WindClan Apprentices' Den

[BlowingBubbles]

Shiverpaw yawns.
Emberpaw sits.
[Closed, activity post]

[Madelaine]

( credit: pawborough.net )

Barleypaw
__________

[ She/her - Windclan App -
Purrks: Heightened Hearing, Lucky Duck(2)
& Flock Together(3) - Post : 83 ]

Wasn't night time, but Barleypaw had been out helping around camp that she just needed some time to relax. She sat down in her nest and pulled out the rock Lightningpaw had found for her. She touched with her paw and moved it around before placing her head gently on top of it. Her eyes slightly closed, but she wasn't asleep. It just felt nice to relax even if it was just for a tiny bit.

[ @snowflake.; ]

[snowflake.]

Freezepaw
[gray tabby with brown underside ; cloudy blue blind eyes]
he/him • 9 moons • windclan apprentice
⤷ post count: [/] | purrks: heightened perception [smell], mind reader, one with the warren
~---~

Freezepaw went into the apprentice den, brushing against the leaves and branches of the den wall, heading straight towards his nest. He wasn’t in a particularly good mood today; his paws itched to go outside camp, to the moorland of Windclan’s territory. After so many moons of searching for home, now that he was here, he had to doubt his choice of coming back. He was plagued by anxieties since coming back: Am I doing this right? Does everyone hate me? Will I get bullied again? Am I truly useless? The last thought filled him with reckless anger. He hated how his blindness set him apart, hated how he couldn’t even be sure if the thoughtless jibes of others were true or not.

His gray pelt prickled uncomfortably, and he twitched his ears, remembering the last time he had acted on his feelings: he had gotten lost, chased by dogs, starved, and so much more… He remembered the easy friendship he had with Peppermint and Wheat, the abundant prey in the barn he had lived in for three moons. All of that was gone now.

But coming home was his ultimate goal, all the moons he had been gone. He had missed the wind in his fur, the scents of the moorland, and the companionship of his clan. Now that he was back, he was unsure of his place in the clan. Maybe if I make some friends… Freezepaw shuddered, remembering how his peers had bullied him when he was a kit. But he also remembered Windpaw, who had been kind to him. Surely more cats would be like her, right? He wouldn’t know until he got to know the other apprentices.

Maybe he’d just… try to socialize, just this once. And then he’d be able to know whether it was worth it or not. Besides, he had gotten lonely, avoiding everyone else so far. Maybe this could be a good thing. Maybe… he thought, a whisper of doubt, remembering his childhood bullies.

I’m not so cowardly as to be afraid of my own clanmates, Freezepaw thought, anger washing over him again, the kind of familiar anger that would propel him to action.

He could pinpoint all of the apprentices near him easily, but how to know which one to talk to? Just do the one closest to me. He swiveled his head to point in the direction of the apprentice next to him, as if he could actually see her. He hesitated for a moment, then plunged on. “Hello,” he said warily. Oh no, was that the wrong tone? Did I mess it up already? “Uh. Who are you?” Yes, introductions, that was probably a good way to start. He remembered when he met Peppermint, how she had been so friendly even as he was wary. Maybe this wouldn’t end up in a disaster. Hopefully. “My name’s Freezepaw,” he added. He wondered what she had, that he’d heard her take out and heard rustling for a moment. He didn’t ask what it was.

[ @Madelaine ]

[versailles]

egretpaw naps.

[Rose]

Post Count: 53/100 | Purrk(s): Lyrebird’s Lullaby & Don’t Mind If I Do!

Strawberrypaw dozes in the family nest, paw twitching in her sleep.

[nyme]

AND IT NEVER MADE ANY SENSE, ANYTHING

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ❀ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

MAGGOTPAW . 12 MOONS . IT/THEY . WINDCLAN
SILVER TONGUE T1

Maggotpaw slinks into the den behind Mosspaw, allowing itself to be led to his nest before it gets to work on his nest. Tidying up first, then carefully tucking and folding flower stems into the moss so that the blossoms poke out all around. They're happy doing this, focused and purposeful, but they don't forget the other reason why they're here.

"Tell me." Maggotpaw prompts Mosspaw, looking over as they zhuzh his nest up a little more.

@Rustleaf ; MOSSPAW

[Rustleaf]

Originally Posted by nyme

AND IT NEVER MADE ANY SENSE, ANYTHING

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ❀ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

MAGGOTPAW . 12 MOONS . IT/THEY . WINDCLAN
SILVER TONGUE T1

Maggotpaw slinks into the den behind Mosspaw, allowing itself to be led to his nest before it gets to work on his nest. Tidying up first, then carefully tucking and folding flower stems into the moss so that the blossoms poke out all around. They're happy doing this, focused and purposeful, but they don't forget the other reason why they're here.

"Tell me." Maggotpaw prompts Mosspaw, looking over as they zhuzh his nest up a little more.

@Rustleaf ; MOSSPAW

“Ok…I was born a kittypet. My mother, Catchingflame, was originally a clan cat and she left to be with my father. Then she had me and my four siblings.” He paused to help Maggotpaw tuck a flower stem in. “Little did they know, but twolegs actually give away they’re kittypet’s kits! I even saw them exchange som oddly shaped leaves before they took Socks, my oldest sister.” Mosspaw took a deep breath before continuing. “Eventually it was my turn to go. After a while I ran away from the Twolegs and started searching for the clans. Catchingflame had told us - me and my siblings - about the clans. When I found the scent markers of the border, I waited for a patrol to spot me and then Twilightstar let me join.” That was a lot just for the backstory but you needed that to understand the rest. “I think Catchingflame was trying to get back to WindClan when a predator or something showed up and killed her, leaving her half eaten carcass behind.” Mosspaw was determined not to cry with this next bit but a single tear still plopped to the floor as he took another deep breath and kept going. “I was out training with my mentor when I found her, and you can imagine the shock that I felt. The worst part is that Twilightstar refused to hold a vigil for her, despite her being a former clan cat.”
Wow. Mosspaw hadn’t realised how much he’d needed to get off his chest before now but he was glad he had.

[nyme]

AND IT NEVER MADE ANY SENSE, ANYTHING

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ❀ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

MAGGOTPAW . 12 MOONS . IT/THEY . WINDCLAN
SILVER TONGUE T1

Mosspaw was a kittypet? Maggotpaw blinks incredulously. Kittypets have always existed in their mind as this hazy idea—a vague cat-shaped nothingness like any alleged 'cat' that lives outside the clans (the new 'barn cats' included). A cat is a thing that lives in a clan. A clan is a thing that cats live in. There are cats in charge and cats not in charge. Cats with faces and cats without faces. Maggotpaw has never met or seen any other kind of cat, therefore there can be no other kind of cat.

Only, Mosspaw is one. Was one. But he is a proper cat now, a clan cat. Maybe in the same way that Maggotpaw was once just a little maggot, Mosspaw was also something else before being Mosspaw. That squares with Maggotpaw's worldview, so it accepts this gladly and drops the perplexed grimace in order to listen to the rest of the story.

It's...a sad one. That is, Maggotpaw recognizes that the tale Mosspaw recounts would be called A Sad Story, not that it makes them feel any particular way. They still make an effort to listen and nod, fussing absently with Mosspaw's nest decorations.

"Okay. Probably Catchingflame didn't get a vigil because she wasn't a cat." They explain helpfully once Mosspaw is all done. "Leaving is a changing-thing. Like exile, which is just leaving but someone else does it to you. But anyway, leaving, no matter who does it to you, makes you not-cat. Vigils are to celebrate dead-cats. You can't be a dead-cat if you're not-cat. So that's why she didn't get a vigil when she died. She wasn't a dead-cat. She was just dead. And dead-things just get eaten."

It talks very carefully, sweetly even, as though explaining a tricky subject to a kit. It's not Mosspaw's fault he doesn't already know this. It's a very easy mistake to make, and besides; you can miss things just as fiercely as you can miss cats. Goodness knows, Maggotpaw had missed wildflowers and sunny days as if they'd lost a loved one.

"But it's okay. You're still sad about her, whatever she was. You didn't get to celebrate any of her changes. If you didn't get something you want, then just make everyone give it to you. Just make a vigil happen. Do you need help?"

@Rustleaf ; MOSSPAW

[Rustleaf]

Mosspaw looked up in shock. Why would Maggotpaw even suggest that? It had to be against some kind of rule!
"Maggotpaw, I'm not going to forcefully hold a vigil for my mother, even if she did deserve one. I have worked my tail off trying to earn my place here, and I don't intend to throw it away in some act of rebellion." Mosspaw didn't know how Maggotpaw would take this so he added, "But thanks for thinking of me anyway."

@nyme - Maggotpaw