Trying to Understand [c]

Lavenderpaw was going toward the river to begin the day with a refreshing splash in its shallows, when he noticed Silentpaw on the bank.

The pure white apprentice was flopped on her stomach, ears drooping, chin on her paws. It wasn't the excitement he had seen in previous days.

Though they had not met properly, the two apprentices were often in camp together. Lavenderpaw appreciated the division of the duties, though he had not been assigned a duty together with Silentpaw yet. They often passed each other by.

Lavenderpaw moved from his place of pause, deciding to join the disheartened apprentice. He scooted around to approach her from the side rather than behind, so he shouldn't startle his deaf denmate. He hoped she would see him. But the pure-white apprentice's blue gaze stayed downcast. 

Lavenderpaw had gotten quite close when suddenly with a growl she sliced her paw through the water, the crystalline droplets spraying over him. He resisted the immediate reflex to shake it off back on her.

Soft yellow eyes still wide and surprised, he dipped his head to meet her eye level. Lavenderpaw blinked in hello, water still dripping off of his whiskers. "Hey." Lavenderpaw frowned at her, not unfriendly or unkind, but simply reflecting her emotion of frustration. He tipped his head to the side questioningly, his shoulders twitching in a shrug. "What's wrong?"

Lavenderpaw wasn't sure if Silentpaw would respond, or if an unanswerable question would be a breaking point. He waited patiently beside her.

As soon as Lavenderpaw opened his mouth, he had lost her. One moment Silentpaw had tried to pat him dry with outreached paws, a smile and a quiet purr, and the next he was staring at her sulkily turned back.

Lavenderpaw flicked his ears. Strangely, it made him want to laugh, mostly at himself. He tapped her on the shoulder before cheekily splashing a paw through the glittering shallows, getting Silentpaw as soaking as him.

A quiet purr started in Lavenderpaw's throat and turned into a laugh. His ears perked with a sudden thought; he gently tapped her paw, bringing it to his throat where uncontrollable giggles still bubbled.

Silentpaw could see his open smile and feel the vibration. Whether it was a cat's voice, or the sound of a thunderstorm, or a purr in her own chest, she knew it existed, she just didn't know how other cats used it.

After pointing out the feeling, Lavenderpaw swivelled his ears to draw her attention there as well. With ears twitching and a purr vibrating from his throat, Lavenderpaw tapped a paw to his throat and his mouth, then brought the paw up to tap his ear.

Then he indicated Silentpaw, soft yellow eyes wide and gentle, and covered an ear with his paw while making his twitching ears still. Cautiously, feeling warm and fidgety with embarrassment, Lavenderpaw searched her big blue eyes for any understanding.

Lavenderpaw could almost see his kithood friend, Drizzlepool, rolling her eyes at him with an expression which clearly said, what are you doing? Suddenly, it felt very silly to push some unnatural made-up communication with Silentpaw. He could almost see Drizzlepool flicking her tail against his side and giving him a long look, it's not that difficult is it? 

Silentpaw seemed to understand best what Lavenderpaw wasn't even trying to say. He understood Silentpaw when she wasn't speaking or pointing. He used to understand Drizzlepool the same way. Had his friend really been dead long enough that he had forgotten their easy communication? That realisation, a hot flustered feeling, suddenly wanting to cry, made Lavenderpaw close his eyes.

When Lavenderpaw cracked an eye back open, since it was definitely Silentpaw's turn to splash Lavenderpaw, if they were still playing... her head had turned to follow where his ears pointed. Silentpaw's intent blue eyes pinpointed the bird singing in the tree. Lavenderpaw's own soft yellow eyes lit up as they met Silentpaw's, she had found the bird, hadn't she?

She had followed his perception while his eyes were closed and his ears did the sensing. Lavenderpaw was curious if it meant anything to her and couldn't help but look to Silentpaw hopefully again. Though, Lavenderpaw wouldn't blame her if it all made no sense, since so far he wasn't very good at explaining. But the eager way Silentpaw searched for the bird, like it was a game, made Lavenderpaw smile. She was earnest as well as playful and he liked that about the fellow apprentice.

For a moment, Silentpaw looked awkward and uncertain, before her eyes lit up brightly. His head tipped to the side uncertainly. The white she-cat padded up to Lavenderpaw, fur lightly electrified by curiosity, examining the dark grey tom so closely their noses almost touched. He froze with confusion of his own and couldn't help blinking slowly and repeatedly.

Then without warning, Silentpaw reached up and tapped Lavenderpaw's nose with her paw. Surprised by the sudden tickle of her soft sheathed paw, he let out a small sneeze, automatically giving her an apologetic look before smiling awkwardly. Finding him unextraordinary, Silentpaw plopped to the ground with a huff.

Lavenderpaw settled companionably on the ground beside her. He followed the movements of Silentpaw's ears, which seemed to flick around randomly without picking up any sound. He wondered what she was noticing. Across the clearing, their clanmates conversed, ears also flicking as they listened to each other. Lavenderpaw wondered if a warrior would notice the two idle apprentices and come over to give them a duty to do.

Lavenderpaw's favourite duty was fishing, even if only in the safety of the shallow broken pools surrounding the island. Usually, all he could catch there were little minnows. But he still found satisfaction in practicing his skills and hunting at least a little for RiverClan. As he followed Silentpaw's flicking ears, a splash from the river made Lavenderpaw's ears turn, his soft yellow eyes lighting up to see a fish leap out of the water, had Silentpaw seen it too?

He would like to fish with Silentpaw. He was sure Silentpaw would be good at fishing, and many other things. Lavenderpaw knew it would take more than his fumbled attempt for Silentpaw to make sense of her different experience of the world. But she could do it! Seeing her concentrating so earnestly, he thought, Don't worry if you don't understand yet, hoping it reached her somehow.