See What I See [c]

He'd been here many times already, each time in awe of what stared back at him. His beautiful reflection. The only cat that didn't make him do anything or be disappointed when he stayed behind during a hunt or patrol. This was his safe space during the day while the sun was high. And he wanted Moonpaw to see it, too. He felt his sister would appreciate it when another Batpaw stared back at her from the marshes murky puddles.

"I swear you'll love this! I come here as often as I can." He was at the lead, excited. He loved his sister dearly. He wanted to share with her. A gift of himself.

With Iceheart's training and daily drills, the deep marshes had become a place Moonpaw knew well. She padded after Batpaw, paws carefully finding the driest spots to step as she followed the narrow pathway through the marshes. Her brother seemed to be absorbed by one of the deep pools of water, and Moonpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement. "What are you looking at?" She asked, suppressing a snort at Batpaw's proclamation. "If you mean the water, no. It's bad enough I have to get my paws wet at all."

"We do look good in the reflections, though, don't we?"

We...? He supposed his sister wasn't ugly, sure. "Uh, sure. But look! Get up here and look down." He leapt onto a log that was slowly becoming dented to fit his form and peered over its edge. "Beautiful, isn't he?" He referred to his reflection like it was a real cat. Purring, he looked to Moonpaw to see her reaction.

Though this wasn't entirely all he wanted to do while out here. Away from prying ears, he wanted to talk to his sister about something that weighed heavily on him.

Moonpaw rolled her eyes at Batpaw, a snort escaping her. Still, she carefully stepped onto the log that her brother had chosen, the old wood unnervingly soft beneath her. She gazed down at the pool of water, glancing back at Batpaw incredulously. He couldn't have just wanted to show her that, right? "Yes, handsome... It's a fact of life, though, not anything new to be fawning over. Don't tell me you're only just realizing this now for the first time?" Her whiskers twitched. "And that reflection isn't the best you can do, either. Imagine if that pool was a bit clearer. Or under better lighting."

He frowned. "Yea, but now there's two of me!" He looked back to his reflection and gave a cheeky smile. StarClan, was he handsome! His smile faded a moment, listening to Moonpaws suggestion of a better reflective serface. "Is there any better way than this? If so, dont keep it to yourself!"

"There's not two of you, silly. It's just a reflection." Oh great Starclan but Batpaw was hopeless. It was kind of funny though. And, Moonpaw had to admit, her brother was far from the most obnoxious of her clanmates. "I don't know, but... There's gotta be a better place to look than these awful deep marshes, right? They're so... Ugh. And there's a drowned mouse right there. Not great scenery to admire anything in."

Batpaw rolled his eyes. Of course he knew there weren't two of them... Augh! Was this on purpose? He just wanted to show off a quiet place to view yourself... He did agree on the bad scenery. The first time he was here, a dead bat floated in its murky depths. "Well... Any ideas where to find a better place?" For the first time since hopping onto the log, he looked at his sister instead of his reflection. He was genuinely interested in an alternative. Just imagine what a clear image would look like...!

Moonpaw... Hadn't actually thought that far ahead. "I've heard it said that the river is supposed to have clear waters... But that's so far. There has to be something on our own territory, as muck-filled as it is, right?" She asked, "There has to be something better than a murky pool in the marsh. Stars, but the marshes are awful for everything. They're gross."

He pondered that for a moment. Someplace better... Perhaps there had been one. "Well, Twoleg garbage is kind of shiny." He offered a shrug. Why would he want to go to Carion Place? He heard it smelled bad. But maybe... Twoleg traps were everywhere, though he'd never gotten close enough to really see them up close. "Twoleg traps are also shiny. You should go check one out." This was not a joke, but a sincere request. It was either that, or they go observe the Thunderpath for those shiny eyes and ears Harrierpaw warned him about.

He was right, "Even their pelts are shiny sometimes. They're strange, aren't they?" Moonpaw shook her head. "The monsters too, but they reek. I wouldn't want that scent anywhere near me." Twoleg traps... If it were any other cat, Moonpaw would have been absolutely certain they were being sarcastic. Batpaw, though, she knew was being serious. "We might as well... But you're coming with me. They stick out in these areas but still... I guess we're not getting to close to them anyways, right?"

That was all the permission Batpaw needed. Carefully so he didn't splash in the thawing mud, he leapt off the log, certain he had see some Twoleg thing laying around here somewhere... Each step was hesitant so as to not accidentally get plunged into a deep pool of water. If he were to get any of this mud water on his beautiful diluted pelt, he would probably cry and throw up. "There! One of those Twoleg traps!"

On closer inspection, this trap had started to sink into the ground. But inside it was those strange 'tasteless' pebbles Harrierpaw had mentioned to him. He looked over his shoulder at Moonpaw. If only she wasn't here... He would have risked it all just to make an attempt to try these.

Moonpaw followed her brother carefully, her curiosity getting the better of her. If Iceheart were here she wouldn't dare get even this close to the twoleg traps, much less go searching for one, but it seemed that Batpaw found one quickly.

Her paw sank into mud and the apprentice curled her lip in displeasure, gingerly shaking the wetness from her paw. "Have I ever mentioned how much I detest the deep marshes?" Moonpaw grumbled, hardly paying attention to the way that Batpaw had looked at the weird brown pebbles the twolegs put in their traps. They looked unappetizing and quite frankly, disgusting to her.

"Hmm..." She eyed the trap, noting how it had started to sink into the mud. Some bits of it were still quite shiny, though. "Well? What do you make of it?"

"The Marshes are the only place I can get away from..." The fluffy tail he carefully kept off the ground swished in a half circle, pointing at the forest vaguely. "All of this. I hate it." He shrugged, shaking out his paws, but never once sitting down. He would rather die than muddy his pelt further.

What did he make of it...? Dirty. Covered in mud. Probably cold. The list went on. "I think it's harmless. Doesn't look like it's been checked in moons." He inspected it's shiny pelt further. The surface wasn't any more clear than the murky waters, but it wasn't unpleasant to think about touching.

He sized himself up in the reflective surface, noting every grey, tan amd white blotch that covered him and coming to the conclusion that he was still, in fact, beautiful. He purred. "I have to say, Moonpaw, you're not as bad looking as some cats think." No one had ever said Moonpaw wasn't pretty just as no one had ever said he was beautiful but himself. But in all his delusion, he had convinced himself he'd heard these things. "Aren't you tired of the forest?" An abrupt question.

"Oh, I hate most of the territory, the deep marshes are just so much worse, though. But they are a good spot to be alone, I'll grant you." Moonpaw agreed. And Batpaw was right that the trap didn't look like it had been disturbed recently, but still... "Be care." Not that she really had to tell him that, it made her feel a little better about being near the strange twoleg object though.

Her ears twitched at her brother's words, and Moonpaw almost laughed. "The only cats who would say such things are jealous and bitter. Why bother listening to them? I get it though, it's not their fault they can't be as good or look as good. It must be hard for them to know they're inferior." Moonpaw scoffed, tone dismissive. Truly, the idea was absurd.