Quote:
Originally Posted by Thistledawn
Cherrypaw purred, enjoying this small interaction with her mentor. Training was hard most days. The small she-cat often got frustrated with herself if she couldn't figure something out or if she could meet the expectations that either herself or her mentor set for her. She couldn't handle things like that well, so it wasn't uncommon for Cherrypaw to get annoyed with Blazingcomet too, even if he was just doing his job. But sometimes the two SkyClan cats had moments like these that made up for all of those times when the apprentice just felt defeated. The snow white she-cat was more like her mentor than she cared to admit. She always prided herself on being an individual. But this playful back and forth was comfortable for the apprentice. And like now, Cherrypaw frequently noticed that the ginger tom was one of the few cats who could match her amount of energy and charisma.
"You better be careful of what you challenge me to. I just might surprise you!" The little apprentice warned with a teasing tone. Her blue eyes were sparkling with laughter. She whipped around and began batting the air with her paws, making sound effects with her mouth. "That doesn't matter." Cherrypaw declared. "One day I'm gonna knock out whoever stands in my way. Even you!" She spun around and faked a blow aimed at her mentor. She settled down soon after. "I mean it, though." The apprentice mewed more seriously now. "I want to be a good warrior. I want you to be proud at my warrior ceremony. I'm gonna try really hard to make it all happen." Determination rushed through the small cat's body. She'd felt oddly determined. The past few moons had been rough on her motivation, but it seems that maybe Cherrypaw was finally getting some of it back. She spent a lot of time thinking about the future, but not doing a lot of preparing for that future in the present. Cherrypaw had one duty and that was to protect and defend her Clan. Training hard was the only way that she was going to fulfill that goal. |
”I’ll be proud of you, I can promise you that. Even if you fall down flat on your face in front of the entire Clan.” Blazingcomet’s whiskers twitched when he said this last part, but he managed to keep from smiling… as difficult as it was. His golden eyes scanned over the younger cat. Cherrypaw was definitely going to have the abilities of a good warrior. She had a certain power to her, feminine, but sweet... and smart, she knew what she was doing - all important things. She was brave and loyal and would someday make the Clan proud. Blazingcomet didn’t have any doubt about that. And yet he was worried for her, wondering if she was going to grow up and find happiness like he thought he had - he wondered if he was teaching her everything she needed to know.
At some point, Cherrypaw was going to get older and start noticing toms a lot more. Blazingcomet knew this. And at some point, they were going to notice her too - he’d discovered that toms became interested in she cats a little before they returned that interest, or it had been that way for him and his friends. Perhaps she would meet a nice tom, or maybe he would be flirty (like Blazingcomet himself) - but Cherrypaw was almost like a daughter. More like a younger sister, really, but the age difference was almost great enough for them to be father and daughter. ”Alright. Ready to keep going?” He asked, striking a playful fighting pose, although the training was serious. He wanted to make sure that Cherrypaw had the skills she needed to fend off attackers, especially with the tension brewing between other Clans - Blazingcomet wasn’t sure if SkyClan would ever get involved in these battles, but he wasn’t going to take the chance that she would be unprepared if she were forced to take part.
The tom would do his best to keep his apprentice out of the battle, if it were to come to that, but in the end… she was the only one who could decide whether or not she was ready to fight. After all, Cherrypaw knew herself best. Besides, even if there wasn’t a battle, she could always use these moves on any ill-meaning young toms who came to woo the pretty feline. Blazingcomet knew a few she cats who would probably be laughing if they knew he was doing this… he had been, and still was, a flirt, and it should be expected that he would be helping his fellow toms, but instead… here he was, doing the exact opposite. It was definitely funny. What do you think of this, Drizzleshard? The tom hated the fact that he wasn’t with his former mate. Although he liked Petal, maybe even loved her, it was hard for him… he’d always thought that he would be with her forever.