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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 4, 2019 9:50:05 GMT -5
Nightpaw’s jaw parted slightly as he saw his brother besides the deputy, but the other apprentice was gone before he could speak. He cringed a little as his blue gaze moved to Blazeclaw. Oh yeah. He’d run, with no plans to return, and there were consequences now that he had. Somehow he’d managed to forget. Before he could speak, one of his rescues pushed to the front and answered for him, and he shot the other cat a look of surprise. For someone who trusted no one, he was certainly eager to introduce himself....maybe, whoever he’d feared before had rules about that? Or maybe he simply wanted to avoid any misunderstandings before they happened. Either way, it gave Nightpaw an excellent reason not to talk about why he’d left, so he wasn’t going to complain. “They we’re starving, Blazeclaw. I knew Cowstar would be happy to have them, and I couldn’t just leave them out there to die.”
Firefly padded closer, staring up at Blazeclaw. The deputy looked as big as a wolf and twice as strong, and she found she couldn’t quite look away. She’d never seen anyone who wasn’t starving, before. Maybe Catch before he’d joined them, but even he had been skinny and not particularly well muscled. Blazeclaw.... “You look really strong.” The words slipped out without her meaning them too, but she didn’t try to take them back.
“Firefly, back up.” Catch nosed the other cat back, taking his place at Soot’s side and giving Blazeclaw a determined glare. “Don’t get us wrong, we don’t need you guys. If you don’t want us here, we’ll be fine on our own.” He growled, hackles raised just enough to make him look taller. “It doesn’t matter either way to us, so just make up your mind and we’ll decide what we want to do.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 4, 2019 11:00:38 GMT -5
Blazeclaw looked over the new arrivals, and her gaze softened as Soot introduced himself - he looked like the ringleader - followed by little Firefly, who was staring at her in awe, and...Catch, who seemed to be the group’s defender. It was almost like they already had a clan mentality - they’d be good warriors, and obviously Cowstar wouldn’t turn down a bunch of starving apprentice-aged cats. Especially not after losing Thornpaw. Like it or not, they were still perilously close to having a steep population decline if they didn’t get more youngsters in. She gave Catch a reassuring arch of her whiskers. “Don’t worry. We’re happy to have you - we have plenty of space here. Come on in, and I’ll get you settled. You can meet our leader in the morning.”
Soot stepped up, running his tail gratefully over Catch’s nose as he went. He knew this was dangerous, and he seemed impulsive to the larger cat by accepting it wholesale. But they didn’t have the same experience he did - they were close to dying out here. Just stumbling upon a clan out here was practically a miracle, and he wasn’t gonna throw it away. “Thank you,” he said, dipping his head. “We appreciate your hospitality.”
“Er...sure,” said Blazeclaw, caught off guard by the little cat’s excessive politeness. He had a weird way of speaking, but she couldn’t quite place it. Maybe it was a thing around here. As the cats walked past her, entering the camp, she shot Nightpaw a slightly less friendly look. “And as for you...this isn’t over.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 4, 2019 13:07:18 GMT -5
Catch glanced sideways at Soot, protest flickering in his eyes. Where had this trusting, confident cat come from? The Soot he knew would never just decide to follow some random huge cat into their group of extremely dangerous friends. “Yeah, just don’t try anything.” He muttered, shooting Blazeclaw a suspicious glance as he followed the other two inside. Staying out here when they weren’t didn’t even occur to him.
“Thank you.” Firefly echoed seriously, trotting past Blazeclaw and into the camp. She sped up so that she was ahead of the two toms, then froze, brown eyes widening until they looked comically large for her small face as she took in the camp. “Soot, look.” She whispered, tail lashing in excitement she couldn’t seem to contain. “There’s so many of them...and they’re all so big....”
Nightpaw returned the deputy’s stern look with his sullen one, and he couldn’t quite resist sticking out his tongue as he slipped past her. “Yeah, bite me.” He muttered under his breath, intending for her not to hear him. What did she think she could do to him, anyway? He’d been ready to leave it all behind. What was she gonna do, exile him?”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 4, 2019 13:14:37 GMT -5
Blazeclaw kept her stern look on until Nightpaw had his back turned, then stopped hiding her smile - this was the first time Nightpaw had been interested in something since Thornpaw was killed. It was a good sign, right?
“I know,” said Sootpaw quietly, flicking his tail as he scanned his surroundings carefully. These were Clan cats, for sure - this camp felt like home, and that was proof enough. But it also wasn’t home, and for that, he couldn’t be more grateful. He spotted the apprentices’ den easily, but took care not to take a step towards it - he couldn’t risk revealing that he was from a clan. Despite what Catch seemed to think, he didn’t trust these cats yet. Certainly not with the secret he hadn’t even told his friends. “Where should we sleep?” he asked Nightpaw instead, angling himself carefully away from the correct den.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 4, 2019 16:12:07 GMT -5
Firefly glanced up at Soot, seeing something shift behind his eyes like light on water. She couldn’t tell what it was, but something about this place was changing how he felt to her. She moved a little bit closer, more for his sake than hers, and came his shoulder a quick reassuring lick.
“Over there.” Nightpaw nodded towards the apprentices’ den, missing any sign that Soot already knew about it. “You guys should probably settle in and get so,e rest. I’m sure out leader, Cowstar, will want to talk to you tomorrow.” Wait. “Actually, hang on a minute.” Nightpaw sped up, leaving the, behind as he slipped into the den ahead of them. His brother was probably in there, and as much as he loved him, Rainpaw should not be one of the first cats shy newcomers meet without some warning.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 6, 2019 18:20:28 GMT -5
Sootpaw gave Firefly’s shoulder an affectionate flick with his tail, then began to enter the den, stopping as Nightpaw abruptly decided he wanted to go on ahead. Couldn’t blame him, he supposed. To these cats, he was the stranger. So he stopped and sat down, flicking his tail restlessly as he signaled for the others to wait. “Hang on,” he said, flicking an ear. “Wait for him to call us.”
Rainpaw was sitting inside, eyes distant, the tip of his tail moving just slightly to signal that he was attentive of his surroundings. As Nightpaw entered, he turned, the cold eyes he’d carried since the day Thornpaw died now fixed on his brother. “What is it?” he asked quietly, glancing past him and seeing nothing but darkness and the faint shadows of the strangers. “I can smell the cats you brought back.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 6, 2019 19:26:25 GMT -5
Firefly stopped in the middle of darting after Nightpaw, one paw held suspended above the ground and her hazel eyes confused as she glanced back at Sootpaw. “What? Why? I thought he was showing us where to sleep.”
Nightpaw took a couple steps towards his brother and stopped, about a fox-length between them It felt like a lot more. “They were starving.” He said, the need to explain himself much stronger with Rainpaw than it had been with Blazeclaw. “I found them, and I knew Cowstar would accept them. So I offered them a home here,” Right here. Nightpaw’s eyes wandered the den, sliding into every spot but the one he was most aware of. The one nest that lay, made but cold and untouched, in a soft dark corner set away from the entrance. “So they’re going to come sleep in here.” He continued, a strain in his tone that hadn’t been there before. Why was this so hard to say? “If that’s okay with you.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 6, 2019 19:50:04 GMT -5
Rainpaw listened to his brother talk, resisting the urge to tune him out because it seemed like what he was saying was probably important. New cats, starving, rescued, brought here. Sleeping here. “I don’t care,” he said dismissively, turning and hopping into his bed of dried grass and moss. “Do what you want.”
“He is,” said Sootpaw carefully, ears trained on what was going on inside. He couldn’t hear much, but there was the voice of another cat in there for sure. “But to these cats, we’re strangers. They need to be careful and cover their bases before they let us in completely.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 6, 2019 22:08:32 GMT -5
Firefly nodded, but her eyes were trained in the entrance and her big ears were pricked forward. She could here someone else in there....is that what Soot meant by ‘bases’? Maybe the other cat had to be told they were allowed here so they wouldn’t get attacked.
Catch glanced at Soot. The other cat looked somehow both cautious and at ease, and he couldn’t understand where the second one was coming from. It was like he knew what he was doing here, knew what to expect in a way he’d never seemed to out there. “They might be planning an ambush.” He added his own reasoning to Soot’s figuring the more the better in this case. “We have to be ready for anything, remember?”
Nightpaw’s tail lowered as the air seemed to rush out of him, leaving him flat and hollow. Rainpaw didn’t care. He wasn’t just pretending either...Nightpaw knew the difference between too much emotion and not enough, and this was the latter. Rainpaw didn’t care. And he wanted him to care so bad it was a physical pain in his chest, like what he’d always imagined a heart attack would feel like. He hesitated, searching for the right combination of sounds that would make the words his brother needed to come back, but he couldn’t find them. All he had was a meaningless jumble of his own mixed up feelings threatened to drown him if he let himself think about them. Some brother he was. He’d let Thornpaw die, and now it seemed he couldn’t save Rainpaw, either. He turned and slipped quietly out of the den. “Come on in.” He said, attempting his previous bright, welcoming tone with a surprising amount of success. “My brother Rainpaw is there, but he’s resting, so he might not talk to you guys tonight.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 6, 2019 22:49:52 GMT -5
(Midnight)
NnnnNNNIGHT - N-N-N A ghostly, forcefully flickering voice smashed through Nightpaw’s subconscious, freezing his dreams in place and sweeping away whatever has been there before. A barrage of images followed. An unfamiliar place. Their old camp. A jet black feather. The sound of water running. A car sweeping straight overhead. T-T-T-THIS IS A - A horrible, hair-raising scream that ended in a squelch. Feathers soaking slowly into a pool of black blood. A bird’s harsh call. The still form of a dead cat, and then... A sigil, one that stood out in horrible symmetry. The image stayed for a moment, and then, a dead body, soaking blood into the sigil...and eyes. Hundreds of eyes. Screaming. Horrible, endless screaming, and then... Darkness.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 6, 2019 23:16:05 GMT -5
Nigntpaw’s eyes opened. His heart beat frantically in his chest and he was shaking. Sweat drenched his black for to his body, making him look smaller, and for a moment all he saw was the flash of harsh lights crashing over him and the stench of blood made him feel sick. Shapes surrounded him, breathing shadows that reminded him of crows, dizziness slammed down over his vision. His trembling legs barely supported him as he left the den as fast as he could and fled the camp, but staying wasn’t an option, so he ran until his half-asleep paws caught on a rock and he lay where he fell, chest heaving. It was just a nightmare. He was no stranger to them, not before Thornpaw’s death and certainly not after. So why did this one make him feel like he’d died tonight and come back?
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 7, 2019 8:43:01 GMT -5
THUMP. Something with eight different sharp contact points struck Nightpaw from above, digging into his shoulders. A rush of wings and a whoosh of wind followed as the creature tried to take off, struggling under the weight of its slightly-too-large prey. It had just begun to achieve liftoff, when... A lithe black body crashed into the side of the predator at full speed. Startled, the claws retreated from Nightpaw’s shoulders, and as the attack from the unknown assailant continued, the massive owl seemed to decide that two cats wasn’t worth the struggle. It took off, and with a few audible flaps of its broad wings, disappeared into the night. Soot crouched on the ground, sides heaving, shaking from head to toe as he tried to recover his composure.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 7, 2019 8:55:02 GMT -5
Nightpaw gasped as pain stabbed him, drowning out the images he’d seen for a moment as he kicked out and tried to scream. And then the claws vanished and he collapsed, shivering, trying to force air into his lungs again. Dark red blossomed on his dark fur, soaking his shoulders, but it didn’t hurt as badly as he expected it too. Maybe he just didn’t have the brain cells left for pain. He pushed himself up, panting as he looked around for whoever had rescued him. His eyes widened a bit as they found Soot, and he couldn’t quite suppress his disappointment - he’d been stupid enough to let himself hope it was Rainpaw. “Th-thanks.” He gasped out, choking a bit on his words. Everything felt a little unreal, and the owl attack hadn’t helped that impression. “I...um....what are you doing out here?”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 7, 2019 9:28:51 GMT -5
Soot blinked, shifting his paws nervously. “I saw you leave,” he admitted. “I was keeping watch, and...” He took a breath. “Well, I know I have to follow your rules now that I’m in a clan. But I needed to know why you were slipping out while everyone was asleep. You smelled terrified, and that can’t possibly be good. Those two cats back there you found me with are my family, and it’s my job to make sure I’m not leading them into some kind of dangerous situation.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 7, 2019 19:32:08 GMT -5
Nightpaw didn’t answer right away. His chest felt tight and he was still trembling, either from the dream or his near-death experience. But as his gasps slowed and the other apprentice’ words made it through his head, his expression softened and the ghost of a smile touched his features. “Yeah, family comes first, always. I’m not mad at you, I was just...yeah, terrified describes it pretty well.” He looked away, ignoring the fluttering sensation in his chest. Soot wanted an explanation, of course he did, but Nightpaw didn’t have one. He opened his mouth a little, it was just a nightmare, but the words caught in his throat. “I don’t know.” He said helplessly, his voice very small as he admitted it to the stranger. “I was asleep, and then...I wasn’t. I’m sorry.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 9, 2019 10:19:59 GMT -5
“Wow. Apologizing for a nightmare. Very tough,” said Soot dryly, whiskers twitching. “Look, it’s fine. You clearly don’t have any crazy alterior motives here. Let’s just...get back to camp before you get in any more trouble than you’re already in for bringing us back in the first place?”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 9, 2019 18:40:51 GMT -5
It wasn’t a nightmare.Somehow, hearing Soot say it out loud was enough to make him sure of that. Nightpaw nodded his agreement without really hearing the other apprentice and turned back towards the dark shape of the camp. MORNING Thornpaw was at the front of Nightpaw’s mind when he woke up, tired from his disturbed night’s sleep. He rolled over, away from the sunlight creeping into the den, and tried to go back to sleep. Thornpaw’s eyes, pierced with terror and pleading with him to hear her silent cry. The dream was fading, but parts of it stuck out as sharp as thorns in his mind: the rawness of his throat as he screamed her name. Blood and feathers, black as night. A thin wail that seemed to come from all directions. He ran towards his sister and opened his mouth to tell her he was sorry, he was so sorry for not protecting her, and she was gone. A pattern carved in the earth. Every line of it seemed to have been scorched into his brain, he’d found his claws beginning to draw in the dust twice now. Once he’d almost finished. He closed his eyes, blocking the last image out of his mind. Or tried to. Then he swore under his breath and stood up, abandoning any thought he’d had of getting any more rest. Instead he headed out, hoping the daylight would help.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 9, 2019 19:21:57 GMT -5
The three cats from the previous night were being introduced to the clan already - his clanmates crowded the open camp, all craning their necks curiously to greet the newcomers. It seemed that the naming ceremony had already happened, but the three of them were just now being assigned mentors. Also there was the tall, lean shape of Rainpaw, sitting sturdily near the others. In a split second, Blazeclaw appeared from seemingly nowhere and began to shove him along towards the others. “Where were you, mousebrain?” she hissed, lashing her tail. “The naming ceremony’s already over. Now you’re all - “ “And from this day forward,” said Cowstar loudly, from her position atop the outcrop that held the leader’s den. “I am proud to announce that the mentoring system is being reinstated, for the benefit of our apprentices, new and old. So, without further ado,” She paused, looking over the five youngsters in her care. She knew who she was pairing with who, but she always got that twist in her stomach right before she actually did it. She wondered if she’d ever really get used to it. “Mintheart, I wish you were here to see this...” she murmured under her breath, and then straightened up, determined. “Nightpaw, you are apprenticed to Blazeclaw. Please greet your new mentor.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 9, 2019 19:56:23 GMT -5
Firepaw sat close to Sootpaw, her black fur just brushing his. She wasn’t really scared. It was new, and chaotic, and she was having trouble processing the reality of so many other cats, but when had she ever really understood what was going on? It didn’t really bother her. No, what annoyed her was having to give up the ‘fly’ in her name until she grew up. It felt like she now had to earn something that already belonged to her, that someone had probably given to her when she was a kit. And her name wasn’t even supposed to have anything to do with fire. It was supposed to be a bug. She could have at least gone with “Flypaw”, if she felt so strongly about changing it. Not that Firepaw had mentioned any of this, but she was pretty sure nothing would have been any different, so she was just sullen.
Catchpaw sat on the other side of Sootpaw, his eyes wandering the from face to unfamiliar face and his tail flicking back and forth. It felt at once both like home and nothing like home. He was used to cats milling around the farm, coming and going, pregnant and nursing queens trying to find enough mice to support themselves while any elders who’d somehow escaped all probability gnawed on any bones left by the strong. It didn’t really occur to hi, that it might be different here. That was just how life worked, wasn’t it? Already he was watching for an opportunity to snag some food for his two friends, and places they could safely eat it. “Do you think we’re going to get those things?” He muttered to Sootpaw as Cowstar spoke. “M....mentors...?”
Nightpaw helped as the deputy seemed to materialize for the sole purpose of chastising him. Yesterday’s incident flickered to life in his brain and he shot her a glare, then turned and trotted over to sit by a Rainpaw, resolutely not looking at his brother. Not after his dream...he wasn’t sure he could handle the coldness in Rainpaw’s eyes after that. Cowstar’s announcement got his attention. He straightened up, the thought of getting a mentor - an actual mentor - it was like they really were home again. A moment later he let out a low groan and glanced back at Blazeclaw, hesitating as his eyes found hers. So much for this being any fun. Did she feel as doubtful as he did about this?
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 10, 2019 9:19:28 GMT -5
Sootpaw watched both his friends as the ceremony continued, torn between fitting in and trying not to look like he knew all of this by heart. Sure, some of the details were different, but the basics of all of this he knew like the back of his paws. “Yeah, I think we’re all getting one,” he said, flicking his tail habitually over Firepaw’s shoulders as he spoke. “They’re supposed to teach us how to live here.”
If Blazeclaw had any reservations about the apprentice she’d been assigned, she wasn’t showing it. She stood straight and tall, staring proudly at her leader as she spoke. She looked...excited, even.
“Rainpaw, you are apprenticed to Brackenstep. Greet your new mentor, and may your time together be fruitful for you both.”
Rainpaw let out a barely-audible sigh of relief, angling his ears back respectfully as he was assigned a new mentor. At least it wasn’t anybody he knew. That was vastly preferable. He turned, dipping his head formally to Brackenstep to acknowledge this new pairing.
“Firepaw,” Cowstar continued, and Sootpaw perked up, waiting with bated breath to see who his little sister would be paired with. “You are apprenticed to Adderleaf. You may greet your new mentor.”
Adderleaf’s remaining ear shot up, and so did his tail, comically - he hadn’t expected to be given an apprentice at all, certainly not one of the new ones... He turned, giving Firepaw an enthusiastic tail flip, his remaining eye bright with excitement.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 10, 2019 11:34:21 GMT -5
Nightpaw blinked and straightened up, pleasantly surprised to find she didn’t seem to think he was already the worst thing to ever happen to her. That was a good sign, right? He padded over to her and touched his nose to his shoulder, remembering what he’d heard the other cats describe.
Brackenstep raised his head as his new name was called, surprise flashing visibly across his sharp features for an instant. To be entrusted with an apprentice of his own was more than he’d even thought possible, let alone dare hope. The shadow of his illness still cling to his bony frame and course fur, but he didn’t hesitate as he returned Rainpaw’s greeting, just as formal but touched by the joy blooming in his chest like a morning glory.
Firepaw gave a little inward gasp, starting even though she’d known she was going to get called. Her mud brown eye flicked to Sootpaw for a moment. He looked....happy. Proud even. Reassured, she turned back, searching the crowd for whoever “Adderleaf” might be. Her eye widened. Being paired with the only other one-eyed cat in the Clan was...well, it wasn’t subtle, was it? She scrambled over to him and stood up as straight as she could. She reared up and balanced on her hind legs for a second to reach his shoulder and give it a quick lick, showing that she didn’t hold Cowstar’s decision against him.
Catchpaw watched as Firepaw was called away from them, his pale eyes narrowing. He didn’t like her being so far away, so close to another cat....a stranger. He glanced at Sootpaw. He was surprised the smaller apprentice had let it happen so easily, it seemed so out of character for him to be fine with this. It was throwing Catchpaw off balance, making him doubt himself.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 10, 2019 17:53:45 GMT -5
“Catchpaw,” continued Cowstar, as if sensing his hesitation. “From here on out, you will be apprenticed to Lionstrike. May the two of you learn from each other during this time.”
Lionstrike lit up instantly, chest puffing out with pride, front paws kneading the ground as if she could barely contain her excitement. I got the fun one!!!
“Sootpaw, you are now apprenticed to Otterfrost.” She paused, looking over the two of them, and then over the rest of the Clan. “And Spiderpaw, you, as requested, are apprenticed to Splashpelt. This will conclude this meeting - may you all carry yourselves with grace and poise, and devote yourselves to your studies. RoseClan welcomes you, officially, as apprentices.”
Sootpaw glanced around the crowd, looking for who had just been chosen as his apprentice. He didn’t recognize the name - had he met him?
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 10, 2019 19:17:57 GMT -5
Catchpaw tensed, glancing around for whoever Lionstrike was supposed to be. Then he saw her. At least, he assumed she was the one who seemed about to explode with excitement over the whole thing. His whiskers twitched in spite of himself, and he looked away, back at Cowstar as she moved on the to part he really wanted to hear. Otterfrost....his eyes scanned the camp, looking for any cat who responded to the name. He needed to know who Sootpaw was getting paired up with so he could decide how worried he needed to be about it. But no one responded to the name. The bengal was nowhere to be found.
Splashpelt turned, pride obvious in his eyes as he looked at his new apprentice. It was official now, and he could still hardly believe that he was a mentor. “Today is your day.” He told the kit, his stump of a tail wiggling like a sheep’s like it always did when he was relaxed and excited. Which was to say, it hadn’t in a while now. “You pick. What would you like to do?”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 11, 2019 8:04:37 GMT -5
Spiderpaw’s excitement wasn’t as obvious, but he, too, was happy that Cowstar had accepted him as an apprentice. An apprentice to a true medicine cat, no less. This was an opportunity he never thought he’d have. “I want to learn the herbs and how to use them,” he said with a determined nod, the tip of his tail flicking slowly back and forth in contrast to Splash’s little sheep tail. “I did ‘t know it was even possible to heal cats before. I want to know more.”
Cowstar looked calm. Cowstar was not calm. He better have a good explaination, or his right to mentor would be revoked immediately. He’d seemed competent during the trials, if a bit eccentric, so she’d expected him to at least be around. She hopped down from the den and began to search the other dens for any sign of him, tail sweeping ominously back and forth as she did.
Sootpaw couldn’t hide his disappointment as no one stepped forward to claim him. Great, he’d been paired with some deadbeat. After he’d been excited to be an apprentice again, too. Oh, well. At least it was him, and not Firepaw or Catchpaw. It sounded so odd, putting a ‘paw on the end of his friends’ names. They were clan cats now, too.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 11, 2019 15:32:05 GMT -5
Splashpelt nodded, obviously pleased with the decision. “Memorizing what herbs did what was one of my favorite parts, too.” He told Spiderpaw, heading for the medicine den as he spoke and trusting that the apprentice would follow. “There are a few here I don’t recognize, but I guess we can figure those out together. I’ll show you the beside first, we should have a good stock of them.”
Catchpaw narrowed his eyes as no one came forward to greet his brother. It had been so obvious who the assigned mentor was for him and Firepaw, and one glance at the RoseClan leader told him they weren’t just missing this Otterfrost - he wasn’t actually there. “It’s okay, you don’t need some loser who can’t even be bothered to meet you.” He tried to comfort Sootpaw with his confident tone, and he nudged the smaller cat affectionately. “You’ve still got me. I can go yell at that leader cat for you if you want, just say the word.”
Firepaw looked up at Adderleaf, a little bit more shy now that the ceremony was over. “So what do apprentices do?” She asked, shifting her weight back and forth in equal parts excitement and nerves.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 11, 2019 17:56:58 GMT -5
“It’s fine,” said Sootpaw sullenly, in his best it’s-clearly-not-fine tone. “I don’t need a good mentor, anyway. I’ve made it this far, right?”
Spiderpaw followed close behind, ears pricked forward with interest as Splashpelt spoke. “Okay,” he said with a small nod, as they made it to the den. “So, how do you figure out what the herbs are you don’t know? There must be a way.”
Adderleaf glanced down at his new apprentice, finding an instant fondness for her attitude. Nervous, but determined. “Well, they learn to do do everything they need to do to take care of our clan,” he said, gaze sweeping over the camp as he spoke. “You get the active parts, like hunting, patrolling, and defense, and then you get the menial tasks too, like cleaning dens and making sure the fresh kill pile stays clean and fresh. I’m gonna teach you how to do all that, so when you’re a warrior, you won’t need anyone to show you.”
“Hey, Nightpaw.” Blazeclaw’s voice cut through the crowd from behind Night as she came up on him, eyeing him with her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the wounds on his back. “What happened? Did you run into a gorse bush or something?”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 11, 2019 18:19:21 GMT -5
“Exactly.” Catchpaw was definitely going to have to claw this mentor character across the nose the minute he showed up. Nobody got to let Sootpaw down when he was actually genuinely excited without some repercussions. “We don’t need these guys. We can sneak out tonight, if you want.”
At that moment, Otterfrost’s impressive figure stood up, shook off, and leapt down from the top of Cowstar’s den, a yawn fading from his face as he landed heavily next to Cowstar. “Hey.” He greeted her cheerfully. “What are we doing today?”
“There are a few ways.” Splashpelt confirmed, entering his den and heading to the back where he kept the herbs. “Some of them are safer than others, but most poisons aren’t strong enough to make you seriously ill just by tasting them, so sometimes you can just nibble it and see if you get sick. I don’t know how we discovered most of what we know, but it was probably through a lot of desperate times. Here we go.” He began taking dried leaves and laying them in a row, each type clearly separated from the others. “So you’ve been watching me for a little while now. Have you picked anything up already?”
“Got it.” Firepaw nodded, her brown eye bright. She looked at each spot as he named it, trying to memorize everything she could so he wouldn’t have to tell her twice, “So warriors just kind of do everything, huh?”
Nightpaw glanced back at Blazeclaw. He was already really done with having her as his mentor, honestly. Why couldn’t he have gotten Cowstar or something? “I bravely defended myself against a horde of bears, thanks for asking.” He answered, his voice steeped in almost as much sarcasm as his expression. Keyword there being almost. “Don’t worry, they should be gone now, thanks to my valiant efforts.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 16, 2019 19:25:40 GMT -5
“Where were you?” snapped Cowstar instantly, even more incensed than she’d been before by Otterfrost’s casual appearance. “I went over this yesterday. The apprenticing ceremony this morning??”
Sootpaw shook his head, suddenly grateful for the presence of his friend. “No, I...I don’t wanna sneak out. I think it’ll be good here. Thanks, though.” He leaned sideways into Catchpaw’s fur, heaving a small sigh. “And look! There’s my new mentor, getting the rattails chewed out of him by our new leader. That makes things better, right?”
“Most things, yeah,” said Adderleaf. “It’s a big responsibility, but it’s one we all share together, for our Clan.” He glanced down at his new little apprentice, taking a breath as her fur caught the wind and illuminated her single eye, bright with attention. He could hardly believe Cowstar had trusted him with someone as little and helpless as this. He...hadn’t thought she’d forgiven him. Shaking off the thought, he stood up. “So, I thought first, I’d show you our territory. Have you get to know our boundaries, and all the big landmarks, so you’ll never get lost. You up for it?”
“Congratulations, you’re a model apprentice already,” said Blazeclaw dryly. Then she stood up and stretched, first her shoulders, then all the way down to her tail. “Come on. Let’s go see Splashpelt. You don’t want those getting infected.”
“I have,” confirmed Spiderpaw, chest tightening a little as he was suddenly thrust headfirst into his first-ever test. “Uhm...so, those ferns, that’s what you used to treat Adderleaf’s wound. That and lots of cobwebs, and that plant right there.” He pointed to the goldenrod. “And for Brackenstep, you used, uh...those.” He jabbed his tail in the direction of the tansy, painfully aware that he had no idea what any of these things were called.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jun 16, 2019 20:25:49 GMT -5
“Right.” Splashpelt nodded, impressed but not surprised. Spiderpaw had an incredibly sharp mind and he wanted desperately to learn, which made the job of mentoring him seem both too easy and too hard. And extremely rewarding, “Goldenrod and tansy. Both common treatments for infection.” He nodded to each plant as he labeled it, then looked at Spiderpaw again. “For Brackenstep the infection was inside of him, so no one could see it.” He briefly considered bringing up the other cats Spiderpaw had know who had died of the same thing, but that seemed insensitive. It was probably best to move forward. “Here are some other common ones you’ll need to memorize.” He continued on and turned to the rest of his herb samples, “poppy seeds. You can dull pain with a few of them but they’re also good for getting cats to sleep, or calming them when they’re upset.” He went down the line, naming each one and explaining what it did one by one. There were more of course, but he’d tried to go over the most commonly used ones.
Otterfrost flinched, his ears flattening against his head as he realized she was angry with him. “I meant, other than that, what are we doing today?” He tried again in a small voice, trying to think what he could have done wrong. He’d assumed he didn’t have anything he was supposed to be doing until they told him he did, but maybe he’d been expected to copy them and figure it out as he went. Either way, it felt unfair of her to assume he would just know what she expected from him, but she was already mad and he didn’t want to make her more mad by saying that, so he waited for her to say something he knew what to do with.
Firepaw pricked her ears, nodding seriously as he explained. It was a big responsibility, being an apprentice, and he warmed her to think of it resting with her. Then she noticed Adderleaf’s expression. It wasn’t surprising, not really, given her size and her high pitched voice and her tendency to bound instead of walk. She was used to looks like that, even liked them from Sootpaw because it made her feel secure, but not her brand new mentor. She didn’t want her brand new mentor to look at her like a three day old kit, like he’d been charged with babysitting instead of mentoring. She looked away and tried not to let any of it show in her eye, because she knew it would make it worse if he saw. Instead she tried to sound as bright and energetic as before as she nodded an enthusiastic reply. “Of course I am! It’s my first day, I want to do everything.”
“Fine.” Nightpaw turned and headed for the medicine den without another word to his mentor, trotting in the hope that she would let him go alone. The cuts stung, but they weren’t that bad - they probably looked worse than they really were. He expected Splashpelt to say the same thing and send him away, really. He stepped into the den and stopped, his tail raising in surprise at the sight of another young cat already there. “Spiderpaw, right?” He asked, taking another step forward so he was fully inside. “The new medicine cat apprentice?”
Catchpaw glanced over, smirking in spite of himself as he saw the oversized tom getting a lecture. Judging by the look on the two cats’ faces, it was hitting home. “Definitely.” He agreed, looking back at Sootpaw. The ‘paw seemed already to have solidified in his head, a thought that made him oddly uncomfortable. “Hey, Soot....why do you want to stay with these strangers? I know we weren’t doing well, but why not recover here and move on? I know we could do it, you and me and Firefly.”
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jun 17, 2019 12:13:38 GMT -5
“Mm. The other cats who died had the same thing, but nobody knew how to stop it,” said Spiderpaw, easily bringing up the subject himself. To him, it was simply relevant information, not a painful reminder. It was valuable data. “Goldenrod, tansy, poppy seeds,” he repeated faithfully, storing the information away in his mind for future use. He listened carefully to his mentor’s description of what poppy seeds are used for, and flicked his tail, curious. “So, if you gave a lot of them to a cat, would it stop their heart entirely? You can only be so calm before you’re dead.” Whatever Splashpelt thought of that question, though, there was no time for an answer - Nightpaw had joined them, and he’d looked better. “Those are owl marks,” he blurted, as he saw the scratches and connected the dots instantaneously. Then, he paused, backtracking. “Oh, yeah. I’m Spiderpaw.”
Sootpaw narrowed his eyes, hesitating. He shouldn’t do it, and yet...Catchpaw was his brother. He wouldn’t do anything. “I...” He paused, and began again, claws sliding in and out of their sheaths. “I need to tell you something, but you have to promise you’ll never tell anyone. Not even Firepaw.”
“The ceremony’s over,” she said tail lashing. “It already happened - like I told you yesterday, it was happening at sunrise. You were given an apprentice, and you weren’t there for him.” She breathed in sharply, trying to reign in some of her anger. “Look. I know this is all new to you. But you need to give me some sign that you’re taking this seriously.”
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