pafp UNHEALTHY || failed hunt

[sunshinespot]

Sunshinepaw remembers hanging about the apprentice's den in the early morning, trying desperately to avoid the leafbare chill. He remembers the apprentices bragging about their snowy catches, and how he had nothing to add. Their claws have yet to clasp over the pelt of another, be it in battle or on prey. They remember the brief blip of a thought - of how proud his sister would be, should he finally, finally, catch something with his own two paws.

And yet they wander the snowy forest. She directs him to a squirrel not far off, and the mottled apprentice stalks it as best they can. They can smell the warmth radiating off of the prey, feel the excitement that for once they won't be useless to a patrol. Moons have passed since their delayed start to learn, moons of nothing, nothing - yet maybe today.

And then something cracks. A twig under their own hind leg shocks them, and they briefly think of their father, hoisted into the air by twolegs only to be returned days later. Fear pulses in his paws and he freezes - and his catch becomes his loss, just as the squirrel is notified of their appearance, it skitters away. Sunshinepaw doesn't even give chase, their heart still trying to climb out of their throat. It's several seconds before they stand more properly, bringing their gaze sidewards towards their similarly mottled sibling. "'m sorry," they mumble, a usual, half-worn smile settling in their expression.

[ pls wait for @MOUSENOSE !!! ]​

 

[MOUSENOSE]

Mousenose had anticipated mentorship being drastically different than it has been so far. They’d imagined racing through the forest with Sunshinepaw at their flank, excitement puffing their tails out, prey dangling from their jaws. She’d imagined her sibling accomplishing great things, hitting milestones, making her proud, the way, against all odds, she’d done with Silverlightning.

This hasn’t been her experience so far. Sunshinepaw is amicable enough, and Mousenose loves their younger sibling to pieces… but as an apprentice, it’s been failure after failure, disappointment after disappointment. Sunshinepaw doesn’t seem to care about anything enough to really try, and Mousenose finds herself losing what little bit of patience her own mentor had instilled in her.

As exasperated as that stoic warrior must have been with her at times, he never showed it once—his patience had been immense, never-ending, but Mousenose finds herself struggling to grasp that same virtue now as she watches Sunshinepaw let a squirrel escape his grasp. Her sigh is audible. “Were you hoping it was gonna keel over by itself?” Her ears twitch, her temper getting the best of her. Impatience flood through her body, stiffening her tail and bringing the blood to her paws, banked in snow. “How many times do we have to go over this, huh? You gotta make sure you’re quick! Prey isn’t gonna fall into your paws while you sit and stare at it.” Disappointment clouds her mew.

, ”​

​

 

[Shinebug]

A part of the same hunting patrol, sun-drenched couldn’t help but wince in sympathy as he saw Sunshinepaw’s catch scamper away into the snow. The similarly-named apprenticed was walking a road Shinepaw knew well, and the boy silently wished his peer the best. Seeing the way Mousenose spoke, he was grateful for Flycatcher all over again. His own mentor was a bottomless well of patience and kindness, but this warrior seemed to be suffering from a drought.

Shinepaw gulped as he stepped forwards, nervously trying to plan out what to say. He didn’t want to confront anyone, let alone a cat who was higher rank, but the boy also saw so much of himself in Sunshinepaw that he couldn’t help it. That desire - no, need - to please, that desperation for acceptance, the warrior-aspirant struggled with it every day.

“I know it sounds weird, but maybe try and relax a bit?” A nervous voice offered before explaining further. “I used to - er, I still do - have trouble with hunting, but my mentor told me that and it helped a lot. Try your best to not…overthink things?” It was something the boy still struggled with, but failing his assessment hadn’t sent the sky crashing down. Weirdly, it taught him that maybe one failed catch wasn’t the end of the world. Sky-blue eyes turned to Mousenose, wanting to berate the warrior and demand that she show more patience to her own kin, but Shinepaw simply lacked to strength to voice that opinion. Instead, he simply stared apologetically at the older cat.​

 

[nightbird]

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ nightbird's ears prick to the commotion. sunshinepaw's careless pawsteps sent prey racing out of sight. a shame, a squirrel would have been a more than welcome addition to the dreary freshkill pile. mousenose is agitated, hurling too late directions at the apprentice, and although shinepaw tries to be helpful she doubts the sentiment's would settle into sunshinepaw's head.

nightbird harbored nothing but respect for sunfreckle, but this child of his wasn't up to par. sure, they were still young, but moons under a student's pelt and nothing to show for it? it wouldn't cut it, not for her at least. but she also could not say she would do better in mousenose's paws, howlingstar seemed to know better than to pair her with a child so... lackadaisical. whatever it was, sunshinepaw's failure would leave someone hungry, it wasn't ideal.

"unfortunate," she hummed, flicking a tail to palepaw who surely lingered nearby. "we'll try to track it down." she sent a departing glance to mousenose and shinepaw before ushering her apprentice off to where the scent lead.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎┌── OH, I'LL CUT YOU DOWN ⋅⋆⋅ FOR I KNOW YOU ARE WEAK ──┐‎

• ooc ↛ @Palepaw, out!
  

• 

• 
  NIGHTBIRD ✩ she/her, lead warrior of thunderclan, 29 ☾'s
  ⭃ a small black smoke molly with a single white paw and pale silver eyes.
  ⭃ mate to raccoonstripe / / mentor to palepaw
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by vayle ↛ @vayl3 on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[GENTLESTORM]

I SEE A SONG OF PAST ROMANCE — Hailstorm had been on the hunt for either herbs or prey for the cats back in the medicine den, he parctically blends into the snow that covers the forest floor though the sound of a twig snapping a little way from him is enough to make him glance over and blinks in surprise when a squirrel scitters off but before he could react Nightbird was already on the trail. He shakes his head slightly as snow flies in his direction and heads in the direction of where he heard the twig snap only to find Sunshinepaw noting the stature they had before standing upright once more, he can't help but frown hearing Mousenose scold the apprentice for messing up their catch and blinks at Shinepaw's prescene who offers good advice. He takes a few steps forward looking at the three cats and regarding them all with a gentle gaze "I'm sure that you'll catch something soon enough, Sunshinepaw." He reassures only to offer a sheepish grin, "I'm not the best hunter myself admittedly... Especially during the warmer seasons where my pelt sticks out like a sore paw." A soft sigh leaves his jaws and tilts his head to the side still looking to the small apprentice knowing that they had been held back due to their sickness.

"But I never stop trying nor do I give up." He says then turns his attention to Mousenose straightening his posture noting that her temper was getting the best of her, he decides to add on in a gentler voice "Patience goes a long way, Mousenose." And perhaps Sunshinepaw would appreciate that virtue from his sister, Hailstorm hopes that he doesn't get on her bad side either from speaking up but it was best to do so than letting an older sibling berate the younger.

I SEE THE SACRIFICE OF MAN ✦ I SEE PORTRAYALS OF BETRAYALS

• 

  MEDICINE CAT IN TRAINING;
  — ✦✦✦✦✦ FLESH WOUNDS
  — ✦✦✦✧✧ INFECTIONS
  — ✦✦✧✧✧ ACHES & PAINS
  — ✦✦✧✧✧ ILLNESS
  — ✦✧✧✧✧ BREATHING ISSUES
  — ✦✧✧✧✧ TRAVELING HERBS
  — ✧✧✧✧✧ BROKEN BONES
  — ✧✧✧✧✧ KITTING
  — ✧✧✧✧✧ POISONS
• 
  ✦ longhaired blue sepia tom w/low white and brown eyes
  ✦ 51 moons old; ages the 27th every month
  ✦ bisexual demiromantic; mates with little wolf
  ✦ currently being mentored by berryheart
  ✦ easy to befriend/interact with ; hard to anger/upset
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ✦ semi-difficult in combat; relies on strength, his large size, and wits
  ✦ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[MOUSENOSE]

Mousenose’s pelt begins to bristle as other cats draw closer to witness Sunshinepaw’s—and, by extension, their own—failure. Shinepaw’s mew is gentle enough, as is Hailstorm’s, but all she feels is criticized. Her paw pads prickle with heat as she whirls to face the medicine cat apprentice and the ginger-splashed feline. “Don’t tell me how to train my apprentice! You don’t know the half of it. We’ve been practicing the same thing for ages!” A whine creeps into her voice, and it infuriates her more. The last thing she wants to sound like is whiny—second only to incompetent. She’s only glad Howlingstar isn’t here to witness this, she thinks sadly.

Her pelt twitches under Nightbird’s critical blue-gray eyes. With a sigh, Mousenose pads closer to Sunshinepaw and noses their ear. “Sorry. I know you’re trying. Let’s go somewhere quieter, okay?” Her expression is as glum and gray as her mew, but she knows they have to keep trying. “I bet Pigeonpaw’s already caught something today. We can’t let him and Sparkwing show us up, right?” She doesn’t think her younger sibling has a competitive bone in their entire body, but it’s worth a shot, she thinks.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Mousekit . Mousepaw . Mousenose, she/they w/ feminine and non-gendered terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 18 moons old, ages realistically on the 25th.
  — mentored by Silverlightning ; mentoring Sunshinepaw ; previously mentored n/a
  — thunderclan warrior. sunfreckle x rabbitnose, gen 2.
  — currently mated to n/a.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh messy-furred tortoiseshell with high white and bright green eyes. demanding, exuberant, selfish, sensitive, oblivious, obnoxious.
  
  

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