◇ Flashpaw ◇ The Lost Melody ◇ Purrks: The Collector ____________________
As Flashpaw returned to the apprentice's den, the ginger molly noticed something. Previously she had placed a hawk's feather perfectly in the middle of Cinderpaw's nest. As she looked around the den, she frowned. Where had it gone? Ah, there it was. The feather had fallen. Plucking it in her teeth, she stopped over to place it in the nest perfectly yet again. For the past three days, The Lost Melody had been sneaking small gifts into the tripods nest. Why? She was lonely. Flashpaw was so, so, so lonely. After one awkward interaction, she'd avoided Cinderpaw for a little while, scared she may not like her. But the tug of loneliness pulled hard, and she desperately wanted company. So desperately, in fact, that Flashpaw had convinced herself that perhaps nobody wanted to be her friend. Nobody liked her. And thus, she had decided she wanted to try again. She wanted to try again with Cinderpaw. Maybe her slow ascent into a more adventurous, soft hearted personality would make her feel better. Braver. And as she quickly readjusted the feather, she thought over her previous "gifts." A pebble. A dandelion. Were those not noticeable? No matter. This would surely be more visible, more obvious. But as she heard pastels approaching, she jumped back, causing the feather to yet again blow from the nest. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap! Picking it up in her jaws, she began frantically placing it again, eyes wide.
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@Neptune. [Cinderpaw]
__________________
Thank you.
Last edited by Blaaze; July 16th, 2024 at 09:16 PM.
Cinderpaw
~<>~
37/100
9 moons || she/her || ShadowClan Apprentice small black tabby with minimal white markings and 3 legs; amber eyes
Tiredness tugged on Cinderpaw’s bones as she made her way back to the apprentice den. There was no real reason fir her to be so tired, really, all she’d been doing was running errands for the queens and elders… grabbing prey, looking for ticks, keeping an eye on the kits etc… She was looking forward to a nap, and maybe a new gift.
She still didn’t know who was leaving them, but part of her assumed maybe it was Wispypaw, though the scent wasn’t quite right, she’d figured maybe she just didn’t know her sister’s scent as well as she once did. So, color her surprised when she spots Flashpaw frantically placing a feather into her nest instead of one of her siblings. Amber eyes blink in brief confusion before she realizes that Flashpaw must have been the one leaving her gifts. But why? Cinder had thought… well, after the ginger molly spoke to her after her ceremony, she’d practically been avoiding Cinderpaw at every turn… Cinder had assumed she decided that she just didn’t like her. It seems, however, that she was wrong.
Regaining her wits, black and white paws pad forward and approach the older apprentice. ”You were leaving them?” She signs, head tilted to indicate it’s a question.
[ @Blaaze || ACK SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG !! STILL DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO MY LAPTOP o(-( ]
◇ Flashpaw ◇ The Lost Melody ◇ Purrks: The Collector ____________________
Flashpaw scarcely moved as she registered Cinderpaw was at the entrance entrance the den. Shhhoot! Well, she'd been caught. The ginger molly then, blinking hard, she slipped into a more smooth, normal form, green eyes fixated on the black and white feline. A feeling of stupidity flooded the Lost Melody's jaws like blood, and she swallowed it back quickly. She stayed standing, and then smiled slightly, sheepishly. Jade hues flicked back to the feather. Then back to Cinderpaw. Silently, she watched Cinderpaw sign. It was a relief, as though silent words could break the deafening silence. She relaxed slightly, translating in her head. Or trying to. She still wasn't too good at silently communicating, after all. A swift head movement. Then, Flashpaw nodded, sheepish little smile growing a but bigger. "Y-yes.. I h-have. I was sc-scared you di-didn't like m-me, and I f-felt l-lo-lonely, so i st-started l-leaving gifts, to m-make you... l-like me. I a-avoided you c-cause I w-was scared you di-didn't want t-to see me." Her voice faltered a bit, but she forced herself to square her shoulders and smile more. But the sheepish look stayed on her features. "D-Did you like th-them..?" Her tone was hopeful and tentative as she mewed the question, subconsciously flicking her deaf ear. A stupid habit. Stupid, srstupid, stupid. No. Silverlark wouldn't approve, not of that. He thinks you got over your self hate. Pull it together for him, Flashpaw. Think about being friends, and you'll laugh..ish about this. Yeah.
____________________
@Neptune. [Cinderpaw]
__________________
Thank you.
Last edited by Blaaze; July 15th, 2024 at 02:33 PM.
Cinderpaw
~<>~
39/100
9 moons || she/her || ShadowClan Apprentice small black tabby with minimal white markings and 3 legs; amber eyes
Oh... so they'd both been fearing the same thing, that the other didn't actually like them after all. Huh. Maybe they could've avoided the last few moons of awkwardly skirting around each other if one of them had only come up to the other sooner to communicate. Well, lesson learned in that case. Cinderpaw has to stifle a smile at the realization, it was just so absurd to her that she almost laughed.
"I like them, thank you," she signs in gratitude. She'd never really gotten very many gifts before, and had only managed to be the one on the giving end (does momma still have the pinecone? Had it died by now?), but it's surprisingly nice to be on the receiving end as well, and a warm, bubbly feeling sprouts in the tabby's chest now that she knows who had been the one to leave her such things.
Maybe now that they were here and talking, this would be the start to a friendship Cinderpaw and Flashpaw both seemed to desperately need.
"I thought you were avoiding me because you didn't like me, too," Cinderpaw signs a little sheepishly, feeling embarassment creep up into her chest now to coexist with the warmth that wouldn't go away. "I guess we both need some work in the 'making friends' department." She smiles as she signs, hoping that she was coming across well enough. Not every cat in ShadowClan knew sign language, and, on top of that, Cinderpaw has adopted a few unique ways to sign certain things, so she never expects to be understood by every cat, but so far Flashpaw had seemed to know what she was saying, so... maybe she'd be able to tell? Would Cinderpaw need to teach her? It's a little hard to imagine herself teaching anyone anything...
◇ Flashpaw ◇ The Lost Melody ◇ Purrks: The Collector ____________________
Flashpaw’s little smile grew to a nervous laugh when she noticed how close Cinderpaw herself had come to laughing.. and how she felt too. Oh. Hehe. Flashpaw… wasn’t too good at holding on laughter whenever she did laugh. Ginger tabby tail raised from drooping to neatly curled around her paws, and the sleek feline’s feeling of stupidity blossomed into amusement as she carefully translated each word signed by Cinderpaw in her head. She’d spoken more now that Flashpaw had offered an explanation and some words didn’t seem all that clear but she was pretty sure it was safe to assume some. But as her slight laughter faded her attention wandered to what Cinderpaw had said before. She liked them! A bold of happiness struck through her, the pleasant electrocution brightening her verdant green hues. Help making friends was all she had managed to collect. Alright, well, that was obvious enough. “Y-Yeah. I’m n-not th-the best at th-that yet.. b-but I-I think we.. we get a-along well! M-maybe w-w-we’re Friends. Th-that sounded weird.. I d-Don’t know I-if you’re s-supposed to a-ask to b-be friends or n-not, I-I’ve never made a-a fr-friend. S-so I w-wouldn’t know.” She admitted with a shrug, jade hues cast the nest for a moment. ”Y-you seem a-a bit m-more c-confident th-than last t-time we t-talked.” She complimented thoughtfully. There were less attempts at speaking. Words not coming were relatable, but her stuttering had improved with age. Cinderpaw was improving too. In her own way. The Lost Melody liked that.
____________________
@Neptune. [Cinderpaw]
__________________
Thank you.
Last edited by Blaaze; July 17th, 2024 at 08:42 PM.
Cinderpaw
~<>~
42/100
9 moons || she/her || ShadowClan Apprentice small black tabby with minimal white markings and 3 legs; amber eyes
Friends... yes, yes, Cinderpaw liked that word. She'd never had a friend before, not unless you counted Wispypaw, so this was a change. Before, that change might have scared Cinderpaw, and honestly, it still sort of does, but things staying the same forever scared her just a little more. Everything and everyone around her was changing all the time, her family was distant, the grass grew greener, the sky warmer, and the trees fuller until the day where they would hit the precipise and everything would grow cold and dead again. Cinder didn't want to be the only one who never changed, the one left behind.
She's already leaps and bounds behind all her siblings, they all have training, many of them are probably already close to graduating - hell, Sleepysunrise already graduated! And here Cinderpaw was, stationary, with not a lick of training to her name aside from a tour of the old territories. She was falling behind everyone. She didn't want to stay behind forever.
"Thank you," she signs, smiling, pleased that she managed to make the ginger molly laugh. She didn't exactly feel like she was any more confident than she was before, she'd simply accepted that there were some things she might never be able to do again, and if talking was one of those things, then continuing to try was useless. "You do too. How is your training? Is your assessment soon?" She asks, trying to think of what might be good things to talk about... her and Wispy never really spoke to each other, so she didn't know what friends talked about save for the conversations she heard around camp.
Cinderpaw
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42/100
9 moons || she/her || ShadowClan Apprentice small black tabby with minimal white markings and 3 legs; amber eyes
Friends... yes, yes, Cinderpaw liked that word. She'd never had a friend before, not unless you counted Wispypaw, so this was a change. Before, that change might have scared Cinderpaw, and honestly, it still sort of does, but things staying the same forever scared her just a little more. Everything and everyone around her was changing all the time, her family was distant, the grass grew greener, the sky warmer, and the trees fuller until the day where they would hit the precipise and everything would grow cold and dead again. Cinder didn't want to be the only one who never changed, the one left behind.
She's already leaps and bounds behind all her siblings, they all have training, many of them are probably already close to graduating - hell, Sleepysunrise already graduated! And here Cinderpaw was, stationary, with not a lick of training to her name aside from a tour of the old territories. She was falling behind everyone. She didn't want to stay behind forever.
"Thank you," she signs, smiling, pleased that she managed to make the ginger molly laugh. She didn't exactly feel like she was any more confident than she was before, she'd simply accepted that there were some things she might never be able to do again, and if talking was one of those things, then continuing to try was useless. "You do too. How is your training? Is your assessment soon?" She asks, trying to think of what might be good things to talk about... her and Wispy never really spoke to each other, so she didn't know what friends talked about save for the conversations she heard around camp.
◇ Flashpaw ◇ The Lost Melody ◇ Purrks: The Collector ____________________
Flashpaw couldn't possibly appear more pleased by her friend(!)'s compliment. It always felt nice, to be the one gaining compliments and the positivity. It made her want to skip in a circle, but that wouldn't wouldn't be the appropriate reaction. No, not at all. So instead she just let her smile grow a bit. A small head tilt. Inspecting. Thinking. Trying to decode the hands and paws language in front of her. It took a moment most of the time but she was pretty sure she could understand it alright. Improvising and assuming always helped. One motion... the next. It suddenly struck her that some of these weren't the normal signs. Not like the ones she had seen that one cat talking to Whitepaw the new deaf apprentice use. That was kinda cool in her opinion. Who taught her these? Did she make them up? Whatever the answer, The Lost Melody was pretty sure she herself wouldn't be able to do that. Make up words? A language? Nope. Not for her in the least. That kind of reminded her of Silverlark when she caught the Lizard. She didn't know why. Was that what he had said? Something like that.
"Th-Thank you..! M-my t-training's going w-well. Soon I-I-I'll be a w-warrior! What a-a-about y-you?" A simple response really, but it was all she had to say. Perhaps if Cinderpaw wasn't a warrior when she was, Flashpaw could take her out training! That'd That'd fun. The thought of helping her friend made here feel warm inside. But she was pretty sure Cinderpaw would be a warrior soon... right?
____________________
@Neptune. [Sorry this is late!]
__________________
Thank you.
Last edited by Blaaze; July 24th, 2024 at 08:55 PM.
Cinderpaw
~<>~
53/100
9 moons || she/her || ShadowClan Apprentice small black tabby with minimal white markings and 3 legs; amber eyes
It made Cinderpaw pretty happy to see the way her friend's expression seemed to light up, her posture becoming more upright and her eyes bright. How strange to think she was the one who brought that about... And Flashpaw would soon be having her assessment! That was exciting! As for Cinder's own training...
"It's... okay," she says unenthusiastically. Truthfully, she should have been almost ready for her own assessment if everything had gone the way it was supposed to... but she'd been only just out of the medicine den when she had gotten her name, and then, on top of that, her mentors didn't seem very keen on mentoring. "I know some fighting, but that's it." And it wasn't even for lack of trying, because she had tried to get hunting lessons, but it just never seemed to pull through for one reason or another.
◇ Flashpaw ◇ The Lost Melody ◇ Purrks: The Collector ____________________
Her excitement remained despite Cinderpaw's response. Her lack of enthusiasm and excitement was a bit sobering, but all it did was make her more intent on being a warrior herself. If she became a warrior, The Lost Melody would be able to assist her friend in her own training. Perhaps that would speed up the process. Initially she had wondered if she should even be a warrior. The rank of medicine cat had enticed her, and the ginger tabby had longed for it. But now she had accepted that perhaps she wouldn't wouldn't a good cat for the rank. Silverlark was a fine mentor, and she was content With him as usual, so she had no reason to want to be a medicine cat because of a mentor. She just wanted to learn to be a healer, was that so bad? Wasn't that a good enough reason? Apparently not. A small sigh escaped between her parted jaws, a neutral sigh. A smile hadn't left her face. "W-well..! When I-Im a warrior, I-I can h-help y-you train!' The ginger tabby assured, the thought bringing a happy burst to her chest. She could help her friend be a warrior, be the rank she wanted. Fulfill her destiny, all that fun stuff.
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@Neptune. [Within the next couple posts we can probably wrap this up! I want to finish all pre Silverdeath Flashpaw stuff ^^]
Cinderpaw
~<>~
63/100
8 moons || she/her || ShadowClan Apprentice small black tabby with minimal white markings and 3 legs; amber eyes
The prospect of Flashpaw becoming a warrior soon and taking the time out of her day to assist in Cinderpaw's own training makes her chest swell. It's a very nice sentiment, and Cinder almost can't believe it was offered to her.
'Thank you, I'd like that a lot,' she signs, smiling.
Caught in The Act [P]
