right back where you came [c]

Rainpaw had just been wandering about trying to clear his head when he encountered a kit…racing herself? He sat in bemusement, tilting his head as he tracked the kit’s movements bouncing from goal post to goal post. She was fast, but…stars he couldn’t fathom having that kind of energy, especially not right now. Then again, he was always on the slow-moving side. He wasn’t very playful, even when he was still in the nursery.

He was…fairly certain that the kit was Skyclan. She smelled like it anyway, but he was still having trouble learning to differentiate the different scents of the clans. To him it was all just a lot of ‘overwhelming’, though Birdchaser had been assisting him when she had the chance. He can’t remember if he saw this kit back in the nursery or not. Surely he would’ve? He was only made an apprentice fairly recently, and she seemed on the older side. But maybe he just didn’t notice. His entire time in the nursery, with the exception of a few shining memories of Crookedpaw, were rapidly becoming a blur.

In any case, she stuck close to the Skyclan cats, and things were so muddled right now that he supposed it didn’t matter. Finally, after a few heartbeats of bemused watching, he finally spoke. “Doesn’t that get tiring?”He asked. It was a question he’d asked of Crookedpaw a handful of times when they were younger, watching Crookedpaw play tirelessly the way he always did.

Rainpaw lifted his shoulders in a loose shrug. “I ‘unno. I don't think it matters which order you ask, so long as you ask what you wanna ask.” He replied honestly, turning his head around and trying to follow Lightningkit’s circling with his eyes. He’s hardly one to ask what the right way to talk was. He’s terrible at talking. “I was just curious. I’d get tired after the first go around.” He said.

“My name’s Rainpaw.” He said. “I dunno if we met while I was in the nursery.” His tail twitched with curiosity as he examined the younger she-cat. “What’s your name?” He pulled his tail over his paws.

Did this cat not sleep? Or is she only talking about when she’s awake? Either way, Rainpaw could not imagine. “Lightning." Rainpaw echoed with a little nod, committing the name to memory. “I know what you mean. It was really weird to me at first too. I think it’s just to keep things consistent. You get -paw so everyone knows you’re an apprentice, and so that it means something when you get your unique warrior name. It would feel weird if the other ranks got endings to the names, but kits didn’t.” Rainpaw mused, head tilted to the side. Then he added, "I don't know for sure though. I'm just guessing."  

Rainpaw cleared his throat. He didn't talk that much at once often. He watched Lightningkit continue to bounce on her paws even after stopping, and he offered, “You can keep going. I don’t mind.” If she was never tired and always full of energy, he had to imagine that lent to one feeling awfully restless when having to stay still. He himself sat as still as a statue, but that was his default. It was something that was proving useful in hunting.

“I call Crookedpaw ‘Crooked’ most of the time when it’s just us.” Rainpaw agreed with a small nod. “But I’m pretty…” He paused for a heartbeat, searching for the word. “Formal. I guess. With most other cats.”

“Rain touches me.” Rainpaw added with a baffled little blink. “I can and will get wet. Actually it’s kind of a pain when I get wet.” He wrinkled his nose. “I get sick easily. Rain’s my name ‘cause that’s what Birdchaser called me when she found me. I was in one of the worst storms of the season.” He said conversationally, though internally, his stomach did a weird little twist as he thought of the circumstances of his introduction to the clan.

“I was a kittypet, I guess, though I hardly remember what it was like.” There was a touch of defensiveness in his tone as he spoke of that, though he looked as neutral as ever. “The housefolk, er, twolegs, left me and my siblings. In the storm. And Birdchaser found me and brought me here, so… y’know. Rain.”

He shrugged, eyes resuming their focus on watching Lightningkit do her spinning patterns. “Lightning suits you,” He added. “Super fast. And…energetic.” He gave a tiny smile. The words were genuine.