A swift Shrike (Closed)

Swiftpaw had been spending lots of time in camp trying to cheer up her sister to no prevail. Lilypaw still wasn’t acting like her normal self and Swiftpaw was starting to get effected by it. The deaf she-cat was too worried about lilypaw to be doing anything else.

Shrikethorn felt much better now that Smoke was gone. It was like the Clan made sense again, and she felt more like she belonged than she had in a while. It was weird that she had agreed with Breezebranch for once, but she was glad that most of the Clan had also eventually come to the same conclusion. The code was clear, and she wasn't sure what she would have done had Smoke been welcomed into their home for good.

Stretching, the black and white she-cat slipped out of the warrior's den and noticed Swiftpaw in camp. Her eyes brightened at the sight of the chocolate she-cat, and she padded over.

"Hey, Swiftpaw!" she purred, "What's up?"

Swiftpaw looked up to see her friend, shrikethorn, and smiled. She always felt better when shrikethorn was around. “Sister. Sad. Make. Me. Sad.” she mewed talking about lilypaw.

Shrikethorn felt some relief at the smile on her friend's face. She could feel the she-cat's bad mood in the same way she could feel a storm in the air, and it made her uncomfortable. Especially because, as Swiftpaw explained why she was upset, Shrikethorn realized it was partially her fault.

"I-i'm sorry, Swiftpaw. I wish I knew how to help," she looked down at her paws. She rarely showed any cat her inner thoughts or feelings, and she was sure most of the Clan thought she lacked feelings, but in that moment, she was at a complete loss on how to fix things. She hadn't meant to break them in the first place. How could doing the right thing have negative consequences?

“You. Are. Help.” she mewed smiling at her friend. She knew shrikethorn acted different around her and she didn’t mind. The warrior was the only cat that treated her like she wasn’t deaf.

“We. Do. Something.” she said wanting to get her mind off of her sister for a while.

Shrikethorn looked up, meeting Swiftpaw's eyes and giving a little nod. She would have to accept that, hard as it was. She didn't feel like she was doing anything.

"Yeah, let's get out of camp." Shrikethorn agreed, gesturing with her tail for Swiftpaw to accompany her.

Swiftpaw followed after her friend wishing you could say more. She knew her friend still didn’t believe her but even the presence of shrikethorn was helping her feel better. Swiftpaw wondered if she would ever be able to say more than a few words at a time.

Shrikethorn liked Swiftpaw better than most cats, possibly partially because she didn't use a bunch of words. Shrikethorn felt like the more words one used, the more likely one was to stumble into an argument. Maybe she was just too aggressive, or too much of a jerk. She felt like half the Clan felt she was, anyway.

As soon as they were out of camp and among the trees, she felt better. The black and white she-cat sighed softly, walking along with her friend, pelt brushing hers.

Swiftpaw felt calmer in the forest even though others thought it would be too dangerous. She knew the troubles of going into the forest alone but when she had shrikethorn she felt as brave as everyone else. She remembered when shrikethorn let her climb the trees when not even her mentor would let her do that. “Thank. You.” she mewed to shrikethorn in gratitude. If it wasn’t for her, the deaf apprentice would have succumbed to everyone treating her like a baby and would have never gotten where she was now.

Shrikethorn shook her head. "I've not done anything but treat you as capable, which everyone should be doing." The apprentice had overcome so much, and Shrikethorn felt like at this point she had more than proved that she didn't need treated any differently just because of her disability.

“You. Good. Friend.” Swiftpaw mewed with a smile and wondered where they were heading. She didn’t mind going on a walk but with no destination in mind it just made her more cautious to everything around her.

Shrikethorn really didn't feel like she deserved to be called a good friend. After all, it was partially her fault that Swiftpaw's sister was so upset right now. It didn't mean she regretted being so outspoken against the rogue, but she did feel bad for Lilypaw. It wasn't unheard of for young cats to make such misguided decisions. The older cats who had spoken for him to stay, now she found more fault with them.

"You're a good friend. Do you want to climb?"

She smiled at nudged her friend before stopping at a tree. She looked at shrikethorn with a challenging glance and then started climbing.

With a laugh, Shrikethorn followed Swiftpaw up the tree. Normally she would continue climbing until she felt the branches were no longer safe, but this time she found a sturdy looking one and settled herself. The view here was great, and she just wanted to enjoy SkyClan's land while it was peaceful.

Swiftpaw laid on the branch above shrikethorn and started swishing her tail in her friend’s face. She was having fun and was glad that shrikethorn took her out of camp on this sad day. She knew though once they got back to camp she would get worried for her sister again.