Among Smoke and Ash [CLOSED]

Blinking her emerald green eyes open, Ashpaw woke up in the apprentice den as a shaft of Leafbare sun crossed over her features. The silver-pelted she-cat gracefully rose and slowly stretched in her nest, kneading her paws in the moss of her bed.

After grooming herself, she emerged from the den and looked around the camp for something to do. She had no particular training plans for the day in mind. She shivered slightly from the cold and raised her coat to keep warm.

Smokepaw flicked her tail. She had been resting on a small, flat rock in the centre of the camp, attempting to soak up the first few rays of sunlight. Leafbare had been harsh, so she needed all the sun she could get. Smokepaw adjusted her position. Her whole body still showed signs of the recent fox battle, and it was rather difficult to lay somewhere without it hurting. She gave a slight wince as one of her wounds brushed against the rock, and she changed her position again. Smokepaw closed her stormy grey eyes to rest, her pitifully thin fur fluffed up against the chill.

The camp clearing was mostly deserted. Most cats must be out patrolling or inside keeping warm, Ashpaw observed.

Finally spotting another she-cat in the clearing, Ashpaw decided to approach her, as she had little else to do. The cat also seemed apprentice age but was perhaps a bit younger than her. Stopping in front of the resting cat, Ashpaw greeted, "Hello, my name is Ashpaw. Sorry to bother, but mind if I join you? I don't have any plans in mind for today, and it seems like you're in no rush yourself."

Now that she was directly in front of the cat, she noticed how injured the other she-cat seemed. Ashpaw's eyes and voice softened as she inquired quietly, "Are you alright? Those wounds look uncomfortable."

Smokepaw could hear the soft sound of a cat approaching. She opened her eyes and found herself looking at another apprentice. This cat looked slightly older than her, but... Smokepaw immediately recognised how beautiful this she-cat was. "Hello, Ashpaw." She greeted the apprentice with a dip of her head. "Well, no, I don't mind at all!" said Smokepaw, a little too quickly. She mentally scolded herself for being so openly awkward. She noticed the change in tone and looked into Ashpaw's beautiful green gaze. "They are still a little uncomfortable, I suppose, but Goldenpaw did a good job on them." she answered. Ashpaw seemed like a very nice and friendly cat, and Smokepaw couldn't tear her gaze away from this pretty she-cat.

Ashpaw still showed concern but smiled slightly when the other she-cat said that she would allow her company. "Thank you," she politely meowed. Sitting down on her haunches and curling her tail daintily around her paws, Ashpaw settled down into a comfortable position beside the injured she-cat. Ashpaw noticed that she seemed flustered, but mused, Oh, maybe I just startled her.

Listening intently, Ashpaw gave a wider smile of relief when the other cat mentioned that she would be okay. "That's great. I'm sure you'll get better in no time, then." Looking away into the sky, she murmured dreamily, "When I was still a young kit, my mother had mentioned that the medicine cat apprentice was Icepaw. It's amazing how life changes."

Looking back towards the other she-cat, Ashpaw asked, "What's your name? Even though my mother's the leader, I still don't know most cats around RiverClan." She gave a quiet laugh at the part.

Smokepaw gave a little nervous smile and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She listened carefully to what Ashpaw had to say, a grin on her face as she took in the information. "Life changes so fast, sometimes I feel like StarClan is trying to speed it all up." she said, the ghost of a joke in her voice. It was true, life did go by in a whirl. "Oh, my name is Smokepaw. It's nice to meet you." she explained. Why hadn't she said that earlier?! Her ear flicked in interest as Ashpaw mentioned the leader. "Your mother is the leader? Oh, wow, what's it like to have a leader as a parent?" she asked, intrigued.

Ashpaw nodded in quiet agreement at Smokepaw's light joke, and smiled again. It was nice to make a friend for the sake of light-hearted conversation for once.

At hearing the other she-cat's name, Ashpaw purred gently, "Smokepaw suits you well." With silent appreciation on her face, the silvery she-cat observed, She really is all gray, just like smoke. Her name is even more fitting than my name! Little did Ashpaw realize that there was another kind of metaphorical smoke present in Smokepaw's personality, rather than just in her appearance.

To Smokepaw's inquiry, Ashpaw replied with fondness in her quiet voice, "When I was a young kit, my mother was still Ivyfall, the deputy of the clan. She treated my sisters and me with care, like any other loving mother, I would imagine. She became leader before I was apprenticed and even performed my ceremony. That's probably something special, having your own mother perform your apprenticing ceremony." Ashpaw giggled lightly at that last part.

Pondering the query, she continued, "I don't really think we were all that different from other kits, except that we were more sheltered than most, and have a lot of in-clan connections. I have some older half-siblings, and who knows how many other relatives! Jaystream, the current deputy, is one of my older half-brothers." She said the last part with a bit of admiration.

Done with her reminiscence, Ashpaw mewed, "What about your parents?"

OOC: It's too true about having a lot of in-clan connections. Ashpaw's related to so many cats because of Ivystar.

I'm predicting a bit of sadness for Smokepaw since she's an orphan.

Smokepaw smiled to Ashpaw, listening to her story. It almost made her heat ache with sadness, hearing how loving mothers could be. "Yes, having your mother perform your ceremony is quite different!" she happily agreed. It seemed that Ashpaw had rather a lot of in-clan relations. However, when she was asked about her parents, Smokepaw looked at the ground. She took a deep breath before replying to the question. "I... I never knew my parents. The others tell me that my father died before I was born, and my mother whole kitting. I never did have any siblings... So, in a way, I suppose me are both different from the other apprentices..." she spoke, her ears flat to her head in sadness. Now, she wished more than ever she still had her family. Smokepaw quickly realised how she was displaying her emotions and arranged her face into a small smile, as though she had just been discussing the weather. Smokepaw turned her stormy grey gaze to meet Ashpaw's emerald green once again, calmly awaiting the beautiful she-cat's reply.

Looking at Smokepaw's suddenly downcast expression, Ashpaw sensed that Smokepaw was deeply affected by the subject matter. No parents? No siblings? She must feel so lonely. Feeling sorry for Smokepaw, Ashpaw reached over and pressed her head against Smokepaw's shoulder to comfort her before moving away again. "I'm so sorry..."

Deciding to be optimistic, Ashpaw meowed more warmly, "If your parents were here, I'm sure they would be proud of how much you've grown. You've already been in a battle, from the looks of it!" She purred a little at that, and blinked her green eyes back at Smokepaw's gray ones.

Smokepaw gave a small purr as Ashpaw pressed against her shoulder. Her touch cheered her up slightly. So, she was not all that lonely, if Ashpaw wanted to be friends. She flicked an ear at the she-cat's statement. "Well, yes, I have been involved in a battle rather recently. There seems to be a family of foxes nearby, as they have attacked a few of us. I only hope we can drive them out before they do any more damage." she explained. She really did believe that her parents were proud of her, up in the stars.

Ashpaw smiled gently as she saw that Smokepaw seemed to be feeling better. Pondering, she meowed, "Foxes? I haven't seen any around myself, but I haven't been outside of camp much at all."

In a more subdued tone, she meowed, "I wish my mentor Batfang would actually take me out for training. He's always busy." She moved her tail slowly over her paws to convey her internal musing.