A Little Bit Of Help (Please) (c)

❒ Ears perked up as the muffled voice of one of their owner's peers reached them. Huh? Brookpaw turned away from her meal, eyes portraying her intrigue and confusion clearly. At first she'd believed that whoever called out was injured but after her glance turned into full out staring, the young molly relaxed. A grin overtook her maw as she slowly got up onto her paws with a stretch. The other apprentice was into quite a predicament. Poor Stormpaw had his jaws full with fish and it seemed like he couldn't hold them up for much longer. She wasn't too familiar with the young tom but at least knew his name—something she prided herself in. She always wanted to be one to have a lot of intel on her clanmates. It made her feel clever and special. Anyway, it must've been a good day of hunting. Good for him and the clan.

❒ Swallowing the last of her vole, the young apprentice strode right over to her struggling denmate with a slight twinkle of mirth in her blue gaze. "Never fear, Brookpaw's here!" she announced with an exaggerated boom in her voice and a confident swoosh of her tail. She quickly surged forward to snatch whatever she could before the other could drop something. She had managed to nab half of what Storm had been carrying. She waggled her brows playfully and then puffed out her chest as she began to lead the other to the prey pile with a quick twitch of her tail.

❒ The moment she deposited her share of the load, the she-cat waited for the tom to do so as well before piping up, "Good day for hunting, Stormpaw? That was a lot of nice fish ya had there," she purred as she eyed the new additions to the pile. "Who's your mentor anyway? Did they leave ya to heave all these fishes back to camp by yourself?" She continued to study the fish before she turned back. "Anyway, name's Brookpaw. Might as well introduce myself and stuff. I'm a new apprentice and before ya ask me why I know your name, it's just kinda my thing. I like to learn things about others. First thing I do is learn names and other easy stuff like that." She grinned with a wink and then began to groom herself as she awaited the other's response.

❒ Brookpaw felt her grin widen as she watched the tom think about what he could say and then stumble a bit once he spoke up. What could she say? She had that effect on others—something she shouldn't be proud of but certainly was. Her outgoing personality helped her cement her place within the clan and helped her stand out.

❒ She puffed out her chest with pride. "Thanks! I'm all settled just fine. Got a real nice nest too. Comfy and not in a weird corner of the den," she snorted. The young molly stretched her neck then turned her attention back to her companion, "My mentor's Ashflight. He's cool," she shrugged, "Still don't know him super well. Also, Owlshriek sounds like a cool mentor too. What have ya learned from him so far? Anything you can maybe pass onto me?" She batted her eyes for an extra measure before breaking into a laugh. "Kidding, kidding... unless..." She paused teasingly then shook her head. "No but seriously, got any tips for a really new apprentice like me? Don't worry if ya don't. I'm just curious and stuff." Her eyes were sparkling with interest. She hoped to learn a thing or two to be more prepared for her training. It was alright if he couldn't offer her much. No sweat.

❒ Brookpaw's teasing look softened. Oh bless him. Stormpaw was clearly trying and Brookpaw appreciated his honesty. She shook her head with a laugh. "Hey! It's okay. I was just playing around. Thanks for giving me a few things to think about. Honestly, I had barely anythin' to use to practice outside of training but now I know at least somethin'." She reached out a paw and nudged the other apprentice playfully. Stormpaw was an adorable little furball and she didn't like seeing him doubt himself or apologize for trying—some don't even try at all which she felt was way worse.

❒ She retracted her paw and shot him a smile. There was nothing special about this one. It was just something to reassure him. "Stormpaw, if anyone gives ya a hard time, like ever, tell someone about it. Or better yet, come to me. I'll roughen them up for ya!" She unsheathed her claws and wiggled them around as she watched his face with a toothy grin. She then sheathed them back and snorted, shaking her head once again. "Kidding, kidding! But seriously, let someone know. You're a good cat. Don't let others step on ya, ya cute furball." She lifted a paw and used it to mess with the fur atop his head before winking at him and then settling down. Despite her constant teasing, she hoped that he got the picture.

❒ The brown tabby stretched her limbs before turning her attention back to him. "One of these days we should hang out and, I don't know, do whatever apprentices do. I need to get to know more about ya and you need to get to know me. So, whaddya say?"

❒ The she-cat grinned and nodded her head. Stormpaw was sweet and kind. She wanted him to stay like that. "Good. If ya don't tell me and I find out, you're gonna get your fur ruffled by these paws even worse than today, ya hear?" She squinted and leaned in her head closer to his to dramatize her words even more. She then leaned back and chortled. Ah, how she loved to tease her clanmates. She loved them all with all her heart, even the annoying ones. They made her life that much brighter and allowed her to express herself.

❒ Her grin widened. "That's great cause I would've dragged you kicking and screaming even if you'd refused my offer... I don't know about the screaming part cause I can't really see ya as someone who'd scream like that but I'm sure you would've put up some sort of fight. At least, I hope you would've. If not then that's worrying and we need to have a long talk about you learning to defend yourself and all that. I can be, like, your unofficial mentor and all that. Besides, you're training to become a warrior like me so I'd be worried if you wouldn't put those skills to good use." She wiggled her nose then shrugged. "Ya can't let others drag ya around like some sort of prey, not even me." Her grin returned to her face. Her teasing just came naturally to her, even when she was trying to be a bit more serious.

❒ She sat up straighter. "Well, when would ya like ta hang out? Cause I can and will clear out my busy schedule just for my bestest friend." She winked and lifted her tail just to rest it on the small of the young tom's back. There she went appointing someone random titles again. As if she even had the power to. It made her laugh in her head. "But seriously, don't hesitate to come talk to me or come ask me to hang out. I consider ya my friend and I'd be more than happy to be there for ya. I hope we can get to know each other better during our training so we can become best buds," she chuckled but her words were clearly sincere. "Also, don't be afraid to talk to others besides me. You need more friends in your life. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to talk to others in our clan. I can even come with ya if you're ever nervous. I'll be like your guard or somethin'. I won't let anyone say anythin' mean about ya. Not on my watch." She puffed out her chest. She may be a loudmouthed, obnoxious, blunt, and a tease, but one thing she'll never be is someone who abandons her friends—a traitor that abandons her clan. They were her family and she valued them above all else, even her own life. She'd rather die than turn tail in their time of need, make no mistake about that.

《OOC》VERY late last post for this topic. I just didn't want to leave it hanging like this and I noticed that I still had time to post in it before it would be considered an old topic! Thank you again for having done this with me! <3  

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❒ The young tabby couldn't help but grin toothily at the tom's response. She barked out a laugh at his wink and meowed, "Good. That's the spirit! Gotta give them a run for their prey every second of the day!" She snickered and settled herself down. Ah, she never failed to get riled up one way or another.

❒ She gave him a firm nod, eyes shining with a rare gentleness. "That'd be fantastic! Don't worry, I'll take ya up on that offer soon. I could always use a good listener ta rant or boast to!" She shot him another grin and lifted a paw to playfully swat his ears the moment he bumped his head to her shoulder. She purred and set it down. Her eyes traveled to the rest of the camp then back to her companion. "Well, I think it's time fo' me to get back to work," she began with a wink, "I'll meet with ya again soon, yeah?" She offered the other apprentice a soft smile and got up onto her paws. "See ya around, ya furball." With a final flick of her tail, the brown tabby walked away to attend to her chores once more.