[Thistledawn]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

The orange tom cleared his throat to hide his amusement, but he was failing to do so - it was showing in the twitching of his whiskers, in the gleam of his eyes though he tried desperately to hide it, and in the repeated coughing that happened when he couldn't clear his throat fast enough. "It's fine. I know all about elders and their stories - that was nice of you to bring something to them." That was what Blazingcomet had gathered from her rushed and panted story, and his eyes continued to sparkle with amusement as he struggled to keep his voice calm, wishing to be professional in this moment. Except Blazingcomet had never been good at that kind of thing, which was proven once again when a laugh eventually did slip through. When Cherrypaw let out a last dramatic remark, he could hold in his mirth no longer, and began to shake with silent laughter, eventually stopping when he could.

"The next time you put on a performance like that, I'll make sure you get a good piece of prey. That deserved a reward," The tom laughed with his eyes glowing eagerly. Whether Cherrypaw knew it or not, she had just saved him from the misery of remembering his happiness with Drizzleshard, and his dangerous thoughts of going to see Petal the kittypet. Then again, Petal might join SkyClan - in which case he would no longer be a traitor, and going to see her wouldn't be risky. Besides, she came out here to see him - he wasn't forced to go anywhere near the twoleg homes. Thank goodness - Blazingcomet was a SkyClan born cat, and proud of it! "We'll start with some new sparring techniques today. I want you to focus on nothing but me. Block everyone else out, and try to block me." The match, albeit an unfair and unevenly matched one, should be fairly interesting. Blazingcomet was looking foward to seeing if Cherrypaw would move quickly enough to block him or if he would win.

His guess was the second - while the apprentice had the ability to be smart and move quickly and she could learn well, she was quite the dramatist - and, though he would never say it in front of her for fear of hurting her feelings, a princess. He didn't exactly mean that in a complimentary way, either. She was pretty and graceful like a princess, but she also had the aspect of not wishing to work as hard. Though she had come for training, and she did seem eager to learn. Whether she was late or not no longer mattered. It was whether she could take the moves she had already learned, or use some of her own if she could think that quickly, and block Blazingcomet from pinning her down. The orange tom turned and walked away until he was nearly two fox-lengths from where he had been standing a moment ago.

This should be enough to give Cherrypaw time to react, and he thought it was a fair length - after all, not every enemy was going to be as gracious in battle. "Are you ready?" He asked, another thing he thought was more then fair - enemies weren't going to cater to her. But for this first time, Blazingcomet figured there was no harm in giving Cherrypaw some slack. This was how she was going to learn. And they were a long ways from another battle... he hoped.

Cherrypaw's white fur bristled for a moment. She didn't like being laughed at. But she did realize the hilarity of the situation and let her fur flatten against her body. Blazingcomet's laugh was infectious, causing the apprentice to giggle along with him. She could see the unmistakable glimmer of amusement in her mentor's eyes. She hadn't really meant to be funny, but she'd take it. "I'll hold you to that." Cherrypaw teased. "I'm gonna eat myself the fattest starling either of us has ever seen!" Her mouth watered just thinking about it. The apprenticed swiped her tongue across her maw hungrily. She wished she had eaten before she left camp.

A disappointing sigh fell from Cherrypaw's lips. Of course Blazingcomet would jump right into training. She'd been foolish to think anything else. After all, it was Blazingcomet's responsibility to train Cherrypaw. Anyways, if she didn't train hard, she might as well be a kittypet. She shivered at the thought. She'd never met a kittypet herself, but she'd heard the queens and elder's stories about the fat cats who lived with Twolegs. They were soft cats who lived without the Warrior Code. They weren't cats Cherrypaw wanted to associate herself with. She hoped she'd never even have to meet a kittypet.

"I'll try," The apprentice muttered as her mentor turned his back. She was doubtful she'd be able to correctly block her mentor on the first try. It'll probably take me a few hundred times to get it right, she thought to herself. Cherrypaw never considered herself very good at figuring out what to do without being told. She often tried to convince Blazingcomet to give her clear instructions before trying whatever move she was being taught. The apprentice was capable of mustering up some move to complete whatever task she was given, but it never felt right. Sometimes Cherrypaw would wonder if she just needed validation in order to do something.

The orange cat turned around and faced the apprentice's direction. He'd walked a couple fox-length away from her, hopefully giving Cherrypaw enough space and time to figure what in StarClan's name she was doing to do in order to block her mentor. When asked if she was ready, she shook her head no. The white she-cat took a moment to shake her legs and her paws, loosening them and warming them up for the training ahead. "Okay, now I'm ready." She mewed as she took on a defensive stance. Cherrypaw kept her eyes trained on her mentor, mentally readying herself for his attack.