private APRON STRINGS AROUND MY NECK ✧ crabkit

[iciclefang]

“Pay attention, Crabkit.”

The two of them sit near the shallows in camp, carmine-streaked mother and son, as the sun begins to set the sky ablaze behind them. Iciclefang has stern blue eyes fixed on her kit, but there’s an exasperated smile bursting onto her muzzle like foam from a fast-moving spring. She’d singled him out this afternoon while his littermates scamper and play, and though she knows he yearns to do other things, she has planted his little bottom firmly beside her for this lesson. Truthfully, of all her kits, Iciclefang worries for soft-hearted little Crabkit the most. He is by far the most emotional of her children—she’ll never forget the tears that had sprung from his eyes when Pinekit had mercy-killed the injured bird—and she fears for his future.

“Now, we’re going to wait until we see a minnow,” she tells him, “and when you see one moving, you’re going to do this.” A paw skims out, flashing into the water. It disturbs the surface, but she’d only been demonstrating—no fish is rippling across the sandy shore.

Perhaps this is a bit advanced for a kit of three moons—she knows this—but Iciclefang also has imperceivably high expectations for her brood. She gives him a gentle nod of encouragement. “Here, you try it now.”

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: @CRABKIT
• 
• Iciclekit . Iciclepaw . Iciclefang, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 22 moons old, ages realistically on the 17th.
  — mentored by Smokestar ; mentoring Cicadapaw ; previously mentored n/a
  — riverclan lead warrior & queen. mudpelt x icesparkle, gen 2.
  — former mate to Stormywing ; current mate to no one.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh tortoiseshell and white she-cat with ice-blue eyes. confident, capable, proud, dry, conceited, condescending, distrustful.
  
  

​

 

[CRABPAW]

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 The kit wiggles and shifts his position, his tail whipping back and forth impatiently. He loves his mom, but he doesn’t want to pay attention to her right now. "Mamaaaaa…" he whines, a frown set deep on his pale muzzle. She doesn’t listen to his complaints, though she seems sort of amused by them. "I don’t wanna fish. Can’t I go play?" He can hear his littermates playing, the sounds of their excited shouting—or at least, he thinks he can. He likes sitting by the river, and the idea of learning important skills before he becomes an apprentice may be appealing, but he’s still a kit, and convincing him to sit still and listen is a difficult task.

Despite his restlessness, though, Crabkit is listening to his mother. Iciclefang orders him to wait until they see a minnow, and bright green eyes focus intently on the river’s glittering surface. He doesn’t see any fish in the shallow water no matter hour hard he looks, but the calico queen demonstrates what he’s supposed to do anyway. She tells him to try, and the little tom frowns. An ivory and orange paw hovers in the air above the water’s surface for a few moments, hesitating, before he strikes out with it. Though he tries, it isn’t the same motion as Iciclefang had demonstrated—instead, his paw only bops gently against the surface, spraying Crabkit with droplets of water. "Like that?" Wide eyes shift to his mother’s face, an expectant smile set on his own muzzle.​

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[iciclefang]

Crabkit’s complaints fall on deaf ears and earn him nothing but an impatient look through narrowed blue eyes. “This won’t take long,” she insists. She believes her son will catch at least one tiny minnow before the sun has set, and then he can share it with his littermates, pride etched into the flesh like tiny teeth. She remembers her first minnow well, the way it’s flavor had sang of the river and melted on her tongue, the way the bones had cracked between her teeth. She wants that for Crabkit—and furthermore, she wants to know he’s capable of such a thing.

The little ginger tomkit peeks into the water, and though he concentrates—seemingly—his movements are clumsy. His paw does not scoop into the water like Iciclefang’s had; he skims the surface, spraying himself with droplets. “Like that?” He’d asked, smiling up at her like he’d done something quite impressive.

Impatience flares in her again. “No, no,” she says, shaking her head. “You need to cup your paw like this, Crabkit. Show me until you get it right.” She extends her paw and curls it inward, claws peaking from their pouches. “You’ll need to scoop the fish onto the shore and kill it before it falls back in. Your paw can’t be flat when you try.”

Stars, she might be here awhile.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Iciclekit . Iciclepaw . Iciclefang, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 22 moons old, ages realistically on the 17th.
  — mentored by Smokestar ; mentoring Cicadapaw ; previously mentored n/a
  — riverclan lead warrior & queen. mudpelt x icesparkle, gen 2.
  — former mate to Stormywing ; current mate to no one.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh tortoiseshell and white she-cat with ice-blue eyes. confident, capable, proud, dry, conceited, condescending, distrustful.
  
  

​

 

[CRABPAW]

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 His mother promises that catching fish won’t take long, and Crabkit hopes that’s true. He wants to get back to playing with Cragkit and Pinekit! But now that he’s trying, he’s excited to catch his very first fish. His siblings would be so jealous! His excitement is quick to fade, though, when he swipes for a fish and misses—he’s already beginning to feel defeated. His shoulders slump, wet patches of fur slicked down against his figure. He isn’t any good at this! Even though his calico mother corrects his form and demonstrates again, it still feels hopeless. What if he can’t catch a fish, ever?

Show me until you get it right, Iciclefang says, and Crabkit’s expression twists into one of disbelief. "How long…?" Until he gets it right? That’s so long! He tries to cup his paw in a mimicry of the lead warrior’s actions, though he doesn’t extend his claws like she does—he doesn’t want to hurt the minnows, after all. His next strike into the water is no more successful than the first, and he grumbles, "Do Cragkit and Pinekit have to do this?" His eyes are rounded as he looks up to her, ears swiveling back against his head. It’s clear that the boy has lost his patience with the task; eagerness to succeed is not enough to overcome his frustration.​

​

 

[iciclefang]

Crabkit’s little shoulders slump into a silhouette of defeat after his second attempt fails. He appears dubious as she tells him to try again until he gets it right. “How long…?” As if he cannot believe she’d do such a thing to him. Iciclefang’s frown is immediate and cutting. “Crabkit, you’ve only tried a little bit. Fishing takes lots of practice.” Her voice is stern, though she can’t help the softness in her blue gaze as it trails along her son’s sunset-streaked fur.

Rounded green eyes swing her direction, his ears pushed flat against his little skull. He asks if Cragkit and Pinekit have to do this, too, and her shoulders stiffen. Had he seen through her so easily? With a short sigh, Iciclefang nears the water’s edge, sitting beside her little ginger tomkit. How long before she would be looking at him as an equal, as a RiverClan warrior? How long before the Clan depended on his impatience, his frustration, to feed their most vulnerable?

“No,” she answers bluntly, truthfully. “Crabkit, do you want to learn how to hunt? Tell me honestly.” In a flash, she remembers the bird, the way Pinekit had deftly put it out of its misery, the way Crabkit had whimpered between her paws as the task was completed. What if he never learns?

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Iciclekit . Iciclepaw . Iciclefang, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 23 moons old, ages realistically on the 17th.
  — mentored by Smokestar ; mentoring Cicadapaw ; previously mentored n/a
  — riverclan lead warrior & queen. mudpelt x icesparkle, gen 2.
  — former mate to Stormywing ; current mate to no one.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh tortoiseshell and white she-cat with ice-blue eyes. confident, capable, proud, dry, conceited, condescending, distrustful.
  
  

​

 

[CRABPAW]

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 His mother scolds him for his impatience, but it kind of feels like she’s unhappy because of his failure, too. He hangs his head, defeat sinking into his posture while the lead warrior insists that fishing takes practice. Well, he knows that, but… but… what if he never gets it right? Practice is good, but what good is it really when he can’t even succeed when he’s practicing? But when he asks whether his siblings have to do the same thing, her answer causes him to straighten right up. No, she replies, like it’s something he should have known. How come Crabkit is the only one who has to practice, then? His brows furrow and his teeth dig into his lip, on the verge of throwing a fit, of smacking a frustrated paw into the water and refusing to try any more. He doesn’t want to do this anymore, he thinks.

Then Iciclefang’s serious voice turns even more serious, and she asks him if he wants to learn to hunt. A lie, a placating yes, hovers on his tongue, but before he speaks she follows the question up by telling him to answer honestly. "Um," he says, unable to look his mother in the eyes. The shifting of his paws grows visibly uncomfortable, attention drawn elsewhere. The river’s water ripples, glints of sunlight shining across its surface. He thinks of the bird, the poor bird that didn’t have a chance when Pinekit killed it, and sniffs harshly. "No."

˚𓆛˚｡ the river will take me

• ooc: —
• 
  CRABKIT ❯❯ he/him, kit of riverclan
  𓆟 ginger and cream tabby with rippling white spotting and mossy green eyes. highly emotional and difficult to keep focused on one subject.
  𓆟 son of iciclefang ; brother to cragkit & pinekit
  𓆟 peaceful and healing powerplay permitted
  𓆟 penned by foxlore

​

​

 

[iciclefang]

“Umm… no,” he says, and his sniffle resounds across the water. Iciclefang is silent for a long moment. I knew it. I knew it as soon as I saw him with the bird. The tortoiseshell queen watches him sniffle to himself, and part of her yearns to go to him and comfort him, but—but is she… is she making him worse? She treats all of her children a little differently, she’s noticed—she has always been softer with Crabkit, and that indulgence is now reflecting in other places, isn’t it? The dappled she-cat exhales softly through her nose before speaking.

“Are you hungry?” Her voice is low but persistent. “The fresh-kill pile is full of creatures that were once alive. We hunt to survive, Crabkit. We don’t do it to hurt other creatures.” She lifts a paw and presses it to his shoulder. “Someday, you will be a RiverClan apprentice, and you will be expected to learn how to fish and hunt for the Clan. I don’t want you to be…” She falters for a moment, then mews, “…behind.”

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Iciclekit . Iciclepaw . Iciclefang, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 23 moons old, ages realistically on the 17th.
  — mentored by Smokestar ; mentoring Cicadapaw ; previously mentored n/a
  — riverclan lead warrior & queen. mudpelt x icesparkle, gen 2.
  — former mate to Stormywing ; current mate to no one.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh tortoiseshell and white she-cat with ice-blue eyes. confident, capable, proud, dry, conceited, condescending, distrustful.
  
  

​