[wolfie]

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Originally Posted by Lonestar23

The tom laughed a little, but didn't say anything else. Minnowstripe had talked before about family stuff, but Leafsparks had never given it much thought - perhaps he should have listened more, he didn't know anything about having a family. The tom really liked Honeyvenom. She would be an excellent mother someday - and this was one of the nicest days he'd had in a while, which made his new freedom only more sweet. The mention of the silver tabby made him shift his weight and he looked down at the ground, studying his paws very hard. Just by looking at them that hard he could see that they were dirtier then normal, the white on them was discolored and he felt a little awkward when he looked back at the she cat to answer her question about Minnowstripe. "Ah... well, she was... an interesting cat, I guess. She was a little too much for me, but she was nice enough." The tom didn't want to talk too much about her.

Minnowstripe had also been clingy, and everyone had been right about her... she was insane. An insane cat with some serious attachment issues and the type of personality that, at times, only a mother could love. Everything had been going so well, and then it had all gone so downhill... whose fault was that? Had Leafsparks simply lost interest in his "girlfriend" or had something else happened with her? Maybe things had started moving quicker and she had gotten overexcited. Maybe he had given her some sort of an idea that her clinginess was appreciated. He certainly hadn't really tried to get away from her. Honeyvenom's next question made the tom realize that he had talked himself into a trap. It wasn't that he didn't trust the she cat with his secret, it was more or less that he didn't really trust himself to be speaking about that.

He didn't want to accidentally say something that he would regret... again. He was going to have to choose his words very carefully. And even though Honeyvenom had kindly reassured him that it was okay, he felt like he should give at least a semi-explanation of what had happened. "She didn't stop me from doing them, but I never really got to do them alone. Or with any of my other friends. She was always there, you know what I mean? I felt like I was being judged sometimes. And it was really great for a while, but then things changed, and I..." His voice trailed off and he shifted his weight a little more, eventually sighing. "It's just nice to be able to do some things with other cats, or alone again."


The she cat cocked her head to the side a little, watching Snowpaw's encounter with the tree. She was normally pretty good at figuring things out for herself - the problem was, Caliapaw didn't always want to ask for help. She wasn't above asking cats to keep an eye out for this herb or that herb if they were going to be coming with her anyways, but she was definitely unwilling to ask for help in other areas of life. She was the only one she could count on with this now... the Clan was counting on her, she was counting on herself, everything was so confusing and new... Caliapaw had been the medicine cat for about two moons now, and she'd trained with Wheatfur a moon before that. She was struggling to remember everything, it hurt her head sometimes to try and remember what different herbs did. It was hard to treat other cats, and especially with ThunderClan and WindClan's fighting going on, she was so scared it was going to end up horribly.

"The tree got in your way?" The feline repeated after a moment. It was a late reaction, but she had been thinking for the past few minutes. And something wasn't adding up here. Was Snowpaw... was there something wrong with his eyes? It made sense, or at least a little bit of sense, and the she cat wasn't too worried about it at the moment - since he wasn't completely blind, maybe she could fix this! Maybe she could keep his eyes from getting more messed up, be someone who would finally do something really worthwhile. "Is there something you need to tell me, Snowpaw?" Caliapaw asked, making her voice as professional as possible, as though Snowpaw were just some patient who had walked into her den. Whatever was happening with her brother, there would always be the hope that it could be fixed. Once Caliapaw was completely sure that it was unable to be fixed by her, she would give up and decide to see if there was another cat who could help her brother. If it couldn't be fixed at all? Chances were, she was going to be completely depressed.

Caliapaw was already feeling like she was failing at her job. It was a job that, sometimes, she felt like she had no business being in. Why her? Why had Wheatfur decided that she was the best option, out of all the kits and young apprentices in the Clan? Even Alabasterpaw, his niece, and Starpaw... who had also hung around Wheatfur sometimes, she knew... out of them, he had chosen her. It had just been a chance meeting that had pushed the two of them together, but that one chance meeting had changed her life now. Forever. "Oh," was all she mewed in response to Snowpaw's next comment. Walking in silence felt a little better to her. She didn't feel like she was grasping at straws for topics of conversation anymore.

She didn't feel like she was trying to avoid certain topics, steering towards ones that she wasn't really interested in, questioning things that she was going to say in her mind. It hurt sometimes, being the only one in her family who had pursued this line of work. The only one who would ever know what it was like to be trying so hard to save a life, only to lose that very life later. Sometimes... even with loving family, and good friends... it felt like the only one Caliapaw could fully count on was herself.


Leafwatcher's story should have given Stormwing some sort of peace of mind. Now she knew what had happened, how he had disappeared, that he hadn't stayed out of touch on purpose. Now she knew that he hadn't left by his own choice. But instead of giving her peace of mind, it only made her angrier. "Why wasn't this the first thing you told me? Why, why, why did you have to fight that Dusk Syndicate cat, Leafwatcher? Do you understand how stupid that was?" She asked, her blue eyes lighting up in anger. They were like miniature flames, dancing against her silver tabby pelt, frustration and fury showing in them. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had lost everyone before, and now that she had Leafwatcher back, she wasn't sure if she was happier or sadder. He was a different cat then he had been - there was a distinct air of that.

Or maybe she was the one who had changed, she felt braver then normal, though it was anger fueling her fire. "You're crazy. You are absolutely crazy." She repeated over and over, her ears flattened against her head, her tail still twitching back and forth, trying to grasp ahold of the reality of the situation. So... Leafwatcher had gotten amnesia... meaning he hadn't remembered her, or anyone else, and - and the Dusk Syndicate had taken him... how had that even happened? And why? These might not be questions that he could answer, but the Dusk Syndicate cats could. Stormwing knew they were gone now, but she wished she could go down there, take every single Dusk Syndicate cat, and ask them questions until she found out the entire truth. And she was scared of Leafwatcher now, at least a little bit. He made her nervous. Being in the Dusk Syndicate for so long was bound to have some sort of an impact on a cat. Was there a chance... even a little one... that he would hurt her?

Snowpaw slowly nodded, even if it was a lie. He just didn't to seem that stupid. Truth be told he already knew he was the smartest. Though why would he need any other cat to think he was worst than they thought. Knowing that Caliapaw wasn't going to believe that, he just shrug his shoulders a little. "Or I may have been to lost in thought and ran into the tree. " The apprentice admitted. It would make a good story, with some fibbing in there. Snowpaw, the great apprentice gets in a fight with the scariest tree alive! He let out a small and quiet purr at the thought. Not the most interesting but it would be something. He just needed something to tell about. The story he told Caliapaw was only for family. It was a special thing, kind of. Snowpaw ear twitched. Pawing at the tree bark, he squinted his eyes as he suessfully got a piece bark. He tilt his head, could this be useful. "Hey, could this be useful for anything?" He asked.

As he asked the question he watched Caliapaw, she was thinking he could tell. A dreading feeling bubbled in his stomach. Snowpaw had a edge she was going to ask. He wouldn't lie to her. He was going to have to say it anyway. Then the one question came. He inhaled a deep breath before exhaling. "Well, yeah.. " His voice seem to trail off as he thought how to explain it. Snowpaw focused intently on the ground like it was the most interesting thing ever. "I'm deaf out of my left ear." He finally admitted. No need to sugarcoat this. He could hear out of his right ear but his left ear not. He could hear loud things perfectly fine to where it seem like the normal volume. "Please, don't tell anyone! It nothing big really, Caliapaw. I can still hear. I can smell better, too. It just I don't really want to be a forever apprentice or a elder. I'm not useless, either." Snowpaw added quickly. Speaking fast. One of his big insecurities were his hearing. He shuffled his paws. She is your sister, not to mention your Medince cat! Everything will be fine. He gulp, waiting for the dreading reaction he awaited.

When he realized about his hearing he almost told his mother but he didn't want to be useless or have a defect. Keeping it a secret, well he thought was the best. Snowpaw feared being hated and labelled as useless. After all he pitied the ones who were outcasts. Though he couldn't help but think, at least it isn't me. He always felt so guilty after thinking it. He always assumed that when the secret was out he would be like them. Which made him be kind to where it became somewhat annoying. Snowpaw felt like it was his own way of making up for the thought. He did try to stick up for the cats when he could. Though he usually would back down. Even make the situation worst.

"Sorry." He muttered under his breath. His fur prickled with uneasiness. He didn't hear her last comment. Snowpaw finally looked up.