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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Oct 12, 2019 11:45:06 GMT -5
I rise from the metaphorical ashes ))
Medicine Den
Splashpelt blinked, his ears flicking back in obvious surprise. He hadn’t expected that. Of course it had been a seizure, but wasn’t it just as obvious that it had been more than that? “Yes.” He said carefully after a couple long heartbeats. “I think you did. But I think it was caused by the possession. You were warning me about...something.” He finished helplessly.
Apprentice’s Den
Firepaw nodded, relieved that he was taking charge now. That meant she didn’t have to figure this out on her own. “Okay.” She agreed, and glanced over at Rainpaw. “What about you? You’re gonna help, right?
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Post by <Raintalon> on Oct 17, 2019 14:11:16 GMT -5
Crowfur crept through the leaves, paws soft on the earth that unlike before, he could actually feel beneath his claws. He’d never been to their new camp, before - but he could feel it. Of course he could. He was almost there.
And then...as he cleared the last patch of dying underbrush....he was there.
The sight pulled the breath from his lungs. His Clan...his clan...stretched before him, cats running back and forth, preparing the fresh kill, looking after apprentices he didn’t recognize. The new faces disturbed him - it would be harder, not knowing everyone - but he was glad to see that they had survived Cowstar’s incompetence for now.
“Hello? Who are you?”
He turned his head, startled out of his daze as a cat spoke to him from nearby. He blinked, shocked, as the huge, hulking form of Blazepaw...no, not paw, she was older now...looked over him, a subtle threat in her gaze.
“Oh...I’m sorry,” he said, quickly settling his features into a comfortable mix between pleasantness and nerves. “I didn’t see you. This place...it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Blaze...something’s gaze hardened. “Name.”
“My apologies...you’re right, I’ve been rude. My name...is Redwhisker.”
—
“Firepaw. Catchpaw. Rainpaw. Nightpaw.”
Sootpaw’s voice was sharp and slightly panicked as he circled the apprentices’ den, poking them all in turn. Even Rainpaw, who he was usually too afraid of to disturb. He couldn’t complain about the timing...they’d finally had their first meeting just last night, and it had given them a chance to get their heads together. They knew what to do now. They would stay calm, meet every time one of them signaled that they had information to share, and keep their heads down. They’d investigate, but quietly, so the warriors wouldn’t get suspicious and figure out what they were doing.
Still...it felt way, way too soon for Thornkit’s warning to be coming true. He swallowed, trying to keep his nerve as he looked out once again at the stranger, whose coat shone blood red in the morning sunlight as he spoke with Blazeclaw. It would always be too soon, wouldn’t it? It wasn’t like there was enough time in the world for them to prepare for this.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Oct 19, 2019 18:26:37 GMT -5
Nightpaw opened his eyes, blinking sleep away as something poked him. “Wha...” He mumbled, and rolled over to see who had prodded him. Sootpaw, looking more panicked than usual. Nightpaw blinked again and finally got up, as it was clear that Sootpaw wasn’t going to leave them alone. “What’s up?” He asked, attempting to look alert. It was a bit thrown off by how disheveled his fur was from sleeping, but at least his ears were pricked.
Firepaw was on her feet before Sootpaw had even poked the next person, her claws out and sunk into her bedding with, her fur bushing out and making her look twice her normal size. Her tail lashed. Twice. Then she started to breath normally again and glanced around, taking in the other groggy apprentices. “Oh. Oh. We’re investigating today, I remember now. Are we starting already? I thought it would be later in the day.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Oct 20, 2019 10:19:03 GMT -5
“It would’ve been later in the day,” said Sootpaw, tail lashing in agitation, “but trouble just got here. Look.” He jabbed with his tail at the outer den, where Redwhisker was now greeting the entire clan with a charm and charisma that only served to make Sootpaw even more uneasy.
“Hold on,” said Rainpaw, now sitting up and following his gaze outside the den. “The flashes we got from Thornpaw seemed to have a black cat. You’d think a coat like that would’ve stood out, right?”
“Maybe.”
A voice spoke from the back of the den - one they’d barely heard the past week. It was Spiderpaw, coiled snakelike in his nest, clouded eyes fixed eerily on Redwhisker’s exact position.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Oct 20, 2019 15:11:27 GMT -5
Firepaw squeaked and scampered always from the voice, hiding behind Sootpaw. She peeked out at the blind cat, then squeaked and his again. All this despite the fact that she herself only had one eye, but then again she never saw herself. Or maybe she just never looked quite that creepy, as small as she was. “Hey Spiderpaw.” She said nervously, still behind Sootpaw. “Um. When did you get here?”
Catchpaw rolled over and finally got up, huffing as his attempt to pretend he was still asleep backfired into him not being part of the conversation. “Okay, what do we know? Thrushpaw sent us a vision or something. We think it has to do with the new guy, but we aren’t sure. We’re gonna investigate. Did I miss anything?” He glanced at Sootpaw. His friend seemed very convinced by this whole thing, which he had to admit surprised him. Then again, maybe he was just being stubborn about it...whatever. He’d believe it when he saw more than a super scary dream.
Nightpaw gave a huge yawn. He was starting to look marginally more awake, but still wished he was asleep, if he was being completely honest. He glanced over at Spiderpaw I’m surprise as the other apprentice spoke up, then tilted his head. “Why aren’t you in the medicine den? Aren’t you Splashpelt’s apprentice?”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Oct 20, 2019 16:36:33 GMT -5
“Last night,” said Spiderpaw, turning his stare to Firepaw now. Strange colors...and they’d changed so quickly when she’d noticed him. He still hadn’t worked out what they were supposed to be. He glanced, then, at Nightpaw, who was almost gray like the sleeping cats, but with wisps of color making their way in a little spiral as, he asssumed, he began to wake up properly. He tilted his head. “I don’t sleep in the medicine den, obviously,” he said scathingly, sitting up in his nest. “And that’s not the point. The point is, I know you’re up to something, and I’d like to know what it is.”
“You don’t need to know,” said Rainpaw, annoyed.
“You know, we really need to start looking around us before we start talking,” observed Sootpaw, flicking an ear. “We seriously suck at secrets.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Oct 20, 2019 18:49:11 GMT -5
“Don’t fight.” Nightpaw broke in, glancing at his brother, then Sootpaw. “We don’t need to start fighting ourselves, too. Listen, Spiderpaw.” He turned to the medicine apprentice, meeting his stare with an anxious one. “We don’t know everything there is to know, either. It’s complicated, but I promise we aren’t doing anything we shouldn’t. We’re just trying to help.” He wasn’t sure how he would explain. Spiderpaw probably wouldn’t believe them if they tried, anyway.
“We’re trying to save the Clan.” Catchpaw said simply. “From some kind of threat we don’t understand, but apparently it has something to do with bad dreams. I don’t know. It’s bad, though.” He shot Rainpaw a look through narrowed eyes. “Why shouldn’t he know? It’s not like we know what we’re doing.”
“I don’t suck at secrets.” Firepaw muttered. It wasn’t relevant, so she wasn’t loud about it, but she couldn’t resist saying it anyway. “And it’s Thornpaw.” She added, sending Catchpaw an indignant glare. “Anyway, I think we should get going. It’s not like we can hide it from him, right? He’ll just follow us and get in the way if we don’t explain, and he can help if he knows what’s going on.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 4, 2019 22:18:31 GMT -5
Rainpaw narrowed his eyes right back at Catchpaw, ignoring Nightpaw's attempts to break them up completely. "The more people we tell, the more likely it is that this gets out. I don't know any of you very well, and it's already a risk to include you at all. Spiderpaw's just another liability."
As Firepaw spoke, he did a double take, respect washing over the irritation in his gaze. He hadn't noticed the misnaming. If he had, he would've been furious, and apparently, so was little Firepaw. Maybe he'd misjudged her.
"Well, it's too late to do anything about it now, isn't it?" said Sootpaw, bristling with tension. "He's right here. He knows something up. We might as well tell him."
"Yes, you might as well," agreed Spiderpaw flatly, eyes focused on no one in particular. He seemed to be somewhere in between completely bored and enjoying the whole thing.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 4, 2019 22:30:38 GMT -5
“That’s stupid and you know it.” Catchpaw retorted, beginning to bristle as Rainpaw stepped on his nerves. “You aren’t the one including us, the dreams are. If you’d gotten your way, we’d all still be in the dark, so don’t pretend this was your plan all along.” He snorted, glancing at Spiderpaw. “Sorry about him. I’ve never met anyone so badger-brained in my life.”
“I agree with Soot.” Firepaw stared, then blinked. “Paw. Sootpaw. I agree with Sootpaw. He knows something’s going on, and he’s gonna be in danger if he doesn’t know what to look out for.” She glanced at Rainpaw. “Look, I get it. She was your sister. If something happened to either of my brothers, I wouldn’t want a bunch of mousebrained idiots barging into my life either. But Catch is right, Thornpaw is the one who decided to let us in. Doesn’t that mean she wants you guys to have help? Spiderpaw can help.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 4, 2019 22:40:30 GMT -5
Rainpaw opened his mouth, about to fire back at Catchpaw, but stopped when Firepaw began to speak, and then finally sat down in frustration as he realized he was hopelessly outnumbered.
"I'm not agreeing to this," he said snappishly, lashing his tail. "If you want him in, do it yourself. I'm not going to take responsibility for the consequences."
"No one's asking you to," muttered Sootpaw, under his breath. He cast a sour look in Rainpaw's direction, but didn't raise his voice, seeming content to let things go on as they were.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 5, 2019 10:06:16 GMT -5
Nightpaw walked over and sat by Rainpaw, a silent defense of his brother. They were all they had now, after all, and he wasn’t going to let himself get pushed away no matter what. Not that it was easy. Rainpaw was being a very difficult cat to like. But Nightpaw was determined to do it, and so he sat by his brother and waited for someone to say something about it. He wasn’t sure what he expected. A fight, maybe.
“If it goes bad, we’ll remember you told us not to.” Firepaw promised, her eyes bright and earnest. She glanced at Sootpaw, worry showing in the lines of her face, then back at Rainpaw, and his fang caught her bottom lip, giving her a bulldog sort of look.
Catchpaw shook his head, rolling his eyes. “Oookay. Because that’s super mature.” He muttered, then moved closer to Sootpaw, as though choosing sides on a battlefield. “Welcome to the disaster club, Spider. We have no idea what we’re doing. So far, we have a ‘prophecy’ or something and we think something really bad is about to happen or something. Still want in?”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 6, 2019 19:19:28 GMT -5
"Yes," said Spiderpaw simply, flicking an ear as he watched the cats in the room gradually turn from cool to warmer shades as the conversation went on. Interesting...
"You might want to think of a better name than the disaster club," he added, whiskers twitching slightly. "CalamityClan, maybe."
"Okay. First things first," said Sootpaw, shaking his head as the situation started to unravel itself again. "That stranger. Who thinks he has to do with the prophecy? Show of tails."
Rainpaw raised his tail, the tip still twitching in irritation at Catchpaw and the situation in general.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 6, 2019 19:32:22 GMT -5
Catchpaw grinned. “CalamityClan it is.” He agreed, clearly pleased. The tension in the room seemed to be going down. That was good. He wasn’t sure what exactly was causing it in the first place, but he thought it was probably mostly Rainpaw’s fault. That cat seemed to be full of rage for some reason. He hesitated, then sat still, his tail resting on the ground. “Still not convinced it’s a prophecy...” he muttered stubbornly.
Nightpaw’s tall went up immediately. Of course he had something to do with the prophecy. It was just too perfect; they have the dream and then this intimidating stranger shows up out of no where, He glanced around, counting tails. Hopefully the majority agreed, or they might have a problem.
Firepaw didn’t move at first. What if it was a coincidence, and the stranger had nothing to do with the prophecy at all? What was the worst case scenario here? Well, they could always just investigate, right? If he wasn’t a part of it, they should be able to find that out soon enough. Her small tail went up, and she looked at Sootpaw. Good. He agreed. Catchpaw didn’t, but she could deal with that.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 7, 2019 10:36:02 GMT -5
Spiderpaw kept his tail down, but didn't offer an explanation for it. The truth was in two parts - the first, because he was withholding judgement until he got more information on this whole thing. He could hardly vote when his only knowledge was that there was "a prophecy". The second was that he was simply distracted - he was beginning to have a very odd suspicion about the colors. It didn't seem logical, but then again...Catchpaw's color had definitely changed almost instantly when he'd lost his temper...
Sootpaw shot Catchpaw a sympathetic glance, hating to vote against his best friend. He would have to talk to him later...but for now, he had to keep his composure in front of Nightpaw and Rainpaw if he wanted to be taken seriously.
"Okay," he said decisively, sitting up a little straighter. "That's a majority vote. So the next question is, what do we do about it?"
"We should investigate," said Rainpaw, flicking an ear. "Find out what we can. There's nothing suspicious about a few curious apprentices sniffing around a new arrival, and if we're careful with our questions, we might be able to catch him in a lie one of these days."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 8, 2019 19:19:32 GMT -5
“That’s true.” Firepaw perked up. Small cats were supposed to be curious, right? That meant they could ask questions without getting called out for anything worse than being nosy. And what could the adults do about that? Okay, they could claw your ears off, but would they? They seemed nice so far, so probably they’d just yell a lot and then forget about it, if they even noticed. “We could ask him really specific questions and remember what he says, then ask him the same question in a different way a long time later.” She continued, making it up as she went along. It seemed like a decent plan.
Catchpaw caught the glance, but he wasn’t upset with Sootpaw. His friend was probably just a little more gullible that he was. It was fine, he could help with the investigation without really thinking there was magic or whatever this was supposed to be. “We need to keep an eye out for other things, too.” He put in. “The stranger is suspicious, I guess, but if something weird’s going on, it probably has more parts to it. We can’t get too caught up in this one guy.”
“Sounds good.” Nightpaw agreed. “What do we do first? We have to keep up our training and everything, too. Plus, if the adults do get involved, they’ll probably be mad at us for not telling them. So we need to be really careful about this.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 8, 2019 22:39:29 GMT -5
"Yeah, you're right," said Sootpaw, visibly relieved that Catchpaw hadn't seemed to take his vote personally. "We can't focus too closely in on this one thing. We could be wrong, and then we might end up missing the real danger."
Rainpaw nodded approvingly in Firepaw's general direction. "Yes. Specific questions, and as many of them as possible, so if he's lying, he'll have to keep track of a lot of stories. The more difficult we make this for him, the faster we can figure out if he's our threat."
"So..." continued Sootpaw, narrowing his eyes a little as he thought it through. "We have to pick who's going to ask the questions, and we have to decide together what they are, so that more than one cat can try to trip him up later. Any volunteers for the first wave? Who doesn't have training this morning?"
"I don't," said Spiderpaw, flicking his tail. "But I doubt I'm your first choice."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 10, 2019 16:36:56 GMT -5
“I don’t know about that.” Catchpaw said, raising a conspiratorial eyebrow at Spiderpaw. “Maybe you can intimidate him into messing up. Or maybe you can stare him to death and we won’t even have to question him.” “I don’t either.” He added after a second, relenting from his teasing long enough for his face to get slightly more serious.
“I have training.” Firepaw put in, her ears flicking back as she considered it. Questioning a stranger sounded like the kind of thing that could end up being fun, but just as easily end up being very not. “I can do it another time, though.” She added, as much for herself as anyone else.
“I don’t have training.” Nightpaw said after a pause, because did he want to say it? Did he really want to put himself in that position? But it was true, and he was stuck. He sighed lightly, glancing around at the others. “Anyone else?
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 20, 2019 18:06:46 GMT -5
Spiderpaw didn't look at Catchpaw, but his whiskers twitched appreciatively at his joke. "I think Catchpaw should go," he said, after a moment. "He doesn't believe the dream, and he never met Thornpaw. If either of you went," he said, gesturing with his tail to Rainpaw and Nightpaw, "you'd be likely to lose your composure, or introduce bias."
Rainpaw, tensed, fur rising along his hackles, but then he took a long breath, letting it out in a resigned sigh. "Yeah. You're right," he said, nodding stiffly. "Neither of us can go. It would be too difficult to stay neutral. Catchpaw, you, for better or for worse, don't believe in any of this, and that sets you at an advantage. Are you willing to spy for us?"
Sootpaw flicked an ear, nerves fluttering in his gut. He didn't like seeing his friend go into this alone. It was dangerous, and this didn't even have to be his fight.
"You don't have to," he blurted out, then flattened his ears, sticking to his guns. "You never asked for this, and I'm sorry I've dragged you all into it - all I wanted was for us to be safe. So don't...don't go getting in trouble on my account. Please."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 23, 2019 21:05:46 GMT -5
Nightpaw glanced down and nodded. “You’re right.” He admitted, though he hated it. He wanted to be the one leading the charge, and instead he couldn’t just because he was emotionally invested. “I think Catchpaw would be best.” He continued, glancing sideways at the other apprentice. “Spiderpaw’s right, he’s not invested.”
Catchpaw looked taken aback to be picked, his ears going back in surprise and his eyes widening just a little. How had he gotten misunderstood enough that anyone thought he was a good candidate for this? He thought he’d made it pretty clear that he had no idea what he was doing, but maybe that had come off as confidence somehow. Well, he wasn’t going to argue if someone said he was competent. “Hey, don’t worry Soot.” He said lightly, offering his friend a grin. “I’ll be in and out before he knows what hit ‘em.”
“But what if he gets mad and hurts you?” Firepaw demanded, her fur fluffing up. Had anyone actually thought this through? “I don’t like this.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 28, 2019 11:52:19 GMT -5
Sootpaw nodded, hackles still pricked along his shoulders in a clear display of unease. "Okay," he said, flicking his tail. "Just...be careful. Remember the dream - I know you don't believe it, but if it's true, remember what this cat's supposed to be capable of."
"It's Catchpaw's decision to make," said Rainpaw to Firepaw, not unkindly. "It's already decided. Catchpaw will talk to the new cat. Try to get some information, set some traps."
Just then, Adderleaf poked his head into the apprentices' den, tilting his head from side to side to make up for his lack of depth perception. "Firepaw?" he called, flicking a mangled ear. "It's time for training, if you're ready."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 28, 2019 12:03:27 GMT -5
Firepaw opened her mouth, but whatever she’d been about to say disappeared as her mentor poked his head in. She didn’t like it. She really didn’t like it, but she knew she couldn’t stop Catchpaw if that’s what he wanted to do. She hesitated, shifting her weight...and gave in. “Coming.” She told Adderleaf with a distinct lack of her usual enthusiasm. Then she looked at Rainpaw. “Please keep my friends safe, okay?” She pleaded in an urgent whisper, hoping he could see how serious she was by her single eye. Then she turned and scampered towards her mentor, tail sticking straight up in the air.
“Yep.” Catchpaw said with a confidence he really didn’t feel. What had he gotten himself into? This was sounding more and more dangerous by the second. Not like he could back out now, though, so he forced a grin and dipped his head dramatically to the rest of them. “Wish me luck. Into the unknown I go!” Then he turned and walked out, ears and tail high. Where was the stranger?
Nightpaw watched, shuffling his paws. He felt like he should have been the one to go, he really did, but he also knew Spiderpaw was right. He was in way too deep, and he couldn’t help how much he cared, how much he felt. Catchpaw didn’t believe in the dream, so he wouldn’t be as nervous. Right? Hopefully. He wanted to be more in control, but that wasn’t an option. He flicked an ear and glanced at Rainpaw, lowering his voice so only his brother could hear. “Are we doing the right thing, involving these cats?” He murmured. “It felt...safer...when it was only us.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 28, 2019 12:27:31 GMT -5
Rainpaw nodded at her, her seriousness reflected in his own eyes. "I will," he promised. He was well aware that it was a promise that would be difficult to keep, and he didn't make it lightly. But he did mean it - these cats were here because of him and Nightpaw. They were his responsibility.
And then, Nightpaw echoed his concerns out loud, and he glanced at him, ears flicking back as he failed to light the usual fire of anger he felt when he looked at his brother. He was just...too tired to be angry today. And they had more important things to do.
"It was safer with just us, and I don't like it either," he said simply, flicking his tail. "But they involved themselves. We had nothing to do with it, and if we tried to cut them out, they'd just investigate on their own. Overall, it's safer if we're a unit."
--
Redwhisker padded out of Cowstar's den, giving the leader a polite nod and then hurrying down the slope to disguise the disgusted ripple making its way down his spine. She didn't deserve his respect, and he wasn't giving it, not really, He was just taking advantage of her stupidity - the same naïveté that had led them here in the first place.
It was too easy.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 28, 2019 12:34:31 GMT -5
Nightpaw nodded, his shoulders relaxing slightly as Rainpaw failed to be angry with him. Maybe they were making progress after all. Maybe they could be a family again. “Okay.” He said, breathing out. “Okay. We’re doing the right thing here.”
—
Catchpaw caught sight of Redwhisker coming down from Cowstar’s den, and took a breath. Then he took another one for good measure, because he wasn’t actually ready at all, he was just pretending to be. “Here we go.” He muttered and headed for Redwhisker, his fur smoothed down in spite of it wanting desperate fluff up. “Hi!” He said cheerfully, stopped in front of the stranger as though he’d just noticed he was there. “Nice day. What’s your name? I forget whether you already said.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 28, 2019 12:43:29 GMT -5
Crowfur stopped, reeling back a little as a cat padded right up to him and immediately started making conversation. With a start, he realized he didn't know who he was. He was young, but despite that he didn't have any familiarity to him that would tell him whose kit he was. None of Blazeclaw's spark in his eyes, though he could be said to have her coat, and no sign of Hazelstreak's light build. Which probably meant he was just another stray Cowstar had dragged in from who knows where, he decided, suppressing his desire to curl his lip in disgust.
But the look on his face was friendly as he straightened up, slipping easily into his Redwhisker mask. "Hello," he said politely, dipping his head to the young apprentice. "My name is Redwhisker. Can I ask what yours is?"
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 28, 2019 13:11:09 GMT -5
“Catchpaw. Nice to meet you.” The apprentice replied easily, slipping into the conversation. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was supposed to be asking, but all he could do was try. “I wasn’t actually born here, I was a loner and Cowstar took me in. Nice place here. Where are you from?” Too obvious? He wasn’t sure, but it was too late to back out now, so in he went. Acting as over-confident in himself as he could. That was the best strategy he had available to him right now.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Nov 28, 2019 19:05:46 GMT -5
Crowfur shook his head, letting an expression of wistfulness sink into his pale yellow eyes. "Far, far from here," he said mournfully, his Redfur voice low and soothing. "My Clan was destroyed, and most of its members killed in a Twoleg invasion. I've been traveling ever since, but it seems that other clans are few and far between. You lot are the first ones I've encountered since my own clan was destroyed."
He tilted his head towards Catchpaw, curious. "Were you born here? Or does this Clan take in outsiders often?"
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 29, 2019 10:32:48 GMT -5
“Aww, I’m sorry.” Catchpaw tried for a sympathetic voice, which...could have gone better, but certainly could have gone worse, too. “What was your clan called? I’d love to hear stories about it. History is so interesting, especially with different clans and cultures to think about. I really love learning things about other clans.” He still thought he was being too obvious, but what could Redwhisker do about it? If he was evil, he couldn’t afford to call an apprentice out, and if he wasn’t he probably wouldn’t even catch on. What could happen? “Nope, I wasn’t born here. I’m pretty new, actually.” He continued, slipping easily into talking about himself. It was more natural than trying to pry information out, anyway. “So I don’t really know how common it is? But Cowstar was really welcoming and I feel so at home here! I hope you do, too.” Right. Move the conversation back to him. “What about your Clan? Did they take in strays often?”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Dec 1, 2019 13:27:49 GMT -5
Crowfur’s ears flicked forward, listening to the apprentice talk, and for the first time, suspicion began to crawl through his thoughts like fleas.
This apprentice was nervous. Was that just because he was new and talking to a stranger? Possibly. But overall, it seemed to contradict his general confident demeanor...was he hiding something? He was beginning to ask an awful lot of very specific questions, almost as if he was trying to...
He stopped, taking a breath. Calm down, he reminded himself. You can’t let paranoia derail things. Most likely, the cat was just an overly curious apprentice with no sense of boundaries, and he spent days on his alibi for a reason. Even if he did turn out to be testing him...that shouldn’t be an issue. As long as he was careful.
“One question at a time, young one,” he said, clearing all signs of stress from Redwhisker’s face as he spoke. “And yes - my Clan’s policy towards strays was extremely relaxed. Unfortunately, while it wa a very...kindly policy, I believe it was also what led to their downfall.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Dec 19, 2019 18:29:40 GMT -5
Catchpaw watched, but he missed most of the expressions flitting across Redwhisker’s face. “What do you mean?” He asked, curiousity getting the best of him. He was supposed to be searching for details, and instead he was getting wrapped up in Crowfur’s story. “How could that be their downfall? RoseClan is really nice, and it hasn’t hurt them at all. He almost glanced back at his friends, but resisted the urge in case it drew suspicion. “What was your clan called?” He added lamely, realizing his mistake.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Dec 19, 2019 18:40:12 GMT -5
Crowfur tilted his head, keeping a careful expression of soft amusement on Redwhisker's features. "Which of those questions would you like me to answer?" he asked patiently. "What the name of my Clan is, or the story of how we were destroyed?"
He could, of course, have answered both, but he'd said "one question at a time" just a second ago, and sticking to that like glue would give him a friendly, eccentric reputation that could be in his favor. Redwhisker wasn't old, so acting almost like an elder would make him seem mature for his age. That had been the plan, and so far, this 'Catchpaw' runt was making sure it went perfectly.
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