Why should I play this game of pretend? ☆ Nettle

[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ Asphodelpaw wasn't sure how he felt about Nettlepaw joining him on a practice "solo" hunting patrol.
The goal of the exercise was for the young ones to hunt without their mentors present, a test to see if they adhered to the tracking lessons from the day prior. If this was session about proving their ability to be independent, wasn't Nettlepaw too young? Asphodelpaw felt not a little belittled that his "patrol mate" was half his age. So, the second their mentors gave their approval, Asphodelpaw leaped into the bushes, keen on leaving Nettlepaw behind without obviously advertising it.

But his conscious soon caught up to him. Mainly because hunting on land was never his strongest skill. Hissing in frustration when he missed his mark on a mouse; his preparation to leap taking just a little too long, his fidgeting just a little too loud, he was forced to sit in the snow and ponder his mistakes. He couldn't imagine Nettlepaw doing any better than he was...Mulling over that line of thinking, he then began to wonder if perhaps the true purpose of this mission was for the boys to work together. That drove a spike of guilt through his chest.

Nettlepaw wasn't a bad kid. In Asphodelpaw's opinion, he was a bit too defensive about the weirdest things, but he was also a surprisingly good hunter and showed a hidden kindness in his concern for the health of elders. He was one of the most hard-working apprentices that Asphodelpaw knew, which was the highest form of compliment in Asp's opinion. So maybe...it was wrong of him to have thought he'd hunt better without the younger tom tagging along. Shame that lesson had to be drilled into him with multiple failures first. Man, he hoped Crashingtide wasn't secretly nearby, watching.

Wasting no more time, Asp got to his paws and began to put his tracking skills to work - instead of mice and voles, however, he searched for Nettlepaw. It took him a surprisingly long moment to find the brown tabby point, for his scent was intercut with a stronger odor. This combination of scents wasn't unfamiliar, often braided together whenever rNettlepaw returned from a hunting patrol. Not for the last time, Asphodelpaw wondered if the apprentice's success with hunting came because his nose was sensitive to strong scents like these. Or did he just have a weird preference for particularly perfumed prey? Either way, Asphodelpaw would follow the trail, coming up behind the younger male, craning his neck to peek at what he'd managed to catch.

"You've had more success than I, it seems" Asphodelpaw began, ears lowered sheepishly as an apology danced on his tongue. "Look, Nettlepaw, I'm sorr- ah that does not smell right" Lowered ears flatten instead as the boy rears back, shocked when the pungent order hits him fully once he's close enough. He looks at Nettlepaw incredulously, before looking back at the prey item - even with the cold muffling its decay, it smelled atrocious! It looked...it looked like a fish that'd been dragged from a stream a few fox-lengths away, whatever had killed it had taken a bite or two then must've skittered away, leaving the fish's belly open to the elements - specifically the rotting types.

"Don't touch it" Asp would gasp, judgment creeping into his voice. Why was Nettlepaw so interested in something so fowl?!

//written at midnight I'm so sorry it's rushed !!

@Nettlepaw-

*+:｡.｡ Updated 11/22/23

• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ☆ Asphodelpaw
  ☆ DMAB— He/Him — Unsure
  ☆ 8 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
  ☆ Mentored by Crashingtide
  ☆ Riverclan — Apprentice
  
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ☆ Physically easy | mentally medium
  ☆ Attack in bold #9fc3fc
  injuries: None currently

​

 

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
FOUR MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

This was not something that he could claim he had caught. Feeling around it's body has shown the tom that something had already been feeding on the thing, not to mention, it's scent was far too foul that the boy would even consider such a thing. He'd have to look elsewhere, but he's not so sure he could hunt anything nearby with his nose clogged up like this, the smell of rot blanketing the surrounding air with putrid waves. It's only by the rustling of the undergrowth nearby that he realizes someone is approaching him, and the voice of Asphodelpaw fills tufted ears. For a moment, the boy panics, but his expression remains akin to stone. He would think of something... he always did.

"Oh. Hey Asphodelpaw." Nettlepaw greets with a flick of his tail. "I haven't had any success." He offers in reply. The rotted fish smelled so bad, even the other apprentice was nearly choking on it. "Every time I try to hunt, all I can smell is this." Nettlepaw admits, an easy excuse flowing like water from his tongue. "Should we bury it?" He inquires, blind eyes staring through Asphodelpaw for several long moments. Nettlepaw hadn't missed the apology which had died upon the other's maw. For now, though, he'd focus on getting rid of the carcass, before the other apprentice began to put the puzzle pieces together.
​

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[Asphodelrain]

*+:｡.｡ Rarely did food ever spoil in a clan cat's camp- there were just too many mouths to feed to ever allow for a single item to linger long enough to go to waste, so this was Asphodelpaw's first time smelling something this awful. At least, it should've been his first time. But the putrid smell wasn't as horrible as he'd expected it to be from the warnings his mentor gave about steering clear from abandoned kills. He'd always thought the smell would drive him to tears, or make him retch - and this scent was certainly close but, he swore he'd smelled something like this before already.
Stepping closer, he was about to lean down to get a closer sniff, when Nettlepaw's question broke through his curiosity. All at once he realized how stupid he was being - getting a nose full of rot was not a good idea! Shaking his head profusely, the tom nodded in agreement, "Starclan yes, great idea! Bury it as deep as we can, preferably" he said, immediately setting to digging at the hard ground. With he frost turning the first few layers of soil into ice, this would take two pairs of paws to dig through. As the two worked, Asphodelpaw would banish from his mind the thought of carrion and smells, and instead focus on Nettlepaw's earlier comments. "Hey so, since we're both struggling to catch something, what if we try working together on it?" Which brings him back to the fact that such had been the lesson all along if he hadn't been stubborn and left Nettlepaw behind. He wondered shamefully if Nettlepaw had gotten lost and that's why he'd been attracted to such an awful scent. Shaking off a wave of guilt, the older tom would mew, "Um...I figured, since you're amazing at tracking and keeping silent, what if you find the leads and I chase it to you?" were compliments a good way to apologize? He should probably just apologize, but it feel embarrassing now just up and blurting it out!

*+:｡.｡ Updated 11/22/23

• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ☆ Asphodelpaw
  ☆ DMAB— He/Him — Unsure
  ☆ 8 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
  ☆ Mentored by Crashingtide
  ☆ Riverclan — Apprentice
  
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ☆ Physically easy | mentally medium
  ☆ Attack in bold #9fc3fc
  injuries: None currently

​

 

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
FOUR MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

Relief floods the youth as Asphodelpaw shifts attention away from investigation and toward disposal. Nettlepaw is all too happy to help the other apprentice dig into the cold, frosty earth for a place to hide the rotting fish. As they work, Asphodelpaw proposes a solution to both of their problems, and the boy listens curiously, intrigued by the idea of a team hunt. Maybe Asphodelpaw isn't so bad after all, he thinks to himself. Both apprentices seemed to have a bit of an attitude, but both had experienced the trauma of recent moons as well. That was bound to cause problems for the youth still trying to understand their cruel world.

"That sounds like a good idea. We'll try it!" Nettlepaw responds a bit more cheerily, sliding the dead, rotted carcass into the hole that both toms had manage to dig out. Afterward, the apprentice starts to kick the dirt back into the hole, working to bury the body. "Now that I won't have to smell this anymore, I should be able to scent any prey around." He points out, still working on filling up the hole with cold soil.
​

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