[Aquarius]

Originally Posted by Empress Of Evil

An Abyssinian stumbled out of the apprentice’s den, a hostile look in her gaze as she glumly padded over to the fresh kill pile. She walked in her usual manner, a mopey prowl. Her head drooped downwards and her eyes glared at the ground while her tail dragged limply behind her. This was how she normally walked nowadays. A few moons ago she would’ve had a good posture and walked with pride and confidence in her stride. But now she couldn’t be bothered to do so.
The she-cat picked a small sparrow from the pile of prey. She had done her hunting for the elders earlier that morning and now she was free to eat. She had little an appetite these days and nearly always picked something small from the pile. She was thinner than she should be and thinner than most of the cats in the clan for that matter.

Clutching the sparrow between her paws, she walked away from the fresh kill pile and plopped down on a particularly lush patch of grass. She dropped the sparrow between her paws and started to take small, quick bites out of it. That was another thing that had changed about Caracalpaw in the past moons. Her way of eating. When she was younger, she would take her time and tear off big chunks of flesh. Now she chewed quickly and ate as if though she only had a few minutes to finish eating. A lot of things had changed about Caracalpaw in the past few moons. And it was all because of ThunderClan. The more specific reason for it was that ThunderClan had given her former mentor the wound which killed him. That was the thing that really got her fired up. For a few weeks after Shrikecall’s death, the apprentice had spent her days dwelling on the fact that they had killed him. But now she no longer so any reason to continue thinking about her mentor’s death. Sure, she was still looking for a way to avenge him, but these days she imagined fighting and killing every single ThunderClan cat that there was. The apprentice wasn’t one for happy thoughts.
It annoyed the she-cat to know that there was nothing she could really do to make a difference. There was nothing major that she could do to have an impact on ThunderClan. The most she could do was pick fights with as many border patrols as possible. That’s what she tried to do whenever she felt like it nowadays. She didn’t really care if the warriors or her mentor disapproved. She probably wouldn’t even care if Blazingstar found out that she had a taste for picking fights and was appalled by her behaviour. She had grown to be rather rebellious. The way that her superiors thought of her didn’t matter at all. Their thoughts and opinions didn’t matter, especially that of her mentor. Caracalpaw had no respect for Onyxwhisper whatsoever. In her eyes, the ebony she-cat was never going to succeed. She considered her mentor weak and she couldn’t really see why she had been made deputy. Most cats would think of it as an honour to be the deputy’s apprentice, but the she-cat felt as if though it was punishment. She didn’t want to be stuck with Onyxwhisper. After all, she had no respect for her and honestly, Caracalpaw couldn’t see why she bothered to train her. The she-cat knew how dislikable she had become. She would just never admit it outloud.

In the shade a little ways away from the molly, Dewpaw saw another apprentice, a little older than her, collapse into the grass of the camp. Suddenly she felt her ears perk as she saw the faint russet-pelted apprentice, and her fur bushed up. Quickly she managed to take a few bites out of the morsel in front of her, feeling the warmth of the fresh prey spread through her veins in a river of warmth. Cherishing it, she gave a little bounce on her paws as she stood up, her tortoiseshell fur neatly groomed as she usually kept it. Purring quietly to herself so no one else could hear, she buried the bones of her prey in a silent show of respect to it's life, and stood there on that very patch of dirt for a few seconds before shaking herself out of her daze. Bringing herself back to the present reality, Dewpaw had her mind set on talking to the older apprentice. She didn't know her name, because Moonsong often didn't leave her to go train with other apprentices. Although her mentor was kind, she was surely not one to be lenient. Shrugging to herself, she gave her paw one final lick before going over to the abyssinian.

Clearing her throat to make herself known and as not to startle the she-cat, she stopped in her tracks as her mottled tail whisked around her paws. In an attempt to look friendly she smiled lightly at Caracalpaw, and let out a small purr of greeting. Quickly she sat down, curling her tail neatly around her paws. "Hello!" She greeted cheerily. She saw the cat's face clearly the first time. Caracalpaw's eyes were dull, her expression full of distaste and other emotions that Dewpaw failed to read. It took all she had not to inquire about the apprentice's dour appearance, but she bit her lip carefully so she wouldn't sound rude and prying, when in general, she was just bubbling with curiousity. Resuming her demeanor, she added to the conversation so she wouldn't leave the other cat hanging. "I'm Dewpaw. I've seen you around, but I don't quite know your name." She awkwardly chuckled. "Sorry."

The naive young apprentice never really thought about approaching another cat, she just rarely did it. Never had she stopped for the fact that her appearance was usually well-received. By that, that means that no one had ever turned her away or dismissed her, and had indulged in a conversation of at least a few minutes. She hoped that this fellow apprentice would do the same, but by seeing her face, she didn't quite know and felt a little bit of fear and embarrassment fuel up in her chest. Carefully she shuffled her paws in the dirt beneath her, eagerly awaiting a response.