private There will always be sunshine ♫ Merlinpaw

[Bugpaw !]

*+:｡.｡ Bugpaw couldn't do a lot in these stressful times. On top of her promise, she was worked harder than ever -training under Skyclaw, prey shortage still not letting up, and the battle training Falconheart was pushing her to do left her quite weary and with her paws full. Still, Bugpaw was determined to do what she could for those around her, especially those with faces made grey and sour by the billowing rainclouds Skyclaw brought upon Thunderclan.

Merlinpaw would be her priority today. Recently apprenticed and soon traumatized, Bugpaw's heart went out to the poor girl who rarely seemed to find the respite needed to process everything that's happened...if that was even possible. Bugpaw had been thinking about the blue tortie all day and upon seeing her at the end of the day, she made an immediate beeline towards the secluded giant of a girl. "Merlinpaw, hi!" Bugpaw chirped, fluffy tail waving contentedly in the air, a flower standing tall and cheerful despite the roaring storm all around. "Can I spend time with you today, if you're not busy? We can go look under some rocks, or pick some flowers for our nests, if you want!"

*+:｡.｡ Updated 3/22/24

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ♫ Bugpaw
  ♫ DFAB— She/Her
  ♫ 6 moons — Ages
  ♫ Daughter to Flamewhisker and Flycatcher
  ♫ Sibling to Falconheart, Stormfeather, Lilykit, Butterflykit, Scorchedpaw, Squirrelpaw, Sunpaw
  ♫ Thunderclan — apprentice
  ♫ Apprenticed to Falconheart
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ♫Physically easy | mentally easy
  ♫ Attack in bold pink
  injuries: None currently

​

 

[MERLINPAW]

If Bugpaw were a beautiful floret of fluttering petals, then Merlinpaw surely must have been a crass weed upon the flank of the asphalt path. Swaying ungracefully to the rhythm of the winds, crafted of wire and hackle instead of sunshine and sallow, she stood as a terribly-erected beacon upon the others. That was her perception of herself, anyhow, as if she were never too small for one to fit in their palms. She tried to contain herself, but it always raged back in her face as it burst through the seams. The tortoiseshell sepia couldn't help but feel like she simply didn't belong amongst her peers, like a hangnail at the breadth of one's claw, jutting out sorely and conspicuously. Like an odd gosling out, she only haplessly wandered behind her peers that seemed to already excel in so much. They knew how to fight, how to hunt, how to navigate... Perhaps they had been born with skill already, and Starclan had merely averted watchful eye when it was her turn to be blessed. The young molly didn't know how Flamestar's daughter did it - staying so positive even when the threat of the tyrant towered over them, as if they stood beneath the underside of a great raptor's wing. Grave eyes, glowering as golden as an evening star, peeled down her back at every turn. It was only a matter of time before she were to be swooped away, tiltillating on the edge of normalcy and chaos.

Merlinpaw practically jumped at Bugpaw summoning for her, though she caught herself as though she almost teetered off of the tare's side of the scale, simply biding her time upon the ends of her balance. Unkempt coat fluffed up at the thought that one of Skyclaw's disciples came for her next, and she would have surely been made an example of. Dull gaze softened once she realized it was her friend, with that familiar calico coat like a saving grace upon the saltwater sea that she found little breaths between. At least... she considered Bugpaw her friend. The other apprentice acted so peppy and friendly to everyone, and Merlinpaw worried that it was merely her being nice instead of actually wanting to be her companion in particular. "No, I mean - yes! I-I was, uh, was gonna say... I don't m-mind, but, uh... Nevermind. Ignore me, I'm j-just, uh, ram-ramblin'. Yes. I wanna, um, hang out." Wide-eyed countenance harbored no ill intent nor despair, simply the fear-fraught nerves of a cornered creature, like a beast of weepy-eyed canthus and shivering spine. Her crown tilted to each side, as if watching for any curious shades that dared eavesdrop, lurking slight upon the marginalia. "But, um... Will S-Skyclaw be... angry? I-I don't want him to be... to be angry at, um, me." Triangular ears folded to the sides of her skull, as if the unending shame of her very existence fell upon the waysides of her cavity, seeping at her walls and leaving her feeling like she would never scrub herself clean of it.

( RETRO TO A LOT I JUST WANTED TO REPLY UWAA )​

 

[Bugpaw !]

*+:｡.｡ "Woah! Careful, sorry, did I scare you?" Bugpaw giggles, rushing a bit closer to catch Merlinpaw with her shoulder if the other blue tortoisehell needs the assist. She can't help but smile, mirth dancing warmly in her chest as her friend battles against the preconceived notions of her self-worth, stuttering through her sentence like a little bird doing its best to take flight. If Bugpaw were to break into Merlinpaw's mental botany comparisons, Bugpaw would thoroughly disagree! While weeds are lovelier than some cats may believe (Bugpaw has plenty of dandelions shoved into her fur somewhere) she'd always thought of Merlinpaw more as a little rosebud cocooned a little too deep within its family bush, waiting for the sunshine it was yet unaware it would find it unfurled its petals first. Bugpaw always found the buds that bloomed the latest to have some of the most vibrant colors...she wondered what Merlinpaw's would be. She hoped she'd be there to see her bloom when the day came.

In the meantime, Bugpaw smiles comfortingly. "Hooray!" she cheers, dancing around Merlinpaw with bouncing paws as the other girl uses an interesting amount of words to say 'yes'. When Merlinpaw expresses her concerns over - ew, Skyclaw - Bugpaw would halt in her tracks. "He won't be! He's too busy being gross with Redflower, 'sides, if looking under rocks is a crime then Skyclaw really is a clod!" she meows, winking playfully at her friend. Scooting closer to Merlingpaw, Bugpaw would gently nudge her towards the edge of the campgrounds, where all the coolest rocks remained untouched thanks to workaholic paws too busy on patrosl to notice the treasures lying in wait all around them. "but we'll stay in camp, and if Skyclod gets mad, ill tell him it was my idea - 'cus it is! And he'll say-" she changes the tone of her voice into a parody of Skyclaw's and continues, "Wow Bugpaw, that looks so fun! Can I look at bugs with you an awesome, cool, amazing Merlinpaw? - and I'll say -" she lifts her head high, puffs out her chest, and announces, "' No you can't because you're a JERK!' and then he'll go-" she adjusts her voice accordingly while adding a teary sniffle to the dialogue, "I'm sorry, you're right, I am such a clod! and then he'll leave us alone!"

Bugpaw glances at Merlinpaw, finishing her reenactment with a proud smile. Although, no performer's work is truly done without a smile from the audience...

*+:｡.｡ Updated 3/22/24

• //AUUUUUUUUUUGH TEMPEST!!! YOUR WRITING MAKES ME FEEL LIKE IM LOOKING AT A BEAUTIFUL MUSEUM PAINTING !!!!
  
  
• 
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ♫ Bugpaw
  ♫ DFAB— She/Her
  ♫ 6 moons — Ages
  ♫ Daughter to Flamewhisker and Flycatcher
  ♫ Sibling to Falconheart, Stormfeather, Lilykit, Butterflykit, Scorchedpaw, Squirrelpaw, Sunpaw
  ♫ Thunderclan — apprentice
  ♫ Apprenticed to Falconheart
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ♫Physically easy | mentally easy
  ♫ Attack in bold pink
  injuries: None currently

​

 

[MERLINPAW]

"Mm, n-no! You, uh, you didn't scare me... Not at all..." Merlinpaw shook her head side to side in a somewhat-exaggerated motion, jitters like another beating heart that lie within her, tensed and poised right next to the first organ. The blue tortoiseshell sepia had been terrified of cats somehow misinterpreting her - as her demure demeanor and her propensity for never looking one in the eyes often made her peers think she intended to ignore them and brush them aside. So, she made sure to emphasize each emotion she felt, communicate it in the proper way, though even the proper ways confused her at times. She had been a little spooked, though the knot of potentially waning Bugpaw's opinion of her grew only stronger in her gut, a tremulous creature within her that dictated that she only preserve the self. Of course, preserving one's opinions of her was much the same as doing so to the self. It was better not to make enemies, she reasoned internally. At least the calico apprentice didn't seem to mind the stutters that Merlinpaw had to choke out of her windpipe, as if more words squirmed as worms in her throat, as if she had digested too much thought to ever be coherently translated through her peach-fuzz maw. Speaking had always seemed a challenge for her, and it was but another insecurity that drove a dagger through her satin-furred body, as her peers seemed to be much more silver-tongued and sharp-witted than she. Many could even wonder how she had descended from her flippant poet of a father.

"A-A clod... Um, yeah! He's - He's cloddy!" Is that even a word? Now you're just making words up. That's like, what a kitten would do! Dull golden eyes turned towards the treasure trove of rocks, as though the ditherings of hurried pawsteps and hushed voices had carved out an enclave for the two apprentices, a sullen sanctuary that stood furtive amongst the racket of Skyclaw's Thunderclan. She had never been the bug-hunter type, never one to watch elytra and exoskeleton shimmer bands of light beneath her, never one to marvel at the difference of worlds that she presided over. It could be fun... I hope. "Hee hee. Uh, I dunno if, um, Sky - Skyclaw would ever, mm, call me cool... and awesome... B-But that really does sound - sound like him! Lemme, um, lemme try next." Merlinpaw's face lit up with a close-lipped smile. "Mm... My name is Sky - Skyclaw, but everyone, um, calls me Sky... Skyfraud! I'm a big ol, um, big ol jerk! 'C-Cause I killed Howlingstar... and, I smell!" She attempted her best Skyclaw impression, of which sounded nothing like the tortoiseshell chimera, since she had been far too scared to even step foot in his vicinity. "Yours was much, much better, I th-think." Merlinpaw bowed her head in respect, like she mimicked some aloof warrior...

( AW SHUCKS ANTII HEHE I LOVE YOUR WRITING SM TOO )​