Walk together again [c]

Despite earthquakes and twolegs, life for the clans had to go on, and though nothing was necessarily normal anymore, some semblance of normality continued to settle over them as the remains of Skyclan did what they could to carry on. Rainpaw tilted his head up to examine the cloudy gray sky above, shivering as a cold breeze passed by. Maybe it was the cold that drove him to desire warmth and company, or maybe it was just the looming knowledge that his world was likely to be turned upside down again sooner or later, but Rainpaw had an unusual hankering for company.

So when he saw Lightningpaw talking to another apprentice (Creampaw, he believed. He remembered Lightningpaw mentioning him when they talked.) he hesitated, then flicked Crookedpaw’s side with his tail and nodded over to them. “We should join them.” He said softly. He rarely left Crookedpaw’s side if one of them wasn’t predisposed with training or otherwise being pulled away. He felt an irrational level of fear and protectiveness over Crookedpaw in particular. It wasn’t like he thought he could really do something in the event that something bad happened to his best friend, but more that he felt like if he had eyes on Crookedpaw that something would be less likely to come around in the first place.

It was irrational. Rainpaw was okay with that this time.

Still, even despite his own strange desire for conversation and companionship, he knew what a social creature his best friend was, and he knew that staying around Rainpaw meant that Crookedpaw wasn’t doing as much socializing. He didn’t want to make Crookedpaw unhappy in his company. With that in mind, Rainpaw rose to his feet and walked over to the other two apprentices before he lost his nerve.

“May we join you two?” He asked hopefully, the only sign of his slight nerves a twitch of his tail. Lightning was nice, he enjoyed his previous conversation before, but this was still two semi-new cats, ones he could easily offend or annoy. Rainpaw is…not always good with cats close to his age that aren’t Crookedpaw.

Crookedpaw

Rainpaw offering to speak with other cats was such a rarity that Crookedpaw was beside himself with shock for the briefest moment. That surprise was quickly replaced by elation. He knew how nervous Rainpaw often was when it came to speaking with other cats, and so Crookedpaw had not tried to push him into anything that he was not comfortable with. Crookedpaw loved speaking with other cats in the clan, although he had not spoken with many apprentices since he spent most of his free time with Rainpaw. Lightningpaw and Creampaw were some of the cats he had not officially met, and now that they approached, Crookedpaw grinned brightly.

“Henlo!” he greeted cheerfully. “Nice to meet you both. I’m Crookedpaw.” They seemed to know Rainpaw, or at least Lightningpaw did. He had to use his manners and introduce himself too. His gaze focused on Lightningpaw for now and he asked, “What ish the Friend Code? I haven’t heard of it.”

Rainpaw relaxed slightly when neither Lightningpaw or Creampaw seemed offended by the question, instead welcoming both Crookedpaw and himself in. Crookedpaw immediately cheerfully began conversation, and Rainpaw smiled a little at his friend's easy way with other cats. He took a comfortable seat near the other two apprentices, wrapping his stubby tail over his paws.

”I agree, it’s nice to meet you both. Er, meet you again, for Lightningpaw.” He offers an awkward smile and then tilts his head curiously, glancing at Lightningpaw for the answer to Crookedpaw’s question. He found himself curious as well. If there was a set of rules you should follow with friends, Rainpaw needed to know it immediately to ensure he was not breaking any of the rules.