training/// a healer

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Risingmoon really preferred nighttime. She didn't like the cold shine of sun on snow. She didn't like the chatter of brave winter birds. She hated the way light filtered through the leaves and died the pine forest a sick shade of green. Most of all, she hated that how noisy and busy the camp was. Couldn't the cats just shut up? Risingmoon's eyes narrowed in contempt. Warriors. She hated them - and anyone stupid enough to chose that life. She had been forced to be a fighter, and had despised every minute of the sun-blistered lifestyle. Wasn't there a reason it was called ShadowClan? Or was everyone expected to sleep through the night like fat kittypets?

It was a little better in this purer version of the old Clan, but not by much. All the warriors here seemed to think they were entitled to make as much of a racket as they wanted. Risingmoon wished it were midnight, not sunhigh. During the dark hours, the camp was embedded in such a silence that Risingmoon had once caught a mouse scampering right through the middle of it. That was the only time that cats really ought to be outside. Because even crowds fell quiet at night - there was something about the lightless, noiseless atmosphere that held cats in a trance. Risingmoon wanted to go to sleep, wake up when the sun set. No such luck - today she was training an apprentice.

The lucky cat was automatically on Risingmoon's good side - he had, after all, chosen the art of healing over the brutality and stupidity of war. Smart. But that advantage could go in an instant - and it was much, much easier to get on Risingmoon's bad side than to get off of it.

[Emberstar]

Phantomglow entered the den. "Hello, Risingmoon." she said brightly. She was in a good mood, which wasn't rare. "Is the sun pretty today?" she asked her mentor.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Risingmoon narrowed her eyes. "That's an oxymoron. The sun is never pretty." She spat out the last word like it hurt her tongue to say it. Bitter to the core, Risingmoon had no patience with small talk or pointless compliments. So she simply glared at the camp, and then turned around and headed deeper into her dark den. At least the thick branches guarded her from the glare of noon. She decided that today she would fill her apprentice up with the fighting skills that were necessary for every medicine cat to know. Although Risingmoon hated fighting, she had to admit that her warrior training had come in handy once or twice, even while she was a medicine cat. She was, of course, better at fighting than most medicine cats - she had had moons and moons of warrior training. Not that she'd enjoyed it. "We're doing some mandatory fighting practice today."

[Emberstar]

"How are you going to teach me to fight when I can't see?" Phantomglow asked. "That will be a very difficult task."

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Risingmoon felt a bit of pity - an emotion that rarely left its dark corner in her mind. But it was quickly swallowed up at her flame of anger. How could her apprentice have so little faith in herself, and in her mentor? And what idiot was she - surely she had superior senses of smell and hearing. She would have to deal, and trust that those around her knew a good deal more than she did. Sure, blind cats couldn't fight like regular warriors. But they were certainly capable of simple moves. And what was more important for a sightless feline to be able to do than to figure out where cats were around her?

"I'll manage. Come on, I don't want to be out in this horrid daytime much longer." She started to trot off, but carefully kept her tail resting on her apprentice's shoulder. Phantomglow would have to learn how to find her own way, but for now this would due.

ooc; after your next post, i'll start a thread in the moors.

[Emberstar]

"I was just asking a question. Also, I CAN follow your scent. I don't need any help to do that." Phantomglow hissed. "I do remember some moves from when I could see. Could I try them on you?" Phantomglow was a bit angry now. Surely Risingmoon had seen her when she had arrived in the Clan. "I am capable of doing much more than you think. How else could I have arrived here from the mountains, all alone?" she finished, trying hard not to sieze her mentor's tail and bite it.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Risingmoon looked back. Insolent brat. She had no patience for full-grown warriors, and certainly was not going to let this cat talk back to her. The healer knew she would be training Phantomglow for moons, and she was going to lay down the rules now. Her tongue was well known for its fire - especially among the Clanmates she had treated. Her easy anger flared at any complaining, stubbornness, or cowardice. And her apprentice's defensiveness rubbed Risingmoon the wrong way.

"Apparently you are less capable of controlling your temper than I thought. Calm down. We're headed to the moors." Her voice was a tightly reigned in snarl, and her eyes were a cold glare - though she knew her apprentice couldn't see them. It had probably been stupid to start with fighting practice, but Risingmoon had wanted to get it out of the way. She could revisit it occasionally, but mostly forget about it. That would be nice. Still, to start a blind apprentice with learning how to defend herself? Not the most peacemaking beginning. But Risingmoon had never really cared about peace, and as long as Phantomglow behaved herself and didn't go all I'm-too-good-for-that or anything, Risingmoon would be happy.

[Emberstar]

"I thought medicine cats were supposed to be kind." Phantomglow meowed.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

"Do you want to be in ShadowClan or WindClan, kitten? Life isn't soft and fuzzy here. Get over it or get out." Risingmoon's voice was still soft, but it had a snarl in it. StarClan, how ignorant the apprentice was. But the younger cat would get used to it and toughen up. That's what this new ShadowClan was - tougher. And purer, and more like the ShadowClan from back when it all began. No cat from this Clan would flee and hide among the deciduous ThunderClan forest. The blind youngster seemed not to understand the core values of the Clan she had joined. Innocent idiot.

ooc; can you give me a bit more to work with than that? Tone of voice, etc? I'm sorry... but i would really appreciate that?

[Emberstar]

"Just so you know, my father was from WindClan. I hate WindClan!" Phantomglow snarled.

ooc; sorry, don't have any muse today.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

"If you hate WindClan so much, stop acting like a WindClanner. And for StarClan's sake, stop acting like a kit!" Her cold snarl got louder, carried a bit. She wasn't exactly worried - this was ShadowClan, not a pity party. Just about everyone here had been treated the same way as apprentices when the talked back. It made ShadowClan strong. Risingmoon certainly hoped that the kitten would toughen up. Or I swear I'll take her to the leader and complain. We can't afford to have complaining cowards among our ranks. Risingmoon glanced at the sun, which shone bright and angry down on the clearing. Stupid sun.

[Emberstar]

"Let's go to the training area, then. I'll show you that I belong here." Phantomglow hissed. Grr. She hated when cats thought she acted like a kit. She hated when they made her angry, too. Just because she was blind didn't mean she couldn't take off a sizable amount of her mentor's tail.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

Risingmoon's tone dripped venom and ice. "We will go to the moors. You will stop talking back. You will stop being immature. You will trust that I know more than you do. That, obviously, is why I am training you and not the other way around. Do you understand?" In her deadly calm, Risingmoon didn't move a muscle. Perhaps Phantomglow would hear this, perhaps not. It didn't matter - her frigid and poisonous words and the soft anger behind them were all that were needed for the message. And if Phantomglow couldn't understand that? It wouldn't be difficult for Risingmoon to have her kicked out of the Clan. It had probably been a difficult decision for Smokestar anyway, taking in a cat with a natural disadvantage. Of course, blindness didn't mean weakness. Surely that had factored into the leader's decision. But if the cat was childish in temperament, what did she have going for her?

[Emberstar]

"Yes, I understand. I'm in a bad mood today, sorry." Phantomglow meowed, calming down and speaking softer.

[//Cindy// l u n a]

"Good." Risingmoon forced herself to soften her tone. It wouldn't be smart to antagonize this obviously rebellious apprentice, no matter how satisfying it would be. And if she and the apprentices hated each other, Risingmoon would be forced to share the blame and punishment. So she decided to try to get off to a relatively good start. Hopefully the training session wouldn't go as badly as the argument that proceeded it. Risingmoon smiled a bit. "And thank you," she added as an afterthought. She wasn't about to apologize to the apprentice, but she could at least thank Phantomglow for the respect.

"We should head to the moors now." Risingmoon knew better than the injure the youngster's pride by trying to help her, so the medicine cat started off at a trot and didn't look back or wait for her apprentice to keep up.