pafp LABYRINTH — fishing

[CRAPPIEPATCH]

Crappiepaw hates being an apprentice. Not only does their mentor obviously hate fun, but they aren’t good at much. Hunting is hard because they keep sneezing and sniffling, patrolling is hard because they can’t smell much of anything and keep striding right across the borders, and StarClan stuff is hard because it just doesn’t make much sense to them. Their mentor also keeps sending them on their own to hunt, which sucks.

The tortoiseshell strikes out a small white paw toward a fish, but misses by a long shot. They blink rapidly, trying to clear the tears that sting their eyes for the briefest of moments. He swipes at his eyes with a huff of irritation. I suck at this!

The sight of another apprentice not too far downriver causes Crappiepaw to stiffen, somewhat hoping they hadn’t seen his massive failure. But it seems as though they already had, so the patched tom trots over to join Garpaw with a frown. "Are you as bad at fishing as me? I feel like it might just be me." He grumbles at the other apprentice, green eyes narrowed with frustration. They hate fishing.


// pls wait for @GARPAW
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[ FORTUNE LOVES THE BOLD ]​

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[GARPAW]

Fishing was something the girl naturally excelled at. For whatever reason, the ability had come easily to her, rarely finding herself struggling to learn. Where weaknesses did come in, however, would be teaching others her skill. With a few fish on the bank beside her, she would gaze up as Crappiepaw approached them, wondering where he had come from. "Its just you." Annoyance would lace her words as she spoke, watching a fish swim away. I could've caught that. Now I had to watch another one swim off. Unsure of what he was getting at, she would blankly stare at him, waiting for him to complete his train of thought.

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[SMOKESTAR]

"Garpaw..." His tone was a calm warning laced with annoyance that rang similarly to hers. It was like he was looking back into the past at himself at that age, prickly and rude and not a hint of tolerance for any cat around him with the exception of Moss. Smokethroat had been, to put it lightly, a little bastard at that age and that development still clung to him even know that he'd smoothed out some and lost some of his sharpness. You never really stopped being so withdrawn, you just learned to fake it better. It was obvious from a distance that Crappiepaw had been struggling but he wasn't sure on how to best approach it until the other moved to go seek the other apprentice for advice; or so he thought, until he approached enough to hear the discussion.
"It's not just you. Not everyone catches on so quick. We all move at different paces...I still hate hunting in the forest." Which was true, he much preferred fishing because out here he felt less like the big heavy brute that he actually was. The water lended itself to grace, let cats move with more agility than they might have on land and there was really no way to look clumsy when just perched at the side of a river.


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[koispots]

Koi's on a hunting patrol nearby, ready to head off further in to the territory before she spots three cats she knew. She slips away silently (not that it'd matter that she disappeared, shes always in the background anyways) and prances to the small gathering, blinking at Gar as she spits half annoyed venom. She turns back to Crappie with a slight encouraging smile, flicking a large ear. Smoke speaks of different paces and Koi finds herself agreeing with the sentiment. "I- I can help, if you want..." barely above a murmur she'd move to his side, friendly, staring down in to the same water he was.​

"speech"​

 

[CRAPPIEPATCH]

They perk up a bit when Garpaw acknowledges them with a glance, but she only confirms that it’s just Crappiepaw’s problem. "Rude," they mutter, sticking their tongue out. For a moment they squint at Garpaw as though they’re trying to explode her head with their mind, but then Smokethroat makes his presence known, and Crappiepaw offers the other apprentice a tight smile instead. "Maybe you can teach me how to do better, then?"

The lead warrior does the same thing as Houndsnarl had in an attempt to reassure him—comparing his failures to the warrior’s own, telling him he hasn’t failed as badly as he believes. It doesn’t work, though. The child only frowns at Smokethroat. "Except you’re… you," they argue dully. They don’t have the words to explain the vastness of the differences between themself and Smokethroat. And besides, the lead warrior shouldn’t have to discredit himself for their sake.

At least Koipaw is here, too. Crappiepaw likes her; she’s his friend, he thinks. Koi, with her big ears and shy smiles and quiet voice. Yeah, she’s definitely his friend. "Please help," he says quickly, before she’s even finished her sentence. "I need all the help I can get." Perhaps with the help of two others—and maybe Garpaw—they’ll catch on to fishing rather quickly.
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[ FORTUNE LOVES THE BOLD ]​

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