and the crocodile know | training, snakeblink

[turtlepaw]

i'm in the in between, honey​

---

ooc: takes place RIGHT after the meeting

After cats had cleared out of the camp center, all that was left was a silver charcoal tabby and her newly minted mentor. Turtlepaw was fighting off unseen enemies, swatting them with her paws and narrating all of their moves. "And then he jumps up and I headbutt his gut!" She reflected the move, jumping into the air blindly.

Turtlepaw hoped Snakeblink was impressed with her moves. She had come up with them all on her own, since her and Fennelridge hadn't gotten to battle training yet. They were having such a fun time before he decided to retire, and she knew she would have an even more fun time with her new mentor!

The apprentice bounds back to him now, grinning and tapping her feet on the ground. "Anyway, do you want to go train or something? I feel like I could run to ShadowClan and back right now I'm so excited!"

@Snakeblink

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

Snakeblink is, admittedly, not the best with younger cats; he has been described as “catastrophically out of touch” before, and most tend to find his behavior offputting (though that’s not restricted to the younger members of their clan). But he does have an advantage over many other warriors: he is very, very patient.

The constant stream of chatter coming from this tiny apprentice ever since they were paired up is making him realize how much of a boon that is now.

He watches with keen interest as she spars with shadows, narrating the whole time. It’s a little… disorganized… But he cannot say she doesn’t have a battle sense, at least. And a good idea of how to use her smaller size, though he’s not sure how effective some of these moves would actually be.

”Yes, we will go,” he says with a quirk of his whiskers, ”But first, tell me what your previous mentor has taught you already. It will give me an idea of where you stand.”
​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• 
  
  
  — Snakeblink • he / him. 49 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[turtlepaw]

i'm in the in between, honey​

---

Turtlepaw's rump hits the soft ground and sends up a small puff of dust. She tilts her broad head to one side and makes a sound in deep thought at Snakeblink's question.

"Not much! We went over the territory, how to do border patrols, and I can do a pretty good hunting crouch!" Her backside isn't on the ground for long. At the mention of her hunting crouch, she's showing it off. The apprentice tries to remember what Fennelridge had told her. Something about not needing to move her paws so much. Turtlepaw didn't heed her former mentor's words in this moment. The excitement growing in her body and her paws had to move to help get rid of it.

Clanmates had told her throughout her (short) life that she was "something else" or "weird". Turtlepaw didn't know what they meant most of the time and brushed it off. She didn't try to be weird or "something else", she was just so excited all the time! Everything was new and cool! How could she not be so excited!

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

Snakeblink cannot imagine he ever had this much energy, let alone now, but he supposes keeping up with her will keep him in shape. He can also guess that teaching her patience may be a greater challenge than any hunting or fighting technique; though that, in her defense, may be due to her youth.

Cautiously, he taps a paw to her backside, wordlessly correcting her incessant wiggling. ”It's... hah, it is pretty good,” he says nonetheless, and for a four moons cat, it is. ”But like everything, it needs practice to become perfect. We will go on a hunting patrol, I think. What can you tell me about the best way to track… hm, a water vole, let’s say?”

He is curious to see her mind at work, and she seems eager to talk; he keeps his ears pricked for her chatter as he nudges her towards the camp’s exit.
​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• 
  
  
  — Snakeblink • he / him. 49 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[turtlepaw]

i'm in the in between, honey​

---

Shame is a rare feeling for the young apprentice. Embarrassment does not find her easily and is often ignored when it does roll around. The hot burn of regret is typically ebbed away by a shiny object or a stray imaginative thought. When Snakeblink corrected her, if there was any shame it was washed away by the thought of hunting in their great big territory.

"Oh! One time, I saw a water vole run across the river shore right in camp! I was like, 'Wow, that thing's brave'." She moved along with her mentor's nudges. "I followed it for a bit, but it was so fast, Snakeblink!" The story was true. The poor rodent had somehow found its way into a camp full of hungry cats, and evaded them all because of one kit's inexperience.

The tabby sprinted ahead of her mentor, trying to imitate the rodent best she could. "Is the trick you have to be really really really fast? Because I can start getting faster now. I'll race everyday until I'm the fastest cat in the clan!"

Turtlepaw burst from the camp's exit, immediately tasting every scent she could and trying to look at everything. She hadn't been out many times with Fennelridge - he was so tired their last few days together. She spins around to look at Snakeblink, ready to hear if she was correct.

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

Snakeblink follows at a more sedate pace, his longer legs allowing him to keep up with the small apprentice without too much trouble. He wonders if she will slow down as she grows up, or if he will have to run after her until she is promoted to warrior — he supposes it would be good for his health, if nothing else. He walks past her when she stops to look back at him, tentatively bringing his long tail around her to nudge her forward and close to his side. ”If you become that fast, Windclan will steal you away to chase rabbits on the moor,” he jokes. ”To answer your question: yes, kind of. It is difficult to win a race against a vole: they are very small, as well as fast, and they do not have to be faster than a cat for very long, only until they can slip into a hole too small for us to fish them out of.”

He lowers his voice as his ears pick up the sound of something scrambling through the snow. He drops into a crouch and glances back at Turtlepaw. ”The trick is to approach slowly and quietly, and once you’re close enough—”

There. His muscles bunch, his eyes narrow, and he pounces into a snow-covered bush, sending ice crystals cascading around them as his teeth close around a scrawny vole. He pulls back and shakes himself, dropping the prey at his paws. ”The moment you are close, you have to be as quick as possible and jump before it can smell you. Now, do you think you can find another one to try this technique on?”
​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• 
  
  
  — Snakeblink • he / him. 50 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[turtlepaw]

i'm in the in between, honey​

---

A purr escaped Turtlepaw's throat at the touch of Snakeblink's side. She's always been a fan of physical affection. When most kits fussed to be bathed under their mother's tongue, Turtlepaw would bask in the feeling of touch. Warmth would radiate through her tiny body and soothe any pent up energy in her body. It was hard to find that same touch and affection as an apprentice, she found. Everyone was growing bigger and more serious. Sharing tongues was now a chore instead of a comfort.

Cold seeps in as Snakeblink moves away to demonstrate hunting. The excitement of it all does lessen the blow, though. She mimics his crouch, feeling that jittery energy build in her paws. He's so cool, she thinks, admiring the skillful pounce on the vole. She can almost see herself in that role; a warrior hunting for their clan as if it's second nature.

She nodded at his prompting question. Finding prey was easy! The molly dropped into her best impression of Snakeblink's crouch and prowled through the snow, ears pricked and mouth open to taste the air. There! Instinct took over and she was leaping through the air. Her paws landed on something warm, soft, and squealing. "I did it! Snakeblink! Did you see?" She was squealing herself, excitement uncontainable. She looks back at her mentor with a grin, so proud of herself. When she spun her face back to the vole trapped in her paws, it was gone!

She whined in frustration and again looked back at Snakeblink, now wearing a pout. "I had it! I really did!" Her voice was a near sob.

---

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── ooc ⋆⋅☾⋅⋆ info ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• 
  
  speech color
  

• 

• TURTLEPAW ✩ she/her/hers, apprentice of riverclan, 5 moons (ages every 1st)
  ⭃ stocky silver charcoal tabby. tail is a stub. energetic, naive, dim
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / roughhousing and wrestling encouraged / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by muddly ↛ @/muddly on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

A jolt goes through Snakeblink’s body upon hearing the instantaneous purr from Turtlepaw. Most of it is surprised recognition: he is a compulsive purrer, despite his best efforts to be less… transparent when it comes to physical touch, and it’s funny that his apprentice would be similar in this. And his touch is rarely so welcome; that too is a little bit of a shock.

Thankfully her bottomless stores of energy and eagerness to get to training quickly distract him — particularly as her mood goes wildly from exultant to despondent at her first hunting mistake under his tutelage.

”I saw,” he says, placating. ”Tracking is not easy in leafbare; you did well. You only… ah, lacked focus, at the end.” He pads closer, bringing his face close to hers. ”This is a lesson to learn: you should never let yourself be distracted before finishing a task. Never turn away before you are sure your opponent is defeated — be it a prey or another cat.”

He steps back, gesturing with his tail to the crushed snow where she fell on her prey and let it escape. ”But one failure is not the end. It happens, and you have to fix it. Tell me, how do you think you could fix this?”​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• 
  
  
  — Snakeblink • he / him. 50 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​