private TAP HAS SPRUNG A LEAK — LIGHTPAW

[STORMFEATHER]

So much has happened that Stormpaw can hardly find time to gather her senses. First the boars, then Patchpaw, and now ShadowClan cats were closer to their heartland than ever before. Stormpaw often felt exhausted by the end of the day, not from training, but from the emotional toil and whiplash she had to endure the past moon. Anger, grief, and frustration now occupied the same places in her mind, unable ti distinguish them, she felt strangely as if she existed in a void.

Stormpaw's eyes flew open. She was in her nest in the apprentice den. The tricolor sneezed, blowing a feather out and away from her woven nest. Her pupils widened as she watched it flutter away, far out of her reach. It was a down feather, milky-cream colored like that stinking ShadowClan kit that had wandered into their territory. The fur along her spine ruffled just thinking about it.

"Psst. Lightpaw." She searched nosily for the golden fur of her den-mate. "Hey, remember that ShadowClan kit? How odd he walked with his eyes closed. I always knew ShadowClan cats had bees for brains—all of them. It must be something in the Carrionplace that messes with their minds. What do you think?" She said with a puff of her chest. Being of the elder apprentices and generally seeming more approachable than the likes of Burnpaw or any of the others, Stormpaw had decided to pick at Lightpaw.

@LIGHTPAW .

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[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
Lightpaw had been there before. When he was Stormpaw's age. Nothing had quite seemed to go right. One bad thing after another- he couldn't take it. It had exploded more than once. He was left with a permanent scar now, a reminder of it all. Sometimes, despite it all, he wanted to be proud of it, to think of it as the end of that era in his life.

Other times, he loathed it, wondered if he had ever truly gotten stronger. That if he were to go back, would he have been able to prevent that death? Would he have ended up with his scar at the claws of a WindClanner, be forced to see the wretched way his Clanmates, his mentor, had looked at him? Sometimes he thought no. Sometimes he thought he deserved that scar, that pain.

Had things truly gotten better? The dogs. Emberstar. The fight for Sunningrocks. The boars. One thing after another, and it never seemed to be getting better. Was it a sign? Sometimes he wished he could communicate with StarClan as Howlingstar and Berryheart did. Sometimes, he wished he could give them a piece of his mind. Other times, he just wanted to ask them why.

The golden-furred apprentice had been asleep when the torbico began nosing around the den, pale paws planting on his nest and a voice whispering in his ear. He merely grunted at the sound of his name. The sound didn't cease, though, and he was dragged from the murky depths of sleep, of a dream that was very quickly forgotten.

Lightpaw blinked once, twice, squinted blearily at the face hovering over him. "Huh?" came his groggy response as he worked at processing. ShadowClan. Kit. Bees? Oh, dumb. Yeah, ShadowClan was dumb. He hummed agreement, offering a nod. Carrionplace...

Oh, she was... she was talking about that kit. The strange one that was walking around with closed eyes. Oh. Yeah. Sucking in a decidedly more waking breath through his nose, Lightpaw scrunched his eyes shut and stretched out his forelimbs until they quivered. "Mmm. Bet it's the water they drink. Full of mud 'n frogs."

Leaning to the side, Lightpaw peered around Stormpaw in an attempt to see the den's entrance. "What time is it? Why are you awake?" More importantly, why was he awake?

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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[STORMFEATHER]

He was slower than Stormpaw would have liked. Two round eyes watched the apprentice sleepily come to his senses. Her rump wriggled impatiently as she waited for her fellow den-mate to put the pieces together. Had he forgotten it that easily? Soon a smile would come to Stormpaw's face as he got the idea and remembered it. A wider one grew as he agreed with her.

"Oh, the dawn patrol just got back." Stormpaw reported, glancing out from the sheltered branches of their den. The light from outside was seeping in, warming her tricolored fur. "I'm on tick duty today, but it does not mean I have to get up early. I could start whenever I liked." The truth was being stretched, but she rarely had a moment to come across Lightpaw alone.

"So—" She puffed, changing the subject as smooth as porcupine. "You're nearly a warrior. Got any good fighting moves? I'd like to learn. From you. That is really why I woke you." Her eyes shined mysteriously, paws tucked up against the wall of her nest. Maybe something was not entirely truthful.

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[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
Lightpaw wasn't sure if he was dismayed or relieved by Stormpaw's answer. The dawn patrol just got back. One, it meant that it wasn't as early as he thought. Two, it meant that he didn't have to go on it. Three, it meant he was still up earlier than he'd have liked to be. Not that Nightbird had any qualms dragging him out at whatever hour she pleased. Night bird in all senses of the name.

"...Tick duty, huh?" came his gradual response. "Don't envy that." Yet she admitted that it didn't mean she had to be up early, and he nearly had the mind to ask why she was up in the first place. Or forcing him to wake up with her. There were plenty of other choices.

So, she said, and his question was answered. The topic changed to him, and his look of vague disinterest vanished, ears perking and eyes blinking. What? Learn from him? It was an unexpected but welcome compliment, and the tabby sat up, attention now fully fixed on her.

"I mean, sure, I'd be down to spar," he hummed. "We could get out into the forest if you tell a warrior we're out collecting moss. I'm sure my mentor won't miss me too much." He flashed a grin at her, brief and wry. "We'd probably be dragged away for duties before we even started if we went at it in camp."

Now Lightpaw was the one raring to go, getting to his paws and lifting one to nudge at Stormpaw in an obvious indication to get a move on. "You need moss for ticks, right? Go tell Owlear I'm going with you or something, I'll be at the camp entrance." With that, he departed to do just that.

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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[STORMFEATHER]

Her reputation as a kit had earned her a name for overactivity and general boldness. However, Stormpaw had never gone out of camp unattended without a warrior. She did not think it bad to be a rule-follower. The last thing she wanted to do was to delay her warrior ceremony, and desperately craved the respect from her parents and elders. Her poor hunting skills had not done it for her. Following the warrior code wasn't so hard.

Now presented with the opportunity to sneak—a loophole—she paused, considering it. She would have suggested the camp, but Lightpaw was right, the more time spent out in the open would attract the attention of other warriors and she would be sent to tick duty and whatever Lightpaw had planned that day.

"Well—okay!" Stormpaw grinned, shaking out her feathery fur. "You're nearly a warrior anyway!" She hastily justified it to herself with a smile. The tricolor kitten got to her paws and nodded quickly, darting off to fulfill her own requirement.

Stormpaw returned to the entrance of the camp with her tail held high and chin raised. "Come on!" She barked. "Let's go get moss, huh?"

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[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
Lightpaw had glanced back in time to see Stormpaw lurk her way out of the den, while he shuffled over to the camp entrance to wait. In the time she was busy with that, the golden tom kept an eye out for any cats in particular he didn't want to see. Fortunately, there were none. Instead, he uttered a brief explanation for his presence to the stationed guards at the camp entrance. With no reason to suspect anything out of place, the questioning didn't go too far.

The tom stood up as the torbico rushed over, already turning with an easy smiled at her remark. "Real excited for moss collecting today, huh? Probably the first apprentice ever," he commented, and together they strode out into the forest.

It was only after they were out of sight from the guards dad he peer back, and only when they were hopefully out of earshot that he spoke up again. "Okay, let's find somewhere far enough that we won't be bothered but close enough that it won't take too long to get back." He'd already considered a few spots while waiting.

In his earlier days of apprenticeship, it wasn't unusual for Lightpaw to sneak out for alone time under the guise of moss collection. It was also the precise reason he didn't alert Nightbird to his plans. She would call him out on his bullshit immediately. Moss collection was the only time he would be allowed out by himself without a warrior hovering over his shoulder, and he relished it. Not when he actually had to do it, though.

"We ought to actually be somewhere with moss, too, I guess. Since we'll need to bring some back. I'm sure we could get a quick fight in before we need to go back. Easy-peasy." Then, after a pause of thought, he continued. "I think we could go somewhere near the great sycamore. It's closer than the training hollow, at least."

With certainty that Stormpaw wouldn't argue with his decision, the tabby set off at a brisk pace. It wasn't long before the trees parted and the landmark loomed. He never failed to crane his neck and look up into the canopy far above.

Abruptly he spun on his heel to face the tricolor apprentice. "Right," he said, and shuffled a few paces back. He lowered himself into a half crouch. "Nightbird is always telling me one thing or another, but I have... my own preferences." He grinned mischievously, eyes narrowing in preparation. "Show me what you got."

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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[STORMFEATHER]

Hesitantly did she follow. Stormpaw had been an apprentice for quite some time now—longer now than she had been a kitten. Yet Stormpaw had never ventured outside alone. She frowned and shook her head. She was not alone, she had Lightpaw. Her eyes trained curiously on his flashing golden fur, nostrils flaring to catch scent of what was nearby. Without the guidance of an older warrior, she felt both free and frightened.

"Hm?" Stormpaw murmured, betraying that she had not been listening to the other apprentice. Her paws sank into the earth and she looked up through the canopy of leaves where the sycamore stretched out.

A ruffle went down her tricolored fur when Lightpaw suddenly sprang around on her, and her muscles tensed in preparation.

"I fought a RiverClan warrior once with Owlear." Stormpaw mewed proudly. The cries and screams of the RiverClan molly rustled again through her brain. She surpressed a shiver.

At once Stormpaw's ears laid back and her body dropped into a crouch. Staying quiet, she watched Lightpaw carefully before attempting to lunge forward at a quick speed, paws outstretched to slam into his chest.

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[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
Lightpaw's grin only widened following Stormpaw's brag. "A fish isn't much to write home about, now is it?" the elder apprentice teased. When she dropped into a crouch, however, he fell quiet.

While he was ready when she bounded forward for an attack, the golden tom wasn't quite faster. Rather than jump backward or toward the side he reared up to intercept the attack, and her paws slammed into his belly. Breath escaped him in a rough oof, but now he was on top.

Lightpaw came crashing back down, paws landing upon her back to hopefully push Stormpaw into the ground, where he would then spin around on top to lower himself and straddle her to try and prevent her movement. "See, you're kinda like Nightbird!" he puffed, still feeling the hit to his belly. "Small! She likes to be real sneaky with that and pull dirty moves." However, it gave him the edge in natural strength and weight.

The golden tom squeezed hard, his grin still present but slightly strained from effort. "Can't fight if you can't move, though, huh? Now what?"

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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[STORMFEATHER]

"It—" Stormpaw nearly lost her breath in her indignation. "It as not a fish—it was a full-grown RiverClan warrior." She insisted. She remembered the she-cat's clumsy movements and wondered if they had been blind. "I doubt you could say as much." She scoffed, holding her head up high and lifting her tail.

Her slight stature was something she was embarrassed about. Since her birth, she had heard queens gossiping about it. Perhaps she was not a real ThunderClan cat—not one who was big and had stocky shoulders. But she was just like her father, and she might not grow much more than what she was now. Indignified again—Stormpaw had never felt such frustration with Patchpaw—the tricolor she-cat huffed.

"I'm perfectly normal-sized. Not everyone's big and strong like that!"

With her white chest brushing the ground, she felt the heavy presence of the older apprentice towering over her. She hissed softly at the squeeze, blue eyes flashing as she wordlessly twisted her head to (gently, but still rough enough to hurt somewhat) sink her teeth into Lightpaw's right paw.

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[LIGHTSTRIKE .]

❝ WE HAVE YET TO CRASH ✧°.☀ —————————————————————————————
Her first move was to deny his claim, which has him barking out a laugh. "Okay! Calling yourself big isn't gonna get me off you, though!" And then she chomps his paw.

Lightpaw lets out a yelp, partially out of surprise, but it soon turns to a laugh. It succeeds at removing one of his paws, if only for a moment, as he tugs it free and shakes it once. "Ow! Okay- gonna have to try harder than that, though! C'mon! There's lots of cats bigger than me, what's the plan?" He sure didn't have one.

Oh, right, he was meant to be teaching her things. Maybe he should have a plan. The tom hesitated for a moment before dropping himself on top of her again, hopefully intercepting whatever she may have been brewing. Wrapping his legs around her he squeezed again, rolling over and hopefully dunking her on her side before letting go. "Okay!" he puffed, pulling his paws from beneath her to get up and step back. He was thinking. "Okay," he repeated, filling in the gaps of his mind.

"As the big strong guy you say I am," he said with a hint of pride, "You gotta act like I am. Be... creative." He found himself thinking about how Nightbird faced against him in training. "Use what you've got, keep away, all that. Obviously, if it were a real fight, it would have been over from the start when I nabbed you like that." He clicked his teeth for emphasis.

Lightpaw lowered himself into a crouch. "You know, be quick. Don't let me grab you. Sometimes you gotta play the long game." He was often exhausted by the time training was over. "If you can outlast me, then things get much easier." Not that he was happy to admit it. "It's not always about a battle of strength." Shit, he really was becoming her, wasn't he?

[penned by its_oliverr - ☀]

——————————— ☀.°✧ BUT WE STILL MAY AS WELL ENJOY IT ❞ ​

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