Need S(o)meone To Talk To

[Naturepaw]

Naturepaw sat in her nest silently, looking around at the den. She didn't mind being alone for a little while, but now she wanted someone to talk to. It's never fun to be alone all the time. Nature wanted to get up and maybe walk around, but honestly, she didn't feel like it. She smiled and shook her head. Great Cloud Clan, she thought, I sure am lazy today. On a normal day, Naturepaw would be bounding about, looking for new friends and adventure. But today, all she really wanted to do was sit in her nest. Maybe it's from all this training...Or it could be the slight change in weather... It'd been very cloudy today, as if it wanted to rain or snow. The light was dimmer everywhere from all the clouds, making Nature feel a bit tired. Yes, that must be it: the weather, she concluded. Naturepaw sighed. But does it really have to be such a gloomy day? Naturepaw looked around once more to see if she could find anyone she knew. Not finding anyone, she sighed once more and laid her head on her paws, beginning to doze in her nest. 

[Deleted]

Palepaw gingerly padded into the apprentice den, careful not to step on any tails. The weather wasn't very nice outside, so she thought a nap would be refreshing. Palepaw made her way closer to the nest, and tried to settle down. Now I just need to fall asleep. Maybe the weather will be nicer once I wake up.. She was about to close her eyes, but a furry figure was in her side vision. She blinked her eyes wide open. I can't fall asleep in front of them! What if they try to prank me?

The patched she-cat stood up, and faced Naturepaw with a kind smile. "Hey. I was just about to sleep. Were you about to do that too, or...?" I'm not the best at conversation starters, but she was lying down so maybe she was about to drift off.. She twitched an ear. "The name's Palepaw. You?"

[Naturepaw]

Naturepaw broke out of her daze as soon as she registered that another apprentice was talking to her. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. "No, I was just dozing a little." Naturepaw returned the smile with one of her own. "Nice to meet you. I'm Naturepaw," the brown tabby replied. "Bit of a gloomy day, isn't it?" she commented.

[Deleted]

Palepaw snickered as she watched Naturepaw rub her eyes. I'm guessing she was tired. Maybe I shouldn't have disturbed her. "Naturepaw? I've never heard of that name before! It's a pleasure." She dipped her head once, then stretched her limbs a bit. Walking around the whole territory really took a toll. "It really is a gloomy day. At least it's still snowy, though. Being in the snow is so much fun." She answered. Palepaw stopped stretching and padded over to Naturepaw's nest. "So tell me about yourself. I don't know many other apprentices."

[Naturepaw]

Naturepaw grinned and chuckled. "Well, I guess I do have a unique name...I haven't really heard of other Naturepaws." She laughed. Naturepaw nodded and smiled. "Yeah. It's really actually beautiful when you look at the way it just glistens in the sun..." She realized that she was rambling again. "Sorry. I kinda get carried away sometimes, you know?" She smiled and sighed. Then, she was a bit taken aback by Palepaw's sudden interest in her life. "Oh. Well, there's not that much to tell. I grew up as a happy-go-lucky kit with many friends. I have a great mentor and my training's going pretty well. Most of my friends are here now and I've even made some new ones. I love taking long nature walks and enjoy climbing boulders and cliffs around Ice Clan. That's pretty much it, I guess..." Naturepaw grinned after a moment. "Not really a very interesting life. I guess I need to go on an adventure. Do some soul-searching. Something!" She laughed at herself once more and looked back at Palepaw. She probably thinks I'm crazy, Nature thought. But that's alright. I'm pretty sure that most of us here are - in our own special way.

[Deleted]

Palepaw listened quietly, irritated that there wasn't many details. Maybe she's just embarrassed. "Who's your mentor? Your life sounds pretty cool. Do you think we could be friends? I think we could. I like to talk a lot. Do you like to talk?" She laughed at Naturepaw's follow-up. "No no, it's interesting. Soul-searching? What's that?" She looked at Naturepaw, confused. "It sounds scary." A dull ache grew stronger in Palepaw's legs, and she moaned. "I'm so tired from walking all around the territory! Aren't you exhausted when you get back? I sure am."

[Naturepaw]

Wow. She rambles just as much as I do, Naturepaw thought with a silent laugh. "I think we'll be great friends," she replied with a smile. "Let's see...My mentor is Thornfrost. I've heard he's a very experienced senior warrior, and he's very encouraging. He pushes me sometimes, but in a good way. And yes, I do like to talk a lot, as you can probably tell from my rambling." At that she chuckled a little. "Thanks. And you know, I'm okay with my life the way it is right now. When I'm a warrior, it'll already be more interesting, so at least I have something to look forward to. Soul-searching? Basically, you look deep inside yourself and figure out who you really are. A bit of a long process. Not sure if I'll get that checked off for a while. I've never done it, but I don't think it's scary. I mean, it's just between you and yourself. How scary could that be? And honestly, I don't get tired out that easily. I was just kinda tired today because of the weather. The cloudy skies just make me sleepy. I guess because it makes me just want to cuddle up in my nest. But after a while, walking around the territory really can get tiring. I wonder how those warriors and apprentices do all of those patrols. I'm sure they get bored every once in a while. I mean, you don't really get to do much on a normal day." Naturepaw paused for breath. She hadn't realized she had talked so much. Good grief. At least I can be myself around Palepaw without her getting annoyed by it. "You haven't told me anything about you yet. Who's your mentor? How close are you at becoming a warrior? What's your favorite thing to do around here? Have you ever been on a patrol?" Naturepaw then sat back and tried to catch her breath again.

[Deleted]

"I've never heard of Thornfrost. My mentor's Rabbitleap." Palepaw responded, and went back to listening. She took a liking to this she-cat. I love that she can hold up a conversation. "The weather made you tired? How can clouds make you tired?" She looked out of the den, and began squinting at the sky. "This isn't making me tired." Palepaw leaned back into the den again, focusing on the tabby. "Hm, that's what soul-searching is? It sounds sorta boring now." She frowned for a moment, but perked back up as she was asked her own questions.

"Well I've been an apprentice for some time now... But I'm not that far in training so I have no idea. My favorite thing to do around camp is to pretty much just talk. And I haven't been on a patrol yet, but I want to!" The apprentice cleared her throat, all the talking making her voice hoarse. "Who are your friends?" If I get along with Naturepaw, maybe I'll get along with her friends, too."

[Naturepaw]

Naturepaw nodded, having heard of Rabbitleap before. She knew that Rabbitleap was a good mentor. Nature laughed. "Well, I guess the clouds can't make me tired. Just the fact that sky is so gray and it feels like it's gonna rain. Rain is like sleeping weather to me. Unless it's a thunderstorm. Then I just like to watch it, especially the lightning. It might be scary, but it's pretty cool. You know? And I guess that soul-searching could be boring. Maybe I'll just do that when I'm an Elder and have nothing else to do," she replied with another light-hearted laugh. She listened to Palepaw intently, trying to catch every word. They were both moving so fast with their words! Naturepaw was so happy to have so much freedom with speech. With her other friends, talking this fast would just overwhelm them. "My other friends? Well, let's see..." She thought for a moment. "My friends are Owlpaw, Shiverwind, Starlingkit (or -paw; I'm not really sure which one now), some others that I can't remember at the moment, and YOU!" she replied with a big grin spread across her tabby face. She considered Palepaw her friend since they at least haven't fought or anything.

[Deleted]

Palepaw grinned, followed by a nod. "Yeah! Maybe when we're elders together we can both do the soul-searching thing." She purred, so glad to have met a cat for once that liked to talk. She listened to Naturepaw, going over the names in her head. Owlpaw, Shiverwind, Starlingkit... I've never even heard of those cats! Palepaw giggled at the end of the tabby's mew. "And me? Sweet! We're friends then, right? I like having someone like you to talk with." She said honestly. Palepaw felt so lonely lately. She was in an argument with her brother, and one of her only friends attacked her and was annoyed with her. Naturepaw doesn't seem like she'd get offended easily. I like that in a friend.

[Naturepaw]

Naturepaw grinned and nodded. "Of course! You're really fun to talk with, too," she replied. Nature really was happy to talk with Palepaw. Some cats were just hard to talk to, like Shiverwind. He was really sweet and a great friend, but he hardly ever talked. And rambling also made him uncomfortable. Then again, he did have a speech impediment, or at least he used to. Nevertheless, it's nice to get to talk to someone, she thought. Naturepaw broke out of her thoughts and asked, "So, what do you like to do for fun, besides talking?" 

[Deleted]

"Besides talking?" Palepaw twitched an ear. She had to think about this for a moment. "This is kinda weird, but I actually enjoy cleaning nests. Like the nursery, or the elder's den. I've never been bothered by it." She chuckled. "I guess I like to play games for fun. What do you like to do?" She kept her ears perked, ready for an answer. She loved being able to go through a conversation quick, with fast-talking. "Do you like playing truth or dare? That's one of my favorites."

[Naturepaw]

"Really? I've never been one to clean nests myself, but that's what you like right? Then there's nothing wrong with it." At Palepaw's next question, Naturepaw thought for a moment. "You know, I've never really played any games. I didn't really get to do that in the Nursery. My favorite things to do are climbing boulders and cliffs and taking long walks in the forest. Pretty much anything that's exciting or adventurous. What is 'truth or dare'? I'd love to learn how to play," she replied, smiling. All of Naturepaw's friends in the Nursery mostly consisted of toms, and they didn't typically play games like truth or dare. They had races or battles or challenges. So she was very curious about these games that Palepaw talked about.