meant nothing... right? A spotted ear twitches as the splotchy she-cat sets her sights on their training instructor for the day, prompting Ekat to begin.

A nervous yawn parts their jaws, their eyeline watering with the effort as they listen expectantly for their directions. Hopefully it isn't super exhaustive... The sun is overbearing, as if it has forgotten leaf-fall is meant to be overtaking the territories. "I think the last time I came over here it was for my assessment...."

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𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 〰 i want no more than this

• -- edenberry / skyclan daylight warrior / any pronouns / 16 moons
  -- mostly white with black pinstripe and green eyes / scarred face and back
  -- color #728c69​

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[Florabreeze]

Training was always something that Florabreeze was trying to improve on, with an apprentice and a shadow in tow by her side she practically leaped at the chance for them to learn something from someone else. Not because she wanted to pawn off the work but rather it was exciting to have someone be able to lead the charge into showing skills that she may not be particularly skilled at. Yet as she follows the patrol across the ravine until Ekat was satisfied she found her attention wasn't all there. Her eye was drawn to Orangestar's form, the way she carried herself felt different lately. Florabreeze had presumed that it was because she had been gaining weight lately, the she-cats long coat definately worked to hide the shape. She didn't stick around the fresh-kill pile so she couldn't attest to if the leader had been eating more than normal. There was a lingering thought there regardless, it could either be that or maybe... Nah, surely not.

Tearing her suspicously curious gaze away from the SkyClan leader she instead turned her attention to Edenberry. "It's like visiting an old friend then?" the conversation was idle, yet she couldn't help but shine a teasing tone in her inflection. With a flick of her tail she sighed at the heat of the sun, waiting for another crisper day. It appears that this wouldn't be one of them, she longed for the days that it would be a blessing to carry a longer coat then it feel like a curse.

"I try to come here more with Jellypaw and Sfogliatella but.. I hardly come here for myself" she chuckles at the thought, when was the last time she had been here for herself? Simarly to Edenberry it would have probably been for her own assessment. Maybe she could see if she can join in on the fun today, of course that depended on what was actually being taught.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── Somethings coming ﻬ𖧧ﻬ So out of breath ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• 
  apprentice tags!! @jellypaw ♬ @SFOGLIATELLA
  

• 

• FLORABREEZE 𖧧 She/her, Daylight Warrior of SkyClan, 35 moons (ages on the 12th)
  ❥ A large black tabby maine coon with low white and bright green eyes, always wearing her mushroom print collar if she can.
  ❥ Mentored by Sorrelsong ／Mentoring Jellypaw
  ❥ “Speech”, thoughts, attacking
  ❥ Penned by Juice ⏐ouijeejuice on discord {open to being dmed for plots}
  

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[Ekat]

Ekat can feel her pulse hammering in her ears as her Clanmates begin to gather before her, the incessant drumbeat of her nervous heartbeat drowning out their idle chatter. Her gaze flicks nervously towards Orangestar, the leader's presence a looming weight at the ravine's edge even as her focus is distant — and Ekat can feel the pressure settle on her shoulders, pressing down on her lungs, heavier than she imagined. It isn't just any training patrol, it's a measure of the young warrior's worth, at least in her own eyes — and Orangestar is here, watching, expecting something of her. With Edenberry and Florabreeze also waiting for instruction, Ekat has to work to keep the anxious tears in her eyes from emerging and making her look foolish. What will you be teaching today? Orangestar asks. Ekat takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself. If there's one thing she could teach them that they don't already know better, it's the survival knowledge she'd gained from her experience as a loner. The kind of cunning that had kept her alive before SkyClan, moving through life in the shadows, relying on her instincts to avoid danger rather than facing it head-on. "Escape tactics," Ekat responds, her voice low before she addresses the entire group.

"Today, I-I want to focus on something a bit different," the she-cat stammers out, willing her voice to stop shaking as her gaze travels briefly over the gathered warriors and Orangestar. "Sometimes, the best way to survive can be to avoid danger altogether. During my time as a loner, I had to learn how to escape threats without getting caught." Ekat takes a few steps backwards, examining the ravine and their surroundings, her mind racing as she tries to channel her experience into something the Clan can benefit from. Something worthy. "We can start by practicing how to recognize escape routes. I-If you were cornered here by an enemy, where would you go? I'd like you to take a moment and study the environment, and figure out what path you'd take if you had to escape quickly." Ekat avoids the too-attentive gazes of her Clanmates as she speaks, the brief eye contact she'd made earlier more than enough for her nerves to handle. "Once you've picked a route, each of you can demonstrate a quick dodge or evasion, like you're slipping out of an enemy's grasp. Who'd like to go first?" Ekat asks. This is the most she's spoken in a long time, and she hopes the unaccustomed rasp of her voice is enough to cover the way it trembles.​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

Now trailed by two apprentices and striving to improve her own skills, the Sandy Ravine has become a frequent haunt for the tawny she - cat. Today, she lopes just a pawstep behind Orangestar amidst a pawful of others, the entire group of them trailing Ekat's dark back onto ground already beginning to soak up the heat of the rising sun. The warmth reverberates throughout her paws and settles heavily on the thick, shaggy coat of fur that lines her spine, but does not dissuade her from working her forelimbs harder to keep up with the strides of the larger cats. It's more than a little silly, or at least that's how she feels as she lopes hurriedly alongside Cloudypaw and Primrose.

As the group fans out around their teacher, she finds herself falling in beside Edenberry and Florabreeze—not at all bad company. Beneath the unforgiving sun, breathing out the last of greenleaf's panting heat, the two daylight warriors talk over the subject of the day's venue, and she finds herself joining in with a mrrp of amusement, remarking, " I think the last time I was here was yesterday, but I probably lost. "

Her eye, round and fern - green in the pale daylight, pivot from Edenberry's parting jaws instinctively towards Orangestar; the ginger - and - white leader's dark eyes are distant and her movements slightly sapped on the journey here. She screws up her eye, thinking it over . . . what does this remind her of?

And then Ekat begins to explain the day's lesson and the thought scampers teasingly out of reach. She exhales something between a slow breath and a sigh, ears at a constant twitch in an effort to keep herself focused on the training and not that nagging voice in the back of her mind. It's an interesting lesson, actually, once she finally banishes the rebellious thought—evasive tactics could've ( and sometimes had ) been useful in many of the situations she's found herself in over her . . . can she still call it brief? . . . career in the Clans.

" You two think about it too, " she mrrows in low tones meant for her apprentices, flicking her tail lightly against Cloudypaw's flank. Her own heavy - lidded gaze roves over the dried - out riverbed, head turning with it to supply the full scope of her lost vision. Finally, when Ekat prods the gathered group for volunteers, she gets to her paws and steps forward, already moving with an instinctive lightness to her pawsteps. The tabby offers, " I'll give it a try. "

Nodding to Ekat, she darts quickly away from where she's been standing and up one of the less steep points in the Sandy Ravine's walls, hoping to imitate how she might evade a larger, brawnier enemy. The craggy, sand - slick material under her paws is more challenging than she'd expected, and though she crests the edge of it handily, it's with less finesse than she'd like.

OOC : —

✦

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