Love forces a cat to choose, You do things you never imagined you could do before[Gorsepaw]

What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?

The morning mist still hadn't cleared as he gazed up to the sky. A soft sigh left his mouth as he walked in the Camp. He had to go out but since Falconpaw had become Medicine Cat Apprentice he didn't have an Apprentice anymore. With a flick of his tail he halted and turned his head towards the Apprentice Den. In the mist he saw his son, Gorsepaw whom he had hurt with the terrible truth of the parting with Shatteredice. His emerald green eyes filled with a sad gaze as he walked towards his son, he was willing to give Gorsepaw all the time he needed to process what had happened but he knew it would still be a long time before these wounds would heal. "Gorsepaw, would you like to go on a hunting session?" he mewed and he forced a smile. Maybe it was better to set their minds towards something more simple. "I'd like to spend some quality time with you before Amberstorm puts you to work" he mewed and gave Gorsepaw a friendly wink.

Gorsepaw did like the mist today. It would mean he would be harder to spot when he would go out on the moors. He didn't mind getting wet, he just wanted to be invisible for a while. So he was up and about early this morning, giving his pelt a quick wash before he wanted to leave camp. But he spotted his father padding closer to him. Immediately he felt his stomach drop and he swallowed heavily. His dad tried, he could see it, but it didn't clear away the tension the young tom felt between them. Things were still weird. And Gorsepaw wasn't angry at his dad, it was just... complicated. He wanted to do good, to smile and be happy, so his dad wouldn't have to worry for him. But at the same time, he did blame himself for his parents splitting up. He wanted to be a good son and it felt like he had failed them. His dad proposed to go hunting together to have some quality time. The red and white tom blinked slowly, then gave a small nod. ‘Okay,‘ he said in a tiny voice. He didn't dare to say no. He had already run away from his dad once, he didn't want to do it again. He didn't want him to think that he hated him! He stood up and gave his father a small smile. ‘I'd like that too.’

What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?

The small nod and the small voice Gorsepaw spoke in worried him. Any father would worry about his son but as many cat's knew Gorsepaw was special to him. His pelt prickled as he answered the small smile of his son. "Let's go then" he mewed as he padded toward the exit of the Camp. Before exiting he halted briefly to give the Campguard instructions. "Tell Amberstorm I'm out with Gorsepaw to give him a hunting session" he told the cat and nodded towards the Campguard. He turned his head to see the small red-white shape of his son and gave him a warm smile. He still felt torn about the fact he had to tell his son but it was okay. He padded out the Camp and onto the Moorlands. The cold wind buffeted on his chest tangeling his fur and he looked straight ahead. In the far distance he could make out the Outlookrock and he set course towards it. "Have you learned the basics already?" he asked slowing his pace down to match Gorespaw's.

His dad seemed happy. Gorsepaw tried really hard to please him. He just didn't want to be angry or sad anymore, every time he saw the mottled tom. He just wanted things like it used to be. But is would never be that way again. Gorsepaw followed his father out of camp, after he told the guard that he would be away. They took a track towards the outlook rock. Gorsepaw really didn't feel like hunting, but he would have to. He would have to learn eventually anyway. But his mind was distracted. Gorsepaw already knew that there was a slim chance he would catch anything today. His dad slowed down and asked him if he knew the basics. He gave a tiny shrug. ‘I think so,’ he murmured. He knew that for certain prey, there were different tactics. But most of the time it was just to run as fast as you could, and stay hidden for as long as you could. Sounded easy, but is was difficult. Would his father expect that he could do it right away?

What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?

He turned his head towards Gorsepaw when his son spoke. “I think so” he murmured. The mottled tom raised an eyebrow. He thought so? Well, if he knew how to hunt he was curious how good Gorsepaw was. “Can you show me what you’ve learned?” he encouraged Gorsepaw. “I would love to see it. Can you tell me how the training is coming along?” he mewed warmly. He was genuinely interested in how Gorsepaw’s training. Amberstorm had assured him the training went well but he needed to hear it from Gorsepaw himself. Falconpaw had told him he tought Amberstorm wasn’t the right mentor for Gorsepaw, that his son needed a more gentle cat to teach him. Maybe that was true but when he had assigned Gorsepaw to Amberstorm he had only thought of how Amberstorm’s strict norms would help shape Gorsepaw to be a better Apprentice. But maybe he had been wrong that day and Gorsepaw indeed needed another mentor.

Oh boy, showtime. His dad wanted to see it. Off course he wanted to. But Gorsepaw's mind was elsewhere and he didn't know if he could focus for more than a few seconds on a prey. But he felt cornered, so he nodded. If it would make his father happy, who was he to object? ‘It's going okay,’ he answered the second question. He didn't want to tell that Amberstorm still scared him. He tried his hardest to please the deputy, but in the back of his mind he still remembered she was his best friend's mother. And that she wasn't exactly world's best mom. Gorsepaw sighed and then pricked his ears up, trying to use his senses to scan the surroundings. He tasted the air, hoping to detect a clear scent of rabbit. But he didn't even smell a whiff. He started to stalk clumsily through the gorse, hoping he would find something further along the way.

What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?

As his son nodded he saw Gorsepaw wasn't really in the current. "It's going okay" he awnsered and the big tom felt a stir of worry in his belly. "You can be honest with me Gorse" he murmerd and gave Gorsepaw a warm gaze.
Gorsepaw took the starting position for stalking prey and tasted the air, he couldn't help himself and did the same. It was almost like breathing, a habit or something like that. If one tasted the air the rest followed. He followed Gorsepaw's pawsteps as he stalked through the gorse and let him do his thing. In the far of distance he saw a white flag of a rabbit race across the moor and he looked back at Gorsepaw. He was still in the beginning of his training and needed to learn a lot but even though it looked a bit clumsy he was off to being a good Moor Runner.

Gorsepaw felt his stomach turn when his dad said he could be honest with him. He knew, and he always had been, but suddenly it felt like he couldn't be. He wanted to be the perfect son, not give his dad reasons to worry because training wasn't going as smoothly as he might have hoped. But Amberstorm was a great warrior. She was a deputy, she knew what she did. He would have to adjust to her. He glanced towards his father, but quickly looked away. He didn't want to say anything else.
Gorsepaw started looking for other prey. Maybe there would be some mice in the grass. But suddenly he felt his fathers gaze in his back. Did he failed to notice something? He looked up over the moors and saw a white tail bob away over the fields. Gorsepaw started racing after it, but is was a long distance away. He knew he was doomed to fail, but he tried anyway. He needed to show something, right? So he tried his hardest, but the rabbit escaped in his burrow and Gorsepaw stopped.

What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?

Maybe his son had felt the gaze in his back or he had just detected the rabbit smell from where he stood. The rabbit dashed of and Gorsepaw raced after it, only to find out he was unable to catch it. He walked at a calm pace untill he was a few lenghts behind Gorsepaw whom stared into the rabbit burrow. As he made his last paces towards Gorsepaw he gently stroked with his tail over the orange back of his son. "You were quick but the rabbit was just a tad faster. It's okay" he murmerd and gave Gorse a small smile. "You will get quicker while training and before you know it you will have your first rabbit" he mewed on and gazed shortly into the burrow. The rabbit was gone but the smell was still fresh. He sat up and balanced on his hindpaws to see if the rabbit had ran out the other side of the burrow. "Maybe we can still catch it, a burrow as diffrent entreances. Let's see if we can find them" he mewed with a smile.

Gorsepaw could curse himself for losing the rabbit. Although he had never caught one before, he wanted to impress his father. Soon Stallionstar had caught up with him, immediately started to make up excuses for him. Yeah, sure, he would become faster. But had one of his sister already caught something? He hadn't dared to ask, but he assumed they did. He stared blankly at his father, and nodded, while muttering a unintelligible agreement. Then his dad suddenly sat up on his hind paws. Gorsepaw frowned while he did it, but he said soon after that the rabbit may not have been gone yet. He explained that a burrow had more than one entrance and that they should look for the others. ‘Okay,’ Gorsepaw said in a soft voice. He forced a smile, but soon turned his head away and started to run in a random direction, hoping to find one of these entrances. At least he had something to do but talk.