WakingxUp [Gingerpaw/open]

[♫.Starredmyst]

Pale mist coiled off the frigid water, still dark and calm from the night. It was cold, for a spring morning -- quite unlike the warm night before. The sun was just edging above the horizon, turning the sky grey, then pink, then pale blue.

Halfway up the driftwood camp wall sat a small ball of fur, curled up against the unexpected cold. The small pink nose was hidden by a brown-and-tan-splotched tail, the yellow-green eyes shut tight. If they hadn't known better, a cat would have thought Nightstreak asleep.

But no...it was the morning after the new warrior's vigil; of course he hadn't been sleeping. But still, with the cold, and the darkness, it had been a temptation...by the end of the night the young tom had found himself unable to avoid curling up and pretending to sleep, all the while resisting the urge to actually do it.

Actually, he did a remarkably good imitation of waking up as the first rays of light hit his eyelids, bouncing off the water, much brighter than it was in the apprentice den. Nightstreak stifled a moan, squeezing his eyes tighter shut, and curled up for a moment before managing to "wake up" the rest of the way. He squinted in the direction of the not-quite-risen sun and stifled a yawn, rising to his paws. It wasn't completely morning yet, but surely it was late enough for his vigil to be over...

The young tom leapt down from his vantage point and yawned again, more widely; he stretched out his front paws, kneading the sand, and was a little disappointed to find his muscles stiff after the long night. He wondered if he was allowed in the warrior den yet. He could certainly sleep till sunhigh, if the rest of the Clan would let him...

[.&&. Snowsong.]

It was faint, but not faint enough to keep her oblivious from near dawn. Her sapphires flicked open, fluttering for a couple of seconds to get the sleep out of them, as well as get them to adjust to the rays of increasing sunlight. Her lobes pricked up at the thought of another day, and she couldn't wait to train with Darksong again! Sure, he wasn't social, but still!

Just as she shifted to her paws, however, Gingerpaw remembered last night -- the ceremony. Nightstreak had been made a warrior, and he was probably finished his vigil now! Oh, she couldn't wait to speak with him again; it had been too long since she had spoken to that good companion of hers. At least, she considered him a friend. Oh well.

With silence, she crept stealthily out of the apprentices' den, a smile dancing on her lips as she spotted the beautiful colors of arriving dawn. Then, she spotted his fur as he shifted. Her smile somewhat grew, and her tail shot up in unison with her lobes. She bounded over to him, gracefully avoiding any obstacles and making certain she wouldn't trip.

"Hi, Nightstreak!" she said cheerily as she reached him.

[♫.Starredmyst]

The tiredness had hit him all of a sudden, when he'd started walking towards the other side of camp. Nightstreak had his head down as he padded along, and didn't see Gingerpaw until she was right in front of him. He halted as her orange paws came into his line of sight.

"Ugh, watch where you're --" he began, then realized she was speaking to him. That was his new name, not some random warrior he hadn't met. "-- oh, wait, sorry! Hi, Gingerpaw. You're up early."

[.&&. Snowsong.]

"Ugh, watch where you're --" He paused for a bit.

A faint chuckle escaped her lips. "Wow, you seemed grouchy; no offense." She somewhat flicked her tail, her bright, cheery expression not faltering for even a split second when he was grouchy.

"-- oh, wait, sorry! Hi, Gingerpaw. You're up early." Now, he finished.

Her mood grew somewhat brighter as he gave her more of a friendly greeting. "Glad you cheered up so fast!" She cast him a warm smile. "I know I'm up early, but, oddly, I couldn't go to sleep again after I awoke." She somewhat flicked her lobes, her tail tip twitching somewhat.

"So, how is it like to be a warrior now? Oh, congrats, by the way." She flicked her lobes again, glancing at the heavens as dawn wrapped its arms around Camp. Her smile -- full of plain giddiness a moment ago -- grew more pleasant and soft. "Wanna go hunt later?"

[♫.Starredmyst]

"Um..." It was a little hard to follow Gingerpaw's rapid train of thought when Nightstreak was only half-awake, himself. Still, she was a friend, so the young tom shook his head to clear it and tried to focus.

"Sorry about that. I thought you were talking to somebody else. Yeah, uh, being a warrior is...tiring." He paused again, trying to remember the rest of her sentence. Hunting. Right. "Sure, we can hunt, just...I wanna sleep first. I'm wiped."

He hesitated, dearly wanting to take his leave of her and get a little sleep. Still, it would be rude to just walk off on his old friend... "Hey, most of the Clan's still asleep, and I should probably wait till Patchstar sees me up to go to bed anyway. Since I'm a warrior -- want me to show you the warrior den?"

[.&&. Snowsong.]

"Sure, we can hunt, just...I wanna sleep first. I'm wiped."

Gingerpaw felt somewhat mouse-brained for not realizing that. "Oh, sorry. I forgot you had to sit vigil. You could go to sleep; I'll wait." She cast him another bright, warm smile. Despite the cheery exterior, she was feeling somewhat guilty; she had forgotten that keeping him awake for so long may cause him to do worse than usual on his first warrior duties. But the sound of his voice -- again -- snapped her from those thoughts.

"Hey, most of the Clan's still asleep, and I should probably wait till Patchstar sees me up to go to bed anyway. Since I'm a warrior -- want me to show you the warrior den?"

Her lobes pricked up almost immediately. "Well, if you're not too exhausted, sure; why not?" She couldn't help but feel a minuscule burst of energy sink into her, and she felt the remaining bit of drowsiness, well concealed the moment before, begin to dissipate completely.

[♫.Starredmyst]

Nightstreak was glad Gingerpaw caught on fast to his tiredness -- and was almost as glad to see her bright smile; it was hard not to smile back at her.

"Sure, I'm --" he stifled a yawn "-- mousedung. Maybe I'm not fine. But Uncle really should see me awake before I go to bed anyway, so come on."

He grinned at her to take the command out of the words and nodded his head towards the den. For some reason, it felt odd as the young tom padded across camp. He had the feeling he was going to trip any minute with tiredness and an odd awkward feeling -- but luckily, between finally growing into his paws and moons of warrior training, that tendency had finally been broken from him. Still, he walked a little faster, splashing quickly through the stream.

"So this is my first time in here, too," Nightstreak whispered in a confessing tone of voice as the two of them reached the den. "'Specially when cats are still asleep." He poked his head inside and felt his eyes go wide; not at the den itself, which was similar to -- if deeper and therefore warmer than -- the apprentice one, but at the number of cats in it. It was jam-packed, and Nightstreak had to wonder if he'd even be able to keep inside it at night, with his new-warrior spot close to the entrance. The camp really couldn't hold any more cats...they'd probably have to expand sometime soon.

"Holy crow," the young tom whispered, echoing his thoughts to Gingerpaw. "I never realized the Clan was so big." Even at meetings it was just a vague crowd...

[.&&. Snowsong.]

[ Eh-heh, pardon my explosion from earlier. e_e ]

With a brightness that seemed to visibly radiate from her, Gingerpaw bounded after Nightstreak, but she forced herself to keep from leaping too much into the air. She made certain to remain close, but not uncomfortably close, to the fresh warrior, just in case he would get exhausted enough to get his steps too uneven and shaky.

Once they both popped their apexes through the entrance, her breath came to an abrupt cease. The entire den seemed stiffly packed, uncomfortably crowded. "Whoa..," she breathed, almost immediately realizing that her breath had paused when it began to return to its usual, regular rhythm.

She glanced at Nightstreak, listening closely to him.

"Holy crow. I never realized the Clan was so big."

She gave him a slight nod of approval. Also, she allowed a faint, "Mm," to escape her lips. Her sapphires scanned the den, before taking a minuscule step back.

"I suppose it's better in the apprentice den, considering how much more room there is," she whispered. Her orbs rested upon him again, and she slightly flicked her lobes. "Well. If you want, you could go to sleep now; I'll tell Patchstar you sat vigil and needed rest. That is, if you would like." Casting him another cheery smile, her optics gleamed.

[♫.Starredmyst]

Nightstreak looked up reflexively at Gingerpaw's offer, and let out his breath in a purr of gratitude. "Would you?" he asked, a bit pleading; the sight of so many sleeping warriors made him long all the more for a quick nap. "I promise, you can claw my fur off if I'm not up by sunhigh! Uncle Patchstar will trust you. Ah, perfect --"

One of the younger warriors, stirred by their quiet conversation, yawned and rose, glancing at the sky. As the other cat left, Nightstreak darted into the empty spot. "'Night, Ginge'!" he mumbled into his tail, already somewhere between awake and asleep. [temporary exit]


As the tom's breathing evened out, another cat stood from slightly farther into the den. Picking her way around the cramped warriors, Starredmyst padded over to the entrance. Her eyes fell on her cousin, and then on Gingerpaw. "Does Patchstar know he's asleep?" she asked the apprentice softly.

OOc;{Wrung-out-to-dry muse.}

[.&&. Snowsong.]

Like usual, the ginger she-cat cast a bright, friendly smile as a farewell, and her soft sapphires rested upon the tom as he settled down. At first, she felt that things would be boring unless she went to train, but she soon snapped her thoughts to when they would go out to hunt together. It had to be something to look forward to, spending time with her companion whom was a fresh warrior.

With a faint chuckle to lock her smile onto her lips, Gingerpaw took a couple of silent steps backward. However, just as she was about to take her leave after a final glance at Nightstreak, another warrior awoke and soundlessly approached her. At first, she couldn't exactly tell who it was, especially since it was darker than she would have liked, and all the scents of the Clan's resting warriors clogged her nostrils for a moment as she attempted to catch a whiff of the approaching warrior.

"Does Patchstar know he's asleep?"

Oh! It was Starredmyst! She could recognize that voice anywhere. And, as if on cue, a faint ray of sunlight escaped from behind her, touching the warrior's pelt after it grazed against hers.

Now, it was time to respond to the older cat's question. "Patchstar will know soon; I'm going to tell him in a minute." She gave yet another of her famous 'Gingerpaw smiles' just to show that she was already on her bright way to tell the leader; it showed that she wasn't reluctant to speak in person with the leader, even if he was a little... dotty.

[♫.Starredmyst]

Starredmyst studied the younger cat, then glanced at Nightstreak's sleeping form. She hadn't realized her cousin had any close friends among the apprentices; it seemed to her he'd always been spending time with older cats, begging for stories, trying to help with warrior duties, learning about tricks for this and that. She'd always put it down to the small number of apprentices his age, but apparently she'd been wrong.

"I can tell him if you'd like," she offered the younger cat -- what was her name...ah, Gingerpaw? -- raising her voice to a more normal level as she moved out of earshot of the warrior den. "I was on my way to speak to him anyway." It would do no one any harm to keep Patchstar out of the public eye a little.

[.&&. Snowsong.]

"I can tell him if you'd like. I was on my way to speak to him anyway."

Her sapphires brightened slightly more. "Sure! Thanks." Gingerpaw flicked her lobes somewhat as she ducked, glancing at one of the warriors that stirred due to her abruptly loud 'sure.' A faint sigh escaped her as they shifted into another laying position and ignored her.

Glancing back to Starredmyst, she flicked her ears again. "Before you go to tell him, do you have any suggestions on what I can do while Nightstreak is asleep?"

[♫.Starredmyst]

Starredmyst nodded at the she-cat's acquiescence and turned to go, but Gingerpaw called out again before she could leave. The young warrior looked mildly annoyed at being asked for advice from this random apprentice; reining in her temper, which was always short nowadays, Starr gave an indifferent flick of her tail.

"I don't know. You could always ask around to see if there's any work that needs doing around camp. If you'll excuse me, I really do have to talk to Patchstar now."

OOc;{Uhhh kinda museless >-< Would now be good for a timeskip of some sort?}

[.&&. Snowsong.]

[ sure, why not? gingerpaw is so oblivious.. xD ]

[♫.Starredmyst]

The light was hitting his face at a very strange angle.

Nightstreak squinched his eyes shut and buried his face deeper in his fur, wishing it weren't morning. It was strange; the sun wasn't directly in his face; he must be running late --

That thought managed to wake the young warrior up completely. He gave a little start and lifted his head quickly, only to squint at the back of the warrior den. What was he doing here, again --

Oh. Right. Luckily the den was completely empty; hopefully nocat had seen Night's momentary memory loss. Getting up and shaking his fur out, he turned and padded the short distance out of the warrior den.

Glancing at the sky, Nightstreak saw it was shortly before sunhigh; camp was mostly empty. His stomach was growling. He padded over to the freshkill pile and selected a small squirrel, eating it in gulps, with one eye open for Gingerpaw. It felt a little strange to be waiting for her like this -- being apprentices, they'd never really gone anywhere alone before -- and Nightstreak tried to push down the uneasy feeling as he hurriedly swallowed his meal.

OOc;{Icky post. In a hurry. Meh.}