Squiggle and Flop (Heron)

[Lightningtrail]

((Heron I hope this is ok!))

Finchpaw paced directly outside of the apprentice den, his brow furrowed and his eyes cast to the ground in thought. There were so many sick cats in WhisperClan now, and he could not help but to feel that every minute he sat around and did nothing he was failing his clanmate. Failing himself. The tom could see cats getting thinner, he could tell that WhisperClan warriors and apprentices were dying all around him. And yet he still had grabbed a mouse from the freshkill pile this morning. He felt awful. The only way he could fix it was by finding some prey for his clanmates.

He didn't want to go alone, though. He was not the most talented cat when it came to hunting, and he doubted that he would be able to find much if he were alone due to the snow. He could not come back with nothing, and if that meant dragging someone down with him, he would do it.

He turned his head to look into the apprentice den, seeking woken apprentices. For the most part, the den was empty, though a couple cats were getting some well deserved rest. He glanced to the rest of the clearing, searching faces, watching other's paw steps, hoping that he would find someone he recognized. Nope, no one he knew. The tom breathed a sigh, and decided that he would just have to be brave and ask one of the other apprentices. He spotted his target, and honed in on him. He would have to be brave and just ask him. For a moment, he prayed to StarClan for courage, and then he walked forward with false confidence.

"Uh, hi. Are you doing anything? Because if you are interested we can go hunt...or something," As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. They made him sound like a condescending senior warrior comanding an apprentice to do his duty instead of loitering. "I mean, you don't have to. Just if you're interested," He added, hoping to remedy his mistake.

[Heron]

OOC// Oh crap. I don't know if you noticed or realized (assuming you read his app?) but Silverpaw is afraid of water. Yes...all water. So logically, while writing this, I am realizing that this poor cat is surrounded by tons of frozen water. So I guess he's going to be a little more skittish or nervous than usual. Sorry about that xD

---

Silverpaw had woken early, no doubt feeling a bit tired and drained from the long night he had. For some reason his dreams were filled with nightmares and sickness; perhaps an indication that he was fearful of greencough more than he let on. He hadn't shown any signs of the illness (yet), but had a bad feeling within his soul that this was not something he could escape. He resorted to waking early and pacing around camp trying to busy himself. He wanted to leave-- but risking himself during leaf-bare in the dark? Not a good idea, even a young apprentice like Silverpaw knew that. So, the young tomcat was forced to walk around camp until the sun rose.

On top of his nightmares, leaf-bare was the absolute worst. It was his first since he'd been born, and it was already more terrifying than anything he'd ever imagine. The snow was melting and sticking to his paws, and Silverpaw was becoming used to his body's continuous shaking. He tried very hard not to think of the white fluff he was stepping on -- and how, if all of it melted at once, they'd surely all drown right in camp -- and focused on the sky. His whiskers and fluffy tail were twitching with anxiety, and Silverpaw started to feel somewhat closed in.

Before he had a chance to panic, he heard a voice. ".... if you are interested we can go hunt...or something," The young tom turned his head quickly and took in the cat before him. It was Finchpaw-- an apprentice he shared his den with but never really spoken to before. Was he asking him to go hunting? "I mean, you don't have to. Just if you're interested," the other apprentice seemed to conclude by adding.

Silverpaw decided that perhaps Starclan really were looking out for him, because this was the perfect opportunity to escape. "Sure thing." He replied smoothly, standing straighter and avoiding his gaze on the snow beneath his paws. They were terribly cold and damp; but the snow, he had to admit, was better than downright rain. He padded ahead toward the entrance of camp and turned to look at Finchpaw. "Anywhere specific you'd like to go?"

[Lightningtrail]

((@heron Oh I know. That is why he is squiggle. xD))

He doesn't want to, Finchpaw thought at the tom's reaction. He seemed rather confused at the sudden question. After all, he had never spoken to Finchpaw before, and Finchpaw hardly even knew this cat's name. It is something like Greypaw...No, no, that sounds wrong. Silverpaw, maybe? The tom was brought back to the present as the other cat spoke. Relief flooded the fluffy tom at Silverpaw's response. Finchpaw watched him walk for a moment, and then scurried to catch up with the tom. "Um, not really. We could try the mouse ridge, there's usually prey around there even in Leafbare," He suggested.

He padded forward, heading towards the camp entrance. As soon as he exited camp, he felt relieved that the snow had not been quite as deep as he had expected. It still rose up past his ankles, but he had expected the snow to be deeper. Hopefully, it was be easier to hunt if there isn't as much snow.

He continued forward, glancing back at his hunting partner to make sure that he was still coming. Part of Finchpaw expected the tom to have just ditched him. After all, he seemed much more socially inept than Finchpaw was. "You're Silverpaw, right? " He asked. He tried to remain calm and cool, but he hoped he did not seem too much like a mousebrain for not knowing the tom's name.

[Heron]

The mouse ridge? The could work, Silverpaw thought happily. So as long as he averted his gaze and ignored the snow on his paws, perhaps he could fight through the experience and make it a good one. He followed his clanmate obediently, keeping his eyes on the other tom's reddish - and rather messy - pelt. Silverpaw had always felt a bit bland to cats that had color to their pelts; brilliant ginger tabbies, dark red tabbies, even the sleek blackness of those who had no color at all. His own bland, silver and white pelt seemed to blend right into the glossy snow like bad camo. Finchpaw's red pelt looked quite stunning.

Silverpaw caught up to him and nodded. "Yes, it's Silverpaw." He was going to make a remark about not actually knowing his name, but decided against it. With the sickness and the leaf-bare could he really expect anything but the slippery thoughts of his clan mates? Whisperclan was so large, it was an amazement he could remember who anyone was at all. "Mouse ridge works fine."

Despite being a young apprentice, Silverpaw tried to wrack his brain with the quickest route. He suddenly found himself double guessing himself as he stepped forward, swallowing thickly as he trudged through the snow. It wasn't *that" high, but just high enough to make him a bit queasy. "Uh, why don't you lead? I don't feel very well," he admitted. "I'm..well....I'm a bit, uh, uneasy around water." He suddenly felt ashamed. Finchpaw is going to think I'm a mousebrain! He thought.