smoke and mirrors [open]

a feral yawn broke from her open maw, loud and unnecessary, but no less genuine. it felt like she was always a little sleepy these days, between training with her relentless uncle and serving out the punishements she never failed to earn on the daily, young brazenpaw was busy indeed! "starclan above." she muttered without cause, simply overwhelmed by the fact that on this afternoon she had more than three chores to serve and had already went out on the dawn patrol! at least voidstar seemed too preoccupied on this day to have any training schedule ready for her- maybe she would even be able to catch a nap later.

doubtful. the scruffy bronze female growled softly and glanced toward the medicine cat's den where she ought to be, picking up mouse bile to pick the ticks off the disgusting old cats who couldn't be bothered the bathe themselves for the pure sake of torturing helpless apprentices such as herself. note to self: find a few frogs to leave in their nests next time. she mentally told herself, grimacing at the thought of getting caught. still, the reward was far too great to pass up such a scheme. just as she stood to head toward ashenflight's den, she caught a fuss being made near the center of camp, and couldn't help herself when she crept closer to listen, curling her tail about her tough little frame.

"what a stupid punishment..." her gray tabby clanmate muttered to himself, and brazenpaw snorted, standing 'tall' to step out in front of him. "rough stuff, huh?" she sneered, flicking her tail, "so whatcha do?" she asked, though her deep tones held little to no real curiosity-- she merely wanted to toy with him a little. rile him up. she knew jayblue well enough to know he'd cave to any potention arguement. "I guess I'll be seeing you a little too often for my liking over the next two moons. 'great' minds must think alike. voidstar just got me with the same punishment." the smaller cat rolled her eyes and sat down in order to lick a forepaw and drag it over one of her ears, as though now ignoring the tom now-- her facade was thin though, which was alright. she could use a bit of social interaction now and then.

her one mostly blind eye peered uselessly after the bigger cat, both forest green eyes narrowed in distaste as she looked down at him rather condescendingly, though she had no right to. when did that ever stop brazenpaw from doing anything? never. exactly. she huffed, her immaturity shining through her better-than-you act when she instinctively snapped a quick, "shut up!" at the tom when he first spoke, throwing the first insult much to her surprise. then again, who wouldn't jump on the chance to pick on a fellow clanmate in tempestclan? brazenpaw stood before him rather sullenly, lashing her long ruddy tail, its black tip like the head of an angry adder as she waited for him to give her something to work with-- at least a better excuse to tear off an ear, or maybe even both! she smirked and cocked her head.

"busy?" she mewed innocently, "busy sulking about your aunty treating you like a kit? wow, some schedule you got there champ." she laughed darkly, and took a moment to add suddenly, "hey! I'm no scrap! you big idiot, quit acting like you're so superior! jeez, you might be a warrior but to dreamfeather and voidstar you're no better than nasty little me, so there!" the little feline snarled, several patches of fur along her spine standing on end in her fit of sudden hostility, and afterward she continued to stare him down, one dud eye hardly threatening in the act.

but after a moment of silence, she managed to calm her ruffled fur, and sank down on her haunches again, realizing now she ought to be careful or she'd catch more than she bargained for. after all, martenpaw had only just been talking about this guy not long ago and had plenty of curses to spit out herself. brazenpaw was aware of her temper, at least, and was fully aware that she'd be so much more likely to explode at jayblue than either of her sisters, and not only would she lose, but she'd earn herself double the punishments she already had. still, fighting with him sounded too good to pass up! think of how foolish he'd feel after getting into a scuffle with a mere apprentice! brazenpaw let out a sudden bark of laughter and looked away from him, tipping her nose to the sky snootily.

the lean rust-colored female only rolled her eyes at his half-hearted remark- it wasn't worth the effort of getting in a fuss over. bee-brain? really? she almost snorted at him how unimpressed she was but then- looking upon him then with her shoddy gaze quite narrowed, she didn't figure he was trying to impress her much anyway, merely just trying to get her off his back. well, not this time bucko! "same thing." she muttered, with enthusiasm matching her acquaintance's. as she looked upon him, her brain whirred clumsily. it was not as if to say brazenpaw was unintelligent, no, but she struggled to make fair and unbiased observations, and she tended to be quite defensive in her own mind, therefore her perception of others was equally skewed, and when she met jayblue's stunning blue gaze- supposedly his namesake, she swallowed loudly, hesitating.

he was plotting, she thought, probably up to no good. of course that was simply his demeanor, and by now she could recognize that, but nevertheless she was a bit worried in his cunning, snake-like ways. yeah, she was trouble, but everyone knew it. she couldn't get away with being sneaky for her life. him however, it was him she was worried about. still, the apprentice was entranced by his condescending ways, like a moth to a light. with her sneaking suspicions about her clanmate in tow, brazenpaw was wrapped around his paw all the same.

"what?" she asked, a bit dumbfounded. of course he was toying with her! no one just switched allegiances like that, never. she knew it, but she was so curious. it was surely her downfall, shown as such when she added a coy, "oh yeah? go on.." her foliage-colored gaze shining though her conscious reeled, warning her against jayblue's 'friendly advances'. no, she wasn't dumb enough to think his intensions were innocent, but she couldn't help being strung along to his little plot, wondering what his plans were. she hoped to herself she was cunning enough to know when things got too deep for her, so she agreed to go along with whatever he had in mind. "alright, smart guy, take me away to your secret places!" she snapped, a bit sardonic in her barbed tones to let her clanmate know she wasn't buying his jest. she fluffed out her scrubby pelt and swished past him, both her head and her tail held high in what she hoped looked like the picture of dignity.

was he fooling her? it was certainly hard to tell. on one paw, brazenpaw was positive that no such thing as 'malice pool' had ever or would ever exist in tempestclan's territory, as convincing as it might have sounded coming from a different clanmate at a different time. but now, with him? that devilish look in his eyes? starclan above she would have to be a complete fool to let him get to her now, but then there was the fact that now she trailed along behind him, practically brushing against his lean gray frame as he pushed through the wet terrain confidently. and that, of course, had to count for something. while she surely wasn't quite gullible in the situation, she wasn't fighting his influence either, and remained oblivious to the dangers of allowing herself to fall into his trap.

"yeah, where ever could it be?" she sneered, her featured smudged into a distrusting smirk when the lakeshore finally appeared, stretching out before them almost majestically. while he feigned looking around to find his little 'pool' which brazenpaw still remained quite confused about, she languidly batted after his long tabby tail, claws outstretched, but her efforts were halfhearted- no harm done. she doubted the tom had even noticed. finally! he found his little thing, or whatever. she squinted in the direction he indicated, and bobbed her head. "sure sure, why don't you tag along? we can investigate together, it sounds pretty dangerous you know." so sly! yeah she knew her way around his weird game, though she wasn't sure of all the rules, by now she was certain that he was playing some trick on her.

"c'mon- agh!" she yelped, flinching back a step when jayblue made as if to head forth, but instead was swallowed up by the earth. shocked, it took the rust-hued female several moments before she jumped into action, well aware of her clanmate's struggling and noises of distress. looking around, she sought a thick branch to help heave him out with, but saw nothing immediately so instead, she took a deep breath and looked down at him, "would you quit struggling? and don't call me an idiot! I'm not the one who goes bumbling into mud puddles!" she snarled harshly while lowering herself to the ground and creeping forward, slowly, one paw at a time while she prayed to starclan the fool before her would stop wiggling in the muck, as it seemed to only pull him down faster. hoping to use her lighter weight to their advantage, she fearlessly made her way onto the unstable grasses, a thin layer atop the dangerous softer terrain beneath.

in one motion, she lunged lightly forth and sunk her teeth into his scruff, ignoring any pain she may have been causing him, and anchored herself with her hind paws in order to tug on the bigger tom. at first, she felt nothing, but slowly the mud clinging to jayblue's fur seemed to begin to give way, and she managed to back carefully one step away from the whole, pulling on his scruff much more firmly now, until much of his frame became loosened, and she was able to roughly inch him back onto the more solid patches of grass. when she spat him out, a tumble of curses also seemed to explode from her small frame, followed quickly by heavy breathing. "starclan above, you weigh as much as a damned mountain." she wheezed, flopping herself down dramatically onto the ground. "can we cut the malice pool dirt now?" she asked as an afterthought, hoping he hadn't meant for her to die in one of those mud puddles instead.

while he heaved up bits of starclan only knew what and she splayed herself out on the chilly grass, panting still with the strain of tugging a much bigger cat around with so much resistance, she felt every last ounce of her concern wilt away and, wiped clean of any possible 'feelings' of sympathy for the tabby warrior, she narrowed her eyes and sat up, her back hunched as she glared at him during his hasty recovery. boy was he in rough shape! she could hardly see any of his gray fur amidst the opaque black muck that encased his lean frame. "quit looking at me like tha-" her voice was a hot snarl, ready to start up where they had left off, and all the sound leaving her maw fell away at once to a slightly stunned silence. thanks, huh? she wanted to laugh and shoot him her cruelest grin-- milk this for all it was worth. after all, he'd sent her out here with his own dastardly intentions hadn't he? malice pool indeed! instead of saying anything for a moment, she simply narrowed her eyes and glared at him. did she have to tell him he was welcome? was he? the scruffy apprentice wasn't sure she'd do it all over again but.. well. maybe she would, after all he wasn't so bad she'd just let him die. he was still her clanmate, after all.

"yeah yeah, I guess you're welcome or something. just watch where you're walking huh mousebrain?" she meant to spit the words out, like a warning, but instead they erupted quietly, almost like a giggle. ugh. she made a face at him and wiped her mud-covered paws off on the long grass, not looking at him. in fact, all she could do was try her best to distract herself from the look in his brilliant blues when he looked at her. what an idiot. like I'll forgive him for trying to trick me.. huh! brazenpaw snarled inwardly, her maw still stretched into a grimace as she finished the task at hand and turned back to him, flicking her tail as if ready to continue following him. it was an unwitting motion, and she hardly noticed it.

"oh for starclan's sake!" she burst out, real anger flashing in her blurred vision at his last remark, "would you shut up? gosh you'd think you'd quit with the damn attitude after starclan biting your tail like that huh? nope! not jayblue! he's too good to be actually grateful! gosh!" she spat, her whole little frame trembling slightly now, and realized perhaps she was still in a bit of shock after the ordeal that had just unfolded before them, and such a plain unpleasant surprise paired with her sour clanmate and her own explosive temper- it was a dangerous concoction.

but in some sort of miracle, a soft, "sorry.." was added and she looked away, her temper still bubbling softly in her chest, but she felt it was no longer directed at the tom. after all, she was proud too. she didn't blame him for that, no it was more of a general sort of fury, simmering just below the surface for no reason, and searching for a reason to explode from her. jayblue, of course, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she was sorry, oddly enough. she couldn't imagine meeting such a near-death experience and recovering so quickly. "oh nevermind! let's keep walking it off. you're still wet and I'm a mess. everyone would be suspicious if we ended up back in camp now." the brown she-cat looked at him, a fire still burning beneath her eyes, though it seemed he was out of the danger zone for now while she walked beside him. "let's just find somewhere to lay down. away from these death pits."

her paws were threading through tempestclan's characteristic tall, rough grass, but she wasn't feeling it. in fact, she may as well have been floating in the sky for all the attention she paid her surroundings or their possible destination. all she could do was try and harness her own thoughts, casting her clanmate the occasional sidelong glance, really quite conflicted now. what was that? bonding? she could feel it in her bones that something had clicked inside both of them. nothing too dramatic, nothing that wouldn't pass in a few days, but there was something there whirring inside of jayblue's mind too, she could sense it. of course, they were surely both well in a trance after the lightning pace of the past few events since they had met up in camp. still, the apprentice couldn't manage to make that into an excuse for the way she tread with such numbness now, her thoughts whirling out of control.

and what of jayblue? what would happen now? of course it was sort of a life-altering thing, when one's death appeared before them and then was torn away in a miraculous instant. he was gonna still be a prick to her and to everyone else of course, brazenpaw wasn't foolish enough to believe they now had some sort of kinship or anything, but what about when they passed each other in camp now? would they say hi? ignore each other? what about the next two moons on dawn patrol? she almost gasped aloud, fumbling a step before pushing on after him, to where he had laid himself down in a similar state of numbness, evidently. she glanced down at him for a second, uncomprehending, then slowly curled herself up adjacent to him, less than a taillength away. was that okay? why did she care? brazenpaw just didn't want to make things awkward, and sighed.

"yeah, you can say that again." she finally meowed, frowning slightly in a response to both of his comments-- a halfhearted reply and neither she nor he would particularly mind. she cocked her head slightly, and looked at him- he was on edge too. he wasn't asleep, despite his obvious exhaustion. he wasn't even at ease! "well? what now, furball?" she wondered aloud, deciding to direct the question at him full on. he surely had an opinion on the matter, and her mind wouldn't quell enough for her to fall asleep right away, anyway, though she didn't seem to have the pride that kept her clanmate from falling asleep in front of her, she was just too restless. sore, but restless.

she felt better, admittedly, after several moments stretched by and the light pre-spring wind fluttered across her thick fur whilst her clanmate sprawled like he did across from her. the rigidity of their former situation seemed to lapse by and gradually dissolve altogether, until jayblue felt relaxed enough to visibly resign himself to her presense. how refreshing! the apprentice curled her tail close to her stocky body and narrowed her muddy eyes as she watched his piercing blue gaze (somehow handsome? everyone thought that though) drift her way. she wished he would stop, and fall asleep or look into the forest or something. she felt suddenly exposed and scrutinized and.. self-conscious? brazenpaw wasn't a female wracked with worry over her appearances, as she had deemed herself to be teetering on the line between unattractive and average long ago, and was content with that. after all, being pretty wasn't particularly high on her list of priorities, and she had no hope to feel that it ever would be what with her sisters both being so easy on the eyes from the start.

now, though, she fought the impulse to smooth the furs she could feel sticking up along her back and chest, and instead simply let her gaze drop to the sickly straw-colored grass in front of her, as if that would keep jayblue from noticing the mold-colored fleck scarring her blind eye. that's not what I meant. she wanted to tell him, when he interpretted what she said as strategy planning inside of something more, but thinking back on it, she didn't want to come off as so concerned about some dumb friendship thing anyway. so she bobbed her head instead, "there's always the dirtplace. the guards'd see us though." she interjected halfheartedly, shrugging away her own thought. "not worth the worry either way- oh." knows the guard? why would't she bother us? what kind of 'know'? brazenpaw thought almost defensively, squinting at the tom and cocking her head a bit curiously. "alright. we'll go then. but it's not like we won't be missed. I've got duties with the elders right now," she snorted, "crotchety old ducks anyway." she let her rather gruff mutter trail off when she noticed that jayblue no longer seemed to be paying any attenion.

she cleared her throat meaningfully and frowned, "I don't like thinking about what everyone will think. you know how gossip is. starclan above have mercy on what kind of nonsense our clanmates will think up," brazenpaw spat, "I say we go back at separate times. I mean, separated by just a short while but enough to douse any... uh.. suspicions..." she mumbled, a bit awkwardly. "I'll slip in a while before you and you can pay your night-guard friend a visit, yeah? shitty though, to be awake still at moonhigh since we've got patrol bright and early tomorrow." the ruddy female grimaced, then flopped her head down onto her forepaws with something like exasperation, still fighting the urge to run to the other side of the tree so he couldn't look at her. what a silly thought! she reprimanded herself harshly and closed her eyes with no intentions of sleeping, but perhaps her stupid worries would leave her.