BATHE IN MY ASHES // bluepaw

[SOOTSTAR]

SOOTSTAR ♀​

It was at last time for Bluepaw to be introduced to the tunnels. Sootstar fears she may have held her apprentice back from them for too long, but she assures herself it was important that her apprentice understood the land above before trying to understand life underground. Without decent knowledge of the land navigating the tunnels would’ve been impossible. ”You must stick close. Under no circumstances do you wander off.” After the incident with Dazzlepaw, Sootstar was even more weary. Was Bluepaw ready? As she steps into the tunnels the shadows swallow her figure whole. Her whiskers quiver, feeling against the dirt walls and her tail extends slightly to feel for her look-a-like. After they are several paw steps in she speaks again, ”…How do you feel?“ The first time into the tunnels was always the scariest. You lost your sight and it felt like the earth was about to cave in on you, sometimes this could be where Tunneler apprentices were made or broken. She draws in a nervous breath, fearful that by some chance Bluepaw would not have what it took. // @BLUEPAW !!!

 

[BLUEFROST]

Bluepaw has not been to the tunnels, whereas she knows Whitepaw and Cottonpaw have. Of course, Cottonpaw's first descent below the surface of the earth had ended in disaster, and Bluepaw is cognizant her own initial foray could be the same. She follows at her mother's heels, pausing just before the dark opening. Green eyes rise to meet Sootstar's with fear as she says, "You must stick close. Under no circumstances do you wander off."

Stiffly, she nods. Yes. Getting lost in the darkness is not something she wants to do. She knows Dazzlepaw could still be down here, somewhere, though... he wouldn't be alive, still, would he? He'd be like Juniperfrost. Cold now. Dead.

Bluepaw steels herself as the tip of her mother's tail disappears into the shadowy cavern. She takes a final breath of moorland air and follows suit.

Instantly, the light vanishes. It's dark enough that she can't see what's before her; her eyes take several moments to adjust. Scents are different below, too. Everything is coated with the musk of undisturbed earth. She looks to her right, and just whiskers away is the wall.

Her mother's tail tip brushes across her face, a reassurance. "How do you feel?" Her mother's voice seems swallowed by the strange, muffled acoustics. Bluepaw has a distinctive metallic taste in her mouth, that of fear, but she will not betray her mother. Sootstar has expected her to follow in her pawsteps; she shall not fail her, not now when it matters most.

"I'm fine," she exhales softly, trying to imbue every word with confidence. "I'm... I'm ready to keep going, Sootstar." Is she? With a furtive glance over her shoulder, she can see the last bit of daylight winking out of her vision.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

SOOTSTAR ♀​

Sootstar feels the muscles on her shoulders relax when Bluepaw exhales. Good… Tunneling was not easy work but the clan would always need their tunnelers, they were what kept the clan fed in leaf-bare and a strong line of defense. If a trespassing patrol stepped paw on their territory the odds of WindClan’s tunnelers hearing their paws from below were likely. It meant a tremendous amount to Sootstar that two more of her daughters would be following in her paw steps despite the challenge that lay ahead of them. Bluepaw’s adjusting eyes would not see it, but the blue she-cat smiles. ”Remember you have more than just eyes. Use smell, taste, and feeling to your advantage.” The tunnel slopes downwards and without thought, Sootstar’s claws unsheathe and dig into the soil to help her nimbly descend. It was second nature to her and admittedly the mentor doesn’t even think to inform her apprentice, perhaps instinct will save Bluepaw or she will learn by tumbling today.

 

[BLUEFROST]

Her mother keeps padding further into the tunnel. Bluepaw's eyes are still straining to adjust to the darkness, and Sootstar advises her, "Remember, you have more than just eyes. Use smell, taste, and feeling to your advantage." Bluepaw exhales, her lungs feeling strange in this space where oxygen is a commodity. Sootstar has already taken her to all corners of the moorland above, and Bluepaw has encountered numerous scents, though she's mastered very few still.

She closes her eyes, shutting that sense off entirely, and inhales. Bluepaw's jaws part, tasting the intriguing scents of the tunnels. Soil, of course, is a given, and the soil beneath the earth is richer and more settled. There is no dust here, not like there is above ground; the earth is compacted, and though it crumbles upon being pressured, it is hardier, too. There's also rabbit-scent, which Bluepaw can identify well. But everything is layered with a layer of must and darkness. She opens her ears again, her ears pricked. There are scrabbling sounds, but they are so far away she cannot tell which direction they are coming from.

"I smell—" Without warning, either from her mother or her instincts, the tunnel disappears beneath her paws. She stumbles, nearly skidding into Sootstar's backside. Bluepaw digs her heels in and comes to a stop, panting with fear. "I— I'm sorry, Sootstar, I didn't see—" Her shame is immediate, coloring the flesh beneath her dark blue coat.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

SOOTSTAR ♀​

Wildly fur bristles at the sound of loose soil tumbling and rocks desending, the she-cat spins around, her face smeared with dirt as it brushes against the wall to face her apprentice. The dip in the tunnel had caused her to loose her footing, Sootstar realizes with an accelerated heartrate she should've thought to warn her. "You're alright," Sootstar licks her forehead, "Let's keep going, I promise theres no dips over here. Though we will be going upwards in several paces." She turns back around and continues along the path, recalling early training sessions with Smokestep. Even his training had been completely different, back then their knowledge on the tunnels had been significantly smaller... The information she could present Bluepaw with felt so broad and overwhelming, she wasn't quite sure where to begin. "Right now we are walking through soil, the most common type of tunnel you'll find yourself in. It's easy to dig through and usually safe. Just make sure there is more soil than there is grit. Grit is unstable and hard to work with." Coincidentally, she's found a loose stone and carefully paws it into the tunnel wall. "Uphill you're going to be surrounded by sand, so long as you know what you're doing you'll be fine... and for now, you have me to be that cat for you. In no time though, you'll be able to tell what tunnels are safe just by gut feeling." It became second nature, sometimes tunnels just felt off. They begin their ascension uphill, Sootstar uses her claws to aid her in making it up. She can feel sand sprinkle into the tufts of her ears, "Watch out up here, we've been doing some work to this tunnel. Ceiling needs some maintenace so we've got sticks to shore the roof. You might see a few stones lying around too, we'll be using them to line the walls to keep the sand secure." Sootstar warns as she slips past one of the sticks, taking a moment to eye it up and ensure it wasn't faltering under the earth's weight. There was a shimmer in her eye, the idea that a single stick toppling over could mean a cave in on top of them didn't seem to concern her. The danger instead excited her and kept her coming back down for more. She was giddy to have the chance to be able to explore them with her daughter for many moons to come.

 

[BLUEFROST]

Bluepaw's own bristling fur begins to lie flat when she realizes Sootstar isn't upset with her. Her mother gives her a quick lick to the forehead of reassurance, and her heartbeat begins to slow. "I'll be more careful, Sootstar," she promises, trying to hide the tremor from her voice. Sootstar tells her there should be no more unexpected dips where they're going. Bluepaw nods, trailing behind her with her tail tip now brushing along the wall.

"Will I ever know the tunnels as well as you do?" They seem immense to her, vast and endless, but Sootstar steps with confidence, knowing each divot and turn as though she'd walked through them her entire life.

She quiets, listening to her mentor's explanation. Soil tunnel. Easy to dig through and usually safe. She feels comforted by this. Grit is unstable and hard to work with. Bluepaw says curiously, "How can you tell them apart?" Narrow green eyes just barely make out Sootstar pushing something into the wall.

As they pad upward, Sootstar tells Bluepaw that the further uphill they go, the more sand they'll encounter. "Sand is dangerous because it's too soft, right? She knows how hard it is to get a solid footing on sand; she can only imagine it's too fickle to hold up to tunneling.

As she asks this, she flinches as a trickle of sand lands on her nose. Granules latch in her eyes, and she makes a face as she furiously paws at them. Sootstar tells her the tunnelers have been doing maintenance on this tunnel. Shoring up the roof. Bluepaw eyes the same stick Sootstar does, but there is no excitement in her gaze -- only a vague anxiety. "And the sticks hold it up good?"​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

SOOTSTAR ♀​

”Oh- yes you will.”” Sootstar is quick to soothe the implied doubt in her question. It’d take time and a lot of work, but one day she’d know these tunnels like the back of her paw. Not only that, she’d be able to tell exactly where she was in relation to the landmarks above. ”Give it a moon. You’ll feel yourself getting comfortable. Give it three and you’ll know all the common routes. Six or seven… you’ll be able to navigate just as well as I can.” It was funny to think, Sootstar herself had only been tunneling for about that long. So young and she would have double, if not triple Sootstar’s experience by the time she was as old. As for the question on how to tell grit and soil apart, she has the answer. ”Soil is mostly smooth dirt, you might find the occasional pebble clumped with it, but not a lot.” When soil became jagged and filled with bits of rock and pebbles? That was grit. ”Grit contains almost more rock than earth. It’s slightly better than sand, but still just terrible to tunnel through! We’ll be focusing on soil tunnels for the time being, safe to say. Later in your training I’ll start showing you how to tend to the more difficult stuff.” It’s then she realizes Bluepaw has frozen momentarily in her steps. She looks back to the girl verbalizing a question and can’t help but snort in amusement. ”Of course! We wouldn’t be here if I knew it wouldn’t hold up. If you want adventure though… I can take you to some dangerous pathways.” Though unseen in the dark, her eyes glimmer with merriment.

 

[BLUEFROST]

Sootstar assures her that even in just one moon, Bluepaw would know the tunnels enough to not feel lost within them. The young she-cat gives a determined nod. She's not going to let herself be deterred, no matter how daunting the task in front of her. She will make her mentor -- her mother -- her leader proud. She will show WindClan she is worthy of her position as Sootstar's apprentice and her daughter.

As they continue, Sootstar begins to explain the difference between soil, sand, and grit. Bluepaw presses her paw into each, feeling the differing textures between her paw pads. The soil is remarkable smoother, and the grit feels like it has tiny crunched-up pebbles in it. She knows how sand feels, of course, though Sootstar assures her the stick can more than old the tunnel up.

"If you want adventure though... I can take you to some dangerous pathways." There's a glint in her mother's eye, and Bluepaw feels as though she's being tested. And she can't back down. She refuses.

"Yes," she answers swiftly, confidently. "If... if you want to, anyway."

Even as she agrees, her heart begins to flutter behind long gray and white fur.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​