pafp Crustacean Frustration || fishing

Redpath

I'll catch your tears, quench your fears with joy
Sep 18, 2022
103
16
18

Ah yes, fishing. Something she was great at doing. The sun was shining, the stream was shimmering and clear, it wasn't too hot or cold out yet, just perfect. Redpath watched the stream as she strode alongside it. She was searching for prey, yes. But she was also searching for shinies. Yes, the large red molly who had once bathed her claws in the blood of her enemies enjoyed collecting pretty shells and shiny pebbles. On her stroll she had spotted one such treasure. A particularly nice looking shell, one that hadn't yet been chipped or broken by time. Yes. She must have it.

And so, Redpath leaned down to pick up the shell.

What she didn't see, however.... Was the crayfish.

He was a fairly large, cranky looking fellow. He blended in perfectly with the stones and dirt. And he didn't appreciate it when Redpath's nose got too close.

In the blink of an eye, Redpath found herself being ASSAULTED. The crayfish clamped its claws onto her nose and she cried out in shock and pain. She swiped at the crayfish, only for it to latch onto her paw as well.

"LET GO OF ME YOU HORRIBLE CREATURE. I'LL KILL YOU."

This was embarrassing.

@Smokethroat

 

The scream of horror, anger, alarm, it set his fur rising up into fine points and his eyes widening. His thoughts raced through the worse case scenarios immediately, that he would find a clanmate hurt in some two-leg contraption, another of those dangerously sharp fangs flung through another cat's throat where StarClan would take them rather than bring them back. Visions of blood, of bodies, thunder roaring in the distance accompanied by the flash of a two-leg stick as the sound ricocheted through the forest filled his head until he was blindly racing along the riverside to the source of the sound with an urgency and desperate plea that everyone be alright. The only red he saw before him then was the flash of a ginger pelt as the other warrior whipped around.
Instead, when he arrived on the send, pebbles scattering in wake of his sudden slowing to a stop, he saw a crayfish. On a cat's nose.
"Redpath." The she-cats name was spoken like an ultimatum, a swear, he inhaled deeply before just as quickly giving a sigh and walking forward to take the end of the crustacean's tail between his teeth and YANK IT.
 
( ᴛᴀɢs. )  ❝  Laughter aches from the depth of Hound's throat. The sound's an unfamiliar one, drug up from a place so damned dry it's forgotten how to make the noise he'd ask it for. In all that they had suffered, he'd at times forget this part of their lives. The camaraderie, the love. Mirth spills from him like a dormant spring come to life. A mere moment and all of him is soaked in this buried laughter. Embarrassingly, it won't stop. Even with a paw covering his maw, small snrks and pffts tremble from confinement. Stars but it was unfair of him. The seriousness of Smokethroat's tone does nothing to quell his amusement, though puffs'f guilt make their way in alongside. Clearly the tom'd been worried. Unfortunately for him, that'd be half of what made it laugh as he did.

"Stars, it's been an age since I laughed like that." With tears now threatening the corner of his gaze, the tabby tom pushes the rest of the way through the tall grass. Just in time for Smoke to grab hold, and– ouch. Green eyes close with a wince, worried about bits of flesh coming off with those angry crustacean claws, or maybe the poor thing itself being unceremoniously torn in two. Neither outcome is particularly favorable.
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  • 50335651_ibz4tSApItgOjRI.png
    ooc:
  • ──── houndsnarl. trans male, he/him pronouns.
    ──── approximately 30 moons old, or 2.5 years.
    ──── bisexual with firm male preference; single.

    ──── a chocolate tabby with ( stylized ) low white and intense lime eyes. lean and lanky,  with whiplike musculature and a long, quick stride. hound's notable features include his impressive height, the long scar across the left side of his face from nose to jaw, his very deep, dense fur, and the confident manner with which he conducts himself.
  • "speech"
 

She felt a little bad scaring Smokethroat like that, but the feeling abruptly disappeared when the crayfish tightened it's grip at every movement. She hated this thing. She was going to destroy it for it's folly.

And then Houndsnarl started laughing. Starclan she was so embarrassed, she could feel her cheeks heating up and her ears becoming warm. She was never recovering from this one.

And then Smokethroat just yanks the little criminal free!! She cried out again. She sure was seeing stars as she held her nose, blood on her paw as she pulled it away. This was going to leave a mark, wasn't it. Her first scar. Not from an enemy.....But a crayfish.

"Th...Thanks Smokethroat..." Her voice was cracked as she battled with all this embarrassment.

But the crayfish wasn't done yet. No.

It flailed in Smokethroat's grip furiously until it swung and found purchase on the toms neck.
 

CHARLIE BOY, DON'T GO TO WAR

Not far behind Houndsnarl and Smokethroat was the familiar chocolate pelt of Aspenfrost. His aqua gaze would glitter with concern as he came upon the scene just in time to see the lead warrior yank the crawfish from the molly's nose. He would wince lightly, especially when he heard Redpaths' voice crack with embarrassment.

The tom would walk over slowly, smirking lightheartedly as the crustacean latched onto Smokethroat next and stood beside the molly, his tail moving to brush her side in an attempt to console her. "Sirs' please, it is not polite to make light of a lady's distress." His tone was kind, not a bit of true scolding within it before he turned away from Smoke and Hound to train his warm gaze onto Redpath, "Are you alright, My lady?" Aspenfrost would offer her a smile that matched the warmth of his gaze. "Were you looking for something down in the riverbed?"
 

How she had managed to get attacked like that was beyond him, any kitten knew to pull back when something brushed their whiskers but he didn't make any comment on the matter outside a simple shake of his head and apologetic look for tugging too hard-he hadn't intended to cut her nose but it was only a minor injury at least. The rancorous laughter from the brown tabby to the side and the sudden presence of the warm chocolate tom with the strange manner of speaking had him rolling his eyes quite similarly to Iciclepaw. Perhaps the little problem child was wearing off on him.
"Houndsnarl, that's not-" His scolding tone broke, cracked, it was a little funny and he couldn't deny that but it became alarmingly less funny when he earned the ire of the tiny crustacean. The fur around his neck was thick enough that the tiny pincers did not actually touch him but he felt the weight of the menace and he swung his body around in a sharp pivot to dislodge it-unfortunately that only sent it flying back into Redpath's face.
"OH-!"
 
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Reactions: Aspenfrost

Redpath was dying inside still when Aspenfrost spoke. This threw her for another loop, nobody ever spoke to her like that before. With such ....Kindness. Nobody ever looked at her like that before either.

Today was just full of surprises, it seemed.

She fidgeted a little. What was she supposed to do. She was already warm enough. If she got any warmer the water would boil.

"I'm fine, it'll heal." She said to the knight beside her. " I saw a nice shell, but I didn't see the crayfish." She said with a sheepish smile.

And then before she even had the chance to say anything else!!! THE BEAST WAS BACK. Thrown into her face accidentally by Smokethroat. She let out a shrill squeak in surprise as the crayfish clung to her cheek.

"SMOKEEYYYYY."

She pouted at him. Betrayal. Savior turned villain. She knew it was an accident but still. BETRAYAL.

 
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Reactions: Aspenfrost