He’s Gone [Open]

Lilypaw felt numb. Smoke had been escorted out, and she ain’t been able to say goodbye. He could be dead by now, she had no clue. She missed him. Lately she had been bonding even more with her family, and she loved them even more now. She was sad, but also thankful she had such a kind and supportive family. Even if they didn’t like Smoke, they still comforted Lilypaw. The apprentice was nibbling on a sparrow she had caught on patrol, and she laid in camp, sort of lonely. She knew someone would soon approach.

Swiftpaw noticed how distant her sister was and it was bugging her. The deaf apprentice padded towards her sister with a worried look on her face.

Lilypaw looked up, seeing Swiftpaw. She straightened up, trying to force a smile on her face. She did, and it looked...sorta convincing. She waited for her sister to say something.

“Not. Happy.” she mewed nuzzling her sister in comfort.

Lilypaw’s eyes softened. Swiftpaw knew how Lilypaw was feeling. ”I just..miss him.” she mewed quietly. The apprentice missed him a lot, really.

“I. Know.” she mewed letting all the words fly out of lilypaw’s mouth.

Lilypaw nodded. ”He was a good cat..” she sighed. But almost everyone had spoke against him. Because they didn’t know him like I did.She thought. It didn’t make her heart hurt any less.

“Find. New.” she said trying to comfort her sister but sounded mean because she knew little words.

Lilypaw’s mind was thinking, her stomach churning. ”That’s the thing. I don’t know if I can.” she mewed. She wanted to have a mate, to be a mother, but she didn’t have anyone that she could be with.

“You, will. Find.” she mewed with confidence.

Lilypaw was happy that her sister was so confident. ”I hope so. What about you? Anyone you got your eyes on?” she asked her sister, nudging her teasingly.

“Maybe.” she said blushing as she looked down. That cat that she liked would never like her back so she didn’t know if she would call it love?.

"Swift, Lily, look!" Mudpaw mewed ecstatically, dragging a huge squirrel behind her. "Sorrel and momma were so proud when I caught this big squirrel! Look, look, it's as long as my tail!" Mudpaw went on, oblivious to the sadness that was the conversation. She had an energetic, happy energy around, kit-like and curious, full of wonder. Her bright orange eyes shone like magic when she was excited, as if all the stars in the night sky wished to light them up.

Lilypaw giggled. ”Oooo...who? Are they an apprentice?” she asked, wanting to know who it was. Soon Mudpaw approached. ”Hi Mudpaw! And wow, that’s huge!” she mewed, brightening up. Her eyes met Mudpaw’s bright orange ones. She loved how excited her sister always was.

Swiftpaw shook her head. “Warrior.” she mewed before noticing her other sister, Mudpaw. Mudpaw talked way to fast so Swiftpaw never knew what she was saying.

Icepaw gazed at his sisters. Lilypaw, especially, had been moping ever since Smoke was driven from their lands. Not wanting to see them unhappy, Icepaw padded over and gave Mudpaw a playful nudge. "Hey, let's go. I am not gonna let you guys sit around all day. We need to do something fun!" He gave his white fur a shake and flexed his claws in excitement.

"I know! Momma said I could share it with some of my littermates! I didn't know where Maple was, and Acorn's always off doing something, so I looked around for Ice, Lion, Brindle, and you guys! Briar told me that Lion, Small, and Silver were on a border patrol, and Ice and Brindle was noooowhere to be seen! But then I saw you two chatting like starlings and decided to share with you!" She chattered away excitedly, completely forgetting that Swiftpaw was deaf, and that her fast rambling would go straight over her ears.

When Swiftpaw mentioned a warrior, Mudpaw turned her curious orange gaze onto her other sister, her mind drifting from the topic of her squirrel to the warrior Swiftpaw meant faster than a twoleg monster on a thunderpath. "Warrior? Who? What about a warrior? Swiiiift who are you talking about? Oh, please! I want to know!" Mudpaw chirped excitedly, slowly her speech nearer to the end after whining her sister's name. "Oh! Ice! You're here! Look at my squirrel, isn't it great?" She mewed, once again shifting focus as she grinned at her older brother.

Lilypaw tried to think of some of the cats that her sister could be talking about. Soon Ice approached. ”Ok, what do you wanna do?” Lilypaw listened to Mudpaw, realizing Swiftpaw must be so lost. ”Mudpaw, that’s great! But Swiftpaw can’t understand a word you are saying!” she giggled.

Swiftpaw nodded and then blushed. “Warrior. No one.” she quickly mewed not wanting them to know who she liked. She quickly got to her paws at the mention of doing something.

Icepaw smiled at his sister's energy. Mudpaw always going at full speed. "Yeah, it's a beautiful squirrel," he teased, then waited for them to finish their girly conversation. He had no interest inwho liked who. "Hey, I got it! Let's go chase some rocks!" he said happily,

"Yeah, almost as pretty as yourself!" She retorted with a giggle. Typically, if she were a normal apprentice, Mudpaw would have questioned what he meant by 'chasing rocks' but Mudpaw was no ordinary cat. Instead, she blinked and then grinned excitedly. "Rocks? Ooh, that'll make a fun story for momma! I've never chased rocks before, what kind of rocks are best to chase? Did you chase rocks with Lion or momma when Lion was an apprentice? Eeeeek, Ice, this'll be so exciting! Do you hunt shiny rocks? Or rough ones? Oh, oh, or maybe smooth ones? Oooooh, I really like the smooth ones that get really warm in the sunlight. One time momma and I gathered a whole bunch and lay beside them and it was sooooo nice!" Mudpaw began her rambling, which was near impossible to stop.

"Calm down, crazy. It doesn't matter what kind of rock you use. Actually, the one who showed me was Snowleap," Icepaw said, stopping on the cat's name. That wasn't anyone in the clan or even anyone he knew, but the name had escaped his lips so naturally, as if he'd said it a million times before. "We'll each need our own rock. Small enough to carry, but big enough that you can easily see it. What do you guys think?"

Lilypaw giggled as Mudpaw rambled on. She whispered to Swiftpaw, ”Don’t worrry, it’s nothing important.” the deaf apprentice definitely couldn’t understand Mudpaw, but that’s alright.”Chasing rocks sounds fun!” she said to Icepaw.

Swiftpaw nodded and went along with the others wondering what chasing rocks was.