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Post by Hellion on Jan 25, 2019 1:50:31 GMT -5
Love doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes The mood of the patrol was tense. Sunnyheart walked at the head of it and didn't bother to greet anyone in the party. Dawnflight and Ravensky struggled to keep up with him, no doubt sensing that Sunnyheart was irritated at someting.
They likely expected it to be the strong wind that forced the grass to bend and brought a painful chill to their leafbare thin frames. However, they were ignorant about the true reason behind Sunnyheart's frustration.
Firestar had called him into her den recently and informed her that Sparkpaw had led a small troop of apprentices into StoneClan territory that nearly resulted in another war. She all but implied that it was Sunnyheart's fault for Sparkpaw's transgression. Shame warmed his cheeks and forced his head to permanently bowed while he sat there in her den. Firestar dismissed him, reminding him to keep Sparkpaw close and that his warrior ceremony would be withheld as punishment to the young tom.
Sunnyheart felt Sparkpaw got off light. He expected the tom-cat to be confined to the camp to clean the elder's den all day long, but it was unrealistic. The Clan needed all able-bodied members to pull their weight and that meant Sparkpaw got to leave camp. However, he wasn't to go without a warrior along with him.
Lost in thought for a moment, Sunnyheart paused as the foursome crested the hill before the border. Turning to the gathered cats, he flicked his tail for them to huddle closer. "There are new markers for the border, something Firestar and Lionstar agreed on. Just mark where others have marked. No sense wandering into the area we are not hunting on this patrol," He informed the others before his attention settled on Sparkpaw.
"You will mark the borders with me, I want you no more then a tail-length away from me," He told the tom-cat expression neutral was voice tense.
Sunnyheart |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2019 3:51:31 GMT -5
THE GREATEST REVENGE IS COMPASSION
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SPARKPAW APPRENTICE | LIGHTNINGCLAN | 15 MOONSTo say Sparkpaw was upset would have been an understatement. The outcome of his mission had led to the complete opposite result he had anticipated, and now, after an earful from probably every cat he came across in Lightningclan, Sunnyheart was all but watching him in the dirtplace. There was no hope for escape, and most of the warriors had been appalled by Sparkpaw's quest, so all eyes were on him. I might as well have been committing mutiny. He thought grumpily, trudging at the back of the patrol.
He decided that the most distance he could put between himself and his mentor would be best. Why don't they get it? We were doing something they didn't have the guts to do. Take back territory that's rightfully ours! Sparkpaw fumed as he lumbered on. The apprentice was hardly stealthy. What was the point? They weren't hunting. Why would he waste the energy on trying to be quiet when he really just wanted to scream and tear everything within ten foxlengths of him to pieces?
Sparkpaw had never been so upset in his life.
Normally he would feel shame for his wrongdoings, but this time the only thing he felt was a burning, relentless anger. The ginger and white tom's tail flicked irately, and when Sunnyheart called him forward, he couldn't help spitting out a biting remark.
"Why don't I just hold your tail so I don't get lost?" He grumbled, stomping up to the compromised border, eyes burning hot with annoyance.
He didn't want to be around Sunnyheart, or any other cat in Lightningclan.
He hated how everyone looked at him like he was some usurper. A break from the watchful and scrutinizing gazes of his clanmates would be a gift from Starclan, but he knew he was condemned to the life of an apprentice for the next few moons at least.
Unless he left.
Sparkpaw had considered it. All he needed to do was run, and no one would waste their time finding him. Why would they? The ginger and white tom had been stripped away of whatever dignity and pride he had the moment the band of insurgents were brought back. He had claimed to be the mastermind of it all and redirect the blame onto him, of which was rightly placed, though envy made his heart pound and blood boil as he watched everyone's life progress, and his regress. How is it the clan could so easily ignore his actions and the reasons behind them, but so diligently reprimand him for a cause they couldn't possibly understand? Sparkpaw was trapped in a fog of fury as he followed his mentor, sticking obnoxiously close to him.
He didn't care if he poked the hornet's nest.
Deep down in his heart of hearts, he wanted to pulverize it.
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Post by Hellion on Mar 14, 2019 23:43:31 GMT -5
Love doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes Eyes narrowed at Sparkpaw's grumbled statement. Ravensky and Dawnflight wandered in the opposite direction of the two ginger-ish toms. Deciding it was best to avoid being near such a tension duo. "If that would keep you from getting in trouble, by all means feel free," Sunnyheart replied, lacking maturity not to respond to such words.
"If it were up to me I'd have you back at camp shoveling snow out of the elder's den until your paws were numb." Sunnyheart went on to say, further pushing any tender part that remained since Firestar's gave out his punishment. Annoyance hanging heavy to every word he spoke. "You got off light, remember that" He added taking a moment to remark the border. Now away from their Clanmates, Sunnyheart let his feelings show in the aggressive twitch of his tail.
"Its foolish to risk yourself for glory but to put other cats at risk is something entirely different. What if someone got hurt or worse died? His words came out quickly, surprising even himself with the emotion that clung to the last word. The memory of Mapleheart's dead body on the StoneClan border appeared in his mind's eye, making him uncomfortable. enough to pause.
"I thought you were better than that," He deadpanned after the lapse in words.
Sunnyheart |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2019 4:21:03 GMT -5
A DREAM YOU CAN'T ESCAPE Sparkpaw LIGHTNINGCLAN - APPRENTICE - 15 MOONS
As much as his ears burned from his mentor's accusing tone, Sparkpaw listened. Glory? Did the clan really think he ushered a group of helpless apprentices to the border to die? Sparkpaw wouldn't have let that happen, even at the cost of his own life. What was Sunnyheart saying? That the Sun Stones weren't worth fighting over?
No. Just that only certain cats were allowed to fight for their clan. Sparkpaw and the other apprentices were obviously not on the list.
When would he be able to fight for his clan? For what he believed in?
Oh, but that's just what he did. Sparkpaw did fight for what he believed, and despite being punished for it, he swore to himself he wouldn't succumb to conformity.
Sparkpaw stayed quiet for a few moments longer, listening as Sunnyheart finished his rant. The apprentice felt blood burn hot in his veins as his mentor expressed his disappointment. It seemed to be how everyone felt about him since the moment he opened his eyes. He never was any match against his siblings, not even his blind sister, and his peers? Lynxpaw was Firestar's own daughter, and no one outshone her. The only thing keeping him ahead of the other apprentices was his seniority and experience.
He was no match against prodigies and the gifted.
Finally hearing Sunnyheart say it turned Sparkpaw sour inside. Deep down he knew his mentors were disappointed to have such a mediocre candidate. Being shuffled around made him feel sick, unneeded, worthless, obsolete, but all those feelings fueled his arrogance and insurgence: it kept him moving forward despite being shoved backwards. The ginger and white tom halted, a powerful wave of fury and frustration crashing down on him.
"I knew it." Sparkpaw hissed, pelt fluffing up angrily. "What took you so long to say it? You think I'm a lost cause, just like everyone else in the clan!"
The senior apprentice's golden gaze was fierce, though for the first time in a long time, a spark of hurt crept across his features. The tom wanted to run off along the border into uncharted territory and beyond, to leave behind the disappointment, but his paws were rooted to the spot.
Three cats was plenty for a patrol. Sparkpaw was an extra. He always had been expendable. The tom felt his chest tighten and throat burn as he stood, body electric with negative energy.
I'm not better than that. He thought, pain glazing over his golden eyes.
Sparkpaw wouldn't cry, but the winds of worthlessness seemed stronger lately, battering him like a fallen leaf in a dangerous storm.
Word Count: 451 Tags: Hellion Notes: xxx |
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Post by Hellion on Apr 7, 2019 23:53:05 GMT -5
Love doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes
It was easy to get heated, espeically when it concenred risking one's life. Sunnyheart understood what it meant to be a warrior, knew he agreed to give his life to LightningClan but he never expected Sparkpaw to be so reckless about.
Sparkpaw's reaction only added fuel to the fire of Sunnyheart's disappointment. Unable to control his glare, Sunnyheart gave a cuff to Sparkpaw's ears.
"You sound like a kit crying for attention!" He shot back, anger in her voice forcing out a growl.
"You have potential but no direction what so ever. You need to stop thinking about whatever think and focus on improving yourself," Sunnyheart didn't pack down, having no patience for Sparkpaw to wallow in self-pity.
"You already lost, by letting their word affect you. It might be easier to pack it in and shove off to be a loner. Good luck with that because I was a loner kit before and it wasn't fun. My mother died in leafbare and I almost did too. Stop expecting everyone to notice how great you are and just focus on learning," Emotions welled in Sunnyheart's chest and instead of going into another rant, he backed off.
Shouting wouldn't solve anything.
Taking a few careful steps back he shifted to look away from Sparkpaw entirely. He took a moment before speaking again.
"I don't think you are ready to be a warrior, not because of your skill. But because I'm concerned you will go off to pick a fight with StoneClan the moment you are named a warrior. We'd name you at sunhigh and bury you by midnight. Not something I look forward to," Sunnyheart bared his angst as a mentor and offered only a solemn glance to Sparkpaw.
Sunnyheart |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2019 19:58:00 GMT -5
“Learning? For what!” Sparkpaw seethed. “Learn to fight, track, and hunt all to settle into a sedentary life. What’s the point, learning all these things only to be trapped within the confines of this territory and the warrior code? What’s a life without adventure, love, and intrigue? You all make me sick, fighting to survive your boring lives, for what? I’d rather die with a story to tell than live an empty, angry life like this.”
Sparkpaw’s eyes flashed with intensity, it’s golden depths flickering with the fires of youth.
“You were a loner, huh? I guess the wild isn’t for everyone.” The ginger and white tom snapped. “I have nothing here. No one will be sad if I just disappeared. What’s going to stop me? The warrior code? LightningClan? You?” Sparkpaw turned away, tail flicking confusedly. “I thought I wanted to be the best warrior in the valley, but not if that means I end up like every other miserable wretch hoping for a better life. Now I don’t know who I want to be, just that I want to mean something to someone, anyone, but no matter how hard I’ve tried, trained, cried, and prayed for purpose, it doesn’t seem interested in me.”
Why am I telling him this? Sparkpaw thought, feeling a light breeze rush through his fur. He couldn’t possibly understand. Could he?
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Post by Hellion on Apr 14, 2019 20:24:20 GMT -5
Love doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes The bravado in Sparkpaw's voice was impressive, but for the wrong reasons. Frustrated at his apprentices, Sunnyheart's anger built. It grew and raged into his chest until he couldn't take it anymore.
Lunging forward, Sunnyheart wrestled Sparkpaw to his back and pinned him there. Relying on his thicker build, he growled. Eyes narrowed to glare down at Sparkpaw.
"You do it for your family and friends, you do it because that's what you are supposed to do. We fight every day to keep each other alive. " His voice cracked. His adopted father had died trying to find his mate in the wildfire. There were still moments when Sunnyheart's filled up with so much sadness he felt even more lost. It was made better by Larkflower and her positive attitude. She was the reason he stayed, the reason he got up in the morning and here was Sparkpaw making a mockery of it all by his devil may care attitude.
Forcing himself to let up from the likely stunned Sparkpaw, Sunnyheart gave them a wide berth. "You have plenty of time to become a legend when you are older, just enjoy being an apprentice a little while longer, don't rush things," His voice was still rough from his earlier growl but he was actively trying to calm his own anger.
Sunnyheart |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2019 21:29:23 GMT -5
Sparkpaw let his mentor grapple him to the ground, watching with an achingly level stare as Sunnyheart retaliated. Family? His family didn’t need him, he was like a third wheel. They were protected by LightningClan, by warriors far stronger than him. Friends? What friends? Friends who picked him up or tossed him to the side whenever it suited them. He had no one. It was easy for Sunnyheart to say those words when he had something worth staying for.
LightningClan was better off without Sparkpaw and his antics.
He felt Sunnyhearts weight lift from him, and Sparkpaw rolled to his paws slowly, ominously. The ginger and white tom’s voice grew stale and quiet.
“I’m glad you have a reason to stay here, Sunnyheart. I wish you and Larkfeather the best, but I don’t have anyone like that.” Sparkpaw paused, continuing flatly. “I’ve had enough with this apprenticeship. I’ll keep hiding in the shadows for now, but hear this! Every cat in the valley will know my name someday, and I’ll bring about a huge change to the valley. I’ll make sure of it.”
And no one will be able to stop me. Sparkpaw thought, golden eyes harboring a fiery glint of promise.
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Post by Hellion on Apr 14, 2019 21:46:57 GMT -5
Love doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes
Defeat cascaded over Sunnyheart's face. He didn't get the reaction he wanted and had lackeed the emotional energy to really try for it again. Looking away from Sparkpaw for a moment he sighed heavily. He didn't know what to say but he made words form still.
"You have a reason to stay here, you just have to find it," He told him. It troubled him that Sparkpaw felt so dejected from the Clan. It was one thing to feel out of place sometimes but it seemed Sparkpaw felt that way all the time. Sunnyheart's only rarely felt those feelings and since he had grown up almost entirely in LightningClan, he hadn't felt them for a long time. He was torn between offering comfort or letting Sparkpaw be. It wasn't his place to ask the tom to stay. With a flick of his tail headed away from Sparkpaw and back toward the others.
Lucky for them the other warrirors had finished. Sunnyheart greeted them with a forced smile before taking the lead to head back to camp. His thoughts cloudy and paw steps heavy.
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