[ti]Private[/ti]Work Is Play

[LupTacco]

The pale grey tom's fuzzy paws danced along the grass, his tail flicking against the tall strands that sprouted higher and higher the closer he got to the MothClan border and the training area. He didn't really register the full impact of the recent flood, since it was all a bit more than he could or would consider, and he had been out of camp hunting. His mother and father, they were safe, and so were the siblings who weren't hiding somewhere since moons ago. In the happy-go-lucky warrior's little world, everything had turned up rather well, and to be trusted with apprentice sounded like great fun! Oh, but, he did remember to invite the boy out here to train, didn't he? Yes, he was sure he had- he must have, because mentors were responsible, and he was a mentor now.

Silverspot rolled into the training area, smoothly gliding back to his paws in a practiced motion and shaking the dust from his ears and face. "Halfpaw? Did you make it? Did I invite you? Uhhh, hah, say something if I didn't!" he mewed aloud. Worst case scenario, he had to go for another pleasant stroll through his favorite part of the territory.

[Mama]

Silverspot was, well, to say the least, very energetic. He reminded himself of Webkit, how the feline would wake them all up early and try to get them to play. Owlkit and Gourdkit sometimes went along, but usually tried to get him to cuddle longer. Spiderkit was content playing every now and then, but he was more laid back then the others. It was weird with them all back in the nursery, and him in the apprentice den. Petalpaw and Pumpkinpaw were familar faces, though. He never got close to Murkpaw or Hawthornpaw, but they'd probably train together at one point.

"Yeah, I'm here." The tall feline mewed, peeking through tbe undergrowth and padding into the clearing. His two toned fur, the darker side having messier and wild fur, while the cinnamon colored side had neater, softer fur, was a quick to notice sight. If, of course, you didn't see his giant body and long legs first. He towered over all other apprentices and smaller warriors, still growing.


"So, what are we doing?"

[LupTacco]

Silverspots nodded in a way that was either thoughtful or absentminded- or both, somehow. "We're..." he checked the surroundings again before looking back to Halfpaw, "training! For battles and the like, y'know?" The silver tom stretched out, remaining bouncy on his paws and shaking any residual stiffness from his limbs. "We'll go easy though! I always thought, if you're training proper, it oughta be fun. So many cats get so frustrated and I think it's because they get so focused on what'll happen in a 'real fight'- so don't do that," he offers a wink, "Kittens get so good at playing tussle I wonder how we all manage to forget it the day we start training. Happened to me, too!" With a light-hearted chuckle, he crouched down, his ever-waving tail for once still as he straightened out along the ground. His smile drooped a little as he realized that was more of a hunting stance, moving instead to present his flank to the apprentice. "How good can you pounce?" he asked, a subtle challenge to his tone.

[Mama]

"So.. stay relaxed." He muttered, Halfpaw's eyes flickering down as his tail danced behind him, shorter then most cats and not even close to his ankles. His ears perked fowards as his mentor crouched down, and he shifted his weight. 'So, keep steady. Sharp moves. Don't be too rough... Wait, isn't this battle practice? He should know what I'm capable of, and if he said be loose... I shouldn't worry too much.' the Savannah thought, frozen in silence before suddenly moving.


His paws hit the ground, and suddenly he pounced fowards, the humongous Tom's large legs slamming against his side roughly, his abnormally large size potentially sending his mentor flying. As soon as he hit him, he bounded off and rolled for a few moments before hitting a tree upside down. He looked scarred for a moment, before he gave a small smile and a line of giggles. His paws were spread fowards and his back was curled over his back, with his legs nearly smacking him in the face.

"That's... Not too bad!" He mewed, giving a soft chuckle.

[LupTacco]

Silverspot blinked as his breath returned to him, thoroughly winded by his apprentice's kick. Well, that was certainly promising. "Hhuff... Not too shabby!" he sprang back to his paws, shrugging off the slight ache in his side. "Although, if you spar with t'other apprentices, maybe tone it down a notch. Not me though- I can handle it!" he tilted his head, looking at his apprentice proudly with a thoughtful smile. "You seem to have got the strength, but can you handle anyone smaller than you? What if they were faster- what if you had to match against someone who could use your size against you? You're gonna stop 'em, right?" Silverspot shrugged again, realizing it was just the two of them for now, "That'll come later though- invite a friend next time! Today, we're gonna work on landing, 'cause no matter how impressive your kicking and jumping is, you gotta be able to land on your feet to do more of 'em."

The grey-furred warrior scanned around, marching towards an old log and bouncing off of it into the lower boughs of a tree. "This branch next to me- I want you to try and kick it, but then land on your feet again instead of on your back. The grass is soft, and there's a log to hop from or land on, too, so no worries about getting a bruised tail if you don't get it right away."

[Mama]

His mentor's humor seemed to be rubbing off on him, and the tom gave a tiny smile. "Yeah, Silvermist would not be happy if she found out I accidently dropkicked another apprentice into a tree." The bicolored tom gave a soft chuckle, before turning his head to the next thing. Jumping? Well, he knew he could do that. He jumped all around that barn, and in the camp, and usually landed it. Yeah, his long legs looked odd at times and made him look even weirder, but they functioned perfectly as they would for his Serval genes.

So, as he approached the branch, his eyes glanced to the tree, and then to one nearby, almost next to it. He had the perfect shot, if he just hit right, bohnched off, and then finished in the desired landing spot. Crouching his legs, there was a rustle as he launched himself up. His front paws seemed to completely miss the branch, but since it was his plan, he just landed and kicked off the tree next to him. Suddenly, he held on, keeping momentum, before kicking off that branch and landing on the log. Taking heavy breaths, his claws dug into the log to keep himself up, before a loud crack was heard as the branch fell to the ground.

"Is... That good enough?" He looked after a moment, looking back with a tired smile.

[LupTacco]

The silver-furred warrior nodded, waiting patiently from his perch as his apprentice prepared a strike. As the dual-toned tom practically seemed to fly, Silverspot's eyes guided his head in snake-like movements, following Halfpaw's movements until the apprentice landed and Silverspot let himself roll over and off of the tree bough. An approving hum sweetened his cheery voice, "That was plenty! In more ways than one, I think- let's head on home for now, huh?" His tail waved happily as he turned around to lead them back to the camp. That really was probably enough for the day, he figured- there'd be plenty of time for more leaping and more clawless-clawing. A thought plucked at his brain though, and he paused, swinging a warm look back at the young tom, "Really though! You did excellent today! I'm honored to train someone like you- don't let it get to your head, now, though." With a cheeky smile, he resumed his pace home.