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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2016 20:50:52 GMT -5
Badgerpaw
There was always a reason for Badgerpaw to be happy, no matter how sour her life seemed to get at times. When someone bugged her she turned to watching how the leaves fluttered in a breeze, or when a bit of unexpected rain ruins her chance at a successful hunt, she turns to cutting open a thrush to study it's internal organs. Of course, such joys were fleeting at best, but she managed to find solace in them nonetheless. Today however, things seemed to be going a little worse than she had planned.
The black and white apprentice gave a soft sigh of disappointment as she entered back into Treeclan camp, sitting down beside the freshkill pile and beginning to lick her muddy fur in attempt to clean it. As one could imagine, things didn't exactly go well for the feline during her last hunt, the sudden appearance of rain having hidden the scent of her prey and making it difficult for her to track it. Still, she did her best to catch something to bring home to her clan, resulting in her running around in the rain for a while and getting exceptionally dirty in the process.
She did however, manage to snag a mouse, though it was rather puny in size compared to what she was used to eating. "Puny like me." She muttered out softly as she placed the prey down the pile, hoping that whoever got it would enjoy it. Surely even the smallest of things would be appreciated by someone, wouldn't they? With that she went and scooted away from the pile, backing off just enough to let other cats through but staying close enough to be able to keep an eye on the pile. She wanted to see if anyone would take the prey she had caught, it would certainly make her day if they did, even if she didn't show it.
Words: 318
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2016 9:53:37 GMT -5
Sparrowpaw
I'll give you something to believe in
Put out the basement full of demons
Realize you're a slave to your mind, break free
Now give me something to believe in
Grey clouds loomed about TreeClan camp, growing darker by the minute, seemingly. To any unwitting apprentice, now would seem like the perfect time to go hunting, the grey clouds having blotted out the sun and cooled down the Greenleaf day significantly. Sparrowpaw was many things -- but she wasn't dumb, and having felt the humidity, had opted to go out hunting earlier than later. Not that her hunting trip had been necessarily successful, but that was another story entirely.
The apprentice had been sitting in TreeClan camp, enjoying some alone time when the first few droplets of rain fell from the sky. Each landing droplet made Sparrowpaw's tortoiseshell pelt twitch, as if she could not imagine that one rain droplet would be followed by another -- though the motion was entirely reflex.
As the rain grew heavier and more consistent, Sparrowpaw rose to her paws and took cover underneath a dip in between two roots making up TreeClan's camp. The cover that the roots provided her was only possible due to her size -- a cat much older than her would not be able to fit in her nook.
Sparrowpaw sat, watching the rain fall and trickle down the sides of her corner, until the Greenleaf storm found peace and came to an end. About the time that the rain stopped, the she-cat spied another apprentice -- probably about her age, if not slightly older, arrive at camp. The apprentice got up, forcing herself out of her hiding place with a little effort, to greet the arriving black and white apprentice, Badgerpaw.
She was in mid-trot to greet her, when she saw that Badgerpaw was bringing back freshkill for the clan. How come she can hunt on her own? I can't .. still, Sparrowpaw thought to herself, halting and feeling green jealousy creeping up along her spine. "Nice catch," the TreeClanner forced out, realizing that she was far too close to Badgerpaw to just leave without addressing her. Sparrowpaw desperately wanted to make friends, but her self-esteem, as small as it was, couldn't let Sparrowpaw be happy. In any interaction she had with another cat, Sparrowpaw was reminded about how awful she was in comparison.
I'm a songbird with a brand new track
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2016 17:45:27 GMT -5
Badgerpaw briefly spied another apprentice as she walked into the Treeclan camp, prey in mouth. It looked to be Sparrowpaw and she appeared to have taken shelter in a little nook in between two of the camp's roots. Briefly, she hesitated, wondering if the she-cat would end up approaching her but soon decided that placing her catch down on the pile was more important than her fears and thus went ahead with it before moving to sit down though she silently hoped the apprentice wouldn't approach her.
Almost immediately after she took her seat a voice caught her attention, making her fur bristle ever so slightly as it broke through the ever so thin barrier of silence that surrounded the black and white cat. She swiveled her ears around to the source of the sound, though didn't bother lifting her head to look at Sparrowpaw. She listened intently as Sparrowpaw congratulated her on her catch, causing the currently soaked, amber-eyed apprentice to scoff and look up at her with disdain. "Thanks, though I'm sure you could do much better." She grumbled out, in a half sincere, half mocking tone.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2016 21:11:39 GMT -5
Sparrowpaw
I'll give you something to believe in
Put out the basement full of demons
Realize you're a slave to your mind, break free
Now give me something to believe in
Green eyes watched the black and white apprentice before her with a great deal of caution. Though Sparrowpaw had spoken only kind words to her denmate, she felt concerned that they would somehow backfire on her. No matter how much the tortoiseshell apprentice tried to stay behind the scenes -- by ensuring that she followed the word of her elders flawlessly or by never having a contrary opinion against her peers, Sparrowpaw never found herself quite liked. The apprentice wondered if there was something fundamentally wrong with her -- something beyond her understanding that kept her neither liked or disliked but just merely existing.
"Thanks, though I'm sure you could do much better."
The TreeClan apprentice tipped her head slightly, returning from the realm of her thoughts to reality. Me? Better? You've got to be kidding me. The last mouse I tried to catch saw me coming a mile away, Sparrowpaw thought to herself but refrained from saying anything of the sort aloud. The apprentice knew that getting into any kind of debate about who was the better hunter would end poorly for her -- and, judging by how soaked Badgerpaw was, would not be taken kindly. "Hopefully no apprentices are still out in this weather," the tortoiseshell mused, settling to her paws despite how wet the ground was and how much the water clung to her fur. "I was lucky to make it back to camp before the rain hit," she meowed, turning her head to take a look at the cloudy sky. Though the rain had ceased, the ever-turning and whirring clouds overhead warned of future storms and promised of winds and thunder beyond the heavy rain that had just fell.
Sparrowpaw glanced back at her denmate and shuffled. "It would be scary to be stuck out there, especially if it was worse than this," she added, unsure of what more to say to Badgerpaw. Every single word that left Sparrowpaw's mouth felt increasingly awkward to her -- though the apprentice could not seem to stop them from coming.
I'm a songbird with a brand new track
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2016 22:26:55 GMT -5
Fuzzy paws stretched out before her, Badgerpaw began to groom herself once more in an attempt to rid herself of the mud and gunk that had stuck itself to her thick pelt. Though she was focused on cleaning herself up however, she would occasionally stop to look up at Sparrowpaw and see what she was doing, feeling somewhat wary of her continued presence. Wasn't this apprentice supposed to be shy? Or was she thinking of another apprentice?
Her dark, amber eyes fixated on the female's face, watching Sparrowpaw's expression while she commented briefly on how she believed the tortie could have caught something better. She noticed how the female's head tilted ever so slightly at the mention before she changed the subject to something else., Curious, she wondered why the green-eyed cat was avoiding the topic, figuring she would have to dig a little deeper to get some answers.
"Yes, I hope no other apprentices are out there in this weather either, they could catch an illness in weather like this." Badgerpaw commented. "Scary might be a little much for a storm like this though, I'd say it's annoying at worst right now. A more powerful storm, now that would be more worthy of the title 'scary', especially one with winds strong enough to rip the trees right out of the ground. Now that's definitely scary!" She said, going back to cleaning her fur, though keeping her ears out for the sound of the other apprentice's voice.
@sparrow
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2016 19:45:25 GMT -5
Sparrowpaw
I'll give you something to believe in
Put out the basement full of demons
Realize you're a slave to your mind, break free
Now give me something to believe in
The apprentice's eyes had sunk from the clouds to staring at Badgerpaw's catch as she awaited the apprentice's response, if any. The longer Sparrowpaw continued to draw out the conversation, the more it became clear to her that things weren't clicking and that Badgerpaw was not looking for a new friend -- at least not with her. Sparrowpaw considered walking away and ending the conversation as she stared at the limp mouse, and even wondered briefly if she could pretend to be dead like the mouse to get away from the conversation. The air, sticky and humid thanks to the season and the rain, hung on her pelt more than ever with the silence of the conversation. Sparrowpaw's words hung in the air, thickening with every moment that passed unacknowledged. Whether it was an eternity before Badgerpaw replied or not was unclear to Sparrowpaw -- it was the feeling of the situation that mattered. She just got rained on, Sparrowpaw. She's not in the mood for talking. Especially not to you, Sparrowpaw's inner voice echoed, chastising the TreeClanner for even thinking she had a shot at friendship.
"Yes, I hope no other apprentices are out there in this weather either, they could catch an illness in weather like this. Scary might be a little much for a storm like this though, I'd say it's annoying at worst right now. A more powerful storm, now that would be more worthy of the title 'scary', especially one with winds strong enough to rip the trees right out of the ground. Now that's definitely scary!"
The apprentice glanced up from the fresh kill pile the moment Badgerpaw spoke, eying her as she spoke and gauging Badgerpaw's body language as a way of determining just how much the other TreeClanner wanted to be left alone. Deciding that Badgerpaw had brightened a little bit since the conversation had begun, Sparrowpaw decided to continue the conversation. "How's your training going?" the apprentice asked, changing the topic of the conversation suddenly.
I'm a songbird with a brand new track
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2016 1:15:40 GMT -5
A small smile tugged at the tuxedo cat's mouth, accompanied by the sound of a soft chuckle escaping the young feline. "Training is going rather well, or at least as well as it could be with a cat like Sootmask teaching you." She responded, seemingly amused by her question. "Of course, he's teaching me what I need to know but it's far from what I was expecting it to be. He just seems so.....distant, like he wants to do everything in his power to get the lesson done as soon as possible. I know I shouldn't expect anything else from him, given he doesn't seem to have much in the way of emotion, but I just feel-" The she-cat shook her head, a sigh escaping her mouth in the process. "Nevermind, how I feel isn't important in this situation. At least I have a mentor, even if I'm not all that fond of him." She mumbled out.
"Anyways." She looked up at Sparrowpaw, amber eyes focusing on her form now. "How have you been lately, is your training going well for you too?" Badgerpaw questioned, immediately directing the topic back over to her as she didn't feel like talking about her mentor anymore. She would have preferred not to have to think of him anymore either, but as the black and white feline spoke, the image of her blue-eyed teacher staring at her with his cold, emotionless eyes, crept up in her mind, causing a short shiver to run down her spine as she tried to get the picture out of her head.
@sparrow
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2016 10:16:18 GMT -5
Sparrowpaw
I'll give you something to believe in
Put out the basement full of demons
Realize you're a slave to your mind, break free
Now give me something to believe in
Sparrowpaw's dark green gaze watched Badgerpaw intently, for once, as she awaited her company's response. Sparrowpaw, usually one to look away from conversation to avoid it, found Badgerpaw welcoming for the moment. Even though Sparrowpaw still felt the nagging sense that she was stringing her fellow apprentice along, forcing her to stay a part of the conversaton, the voice disparaging Sparrowpaw as worthless had quieted. The laughter rising from Badgerpaw's jaws in response to her question gave her more motivation to stay -- and more hope that she had perhaps found a friend.
"Training is going rather well, or at least as well as it could be with a cat like Sootmask teaching you."
The tortoiseshell TreeClanner turned her head to the side, letting her awkward, too-large-for-her-body ears droop in the direction of the tilt. Sparrowpaw tried to place the warrior her denmate spoke of, but Sparrowpaw, being the loner she was, had not had more than a few words with Badgerpaw's mentor.
"Of course, he's teaching me what I need to know but it's far from what I was expecting it to be. He just seems so.....distant, like he wants to do everything in his power to get the lesson done as soon as possible. I know I shouldn't expect anything else from him, given he doesn't seem to have much in the way of emotion, but I just feel-"
Sparrowpaw watched her friend, realizing that she seemed to be struggling. Oh no ... this seems to be a sore topic for her. And I'm a stranger ... I can't give advice, can I? she thought to herself, her green gaze still boring its way into Badgerpaw as she watched her struggle to find words. Sparrowpaw recognized, the more Badgerpaw spoke, how difficult her training was. Sparrowpaw got constant positive feedback from her mentor, Feathercloud, on the rare occasion that positive feedback was due. She couldn't imagine training to become a warrior without getting any encouragement from her mentor. I don't know if I could do that ... I'd feel like such a burden. Poor thing, she thought to herself, frowning and casting her eyes to the ground. She didn't know what to say, feeling that it wasn't really her place as a stranger to get involved with something so emotional.
"Nevermind, how I feel isn't important in this situation. At least I have a mentor, even if I'm not all that fond of him."
As she felt the conversation take a turn, Sparrowpaw's gaze drifted back up to the black and white apprentice. You clearly want to talk about it ... even if it is uncomfortable ... I dunno if I should pry, though, she thought to herself, wondering if discussing uncomfortable situations with strangers was how strangers became friends.
"Anyways. How have you been lately, is your training going well for you too?"
The apprentice frowned, still caught up in Badgerpaw's description of her less-than-quality apprenticeship. "I-It's going fine ..." Sparrowpaw blurted out, before sighing. As much as it bothered her, Sparrowpaw realized that honesty from the start would be better building blocks for a friendship. "At least you can catch something," the TreeClanner admitted, in a sour tone, before realizing how insensitive her comment seemed, despite how honest it was. She just talked about how awful her mentor has been to her ... and you are just trivializing it. Her problems do matter, Sparrowpaw's thoughts echoed, her inner voice, as usual, catching her in her mistake. "I can't catch anything on my own yet ... But at least I don't have mousedung for a mentor," she clarified, feeling her fur heat ever so slightly as Sparrowpaw disclosed the honest truth. Badgerpaw was not much older than her -- maybe a moon or two at most -- and Sparrowpaw was far behind in her training.
I'm a songbird with a brand new track
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2016 12:30:54 GMT -5
"I can't catch anything on my own yet ... But at least I don't have mousedung for a mentor,"
Badgerpaw's ears twitched a bit at Sparrowpaw's comment. "You can't catch anything yet?" She asked, her gaze softening a bit. She felt a bit sorry for the quiet she-cat,feeling as though her comment might have hit a sore spot with her. Though she wasn't quite sure why she felt bad about it, she thought she had gotten to the point where she had become numb to the effects of hurting someone else after all of the rude things she had said to other apprentices in the past. She didn't understand what it was about Sparrowpaw that made her feel regretful for upsetting her but she didn't like it. Though perhaps.....the re-awakening of her emotional side could allow for her to make more friends and then she'd feel less lonely. She went silent for a moment as she thought about the consequences that may follow before inevitably deciding that having at least one friend wouldn't be so bad.
"Well," She suddenly began to speak again. "Perhaps you just need a little more practice then! If you want to, maybe one day we could go for a hunt together and we can practice together!" She purred out with a small smile on her face, a genuine and kind gesture that the tuxedo cat rarely showed to anyone outside of her family. "I'd be happy to try and help you out if I can!"
@sparrow
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 10:22:37 GMT -5
Sparrowpaw
I'll give you something to believe in
Put out the basement full of demons
Realize you're a slave to your mind, break free
Now give me something to believe in
"You can't catch anything yet?"
The young apprentice's pretty green gaze could not even look up from the dirt at this point in the conversation. Badgerpaw's words -- no matter what their intentions were -- strung the TreeClanner. The black and white apprentice, in that moment, had just reinforced and doubled the condescending remarks bouncing around in her head. Badgerpaw is shocked. She can't believe that I can't hunt. She is so surprised that I can't do something so easy and so natural to most cats, the tortoiseshell thought to herself, losing sight of the ground beneath her and focusing on her thoughts. A bit of movement -- a worm unceremoniously unearthed from the ground and writhing about -- caught her attention and gave her a bit of something aside from the negative thoughts in her head to focus on.
"Well,"
Sparrowpaw's ears flicked, acknowledging that Badgerpaw was still there and wanted to continue the conversation. The tortoiseshell's gaze stayed focused on the squirming worm. She couldn't bare to meet Badgerpaw's gaze.
"Perhaps you just need a little more practice then! If you want to, maybe one day we could go for a hunt together and we can practice together!"
I'm an embarrassment, the apprentice thought to herself.
"I'd be happy to try and help you out if I can!"
The apprentice finally looked up, looking at Badgerpaw's two-tone pelt, but still not meeting her companion's eyes. Sparrowpaw wanted Badgerpaw to stop. Every word the apprentice spoke about wanting to help her hunt and wanting to train with her further and further reinforced Sparrowpaw's feelings of shame. No matter how much Badgerpaw tried to offer to help, all it felt like to Sparrowpaw was heaping on more hurt -- and she wanted it to stop. Sparrowpaw wasn't sure how much more she could take. "You can't help. I think that there must be something wrong with me," the apprentice blurted out, hoping to cut off any further attempts Badgerpaw made to speak with her. Sparrowpaw rose to her paws, making out like she was ready to leave the uncomfortable conversation, but lingered for a moment, watching the worm begin to burrow back into the dirt.
Friendship, and life as a warrior, isn't right for me.
I'm a songbird with a brand new track
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 14:03:37 GMT -5
As Badgerpaw had been speaking what she thought were words of encouragement, she noticed Sparrowpaw looking down at the dirt. All too quickly, the smile she held on her face slinked back down into a frown while she questioned why the tortoiseshell wasn't looking at her. At first she thought it might be because Sparrowpaw simply found her words to be boring, but the truth was quickly revealed to her when the other apprentice spoke up.
"You can't help. I think that there must be something wrong with me."
Those words hit Badgerpaw as hard as a collapsing tree, and she was silent, watching her fellow apprentice rise to her feet as though preparing to leave, only to stick around for a while longer, watching a worm as it burrowed it's way into the dirt. She wasn't sure what to say. What could she even say to fix all of this? I'm sorry certainly wouldn't work, it rarely ever did.
She could have gone on and tried to convince her to stay, making promises that they could work together and learn from one another. That in the end, she would be able to teach Sparrowpaw how to hunt and that everything would be great after that. But she didn't. Those words wouldn't come to her mind until much later, right now her mind was clouded by emotion and the desire to make things right. So, she allowed her emotions to take the reins for a moment, and spoke with a soft, sincere tone.
"Well, you might think there's something wrong with you, but whether there is or isn't something wrong with you, I still think you're pretty great."
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