The Fresh Leaf [open]

[finchsong]

(This thread is open, but I ask that you attempt to match my posts. I will be posting around 300+ words myself, but I am requesting that you try to post at least 100 words. If you're up for the challenge, feel free to reply.)

Finchpaw curled up tighter in her nest in the apprentices' den. The blue-gray she-cat flicked one ear in a somewhat irritated fashion. Since the fight with DeathClan, her life had entered a dark place. The apprentice had lost her right eye fighting Shade. She had been effectively half-blinded.

She let out a small sigh, turning onto her side so that her blind eye faced upward. Light was streaming into the den; it was later in the afternoon. At least her good left eye was in the darkness of her nest now, with her head turned sideways. Only now were her battle wounds beginning to fade. She had mostly recovered, although her front right leg was still a little sore. She had dislocated it in the battle, and she had adopted a sort of limp now.

Not like she had anywhere to go or anything to do. Finchpaw had switched mentors from Hailstorm to Ashfang. Problem was, even her new mentor seemed to never be around. Finchpaw sat up stiffly, opening her left eye. The older apprentice's yellow gaze swept the den. Was there anyone around? She really hadn't spoken to anyone at all recently. In fact, the only cats she had been friends with as a kit had disappeared.

Finchpaw lapped at her ruffled, ungroomed pelt. She had hardly learned anything from her mentors, she had to admit to herself. Hailstorm had shown her the territory, sort of. She knew the place where the battle had taken place. Unfortunately, that brought bad memories back. Finchpaw cringed a little and tried to recover her train of thought.

Ah, yes. Ashfang had taught her the warrior code a while ago. She had already known it, really, but she had still learned something. However, she still had a lot of training to do. More than that, though, Finchpaw was just lonely. She missed the feeling of belonging. Most of the apprentices that she'd seen had already become warriors. Indeed, she wasn't going to finish her training that easily.

Her one-eyed gaze flitted around. Maybe there would be someone that she could become friends with. Finchpaw needed someone to trust and confide in. She was alone, and being alone with one eye isn't something to enjoy.

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( 5/9 Edit ~ Come on, don't be scared. The thread's getting older, but you can still post. I rarely bite. :3 )

[Moonclaw]

Sensing movement, Moonpaw lashed out her paw, claws unsheathed. Upon opening her eyes, she noted that it was simply a leaf that had fallen astray from the roof of the den. Letting out a sigh, Moonpaw glanced around the apprentices' den, red gaze showing a large amount of boredom and even the slightest hint of loneliness.

The she-cat had always been quiet, rude, thought her Clanmates were too dramatic; things of the like. However, Moonpaw was quickly learning that not all of her Clanmates were pesky drama queens, not all of them were loud and annoying, and several other aspects. After all, what would TreeClan be like if all of it's cats were the same in personality? Depending on the personality, it may be boring or it may be chaotic. However, that was beside the point.

Moonpaw's gaze rested on another apprentice, whose eye seemed to be missing. "What happened to you?" She quietly dared ask. Moonpaw's fur rose slightly in embarrassment. Had she really just asked such a dumb question? It was absolutely none of her business! How could she? Moonpaw cleared her throat, "if you don't mind me asking, that is. If so, then I apologize for my nosiness."

Waiting for a response, Moonpaw began washing her paw and face, then washing the rest of her pelt. It was soothing, when, in a Clan full of activity, to be able to calmly clean one's pelt with a certain rhythm that every kit learns upon birth when first cleaned by their mother.

Tail tip flicking, Moonpaw glanced over at the apprentice whose name she didn't know, nor pelt she didn't recognize. Did she answer and I didn't notice or what? Moonpaw wondered silently, blinking as she pondered whether or not she heard the reply of this apprentice and simply didn't listen, or if her mind was making things up.

[Jayfoot]

[Sai! Sav is here to the rescue! -superman pose-]

Jaypaw, a young calico tom with a bright amber gaze and a very kindly attitude, watched the blue-grey feline's every move, staying silent in his own nest and his restraining his body of any kind of movement, as not to alert the she-cat that he'd been watching her intently. Jaypaw flicked his ears in an absent-minded manner, still his amber orbs stayed on Finchpaw, longing to get the courage to speak to her as he hadn't met her quite well yet.

Seeing her one eye shut and never to be able to be of use sent a pang of guilt through the calico tom-cat's mind, an inward sigh following after. Just talk to her already!, Jaypaw shouted at himself. Considering this highly, he heaved himself on to his pitch-black paws and slowly made his way to Finchpaw in a steady pace, only to stop dead short at the sight of another she-cat had come to talk to the blue-grey apprentice.

Pointed ears flying back and flattening themselves behind Jaypaw's angular, tri-colored head, he took a deep steadying breath and continued his way to Finch, a kind smile set on the tom's face as he approached the two she-cats. "Finchpaw. Fancy seeing you again." The calico said cheerily, almost prancing about like a playful kitten but stopped himself from doing it just in time.

Jaypaw sat, curling his long orange, black, and white tail around his onyx paws, his bright amber gaze on Finchpaw and Moonpaw. He turned to the black she-cat and gave her a curt nod of his head. "I'm Jaypaw. I believe I haven't met you yet. Are you new here?" He inquired, tilting his head in a questioning manner.

[finchsong]

(OH MY GOD I HAVE REPLIES. <3 Sav, I had no idea that was you. XD)

Finchpaw turned her head, her one-eyed gaze landing on Moonpaw. "Oh, hi. I'm Finchpaw. I haven't seen you before." Her ears twitched as she heard the other she-cat ask about her injury. "No, it's fine. Don't worry about asking. I suppose I'll have to get used to this sort of thing," she meowed. "I lost my eye in the battle with DeathClan. The fox-hearts that they are," she growled faintly.

She turned again, this time more in surprise and faint happiness at seeing someone she knew a little. "Hello Jaypaw. Nice to see you again." She nodded slowly, remembering their last brief meeting by the fresh-kill pile. Well, at least he was a kind and friendly cat.

She stretched out her paws, only to withdraw one of her forepaws in surprise as something moved. A beetle scuttled across her paw, and the blue-gray apprentice let out a surprised yelp as she leaped back. "Ack! What is that? A beetle?" It was a pretty large beetle, to be fair. The shelled insect began to scurry away quickly, having been thrown away from her paw.

Finchpaw bunched her hindquarters and sprang without another thought. She pounced on the iridescent creature, her paws trapping it. She pinned it down with a claw after getting her quarry under control. The apprentice suddenly glanced around, feeling rather embarrassed at her kit-like behavior. She released the beetle, and it scrambled to the entrance of the den and out into the clearing.

Her face a little flushed, Finchpaw returned to her nest and sat down, flattening her ruffled fur. "Erm.. Sorry about that. It startled me." Great CloudClan, why had she done that? She had to try to avoid making a fool of herself in front of her denmates. With any luck she hadn't woken anyone else up.

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[Moonclaw]

"That battle hit many cats, it seems. I, for one, was in camp during it, though by the injuries I've seen and the complaining I've heard, it doesn't sound like the battle with DeathClan was too pretty... Although, I don't think I've heard of any battle that was "pretty"." Moonpaw gaze flicked to Jaypaw, "I can't say I've met too many cats, to be honest. It's nice to meet you, both, Finchpaw and Jaypaw. My name's Moonpaw." She dipped her head and replied to Jaypaw's question, "not "new" per se.. I'm just not the most social cat around, so I'm not too known." Moonpaw's tail tip flicked and her gaze flitted around the den, stopping on the beetle that Finchpaw had reacted to.

As the she-cat pounced on the beetle and apologized, the black-furred she-cat shrugged, "it's of no worries to me. It's better that it's gone now, for if it had been around in the night time there might be some apprentices scared out of their pelts." I personally wouldn't like a beetle creeping along around my fur when I'm trying to get some sleep. With so many of TreeClan's cats being loud all of the time, it's definitely not an easy thing to get some sleep around here. Moonpaw thought, letting out a sigh. Quit being like that; hasn't gotten you anywhere so far, probably won't get you anywhere in the future, either.

Clearing her throat, Moonpaw looked down at her paws for a few moments before gazing at Jaypaw, then Finchpaw, "just curious.. Who are your mothers?" It seemed almost a common question in TreeClan, as far as Moonpaw knew, which wasn't too far considering she didn't often pay attention to her Clanmates, which the apprentice planned to change, but it was always one worth asking. After all, being there are so many cats in TreeClan, one is bound to find a sibling that they never knew they had. It could be your closest friend, your harshest rival, or that sour, crowfood-eating enemy who you don't want at all in your mind.

Although Moonpaw hadn't made many friends, she wasn't too aware as to whether or not she'd made any enemies. That wasn't an easy thing for her to figure out, really, as most of the cats she'd met were pretty nice. However, with Moonpaw's personality, she figured that it was meant to happen someday, and hopefully that day wasn't soon for the rude, anti-social, sarcastic, intelligent apprentice who couldn't hunt for her life.

[Jayfoot]

“I as well, Finchpaw.” Jaypaw said with a light-hearted grin set on the tom's face, his amber gaze turning to Moonpaw and nodding his head to tell her that he understood what she meant by that.“A lot of cats are the same as you. And I admit, I'm one of them. Always ignored, never to be noticed.” The calico tom-cat meowed rather glumly, muttering the last part softly as not to let the blue grey she-cat nor the black one hear his last remaining words.

Jaypaw smiled once again, though all the happiness drained from it. His amber orbs watched Finchpaw withdraw her paw as a beetle passed by her, making the blue-grey feline yelp and draw back. Now with slight amusement glinting in his eyes,he continued to watch his Den-Mate crouch and pounce on the small creature, very much acting like a young kit.

“No worries. It doesn't hurt to be kits again every once in a while.” Jay assured her, looking at her embarrassed expression. Grinning, the calico crouched low, his pointed ears pinned at the back of his head, then pounced at Finchpaw in an attempt to pin her down.

[finchsong]

The blue-gray apprentice nodded slowly. "That battle did hurt a lot of cats. We did get our land back, but I can't help wondering if it was really worth it. I'm glad you weren't there. I don't think I'll even forget." She cringed as she remembered the fight. The memories were awfully painful.

Moonpaw. What an interesting name. The half-blind apprentice thought it gave Moonpaw an air of mystery and aloofness. But she seemed rather friendly. Maybe they would be close friends later. She hoped so. Jaypaw was already sort of a friend, but Finchpaw hoped to get closer to him as well. It would be good to have others to rely on.

Her interest was caught once again as Moonpaw asked her question. "My mother is Oakspirit," the copper-eyed female answered. She was already beginning to feel comfortable around the other two apprentices. Perhaps they would indeed begin to trust one another.

She listened silently as Jaypaw spoke. Finchpaw was certainly was a tad unsocial. The female felt as if no one really took much time to speak to her - at least, not before these two. She stretched out in her nest, relaxing. Idle chat was just fine. Even though she had really just met Moonpaw and Jaypaw, she seemed to have placed a degree of trust in them.

The young apprentice let out a yelp of surprise as Jaypaw landed on her, his momentum causing her to tumble out of her nest. She wrestled the tom for a moment with a playful grin on her face, trying to loosen his grip. Ah, she had never done this as a kit. Her yellow eye gleamed with happiness. Jaypaw could be a close friend. She purred a bit as she twisted, aiming to flip over and pin him down instead.

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[Jayfoot]

Still grinning like a little kitten, Jaypaw tried to keep a steady hold on the blue-grey female, only to find himself pinned by her instead as she flipped over. He batted playfully at her ears, bright orange-amber eyes twinkling with utmost delight. The calico put his stark-white paws on Finchpaw's chest, aiming to push her gently off of him.

It was nice having friends for once, rather than talking with his brother. Jaypaw really wasn't that really talkative, especially with cats he rarely even knew about. But this kind of attitude had now seemed to fade away ever since he met Finch and Moon in here. The amber-eyed tomcat turned to Moonpaw, beckoning her to join both wrestling apprentices with a few swift flicks of his tail and a very noticeable jerk of his angular head.

[Deleted]

(-chews on yo' foot-)

Dustpaw strutted into the clearing, small, gray-and-white head held high. "What kind of fox-dung is going down here?" he muttered, stopping for a moment to rest his gaze on the two apprentices. A calico she-ca- no, this calico happened to be a tom. What an odd pattern for such a gender. Then there was a blue-gray she-cat who was truly a female.

"Hello, madams," he cried, flicking his tail. "Fine day for a kitty fight, no?" He raised an eyebrow.

Dustpaw wasn't antisocial, though many were unhappy about this. He wasn't very good at maintaining a conversation, or at least a pleasant one. Any prospect of friends was a deep offense, to his beliefs, and since everyone had them, they were therefore unneeded. He much preferred unsteady acquaintances, or, even better, hated acquaintances. That was likely because he was good at making them.

"How's life, ma'ams?" The tom's lip curled into a smile, but it wasn't really a smile. The corners of his mouth were just turned up. "How's training?" He turned to the calico tom. "You may want to up your ante when it comes to battle, my dear lady. Seems you still have a ways to go." Smirking, Dustpaw sat down and crossed his paws. "Who's your mentor? An elder?"

"The name's Dustpaw, because there's no reason you shouldn't care." The young apprentice chuckled.

[Jayfoot]

[ o.o ZOMGZOMG -TACKLEGLOMP- BIRDY! ]

Jaypaw stopped abruptly, his amber gaze turning to fall on the unfamiliar tom-cat, his fur slightly rising as Dustpaw thought he was a she-cat like Finchpaw and Moonpaw. The calico tom glared the slightest bit at him but managed to control his temper, being the calm one between him and his kit brother, Stormkit. Tail lashing wildly, Jaypaw gently got up from under the blue-grey she-cat, still gazing at the tom with the tad bit dislike for him.

“If you must know, I'm a tom, not a she-cat.” He retorted, a faint hiss managing to escape from his tightly closed jaws. He narrowed his amber eyes, nodding his head in curt greeting as Dustpaw said his name. “Jaypaw.” He replied tartly, his ears twitching in an irritated manner. The calico tom-cat hesitated only for a few moments as Dust asked on training. And he, as he knew so far, was the only apprentice without a mentor. “I have no mentor.” He muttered darkly.

[Deleted]

"Hm, really? My mistake. You should consider switching up your attitude to differentiate from the two." Narrowing his eyes, the young tom tipped his chin up. "Jaypaw. May want to change the name, as well." He snickered softly.

"No mentor? No wonder you fight like a mouse. I would advise acquiring one. Maybe your status would be a tad boosted." Dustpaw tossed his head. "I, for one, do have a mentor. I've trained so often that I've almost begun my assessment while I'm not even warrior aged. You know, training early in the morning, when the prey is tastiest, and late into the night." This was quite a lie. Dustpaw hated the morning. He'd much prefer to be sleeping in than doing this hated activity called training.

"My mentor is Greenflare. He participated in the battle, which obviously means he has the ability to survive the greatest of odds. I have the best mentor in the Clan, I'm sure. All the other apprentices must be writhing with the sweet poison of envy." This wasn't true, also. He hated his mentor with every ounce in his body. Their mentor-apprentice relationship was quite disgustingly brutal.

"So you two- you're a couple? Hm. Might want to continue your intimacy somewhere else." He knew very well that they weren't. He could dang well tell when apprentices were moony over each other. But he knew that these sorts of comments provoked an amusing reaction.

[Jayfoot]

“What makes you think that, then? And I also heard that there was another Dustpaw. Looks as if your just another copy. You almost look the same too.” Jaypaw said with a light hiss, his calico tail lashing wildly. He was already losing his temper with Dust. He seemed so arrogant, always thinking highly of himself by the mere look of it.

And that's what the tom hated the most about cats, the bloody creatures they are, save for Finch and Moon of course. “Jaypaw. may want to change the name, as well.” Dustpaw said with a snicker at the end of it, making Jay snarl loudly and dig his milky-white claws deep into the earth beneath his paws. Really? Who does the guy think he was? Jay was older, that's for sure. And he positively didn't fight like a useless piece of prey either.

“What makes you say that I can't fight like a real cat? Is this because you can't even stand up for yourself? What, you're thinking that saying things like that makes you all tough and aught to be basking in respect from the others such as I?” Jaypaw growled lowly, his amber eyes narrowed in pure dislike. “It doesn't matter wether you have a mentor or not. It only matters when you get to learn something. And I for one have learned a lot by mere observation and creativeness of the mind.” The calico tomcat said in a seemingly lazy tone.

“And I very well only like her as a close friend. Not like those pesky, love-drama cats that seem to be spreading like wildfire here.”

[finchsong]

(Oh, shoot. Sorry I'm late with the reply. >< Anyway, hai Bird~)

Finchpaw grinned and allowed Jaypaw to push her off. She rolled away, springing to her feet a couple of tail-lengths away. She was just pondering whether or not to try sneaking up on Jaypaw when a new voice greeted her ears. She turned the good side of her face to the newcomer.

Now, who was this? Someone was obviously feeling a little snide today. Finchpaw, who was actually in a pleasant mood now, decided to ignore Dustpaw's irritable, provocative attitude. She met his introduction with a friendly one of her own. Taking a step toward the unfriendly apprentice, she smiled. "Hello there. I'm Finchpaw." She felt a little worried that he was going to start a fight with Jaypaw. That wouldn't be any good; Jaypaw was her new friend. She didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Oh dear. Now Jaypaw was stalking over to Dustpaw and hissing a hostile reply. Finchpaw shrank back slightly, her yellow eye a little wider than usual. She didn't yet want to interfere. Finchpaw wanted to be friends with Jaypaw, but at the same time she didn't want to snap at Dustpaw and make him an enemy. The blue-gray female wasn't sure she could even stand up to this somewhat-obnoxious apprentice.

She tuned out most of the conversation, but her ears flicked up as Dustpaw began talking about the battle. Those weren't pretty memories. She flinched as she remembered what had happened that day. It certainly wasn't anything to brag about. Sure, she had survived, but at the cost of her eye. There had been other injuries, but they were healed now. Her eye, however, would never heal. It was gone forever.

There was a sudden hiss from Finchpaw as Dustpaw dared to say that she and Jaypaw were a couple. The one-eyed cat strode right up to Dustpaw, not hearing Jaypaw's reply to the most recent insults. She stopped not a mouse-length from the gray and white apprentice, drawing herself up angrily. "We are most certainly not a couple! Who are you to talk? For all I know, you've got half the den mooning over you. So you, good sir, should kindly close your over-sized mouth."

She let out a snarl - it was quite startling, coming from such a calm and mild-mannered she-cat. Finchpaw, despite being smaller than the tom, was not intimidated in the least now. Unsheathing her long claws, one of her forepaws lashed out quite suddenly. She moved fast as lightning, aiming to rake her claws across one of Dustpaw's ears. Perhaps she'd shred one of this over-confident tom's ears, just to put him in his place. After all, who was Dustpaw to act all high and mighty? He was no better than the rest of them - in fact, he hardly deserved to be an apprentice. He should be searching the elders for ticks.

Sure, it probably wasn't right to try to shred Dustpaw's ear. It probably wasn't the wisest decision to pick a fight with a larger tom, either. But Finchpaw was surprisingly strong - after all, she had been fighting against Shade, a DeathClan adult, in the battle. The blue-gray female was never one to stand around idly while her pride was at stake. It was never an intelligent choice to insult her - she was sure to retaliate in one way or another. She would just see if this snarky tom was just as good a fighter as he bragged about.

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(Wow that's long. o-o)

[Deleted]

His eyes narrowed as Jaypaw mentioned his hateful doppelganger. "Why, you snarky little- I very well am not a copy. That other Dust is all flowers and rainbows, the dumb warrior." He growled. "In fact, his name is Duststorm now. So shut your stupid mouth." The comment about Duststorm had sent him from a light arrogance to a blunt anger.

"Is 'creativeness of mind' another word for laziness?" Dustpaw hissed. He tossed his gray and white head. "I very well deserve respect. You seem to only be proving my points at the moment. Acting half your age, acting like a she-cat." Though the tom was quite a bit older than him, he was hoping that half Jaypaw's age was younger than himself.

"Oh, are you sure?" he teased coldly. "You seem pretty... close." He turned to Finchpaw. "I most certainly have no admirers. I prefer to keep it that way." He raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Hm. Based on your current attitude, I'm starting to doubt that that.... tom fancies you."

But next thing he knew, there were claws flashing towards his ear. He screeched, feeling the delicate flesh tear, separating into crimson-stained ribbons. Coughing as his own blood streamed down his face, the tom snarled, flinging himself towards Finchpaw in a wild attempt to claw her face. He, like Finchpaw, had fought with claws out before. Not well, and not in battle, either. It had been for his assessment, where his mentor had insisted that they unsheathe their claws. He had three long scars on his chest as a result.

Dustpaw wasn't about to run screaming away, which probably went to show his poor intelligence when it came to situations like these.

[finchsong]

Finchpaw felt her claws tear into the tom's ear with a grim satisfaction of sorts. She was just recovering her balance when Dustpaw countered, his claws slashing toward her face. Not given enough time to react, the she-cat only managed to shift back a little before he struck. The blow wasn't as severe as it could have been, since she had managed to get halfway out of range of the blow, but it still connected painfully.

The blue-gray female recoiled as Dustpaw's claws left somewhat-deep slash wounds on the good side of her face. She let out an enraged hiss and lunged forward, her fangs bared in a snarl as she aimed for the tom's left foreleg. Her blood was boiling with anger, and her sharp teeth snapped viciously at the gray-and-white apprentice's leg.

Blood dripped from the wounds on her face; she had to admit to herself that Dustpaw was putting up a good fight. Perhaps they were equals in fighting talent, which would make this encounter all the more interesting. Finchpaw resolutely ignored the pain from her face. She was not going to give in to this fleabag. His claws had left two long scratches from the bridge of her nose to the side of her left cheek. Oh, he would pay for that.

Her blind right side was making it a little difficult to fight, but the she-cat was still a dangerous opponent. After all, a DeathClan adult had been fighting her in the battle. Shade had left her mark, indeed, but Finchpaw had made certain that her enemy wouldn't forget her, either. The TreeClan apprentice still held a bitter grudge against Shade.

But what about Dustpaw? Finchpaw was rapidly considering him to be her arch-rival. Sure, they had only known one another for a short while so far, but it was almost as if they were destined to be enemies. That was fine with her. She snapped her mind back to the present moment, with her fangs aiming to bite Dustpaw's left foreleg. Would Jaypaw interfere? She wasn't sure if she wanted anyone to interrupt this moment. After all, this was a fight for dominance in her mind. Giving in would signify weakness and cowardice.

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