Territory RC you HELP me, and ill HELP you!

[Juniperpaw Juniperpaw]

​

---

At the edge of a deep, wide part of the river arrives Juniperpaw and @Galepaw. It's a dark, cloudy day in the middle of leaf-fall, and a bit chilly, too. It's perfect training weather--the cool breeze will keep them from tiring too quickly, though there is a risk of rain chasing them back to camp early. The clouds don't seem like they'll downpour on the cats anytime soon, but the threat does loom overhead. The elder apprentice has been gracious enough to spare some time to assist Juniperpaw in extra training, at Pikestar's not-so-subtle urging. Undeniably, Juniperpaw's performance in several aspects is much lower than other apprentices her age, and only somewhat above baseline for a newly made apprentice.

Such isn't her mentor's fault; given the difficult personal events she endured as a kit that Galepaw is partially privy to, it's taken some time for Juniperpaw to recover enough to fully participate in clan life and her own apprenticeship again. It's been a tough balancing act; to postpone making her an apprentice in the past would have drawn unfortunate attention to her and put her behind the others, but at the same time, becoming an apprentice only a moon later was something she was not ready for. In the five moons since her incident, and the five since she's been made an apprentice, her mentor has been kind enough to teach the very basics, but most of her time has been spent fetching moss, guarding camp, tending to the elders, kitsitting, and other odd jobs around or close to camp.

In the past two moons or so, however, Juniperpaw's recovered enough and become fully engaged in the clan again. The clan has been understanding given the circumstances, but it'd be very embarrassing to be a fully grown cat still in the apprentice den! Now freshly ten moons, there is much to learn in a short amount of time if she's to graduate on a standard schedule. Juniperpaw herself has been trying to squeeze in as many learning opportunities as possible on her own time, and trying to practice with the other apprentices to absorb what they've learned.

With this urgency and suppressed shame in the back of her mind, Juniperpaw turns to Galepaw with a bright yet nervous grin. She sits, tail swishing anxiously, and gestures with a white paw to the water. "Um, this is a good place, right? I need to work on, well, everything... So whatever you think is good to tackle first! Fishing, swimming, diving, a mix of the three... I know your wonderful mind will know the best course of action! And you'll be made a warrior very soon, won't you? So I'm learning from the best of the best amongst the apprentices, aren't I?"

Just that comment is enough to send her off into a blabberspiral, eyes widening with excitement and admiration as she continues gazing upon Galepaw. "Really, I just can't say it enough. Thank you, thank you so much for agreeing to help me out today! I'm just ever so grateful, especially if it's learning from you-" From Gale's perspective, she may have said it more than enough; ever since he agreed to this, she's been thanking him and apologizing nonstop. Here comes the sorries and self-deprecation: "-and I feel quite terrible for distracting you from your amazing work, I'm sure you must need a lot of time to yourself to think your genius thoughts, so I'm so sorry for asking-"

The chatterbox cuts herself off yet again, eyes twinkling as she utters a soft gasp. She's just now breaking the cycle of praise-apology-praise-apology-praise-apology that she's been running through during the entire walk here. "Oh, I have the perfect idea! Since you're so kindly helping me, why don't I help you? Um, in the way I'm best at, that is. All the kits love talking to me and tell me they can tell me anything-" Maybe only true in Juniper's mind. "-And I'll bet you've got a lot to say! And- and I can listen, and help, if needed. With... anything, really, um. If you've had any profound thoughts recently, or if anything's bothering you... Maybe something's going wrong with your friendship with Torrentpaw...?" She sounds a little too eager to potentially help out about that last part.

 

[Galepaw Galepaw]

—————————————————— Rocked by an endless motion ✦

The waning days blew in that cold air, that sickening chill that Gale knew only brought hard times... and yet, there was a strange comfort in the bitter air. It was familiar, of a time long past to him, back when his name was simply Gale, and he walked with unsure, small steps. Back when the world was new, when he was new, and everything was beautiful. Back when nothing hurt—but of course, that is simply the changing of life itself. It welcomed the change as easily as it welcomed the sun in the mornings and bade farewell to the moon at night. It was an inevitability, not something to be mourned, and thus Gale turned to face the frost with an assured air about him and an equally frosty look in his eyes. These days were short, yes, but not for him—especially not in such busy days, days that were filled with the last tribulations of apprenticehood, the last days of training alongside Torrentpaw. Of course, the tom knew this day was to come any day now—in fact, it would have come to pass already if not for the mishaps of his friend. Those mistakes were easily swept away by the other, as easily disregarded as a quick conversation with Pikestar. The silvery tom folded just like the ribs of a fish, and so Gale walked away with his demands met. Gale would be a warrior with Torrent, no matter what things he had to change—he would bend the very river itself if he had to, the water snaking between his paws to become something different, something moldable.

With these last tasks, though, Gale found himself alongside a familiarly eager face. Juniperpaw was... excitable, a fawn with a propensity for a particularly yes-man sort of nature, nothing but a bubbly cuckoo bird. It didn't mind, of course—it was far preferred over the crowing cats he had grown so used to, cawing words of dissonance towards him... no, it much preferred a cat such as Juniper. The song they sang together may be simple, yes, but harmonized. There was no fight for who were to fly at the front, just a simple say as I say, do as I do...

But perhaps if that really were the case, he should look a little harder at how... egocentric he must portray himself. It watched quietly as the other rambled, speaking words of gratitude and, much more strikingly, words about his grandeur. Perhaps to a younger Gale it would have been flattering, and he couldn't say he didn't enjoy the emphasis she put on his words, but it felt rather... empty at times. It was no matter, this was a simple job and nothing more. There was nothing to gain from dissecting this situation, and so he simply nodded along in contemplative silence as the other filled the silence with fervid speech. "This work is good work." He muttered softly, tilting his head as he studied the other. "A bird must learn to feed itself if it is to survive, but that cannot be done without the assistance of the elder." He held his tongue about the compliments, though it couldn't help but raise a curious brow. There was no dignity in bashful tilts of the head, in "Oh please, I'm just like any other cat"'s, so he remained in his silent vigil.

At Juniper's next words, though, the tom looked away from the glittering water that they sat before, instead training a curious blue eye upon her. It was an invitation, a peaking of his interest, and he listened as she continued to explain herself. "Thoughts, yes." It muttered in response, but these words were wrung from his throat as the other mentioned his friend, his other half so to speak. There was a strange flitting in his chest, something that bristled and balked at the other, as though her suggestion was the highest of offenses—but he hardly showed it on his face, instead twitching his whiskers in a curious movement after a heavy silence fell, letting out a stiff breath that was just short of bemused. "Yes, well—" A terse chuckle, as though he had never laughed before. "—There is sure to be squabbling between even the kindest of fellows, but I assure you there is no dissent here. Torrent is to graduate soon, as am I, and there's hardly the time for such matters."

It turned away, stiffly so, and instead focused on the icy waters. "The leaves are turning, and they will not cease this change for many moons. It is best you learn quick, else this will be a cold, hungry leafbare."

—————Whether truth or just a story

It's not up to you—————

• 
  Galepaw
  ✦—Riverclan Apprentice | 12 Moons
  ✦—He/They/It
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A fluffy high white lynx point with curled ears and deep blue eyes
  #87878E #BAB2AC

 

[Juniperpaw Juniperpaw]

Juniper seems to breathe out a small, soft sigh of relief at Gale's approving words. Yes, any work is good work if it deems it so. She nods enthusiastically to their follow up, quick to add: "Yes, exactly! It's like that one Riverclan saying, right? Have you heard it? Teach a cat to fish- wait, I'm messing it up. Give a cat a fish, they'll be fed for one day. Teach a cat to fish, they can feed themself for many days!" There's really no point in her essentially parroting what Gale has already said, except to try to show him that she can be his equal in some regards. It's not meant in a way he'd identify as a fight for a fly to the front, but rather an attempt to prove herself as worthy of soaring in his flock in the first place. It's the reason she offers up help in the first place - that, among other reasons rooted in events of past moons. He's an icon, a hero, a guardian, a savior, whatever thing upon a pedestal makes her feel best in the moment. But she'd also like him to be more than just a thing propped up for her to gaze upon. She'd like to know it as a being, peel back its layers, and nestle herself deep within its chest to never be replaced or ripped out.

As they turn to look at her, she holds eye contact, unblinking for as long as she can. It's like she's drinking in the brief moment of his undivided attention for as long as it will last. She's pleased that this has piqued his attention, and it's being mentally filed away among the things that will make them look her way. She's studying his expression almost more than listening to his words, catching on the stiff breath, terse chuckle, a twitch of his whiskers. Something seems to have struck a nerve, though it's subtle and she's not fully sure if she's reading him correctly.

She knows that there's something within her that can reach out and into him, like the cuckoo bird she is invading a nest. She tapped into that power of empathy once before, felt her own father's rage, betrayal, sorrow, and bloodlust. Some part of her is confident she could do it again, if she tried. But not yet. She wants to really know Gale, to try to figure this puzzle out with as few hints as possible.

She sits on this, contemplating how best to approach what must be some sort of horrible fight ongoing between it and Torrent. Clearly, Gale's been bristled by the very mention, so it's best to let him relax again first before inquiring once more. That, and it's a good idea to do what the two actually came here for - though now she's much more interested in picking Gale apart as much as possible.

Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she also turns to the waters with a soft purr. "You're right as always. I'm ready! Um, so, I think one of the things Nightfrost wanted me to work on was diving for fish. Well, everything, really, but - I know that's one of your many specialties, right? What tips do you have?"