The Duo of the Ages [Closed]

Crowflight awaited his apprentice at the edge of their territory. They still hadn't returned home just yet, but soon. Hopefully soon. If Breezestar didn't take action then the deputy would. The fluffy black cat gave off a sigh, and looked out in the distance to see if he could see his apprentice coming.

Poppypaw came charging up to her mentor, skidding to a halt in front of him and sending a flurry of snow right into his face. The apprentice yelped and quickly brushed her fluffy tail across his face in a panic. She was always flinging things in her clanmate's faces. "S-Sorry Crowflight!" she mewed, holding back a slight giggle. Though it happened often and she always felt bad about it, the tortoiseshell couldn't help but find any of the situations funny.

Crowflight flinched slightly when snow was flung all over him. It was cold but thanks to his fluffy coat he stayed warm. The small flakes of snow clung to his pelt though so he was going to go through a good shake if he hoped to remove any of it. He remained slightly as his apprentice helped get rid of the snow on his face. He uttered a small thanks before standing, and shaking out his black fur. Once it was clear he looked down at his apprentice. "Are you ready to go now?" He asked

Poppypaw hung her head, partly to hide her growing smile, but mostly to hide her shame. "Yes," she responded. It was time for her training and hopefully she wasn't going to be as clumsy as she just was.

A small sigh escaped the deputy, but a slight smirk was on his face. "Alright then. Let's go." He said to her. The warrior turned away from Riverclan territory and stepped onto their own. They still had to be careful. He didn't want to run into Windclan. That would be bad. As they walked along the deputy looked back to Poppypaw. "What do you smell?"

The she-cat nodded to Crowflight and followed along silently. She wasn't fond of the reeds, and felt oddly at home when she stepped into the pine forest. The scents were comfortable, despite her growing up in RiverClan. She lifted her muzzle, sniffing and opening her mouth to take in the smells.

"Besides WindClan? Pine... Squirrels? And birds!" she meowed, opening her hazel eyes and scanning the area. She couldn't see them, and perhaps they were hibernating, but she was sure they were there.

The Windclan scent was certainly there. He would be surprised if she didn't say that. He checked for himself, and found out she was completely right. "Very good." He said, continuing to move. It didn't take long but they finally reached the border they shared with Thunderclan first. Another clan he hated. He stopped a little way from the border. "Alright. Now what do you smell?" They would move away from here after that, and then do some hunting. It would be a short patrol, but they were in danger by being here.

The apprentice followed along, having to rush a little to keep up with the dark tom's pace. She could smell the scents changing and the scenery began showing less green as they approached the ThunderClan borders. Unlike SkyClan, their trees lost their leaves when Leafbare came around, leaving their territory open and somewhat bland. She opened her mouth slightly, taking in the new scents. "Um... Mice? And something rather stinky... I can't tell what it is," she meowed, sniffing the air in confusion. Little did either of them know, a pair of bright yellow eyes watched them from a large den, waiting for the right moment to move.

Crowflight was about say something to see if she smelled Thunderclan but he froze when he smelled something to. It was nasty smelling. It was something he hadn't encountered this strongly before, and it was hard to place. He sat there trying to figure it out but when it hit him, his eyes grew wide. Badger. "Get away from here Poppypaw! I will be close behind." He said with urgency. He wouldn't allow it to take an apprentice. No.

Poppypaw looked at her mentor, confused by the sudden urgency in his voice. It took her a moment, but after watching his stance become defensive and his wide eyes, she realized they were no longer in a safe situation. It was obviously not another cat, no cat could smell that disgusting. The apprentice took a step backwards, her fur puffing out in fear. She trusted Crowflight with her life, but she couldn't abandon him. Knowing the deputy, he wouldn't hesitate to fight even if it meant losing his life. "I'm not leaving your side," she mewed quietly, pulling up close to him.

The creature stood in it's den, letting out a low growl. It could smell the fear from the two cats. It was intoxicating to the badger, and he couldn't help leave his den and slowly stalk towards the pair.

Crowflight backed up a few steps. They would either have to run, or drive off the Badger, but that was hard to do with just two of them. He didn't know exactly what to do, should they run? Should they just let Windclan deal with it? No. There was no use in running now. The Badger could follow them.. That wouldn't be good. They were going to have to face it. Crouching low, the black deputy bunched his muscles in his hind legs waiting on the creature to get closer. Once it was close enough the deputy sprang forward, latching onto it's back, trying to tear at the flesh there.