[Random Melody]

Originally Posted by Noire

Plus I dont want a certain prissy spoiled little she-cat to get upset if her fur gets messy.

Alunapaw felt her fur bristling. How dare he!? Granted, she had insulted him first, which meant that she should had seen that coming. However, the she-cat was still appalled, but even though she wanted to bicker back, she could sense the stern look that her uncle was giving her. So, instead she took a deep breath, and let out a soft giggle. ‘’You don’t fight girls, huh?’’ She says, looking away, but looking at him in the corner of her eyes. ‘’Afraid you’re going to lose? Because I’m not afraid to attack you, if I was given the chance.’’ She says, almost entering into a hunting crouch. She gave the tom a look over and scoffed.

Springwind did not know what to say for a second, so he analyzed his apprentice carefully. What was wrong with him? Why did he not feel like he should fight? It wasn’t really a fight. It was only training. He knew Alunapaw was not fragile, but did Hunterpaw think she was? ‘’Aluna, forget it. If he doesn’t want to fight him, then don’t force the issue.’’

‘’He’s being a coward!’’ Alunapaw objects. ‘’Saying I don’t fight girls, isn’t an exception. It’s an excuse. And, frankly, I feel that he’s displaying sexism.’’ She replies, proudly, as if she answered the question to the case. Solved the problem. Springwind shook his head, sighing. He was all for the fun and games, something Alunapaw and he did a lot--even Hunterpaw and himself. The tom was extremely laid back, but when it came to important matters was when he had to put on a boss mode, so that both apprentices knew who was in charge.

‘’Alunapaw, I would advise you to go back to the bush. We’ll...practice something else.’’ The mentor says, flicking his tail. He didn’t want Hunterpaw to feel uncomfortable. However, Alunapaw paid no heed to her uncle. Instead she stomped up to Hunterpaw, albeit a lot shorter than him, than she would like to be. She wanted to be able to look him in the eyes without her looking up at him. She figured this would display dominance, and she felt like the weaker link in doing so.

‘’My fur has nothing to do with your concern, whether it gets dirty or not!’’ She thrusts her face to his. Her teeth were barring, and she was on the brink of touching his nose. ‘’I could just claw your face right now for ever assuming that I’m some spoiled she-cat!’’ She threw her head back, turning away for a second. Springwind stepped up, ‘’Hey, now. Calm down, Aluna. He has a date, you can’t ruin his good-’’

‘’A date?’’ The she-cat says, pausing for a second to process the thought. It didn’t settle well within her, but instead of acting on this, she rolls her eyes. ‘’Who would ever want to go on a date with him? What, did he force her down until she succumbed to a yes?’’ Alunapaw turned to look at Hunterpaw, and looked away quickly. ‘’I feel bad for the poor she-cat that has to be around him...half-clan, and a coward?’’ Once again, she let out a sugary laugh, finding it funny, and at the same to repulsive. At least, she wanted to sound repulsive. The tom didn’t look half-bad. He was good-looking, but it was something about him...that made her uncomfortable. Maybe it was the fact when she first met him, he flirted with everyone. Or the fact that he took her uncle from her as a potential mentor. It could had been anything that made her have a dislike for him. Only she didn’t have a dislike for him. She had no particular feelings for him.

Alunapaw decided to trot back to his side, circling around him while shaking her head. She brushed herself alongside him before saying, ‘’Yeah, you’re a real prize alright.’’ She says sarcastically before walking back to the shrub she was sitting under. She wished he had pounced on her. She wanted to be praised--something she rarely was nowadays. She wanted to see Springwind boasting about her, not Hunterpaw. And, as she looked at him with a faint sad expression pressed on her maw, perhaps she was a little jealous of him.

Springwind glared at his niece before tending to his apprentice once more. ‘’How about we just...take a break for a few moments?’’ He musters a smile at all the apprentices around them, before they turned back onto Hunterpaw. ‘’I do advise you to practice more, and between you and me, Aluna’s right. What if we go to a real battle and you’re stuck with fighting a she-cat? You cannot be scared to attack them. After all, you’re not attacking them for no reason, but out of defense.’’ He sit next to his apprentice, and put a paw atop his head, before gently letting it down and looking him over to make sure the young tom was alright.

"Im not a coward." Hunterpaw said smoothly, staring at Alunapaw with faintly narrowed eyes. This she-cat confused him, completely confused him. His mouth opened for another retort but he thought better of it, instead thinking. Why didnt he want to fight a she-cat?

Ohhh, right, because of his father. His father, the always abusive mate. His father, the one who destroyed every relationship he ever got and why? Because he had anger problems and those anger problems got out of control. Hunterpaw didnt want to end up like that, physically hurting every she-cat he met. But, he wouldnt say this out loud.

Instead he watched, not amused but not scared as Alunapaw marched up to him. He found himself stepping back, not comfortable with being this close to a she-cat when they were both clearly....Angry. Hunterpaw knew he could let his fury get the best of him sometimes and the last thing he wanted was to lay a claw on this she-cat. On any she-cat.

"Well you are spoiled." Hunterpaw pointed out, giving a faint, dry chuckle, mostly to himself. He probably shouldnt have said anything though, he realized, so he fell silent and let Springwind talk with Alunapaw, showing no emotion when his mentor brought the date up. For a split second hurt flickered through his brown eyes at Alunapaw's words;

What, did he force her down until she succumbed to a yes?

And then it was gone in the same instant. But he had done that. And it wasnt fair to Swiftpaw, was it? It wasnt fair that he was forcing her into a date. Call it off, He thought, but he still said nothing and he continued to be silent when Alunapaw padded off toward the shrub once again. This time his face was shadowed over in thought as he watched her, unspeaking.

Thats when a familiar scent, that really shouldnt have been familiar to him, filled his nostrils. Hunterpaw audibly snarled, deep in his throat as he turned his head to see none other than Eclipsemoon padding up. As if things werent bad enough.

"Hey, what happened?" Eclipsemoon asked, looking toward Alunapaw before looking back at Springwind and Hunterpaw in confusion. His head was tilted in faint concern, curiosity in his eyes.

"None of your business." Hunterpaw muttered, barely loud enough to be heard as he dug his claws into the ground. Eclipsemoon twitched his ears at his half-brother, frowning.

"Is it about Alunapaw?"

"Maybe," Hunterpaw narrowed his eyes.

"Then it is my business, because she's my apprentice." Eclipsemoon said calmly. Hunterpaw glared up at the larger Tom.

"Whatever. Its nothing you need to be involved in, so go away."

"Why are you acting like this?" Eclipsemoon asked incredulously. "I just asked what was going on."

"Go ask your apprentice," Hunterpaw snipped, flicking his tail toward Aluna.

"I'd rather ask my brother, because my brother seems to be the one with the problem right now," Eclipsemoon replied, still staying almost frustratingly calm.

Hunterpaw hissed under his breath. "You wanna ask your brother? Go back to ThunderClan, im sure you got some there." He growled, the fur along his spine pricking up faintly.

"No, you're my brother," Eclipsemoon corrected, then looked over at Springwind with a completely bewildered expression as if to ask, What is his problem?