firefight [open] [Palestar]

[thalia]

Blazepaw paced back and forth anxiously, impatience barreling through him as the mouth of his leader's den gaped emptily. Where was Palestar?, he wondered furiously. He was supposed to be at his den by now, a cream-and-ginger streak of fur, nerve, and muscle chiding him on his duck-and-rolling. And he wasn't. Good ol' Palestar, the mentor late to his own training sessions. As usual.

"Aargh, Palestar, where are you?", he purred. Blazepaw longed even now to be in the rage of battle, adrenaline dumping into his veins as he wove through the dark storms of blood and claws. And... here he was... standing like a foolish, confused kit in front of his leader-slash-mentor's den, mewling pathetically for Palestar... Alright, perhaps that was a bit harsh, but still. Blazepaw stretched wearily, bronze fur shimmering with dashes of pale Titian and chestnut eyes blinking sleepily as his mind shrieked with frustration.

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[kitty]

Today just had to be the day that they scented a fox on the territory. Palestar had had to investigate the scent. Although stale, he couldn't take any chances. And so that dawn patrol had run over, long past the time it should have ended. He pushed into camp, satisfied now that the fox had left RiverClan territory a while ago and crossed into WindClan. It was now their problem, not his.

As he entered camp, pausing to share a few words with his warriors and apprentices as he crossed to his den, he remembered.

Mousedung, I was supposed to train Blazepaw today!

Amber eyes scanned the camp quickly, looking for the eldest apprentice. Finally he located the young tom, standing outside of Palestar's own den looking a bit lost. Ah, so when Palestar hadn't called him for training, he'd gone searching for him. The pale ginger leader chastised himself - Blazepaw was nearly a warrior, this was no time for his mentor to be slacking off a bit.

Hm. This was a perfect time for a surprise assessment. He approached the apprentice quietly, taking care not to make a noise. The tom was a mere foxlength away when he sprang and bowled the young tom over.

"You never know where a sneak attack could occur, Blazepaw," the leader hissed in his apprentice's ear. "Expect the unexpected." Claws sheathed, he clawed at the ear he'd whispered into.

Let's see how he deals with that, the RiverClan leader thought.

[thalia]

Blazepaw glanced up from his paws again, scanning the camp for any sign of his mentor. Where in StarClan are you, Palestar? Ah, well. Palestar was a leader, after all. He was probably off taking care of something. Shame, shame, Blazepaw. How inconsiderate can you possibly be? Gotta work on that thing... what do you call it... patience?

Suddenly there was a blur at the corner of his eye and in a blink the fiery apprentice was on his face, cheek in the dust and tongue against his teeth. A soft voice drifted down from above, fierce and passionate, and caressed his ears: "You never know where a sneak attack could occur, Blazepaw. Expect the unexpected." And with that, something sharp nipped his ear, and the adrenaline Blazepaw had so dreamed of snapped through him in a heartbeet.

Quickly the fiery apprentice dropped his chest, pressing it even closer to the ground, and let his muscles relax. Who knows if this will work on Palestar, but I guess I'll have to try it. "Palestar," he groaned, "where have you been? I've been waiting for ages. Everything okay?" Blazepaw caught his breath, nerves straining to sense Palestar's reaction.

[kitty]

Blazepaw suddenly dropped to his chest, pressed limply to the camp ground. Giving up so easily, Blazepaw? the RiverClan leader thought in disapproval. Either he truly was giving up, or...yes, that had to be it. Palestar relaxed his muscles a bit, readying himself for the move he suspected the apprentice to make next. Palestar taught the apprentice this move near the beginning of his training, a simple maneuver for the more hasty and less intelligent opponents, one good for smaller cats fighting larger ones that allowed them to either escape or launch an offensive attack.

"Trouble with fox scents," the pale ginger tabby explained briefly. "All's clear now, the trail went off towards WindClan." Normally warriors didn't converse with their opponents, but there was the occasional cat who liked to gloat in the thick of battle or perhaps just to distract their attacker, which, Palestar suspected, was Blazepaw's current strategy for preparation for the real attack.

((Bleh >.< Short and suckish. I apologize.))