Chapter 13: Unique Value

My sleep was dreamless that night, thankfully. The last thing I wanted was ghosts harassing me. I woke early as usual and let the rising sun warm my pelt while I waited for the other apprentices to wake up. Sandpaw was the next one up. She passed me watching warily. Fortunately, Whitestorm whisked her off to do some morning hunting. The apprentice I still did not know the name of came next. He didn't bother to look at me, watching for his mentor to emerge from the warriors den. I appreciated the silence my fellow apprentice let remain. I did not desire to make introductions at this early of an hour when there was cat watching to do.

Lionheart, Tigerclaw, and Darkstripe emerged from the warriors den next. I watched the apprentice beside me as his eyes fixated on Darkstripe. That must have been his mentor, his new mentor. I hadn't forgotten that the unknown apprentice had been the apprentice of Redtail. If my theory on Bluestar's test was correct and my assessment of Redtail's personality was correct, I had a fair theory on the personality of this still unnamed apprentice. According to my theory, the three apprentices Ravenpaw, Graypaw, and the unknown were a test given to her three successor candidates. Graypaw went to Lionheart to make him know when to be firm. Ravenpaw went to Tigerclaw to try and teach him compassion or empathy. If Redtail is as regimented as I believe, the unknown apprentice is either dull or a prodigy. Both don't work well with a schedule. Knowing what little I know about Darkstripe, I'd guess he's adaptable, making him a good replacement for Redtail to put this other apprentice on track.

Ravenpaw somehow appeared at my side. I didn't even notice him leave the den, but I wasn't paying attention much with my musing. Firepaw and Graypaw trudged out of the apprentices den wearily blinking sleep out of their eyes. As much as I wanted to protect Firepaw, he needed to own up to his habit of sleeping in. I ignored the scolding Tigerclaw was giving Graypaw and Firepaw. What had my curiosity was why hadn't Darkstripe and his apprentice left yet. When Tigerclaw settled down, I tuned back in to the discussion.

"Ravenpaw, Graypaw, and Firepaw will be training with Lionheart and I. Smudgepaw, you will be training with Darkstripe and Dustpaw. I don't know why Darkstripe volunteered to teach you, but don't get in his way." Mewed Tigerclaw strictly.

I gave Tigerclaw a knowing look when his attention shifted to his apprentice. Today would be a challenge for him. At least I'd already learned two interesting things today. The last apprentice's name is Dustpaw and Darkstripe thinks highly enough of me to tolerate my presence and attempt to train me. As Tigerclaw lead his patrol off, I gave Darkstripe a questioning look. He noticed rather quickly.

"Don't give me that look. You're more tolerable than the other one. A few things you should know, I'm not changing what Dustpaw is doing for you. Don't compare yourself to him and don't try to copy him. It'll set you back. I'll be bouncing between you two, so I expect you to keep training when I'm working with Dustpaw. Dustpaw, that is also true for you. If Smudgepaw somehow does something weird that works, don't copy him. It won't work for you. Just focus on yourself." Darkstripe stated in a surprisingly instructor like voice. I expected Darkstripe to be adaptable, but was he a good teacher?

Darkstripe guided us out to a clearing he knew. Once we arrived, Darkstripe set Dustpaw on practicing bird and squirrel hunting techniques. Then he turned his attention to me.

"Ok. Show me your hunter's crouch and stalk a couple paces."

I complied by mimicking the memory of Lionheart's crouch. I stalked forward in the exact same form Lionheart demonstrated for me.

"Stop."

I turned my attention to him. Had I somehow done something wrong? It wasn't aggressive, but he didn't seem perfectly pleased with what I demonstrated.

"I can see you're copying Lionheart's technique, but that won't work for you. You are lower built than he is, so crouching that low makes you brush against the top of the grass. Stand a bit taller. I'll tell you when to stop."

I slowly raised myself higher watching Darkstripe carefully for his approval. I was soon into an almost half crouch when he stopped me.

"There. That's the height you want to maintain. Give me a few paces and try to keep that height."

It felt odd. It didn't feel like I was creeping, but I wasn't walking either. I carefully took a few steps after I memorized the feeling of my slight crouch. I could feel my knee joints slightly protest at the odd angle I held them at, but that was just the unfamiliarity talking. I paced a few paw steps and was surprised how much quieter I was. I was still painfully slow, but I couldn't hear the grass spring back into place behind me. After a couple minutes ensuring I memorized the form of my movements, I picked up the pace. I peeked over at Dustpaw and saw him stalking thrice as fast as me, but I could not hear him. That was the level I'd have to aim for eventually. Darkstripe caught me looking.

"What did I tell you? Ignore him. You won't learn anything trying to replicate him. Just set your pace and speed up when you feel ready. I'll be honest with you. I barely have to do anything for Dustpaw. He can learn a technique from the idea of it. His only major fault is his perfectionist nature and his slight lack of flexibility. He wants to be a bruiser like Tigerclaw, but he'll just never have the weight to be one. You on the other paw do."

I perked at Darkstripe's slight praise at my potential. He'd also unintentionally but kindly informed me of all I needed to know about Dustpaw to confirm my Bluestar's successor theory. Dustpaw was like what I expected, but I hadn't caught that he had an unreachable desire that Redtail had likely caved towards teaching. He was still the most advanced apprentice, but with how he moved when he was trying to perfect something, it was like he believed he had more mass than he did. This was one of the few things Darkstripe stopped him and corrected him on.

Maybe these cats weren't as black and white as I initially believed. Don't get me wrong. I'd ruin them, heck, even kill them in a second if I thought they were at all a threat to Firepaw, but I was coming to appreciate the unique traits they brought to the table. It was like having two drills. One is a battery drill and the other is an air impact driver. Each can tighten a nut, but sometimes you need the strength of an impact driver and sometimes you need the convenience of a standard electric drill. I could appreciate the value of my potential tools.