Private Shipyard making lines in the sand

[Adderfang]

There weren't a lot of things that could get Adder riled. He was good at keeping his head, even under pressure, but some things just rubbed him wrong. And anything involving his family? That was an instant hair-raiser. He wasn't the type to let things slide when it came to them. Couldn't. Wouldn't. Not when they were the most important creatures to ever waltz into his life.

So, excuse him if his fuse was a little shorter today.

He stormed through the shipyard, tail winding behind him, eyes set with more steel than usual. He was on a mission, his destination already decided before he even left home.

A quick scan of the shoreline and jaw loosened to test the air.

Then, there—familiar grey fur, messy and slicked with grime—jaw set under more than it should've. He'd taken note of the older molly the moment she'd set foot in their patch of sand, even regarded her with a bit more softness than most. She reminded him of someone he'd lost a long time ago.

But even that wasn't gonna stop him from speaking his mind on this matter. His voice cut through the salty breeze.

"Hey."

He sauntered across the beach, standing tall, drawing in a slow, measured breath through his nose.

"Did you tell my kits something?" His tone was tight, restrained—Benefit of the doubt. He'd give her at least that. "They were scared witless during their swimming lesson today. Wave and I spent half the morning trying to talk them down from never touchin' water again."

Tell me you didn't. He didn't want to go off on this molly, but if she didn't smooth it over real quick? He was ready to.

___________________ There wasn't a wrong or a right he could choose 𓆟 He did what he had to do ________________

• "speech" - thoughts
  

• 

• Adderfang he/him & riverclan
  𓆟 Chocolate ticked tabby w/ amber eyes. Peppered with scars. Deep gash across the right side of his face exposing one canine slightly.
  𓆟 Deep gravelly voice that might unsettle others.
  𓆟 Would and will kill a man.
  𓆟 Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted For other powerplays, DM.
  𓆟 Fur smells faintly of river reeds and damp earth.
  
  @KNOT
  
  penned by Scarlet​

 

[KNOT]

As paws worked to bury chewed-up remnants of prey she'd been unable to swallow, her mind did not wander to her prior interactions with some of the Shipyard's kittens. There was little about being a parental figure to them that had seemed out of the ordinary to her, with her own kits grown up, it had simply been nice to play the role of a mentor once more. It was too easy to forget others didn't feel that way. Heavy pawsteps caused her ears to twitch, her head turning quicker than she willed it to, her eyes settling to a snaggle-tooth and then, to amber eyes. She nodded in greetings, tempting a glance to Adder's sides. Alone.

Deja Vu caused her heart to stutter as a firm accusation came from the other's scarred lips, her stubby tail twitching in an attempt to lash. She blinked incredulously as Adder continued, maw parted even as the stench of seawater became overwhelming. "They were playing near the water's edge. Told 'em to be careful, that things in there'll gobble 'em up," she answered earnestly. Each breath felt as if it could be her last, that heavy claws would strike down upon her in an attempt to kill her. Adder was no friend, perhaps a part of her should've expected it'd be him that would end her life. There was no memory quite as foul as when her own rogue group had betrayed her, the ringleader a cat who loathed smiling and was adamant he was doing his part to protect them all.

If she squinted, deluded herself enough, she could see traces of black-and-white fur upon the other, feel an anger she had chosen to ignore in pursuit of love. Suddenly, she was compelled to explain herself, as if it would quell the tide she had created. "Thought it was reasonable. Kit ain't gonna outswim a shark. And if there's a big wave? Dunno, too many things could go wrong, I guess." She kneaded her claws against the earth as if the very thought she'd suggested was wholly too uncomfortable.

She smiled to spite herself, to spite him, to let him know that things did not have to end in violence, that if she could be amicable, then so could he. Within an instant, it had become more about just what she had or hadn't said to his kittens, though, she didn't stop to think whether Adderfang thought the same. "Why? Is there a problem?"
​

 

[Adderfang]

For a moment, the tom softened—shoulders slumping ever so slightly, the wrinkles in his brow easing.

They looked nothing alike and yet... He saw traces of orange and black where there was only grey. A shadow of a kind, nurturing face he would never see again—hadn't seen in many moons. The ghost of her voice echoed in his ears, laced with Knot's. An ache settled in his ribs which he promptly stuffed down. Something to feel later.

Or maybe not at all.

The past couldn't bring him comfort, nor did it have any place in the present. He opened the lid to its box only to shut it again.

He sighed, whiskers twitching away his irritation. So, she had good intentions, at least, but her execution sure as hell needed work. He could appreciate her looking out for them, really—he was grateful anyone was willing to when he couldn't. Too many things kept him indisposed these days.

But couldn't she have phrased it any other way? Now his kits thought some monster lived in the water.

He let the old molly speak, listening without interruption. Adder wasn't one to jump ahead of himself. And for a moment, he almost concluded that he'd come in too hot, that he should just admit his mistake and be done with it. But suppose he was a little too prideful for that.

"Yes, there is." His tail flicked sharply. "Look, I—" Adder hesitated, wrestling with the right words. "Appreciate, you lookin' after them. But my kits will learn to swim. You should know as well as I do that the forest doesn't always provide. It's important to Wave and me."

That was the real sticking point. He wouldn't bend when it came to Wave. The water held a meaning for her that he didn't fully understand, not in the way she did. He tried, but at the end of the day? He just wanted her to be happy. And the hurt in her eyes when their kits had refused to swim? That wasn't an expression he ever wanted to see on her face again.

The tom didn't know how else to say it, so he cut straight to the point. "In short, don't spout that nonsense to my kits again. We're teaching them proper so you don't need to worry."

___________________ There wasn't a wrong or a right he could choose 𓆟 He did what he had to do ________________

• "speech" - thoughts
  

• 

• Adderfang he/him & riverclan
  𓆟 Chocolate ticked tabby w/ amber eyes. Peppered with scars. Deep gash across the right side of his face exposing one canine slightly.
  𓆟 Deep gravelly voice that might unsettle others.
  𓆟 Would and will kill a man.
  𓆟 Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted For other powerplays, DM.
  𓆟 Fur smells faintly of river reeds and damp earth.
  
  @KNOT
  
  penned by Scarlet​

 

[KNOT]

Her smile strained against her muzzle as the tom continued until she could force it no more, dropping the expression as Adder called her concerns nonsense. Her eyes burned briefly with contempt for such a word, misaligned teeth scraping her tongue as a reminder to keep it firmly sheathed until the tabby had finished. Perhaps she could've been kinder about the monsters in the water, Garnet swam with little problem as did most of the other Shipyard cats, it was just with kittens, it felt different, as if they were dried leaves that'd break apart at the slightest provocation. She knew she should've asked Adder first, but at that moment, all she had seen were the thousands of possibilities in which their play session could've gone wrong.

She blinked, tension coiling in her belly like a snake. "Fine." A placating mew, not one that agreed or disagreed with Adder's sentiment, merely one that intended to move the conversation away from her flawed approach. Perhaps if she'd been less antagonistic towards the last threat, her back would no longer be scarred and she and Garnet could've remained in their old group. She didn't want them to have to leave again, her mate certainly deserved better than a partner who could not keep them in stable territory.

Nonsense.

The word came up again in her mind and she couldn't leave it alone. Testing the tepid waters, she mewed, "Bit insulting that you think my concerns are nonsense though, yeah? Somethin' in the water ate my tail when I was a kit, nearly drowned 'cause of it." It was a moment of vulnerability to admit such things, a weakness that she couldn't trust the other with, but for the sake of his little ones (and her pride so easily wounded by a telling off), she had to stomach the chance of her honestly going wrong. "Not saying you have to stop teaching 'em to swim, but shouldn't you wait until they're stronger? Or, do ya trust the Shipyard lot enough to pull 'em from the brink of death if things go wrong?"

She liked the cats around her, but even settled in now, she did not think she would trust anyone but herself to keep her family safe. The hypocrisy of butting in on Adder's was lost on her, eyes searching for any semblance of doubt within the other.


​

 

[Adderfang]

It was clear that what he said was not well received. He wondered if there were a better way to go about it. Should he have told Wave instead? She might've had an easier time talking to the old molly.

Even as Knot opens up about her experience, Adder expression remained unchanged—serious—unmoved. It wasn't that he couldn't sympathize. He wasn't a water-dweller. Adder had grown up far from the shipyard, with his father teaching all his siblings how not to drown. That meant a basic swimming lesson, not avoiding the water entirely. Wave, on the other paw, was a far more experienced teacher. He'd learned quick after she pushed him in and expected him to float—multiple times might he add. Course, after he started liking her, he'd been more eager to learn.

"I'm sure, and its... unfortunate about your tail," He muttered awkwardly, gently navigating away from what he was sure was a very legitimate story. Not that he had ever heard of any cats being eaten by fish, although he made a mental note to ask Wave about it later. Though if cat-eating fish were a concern he figured Wave wouldn't let their kits swim in the first place. "Wave said it's best to teach them while they're young. So, they adjust better to the water. Besides, they've been told to be careful, but not cause some fish is gonna swallow them up." He explained sternly, "And I trust only Wave and myself with our kits." Wave was fond of their shipyard neighbors. Long as they didn't cause trouble, he was willing to co-exist. But that was as far as his 'trust' went with them.

There was more than water that could kill them. They could starve, freeze to death, fall ill, get eaten... The list of dangers was far longer than he cared to say aloud. "They won't learn nothin' if all we do is tell them to stay away from stuff. They have to make mistakes, even if it gets em hurt. " That was how he was raised. Even though his father hadn't been the gentlest of teachers. After a few stings and tummy aches, he learned not to stick his nose in stumps or eat prey that smelled sour. No one ever said living was kind.

Adder's tail flicked once behind him, a subtle sign of his irritation. Why was he even explaining all this to her? It wasn't even Knots business. Rush and Cres were his and Waves kits, not hers. They were doing more than fine if anyone asked him.

___________________ There wasn't a wrong or a right he could choose 𓆟 He did what he had to do ________________

• "speech" - thoughts
  

• 

• Adderfang he/him & riverclan
  𓆟 Chocolate ticked tabby w/ amber eyes. Peppered with scars. Deep gash across the right side of his face exposing one canine slightly. Missing left ear.
  𓆟 Deep gravelly voice that might unsettle others.
  𓆟 Would and will kill a man.
  𓆟 Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted. For other powerplays, DM.
  𓆟 Fur smells faintly of river reeds and damp earth.
  
  
  penned by Scarlet​