snow day [open]

Heavy flakes were still falling by the time the tom had opened his eyes for the day. It was later than normal, likely on account of the cold that had set in, making him curl tighter into his next. But now Stoatfur had been awake for a short time. This weather was relentless. There was no reason for patrols to be out and so he had called them back. Thankfully, the trees provided some semblance of shelter, along with the walls of camp. Still, leafbare had it's cruel grip on the clan. Each passing day the little tom believed his mood could not get more sour. Most of the time, he kept it inside, but there were brief snatches of his bitter disposition and surely a cat or two noticed - regardless of his attempts to coil it up like a snake.

No matter how hard they all worked to secure the clan's comfort, it was a fleeting and impossible desire. A part of his mind had conjured up the idea that surely their warriors weren't working hard enough. Yet there were only so many shoulders to burden all this weight. Today the clan would rest. Well, while keeping their paws busy packing show over the dens. It would help to keep the cold out and the heat in. Despite the hunger that gnawed at his stomach, the deputy found himself enjoying the warmth of his clanmates around him. Somehow this blizzard made things all the more peaceful amid the normal condemnation of leafbare.

His paws flexed into the edges of the elder's den, finishing up pressing snowflakes down into there. Once done he found a sheltered spot next to the highrock and settled down, "Highly doubt enemy patrols are out in this. It's almost nice to not be out for once." He meowed to no cat in particular, speaking mostly to himself.

With a huff, Minnowpaw gave his coat a good shake. His breath was frosty in the cold air, like mist. Paws numb, he trudged towards Highrock, clamping his jaws to stop his teeth from chattering. His short coat was not made for leaf-bare. Although the weather was unwelcome, it did provide lots of snow. The young tom just caught what his mentor had said, debating whether to comment or not.

"I've finished reinforcing the walls of the apprentices' den.."
He settled with a simple report, to subtly announce his presence. My paws are going to freeze off because of it... his thoughts echoed, though he did not say it aloud. Things had been rocky between him and the warrior. His quiet personality made it even harder to find what to say. He'd volunteered to help in hopes of a chance to better get to know him. Sitting somewhat close, but not too close that it'd be awkward, he wrapped his long tail around his paws. A sudden chill made his whiskers quiver, an attempt at stopping himself from shivering. I hope this is worth it...

He was shocked to see his apprentice and found himself slightly flustered by the appearance. Somehow this young cat had become the biggest challenge to overcome for him. The pair's relationship had been strained by his own inability to open up to others. Minkstar had tried to prod the insecurities from deep within, and it had momentarily worked, until he was overwhelmed by his own hopeless fair. In a sense, the worst part of it all was his own perceptiveness of the circumstance. After their training session, and strained patrols, Stoatfur found himself more resigned and less snappish.

As deputy he had to say something.

Letting out a breath into the frosted air, a chilled cloud left his maw. He nodded, "Good job. You can rest until the dusk patrol, assuming any of this clears up." Stoatfur swallowed and prepared to turn away to dismiss the apprentice but paused. It hung over his head, remembering the comparison he'd come to, the realization in some twisted way that he had become more and more like the father he despised. This was almost as condemning as his deeply seeded fears. A thought crossed his mind - how bad would it be to allow himself a moment of reprieve? Maybe it would improve things for Minnowpaw as well.

"Hey, Minnowpaw..." He meowed lowly, raising a forepaw, "You ever seen a warrior fight with snow?" And then we swiped at the heavy flakes, throwing them in Minnowpaw's face. It was crooked at first, forgotten, but the faintest grin parted the sides of his maw. Eyes landed on the young tom, willing him to accept the challenge. Maybe it was more than a challenge too, maybe it was an invitation to trying something different. Panic rose up in his chest and he stuffed it back down. Worries could be saved for later, right? At least for a moment later.

Noticing how uncomfortable his mentor looked, Minnowpaw started to doubt. Had he made the right decision to talk? The tom focused on the bits of snow clinging to his paws. Just when Minnowpaw was about to leave and head to the apprentices' den anyway, Stoatfur spoke. So he'd be joining the dusk patrol... was that it? He returned the nod, and stood up, unsure whether to add anything or not. What should I say? Ask him about his previous apprentice? What if he feels even more uncomfortable? Tell him about myself? I doubt he wants to know... A train of thought was spiraling out of control in his mind.

Unexpectedly, the distracted apprentice found himself with a face full of snow. A shaky gasp could be heard as the white powder fell from his face, dropping onto the ground. Minnowpaw stood there, unmoving for a bit, unsure how to react. Seeing a grin slowly working its way on his mentor's maw, it clicked. An expression of shock changed into one of joy. The apprentice immediately shook the cold stuff off and retaliated by dragging his tail in a quick circular motion, sending a wave of powder to splash on the tom. A laugh escaped his maw, remembering his vow of silence, he shut his maw again. Realizing what he had just done, he shrunk back, afraid he wasn't supposed to have done that. He hadn't been the one to strike first, so it must be okay... right?

The retaliation was quick. Stoatfur didn't miss the emotions that flitted off the younger tom's face, feeling a spark of guilt over the reasoning behind it, perhaps his own fault. But he had little time to think at flecks of white snow sprayed his maw, covering up some of his brown coat and making him a tad more like a white cat in appearance. It was complementary to what had already begun to collect on his back. Shaking out his coat, the warrior jumped back to create a short distance between them as he meowed, "There you go, nice hit. Exactly what I'd expect from my apprentice." An encouraging smile flitted across his features. It was a little weak, unsure, but he forced himself to maintain it for a second - Minnowpaw deserved that much.

"Surely you have more than that." With his left forepaw, Stoatfur had scooped up a pawful of snow, and as he lunged forward and swung his paw, snow was dumped on top of the younger cat's head. His chest felt lighter and there was a short bubble of laugher from his maw. The sound shocked him. The distant memory of a carefree kit, something that had been sparse and fleeting, seemed to flash in the back of his mind. This was the closest to feeling something he'd gotten since playing with snakes. Minkstar's words echoed in his mind and he wanted to grumble. There was still some ringing truth to the old tom's words.

Pride glowed in the apprentice's eyes when his mentor praised him. Of course, it came with a price. Of snow. In return, cold lumps of it were kicked into Stoatfur's face, Minnowpaw's hindlegs churning the white stuff mercilessly. "I bet you can't do any better than that!" was all he dared to meow. A part of him was still surprised by the sudden change of heart in his mentor. Maybe Stoatfur was just the kind of cat that needed time before opening up. He couldn't relate but it was understandable. After all, he wasn't one to talk much, and sometimes, that resulted in stagnant relationships, not that he wanted it to happen. The short outburst of laughter from the warrior was contagious, so he allowed himself to join in with a soft chuckle. A cheeky grin could be seen as the grey and white tom collected snow, piling it up next to him.

Stoatfur was ill-prepared for the onslaught of snow kicked into his face. Okay, that was clever. He'd pulled back slightly to bear the plentiful ice that quickly covered his maw. Minnowpaw actually seemed to be enjoying himself - they both did. It was slowly beginning to dawn on him that it was his attitude that had negatively impacted both of them during training. This could never make up for it but it was a start. The little warrior shook off his coat and swiped his paw over his face, trying to dispel the flakes and warm his chilled fur.

Minnowpaw had begun collecting the snow and gathering it up. Tilting his head, Stoatfur rounded the mass of flakes meowed, "What are you working on, snow warrior? New den in the middle of camp or what?" As he spoke, it was far more at ease than it had ever been with his apprentice. Admittedly, it felt nice. He let out a soft 'huh' and smiled. This moment couldn't last forever, and he was certain there would be much more to building up what he had fractured so quickly, but enjoying this couldn't hurt for the moment, right?

As the older warrior circled his current project, the apprentice padded lumps of snow into place. You'll see what this snow warrior can create! If this version of his mentor was not here to stay, he'd certainly make the most of it while he could. A vision of the completed project was in his mind and he continued. Adding a finishing bit of snow, he sat beside the fragile-looking snow-cat. "It's you! Doesn't it- ...aw- oh." His gaze grew crestfallen when the white form slowly crumbled back into its original form, a pile of snow. His efforts to firmly pack the snow into shape were not enough to keep it standing. "Well, it was Snowstoat... now it's Stoatlump-"

Stoatfur tipped his head curiously, regarding the precariously perched pile of snow. There was some form to it but he couldn't quite make out what. Minnowpaw informed him as he padded down more of the flakes. Admittedly it had been some time since he had seen himself in a puddle, and it was hard to make out the resemblance. His whiskers twitched in amusement. The frail snow creature toppled over and out of some weird instinct, he launched a paw out to try and catch it, finding only bits of flakes scattering over his paw. Shaking out his paw, the tom briefly frowned before turning to the apprentice with a slight and encouraging smile, "You'll get it next time, Minnowpaw. I'm sure you'll be the finest snow warrior this forest has seen." His paw, still with some clinging snow, ruffled the top of his apprentice's head. He pulled back at the strange feeling and stared at his pads. Was this what it was like to show care for a cat other than himself?

"Unfortunately, I can't say the same... my coat isn't warm enough for me to effectively hunt or fight in this weather. But... thanks." he replied, for the first time feeling comfortable around his mentor. White flakes were added to his now messed fur, but the grey tom didn't mind. The moment was happy and he hoped it would stay that way. He ventured out, casting his hesitance away. "I know things were rough between me and you... at first, but I... I hope things can stay the way they are right now." he meowed slowly, picking his words with care. In his early kithood, his dad had disappeared, perhaps taken by twolegs as the news was broken to his mother that way. It was now that he realized how much he had missed the feeling of having a fatherly figure around him, and strangely enough, the sensation was similar to what he was feeling now.

"You and me both." His whiskers twitched slightly, regarding his how slender frame. It was unsightly the way his ribs had begun to protrude more noticeably from his sides. That must have been why they called it a lean leafbare. Stoarfur glanced back to Minnowpaw, "Helps to keep your bones active. I promise that's not just an elder's tale I tell warriors to get them out on patrols."

Minnowpaw's voice piped up again and the blatant honestly that reached he heard within them made him stop. A soft frown worried itself into the sides of his maw. It was not a disappointed frown, but rather pensive in nature. Their relationship hadn't been the best to start, that much was obvious. The pair of toms had been contented to silence, letting this thing fester between them. Being the mentor, the burden of the circumstances weighted a lot heavier on his shoulders. From the beginning he had known that Minnowpaw deserved better. This moment of branching out, allowing himself to feel something new, it added a new element to their relationship that previously hadn't been there.

This thing was new, uncertain, and fragile. Stoatfur found himself filled with a new kind of fear, like claws dancing precariously over tender flesh - something easy to draw blood from. He sucked in a slow breath, his expression growing more serious as his shoulders hunched forwards slightly. Eyes faced the ground and he shrugged slightly, not wanting to meet Minnowpaw's gaze, "I can't promise it will always be this way, but-" Slowly, he forced himself to study the features of his apprentice, "I can promise I will try."

Slowly, a faint frown was creasing into the warrior's maw. Noticing it, the apprentice let his hope fade a little, a dimming star in his paws. The pair was quiet, one waiting in silence, the other seemingly in deep thought. They remained that way for a couple of heartbeats until the latter began to speak. Though his mentor did not look him in the eye, Minnowpaw heard the genuineness in his voice. He would try.

"That's good enough for me." he murmured, warm gaze resting on his paws, just like the other.