Oh, it's just me, myself and I (Spotted, Hornet.)

[Spottedheart]

Here he was, by himself in the clearing, alone. After his mate in IceClan had disappeared that wasn't much left for him there and so he left to find a new home. It wasn't easy, he had grown up in the mountains and made many friends. Still there was that part of him that yearned for something new. It was that Wanderlust that propelled him into TreeClan, he wasn't really much of a chatterbug to begin with. Now he was too nervous to strike up a conversation with any of the cats in this new clan. They probably thought he was disloyal, who could blame them? He had abandoned his clan.

He sat on his hind paws, his head facing the ground. Had he made a mistake? He always was an impulsive cat. He decided he'd have to just wait and see.

[Hornetstripe]

back away

from tangents, on the verge of drastic

Hornetstripe emerged from the Warriors den with a yawn, a sleepy frown on her face. The day was already under way, and she'd slept in more than she'd planned to. Whether it was the stress of training, the seemingly never-ending business of her life at the moment, or perhaps just the price that came with growing up, she didn't know. The only thing that was certain, however, was how hungry she was. A quiet rumble in her stomach confirmed this, and without dwelling on the number of cats around like she usually did, she make a b-line for the fresh-kill pile.
She took her time picking out the best robin she could, feeling a sudden craving for it for whatever reason, and turned her head to survey the camp. Usually, she would find the quietest, darkest space in camp to eat alone, as the very thought of social interaction scared her, but at that moment she spotted someone else. She didn't recognise the pelt at all; usually she'd see other cats around and mentally note down their markings just in case she needed to talk to them in the future. However, this was a complete stranger, which unnerved her but make her all the more curious.

Hornetstripe stared from a distance for a moment, weighing up the pros and cons of the situation, before growling and padding forward, prey clamped hard in her jaws. The spot in the dark interaction was rare, but for once she didn't feel as nervous as she probably should have. They just seemed so...defeated. She stopped a few tail-lengths away, watching intently to see if they'd notice her or not. The robins feathers were tickling her nose, and she felt a sneeze building up in the back of her throat. Desperatly, she tried to hold it back but in only a second, she dropped the bird and let out a rather loud sneeze, most likely alerting the other cat to her presence. Feeling her heart rate increase tenfold, she swallowed and locked her gaze on her paws, her breath quickening. Why do surprise entries seem to be my thing these days? Why can't it just come to a simple 'hi, how are you doing?' Oh boy oh boy...

380 | @//tagged | xat keeps distracting me

ulla

[Spottedheart]

"Gah!" Spottedheart jumped, his black and white spotted pelt rippling in surprise.
"S-sorry." Spottedheart mewed quietly straightening up. She looked just as nervous as he was, but he was guessing it was because she had sneezed so loudly. He looked her over quickly, noting her tabby-esque markings. A small mrrow of laughter came from his muzzle. He remembered hunting birds in IceClan and his heart ached. Quickly he shook his head to clear his thoughts, this was his life now, and he was going to give it every chance.

"I'm Spottedheart, I'm new here." He introduced, flicking his black tail nervously.
"You are?" The cow-spotted tom questioned, cocking his head to one side.

[Hornetstripe]

back away

from tangents, on the verge of drastic

Hornetstripe winced when the tom jumped, and she silently cursed herself for startling him. She was about to blurt of a hasty apology when he suddenly spoke her thoughts, leaving her with her mouth open in confused silence. Why was he apologising? She probably just scared him and now he was sorry for it? Whatever, you still need to apologise yourself, Hornet. "No, I-uhm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Her words trailed off and she bit her lip, flattening her ears in annoyance when her throat locked up. She usually found apologies easy, and practically spewed out strings of sorrys whenever she made a mistake, but for some reason her voice failed her this time. Perhaps the fright of the sneeze had effected her more than she had previously thought. Well, at least she wasn't tired any more.

Tentatively, she lifted her head to glance up at him, accidentally meeting his gaze for a moment when she went to scan his face in an attempt to recognise him. Feeling her cheeks burn, she instead decided to keep her eyes trained on the ground just in case she had a heart attack; the pounding in her chest was practically echoing in her ears. She heard a muffled chuckle come from the tom, and she worried that he had heard her heartbeat. She quickly dismissed this thought, reminding herself that his sense of hearing probably wasn't as heightened as she was used to, and forced herself not to worry too much about it.

She was slightly surprised when he introduced himself, half expecting him to up and leave because of her earlier mistake, and made herself look up for a moment and give him a quick polite smile. "Yeah, I,uh, haven't seen you around before so I assumed so." Strangely,he didn't seem as cool and collected as she had previously thought, instead displaying signs that he was quite tense, just like her. She found a little comfort in that, and decided after a moment to introduce herself too. "Nice to meet you, Spottedheart. I'm Hornetstripe, not very new here myself. So, where did you come from, if you don't mind me asking?" She added the last part rather quickly, worried that she was coming off as rude. Feeling a pang of pain in her stomach, she located her discarded robin and took a bite out of it, deciding to gently sit down to eat.

400 | @//tagged | low muse = slow replies

ulla

[Spottedheart]

"I am from IceClan." Spottedheart mewed simply, feeling awkward. He got a sad look in his amber eyes before he sat down next to her.
He looked over to her, attempting to make eye contact, "Have you lived here all your life?" He asked softly, trying his hardest not to make her uncomfortable. The black and white tom was almost sure that she was just as nervous as he was. It felt good to talk to someone though. Even if that someone was a cat he had just met.

[Hornetstripe]

back away

from tangents, on the verge of drastic

Hornetstripe nodded slowly, trying not to show her surprise. She expected him to say he was originally outside the Clan, as she herself had never heard of another cat switching Clans. Even though she'd thought about it before, she knew her loyalties lay within TreeClan, so she slightly questioned exactly how loyal Spottedheart was if he was willing to change Clans. She noticed the flash of sadness in his eyes when she looked up and suddenly felt bad for doubting him. He obviously wasn't comfortable with the topic, so she decided not to push it and let her unsaid questions go.

She forced herself not to shuffle away when he sat down next to her, reminding herself that being close to others wasn't going to hurt her. Still, she couldn't stop the fur on the back of her neck from standing up when he looked at her again, and glanced over just as he made eye contact. She was glad that he spoke again, as it stopped her from blurting out a lame excuse to leave the conversation. To keep herself occupied, she grabbed her food again and continued eating. Hornetstripe took a moment to think, wondering how much she should give away in her response.

"Well," she began slowly, eyes darting back and forth in thought. "Not exactly. My parents weren't exactly, uh, Clan born. Truth be told, I don't even know who they are, only that they dropped my off at the border around TreeClan territory and just...left me there. They didn't even give me a second thought." Her eyes narrowed in anger for a moment, before she relaxed and sighed, prodding the carcass with a paw. "It's...a long story. Kinda. I don't like talking about it." The sudden rush of emotion was unwelcome, and she silently scolded herself for falling back into the dark pit of her thought, even for just a moment. She focused on her food, praying that the tom would change the subject.

340 | @//tagged | notes

ulla

[Spottedheart]

Spottedheart nodded respectfully. "My mother never really found time for me." He mewed solemnly. Feeling the sinking feeling of sadness, he changed the subject. "How long have you been a warrior?" The tom meowed quietly, looking at the ground. It seemed to him like his attempts to make eye contact made her uncomfortable so he moved his gaze downwards. "She was very busy, she had a lot of kits to take care of..." Spottedheart mused, staring downwards.
His memories from kithood were fuzzy at best and honestly nothing particularly interesting happened.

(Last post of the night, sorry for shortness. My family is tired of hearing the spacebar, hehe.)

[Hornetstripe]

back away

from tangents, on the verge of drastic

Hornetstrie returned the nod, prodding the carcass with a paw thoughtfully. Somehow, whenever she had conversations with strangers, they always seemed to delve into sad confessions. It wasn't a particularly pleasant topic, but it seemed as though everyone had something to spill, which was interesting to say the least. Maybe I'm just trustworthy with information. But then again, I started the emotion-fest this time round. Weird. The following silence gave her some time to finish off her food, and she was just beginning to bury the bones when Spottedheart spoke again. Her gaze darted back and forth thoughtfully for a second, trying to recall the information. "Couple moons, I think. My ceremony was about right on time, so I'd just say the normal amount for my age." She looked up momentarily, eyes scanning over his face. "How about you? Not to be rude, but, uh, you do seem a bit older than me."

She was slightly surprised when he bought the conversation back to family after the obvious discomfort he displayed earlier, but remained quiet while he spoke his mind. Her head tilted slightly to the side, eye unconsciously fixated on his. She wasn't too sure what was getting him down; the very thought of having a family, even if it was just your brothers an d sisters that took any notice of you, seemed elating. But, the whole thing seemed to be getting him down. She was tempted to complain about her own kithood, explain her struggle of not having a family herself and turn everything into a giant confession group, but she kept her mouth shut. It was his own business, after all. She couldn't judge him for feeling that way.

"Hey, If you need to talk about it, feel free to. I'm all ears if you want to get a few things off your chest." She wasn't sure where the words were coming from, or whether or not he would take them well, but she decided to stick with them rather than back out.

345 | @//tagged | sorry it's so bad 

ulla

[Spottedheart]

"I was an apprentice for a longer time than usual. Our leader at the time was very busy." Spottedheart mewed, remembering how long he had to perform apprentice duties. Of course Destinedspirit had did her best training him but he had never even had a warrior's ceremony.

"Well, thanks, for what its worth its good to know someone is listening." He mewed gratefully, making eye contact.
"Really that's all there is to it. She just didn't have the time for me. Heh, I remember this one time me and Sparkkit played mossball." Spottedheart drawled, seeming to drift into memory, unaware of the outside world for a few moments.

[Hornetstripe]

back away

from tangents, on the verge of drastic

Hornetstripe nodded, realising the same thing had happened to her friend, Foxstrike, minus the mentor part. He'd been older than her, too, but her ceremony had come first and she'd been a Warriors a few moons earlier than him. She gave him a small smile when he spoke again, easily being able to empathise with him. She wasn't the best at sharing her feelings, aside from with close friends, and most of the time she felt as though she was just being annoying or whiny about things, even though she was happy listening to others spill their guts, and even attempt to make them feel better. "It's no issue, I'm glad you don't mind me asking, actually."

She watched him quietly while he explained his kithood, eyes drifting over his pelt but avoiding his face in fear of accidentally locking gazes with the tom. The way he seemed to drift off the more he confessed intrigued her, and strongly reminded Hornetstripe of herself; she often found herself drifting into an almost dreamlike state when she spoke of certain things. She didn't interrupt his musing, allowing him to sit in his own world for a while while she thought of a response. After a few minutes, she broke the silence with a sigh. "I can see what you mean. I never really got on with any other cats as a kit, I was a little too, uh, socially awkward. Games didn't really appeal to me, and the thought of interaction just...scared me to no end. I really wish I could go back and fix all of that and just, you know, live a little. I should have taken advantage of that free time while it lasted."
She shook her head, worried that she'd start babbling nonsense again. "Well, there's no point dwelling on it now, I suppose. It's all done, nothing much we can do."

330 | @//tagged | spottedheart is such a sad smol omg

ulla

[Spottedheart]

"That's true. Seems like youth is wasted on the young, am I right?" Spottedheart mewed, giving her a sympathetic glance. He never really had many friends as a warrior. The only real cats he connected with were his mentor and his mate. He shifted his cow-spotted pelt looking a little bit shy. "Thanks, you know for um, well listening and stuff. Usually I can't really talk to cats about this stuff. I feel like I can trust you for some reason though." He mewed as he flicked his mostly white tail self-consciously.

"Do you want to go hunting or something? I'm a little hungry and I haven't really gotten to know TreeClan's territory." Spottedheart asked, seeming nervous.

[Hornetstripe]

back away

from tangents, on the verge of drastic

Hornetstripe nodded, remaining quiet. The statement caused a great deal of thought to brew in her head, and she found herself agreeing with Spottedheart. The realisation had't occurred to her until he had worded it that way, and thinking back on it now she certainly hadn't felt like she was wasting her time, but right now..

She shook her head briskly, trying to get rid of the negative thoughts. Don't let it get to you, Hornet. It doesn't matter now, you have bigger things to worry about. With a small sigh she draw her paw over the disturbed earth at her feet, drawing patterns in the dirt absent-mindedly. This tom was turning out to be quite interesting, much different from the rather shallow and boring cats she seemed to encounter far too often. The change was refreshing, and she wondered distantly how long it would take for a possible friendship to form. Yeah, fat chance and you know it. You can't trust others too easily, and right now you're letting your guard down. She dwelled on the thought for a moment, considering the posibility that she was perhaps for once being reasonable with her worrying. After all, he was an ex-IceClanner. Could she really reply on him to be completely loyal?
Horetstripe pricked her ears when Spottedheart spoke again and her eyes widened in mild shock. "O-oh, uh, that's fine. I'm glad I'm not intimidating you too much, ahah." Well, apparently I was worrying a little too much. He seems fine, actually. Kinda trustworthy too, I guess.

At his proposal she nodded, mentally taking note in his slight change in tone that seemed to mirror her current mood, easing her worries a little. "Sounds good to me. I can give you a little tour while we're at it, if you'd like." She stretched her front legs and yawned, her eyes scrunching up. "Well, I'm ready when you are. Let's get this show on the road." Quickly, she rose to her feet and took a step backwards, waiting for him to follow suit.

350 | @//tagged | notes

ulla

[Spottedheart]

"Thank you." Spottedheart mewed, seeming relieved to be dropping the topic of family. He let a little smile creep onto his muzzle. This was going okay, Hornetstripe seemed like a very genuine cat, and he was starting to enjoy her company. She seemed a little bit nervous but so was he, and he was a stranger from another clan so he could understand. The black and white tom was nervous too, he didn't want to screw up his chance in TreeClan. He had to prove that he could fend for himself, and more importantly hunt. His mentor had once told him that the only cats that contributed to a clan were the ones that fed the clan.

Remembering his and Destinedspirit's time in the spring as she taught him how to hunt and fight caused him to purr slightly. Everything was so easy then. Maybe this new place would come to feel like home too. He opened his maw to scent the air, allowing a few positive thoughts to collect in his mind.
"Thank you for being so kind to me, I know I'm new and everything but this means a lot." He mewed shyly, lowering his head.

[Hornetstripe]

back away

from tangents, on the verge of drastic

"Like I said, my pleasure. You may want to stop thanking me, though. I'm getting all flustered." She chuckled awkwardly, sending him a quick smile of gratitude after a moment. Truth be told, she wasn't feeling that worried at that point; somehow he already seemed to be growing on her. Maybe it was just their similar personalities or obvious nerves, but the way she could relate to what he said or did just made him pleasant to be around. For once, the possibility of friendship didn't seem that far out of reach.

Hornetstripe flicked his flank with her tail and began to walk towards the camp entrance, hoping that he'd follow. As she padded outside, she took in a deep breath, nose twitching as an expanse of scents flowed into her brain. She paused for a moment, gathering her bearings as to which way she wanted to head, before choosing a familiar run down path to follow. It wasn't too warm out -she thanked CloudClan for that- and a pleasant breeze ruffled her fur. I really need to go out more, I always forget how nice it is out here

200 | @//tagged | notes

ulla

[Spottedheart]

Spottedheart followed after her, enjoying the radiating warmth on his pelt. He wasn't used to being in warm sunlight. He shook out his black and white pelt and let out a purr of satisfaction. Quickly he opened his maw and let the scents wash over his tongue. Unfortunately he only smelled muddled forest smells.
"I can't seem to... Differentiate the scents." The cow-spotted tom mewed awkwardly, feeling embarrassed.