The Clearing (Shadowpaw, Open)

[~Night~]

~Nightpaw was shaking as she thought about what had happened. It had been a couple of sunrises since Silverclaw had tried to kill Dawnstar. The Memory was still fresh in her mind. It was like a scent, but she never got used to it. Then she thought of what Dawnstar had said. She shivered, a mix of nervousness and happiness. She had decided that she had better watch her step carefully. None of the other cats had talked to her about Silverclaw yet, but she was sure that they knew. She doubted that they couldn't know. What with Silverclaw's body being removed from Dawnstar's den after Nightpaw herself had bolted from it like the speed of light and Dawnstar had gone out to Mirror River to retrieve the young she-cat.~
~Then, she saw Shadowpaw. He didn't talk much. She tilted her head to the side for a long moment, then padded over to the fellow apprentice.~ D'ya wanna go huntin' with meh?

[-|Birddy|-]

Twinklingpaw ran over. "I do!" she purred.

[echo]

Scarpaw

His silver eyes flashed as a plan crossed his mind. He loved sneaking up on other cats and surprising them. He was upwind, so he could easily find a way to follow them without revealing himself. Then I'll jump out at them--they'll be so surprised! Scarpaw plotted mischievously. Silently, he hurried out of the camp through the dirtplace, rolling around in a pile of mushrooms to cover his scent. They'll probably think a mushroom is following them, he thought, grinning at the thought. Scarpaw sat back and watched his clanmates from behind a screen of leaves.

[firebrush]

Hawkpaw looked up from where she had been washing her scarring muzzle. "Hey, umm. Can I come along?" she asked hesitantly.

[~Night~]

~Nightpaw looked at Shadowpaw, tilting her head slightly to the side. She had wanted to find out about the seemingly anti-social young tomcat, but she doubted that he would join the others in hunting if it was more than one cat. She had doubted that he would even want to go if it were just her, but she could still hope, right?~

Sure. ~Nightpaw said to the others who wanted to come. She had shut her eyes as some branches moved in the breeze and let the sun shine directly on her face. Suddenly, a question popped into her mind. Why did was she hoping that Shadowpaw wanted to come? She didn't know him. This was the first time she'd ever talked to him before. Her eyes opened quickly, and she turned her head away.~ Gah! The sun! It's so bright! ~Nightpaw said it comically, though she had been temporarily blinded by the sun.~

~A young gray tome with a black patch on his face wandered over to the group of apprentices. They were going to go on a hunting trip, he had heard that much. The formerly depressed young she-cat, named 'The Runt' but some of the male apprentices. Spiderpaw had guessed that they were Nightpaw's brothers, and he knew that they didn't like her.~ Could I join too? ~His answer was a nod from Nightpaw.~

[Smokey]

Smokepaw shyly approached the other apprentices, and asked, "May I tag along?" She was the newest addition to the apprentices, so she didn't really know these cats...

[~Night~]

~Spiderpaw nearly went into a fit on the ground at Nightpaw's reaction to the sun. Spiderpaw had never talked to the young she-cat before. She seemed like a funny cat, and he was beginning to like her. Not like as in a crush, but like as in that they could possibly be friends one day.~

~Nightpaw nodded. Then, she jumped up onto a rock, trying to look like Dawnstar when Dawnstar stood on the high rock.~ Would any other apprentices like to join our hunting party? Last call! ~Nightpaw said in a grand voice, that spread through the camp clearing. It surprized her when she realized that she sounded much like what she imagined Dawnstar would have sounded like as a young apprentice.~

~Spiderpaw stifled a small laugh at the young she-cat. He had noticed that Nightpaw was more outgoing since Silverclaw had chosen to mentor her. Even more so since Silverclaw had tried to kill Dawnstar. The young she-cat's brothers still referred to her as 'The Runt' but it no longer seemed to Spiderpaw, that it bothered Nightpaw.~