Another day in this snowglobe || Howling Wind

[sloestride]

THIS WEIGHT ON MY NECK MAKES IT HARD TO CONNECT​

The cold bit back that sunrise. Mornings with white-ink breath had come and gone with leaf-fall but Sloepaw was learning that in leafbare it was an almost daily occurrence. Fog curled from his nose to spiral past his chill, blackened ears. Every once in a while, the mist would obscure his view of Howling Wind ahead of him.

"S’leafbare lasts as long as any other season? This snow is definitely... everywhere." A redundant question, he knew, but one borne of a growing dislike of the season. Snow was sort of pretty, it changed everything, but in the end it was just colder rain- and he didn’t like rain. Not to mention all the doom-talk of a lack of prey and starvation. Maybe he’d change his mind, it was his first time after all. Maybe.

The tom’s fur had already grown its second pelt, a thicker sable that finally matched the heft of most native clancats' greenleaf coats. He caught sight of it in a puddle, before they all froze over, and felt like scoffing. He looked like a right plonker, a puff of wool on top of blunt legs. At least it’d keep him warm.

His mentor paused beneath the wake of a large oak, its branches doused in a thin layer of frost. The breeze teased a small flurry with each pass and the pair were soon dusted with white. Too distracted by the change in the forest, Sloepaw hasn’t asked Howling Wind what they’d be doing that day. A grunt, questioning, punctuated his final step before his narrow eyes rose to meet hers.

/ @HOWLING WIND :DDDDDDDDDD
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[HOWLINGSTAR]

Howling Wind leads the way through the frostbitten forest, the snow crunching beneath her paws. It's the only sound one can hear in the dawn's early light; it's one of the few things she likes about leaf-bare. The snow, it silences the world. Everything is so much quieter, more peaceful. She can draw in a deep breath, let the crisp air touch her lungs, and not hear a single rustle.

Her ears flick back as that silence is broken by Sloepaw's voice. She peers over her shoulder for a heartbeat before facing forward again. "I'm afraid so," She mews, tail swishing at her heels as they continue on. "We've still got a couple of moons to go. It's a long and difficult time, but we will get through it." She's sure of it. She'll teach her apprentice how to get through it, so that he'll know how to when he's a warrior and he's bearing the weight of keeping ThunderClan alive.

They stop at a towering oak tree and the deputy's gentle eyes pass over the pointed tom. "Today, you're going to climb." It's a simple instruction. She's no SkyClanner, but she can at least hoist herself up a tree, and she expects any cat she trains to do so as well.​

 

[sloestride]

THIS WEIGHT ON MY NECK MAKES IT HARD TO CONNECT​

"A couple of moons..." The mimicked murmur furthered the smog around his maw. A sliver of marmalade brushed the canopy as the tom stared thoughtfully at the sky. Sloepaw had only lived a couple of moons himself, really. Twelve moons was older than most apprentices, owed to his kittypet past, but in the grand scheme of things he was young. Looking back to Howling Wind, the intricate and overwhelming reality of time was pawed away. She had managed to grow to warriorhood and beyond safely, gracefully even. He would too- would try to at least.

At her instruction, the apprentice considered the oak before them. Climbing? A wrinkle overcame his blackened nose. Gloved paws began to tug at the bark uncertainly before he thought better of it. Strength was a trait he lacked. Instead, Sloepaw trudged back through the snow-crust clearing a few paces.

In an attempt to keep the look of trepidation from his face, he grit his teeth. With a gulp of cold and an uneven gait, he began his runup to the trunk. Climbing- he had done it before, sure. Beige towers and waifish curtains. An oak was different, it was so much taller. His stride was short and so his leap onto the vertical surface didn’t quite have the impressive height he had hoped for. A huffed battle, all stiff shoulders and desperate claws, rewarded the apprentice with a place at the widest ledge.

"Climbed!" Round eyes peeped over the edge down below, surprise reflected within them. Messy, but he’d done it. Sloepaw waited patiently, carefully, for his mentor to follow. Around them, the treetops were laid bare, a tapestry of brittle branches and long dead leaves.

"Y’know, there was a while I didn’t think I’d get to feel the snow like this. Back in my old nest I saw pictures, blurry scenes in the lightbox but with how cagey my twolegs were… Dunno. Didn’t think being out here was for me." Talking steadied his stumbling heart rate, which was still wobbling circles after their ascent of the tree.
​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

Her eyes follow the dark-furred tom up the trunk as he scrabbles, bark raining down to the snowy ground. Her mouth is curved into a smile; he's sloppy, but he's ascending. He eventually makes it onto a branch, and as he turns back to face her he calls down his accomplishment. "Well done!" She calls back up before she herself bunches her muscles. Howling Wind leaps, and her white claws sink into the side of the tree with a satisfying crunch. Kicking off with her hind legs, she hauls herself up until she climbs onto the branch Sloepaw rests upon.

"And now," She grunts, hoisting herself into a sitting position before letting out a sigh, "look at you. You're a ferocious clan cat." A chuckle leaves her as she glances to the side at him. He's all grown up, now. Still young, his face still round with youth, still some moons to go of training. But he's far from that clueless and naive kittypet that arrived at their border. "And soon enough you'll be a warrior."​

 

[sloestride]

THIS WEIGHT ON MY NECK MAKES IT HARD TO CONNECT​

Howling Wind’s praise bobbed a quiet breath from the tom, the encouragement thumping through his mind. It still fell a little off-key, like a beat a few paces off the original, but Sloepaw was learning to claw back the immediate disagreement that would rear its head. Sometimes. Glazed eyes watched the mentor make her way up, idly taking in the way she structured her stance and placed her paws.

"Ferocious? Don’t think I’m ferocious… " Incredulity frothed up, laughter not far behind. His strikes might as well be doused in cotton with how weak they could be. The apprentice was getting faster at least. Progress came like a frost, snapping forth unexpectantly or thawing back beneath the pressure.

Beaded ice laced the horizon around the pair, wind-worn sculptures gouged from the landscape. It muddied his memory of the hunting trails, knots in the wood once taken for granted coated in a thick camouflage. All of the forest’s sweeping angles and shaded pockets were a world away from where he had first lived. It felt like a long-forgotten dream.

"I thought I’d miss it." Introspection spread like the splintering of wood, a predator creeping from its den. Howling Wind was right, he’d be a warrior soon. It rooted him deeper in this life- his name would change once more, maybe he’d even be given an apprentice. "I told myself when I left it was because I had to. Really, I could’ve stayed. There was still housefolk to care for me, my green blanket to sleep on."

Slick amber remained trained on the treescape, his mentor’s dislike of kittypets not lost on the tom. "Would’ve been a bit miserable but, well, a lot easier too." Assurance coloured his tone in a transparent attempt to bring the conversation back around. ​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

"Easy doesn't describe the warrior's life," She mews back, ears pulling back against her head. She glances towards him again, appraising him. She's guided him, molded him, and she has not been easy on him. When she was first assigned Sloepaw as her apprentice...well, to say she was disappointed was an understatement. She fully believed she was going to chase him right back to Twolegplace with her teachings...yet here he was, a full-grown tom perching upon a frost-laden tree branch. He's proven her wrong many times over the last several moons. "And yet you're still here." Her tone is matter-of-fact.

Howling Wind's paw reaches towards him and she places it atop his own paw. If he were to look at her, he would see her smiling. "I'm proud of you, Sloepaw."

// SORRY this feels so short AH​

 

[sloestride]

THIS WEIGHT ON MY NECK MAKES IT HARD TO CONNECT​

Sloepaw blinked at her, owlish. Howling Wind’s form was stark against the waifish cloud cover, as steady as the tree they perched on. At her words, his shoulders caved to a low halt, rounding out his small frame.

"Yeah, guess I am. You’ve made it easier- but, after making it harder… In a good way! " His answer rolled around his snout, thoughts falling loose without filter. He found it hard to encapsulate her training neatly, properly. What had first felt like needless weight now represented a stamped in reliability. She would always hold him accountable, and that was, reassuring.

Then his mentor’s paw crested his own.

Ears folded back in momentary alarm, Sloepaw couldn't help his mild hiss of discomfort. Nothing- nobody ever came in contact with his pelt, not even his twolegs. Only the wind and rain, hapless brushes of nature, were familiar to the tom. He knew other kittypets would be scooped up, coddled, but he had only felt their affection in their voices and care. And around the clan- he was too busy, didn't talk enough- training was different, sparring wasn’t friendly-

All of that lurked behind the hoods of his eyes, indecision spluttering like wax-light. "Sorry, I’m uh, not used to that." A long, measured breath put to rest his, frankly unreasonable, nervousness. "I’m glad. That’s all I really want- to make you proud." Sloepaw met her smile, genuine. It was a constant effort, but something he strived for every passing moon.

/SORRY THIS IS SO LATE rahhh
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