Don't Quit Your Day Job, Fate [p]

[Deleted]

Arrowstar

Rosepaw was coming into camp, looking rather irritated as prey hung from her jaws. She roughly flung her catch onto the fresh-kill pile and walked past it, slumping onto the ground. Her mentor Forestfox had never come back to train her further after that first territory tour and flimsy hunting lesson. Apparently he'd decided she wasn't worth it anymore...

He didn't even look like he liked anyone in the first place. He was probably just another cat who didn't think she would amount to anything.

The thought made her want to grit her teeth. She understood... Maybe a little that not all cats were mean like that. Mockingpaw and Nightpaw were proof of that. But... She was starting to wonder if they were exceptions. She made a noise of frustration and thrust her face into her paws. She didn't notice the cat approaching her.

[Arrowstar]

It was a particularly cold day, light snow covering the camp. CloudClan, I hated the cold. I had just emerged from the Warriors' Den, when I noticed a figure entering the camp. An apprentice from the looks of it, and she didn't seem all too happy. My amber eyes were glued to her while she moved to a spot in camp to slump down.

My paws carried me over before I could really even process what I was doing. I was close enough to hear how frustrated she sounded as well. "You don't look happy. What's biting you?" I asked her, holding a neutral face. I usually wasn't one to socialise, but it didn't hurt to.

[Deleted]

Rosepaw lifted her gaze from her paws long enough to give the stranger who appeared to be concerned the stink eye. How did she know it was genuine? How did she know it wasn't pity, or something else dumb like that.

"Why would you care?" Came the snappy response. He didn't wear an expression of concern. Tch. He probably just thought she was interesting, or wondered why she was here in the first. 

[Arrowstar]

Wow, how rude. If had been human, my eyebrow would be raised. "Well, for one, I didn't have to come this way and see what's wrong. And, secondly, I'm basically the one running the clan right now, so it's kind of in my duty to make sure my clanmates are alright."

Apparently I disappear too often for cats to realize I was the deputy. Not that I really cared. It did give me some way of slipping in and out without being caught like a celebrity (which some cats would do by the way. It always made me awkward).

[Deleted]

Rosepaw huffed. She supposed this guy was the deputy then. She'd never seen him before, she wondered where the heck he'd been. Her ceremony had been done by Dogfang instead of the deputy. Some deputy. Hmph.

"I never asked for your help. Trying to guilt trip me won't work." She didn't like him talking like she was some sort of obligation he had to fulfill. She... She was more than that, wasn't she? She didn't want cats to pay attention to her simply because she was something on their to-do list. Something to check off and forget about.

[Arrowstar]

A tiny smirk flashed on my face at her retort. She really did remind me of myself when I had been her age. Even now. Perhaps she wasn't just a sociable cat. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." I paused a moment before speaking again.

"Why are you grumpy, though? You were pretty savage with that prey you brought in, throwing it aside like it was just scraps," I pointed out, sitting down. If she didn't want to talk, she could leave. But I wasn't going to take the easy way out and ignore her.

[Deleted]

Rosepaw grunted and was pressing her face into her paws again. She didn't really want to talk to anyone... She really doubted the deputy wanted to listen to the woes of an apprentice who wasn't even born in the clan.

"It's on the pile. It's fine." She'd lifted her head long enough to allow her words to be coherent, only to press her face back into her paws. She could tell that the older tom had sat down next to her, apparently not going anywhere soon. Just. Great. 

[Arrowstar]

"I'm not talking about the prey. I'm not interested in it at all," I said matter-of-factly. I wasn't particularly sure why, but this apprentice's personality intrigued me. Maybe it was the amount of sass she was throwing at me, her superior.

"Why are you so prickly? I would have thought you were some nettle if you were covered in fur..."

[Deleted]

Rosepaw grunted, before finally lifting her head. The fur on the top of her head was all over the place from the rough treatment. "Then what do you want?" She asked snappishly.

She huffed. She refused to look at the deputy, turning her gaze the other way. "Ask almost anyone. I'm prickly to everyone." 'Aside from Nightpaw and Mockingpaw... But they're special.' She thought, instead of telling Arrowstrike. They were exceptions she was pretty sure.

[Arrowstar]

I shrugged. "Well, at first I came to see what you were being a sulking mess, but now that I've seen how you act to anyone, apparently, I want to figure you out more. I was the same way before being given so much responsibility," I answered, flicking my tail while I tilted my head slightly.

I raised one of my paws and began to groom the darker fur there before turning my attention back to the apprentice. "What's your name?" I asked, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye.

[Deleted]

Rosepaw's ears folded back as she shot the tom a dirty look. He wanted to figure her out? So, what? Was she a puzzle? Something entertaining? All the ideas running through her head simply served to fuel her aggravation at the tom. She didn't want this tom comparing his past self to her. She didn't want to be like someone else.

She wanted to prove that she was fine being.... Her. That being Rosepaw wasn't a bad thing, that it was a good, perfectly fine thing.

She huffed as she looked away. "Rosepaw." She grunted.

[Arrowstar]

I laughed at her look, shrugging. She finally gave her name, and I nodded. "Arrowstrike. Though I have a feeling you already knew that," I replied, flicking my tail once more. Glancing her out of the corner of my eye, I cleared my throat.

"Would you care to go on a little training session with me? I know I'm not your mentor, but it could do us both some good."

[Deleted]

Rosepaw didn't like the feeling that Arrowstrike wasn't taking her seriously. It only made her fur bristle in aggravation. "Yeah. I did." She barely managed to not hiss at the Treeclan deputy. She was about to spit out a fierce rejection, but bit her tongue. If she couldn't get instruction from Forestfox.... This was the next best thing. 

".... Alright." She'd resisted the urge to snap 'fine'. She wanted it to be clear she wanted this.

[Arrowstar]

She agreed to training, so I stood up and shook out my thick fur. "Alright. Let's go."

[Deleted]

Rosepaw stood up as well, waiting for Arrowstrike to take the lead.