private AS ABOVE, SO BELOW — brackenpaw

[BLUEFROST]

"So you have fought in your first battle." Bluefrost and Brackenpaw make their way through the moors, toward an opening, a hole in the earth that descends into blackness. "How did you like it? It will not be your last." She walks calmly, slowly, purposefully, until they are sniffing the air outside the burrow; she parts her jaws and drinks in the stagnant, breezeless air. "Always check for badger-scent." There is none; she is confident enough now to descend with her protege in tow.

"Once we go under, keep close to me. You will not be able to see once we descend." Finally, she turns glimmering golden eyes onto Brackenpaw, regarding her smallness, the shape of her shoulders. "You must learn to use your other senses. I will not leave you—not this time. Follow my pawsteps and the sound of my tail."

She turns, then wriggles her way into the tunnel's opening, feeling the cool earth sift between her claws. Bluefrost presses one side of her body to the tunnel wall, flicking the brushlike tip of her tail toward Brackenpaw to indicate they should do the same. "Let us go." She begins to move, and the light cuts out. There is only thick, blinding gray darkness before them, yawning infinitely. The scents of the moorland are muted here; everything is covered in a fine layer of old dust, of musk.

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

• ooc: @Brackenpaw
• 
• Bluekit . Bluepaw . Bluefrost, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 16 moons old, ages realistically on the 14th.
  — mentored by Sootstar ; mentoring Brackenpaw ; previously mentored n/a.
  — windclan warrior. sootstar x weaselclaw, gen 2.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh blue and white she-cat with emerald eyes. aloof, dignified, poised, haughty, composed, distant.
  
  

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[Brackenpaw]

Brackenpaw had found herself staring at the ground as they walked, the events from ShadowClan weighing on her mind. Alongside the news that there had been an attempt at RiverClan as well, the fact that Bluepool had died during it was daunting. She's pulled from dwelling too much on the past events by the tunneler's question. “It was fine? It was scary but I didn't hate it or anything” they weren't really sure what the correct question was. Was she supposed to like it? “I… felt like I wanted to hurt him, I don't know if that's a good thing or not'' they confessed with a frown. It wasn't like they dreamed of harming anyone really but in a situation like that they wanted to retaliate.

“That apprentice was so foolish. Did you hear him call out before charging? What a joke” She huffs, brushing aside her own concerns at the thought of how annoying that apprentice was. While grumbling about her grievances she makes sure to be aware of her surroundings enough to match Bluefrost's pace. When they reach the yawning mouth they make sure to set aside any lingering annoyed thoughts, they had to be serious now. They saw first hand with the aftermath of what happened to Mouseflight, the tunnels could be dangerous and she wasn't dumb enough to try and antagonise or distract the tunneler from teaching them what she should be doing.

There's a nod given, they can feel that despite the fact that their jaw is clenched there's a tremble to her. It seemed that her anxieties about this were still lingering, as annoying as that was to them. “Okay, yeah I can do that.” This was just as much as a trust exercise between the two of them in her eyes as it was a general training exercise to understand the tunnels. If there was any hope for Brackenpaw to hold a flame of trust to her mentor it was going to have to be shown here.

They didn't realise just how claustrophobic it would feel until she wriggled inside the tunnels opening. They wrinkle their nose in response to the scent of dust and a stale musk that they can't identify. Nothing was going to prepare her for just how dark it was here, to have her sense of sight cut like this, it was alarming. They mirror Bluefrost’s movements as quickly as they realise what she meant with the flick of her tail. “Does it ever get less scary?” They had a feeling that the answer would be no, yet she feels compelled to ask just in case the answer will be different.

---

‎‎ ‎┌── Im just a dog ⸙ with no bite ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• 
  ooc.
  
•  
• BIOGRAPHY
  ✩ they/she, tunneler apprentice of Windclan, 7 moons (ages on the 22nd)
  ⭃ a lithe and fragile looking calico that looks like they still need to grow into her ears
  ⭃ Speech, thoughts, attacking
  ⭃ NPC x NPC, mentored by Bluefrost
  ⭃ easy to befriend other kits, gradually harder to befriend every rank after that
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by Juice ↛ @/ouijeejuice on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  ⭃ All opinions are IC!! Bracken is a little hater
  

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[BLUEFROST]

A small smile quirks her lips as Brackenpaw complains about the ShadowClan apprentice she'd brawled with. "ShadowClan is not known for their decorum. You did well, though, for someone with little to no battle training. That will be our next focus after we explore the tunnels." She turns to look at Brackenpaw for a moment before continuing. The air, as they descend, begins to take on a mineral taste; it feels damp and thick on her whiskers as they stray from the sun and the wind.

"Does it ever get less scary?" Bluefrost nods, though she's aware Brackenpaw cannot see the gesture. "Soon you will know these tunnels like the back of your paw," she mews, parroting Sootstar from moons ago. "Can you feel the way the air changes? Use your whiskers. You can tell if there's an opening somewhere by the differences in the air quality." She pauses, lifting a paw to check a stick shoring up the tunnel's earthen ceiling. It is somewhat loose.

"Here. We have these all throughout the tunnels to make the walls stronger," she explains. She packs a bit of earth around the bottom of the stick and begins to mold it into place. "Always check them. It is one of your duties now. We'll also clear away any debris. . .but it looks like a patrol has beaten us to this one today."

She flicks her tail against Brackenpaw's flank, willing them to pay attention. "Now—scent the air. Tell me what you can smell." She parts her jaws, letting the dust, the dankness of the tunnel, flood her mouth. Somewhere, in the heart of it all, she can taste a stale trail left by a rabbit.

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

• ooc: —
• 
• Bluekit . Bluepaw . Bluefrost, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 16 moons old, ages realistically on the 14th.
  — mentored by Sootstar ; mentoring Brackenpaw ; previously mentored n/a.
  — windclan warrior. sootstar x weaselclaw, gen 2.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh blue smoke she-cat with white and emerald eyes. aloof, dignified, poised, haughty, composed, distant.
  
  

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[Brackenpaw]

“Mm'kay if I ever have to see them again then I'll be prepared” she spoke mostly to herself as they walked. Annoyed with themself for feeling good underneath their mentors praise, she didn't need her approval or anything it was just good to be recognised. Brackenpaw pointedly ignored that surge of joy that sparked from it.

They never thought as a kit that they'd be a tunneler, she should have known better than to expect anything yet they did. Maybe the tunnels would feel less scary if she had thought of this as their future. They stumble in the dark like a newborn kit trying to learn how to walk properly. Pelt brushing against the walls of the tunnels more often then not in their bumbling and she has a few missed calls from colliding with Bluefrost herself.

Though the blue smokes words does instill some confidence within her, they hoped that they could one day carry themself with grace here like they do above ground. They nod to themself and heed Bluefrost’s words, whiskers twitching as she tries to notice the difference in the air. It was difficult but they were hoping it would come to her in time.

“How can you tell if there's debris if you can't see?” Maybe it was a dumb question but Brackenpaw never shied away from asking whatever came to mind. It seemed like a lot of things to remember but this was part of being a tunneler they guess. The apprentice jumps at the feeling of her mentors tail flicking against her flank. She squashes that surprise and subsequent embarrassment from jumping, ears pinning back slightly.

At her prompting she tilts her head up towards the ceiling, jaw parts as they take in the scents around them. Gagging as the musk of the tunnel and the dust onslaught her, taking in a deep breath before attempting again. “This gross tunnel” is all they can say at first with a scowl. After probably too much time they're able to place a foreign scenting one that they have noticed sometimes around the moors. “Uh- A.. rabbit? but it smells funny. Does that mean it's old?” They hadn't taken the time to notice the differences between a fresh and stale scent before.

---

‎‎ ‎┌── Im just a dog ⸙ with no bite ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• 
  ooc.
  
•  
• BIOGRAPHY
  ✩ they/she, tunneler apprentice of Windclan, 8 moons (ages on the 22nd)
  ⭃ a lithe and fragile looking calico that looks like they still need to grow into her ears
  ⭃ Speech, thoughts, attacking
  ⭃ NPC x NPC, mentored by Bluefrost
  ⭃ easy to befriend other kits, gradually harder to befriend every rank after that
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by Juice ↛ @/ouijeejuice on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  ⭃ All opinions are IC!! Bracken is a little hater
  

​