A Little Peace and Quiet

[Ki]

Smokepaw slipped into the apprentices' den as silently as he always did. The camp was buzzing with activity. There were the ShadowClan kits as well as the patrol of warriors that were sent to retrieve them. Smokepaw had briefly recognized Foxfur from previous Gatherings. When the patrol had returned he felt an instant urge to lay down by himself. If the warriors wanted him for a patrol they could find him easily enough; Smokepaw always retreated to the apprentices' den whenever he wanted some quiet. There was no one else there, which pleased him. Smokepaw curled up in his nest and rested his cheek against the side of it. There were so many problems WindClan was facing. Rivermist's kits being the most pressing issue. He wondered if they would really go to war with ShadowClan. It was certainly a very real possibility. It made his insides twist uncomfortably.

Maybe I should talk to... Smokepaw shook his head to clear away that. There was no way he was talking to one of his aunts or uncles about his fear of war. Or anything else for that matter. Sometimes he forget the cats he was kin to, thanks to his mother's mother having so many litters. Couldn't cats just be sensible and have one or two? Maybe three if warriors were low in the Clan? Smokepaw let out a low sigh and began to clean the mud from his paws. How could ShadowClan stand to live in those accursed marshes? With all those buzzing insects and all that mud and water? Smokepaw had hated every moment of it. He couldn't have been happier to set his paws back on WindClan soil. Here he could feel the wind against his fur and lay in his own nest and mull over his thoughts in peace.

[spike]

Mousepaw had tried some training with Smallnose and that didn't work out well. She had tried some hunting but her engergy just wasn't what it usually was. She had tried to even muster up the will to do something like clean the elder's den but she had felt too tired to pick up a mossball of moouse bile! She slunk into the den and noticed Smokepaw was there. Great but not exciting. She had never honestly gotten along with Smokepaw. At least not the best. She respected him as any apprentice should for another. But that didnt' replace the fact that there was something she found a bit displeasing about him.

It also went the other way. She found in intruiging. He was interesting in a strange way that made her feel stupid for being curious. "Smokepaw," she greeted with a giant yawn. "Escaping the Clan, huh?" She gave a small grin then practically collapsed on the nest across from him. It was good to rest, even if she probably should've done a lot more today. Mousepaw promised herself she'd make up for it tomorrow.

The tabby she-cat stretched out her backlegs into the walkway and tucked her front paws under her chest for support. It'd prevent her from falling asleep right there, at least. She tried to keep her head up but it slouched every so slightly. Why am I so tired today? she thought irritably.

[Ki]

Smokepaw's ears raised briefly as Mousepaw came into the den. The reaction was brief, however. As all his reactions usually were. They gray apprentice lowered his head again and watched her with his dark green eyes. He respected Mousepaw, but he wasn't exactly her best friend. Nor could he honestly say he hated her. But he did find her spirit intriguing. Quickly he noticed that Mousepaw seemed a bit more tired than usual. From her late-night adventure out to StarClan knows where, probably. At first he didn't answer her question. Instead he mulled over an apprioate answer while he cleaned the mud off of his paws. He wanted to get the mud off before it tried and caked into his thin fur. Then it would take him forever to get out. Finally Smokepaw said, "Not avoiding. Just resting."

Typical Smokepaw answer. Short, sweet, and to the point. It was also delivered in his usual bored monotone. He was silent for a few moments more and continued to clean his paws. Finally, however, he felt he was being rude. So he said, "Tired from last night?" Oookaaaaay...not the best conversation starter. But at least he was trying.

[spike]

Mousepaw chuckled slightly at his answer. Yeah, she should've predicted that. No really talkative parts to Smokepaw. She shrugged as he suggested why she was tired. How to answer that? Yeah, I went out and talked with a loner. I went all the way to the loner's barn and back! It really is a long walk but I'm okay with it now. What about you?

Surely some warrior would hear and have her doing triple duty on cleaning and such. Smokepaw and the other apprentices would be lucky. No work for them other than training if that news came out. "Sorta," she admitted. She wasn't going to completely lie. She had been taught all her life that telling the truth was the thing to do. Tigertail had taught her that! She curled her tail around and licked the tip of it carelessly. She really was just feeling sluggish today.

"I think it's just been rough," Mousepaw lied. "I've just haven't been sleeping well and I've tried to work today but I could hardly get my paws moving. There's a lot of stress in WindClan today anyways. It's a good day to get away." She rested her head and gazed upward at Smokepaw curiously. "So, how was the patrol into ShadowClan? If you feel like bragging, now's your chance."

[Ki]

Smokepaw continued to clean his paws. While Mousepaw talked he kept one ear turned towards her, but otherwise it looked like he was ignoring her. He finished cleaning one of his front paws, then the other. Before starting on his hind paws he figured he'd better say something soon, lest he appear to be rude. Mulling over what he could say, he mewed, "It wasn't a fantastic adventure. Just running through mud. You can hear bugs everywhere and I saw about...five snakes in one puddle." The answer seemed to take a lot out of the apprentice. It was a long answer for someone like him. He wasn't used to telling stories, and his ears burned slightly with embarassment as he spoke. Talking a lot always made him feel self-concious, as if he were babbling.

[spike]

Mousepaw suddenly began laughing. She covered her nose and clenched her eyes to stop herself from laughing too uncontrollably. "Wow, Smokepaw," she said between gasps for air. "You get out of camp, something I want to do so bad, and you wander into enemy territory. But all you can say is how bad it was. You really are WindClan, aren't you?"

She sighed and glanced at him with a light in her eyes that countered the tiredness. "You really are something," she sighed. Mousepaw rested her head again and blinked at the tom across from her. "You're not very exciting, are you?" she joked.

[Ki]

Smokepaw felt his ears burn with embarassment as Mousepaw laughed at him. His stomach clenched uncomfortably and he turned his head away. Being laughed at was always his fear. That was why his sentences were always short and unrevealing. It was why Smokepaw stayed close to his mentor, should he desire the company of any cat. There was plenty of in-Clan kin he could attach himself too. His mother's mother had many litters, therefore providing her future grandkits with a large family. A family, but not exactly a close one. Irritated and upset by the laughter, Smokepaw snapped, "Maybe Ravenstar would have let you go if you hadn't already snuck out of the territory last night!" StarClan only knew where she'd been! But Smokepaw didn't care if she said she'd gone to Moonstone and back again.

He kept his ears pinned flat against his head, and his tail kept flicking back and forth like an irritated adder. The soild gray apprentice didn't bother to respond to the rest of her comments. No, he wasn't very interesting. Well...not in the traditional sense, at least. Perhaps Smokepaw was interesting in the way his moods could change with the flick of a tail. Or perhaps his blunt honesty or thoughtful gaze was what made him interesting. But conversation? No.

[spike]

Mousepaw went from light-hearted to suddenly somber. She didn't need to be reminded by him that she had committed a great crime. Even in the past, sneaking out had never earned her such trouble. But this time, she had gone too far and on the wrong night. She looked away and fidgited with her tail. She had made a mistake about laughing at him. She should've known better. Now he had gone and snapped right back at her.

"Ouch," she muttered "I'm sorry about what I did, Smokepaw, but that was not necessary." Her face fell and she lay her head down. Her tail stopped twitching and she seemed to be saddened by the thought. Smallnose was angry with her and Smallnose was like her older sister, or something. Tigertail probably wasn't pleased either. Her father was her world. Not to mention being so close to earning her warrior name, she couldn't risk her chances with Ravenstar. She'd end up like Thymepaw then!

"Didn't mean to make you mad," she snorted. Mousepaw hesitated then cleared her throat. "I didn't mean a word I said, honestly. I was just joking with you."

[Ki]

Smokepaw kept his ears pinned tightly against his head. Anger and shame still seethed inside of him. Being laughed at wasn't so much a pride thing. Smokepaw didn't think himself better than the next apprentice. No, it was just out of fear. Whenever someone laughed at him he felt as if he'd been clawed at. Smokepaw always spoke what was on his mind; therefore, being laughed at was as if they were laughing and mocking everything he was. This was why he preferred to keep to himself. Friends often got into fights and you had to keep up who this cat was friends with, and who this cat hated, and who this cat was crushing on...it was just too confusing. Smokepaw was smart, but he wasn't going to force himself to keep up with confusing social stuff.

Mousepaw's apology seemed to soothe him a bit. His ears came up from their flat hostile positions. But the gray apprentice turned his head away from her. Smokepaw was slow to trust and even slower to forgive. That probably didn't make much sense though, he thought. Mousepaw wasn't even on the 'trust' level. At least, not what Smokepaw considered trust. Trust was when you felt like you could talk to a cat about anything. But that didn't mean Mousepaw was his enemy. Of course not! If they were in a battle, he would trust her enough to not abandon him or turn against him. Instead the she-cat was somewhere between 'friend' and 'slightly annoying aquaintence.'