In Your Blood [S]

Willowpaw

Willowpaw did her best to try and catch as much prey as she could for her clan. Her stomach gnawed with hunger and she longed to return to their river and catch fat, juicy fish; but she knew that those fish were poisoned and that they would only make the clan sicker than they already were with hunger. Willowpaw trusted her mother’s judgment above anything else, but she did have to wonder just how bad this supposed sickness would be…She’d been blessed with no sicknesses since her birth, and so did not understand the grave nature of such poisonings this close to leafbare.

Regardless, she would hunt amidst their sparse trees and find what prey she could. The warrior that came with her to watch over her was not far, but Willowpaw put all her focus onto the mission set in front of her.

After stalking and smelling for near a quarter of an hour, Willowpaw finally caught scent of a mouse. After more careful maneuvering, she caught sight of it.

I can do this, Willowpaw told herself silently. It is just a simple mouse. If I cannot catch this, then I have no reason to believe I’m worthy of being a warrior anyway!

She took another steadying breath and moved forward. She pounced at the mouse, but the lack of food has left her movements slowed and clumsy. Her paw just missed the mouse itself, landing instead on its tail. The mouse shrieked and sprinted away, snapping its tail from Willowpaw’s claws. “No-!” she called and tried to swipe again, but it was too late; the mouse had already escaped her. “No…”

Willowpaw drew herself back up to her haunches and sighed, lowering her head. No wonder I haven’t earned my warrior name yet, she thought dejectedly. Willowpaw typically did not give into such doubts, but they have grown louder the longer she went with her siblings growing and passing her by. She was the daughter of the clan’s leader, and yet she could not seem to win a battle, catch a mouse, or even earn her warrior name. She wanted to be the best daughter that she could for her mother, but she felt as though she were only continuously falling behind.

“I’ll never be a warrior at this rate,” she sighed quietly. Her ears perked up when she heard the warrior calling for her to come closer again. Willowpaw rose to her feet and, after a moment, lifted her head back to her usual proper stance and walked back towards her clanmate.

Willowpaw attempted to catch a mouse, but was unsuccessful. -3SP.

RiverClan • Apprentice • She/Her • 20 | 60 • #6abcde

Credits: code inspiration - 1 2 |  image 1 | image 2 | image 3