Sparkpaw wore quite the smug expression when she [the apprentice] went to wake up Talonstone [her mentor]. It was usually always the other way around; for a while, Sparkpaw wondered if he slept at all, with the way he routinely dragged her out of the Apprentice’s den at sunrise but retired for his own sleep never. In any case. Talonstone was normally more prepared than she was and it was annoying. But not this time!

Sparkpaw was up and bouncing before dawn’s light filtered through the clearing by sheer chance on purpose, and she was definitely going to milk this. How would Talon like to be woken up early for training? Spark was about to find out. Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she thought of what she could say to tease a reaction out of his steel composure.

“Oh meeentorrrr,” Sparkpaw called sweetly when she reached the mouth of the warrior’s den, lips drawn back in a wide, foxlike smile. She knew which one his nest was. It didn’t take long for Spark to decide she should just—jump in and surprise him. Wouldn’t he be so happy, so proud she woke before the sun? The apprentice could play it off so nicely! All the while they would both know…she wasn’t so innocent after all.

Okay. One, two, three... NOW! Sparkpaw leapt inside without warning, angled toward the nest she knew belonged to her mentor. Ha, here it was, the awaited reaction! Her mouth was open, ready to shower him in witty jabs.

He— he… wasn’t there.

But it wasn’t empty.

She stopped at the rim of moss and feathers, completely and absolutely befuddled by the cat she did see in his nest. …It was Doetuft. Spark remembered hearing of her, though they never met. The scars gave her away. But—what was she doing here, in Talonstone’s nest? Did she stumble into the wrong one because she was blind or something? Sparkpaw’s eyes narrowed in thought. She… hmmm… that scent.

Pine, like Talonstone. Spark knew her mentor’s scent now, could distinguish its subtleties from others’. But it wasn’t just pine. This feline—apparently sleeping—smelled of something else, too. Something familiar. Unless…. Sparkpaw’s eyes went wide as pinecones. Oak. Oak and leaves. That—she--- WHAT?

Unable to restrain her gasp at the revelation, Spark further decided to ignore that there might be other cats in this den. “YOU! You’re the smell!!”

Sparkpaw was much too pleased with herself to answer Doetuft’s confusion right away. What a clever, clever cat she was. Spark found out Talonstone’s secret! Or—one of them. She wouldn’t put it past him to have multiple hidden away, but this one was particularly entertaining, just because… well. He was Talonstone. Mr., ‘I like to pretend I'm not capable of feeling emotions, except I totally am.' The thought that her stoic-faced mentor could actually woo another cat and have any success was a fabulously ridiculous thought in Spark’s mind, something that didn’t quite fit. She underestimated the fluffy white tom.

“You see—I wondered why he smelled different than just pine! Oak. Oak gives it away. I know… I’m advanced for my age, being able to catch the difference. But really, I’m impressed, actually! I didn’t think he would know how to talk to a she-cat!” Or- cats in general. [The creamy she-cat thought this affectionately. Like it or not, maybe she was getting a little attached.] Spark paused only a moment, her cat-brows wrinkling in thought.

“…Now that I think about it, I imagined he’d just kind of—stare. You know, how he does? He just looks at you for a long time, like he’s trying to figure you out. That or he’s judging your pelt on how clean it is, and you can’t tell which is happening. I mean. Unless you’re good at reading cats, like me. But still, sometimes it comes off as creepy? Not creepy, I didn’t mean that. I’m sure you have a lovely—uh–relationship. But…StarClan! A secret mate!”

To be fair, Sparkpaw couldn’t really call Doetuft ‘secret.’ Just because Talonstone wasn’t telling his apprentice about his love life didn’t mean the whole relationship itself was hush hush. Her mentor definitely seemed like the private type, though. Either way! Sparkpaw couldn’t help grinning like she’d made a breakthrough on her ‘study up on Talonstone’ quest, just because he was one of the most challenging cats Spark had to figure out since forever. But this. This gave her an edge. She would have to get up early more often!

Suddenly all at once, a thought occurred to Sparkpaw that distracted her from the sweetness of victory. She remembered who she was talking to a few beats late. “Oh! Sorry. You’re blind, aren't you? You wouldn’t see how he looks- huh?”