PAFP Territory TC A PART OF YOUR WORLD . ݁₊ ⊹ the river...

[ASTERPAW]

x

Asterpaw walks alongside his mentor and uncle, Graybird, his mother had assigned the slate-blue tomcat as his mentor to which he didn't mind but he always felt so awkward around his uncle then again, he felt that way around anyone else that isn't his mother. He had been living in her shadow for so long that he isn't sure how he would continue without being at the side of her mother but he knows that this arrangement was so that he could be able to hold his own and defend himself. The chocolate tabby follows in the pawprints of his relative but doesn't bother keeping up the pace as a sniffle slips from his nose, his copper toned eyes staring at the ground, and his feathery tail dragging behind him without much of a word.

Usually, the young apprentice is aware of his surroundings and observant yet he doesn't seem to pay any mind simply following the sound and brief glimpses of Graybird. When they slip into the thick foliage, Asterpaw seems to lose sight of him especially since his nose is normally stuffy so it didn't do well in tracking others like most cats and his paws lead him in the direction of Sunningrocks. The feeling of sunlight bleeding into his fur is enough to make him glance upwards with confusion especially at the realization that he can't seem to see his mentor anywhere and his head snaps in either direction trying to see if he'll catch a glimpse of gray fur.

A frown forms on his features as the fevercoat patched apprentice continues to search for his uncle and his jaws part to speak "G-Graybird? Wh... where did you go?" His voice frantic and his breath seems to hitch when a shadow casts itself over him, the apprentice glances towards the skies to see something with a large wingspan as it lets out a cry. It stalks him like prey and he can feel his own heart pounding within his eardrums, his mouth becoming dry, and his eyes widening to the size of the moon. An eagle soars above and tears through the air as it begins to descend in his direction, his fur prickles in every direction, and a part of him wants to cry out for his uncle, and for his mother.

But fear is what causes nothing to slip out from his jaws not even a whimper and he's certain that he's going to die and he feels like a deer in headlights, its when the large bird of prey shrieks again that it makes him start to bolt away for his life. Asterpaw can feel the way that his vision becomes blurry and how fat tears start to slip down his face, his heart rapidly beating in his chest that he's certain that it'll give out at any moment, and his paws hitting the ground violently with each stride.

I don't want to die... dear Starclan, I don't want to die.

Suddenly, he trips over a stone which sends him flying into the air and he's met with the cold water of the river. He opens his eyes completely to see that he has sunk into the water and how it starts to weigh down on his plush coat, the eagle diving forward with its talons barely missing him but one manages to graze the skin on his cheek causing it to bleed, and yet the bird of prey relents as its talons seek purchase elsewhere on the body of a fish instead. He doesn't dare to surface until he can see that it pivots away from the river and into the skies once more, he bursts out of the cold with a loud gasp, and his paws start to flail around.

"H-help! Graybird! Help! Anybody-" The weight of his fur finally bringing him down once more as the river envelopes him and his paw reaches out towards a blurry silhoutte, his vision becoming dark, and the air being taken from his already weak lungs. The sickly apprentice blinks unable to fight it anymore as his body starts to give up and bubbles slip from his jaws... this is it, isn't it? How cruel... how unfair. He hadn't been ready to go and even now as he feels himself sinking, he can't find it in himself to jostle his muscles. Starclan had forsaken him since birth and had given him a weak, frail body.

His eyes close even as his lungs scream for air... why him?

IN FIVE YEARS TIME WE MIGHT NOT SPEAK

ASTERPAW

THUNDERCLAN APPRENTICE
TRANS MASC x HE/HIM/THEY/THEM​

x

"speech", thoughts, attacking
a runty, longhaired chocolate tabby with clay toned eyes and low white. a sickly apprentice with small patches of fevercoat left over in his pelt, kitten fuzz, and fat that clings to him but is fading away to give way to a taller/more lanky build
sickly child of juniperstar and sablestar; littermate of dreampaw and magpiepaw

asterpaw's an introverted apprentice that keeps to himself for the most part unless family's involved, he usually keeps his head low and eyes averted so he doesn't make direct eye contact. once, he actually gets to know someone is he more open towards them and can prove to be a devoted friend. once he's comfortable around other individuals, he tends to speak a lot more and sometimes over shares about himself without realizing it. he hates that he was born sickly but despite it, he tries to overcome it and pushes himself harder than any of the apprentices

 

[lavenderpaw]

Perhaps to Frostmoth's chagrin, Lavenderpaw insists on following the predator bird towards the river. She's not enamored with it, per say, but the blue molly is curious about it. How do they hunt in the water with all those feathers? Are they no different than ducks, then? She recalls being told that they sport talons instead of webbed feet. So they have to be different. Regardless, she promises to stay in the reeds, out of sight, and with the usual chaos of a patrol, the molly slips away from her mentor without getting the proper permission.

The bird screams, and the fur along her neck spikes and ruffles. She tucks herself along the bank of the river, the tide lapping at her belly fur, and eyes trained on the eagle. A fascinating beast as it circles and circles, likely waiting for a flash in the water like a RiverClan cat does. And yet, it's like a call and response. The bird screeches once more, and the foliage on the opposite shore ruffles suddenly. A tom of dark hued fur and wide, ochre eyes bursts from the seams of the woodlands. His cries are soundless as his paws trip on the pebbly shore and he tips head-over-tail right into the rapids. Lavenderpaw shrinks at first as the shadow of the eagle grows larger, those very talons scraping into the water after Asterpaw. It comes away with something more silver and shiny, yet even as it disappears into the horizon, the tabby tom does not resurface.

"Aster - Asterpaw!" Lavenderpaw calls, likely alerting her own patrol as she does. It's not a second thought - to be true, it's hardly a first. Her paws crash into the water senselessly, drawing her deeper and deeper into the rapids, and she voluntarily sinks. Despite the water darkening the further in she goes, it remains clear and she can discern his dark shape from the shimmering scales of the fish swimming around him. Lavenderpaw grimaced as a paw reaches blindly for her, and with all the strength she has, she swims towards him. She launches her teeth into his scruff and heaves him up, kicking out her legs desperately to reach the surface. And before long...

They break the water's tension. She gasps for air before refixing her grip on Asterpaw, her legs growing exhausted from the sudden exertion. But still, she pulls him onto his side of the river, heaving him onto the shore and dragging him even further from the lapping waves. Lavenderpaw circles him, ears pinning back. Her nose touches his forehead, a silent prayer sent to whomever is listening. She drops so that her ear can listen for his breath, then leans her cheek to his chest, trying to find his heartbeat. Ugh! How does Jinglemoon do this!? Lavenderpaw gives up, leaning her soaked body into his and drawing her tongue obsessively over his cheek, shoulder, chest, nose (ew!) anything to start to hear him breathe again. Even just that ugly, ragged breathing he had when she first met him. Anything!!

Lavenderpaw feels him stir and pulls away, blocking the sun with her frame so that it doesn't hurt his eyes. The blue furred molly grins, something true and warm, before hearing the brush rustle again. Fish-dung! She doesn't fear ThunderClan more than she fears SkyClan (which is also not at all) but crossing the scent lines seems to have become an ultimate no-no in the laws of everyone. She tenses her jaw and lifts to her paws again, turning tail as quickly as she can. She jumps towards the shore, using the stepping stones to get half way across before launching into the river to make it to the other side. There, she meets Frostmoth, who ushers her away from the scene before either of them could be implicated in some sort of crime.

 

[loonstar loonstar]

juniper

"and this time, she won't be forgiving"​​

it's a sense... an unconscious one developed by months spent tightly wrapped around his shuddering-breathed form. he was smaller than, impossibly small and frailer than a newborn fawn. maybe that would never change and she'd been foolish to think otherwise. even in the care of Graybird, who she trusted implicitly, mistakes could be made. and it really only took a second to have everything and lose it all, right?

there's a distant howl of his uncle's name and that is the first sign that the stone has been cast, the beginning of an end. panic sends a miserable tingle down her spine, one that knows a goodbye when it sits at the edge of her vision. her paws burn with urgency but it takes too much time, even she understands that... too much time to reach the shore. and he is laid there, soaked to his bones. "Asterpaw!"

it is agonizing, every stride that separates them, the not-knowing. but as she crouches beside him, there is the perceptible rise and fall of his flank... and the dawning realization that he is ill-equipped to have rescued himself. ThunderClanners, any that knew the skills to swim had to have lived beyond the life-time of the clan. Asterpaw was not one of such members. her head lifts, scouring the far side of the river for whoever might be lurking there.

"Thank you!" is all she can think to offer, to whoever might be close enough to hear. even if the only ones to hear it is StarClan, she'll take it. turning back towards her son with an anxious insistence, she sets about grooming his fur to warm him up, to remind him to fight. "Come on, you're alright... come back sweetheart."

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

•  
• juniperstar
  leader of thunderclan
  seven lives remain