SOME NEVER CHANGE // accussion

SHALLOW

SHALLOW

✟ 18/4-24 ✟
Aug 3, 2022
106
17
18

He had been out to get some more moss to his nest feeling more tired than usual that day. On his back to the apprentice den noticed something was wrong before he even had stepped inside. The moment he entered the den all eyes were on him. Angry judging eyes that was ready to snap at him. " There you are you lil thief!." One of his denmates snarled at him and as he glanced over noticed they where all standing around his nest. " Can you explain this huh ?!" Another one contunied and messed around with his nest to reveal what lay underneath. Prey. Tons of small prey perfect to hide without anyone noticing it. " Here we are all starving, working our asses off to hunt for this clan and you steal prey for yourself and hide it underneath your nest!!." Shallowpaw could no longer tell who was telling what as he not paid enough attention, just staring down at his nest and the prey. Speechless. He was left without any words and so the apprentices contunied.

" That's why rogues can never be trusted!. Always so selfish and only thinking about themselves!. Once a rogue always a rogue!. " The others seemed to agree, and he could feel all of their glares at his back. It wouldn't be the first time. He had done this back in skyclan by stealing prey underneath their noses and hiding it outside somewhere in the territory to make sure he had food, that he could be fed. The life of a rogue was suppose to be selfish, self-serving. So they were not wrong. So maybe they all had right. Maybe a rogue couldn't change from their old habits. Shallowpaw however contunied to be speechless, not saying anything to defend himself or confess. He just stood there with a unreadable expression as more cats started to notice and appear to the den. More cats to judge and glare at his back. " Well?!, don't you have anything to say for yourself ?!" They wanted a reaction, a response. Anything beside this cold shoulder he was giving them all with his silence. Anything at all.

But he said nothing and by doing so maybe he gave them the answer they wanted.


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"LITTLE HELLIONS, KIDS FEELIN' REBELLIOUS"​
"Take the prey, make sure it's shared out to the rest of the clan. The rogue can starve for the rest of the day for this." Wildpaw growled as he made himself known amongst the crowd of displeased apprentices. He couldn't resist jumping in on the slip-up, nor from the opportunity to act like a leader among his peers. He had seen the likes of Howling Wind dish out similar punishments to warriors in the past, why shouldn't he? Stepping ever closer he then attempted to come nose to nose with his rival. "I knew you weren't fit to be a warrior. A true warrior doesn't stash away food whilst the rest of the clan struggles to feed itself. Letting a rogue like you into our ranks was a mistake."
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Maybe he was fortunate to not have really known what being hungry was like. When he first escaped his cage in the stone two-leg nest he almost immediately ran into Rabbitnose before he was left to his own struggling for long. But his mate had told him of his travels and how hard it had been to keep himself and his siblings fed without something akin to a clan to rely on. Sunfreckle was lucky, he had gone from lost to having a dependable partner already skilled in hunting and then they had joined ThunderClan where he'd been taught to do so on his own. The freshkill pile was there for anyone to access if needed, the clan tried to prioritize the feeble, newborns and sickly cats before any other. Shallowpaw hadn't had this kind of luxury, he wondered what sort of life would lead a child to hide food like this and he doubted it was greed. Most assuredly it was fear of not knowing if it would be there tomorrow.

"Clear out, all of you..." The red tabby's voice rose up as he wandered over, the apprentices pausing in their tracks on their dispersing with the prey before dropping it and doing as the older cat had bid. Sunfreckle didn't have any authority outside being a warrior, but he was large and his voice though calm and almost soft for a cat his size held an air to it that demanded attention. Too many long moons scolding kits had given him quite the stern tone.
"Not you Wildpaw, come sit." He called lightly, not wanting the rambuncious tom to go running off as well and he hobbled forward to take a seat neat Shallowpaw, long plume of a tail tucking around his toes to warm them. He didn't lift his head to watch the other apprentice-made no attempt to see if he would listen or even force the issue. If he ran off, Sunfreckle was not going to chase him.
"Shallowpaw, were you worried we wouldn't feed you?"

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I TOLD YOU ONCE, I CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN​
Sleep brought peace, there was no deaths, no starvation or petty drama, there was only the comforting lull of nothing.
So, when her sleep is disturbed, Roepaw tends to get prickly.
She had slept through the initial discovery, but when the angry outcry began she was finally stirred awake, using a forepaw to wipe the sleep from her eyes she sat up, confused.
Prey. The scent practically smacked her awake as her stomach growled- now she was intrigued.
She had to shove her way through the clamor of apprentices, but finally she could see it- prey, stashed away from everyone under Shallowpaws nest, a bit flattened admittedly, but still just as mouth-watering. Busy whispers and gossip ensued as angry denmates tried to piece the situation together, Wildpaws voice being the only thing that made Roepaw realize Shallowpaw had entered the den, terrible timing. Roepaw shoots him a confused look, but it’s quickly broken by Wildpaws slough of degradation.
"Oh shut up with that rogue talk- half of us here were either rogues or kittypets" she snapped at him, whatever Shallowpaw was thinking, the cinnamon molly didn’t see a point in bringing up his background. Shallowpaw on the other hand, looks as though he completely shut down, but Roepaw’s spine prickles when Wildpaw shoves himself forward, getting up in Shallowpaws face. "Back off, dude! Let him explain!" Roepaw advocated, but didn’t move from where she still stood.
Sunfreckles presence was a relief, even if he had to put his dad voice into use. Roepaw shrinks back against the crowd as some would begin to clear out, while others rebelliously stayed. Roepaw trailed back over to her nest, "I reserve the right to continue my nap" she only grumbled as she lay back down, turning her back towards the others. Too many problems, messes even- it was all so tiring.
"speech."​

 

Thinking. He had been quiet because he had been trying to figure this out, how this could have happend. Why they had done this.That was until one of them came up right in front of his face. Shallowpaw would meet Wildpaw's furious gaze and he stood still, unmoving as he stared right back at them. There he went again calling him for a rogue like he was not one of them just like the other apprentices had. Everyone else around them seemed to agree with Wildpaw's harsh words and they had all already decided he was guilty without even bothering to hear him out. Shallowpaw would slowly open his mouth but before he could confront anything of what Wildpaw just had said to him, Sunfreckle showed up ordering the other apprentices to leave the den which they obidently did.

Now it was just him, Wildpaw, Sunfreckle and Roepaw.

He said nothing as he cast a side glance at the warrior, and for a split second there was hope but it quickly got shatterd. "Shallowpaw, were you worried we wouldn't feed you?" In that moment his heart sank, and he came to realise that he was still an outsider to this cats. A rogue. That was all they thought of him to be. A rogue who was selfish enough to store away food for himself while the rest starved and here he had been trying so hard to change. No matter how hard he had been working since this cats had taken him in this was instantly the first thing they would think of him.

"I knew you weren't fit to be a warrior."

Harsh reality kicked in reminding him of what he really was in the eyes of everyone else here. Not even Sunfreckle thought better of him than this. There was a rift, a wall that he put himself between them and him. Shutting down as he shifted himself away from the other warrior, his gaze once more fell to his paws. Wildpaw was not the only cat who disliked him in this clan. That much he had known all along. Some wanted him to fail here at any cost. The apprentices who had been standing by his nest were just a couple more. They had botherd him before and now they had made him look like the bad guy by placing the preys under his nest to put the blame on him and they all believed them without a second thought. Of course they did. In their eyes rogues couldn't change. They were just like everyone else. Thunderclan didn't think differently of him than anybody else had done he had meet in the past. The same. Always the same. He wonderd...was Sunnyday gonna believe this apprentices too?.

Roepaw joined in, seeming to be the only one who somewhat had came into his defence. But it was already to late. Shallowpaw had already made up his mind. He had learned from the past that once someone thought he was bad there was nothing he could do to change their minds even if he told them the truth or not. So he wouldn't seeing no point. " I'm leaving." He said distantly and with this words he turned his back on them all as he started to make his way to the entrance to escape from there. Who really knew what his words actually meant with leaving but in that moment he wanted to be nowhere near anyone of them. He wanted to be alone.

Guilty. He was guilty even when he was innocent.





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Last edited:
  • Crying
Reactions: HaggisBeast

It was hard to tell what the young tom was thinking and he gave no indication otherwise but when Shallowpaw moved to leave after stating as much and the red tabby stands as if to follow after him, "Shallowpaw, wait-" but when his cries are ignored and the apprentice continues onward he does not persist.
Sunfreckle gives a deep sigh, letting him go but adding on, "If you ever want to talk....I'm here for you okay." Even if he wasn't sure the child would actually take him up on the offer. The adjustment to clan life was hard and these other apprentices giving him a hard time probably didn't help; but if he had any idea that they were going beyond mere words and actively sabotaging him he would have lost his temper then and there. However, Sunfreckle didn't know.
Naively he believed children to be loud and abrasive at times but this level of cruelty went beyond him. Still, he felt he should say something to them all later to mind themselves more appropriately. Starting with...
"Wildpaw. You will be a great warrior one day-" The tabby's eyes narrowed, green and sharp, "-if I don't tell Emberstar to keep you an apprentice until your fur turns gray..."

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"LITTLE HELLIONS, KIDS FEELIN' REBELLIOUS"​
Wildpaw's jaw pulled tight as he swung his gaze round towards Sunfreckle when the three-legged warrior stepped inside to instruct the other apprentices to clear out, leaving only Shallowpaw and himself, and Roepaw it seemed. His ears remained angled back as he scowled at the young she-cat with a deepening level of bitterness. Unlike them he wasn't some filthy former rogue, loner, or kittypet. He had had been born in the clan, his parents were from the Pine group. As far as he was concerned he was of mightier blood.

The tom didn't sit when instructed, nor did he bother to attempt to subdue the growl from echoing in his throat. He was still up in arms and determined to keep up the intimidation factor towards Shallowpaw. He was curious about the runt's reason for hoarding the food, but he wouldn't get a straight answer. The fiery youth looked surprised when the other apprentice announced that he was leaving and did just so. Wildpaw gawked for a moment before finally baring his teeth in frustration. "Just screams guilty." He huffed before snapping his attention towards Sunfreckle with a look of blatant challenge in his eyes. "Tell Emberstar if you want, but I'll make sure that she knows we have a prey thief in our ranks."
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