[PRP] Unexpected Rendezvous (Thymepaw/Fennelpaw)

[belloblossom]

Thymepaw was an apprentice at last! Okay sure, it had been a few days since he'd gotten his mentor, Aspenswirl, as a mentor, but he was still beaming with excitement about it. He looked around the apprentice den, still awed that he was here instead of the Nursery, though, admittedly, he missed being showered in kisses by his mtoher, Bone. Bone was mute, his father, Leopardthroat, had explained when Thymepaw was only two moons old. It didn't make her any less of a cat and in fact, she was able to see things in other cats that no one else could, because they were too busy talking to one another.

Thymepaw had never thought it to be weird or strange, but when he joined the apprentices den on his first day, Honeypaw, an older apprentice had sidled up to him and asked.
"Why's your mom so quiet? She doesn't ever talk to me, or to anyone else and it's rude and weird." And when he'd failed to answer, his mouth agape, she'd added incredulously, "Do YOU know how to talk?" He'd nodded and stumbled out some explanation that she couldn't talk, but it was okay and - but Honeypaw had left the apprentices den, apparently bored by the conversation already. Thymepaw had shrunken back and made his nest next to his brother, Sorrelpaw's, and gone to sleep shortly thereafter.

Still, even though it had been nearly three days since his apprenticeship and since Honeypaw had cornered him to ask about Bone, he shouldn't shake the uncertainty of it. He didn't feel up to going to his father or Bone about it - he didn't want to get Honeypaw in trouble, and she was older than him and they shared the same den together... it wouldn't be right to make problems with his fellow apprentices so early on. Still, he was disclined to try to talk with Honeypaw and try to make friends with the older apprentice immediately, so instead he chose one of the other older apprentices - who just happened to be Honeypaw's sister: Fennelpaw.

Fennelpaw was a she-cat, unlike his brother, Fennelkit. He tried not to think of Fennelkit - he'd only seen his brother once, before the older cats of the clan were taking him away to be buried. Thymepaw wasn't sure he would ever forget that memory. But now wasn't the time to be remembering sad stuff - he had friends to make! He was just getting up from his nest - Aspenswirl had told him they'd be joining the evening patrol and that was ages away - when Fennelpaw had entered the apprentices den.

"Oh, Fennelpaw!" He mewed, jumping up in surprise. "Are you back from training? Uh, who's your mentor again?" He asked her and then added quickly. "If you're not too tired, do you, um, want to go get something to eat from the prey pile with me?" He asked, hopefully. Please, please let Fennelpaw be nicer than her sister. @Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

The day had been a long one. She'd risen with the sun to listen to the elders spin their tales. They had earned their right to an audience many times over in her mind. Tired or not, she would be there, smiling politely while fighting sleep, doing her best to be an active listener. Then she would help with the kits, play with them and keep them company while their mothers stretched their legs and got a much-needed break. The queens had taken... a bit longer to return today than she would have liked, but it was fine! Kits were cute, especially when they were tired. Normally, she would have tried to squeeze in a nap, but there had been no time. Fennel didn't want to keep anyone waiting, especially her mentor.

And so, even though the day was only half over, it had been a very long day for Fennelpaw. She gave an inward sigh as she ducked beneath the ferns that made up the nesting area, eager for her nest. Then, suddenly, her name was being called.

"Hm?" She banished her exhaustion and summoned her well-known smile, "Oh! Hi there, Thymepaw. Yes, I just got back actually," Her long fluffy tail flicked in the direction of the training hollow, "I'm Fleet's apprentice; you know, the grey she-cat with the cute little tail? She reminds me of a bunny!" She gives a little giggle as she uses her back paw to shake some sand from her fluffy ears, "Strong as a hare, too. We went over battle moves today."

Fennel blinked at the little apprentice's invitation. If she wasn't too tired... Part of her wanted to say no, but, well, she was about as good at saying no to cats as she was at battle moves. Besides, she remembered how hard it had been when she'd been first named a paw. She was never too tired to cheer up a fellow apprentice!

"Ooh, yes, I'm starving!"

@belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Thymepaw was thrilled that Fennelpaw had time to make for him. Then again, eating fresh kill was hardly an arduous task that he was asking of her. He followed her gaze to the training hollow and then turned his green gaze back to Fennelpaw's mismatched one. Gosh, her eyes were so pretty. And her fur. And her smile, tired though it was. He turned his head away and swiped his tongue over his shoulder to alleviate some embarrassment that threatened to show on his face.

"She sounds cool." He answered, attempting to also sound cool, but the result was a little squeakier than he'd hoped it would. "Uh, let's... let's go then." He mewed, before padding over towards the fresh kill pile. His mouth popped open when he saw something new on the pile. "Who caught a lizard?" He asked and unsheathed a paw to poke a claw at it. "Have you had lizard before, Fennelpaw?" He asked and then with a half-smile. "Do you wanna try it with me?" He asked pulling it off the pile. He wanted to grab a mouse off the pile too, in case it turned out that he did not like the taste of lizard, but he felt like that would seem too picky and besides, cats usually only took one piece of prey per meal, weren't they?

"I'm gonna go sit over there." Thymepaw mewed, gesturing with his paw to a free space nearby, clear of the company of any other cats. "Come join me, when you've picked something too, and then maybe you can tell me all about the battle moves that Fleet taught you?" He asked hopefully. Picking up his scaly prey, his expression becoming more and more doubtful the longer he held it in his mouth (but it was rude to put it back, right?) he padded over to the clearing he'd indicated and settled down, dropping the lizard in front of him and looking at it skeptically. Okay... how was he actually supposed to eat this? @Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Those mismatched eyes of hers shone as she watched the little apprentice brighten. That, she thought, was the best thing. Even if she was an awful fighter and a luke-warm hunter at best, bringing joy to others, that she could do.

The pretty little tabby giggled, "She is very cool," She stood and followed her spotted friend, "Fleet's very resourceful. She doesn't let her hard of hearing slow her down at all! I think she's very impressive, even if others don't." She sniffs a bit indignantly as they approach the pile. Honeypaw should be a bit more careful about her worlds. What if she upset someone? She shuddered at the thought.


Fennel stopped a bit short at the mention of lizards. Ooh, she didn't like those! Too much like snakes, the wiggly things gave her the creeps! "N-No, I haven't," She answered honestly. But then he looked at her over his shoulder with that cute little grin. How could she say no to that? So she swallowed her fear and gave him a bright smile and a nod, "Sure! Let's try it."

She sighed as he walked away. Not looking forward to that. Oh well, trying new things was how one broadened their horizons, right? Who knows! It might even be good! She nosed through the pile and grabbed a pidgeon. There, that should be big enough to share. Just in case. She trotted over with her head held high, trying to keep the thing's wings from dragging.

"There we go," The little she-cat said brightly as she settled down accross from him, close enough to sniff at the weird, gross lizard thing. "Mm, well.. At least it isn't squishy like a Salamander, right? How interesting!"

 

[belloblossom]

Thymepaw looked longingly at the pigeon that Fennelpaw had brought with her, but tried to look as though he was somewhat excited, at least, about the lizard at his paws.
"A Sala-what-now?" He asked Fennelpaw, before he settled down to try and pick at the lizard with his claws. "It's doesn't have a lot of meat on it." He said as he tried to pick apart the lizard using a combination of his teeth and claws. "And it's crunchy!" He said in surprise. He thought at least its stomach where all the squishy bits were, would be soft, but no. With an experimental sniff, he leaned forward and took a bite out of the lizard, pulling back and feeling the strings of skin and flesh come with him. Eugh.

He chewed it and tried to smile at Fennelpaw encouragingly as he pushed the rest of the lizard towards her, sharing was caring after all.
"Mmmm." He grunted as he swallowed it, but he couldn't hold up the act. His smile fell away and he stuck out his tongue, running it over his shoulder fur in hopes that he'd get the taste of lizard off. "I hate it. I hate lizard. I've never had something that's stringy and crunchy and dry all at once. It's so much skin, but the skin has so much texture... No thanks. You should try it, though, so we can suffer together. Do you think we can convince one of the other apprentices that it's good and we just want to share it? Or I bet Aspenswirl would eat it... he never lets prey go to waste." He mewed contemplatively.

Looking at the pigeon that Fennelpaw brought over, he asked, unabashedly,
"Are you going to eat that whole thing yourself, or do you feel up to sharing?" @Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

"A salamander!" She giggles as she explains, "They kind of look like lizards but soft and sticky? Like if a worm and lizard had a kit! They live in the mud by the river." They'd almost be cute if they weren't so... ugh. So gross. The pale she-cat tilted her head as she watched the younger paw pick apart the poor thing. She almost felt bad for it. Almost. Fennel her look of disgust as she watched him swallow a bite. "So...? How is it?" She asked, more out of politeness than anything. There was no way that thing was tasty.

She drew her paws back a fraction as he pushed it towards her. Oh, she didn't want to touch it, no... But he was sharing and that was so nice. Misery loved company after all, she thought with a shudder before gently picking up the tail out of the shredded mess. Quickly, Fennel crunched it between her teeth, forcing a smile that ended up more like a grimace. It took a few tries to get it down, it was as if it refused to be swallowed!

"Mm..." was the only sound she could manage for a moment, less a sound of enjoyment and much more one of 'if I open my mouth, I may just vomit.' She shuddered, her fur all fluffed up, and finally managed, "Oh thank the sun, that was awful." She stuck out her tongue. "No, we shouldn't trick them, that'd be mean." She hesitated, "Maybe Honeypaw. No, no, that'd probably put her in a worse mood. Safer not to." One of her ears bounced a bit as she tilted her head at her father's name, "Papa? Oh, yeah, that's true. He'll eat anything! We can take it to him once we're done actually eating. You know, real food." And she pulls the pidgeon between them. "Nope! We can share. Birds are my favorite," She noses through its plumage and finds a pretty feather that wasn't broken or bloody and plucks it, tucking it into her long, fluffy tail. "I think their feathers are really pretty. Don't you?"

@belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Thymepaw's ears perked forward - and then flicked back when Fennelpaw told him exactly what a salamander was. Wrinkling his nose, he shook his head.
"I don't think I like lizards at all, whatever kind they are." He said with finality.

Watching Fennelpaw try the lizard, he leaned in with narrow, curious eyes to see if she actually liked it - but then grinned and relaxed when she admitted it was awful and he nodded. "Yeah, it really is the grossest." He agreed. When she went on to suggest Honeypaw he laughed a little, but admitted. "She's scary. I don't want to get on her bad side... though I worry I may've already. Is she always so... pushy?" He asked, wondering if it was okay to say such things about Honeypaw to Honeypaw's sister. Still, maybe Fennelpaw could give him some insight on how to make Honeypaw like him more, if there was even a way to do so.

"I always forget that my mentor and your papa are the same cat." He mewed. "Small Clan, I guess?" He said with a shrug. LostClan was so far away from any of the other Clans, how was he to be sure that the other clans weren't the same size as LostClan was? He shrugged his shoulders and then turned his attention back to the bird. "I like rats best. They taste like mice, but they're not as stringy. Birds are definitely a good second choice though." He remarked and started to pluck the feathers from the pigeon, passing them to Fennelpaw, since she seemed to like them. At her comment on how pretty the feathers were, he raised his eyes to her and spoke in unabashed sincerity.

"I think you're prettier, Fennelpaw." He said and smiled at her, holding her gaze for a few seconds, before dipping his head and started to tear into the now-bare flesh of the pigeon. @Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Another trickle of laughter bubbled up from within her. Boy, she must be tired, she swore she wasn't always this giggly! Fennel told herself she would take a nap once they were finished. Maybe. "Oh no, the grossest ever are snakes! They're much worse than lizards AND salamanders even combined!" She shivered dramatically. "They're all wiggly and the way they move is just ughhh. AND they're mean! Way meaner than Honeypaw." She lowered her voice and scooted closer to whisper to him, "I think she should change her name to Adderpaw. Adder is a kind of snake. But uh.. Don't tell her I said that, okay?" She gives Thymepaw a sheepish grin before taking small, polite bites out of the pigeon.

"Mm, I suppose so! I think you're lucky though, Thymepaw. Aspenswirl's a good papa, so he must be a good mentor, too!" She smiled, raising her head proudly when she talked about her father. Fennel didn't quite care what anyone else said about him, Aspenswirl had always made her feel cared for. Her eyes widened at the mention of rat! "Rats? I don't think I've ever eaten one of those! Aren't they dangerous?" Her ears drooped a little bit, "Fleet says I'm not ready to hunt things that can fight back just yet." She catches herself and perks up, forcing a bright smile for her new friend, "But! I'm sure I'll get there soon. If I ever catch one, I'll bring it back for you."

She purred pleasantly as she continued to tuck more feathers into her tail, flicking it this was and that to admire how cute they were. Birds were so neat. Much better than sna-- Fennelpaw did a double take at his brazen compliment. Her bright, mismatched eyes found his and held them for a long moment until she was suddenly very aware of how close she was sitting to the little tom. She felt heat rise from her fur and quickly dropped her eyes to her tail, preening it to hide her embarrassment. "O-oh, I.. Thank you." She said at last, a shy little smile playing at her lips. The little she-cat took the most colorful feather from her tail between her teeth and gently slipped it into the thick fur behind his ear, "There. Now we match!" She gave him a good, true smile, her bright eyes crinkling with joy.

@belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Thymepaw's nose wrinkled when he heard about snakes and he felt his fur prickle with discomfort at the thought.
"I heard that snakes don't even have legs - is that really true?" He asked Fennelpaw with round eyes. "They sound awful! My mother, Bone, told me some of them are poison-no. No snakes are venomous, frogs can be poisonous." He said, struggling to remember his mother's means of communication and the differences between poison and venom. "Basically, uh, if you eat a poisonous frog you're in trouble. And if a venomous snake bites you then you're really in trouble! So yeah, snakes are bad news!" He concluded, nodding his agreement to Fennelpaw.

When rats came up, he shrugged his shoulders.
"Nothing's dangerous once you've killed it." He said. "Rats are fast and they like to bite, but I think that's just cause they're overgrown mice. Killing one, that's nothing. What you worry about with rats is when they're in a big group. Then they can be really scary, or so I hear. I haven't seen more than one at a time." He admitted.

Tilting his head to one side, he asked.
"Why's that? She doesn't think you can fight very well? Oh! That wasn't an insult. Or it wasn't supposed to be. What I meant to say was," He cleared his throat. "You can practice battle training with me, if you want to. Assuming our mentors don't train us till our paws fall off." He added with a smile. "Sure, I'd be really happy to eat something you caught - even if it isn't my favorite prey." He told her. "Prey tastes better when you know the cat that caught it." He kneaded his claws into the ground. "I feel special anytime Leopardthroat catches me prey himself." He purred at the thought. "And the next bird I catch, I'll give to you, also." He paused, thinking about all the different birds that flew through the trees. "Is it any kind of bird? Or like, a blackbird or thrush or a sparrow..." He asked, trailing off, rather than trying to list every bird he knew the names of in one breath.

When Fennelpaw leaned towards him, he leaned forward, preferring to be closer to her than to lean back, which may have (in hindsight) been the polite thing to do. When the feather got tucked into his fur and Fennelpaw exclaimed that they matched, he grinned at her.
"We do!" He chirped, pleased with the feather in his fur and the friend nearby. "Now we can both be pretty." He purred through his laughter and flicked his tail towards Fennelpaw. "I like you Fennelpaw - you're nice and you're fun! Can't find that in 'Adderpaw'," He said with a wink, for now they had a secret name to call Honeypaw without her knowing and a secret shared between friends was always exciting. "And I doubt you could find it in other cats too, honestly." He added. "So you're special." His eyes glimmered and he lowered his head to the pigeon, ready to get the taste of lizard -blergh - out of his mouth. However, after all the talking he'd done, he worried that lizard had been ground into his fangs now. Time to change that! @Blinded By Silence