THE RUNNING NEVER HELPS - RTA, tantrum over apprenticeship

[STORMWHISKER]

Storm had never understood these cats, could not, no matter how hard he tried, bring it in himself to fit in. They all went by such weird names, they all did such weird things. This was not his home, he had somehow managed to convince himself of that. Brook would be bringing him back to his real home any day now. Surely the things she had told him about their family couldn't be true? Not really right? She would bring him back to their mother and father and she would see - his parents loved him, they would never give him away to a group of rogues, to an early grave.

After his apprentice ceremony, he had slunk away as fast as possible. He didn't want to be Stormpaw, didn't want Brook to be Rainwhisker, didn't want to be here. The blue-furred tom digs his claws into his nest and rips, tearing it to shreds with a guttural scream. "I want to go home!" he cries out, tears born of frustration stinging his eyes as whatever is left of his nest scatters on the ground of the apprentice den.
​

 

[apricotflower]

Apricotflower jumps - quite literally, her paws landing a mouse-length back from where she had been, and she stares, dumbfounded, at the piece of moss that's just come flying out of the apprentices' den. Oh dear. She recognises the voice, the anguish belonging to the newly-named Stormpaw, and her heart sinks. Ears droop as she takes a step closer, peering around the entrance of the den to spot the upset 'paw hunched over the remnants of his nest.

"Stormpaw?" She calls gently, remaining on the outside of the den to afford him some semblance of privacy during his rampant feelings. "Are you okay in there?" Ordinarily an apprenticeship would be cause for celebration, not ... this. Had something else gone wrong?​

ooc ✧ info ✧

•  
• ✦ apricotflower, warrior of riverclan
  — no apprentice.
  ✦ 24 moons, she/her
  ✦ fluffy white and ginger cat with gold eyes. big scar on her left shoulder, little scars on her paws.
  ✦ bi, single. @ on discord for plots.
  ✦ "speech" — thoughts

​

 

[SMOKESTAR]

Apricotflower was much more equipped to deal with emotions than he was. He barely had a grasp of his own and certainly wasn't sure enough in his ability to keep his words unsharpened to offer much comfort; so the sound of the despaired cry of homesickness from the apprentice den is met with hesitation on his part. He knows he ought to do something, but it takes seeing the soft and sunset-colored she-cat move first that finally kicks him into motion. Smokethroat steps up along behind her, ears flat and offering her a brief glance before leaning around to peek inside the den. Stormpaw had come from a rocky place, brought along with Brook-now Rainwhisker and was almost certainly suffering from the sudden change in culture and customs that most newcomers struggled with. The clans were still new, but they were different, strange and often times they appeared nonsensical to cats who didn't understand or had seen what caused their birth.
The dark warrior gave a quiet sigh, the adjustment to a new name had not been a struggle for he who had no attachement to his but it never occurred to him that such change might be upsetting.
"Care for a walk with us, Stormpaw?" Maybe some air outside the camp would do the kid some good.

​

 

[FERNGILL]

He was just minding his own business, he swore it- not doing anything to wind anyone up except for simply existing! So why was someone- Stormpaw, iet was, he realised after a moment- screeching like this, as if his tail had been lit on fire? Fernpaw barely managed to suppress a yelp at the sound of it, that moss-tearing sound not-at-all-pleasant to the ears, the messiness sprawling across the ground and leaving the place a tip.

With bulging eyes and minuscule stature, Fernpaw was anything but intimidating when he was angry- but his frustration was clear upon his face as he set his oversized gaze upon Stormpaw, flinging a piece of his nest that had scattered too-close back at the fellow apprentice's head. "Watch it, you'll wreck my stuff too!" That single piece, it had come so close to knocking into his hoard- if someone's carelessness toppled his collection out-of-order, he'd never forgive them!​

( penned by pin )​

 

[DARKWHISKER]

darkpaw had been eagerly telling fernpaw of the minnow he'd caught earlier, when it happens. stormpaw storms into the den, pun intended (heh), and begins to shred his nest into pieces. "woah!" the dark-furred apprentice yelps in surprise, his typical dopey expression now one of shock and concern as he watches the display of rage at his brother's side. darkpaw couldn't understand what had caused this; today had been stormpaw's official apprentice ceremony, right? the other tom should be celebrating, not doing... whatever this is.

stormpaw screams that he wants to go home, and darkpaw's confusion grows. go home? isn't riverclan his home now? sure, he wasn't born here like darkpaw was, but it's where his family lives! "wow, okay... but, this is your home! and riverclan's a pretty cool place to call home." with an awkward laugh, he nudges his special pebble towards stormpaw with a smile. "here, you can hold my pebble- it's magic!" surely that would cheer stormpaw up; it always cheers him up.

smokethroat comes in to ask stormpaw if he wants to go on a walk with them. darkpaw assumes that the us that smokethroat's referring to is him, fernpaw, and apricotflower. so darkpaw nods, already getting to his paws in preparation for the walk. "yeah! c'mon, we could even play water tag while we're out."​

 

[STORMWHISKER]

The voice that calls out to him, asking him if he’s alright is gentle, sweet almost. It reminds him of his mother. It is enough to make him pause in his destruction. He wants to curl up into a ball and sob, wail, mourn all he has lost. He is only a child after all, a child who misses his mother. Smokethroat calls out next invites him for a walk. He wants to refuse, to tell him to go fall off the gorge. But he purses his lips close his eyes and takes a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady himself. Maybe a walk would be good. He could calm down then ask Brook - Rain now - to take him home.

For a moment, he wants to be selfish, mean, he wants to destroy the things that Fernpaw is so jealously hoarding, teach him a lesson about loss. Maybe if someone else is feeling to stinging pain of mourning like he was it would not be so bad. Storm would not be alone in his misery, but no- he knows it’ll just make him feel worse and so all he does is shake his head miserably. "I had no intentions of touching your crap" he grumbles, though not unkindly as he pushes past the red furred bug eyed tom so that he could join Smokethroat on his proposed walk only to be stopped by Fernpaws brother.

Darkpaw says this is his home and all Stormpaw can do is shake his head sadly. He did not argue though, to his den-mate this was home, but not for him, not yet at least. His next gesture is one that completely shocks him though. His pebble… Stormpaw had seen Darkpaw with this thing, he knew it was special to him and for a moment the tears threaten to engulf him again, though he stubbornly wipes them away with the back of his paw. That was perhaps the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him.

"Id really like that…" he says in regards to the apprentices proposition of playing water tag. Maybe staying here wouldn’t be so bad after all, maybe. ​

 

[apricotflower]

Apricotflower breathes in when the ruckus stops, ears pricked to listen for Stormpaw's response, but instead she's greeted by Fernpaw's complaint and Darkpaw's reassurances towards their denmate. The fur on the back of her neck settles, snowstorm of her thoughts whirling slightly slower now that she has backup ... and it's nice to know that Smokethroat is with them too, to offer his own gruff support. She gives a resolute nod, mostly to herself and a little towards Smokethroat, when the apprentices seem to latch onto his idea of a walk. Good idea. It'd get them all out of their own heads.

"You mind if us oldies join in with water tag? I reckon we have a few secret tricks in our pelts somewhere." She asks, dropping one eyelid in a conspiratorial wink. If not, they'd just supervise - it'd do the apprentices some good to get their energy out.​

ooc ✧ info ✧

•  
• ✦ apricotflower, warrior of riverclan
  — no apprentice.
  ✦ 24 moons, she/her
  ✦ fluffy white and ginger cat with gold eyes. big scar on her left shoulder, little scars on her paws.
  ✦ bi, single. @ on discord for plots.
  ✦ "speech" — thoughts

​