camp born in a factory ― "chores"

[leechpaw.]

Part of him missed having a mentor on death's wheezy edge. It certainly provided him with a lot of free time. And he was rarely asked to do anything besides fetch prey or go on a slow walk around their territory. Yes, he much preferred it over being asked to do something like clean the elder's den. Old windbags did nothing but heckle him the entire time, correcting how he wove the nests, where he even placed them. It was enough to boil his blood, heating up his face with restrained anger. An outburst would get him nowhere, as much as he wanted to claw the nearest solid thing in reach.

Cheeks puffing in frustration, Leechpaw stepped beyond the willow branch den, matted tail thumping against the earth in barely-contained ire. He sulked for a moment, trying to steady his breathing as he flopped down to sit. Though he initially planned to return to work, another apprentice happened to approach. Pale eyes tracked her, while the beginnings of a scheme wormed into his mind. In a split second, he flipped from irritation to misery, forcing ingenuine tears to bead at the corners of his eyes. He furiously licked the pad of his front paw as if in pain, using the motion to disguise his front fang raking against the flesh to draw thin blood. Leechpaw sniffled, drawing her attention as planned. "Ashpaw..." he croaked out, sorrow injected throughout his misused voice, "I cut my paw on the reeds ― and I have to clean the elder's den, but I can't..."

His deceit worked, allowing him to relax by the entrance to the elder's den while Ashpaw replaced the old nests for him. His injured paw was tucked close to his chest, hanging limply despite the wound now being just a faintly-bleeding scratch.

@tinyleafs @CICADASTAR wait for ashpaw please !​

 

[Harry Styles]

A S H P A W.

Ashpaw was actually feeling okay today. It had been a hard couple months but she was slowly starting to feel herself again, and relaxing into some chores—once the epitome of boredom, now actually kind of relaxing—was a nice way to slip back into the swing of things.

She liked helping. She liked looking out for her clan and so when Leechpaw approached her, miserably favoring one paw, she was quick to acquiesce, murmuring reassurance — "Don't worry, Leechpaw, I can take care of it. Easy peasy."

Now she dragged nest after nest from the den, replacing the moss, filthy and matted for clean and springy. She made happy chatter with the elders as she did, quiet and anxious at first, but coaxed into conversation soon enough.

It was just nice to talk to her clanmates again. Even if they sometimes scared her—Leechpaw's own dark coat dragging up memories sometimes, or Smokethroat's eyes—they were a really good family. Iciclepaw, Minnowpaw, Gillpaw, Honeypaw—and now Leechpaw—had all been so good to her, offering kindness and company, and chatting with the elders proved good company too. Even if they could be a teensy bit harsh. These were their beds, after all, of course they'd want it done right...

Ashpaw purred as she worked, not really aware of it—a slow, steady rumble that she kept up to comfort herself. She was doing that a lot lately, purring and a subtle rocking. Pull out the dirty moss. Bring it to the pile. Check the weaving. Gather the new moss. Arrange the new moss. Rinse and repeat.

She hoped Leechpaw was okay. Green eyes scanned the scene for him, crouched out by the entrance, still favoring that paw. He seemed really, really hurt. Ashpaw had been hurt like that before...

Familiar claws lashed out of her periphery, mind bracing for phantom Spiders, and Ashpaw jolted. She'd...

She'd better stop to check on Leech after.
​

—— " i found gold in the wreckage "

✦ ooc ✦ character information ✦ recent events

• ooc text goes here
• - 6 month old orange tabby with green eyes
  - apprenticed to lead warrior willowroot
  - happy-go-lucky, mischievous, hardworking
  - very friendly, but defensive of riverclan!
  - "speech"
• - disclosed being physically and emotionally abused by Spiderfall, who was exiled & who then killed her best friend
  - spent a couple months depressed
  - returned to ic/ooc activify

​

 

[iciclefang]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

She gives Ashpaw a thoughtful look as she passes by Leechpaw, who's shrugged off his hated duty of cleaning the elder's den onto the ginger apprentice. She's glad to see Ashpaw up and about, engaging in normal Clan activities again, but she's naturally suspicious of Leechpaw. She pads close to him and pointedly stares at the paw he's favoring. "Cut it, did you? Bet that's nasty." Her delivery is deadpan.

She turns to Ashpaw, trotting after her with a long look at the black tom that she lets linger. "I'll help you, if you want," she offers. "Two sets of paws are better than one. Then we can get it over with and go out on a patrol or something."

- ,,​

​

 

[leechpaw.]

A strange purr sounded from Ashpaw as she worked, prompting Leechpaw to tilt his head in bewilderment. Almost as if she actually liked all the weaving. His prior pained expression all but vanished; part of him wanted to ask about it, but he figured he used his voice enough today. His facade slipped long enough for another to notice ― Iciclepaw was evidently skeptical of his antics. He didn't bother to fix his face, instead letting his injured paw rest on the ground anyway. "It was," he flatly replied in kind, tail swishing along the ground.

Well, if both Ashpaw and Iciclepaw were going to weave nests for him, then he saw no reason to hang around any longer. Leechpaw stood up straight, arching his back in a dramatic stretch before turning to leave, still favoring his cut paw. He didn't necessarily get far, still glancing over his shoulder at the two other apprentices. Not out of guilt, definitely not. Although... he could get in trouble for abandoning them. The young cat seemed to put a great deal of effort into weighing his options, inevitably drawn closer to the den. "I can try to help," Leechpaw muttered, ears tilted back in an unreadable emotion as he scooped up a pawful of moss, though not nearly as much as Ashpaw.​

 

[Harry Styles]

A S H P A W.

Iciclepaw's approach delights her, and she latches onto the girl's presence, padding closer and aiming to brush their shoulders together affectionately. It's a little less than tactful—Iciclepaw had always been standoffish, and the two didn't quite get along before... well... everything—but Ash doesn't pause to wonder if the girl will appreciate the gesture. She's just happy to see another friendly face.

She doesn't register the conflict between Icicle and Leech, either, just happy for the assistance.

"Thanks Iciclepaw," she says, then swallows through a tight throat at the girl's suggestion. "Ooh, a patrol sounds fun..."

Her voice shakes a little; it's half-true. She used to like patrols. But now, the thought of leaving camp with Icicle just drags up unwelcome images of another friend dead to Spiderfall's paws.

Leechpaw chimes in then, offering to join in. He still sounds very weak though, and Ashpaw frowns.

"But if you're hurt..." she says, trailing off uncertainly. His actions clearly demonstrate lots of pain.

She continues to work through the conversation, exchanging old and dirty moss for fresher and cleaner.

​

—— " i found gold in the wreckage "

✦ ooc ✦ character information ✦ recent events

• ooc text goes here
• - 6 month old orange tabby with green eyes
  - apprenticed to lead warrior willowroot
  - happy-go-lucky, mischievous, hardworking
  - very friendly, but defensive of riverclan!
  - "speech"
• - disclosed being physically and psychologically abused by Spiderfall, who was exiled & who then killed her best friend
  - spent a couple months depressed
  - returned to ic/ooc activify

​