private ADDERPAW ╱ CONTAINMENT ´ˎ˗

[SUNSTAR]

He has not allowed Adderpaw's wound time to heal itself completely, and that is a choice made with an intent he cannot consider kind. Early in his life, Sunstride had learned that cruelty and love could coexist; that it was kindness to be thrown to the wolves, or tossed to water and made to swim. Paws would not grow accustomed to the snow if they were never allowed to touch it, and a warrior could not understand battle if they had never faced it. He cares for Adderpaw. Not the way that his parents must, but the way that any warrior would a youth that follows in their steps. He is supposed to learn and grow under this tutelage. And Sunstride assures himself that it would be a deadly weakness if he did not teach him this lesson.

The badger sett is close still. He had assured Sootstar that they would not come any closer to camp. And though the wind rages around them, it is not so strong at this moment that they need worry of shelter. He wonders if it tugs painfully at the tag he still wears; he wonders if he will regret his choice to keep it now. That is not a question that he will ask.

"What do you know of this thing that you wear, Adderpaw?" His tone is nearly conversational, though he nods to his apprentice and begins a slow circle around him– match me, his eyes demand. A true raid does not come with time to size up an opponent, but he must make himself clear. Today, or at least for this moment, Sunstride is not his mentor. He is not a friend, or an ally. As a predator looks upon its prey, the lead warrior looks at Adderpaw. He knows that his ribs will still trouble him. Does it show? Does he wince, or overcompensate? Does he hide what happened to him, or wear it openly?

＞ˏˋ〘  OOC NOTES REFERENCE 05.28.2023 〙ˊˎ＜

• ooc: —

• 

• SUNSTRIDE. named for his coloration and his bold chasing of fate.
  —— cis male, he - him. thirty-eight moons old. lead warrior of windclan + former rogue.
  —— gay, but somewhat closeted. will not be open about his interests.  single, will be so.
  —— seems comparatively stranger than who he was some moons ago, serious and cool.
  
  sunstride is broad and bold– a creature standing above most of windclan, though not a beast beyond its borders, with fur that flames red and deepens to a burnt amber with every whorl and stripe. his eyes, in comparison, are a pale summer's blue, still as bold as the rest of him.

• "speech"

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[Addervenom]

Life doesn't discriminate

Eyes of hellfire trail over his approaching mentor, holding ocean blue with a taunt taunt expression. Sunstride has made it apparent that their training will resume as if the twoleg attack never happened. For that he can appreciate the sliver of normalcy but irritation still broils beneath his pelt. "Careful not to draw too close, lest you become contaminated, Sunstride." The boy hisses, dripping venom like his namesake as he mimics his father's words. He may as well have died with the way his parents were acting. They were more concerned over a piece of trash than his aching wellbeing. That thought alone enough to rot him to the core.

Adderpaw sat partially slouched, posture imposing and gargoyle-esque. Head poised low with razorblade shoulders raised high he continues to track Sunstride with his eyes, picking up on the wordless challenge. A question is presented as his mentor continues to encircle him and he scoffs as if sickened by his inquiry. "I know I'm sick of everyone talking about it." Whether it remained wedged within the cartilage of his ear or shredded from it, the small tag would remain a topic of discussion for quite some time. He would bear a mark either way. Tagged or maimed. So why subject himself to further unnecessary pain by tearing it out?

His tail lashes to and fro as he rises to his paws, the tenderness is his ribs screaming in protest. The pain killing effect of Vulturemask's poppy seeds were beginning to wear off, but Adderpaw remained straight faced, jaw set as he eased into a battle ready stance. He refused to wear his discomfort openly, too stubborn to give others something else to talk about. He knew his ribs would be a hindrance, and so he would need to play it safer than usual. A breathy exhale escapes him swinging a forearm wide with the intention to swat gritty debris in Sunstride's face and follow up with another sheathed paw across his head. ​

Between the sinners and the saints​

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[SUNSTAR]

Their pride is not his to carry– he knows the sins of a father, the burden that a child must carry at his behest. Though a mother was not as familiar a feeling to him, Sootstar's distaste was not so difficult to imagine. When he had first come to WindClan, there had been a great rift. An uncertainty between those that their great leader had brought and those who had followed her before lingered heavily upon the air. It was much like the mark that Adderpaw now wears. Something that sets him apart from all of WindClan. An easy bruise to prod. But unlike him, his apprentice can shed this burden. Should he allow a scar, it would vanish from their minds. A battle wound, a sign of his victory. But as it stands there, so stark against his fur, he is not victorious. He is wounded; marked. Instead of his triumph and survival, he carries with him nothing more than a sign of his loss. It is more than that even still.

Sunstride is angry at his obstinance. Worried for him, yes, but angry all the same. If he did not wish to listen to the worries of those who knew better, then he would learn another way. Well-accustomed to such tricks, Sunstride ducks his head against the showering of dirt, allowing Adderpaw's heavy-pawed blow to land as he aims the crest of his head to the apprentice's chest with force. Though it may not be enough to send him flying, he intends for it to wind, to wound. "They will talk of it for the rest of your life. You will spend your time marked by what has happened to you," he snarls, a dark weight to his words as he disengages from Adderpaw. "But more than that–" He charges back again, his own paw aimed not for his head, but precisely at his ear, at the tag that had caused such trouble. "It is a target. A place where every opponent will know to strike."

＞ˏˋ〘  OOC NOTES REFERENCE 05.28.2023 〙ˊˎ＜

• ooc: —

• 

• SUNSTRIDE. named for his coloration and his bold chasing of fate.
  —— cis male, he - him. approx. 40 moons old. lead warrior of windclan + former rogue.
  —— gay, but somewhat closeted. will not be open about his interests.  single, will be so.
  —— seems comparatively stranger than who he was some moons ago, serious and cool.
  
  sunstride is broad and bold– a creature standing above most of windclan, though not a beast beyond its borders, with fur that flames red and deepens to a burnt amber with every whorl and stripe. his eyes, in comparison, are a pale summer's blue, still as bold as the rest of him.

• "speech"

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