[Brilliance]

Originally Posted by RedHead

Blazepaw paused for a moment, pondering the possible audacity of what he had said. She was right, and eagle would sound better, but he’d heard stories of starved foxes eating cats. Badgers too. The world was full of creatures that liked to kill cats, and the ginger tom was plenty sure that there was probably at least one predator out there, somewhere, they preyed on cats to eat them. He was glad that that predator was nowhere near the clans. ”Well, a starving fox would probably eat a cat. Pretty much any starving creature to be honest.” He wasn’t exactly sure where this conversation was going, but Blazepaw went with it. Like he did all things.
As she mentioned being horrible at hinting birds, Blazepaw flicked his ears, letting out a small laugh of relief. ”Well that’s good! In a way. I mean, I thought I was the only one.” Blazepaw had spent most of his early apprenticeship watching his mentor gracefully bring down birds, with swell, sleek movements that made it look easy. But whenever Blazepaw had tried to copy the movements of Auroraflame, he usually landed flat on his nose. Or his back. Either way, he just could never land right. As Redpaw seemed saddened about the fact that they couldn’t fly, Blazepaw’s olive colored eyes brightened a little. ”We may not be able to fly, but I sometimes climb trees so tall that being up there makes it feel like I’m flying!” Excitement laced his words intertwining with his usual bouncy tone. He knew that some of the stuff he said to cats wasn’t exactly understood by them, but he figured that Redpaw was understanding most of what he was saying. She wasn’t expressing her confusion out loud, and Blazepaw had never been the best at reading emotions, so things needed to be told to him directly. Otherwise the young tomcat would remain completely oblivious.
As she mentioned his name, he smiled, his ears perking up. Blazepaw liked the way she described his name, it made him sound powerful. But he wanted to make sure she knew her name was cool too. She mentioned other fiery names, Inferno, Spark, Cackle, and Blazepaw flocked his ears at her last comment. Feared? Cats who are feared? The ginger tom wasn’t so sure about that. Sure, he wanted to sound powerful, but feared? Blazepaw would hate it if he was feared. He didn’t mind cats not liking him, but being afraid of him? That would make him feel horrible, like he’d done something wrong. ”Well.....” Blazepaw’s green eyes flicked about as he pondered, trying to think of a good name for Redpaw. ”Your name will become more unique once you become a warrior. It can be something cool, like Redstripe or Redflame or Redburst, or something beautiful, like... Redflower, Redpetal, or Redgaze.” He purred, focusing his gaze on her as he finished speaking.

Redpaw strained a smile at the mention of a fox. Even she didn't understand why the tom spoke of predators. The last thing she wanted to think about was what predators she needed to watch out for...foxes, eagles, dogs...or even other cats. As morbid as it was, she probably would had felt remotely better if her family's demise was given to a predator rather than being murdered in the paws of their enemy. She was such an emotional basket case that she was almost about to start crying on the spot if this topic was prolonged. She desperately tried to hide it, blinking back her glistening tears coating her eyes, smiling softly at the tom and nodding at him. Starclan knows how much of a battle it is for her; whether she wanted to live or die.

Redpaw felt that she wasn't good at a lot of things. Mainly because she was so aloof and dreamy nowadays that she was sure that she possibly could already be dead, and that this was some sick fake reality that she was living on repetition. Her training had been lacking, if she was honest, and that was completely on her fault for giving up on herself. ''...you're Auroraflame's apprentice, aren't you?'' She tilted her head, curiously. She probably remember playing with Blazepaw as kits for a short time, and when they became apprentices, he was a fuzzy face in the back of her mind, like the rest of her clan mates. ''I'd imagine that you must know a ton of cool stuff that she teaches you.'' Because Auroraflame was an awesome cat in her eyes. The deputy was so bubbly and sweet and just...an amazing cat all around. If Redpaw wanted to be anyone, it would be her. Redpaw just wanted some form of guidance, see some form of strength, so that she could have a tiny bit for herself.

As he spoke about climbing trees, the brightness in his tone, she practically could see his glowing smile. For a small moment, she reciprocated his excitement, wishing that she could go back to being the bubbly feline she used to be as a kit. Her tail swished behind her, ''Do you know how to jump from tree to tree? I mean, I tried so many times but I fell...more than I could count...my body is still kinda sore.'' She wheezed, staring at the ground sheepishly. She tried to do a lot of things. By all means, she wasn't bold, and sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if doing reckless things was because she genuinely enjoyed doing them or wanted some type of escape from this world that she abhorred greatly. Redpaw was never a hateful cat, and she usually didn't display any type of derision, even though she was depressed to a great extreme. It gave the clan one less cat to worry about, in her eyes.

Nowadays, Redpaw couldn't take a compliment truly to the heart, but she appreciated the fact that Blazepaw tried to make her feel better about her name. The elementary fact was that she was named after her red fur. Her father was lovable, but he lacked creativity, in her opinion when it came to naming the kits. Her brothers had cool names, Beachkit, Strikerkit, and Sagekit. Yet, she was the one that survived. The mundane in the litter of four. ''I like Redflame or Redburst...'' She said, quietly, not sure if her voice was loud enough since she was soft spoken. She didn't even notice that her gaze was set on the ground, drawing idle shapes in the dirt until she met his gaze, her nose scrunching. ''Redflower sounds...boring. Not that I don't like it, but I can't imagine how many mollies must have that warrior name already. Redpetal is beautiful...'' She'd be named after her mother; Scorchedpetal. Realistically, she wouldn't be able to choose her name, and she could only hope that Grousestar name her something justifiable. Then again, Redpaw wasn't entirely sure if she'd be around long enough to reach her warrior moons. She wasn't actively trying to kill herself, but if something were to happen, she wouldn't complain. ''What about you? Have you ever thought of your warrior name? Like...maybe...Blazespark, Blazehawk, Blazerunner...'' She hated that she suggested those ideas. They sounded so cheap, and she literally had to cringe and shrink into herself. ''...Sorry, I'm not as creative as you are.''

She also hated that he caught her at a bad time. She usually hid away to drown in her sorrows, hoping that by chance starvation would consume her. Around her clan mates, Redpaw tried to be a little more responsive, and she could only hope that Blazepaw wasn't reading into her misery all too well. She got up, shaking her pelt to at least make her feel a little more lighter. It didn't help much since her heart was extremely heavy. ''I apologize...you caught me at a bad time. I, um, I...'' She glanced back at the tree she was using as a lonesome shelter until she was interrupted by the bombarding tom. Not that she really could berate him. ''I...I'm just in need of a really good time. You look like a cat who knows how to show someone a good time.'' She smiled, almost shyly at him. Exactly. Maybe that's all she needed. Some lighthearted laughter when all her recent moons had been filled with overflowing tears. It was like a broken dam inside her eyes. ''Oh! Maybe we can chase some birds!'' She teased lightheartedly, jumping to her paws a tiny bit excited.