Better Days Are Here (CLOSED)

The sky was bright and blue, with only a few puffy clouds in the sky above. They were far fluffier than the puffs of air that came from Graypaw's mouth as she sat by the base of a large tree, but they did look similar. Maybe the tiny clouds she made were like... cloud-kits? Maybe the clouds were StarClan's breath! Did that even make sense? Did dead cats breathe? Well, they probably didn't need to, since they were dead and all. But did they eat? She wouldn't want to be in StarClan if they didn't eat. Why was she thinking about this again? Coming to herself with a start, the SkyClan apprentice sighed, refusing to get sidetracked by the impressive white puff of air that she exhaled into the brisk cold. She was out here in the territory because, honestly, she was horrible at training. Every time she tried to climb a tree, she fell flat on her back- or sometimes on her face. She could never catch a bird, because they flew instead of running around. She'd managed to catch a rabbit that had wandered far from its native moor habitat, but Moonlight hadn't been too happy that she couldn't even master basic SkyClan hunting skills. She couldn't jump or climb- the only thing she seemed to be good at was running. Running away from her mentor, running away from her training... running away from her life. The gray tabby had run out into the forest after another unsuccessful hunting patrol, not really knowing where she was going, only knowing that she had to get away for a little while. Speaking of which, where was she? The area she was in still smelled faintly of SkyClan, and looked vaguely familiar, but she must be way far out in the territory for the scent to get that faint. Letting out another impressive sigh, and glancing around to see if she could recognize a landmark that might lead her back to camp, Graypaw caught sight of something moving out of the corner of her eye. It was a gray feather from some kind of bird she didn't recognize, waving tantalizingly on a gust of wind. Worries forgotten immediately (a consequence of being an unapologetic scatter-brain), the apprentice ran after the fluffy feather immediately, letting out a silvery peal of laughter as she got into the chase. Her feet flew lightning-fast on the powdery-white drifts of snow, leaving only shallow pawprints behind. She was just a few moments behind, about to catch the feather at any second, when she ran head-first into the trunk of a very large tree. Slightly dazed, Graypaw stumbled around for a few steps before falling on her face. It was a thing she seemed to do a lot. Shaking snow out of her medium-length gray fur, she looked up with bright blue eyes to see a giant oak tree above her, next to three more. Fourtrees? She was at Fourtrees? When did that happen? "Oh, StarClan, I'm gonna be in so much trouble..." she breathed out, slightly horrified at just how far she had traveled. When she heard a sound behind her, she jumped about three feet in the air before whipping around. "What? Wh-who's there? I'm not here on purpose, I s-swear!"

Badgerpaw had wandered into the fourtrees from the windswept moor. He enjoyed the wind in his fur, and the completely clear sky, nothing blocking it what so ever. There was something in him telling him he didn't belong in Windclan.. yet he did at the same time. A mix of saying he was proud to be a Windclan cat but there was a small touch that said if the stars didn't align then he would have been elsewhere.

The tom hadn't noticed the gray she-cat he was unknowingly seeking out. Ever since he saw her at the gathering he had taken an interest in her, and he didn't know why. It wasn't until he heard her voice that he finally noticed exactly where he was. His amber eyes landed on the gray she-cat from the gathering. A slight happiness sparked in his chest. "No, no. You are fine. I wandered here accidentally too." The tom said.

Graypaw relaxed instantly once she saw who it was. Badgerpaw, the WindClan tom she'd met at the Gathering. How strange that she remembered his name when she couldn't even remember her own leader's most of the time, let alone her mentor's. She had only seen him one time, so it made no sense for her to trust him as much as she did- but she felt strangely comfortable around him, moreso than she did when she was in her own Clan. When she was with him, it felt like... like home. How strange. Shaking her head out of her thoughts, the SkyClan she-cat's sky blue eyes met the other apprentice's amber ones. She smiled a little self-consciously, happy to see him for reasons she didn't really understand. "Oh! Hi, Badgerpaw." Her pelt suddenly felt a little hot, despite the chilly weather. However, she felt completely safe conversing with him. She just had do say something, anything, as long as it wasn't mouse-brained. What to say, what to say?... Graypaw considered mentioning her earlier train of thought at first, about clouds being StarClan's breath, but she doubted that Badgerpaw wanted a philosophical discussion. Plus, she didn't want to sound stupid. "So, um... How's your training going?" Well, she failed. That was a lame question, especially since she felt a wild urge to try and impress the tom- but it would have to do. As long as he was talking, she was happy.

The tom stared at the gray apprentice, she seemed a bit unsettled by something until he showed up. She seemed to relax a little bit at least something changed. The tom wanted to sit down, but the cold snow wouldn't feel to good on his butt so he remained standing. He perked up again at her question. "I'm actually almost done with my training, I think." The tom mused. "What about yours?" The charcoal tom asked, in response.

As Badgerpaw asked how her training was going, Graypaw's ears flattened a little bit. Well, really, how had she been expecting the conversation to go? She had brought up the subject. But she didn't really want to tell the tom how badly she'd been doing with her training... Oh, well, she might as well be honest. "I... I'm horrible," she confessed finally, her blue eyes breaking their shared gaze to look down at the snow they stood on. "I can't climb trees to save my life, and I've only ever caught one piece of prey. I think Moonlight's disappointed in me. I'm bad at fighting, too," she continued, remembering with chagrin the events of her first battle training session. "I'm supposed to be good at jumping and pinning cats down, but all I do is dodge and run away, with a light blow now and then. Moonlight says it's not the SkyClan way of fighting. I mean, have you ever seen speed like this-" the gray tabby ran a quick circle around the tom, almost faster than he could blink, then sat back where she had been without even pausing for breath- "from a SkyClan cat?" The apprentice shook her head in disgust. "Nobody else but me likes running, they all think it's too hard or it's boring or it's 'not how SkyClan does it'. All I want to do is be a good apprentice, but I'm too mouse-brained to even catch a single bird!" Graypaw exhaled in frustration, caught up with her emotions.

Badgerpaw blinked. A skyclan cat that couldn't do Skyclan things? Weird.. But when she ran.. Oh man it reminded him of his clan. "Love of running, with how fast you are? Seems very similar to Windclan in my opinion. I can run that fast too, and I love running." Badgerpaw said to the Skyclan apprentice.

"I understand the situation though. I have a secret love for water and swimming along with the Windclan stuff.. But I'm pure born Windclan.. I don't understand where this came from." The charcoal Bengal. He lowered his gaze a bit. "But I don't have that much trouble with my training.. I fit right in basically. Even if there are times I have trouble keeping up with rabbits." The tom said.

It was a relief to meet someone who didn't think of running as a waste of time. But of course, that was probably how everyone in WindClan felt. Why couldn't she have been born there instead? Catching herself, Graypaw shook the thought away firmly. She was SkyClan, through and through. Just like both of her parents. She just wished it wasn't so hard to be a good apprentice.... "Sounds like StarClan mixed us up," the gray tabby laughed at Badgerpaw's anecdote, heart a little more lightened now that she wasn't thinking of her failures. "Oh, well. I suppose we should make the best of what we have. Have you ever caught a fish?"