| OOC: Technically started for a RP with LightningGrowl, but please feel free to enter as well! Either with Ripple and Lightning or after the patrol with only Ripple! |
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This thread takes place at the border of the clan territory.
When Lightning'growl first heard he'd be getting an apprentice, he was over the moon. Finally! A chance to show off just how skilled he'd become—a chance to prove that his speed, his instincts, his whole existence as a warrior was something to be admired. StarClan themselves must've carved these paws, swift as the wind over the moor. Training an apprentice meant responsibility, sure, but more importantly, it meant an audience. Someone to watch, to learn, and maybe even to praise.
Of course, that fire fizzled fast the moment he laid eyes on his supposed "apprentice." Rippleshade wasn't some wide-eyed kit eager to follow orders—he was a full-grown tom, older than Lightning'growl in some ways. The leader's explanation of his… predicament… hardly made the blow any softer. Lightning'growl's ears flicked back, a scoff sliding from his throat as he forced a smile. Fine. So maybe this wasn't what he imagined. But if Rippleshade thought that would slow him down, he had another thing coming.
"Don't worry," Lightning'growl had boasted, chin high and whiskers twitching with confidence. "I'll make a proper warrior out of this nobody. Just watch." He threw himself into the role with all the vigor of a racer gunning for the finish line—drilling every detail, every rule, every little trick from sunrise to sundown. If Rippleshade so much as blinked during one of his explanations, Lightning'growl pounced on it like a hawk. This was his chance to shine, and he wasn't about to let some grown tom's shortcomings dim the glow.
But the cracks showed quickly. On one particularly dreary patrol, as Lightning'growl rambled about prey trails and the importance of seasonal awareness, he caught the sharp snap of Rippleshade's jaws as a yawn was hastily smothered. Lightning'growl whipped his head around so fast droplets of rain sprayed off his ears as they came out during another light drizzle on Windclan, green eyes narrowing into daggers. His tail lashed once, sharply, and he let out a huff that carried more than a little bite.
"Bored already? Typical." His voice was edged with smugness, though the faintest flicker of annoyance tugged his whiskers. "Sure, this stuff might make an actual apprentice want to crawl back to the nursery, but it's important. Vital, even."
Rippleshade's question—some half-hearted remark about winter patrols—earned little more than a raised brow before Lightning'growl turned back to the moor with a scoff. His paws carried him to the border that mirrored ShadowClan, damp grass squelching beneath his step. He sat with a flourish, tail curling neatly as though to punctuate his authority, before tossing his reply over his shoulder.
"Just try not to freeze to death, for the most part. Most of the prey goes underground when the cold sets in—hibernate, hide, whatever it is they do. Herbs? They die off, too. Which means we're running on scraps. Not exactly the season to be lazy." He stretched out one hind leg and scratched feverishly behind his ear, utterly casual, as though the lecture had been delivered from the mouth of the most seasoned warrior on the moors.
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"speech."
"thoughts."
actions.
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LIGHTNING'GROWL he/him, windclanner, twenty-four moons.
☆ a dark chocolate-and-fawn tom with a patchy, chimera-like pelt and a touch of white, always wearing a clover on his fur.
☆ mentoring no one.
☆ no current relationships or family ties.
☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
☆ penned by egg ↛ eggmcbaconboy on discord, feel free to dm for plots!
| OOC: - |
Lightning'growl chewed the inside of his cheek, humming thoughtfully at Rippleshade's self-proclaimed title of failure. "Disappointed? Nah, that's not the word." His whiskers twitched with a flash of pride, tail flicking high. "Don't get me wrong—there's definitely something in me worth seeing. They wouldn't hand me an apprentice this early if I wasn't special." He puffed out his chest and strutted a circle around Rippleshade, each step light as wind-tossed feathers brushing through the grass. The drizzle slicked his orange pelt, but he carried himself like the storm was just another stage light. "I think they picked me 'cause you're an odd case. And me? I'm more than qualified to make you the best warrior yet. Catching up might take you moons longer than our other apprentices, but luckily, you've got me."
When Rippleshade's soft question broke the air, Lightning'growl tilted his head, one ear flopping with a lazy weight. "No leaf-bare?" His grin twitched, half amused, half serious. "Can't even imagine it. Pretty sure it's nature's way of taking a break, anyway. If the prey never got to rest, we'd run the whole moor dry with all the mouths we've got to feed." He arched a brow at Rippleshade, studying the tom as if gauging whether his answer—practical, but tinged with a gloomy edge—was enough to satisfy that odd curiosity.
Before Rippleshade could reply, a sharp crack split the stillness. Lightning'growl's pupils dilated sharply, ears pricked high as his head snapped toward the ShadowClan border. His jaw clicked shut, then opened again in quick little chatters, the sound rattling like a squirrel's warning. He sank into the grass, paws curling deep into the soil as his gaze swept the trees beyond. For a heartbeat, the cocky tom looked every bit the trained warrior he boasted of being.
And then, just as quickly, his shoulders rolled back, and his snark slid into place again. He pounced with featherlight paws, landing right at Rippleshade's side, the sudden closeness punctuated by a rough, dismissive lick across the other tom's ear. "Hmph. Thank StarClan there aren't any ShadowClan cats skulking around today." His tail lashed, but his smirk was playful, almost daring. "Clans've been at each other's whiskers enough lately. No reason for us to get tied up in it too."
"So! Tell me, Rippleshade—do you really not remember anything about yourself?" Lightning'growl's voice rang with a mix of mischief and genuine curiosity, sharp green eyes narrowing as though the tom might suddenly blurt out some secret if pressed hard enough. Maybe it was a touchy subject—most cats would probably tread carefully around a Clanmate with no memory. But Lightning'growl wasn't most cats. The mystery gnawed at him, a flickering flame in the back of his mind, and every now and again it slipped through in questions he couldn't quite stop himself from asking.
He padded close to the border, shoulders rolling like he owned the stretch of grass beneath his paws. Droplets clung to his whiskers as he lowered his head for a quick sniff, the familiar scent of damp earth and ShadowClan musk settling in his nose. A short chuff slipped from him, half amusement, half dismissal, before he straightened again and gave his tail an easy sway, gesturing for Rippleshade to keep up.
No need to linger longer than they had to. The markers were sharp and fresh, their work here already done. Lightning'growl stretched his stride, moving on with the effortless spring of a tom who couldn't stand still for long, ears flicking back as though expecting Rippleshade to fill the silence behind him.
-
"speech."
"thoughts."
actions.
-
-
LIGHTNING'GROWL he/him, windclanner, twenty-four moons.
☆ a dark chocolate-and-fawn tom with a patchy, chimera-like pelt and a touch of white, always wearing a clover on his fur.
☆ mentoring no one.
☆ no current relationships or family ties.
☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
☆ penned by egg ↛ eggmcbaconboy on discord, feel free to dm for plots!