The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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Characters : [R]owansong [Ro]okflight [S]ilverhawk [P]igeonpouce [F]ish [T]wilightkit Clan/Rank : [R] RiverClan T5 Elder [Ro] RiverClan T4 Warrior [S] ShadowClan T3 Warrior [P] T2 RiverClan Warrior [F] T2 Rogue [T] RiverClan Kit Number of posts : 2501 Gender : any or username Age : 22
Subject: child psychology [C] Sun 4 Feb 2024 - 16:15
"The weak never have their wings unfurl."
Silverhawk T3 Warrior | ShadowClan | he/him
Shafts of moonlight illumined the white clouds of Silverhawk's breath, stark against the thick darkness of the reaching marshes. Just as he'd promised, once everyone had a chance to celebrate and there'd been enough time to ensure Sablestrike wasn't promoting yet another apprentice, he led Wolfpaw out into the territory. Wolf probably would have crawled into his nest and ripped his ears off if Silverhawk made him wait another night. Besides-- he was excited, too. Nervous. No---no, he was excited. He was. Wolfpaw was his first apprentice, and Sablestrike had dubbed him invaluable--this was an honor. Silverhawk was even happier the deputy had enough good sense to issue as many of his siblings to the family as possible. He would have been furious, if he hadn't been allowed to train one of them. But- but...
Silverhawk turned toward the sound of dry, dead branches cracking and splashing through frozen mud. His ears swiveled forward, and for a moment he went very still, listening intently for the threat which seized his chest. When no scent of predators reached his tongue and no further commotion came out of the mire, he twitched his whiskers and pushed out a breath. Slowly, Silverhawk turned the rest of the way into looking over his shoulders, seeking the clumsier following his.
"Keeping up alright?" He flicked his tail across Wolfpaw's approaching shoulder and sent a grin his way. "The marshes aren't easy territory to cross-- especially not half-frozen like this. Anyone not trained with ShadowClan would get lost or drown just as easy as rats do." Silverhawk's smile curled a little higher before he turned away to continue padding onward. "Tell me what you think you already know about training. We'll walk the territory while you talk, and... if we've got time, maybe you'll get your first real spar."
Wolfpaw was utterly unimpressed. The ground was squidgy, it was cold, and Silverhawk had taken so long to get moving he felt like nipping at his ankles just to hurry him up. That, and he kept slipping. You would think that his broad paws would let him walk easier, but no. Somehow, Wolfpaw had a talent for putting his paws in the wrong places and making himself slip off the edge of a stone, a branch, or anything he thought he could grip. That, and the ground was so much softer than camp was. He thought he might fall through it.
He grunted dismally to Silverhawks question. He was here, wasn't he? Of course he was keeping up. He snapped his jaws at Silverhawks tail, stopping only a breath away from actually catching it. He didn't actually want to bite him. He wanted to bite something, feel it crunch beneath his teeth. But not Silverhawk. He was okay. Maybe they'd run into someone else.
"I know that I haven't trained before," Wolfpaw answered dryly, watching his older brother through the corner of his eye. He was quiet for a time, letting his elder brother continue to speak. Spar? His tail lashed once. Twice. Thrice. Then he spoke in a quick bark. "How in the name of whatever am I meant to know anything about training? I haven't done it, mouse-brain. I know how to bite and crouch and hit really hard if I have to. But I know nothing. Can we just spar now? C'mon. Touring is boring and I'll figure it out eventually. You know you want to."
The huff of breath near his retreating tail made Silverhawk's gaze slide backwards, watching his brother's teeth snap. Wolfpaw stopped short anyway, but Silverhawk still put a flourish into flicking his tail back just that heartbeat faster. A snicker answered Wolfpaw's huffing. "You wound me," Silverhawk proclaimed woefully. "This can't be boring. What's more exciting than having your first patrol with your favorite brother?" He was all but begging Wolf to bite him in earnest, and the enrichment of being so bothersome kept Silverhawk's laugh rolling. After a few moments, the laughter died out and he suddenly sobered up. "You know nothing, hm? Well, if knowing how to bite, crouch, and hit hard aren't all that important, I guess you'll have a bright future of losing all your prey--and battles." His tone had become blasé, but when--after a thoughtful pause--he spoke again, Silverhawk's voice came low and gravely serious. "If you can't have the patience and foresight to understand why knowing your territory well is important, you'll end up like the rats."
There was no flick of his ears or whiskers or tail to betray some humor in his statement. Despite the motions of padding onward, nothing disturbed Silverhawk's still countenance. It made the cold gravity of his peripheral stare all the more stark, even if only fleetingly. Within a blink, he'd sighed, letting his head briefly droop in the swing to look forward again. "Oh, but you're right... I do want to..." His meow was pleasantly nonchalant again. Silverhawk's tail swept pensively back and forth and he hummed to himself. After just a few more steps, his ears pricked to full attention and he turned to look fully at Wolfpaw. "Alright. Let's try a compromise."
Without anymore warning, Silverhawk scraped a forepaw through the softer mud that'd failed to freeze all the way. He dragged the pawful of grime up to sling towards Wolfpaw and used the moment to perform a deft step-and-twist so he was facing Wolfpaw properly. "There's no better way to learn than by experience, right?" Silverhawk's tail lashed once. His eyes were lit with something now and riveted solely on his brother. "Go on. Show me everything you 'don't know.'"
Night Finesse is active for this fight! Silverhawk used Mud Slap, dealing 6 (5+1) damage and costing 10 SP. Wolfpaw is stunned for one turn!
Last edited by downfive on Thu 21 Mar 2024 - 16:31; edited 1 time in total
moonazyne
Characters : [C]indersky, [W]olfpaw Clan/Rank : RiverClan, T3 Warrior| ShadowClan, Apprentice Number of posts : 330 Gender : They/She Age : 20
Subject: Re: child psychology [C] Sun 11 Feb 2024 - 11:32
wolfpaw
apprentice| shadowclan
"Blah, blah, blah... You're using big words to make you sound smarter than you are," Wolfpaw's lips curved in a slight smirk, amber eyes glowering bemusedly at Silverhawk. He'd keep complaining if they kept touring, but he didn't hate it all that much. It was better than being cooped up in camp and having countless warriors or whatever-else-there-was barking at him to stop what he was doing. It seemed they always knew when he was going for the ants now, too.
His ears piqued at the mention of a compromise, and he kept running his mouth so much that he didn't even notice the blotch of wet flying toward him. "Difference between me and rats though, brother, is that I'm sma--" Thwap!* He let out a load yelp of disgust, spitting and shaking his head as a wad of it most certainly landed in his mouth. His fur was puffed out, and the mud still sliding off of his face made him look absolutely ridiculous.
"Silverhawk you fox-heart," He hissed, swiping at his face and shaking his head out desperately so that he could see. His tail lashed endlessly, rapid, quick, and finally when the mud had mostly fallen, all that was visible was gritted, bared teeth. "I'll cut you open for that-- That was dirty, you-- Agh--!" His words broke down into another angry shout and then a paw flew out, sharp claws splayed in an attempt to catch anything that moved in his direction, and snapping teeth at any sound to accompany it.
The yelp of horror and disgust from Wolfpaw was well-earned, in Silverhawk's opinion, considering all his snark. It made Silverhawk laugh to ear, tail wagging merrily while he watched his brother fight with the sticking mud. "Dirty? Well it's a fight, Wolf!" He sing-songed, followed by another round of chuckles. "If you're so smart, and I'm apparently just faking it... well, then why are you the one covered in mud?" Silverhawk's steps evaded Wolfpaw's blind swipes deftly. His little brother was going to kill him during this fight, he was half sure of it, but a part of him wanted to bring that out in Wolfpaw. He didn't want to enable his clear problems, not really, but it'd be good for him to learn how to apply all that rage that clung to him.
"Come on! You talked so big, didn't you?" Wolfpaw would be walking back to camp with a fresh new pelt to wear. Poor Pineblossom. Silverhawk couldn't give up the game now, though. "Then put some real fight in, tough guy." Just when it looked like Wolfpaw was regaining his bearings, Silverhawk gathered his weight and threw himself over the distance he'd put between them, rolling his brother to the ground. No laugh accompanied the motion--just a silent, fluid pounce, weight pinpointing on Wolfpaw's shoulders.
Silverhawk used Jumping Strike, dealing 7 damage and costing 7 stamina.
Some combination of an angered shout and a hiss of frustration ripped out of Wolfpaw. He was not hitting him. He could not feel the claws hit a thing, and then the next thing he knew the air had been ripped out of him and he was sent rolling into the mud with a series of grunts and squishes.
"Real fight?" He snarled, his lips curled tight and his shoulders practically trembling in anger. He turned to find his footing, and with a fierce snap of his jaws bit down sharp and tight onto Silverhawks leg. Growling all the while, he used it as leverage to haul himself up and out of the mud. The metallic taste was enough. With a hiss, he swung his claws at his brother like a rapid beast, again and again and maybe he might keep going-- And then caught a flash of that grayish fur beneath his claws and some clarity knocked back into him. He faltered, though his claws itched to keep digging.
Wolfpaw used Snap and Desperate Blows, dealing 6+4 DMG and using 7+7 SP!
Wolfpaw's growl was promising. He was furious, and that rage would spur him into fighting harder. That worked for Silverhawk, at least, turning all his restless anger into something useful. He was proud of his brother. And, when teeth sank into his leg, his pride only grew--despite the involuntary hiss that answered the pain. He bit hard enough to draw blood; Silverhawk could feel it warm and wet in his fur. The weight of Wolfpaw's body using him to climb up made Silverhawk stagger. "Hey--" he started, but the bite was not enough. Claws sailed at him relentlessly. Silverhawk tucked his chin to his neck and folded his ears, but that didn't stop the tiny needles from raking parts of his head, shoulders, and ruff.
The moment the barrage faltered, Silverhawk chased the retreating weapons. He twisted around so he could plant his teeth around Wolfpaw's scruff. He was careful not to draw blood, as his brother did, but he applied heavy pressure and lifted Wolf's forepaws from the ground slightly. The tiny cuts scattered all over him were stinging awfully, from being open and from being stretched with action. Around the mouthful of his brother's fur, Silverhawk half-growled, "Careful, now. You don't want to try that with any other Clanmates. Claws are against the rules, little brothers." Then he relieved some of the gripping force, sinking Wolfpaw back down to the ground, though he didn't let go entirely. "The fight is over, Wolfpaw," he said. Silverhawk's tone was gentler, then. "But you did good. ...for your first time out. And next time you'll do better, right?"
Silverhawk used Teeth Grip, dealing 8 damage and costing 10 SP. KO pending!
Wolfpaw Apprentice | ShadowClan| he/him "You don't believe me? You will. You will become a true believer."
The screech that ripped through Wolfpaws throat as Silverhawk clamped down onto his scruff was borderline unholy, unnatural. His energy was faltering, and his paws were sliding through the muck underneath him. He thrashed and twisted and his paws caught a root but before he could grip it to haul him back out of his brothers grasp, he had been lifted.
"I'll kill you," Wolfpaw panted, flexing his claws and trying his hardest to swing around and knock Silverhawk, but despite the size he was, he could not reach around. "Dung the rules, I'll kill them-- Oof--"
His chest hit the ground first and if it were not for his brother still holding on, he would have had a face full of mud. His lungs heaved, a whistling sound from the exertion, and his body trembled with nothing but anger. "I'll snap your legs next time," It sounded borderline threatening, almost a truth, but then he let out a 'pah' sound and took in another sharp intake of breath. "I'll do better. You won't beat me. And I'll finish the fight in the same time you did. I swear it."
Wolfpaw may be out of commission, but his spirit is not! (K.O'ed)
Wolfpaw screamed in a horrible, ugly way; the manner in which Silverhawk had only heard dying things sound. The screeching and the weak flailing didn't deter him. He held fast, even after lowering Wolfpaw to the ground. The threats, he was sure, were empty. He wondered if Wolfpaw really had the heart to kill a saw, to rend through flesh and organs like that... if Wolfpaw had the heart to inflect that on his kin. They would be curiosities to satisfy later. The release of breath at the end of all Wolfpaw's blustering was proof enough that he hadn't meant it, at least not when he had a moment to breathe.
Silverhawk finally let go and leaned away, straightening up to height. "Good," he said with genuine softness. "I know you'll do better next time. You're my brother, Wolf. I have high hopes for you." Silverhawk flicked the apprentice's shoulders with his tail in an earnest gesture of expression. "Get up, when you can. We'll get back to touring for a little longer so you can stretch off our little spat. ...and so we're gone long enough that I have a good reason for these scratches." He winked conspiratorially and turned away. After a beat, he added, "Well done, Wolf. Now let's get going."
![child psychology [C] 8ix01Gk](https://i.imgur.com/8ix01Gk.png)