stop and stare [c]

Once, she had been thoroughly convinced and convicted that she had known every single shred of information that there was to know about their home. That as Elmbreeze had molded her into being the perfectly poised princess of the nursery, sitting dutifully with her front paws crossed as an idle tongue swiped across them in order to clean whatever nonexistent dust coated her pelt, she had come to absorb every single scrap of information that she would ever need for her training in order to become a successful warrior. Not one that got her paws filthy or stained them with the blood of her enemies, but one that would be able to fight with her tongue. She had very quickly come to learn that the mind was just as sharp as any set of claws, and that was information and knowledge that the snow-kissed molly had taken very deeply to her heart.

Even as she trained with her mentor, despite her absolute apprehension at ever dirtying her pelt and the fear that came with the idea of a battle or scuffle gone too far, she had learned just how wrong she was. Memories of her attempts to push beyond the boundaries of the camp with Larchpaw seemed feeble nothingness compared to what she had learned in just the few sunrises she'd been an apprentice. Whenever she found herself too enthralled with the world around her, Pipitpaw still found herself cut off by her mother's sharp voice, correcting her in her over-indulgence.

It seemed her mother's corrections came out during battle, too. The moment a paw raised too high above her head, it was pure instinct for the molly to hit the earth, flinching as she ducked out of the way of an incoming paw. Even innocent gestures found themselves met with the same reaction: fear. That seemed to be her greatest foe, as to reveal the weakness would ultimately make her an easier target in battle.

That was not what had crossed her mind today, though. Her hazel eyes had closed just enough to show a feigned interest in whichever toms walked by, greeted in some way or another by the molly. It had become her practically natural stature as she interacted with more and more clanmates to use that silver tongue, charming them in this-way or that. She quickly found out that most Windclan cats didn't mind the way her feathery tail brushed along them in greeting, or didn't mind the way she tilted her head down and peered through the upper portion of her gaze to make her the epitome of persuasion. All it meant was that she was getting what she wanted, no matter what it was. She never dared use it with her mentor or the upper leadership; that was simply a fool's errand. But other cats? Cats like the tom-fool, who she now approached~?

They were more than fair game, and Pipitpaw found no issue in letting her tail run along his back as she rumbled a purr in greeting. "Larchpaw, how are you~? Have some spare time to come with me to explore a new part of the territory I found~?" Each word carried a sing-song tune, her gaze being tossed over her shoulder as she poised the question. "Or are you too busy and important with your apprentice duties now to spend time with your kithood friend~?"

Lazily, Larchpaw stretched out next to the fresh-kill pile, admiring the several pieces he'd added to it. He was really becoming quite the apprentice, if he said so himself. Apricity soaked into his pelt, and he savored it. It felt like he was finally coming into his own. He'd been so tired of being a kit... being an apprentice was much better. He'd prove his worth to the world, and they'd all have to acknowledge him. The occasional words of approval that Nectarflower gave him bolstered his pride. Wouldn't it be great if Sootstorm and eventually Tigerstar himself realized his greatness? A smug grin sat on his face as he stood straight-backed, taking a brief moment of respite. Everything was really going to fall into place for him.

A sudden shudder ran through his body at a flowery scent on the wind. It could only be Pipitpaw--and of course, the feathery tail that suddenly ran against the grain of his fur was hers alone. Larchpaw grimaced at the sensation, leaping away quickly. "Ugh, no need to get all touchy-feely with me," he complained, shaking out his pelt pointedly. Being that close to her made him feel weird. He didn't like it. "A new part of the territory, huh? I doubt you discovered it all by yourself. WindClan's been living here for a real long time, y'know." He stopped and took a breath, unruffling his fur. It wouldn't do to get all grumpy and annoyed, even with the most aggravating cat in the Clan. They were still friends anyway, right? It took a moment, but Larchpaw regained his smile. "I'm pretty important and pretty busy, but I guess I could spare a moment for you, if you deem me better company than your many other friends. Which I am, by the way. No one else has my instinctive charm and poise." Golden eyes gleamed at her as he sauntered his way towards the camp entrance. "C'mon then, slowpoke. Lead the way--but if you bore me, I'll just have to run off."

As he grimaced and leapt away, Pipitpaw could only frown with a slight pout. "You liked it when that other molly did it the other day," She accused him with a huff. He certainly didn't seem to mind when one of the other female apprentices had been a bit touchy with him, and if anything, it had only served to bring him the smug grin that she'd somehow wiped away by being friendly. Wrapping her tail tightly around her paws, at least he had the manners to take her up on her offer to go to the place she had found. Still keeping her tail close to her body out of hurt from his disgust at her gesture, the molly made it a point to slip past him in a particularly graceful manner.

"When I say I 'found' it, I mean it's a place I haven't heard any mentors bother to take their apprentices. But we can leave camp now without Nectarflower to stop us. Or, well, stop me. I'm not stuck with her as my mentor." If he was keen on hurting her feelings, she'd do it right back to him. Leaving that jab where it was, she kept her pace at a confident trot. For any other Clan, the pace would have probably been particularly annoying, but for Windclan cats, it was a comfortable movement. "What would you even run off and do, anyways? Try and get Heatherpaw to look at you again?" She chuffed, shaking her head as she continued leading the way in front of him. Though she typically would have made it a point to flick his nose with her tail, for the moment, she was making a show of not touching him. Thankfully, it wasn't too long of a journey, and the fields she had found were just ahead. It was why her pelt was particularly scented at the moment.

"There. Up ahead, you impatient tom-fool."

Larchpaw tried to act unaffected by Pipitpaw's physicality, but the fact remained that he was bothered by it, and he could not put his paw on exactly why. He did like physical contact with other cats. Why did his kithood friend rub him exactly the wrong way? With a huff echoing hers, he tossed his head dismissively. "I don't know, it's just--it's weird. Don't do that. It's not like I want to touch your tail when it's been all over some other tom, anyway. Like I wouldn't notice you flirting with half of the apprentice's den." He was one to talk, of course, but there was no way he was going to let Pipitpaw win any exchange they had. Everyone else bent to her whims; was it really so bad if he was the only one refusing to do so? He couldn't stand the way she spoke to everyone besides him, of course. It was far better to be treated with vitriol than with that honey-sweet purr.

The jab at Nectarflower did sting slightly, but probably not for the reason that Pipitpaw had intended. "And what, exactly, is wrong with Nectarflower?" Larchpaw asked, shooting a golden glare at the back of her head. "She's a respected senior warrior, and she's mentored lots of apprentices before. Just because she stopped us from sneaking out as kits doesn't mean anything about her character. It makes her a better warrior, if anything. We go out plenty often. I'm just glad I didn't have to be some younger warrior's trial run." He flicked his tail after shooting back a barb about Galestorm, as if it had been nothing. Her mention of Heatherpaw made his ear flick, though. "And why, exactly, do you care how close I am with Heatherpaw? She's fun to hang out with. Pretty, too. Believe it or not, other cats have noticed how enjoyable my company is. What, are you jealous or something?" Here his eyes slid sideways over to hers, inspecting her reaction. Not that it was important, or anything. He just knew it would get a rise out of her.

The journey was short, though, and he couldn't hide the widening of his eyes at the area she led him to. Somehow, he hadn't found this particular corner of the moors yet on his long runs, though now he filed it away in his mind as a place to return often. In newleaf, how much nicer would this place be? For now there were still clumps of half-melted snow, and the grasses were still dry and brown. But give it a moon or so of rain, and then, oh stars. Larchpaw blinked hard, then twitched his whiskers and glanced at Pipitpaw. "Well, this place certainly could be a lot worse... but it could be a lot better. It does smell very nice, though." Without further ado he strolled forward, inspecting the few hardy leaf-bare flowers and the earliest blossoms of newleaf beginning to show. Purples, yellows, reds. Yes... once the grass was finally green, this place would be gorgeous.

An ear flicked in his direction at his comment of her tail having been all over other toms. "Says the tom-fool bringing prey to every molly in the apprentice den." She saw how he flirted with Heatherpaw, and Mistypaw, and half of the apprentice's den all on his own. It didn't matter, though, not as they had made it out to the flower fields.

The way he seemed to spur into a tangent at her jab had taken her back, and she had halted for just a brief moment. Her ears flicked back for a heartbeat as her heartbeat itself seemed to suddenly take off running without her. "Nectarflower is fine. I think she just deserves better than an apprentice who thinks the only reason he should do good in training is to impress the mollies." Her words came out a bit snappier than she had anticipated, but... it wasn't like she didn't think that. It wasn't fair for such a strong warrior to have to continue to play babysitter just because her apprentice was more interested in other things than training. ... Not that Pipitpaw herself was much better, but at least the cat she wanted to impress the most was her mentor. It just didn't hurt that she could impress a tomfool or two on the side.

With the fields now before them, though, a smug look came right to the apprentice's maw. "In the morning, there are little clusters of flowers that have started to bloom, too. I like to call them Riseblossoms. Because they blossom as the sun rises." She let the tom prance through, but she quickly surged forward as he got a bit too close to one of the clusters of flowers. "Careful! You shouldn't ruin their beauty with your smug paws." She had grown smitten with this place, and she wasn't going to let such a clumsy apprentice squash even one of the budding flowers.

ooc; pipitpaw is referring to morning glory flowers as 'riseblossoms'!