Hide behind a smile [Mint]

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@tikii
Laurelpaws eyes widened as she stared at the blood splayed before her. She tried to move, to leave before she could see more damage done, but she was stuck. She couldn't move from the spot she was standing. She heard the screams answer then-
Laurelpaw's eyes snapped open, her breath coming in quick gasps. She got herself under control before exiting the den,
though her pupils were still dialated in fear when she did so. She made her way out of camp, drawing in the cool nighttime air as she walked, on her own save for the singing birds. It was time to calm down. To just take a deep breath and calm down. She stopped atop a rock that she knew gave a beautiful view and made herself calm down completely. Normally she slept through her nightmares, but now? They were getting worse and worse.
She was alone for quite a while before she heard another cat and turned to see Mintpaw, one of the cats who had gotten a ceremony with her. 

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Mintpaw hadn't been sleeping too well after she moved away from the nursery, there was just something cold about the apprentice den. After tossing and turning for a while, she had decided to sit in her nest and wait until morning.

However, she had noticed another cat that seemed as if she wasn't sleeping too well, either. After a while of squirming, Laurelpaw, Mintpaw had only known her from the ceremony, stepped out of her nest, seemingly troubled. Mintpaw was surprised to watch her walk straight out of the camp.

Teeming with curiosity, Mintpaw scurried out of the camp after her. She barely made a sound as each footfall was carefully masked. Finally, Laurel stopped and sat atop a rock, and Mintpaw stopped and sat down in clear sight below her. To Mint's surprise, she didn't have to sit long before Laurel saw her.

"Sorry for following you," she started, a look of sympathy on her face. "But are you okay?"

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Laurelpaw's eyes narrowed as she inspected her peer, relaxing a little when she deemed the other cats was not hostile. "Nightmare. I guess." she responded. To her memories and nightmares were the same thing, and a memory of before she joined the clans? Much worse. She smiled toward the cat nicely. "You?"

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Mintpaw nodded, answering Laurel's last question. She was worried for her clanmate, but she wouldn't prompt any answers. "I can't sleep too well at night, either." She debated on whether telling Laurel why would make a difference. "The nests seem too cold."

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Laurelpaw nodded. "You can call me Lory by the way. You had the same ceremony as me." she said, more a statement in the way she said it, though I was meant more to take the subject off of why they can't sleep at night than anything else.

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Mintpaw smiled. "Then I guess you already know who I am?" she teased, looking down at her paws with a smile. Just as Laurelpaw had done, she guessed she would also give a nickname. She looked back up at the cat on the rock and said, "But you can call me Mint, if Mintpaw is too much."

Mintpaw couldn't wait to become a warrior and recieve her warrior name. She dreamed of what it would be. Of course, it would be unique to all the other cats her age, unlike paw or kit. She used to pretend she was a warrior, but as snow began to fall from the dark sky, resting on her nose, she knew she was an apprentice. She had left her pretending days behind, her kithood stood like a shadow. Mintpaw told Laurel one more thing. "Isn't the snow suppose to stop falling?"

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Laurelpaw shook her head. "Not here. In other clans, yes, but not in this one." she responded, staring blankly out at the sky. "Well nice to meet you Mint." she snapped back to attention.

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Mintpaw sighed, as snow covered her paws. She just felt like sitting like a rock for a while, letting the snow cover her, bury her under until she was frozen, and no longer mattered. She would only be known by 'that frozen cat in Iceclan.' At least she would be remembered.

She shook her head, what was she thinking? That was the most depressing thought she had had her whole life. She looked back up at Laurel and decided to keep quiet until the other cat decided to speak. She had wandered out here to be alone, anyways.

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Lory was content just to watch the snow as well, though the other cat was there and she didn't like just sitting around lazily at midnight infront of another cat. "The birds sing at night." she stated. It was something she had noticed before and loved. At night it was a whole new world, and a much better one at that.

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Mintpaw nodded, though she guessed Lory couldn't see that. "Have you seen the great, white owls?" she asked, as she listened to the birds sing. "I've only ever heard stories of it, but I hope to one day."

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"No, but I've seen all sorts of other big birds." she said, a slight shiver at the thought of the scar but majestic creatures."

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Mintpaw saw that Lory was slightly affected by the thought of a creature such as the white owl. She wasn't too sure why, it was an amazing creature. Though, she thought, it could seriously injure one of them. At this idea, she also gave a slight shiver, and waited for Laurelpaw to say something else.

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"So, who's your mom?" she asked curiously. She wasn't curious of the answer itself, simply the fact that cats tended to ask such a thing.

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"Dappleleaf," Mintpaw responded, then added, "What about you?"

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"As far as I know?" she asked, "Dead. She was a clan cat, and so was my dad, but as near birth as possible I was taken with my dad. He died after one moon, a fox attack, and then there were three more moons on my own before I rejoined Iceclan." she said, blocking out her own words for the pain they brought on her. Her past was complicated, and most days she had trained herself to ignore it.