camp PUTTING YOUR PATIENCE TO THE TEST — gossip

❪ TAGS ❫ — Bitter and hung up on the fact that he hadn't been chosen to accompany Sootstar and the other warriors to raid SkyClan, Snakepaw couldn't focus on anything else. He was far too distracted and upset to focus on hunting or training, but if there was one thing that he was good at no matter it, it was running his mouth. He would gladly opt to take his frustrations out on others rather than process his emotions on his own.

So, Snakepaw had joined up with a couple of other apprentices, choosing to gossip about his clanmates as the camp remained oddly quiet and hushed for the night. "I really can't believe that Adderpaw still has that twoleg thing on his ear." The dark-furred tom scoffed, glancing around to see if the aforementioned apprentice was anywhere in sight.

He gave a twitch of his tail, tilting his head up haughtily before snorting, "It's no wonder that he wasn't chosen to go to battle tonight. Sootstar would not be caught dead letting on to those kittypets that her own son had been marked by twolegs as well. He shouldn't be allowed to be seen by the other clans until it's removed, quite frankly." At least Snakepaw had a perfectly valid reason (in his own humble opinion) to openly criticize Sootstar's kin. He hadn't liked them from the moment they were born, simply because they were the leader's new favorites, but it seemed now that Adderpaw was Sootstar's new least favorite. If his own child were to refuse to have a twoleg accessory removed from them, he'd disown them!

// this takes place after the raiding party departs for skyclan!
 
Anxiety, frustration– Sparkpaw feels them too. They head to battle and the clan is left behind to wait, all of the war-hungry ones left to froth and the fearful ones left to worry. They cope with that differently, of course. Sparkpaw is filled with energy, nearly vibrating with it. Snakepaw, on the other hand...pushes. The dark apprentice always knows how to find a bruise. At least today it isn't his. Adderpaw's no good, easy target, even if he's not here. And maybe it's time for this snake in the grass to finally figure out what it's like to be on the receiving end; maybe Sparkpaw's time stuck with him in the apprentice den has taught the traitor-blooded apprentice a few more tricks than one might expect.

"It's a wonder nobody does the same for you," he snaps. This time, there's no apology forthcoming. His tail lashes. He's not precisely fond of the tag himself. Seeing Adderpaw return to the apprentice den with it had been alarming, and then distasteful. That he didn't allow them to take it irritated him. But then, a thought– "You couldn't even handle a spar without cheating, it's not like you could handle an injury like that. It's no wonder you weren't chosen to go."
border2.png

  • ooc: set before the meeting bc continuity i. think??
  • sparkpaw, sparky. dmab male, he - him - his.
    ──── apprentice of windclan. loyal to windclan and weaselclaw.
    ──── 09 moons old. born on 12.15.22, and ages 85% real time.
    ──── echolight x elmbreeze, adopted by yewberry. brightfam.

    a long-limbed, trim sterile tortoiseshell tom with mostly black fur splashed with the occasional orange. he has a singular white mark on the back of his neck, as if he had been bitten there. has a fresh scar across the bridge of his nose.
  • "speech"
 
── .∘°°∘. ── It is certainly bold of Snakepaw to criticize Sootstar's kin as a mere apprentice— and so loudly. He knows most do not approve of Adderpaw's decision. I wonder if he would announce his thoughts so loudly if he thought the tide against him— at least where the leader's children are involved. Wolfsong imagines he would be slightly more subtle if he thought there was a great risk of censure from Sootstar or Weaselclaw. Wolfsong does not disagree with the apprentice's assessment, but their roots are watered by different springs.

He does not speak yet, his eye glinting with open mirth as Sparkpaw lashes out at him. Deservedly, given Snakepaw's past treatment. He makes for himself few friends. Mouth twitching, Wolfsong works a small patch of knotted fur from his shoulder. When he straightens, it's to approach and pause a tail-length from Sparkpaw. "You sharpen teeth and claws when you speak, Snakepaw," he begins in a chuckling rasp, "but none are your own."
border2.png
little_elli.png
WOLFSONG of WINDCLAN ROGUE TURNED LEAD WARRIOR (MEDICINE CAT IN TRAINING). 35 MOONS, HE/HIM, NPC X NPC PARENTS. BIO, PINTEREST, & PLAYLIST.
  • ★★★☆☆ WOUNDS: You're (mostly) in safe paws. You'll know if he's less experienced if he asks for your permission to try a treatment. No wound can scare him away from knowledge. — ★★★☆☆ INFECTION: He can prevent most infections. If you feel feverish, let him know— he'll hum thoughtfully over herbs and sniff your wound before saying, "With your blessing..."
  • ★☆☆☆☆ ACHES & PAINS: If you complain to him of pain, he'll ask where. If it's a headache, you'll likely feel a bit better. For anything else, "Try this, if you'd like, and tell me how you feel." — ★☆☆☆☆ BROKEN BONES: At best. he can ask you to remain lying down in the den. He may try to distract you with conversation while he considers what herb to feed you.
  • ★★★★★ TRAVELING HERBS: Going somewhere? No worries; Wolfsong knows just what you need to stay hale and healthy during your journey. The rest is up to you. — ☆☆☆☆☆ KITTING: He doesn't remember what it was like to be born. Coincidentally, that is the extent of his familiarity with kitting. At least he won't leave you without moral support.
  • ★☆☆☆☆ POISONS: It's best if you avoid eating anything unfamiliar to you— it's probably just as unfamiliar to Wolfsong. The best he can do is offer you yarrow and sit with you. — ★★☆☆☆ ILLNESS: If it's white or greencough, you'll likely recover. Otherwise, prepare for odd concoctions and the usual request that you consent to a little trial-and-error.
 
well, lookit that! here are three — not one, not two, but three of mousebrain's best friends!

"hello there!" he chirps, approaching the gossiping party with a bright grin. "whatcha talkin' about over here, best friends?"

he tilts his head as he listen to snakepaw's biting words... he's not sure what to say to the kid's anger, except that hey! adderpaw is one of his best friends, so don't be mean...

then there's sparkpaw, who comes right up to start yellin' at snakepaw! now that's no way to handle this! "sparkpaw! great starclan, we don't have to scream and shout! why don't ya try telling snakepaw how you feel with some more constructive words? cheating sure does seem like a big ol' issue! we'd better see if we can work this one out, huh?"

he nods along at wolfsong's callout. now that's a little more like it! mousebrain is so lucky to have a best friend as cool as wolfsong. "yeah, that's a great point! angry words like that won't do anybody any good, snakepaw! wolfsong is my best friend, so trust me, he knows what he's talking about!"
 
Heatherpaw's interactions with Snakepaw always felt hot or cold. It was hard to give any explanation to it, sometimes Snakepaw's attitude made his anger bubble and stinging words tumbled out before he could stop them. In other occasions, the dark-furred apprentice was just like him- a kid trying his best, and he was reminded that at the end of the day, Snakepaw was still his friend. His Clanmate, his denmate (though not for very long).

So when Snakepaw had approached him and some of their peers, he didn't jump to bite. He listened, assumed and agreeing. Heatherpaw had been there when Adderpaw got marked by the twolegs, and had watched him, quite pathetically, refuse any treatment toward it's removal. The red tabby had always seen the Queen's son differently after that. Weak willed. A blasphemer. The forest did not make cats with such items, he should have taken the opportunity to shred his ear apart just to abide by nature's way.

"I don't know, I think at the very least Snakepaw wouldn't have been cowardly enough to reject having it removed. Or even run away for an entire week avoiding his Clan and duties in shame. He met the other's emerald stare with a smirk. "I mean what's next, Adderpaw's gonna get pinned in battle and he surrenders? From what I saw, Adderpaw would take any lazy route rather than do the hard work and sacrifice to honor WindClan." He doesn't regard Wolfsong with much. Heatherpaw would gladly prove the opposite if he underwent the same thing. ​
WINDCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ RED MACKEREL TABBY ✦ 8 MOONS ✦ TAGS
 
.✫*゚・゚ | Polarizing words thrown out from Snakepaw caused Mousepaw to come over, ears pricked and a small smirk on his face. Of course there would be some that didn't really care for the words that came from the apprentice's mouth, but the large-eared apprentice enjoyed the discourse, no matter how small it was. "If twolegs ever got their weird paws on me and put one of those things on my ear I would ripped it out, and if I couldn't get it off I woulda never came back as long as it was there. It's embarrassing." Keeping that thing in his ear, Adderpaw might as well have been a kittypet now. For all they knew, he had been off with the kittypets while he was gone, but Mousepaw wouldn't dare say that, not out loud, not now.​
 
❪ TAGS ❫ — Black ears pin against his skull as an unexpected voice slices through the air, interrupting the gossiping session. Snakepaw doesn't fear Sparkpaw in the slightest, so he sees this intrusion as more bothersome than anything else. "How exactly did I cheat?" The apprentice challenges with a snort, feeling his own fur begin to bristle. He's had quite enough of Sparkpaw always getting on his case! "I'd be on that battlefield right now had Badgermoon been chosen to go, so I don't want to hear another word out of you." It sounded like Sparkpaw was the sore loser here, forever bitter about the fact that Snakepaw wouldn't expect his string of offerings and apologies. He didn't owe Sparkpaw his forgiveness, or any kindness, so why did he seem so indignant?

A chilled stare glances up at the great warrior who appears behind Sparkpaw. There are quite a few choice words that Snakepaw would like to unleash upon Wolfsong, in fact, but in a rare instance he decides against it. He knows better than to lash out at the clan's beloved lead warrior; he doesn't need them all upon his back like fleas upon a rogue. So, Snakepaw instead offers a sneer in the direction of the scarred male before turning his gaze to none other than... Mousebrain.

Snakepaw could only assume that Wolfsong truly did not view this cat as his friend (let alone a best friend) since Mousebrain tended to call all of his clanmates as such, but he doesn't mind playing along for the sake of teasing the golden warrior. "Is he really? That explains a lot." It was an old saying, that one could tell a lot about another cat based on who their friends were. In that case, Wolfsong enjoyed the company of idiots! Not that Snakepaw particularly had any friends to speak of either, but as long as the conversation didn't magnify the fact, then he'd be safe from humiliation.

Triangular ears prick and his head swivels in Heatherpaw's direction as he seems to jump to Snakepaw's defense, painting a positive image of him in comparison to Adderpaw. He is a tad surprised at this new development, as he usually finds Heatherpaw's boasting quite irritating, but he won't reject any sentiment that makes him look good. A small and approving (yet smug) smirk creeps onto Snakepaw's features, his mood shifting instantaneously as self-importance swelled in his chest. "Agreed." He huffed, holding his head high and giving a nod in Mousepaw's direction too. At least some cats in this clan had some sense.
 
Snakepaw is a cat with a cruel, bitter tongue, but Bluepaw has found herself agreeing with the ebony-furred apprentice on multiple occasions. Now, though, he drools his venom toward her kin. The gray she-cat stares at the apprentices who cluster, many of whom begin to echo Snakepaw’s sentiments. She feels her flesh growing hot—both with anger and with shame. Adderpaw has brought shame on their family, and for what? So he could prove something to everyone—but he’s not proving anything except that he’s clipped like a kittypet for the rest of his life.

She watches wordlessly as Sparkpaw attempts to defend Adderpaw, but it’s only one voice among many. Heatherpaw and Mousepaw chime in, adding they’d never let a Twoleg accessory mark their ear in such a way. Bluepaw stares at them both, exhaling. It would be unwise to shout at any of them. They are beneath her, beneath Adderpaw, even, though the foolish tom is making things hard for all of them right now.

She strides forward, fur lifted by the greenleaf wind. “And do you honestly think, if Sunstride had gone to that battle, that my brother would not have gone with him?” She cannot defend Adderpaw without agreeing that the tag belongs on his ear. She tries another tactic—to focus on his accomplishments, rather than the actions that have dethroned him as WindClan’s prince. “He fought a Twoleg, after all. Kittypets must be much easier.” Her cool green gaze meets Snakepaw’s, attempting to wordlessly communicate her displeasure.


  •  
  • bluekit . bluepaw
    — she/her, apprentice of windclan
    — bisexual ; single
    — long-haired blue she-cat with white and green eyes
    — “speech”, thoughts, attack
    — penned by Marquette
    — art by Meg
 
The red tabby feels the same sense of ego and justification Snakepaw had when Mousepaw joined in. It surprised him, just how divided his Clanmates were about the Queen's son. Was he supposed to feel Adderpaw had been right, running away from camp in disgrace? Was he meant to believe his denmate did the right thing, whining and thrashing about when given the only option of freeing his ear? Heatherpaw would have sooner given up his rank and home if he was meant to look like a kittypet with that twoleg thing attached.

Bluepaw's approach drove Heatherpaw to dig further into his words. Her attempt to protect her brother from their judgement fell flatly to him. As long as her brother acted like he was righteous in that moment, Heatherpaw would only feel Adderpaw had disgraced WindClan.

"Your brother couldn't even face his own Clanmates for more sunrises than I could count on a paw." He challenged, tail lashing behind him as he gave way to his impulse. "I absolutely know he wouldn't have. Those twolegs might as well have won their fight so long as Adderpaw still looks like he belongs with them."
WINDCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ RED MACKEREL TABBY ✦ 9 MOONS ✦ TAGS
 
  • Angry
Reactions: BLUEFROST