Pondpaw sat quietly beside Tuftedtusk, listening intently as Dawnstar made her announcements. The naming of new apprentices and the assignment of their mentors was a familiar scene, but it was always significant. She watched the kits — now apprentices — step forward, feeling a pang of nostalgia for her own joining ceremony not too long ago. She had already been an apprentice, but she had joined ShadowClan because she had not liked the way Fadingstar and Dusklion had been running RiverClan - especially whenever Fadingstar had had Fogmuzzle executed.
As Dawnstar's tone shifted to the mention of Rainpaw's death, Pondpaw felt a chill run down her spine. Another life lost, and one so close to her age. She glanced at Tuftedtusk, seeking some kind of reassurance in his steady presence. The mention of the poisoned outsiders and the new kit, Yewkit, added another layer of unease. There was always so much happening in the Clan, and it never seemed to slow down.
When Dawnstar finished, Pondpaw felt a mix of emotions — sadness for Rainpaw, curiosity about Yewkit, and a rising tension at the mention of RiverClan. She knew that being vigilant was more important than ever, but the constant threat of conflict was exhausting.
She leaned slightly closer to Tuftedtusk and whispered, "There's always something, isn’t there? I feel like we barely have time to breathe before the next crisis hits. But… we’ll be ready if RiverClan comes, won’t we? Not that I´m scared of them," Pondpaw added on quickly. She had been a RiverClan cat herself once, but now she was ShadowClan, and she wasn´t afraid to rip the pelt off of one of her former Clanmates.
Pondpaw’s voice was steady, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her eyes as she looked up at her mentor, seeking both guidance and comfort in the face of all the turmoil surrounding them.
QUILLPAW he/him. 9 moons. dark grey tom; tabby markings; light grey markings, amber and blue eyes.
[ mind reader ]
the meeting starts at it usually does, quillpaw's mind now fully focusing on his grandmother. a group of kits are called forward for their apprentice ceremony. yet, unlike the last few times, there's no apprentices called up for their warrior ceremony. the tabby tilts his head at this realization, glancing around the crowd with a displeased look in his eyes. how disappointing. not that he cares anyway, unless it's one of his siblings. or himself..which, he needs to hurry up.
his ear twitches as his grandmother announced that the restriction is lifted. he's not too interested in the information, considering only warriors can leave the camp on their own. it doesn't really benefit him in any shape or form. still, his gaze is locked on the leader as she continues on. apprentices getting assigned – oh, squirrelrise got an apprentice, hm? if he remembers correctly, that's mistlewhisker's former apprentice. she looks notably less..jittery than she was a moon or so ago. still, she's a little lackluster.
his eyes widen just a smidge at the next words his grandmother utters, expression going blank for a split second before he masks it with his normal scowl. ah. another one of his littermates gone. how many were left now, besides himself ..maybe four? his chest feels..weird at this realization. disturbingly enough, he's not sure what exactly he's feeling, he can't pinpoint it - but it's nothing good. his eyes sting for some reason, and reasoning he must have a speck of dirt in them, he lifts a paw to rub at them.
it's best to not think about it too much. actually, quillpaw refuses too. he does not care, is what he convinces himself. instead, he focuses on the news of a kit being found in the territory with two dead parents. poisoned? either those they were stupid enough to eat some death berries, or someone poisoned them and they just so happened to die in shadowclan territory. probably the first one. and oh, riverclan. he almost forgot about that sad little group. with a short, he prepares to pad away from the grimpeak as his grandma dismissed the clan.
The tall warrior turned her head back to the announcements, attempting to hide her trembling paws behind her long tail. Nocat knew, not yet, so she was fine for now. As long as nocat (besides Rookfire maybe but she doubted he wanted to say anything more than hello) noticed her then nocat would see the absolute mess she was. But then her name was called among many and Mudslide visibly shrank back despite her best efforts to keep her shoulders square and her gaze steady. But no. Oh no she felt sick. Dawnstar, probably prompted by the oh so delightful stars above, decided to give emotionally unstable Mudslide an apprentice. It must've been odd, seeing the oriental's expression flick from total calm to true panic in a matter of heartbeats before settling back into neutrality. She desperately looked for Roachflare's gaze in the crowd, but he was most likely far from where the Grimpeak was, lurking in the shadows where Mudslide should've been.
"Mosquitopaw," she rasped softly. Okay, okay. It's fine, her whole life didn't lay on this kids shoulders. She wouldn't get attached, she wouldn't care, she'd just see it as any other duty, like a long and unexpected patrol. Her paws wobbled with every step and her jaw was clenched taut. Once she finally saw the apprentice, the warrior bowed her head and touched her pink nose to his forehead. "Congrats...."
She didn't want to think about it. The life that had been lost. The life she had given birth to - snatched from her all too soon. Each time a little part of her heart crumbled away, replaced by nothing but a hollow void. What had her life come to? How was one to place a paw and move forward? When one had no choice.
She'd given birth to thirteen, her pride and joy after her other kits. Now only five remained.
SQUIRRELRISE she/her. 14 moons. small, scarred russet molly with brown markings and yellow eyes.
[ chill of death, hulk SMASH ]
a group of kits are called up to start their apprenticeship, like most meetings. squirrelrise gives a small shuffle of her paws, eyeing the gaggle curiously. maybe she'll get an apprentice this meeting? er, wait. is she even qualified for one? yes, she's a warrior but is she skilled enough to - I'm not a bad warrior, she internally corrects, shoo-ing away the cloud of negativity that threatened to form. luckily, the news of the restriction being lifted brightens her spirits a considerable amount. shadowclan is doing better, and the killer is either gone or simply stopped. the latter possibility causing her gaze to flicker about.
the warrior visibly shrinks at her name being called, even more so when she notices dawnstar's fiery gaze sweep past her. she has a apprentice. oh stars, she has an apprentice! rising to her paws, the russet molly isn't sure if she feels sick or if she's excited..both, she thinks both. her legs waver, heart racing as she approaches wormpaw. okay, she's just gotta breathe!! which is a little hard right now, but that's okay!
"ah..erm..er..hi..wormpaw. it - it's nice..to meet..y-you..." squirrelrise greets, trying to keep her voice an even tone, though it weakens near the end. oh, yeah, she needs to touch noses! so, she leans in to touch noses with the younger feline if he allows. then she takes a seat as dawnstar moves on with the meeting. an apprentice died? her heart clenches, maw pulled downwards in a frown. one of her grandkits, too, she mentally notes. adding onto the list of the dead were two outsiders who's kit was brought in.
"riverclan.." she murmurs, a shiver running down her spine. there were supposed to be four clans, but the idea of riverclan returning and wanting to fight ..well, part of her wishes they'd stay away. the prospect of having another fight with the clan leaves her feeling sick, and glad when the meeting is dismissed. starclan may have been on her side for her first battle, but she's not sure she'd be so lucky a second time. wormpaw, she reminds herself, yellow gaze landing on the black and white apprentice.
"..we will..s-start your training..tomorrow." she meows, briefly glancing up at the sky. er, actually - "unless..you'd prefer..to s-start today." she adds on a heartbeat later.
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Re: ShadowClan Grimpeak
Shadepaw Pure black pelt; dark mackerel markings; amber eyes
She/her || 6 moons || ShadowClan Apprentice Agatha Kitty - Silver Tongue - Shadow Fiend
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Shadepaw. She is Shadepaw now. No longer a kit. It was done. The moment passed quickly, her name listed among others; Though she wasn't disappointed. She knew she had to work for recognition. And now she had the chance to.
Her mentor was Shrewstep. She noticed where Dawnstar had gestured, to a brown cat in the crowd. Hopefully, Shrewstep would be a good mentor. A strong one. He'd train her, and she'd do everything right. She'd hate to have a weak mentor who wouldn't do a good enough job.
Her gaze flitted back to Dawnstar, who had begun to talk again. A reassignment, a death, a new kit, and a reminder about Riverclan. Nothing very important.
She glanced at Mosquitopaw. He's an apprentice now, too. Huh. She wondered whether they were going to train together. Maybe. Probably not. She didn't know. It didn't matter. Maybe it would be nice to train with a friend, a voice in her head whispered suddenly. What? she shot back. Is that what Mosquitopaw is? A friend? She hardly even knew him. She tamped down the thought. I have better things to be doing than thinking about this.
After Dawnstar stopped talking, she looked to Shrewstep again. Time to meet her mentor. She got to her paws and walked over, her steps calm. Amber eyes flashing, she dipped her head respectfully in greeting. "Hello."
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Last edited by snowflake.; August 26th, 2024 at 09:05 PM.
And just like that, Mosquitopaw's got his new name, now, bright and shiny and—huh. Dread catches his elation by the tail and yanks it back. He even flinches. An apprentice was found dead in their den??? D...Dawnstar can't say that! He has to sleep in there! His friends have to sleep in there!!
Mosquitopaw whips his head around as if to check that none of those friends have suddenly dropped due to Mysterious Dead Apprentice Syndrome already, checking the cats nearest to him and then peeking back over one skinny shoulder to find Wildpaw's bright orange coat. Everyone appears to still be alive.
Okay.
Okay, cool.
He's sure they won't mind if he just memorizes where they all sleep later on and he's also pretty sure that nobody would mind, much, if the very first chore he decides to prioritize is den reinforcement, since that's relevant and productive-sounding. Who's going to begrudge a decision made to double-triple-quadruple-fortify the apprentice's den against any and all evils? Like, just in case? Nobody. Because that'd be silly. Safety is a good thing and so are chores.
Cool.
Cool, cool.
Mosquitopaw. Oh, yes, that's him now. The lanky creature turns, careful with his paws now that the excitement's had a chance to run its course, and blinks round eyes at Mudslide. There's a kind of preylike caution there, but he'a sure to blink it away quick. Warriors aren't scary. His mentor certainly isn't scary...is she? Mosquitopaw stares. He can't help it. Mudslide seems...she's...is she okay? Remains to be seen. What he does know for sure is that she's just congratulated him, and he needs to respond.
"Um, you t—," he falters. Does he congratulate her back? Or is that...does that make him sound...hrm. "Thank you." Mosquitopaw corrects himself awkwardly. Part of him wants to ask if she's alright. The rest of him wonders if that's a rude thing to ask right now. Maybe she's just like this and he just needs to get with the program. He'd hate to make a big deal out of a misunderstanding...but if she's not okay, then he's rude for not saying anything. Maybe. Right? She just, sort of, seems like maybe she might not be doing great. But what does Mosquitopaw know? Well. Alright. He can at least say something. Something upbeat. Not overwhelming. Neutral-positive. Friendly but not overly concerned. Nice but not patronizing. Normal. Like...
"I-It, uhm. It's." Mosquitopaw clears his throat. "S'gonna be okay." ...Okay, yeah. Sure. He's not sure that fits the qualification of not patronizing and is definitely going to spend the next few days recalling the clumsy statement with an embarrassed shudder, but uh. No takebacks.
He was now Palepaw. A new apprentice ShadowClan could look forward to, and just his luck, the restrictions on the camp was finally lifted, that meant he was free to finally roam as he liked. He'll finally be in the outside world, with the forest, the wind and beyond. Excitement jittered in his paws and all the way to his ears as he bounded away from the Grimpeak searching for his mentor. 'What's his name again... Fly...Fly...Flytail! That's right! I gotta find Flytail!'
'I'm an apprentice!
I'll finally get to learn all the warrior things!
And go outside and, and, and meet my mentor!'
The diluted calico kitten jumped around getting a good look in the crowd. Where was his mentor? He took a few glances in the sea of cats, his little legs not letting him scan the clearing very far. The clearing was like a storm, and his mentor had to be one of them, one of the many sparkles in the ocean.
Pondpaw sat quietly beside Tuftedtusk, listening intently as Dawnstar made her announcements. The naming of new apprentices and the assignment of their mentors was a familiar scene, but it was always significant. She watched the kits — now apprentices — step forward, feeling a pang of nostalgia for her own joining ceremony not too long ago. She had already been an apprentice, but she had joined ShadowClan because she had not liked the way Fadingstar and Dusklion had been running RiverClan - especially whenever Fadingstar had had Fogmuzzle executed.
As Dawnstar's tone shifted to the mention of Rainpaw's death, Pondpaw felt a chill run down her spine. Another life lost, and one so close to her age. She glanced at Tuftedtusk, seeking some kind of reassurance in his steady presence. The mention of the poisoned outsiders and the new kit, Yewkit, added another layer of unease. There was always so much happening in the Clan, and it never seemed to slow down.
When Dawnstar finished, Pondpaw felt a mix of emotions — sadness for Rainpaw, curiosity about Yewkit, and a rising tension at the mention of RiverClan. She knew that being vigilant was more important than ever, but the constant threat of conflict was exhausting.
She leaned slightly closer to Tuftedtusk and whispered, "There's always something, isn’t there? I feel like we barely have time to breathe before the next crisis hits. But… we’ll be ready if RiverClan comes, won’t we? Not that I´m scared of them," Pondpaw added on quickly. She had been a RiverClan cat herself once, but now she was ShadowClan, and she wasn´t afraid to rip the pelt off of one of her former Clanmates.
Pondpaw’s voice was steady, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her eyes as she looked up at her mentor, seeking both guidance and comfort in the face of all the turmoil surrounding them.
°•○◇ TUFTEDTUSK ◇○•° He/Him • Enforcer • 30M • ShC A large marbled tabby tom with large tusk-like teeth
---
The toms ears flicked and he nodded solemnly at Pondpaw. RiverClan returning did make the large enforcer uneasy, but at the same time, he relished seeing them again. If only for an excuse to sink his claws into Owltalons pelt and take some of her fur to line his nest with.
"We will be ready, Pondpaw." He assured his apprentice, placing his tail comfortingly on the she-cats shoulder.
So he had been sort of correct. The new apprentices had indeed affected him, as he was given Shadepaw to train in place of the now-missing Silkpaw. Shadepaw. Seemed calm enough, not hopping about in excitement or overly anxious, probably a good thing. Then again Shrewstep was the type to be hopping about himself, he certainly had at first, but that was another problem entirely. He would at least TRY and match the relatively demure Shadepaw's focus, and maybe allow himself a bit more bouncing about later. Maybe once they got to some battle training.
His catbrows raised slightly at the news of a dead outsiders. Poisoned. That was an odd death, one he hadn't seen much. It seemed like more of a....clan thing to do, honestly. Done in stealth, when stealth was needed, not in the lawless outskirts where it was survival of the fittest, the ends justifying the means. The result was less certain with poison, why not slay them with honor, with your claws. Perhaps the killer was simply a coward, honorless and seeking to preserve their own life regardless of those fallen by the wayside. He wasn't a fan, but it wasn't really his place to pass judgement.
An apprentice dead in their den was a greater cause for worry, though he imagined the death had been determined unpreventable if Dawnstar wasn't ranting and raving about it. She didn't take threats calmly, the cannibal restrictions and their slow removal was solid evidence of that, so he could relatively easily conclude that she thought this an isolated incident. It would be a bit creepy for the new apprentices though, especially if one was forced to take over Rainpaw's nest. The new apprentices. His apprentice. Right. Hello! he chirped, already failing his internal promise to be calm. We'll have a nice look around the territory now that we're free to do that! Well, he'd been free to be out and about as an enforcer, but it had always felt a bit wrong. Now he would have no foolish qualms. @snowflake. (I'll pop a starter up in the territory for the tour, no rush though!)
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Re: ShadowClan Grimpeak
Re: ShadowClan Grimpeak
