[Thistledawn]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

A ginger tom entered the apprentice's den, his fur groomed neatly, and his eyes sparkling with mischief. Foxpaw was often found here in the middle of the day - the mornings and early evenings were when he worked the hardest, and his mentor wasn't too dedicated to giving him a schedule, so he ended up seeking her out and reminding her about training or just training by himself, or forgetting it altogether. Anyways, Foxpaw was in here for one reason or another, and he settled into a nearby nest, making himself comfortable. The scent of the apprentice who had been here before was one of infection, fear, and discomfort. Those things overpowered the natural SkyClan scent and their own unique scent, which he could just faintly identify as something berryish. Foxpaw was uncomfortable in this nest, but it was giving him the perfect view and conversational spot for the only other cat in the den... a cat he recognized as Cherrypaw. He remembered her becoming an apprentice, and remembered thinking she was quite pretty - he'd been about nine moons old at the time. Eight or nine, it was hard for him to remember. "If it isn't our local princess. How are you, beautiful?" The tom mewed. His flirting skills could still use some work, and his voice still hadn't quite matured into a lower one (unlike his brother's, whose more masculine voice and dark, moody personality seemed to attract more she cats then repulse them) but Foxpaw was a fairly handsome cat. He was confident he could woo whoever he wanted to - though breaking someone's heart was not in the cards for Foxpaw. He had never thought he would do that. He'd never planned on getting that far before. And he was terrified that someday he would end up breaking someone's heart.

The white she-cat looked away when she noticed Foxpaw enter the den. The apprentice tried to turn away even more when he settled into his own nest. She tried to bury her face in between her paws. She had nothing against the ginger tom, not anything that she could remember. Cherrypaw just wasn't in the mood to do anything, and she felt especially not in the mood to talk. Even so, her white ears perked up when he began to talk. She raised her head to face the tom and felt her blue eyes widen.

"Do I look like the daughter of any important cat around here?" She mewed with as much sass as she could manage. Her bad mood was definitely having a negative impact on her. Cherrypaw muttered, "I'm not a princess." Normally she'd be delighted with the word. It made her feel important and special and graceful. Right now, she wasn't feeling any of those things. "And do you always go around calling cats that you hardly know beautiful?" She tried to spit her words, but she couldn't deny that the word coming from the mouth of a handsome cat made her feel hot under her fur. She swiped a white paw over her ear to hide her face, which may have betrayed the fact that she hadn't hated what Foxpaw called her.

Cherrypaw sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She was being ridiculous. It was unfortunate that Foxpaw had walked in on her sour mood. She was treating the tom poorly when he hadn't actually done anything wrong. She opened her eyes and blinked at the tom. "I'm sorry. I'm just in a bad mood." The she-cat dipped her head as she apologized. Her tone turned sweeter as she tried to carry on the conversation. "I mean- I'm fine, thanks for asking. How are you, Foxpaw?" Cherrypaw shifted in her nest so that she could better see the tom.