[lone]

Originally Posted by Random Melchester

Mintkit inhaled sharply as the Tom started to fall. Slamming her paws down, she quickly slid under him, nearly crashing sideways herself, but managed to spread her paws out just slightly so she caught herself. Gasping, the she-kit whirled around to see the apprentice on the ground, her ice blue eyes wide with excitement, and some disbelief that she'd been able to take him down. At his words, a soft snort escaped her lips, then the smallest giggle. She didnt laugh very often and when she did, the sound was smooth and sweet, somewhat... Musical. The she-kit shook her head in amazement, paws tingling with excitement. "What a rush," She gasped, still trying to catch her breath. The attack had taken alot out of her, no doubt - But this was fun! Learning was awesome.

"I didnt hurt you, did I?" Mintkit's face turned serious as she spoke, looking him over. She'd heard a small grunt as the Tom landed, and while she was certain she hadnt really caused any damage, she wanted to be sure. He was, after all, her friend; She didnt want to hurt him. After a few moments she trotted forward, reaching out to prod his shoulder with a paw. "Now get up. You've gotta have some more battle moves to teach me, dontcha?" She cast him a friendly grin, her eagerness shining through in her eyes. Mintkit was definitely going to be an easy apprentice to train when she was six moons old, that was for certain, due to her love for learning.

Honestly when this was over, she was definitely going to go back and show off to Ripplekit, try to annoy him with the moves she'd learned. Her brother would definitely be jealous of her amazing adventure, though Mintkit doubt he'd be jealous that she'd spent it training, but she didnt care. Training was something that she enjoyed... And she hadnt even begun her apprenticeship. With wide eyes, Mintkit prodded Marshpaw with a paw, trying to get him to stand, before stepping back, giving him a huge smile. She definitely liked this Tom. He was nice and while he was somewhat goofy, he brought out that more playful, energetic side of her that Mintkit had never seen before. Sure Ripplekit brought out her competitive, annoying side, but Marshpaw was different. He made her feel more alive, more excited, somehow. Mintkit wondered if he had that effect on other cats. Probably. She'd never have thought the could have felt so lighthearted - She was mostly as serious as Honeyfur. And yet, here she was, almost ready to leap onto Marshpaw and start pummeling him until he got up.

Mintkit laughed despite herself, gazing at the Tom. Perhaps, She decided, smiling warmly. I've finally found a best friend. The thought made her feel warm inside, and... Giddy. Unnaturally giddy, and it just made her chuckle again. In any case, Marshpaw was definitely a good friend - a best friend - And she decided, from this moment on, he had her trust and affection.

Her eagerness was amusing to the feline, who purred at the sight of it. Looks like I brought out the kit in little miss maturity over here, He thought. Yes, Marshpaw was somewhat proud of himself. It could take a lot to get a serious cat to want to play, or at least want to do something along the lines of playing (he counted this as playing, especially when he wasn't with his mentor) but he had done it! She liked him. At least, she seemed to. And as long as they were still friends, Marshpaw had met his goal. "Alright, alright, I'm getting up!" He laughed, rolling to his paws and pushing himself upwards. It wasn't hard, since Mintkit hadn't really been able to hurt him... though he had no doubt that she could have if she had wanted to. "Geez, you're so strong for a little thing!" The tom laughed, shaking his pelt out almost in a canine-like manner. It was nice to have a friend.

A friend who didn't judge him for not being as great at battle moves as he should have been, and who was willing to just come out here and train. To help. To play along the way, to be... supportive. To be the type of cat that Marshpaw wished a lot of apprentices were. It wasn't often that he got a friend to come out here. They were always busy with their own mentors. Or with other friends. All in all, he wasn't too popular within the Clan. Sometimes it hurt, sometimes he was okay with it. If cats weren't going to like him for who he was, well, then Marshpaw didn't need to be who he was. He could act as though he were someone else if that was what it was going to be like. Except he didn't want to, he wanted other cats to accept him for who he was, not some fake version of himself.

The tom sighed and seemed to come back to the present, his optics focusing on Mintkit. Thankfully there was one cat who cared about him. Or at least, she seemed to. She liked to spend time with him as far as he could tell. "Okay! You try going on defense this time - don't let me knock you down. Move out of the way or do whatever it takes, and if I do pin you down, try to push me off. Ready?" He would wait for her okay before he went. When there was a larger cat charging at you it could be scary, as Marshpaw knew only too well. And he didn't want to put Mintkit off of her "training" forever, to scar her or do anything else like that. And he definitely wanted to keep his friend, so that meant no squishing the younger cat either. A friend. A real live friend.

Marshpaw could hardly believe that he had really made one, and maybe... maybe she would even end up being his best friend. Although the tom didn't want to get too greedy for fear that she would fade away if he tried to. Focused, the tom got ready to spring. He was going to impress with his moves, right? Of course. Marshpaw focused himself while he was training, or at least he tried to. He had done pretty good so far. His attack was almost excellent by now, or at least he thought it was. Yes. His mentor had said that he was doing a good job, and he believed it... his attack was good.