Fighting Practice (Pandya)

[Deleted]

Stoatpaw was a bit confused at Lilypaw's question. Not that there was anything wrong with it, it was, of course, a very normal, widely used, simple question. He also knew she really cared about his answer, not just using it as a set phrase. However, it didn't quite fit the situation. They had spent a lot of time together today, so she should be aware of how he was doing.
She's probably just as desperate as me to think of anything to say!, Stoatpaw thought to himself. This must be as awkward for her as it is for me!
This realization calmed him a lot and he just went over her muttered comment. "I'm good, thanks", he replied in a tone he hoped was normal. "How about you? Quite strange how the weather could change just like that, don't you think?"
I sound like an idiot!, he scolded himself. What's with all the obvious weather talk?

[Fiction]

Lilypaw blinked, realizing he thought it was really awkward too. "Um...yes, very weird. One moment it was sunny, then the next, poring rain!" Inside, Lilypaw was dying of lameness. She sounded so stupid! "but...fighting practice was fun, right?" she winced slightly, hoping she hadn't said the wrong thing. Luckily it was pretty dark in the hollow trunk, so maybe he hadn't seen it. 'Great StarClan,' Lilypaw thought, 'this is the most awkward time I've ever had in my entire life.'

[Deleted]

Stoatpaw decided it was time for a change of plan. "Well...this is a bit awkward, isn't it?", he asked. "How about we try to think of something to get the time over until the rain stops? Because I don't really want to walk all the way to camp yet. Also, I wouldn't mind cotinuing the training, it was great."
During the following silence, he desperatly tried to think of something to do. Something that didn't involve moving or touching in this tight space. Fianally, something weird and strangely obvious came to his mind. "I've got something. How about a little game? It's very simple. See, we don't know that much about each other, right? So why not use this time here to get to know us a bit better? The basic idea is to ask the other a question of some kind to which the other can either chose to reply or skip. Then the other cat poses a question and so on. How about that?"

[Fiction]

Lilypaw let out a relieved sigh when the other apprentice announced it was awkward. "It is awkward, isn't it." she replied, not really putting it like a question. Her dark blue eyes brightened a bit at his mention of a game. She listened to his idea and nodded. "That's a great idea!" she said, then looked around thoughtfully, though there wasnt anything to look at really. "Do you have any kin?" she turned her gaze back to Stoatpaw.

[Deleted]

"Sure I do. Everyone does, don't they? Even if they're dead, you still 'have kin'", Stoatpaw replied. Then, he paused for a bit, trying to figure out the best way to tell Lilypaw about the...strange relationship he had to the words 'family' and 'kin'. "Of course I have parents and even some siblings in the clan, but we've never been really...you know, been close. I've never had much to do with any of them. My parents never wanted kits and their relationship broke apart very quickly, as far as I know. My littermates and I, we were raised and nursed by whichever queen and clanmember had time at that time, because our mother left the nursery almost straight after the birth. So it never really mattered if the cats looking after us were our "kin" or not."
After another short break, and because he didn't want her to pity him, he went on, "As cheesy as it sounds, I guess the clan is my 'family', wether we're related by blood or not. I think 'family' and 'kinship' are terms more about a feeling of community, understanding, trust and being there for each other. To me, that's always been the clan - some cats more than others, of course. but since I don't know it any different, I'm okay with that and I'm not insulted by my parent's behavior."
After concluding his little tale, he turned to look at Lilypaw. "but you should know at least some of that since we were kits together in the nursery. Anyways, now it's my turn. How's your current relationship with your family?"

[Fiction]

Lilypaw listened intently to Stoatpaw's story, pitying him inside. When he asked her about her relationship she looked down at the ground. "I was an only kit," she said. "My mother died giving birth to me, and my father died of greencough when I was only 3 moons. I was kind of raised like you, just whichever queen was available." Lilypaw couldn't really remember her parents, but she somehow knew that they loved her no matter what. Lilypaw snapped her head back up, remembering Stoatpaw was still there. She gave her paw a mild lick. "Okay, my turn." she said, looking at him, "What is your favorite thing to do? It doesn't have to be something you're good at, just something that you really like doing."

[Deleted]

Stoatpaw was astonished at Lilypaw's story. He hadn't been aware of how similar their past was, which just showed how little attention he had ben paying to her all this time. For some reason he had always expected her to have a family that was alive and well and, well...happy. He had always imagined such a caring, sweet cat coming from a background of a very loving, perfect, intact family. He wasn't really sure why, though.
"Wow, I didn't know your parents were dead. I'm sorry", he said, meaning it. "Mhm, something I really like...Well, for starters, I've always loved listening to stories, no matter if made up or real. I always spend lots of time listening to the elders. Also I love thinking about questions and exmining problems and discussing them with other cats. And I really enjoy taking long walks by myself, just thinking and not doing much else, especially at night when it's all quiet and dark. I guess I just like the solitude."
He hesitated a moment, thinking about what to ask her next. It was much easier by now; he was really getting into this. And enjoying it. "What's your biggest strength in your opinion? And I don't mean strenth as in 'skill', but as in personality. What do you like best about yourself?"

[Fiction]

Lilypaw just nodded at Stoatpaw's apologies, shooing away the fact that her parents were dead, as usual.

She nodded again at his answer to her question. She expected that really, he seemed like a pondering learning type.

"Hmm...I guess I like that I'm always willing to help cats. I don't know why, it just makes me happy when other cats are happy." Still a bit numbed by the memories of her kithood, she didn't sound like herself, but she was being honest.

"Do you have any other friends besides me?" she asked him, the familiar light in her eyes still burning low.

[Deleted]

Stoatpaw noticed Lilypaw's dejection, and guessed it had to do with being reminded of her family. Not wanting to either upset her even more or seem too invasive with his questions, he decided to change the topic completly once he had replied to her question.

He was happy to know she already considered them to be friends, because he wan't sure he would have in her place. "Well, yeah, some", he said, "there's Cinderstorm and Snowpaw- kind of. And some others, but I'm not that close with many cats our age." He didn't really want to go into detail on this, he'd rather get her thoughts away from the topic of her dead parents. So he just asked the first thing coming to his mind, "What do you think about StarClan? About the idea of our ancestors -dead cats- looking down from the sky and guiding our lived with prophecies?"

[Fiction]

Lilypaw felt a pang of jealousy when Stoatpaw said "Snowpaw" but she wasn't sure why. She and Snowpaw didn't really talk, so there wasn't any reason for Lilypaw to dislike her. She just did for some odd reason.

"I feel safe," she said to answer his question. "The sky is always there, so StarClan is always there. I am certain StarClan has the Clan's best interest at heart." She tried to ignore the fact that her parents were in StarClan, not in WhisperClan with her. Lilypaw wasn't mad at Stoatpaw, but if he was trying to stray the conversation away from her dead parents, it wasn't working.

[Deleted]

Stoatpaw was getting a bit irritated by the way Lilypaw didn't seem to want to stop talking about her parents. He wasn't really comfortable with the subject and would have preferred to move back to lighter questions. Why did I have to ask another question about ancestors and StarClan, anyways?, he wondered, angry at himself for his own thoughlessness.
He didn't want her to think of him as a rude, ignorant or insensitive cat, but he felt the situation growing awkward again. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yes, it can be comforting to think that, can't it?" He also didn't want her to know he wasn't so sure about StarClan's existence if it was such a great comfort for her to think that her dead family was watching over her from there. "Anyways, it's your turn to ask a question."

[Fiction]

Stoatpaw seemed to be indifferent about StarClan. Lilypaw was a bit suspicious, but it seemed like he wanted to move on, so move on she did.

"If you could have any power that you wanted, what would it be?" she struggled to draw her mind away from her parents. Ugh! Why did she have to linger so much? They were gone and she shouldn't mope about it. The she cat apprentice turned her head towards Stoatpaw, waiting for an answer.

[Deleted]

Stoatpaw sensed Lilypaw struggling to let go of the memories. He could understand her, but wasn't sure how to comfort her or even react to it. So he only went on to reply to her question.
"Mhm, if I could have any power I wanted...I guess it would be great to know everything and be able to answer any question you could possibly pose yourself. However, that would also take away some of the wonders in life...so probably I'd like to be able to fly. Imagine that - a cat flying like a bird!" He gave a purr of amusement just of the thought of it. Lilypaw didn't seem to be in the mood for it anyways. Stoatpaw took a deep breath. Now he had to return to the question from before. "You know, it's okay if you want to talk about your parents if you want", he said, trying to sound as comforting and udnerstanding as he could. "You just have to say so. So - what do you miss most about not having the typical family as some of our clanmates do?"

[Fiction]

Lilypaw sighed. "I guess just having them there to talk to," she said. "Jumping from queen to queen, I just wanted a sense of a true home I guess." She sighed again and curled her paws under her. "Sorry Stoatpaw. I get all sad and unlikable whenever I think about my parents." She peered outside. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle. "I just need to think. Lets go hunting next time, okay?" Lilypaw slipped outside and walked back to camp.

[Deleted]

OOC: sooo...should we do another time jump and open another thread or...? Fiction

"It's okay. I get that", Stoatpaw replied. Still, he couldn't help but feel disappointed when she announced she needed "time to think". Had he done something wrong? He had tried really hard to deal with the situation in an appropriate and caring way, which wasn't easy for him in situations as emotional as this one. Probably he had failed without realizing it, coming off as cold and awkward.
"Yes, let's do that. I'll see you around!", he called after her when she suddenly got up to leave. He continued laying in the same spot for a few moments, feeling rather confused and revisiting their conversation. Then he finally got up and padded slowly back towards the camp.