camp FELL ON BLACK DAYS — return from injury

[SNAKEHISS]

❪ TAGS ❫ — After several weeks spent healing in the medicine den, a familiar midnight-colored form (perhaps deemed as an eyesore by some) slipped out of the cave and stood grounded against the strong gusts that pummeled camp. It had been very windy as of late, and the shelter against the gales was the only thing Snakepaw appreciated about being Vulturemask's patient. Now, with the den being crowded by cats injured in the skirmish with ShadowClan, he had been discharged and deemed fit for training again as long as he trod carefully.

He peers forward at the hustle and bustle of camp as WindClanners went about their duties while trying to battle the weather. Snakepaw sees a distant cat make eye contact with him before trotting out of camp. Was no one going to ask what he was doing out of Vulturemask's den? Was no one going to acknowledge that his wound was looking healed? Snakepaw knows that he isn't the most beloved member of the clan, but it wouldn't kill them to say something.

"Ahem." He very obviously clears his throat, not necessarily to anybody in particular but simply to draw attention to himself using the most minimal effort possible. Snakepaw tentatively strides forward a few steps and holds his head high, his footing still somewhat gentle on his right side but not feeling as tender as it was before.​

 

[Morningsong~]

He was having a good day! Everything was going great, he brought back a nice rabbit, took some time to bring the queens the BEST moss and the PRETTIEST flowers. He helped the elders with their ticks and listened to their stories.

AND he even did a good job reinforcing the camp walls. Good job meaning he didn't stab himself repeatedly on the thorns.

He heard Snakepaw clear his throat and turned to look at him. He was out of the medicine den now, it seemed.

"Snakepaw! Finally recovered? That's great!" He greeted the other with a smile.​

 

[sparkspirit]

While Sparkpaw wasn't exactly right beside Morningpaw, he was close enough to hear Snakepaw and all the friendly pleasantries that follow. Maybe it's the lingering weight of his mother's disappearance, or the thought of their warrior ceremonies coming up so soon– whatever it is, he's among the number of clanmates wholly ignoring Snakepaw's recovery. At least for the moment. He continues threading dried strands of heather through each other, making...something? Nothing, really. A well-entangled clump that has no purpose aside from busying his paws and making it seem that he is above conversation. This is really pathetic of you, his mind oh-so-helpfully provides. The worst of it is that he has no arguments. It is pathetic to ignore Snakepaw. It's pathetic of him to think of him and remember his attempts at apologizing before all else. It's pathetic to look at him and feel the scar on his nose burn.

He frowns at his tangled heather ball, and bats it across camp. The wind picks it up immediately and sends it tumbling away. It would almost be storybook, were it not for the sheer aggressive speed with which it goes. His distraction has left him. Sparkpaw lets out a short, terse sigh. "Ready to go find Sedgepaw?" he snips out, still not able to look directly at Snakepaw. He barely manages to get electric blue onto his paws before he's looking back into the distance once more. "Blame him for not doing enough? Or is that treatment reserved for me?" Unfair, unfair, at least Sedgepaw tried. What does it matter? He was more injured now than he'd been after the battle. What does it matter?

˗ˏˋ〘  OOC 05.20.2023 〙´ˎ˗

• ooc: sorry snakeman

• sparkpaw, sparky. dmab male, he - him - his.
  ──── apprentice of windclan. loyal to windclan and weaselclaw.
  ──── 06 moons old. born on 12.15.22, and ages 85% real time.
  ──── echolight x elmbreeze, adopted by yewberry. brightfam.
  
  a long-limbed, trim sterile tortoiseshell tom with mostly black fur splashed with the occasional orange. he has a singular white mark on the back of his neck, as if he had been bitten there. has a fresh scar across the bridge of his nose.
  
  

  

• "speech"

​

 

[SNAKEHISS]

❪ TAGS ❫ — His green stare fixes onto Morningpaw, a small sneer slithering onto his features as the traitor-blooded apprentice directly addressed him. The sight of him—along with his siblings—was usually enough to sour his mood but today he was feeling happy to be out of the medicine den and continue his training. Besides, Morningpaw gave him the positive acknowledgment that Snakepaw had been hoping for; at least he could do something right, unlike his brother. "Why yes, yes I am." The apprentice replies with a smug grin, tilting his chin upward.

Speaking of Morningpaw's brother, Sparkpaw makes himself known from where he was situated in camp, sulking moodily and refusing to make eye contact with Snakepaw. He brings himself to slightly frown, though his chipper mood is a rarity in itself and he's determined not to let such a harebrained cat ruin it for him. "As irritating as Sedgepaw is, he made himself useful by deterring the fox." Snakepaw snorted, Sparkpaw's attempt to compare himself to Sedgepaw quite laughable in his opinion. "As for you, I don't have the energy to be cross with you anymore. I've learned my lesson — I know who I won't depend on in battle." Every warrior should be able to stand on their own against an opponent, but there were undoubtedly times when two cats could finish the job quicker than one. If that situation were to ever arise again, Snakepaw would opt to fight with a more dependable cat, one that didn't have a track record of abandoning their fellow warrior in the heat of battle.​

 

[heathermoon !!]

There were tensions here that Heatherpaw hadn't bothered with. The red tabby had spent most hours of the day underneath the moors, tilling and packing. Refining and cleaning. Scoping and clearing. Enough time that when they crawled out of the tunnels he felt he would fall into the sky. He would rather stay in the tunnels than leave himself bare out on the hills. Face the danger of a cave-in than the ones like Snakepaw had faced against.

Snakepaw's grand exit had been as anticlimactic as a one could imagine. Heatherpaw wondered if it hurt, realizing your Clanmates found your recovery mundane. That Snakepaw wasn't worth their empathy. He felt rather neutral about it himself, unfortunate that he had succumbed to such injuries, but things had been more quiet without his presence.

"Your skill should always be your first choice to trust in anyway." Heatherpaw shrugged as he overheard. That's how Robinfang taught him when in the tunnels, anyway. If everyone relied and assumed their work was as efficient as their own, there would be cave-ins aplenty. "Your leg looks better. Good enough for anyone else to rely on?"​

WINDCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ RED MACKEREL TABBY ✦ 7 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[sparkspirit]

Something about his entire perspective shifts when he hears Heatherpaw– Your skill should always be your first choice to trust in anyway.. What a revelation it was! Weaselclaw had taught him self-reliance, to be steady on his own paws, to trust himself before any other. And it had never occurred to him that others should do the same. It was a bizarre realization, a shifting of the universe. He blinks, first into the empty space of the horizon and then at the red tabby himself once he has managed to steer his gaze upwards. It could be that this line was grabbed at, tugged deep into his heart by the pain that a lack of trust left him with. It could be that he was wrong to think what he did all of the sudden. Or maybe, just maybe, Heatherpaw was exactly right. Maybe this was the end of the burden he had put on himself. A sudden clearing of pain.

Snakepaw should have been strong enough to do it on his own. And he had been. He had survived. First RiverClan, then this fox attack. It wasn't his fault; it wasn't something he had done wrong. Snakepaw survived. Sparkpaw didn't need to be relied upon. And he certainly didn't need to carry that guilt. A heart given wings and steely fangs both, Sparkpaw does not restrain his scoff. "I think you were right the first time, Heatherpaw. If he can't rely on himself, I don't think any of us can either." As soon as the words leave his mouth a surge of guilt returns. Why couldn't he stay strong in his convictions? Why couldn't he decide if he should desperately plead for the other apprentice's attention or shun him entirely? The tired beast inside of him shrinks again, and the tortoiseshell's eyes go back to the dirt.

"I didn't mean that," he amends quietly, not quite an apology. He doesn't know where to go from there but his tongue stumbles out anyway in a desperate attempt to push away from its earlier cruelty. "Has Badgermoon told you what you'll be doing now that you're recovered? Maybe we should all go hunting while we can. I heard Azaleapaw and Marmotpaw were working together a few days ago, flushing out rabbits from the tunnels to surprise them at the burrow entrances. Maybe we should all try that. If our mentors say that's okay, at least."

˗ˏˋ〘  OOC ･ ｡ﾟ🗲 REFERENCE 06.13.2023 〙´ˎ˗

• ooc: —

• 

• sparkpaw, sparky. dmab male, he - him - his.
  ──── apprentice of windclan. loyal to windclan and weaselclaw.
  ──── 06 moons old. born on 12.15.22, and ages 85% real time.
  ──── echolight x elmbreeze, adopted by yewberry. brightfam.
  
  a long-limbed, trim sterile tortoiseshell tom with mostly black fur splashed with the occasional orange. he has a singular white mark on the back of his neck, as if he had been bitten there. has a fresh scar across the bridge of his nose.

• "speech"

​

 

[Morningsong~]

A fire is lit inside of Morningpaw. He was trying to be nice to Snakepaw, but it was hard when he was trashing his brother. He kept calm though. He knew if he acted out too much, he would get in trouble. He looks to Heatherpaw as he speaks. He has to agree, skill is very important. If you cant depend on yourself, then no one should depend on you. It sounds....Harsh, perhaps there was a lighter way of thinking of it, but thats how it is.

Sparkpaw also speaks true,, but then takes it back. Morningpaw shakes his head. "No no, you're right." He corrects his brother.

"My brother saved Weaselclaw's life that night, and I'm proud of him." He says. He had heard all about what happened at that raid, part of him had been just a little disappointed he didn't get to go.

"You being so bitter about it almost seems like...You'd rather he had died." He says, looking to Snakepaw. He could go on. But he wont. He's already let his frustrations slip enough. "That's the impression you've given me, at least." He finishes with a shrug.​

 

[SNAKEHISS]

❪ TAGS ❫ — Ugh, Heatherpaw. Snakepaw detested the perceived know-it-all, the showoff. How dare he try and challenge him mere moments after being discharged from the medicine den? He'd show him, starting with managing his temper and keeping a leveled response. "More than good — great." The black cat proclaimed, lifting his head proudly. "I'll enter battle under my new warrior name in no time." A shit-eating grin plasters across his maw, a look that communicates I'm going to become a warrior before you are and there's nothing you can do about it! Heatherpaw could try and one-up the other apprentices all he wanted, but that would all change when Snakepaw was bestowed a new rank. Maybe he'd get the chance to boss him around!

A critical stare whips in the direction of the red-splotched tom cat, who appears to have more to say this time around. A lot more. "Oh, what's this? Sparkpaw has decided to grow a spine?" The green-eyed brat challenges with a raise of his brows. When Sparkpaw attempts to deflect the conversation, something about hunting rabbits, but he suspects that he's just trying to cover his own behind. "I think you did mean it." Snakepaw speaks icily with a single lash of his tail.

Hmph. It figured that Morningpaw would side with his littermate; they had to stick together, after all, seeing as their family was slowly dwindling one by one. Whipping his head back in the direction of the tom, green eyes sparking with ferocity, he retorts like a hiss rolling off an adder's tongue, "And what your pebble brain fails to realize is that saving Weaselclaw wasn't the issue." Snakepaw was tempted to rant about how Sparkpaw had abandoned Snakepaw—without a word—in the heat of battle mere moments after he had approached him about fighting as a pair, leaving Snakepaw to fend for himself against a large RiverClanner. He wouldn't have engaged with the RiverClan warrior in the first place; he had been nowhere near skilled enough to do so at that time!

Deciding against an angry tirade, not wishing to waste any more of his breath on the likes of a thin-blooded traitor's child, Snakepaw stuck his nose in the air and stalked forth. His wound ached, lightly, upon moving his paws but he walked on through the pain in an attempt to make a point. "Whatever, I've got training to get back to. Sparkpaw, why don't you indulge your brother on what really happened that day?" Snakepaw snorted over his shoulder, padding off to find Badgermoon.

// out didn't intend for him to leave so soon but >:3​