[The Cedar & The Stone]

[Slug]

Stonetail raced through the forest, every inch of his fur pressed against his body as the wind whistled past him, each silent stride graciously spaced and smooth. He heard the steps of Cedarpaw behind him and sped up, the foliage around him blurring at the large tom's surprising speed.

Once he felt the soft, manipulative grains under his pads, he halted, kicking up the white sand everywhere, some of it clinging to his coat. The sun shined onto the Hollow with much vigor, creeping at the forest's edge cautiously, some of it's rays washing over Stonetail's pelt in a beam of warmth.

Glancing down, Stonetail smiled to himself as he realized the sand was glowing-- just the slightest. It felt nice and toasty between his toes, he noticed. Finally after a moment of peace, his ears pricked at the sound of rapid little paw steps and shook the sand from his fur, letting it fly everywhere.

Padding over to the center of the Hollow, Stonetail sat his rump down comfortably and looked over his shoulder at Cedarpaw, smile now gone.

Instead, his cheek twitched at his apprentice.

Another "Stonetail Standards" smile. Twice in one day. That must be a good sign...

[neworleans]

Whew, he's fast, thought Cedarpaw, racing to keep up with his mentor. The older tom was several tail-lengths in front of him, but he was determined not to lose sight of Stonetail.

A stray twig thwacked him in the face, causing him to hiss in irritation. Shaking his head to regain his focus, the brown tabby rushed onwards, stopping when he felt sand on his pads. Some of what his mentor shook off landed on the small tom, making him look like he'd just seen a horde of foxes heading for the FogClan clearing. Shaking himself free of the majority of the sand, Cedarpaw tried to look as dignified as he could.

Was that... a smile? he wondered. Getting even a twitch of the cheek from Stonetail was a rare thing, and here he'd gotten that twice in one day.

"So, what are we working on today?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager.

[Slug]

"So, what are we working on today?"

Stonetail's eyes crinkled with amusement at the eagerness in Cedarpaw's voice, tail flicking away some sand on his hide. "Battle training." He said simply, then added "But we shall "warm up" with stalking techniques, first." Looking away from the apprentice, the grey tom sat there for a while, letting the moment of silence soothe him.

Finally, he said "Cedarpaw, what stalking technique are you the worst at?" As his Cedarpaw's mentor, Stonetail should've known this, but he felt like hearing it from Cedarpaw himself.

[neworleans]

Battle training.

Well, duh, he thought, but did not voice this. Nor did he show it on his face. Cedarpaw was pretty good at concealing his emotions.

But we shall "warm up" with stalking techniques, first.

Oh, okay. Cool. That'll help me with my hunting. Again, the squirrel incident was brought to mind, and the tabby tom tried not to grimace.

Cedarpaw, what stalking technique are you the worst at?

The brown apprentice held back a snort. Gee, I don't know, maybe climbing trees? Or was the psychotic squirrel not enough for you to get that? Of course, there was the likely possibility that Stonetail didn't know about the acorn-chucking ball of fluff. Cedarpaw hoped that he was right. How humiliating it would be if he knew... The gray tom's apprentice shook his head to get his mind focused again. "...Climbing trees," he admitted, managing to keep his mew from wavering.