avant-garde [c]

Scarletpaw had enjoyed being an only child (something he was admittedly glad had lasted until after he was apprenticed), but so far he found that he really enjoyed being an older brother. Violetkit was so small-- no way he had ever been so tiny, right?-- and so different from how he was. He didn't think that their parents were pushing her nearly as hard as they had pushed him, but he wasn't about to bring it up; he wasn't sure she was built for that sort of training. He was pretty sure their mother was teaching her how to swim, but he didn't want to ask just in case he was wrong about that.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't teach her some other stuff and still give her a bit of an advantage over the other kits.

"Hey, Violetkit, c'mon!"

Violetkit blinked slowly up at her brother with warm brown eyes that betrayed a hint of annoyance. "But it's just dawn." The young kitten yawned in protest. The sleep hung behind her eyes threatening to lull her back to sleep if she wasn't careful. Despite the misgivings, the kitten rose from the moss giving herself the longest stretch she could. Her paws picked up the pace towards Scarletpaw, running her head into his side as if trying to push him along. "Okayyy Scarletpaw. What's up?" Another yawn stretched her mouth wide open. Despite her lack of enthusiasm, Violetkit stood attentively by her brother.

"Hey, is that any way to greet your favorite brother?" Scarletpaw asked lightly, playfully nudging the smaller cat and leading her out of the nursery; toward a less occupied corner of the camp. "Especially when I only woke you up so I could teach you super cool apprentice stuff!"

Were all kits this lazy? He didn't think he was this lazy, but maybe most of the rest of them were.

Still, it was hard to actually blame Violetkit for much of anything. Maybe that was favoritism, but he was the best; and so of course his sister was also the best.

"Take your pick, Vi. What do you want to learn? I'll teach you everything I know," he claimed, tail curled proudly around his side as he sat up.

"...cool apprentice stuff?" Violet's eyes widened, though that was the only hint of the growing excitement. "I wanna be able to fight, Scarletpaw." She mewed earnestly, looking up at him. No one would expect a small kitten like herself fighting back. The thought made her eyes sparkle. Sitting upright, the kitten looked up at her older brother with pride. "You promised anything." She mewed, climbing to her feet as if ready to learn.

She hadn't even thought about being around other cats or any other cats seeing them practice. There was certainly nothing wrong with learning to fight!

"You wanna learn how to fight?" Scarletpaw grinned, proud at how quickly Violetkit had woken right up and gotten into the spirit of things. That was what he'd been hoping for: battle moves were the thing he knew the most about, after all. "Let's do it! We'll start with the basics: show me your battle stance," he instructed, shifting himself into one. "Like this. You've gotta be ready to attack or counter, right? Don't want to let yourself get caught off guard-- the most dangerous attack is one you can't see coming, y'know?"

He kept grinning at her. "Once you think you've got it, Vi, then come at me with everything you've got!"

Violetkit nodded with an eager shine to her eyes, but her face remained impassive. Matching his position, her brown eyes traced where each paw was placed. His legs had a wider stance, and his head was low, blocking his soft belly. Of course, she didn't understand why exactly. But, it seemed right. Lowering her head, her fluffy tail swished just before leaping towards her brother to throw a paw on top of Scarletpaw's head. "Rahh!"

With a mock-cry of surrender, Scarletpaw let himself collapse theatrically to the ground at Violetkit's impact. Of course, he was truthfully entirely unfazed, but it wouldn't hurt to build confidence. "I am... Defeated...!" he cried out dramatically, layering exaggerated emotion into his words. "My own sister... What betrayal!"

Then he pulled himself back to his paws, laughing a bit. "That was a good start," he nodded, suddenly far more serious, "but you shouldn't indicate what you're going to do or when you're going to attack in a real fight. You don't want your opponent to see you coming," he explained, head held high. "You need the element of- surprise!"

This last word was punctuated with a leap that sent him over Violetkit, where he swiftly spun around and carefully pinned her down.

"Dad taught me that one when I was your size," he grinned. "Use it wisely."

Violetkit puffed out her chest with a proud glint to her eyes. "Maybe I should teach you theeeEEN--" She cut off as her brother got his revenge to pin her to the ground. Violetkit kicked her paws as hard as she could, but Scarletpaw was much bigger than she was. "How did you know I was gunna attack? I was copying you!" She relaxed for a moment, huffing in frustration at her inability to get out of his pin.

The kit looked thoughtful for a short second before reaching her head as far as she could and tried her best to bite Scarletpaw's toe that held her shoulder down.

"Ow!" Scarletpaw yelped, releasing Violetkit and jumping back a few steps. "That's totally cheating," he complained. "Tricks like that are cool and all, but use 'em on enemy warriors instead. Or anything else that attacks you and isn't me! 'Cause I need my paws to slay geese and foxes and keep everyone safe."

He recovered quickly, though, resuming his battle stance. "That was impressive, though... I definitely wasn't expecting it. You're gonna be a great warrior someday!"

Freed, the kitten scrambled to her feet. "How was I suppos'd to know it was cheating?" Violetkit huffed. Though, despite the cold exterior, her excitement shone through the twitching of her tail and focused gaze. "You know what, Scarletpaw?" She strode forward till she was nearly nose to nose with her big brother. "you're going to be so busy protecting everyone else, I'm going to protect you!" She ducked low, coping how he had first posed before. "I'm going to be the best warrior because of you."

It didn't seem like a question in her mind, rather an understanding of the future. She was going to protect her brother when he was so busy protecting other people. Nothing was going to hurt him. Ever!

"We'll protect each other!" Scarletpaw declared. "That's what we're supposed to do."

He looked her over, considering, and then nodded with satisfaction. "I don't doubt it, though. You're gonna be the best warrior-- aside from me, of course. We can both be the best!"