Tallpaw training w/ Russetstar

-Anyone who wants their character to wonder in, go ahead!-

Russetstar waited for Tallpaw to appear. The male had gone into a small area, just outside WindClan camp, so they could train in peace.
He looked out across the moor, shivering in the cold air. It wasn't even midday yet, and a sharp breeze was making its way across the moor.

Tallpaw pranced enthusiastically towards the place Russetstar had told him they would meet. Sharp wind buffeted his fur, sending shudders down his spine, but Tallpaw didn't let the feirce conditions deter him. This was his first training session, and the warmth and excitment that flooded his veins made his whole pelt bristle with eagerness. Nudging his way through a patch of gorgse, Tallpaw caught sight of his mentor hopped around him happily. "Morning!"

Russetstar smiled; he could see in Tallpaw's body language that he was excited. "Good morning, ready to start?" he asked, stretching out his forepaws.

Too enthusiastic to sit still, Tallpaw remained standing, his blunt claws kneading the ground. "Of course!" He responded, impatiently waiting to see what his mentor had in store for them.

Russetstar got up. "That's great," he replied, wagging his tail. "Right, we'll start with....." The male looked around the moors, looking for inspiration. He didn't want to go into fighting skills just yet, as this was the first session. His eyes landed on a rabbit foraging nearby.
".....Hunting. Can you see that rabbit over there? I want you to try hunting it - do it any way you want, just forget about my being here." Russetstar pointed with his muzzle towards the small mammal.

Tallpaw's ears swiveled to erect attention as Russetstar pointed out the rabbit nibbling on something nearby. Casting his mentor a furtive glance, Tallpaw pressed his body low to the ground as tried to stay silent as he approached the prey. Only a few pawsteps away, however, a coarse piece of grass snapped under his paws and the rabbit, without even looking around, pelted off across the moor. "Fox dung!" Tallpaw swore, fruitlessly chasing after the rabbit for a moment before slowing down and slinking back to Russetstar.

Russetstar watched with interest, mentally noting the tactics Tallpaw used. It's a good approach....let's hope he keeps that up. His ears flattened when the rabbit escaped, though he smiled when Tallpaw came back. "Don't worry, it was great for the first time," the mentor praised. "Just be careful about how you approach, and watch your paws."

Tallpaw nodded half-heartedly, still peering down the way the rabbit had run. He wasn't discouraged by the rabbit's escape -- Tallpaw was rational enough to know that not every attempt could result in success, and certainly not all clumsy first tries. Still, though, the determined side of him had flared up, and Tallpaw had half a mind to go after the rabbit right here and now. He knew he'd be chided, though, and besides, Tallpaw wasn't going to mess up his first lesson as an apprentice. "I suppose," He said.

"We may try some more of that later - when the rabbits calm down and start foraging again."
Russetstar sat down, his tail wrapped around his paws.I think he has some promise - we just need to hone that. "Right - let's try another approach." Russetstar wandered off, and found a large stick. He dragged it back, about 5 metres or so away from the apprentice. "Imagine this is a rabbit," he said, pawing the stick. "Now, what are you going to do first, before you even start?"

Tallpaw blinked as Russetstar fetched a long stick and dragged back in front of them. He tried to imagine the object as a living, breathing creature -- the lack of resemblance didn't really help. Amused, Tallpaw barely heard when Russetstar spoke, but either way he didn't really know the answer. "Er..." He trailed off uncertainly, looking at the unmoving stick. "Stalk it? Make sure you're down wind?"

Russetstar nodded. "Good. Making sure you're down wind is one of the most vital bits of hunting; for otherwise the animal will smell you and bolt." He nudged the stick. "Now, look at the ground beneath your paws." He nodded towards the dirt. "Are you going to hunt on this, or are you going to go for the grass?" In turn he nodded to the scraggly, almost dead grass nearby.

Tallpaw was pleased he'd answered correctly, and some of his frustration as losing the first rabbit lifted from his shoulders. At Russetstar's words, he kneaded the soft dirt under him and furrowed his eyes in concentration. "Well," He started uncertainly. "Prey won't hear you if you're on top of dirt...but grass can conceal you. So I don't know." He finished lamely, looking up at Russetstar expectantly.

Russetstar smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. It's really your own choice, however the dry grass we have does crack under your paws, unlike the lush grass of the other clans' territories, so in our case the best thing I would suggest to hunt on is dirt. It doesn't just silence our pawsteps, but it provides a strong surface to grip on when you start running." Russetstar pushed the stick to one side. "I think we can move on; maybe we can come back to this later." He got up, shaking his dark brown fur. "Right, combat skills."

Tallpaw nodded in understanding, still looking intently at the stick, but instantly forgot it when Russetstar announced the next stage of their session. His initial excitement rekindling, Tallpaw hopped to his paws as Russetstar had done and whipped his tail from side to side in eagerness.

Russetstar smiled broader. I think this apprentice will go far....
"Right then. Whenever you start fighting, always get yourself into a ready pose. This "ready pose" needs to be comfortable for you, to be able to anticipate your enemy's moves. Now, spread out your paws, and keep on your claws. Keep your muscles tense." Russetstar demonstrated.

Tallpaw tried to copy Russetstar, spreading his paws but keeping them planted firmly to the ground. He balanced precariously as he put all weight on the tips of his claws and barely kept his balance, but managed to stay upright all the same. Every limb rigid and muscle tense with exertion, Tallpaw looked over at his mentor. "Like this?"

Russetstar nodded. "Yeah, but not that tense. Try to evenly spread your weight, and keep the back of your forepaws off the ground, so you're in the perfect position for both attack and defence."

Tallpaw nodded in understanding and tried to follow Russetstar's instructions by lifting the ends of his front paws together -- with all his weight initially put on his claws, however, this did not work, and Tallpaw sprawled out into a furry heap on the ground. Rolling onto his back, Tallpaw looked apologetically up at his mentor, but his eyes were shining with amusement and he had to suppress the grin tugging at his muzzle.

Russetstar bit back a grin, and helped Tallpaw to his paws. "If it makes your balance better, put all your paw on the ground," he recommended.

"No," Tallpaw said determinedly, shaking the dust and grit out of his fur and once again trying to mimic Russetstar's careful, positioned precision. "I can do it." He once again put all weight on his paws, but this time lent his claws more room to flex against the ground and dug his back paws firmly against the dirt, using the extra support to lift his forepaws up off the ground. "See?" He said, pleased.

Russetstar beamed. "Well done, most apprentices can't even master the stance. You don't have to have your paws completely off the ground though - it's your choice about what feels comfortable." The male was proud of his apprentice, and wagged his tail happily.

"Right, time to move on to something a little more advanced. Imagine I'm a ShadowClan warrior. I'm just sitting here, completely defenceless." The WindClan member got into the ready stance. "What fighting skills would you do? Remember fighting is about quick reactions." He jumped back and forth in front of the apprentice.

Tallpaw blinked, trying to deduce some reason or particular tactic to use when attacking his mentor -- but no, nothing came to mind. It wasn't like he had learned about attack-styles so far anyway, and Tallpaw's knowledge of combat was pretty much limited to seeing apprentices and pups scuffling around camp. Falling into the stance that Russetstar had taught him, Tallpaw sprung forward, paws outstretch as he attempted to ram into his mentors shoulders and bowl them over.

Russetstar was quite unprepared for the apprentice's approach. With a grunt, he staggered to gain his balance. "That was good," he said. "Most youngsters would attempt to latch onto the throat...yeah, a great start." He twitched an ear. "Right, so. That was a small warm-up, just to see what you could do. Now we're going to start with some defensive moves - the Duck and Twist."

Tallpaw blinked in a mixture of satisfaction and mild concern as Russetstar toppled sideways, but his concerns evaporated when the leader regained his balance. Sitting back on his haunches and thumping his tail against the ground happily, Tallpaw waited to see what this next move was.

"Right. I'm sure you've probably seen this move before - it's quite basic."
Russetstar ducked, as if he was being attacked from an invisible enemy, before rolling on his back and quickly getting up, looking back at his imaginary foe.
"Did you get that? Do you want to have a try now?"