-- @Wings --

Doepaw let out a soft laugh and let her tail rest on the younger molly's back. "Its.. alright." She looked around with her blind eyes, ears flicking steadily, slowly gaining an idea of what was around her. "You can just... walk up to it, I can.... find you on... my own. I just need.. to be close enough... to be able to sense it, it's not... being reflected... to my hearing yet." Slowly tapping her paw on the ground her ears perked trying to catch the hint of an echo but nothing. "Go on...," she murmured giving Echopaw an encouraging nudge with her head. Doepaw was happy that the molly was asking questions though, it meant she was willing to learn and to her own surprise that she'd not interacted with any blind cats before. Though that probably wasn't normal either, to interact with blind cats that were fully functional and aiming for being a warrior. Well technically being a warrior for two seconds.

-- @bmkmb --

Doepaw slowly followed Frostpaw out of the den, the tabby molly a bit more wary than she had been when she'd first burst through it on her arrival from Thunderclan. It was strange... seeing things in a new light. Well she wasn't seeing anything but that was the gist of it. A new day, a new perspective and new things to learn. That was how she preferred to take these days where things would not be in a stable routine for a while. It seemed all that strange to her, all these new scents that she'd been too agitated to take in the day before. It was... comforting once again. Similarly to the comfort that being curled up in her nest gave it, despite how it may sound. "Sleeping is not... exactly preferable... to being active." Or at least that was Doepaw's take on it. Despite the apprentice's blindness and the comfort sitting down brought her, well having stable ground underneath her paws was the main thing, she preferred to be out and about and doing something. Staying still for long made you complacent, something a blind cat like she could not afford to become. Letting out a small grin as Frostpaw paused she decided to take a jab at him, "Seems... i'm not the only.... one who's senses... need to adjust." She assumed it was probably something to do with his eyes, yet for her despite her open, green eyes she never had to worry about them being hurt by the sun or shining light. One of the blessings of being blind she assumed. Yet she did have to wait on her ears, so they were even. Even on the amount of time it took for them to wake up. Beginning to walk forward, mainly focusing in on Frostpaw's paw steps and voice instead of trying to sort the echos from the mass amount of sound, she listened in carefully. Her favourite prey? Doepaw didn't really consider herself someone who had a favourite when it came to eating... the tabby just ate what she could find, be it mouse, squirrel, or shrew. If she was forced to pick though, she would most likely pick the shrew and she voiced that, "Shrew I...think. It's small... and got meat on... its bones. Not too chewy.. either." Realising they were finally at the pile Doepaw nodded her head in gratitude. He didn't do the stupid, 'its right there', nor did he turn his head to speak to her. She knew the pile was directly in front of him now and bowing her head she slowly sniffed around at the pile. It was one of the few times she had to use her nose... if it was living prey she was usually able to define the prey on its footsteps and its breathing... now here, not so much. So bringing her nose close to every single of prey she was somewhat disappointed that there was no shrew but a mouse would do for now so reaching out with her teeth she carefully dragged it by its tail back to her before pointing her blind gaze towards where Frostpaw's breath could be heard. "What's... your favourite?" she asked softly and then a last question before she picked up her mouse, "And care to... tell me where... we're going to sit?" She didn't exactly just want to wander off and accidentally sit in a spot where other's preferred to sit... it would come off as disrespectful and rude and she also assumed that Frostpaw had a space where he preferred to eat on his own. It seemed the.... white... apprentice, yes that was how he'd described the colour of his fur, wasn't exactly all too social of a cat. So picking up her mouse she slowly backed away from the pile so she was once again standing next to him and flicked her ears in a silent demand.

Originally Posted by RedHead (Post 720728) Freezepaw was about done, the diluted feline stepping back to admire her work that she had put into making all the nests nice and soft and organized. She had to admit to herself it looked good. Though as Birchflower spoke, Freezepaw flicked her ears, remaining faced away from the elder she-cat. Warriors? Of course! Why hadn't she thought of that herself? Probably because she didn't like to try when it came to social interaction. And an apprentice talking to warriors? Especially warriors who took no crap from annoying cats? That would probably take quite a few failed social interactions to get in with them. And a lot of observation to figure out which ones were like her and which ones were still.... like apprentices themselves. Warriors like that always annoyed Freezepaw, she would hope that they at least got some sense knocked into them upon becoming a warrior but noooo, they wanted to continue to act like little entitled brats or annoying dumb idiots. Those were the two kinds of annoying cats that Freezepaw had separated most of her denmates into at least. "Problem is, most warriors are going to treat me like a kit because I still have an apprentice name." She meowed, turning back around to face Birchflower. She wasn't concerned about the size issue at all, Freezepaw was quite a large cat, having already outgrown most of her littermates. Of course Scorchpaw was still larger than her, but she believed that he was the only apprentice who was. Though, as Birchflower offered to introduce her to some of the less obnoxious warriors, Freezepaw actually stopped to consider it, her head tilting in thought. Would that be nice? Birchflower seemed reasonable and chill enough.... that was a good lead-on to believing she actually knew some less-obnoxious Shadowclan cats. "Fine. I'll take it. But one annoying word from their mouths or a mention about how I'm an apprentice, and I'm right back to being a lonely little snowflake." She meowed, her tone a bit mocking at the end, but her words did hold seriousness as she stared Birchflower down with her golden gaze.

Birchflower's gaze towards Freezepaw morphed from a questioning gaze to one of hope. Not all was lost on the apprentice at the very least. For some reason, Birchflower felt particularly compelled to help out this cat. She was never too fond of the apprentices that came in, often disturbing her sleep. But she could relate to Freezepaw, and quite enjoyed her company despite the attitude. Maybe they were more alike than she initially assumed.
"Yeah, alright. I know a few who don't seem to be idiots, but of course, we can only have the best for you." Birchflower laughed softly. She still felt like cracking a couple of sarcastic jokes, even in this situation. There was more to be said, though. "If you don't mind waiting here, I'll go get one of them. You can sit outside too if you want. It certainly doesn't smell good in here." With another raspy laugh, the elder got onto her paws and slowly made her way out of the den.
Who could she find? There had to be someone around that was willing to cooperate, right? Freezepaw needed this, she could tell. But the other cat would have to be willing to deal with the apprentice. Birchflower continued pondering these thoughts as she made her way towards the warrior's den, which was sure to have at least one cat she was looking for inside.

-- @Casper --

Weaselskip let out a sigh. The molly was not exactly in a pleasant mood but nevertheless she sat down in front of the Shadowclan leader, tail folded around her paws. She had to be careful with her words, had to be sure, straight and precise, despite the lack of intellectual power. Well she was smart, just not... the smartest. "I seek to join Shadowclan," she voiced steadily, determination shining in her green eyes. "Windclan turned out to not be the perfect place one might wish when they are born there. Through talks with Shadowclan cats at gatherings... your drive and the iron grip you rule your clan with has inspired me. I seek to live under this rule. To join the strong, and with that become part of the strong. My skills in certain areas might lack, but with training I assume they can improve. Life is harsh, for everyone but fighting for what you believe is right... is an admirable trait." Her eyes glinted once again, "So yes, I seek to join Shadowclan. If you're willing to accept me that is."

Mountainmist sat in front of the Shadowclan leader, the large black and grey molly close to rivalling the Shadowclan cat in sheer size. Contrary to Icestar though, the Windclan molly... well former Windclan molly now,'s was more fur than actual musclemass. She wasn't going to try to pack everything in nicely, that was not how the pregnant she-cat worked. She was putting her kits at risk yes, but she could not be seen as some cat begging for refuge cause she disliked her own home. "Thank you for being willing to talk to me. However, no need to pack it sweetly. I seek to join Shadowclan to raise my kits in a proper home, where they will be brought up to be proud of their heritage and not remember what weak clan they originally were from." That was it. No more. No less.

When he started talking about ripples, it was Doepaw's turn to end up confused. Ripples? Was it something sighties saw in water? She knew of the sound waves which was the echos she heard whenever she was just... trying to see more or less. "Ripples?" she voiced, her face screwed up in confusion. She knew of water and the ripples but... the connection didn't make sense to her. It seemed a strange phenomenon but she assumed that would be a technical language barrier. They used different analogies to describe the same scenario because they were only used to describing a scenario from their own point of view. It was... strange. Yet so was everything when it came to a blind cat, Doepaw was quite aware of that already. Flicking her ears back and forth she considered his question.
It was a complex one... that if she and he spoke at the same time would the sound merge and disappear? Her eyes were draw together and nose scrunched up trying to think about it. "Sounds... don't.. disappear. There's always.. sounds... it never stops. It is just... different channels. I can.. decide to... listen into... what you're... saying... or focus... on the sounds... around me. They reach me... automatically... but I can... tune into them... and get a better... idea of where... I am... or I can... focus on your... voice and pick... up every word." It was very similar to selective hearing, and some might describe it as that, but it wasn't to Doepaw. It was just... how she saw the world. This was how she operated.
"However.. many sounds can make... it harder... for a specific... sound to reach.. your ears. Some sounds... like the echoes.. are more subdued. Require greater.. focus to find." It was why she so very often struggled with finding her way around in camp. She would be drowned by the voices of spoken word, and thereby most often struggle with tapping away from the channels in her head. It required focus both of them. Ears flicking back and forth she tried to angle them away from where a high pitched squeak came from.
They were quite far away from the nursery but her ears were still more sensitive... especially in a newer environment, and maybe before they spoke all too loudly she should voice it. "Sensitive ears... aren't exactly... a blessing. It was... how I adapted... to life without... sight yes... but it's... not without... it's issues. My ears... being sensitive can sometimes... bleed from.. too high pitched.... sounds. A blood vessel... bursts. Usually... ruins my other... senses." It was hard... when it came to blood. To some cats it might end up blinding them if it was a wound placed around their ears, however for Doe, it ruined her sense of smell completely and she was forced to rely on her sense of touch and one functional ear. She preferred not for that to happen and it had only happen a few times throughout her life but it was because she had become extremely aware of it. "Blood is a strong... smell and... it usually drowns out... my scent of.. smell and my hearing... depending on the... ear. That was... in part why... I sometimes close... my ears.. Despite it... maybe weakning me... it is preferable... over having to get... my ears... checked." Life wasn't all that easy... but Doepaw had gotten quite used to it and with that all said, the tabby molly made her way back to Beastspark slowly clearing a spot for herself using her paws to clear out the pine needles below her paws. Settling down she flicked her ears once again,
"I know some cats... who rely on their... sense of touch... for everything. Each of us... have our own... way of coping with... our lack of sight... or lack of sense for... that very thing." One thing though, that Doepaw was quite happy for was that she wasn't deaf. Her littermate, Dovekit had been deaf... and it had been the detriment of her, and also the death of her sister... "I'm happy... I can hear.. makes life... easier despite... every struggle." That was the truth, the essence of it. Yet she was tired of not exactly talking but more or less... explaining everything. She wanted a small break and therefore directed her blind gaze onto Beastspark. "How is it... to see though? I was... born blind... so I have no... idea what... is often being... described." It was an interesting change to the conversation... she knew what it was like to see as a blind cat... it was sure to be different for the deputy who was a normal sighted cat who must rely on his sight for well... mundane tasks. It was fascinating to Doepaw, despite the fact that she in truth was scared of what it would be like to see. After... a bad time in a dream, she even dream with her eyes closed so she wouldn't be able to see. But hearing it in words might make it easier for her and so she took in a deep breath and made herself comfortable waiting for Beastspark to continue.

--

@bmkmb

Despite Frostpaw's muffled words, Doepaw was able to hear the tom's voice good enough to decipher what he was saying. Lizards. She'd forgotten that it was something they ate in Shadowclan. She didn't know how to feel about it but you would get used to the taste she assumed? It was... going to be one of the stranger things with adapting to Shadowclan was her guess. Following him, her ears perked for the slightest echo that would warn her she was walking into something, she settled down next to where he'd thrown his prey, the thump of... the snake? Or lizard. It was some of either by the way it sounded as she heard it hit the ground. Listening intently to his words, ears flickering trying to remember every last bit of it. It was nice to get advice from someone who'd been forced to get through similar changes, and knew where she came from as well and the traditions that was connected with it. That also meant Frostpaw would most likely know the hardest thing that came off being an apprentice in Thunderclan versus being one in Shadowclan. It was something she would have to poke from his brain at some point later. Information and adding onto her spine was what would keep her going here in Shadowclan and that was the truth. Listening to his words and focusing in, she added a mental note... That it was strange or.. not usual to be sitting at the edge of the clearing. Well was usual about a blind cat sitting with another former thunderclan cat in the first place? Doepaw didn't know and placing down the mouse before settling down herself, she let the small smile on her face. Her tail twitched a bit as she felt the pine needles poke it and she flicked them away in annoyance. It was minor things, but minor things were truly an annoyance to blind cats in particular. "How's ... hunting been.... in the pines? Compared... to among the oaks... and thick undergrowth... in Thunderclan?" That was something she had noticed during her sporadic run across the territory, the fact that there was brambles but... not much thick undergrowth in the shape of ferns and bushes. It was... rather nice for a blind cat at least and it reminded her of how her trek had gone... and with it came memories she didn't exactly want to deal with. Shaking her head to clear it she took a bite of the mouse, chewing half of it down with one bite. Other cats preferred large prey... but a mouse was all she needed. Shaking out her fur she waited for Frostpaw's answer and decided to at least soak up some sun for now. Despite it being the clan of shadows, there was plenty of warmth from the sun to go around.