Chatting on the Knife's Edge [For Syd]

[Heathclaw]

"Ah! A brand new day, a brand new adventure!" said an enthusiastic Lightheart, uncurling from his nest and bounding out of the warrior's den... apparently oblivious to the fact that he'd just overslept. Indeed, he went through his daily routine as though he'd woken up right on time, right down to lining up in front of the camp for the dawn patrol.

He was only able to keep up this charade for a little while, though, before boredom overtook him. "Huh. Everyone else is late. Oh well, I'm sure they'll let me know when they leave." Granted, whoever thought it was a good idea to put him on the dawn patrol must've had a tenuous grip on their sanity. Prolonged exposure to Lightheart in the early hours of the day tended to provoke murderous responses in many Clan cats.

As he made his way back to the den, he caught a glimpse of the kits in the nursery, particularly Ashkit, who was in her seventh moon. What a shame that she wouldn't be trained as a warrior! Oh well. Not much that he could do about it.

"Now where was I- OH! Er... hi, Ivytooth," said Lightheart nervously, turning around and finding himself face to face with their new deputy. She was looking extremely miffed for some odd reason. "What's up?"

[[S]ydney]

[/b]Forget something, Lightheart?”[/color] She motioned with her tail towards the bright morning sky.

The now past dawn sky.

Yeah.[/ul][/size]

[Heathclaw]

"Forgetting something?" repeated Lightheart, tilting his head inquisitively. "Well, now that you mention it, I do feel like something's off... Now, er what could it..." His eyes followed her tail up at the blue sky, and the sun which was rising above the treetops. "Yikes! I forgot! I didn't eat yet! And it's almost midmorning..." he groaned. He took a glance at the fresh-kill pile, took a step towards it, and then stepped meekly back upon taking a closer look at the look on Ivytooth's face. Frankly, it was absolutely terrifying.

"Um... that wasn't it? I.. I guess not. Well, um, could we go somewhere else if you're going to rip my tail off? I don't want the kits to see," said Lightheart with a nervous laugh. "And, um, you should probably make it fast. The dawn patrol will be starting any moment now."

[[S]ydney]

[/b]That's right, it's almost midmorning!”[/color] Emphasizing 'morning', the she-cat growled, flattening her ears against her head. ”And you know what comes before midmorning? Dawn!”

Rolling her eyes, as if the answer had been stupidly simple, the she-cat's tail lashed angrily. ”No no, I think it's okay. The kits should see this, learn not to miss Dawn Patrol.”

Yes, she was angry.

Yes, she was frustrated.

She'd get over it though.

Eventually.[/ul]

[Heathclaw]

"Uh... aheheheh..." was all that Lightheart managed. Ivytooth must've been really irritated, if she was thinking of making an example of him in front of those kits that she loved. "B-but, y'know... I really think I'm doing every other cat on the Dawn Patrol a favor. I mean... have you seen me in the morning? I'm way too high energy. It drives everyone crazy. Can't we maybe come up with a way... oh! I know! Ashkit!"

At this point, Ivytooth looked like she could melt his head just with her eyes. "No, no... hear me out," he said, backing away and curling his tail around his paws, and speaking in a lowered voice. "She wakes up at the crack of dawn, right? I can train her, then! I mean... she's going to need a special mentor, she is. And I mean, she's still a bit of a kit, right? Kits love me- I'm good with kits! Heck, I'm practically a kit myself. And then, well, then I could do something productive with my mornings, instead of driving everyone batty. What do you say?"

[[S]ydney]

Narrowing her eyes at the black and white tom, the deputy let out a little snort, mentally sizing the tom up. Behind her she could hear the rustle of cats “Lightheart's gonna get it now” and other little whispers. Ivytooth didn't like to listen to gossip (it was ridiculous) but, this time she couldn't help but agree. Yep, this time she was going to skin him. Absolutely skin him and, what was worse were the silly excuses he was making up for it! Doing them a favor! Yeah right- The she-cat's eyes narrowed even more as the tom mentioned her beloved daughter, not to mention she tensed visibly. ”Excuse me?” She raised a brow, threateningly and drew in a breath.

If he was mentioning her just to get out-

Well he had another thing coming.

Snorting (the idea sounded far fetched) the tabby rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to retort something but, stopped short. As far fetched as it sounded, Ivytooth did like the sound of it... Poor Ashkit was so heartbroken she couldn't get a mentor- She wanted to be a warrior so bad. And- Maybe, maybe some training would do her some good. She'd have to know how to protect herself, if she ever was in trouble, right?

Right.

Besides, it would make her so happy.

Loosening her glare up, the slender she-cat cocked her head before cracking a small smile. ”As long as you keep your training with Darkpaw up.” The smile vanished though, as if a second thought hit her mind. ”And don't think this will let you get out of your duties! You have sun-high patrol!”

[Heathclaw]

For about half of a second, Lightheart could have sworn that Ivytooth was about to hand him a one-way ticket to StarClan, she looked just about ready to spring on him. And then, she smiled, and it was like a ray of starlight had descended from the sky, announcing his salvation. She wasn't going to kill him then. He was safe, right?

"Keep up my training with Darkpaw? Sure! She's doing great. I gave her the pinecone lesson the other day," he said, nodding and backing away, now that he was in the clear. "Sunhigh patrol? Great! The sun looks pretty high right now, I think I'll go and get an early start. Catch you later, Ivytooth!" he said, turning around and outright bolting out of camp.