§Mistpaw && Sootclaw§ [BATTLE TRAINING]

[laur]

Her heart froze. It was like being dragged underwater on a freezing December day; the wind was knocked out of her and she could not get it back. Dead? Mom, dead? Shock coursed through her body in waves, making her tremble. It was as if the world was ending. The cat who told her to pick her destiny... the cat that always believed in her and loved her... gone. Mistpaw didn't know how she would bear it. But she knew she had to. And she had Sootclaw.

Sootclaw. Her round, light green gaze rested on him. However angry and depressed she felt, Mistpaw knew that he was now her reason to be here. He was going to watch over her, like her mother would have done. Hope like a little bird fluttered in her chest. Sootclaw was right -- her mother was still here, watching over her. She had no reason to worry. It was going to be okay.

Mistpaw stood up and padded closer to the black tom. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to clear her thoughts. It was a shock, to find out that the one who believed in her no matter what was gone. Sighing, Mistpaw reminded herself that she would have to move on. A quiet, barely audible whisper escaped her throat as she lifted her head and turned away. "Thank you."

She stood, shook out her pelt, and nearly fell back over. The grief in the pit of her stomach made her feel sick. She wanted to sleep for moons. "Can... Can we go back to camp?" Mistpaw asked her mentor, refusing to meet his eyes. "I'm... tired." she finished. Shaking off a few drops of water still clutching to her paw, Mistpaw slowly began to pad towards camp, her tail drooping but her head held high.

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[Whiskers]

Sootclaw's whole body, so tight after telling her the news of Tessa's death, relaxed as soon as she lay her head on his shoulder. He gave way to her shape and let himself bury his nose in her fur. How he wished he could take all her heavy grief away. He wanted to take on to him. He was stronger. He could carry it. He had been carrying it for moons now and somehow, he had still managed to function properly. Again, Sootclaw thought that Mistpaw was just too delicate to hold herself up with such terrible news weighing her down. I should have just let her go. Let her hate me. It is better then this pain she is feeling.

She pulled away from him and Sootclaw tried to meet her eyes, and even opened his jaw a bit to say something else... to comfort her in any other way. But Mistpaw only stared at the ground. He didn't blame her. He was the bearer of bad news in this case. He closed his mouth and let her speak instead.

"I'm...tired" she mewed, a feeble warble at the end of her voice. Sootclaw sighed and nodded before lifting himself off the ground and turning away from the river.

"Of course. It's been a long day," he agreed. Sootclaw pulled back from her and let her go ahead while he padded wearily behind her. Personally, Sootclaw didn't want to go back to camp. He would feel... watched, like always. He would feel... odd, as if he was an outsider. Only here, in Streamclan territory with Mistpaw, did he feel truly happy. Mistpaw was his little piece of home and she was swept away from him the second he entered camp. She would go to the apprentice den. And he would go to the warriors den. And they wouldn't see each other until it was time for training again.

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[laur]

Slowly but surely, Mistpaw made her way towards the trees and the StreamClan camp. She was vaguely aware of Sootclaw padding behind her; her senses had gone numb. She stumbled through the forest, her paws tripping over each other as she gradually continued on the path to camp. Her mind whirled, but she forced herself to ignore all the thoughts in her head until she was alone.

Getting closer to camp, she realized how agonized it might be, sitting amongst groups of cats that are clueless of the terrorizing grief flowing through her. She had half a mind to stop where she was and let her body drift to sleep, but she was torn between the safety of camp and the quiet of the forest. After just a few more paces, however, Mistpaw had no choice. She collapsed onto a nearby fern, panting.

Mistpaw looked up at Sootclaw not far behind, watching him but still not making eye contact. "Sorry..." she breathed, wrapping her thin tail around herself. "I... I don't think I want to go any farther." She lay on the fern, pawing at one bent strand with a tiny white claw. She chanced a look at Sootclaw before quickly looking away again. I wonder how he's feeling... she thought glumly, but she hoped he was okay. If not, he would be soon, and so would she.

Mustering up enough energy, she pushed herself to her paws and locked eyes with Sootclaw for the first time in what seemed like ages. "Will you sit with me?"

[Whiskers]

ooc// Laur, I am so sorry this took so long. D:

bic//

Sootclaw's head was in another place as he trekked slowly over the territory behind Mistpaw and her shadow. His eyes drifted toward her every few moments, an action that had become a habit since the death of Tessa and Sky. Sky had been snatched clean under their noses by a fox-- he wasn't going to let that happen to anyone else. He could similtaneously watch Mistpaw and get lost in his own head if he wanted to, and he made use of that skill today, right now.

Ah, it seemed that because he had spoken of Tessa and his past aloud, it seemed to trot along side him with a sick honey-dipped smile. There was his grandmother, scolding him for acting so immaturely when it came to addressing Mistpaw about her past-- "Really, Alecksander, you should have considered the poor she-cat's feelings. You scared her out of her fur... rude of you..."

There was Sky, bouncing along his toes, just as soft as Mistpaw, but more of a cream color than silver... "Aleck, will you teach me how to fight? I want to protect my mama with you... wouldn't that be fun? We could guard her together..." (He remembered how he had turned her down, for fear that he would crush her. Strange how the past repeated itself.)

Oh, and then there was Tessa. Pretty in an old, roughed-up way. She was quiet, and Sootclaw knew that she was still deciding if she forgave him. In fact, she was probably waiting to see if he could properly protect Mistpaw. Her silence was her way of saying "Okay, Sootclaw, here's your chance. Do something right for a change."

Sootclaw was so absorbed in all these various echoes of what was, that he lost track of his own feet and his head-- it was only when Mistpaw stopped, so abruptly, that he was sure it was because she was hurt that he snapped out of it and realized that he had almost run into her.

He had barely heard her soft-spoken words. Sootclaw blinked a few times to get his head on straight before replying. "Of course. Of course I will sit with you," he dipped his head and then wrapped his long, slick tail around his legs. His eyes rested on Mistpaw's and in her face, he found peace. His mind relaxed and the echoes disappeared.

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[laur]

Sighing, Mistpaw rested her small silver head on her front paws as she lay on the large green fern. She stared at Sootclaw, taking him in; she didn't want to look at anything else. She didn't want to think about anything else. All she wanted was to sit. To find peace. Did peace rest with Sootclaw? She did not know.

Mistpaw's thoughts traveled farther away, against her will. She thought of her future... who it included. She imagined herself alone; that would not do. Then she pictured a handsome brown tom... but it seemed, odd. Her future was blurry, but as she began to think of Sootclaw, it seemed to clear. All she knew, now, is Sootclaw is her future. What else does she have?

He was with her mother. He knew her mother. He knew. He knows her pain. He knows... he knows... it was a comforting thought to the tiny silver she-cat as she let her pale eyes droop. Mistpaw's thoughts blurred again -- sleep was taking over. Whatever happens, she told herself, I'll have Sootclaw. And the wave of exhaustion swept the young cat into the tide as she drifted shakily off to sleep.

ooc:// it's fine! Sorry, this post kinda sucks. I was lost for a response.

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[Whiskers]

Sootclaw gazed down at Mistpaw's tired, shaking body. He was glad to see her drifting away, getting lost in whatever thoughts that consumed her. Would she dream of happy things? Maybe of her mother, her siblings... of running and hunting, playfighting, talking, laughing. Those were the things he hoped that she would have, especially after losing her family twice now. Before, she had had hope. Now, she had the truth and how sour it must taste.

Her breathing, so shaky a moment before, had grown steady. It was quiet of course, but the air whizzed in and out her velvet nose with a whistle-like noise that Sootclaw chuckled at. It was the faintest snore that he had ever heard in his life and frankly, it was the most amusing noise that he had ever heard as well. It lifted his mood a little and he found himself smiling down at her.

The forest around him, however, was much louder than Mistpaw could ever be. He cautiously looked around before getting closer to Mistpaw and then lying down next to her, curling his body around hers so he could protect her, just in case. Their fur mixed-- black against the silver, light against dark. But unlike Mistpaw, Sootclaw stayed awake and tried not to wake her. He looked out, toward the forest, his eyes hard and concentrated. After awhile, of course, the soft fur of Mistpaw was making him too comfortable and he felt as though he should just shut his eyes for a little...take a nap.

"Come on Alecksander. You're tougher then that." Sootclaw spoke aloud, rolling his eyes at himself.

At least he knew that he wouldn't be missed at camp. Though he was a big cat, he hardly talked and therefore, most cats seemed to discard his presence all together. Which was fine... honestly, he did the same to them.

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[laur]

Brilliantly light green eyes blinked open. How long had she been asleep? a few minutes? Or a few hours? She did not know. Mistpaw was vaguely aware of the rough black fur of Sootclaw's beside her. She was wallowing in the dream that seemed to last days that she just experienced.

She was prancing through a thickly wooded forest. At first, she was alone. There was birds and bugs and mice everywhere, but strangely she didn't want to catch them. Instead, her paws were taking her through the forest. Then, Mistpaw saw it. A flash of grey -- her mother. She saw her mother. Heart racing, Mistpaw chased after her until she came to a small cave where Tessa sat. She seemed to be making Mistpaw move towards her; the control of her body no longer belonged to the small silver she-cat.

Mistpaw closed her eyes to remember. Tessa seemed to speak nothing, but at the same time tell her everything she needed to know. She told her, promised her, Sootclaw will always be there for her. That she was to trust him, to love him, to keep him close to her. That he knew he owed Tessa this. That he would do all he could to keep Tessa's baby safe.

Coming back to reality, Mistpaw turned her soft silver head towards Sootclaw as he spoke. Her mind cleared as she inhaled a large breath, sighed, and questioned him. "Who's Alecksander?"

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[Whiskers]

Sootclaw felt dazed as he stared ahead at nothing, at everything. It all just seemed green to him. Green and brown. He wished they could have stayed by the river so he could listen to it babble and watch it slip away, much like how he felt the hours of the day were slipping away right now... slipping into night, chased away by his thoughts...

He was suddenly jerked out of his imaginings by Mistpaw. He had felt the slight movement of her body against his but had made nothing of it. All cats moved in their sleep, hardly was one deathly still hour after hour. It was the word she spoke that alerted him that he was awake and that he had heard his stupid mumblings to himself.

Hearing that word spoken by someone else was... surreal. It made him cringe because he remembered how he was supposed to forget Alecksander as he never did anything right as Alecksander. But he also reveled in the sound of it, which made him realize that he was doing a very, very bad job of erasing his identity and building himself a new one.

But I said I would. I promised Tessa that I'd be a better cat, better than Aleck was."

The result was Sootclaw suddenly timid, his claws scratching the dirt awkwardly as he fought whatever emotion he was trying to feel. "Alecksander... I was talking to myself. Before, before I came to this clan, I was known as Alecksander. I have found it rather hard to adjust."

He suddenly incredibly pathetic and he winced at his kittish behavior.

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[laur]

Mistpaw chewed his words for a bit. I guess we all had names before we were warriors, she thought, but no matter. I suppose I can relate to him having trouble adjusting. She stared at the black tom besides her. "Just like I was known as Sonya." Mistpaw mumbled, "we all have our pasts, and the past is hard to forget. Don't worry," She straightened up, stretched each thin silver leg, and licked Sootclaw's muzzle with a tiny pink tongue. "We all learn to adjust. And I'll help you."

She felt better; flashing a warm smile at Sootclaw, she nudged him lightly. It was a relief, really, to know she had someone to cope with. Someone she could trust, love, play with, and more. It was if he had suddenly become her best friend... and more. Mistpaw hadn't made many friends since she joined the clans -- it wasn't her nature to parade around and strike up conversations with every cat she saw. It was almost a high, now, to feel that the one cat sitting next to her would keep her almost invincible.

"Let's go back to camp, Sootclaw," Mistpaw mused, prodding him in the shoulder with a front paw, "it's more comfortable to sleep in the dens."

ooc:// sorry, kinda short. I just figured we might as well end it. =/

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