pafp barricades of freedom | star-gazing

[RAVENSONG]

His coat was thick and long enough to cover up any noticeable scars. Apart from a few ripped clumps of fur from his chest and belly, Ravenpaw looked virtually untouched. However, it hurt to move his mouth and the stings of his wounds pricked at him underneath dark fur. Ravenpaw lowered his haunches to the ground for a brief moment, ears flicking to and fro as he watched his Clanmates mill about their broken home without Clearsight.

He did not know yet if it was worth it. The reasonable part of his mind told him it was not fair to judge so early. Ravenpaw sighed shakily and looked up. Dusk had fallen and the night had drawn over them like a shadow. The stars were beginning to twinkle and naturally, Ravenpaw tracked each one of them, noting if one of them was in a different spot than last night. He did not have his fish bones to mark their places.

Those had been swept up by the river. And now, he was too tired to recollect it.

A sudden streak of light dashed over the sky, so quick one could blink and miss it. "Did you see that?" He hissed to his seated companion, eyes widening.


// open after @dovepaw. posts

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[dovethroat.]

If Ravenpaw had gotten out of the battle rather unscathed, one would wonder if Dovepaw had been in a fight at all. Perhaps he had just been lucky. Perhaps he had been a coward. Perhaps he was more skilled than he thought he was. He was not sure. He did not want to pass judgment—but he certainly did not think it was the last one. One would be hard pressed to find Dovepaw thinking such things about himself. Out loud, anyway.

He was younger than Ravenpaw was. It was hard to think of that as being a particularly large difference, if a noteworthy difference at all in the grand scheme of things, but it was a difference. Before long, Ravenpaw would become a warrior. Dovepaw would not. Not until another few moons, anyway. Maybe he just was not as mature, he thought with a pang in his throat. Maybe he did not understand all that had happened. He did not know. The more he thought about it, the less he felt confident in.

All thoughts, however, dispersed from his mind when Ravenpaw suddenly made a sound. "I, uh, y-yeah, yeah," he panted suddenly, only half-telling the truth. "Wh-What was that?"

He had seen it, but he hadn't been focusing on it at all. "...D-Do you want, um, me... to get your b-bones?"

[⋆]​

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[HOUNDSTRIDE.]

The night has always been Hound's only solace. Be it the quiet or the loneliness, or perhaps some intricate dance'f both, it's always been the only way to clear his head. And with all that's happened of late, he most certainly needs that. His paws take him on a slow, circling path. Around the camp, a tired patrol. It'd started with fear, but has since turned to a slow, steady routine. In an out, weaving through dens. Most everyone who'd been around RiverClan long enough would know his reasoning for it. A few of the softer souls look at him with sympathy. Hound does what he can to ignore it, lest he burst from shame or irritation.

Or both.

He look at them, then away again, frowns to his paws as he keeps walking. A bit of pep back in his sleepy step, which is nothing good. Exactly the opposite of what he'd been tryin' to achieve. At least it means he's awake enough to keep from tripping over a pair of apprentices– quite literally, too. His paws stop just a whisker's length from Ravenpaw's tail. "What use are bones to the stars?" It's a genuine question, accusatory as Houndstride's tone typically is.

﹥ˏˋ〘  OOC NOTES INFORMATION 〙ˊˎ﹤

• ooc: —
• ──── houndstride. trans male, he - him - his pronouns.
  ──── over three years old. born late december of 2020.
  ──── bisexual but with a heavy masc preference; single.
  
  ──── a chocolate tabby with ( stylized ) low white and intense lime eyes. lean and lanky,  with whiplike musculature and a long, quick stride. hound's notable features include his impressive height, the long scar across the left side of his face from nose to jaw, his very deep, dense fur, and the confident manner with which he conducts himself.
• "speech"

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[RAVENSONG]

After their first encounter which made Dovepaw accidentally discover Ravenpaw in the midst of his star tracking, the darker furred apprentice let the other one follow him around at a distance. It was amusing to say that Dovepaw was Ravenpaw's shadow, since Dovepaw was much lighter than him in terms of pelt.

"A star," Ravenpaw droned, turning his head and squinting up his freshly scarred face at Dovepaw. "One that was falling. That or a piece of the moon—anything but a bird." He looked up at the sky again. Had something been knocked out of the sky? Which star had fallen, if it was? If he were any more superstitious he would have thought that it could be a sign from StarClan, maybe a message from fallen Clearsight.

Then Dovepaw opened his mouth with another question. "You—shh! Keep it down!" Ravenpaw's skin felt hot under his fur and his head whipped around to stare intently into Dovepaw's eyes.

His blood froze when Houndstride commented. "Nothing of course." He blinked. "Dovepaw must have taken a hit to the head during the battle."

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[Cindershade]

"Bones, hm? Some of those wouldn't happen to be the ones from my collection I had to restart, would they Ravenpaw?" Another accusatory tone is thrown towards the shadowed apprentice, this one not quite so genuine but frosted. She slowly slips from the cluster of shadows as dusk began to settle into twilight, the sky fading into a deep Indigo as the sun had finally rested. The previous days had been none other than exhausting, with the raid and the vigil for Clearsight. Home didn't quite feel like home right now. It felt empty and tarnished—violated from the stain of RiverClan and WindClan blood that stained the clearing. Their actual home couldn't come quickly enough, the Beech Copse felt more foreign to her than ever. She longed for the drooping willows with budding greenery and the river flowing around their camp that ensured the sanctity of home.
Exhaustion pulls at her features now, eyes that have lost their usual luster but still reverberated a fierce glow under the moonlit night. She settles among the apprentices and Houndstride. For a moment, her eyes rest on his own gaunt features. He seemed to share the sleeplessness that plagued the both of them. She says nothing towards then tom, but her long tail flicks towards him in greeting as her head swivels to the light and dark apprentices. "Do tell what these bones are for, Ravenpaw. I'm very much intrigued." She muses, echoing the other warrior's question.
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[ SILENCE IS DEAFENING ]​

 

[CRAPPIEPATCH]

Crappiepaw feels like they have been just… going through the motions, since Gloompaw disappeared. Since they lost one of their friends. Since Koipaw became withdrawn, broken in a way that their presence cannot possibly fix. They have not been sleeping well as of late, especially after the WindClan raid. What if Gloompaw had been snatched away by a WindClanner—or a rogue, like Rainwhisker had? What if there is no chance to have her back?

They approach the others while Cindershade is questioning Ravenpaw, and they let out a small snort at the idea of an apprentice stealing her bones. Their voice is a tired, grating rasp as they grit out their addition to the conversation, though. "I think we all collect bones," they suggest to Cindershade, mouth pulled in a deep frown. Their throat scrapes with every word; perhaps they should talk to Beesong about their late-night sore throats. They glance up to the sky, though, searching for the falling star or piece of the moon that Ravenpaw speaks of.

They see nothing but stars, against the dark of the sky. They hope, for the sake of Koipaw, that Gloompaw is not up there with them.
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[ FORTUNE LOVES THE BOLD ]​

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