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Post by Amber on Dec 20, 2008 21:44:13 GMT -5
Shadowstream glanced at her apprentice as he caught up. She stared at the ground and tried to control her emotions. "Starpaw, I want you to meet the most important cat in my life. This is the grave of my sister, Nightpaw." she murmered. "Like you, she was a blind cat. I never saw her as a blind cat, and therefore I never treated her like one. We trained together, and our mentors never kept us apart." she stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. "If you don't learn anything today, or even hear one word I say, just hear these words. Always have someone with you when you leave camp, no matter if you are blind, deaf, or even completely normal. And never run after something that kills someone close to you. Nightpaw payed the ultimate price for this. Trying to protect me and all she loved. So your answer to the question if a blind cat can become a warrior is yes. Nightpaw was only a half moon away from her warrior ceremony. We were suppose to be made warriors together."
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Post by Gatoimp13 on Dec 20, 2008 21:54:12 GMT -5
Each of Starpaw's siblings flashed through his mind. He had seen them before, in dreams. He could see in his dreams, so he had visual representations for many things he sensed in his waking life. Then the image of a young black cat with silver flecks and light blue eyes flashed in his mind. Who's that? He couldn't help but wonder. He pushed the thought aside temporarily. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "So sorry." This could possibly be the first time in Starpaw's life that he had ever apologized for something. It was definitely the first time he had done so sincerely. But he felt comforted by the thought that he wasn't the only blind cat who had wanted to be a warrior. He figured that Shadowstream didn't want to grieve, so he decided to at least try to help her. Maybe if she thinks about the happy memories she has of Nightpaw. "What was Nightpaw like?" He asked.
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Post by Amber on Dec 20, 2008 22:06:48 GMT -5
Shadowstream couldn't believe she was telling this to an apprentice. Was she out of her mind? "It's not your fault. And something I have recently come to is that it's not my fault either. I tried to go after her, to help her, but a warrior held me back. I guess it was a good thing the warrior did, because I would be dead like my sister." She placed her paw on the dirt of the grave and smiled at Starpaw's question.
"Nightpaw was just like you. Determined to prove that she could be just as great of a warrior as anyone else. We were always together, never apart. Boy was she stubborn! We used to get into so much trouble..." Shadowstream laughed at the thought of the trouble she used to get into.
"Our apprentice ceremony was held back a half-moon because we snuck out of the nursery, and into the forest when we were kits.
Oh, and here's a hint. Don't ever climb a tree and then realize you are afraid of heights."
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Post by Gatoimp13 on Dec 21, 2008 8:15:35 GMT -5
Starpaw chuckled, a rare occurrence for him. "Yeah, I learned that the hard way when my siblings and I sneaked out of camp once. Redpaw had climbed up and he dared me to climb higher, which I did. Featherpaw hates it when we compete, so she tried to climb up and get us back down. She got up to where we were and couldn't move. Icepaw had to climb up and guide her down." He mewed. Did I seriously just chuckle? He wondered.
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Post by Amber on Dec 21, 2008 13:06:07 GMT -5
"That's what experiences are for." Shadowstream stated, a smile forming on her face. "You know, Starpaw, I think we might actually get along better than I had thought. I never thought that my first apprentice would be so understanding. With both of us working together, it wouldn't surprise me if you were made a warrior before your siblings." she thought outloud.
"Nightpaw and I were never that competitive. Well, we were sometimes, but we both knew eachother's limits and I honestly don't think we ever fought." Shadowstream glanced back to Starpaw.
"If you ever feel you can't do something, just remember Nightpaw. She is my inspiration." She curled her tail around her paws.
"I guess we should begin our tour of the territory. And try not to overwhelm yourself this time around. We can go around again tomorrow, or as many times as you need to."
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Post by Gatoimp13 on Dec 21, 2008 13:50:49 GMT -5
Starpaw nodded. "Let's go." As they began touring, Starpaw found that he could keep his senses on full blast because it was just him and Shadowstream. "You know, this is nice. Normally I have to restrain my senses, because they're heightened, probably because of my blindness." Starpaw explained. This was one of the few times he had ever actually mentioned his disability. He usually pretended that it didn't exist. "If I don't restrain them when I'm in a place like the camp I'll become overwhelmed by all the sounds, smells, vibrations and feelings. Before I knew about this I would get so overwhelmed that I'd just pass out unwillingly." He explained, grinning slightly. "But out here there's just the surroundings, which I'm trying to sense, and me and you. It's so much easier when it's just two cats. Though the surroundings are making me feel a bit ADD." An unfamiliar smell drifted past Starpaw's nose and he felt odd vibrations coming their way. He froze trying to observe the unknown thing heading towards them. He tilted his head to the side out of curiosity.
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Post by Amber on Dec 21, 2008 20:48:18 GMT -5
Shadowstream listened to the apprentice. He really was just like Nightpaw. Was this StarClan's way of giving her a second chance? She smiled at the thought of her sister. She would have really liked Starpaw.
"I will make sure that it is just us when we go out, and when you get used to everything we will try bringing another warrior, or possibly one of your siblings with us. I'll let you decide on which, when you are ready." she meowed.
When he froze, Shadowstream stared at the apprentice. What exactly was he...what was that? Her eyes widened. "How fast do you think you can run back to camp?" she asked, remaining calm.
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Post by Gatoimp13 on Dec 21, 2008 21:06:10 GMT -5
Starpaw's thoughts were racing ahead of his mentor's. He had already followed a couple possible theories through and most of them required a lot of running if they were surviving. "Fast enough." He answered with determination. "But I'm not running anywhere unless you come with me." His request was not out of any need for assistance. He simply refused to leave his mentor here alone to face whatever was coming.
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Post by Amber on Dec 21, 2008 22:34:24 GMT -5
Shadowstream didn't expect another answer from him. Really, she halfway knew that he wouldn't leave without her, but then again it was worth a shot. "Fine, but I want you to get a head start, and go ahead and start running now. I promise I will be right behind you. If I do have to stop, I want you to go straight to Oakstar, with no complaints. We don't need to lead anything back to camp if we can help it. I'm hoping we can outrun it for now and get a patrol later to check this out further." she said, prodding Starpaw with a paw, to go ahead and start running now.
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Post by Gatoimp13 on Dec 22, 2008 6:39:17 GMT -5
Starpaw glared stubbornly at Shadowstream for a moment, but then something hit him. If I'm going to learn anything from her, I'm going to have to start listening to her. "Fine." He mewed simply. And at that, he dashed off. But I'm not going full speed until I know she's following me. He added silently. Now, even though he wasn't going full speed, Starpaw was wicked fast. He might not have Redpaw's strength, but he had his brother beat when it came to speed and agility.
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Post by Amber on Dec 22, 2008 15:32:23 GMT -5
Good, he had listened to her. They were beginning to build a form of trust, something they needed. The she-cat waited for the apprentice to be close to camp before dashing off behind him. Shadowstream was glad she had been this way many times before. If not, who knows what could have happened. "Starpaw, keep running, go tell Oakstar!" she yelled, hoping her apprentice would hear her. This apprentice sure was fast, something that she was glad of. He would probably beat her to camp.
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Post by Gatoimp13 on Dec 22, 2008 16:11:14 GMT -5
Now that Starpaw was sure Shadowstream was following him, he doubled his speed. He entered the camp, skidding to a halt in front of the highrock. I almost ran into that. He concluded as he reached his nose out, touching the highrock.
Oakstar had been talking with one of the warriors when a small black blur had shot by her, followed by a skidding sound. "Starpaw?" Amazing, he didn't run into anything, or anyone. She thought proudly. "What's wrong?"
Starpaw had already caught his breathe. The run hadn't taken too much out of him. "Shadowstream was showing me the territory when I sensed something coming our way. She told me to run back to camp and tell you."
Oakstar knew what her son meant by sensed. "And you actually listened?"
"She's behind me and should be back in a bit." Starpaw explained. Now that he thought about it, his obedience surprised him too.
"Alright, thanks Starpaw. Let's wait for Shadowstream." Oakstar said.
Starpaw nodded before going to the camp entrance. He sat down and waited for his mentor to return, not intending to leave that spot until she came back.
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Post by Amber on Dec 22, 2008 17:32:47 GMT -5
Shadowstream looked around her shoulder for a moment. It appeared that whatever had been chasing them had stopped for now. She slowed her pace down a little, letting her paws take a small break. The warrior finally made her way back into camp and dipped her head when she saw Oakstar.
"Great job." she mewed to Starpaw.
"I'm sure Starpaw has already filled you in on everything. Even I am not sure what that creature was. It didn't look like a fox, or a badger. I don't know if it would have harmed us or anything, but I felt it was better to be safe than sorry, especially with just the two of us. I know Starpaw can hold his own, I just didn't want risk anything without telling you first." Shadowstream said, gasping for breath.
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Post by Gatoimp13 on Dec 22, 2008 19:48:59 GMT -5
Starpaw let out a small breath he didn't even remember holding in. So she doesn't know what it is....interesting. I thought it was just something I hadn't encountered yet, but maybe it's a new creature to the whole clan.... He pondered. He was able to think a bit more clearly now that he knew Shadowstream was back and safe.
"Okay, I'll warn the patrols to keep their eyes out." Oakstar decided. And maybe I'll make the patrols a bit larger, just in case. "I can ask about the creature at the gathering too."
(Speaking of which, when is the first gathering going to be? I know that Shadowclan doesn't have a leader yet, but does Roux have a date in mind?)
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Post by Amber on Dec 22, 2008 20:28:15 GMT -5
Shadowstream was quite surprised at how fast Starpaw had ran. That would definitely be an asset, it would help her train him.
She nodded to Oakstar. "The creature was big and appeared to be black, but it was in the shadows. If not black, then it was a dark color." she reported.
"I just hope it doesn't attack anyone." she added. She shuddered at the thought of anything attacking a fellow clanmate.
"If you want Starpaw we can go in the opposite direction and we can try and get you in some hunting practice for today. I promise you won't have to climb a tree." Shadowstream offered, laughing at her last comment.
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