private I fight for us! ☆ Lichentail

[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ "Lichentail! Lichentail wait, please!!"
His cries sounded shrill in his ears, whiny like a kitten's. It made the blood rush to the tips, burning the pointed end a harsh crimson while leaving his cheeks drained, ghostly pale with shock and fear beneath his equally light lynx coloration. She couldn't do this to him! Asphodelpaw had worked his tail off trying to prove himself as a worthy member of Riverclan - he trained as hard as he could, memorized instructions and went through all of his lessons in memory before sleep to ensure he became one of Riverclan's finest. His dream was to be someone his parents would be proud to come home to - to surpass even that and one day become a lead warrior himself, a figurehead of wisdom and strength!
He couldn't do any of that if he held the record of a delinquent!
Swallowing thickly as the thought alone left him stumbling with horror, the apprentice begged again, "Lichentail, you have to understand I was only acting with Riverclan's best interests at heart! I - I can't be grounded, not while Riverclan needs capable paws to help feed and defend the clan" An entire week of being stuck in camp! The shame alone would kill him before the boredom and the restlessness, he knew!

@lichentail

*+:｡.｡ 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

[/COLOR]​

 

[lichenstar]

⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ​

Her departure had been nothing short of a casual stalking, a broken tail swaying beside the occasional irritated flick. Patience, though a virtue, was one that required practice and while she spared every ounce of it to the young kittens she was raising (albeit, Hazecloud did most of the work), it meant very little was left over for those she had decided should simply know better. Unfortunately for the apprentices, that meant in title alone the expectation had been set.

A shrill, almost panicked voice calls out from behind her and it is easily, sorely recognized. Though she folds back her ear in an attempt to drown out his pleas for her focus and attention, it is not easily accomplished when one of them is completely tattered. He is adamant, squealing a please to implore her paws to stop walking away...

She stops, turning to glance over her shoulder at him with a less-than-amused frown.

He was a bright enough boy, if he could get out of his head.

"And what makes you think your idea of our best interests is superior to mine," she asks. It is harsher wording than necessary for someone already upset, for a child in need of an adult who might be able to emotionally meet him where he's at. If she were a more experienced mother... maybe if she didn't conflate apprenticeship so heavily with parenting...

"I've already made a decision, told it to you and every other warrior in this clan. Those that are in RiverClan right now, including Wavepaw, are RiverClan. The discussion stops there." Her eye twitches reflexively, as if she can already hear Otterpaw agreeing with her despite how much she loathes that chimera pest. At least he understands the foundational lesson that family is who you choose, not who you're born into.

"Ignoring that you blatantly insult me and half of your seniors every single time you suggest being born outside of RiverClan makes us less than RiverClan..."

How quickly this entire young generation forgot that the clans were not founded a millenia ago by some magical super-feline cats but with the blood and sweat of the leaders that stood before them. The deputies who had rallied with them in the Great Battle. Most of the warriors that fed them since they were kittens... It was infuriating. It was disrespectful at best.

"Why.. would I let a wildcard like you... out there. Where you could hunt Wavepaw like prey amongst the territory when you would already do it so blatantly here. In front of my children whose mothers were born far from RiverClan, before it ever even existed? In front of Smokestar's niece and nephews, who also weren't born within these walls?"

---

WELL IF YOU WANT MY BLOOD I'LL MAKE SO MUCH BLOOD

THAT YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING DROWN​

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[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ Desperate paws skid to an immediate stop when he notices Lichentail stops in her tracks. He doesn't have time to regret his actions before she turns to face him, then all at once he feels the spirit drain from his core when she bores down on him with her gaze of steel. Sitting up straight, the apprentice vows to at least take her answer with his head up high, for no matter what may come of it he respects his deputy's decision - and he's determined to ensure she sees that from him. But then she speaks, and suddenly Asphodelpaw's shoulders are too weak to hold up his head and the boy very nearly melts into a puddle - wishing more than anything to just turn into river water and disappear forever into the soil.

He's...horrified, to say the least, as she implies with every word the true disrespect he's shown her. Another plead now dances on his tongue - imploring her to understand that was never his intention! He - it wasn't that that he doubted Smokestar or Lichentail's decision just...he just...He just - what? Exactly? Shame burns at the corners of his eyes as he tries and fails to meet Lichentail's gaze.

Because he did doubt them. Not them, specifically - no, he would never doubt his leader and deputy - but the cats they chose to protect. Cats associated with murderers couldn't possibly be trusted! They were raised alongside Sasha and Deacon, they might be under their control, or be biding their time or, or...

"Ignoring that you blatantly insult me and half of your seniors every single time you suggest being born outside of RiverClan makes us less than RiverClan..."

If Asphodelpaw could've been drained any more of color, he would've turned invisible right then and there. Absolute terror blossomed in his eyes like an invasive weed, and before he knew it the boy was scrambling to his feet, though he did his best to bite down hard on his tongue lest he interrupt his deputy. But the more she spoke, the worse the image she had of him got, the more the young tom wanted to wail to the heavens. All of his efforts to be someone his parents would be proud of - gone! Gone all because of these horrible Ripple Colony cats-

When she finishes, Asphodelpaw, practically trembling, takes a deep breath before he speaks.
"I - I'm very sorry if I came across as though I didn't honor the roots of so many of my clanmates," he's happy to keep his gaze bowed, more nervous than ever to meet Lichentail's disappointed gaze lest he fall to pieces then and there, "Having a loner's past isn't what makes one ...i-isn't what makes me doubt one's loyalty but their association with the Ripple Colony" Seeing this as his last chance to defend his stance, the apprentice finds his rhythm quickening, "They were raised alongside Deacon and Sasha! They were friends with those two longer! Who's to say they - Dawnstorm, Dewcloud, Wavepaw, Claypaw, any of them, weren't just afraid to take those monsters' path right then and there? Aren't you afraid our enemies are hiding within our very camp, just waiting to drive us out again?"

This time he does lift his gaze, searching Lichentail's own for any sign that he isn't alone in that fear. That terror that gnaws at the corners of every thought, shadows that creep from the river's depths stretching out now into what should've been a protected camp. It'd been so hard combating those shadows in one place, but now they're everywhere - how was everyone else immune to it?

*+:｡.｡ 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

​

 

[lichenstar]

⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ​

At the very least, her words leave the impact she expected. His horror-faced gawking is something a crueler part of her relishes in.. to frighten or dismay him so deeply that he cannot help but stare in affixed dismay. He should be. He should be ashamed and groveling and begging and pleading and-

Apologizing.

She frowns, not the least bit relieved to hear it even though her hammering heart had said she might. That it might wash her in some sort of righteous peace of mind. That she'd done her duty... had made her point clear. But he persists even still, pace of his words quickening as if it might prevent him from being interrupted or might express his fearful urgency more clearly.

And she was happy to offer the answer on the tip of her tongue until that last... question.

Her mouth runs dry, unable to find the will to lie instantly. It fizzles in her belly, gone. What great words did she have to explain this, when she felt that same fear? It wasn't really the apprentices she worried about though.. they were so young and impressionable, easy to manipulate in either direction but with the rot no longer left to fester, they'd grow under the love and care of RiverClan without ever understanding the choice they'd had made for them.

Did cats like Dawnstorm... Dewcloud.... Tidesong... did they make her nervous?

A small, quiet sigh. "The apprentices," she starts slowly, picking through every word she'd ever learned or spoken in hopes of piecing them together perfectly, "Do not know anything... about the culture they come from... not really. They're barely your age Asphodelpaw." She shakes her head, grasping for how to justify it to someone so headstrong and stubborn. He'd just assume he'd be more faithful if put in the same position... but that isn't what children do.

"You are not the only one that feels that way," she explains with a flat voice, a tortoiseshell molly coming to mind. "I promise... I won't let them hurt you. But... I can't do that if you're picking fights with them for no reason. They haven't done anything wrong."

Yet... But that remains to be seen.

---

CLAIM THE BURIAL I SEEK IN DREAMS

FLOWING RIVER CEMETARY​

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