lying in wait [open]

On an afternoon that would seem uncomfortably warm to most, though she'd never known any other sorts of weather in her relatively short life, Flashpaw honestly wasn't doing anything of much importance. For the moment, she was simply passing time by watching her clanmates go about their day, as painfully average as it was: a small group of other apprentices were having a conversation nearby, the details of which she couldn't quite make out over the usual bustling sounds; queens and warriors sharing tongues as kits did their very best to escape their parents' watchful eyes.

It all painted a picture of normalcy in a way that was almost boring, except for the part where it was hot and dry and humid and there was far less water than the river-dwellers had long since become accustomed to. Not that any of this mattered all that much to Flashpaw, who had never known a RiverClan that wasn't hot and dry and humid; to the point of older cats' tales of a river overflowing seeming almost too difficult to believe.

And then there was her, watching all of this unfold at a carefully calculated distance. It wasn't that she was at all intimidated by those around her - in fact, she was rather relaxed - rather, she was content to sit here on her own and wait for someone to approach her; after all, such was the natural order, or at least the way she saw it.

(Pure blood and natural talent placed her at the very top, after all. She was the best of the best, with nothing to prove to anyone else. Why should she have to go out of her way to do something so simple as socialize?)

Shimmerpaw sat in the distance, grooming herself. She had just come back from a hunting patrol with her Mentor, Ivystar the leader. In the distance, she saw Flashpaw sitting there, watching. A prick of unease grew in her heart. What was it about Flashpaw that made Shimmerpaw uneasy? Shimmerpaw herself did this most of the time.

But there was something in Flashpaw’s gaze that seemed to indicate she wasn’t shy like Shimmerpaw was. She was waiting for people to socialise with her not because she was shy...but because she believed she was...What was that word? Superior? Yeah, superior.

Shimmerpaw hid a snort as she thought of something. If anything, Shimmerpaw should be the one feeling superior. Her Mentor was the clan leader, after all! What was there to not be proud of?

As she was watching her clanmates, a pair of eyes fixed on her drew Flashpaw's attention. She recognized Shimmerpaw, one of her older denmates, and narrowed her gaze - what was the other apprentice looking for? Some sign of weakness? Her whiskers twitched in amusement at the thought. Ha! She won't find any here, anyway, she thought to herself. Still, she couldn't let even this perceived slight pass her by without any response.

Finally she spoke, her voice too sweet to be sincere. "Are you looking for something, Shimmerpaw? Whatever it is, I'm certain I don't have it - unless it's talent you're missing. Social skills, perhaps." She did her very best to feign concern - not that she ever gave less than that to anything. "Oh, try not to worry about it too much - I'm sure you'll find some eventually."

Shimmerpaw’s tail twitched oin surprise as Flashpaw turned and spoke up. Who made dirt in her fresh-kill? She hadn’t caught on that that was just how Flashpaw always was. She wasn’t exactly hurt by what Flashpaw said. She didn’t even really catch on that it was an insult yet.

“I mean...Technically I can also be looking for ugliness outwardly and am not finding any.” Shimmerpaw pointed out. “I can say with absolute certainty that I have now found inner ugliness, however.”

It wasn’t after the words were out of her mouth that she realised how rude it was. Mouse-brain! Now she’ll try to pick a fight and you wouldn’t have the strength to back out of it! Shimmerpaw scolded herself.

Flashpaw's eyes narrowed once again, this time into an all-out glare. "I don't recall the part where your thoughts hold any weight," she said, simple and matter-of-fact. "You'd best keep them to yourself, or else you might offend someone." The concerned expression was back, just as obviously fake as before. "You just don't seem like the type to handle confrontation well, Shimmerpaw, so I'd keep my distance from it if I were you. After all, I'd hate to see you get hurt."

Lazily, she flicked her tail and looked away. As far as she was concerned, the conversation was over; her thinly-veiled words of warning swiftly delivered. She wasn't going to raise a paw against Shimmerpaw, regardless of what happened next - she respected the rules, after all, as much as she was willing to bend them when it suited her - but her words were her own and she could say whatever she liked, and if it got her denmate to mind her own business then that would only be a benefit.

Mousepaw's eyes searched the camp for Flashpaw, his crush. He didn't want the light blue flower in his jaws to die before she could see it. It was already wilting when Mousepaw found it, but it still looked pretty. He locked his sight on Flashpaw. Who is she with? he wondered. Curious, he padded across the camp towards her. Now that he was closer, he could see it was Shimmerpaw, Ivystar's apprentice. Mousepaw wasn't sure how to approach her. He didn't want to interrupt, so he just waited nearby. When it looked as if the conversation was over. Mousepaw walked closer to his crush. "Hey Flashpaw," he said after he dropped the blue flower at her paws, "I found this flower. I thought you might like it." Mousepaw smiled, hoping she would smile too.

Addershade had overheard the exchange between Flashpaw and the other apprentice.

The old tom was already reluctant to take part in idle conversation, and the petty back and forths of apprentices were about the last type of exchange he’d ever want to get involved in, but....Flashpaw was his apprentice, and he supposed being her mentor, it was at least partially his job to try and keep her out of trouble-- or keep her from causing it. And he’d feel a little bit responsible if Shimmerpaw responded and Flashpaw ended up making good on her little veiled threat.

Still, he really didn’t want to get involved. He immediately began chasing every bit of logic that would justify staying out of it. Sure, she was his apprentice, but she wasn’t his kit. He was really responsible for her practical training, not her behavior. Besides, he wasn’t the only warrior around. Someone else could intervene if need be.

But then Mousepaw approached the conversation. Mousepaw was Streamtail’s adopted son. After Applefang had died, Addershade had told her that she was part of his family, and that if she or her kits needed anything, he’d be there for them. And he had meant that. Besides, no matter how hard he tried, he also couldn’t really talk himself out of having responsibility for his apprentice’s actions, so...if there was some kind of altercation about to take place, there were now potentially two cats involved who he had some responsibility for.

Reluctantly, Addershade pulled himself from his place and walked closer to the trio of apprentices.

“Hi, uh-- you three,” he said, eyes jumping nervously from cat to cat, totally unsure how to approach the situation. He cleared his throat and tried to project some kind of gravitas, realizing that seeming so unprepared would certainly not help him assume a position of authority in the conversation. “Is...everything okay here?”

Shimmerpaw stared at Flashpaw as she turned away. That had definitely been a threat. What, as if Shimmerpaw wasn’t also of pure RiverClan blood herself. As if she did anything worse than Flashpaw did...

For a second, she spotted Addershade out of the corner of her eye, and hope sparked. Surely he would do something about his Apprentice threatening someone? He was a pretty strong warrior, so surely he was responsible enough to-

Ahh. No. All hope vanished as Addershade didn’t step in. Of course he would. Nobody would want me over Flashy Flashpaw, would they? Shimmerpaw thought. That was a fact she would have to live with. What does Mousepaw see in her anyways? Her looks?

As if to make Shimmerpaw’s first thought worse, Addershade then came over to ask if it was okay. He was onviously here because Mousepaw had come over. Not because of Shimmerpaw and how Flashpaw was obviously being awful to her.

A small burst of anger swelled in Shimmerpaw’s chest. Turning, she ran to the edge of the camp and curled up, still watching the scene play out, but as a bystander instead. Her mind subconsciously screamed “SOMEBODY NOTICE ME, PUT ME BEFORE FLASHPAW PLEASE!” but she herself wasn’t even aware of it.