camp WITHER AND ROT ⛧ refusing to leave camp

Vulturepaw

black rabbit of inlé
Jun 16, 2024
135
23
18

˖⁺‧₊ ☽◯☾ ₊‧⁺˖  The sun bores into Vulturepaw's back, a blot of shadow in the center of WindClan's camp. He curls into himself, the spikes of his fur bared like fangs. His tail brushes across the ground like a writhing snake, his golden eyes slitted and narrowed. Any who come near are offered little more than a glare. His chest hurts.

Another cat approaches, and Vulturepaw flashes his teeth, bites out his words before they can even begin to speak. "I d-d-d... I d-d..." Frustration claws at his chest. His voice never seems to work when he wants it to, and bitterness seeps into it. "'M nnn - not going on p-patrol t-tuh-today," he says decisively, narrowed eyes daring the cat to correct them. "D-don't wanna leave c-c... leave c-camp without my dad." It's not safe. The thought terrifies him.


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    "SPEECH"
  • VULTUREPAW he / they, apprentice of windclan, six 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 and bilberrypaw.
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by SATURNIDsaturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
 

The glare of the sun bore harsh against Brackenpaw's eyes, they ached and caused an already dour expression to curl into a snarl. It was weird to see Vulturepaw here, much less to see the apprentice so agitated. Curiosity drew her to them, interested to figure out why he hadn't left for patrols yet. Coming to a frozen halt at the flash of his teeth and biting words. Their face is blank, connecting dots that they had tried to ignore. Periwinklebreeze had fainted, was it another case of yellowcough? They think so at least, not that they pay much attention. It had started to become a buzz in their head, a foul stench that won't leave no matter how much she tried to ignore it.

Neutrality fades into a smile, and she sits down next to him. "Wasn't gonna make you" the response is cool and they tuck their tail under her paws, watching the other apprentices curiously. Brackenpaw was never going to be the one to force another to patrol, not when they barely had the appetite for it themself. There was a quiet admiration, a respect for her friend and this act of rebellion. "Mind if I join you here then? Roasting in the sun by yourself sounds like a lousy protest."

No doubt a warrior would come soon and be growling over it, spouting demands to fulfil clan duties. She was with Vulturepaw though, if he decided he wanted to not leave camp today without his father then they thought that was a perfectly sound decision. Besides, he sounds pretty set in his decision and what were they really even going to do to change their mind? Forcing someone to go on patrol sounded like a bad idea.



  • ooc.
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  • Brackenpaw
    they/she, tunneler apprentice of Windclan, 9 moons (ages on the 22nd)
    a lithe and fragile looking calico that looks like they still need to grow into her ears
    Speech, thoughts, attacking
    NPC x NPC, mentored by Bluefrost
    easy to befriend other kits, gradually harder to befriend every rank after that
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by Juice ↛ @/ouijeejuice on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
    All opinions are IC!! Bracken is a little hater
 


"Your conceit is so admirable, it is a wonder the sun dares to shine." There had always been a fine line between encouraging bad behaviour to spite a clanmate, and reprimanding it to support a clan, and walking towards Brackenpaw and Vulturepaw, the chimera found himself readily treading upon that tightrope. A smile stretched upon his maw as he spoke, its edges sharpened by a sincere disapproval of the other's rebellion. The younger of the two youths, innocent of any true wrongdoing, had earned the Tunneler's ire by showing him up in front of Bluefrost, daring to come home because of her but not for the others who had spent countless hours searching... not for him. It was easy to blame the tabby for Sootspot not being celebrated, too easy, as if the other was a cog in a machine made to purposefully spite him.

Brackenpaw, of course, wasn't like that. But in the face of frustration, pride could become like pointed teeth, and keeping on the apprentice's good side did not feel as important as letting Vulturepaw know just how ridiculous they were being. He tilted his head. "And should your father die from his disease, what then? Will you sit by his grave and wither away because he will not hold your paw?" Heather, Night and Bramble would never, they would avenge him, become him - he did not know how gentle Periwinklebeeze had been with his own, but it seemed to be too gentle if they felt entitled enough to reject their destiny. The frosty Queen licked his lips. "It would be in your best interests to grow up and do your duty."

 

There was something he had learned recently. If just taking a step back and watch there was so much to learn about the daily life that circled around. From how other clanmates interacted with one another to serious matters like how to watch out for the ones who coughted. That was a bad sign and something to keep away from. With this new valid discovery Nightkit had made sure that everyday when he needed a pause from all of the playing and fun adventures to take a break just to watch the world around.

That was how Vulturepaw entered into the picture. Nightkit had taken notice of their strange behavior that went against how a typical apprentice behaved. Never before had he taken witness of an apprentice refusing to leave camp. That alone gained the kit's interest to watchfully observe them from a distance. That was until his father approached the scene to share a piece of their own mind. According to them this apprentice was misbehaving, doing something that was incorrect to do, and father always had right.

That was some interesting information to learn from. Nightkit wished to never do anything that would disappoint their father so today he learned something very valid that he couldn't afford to forget about. Once he became an apprentice he from now on knew what not to be. He would have to make sure to not be anything close to Vulturepaw, because that apprentice meant disappointment. They where not a good example to follow.

Nightkit left his resting spot to sneak up on Sootspot from behind only to quietly sit down beside them to further listen in on this conversation without one single word to share. This seemed to be a conversation meant for older mouths to voice their opinions about. He was just happy being here beside his father while learning more about their wisdom.



 

In moments like these, Dimmingsun can appreciate the general lightness of his coat. It's not something he thinks of often; seldom does a cat stop amidst tumultuous life to regard his own appearance, or at least, the part of it that cannot be changed. He can drag his tongue across the planes of his shoulders and flanks all day to keep stray tufts in place, but he cannot change the coloring — not unless he ventures into ShadowClan's swamps and takes a dip in the murky waters. That has never been and never will be on the agenda.

He thinks of it now. Vulturepaw takes to the cool shade all the time, regardless of weather, to keep himself away from others. Perhaps today's venture into the corners is more due to the stubborn rays of the sun, though. Dimmingsun can only imagine how bad the shedding can get with that dark tabby pelt.

By the time Dimmingsun arrives to the scene, others have already flocked to the troubled new apprentice. Brackenpaw is nice — but then Sootspot comes to quickly balance that out.

"Woah, isn't that a little extreme?" His laugh is a fleeting thing, smirk twitching at the edges once. Vulturepaw does not need to think about his dad in a grave. Not when Periwinklebreeze's abrupt fainting had shook them so badly to begin with. "No need to jump to that."

Dimmingsun sees Sootspot's unlikely offspring; compares Nightkit to Vulturepaw, even without meaning to. Both of them comes from elsewhere. Their minds are young, inexperienced, and they will likely take after their respective parents... ultimately, a paternal figure's word will weigh more than anybody else's. All they can do is sit back and hope Sootspot will teach them about the good things in this world. Periwinklebreze is not here, so Dimmingsun takes the opportunity to address Vulturepaw in their stead. "I'm sure Periwinklebreeze would want you to go out and see things. When they recover, you will need to tell him about everything you've learned! Why not start now?"
 
Rowanpaw admittedly cared for the young apprentice, at least a small amount, but they were not of the opinion that he should get his way simply because he was having a rough day. Life carried on and did not care what mental or physical pain you were suffering. Rowanpaw had been thrust into training not too long after her father had selfishly abandoned his clan, leaving them and their littermates with no parent to provide them any comfort ( Gorsepetal did not count; she had practically disowned them the moment they left the nursery ). It was hard, adjusting to a new process without having anyone to rely on, but they made it through alright. Vulturepaw would, too. Briefly and bitterly, they feel that Vulturepaw ought to be more grateful that Periwinklebreeze was still alive and well ( as far as they all knew ).

Sootspot's "words of wisdom", unfortunately, possessed an ounce of truth though Rowanpaw did not personally appreciate the warrior talking to a youth in such a tone. Maybe you should grow up and learn to stick your ugly nose elsewhere. They bite back an insult, knowing better than to talk back to a warrior. It's foolish, really, thinking that some new warriors who were her age held more authority in the clan than she did. Rowanpaw had little regrets about being chosen to be a tunneler, but she very much urged to snap at her clanmates without any repercussions. In three moons' time...

Mismatched eyes land back on the stubborn tabby tom, agreeing with the lead warrior's more softer approach to coaxing Vulturepaw onto a patrol. "Dimmingsun is correct, Vulturepaw." The chimera meowed. "You mustn't give your father anything to worry about while he's ill. He would be very proud to know that you're carrying on in his absence." Remember what I told you. They want to say. Vulturepaw had the makings of a great warrior but he would never achieve his full potential if he didn't put his emotions aside and partake in training.

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    a tunneler apprentice of windclan, rowanpaw is nine moons and is mentored by swiftshade they are the child of snakehiss and berrysnap. split directly down the middle, their right half is solid black and their left half is tortoiseshell patterned. they also have amber and blue heterochromia.