"Keep your body low to the ground... and keep your tail still for Starclan's sake!"

Honeypaw looked up to Morningflower's exasperated voice as she guided Stonepaw, who was twitching with annoyance. Beside her, Cloudypaw was situated obediently in the same position as her siblings.

A smirk was plastered right across her face, "I wonder how long he'll last."

"Shush, you're supposed to be doing it silently." Lilypad mewed sharply.

The older and more experienced warrior had offered and then proceeded to supervise our hunting training. At least, that's what she had said she was doing. However, Honeykit highly suspected that this was specifically to watch Cream and guarantee that she was training her properly.

It was no secret that her entire family disapproved of Hawkstar's choice for Hon's mentor. In fact, courtesy of the twins, vivacious gossip about the unfortunate situation had blown up the clan.

Raintrickle and Leafhover had seemed almost trance-like as they pranced around camp, spreading their displeasure like it was the most important thing that a cat should know about. Honeypaw herself despised having a former rogue as her mentor, especially considering her strange but seemingly anticipated mood-swings.

During training, the beige she-cat would constantly poke and prod at me harshly, all the while leaking her true opinions about the rest of the clan.

"Leafhover is such a bore sometimes, though she acts like the icon of the entire clan." She had pondered aloud during a hunt once.

Another time, it was about how loud Hawkstar's voice was as she wondered if he was losing his hearing. Yet another time, up to twenty minutes of a border patrol was Cream chatting up Mistysky before coming back to Honeypaw and muttering all her misgivings about the whole ordeal.

It was eye-roll this, eye-roll that. 

I hate this, I hate that.

Hon had a feeling her ears were going to fall off before she finished training.

However, despite all her complaints, Cream was an angel towards her apprentice, always worrying endlessly whenever Honeypaw took a fall, earned a scratch or lost in battle training, which was a lot of the time, mind you. Her voice was the perfect bandage for all wounds, physical and mental.

She was the first cat to make her feel wanted.

Special.

"Can you shut up?"

Stonepaw's voice was loud and high-pitched with frustration, causing Hon's ears to twitch.

Cloudypaw nudged her sister, her eyes glowing with mirth as she giggled.

Morningflower growls impatiently, "No. You may find my voice rather unpleasant, but that's just too bad for you then!"

Her voice contains a slightly cheerful yet chilling tilt to it, and her eyes are icy, something Honeypaw had thought she'd never see. Cream shifts closer and she leans into her reassurance.

Stonepaw gives his eyes a roll, but his confidence has obviously diminished, "You shouldn't be bossing me around so much. After all, you're a kittypet."

The silence was deafening.

Honeypaw never thought she'd ever think this, for she had always thought the expression to be ironic. However, it was the first phrase that popped into her head, as unwanted as it may be.

Sunmist was the first to speak up nervously, "I don't think that's quite-"

"Who do you think you are? You're just some lowly, fox-hearted apprentice with fluff instead of a brain!" Morningflower spat, her tail bushed and absolutely lashing, "How dare you speak to me in that way! How dare you even look at me in that way, like I am in any way less worthy of my clan name than you are! You aren't even a warrior yet, and you dare to be this disrespectful?"

Panting, Morningflower took a few steps closer to her apprentice, almost threateningly, "I would like to have a good talk with whoever raised you. I'm surprised, rather, because Beestripe is a lovely cat."

Her voice had calmed and the cheerful tint had returned. Smoothing her fur down, she sat and brought a wet paw over her ears, seeming rather pleased.

Stonepaw, on the other paw, was horrified, having backed several steps away from Morningflower as she was shouting. His fur seemed incapable of calming and his whiskers kept twitching as he glanced repeatedly at his mentor and then away.

Sunmist rested her tail on Cloudypaw's back, as if she thought she would be terrified as well. However, Hon's sister turned to her, a grin reaching from one side of her face to the other as she whispered, "What a show! I think I quite like Morningflower."

Honeypaw smiled complacently back, her mind already on other things. Things such as how Stonepaw was feeling for example. And why Cream seemed so stunned when Cloudypaw and Sunmist had been unaffected.

"Please, call me Flower."

The two sisters looked up.

Morningflower had somehow managed to hear their conversation and was now smiling cheerfully down at them. Standing up, the two sisters returned the gesture, and Honeypaw noticed a look of mutual respect pass between the three she-cats.