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Post by tor on Dec 28, 2023 13:36:56 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/G2gWhXV/heronpaw~jpg The flattened patch of earth meant for apprentices and warriors to spar on was soggy with thawing grass, thanks to the brilliant, blazing sun overhead. Heronpaw's feet were already damp and dirty from the mud. They prickled with cold, not that there was much frost left behind to chill them, but leaf-bare's low temperatures meant even a drop of water was a freeze risk. Already, he regretted his initiative to come out here and pat down the training grounds. Don't be foolish, he thought to himself, searching through the pile of leaves he collected before coming over here. Just do the work. It's good to show initiative. He was looking for a wide leaf. Something to lay on the muddy ground, then firmly step on to pack the mud in. That way, when the grounds dried (or froze, whichever happened first), they would dry in something reasonable to walk and train on, and not in a lumpy mess. This leaf will do. It was a broad, dried maple leaf, wide enough for him to put all four paws in, though he thought he might lose his balance if he tried. Heronpaw set the leaf down on the edge of the training grounds and pressed his two front paws into it. The mud felt strange like this - soft, cold, but not wet, not with a layer of leaf in between him and the earth. He wondered if MistClan ever wove together long strands of grass to create mats to do this task. A woven mat would last longer than a dried leaf, surely. Behind him, he heard the telltale squelch of another cat stepping into the mud. Heronpaw winced sympathetically, then turned his head to see who was joining him. "Hello. Be careful not to step on the training grounds. I'm trying to tidy it." |
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Post by shy on Feb 23, 2024 20:36:20 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/51/2b/36/512b362b5c304d7582e1b39a4be07c42~jpg patchpaw, There were a lotta adjustments Patchpaw had to make now that she lived in the clans. Just when it felt like she'd gotten used to the whole 'kit' thing, she was made a 'paw'. An apprentice. Why couldn't she just stay Patch? Why did everyone need to know how old she was based on her name alone? Whatever. She and Ash were fed. That mattered most. And now she could roam the land within Prairieclan's borders more freely. She'd spent so much of her life walking that it was instinct at this point. Bored? Take a walk. Wanting to get away from her mentor or her new 'family'? Take a walk. The latter was how she found herself in the hills. Her mentor made some comments about her hunting crouch and she disagreed. So she took a walk, went out to blow off some steam. She knew how to hunt, why did everyone insist on changing what had worked well enough for her when she was a loner? As Patchpaw came across the space meant for sparring, a gray coat caught her eye. Ah. She could always work on her fighting skills, that she'd admit to, and if someone was here it was pretty convenient. Now that she had a target to walk towards, she let her attention slip and ended up walking in the mud. Yuck. Her fellow apprentice, Heronpaw, called out as she approached. She shook her paws off as she waddled over. " How are you gonna clean the grounds with a leaf?" She asked, not intending to be rude. It just seemed unlikely one cat and one big leaf were going to get anything done. |
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Post by tor on Feb 25, 2024 11:53:31 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/G2gWhXV/heronpaw~jpg Heronpaw's ears flattened as Patchpaw walked closer, stepping precisely through the muddied training grounds he asked her to avoid. The familiar urge to snap at her rose in his throat, followed by the even more familiar urge to give up. What was the point in trying to be helpful if his good work would just be ruined by a clueless cat? But, as he promised himself he would do, Heronpaw took a deep breath and let the instincts swirling in him calm. "How are you gonna clean the grounds with a leaf?"Patchpaw was new, he told himself. She hadn't been training in everything, nor had she been taught all the chores expected of apprentices. "I'm not cleaning it," he clarified. "There is little point in cleaning mud." His whiskers twitched in amusement at the thought. Already, he was feeling better. "I'm tidying it."Before Patchpaw could demand to know the difference, Heronpaw pressed his paws against the leaf on the ground, flattened the mud more. "If it freezes tonight," which it probably would, "the training grounds will freeze like this." Lumpy. Full of pawprints. "And then this land becomes hard to use until the next thaw." Which may not even be till new-leaf. Today was just a rare warm day. "I'm pressing the mud down to make it flat when it freezes. The leaf gives me more surface area." |
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Post by shy on Feb 26, 2024 21:11:22 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/51/2b/36/512b362b5c304d7582e1b39a4be07c42~jpg patchpaw, Patchpaw half listened to Heronpaw's explanation. The rest of her focus drifted to the space around then, for any prey or predators that might've been skulking about. Half her focus was plenty for a conversation like that. Her mouth opened to ask what exactly was the difference between tidying and cleaning, but Heronpaw spoke up before she got the chance. With his back turned she rolled her eyes quickly before turning her eyes to his leaf and his plan. Did all cats who lived in one spot have to do this much upkeep? " Make sense." But it would be extremely tedious, wouldn't it? Patchpaw glanced around once more util she spotted another large leaf and dragged it over. She didn't bother explaining to Heronpaw what she was doing. Once back near the apprentice she tried to copy him, to lay the leaf down. " It'll be easier if we work together." She didn't want to have to spar on uneven ground until the next thaw. Besides, she doubted he'd be able to do it all by himself. |
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Post by tor on Mar 8, 2024 11:40:51 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/G2gWhXV/heronpaw~jpg Heronpaw followed Patchpaw's movements as she walked off from the training grounds. He knew exactly what she intended when she found the leaf, and smiled at her when she returned to his side, mimicking his own motions. "It'll be easier if we work together." "That's true," he said. "And it will be done sooner." He anticipated being out here all day, especially because he didn't have other training to worry about. Swiftwind was busy. With a second set of paws helping him, maybe he would have time later to try something else. Would Patchpaw want to go hunting? He worked in silence for a bit, going slowly so Patchpaw could copy what he was doing, and then picking up the pace once she seemed confident. "How are you liking PrairieClan?" He asked, once he was sure a little conversation wouldn't interrupt their flow. "I'm sure you didn't think being an apprentice would mean organizing mud." |
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Post by shy on Mar 17, 2024 17:06:06 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/51/2b/36/512b362b5c304d7582e1b39a4be07c42~jpg patchpaw, Patchpaw nodded as Heronpaw spoke, glad he got the gist of why she was helping without her having to explain herself any further. Sometimes the clan cats were really chatty and eager to make friends. Some weren't. Her new 'family' was. Thankfully Heronpaw didn't seem like the overly friendly or rude type. For a while the two worked in comfortable silence. She watched Heronpaw's motions and figured out how to smooth out the mud. It was tedious, but kind of nice seeing the muddy land smooth out. And then he spoke. Oh well, at least she'd had some quiet. " It's fine. Better than being out there alone. There's food and shelter and that's all we need. If organizing mud is what it takes, so be it." Ashpaw was safe here, that mattered most. Even if they were getting far too friendly with some of the cats here. " It does get boring though. I already knew how to hunt. And there's only so far we can walk without getting in trouble. Borders are weird." Patchpaw sighed. While constantly moving had been difficult, she'd also seen so much of the world in such a short period of time. " Do you ever get bored being all cooped up here?" |
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Post by tor on Mar 23, 2024 11:12:20 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/G2gWhXV/heronpaw~jpg Patchpaw was a practical cat, Heronpaw was quickly learning. She reminded him of himself, minus the loyalty to PrairieClan that came from being born into its ranks. Patchpaw didn't seem disloyal - he held no skepticism toward her. It was just that PrairieClan seemed like a means to an end, rather than something she loved, and he couldn't begrudge her for that. "Borders are weird." Hm. He'd never thought much about the borders, other than knowing he had to respect them. "Do you ever get bored being all cooped up here?""I do not get bored," he said, and thought to leave it at that, at least until realizing that it was him who started the conversation. Patchpaw deserved a better response than that. "To me, this is our land. Our home. The borders represent our ancestral rights, not a cage." He glanced out to further in the meadow. "They let us know what land to care for and protect. But I can see how, if you come from a different life, it might be hard to understand that."The response was regurgitated from what he heard from elders and senior warriors. But as he spoke them, Heronpaw realized he believed those words with his whole heart. "What's life like without borders?" |
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Post by shy on Apr 2, 2024 18:28:10 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/51/2b/36/512b362b5c304d7582e1b39a4be07c42~jpg patchpaw, Hmm, interesting that Heronpaw didn't get bored in these borders. Perhaps not knowing what the rest of the world held made this patch of land more appealing for those born and raised here. Ancestral rights, he called it. An ancestral right she lacked. Did he intend that as a slight? As a reminder that she wasn't born here, had no blood here other than Ashpaw? Some seemed to dislike her for her origins. Was Heronpaw one of these cats? " It's certainly a choice, to live in one space because some now long dead cats drew imaginary lines in the dirt." But as much as she disliked the confines of her new life, it had safety and stability that her old life lacked. " It was tiring. We walked nonstop. There were a lot of pretty sights, but we didn't stay and watch." " But it was freeing. Nothing stayed the same. There were lots of different foods and sights and sounds and smells." It had been hard, but it had been hers. Patch's birthright had been the road, just as Heronpaw's was the territory. |
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Post by tor on Apr 6, 2024 17:17:40 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/G2gWhXV/heronpaw~jpg Heronpaw's ears flattened, hearing the dismissive way Patchpaw spoke about their ancestors. Part of him understood her: it wasn't her blood buried into PrairieClan's meadows, and so why should she feel a kinship to them? Especially when she was new to the clan. Yet, her tone bothered him even if he could understand her position. "It doesn't sound freeing," he said, trying not to step on her paws both literally and figuratively. "It sounds tiring."For a moment, he humored whatever part of him might experience wanderlust. Might be jealous of Patchpaw's previous adventures. But, in the end, he found nothing. All he wanted was the comforting meadows and mountains of home. "Those 'long dead cats' wanted safety for their descendants," he said, turning back to her earlier point. "I know you lack a kinship to them, but I'd like if it you showed them a little more respect. They'd want you to be safe, too." He flicked his ear, dismissing the last of his annoyance. "They're not your ancestors by blood, but they're your ancestors by legacy now. I think that's worth something." |
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Post by shy on Apr 10, 2024 17:10:47 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/51/2b/36/512b362b5c304d7582e1b39a4be07c42~jpg patchpaw, Patchpaw's ear flicked at Heronpaw's words. " It was." Especially when she was young. Having to stay in one place was duller but safer for Ashpaw. And so she stayed, even if it the territory and the cats within it felt suffocating. " Would they really care? I share no blood, and even cats who do share it don't always care for each other." She knew her mother had been on the run from her father, so clearly even blood could be a threat. " To be clear, I don't care if they would want me dead or alive or here or there. They're dead. Their opinion doesn't matter." The whole Starclan dead ancestors thing was still strange to Patchpaw. She didn't quite believe it. She hadn't even truly believed in the shadows that her mother had so deeply feared. " If you care that's your business. I'm gonna make my own choices though." |
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Post by tor on Apr 11, 2024 11:01:59 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/G2gWhXV/heronpaw~jpg Heronpaw knew wars had been fought over the sort of sentiment Patchpaw was expressing. "Their opinions doesn't matter," she said, and he nodded, not because he agreed (which he did - or didn't? He wasn't sure yet) but because he knew it was her right to think that way. "It's important to make your own choices," he agreed. "But sometimes cats want help with those choices. I think that's why they turn to StarClan, but not everyone does." So far, when he needed help, the only one he ever turned to was Snowpaw. And that wasn't fair to his brother. "But StarClan does care about you. I don't think they need you to care back, just show a little respect."Not every cat worshipped, but they all saw the stars twinkle at night and they all knew the leaders were blessed with nine lives. Heronpaw couldn't fathom not believing, knowing that. "I care about you, and we don't share blood," he continued. "I'm sure your mentor cares about you, too. Blood doesn't mean much. We're all PrairieClan cats, regardless of the blood in our veins."He had to believe that, more than anything else, otherwise the cruel words he heard whispered behind his back - rarer and rarer, these days - might one day catch up with him. |
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Post by shy on Apr 15, 2024 16:30:35 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/51/2b/36/512b362b5c304d7582e1b39a4be07c42~jpg patchpaw, Odd how pious these clan cats were. How would asking a dead cat help someone make a choice? It's not like they could talk back. It'd be creepy if they could, honestly. She didn't see a point in respecting what didn't exist either. " I care about you, and we don't share blood." Patchpaw's disinterested musings were interrupted by Heronpaw's words. She stopped her work, staring dumbfounded at the other apprentice. The rest of his little speech barely reached her ears. " What? I... what? You don't even like know me? Why would you say that?" Her words and tone were stuck somewhere between indignation and confusion. Patchpaw didn't really believe him, that cats could care about others so easily or so fast. But hearing him say that to her face, it was strange. She couldn't quite name the swirl of emotions it brought up. Her tail lashed back and forth. " Not everyone cares so easily. That's... weird." The only cats she truly care about were Thistle and Ash. And Thistle was dead. Did Heronpaw think she was helping him because they were like... friends ? |
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Post by tor on Apr 19, 2024 13:27:24 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/G2gWhXV/heronpaw~jpg Oh. Birchpaw seemed startled. Heronpaw couldn't tell if she was pleased or alarmed by his words. Really, he didn't think anything he said was worth such a reaction. It was just... fact. He was trying hard to be a better apprentice for his clan, so one day he could be a great warrior. And a great warrior cared about the whole clan - every last cat, even the ones he didn't like. I will care about Wheatpaw later, he thought, images of the loud apprentice and his friends flashing through his mind. Heronpaw did care about them, or at least he was trying to. He just didn't like them that much. Patchpaw seemed easy enough to like, though, so long as she could be just a little more respectful about StarClan. That would come in time. "I told you," he said. "You're a PrairieClan cat now, so I care about you."
"Not everyone cares so easily. That's... weird."Was it? Did others not feel this way? Heronpaw understood maybe Patchpaw didn't feel this way, but other clan cats did about their clans, right? He would have to ask Swiftwind. "Then I'm weird," he said with a shrug. "But I also know what it's like to think no one cares, and I don't want you to feel that way." |
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Post by shy on Apr 22, 2024 18:59:48 GMT -6
#s://i~pinimg~com/564x/51/2b/36/512b362b5c304d7582e1b39a4be07c42~jpg patchpaw, What was evening happening here? Patchpaw stared at Heronpaw, hearing him reaffirm his caring for her, and fully accepting the idea of being weird for it. So far her adoptive family had been the only others to dare to express such an idea, and it always felt so forced. But Heronpaw didn't seem to be forcing this. Saying he cared as casually as someone spoke about the weather. Saying he didn't want her to feel like no one care about her. Weird. But... nice? Despite the cool weather it suddenly felt quite warm to Patchpaw. She wasn't sure what half the emotions she felt were, and she didn't really want to confront them either. Not now. " ... let's just keep working." Patchpaw muttered, trying to distract her mind with the task at hand. After a few awkward seconds of silence (which felt like hours) she spoke up again in a small voice. " And.. thanks." |
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Post by tor on Apr 27, 2024 14:40:41 GMT -6
#s://i~ibb~co/G2gWhXV/heronpaw~jpg After a moment of silence between them, Heronpaw decided to chalk up Patchpaw's reaction to her being new to clan life, in that she wasn't born into it. Of course she didn't understand the importance of caring about clanmates. She'd spent her life on the run. "And... thanks."
Oh. Heronpaw looked up from the stubborn patch of mud he'd been failing to level out, feeling flower petals in his stomach, as if the soft way Patchpaw spoke was a breeze that brought them to him. He watched her for a moment, admiring how quickly she went back to her work, determination clear on her face before he finally turned back to his own. "We could go to the river," he said a little later, when the training grounds were almost flat, and the mud had started to dry under the mid-day sun. "To wash our paws. If you'd like to take a walk, that is." It was farther than apprentices tended to go without warriors, but Heronpaw didn't mind assuming the responsibility. "Or we can just find a stream." |
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