Fallen Dusk {P}

[Fallensnow]

((For Duskpaw I… I can’t name threads))

The last warming rays of sunlight were already sneaking out of camp, giving the shadow’s more room to roam free as night began to take hold of IceClan territory. Fallenpaw lay on tired paws out front of the apprentice’s den, the snowy-white fur that was hidden under her black patches tinted golden from the remaining ray’s of light. It had felt good to stretch her paws earlier, and the light ache in her pink paw-pads was the only thing that made her even think of regretting leaving camp that morning. And I still have to get up early tomorrow, don’t I? she thought with a small sigh, knowing that when by the time the sun reached where the moon was hanging now she would out in the territory again, taking in the delightful scent of prey and lingering snowmelt.
The soft, familiar sound of paw-steps tickled her ear-fur, and she turned curiously— only to have her bronze eyes meet copper. She had seen that particular shade before, earlier today even. “Hi,” she mewled with a soft smile, dipping her head lightly in greeting, “you’re… Duskpaw? Right?"

[Duskrise]

((Sorry for not noticing at first... For some it didn't alert me to the tag.))

Duskpaw gave her a grin. The night was upon them and he had indeed been out with his mentor, however he didn't feel all that tired. Still, he figured he should head back to the Apprentice's Den. Upon coming in, he stepped into the face of a she-cat apprentice with brown eyes. "Of course. The one and only!" He declared dramatically. He slipped past her to his own nest and sat down in it, then he turned back to the other apprentice. "And you must be Fallenpaw then, yeah?"

[Fallensnow]

“Yup,” the black-and-white apprentice answered, flopping backwards so the fur on her back could soak up some of the heat from the ground, which was still warmed from the day’s sun. “So~” the she-cat drawled, “how was your first day of training?” she asked, lifting her long tail over her body so she could bordley bat at it with her paws.

[Duskrise]

Duskpaw rolled over onto his back, simply because he liked to lay down on his back more. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant." He breathed, speaking with a barely audible voice, so full of admiration. "My mentor... Dawnbriar... She's my sister kind of... And she's absolutely brilliant." He smiled, even if Fallenpaw couldn't quite see it. "She knows a lot... I can't wait to learn more."

[Fallensnow]

Fallenpaw smiled, “Well, I hope I get the chance to meet her sometime,” she said, intrigued by Dawnbriar since the tom seemed to hold her with a high admiration. Yet, she could also feel the slightest twinge of jealously burning in the back of her mind— she would have loved to be closer with her siblings, and she guessed it was most likely her fault that she wasn’t, but regardless of the jealously she was truly glad the other apprentice seemed to enjoy his training. She knew she would as well.

[Duskrise]

Duskpaw closed his eyes softly and smiled. "I'm sure she'd love to meet you... You seem nice." He meowed softly. 'Though... I wonder if you'll show me... Your brilliance as well?' He pondered. He rolled over onto his belly. '... Maybe. Maybe not. Time will tell... It always does, after all' He opened an eye to look over at Fallenpaw. She seemed a little off... Eh. Probably wasn't anything of importance. At least not too much.

[Fallensnow]

Fallenpaw nodded in reply, silently staring up at the dispersing clouds. Only violet and pink tinted wisps remained in the quickly darkening sky. “Hey,” the black-and-white apprentice glanced at Duskpaw through the corner of her bronze eyes, a question sparking in her mind, “what do you see when you look at the clouds?” she asked curiously, gesturing with her tail towards the sky above. She knew some cats saw shapes, some saw hidden meaning, and some (mostly medicine cats) could even see omens in things as simple as clouds. Yet for some reason the only thing Fallenpaw could ever manage to see was splotches of white against a plain blue canvas. Not that it intrigued her any less— in fact the reason she was so interested in the sky might have been because it was so simply beautiful.

[Duskrise]

Duskpaw looked skyward. The clouds were beautiful. Pretty fantastic in his opinion. He didn't see anything too special... Except most things were special in his eyes. Including the clouds against the sky. He grinned again.

"I see something so utterly fantastic." He breathed. He chuckled. "But to me... Most everything is just so fantastic, in its own way. All cats are brilliant, all things are beautiful, and every action is inspiring." 

[Fallensnow]

“That’s a lovely way of looking at things,” Fallenpaw said softly, studying the clouds. Despite Duskpaw’s heartening words the she-cat could only make out fading smudges of white mixed with warm colors of the sunset. They still seem like splotches of white to me…, she thought, letting her black-patched tail sway against the ground mindlessly, but I guess that doesn’t mean they can’t be special. 

[Duskrise]

Duskpaw shrugged.

"Some may say my view of things is naive. I see the light in everything... Some cats might think I see the beauty of the clouds in the sky, yet don't see the clouds covering the stars." He closed his eyes and rolled onto his back, relaxing into his nest. "I don't mean to sound righteous but... I think my view is nicer. Say you were looking at the moon on a starless night. Cats who only see the overwhelming darkness will be sad and in turn, other cats will be sad as well. However, if you see the moon and the dark... " He sighed.

"And I feel like this conversation has gotten to a slightly darker place... Which as you may have guessed, aren't the sorts of places I like to end up in." 

[Fallensnow]

Fallenpaw nodded in agreement, feeling a little wary of the conversation taking a personal turn. She had never been great at talking about her emotions, and preferred to avoid the subject. “Well then, why don’t we talk about…,” she twitched her ear as she rolled onto her paws and tried to think up a topic, “training. We never really go to in depth on that subject, now did we?” the black-and-white apprentice said, licking her paw and dragging it over the back of her ear, “what’s been your favorite part of training so far?”

[Duskrise]

Duskpaw pondered over the subject. "Well... I haven't done much yet... But I did get to see the territory. It was pretty fun." He meowed. "Though, I really look forward to other things like learning to hunt, when Dawnbriar can find the time." He smiled. "She's got another apprentice actually. Autumnpaw, ever heard of 'em? Apparently their last mentor ditched them, so they needed a new mentor. Dawnbriar was chosen to take her up."

He sighed. "But I don't mind. Eh... It's fine if she spends some time to train Autumnpaw one on one. I'm cool with it."

[Fallensnow]

“I liked seeing the territory too, though I don’t really find the idea of battle practice all that enjoyable,” Fallenpaw said with a sigh. She had always thought it was more intriguing to plan out how to fight an enemy than to actual fight one. Yet she supposed this would have to be a thing she would learn if she ever wanted to reach warriorhood.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met Autumnpaw before, but from what you’ve said about Dawnbriar I’m sure she’s capable of taking on the both you. It is strange that she’d have to take on more than one apprentice, but now that I think about it that sort of thing seems to be happening a lot more nowadays,” the black-and-white apprentice mewed thoughtfully.

[Duskrise]

Duskpaw shrugged. "Perhaps not all warriors enjoy teaching. To each their own, the way of the world." He meowed. "Besides, it's not so strange if it's happening more. That makes it more so common than strange, if you really look it at from a specific angle." He sighed. "And... Battle training. I dunno... Hunting sounds better to me. Fighting? I don't know... Hunting and exploring fills me with excitement. The thought of learning to hurt sort of drains me." He gave a cheeky grin. "Heh. Imagine me, out of energy. I don't recall ever being really tired to be honest. I can always go on. I wake up before all the other warriors do usually. I think someone mentioned it being an 'unholy hour to wake up'. Not entirely sure what it means." He laughed. "Still. I think my energy is better off used to catch big heaps of prey for the clan, much more productive in my opinion."

[Fallensnow]

Fallenpaw nodded, “I don’t really enjoy the prospect of battle too much either,” she admitted, her voice lowering slightly as she said so, the small part of her that feared giving her personal opinions kicking in slightly, “though, I guess I understand why we have to learn such things.…” she sighed, “I’ll always prefer hunting though,” the black-and-white she-cat mewled. “And as for your boundless energy,” the apprentice went on with a soft, amused smile, “I do think it would be rather strange to see you without it.”