at midnight [sand]

[Deleted]

One Dappleleap's worst problems was her weak understanding of WhisperClan's territory and borders. Even as a warrior she still occasionally got lost, though not nearly as often as she had when she was an apprentice. The rest of her clan was not aware of this, as she refused to call for help or try to hunt down other cats to guide her back to camp any more. She spent any time away from her apprentice or patrols trying to familiarize herself with the layout of the land, mentally marking landmarks and pathways commonly used by her clanmates. The serpentine feline knew that she wouldn't always be able to rely on these to get herself to where she needed to go, but they would serve her well in her day to day life.

Seeing as she was getting a little more comfortable with her home territory, the young warrior decided to try and make the journey to the Pond of Truce. It wasn't a place she would ever have to go by herself, but it would be a good test of her navigational skills to go there and back. Once she was sure that most of the clan had fallen asleep, she rose from her nest in the warriors' den. She tiptoed out as quietly as she could, only narrowly avoiding stepping on someone's tail near the entrance. Once she was out of the warriors' den she was able to move more freely. It only took her a minute or so to get out of the camp and into the open meadow. Dappleleap was thankful not for the first time that her clan called such an open place home; she shuddered to think of living in a forest, cramped among trees and bushes.

At her brisk pace she arrived at the gathering place in a little over half an hour. The moon was nearing its peak in the sky and the stars were bright, clearly visible thanks to the cloudless night. If she had troubled to look up, she would have been able to see Silverpelt. Her muscles burned a little from the exercise, more used to quick bursts of speed than long distance travel. Panting softly, she looked for a good place to rest. The torbie selected a patch of tall grass two tail-lengths high and at least twice that across. To ensure that no one could sneak up on her, she went at least one whole tail-length into it, so that the rustling of the grass would alert her to approaching strangers. She sat down, tail swishing softly, and began grooming the dirt from her long-toed paws.

(ooc: this post was yucky to write. I apologize in advance for it ^^')

[Sand]

Palepaw tossed and turned in his nest no matter how much he tried he just couldn't get to sleep which was starting to annoy him. If he didn't know any better he would think that his nest was filled with thorns but he knew that wasn't try he was just having trouble sleeping. Letting out a sigh he got to his paws and made his way out of the apprentice den making sure not to disturb anyone. He had heard from his clan mates that Silverstar would no longer be a problem since she was dead. He felt relieved that he wouldn't always feel the urge to look over his should expecting Silverstar to attack his home. He still remembered how he left Leafclan with Birchclaw and his brother Wolfpaw. 'I'm glad that I made my home in Talonclan,' he thought frowning.

He let out another sigh and tilted his head back to gaze up at the sky the tip of his tail twitching back and forth. 'Maybe a walk will clear my head,' the apprentice thought heading towards the camp entrance knowing he would probably get in trouble if any of his clan mates knew he had gone out into the territory by himself. He was a little scared of being out in the territory alone in the dark but he pushed his fear aside he knew the territory well enough to avoid the dangerous parts of the territory besides he wanted to prove to his clan mates that he would make a good warrior. He had been an apprentice a long time and it seemed that something always came up to prevent him from becoming a warrior. 'I need to be strong, I need to make my clan mates see that I won't be a failure as a warrior,' he thought.

Taking a deep breath he finally slipped out of camp his gaze scanning the territory around him glad that there weren't any clouds to cover up the moon. He was happy that it was finally newleaf because it meant that he was no longer cold. It also meant that he wouldn't have to worry about slipping on any ice sending himself to his death. He shook himself to clear his thoughts and started walking trying to decide where he would go to get some alone time. 'Maybe the pond of truce, maybe if my clan mates know I made it to the pond of truce by myself they'll make me into a warrior,' he thought closing his eyes for a minute relishing the thought of becoming a warrior. Then he opened his eyes and made his way deeper into Talonclan territory finding the path that his clan mates usually used for the pond of truce and started to follow it.

He continued on his way to the pond of truce starting to get excited by the thought that he was actually doing something without the help of his clan mates. 'I won't let my poor health get in the way of me becoming a great warrior,' he thought coming to a halt when he neared the pond of truce. He could scent another cat nearby and he knew it wasn't a cat from his clan which relieved him but it also made him nervously. Flattening himself to the ground he stalked through the undergrowth so that he would be able to get a closer look at the pond of truce. He could see a she-cat there and he stood up barely making the bush rustle. He crept forwards and couldn't help but to glance over his shoulder like he expected a clan mate to jump out at him. "Who are you," he meowed his mew barely audible and he looked at his paws like they had become the most interesting thing.

ooc: I got tired of making it look like her stammers so now he just talks quietly so that others have to strain their ears to hear what he has to say.

[Deleted]

Having such large ears came in handy some times. Someone was here with her; as quietly as they were walking, she could still hear the whisper of their fur against the grass stalks, the rustling of the grass itself as the other cat disturbed it. They were close and getting closer every passing second. Their proximity cancelled out any sense of calm that had settled over the normally electric she-cat. Her body instantly tensed, springing to her paws so fast that she nearly popped off the ground. Her slick torbie coat puffed up, making her almost snake-like form seem a little less slender. Her bat-like ears flattened as she whipped around to face the source of the noise, kinked tail shooting straight up. The pupils of her pumpkin colored eyes widened until only a sliver of orange iris was visible.

The stranger appeared perhaps a second into her posturing. He was small, smaller than her, with pale gray fur and dark eyes; it was hard to tell exactly what color with such a low light level. Something about his scent put her off. It wasn't exactly that it wasn't WhisperClan scent, though that played a part. He just smelled unhealthy. She saw his lips move and knew that he must have said something but she couldn't hear it over the pounding of her own heart. Her lips lifted and whiskers flattened in a snarl, narrow jaws parting to release a formidable sounding hiss. She was not quite sure if she cared what he was saying or why he was there. All that mattered was that he had snuck up on her. She flexed her claws subconsciously, ready to claw the other cat if he should show signs of aggression. 

[Sand]

Palepaw moved back instantly when the she-cat flexed her claws and hissed at him. He didn't like being hissed at and he didn't like when cats unsheathed their claws either. It made him wonder how she could think he was even a threat. The apprentice felt his own ears flatten as he continue to stare at the older cat like she had grown another head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he meowed fear flooding into his eyes as he flattened himself to the ground. He was worried that she would be like one of those Leafclan cats and attack him just because he seemed weak. He wasn't really sure what he would do if she attacked him probably one of like the worthless cat he was.

The apprentice kept his gaze fixed on the she-cat his breathing coming hard and fast though he tried his best to hide the fact that she was scaring him. 'No, if I'm such a coward how will I ever become a warrior?' he asked himself trembling slightly. 'I can't be scared anymore, I refuse to be a burden to my clan,' he thought scrambling to his paws his heart pounding. "I won't be a burden to my clan, I won't be useless anymore," he meowed stammering slightly. He gazed at the she-cat knowing she could probably smell his fear scent but didn't really know what he could do about it.

ooc: He is a little weird he thinks fear makes him a burden to his clan.

[Deleted]

The way the other cat cowered before her summoned a rush of guilt in the young warrior. He was smaller and younger than her, probably not even a warrior yet if his submissiveness and fear scent were anything to go by. And here she was hissing and spitting at him like some big bully. She saw that his breathing was getting faster and faster, almost hyperventilating. Dappleleap relaxed a little. The hissing stopped, but her posture remained defensive, kinked tailtip twitching. There were no signs of aggression in the other cat, but it never paid to trust in how it looked like someone would act. She herself was as changeable as the weather, and she was pretty sure that she wasn't the only feline in the clans that was like that. She watched as he scrambled to his paws, stammering something. Her bat-like ears tilted forward, straining to hear it but not picking up any distinct words.

"Whawasthat?" she meowed inquisitively, cocking her head to the side.

[Sand]

Palepaw flattened his ears slightly when she spoke again he was happy that she wasn't hissing any more but he still had trouble talking to other cats. "I said I won't be a burden to my clan," he meowed his voice was louder this time but there was still a tremor in his mew. He was just really shy and almost instinctively his eyes were drawn to his paws. He didn't know who this cat was but when she wasn't hissing at him she almost seemed nice. He was standing ridged like he was about to run off or like he was afraid that she was about to attack him or something. "My n-names Palepaw," he meowed his mew low ago but it was still easily audible.