[lone]

Originally Posted by cherry

Ears tilting forward further in interest when the tom spoke, Leopardpaw didn’t move from where she stood, still unsure of his intentions. She didn’t want to provoke him or be seen as a threat, since she was almost warrior-size, and he was smaller. Must be an apprentice, she thought to herself, or maybe he’s just ...short. It wasn’t unheard of when there were plenty of cats with thinner frames in ThunderClan, even though it was more of a WindClan trait. ”I don’t think they’re smart enough to find their way to ThunderClan.” Leopardpaw’s meow held a pinch of amusement, not put off by his sarcasm but rather enjoying it. He was livelier than most of the apprentices she’d interacted with. ”I’ve never met a Dusk Syndicate cat,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders, ”so I guess I wouldn’t know. But the elders around here say they’re pretty mean furballs.” She wasn’t interested in engaging with someone from that faction… or really any other faction, hard as it was to believe when she was standing here, talking to a RiverClanner.

Leopardpaw didn’t mind casual conversation like this and didn’t see the harm in it - what was the worst that could happen? Nobody was going to catch them, and even if they did, they weren’t doing anything wrong. Chatting was allowed. Probably potentially educational when she could learn a thing or two about RiverClan from a primary source. That made her wonder, and she tilted her head to sarcastically conclude, ”I bet all the RiverClan cats are as sarcastic and charming as you.” It was a joke, and she could hardly keep the amusement from seeping into her tone as she spoke to him; it was a playful jab at his own sarcastic demeanor. While she wouldn’t talk to a cat of authority like that, this apprentice seemed to be okay since he wasn’t about to attack. Hopefully. It was hard to believe he would do anything when he even had a half-smile on his muzzle with a somewhat friendly stance.

”Gannetpaw,” she responded carefully, trying out the name for herself and enjoying how it rolled off her tongue with fluidity. So he is an apprentice! “That’s a unique one. I can’t say I’ve heard of it before.” That was fine by her, she preferred unique and as a kit, she’d wished her father had given her something less common. By now, she was content and proud of her name. The rest of his names -- most rather funny -- elicited a snort of laughter from Leopardpaw, ”Gannetstar. I could believe it.” There was a pause. ”But it would also be disappointing, since I doubt you’d have time for chatting at the border if you were leader.” That’s why they didn’t see Russetstar or Snowstar out here, probably. They had leaderly things to attend to. ”So tell me, Gannetstar - would you do anything differently in RiverClan if you were leader?”

"Eh, I've learned not to judge by first impressions." The tom gave a shrug. His responses seemed to be leaving a certain something to be desired - despite the fact that he could be kind, that was actually something he was known for, but at the moment he was just being... quick. With his responses, that was. Answering as though he were almost about to lost interest in the conversation one moment, then regaining it the next. "But hey - maybe they are mean furballs." Sounded like something that Redpaw would call him, and part of him wished she would make this conversation go a little better. Maybe she could make him seem less arrogant - sarcastic - rude - whatever else it was that he was sure others saw him as, maybe she could fix that. Gannetpaw had discovered, by himself, that his responses in this scenario tended to become less kind and friendly and more sarcastic and arrogant.

It was like nothing could be serious for him. Because this was the safest way to go. And, they tended to be short. It was up to her to keep the conversation going because Gannetpaw was not at all good at that. Introverts never were. Not that he had met, anyways, and he was pretty sure this would go downhill eventually. A short laugh left the tom's maw at her comment and his eyes twinkled mischieviously. "I'm going to pretend that you complimented me even though you pretty much just called me unoriginal - and I'm also going to pretend that you were being serious," The black and white tom mewed in his usual sarcastically teasing tone. Maybe there was a chance that they could up being friendly - not friends, Gannetpaw was pretty confident he wanted to stay loyal to RiverClan and refrain from making close friends outside his Clan (so maybe they could be good friends, just not close?) and someday become a warrior.

Maybe have a family. That would be nice, having a family... and maybe in the future he would have more friends. "Heh. My family was... interesting, to say the very most of them." That was about all Gannetpaw could say about them. He didn't know them very well. Even as a kit he hadn't really gotten to know them and still wasn't close. Why? Who could say. Her next words had the tom's ears pricked up and he gave her a look as though she were half-crazy, but at the same time, it really made him think about the ins and outs of his own Clan. "I don't know that I would have let ShadowClan stay with us. Although it's a pretty good chance to make an ally. And then... you know, I really don't know. What about you?"

There was a more secret wish of his that he wasn't planning on telling anybody, least of all a stranger, but he was interested in knowing what she had to say about this. No doubt she would have some sort of a plan. Leopardpaw struck him as the sort of cat who would have something to say about her Clan.