Ruffled Feathers, Fluttering Wings (open!)

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Juncopaw was stealthily placed to intercept the path of any small creature who dared cross her path.

If you counted lying slumped on a branch half-asleep mumbling in your own head about leaves and flowers stealthy vigilance.

The lazy silver tabby was being a total, total mouse-brain and she knew it. But she had about as much will as a wet piece of moss this morning for some reason. Forgetting to eat last night had probably done that. Spending with time made her forget things, as lame as that was. Still, their encounter had helped her realize a few things.

Speaking of realizations...what was that brown thing coming - HOLY CRAP! BEAR!

Juncopaw was scrambling down the branch, slipped, and twisted clumsily, falling out of the tree within the space of three seconds before she realized it was not, indeed, fire. In the next few seconds before she safely twisted (for the most part) and landed on the ground with minimal pain she realized that there was no roaring, smell, or any other signs connected to a bear. No, it was only Sparrowtail a few foxlengths in front of her.

How. Bloody. Dumb. Was. She. She tried to make it up by cowering into a respectful pose, eyes averted, tail curled low.

"Uh...hi there. I-I'm sorry, miss Sparrowtail, for erm, f-falling out of the tree...uh, I can, er, leave you alone, if you want..."

Not three hours into the day and she was an idiot. Way to go, ace. But maybe Sparrowtail would forgive her and they could hunt together and maybe if she were really lucky Sparrowtail would teach her stuff! Yeah, right. Sparrowtail was super scary for a young warrior, all strict and disciplined and awesome. Just the way Juncopaw wanted to be.

Ha, like that'd ever happen.

[Poizuun]

sparrowtail

Sparrowtail had been out stalking prey all morning it seemed and had come up empty so far. At the moment she was stalking a large rabbit that had accidentally made itself known to her while she was looking for a squirrel or bird. Or even a mouse buried in the snow. So the she-cat was lucky to find such a prize on accident. Her dark amber eyes hadn't left the rabbit since she first spotted it and her white paws hardly made a sound as she followed it, her odd double tail twitching periodically.

But then, the rabbit froze, rearing up on its hind legs, ears and nose twitching madly. Sparrowtail froze instantly, one white paw raised into the air. Her fierce features were even more intense with the concentration of holding her entire lanky body as still as possible so as not to arouse the rabbit's suspcions. However, it was something entirely different that set the rabbit running off into the brush. She was tempted to follow and perhaps make the catch, but by the time she stood up straight, the rabbit was out of sight and more than likely hidden somewhere that she could not track. She glared about, looking for the source of the disturbance of her almost-fine catch and then spotted Juncopaw. Her ears laid back for a moment until the apprentice spotted her. She did not want to appear unhospitable and her ears came back up as Juncopaw began talking.

"I'm glad you're all right, but perhaps you can reverse time and bring the large rabbit that could have fed you, me, and another couple of cats back."

[glowlynose]

Firefang's morning hunting expedition had thus far turned out to be frustratingly unfruitful. He understood it was still leaf-bare, but still, he'd expected there to be signs that PineClan territory still had life other than cats in it. All he'd seen all morning had been a single downy feather, probably from an eagle, resting next to the skeleton of an unidentifiable rodent. Had it not been for that, he would have been content with not finding any prey, but that was practically flaunting the eagle's full belly in his face. He knew the expression went "If you've got it, flaunt it," but sometimes that just wasn't right.

So he had resigned himself to being a failure at hunting for the day when all of a sudden a rabbit bolted through a thicket and froze in front of him, obviously terrified. The poor thing must have been startled. Honestly, it was a bit of a shock to him as well. He nearly missed his opportunity to catch it, he was so surprised at his sudden good fortune. The rabbit's ears twitched once and it darted to the right, but Firefang tackled it to the ground with the force of a linebacker and snapped its neck.

He stepped back to marvel at his catch and to breathe a prayer of thanks to his starry ancestors. A hunt did not usually merit such an act, but this rabbit was large enough to feed multiple cats in his clan, and feed them well. It had practically dropped out of the sky and into his paws! Even if it was not a blessing, he felt like he should thank StarClan. It was never a bad idea to build up brownie points.

Firefang picked up his catch and began to travel back to camp, his head held high, life surging through his step once more. Imagine what they would think when they saw this! Maybe he'd finally get some attention. But was that a good thing? All eyes would be on him, all ears tuned to hear his voice recounting the story of his miraculous catch. The clan hadn't had food like this since Gingerstar had taken Rainpaw fishing, and even that had gone to the Elders. But this would go to feed the clan. Some of the apprentices had gone without food for a few days, despite Firefang forsaking food himself in the hopes that the young ones would get to eat. The clan needed this rabbit, not the Elders. They got to eat first and were always full. Even now, bearing his trophy back to camp, Firefang could feel his stomach contracting and twisting in hunger. When he got back, he could always take a small piece of prey from the bottom of the pile before setting out to hunt some more.

Ah, but there were voices in the forest, and one of them sounded royally annoyed. Sparrowtail was chewing out some poor apprentice for messing up a kill, like she had never made a mistake before in her life. It sounded like she'd been going for his rabbit, surprisingly enough. So the apprentice had frightened the rabbit away from Sparrowtail and into his paws. It was strange how the universe worked sometimes.

"This rabbit, Sparrowtail?" Firefang stepped up to them and set his catch down, smiling mysteriously. He did not usually speak out of turn like this, but Juncopaw deserved for someone to stand up for her. She had been clumsy, yes, but there was no reason to go beating guilt into her mind. From the looks of it, she felt bad enough already. "It ran out of nowhere and straight into my paws. Sometimes time doesn't need to be reversed for good things to happen. And, Juncopaw," he turned to face the apprentice, smiling gently now, "Try not to fall out of the tree next time, okay? Now come and help me take this back to camp. I'll hunt with you after we drop this off, if it's okay with your mentor." There, that should cover all the bases. Sparrowtail was put back in her place reasonably, and now Juncopaw had someone to keep her out of trouble for the rest of the day.

"Everyone okay with this?" Firefang grew nervous now. What if he'd truly overstepped some boundary? What if Sparrowtail hated him now? What if Juncopaw didn't appreciate his help? So many things could go wrong once mouths were opened and words were spoken.

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Deer in headlights had nothing on Juncopaw.

Her entire body, not just her face, was expressing the shock. Her blue eyes were huge, their pupils slits in the sunlight and from shock. Her tail was bushed out, her paws trembling.

"A-buh a-buh a-buh a-buh a-buh a-buh...."

Then she shook her head, aware she was looking even dumber in front of two warriors. Her gaze, so frightened and locked on Sparrowtail a moment ago went to rest with utmost gratitude on Firefang. "Thank you very much, sir. And yes, yes you're right...." The young she-cat looked away for a moment, but then turned her face back to him. "...c-certainly, sir. That sounds like a good idea. I'm sure Aspenheart won't mind, and well, I obviously need to learn a few things." She smiled self-deprecatingly.

Juncopaw couldn't claim to know the deputy well, in spite of him being her mentor. Still, he was strict but freethinking, not as uptight as Gingerstar.

Then the 10-moon-old apprentice remembered Sparrowtail, and looked back at the skinny brown-and-white tabby. She opened her mouth to speak - then hesitated. Would she sound arrogant, saying this as a mere apprentice? Probably. She'd probably sound stupid and arrogant. But she was saying it anyway, although she knew she'd look like a kit.

"Can Sparrowtail come too?" She chirped. Yep, she regretted it. Still, she wanted to look friendly and inclusive, even if she was actually scared of Sparrowtail and a bit hurt by her comment, even if it had been fair and true. But she was scared of everyone on some level, so it wasn't too much of a difference.

Two teachers were better than one anyway. Oh, she hoped Sparrowtail wouldn't be mad.

[Poizuun]

sparrowtail

Sparrowtail's dark tabby fur bristled when a cat appeared with her rabbit. Initially, her eyes focused only on the large rabbit and not the cat who had it. Her white whiskers were thrust forward with indignance and then she looked up to face the cat that had caught her catch. Her anger fizzled a bit, but was still high as her pride was wounded. She had wanted that rabbit and to be praised by her Clan for catching such a large prize in the middle of leaf-bare. The rabbit had been her's and Firefang was going to reap the benefits of catching such a large prize. Her double bob-tail twitched as she thought. She of course couldn't demand that of the other warrior without seeming to be a brat, so all she can do is sit and stew and be angry as she watches everyone congratulate Firefang on his wonderful catch when they get back to camp.

"Yes, that was the rabbit that I had been stalking." She said coolly to Firefang, her ears swivelling and whiskers twitching. "And had Juncopaw not fallen out of the tree, it would be sitting at my paws." Her claws kneaded the ground as she tried to keep her temper under control. Of course she was not okay with this. Firefang got the rabbit, Juncopaw got rewarded for being out of camp alone and ruining her hunt by getting to go out hunting with the other warrior, and Sparrowtail got nothing for anything. But she would not say it out loud, so she just stayed silent, claws clutching the ground as Juncopaw asked if Sparrowtail could join their hunt. 'The audacity!' She thought. 'I am not an apprentice to be rewarded with a hunt. Especially not to be invited by another apprentice.' The tall she-cat chuffed and looked away from the pair indignantly. She would not subject herself to the disrespect she was receiving from the two of them.

{ooc} took out all of the 'deputy' stuff, sorry glowly -snuggs-

[glowlynose]

Yep. Firefang had screwed up, big time. Why did he even let himself talk? Whenever he did, something bad happened. Now Sparrowtail was annoyed and upset- he could see it all over her face- and Juncopaw was getting off easy. In his attempt to get her out of the warrior's hair, he was actually preventing her from learning a valuable lesson. The world wasn't always on your side, and though he pitied Juncopaw, she would need to learn to stand up for herself. If Briar had learned, Juncopaw could learn. But now what could he do? He'd made the offer, and he'd just seem like a jerk if he revoked it. He didn't want anybody to be upset with him. When cats got upset, they got angry, and when they got angry, bad things happened. Horrible things. Juncopaw wouldn't have the gall to do anything too bad, but Sparrowtail... she was a force to be reckoned with. She would take the most effort to appease.

So he set the rabbit down in front of her, putting on an indifferent face as he said, "If you really want the rabbit, take it. Should have been yours in the first place, and I'm not one to take credit for something someone else did. If you don't want it, we'll be on our way, and I think I'll find something else for Juncopaw to do instead. Hunting doesn't seem to be lucky today." He shrugged. "I'm sure her mentor will be able to come up with something for her to do."

He turned his gaze toward Juncopaw now, hoping that she wouldn't hate him. He was probably just digging himself a bigger hole, but oh well. At least something was being done. He'd always had issues with that. Big brave Flare, daddy's boy, too afraid to stand up and protect his own brother, too afraid to chase his brother, too afraid to save his sister, and now too afraid to upset a she-cat. Yeah, he was sure his dad would be really proud of him now. "What on earth were you doing outside of camp by yourself? You should know better. Not only were you jeopardizing your own safety, but you interrupted Sparrowtail's hunt. It was foolish and selfish of you, Juncopaw. Your mentor will have more to say, I'm sure.

"Speaking of foolish, I was foolish to offer for you to come hunting with me. I was out of place. Aspenheart should be in charge of you, not me. We'll find him first thing when we return, and then he'll decide what to do with you. I apologize for my foolishness." Why was it that when Firefang got to talking, he always said so much? The more words he said, the more likely it was that someone would be upset with him, but he just couldn't stop. Things needed to be said, and it was better to say them now than after somebody got hurt. If his father had taught him anything, it was that.

So why did he say some things and not say other things? Why did he internalize so much if the best thing to do was to say it? He supposed it was because nobody cared. He could be proud this time though. He'd been firm and done the right thing, like a warrior was supposed to do all the time. Knowing Juncopaw, she would probably start blubbering, and Sparrowtail was unlikely to accept the rabbit because of her pride, but at least he'd tried. That was all anybody could really claim in the end, he supposed.

[/center]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Her happiness vanished as quickly as a leaf being torn to smithereens.

Her face sunk, her whiskers drooped, her tail flopped unhappily, and she looked down. She sighed. The silver tabby suspected it was only right. Why had she ever thought things would turn out nice? No. Life was about consequences, and here was another.

Why had she ever bothered to leave home anyway? She didn't belong here. But it was too late to turn back.

Firefang would probably expect her to start cracking up, and of course as soon as she thought that, she could feel it happening. I will not blubber, she told herself firmly. I will not blubber in front of two warriors, one of whom definitely hate me and the other probably will soon.

"Fine." She choked out, trying to keep a shudder out of her voice, barely managing it. She bared her fangs at the ground, angry at herself, then looked up with grim acceptance on her face.

"You're right. I should have known better. Although, look on the bright side. If I'd been hurt it would have been no loss." She added with gloomy, self-deprecating humor. Doubtless they'd agree.

"Mmm, Aspenheart will think of something suitable for a mentally challenged apprentice, I'm sure. He should plan a program, as I'll probably be one for a while." Another joke in the same style. Another true statement disguised as false sarcasm. They cheered her up, in an odd way, reminded her that she was insignificant and therefore if she indeed died, the loss of a useless half-kittypet wouldn't hurt the Clan.

Then she laughed.

"Foolishness? No one will blame either of you; why would they? I'm the kittypet mouse-brain apprentice, wrongs automatically get charted to me with those three factors on my side. Ah well, I'm my mentor will lose no time correcting me, as he should. Then I can pretend I can learn things and be useful! Fun, no?" She smiled, well aware that this little speech would probably get them both angry. But the moment had been worth it.

It was sincere, though, even if they both would probably only see the top layer and assume she was being impertinent. It was better knowing they didn't care. Then they could all move on with their lives, and nothing would change, and her little half-rebellion moment would be forgotten.

One day, she would be able to not say anything and just follow orders and remember things. Ah bliss.