[☆] silentclan: a rise clan

[dimi.]

After Heatherpaw had collected herself, she and Amberstar exited the clan camp, heading east in the direction of the training area. The two of them were making their way towards the plain in the east, where a large hill stood. On top of the hill was a makeshift arena that also served as a training area, one that Amberstar had crafted herself specifically for the purpose of training apprentices and warriors in one on one combat. Amberstar had decided to take Heatherpaw up to training hill since she wanted plenty of space to practice attacks that required beginning points from long distances. In order to successfully practice these moves, however, the felines would need plenty of room.

Heatherpaw darted ahead of Amberstar, eagerly making her way up the hill. Heatherpaw turned to face Amberstar, howling out. “Aye, hurry up! I wanna train!” Heatherpaw then turned back around, continuing to dart up the hill. Amberstar sighed, leaping forward a couple of times to catch up to Heatherpaw, running up the hill for the rest of the lengths. She reached the top, leaping over the makeshift fence, consisting of sticks tied together by moss with stones keeping each individual stick in place.

When the two stood within the training area, Amberstar turned to face Heatherpaw. Since the two had never been up here before, she saw it only fit to introduce her to the location. “This is training hill. I made this fence structure myself.” She said, gesturing to the sticks around. Heatherpaw looked around, smiling in amazement as her blue eyes widened. “We’ll be practicing what moves you’ll be utilizing on the tom here. Now, since I am pregnant with kits, we will not be using claws, and if something involves tackling me to the ground and landing on my stomach, I will alter it so I am landing atop you instead. Alright?”

Heatherpaw nodded her head in understanding, eyeing Amberstar’s stomach. She seemed to be contemplating asking something before she gave in, her ears perking. “Amberstar, what are you planning on naming your kits?” Amberstar froze, cocking her head to the side in silent thought. Come to think of it, she hadn’t been planning names. She had been too focused on training Heatherpaw to make sure she got food for her clan that naming the kits had just.. Entirely slipped her mind.

“I’m not sure yet, Heatherpaw. Do you have any ideas?” Amberstar asked, silently longing for some suggestions. She wasn’t quite good with names, and often came up with names on the fly that she ended up loathing later. Heatherpaw’s eyes drifted up to the sky, her eyes narrowing before she looked back at Amberstar. “I think you should name one of them Sunkit.”

“Oh? Why’s that, Heatherpaw?” The prefix of this name intrigued her, her hazel eyes locking upon Heatherpaw. Heatherpaw turned back to Amberstar as she took a comfortable seat on her haunches, beginning to explain her suggestion.

“I don’t know. You have a cream pelt, and it kind of reminds me of the shade of yellow that appears in the sky during sunrises and sunsets. I just think Sun would be a beautiful name.” With Heatherpaw’s explanation, Amberstar nodded her head, a small smile crossing her muzzle. She wished she could discuss names with the father, but he was long gone, on a mission to find his sister.

“I think that’s a beautiful name, Heatherpaw. We’ll need to see what all the kits look like first before deciding,” Amberstar said with a soft laugh, which Heatherpaw returned.

“Of course. We don’t want to name a kit that’s as black as night Sunkit.” The two she-cats erupted in quiet laughter before Amberstar shook her head, flicking her tail back and forth as a sign for Heatherpaw to get back on track, dismissing the previous conversation topic.

“Now, let’s begin. Get into your hunter’s crouch.” Amberstar instructued without demonstrating, watching Heatherpaw quickly crouch down. The position had become natural to her at this point, not a single mistake that Amberstar could see was in sight. “I want you to pretend that I am Dysis, the cat you will be killing.” Amberstar rose to her paws, turning around as if she was going to walk away, her back to Heatherpaw.

“Take an approach that prevents me from being able to fight back, a move that could kill me quickly.” Amberstar began to harmlessly walk forward, humming innocently to draw Heatherpaw in. Heatherpaw looked over Amberstar, deciding the best approach would be to knock her over from the side. She crept forward slowly before abruptly leaping up, her paws pressing against Amberstar’s side to knock her over. She went to bite at Amberstar’s throat, but was met with a kick from Amberstar’s hind legs that sent her sliding backwards.

“Wrong approach, Heatherpaw.” Amberstar began, turning to face Heatherpaw, who quickly took a few steps back, her ears pricked forward to listen to Amberstar. “You see, what you need to do is land upon your opponent’s back, and press your paws against or between their shoulder blades. They won’t be able to get up that way, and with your weight, you’ll be able to hold them down long enough to bite on their nape and quickly end their life.” Heatherpaw’s eyes widened at the explanation, which Amberstar decided to further expand on in hopes of easing the brown cat’s nerves.

“Heatherpaw, it is called the forbidden killing bite. Starclan often frowns upon it, and most warriors never teach their apprentices it, as it is viewed as cowardly to utilize the technique. It’s a painless way to end a cat’s life, but is usually used only a last resort. We do not want to end up injured from our contracts, so it’s a move you’ll use a lot while taking out enemies.” Amberstar had hoped she expanded on the attack long enough to calm Heatherpaw down.
“Oh, okay. So it’s kind of like.. You’re taking their life in a painless, but kinda bad way? That makes it not as bad, right?” Heatherpaw asked curiosity. Amberstar found Heatherpaw’s naive nature adorable, but she was hoping she could toughen the apprentice up more before she dared to go after Dysis alone.

“It’s kind of like that, yes. Even if Starclan frowns upon it, it may become necessary to use in your fight against Dysis. He sounds like a tom that won’t hesitate to kill.” Amberstar warned the apprentice before leaping back to her paws, sighing softly. “Alright, now.. We need to work on how you go about avoiding obstacles.” Amberstar said, moving to the side. She tossed a couple of moss balls and sticks out into the clearing, grabbing one of the stick’s to draw two lines, forming a small path for Heatherpaw to navigate. “Go through this, but here is the catch. You cannot go outside of these lines. If you do, you’re detected.”

Heatherpaw looked at the lines, silently questioning if she was even thin enough to make it between the lines. She looked at the path warily before slowly creeping forward, trying to maintain a swift pace. She stepped over the first few moss balls, eventually making a boundful leap in an attempt to soar over the rest of the obstacles. However, her jump was slightly short, her paw striking a stick, resulting in a loud crack being heard. Amberstar smiled sympathetically as Heatherpaw stepped out, sighing softly.

“Don’t worry, it’s difficult to perfect the strategy. You need to not underestimate how far away you are from something. It’s been a consistent problem while training.” She said with a sigh, thinking about each time Heatherpaw overshot her leaps. It was a very rare situation that she actually undershot it, since Heatherpaw had some of the most intense leaping Amberstar had ever seen in a cat.

“I’ll try to perfect it quickly, we’ll need to get rid of Dysis as soon as possible, right?” Heatherpaw asked softly, her eyes clouded with concern as Amberstar nodded her head.

“Yes. Not only is he dangerous, but I will need a medicine cat in the camp to help me while I am giving birth to the kits.” Amberstar explained, realizing just how close the event was. There would only be about one more moon until her kits were actually born, and a medicine cat would definitely need to be present, otherwise she could potentially grow weak quickly, which would mean putting her kits at risk.




Heatherpaw suddenly gasped in concern, her eyes widening. “That’s right! You have to have a medicine cat to guide you through birthing! I certainly don’t know how to do that..” Her voice trailed off, heat radiating off of her cheeks as blood rushed to her face in embarrassment. The hair on her spine had risen, a nervous tick she had whenever she felt embarrassed about something she said. “S-sorry, that was awkward to say..”

“No, you’re fine Heatherpaw.” Amberstar said with a soft laugh, tilting her head downward. “I just feel like it’s risky for either of us to be participating in a murder contract right now, but we need to do so for my safety and the safety of others in that rogue pack.” Amberstar huffed out, her head hanging low for a moment before she looked back at Heatherpaw. “Anyway, review time over everything you’ve learned.” Amberstar sat down on her haunches before Heatherpaw, looking at her as she took a seat before her.

“So, when hunting prey, what part do you bite to kill the prey painlessly?” She asked, eyeing the front of Heatherpaw’s neck. Heatherpaw’s blue eyes drifted elsewhere as she thought for a moment, her eyes lighting up as she came up with an answer.

“Oh, you bite the back of their neck lightly, like a nip. It’s called the uh.. The nape I think, right?” She pondered, her tone laced with hesitation as she doubted her answer. Amberstar smiled happily, Heatherpaw’s flustered nature becoming endearing to her again as she started nodding her head in reassurance.

“That’s correct, Heatherpaw. Great job. Now, next question. If you want to restrain a cat and make sure they cannot move during a fight, what is one technique you can use to accomplish this without leaving them permanently injured?” Amberstar sat on her haunches, remembering how she had struggled with this question when she was mentored by Wolfstar, resulting in him taking out a chunk of her right ear.

“Shoot.. You uhm..” Heatherpaw looked around her surroundings again, narrowing her eyes. “You pin them down..” Her voice trailed off, a sigh emerging from her.

“We just discussed this, but it is alright.” Amberstar said with a smile of encouragement in Heatherpaw’s direction. One of the things that had annoyed her as an apprentice was Wolfstar judging her when she forgot something. She didn’t want her own apprentice to feel stupid like she did, so she avoided doing this as often as possible, unless it was something so simple, a kit could remember it the first time you told them.

“You need to tackle them from behind and press your paws against their shoulder blades.” When Amberstar said this, Heatherpaw’s head tilted back, her maw parting as she drew out a word of frustration.

“Ohhhhhhhhh.” The brown she-cat said, sighing softly at what she thought was her own “stupidity”, but really it was just her forgetful nature acting up. “I feel stupid.”

“Don’t feel that way, because you really aren’t. You’re just a little forgetful.” Amberstar said, trying to encourage the brown feline. Amberstar let out a soft yawn, her gaze shifting to look up and into the sky, observing each of the white clouds that moved by. The sky, ever since Amberstar’s youth, was something that calmed her, and she often looked to it for guidance, even when the stars were not present.

She must’ve gotten a little too last in the sky, as when she returned to reality, Heatherpaw was nudging her shoulder, trying to gain her attention. “Hey, you’ve been spacing out for a while.” Heatherpaw pointed out, cokcing herh ead to the side. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, Heatherpaw. I am actually doing pretty damn well. I just look at the sky for judgment and guidance a little more frequently than I should.” Amberstar said with a forced smile in Heatherpaw’s direction.

Heatherpaw nodded her head idly before perking up, deciding to change the subject. “I’m kinda hungry. You go back to the camp, I am gonna go hunt for a little bit and get us some lunch to eat, alright?”

Amberstar looked over Heatherpaw, silently hesitating letting the brown feline go out of he camp alone when a suspicious black tabby tom had only supposedly left the forest. It was possible he could still be lurking or sauntering about in the forest with bad intentions towards Silentclan. However, she decided it wasn’t worth it to decline the food, for her stomach was growling just as much, if not more than Heatherpaw’s.

“Alright, Heatherpaw. I’ll see you back at the camp. Try to make your trip quick, I don’t want the camp to be empty for too long.” Amberstar called after Heatherpaw, as she had already began to dart down the hill. Heatherpaw stuck her head to the air, yipping loudly.

“Got it! I’ll bring you the fattest mouse you’ve ever seen!” Heatherpaw said as she darted across the plain, making her way back into the forest swiftly.

Amberstar sighed softly as she stood atop the hill, gazing down at the forest from this perspective. She felt as if she could reach up and touch the clouds from this position. She idly smiled thinking about Heatherpaw. She hadn’t seen an apprentice as bubbly as her since Ebonypaw, and in a way, Heatherpaw reminded Amberstar of the apprentice. Even if Ebonypaw wasn’t nearly as oblivious as Heatherpaw was, she still saw some uncanny resemblance in the two.

Amberstar began to make her way down the hill, her trip a quiet one without her bumbling and rambling apprentice beside her. When she reached the base of the hill, she began to saunter back towards the forest, deciding to take her time in making her way back to the camp. She knew Heatherpaw would be hunting for a while, since she was still a new warrior. She knew she would catch something eventually, but it certainly wouldn’t be before Amberstar got back to the camp.

[dimi.]

Amberstar had taken her time getting back to the camp, walking through the entrance in silence. She glanced around the camp, the nostrils of her nose flaring as she took in a deep inhale, seeking out Heatherpaw’s scent. The aroma was weak, a sign that Heatherpaw had not yet made it back to the camp, just as Amberstar had initially predicted. A small smile cracked across her muzzle as she made her way forward, her hazel eyes locked on the large gray stone that stood before her.

The leader’s ledge, as Amberstar called it, was a large stone with a steep incline, which reached about 6 feet into the air, off the ground. It was directly in front of the leader’s den, where Amberstar and her future deputy would sleep each evening. The leader’s den was large cavern that dipped downward, the cavern slightly going under ground beneath the well maintained grass within the camp. The dirt path in the center of the camp continued within the cavern, and inside of it were two neatly maintained moss beds.

The moss bed on the left, which belonged to Amberstar, had a large, slowly dying yellow feather sticking out of the moss, a feather she had kept for the past seventeen moons of her life; the feather from Ebonypaw. Amberstar peered inside the den briefly, her eyes upon the golden feather in silence. She smiled at the feather, for it still faintly held Ebonypaw’s signature scent; a harsh aroma of rosemary. She then turned, making her way up leader’s ledge. She then sat down at the top of the rock, her hazel eyes locking on the camp below.

She sat in silence, eyeing the entrance of the camp in anticipation. Heatherpaw would be back within the next few minutes, if Amberstar knew her hunting habits correctly. Heatherpaw had a tendency to solely target mice, which were thankfully upon Amberstar’s favorite types of prey. Her ears perked when she heard quiet thumps of paw prints in the distance, her ears pricking forward. Amberstar took in every single sound before her, her nostrils flaring as she soaked in the scent, making sure it was Heatherpaw’s scent. The typical scent of roses filled her nose, a signal that Heatherpaw was near, a sigh of relief drawing from Amberstar.

Although Amberstar was fairly confident in Heatherpaw’s abilities, she was still a new apprentice, having only been trained for about a moon at this point. She knew that if Heatherpaw were to wind up in actual combat against a larger predator, such as a badger or even a fox, she may have major problems in combat, and have a low chance of survival. These thoughts worried her, but she knew that she had trained Heatherpaw to run from such predators; it wasn’t worth to fight an animal twice a feline’s size one on one. If one were to do so, it would essentially be a death sentence.

The leaves of the bushes ahead began to rustle, Heatherpaw leaping out from the shadows. In her maw, she held a large plump rabbit, looking up at Amberstar on the rock. She found the rock intimidating, but decided not to express that to Amberstar as she sat on her haunches, raising her front right paw up briefly before bringing it down. She was motioning from Amberstar to come down for her, as the rabbit was slightly heavy in her maw.

Amberstar happily obliged, beaming with pride as she leapt down, making her way forward. “A fantastic catch,” the cream tabby cooed out as she sat down before Heatherpaw, the rabbit placed neatly between them. They sat near the entrance, sitting on the dirt path. “Do you perhaps want to move onto the grass to eat?” Heatherpaw nodded her head weakly, appearing to be winded.

“I uh.. Had to..” Heatherpaw stopped speaking for a moment, wheezing as she took in a sharp breath. “Had to chase that little brat for a few minutes.. They’re so fast..” She breathed out as she rose to her paws shakily. Amberstar laughed softly, taking the rabbit in her maw before moving to the side, landing on the soft grass. Heatherpaw collapsed onto the grass, purring in delight as the individual strands of grass mingled with her long fur.

“Comfy..” She cooed out, laying on her belly as she eyed the rabbit in front of her. Amberstar let out a soft laugh, nudging Heatherpaw’s side, urging her to get up. Heatherpaw obeyed, snapping back up to an upright position. “Sorry. Let’s eat, you get the first bite~”

Amberstar bowed her head respectively, quietly leaning down towards the rabbit. She parted her maw, taking a small chunk of flesh off the rabbit’s flank, chewing it slowly. She savored it’s flavor, knowing it would be the only meal she would have for the next several hours. She then sat up, looking back at Heatherpaw. “You need to eat too. You look exhausted.” Heatherpaw’s eyes lit up as she swung her head down, viciously tearing off a piece of meat off the rabbit to eat herself, her chest rumbling in delight as she purred.

“Rabbit is SO good..” She purred out, swaying back and forth anxiously as she chewed her bite, quickly swallowing it, the opposite of Amberstar’s eating habits. Amberstar nodded her head in acknowledgement as she silently grabbed another bite, her stomach flexing inward as she spoke quietly.

“I’m full.. Those kits make me not have that much of an appetite.” She said with a harmless giggle as she looked at Heatherpaw. “If you’re done eating, we should get some sleep. We will need to practice your tactics at night, as that is the time of day you’ll actually be going after Dysis at.” Amberstar rose to her paws, ushering the apprentice to follow her to her den. The two went inside, with Heatherpaw immediately bolting over to the deputies bed, leaping into the moss bed, curling up aggressively.

“I’m so tired.” She groaned out as she curled her tail around her body, her nose stuffed deep inside of the fur. A few moments passed, and Amberstar could hear Heatherpaw’s faint snoring as she made her way forward, leaping into the nest beside Heatherpaw’s.

“Dork..” She mumbled beneath her breath in Heatherpaw’s direction as she curled up in a similar fashion, her paw running along the edge of the moss bed out of mere boredom. Her eyes slowly began to narrow, the desire to sleep overbearing to her as her eyelids shut, stripping the light from her vision as she immediately began to slumber.

[dimi.]

A week had passed since Cedric had come to them seeking help, and tonight was the evening; the evening Dysis would meet his pitiful demise. Amberstar and Heatherpaw were sharing a large squirrel, each taking several bites to gain energy. The walk to the city was about a two hour trek, since the two-leg civilization where Dysis dwelled was about six miles away from their current location.

For the most part, the two had remained quiet, eating as much as they could in order to get the most amount of energy possible. The silence between the two was only broken when Heatherpaw made a comment.

“I am so excited.” Heatherpaw began, her body jittering in anticipation. “I get to do something that’ll help you, and I get fighting experience. Rah!” She swiped at the air, giggling afterwards. Amberstar looked ahead at Heatherpaw, forcing a smile across her muzzle as she began to speak, her eyes locked on the brown pointed feline.

“I’m glad you’re excited, Heatherpaw. However, you need to remember that this is not a mere task. You are taking the life of another cat. He will most likely put up a fight, and I can guarantee you won’t come out of it unharmed. You have to stay strong for me though, since if I intervene, I’ll get myself and my kits torn up in a second.” She huffed out reluctantly, glancing down between her forelegs to eye her swelling belly with kits forming inside. She smiled proudly, silently noting that she would need to track down the father after they were born and old enough to not need nursing.

“When are we going to be heading out? It looks like it’s getting late.” Heatherpaw said, looking up at the sky. The sun was slowly retreating beneath the horizon, the sky a variety of hues. The two would need to head out swiftly, otherwise they risked missing the moment Dysis was in the alley he was to perish in. Amberstar looked up at the sky in a similar fashion, narrowing her eyes in contemplation.

“We will need to leave now.” Amberstar said, raising to her paws as she eyed Heatherpaw, her gaze soft as she looked over the brown cat. She had a confident demeanor, one that Amberstar herself silently envied. “Are you ready, Heatherpaw?”

Heatherpaw’s eyes lit up, her brows furrowing as if she were offended by the quesiton. “Ready? Of course I am! I’ve been training really hard for a week for this, he’ll be perishing swiftly.” Heatherpaw growled out, dramatically swiping her paw in an aggressive fashion, the wind produced by the air strike enough to move the fur on Amberstar’s cheeks. Amberstar beamed as she looked at the eastern exit, raising to her paws as she gazed at the towers in the distance, the black soot filling the air from the various facilities in the city.

“Then let’s go.” Amberstar said, leaping ahead of Heatherpaw. “Do you remember what our plan is?” Amberstar asked, wanting to test the brown cat’s memory. The plan had been specific, one that would prevent Amberstar from getting harmed, but would allow her to have an advantage and intervene if Dysis got too rough with Heatherpaw.

Heatherpaw looked at Amberstar, nodding her head eagerly. “Why, of course I do!” She didn’t start to repeat the plan, her eyes meeting Amberstar’s after an awkward moment. “Oh, you want me to say it out loud?” Amberstar nodded her head with a soft laugh beneath her breath, eyeing the brown cat as she began to speak. “Alright. So, when we go into the city, we are looking for an alleyway with a big blue dumpster. You will use the blue dumpster to jump up onto the nearby roof, and observe from above. I’ll follow briefly, and we’ll make sure that Dysis is actually in the alley before I go in and attack him. If the heat is too much, I am to run out, but lure Dysis out so you can jump down and finish him off, but only as a last resort. Right?”

Amberstar smiled at her apprentice, idly nodding her head. “I swear, I am so lucky to have someone as confident as you as my apprentice.” Amberstar said with a purr of delight as she began to make her way up the hill towards the two-leg city in the distance, with Heatherpaw following on her flank. “Now, what are you going to do when you see him?” Amberstar asked curiously. There wasn’t a particular answer for this, but she just wanted to see what Heatherpaw would say, if she had a plan or if she was just going to wing it.

“I’m not a strong enough warrior to maintain a long term fight with him. I’ll need to end it quickly, so I think I will sneak up on him and just do the killing bite. If he detects me.. Well, I’m thinking I should drain his energy and make him chase me until he’s so exhausted, he can’t raise a paw up. I’m young, so I can keep going for quite a while.” She said with a smirk, silently imagining the goose chase she would lead Dysis on in the event he managed to dodge her first strike or detect her prior to it. Amberstar sighed softly, looking at her apprentice with a forced smile.

“That plan sounds good in theory, but you may need to take him out of the fight quickly. What’s a good way to make it so he struggles with striking you?” Amberstar asked, closing her eyes briefly to imagine the tom in her head. A brown feline with spots of darker brown around his face, paws, and tail with deep green eyes. Come to think of it, Amberstar realized Heatherpaw sounded rather similar to the description, which gave her some good basis to go off of. She had spaced out when Heatherpaw perked up, answering her question.

“You gotta knock them eyes out!” She said casually, a growl rumbling from her maw as she swiped upward, barely missing Amberstar’s eyes. The cream tabby leaned back in surprise, a soft laugh emerging from her.

“Careful, Heatherpaw. You could’ve taken your own mentor’s eyes out just then. How would you become a warrior?” Amberstar asked with a soft giggle.

“Oh, shoot! Sorry!” Heatherpaw yipped out, blood rushing to her face in embarrassment.
“You’re okay.” Amberstar said with a soft giggle. The conversation between the two then ceased, as Amberstar wanted Heatherpaw to conserve energy.

The next hour of the journey was silent, the two only looking at one another when an obstacle, such as a small stream or a deceased animal was before them. They made their way up to the top of the hill, the two-leg city before them. To their left, just a quarter mile outward, Amberstar could see the forest Cedric resided in. “That’s where we’ll be going to retrieve our payment,” Amberstar explained to Heatherpaw, gesturing with a tilt of her head in the direction of the forest. Heatherpaw glanced over, her eyes widening.

“That’s where you’ll get the medicine cat?” She asked softly, trying to clarify what exactly Amberstar was saying, as she had been somewhat indirect and discreet about it. Amberstar nodded her head in confirmation, looking forward at the city.

“Yes. Also, we’re getting pretty close. Are you sure you’re ready?” Amberstar asked. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to be extra sure. She was concerned, as it was a grown cat with some fighting experience that Heatherpaw was going against. Heatherpaw beamed with pride, nodding her head.

“Yeah, I am definitely ready. I won’t let you down, I promise.” Heatherpaw said with a soft purr, rubbing her head against Amberstar’s neck. Amberstar smiled, returning the nuzzling before nodding her head.

“I didn’t think you would.” Amberstar said as they reached the entrance of the city. The city had grown to lack activity, as the sun had already set by the time the two had arrived. Amberstar looked at Heatherpaw briefly before eyeing the city, seeking out the large dumpster.

“Come on. We need to avoid the two-legs, but we need to be swift.” Amberstar darted forward, making her way up and onto the sidewalk, Heatherpaw following close behind. When a two-leg slipped out of the alley, Amberstar suddenly stopped, dodging behind a nearby trash can, her tail coiling around Heatherpaw’s frame to tug her to the side in a similar motion.

The two then continued down the street, looking left and right until Heatherpaw perked up, her eyes locking on a blue dumpster in the distance. “Hey, Amberstar, over there!” She whispered, gesturing to the dumpster in the distance. Amberstar’s eyes glinted, a smile crossing her muzzle.

“You got it.” Amberstar said, turning to face the dumpster as she ran forward with Heatherpaw hot on her tail. “Let’s do this!”