Sunpetal mulled over Sunpaw's question. "You think they believe in the Sun God and Moon Goddess? StarClan? Kinda hard to worship something you never see," she said, but she frowned at that. Technically, few cats ever saw the deities they worshipped and were really just hanging onto the proclamation of other cats who claimed to see aforementioned deities - which, again, could just cycle back to it being exclusive and now she was really second guessing her own faith in StarClan now. They'd only been gone for five minutes.

"Anyway," she glossed over her internal crisis, "maybe they're all blind and ashamed of it and that's why they live underground. It's just," her face scrunched up into a giggle, "a clan full of blind cats bumping into the walls."

"A mole god," she echoed, a touch of fondness in her voice. It made her think of her late brother, Molemound, and she found herself missing him for the first time in a long time, the pair never having been as close as she was with Weevilspike. She didn't have much time to linger on the thought before the apprentice was carrying on, asking questions and then talking over herself with more theories, and Sunpetal found she was enjoying Sunpaw's presence despite their shared name. She laughed. "Can you imagine if they were like bats? Just...screaming at each other to see. They're very good at stealth, " she giggled.

"Just wait till you become a warrior," she snickered, "It's way louder. I still sneak into Papi's den sometimes or take a few poppy seeds before bed." It wasn't the healthiest habit she'd picked up, but she wasn't scared enough of Vulturemalice to respect her authority unless she explicitly asked for it. At Sunpaw's follow-up, she smiled slyly, eyes flush with memories. "I'm not so sure about sky cats but there are sky ants."

"I don't taste much of anything when I eat them," she admitted, "but they have a nice little crunch. I prefer sunflower seeds for the flavor. Have you ever had any of those? We can probably find some, but a lot of them will have already been plucked clean by birds." She cast her gaze around them, for once not knowing which direction served them best going forward. Sunpetal knew all of SummerClan territory by heart and could easily locate whatever she wanted, but out here in the open wilds, she had no clue where to turn.

She then glanced at the sky, as if to dare them to unleash their sky ant army upon them. "Sky ants are invaders that come ever leaf-bare. Last year, Sir Fisher and I led the - successful, might I add - charge to get rid of them. I'll have to start training the new maggots for this year's war," she mumbled half to herself.

Sunpetal mulled over the question. "Sunflower seeds are salty," she said at last, still trotting aimlessly forward and hoping Sunpaw wouldn't notice the way she seemed to look around in stifled alarm. She had everything under control. "I guess it would make sense to hunt there, huh? I've never thought of it, but I know I don't like to run for my life after a meal." She giggled at the image of bloated birdies struggling to lift their fat, seed-filled bodies skyward.

Then she was all business again at the mention of sky ants, a stoic commander with a somber look of reflection on her face, "Lots of cats are still scarred from the last sky ant war. It was...devastating," she shuddered, "So, so many casualties on both sides. But we'll need to prepare early this year if we want to stand a better chance against the invasion."

She was, momentarily, thankful that a nearby noise drew their attention away from Sunpaw's latest curiosity but that relief was short-lived when she saw what that noise heralded. The great, lumbering form of a badger lurched towards them, its long claws scoring the earth.

Sunpetal had already turned, yielding to her primal instinct dictating that flight was a better option than fight, but she resisted long enough to shove Sunpaw forward. The reality that she was the authority figure and therefore responsible for the apprentice's safety in a matter that was surely life or death was dawning on her suddenly. It'd just been fun and games, something to lord over and throw around with abandon, but now that she was acutely aware of the gravity of someone else's life being tied to her decisions, she felt her chest seize up.

...Or was it the running? She never did have the most endurance, even now after moons of training.

Her paws practically dug divets beneath her, scooping up earth and scattering it towards the beast, her breaths so hard to come by with how her lungs seemed to twist around each other. She had to think - and think quickly. "Look, Sunpaw," she gasped from beneath the other, "whatever you do, don't turn around, okay? Keep running and I'll catch up." With that direction imparted to her, Sunpetal steeled her nerves and pivoted impossibly suddenly, turning to dart back the way they'd come - right into the badger. She dove beneath it and it, trying to follow, somersaulted over itself, plowing into the dirt.

Even if Sunpaw would have looked back, all she would have seen was a cloud of dust obscure the result of Sunpetal's bravado. It would take several painstakingly dreadful, long minutes before it cleared enough to see through it and.... they were gone. There was an obvious dent in the earth from where the badger's body had collided into it, but no sight or sound of either it or the Garden Keeper anywhere to be found. 

However, a twig snapped behind the apprentice, the source shrouded by the low ebony branches of the copse she'd taken shelter in. An exhausted Sunpetal lurched out, panting and her skin nicked by the sharp thorns she'd dived into to escape, but no worse for wear. "I lost it but we should get away from here now," she encouraged after checking the apprentice for signs of injury. As if in response, the badger snarled in the distance, crashing around fruitlessly.

"Sunpawㅡ" She didn't mean it to be so abrupt and cutting, but she knew the matter called for her to be firm. She shrugged the apprentice off and shoved her forward. "I'm okay. I'm sorry. We have to go now." Every second they waited was one that brought them closer to their dooms, and Sunpetal had zero plans of dying yet. She jammed her nose into the other's flank until she was sure Sunpaw was moving of her own volition, then she hurried to catch up to her side as they escaped further into the pine forest and further away from home.

"I don't know, keep running!" The question was one she didn't know herself, but she did know they wouldn't be going back to camp tonight.

The two frantic she-cats continued onward until their lungs were scorched by their breaths and their legs by the shoots of adrenaline, until they were sure the sound of the badger's threats were too distant that it could scarcely be discerned over the thunder peeling into the still evening. "Okay, okay," the elder of the two panted, allowing herself to slow down only once she was sure they were no longer being pursued. Her paws felt like they were going to fall off but she pressed on. "I think we should find somewhere to sleep before it gets too dark, yeah?"