Seems All Play and No Work[Harepaw&Shrikewhisker]

[Pyro]

"Shrikewhisker better not keep me waiting. He knows how I hate it when a tom keeps a she-cat waitn'." A feminine voice broke the silence in the training hollow, heavy with a sort of 'Cajun' accent. It belonged to an apprentice, Harepaw to be exact. Of course, by her tone, you'd think she was a warrior waiting for her patrol partner rather than an apprentice waiting for her mentor.

Such a sassy tone could be considered rude...But that was not Harepaw's intention. It was you she was. A strong, independent she-cat who knew what she wanted in the world. Her philosophy seemed to be 'If you act like you already have it, then you will.' And certainly she seemed to be a smallish warrior that had taken an unusual interest in the activities of apprentices.

It was only when Shrikewhisker and Harepaw would begin to train that it became easier to see Harepaw as an apprentice.

[Whiskers]

"Good thing I'm right on time then."

Shrikewhisker trotted up to Harepaw with a rather cocky grin, his eyes narrowing with happiness and humor. In reality, he was a liiiittle bit late since he stopped by the nursery to see how all the kits were. Of course, they were perfectly healthy and hyper, so he made his way here, to this tiny she-cat who was barely more than a kit herself.

Okay that was a lie. Harepaw was a pretty little grown-up, really. Yes, she was short, but Shrikewhisker had a feeling that she would always be small in stature, so that mattered not. It was more because she acted like she was a full grown cat that Shrikewhisker viewed her as such and wasn't really comfortable acknowledging that he was in charge of her. He just though of himself as... a friend who taught a friend. He didn't have authority over her. He'd find it way too hard to punish her. Only difference between himself and Harepaw was the that annoying suffix tagged onto her name.

"Hello m'lady," he grinned, showing teeth, before wiggling his toes and dipping his head. "I was thinking we could hunt today. Just because I fancy myself a chase, and I feel like I've been patrolling way too much lately. How can anyone enjoy patrols in the first place? All you do is parade along the border and then get your fur in knots when an enemy clan cat gets a tail-length within the oh so sacred territory line." Shrikewhisker rambled, like always, his eyes rolling and ears twitching at various moments.

"Though I do enjoy playing the part, y'know, of a angry little spitter. Sometimes it's fun just to pretend to have an animosity toward another clan, though you both know it's really all in good fun in the end. Eh. Anyway. What was I talking about to begin with? As always, I lost my train of thought."

Shrikewhisker figured it was something to do with training. He had most likely suggested an option to Harepaw though he couldn't, for the life of him, remember what it was. All he knew now was that he fancied himself a jog along a boundary line, though he was sure he had complained of doing so seconds ago.

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[Pyro]

"Well aren't you just the little gentletom?" Harepaw giggled in the manner of a charmed Lady as Shrikewhisker addressed her. She listened respectfully as he went on to talk of going on a hunt, and as he began to ramble her eyes twinkled with mirth. The apprentice almost interrupted him, but then he thought to see how long he'd go on this time.

What was I talking about to begin with?

Ah, there it was. The cue that he was done. "I believe you mentioned hunting." Meh. Not exactly her best 'subject'...But she figured all the prey would be sluggish and lethargic and her 'hunting handicap' might not pose such a problem. At the very least, she'd be able to smell/hear out something worth catching.

So yes. She supposed she could stand for some hunting. Afterall, maybe if she practiced more she'd get better. "Going back to your ramble, I must agree. No matter how many patrols we have, if another clan wants to try an take a piece of prey or lands, they'll do it. With or without a patrol there. We should probably be more concerned with retaliation." Of course, that didn't mean she wouldn't try a bit of stalling...

[Whiskers]

"Pfft, what ramble? You and me both know that I express my thoughts E-LO-QUENT-LY," each syllable came out with a strong emphasis and Shrikewhisker's eyes glittered as he drew out the word comically. "I always rethink my words, like, four times, before I let them leave my muzzle."

Harepaw could tell he was joking, making fun of himself, something that Shrikewhisker did as a defense mechanism. Inside he was embarrassed, because he never could stay on track. And for Harepaw to notice...urgh. At least the she-cat thought it was funny though Shrikewhisker couldn't decide if that made everything worse or not. He liked to laugh with cats, he didn't like cats to laugh at him.

But Harepaw would never know just how embarrassed he was. Not with his gorgeous face and prize-winning smile. Heh. Right.

"Retaliation, yes," Shrikewhisker drew a paw over his whiskers. He was a cat of wonderful hygiene. "I really do hope it doesn't happen. I hate fighting, as you know, not very good at it either and sides, why would I ever want to shed any blood? Of course if any clan, it'll be Fogclan. You know how they are, all proud and obnoxious, thinking they're the best of the best because of their die hard belief in Starclan. Well some of them. I know some Fogclanners who I am friends with and they are more leniant and rarely talk about Starclan which is good since I don't like talking about Star--"

He was doing it again! In mid-sentence, he broke off and his ears flicked downward, his confident mask shattered for a few rare heartbeats. Shrikewhisker slowly fixed this by letting a hesitant smile cross his muzzle. "I did it again, didn't I? Wonderful."

"Well before I go off on another tangent, I suggest we head into the forest or I'm sure we'll be here all day."

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

The dark gray she-cat was crouched under a bush near the trainig hollow, well hidden in its shadow. She was focusing on her prey: A brown mouse not two tail-lengths in front of her, snuffling in the leaves for food. She carefully distributed her weight as she stepped forward, placing each pawstep carefully. Her sides tightened as she readied herself for the pounce. Gathering her strength into her back legs, she leaped the last tail-length between her and said mouse before snapping the small animal's neck with a flick of her claws. She buried it where it lay, there was no need to move it.

Swiveling her ears at the sound of voices in the hollow, she quickly identified her brother Shrikewhisker and his apprentice, Harepaw. She padded a bit closer, and continued to listen to their conversation, curious. Rolling her eyes, she listened as her brother went off on one of his tangents. Did he really think he was fooling anyone with the cover-my-insecurity act? Padding over to the edge of the hollow, she poked her head out and meowed down, "Hey, Shrikewhisker! If you're actually going to go hunting, I'll join you."

[Pyro]

Harepaw was grinning outright. It never took much to get Shrikewhisker started on something. As usual he managed to stop himself before it got too far, but the pair had already just been sitting in the hollow for what seemed to be a good thirty minutes.

"Well before I go off on another tangent, I suggest we head into the forest or I'm sure we'll be here all day."

As the apprentice opened her mouth to reply, another female voice interrupted her. Harepaw's head whipped around and her eyes rested on Shrikewhisker's sister, Swallowpelt. "Yes, we were just about to go, Swallowpelt." The words were kind enough but there was a barely noticeable undertone...nervousness? Annoyance? Probably a little of both. After all, Swallowplet would be yet another witness to Harepaw's poor hunting skills.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

The large PineClanner nodded. "I'll wait for you two up here, then." Harepaw could be abrasive, but Swallowpelt admired her maturity and attitude. She thought she heard a slight uneasiness in the reddish apprentice's tone. Oh well. Swallowpelt wanted to go hunting, no matter what. A single mouse was hardly a worthy addition to the fresh-kill pile, and it would be nice to have her brother and his apprentice along. She plunked her herself down on the ground, and waited for her soon-to-be hunting companions.