but you're old enough to die here right now. [ private ]

[wolfie]

takes place in windclan / shadowclan territory featuring cowpaw and frostbite [ @kai ] !! long for the setup so don't worry about matching with length

･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆･:*

Cowpaw wouldn't consider himself scared of death. He would in the stars with his ancestors -- at peace and watching over the generations that would follow him. It would be just the honor to be in Starclan so how he could fear something that would come whether he liked it or not? It was everyone's destiny to be live in either Starclan or the Dark Forest.

Yet in this moment? Cowpaw could only stare at the Shadowclan warrior with wide teary eyes, fear stricken. He didn't want to die. He -- he still had things he wished to do. Dreams, ambitions, still had to prove himself to his family that he was worth it. That he didn't want to be a medicine cat any longer, how foolish he had been.

How foolish this all was.

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After his first and unsuccessful training session with Creamcloud, Cowpaw had avoided his family for the rest of the day. Even as he knew they would eventually wish to know and figure out how it had gone. An absolute mess.. he couldn't lie to them and.. and.. it was exactly what was keeping Cowpaw up around this time. Which was ironic considering the tom would believe he slept all too much, not too little.

He listened to the quiet breathing and snores of the apprentices around him. Cowpaw always dreamt of being in here. The giddiness had left him by now. His head rested on his paws, a quiet huff escaping him as his whiskers twitched with a restlessness he could not shake from his limbs. His stomach rumbled with hunger.. aaa, Cowpaw licked his lips. A large juicy rabbit realllyy sounded good right now!!

W..wait.

Wait!

It was as if an miracle had happened. An idea, his only hope. If Cowpaw could bring the biggest rabbit home to Windclan for his parents to see then -- then he couldn't be questioned! It would prove his worth! No one would be able to question his ability to be a,, a warrior.. Right.

His mismatched hues flickered around the den for a moment before he slowly rose to his paws. A sudden fire was burning inside of him, licking and lapping at his heart and he knew if he didn't act on it now it would soon burn out. Cowpaw could not lose his chance. This was for his own sanity. With hesitant paws he carried himself out of the camp, his feathery tail swishing back and forth. His mind reeling over Creamcloud's teachings.

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Oh, Starclan. Cowpaw underestimated how hard this was going to be. His paws were sore and his body ached with tiredness. He wasn't sure how many failed catches he had gone through. At first he was picky with the rabbits but now he was simply just going after anything he could. Either he was too loud or too slow - couldn't just simply catch one! No.. no. Cowpaw was grateful for every life but why wouldn't they just roll over just this once? Didn't they know his uhm,, okay... that sounded bad..

A quiet groan escaped the apprentice, flopping down on the ground. Thump! He rolled over, facing the starry silver pelt. "I'm... trying.. I am.. I am.." Cowpaw mumbled, his gaze flickering over the stars that sprinkled the dark sky. It was.. truly divine. He smiled softly at the scene.

Crack.

The tom shot up, whipping around to stare wide-eyed at the source. It was the biggest rabbit he ever saw. It was.. so fluffy and.. big and... "You..!" Cowpaw gasped, oh! Oh!! This was his chance!! He jumped to his paws and like that - the chase had started. He had a good feeling about this one! He sprinted after the furry rabbit, excited yips escaping him.

He ran, oversized paws slamming against the ground. His lungs strained for air but this was it! He.. he ..

Suddenly the scent of Shadowclan hit his nose. His heart dropped.

Cowpaw came to a halt, he had forgotten that the border had changed. He was just so caught up he hadn't realized the change. As long as he was running on moor he assumed it was alright. Eyes darted around, panic rising up.

[ophelia]

// @x ghostie [wow, that is long! how would you like Frostbite to attack Cowpaw? (like what type of injury, etc)]

Frostbite wandered through the trees, weaving silently among the dark branches. Although his white pelt was an eyesore against the contrasting scenery of his clan's territory, he had learned to make up for it with his stealth and light footsteps. His small size certainly helped to this effect as well. He had finished helping the clan with hunting, and was still rather sore from the mass digging project they'd been assigned to complete by Dawnstar. Not that he was complaining, of course, he would never oppose anything that passed through his leader's maw. In fact, he thought the whole thing was rather exciting. Violence, sneaking around, bloodshed, those were his areas of expertise.
While in this mindset, it was no surprise to him when his paws brought him towards the WindClan border. Next to outsiders, WindClan cats were his next most-hated group, and he was in the mood for a little hatred at that momant.
As he approached the border, the scent of the rival clan drifted by, causing him to wrinkly his snout in disgust. What kind of clan cat could possibly live without the shelter of trees? It was mind-boggling to him to even imagine it. Even as this internal rant swept through his mind, the trees around him were thinning out. He stopped several tails away from the scent marking and sat down, surveying the moors before him with silent distaste. In the moonlight, his white fur was bathed in a silver glow, making his long fur blend seamlessly with the tendrils of grass around his paws.
Suddenly, a sharp snap caught his attention, and he rotated his head to catch a glimpse of a rabbit darting by. Interesting. Two seconds later, a cat barreled past him as well, apparently in pursuit. To his delight, however, the cat was not in ShadowClan, but WindClan. Ears pricked, he rose silently to his paws and stalked after the cat's trail. It wasn't long before the winds shifted, bringing his scent to the other feline. Pride ran down his spine as his target froze in fear and looked up, meeting eyes with himself. An apprentice. He would've preferred a warrior, but this would have to suffice. The cat looking back at him had bright white fur to rival his own, but it was mottled with dark patches. Despite his young age, the apprentice was just as large as Frostbite, but the white warrior could tell it was all fluff from the wide, fearful eyes gazing into his own cold ones.
Slowly, Frostbite advanced, lips curling back slowly into a snarl, exposing his razor sharp canines. He certainly hadn't been given his name without good cause. "You're a little far from home, fluffy," he drawled snidely, eyes glinting, "Didn't anyone ever tell you that apprentices shouldn't leave camp without a warrior? Or do those ridiculous ears block out the advice of your superiors?" Without waiting for an answer, he crept forward further. "Let's give it a test, shall we? My advice," he smirked, crouching tensely, "is to run."
With that, Frostbite leapt at the younger cat, claws unsheathing in mid-air as he aimed for a confident blow towards the shoulder of the other cat, attempting to knock him off balance.

[wolfie]

@paradise // i am so sorry it is so long ;; had to do it for story purposes pfpff - also any injuries are fine !! /w\ frost has full powerplay perm but if you could give cow a neck scar that kinda goes across would be wonderful
Mismatched hues watched as the rabbit disappeared into the distance and over the horizon line. Granted to live another day - something that Cowpaw wasn't so sure he was going to get.

He took a careful step back, staring wide-eyed at the Shadowclan cat. He was large - enough for Cowpaw to assume this was an warrior. A warrior who had experienced that he lacked. His mouth felt dry, heavy with words on the tip of his tongue that wouldn't roll off. Another step back as he jerked his head into a nod. Shakily he rose his splotched paw, raising it over his chest - he moved it in a circular motion. Sorry.

Cowpaw nodded, his feathery tail tucking between his hindlegs. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. He wanted to run but his limbs trembled, frozen in Frostbite's line of view. A subtle wince as he brought up his ears. Ouch, haha,, surely they weren't that ridiculous,,?

His head whipped up as Frostbite moved forward and then he took another step back. His words sending a shudder down his spine. Cowpaw stumbled back, a yelp escaping him as he scrambled to his paws. He turned, breaking into a sprint but it wasn't enough. Claws raked through his shoulder, "No..! No-- no, no..!!" He squeaked, pain shooting up his limb.

The apprentice lost balance, tumbling to the floor. His claws unsheathed as he rolled onto his stomach, lashing out wildly at Frostbite. None of his moves were precise, only desperate for survival.

[ophelia]

// @x ghostie - [no it's totally fine! fun to read! and sounds good]

The cat was clearly floundering, which Frostbite found quite amusing. His blow landed solidly on the younger cat's shoulder, claws digging in harshly as Cowpaw squealed meekly in response. Before he could do much more, the cat began frantically swinging at him. Despite being an apprentice, his opponent's claws were actually quite large, and Frostbite managed to leap back so that he was merely clipped by a wild blow across his flank. He hissed, annoyed at the stinging scratch left on his white pelt. Insignificant, but annoying.
While Cowpaw was still caught off balance, Frostbite swiftly leapt back into the fight, long claws reaching out in an attempt to pin the spotted cat to the ground so he could finish the job. The apprentice's fur looked thick enough for him to grab hold of steadily, which wouldn't have worked with a RiverClan cat's sleek fur to be sure.
As he flexed his paws, preparing to grab hold, he unsheathed his back paws as well, ready to batter the other cat with them should the opportunity arise.

[wolfie]

@paradise
Blood seeped onto Frostbite's pelt where Cowpaw had clawed him. The realization that he actually hurt the warrior didn't give him a sense of pride - not like the emotions his parents would describe. Simply only foolish regret and sympathy.

The apprentice tried to take the moment as an chance to get back to his paws. The falter had cost him valuable time and while Cowpaw managed to stand it wasn't long until Frostbite came leaping at him. Claws grabbed ahold of him, pinning him to the ground with a loud thump. His neck was exposed and even he knew how --,, how real this all was. He couldn't ,, he couldn't die here? Right? Surely Shadowclan wasn't,, this,, cruel.

Tears were blurring his vision as Cowpaw lift his hindlegs to bat at Frostbite's belly in an attempt to get him off of him. His shoulders were hunched to try and protect his neck as he snapped his teeth at the tom - daring for him to get closer.

[ophelia]

// @x ghostie

Frostbite grinned in satisfaction as he brought down the apprentice with a jolt as their combined weight hit the long grass roughly. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Cowpaw lifting up his legs to prepare to smack at him and swiftly shifted, planting his own back legs out of reach by the WindClan warrior's shoulder instead.
He paused for a moment, eyes glinting downward as he considered the consequences of killing this cat. Dawnstar had already encouraged them to harass ThunderClan cats specifically, even hinted at killing them. Would she feel the same about bunnies? WindClan was already weak, so a part of his mind pointed out that killing one more cat, and a floundering apprentice at that, couldn't make things any worse than they already were. Still, Frostbite couldn't bring himself to kill the spotted apprentice, largely because he found it below himself to murder a lowly apprentice.
He hissed menacingly at the younger cat and raised an unsheathed paw, bringing it down sharply in response to the snapping he was receiving. He had aiming for the shoulder, intending to give him a nasty scar to remember him by, but the cat's writhing threw off his aim, and instead his claws sliced towards the cat's neck. Not hard enough to kill immediately, but possibly fatal if he ended up bleeding to death before he could make it back to his clan.
After dealing the blow, Frostbite pushed off of the cat and bounded a tail's length away, shoving against Cowpaw with the goal of getting the other cat back on his own territory. Still hissing faintly, Frostbite snarled, "I'd take that advice now and run if I were you, if you can..." He broke off warningly, eyes narrowed. "Would be such a pity to stain ShadowClan's territory with too much bunny blood," he cackled, voice fading as he slunk back into the shadows from where he came, heading back to his clan's camp.

[wolfie]

@paradise
Cowpaw gazed at the unsheathed paw that rose above his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, his whole body stiffening with pure fear - he readied himself. He could only pray to Starclan that his death would be painless but still found himself waiting for pain to flood through his body once more.. and.. and it never came.

Instead, as Cowpaw's mismatched eyes flickered opened pain bloomed across his neck. The tom let out a gasp, tears blurring his vision. It wasn't enough to,, to kill him. He watched as Frostbite pushed himself off of him, still gasping for air as if he couldn't get enough with it. Cowpaw was in utter disbelief but scrambled to his bloodied paws. He stared at the Shadowclan warrior for a moment, as if suspecting he would change his mind and just do it right then and there. Cowpaw could see the wounds he inflicted on him. Guilt prickled at his heart.

Those sly eyes would never leave him. Cowpaw jerked back as Frostbite shoved him forward. With ragged breathing he glanced back to him before taking off. Even if he was given the chance to live there was no saying blood loss wouldn't take him. So, Cowpaw ran across the moor. His paws slammed against the ground, no matter how much strain it put on his body. Surely worsening his wounds. When his legs pleaded for a rest he ran even more. Pushed himself. Until he finally reached his home.

he didn't ever want to think about this again.