dark angel — picking blackberries

JAGGEDSTORM

broken boys blossom into warriors 09/30/23
Jul 28, 2023
12
0
1
you're like snow , beautiful but cold .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
The willowy tom scoured the ground in search of ground prey, icy optics narrowed, offering a quiet tch as he paused. Perhaps. He hummed, the tone rumbling deep within his chest to stare at the towering pines, expression deadpan. He might have better luck up within the trees.

With that, Jaggedstorm twitched, slithering up the tree with ease, plumed tail flickering where white paws stood, balancing easily on the low-hanging branch. Icy optics peered down, expression thoughtful.

“...”

Jaggedstorm was not, but stubborn, watching with calculative orbs in search of precious fruits for his mate stuck in camp, but otherwise enjoying himself now that the silvery tom appeared some moons ago. It had been rocky. Something that the tom could never take back. Oh. How he wished to take away his mate’s suffering, but he did not have that power, no matter how badly he wanted to take that sorrowful expression away.

He sighed, padding along the thick of the branch like a wandering ghost, paw steps light, plumed tail raised high over his shoulders like he belonged up within the trees long before he ever agreed to join SkyClan. It had been trying, but Jaggedstorm was determined to prove his worth, especially with the new law coming into play not long after they joined.

He paused, mind supplying Yukio’s skittish frame tucked against Lostmoon’s dark hide. His expression darkened, annoyance dancing across icy features before vanishing like gentians. Idiot. He had not been there when it happened, but Yukio was nothing but an idiot, a stain on their reputation, but family. He was loveable as he was mouse-brained, but even love could only stretch so far. Things will only be rocky from here on out. He wondered if Yukio would finally brave the world instead of hiding behind his mate. A coward with too big of a heart. Lostmoon was similar, but Yukio lacked intelligence, something Lostmoon excelled in, stronger and so so brave.

He rumbled, pushing forward on long, stripped legs, icy orbs watching the ground from above until he spotted what he’d been looking for. “Mhm.” He eased down, muscles coiling, letting memory take over until calloused paw pads pressed against earthy terrain, standing lengths away from a blackberry bush. “There you are.” His tone was deadpan, even more than his father-in-law, reaching out to pluck at edible berries, careful of the thorns that grazed the supple flesh of his forearms.
thought speech
 
Peering from behind like a little shadow that could not help itself but stray from its captor, Edenpaw watched with baited breath as ginger, carefully placed teeth and paws reached for the dark-colored berries that littered the thorny brush. As Jaggedstorm pulls away with a small collection of the fruit delicately held to keep them from being crushed, they could not help but let out a delighted, sudden squeal.

"WOOOO! You got'em! And you didn't crush them," they remain shouting, over-excitement losing all remembrance of their volume and how many loathed it at times. It wasn't like they meant to be annoying but WOW WOWOWOW !!! This was so cool and awesome and they'd never been successful so to see someone else do it?!

Leaning against Jaggedstorm as their nosy nature came in full-swing, they sniffed at his paws where juice lingered in its faintest, practically touching their nose to them. "They smell AMAZING! Do you collect them often? Can you teach me? How long have you been getting berries like this?" A relentless slue of questions once more.​
 
image0.png

ORANGEBLOSSOMtags
"Quiet, Edenpaw. You'll scare off all the prey between here and Fourtrees." Orangeblossom gripes, an unamused flick of her ears announcing her visage as she arrives with @eveningpaw through a break in the sparse undergrowth. Brown eyes flick back and forth, first between the extremely noisy apprentice (where was their mentor?) and then upwards towards Jaggedstorm. Surprisingly (though not perhaps entirely so, as he's always been a touch unconventional), she finds him hunting blackberries.

"Much luck?" She asks the white-patched tom, her voice a lot softer than Edenpaw's had been. A gift for Lostmoon, maybe, though StarClan knew the other kittens occupying the den (specifically Pearlkit) would be underpaw and searching for a bite of the tasty treat.

 

Mallowlark was rather occupied, balanced across tree-branches in a tiptoeing dance, charcoal paws carefully placed. Only because the pine forest was much less noisy than the moors did he cats the sound of Jaggedstorm's voice; There you are, he said, the wind carrying the answer. Grin-dressed, Mallowlark angled his attention toward the tom, pine-branches precariously bending with his weight as he made his way over.

On a low-posted surface did the huge tom perch, one that was thick enough that it wouldn't snap with the jostling it would inevitably receive, a giggling-fit inevitable. It appeared Jaggedstorm was talking to a bush, not a person. Pretty odd, but he was no one to judge! He hightly doubted it was because Jaggedstorm could speak with the forces of nature the same way Dawnglare could.

Edenpaw was quick to barrage him with questions, and Orangeblossom soon added her own. From his vantage point, a little elevated above the rest of them, he could give some sort of answer! Helpful intentions tipped the chirp words from his smile-curved maw. "Looks like it," he observed, awe clearly present in his tone. It was a pretty well dressed blackberry bush... luckily not trampled or ransacked by any prey.
PENNED BY PIN
 
you're like snow , beautiful but cold .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
The willowy warrior glanced up, expression indifference to the apprentice’s bumbling energy, reminding him of his mate’s energetic chatter. He blinked languidly, helm turning to stare at the deputy with a respectful tilt of his helm, plumed tail gesturing towards the berries he grabbed before the silence was interrupted, Mallowlark speaking up from afar. Jaggedstorm nodded, finding no reason to dispute the comment for it was the truth.

He turned to the energetic apprentice, helm tilting to allow the other to come closer. “When they were available.” He rumbled, tone frigid. He then turned, slipping through the thorny branches to pluck at another blackberry easily grabbable. He didn’t often head out in search of them, only when things had settled down during their travels, but stopped until now, making up for the time he’d been away.

He rose a brow, shifting to the side. “Do you not wish to learn?” He inquired, raising a brow, pointing a groomed paw to another blackberry, not as easy to grab, but Edenpaw would be at low risk of being pricked by a thorn if they were careful enough. “Remain steady. It would be unfortunate to be pricked by its thorns.” He rumbled.
thought speech
 
It is a quick and short reprimand for their noisy antics that yanks Edenpaw from their whirlwind of excitement, ears folding back as furrowed brows display nothing short of bitterness. They weren't being that loud.... Orangeblossom didn't have to be so mean about it. Glowering and sulking quite pathetically, with a loud, hurtful and dramatized sigh, they shifted to scoot in closer with the nicer warrior that was willing to humor them.

The fact that no one else commented on their volume only encouraged them that this was specifically beef the deputy had with them. Whatever... whatever! She was being rude first. "More luck than you," they grumbled in complaint, a snipe-y little comment they weren't willing to say with their whole chest but their lack of maturity wouldn't go without saying completely.

Jaggedstorm seems completely unbothered as he shuffles slightly to make room for the nosy apprentice to make an attempt at collecting some for themself. Gazing up at the soft-furred tom with eager eyes, it appeared they had all but forgotten the scolding from the orange and white molly as their usual boundless energy returned- "Oooh yes! Yes! My turn! Watch this," they chirp, cheering for themself all the while.

Steady.... steady.... Moving carefully as their eyes flicked between pointed potentials, they delicately plucked the plump fruit from its dangerous prison, promptly dropping it safely at the paws of their clan-mates before standing with a proud bobbed tail lashing behind them. "Master of berry picking, Edenpaw! Betcha can't do that too Orangeblossom! Only Jaggedstorm and I are cool enough." They huff, puffing out their chest and sticking up their nose in the most snobby fashion.​
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Orangestar
image0.png

ORANGEBLOSSOMtags
"What was that?" Orangeblossom meows expectantly, though she goes ignored by Edenpaw as the black-and-white apprentice slips between thorn-laden leaves to join Jaggedstorm in picking blackberries for a treat. She spares Mallowlark a glance as his amusement rustles the branch beneath his weight, an unspoken were kits always this disrespectful? flashing between them- but whether or not it breaches the vast empty that she thinks the black-toed warrior has behind those unnerving grey eyes or not, she has no idea.

Brown eyes watch Edenpaw carefully as they weave between branches, paw carefully extending to pluck a berry from its hold. She will admit, privately, that it's impressive. Not many young apprentices have that level of dexterity, even when they are being careful. But she'd rather keel over from this horrible greenleaf heat than admit it, because they've been such a brat.

"You have blackberry juice on your nose." She says flatly instead, wrinkling her own. "It'll stain."
 

At Edenpaw's indignation- and oh, it was the blatant sort!- Orangeblossom met Mallowlark's moon-wide eyes for a moment, an odd look of bafflement on her face. He was sure, yes, that most apprentices weren't write so eager to throw word-dirt in a deputy's face. Oh, if she'd tried that in WindClan- she'd probably have been flayed! Metaphorically, yes... their claws weren't as eager to seep poison into young flesh, on those rotting moor-tops. Here, in peaceful and whispering pines, Edenpaw was met with simply bemusement and flatness- at least, from Orangeblossom. Mallowlark could not hold back his laughter.

Leaping from the low branch, he tottered over, head tilting to the side so rapidly it might as well have made a cracking sound. "Oh, you know... if you ever- hah, call the deputy uncool... you get bad luck for seven moons if you don't take it back immediately!" It was a joke, but Mallowlark's grimly grinning expression, unmoving pupil-fixation and ever-consistent cheery demeanour made telling if he was serious or not utterly impossible.
PENNED BY PIN
 

Had Orangeblossom's question found itself in her voice, Apple Stem would found herself far more amused than Edenpaw's bold challenging. A question that surely predated even Tiggerbounce (that cat was pretty old, right?) that forever went unanswered. Apple Stem found the sentiment in more positive light.

These apprentices were not facing the threat of hunger or war. They had the joyous freedom to challenge their deputy for something so trivial as picking berries of all things. Despite the looming danger of this yellowcough, the lives it had begun to claim, the black-and-white apprentice was not concerned. Part of her envied that.

"Ora-Ora-Ora-a-a!" Apple Stem hummed when she grew near. Her sisters nose wrinkled, and she promptly picked up the little blackberry and aimed to press it against Orangeblossom's nose. "You have something on your nose too! What happened?" Pale eyes were alight with mischief. Apple Stem didn't have much motive other than potentially creating a blackberry fight. That just might have them cleaning the stains out of their fur for days!
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Orangestar
With a mouse dangling from his jaws and @Cherrypaw likely in tow, Slate happened upon the scene of SkyClanners delicately plucking blackberries from their nestled spots in the bushes. Why so much fuss over these little things when they could be devoting their time and effort to hunting for real food? "Don't tell me you're all plannin' on eatin' those things." Slate is aware of what berries are, as there are bushes scattered across SkyClan territory. He doesn't know very many cats who stuff their maws with those messy, juicy things, though he's heard that they provide energy and some fulfillment in dire times. Slate himself has never eaten one and doesn't plan on it anytime soon.

Then, Apple Stem made the bold decision to do the unthinkable.

In a rare instance, the rather gruff lead warrior manages a hint of a grin, even if it's wry in nature. "Oof.." He remarks quietly to himself, amber eyes glistening with quickly-growing amusement as he searches Orangeblossom's features for a response to Apple Stem's "attack". His hide would definitely be skinned if he attempted such a thing on the stoic deputy... but could her sole reaction be worth it? Hmm... he was getting some ideas.
 
Mallowlark's laugh crackles through the pines. Though she still doesn't know the tom in any capacity aside from realizing he (probably) has a family, she'd recognize his raucous cry anywhere. Thank StarClan she'd already caught her prey, a plump chickadee almost too puffy to fly, even in the dead heat of Green-leaf. It hadn't been a clean catch, but it hadn't been scared off by Mallowlark either. It was hers.

She doesn't bother burying it when Slate trots away unannounced. He does it often enough that Cherrypaw can, on occassion, predict when he's about to twirl on his heavy boots and march off in the other direction. With her catch hoisted proudly in her jaws, and her tail waving behind her like a flag at full mast, she strolls on after him.

The scene that greets her is bizarre, in the way land is bizarre to someone who'd been drowning in productivity for the past quarter of her life. Slate had led to her an impromptu gathering of SkyClanners, elbow-deep in brambles, with dark smears of something sweeter and darker than blood on some of their muzzles. Cherrypaw's brow furrows—what are "those things," as Slate referred to them as?—but soon lifts as her aunt dances over to her mother to add her face to the gallery of the smudged. Her girlish snicker is muffled through the chickadee's feathers, but bolstered by her mentor's gruff admission of amusement.

Setting the bird down, she meows, "What are those things anyway?" Sun-bright eyes swing expectantly towards Edenpaw, who seems to have been the last cat to handle one. Besides the apprentice, deep purple is sliding down Orangeblossom's muzzle like snot. Cherrypaw wrinkles her nose. "You better not get that on me," she adds threateningly, sending only a half-playful glare towards the berry-pickers.​
 
Twitching an ear as a passive refusal to repeat themself, Edenpaw had no desire to get into a real spat with the ginger and white deputy. Orangeblossom, as much as they loathed to admit it, would easily kick their bobbed tail to the curb if it came down to a tussle. Opting to continue their charade of prideful display of the picked berries, they expected a little more reaction to their spectacular and talented nature than 'You have blackberry juice on your nose.' Furrowing their brow as they crossed their eyes to struggle to see it, the bi-colored feline wasn't even sure if she was lying or not! Would Orangeblossom lie? Uhh... hopefully not.

Suddenly that batty pale cat descended from the canopy to properly join them but it would prove to be a nuisance shortly. "SEVEN? I haven't even lived that long yet!" They gawk in abject horror, glancing between Mallowlark and Orangeblossom with stunned disbelief. There was just no WAY those StarClan cats were that crazy! It wasn't like Edenpaw had ripped one of her claws out!

Apple Stem doesn't seem to care for the idle threat and in a moment that felt like it last an eternity, they watched with transfixed green eyes as a single, dark, juicy berry found its way towards the deputy's face, crushed so sweetly to make sure they matched. Silence... then a smirk from Slate... and Cherrypaw had arrived just in time to witness it too.

"Huzzah! Apple Stem of BerryClan has done it again!"

The life and blackberry death of Orangeblossom. To be continued...

Smiling towards the other apprentice with a less than pristine white pelt, they raise a paw to proudly point out the small clutch they'd managed to collect on their own (under the guidance of an expert of course), "Berries! Berries that are black. Blackberries! Yanno?" Though the girl gently warned against a proper food fight, Edenpaw would be devoid of their listening ears already, flicking one with some small amount of force towards Cherrypaw's dirt-dusted paws. Couldn't complain about those getting dirty, they already were!​
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Orangestar
image0.png

ORANGEBLOSSOMtags
Orangeblossom makes a note to continue the charade of seven moons' bad luck should an unwitting apprentice call her uncool in future. Mallowlark has a reputation for being a bit of an unorthodox warrior, even by SkyClan's standards, so his word would likely carry some superstitious weight. It certainly seems to, with Edenpaw's shrill horror responding to his meow; but Orangeblossom is more caught up by Apple Stem's suspicious approach. Brown eyes narrow, and while she tries to lean back out of the way Orangeblossom cannot do so fully and a smear of blackberry juice is swiped across the deputy's nose.

"You might be a daylight warrior but that won't stop you from getting stuck on tick duty like a 'paw, smart-ears." Orangeblossom meows, voice clipped, and pushes one (notably non-berry stained) paw against her sister's muzzle in return. There's no bruising force behind it, but she wonders if the pressure will tilt Apple Stem to a tipping point so that she stumbles sideways.

The deputy wrinkles her nose again. Orangeblossom hadn't been kidding about the berry-stains, which would no doubt be mortifying for the next few sunrises if she doesn't stop by the river as soon as possible- even now, embarrassment tugs at her skin as Cherrypaw's voice pipes up from nearby amid Edenpaw's cheers, warning the other apprentice and her aunt not to come close with those berries. Orangeblossom would be slightly amused if she hadn't just been embarrassed like this.

Her attention flicks briefly to Slate, who does seem amused by this turn of events (of course he is), and then her expression hardens again as Orangeblossom regards her Clanmates with a final nod. "I'm going to wash this off."

// out unless stopped :]