pafp The Raven is a Wicked Bird - Telling Stories

HOUNDTHISTLE

HOUNDTHISTLE

JUST LET IT DIE
Jan 6, 2023
136
21
18

"BECAUSE COWBOY DAN'S A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE COWBOY SCENE"​
C_Angelkisses.gif
//this is set after the skirmish so any injuries are gonna be vague aside from his plotted ones.
The wind howled outside the medicine den, Houndthistle's large shape outlined in the shadows as he laid near the entrance, watching the way the grass whipped over the lip of camp, waving like angry tails over the horizon, ready to pounce into camp. Between his large paws sat a small little tortie shape. His left eye was heavily bandaged, leaving the single smoldering ember in his eye to glance tiredly down at the child between his paws, gruff voice humorous as he hummed in response to her pleads for a story. "A story, huh? Yeah... yeah I got stories... but are ya brave 'nough to handle 'em?" He teased, gruff accented voice playful. A wince as he adjusted his weight, checking to see if anyone else would like to listen in to his stories as he settled himself in to get ready.

"I'll tell ya the story 'bout ol' Thorn Claws," He began, lips quirking slightly in a smile, "Thorn Claws was a rogue I once met when I was a li'l whelp, a bit older then ya are now, and he was a nasty tom, that Thorn Claws. He only ever showed up when I was doin' somethin' I knew I shouldn' and he'd take one of his claws, waving it in the air," He paused, lifting one of his own paws, unsheathing a claw and mimicking the motion as he told the story, "An' go 'no, no. Don' ya daaare.' But I was a kid... what'd he know, right?" He shrugged, adding onto the story with his motions to sell it, even throwing in a roll of his eyes-well, eye-for flare, "So I'd keep doin' what I wanted. Eventually, I got curious. I follow't Thorn Claws after he came one day, curious 'bout him. An' can ya guess what I saw 'im do?" He said with a curious tilt, wry smile on his lips.

"speech"
OOC CURRENT STATS INTERACTION RULES
  • @SCORCHKIT
  • Physical Health
    Who Knows atm
    ⤷ left eye is blinded, deep bite wound and claw marks in chest, stomach, and shoulders.
    Mental Health
    98%

  • Single | Bicurious | Not actively looking | Interested in none currently

    Houndthistle is both an easy one to gain the trust of and impossible to gain the trust of. He'll rarely reveal personal information or be vulnerable-if he's even capable of such things-but he will show trust in his willingness to lay his life down. To gain it, he needs evidence that you're loyal and strong, same as him, otherwise he understands he may one day have to come head to head with you.

    — will start fights / will not flee / will not show mercy
    — excels at Fighting, Tracking, Following Orders, Intimidation
    — poor at climbing, swimming, stealth, talking, strategy, politics
    — sounds like: deep, gravelled and thick with a sort of country accent / Arthur Morgan
    — smells of iron, leather, and wood
    — speech is #435E75

​
 
TAGS — "I'm brave!" Scorchkit asserts, gaze burning passionate as she peers into his. She does not realize what the bandage covers; she only smells the copper and sees that he is different from her, but she doesn't know why. She doesn't think to ask, though-- the kitten's mind is overrun with the grand tales that might spill from the rock-hewn tom's muzzle, long fangs glinting beneath each syllable. She rests between his paws, the size of which she has barely outgrown herself. Her begging has seemed to have no effect, and so she pours her pleading into her bi-colored eyes, eager pout sitting deep on soft lips. When Houndthistle shifts his weight, she thinks she might have lost her chance. But, thank StarClan, he dives in to a tale just for her.

I'll tell ya the story 'bout ol' Thorn Claws. Scorchkit quiets, staring intensely up at the rugged warrior, oversized ears twitching as she listens. When Houndthistle imitates his bogeyman, the child feels anxiety and excitement in equal parts push up through her throat and split her muzzle into an anticipatory grin. She tries to imagine herself in Houndthistle's position, doing something against her parents' wishes-- it's hard to imagine herself in that spot, admittedly, but it's sort of fun, too. Would Scorchstreak loom a claw over her if she were to venture outside of the gorse camp walls? Would Badgermoon drawl at her if she were to step into one of the tunnels in camp? The wind howls outside. Scorchkit listens in again.

It's then that Houndthistle asks her to guess. The girl squints, amber and yellow gaze falling to where the floor met the warrior's unkempt fur, deep in thought. The single claw glints in her mind's eye. "He, um...." She takes a moment, trying to think of something the old cat might threaten, "he... no, wait. He caught a mouse. But he didn't eat it!" That seemed like a pretty big deal, right? When Scorchstreak was finally weaning her siblings and herself, she'd get reprimanded for not finishing her food. Maybe Thorn Claws committed the same crime? With only her life experience to draw from, Scorchkit looks up expectantly, eager to find out whether she was right or not.​
​
 

"BECAUSE COWBOY DAN'S A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE COWBOY SCENE"​
C_Angelkisses.gif
He smiled, chuckling at her guess, the sound raspy in his throat-still sore from the growls and snarls and hissing of the skirmish-as his amber eye glinted mischieviously. Of course, he knew she was small and he also knew Badgermoon and Scorchstreak would skin him worse then that Shadowclanner had tried if he really scared her, but having a bit of fear as a kid was sometimes fun. Gave more excitement to the shadows in the dead of night, things to keep you on your toes. In fact, he remembers telling this exact story to Su-Fox when he was about Scorchkit's age, wide eyed and excited, in an attempt to make sure he stayed where Houndthistle told him to. "I watched as he snuck back to me and my pa's nests, creeeepin' long the shadows... and when he got there... he pulled his claws off!" Houndthistle said with excitement, eye widening for emphasis as he mocked fear, fighting his smile, "Thorn Claws then turn't 'round, look't me in my eyes, and dropped those claws into my nest! He then said, 'I'll dig my claws into ya fer actin' so bad, an' if ya don' act right for ya pa, I'll leave my teeth next and bite ya while ya sleep!'" His lifted both paws, claws unsheathing to show how terrifying this imaginary Thorn Claws was, adding a playful gnash of his teeth to the word bite. He then placed his paws down, one giving a comforting pat to Scorchkit's back if she got too scared, and looked solemn. "I ain' never acted up again! I listen'd to my pa, and I never found thorns-or claws in my nest again," He wrapped that story up, ears perking to see her reaction.

"speech"
OOC CURRENT STATS INTERACTION RULES
  • text
  • Physical Health
    Who Knows atm
    ⤷ left eye is blinded, deep bite wound and claw marks in chest, stomach, and shoulders.
    Mental Health
    98%

  • Single | Bicurious | Not actively looking | Interested in none currently

    Houndthistle is both an easy one to gain the trust of and impossible to gain the trust of. He'll rarely reveal personal information or be vulnerable-if he's even capable of such things-but he will show trust in his willingness to lay his life down. To gain it, he needs evidence that you're loyal and strong, same as him, otherwise he understands he may one day have to come head to head with you.

    — will start fights / will not flee / will not show mercy
    — excels at Fighting, Tracking, Following Orders, Intimidation
    — poor at climbing, swimming, stealth, talking, strategy, politics
    — sounds like: deep, gravelled and thick with a sort of country accent / Arthur Morgan
    — smells of iron, leather, and wood
    — speech is #435E75

​
 
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☽༺♰༻☾​
a story, although a small distance away hollykit listened with pricked ears. however, her distance was making it significantly harder to hear all the details. something about a thorn claws fellow. scorchkit seems completely entranced by the story, it prompts her to edge closer and closer.

she didn't look, not until it reached it's climax at least. when houndthistle revealed that thorn claws took his claws off her head swung around, jaw hanging slack at the revelation. crazy, it sounded completely insane. who would willingly remove their own claws? hollykit remembers the first time her own had been snagged. she thought the pain alone would kill her. a verdant gaze narrows suspiciously, this seemed too weird to be true. "are you lying?" hollykit's face scrunched as she craned her neck in an attempt to meet the eyes of the injured warrior. despite her air of scrutiny, a small part believed his tale. prompted her to follow with questions. "how'd he do that? did he teach you?"
​
 
❪ TAGS ❫ — It felt like he was living in purgatory. Not quite healed, but not gravely injured, either. Snakepaw felt sometimes as if he could get right to his paws and dash out of the den, but every time he even tried getting to his paws, his bite wound would flare up in pain. Curse StarClan for this; why would they have put him on the fox's path? Now he couldn't train and he was falling behind his peers!

To make matters worse, he was sharing a den with Houndthistle, that big stinking brute. Snakepaw had never liked him; heavily scarred in appearance, an outsider from beyond the moorlands (as his parents had informed him). They hadn't trusted him so, naturally, Snakepaw wouldn't either. The apprentice supposed that Houndthistle hadn't really done anything wrong thus far, but he still had his reservations about the tom.

The chatter having roused Snakepaw from his slumber, he mumbled something incoherent under his breath and turned in his nest, seeing out of the corner of his eyes a group of kits listening to Houndthistle tell some ridiculous story. Reptilian-like eyes narrow into slits as he recognizes one of the little brats to be Scorchstreak's spawn. The splash of orange across her left cheek, as well as the amalgamation of white and black and red hues across her form, was a dead giveaway.

Badgermoon's kits... Badgermoon's kits. The deputy hadn't even told anyone, had kept it a secret from everyone, and now the clan was supposed to accept the situation like nothing had happened! A wave of bitterness engulfed him, and all of a sudden, it was not so much about the hidden pregnancy anymore. No, it was about Badgermoon having a family of his own and having his attention stolen away. First Sootstar and now Badgermoon. Snakepaw would have to bust his behind twice as hard trying to prove himself worthy of WindClan's attention! He may have not been a superior rank's son, but his family had long dwelled in the moors for far longer than most WindClanners. Snakepaw can and would bring honor to his bloodline for their sake, if not for his own.

The obsidian-colored tom had subconsciously unsheathed his claws and kneaded them into his bedding, tension wracking his neck and shoulders as he looked on from the background.​
 

Battling the winds that swept through camp is no easy feat, and it's gotten to the point that it's more trouble than it's worth today; any time he tries to do anything more than root himself to the ground, Luckykit finds his paws swept out from underneath him. It's not quite disappointment that wells within him at the prospect of returning to the nursery to wait out the violent gusts - after all, there would be no fighting for every step within the familiar walls, but there is a sort of loneliness about the place without the rest of his siblings around. He's hardly made any headway by the time he notices Houndthistle's looming figure resting in the entranceway of the medicine cat's den, Scorchkit nestled between his paws and Hollykit edging closer. A moment passes before he alters his course, curiosity far outweighing his desire to go and sit alone in the nursery until the wind calms down. Like Hollykit, Luckykit isn't there in time to catch the very beginning of the story, but he listens intently anyway, piecing together the details well enough to be affected by the ending.

"You can't just take your claws off! What is anyone supposed to do without any claws?" he chimes in, eyes wide. Claws were important for hunting, for fighting, for digging into the earth so you don't blow away... The idea has Luckykit reflexively glancing down at his own paws, as though his claws might fall out of their own volition. Worse still, Thorn Claws said that he could still claw and bite Houndthistle even after leaving his claws and teeth behind. Never has he heard of something like that happening, and the thought of finding teeth and claws in his own nest sends a shiver down the tortoiseshell's spine. What if Thorn Claws was still around? A glance is sent towards the nursery, as if Luckykit might find the rogue already laying his next trap, and he knows that he'll be checking for claws and teeth before bed from now on. Someone like Thorn Claws might be able to sneak into camp unnoticed, and he didn't want to find out the hard way that the rogue had paid either him or his siblings a visit.​
[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​
 

"BECAUSE COWBOY DAN'S A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE COWBOY SCENE"​
C_Angelkisses.gif
He gathers a few others to his story, a few kits and, from the grumble behind him, a whelp also-though more forced to listen-that made it all the better to tell his stories from his own youth. At Hollykit's accusation of lying, Houndthistle's eye widens, lifting a paw in mock offense, covering the blistering red wound that hid behind cobwebs and thick, bristly fur, but he didn't verbally defend himself. Instead, he tilts his head in thought to her question, humming, before shrugging. "Stars, no he ain' ever taught me. Once I realized he was the one puttin' thorns in my nest, I stopped actin' up. Ain' seen him since, though my pa always denied there ever was such a fellow. Perhaps jus' a lone spirit sent t'make sure kits stayed good," He meowed, voice wistful, dripping with that sort of elder-like wisdom. He smiles again, chuckling.

The cry of Scorchkit's brother makes Houndthistle's ears perk, head turning to look at the small tortie, and he smiles slyly. "Yer right, but I tell ya what, Thorn Claws always grew his back! Everytime I saw him 'fore that day, he had claws. I ain' never known a cat who could take his claws off an' still go on to fight, but... maybe Thorn Claws was more then just a cat," He says, adding an edge of spook to his tone, ears perking as his eye flicked between the three children.

He rolls his neck, a loud pop resounding from the stiff muscles, before he hums, "Would y'all like to hear another one?" His ear flicks back to Snakepaw, curious if the other wished to listen or not, but most of his focus being on the young kits. "I have some ol' stories from when I was 'bout y'all's age that my mama always used to tell me to help me sleep," He offers, something kind of softer to lighten the mood from Thorn Claws. Perhaps, though, they'd find his more spooky stories interesting... perhaps he could throw in one that's a bit more... real.

"speech"
OOC CURRENT STATS INTERACTION RULES
  • text
  • Physical Health
    Who Knows atm
    ⤷ left eye is blinded, deep bite wound and claw marks in chest, stomach, and shoulders.
    Mental Health
    98%

  • Single | Bicurious | Not actively looking | Interested in none currently

    Houndthistle is both an easy one to gain the trust of and impossible to gain the trust of. He'll rarely reveal personal information or be vulnerable-if he's even capable of such things-but he will show trust in his willingness to lay his life down. To gain it, he needs evidence that you're loyal and strong, same as him, otherwise he understands he may one day have to come head to head with you.

    — will start fights / will not flee / will not show mercy
    — excels at Fighting, Tracking, Following Orders, Intimidation
    — poor at climbing, swimming, stealth, talking, strategy, politics
    — sounds like: deep, gravelled and thick with a sort of country accent / Arthur Morgan
    — smells of iron, leather, and wood
    — speech is #435E75

​
 
Tracking down her kits is an ordeal that Scorchstreak surprisingly doesn’t mind. She adores them all, even when they’re out of her sight and she worries for their safety. The strong winds outside worry her especially—what if one of her kits gets tossed around when no one is watching them? So she’s taken to trailing after them where they go, though she does make an effort not to hover.

She has to stifle a gasp when she steps into Vulturemask’s den—a place she wouldn’t be caught dead in otherwise, but a helpful warrior had pointed her in this direction—and spots a few young cats gathered around a tall, broad form. She may not be familiar with each cat in the clan, but she recognizes Houndthistle quickly. He looks like hell, covered in wounds, but the worst has to be the state of his eye. The calico hisses under her breath at the sight, but is otherwise silent as she takes her seat behind the younger cats.

She smiles warmly at the tom as he finishes the story of Thorn Claws, implying that the claw-laying cat only paid his visits to misbehaving kits. To some, perhaps it’s too frightening a story for kits, but she appreciates it. She could use all the help she can get to keep her quartet in line. Luckilykit, for one, seems concerned about the threat of Thorn Claws, and she wishes to soothe him. But her kits will be apprentices soon enough, and babying them will do them more harm than good at this point.
​
[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]​
​
 
TAGS — Unlike the other kittens, Scorchkit reacts not with disbelief, but by obeying the thrall of Houndthistle's tale. She leans forward not-so-imperceptibly, her wide gaze fixed on his rugged, cobweb-masked face. "He took his claws off...?" she echoes, but her tone is laced with the kind of earnest curiosity that only a naive kitten could have. She couldn't pop her claws off, but... well, who was to say some other cat couldn't? A current of anxious thrill dances through her stomach as Houndthistle playfully raises his own set of claws above her, wrapping up his story with the lesson he must have learned when he was her age. It's hard to imagine the looming warrior as ever being as small as a kitten. He pats her back to dispel whatever lingered to harrow her, and she considers the moral quietly.

Meanwhile, other kits pitch questions around her. They tell Houndthistle he's lying, her brother's voice among them, but Scorchkit has no trouble letting her imagination take care of suspending her disbelief. She flicks her gaze around them, trying to figure out if she should be the odd one out or not. Her spine still prickles with the idea of Thorn Claws looming over her own nest, popping his claws off to threaten her in the night. Snakepaw seemed scared, too, his claws kneading into his bed (she knew not of his thoughts beneath the surface). She presses her shoulder into Luckykit's, looking for comfort despite not quite agreeing with him. He poses a good question, though, she can concede.... After all, how could a cat without his claws hunt?

But Houndthistle paints an image of some wraith, able to grow back his claws and his teeth, able to keep an eye on misbehaving kits, able to walk the earth without other cats even knowing. "Like StarClan?" she queries. Those are the only ghosts she's heard of-- but StarClan was good, wasn't it? They wouldn't scare kittens, would they? But then, if they're scaring kittens into behaving... the morality of it all twists in her mind like brambles. When her mother enters the den, the girl perks her attention to her and pitches her question again: "Mom, is Thorn Claws from StarClan?"

And yet that thread of curiosity is soon dropped as Houndthistle offers a new morsel. She nods, wordless, her tail held high and swaying back and forth to betray her quiet happiness.​
​
 

As their questions are answered, Luckykit only grows more concerned at the idea of this Thorn Claws - some sort of spirit that was more than just a regular cat? Even more reason to think that he could sneak his way into WindClan territory without anyone knowing! Admittedly, he doesn't know much about spirits and the like, his mind failing to conjure up any idea of what a cat that was more than just a cat might look like, but he can imagine the big claws Thorn Claws must sport as clear as day. The idea that he could grow his claws back just like that is almost too much, and yet Houndthistle seems genuine in his recollection of the tale; besides, if Thorn Claws was a spirit or something, then maybe taking his claws off like that isn't quite so outlandish as it initially sounded. As Scorchkit presses up against his side, Luckykit jumps slightly, as if expecting a spirit to materialize right there in Vulturemask's den, though the moment he realizes it's only his sister, the boy leans back into Scorchkit, embarrassment momentarily forgotten in favor of the story before them.

"You really haven't seen him again? Not anywhere around here?" he voices, wanting that extra bit of confirmation, though he supposes that just because Houndthistle hasn't seen Thorn Claws, that doesn't mean that somebody else hasn't seen him instead - but, surely that would be news by now, right? Somebody would have mentioned the spirit going around taking his claws off and threatening misbehaving kits. As if right on cue, Scorchstreak enters, and in that moment, Luckykit vows silently to himself that he'll never misbehave again, even when he's all grown up. Not just that, but he'll make sure the other kits don't misbehave, either; after all, they all share space together in the nursery, and he didn't want to take any chances that Thorn Claws might choose the wrong nest to leave a warning in. Before long, Scorchkit poses another interesting question - is Thorn Claws from StarClan? It'd certainly explain his ability to sneak around and be able to take his claws off, but Luckykit had never heard of any StarClan warrior sneaking around leaving thorns in kits' nests. Either way, the idea of more stories recaptures his focus along with Scorchkit's - he'd rather know to worry about things like Thorn Claws than have to worry about all the possibilities out there, after all. "Yes please," he quietly chirps in response, settling in for the next story.​

[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​
 
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