no time like the present [w/Jasminepaw]

Acaciatail "she's that feeling you get on a [Sunday] ; [Forgiveness] when you need it the most" text | "talking" | thoughts

Acaciatail watched patiently as her apprentice came back from wherever her thoughts were, replying in her usual kind, eager tone. She bit back a sigh and wondered if perhaps this really was the best choice. Feather Stones was the most dangerous place in Cliffclan--a territory full of dangerous places--and better cats than she had broken limbs and even lost their lives there. Feather Stones was not for the faint of heart and being able to survive their cliffs was the crowning pride of Cliffclan, an important piece of their identify. "That will depend on you, Jasminepaw," she began, watching the apprentice with careful, thoughtful eyes. "More than one warrior, let alone apprentice, has tumbled to injury or death at Feather Stones. If we explore, it will be sparingly and we certainly won't hunt there today." Or any day, until Jasminepaw had earned a warrior name for herself. Then the decision to take such a risk would be hers to make; she would have to judge for herself it she could handle it. That was not the kind of call a mentor could or should make. "Regardless, we might as well get going while the wind is calm." With that, and a single flick of her tail, she began to lead the way from camp toward Feather Stones, moving across both the more and less travelled paths through their territory. "How was your morning Jasminepaw?" She asked when they'd been walking just a short while. Like most of the clan, Acaciatail knew well that Jasminepaw had little tolerance for other she-cats. As a warrior less concerned about taking a mate at the moment (really, training Jasminepaw was all she had the energy for at the current) she'd never known if that helped or hurt her favor in her apprentice's eyes. She was not a threat in that manner but she also was not an equal in that endeavor. But Acacaitail had always had her own priorities in those matters and she didn't truly care how that made her seem in her apprentice's eyes. She would continue to be polite, concerned and involved all the same. ~~ words : 354 tags : Jasminepaw notes : .

Acaciatail "she's that feeling you get on a [Sunday] ; [Forgiveness] when you need it the most" text | "talking" | thoughts

Acaciatail's ear flicked, the relative low wind of the day allowing her to catch the muttered comment that would have normally gone unheard on the breezing rocks of their home. Some apprentices might have made the comment to get a rise out of their mentors or to prove their bravery among their peers. With Jasminepaw though, there was little doubt that it was careless honesty that drove the remark and the very thought brought her mentor's claws out to scratch frusratedly at the ground beneath her paws. When in the name of Starclan was this scruffy little molly going to learn? When she or one of her friends took a miss step and tumbled off a rock face? Would it really be loss or injury that finally woke her up, or would she never see it at all? Being Cliffclan meant you needed to be more than just a good warrior-you needed to be exceptional to survive and belong here. Uncharacteristic for Acaciatail, she bit back the long reply, and any story that she might have used to chastise the black and white cat. They would fall on deaf ears, as they had in the past. "Doing your duty to your clan is about more important things than being fun or interesting Jasminepaw," she replied back, mildly despite the tone with which she'd been addressed. The only thing that betrayed her annoyance was a small twitch of her ear, just as easily dismissed as a mechanism to hear more easily. "And until you understand that, and learn to appreciate the life you've been born to, you'll never be ready to be made a warrior." All the battle skills in the world, and all the moons experience she might have could not make up for that. Without her mentor's approval, Jasminepaw would not receive her warrior name. The dangers of Cliffclan assured that a mentor's opinion was taken seriously--a cat not ready could easily mean a dead cat. And they didn't train warriors just to see them die. ~~ words : 338 tags : Jaz notes :

Acaciatail "she's that feeling you get on a [Sunday] ; [Forgiveness] when you need it the most" text | "talking" | thoughts

She was watching where she was going, eyes careful on the path ahead and one ear flicked back to keep a listen on the sound of Jasminepaw's steps, ready to move at any sound of slipping rocks or loss trail and so she missed it. Acaciatail, for all her ability to listen and see and catch details, was too focused on keeping them both physically alive that she missed her apprentice's changing demeanor: the flat ears, wild eyes and rigid stance went completely unnoticed until her first words flew out and caused her mentor to turn abruptly. Standing her ground, watching closely, she let her hiss and spat and throw out what must have been a lot of pent up emotion and well hidden feelings. They were so very, very different. When Acaciatail lost her brother, she became more focused than she'd been before; she became careful and quiet and observant, determined the make sure no cat suffered that loss like she had. It was why she was so set on making Jasminepaw pay more attention. Just a few seconds of distraction meant death for them, and she wasn't going to let that happen. Faced with a similar situation, Jasminepaw had done the opposite: cared less instead of more. "Why, in the name of Starclan, do you think I try so hard to make sure you focus Jasminepaw?" She asked quietly, when the tirade had died down. "You've lost a lot, but you don't seem to appreciate what you still have: good friends, the best fighting skills I've seen in a long time and a whole life ahead of you that, from the outside looking in, you seem completely ready to let drop off a cliff at a moment's notice. I apologize if that's incorrect, but you make it hard to tell somedays. You're more fiercely independent than I think you even realize."  She smiles a little bit at that, unexpectedly fond that, despite what she might believe of herself, the apprentice was one of the strongest cats Acaciatail knew. She sighed, more heavily than she usually did, the breath shaking her thick, golden pelt. "You're not the only cat who's watched their brother fall." It was not something she liked to relive, she couldn't imagine Jasminepaw felt any different, but perhaps it was best to get it in the open. "My brother slipped on ice, a moon before we became warriors. I still see Pipepaw's body scraping along loose stones, tumbling down the cliff face in my sleep some nights." So much venom, such different ways to deal with the same loss. Yet, as she always did, the warrior's replies were quiet, thoughtful and even. Grief had made her steady where it had made the apprentice reckless. Perhaps this fight would bring understanding and perspective to the remainder of their relationship. "I'm not trying to alienate or judge you Jasminepaw, whatever you might think. I've spent the last four moons trying to protect you and our clan from having to mourn you like they did Pipepaw and Finchpaw, even when you least want to hear it."

Acaciatail "she's that feeling you get on a [Sunday] ; [Forgiveness] when you need it the most" text | "talking" | thoughts

Acaciatail remained standing as her apprentice sat and kept speaking, her energy too built up to do anything else. Claws kneaded against the stone slowly and her tail swayed from side to side. "We can't save every cat," she said eventually, blue eyes momentarily vacant, reliving the words her mentor had once told her. "No matter how much we'd like to. This is a dangerous place we live in, even the best don't always make it. It is part of what makes us Cliffclan; we learn to be stronger than any other cats both out of necessity and experience. No matter how much we miss those we lose, or how guilty we feel, the best way to honor and love them it to live the life they didn't get to." That was how she had gotten through it. She had honored Pipepaw's memory by becoming the kind of warrior he'd always wanted to--determined, dedicated and sensible. it wasn't always easy, but they were Cliffclan. Nothing was easy for them, but it was what allowed them to stand before the others at gatherings tall, proud and ready for anything, submitting to no other clan. "I see what you let me, Jasminepaw." Came the mild rebuff, nothing more than a reminder. If she was changing, and the fact that she had opened up and was no longer hissing like she was ready to jump her, then that was a good step in proving it but all the same, the comments that had started this whole discussion had been very much the Jasminepaw of her early apprentice moons: sassy and short and a little arrogant. She had a warrior's tenacity, the other clans would know better than to mess with her, but she would do well to realize she didn't have to show it to her clanmates as well. "You are someone the clan is proud of; that's why we watch you so closely." As to using her, if the young toms did, then they were fools. Any cat with half a dose of sense should realize that if she wanted she could claw them from camp to the beaches if she wanted. Now that she was growing up, getting the sense of her own value and starting to portray that, they wouldn't be able to use her or see her as a just a pretty molly. ~~ words : 395 tags : Jaz notes : .

Acaciatail "she's that feeling you get on a [Sunday] ; [Forgiveness] when you need it the most" text | "talking" | thoughts

There was more to being a warrior than the skills. If that were not the case, if knowing the right moves and abilities were all the was required, they would not be having this conversation--Jasminepaw would have been out hunting and patrolling without a mentor to watch her and she would have a warrior's name to go with those skills. "Potential," she answered, unusually brief and with a small smile as she suddenly turned around and starting walking again, flicking her tail to indicate that Jasminepaw should follow along. Some conversations were better had on the move and some things were better explained with visuals. So, she ignored the first questions although, with light, exhaling laugh she did answer the last one. "It wouldn't be a bad idea, I think you might be scandalizing the elders." It was a small joke, but the biggest kind Acaciatail usually made, even if it wasn't entirely untrue. Some of the elders, a rare breed for Cliffclan, were fussy older cats--a right they'd earned of course. But they had very stringent ideas on what a cat should be like and look like and act like, and well groomed fur was typically on their list. They had stopped close enough to Feather Stones that it took barely any time to make it the rest of the way there. She paused on the one of the ledges opposite the Stones, that allowed a cat to see the entirety of the area before deciding which tangled trails to take toward the rich but precarious hunting grounds. Settling back into a sitting position, motioning for her apprentice to do the same, Acaciatail lifted a paw and gestured at the space before them. "Potential," she began, in much the same tone as before. "When Jaegerstar looked at these cliffs from his home in Beachclan, he didn't see danger, death or insurmountable odds; he saw potential. A place where, if they were determined enough and strong enough and worked together, cats might thrive. A place that could be home to a better clan than the one he lived in." There was no better tale, no more perfect example than the story of their clan's founding. "So he took the strongest, and closest of his clanmates and made this their home. It was not easy, they had to learn to be something they didn't think they were, they had to rise above their pasts and become more than they'd ever expected to be. Not all of them made it, but those that became the first true Cliffclan warriors." Their dedication, their hard work, had made this place home. They had given names to the places that Acaciatail and Jasminepaw now knew so well. Their paws had smoothed their dens and the familiar trails along the rock faces. "That is why your clanmates are proud of you, Jasminepaw. Potential." Another smile stole across her muzzle, curling upwards the darkest patches of ginger on her fur. "When you can see it, believe it and embrace it--that's when you'll be ready to be a warrior." Yes, it was far more than just the skills that had been first developed by Jaegerstar and his friends. It was the state of mind that they had adopted, the faith they had held on to. ~~ words : 550 tags : Jaz notes : Story! Warning, Acacia-ness moment

Acaciatail "she's that feeling you get on a [Sunday] ; [Forgiveness] when you need it the most" text | "talking" | thoughts

Acaciatail let out a breath of defeated air as her apprentice muttered a reply. Really, she was trying so hard, but when would the young cat truly learn and understand? She couldn't decide if she was just being overly hard on herself or reading into problems that did not exist. She seemed to think all this weight was being placed on her, as well as displeasure, but Acaciatail was sure it was of her own making. No cat, to her mentor's knowledge, was asking any more of her than any other apprentice. It wasn't an attack on her, it was exactly what she would tell and expect from any apprentice. "The same thing I'd want any other apprentice to do," Acaciatail began, wondering if she'd ever get it through to her. Perhaps she'd just have to keep trying until they either made it on the same page or Jasmienpaw became a warrior. Even then, would she realize that her clanmates weren't out to get her for just being herself? Yes, she wanted her to grow and get better and become more focused, but it wasn't because she saw anything wrong with her (Acaciatail had never been too tom cat crazy, but even still, the flirting of days past had never bothered her), she just wanted her to pay enough attention not to tumble off a cliff or something. "Practice, listen and accept that I don't criticize because you're not good enough, but because we all have room to grow. Our world is too full of peril not to stay on top of things and keep our eyes open." ~~ words : 272 tags : Jaz notes : Acacia's just like 'why you not understand'?