GRAVELPELT.
warrior of thunderclan
He shouldn’t have volunteered for this, even if it meant the chance Hazelpaw could fall behind on her training while her mentor was out of commission on the off chance absolutely no one else wanted to step in. He’d seen her around camp, likely anyone with eyes had thanks to her showboating tendencies, and he’d gleaned enough of her personality from this alone to know they were a terrible match up. She was Wildstar’s daughter, even if not truly by blood. He was Gravelpelt, estranged son of Wolverineclaw and Ebonyrose. Not all of his Clanmates were rude to him, but he just knew Hazelpaw would be.
That’s why he put off approaching her for so long, hovering near the Apprentices’ Den before walking over to the freshkill pile to study the choices for the day, before inconspicuously glancing around camp for the apprentice. In basic terms, he was being a coward and it would be painfully obvious to anyone watching. So when Hazelpaw finally made her presence known by strutting out of the Apprentices’ Den, Gravelpelt couldn’t stop the sound of choking panic that bubbled up in his throat. He was the warrior, she was the apprentice. And besides, did he want to face Wildstar later when she was told of who exactly had set her daughter’s training behind?
No, he did not, and that’s what finally got his paws moving, even if a bit stiffly. Of course leave it to him to blunder right into Hazelpaw’s path and nearly trip the apprentice up. “O-Oh gosh, I’m so sorry! I was coming over to see about taking you out training because Snarlingbadger asked a warrior to step in because he’s feeling under the weather, as you probably know, and I just-“ Well, he couldn’t exactly mention he was panicking at the thought of approaching her, and now panicking even worse because he’d made such a spectacular first impression. His brain was filled with TV static at the moment, green eyes flitting around to look at anything but her face or eyes. “I was thinking we could head to Berry Flats to work on catching birds or rabbits, because they’re always out in abundance in the area this time of year.”
GRAVELPELT.
warrior of thunderclan
He felt like a leaf shivering in the breeze before the egotistical apprentice, desperately trying to cling to the branch and avoid the fall to the forest floor below. She took long enough to answer he likely was on the verge of a heart attack, and he released a burst of air in relief as she finally relented. It would have been quite the awkward scene if she'd refused and they had to go track down Snarlingbadger for him to get everything straightened out. Gravelpelt was already enough of a joke as it was.
"Well, with an attitude like that, it wouldn't be surprising," he cheered, as if his praise would even matter to Hazelpaw. With the brisk pace she set he was nearly left in the dust, scrambling to catch up and making an even bigger spectacle of himself in the process.
When they were finally out of camp, the berry bushes of Berry Flats coming into view, he felt like he might be able to relax. However, studying the fluffy tail of the apprentice before him, he wondered how much worse her attitude might become now that it was just the two of them. What could he show her hunting skills-wise that Snarlingbadger might not have yet? Offering her useful knowledge was likely the only way he'd be able to keep her appeased.
H A Z E L P A W
The shaky grin on the tom's face immediately resulted in a grimace from the apprentice. Man, that looked all kinds of awkward. Was he trying to make a joke out of himself? She almost couldn't believe how disheveled and awkward of a warrior he was. How was she supposed to get anywhere with training if this was the cat responsible for overseeing her growth?
Her mother had to have a few whiskers loose to actually agree to let Gravelpelt take over her training. Or maybe she was testing them? If Hazelpaw could succeed under someone as unqualified as him, then wouldn't that show how truly great she was?
"Okay, to the Berry Flats we go then," She huffed, taking his offer and stepping forward to lead the way out of camp without hesitation. It was almost like she felt she was meant to lead, with the way she confidently strode ahead. "I'll show you that I'll surpass everyone in ThunderClan," she added with a belligerent mutter.
GRAVELPELT.
warrior of thunderclan
Oh StarClan, yes, this was a terrible mistake. He should have volunteered to take over another warrior’s duties for the day so they could have come to work on Hazelpaw’s training instead. Tucking down his feelings of inadequacy, he gave a nervous little chuckle and he cracked a wobbly smile that looked like it could have been blown off his face with the slightest of breezes.
“Likely a lot of stuff,” he replied without missing a beat, used to self-deprecating humor to relieve high tension situations. “But we’re not here about me, huh? As I said, Snarlingbadger asked someone to stand in for your training so let’s head out to Berry Flats! The day’s a’wasting and you’re not going to become the best hunter in the Clan standing around in camp.” Perhaps the promise of good training would motivate Hazelpaw into forgetting about her attitude for a moment, which would allow Gravelpelt to at least get her out of camp. He wasn’t about shirking duties, much preferring to get done what he was asked or volunteered to do because everyone liked a dependable Clanmate, but… If Hazelpaw did absolutely refuse to cooperate and accept his training, at least no one would be around to see him fail at the task then. It was so embarrassing to be ignored and disrespected by an apprentice of all Clanmates, especially because he wasn’t one for threats or any type of violence as motivation.
Angling his body to get out of the way, he motioned for her to lead in a pander to her ego. If it took putting himself down and building up her already insufferably large head to get this training done, well, Gravelpelt had dealt with much more uncomfortable situations in his life before.
H A Z E L P A W
Hazelpaw was having a great morning so far. She’d been up early before the other apprentices and snagged herself something good from the fresh-kill pile. It was just after the elders, queens and senior warriors had eaten, so she managed to get the pick of the pack before the other apprentices (and warriors) and grabbed herself a fat mouse off the mound of prey. It had just the perfect amount of meat ratio and it was just as sweet and juicy as she hoped it would be. She had, of course, eaten her breakfast in her nest, despite the bickering of the other apprentices. Who cared about them? She wasn’t messy and it was the perfect, quiet place for her to eat in peace… If they would ever stop nagging, that is. The fluffy apprentice licked her lips and cleaned up the remains of her meal, not only because it was ethical but especially because she didn’t want to hear the other apprentices whining later. The next thing to come to her deluded little mind was her apprentice training. She’d only been apprenticed for a handful of sunrises and her mentor, Snarlingbadger, had gone and gotten himself sick. What a loser! He couldn’t keep himself well enough to not be an inconvenience for her? Now she had to go out of her way and go find her mother for a new mentor because she doubted that the tom had the awareness to solve the problem himself.
She was on her way out of the apprentice’s den when she was just about knocked off her feet by an obnoxious and sudden collision. Her blue eyes narrowed into the scowl of her expression when she looked up to find Gravelpelt stumbling over his words just about as badly as he was his own feet. Hazelpaw’s scowl quickly morphed into one of dumbfoundedness at the tom’s ability to blubber over himself like some sort of buffoon. She almost didn’t know what to say to him, between her surprise that Snarlingbadger had actually found someone to replace him for her training and the fact that her new, hopefully temporary, mentor was an idiot– how was she supposed to react? She stood there for a moment, her eyes narrow and her mouth agape before something cruel and mean came out of her lips.
“What is wrong with you?”