- Dec 18, 2023
- 52
- 6
- 8
*+:｡.｡ Good-bye didn't have to be for forever. When Bonepaw had left the nursery, he'd felt the worst pain he thought he'd ever experience - a truly naive thought, but to the boy who'd yet to face more than a stubbed toe, leaving his moms was devastating. Bonepaw had thought he wouldn't be able to survive it. Many restless nights were spent wide awake, clinging to his mothers' fur as he struggled to imagine a world where he didn't get to plop into their embrace at the end of every day. Nothing made him more scared of becoming an apprentice than the idea of losing his moms, even if it was only for a few hours a day. That's when he devised a coping strategy, carefully collecting feathers from the prey pile until he found the perfect four - a turkey feather and a mourning dove feather, as well as two pale sparrow feathers. On his last night as a kit, he'd presented these gifts to his moms. He wanted them to have a piece of him, to keep them safe while they slept in different nests from now on. And he hoped they'd bless the feathers he'd gotten to represent both of them in turn. A turkey wing feather, for Ferndances' energetic, uncaged vibrance, and the soft downy feather from a mourning dove, to remind Bonepaw of his mamma's gentle nature and comforting touch.
It was silly, this little coping strategy of his. But it was the only thing that kept his nest warm when he missed his parents' company.
Today, with water in his lungs and a heaviness in his shoulders, he felt it was time for a new addition.
Bonepaw would be found neglecting his duties to instead paw at the fresh-kill pile. He couldn't care less about the 'apprentices eat last' rule, mostly because he wasn't searching for an early dinner. Instead, the boy tossed aside frogs and mice, salamanders, and shrews, searching the bodies for something specific. With a final tug, he pulled free a lark sparrow. It was small. Many shades of brown covered its feathers like mud streaks. He might not have paid any mind to it, had his eyes not fallen on it's tail feathers. Perhaps a raven or a magpie would've been a better choice, but Bonepaw liked that the animal was so tiny. and at the very ed of its little tail feather, a white splotch - a perfect reminder for his sister's oddly placed white freckles and chin.
He sniffled lightly.
Pulling off the longest tail feather carefully, Bonepaw would crane his neck to try and get the accessory into the scruff of his neck. It wasn't easy, frustration quickly billowing beneath his ribs the more he struggled. Why did this of all things have to be so hard?!
It was silly, this little coping strategy of his. But it was the only thing that kept his nest warm when he missed his parents' company.
Today, with water in his lungs and a heaviness in his shoulders, he felt it was time for a new addition.
Bonepaw would be found neglecting his duties to instead paw at the fresh-kill pile. He couldn't care less about the 'apprentices eat last' rule, mostly because he wasn't searching for an early dinner. Instead, the boy tossed aside frogs and mice, salamanders, and shrews, searching the bodies for something specific. With a final tug, he pulled free a lark sparrow. It was small. Many shades of brown covered its feathers like mud streaks. He might not have paid any mind to it, had his eyes not fallen on it's tail feathers. Perhaps a raven or a magpie would've been a better choice, but Bonepaw liked that the animal was so tiny. and at the very ed of its little tail feather, a white splotch - a perfect reminder for his sister's oddly placed white freckles and chin.
He sniffled lightly.
Pulling off the longest tail feather carefully, Bonepaw would crane his neck to try and get the accessory into the scruff of his neck. It wasn't easy, frustration quickly billowing beneath his ribs the more he struggled. Why did this of all things have to be so hard?!
-
-
GENERAL:
☠ Shadowclan — apprentice
☠ DMAB— He/Him — Unsure
☠ 6 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
☠ Son to Ferndance x Needledrift
☠ Littermates with Bloodpaw, Shadepaw, Snowypaw
☠ Half-brother to Gigglekit, Morelkit, Branchkit
☠ Apprenticed to Nightwhisper
COMBAT:
☠Physically easy | mentally hard
☠ Attack in bold #738171
injuries: None currently
