~Learn to be lonely~ {Apprentice needing friend, O}

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    Soft morning light filtered through the dead and frost-covered branches that peppered the sky around the ThunderClam camp, gently alighting the clearing and pulling it out of nighttime. On the ground several tail-lengths away from any sort of den, a small-framed cat was laying. Her gray and white-splotched body was nestled among earth and decaying leaves and her lucid yellow eyes watching the others in the camp go about their business. Sighing, Ghostpaw curled her tail around the front side of her body. Normally, she would have been grateful for the chance to be alone. But lately, the subtle feeling of loneliness had been creeping through her normal feelings of indifference and contentment. Normally her mother would have kept such feelings at bay, but her mother was busy helping with a new litter of kits that had been born. For the past few days, she had rarely gotten to see Heatherfoot, and when she did, the moments were fleeting and unsatisfying.


    As pathetic as it sounded, Ghostpaw had no other close friends. This had not bothered her when she was content with only her mother as a companion. Now that a problem had arisen, however, the gray-white she-cat realized just how much she had relied on Heatherfoot. And so there she sat, batting at dead leaves with a bored flick of her paw, casting somewhat-jealous glances at the cats sharing prey and tongues.

    Ivoryflight couldn't help but notice the lonely-looking apprentice while she was returning from hunting patrol. She padded over to the fresh-kill pile and supplied it with one vole and two mice. While looking around, she noted that today was a bit busier than usual. Maybe because it's leaf-bare. She decided. "Ghostpaw? Didn't your mentor tell you to go hunting? The fresh-kill pile is quite low." She mewed, glancing at the forest. "Why don't you go help the elders?" She asked, trying to get the apprentice to stop looking lonely. "I heard Cleareye has ticks." She gestured for the apprentice to follow her with a flick of the tail.

    Ghostpaw looked up when she heard the kind voice of a she-cat. One of the warriors, Ivoryflight, had padded over to her. When she was questioned about her mentor, she dropped her head, a little abashed. "She's not awake yet," the splotchy apprentice meowed. The two had been out late the night before to practice fighting in the dark. When the warrior suggested visiting the elders, Ghostpaw pricked her ears curiously. This was an idea she had not considered, and the elders were some of the best story-tellers in the clan, if one could put up with the mouse-bile as payment for their words. Grateful to the she-cat for her company and for something to occupy her time, the apprentice rose to her paws and followed her through camp.

    She arrived at the Elder's den, picking up some mouse-bile near the entrance. Handing the mouse-bile over to Ghostpaw, she entered. "Cleareye?" She mewed, looking at her mother. She looked at the entrance, waiting for Ghostpaw to enter. Smiling, she exited to see Ghostpaw still outside. "What's wrong?" She mewed kindly. Maybe the apprentice was a bit shy? She moved a little closer to the apprentice. "Are you shy?" She asked her. "Don't worry. I was shy when I was an apprentice too."

    Solarpaw watched the silhouettes of dead branches swaying in a patch of sunlight on the top of the apprentices' den. His clear blue gaze was fixed on this spectacle interestedly, but he was not watching it. He was thinking, and his eyes had decided to latch on to the nearest thing, which had just happened to be a patch of sunlight on the ceiling. The young apprentice did this often. He was a very philosophical cat.
    A sudden bird twitter outside woke Solarpaw from his deep reverie. Quickly realizing that no one else was in the den, the apprentice uncurled his wiry body and padded lightly outside. The soft orange sun which had shone on his den ceiling now played on his coat, lighting the ginger fur like a fire, the tabby stripes like especially dark streaks of flame. His bright blue eyes were alight with sunlight and thoughtfulness.
    Solarpaw suddenly spotted Ghostpaw and Ivoryflight outside the elders' den and decided to say good morning and maybe listen to a story or two. Padding over, the small, wiry young tom meowed quietly, "Hi, Ghostpaw, Ivoryflight. Whatcha doin'?" His blue gaze was friendly and welcoming.

    Ghostpaw wrinkled her nose at Ivoryflight, more form the smell of mouse bile than anything she said, and shook her head slightly. "...A little nervous, that's all." She had only visited the elders once, and that was when she was really small--she barely remembered the visit. "I'm also trying to get used to this stench before I go in." With a flick of her ears, she gestured to the mouse-bile. The apprentice was about to accompany the warrior inside, but was stopped by a quiet voice from behind her.


    "Good morning, Solarpaw," Ghostpaw mewed, voice relaxed and neutral, face open and curious. She had seen the fiery red cat several times in the camp and apprentice's den, but hadn't really talked to him before. "We're just about to tend to the elders." The mouse-bile wasn't really that bad once you got used to it. "Want to come along?"

    "Sure," meowed Solarpaw in a friendly mew, lifting up a snowy paw to wash. "They're great storytellers, but I haven't had much time to spend with them, sadly." He studied his companions with a bright, calm blue eye. The young apprentice had listened to stories for hours on end as a kit. He loved hearing tales of all the old Clans and their great wildcat leaders. "Yes, you're right, though." His nostrils wrinkled as the scent of mouse bile hit them. "It's a bit stinky. For the elders, though," he added cheerfully, placing down his paw and stepping inside.
    Solarpaw felt most of the ht sunlight vanish off his flaming coat as he moved into the den, a dim sort of light that filtered through the thick branches replacing it. The smell of mouse bile grew stronger, but he ignored it. Looking around in the den's half-darkness, he called softly, "Hullo?"

    OOC: Ack, sorry for my late reply. Been having internet troubles. >.>


    IC: "Stories are great, aren't they?" Ghostpaw mewed mildly. Though she hadn't listened to the elder's stories very much, her mother she had listened to for good chunks of the day. The stories were essentially the same, only some had a slight twist on them, or the occasional commentary from her mother. When Solarpaw mentioned the smell, she wrinkled her nose again. "Yes, but it should be worth it, right?"


    As she watched him pad into the den, Ghostpaw decided she liked the apprentice. His speech was a bit...formal-sounding, and she could sense a sort of calmness that came off of him. She followed him, poking her head inside. She withdrew a moment later and turned back to Ivoryflight. "You coming?"

    Slarpaw must have overlooked the dark grey shape of Cinderpaw who was quietly dreaming in the apprentice den of catching a plump mouse in Greeleaf. Just before she pounced on the mouse though she was awoken by voices outside of her den. She had only been a apprentice for a few sunrises and Cinderpaw couldn't recognize who was waiting outside. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and carefully stood up and shook the stiffness from her muscles. She padded around the other apprentices' nest and slipped out into the cold morning air. Cinderpaw saw two apprentices that she didn't know going toward the elders den on the other side of the camp and a warrior that she had seen before, Ivoryflight? She tried to think of the name of the she-cat. So she sat down next to the Apprentice den entrance and waited to see if anyone would talk to her as well.

    The post was edited 1 time, last by Cinder7 ().

    Solarpaw didn't see Cinderpaw step outside. He was deep into the elder's den. Turning back to the entrance, he purred, "Well, come in! What're you waiting for?" His tone was warm and soft, as usual. The ginger apprentice was always sure to be kind and welcoming to everyone, if they hadn't made him angry or anything like that. He knew that this was the best way to make friends. Of course, even Solarpaw had his moments, but they were rare. He was known for his calm compassion and kindness, even throughout the other Clans. It was a wonder he hadn't become a medicine cat, but the young, wiry tom's agility and skill in hunting and battling were too valuable to be wasted. He had been born in a harsh leaf-bare, when good warriors were scarce, and, after all, there was already a medicine cat apprentice. Somewhere, deep inside Solarpaw, was the tue, wild heart of a warrior. He knew this.
    OOC: It's okay, of course! We all have those problems.

    Ivoryflight stood up and padded in. Her mother was there. "Hi, Losteye!" She mewed. "My friends have come to talk to you. One of them wants to hear your stories." She cheerfully smiled.


    Losteye smiled at the clan cats. "Hello, Ivoryflight. I enjoy telling stories to other cats, especially apprentices. They're the most energetic." She mewed, looking at the apprentice with a smile. "I remember when I was just like you. I have ticks, though." She rolled her eyes. "Those pesky things are crawling all over me."

    Ghostpaw did notice the apprentice make her way out of the apprentice's den, for her head was slightly turned that way and she hadn't fully stuck herself into the den. The gray apprentice couldn't quite put a name to the she-cat. Studying the apprentice with her yellow eyes, she jerked her head towards the elder's den, silently inviting her to come along if she wished. Then she turned and slid into the elder's den with her other two companions.


    Inside, Ghostpaw bowed her head respectively to the elder who was speaking. "I'll take care of it," she murmured from behind the twig she was holding and with a slightly hesitant paw began searching for the pesky parasites.

    Losteye was thinking of a story. "Would you like to hear a story, young one?" She asked the apprentice. "I have one from when I was an apprentice like you. The River flooded the camp a long time ago." She mewed, a far away look in her eyes.


    Ivoryflight watched the apprentice and excused herself. "I have to go train Silverpaw. We're going to go hunting." She mewed.

    Finding she was a little saddened that the warrior had to leave, she looked up from her task and nodded to her in silent good-bye. She stared at the warrior a moment longer before returning to her work. She found a tick on the elder's shoulder blade and it popped off when it came in contact with the mouse bile. "Sure," Ghostpaw prompted, perhaps a little needlessly. "What happened?"

    Cindrpaw took their invitations and slowly padded her way across the camp to the elders den. She had never been in it before but knew that a horrible scent of mouse-bile came from it. I hope I don't get a tick in there... she thought with a little amusement but secretly hoping it didn't happen. She held her breath as she drew near the den and allowed IvoryFlight to exit first and gave her a little nod before Cinderlaw went in herself. "Hi..." she meowed looking around the den. She went and sat near to Solarpaw, not close enough do their pelts to touch but far enough away that Ghostpaw's mouse bile wouldn't get on her. "Is there anything O can do?" She asked quietly feeling uncomfortable.

    Solarpaw grabbed some mouse bile and handed a small chunk to Cinderpaw. "Go ahead and get dabbing!" he purred warmly. Gingerly, the ginger tom got started as well, poking lightly at ticks with his own bit of mouse bile. The ticks gave way easily, their pores clogged with bile. The small, flame-colored tom looked up at Losteye with wide, sweet blue eyes. "Go on," he meowed eagerly, eyes beginning to shine. "What happened?"