VIPER’S NEST // smokepaw

[SOOTSTAR]

Pride is all she can feel for Smokepaw, he entered battle, fought for his clan, and came back home alive and mostly well. Guilt eats up at her for not being able to check on her apprentice sooner, but at the crack of dawn she finds where he is sleeping (likely in the burrows like the rest of the clan thanks to the horrid weather)!

Once she gets him up they depart camp from a tunnel entrance within camp. It was easier at this point to do rather than wading through the snow.
”So how have you been?” She meows to the apprentice at her tail, her voice faintly echoing. ”Do you want to talk about the battle? Oh- scent trail up here is getting stale, make sure you’re brushing up against the wall.”

// @SMOKEPAW SUPER SIMPLE STARTER SORRY LOL but YAY ​

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Spoiler: TAGS ★ 01/07

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ★ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· SOOTSTAR, female — she / her
╰ ‣ 34 moons . pisces. ages on the first
╰ ‣ windclan leader . marsh-born . believes in starclan
╰ ‣ former soldier of the marsh group

╰ ★ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells like heather and wet dirt , status — 100%
╰ ‣ blue smoke . scarred chest, difficult to see through fur . green eyes

╰ ★ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ESTJ-A ❝ EXECTUTIVE ❞ , Slytherin, Lawful Evil
╰ ‣ Cunning, brash, fierce, confident, self-reliant, envious & selfish
╰ ‣ finds great difficulty in relating to others . can be cruel, usually shows mercy to those she can find sympathy with
╰ ‣ sole key to her heart is loyalty, if you have her trust, she often shows a completely different side of herself. Aggression tends to manifest from her extreme paranoia
╰ ‣ Appreciates titles such as "miss, m'am" etc

╰ ★ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· SOOT CLAW x PEBBLE BREEZE, sister to Pebblenose
╰ ‣ heterosexual. mate to Weaselclaw
╰ ‣ mother to Windpaw & Sootpaw
╰ ‣ mentor to Smokepaw & Coyotepaw
╰ ‣ average fighter . skilled hunter .
╰ ‣ will start fights . unlikely to flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.​

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[SMOKESTEP]

TAGS — / sorry for late response!

From the burrows she rouses him and to the tunnels they dive. Smokepaw has never been keen on spending too much time aboveground; as a kit, it was because his mother had told him he ought to prefer the damp dark dirt; as an apprentice, it's because he finally believes it for himself. He follows his mentor, as silent as he is dutiful, through the tunnels. He's never been a chatterbox, too concerned with his performance to really put any conscious effort into conversation skill (and even then he manages a fairly awkward persona), but when Sootstar prompts him with her question about the battle, his amber eyes widen slightly. It's only natural that she would be curious about how he'd done. After all, she was his mentor- but when his scrap with that SkyClan apprentice comes to mind, he finds himself biting his tongue.

"Uhm," he murmurs, following her instruction as he tries to think of how to put it. He'd come back uninjured, and normally that would be something to be celebrated, but... well, when he remembers Firepaw's injuries, he feels like he'd hardly fought at all. Not to mention Icepaw's heroics- they had managed a whole sprig of catmint on their own. A chill emanates from the walls of the tunnel they walk through. "The battle was fine. I fought an apprentice," he reports, working through his memory. His pensive frown twitches into a scowl at the thought of Snowpaw. "That kittypet was too scared to use his claws. But, um, I got him a couple times." Is that impressive enough? He tries to gauge a reaction, but not much can be gleaned from the back of her head. Smokepaw follows regardless, scarred paws aching quietly from the cold. Maybe if he'd managed some heroics like Icepaw, it would've been a more exciting story. Maybe if he hadn't gotten so distracted by Sunsetbreeze- the apprentice grimaces.

"Um. Yeah. I've been good, though," he finally decides, amber gaze falling to the dim ground below them. He'd at least come home uninjured.​

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[SOOTSTAR]

Sootstar expected lots from her apprentice, yes, but not even she had any expectations of Smokepaw joining the battle and coming home a war hero. His contributions were enough, she sounds that she is pleased with a quick murmur- so quiet that it barely echos off the walls.

Scared to use claws? She could not imagine, ”It is why we train with our claws out, here in WindClan. Our claws are our weapons, not only can they kill but they can save lives. We cannot be afraid to use them, I am pleased to hear you were not.” She speaks with a purr rumbling in her throat, both pleased with her apprentice and herself for the excellent training she’s provided him. ”Some cats are afraid of unsheathing their claws, and they are fools to do so. StarClan would not equip the living with claws if they were not meant to be used.” Sootstar presses up against the edge of the tunnel to renew a stale scent mark.

”I’m pleased to hear you’re alright. Some cats- especially when young face battle for the first time it shakes them. What about you? Would you be scared if a time comes where battle once again calls?”​

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Spoiler: TAGS ★ 01/07

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ★ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· SOOTSTAR, female — she / her
╰ ‣ 34 moons . pisces. ages on the first
╰ ‣ windclan leader . marsh-born . believes in starclan
╰ ‣ former soldier of the marsh group

╰ ★ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells like heather and wet dirt , status — 100%
╰ ‣ blue smoke . scarred chest, difficult to see through fur . green eyes

╰ ★ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ESTJ-A ❝ EXECTUTIVE ❞ , Slytherin, Lawful Evil
╰ ‣ Cunning, brash, fierce, confident, self-reliant, envious & selfish
╰ ‣ finds great difficulty in relating to others . can be cruel, usually shows mercy to those she can find sympathy with
╰ ‣ sole key to her heart is loyalty, if you have her trust, she often shows a completely different side of herself. Aggression tends to manifest from her extreme paranoia
╰ ‣ Appreciates titles such as "miss, m'am" etc

╰ ★ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· SOOT CLAW x PEBBLE BREEZE, sister to Pebblenose
╰ ‣ heterosexual. mate to Weaselclaw
╰ ‣ mother to Windpaw & Sootpaw
╰ ‣ mentor to Smokepaw & Coyotepaw
╰ ‣ average fighter . skilled hunter .
╰ ‣ will start fights . unlikely to flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.​

​

​

 

[SMOKESTEP]

TAGS — / cw brief mention of a corpse in 3rd paragraph

Smokepaw keeps his eyes on his mentor as they walk single file; presses his paw to the crags every once in a while to mark the scent. He tries not to seem like he's hanging off each word she speaks like a cliff. Even though Sootstar is his mentor, a cat that he trains with nearly every day, it seems like her mythic status might never be dispelled. She is the leader, the queen of WindClan, the cat whom every other cat should follow. Must follow. And with the high praise Ravencry had always sung for her in his youth (not that he is much past that now), it's hard to see her as a cat with reasonable expectations- and perhaps harder to see her as a cat that would ever be impressed with him, even in spite of her pleased murmur.

His ears twitch as she purrs her words. "Thank you," he murmurs, trying not to sound sheepish. Briefly he looks down to his paws, the scars that cobweb across them. But he tries not to let himself dwell on it for long, choosing instead to soak up the modicum of praise he's been offered. When she pitches her new question, he tilts his head, contemplative.

Really, he thinks he might be scared. He hadn't let himself look at Sunsetbreeze for long on that battlefield, but to have known the tom while he lived and breathed only to see him dead upon his clanmates' backs hours later... it could happen to anyone, couldn't it? Any warrior could fall under the right circumstances. He could, certainly- and so could Firepaw, he realizes. The image of her scarred pelt still puts a chill in his chest, but at least she's alive. Sunsetbreeze could not say the same.

And yet, when he answers, he does so with as much confidence as he can muster: "No. I wouldn't be scared." And he'll just have to believe that hard enough to make it come true. "As long as I'm fighting on WindClan's side, I won't be afraid." Because even if he were to die for his clan, at least he could be satisfied with that. Maybe Sunsetbreeze had been satisfied, too.​

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