private FALL BACK INTO PLACE — blazestar

[DOEBLAZE]

✿—— she pads through the pines, the fur on her spine still not entirely lying flat; still not accustomed to walking so freely about the territory. a doe-eyed glance at blazestar soothes her restless soul a bit, but her paws still itch to flee back to the nursery, back to camp, though she knows it's not what she wants. it's what her anxious mind wants, yes, but not what her heart wants—traitorous as it can be, she's learned it tends to guide her wayward paws on the right path more often than her nervous thoughts. she glances at him again as the sandy ravine grows close ahead of them, sliding easily into view, though she's not yet honed her eyes to the sharpness of their warriors, who can spot a bird in a branch from tree-lengths away.

do i? does she broach the topic? the topic of the border scuffle, the scandal she'd heard of; yukio, in all his infinite (if lovable) foolishness, had strayed across thunderclan's borders. she considered him a close friend, she knew he'd been through a lot—but still, she had been here only a moon or so more than he had and she knew when not to cross the borders. she knew the consequences life could paw back to you, she would think tragedy would have taught him as well, but she supposes not. she hadn't heard details of course, but .... she knew blazestar had been there. knew both of his daughters had been as well.

"i, uhm - i heard about what happened at - at the border." idiot! she almost flinches at her own chastisement, shoving the thought away; unsure of what to say, wanting to say something before they reached the training ground, she'd blurted out a basic statement. the queen—no, the warrior, now—clears her throat, glancing at his tall flame-point shape again. she can't tell what he thinks, unsure if anyone else has tried the topic, not knowing what to say. she offers, "i, well, i'm s-sorry. about what happened."

blessedly, they've arrived at the ravine, carpeted in sand for a soft landing; hopefully her wayward mouth will shut as she tries battle training for the first time. probably be too out of breath to say anything, she thinks amusedly, and then that thought again: he makes me careless. she swats it away, swats away the butterflies curling in her belly; it's a mental movement that's become as natural as breathing. pale eyes turn hesitantly on blazestar once the two step onto the sand, utterly unsure of how she's expected to face up against his broad frame, mewing, "um. w-what do we do now?"

idiot!

---

┏━•✿°•° OOC -ˋˏ ༻⚘༺ ˎˊ- INFORMATION °•°✿•━━━━━┓ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀

• ooc: @BLAZESTAR
  chill second priv so dw about fast responses <3
  

• 

• ❀ bobbie — for her kithood love of bobby pins she/her ; cisgender female — skyclan — queen — 38 ☾s —— bobbie is a beautiful but insecure lilac tabby, dotted with white patches and with pale green eyes. a queen of skyclan, she's sweet and kind if prone to melancholy; the heartbreaking end of a lifelong romance has left her scarred.. —— smells like sweet lavender & tea leaves ; sounds like sansa stark ; speech in #D64933, thoughts in #B1C797 —— peaceful / healing powerplay permitted ; attacks/contact in underline ; won’t start fights ; will flee ; will show mercy ; won't kill or maim —— pansexual panromantic monogamist, divorced, not looking ; open to friendships, enemies, casual interactions, plotting ; not open to unplanned romance & unplanned battles penned by dejavu— desklamp9 on discord for plots

• shhh don't look here (battle info will go here at some point)

​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

It feels good to be back out in the forest again with someone eager to learn from him. It hasn’t been too long since Coyotecrest’s ceremony, but Blazestar is finding he’s excited for the gap to be filled, even if his new apprentice is a little less orthodox. He watches the way the sunlight slants through the pine boughs above them, dappling her pale tabby fur with golden warmth. The forest sighs around them, decadent with birdsong and the fragrant scent of prey and flourishing wildlife. He knows greenleaf will end soon, and part of him is mourning that—it had been a peaceful and prosperous season, for the most part.

The earth becomes soft beneath their paws. He’d taken her to the Sandy Ravine for the same reason any mentor takes their apprentice here—to practice battle moves without falling on hard earth. Blazestar has not been here for many seasons. Coyotecrest had not needed his assistance with fighting skills, having trained under both Thistleback and Sootstar, and Butterflytuft’s training had been so different… the shy warrior knows nothing but the most basics of self-defense and retaliation.

Bobbie will be different, though. He’d seen her potential in the dog fight, had seen the bravery sparking in those sage-leaf eyes. Blazestar knows she wants to learn to become a fierce warrior.

She unexpectedly breaks their silence, and Blazestar regards her with troubled eyes. He’d be a fool to think she hadn’t heard about what’d occurred. “I’m sorry, too,” he says after a long moment. “But… crying over what happened won’t change anything. I’m just sorry Howlfire, Moonpaw and Skypaw had to be involved.”

And there—there he’s done it, said Skypaw’s name when he never should have—in his haste to correct himself, he adds, “No apprentice should have been witness to that.” Little Wolf’s kit, he reminds himself firmly. Not yours.

Battle training. That’s a good distraction. He scrabbles in the sand for a moment, catching his footing. “We’ll start with the basics,” he says, turning to face her. “Pretend I am a WindClan warrior, come to raid your camp. Show me what you would do.”

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — blaise . blazestar
  — he/him ; leader of skyclan
  — pansexual ; divorced ; single
  — longhaired flame point Ragdoll with blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Mercibun

​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

✿—— the sand is warm beneath her paws, heated by the greenleaf sun hanging golden above—it's a twinge, a twin thought alongside blazestar, to remember that it will soon end. the thought kindles a worry in her chest; she's never undergone a leaf-bare in the forest, only heard tales of barren trees and equally barren fresh-kill piles, of endless sickness and piled snow. she has to fight a shudder at the thought, at the anxiety she feels at the thought of her kits braving their apprenticeship under a blanket of cold instead of the sun-drenched warmth into which they'd been born. she can hear birdsong in her ears, and even her rudimentary tracking skills can smell the fresh green scent of pine and the warm living odor of birds.

she makes herself focus, forces herself to draw from the center of her mind and pay attention to blazestar; her turned gaze reveals his own troubled eyes suspended in a minute that seems longer, of silence; his words are sore and aching, and she doesn't fault him for it. the tabby barely notices his correction, merely nods and keeps her mouth shut—the last thing she wants is to hurt him any more. she tries to focus on the grit of sand beneath her paws, the sound of birdsong in the air, the slightest breeze against her muzzle; anything except those wounded blue eyes, but she can't. i have to look at him to train, she thinks with a humor she doesn't really feel, tilts her head up to better hear his words.

blazestar's paws rake the sand, presumably finding the footing her lighter frame doesn't have to search for on the loose sand. pretend i am a windclan warrior, he says, as though it's so easy—warmth brushes her ears, thinking of how silly she'll look trying to rush the huge tom. she pauses, appraises him with careful green eyes; her first instinct is to launch herself at him with all the ferocity she'd summon in this hypothetical situation, but that doesn't seem right. she visualizes it, thinks of how easily he'd be able to knock her aside with the swing of one golden paw, struggles to think of what to do. "um, alright," she mews, exhaling slowly to prepare herself.

the tabby pushes herself forward on footsore paws, swerving on the sandy earth in an attempt to strike at blazestar's ribs with a sheathed paw. the move is poor, even she can feel it; off balance, unsure of herself.

---

┏━•✿°•° OOC -ˋˏ ༻⚘༺ ˎˊ- INFORMATION °•°✿•━━━━━┓ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ❀

• ooc: ——
  

• 

• ❀ bobbie — for her kithood love of bobby pins she/her ; cisgender female — skyclan — queen — 40 ☾s —— smells like sweet lavender & pine needles ; sounds like sansa stark ; speech in #D64933, thoughts in #B1C797 —— peaceful / healing powerplay permitted ; attacks/contact in underline ; won’t start fights ; will flee ; will show mercy ; won't kill or maim —— pansexual panromantic monogamist, divorced, not looking ; open to friendships, enemies, casual interactions, plotting ; not open to unplanned romance & unplanned battles penned by dejavu— desklamp9 on discord for plots

• shhh don't look here (battle info will go here at some point)

​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

He thanks the stars she does not perceive the stutter threatening his voice, the anxious flash of his eyes, and instead dips her head demurely. She has no reason to suspect Skypaw or his littermate’s true heritage—and now he feels some of the tension leave his body. He will leave Moonpaw be, he resolves, and focus on the Clan he ruined his relationship with her for. Bobbie is more or less his apprentice now, and Blazestar will not slack on her training. Despite the unsure angle of her body as she spins to face him, the sand skittering beneath her dainty paws, she flings herself into him in a respectable attempt at a first blow.

It bounces softly against his ribcage, and Blazestar laughs. “Don’t be afraid to hurt me,” he urges. “We’ll train without claws, but I want you to really get a feel for combat against another feline.” He slouches, muscles looser now as he begins to stalk her in a half-circle. “It’s different than driving a dog away.” He bounces in place, getting a feel of the shifting ground beneath him, feeling the vibrations of the forest ring between his toes. “A dog is a beast, but a cat—no matter what Clan they’re from—is just like you.”

Blazestar springs, and though his movements are slow in comparison to a limber cat’s, he uses the momentum he creates to his advantage. The Ragdoll aims to bowl Bobbie over, his paws stretched outward to knock her onto her back; if successful, he will pin her to the ground beneath him.

And if successful, Blazestar will be near-stunned at the proximity of her eyes boring into his, evergreen skyscapes piercing a blue greenleaf sky, and he will feel the beat of her heart through the veins in each foreleg.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — blaise . blazestar
  — he/him ; leader of skyclan
  — pansexual ; divorced ; single
  — longhaired flame point Ragdoll with blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Mercibun

​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

✿—— her blow finds its home despite her wobbly stance, the instability she can feel beneath white-tipped paws, glancing off his ribcage with a soft blow that leaves her faintly embarassed. everyone has to start somewhere, she thinks with a sort of sheepish amusement, standing awkwardly still to listen to the leader's words. blazestar urges her to not be afraid to hurt him; of course they aren't training with claws, but she needs to get "a feel for combat", whatever that means. bobbie nods in response, head turning nervously as he stalks around her with a smooth looseness of muscle she certainly isn't displaying. he's right, of couse—she has only the barest trace of experience in battle, that being trying (and failing) to drive away a dog, which is clearly an entirely separate thing; the dog had lunged itself at their little group with mindless bites, not the careful movements blazestar displays now. the tabby nods again, replies, "alright."

uncertainty wreathes her stiff posture, unsure whether she should turn to follow his half-circling or stand in place and wait for an attack. she doesn't have the chance to think about it any longer before suddenly he's springing towards her in a great mass of golden fur, huge paws pressing her chest before she can do much of anything and knocking her quickly onto her back on the sandy ground. she's shut her eyes instinctively against the whoosh of sand for a heartbeat and when she opens them he's got her solidly pinned to the ground, deep blue eyes staring back at her looking about as stunned as she feels. he smells like pine sap and elderberry, like the den she'd once sat awkwardly in; she thinks this with a startling clarity, her heart beating against her ribcage like a trapped bird. she should say something, but she's not—it's his paws on my chest, she thinks almost guiltily, nothing more.

"i ... i suppose i know what not to do," she manages weakly once she can finally find her voice, searching desperately for something else to say, but she can't focus like this, not when his face is this close. she feels like a kit found creeping out of camp, she feels like an apprentice with a puppy crush (she should not think of that, that is not what this is, she insists), she feels foolish, she feels careless. all she can say is, "not to uh, not to let the opponent pin me d-down?"

NO LOVE, HOWEVER BRIEF (✿) 𝑰𝑺 𝑾𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑫

• ooc: ——
  
• nothing here, have a nice day :-)
• 
  — bobbie
  — she/her ; warrior of skyclan ; 40 ☾s
  — "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
  — chibi by its_oliverr
  — penned by dejavu
  

​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

This is as physically close to Bobbie as Blazestar has ever dared get. He is uncomfortably aware of how small and slight she feels beneath him, of the fluttering beat of her heart that almost seems to sync with his, kickstarted by proximity. He can scent the sand lightly coating the tips of her fur, the heart of lavender and sticky-sweet sap below the dust, and the skin beneath his thick pelt is red as fire. He’s not felt this way in moons, in long moons that he’s forced himself to forget—and she has brought them all unbidden to the surface of his brain in a way he cannot hide from or refuse any longer.

“Ah…” Concentrate, you birdbrain, he admonishes himself, and he blinks, her pale tabby figure against him aligning into focus once more. “Well, yes, but, uh… you can’t always predict that.” His tail begins to anxiously flick behind them. Sand plumes up and dissipates in the hot greenleaf wind. “But consider… ah… consider this. I’m in a vulnerable position here on top of you, right?” He blinks, ears twitching. “How would you escape right now, were I an enemy warrior?”

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — blaise . blazestar
  — he/him ; leader of skyclan
  — pansexual ; divorced ; single
  — longhaired flame point Ragdoll with blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Mercibun

​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

✿—— at this point, she might fight tooth and claw to get out from this hold just to save herself from embarassment, feeling heat prickling along her spine and the tips of her ears until she thinks they might catch aflame in the greenleaf warmth. she feels quite distinctly small, for one thing—intimidated as she might have once been by the concept of battle, the fact of how easily blazestar had knocked her over like a kitten toy is a realization of that. a realization that if she wants to stay alive, much less win, in the landscape of the clans, she'll have to find a way around brute force. for another—well, she's trying to avoid thinking about how this whole situation makes her feel. better to focus on the practical.

"uh, y-yeah," she mews, trying not to directly meet his eyes where they're whisker-lengths from her own as he speaks. we're training, you mousebrain, she scolds, twitching her ear and trying to pay attention. she pauses, considering his words—perhaps the single advantage of her size is that in real battle, her claws and teeth would easily reach towards his soft underbelly and throat rather than his head or sides, as they would if were they of the same height. that, and she could easily wriggle out from beneath him without having to squeeze—if she weren't pinned down, anyways.

the tabby contemplates her next move and rather than give a verbal reply, she attempts to lift her neck forwards and push her head into the soft flesh at his throat with as much force as she can muster, hoping to push the breath from him with the motion. he said don't be afraid to hurt him, she thinks, and so at the same time she tries to push her hind paws into his stomach. if she's successful in her attempts to stun him, she'll wriggle out from the hold.

NO LOVE, HOWEVER BRIEF (✿) 𝑰𝑺 𝑾𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑫

• ooc: late sorry </3
  also ik there's a lot going on here so let me know if i messed anything up lmao
  
• nothing here, have a nice day :-)
• 
  — bobbie
  — she/her ; warrior of skyclan ; 40 ☾s
  — "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
  — chibi by its_oliverr
  — penned by dejavu
  

​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar does not expect Bobbie’s movements—he had thought she’d give another tentative verbal response to his challenge, but she reacts quickly and forcefully. Her head shoves up into the soft mane-like fluff at his throat, and he chokes on his surprise, biting his tongue. He tastes the faintest hint of blood, but she isn’t done. Her hind paws batter his belly, kicking him in the softest part with rabbit-like strength. He staggers backwards, successfully dislodged, and though he’s winded and has a sore tongue, pride gleams in his blue gaze.

“That’s—” He coughs, then spits a bit of bloodied spittle on the ground. “That was great! Good thinking. Most cats are not my size, but there are many who are more well-trained than me. That won’t work on everyone, but as long as you keep your wits about you, you should be able to escape being pinned on your back.” Blazestar studies her, beginning to pace a half-circle before her again.

He needs to see her defense. Without warning, he flies toward her again, kicking sand up with his back paws. He aims a sheathed paw for her chest. Though his claws are not extended, there is power behind the blow; if it lands, it would have a good deal of force behind it.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — blaise . blazestar
  — he/him ; leader of skyclan
  — pansexual ; divorced ; single
  — longhaired flame point Ragdoll with blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Mercibun

​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

✿—— she wriggles free from where great golden paws pin her to the earth, tawny fur disturbed from its soft waves into a rumpled messiness, but pride glitters in her eyes. of course, it was only a rudimentary move, she assures herself, but she's proud nonetheless—she has to take a first step somewhere, flicking sand off her tail as she glances over. blazestar coughs and spits onto the earth, and bobbie shuffles her paws in worry, "are you alright?"

thankfully he seems to be fine, and she breaks into a grin at the praise for a moment with a nod. she knows that many of the windclan cats (their biggest enemy, really) are said to be quite tiny—her size or smaller—according to the battle stories warriors had swapped after the last raid. "mm-hmm. i u-understand," she mews, nodding again and glancing about her as blazestar begins to pace once more, trying to brace for another tackle.

that's not what he does, though—charging towards her without warning, sand flying gritty in the air and making it hard to see. bobbie curls backwards in a quick scuffling movement, but not quick enough; a huge sheathed paw swings into her thin chest, knocking the wind out of her and pushing her back in a swathe of sand. a glance down confirms she's fine, perhaps going to be bruised later—but she realizes quickly that if it was a real battle and his claws had been unsheathed, she would be a lot less fine. catching her breath, the tabby hauls herself up from her half-fall, half-crouch and admits sheepishly, "i didn't expect that - i thought you were g-going to tackle me again. that's my mistake."

thinking on it, she pauses and studies blazestar where he stands. bobbie pushes herself forward again, posture unsure but light on her paws, and darts low and sidelong in an attempt to catch a sheathed paw in a blow against the junction of his chest and shoulder.

NO LOVE, HOWEVER BRIEF (✿) 𝑰𝑺 𝑾𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑫

• ooc: ——
  
• nothing here, have a nice day :-)
• 
  — bobbie
  — she/her ; warrior of skyclan ; 40 ☾s
  — "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
  — chibi by its_oliverr
  — penned by dejavu
  

​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar chuckles at the worried manner she shuffles her paws in. “I’m fine, don’t worry. Remember, I told you not to hold back!” He is inexplicably pleased by the concern she demonstrates toward him, though he couldn’t say why. Heat flushes beneath his golden pelt again, but he shakes it off, moving his paws again quickly. This is training, he reminds himself again.

She does not anticipate the blow he delivers to her chest, and for a moment, watching her stagger, he is the one worried he had gone too far. “Are you alright?” He can see how winded she is, though Bobbie displays a fair amount of resilience. Despite the power behind the attack, the lilac tabby pushes herself to her paws again and is even able to explain where she went wrong. Blazestar nods. “It’s a trap I fall into myself still… you can’t spend a lot of time predicting moves.” He fluffs out his pelt, crouching as he sees her start moving again.

This time, the blow catches him—light but quick—on his chest. He does not have time to defend against the attack, and if there had been claws, no doubt she’d have drawn his blood. Blazestar, however, sees an opening in the unsteady way she holds her weight, and he darts a heavy paw toward her thin, elegant limbs, attempting to trip her up and send her tangled in the sand.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — blaise . blazestar
  — he/him ; leader of skyclan
  — pansexual ; divorced ; single
  — longhaired flame point Ragdoll with blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Mercibun

​