Narrowed eyes wandered around the repetitive walls of his home. If it were up to him, he would've left this mess of rocks a long time ago. Sadly, it wasn't. 'Grounded' the apprentice thought to himself. 'All because stupid Adderpaw couldn't shut his trap for one patrol.' Now they're both stuck in camp for who knows how long, stuck doing gross tasks like pulling ticks off of elders when they could've been outside fighting instead. They now avoided each other for as long as possible, even going through the effort of taking different shifts just so they wouldn't have to see the other's ugly mug. The anger he initially felt had simmered down to an irritated spark, but all the time pent up had given him time to think on things. Too much time, actually. Trudging around camp all day had made Bristlepaw notice just how much everyone seemed to be obsessed with their ancestors, of all things. As a now adolescent cat, it was in his nature to question things; and question he did.

    Even when they were allowed to go out again, Bristlepaw seemed consistently distracted. Though it had wholly consumed his thoughts, only one cat seemed to notice, or at the very least bother to look into it. And even she had taken a few days. He was hunched off in a long forgotten corner of the caves when she approached. The space he occupied was small and lonesome; perfect for when he wanted to avoid the more nosey cats. But the messy-furred tom was content in knowing none of his clanmates wanted to deal with him right then. A light pelt came into view, and he recognized the owner immediately. It would've been sad if he hadn't, considering they grew up together. Pearlpaw always seemed to know when he was feeling troubled - at least when it became more than he could bear alone. "Bristlepaw, mind if I join you?" To any other cat, he would've hissed in their face and stalked off to a better spot...but she was different. His sister was one of the few he tolerated, and even he didn't really know why. They sit for a few breaths in companionable silence. Her question hung silently in the air, both knowing what it was but not needing to say it.

    The gruff tom takes a moment to find the words, before ducking his head and uttering, "Everyone here is always just going Starclan this and Starclan that, but I've never actually seen them do anything!" He almost instinctively lowers his voice before continuing, the sound low and growling, but tinged with something lighter and boyish that betrayed his age. "What if...they're not real in the first place? Just something they tell to keep the kits in line?" For the past few days it'd felt like he'd been spiraling deeper and deeper into a well of doubt, but finally saying his thoughts out loud seemed to give them a sort of tangibility that wasn't there before. "It would make sense, wouldn't it?" And while this may have reassured the tom, it didn't seem to be having the same effect on his sister.

    Pearlpaw was stone-still, both body and face rigid as he spoke. The normally soft and open expression she wore was now replaced with something akin to his own, though slightly less angry looking. It felt as if the voice sounding from her lips wasn't her own in the slightest, as words and tone foreign to her replicated the fierce look in her eyes. "Bristlepaw...please. Don't tell anyone what you just told me. If someone finds out that you don't believe..." A more grim face than the last appeared. "Just promise me. Promise that you won't speak your mind on this at least." She bowed her head, but the weight of her words still got through to him.

    The tom-cat was stunned to near silence. Never had his words had this much of an effect on her; not even when he condemned their father or called Adderpaw rude names in front of everybody. It was like an entirely different cat had taken the place of his sister for just those few moments. As green eyes began to peer up at him, he was jerked out of his stupor. "Ye...Yeah. Fine. Just on this though." Wanting to add a hint of levity, the apprentice quickly tacked on another comment. "I have a reputation to upkeep after all." The smirk crossing his face almost felt right, but there was no gleam of mischief or pride in his eyes today. This seemed to be enough for the oddly serious Pearlpaw, though, as a small sigh of relief left her. When she straightened to face him fully, the apprentice had seemed to come back to herself now. "Good. I'll see you later then? We can talk after I'm finished with my apprentice duties for the day." With his nod, she left. And just like that, everything was back to normal.

    Normal, but...different at the same time. It was a hard thing to explain, but it felt like something irreversible and dangerously important had occurred in just those few minutes alone. It was the start of a path that Bristlepaw had unwittingly fallen upon...A mindset taking hold that would one day lead to his ruin. This was all unknown to him of course. And so, with a roll of his shoulders, he got up and continued on with his day.