pafp LET'S GO (confrontation) JUST ME AND YOU

[butterflytuft]

// Please wait for @CRIMSONBITE to post before posting! Also @BLAZESTAR just cuz he would be here too as her mentor B) Permission to powerplay given to Loki, as Butterfly will be too frozen to dodge or do anything really

Black and white paws shuffle nervously in the sand as Butterflypaw attempts to take her stance. All around her in the Sandy Ravine, apprentices are matched up with warriors to practice their combat skills. Now, any of her clanmates would know that combat isn't the tortoiseshell's strong suit. Neither is hunting. Or climbing. Or being a warrior. And as her denmates spar with their assigned opponents, all she can do is stare wide-eyed at her own adversary. Crimsonbite, the flat-faced, scary warrior she tries to avoid at all costs. Growing up, he'd never been particularly kind to her or her family, and moons later, it has resulted in a deep-rooted fear of the tom-cat. And now she must spar with him - how cruel was this world!

The skittish apprentice swallows hard, shaking in her pelt as she crouches down in the form that Blazestar taught her. She tries her very best to shove down her fear (spars already scare her enough without it being against her own personal nightmare!) and she nervously waits for the spine-chilling warrior to make his move. As soon as he does, and she sees that smushed muzzle part to reveal fangs and looming paws cast a shadow over her...she's done for. Butterflypaw does what she does best. She cowers, sinking into a low crouch with her head ducked and eyes squeezed shut. With ears pressed flat to her skull and tail tucked around her, she awaits certain doom.​

 

[Lionsnarl]

"LIFE DOESN'T DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN THE SINNERS AND THE SAINTS"​

Why is he here. He knows why he is, he's tasked with setting up a training session because he should really be getting more active in the clan or something as equally imbecilic, but he is not pleased with having to do this one bit. He pairs up warrior to apprentice, sizing up each cat for strengths and weaknesses. Small apprentices are paired with big warriors - work to find their weak spot, he grumbles to them. A good warrior knows how to defeat any enemy, no matter their advantages. He tries not to snarl as warrior and apprentice alike groan at not being paired with their typical training partner.

He is left with... it. Daisyflight's adopted kit, more of a shaking leaf than a warrior prospect. He didn't want this. He didn't want to touch the deputy's little bug. He didn't want to question any of Blazestar's teachings, though he didn't believe he was teaching her much at all from the looks of her. And yet, this was his idiotic task for the day. He steps closer to her, his body throwing a dark shadow over her shivering form.

"Come on." The tom-cat growls. "You're doing getting anything done just sitting there." He takes her by the scruff and hauls her to her feet, perhaps a bit harshly, his face set in his trademark sniff of disapproval. He lets go and circles her, tail flicking in annoyance. Scrawny, whiny. Why hadn't he given her to one of those motor-mouths that were contributing the migraine that was stirring in the back of his head.

He circles her again, his tail lashing now. "Come on, kit, strike me!" He pushes forward on his back legs, using his front paws to knock the child back down to the dirt. He looms over her, dark eyes narrowed. He boxes her around the ears, claws sheathed back the slap is nothing playful.

"Get up!" He hisses. "You are not a suckling babe anymore, you are not going to be a worm wriggling on the ground, waiting until you can stick your head back in the dirt. You have claws and fangs, use them! Do you want to be the next child to be killed? Do you want to be another blood stain on a pile of leaves? GET. UP." He is snarling now, fangs bared - partially out of aggravation, exhaustion, that damn pounding in the back of his head and partially out of fear. A fear of losing his clan, a fear of losing another child, a fear of another death he hadn't done enough to prevent. She needs to learn now before she is the next victim, why can't she see that?​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[BASILPATCH]

The loss of his mother, his whole family, was not enough to get Basilpaw out of his apprentice duties. They had allowed him a moment to grief but it had not been long. The very next day he was expected to carry on as if nothing at all had happened, as if it had not been in these very woods where an owl had swooped from the sky and taken his mother from him forever, not even leaving behind a trace of anything for him to bury. There would be no closure for him, and also no rest.

He throws himself into training though. He’s a miserable fighter but he gives it all he’s got, throwing all his anger and sadness behind his swings. It makes him sloppy.

He is taking a break when he hears a raised voice. Mismatched eyes snap to the golden colored warrior with a smashed in face as he towers over a much smaller, much younger Butterflypaw. A frown crosses the apprentices face and, despite his muscles that scream in protest, he comes to stand in between the much larger tom and the frightened she cat. "Dont talk to her like that!" he says, fur along his spine raising to make himself look bigger, though it is hardly anything compared to the size of this brute. He is being uncharacteristically brave, but with the loss of his mother he has found he is doing a lot he normally wouldn’t, grief making him reckless, though his legs do shake as he stares down the much larger tom with slanted eyes. "Pick on someone your own size how about that! Blazestars kits have better manners than you" he has seen this warrior around camp, snapping and growling at anyone who looked at him wrong. This tom was just a bully! And Basilpaws mom had always told him he needed to stick up for other cats who were being bullied, stinky Butterflypaw included.
​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Twitchpaw was not the best at combat- though he'd likely yell in protest should anyone expect him to be. Only two moons into his training, there was still much he had to understand, and much he knew Daisyflight could teach him. Which was why, when he was told he was to face a different warrior today, his heart took quite the plummet. Even worse- Butterflypaw, paired with Crimsonbite? It seemed spiteful almost to give a famously timid apprentice to an infamously stern tom, and Twitchpaw could hardly contain his bristles at the thought. Regardless, after nodding her a saucer-wide glance Twitchpaw elected to storm ahead. His fighting was dithering, defensive- could use work, and then-

Silence. Well, silence but for the shouting, the snarl of what Twichpaw could only hear as venom in Crimsonbite's tone. Past his kinked tail he glanced back at his own partner, hesitating- but then Basilpaw stepped forward, earned a look, and Twitchpaw was by his side. The jolt of his head to one side, a quick movement, did not break the chocolate-and-white tom's line of sight.

Right- he was trying to help Butterflypaw, and what was he doing? Just standing there. "If- if you want someone to hit you so bad, me and Buh-Butterflypaw can swap." Slightly-shrill tones managed to stay mostly level, the only quiver sneaking in his speech through the involuntary dithering of his form. A tincture of determination settled upon his expression.
​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[butterflytuft]

She trembles beneath his glare, paws now covering her head like a wimp. Any one of these cats who knows her well will know that this is typical of the molly when she's in any sort of perceived danger. She doesn't fight back. She doesn't even run. She freezes like a fawn gazing into the eyes of an oncoming monster. Suddenly there are teeth in her scruff and she's hoisted up, a yelp of shock leaving her. When placed harshly back down, she stumbles on trembling legs as if she's never taken a single step in her life. Widened eyes fly open and follow him fearfully as he circles her. He's the predator and she's the prey. Any moment now, she'll be lunch!

He's suddenly lurching forward, snarling at her to strike him and she doesn't move, not in time. His forepaws meet her shoulders and she's shoved into the dirt, hitting the ground with a scared cry. The nightmare doesn't stop there, for now he's standing over her, glowering, seething. His paw strikes her ears and she flinches away, tears already welling up in her eyes from the panic she felt.

Get up!

She ducks her head closer to her chest as another whimper is released. She's petrified, bones frozen solid and unable to move. She's shaking as he yells at her, scolds her for her cowardice.

Do you want to be the next child to be killed? Do you want to be another blood stain on a pile of leaves?

He paints an awful, awful picture. Tears fall as her eyes screw shut. "N-n....n....n-n...." She can't get the singular word out. With her heart pounding in her chest, she feels as if she can't breathe, her ears and stomach and entire body growing hot and set afire in panic and fear and shame. She hardly notices the two apprentices who come to her aid, placing themselves between herself and Crimsonbite. Shivering, the pansy of a girl peels one eye open to look at them, feeling frightened for the two toms. She didn't want them to get hurt protecting her cowardly rump!​

 

[Lionsnarl]

The ginger tom sniffs in disdain as the amount of brats around him grows, each more annoying than the last. His head twinges painfully with each of their baby-shrill words. "Get back to your assignments." He growls to the two that has gathered. Oh, this is all so tiresome. The little she-cat is now almost hidden from view behind her protectors, a whimpering, cowering leaf that even after a shake and a command, refuses to so much as snap at him. He swings his head low, careful not to shake himself because damn, his head felt about to burst at this moment. He eyes the two toms in front of him with something bordering on contempt and disgust. "You two are hardly any better, I doubt the pair of you could land a blow on an elder in a mid-morning snooze." Fuzzily, his brain supplies that this is a fault of the mentor, but it is the child that is in front of him now and he sneers.

"Cats bigger than you, stronger than you, sma-" The words catch in his throat. Haze comes to mind and though he is always heavy on the ginger tom's thoughts, he still has to brace himself before he continues lest he tremble. He could fall apart later, these squeaky brats didn't need to see that weakness. "Do you think it will matter to a rogue or some WindClan dog how scared and helpless you are if you are so unfortunate to come across them? Do you think they'll spare you because you're just an apprentice? Wrong! If you do not prepare yourselves now, you will die - in a heartbeat or slowly, in pieces, but you will die because you are nothing in this world. You mean nothing to the cats outside this camp and they will strike to kill while you are still hiding your heads in the sand because your mentors are too "mean" or you're "tired." Either you learn now or yours will be the next vigil with a missing body." He's yelling again. He's tired, he's angry, he's..... shaking. He's visibly shaking now. Rain would've taught them better, Rain would've done something about this, Rain had been a better mentor than he ever was in this moment, Rain would've slapped him for this, Rain, Rain, Rain. How he needed him now.

 

[QUILLSTRIKE]

I FEEL LIKE AN ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN​

---

He hadn't even been there for 30 seconds and already things weere falling apart. This was exactly why Quill didn't like training in the sandy hollow with his clanmates and mentor- because he had to sit and listen to lecture after lecture, hearing the barely masked disapointment in the voices of those around him as they spoke to their still-learning apprentices. And granted, not every warrior was stern or impatient or vicariously living through their apprentice, but even having to deal with one was one too many. And this one, well, he was probabl the worst Quill had seen- in Skyclan, at least.

And it bothered him, pissed him off, to see a fucking grown ass man screaming in the face of a kid who was about to burst into tears. He knew what that felt like, knew how shitty it was to have someone who was supposed to be building you up tearing you down, belittling you and looking for an excuse to unseathe their claws. All so they could feel a little less pathetic about their miserable lives.

Only, Butterflypaw wasn't alone.

Standing protectively in front of her, talking more smack than Quill had ever heard come from either of their mouths before, were Jay and Twitch, neither of whom he would called 'aggressive', but both of which seemed ready to defend their friend from the aggrivated tomcat before them. Such a small, simple gesture that seemed to make so much sense, and yet it tore at his chest because no cat had ever stood between him and his father like that. Not once. Not even his own mother.

Was this what loyalty looked like?

He was moving before he realized he'd even made the decision to, long legs carrying him over to the group. Quill wasn't small, not be a long shot. In height he already matched many of the warriors, though he had yet to fill out quite as well due to his youth. Still, that didn't seem to matter to him one bit as he stalked over to stand on the other side of Twitchpaw, his typically bored expression swapped out for one of pure annoyance. He might not win against a trained warrior, but Quillpaw was no stranger to a fight- a real fight- and if this tom was so eager to have a child scar him, the chimera wouldn't hesitate to give the guy a run for his money.

"Yeah,the worlds a piece of shit, we get it!" he snapped, tail lashing behind him as mismatched eyes glared daggers into Crimsonbite. "Does that mean you have to make her home life garbage also? Is it not enough that everything out there wants to terrorize us, so you've got to do it here too? Fuck off!" he spat, claws slipping free to sink into the sand beneath him, a heartbeat away from adding another scar to this stupid toms face.
​

---

skyclan - male - 8 months - bisexual - homoromantic - single - very tall tabby tomcat with broad shoulders

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

He ignores him- he ignores him, insults him. Was that all adults did? Didn't answer your questions, complained, insulted you? The bicolour tom couldn't think through the bristles that sprung up along his back- eyes widened, brimmed with wild anger, and his teeth clamped into a gritting, painful place. In the back of his throat was a sizzling growl, low and barely audible, even as Quillpaw sidled up to him. Crimsonbite kept yelling, and then the words sprung free from Quillpaw's mouth- oh, he was algid with the yelling, sickened and sick of it all. Muscles tightened, a face contorted to a more aggressive one than he thought he'd ever bore.

"Try me!" The words ripped from his throat, a taunt that had little time to be responded too. From where he stood between Quillpaw and Basilpaw, in a blur of mahogany and snow Twitchpaw sprang forward, low, and attempted to fasten his jaws around Crimsonbite's foreleg, hard. If he wanted a fight so bad he'd get one, and hopefully it'd get him to shut up too- that would stop it all reminding him of how little anyone respected him.

Tidespin and Ravencall were nowhere to be seen, not piping up to defend him, because why would they bother? He had to do everything himself. ​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[Snowpath]

"You sound so scared! What's wrong, big man? Need to bully the apprentices to protect you?" Snowpaw's familiar cackle rose up as he stalked forward, pale limbs tense and liquid gold eyes narrowed into near slits of annoyance as he came to a stop next to Butterflypaw to lean into her shoulder. His older sister was on the timid side and she couldn't climb a tree to save her ~~or Blazestar's~~ life but she was trying and not every cat needed to be some battle hardened warrior. After all, why did she need to when he was right here and working on it? There was no doubt in the pale tom's mind he'd be able to carry the weight of his more lacking siblings and he was perfectly happy to do it. Nothing would touch his family because it would need to get past him first.
The blue tom's nose wrinkled in anger, Deersong would never speak to him like this; she treated him like an equal which made him disppaointing her even more painful as he thought back on it, but he was going to prove to his mentor he wasn't a bully. Not like this guy, he was going to be better, he was going to hold his tongue and try to be less judgemental. For his mentor. For Leopardcloud. For his mother. His gaze darted to Basilpaw and then Quillpaw, older apprentices who were holding their ground and facing off with the brutish warrior but it was wormy little Twitchpaw who made the first move and the spotted tom's eyes widened in delight. Maybe he would rescind his spineless remark from before after this, that the panicky and bedraggled tom was the first of them to act, well that was just insulting. "Get'em, TWITCHPAW!"
With a spring he darted forward as well, moving past Crimsonbite who would hopefully be too distracted with the teeth in his leg to do anything about the pale apprentice leaping up to stick his claws in his flank.

​

 

[Daisyflight]

"SUREFIRE, YEAH, THE SETTING SUN WANTS COMPANY"​

"Enough!" The call fell down the ravine, cold. Daisyflight took steady steps towards the group, measured disappointment stitched carefully across the fury she felt. A warrior hassling her daughter? The urge to strike down Crimsonbite rang like rain along her spine, tempting the fur there to rise. Did he not value his conscience, his reputation? His tongue?

A small amount of pride roused within the calico, having seen the other apprentices speak up for Butterflypaw. What happened next however crossed the line into the unexpected. Twitchpaw’s sudden latch onto the warrior’s leg hurried her pace, the loam-stripe tom's ferocity surprising her. It was an act that should be reprimanded but a small part of her cheered him on. If only she could shed her responsibilities and do the same- a past version of herself might have. The instant Snowpaw joined her apprentice, her mismatched paws heaved into a sprint.

The deputy waded into the group, finally within reach of the commotion. Muddled paws tried to hook the apprentices from the blunt-nose warrior, attempting to separate them before it became even more tangled "Both of you, stop that! Crimsonbite, what do you think you're doing? It is a petty man that would ridicule those trying to better themselves. Cruelty breeds cruelty- training is the place for encouragement." A lash of her bristled tail punctuated her words. She herself had been raised in conditions that left her exhausted, bitter and volatile. Improvement had not come when languishing in that place, only when she had been able to get into safety. Safety was what Skyclan should represent, especially for the youngest in their ranks.

"If you lay a paw on any of our apprentices like that again, you will have me to answer to. Snowpaw, Twitchpaw, I want both of you on the other side of the ravine. This goes no further." Daisyflight looked down her char nose with disgust, threats strung in the evergreen of her eyes. A dismissive lilt drew her head away from the tom and her gaze drifted over those gathered. Resolute approval met Basilpaw and Quillpaw, the calico appreciative of their support of Butterflypaw- without claws drawn. ​

✿ ✿ ✿​

 

[Lionsnarl]

"LIFE DOESN'T DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN THE SINNERS AND THE SAINTS"​

Two more children join, hissing and snapping their own taunts and curses. This is too much, it's not worth it, it's not worth this pounding in his head, it's not worth the annoyance. He has half a mind to give the shivering child a half-hearted apology, but before he can even open his mouth, he feels needle-sharp teeth close around his ankle, jaws clenching around fur and bone due to his malnourished frame. He snarls and attempts to bodily throw the assailant away, but then claws are tearing into his papery skin. Copper hits his nose, cloying, and he clenches his jaws together make it stop just make them shut UP -

And then it's Daisyflight in his face, pushing the apprentices away to lance him with her own sage-green fury. He hardly recognizes the words that she throws at him. His ears are ringing, the metallic scent of his own blood making him almost wobble in place, he wants everybody to stop touching him, stop talking to him, just leave him ALONE. He barely resists the urge to spit at the deputy.

"You can keep your damned training sessions." He grumbles out through gritted teeth. "Coddle your beast to death for all I care, just keep these things away from me."

He turns away from her without a second glance to the gathered apprentices and within a moment, he is up and out of the ravine, leaving the ruined mess of an afternoon he caused to the rest of them.

<pouty coward exits>​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

There are numerous reasons for Butterflypaw's poor fighting and hunting abilities, and only one of those, in Blazestar's opinion, are her shy and frightened constitution. The Kittypet King himself has become only a fair hunter since being taken in by Rain, and as for fighting -- well, the Ragdoll has never fought another cat before. The only creature he's knowing drawn his claws against had been the dog fox who'd ravaged his throat.

Blazestar has tasked other warriors with taking over Butterflypaw's training for the day, and his heart sinks as he hears the commotion in the hollow. He excuses himself from the NPC he'd been conversing with, a cloud of anxiety hanging over his features. He's just in time to see Crimsonbite stalking away, blood trickling from a nick to his ankle.

The SkyClan leader watches him go in silence, gaze moving to where Daisyflight stands, commanding and stern. She had handled it, and he's relieved, but --

"Butterflypaw, are you alright?" Guilt burns under his pelt. He should be tougher on her, he knows, but in some ways, he's still as soft as she is. The trembling ginger and black lump crouched against the earth tugs at his heart. He has allowed her to remain weak because he is weak.

He gives Daisyflight a grateful, humble look. "I'll ensure Crimsonbite isn't matched with her anymore." He sighs. He knows the ginger warrior hadn't intended on causing this sort of scene, but the apprentices clearly weren't reacting well to his... teaching style. "Perhaps we put Crimsonbite on extra patrols instead of being tasked with mentoring duties. For now, anyway." He twitches his ears. "Alright. You heard Daisyflight. Get back to your duties."
​