pafp dream diary ☾ seeking advice

[Swansong]

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NOW I KNOW WHAT'S REAL, WHAT'S FAKE

He's has been worrying a lot more, lately. The threat of the bears has passed, but i seems to have instilled a permanent sense of anxiety in the docile child that is Swankit. Fear slinks its way beneath his pelt, nightmares still lingering in the corners of his eyes. But his worries have drifted now, found a new target. He's learned anxiety, learned dread, but there are other worries that plague the mind of Swankit, not quite as warranted as the fear brought by monsters.

"Applekit," he calls, shuffling over to her with more urgency than he affords most tasks. His head is ducked, peering up at her with his brow furrowed in consternation. "We're going to be apprentices," he says, with all the gravity of announcing a death sentence. The words linger in the air for a moment, and it almost seems as though that is all he has to say.

He swallows. "Um, I don't really... want... to be an apprentice..." he admits sheepishly. "'M... okay, in the nursery... And I don't think I'd be good at training..." he trails off, eyes flicking down...

But he perks up quickly, remembering his purpose. "Ah, but... You - you're not worried, right? You're gonna be a good apprentice..." It's not a question. "So, um, maybe you could... help me... be ready? And also be... a good, um. Apprentice?" He says the word reluctantly, not wanting to think of himself as such, but he lifts his head a bit and gives his sister a smile and a healthy dose of sad baby blue eyes. Surely, she can help, she always seems to know what to do...

RATHER SLEEP THAN STAY AWAKE
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☾⋆⁺₊⋆ info ; visual

• // wait for @APPLEKIT
  ​
• SWANKIT named for his pale fur, after his maternal grandmother.
  — he/him. 4 moons.
  — shadowclan kit.
  — quiet and dreamy.
  
  penned by saturnid.​
• "SPEECH"
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• 

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[APPLEJAW]

Any day now Applekit would stand before Chilledstar, pelt picked clean and making a face worthy of apprenticeship, and she and her siblings will be released unto the world (or maybe the world released on top of them). It's too soon, and not soon enough, because Applekit has too much time to think about what would change. Who's to say what other terrible beasts lurked throughout the swamp? Maybe no one.

Her only brother sticks out as much as ever. Pale as snow. Swamp monsters would spot him easily. Swankit moves less like a slug than usual, and Applekit is peering over with a glint of weariness. She wears a straight face though, 'cause it's what a good warrior should do. We're going to be apprentices, he says it as if something terrible was happening, and Applekit kind of understands. Still, she says, " We are, " like its obvious, and the most objective thing not to be worried about in the entire world. Applekit's shoulders are square and her tail is tucked neatly around her paws.

Applekit doesn't really think he'd be good at training either. It's not really her problem, but it makes her frown anyways. You have to be an apprentice, she almost tells him. Hiding in the nursery was for little, misbehaving kits, and Swankkit shouldn't have to be that. Her brother knows that though, and Applekit minds to check her posture as he continues speaking. No, Applekit wasn't worried. She was going to be a good apprentice, the very best ShadowClan has ever seen, and no one would ever be able to call her anything less.

Applekit considers him with a neutral gaze before she eventually agrees, " Okay. " She didn't really think he could be, but he'd like him to be a good apprentice. " You shouldn't be scared to be an apprentice, " Applekit instructs. " Bad things know when you're scared, so you have to look at them and tell them you're not, and they'll leave you alone. " Monsters or cats, at least, she thinks so.

" And... you should listen to your mentor, " Applekit says this a bit more iffily, because what if Swankit got a stupid mentor like Ferndance? " As long as it doesn't go against Smogmaw or Halfshade, " she tacks on. " If it doesn't, then listen really closely, and don't look sleepy, " she adds with a pointed look. " And follow all the rules, and look presentable, so the other clans don't think we're scrappy, bad apprentices. " A lot of ShadowClan was already a lost cause, but at least the other clans could be afraid of their future warriors... so long as Swankit and Garlickit didn't ruin things. Or any of Forestshade's weird kittens, or Granitepelt's dumb kittens. ...At the very least, she could be worth fearing.​

 

[clearheart]

━━ι═══════﹥ How he wishes it were true that bravery alone could repel any creature seeking to deal harm. Clearheart does not mean to eavesdrop on the kittens, and in truth, feels rather ashamed for it, but he could not help overhearing their conversation while delivering prey. It is natural for Swankit to fear apprenticehood— it is a great change, one which will mark what may feel like a new world to a kit. Applekit expresses no such fear, which Clearheart assumes is an enactment of her personal philosophy she explained to Swankit.

"Courage is not lying about your fear," the warrior says solemnly yet kindly, his rarely-blinking gaze warm. "Rather, we should think of courage as endurance. We are afraid, but it does not hinder us from continuing our path." The rest of her advice is quite sound, he thinks. "Swankit." His attention shifts noticeably to the paler of the pair. "It is all right to hold fear for the future, but earning your new name will be the beginning of your journey to be brave."​

══════⊹⊱≼ ɪɴꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ / ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɪʀ ʜᴀɴɢꜱ ʜᴇᴀᴠʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴄᴇɴꜱᴇ / ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ≽⊰⊹══════

• — CLEARHEART / / 40 moons old / / amab and uses masculine pronouns but will also accept the use of neutral terms.
  — a warrior of shadowclan / / currently mentoring dragonflypaw / / excels greatly in combat above most all other skills.
  — former loner who wandered great distances & rarely remained in one place for long / / arrived after the great battle.
  — devoted to starclan above all else (aside from his idea of the common good) / / not prone to enter battle mindlessly.
  
  — of a height slightly above average / / trim and athletic with a sense of immovability about his posture/stance & size.
  — chocolate sepia w/ low white / / fur is quite short for the most part / / tail is naturally bobbed // full-body reference.
  — fairly warm demeanor much of the time; there is a "softness" about his features so that neutrality doesn't seem surly.
  
  — lawful good, in the sense that he likes to maintain order and work toward bettering lives around him without cruelty.
  — often misunderstands figures of speech and may interpret them literally. as such, can seem to lack a sense of humor.
  — deeply genuine; dislikes lying immensely, and so (most of the time) he is wholly earnest, especially with compliments.
  
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[HONEYJAW]

"Smogmaw and Halfshade, huh?" A gentle whuff of laughter and the sharp crinkling around his eyes show that there's no serious reprimand to the comment, but Honeyjaw does tack on a light, "And Chilledstar too, I'd hope," regardless. He's not here for them anyway. He'd meant to ask Clearheart about some of Dragonflypaw's recent training, but– well, it's probably not the best example to set for the ones who'll be so newly named. It's abnormal for him to be as involved as he is; he knows that he shouldn't be, to boot. Unlike the two of them, he...didn't have the sort of support system their parents did. Not at first, anyway. Part of him is jealous. The rest of him is very terribly glad. He's not sure which is more prominent or important.

"Clearheart's advice is a hero's advice. Looking your fear head on and walking towards it anyway– that's what legends and stories are made of." Clearheart, ripped straight from some fable. A cat that glimmered like the sun and lifted up all those around them. He doesn't compare. The simple commoner, the one in need of lifting. Leaning a bloody, beaten shoulder against implacable stone and steel. "It won't be all fears, anyway. Sometimes you won't have to be brave at all. It'll even be fun sometimes. As long as you're listening to your mentor, like Apple said."

﹥ˏˋ  OOC NOTES ╱ REFERENCE ╱ 07.02.2023  𝘙𝘌𝘔𝘐𝘕𝘋𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘔𝘌 𝘏𝘖𝘞 𝘓𝘐𝘛𝘛𝘓𝘌 𝘐 𝘏𝘈𝘝𝘌 ˊˎ＜

• ooc: —

• 

• honeyjaw ╱╱ 36 moons old ╱╱ he - him - his ╱╱ warrior of shadowclan.
  ──── a former loner who joined the clan approximately six months ago (give or take).
  ──── named for the deep honey-brown of his pelt as well as his too natural charisma.
  ──── has an apprentice-aged kid he joined with, def scared of watching 'em grow up.
  ──── bisexual- kinda flirtatious yet never seems to really pursue a relationship. single.
  
  a short-furred dark chocolate point tom with the smallest splashes of white on his forehead, front paws, and tail tip. well-built, but overall average in size and unremarkable aside from his lightly curled ears and the magnetism of his smile. seems to show signs of aging earlier than expected, with a salt-and-pepper dusting around his jaw and muzzle.

• "speech"

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