Open Event ThunderClan RiverClan ShadowClan SkyClan WindClan come and run away with me ִֶָ☾.⭒ — crossclan apprentices

[F l e a p a w]

-

With the sun rising higher in the sky and nothing but the buzz of insects and the distant croaks of frogs filling the air, restless paws led her away from ShadowClan territory. No particular direction in mind, just a drive to move. Her paws carried her through familiar bogs and brambles, until the scent markers thinned out. She knew she was pushing it—skirting far past the edge of ShadowClan's claim. Plenty of cats wouldn't be happy about that, but she didn't care. The thought of finding something new was enough to make her tail flick with anticipation.

By the time the trees thinned and the ground dried beneath her paws, Fleapaw found herself somewhere she'd never been before. A wide, open clearing centered by a tree so tall that it touched the sky. Fleapaw felt smaller than ever as she wandered toward the stone cradled in its roots.

"Holy crap..." She muttered to herself, craning her neck to look up at the massive trunks. "I couldn't climb that hunk of wood in my dreams." It wasn't too far from the pocosin, and somewhere in the distance, she could smell ThunderClan too. Well... their scent wasn't the strongest here, so she doubted they would chase her off.

Or she thought until the faint crunch of pawsteps made her freeze. The apprentice spun around at the ready, muscles tensed. Her lip curled instinctively, ready for a fight. Figures she wouldn't be the only one with the brilliant idea to wander off today.

@Eclipsepaw @Chickpaw @BURRPAW @Warrenpaw

The first official meetup for the crossclan apprentice friendships plot! Of course, even cats not involved with that plot are welcome to post! Tee-hee little apprentice gathering : )

That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood

FLEAPAW

8 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.

She's got the hottest trike in town

 

[Sealpaw Sealpaw]

You Say That You Are Close

Is Close The Closest Star?

x

She knew Smogmaw would be cross with her for wandering so far away from Shadowclan territory, but nostalgia- or perhaps it was something else- had bid Sealpaw come back to where it had all began. The clearing felt like a far cry from what it had once been. The den that had made her feel so safe felt like just another hole in the ground. The nest that had once been her and her mother's was somehow still there but the moss was so dry and brittle it crumbled near instantly at the tabby's touch. It simply wasn't the same anymore. It never would be.

She's about to turn to leave when a voice from outside the den faintly reaches her ears and the apprentice cautiously pokes her nose out before leaning fully out when she recognizes the scent. What was she doing here? Was she thinking of climbing the tree?

"Back when we all lived here," She called out to Fleapaw before fully climbing out of the old den. "One of the older kits tried to climb one of the giant trees around here, but she fell and broke her leg..." Sealpaw hadn't been present for the actual fall but had seen the aftermath in camp. It had been enough to convince her that perhaps the tops of trees were better left to the birds and squirrels that called them home.

Sealpaw shuffled in place awkwardly. She had not exactly spoken much to Fleapaw since she'd dragged the other away from the encounter with Thunderclan and...it had not ended well. The scratch above her eye was long healed by now without even a scar to show for it but if she thought too hard about it sometimes the spot itched as if it had. She wanted to try and clear the air between them but wasn't sure how or if the smaller apprentice would even reciprocate.

"...I don't know everything, but I can tell you a little bit about this place if you want. Like, um-" Sealpaw gestured to the old den behind her. "This used to be me and my mam- ...Leopard's den." She swallowed. The tiniest of olive branches offered, now to see if it would be accepted.

You Just Feel Twice As Far

SEALPAW

— Shadowclan Apprentice
— She/They
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— Grey Rosetted Tabby With Blue Eyes And A Bobbed Tail.
#4c66bf

 

[F l e a p a w]

-

Cinnamon fur bristled as Fleapaw spun around at the sound of a voice. She hadn't expected anyone else out here—the place was supposed to be abandoned, wasn't it? Recognizing Sealpaw the tension in her shoulders settled, fur gradually lying flat once more. That mark she left when they talked last wasn't there anymore, but she remembers where it was. She can still smell the blood and imagine the fear in those blue eyes...

It was no secret Fleapaw didn't like Sealpaw. She supposed she wasn't that bitter about being dragged off the battlefield anymore—well, maybe she still was a little bitter—but that wasn't the point. Sealpaw was a coward. A soft-bellied, coddled kit with no spine, and cats like that pissed her off. She let out a huff, glancing up with narrowed eyes. "Didn't actually plan on climbin' it. I ain't stupid."

Still… at least she wasn't Pepperpaw. Just thinking about that stuck up she-cat made her head wanna pop. Curiosity tugged at her paws. "Hmph." She shuffled a little closer. "Guess I am a little curious." Fleapaw didn't hate the idea of learning more about the place and the colony.

Her gaze flicked past Sealpaw toward the shadows inside the den. "So this is where the colony used to live, right? Don't remember anyone ever mentioning a Leopard. Did they stay with ThunderClan when everyone split?"

That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood

FLEAPAW

8 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.

She's got the hottest trike in town

 

[Sealpaw Sealpaw]

You Say That You Are Close

Is Close The Closest Star?

x

"I never said you were." Sealpaw countered with a shake of her head before looking back up at the giant tree. "I lived here all my life, before the fight..."

The apprentice slowly sprawled out onto the ground, tucking her hind legs under herself as Fleapaw moved closer to listen. She was about to open her mouth to explain what she knew when the other may as well have dug ivory claws into Sealpaw's heart and ripped it out of her chest. Seal froze, mouth suddenly dry.

Of course Fleapaw wouldn't know about Leopard. Shadowclan and Thunderclan had already split into what they are now by the time she was found... Vaguely she wondered if Fleapaw would have liked Leopard or if she would just have fought and argued with her like she did with every other member of Shadowclan.

"Y-yes... We all lived here together. Our leader was Fray, but he was sick and dying, so he couldn't lead anymore... Hawthorne was his son, and he was supposed to take over, but I think he was so busy taking care of Fray that he couldn't lead at the same time. We didn't have a deputy or anything like the Night Guard back then so Hawthorne was expected to do it all himself..." She paused, suddenly all too interested in the grass between her paws. "Leopard was... Leopard was my mother."

The tabby apprentice did not look up at her clanmate, methodically beginning to rip the greenery with a claw. "She died during the fight that split us into Shadowclan and Thunderclan. I don't know who it was that killed her, but they didn't have to go that far. Anyone that looked would be able to tell she was long dead by the time they tore her throat like that..." Sometimes she thinks- fantasizes perhaps- of what she'd say to whoever it was that killed Leopard. In her mind's eye she's cutting the cat down with her words alone. Every syllable as sharp as her own claws, to drag them down in her own grief. "I wish I knew who it was..."

Maybe, just maybe, learning that- learning why her mother had been killed and left in such cruel way-- would let Sealpaw stand on her own and move forward. ...Or maybe it would just drag her down. She wasn't sure. She was afraid of not liking the answer.

Perhaps confessing this all to Fleapaw was the most damning evidence of all that she was still just a coward after all these moons.

You Just Feel Twice As Far

SEALPAW

— Shadowclan Apprentice
— She/They
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— Grey Rosetted Tabby With Blue Eyes And A Bobbed Tail.
#4c66bf