pafp for the weight of us ☄ Injured Escapees

[SINGEPAW]

*+:｡.｡ Liquid time, takes place a few hours after this

---

Karma was such a bitch.

Singepaw woke from the dark, sticky haze of dreamless unconsciousness to find himself on fire. If he were in better shape, he would've been disgusted with himself for the pitiful whimper that escaped him as he clawed weakly at the ground, a mindless attempt to run from the scorching heat. Where was he? What happened? The last thing he remembered, he'd been racing through the marshlands, whooping with delight as his plan to have his damned bite of freedom was finally accomplished. By his paws alone he'd conquered the unknown and he was going to prove his bravery when he...when they found catmint...Instead, they found...they were found by...

Fire; burning, tearing, consuming ate at his sides as his mind flashed with the memories. Yowling, teeth snapping, the taste of dirt shoved into his mouth as he was pinned. Suddenly his spar with Snowpaw felt like playing house compared to - Granitepelt. Tears burst forth as just how much of a fucking idiot he was sank in. He hadn't stood a chance! He'd barely made it out alive he...he remembered dragging himself over the thunderpath, blood trailing behind...blood...

Bloodpaw!

Fire burned cold as he struggled to rise, only lifting his head before collapsing with another whimper back on Shadowclan's marsh. Chilledstar was right. He wasn't ready - why'd he ever think he was ready? The boy wept quietly as the newly frosted flame grew from his freshly irritated wounds, numbing him back down into that bleak, shadowy sleep. Where he'd remain, helpless and unsure if his friend was ok. She had to be..she had to...!

What had he done?

Unconsciousness dragged him away once more.

@BLOODPAW

*°:⋆ₓₒ Updated 2/13/24

• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ☄ Singepaw
  ☄ Cismale — He/him — Questioning sexuality
  ☄ 4 moons — Ages 1 moon every month on the 2nd
  ☄ NPC x Duckshimmer (brother to Swallowkit, Sneezekit)
  ☄ Shadowclan — Kit
  ☄ Apprenticed to Pipitclaw
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ☄ Physically easy | mentally easy
  ☄ Attack in bold #b8312f
  ☄ Can be power played just ask
  injuries: faint scars on flanks from an owl attack
  

​

 

[BLOODPAW]

Freedom had been fresher than the taste of any toad. Singepaw had laughed when he first crossed the Thunderpath, that if that was the most dangerous thing in the territory then life was way easier than what the adults said. Bloodpaw had laughed too - she didn't feel like laughing anymore. Memories of the moment were flashes of lightning in her head, she couldn't make sense of them before they faded into a tepid numbness. Blood coated the side of her face from an ear severed at its midsection, lapping at her fur like a hungry dog gorging a bone. She could taste the metal in her mouth but the cinnamon tabby couldn't swallow past the heart that'd leaped into her throat. For too long, there was no sight of the one called Bloodpaw except for her namesake, fresh and staining the mud a cherry red. There were many tales of cats finding solitude in their deaths, but the cinnamon tabby had no intentions of dying. She'd only lived for five moons, a paw step forwards was given for Ferndance who'd birthed her, then for Needledrift who was the equally best mama. She moved forwards for Bonepaw, for Shadepaw, for Snowypaw... for Singepaw.

She found the flame point again with eyes squinting against the strength of the wind (a gentle gale). Blades of grass dangled from her maw as she pushed towards him, fighting against the lure of sleep that grew stronger with each stagger. With each passing moment, another strand was whipped away from her, flying into the sky. Singepaw was a blur past the tears in her eyes, but he was still her friend, the one she'd tried to protect from the stranger. She'd failed, and StarClan had received its penance in a stomach so twisted with disgust that it was a miracle she hadn't tried to spit it out. Perhaps they were looking down on them in pity; two apprentices who'd have never attempted what they'd done had life been just that little bit fairer. The cinnamon tabby's paws bumped against something firm within the mire, a body. She blinked, eyelids heavy. 'My friend.' "I'm sorry," she choked, suddenly aware of the shudder to her limbs. Cold... was it always this cold in ShadowClan? She dropped the 'herbs' onto his flank.

Bloodpaw leaned down, her vision flashing white as pain flashed through her front, and pressed the three grasses into his skin to try and soak up the blood. The minute she put pressure on her paws, she buckled beneath them, falling on top of Singepaw as if protecting him with a broken body. A muted cry escaped from her, only now realising how far the shock of real pain had carried them. She didn't know where they were in the territory, but she knew it wasn't camp, her mamas and her family weren't here for her yet. Bloodpaw tried to lift her head, instead, it only sunk further into Singepaw's shoulder. Another whimper escaped her, quieter than a whisper. "I'm so sorry..." They could've been heroes, she could've made everyone proud. Out in the mire, it wasn't safe, but... just for a while... both of them could rest.



​

 

[Frostbite]

When Frostbite hadn't spotted Singepaw and Bloodpaw in camp for a bit, he had set out with a small patrol to go look for them. He looked frustrated on the outside, but on the inside he was fuming. He was livid and ready to snap. What will it take for cats to understand? Don't leave camp unattended. It's not safe. Cats have died because they wandered off. This should be a strong deterrent, and yet it is not.

Why does no one care? What more must be done?

When the scent of blood hits him, he feels sick. A frown tugs at his face. He doesn't want to see another parent mourn their child. He can't take it anymore. He pushes himself forward to what he dreads are two corpses. When he reaches the two, his heart drops.

He doesn't even know what to say.

"Help me take them back." He says tiredly to those on his patrol. "Someone run ahead and tell Starlingheart and Magpiepaw to be ready for two injured apprentices that shouldn't be out here to begin with." There's a bitterness in his tone that he can't hide.

He turns his weary gaze back to Singepaw and Bloodpaw. "Come on." He takes a softer tone as he reaches to gently lift Bloodpaw by the scruff off of Singepaw. "It'll be alright."

Just another day in Shadowclan. He feels his old, coldhearted self seeping back into his heart. Does he really want to be that cat again? ​

 

[Willowburn]

THE GODS CAN KNEEL ⋆⁺₊⋆
Willowburn had gone with Frostbite to seek out the wayward apprentices, something that continued to be an irritating habit for the youths of the clan. Admittedly he wasn't expecting to find them alive, so when they discovered the pair still breathing he was honestly shocked. At least now they could survive long enough to get a bollocking of a lifetime! "Will these insolent brats ever learn?" The growled remark escaped him before he could stop it, though he didn't regret saying it.

Once Frostbite was able to move Bloodpaw off of the other apprentice Willowburn was able to reach down to take Singepaw by the scruff. The smell of blood rolled thick into his nose and it made him feel... off. It was hard to explain so he decided to ignore the odd feeling. Right now the priority was getting them back home and to a medicine cat.

- ⋆ -​

​

 

[Snowpaw.]

[ ༻❄༺ ] They were foolish, Singepaw and Bloodpaw. Damned and foolish, Snowpaw had only wanted to join the patrol to search for them to give a lecture, not to find the two younger apprentices broken and bloodied. Her fur fluffed as anger and disappointment seered in her yellow gaze as she look onto them both. They were lucky to even be alive right now and yet... their foolishness... their stupidity and arrogance could have killed them. Did they truly need another to their counts of dead apprentices? Nettlepaw lost his own life to being alone, Comfreypaw who was almost a warrior, and Sprucepaw who had sacrificed her life so that Bloodpaw and her siblings could live, and now here they were. Bodies broken and bruised.

"This... I hope this becomes a lesson learned" their voice soft, anger and other feelings bubbling through the chest of the older apprentice. How many times had she attempted to steer Singepaw from these wayward thoughts, so that he could understand? And Bloodpaw, she figured the other knew better since another paw had sacrificed herself for the foolishness of Ferndance. Yet, this was no bravery, no this was idiociy mixed with arrogance. It was not her place to lecture them both as she was sure the others would do so themselves.

Frostbite commands someone to go ahead and grab Starlingheart and Magpiepaw and she looked to the lead warrior. "If you'll allow me" she said simply before awaiting briefly for the permission of the warrior, once it would be given she quickly began the run back to camp, to get them hoping the two will live to face their own consequences.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── You ve wasted your life , but thanks for applying ──┐‎

• 
  "speak""Thoughts"
  
• 
  Snowpaw ❄ She/Her, apprentice of Shadowclan, 7 moons.
  ⭃ Lithe long hair blue lynx sepia with high white, and yellow eyes. Stubby tail, permanent resting bitch face
  ⭃ Hailfreckle x Mudsplash
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted (ask first) / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by Ryn ↛ @/Rynnaro on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

@Magpiepaw and @STARLINGHEART ))

 

[pipitclaw !!]

How was he supposed to babysit this kid if he had other duties to attend to outside of camp as well? PIpitclaw hadn't even been gone that long... had left for something as quick as a stupid patrol. He'd told this kid that he didn't think he was dumb, wouldn't treat him like he was by making him play with leaves to practice his skills. Wouldn't torture him with camp chores if that wasn't what suited him... He rued the responsibility now, was furious with himself for not having called it sooner, for not having predicted that he was stupid. He was not only stupid, he was also probably dead. What good was that going to do? And Chilledstar or Smogmaw was sure to wring his neck for it, despite his complete lack of presence and the fact plenty of other, reasonably available adults could've stopped these two from wandering off.

"They better be alive," he grumbled through gritted teeth, hackles dancing along his back like flickering, furious flames. "Or I'll just have to chase them to StarClan to chew their ears off."

For all his anger, for the stinging knife of betrayal that came from knowing it was Singepaw, seeing two bodies with shuddering breaths feels like a blizzard wind scraping against his skin. They are alive... at the very least. Looking between Frostbite and Willowburn as the two quickly go about collecting the two dead-weights, the chimera gives a tight-lipped frown. "He'll learn alright... If this wasn't enough, the lecture I have waiting for him will last him a lifetime." He couldn't promise the same for Bloodpaw... she wasn't his responsibility.

"Should we come back with a patrol to trace their steps? Find out what happened?" Not like they'd all be able to do a whole lot of good just waiting around for Magpiepaw and Starlingheart to confirm how terrible things looked.​

 

[Magpiepaw]

—————————————————————⊰♰⊱————————————————————
"Idiots! Morons! Fools!"
Magpiepaw's presence was announced in a flurry of curses as he stumbles from the den, eyes wide and a scowl set upon his maw with grit teeth as he waited. He had smashed his nose into the side of the den in his rush to leave it, tripping over his own clumsy paws and it had only enraged him further. The black and white medicine cat apprentice made up the nests the moment Snowpaw had arrived to inform him and when the two wayward apprentices were brought back he gestured for them to be set down within them. His mouth already full of the premade bundles of herbs Starlingheart often made to set aside for emergencies and Stars he was grateful for them; it made things easier to just grab a mouthful and go than to prepare anything. Every second mattered, every second was another drop of blood spilling onto the ground that could not be put back in. A cat could only weep crimson so much before they could not go on.
The wobbly tom wants to swear more when he sees the two, tattered and torn and staining the ground - his gaze quickly assesses the worst of it. Singepaw's throat, Bloodpaw's back and shoulders. He turns, drops the wadded leaves containing poultices and cobweb and he shoves a sticky mass of gauze into Pipitclaw's face, "Take this, put over Bloodpaw's ear-hold it firm." Snowpaw was recruited next with similar, "Singepaw's flanks, keep pressure."
With those settled he grabbed up the pulpy mass of herbs in green and orange blotches and plastered it across Singepaw's neck with perhaps maybe more force than was necessary but it was quickly covered with moss and more cobweb - they could worry about securing it properly when they got back to camp. It was the throat that concerned him most.
Magpiepaw inhaled sharply through his nose, exhaled it in a heavy sigh, these kits needed to go back to the nursery.

——— ⸸ I'm the kid in the rain. Celebrate the insane ———— ⸸ Yeah, never goes my way

• OOC can go here.
• 
  
  
  Magpiepaw
  —⊰⋅ MCA of ShadowClan
  —⊰⋅ He/They
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ Black tom w/a white throat and blue-violet eyes.
  —⊰⋅ Has mild cerebellar hypoplasia (Wobbly cat syndrome)
  
  

​

 

[Needledrift]

The scent of blood is enough to lure Needledrift out of the nursery, her nose twitching and her tail sweeping over her young kittens - stay back, stay here. The camp is a flurry of movement. Pelts flash to and fro, that heady copper stink clinging to Frostbite, Willowburn, Bloodpaw.

Bloodpaw.

Curiosity turns to horror in an instant and she is out of the nursery in a flash, almost nose-to-nose with Frostbite . Beyond him was her daughter, bloodied, obscured by Magpiepaw and his herbs and his den. Her green eyes are wild as she tries to catch another glimpse of her baby. "What happened? Where is Smogmaw?" Shouldn't the stoic tom be at his apprentice's side? Did he get hurt alongside her? "Is he alright? Is my daughter okay? Frostbite, what happened to my baby?" speech is in #B9D0F5​

​

 

[lilacfur]

Lilacfur had taken to Frostbite's patrol with similar emotions stirring within. Fiery agitation burned beneath her pelt and like her co-lead, she feared she was becoming jaded from all this tragedy. Coming from one that lost her family en masse before she could even catch a mouse, who managed to remain optimistic in the face of her Clan's scrutiny as Briarstar's dynasty crumbled, this was beginning to wear her down. Lilacfur glanced to @CATERPILLARPAW. as the two toms dragged the apprentices home and sighed. She is lucky her own charge is not as foolish, not as reckless as these youth.

The return home is bloody but thankfully Magpiepaw is quick to react. Her gaze searched for her sister by habit, opening her maw to offer help when Needledrift approached. The queens worry and coddling flatten her ears.

"We don't know exactly what happened. What we do know is that they don't know how to follow the rules that protect them." Sounds like her mother, surely. "Smogmaw was on a patrol, doing his work first. The warriors here failed to catch them in the act." Lilacfur swung her head around to find Pipitclaw's fury matched her own. They are far more alike than she expected.

"When they wake up, I want every detail. Smogmaw and Chilledstar will not be impressed." And she would be sure to deal with whatever bared its claws against her Clan. ​

[ i need the clouds to cover me ]​

 

[sneezepaw]

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Sneezepaw had been a wreck ever since he noticed his brother missing. Singepaw was always off on his own, doing his own thing - but Sneezepaw couldn't find his brother anywhere. All while Frostbite's patrol was gone, Sneezepaw kept himself up pacing and muttering, casting longing glances towards the entrance of camp.

The scent of blood hits his nose first, and his blood runs cold. With a heavy beating heart, Sneezepaw watches as his brother's unconscious, bloodied body is dragged into camp with Bloodpaw. The two were a likely duo - it was a matter of time before they got themselves into trouble, he supposed, but he could never had guessed this.

"Singepaw!" the young tabby roars, and the tears flow like a broken dam as he darts over to meet the patrol. His brother was mangled and beaten, a pitiful state for a tom so confident and boisterous. "You.. you.." he begins, wavering, as he manages to press his face into Singepaw's fur for only a moment before he's taken away. You idiot, he thinks with despair, but he would not repeat the words of his superiors, who seem so.. angry.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── ITS WHAT I DO ⋅❁⋅ I WAIT FOR YOU ──┐‎

• 
  
  
  

• 

• 
  SNEEZEPAW ✩ he/him, apprentice of shadowclan, 4 moons.
  ⭃ a long-furred chocolate tabby with low white and yellow eyes.
  ⭃ brother to SINGEPAW and SWALLOWPAW // mentored by SHARPSHADOW
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by ixora ↛ @.ixora on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[smogmaw]

In his stride, the bliss of ignorance leaves its delicate imprint. Limbs marked by dark stripes navigate through ferns and other marsh growth, the pine-protected glade that was camp approaching into clearer focus. Each day's passing saw his son and apprentice, @ASHENPAW, grow more and more in tune with the warrior's ethos—his training would soon reach its fruition, and consequently, the deputy had to allocate added time to prepare him for his forthcoming assessment. Thus, his itinerary for the day.

Smogmaw passes under the pines' embrace with his apprentice at his tail, and no sooner does he enter the camp proper than he is confronted with an acrid taste in the air. Blood, vivid and primal, entwined among the upright hackles that were clustered about the central clearing. Swiftly, his amber regard scans the environs, and unrest grips him when he sights a scarlet path tracing along the muddy floor. "C'mon," he mouthes to the younger tom at his flank. "Need to see what's going on."

Rhythm urgent, paws quick, Smogmaw draws near the feline throng, curious yet wary, and when his approach sets the stage for his awareness, a hoarse exhale whispers through him. Laying between the spectators are the battered and beaten forms of Singepaw and Bloodpaw, and the deputy's gaze settles over them with strain and chagrin inequal measure. Pawsteps draw to a halt in Lilacfur's vicinity, brows knit somewhat as he heeds the lead warrior. "Sneak out, did they?"

Pah! The deputy's tail lashes and a scoff escapes him. Blame looms above his head as an unwanted spectre, and he shifts his stance with the weight of its presence. "Everyone, step back a few paces and make space!" he orders, all while the frown upon his muzzle coils tighter. Magpiepaw need not be disrupted in his work, nor his hirelings for that matter, and their passage to the medicine cat's den is best left undisturbed. Family members and peers may shout their grievances from a safe and efficient distance.

Or, better yet.

Momentarily glimpsing the crimson trail leading out from camp, he clears his throat. "I want four cats for a patrol, right this instant. Need to see how far these two got out, and chase away any danger that might still be out there." Dawdling in wait for them to regain consciousness lacks practicality. Sure, the apprentices will have the whole story when their glassy eyes peel open once again, but should there be a lingering threat in need of pursuit, then it'd be a waste of time to sit around on their tails. ​

 

[ASHENFALL]

˚₊‧ ⛧ Ashenpaw had scoffed when he was tasked with sharing a mentor at his huge age, nearly a warrior and certainly a whole forest-lengths of experience ahead of the little kitten Chilledstar had tossed to Smogmaw. Quietly he had decided to push the baby into a mud puddle the next time her bothersomeness interfered with his (essential, much more important) training. Luckily for him (and for his poor sensitive ears), Bloodpaw stayed confined within the sound-dampened walls of camp, an apprentice in name and name only.

Well, she was supposed to.

Returning from a decently successful outing, he was greeted with a sight and smell that would be yawningly rote if it did not make his stomach churn at every instance it invaded his senses. Cat blood. The prickling at his hackles lessens somewhat when he puts eyes on a pair of apprentices that are not yet dead, but he cannot relax completely. Of course, the yap-flapping flock of crows that was the general population of Shadowclan had plenty to caw about. The kids were stupid, reckless little idiots. Yes. But Ashenpaw was never under the impression that five-or-something moon olds were capable of being anything besides that. What had him twitching with dread was the overhanging fact that there was something out there.

Still, the vultures circled ever closer.

His eyes are trained on the macabre trail of kid-spillage leading out of camp as well when he mumbles a response to Smogmaw's gruff orders, "Uh- I'll go."

YOULL ASK WHAT CAN I DO? ⭒☽⛧☾⭒ AND THERE WILL BE NO ANSWER

• OOC:
• 
• 
  — ashenkit . ashenpaw
  — ftm transmasc. he/him. 12mo apprentice of shadowclan. mentored by smogmaw
  — muted blue torbie w/ pale blue and amber eyes
  — smells of rainsoaked fern and swamp milkweed
  — all ic opinions!
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — pfp by meg, fullbody by antiigone, sticker by saturnid
  — penned by eezy
  

​