- May 31, 2023
- 205
- 63
- 28
Her mother stands guard outside of the viper's den. Scorchpaw intends to delve inside it.
She'd acted so well that night, trembling beneath the watchful moon, shouting about how could he? and he'd never had the gall. Using StarClan's name to oust her father, and yet... Scorchpaw has always had her suspicions. She'd had them that night, and though she'd pushed them down, tried to obey Sootstar as best she could... the thought sickens her now. She'd been so fixated on proving herself that she'd allowed herself to forget Badgermoon's kindness — his love for her — allowed herself to fill in the narrative that he'd left his family behind all for the sake of some power he couldn't be patient enough to earn the right way.
But, really, how is she to know that Sootstar lied?
Her memories of her father are soft. He rises to meet an injured patrol as they return from Skyclan victorious. He touches noses with her as she becomes his apprentice. He leads her across the moors for the first time, towards the gorge on their first patrol. She wrestles the top of his head, a mere kitten, asking how it could be that Sootstar could die and then live again. Now she understands that far too well. He wouldn't have used it against Sootstar though, surely? If he knew she would revive, then why stage a coup in the first place? Sure, he'd had a reputation for his ferocity on the battlefield, but that image was so different from the Badgermoon that she knew... And now she needs answers.
"Sootstar." Scorchpaw's eyes flash. She is not yet named a warrior, but she fills out the frame of one now; she has her mother's pelt, but she has her father's broad shoulders, his hulking muscle — and beyond them, she thinks she has inherited a touch of Sunstride's sharpness, his glacial glare even in the glowing coals of her eyes. But she is still young. "When—" she starts, but as anger flares her jaw clenches, seizing her tongue. After a breath, she continues: "when Badgermoon was chased out of WindClan. What... what was the truth?" Her whip tail lashes as she lets the question hang, but after a heartbeat of silence she feels compelled to clarify once more. "Did he really betray you? What happened?"
She doesn't know why she expects truth to pour from the molly's mouth now, but maybe she'd realize she had nothing left to lose. Even if she stared at the wall and refused to speak, at least Scorchpaw can rest knowing she'd tried to find the answers.
@SOOTSTAR
She'd acted so well that night, trembling beneath the watchful moon, shouting about how could he? and he'd never had the gall. Using StarClan's name to oust her father, and yet... Scorchpaw has always had her suspicions. She'd had them that night, and though she'd pushed them down, tried to obey Sootstar as best she could... the thought sickens her now. She'd been so fixated on proving herself that she'd allowed herself to forget Badgermoon's kindness — his love for her — allowed herself to fill in the narrative that he'd left his family behind all for the sake of some power he couldn't be patient enough to earn the right way.
But, really, how is she to know that Sootstar lied?
Her memories of her father are soft. He rises to meet an injured patrol as they return from Skyclan victorious. He touches noses with her as she becomes his apprentice. He leads her across the moors for the first time, towards the gorge on their first patrol. She wrestles the top of his head, a mere kitten, asking how it could be that Sootstar could die and then live again. Now she understands that far too well. He wouldn't have used it against Sootstar though, surely? If he knew she would revive, then why stage a coup in the first place? Sure, he'd had a reputation for his ferocity on the battlefield, but that image was so different from the Badgermoon that she knew... And now she needs answers.
"Sootstar." Scorchpaw's eyes flash. She is not yet named a warrior, but she fills out the frame of one now; she has her mother's pelt, but she has her father's broad shoulders, his hulking muscle — and beyond them, she thinks she has inherited a touch of Sunstride's sharpness, his glacial glare even in the glowing coals of her eyes. But she is still young. "When—" she starts, but as anger flares her jaw clenches, seizing her tongue. After a breath, she continues: "when Badgermoon was chased out of WindClan. What... what was the truth?" Her whip tail lashes as she lets the question hang, but after a heartbeat of silence she feels compelled to clarify once more. "Did he really betray you? What happened?"
She doesn't know why she expects truth to pour from the molly's mouth now, but maybe she'd realize she had nothing left to lose. Even if she stared at the wall and refused to speak, at least Scorchpaw can rest knowing she'd tried to find the answers.
@SOOTSTAR
-
-
—scorchkit. scorchpaw
— she/they ; apprentice of windclan
— short-haired tortoiseshell she-cat with low white and orange/yellow eyes
— "speech" ; thoughts
— signature by dreamydoggo, template art by sixbane
— penned by meghan