A Trio Of Good....Friends? (Closed for Squirrelnose and Wavedream)

With a energetic bounce in her step, Laurelpaw emerged from the apprentice's den into the vivid new-leaf sunlight. This time of day the clearing was crowded with cats sharing prey and talking, seemingly content with laying the day away in the sunshine. Well, Laurelpaw had other plans; much more exciting than sitting around and relaxing, that was for sure. In her experience though, everything was much more fun with friends, so her gaze began to search the camp for Necterpaw. She and the multicolored tom had become quite close lately, and he was her go-to cat for any adventure. Finding him by the prey pile, he seemed to be talking to another apprentice who she vaguely recognized. What was his name again.....Boulderpaw? Rockpaw? Pebblepaw? Shrugging it off, she trotted up to the pair of toms and sat down beside Necterpaw, her yellowish-green eyes shining with excitement. "Hey Necterpaw! You wanna go explore? I have a great place in mind." In anticipation, the white and black-ticked she-cat shuffled her paws in the sandy earth, beginning to grow impatient.

Stonepaw was chatting happily with his new and first true friend only to be interupted by a white she-cat with black tints light on her pelt. He looked over at her, the usual energetic sparkle in his yellow eyes dimming warily at the interruption. Is she going to join their conversation or is she going to take Nectarpaw away? The awkwardly large gray tom hoped for the former.

When the she-cat apprentice practically ignored him in favor for talking to Nectarpaw, Stonepaw felt a wave of fear accompianied by a pang of rejection. The tom decided to try to be friendly to her in hope that he was just overreacting-maybe she didn't know about his reputation as a bossy rule-stickler. "Hi I'm Stonepaw! Can I come?"

"A new place to explore? You know I'd never turn that down," Nectarpaw replied, his voice laced with excitement. Though he had really been enjoying talking with Stonepaw, his love of adventure and exploration out ruled the content feeling of talking with a friend.
"Of course you can come, Stonepaw!" Nectarpaw mewed as if he wouldn't have it any other way. Which was probably true. Turning more to Laurelpaw. "Laurelpaw, this is my friend, and he is great! As he said, his name is Stonepaw."

Eyes brightening, Laurelpaw jumped to her paws and almost jumped straight in the air. "Great! Let's go, I'll show you the way!" She was about to dash off, expecting her friend to follow behind, but she didn't expect for the other apprentice to ask if he could join; and she didn't expect Necterpaw to say yes. For a second her eyes narrowed a bit, but after a brief moment of silent thinking she meowed a hesitant; "Oh, yea sure, you can come..." We've never brought another cat on our adventures...I hope I don't regret letting him tag along.... Turning away from the two toms, the white and speckled she-cat flicked her ears mischievously and purred; "That is.....if both of you can keep up!" Zooming out of camp at full speed, she ran out on the open moor for a short distance before turning to gaze behind her, seeing if the two toms were still behind her.

Grinning, Nectarpaw took off after Laurelpaw, the thrill of competition getting the better of him. He was totally ignorant of the fact that Laurelpaw and Stonepaw didn't seem quite comfortable with each other, and only knew that he liked them both and assumed by the end of their adventure, his friends would be friends with each other. 
"I'll keep up alright, and I'll pass you!"

Stonepaw felt like a lumbering badger compared to the other two apprentices' running pace. The gray tom was built better for close combat fighting, not racing against his quick fellow Windclan apprentices. "Hey, wait for me!" He called in protest, not wanting to be left behind.

Nectarpaw ran a few more paces before giving in and slowing down a little. He wanted to prove he wad faster than Laurelpaw, but he didn't want his friend to feel left out. He felt a little frustrated at both of his friends, Stonepaw for being slow and Laurelpaw for not knowing he was slow. But he knew those were both not his friends faults, so he tried to ignore that nagging feeling.

Hearing Necterpaw's taunt, Laurelpaw glanced back half-way and yowled "Oh really?  Well, try to pass this!"  Putting on an extra burst of speed, the lithe she-cat shot ahead of the two toms, laughing happily as she felt the wind fly through her fur.  Suddenly, she realized that she could only hear one set of running paws; her own.  Skidding to a halt, Laurelpaw glanced back to see her companions far behind, seeming to be walking slowly.  With a frustrated growl, Laurelpaw quickly ran back and joined them, flashing an annoyed glare at Stonepaw.  "What's the hold up?  Come on, we have to get a move on!"  Her paws shifting impatiently in the grass, she waited for her friends to start running again.  We have places to be!  Plus, we have to get there before the warriors start patrolling again...

It was now that Nectarpaw noticed the tension between his friends. Throwing a worried glance between them, he tried his best to try to lower the level of arguing. "It's okay, Stonepaw just was a slower. How far away is this? I've seen him chase rabbits, so if it's only a short run we can make it."

Stonepaw felt a stab of hurt at Laurelpaw's harsh glare. His tail dropped dejectedly. "I'm sorry," the apprentice mumbled at the she-cat's irked words. It seems like he was right- she didn't like him at all.

When Nectarpaw defended him, he perked up a little. At least Nectarpaw was still okay with him-even if it's just for now. After all, his friend doesn't know about his rigid rule-following. Encouraged, the tom nodded along with Nectarpaw. "I can do that, I promise!" He exclaimed.

"Okay then. Laurelpaw, lead the way!" Nectarpaw proclaimed. He was relieved that Stonepaw was agreeing. He starting running at a mild pace, enough to be fast but still let his friend keep up with him.

For a moment Laurelpaw stood still, visibly perturbed, when Necterpaw defended the slow Stonepaw. Her yellowish-green eyes narrowing, the lithe she-cat dug her claws into the peaty earth to control her temper. Why is Necterpaw defending him? Does he not want to go on an adventure and have fun? Does he just want to sit around and talk to that slowpoke? Am I not good enough for him? I'm better than Stonepaw.....right? Suddenly, Laurelpaw's eyes rounded out, and a soft, slightly ashamed look crept onto her angled face. Am I...jealous? In a heartbeat, her demeanor changed. Flashing a guilty glance at Stonepaw, she meowed a quiet; "Sorry" before turning back and jogging towards Necterpaw. Taking the lead, she meowed; "It's not that far, we can go at a slower pace." Besides her efforts, she couldn't help but fan the flame of envy in her chest. I knew it was a mistake to let him come.....

Stonepaw felt happy and confused at Laurelpaw's apology. He thought the she-cat didn't like him- why is she being nice to him now? Is Laurelpaw giving him a chance? Feeling a flicker of hope, the large gray tom followed the apprentices that were now accommodating for his slow pace.

The scent of rabbit filled his nose as he bounded through the moor. "I think there's a rabbit ahead!" Stonepae exclaimed to his companions, tail twitching with excitement. He couldn't wait to catch some food for the clan-

He stopped short when the pungent smell of another clan's scent-markers plunged into his nose.

Nectarpaw bounded along with his friends, relieved that Laurelpaw seemed to be getting along with Stonepaw. At the mention of the rabbit Stonepaw smelled, Nectarpaw realized that that would probably be a good idea, but he really wanted to get to the spot Laurelpaw was talking about quickly. "Let's wait to hunt until after Laurelpaw shows us this place," Nectarpaw suggested, hoping it wouldn't bring back the tension between them. As his friend stopped, he did too, smelling the scent markers of their border.

As the small troupe of apprentices traveled across the moorland, Laurelpaw's excitement seemed to grow with each paw-step. They were getting close to their destination; she could smell the scent markers already, along with the aforementioned rabbit. Ignoring the prey, the lithe white and speckled she-cat walked right up to the border and turned around to address her friends. Yellowish-green eyes glowing, she asked mischievously; "Have either of you two ever been to the gorge?" Winking, the troublesome she-cat stepped across the border and waited for her friends to cross as well, so they could finish the very short walk to the edge of the dangerous cliff face.

(occ: ;D)