Post by Insidious on Aug 3, 2015 15:33:48 GMT -5
P I K E P A W & R A Z O R S T A R
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He absolutely did not need a mentor. He didn't need somebody telling him everything he was doing wrong. If being an apprentice meant taking more criticism than he had been forced to endure as a kitten, then he wanted no part of it. The only good thing about being an apprentice, it seemed, was that he now had the privilege of leaving camp by himself. He remembered with a childish fondness the last time he had pulled such a stunt: he had been nothing more than a blindly self-confident kitten, and before he knew it he had found himself inside of enemy territory. His dad had been furious when he found him almost completely submerged in the mud, but Razorstar wasn't the only one...
He hardly remembered the other cat that had been there to save his daughter, but he remembered her almost a little too well. There was hardly anytime to consider her, however, for soon enough his paws were gracing the unclaimed, and StarClan's Claws was just a little ways ahead - the last thing he needed was the permission of his father to attend a Gathering. He was too immature, he couldn't control himself around the cats of the other Clans, and if his father wouldn't change his mind, then he'd happily attend a private, secluded Gathering of his own. Paws outstretched to ascend the perch that was meant for the leaders, the black, salmon-chested tom took a seat and waited as patiently as he could for his ancestors to begin glowing against the inky sky.
It was to the point that he would have been surprised if to peek inside of the apprentices' den and actually see his son in the spot he was supposed to be. It wasn't that he didn't love his son, because he did, but rather that he simply had a hard time tolerating all of his misbehaviour. It was always something with Pikepaw - he just hoped that this time around he had enough sense to stay out of somebody else's territory.
Sharing a murmured explanation with his beloved mate, Razorstar ducked out of camp, catching a faint whiff of Pikepaw's scent and beginning the journey towards StarClan's Claws. He had learned to keep his anger at bay whenever his mischievous son was involved, but he was about fed up with his wanderings; this wasn't what it meant to be a part of a Clan, and sooner or later Pikepaw would need to learn to stop caring about only himself. It had been a hard lesson for the leader himself to come by, but he was there now, and it had made the world of a difference.
"Let's go, Pikepaw." Shock flickered through eyes just like his mother's, and Razorstar had only a moment to add something else before his son could attempt a rebuttal, ears flattening against the younger tom's head in a show of defiance. "Don't you say a single word. You can't leave camp whenever you please. Someone needs to know where you are. If you don't come down from there right now, I'll come get you myself, and you won't like it one bit when I carry you into camp by the scruff of your neck."
He could see the way that patience left his father's body language: the tensing of his shoulders, the tightening of his lip, but Pikepaw didn't move a muscle until he was certain that he had only a few seconds to spare before Razorstar made good on his word. He hated being told what to do, but even worse than that was being made a fool of in front of his Clanmates. "Fine, I'll go back to camp, okay? I don't see what the big deal is." He rolled his eyes, because parents were so annoying; a life without them was almost too sweet to imagine.
Maybe his ancestors had been present after all. He had never been much of a believer, it had seemed too far-fetched, too unlikely a story, but something changed inside of him that night when he had wished for a life without parents and almost got exactly that. The lynx was so fast. He hadn't smelled him, he hadn't seen him, but suddenly he was there and suddenly his father was baring those sharp teeth of his and screaming for him to stay away. For once it was no problem for him to take orders because his paws had lost feeling and there was no chance of him moving anytime soon. He had never seen a lynx before, he had never seen blood before, but it was real and it was happening and, worst of all, it was his father's blood that spilled across the ground in angry, red pools.
This was his fault. He willed his father to stand, to move so that Pikepaw could see he was alive, but he regretted it the second that Razorstar moved one of his paws and suffered gravely for it. Demon lunged again, attacking an already battered corpse, sucking what life had barely managed to return back out. Pikepaw was utterly horrified, watching as his sole nightmare turned predatory eyes on him; he backed up until his rump was pushed against the cold rock of the stone pillars, but for each step back the lynx would take one forward.
The creature pounced, and he would've been dead if he hadn't had just enough sense to dart to the left. Demon's head crushed against the surface of the stone, but Pikepaw's victory was short-lived when it clumsily rose to its paws, cocking its head in stunned pain. He could've ceased the moment. He could've been the brave cat he always pretended to be and, for once, do something heroic. But all he did was
cower with zero confidence while his father sunk his lethal fangs into the side of Demon's neck and drove it back into the stone with menacing force. This time, when the lynx fell, it didn't get up again - it wasn't dead, Pikepaw knew better than to think it was dead, but it was down and that was all that mattered.
He locked eyes with Razorstar, and for a moment he looked like a stranger, more tired than he had ever seen him; anyone else would not have gotten up again, but his father did, and he saved him when he didn't even deserve it. He had nothing to say. An apology fell flat on his tongue, it would be wrong and outright worthless, but Razorstar turned away and walked in silence before he could even think to form the words that would be right. Following him without thought, in no place to complain as would be otherwise expected, he slowly matched the leader's weary strides.
It didn't seem like he would ever be forgiven. Roselight would find out, and she would hate him for it. RainClan as a whole would find out, and everybody would be disgusted with him. And his sisters - he didn't even want to think about the looks they would give him. These images haunted him for mere seconds at best, but that was enough; Razorstar pressed the fur of his leg against his son's as they walked, and then from there he stopped, Pikepaw froze, and he curled his neck over top of Pikepaw's and simply embraced him. Despite everything, they were a family. He had done some stupid, stupid things, and this about topped the list, but Razorstar would risk everything for him, he knew that now more than ever, and for the first time in his life he wanted to know that feeling.
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