- Jun 20, 2023
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[ sensitive topic warning for death & snake bites. tldr sky goes w his mentor to sunningrocks and his mentor saves him from being bitten by a snake, however succumbs to his own bite not long after ]
"Hey, kiddo," Scaleclaw speaks after a long stretch of silence. Skypaw walks only a few paces behind him, gaze lingering on the path ahead but narrowly missing his mentor's form. It's only when the warrior speaks that he finally looks towards him, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sorry, Skypaw. Sorry y'had to see that," Scaleclaw continues, tilting his head away and fixing his gaze on the path as well. He's speaking of the boar incident - it's so fresh, Skypaw can still taste the vomit and iron in his mouth. The chimera doesn't speak at first, letting a huff fill the air instead.
"I..." he tries to speak, paws stuttering as they walk. Scaleclaw pauses and allows Skypaw to set the pace of their stroll, tail sliding across the ground. "Warriors see that stuff all the time, right?" Skypaw attempts, trotting quickly once again. He gains on his mentor and surpasses him, and the older feline allows him to. They've only been matched up for a few moons, however Scaleclaw trusts his apprentice to know the trail to the Sunningrocks by now.
"Skypaw, if I had t'see my family dead or dying, I'd be pretty locked up, too," Scaleclaw makes attempts to reassure his apprentice. The trees break and show the sunny sky - Scaleclaw ceases the moment to glance upwards at it, fluffing out his tabby fur to allow the sun's rays to drench him thoroughly. "It's a frightenin' sight," he continues, bringing his gaze back to Skypaw. The apprentice has paused, too, eyes laser focused on the river ahead. The warrior tosses a cursory glance in the same direction, however upon not seeing any river-rats hunkered down by the rocks, he eases up a bit. "Breathe, Skypaw. Today's a new day, yeah?" Scaleclaw tries.
There's a long pause between them, however eventually Skypaw does return with a soft, "... yeah," in agreement. His shoulders tremble and he's tempted to cry, however the apprentice withholds the overwhelming emotion. He trots closer to the rocks themselves, nose level with the ground as he attempts to sniff out some lingering mice. Scaleclaw hardly hides the roll of his eyes as he watches his apprentice skirt around the warmed stones. Ever the hard worker, that one. The warrior is tempted to sit back and let his apprentice hunt out his frustrations - however there's a slight glimmer beneath one of the rocks, and a faint smell drifts in the breeze.
"Skypaw...?" Scaleclaw breathes out, slowly, "Kiddo, walk away from the rocks, real slow like, okay?" Skypaw's ears pin back and he lifts his head, staring daggers at his mentor for a moment.
"Why?" Skypaw whispers, though his attempts to do so are not well done. "We came here to hunt, didn't we? There's a mouse right around here, I just know it," the mottled tom is insistent, shaking his head at his mentor defiantly. He returns his attention to sniffing out the supposed mice, ears pinned to his head still. Hisses erupt from nearby, and Skypaw groans, "I can barely understand you when y'talk like that...!" He accuses Scaleclaw, returning his nose to the ground.
Except this time, he's met snout-to-snout with a snake. Amber eyes widen and the fur on his shoulders rise. The snake is poised, parts of its body lifted into a strike pose - and Skypaw is frozen, just like with the boars. His voice crackles out of his mouth, something incoherent, and the snake simply hisses in response. It all happens too fast - he sees the adder move to strike, but when he opens his eyes again he's skidded fox-lengths away. His body aches like someone who's been tackled and tossed, his scruff paining with rough pinpricks of teeth. But nothing amounts to the pain of seeing his mentor laying where he once stood.
Scaleclaw is hardly still, the adder latched to his throat. The older tom spits and hisses and writhes in agony and Skypaw finds himself startlingly still - aggravatingly still. Move, he demands of himself, swallowing thickly. Move! He tries again. Scaleclaw's just about shredded his attacker but still suffers indefinitely on the sandy ground. MOVE! Skypaw lurches forward, tears stinging his eyes finally. He grips the tail of the adder and yanks it from its hold on his mentor, freely tossing it away. He pays no mind as the snake thuds against the ground, unmoving - his attention befalls his mentor solely.
"Scaleclaw," he breathes, but his mentor only replies with some gasping and spitting. Skypaw trembles, shoulders shaking, "I'll go get help - Berry, Berry will know what to do," will he? Skypaw doesn't know if his uncle is as all knowing as he perceives him to be. Scaleclaw reaches a shaky paw out, grunting something whilst unsteadily shaking his head. "What do you mean no? Scaleclaw - you're... you're hurting! I need to get help -" his mentor attempts to reach him again, however his attempts grow weaker and weaker. The shaking and spitting have slowed to a stop, and before long...
He's still.
Skypaw watches as the light fades from his mentor's eyes, ever so slowly. He sits there, deftly unaware to the passage of time, in stunned, painful silence. In truth, the two of them were gone from camp for an hour or two by the time any patrol finds them - and when they do, they would simply see young Skypaw, sat in beside his dead mentor. Tears stain his cheeks and he's terribly, terribly still once again.
"Hey, kiddo," Scaleclaw speaks after a long stretch of silence. Skypaw walks only a few paces behind him, gaze lingering on the path ahead but narrowly missing his mentor's form. It's only when the warrior speaks that he finally looks towards him, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sorry, Skypaw. Sorry y'had to see that," Scaleclaw continues, tilting his head away and fixing his gaze on the path as well. He's speaking of the boar incident - it's so fresh, Skypaw can still taste the vomit and iron in his mouth. The chimera doesn't speak at first, letting a huff fill the air instead.
"I..." he tries to speak, paws stuttering as they walk. Scaleclaw pauses and allows Skypaw to set the pace of their stroll, tail sliding across the ground. "Warriors see that stuff all the time, right?" Skypaw attempts, trotting quickly once again. He gains on his mentor and surpasses him, and the older feline allows him to. They've only been matched up for a few moons, however Scaleclaw trusts his apprentice to know the trail to the Sunningrocks by now.
"Skypaw, if I had t'see my family dead or dying, I'd be pretty locked up, too," Scaleclaw makes attempts to reassure his apprentice. The trees break and show the sunny sky - Scaleclaw ceases the moment to glance upwards at it, fluffing out his tabby fur to allow the sun's rays to drench him thoroughly. "It's a frightenin' sight," he continues, bringing his gaze back to Skypaw. The apprentice has paused, too, eyes laser focused on the river ahead. The warrior tosses a cursory glance in the same direction, however upon not seeing any river-rats hunkered down by the rocks, he eases up a bit. "Breathe, Skypaw. Today's a new day, yeah?" Scaleclaw tries.
There's a long pause between them, however eventually Skypaw does return with a soft, "... yeah," in agreement. His shoulders tremble and he's tempted to cry, however the apprentice withholds the overwhelming emotion. He trots closer to the rocks themselves, nose level with the ground as he attempts to sniff out some lingering mice. Scaleclaw hardly hides the roll of his eyes as he watches his apprentice skirt around the warmed stones. Ever the hard worker, that one. The warrior is tempted to sit back and let his apprentice hunt out his frustrations - however there's a slight glimmer beneath one of the rocks, and a faint smell drifts in the breeze.
"Skypaw...?" Scaleclaw breathes out, slowly, "Kiddo, walk away from the rocks, real slow like, okay?" Skypaw's ears pin back and he lifts his head, staring daggers at his mentor for a moment.
"Why?" Skypaw whispers, though his attempts to do so are not well done. "We came here to hunt, didn't we? There's a mouse right around here, I just know it," the mottled tom is insistent, shaking his head at his mentor defiantly. He returns his attention to sniffing out the supposed mice, ears pinned to his head still. Hisses erupt from nearby, and Skypaw groans, "I can barely understand you when y'talk like that...!" He accuses Scaleclaw, returning his nose to the ground.
Except this time, he's met snout-to-snout with a snake. Amber eyes widen and the fur on his shoulders rise. The snake is poised, parts of its body lifted into a strike pose - and Skypaw is frozen, just like with the boars. His voice crackles out of his mouth, something incoherent, and the snake simply hisses in response. It all happens too fast - he sees the adder move to strike, but when he opens his eyes again he's skidded fox-lengths away. His body aches like someone who's been tackled and tossed, his scruff paining with rough pinpricks of teeth. But nothing amounts to the pain of seeing his mentor laying where he once stood.
Scaleclaw is hardly still, the adder latched to his throat. The older tom spits and hisses and writhes in agony and Skypaw finds himself startlingly still - aggravatingly still. Move, he demands of himself, swallowing thickly. Move! He tries again. Scaleclaw's just about shredded his attacker but still suffers indefinitely on the sandy ground. MOVE! Skypaw lurches forward, tears stinging his eyes finally. He grips the tail of the adder and yanks it from its hold on his mentor, freely tossing it away. He pays no mind as the snake thuds against the ground, unmoving - his attention befalls his mentor solely.
"Scaleclaw," he breathes, but his mentor only replies with some gasping and spitting. Skypaw trembles, shoulders shaking, "I'll go get help - Berry, Berry will know what to do," will he? Skypaw doesn't know if his uncle is as all knowing as he perceives him to be. Scaleclaw reaches a shaky paw out, grunting something whilst unsteadily shaking his head. "What do you mean no? Scaleclaw - you're... you're hurting! I need to get help -" his mentor attempts to reach him again, however his attempts grow weaker and weaker. The shaking and spitting have slowed to a stop, and before long...
He's still.
Skypaw watches as the light fades from his mentor's eyes, ever so slowly. He sits there, deftly unaware to the passage of time, in stunned, painful silence. In truth, the two of them were gone from camp for an hour or two by the time any patrol finds them - and when they do, they would simply see young Skypaw, sat in beside his dead mentor. Tears stain his cheeks and he's terribly, terribly still once again.
