pafp CRUISING AROUND WITH YOU ♡ warrior questions

[sneezeduck]

Sneezepaw's training had begun in the past moon, and he still isn't sure what to expect. Hunting hadn't started out strong; his crouch was still adjusting, and his relationship with Sharpshadow felt confusing and unpredictable. He can't quite imagine what comes next, and how adept he will be at it. Fighting worried him, as a gentle cat; gathering felt menial and tedious, though he wouldn't complain. Was there anything to look forward to in a warrior's training?

He isn't sure why he seeks out Swansong for his questions, but he does. She was a young warrior, and they shared the apprentice's den for a couple moons before Sneezepaw actually began his training. Her moons of training would still be fresh in her mind, and maybe she can share how different it is to be an apprentice versus a warrior, since it's all still new to her. Not to mention.. she saved his hide during the frog invasion, so it was the least he could do to repay the debt in the form of friendship.

Sneezepaw can spot her easily amongst any crowd. Her cream fur stands out remarkably in the swarm of dark-furred ShadowClanners, against the dull landscape that is their camp. She doesn't seem busy, so he clears his throat and dips his head as he approaches. "Hey," the apprentice greets, taking a seat next to her - not too close, but not so far that he'd seem standoffish. "I was uh, wondering.. what's it like being a warrior? Does it ever get.. easier?" He feels that it might go without saying, given the type of question that he asked, that he feels he's having a hard time with his early training. Still, he avoids the frown that tugs at his lips, and pulls them up into a nervous smile instead.
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CHARACTER INFORMATION — ♡ ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗ ♡ — OUT OF CHARACTER

• sneezekit SNEEZEPAW
  ━━ APPRENTICE of SHADOWCLAN | 6 MOONS ,, ages every 2nd
  ━━ DUCKSHIMMER xx NPC | SIBLING to SINGEPAW and SWALLOWPAW
  ━━ MATE to none | PARENT to none
  ━━ MENTOR to none | MENTORED by SHARPSHADOW​
• 
  
  
• speech is #ffcc8a
  
  please wait for @Swansong !​

 

[Swansong]

⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ 　Sneezepaw is by far the most pleasant company of Duckshimmer's children. His voice is soft, his manner hesitant. It is an attitude that Swansong can find kinship in, and so she offers a polite sort of smile as the apprentice approaches her. "Hello," she greets airily, noting in silence the distance he still keeps as he takes his seat. Caution plagues his actions, a sort of nervousness radiating off of his dark pelt. They counter it with an easy tranquility, waiting out the apprentice's words.

His question is one that... stumps them, almost. They let out a soft hum of thought. "Easier? I suppose..." Their gaze does not quite meet his, mind drifting. It certainly feels easier now, than as an apprentice. A slight furrow of their brow. "Or, ah, to be more precise..." They pause, mulling over their words for a moment. "More familiar. You'll grow to find it... comfortable, the more time you spend upon training. Less... intimidating, less burdensome." Their eyes flicker over in a side eye, pallid pools of blue seeming to see through the younger cat.

Her voice remains quiet as she speaks. "It takes time, yes, but... It feels, now... Nowhere near as frightening as I imagined, at your age." And her eyes focus, looking fully upon Sneezepaw now; not away or through. She knows not whether her words are as reassuring as she hoped, but there is sympathy coloring her gaze as she smiles at him.

‎‎┌── WE FOUND TWO DEAD SWANS ⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ AND FILLED THEIR BODIES WITH FLOWERS ──┐‎

• 
  
• 
  
  

  "SPEECH"

• 
  SWANSONG　⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆　she / they, warrior of shadowclan, fourteen moons.
  ➳ a pale, silky-furred cream tabby with droopy blue eyes.
  ➳ dreamy and detached, known for her perpetual sleepiness.
  ➳ halfshade x smogmaw, littermate to applejaw, garlicheart, & ashenfall.
  ➳ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ➳ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[betonyfrost]

There was never a time when Betonyfrost was an apprentice. She can so easily recall the worry that had come with the age; all the sleepless days and anxious nights paralyzed by the repeating thought of but what if I am never more than this? Betonyfrost remembers this clearly—but there seems to be a specific worry that lives only in apprentices, something about the sudden declaration that they have learned all there is to be taught and that, in an evening, they are abruptly an adult.

Betonyfrost was never an apprentice: she simply was, and then she was a warrior. An innumerable number of kittens were born into a world without clans and, in a matter of seasons their experiences will be smothered beneath the new—how long before clan life simply was?

"You forget who his mentor is," Her breathy voice comes out conversationally and directed entirely at Swanswong, "Remember how long Sharpshadow was an apprentice? I couldn't imagine much easier than having a cat like that as a mentor." Her green eyes flick to Sneezepaw, finally addressing him, "Perhaps the difficulty will come when you are newly a warrior and learn of real work for the first time, but that too will pass after a time."

shadowclan warrior | blue mackerel tabby | 31 moons | tags​

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[sneezeduck]

Swansong's voice is quiet and calm, and her presence serene. It brings a little comfort to Sneezepaw, who listens intently for her answer. He hopes that she could reassure him, tell him that he'll past into his clumsy paws and poor skills.. but he also fears that she will tell him that it's only hard for him, and that most apprentices have gone past his own skillset by now.

Thankfully, from Swansong, the former is true. Not only did she quell his worries, but she speaks so thoroughly and clearly, as if she were picking out every anxious thought in his brain and answering them precisely. "I hope.." Sneezepaw mutters in response. Less intimidating, less burdensome.. he feels comfort in that he might not truly be alone in this.

The warrior's last sentence grabs Sneezepaw's attention, and he looks up to try and meet her eyes. "Frightening? Were you scared, too?" he echoes, as if surprised by the very notion that any ShadowClan warrior could have been.. frightened, once.

Whatever hope and comfort Swansong had built up in Sneezepaw dissipates when Betonyfrost speaks her mind on the matter. She talks about Sharpshadow, casually negative as if their apprentice weren't the very topic of conversation, and he finds his ears lock back uncertainly. Sneezepaw didn't know anything about Sharpshadow, yet - much less of what they were like as an apprentice. "Is.. something wrong with my mentor?" he asks sheepishly, shuffling his paws. Doubt weaves into his mind like thorns, and he suddenly feels compelled to know more - if Betonyfrost is so knowledgeable on his mentor, maybe she could give him answers. "But.. Sharpshadow's a lead warrior.. surely they can't be that bad?"

Then, the warrior's eyes finally meet his, as if just recognizing his existence in the conversation. Real work, she says, and Sneezepaw frowns back. He forgets all of Swansong's speak of times getting better and easier, and now can only think about how difficult his life will soon become. "All this work, and it's still not real work?" he mumbles, casting his gaze aside.
​

CHARACTER INFORMATION — ♡ ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗ ♡ — OUT OF CHARACTER

• sneezekit SNEEZEPAW
  ━━ APPRENTICE of SHADOWCLAN | 7 MOONS ,, ages every 2nd
  ━━ DUCKSHIMMER xx NPC | SIBLING to SINGEPAW and SWALLOWPAW
  ━━ MATE to none | PARENT to none
  ━━ MENTOR to none | MENTORED by SHARPSHADOW​
• 
  
  
• speech is #ffcc8a​

 

[Snowlark.]

[ ༻❄༺ ] Neing an apprentice wasn't easy, it was tasking with an even harder goal to reach, especially in the marshlands. One either survives such as Swansong and her kind has, or perish within the harsh land, only to become an echo of what could happen to one. Yet, as time went on and as he has grown more and more, the seeded worry he would never see his warrior days set in. His path as he knows it could always change it was clearly not something set in stone, and some of their former clanmates who now walk the stars were proof of that, and yet Swangsong was proof that it wasn't always going to end up in death.

Gently he approached with ears perked as he listened to the others speak, Betonyfrost always seeming to find something to nitpick about, even about Sharpshadow, who was much younger than she and had seemed to climb up the latter faster than her. "As far as I can see, Sharpshadow is a lead warrior, respected by Chilledstar while you're simply...a warrior, and aren't they younger than you? I say that makes them a better warrior and worthy to train Sneezepaw and Halfpaw" he remarked before looking towards Sneezepaw with a slight nod.

"Swansong is right, but also know...Sneezepaw, it takes time and patience, as well as practice" he expressed softly. Snowpaw hadn't been eager to become an apprentice, but he was well aware how dangerous it could be outside of camp, and of course perhaps it was the stories he heard or seeing how the marsh could be merciless from when it took his parents in the form of yellowcough, leaving him an orphan, either way having someone like his first mentor to ease him into the life of apprenticeship had made things... become easier overtime, less worry that the marsh too would take him.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── You ve wasted your life , but thanks for applying ──┐‎

• 
  "speak""Thoughts"
  
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  Snowpaw ❄ He/Him, apprentice of Shadowclan, 9 moons.
  ⭃ Lithe long hair blue lynx sepia with high white, and yellow eyes. Stubby tail, permanent resting bitch face
  ⭃ Hailfreckle x Mudsplash
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted (ask first) / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by Ryn ↛ @/Rynnaro on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[betonyfrost]

Sneezepaw, Betonyfrost thinks, is young enough that his lack of knowledge on the workings of clan politics is excusable. Snowpaw would do well with a little more awareness. There are a number of things Betonyfrost doesn't do: she doesn't anger; she doesn't lash her tail and she doesn't scoff. Instead, Betonyfrost's wilted ears tip towards Sneezepaw in consideration—he was fond of Sharpshadow enough to be defensive on her behalf.

"It isn't that Sharpshadow is respected so much as it is that his mentor was Smogmaw," The explanation doesn't come gently—when Betonyfrost had learned such lessons, it was not a gentle thing. Her wilted ears twitch in remembered pain—it had not been gentle, "That is the way of ShadowClan. That is how it has been since... since the inception of ShadowClan."

shadowclan warrior | blue mackerel tabby | 31 moons | tags​

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[Swansong]

⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ 　Sneezepaw breathes hope into the air between them, and Swansong does not give empty reassurances. They have no way of knowing whether the apprentice will find the courage they seek, can only offer the dim light of guidance from their own lofty position.

They brighten at the apprentice's question, eager to offer their own experience in return. Were you scared, too? "Terribly so!" she chirps. "I prayed... that the day I recieved my name would never come... That I could sleep every day away and never worry for training..." And she nearly got her answer, in a rotting sort of illness choking the breath from her lungs. She did not know then, how carefully the stars listened to her whispering words. Her gaze lingers long on the apprentice; she can only hope that they do not meet the same fate. "Ah... I am glad fate did not play out that way," she concludes wistully, her voice a masking a subtle plea that Sneezepaw does not turn out the same.

It seems, however, that her efforts of encouragement may be in vain. A sluggish side-eye drifts over to the ash-toned form of a particularly unpleasant molly. You forget who his mentor is. "Sharpshadow...?" they murmur, as if remembering, before a small smile graces their form. "I am certain that I do not." A simple retort, slightly imploring. They cannot fathom what issue Betonyfrost might have with the lead warrior.

Luckily, Betonyfrost seems quite kindly inclined to share. Her words spool out, damning his longer training and unraveling the hope that they had given. Swansong can see the way that Sneezepaw's face falls with each word.

They are quiet for a moment, because they are well controlled. Assessing. This is not a situation that they know well how to mend. Snowpaw's assistance is appreciated, and yet... Their tail-tip flicks subtly, face betraying little. "Oh yes, my father is quite the capable mentor..." Swansong breathes with an airy sort of agreement. That's not what Betonyfrost meant, but she'll be kind and pretend that it was. "He... would not let one graduate who did not earn it. See how he has shaped a hesitant apprentice... into a lead warrior...?" They hold Betonyfrost's gaze for a moment, before turning back to the apprentice. "Rather than a lax mentor... I think Sharpshadow ought to know better than any how to assist..." A suitable spin on the warrior's bile-dripping words, he thinks. Far kinder than anything she offers.

And with a final glance to the other warrior, their voice lowers. They lean in a little closer to Sneezepaw as if to share a secret. "And I believe poor Betonyfrost here may simply find herself jealous..." They murmur, quiet but not particularly keen on preventing eavesdroppers. Their smile does not waver.

‎‎┌── WE FOUND TWO DEAD SWANS ⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ AND FILLED THEIR BODIES WITH FLOWERS ──┐‎

• 
  
• 
  
  

  "SPEECH"

• 
  SWANSONG　⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆　she / they, warrior of shadowclan, fourteen moons.
  ➳ a pale, silky-furred cream tabby with tired blue eyes.
  ➳ dreamy and detached, known for her perpetual sleepiness.
  ➳ halfshade x smogmaw, littermate to applejaw, garlicheart, & ashenfall.
  ➳ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ➳ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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