[Deleted]

WILDPAW
Apprentice || TreeClan

After an intense training session with Adderstrike in the morning, Wildpaw felt like all the strength had been zapped from him. Lying sprawled out in the shade of the TreeClan camp, the pale grey tabby tom smiled blissfully, feeling the world around him grow distant as he drifted off into a nap…
“Wildpaw! Daringheart wants you to collect moss for the Elders’ Den.”
The TreeClan apprentice snapped awake, a frown creasing his features when he saw the sandy-furred ginger tom before him. Sandstrike. Right now, collecting moss was the last thing he wanted to do.
Opening his jaws to protest, pale green eyes blazing with fury at being awoken from his dreams, but the TreeClan warrior was firm, cutting in, “No ‘buts’. You are to go and collect moss for the elders. Now get off your backside and take Wormpaw with you; the more paws, the quicker you'll be finished.”
Wildpaw’s heart sunk. No, not Wormpaw. Most littermates had a friendly relationship, with the exception of the occasional disagreements. The same could not be said for the pale grey tabby tom and his littermates. Wildpaw couldn’t stand the sight of Wavepaw, but he could just about tolerate Wormpaw, at least to a point.
Scowling, the young TreeClanner grunted a : “Fine!” angrily clambering to his paws, Wildpaw stormed away from the sandy-pelted warrior, blazing green gaze searching out his brother amongst his clanmates.
Great, collecting moss with Wormpaw. What a wonderful way to spend my afternoon.
At last spotting the small tabby, Wildpaw stomped over to his brother, huffing angrily. Once reaching the brown-grey apprentice, he meowed bluntly, “Daringheart wants us to go and collect moss for the elders,” face screwed up in a scowl, the tom plonked himself down for a moment, tail curling around his paws.
Come on, Wormpaw. Let’s get this over and done with. The sooner we’re out there, the sooner we can leave and I can get away from you.

ooc - Ah, don't you just love brotherly love? xD

[Phoenix]

In the end, the heavy paw steps caught his attention and alerted him to his brother’s approach. Green eyes widened slightly at the sight of the angry apprentice marching toward him, and he silently waited as Wildpaw approached, the scowl on his face darkening with every step closer. The tabby’s heart sunk a little, weighed down by the familiar embrace of guilt. Even if he loved his brothers dearly, he knew very well that they did not share such fond feelings toward him, and it pained him to think that he was the cause of the anger in his older brother’s eyes. Inherently wanting to help others, he had found that the best way to appease Wildpaw was to avoid him and keep out of his way, which he did as best he could. Occasionally longing for a more cordial relationship struck him, but his desire to keep his brother has happy as possible was always stronger.

Brusque words reached his ears, the reluctance in them clear to Wormpaw. Glancing away, he gently set the squirrel in his jaws on the top of the fresh-kill pile, turning back in time to see his brother settle down, tail curling around his paws. ”Alright,” He agreed quietly, as though he had a choice in the matter. A similar reluctance spread through him. His presence would only serve to irritate his brother, and even though he did his best to avoid that, his task became monumentally harder when they were forced to interact in situations such as this. However, it would not take a particularly smart cat to realize that the sooner they finished this the sooner they could part ways and Wildpaw could go back to his afternoon. ”The Sparkling Brook probably has the most moss,” The tabby reasoned, tail flicking as he waited for his brother to rise before heading toward the exit. Even if he would have appreciated small talk and a chance to catch up, he knew just as certainly that Wildpaw would not; as a result, the extent of the conversation between them would simply have to be what the chore required.

[Deleted]

WILDPAW
Apprentice || TreeClan

As soon as Wormpaw uttered the word "Alright", Wildpaw was off. He flicked his tail sharply, motioning for his brother to follow as he made his way towards the camp entrance. The pale grey tabby just wanted to get this chore over and done with; the sooner he was out of his brother's company, the better.
Not even glancing over his shoulder to check whether his younger brother was following, Wildpaw relied on his ears to pick up Wormpaw's pawsteps and tell him whether his brother was actually accompanying him.
Avoiding his brother's gaze, Wildpaw almost missed the tabby tom's suggestion, ”The Sparkling Brook probably has the most moss.”
The TreeClan apprentice stopped in his tracks, thinking through his younger brother's idea. As much as I hate to admit it, he has a point. I was thinking the wildflower meadow, but it's damper by the Sparkling Brook so there should be more moss growing there.
Nodding curtly, Wildpaw let his pale green gaze wash over his tabby littermate for a moment, "The Sparkling Brook? I guess."
No further words slipped Wildpaw's jaws after that. He just wanted to get out of here and get on with collecting moss. Well, he didn't actually want to collect moss, that was boring, but at least it would mean they would have something to keep them occupied rather than a long and awkward silence.

Slipping out of the camp stealthily, the young tom drew his tongue around his jaws, savouring the variety of forest scents overloading his senses. He paused for a moment, blinking in the daylight, before picking up the pace once more, briefly throwing a glance over his shoulder to see if Wormpaw was still following.
Silence. Wildpaw didn't utter a word. The only sounds were pawsteps and the birds singing in the canopy above, it unsettled Wildpaw a little. It was too quiet.
Clearing his throat, the pale grey tabby decided to try and spark up a conversation, "So... How's training?" Wildpaw, in all honesty, didn't have a single care about how his younger brother's training was going, he just didn't think he'd be able to stand the silence for a moment longer.

[Phoenix]

Wormpaw
and you ask me what i want this year
and i try to make this kind and clear
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

- - -

Wildpaw had no idea what can of worms he had opened with that simple question, which sounded more like a half-hearted attempt to start a conversation with the quiet brother he barely knew than a genuine concern for the state of his training. A wave of conflicting emotions crashed over him as he thought of both the past and the present. Struggling to sort them out, he knew that he could hardly dislike or blame his brother for asking, because Wildpaw had no idea of the intangible barrier that separated Wormpaw from Lionstar and Featherpaw; the question had not been asked with malicious intent, and it would be pointless to not forgive him for it. The wave of guilt at the thought of Lionstar and Featherpaw, however, was no nearly so easy to dismiss. For a while, he had managed to distract himself with his own idle thoughts, but once they turned in the fateful direction of those two felines, it was difficult to stop them from traveling the same route over and over again.

”Fine,” He murmured, voice small. If fine meant blaming himself for the rift that had broken Featherpaw’s and Lionstar’s previously warm, incredibly important bond every time he saw either of them, then his training was most definitely fine. As to how much he learned, he was far from about even something as concrete as that. Most of their lessons were joint, where he not only had to battle his constant guilt but also bear the additional burden of taking up the silvery she-cat’s time, which could be better spent improving her own skills than attempting to catch up a pathetic apprentice who could barely focus beyond the heavy weight on his shoulders anyway.

Striped shoulders lifted in a slight shrug as he slowed to a halt, eyes falling on the stream before them. ”Um… I’ll go to the other side, I guess. We can get more moss if we split up.” With a moment’s hesitation, he crossed to the other side, paws perched on slippery stones as he cautiously walked across, heart thudding and commanding him to speed up while his mind ordered him to take his time and not to slip. Once his feet safely touched dry land, he turned, gaze finding his brother briefly before glancing down to scan the rocks at his paws for any sign of the green substance. ”What about you?” He turned to look earnestly at his brother, sincerity clear in his voice as he meowed, ”I hope your training is going well.” Wormpaw knew with a certainty that becoming a strong warrior was high on Wildpaw’s list of ambitions – it was on nearly everyone’s – and hoped that he was developing into every bit the warrior he wanted to be.

- - -

i wish everyone was loved tonight
and somehow stop this endless fight
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

[Deleted]

WILDPAW
Apprentice || TreeClan

Although Wildpaw noticed the sudden change in Wormpaw's mood when he mentioned training, he didn't ask. The small, "Fine," that his brother had responded with satisfied the pale grey tom enough, so he didn't touch upon it any further. If, he figured, Wormpaw had anything to tell me about training, he would've told me.
Wildpaw wasn't really that interested in his brother's training anyway, he'd just asked the question to break the awkward silence between them. Most littermates, Wildpaw had noticed, were really close, often joking about with each other and such. Others would wonder if he'd ever longed for that closeness with Wormpaw and Wavepaw and the honest answer would be no. Sure he cared for them, but right now Wildpaw was perfectly fine with everything in his life as it was, so what if he didn't have a close, friendly relationship with his brothers? They got on his nerves anyway, he was fine with just leaving them be to sort out their own lives.

"That's uh, that's good," he choked out, dark green gaze shifting to his pale paws, deliberately avoiding his brother's gaze. It quickly came to the pale grey tabby's attention that they'd reached the Sparkling Brook.
”Um… I’ll go to the other side, I guess. We can get more moss if we split up.” Wildpaw instantly nodded at Wormpaw's suggestion; anything to get a little further away from the awkwardness between himself and his brother, "Okay."

The pale grey tabby watched for a moment as his brother crossed the stones that brought together the two sides of the river, standing a little closer just in case his brother should fall. Once he was safely on the other side, Wildpaw relaxed a little, dark green orbs drifting down to the river bank, seeking out a certain green plant hidden amongst the water dwelling foliage that leaned over the surface of the water.

"What about you?"
Wildpaw's head jolted up upon hearing his brother's unexpected mew, gaze settling on Wormpaw for a moment, ”I hope your training is going well.”
The pale grey tabby apprentice let a small smile creep to his face, "Training's great," he replied, his thoughts relaying back to this morning's training session, "Adderstrike is a much better mentor than Frostwind ever was, he's great at fighting! Right now, in battle training, we're working on the Upright Lock, Adderstrike says I'm really improving," he boasted, accompanied by a white-fanged grin. The pale grey tabby loved to brag about what he was doing in training to the other apprentices, he honestly didn't care whether they were actually interested or not, he'd still tell them about it anyway.

His pale green gaze flickered back down to river bank and suddenly he found his eyes caught by a familiar green substance. Ah, Found some.
The TreeClan apprentice crouched down beside the growing moss and leaning forwards, tentatively, as not to slip and fall in the brook, broke some off and picked up a pawful's worth in his jaws. Sitting up, the young tom glanced over at his brother across the river, "Have you found any?"

[Phoenix]

Wormpaw
and you ask me what i want this year
and i try to make this kind and clear
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

- - -

With an unsheathed claw, he delicately picked a bit of moss off a nearby rock, doing as best he could to keep it in a single piece, which he then rolled up and set off to the side. The work itself was fairly uninteresting and required little thought beyond that which was necessary to find the green plant, and once one was fairly accomplished at the task, he could finish at a decent speed. For all its boring qualities, Wormpaw had never particularly minded the assignment, for he found the sound of the stream relaxing and in some occasions, he could enjoy the solitude of his own thoughts. If the work became too tedious, he would only consider the ways his efforts would be appreciated by those who needed the moss: usually the elders and occasionally Littletimber and his patients.

The apprentice found that he did not particularly mind Wildpaw’s company in this endeavor, however, and he flicked an ear as his brother began talking. The tabby tom’s tone alone made it clear to Wormpaw that the other apprentice was thrilled with training, and he did not even have to look up to picture the smile that had crossed his lips. A similar one was reflected on his own features as he listened quietly to his brother’s boasts. Despite their relationships as brothers, Wildpaw, Wavepaw, and Wormpaw behaved very differently from each other, and in his observant manner, the lattermost had noticed what each of his siblings enjoyed and disliked. Wildpaw, he knew, enjoyed telling others about his accomplishments, and Wormpaw had no qualms about providing a listening ear. He was simply required to hear his brother’s words and respond in a somewhat admiring fashion in turn; because he enjoyed hearing about Wildpaw’s training and accomplishments anyway, it was very easy to go the extra distance to make his brother happy.

”I’m glad you’re enjoying training,” Wormpaw murmured softly, glancing over toward the other tom as he spoke. ”You were always good at fighting; way better than I am, at least. Maybe you could show me your moves some time?” He peeled another piece of moss off of another nearby stone and added the bundle to his growing pile, pleased at his decision to cross the stream. It seemed as though most apprentices neglected to put in the effort required to move farther down, for the moss was plentiful. Striped tail flicking to the few rolls resting on the shore, the apprentice nodded. ”Yeah. There’s a lot down here. You?”

- - -

i wish everyone was loved tonight
and somehow stop this endless fight
just a chance that maybe we'll find better days

[Deleted]

WILDPAW
Apprentice || TreeClan

Having gently dropped his first collection of moss further up the river bank, Wildpaw padded back down to the water's edge, shaking several unwanted droplets of water from ivory-white whiskers.
Flicking his tail, the pale grey tabby let his dark green orbs scour the riverside for any further clumps of moss. He scowled, Urgh! Why does collecting moss have to be so boring? All this time that was spent doing chores, Wildpaw could've been training! Training was much more fun than collecting moss, this was moss wasn't even going to a valuable cause! No, it was going to the elders, what did they ever do? Sure, they had been warriors once, but now they were useless and just sat around camp all day.
They might as well get it over with and die.


”You were always good at fighting; way better than I am, at least. Maybe you could show me your moves some time?”
Wildpaw was surprised by his brother's mew. He glanced over at brown-grey apprentice, tail flicking from side to side. Showing Wormpaw some of his moves would be a great opportunity to show off a little to his brother, which was always a good thing.
"Sure," he replied easily, "I can always show you some moves, maybe after training some time?" he suggested, ear twitching. Just wait 'till Wormpaw saw what he'd learnt, he'd be so impressed!

A gentle breeze ruffling his pale grey tabby pelt, Wildpaw's dark green orbs wandered back down to the waterside. Several clumps of thick green moss clung to a tree stump on the bank side ahead of him, casting shadows onto the water's surface.
The pale grey tabby tom padded closer to, what would've been once, a great oak tree, and with a hooked claw, started to pull off the moss, not really caring whether it was in one piece or not.

”Yeah. There’s a lot down here. You?”
Wildpaw glanced up briefly, blinking, "Oh, yeah, there's quite a lot here too," he paused, placing the moss with the moss he'd collected further up the bank. A little unsure of what to say, Wildpaw asked the rather stupid question of, "So, are you looking forward to becoming a warrior then?"
You couldn't exactly blame the pale grey tabby for asking such a question, there wasn't exactly much to say, at least, not anything Wildpaw could think of.