Truth Beneath the Rose [open]

[Deleted]

Rosepaw wasn't doing anything really. It was the end of the day, with the sun setting over the horizon. Maybe she'd figure out how to navigate and hunt in the dark... But not today. For now, she was eating a bird. She was careful to remove the feathers first, then dig into the meat. She'd rather not swallow any feathers. Thankfully, she's less cranky than she was in the nursery, approaching her warrior ceremony. She's had plenty of opportunities to stretch her legs and since it's the end of the day, she's more or less spent for the day.

Then someone joined her beside her. She turned her head. "Hey."

[Willowheart]

Willowheart was honestly happy, she had the perfect life. She had a mate, lived in a perfect clan, and she had great friends. Everything was great. She was walking around the camp looking for a conversation, nothing showed until she looked nearby seeing an apprentice. She smiled softly and walked over. 


Hello, I'm Willowheart And you are? She asked kindly.

[Deleted]

"Rosepaw." She meowed, introducing herself. She wondered if Willowheart might just be... The first who wasn't either intimidated by her strong personality or mean. She didn't really want to admit it, but it did feel kind of bad not being able to talk to anyone properly. 

[Mockingpaw]

mockingpaw was following a line of ants going straight through the camp, dodging cats and other objects and steadily gaining speed. she kept her black and white muzzle to the ground, snarfing at the glee of finding where the pesky ant nest was. then she could destroy them once and for all. eyes shining like a hunter's, the moggie giddily speeds up and squashes plenty of ants under her paws. the insects scatter; destroying the once-perfect formation as the apprentice stares at the panicking ants dejectedly. she sighs and looks up, spying two cats. maybe they'd be interested in finding the ant nest. the she-cat makes her way over to them and winks over at the two. "heyo, do you mind if i join you two? i'm mockingpaw." she says, dipping her head slightly out of habit.

[Nightpaw]

{let's make this a party~}


Returning to camp with a mouse swinging from his jaws, the speckled apprentice had a happy spring in his steps. He felt oddly cheerful and social at the moment, and really wanted to use this chance to make some friends. He didn't have any-- so maybe now was the time to change that. Dropping his prey off, Nightpaw searched the clearing curiously for some company, and his ears perked as he spotted some. Two apprentices and a warrior, all she-cats(which kinda worried him and made him second guess approaching then).

With a deep breath, Nightpaw marched over bravely to the group and offered a small smile. "Can I join as well?" he asked after just hearing Mockingpaw's words. He cleared his throat uneasily. "I'm Nightpaw."

[Mockingpaw]

looking up slightly, mockingpaw's dull grey eyes meet that of different colours. with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, the apprentice dips her head to nightpaw again. "it's a pleasure to meetcha, nightpaw. i dunno if you heard before, but i'm mockingpaw." the white and black moggie says with a deft wink and a flick of her tail.

[Deleted]

Before Rosepaw knew it, two apprentices had joined the conversation-interaction. Whatever it was. She didn't think it mattered all too much. She'd been in the middle of taking a bite out of the bird when a cat, introducing herself as Mockingpaw, joined her. She'd been trying to chew and swallow it. Then before she could finish, a new cat shyly sauntered up and introduced himself as Nightpaw. He seemed more reserved and nervous than Mockingpaw had.

Finally she swallowed. "Rosepaw." Her light green eyes flitting between Nightpaw's heterochromatic orbs and Mockingpaw's silver gaze. She eyed them both carefully. She was in a better mood than usual, but she was rather wary of cats her age. She flattened her ears. "... Okay, I'm just checking something. Are you two going to try and put me down?" Given that the only cats she'd talked to her own age, Pondkit in the nursery, and Fawnpaw more recently... She thought it was perfectly reasonable to check if these guys were going to be mean as well.

[Nightpaw]

Nightpaw smiles at the first apprentice to reply to him, and he dips his head. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Mockingpaw." he purrs, about to question her name curiously like the little knowledge baby he is. Except he is beaten by the other apprentice speaking up.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion at Rosepaw's question. "Put you down? You mean like bullying?" he asked, his gaze growing a little bit harder at the thought that she'd been bullied before. So, he voiced his concern. "Have cats bullied you before? And--uh, no. I'm not going to do that." His gaze softened after his own question.

Although he wanted to speak for Mockingpaw and say instead, "neither of us are going to do that". But Nightpaw had just met the she-cat and barely knew anything about Mockingpaw(or Rosepaw either....), and she'd probably like to speak for herself.

[Mockingpaw]

"nice to meet ya too, rose!" mockingpaw chirps back, smiling and flicking her black and white tail. she's about to respond in absolute shock at rosepaw's next comment, but is beaten to the chase by nightpaw. she listens to nightpaw speaking and nods her head in agreement. "i'd never bully someone. maybe some light teasing, sure, but bullying is out of the question! i'd like to know these cats that bullied you before... maybe i should go say hi~" the she-cat chuckles. "kidding, kidding."

[Deleted]

Rosepaw hesitated before answering with a nod to Nightpaw's rhetorical question. Then he asked if she'd been bullied before. Her tail swept quietly behind her, along the ground. "... I don't know if it's bullying, but the cats I meet my age are usually mean." She replied quietly. Her ears perked up and she looked into Nightpaw's eyes with a strange look in her green eyes. She... Wasn't really used to cats being particularly... Nice and friendly.

She looked to Mockingpaw who is nodding in agreement to Nightpaw's words. She snorted in response to Mockingpaw's.... Joke of sorts. "It was just some kit back in the nursery and some other apprentice...." She didn't talk to others much, but when her interactions with cats her own age turned out to be largely negative... Things tended to get colored a certain way.

[Nightpaw]

Nightpaw feels himself smile as Mockingpaw agrees with his words. Although he is still bothered by the fact that Rosepaw had been bullied-- or, more like she met some mean Clanmates.

He sighed in relief. "Well... we're not mean. And most cats usually aren't like that. Just seems like you got a bit unlucky." he admitted. Then, remembering he didn't properly greet her, the tomcat dips his head. "O-oh, it's nice to meet you as well, Rosepaw."

[Mockingpaw]

mockingpaw's eyes narrow slightly as rosepaw's voice softens. the fact that there were cats that were blatantly mean to others wasn't unusual, but the apprentice flicks her tail sharply as she feels a spike of anger. it doesn't show -- or at least, she hopes it doesn't, and she smirks to cover it. "yup. or at least i hope i'm not mean!" the moggie says, then winks.

[Deleted]

Despite Rosepaw's rather hot temper, she did in fact, notice things. She noticed Mockingpaw was showing signs of anger. She briefly wondered if the anger was aimed at her, but quickly decided Mockingpaw's words didn't match up... Thus, sparing the two apprentices from her defensive reaction.

"... If you say so." She replied to Nightpaw. She didn't quite believe most cats weren't like that. Aside from these two... The cats she met were usually mean or... Well, Dogfang and Flowerpaw. Though, she was pretty sure the latter was renamed Clawstream. Which was admittedly a weird name, being radically different from his previous name... Plus it didn't fit him all that well. He'd been easily intimidated by her loud, easily irritated personality.

She stared and squinted at Mockingpaw who had winked. Then her eyes snapped to Nightpaw who was dipping his head and saying a phrase that... Honestly, should've been said earlier in the conversation. Her ears hesitantly folded back a bit, before perking up in full.

"You guys are weird." She decided. "I like it."

[Nightpaw]

'Nah, Mockingpaw doesn't seem mean.' the speckled apprentice thought upon Mockingpaw's words. His gaze returned to Rosepaw however when she began to speak. And then Nightpaw felt an awkward smile graze his lips at the... uhm... compliment?

"T-thanks, I suppose." he meowed with a careless shrug following. His heterochromatic eyes darted between the two, a spark of hope within the blue and green. 'Am I making two friends here? I-I've never had friends before-!'

[Mockingpaw]

mockingpaw faked looking hurt. "is night's word better than mine?!" she gasps dramatically and laughs lightly. she hoped she wasn't being too weird. cats seemed to sideline her for that, and, frankly, it wasn't that hurtful considering the things mockingpaw said. "you guys are weird. i like it." the apprentice snorts internally. there goes her wish to cloudclan that she wasn't being too weird. she giggles a little at night's response. "yes, thank you~! you're a little weird too, rose. but i guess the best cats are, am i right?"