camp HEAR IT IN THE SILENCE — relationship talk

[GILLSIGHT]

Love isn’t really something Gillsight often thinks about. For himself, at least.

Though it would be nice to some day settle down, to have kits and a proper family of his own, he thinks the aspect is distant. And it should be, right now, in the middle of leaf-bare. If he’s learned anything with the tragedies that have befallen RiverClan, he’s learned that the colder seasons are rarely the time for finding mates, having kits. It only ends in sorrow, doesn’t it?

Still, that doesn’t stop the young warriors he’s meant to be patrolling with from bringing up the topic, their gazes following after passing cats as they gather at the camp’s entrance.

“ What about her, then? “ One asks, nudging his friend’s shoulder. “ She’s pretty? “

“ Smallstream? No, never! “ The other protests. “ She’s like… She’s like a sister to me, you know? “ They nod their head toward another cat. “ Okay, how about Boulderdash? ”

“ No, he’s not my type… ” The first mutters, gaze searching the area, before looking over at Gillsight with a brightened gaze. “ What about you, Gill? Anyone you’re padding after? “ Sunlit eyes blink in surprise at the question, at being included in this conversation.

“ O-oh. Uh… N-No, not r-really, “ the warrior mumbles in response, his own gaze searching the camp for the rest of their patrol’s members, hoping they’d hurry up so he wouldn’t be dragged further into the topic. His hopes seem to fail, though. Of course.

“ Really? You’d think someone would be wanting to be with you! “ the young warrior looks to his friend, “ Maybe me and Fishspring can help you! What’s your type? “ It’s another question he doesn’t want to answer, one he hardly knows the answer to himself. Sure, he’s found other clanmates to be pretty, but…

“ W-We’re supposed to be p-patroling, “ Gillsight offers instead in an attempt to switch topics, but the duo’s stare down doesn’t break. A reluctant sigh escapes him, his gaze scanning the camp still. Any day now… “ I-I don’t know… S-Someone nice, I g-guess? “ He doubts it will suffice, and his thinking is ultimately correct.

“ Nice? “ Fishspring echoes with a laugh. “ Gill, you have to give us more than that! “ The black and white tom shifts as uncertainty rises.

“ Um… “ he hums, trying to find an answer to quell Fishspring and Reedtail’s questions, or at least, stall long enough for the rest of their patrol to arrive. Preferably the latter. ​

✦ ABOUT

• // PROMPT: Leafbare is hardly the time for taking mates or having families, but in a passing discussion someone asks Gillsight what he'd look for in a partner. Is he even interested at all?
• 

  GILL ‣ GILLPAW ‣ GILLSIGHT
  ── Warrior of RiverClan
  
  ── ??? x ???
  ── AMAB; He/Him
  ── A scarred, black and white tom with yellow eyes.
  ── Mentored by Clearsight
  ── "Speech"; Attack​

​

 

[otterbite]

Romance wasn't at the forefront of the apprentices mind all that much. While his denmates had there crushes and likeness toward one another, he found himself far more busy with the importance of his physique in battle over anything else, but with his assessments in that regard passing in flying colors his mentor had him spending more time hanging over shore, watching the waters surface until he could see the rolling waves when his eyes were closed.

Today had been a blazing success for him, by some miracle. He had barely cleaned the mud off the fish before he was racing back home to show his denmates, show off to whatever kit or elder would end up eating it. Of course the day was far from over, there's a patrol to leave for next and while he padded back across the clearing to join @coyotecreek the coy laughter coming from his older Clanmates lured in his attention.

"Are you guys talking about girls?" Otterpaw blurted out thoughtlessly. Having a type... wanting someone nice, wasn't that boring? Perhaps the apprentice just didn't know enough because he never paid attention to the couples in his Clan. Raised by a stand-in queen and Pikesplash not having a mate, Otterpaw had very little inspiration for what he might want for himself. Brookpaw was always around, though, or Moonpaw... hmm. Maybe not.

"Are you supposed to know? How do you find out what kind of cats you like like and what cats you don't. You find out as a warrior?"​

RIVERCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ BLUE-BLACK CHIMERA ✦ 9 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[CICADAFLIGHT]

Another day, another patrol he's dragged alongside his mentor on. Cicadapaw isn't miserably objected to patrolling; the long trudges along the borders invoke a necessary callous in his pawpads and build the clotted muscle in his shoulders. He knows he's not very intelligent, and not charming either, so he's settled to mostly rely on brute strength. After all, Smokestar was (and is) known around camp for being the clan's burly knight of sorts, and look where that had gotten him. That, and occasionally he can sneak in a quick dive into icy waters to clear his perpetually hemorrhagic thoughts.

Today's patrol, though, is shaping up to be truly objectionable. As he and @iciclefang step up to their designated patrolmates for the day, Cicadapaw's batlike ears pin themselves to his head at their selected topic. The young warriors are jostling each other, bulging with false bravado as they hem and haw over the cats streaming around the camp entrance. The apprentice scoffs loudly.

He doesn't dedicate much thought to romance. With his own bulging eyes, overlong paws, and flopping ears, he was no looker—and Cicadapaw was far too painfully self-aware to labor under the delusion of anything else. His personality's no better—a hairtrigger temper and an utter lack of friends; when compared to the charming, glossy, beautiful cats that populate RiverClan, he feels uglier than ever. Not that he cares, because he doesn't. Never mind the piercing throb in his chest when he sees Moonpaw present his sister with bundles of blooms, or his baby cousins nuzzling up to Hazecloud as Lichentail coos over them.

"Just focus on patrolling," he mutters with a soft click of fangs. A hollow dual-toned gaze is cast towards his mentor, not even entertaining the topic with her; Iciclefang and love go together about as well as the hot sun and a dead fish. He can't even imagine her cuddled up to a mate and kits, and given he's capable of imagining things much less benevolent......Whatever. Cicadapaw rolls his eyes and mutters with a dark undercurrent of sarcasm, "Because I'm sure the girls are just all over you, Otterpaw."

And if something bitter, something small and angry, lances through his heart, he doesn't let it show.

"speech"

​

 

[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ Asphodelpaw snorts in agreement with Cicadapaw. Quickly though, afraid he'll be caught finding camaraderie with one of the royals, he tries to hide the snort behind a fake cough as he shuffles in his seat. He's currently doing his best to appear nonchalant as he hangs not at the back of the gathered crowd but more, like, the edge of it. Yeah, that sounds like a cooler way to put it. See, it'd be lame to be too far away from the rest, making him look like he's a pansy about being near Cicadapaw and Otterpaw, but he also feels his skin crawl worse the closer he is to Beepaw's brother and Valepaw's shitty defender.
Thus, while Asphodelpaw isn't trying to eavesdrop, he is stuck within earshot distance for the sake of maintaining his cool-as-a-cucumber facade. But, man, is it hard not to groan at the subject being discussed.
Romance? Seriously? They're about to head on patrol, why isn't anyone talking about prey or hunting practices or, Stars, even cross-clan drama- Asp would take gossip over this awful conversation!

Another snort escapes him - treacherous! - at Cicadapaw's comment against Otterpaw. Starclan - to imagine that guy having any cat chase after him, imagine that! Bored, and with nothing else to think about, he lets his gaze drift to nowhere as he does allow the conversation to lift him to a new line of thinking. What would it be like to have someone be 'all over' you?

Truthfully, the thought makes him squirm. It seems like not a little waste of time. The cats of his clan have quickly become an enigma to the youth, especially those in his demographic. As a kit, he'd always thought he'd gain a lot of friends by simply being himself - proving his worth in loyalty and knowledge, and finding compatriots who understood the importance of the code and sacrificing for the clan. Instead, he seemed about as good at making enemies as he was at following orders - and he was very good at following orders.
So besides the fact that romance has been on the back of his mind since, like, forever, now that the subject was forcefully shoved into his head he found that there was simply no one to choose from. Claypaw, Starlightpaw, Wavepaw, Beepaw, Otterpaw, Nettlepaw, and Valepaw, were all cats he interacted the most recently with, and he was pretty sure he was about as much in their favorite cat list as they were in his.
So, this conversation (that he's not a part of) is even more useless, because Asp doesn't have a crush on anyone, and he highly doubts anyone would have a crush on him.
Fine by Asphodelpaw. Why should he bother with who likes who when he doesn't plan on taking a mate? Like - ever, probably.

Then, he thinks of fox-like fur upon a canvas of snow.

Of laughing amber eyes soft like dawn's welcoming glow.

A she-cat he somehow hadn't managed to screw up interacting with, yet probably would never see again.

Asphodelpaw frowns to himself turning his gaze to a distant, unseeable point past the camp's barriers. He...wonders how Polenesia is doing. Had she got her paw healed, and survived the frost? He feels his ear tips begin to burn as he wonders if she also has denmates who piss her off as his does...if she has a den full of youths wherever she lives to choose to spend her future with...

What...would a future with a pretty cat like her be like?

He presses a paw to his mouth, uncomfortable with the direction of his thoughts, and yet finds himself squinting into the abyss as if he can bore straight through the distance and find her by the strength of his want alone. He hopes she's doing ok.

He hopes he can see her again.

*+:｡.｡ Updated 11/22/23

• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  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

​

 

[claythorn]

The conversation so far was... dreary. Sure, it was a little amusing seeing one of the warriors completed flustered from toe to ear, but Claypaw couldn't muster the same type of thoughts the boys were. A soft breath left her, ice-cold air replacing the warmth that had just left her. She traveled alongside the patrol, focusing on practicing on keeping her paws light and senses honed. Her mentor walked beside her. He wasn't super old, Darkbranch, but he was getting up there- a successful tom who had fathered a family.

However much she denied she wasn't interested in settling down in the end, her body burned for that. Someone she could trust whole-heartedly. Someone that wouldn't sink their fangs into her back and turn their shoulder on her. Eyes shifted towards the other apprentices on patrol. Almost.. no, all of the boys standing here probably had something against her. Cicadapaw, certainly, for the ex-clanners had killed the King of the Rivers once. Ashpodelpaw's outburst in the nursery at Wavepaw, Wavepaw! Of all creatures to get upset at, the hopeful apprentice that was welcome by Hazecloud.

Otterpaw likely had similar reservations, considering the gravity of Claypaw's situation. So while she may had been on their lists, they were not on hers- Claypaw didn't truly know if she'd ever fall for someone, and maybe that was okay- but the acidic lance that tore through her at that utterance in her mind caused her to cough. Darkbranch's eyes dropped to her, before lifting towards Gillsight. The warrior spoke, voice warm- amused. "You'll find someone in time, Gillsight. Do not rush." Darkbranch dipped his head to the younger, yet, Claypaw's eyes were anywhere but, trying to ignore the conversation to the best of her ability.

✧　°　.　♦　.　°　✧​

ooc Information

• ooc: —
  "yuh"
• 
  
  a large, lh chocolate torbie towering, nine moons old, she/her. well-build and muscled. a drypaw. former river colony cat.

​

 

[iciclefang]

Iciclefang listens to the idle gossip of her Clanmates with a carefully neutral expression. Love. Sometimes it seems that’s all that’s on her denmates’ minds; she’s surprised Snakeblink isn’t at the heart of this conversation, with his love of meddling in others’ relationships. The young warrior’s snowmelt gaze flicks to Gillsight, who stutters his way through the conversation, clearly out of his element.

Darkbranch has words of reassurance for the black-and-white tomcat, but it’s the apprentices who draw her attention. Otterpaw questions if one finds out what they like once they enter warriorhood, and Cicadapaw—drawn taut beside her, simmering beneath his too-large ears and mismatched eyes—snipes at him. It earns a small smile from her.

“You’ll figure it out with time, I’m sure.” She draws a pale forepaw to her muzzle and strokes her tongue over it idly. “The more girls you talk to, the more you’ll figure out.” She remembers being an apprentice, her friendship with Ashpaw, the closeness shifting overnight into something deeper. It’d been nothing like the fierce love she shares with Stormywing… but it had been something, something she’d closed her heart to abruptly and without warning upon the ginger she-cat’s return from Twolegplace.

With a subtle sigh, she flicks her tail. “Cicadapaw’s right. Are we ready to leave yet?” She’s proud of her apprentice’s dedication—even if it just meant he’d get to escape a conversation that made him uncomfortable.

, ”​

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