Briarsplash hummed in thought for a moment, narrowing her eyes. Yeah, now that she was thinking about it, Palepaw was one of those very recent 'paws, wasn't he? At the last meeting or so? Alright, made sense... she let out a long sigh as the enthusiastic apprentice continued pleading, knowing she didn't want to hear any more of it one way or another. She tried to suppress another yawn before grunting in annoyance and rising to her paws, shaking out her thick, fluffy pelt. Alright, fine — if the kid wanted to learn hunting, she could do it. At least just to get him to be quiet and stretch her legs.

"Alright, alright..." She huffed with an irritated edge to her tone, looking down at the apprentice now that she had her full height on him. She was more stocky than tall, although she was just a larger cat in general. "Fine. You wanna learn? Then let's go, right now. I'll... take ya to Dawning Woods. Just make sure you keep up," she added with a bit of a warning challenge to her tone, as if seeing if the apprentice 'had what it takes' for all his energetic enthusiasm. Let's put it to the test.

With a flick of her plumey tail, she began trotting out of camp — and once she cleared the entrance with Palepaw, she began a steady run. Not too fast to lose him, but quick enough that he'd have to work a bit; if he was fresh out of the nursery, he'd have to get used to running over the uneven terrain like real warriors, which could be quite the adjustment.

Shadepaw flinched when she heard her name, but she met Silentpaw's eyes. A confusing roil of emotions went through her, though her face was kept carefully neutral. Why did Silentpaw hate her? It was obvious by how he acted around her, how he always avoided her. It wasn't her fault if Silentpaw never actually tried to earn Clovepool's attention. She didn't get it. Though, something in her, something very small, whispered, maybe I'm missing something. But that's ridiculous. She never misses something. She couldn't. "Silentpaw," she returned, voice level. What does he want? Silentpaw was the only thing she couldn't figure out. Which annoyed her, but she wasn't about to show it. He looked... Upset? Angry? She couldn't tell. And the way he said her name wasn't all pleasant. She thought about asking, "What do you want?" then decided to remain silent. She'd see what he'd respond to her earlier words. And she thought that it might sound rude if she said that. Why were families so hard? But she knew the answer. At least, to this particular family. And it was one name. Again, she caught herself thinking, What does he want?. Which annoyed her even more. There was an obvious answer, of course, but she didn't want to think about that. If it's about what I think it's about, she thought, Then it's not my problem. She'd just up and leave, she decided, if he mentioned Clovepool. She didn't feel angry towards Silentpaw right now. She couldn't. Not after Firepaw leaving so suddenly like that. She thought about if Silentpaw had approached her and Mosquitopaw, and Mosquitopaw had left like that, what would she do? She would probably just stare at Silentpaw for a few seconds and leave too. But Silentpaw had stayed. Why? Ugh. Another unanswerable question about her brother.

Silentpaw didn't answer her right away. Shadepaw was fine with that. She knew that Silentpaw and her were alike in that way-- Not really talking much. Though Silentpaw did seem less talkative than even her. He seemed almost surprised when she said his name, as if he hadn't spoken to her first, initiating this conversation. Huh. That was unlike him, even if he only spoke her name. She was comfortable in the silence, waiting until Silentpaw decided to speak again. Her amber gaze blazed, focusing on her brother more intensely when he did speak. You okay?. What did that mean? Was Silentpaw implying that she was weak? That she couldn't take care of herself? Though his tone sounded sincere, almost... concerned. She'd never... Nobody had ever been concerned for her. Except for Clovepool, but her mother didn't really count. She noted Silentpaw's sudden anxiety, his cut-off "Uh", as if he hadn't meant to say that. Her gaze turned steely cold. That's fine. She didn't need his sympathy, his concern. She needed to excel in every way possible for Clovepool. Why did he ask that? Yet another unanswerable question. They were piling up now. Though, she decided-- Maybe she could get an answer to that one. Just this once. "Why?" That was it. One word. One cold word, directed at her brother. Her stare unrelenting. Her calm unnerving, even to her. Do I even know him? No, probably not. Because of him. Because he usually avoided her at all costs. She didn't know him, and it was his fault.