Hi! My Name is: [Closed]

The rogues had everyone on edge. So on edge that, Rippedstar announced apprentices were no longer allowed to leave camp.

The announcement left Ashpaw slightly discouraged, as he wouldn't be able to go and prove himself without the help of a warrior, but he didn't mind it that much. He could still be useful within camp. The gray and white tabby licked his paw and drew it over his head, thinking of ways to be helpful around camp. After thinking for a while, the young apprentice stood up and gave his pelt a quick shake.

The green-eyed tom scampered towards the outskirts of camp, sniffing around for any moss that just so happened to grow at the bank of any trees. After finding what he needed, Ashpaw bounded towards the elders' den, intending to clean out their bedding and replace it. When he arrived though, he found that someone had beaten him to it.

He choked and dropped the moss on accident, freezing up at the cat. They didn't seem to notice him yet, which was good. He could make a run for it, and no one would judge him. But there was this nagging voice in the back of his mind telling him that this cat could be a potential friend in the near future. Mustering up the little courage he had, the tom spoke in a squeaky voice,

"H-Hello! Do you need..any help? A-At all?"

It was with mild annoyance that Tigerpaw entered the Elder's Den. Due to the recent incidents with the rogues, all apprentices had been forbidden from leaving camp without the company of a warrior, and the striped she-cat was no exception. While she used to sneak out in the early mornings to hunt alone, now she could no longer do so. To make things worse, the first thing Elmcloud had said to her upon seeing each other that day was to go and change the elder's bedding. It wasn't as if she didn't know that taking care of the elders was also part of an apprentice's duties. She also acknowledged that the elders' deserved that much for their service to the clan. Still, she couldn't help but feel slightly frustrated at the way things were. The tension in the air was getting to her as well. Hopefully the rogue problem would be resolved soon.

At this time of the day, most of the elders were out sharing tongues and basking in the sun. The den was pretty much deserted, so it was the perfect time to change their bedding. Tigerpaw quickly got to work removing the soiled moss that lined the nests. Her plan was to first clean out everything before getting fresh moss to put back in. Before long, she had become pretty engrossed in the task, so much so that she did not realize that another cat had come to the entrance of the den. At the sudden voice, she turned around, startled. A gray and white tabby tom was standing at the entrance with a bundle of moss at his paws. Instantly, she recognized him as one of her denmates. "Ah, er--" She stammered, trying to come up with an intelligible answer to his question. "Yeah. I could, um, use the help." She'd seen him around, but they had never talked. The only thing she knew about him was that he seemed to be a rather shy cat. "I'm Tigerpaw. What's your name?" As she said so, she winced inwardly, hoping he wouldn't be annoyed that she didn't know his name despite the fact that they shared a den.

"Wow. More evidence on how invisible you are to your own clan. Kudos to you, Ashpaw," The voice hissed at him, venom in their tone. Ashpaw sighed and looked down at his paws, trying to force the sadness of the truth away. This cat shared dens with him, and they had yet to even know his name. "You have definitely got to put yourself out there more.."


"I-I'm..I'm Ashpaw," He murmured quietly as he scooped up the moss and padded over to one of the already cleaned nests. He refused to look up at her as he began to replace the moss it was missing, and before long the first nest was done. "That wasn't as bad as I expected," The gray tabby finally turned towards her and tried staring a conversation, "So..Tigerpaw..what brings you here? I mean, I know apprentices are banned from leaving camp without a warrior and that's probably why, but I'm just trying to make a friend here.." 

....It looks like I hurt his feelings.... Tigerpaw felt a prick of guilt upon observing the tom's reaction to having being asked his name. That was a sigh, wasn't it? He had definitely sighed. She wished she had remembered his name. Rather than not knowing, she had probably heard it before and then forgotten about it. His voice was rather soft, but she managed to make out his words. Ashpaw. Just as she had thought, it was not the first time she had heard that name. I really should pay more attention to this kind of thing... She chided herself while inwardly promising not to forget it again.

Ashpaw stepped forward to fill in one of the cleaned nests, and Tigerpaw didn't stop him. Turning away, she returned to the nest she had been removing the moss from before she had been interrupted. She tried to concentrate on her task, but she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy now that there was another cat here. It would probably be fine as long as they didn't talk to each other. Just as she was thinking such a thought, Ashpaw spoke up again. The brown tabby shot him a surprised look after hearing what he said. "I'm here because of Elmcloud's instructions." She said carefully, "The rogues probably have something to do with it as well, though. What about you?" She understood the desire to make more friends, so she answered with less reluctance than she usually did.

Ashpaw was awkwardly trying to express his thoughts, but the words were stubbornly clinging on and would only be forced out with much difficulty. To the brown she-cat watching him, the scene was unexpectedly familiar. We're similar... The words flashed through her mind like a lightning bolt. There was definitely a similarity. It was like watching a rendition of her younger self. Tigerkit was always having problems talking to others. She stumbled over her words, spoke too softly, or didn't even know what to say in the first place. That was the reason why Tigerpaw had ended up deciding not to talk to others. It was just way more convenient. For some reason, she had never had any problem talking to Elmcloud as his apprentice, but whenever she tried to have a proper conversation, she would just go back to being all stiff and awkward.

"No. No, not really." She spluttered out. "I don't find you boring. In fact, that's a wonderful reason to have. I'm... actually sort of... the same way, but I've gotten better at talking to others since I became an apprentice." There was a brief pause as Tigerpaw glanced uncomfortably to the side. "So I really don't find you boring!" She ended up repeating her words.

It finally clicked for him too. As he listened closely to her speak, he noticed how softly and carefully she chose her words. He noticed how she tended to stutter, and even repeat her sentences. He blinked, silently taken back. This cat was like looking into his own reflection! He smiled softly as the thought dawned on him, and he began to grow a little more bold, now that he realized they were in the same situation.
 
"W-well, if it helps, I don't find you boring neither. I-In fact, I do agree with you, we are quite similar," He purred as he finished up the nest he was working on. This time, he didn't move on. He sat down and studied her, carefully, curiosity gleaming in his dark green gaze. How could he have not known this cat sooner? She was like..a blessing from Starclan. He felt his pelt prickle with heat at his own thoughts. "O-Oh, I didn't mean it like that!"

"I wish w-we met each other sooner! Maybe, we wouldn't be so anxious as kits and super anxious now, since we'd have each other, you know? Oh, I wish you'd met me when I was young. I'd run away if a cat's eyes landed on me. I pr-probably wouldn't have ran from you, though! Y-You seem very nice, I'm sure we would've became fast friends." 

Seeing the tom sit down, Tigerpaw also settled herself on the sandy floor of the den. Her long, dark tail brushed gently against the nearest nest before resting in a coil around her paws. Ashpaw's words caused a trickle of warmth to spiral up from within her. "Thank you." She purred, flicking one ear in faint embarrassment. Her interaction with others had always been limited due to her shyness, so this was really the first time she was conversing with another cat outside of her family like this. She couldn't deny that it made her really happy. As she now knew that the other apprentice was the same way she was, she couldn't help starting to become more open towards him. There was probably so much they could talk about...

"I-I think so too." She mewed. She could imagine Ashpaw as a kit--the gray and white tom hiding in the shadows, running away whenever someone came too close to him. "When I was a kit, I... would always just lurk in the background watching the other kits play. I never dared to approach them... My sister was the only one I hung out with." At the mention of the now long-gone Palepaw, the striped tabby suddenly felt nostalgia seize at her chest. She quickly shook off its grasping tendrils, however. "But we've met now, that's still better than if we had never met! Um..." There was a short pause. "If you don't mind, could we be friends?"

In the next moment, she was close to regretting her words. A dozen criticisms ran through her mind. Had that been too straightforward? Was that really what she should have said?

Tigerpaw watched the other apprentice carefully, trying to suppress the unease that was rising up within her with every second that went by. Ashpaw's hesitance was clear to see. As she thought, she had probably messed up. This was literally the first time they had had a conversation with each other, and she had already asked him if he wanted to be friends. If she thought about it from an objective point of view, it really did seem weird. She had been elated to find a clanmate who was similar to her, and before she knew it the words were already out of her mouth. Saying something like, "that was a joke" would probably be too late now. She could only wait for the gray and white tom's response.

The small she-cat let out a breath she hadn't realize she'd been holding at Ashpaw's agreement. Within her golden gaze, relief mingled with joy. Ashpaw was arguably the first friend that she had made in her short life so far. In addition, it was someone that she could relate to. Could things be any better? "And hang out in camp, and climb trees to watch the sunrise." A purr rumbled from within her at the prospect. "Oh, there's so much stuff we can do together!" In her excitement, she forgot for a second that they were actually there to clean the Elder's Den.

Ashpaw giggled at her excitement, finding it...alarmingly cute at how one cat had gotten so passionate just by fantasizing about what friends do together. The gray and white tabby shifted his weight from paw to paw, glancing down at the ground as he opened his mouth to speak. He hesitated a little, wondering if it really had to be said. They hadn't finished cleaning the Elders' den, after all. But, they had all day to do that. What would a few hours of play do?

"H-Hey, if you want, we could start doing those things now. Since we're probably stuck in camp all day," He quickly stuttered out, "I-I mean, if you want to! I don't want to force you into anything..what do you say, friend?" The word friend felt right as it slipped off his tongue without warning. The old Ashpaw would've hid it. But this new, more confident version of himself simply smiled at Tigerpaw. Yes, he would certainly get used to the blessing called 'friendship.'