WHY THE LONG FACE | pinkshine

[SOOTSPOT]

The meeting had disappointed him in many ways and elevated him in some. Two out of three of his mentorship predictions had been correct for his little ones, but who was partnered with whom was mixed up, and instead of mentoring one of his own children, he was stuck with Snakehiss' brat. Over and over he played out future circumstances within his head and found that little about being given Viperpaw served to help him; he could not draw out the incompetence from their veins any more than he could rid the curse from his own.

The powerlessness felt vindicating, addicting in that he could say he was right, but every second of it made his fur bristle and mouth salivate as he longed for what he deserved. And now, what his children deserved.

He'd noticed Pinkshine's lack of enthusiasm as her nose pressed to Nightpaw's and immediately decided it had something to do with who her apprentice was. She treated it like a punishment from Scorchstar instead of an honour, the very notion of it causing Sootspot's whiskers to twitch as he noticed her within camp. 'How dare you?' He thought as if there was a telepathic link, perhaps hoping that he was powerful enough for there to be one someday (if StarClan talked in the heads of leaders and medicine cats, why couldn't he? Why did he have to be so... mortal?) 'You are lucky you are allowed to mentor at all.' There is a reflection somewhere of a conversation he'd pictured having with Sunstar, of all the horrible things the tabby had wished to say to him but simply didn't. He hated how similar he'd become to the rogue, how often he had to hold his tongue and be anything that wasn't himself.

Sootspot moved closer to the Tunneler, smiling as if wearing a second face. When he sat down, he curled his tail around his paws, momentarily gazing past her and towards the Nursery. Pupils narrowed and refocused and a raspy chuckle escaped him to hide the bitterness. "I believe this is your first attempt at mentoring, correct?" His tufted ears twitched, not waiting for an answer for something he already knew. "I understand you are... concerned. How easy it is to believe one's parents are the same as them." His pause only lasted a fraction of a second, but to Sootspot, it felt like a lifetime. "But I can offer you some advice... a gesture of good will, for Nightpaw's sake. Will you accept it?"

@PINKSHINE


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[PINKSHINE]

She doesn't notice Sootspot's approach... A dejected face stares off into space, more or less. It's not until he sits beside him, tail curling neatly around his paws that she notices... and right away, it's like, weird... He was smiling, and she wasn't, really. Usually it was the other way around, obviously. And also, um, usually they were mad at each other. Well, she thinks so anyways. He's not even looking at her when she looks at him. If it was anyone else, she'd probably return the smile right away. She's almost glad to not feel the pressure around Sootspot. But then, she knew she wasn't herself, either...

Okay, they're talking. That's fine. " Y- " Okay, he's talking. Pinkshine scrunches her nose, but listens as he continues. I understand you are concerned. Was she? Her face scrunches together. She's just getting more confused the more he talks. " Huh? " She has no idea what he's talking about, but uh, advice was always good, wasn't it? Pinkshine drags a paw across her face as if rubbing her eyes would somehow clean out her ears. He just wanted the best for his kit and stuff, right? Plus he was an older, more experienced tunneler, even if he was a bit, um... weird... ( Though honestly, in the moment, she can't even remember what she dislikes him for. )

She's quieter for longer than she means to be, sat rubbing her face for some time. Accept something... Accept... " Oh! Oh Yeah- Yeah, for sure, " she mews, trying to put some cheer back into her voice.​

 

[SOOTSPOT]

He stared as blankly as the tortoiseshell before him, as if becoming a mirror of Pinkshine would help him better understand what about his son made her so dejected. It couldn't be Sunstar's departure, she gained too much from Scorchstar's promotion; it couldn't be the recent deaths, they were Featherspine's family, not hers. He lashed his tail as he doubled down on the belief that he had made her so miserable, but if she didn't understand why, then how could he? Answerless, he did his best to suppress the bristle down his spine. "The stars shine, yet they are uninhabited." With any luck, she wouldn't understand that either.

He liked his own voice, liked to believe that if anything went wrong, it would be on Pinkshine's head for not listening to him. So, he continued. "Nightpaw is a talented kitten. He is obedient, and his memory is exceptional. Out of the three, he is the most likely to be the schemer, one with strong convictions and all the intellect to back it up. Now... when a mentor has a contrasting personality to their apprentice, it can be... difficult, you threaten to stifle the best of them and poison them with your worst qualities." Not him though, of course. Downyfur had been his apprentice for many moons and she had become the perfect cat, Viperpaw was...

He would find a way to make Viperpaw perfect for him. Sootspot was already a victim of WindClan's social sphere, if the tortoiseshell wanted to be a hero, he would have to learn to stand up for the downtrodden.

"They say there is no 'one' way of training an apprentice... but I believe consistency is key. Diversifying it to suit oneself makes what I mentioned before more likely. Stick with what your mentor taught you, the good and the bad. Remember that you are not friends - a mentor exists to create a better warrior for WindClan, it is not supposed to be fun." 'Bramblepaw... why did you have to be tall? You would have been perfect for her.'

Sootspot cocked his head, nostrils flaring. "Remind me... what did I just say?"


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[PINKSHINE]

Unbeknownst to her: It's Sootspot's lucky day. she has no idea what that means. Her face scrunches further. Her head tilts. She thinks the dramatic jut of her lip obviously demands clarification, even if she doesn't ask verbally. ...She doesn't get it. Well, whatever she guesses. It'd be a lot easier for her to go whatever if it was anyone but Sootspot really, but um... whatever! This was about him and Nightpaw, more than anything else. Though her face stays dreary, her ears prick in an effort to show that she was paying attention.

Pinkshine isn't sure what to make of the fact that Nightpaw was apparently destined for scheming... Wasn't scheming, like, an ominous word? One that implied going behind backs and getting up to no good? Her expression furrows further. Contrasting personalities... sure. NIghtpaw didn't even seem to know how to smile. And she'd fix that... sometime, eventually... she hopes. " My worst qualities? " Like... her her? Or did he say you're generally?

Consistency is key. Pinkshine gives a small nod. It makes sense enough to her. Uh, the parts that she got anyways... Except the last one. The last one made like, no sense at all. He wants a reminder... He just said like, so many words. She hopes she isn't meant to repeat everything exactly... " Something about consistency and doing what Scorchstreak- um, star taught me? Hey- what do you mean we're not friends? Why wouldn't we be? " Doesn't that sound totally miserable to him? Like... waking your apprentice up and not even asking, Hi, how are ya? " I wanna train a good warrior obviously... but why can't we have fun and be friends at the same time? That's what me and Scorchstar did! And, um, if I'm gonna do what she did, It'd be most accurate if we're friends! "

She mirrors the tilt of his head. Her eyes are wide, haloed-blue. " Are you and Downyfur friends? " Actually- she's not even sure what answer she liked more. Either yes or no would be kind of weird, she thinks.​