private like you & i // pebblepaw

[splashdance]

Splashpaw has perfected the art of watching. From the moons of being trapped in camp, she spent entire days living within the nursery still. She watched over her younger siblings and looked about the camp. Some cats detested to live in the marsh whilst others loved every nook and cranny it provided. Some ShadowClanners would turn their noses up at fun, but others tried to smile and laugh despite the dreary atmosphere. It seems that RiverClan is different - while sorrows are still aplenty, not as many cats let it drag them down. Some try to make the best of it.

And yet, she finds history repeat itself. She moves to find the apprentice den after a long day of learning to be one of them, when she spies Pebblepaw walking in a different direction. The blue tabby tom is one of the few that offered her kindness despite her abrupt appearance, but that doesn't necessarily mean she finds kinship in him so easily. His paws guide him to the nursery, and Splashpaw recalls that his mother was taken by twolegs. He must be there for his siblings... She cannot recall their names, but her heart thrums with the kindness and warmth that must come from Pebblepaw. She returns to her nest without saying anything.

It's the next day when she decides to speak with him. Her tail lashes as she finds him politely eating a portion of a fish, likely saving the rest for either his apprentice-sister or the remainder of his siblings in the nursery. Splashpaw presses forward, her ever kind smile shining towards him. "Hey, Pebblepaw," she greets, and sits a short distance from him, "I... er... I noticed that you rested in the nursery last night. Did you sleep well?" she means no criticism, being wholly honest and curious.​

 

[PEBBLEPAW]

(☼) he had indeed been spending most of his nights in the nursery since hazecloud's kidnapping. sometimes shellpaw joins him, less likely lichenstar pops in, but pebblepaw is stalwart in his duty to protect and help his siblings through their grief. if this means sleeping in the nursery in hazecloud's place, he hardly minds. due to his absence from the apprentice tides den, he hasn't kept track of the new girl, since that first night away from the gathering. the now dubbed splashpaw seems to be settling in alright so far, but pebblepaw will admit that he hasn't thought about it- he's got bigger issues. still, as he chews down a part of a trout, placing the rest by his side for if shellpaw appears or some other cat wants a meal, he notices her out of the corner of his eye.

she's a bouncing thing, dark curls of fur whispering in the breeze, her face illuminated by star specks of white. her demeanor despite the vitriol she was greeted with by her fellows, is cheerful and kind. something draws him to speak with her, and so his heart leaps as she approaches him. pebblepaw will counter her smile of greeting with one of his own, hastily swallowing his bite before he speaks in response. "splashpaw," he dips his head. she carries on, mentioning his new sleeping habit, and he shuffles a paw over his muzzle for a moment. "er, yeah, i slept okay. just want to be there for my siblings. our mom… well me ‘n shellpaw ‘riv-“ he stops himself before continuing, remembering the absence too of his older brother. “ me and shellpaw’s adoptive mom, their actual mom, was taken by twolegs and they're not handling it well." he begins to speak and finds he can't stop- too much information tumbles from his lips and he stops sheepishly, breaking eye contact. "not that i expect them to, that is. sorry, hah."

she doesn't seem put off by his spurt of words she doesn't need to hear, and so he flicks his tail, smoothing the earth beside him. "would you like some of this trout? i can't finish it all. i don't know what you like to eat, otherwise i could offer you that." he doesn't know where exactly she's from either, only that she showed up smelling of marsh... shadowclan, if he had to guess. still, he supposes she's a riverclanner now… man is he making a fool of himself. should she elect to join him and not run away at his awkwardness, he will smile softly. "how have you been settling in? i hope none of the apprentices have given you a hard time again." sympathy flickers in pebblepaw's copper gaze. "i'm sorry about them, i dunno what their deal is."

I DO NOT HAVE WINGS, LOVE ☼ I NEVER WILL

• // " #848DAE"
• 
  
  
• 
  PEBBLEPAW ☼ HE / HIM, APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN. NEPHEW TO SMOKESTAR. 7 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a large blue tabby with low white and vitiligo. pale blue fur covers the length of pebblepaw's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.

​

 

[splashdance]

He greets her with her new name, and though she's felt like she's gotten used to it - truly, she hasn't. She doesn't dismiss Pebblepaw or claim he's gotten it wrong, however it does take a second for her to tilt her head with the same acknowledgement. Things have changed for her, but the grieving apprentice must not worry about every detail. He has much more going on in his life while she, comparatively, has much less. Granted, most of it isn't visible to them - her issues are separated by two borders and a Clan between them - but that's besides the point.

He stumbles with his words, and river blue eyes twinkle with curiosity. First he corrects the existence of his mother, then he fights with himself to not tag another name between his and Shellpaw's (Shellpaw is his sister... she feels she's known that, but it still doesn't make sense.) She tucks her curiosity behind her ear as he continues to talk, lamenting in tragedy but apologizing and looking away from her. Splashpaw only smiles, bringing herself closer to him and tapping her feathered tail to his shoulder, "Don't be sorry. It sounds like a lot," she almost laughs, but leaves the airy sigh as it is.

He offers her a portion of his meal, and she blinks in response. It's not pause for the fact that it's a fish - food is food, and Splashpaw has learned to never turn down a meal, no matter how her stomach turns at the thought. But she worries that it's meant for others, not her, and so she asks - "Are you sure?" If he confirms, then she brings herself closer, delicately tucking herself beside him but still allowing space between their shoulders. He's just being kind, which is certainly a nice change of pace. She takes her first mouthful, forcing herself to eat slower than she normally would.

"Hmm?" she rumbles, swallowing the morsel in her mouth. "Oh, it's not that bad. I..." she trails off a bit, ears turning back. Splashpaw doesn't want to talk about ShadowClan, but it seems that's where the conversation has headed. "Where I lived before... the cats weren't the nicest to one another. It wasn't downright awful...!" She backpedals, and its her turn to avert her gaze, uncertain when too much is too much. "But... it's comparable to this, I think. I'm used to it, is what I mean to say. Hey - water off a RiverClanner's back, right?" Do they say that here?

She doesn't want to give Pebblepaw an open to ask her more questions about ShadowClan, so she tries to steer slightly. "She's still your mom, y'know," she says with another bite. "I... I have two moms. One who gave birth to me, and one who didn't. But just because the one that didn't... didn't, doesn't make her not my mom. They took you guys in, yeah?" Again, her tail rests against him, "And clearly, you love their kittens like they're your full blooded siblings. You guys are family, cut and dry." And she decides then that she misses her family, but she cannot return to them now.

"I used to do this a lot," she admits, quietly, "Sleeping in the nursery, I mean. My littermates and I were made apprentices, but I stayed with my Mama, because she had just given birth to my little siblings..." Splashpaw trails off, and the observant eye could see that the topic had struck a chord with the newcomer. "They're you're family too, Pebblepaw. And I think you're doing pretty fantastic by them...!"​

 

[PEBBLEPAW]

(☼) "it is," pebblepaw huffs a spout of laughter as the girl accurately summarizes his issues. there's not much he can do at this point, besides train harder than he ever has before. riverpaw, hazecloud, and eveningkit won't come back without intense struggle on both ends. he has to be as strong as he can to help them escape in the coming days. splashpaw's river hued eyes sparkle with worried curiosity as he offers to share his meal, and the blue boy nods. "of course," he will murmur, moving the fish towards the girl. she approaches on delicate paws, curling in closer to him. he can smell the musky scent of pine that hasn't quite fled from her fur yet. it makes his stomach twist, but not in an entirely bad way.

"i imagine fish is a very different taste to lots of other prey. i've tried mouse once, birds a few more times. fish's just what i'm used to." he recalls lichenstar's struggles to convince her children to like the taste of bird. he's never gotten used to it, but he doesn't hate it as much as most land prey. if he recalls correctly, shadowclan eats frogs. if that is indeed where the snow strewn girl is from, perhaps the tastes aren't entirely different. ember eyes flick across his companion's face as she speaks, blinking thoughtfully. "you shouldn't have to be used to it. as far as i know, you've done nothing wrong," is switching clans wrong? it could be considered betrayal, he supposes. "anyway, i hope you're able to settle in with at least a few nice cats. if you ever need a friend, i'm open."

he is never this forward, preferring to allow his sister to make their friendships for him, but something about splashpaw beckons his interest. he allows his tail to flick lightly across her flank. she changes the subject, and pebblepaw senses the discomfort at the talk about the past. he mentally notes it, flicking ears as he listens to her speak. "it took me a while to realize they'd adopted me," he will admit with a twitch of his whiskers. "i'd never outright called either of them mom until pretty late into my kithood." her tail rests against him and his fur ripples at the touch. he doesn't lean away from it.

"it was odd, growin' up in the nest with three younger kittens, but yeah, we are family," he nods, smiling softly. "seems like you value your family pretty highly too. that's admirable. i bet your mother appreciated the help and time with you." younger siblings, two moms- he's tallying a list of the things they have in common. as she blinks a crystalline gaze up at him, he blushes slightly. "well thank you, splashpaw," he allows himself to take the complement, passing a paw across his nose to hide the automatic smile that appears. "you're very kind. i do think you'll be a good addition to the clan, for what it's worth.

I DO NOT HAVE WINGS, LOVE ☼ I NEVER WILL

• // " #848DAE"
• 
  
  
• 
  PEBBLEPAW ☼ HE / HIM, APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN. NEPHEW TO SMOKESTAR. 7 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a large blue tabby with low white and vitiligo. pale blue fur covers the length of pebblepaw's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.

​