A Little Shadow of Doubt[Open]

[Masquerade]

The world felt silent to her. She felt lost in her own little bubble. Brokenpaw. Who named their kit 'Broken' at all? Was her mother stupid? Was she doomed a faulty life merely because of the 'Broken' in her name? Oh, no. That wasn't what she wanted, and that was what she would keep from happening. She was destined to make herself memorable, at least in her eyes.

Brokenpaw entered camp after a long day of exploring, though she probably should have been doing something productive in camp. She caught nothing on her little exploration, just only a butterfly or two that fluttered through the chilly air. It was funny how confused those little buggars got when it came to the weather. All she knew was that she'd been happy to escape camp just this once, hopefully without getting into some sort of trouble.

She had no mentor as of yet, so she really had no training to do. She felt behind on the things she knew, watching all the other apprentices get to train and soon become warriors. She was jealous, and feared that she'd never get her time to shine. She was just a little pessimist today, and the other day was just the same. She rarely was a little optimistic, but was on a good day. Honestly, Brokenpaw was a mixed up bundle of fur, and she knew very little compared to other apprentices. She was a 'newbie' as you'd say, and a little too much trouble at the same time.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Kestrelpaw made his way toward the pile of fresh-kill, a scowl on his face as he glanced around camp. A yawn or boredom escaped his jaws. Everything was so boring, and going on patrols didn't make things any better. If only there was some sort of excitement in WindClan. He could go make fun of someone, but he wasn't really in the mood to do so - which was rare, for him. He picked on others for the fun of it, but today was just too boring to be making fun of someone.

Suddenly, his paw hit a solid object and he tripped, landing face-flat in the dirt. His nostrils flared with annoyance as he scrambled to his paws, and faced whoever was stupid enough to be in his way. He narrowed his pale-green eyes on Brokenpaw, the young apprentice with a tail that looked kinked and just messed up, in general. "Are you a mouse-brain? Do you have to be sitting in the middle of camp?" he spat, resent written all over his face.

Kestrelpaw especially disliked younger apprentices. If they were she-cats, that just made things worse. She-cats were so annoying and cheerful, and it bugged Kestrelpaw so much that he would've liked to spit in their faces. But it depended on how they acted towards him. If they left him alone, it told him that they were on the same page as him. But if they did something ignorant, like trip him in the middle of camp, where everyone could see, than they had a problem.

"Honestly, why are you even out of your nest? I wouldn't want to be seen with such a kinked tail like that," he jeered, lashing his tail in satisfaction. Alright, so maybe he felt like teasing some other apprentices today, but only because Brokenpaw led him to it. If she had never been sitting where she had been, this wouldn't have happened in the first place. So techinally, this was her fault. He continued to glare at her, his eyes full of annoyance and contempt. It seemed like every cat he stumbled upon was a complete idiot.

[Masquerade]

Ears flattening was the first sign of self-defense. Her bodice lowered only slightly to the ground, her posture different. He had made fun of her kinked tail. The audacity! She growled sharply, eyes flashing with annoyance and anger.

"Maybe if you were watching where you were going, Kestrelpaw, you wouldn't run into other cats." She meowed sharply, tail lashing just fine. She couldn't help the way she looked, and toms picking on her for it was just as bad as anything. She straightened up, claws only partially unsheathed for protection, digging into the earth. "And maybe if your first intuition wasn't to go straight to the fresh-kill pile all the time, you wouldn't feel like a boulder." Brokenpaw hissed, a little more harshly.

She absolutely despised how the older apprentices acted toward ones younger than they, and she couldn't do as much to say something. She felt as if her word didn't matter, yet she spoke it anyway. With all pessimism gone, she shifted the weight on her paws, her small frame and slightly large muscles rippling with the movement.

"Besides, I don't see you having any distinct feature about yourself. I particularly like my 'kinked' tail." She meowed, slight amusement slightly shifting in her eyes, glimmering with a spark of firey attitude. "At least I get noticed for it." She added, turning on her paws and flicking her tail directly at his nose, the movement just as natural as any other. She smirked, not in the mood to feel scared or even think about backing down from such an arrogant fool.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Wait. Did Brokenpaw just talk back to him? Wow. That was a first. Kestrelpaw had never seen an apprentice stand up to him. It doesn't matter, she's just a pathetic she-cat, he told himself as he narrowed his eyes even more, puffing out his chest and pulling his lips back in a snarl to show the tabby apprentice that he wasn't joking. By the looks of her unsheathed paws, she clearly wanted to tear his ears off. But so what? If she wanted a fight, then she could go ahead and ask for one.

As Brokenpaw went on with her insults, Kestrelpaw was having toruble trying to figure out what to say in return. It was rare for someone to not walk away after being teased by him, so he usually didn't have to put much effort into thinking of some nasty remark. But this time, Brokenpaw was giving him some of his own medicine, which, frankly, didn't make him feel so satisfied. "If by 'distinct', you mean ugly, than no, I don't have any 'distinct' features about myself," he jeered in reply. Boy, this she-cat had a lot of nerve talking back to him like this.

When she flicked his nose with her seemingly kinked tail, his eyes widened a bit in shock. However, he wasn't going to let her see his surprise. "Don't wave that thing at me," he growled, taking a step back to keep distance from Brokenpaw. How dare she act like such a brat in front of him! Kestrelpaw was one of the most successful apprentices in the Clan, and was going to be the greates warrior WindClan has ever seen, but here Brokenpaw was, trying to copy his achievements of teasing others.

[Masquerade]

A gentle laughter escaped her tabbied maw, her eyes half-closing in amusement. "Awww.. did wittle Kestrelpaw's feelings get hurt?" She meowed, shaking her head softly. She scoffed, flicking her ears before she sat down. He did NOT just call her ugly. Now that one hit a mark. Granted she wasn't self-centered, but she knew she was as good as any cat in this clan, including the mouse-brain before her.

"Hm, looks like you haven't taken a look at yourself. You're not the most amazing tom-cat in this clan. I've seen badgers that look better than you do." Brokenpaw snarled, tail lashing again. She'd never been so riled up in her short, ten moons that she'd been in this clan. She'd never taken such a thing from anyone, so she wasn't going to start now. How dare he say such things about her!

As she looked down at her paws, her thoughts softened. This wasn't her; this wasn't the cat she'd been all her life. She never was one to throw herself into an argument with another cat, even if they were so hot-blooded. She felt bad for him, and bad for herself. She shouldn't be arguing with another apprentice, especially one she knew that she'd have to stay sided with in any battle. This was not the way clan-mates acted, that much she knew.

Granted she'd never been taught a thing by a warrior, she did know the Warrior Code. All cats knew it by heart, and followed it as much as they could. She wasn't going to start by being disloyal to her clan-mates now, even if they angered her so much. She was too much of a sweet-heart for that.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Kestrelpaw felt taken aback. Brokenpaw was actually doing a better job of being cruel than he was! How was that possible? What makes things even worse, was that her words actually stung him. Not drastically, but it still hurt. It was just that he wasn't used to being made fun of, so he'd never had much experience with how to deal with situations like this. What am I doing? I don't have to deal with this... this... Kestrelpaw's mind reeled. He couldn't even think of something to call her!

"Er, whatever!" he spat with as much contempt as he could, but the word only came out sounding pathetic and defeated. He growled one last time before whisking around and continuing towards the fresh-kill pile once more, only this time, his gait wasn't confident and arrogant, and instead, he had his head lowered under his hunched shoulders, and his tail lashed with annoyance. I'm not gonna let her be better than me. No one's better than me, he sniffed, picking out a small squirrel from the pile.

However, for some reason, Kestrelpaw wasn't hungry. He had been starving when he returned from a hunting patrol, but now he wasn't. Why? Usually, when he picks on someone, that burns his energy even more. But now... Well, he wouldn't want to eat after teasing someone so ugly and annoying, anyway. Who would? She's so stupid. The only problem, though, was that Kestrelpaw didn't think Brokenpaw was ugly at all. In fact, she was actually very pretty. Her tail may look a bit kinked, but the designs of her pelt (including her tail) was interesting. Maybe Kestrelpaw wasn't handsome after all... No, don't think like that! She's trying to manipulate you, and it's not going to work. You're the most handsome tom in the Clan, whether Brokenpaw - or anyone else - likes it or not.

[Masquerade]

Her face scrunched in a wince, her paws shifting on the ground beneath them. Her own heart stung, and that was different. She'd never felt such... such.. She couldn't even find a word to explain how bad she felt for him, and for herself. She needed to apologize, but couldn't form the words. She lowered her ears, sighing inaudibly. She'd grown to be such a different cat than she had when she first came here. She was so unused to being this way, and she didn't adore it one bit. Her mother would have clawed the fur off her hide and lined her bedding with it if she'd ever heard of such a thing come from Brokenpaw's mouth.

"Kestrelpaw... I.." She began, her voice low and full of hurt. She was the one hurting more than he, she was sure. Even if she'd been made fun of, the things said about her tail tore her apart. She couldn't help that she was different, and it wasn't fair that she could be made fun of for it, and then feel bad about it afterward. "I'm sorry.. I didn't mean it.." She muttered, heart fluttering at the thought of how he would rebound. Would he claw her? What about make fun of her more? Well, she deserved that... but still. The thought kind of scared her.

"I was wondering.. can you teach me to hunt? I don't have a mentor.. and you seem like a good hunter.." She mewed, voice kind of kittish and scared. She was never really one for fighting, more of a hunter's build actually. She was small, very petite, and that would do her well if she ever had to escape. But it was even better so when she had to hunt, for it kept her light and off the ground.

Would he say yes? Or would he just, mentally, throw her down in the dust? She needed a good start in her apprentice hood. She was already ten moons, and lacked the training that all others had. Boy, was she behind.

Word Count: 343