sensitive topics I just remember~I was lonely

[Polynesia]

The air was cold and yet only one of her paws still stung. No amount of callouses could've prepared her for what she'd walked on. The word for whatever it was escaped her but now her left front paw was stained pink against the creamy-white fur. She'd wandered aimlessly from the twolegplace after it had happened, afraid of being captured by one of them. The upwalkers had a eerie habit of taking injured strays like her away, never to be seen again. That wasn't something she wanted to happen to her. She had to stay alive, for her mother.

Mother, she'd been taken cruelly by them too. Except she'd seen what had happened to her. She'd only been a kitten when twolegs had found their hiding place and savagely beaten her mother to death in that alley. It had only been a moon since then but to Polynesia it felt like a whole other lifetime entirely. She'd learned to scrounge for food well enough to make it to her seventh moon of life but now she worried it might've been pointless. Never in her life had she bled this much before.

She stopped by the freezing river, gingerly lowering her wounded paw into the water. The pain was excruciating as the frigid water tickled the shard stuck in her paw. She sat there as long as she could, allowing the water to cleanse the wound, even though the object that had injured her remained stubbornly inside her soft pink paw pad. Truthfully the orange and cream molly hadn't the stomach to remove it herself and she certainly didn't trust any twolegs to do it.

She lets out a frustrated sigh before grinding her teeth in frustration, wisps of fog leaving her mouth as she breathes shakily. I'm not going to cry. The molly thinks to herself, settling down by the river, trying to keep her breathing under control.

This day couldn't get any worse, she supposed.

@Asphodelpaw

 

[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ Asphodelpaw knew a thing or two about disappearing parents. Although his days often flip-flopped between believing they were just lost or them having died during the rogue invasion, the result remained the same- he needed to stay strong and be the best of the best! One day, no matter the circumstance, he'll see them again. But today it seems he'd have a completely different fateful encounter.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be in Riverclan's territory! You better leave before I call my patrol ov-oh" Asphodelpaw's aggressive snarls stuck on his throat when he barreled through the reeds to come upon the fiery orange molly. The tom-cat had met plenty of arguably aesthetically pleasing felines in his moons, but never had he...Asphodelpaw realized his line of thinking, and quickly shook his head, already appalled with himself for even - about a rogue, really?! - Starclan Asphodelpaw you're a warrior not a foolish kitten!
But in his quickness to gather his thoughts and refocus - he noticed another aspect of the molly that was not a little alarming.

"Your paw" he mews dumbly, only after seeing the bright beads of red did he register the smell of it in the air. Still, although the wound looked bad and sympathy threatened to cloud his judgment, Asp wasn't about to forget the last time he'd encountered a cat outside his clan. Arching his back, the apprentice hissed, "Who'd you hurt to receive a wound like that!?"

*+:｡.｡ 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

​

 

[Polynesia]

Maybe she was wrong. A loud caterwhaul breaks her focus and her eyes cloud with tears as a tom barrels through the plant life that had previously kept her hidden. He must've smelled her blood, although at this point she was numb to the smell of it entirely. His words halt in his throat as he comes to a stop and looks her over. She assumes the sudden lack of aggression is because of her current sorry state. Her protruding ribs, the blood on her paw and foreleg. Any sensible cat would see that she isn't a threat.

She stands, hissing in pain and holding her injured limb to her chest, preparing to hobble away if need be. He wasn't the first aggressive cat she'd encountered and scars marked her muzzle as proof. She seems to relax though as he continues to stare, her gaze narrowing slightly at him before she settles back down onto the bank. If he was going to attack, then surely he'd have done it by now. That's what she figures anyway.

Finally, words escape her muzzle, "RiverClan?" She'd spent the entirety of her life in the twolegplace and had never heard of whatever that is. Her voice comes from somewhere soft but with her labored breathing the edges are rough.

His eyes move to her injured paw and she wonders if he can see the shiny object embedded in her pink paw pad. "I-" Her mouth closes as he arches his back aggressively and she is about to stand again when he utters something that surprises her and she actually laughs. It's not a condescending sound by any means but her eyes are light as she takes in the sight of him for the first time.

This tom is a lanky tangle of limbs with a short dense looking coat and it occurs to her that she's never seen a cat like him before.
"You're not a twolegplace cat at all, are you?" The molly would ask at last before realizing she hasn't answered his question.

"Myself I guess? Look, it's something from the road, it got stuck in my paw." Realizing now that she's not likely in any real dangers, she decides that maybe he can help her. "It really hurts." She admits, setting her jaw again. With the adrenaline of a possible fight leaving her, the pain returns with a vengeance and she's careful to keep her paw off the ground.

Wordlessly she extends it towards him, the shard visible even amongst the blood that moves around it.

 

[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ Asphodelpaw's first interaction with rogues involved getting chased out of his home, his second - almost being killed by one. You'd forgive him, then, for being quite wary of outsiders. So he was grateful for the laws protecting Riverclan from strangers - attacking loners and rogues on-site if they were hostile, or politely turning them away even if they weren't. Riverclan couldn't afford to trust cats who didn't grow up with inherent loyalty through familial bonds. And yet, he couldn't find it in himself to tell her to go away. Not...not yet, anyway.

No, she isn't a threat. Even if she wanted to be, those exposed ribs and open wounds would make her no match for the better-trained apprentice. But more than that, glancing up at her watery eyes, he knew instantly she wouldn't hurt him. Despite the scars on her nose and her laxness to being threatened - alluding to having been in more than one scuffle in her short time alive - she didn't look the sneaky type. She just...looked tired.
Asphodelpaw snapped out of his thoughts when the molly hissed in pain, making him jump, back arching again. But - to his stinging pride - she didn't see any threat in him, either, and soon sat back down. He couldn't help but wince sympathetically, watching more droplets of blood hit the snow and steam lightly into the cold. Now was not the best time for being injured.

But then she laughs at him - actually laughs! What a...a...well, it's not that bad of a sound. He feels his ear tips burn hot as he frowns at her, wondering what could've been so funny about his question. It struck him suddenly that he didn't feel mocked by her laughter. He couldn't - not when it sounded like the thrill of spring song birds. Starclan- what was he thinking!?
Blinking hard, he refocuses on glaring at the young lady, reminding himself that, nice or not, this chick was still a danger to his clan! If not by her claws than by her stomach - stealing prey was stealing resources the clan couldn't afford to lose right now! "Of course I'm not a twolegplace cat! Would I be defending Riverclan's territory if I was?!" he cries, injecting his voice with as much venom as he can muster, determined to act the part of a brave Riverclan defender even if his opponent...made him feel more cowardly than anything.

Suddenly, she's extending her paw at him. He hesitates, but can't bring himself to muster back up that bravado. Her face, scarred and battered, is kitten soft like his own - she can't be older than him, what's she doing out in a dangerous part of the forest all on her own? Surely she's not old enough to leave her family? At least not without them warning her about the clan cat's presence! He frowns, then lets out a groan. Reaching forward, he takes her paw in his saying, "Ill help you this once and then you have to leave, okay? Riverclan is a colony of cats that have taken over this part of the forest. You better go back to the twoleg place you came from after this. You'd be safer." he glances up as he says that, eyeing her exposed ribs. Would she...? Before pity can fill his gut, he shakes his head and focuses on her paw. It's not his business! Not his problem!

HE didn't know much about healing - really, he knew basically nothing. That was a medicine cat's job, after all. But he did recall once when Ravensong pulled a thorn out of a kitten's paw. First, you have to soften the paw pad. Then, you yank the sucker out! After that you put some herbs on it but since there were no herbs available, dipping it in the snow couldn't hurt, surely?
"Alright, here goes nothing" he mews, forgetting to explain the process as he begins to lick at her paw. He's so focused on the task, he doesn't consider the fact that he's exposing the back of his neck to a possible threat! Or that grooming like this ought to be reserved for clanmates only! No time for any of that - the sooner he gets the thorn out, the sooner she leaves!

"Why are you even here? Didn't you smell the scent markers? Where's your family?" he asked through laps, shooting her a look.

*+:｡.｡ 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

​