honesty in a gift basket [ frostmoth ]

[lavenderkit]

She will give him one more chance. Lavenderkit doesn't want to hate the deputy of RiverClan, but thus far any attempt of hers to leave camp has been met with a busy task given by him. "Count the minnows, Lavenderkit." "Test every nest, Lavenderkit." "Make sure not a single cloud falls out of the sky today, okay, Lavenderkit?" It's as if he thinks she's three moons old, or something! She's five moons, actually, and soon Pikestar will award her a mentor, and that mentor will be thrilled to have her. Because she is smart, and disciplined, and knowledgeable, and -

Her mind's raced away from her. The molly, halfway in her jaunt towards Frostmoth, entirely forgets about her endeavor. Her paws eventually land her right before him, and cool-hued eyed glare up towards the bi-color tom in a prolonged, uncomfortable silence. Her eyebrows pinch together, and the admittance of, I forgot what I came here to do, almost childishly leaves her tongue. She spends moments idling in his path, retracing her steps, before catching her wants with clawed paws and snapping her teeth.

"You have to bring me to Four Trees." It is the only way she'll forgive him, she thinks. After all of his distracting and placating, she's grown smarter, more clever. "I've seen SkyClan and ThunderClan. Now I have'ta see WindyClan and - er... ShadeClan -" those are the names, she will not be corrected, "and you're gonna bring me there. C'mon, the sun won't wait for us!"

@Frostmoth

 

[Frostmoth]

Frostmoth had known that Lavenderkit would eventually figure out his strategy to keep her out of trouble. There are only so many distractions and redirections he can make before Lavenderkit could have possibly figured it out. He had tried though, and there had been no malice in his attempts to do so. She's almost apprentice-sized now; something they all are acutely aware of between her attempts to leave camp and her rancorous indignation. Frostmoth doesn't want to think about who might get paired with her as their apprentice, as they were sure to have their paws full.

Frostmoth has barely made it towards the fresh-kill pile when he spots Lavenderkit stomping towards him. Usually he's the one intercepting her, not the other way around. He blinks at her in uncomfortable silence, wondering what creative way she might be brewing up to call him boring or mean. Soon enough, he has to stifle a laugh when he realizes that Lavenderkit seems to have lost her train of thought.

And then, of course, she propositions him. The deputy stops himself from rolling his eyes. "I'll take you to fourtrees next moon," Frostmoth sighs, resolute. It has become especially apparent in recent weeks how Hazecloud and Lichentuft have been so exhausted. "I promise. I'll take you there the moment you're -paw'ed, okay?" Frostmoth looks over his shoulder at the camp entrance, pondering for a moment. He really does feel bad... But he snaps his cool gaze back to her to add: "It's ShadowClan. And they are a big reason why I don't like the idea of you leaving camp yet."

OH, MY GOD ★ MAKE ME IN YOUR IMAGE

• "SPEECH"
• ★ FROST — he/him, riverclan deputy, 20 moons
  — penned by carat, feel free to ping or dm for plots!
  — longhair black and white bicolor with blue eyes
  — peaceful powerplay ok! all interactions ok!
  
• penned by carat!

 

[lavenderkit]

While humor lights his gaze for a few moments - no doubt while she is trying to sort her thoughts and remember why she's pushed for this encounter - it seems to fade with her demand. The tom doesn't grow cold nor angry, just... tired, maybe? He sighs, and the young molly can hear the shift in his tone too clearly. Her tensed shoulders sag somewhat, pitched eyebrows loosening in the same way. Lavenderkit almost gives up immediately, her tail thwapping against the ground with her own disapproval. He says, "... next moon," as if she hasn't already waited five of them. The moment she's paw'ed. He looks over his shoulder, as if he's considering it one last time, and then his gaze falls back to her. Never unkind, never upset; factual and assured at best. Even his big-brother like warmth has faded.

"That's why I want you to take me," Lavenderkit presses, however. In the face of his exasperation, she flashes her unending determination, lilted by a childish sense of wanting. "ShadowClan -" (she marks the name better to memory, now,) "- won't lay a claw on either of us, because you'll protect me, and I'll protect you." His skills on the battlefield far surpass hers, even she knows that, but perhaps that's why he's worried. Some cats are odd like that - maybe Frostmoth fears that he may lag behind her. That lightens her heavy heart a bit.

"We can go when they're not around...?" Lavenderkit tries again, her voice less demanding and more pleading. "Please, Frostmoth - the whole nursery is going to be made apprentices when I am..." a bit of an exaggeration, especially now that Wavesong is expecting again, "I want to be able to impress my mentor, and I can't do that while sitting around and doing nothing." She offers him one last chance, as if she is the one in control of this situation. Lavenderkit sets her jaw and furrows her brow again, hoping to imply as much with just her stern expression.

 

[Frostmoth]

Frostmoth is not surprised that Lavenderkit is displeased with his rejection of her offer. Her tail thwacking against the ground makes Frostmoth almost start up another chuff of amusement, but he suppresses the feeling a second time. Lavenderkit is basically the size of a young apprentice already, and it won't be long now before she and Jackdawkit are both terrorizing their fellow apprentices instead of (seemingly) just Frostmoth. The promise of this prospect is enough for the deputy to continue this conversation, if not just to keep the kit out of trouble... Again.

Lavenderkit, in what Frostmoth assumes is an attempt to butter him up, says that she wants him to take her to fourtrees. She's certainly determined. "No way" he says flatly. Frostmoth almost doesn't know what to do other than to deadpan when Lavenderkit states (albeit proudly) that she will protect him from ShadowClan invaders. The thoughts going through his imagination are amusing at best and shocking at worst. He doesn't mention that he'd been sent home during ShadowClan's heist on RiverClan. Forced to be a glorified escort for Jinglemoon and Rainpaw instead of being allowed to assist them in defending their clan and supplies.

"I also don't want to be skinned by your parents," Frostmoth adds, lower this time. He wants to clarify to Lavenderkit that his decision isn't based on what little skill that kit has, and moreso due to the extraneous factors... Like danger. For her, the danger is outside camp walls, and for him, the danger is the wrath of Hazecloud.

His brow furrows when she expresses that she doesn't want to fall on the wayside in her training. A common sentiment for many of the kits who near to the cusp of apprenticeship. "You have a strong spirit, even if the other apprentices are named at the same time as you they won't have the same determination. You'll stand out," Frostmoth reassures her "And you'll be a warrior by the time Wavesong's kits come. You'll be the one showing them the ropes." He sniffs a little, thoughtful. "Is there anything I can teach you that doesn't involve you leaving camp?"

OH, MY GOD ★ MAKE ME IN YOUR IMAGE

• "SPEECH"
• ★ FROST — he/him, riverclan deputy, 20 moons
  — penned by carat, feel free to ping or dm for plots!
  — longhair black and white bicolor with blue eyes
  — peaceful powerplay ok! all interactions ok!
  
• penned by carat!

 

[lavenderkit]

His tone grows flatter, and the young molly only feels the dejection burn in her veins. Lichentuft took her out, and Hazecloud after that! Did he not see what an opportunity this is? Lavenderkit grits her teeth entirely too hard, a new pain blooming at the edges of her jaws. He mentions her parents, but the child doesn't have it in her to argue the opposite. It's become clear to her that he has no intention to bend or break. An admirable quality of a deputy, no doubt, but a horrid one for a tom who is supposed to snap with the slightest bit of pressure (in her opinion, anyways.) Perhaps her stubborn nature has finally met its match, and her spoiled upbringing cannot overhaul Frostmoth entirely.

Again, he tries to alleviate her disappointment with levels of praise and reassurance. Though it does introduce some levity to her heart, the molly doesn't allow it onto her expression. Her brows remain pinched, her nose screwed up and her eyes pointed away. Determined, he calls her, and yet her determination has earned her nothing but cotton in her ears from the deputy. Lavenderkit huffs, ears craning back as she thinks of Wavesong's new incoming litter. It only inspires bitterness instead, dampened slightly by his following offer.

"Each of the Clans," Lavenderkit starts, the cracks of her frustration widening as she attempts to accept his offer, "I don't... really know them. They're new like us, right? Did they come from the Shipyard, too?" If she can have a better understanding of the other Clans, then at least when she sees them, she won't be a fumbling fool. Maybe she can even inspire jealousy of her littermates by spouting the names of their leaders and deputies by memory alone!

 

[Frostmoth]

Frostmoth leans away as if half-expecting Lavenderkit to throw blows at him. Though the kit seems somewhat quelled now, he knows that there's probably only so many times that he can tell her 'no' before she reaches the breaking point. Well, as much of a breaking point as a kit can have anyway. Still, she seems to level with him at long last, giving up on her insistence that Frostmoth take her out of camp to explore the territory. Instead, she seems to entertain his idea. Frostmoth finally relaxes a little and moves to sit with the kit.

"Well," he begins, taking a seat and looking up at the trees overhead thoughtfully "There are four others we know of besides us. And no, they don't all come from the shipyard like we do." It dawns on Frostmoth: Lavenderkit does not know anything of the shipyard other than stories and tall tales. A sour feeling of nostalgia comes over him. While he does not relish in his old home, it is still a strange feeling to know that this life RiverClan has built is so different from the reality he had lived not so many moons ago. "To be honest, I'm not sure where the other clans come from. But I'm sure they all once had a different home of their own, too," he adds with a sheepish laugh.

"There are two clans who share borders with us," he begins with the clans that he knows the best so far "There's ThunderClan and SkyClan." The deputy pauses and tries to visualize the territory before realizing he isn't really sure which direction each of their neighbors lie in. After an uncomfortably long pause, he continues. "SkyClan is... closer to fourtrees I think," he tips his head thoughtfully as he tries to think of the exact location. There's a bridge, but that part of the territory is otherwise unremarkable to him. "Their leader is Hawkstar. She means business," he doesn't elaborate on what this means, especially given his newfound respect for the SkyClan leader.

He taps a paw to his nose before he continues. "And then there's ThunderClan, they border the other portion of the river that's further from fourtrees... Their border shares a piece of the river though. It's called sunningrocks." The thought of sharing the river with cats who cannot swim is annoying to Frostmoth, but he thinks better than to bring that up. There are more pressing things to worry about typically. "Their leader is Juniperstar... She seems nice enough. I'm not sure if either of their clans have a deputy like we do." He pauses, waiting to see if Lavenderkit has any questions before he would dare to continue.

OH, MY GOD ★ MAKE ME IN YOUR IMAGE

• "SPEECH"
• ★ FROST — he/him, riverclan deputy, 20 moons
  — penned by carat, feel free to ping or dm for plots!
  — longhair black and white bicolor with blue eyes
  — peaceful powerplay ok! all interactions ok!
  
• penned by carat!