antichrist -- p

[Willowspirit]

@lupa

Willowpaw padded through the snowy plains of the Fireclan territory, more than used to the cold weather by now. She'd just come from the training clearing, where she tirelessly to hone her battling skills instead of hunting, something Willowpaw really needed to work on. The mottled she-cat shrugged off any thoughts of learning to hunt at the moment, her mentor would help with that when it was the time.

She paused to rest her aching muscles and take a look at her surroundings when she spotted a cat that she didn't recognize. The lack of foreign scents told Willowpaw that this cat was Fireclan, but Willowpaw didn't recognize her. Her bi-colored eyes narrowed, Willowpaw cautiously approached her. "Uh, hey there."

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw was way too nervous as she made her way through the territory. She didn't know how to get around, Birdheart having neglected to give the mute apprentice a proper tour. Plus, the infinite white made it hard to see where she'd been before. The tracks helped, though. She supposed she could always try to backtrack. As such, she tried to move in a straight line... As much as she could so it wouldn't be hard to retrace her steps.

Then someone startled her. Badly. She hadn't noticed them. Her eyes widened, as her entire body suddenly whipped around to see this other she-cat. Her ears had immediately folded back and she had the look of a deer caught in headlights.

[Willowspirit]

A look of concern immediately crossed Willowpaw's face, the strangers reaction causing her to flinch and take a step back, her ears flattening and tail pointing downwards. "I'm sorry!" She yelped, her first reaction being to apologize for the unintentional scare. Now that she was up close, Willowpaw had the opportunity to get a better look at the Fireclan cat, taking note of the scars on her face without making any assumptions.

"I didn't mean to scare you, I just.. Saw you.. And I got curious, because I don't know you." Willowpaw hastily explained, shuffling her paws. "You're probably busy hunting or something.. Oh, I hope I'm not walking in on an assessment! I'm not, am I??"

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw noticed the other apprentice's instant reaction, of being upset. Then came the apology. Immediately Wolfpaw took on a sheepish expression, waving the other she-cat off with a paw, as if to say 'It's fine, I'm okay. You didn't hurt me.' She wasn't sure if she was able to get the message across properly... She hoped her message wasn't misinterpreted. 

Then she blinked. She shook her head. She wasn't anywhere near ready to have her final assessment! She was just trying to find her way around... It had taken a lot of steeling herself to get ready for it, though. 

[Willowspirit]

"..Oh, okay.." Willowpaw, not knowing about Wolfpaw's selective muteness, was extremely bewildered by the silence that met her in response. For a few moments, she didn't say anything, instinctively feeling hurt, thinking that she did something wrong to elicit being stare at. That would be selfish and crybaby-ish of her, however, and Willowpaw shook off those urges, nodding and watching the she-cat closely, trying to understand her.

The other apprentice still looked extremely shaken, and Willowpaw didn't want to make things worse. "Are you alright?" She allowed her voice to soften, tilting her head to the side.

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw's ears drooped. Then they perked up at an idea. She stared opening and closing her mouth, then stopped and shook her head. It was her best shot at explaining she couldn't talk. She got the feeling that this other apprentice felt like she'd offended Wolfpaw somehow, or the other way around by not speaking. It... Hurt sometimes when this happened. She hoped this other she-cat would understand she didn't mean to be mean.

Then she smiled gently, with a slight touch of awkwardness when her well-being was asked about.

[Willowspirit]

Willowpaw hesitated, seeing the lack of hostility in the appentices eyes, but she wasn't completely sure that her initial interpretation was correct. "Are you.." Willowpaw searched for the word, but she had never met someone like this, and therefore didn't know what a mute was called. "Is something wrong with your voice, you can't talk?" That seemed to be what the other she-cat was implying. Willowpaw felt a flash of gratefulness for her own ability to speak, she couldn't imagine being unable to say anything, ever- she would always be unable to stand up for herself.

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw nodded gently. She was glad it wasn't too hard to explain to the other apprentice. She wasn't sure how she could cope if the she-cat with pretty eyes thought Wolfpaw was intentionally being rude, by refusing to speak, when that really wasn't her intention. She desperately wished she could express herself the way others... But... Her voice hadn't worked in a long time. Beyond small gasps, sighs, and yawns... She was silent. The words she wanted to speak always got stuck in her throat, leaving her to play charades, with every cat she met.

[Willowspirit]

"Oh, okay!" Willowpaw nodded. She wondered if the mute she-cat had been born like that or if something happened to her, but she also thought that it might be rude to ask. "Well, it's nice to meet you." She dipped her head, her two-toned eyes shining. "I'm Willowpaw. Do you.. have any way to tell me your name..?"

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw offered up a gentle smile in response. She thought Willowpaw was a pretty name... Not that she had any way to convey the message. Then her expression saddened and she looked down at the ground, gently pawing at the ground. She wasn't sure how to tell Willowpaw about her name. 

[Willowspirit]

"I guess not." Willowpaw frowned, seeing that the other apprentice's name wasn't simple enough for her to explain without the use of words. "Well, that's alright. I don't know any cats that look like you, I can recognize you just fine." The two of them probably weren't going to do much talking, and eventually Willowpaw would figure out the other cat's name, probably. "Anyways, what's up?"

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw closed her eyes and shook her head gently. She really wished she'd been given a simpler name, like Gray or something. That would've been way easier to explain. As it was... The only way to know her name was for someone else to tell them. Fawnskip and Ivorykit knew her name, though.

Then she looked up and she smiled gently. It was nice to see that Willowpaw was okay with it. She liked having a pleasant time with cats. She didn't like it when cats got angry. She shrugged in response. She didn't tend to do much in general.

[Willowspirit]

"Oh, well, that's okay." Being mute must make it awfully hard to make friends, Willowpaw couldn't help but pity the grey she-cat. She flicked her scarred ear, reminding herself not to feel too much pity for her, since no cats life was perfect. "I don't do much either, I especially don't spend a lot of time with any other apprentices." Willowpaw's gaze hardened a bit. "I've really just been practicing battling since I was apprenticed, I'm going to be the best fighter in the clan. No one will be able to face up to me."

[Deleted]

Wolfpaw shrugged uselessly. Then she looked at Willowpaw with wide eyes. It sounded a bit like the other apprentice was a bit lonely, but strangely really dedicated to learning how to hurt people? She tilted her head with wide questioning eyes. She didn't quite understand it. She wanted to be a good hunter so everyone would be able to have enough food and be happy. She wanted to prove that she wasn't worthless, that she could pull her own weight. She didn't want to be kicked out.

[Willowspirit]

Willowpaw frowned, seeing that the other apprentice didn't immediately connect with her desire to empower herself. "Well.. I don't want to be pushed around." She tried to explain, shuffling her forepaws. "..By anyone." Willowpaw added, well aware that she wasn't safe from her own clan members. "And, well.. I don't know.. I want to be able to defend other cats, too." She continued, her tail twitching.