Please save me from this helper! (For Middy and Steam)

Daypaw's gaze hardened and his eyes narrowed at Curlypaw's compliment. The tom immediately thought of Wildpaw. Nah, I'm not a great brother at all, he thought, A great brother doesn't want to kill his sister. His expression softened as he found himself looking into the beautiful blue that was Curlypaw's eyes. He blinked a couple times before answering. "I try my best to be a great brother. To be honest, I'm far from it. Technically, I don't even fit the qualifications of a brother. " The dark tabby laughed at the thought." Their dad adopted me when I was too little to remember much else. "

Why am I even telling her all of this? realized Daypaw suddenly. It was weird. He never talked about himself or how he felt about stuff. Was there something with the marshes that made him more open and communicative? No, it had to be Curlypaw. Daypaw couldn't blame himself, though. She was funny, brave, and smart. And pretty. Her eyes were his weakness. He needed to get that out of his system at some point. But for now, as he looked deep into them, he was okay with postponing that project.

Curlypaw´s brow narrowed in confusion when Daypaw´s expression seemed to grow harder. Had she accidentally insulted him? She suddenly felt guilt weigh down on her shoulders like rocks falling on top of her, until the toms expression softened and he replied. Though his comment was still a little bit pessimistic, he didn´t seem to be upset anymore. That was a big relief. Then, of course, she wondered why she felt so much worse at making him feel bad than Crowpaw, Lilacpaw, or Willowpaw. It was probably because he wasn´t a jerk. Practically the opposite.
"Well, I know how it feels to not be the greatest when you are trying so hard to be. And I also know how it feels to not quite fit in," the gray tabby reassured, blue gaze falling to meet his bark colored eyes. "And don´t worry, not being blood related to your siblings doesn´t matter, as long as you act like you are." It took all of the will power inside of her not to nuzzle Daypaw in that moment. It was actually kind of embarrassing.

Daypaw didn't really agree with her, but he nodded anyway. "I guess you're right," he replied. He looked away, feeling his muzzle warm up under her gaze. Trying to find a subject change, he thought of the frog Curlypaw went after earlier. "Hey, I have a question for you. Why hunt frogs when there's mice and stuff just out of the deep marshes? There might be a higher chance of annoying cats trying to interrupt and criticize you, but the food's better, right?" It was kind of a stupid way to change the subject, but Daypaw really liked talking to her, and he didn't really know how.

Curlypaw jolted slightly at the sudden awkward change of subject, though was a bit relieved. It was clear both of them were ready to stop talking about all of that deep stuff. Purring slightly in amusement, the apprentice replied. "I guess your right. I usually hunt over there, just today was weird. I do prefer mice to frogs, and mice are easier to catch."
In her experiance mice had been easier to catch. She had caught mie before, but had never caught a frog. That was one of the reasons she came out here. And for peace of quiet. But the real reason, as embarassing as it was, was t get away from the birds that nested in the taller trees. Birds were like her spirit animal, but in a bad way. They always made her feel bad about herself, and she couldn´t bear to look at them when she was already feeling bad.

Daypaw felt a little strange when Curlypaw finished speaking, as if there was more to hear. However, the gray tabby didn't elaborate further. Well, thought the brown tabby, There might be more to it, but I can't push. I'm the exact same way. The tom nodded instead, laughing. "Yeah," he purred, amused," mice are easier to catch." The tom pulled his paws a bit out of the mud, as they had begun to sink slightly. Suddenly Daypaw grew self-conscious.

"Well," he mewed," I don't want to distract you and keep you from catching your frogs..." he stifled a chuckle," ....so I'll leave you to hunt some more, if you want." The tom cursed himself. He added way too much emphasis on that last part.

Curlypaw nodded a little bit awkwardly, knowing that the amount of skill needed to catch squirrels in comparison to frogs was just a topic to distract themselves from stuff that they didnt want to talk about. But that didn´t seem to be working. Noticing what Daypaw was doing with his feet, she looked and saw that her own paws were only mud coated, not sinking. She was a bit lighter than the other apprentice, even if he was older. Looking over at a deeper part, she was glad that ShadowClan cats were able to tell the difference between shallow mud and deeper mud. Her thoughts were interrupted as he spoke again, his words giving her mixed emotions. On one paw, she wanted to talk to him longer. On another paw, she was glad that their awkward conversation was over. On another paw, she was confused by the emphasis he put on if you want. And on another paw, she was glad to have an excuse to get away from him so she would stop going crazy for him. No she was out of paws.
"Well then, I guess that I will keep hunting," Curlypaw started, taking one last look at his hadsome pelt before yelling at herself for even thinking that. "Have a nice day, Daypaw! I hope you won´t have to save anyone else from one of your siblings!" Was that flirting? No, she decided, it wasn´t.

Daypaw visibly relaxed and nodded. "Yeah, hopefully," he chirped, before turning to leave. His paws made a strange sound as they pulled themselves out of the mud. He got lighter on his feet and began to jog back to camp. The second he was out of sight, he sprinted. The sudden exertion of energy took his mind off of the conversation, and off of her. You're an idiot, he told himself sheepishly, You've never been awkward like that. Ever. What was up with that? As the tom neared ShadowClan camp, he slowed down and began to control his breathing. You know what? I think I like her.