"Friendly fire-" Cinderpaw refrained from burying her face between her paws.
"It means fighting amongst your own group. Not that it seems like much of'a group right now, but." Carefully, she crouched forward to kind of meet Winterpaw's height, voice growing soft.
"'Course I woulda noticed. I haven't slept in about 3 moons." She murmured, letting out a whistly laugh before her face turned back to steely.
"...I heard it a million times too. All the "we care about you''s, "we're with you"s... It's so, so hard to believe, when your hope's been smushed into the ground. But I kept this name, so I could prove it all to you that you could. Please, give me a bit more time. To prove it."
No cat was an island and yet Cinderpaw felt herself floating alone, for a brief second - until Rowanblaze, and then Dovefluff's words broke through the haze. Her eyes flickered between the warrior and queen, and she fought against the suspicion that boiled within her... couldn't she just take things at face value for once? Ugh.
That Cracklepaw guy, though, was a fiend. The thought of the kid faring better off in Shadowclan popped into her mind for a second before she shook it away - no child deserved to be in Shadowclan. Cinderpaw resisted the want to curl her lip at him as she replied.
"Kid, I'm about the number one Starclan hater here. Hedgehogs would fly before I talk to them without my claws out." Except for Cindersky, she told herself, but they were infinitely more complicated.
"Sure, I've got a job now healing you lot, but it will never, ever come before keeping you kids sa--"
Yyyyyyeah that was it. The medic let her fur bristle with anger a little. She slipped between Cracklepaw and Winterpaw, eyes narrowing.
"We are done here. You will not disrespect another apprentice like that." Turning to Winterpaw, her voice grew less sharp. Cinderpaw's tail-stub pointed in the direction of the apprentice's den.
"Do you mind if we go 'n talk in the quiet? You're not in trouble. Promise."
[ @
teddy. @
Speckear @
jupiter @
Leafí ]