Post by Fawn on Sept 1, 2020 20:13:01 GMT -5
BeetlejaW
Will you be my breath through the deep, deep water
The Gathering brought back a barrage of uncomfortable memories. Beetlejaw held his breath, counting down slowly from twenty until the overwhelming miasma of five Clan scents all mixed together no longer choked him. It felt like StarClan's mercy that he didn't immediately recognize the rude TreeClan cats that had insulted him the second he'd arrived. Cicadasong wasn't here either, his littermate being his strongest supporter.
Beetlejaw slowly exhaled, his spine unbunching as he surveyed his surroundings. As easy as it was to write off Gatherings as a colossal waste of time, Beetlejaw didn't want Squirrelpaw to have the same experience he did. "It's intimidating at first, I know." He mewed out of the side of his mouth, his tail on Squirrelpaw's flank to keep the apprentice from getting lost in the hustle and bustle of so many cats. "Just picture everyone hacking up hairballs."
Narrowed eyes studied body language and posture, Beetlejaw taking a few solid minutes to get a sense of the felines around him. Who would be safe to approach? No one would attack Squirrelpaw, obviously, but Beetlejaw couldn't bring himself to trust that every cat here understood basic manners. Slowly his gaze fell to the medicine cats thronging nearby. Wasn't there something in their code about being kind to strangers? Or ignoring boundaries? Beetlejaw glanced at Ebonyheart, half curious enough to ask her about it, but not so curious that he wanted to subject himself to her penetrating stare.
While Beetlejaw mulled over the right words to say, he spotted a lean chestnut brown tom with luminous golden eyes watching him. One of NightClan's Medicine Cats, or so the smell told him. When they made eye contact, Shadowchaser smiled and waved with the tip of his tail. Heartened, Beetlejaw began to steer Squirrelpaw over to the healers - particularly the young one that had just been announced. "You're... Sagepaw, right?" Beetlejaw cleared his throat, forcing himself to exercise his atrophied social skills. "I'm Beetlejaw and this is my apprentice Squirrelpaw. We're--"
The StoneClan tom stopped himself. Any cat old enough to attend a Gathering was going to recognize different Clan scents. Or at least have the deductive reasoning to figure out who came from where. "Is this your first Gathering?" Beetlejaw subtly shifted his stance, unconsciously angling himself so that the stump of his left hind leg was not visible upon first meeting.
Beetlejaw slowly exhaled, his spine unbunching as he surveyed his surroundings. As easy as it was to write off Gatherings as a colossal waste of time, Beetlejaw didn't want Squirrelpaw to have the same experience he did. "It's intimidating at first, I know." He mewed out of the side of his mouth, his tail on Squirrelpaw's flank to keep the apprentice from getting lost in the hustle and bustle of so many cats. "Just picture everyone hacking up hairballs."
Narrowed eyes studied body language and posture, Beetlejaw taking a few solid minutes to get a sense of the felines around him. Who would be safe to approach? No one would attack Squirrelpaw, obviously, but Beetlejaw couldn't bring himself to trust that every cat here understood basic manners. Slowly his gaze fell to the medicine cats thronging nearby. Wasn't there something in their code about being kind to strangers? Or ignoring boundaries? Beetlejaw glanced at Ebonyheart, half curious enough to ask her about it, but not so curious that he wanted to subject himself to her penetrating stare.
While Beetlejaw mulled over the right words to say, he spotted a lean chestnut brown tom with luminous golden eyes watching him. One of NightClan's Medicine Cats, or so the smell told him. When they made eye contact, Shadowchaser smiled and waved with the tip of his tail. Heartened, Beetlejaw began to steer Squirrelpaw over to the healers - particularly the young one that had just been announced. "You're... Sagepaw, right?" Beetlejaw cleared his throat, forcing himself to exercise his atrophied social skills. "I'm Beetlejaw and this is my apprentice Squirrelpaw. We're--"
The StoneClan tom stopped himself. Any cat old enough to attend a Gathering was going to recognize different Clan scents. Or at least have the deductive reasoning to figure out who came from where. "Is this your first Gathering?" Beetlejaw subtly shifted his stance, unconsciously angling himself so that the stump of his left hind leg was not visible upon first meeting.
Can't stay in the shallows, please tell me I won't wash away