Newtbelly let out a small grumble, his claws catching on bark. He'd thought it'd be a nice idea to gather some fresh moss for the elder's den, from the cedars by the warriors' den, but he was soon realising just how long ago it was when he last gathered any. The tortoiseshell lifted his paw, thankfully detaching it from the bark. It was impossible not to let out a sigh of relief. He did not feel like going on a trip to the medicine den this morning, especially not over something like a caught claw. Sleepysunrise would probably laugh in his face, or something. He wasn't sure, he never knew what would happen with her.
He continued to peel at the moss, pausing briefly to look over his shoulder at the clearing. Was much going on?
[feel free to have Tick appear from wherever LOL!]
@Fritter
Newtbelly let out a small grumble, his claws catching on bark. He'd thought it'd be a nice idea to gather some fresh moss for the elder's den, from the cedars by the warriors' den, but he was soon realising just how long ago it was when he last gathered any. The tortoiseshell lifted his paw, thankfully detaching it from the bark. It was impossible not to let out a sigh of relief. He did not feel like going on a trip to the medicine den this morning, especially not over something like a caught claw. Sleepysunrise would probably laugh in his face, or something. He wasn't sure, he never knew what would happen with her.
He continued to peel at the moss, pausing briefly to look over his shoulder at the clearing. Was much going on?
[feel free to have Tick appear from wherever LOL!]
@Fritter
TickPaw had woken up only a few mere moments ago as he idled near the apprentice den, not entirely sure what to do for the day. The weather and general day was… meh.. it wasn’t particularly warm but he wasn’t too cold either- although that would probably be a result of his thicker fur- but still nothing significant. His eyes wondered over the clearing as he tried to pick out something to do from the variety of cats but there really wasn’t anything notable happening here either. Sure, there were cats doing regular camp duties or heading out if camp but it wasn’t as if he was allowed to go out hunting without company- mostly because he didn’t have a good grasp of the territory yet. He moved out from the apprentice den and- then he noticed somecat familiar.
He recognised their name immediately of course, it was NewtBelly- his mentor, possibly friend? Either way, he still felt immensely more awake the realisation that they were still around. So many new and different cats yet only a few high rank changes. He shuffled slightly closer before a question came into view, did newtbelly remember him? He held doubt it was true, maybe a faint memory but Tickpaw wasn’t anything significant. Mother would surely agree. He mustered up a bit of courage and energy and took a few pawsteps forward, it felt uncanny to be looking at somecat who he had known as a mentor a long while ago. “NewtBelly?” TickPaw called, gaze locked on the familiar face. He had dealt with seeing cats he recognised since he had returned but not a cat he recognised this much. What if he didn’t remember. Tickpaw shuddered, he couldn’t imagine it was easy to remember him but it would still sting if he got a ‘who are you?’ In return. ”My name is Tickpaw, if you remember?” Tickpaw visibly took a pawstep back or so, there was the very real and very possible chance that he’d introduced himself to a stranger.
(Slightly rushed this )
__________________
”The cookie you knew is no more, for he has fallen deeper than the deepest abyss.”
TickPaw had woken up only a few mere moments ago as he idled near the apprentice den, not entirely sure what to do for the day. The weather and general day was… meh.. it wasn’t particularly warm but he wasn’t too cold either- although that would probably be a result of his thicker fur- but still nothing significant. His eyes wondered over the clearing as he tried to pick out something to do from the variety of cats but there really wasn’t anything notable happening here either. Sure, there were cats doing regular camp duties or heading out if camp but it wasn’t as if he was allowed to go out hunting without company- mostly because he didn’t have a good grasp of the territory yet. He moved out from the apprentice den and- then he noticed somecat familiar.
He recognised their name immediately of course, it was NewtBelly- his mentor, possibly friend? Either way, he still felt immensely more awake the realisation that they were still around. So many new and different cats yet only a few high rank changes. He shuffled slightly closer before a question came into view, did newtbelly remember him? He held doubt it was true, maybe a faint memory but Tickpaw wasn’t anything significant. Mother would surely agree. He mustered up a bit of courage and energy and took a few pawsteps forward, it felt uncanny to be looking at somecat who he had known as a mentor a long while ago. “NewtBelly?” TickPaw called, gaze locked on the familiar face. He had dealt with seeing cats he recognised since he had returned but not a cat he recognised this much. What if he didn’t remember. Tickpaw shuddered, he couldn’t imagine it was easy to remember him but it would still sting if he got a ‘who are you?’ In return. ”My name is Tickpaw, if you remember?” Tickpaw visibly took a pawstep back or so, there was the very real and very possible chance that he’d introduced himself to a stranger.
He squinted, noticing a cat lingering by the apprentice den. They looked an awful lot like Tickpaw. But, it couldn't be Tickpaw. That apprentice was long gone, it seemed. His heart still sunk to remember it. It wasn't uncommon for cats to go missing. for whatever reason. He'd seen it first hand. But, when it's your first apprentice, it not easy. Weird, though. He'd never seen them around before, but they didn't look all too young - they couldn't be a new apprentice. He knew he wasn't a social cat, but he tended to at least recognise that clan's residents.
He was about to turn back to his moss, but, sure enough, the apprentice was approaching him. Maybe they were after some training? But, as the apprentice got closer, his eyes widened. This wasn't an apprentice that looked like Tickpaw - this was... This was Tickpaw! He was gobsmacked for a second, just staring. Newtbelly wasn't often one to show much emotion, the only cat to ever see him openly and honestly was Owlthroat. Maybe Silentpaw and Stempawstone too, just a couple times. "I - of course I remember!" Amber eyes glistened, holding back a well of tears. Cats had left his life, sure, and he'd cried the first time it happened. But a return? He'd never had anyone return before. He'd save his tears, though. He was not about to cry in the emiddle of the clearing.
He'd been trying not to think about it, but he'd expected the worst. Tickpaw had always had that cat hanging around him - his mother, he presumed. And though he'd never observed any nastiness, her constant hovering had been offputting to say the least. "You.. Where were you, what happened?" He questioned, genuine worry filling his voice. So much time had passed, anything could have happened.
He squinted, noticing a cat lingering by the apprentice den. They looked an awful lot like Tickpaw. But, it couldn't be Tickpaw. That apprentice was long gone, it seemed. His heart still sunk to remember it. It wasn't uncommon for cats to go missing. for whatever reason. He'd seen it first hand. But, when it's your first apprentice, it not easy. Weird, though. He'd never seen them around before, but they didn't look all too young - they couldn't be a new apprentice. He knew he wasn't a social cat, but he tended to at least recognise that clan's residents.
He was about to turn back to his moss, but, sure neough, the apprentice was approaching him. Maybe they were after some training? But, as the apprentice got closer, his eyes widened. This wasn't an apprentice that looked like Tickpaw - this was... This was Tickpaw! He was gobsmacked for a second, just staring. Newtbelly wasn't often one to show much emotion, the only cat to ever see him openly and honestly was Owlthroat. Maybe Silentpaw and Stempaw too, just a couple times. "I - of course I remember!" Amber eyes glistened, holding back a well of tears. Cats had left his life, sure, and he'd cried the first time it happened. But a return? He'd never had anyone return before. He'd save his tears, though. He was not about to cry in the emiddle of the clearing.
He'd been trying not to think about it, but he'd expected the worst. Tickpaw had always had that cat hanging around him - his mother, he presumed. And though he'd never observed any nastiness, her constant hovering had been offputting to say the least. "You.. Where were you, what happened?" He questioned, genuine worry filling his voice. So much time had passed, anything could have happened.
Well, how about that? It wasn’t a stranger nor was he unrecognised, TickPaw felt stuck in how to respond, offering a sheepish smile. He really didn’t expect much of a reaction overall so the whole thing caught him off guard and he found himself keeping a lack of certainty and a smile without any other facial feature to turn to. He wasn’t usually lost for words but he had also never had anycat welcome him back so it was.. new. Unsettlingly new, something he wasn’t sure if he could get used to- so he’d have to note to never go missing again. Tickpaw had missed NewtBelly, both because they were his mentor- and taught TickPaw things he needed to know, but also because from what he remembered of them they were kind. “Thank you.” was all he could think to say, shuffling his paws on the ground as his gaze drifted. Where he had been? And what happened? It was all really a dragging story that he’d gotten lost and stayed lost for a bit, but whether he told NewtBelly the whole thing or a summary left him conflicted. He was desperate to get out of camp and do something.. outside of sitting around! It was all he’d done since he’d gotten back.
“I got lost in the territory and never managed to find my way back.” He’d admit, gaze only flicking briefly upward before returning to his paws.. and the ground and anywhere but up. He’d never really thought on a welcoming return- but regardless it was nice there was some cat who’d missed him. Flicking an ear he met Newt’s gaze, clearing his throat to ask a question or so. “How have you been?” It was an everyday question for conversation- but he wasn’t sure what else to say, what else to ask, had much changed since he’d left? It hadn’t seemed like it. He surely hadn’t been gone for that long. After a moment or so of longer time to process and how to proceed TickPaw relaxed slightly, eagerly awaiting a response.
__________________
”The cookie you knew is no more, for he has fallen deeper than the deepest abyss.”
Well, how about that? It wasn’t a stranger nor was he unrecognised, TickPaw felt stuck in how to respond, offering a sheepish smile. He really didn’t expect much of a reaction overall so the whole thing caught him off guard and he found himself keeping a lack of certainty and a smile without any other facial feature to turn to. He wasn’t usually lost for words but he had also never had anycat welcome him back so it was.. new. Unsettlingly new, something he wasn’t sure if he could get used to- so he’d have to note to never go missing again. Tickpaw had missed NewtBelly, both because they were his mentor- and taught TickPaw things he needed to know, but also because from what he remembered of them they were kind. “Thank you.” was all he could think to say, shuffling his paws on the ground as his gaze drifted. Where he had been? And what happened? It was all really a dragging story that he’d gotten lost and stayed lost for a bit, but whether he told NewtBelly the whole thing or a summary left him conflicted. He was desperate to get out of camp and do something.. outside of sitting around! It was all he’d done since he’d gotten back.
“I got lost in the territory and never managed to find my way back.” He’d admit, gaze only flicking briefly upward before returning to his paws.. and the ground and anywhere but up. He’d never really thought on a welcoming return- but regardless it was nice there was some cat who’d missed him. Flicking an ear he met Newt’s gaze, clearing his throat to ask a question or so. “How have you been?” It was an everyday question for conversation- but he wasn’t sure what else to say, what else to ask, had much changed since he’d left? It hadn’t seemed like it. He surely hadn’t been gone for that long. After a moment or so of longer time to process and how to proceed TickPaw relaxed slightly, eagerly awaiting a response.
So... He'd gotten lost in the territory. The tortoisehsell had to bite back a snarl, that would've been aimed at nobody but himself. His own negligence - if he'd only given the apprentice a proper territroy tour, maybe this would never had hapened. But... He was okay, wasn't he? It didn't look like he'd been harmed, and he didn't seem more anxious than usual. From what he remembered, the 'paw had always been on the quieter side. So, instead of a snarl, a sigh of relief left him. The apprentice hadn't left on purpose, he'd gotten lost. He didn't hate the clan, he didn't hate Newtbelly, and the most importantly, he hadn't given up.
"Stars, I'm just glad you survived out there." It was so rare that he was sincere, but he had a soft spot for his apprentices. He'd be the same way if any of the others disappeared and reappeared. Blame it on his upbringing, he supposed. Perhaps he regretted the lack of teritroy tour, but he knew he'd equipped Tickpaw with self defense skills - and maybe hunting? He couldn't remember if they'd hunted together or not, but he wasn't sure htat mattered right now. Then... How had he been? A small smile escaped him, surprised by the apprentice's jump to small talk. Normally, he would detest that kind of onversation, but when it was with a cat he'd thought he'd never seen again, it was more than welcome. "So much has happend, yet so little." he contemplated, with an ear twitch. Sure, there'd been a whole thing with the rats, snakes, and owls, but other than that, the clan had been rather quiet. "I'm an enforcer now," his tail flickered with pride. He was still shcoked that he'd made it to the position at this age. It had been his greatest goal - he'd assumed it was a surefire ticket to be liked by the clan: to be seen as strong. To get one step further than his mother had. But, of course, after experienceing it for real he knew that wasn't entirely true. ShadowClan cats were strong willed, opinionated. Even Owlthroat's rank had been in jeopardy, if only for a short time. He had to try harder, if he wanted respect - and, perhaps, having this rank so young (well, what he considered young) made it harder.
"I've trained two other apprentices. Silentpaw, who's moved to the role of medicine apprentice, and Stemstone - who became a warrior recently." He purred, words couldn't describe how proud he was of the kid. "Got two more now - Talonpaw and Venompaw. That leaves one open." He gave the 'paw a silly wink an obvious offer for training, if he hadn't already been assigned to another cat. "We had to remove a bunch of snakes and rats from territory, some moons ago - Owls, too..." His tail and ears drooped, suddenly remembering Mossfreckle's unfortunate dissapearence, "They got Mossfreckle, the owls." In the brief interactions they'd had, he'd gained an immense respect for the medicine cat. Herbs were absolutely beyond Newtbelly, those who could harness them so well astonished him. The importance of the medicine cats' job, and their skills, was a hill he'd die on.
What else... "Rookfire was briefly the Medicine apprentice, I'm not sure you were here when he was? An omen - well, they're calling it an omen, but perhaps it was more of a prophecy - called him back to warrior life. Either way, he's back to being an enforcer now. He had to fight Owlthroat to get the rank back." His claws dug into the ground, still displeased that it weren't himself, facing off with Rookfire. It made no sense to him still, but he was aware there were things he hadn't been told. "Ah, but Mudslide resigned, so... They both kept the rank." He shrugged. What a strange situation it was.
He figured that was all that'd gone on. ThunderClan and RiverClan had been at odds, but that was none of ShadowClan's cocern. Let the imbeciles tear each other apart for all he cared, ShadowClan could watch a laugh. The tom licked a paw, and swoped it over his head, flattening the tufts that sometimes poked up. "You learn anything new in your time away?" He wanted to ask the apprentice what had happened, second for second, but it seemed like he was guarding it a little. He got that - there were certain things he'd rather not tell others, too - especially if it concerned his family. So, for now, he'd ask smaller questions.
So... He'd gotten lost in the territory. The tortoisehsell had to bite back a snarl, that would've been aimed at nobody but himself. His own negligence - if he'd only given the apprentice a proper territroy tour, maybe this would never had hapened. But... He was okay, wasn't he? It didn't look like he'd been harmed, and he didn't seem more anxious than usual. From what he remembered, the 'paw had always been on the quieter side. So, instead of a snarl, a sigh of relief left him. The apprentice hadn't left on purpose, he'd gotten lost. He didn't hate the clan, he didn't hate Newtbelly, and the most importantly, he hadn't given up.
"Stars, I'm just glad you survived out there." It was so rare that he was sincere, but he had a soft spot for his apprentices. He'd be the same way if any of the others disappeared and reappeared. Blame it on his upbringing, he supposed. Perhaps he regretted the lack of teritroy tour, but he knew he'd equipped Tickpaw with self defense skills - and maybe hunting? He couldn't remember if they'd hunted together or not, but he wasn't sure htat mattered right now. Then... How had he been? A small smile escaped him, surprised by the apprentice's jump to small talk. Normally, he would detest that kind of onversation, but when it was with a cat he'd thought he'd never seen again, it was more than welcome. "So much has happend, yet so little." he contemplated, with an ear twitch. Sure, there'd been a whole thing with the rats, snakes, and owls, but other than that, the clan had been rather quiet. "I'm an enforcer now," his tail flickered with pride. He was still shcoked that he'd made it to the position at this age. It had been his greatest goal - he'd assumed it was a surefire ticket to be liked by the clan: to be seen as strong. To get one step further than his mother had. But, of course, after experienceing it for real he knew that wasn't entirely true. ShadowClan cats were strong willed, opinionated. Even Owlthroat's rank had been in jeopardy, if only for a short time. He had to try harder, if he wanted respect - and, perhaps, having this rank so young (well, what he considered young) made it harder.
"I've trained two other apprentices. Silentpaw, who's moved to the role of medicine apprentice, and Stemstone - who became a warrior recently." He purred, words couldn't describe how proud he was of the kid. "Got two more now - Talonpaw and Venompaw. That leaves one open." He gave the 'paw a silly wink an obvious offer for training, if he hadn't already been assigned to another cat. "We had to remove a bunch of snakes and rats from territory, some moons ago - Owls, too..." His tail and ears drooped, suddenly remembering Mossfreckle's unfortunate dissapearence, "They got Mossfreckle, the owls." In the brief interactions they'd had, he'd gained an immense respect for the medicine cat. Herbs were absolutely beyond Newtbelly, those who could harness them so well astonished him. The importance of the medicine cats' job, and their skills, was a hill he'd die on.
What else... "Rookfire was briefly the Medicine apprentice, I'm not sure you were here when he was? An omen - well, they're calling it an omen, but perhaps it was more of a prophecy - called him back to warrior life. Either way, he's back to being an enforcer now. He had to fight Owlthroat to get the rank back." His claws dug into the ground, still displeased that it weren't himself, facing off with Rookfire. It made no sense to him still, but he was aware there were things he hadn't been told. "Ah, but Mudslide resigned, so... They both kept the rank." He shrugged. What a strange situation it was.
He figured that was all that'd gone on. ThunderClan and RiverClan had been at odds, but that was none of ShadowClan's cocern. Let the imbeciles tear each other apart for all he cared, ShadowClan could watch a laugh. The tom licked a paw, and swoped it over his head, flattening the tufts that sometimes poked up. "You learn anything new in your time away?" He wanted to ask the apprentice what had happened, second for second, but it seemed like he was guarding it a little. He got that - there were certain things he'd rather not tell others, too - especially if it concerned his family. So, for now, he'd ask smaller questions.
‘Stars im just glad you survived out there’ TickPaw was yet again stuck on how to react, offering the same sheepish smile as he just had. He knew that he could survive although getting lost had never been intentional, although he had barely managed with hunting- having no knowledge on the thing. He supposed finding dead prey was easier for him to catching it, but that hadn’t made him any less eager to learn it. He had been out in the territory when he was a little kit with his mother all the time, he hardly memorised any of it- probably a reason why he got lost- but they’d played enough hide and seek out there for him to know how to hide well and where. It was all made easier by his odd knack for the shadows and his ability as a corpse-finder, he supposed. He hardly had any experience in hunting prey, so he had to rely on those two key things the most of all unfortunately. Tickpaw blinked himself back to reality in time to hear NewtBelly casually mention they were now an Enforcer. His eyes rounded slightly, so much for staying unseen! Being trained by an enforcer would truly be an honour, and it proved to him that- no no, this was not the way to think. An enforcer though… he’d never thought of NewtBelly as the sort of cat to be in that role- but then again he only knew him as a prey-cat.. warrior and mentor before. Hearing how NewtBelly had trained other apprentices or had two now wasn’t the most interesting to him, but he listened anyway- face unchanging. The danger of snakes, owls and rats being in the past didn’t concern him much either, although he had never seen a snake nor owl.. He never wanted to see an owl if it could get a full grown cat killed. Just the thought of feathery death made him shudder on the inside. Similar to hearing about the apprentices, all the changes in rank didn’t interest him, although it did change his initial impression of how much had changed well he was lost- clearly quite a lot had died and changed.
He blinked at the question, had he learnt anything new? He absolutely did! He learnt that outside of ShadowClan was horrible and lonely, and very very cold. He'd grown up around others even if he spent his days near Mother or his siblings but it was so much more... silent than he was used to. Skill wise he supposed he’d gotten better at surviving, he hadn’t liked being lost one bit- so his first next thing he wanted to know was how not to get lost again. TickPaw unsurely shuffled trying to think of at least something to respond with, he supposed he’d gotten better at hiding! But he was already so good at hide and seek it didn’t really matter. “I cannot say i have.” He really wanted to say something more, but he just.. Couldn’t think of anything. He had never been the best at sharing words with others anyhow, he could hardly stomach someone worrying about him alone without thinking about what to say next! He blinked slightly, only just realising that NewtBelly had meant to offer training- or mentoring- when he’d mentioned his apprentices. So he finally found something else to ask and managed to avoid the silent glances at his paws and the sky and everywhere else. “If we train, could we learn the territory first?” Tickpaw hoped his reasoning for this was obvious! Although the idea of getting back out into the territory and learning again was exhilerating. Having no mentor and no training was making returning seem pointless- all that work to get back just to sit around and wait until he got a new mentor! It made it ten times easier to appreciate the offer of any training at all even! Just thinking about it, the feline was immediately much more eager to get out of camp than he had been before, now all the shuffles of his paws were caused by restlessness rather than a struggle to find things to say.
(I’m writing this really early in the morning for me and really wanted this reply done before i forgot so my apologies if its messy! )
__________________
”The cookie you knew is no more, for he has fallen deeper than the deepest abyss.”
We should be celebrating!
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Re: We should be celebrating!
