Quote:
Originally Posted by Queenie
Bumblepaw shook. Maybe from excitement, maybe from anxiety. He wasn't sure. But he could feel his bones clattering around under his skin making his brain run wild with thoughts. Someone was talking to him! And not just to scold him for being small! And bonus: A she-cat. A pretty she-cat. One who was for sure not trying to run away from him. Bumblepaw froze as she finished. What was he supposed to say? He opened his maw. Nothing. Silence. The toms eyes widened as he tried again. No words, just a completely awkward and utterly terrified apprentice staring on at this very pretty she-cat.
What was worse was, he couldn't break his gaze. He wanted to run to the shelter of the apprentice den, his tail tucked in embarrassment but his paws were locked to the ground and his face forced to look at hers. "I - I - I'm good." Bumblepaw stuttered. Talking to cats his age was so much harder than say, his mentor. Sure Bumblepaw could sit and listen to the other apprentices stories but he never took part in them. Partly because he never had anything to add.
He felt his heart drop into his stomach as he tried fishing for more words. And suddenly as if a dam broke and water was gushing on into a lake, the apprentice found his voice. And it wouldn't stop. "I was just out training! I learned about the different techniques of fighting each different clan. We visited Shadowclan and I was scared." The tom winced, too much information, you barely know this cat, you can't look scared. He thought. |
The golden feline cocked her head to the side at his stutter, her eyes curious as she examined Bumblepaw. "Good!" She mewed cheerily, a smile spreading across her maw and lighting up her eyes. She was glad the other tom was doing well, but something still bothered her about how nervous he seemed. Did he think she would hurt him? Had he been bullied before, and thought Morningpaw was going to be no different from those cats? While that assumption would be somewhat offensive, the golden furred cat could understand how Bumblepaw would come up with something like that. Especially if he wasn't that used to kindness. The smile had, by now, faded partly from her maw and was replaced by a look of concern. She decided the best thing to do would be to introduce herself, and carried out her plan as quickly as she could.
"I'm Morningpaw. In case you didn't know - there are a lot of apprentices, it's really hard to keep up with the names of all of them." She smiled encouragingly at him, her expression pleased and gentle as she did her best to make Bumblepaw feel more at ease. She already liked the other apprentice, and thought he was going to be great company. So far he was proving her right. He really did seem like a very nice young tom to Morningpaw, and she thought she was going to get a good conversation out of him eventually. Sure enough, soon he began talking, and she grinned wider at his words.
"ShadowClan is definitely my least favorite Clan. I mean, they're pretty creepy, right? Seriously, ShadowClanners are so moody! But you'll get used to them, I mean, you're going to be a great warrior - and great warriors don't have anything to fear from moody shadow-dwellers." Morningpaw purred, her light pink tongue rasping across her chest fur momentarily. "That's really cool that you learned those techniques, though." She added after a minute, her eyes still lit up in a friendly manner.