i dont bite, much. (open)

[Cinder.and.Flightfall]

Newleaf brought with it gorgeous weather. The grass grew greener, the flowers bloomed in a rainbow of colors. Soft, puffy white clouds hovered in the ocean-blue sky, casting a small shadow over the area with four oaks huddled together. The rock in the center of that clearing remained lit up, like a spotlight on a performer on stage, thanks to a small gap in the cloud formation. Bird song flitted around the ears of the small calico she-cat that walked into the clearing. The femme flashed her clouded yellow eyes in all directions, trying to pick out where the bird stood. Eventually, however, the she-cat gave up on this task. There were too many birds, too many different scents to pick up.

That was the problem with Newleaf for Lizzardpaw. Her sight loss hindered her greatly, and all of these different, new scents made it next to impossible for her to use her sense of smell when hunting. Now all she had to rely on was her hearing, along with the vibrations in her paw pads that the small prey made when walking. Still, the whole process was a huge challenge for her, a hurdle too high for her to leap across. The thought of that frustrated her even more. Lizzardpaw hated that not having sight was a weakness for her. She'd never thought of it like that before, but this was her first Newleaf as an apprentice. The problem of sight-loss was even more evident then before.

Letting out a sigh, the calico fae walked toward the Great Rock. She knew where it was; a cold air blew off the surface of the stone, giving Lizzardpaw a sense of direction as where to go. Upon reaching it, the femme simply lay her forehead against the cool surface, clouded eyes closed for a split second before they opened again. The reason for their opening was the sound of rustling paw steps, somewhere behind her. Tense and alert now, Lizzardpaw sprang upwards, unsheathing her claws. Her ears swiveled atop her patched head, trying to pick up the sound again. No luck. She glared at the spot where she first heard the rustling.

"Sneaking up on the blind cat, huh?" she muttered to herself, infuriated. "If they dare try and mess with me, I'll-" Lizzardpaw couldn't finish her sentence, for the rustling continued at a much more violent pace. It almost sounded like a cat hunting, but she knew that wasn't true. There were no sounds to indicate prey anywhere nearby.

"Come out, kit," she hissed, her anger causing her pelt to bristle uncontrollably. "It's not nice to play hide-and-seek with a cat who can't exactly seek."

[xx the brownster]

GHOST

Closed eyes and a quick movement, Ghost ran across the forest path of the area. It was a quiet area... no one there, ever. Fourtrees had always been a Ghostly area to Ghost. It was weird and StarClan's secrets were buried in it. It was hard for Ghost to imagine all those years ago that a huge battle took place here, and now the Clans met in peace once a moon. Ha... peace... he thought to himself. The clans were strange to him, that being the main reason he never joined a Clan... there was WindClan... but that wasn't an interesting Clan. His sister was in ThunderClan and would let him in... but still... he just wanted freedom.

It had not been that hard a life for Ghost. He had food when he was hungry and could always find a place to sleep if the Clans were on patrols and would not let him stay. The loner territories were not wonderful, but were better than nothing.

Ghost, now hiding in a bush trying to find something to eat popped his head out, his eyes now wide open. As he opened the eye lids he was looking right at a cat he recognized... Lizardpaw. The spiteful and grouchy apprentice he had met earlier, before meeting her friend Ferretpaw. She was interesting... and blind, which of course he did not find out until after he had always talked to her. Despite the anger he had to wards the apprentices, he was intrigued how a blind cat had kept her own in front of him... and ashamed that he had not noticed it. He was, as usual, to worried about himself. He had no clue.

"Well, look who it is..." he mumbled, staring right at the young she-cat, but keeping his distance.

[Cinder.and.Flightfall]

Lizzardpaw's fury was getting the better of her. Hide and seek was never her favorite game, even when she had sight. Not being able to see where your enemy was hiding was hard for her back then. Now, she went through it every day. The calico femme's claws unsheathed into the dirt. Cold air from GreatRock sent shivers up her spine. The ears on her head swiveled about like satellites, desperate to pick up a sound. More rustling. She snarled toward the rustles, positioning herself into a defensive fighting stance. If this cat didn't show themselves fast, she'd be charging forward to rip their head off. This was not a day to get on her nerves. Clearly, this cat was an enemy to her, especially since they refused to reveal themselves.

"Coward!" she hissed into the trees, when she suddenly found a familiar scent beginning to waft into her nostrils. Lizzardpaw blinked once, surprised by what her nose had picked up. It was loner scent, but not just any loner scent. This scent had a familiar tang to it, something that made her claws scrape across the dirt. Of course. Why wouldn't this be the cat coming to disturb her? Lizzardpaw rolled her milky yellow eyes, glaring furiously toward the scent. A soft mumbling was picked up by Lizzardpaw's ears, though she couldn't make out the words, the voice was familiar to her. Lizzardpaw hissed furiously. He was the last cat she wanted to see, especially on this perfect day. Why couldn't this cat just disappear and leave her be?

It was Ghost.

"Why am I not surprised?" Lizzardpaw growled, flicking her tail. "Come on out, Ghost, I'm blind not deaf. Besides, I can smell your reeking loner scent all the way over here." She wouldn't have been surprised if Ghost didn't show himself. He didn't seem very happy after their last meeting, when Lizzardpaw, Ryepaw, Ferretpaw and Eelpaw chased him off. Now here he was again, on Clan territory. Lizzardpaw had every right to chase him off, too, since Ghost wasn't a Clancat and therefore not part of the truce. She decided to make him more aware of this information.

"Just so you know, I have every right to chase you out of here. I suggest you show yourself now."

[xx the brownster]

GHOST

The lean, slender body only stood there for a few moments staring right at the cat in front. The air was cool and crisp, very clear and thin, a good day to go out running and be active. Looks like Lizardpaw and I had the same idea... hm.... he thought to himself, still looking at her with an empty expression, not that she could even see the expression with her blind, yet still oddly beautiful eyes. He wasn't really sure what to say at first, but a smile did creep up on his face. He remembered the first time they met and how she threatened him and here they went, a second time, and she started out the lovely conversation threatening him again.

"Sneaking up on the blind cat, huh?"

"Come out, kit, It's not nice to play hide-and-seek with a cat who can't exactly seek."

Must be a thing with these cats... threatening people left and right he thought to himself calmly, not at all moved by the harsh words coming out of her mouth. "Yes, I know the follow up. You threaten me, and I'm supposed to run off like a scared kitty-pet, all upset that the Clans are horrible, mean kitties," he said sarcastically, moving a tiny bit closer, but still keeping his distance. A larger smile now crossed his face... he was enjoying this, as always. Lizardpaw was a feisty cat and they had an interesting conversation last time.

"Well... how has life been, my young friend? Enjoying the Clan life still. Still living the perfect Clan life and thinking about StarClan?" Although the words were sarcastic, the tone was less sarcasm and more poking fun at the whole ordeal, as if he was better, which he believed he was. He was the loner who ignored the Clan life and tried to live his own... her found himself to be quite a good character actually.

[Cinder.and.Flightfall]

Lizzardpaw was more angry then afraid now. She glared in the direction of Ghost's voice, no longer snarling or hissing. Loners, they were all mousebrained and uncaring. Rogues were the same way, only more cruel to others. Ghost seemed like the stereotypical loner, yet their conversation last time had been more interesting then expected. Still, she kept her claws unsheathed. Cats that didn't belong to the Clans couldn't be trusted. In fact, anyone not in ShadowClan wasn't trusted in any way by Lizzardpaw. Her eyes, no longer glaring but still narrowed suspiciously, focused in Ghost's direction. She could picture the smirk the tom must've had on his face. He had always seemed so amused when taunting Lizzardpaw.

"First of all, I'm not your friend, Ghost. I don't befriend loners," she mewed coldly. "All of you are backstabbers, as filthy as the mangy rogues that... Nevermind." She wasn't about to open up to this tom, and she was glad that she caught herself before she did. "No one ever said anything about Clanlife being perfect, but it is better then any loner life." She smirked tauntingly at him, as if egging him on. It was good to be able to excericise her sharp tongue once in awhile. Cats in ShadowClan were no fun for that, and most were older then her, and therefore demanded her respect. There was Ryepaw, but she was Lizzardpaw's friend, best friend, in fact, and she would never be rude to her.

"And how has your life been, Ghost? Still trespassing where you don't belong, I see," Lizzardpaw mewed, flicking her tail.

[xx the brownster]

GHOST

"First of all, I'm not your friend, Ghost. I don't befriend loners."
"All of you are backstabbers, as filthy as the mangy rogues that... Nevermind."
"No one ever said anything about Clanlife being perfect, but it is better then any loner life."
"And how has your life been, Ghost? Still trespassing where you don't belong, I see."

For a moment, the colorful cat only looked at her with his now, usual, blank expression. He seemed to always have that face on when talking to strangers such as the cat standing in front. He never quite used to know what to say. Before Brownclaw's death, he knew everything to say. He knew how to treat her, how to get her to stay with him, what to say to manipulate her... but now, everything had changed. No matter what he did, she was gone... and he just had to move on and change his direction, but this new direction only left him lost for words. He knew very little of anything outside of his own life. He had almost lost touch with the outside world before he started trespassing back on Clan territory.

"Well, still as sharp as usual, I do see," he replied back casually, still not taking her threat seriously. "You don't scare me. I've me Clan cats... some nice, most... not nice, just like you. So trust me, your empty threats really don't bother me the least. I'm here because I enjoy walking through the marshes. They are calm and cool this time of year, and I don't appreciate the heat." Not even looking at her own complexion, he turned his head and let his orbs stare at some bushes in the far distance. The marsh did not have the most green life, but it did have some bushes which were excellent for hunting in.

All I got to do is drop the apprentice and look in those bushes; I'm sure there is something to eat there... there just has to be. It had taken Ghost a while to realize he was hungry. He had not eaten in a while, and this apprentice was disturbing his meals... not that that should have surprised him in the least. All the Clans did was but into other people's lives. I mean as if he did not have enough problems, now he had to deal with this she-cat prancing around and giving him orders.

"My life has been fine. I've done some traveling for a bit, caught up on the outside world, and then returned because I just had to see my wonderful Clan friends that I love oh so much," he meowed back sarcastically.

[Cinder.and.Flightfall]

"Well, still as sharp as usual, I do see,"
"You don't scare me. I've me Clan cats... some nice, most... not nice, just like you. So trust me, your empty threats really don't bother me the least. I'm here because I enjoy walking through the marshes. They are calm and cool this time of year, and I don't appreciate the heat"

Lizzardpaw rolled her eyes as the tom, in a way, insulted her. She didn't care what he thought, he was a loner. Yet she couldn't help but remember their last meeting, when she'd found herself slowly becoming fascinated with the loner. The fascination remained, yet the calico fae kept it in the back of her mind. Ghost was a loner, a slightly rude one at that. Still, the curiousity of what the former Clancat knew kept a tight hold on Lizzardpaw. Even at her now nearly grown age, she loved stories. Shocked at her change of mood, Lizzardpaw rapidly shook her head. What in StarClan's name was she doing? Hissing at herself, though to Ghost it probably seemed like she was hissing at no one, Lizzardpaw unsheathed her claws.

"My life has been fine. I've done some traveling for a bit, caught up on the outside world, and then returned because I just had to see my wonderful Clan friends that I love oh so much,"

There he goes with the whole "friends" thing, Lizzardpaw thought to herself. Still, he didn't call me his friend. It's fine. Lizzardpaw smirked at him, flicking his tail. "Just can't resist the pull of what Clanlife has to offer, can you? You love us Clanners too much," she said, the last statement just as sarcastic as Ghost's words. This was one way to clear her head, arguing with a loner. Blind eyes gazed toward where Ghost's scent was strongest. Lizzardpaw no longer had a threatening appearance, in fact she was more relaxed. Ghost, though annoying, wouldn't hurt her. She knew that, somehow. Still, one false move on the tom's part and his ears were coming off.

Her paws vibrated with a new set of footsteps coming toward her. They were light and small, not a cat, probably not even a rabbit. That only left mouse. Lizzardpaw gazed toward the vibrations, picking up the creature's scent and feeling her stomach growl. How good a plump mouse would be now. If I can catch that move, that'll be enough to prove that I can make it through Newleaf," she thought, proudly raising her tail and crouching low to the ground. She didn't care about the loner in the clearing with her, the determination she felt was overpowering to that. The she-cat stalked forward, pawstep after gentle pawstep, until she made one last leap and...

The mouse had scurried away.

Great StarClan! I've been off my game too much lately... Lizzardpaw thought as she let out a furious hiss. She could already imagine Ghost's laughter-filled gaze, mocking her. The thought made her pelt bristle even more.

[xx the brownster]

GHOST

"Just can't resist the pull of what Clan life has to offer, can you? You love us Clanners too much."

Ghost looked at the she-cat, his eyes wide open and full gazed right ahead. She had always, since they first met, irked his nerves... she was one of the only cats that could snap back at him with such wit and leave him stunned. No matter what he said, she had something just as equally witty to sting back at him- but no worries, he was not offended. How could he be greatly offended by a cat who surprisingly made him very curious. She interested him... he just could not figure out why.

The last cat to interest him was his friend, Brownclaw and even that took a while. Why she interested him because of her deep, dark past, so why did this cat, who had no deep past interest him so much? Even before he knew she was blind he was just curious because... of what? Maybe it was her almost semi-dark personality. She was dry and witty, not the happiest or bounciest cat around. Somehow none of that mattered. She was interesting-- that was all that mattered to Ghost. He usually dislike Clan cats... in fact, he did dislike Clan cats.

"Well aren't you full of surprises," he meowed back sarcastically. "The only thing Clan life offers is restrictions and rules. They control you until the day you die-- how exciting. Now of course some Clan members can be.... interesting," he said, pausing for a moment, "but still, the Clan life really can not be that satisfying. But I see I won't change your mind." He only smiled for a moment, shutting him mouth before he said anything he had not already said over and over again to this poor she-cat.

He watched her chase after the mouse, trying not to sticker at the failed attempt as she ran by. The Clans do such good training, he thought to himself, still staring at her embarrassed face. "No worries, my dear, that mouse just didn't want to be caught," she meowed, still trying not to snicker.

[Cinder.and.Flightfall]

His eyes practically burned a whole in Lizzardpaw's face, mainly because she could feel him watching her. The burning feeling came from the undeniable embarrasment. Stupid mouse. Ghost's witty remark didn't help matters either. Lizzardpaw hissed at him, digging her claws furiously into the soil. "Of course it didn't want to be caught. Just like you probably don't want me to rip you ears off right now, right?" Lizzardpaw spat. Now she was determined. She needed a chance to redeem herself. While she didn't understand why she cared what Ghost thought, she still wanted to prove to herself that she could survive. One mouse wouldn't get in the way of that.

"Just watch, the next thing that comes by is going to be my next meal..." she muttered, waving her tail dismissively to the probably scurrying mouse. She glared at Ghost, narrowing her clouded amber eyes. "Wipe that smirk off your face, loner. Everyone has their days." Unsure of what to say, Lizzardpaw simply sat down where she stood. Her ears were pricked, paws pressed against the ground to pick up any vibrations. She needed a second chance. That would be the only way she could forgive herself. Glaring at her paws, Lizzardpaw swiveled her ears in Ghost's direction. He was still there, probably still smirking and trying to hold in his laugh. Lizzardpaw's ear tips turned red.

The only logical thing to do was to change the subject. "So, why are you still here? You don't like me, or any Clanner, and I don't like you, or any non-Clanner." Her eyes narrowed. "There has to be a reason. Unless I'm in your way for something, in which case, I'm not going anywhere."

[xx the brownster]

GHOST

"Of course it didn't want to be caught. Just like you probably don't want me to rip you ears off right now, right?"
"Just watch, the next thing that comes by is going to be my next meal..."
"Wipe that smirk off your face, loner. Everyone has their days."
"So, why are you still here? You don't like me, or any Clanner, and I don't like you, or any non-Clanner."
"There has to be a reason. Unless I'm in your way for something, in which case, I'm not going anywhere."

"Hah! You rip my ears off? For some odd reason, I am not too worried about that, you little fur ball. I might be a loner, but I was trained in the Clans-- I know how you cats work... the techniques and the sly moves." Ghost felt proud of himself at that point. It was true. He was trained in WindClan for most of his apprentice career, and it was only after then that he realized how much he disliked the Clan life. His sister had loved it... adored it even. So much to the point she was one of the most powerful cats in the forest. And yet why was he so different? Why did he desperately want his Independence so much when his sister was so willing to give up everything for his Clan?

"Yes... Yes..." he sighed, wiping the smile off his face, but still feeling a strong hint of satisfaction. "Everyone has a bad day... but as a loner, if you have a bad day... you simply do not eat, so you learn not to have them," he commented, not having any feeling or emotional, more of a comment geared to wards himself. "You may think it is easy... but everything has its sacrifces... everything." The feeling in his voice had now gotten more serious and sad, as if she almost half regretted his choice. But the moment the thought entered his mind he straightened up and continued to look forward, wiping any doubt way from his made up mind.

"Haha. I think you mistook me... I enjoy the company of others! Clanners can have their issues, but I have met a few Clanners that have actually welcomed a conversation between the two of us. It seems as if they were curious for something different, something strange or odd... so I talk. It's how I manage not to stay lonely. Sure, there are many Clan cats," he stopped coughing for a moment, trying to hint something, "that can be stubborn... but they break. Everyone has a breaking point where they simply want to break a rule... because it is a rule and the other option really is not as bad as the rule made it seem to be."

[/size]

[Cinder.and.Flightfall]

"Every Clan has different techniques," Lizzardpaw shot back. "I'm sure that my style is way different from yours. If you want, we can test that theory right now." The femme glared toward Ghost's scent, irritated with the sly loner. "And I'm not a little furball, sure I'm not that big, but I'm no furball." Lizzardpaw let out a soft hiss and turned her back on him, ears flattened against her head. Oh, how she had the urge to claw his ears off at that moment. Still, what he said sadly did make sense. It would be difficult for Lizzardpaw to inflict any harm on the loner, and she had to swallow her pride just to admit it in her mind.

Ghost's next words surprised her, not by what he said, but by how he said it. He almost sounded... sad? Regretful, even? Lizzardpaw turned around again, swiveling her ears toward the tom and turned her sightless eyes onto him. There seemed to be more to this mysterious loner then Lizzardpaw originally thought. The way he said those words... he just didn't sound particulary happy. He probably would make a good warrior, if he were to ever be in the Clans again... Lizzardpaw thought with a frown. She immediately changed her mind, though, as he made that comment about her being stubborn. Even if he didn't say it directly, the coughing gave it away. She glared at him, lashing her tail.

"Everyone, huh?" she mewed. "Some breaking points, though, aren't as easy to reach. There are two types of cats in this world, the weak and the strong. The weak crack under the pressure, the strong don't. The strong survive, the weak don't." Still, what Ghost said did catch her attention. Breaking the rules... it wasn't something she did often. Sure, there were some rules in the warrior code that she didn't totally agree with, but Lizzardpaw was completely loyal. She wouldn't break the rules if she could help it. But didn't you already? You're here, associating with this loner. That isn't exactly what the Warrior Code is all about. Lizzardpaw looked at her paws, feeling her ears burning with shame.

"I... Rules aren't meant to be broken," Lizzardpaw growled. "There's a reason for them, isn't there? Without rules, we'd all be running around like crazy. Sure, some are pointless, but others make a difference. Some protect us."

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