camp WHILE THE WORLD BURNS [ prompt ]

[rivewhisper]

"TAKE ME TO YOUR ORCHARD, SO SWEET"​

The fire.

Rivepaw had watched it slowly creep, and it was creeping on her nerves the same way. Sunstar was busy, giving orders, making sure to keep them all safe and Rivepaw... well, she had to fend for herself. Ears perked forward, staring out over camp. She could see the haze, further out- the way her pelt prickled, the way night was never dull. It was setting her nerves on fire. Sure, Rivepaw was likely welcome to tag-along with other warriors and their apprentices, but...

No. She could busy herself. Rivepaw inhaled sharply. She was the daughter of two fierce, strong cats- Wolfsong and Sunstar, once Sunstride. She was descendant from mountains, a little fire wasn't going to scare her. The scar along her belly tingled gently, a faint reminder that she wasn't all she thought she was, but Rivepaw pushed that suspicion away. She hid the fear that she wasn't as strong as her siblings, as defendable as Redheart was when he became a warrior. She hid all the doubts she had behind a thick wall of flame, akin to that heat stretching across the moor.

And so, she practiced. Rivepaw stalked the outside of camp, around the fringes- through camp, right past cats that didn't even notice her. Sharp blue eyes stared out from an unsmiling face, completely serious in how she practiced. After all, if cats in camp couldn't notice her, then who's to say that enemy cats in their camp would notice her then? That's not to say that the cats here weren't suspecting of an enemy in Rivepaw, because it was well... Rivepaw.

She practiced until her paws ached and her muscles burned. Slowly sinking onto her haunches with a small piece of prey, watchful eyes scanned camp. Whiskers twitched in faint amusement, and she settled into her meal, tail slowly swaying behind her. Rivepaw was satisfied, with that day of training. After all, if she couldn't get training, she'd have to do it herself.

// prompt: Your mentor is clearly occupied with a lot more than you right now. . . You can probably occupy yourself, right? Your training doesn't have to stagnate. Is there any cat you turn to for tips and tricks? A warrior you like to shadow? Or do you see this space as a way you can prove yourself capable?
// note: feel free to have noticed her, or not noticed her! she can be delulu a bit but she's supposed to be exceptional in stealth
​

"yuh"​

 

[FEATHERSPINE]

The truth that Featherpaw and her siblings would be warriors soon was one the chocolate tabby found herself acutely aware of at all times. Her own practice had been tireless; every waking moment was swamped with thoughts regarding warriorhood, of what his name might be- of the honour he would feel to receive it. Of course, their was still a little more to hone... still after all these moons she would have liked to be faster, though perhaps her precise strikes and her excellent hunting-and-tracking could make up for it in the meantime, until she was completely perfect.

In many ways, she and Rivepaw clashed. They both had sharp tempers, but Featherpaw was quieter. They both had shrewd owl-eyes, but Rivepaw's were cold-hued fire, where Featherpaw's were warm-hued ice. They bore opposite injuries from battle- they used their bravery in different ways. Rivepaw excelled at hiding where Featherpaw excelled at seeking. Ultimately, though, Rivepaw was his sister- and beneath the barbs, he loved her deeply.

Only briefly had she noticed Rivepaw's stealth practice, down to sharp senses and familial recognition; Featherpaw imagined, had she not been his littermate, he would not have seen her there at all. Unusually softened, the spiny tom made his way over to his sibling, bumping chocolate shoulders together. "Your stealth's g-g-gotten very impressive," he murmured, a bit stiff and steely, but genuine nonetheless.​

✦ penned by pin​