What did you learn? (closed)

"Oh, struck a nerve did I?" It was odd to see the rogue throwing such a fit when he was usually so composed, it seemed that he was very attached to his name. Sablestrike grinned at the other tom, what else could he say? "Come on, Ather? Achyls? Aiofe? How stupid do you think I am? Actually, how long did it take you to come up with those names? Someone like you, it must have taken days to come up with those, and it was the best you could come up with?" Stars, he was absolutely loving this! To see the suave rogue falling apart just because he said Astraeus was a fake name was all too enjoyable for him. "Now now, Stupidstrike has a pretty nice ring to it, I quite like having a fake name like you, though we should probably take out the 'strike' portion of it to remove any commonality with my own name. You're... OKAY, at coming up with names, perhaps we should brainstorm a bit longer, eh Asphodel?"

That shades-cursed grin! Ugh! Maybe it was the pain from his injured paw that made Astraeus so petty- or maybe Sablestrike was just that infuriating. But then the black tom really struck a nerve- suddenly straightening up, Astraeus bared his teeth in a snarl. “Do not speak ill of the dead,” he snapped, yellow hawk’s eyes blazing with anger, ears pinned flat to his skull and gleaming teeth inches from Sablestrike’s face. For a second, he stood still, sides heaving, until at last the silvery tom stepped back, making a show of carefully grooming a grey paw. They could just pass over this last minute, couldn’t they? He- they were dead. All of them. He was the remnant. He could mourn those who were gone. T- he had to, else he become his father.

“If I had to come up with a name for you,” he mewed suddenly, all trace of hostility gone from his pose and voice. “A typical, bland rogue name would likely be Night, or Ebony, or Shade. Clans are harder- for ShadowClan, I’d try Ratcatcher. RiverClan, Mudstep or Minkstep. SkyClan and ThunderClan are similar- Owl-, Raven-, Crow- for prefixes. -cry, -shriek, -call for suffixes. WindClan is hard- probably Shadeblaze. If you were passing as a Garden cat,” he continued, not making eye contact, “Sorrel, most likely. Tribe- Shadows Behind the Stars or Bat that Flies In Cave or Night Before Dawn. A name like mine- hmm. Alastor, maybe.”

The dead? Sablestrike could feel his grin fading fast, replaced by a straight face as the rogue tried to, what, intimidate him? Even if he had liked poking fun at the rogue, he had gone too far, even he could see that. Perhaps he should say something to cut this silence that had grown between them, or perhaps he should just leave it alone? Both of those seemed like fine options, though it had become clear to Sablestrike that something needed to be said as the rogue began listing off fake names for the different clans. "I'm... Sorry." Stars, an apology for a rogue? Never would he have thought this was where there spar would lead. "I didn't know the significance those names had to you. Regardless, I should not have gotten so jealous over such fine names." Being so kind almost felt like a claw tearing its way down his skull, or maybe that was the headache, it had to be one of them and he was sure this conversation was to blame.

"I think your naming schemes are a bit outdated. I don't know of a single clan cat with 'catcher' in their name, but isn't Night a bit too obvious? Shade isn't bad though, but those 'tribe names' aren't even names, they're just phrases aren't they?" Not like he would know what tribes called themselves, if such a thing even existed. If Astraeus was trying to pull a quick one over on him, Sablestrike would allow it. "Out of all of those names though, I'd say I'm quite partial to Alastor. You wouldn't mind if I used that one, would you?" If he ever had the chance to use such a name, then his life would already be over, but it was polite to ask anyway right?