Carved Within The Beauty | Iciclefang

[Mosspool]

Mosspaw was trying to put the rockslide behind her. It was over now, she knew that, she had reunited with her clanmates and they were all safe. Still, the worry that had settled on her shoulders wouldn't leave her. She shot a glance toward Iciclefang beside her, as if trying to reassure herself that she was really there.

Even before the rockslide she had stuck close to the other Riverclanners, but since reuniting with them she had made sure to keep at least one of them within her sights at all times. The moment when the rockslide had started and she had glanced around and failed to find them kept replaying in her mind. That had been her fault, she knew, she had hesitated too long. Still, the thought had instilled in her a strange, irrational paranoia that they might be separated again She didn't know if she'd be able to bear that.

Despite that, she continued on. Even if her head was not held as high as before.​

 

[iciclefang]

Mosspaw is the youngest of the cats who’d volunteered to go on this journey, though Iciclefang often forgets her youth. She is a tough and skilled apprentice who has a good, level head on her shoulders, and the tortoiseshell is often pleasantly surprised by the tabby’s dedication to her Clan and the warrior code. She herself had seen adversity quite young—at three moons, she’d caused Cicadastar’s death and watched him strangled to death in front of her—and so, perhaps it’s easy for her to ignore the shadows beneath Mosspaw’s emerald eyes.

She catches the girl’s eye, and her hard expression softens slightly. “You weren’t hurt in the tunnels, were you?” Iciclefang’s gaze flicks from the apprentice’s tufted ears to the brush-like tip of her tail. “You were the only RiverClanner down there, weren’t you?” Sympathy wells low in her belly. She’d been trapped with cats from the other five Clans too, but she’d had Fernpaw—though her brother is not good company at the moment, still bruised from their argument.

After another heartbeat, she murmurs, ears swiveling forward, “It was terrifying, wasn’t it?” She prods at Mosspaw, hoping the girl will open up even a little bit. In her experience, dwelling on things—like Fernpaw evidently had for so long—only leads to deeper wounds. Better to struggle free from the metaphorical bramble bush the second you’re trapped, she reasons with herself.

ooc ✧ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦

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  — iciclekit . iciclepaw . iciclefang
  — she/her ; warrior of riverclan
  — lesbian ; single
  — short-haired tortoiseshell with white and ice-blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Pin

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[Mosspool]

Mosspaw was quick to reassure Iciclefang the moment she asked if she had been hurt. "I am not injured." In that regard, she had been exceedingly fortunate. The clamor of the rockslide had stunned and scared her, and the moment of indecision that caused had lasted a moment longer, who knew what may have happened. The only thing she could think to do amidst the chaos was follow the first cat she saw that seemed to know what they were doing.

For some reason that instinct bothered her. When Hazepaw had called her a kit for doing what she was told, she had shrugged the insult off easily. Now though, when the only thought she had been able to muster when she panicked was to follow the lead of someone, anyone - even an apprentice of another clan - her argument with her sibling stuck in her mind. Warriors were supposed to be decisive, weren't they?

“You were the only RiverClanner down there, weren’t you?”

The question made Mosspaw wince. Were her troubles really that apparent? "Yes." She confirmed, her voice soft. The memory of when she had realized her clanmates weren't with her was still sharp in her mind, as was the fear that had settled in with it.

Before answering Iciclefang's next question, Mosspaw took a breath to steady herself.

"It was." She stated simply, honestly. What point would there be in lying? "I tried to have faith in Starclan and in the rest of you, but I could not know for certain that you were all safe. Nor even that I would be." Her mind would have been much more at ease if it had been her clanmates leading her through the darkness rather than a Shadowclan apprentice. Which was strange given they would have been ill suited for the task. Mosspaw was grateful to Sharppaw now, of course, but at the time she had been riddled with doubt that he would get her out alive.​

 

[iciclefang]

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XXXXXMosspaw winces at Iciclefang’s question, and the tortoiseshell warrior blinks sympathetically. “Yes,” the tabby murmurs. She looks at the younger girl, reminded of herself after her failed battle with a WindClan lead warrior. Then, she’d had Smokethroat to talk to—but Mosspaw’s mentor isn’t here, and Iciclefang’s apprentice is somewhere in camp right now, training without her guidance. “I was afraid, too. Afraid I’d make it out and the rest of you wouldn’t.” She exhales softly. “Imagine if I’d had to bring that news to Willowroot and Poppysplash?” She shakes her head. “I’m glad whoever you followed led you out in one piece.”

XXXXXThe girl meows, “I tried to have faith in StarClan and the rest of you, but I could not know for certain that you were all safe.” “None of us could,” she says in a low voice. “Even the most seasoned warriors among us were terrified of that. That is nothing to be ashamed of.” She shrugs. “As much as I hate to admit it, I would not be standing here if it weren’t for Smogmaw leading us out. ShadowClan has its uses—who knew?” Her quip is dry, her tone light.

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[Mosspool]

Mosspaw did not think Iciclefang had been afraid like she had. Even though she listened dutifully as Iciclefang told her that she had been afraid too, she doubted that the older Riverclanner had been reduced to tears as she had. Though it was comforting, at least, to think that even great warriors were not safe from the same fears she had felt in the caves. Even if they were able to bear the burden better than she was.

The thought of Iciclefang having to tell her mothers of her death made her ear flick. She couldn't bear to even think about that too long.

“I’m glad whoever you followed led you out in one piece.”

"It was Sharppaw." That was the name of the Shadowclanner that had lead her from the dark. Like her, he was only an apprentice. "I owe her a debt." Mosspaw agreed solemnly with a firm nod. It was a strange thought. "I never thought I would say as much about a cat from another clan. I only hope I can repay him before we return home." If she did not, she did not see how she would ever get the chance. How was she meant to repay a debt that stretched across borders?​

 

[iciclefang]

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XXXXX“Sharppaw?” Recognition lights her gaze, but she remains otherwise expressionless. So the dark feline with the bladed fur had proved useful after all, despite her fears. “I’ll have to thank him for keeping you safe.” Iciclefang thinks about Fernpaw, who in her head she’d compared almost mercilessly to Sharppaw. If the ShadowClan apprentice could lead a group of cats from the rockslide to safety, perhaps…

XXXXXShe brushes the thought away, though it leaves her troubled. “You’re going to make an excellent RiverClan warrior, once this is all said and done,” she says kindly to Mosspaw. “I’ll tell Aspenhaze myself. They won’t believe some of the stuff you’ve gone through.” Her whiskers twitch with mirth. “It will make a warrior’s assessment look like taking a nap.”

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[Mosspool]

"Thank you." Mosspaw was puffed up in pride from the compliment. She knew it to be true, of course, anyone who undertook this jounrey would surely be an excellent warrior. Still, it seemed she would never outgrow the joy of receiving praise from her elders.

The mention of her warrior ceremony made Mosspaw blink, as she tilted her head in consideration. "I. I suppose that is true." She agreed slowly. A short, soft laugh left her. "To tell the truth, I had not given it much thought. That is strange, is it not? Before we left I hardly thought of anything else." It had hung so heavily over her when she was back at camp, that she could not believe she had forgotten about it so easily.

"I hope it is not conceited of me to say that I was not ever really afraid I would fail it. I was excited for the opportunity to show the clan how much I had learned. Though, in comparison to all this, a warrior assessment seems like such a small affair." Even as they left her mouth, her own words surprised her. For so long she had looked forward to her warrior assessment and the ceremony certain to follow. She had been sure that it would be the proudest moment of her life, and many nights she had even dreamed of it. Now, she could not imagine anything more fufilling than simply returning home and seeing her family again.

Mosspaw was going to be a hero to her whole clan, warrior or not.​

 

[iciclefang]

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XXXXXMosspaw puffs up with pride at the compliment Iciclefang had given her, and her mouth twitches into a small smile. Her young Clanmate will be a formidable warrior, an asset to her Clan—she truly believes this. All of the cats who’d come on this journey had already been some of Cicadastar’s must trusted warriors, all but—all but Fernpaw, who still had his bravery and his determination to succeed. The tortoiseshell is reminded again of herself as an apprentice, this eagerness to prove she’d been ready to serve one’s Clan as a warrior.

XXXXX“I hadn’t feared mine, either,” she purrs, flicking the snowy tip of her tail. “But I was surprised when Smokethroat chose to assess me early.” She blinks, amused. “Especially when it ended up being a public assessment, in front of all of RiverClan and Cicadastar himself.” She studies Mosspaw for a moment. “I don’t see Aspenhaze choosing that method, but you never know. Would you feel your nerves then?”

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[Mosspool]

Mosspaw nodded at Iciclefang's admission that she had never feared her warrior assessment either. Though she had not known that, it did not surprise her. It just made sense. Iciclefang had always had the mark of a good warrior, there was no reason for her to have feared failure. She could only hope that her own confidence was just as warranted as the tortoiseshell's had been. She was nearly certain it was.

"No." Mosspaw responded immediately. It was not nerves she felt at the thought of being assessed early and publicly, but instead a trill of excitement. She smiled. "It would be an honor for all the clan to witness my warrior assesment, Cicadastar especially." Even the slightest nod of approval from him would make her heart soar, and she would put all the more effort into her assessment if only to get that. His presence would motivate her, if anything.

She almost felt disappointed when Iciclefang said she did not think Aspenhaze would choose that method.​