A Stroll To Remember [Ice]

[Anya]

Ooc:// The title xD I couldn't help it Icestorm

Large almond shaped brown eyes peered through the lining of a nest. The stir of cats surrounding her encouraged her to lift her head. A familiar scent enveloped around her and a pretty pale ginger tabby blinked beautifully round hazel eyes at her. "It's morning Fawnpaw, let's hurry before all the good prey runs out." her sister spoke quickly before turning tail and slipping out into the clearing. Fawnpaw rose to her feet and followed close behind. She blinked as the sunlight broke through the trees; her ginger patches took a fiery red hue as her paws followed the speckled floor beneath her to where her sister awaited.

"Have you found something Honeypaw?" Fawnpaw asked. Her sister was sniffing a bright, plump blue bird and nodded with satisfaction.

"This will do nicely," Honeypaw flicked her tail and Fawnpaw picked up the bird gently, thanking StarClan for the meal. "Let's find a sunny spot!" the ginger cat wove a trail through the cats and found a sunny patch near the elders den. Along the way she greeted many cats while Fawnpaw quietly kept her eyes on her paws, blindly following her sisters lead.

Honeypaw settled down and beckoned her sister to join her. Fawnpaw adjusted herself beside her littermate and placed the blue bird between them. She began to pluck the feathers as Honeypaw groomed her fur. It needed little care for it was nearly always perfect; but it wouldn't be so without Honeypaw's constant attendance. The two talked of clan life over their shared breakfast. The conversation was mainly dominated by Honeypaw's gossip.

"Morning ladies!" a cheerfully bright and sweet voice of a golden tabby tom bade them to pause their mainly one-sided discussion.

"Good morning Thundersong." Honeypaw flicked her ears in greeting to the young warrior. "Off on a hunting patrol?"

"Yes! There's room for one more; would you like to join us Honeypaw?" Thundersong asked.

"Well," Honeypaw glanced at the patrol and found that most of her friends were going. "Why not? I'll be there in a moment." it seemed inviting enough despite the work. She was sure Thundersong would catch something for her to spare her the trouble.

"but I thought we were going to train together?" Fawnpaw fidgeted uncomfortably, aside from her sister, she knew only her mentor and her parents well enough to spend time with and she would never ask them to make time for her. She didn't want to seem inconsiderate.

"Erm..." Honeypaw tilted her head in thought, her eyes a bit conflicted. "Fawnpaw, I love spending time with you. We're sisters after all! but I simply must insist you don't become dependent on me. It's important to branch out. I'll always be here but you need to find some friends! Have some fun and lighten up!" the pretty she-cat flicked her sisters ear in farewell and padded after the departing hunting patrol.

Fawnpaw sighed. Perhaps her sister was right. She shouldn't be so dependent on Honeypaw that it constricted her. Her sister deserved to have fun and Fawnpaw shouldn't hinder her. The white and ginger apprentice discarded the bones of the blue bird and made her way out the entrance. A walk would help her clear her head. It would be best if I stayed near the MidnightClan border. She didn't want to run into the patrol. The soft rays of light and the cool leaf-fall breeze provided the perfect weather for a stroll. Her shoulders relaxed and Fawnpaw escaped into the forestry; her eyes following the path among the canopies of vibrant leafy orange and yellow hues.

[Icestorm]

Thornfur had been out with his two sons - Thrushpaw and Antpaw, to gauge how far their training had been going and if they were ready to become warriors. He was sure they were, after all both had made it this far. Further than any of his other kits. Thrushpaw had been fine with the extra training, but Antpaw had done nothing but complain the whole time. Honestly, neither Thornfur or Thrushpaw were surprised by his complaining though. He was a spoiled tom, only who usually got his way.

"Thornfur, can we please go back to camp now? I have other things I need to be doing, and I know Birdheart with want to know where you are at." Thornfur glared at the small apprentice. Before nodding his head. Who was he to argue when Birdheart got brought up. With the two of them still fighting, he couldn't take anymore chance with her.

As Thornfur turned to leave with Antpaw the deep voice of Thrushpaw cut the silence, "I'm staying out." Thornfur nodded to his large son. He wouldn't say it out loud but between the two toms, Thrushpaw was his favorite. The large tabby was just like him. Not a huge talker, but an interesting character non-the-less.

Thrushpaw felt weird by himself so close to the Midnightclan border, but he felt he needed it. Antpaw seemed so confident in his training, and the larger tabby didn't want to ask his father for more help in front of his brother. No, he couldn't seem that weak, not that he was, but in his head he could be better. The tom turned to face a tree as he prepared a move Thornfur had taught him. He launched himself towards the tree flipping himself to land behind where he was originally.

Just as he finished his move though the tom's ears perked. "Who's there?"

[Anya]

Fawnpaw followed a pebbly trail; the warm stones warmed the pads beneath her feet and she walked in peaceful silence. A rustle stopped her in her tracks and a deep voice startled her.

"Who's there?"

The ginger and white she-cat peeked through the bush. A clearing among the trees and soft grass. Among them stood a tabby tom with perked ears. She recognized him as a clanmate, a fellow apprentice. Though his name she could not remember at the moment. Hesitantly, she emerged from the shrubbery, ears flattened and in a defensive stance. "It's just me, Fawnpaw." His green eyes came into view and she linked his name to him. Thrushpaw.

[Icestorm]

Thrushpaw felt his body relax as Fawnpaw came out, she seemed frightened so he shook his body of any tension it could possible show. "Oh," he looked past her waiting for her sister to pop out too, "No Honeypaw?" He asked with a curious look in his eyes. He thought it was odd to see the she-cat without her... adventurous... sister by her side. Then again, maybe Fawnpaw wanted some breathing space or something.

[Anya]

Thrushpaw relaxed and Fawnpaw's ears perked up; her body language much less tense. For a moment that is. "Oh," he seemed to look past her. "No Honeypaw?" he asked.

Fawnpaw stiffened again. So she didn't really matter without her sister? Did she even exist without Honeypaw? Perhaps not. "No," she flicked her tail, eyes hinted of slight irritation. "She went on a hunting patrol." she replied; her tone was tinged with jealousy. The scents she had missed before were now strong. There had been other cats here. Thornfur...and Antpaw? "Why didn't you go with them?" she blinked her big brown eyes. The soft leaf-fall wind kissed her cheek before putting on a performance with dancing leaves and branches. They swirled and swayed and for a moment, just a moment everything was silent. The birds once more picked up their songs a heartbeat later.

[Icestorm]

Thrushpaw nodded his head to Fawnpaw in understanding. Patrols didn't care if you wanted to be with your kin. It was all about the work, as it should be. Thornfur explained it to him several times, the clan was your kin just as much as blood kin. The tabby was brought back to the she-cat in front of him when she asked about his father and brother. He almost forgot that their sent was still there.

"Oh, well," he looked around for a bit, but he knew there was no point in lying, "Antpaw didn't want to train anymore. I think he was hungry." And not feeling well. Neither he nor Thornfur dared say it out lout but they knew Antpaw got tired quickly and often coughed a lot. It was just best to not say anything to the smaller tom.

[Anya]

"Oh, well," he looked around for a bit, but he knew there was no point in lying, "Antpaw didn't want to train anymore. I think he was hungry." Fawnpaw couldn't help but laugh softly. It had been a while since she laughed openly. Usually she was too busy or too afraid to make the situation awkward. That sounded like her sister. Training was not what Honeypaw liked. She'd much rather be in the midst of all the attention at camp. Fawnpaw was more of a sideline kinda cat.

"I was supposed to train with Honeypaw today," she thought out loud. Instantly she flattened her ears in embarrassment. "but...I mean...um..." Great. When did she stop filtering herself?

[Icestorm]

Thrushpaw's ears perked at the sound of Fawnpaw's laugh. He let out a soft purr with a smirk when she laughed. He wasn't sure he had heard her laugh before, but that wasn't saying too much since he didn't really talk to her too much within the clan. He stuck with his brother, and she stuck with her sister.

"What kinda training?" Thrushpaw asked his head somewhat cocked. "We were fighting."

[Anya]

Fawnpaw didn't know whether she should continue. He didn't seem to mind. And what was it Honeypaw had said? "It's important to branch out. I'll always be here but you need to find some friends! Have some fun and lighten up!" If her sister insisted; then Fawnpaw should make an effort.

"Well...we were going to practice some combat moves too. Honey-" the she-cat stopped abruptly. What would her sister say? Honeypaw needed a lot of practice as far as combat went. The only skill the sisters shared was their climbing ability. Aside from that Fawnpaw was the worker and Honeypaw the queen bee. "Honeypaw," Could care less right? "Isn't really into working hard. So I thought today I'd help her."

[Icestorm]

Thrushpaw smirked more to himself, but also to Fawnpaw as she mentioned fighting. However, when she mentioned Honeypaw not wanting to work hard he kinda lost it. His deep laugh sounding odd and somewhat unique. He couldn't help it, he just imagined her and Antpaw being so similar. Taking a deep breath the tabby finally calmed himself. He didn't want to come off mean. "We can do some." He let a pause fall, before realizing he hadn't exactly said his full thought, "Oh, some training."

[Anya]

Fawnpaw flicked her ears at his laughter. What was so funny? He had a deep laugh. It was strange. She had never heard any like it before. In fact; she had barely heard any laughter aside from her sisters, save her parents. He sighed and that broke the spell. "We can do some." He spoke. What? A pause settled between them before he opened his mouth again, "Oh, some training." Had he read her mind?

The ginger and white she-cat swayed her tail from side to side. Would he really be willing to practice with her? What if she wasn't good enough? What if she was too good? The size of the tom didn't intimidate her as much, as she was a large cat herself; but she didn't know what he was like since she never had a training session with him. Honeypaw's voice in her head was a constant push and Fawnpw found herself nodding in agreement. "I could use some practice." she admitted.

"What should we start with?" she spoke her thoughts. There she goes again. but perhaps this was a good thing considering the circumstances.

[Icestorm]

Thrushpaw shook his shoulders loose, as Fawnpaw agreed. Practicing with someone other than Thornfur and Antpaw would do him some good. Thornfur never let him or Antpaw win, but his knowledge on fighting was fascinating to him. but what else could be expected from the tom that made it to the final round in the West tournament. And fighting with Antpaw, well he always got his way.

"Well I was doing this one move," Thrushpaw looked to the trees, "Thornfur taught it to me. It's an evasion trick." Thrushpaw backup a step of two. Before looking back to Fawnpaw, "I can show you if you want." Thrushpaw lept towards tree across from them, pushing with his powerful back paws on the tree as he did a flip, landing on all fours with a smile.

[Anya]

Fawnpaw watched in amazement. That was a move she hadn't learned. Forget learning it she hadn't even seen it until now. Unable to contain herself she burst out in excitement, "That was so cool! You have to teach me!" the she-cat bounded over in a few steps and stood nose to nose with the other apprentice. Her big brown eyes sparked with seriousness and every part of her was alert and intently present.

This move would surely impress Hollywhisper! Her mentor didn't push Fawnpaw due to the lack of communication on the apprentice's part (the saddening effect of having an audience during her training sessions). but if she learned something new through Thrushpaw; her mentor would surely be pleased! Once she got over the shock that is.

[Icestorm]

Thrushpaw felt his head rear back and his green eyes grow with a bit of shock as Fawnpaw got so close. He wasn't used to other getting that close to him, but the look in her eyes made him smile. She really wanted to learn the move! Thrushpaw hadn't taught anyone before, Antpaw and him usually learned together.

"I can teach you sure." He smirked moving back a bit. "Okay so watch me again." Thrushpaw repeated his move again for her to see what it looked like, he hoped she would see more now that she knew what to expect. When he landed he shoot his fur, "Okay so you run, jump, push on your back paws, and twist." He knew it sounded easy, it was the same way Thornfur had taught him. "Start small. Then work your way further back and farther up." He nodded, indicating she could give it a try.

[Anya]

Fawnpaw nodded as he explained what he had done. Watching him a second time helped. She walked closer towards the tree; praying silently that she'd nail it the first time she took off. She jumped like he had said, pushed off with her hind paws and twisted. Her eyes, however; were not on her landing spot and she missed, skidding across the clearing. "Ooof." Legs sprawled out and long tail over her head. At least the landing was soft. "I'll get it soon." she pushed herself up and went at it again. The move seemed easy when he explained it but she kept losing focus on her landing. After three tries she was more determined than ever.

She glared at the tree with such intensity that it was almost as if she'd run it down. Shooting off she jumped, pushed off, twisted and landed back where she had started. "I did it!" she jumped up excitedly. "Did you see that Thrushpaw? I can show Hollywhisper next time we train!"