PAFP Camp a voice inside | getting caught

[possumgrin]

Possumgrin slunk deeper into the shadows, ears flicking at every passing sound. The patrol had been rounding up at dawn, and rather than suffer through another miserable morning and empty hunting, he had made himself conveniently unavailable. A sudden urgent need to check on the elders a brief but crucial conversation with a warrior who wasn't even in camp. Oh, and that branch over there needed a good, long stare.

By now, the patrol surely should've left. The blue tom carefully poked his head out from behind a scraggly bramble, orange eyes scanning the camp. Clear. His whiskers twitched with satisfaction as he stepped out, stretching as if he'd just woken up from a hard earned nap. Easy. With Fleapaw left to rest there was no stopping him from screwing off today.

He rolled his shoulders, already planning the rest of his free morning. Maybe a good sun patch, a chat with someone interesting for a change. Then an all too familiar face approached. @Smogmaw. One of the cats he was supposed to be patrolling with. Fox dung. His entire body stiffened mid-step. Slowly, he turned his head, a strained smile already pulling at his sheepish maw as he met the assumedly unimpressed gaze of who had caught him. His tufted ears twitched as he scrambled for an excuse, any excuse. By the heavens don't tell @SABLESTAR !

"Oh! Funny running into you Smogmaw!" He took a step forward as if this were an entirely normal morning. "You just missed me, actually. Patrol? Yeah. I, uh... Well, you see-" His tail lashed once before he reeled it in, shifting his weight awkwardly. "I had to... Uh, you know. Nature calls." They shot a meaningful glance toward the outskirts of camp.

"Had to go make dirt. Urgently." His expression remained serious, as if this was truly a tragic and unavoidable event. Shut up Possumgrin! Shut! Up! But he could already predict the inevitable disbelief.

"And then-" He held up a pale paw as if they had interrupted his very important tale. "I was on my way to check on Fleapaw! Poor thing has been dying to practice." He exhaled dramatically. "She's probably wasting away as we speak." A solemn shake of their tufted blue head. "What kind of mentor would I be if I didn't ensure her training?" Possumgrin's ear twitched as he cringed at his own faulty sincerity. Still he gave a winning grin, sharp fangs flashing.

Would they buy it? Probably not. Would that stop him from committing to the bit? Absolutely not.

OOC: The patrol has already left but Smog is assumed to have stuck behind to find Possum. A common pattern of his is to disappear during morning patrols. Once Smogmaw replies feel free to come in on the action! However, it is very early in the morning and unlikely any cat heard Possum's poor excuse so please play it off like they only catch the tail end of whatever Smog has to say (minus Sablestar they are to overhear the whole thing!)​

 

[SABLESTAR]

Possumgrin was not the prime choice he had thought to have made just a few short moons ago. Sablestar had seen the tabby with possibility of growth in his lack of motivation, that perhaps with the encouragement of being seen for his potential, that may change. It proved the leader wrong, however, as Possumgrin continued to flounder with Fleapaw's training and duck away from any sort of guidance or direction for his role in the Clan. Sablestar had half a mind to rip away his mentorship entirely, but he is short on warriors to hand her off too. In any case, she appeared just fine tagging into patrols her mentor hid away from.

The tuxedo sat beside the buttonbush that hugged the maw of his den as dawn rose to the horizon's surface, pleased with the night's work and ready for some well deserved rest when he can hear the warriors voice babbling. Sablestar's maw twisted into a frown as his ears angled back, disappointment burning in his throat as he made the regretable decision to approach the pair. Both of them missing from their dawn patrols, but it looks more like Smogmaw found a mouse in Cicadabuzz's herbs.

"That's enough prattle from you, Possumgrin." The dark tom sighed as though these exhaustive excuses rubbed off on him. "Fleapaw's training would do well with a proper routine to model after, why hasn't that been done still? Do you know how many time's she's been caught making a mess and you're nowhere to be found?" Sablestar lashed his tail in annoyance. "Is she even prepared for an assessment, how confident are you that she'll pass?"

this heart beats cold like the devil his own

• "mew"
• 

  SABLESTAR— he/him ･fifty-four moons ･leader; shadowclan ･penned by gonkpilled

  a black and white tuxedo with dark amber eyes

 

[possumgrin]

The jig was up and he had not a soul to blame nor a corner to scramble away in.

His facade all but a cobweb, fraying at the barest threads under Sablestar's stare. Not that it had ever been strong just a patchwork of charm and evasion stitched together with sloth and annoyance. Now it unraveled completely, heat crawling up his neck as the leader's voice bore down on him like fangs to their throat.

"Uh..." Their meow croaked out, weak and fumbling. Dark lips opening again, then closing like a fish flung to shore. "No, I just..." The tom tried, helpless against the suffocating tone of frustration. There was nowhere to run. Sablestar's words stuck him at the mention of Fleapaw. Tufted blue ears flattened as he willed on his need to appear happy-go-lucky. "H-hey, it hasn't been that long... Has it?" The Night Guard offered weakly, a useless smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth, cracking under the weight. However the fire of humility hit harder and this time he had no lie worth the breath to float it.

"She..." Possumgrin's voice gave out. Images racing by of Fleapaw's eager gaze, the times he waved her off with some sarcastic jab, her bouncing steps that slowed when he stopped showing up. The hurt in her eyes when he turned his back one too many times. His absence far louder than any petty little laugh he had scrounged up to a clanmate. Tense shoulders drop and his head fell forward with defeat.

"No." Possumgrin rasped at last. The word landing heavy in the silence, stripped of all pretense. His voice hoarse, brittle. "Fleapaw has made no progress and would fail. Miserably."

It would be all his fault.

The truth hung there, choking him. Shame raised his fur in jagged clumps, and the crooked grin he'd worn like armor finally slipped. No jokes. No excuses. Just that sick, hollow feeling of knowing he'd let her down, his sister and himself and hadn't done a thing to fix it. He looked away, jaw clenched, hating how small he felt beneath Sablestar's gaze. Their usual charisma fizzled and dead more so than his internal dismay of Sablestar. Possumgrin couldn't find a single thing to conjure up and pin on the Shadowclanner. Not when two pairs of eyes stared him down.

So he stayed woefully silent as the world grew all the more suffocating.

OOC: Thread is open now! Feel free to dunk on this loser ​

 

[F l e a p a w]

-

The muddy apprentice poked her nose through the brambles of the medicine den. Unlike her good-for-nothing excuse of a mentor, she didn't bother pretending to be busy. Fleapaw didn't like the crap Cicadabuzz had her doing, but she wasn't stupid enough to dodge her duties. If she was ever going to be a warrior—a goal that seemed farther from her grasp by the day—then she had to work for it.

That was what pissed her off most about Possumgrin. He was lazy piece of dirt, but a clever one. By now, she was in on his little game. That didn't stop her from chasing him around, pestering him even if she rarely got anything out of it. So yeah, maybe when she saw him getting his tail chewed off by Sablestar, she couldn't help but crack a smirk.

But she also felt kinda... bad for him. She was the center of plenty of scoldings and public beatdowns. It sucked. She knew how it must've felt. The times she spent in trouble outnumbered the times she'd actually been praised. No one said shit about any of the stuff she did right. They only had something to say about the stuff she did wrong. Possumgrin included.

When he was made her mentor, she was happy. He was a Night Guard and supposedly a good fighter too. As much as she hated his guts, a part of her wanted to prove him wrong. Just once, she wanted him to acknowledge something—anything—she'd did right. Because wasn't she trying hard enough? Hadn't she been a good apprentice? She did whatever he told her to. She took his bullshit without complaint, even when it made her blood boil.

Yeah, sure she was a bit of a slow grower, but couldn't he see what Froststorm saw in her?

Her paw scraped the ground as she stepped forward without thinking. She could try and save his ass right now.... Come up with some excuse to feed Sablestar. Wouldn't be the first time she's been in trouble. So what if she took some of the fall?

She took another step before her paws rooted. But… Why should she? The past few moons had been hell for her, and most of that was his fault… so why… shouldn't he have a little taste too? Shit, honestly why shouldn't he have the full meal? He earned it.

Fleapaw slowly backed into the den again, slipping just behind the brambles. She crouched low near the entrance, watching the scene unfold with a scowl.

Haven't I always been a burden to you?

So why try to be anything more than that now.​

How was I supposed to the see the way?

FLEAPAW

7 MOONS
SHE/HER
- Undersized cinnamon solid with folded ears. She's thin but stubby with very messy fur.
"SPEECH" - crimson | 'THOUGHTS/EMPHASIS' - crimson

Fleapaw values family the most with survival at a close second. In conversations, she is blunt, fun-loving, and clever. She is guided by her desires which often leads her astray. Despite her abrasive personality, she cares deeply for those she loves and will do anything to protect them. Due to her experiences, Fleapaw is corrupt and has minimalistic, if any, morals. She does not care for the warrior code and its restraints. Neither does she believe in StarClan. Growing up in a kitten mill, being separated from her mother, and ending up on the streets have deeply affected her view of the world.

Haven't I given enough?