FLASHES IN MY FACE NOW | eelpaw

[DEACON]

Recent conversations with the one his friends called a leader had made them nostalgic for another time, and Eelpaw's nosiness had given the ticked tabby the perfect excuse to visit old stomping grounds. If it was frowned upon to take another's apprentice out, then they hadn't been taught it - but, forgiveness always felt better than permission when they were going to do it regardless. They could imagine the journey south of RiverClan's territory was tough on little legs, especially combined with the snow and ice, but they'd done their best to take their time, complaining only with a lashing tail and the occasional foggy huff. It was an uneasy patience they had with the other, she was the first RiverClanner who didn't seem entirely bothered by the fact that he liked to cling onto nostalgia, but she was also a child, snivelly and impressionable (and far to young to be put to death in the clan's wars). They didn't think they'd ever been particularly good with kittens, if their awkward silence was anything to go by as they moved then they hadn't changed in that regard - up ahead however, Thornmask saw a sight that would give them something to talk about.

"Right, we're here. It ain't nuffin' fancy, but you don't get fancy when you gotta sod off at a moment's notice." Thornmask tried not to cringe as they saw the horizon, it was as if a bee had crawled into their ribcage and stung their heart... because no one could've guessed that the Ripple Colony lived there if they hadn't pointed it out. The ground was flat, foliage had taken over the area that they had once called dens, the river that had barely sustained them trickling between clumps of ice. You've fought in battles that affect RiverClan because you are RiverClan, Lichentail had said after the meeting, and his claws spiked the ground beneath. 'Just 'cause the earth forgets the past, don't mean I will'. Blinking furiously, the bright eyes of the Ripple Colony feline seemed to widen as if forgetting that Eelpaw was still there. Hadn't she asked about where they came from before? Pupils shot towards the sky as they tried recalling, then, before they remembered, they decided to tell her anyways. "We moved down here from the mountains 'cause of some flooding. Thought the place was empty, you lot were naff at patrolling near here... We were kinda wrong. It wasn't trespassing though, not really." No, they wouldn't elaborate, because they couldn't.

@EELPAW
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[EELPAW]

It had to be okay that she left camp with Thornmask right? It wasn't like she was leaving camp alone after all. Recent events leading up to her apprentice ceremony had her attempting to absorb anything and everything from anyone willing to teach her. Still nothing more than a child, Eelpaw was oblivious to the nature of things in the clan currently, namely the entire situation with the Ripple colonists and how it was affecting the clan. Did she truly even recall them coming into the clan and never leaving? Perhaps in her mind, they had always been around.

"Why would you have to leave for?" An innocent question reflected how truly naive she was to the true nature of the outside world. Without ever stepping paw into a battle herself, nor being informed of such things, the sheltered kitten wouldn't be able to grasp how things weren't all that perfect. Not even inside Riverclan's camp. Gazing around, Eelpaw would allow herself a moment to wander, carefully inspecting the makeshift camp where Thornmask had once resided. They lived here? It doesn't look like home to me. "What's a mountain? Flooding? What's that mean? Not trespassing?" Rather ironically, in his mentionings of leaving his home due to flooding, it seemed as if Eelpaw was subjecting the warrior to flooding once again, this time with questions rather than water.

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