bef[o]re the dawn

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white][size=8]from a dark shady corner of camp, something stirred. a matching pair of turquoise eyes blinked into view as the faint silhouette of a tom became just barely visible. it was infinitepaw, though he was mostly acknowledged by simply infinite or fin. the only thing giving away the apprentice's location were his eyes, which seemed completely out of place. he knew that perfectly well. the blue hue was a rare occurrence for black cats, though one that had happened thanks to being part siamese somewhere way back in his genes. nothing else even hinted at the other breed being mixed in, but his eyes gave it all away, though they rarely ever revealed anything more.


    the dark apprentice stepped out of the shadows, blinking in the sunlight. everything in him itched to retreat back to the comfort of the shadows; infinite's black coat warmed up so quickly it was quite ridiculous. he sighed, sitting in some shade. he sat watching the rest of the clan hustle about, tending to various duties. the male apprentice was alone, which was usually how he found himself, though he didn't really mind. after all, in just a little over a moon, he would become a warrior. and after that, he could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. or, at least, more so than an apprentice. he cleared his mind from the thoughts. what he needed to do now was make his apprentice life more enjoyable; it was better than trying to live the future. maybe it was time to meet some of his clanmates. just maybe.
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    ❤ P h o t o p a w ❤



    The shecat slowly walked out of the apprentice den, smile set on her face as she looked to the sun. She always loved the mornings. It made her forget about the taunts she got on a daily basis. She put on her wonderfully fake smile to cover up her real one that was slowly leaking onto her features. "Nice pelt!" she heard a group of apprentices tease. Huffing she slunk into the darkness that covered the corners of the camp. It hid her well. It was all because of her pelt. She was teased everyday about it, she was ever abandoned by her parents at a young age because of it. Well at least it blended in with the snow. Photopaw was a pure white shecat with lime green eyes that hid her every emotion. She was fake in so many ways. Her smile, her actions, her looks, she hid everything true about her.
    Suddenly something caught her eye. It was a stirring of the shadows. Suddenly she saw a apprentice leak out of the shadows. A slightly bigger apprentice than most with a dark black pelt and very beautiful teal/blue eyes. She had seen him around but never really knew his name. Suddenly something shook her back to reality.
    "Yeah, go hide your unnatural pelt in the shadows! It should stay there forever!" one of the cruel shecat apprentices called. She winced silently and slunk farther back into the shadows. She was unnatural and didnt belong in the clan anyways. She sighed and hid in the shadows more so. She didn't WANT to be depressed, but if you were teased everyday like she was you tend to get depressed. She tried to stay positive though. She loved the light, loved happiness and everything. With a dark life like hers it was hard to be happy. Maybe, just maybe she should leave the clan. Then she'd be happy.

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white][size=8]from the shade, the black-furred tom couldn't miss the taunting sneers of other apprentices. usually they left him alone since personally, he wasn't affected when they teased him. he looked over towards the sound, wondering which unlucky apprentice was getting made fun of this time. if there was one thing infinitepaw hated, this was it. what was the point of it anyway? the bullies had to have some insecurity issues if degrading others cheered them up. they needed to stop and take the time to reflect. seriously.


    this time, it was a she-cat. right away, infinite spotted the problem, her white pelt. frankly, the male apprentice didn't find fault in having such a bright color. in fact, it was a nice change from the masses of dark fur that plagued the clan. as he listened to the taunts, infinite subconsciously unsheathed his long, razor-sharp claws, raking the dirt with them. they left deep grooves in the dirt. he observed the victim, seeing her reaction. one glance at her and infinite felt like ripping apart the other cats, which clearly said something since he was typically a laid-back cat with no intentions of murdering.


    though she tried to hide it, the white-pelted cat was feigning her happiness. infinite knew it. his eyes followed the apprentice as she shrunk into the shadows. he had an urge to walk over to her. to say something. obviously, it was a recurring problem. but infinite couldn't bring himself to get up. was he really going to stand up and try to talk to someone who was pretty much the polar opposite of him? and it wasn't even just the complete difference of their pelts. her white pelt was spotless and near perfection while his black pelt had a scar running across his left flank. the female apprentice at least tried to be happy. on the other hand, infinite didn't try to be positive nor did he really want to be. instead, he preferred the dark and cold. in the end, the black tom sighed, getting to his paws, knowing that not doing anything would haunt him forever.


    "hello," he greeted casually, giving a slight nod at the she-cat. his voice was rather low and gravelly. "i'm infinitepaw. call me infinite or fin if you will." he paused, sizing up the other. "what's your name?"
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    ❤ P h o t o p a w ❤



    She nodded. Yes, she would leave the clan. It would make her happier, that she was sure of. I guess I'll just leave now, pretend I'm going out hunting and never come back. Yes, I have no one to say goodbye to. They will be happy to be rid of me. For the first time a true smile leaked onto her features, she was genuinely happy to be leaving, nothing was holding her back. Nothing was holding her back... Yet. What she didn't know is that the next cat she met would change her forever.
    Her vibrant green eyes flickered up to look at the voice she had heard. It was that male apprentice she had saw earlier. Infinitepaw. The name was one she had certainly not heard of before. It was wonderful. The Tom was large, towering over her smaller and lithe frame. She was not afraid of size, physical pain could be treated, while words stung like bees and didn't have a treatment. She didn't notice his low voice was any different then it should be. She gave a small dip of the head to him. "Hello, I'm...Photopaw" she said slowly, voice sweet and pure, one of a innocent. "Nice to meet you" she added softly, making sure not to make shotty work of her manners. For some reason she didn't feel compelled to flash a fake smile of batt her eyelashes. She didn't want to be fake, not with him that is. Get your mind out of the clouds dear, just because he came over to you doesn't mean he cares at all for you, her insides screamed. She just nodded again and felt her eyes dart to her paws, lashes brushing against her pure white cheek.

    The post was edited 1 time, last by ❤ C a n d y C o r n ❤ ().

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white][size=8]that voice. it seemed so innocent that it nearly came as a shock. "it's nice to meet you as well, photopaw." he studied her with his strange cyan eyes. it wasn't a bad start for a potential friendship. the female apprentice didn't bother faking to him, which changed the apprentice's perspective. he felt sorry for her. sorry that she was having a bad day, sorry that she was bullied, and just plain sorry, which was quite a change of character. infinitepaw sat down, whiskers twitching in amusement as photopaw didn't look at him. "am i really that scary?" he teased, softly. "i promise i don't bite." he allowed himself a small chuckle.


    infinite continued on, quietly. "thinking about running away?" he asked, knowing that it was most likely what photopaw had been planning to do. and he didn't blame her. day after day of teasing would really get on someone's nerves, not to mention wrecking their self-esteem. his tail waved back and forth steadily while fin's deep eyes showed no emotions. "it's not your fault, you know," he continued on smoothly. "it's theirs." the black tom offered nothing more to keep up the conversation. no explanation, no opinions, nothing. he sat calmly, as if he had given up on any more talking. though it may have seemed like strange behavior, it was really how infinitepaw acted. he was a cat of few words.
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    ❤ P h o t o p a w ❤



    Her vibrant green eyes flashed up back to the toms cyan ones. She studied him for a minute, looking as though she was going to cry. Instead a small smirk leaked onto her maw as she let out a small chuckle. "Well some looks are deceiving.." she said softly, voice echoing slightly. She looked at her paws again, lashes pressed against her silky cheeks as she listened to his oddly soothing words. It looked as she wasnt going to response but suddenly her voice was heard. "Yes" she said, voice ever so soft and gentle. "I was thinking of that" she continued, voice barely a whisper. She looked back up at him with lime green eyes as she listened to him again. She studied him for a minute then spoke softly. "Thank you for the kind words, they are some of the first I have heard." she said softly, voice like the breeze.


    ooc;; My apologies for the low muse.

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white]photopaw's words, though stated with such simplicity, had a lot of deeper meaning behind it, which infinitepaw was automatically analyzing. this quality made him an impressive fighter, and it also helped his social skills, well partially. the other part of social skills was striking conversation, which infinite didn't really like to do. the apprentice thought about what photopaw had said, his mind immediately extracting the meaning and looking at it forward and backward. "some of the first you've heard, eh? let's see what i can do about that, all in good time."


    the black apprentice glanced at photopaw before bringing back up the reason he came here for. "so how long have they been at it? teasing you. since you were a kit?" his voice revealed nothing. in fact, his questions sounded almost like statements. there wasn't any tone of anger, stress, sympathy, or even curiosity, though in reality he was experiencing a mix of the feelings.


    [align=center][font=century gothic]ooc [color=#FF0000][size=10][font=century gothic]} }[/size] no worries. it happens. (;
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    ❤ P h o t o p a w ❤



    Her eyes darted to her paws again as she heard his ever so kind words. Her pale white cheeks tinted a light pink as she smiled small, eyes still on her paws. She continued to listen and felt her expression drop. She looked up at him with her strange colored eyes and nodded slightly. "Ever since I can remember" she said softly, wondering why she was telling him this. She had felt no compulsion to lie or fake for him... Why? She did not know. A small sigh escaped her lips as she looked at her paws again. She never was a good conversationalist...

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white][size=8]the dark tom nodded, sympathetic. it always seemed that way; in this case, actually, he wouldn't be surprised if it were true. "we can do something about that." he paused. for the first time in the conversation, his eyes twinkled with the prospect. "you could just stand up to them. tell them you don't like it. fight back." infinitepaw paused once more, thinking. "if that doesn't work, just ignore them and forgive. trust me. it'll work." though he didn't directly tell photopaw, infinite was speaking from experience. dealing with others had pretty much been his entire life. even now.


    he looked at photopaw. "still not looking at me, i see," he commented, amused. "then i won't look at you." he pointedly looked away, staring at something off in the distance.
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    ❤ P h o t o p a w ❤



    She felt saddened at him not looking at her that she tore her lime eyes from her paws to look at his eyes that were away. "I have tried.. And I don't blame the, for making fun of me.. I deserve it." she said softly, not wanting to tear her eyes from him. "But thank you for the kindness... I truly appriciate it." she said softly, soft white cheeks tinged with pink.

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white][size=8]from his peripheral vision, the apprentice could see that photopaw had decided to look at him. huh. so his plan had worked. he turned to face the female apprentice once more. he listened carefully to her words, which seemed to hold such sadness in them that even infinite, who was usually calm and collected, felt greatly distressed.


    he sighed softly, gently brushing photopaw's back his tail in a comforting gesture. "you don't blame them for making fun of you? you think you deserve it?" he asked incredulously. he shook his head. "nobody deserves to be bullied, photopaw," he said seriously. this time as he continued looking at the other apprentice, he let some of his emotions spill into his eyes. perhaps that would make him seem more friendly and less scary. maybe photopaw wouldn't look away then.


    infinite paused for a moment, taking a long look at the apprentice. for some reason, the black tom had an urge to escape camp. all of a sudden it felt too public and too enclosed. he abruptly stood up, shaking loose dirt out of his fur. "come on. let's go for a walk. we can continue talking as we walk."
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    She her heart jump as the Tom returned his eyes to her. This time they held emotion, which pleased her to no end. She felt her cheeks redden as he told her she didn't deserve it and felt his tail stroke her back. She was about to respond with a thanks but he was already heading out of camp, expecting her to follow. She scrambled to her paws and followed him out of camp, head low. She sighed as she heard the whispers and saw the smirks and glares. She kept to the shadows as she followed him out of camp.

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white][size=8]infinitepaw was glad to know that photopaw had followed him. he hadn't turned back to check; that was quite unneeded. the apprentice's ears flicked as he heard some of his clanmates gossiping, though he didn't bother looking at any of them. as soon as they left camp, infinite immediately felt at ease. the tension he had experienced in camp slowly ebbed away, quickly replaced by tranquility. the fresh pine air always helped him meditate and relax.


    the tom slowed his pace, letting the she-cat catch up. "so," he began more casually. "this is nice." he stopped for a moment and looked around, tail flicking happily. the black furred apprentice continued walking, not bringing up the topic of photopaw's problem; he wasn't quite sure how to respond to it yet. when fin spoke with the other apprentice, he made sure to leave some emotion in his eyes; he could tell it made photopaw feel better. he seemed more open then, maybe.
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    P H O T O P A W
    'Oh, dear, never saw you coming. Oh, my, look what you have done...'
    She nodded and slowed her pace to match his. "Quite nice" she said softly, nose in the air as the tree scents filled her nostrils. She always felt at ease in the trees. "I always feel better here..." she said half to herself, eyes closed and she walked on gracefully, tail flickering softly, ears and nose forward. She almost forgot he was there until she tripped on a rock and tumbled into him, landing in a pile of fur with him. "I'm sooo sorry!" she said quickly, dirt in her white pelt and her face red.

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white][size=8]the black tom, surprised at the sudden fall, gathered himself together. he quickly stood up, brushing off dirt. he glanced at photopaw. "no, it's fine. we all make mistakes," infinitepaw meowed kindly, blue eyes sparkling. "at least that means you're enjoying this walk?" he continued. "it's happened to me before too, so no worries." the dark apprentice took a good look at the she-cat, inspecting her for any wounds, his heart suddenly aching.


    the apprentice sighed, considering photopaw, eyes suddenly steely again. "i feel better out of camp as well," he mewed softly. "but not anywhere too far away. like not anywhere else out of the clans." as he spoke there was something uncharacteristic in his voice, something that could only be known as sadness, though it was covered up quickly. "are you okay?" he asked the other apprentice.
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    P H O T O P A W
    'Oh, dear, never saw you coming. Oh, my, look what you have done..'
    She turned a pale red and brushed the dirt off herself, a small giggle escaping her lips. "Yes, I am enjoying the walk." she said softly, bright eyes slightly secretive looking. She suddenly felt her expression darken. Why was he so sad? She looked at him for a minute before walking onwards, eyes locked ahead of her. "I'm fine thanks.." she said softly. She thought about how nice it would be to run away from the clans. No pressure for her white pelt.. But she felt her heart ache. Would she really want to leave? What was making her stay? She continued to walk on thinking.

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white][size=8]the black apprentice trotted after photopaw. he had caught a short glance at the apprentice. she seemed to be thinking by the looks of it. infinitepaw shrugged, slightly quickening his pace to catch up to her. he didn't say anything, not wanting to disturb the thoughts going through photopaw's brain.


    this time, the female apprentice seemed to be leading the two around. as he kept quiet, thoughts were racing through his brain, though the thoughts were not quite like those in photopaw's mind. instead, he was thinking back to his past, when he had once been a rogue ago. but that was long ago. infinite shook his head slightly, erasing the thoughts. "where are we headed?" fin asked softly, breaking his flow of thoughts.
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    P H O T O P A W
    'Oh, dear, never saw you coming. Oh, my, look what you have done...'
    The thoughts kept swirling around in her head. It would be nice to leave, see the world for her own. She felt so trapped in the clan, the clan that hated her. She didn't want to leave though, she really liked Fin. He can't like you back doll, he just pitys you dear, her insides whispered softly and sweetly. But he's so nice, why doesn't he like me? she thought whispered back, now more confused than ever.
    Suddenly his voice jolted her back to reality. She stopped in her tracks, thinking about his question. "I don't really know" she said softly. Looking around she took two steps back as if to gesture him to lead. "Sorry" she said softly, tinted red.

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    [justify][font=century gothic][color=white][size=8]the tom stopped. "there's that word again," he meowed good-naturedly. "you don't need to be sorry. seriously, photopaw, everybody makes mistakes. though that wasn't even a mistake, just something that happened to take place, rather." he looked at her thoughtfully, noting that she had taken a couple of steps backward so now he was in the lead. "hmm. why don't you lead for a while?" he suggested, cyan eyes faintly giving away a twinkle.


    "wherever you'd like. i'll follow you; i'll walk by you, but you lead. anywhere, even outside of the clans..." here infinite hesitated. "but i'd like to come back to shadowclan." he glanced at the other apprentice. "if that's all right with you... i've had, er, slightly bad experiences from the past. and i've got the memories to prove it."
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    P H O T O P A W
    'Oh, dear, never saw you coming. Oh, my, look what you have done...'
    She felt her cheeks go pink and she smiled softly, taking a step forward. She was back in the lead. "Of course" she said softly, eyes brightening slightly.
    She hesitated and looked at him softly. "As much as I would like to leave the clans, away from the taunts and snide remarks... with you" she said softly, pausing slightly. "I can see how it pains you so. And I...I...I couldn't do that to you" she said, now looking away from the tom, lime eyes focused on something past the trees. "But thank you." she whispered, voice soft and winding. Like a melody.