{all tangled up in you} open

[**Burn**]

COLD sunlight sliced through the normally shady forest of SunClan. Snow lay deep and unbroken over most of the territory, a fine layer of it coating every branch and twig. Once volumous bushes were rendered to nothing more than skeletons while trees shook their bare arms in the passing wind. Today the winds were particularly blustery, blowing hither and thither without leaves to defuse their fury. Flurries of snow were thrown here and there, snowbanks building as the wind moved the snow. Birds didn't dare fly, mice stayed holed up in their nests, rabbits buried in their burrows. Of all these sane creatures, a single figure was steadily trekking through the deep snow. A white she-cat, splotched ginger and black around her head and tail, was trying to get through the shifting snow. In places, the icy stuff was piled so high it reached her belly before her paw pad even hit solid ground. HEAD ducked against the wind, ears flattened to her head, Tangletail trudged through the deep snow trying to get back to camp. She'd been out since dawn, trying to dig up something that resembled prey. So far her luck had been, well, nonexistent. A scrawny rabbit had escaped her claws earlier when she had tripped on a buried tree root and since then, the warrior had found nothing to replace it. Cursedstar would probably just shake his head when she got back to camp, after all, this wasn't the first time Tangletail had returned to camp empty-pawed. Thanks to the kink in her tail that only added to her natural klutziness, Tangletail was a horrible huntress. It didn't stop her from trying to, at least, it never had until today. Now she was cold, starving, tired and simply longing for her nice warm nest in the warrior den. PASSING along the ridge of a ravine, frozen creek at the bottom, Tangletail hoped to find easier purchase here where the snow seemed thinner. Her hopes were dashed when a section of the snow crumbled under her hind right foot. Her hind legs slid sideways and, thanks to gravity, the rest of Tangletail went with soon after. The tortoiseshell and white she-cat was sent in an ungraceful tumble down the ravine toward the frozen creekbed. Tumbling out in a heap, her weight easily broke the ice, but thankfully the creek was a shallow one. Regardless, the coldness earned an undignified shriek from Tangletail as she was dunked hissing and flailing into the frigid water. Half a heartbeat later, out of the creek sprang a dripping wet Tangletail, fur slicked to her body, eyes wide and a hiss on her lips as she clambered from the water. The creek was neither deep nor fast flowing so, it was easy for the she-cat to reach the bank. This knowledge didn't much help her now though. PAWS cracked and bleeding with cold, fur drenched, shaking like a rattlesnake's tail, Tangletail flopped down on the bank gasping and shuddering. Curling in on herself, Tangletail looked at the ravine she'd fallen into. It was steep and snow covered hidden holes, slick spots and roots destined to trip up the clumsy warrior. The pointless long hunt combined with her recent startle and the cold left Tangletail feeling drained and tired. Laying her head on her paws, tail curling close to her white body, Tangletail just crouched in the snow and shivered while water collected into ice on her pelt. BEING a she-cat that hated feeling useless, Tangletail couldn't make herself get up and go back to camp. Per usual, everyone would wonder what happened, feel sorry for her and then laugh. 'Another slip up, huh Tangletail?' Yes, that was what they would say, even though this time it wasn't even her poor balance that was to blame. This time it was just dumb luck and weak snow. As much as she loved making others laugh, it would be nice if sometimes she wasn't the butt of the joke. If she went back now, covered in ice and without prey, they would all shake their heads and chuckle indulgently as if she was some new apprentice that didn't know any better. She wasn't an apprentice anymore. She was a warrior. Why didn't she feel like one? Looking at her crooked tail, Tangletail sighed and burrowed her nose between her front paws as a violent shudder rocked down her spine. She hadn't felt right since her tail got kinked. She had thought being a warrior after so much hard work to relearn everything would make her feel better, stronger, surer even. So far her luck was just as bad as before. Leaf-green eyes slipped closed as the she-cat laid and trembled beside the mostly frozen creek. [bg=6c6051][atrb=border,0,true]

[ოიიղ&#]

"You'll catch your death if you stay wet like that."

Frostclaw stepped out of the bracken beside the frozen stream. The hole that Tangletail had created earlier was already freezing over from the cold. Frostclaw sat a scrawny mouse to the side as he went to stand to the right his fellow warrior. That puny mouse had taken him most of the morning to catch. His apprentice, Burnpaw, was also out hunting on her own excursion. It would be good experience for her to be on her own, to trust her own instincts. They were to meet back at camp at sun high. That was where Frostclaw had been heading when he had come upon the shivering and half frozen she-cat. He had to help Tangletail before he continued to camp.

Frostclaw looked over her. "You need to lick that ice and water off of you." he sat down, waiting for an invitation to help her with the cleaning. "When you're ready, we can head back to camp so Snowfall can have a look at you."

As the white tom waited for Tangletail, he thought about the she-cat. She was the klutz of the clan. But as every-cat says, every clan has one. Tangletail just so happened to be theirs. He had been around eleven moons old when the tortoiseshell she-cat had been born. She had a very large family, five, six brothers and sisters? However many she had it was more than he had. Icekit and Snowkit hadn't survived that bought of green-cough during their fifth moon. It had been so hard to continue on and become an apprentice without them. His way of coping with it hadn't helped either. So many dares and chances taken, with dire consequences.

If he could have learned to change his ways any other way, he would have taken it. To be blind in one eye had been difficult. In fact, he could relate to Tangletail in a way. With her tail and having the learn everything all over again, they had that much in common. Although the she-cat did have a lot more ridicule because of her side effects, Frostclaw also had his fair share of problems. For example battle was not his strong suits since he could be sneaked up onto from his right side. Especially since most clans knew of his accident and impairment, he did his best to stay away from battles.

His eyes slowly closed and reopened, his right eye silver with blindness. It was a mistake he wished he hadn't made.

[**Burn**]

TORTOISESHELL ears perked up shortly followed by a head as Frostclaw's voice floated through the cold air. Green eyes widened slightly as she saw the mismached eyes of the Sunclan warrior. Warmth shot through her from embarrassment as she quickly sat up, trying not to look like she'd been pouting or throwing her own pity party. In the clan, there wasn't time for things like that when times were so tough. So, Tangletail put on a smile and waved her patchy tail, the kink evident in the movement. Angling her head slightly to one side, Tangletail nodded politely to the older white-furred warrior. "THANKS for the warning, I'll be sure to get myself cleaned up," Tangletail meowed brightly, "I was only dunked for a second, no need to bother Snowfall about it." PUSHING herself to stand, the white and tortoiseshell she-cat gave herself a brief shake. Ice flaked off her fur but the motion of shaking made the world spin a little. Stumbling, Tangletail quickly reclined back onto her haunches and ducked her head. Blushing under her fur, Tangletail didn't meet the mismatched eyes of her clanmate. She knew she was an embarrassment, everyone did. At gatherings, it was seldom a full moon when she didn't stumble into someone or make a fool of herself in some fashion. It was a wonder Cursedstar still let her attend at all, though it was no wonder he had refused to give her an apprentice. Well, maybe he hadn't outright refused, but he'd never offered either. Then again, she reminded herself that she'd only been a warrior for a moon or so. Most warriors waited several moons before getting an apprentice. HOPING but not really believing that Frostclaw had missed her stumble and quick retreat to sitting, Tangletail decided to try and distract him from her current state of ice-coveredness. The idea of being stuck in Snowfall's den was not appealing in the slightest. She'd spent weeks there as an apprentice and had no desire to rush back. It wasn't because Snowfall was a bad cat, it was just...she was so tired of herbs and being on rest that the mere thought made her sick to her stomach. Thankfully, her naturally bright and happy self usually deflected or at least disarmed others. If she acted alright or like it was just an everyday accident, maybe Frostclaw would let her be and not tell Snowfall about her spill into the creek. SPYING the mouse at Frostclaw's paws, Tangletail smiled. "Glad someone found some prey, the forest was as empty as an old badger set for me." She made no move to get up again, worried she'd stumble again and make an even bigger fool of herself. The last thing she needed was for Frostclaw to witness her klutziness. It was embarrassing enough when Cursedstar or Snowfall saw, no need for her fellow warriors to have to see it all the time. Might as well save herself that particular embarrassing moment and just stay sitting. With any luck, she'd get Frostclaw to go ahead on back to camp ahead of her. Then she wouldn't have to worry about accidentally drifting into him when she walked. AS she sat in the snow, a violent shiver rocketed down Tangletail's spine. No matter how much she stiffened, she couldn't completely hide the movement it caused. She was cold and slightly irritated by her klutziness putting her in this situation, but she stayed still looking at Frostclaw with a cheery, bright smile still on her maw like nothing was wrong. [bg=6c6051][atrb=border,0,true]

[ოიიղ&#]

Was it possible for a cat to be that silly? It was in the dead of leaf-bare, snow was high and still falling. The last thing they needed was a sick warrior, or green cough to sweep through. Better safe than sorry, Frostclaw had always said. He would make sure that Snowfall knew of Tangletail's tumble in the the creek and get the tom to look at the she-cat. If the young warrior wasn't careful, she would be cooped up for awhile recovering from a cold or something worse. Her mention of prey wasn't going to deter him either. "If you don't go to Snowfall, you'll possibly catch green-cough. It will then spread through the clan, and lots of cats will get sick." his eyes narrowed, piercing into Tangletail's own eyes "We don't want that to happen."

Hopefully she wasn't as dense as to wave off that argument, which was a stable one. The last thing they needed was a sick warrior, especially at this time of the year. The snow had no sign of stopping soon, and if they weren't careful a lot of cats could get sick.

"Come on, get up." he ordered as he picked up his mouse. Muttering around it he went on "To camp." he waited for the she-cat to stand and slowly begin the way up the slow incline up out of the ravine. She might not want to make a fool of herself anymore, since she was klutzy, but there was a fine line between saving dignity and saving lives. Frostclaw would not stand for some cat to put herself or others in danger just because she would be embarrassed. There were others who also had to deal with that. She may never figure out she's not alone in the world of clumsiness, but she isn't.

Frostclaw was no stranger to the scorn and laughter of the clan. When he had first lost his sight in his right eye, he had been as clumsy as a fish out of water. His depth perception had been very out of whack, and he had constantly barreled into trees when he thought he was a good foot to the side of them. It had taken him a very long time to get use to his new vision, and to not trust it either. He may still have some sight, but he had to trust his other senses more. And even more than those, he had to trust his mind and his gut. Although he can mentally rearrange what he sees in his eye, knowing that when a thing looks a foot away he is going to run into it, he still had his share of trouble. He stumbled and veered off track a lot, which was one reason he normally walked slow. With a handicap like that, one could never be to careful

[**Burn**]

TWITCHNG her ears, Tangletail mentally frowned. Did Frostclaw think she was such a fool? She'd take care of herself, but not around him, not around anyone that could laugh at her. For sure she wouldn't go to Snowfall, not while she was perfectly fine. If she got a runny nose or started to cough, then she was go to the blind medicine cat, not a moment before. Still, she wasn't going to let Frostclaw see her unhappy. She'd never liked to project her misery or her embarrassment on to others, that had never changed, not since she was a kit. It might be a bit more potent now that she was more clumsy, especially when trying to climb, but it still was true. She kept her misfortunes to herself thank you very much. Besides, like the rest of the clan she knew Frostclaw had his own batch of troubles to deal with, he didn't need her petty ones added on. LICKING her front paw several times, Tangletail brought her paw over her ear several times. “Really Frostclaw, I'm fine,” Tangletail assured with a glowing smile. “I'll be dry in no time and I'll keep away from everyone for a few days just to be sure. I need to finish my hunt or Cursedstar's going to be angry, everyone needs to pitch in a little this time of year, even me. If it makes you feel better, I'll go to Snowfall this evening and get some herbs to keep away greencough.” NATURALLY the tortoiseshell and white she-cat had no such intention of going to Snowfall. She might go and visit someone that's bound to the den for a while, but she won't go for herbs. As soon as she mentions she got dunked in the creek, without a doubt Snowfall would want her to stay for observation or some other nonsense. He'd poke, sniff and tsk his tongue at her. She'd be stuffed full of bad tasting herbs and rumors of her misfortune would spread through camp like wildfire. Queens and elders would chuckle indulgently, kits and apprentices would laugh in her face and Cursedstar would shake his head hopelessly. She'd been through this whole deal before. She never told anybody, but she hated it. She hated being the butt of the joke, the klutz of the clan. DEEP down she knew she wasn't the only one, in fact she went out of her way to be nice to those that were like her. She could remember faintly when Frostclaw had been attacked. She'd felt bad for him so she never made fun of him because moons later, she was just the same, stumbling and running into things, falling when she tried to climb because she couldn't balance. She avoided crossing logs over streams and stepping stones because she thought she'd fall. The clan...they tolerated her incompitence because they had no choice. She was there. She was a warrior. She was good at making light of things, making others laugh. That was just about it. No need to flaunt her incompitence because Frostclaw was heading up the ravine and Tangletail could only eye it warily. FINALLY, getting to her paws the she-cat gave herself another shake, ignoring the world spinning wildly. She'd have to give her fur a thorough licking but for now most of the ice was falling off and her shivering wasn't so bad... “I'LL see you back at camp Frostclaw. Oh and I scented Burnpaw out near the pool if you're looking for her. If I see her, I'll make sure she gets back to camp before dark.” [bg=6c6051][atrb=border,0,true]

[ოიიղ&#]

Frostclaw turned to look at the young she-cat, shaking his head slightly. Well, he couldn't force her to do what she didn't want to do. She was being quite foolish in his opinion, not taking his offer of help. He sighed and turned to continue on his way back to camp. If Tangletail told the truth, Burnpaw would be heading back to camp, and he would possibly run into the she-cat. When he cleared Tangletail's line of eye sight, however, Frostclaw found himself burying the mouse under the snow to keep it from prey and going around behind the she-cat. He wanted to see what she would do.

He crouched behind a tree and waited, his left side peering over to catch a glimpse of the she-cat. He would blend easily into the scenery. And as long as Tangletail didn't follow his tracks, he wouldn't be caught by her either. Paws become numb with the cold, he sat there shivering gently. His mind wandering, imagining what this clumsy she-cat did by herself. Was hunting difficult for her too? Frostclaw found everyday life difficult. He didn't know if it would be easier to be entirely blind, but to have just one usable eye was a challenge. Frostclaw was no stranger to the scorn of the clan. To have disapproving eyes on him.

Frostclaw had worked long and hard to get where he was today. The battle of being able to just stand up and walk and not run into anything, the battle of learning all of his training all over again. The life with the Clans was a difficult one without an injury like his. To have it, the risk of dying was even greater. It was all about survival. They were just together as a clan to lengthen their days on this earth.

Frostclaw's eyes darted back to the present when he sensed unusual movement in front of him. It was Tangletail. Finally she was moving. With hushed breath, Frostclaw squinted, watching quietly from his hiding spot. How did others cope with injuries in private?

[**Burn**]

FINALLY Frostclaw seemed to accept that Tangletail was fine. Watching the white tom scale the side of the ravine and disappear into the snowy forest, the tortoiseshell and white she-cat breathed a sigh of relief. Green eyes closed for a moment, she let herself relax. Opening her eyes, she began licking her fur quickly. She didn't want to catch greencough but she didn't want to go to Snowfall so, Frostclaw was right on one count, she needed to lick off the ice. She cleaned off most of it and tried to shake off the rest but this time when she shook, she stumbled to the right a few paces and nearly fell into the creek again. Struggling to right herself, the she-cat glared at the offensive frozen water source. Twitching her kinked tail, Tangletail eyed the steep snow-covered sides of the ravine. Her ginger and black ears laid back against her head for a moment before she began moving forward. She had to hunt and get back to camp, maybe even hunt up Burnpaw so that Frostclaw wouldn't think she'd been lying about seeing the dark gray apprentice. Sure the feisty she-cat would be angry about being "babysat" but Tangletail didn't like being caught in a fib. SLOWLY she began climbing the side of the ravine, trying to find the surest places to put her paws. It was slow work and if someone watched from behind her, they would see that her path curved to the right when she should have just gone in a straight line. Several times, she stumbled and not just because snow was loose or ice was slick. Nope, she would stumble just because suddenly her balance would fail her and it would be either stumble and catch herself or fall straight back down the ravine. Long story short, it was slow going for the SunClan warrior. NEAR the top of the ravine, Tangletail missed a pawhold completely. A normal warrior would have caught themselves but not this poor she-cat. With a stifled yowl of surprise, she lurched to the left and tumbled halfway back down the ravine, catching herself on a bush of bracken so that she didn't go all the way back into the creek. Heart beating wildly, Tangletail clung to the bush of dead bracken, tail lashing and green eyes wide with surprise. Surprise drained away and she slumped against the bush. Bracing herself against the bush and a small boulder stuck into the side of the ravine, Tangletail laid in the snow and put her muzzle on her front paws staring at the rest of her climb. This should have been easy. She should have been able to walk back to camp with Frostclaw, maybe with prey in her jaws. She should have been able to walk next to him without drifting to one side and running into him. But no. She couldn't walk next to anybody, especially not toms without embarrassing herself. She couldn't climb very well at all and everyone just thought she was a smiling klutzy she-cat with a happy attitude and endless sheepish apologies. "WHAT is wrong with me?" Tangletail mumbled to herself, slowly standing up and balancing precariously on the boulder and bracken bush. "Some warrior I am. Even Snowfall can do better than this!" GIVING her fur a shake to get rid of the snow, wavering precariously as her world lurched wildly, Tangletail began to tackle the climb again. This time she went even slower, double guessing where she placed her paws and testing the snow warily to make sure it would hold. She finally made it to the top of the ravine and stopped. Reclining on her haunches, she looked at the direction Frostclaw's pawprints took off toward. Toward camp. She looked back out at the winter coated forest. She needed to hunt. Needed to be useful. Sighing softly, warily, Tangletail stood up and began to trudge toward the forest again. If she went back to camp now without prey, Frostclaw would probably spread a rumor about her being good for nothing but falling all over the place. [bg=6c6051][atrb=border,0,true]

[ოიიղ&#]

Frostclaw watched as the she-cat slowly made her way up the ravine. He could see that she went more to the right instead of staying in a straight line. That might be why she doesn't like to go on patrols or walks with others. She's afraid to run in them or away from them because of her poor sense of balance. A silly reason in Frostclaw's opinion, but he remembered when he was first learning everything again he was afraid to go on patrols. Nothing seemed more embarassing then apoligizing constantly to clan mates for running into them. It was slow going for her up that hill. And when she hit the near top point, she fell down the side.

Frostclaw was up and heading towards her before he could catch and stop himself from ruining his hiding spot. He was relieved to see that she was able to catch herself, and watched as she slowly made her way back up the slope. Then once more she began her trek back up the slope. It was much slower than before, but she finally made it up. And then she made her way into the forest, Frostclaw on her tail.

ooc:// sucks badly D : to tired to add anything else and can't think of anything else.

[**Burn**]

SNOW crunched quietly under Tangletail's paws as she picked her way through the sparse wintertime forest. She tried to keep alert for scents of prey or sounds of movement in the undergrowth but it was hard. She'd been up since early that morning trying to find some prey because she knew the clan needed it badly. The dunk in the creek and then running into Frostclaw was turning Tangletail's mind into a tired haze. She wanted to go back to camp and nap through the afternoon, maybe go hunt in the evening before nightfall brought colder temperatures and possibly more snow. The problem was, she couldn't go back without prey now or at least without Burnpaw in tow. Frostclaw would get suspicious and maybe tell Snowfall about her fall in the creek. A shudder ran down her spine at the thought, making her steps wobble strangely. If it was one thing Tangletail hated, it was herbs and all their funny aftertastes. She had nothing against Snowfall personally, but the herbs he dealt with simply made her want to be sick. STOPPING suddenly, Tangletail raised her head to the breeze, hoping to find some prey scents. The coldness stung her nose and blistered her lungs but it brought scents to her, sharp and clear. Green eyes narrowed. Tortoiseshell ears twitched. Tangletail turned her head to the right, then to the left. Behind her, her tortoiseshell tail wove in an S-shape, the kink evident in the motion. "WHO'S out there?" Tangletail meowed suspiciously, scanning the sparse undergrowth nearby. Because of the snow, she couldn't find a specific scent but there was fresh cat scent somewhere nearby. It was SunClan but other than that, Tangletail couldn't place it. FOR a long moment, the she-cat stood and listened intently, standing still in the middle of the snowy path. Nothing happened. Maybe she had imagined the scent? Or maybe she was paranoid. Muscles uncoiled as Tangletail relaxed. She had wondered if it was Frostclaw but he had headed off in the other direction and he'd been completely uninterested in her, always had been. Arching her neck, Tangletail gave her chest a few licks before looking up again. With one more fertile look around, Tangletail started to move. THIS time, she set off faster than before. When she ran, she still swerved to the left and right but every few paces would spring back the opposite direction to right herself for a moment before she started to drift again. It almost looked like a fleeing rabbit, running in something like a zig-zag pattern. Tangletail was planning on finding out who was around by maybe drawing their interest. The plan was a good one...until she misjudged her jump to the right to correct her swerve. With a grunt the she-cat collided with an oak tree and was sent sprawling into a pile of snow that had collected in the tree's roots. [bg=6c6051][atrb=border,0,true]

[ოიიղ&#]

Frostclaw followed closely behind Tangletail. His ears were pricked in her direction as he kept his eyes locked in front of him. Her pelt was fairly easy to follow with it's bright reds and black. His was nearly indistinguishable from the surroundings. It came in handy during the winter time, but only for sneaking along. There was hardly any prey to be hidden from that would make having a white pelt the rest of the year worth it.

Every now and then Frostclaw would glance over at the she-cat. He watched as she padded along, correcting herself every now and then as she veered off course. She seemed pretty comfortable with it, it looked as if it came natural to her. What he wanted to know was why she was always afraid to be with someone while hunting or walking. She couldn't be that embarrassed of her tail and the side effects, could she? Frostclaw was seldom embarrassed from his injury... but then again he was an entirely different cat.

Suddenly the young warrior stopped. Frostclaw skidded to one behind her. He was stiff and still as the snow continued to fall. She was onto him, or she had caught whiff of some prey. What she said next confirmed to the tom that she was suspicious. He was half tempted to reveal his hiding place, but he stopped himself from moving out into the open. He wanted to watch her for a little longer.

Tangletail seemed to shrug it off, but continued on a little faster. Frostclaw closed the gap between then, staying a few fox length's in the trees and just a tail length behind her, jumping from shadow to shadow. From behind the tree line he watched as she continued to correct her path by jumped and moving to the left. They continued on like that for a while longer, until suddenly the she-cat misjudged her jump. Her tortoiseshell form spined into the oak tree Frostclaw was hidden behind, and plopped into a pile of snow.

What was he to do know? Thinking on his feet his first reaction was to pull her out from the snow drift, which he did. Shaking the snow from his back he looked her up and down, wondering what she was going to think of seeing him again. Her reaction would be the decision maker of his next move.

[**Burn**]

PARTLY dazed by her collision with the tree trunk, the tortoiseshell she-cat made no move to get up right away. Then she felt the snow shift and teeth sink into her scruff. A familiar scent wafted over the she-cat and the other part of her, the part that wasn't dazed by the tree, was smugly satisfied. Letting herself be hauled out of the snow, the green-eyed she-cat blinked and looked up at the unexpectedly expected face. Mismatched eyes looked back at her, glowing bright from a solid white face. Frostclaw. Grinning, the she-cat giggled and rolled over so she was laying on her belly instead of her side. She bit back a wince. Hitting a tree wasn't fun but at least her little accidental plan had worked, she'd unearthed her stalker. Sweeping her tail across the snow, she curled it against her side. Tucking her paws comfortably, Tangletail looked at her clanmate. "YOU know, if you wanted to hunt with me, you just had to ask," Tangletail told Frostclaw cheerily. "I wouldn't have said no and two is always better than one as my mother used to say." TYPICAL happy, cheerful, all-smiles Tangletail response. This time though, she couldn't help but be amused by Frostclaw's little stalking venture. He'd been good, she'd almost not noticed him. If the wind hadn't changed just a little, she wouldn't have thought anything was following her at all. She was amused mainly because he had taken the time to watch her make a fool of herself. Honestly, why else would he follow her? Everyone knew she was a poor huntress so that couldn't be the reason and he could watch her be a klutz at any time she needed to walk across the clearing in camp. Why had he followed her now? She doubted he'd tell her, he was probably embarrassed that he'd been caught in the act but really Tangletail wasn't too bothered. She was slightly embarrassed that he'd seen her run like a drugged badger but there were worse things in life. Who knows? If she was lucky, he wouldn't tell anyone how stupid she looked. PURRING softly in amusement, Tangletail rasped her tongue over one of her white paws for a moment before looking back at the snow-colored tom. "You know, if you want to see me look like a fool you just have to watch me walk across a flat surface, you didn't have to follow me in the snow. I'm not so much of a disaster as to fall in a creek twice in one day, I haven't gotten that bad yet." EVERY word she spoke was spoken with good humor and a laughing undertone. When you were a cat like Tangletail, it helped to be able to laugh at yourself sometimes. Sure, sometimes it hurt but she had to look past that. If she took everything seriously, she'd never be able to live with herself. Turn it into a joke, make it a funny story to tell in the evening, and it would all be okay. Then at least she'd be able to deal with it in a more pleasant way than brooding like she had been at the creek. Sometimes she wanted to curl up and mourn her lack of coordination but at times like these, when others were looking, it was just better to laugh it off. [bg=6c6051][atrb=border,0,true]

[ოიიղ&#]

Frostclaw only grunted. He didn't exactly want to tell her that he was following her out of curiosity. He wanted to know if this good humored she-cat was as such a klutz as the clan and herself made her out to be. Which, from what he had seen, wasn't as true as had been made out. For a lack in coordination she was pretty coordinated. If that made sense, which made fairly little to the tom who had thought it up. But he sat looking at her slightly confused as she laughed off her lack of balance.

"Doesn't it bother you that you're the joke of the clan?" Tangletail sure was a curiosity to Frostclaw. She was very much different from him. Taking everything as a joke, dealing with the scorn and laughter like it was nothing. When he had had his injury, he glared and growled and any cat who dared to laugh at him. He worked long and hard and was very determined to gain the respect of his clan. To be treated like he had no injury. Tangletail didn't seem to want that. At least, she didn't show it.

Why do you even want to know? It was a simple question, but difficult to answer. Frostclaw didn't know why he wanted to know. He had never been curious about the she-cat's behavior before... perhaps it was because he had caught a glimpse of another side of her. A side that was hurt, that didn't want to be treated like a joke. To see her shivering beside the creek looking sad and alone had opened Frostclaw's eyes that she was very different than she let on to be.

Later on he might be embarrassed about asking. Or she might not even tell him. After all they didn't really know each other personally. They were just acquainted, and like Frostclaw had just seen, there was a lot more than met the eye to both of them.

[**Burn**]

LOOKING at the white tom with curiosity in her green eyes, Tangletail sat up in a proper sitting position and angled her head to one side. He looked curious and he sounded a little confused. Why? Tangletail didn't consider herself a mystery. Sure, she didn't always say when she was hurting but it wasn't like she hid deep dark secrets that could traumatize the clan's reputation. She considered herself a pretty open book most of the time in fact. Usually if she was laughing, she was happy, if she was quiet she was sad and if she was glaring she was mad. Okay, maybe sometimes she didn't feel that way but usually she did. Still, there was no harm in questions and she'd had her fair share of curiosities about Frostclaw, it seemed right for him to be curious about the clan's most recent disaster on four legs. So she shrugged and offered him an honest smile. "IT bothers me sometimes, it really did when I first found out it took all of my concentration to walk in something similar to a straight line." She could still remember being so embarrassed, stumbling and falling all around Snowfall's den while trying to figure out how to right herself. "But, I found out that if I let myself get mad or sad about it, then...I wouldn't be able to get up in the morning. If I laughed at it, laughed with everybody else, made them think it was okay if they laughed, then maybe it didn't hurt so much. Then it would feel like they were laughing with me instead of at me. Sure, sometimes it still stings when even apprentices don't respect me, but if I hurt myself over what they think, then I'm not doing anybody any good. I'm just hurting myself, not them. So I laugh, I make it okay to laugh so they don't have to feel guilty about hurting my feelings. If I make them think it's okay, I guess I make myself think it is too." REALIZING that she'd just sort of rambled on a little, Tangletail ducked her head and flicked her ears, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, I get a little long winded sometimes. Sometimes you just have to tell me when to shut up." CURLING her tortoiseshell tail around her paws, she bent her head and gave it several licks more or less just to give herself something to do. She could feel Frostclaw's mismatched eyes on her and it made her feel funny. Not necessarily uncomfortable, but she didn't know what to call it. Nobody had ever asked why she did the things she did or even asked if she was okay. After her accident, they just sort of assumed that she was okay, that it was okay when she tripped and fell or when she overbalanced and toppled over. They assumed she hadn't hurt herself because she was laughing and smiling, getting up to do it again. Frostclaw had caught her on one of the few times she didn't spring right back, one of the times she let herself feel miserable. Maybe that was what made the difference? Unlike most of the clan, he'd seen that sometimes it hurt. TANGLETAIL wasn't sure how she felt about someone seeing that. It felt almost nice that someone knew but it also felt dangerous. What if he told? Then others would feel guilty and she'd feel bad for making them feel bad. She just had to hope he wouldn't tell. No need to trouble the clan over little old her. She was just a warrior. [bg=6c6051][atrb=border,0,true]