pafp SCREAMING IN THE DARK = [ hunt results ]

[beetlepaw]

Beetlepaw was, once again, empty-pawed.

It was beginning to gnaw in his chest. He couldn't hunt for the life of him, and it only grew worse as the moon carried on. It was freezing cold out, though he's sure that his parent's long fur was helpful in keeping him warm. But being warm didn't help his clumsy paws, and his clumsy paws didn't help the fact that he couldn't hunt. A near-ten moon old apprentice, with nothing to show yet for his father's training except his sparring. And even that was natural talent slowly being wasted.

He feels sick as he steps into camp, eyes on his paws, trying to ignore the rest of the hunting patrol. Mottledpaw had been there with Stormywing, and whilst he had been close to Burnstorm (yet again, another piece of prey all but slipping from between his paws,) he had done his best to keep his vision away from them. He's stopped by a noise, and all the effort he had put into not looking at his cousin vanishes in a moment as he looks up and sees prey dangling from between her jaws.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ┌── TELL ME DOCTOR WHATS THE CURE ⋅❁⋅ FOR THE WICKED MANS BLUES ──┐‎

• "speech"
  // please wait for @mottledpaw
  // mentor tag @BURNSTORM

• 

• BEETLEPAW he/him, kit of thunderclan, nine moons.
  ⭃ LH black smoke with bright green eyes. is growing into a very broad and built tom-cat of average height, mirroring his father's build. has a nick in his right ear and a new scar on his muzzle.
  ⭃ not mentored yet / / mentoring no one
  ⭃ no romantic interests / / BURNSTORM X ROEFLAME - sibling to dovekit and littlekit, adoptive sibling to hopekit and coalkit
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

[/size]

 

[mottledpaw]

· · ───────────── ·𖥸· ───────────── · ·

If there was one thing she could take pride in, it was that she had some means of contributing to the clan. She would not best anyone in a spar, even young Coltpaw had proven his large paws were more deft than hers but... she could track things. She could hunt. And with the approach of leaf-bare on the horizon, that mattered more than throwing her weight around.

Treading through the undergrowth, weighted with the pleasure of a warm piece of prey hanging from her jaws, Mottledpaw thinks to show off to Stormywing that she's actually caught something that might feed the nursery today- a mrrp rumbles from her throat to signal her approach. Except... she finds Beetlepaw instead, with his eyes boring holes into her.

Her ear twitches, fern-green gaze tracing the scar along his nose where she'd struck him and all over again the red-hot embers in her belly ignite despite her best attempts to be civil. She drops it, confidently at her paws, honing in on him, "You got three left paws today or something?" Her whiskers twitch, realizing her mocking does not ease the discomfort in her belly. "Beetlekit."

How they could be the same age, the same blood evaded her understanding... ten moons old and hadn't even caught a measly mouse.

// NOT for the event!! no points being recorded for this catch, just for plot reasons
// mentor tag @STORMYWING and fellow pentice @COLTPAW​

 

[STORMYWING]

Stormywing emerges from the bramble entrance with a bird in her jaws, the frosted earth crunching beneath her paws as she trails close behind Mottledpaw. The patrol had been fruitful, thanks in no small part to her sharp-eyed apprentice. A faint smile tugs at the corners of her mouth as she watches her drop her catch in front of Beetlepaw with a flick of her ear.

"Nice work, Mottledpaw," Stormywing praises with a proud lift of her chin. "If everyone in ThunderClan tracked prey as well as you, we'd have no trouble filling the fresh-kill pile this leaf-bare." The sincerity in her otherwise casual tone is unmistakable; there's no hiding the cockiness she feels about her apprentice's skill.

She turns her golden eyes to Beetlepaw, noticing the slump of his shoulders and the frustrated glimmer in his eyes. Okay, you'd have to be heartless to not feel a little sympathy for the kid, not to mention he's the kit of her two closest friends. She certainly knows how difficult it is to face disappointed, especially when surrounded by successful peers.

She doesn't seem to really notice the animosity in her apprentice's tone and finds herself holding back an amused snort. It was sort of a funny joke. "Everyone has off days," She decides to rasp instead, not hiding her grin. "But leaf-bare doesn't wait. We keep going, we get better." It's true - the clan can't afford to have apprentices that can't hunt this leaf-bare. Hopefully Burnstorm can get his son shaped up soon.

She gives Mottledpaw an encouraging nod, signaling her approval of her apprentice's success, "Why don't you go bring that to the nursery and get something for yourself? Rest up - we're going back out at dusk." No time for many breaks in this cold!
​

 

[beetlepaw]

Why does he feel small? Eyes narrow slowly at the kit insult, and he slowly drew to his full height. These days, he's as tall as his father, matching nearly perfect in body shape. Despite Beetlepaw's failure at hunting so far, he was.. well, he was so close, so close, to being a definite and menacing threat otherwise. And yet, Mottledpaw found time to laugh in his face? Irritation burned into anger, raw and open like a wound.

What might have broke him, the final straw, was Stormywing in his face too, stupid grin spread on her stupid face. Crowded. He felt suffocated. His failures were plain and laid out, instructed like he was a kit. He bit down on his tongue, tasted blood briefly. "Shut up." He snarled. There was no end to the malice in his tone, dripping like a venom. Oh, how he could imagine snapping his fangs down on their necks-

It's a startling realization that has his eyes snapping wide. Kill them? That's not me. A voice cried out. A voice that belonged to a kit that toddled about and spoke about how he was going to be the best warrior in the clan. How cruel it was, to have to tell that voice he was awful at hunting, awful at using his head. "... Enjoy your spoils, Mottledpaw." He uttered, though he didn't mean it. His voice sounded dull and he felt numb all over. It was an excuse to turn and leave this conversation.

Which he did, moving to disappear into the apprentice's den, pride sore and his morals crushing his lungs.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ┌── TELL ME DOCTOR WHATS THE CURE ⋅❁⋅ FOR THE WICKED MANS BLUES ──┐‎

• "speech"

• 

• BEETLEPAW he/him, kit of thunderclan, nine moons.
  ⭃ LH black smoke with bright green eyes. is growing into a very broad and built tom-cat of average height, mirroring his father's build. has a nick in his right ear and a new scar on his muzzle.
  ⭃ not mentored yet / / mentoring no one
  ⭃ no romantic interests / / BURNSTORM X ROEFLAME - sibling to dovekit and littlekit, adoptive sibling to hopekit and coalkit
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​