..A Beautiful Day

[hi]

Whisperpaw yawned, awaking from her nap. She shook her head, trying to shake the sleep from her mind. It had been a wonderful nap, a peaceful one. Her pale body extended into a stretch, another one of her just awake procedures. Her muscles felt energized, ready for whatever the day brought next. With one last yawn, the tiredness left her body, and she left her spot to see what was happening around the camp.

The sun was bright now, and it warmed Whisperpaw's pelt. It was like the sun was smiling down at her, and it made her feel wonderful. She may be shy and meek, but the sun made her so happy. It made her almost as happy as when she was out hunting, and a breeze would dance across the grass, making her want to just burst into a run, to chase it to the end of the earth. She sat down in a fairly sunny spot, and closed her eyes, just basking in the joy of the beautiful day. She didn't have anything else to do anyway.

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Swiftpaw slumped out of the medicine cats den. He'd spent all night sorting through herbs after someone had gotten into them and messed up his neat piles. Moonspirit didn't let him sleep until everything was perfect.

It was nice out-the sun was shining brightly on the camp, not a cloud in the sky to try block it's strong rays-but the black and white tom didn't really care. He lumbered over to the fresh-kill pile and took a rabbit off the top.

He was just about to dig into his prey when he spotted Whisperpaw across the clearing. He couldn't help but let out a squeak when he spotted her and soon, he was standing next to the she-cat.

"Why, hello," he said, trying to make his voice sound smooth. "Would you care to join me on this wonderful day?"

I'm so going to manage to suduce her, even if all of the other she-cats didn't care! Nothing's gonna stand in my way!

[hi]

Whisperpaw had heard the other cat coming, but she didn't think much about it. Sadly, most cats didn't pay much attention to her because she was so quiet. No, she was not a loud, rambunctious type. She was quite afraid of being the center of attention. Surprise gripped her when she heard the cat's paws stop next to her. Then, he spoke.

Oh, it was Swiftpaw. She opened her blue eyes and looked at him while he spoke. She could hear the attempt at suaveness in his voice. He was trying to impress her? That was strange. She could feel the embarrassment welling up inside of her. Truth be told, it didn't take much to set it off. She looked at him for a moment, then spoke quietly. Sure. It was a simple answer. She was sure he could hear the embarrassment and meekness in her voice. At least he could appreciate the suns rays. She focused on that for a moment, the sun hitting her pelt, soaking her in it's love. It made her feel slightly better.

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((Hope you don't mind...))

The she-cat was trying to get familiar with her fellow clanmates. She needed to understand more of what they wanted and what she should do for the clan. She was so confused about a number of things now-a-days.

Her blue eyes scanned across the clearing, soon seeing SwiftPaw. She remembered that one day in the rain... That was fun...

But what was this? Another she-cat? She felt a bit jealous, but she had to push it aside. He was an apprentice. Not only that, she shouldn't even care. Then again... she was always so... well, envious of everyone.

FoxStar took a few steps towards the two apprentices, and dipped her head. The fox-looking she-cat flicked her fluffy tail, and then licked one of her black paws, eying SwiftPaw especially, "Hello, SwiftPaw... WhisperPaw..."

Her voice was rather soft and smooth. She didn't try to studder, and she made sure to speak in a well-mannered voice. She tried to lure the two into, well, she wasn't quite sure. Maybe she just wanted to have a few more friends about, who she can trust. Then again...

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Swiftpaw jumped a bit at the sound of Foxstar's voice. The two hadn't really talked since that one day on the moor. He thought that she'd been avoiding him, to embarrassed to be seen around the only cat who had witnessed her playing around. Apparently not...

Was it just him, or was the leader eying him...? "Good morning, Foxstar," he said, his seductive voice fading. "Um, how are you?"

If this wasn't awkward, nothing was.

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FoxStar wrinkled her nose slightly, and slowly padded a bit closer towards SwiftPaw. Of course, she tried to do it slowly to where it was barely noticeable, but then again... She wasn't always so slow.

"I'm... quite fine..." she wasn't quite finished with what she was speaking, and the next thing SwiftPaw would know(which she wouldn't ever do this but...), her muzzle was by his ear. She slowly spoke in a gentle tone, "What about you?"

The tip of FoxStar's tail flicked once, while her pads started to itch with, well, embarrassment.

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Half of the apprentice wanted to back away from the she-cat, but the other wanted to stay by her side. There was an odd feeling in his stomach. Was it what one would call... love?

"I'm okay... I guess..." Swiftpaw gulped. That was very odd. He glanced at Whisperpaw, then at Foxstar. Two she-cats. One that didn't really seem to care whether he was here or not, and the other who had her mussel by his ear, talking to him.

He pulled away from the fox-like she-cat. "So... um... Everything okay with, uh... being leader?" Worst conversation of all time.

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FoxStar's nose scrunched up when the apprentice backed away. She rose her muzzle towards the sky, and just shrugged.

"Fine, I guess," her whole tone of voice changed. She felt as if SwiftPaw just wanted her to leave, "Do you want me to leave? It's probably pretty weird having a leader here, disrupting your privacy."

Her blue eyes turned towards SwiftPaw, letting her tail swish side to side in a fast motion. It wasn't in a happy way, either. It seemed more... annoyed. Her ears slightly flicked a bit, while her nose scrunched up once more.

"A leader's no fun, right? So. Yeah, maybe I should just go," after she spoke that, she slowly rose up to all four. She slowly padded away, but got about... 5-10 feet maybe away from them, before sitting down.

If this was worked properly, SwiftPaw(or WhisperPaw) would be by her side. She wasn't sure. And she didn't really want WhisperPaw, she would rather have SwiftPaw near.

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"Oh, no, it isn't that. It's just..." Swiftpaw's face fell as she padded away. "Wait, don't go!"

He raced over to stand next to her. The black and white tom stared at Whisperpaw, now all alone. He felt bad leaving her alone, but he would feel even worse if he left Foxstar alone.

"Leader's aren't boring! They're probably the least boring thing in the clan!" he meowed, trying to cheer her up. "Much more exciting then a medicine cat..."

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The she-cat scoffed. She looked at him, and wrinkled her nose.

"Sure about that? When I can't even have kits? Plus, sure, some in the past were okay. Me? Why would anyone..." she just shook her head. She looked at the sky, and flicked her tail, "Just go play with WhisperPaw. She would be a wonderful mate for you. Or something in that fashion."

She slowly got up, and looked back at WhisperPaw. FoxStar couldn't help but envy the lovely she-cat. She had a lovely life ahead of her. A bright future. But what did she have? Despair. At least, that's what she believed.

FoxStar slowly turned her gaze back at SwiftPaw, and just slowly shrugged.

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"Kits?" He was really confused now. "What about th..." Swiftpaw trailed off. "Oh..."

The black and white apprenticed stared at her firmly. "I don't want to be with Whisperpaw," he said, not a doubt in his mind. "I want to be with you..."

He pressed himself against her. He now knew what that feeling was. It was love. And he had a feeling she felt the same way about him, too.

This is forbidden, you nincompoop! a voice in the back of his mind screamed. You can't fall in love!

For once, he ignored the voice. He knew what he was doing.

Or did he...?

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FoxStar... No! What about MoonSight? Her inside voice spoke, but she slowly spoke aloud, as if she was speaking to thin air, "He's gone, you dummy... And he'll never come back!"

She shook her head, and looked at SwiftPaw, He's a medicine cat apprentice, too! There's NOTHING you can do. He can't be with you, no matter what!

FoxStar couldn't help but give a soft smile. She nudged his cheek gently with her muzzle, and then slowly looked back at WhisperPaw.

"We... should get back to her, shouldn't we?" she coughed a bit, feeling a bit embarrassed, "And... we need to hide this. It can't... it can't be known."

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"Um... Yeah, sure..."

Swiftpaw stepped away from Foxstar and began padding toward Whisperpaw. "Sorry about that... didn't want Foxstar to feel bad..."

Did she see? he thought. What was he doing, doing that in the middle of camp for everyone to see?

"Um, that was just me trying to cheer her up," he lied, his tail twitching a bit. "So... yeah..."

[hi]

Whisperpaw watched this exchange happen, confusion washing over her like a tidal wave. She had no idea what was going on. First, Swiftpaw came over flirting with her, and now he was over there, flirting with the leader. She just didn't get it. He seemed so feeble, so much like a joke. Like he had come over to flirt, but she was his second choice behind Foxstar. well, of course she was. Foxstar was the leader, the head of the clan. The total opposite of her. So of course she was better.

Whisperpaw watched the pair walk away, first Foxstar, then Swiftpaw after her, totally leaving her behind like an old plaything. Typical. She shouldn't have expected more. This conversation between them was interesting to say the least, but the she-cat's innate shyness kept her from following them, from hearing more. She was forgotten. They had more important things to talk about. So it was back to loneliness for her.

She saw Foxstar glance back at her, then speak to Swiftpaw. Great. They were talking about her. Well, they could if they wanted. She wished she could get rid of whatever was keeping her haunches glued to the ground and go and talk with them, socialize with them. But she could not. So she would wait, either for them to come back, or for someone else to notice her lack of company and decide to come talk to her.

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"Um, Whisperpaw?"

Swiftpaw stared the the she-cat. Was she giving him the silent treatment because he and Foxstar had left her behind?

"I'm sorry," he meowed quietly. "I didn't want to leave you behind, but I had to talk to Foxstar. We can talk now, though." Swiftpaw smiled weakly. There was still an awkward feeling in his chest from before.

Arg... Today is not my day...