- May 17, 2023
- 328
- 120
- 43
Her failures cling to calico shoulders like fog, but the afternoon remains resolutely bright and clear beyond her shameful gaze. A crystal sky soars overhead, throwing cheery dapples of light upon the forest floor she stalks through, her wavy-furred apprentice in reluctant tow.
Has a moon already passed? she thinks idly, casting a sour glance towards @ricepaw she hopes the young girl doesn't catch. Her apprentice might be too used to being left alone, sent away to the sidelines while Cherryblossom juggled patrols and Orangestar's absence and various other requests, or simply turned away in favor of blessed lone peace. But she hadn't been neglectful, really; at least, not any more than Slate had been. And look how she turned out: deputy, if only for a few moons.
In too many other ways, she finds herself peering into the puddle of her actions and looking at her old mentor staring back at her. She's not quite forthcoming with praise either—but has Ricepaw really done anything deserving of it yet? Well, she's trying to fix that now.
The sleek calico halts at the base of an old, gnarled pine, its knobs and scars perfect footholds for the inexperienced paws, and nods towards it. "We're going up today," she meows, the expectation plain in her voice that she expects Ricepaw to go first.
Has a moon already passed? she thinks idly, casting a sour glance towards @ricepaw she hopes the young girl doesn't catch. Her apprentice might be too used to being left alone, sent away to the sidelines while Cherryblossom juggled patrols and Orangestar's absence and various other requests, or simply turned away in favor of blessed lone peace. But she hadn't been neglectful, really; at least, not any more than Slate had been. And look how she turned out: deputy, if only for a few moons.
In too many other ways, she finds herself peering into the puddle of her actions and looking at her old mentor staring back at her. She's not quite forthcoming with praise either—but has Ricepaw really done anything deserving of it yet? Well, she's trying to fix that now.
The sleek calico halts at the base of an old, gnarled pine, its knobs and scars perfect footholds for the inexperienced paws, and nods towards it. "We're going up today," she meows, the expectation plain in her voice that she expects Ricepaw to go first.