clearing the way | leech | for new gods

[Dandelionwish]

"Stars help me, yer fast..." He had struggled greatly trying to keep up with the other, his long legs carried him swiftly along after Leechpaw but it became apparent quick that his lack of getting around during his business in the medicine cat den had put a damper on his speed. Dandelionwish made a mental note to start jogging in the mornings before other cats got to bumping and bruising themselves and giving him work, he needed the exercise. Despite not being WindClan born he felt at home here in the open moors though, the tumbling hillside rolling out before him and giving him an endless expanse to race across so he could catch the breeze through his pelt and feel the exhiliration of flying; it was the closest he imagined a cat could come to being a bird.
What Hyacinthbreath had said, it had not registered to him quickly enough to catch, but when he did the other was already bristling furiously and taking his leave. He felt bad for ditching them all with the digging work, but Melonpaw and Yewberry could handle the heather gathering without his help. This was much more important, leagues more important. He had so few friends here in the clan, cats he trusted wholeheartedly and Rosepaw had reminded him of them; it gave him a bit more hope that he wasn't struggling alone. So naturally, he would ensure Leechpaw was also not alone. Leechpaw. He knew the apprentice hated his name but not to the extent he truly did, he once thought it just being bothered over a name not being cool enough like any other apprentice might complain over but this hatred was deeper. More agonizing than he could even imagine, but thankfully...he knew a healer.
"H....hey....hold on..." Staggering to a stop when the sleek shadow of a tom had finally stopped racing away, the point tom heaved for breath and shook his head, "Oi, I'm out of shape...need to get more trainin' in with Coldsnap when 'e ain't runnin' 'round work'n himself to death." Sitting down he raised a paw to his chest with a sigh, "...ye alright? Ye know she...prolly weren't thinkin' when she said that..." It occurred to him then and there he could never use the name Leechpaw again. How much it must hurt, each time he was called or replied to; the name a continually burning wound being driven in. No. To hell with it. He was picking him another name here and now to use. "Ye can talk to me if ye want, ye thistle."

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[VULTUREMASK]

Leechpaw had been running until he couldn't run anymore. He would eventually be forced to stop to catch his breath, panting heavily through his mouth in the process. Dandelionwish for sure was persistent when it came to following him the whole way out here. He had been trying to run away from them hoping they would lose track of him...but no. They just had to be annoying. Tracking him down when he was at the absolute worst state of mind. " Why....did you...follow me..." he would mutter through his heaved breathing, his back turned against them. His fur started to bristle as the other spoke, standing on no end. Claws was scratching against the ground, his teeth gritted into a snarl. Leechpaw was trying so hard to control his emotions in that very moment, to not let his anger break itself from its chains to keep to his promise...

" She knew exactly what she was saying." he would hiss lowly, his claws starting to dig in and out into the dirt. Leechpaw didn't think for a second that Hyacinthbreath had been referring to him in particular, but it was clear what she thought about leeches if she decided to use that word in a such situation. She found them disgusting and repulsive, a pain to deal with. She had used his name in a such hateful way. Who knew if that was what she truly thought about him as well. A cat who he had been foolish to think for even a second gave a damn about him. " That is what everyone thinks of me back in that fucking place, and don't you dare deny it." there was a sting of hurt behind his rageful words, clouded to hide underneath his coverd up anger.

Leechpaw shook his head, tail starting to lash back and forth before he cast a glance back over his shoulder at Dandelionwish, his teeths now perking out from underneath his lips. He would narrow his orbs sharply. " I don't wanna talk." he warned them sharply, his eyes livid with emotions. What had Dandelionwish said afterwards by calling him for thistle?. That snarl loosen itself a bit from his maw, and he stared at them for a moment without saying anything, but his expression seemed to say it all. 'what did you just call me?'.



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[Dandelionwish]

"Cause ah don't wanna dig no stinkin' holes and figured this was a right nice excuse~" The sepia point grinned, teeth flashing white and golden eye vanishing in a coy wink as he finally managed to catch his breath and relax again proper, all that running was going to put him in an early grave if the clan didn't do that to him first.

"Oh, now ye can read minds now can ye? Tell me what ah'm thinkin then cause sometimes even I don't got a clue." The careless word was probably not meant in malice but he couldn't vouch for every cat, he couldn't pretend he knew anyone's hearts unless they shared them with him.

Dandelionwish nodded to the insistence he didn't wanna talk then noticed the look, confused and reproachful and he couldn't help but smile in return to it, "...thought ye didn't wanna talk? Oh-bout the thing, yeah, we ain't gotta talk 'bout it. Do ye like the nickname though? Picked it m'self right now, ah'm real intuitive when ah wanna be." He nodded curtly to himself as if agreeing with his own words, a paw raised to fold neatly under his chin, "Thistles what ye call them spiky plants with the purple flowers, real nasty things, stick ye good if ye ain't watch'n yer paws and they don't do nothing good at all! Ain't good for medicine far as I know, ain't good fer eatin-tried that and it sucked, just take up space and waste everybody's time! Real awful plants, figured ye'd like the nickname, it suits ye." It sounded bad and it was bad and he let that sink in for a moment before continuing on in a softer tone, "....so's a dandelion."
Much as he liked his namesake flower, it was nothing more than an invasive weed. "They pop up everywhere, take up space, only real difference is ye can eat these ones and they numb pain but then again reckon that's the difference 'tween us. Ah ain't good fer much, but ah got big ears and listen pretty well."
All the flowers in the world and his mother picked such a simple and bothersome one to call him, but she liked them. She thought they were pretty and loved them enough to name him after one, just like how she liked shrews and so his sister was Shrew, just like how she loved the smell of thyme and so his brother was Thyme.
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[VULTUREMASK]

Tch, there Dandelionwish went trying to be a smartass like always. He didn't need to be able to read minds to know what everyone thought about him. Although he had to admit out of them all, Dandelionwish most be the cat who really went under his skin the most. His gaze only seemed to grow more darker. " How am i suppose to know what you really think about me. Always hiding behind that stupid smile of yours. There's no way... i can ever trust a cat like that." He sounded frustrated through his sharp cutting words although he was not sure he meant for it to sound so brutal. But it was the cruel truth. Leechpaw couldn't trust the ones who always smiled hrough their teeth. If there was anything he had ever learned in life it was he could never trust a smile. They were far too deceiving. It made his stomach sick. It was always the cats who hide themselves behind a smile who ended up hurting him.

Seemed like he had got caught staring and in response he would narrow his eyes at them, remaining in his cold silence. Did he like that nickname?. He wasn't really sure. Leechpaw was not good with plants or flowers, so he had no clue what thistle actually was suppose to mean. But it was something sharp, was it not?. Or maybe he was thinking about thorns... Leechpaw did not need to be left trying to puzzle this up on his own since the medicine cat contunie on speaking, and hearing what he said turned his eyes into dreadful rage. Was this a joke to him?!. Swaping out his already hateful name into something just as vile and horrible to describe him by?. It was clear he did not appreciate this as his fur stood at its end. If this was Dandelionwish's way of trying to comfort him, it really had the complete opposite affect. Or maybe this was a payback for his previous words. In any case, he was half a second away to lunge himself at the medicine cat for giving him a just as awful nickname. If this what he truly thought about them then why was he here?!.

" If that is what you thin - " he snarled out at them ready to give them one piece of his own mind to let the anger overflow him but...His words got lost on his tongue when Dandelionwish reminded him of something he in the heat of the moment had forgotten all about. So's a dandelion. It was then it clicked, falling into place for him. Why he had picked thistle as a nickname to him. He understood what Dandelionwish tried to say. Leechpaw's guarded cold eyes soften a bit, his pinned back ears perking themselves up a slight bit. He would stare at them for a long moment as his tail went still. Eventually his gaze would sink to the ground to stare at his own paws. " Did your mom hate dandelions?." he asked with a unique softness to his voice like he was afried someone would hear him even speak such words. Is that why she had named them that?.


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[Dandelionwish]

Everyone pointed out his smile and frankly he was getting sort of tired of it, between Coldsnap calling him on his perpetual grin and now this bees-for-brains friend of his, he’d give them what they wanted then. Sure. Fine. Have it your way. Maybe he smiled for the clans benefit, what a good look a frowning and angry medicine cat was for their poor nerves; was he meant to glower in solitude and lead the clan to believe him despondent? They would panic, they would think things were going to go terribly come leaf-bare, that he’d fail them, that he’d already given up.
The chocolate-dipped tom’s mask slid out of place, tired eyes flashed in annoyance and he felt a scowl ripple over his maw. He was tired of cats baring their teeth at him like it was going to make him turn tail and run too...
“Think yer forgetting somethin’, Thistle.” Dandelionwish’s eyes narrowed suddenly, an uncharacteristic flash of teeth in a snarl rose on his maw, “Ah got more combat trainin’ than ye do and ah know where to hit ye so it hurts, so if ye wanna throw paws then by all means-take a swing. But it's a kindness I reserve only for cats I like that I don’t put ye in the dirt.”
He shook his head, but the smile was gone. If that’s what would bring him comfort then fine, not like he had a reason to keep it on right now anyways and frankly he was too tired to argue it.

“Don’t mistake it, my mother loved me. She loved me and my siblings and my pa and she never hesitated to let us know it. Names are what ye make’em, I kept it because she liked dandelions-she thought they were pretty flowers and not the weeds others told’er they were. When I hear it, I don’t associate it with a weed, with a pest. I hear it and I think ‘bout how she took me out once to pounce in a field of’em and scatter’em all over the place so it looked like snow durin’ newleaf...

But names are just words, we don’t gotta keep’em if we don’t want’em. What’s hold’n ye fast to it? Why do ye care what some hateful cat has to say to ye? Yer real good at telling me off when ye don’t like what ah’m doin or sayin’. What makes HER any different? Toss it. Pick a new one. Fancy thistle m’self, we can be weeds together but either way til ye decide ye want a different nickname that’s what yer gettin’ from me. Ain’t using yours no more.” Now that it occurred to him the word was as sharp as any claw, he’d not be spilling blood himself if he could help it.

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[VULTUREMASK]

He had not been expecting this sort of response coming from someone like Dandelionwish who usually just shrugged of his sharp-cutting words or made a joke of it. Leechpaw opend his mouth about to snarl more venomous words to drop out from his mouth to accept the challenge of a fight but then... Leechpaw stopped lashing his tail like a furious propeller, his expression freezing. There was a realization that fell over him in the heat of that moment that even made his anger freeze, a feeling that this already had happend once before with Rosepaw. You're suffocating me. It had left the other tom in tears, and then the hawks had come in taking his friend life. Again. He was about to do it again. What was wrong with him?!. why did the anger always get the better of him!.

Leechpaw bite down on his own tongue so deep that it actually started to bleed. The pain stung inside of his mouth, making him taste that bittersweet taste of his own blood. A low snarl escaped out from the apprentice mouth after he had swollowed the blood in his mouth. " Go ahead do it then. Do your worst..." He was no longer looking at them, his teeth still clenched. If it had been anybody else right now who would dare to challenge him into a fight he would have taken it without hesitation. It would be like throwing gasoline into the fire but this was Dandelionwish, a cat he had grown to care for so no matter how angry he might be, or how much the medicine cat could get under his skin he would never lay a paw on them. If he ever did go there he...would bite his own paws off afterwards. It kinda hurt though to know that Dandelionwish would think he would do something like that...even if it would be justify of them to think so. I'm not like my mom...or am i?.

Dandelionwish mother had loved them. Of course. What else had he been expecting to hear?. Listening to them how Dandelionwish explained how loved he had been by his parents, how he was named Dandelion out of love. It made him sick to his own stomach. His gaze harden again. " You won't understand then." Names are what you make them. That was easy said then done if being raised with a positive association with their name. Leechpaw couldn't even think out one good thing about his own name. All it reminded him about was the reason behind he got named after a such vile creature. He had no positive memories to associate with his own name.

Names are just words...he could change it anytime he liked. Leechpaw would huff, his clenched teeth changing into a bitter grimace. That might be true. Dandelionwish did have a point with that. It had never crossed his mind before to ever change his name into something else. But there was a reason behind that. Even now he was still chained to his mother. That name was what keept him chained to her. Was he emotionally ready to break himself free?. It all come back to that. How he was still trapped into that place, in that home. Even when she not was here she still had control over him. "I can't just throw it away! You make it sound so easy but it's not!. " Or was it?. No. It couldn't be as easy like that. " My mom..she..." he stopt, and shook his head to get ride of his own uncertainty. " We are not suppose to pick our own names. " he would finish through a mutter but he sounded hesitate, not convinced by his own words. Throw away his name?. Was he really allowed to do that?. Dandelionwish really having started something inside that conflicted head of his.

" Tch, fine, call me Thistle or whatever. " If that would make him shut his mouth that was. Leechpaw snorted, feeling exhausted. He on purpose didn't respond to his comment about HER, or why he let other cats opinions get to him. Usually, he didn't but this had been Hycinthbreath. She had cut where it had hurt the most but he was not going to open up that vunerable side of himself to Dandelionwish. So he shut his mouth.

They could be weeds together. Tch. That damn medicine cat.



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