{ bring me back } private

[Mothpaw]

long, inky lashes flickered, veiling slits of pale green. mothpaw had been awake for quite some time now, lying in her new nest, with her new denmates, in her new den. it was all so strange, and she found herself longing for the warmth of her old nest, with her old denmates, in her old den. her tail curled even more tightly around her body, and she tucked her paws beneath her small frame. it was cold, too cold.

having only been made an apprentice recently, she had been told to stay close to the entrance, leaving the best spots to the older apprentices. it's not fair, she thought, glancing at her warmer denmates. but what did it matter what she thought? they were fast asleep, dead to the world, and she was wide awake, freezing to death. 

mothpaw's breathing slowed, and her eyes started to drift closed, sleep almost upon her. a moment later, they flew wide open as rain began to fall, collecting on her lashes like a mist and blurring her vision. she blinked, the water stinging her eyes, and the rain seeped through her pale fur, piercing her skin and settling into her bones. she shivered violently, and shrunk deep into her nest, wanting the rain to stop. 

Falconpaw

[Falconpaw]

Falconpaw shifted in his nest, unable to get comfortable. He thought nostalgically of his old nest in the nursery, how there was a nice groove in the center that he could easily flop into. He had spent many boring afternoons napping there, watched over by his mother. The dusky tabby grunted, rolling over once again. His long, thick coat kept him nice and cozy, he could thank his IceClan bloodline for that, but it didn't protect him from the coarse moss. When was the last time it got changed out? he thought, starting to notice the strange smell the moss emitted. Then there was rain. That settles it, Falconpaw thought, sitting abruptly up and glaring down at his nest. A raindrop splashes against his nose. The angered tom was about to start clawing at his bedding when he spotted another woken cat out of the corner of his eye. "Mothpaw?" he mewed curiously, his eyes, which had formerly been squeezed tightly closed in an attempt to help him fall asleep, still adjusting themselves to the dim light.

[Mothpaw]

mothpaw hadn't spoken to falconpaw since their apprentice ceremony, so when she heard him say her name, she was surprised, to say the least. it seemed too much of a coincidence that the tom was awake too, suffering alongside her. she sat up in her nest, exhaling heavily when the action results in her getting pelted with raindrops, blinking up at falconpaw with lidded pale green eyes. "no, it's oceanstar," she drawled, the remark laced with a rasp.

"yeah, it's me," she added, smiling lazily at him. with difficulty, she resisted the urge to yawn. it would be rude, and, besides - if yawning really was contagious - she didn't want her only companion to fall asleep again, as selfish as that might be. if she wasn't getting any sleep, she could at least have a decent conversation. 
"how's training? redfoot's only the strictest mentor ever," she inquired. okay, so maybe it was an exaggeration. still, no leaving the camp without permission? really?

[Falconpaw]

"Aww, I was excited for a minute there," Falconpaw mewed with matching sarcasm, a smile flickering at the corner of his lips. He was glad it was Mothpaw that was awake, and not some random apprentice. He didn't really have many friends, in fact Mothpaw was the only cat he actually considered his friend, although he wasn't quite sure if the tabby thought the same. Still, he enjoyed talking to her, and found most of the other apprentices around a little insufferable. Not that he had given them much of a chance. "Wow, must suck to be you," Falconpaw teased lightheartedly, "Shiningflame's pretty chill. She's not all that talkative, which, y'know, I absolutely deplore."

[Mothpaw]

mothpaw raised a brow in amusement at his retort. "aww, how sweet. you were excited!" she grinned. "really - i'm touched."
and in a way, she was. it wasn't the most sentimental moment, but things weren't looking so bad. she had a friend in the apprentices' den - something that she honestly thought would never happen - and the rain had started to subside to an almost pleasant shower. "wow, if she's as cool as her name, you're one lucky apprentice," she quipped. "thank goodness, i was worried there for a second. imagine having a conversationalist as your mentor. the horror." she gave a theatric shudder. "redfoot's not all that chatty either. really, we're blessed."

[Falconpaw]

(Sorry this took forever!)

"I sure am," the dusky tabby mewed back. Although, admirably, he wasn't the biggest fan of his mentor's name. Not that he didn't find it aesthetically pleasing, it was just rather confusing to him. He wasn't all to sure what about the warrior was "shinning" and he had always assumed "flame" was reserved for cats that were bright spirited and warm, like a flame, but Shiningflame was almost more reserved than he was. Maybe she's just more open with those who are closer to her, he thought, deciding not to pry into it any further. He didn't really care all that much.

The young tom chuckled under his breath. "Right, I'll have to keep that in mind the next time I'm plucking fleas off the elders," although a light, playful smirk graced his features he inwardly gagged at the thought of lapping at another clump of greasy fur laced with mouse bile. 

[Mothpaw]

"i'm surprised that you're not doing just that now," she smirked. actually, f anyone was going to be checking the elders for ticks, it was probably her. already, she knew that she would be breaking some of her mentor's rules. "shame we don't have the same mentor," she mewed. "with the two of us, we could wear redfoot down in half the time." she had rosepaw, of course, but she knew that her big sister would be leaving for the warriors' den any day now.

"are you allowed to leave the camp, or do you need a warrior escort?" she queried, only half-joking. she doubted that falconpaw's mentor, even if she wasn't a great conversationalist, was anywhere as strict as her own. then again, maybe she was being self-centred and it was the norm for younger apprentices. "or is it just me?" she added, doubt creeping into her voice. at that moment, a raindrop chose to splash onto her nose and she blinked, startled. 

[Falconpaw]

"Right, and get my head bitten off by those old fleabags? As if," he glared half-heartedly at the elder's den through the rain, knowing that any one of them would chew him out if he decided to barge in there at this time of night. Although he might not put it past his mentor to ask him to do so. The tabby then shot Mothpaw a snarky glance, "but I'm sure I could pluck a few off your shoulders though," he leaned forward, fixing his amber gaze on her shoulder, "look, there's one now," the tom dared a glance at Mothpaw, wondering if she'd actually fall for his little joke. 

"Aww, but I'm sure Redfoot would get jealous if I was around stealing all your time," Falconpaw mused. Although he wouldn't mind having to split a mentor with Mothpaw, he figured that training alongside her would be more fun that his current training sessions with Shiningflame. Not that he minded the formal air between his mentor and himself, it just got a bit dreary sometimes. 

"I never asked," the dusky tom mewed with a shrug, "I probably do, it looks like it's a rather common rule between apprentices and their mentors. Seems silly to me though," he narrowed his eyes so that he could look at the camp entrance, barley able to make it out through the rain, "why?" he flicked his amber eyes back to Mothpaw, "wanna sneak out?"

[Mothpaw]

mothpaw laughed softly at his remark. "hey, i'm not that old yet," she replied, with a lighthearted eye roll. "you'll have to wait a bit longer if you want me to trot off to the elders' den."
wait, what? instinctively, her gaze followed his to her pale-furred shoulder. "you liar," she teased. "what are they, invisible ticks?" she made a show of checking herself for parasites, sticking out her tongue when she was done.

"redfoot? jealous?" she said, raising an incredulous brow. "yeah, we just love each other's company. best friends forever, right?" her fur prickled at the very idea. it was just wrong. "but i think we might have to wait a bit longer for her to actually miss me." obviously, redfoot wasn't quite as frigid as mothpaw made her out to be, but it was for the sake of comedy, right? or for the apparent lowest form of it, sarcasm.

"yeah, what's the point of getting to escape the nursery just so you need to ask your mentor every time you want to take a walk?" she snarked. "redfoot must be getting sick of it."
she opened her mouth, only to close it at his suggestion. 
"why? do you?" she challenged, grey-blue eyes gleaming. "falconpaw, i thought you were better than that. i'm disappointed."

[Falconpaw]

"Wha-- me? Lying?" he didn't try all that hard to fiend hurt, knowing either way his facade would be easy for the other apprentice to see through, "I'm appalled you would think so poorly of me." He raised a fictional eyebrow, tipping his head to the side and letting a glimpse of a grin grace his features. If only for a moment. The tom couldn't hold back a snort of laughter as Mothpaw actually began to check herself for invisible ticks, watching her little display with amusement.

"Touching," Falconpaw mewed, amusement still lingering in his voice, "I'll have to meet this Redfoot sometime, check out the competition." He watched as Mothpaw's fur pricked, wondering if her mentor was actually all that bad. 

"Maybe," the dusky tabby mewed nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders, "my pelt's built to hold up against water, IceClan blood and all that, so a little run in the rain won't bother me. Plus hearing to all these mousebrains snore is starting to loose it's charm," he flicked his tail towards the rest of the apprentices, sound asleep. For a second he wondering if the two should follow suit, he knew it would be dreadful in the morning when they'd only had a few hours of sleep and had to suffer through their apprentice duties in such a state. Then pushed those thought to the side, not really caring that much if he spend tomorrow half-asleep. The tom flicked his ears down, lowering his gaze and blinking innocently at Mothpaw in a dramatic manner, "sorry." His tone was light with insincerity.

[Mothpaw]

mothpaw raised her own brows, feigning incredulity. "you deserve it," she teased, letting a smirk linger on her features. "uh, yeah. she's one of your fiercest rivals. you should be training right now. you know, for the big fight over who gets to be my best friend."

"oh really?" she asked, her tone playful. "you seem pretty, dare i say, confident. sure you can handle getting a little wet?" her eyes glinted with mischef, all but ready to jump into the rain. even if it meant they wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. 

"hmm, yeah. listening to mousebrains snore's fun and all, but it gets boring after a few moons," she remarked. "not that i mean to offend any of our valued denmates." her eyes were wide, all but the picture of innocence, only a light smile ruining the illusion.

she tipped her petite head to one side. "you know what?" she asked, eyes were worryingly bright. "let's go. not like we're going to get any sleep at this rate." she made her way to the exit, glancing over her shoulder at the dark tabby. 
"you in?"