Username: VulpesVelox
Cat Name: Archblaze
Gender: Male
Rank: Sharpclaw (warrior/defender)
Clan: LightclanAge: 64 moons
Prompt: Enemies/RivalsIt was the second day of Archblaze's life in Lightclan.
He'd apparently made a good impression on Lightstar and her deputy Rapidstrike. Afterward, they kindly offered him life away from the twolegplace. They explained how they planned to make this a safe haven. It was far from the terrorizing claws of the Sentinels. So, here Archblaze stood, in the early morning light as Rapidstrike got a dawn patrol ready. Silentstalk was sitting near Archblaze, a nervous glitter in his eyes. With a tilted head, Archblaze cleared his throat and turned to Silentstalk.
"You always seem to be nervous...Silentsalt, was it?" The black and white tom stiffened and glared at Archblaze.
"Silentstalk. And I'm fine." Archblaze narrowed his eyes curiously.
"I'm surprised you're willing to live out in the forest. I'd think you'd be more inclined to live as a housecat." Silentstalk didn't seem to take too well to this, much to Archblaze's confusion.
"A housecat? Well, I'm glad you know me well enough to make such a claim, Acheblaze." Archblaze lashed his tail, slightly affronted.
"Archblaze, actually. And if I offended you, I apologize. I didn't realize it was a sensitive topic." Silentstalk growled lowly in his throat and got up. His fur bristling, the other tom stalked away to talk to Rapidstrike. The deputy seemed to laugh at something, then smiled gently at Silentstalk before saying something the primarily black tom didn't seem happy about. With a frown carved across Silentstalk's face, he returned to Archblaze, obviously displeased.
"You and I are together with Lightstar. Hurry up, let's go." Archblaze nodded slowly, and the two toms gathered at the bramble entrance as Lightstar trotted toward them from the elder's den.
She'd apparently been checking on Shortspark. They left the camp in Rapidstrike and Windchaser's protection and went east. Archblaze was curious about his new home and sped up to walk alongside Lightstar. He waited patiently for a break in her conversation with Silentstalk before speaking up.
"Lightstar, if I may ask, will I be given training like Windchaser? She explained the process to me, and I was hoping to learn to hunt." Lightstar's ear flicked back as she nodded.
"Yes. I'll assign one of your clanmates to help train you later if you're up for it." Archblaze nodded, energy renewed.
"I am! I'd love to contribute as soon as I can." Lightstar purred, happy with her newest sharpclaw's devotion. "Alright...Silentstalk, would you mind helping Archblaze learn to hunt in the forest?" Silentstalk grimaced but didn't object, nodding his acceptance.
"Thank you. Now, let's finish this patrol before you two do anything else." True to the arrangement they'd made, Silentstalk took Archblaze out in the territory later as the sun peaked in the sky. The black tom wasn't terribly pleased to be here, but he could appreciate Archblaze's enthusiasm to learn. He led the newest member of Lightclan to the training beach, which was a short trek southeast.
Once they reached the training beach, Silentstalk went about showing Archblaze the correct hunting crouch. He learned that the sharpclaw had been a scavenger at the twolegplace. However, he'd been chased away for supposedly stealing from a guardian. The revelation made Silentstalk a little nervous, but he continued the session anyhow. Eventually, Archblaze got the crouch down, and Silentstalk moved on to explaining how to catch prey.
Archblaze looked around, tail tip twitching uncertainly.
"And I suppose your name is Silentstalk because you...stalk...silently." Shoulders tense, Silentstalk's pupils shrank as he fixed a glare on Archblaze,
"Yes," He mewed tightly,
"It's an honor to be giving a name to reflect my skills. What can you do? Arch blazingly?" Archblaze appeared disgruntled by Silentstalk's words, and they both got up to face each other.
Silentstalk's next words came out as a hiss.
"You're an airhead who thinks he can smooth talk his way into our lives. You have been rude and fake since coming here, and I think it was a mistake to trust you." His tail lashed, ears pinned back against his head.
"You feign ignorance with each word and use it to insult me at every chance you get. If it were up to me, you'd be long gone by now." Archblaze stood, shocked at Silentstalk's confession. Sure he could say insensitive things every so often,
but he didn't think it was worth Silentstalk's hatred.
"I never meant to offend you, Silentstalk. Though I must say, your anger isn't surprising." A spark of fury at being accused lit in Archblaze's chest.
"You are a shallow cat with a short-sighted view of the world around you. You take me at face value and don't bother to ask questions or look deeper." Hackles lifted, Archblaze bared his teeth.
"I'm disappointed. I thought we might be friends one day, but I now see that you have no such intentions...I'll be leaving now." With a frustrated hiss, the white and grey tabby padded back to the camp, following their scent trail from earlier in the day.
Silentstalk stood on the hard, packed sand, tail lashing furiously.
Snarling under his breath, the amber-eyed tom retreated into the shelter of the forest. He needed to blow off some steam.
(862 Words)