Feisty Apprentice (Coonpaw)

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Time To Work

Sunflash had run as fast as he could through the forest, knowing well that the apprentice wouldn't be able to match his pace exactly, but gaining the knowledge of how fast he could run through a little exercise. He hadn't seemed to be that far off behind him, actually.

The golden warrior came to a stop in the Squirrel Hollow, a good training spot for apprentices. Once there he sat and waited for Coonpaw to catch up.

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The little replica of Cowspot was trying to catch up. Surprisingly, he was keeping up rather well, although he was behind quite a bit.

He did tend to trip over a few holes, which made his ears hot, but always caught right back up. Maybe not exactly, but he still did.

When he noticed where they were going, he couldn't help but know where. He remembered all the little tales about the Squirrel hollow, and how they always trained there.

Coonpaw sat infront of his mentor, and quivered his whiskers, waiting eagerly.

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Start Again

Sunflash twitched his whiskers in amusement as the apprentice arrived. He had kept up rather well, minus one or two falls along the way. But that would improve with time.

The warrior curled his tail neatly around his paws. "Well, Coonpaw, I'll start off by telling you a bit about how I train my apprentices. I believe in letting them decide the day's curriculum, so that they keep interest in their training." He blinked down at the black and white tom with interest, seeing Cowspot clearly in his pelt. "So what do you want to do on your first day?"

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The black tom knew exactly what he wanted to do, but then again, there were a few things that ran through his mind. He wanted to fight, he wanted to learn how to hunt as well. But then he thought a bit to himself;

Weaknesses would be good... and Advantages...

He purred with delight.

"Weaknesses and Advantages."

His paws were prickling with excitement.

"Then fighting techniques!"

He merely squeaked up with joy.

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Where To Begin

Sunflash flicked the tip of his tail. "All right, then," he mewed, standing from his sitting spot beneath the tree and padded around the tom. "Now where to start," he mused for a moment, before stopping and looking down at the black and white tom.

"All the Clans have their own disadvantages and advantages- strengths and weaknesses. Those can also come from your size and location. Do you think you could name a few from those categories?" The golden tabby tilted his head to one side a bit, as if he could see into the tom's thoughts and read the answer behind his eyes.

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Well, of course, CoonPaw didn't know any, which is why he wanted a mentor. He grinned at him, and thought, and pondered. He has noticed that smaller cats have been moving a bit faster than the larger, maybe because of gravity. He didn't know, but he did notice it.

For instance, he was just a tad bit faster than the others, for he was smaller than the tom apprentices. He let out a faint shrug.

"Smaller cats are faster than Larger cats?"

He questioned, with a slight tilt in his head.

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Correction

The warrior blinked. "Close, but no mouse. That is something that plays into WindClan's advantages. It's not necessarily the smaller cat who's faster, but who's the most lean. WindClan keep themselves thin, and therefore could outrace any of our larger warriors." The tom used his tail to swat away a fly buzzing around his muzzle. "Think about it this way- right now, you couldn't beat me in a race just because you're smaller. I have more muscle power in my legs. But just because of that, there's no way I could beat a WindClan cat in a race."

Sunflash then had to use his ear to flick away the fly again, its buzzing in his ear driving him insane. "Does that make sense?"

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CoonPaw was half listening, and half focusing on the fly. He could tell his mentor was getting aggravated by it, so right after his ear tried to flick the fly away, he used his right paw to swat at it.

His claws were sheathed, but his swipe was fast. He may or may not of hit it, but no matter, the fly sure wasn't going to come back, at least, not for a bit.

"Sure."

He mew'd, and looked back at his mentor, focusing right back on him.

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Do You See?

Sunflash leaned back a little when his apprentice lashed out at the fly with his forepaw, impressed by the little tom's speed and accuracy. The fly now say on the ground, stunned at least, but either way it wouldn't be bothering him anymore. "Nice one," he mewed, reaching out to pierce the dead body with a claw. The tiny thing burst upon contact with the touch, and Sunflash sheathed his claws with a satisfied twitch of his whiskers.

"Now, since we touched on WindClan strengths, I might as well continue down that path. The key to knowing another Clan's weaknesses or strengths is by looking at their surroundings. RiverClan territory is wet marsh with, of course, the river. WindClan is a dry and barren moorland. ShadowClan territory is dark and swampy, and ours has lots of trees and undergrowth." He indicated this wish a sweep of his tail behind him.

"See what I mean by undergrowth- our territory has bushes, fallen logs, bramble patches, among other things. The other three Clans never have to deal with those on there own territory, so if they decided to raid our boarders they'd trip or rustle, letting us know where they were. Their fighting would become clumsy, and we could surprise them from the branches above their heads if it was RiverClan or WindClan- neither Clan knows how to climb trees."

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The black and white tom purred at his compliment. He knew that he was making progress already, he knew that he was already starting to build up in strength.

He looked at his mentor with interest, and gave a soft smile.

"I get it! Now, if we were to go into ShadowClan territory... We would be stuck a lot, right?"

He assumed that outloud mostly, his head slightly tilting.

"And if we were to raid RiverClan, they could back us up in the river?"

Still assuming, but not exactly right, at least, he started to think he was getting wrong assumptions.

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That's Why

The warrior nodded. "Yes, very good. Those two things would be what RiverClan or ShadowClan would think to do. We wouldn't be able to trek through the swamp very well, and many of our warriors also have brighter pelts than theirs, giving us away. And StarClan knows only RiverClan is fond of water."

Sunflash wrinkled his nose in distain. He wasn't sure how any cat would like to get in the water; feel their pelts soak it up and pull them down, not be able to touch solid ground... The tabby flicked the thought away to focus back on the lesson. "And what about WindClan? Do you think it would be hard or easy for them to spot an attacking patrol?"

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CoonPaw thought on that. Well, they might be spotted because of their pelts, but then again, there won't be much things to give them away, as in, noise, since he explained there aren't many brambles, bushes, or trees there.

"Maybe both? If a patrol was out and about, rather easily cause of our pelts, but if they were all at camp, we might be able to, well, sneak up on them, because there isn't that many things to rustle on, yes?"

He stared at him, his eyes blinking. He really was focusing, which SunFlash probably never had an apprentice so keen. Coonpaw was actually being respectful, then again, why wouldn't he be?

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Shining Through

Sunflash nodded again. The black and white tom caught on quick. "Yes. It's very easy for WindClan cats to see out over the moors, since there are no trees or shrubs to block their view. Their pelts are also moderately dull colors; blacks, browns, among others. I think by own pelt would set off a warning in their minds." He shook his pelt out to emphasize his point, something he tried to do often. Clarity was important to the golden tom.

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CoonPaw nodded a bit, and looked at his own black and white pelt.

"Mine would too, right? Because there is white, correct?"

He looked back at SunFlash, and tilted his head. It seemed as if he was catching on quickly, at least, in his own mind he was. He just wished he knew completely.

He wanted to know everything, for he could be the best, which he knew he would be.

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So Much To Say

Sunflash glanced over the young tom, trying to think it over. "Maybe," he mused, "but they probably wouldn't be as quick to assume as for my pelt. There's enough black on you to give some cover, and WindClan has a couple black and white cats in their ranks, anyway."

Coonpaw was doing rather well. His last apprentice, Finchpaw, had shared the enthusiasm without as much cunning. The young tom in front of him was a step up. Although, Finchpaw still would have made a good warrior. I just hope he's alright, wherever he is.

The warrior pushed the thought away, not wanting to dwell on that matter. Too many cats had gone missing lately for his taste. Maybe Finchpaw would return someday as well. "You seem to have a good grip on Clan pros and cons. Do you want to still go on about that, or transfer to weaknesses and strength specific to individual cats?"