What Happens in a Small Town, Stays in a Small Town [c]

After having to fight the SkyClan cats from the patrol a few days earlier, Rosepaw decided it would be a good idea to keep an eye on this border. Of course, she had decided to come alone this time, just in case they were here, as she never stopped looking for her siblings. That, and as far as she knew, she didn't closely resemble any cat. So if SkyClan was to see her, they wouldn't immediately attack, would they? If a patrol decided to go after a lone apprentice, that was just sad, if you asked her. So she kind of felt safe for now. She might have been giving SkyClan too much credit, though.

She had been giving the border a wide birth, afraid of crossing it by accident (it was best not to give SkyClan any reasons, just in case), and it was not long until she caught SkyClan scent. It didn't seem like that many cats were in this patrol, although she was not skilled enough to determine the exact number, and curiosity sort of got the better of her. Maybe these cats weren't so bad? "Hello? Who's there. I don't want to fight, just show yourself!"

Quietpaw's ears were lowered down, as she padded through the territory, thinking. Thinking about the gathering that happened almost a moon ago. Thinking about her sister, who didn't even remember her. It made her sad to know, that while both her and Sneezingpaw were almost pratically the same, their relationship could be strained, especially by the way Sneezingpaw freaked out at the gathering.

A sigh escaped Quietpaw, as her eyes trailed to the ground. She just wanted to turn back time, to when her dad and sister were still in Skyclan, and their family was together again. Would that be too much to-

Suddenly a voice caught Quietpaw off guard, startling her. And because she was startled, Quietpaw fell over. She let out an oof as she did so, before scrambling up to her paws. She hadn't heard a voice like the one she just heard... how far away was she from the camp?

Quietpaw let a sigh, before she padded forward into the open space finding a cat. A cat on the Shadowclan side of the border. Quietpaw took a feeble step forward before stopping, her baby blue eyes not moving away from the cat. "U-um hello?" She mewed, her meek voice shaking ever so slightly.

Rosepaw had to admit, she was a little surprised to see a lone apprentice along the border, but she was not entirely opposed to it either. She would much rather be able to speak to a cat her own age, anyway. And this apprentice did not seem so different than herself. She seemed.....lost, as though she was looking for something. An all-too familiar feeling.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Last time I was here, one of your cats attacked our own, so I kind of prefer to see who is on the other side of the border before a fight breaks out. Not that I blame you or anything, it was just a misunderstanding. Just being cautious. I'm Rosepaw, by the way."

After she had spoken, she decided to take in the she-cat's appearance, aside from what she had noticed before. She was nervous, and the calico sort of felt bad for causing that. It wasn't like she wanted to be threatening, it was like she said, she wanted to see the cat, to keep from being snuck up on again.

"So are you alone too? How come?" Maybe that question was one best left unasked. But there were two reasons she asked it. To hopefully break the tension, and just because she was curious. It was not often apprentices patrolled on their own, let alone met another doing the same thing.

Quietpaw's ears flicked up as the cat introduced herself. Rosepaw. What a nice name. Quietpaw thought, before taking a small step forwards. "I-its okay. I-I'm Quietpaw." She mewed softly, stuttering as always.

Quietpaw shifted her paws around, as her baby blue eyes trailed back to them. "Um w-well, I just wanted to go on a walk. Get my mind o-o-off of t-things. O-off of s-seeing my sister and c-c-cousin in other clan, and my mom and grandma being s-sad, a-and a bunch of o-other bad t-things." Quietpaw stuttered out, her ears lowering as she did so. She stood in silence for a quick moment before realizing that she had dumped this onto poor Rosepaw. "Oh I-I'm s-sorry! I shouldn't h-have dumped this on y-you! I'm so sorry!" She quickly apologized, her ears perking up.

Rosepaw was taken aback by how much this SkyClan cat was willing to share with her. She seemed so kind, if a bit timid, and Rosepaw felt the urge to comfort her, even if they had never met before now. "Don't apologize! Never! It might be a bit weird for me to say this, considering we just met and all, but if you ever need somebody to talk to, you can seek me out. I'm often by the borders anyway. I also lost family, so I like to come to look for them. But it is always nice to meet a new friend too! I will never complain about that!"

Curling her tail over her head, she grinned at Quietpaw. "Maybe we can even teach each other cool things and talk at gatherings and stuff! We're allowed to have friends outside the Clan after all!"

Quietpaw's ears perked up as Rosepaw reassured her. "T-thanks. I'm sorry you lost some of your f-family." She mewed.

She smiled softly at Rosepaw's idea. "Yea. Maybe."