Aspens in the Dawn Light {CLOSED for Belle}

I'm the best.
No matter what Tawnystorm says.
I'm just better than she ever was!
Aspentail perched herself upon the beech copse, digging her claws into the old bark. She was still fuming over the argument - yet another one between her mother and herself. She'd said to be less selfish, and the the newly appointed warrior couldn't understand what the elder one was rattling on about. After all, in Aspentail's mind, she was truly the best - never mind the others. She'd show Tawnystorm who was right!
It was true that deep down, she knew she was wrong. The brown she-cat knew she was selfish. Arrogant. Even mean. But she'd never admit it, nor would she even recognise it. What she did recognise inside herself, though, was good intentions. Genuine ones. Though Aspentail didn't always know how to show them, they were there.
Now, however, she wasn't letting that get back on her mind, instead letting out her frustration onto the peeling bark. The dragged her claws through the skin of the trees, angry. Stupid Tawnystorm! Stupid RiverClan! Stupid everyone!

What she didn't notice was footsteps, steadily padding in her direction.

Dawnpaw had decided to leave camp for a while - the stress of what was going on was too much for apprentice to cope with. First her brother Poplarpaw brought a little bundle of white fur back to camp. Then the incident with Fernpaw. After that - just to add to her despair - her father, Smokeface, went missing. Dawnpaw's mother blamed it on herself and had a lot of kits to look after so Dawnpaw had offered to help the poor queen.
The incident with Fernpaw, however, was... different. A deep anger burned inside her at the thought of the poor rogue apprentice she had met. She had fallen in love with him, she'd realised that by now. Yet Fishstar had told him to leave, told him that he couldn't join Riverclan, and the silver she-cat would never forget it. It was all Fishstar's fault! She knew that Fernpaw would die on his own in Leafbare! Just the thought of it infuriated her.

With a sigh and a flick of her tail, Dawnpaw smelt another cat close by. It was a Riverclan cat, thankfully, but who? The tabby apprentice peered through a small bush and saw a beautiful grey she-cat. Watching for a few moments, she realised that this warrior or apprentice was angry - very angry, and not in the mood for a little friendly chat. She were taking out her anger on the trees, leaving claw marks behind. Good idea, if I'm completely honest. It might do her some good, however, to have a chat. Perhaps calm her down, maybe.

Padding forward, she approached the cat and said, "Hey, you okay?"

Aspentail snapped her gaze around at the sound of a voice, jumping a little. "I'm fine," she replied gruffly. It was obviously not the truth, but she didn't care. She identified the she-cat before her quickly. She'd seen her around the camp from time to time, and she was only a moon or two younger than she was. "Dawnpaw, isn't it? Well, no need to sneak up on me like that, anyway." Her voice sounded mildly irritated as she returned her attention to the claw marks in the bark.
Screw it.
It wasn't like she was going to prove anything just sitting around scratching wood. Though she was still angry, and grumpy as usual, the brown she-cat pulled her claws out of the copse and turned to face the tabby in front of her, a frown still across her face as she awaited a reply.

Dawnpaw almost jumped in surprise as the cat turned to look at her. When she saw the she-cat's face, she faintly recognised it from occasional passings by through both the territory and the camp. The two, however, had not spoken before.
"Yes... Sorry.." She trailed off then glanced around her. If the cat - who she believed was named Aspen.....pelt? No, Aspentail! - didn't want to talk about it then she wouldn't pressure her. Instead her turned her head and licked a little bit of fur sticking up on her back, smoothing it back down. "I didn't mean to... uh... interrupt you... You just looked a little.... unhappy?" The silver she-cat said, trying to find the right words. What was she supposed to say?

Danwpaw sat down on the frozen ground and curled her tail around her paws to keep them warm. She gave a polite smile to Aspentail, not wanting to annoy her more than she already seemed to be.

"Well, thanks for pointing out the obvious there," Aspentail sighed. She lightly traced circles into the ground with her claw as she spoke."Things are a bit rough between me and my mother - you know, Tawnystorm?" She just doesn't understand me..." She stopped abruptly. The warrior found herself surprised at how much she was opening up to Dawnpaw - normally, not even a whisper would come out of her when it came to her problems. She didn't like getting help, not at all. She could sort out her strife on her own. Why was she beginning to spill it out to this silver tabby, of all cats?
"Not that you care," she added hastily, tossing her tail.

And as much as she resented it, maybe she needed help.

Dawnpaw was about to say that she understood what Aspentail must be feeling, but truly, she didn't. Instead she tilted her head slightly. "I'm sure it'll be okay in the end - you'll work things out." She reassured. She wasn't the best at making people feel better, but she'd try all she could. Besides, a true friend might be nice - sure, she'd met some good cats, but who was her friend? She'd had Fernpaw, but he was gone now and there was nothing to bring him back.

She shuffled a little closer, gazing at the she-cat. The apprentice might not know exactly how the warrior felt, but she knew what it was like to feel alone. "I'm here if you wanna talk a little more about it." She wanted the grey cat to feel like she had someone to rely on, someone she could come to if she was angry or stressed. The more Aspentail opened up about it, the more Dawnpaw would understand.

It took a moment for Dawnpaw to realise that she had been gazing into the warriors eyes. Surprised, the apprentice shifted her focuse onto her own paws, feeling a little awkward. What had she been doing?

"Wait. Y-you really care? You're not just going to leave me alone with my problems?" Aspentail blinked in surprise. Why? Why was Dawnpaw listening? Why did she want to help her? She didn't know the last time anyone had wanted to help her.
Well, Tawnystorm had tried.
She wanted to help her. And she didn't want to be helped.
But maybe here, she needed someone other than Tawnystorm to try and help her. Maybe she needed a friend, or more.
At that moment, it struck her, the realisation that came as both a relief and a resentment. She liked Dawnpaw. She was willing to listen. She was kind, she was generous with her time. She's...she's the opposite of me.
And all of a sudden, she knew that friendship was a possibility. No more feeling alone. No more loneliness.
"T-t-thank you," she continued, her brash tone slipping into a quieter one of surprise. It was almost jarring to hear the aloof Aspentail speak like that. "Tawnystorm doesn't understand me. She thinks I'm rude. Arrogant. Too proud. Too ambitious, too haughty, antisocial, the list goes on," she groaned. "She's worried about me! Worried about the rest of my life! She's just worried for no reason!"
She dug her claws back into the ground as she spoke, but for the first time ever, a thought occurred to her.
"Maybe she's right," she murmured under her breath, not wanting to acknowledge that she might be wrong.

Dawnpaw tilted her head to the side. "Of course I do... I mean, why would I leave you alone to feel bad about things that aren't your fault?" she said. The young tabby would do all she could to make someone feel better - it was one of the greatest feelings. Just knowing that you'd helped someone would brighten any cats day, especially in the cruel Leafbare.

The apprentice listened to Aspentail with an understanding gaze. Dawnpaw was having family troubles herself, and it was frustrating and upsetting - she knew that. Besides, this cat was worth listening to. Dawnpaw knew that underneath a hard shell there was always a soft, kind cat. It was just a matter of letting that cat show.

"She only does it because she loves you. She wants you to have the best life possible, it's just hard to get your feelings across sometimes." the tabby answered, glancing up at her possible new friend. It was true - Dawnpaw liked this cat. Sure, she had troubles, but so did every other cat. "Maybe Tawnystorm is stressed out? She could be having issues herself and it might be causing her to lash out at you without really meaning it." Dawnpaw thought about it for a moment. Sometimes cats did things they didn't mean to when they were tired, stressed, or angry about something - perhaps it was like that with Smokeface? He went missing, and Dawnpaw was determined to figure out why. He was her father, after all.

"Maybe. I know she wants the best for me, but sometimes, well..." Aspentail sighed. "She has been really stressed out. She never takes breaks, and she's been pretty upset after Smokeface left. They were best friends, she was his mentor and he was mine. You..you make a fair point." The warrior jumped down beside Dawnpaw.

"She does mean it. Not i a nasty way, but she means what she says. I really hate to say it, but I think she's right." As soon as the words came tumbling out of her mouth, she nearly fell over. Had she just admitted that she was wrong? She could hardly believe what she was saying, but at the same time, she felt some weight lift off her shoulders.

"It's taken me this long to realise that she's right. I am nasty. I am arrogant. I am grumpy. I am obnoxious. That there's always gonna be someone better than me."
Aspentail, what are you doing?

"And...I-I don't want to be like that. I want friends. I want people to like me. I do want to be the best eventually! I want to be like you, Dawnpaw, but I just don't know how to!" she choked. StarClan knew what had possessed her to realise, let alone spill it all out. This wasn't her, was it?

Dawnpaw flinched slightly at the mention of Smokeface, but she did her best to remain calm. "I know what that feels like... Smokeface is my father." she said, but listened intently to the rest of what Aspentail had to say. Finally, Dawnpaw realised, she had gotten somewhere. The she-cat was letting out most of her feelings and opinions on the matter, and that was a good thing. Smiling, the tabby looked at Aspentail.

"Well, I don't think it's really true. You are probably just using your actions to cover up something that has been hurting you. Not physically, but mentally. Sometimes all you need is a good chat - to let things out, share your emotions with someone else. Emotions can be a heavy burden." She replied, her eyes filled with warmth and friendliness. She would be this cat's friend - of course she would. A friend was a someone you could trust and talk to, knowing that they would understand and try to help, no matter what. You'd stick together through thick and thin, and it was an uplifting feeling.

"I like you, Aspentail. I'll be your friend, if you want me to." She said. Her ears perked up as the warrior said she wanted to be like her. Nobody had said that to Dawnpaw before and it filled her with a sense of pride, a sense of belonging. Everyone loved someone to look up to them, but a warrior wanting to be like an apprentice? "You don't need to be like me, Aspentail. You need to be yourself. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise." she said, before adding, "To find yourself, you just need to have patience. As irritating as it may be, listen to others - take in their advice and use it to better yourself. You'll find life much easier. Share your emotions with others before they stack up and begin dragging you down." Dawnpaw continued to look at the warrior and continued her long speech. "Sometimes to make up with other cats all you need to do is apologise, even if you did nothing wrong." The apprentice knew from experience that all it took to bring cats together could be just a few words.

"You like me? Really?" Aspentail could hardly believe the words she'd just heard. "You want to be friends?" She blinked in disbelief, though a smile was creeping up her face. "Thank you, Dawnpaw. I guess, well, I'd been bottling my emotions up. I didn't want to accept help, I guess. You don't need to be that nice though, I know I don't have a lot of the best personality traits. I accept that. It's just hard to control them. I don't want to mass-murder everyone, or be feared through the clan. I just want people to like and respect me, if that makes sense. I mean, I'll keep your advice in mind. It might be hard, but I'll try." Her grin settled into a small smile. She knew she had work to do, to be the best version of herself she could be. Dawnpaw's words were her wake up call. The thing she'd needed for so long.
"And Dawnpaw - don't worry, I like you too."

"No problem, Aspentail. I'm... glad I could help." She said, happiness flooding through her. She'd been able to help this cat, it had just been a matter of allowing her the time she needed to let it all out. "Nobody's perfect." She replied, her smile growing slightly. She let out a small chuckle, saying "I most certainly am not." It was true, she was not perfect in any way, she just tried her best to understand and it payed off once in a while.

"I guess you just have to try and see things through someone else's eyes." The apprentice added with a nod. Her smile only continued to grow when Aspentail said that she liked Dawnpaw in return. "Thank you, Aspentail." She said with more than a little relief.