Territory seems like the chakras playing hopscotch / peafowl

[MAREMANE]

fart

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Maremane hated the way her throat had locked up at the meeting, as it did when she was promoted. Maybe a freshly-adult version of her would've said something, her temper not yet refined into ice. Cold water ran through her veins now, and she found her jaw frustratingly locked around her most scathing words.

@Peafowlpaw was the best pick for her, but she was too caught up in being assigned an apprentice at all to think about that. He, too, left to explore more than others. She kept her head trained on the dawn-kissed horizon, but spared glances to her side, noting the determination on the tom's face. Maybe it was fate's humor that she was paired with the very cat she'd insulted and belittled in front of a tragedy, too focused on herself and how grating Peafowl's tantrum had been to her ears.

Or maybe someone had seen, and she was being tasked with this deliberately. She glanced over her shoulder, certain another gale guard or senior warrior would be there to ensure Peafowl came back in one piece.

"Well," she sighed, still blinking sleep from her eyes. "What's somethin' you don't know yet?" Maremane had been put on patrols with Peafowlpaw many times in the past. She had corrected him on those trips, her blatant, sharp instructions never seeming to get fully under his skin. It was a blessing that she didn't have to start from square one with him, but she had no clue on how to nurture his current skills. Maremane had followed and learned from Peafowlpaw's elaborate routes and paths through the prairie, more than he had learned from her and her orders.

She knew what it felt like to be caged; she may not have cared if she hurt his feelings or was a shitty mentor, but she found it crucial that this new setup didn't bar him from his freedom entirely.

 

[Peafowlpaw]

It was funny that it worked out this way, because the alternative would have been unfunny feelings, similar to Maremane's own.
The awkward, fated feeling of it all. Thinking they could probably just continue to ignore the past by looking away in the chaos of a crowd and pretend your eyes didn't meet at the inconvenient turning of heads. Just continuing to grow- separate- but on the same side, so you were never really at odds or in a disagreement. He wouldn't deny doing his fair share of ignoring the subject himself, but Peafowl didn't want that. They crossed paths many a time since WindClan was established and all of them were positive or productive. They followed similar lines of thought, had similar goals, had similar concerns and surely, similar fears. This placement was beneficial. So Peafowl would bury the past in the dirt, pat it firm, and move on. She could do it too, with time. He was certain.

Peafowlpaw looked accomplished. Smug, even, as he looked back at his assigned mentor during the meeting when their names were called. He watched the color drain from her face in a way far beyond her control. He liked that about her. Maremane was predictable and didn't sugarcoat things. She was blunt, she was direct; she knew her limitations and she would push him only so far as she knew he or they could handle. Maremane was well learned and yet she... lacked so much confidence, whereas he had so much. Maybe they could balance the scales in due time.

"Well..." He began, tail gently sweeping the soft grass below them. "Bit of a jump, but I likely couldn't defend myself if I tried." He looked over the horizon, with a hum. He seemed to have an entire list of things he wanted to do or learn and when it comes time to actually address them, they all hide in the corners of his mind. "I could hunt better. And bigger. I'm not gettin' any smaller, anyhow. I guess as is, I can do a lot, but not a lot well." His head tilts, lingering in a short silence and taking in a short breeze when a follow up query crossing his mind. "...Not to speak out of line, but what do you wanna learn?" He asks, looking over at his mentor. It felt like a valid question. Surely these bonds went both ways to some degree, and whatever her answer may be, the chances of it being something he wanted to improve too were high. Or maybe he was just too optimistic.