camp OH, DESPICABLE ME || sick elder

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
THREE MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

It's been a few weeks since Nettlepaw had first began scavenging for crow-food. So far, none of his clan-mates seemed to outwardly suspect that anything was amiss, asides from a few sharp comments about the strong smell of the fish he occasionally brought it. The fact that he couldn't reliably locate crow-food meant that Nettlepaw had only managed to find a few small morsels here and there, so far, and Smokestar's recent ban on leaving camp alone made sneaking out a lot riskier. Regardless, the apprentice's most recent 'catch' had been a minnow, something that was little more than a snack for a large RiverClan cat. But, before anyone had really noticed, an elder had snapped the prey up for himself.

At first, Nettlepaw had been annoyed.

The only reason he scavenged was to earn the respect of his clan-mates, yet very few had even seen him carry the minnow into camp. Now, though, Nettlepaw can't help but feel concerned. Ripplesplash, the elder that had eaten his minnow early that morning, was now complaining of a stomach ache, and vomiting. It had never occurred to the young apprentice that any cat could get sick from his scavenging. After all, he never brought in anything that smelled too bad, or felt rotten.

But... he was blind. It was possible he had made some mistake, missed some rot on the fins, or a belly bulging with parasites. He doesn't know, but as Ripplesplash makes his way back to his nest, stubbornly refusing to see the medicine cat, Nettlepaw can't help the wash of heat that rushes to his face. Maybe the sickness was unrelated. But what if it wasn't? Had Nettlepaw unintentionally poisoned his clan-mate? A voice sounds near to him, and the boy's attention shifts suddenly, "Huh?" He speaks, scenting the air for the identity of the other RiverClan cat. "Did you see Ripplesplash? He seems sick." Nettlepaw comments, and the concern in his voice is genuine, but for all the wrong reasons.
​

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[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ "Seems so" Asphodelpaw mused, coming to step up beside Nettlepaw, icy blue eyes narrowed with concern. But frustration wasn't far behind as he huffs, "Stubborn old..." he bites back an insult - respect your elders and all that "you'd think after everything that happened with the plague that they'd take sickness more seriously" He pauses, glancing sideways at the tom he was speaking to. Awkwardly, he adds, "Erm. Sorry." figuring that mentioning yellow cough around the touchy apprentice might not be the best idea, "I'm sure it's just a cold though" he couldn't decide if he was trying to convince Nettlepaw or himself of that fact. Maybe he ought to fetch Ravensong anyway.

He looks back at Nettlepaw, studying his expression. It was weird seeing the usually stand-offish tom look so concerned. Asphodelpaw felt even worse for bringing up yellow-cough, so he scoured his memory for something to bring some levity to the situation. "Uh...hey, so I overheard from some of the elders that Ripplesplash ate a minnow you caught earlier today?" Asphodelpaw tried to spend as much time as he could in the elder's den, keeping his old mentor company while he lived out the rest of his moons in retirement, so he'd been there when Ripplesplash boasted about his squared breakfast. Fresh outta the jaws of that new 'paw Nettlepaw he'd said, which had perked Asphodelpaw's ears up. For all their misgivings the past few weeks, Asp didn't have anything against the usually grouchy apprentice. Actually, he was quite proud of him for all the catches he's been making. Asp wasn't proud to admit that he'd been one of the few who'd doubted whether Nettlepaw would be able to handle apprenticehood considering his condition, so he was happy to see he'd been proven wrong time and again.

"Congrats, you're doing really good" he adds, feeling a bit awkward. He was too young to tell NEttlepaw 'atta boy!' and maybe he was putting too much attention onto something Nettlepaw might just want others to see as any other occurrence like with any other apprentice. Rubbing the back of his head nervously, the overthinker would add, "You've caught more fish than I have in a while" to try and justify his compliment. But mentioning it aloud made his cheeks burn with shame. Agh, maybe Nettlepaw had some tips and tricks about hunting fish without having to get too deep into water...

*+:｡.｡ Updated 11/22/23

• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ☆ Asphodelpaw
  ☆ DMAB— He/Him — Unsure
  ☆ 8 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
  ☆ Mentored by Crashingtide
  ☆ Riverclan — Apprentice
  
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ☆ Physically easy | mentally medium
  ☆ Attack in bold #9fc3fc
  injuries: None currently

​

 

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
THREE MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

Oh no. Not Asphodelpaw.

Nettlepaw can't help but inwardly groan to himself. If any cat was likely to be suspicious of this situation, it was him. The rest of the apprentices seemed fairly neutral, other than Carawaypaw, but she's been acting bitter since the two were kits. Unaware of the awkward glances, Nettlepaw listens quietly, responding only with a twitch of his ears to indicate acknowledgement. He doesn't want to be outright mean, especially when he was far too concerned about Ripplesplash, and far to weary with guilt.

Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be any suspicion at all. Asphodelpaw states that it was probably just a cold. Nettlepaw turns his head to settle sightless eyes upon the other apprentice, concerned expression becoming stoic once more. Asphodelpaw knows about the minnow... but in another surprising twist, does not seem accusatory in the slightest. Truthfully, Nettlepaw finds himself unsure of how to respond to the compliments. It certainly wasn't what he was used to hearing from the other apprentice.

Blind to the awkward gestures of the other tom, Nettlepaw finally responds, "Uhh, thanks." And though he had tried to hide it, his bewilderment was probably obvious in his voice. "You're not sick either, are you?" He wonders aloud, staring Asphodelpaw down with clouded eyes. The boy sniffs carefully, tasting the air. The other apprentice didn't smell sick. But then why was he suddenly being so nice? Perhaps it was just part of growing up, or perhaps Crashingtide had finally snapped. It was certainly curious.
​

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[Feathergaze]

Originally intending to pass the pair of apprentices by on her way to the river, Feathergaze froze a few tail lengths away from them. They were mewing about one of the elders, Ripplesplash. 'He seems sick.' Flashes of her late grandmother, Icebloom, flashed through her brain. Coughing. She'd lost so much weight. Wheezing. She'd struggled to breathe. and then she'd died. Feathergaze's heart beat a strange pattern in her chest, fluttering like a trapped bird. Her lungs drew in air awkwardly, thrown off by the organ they were meant to follow. The edges of her vision grew fuzzy, as though one of her long hairs had gone astray.

Snap out of it. NOW.

With a slight gasp, Feathergaze seemed to jolt back into herself. She gave herself a shake, attempting to hide the tremor of her muscles as she turned back to face the apprentices.
"S-Sick?" she meowed, cursing silently as her vocal chords betrayed her. "It's not more Yellowcough, is it?" Based on Asphodelpaw's words, that didn't seem to be the case, thank Starclan. No, just another case of an elder being too stubborn for their own good. "Has someone gone to get Ravensong? Or Moonpaw? I can do it, or drag Ripplesplash to see them. What's he playing at, this close to leafbare?"

Realizing she'd started to ramble and had interrupted a rare moment of peace between two apprentices who generally fought one another, Feathergaze cleared her throat. Fish bones, what were they talking about before you opened your big mouth? Fish, a catch. Nettlepaw, making a catch. "Sorry about that, I... Nettlepaw, you've had some hunting success? That's wonderful," she purred, trying desperately to either find a place in the conversation or a way out of it without being too weird. she didn't know much about Nettlepaw, but given his blindness, surely a successful catch was cause for celebration. "Pikesplash must be really proud."

 

[PIKESPLASH]

He is drawn by the call of his name, turning his attention away from fellow warriors, ending their conversation with a curt nod. The silver tom would pad up to Feathergaze, giving the others a flick of his tail in greeting. "I h-heard my name, i-is something wrong?" I sure hope Smokestar doesn't have something against me today, I don't think I did anything wrong... I think. Perhaps Nettlepaw would consider himself lucky that Pikesplash had missed most of the conversation. Despite not being there for his apprentices first catch of a fish no less, he did catch wind of it from others. Some even coming up to him and saying how well his apprentice was progressing. The issue is this. He actually hasn't taught Nettlepaw how to hunt fish specifically...

It's not like he doesn't have faith in Nettlepaw to figure it out himself, but if Pikesplash himself was at a loss on how to teach his apprentice how to hunt... Anyway, the whole story from what he's heard is a bit suspicious. Had he been there he would've asked his apprentice how exactly did he manage such a feat or to make Nettlepaw show him. Not out of punishment or doubt, more so he was genuinely curious as to how Nettlepaw caught such a fish. "Do you want me to grab Ravensong?"

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 it's easy just to pretend

• ooc : —
• — pikesplash / riverclan warrior / masculine pronouns / 47 moons
  — bisexual / single / looking / open to flirting and crushes
  — short haired silver mackerel tabby with green eyes
  — may powerplay minor harm / can powerplay healing
  — biography / @ on discord for plots
  — penned by velou

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[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ Perhaps if Asphodelpaw wasn't acutely aware of the many times he's unintentionally - at least in his opinion - been rude to Nettlepaw, he would've put more focus onto the suspicious coincidence laid so commonly at his paws. But as it stands, he felt bad for Nettlepaw. I mean, it's strange even for Asp to see a three moon old apprentice, still very much a kitten, have such a serious and stubborn look on their face. He basically grew to become a warrior overnight after his mother...Asp's ears lower with unconscious sympathy as he meets Nettlepaw's sightless gaze. He studies their cloudy depths, letting his own strictly maintained expression betray more of his empathy knowing - perhaps selfishly - that Nettlepaw wouldn't be able to see anything. He feels a little prickle of hope that perhaps their relationship isn't completely unsalvagable when the other young tom speaks, expressing what Asp assumes is a reserved concern for him.

"Of course not. I make sure to maintain my health lest I make more work for Ravensong and Moonpaw" he practically boasts. He wasn't going to be a burden and risk getting sick, no sir! "I can tell you about how I do it- like ensuring you groom every bit of water out of your pelt after every swim-" his lecture is unfortunately cut short when Feathergaze rushes into the scene.

He feels his long ears flatten with shame as Feathergaze fretts about the elder, realizing just then that he hadn't done anything to help Ripplesplash besides chatting. By this point, the foolish elder is already coughing on the rest of the immunocompromised old folk and risks getting the rest of the clan sucked into this vortex of viruses! When Pikesplash approaches, Asphodelpaw feels sick with shame! Quickly he blurts out, "Ah it's okay, ill gro grab him" before securing away to retrieve the clan medic. He makes sure to wave a friendly goodbye to Nettlepaw and Feathergaze with his tail, but his top priority is to right his wrong, so off he goes into the reeds!

//out!

*+:｡.｡ Updated 11/22/23

• @RAVENSONG lil relevant ping <3 if that's okay ;W;
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ☆ Asphodelpaw
  ☆ DMAB— He/Him — Unsure
  ☆ 8 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
  ☆ Mentored by Crashingtide
  ☆ Riverclan — Apprentice
  
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ☆ Physically easy | mentally medium
  ☆ Attack in bold #9fc3fc
  injuries: None currently

​