Just another lazy day (Open!)

[.:|Fawnzie|:.]

<sup>Hornetpaw stared at him for a moment, wondering why he had asked. She shook her thick-furred pelt, and decided to answer to him. The she-cat wasn't sure why he had asked, but didn't want to ask him about it. "Uhh.... er.. sure," She said blushing slightly.

The apprentice hadn't slept in a nest with her "sibilings" for a while. They had decided to get seperate nests as apprentices, so she had one to herself. She'd thought it was cold at first, with no extra cats sleeping next to her. "It's kind of cold in the night for me anyways," She explained, then swung around and started walking towards the apprentice's den.</sup>

[♦ stormeh ♦]

<sup>On one hand, Stormpaw was glad that Hornetpaw agreed to share her nest with him, but on the other hand he was also a bit anxious by the hesitance in her voice when she spoke. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable - but he didn't want to pass up this opportunity either. "I... t-thanks, Hornetpaw," he meowed quietly, his eyes shining with gratititude and something else that couldn't be identified.

Following Hornetpaw into the apprentices' den, his eyes automatically rested on his own nest, but he remembered that he was sharing a nest with Hornetpaw. The thought of simply lying beside her strangely excited him, and gave him butterflies in his stomache. Careful not to step on any other apprentice's tail as he weaved around them, he arrived at Hornetpaw's nest and gestured for her to climb in first, a warm smile spread across his face.</sup>

[.:|Fawnzie|:.]

<sup>Hornetpaw walked into the den, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the dimness of it. She looked at her nest, and slowly started walking towards it. Not looking where she was going, she stepped on a sleeping Smudgepaw's tail. A mumbled whine came from the tom, and she blushed. "Sorry," She whispered, then made it to her nest.

Pawing at a peice of moss, she laid down. Tucking her paws under her body, she let her head collaspe. She really was tired, and she flicked her tail around herself as she waited for Stormpaw to lay down next to her.</sup>

[♦ stormeh ♦]

<sup>Stormpaw blinked in sympathy when Hornetpaw almost immediately rested her chin on her paws. It had been a very tiring day for the two of them, after all. Adderstrike had sent Hornetpaw out on two hunting patrols, and one boredr patrols. Stormpaw accompanied her for one of the hunting patrols, then went off to do his seperate duties.

Realizing how exhausted he was himself, Stormpaw carefully climbed into Hornetpaw's nest, shyly aware that the nest was barely large enough to fit the both of them. Finally settling down beside Hornetpaw, he felt a shiver run down his spine. Startled, he sniffed the air, but found that it wasn't cold; nor was there breeze. Go on... this is your chance... a voice urged him in the back of his mind. Though as hard as he found it difficult to understand what he own thought had meant, he had already shifted his positioning a bit, until his body was pressed up against Hornetpaw's.

When he realized what was happening, he wanted to move away, but he enjoyed the warmth of her pelt, and her soft fur, and stayed where he was. Afraid that Hornetpaw would tell him to go sleep in how own nest, he avoided her gaze, trying to hide the faint blush on his face, as well as the nervousness in his blue eyes.</sup>

[.:|Fawnzie|:.]

<sup>Almost as soon as her head hit the moss in her nest, she was asleep. Hornetpaw felt Stormpaw lay down next to her, of course; she was just in that state between sleeping and being awake. Her nose twitched, and she started having a dream. Or, more accurately, a nightmare.

Hornetpaw was running through a forest, pelt bristled. She didn't know where she was, but she really didn't care. All the she-cat knew was that there was something chasing her, and she wanted to get away from it. Breathing deeply, she looked behind her. A large fox with red eyes was chasing her, it's long legs making it catch up to her quickly.

Arching her back, the black cat twitched her front paw slightly. Hornetpaw pressed up against Stormpaw, her nightmare startling her. The she-cat almost never had nightmares, so this was rather rare. Twitching her nose, she woke up with a start. "Stormpaw?" The apprentice asked, eyes wide.</sup>

[♦ stormeh ♦]

^{Stormpaw, surprised that Hornetpaw was already asleep, was falling asleep as well, until he felt her jerk in her sleep. To his confusion, Hornetpaw was wide-eyed with fear and her fur was bristling."Hornetpaw? What's wrong?" he asked, his own fur beginning to bristle also. To see Hornetpaw so frightened made him troubled, and he wanted to know what was scaring her so badly. While his fur stood on end, it was fluffed up to twice his size, brushing warmly against her fur. Stormpaw barely noticed, and instead was trying to figure out what was going on with Hornetpaw.}

[.:|Fawnzie|:.]

<sup>"I... I- there was a fox chasing me," Hornetpaw choked out, burying her nose in Stormpaw's fur. She was just realizing what happened, but it was so realistic that the dream scared her. She twitched her tail, and looked around the den one more time. Now that she had calmed down, she knew it was just a nightmare.

Looking up at the tom, she was still scared, but she ignored it. "So-sorry, it was just a nigh-nightmare. Don't be concerned," the apprentice mewed, flicking her ear. Though she knew that the fox wasn't real, she kept her nose in Stormpaw's fur. It comforted her and helped her not to freak out again.</sup>

[♦ stormeh ♦]

<sup>Stormpaw, dumbfounded by Hornetpaw's gesutre, shifted a bit nervously, yet also put at ease with his best friend pressing against him. "Hornetpaw, I can't just not be worried about you," he laughed quietly, until he stopped in apprehension. Realizing he had said too much, he stared down at his paws for a moment in embarrassment, a faint blush appearing on his face the more he thought of it.

But the more he did, the more he started to believe that he was actually right. Stormpaw did worry about Hornetpaw, even when she was only on a patrol. It seemed strange to him that he would figure this out now, not to mention while Hornetpaw was lying beside him. "I m-mean, that n-nightmare sounded kinda s-scary, so I just.. uh.." he stammered, trying to cover up what he'd said a few moments earlier. He desperately tried to finish his sentence, but couldn't. S</sup>

[.:|Fawnzie|:.]

<sup>"Why not? And don't worry about me, I told you not to," Hornetpaw said, a uneasy smile on her face. She looked at the ground, her mind registering what he had said. Then she realized that she knew what he meant. She couldn't not be worried about him, whether she was with him or not. Stormpaw was her best friend and she cared about him no matter what he told her.

The apprentice nudged her friend's shoulder, trying to get him to stop stuttering. "I know what you mean, so stop stammering for Starclan's sake!" She teased, flicking his ear with her tail. "Now lets go back to sleep and try to forget about the nightmare."</sup>

[♦ stormeh ♦]

<sup>Still staring blankly at his paws, Stormpaw seemed to have regained his consciousness when Hornetpaw nudged him, and he turned his face so she could see the amused grin on his face. He decided to just leave his feelings alone, and think about it later. Right now though, he just had to enjoy the time he was spending with his friend. "Alright, alright!" he laughed, almost forgetting that he had to speak quietly due to the other apprentices slumbering around them.

Sighing, Stormpaw gave Hornetpaw's shoulder a swift lick as a friendly gesture before curling up in a ball and resting his chin on his paws. With his back facing Hornetpaw he flicked his tail in a "good-night". The next few breaths he took gradually slowed, until he was sleeping soundly.


ooc;; Should we close it now?</sup>