walking roots [closed]

She'd heard the rumors of an onyx rogue that moved about the twolegplace farm, just as much as she had heard the rumors of a former clan-cat who only had half of a face remaining. Surprisingly, it was the former that had truly piqued her interest. Most apprentices would have loved to go meet the battle-worn feline that once roamed their lands, who seemed to have been of Skyclan origin, but that just simply didn't appeal to the apprentice. No, instead, she knew that there was something about the former that had her curiosity gripped between its tight claws. After all, what would a rogue, or loner, be doing lingering so close to Clan territory, if not to cause trouble? There had been plenty of stories she had heard from the other queens of the nursery, many of them she had dismissed as nothing more than a way to get kits to behave. But the way her mother spoke about a few told her there was at least a half-truth to most of those tales.

It had been easy enough for Mistpaw to be able to leave camp. Egretswoop, the newest warrior among their ranks, had no issue in agreeing to come along with her. After all, the warrior had a fond memory of the location that the apprentice wished to go. It was how she had earned her own fox pelt. Mistpaw always looked at the alabaster molly with strangeness whenever she wore it, but then again, her clanmate seemed to have a thinner pelt than she. Somehow, even with her two pelts, Egretswoop still had a thinner coat than the slightly smaller apprentice.

With a face that may as well have been a carbon-copy of her mother's, Mistpaw near led their trail to the farm. There was enough out in the world to fully distract her chaperone that she knew that any conversation she wanted to have with the rogue would most likely end up more private than not, even if she had been right next to them. At least, it appeared that way. If somehow, the warrior beside her possessed some sort of supernatural detail-inhaling abilities, it was lost on the apprentice. But the thought put enough anxiety in Mistpaw's feet that she was already formulating a method to distract Egretswoop if it became a necessary task. Her steps picked up the pace just slightly in turn, working out the emotions that rippled in her claws so that it wouldn't rouse any suspicion. Truthfully, she didn't know what she was feeling or what was bothering her, just that the sensation was rather annoying and she would have rather it be gone.

Reigning in her body's telltale signs of her emotions as she had watched Perchstar do thousands of times, Mistpaw stood just a bit straighter. Taller. She wasn't about to come all this way and appear weak. Not in front of Egretswoop, and certainly not in front of the company she hoped to catch. Just what it was that she wanted to say to them was not actively floating around in her mind at the moment, but something told her that deep down, it was a story she wanted to her. A quick look behind her told her that Egretswoop had found something of interest, perhaps simply a piece of prey, and it allowed Mistpaw to approach the odd-smelling border with more confidence than she had originally anticipated would fuel her movements. Now that she was there though...

The odd smells certainly told her there was a non-clan cat who was nearby. It didn't hold a deep-rooted scent of Skyclan, and so her hope raised significantly. As to how she would catch his attention though? She had absolutely no idea. So the apprentice sat down, curling her feathered tail around her paws, and waited.

Mistpaw had to take a small step back as the onyx-pelted tom approached. Part of his pelt seemed to have lighter ends of browns, no doubt sun bleached from all of his time outside. She had seen it happen to some of her darker-pelted clanmates as well. Something about the rays of the sun seemed to make them lighter, whereas cats like her with lighter pelts saw no such change. However, as he greeted her, she couldn't help but freeze. What was she going to ask him?

She hadn't even thought that far. As he blinked slowly, she couldn't help but mimic the movement, giving her own nonverbal cue of no intended harm."So the rumors are true." She voiced the thought aloud, her head just imperceptibly shaking as she attempted to cover up the fact that she hadn't been able to fully hold her tongue. Mistpaw straightened her body up once more, her head tilting to the side. The apprentice had to cover her paws, because surely, he'd heard what she said. "Curiosity. They said a dark-pelted tom was staying near here now, ever since ma-Perchstar returned. So I wanted to see if they were true." Her voice was a matter of fact more than anything, but even Mistpaw couldn't keep the kittish wonder out of her tone as she spoke. "Why do you stay around here?"

A silver ear flicked as she asked the question. After all, if he was a rogue, there was no doubt that any other clan cat wouldn't hesitate to attack him. But, a subtle sniff of the air told Mistpaw all she needed to know: he wasn't bleeding, and in fact, he was just fine. So why did he stay at the twolegplace farm?

She had to only answer two of his questions? Her fluffed tail swished in a manner that wasn't entirely unseen before by the dark-pelted tom that now sat before her. Something she had said had drawn his interest, and she hoped it would only be a matter of moments before she found out exactly what it was.

Well, she was good to hope it was only a matter of moments.

What drew his interest when it came to her mother?

Her head seemed to be held just a little bit higher as she regarded his questions just one more time. Truth be told, there was no harm whatsoever when it came to giving her name, and that one slipped easily from her maw. "Mistpaw, of Riverclan." She had practiced speaking it just like she would any other title. After all, Mistpaw came from a lineage of pride. Her mother was Riverclan's leader. Raising her without the guidance of a father... who had seemed gone from day one.

"Perchstar is the leader of Riverclan, she is my 'ma' as she is my mother. My siblings and I came right after she returned from having been gone, I think, but that doesn't mean Riverclan is any less strong." She felt the need to emphasize the strength of her clan. But just after, she realized she had said too much, quickly turning her gaze away from the other tom. One of her two-toned ears flicked in an attempt to listen for Egretswoop, her chaperone who was still off doing... something.

"Do you have an interest in joining Riverclan?" The she-cat prompted. After all, that seemed to be the only thing he would want from knowing Perchstar, right?