[Deleted]

F R O Z E N P A W

It was a clear night; there hadn't been many of those in LightningClan recently, or in any clan for that matter. The evidence of that was the thin layer of snow that had blanketed LightningClan's territory in white.
Frozenpaw loved the snow; at least she usually did. The problem was that the snow had been around for so long now, that the pale grey she-cat was beginning to tire of it.
The young to-be warrior had been born when the world was covered in snow, so she knew not of what LightningClan territory looked like without a layer of snow.
Sitting by the Apprentices’ Den entrance, inquisitive frozen blue eyes watched the world outside, whilst Frozenpaw’s small, but intelligent mind whirred away. LightningClan wasn’t at it’s strongest right now, having been affected by the snow and now the death of Blazestar, or Blazehawk, whichever it was.
The point was that her clan was experiencing prey shortages and Frozenpaw was determined to think of ways to help make the clan strong again. She may only be young, but she was of a clever mind.
Perhaps the answer to their prey problems lay outside their border, in unclaimed territories. After all, it wasn’t just in the LightningClan territory that hares and rabbits lived, or any type of prey for that matter.


Jaws parting in a yawn, the pale grey apprentice stretched her weary limbs before shifting into a more comfortable position, a little deeper in the Apprentices’ Den’; it may be Newleaf, but it was still absolutely freezing!
Her frozen blue gaze scoured the den for any other night owls like her, but it seemed she was alone. She could just make out the silhouettes of sleeping bodies, rising and falling gently.
Frozenpaw let out a sigh, frozen blue eyes returning to the outside world. All was silent, with the exception of the occasional snore or a heavy breathing apprentice.
Had she not heard that small voice in the night, Frozenpaw surely would’ve gone to her nest and departed to the world of dreams.

[BlooRey DVD]

Nightpaw
~~~~~~~~

The black and white apprentice was returning late from a training session with his mentor, Whiteshade. The white warrior was relentless in his training, and though Nightpaw could feel the effects of it in his body, the sore muscles, he didn't mind it. He was getting better, he could feel it. His leaps were more accurate, his senses alert. Whiteshade's training was working. The apprentice was growing, becoming less of the small kit he'd started as. It wasn't too obvious now, but he was sure that soon, the difference would be seen. For the time being, Nightpaw's limbs were what were growing. He was gaining a little height everyday, it seemed.

His steps were silent, switching between his white paw, and his black paws. His dominant, right paw, which happened to be the white paw, stretched further than his other front paw, but it wasn't too noticeable. His stride was even and fluid as any other cat. The young tom pushed himself through the entrance of the apprentice den, silent as always. The only indication of his presence was the white fur still visible in the darkness, his blue eyes, and of course, his scent.

As he strode into the den, he heard a difference in breathing from one of the apprentices. They were not asleep, unlike the others. His blue gaze turned to where Frozenpaw lay, and he noted that she was still awake. He didn't know much about her, as he had yet to train with her, or uphold a conversation with her. However, his nest was near the back, much like hers. He picked his way to his nest, stepping into it with a dip of his head as his blue gaze met Frozenpaw's blue gaze, before he spun in his nest, finding a comfortable position.

[/size]

[Phoenix]

Something must be special in stars, Icepaw mused, as he shifted in his nest, straining his neck to catch a glimpse of the small, twinkling lights suspended in the dark sky. A small smile touched his lips. It would be too easy to claim that stars were special soley because of StarClan. There was something more soothing about watching them flicker, some sensation of stability and continuity. Perhaps, because they would always be there? Regardless of how chaotic clan life would become, there would always be those little lights high in the sky. It was the same thing that was soothing about the sunrise, knowing that it would come eventually. But as pleasant as it was to watch the sky become painted with streaks of color, he found that watching the stars was infinitely more enjoyable. The starry night was massive, and a whole blanket of stars covered the area. Even if their loved ones were not watching them from the sky, he thought that it was a pleasant thought. They were safe during the night, nestled in a warm, soft blanket of stars.

Movement caught his attention, and he watched as Frozenpaw re-entered the den, wondering if she would notice him resting in his own nest. He let the matter drop when her gaze travelled over him without any acknowledgment of his insomnia, and as he directed blue eyes back out the den, the tom noticed the black and white form of Nightpaw. Nightpaw is returning in the night, He mused, smiling at his little play on words. Like the she-cat before him, the tom did not seem to realize that Icepaw lay there, as awake and alert as the rest of them. Ears flicked, listening for any hint of words amongst the slow, steady breathing that filled the air. None came, but he was not disappointed. Perhaps they had both gone to sleep. Or perhaps they had simply decided that they did not want to disturb the other cats.

Blue eyes tore their gaze away from the sky, swinging around to glance across the den toward the back. There were Frozenpaw and Nightpaw, looking as though they had settled down for the remainder of the night. Icepaw debated whether he wanted to get up and join them. If he were to rouse himself, he would much rather do so to sit out in the camp to get a better view of the stars. Of their own accord, white limbs unfolded themselves, and he delicately stepped over the other apprentices, moving silently out of the den. He raised his head, looking up at the expanse of stars and ignoring the biting chill. Much better.

[/blockquote]

[Deleted]

F r o z e n p a w

It seemed the pale grey she-cat wasn’t the only night owl in LightningClan as she was soon joined by Nightpaw. He certainly lives up to his name, she thought with a grin, frozen blue gaze locked on the slightly older apprentice. Clearing her throat, she decided to try and attempt to make conversation, ”Late training, Nightpaw?” she meowed casually, smoothing down her pale grey fur. Actually, looking at her pelt, it looked kind of silver in the moonlight.
Frozenpaw smiled, blue eyes aglow. She was opening her mouth to speak again when Icepaw suddenly arose. A little surprised by his sudden appearance she jumped backwards, frozen blue eyes fixed on the other apprentice; she hadn’t spotted him in his nest until then.

[BlooRey DVD]

Nightpaw
~~~~~~~~~

”Late training, Nightpaw?” The sound of a she-cat's voice caught his attention. His ears pricked up and swivelled in the direction it had come from, soon followed by the lifting of his head. His blue eyed gaze fell upon Frozenpaw, just visible in the darkness due to the silvery nature of her pelt in what little light the moon gave off. His ear flicked slightly to follow another apprentice, who he'd marked as Icepaw, as he rose and exited the apprentice's den. Tearing his gaze away from Frozenpaw for a brief moment, Nightpaw watched the other tom leave. Soon, however, his blue irises were back upon the she-cat, blinking at her steadily. He was a little surprised that she had spoken to him, but he didn't mind. It was late, but he wasn't particularly tired just yet. Only sore. He nodded his head slightly, but decided he should speak as well, for she might not see the inclination of his black furred head in the darkness of the night.

"Indeed. Whiteshade prefers to train in the darkness, I think. If you are able to act in the darkness, you'll be able to act in the light, I suppose." He kept his voice low, not wanting to wake the other apprentices. His eyes flashed to the entrance of the den once more, before returning to Frozenpaw. He hoped that she wouldn't take this in the wrong way as he began to speak once more. "If you'd like to continue this conversation, might I suggest we move outside? There would be less chance of us waking the others in the den. We can always see what Icepaw is doing awake." He suggested, blue gaze easily meeting hers as he awaited her response.

[Deleted]

F r o z e n p a w

"Indeed. Whiteshade prefers to train in the darkness, I think. If you are able to act in the darkness, you'll be able to act in the light, I suppose."
Frozenpaw nodded; thinking about it, what Nightpaw said made sense. If you could fight in the dark, fighting in broad daylight would be a doddle. Perhaps Cinderfall and I could try that?
"If you'd like to continue this conversation, might I suggest we move outside? There would be less chance of us waking the others in the den. We can always see what Icepaw is doing awake."
”Yes, that’s a better idea.” she agreed, being careful to keep her voice low; she didn’t want to wake any other apprentices.

Leading the way out of the den into the starlit camp, she nodded to Icepaw, blue eyes warm, ”Decided to join you out here,” she meowed politely to the other apprentice as she settled herself near to Icepaw.

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:000000]Nightpaw[/smear:ffffff]
~~~~~~~~~

”Yes, that’s a better idea.” The tom nodded his head to Frozenpaw as she acknowledged his idea of moving from inside the den, to the outside, as not to disturb any of the apprentices. He rose to his paws, stiff muscles or not, and silently followed her. As he exited the den, his blue gaze was pulled up to the sky. For a moment, he stood captivated by the silver stars and the bright silver moon that hung above them. He wondered just who was up there, watching them. When he heard Frozenpaw's voice once more, he was pulled from his trance, blue gaze snapping back to her. ”Decided to join you out here,”

He realized that she was not talking to him, but rather then other male apprentice who had left the den earlier. Without a word, the black and white tom moved to Frozenpaw's other side, giving her a little bit of space before he sat himself down, tail curled over his four paws. He glanced towards Icepaw, giving the tom a brief nod of greeting, before his gaze flicked back up to the sky above. He wasn't one who was very good at conversations, unless engaged, so for the time being the black and white tom would wait, mind drifting back to the training session he'd had with hi mentor.

[Phoenix]

He was surprised when the other two apprentices opted to join him outside the den, but it was a pleasant surprise, which he dismissed after a moment of appreciation. Giving Frozenpaw a small smile, he interrupted his star gazing in favor of watching as she settled down beside him. "Hi Frozenpaw," He greeted her quietly, tail tip twitching slightly. The other tom followed shortly after, giving him a brief not before sitting himself down on the other side of the she-cat. He returned the gesture with a simple dip of his own head, blue eyes shifting upward once the action was completed. It was nice of them to abandon the warmth of the apprentices den in favor of keeping him company out here.

"You two are up late," The white tom stated suddenly, voice soft, as if he was afraid of breaking the comfortable feel of companionship that had fallen. "Trouble sleeping?" This question was directed more toward Frozenpaw than the apprentice on the other side of her. Of course, he had seen Nightpaw return barely moments ago from training with-- Who was his mentor? After some thought, he remembered the tom. Fur whiter than his own and intense, crimson eyes. If the senior warrior worked his apprentice that much from the start, he was glad that the tom was not his own mentor. Rapidwind was more than enough, in his mind. Though the differences between the two of them could not have been more obvious, they worked through them and the bond that had formed was worth it. "How was your training, Nightpaw?"

OOC: Sorry for the short post x.x

[Deleted]

F r o z e n p a w

Frozenpaw found Nightpaw's silence a little strange. Perhaps it's just the way he is? she shook of the thoughts easily though as Icepaw began to speak. At least he's a little more friendly.
"You two are up late,"...”Trouble sleeping?”
The pale grey she-cat smiled, but shook her head, ”Nope, I just like to think sometimes,” she mewed, her blue gaze distant. What she said was true, she did like to think sometimes and night was the perfect time for it; when all was quiet and still.
She didn’t speak for a while, for it was Nightpaw who was addressed next by Icepaw, "How was your training, Nightpaw?"
Frozenpaw turned her inquisitive blue gaze to the black and white tom. He had been rather quiet so far, but there was something rather... admirable about him and Frozenpaw couldn’t put a paw on it.

[Insidious]

P A L E P A W

It was late in the evening, but she hadn't payed much mind to the moment when the golden sun had set over the horizon. Perhaps, she would have taken the proper initiative to return to the apprentice's den and gain a few hours of precious sleep, hadn't she already been preoccupied in the forest depths. When she wasn't tired, the pale outline of brown-white pigmentation that could be singled out as Palepaw amongst the tangles of midnight shadowed greenery was often intrigued with the simple task of stirring late-night trouble. Her actions were not kit-like – in the mindset of playing pranks on the resting warriors. She simply had a streak of recklessness that wasn't often quick enough to warn her of the danger to likely follow.

This assumption could easily be made, what with the way her twig tangled figure emerged from the outline of foliage to return to LightningClan's camp in a flash of swift movement. The she-cat glanced over lean shoulders, icy blue eyes skimming the area she had recently been in the midst of a fox-chase. It was the fox, in particular, Palepaw often played mind games with. For a cat so young, it was unusual how many close-calls she had encountered with the carnivore that could likely have her dead in a heartbeat. She hadn't been injured yet, however. Therefore, Palepaw so no true reason to depart with her tricks played on the orange creature.

Her thoughts had been to return to the apprentice's den, from where she would shake the twigs and debris free from her fur, find her nest and depart into the world of dreamless sleep as if her midnight games hadn't been gambled in at all. However, she was quick to detect not one, two, but three figures just outside of the apprentice's den – all seeming to be inclined to communicate in late-night conversation. Palepaw, at first, didn't share this inclination. It was best that she simply depart for bed, that way, she could avoid any possible questioning as to why she had been out in the forest so late. That was, until she spotted the familiar face of Nightpaw amongst the three LightningClan apprentices.

With a new spring in her step, pale furred paws lightly advanced toward the apprentice's den, not halting her motioning until she had reached Icepaw's side. (She would have preferred to take a position beside Nightpaw, though was seemingly unwilling to show any signs of favoritism toward him) Dipping her head in greeting to the three cats, Palepaw allowed her hind limbs to buckle beneath her weight into a seated stance – indicating that she would be joining the trio, if there be no complaints voiced aloud. “I would assume an apprentice gathering is taking place tonight if there had been one more amongst the crowd,” the pretty she-cat mewed, a light smirk tugging at the corner of her pale jaw. “Something going on that I don't know about?” Her light blue eyes skimmed passed both Icepaw and Frozenpaw, fixating upon Nightpaw for a moment longer before being averted toward her paws. It seemed that one twig had managed to go undetected, Palepaw observed upon clamping her jaws firmly around the twig to tug it free from her paw. She threw it to the side, performing a quick analysis of the rest of her smaller-than-average frame before allowing her gaze to return to the three felines before her with a keen interest held in the depths of her icy eyes.

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:000000]Nightpaw[/smear:ffffff]
~~~~~~~~~

The black and white apprentice listened silently as Icepaw addressed Frozenpaw first. He was polite, keeping his gaze towards the one who was speaking, without staring. He knew that his blue eyes could occasionally be unsettling. Not quite as unsettling as Whiteshade's gaze, but unsettling all the same. His tail lay motionless, wrapped around his paws, but his ears pricked when Icepaw's focus was shifted to him. The other tom was asking about his late night training. The ebony and ivory apprentice shifted slightly, gathering his word before he spoke. "It was fine, thank you. Whiteshade pulled me out to train as the sun began to set, as that is one of the toughest times to hunt. The sun's position, and the odd light it casts as it sets can play trick on your eyes. When the sun finally set, he figured we might as well remain out there for a little longer. If you can do something at night, you'll be able to do it in the light, I suppose."

Black ears flicked at the sound of approaching paw steps. He glanced to the side, noting Palepaw come forward, twigs falling at her feet. She settled herself on the other side of Icepaw, and Nightpaw offered her a dip of his head. He listened politely to her question, before opening his jaws once again to answer. What left his mouth sounded dead serious, but the flash in his eyes showed a more... Playful side to him. "Apprentice gathering indeed. We are doing nothing of great importance. Discussing late night training, possible troubles sleeping, and world domination of course."

A flicker of a smile came and went on his lips, before he flicked his ear once more, gaze focusing on Icepaw, then Palepaw. "Now then, Frozenpaw was up thinking, I was out training. What are you two doing up at such a time of night? I am especially curious of you, Palepaw. After all, there is a leaf behind your ear." His voice gave away almost nothing, but it wasn't unfriendly either. He spoke respectfully, and honestly, blue gaze moving from one to the other, wondering what the answer to his question would be.