[Doom]

Originally Posted by CasperCreates

@Venus

The cold air hardly seemed to bother Icestar at all. In fact, the long-haired molly seemed to thrive in the chilly leaf-fall climate. Her pelt was thick and insulated and protected her from every bit of bite that the chill might have. It felt like no time before the duo reached the training hollow. Icestar swished her feathery tail, disturbing tresses of pine needles as she swept it over them. She turned to wait for her apprentice to catch up, seeing that the younger cat was a short ways behind her.

"Let's get a move on," She scoffed lightly as Badgerpaw took her sweet time arriving. She thought momentarily on what she wanted to go over today, when she remembered the patrol that had just reported back to her that morning.

"Alright. A fox was spotted in the territory recently, so let's go over what you should do against a larger predator. What would you do if a fox spotted you and looked ready to fight?" The large black cat, who was about the size of a fox herself, squared her shoulders and lowered her head, in an offensive position as if she were a fox on the prowl for an easy target--a small apprentice.

Badgerpaw huffed after her mentor, the cold searing her lungs with every short anxious breath. She eyed her mentor's strong gait ahead of her, suddenly wished her own legs were longer, or maybe Icestar's legs were shorter. Icestar was never considerate of their size difference; usually, cats would politely match their pace with her, but Icestar showed no mercy. While she was bothered by it, Badgerpaw never worked up the courage to tell her mentor to slow down. One day I'll be fast enough...

When her mentor came to a halt for her to catch up, Badgerpaw smiled gratefully, ears flattening in embarrassment at how much she was panting. Before she could even catch her breath, Icestar had already thrown a question at her. A fox? Badgerpaw watched her mentor prowl down, swallowing nervously. "Um..." Her pelt heated as she lowered herself, her legs trembling in a tight crouch. "I-I would try to keep downwind of it...?" Her answer sounded more like a question, but she spoke honestly. She held her breath as she waited for Icestar's reply.