Not-so-Empty Threats (Closed)

Laurelpaw could not believe her incredibly bad luck.

Instead of enjoying the beautiful sunny day with Necterpaw, Silentstrike had ordered her to go on a hunting patrol.  At first, even though she was a bit annoyed, the white and speckled apprentice had been fine with it; it was when he assigned her a companion she truly realized how unpleasant this would be.  As she trudged away from her mentor with angrily reluctant paws, the fiery young she-cat's greenish eyes blazed as her sights rested on the abominable dark gray tom; Stonepaw.  Uhg, having to patrol with him is more of a punishment than getting sent to the Dark Forest....

Her mouth set in a emotionless straight line, the lithe young she-cat nudged his shoulder roughly and let out a tight meow, making no effort to hide her disdain.  "Silentstrike says we have to go hunting together, so get moving.  The sooner this is over, the better."  Rolling her eyes, the self-centered apprentice turned and stalked towards the camp entrance, the tiny hairs along her spine prickling with irritation.  Under her breath, she hissed a few unintelligible words; "Why do I get stuck with the cowardly idiot?  I could be patrolling with a true warrior.....but noooo!  With a deep sigh, Laurelpaw pushed her way through the tunnel and out onto the moor, not bothering to glance back at her 'partner'.

Stonepaw had been not having a good dream before Laurelpaw woke him up.

A black forest loomed over the gray apprentice, whispers echoing through the undergrowth like malicious bird-song. They grew in intensity as he desperately chased the white/gray pelt of a familiar figure: Nectarpaw, his best friend. He called after him, urging his lumbering paws to go faster despite always being slower than the nimble apprentice.

Stonepaw stopped when Nectarpaw suddenly turned to look at him with a look of pure hatred. His eyes shot disgust into his soul, making the dreaming tom's heart drop in his chest.

Before Stonepaw do something, anything, he woke to a pair of green eyes looking down at him in annoyance. The tom listened with growing anxiety and irritation- he couldn't deal with Laurelpaw right now at all. "Okay," he replied with sleep still evident in his voice. With an unhappy yawn, the large gray tom followed the cat he was the least sure about out of camp into the open, grassland territory of their home.

Not even the beautiful weather could curb Laurelpaw's deep-set anger and annoyance as she led her fellow apprentice out into the wide, open fields of their territory.  Making sure to avoid the large burned patch of grass near the camp, the lithe young she-cat jogged along down a familiar rabbit trail.  This was the path that led towards the Gorge, and Laurelpaw couldn't help but feel a prickle of pride when she thought of that day.  Ha, watching that coward cry to Necterpaw like a lost kit was priceless!  Idiot...no true warrior of WindClan would cry about something so pathetic!  Still, even though she hated it with every fiber of her being, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad for the seemingly lonely tomcat.  His plea for Necterpaw to stay with him had been deeply heartfelt, and the look in his eyes pierced her soul.  Still, the cat he wanted for his own was her best friend, the cat she had known and loved like a brother since birth!  Stonepaw has no right to claim him, or whatever he's trying to do!  Maybe I should make sure he knows who he's dealing with....  

Twisting her head a bit to glance at the gray tabby tom who trudged behind her, a threatening glint flashed in her narrowed eyes as she stopped walking and turned around.  A cruel smirk on her muzzle, Laurelpaw lifted her head slightly and tilted it in an almost playful manner; but not in the usual kit-like way.  Allowing the tips of her claws to extend from their sheathes, her eyes narrowed as she took an intimidating step forward.  Not breaking eye contact, she began to speak, voice laced with spite.  "Well little kittypet, I hope you've enjoyed the time I've allowed you to spend with Necterpaw; but like all things in this world, that must come to an end."

In a flash, Laurelpaw bared her fangs and pounced forward so she was nose to nose with the tom, yellowish-green eyes blazing like that fire that had almost demolished the camp.  This time though, there was no mist to quell the flames.  Her voice darkening to a tone never heard before in the young she-cat's mouth, she growled out a warning; "Listen to me very closely Stonepaw; I'm not going to tolerate a nobody like you intruding and messing up things I care very deeply about, you hear?"  Taking another step forward, Laurelpaw placed her paw right between his and pushed against his chest, forcing her opponent to take a step back.  Teeth gritted, she hissed out a last chilling sentence;

"Stay away from Necterpaw, or I'll make you.

OOC: Omg RAInyheart that was one beautiful post oh my starclan she's the best villain-in-the-making ever!!!XDXD

The wind blew through his thin fur as the gray apprentice followed the light gray she-cat on a rabbit trail. It once gave him comfort to feel the air brush around him, but now it felt as though pure weight anchored down his paw-steps as fear grew heavy in his heart. The silence, which grew around them like a festering storm, erased any drowsiness within their first few fox-lengths outside of camp. The empty moors no longer gave him a sense of freedom and wonder- it made Stonepaw well aware that they were completely, and utterly, alone.

His heart jumped into his throat when the she-cat suddenly stopped in her tracks to face him with those terrifying green eyes.

Stonepaw backed away little by little as Laurelpaw threatened him, yellow eyes widening as the thing he feared most occurred before his eyes. His heart desperately wished that they could've gotten along somehow, but something deep within him hadn't let him get his hopes up too much. 'She wants me to stay away from Nectarpaw,' he thought with a mixture of terror and grief. His eyes started to tear up, and frustration started press insistently against his chest.

"I can't," Stonepaw replied tearfully, "He's my only friend!" He gave her a look of pure, hopeless desperation. "Why can't it be the three of us?" The large gray apprentice quickly turned away as harsh emotions overwhelmed him before coming back to look at her with pained expression. "Why can't we be friends?" (OOC: Lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DmYLrxR0Y8)

(occ: UHG WHY my browser crashed in the middle of writing this Dx I managed to save some, but the first part of the first paragraph I had to re-do)

Laurelpaw let out a scoffing snort at Stonepaw's tearful plea, not moved at all by his words; if anything, they only infuriated her more.  Unsheathing her claws all the way, she took another step forward towards the gray tabby tom, the green fire burning in her eyes flaring even fiercer.  "Oh boo hoo, the poor little kittypet is lonely?  Well too bad!  There are plenty of cats in WindClan, why don't you go cry to one of them instead of meddling where you are clearly not wanted?"  Pausing for a moment, Laurelpaw's face seemed to transform in a heartbeat, a cruelly devious smile spreading across her muzzle and eyes gleaming with a knowing look. She knew just how to get under the panicked tom's skin.

"You do know Stonepaw, that Necterpaw only hangs out with you because he feels bad for you, right?"  With a slight chuckle she flicked her ears and stepped back a bit, letting her words do the most damage in the moment.  "Heh, yea...Necterpaw has always had a bleeding heart.  He would try to befriend a badger if he could....so why do you think you're so special?"  With a coldly amused laugh, Laurelpaw rolled her eyes and continued.  "You're not his real friend!  You just appealed to his sympathy; another basket case he wants to try and save! I though, am not him. You will find no sympathy here! I will never, ever be friends with a coward by the likes of you!"

(OOC: Ah man I hate when that happens!Dx And sorry for taking so long to reply, feel free to throw pomegranates at my face or something if I take more than a day and a half to replyXD)

Stonepaw bowed his head with tears pooling painfully at his eyes, never feeling more betrayed. All his worst fears about her were true, and worse. Each word felt like a stab in the heart, slashing his wounded organ bit by bit into tattered remains. Doubt weighed down in the pit of his stomach. What if Nectarpaw was just his friend to be nice to him? Stonepaw still hated himself for hesitating to save his best friend at the gorge. Why would anyone want to be friends with a cat like that?

But then his grief twisted into anger. A sudden fire flared in his chest, growing into rage at the one cat that just seemed to have it out for him no matter what he did. Why did she loathe him so much? What did he ever do to her that could make a cat say such cruel things? Looking up from crying at his paws, Stonepaw looked at the smaller she-cat. How was she any better than him? 'I'd never say such cruel things to a single cat,' Stonepaw thought. 'I may not deserve Nectarpaw as a friend, but neither does she.'

He stopped looking at his feet to set angry-teared yellow eyes at the evil she-cat. "I know I'm pathetic, but at least I'd never say such horrible things to another cat." He took in a shaky breath. "I don't deserve Nectarpaw as a friend, but neither do you. I-I'm glad, Laurelpaw, that I'm not friends with you, because I could never be friends with someone who's so cruel."

(ooc: *throws pomegranate* ;) Oh hey, a fun thing to thing about; Laurelpaw and Stonepaw are cousins through their mothers, and Necterpaw is Laurelpaw's uncle on her father's side xD)

For a moment it seemed as though Laurelpaw had won. Puffing out her chest arrogantly, though the white and black-ticked molly was quite a bit smaller than the grey tabby tom she had a presence that seemed to demand attention, as though she sucked in all the air from around her and used it to lift herself higher. A smug smirk plastered on her muzzle, she was about to turn around, flicking her tail with a flourish, before stalking ahead but to her surprise Stonepaw dared to speak up. And speak up he did.

In an instant the young she-cat's face lost all it's former conceit, recoiling back as if he had struck her with the fierce words that came from his normally timid mouth. Yellowish-green eyes widening in shock, for a moment Laurelpaw looked a bit doubtful, as if she was questioning herself and her intentions with logic for once, but that brief moment of self-aware clarity faded quickly, and her fiery eyes once again narrowed venomously, face twisted with intense rage.

Slamming her front paw down roughly onto the ground in front of her, she bent her head for a moment and took a deep breath before letting out an angry hiss. "SHUT UP!
You imbecile, how dare you speak to me that way! Are you trying to piss me off?!" Spit droplets spraying into the air in her rage, Laurelpaw unsheathed her claws and, with muscles tense and ready to strike, raised a fore-paw to the sky, preparing to have it come crash down onto Stonepaw's head in he spoke one more word. Nobody disrespects me like that! Nobody!

(OOC: :O They're COUSINS?!:O Hahahaha that's perfectXD Ooh boy we could do stuff with that later if we want *dodges pomegranate*)

Stonepaw jumped back with a quick, surprised yowl at the she-cat descending upon him like a nightmare. His yellow eyes were bugged open, watching the claw above him with shock. For a moment he thought it would wouldn't strike, but the intent was more than clear to the gray apprentice when he instinctively dodged and found it swiping the air instead of his body that had been there mere seconds ago. His eyes swiveled downwards to look at the spit droplets that had flown from her mouth, the substance shining eerily on the moor grass beneath their tensed paws. His gaze went up to the she-cat's face twisted beyond the realm of reason feeling as though he had seen her for the first time.

"You're....you're evil," Stonepaw concluded with terror coursing through his system. There was no reasoning with a cat like that. The gray apprentice was now convinced without a doubt that if he stayed any longer, he would get killed- or worse.

Without another glance in the she-cat's direction, Stonepaw scrambled away with one thought in mind:

Warn Nectarpaw.

(ooc: THAT'S gonna be an awkward family reunion xD)

Laurelpaw growled as her paw swiped through empty air; though as first she hadn't planned to hurt the cowardly gray tom, only intimidate him, but something had overtook her and that paw came crashing down a hair's width away from his face.  Digging her claws once again into the dirt, she watched as the other apprentice gazed up at her with pure fear in his eyes, and uttered the last words she had ever thought she would hear.  You're evil.  Was she evil?  She didn't think so, at least as far as she could feel.  Was evil a feeling?  She had heard the old tales about Lionfur and Saltpelt, along with other truly evil cats.  She had seen the deeds of Rockthorn, the wounds left on her clanmates and the scorch marks left on the ground by the fire he had caused.  Was she like that?  Was she cruel enough to murder cats in cold blood to get what she wanted?

Of course not! I would never kill someone without good reason, it goes against the warrior code!  In a sudden turn of heart, Laurelpaw's face softened into worry and she reached out a paw as she called back to Stonepaw, who was already dashing away.  "Wait!"  He didn't look back.

For a long while, Laurelpaw just stood in the middle of the rabbit trail, gazing at where Stonepaw had fled.  She wasn't sorry, very far from it actually, but she did feel a strange feeling in her heart....as if something was almost.....shifting.  As if this was a turning point in her life, and nothing after this would ever be the same as it was before.  Sitting back on her haunches, Laurelpaw shifted her gaze to the sky above, forever blue.  I should feel guilty....I should be ashamed of myself....I should have run after him and apologized....told him I've had a bad day and my temper flared up.....but I didn't.  I don't.  I'm not sorry at all.

Why does this feel so....natural?