Camp RiverClan REGRETS COLLECT LIKE OLD FRIENDS ☾⋆⁺₊ ADDER

[Crescent]

"What in the seashell is a StarClan?" Crescent tries to embody Adder as he speaks to his littermate, at least attempting to embody the Adder that he sees. Someone strong, a little scary but not in the bad way at all, and right now someone upset. He really plays it up too in this game of pretend, puffing out his chest as he stands in Rush's personal bubble but no matter how disgruntled and dissatisfied he pitched his tone to be his grin gave away the game. Realising his mistake he shook his head, trying to once again really put on a show with a dramatic frown. It hadn't been easy but Crescent had managed to make a winning case for why she should get to play their da in this game while Rush played Pike. What else were they supposed to do while waiting? If he can't explore he might as well re-enact. "Who put you in charge anyways? They must have been out of their mind!" he declares with a huff, the words weren't exact but she's pretty sure she got it right.

Unsure of what he should do next since this was intended to be a faithful game of pretend her ears dropped. Then deciding to turn around with a huff, as if to signal the end of the game. With a playful twitch of her tail she turns back to her littermate with a bubbling laugh, only to catch the slightest glimpse of Adder. He must have returned! "Da!" He cheers and bounds up to his side, the kit has grown over the moons, a sign of this so-called apprenticeship being on the near horizon. Long strands of fur tickle against Adders fur as he bumps her head against his shoulder in greeting.

"Did you see me! Did I do a good job at being you?" Large, round pink eyes seek appraisal. It wasn't the most accurate betrayal but it was full of passion so clearly it was a good enough job! "What does what in the seashell mean anyways?" Now that he was back she could finally get some answers around here.

@Adderfang

 

[Adderfang]

Things had been more than awkward since Pike's return. No matter how much Adder tried to go about his day, his thoughts kept circling back to what happened. He needed to address it—to lay everything out in the open—but he hadn't found the courage yet. If it were Wave, he'd skulk off, find a stone, and place it at her paws to show her that he was sorry and open them up to a conversation. But how was he supposed to do that for Pike? The tom really liked his rocks, but a damn rock wasn't going to fix this.

So, instead, he did what he always did to get his mind straight. Kept himself busy.

Returning from the river, he tossed his catch onto the pile, rolling his sore shoulders. His muscles ached, his eyes burned with exhaustion, and just as he let out a breath, thinking he could get through the evening without issue. But then he walked in on Crescent, acting out a scene, spitting back fragments of what he said to Pike that day.

Adder stiffened, his ears flicking back. The ripples of his mistakes were everywhere, staring him in the face. He really muddied up the water this time.

He barely had time to dwell on it before Crescent turned, beaming at him. Adder froze in place, paws suddenly rooted to the ground.

Still, the excitement in which Cres greets him makes Adder smile. He bumped her back affectionately, huffing a breath through his nose, a crackly purr rumbling in his chest. She didn't mean any harm. Cres was only repeating what she had been taught.

And that was exactly the problem.

Everything he did, every choice he made, was an example for them. And what had he taught them? That it was okay to vent your frustrations on others? That if something didn't go your way, you could blow up and say hurtful things that you couldn't take back?

Besides, he did not want her to use seashell that way again. Lord forbid he replace that word with what Adder actually meant to say.

Then he looked up at him with those bright, hopeful eyes, and he knew he was doomed. How was he supposed to explain this? Adder didn't want to say the wrong thing and hurt her feelings, but he also couldn't let her think this was acceptable.

"I… You, uh, certainly sounded a lot like me," He admits, chuckling uneasily. "For a second, I thought I was looking into a clear pool of water."

And then there he was repeating that sentence again. Oh, stars preserve me.

"It's a word… that's used for… uh, something else that you shouldn't repeat," He grasped for the right words, fumbling like a kit sifting through a haystack. "I shouldn't have used seashell like that. You shouldn't either, okay?"

Seashell! Seashell! Seashell! Where was Wave when he needed her?

Adder's eyes darted around, desperate for backup, but no such luck. He would have to handle this on his own.

He exhaled softly, then looked down at Crescent, something gentler settling in his expression. He doesn't want either of his kits to end up as hot-headed as he used to be. There were many traits of his he hoped they inherited, but that was not one of them. Adder had done his best to change that part of himself over the moons. Finally meeting Wave had hardened his resolve to do so.

He eased back onto his haunches, settling in for what would likely be a difficult talk. "Crescent…" He ruffled her fur with a paw before gesturing for her to sit. "You know what I said to Pike was wrong, right? That you should never say things like that to anyone—especially not when you're angry?"

___________________ 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​

 

[Crescent]

The uneasy tone of his da is something that is easily washed away in the pride Crescent feels over the fact that he was in fact doing a good job! "I don't know how to make my voice all tough like yours so I tried to growl! It hurts a lot though, how come your voice isn't so sore all the time?" She chatters away in excitement, the frustration of her adolescent tone not reaching the depths her da can but that's okay! Surely that just means that he has something to look forward to when he's older. Crescent looks towards Adder like he himself had put the stars in the sky, in a way the old tom always has to his kin. Making sure they're safe, the fact that he was even so involved in finding this territory to begin with makes him cooler than anyone else, even Pike. Though she can't help but wonder if that's not something she's allowed to think since he's supposed to be in charge now?

Crescent is ignorant to his turmoil, not until the etchings of a gentle reprimand is laid out belly up between the pair of them. "What? Why not?" He huffs in confusion, the rebellion that takes place at moons such as these being sowed. His opinion of his da is still held strong but the albino child can feel something defiant within, if it's such a bad thing to say then why did he even say it to begin with? Tufted ears flicker as she stares up at the scarred warrior, someone who has seen his fair share of hardships. Words like this shouldn't be enough to rattle someone so strong, right? "So then... why did you say it?" Crescent can be stubborn when she puts her mind to it, very rarely he does.

He's met with a pout, one that wavers at the gentle expression in Adder's eyes. His resolve wouldn't be so weakened though, even if she looked rather childish doing so. There's a rather undignified squeak of protest as the fur atop his head is ruffled, though it's clear that he doesn't actually mind it since he doesn't struggle to try and move away. With another huff he scoots to sit next to Adder, licking her paw to straighten out the now tussled strands. "How's it wrong?" It's a problem that she just can't see the solution for, Adder has always been a hero in her mind and she doesn't truly understand that he could be wrong because of it. "You're right, this is confusing" Youthful ignorance is bliss, it's easy to boil all of the layers behind his da's explosion into a simple label like confusion. Ever the faithful child and the impressionable sort she absorbed his feelings like a sponge, any confusion she held had been long forgotten to focus on anothers.

There's a beat of silence, one of careful contemplation before he relents again. "So then what should you do if you're angry?" It isn't something that he's personally felt a lot, either the hot headed blood of Adder skipped her or it laid dormant. She's been frustrated before, sure, but in her lifetime she hasn't truly found much to be angry about. Maybe one time when Rush had accidentally kicked sand into her eyes but that was met with tears rather than scathing words.