Just kiss and make up, or something (c)

Sitting with his fluffy tail curled neatly over his paws, Curlypaw sat near the freshkill pile having just finished his meal. It hadn't been the most amazing piece of prey he'd eaten, but it satisfied his stomach just enough, which was perfect considering he'd much rather let his other clanmates have the better prey. Letting out a yawn caused from the long day of apprentice tasks, he began to lick his paws in attempt to clean himself, though the snow that was clumped between his paw pads made the task a bit difficult.

It was amazing how Curlypaw's fluffy head just wouldn't explode no matter how intensely she stared. She sighed, her stomach growling after spending the majority of meal time willing the curly haired apprentice to go away with her mind. Why did she still feel this way? He beat her in a spar once! So why...?

Pushing back her anger, Firepaw pretended not to see the young tom as she scanned the fresh-kill pile and grabbed a robin.

It was obvious that the russet apprentice was purposely ignoring him and unfortunately he knew exactly why; because he'd beaten her during one of their spars. He hadn't wanted to best her, he really hadn't... and the divide that it'd put between them truly hurt his heart. It's not like they'd been that close before that day, but seeing as though Firepaw was Rosepaw's sister as well as just being a fellow apprentice and clanmate, he didn't want this strife between them.

Putting his paw down from cleaning, he took in a deep breath. "Firepaw, how are you doing?" he asked, genuinely curious as to how she'd been, seeing as though she'd been refusing to speak with him.

How was she doing? Fantastic, in truth. Until she got reminded of her first failure as an apprentice everytime she saw Curlypaw- She took a deep breath in, and exhaled loudly to collect the simmering rage she seemed to always hold inside. "I've been... Fine." She took her bird, thinking of just walking away and leaving it at that. But... Rosepaw seemed to enjoy the company of this tom. To what extent, she had no idea. Didn't matter.

So instead, the russet she-cat sat about a fox-length away from Curlypaw. She would humor him this time. "Curlypaw, how are you doing?" She meowed the same question back at him, mockingly.

Her words cut through him like a thorn to his paw pad and while he hated it, he knew that her feelings towards him were warranted, to some extent. Claws digging into the ground below, he found himself growing frustrated at the situation. He didn't like this feeling; his whole body felt clammy and his thoughts were racing around his head. He knew that he needed to help them figure this out before it went on for much longer.

"Listen, I know you told me not to apologize, but I'm going to anyway," Curlypaw huffed, leaning forward so that she couldn't avoid eye contact unless she physically turned all the way around. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I won our battle, our stupid battle. It meant nothing to me, okay? You're obviously a way better fighter," whether she wanted to hear his words or not, he didn't care. He was going to speak his mind, and that was that.

But... speaking his mind like this... it didn't feel good, not one bit. After he spoke, shame flooded his mind and his ears fell flat against his head. Under him, his paws had become so stiff that clumps of dirt had gotten stuck all over his claws. Relaxing his tense stature, the apprentice let out a sigh and leaned back, turning his amber gaze to the ground below.

"Please... please don't be mad at me," he said in a calmer and softer tone, his heart filled with longing to simply just be her friend and not her enemy. "I really don't want us to fight. I like you a lot... you're so strong and have such a burning passion for becoming a strong warrior. It's... it's really cool," he mewed softly, looking back up to the russet pelted she-cat.

Firepaw's fur bristled for a moment as she eyed Curlypaw's claws slowly stabbing into the earth. There was no way he would strike her, but this was a very new thing for him to do, especially with her. He looked frustrated, yet another new emotion she had yet to witness until today. She opened her mouth to say something most likely rude, but the curly apprentice cut in. The battle... Meant nothing to him...? Did he mean to make her feel like she was the mousebrain for being this upset over losing her very first battle to a pacifist who cried about every little thing-- "That battle meant everything to me! If anyone else found out about how you had to barely tap me to win, I'd be a laughingstock! StarClan, even Rosepaw would laugh at me! I'm the daughter of ThunderClan's leader, Curlypaw. Every battle I take part in reflects back on the clan." Maybe no one had ever saw her as Mottlestar's offspring or ever really expected anything of greatness from any of her siblings, but to Firepaw? She felt the pressure of it daily. Her other siblings were ranking up faster than she was. Curlypaw could very well be next. She hated it.

For the first time, the russet she-cat truely looked at Curlypaw, finally seeing the clear distress he held. Maybe the spar had meant something to him. Though it was fox lengths away from what it meant to her, his was friendship. That was all he had ever wanted from her, wasn't it? To the point of standing up to her and speaking his mind even if it seemed to physically make him sick. Her green eyes widened in realization of what she had been doing to him. His intentions had always been to make friends, and his sorry's this time felt sincere to her, not him just saying it for the sake of saying it. "Look, Curlypaw..."

The tom broke off his gaze from her, sighing deeply as he finally relaxed his now earth-covered claws. He thought she was cool and passionate...? No cat had ever said that to her before now. If she hadn't known better, she would have blushed at the compliment. "...Fine. I'm not mad anymore. And not just because you called me cool." She cleared her throat. She was not used to these types of things. "If you promise to never tell ANYONE about this, especially Rosepaw, then we can be... She looked around, green eyes narrowed and lowering her voice. "Friends."

Listening as she spoke, he was able to understand where she was coming from and why this all meant so much to her. Being the daughter of the leader must certainly bring a good amount of pressure for her to become a strong warrior. Even he had the overall pressure to become a trustworthy and mighty warrior, and he wasn't even a leader's son.

Ears perking up as she began to speak again, the widest smile slowly grew on his maw until it took up his entire face as Firepaw whispered her final word; friends. Wait... she said it? She actually said it! For a moment he couldn't believe it, but he knew that his ears weren't deceiving him.

"I promise!" the curly pelted apprentice exclaimed, jumping up from were he sat. "Oh Firepaw, you won't regret it! Being friends; this will be amazing! I can't wait to go on more hunts, do some more sparing sessions... I can't wait!" he purred, tapping his paws happily against the ground below, his fluffy tail fiercely swishing back and forth. She'd probably reprimand him for his sudden burst of excitement, but he didn't care in the slightest. She actually wanted to be friends, what an amazing day this had turned out to be!

The russet apprentice was quick to hush Curlypaw, her face felt flush with embarrassment. "SSSHHHHH!!!!" She caught him in a headlock, desperately trying to make sure his excitment wasnt heard by others in camp. Though this was just to hide that she, too, was smiling like a kit who'd just won a game of mossball. Wanting a friend waa a normal thing to yearn for, but because she had a tough time making friends outside of her own Sister, Rosepaw... She couldn't help but want others to think she was unbothered by it.

She released him from her headlock, her smile gone. She'd rather be struck with lightning than let the curly apprentice see.  "You better mean what you said, though. About sparring and going on hunts together." Her robin went untouched, her heart and mind too full of excitement over Curlypaw enthusiastically agreeing upon their friendship.

Accepting her headlock as being her form of adoration, Curlypaw couldn't help but giggle. Being released from her grasp, he took in a deep breath of air and gave his pelt a shake. "I super-duper promise!" he mewed gleefully, his wide smile not leaving his face for a moment. He couldn't wait for them to do more together, not to mention getting to practice his skills was always welcomed.