camp THRASH UNREAL + intro

[FISHFACE]

There is a particular spot down towards the stepping stones that Fishface visits each time he needs a quick drink, where less reeds jut out from the river. Going there isolated him from the going-ons in the centre of camp, while granting him the opportunity to make smalltalk with the odd passerby. It made for a moment of brief reprieve from clan life and allowed him to focus on nature, peace, and quiet.

But, an unfortunate reality for the tom is that water inevitably makes its way inside his nostrils whenever he lapped it up. This caused him to involuntarily snort, sometimes gag, and it made for an all-around awkward sight to see. As unpleasant as the issue is for him, Fishface has grown used to it as he has a long and lanky head, which wasn't going to change anytime soon.

The grey tabby found himself in the same place today, facing the same situation. He crouched down along the rim of the riverbank, his neck craning low to the water's surface from his gaunt shoulders. Warily, he laps up the liquid into his maw, and the tension in his bones gradually declines as he begins to relax. With tranquillity taking hold of him, he shuts his eyes, and a low purr resonates from within him.

And just then, as expected, something enters his nose. Fishface quickly lurches his head back and sneezes something awful. The tickling sensation remains within his snout even afterwards - and it felt as though there was something solid in there. His eyes shoot wide open and he promptly sees the culprit, which happens to be a lone blade of eelgrass hanging out from his nose-hole.

Panic overtakes him, for he isn't too fond of having aquatic plants inside his body, and he raises up onto his back feet whilst his front paws bat mercilessly at the blade. He ultimately falls onto his back, where he wriggles around and rolls into the river in his efforts to get rid of the plant. All in the span of a couple of seconds, no less.

Fishface is a sopping mess when he does return to shore. He shakes himself dry to the best of his ability, causing his floppy ears to flap around wildly.

"Typical, honestly," he scoffs in disappointment, the piece of grass yet hanging from his snout.​

 

[FERNGILL]

What an almighty splash- he'd have to have been deaf not to hear the noise, that thrashing! Was someone fighting a big fish again? He'd heard that Steeppaw had almost caught something massive, and Lilybloom had, those talented sisters of his- maybe, just maybe, if he caught a sight of this battle then he would learn how to do it! A rush overtook his tiny form, and the ugly tom of pale flame skittered toward the noise, nearly tripping over his overgrown paws on the way over. Where, where was the sound-

From the depths rose a long, thin face, silver striped with batlike ears. It took a moment for him to recognise the figure, sopping scrag- Fishface, leapt from the water like his namesake! Verdant, something stood out against the silver of his face- and it hung there, a pendulum swinging slightly. "Uh, you got some, uh- like, snot or something there..." A clumsy paw moved to motion toward the area where the thing hung from, Fernpaw not for a moment pondering the idea that Fishface could likely feel the huge thing sticking out of his face.​

( penned by pin )​

 

[LAGOONPADDLE]

Ugh. Fishface.

The tom couldn't even drink water correctly, and still was deemed a warrior of RiverClan. While Lagoonpaw... Lagoonpaw was still an apprentice. Unfair. It didn't matter that he was twice her age - how could someone who couldn't drink from the river that gave the clan their name be a warrior? Surely he needed more training, if Lagoonpaw was still stuck as an apprentice? Surely she'd known enough by now to get a proper name?

The calico feline watches the scene before her, of Fishface's wariness towards drinking water. All was going well at first, until... Until it wasn't. Until the older warrior snorts up grass, the blade sticking out of his long snout. It's amusing, watching him try to get the plant out of his nose, watching him splash around. A warrior of RiverClan, indeed.

He clambers out of the river, failing to remove the grass blade. The apprentice smirks at the sight.

"Have a nice swim?" she asks, stifling a laugh.
​

 

[TIGERHEAT]

What a clumsy oaf. It is humorous to see the other end up with eelgrass up inside of his nose. Really it is funny to see any of the others blundering mistakes. After all he thinks they are mostly mindless followers anyway. Still there is a half quirked smile upon his muzzle as he witnesses the splashing about contributing to the tom's now waterlogged form. How unsightly. His muzzle curls just slightly but not because of the wetness but because doing all of that Fishface still let the plant get the better it him and as far as the mammoth of a feline is concerned the plant won. As he steps up alongside Lagoonpaw he can't help the laugh that rumbles from his chest. "I see a plant has bested you. Seems like you need a little bit more training."​

 

[FISHFACE]

To little surprise, his commotion has attracted the attention of his peers. What surprises Fishface even less is the teasing which came after the fact. He understands all too well how easy a target he is - he's tall, lanky, and totally awkward because of it. But just like water getting caught inside his nose, it's something that the tom has grown accustomed to. And as far as he's concerned, he provides for and takes care of the clan to the level expected of him, and thus their banter didn't bother him to a great extent. By and large, this was far from the most embarrassing thing that has happened to him.

All that he can really offer Fernpaw, Lagoonpaw, and Tigerheat is a ditzy grin. They merely saw the aftermath of an extraordinary accident and not what initially led up to it. "You saw nothing," quips Fishface, shaking himself dry yet again.

As much as he would love to ignore it, the itching sensation in his snout became more intolerable by the second. Plus, he couldn't walk around camp with a reed sticking out of his sniffer, now could he? The warrior glances in Fernpaw's trajectory, the ginger apprentice being the only one nearby to demonstrate some sort of sympathy for his woes. "I'm... unable to remove it, I think," he says. He doesn't dare ask them for any assistance; StarClan knows that he would never hear the end of it.

// someone must yank it from his skull ​

 

[LAGOONPADDLE]

His adamancy that the trio saw nothing - despite the fact they totally did - is enough for Lagoonpaw to finally let out a laugh.

"Ha! You wish!" the older apprentice shoots back.

No matter how much Fishface shakes himself dry - it seems, as Lagoonpaw stands by - the reed still remains lodged in the warrior's nose. She doesn't dare point it out - part of her hopes he'd walk back to camp with that silly little stalk sticking out of his nose - but Fishface is quick to catch on to its continued presence, an implication he'll need help following.

Lagoonpaw scrunches up her own nose at that. "Gross. No." The apprentice steps back, but then has a realization:

What if denying to help Fishface holds her back from being a warrior for even longer?

A sigh escapes her mouth. StarClan owes her one for this.

The calico steps toward the warrior, inspecting the reed, before grabbing the very end of it between her teeth. She gives it a small tug, hoping that would be enough, that she can rid herself of this task as soon as possible and let someone else deal with it.
​

 

[FISHFACE]

Fishface's pointed head swivels to Lagoonpaw when she advances towards him. An apprehensive appearance washes over him, considering the apprentice's initial reluctance to help out, but he concedes and warily lowers his noggin to make the deed easier. He wished for nothing more than to have the blasted thing dislodged already, so that he may go about his day and act as if this had never transpired in the first place. His gaze attaches to Lagoonpaw's as she clamps down on the plant, silently pleading with her to not be so rough with it.

Fwip.

The deed is done, and the tickling inside his snout rises to a crescendo. Rearing his head, he sneezes once, quickly turns to face away from the other cats, and sneezes again. His tail flicks about in a frantic manner, indicative of the precarious sentiments that overwhelmed him. But as he calms down, and relief replaces the momentary anguish, Fishface sighs blissfully.

"You're a life-saver," declares the tom, dipping his noggin in thanks. Then his line of vision flickers to the other cats present. "I'd appreciate it if we pretended that this hadn't happened," he says with bated breath, though he knew he held little influence over his clanmates' actions. Particularly Tigerheat. That guy was a bit of a jerk. ​