camp DOWN BY THE RIVER || first catch?

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
THREE MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

The air inside the apprentice's den is oppressive. Nettlepaw can't sleep. It's not completely unusual, of course. The boy still had nightmares about Cicadastar, and his mother. About Yellowcough and the rogue invasion. But it was different this time. Worse, in a way. He felt like he didn't belong. He felt like he wasn't worthy of calling himself a RiverClanner. While the rest of his apprentices excelled in fishing and hunting, he did not. He hasn't caught a single fish. What RiverClan cat can't catch a fish? Dry-paws, perhaps, but most of the clan looked down on them for a reason. I don't want to be a dry-paw. A sigh pushes past his jaws as he quietly rises from his nest, and steps silently out into the black, early morning air.

It was meant to be a simple walk to clear his mind. Nettlepaw knows he shouldn't be out of camp by himself in the middle of the night, but if he stays by the river, he should have no problem making his way back home. He's only gone for about an hour, probably not long enough for anyone to notice or worry about him. At least, that's what he hopes. But while he nears the old twoleg bridge, he suddenly scents something along the shore... nostrils flare as the boy moves to investigate. It's not a trespassing cat, he knows that. Before him lied a dead fish, blood pooling from it's mouth. His paws roam over the carcass, though he doesn't find anything wrong, at least not on the outside. What could have killed it?

He's heard about twolegs using those long poles to hook fish on occasion, near this very bridge. Could that be the case here? He should probably just leave it. The crows would devour it in the morning, probably. But then, Nettlepaw pauses, turns back toward the body of the fish with a thoughtful expression. What if I say... I caught this fish? He thinks to himself with a flick of his tail. He wouldn't be a failure anymore. At least not in the eyes of his clan-mates. They'd respect him. He'd be a real RiverClanner.

It's probably a foolish idea, but he can't help it. He just wants to fit in. He wants to be successful. He wants to show he's just as capable as any other apprentice. With a huff of determination, Nettlepaw makes his decision. He bites into the neck of the fish, as if it were a killing blow, and then plucks it off the ground. He knows there's nobody else nearby. His hearing and smell are heightened as a result of his blindness. Which meant... he could get away with this. Still, he can't help but feel a little nervous as he makes the trek back to camp, the small trout hanging from his jaws. Entering camp, he knows he'll be spotted by the early risers. He also knows that being spotted was exactly the point of his little stunt. Making sure to puff out his chest in pride, Nettlepaw approaches the fresh-kill pile to drop his so-called catch.

((tl;dr nettlepaw takes a 5am stroll and finds a dead fish he pretends to have caught. feel free to have your character get sick from eating the fish later, but I'd prefer it if nobody saw him find it. suspicion is okay ofc, but he'll get caught later.))
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[FERNGILL]

When he had been putting in extra training hours to try and re-learn everything that had been lost alongside half his eyesight, Ferngill had gotten used to being an early riser. Even then, it was not the sight of Nettlepaw that warned him of the apprentice's approach but rather the smell of him.

For a moment Ferngill was nervous the scent of home seemed alien to him. Then, he clocked the fish that the young tom had placed onto the fresh kill pile, stronger-smelling than most. For a split second of squeamishness, his nose wrinkled- he'd never encountered a fish that was quite so pungent. Must've been a rare find- impressive for a young apprentice. Ferngill's own experience of not catching a fish until late-apprenticeship was... an outlier, he had to remind himself.

He didn't wander too close to the freshkill pile. It wasn't his prey to eat yet- the queens and elders hadn't been fed, he was sure of it. And besides, he... wasn't particularly hungry yet. "Pikesplash'll be pleased!" he called to the young tom, scanning the surroundings to see if the warrior in question had reared his head just yet. "Maybe you can deliver to the elders personally." Just a suggestion. And maybe their noses didn't work that well anymore.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[Bounceheart]

bounceheart ✧ she/her ✧ riverclan warrior (=˃ᆺ˂=)
Not being able to hunt fish was something she had struggled with for quite some time after the transition to RiverClan. It was, certainly, something you had to practice with for quite some time. Even now, she was still fine tuning her skills. And the warrior had spent countless hours over the past moons at the river. Some days, she would leave with nothing. It wasn't that she could not catch anything else - Bounce was quick on her paws and could scale the trees like a ThunderClan cat. That would make her no more of a RiverClanner, so she thought, and thus she sat and worked on it each day. She remembered a particular day, soon after they became the clans: she was sitting on the river's edge, clumsily dipping her paws into the water. This was her attempt to catch a minnow. At the time, she recalled there were apprentices far past her talent with catching fish. It was embarrassing. But her clanmates came to teach her. Their now leader, and a couple trainees.
It felt like a family. So she was devoted, in that moment, to do what she could, for RiverClan.

In strolled the tabby, a glint to her eyes as she carried a chub to the pile. She always brought her kills to the pile, rather than burying them to search for more. Just thinking about the elders' and kits' having a fresh meal was enough to have her pace back-and-forth from camp to the river. The fur on her head was still slick from water as she came up to the two. "Woaw das amasing," she said through a mouthful of fish. Once she realized it was rude to speak with your mouth full, she dropped it before saying, "you went from floater to fisher!" ​

 

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
THREE MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

Ferngill, a recently named warrior, yet Nettlepaw recognizes him easily enough. Looking past the other RiverClanner with sightless eyes, he can't help the warmth of joy and satisfaction that blossoms throughout his chest. At last, he feels appreciated. Liked. Respected. The praise prompts a smirk from the boy as he soaks in the compliments of his clan-mates. An ear twitches toward Bounceheart as the tabby tilts his head in acknowledgement.

"I got lucky." He offers with a bit of false humility. "It was in the shallows. I only noticed it because it was splashing around near the shore!" From floater to fisher. He beamed at the pair, before blind focus settles upon Ferngill once more. "Do you think the elders will be awake at this time?" He questions curiously. They seemed to like spending their days relaxing, after all. That often meant sleeping in until the sun was well over the horizon.
​

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[willowroot]

( ☾ ) "heyyy!" the cheerful call of the feline soars across camp as willowroot comes into sight, green eyes sparkling. "good catch, nettlepaw!" genuine pride flows from their tone as they approach the scene. nettlepaw stands with a proud smirk on his maw, sightless eyes bright and flicking from cat to cat. a smile adorns willow's muzzle even though she knows the tomcat cannot see it. it's always lovely to see someone she's helped raise succeed. the fish is small but silver scales flash in the pale early morning sun. its maw is slightly rusty hued, as if blood had trickled down from nettlepaw's bitemark, but otherwise, the kill looks clean.

nettlepaw dips his head in humility, wondering vaguely if the elders might be awake yet. "they do tend to sleep in, but it wouldn't hurt to check," she points out, attention flicking towards the cozy looking den. there is no movement sighted from where she stands. her nose slightly wrinkles as the pungent scent of fish reaches her finally, and she'll cough politely. "otherwise, maybe the kits would like to try it." ​

 

[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ "That doesn't sound like a great idea" Asphodelpaw approaches the scene with a wrinkled nose, refusing to be shy about his opinion as he stares suspiciously at the fish in his clanmate's maw, "or rather, smell like a good idea" Seriously - he can't be the only one who smells that, can he? Asphodelpaw opens his maw to properly taste the air and immediately comes away with the confirmation that something can't be right. Though his eyes are piercing icicles into the fish in question, he eventually raises them to warily consider Nettlepaw. It doesn't exactly feel good coming up just to poke holes into the younger tom's accomplishment. He knows very little about the earth-toned male before him, however, you don't need to be best friends in order to realize this is the first time in a very long while since Nettlepaw truly allowed himself to beam like this.

For a moment, Asphodelpaw considers taking back his comment. Maybe he's misjudging the smell- maybe he's still rubbed raw by the memory of his clanmates falling ill and that awful scent of withering sickness still clogging his nostrils making him preemptively jump to conclusions. After all, Nettlepaw said the fish had been splashing around when he caught it - and sick fish don't splash, right? Maybe...maybe the fish got stuck on the bank trying to catch a bug or something and exposed its spine to the sun for a little too long? Long enough to smell like that but still be fresh? Was that even possible? Or maybe the fish had been ill? And in its feverish state (could fishes even get fevers?) had swam onto the shallows where it got caught before Nettlepaw could realize what was wrong.
The question - are you really sure the thing was still moving when you caught it? dances on his tongue, and he has to lightly bite his cheek to keep from asking. Any other cat and Asphodelpaw wouldn't hold back - stars, he's not quite sure why he even is with Nettlepaw - he owes the kid absolutely nothing!

But still, from Asphodelpaw's spot, he really couldn't pinpoint anything amiss. Its scales still glowed silver, and its mouth and eyes weren't particularly off-color. Asphodelpaw had never seen a sick fish, or a sun-burned fish, so how could he tell if it had either of those ailments? But he swears by Starclan's light something just isn't right about that smell.
But also - he argues with himself - Asp has yet to meet another cat with a better nose than Nettlepaw. If there really was something wrong with the thing, wouldn't Nettlepaw know? Besides, he doesn't think the tom would lie about something like this. Sure, he doesn't know the kid well, but he never struck Asphodelpaw as someone who'd lie if the fish tasted off or acted strange when he caught it. On another note, Ferngill, Bounceheart, and Willowroot all seem to not mind the smell. He swears Ferngill had some look in his eye, but if he's not saying anything, is it really Asphodelpaw's place? Is it all just in Asphodelpaw's head?
The right thing to do would be to keep his mouth shut, congratulate Nettlepaw, and accept that four noses against one should dictate that the fish is fine to give to the most vulnerable members of the clan. Yellowcough hadn't been spread through a sick fish, so who cares if he was even right - which he could very well not be.

"Well, personally, I think its smell is way too pungent," Asphodelpaw says, sticking to his opinion. Still, he tries to shrug off his concerns and adds, "I can't imagine you'll hear the end of it if that smell permanently fills the elders's and nursery dens, so keep it outside" He glances at his older clanmates, searching for permission - and to confirm again that they're not affected by that smell that...maybe really is all in Asp's head...before suggesting, "maybe you should eat it, Nettlepaw?" It's his first catch, after all, can't he be allowed an exception to try at least a bite of his own catch? Although truthfully, he doesn't care what happens to the fish anymore, as long as he doesn't have to clean up the kitten and elder nests reeking of their gifted snack! Stars, he hopes the fish don't start smelling like that from now on. Oh dear Starclan - what if Asphodelpaw's nose is changing with age!? Is that why the older cats don't notice anything - is THIS was fish smells like to them?
Truly, today marks a horrifying day.

tl;dr :: Asp doesn't suspect the fish was caught already dead, he does think the smell is weird and tries to justify his suspicions before ultimately settling on 'maybe it's just me, but I'd prefer that that smell stay outside of dens where I have to clean nests'

*+:｡.｡ Updated 11/13/23

• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ☆ Asphodelpaw
  ☆ DMAB— He/Him — Unsure
  ☆ 8 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
  ☆ Mentored by Crashingtide
  ☆ Riverclan — Apprentice
  
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ☆ Physically easy | mentally medium
  ☆ Attack in bold #9fc3fc
  injuries: None currently

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[BITEFLOWER]

bio ₊˚✧ ﾟ. When the growing crowd catches his attention curiosity drives his paws, they all seem in good sprits, he takes into account the congratulatory tone of the surrounding warriors, he tries to shove in somewhere nearby Ferngill. He's had a bad nights sleep, and is prowling around disheveled, usually well kept fur, either by his mother or himself poking up everywhere, he's been preoccupied and she's been unwell so it sticks up. He's been dosing by his mother's side most of the day as it seemed to be a bad day for her, cuddling in close while she trembled. Blurry eyed, he tumbles over, something overslept and bad tempered hanging off him.

Asphodelpaw's protest has possessiveness of something he's never owned stirring an irritation he's seemingly now all to familiar to. He wants the fish. "I don't care what it smells like. I want it." Bitekit pipes up, looking expectantly up at Willowroot, tapping at the prey with a paw. He can't care about the smell, he's growing fast into a one-day big guy, evidenced in his big frame, he's shoveling down whatever's put in front of him, and well, what would likely soon be dangling out of reach.

He doesn't care too much about the fuss, it's an object of attention, and he wants it. Seeing as Nettlepaw's the one who caught the thing, he directs his gaze over to him, "You caught it. I want it." He's expecting the apprentice to graciously agree with him.
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[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
THREE MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

This is, perhaps, one of the few times that Willowroot would find Nettlepaw smiling up at her. In a way, her praise meant a little more than the rest of his clan-mates. She had practically been in the nursery for his entire life, after all. The only other Queen that he considered himself close to was now dead, a victim of Yellowcough, a fate which still haunts the youth. Before he can reply, however, another apprentice approaches the scene. Words die in Nettlepaw's throat as his sightless eyes narrow into spiteful slits.

"You're just jealous." The boy hisses, bristling. Asphodelpaw always seemed like such a grump, and to many in RiverClan, so did Nettlepaw. It probably came as a surprise, then, that the two cold toms were not so friendly with one another. "You probably didn't catch a fish until... until you were older than I am!" Nettlepaw reasons. Of course, he's well aware that he hadn't actually caught the fish.... it had already been dead. If anyone was jealous, it certainly wasn't Asphodelpaw. The smaller boy can't help the indignant puff of his chest, though. He doesn't even consider that a cat could get sick from crowfood. Fish were safe to eat, after all. And besides, dead fish sat on the fresh-kill pile for hours before they were consumed, sometimes.

Indeed, the very thought that his fish could be foul had not even crossed the blind tom's mind. So, when Bitekit announces that he would eat the fish, Nettlepaw lets out a proud purr. "Sure, you can have it." Nettlepaw offers, tearing his sightless gaze away from Asphodelpaw, who had suggested that Nettlepaw eat his own fish. If not for the newest part of the Warrior Code, he saw no reason why he wouldn't. In this case, however, it seemed the meal had already been claimed. Nettlepaw wonders if Bitekit would even be able to devour the whole thing. Perhaps, with enough determination... the young tom offers a small smile at the thought. Familiar, he remarks to himself.
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