Why Can't You See- {Rootpaw}

Lunarpaw

^{No one is the boss of me.}

[/center]Lunarpaw's small slender figure shivered against the long grass that surrounded her. She couldn't think about what to say to these strangers, nothing came to mind only the sickening feeling that they could be with the tom that had just harassed her. A small whimper escaped her mouth as the tom thrust his muzzle close to her face. My name? Lunarpaw kept her eyes on the two cats in front of her as she tracked her mind trying to find any trace of her what her name was.

Nothing, nothing came to her not a slightest hint to who she was. Her mind was clogged up with the incident, nothing else was in her mind. The small black she-cat let a small shakily sigh escape her throat as the tom moved back toward the tabby she-cat. Sitting up o so slightly she tried to comprehend what the two were mumbling about, but she couldn't keep her mind on them. She was to shaken to even think straight straight, but one word caught her attention, Starclan.

Horror struck her as the first thought that had crossed her mind was death. I can't be dead can I? Lunarpaw watched them in horror as they continued with their conversation. Wait dropped from the sky? I can't be dead if they think that! Lunarpaw opened her mouth slightly, but quickly closed it as the two lowered their voices. Eyes wide she kept her eyes on the pair knowing if they attack she would have no chance against them.
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TANGLEPAW
Live, Love & Never forget to Laugh.

Tanglepaw slapped his tail across her mouth, "Shhh, your angry words will scare her." The lanky orange tom murmured. Shifting his gaze back to the shivering she-cat he meowed to Rootpaw quietly, "I'm still betting she's a starclan cat. You can tell, just by looking at her." It was all too obvious, Rootpaw was simply jealous that she hadn't thought of such a brilliant idea first. Her lashing words of meanness and mega angry were nothing but a play. Instead she was secretly impressed by his knowledge of Starclan and how they work. Flashing her a defiant look,
"I'll prove it to you, watch and be even more jealous than you already are."

Shaking his rump he bounded right up to the tremulous kit and placed his crazy word spewing mouth right in front of her's. As if she were stupid he meowed extremely slow,
"Whhee--reee, doo-ooo, yoo-uu coomme froooommm?" Just to make sure she got it he said it four more times, each time making it even more ridiculously slow.

When no immediate answer came he glanced over at Rootpaw, "Hey! I think I know why Starclan sent her to us! She must be unable to speak so we're her secret mentors, chosen to teach her how to speak. It makes sense!" he meowed thoughtfully. Quickly he swished his head back to the kit's and meowed,
"I TANGLEPAW, you?"

Lunarpaw

^{No one is the boss of me.}

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Lunarpaw watched the orange tom with annoyance. Yes the nightmare that had just happened to her seemed to slowly disappear within her. She flicked her large black ears as the tom’s annoying voice continued to speak, closing her eyes, she tried blocking out the two, but when she did that the nightmare suddenly came back to her.

Flashing her eyes back open she saw the tom had toward the other she-cat, but not long after he had done that that he turned back to her. Breathing slowly the she-cat shook her head,
”I-I don’t k-know wh-where I c-came f-f-from.” She stuttered clearly not healed from her teeth clattering together. Once more her mind was blanked, she truly had forgotten where she was from or who she was, and this had frightened her. Shooting up blindly and without thinking she shot pass the tom to the she-cat,
”P-Please h-h-help me.” She begged.

Ooc: Wanted to see what Rootpaw would react…
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Rootpaw
_{You can change your leaves, but keep to your roots.}

<sup>Rootpaw wanted nothing more than to close her teeth around the stupid ginger tail poised in front of her mouth.

A logical cat, she believed that everything could be explained well, logically. So, the opinion that the trembling cat before them was sent from Starclan because she could not speak was the dumbest, most illogical thing Rootpaw had ever heard in her entire life. While Tanglepaw became more mouse-brained by the second, now sticking his face all in the terrified cat's space, she began to think about the situation from several different angles. To begin, she does not smell of any clan. Therefor, she is either a loner herself or has recently encountered one. No matter which assumption, she was obviously attacked. She is wounded, and she still smells of cat, not badger, nor two leg. She was attacked by another cat, of clan or rogue I can't distinguish because of the overpowering fear scent that still lingers on her. Clan or no clan, that lousy warrior code still says we must help a kit in need, no matter what. Then again, this could be a deception. The cat that injured her might still be lurking in the shadows, pursuing her. And if that were the case, we'd be leading this attacker right into WindClan camp.

The small tabby heaved a sigh after only a few short seconds of thought. Rootpaw thought too much, and too often. Her thoughts kept her awake at night, and distracted her from her mentor's orders. And a few times, when she mulled over the fact that her mind was sharper than her claws, she thought that she would make a far better medicine cat apprentice, and even went so far to assume she'd do better than the current one. But there were too many factors getting in the way of that; first of all, there already was a medicine cat apprentice. Secondly, she liked to dream about romances and toms she'd fancy. And finally, and most importantly, there was the Starclan rubbish she'd have to deal with all of the time.

Unfortunately for the thought consumed Rootpaw, she paused in thought at the exact moment the black she-cat turned to her and whimpered her plea for help. The little self-control Rootpaw had when it came to her opinions stopped her from rolling her eyes, but compared to what she did do, that would have gone unnoticed. Narrowing her eyes dangerously, she arched her body forward and inspected the frightened cat with harsh blue eyes full of mistrust. "Do you know for a fact that you are not being pursued by your attacker?" Her tone was all business; she had rehearsed what she was going to say to the cat beforehand, but without any sort of soothing or comforting words laced between. "If we were to take you to our camp, shelter you, heal you, and feed you, we are going to expect you to talk. When you are stable, you will have to tell us who you are and what you are about, and most importantly, who attacked you. Do you understand?" She by no means meant "do you understand" the way Tanglepaw did; she meant it as- "You do what I say, or I'll tie your tail in a knot so fast it'll make your head spin."</sup>

TANGLEPAW
Live, Love & Never forget to Laugh.

Flabbergasted Tanglepaw stood aghast, as the she-cat dodged his scrawny figure to get to Rootpaw. Grunting he tossed Rootpaw a glance, he was a tad bit hurt. I was asking logical questions, Rootpaw was being mean! Not me! So why did she avoid him? Was he just as scary? Tanglepaw's eyes widened. The last thing he ever wanted was to be pegged as frightening. Cautiously he approached the pair of she-cats, but stopped when Rootpaw started investigating her. Sighing he meowed gently, "Your not going to get anything out of her with that kind of tone." His eyes met Rootpaw's, he wasn't going to do anything stupid. He was just going to try to help this she-cat. Tanglepaw begged to Starclan that Rootpaw could see the change in his attitude.

So perhaps this wasn't a Starclan cat sent from the heavens; they were still obligated to treat her kindly. "Forgive her she was dropped on her head at birth--" A grin rippled across his features. So much for remaining that maturity. "She also thinks everyone is out to get her, crazy she-cat." he chuckled.
Hopefully his cheery mood would lighten the situation, he didn't want the trembling kit to run off, tail tucked between her legs. "As Rootpaw said you should probably tell us what happened, and where your from?"

Last but not least he tried desperately to prove his point, "You sure your not a Starclan cat?" His voice grew to a slight whine; he needed at least something to prove to Rootpaw that he wasn't a complete and utter moron. But he knew his attempts were failures, Starclan wouldn't send them a sign quite like this. Would they?

Lunarpaw

^{No one is the boss of me.}

[/center]Lunarpaw sunk towards the soft ground as the tabby she-cat's eyes pierced through he's they showed anger, and annoyance. Taking a step back Lunarpaw felt the need to run away, far from this place, but her legs wouldn't move. They felt like they were nailed to the ground and nothing would make them move, not even an inch.

The skinny black she-cat gulp as she felt the ginger tom walking slowly towards them. She felt her body get hot, but as he spoke his soft soothing voice made her relaxed. Slowly looking over her head she watched as the tom got close enough that he was only a tail length away from her. Her muscles was finally relaxed and she felt a huge wave of calmness swept through her body.

Blinking Lunarpaw turned her body all the way around facing the ginger tom, and slightly dipped her head.
"I-I t-thin-think m-my name is....Lunarpaw froze she couldn't quite remember who she was or where she was from. All she could remember was the incident... with that thing of a cat.

Looking down at her paws, she concentrated hard, trying to pick up anything familier in her mind, until finally.
"I-I th-think m-my name is L-Lunar..." Lunarpaw answered nodding her head.
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Rootpaw
_{You can change your leaves, but keep to your roots.}

<sup>Trying her hardest, Rootpaw turned her frown into a twisted up smile. She finally realized that she might be scaring the small she-cat further, and it seemed that as long as she was this terrified she wasn't sharing any information.

Although she was almost positive Windclan would not approve of two apprentices who are already in trouble dragging an outsider into camp, she wasn't totally heartless. "Thyme!" she hissed loudly at Tanglepaw, suddenly and swiftly turned her face to his. "Do you know if there's any thyme around here?" It was if a light bulb had turned on, and there was a brain under all the messy brown fur. She was spitting out orders almost instantly. "You can drag her back to camp, just grab her scruff and walk." She was talking too fast, trying to get her words out as quickly as her thoughts came to her.
I'll walk a distance from you guys to see if I can find some thyme, ok? Good." Rootpaw didn't need to know if Tanglepaw would do as she asked, because if he didn't, she'd make him.

Her eyes were wide, blue, and alert, a change from the usual narrowed slits. Her mind was going crazy, an odd adrenaline pumping through her suddenly. When Rootpaw got an idea, and believed it to be a stroke of genius, she became absolutely ecstatic. She wasn't a medicine cat apprentice, nor did she want to be one, but herbs were so easy to remember! Fighting, not so much, but come on, herbs are as easy to tell apart as the taste between a fish and a mouse! Thyme for shock, and this cat, Lunar or whatever her name really was, was definitely in shock.</sup>

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TANGLEPAW
Live, Love & Never forget to Laugh.

Tanglepaw scrunched up his nose; his brows, trying to process what Rootpaw was actually saying. Perhaps it was because Tanglepaw was a tad bit stupid but he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. Thyme...? What was that? Some secret code? Was she trying to send him a message that this Lunar shouldn't know? Tanglepaw narrowed his eyes and nodded discreetly; pretending to know what she was talking about. It has to be a secret code! "Yes, yes I do know where this thyme is." he meowed mysteriously. Trying to throw Lunar off their super secret path. "It's over by these ordinary, extremely ordinary not even interesting bushes." Flicking his tail he gestured towards the bushes, trying to get Rootpaw to follow him.

Because he was so concerned about this secret message, he completely missed every order she gave him. Such as 'dragging Lunar back to camp', and basically everything else that followed Thyme. When he reached the bushes he narrowed his eyes. I wonder what she wants, and why not tell me? Why use this code. It must be very secret. Codes. Tanglepaw suddenly snagged a distance memory. A jumbled array of colors, consisting of Jadepaw, Rosepaw and him.

They had all be lazily laying around the nursery when suddenly Rosepaw leaped to her paws. She began bouncing up and down excitedly, trying to inform them of this cool thing that Mintpaw had taught her. It was called Morse Code. She than began to teach them how to perform it. Basically it was a bunch of eyes twitches and in the end they all got bored and ditched the stupid code. Tanglepaw secretly wanted to learn more but decided to shut his trap.

Perhaps Rootpaw knows this code as well.

Staring her directly in the eyes he began blinking rapidly, trying to send her a message. Truthfully he had no clue what he saying; and from an outsider's view he must have looked extremely idiotic. "Understand!?" he whispered much too loudly to the she-cat, once he had finished his message.

Rootpaw
_{You can change your leaves, but keep to your roots.}

<sup>Breathing a quick sigh of relief, Rootpaw trotted towards the bush Tanglepaw had indicated. She thought she'd have to scour every inch of moor for thyme, but some how Mr. Mousebrain seemed to know. She hesitated though, when she saw the cat Lunar still laying in a heap of black fur. Didn't she just tell Tanglepaw to take care of her. Puzzled, she picked up her pace once more and came to a stop infront of the bush, scrutinizing every bit of plant life around it.

Boy, am I stupid.

There was no thyme here. Of course, Tanglepaw didn't know left from right, how would he know what thyme was? But before she could scold the tom properly, she was struck speechless. Was he having a seizure?! Hardly aware that her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were owl wide, Rootpaw could only stare. There was a flash of an emotion she didn't recognize for a moment, but it quickly turned to boiling anger as soon as he spoke, his normal goofy self.

"What?!" she finally manage to screech. She closed her eyes for a few moments, and when she reopened them they were the icey slits that could mean nothing good. Clearly, he was having a stupid stroke. "Thyme is an herb. A calming herb, if you must know. For Miss Traumatized over there. Carry her back to camp, while I go look for thyme, which is not a bush." Lashing her fluffy tail in annoyance as she turned away from him, she felt an odd sort of feeling inside of her, about to burst out of her throat. Stopping in her tracks, she tried as hard as possible to contain it until finally, a small snort escaped. Then, the impossible; she started laughing. She laughed so hard she was forced to sit down, and managed to sputter between gasps, "Y-you...looked...so...stupid!" Picturing his face blinking rapidly again and again sent her into more fits of laughter.

Eyes watering, she managed to somewhat collect herself. She turned to look at the most likely shocked Tanglepaw another time, bit her tongue hard enough that she only managed to smirk, then walked away as if that never happened. Yes, yes he would be teased about that for a while. Her thoughts were so clouded from her sudden fit of hysterics that she momentarily forgot what she was doing, until she almost stepped on a lump of black fur.</sup>

TANGLEPAW
Live, Love & Never forget to Laugh.

Tanglepaw shrank back to avoid the line of fire. Eyes wide he tried to wrap his mind around what she said. Thyme wasn't a code? When did this happen? He was pretty sure she was shot off her rocker, but sure thyme isn't a code. He'll just go with her crazy logic. Sure herb, she's finally lost it. "Fine, fine I'll believe you." he meowed. Starclan, Rootpaw grow a brain. This time Tanglepaw actually heard her order, "But Rootpaw she's fat! I won't be able to lift that tub of lard!" Truth be told Lunar was smaller than both of them but he had to make everything difficult. That's just how he rolled. With a grunt he left the grumpy-fur over by her precious 'not thyme this is a bush', and approached Lunar. She was still trembling and probably wanted to whine.

But before he could even pick her up he heard an uncontrollable burst of laughter. Ears perked he looked frantically around, trying to find this 'awesomely fun cat who actually knew how to laugh'. Instead he found Rootpaw shaking from something--was she having a seizure? This was when Tanglepaw put two and two together. Eyes wide he meowed, "You can laugh!" His jaw was almost scraping the ground from shock, "I honestly thought it was physically impossible for you?!" Nope it was Rootpaw all right. One second he thought she could have been actually kind of cool, but she ruined it with that insult. Rolling his eyes he remarked, "Yeah, yeah yeah I know." Turning back to Lunar he somehow couldn't get that image out of his head. She was laughing? Had he made her laugh? It was deemed such an impossible feet; and even though it was because of his stupidity Tanglepaw wanted to do it again.

Just to see that image once more.

Snorting he murmured to Lunar, "Don't worry Rootpaw's going to get you some 'thyme'" he made sure to emphasis the 'thyme'. "Which apparently isn't a code word for something, shocker huh?" Narrowing his eyes he grasped the shaky she-cat's scruff and hauled her up. She actually wasn't as heavy as he imagined. Lunar was practically lighter than a Windclan kit. But to prove his earlier statement he purposely padded towards Rootpaw; with Lunar's rump dragging painfully across the scratchy moorland. "See she's a fatty." he meowed through the fur. A quick thought danced though his mind, maybe I can make her laugh again. Slacking his shoulders he dropped closer to the ground; which made Lunar even more uncomfortable, "She's a beast!! Too plump!" he wallowed.

Greatest plan ever.

ooc:Both Lunar and Rootpaw have permission to slap the bejesus out of him XD

Lunarpaw

^{No one is the boss of me.}

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Lunarpaw's wide yellow eyes stared straight ahead almost like she was ignoring the conversation that the two strangers were having, but every word that they said went through one ear and out the other. Lunarpaw was far into her thoughts, she was truly lost and frightened. She couldn't close her eyes not even for a few seconds for the dark image always came back to her like it was haunting her.

Another large shiver ran through her body, but her breathing had finally went back to normal unlike her hard labor breathing she was doing when she met the two. Lunarpaw blinked when she saw the ginger tom walk over to a bush, and stared at the tabby with a idiotic look on his face, 'W-What in S-Starclan's name?' Lunarpaw was then snapped back into reality with a confused look on her face. Lunarpaw couldn't peel here eyes off of the tom until a screech from the other made her jump. Lunarpaw looked away from the two and just decided to try to ignore their conversation or should she say argument.

A small quivering sigh escaped the she-cat until she felt the tom's present getting closer to her, and then she heard a complaint leave him. Fat? B-But I- Lunarpaw stood stock still feeling the urge to claw his ears off, but before she could even lift a claw a chuckle came from the tabby, which then grew louder with laughter. Her shoulder seemed to bounced with the laughter, until finally she seemed to have found control of herself before continueing on with what she was doing.

Lunarpaw felt anger rose from her chest, 'Was she really laughing at the comment from the tom about me being fat?' Small sharp claws dug into the ground trying to control her temper, that amazingly came back to her. 'No, no the she-cat seemed better than that, right?' Kept her gaze from the tom as he started speaking to her, Lunarpaw silently shook her head. Seriously, he thought Thyme was a code? well I guess with the way his IQ seemed to be that wouldn't surprise me.' Lunarpaw kept the sigh from coming out of her mouth, but before she could even think about what to say she felt a small pressure around her neck. Lunarpaw's eyes widen in freight when he started half dragging and carrying her across the open moor. Pain shot through her as her back end was painfully dragging against the bumpy grass and towards, Rootpaw.

When Tanglepaw had finally stopped he murmured something from her fur which was hard to make out, but Lunarpaw knew what he had said.'Again!' Once again anger started rising from her, the incident that had happened to her earlier that day seemed to vanish from her mind when the tom kept commenting on her weight. 'For Starclan sake I'm smaller than both of them. Gah he must be a weakling.'

A hiss escaped from her when the tom lowered her close to the ground making her uncomfortable, she snapped when the next words came from his mouth. A small paw with small sharp claws whipped out from underneath her and smack his cheek making him let go of her. When he did she jumped from him, and the eyes that were once filled with freight were now filled with anger,
" Who are you c-calling a b-b-beast? Y-Your a-at least twi-twice my s-side!" Lunarpaw growled trying her best not to stutter out her words.


ooc:This is ick... sorry
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Composure completely regained, Rootpaw was mentally hitting herself for having an idiot moment almost Tanglepaw level stupid. It felt so odd, as if she couldn't control it...no, she wasn't going to dwell on it. But as somewhat of a perfectionist, beating herself up over mistakes came naturally to the apprentice. She had to be twice as strict as usual to make Tanglepaw forget, which couldn't be too hard seeing as his brain probably can only store so little information at a time. And now came Mister Funny Bones himself, dragging along a traumatized little cat. He went on and on about how fat the little scrap was, when she was really jusr fur and bones. What was he trying to prove? How weak he was? How inconsiderate he was? Honestly, the fate of this outsider didn't concern Rootpaw too much, but it was only fair justice that she be given a chance to explain and not die before she has that chance. They had to get her back to camp quickly, and Tanglepaw's antics weren't really helping. Trotting up to the ginger moron, she hissed in annoyance, "I want you to look for a plant on our way back. It has tiny leaves, and it smells really strong..." but he hesitated, unable to find the words to describe what she needed. Well, it's not like she was a medicine cat, she didn't know how to describe it. But if she saw it, she'd know. Tanglepaw could bring her poison ivy for all she know. Rootpaw's strengths lied within her brain, not her muscle. Ever since her previous mentor died, she had been everyone's apprentice, and very easy to forget about, much to her liking. So when she should have been training, she strayed towards the medicine cat's den often, taking in the knowledge like a sponge. Now medicine cat was not a job she wanted, no way. She didn't envy it at all. If only there were a way to make herself useful doing what she was good at. While Tanglepaw stood trying to understand what she just said, Rootpaw grabbed the scruff of the small black cat's neck and pulled her away from Tanglepaw. "I'll take her off your paws," she mumbled through fur filled teeth, as if she were doing him a big favor, "you look for the thy--plant." The word "thyme" seemed to strike the tom as a code word, so she figured it was best not to say it and cause him more confusion. Before he could begin to object, Rootpaw began walking in the direction of the camp. The black cat was not very heavy, but Rootpaw was not very strong or tall. She had to crane her neck towards the sky to avoid dragging the other she-cat on the ground. 'Why do I have to be so nice?' [bg=#330000][atrb=border,0,true]

Tanglepaw's chest stung where the mere scrap of fur scratched him. Sucking back the tears he let out a mumbled mess of cusses instead. "O-ow-ow-ow!" he meowed at last. Unsheathing his claws he let them slide into the earth, blood bubbled from his wounds. In reality three puny scratches inflicted his 'perfect' coat. Which resulted with Tanglepaw dropping the black she-cat, and throwing a fit. "Rootpaw! She hurt me!" he whined. He was going to continue onwards about how much 'pain' he was in but stopped at the severity of her voice. What's her problem? As if he knew, probably EVERYTHING. "No need to be so grumpy, I was just trying to have fun." he mumbled loudly. Still, he found himself listening intently to her instructions. Even if they left him confused, "Wha...why? Why do we need a plant?" The only thing Tanglepaw knew about plants was that they could be used to heal others. But who needed healing? A light bulb flickered, and with a burst of energy it flashed on. Of course! A grin tugged at his lips, he knew why Rootpaw wanted this plant! It was all too simple, his grin widened. "Okay, okay act all grumpy, I know you care." Tanglepaw never felt happier, just the fact that Rootpaw cared drove him ecstatic! He was pretty much convinced that the devil she-cat had no heart; but now...now things were different! She did have a heart! Even if she didn't want him to know it. Grinning from ear to ear he set off on the perilous task of finding this special plant. Okay, tiny leaves...and strong smell! Dropping his nose to the ground he drew in the scents. He immediately picked out the scent of rabbit, mouse, and just about every other kind of prey. He eliminated the familiar Windclan scent as well. The ginger tom kept going at it until he had only a few plants left. I think I got it! Tail streaming behind him the lanky tom shot off in the direction toward an odd looking plant. It smelled incredibly strong, but the leaves were small. It practically fit the bill! A grin still occupied his face as he dug up the roots and pulled out the stalks. I still can't believe she cared! Tanglepaw honestly thought that Rootpaw had wanted to kill him for his complaining; he never dreamed this. Rootpaw had wanted to cure him! She wanted to treat his wounds and make him feel better. She did care! Rootpaw's so nice! And kind! A sudden thought entered his head, why does she care? All of the other times she completely ignored him, in fact she often did cause his pain. So why did she suddenly want to treat his wounds now? The grin slipped off his face. Brows creased in intense thought he tried to come up with any working reason; but they all lacked sense. Discouraged he set down the plants. Why send me out to get plants, if you got no one to heal? With a heavy sigh he gingerly picked them up and trotted back toward camp. Then it hit him. Maybe...maybe Rootpaw did want to heal him? Maybe she wanted to help him; take away his pain. Maybe she wanted to do this because she was in love with him! Tanglepaw's ears perked. It did make sense. Lots of sense. Wasn't there some odd saying that stated, "If a she-cat constantly rips on a tom that means she likes him?" It all makes sense! Rootpaw wanted to use this plant to heal his scratches so she could make him fall in love with her! It was a bulletproof plan. Oh she's crafty all right. Too bad I figured it out before she could try it out. Racing into camp he almost collided with the tabby apprentice. Dropping the herbs at her feet he meowed deviously, "Ha! Foile-" The tom stopped, his tongue tangling into knots. He found the heat rising to his cheeks, they were too close. Much too close. His almost collision left their noses inches apart, ears flat against his head he backed up nervously. "Aaa...ahaha!" Awkwardly trying to cover up his embarrassment he meowed strangely, "Nice weather we're having." What's wrong with me?! Suddenly the simple task of talking to Rootpaw seemed impossible. Was it because I now know she likes me? [bg=FFFFFF][atrb=border,0,true]