An Apple a Day (locustflight) | Closed

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An Apple a Day (locustflight) Mar 2, 2016 17:37:38 GMT

Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 17:37:38 GMT

Applepaw used to hate when the other apprentices dashed out with their mentors when the sun had barely risen while Locustflight seemed content to doze the whole day away. The first day of her apprenticeship - her paws had trembled with excitement - only to watch the other new apprentices file out without her, and it was all her mentor's fault! She had considered him the worst mentor ever back then, and her constantly complaining about him had filled the ears of all the other apprentices. She had never taken it up with Falconstar though. StarClan forbid.

It had been four moons now though, and Applepaw was mostly over her kitish complaining about him. So what, if he slept in a little later than the others? He still took her out and showed her the territory and tried to show her how to hunt and fight just as well as the others. It was embarrassingly clear she lagged behind them all though. Locustflight was not the only one inclined to be lazy, it seemed. Plumpaw and the other apprentices had already left and it was sunhigh already. She had poked her head in the warrior's den and - sure enough - Locustflight was sleeping. She left him to it.

When she returned she was carrying a bundle of damp moss in her mouth. She didn't have to go far from camp to get it. What she did with it was throw the ball of wet moss onto Locustflight's face. If that didn't wake him up, nothing would.

feeling kinda blue | notes: a rude awakening!

Last Edit: Mar 2, 2016 17:41:53 GMT by Deleted

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An Apple a Day (locustflight) Mar 3, 2016 15:27:22 GMT

Post by feeling kinda blue on Mar 3, 2016 15:27:22 GMT

So Locustflight slept late. It wasn't a mystery to the clan, certainly his denmates were well aware. No one really minded since Locustflight also happened to be one of the few that volunteered for midnight patrols. They were nice and quiet, usually smaller patrols than normal so Locustflight didn't have to listen to too many arguments, especially when he was assigned to go one or both of his sisters. Unfortunately for the last few moons there had also been a little someone dropped into Locustflight's care, a wily ginger apprentice by the name of Applepaw that demanded Locustflight's daylight hours. He didn't take her on the midnight patrols in part because he worried she'd get eaten by a fox or something. She hadn't pushed the sleeping late issue too much though she complained loudly her first few days. Locustflight had placidly ignored it and gone about his business, teaching Applepaw how to hunt and track and what the patrol routes were during the afternoon hours. She was much tamer than Gingerstorm and Spottedstream so the skinny tom used Applepaw as an excuse to keep busy and away from his meddling siblings. Apparently though...someone had taught Applepaw how to meddle.

Something unpleasantly soggy smacked into Locustflight's pleasantly sleeping face, jarring the tom out of his slumber. Cold water rained over Locustflight's head making the flame-point tom jerk awake. Sky blue eyes snapped open only to blink shut as droplets of rogue water ran into them. Spluttering, the skinny tomcat shook his head, droplets of water flying from his ears and whiskers, hopefully onto whoever his assailant was. The wet plop of damp moss sliding off of Locustflight's long face allowed the tom to blink his eyes open and peer at his attacker, none other than the grinning Applepaw.

"I liked you better when you were shy," Locustflight grumbled though there was no heat in his voice and a faint smile crooking his lips. Using a paw to wipe off the remaining water, the pale ginger warrior uncoiled from his nest. Peering through the weaving of the warrior den's roof, Locustflight assumed it was either sunhigh or just after. "Guess I'm running later today," he meowed, more to himself than Applepaw, a wide yawn stretching his jaws as he ambled past the she-cat and out of the den, his tail flicking for her to follow. "So what's got an itch under your fur today? Hunting? Tracking? Could probably do a bit of endurance running..."

Locustflight ambled about in the loose-limbed fashion he had, muscles supple and soft under his short fur. No one ever expected speed out of the tom because he moved like water rolling down stone, taking the path of least resistance. A few senior warriors joked he got the suffix -flight as a joke because of his slow moving and placid nature. This was in fact not true. Locustflight, to those that had known him as an apprentice or hunted frequently with him, knew he was one of ThunderClan's fastest sprinters. It had been a while since he'd taken Applepaw hunting, been a while since he'd done it himself...maybe that would be a good way to spend the afternoon...Tipping his head, the tom looked to his apprentice, stopping near the entrance of camp and waiting for her to answer.

TAGGED · @beretta
NOTES · lazy locust is lazy but he tries to be a good mentor

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An Apple a Day (locustflight) Mar 3, 2016 21:44:15 GMT

Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2016 21:44:15 GMT

The water worked even better than Applepaw had hoped. The tall tom started to splutter and shake himself - she hadn't seen that coming. With a squeak she scrambled back but it was too late. Some of the water hit her despite her best efforts and she was forced to sit and furiously lick her paws and wipe off her face. That part hadn't gone to plan, but the rest was pretty perfect. She paused with a paw in the air when her mentor spoke, his voice rising up from the lump of pale fur that was the rest of him. She gave a sigh and shook her head, ears twitching. She was still shy! ..just not around him anymore.

"You're always running late," she grumbled before she resumed her grooming, putting every piece of red fur back into its proper place before she looked at him properly. The tom was just as lanky as she recalled, though it looked even more dramatic in the cramped warrior's den. When he walked past her she scrambled up to follow him and was right on his heels when they reached the camp entrance. She was quiet as she thought over what the tom had suggested for them to do.

"Can we do hunting and running?" she asked, tail tip twitching. "Hunting first, when I'm not tired." She gave a nod at that, scrambling through the thorn tunnel ahead of him. The running wasn't her favourite thing in the world. It was too hard for her. Before the day was over she would be whining that she didn't wanna do it.

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An Apple a Day (locustflight) Mar 4, 2016 16:08:29 GMT

Post by feeling kinda blue on Mar 4, 2016 16:08:29 GMT

Locustflight chuckled softly at Applepaw's requests, though he expected them. She was growing into quite the little huntress and usually grumbled when it came time to working on things like endurance and agility. Locustflight couldn't blame her though. He could run like a WindClanner and had quite a good sense of agility but not all of it was natural talent. When his mentor learned that Locustflight could actually move his tail she had worked him hard until his paws cracked and bled, fanning the flames on the perceived "only thing" Locustflight was capable of. It was part of why Locustflight seldom ran at full tilt anymore, his mentor had sucked all the fun out of it. Now when he hunted or trained Applepaw he ran but it was the loping, ground-covering gait that long-limbed cats like Locustflight could manage, not necessarily the full out sprint like when he'd been young. Applepaw though by the end of the day was usually telling Locustflight she hated running which was usually when he laughed and dragged her back to camp, subtly making sure she hadn't cracked her paw pads or pulled a muscle.

"Alright. Let's try finding some squirrels. I heard Mothfang complaining about not having any last night. They're her favorite, might make a nice treat, hmm?" With a flick of his long tail the flame-point warrior followed his apprentice out through the bracken tunnel and into ThunderClan's wooded territory. Peering up at the trees full of green leaves, Locustflight strained his ears for the distant sounds of squirrels jumping through the branches. Humming to himself, he glanced over at Applepaw. "How about an incentive? Catch three squirrels and I'll take you on the midnight patrol tonight."

Applepaw was old enough to go on the midnight patrol and probably woudn't get eaten by a fox or a badger. Hazelclaw and Falconstar certainly wouldn't mind. Maybe if he took her on the midnight patrol Applepaw would get why Locustflight tended to sleep in. Incentive for both of them really. So, with a wave of his tail, Locustflight took a running jump at the nearest oak and hooked his claws into the bark. Climbing up into the branches, Locustflight balanced easily and waited to see if Applepaw would follow or choose to hunt squirrels on the ground. Locustflight was partial to hunting them in the trees but it could be dangerous and intimidating to apprentices so he wouldn't be surprised if she chose to let his jumping around in the tree chase the squirrels to her instead of following him. This would be a good chance for Locustflight to really assess Applepaw's hunting ability, how she strategized to meet a goal. Soon the snows would fall fast and heavy over the land and the warriors would all have a very real quota of prey needed to fill the many bellies in camp. How would Applepaw manage?

TAGGED · @beretta
NOTES · see? locust can be tactical when he wants to be lol

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An Apple a Day (locustflight) Mar 6, 2016 11:35:12 GMT

Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2016 11:35:12 GMT

Applepaw seemed to brighten up with the mention of a squirrel, ears perking up and tail lifting up to wave, her frustration with Locustflight burning off her. She hadn't managed to catch one yet in her moons of hunting. There had been several attempts but none successful; it seemed so rare to catch one on the ground and then leaf-bare had rolled around.. maybe she would get lucky today and StarClan would guide her paws to one. Even if StarClan didn't, she was sure Locustflight had some ideas.

She was feeling optimistic, up until the point Locustflight presented his challenge. Her ears lay flat against her head, tail drooping as she twisted around to look at him. "Three? That's impossible."

Maybe some of the senior warriors could do it (and maybe even Locustflight, she thought generously) but she was just an apprentice. She couldn't do that even if she stayed in the forest all day and all night. She was going to protest more, but the reward he mentioned kept her mouth firmly shut. It wasn't even that she wanted to go on a midnight patrol that badly, because it sounded scary, but she knew it was the kind of thing apprentices were meant to enjoy. That warriors were meant to enjoy. If she wanted to be a warrior any time soon, she would have to learn to like it. It was past time to try it anyway.

She turned away from him, but the scrambling sound of claws on bark had her turning back. Locustflight was almost like a squirrel himself, the quick way he managed to get into the branches. So he can run like a WindClan cat and climb like a SkyClan one, she mused, head tilted all the way back to see him, eyes wide and tail tip twitching. She could try it.. it couldn't be that hard if he and an entire Clan of cats could manage it, even tiny apprentices.

She crouched and took a jump at the tree. It ended with a lot of flailing and bark under her claws, the reward being she went sliding back to the ground. Embarrassed, fur fluffed up, she stalked away from the tree. ThunderClan warriors were meant to keep their paws on the earth, she decided. That was the right way to do things.

Locustflight had the clear advantage. He had height; he could see what she couldn't. The small ginger tabby wandered almost aimlessly on the ground, delicate nose up in the air and twitching, hoping to catch the faintest scent of squirrel - at that point she would've taken any kind of prey. The other apprentices will all be bringing their kill into camp right now, she thought, glum, but a wisp of scent interrupted it.

She looked up. There was a squirrel on a tree ahead of her. It had seen her though. Its bushy tail was quivering, head tilting madly from side to side as it tried to decide what to make of her. She froze. It was all she could think to do and, to be honest, hardly required any thought at all.

feeling kinda blue | notes: <3

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An Apple a Day (locustflight) Mar 7, 2016 16:47:38 GMT

Post by feeling kinda blue on Mar 7, 2016 16:47:38 GMT

Squirrel hunting, while perhaps not as ingrained in ThunderClan as SkyClan, was an important skill. Some warriors managed to hunt them in the trees, like Locustflight did, or they hunted them on the ground, skulking through the tree roots and brush. Applepaw definitely needed work, though she'd gotten close a time or two. She was getting far enough in her training that the flame-point tom was determined that she would get it soon. After all, she was a smart apprentice and had plenty of motivation despite her occasional whining. So, Locustflight ignored her plaintive cry about having to catch three squirrels, watching keenly as she started working her way through the undergrowth after sliding down the tree. Making a mental note to work on her tree climbing, Locustflight started to follow along from the trees. His long body slid easily through the branches, paws quick and light. Thanks to the clustered nature of ThunderClan's forest he didn't have to jump far to go from tree to tree, one bright blue eye tracking Applepaw all the while.

Applepaw freezing up below him however brought Locustflight's branch-walking to a halt as well. Ginger ears perked, the lanky tom peered down at her, confused. What did she see? She was staring up at a tree up ahead. Blue eyes skimming up the rough bark and along the branches, Locustflight finally spied it: a squirrel. It had caught sight of Applepaw and now both were frozen in a standoff. Locustflight's ears twitched atop his head as he tried to decide what to do. He could circle around and spook the squirrel, send it running down the tree and onto the ground where Applepaw might be able to catch it or he could do nothing and see what Applepaw would do. She could try to climb the tree again (and probably not get far) or she could wait. The squirrel had no incentive to climb down with the ginger apprentice waiting down below and if she couldn't climb she'd never get it.

'Might as well do something,' Locustflight thought idly. If he left things as they were, they'd be out here all day trying to catch squirrels.

So, Locustflight started moving. He bounded down a branch and leaped into the tree the squirrel was in. He made no move to be quiet or even be stealthy, rattling leaves as he landed. Under him the branch bowed alarmingly but did not break, leaves rattling noisily as the branch moved. Still, it had done what he meant because when Locustflight looked up the squirrel was running. Apparently the bigger cat in the tree was more alarming than the little cat among the roots because it scrambled down the bark, leaping off the bark. Moving closer to the trunk where the branch was thicker and more stable, Locustflight crouched and waited, blue eyes tracking Applepaw to see what she would do now that her prey had been grounded.

TAGGED · @beretta
NOTES · finally a post for miss applepaw!

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An Apple a Day (locustflight) Mar 17, 2016 22:21:45 GMT

Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2016 22:21:45 GMT

Still frozen, still watching the squirrel, possibilities ran through her mind. She could try to jump up, but she wasn't confident she would reach it, not at this distance - she wasn't strong enough for it and if she failed, she would have to suffer the embarrassment of returning empty-pawed to camp. Worse, Locustflight would be considered a bad mentor when he was only trying his best. So she stood, paws feeling stuck to the ground and heavier than they ever had been, when the creaking of branches and showering of leaves sent the squirrel racing down the tree. It was quick, but Applepaw was quicker.

As soon as it hit the ground she was in flight. She didn't pause to think. She let her feet take over. Squirrels were big and this one was no exception - it was almost half her size - but she slammed into it with enough force that it was too stunned to react for a moment. She had her claws snagged in its fur, she could feel its heartbeat against her, and she could've finished it off had she been a hair quicker.

Instead it tried to flee and when it couldn't - the weight of Applepaw holding it down - it did what any trapped animal would do. It fought back. Its claws only harmlessly parted the fur, but she felt it when it bit. A lightning bolt of pain exploded down her leg, but she couldn't have let it go even if she wanted to, her grip on it too sure. All the methods of how to kill quickly left her mind - she yowled, forgetting to be embarrassed about having to be saved from a squirrel.

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An Apple a Day (locustflight) Apr 4, 2016 1:28:50 GMT

Post by feeling kinda blue on Apr 4, 2016 1:28:50 GMT

To be honest Locustflight hadn't expected much. Really. Hunting practice was normally pretty easy, a laid back chance for Locustflight to hang in the brush and let his apprentice stretch her legs. Apparently today was not that day. Perched in the tree, the sandy colored tom watched the squirrel dart down the trunk and right into Applepaw's waiting claws. Or at least that was what Locustflight expected...not quite what happened. Instead Locustflight's blue eyes widened as Applepaw pounced and...promptly yowled in pain. The metallic tang of blood reached Locustflight's nose before her yowl faded to echoes. Alarm shot through Locustflight like he'd been struck by lightning. Ears perking, fur prickling along his spine, Locustflight scrambled down the tree with none of his usual loose-limbed grace. Hitting the brush with a thump, Locustflight bounded toward Applepaw.

From a distance it had been impossible to see what had Applepaw yowling but up close it was more obvious. Instead of dying quietly like everyone wished, the little prey animal had decided to fight back. It's long front teeth were dug into Applepaw's foreleg, the smell of cat blood tickling Locustflight's nose. Diving forward and trying to dodge Applepaw's flailing, Locustflight sank his fangs into whatever bit of the half-smothered squirrel he could reach. Thankfully it's sharp bite had made Applepaw reel back enough for him to sink his teeth into it. It wasn't the best angle or a perfect killing bite but apparently Applepaw had already managed to draw blood on it so it didn't take much to kill the little mammal. Pulling the squirrel away from Applepaw, Locustflight tried to not take any of her leg flesh with it but squirrels had sharp teeth for all their small size and prey-status. Dropping the dead squirrel, Locustflight edged closer to his apprentice, ears flicking as he inspected the bleeding wound in her leg.

"Applepaw are you okay?" Locustflight asked, sniffing the bite carefully and looking up to his apprentice's face. "What happened?"

TAGGED · @baretta
NOTES · omg this is so short and so overdue i am ashamed -hides in corner of shame-