Midnight with a cedar and a lonely crow~

Crowpaw carefully tried to step out of the apprentices den. He flinched when he made a bit of noise. He turned to check if the other apprentices were asleep. Once knowing the coast was clear, he headed out on one of his routine midnight strolls. He was a reserved cat. He usually kept to himself or just plain "disappeared." He sighed softly as he walked through the suprisingly peaceful Shadowclan marshes. Other than the occational frog croak, everything was silent and serene. He enjoyed walks like this. It helped him relax and think. Although he enjoyed solitude, he couldn't deny that it did get lonely once in a while. He always wished to talk to someone other than his family. He wished he could hold a conversation on his own. He wished he wasn't shy and afraid to make mistakes. He stopped at a certain point of his nightly adventure as he was deep in his daydream. He also hadn't realized another presence that had followed him silently.

The brown tabby she-cat opened one of her blue-green eyes when a noise reached her ears. A dark shadow moved forward to the apprentice den entrance and Cedarpaw was curious about it. The young and outgoing apprentice stood up and followed the other cat, who was black as the shadows of the night.
The she-cat walked quietly a steps away from the dark furred tom and finally stopped when he did. It was strange that an apprentice wandered alone in the territory, without any other apprentice or his mentor. "Hey! You! What are you doing out here on your own?" She said out loudly, trying to catch his attention. Unlike him, the fiery she-cat was pretty loud and outgoing so she wasn't afraid of saying what she thought or doing what she liked.

The night-colored tom jumped at the sound of a voice. He quickly turned around and stared at the other cat with wide eyes. Uh-oh! He was caught. He slowly started to back away. No! He must stand up and communicate. "I-I'm taking a s-stroll. Like I usually d-do." He said also trying to make his voice sound louder than it usually was. "I-I'm always b-by myself..." he looked away and continued much softer, "S-Sorry if I-I woke you u-up." he looked very embarrassed and ashamed.

Cedarpaw blinked confused by the submissive and shy attitude of the apprentice. The Shadowclan apprentices that she met usually were loud and arrogant, like her. But this tom... was different. Even interesting and cute in some way. "Don't be. I like the night after all." She meowed without giving so much importance to the fact that the black cat woke her. "Isn't it boring to go alone? I can't understand why an apprentice would like to be alone, honestly." The brown tabby cat looked at him confused and with her head inclined to one side, like a lost puppy. Her green eyes tried to understand the purpose of the tom to go out here by himself. "By the way, I'm Cedarpaw, Curlypaw's sister. Who are you?"

He averted his gaze. "I-It does get l-lonely sometimes." he said with a sigh. Walking a bit closer to the she-cat to stand beside her. "I-I'm Crowpaw. T-The youngest of Rowantalon's first litter." he said softly with a look of suprise since he didn't stutter on the last part. "Would y-you like to join m-me o-on my stroll?" he asked her quietly. He secretly wanted her to join him.

Cedarpaw smiled with her usual confidence and nodded. "Yeah, why not? After I'm already here because I followed you." She meowed to the black tom. "So, what do you do during during your strolls?" She asked walking beside him and enjoying the fresh air of the night. She liked the marshes, the wet floor under her paws and the sound of the multiple insects around here. Cedarpaw could understand why Crowpaw liked to be out here.

He gave her a shy, tiny smile before saying, "W-Well...o-on my strolls I enjoy d-day dreaming, exploring, a-and talking to m-myself." His eyes suddenly held a bit of saddness. He decided to change the topic. "U-Umm Cedarpaw...What d-do you enjoy d-doing?" he asked softly.

Cedarpaw looked at the tom, confused by the last thing he said. "Talking to himself"... The she-cat couldn't understand why someone would enjoy its own company like he or she was alone in the world. It sounded... sad and lonely. The she-cat hated to be alone.
She thought for few seconds her answer, looking at the stars of the night. "Well,
I like hunting, competitions, games and be with my friends or my family. I like to chat a lot but Curlypaw seems to be busy these last days so I hadn't talked to her so much." She sighed and then turned her head to the black furred tom by her side with a bright smile. "Also,
I think that now I enjoy this kind of strolls of yours. The stars sure look beautiful tonight."

He gave her a genuine smile before looking up at the dark yet lively night sky. "T-The stars are s-sure gorgeous tonight." he whispered to the she-cat beside him. He turned to her. His eyes filled with happiness, an emotion he rarely seemed to show. "I've never spoken to another cat this long before." He spoke as flawlessly as if he had never stuttered before. His voice was deeper and filled with more emotion. He suddenly looked down and continued quieter. "O-Others push m-me away o-or just i-ignore me." Without looking up he asked, "Will y-you push me a-away...like the o-others?"

The she-cat smiled when Crowpaw agreed with her about the stars. Despite their opposite personalities, Cedarpaw could see that they had some things in common and she liked being around the dark tom. Maybe that was why she worried when her new friend lowered his head and talked about his relationships with other cats. Cedarpaw moved forward and stopped in front of him, so he would stop walking like her. She looked at him seriously and talked with honesty. "Why would I do that? You invite to a stroll with a wonderful night and you're kind to me. I don't see why anybody can dislike you and leave you alone because I can never do that to a friend. Friends are supposed to be together whenever they can, right?" She gave him a final smile, showing him that she wanted to be his friend because she liked him and once she had a friend it was hard for her to push him or her away.

His eyes widened at the she-cat's words. His fur fluffed up even more than it already was making him look like a lost kit. 'Somebody cares about me...a cat not from my family.' his thoughts where going everywhere. He looked at her lovingly. "Thank you for being here." he whispered to his first best friend. He purred happily and suddenly sprung up and batted Cedarpaw's ear. He looked at her playfully, his shy and nervous self was pushed away to reveal a happier and much more lively Crowpaw. "If it's o-okay with you, would you like to join me on my strolls everyday?" Crowpaw asked.

Cedarpaw shook her head playfully and laughing when the shy tom touched her ear. "Mm... let me think..." She said putting a false serious look on her face. The she-cat smiled prankishly and jumped toward the black tom, rolling and finally standing up over him. "Of course! I would love to do this every day when I'm free from training!" Cedarpaw touched Crowpaw's ear just like he did and purred glad about making a new and trusting friend. Maybe they were pretty different about almost everything but she trusted the dark apprentice because he seemed so honest all the time. She felt comfortable around him.

OOC: I think this is the end of their first encounter. :3

Crowpaw purred back. He was joyful that she agreed to give him company on most of his strolls. He looked up and sighed. Dawn was close. He looked at Cedarpaw with a tiny smile. "L-Let's head back. We should get a tiny bit of sleep." he said. He started to head back but not before turning to whisper a thank you.