[lone]

Originally Posted by Spirited Darkness

Apurva padded back into camp, her expression slightly more wary than before, as she knew that she had done something most would look down upon. Pausing just inside the entrance, she bent her head to sniff her pelt, hoping that the scent of TwolegPlace had been masked by the scents of the forest. She hadn't been to TwolegPlace long, and nor had Maplefur, but still. Somewhat cautiously, the pretty she-cat cast a quick, fleeting glance around. Spotting Timberpaw, she took a step in his direction, then halted.
She hoped she that he hadn't noticed her absence in camp, and she also hoped that nobody else had. Shifting slightly with a strange, growing discomfort, the molly and soon to be apprentice sat down in a darker space in camp, watching. If all went well, nobody would even notice her coming into camp, and even fewer would notice the faint, stale scents of the place that she and Maplefur had snuck off to. She liked Maplefur. The warrior was easy to relate to, seeing as they both had very similar pasts. Both of them had kin in TwolegPlace, and both were former kittypets. Plus, the calico warrior was very easy to talk to, and she felt comfortable around her. Flicking her ears, Apurva decided that soon, she would talk to Maplefur about the odd feelings of discomfort in heat that she always felt whenever she was around the brown tabby tom. Hopefully, she woold know the answer. After a brief moment of hesitation, Apurva climbed to her paws, padding slowly over to Timberpaw. Sitting down a fox length away, she dipped her head in a somewhat uneasy greeting, she wrapped her tail neatly over her paws and fluffed up her unusual colored pelt against the chilly wind that stole her warmth and made her paws, ears, tail and nose tingle. To be honest with herself, Apurva sort of liked the feeling, but she also sort of didn't. One of the main reasons she did was because it kept the odd, uncomfortable warm and itchy feeling at bay, although not entirely, as it started returning as she sat quietly in front of Timberpaw.

Timberpaw looked up at his friend, and then as quickly as he could he looked back down again. His whole body was telling him not to make eye contact, no matter how much he wanted to, no matter how nice he thought she was...he just shouldn't make eye contact. That was all there was to it. It was a simple thing, completely easy to do, no risk involved, as long as he didn't look directly at her so she could see the emotions within his green hues, he would be fine. And yet it seemed to happen before he could think, feel...do anything, really. All of a sudden he was looking directly at her and he sighed, the tip of his tail twitching before he put a soft smile on and licked his maw. "Hi," he mewed with a tight grin before going back to staring at the ground. So much for eye contact. So much for all of that. He was doing perfectly, keeping his eyes averted from her face, staying completely still so she wouldn't see him trembling- or if she did, perhaps she would think it was the wind. After another moment he shifted his weight and glanced back up at her again, silently berating himself but- of course- keeping it completely silent. What if he had been utterly and totally wrong? What if Apurva didn't like him, what if he made a fool of himself in front of her, what if there was some other tom that liked her as much- or more- then he did? Although he knew that was crazy.

Then again...was it? Apurva was certainly attractive, Timberpaw had noticed that upon their first meeting, but...was there a possibility that another cat truly liked her? Loved her, maybe? Cared about her as much as Timberpaw did, or only cared about her pretty pelt? He knew some cats were like that. And when he first met her he had been taken with her coloring and her piercing hues, but he had come to think that she was so much more then all that. "Cold?" He asked after a moment, his green hues looking over her with worry as he saw she did look a little cold. His own pelt wasn't exactly thick, but he could feel a warm inner glow coming from within him, making him comfortable and feel as though he could do almost anything. As long as he was around Aourva, he was happy...truly happy, the sort of happiness that he now knew didn't come from the satisfaction of just flirting. That was in the past.

Now he was looking forward to his future...with her.