Heeere, froggies, froggies, froggies....

[Kitty]

Ahh, training Dreampaw. There was nothing quite like it...well, considering Scorchclaw had never had an apprentice before this one, he hadn't known what training was like. But Dreampaw seemed to be the type of apprentice that asked many questions, about anything and everything. It was hard to answer them sometimes, but the warrior tried.

As he led the apprentice through ShadowClan's territory to the marsh (which was pretty much everywhere) Scorchclaw reflected on this. When you were around Dreampaw, you realized just how much you don't know. He'd be able to find a quesiton you didn't know the answer to easy as that.

"Okay, Dreampaw, here we are," he meowed, coming to an abrupt start. "Today....we are going to learn how to catch frogs!" he announced, as if it was the greatest thing in the world.

Ah, yes, there was nothing quite like training Dreampaw.

[nightstorm]

Dreampaw followed Scorchclaw obediently, his tail flicking occasionally in a spasdomic movement. His eyes glittered with excitement, as Scorchclaw drew to a halt, and announced that the lesson would be about catching frogs. "Frogs?" he asked excitedly. "Great! But how do you catch a frog? They don't keep still...and they never stop hopping....do they?" For once, he wasn't bursting with questions. He was eager to start hunting.

"I'm gonna be the best frog hunter in ShadowClan," he boasted, crouching into the hunter's crouch that he had learned from Nightpaw. He swatted a paw at empty air. "Here froggies...come to Dreampaw..."

[Kitty]

"Its all in the technique," Scorchclaw explained, looking around. "They don't often stop hopping, and if you startle them they'll be off into the marshiest places in the marsh before you can say 'lizard'," he meowed with a little chuckle at his apprentice's enthusiasm. "Now, I'll just show you how you do it here, and then we'll go somewhere else so you can actually test it out. We're probably going to scare away all the frogs here, but I figured you should learn in marshy grounds, because that's where the frogs will be."

"Now pay attention." With that, the warrior dropped into a crouch. "Try and copy me," he instructed, remaining in his position so that Dreampaw could get a good look at it and try it for himself. "When you get this part down I'll show you how to stalk." The crouch Dreampaw was using was close, but not the one that Scorchclaw was trying to teach.

[nightstorm]

Dreampaw listened carefully, and sat up as Scorchclaw dropped into a different sort of crouch. His eyes brightened, and the young tom dropped into the crouch that his mentor had demonstrated. "Like this?" he asked, looking up for a moment. His fur rippled as he suddenly lost his balance, and fell onto his side. "Oof!"

He bounced up again, and gave a snort of disgust. Dreampaw muttered to himself about his clumsiness, and licked at his fur, trying to clean it off. Finally, he just gave up, and dropped into the crouch again. "I can't get the balance right! I'm too clumsy," he groaned, as he once more lost his balance. Mud now spattered his amber coat, and he didn't even attempt to lick it off.

[Kitty]

Scorchclaw shook his head. "That's because your balance is off," he explained, after watching his apprentice topple over the second time. A few drops of marsh water splashed up onto his legs, speckling his black coat with brown. He moved closer to Dreampaw and scooted one of his forepaws over a bit, followed by the hind leg on the same side. "It might help if you aren't so...tense, too." The warrior wasn't completely sure how to train an apprentice and give advice on something he'd learned so long ago and did so often now that he could probably do it in his sleep.

"Just keep practicing, and before long, you'll be stalking after those frogs like the most experienced warrior," Scorchclaw encouraged. "Just don't forget. Relax a bit. You're trying too hard." He gave the young tom an encouraging tom and hopped back a couple tail-lengths. "Now," he instructed, "try again."

[nightstorm]

Dreampaw looked up at Scorchclaw as his mentor instructed him about his balance, and after the older tom had readjusted Dreampaw's stance, the apprentice had to admit he felt steadier. Dreampaw looked down at his paws, trying to relax. He thought about how cool it would feel to slink along like the shadowy cats of the legendary TigerClan, and he imagined himself slinking along as well.

Soon, the tension had faded, and Dreampaw was as relaxed as if he was sleeping in the nursery as a kit once more. "Like this?" he asked, looking up to his mentor. He then proceeded to stalk forward, one forepaw after the other. This time, he managed to keep his balance, without too much concentration. Dreampaw felt a thrill race through him. Even if Scorchclaw told him it wasn't the right stalk, he still felt like a mighty hunter. All the frogs and lizards will fear me... he thought excitedly.

[Kitty]

Scorchclaw gave a nod of approval as he watched his apprentice's new and improved stalk. Its balance was still a bit off, but that could be mended with time. It was a much better start than Dreampaw had had earlier. With time, he would be a great hunter. He just needed to have more faith in his abilities. Plus, Dreampaw mgiht not notice it, but his tail tended to stick higher and higher up into the air the farther he stalked.

"That's very good, Dreampaw!" he meowed in approval. "You're just thinking about it too hard. You're balance is still a bit off, but we can perfect that with time. Plus, keep your tail down!" He laughed. "And that's all I have to say." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "HOw about we put your newfound stalking skills to the test, eh? Let's go catch some frogs."

[nightstorm]

Dreampaw's ears burned in embarassment, and he gave Scorchclaw a sheepish look. "I guess I hadn't though about my tail," he said with a laugh. "But I'll try to keep it down from now on." His eyes glowed with excitement. "Wow! You think I'm ready? I'm going to show you what a great hunter I'm going be...I'm going to catch the biggest frog there is...Nightpaw will be so jealous...."

He swiped a paw at the air once more, his enthusiasm not making his newfound training fly from his head. Despite the fact that he was almost trembling with excitement, his crouch was still as balanced as he could get it for now.

[Fail post once more... >.<]

[Kitty]

"Well, I wouldn't say you're sompletely ready..." Scorchclaw admitted, extended the 'ell' part of 'well'. He wasn't trying to dampen his apprentice's spirit; he was just being honest and truthful. "But you learn best by experience, and standing around here isn't going to get you any of that." With that, he spun in a quick circle and began stalking across the mucky marshy ground - his feet no longer getting stuck like they had when he'd first started exploring ShadowClan's territory as an apprentice from his moons of practice with stepping on the wet ground.

"Keep quiet," he called over his shoulder. "If you're gonna wanna catch anything, you're gonna have to stay silent so the prey doesn't hear you and run off. That's the best way to make me proud of you, alright?" He blinked comfortingly at the young tom. "It doesn't matter whether you catch anything or not. We're just learning how today."

((You and me both. e_e))