private LINGERED IN THE DOORWAY ⚘ orangepaw

[leafhusk]

her shoulder was weighed down with herbs once more. when daybreak parted the spindly branches of the canopy, leafhusk trudged across the clearing. after the council meeting, and having to get her shoulder patched by the medics, it had been far too late. now, she parts the ferns that curtain the apprentice's den.

she knew he immediately went to bed after the suprise attack. a tiny part of her is childishly jealous, but she knows how wrong that feels. her eyes land on his form, too big for his nest, and too big for this den. it hurts to be unsure about when he'll be able to graduate, because she knows he's trying. maybe of this damn frost wasn't ruining everything, he'd have moved his nest by now. "orangepaw… are you awake?" she asks softly. "i want to check on you."

@ORANGEPAW.

⚘

​

 

[ORANGEHEART.]

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- his head hurts. it hasn't stopped hurting, to be honest, but after he was treated by gentlestorm and hopepaw, he has not even uttered a word of complaint. they've got too much to handle as it is, and he won't be apart of that problem. if it was up to him, he wouldn't have gotten treated at all. too many cats needed far more than he did. still, his head hurts. his eyes are closed when leafhusk comes into the apprentice den. nervously he kicks out one of his legs, as if by reflex, sitting up and blinking at his mentor. he takes a few moments to gain his bearings about himself before he fully stands, bumping against her affectionately and moving to walk out of the den. it's way too crowded in here for him to want to talk– way too afraid of waking anyone who needed the sleep.

"oh, hi, leafhusk. im doing okay! really good, actually! how about you? how are you holding up? can't be easy for you to have gone through so much these past few moons, hm? do you want to share a mouse with me? I was gonna grab one since it's pretty... late now but if we gotta hunt for one, I absolutely could."

he smiles widely, tail swaying behind him as he stops in his tracks, turning to face his mentor and blinking at her. it's weird that they're about the same size... yet he is still an apprentice. hm.

"the stars look nice, though."

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── honestly, i thought that i would be dead by now ⋅❁⋅ calling security, keeping my head held down──┐‎

• 

• 
  ORANGEPAW ✩ he/they, apprentice of thunderclan, 12 moons.
  ⭃ rather large polydactyl orange tabby with white markings, green eyes, a broken left hind leg, who's also littered in scars
  ⭃ npc x npc // no known family. mother is deceased
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ not necessarily great in battle. semi easy to attack due to lack of experience alone.
  ⭃ penned by scar ↛ @salemdraws on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

 

[leafhusk]

leafhusk smiles briefly at his shoulder bump, slow-blinking in response as he shuffles out of the den. he moves like he's trapped in quicksand, an invisible force trying to pull him back into his nest. but he brightens when their eyes meet, though she can't return it. only his voice seemed chipper.

"hey, orangepaw..." she says quietly over his pro-longed sentence. leafhusk doesn't acknowledge everything he says, because she likes to think she's finally starting to understand the boy's mannerisms. he talks too much, too quickly to keep anyone from pestering him; because he has to be the sun.

"they do look nice..." her eyes flicker upwards for a moment, and she pads away from the apprentice's den so they don't wake anyone.

"i'm sorry… that you were in another war. you weren't prepared." she'd say quietly once they're out of earshot.

⚘

​

 

[ORANGEHEART.]

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- orangepaw agrees once more with the sentiment that the stars look nice, because they do. they absolutely do. he can't help but miss his mom more when he looks at them and as much as he can pretend she's still alive and still looking for him, he's not that stupid to fully believe it. hope keeps him going, but hope can be dangerous. so very dangerous is it to have hope with no realism about the situation at paw. but that's not what this was about, was it? no. quickly lesfhusk says something, and her voice seems so sorrowful. that wouldn't do. in some ways, leafhusk reminded him of his mother. she made him feel just as safe and comforted so seeing her like this...

"sorry? why are you sorry? I may have not been prepared but I'm still alive. and so are you. and we may have lost some but we saved more. and it's not your fault at all. mirestar just... it doesn't matter. it's not your fault, leafhusk. please don't be sorry and don't blame yourself because I certainly don't blame you. I've just never been one for fighting anyways."

he presses himself against leafhusk with a gentle hump of his head to her shoulder in affection, with a wide toothed smile.

"you're an amazing mentor. you always have been. couldn't ask for anyone better to teach and and I hope only if I become a mentor I can be half the mentor you are."

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── honestly, i thought that i would be dead by now ⋅❁⋅ calling security, keeping my head held down──┐‎

• 

• 
  ORANGEPAW ✩ he/they, apprentice of thunderclan, 13 moons.
  ⭃ rather large polydactyl orange tabby with white markings, green eyes, a broken left hind leg, who's also littered in scars
  ⭃ npc x npc // no known family. mother is deceased
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ can hold his own in battle. semi easy to win against due to mostly using defensive moves. does not attack offensively.
  ⭃ penned by scar ↛ @salemdraws on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

 

[leafhusk]

leafhusk doesn't see herself as maternal. she grew up with a distant mother (common for kittypets, because twolegs love kittens), and came to thunderclan with nothing. she doesn't have a large family like howlingstar's, or kits on the way like the queens in their nursery. leafhusk's uprooted family tree is a mere consequence of being kittypet-born.

he's right. there's nothing to apologize for, what happened at the thunderpath was an act of cruelty. mirestar was simply acting tough for the cursed clan that cycles through leaders by the season. thunderclan will reclaim their land when the snow begins to melt off the branches. leafhusk exhales a small breath, feeling like the apprentice for the moment. she shakes her head, "you're right... i shouldn't blame myself. i won't. thank you."

she doesn't think she is a mentor worth that level of praise, but she won't deny a compliment like that. it's true that he's not one for fighting, he is good with people, however. "you're a good kid, you know that? when you get your own scrap of fur to teach, it'll come easy to you."

⚘

​