Petrichor
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Heart of FourClans (Moderator)
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Post by Petrichor on Feb 6, 2014 18:52:49 GMT -5
Cloudfrost didn't like training apprentices. Since she had "cooled down," according to the leader, she was given another chance at being a mentor. It didn't really matter to her; the more apprentices she trained, the more she could teach them how to fight truly well, and she could tell them what she knew about ShadowClan, how great it was.
So far, Soilpaw wasn't doing very well. Her apprentice was more interested in hunting and providing for the Clan than defending it, and Cloudfrost didn't really know how to teach that, so they frequently had... difficulties.
"No, no!" Cloudfrost snapped as Soilpaw forgot to counter her attack... again. "You can't rely on out-muscling an opponent! Never lock paws with them! You need to be fast, and strike quickly, like a snake!"
Soilpaw, sick of the abuse, turned on her mentor, a look of indignation and frustration on her face. "All you ever want is to fight! Fight, fight, fight! If all cats were like you, there'd be no cat to retrieve prey!"
Cloudfrost's face twisted in an expression of rage, biting back in embarrassment. "If all cats were like me, ShadowClan would be at the top, and we wouldn't need to hunt! The lesser Clans would do that!"
"How do you know that we're better? Maybe we want to stay in the shadows, where the other Clans underestimate us, and we never get in as much war as ThunderClan! Ever think about that?"
Cloudfrost knew Soilpaw was right. Soilpaw had always been very intelligent, but Cloudfrost was prideful, and wasn't about to let a mere apprentice prove her wrong. "We--"
Cloudfrost would have finished her statement if she hadn't seen behind Soilpaw. There was a badger. A large one. Cloudfrost recognized it; she had terrorized it several times, and killed a couple of its cubs. By the look on the badger's face, it thought that Soilpaw was Cloudfrost's daughter, and was about to return the favor.
Cloudfrost was sadistic. Cloudfrost thought herself above everyone else. But Cloudfrost was loyal, and she would protect her clanmates... even if it meant the worst.
Right as the badger began to raise her large, lumbering paw, Cloudfrost whisked forward and bit into its neck, knocking it forward for a moment. Soilpaw looked to be in shock, watching her mentor grapple with a badger. The badger, however, was getting angrier, and Cloudfrost was losing her grip.
Cloudfrost let go of the badger and stood in front of Soilpaw, a look of determination on her face. "Soilpaw, run." Her apprentice didn't want to, though. "But Cloudfrost! You-- you can't! What about rising ShadowClan to the top?!" Cloudfrost smiled and shook her head. "Soilpaw... a true warrior must know what's worth sacrificing. Your life is worth so much, Soilpaw; you'll make such a great warrior."
The badger charged forward, and Cloudfrost grabbed Soilpaw, rolling to the side, positioning both of them closer to the exit. "Soilpaw, you have to go! Run!"
Soilpaw looked hesitant, but she followed directions, hauling tail back to camp. The badger attempted to run past Cloudfrost, but the gray-and-white warrior wasn't about to have that. "Hold it, you maggot-brained piece of crowfood! I'm right here! You want your revenge?! Come and get it!"
As the badger slowly turned towards Cloudfrost, the she-cat felt several emotions. For one, she was afraid of dying. She hoped that the badger would never make it to the camp, and that her sacrifice would protect the cats of ShadowClan. Last, she felt sorrow. She had spent her whole life trying to teach a kind, pacifistic Clan violence, thus ruining their structure rather than building it further.
But instead of crying, instead of running, Cloudfrost faced the monster, ready to pay for what she'd done. As the badger raised her paw again, Cloudfrost relaxed her muscles and closed her eyes, not seeing Soilpaw in the entrance, staring in horror.
The rest moved in slow motion; the swing reached forward and tossed Cloudfrost across the room, where she would hit her head and die instantly. But before that, before the impact, she thought one thing. One single thought to everything that might be listening.
I'm sorry...
~
Satisfied with her kill, the badger lumbered back towards the tunnels, making it safe for Soilpaw to come back in. "Y-you did it, Cloudfrost! The badger's gone! You saved me!" There was no answer. "Come on, Cloudy! You never did teach me how to counter right! You have to! You promised!"
There was a long few minutes until Soilpaw fully realized what had happened, and her eyes filled with tears as she let out one last cry for her mentor, the one she thought she had hated.
"CLOUDFROST! "
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