~Leopard, Leopard~ (Open)

[~Ravenpaw~]

Leopard, Leopard, fragile and free, in the river by the sea,
Leopard, Leopard, so confused, knows not what she has to lose.

Leopardpaw sat alone and depressed, she was often depressed why? She didn't know. She didn't know hardly anything, she knew of the clan, of the warrior code, and of Starclan, but these things had all been taught to her when she woke up. She had only recently woken up, and the clan taught her all those things. But she knew no more then that, she didn't know who she was or where she came from, or where she even belonged. Leopardpaw was even unsure of her name, it was name yes, but it had been given to her by the Mistclan. Leopardpaw's beautiful light blue eyes looked down at her pelt, the enchanting bright golden amber colour, it was breath-taking. Black spots covered her body which was the reason she had been given the name Leopard, it suited her. And it made sense, because of her looks, yet she was still confused.

Leopardpaw shifted on her snow white paws, and casted her look back to the river, glancing upon the reflection of herself. Her eyes watered and she broke out crying sadly, turning away from it. She cried for only a moment before stopping, she looked down and folded her ears back. "Why do I cry?" She asked sadly, only wondering why she had cried, she had no reason to, yet tears stained the ground before her paws. She shook her head delicately, "What is wrong with me?" She meowed asking, she didn't expect an answer for her confusion. She was often confused and sad, she just wished she knew Why? Why she did what she did? Why she cried out randomly? Why she screamed loudly sometimes? Why she flinched upon being touched? Why? What did it mean? What was wrong with her? With so many questions her head started to hurt again.

[daliery]

Honeypaw sat by the river, hunting, and thinking about her past at the same time. A school of fish swam by. As she got ready to swipe one out with her paw, a clump of snow dropped from a tree on the opposite side of the river, Fireclan's territory. She watched, frustrated, as the fish darted away into safety. With a small flick of her wrist, she sent another clump of snow in the river. She stalked away, ears slightly flattened against her head.

Her frustration faded away as she caught a small glimpse of the kittypet field, dissolving into confusion. Her father was a warrior, with admirable swimming skills. But he had died when she was only a kit. Her mother.. that was a different question. The only thing she knew of her mother was that she was a kittypet. That's also why all the other apprentices rejected her. She let out a loud sigh. She shook her head slightly, striking green eyes overflowing with emotion. No, she wasn't going to cry.

The young apprentice stopped in her tracks, gazing warily at Leopardpaw. What was she doing by the river all by herself? ..Well, she wasn't really the one that should be asking that question. She covered more distance between the two, until they weren't much than a tail-length apart. She opened her jaws to speak, then quickly closed them. Should I..? "Err.. are you okay?"

[~Ravenpaw~]

Leopard, Leopard, fragile and free, in the river by the sea,
Leopard, Leopard, so confused, knows not what she has to lose.

Leopardpaw's eyes, so wary and bright looked towards the river again, she was almost daring, but then looked away again, she didn't know why but it hurt to look at her reflection. But how could it? It was only a reflection... "err.. are you okay?" As voice asked her, Leopardpaw's ears perked, she glanced over at Honeypaw. She a pure clan cat, unlike Leopardpaw who was a nothing, she didn't know what she was. Who she was? At least Honeypaw knew. "I don't know" Leopardpaw finally managed to say, her voice soft and tender, but so full of sorrow, it could break hearts to her talk so. Leopardpaw sighed, did the clan cat care for her? The clan seemed nice, but she didn't know what she could trust. What was safe? What was dangerous?

So many thoughts often made her head ache, but she got used to it after a while finally. She looked over the she-cat was getting a little to close, she moved back a bit. Leopardpaw wasn't to keen on getting close to others. She didn't know why though. She was just strange like that, it just added onto the list of strange things she did, randomly cry and scream, her head hurt to think of her past. Leopardpaw flinched upon being touched, it hurt her, but why? Why did it do so?

[Fin]

What a boring day it had been for Ospreypaw. As soon as he woke up, he had been pestering White-eyes to give him something to do until he was sent away. She was his mentor, she was meant to train him! The poor disheartened apprentice had sulked off to the elder's den, but they were all sleeping. He lay with them for a while until he was sent away for pouncing on one of their tails. Why was everyone sending him away today? A little put-down by their lack of interest in the white-and-black tabby, he decided to go and hunt. All of the other apprentices were either out training or in camp with their mentors, which left him on his own. Still, he wouldn't let it get to him.

Bouncing out of camp, he headed straight for Willow River, splashing along a thin bank before it became impossible. Finally, he found a shaded spot and sat down, his haunches raised a little in-case he needed to spring. A shadow flickered at the edge of his vision, but the little apprentice sat rigid. Before, he would have pounced at the fish, but his training had shaped his skills. At a snail's pace he raised his right-hand front paw, claws emerging, and with a flash he struck the water. The fish flew into the air, but Ospreypaw was quick enough to catch it before it fell back into the water.

Purring with his success, he looked over his catch, whiskers twitching. A prize fish - straight to the top of the fresh-kill pile, I should think! Gently picking it up in his mouth, he began to head further down stream having scared away any fish in his old place. As he padded along, he thought he heard a cat sobbing. A she-cat? Confused, he quietly stalked along, his head low. Lifting his head slowly over a bunch of reeds, he saw two of the other apprentices together. Leopardpaw and Honepaw. They hadn't seen him. Moving his head down a little, he hid behind the reeds, unsure whether to emerge or not before finally facing up to it.

Ospreypaw pushed the reeds out of the way with his paws, going head first. Just as his last foot left the reeds, his paw slipped on a patch of ice having survived from Leaf-bare. Yelping, the fish flew from his mouth as the apprentice barrelled into the ground. The black-and-white mound of fur didn't speak for a second, but then jumped up like he'd just been bitten by an adder.

"That didn't happen! No one saw me!" Ospreypaw meowed loudly, a shocked tone to his voice, diving to the floor and covering his eyes with his paws as if to be invisible.

[daliery]

Honeypaw slightly tilted her head, whiskers twitching. Weird. But she wasn't going to leave the she-cat all by herself. She knew what it was like to be left out, lonely. The light-brown tabby flinched as Leopardpaw moved farther back. Was she like the rest? ..She couldn't be. All the other pure clan cat apprentices were so sociable. Honeypaw made an effort to get through to this she-cat. "W-what do you mean you don--" Her back arched, fur fluffed out as a familiar black-and-white mound of fur tumbled out from behind a group of reeds. It was Ospreypaw. Was he spying on us? "Ospreypaw! What are you doing here?"

[~Ravenpaw~]

Leopard, Leopard, fragile and free, in the river by the sea,
Leopard, Leopard, so confused, knows not what she has to lose.

Leopardpaw glanced at her, she truly didn't know how she felt, if she was okay? But what did it mean to be okay? So confused? Was it okay to feel so sad and depressed she didn't know. Leopardpaw wanted to answer farther and explain herself, but she didn't know where to begin or even if the she-cat before her would be willing to listen, what if she spoke and the she-cat ignored her. What would she do? She sighed and said nothing she wanted to cry again, but held back her tears much better this time hiding her sorrow and confusion in the sea of blue that was her eyes. She looked down to her snow white paws, then up at her leopard print fur. Who was she and where did she belong? Where did she come from. She started to get a head-ache again. She pushed the thoughts away.

She let out a loud scream when a tumble of fur sprawled out from the bush. She fell back scaredly frightened by the sudden noise and flash, her eyes widened as she fell back into the river her bright amber golden fur disappearing under the water. She swam up swiftly, even though she wasn't from Mistclan, Leopardpaw was an amazing swimmer, she got out of the water and shook off her fur and looked about for what scared her, she looked at Honeypaw and Ospreypaw feeling confused and lost.

[Fin]

Raising one of the paws over his eyes, Ospreypaw peeked out to see an angry looking Honeypaw and a frightened Leopardpaw. In a swift movement, the tom stood up with his tail raised high, flicking side to side.

"Uhm... sorry guys!" He struggled to say, meowing with a chirpy tone to his voice. He hadn't meant to scare them, he was just so lonely up by the river. Lately, no one in camp seemed to have enough time or energy for the apprentice, and it was making him unhappy. Thankfully, the other apprentices were still bubbly. With a cheery expression, Ospreypaw padded over to the abandoned fish and gingerly picked it up, placing it down by the other two cats.

"Hey... Leopardpaw, you alright? You don't look so good." Ospreypaw meowed sympathetically, tilting his head at the shecat. He hadn't really noticed her before... maybe it was their contrasting personalities. Thinking about it, he did quite like her. Shaking his head, he meowed again, "You eat some bad fish? Oh man, I remember the last time I did." He sat down where he was stood, then flopped onto the ground.

"White-eyes told me not to eat it, but I still did - I mean, it was pretty tasty when I was eating it. I had bellyache for the next two days, put me out of training." Ospreypaw laughed, somehow finding it a funny story.

_{(sorry it's short :/)}

[daliery]

Honeypaw quickly flattened her fur, clearing her throat. Quick reflex, spinning around as Leopardpaw hit the water. But the she-cat was already clambering onto the riverbank. Gaze traveled with the she-cat until she was safely on land.

"Uhm... sorry guys!" She twitched slightly, pupils narrowing into slits. She could understand, camp was pretty boring.. She watched as he set the fish down infront of her and Leopardpaw, tail twitching. Atleast they knew now he wasn't stalking them.

"Hey... Leopardpaw, you alright? You don't look so good." But it looked like Ospreypaw had a thing for Leopardpaw. She recognized that sympathetic look. Felt a pang of jealousy. Would she ever find love? She shrugged it off. If it was going to happen, it would. "You eat some bad fish? Oh man, I remember the last time I did."
She was immediately reminded of when she visited the elder's den earlier.

She relaxed, sitting and wrapping her tail around her paws. Remained quiet. "White-eyes told me not to eat it, but I still did - I mean, it was pretty tasty when I was eating it. I had bellyache for the next two days, put me out of training." She couldn't help to laugh in unison with Ospreypaw. He was acting like your average, rambly, elder.

[◦ʜʇʎɯ]

White-eyes was used to the pestering of her apprentice. She was busy, she told him. Go and do something useful, she told him. Truth was, she wanted to see if the tom could take initiative, something which would be used well when he was to become a warrior. She had followed him after he got bored of the elders and skulked off to hunt. He was getting better, even if he still used the same tack as herself. The only reason White-eyes hunted like that was because she couldn't see. The female kept downwind of her apprentice, reading the signs, such as broken twigs, of where he had been. It wasn't too hard to shadow him.

It was only when she caught the sound of sobbing did she pause, then, a crashing. She rolled her eyes. Ospreypaw's clumsiness would need to be straightened out, but the deputy did suppose he'd probably slipped on ice. She would teach him how to walk on ice without looking at it, as she had learned after coming from the nursery with her daughter, slipping and nearly cracking open her head, after chasing the young Dustkit and chastising her. She was full of beans, and in a way, Ospreypaw reminded White-eyes of Duststorm when she was younger, less snappy and angry. White-eyes felt it hard to connect with her daughter; she was so stubborn and distant it was hard to get a word in edge-wise. She sighed, padding after Ospreypaw, her feet seemingly never touching the floor as she did.

The sobbing had stopped. She flicked up her ears and opened her maw, scenting the air. A confused look graced her maw. Leopardpaw was out here? She frowned, her confusion turning to a mock calm and serene face, padding closer. She pricked her ears forward and listened. Leopardpaw couldn't remember her past, and White-eyes had forbade anyone to tell ((if that's ok with you Raven )), as the she-cat probably wouldn't want to know. Quietly, she pushed through, using their scents to pinpoint where they were. Faint, fuzzy shapes of her clanmates appeared in her mind.

"Ospreypaw, Honeypaw," she nodded towards the two of their scents, then her sightless gaze resting upon the third apprentice. "Is something bothering you, Leopardpaw?"

[~Ravenpaw~]

((it's fine ^_^))
Leopard, Leopard, fragile and free, in the river by the sea,
Leopard, Leopard, so confused, knows not what she has to lose.

Leopardpaw gave them a looked of confusion as she watched them, it wasn't until Ospreypaw mentioned she didn't look good that she really tried hard not to cry, was she alright? "I don't know" She meowed quietly, she didn't know how she should be feeling. Was she alright? Was she okay? She didn't feel alright or okay, so in truth how did she feel. She glanced at Honeypaw and Ospreypaw as they laughed, was it funny to eat bad fish? She smiled sheepishly and gave a small laugh for she felt she should laugh and not to feel so left out and strange. She wondered if a bellyache was bad enough to put you out of training, Leopardpaw didn't have a mentor yet so she hadn't trained at all much yet. But she wondered if through training she would remember who she was, and where she camp from.

Leopardpaw almost jumped again, but caught herself and flinched violently when White-eyes asked if something was bothering her. She gazed down at her beautiful amber golden brown pelt and snow white paws. Tears weld in her eyes once more and she couldn't help it, she didn't know if she was alright or not but she didn't feel very good right now. She cried sadly, "I don't know!" She cried as tears stained the ground below her paws again, she felt the need cry it out, what ever it was she was crying about..... She stopped crying and sniffed again, what was wrong with her and why did she cry? "I-I'm sorry" She stammered sadly.

[Fin]

"I think the Medicine cat got bored of me... they didn't seem to like me." Ospreypaw laughed, flicking his tail along the ground absently. He noticed that Leopardpaw had joined in the laughing, and he was quite satisfied bringing a smile to her face.

As the tom laughed along with Honeypaw the two, he felt the atmosphere change. Flicking his ears, he nervously turned around to face the newcomer. It was his mentor, White-eyes! Almost jumping with joy, Ospreypaw scooped up the fish and raced over to meet her, holding the fish high in his mouth to show her. Stepping backwards as she walked, the apprentice was desperate to show her what he had. He was completely unaware that she had followed him. Pausing when she said hello, Ospreypaw put the fish down and opened his mouth to speak, but saw his mentor's attention move the Leopardpaw. Following her gaze, Ospreypaw looked at the apprentice again, his eyes filling with sadness.

He was lucky - he had such a good life, and he was always happy. Why wasn't Leopardpaw? Troubled, the apprentice wished there was some way he could give her his happiness and take her sadness away. Nosing his mentors shoulder to greet her, Ospreypaw left the fish by White-eyes and padded over to the sad apprentice, looking to Honeypaw for encouragement. When he reached her, he leaned his head down to see her face, offering a small smile.

"Hey theres nothing to be sorry about... please cheer up." Ospreypaw meowed with a friendly tone to his voice. He didn't really know what to say - no one really ever stayed around long enough to share their problems with him.

[daliery]

"I think the Medicine cat got bored of me... they didn't seem to like me." She smiled, Ospreypaw was a magic maker, if he could get Leopardpaw to laugh, or atleast cheer up. He did.

Honeypaw's eyes widened, startled just a bit that White-eyes was here now. Two is company, three is a crowd. What was four? In the deputy's presence, she changed her posture, straightening up a bit, tilting her chin up. But thought she knew why the blind she-cat was here. She could tell Ospreypaw was excited to see his mentor, rather with Honeypaw, she was simply startled with her entrance. Leopardpaw seemed to be confused with most things, breaking down with White-eyes' questioning.

The she-cat, brought herself to look at Leopardpaw. The bright, golden amber pelt seemed out of place, beholding such a sad, utterly defeated face. She, herself didn't have such a wonderful life, the teasing of her kittypet kin sometimes made this bubbly apprentice, sad and whatnot.

Honeypaw read Ospreypaw's eyes quickly, Leopardpaw needed some encouragement. "Hey theres nothing to be sorry about... please cheer up." She padded over to the two, White-eyes behind the crowd. But she didn't really know how to deal with these sorts of situations. Even though, she took a shot at it. "Yeah," Her ears twitched slightly. "I mean, just forget what happened, you'll eventually cheer up, right?" She mewed brightly, eyes glittering.

[◦ʜʇʎɯ]

White-eyes gave a slightly confused purr, stepping closer to Leopardpaw. In the only way she felt she could comfort her, she lay her tail across her shoulders. White-eyes wasn't really good at cheering others up, though this had worked to calm her daughter down when she was upset. "Calm down, Leopardpaw," she said curtly, quietly. "Take a deep breath, drive the tears away. Tears are for happy occasions, like births. Not for feeling sorry for oneself." she meowed. She stood and padded back to her spot earlier.

"We all need to calm down. Ospreypaw, well done on your catch, I did notice." she purred at her apprentice, then her sightless gaze fell on Leopardpaw. Should she tell her she was making the warriors keep her past a secret from her? Or would it make her hate the deputy?

[~Ravenpaw~]

Leopard, Leopard, fragile and free, in the river by the sea,
Leopard, Leopard, so confused, knows not what she has to lose.

Leopardpaw gasped and blushed when Ospreypaw got so close, she felt faint, he was so close, so close.... why didn't she like closeness? She didn't understand so confused. As long as he didn't touch her completely. But what was wrong with that? She didn't know she didn't. She blushed her voice missing from place. She nodded her head, "I-I'll try" She said quietly. She looked at Honeypaw, "B-But I don't know what happened" She said sadly, "Is that why I cry?" She wondered sadly, she didn't mean to out loud.

Leopardpaw flinched when White-eyes laid her tail upon her shoulders. Touch, someone touched her. You belong to me now Leopardpaw's head pounded, her skull rippled with pain as she violently twitched in pain laying down and covering her head. White-eyes had moved away but the pain.. the pain was still there. She felt so trapped, so alone, something was there, something whispering into her ears, that cold breath caused her to freeze rigid with fear. A single touch paralyzed her with fear and she didn't know why. She tried her best not to scream.

[Fin]

The apprentice was thankful for Honeypaw's encouragement and White-eye's kind words, but it still wasn't enough. He felt the shy apprentice beside him tense when his mentor's tail touched her, but why? She looked frightened, as if a badger had just picked her up in her teeth. As White-eyes moved away, Ospreypaw looked up to the other two cats nervously. He didn't know what to do, but something deep down told him he had to stay with her.

"I think we should take her back to camp." Ospreypaw finally meowed after pausing, his head raised and eyes set on his mentor. If she was in her home, she might be happier. Looking back down to Leopardpaw, he put his nose to her shoulder to try and comfort her.

_{(sorry its so short, didn't know what to put 8) )}

[daliery]

Honeypaw flinched. I just made it worse.. She glanced at the two, warrior and apprentice. They were both trying to comfort her with touch, but Leopardpaw seemed.. frightened by it. She didn't want the she-cat to be frightened by them, after all, so she sat, tail wrapped neatly over her paws.

The light-brown tabby nodded with Ospreypaw, turning her gaze as to White-eyes, as if looking for approval in the deputy's sightless eyes. "I think we should, she might feel better after she's rested." She hoped Leopardpaw would be okay. She was her clanmate, and that's what clan cats do, look after their clanmates.

[~Ravenpaw~]

Leopard, Leopard, fragile and free, in the river by the sea,
Leopard, Leopard, so confused, knows not what she has to lose.

Leopardpaw stopped crying she looked at them curiously. Why was she crying, why did she hate touch? She wished she knew the answers, but she didn't. She looked with her beautiful light blue eyes at Ospreypaw, he touched her with his nose, she flinched slightly, but wasn't as bothered as she was with White-eyes she didn't know why though. She nodded her head, "P-Please can we go back" She said to them sadly, she wanted to go back to camp. She didn't know why she wanted to go to the river. She seemed to be drawn to it. She wanted to come here, she always did, but she didn't know why. Why come to a place that always made her cry in the end? Why?