severed ties // intro

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Skypaw detests idling; he'd much rather de-tick the elders three days in a row than sit around and wait for something to happen. Perhaps that's why his mentor, Scaleclaw, is so often keen on setting up silly little missions for him to complete whilst on training exercises. Anything to keep his attention, perhaps. And more often than not the extra tasks are not far from his wheelhouse of expertise; today, for example, Scaleclaw simply asked him to catch a squirrel who's tail was roughly half of its size. And catch a squirrel he does - it takes most of the morning, but he manages it.

"Leave it with the rest of the prey," his mentor rumbles as they re-enter camp, the younger tom's catch clutched only by the docked tail it possessed. Skypaw looks at him incredulously at first, wondering why he couldn't snack on his catch, before simply obeying the warrior without much question. He deposits his portion to the fresh-kill pile, hoping in the very least some kittens or queen will eat it, not some dopey warrior. He moves to rejoin his mentor, anticipating another task or goal, when Scaleclaw simply waves a paw, "We were out all morning, Skypaw. Let's rest our paws for a few breaths, hm?" Again, a look from the mottled feline, before nodding and slinking away.

He doesn't situate himself too far from Scaleclaw, waiting for the tabby to collect himself once again and bring him a new goal to shoot for. Skypaw spends the time grooming himself - productivity shows itself in many ways, he supposes. Nonetheless he fiddles with an annoying cowlick, hardly listening to the noise of cats as they bustle around him.​
 
On the other hand, there is Chickadeepaw, bursting into camp with a fat mouse clutched between her teeth, for once smiling at her mentor. After a hearty training session where the fluffy little apprentice fell on her butt more times than she could count and whined more times than Whitelion could probably count, she was allowed a little meal of the first thing she could catch.

What a lucky day it was for her!

She plops down next to Skypaw, annoyingly close as is her custom, her motormouth already revving: "Good morning Skypaw! Lookit lookit what I caught, mhm, all by myself. Whitelion says I'm gonna be the best hunter in the clan by the time I'm a warrior!" Whitelion had certainly not said that, but she hoped her mentor was far enough away so as not to correct her boasting. "Aren't I just sooooo cool?"

@WHITELION mentor tag
 
( ) "That was a nice squirrel you caught Skypaw." She had been sitting nearby when she saw the young apprentice carrying it into the camp, and to the pile. With squirrels being her favorite prey, she had noticed it quickly. "You are turning into quite the hunter. I remember when you and Duskpaw used to hunt bugs with my little ones." Stormpaw and Falconpaw were a little older than Little Wolf's kits, but she had still watched them grow up. She recalls the stories his mother used to tell, and how they had captivated her own kits. "How is your training going? Learn anything interesting lately?"

Chickadeepaw arrives next, sitting very close to Skypaw, and almost immediately started rambling. She held back a chuckle, and shook her head slowly. "I wish I had half the energy as you do."
( WHEN I FIND MYSELF ; I'MA BRING IT ON HOME )
 

The sun was suspended in the middle of the sky, blue sky and daylight speckled through the leaves and illuminating the ground in puddles of light, and Berryheart was fondly reminded of why he had chosen to move to the oak forest. ShadowClan as they now knew it had been a home that had served him fine, but the oak forest was more than fine. Lush, brushed with idyll and bloom... he could not imagine having to traverse the swamp while learning to heal. Perhaps that was where his like for ShadowClan's medicine cat stemmed from- the challenges she undoubtedly had to face.

And ear flicked at the buzz of conversation, and askew eyes of dull green settled upon Dapples, sat grooming himself while Sunset and Wails lingered nearby. The tail-end of the lead warrior's statement caught his attention from where he lay close by, soaking up the sunlight as if he needed it to survive. I wish I had half the energy as you do, Sunset murmured. Despite the sleepy half-lidded stature of his eyes, the lazy one almost closed, Berryheart piped up lowly. "Sounds tiring..." An ironic statement, perhaps... but Berryheart could not imagine that energy that ran so high did not fall from a great height when it crashed.
PENNED BY PIN ☾
 

Some apprentices are overachievers. Mousepaw is not. She'd been entirely uninterested in her training until Silverlightning had come up with the leaf method. In truth, she has only recently begun to put in the effort she should have had from the beginning. Cats like Burnpaw, Moonpaw, Skypaw, and Duskpaw, on the other paw, are all tryhards in their opinion. Like, who are they trying to impress? Howlingstar? Their mentors?


She doesn't have to bust her tail to look good. Just another difference between the two of them. Mousepaw watches Chickadeepaw brag in a very Mousepaw-like manner, and she snorts as though she hasn't said the same thing every other day. "Aren't you lucky, Skypaw? Best hunter in the Clan! You should give us some tips." She sits on the dark-pelted apprentice's other side, aimlessly grooming a mitted paw.


Of course, Flamewhisker lavishes Skypaw with praise. Mousepaw scowls, but she doesn't say anything, though she itches to do exactly what Chickadeepaw had done and start boasting about all of her accomplishments.


Instead, she turns to Berryheart, giving a nod. "And annoying," she says, shifting her green gaze to the younger apprentice.



[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]
 


Hearing all the praise for her child warms her heart. A great hunter they say and she cannot help the purr that escapes her throat. Little Wolf was rather proud of all of her kits. Despite the prejudice they faced because of who their father was they had shown the clan that they were worthy, that they were strong and capable warriors just like the next ThunderClanner.

She comes to stand next to Flamewhisker, smiling at her friend in a warm greeting before turning her attention to her kit. Flamewhisker is reminiscing on when Duskpaw and Skypaw used to hunt bugs together, back when they were kits and when their only worries were what time they would get to go play mossball. She looks back on those days with mixed feelings. On one paw, she had hated the confinement that came with being a queen. But she loved being a mother and seeing her kits grow into such wonderful young warriors was well worth a few moons spent cooped up in the nursery. "Your mentor is teaching you well" she agrees and then she notices how his tongue passes over his cowlick so often in his grooming and she lets out a soft laugh. She had always needed to get it for him when he was a kit. "Do you want me to help you with your fur?" she offers, not wanting to overstep. Burnpaw was never a fan of her random groomings, always protesting, but he had always allowed it so she isn't sure how much protesting was real and how much was for show.
 
make peace with your broken pieces .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶​
Whitelion huffed in amusement, peering down at Chickadeepaw, brow raised. “Did I now?” All in good fun, he supposed, shaking his helm. He veered his attention to Flamewhisker, humming in agreement. He was no longer a spring chicken if it didn’t make it clear to send Chickadeepaw on mini-adventures to cure her overly exuberant personality. At Berryheart’s testament, Whitelion couldn’t help but agree. “Indeed.” He mused, good-naturally, yellow hue crinkling in mirth.

When Little Wolf appeared, Whitelion took it as his cue to leave his overly rambunctious apprentice, deeming it a good time to let the she-cat relax. A singular optic landed on Skypaw, offering a silent congratulation before picking his way from the group, turning to Chickadeepaw briefly. “Remember, not everyone enjoys their space being invaded.” With that, the white-furred brute padded off, tail whisking in a simple goodbye to his fellow warriors as he disappeared.

/ out !
thought speech