Quote:
Originally Posted by Random Melody
And there it was. Leopardpaw was sure she'd already chased him off. Sighing, Leopardpaw looked down, waiting for the teasing, the taunting, the verbal abuse that was sure to come. She just had that effect. She had to learn to stand up to the bullies though. Or maybe she should leave ShadowClan. Become a kittypet. Live the easy life.
Live the easy life.
So tempting. Leopardpaw's ears twitched and she looked up, surprise flickering in her pale blue hues as she gave Smokepaw a completely bewildered look. She still couldnt understand why he wasnt taunting her yet. But maybe he wouldnt taunt her. Maybe he would be nice. He was so far. Was he okay? Could Leopardpaw let her guard down for him? Hesitating, Leopardpaw paused before allowing her lips to slowly curve upwards into a shy but grateful smile. "I..Uh, s-sure...That..That would b-be really ni-nice.." The caracal apprentice twitched her ears faintly, allowing them to slowly pick back up as she gazed at Smokepaw. She didnt know why but as soon as she actually looked him in the eyes...She felt safe. Like she could trust him. Like he wasnt like any of the others. Like...Maybe....
Maybe he could help her.
Leopardpaw was bullied because of her size. Because of how fragile she seemed. Smokepaw didnt seem interested in bullying her, though. In fact, he seemed like he wanted to help her, to break past her shell. Maybe she would with him around. Maybe she'd finally get to see what real friendship was like. Leopardpaw knew they'd just met, but it seemed like they knew eachother since kithood. And she liked him.
She really, really liked him. |
A smile, almost relieved, spread across Smokepaw's features. Had he really done it? Really and truly? Oh thank StarClan... she wasn't scared, and he hadn't made her feel uncomfortable. Had he? He hoped she would state it if he was, he didn't want to be that one cat. Leopardpaw seemed to be comfortable around him for the moment being, though. Something that he was grateful for. Technically there were a lot of things that the young tom was grateful for, but this was one of them. He liked making other cats feel good. But unfortunately, it didn't seem to be as often of an occurance as he liked.
After all, most of his friends were fine.
They were just a little shy. That was all. Nothing was going on with them. But Leopardpaw? She didn't even have a mentor! Had her mentor died in the fire... that was the most likely explanation. Yes, she must have died in the fire. That was the only way! Surely no mentor would be so cruel as to just say that they wouldn't train an apprentice anymore. "Uh, ah... good! Good. So, umm... we should probably, ah... probably, uh... go out to the territory? Hunting-- stuff-- you want to... you want to, um, start with that?" Smokepaw asked.
So far, so good.
At least he hadn't done or said anything too embarassing. Just the occasional slip. He wasn't too good at talking, to be honest. Sometimes he would just sit with his friends or family, watching the sunset or something. But he wouldn't talk. There was no need to. Thanks to all of that stuff, things had never been much better with Smokepaw. Looking expectantly at the younger cat and waiting for her to tell him whether she wanted to go out into the territory yet or not, or whether she would rather just stay here, Smokepaw's expression seemed to change the slightest bit. Leopardpaw was probably one cat who was a lot like him.
It was like he was seeing another him.
Except, she looked different. Her coloring, her build... Smokepaw just hoped that she wouldn't get her heart broken the way his had been. A broken heart was easy to avoid. Smokepaw just hadn't seemed to find a way to avoid it quite yet. If he did, he would give that advice to Leopardpaw now before she got attached to someone who wouldn't return her feelings. Smokepaw had already made a promise to himself that he would never be the cause of heartbreak. It was risking too much.
And he didn't want to lose a friend.