pafp MODERN DREAM LETDOWN — observing

[CRAPPIEPATCH]

The day is quiet—calm, even. The river is not rushing, hasn’t been since the winter chill first began to set in. The water has slowed to a near stop, thick panes of ice obscuring even the most crystal-clear parts of the water. Where normally bright green eyes would be focused on the rippling water, the shallow shoreline, the fish swimming idly, now they stare at the warriors and other clanmates going about their business.

A warrior and their apprentice are doing… something that the tortoiseshell doesn’t recognize. Bitterness swells in their chest for a moment—their own mentor doesn’t seem to care much for them, even when they’d been bound to the medicine den for a month.

Crappiepaw’s stubby tail twitches, and they shift to lean back a bit, looking at Pine’s face. They arch a questioning white brow at the other apprentice, then point a paw in the direction of the cats that they’re observing.

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

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[Pinepaw]

"nothing but pain on the edge of a knife"​

Pine watches the camp, tracking the movements of a warrior and apprentice as they move across the space. He’s found a partner in his bouts of watching with Crappiepaw. The older cat had the same quiet tendencies as him, and somehow he had found himself sitting next to them more and more.

Pine shrugged in response to Crappie’s gesture. Although he was the right age to start warrior training, he still was without a mentor or the coveted “-paw” addition to his name. Whatever the observed pair was doing was a mystery to the young tom.

When the mentor and apprentice left the camp, Pine let out a sigh. I miss watching the fish. He glanced over to his partner in observation before scanning the camp again, looking for more cats to watch.
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✦ ★ ✦​

 

[koispots]

It's nice to see Crappiepaw out and about, even if... They look like they're watching someone, which makes the fur along Koi's spine stand up slightly before they spot Pinekit besides them. Okay... Less weird, but who are they watching in the first place? Eyes try to find them but she doesnt land on anyone that stands out, hm...

"What are you guys doing...?" she keeps her voice down as she slinks over to them, settling just behind them and thumping her tail against the ground. "Who are we looking at?" she can't find it in herself to be pissed off at the world when Crappies around.
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"speech"​

 

[FERNGILL]

Koipaw's question was one that caught Fernpaw's attention, glance set toward the group of fellow apprentices. Not far off from them was Fernpaw sorting through a patch of snow, seeing if any prized lurked within the slush- but here was something a little more interesting to do with his time, and a chance to get a little closer to his Clanmates. His- his peers, when they were apprentices! The tiny tom toddled over, gait still rather kit-like, craning his neck to get a more direct way into the conversation. Swiftly did his attention fall upon each one. Crappiepaw, always a pretty kind face, sometimes a quiet one- Pine, with fur that suited his name quite well- Koipaw, with a pretty pelt and two eyes of differing blues... oh, oh, staring. Away he flickered his vision.

"Uh, um-" Fumbling over his speech, bug eyes sought out any signs of interest best he could. "Oh, I bet it's- him!" Fernpaw offered in a hushed whisper shout, motioning to an elder sat sleeping. One fundamental issue arose in that the elder was sitting completely out of Crappiepaw's line of direct sight.​

( penned by pin )​

 

[GLOOMPAW]

A domino effect, Gloompaw doesn't see the mentor-apprentice pair before they depart from camp. Her eyes flicker from apprentice to apprentice across the camp, their observing eyes landing on someone completely different than they once were, as the contact between their previous subject fizzles. She moves quickly towards them, trotting and skidding to a clumsy halt beside Koipaw.

Hoping to see some kind of fight breaking loose on the opposite side of them, or anything earth shattering, the smoke mink bounces on her paws to see over Crappiepaw. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Fernpaw's motion, a quick point towards a different corner of camp. Her head whirls overexcitedly, expecting a delightful, dramatic thing...

She squints at the elder, snoring upright. In the sunlight, she swears she sees a glistening bubble pop out of his nose. Giggling abruptly, she accuses, "Really? He's just sleeping!"​

 

[CRAPPIEPATCH]

Beside him Pine shrugs in response, apparently not as annoyed with the mentor and apprentice duo as Crappiepaw is. Which makes sense, seeing as the brown-furred tom hasn’t been apprenticed to a warrior yet; he probably doesn’t know what the big deal is yet. The calico settles back into their comfortable position until their other calico friend approaches, sitting behind them and asking after their activity.

They tilt their head to smile back at Koipaw, but before they can reply to her question Fernpaw barges into the conversation with all the grace of a crayfish on ice.

The bug-eyed apprentice accuses them of watching some mangy elderly clanmate, and Crappiepaw can’t help but feel a bit insulted. As if they’d be interested by that. "Not him," they say, sniffing harshly. "We’re just—watching." Do they have to be watching anything in particular? Is it not okay for them to observe without a target, now that their original target has left their sight? And besides, the elder Fernpaw points out isn’t even in their line of sight. Crappiepaw arches a brow at the ginger tom, silent judgment written all over their face.

Green eyes flicker back to the elder in question after a moment. Gloompaw points out that he’s just sleeping, and confusion replaces their curiosity. "Wait. How is he sleeping like that?" They straighten, shoulders tensed, and lean backward—an attempt to find any comfortable sleeping position while remaining upright. It’s not a bad idea, especially since their nose tends to get all stuffed up when they sleep on the ground. They look expectantly at Pine, obviously awaiting an answer from him.
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[ FORTUNE LOVES THE BOLD ]​

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[GILLSIGHT]

He doesn't see the mentor and their apprentice leave the camp, but only because he has just arrived back to it.

What Gillpaw does see, however, is the group of apprentices speaking to one another - looking at something, giggling at it. Sunshine eyes blink in confusion, before his curiosity leads the black-and-white tom towards the group.

"W-What are we l-looking at?" he asks, tail twitching behind him as he follows the direction of their gazes. And, he can't help but laugh too, when he sees it. An elder, sleeping the day away - only, sleeping upright. Sitting.

"H-he m-must be v-very tired," Gillpaw comments, "M-Maybe he's had a hard day of work. Y-you know, telling stories to t-the kits." Keeping those kits entertained was a difficult task, after all.
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[Pinepaw]

"nothing but pain on the edge of a knife"​

Pine tenses as more apprentices gather around, shifting closer to Crappie as the four others give their thoughts. He doesn’t like being noticed, and a group this large could attract attention from those he’s trying to watch.

He glances at the elder as his companion voices his confusion and has to stop himself from snickering. ”Wow, he must be more comfortable than he looks.” Pine mirrors the elder’s position, trying to shift his paws and spine just so. Once he gets as close as he can, he closes his eyes and evens his breathing for a few moments. One of his eyes pops back open. ”Nope, not a good sleeping pose.” He looks over at Crappiepaw, eyes twinkling with humor in a way they hadn’t in a very long time.
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✦ ★ ✦​