pafp when i don't pick up your calls -- apprentice gossip, intro

[duskpaw]

〔✦〕Since Duskpaw and his brother had been able to speak, their parents and other adults had scolded the way they seemed attached at the hip, conniving, and somewhat... drama-mongering. The pair are often seen together; they huddle close, speak in hushed tones, and glance at their surroundings before continuing. Over time, they'd- or rather, Dustpaw mostly- managed to branch outside of their insular duo and make friends with others. The pair are now a mere 2 moons from completing their apprenticeships, never any different from those same kits that were barely old enough to talk and play.

The afternoon sun bears down overhead, undercut by a pleasant autumnal breeze. Cottony clouds drift lazily overhead, spottily dancing around the sunlight and making the atmosphere perfectly lazy. Duskpaw makes a concerted effort to make sure several warriors see him returning from a hunting patrol. He plays up how much effort it takes for him to bring his catch to the fresh-kill pile, sighing dramatically once it's placed on the top. He wavers for a moment, seeming to take stock of his catch and the rest of camp for a long moment before he takes the predictable path: seeking out Dawnpaw.

The blue tabby moves lazily, as if brushed forward on the breeze like a falling leaf. He sits next to his blue pointed counterpart, slightly disappointed to find that his sibling is not having a late breakfast for him to share. "Hey, Dawnpaw," he greets with a crooked smile, warmed by the familiarity. Then, as per usual, he leans forward and whispers something to Dawnpaw. Something hearsay he heard in the apprentices' den this morning while his brother had been out on his morning duties.

did you get far ( before you hit the surface ) ?

• ooc. please wait for dawn to reply! <3
  
• DUSKPAW —— apprentice of windclan , mentored by tbd . npc x npc . littermate to dawnpaw ✦ penned by carat
  ✦ cis amab; he/him; 10 moons old / ages 1st of every month
  ✦ single / bisexual / open to romance
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— fights dirty, likely to go after those he already has a "personal problem" with.
  
  ✦ "speech", 'thoughts', all opinions are in character
  ✦ biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  
• reference image here

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  shorthaired blue tabby (shaded dark) with small white patch on chest and olive green eyes. scarring over right eye.

  
  

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[.dawnpaw]

❝ WHERE THE BIRDS WAIT ✧°.☀ ————————————
He could not see. Dawnpaw could not see and it did not scare him. He had never known sight like his peers. Shadows played across his eyes, sure, but they were nothing compared to what Duskpaw saw. His brother talked of vivid colors he would never register and images that would "take his breath away" he'd never know. They'd come to an understanding that this was okay. Duskpaw could talk about what he saw, Dawnpaw would listen politely and try his hardest to imagine what he described.

Today, his brother had departed for a hunting patrol while Dawnpaw had stayed in camp doing menial chores. He had just padded from the apprentice's den with old moss clamped in his jaws when Duskpaw's familiar scent drifted on the air to him. With pale ears raised to make sure he wasn't in the path of anyone, he waited for his brother's eventual counsel. He'd dealt with the ire of one too many clanmate as a kit by stumbling under feet he couldn't detect. Now, it was instinct to stay still and let the traffic of the camp move around him.

At Duskpaw's greeting, the blue point gave a rare smile and offered a quick head butt of affection. They made a great pair. Duskpaw was the eyes and Dawnpaw was the ears. It was something they both fell into at kithood. When the two got into mischief, Dawnpaw was the one to listen for any adult coming near to stopping the fun. Duskpaw was the one to look out for the fun things to do and always led Dawnpaw toward adventure.

"Hm?" At Duskpaw's whisper he nodded and leaned back. He responded sleepily, "Vulturepaw really did that? How embarrassing." With a small smile, he leaned toward his sibling and in return offered a tidbit he had heard a warrior say during a mid-day tongue sharing session in camp. This was what they did. Eyes and ears, gathering information for the other, and keeping nothing secret.

[penned by muddly - ☀]

———————————— ☀.°✧ AND THE TALL GRASSES WAVE ❞ ​

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[Vulturepaw]

˖⁺‧₊ ☽◯☾ ₊‧⁺˖ 　Duskpaw and Dawnpaw are... A little intimidating, if they're perfectly honest. Two cats permanently caught in each other's orbit, speaking a language of hushed hearsay known only to the two of them. Their little circle of secrets seems impenetrable, and Vulturepaw would feel perfectly content to skitter on by.

But it makes him think of his own siblings, and it makes him ache, just a little. They've drawn apart, inexorably; time and distance often does that to kin. It's not like they're not close, but... He can't help but feel a distance. His heart has grown guarded. Somewhere between DuskClan and yellowcough, somewhere in all the days spent watching siblings disappear into the tunnels where he cannot follow. Something about the pointedness of Bilberrypaw's normally jovial tone when speaking about their apprenticeship to Periwinklebreeze. Somewhere, sometime, something has gone wrong. His heart has closed off, even to those closest to him. The tightness of its cage feels almost suffocating. It is enviable, seeing such a bond between two siblings - something so easy and carefree.

It is this bittersweet longing that causes him to linger just a little too long beside the pair.

Dawnpaw utters his name, loud enough to clearly hear. "Huh?" The apprentice yelps, head shooting up from its usual hunch. His eyes are owl-wide, ears pricked. A deer caught in the headlights. He blinks, caught off-guard. They're gossiping about him. They're gossiping about him. Talking behind his back - and it's clearly nothing good. "I - I - Um, what exactly d-d-duh... d-did I d - do?" Vulturepaw blurts shakily, eyes darting between the two brothers. Unease settles in his chest, unsure of when, exactly, he's made some mortifying mistake.

I HAD TO LEARN THAT THE HELPING HAND ⛧ CAN BE THE SAME THAT HOLDS THE KNIFE

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  "SPEECH"
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  VULTUREPAW ⛧ he / they / she, apprentice of windclan, eight moons.
  ⭃ a spiky-furred dark tabby with amber eyes.
  ⭃ skittish and dour, with a superstitious sort of pessimism.
  ⭃ micheal x npc, adopted by periwinklebreeze.
  ➳ sibling to dustpaw, bilberrypaw, mourningpaw and weepingpaw.
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

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[mourningpaw]

It's odd. For as much Mourningpaw claims to herself that she cares so little for her Clanmates... she cares even less for senseless drama. And unfortunately, the apprentices are so full of it. She keeps to herself for the most part, her own inner circle largely drama free due to it being... well, just her. There are admittedly days where she could see her adoptive siblings as such and not just warbling nuisances - and perhaps luckily for Vulturepaw, that day and this moment happened to cross paths.

She cannot stand his stuttering tone, much like their father in the way he speaks - but she supposes if rumors were spread about her, too, she'd be flabbergasted and her teeth would chatter, too. She looks up from grooming her chest fur, eyes glowering at the twin toms for a moment before she returned to her menial task. "Oh, shut up," she snips after a moment, an ear twitching as she looks back at them. Annoyance is clear both in her gaze and tone, not to mention the way her lip curls as she continues. "I heard the shit stirrer position got filled, and neither of you made the cut. So bug off."​

 

[THISTLEPAW !]

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Thistlepaw would always join in on badmouthing; whether it was RiverClan or DuskClan, maybe his own clanmates. If he didn't like them, they would hear it from his own mouth.

Vulturepaw was the adoptive child of Periwinklebreeze, his mentor's mate. He could get in trouble for engaging in the gossip. He should get in trouble for it. But there is so much he had to say to the older apprentice, ever since Thriftfeather had returned and revelations arose with it. He hadn't really minded Vulturepaw until that day, when his opinion turned negative after such things came to light.

I - I - Um, what exactly d-d-duh... d-did I d - do? Thistlepaw snickers at that, eyes narrowed. Were they just playing dumb? Really? Honestly. Dawnpaw and Duskpaw probably weren't talking about that - he couldn't read their minds or hear their whispering, but he was about to speak about it.

"What haven't you done?" He hisses, movements snake-like as he approaches them. Thistlepaw ignores whatever Mourningpaw says, unbothered. She was Vulturepaw's sibling, of course she would come to his defense. "You sided with a traitor willingly. You came to his defense after his Clan raided ours and took you!" The apprentice sneers, his hackles raised. His eyes are narrowed as he faces Vulturepaw head-on, unafraid of whatever they might do. "Maybe when Sunstar kicks him out you should go with him if you care more about DuskClan than WindClan! Go live with them, then!" Thistlepaw aims to shove Vulturepaw away. Those cowards nearly took him from his mother, too. He would never forgive them.

𝐆𝐎𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓 *:･ﾟ✧ 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓

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  ooc. —
  
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  LH Seal-point with low white​

  
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  THISTLEPAW he / him apprentice of windclan
  son of Rattleheart x Venomstrike, brother to Bunnypaw, Crunchykit, Vinekit and Splinterkit.
  Lissom seal-point prickly-furred kitten with white markings on his face, chest, belly, paws and tail. His tail is long and has a tufted tip.
  "speech" thoughts

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[deerpaw]

Still resting from an early patrol in the afternoon sunlight, Deerpaw's large ears pick out Vulturepaw's name nearby, attached to unkind words. Nervously, he lifts his head, only to see his denmate freezing as his name is heard. His heart pounds. He should stop this, shouldn't he? Spirit Vulturepaw away from here to - to go enjoy the sunlight outside camp, no matter the trouble they might get into, surely it wouldn't be as painful as sitting here listening to this. Mourningpaw - Vulturepaw's sibling, he remembers dimly - cuts in, but her intervention is immediately undermined by Thistlepaw's sudden aggression.

Something in Deerpaw's tender heart squeezes, then sours. Taking in a shaky breath, he scrambles to his paws with a shaky cry of, "L-Leave them alone!" He aims to slip in between the two younger apprentices, shielding Vulturepaw with his greater height, though his delicate fawn-like frame offers meager protection. "Y-You - you have no right to place blame on Vulturepaw! She was just a kit when they took her, it's not her fault!"

He steps backwards, closer to Vulturepaw, trying to rest his plumy tail comfortingly against them. This must be horrible for them; it's certainly terrifying to Deerpaw, and he's not even the target of the gossip or Thistlepaw's wrath. Frustratingly, he can empathize with Thistlepaw's anger, as upset as he wants to be at him. Thistlepaw had been a tiny baby when DuskClan tried to kidnap him, but maybe he had a dim recollection? Or maybe he's just mimicking his Clanmates. Deerpaw hates that he can't tell, hates that he can't be sure anything he could say would get through to him and soothe his anger.

All he can do is side with Vulturepaw, as terrified as he is of the stares that would surely follow him afterwards. But he thinks he would hate himself if he stood by and did nothing. And... he thinks Vulturepaw disliking him would hurt. He sees a potential friend in the younger apprentice. They're both outcasts. With a sinking heart, Deerpaw begins to realize that making Vulturepaw like him will leave him disliked, too.
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[ JUST LOOKING FOR A PROTECTOR, GOD NEVER REACHED OUT IN TIME -- ]​

 

[Witherpaw]

Witherpaw's ears perk, turning their attention to what looks like an incoming scuffle. A feeling rises in his chest, two older apprentices talking down to a younger one. One who already has a reputation placed on his shoulders for nothing he can control. Maybe it's the fact that Vulturepaw's history is a little too closely tied to their own, or the fact that they are cousins, but Witherpaw can' help themselves from stepping a foot into the ring.

His large paws that he hadn't grown into, parked him right in front of the three aggravators. Eyes set straight on Thistlepaw, who apparently couldn't handle his own temper. His voice was neutral "If you can't control yourself without lashing out, maybe you should leave?" The delivery is cold and made with authority, what authority is questionable, but it is said with it nonetheless. His tail flicks and he can't imagine Thistlepaw won't strike out at him now, but that doesn't matter.

They understand disliking DuskClan, he fears he may hold even more resentment than the fired up tom. But, they don't lash out about it, they don't try to make it other cats problem. In fact they refuse to bring up the concept, why dredge on the nightmares that happened the night of the raid, why yell at other clanmates for not doing enough, for letting queens die and kits get kitnapped. There is a flick of Witherpaw's ears as they try to clear their mind, focusing back on the three cats in front of him.

"speech"
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