All Alone Here {open}

[Echopaw]

{open to whoever~}


It was almost nightfall when Echopaw finally left the crowd of cats who congratulated her at the ceremony to bed. At first, her paws carried the small she-cat towards the nursery, and it took a quick laugh from her father to send Echopaw spinning back around and hurriedly rushing into the apprentice's den with burning ears. 'How embarrassing!'

With fresh moss and feathers in her jaws, Echopaw searched for a place to set up her nest. The only apprentice she'd ever met was Shiningpaw, now Shiningflame, so she was at a loss there. Falconpaw and Mothpaw were acquaintances of her's, but... they seemed close already. Echopaw didn't want to get in the way of their friendship.... She'd met Ivykit a few times, but they weren't exactly friends, and Ivykit was still not old enough yet. Neither was Sparkkit, so....

Echopaw felt her lip quivering as she saw no place to go. She didn't want to cry-- it was her first day as an apprentice, she couldn't be a crybaby! But she felt so alone here....

[Swanfrost]

Swanpaw was curled up at the very back of the den, in a dark shadowed corner. It was no doubt that the new apprentice hadn't seen her. She watched her in bored silence for a few moments, nose wrinkled in the form of a scowl. She had a choice to make. She could either A) Ignore her. B) Make fun of her. C) Leave. D) None of the above.

Swanpaw decided to be nice for once and chose D. She stretched out slowly, still not making herself noticed, contemplating just what to say. It was obvious that if she left this cat alone for any longer she would start crying, and even Swanpaw wasn't that heartless.

"There's an open spot next to my nest, if you want it." She offered, her voice lacking a friendly tone. Though, it wasn't mean either. Simply dull, laced with a tired yawn near the end of her sentence.

[Echopaw]

Echopaw jumped a bit at the voice, her watery dark blue eyes rising up to find the speaker. When she spotted a cat, similar in having white fur, she blinked away her tears rapidly and gave a steady nod. Scurrying over to the stranger's secluded spot in the apprentice's den, Echopaw set down her moss, and started to idle work together her nest next to the she-cat. "T-thank you," she murmured to the apprentice, giving her a warm, meaningful smile. "I... It really means a lot to me. So, thank you very much, miss."

Echopaw bowed her head respectfully to the older cat. Even if the she-cat didn't seem too friendly.

[Swanfrost]

Swanpaw merely snorted, rolling her eyes at the cats dramatics. "Miss? No, don't call me that." She scowled, making sure to keep her voice low and calm. She didn't want to make her cry, after all. "The names Swanpaw." She nodded curtly, watching her as she began making her nest. Swanpaw didn't offer any help, simply staring at her. "You really need to chill out if you don't want to be labelled as a crybaby." She offered her advice. It was blunt, though she wasn't trying to be rude.

[Echopaw]

Echopaw was quiet as she was told not to call this stranger 'miss'. That wasn't too hard of a request... err, or an order.... The white apprentice tilted her head curiously at the name. 'Swanpaw is a pretty name.' she thought, her soft smile returning. "Okay, Swanpaw. I'm Echopaw. It's nice to meet you." she meowed politely.

Echopaw winced a bit at the harsh advice. She turned away, hiding her still shimmering eyes. It would still be a few moments before the unshed tears would fade away. "I'm not usually this emotional-- I think it's just from my ceremony. And, well... realizing I'm all alone now." Echopaw murmured.

[Swanfrost]

Swanpaw gave a grunt in response, thinking the name over for a few moments. She supposed Echopaw suited her, though she didn't have much to go off of either.

Swanpaw inhaled sharply through her nose, hiding her annoyance. "Don't be so dramatic, you're not alone. I'm sure you have friends, and you have a mentor now too." She didn't bother to include herself in that list.

[Echopaw]

(when it deletes my entire post....)



Echopaw turned her attention back to Swanpaw, and though she appreciated the older apprentice's attempt at finding reasons she wasn't alone, Echopaw still looked rather blue.

"Friends... eheheh...." she softly laughed, pausing in her work on the nest. "I... I would say my only legit friendships would be with my sister Sparkkit, Shiningflame and Brightwing... and, well, as you can tell by their names...." Echopaw figured she didn't need to elaborate that none of those cats were apprentices with her.

As she finished the final weaving with her nest bedding, Echopaw slipped into the moss and feathers and laid down, nuzzling into the soft circle of material that she'd claim for the next week or so. Or, whenever the moss started to go bad. She blinked, raising her head towards Swanpaw. "Are... are you going to get your warrior name soon?" she murmured, a note of sadness in her tone. Even though Swanpaw didn't seem very friendly... she was still her... nest neighbor, at least.