pafp Not good, not evil, but a secret third thing | scheming with minnow

[Snakeblink]

There comes a time, in any cat's life, when they must bow to the constraints of their existence. An old warrior may have to accept that their weary joints are no longer be as flexible as they used to be; a limping hunter may have to face the fact that they cannot outrun the hare they were chasing. The limitations cannot be avoided, but knowledge of them is a strength in itself. Such a time has come for Snakeblink. He can deny it no longer:

Stoneheart hates his guts.

He's pretty sure the elder is nice. There's kindness in the way clans treat their seniors, and he's seen the old man show his appreciation for this multiple times to a wide variety of cats, from apprentices helping him get rid of ticks to warriors asking after his health. But he's not nice to Snakeblink. He doesn't reply when Snakeblink talks to him, which he's done at length, and watches him with an air of perpetual weariness that speaks of significant annoyance. Snakeblink isn't usually so easily deterred, but... As previously mentioned, it's important to know one's limits. He could go on ignoring the fact that Stoneheart is less than fond of him, sure, but would that actually help? No. Acts of charity turn bitter when done by someone loathed, and he's trying to do something nice here. Stoneheart catching him in the act would defeat that purpose.

Does it hurt his feelings? No, of course not. He cannot be universally liked: no one can.

(A bit. He's used to it, though.)

But it does mean he needs... An accomplice. Someone who will readily and reliably play their part in his scheme. A role that Snakeblink rarely casts anyone in and, as such, one he's not sure how to go about fulfilling. Must he lay out the whole problem to get assistance? To whom? There's no guarantee of agreement, even after such an explanation, and a refusal might be even more mortifying than the elderly scorn he's taking steps to avoid.

Then, salvation appears in the form of an apprentice – to his great relief and embarrassment. A long-haired silver tabby named... Named... Oh, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that he remembers her being one of the meeker apprentices, which suits his purpose just fine.

Taking care to stay out of sight of the target of his plan, who's taking advantage of the rare and thin leaf-bare sunlight to warm himself in the middle of camp, Snakeblink slithers his way to the apprentice and says...

No, decidedly, he hasn't the faintest idea what her name is. Mi-something, he thinks. Mistypaw? Miletpaw? Wait, he has it:

”Minipaw,” he whispers in her ear, glancing at the elders' den. ”I have a task for you that requires the utmost discretion." Not waiting for her acceptance of the mission (she's an apprentice and he's not above pulling rank) he continues, nodding in the direction of the elder in question, ”Do you see Stoneheart, over there? I need you to keep him distracted for... Hm, however long it takes me to build his nest anew. He must not come into the elders' den as long as I am in there. Do you think you can manage it?”

Pensively, he adds, ”Oh, and if you could find out his favorite color and contrive to communicate this information to me discreetly, I'd appreciate it as well.”

He has a handful of pretty feathers hidden away for such an occasion, but it's hard to tell which one Stoneheart would enjoy most between that of an iridescent magpie or of a vivid blue jay. ​

ooc. information.

• ooc:Please wait for this thread to be opened!
  
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 35 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

 

[Minnowpaw]

( ♬ ) Minnowpaw nearly jumps out of her pelt when a voice suddenly whispers in her ear. Her fur fluffs out as she turns her head, but relaxes slightly when she recognizes Snakeblink. Her ears would flatten in uncertainty as the warrior whispered his plans to her and what she was supposed to do.

Oh, Stoneheart? Her golden gaze flickers over to the elder as he suns himself and she appears anxiously thoughtful. She liked Stoneheart, his stories were always wonderful and he was always kind to her when she came to clean his nests. She looked to Snakeblink once more as she swallowed heavily and she meowed, "U-um...Ok..."

It didn't register in her brain that the warrior had even gotten her name wrong. "I...I suppose I could..." She trails off as her paws fidget. Snakeblink seemed so determined though, and the last thing Minnowpaw wanted to do was disappoint a warrior she respected. Taking a deep breath, Minnowpaw would nod curtly and then make her way over to the elder.

They would appear to greet each other warmly enough, Minnow smiling shyly as the elder smiled encouragingly in return. The silver she-cat takes a set beside him, seeming to fall into a relaxed chatter, and only once does her eyes flicker back to the elder's den to make sure the Snakeblink was doing his part of whatever plan this was. ​

( BUT I WATCH YOUR EYES AS SHE; WALKS BY )

 

[Snakeblink]

If there's one thing Snakeblink appreciates about apprentices, it's that they never question him. They should, and he might bring it up to Minipaw later, but it's refreshing to be able to get on with his plan so easily.

He waits for the apprentice to come up to Stoneheart. Once the two start talking, he crawls his way around camp towards the elders' den, grabbing the piled of moss he has stashed in an out-of-sight corner on the way. He catches Minipaw's glance on his way into the den and, blinking slowly in gratefulness, slips inside.

Finding the den empty, he gets to work. This whole plan hatched while he was looking at his own nest, clean and dry and still leaving him cold to the bones in the morning. He had recently heard Stoneheart mention an old sprain of his that act up in cold weather, and it had him thinking that the older cat might find relief in a new, thicker nest. He's aware it's a task usually reserved to apprentices, but would the quiet Stoneheart have mentioned a slight discomfort to them? Unlikely. Besides, good deeds know no age limit.

(Not once did it occur to Snakeblink that his own morning chills might come not from the weather alone, nor the absence of anyone to share his nest and body heat with, but from the fact that his nest was made so messily that there are multiple spots which, when he shifts in his sleep, move in such a way that he ends up sleeping halfway on the cold, bare ground.)

Aware of his limited window of opportunity – another elder catching him in the act would be almost as bad as Stoneheart seeing him do it, they're all gossips – he makes a hasty work of it, though hopefully not a bad one. Building a nest is not a task he can do mindlessly, so he focuses intently on the placement of each bit of moss, adjusting them as he goes. It makes for what he thinks is a pretty cozy place to sleep in.

Finally he steps back to look at the result of his efforts. It's a little awkward in the limited space: he ends up having to fold himself against the wall to look at it in its entirety. What he sees is... Satisfactory? Maybe? It definitely looks plush: the leafbare moss tends to be dry, but he tried to make up for it with sheer quantity. Does it look comfortable, though? Would an elder lie on it and find old aches relieved? It's a little messy, he admits. It definitely doesn't look as... Cohesive as the other nests in the den. He pushes his paw against it tentatively. The nest feels springy for a moment, until the moss parts against the pressure and his paw sinks through the gaps. He fills the hard ground under his paw pads.

Somehow, he's managed to make it ever so slightly worse.

Oh, Snakeblink, we're really in it now.

His brain churns through possible fixes in quick succession. Redo the whole thing. Add MORE moss. Could he find down feathers? No, they don't even have birds to eat. It stalls, hits a dead end: he's going to have to sneak out and never speak of this again or face Stoneheart's disappointed and bitter face.

Or... he could try to call in an expert. This is an apprentice's task, right?

Sticking his head out of the elders' den before he can think better of it, he looks for Minipaw and tries to catch her eyes again, hoping to somehow communicate his urgent need for assistance without alerting anyone else of his actions. ​

ooc. information.

• ooc: (clown noises)
  
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 36 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​