Strike a match [c]

Blackbear hated waiting. Impatience tore at her pelt, at every fiber of her being. Never had she wanted to disobey Birdchaser's orders more. She didn't need to rest, or to gather her strength- she'd never felt stronger. Staying here and, what, eating other cats' kills as she 'prepared' for her journey? Wasn't going to bring Crookedpaw back. Nor was delegating with Stormwatcher, who was inexplicably back in camp. Birdchaser's and Wolfblossom's wary looks in her direction told her to watch herself, but she wanted nothing more than to tear that mangy pelted coward to ribbons and leave to rescue her apprentice. But she had to behave, though the thought brought a growl to her throat. Tonight, she assured herself, claws kneading into the dirt, tonight she'd leave.

She stared down at her paws, claws making heavy msrks where she pressed them into the ground. She breathed heavily, trying to keep her mind off Stormwatcher lest she disobey her leadership and kill him where he stood. But that wasn't easy, and not just because her urge to maim the ratheart was so potent. If she managed to stop thinking about tearing his heart out of his chest, she was thinking about Crookedpaw. She'd put so much work into training him only for this to happen. All that work and he still couldn't escape a trap. Blackbear's claws dug deeper into the dirt. Was it because he was small? Would a bigger cat have managed? Or was it because Stormwatcher- that detestable worm- had sabotaged him somehow? Or had Blackbear not taught him enough? Her brow furrowed and her growl grew louder. Thoughts popped up uninvited in her brain, propagated by today's inaction. She kept on growling, hoping it'd drown out her brain's noise- it was usually such a mercifully quiet place. She almost didn't hear the little voice approaching her.

Her growl ceased almost immediately as she recognised the sound as Rainpaw. No matter how upset Blackbear was, she couldn't risk being angry at him. Birdchaser would skin her, she was positive of that. As would Crookedpaw. Besides, Blackbear didn't half mind the apprentice. He was more likeable than most. She met his gaze and gave a painstakingly gentle rumble of recognition. "Rainpaw," She replied, slouching slightly to be closer to his eye level rhough she still towered over him. "Yeah. About the pipsqueak?"

Blackbear gave a single nod, a heavy incline of her head that expended no more energy than it needed to. "I am," she said simply. She wasn't used to being this... Cordial. Even with Birdchaser, they were familiar enough to be slightly less than formal with one another. With Rainpaw, though, she found herself mimicking his stiffness both physically and in her speech.

"No." The word was out of her mouth before the apprentice had even finished, and had an unintended bite to it. She watched Rainpaw's claws dig into the ground and noticed that her own were doing the same; she hadn't removed them from the dirt in the time she'd been speaking to Rainpaw. So there was more to him than his politeness and rigidity. She made a mental note to spar with him when she came back.

Rainpaw didn't back down, raising his voice to try and convince her to let him join. She resisted the urge to flatten her ears. She hated speeches like this, the emotional ones. They made her want to- she stopped herself mid-thought with a soft growl of self-admonishment. She couldn't be angry at Rainpaw. "Birdchaser's teaching you well. She's a good mentor," she rumbled with a restrained movement of her head. "But no. You can't. You're too small, and Birdchaser wouldn't let you anyway. She'd have my hide if you were killed, which you probably would be." She ignored the Crookedpaw comment, though she knew it was true. She could scarcely remember a moment those two weren't all over each other. But still, knowing him wouldn't help Rainpaw if he got snatched by a twoleg or mauled by a dog.