𝒇orever shifting - Tuesday's Challenge Oneshot
Jun 11, 2017 23:40:46 GMT -5
kinkajou and FåwnFrøst like this
Post by кєѕтяєℓ on Jun 11, 2017 23:40:46 GMT -5
“Ripplefur, you are ready to take on an apprentice.”
I look up, eyes widening in surprise. My stony, solemn grey fur shifts to a vibrant gold, that of joy.
“You have received excellent training from Snowsong, and have shown yourself to be brave and adaptive.”
I do not miss the small joke at my power, and I smile, warm colors flowing into my pelt.
The grey-furred apprentice grins at the obvious display of power, something that he will get to experience later, when he goes to the fallen star to receive his own powers, and I beam back at him.
“You will be the mentor of Rookpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him.”
I step forward to touch noses with the young tom. A flare of magic sparks in the air, bonding us together as mentor and apprentice, and a swell of pride rises within me, turning my fur a soft cream color.
My life has changed, and I am happy for it.
- - -
“When do we actually get to start using this stuff?” My grey-furred apprentice says flippantly, a bored look on his face as he demonstrates a sloppy hunting crouch. My thoughts break away from his apprentice ceremony, nearly a moon ago now, focusing instead on him. My eyes narrow.
“You’re using it now,” I fight the urge to growl at him, a wave of ginger annoyance slicing through my fur. We have been at odds since that first day, touring the territory. We are polar opposites. The training I give him is not appreciated; the snide remarks he shoots at me are not acknowledged.
This would-be calm day in the meadow, practicing hunting, is instead full of frustration. He refuses to learn. I refuse to stop teaching him. We are both too stubborn to back down.
“I mean, actually hunting,” he rolls his eyes as if he can’t believe I missed what he meant.
I barely resist the temptation to send him to GarnetClan, where the hunting’s rough, and not let him back until he catches something. At least then he would appreciate my training, possibly even the battle training. I flick my tail instead, brushing away the dry, cold grass before it rises back up.
I take a steadying breath, colors on my pelt stilling to become an impassive black. “If you’re not going to train, then you can go back to camp to clean the elder’s den out.”
“Fine.” He turns, lashing his tail, and storms away towards the pines, into the forest.
“Fine.” I say to his back, childishly, remaining where I am in the peaceful grass. The wind whistles through the plants, making an almost eerie noise. Like breathing, but not quite.
I don’t know how long I remain here, in the golden stalks, watching the sun cross the sky, before I head back to JadeClan. There are a few patrols returning, dropping off their prey and going to report to Blackmask, the deputy. I go and sit by Honeystep, a warrior about my own age, beside the small stream that runs through camp.
“There’s been reports of a fox by the GarnetClan border,” she says as I settle myself beside her.
“Has it crossed to our territory?” I look around camp, searching for my apprentice.
“The border patrol didn’t see it, but it was scented in the forest last patrol; it just got on the territory. They're going to send out the senior warriors to lead it away at moonrise." I don’t spot his familiar dusky pelt; he must still be in the elder’s den. Good.
“Where’s Rookpaw?”
I look towards her sharply, a sliver of white fear streaking through my pelt. “What do you mean? I sent him to clean the elder’s nests.”
Worry dominates the golden she-cat’s face. “Nobody’s seen him since you two went out for hunting training this morning.”
My stomach drops, and the pieces slide together.
‘When are we going to use this stuff? I mean, actually hunting.’
Him stalking away towards the forest.
The forest where the fox currently is.
Oh StarClan, the fox.
I jump to my feet, tail fluffed up and the white color of fear rolling across my pelt and through my belly.
“Ripplefur?” Honeystep asks, her voice concerned.
“I’ve got to find him,” is all I can say before I’m off, bolting through the underbrush, ignoring the branches as they slice across my pelt. I have to get to him, before the fox does. My frantic heartbeat matches my pawsteps, and my thoughts race.
What have I done? If I’m too late… this is all my fault. He’s been in the forest most of the day, and it's nearly evening. Could the fox have attacked him? What if it did? What if it pounced on him while he was trying to hunt with his stupidly sloppy hunting crouch? As the dark thoughts cross my mind, I waver, stumbling over a root. Blue-grey grief rises through my fur as I stand up and turn in panicked circles, searching. There is no noise, no scent, nothing to betray where he might be. My chest tightens as the seconds stretch longer.
A sudden scream cuts through the tense silence, and I almost stumble over myself in the rush to run to the source. I imagine it is him, I hope it is him. That would mean he is still alive.
I burst through the ferns to find a small clearing. Rookpaw, there. And the fox, in front of him. My apprentice’s fur is fluffed up in an attempt to look bigger, and an expression of deathly fear is on his face.
I charge forward, taking the fox by surprise as I slice its muzzle with sharp claws. My fur turns russet with anger, and the beast looks confused for a second at the sudden change. I step in front of Rookpaw almost subconsciously, protecting him. The fox snarls, leaping at me, but I dart under its head to bite at its neck. It recoils as my teeth pierce its thick fur and starts shaking its head in an effort to throw me off. I kick at its underside, claws unsheathed.
My fur is changing colors, trying to confuse the creature, but it only works momentarily, and it’s taking a lot out of me. My grip falters for a second, and the fox easily flings me away. I land with a thump at the base of a tree, and it stalks towards me. I struggle to push myself up, but it’s getting closer.
Without warning, a dark grey blur darts towards the fox, leaping onto its back. I watch, stunned, as my apprentice swipes at the fox’s thick ginger fur, taking out a chunk of it. The fox rears back, and he falls off, but the red-furred beast doesn’t bother to attack again. Instead it growls at him and hurries off, not wanting to fight a losing battle.
We both watch as its white-tipped tail disappears into the forest, heading towards GarnetClan territory. I am bleeding, but not much, and Rookpaw barely has a scratch on him. I turn towards him, mouth open, about to speak, but he says something that renders me speechless.
“Thanks.” It’s such a simple word, and it seems inadequate for the double saving-of-lives. I wonder if I've heard him say 'thanks' before; I don't think I have. I stand up, wincing as my back foot hits the ground, before turning to walk beside him.
“What are mentors for, if not saving their idiotic apprentices from foxes?” I reply, not meeting his eyes, focused on my pawsteps. My pelt shifts to look like his own, dark stony grey, except for my one white paw--that never changes. He smiles weakly at me.
“Not much else, to be honest,” he remarks jokingly, but not with nearly as much malice as he would have, once. I cuff him lightly with my fluffy tail.
He takes it in stride, and we pad off silently towards camp. Wondering. Reminiscing. Now I think of him not as an annoying kit, but as an apprentice to be proud of, my apprentice. I wonder if the fight with the fox hadn’t happened, if I would have thought that about him. He drives me crazy, but I can tolerate it, I decide as we walk together through the pines, cold air ruffling our fur.
This one-shot was written for this week's Tuesday Challenge. The prompt was change, and I immediately thought of Ripplefur with his furshifting, or being able to change the color of his pelt at will, one of the many powers that JadeClan cats can get after visiting with StarClan later on in their apprenticeship. Along with that rather obvious changing in this story, there was the change of Ripplefur becoming a mentor and the change in his relationship with Rookpaw.
This story is 1,401 words long.
I hope you enjoyed reading!
/j