Ew, go away! (Closed for Seer)

Rockthorn was tired, very tired. His vigil was longer than summer vigils, and Goosefeathers excited vibrating hadn't helped much. To add onto his new warrior problems, he was at the edge of the nest, what made matters worse was that Goosefeather took the better spot so he got the spot right in front of the entrance which was even worse because he had a 99.9% chance of being stepped on, rained on, snowed on, attacked if they got raided, woken up sooner, fall asleep later. Everything.

Adding up all his life problems to his new life problems, he wasn't the most gentle of cats. Rockthorn never was all that gentle, at best he was rough and seemed to be high above it all almost. Despite going along his own mary way and getting beat on, y'know, the usual. So when a small kitten stumbles into the warriors den and disturbs him from his sleep, so 'early' that it might as well be against the warrior code to be up so 'early'. Rockthorn gets to his paws, his frame still skinny and gaunt looking. It would take him a while to build up all his weight again, much slower than it was to loose it in the first place.

Harshly shoving the kit from the warriors den he hissed with his ugly face. "What are you doing? Don't you know that I have just finished my vigil? I am tired and I don't need kits prancing in and stomping on me! Clear it kittypet!" Spat the tom, poking half of himself out of the den and into the sunshine, his tail angrily lashing and probably smacking a couple of his den-mates.

The world beyond the nursery already seemed much too big- even the camp seemed to stretch on and on forever! She couldn't even imagine what laid beyond the protective ravine for the sheer vastness of it already blew her mind. Poppykit spent most of her days tucked away in the heart of Thunderclan's camp, nestled into the ever-adoring grasps of her parents. What she lacked in sibling-related bonds, her mother Frostfeather and her father Stormcloud made up in endless positive support and attention.

Today seemed like one of the only days in her brief existence that she wasn't being fawned over by the two proud warriors, and she was left to her own devices. A particularly bright butterfly had been anointed her companion for the day, and Poppykit had eagerly scampered after the insect happily- not even minding the fact that she often went skidding into other dens.  Well she didn't mind skidding into dens until she smashed into Rockthorn and apparently set off the young tom.

The young kit staggered back as she was harshly thrust away from the low-hanging bush that comprised the Warriors den, a loud squeal bursting from her lips as she only barely remained on her small, still relatively unconfident paws. An ugly face slipped from the shade of the den to greet her, twisted lip unintentionally baring his face into a snarl, while numerous other scars snaked through his dark grey fur like ofat worms. For a moment, the young she-kit's mouth felt like it was filled with cotton as she peeped into the face of the disgruntled warrior, her fuzzy ears falling flat against her skull as she accepted the scolding.

"K-kittypet?" Poppykit stuttered incredulously, pale eyes going wide at his words- the coddled lifestyle she had experienced had kept her completely sheltered from foul tempers, let alone such heated insults. Her thick fur prickled as a surge of a strange mixture of anger and embarrassment flooded her small, gangly form. " You can't- you shouldn't say things like that!" She blustered, voice trembling slightly as she continued to stare at the Warrior with an ajar mouth. Stormcloud had always spoke about the effortless grace and nobility that Thunderclan warrior's boasted, so to see this tom with an apparent thorn in his hindquarters snapping with about as much grace as a rabid fox was a rude awakening indeed.

Rockthorn was further infuriated when he saw the kits jaw drop and flop around uselessly as it tried to search for words, his gut stirred with self-disgust as he watched. Stepping out of the warriors den further he glared down at the kitten with cold malice. "I can't? I shouldn't say what I want to say? Surely I should be allowed? Who's to stop me anyways? How about a small puny kitten that can't do anything?" The warrior snapped, shoving her back some more with a paw.

"Who is to stop all cats from saying mean things huh? Not me that's for sure." Rockthorn rambled, his fur against his rump spiking up as his tail made an appearance from the warriors den. Slowly swaying and high up in the air to tell of barely contained agitation he basically towered over the kitten. Tongue poking out to run over his ruined lip he turned his head up to the sky as if to judge its worth, his pupils slid down to look at the she-kit once again with disinterest.

"Beautiful day, hardly one to be pestering me. Go run back to mommy and daddy, surely they'd love to coddle their little girl!" The tom's voice pitched to mimic a she-cat near the end of his sentence, adding emphasise to it. Rockthorn's mind wandered slightly as he thought of his behaviour, hardly the best to be acting like such a fox-heart in front of a kit. But he couldn't help feel envy, he hardly had a caring parent like Frostfeather and Stormcloud. Darkstar very much not the most present of care-takers, after all, she was like a mom but not an adoptive mom or care-taker or whatever.

But, his shouting was nothing compared to his first time out of the nursery, just catching a beetle and being quite proud over it when Darkstar had to deal with rowdy apprentices, one of which had torn his ear.

Poppykit's paws planted firmly against the smooth, sandy ground that littered the floor of the ravine, unwilling to cave to Rockthorn's envy-fueled rage despite the way that her chest tightened in fear. Her sharp, pearly white teeth were momentarily flashed as Rockthorn shoved her once more, and for a few heart beats she was tempted to bite his paw. 'That'd show him! He deserves another scar!' She thought crossly, her pale eyes going even wider as she listened to Rockthorn's barbed comment about her upbringing. Coddled? She wasn't coddled! "I-I'm not coddled! You just don't know what loving parents look like!" Poppykit spit, skin tingling furiously as she unknowingly insulted Rockthorn's upbringing.

"And you deserve to look so ugly!" Poppykit squeaked loudly, her fur fully spiking now, "You got those scars because you don't know how to talk your Clan mates or know how to defend yourself!" She continued, her pupils dilating as she continued to glare mutinously up at Rockthorn, her own tail giving a little lash. If Rockthorn believed that she would go running to Stormcloud the moment he returned from patrol, then he was right as rain. Her father would easily make sure that the grouchy tom would spend a moon cleaning out the elders den. 'Let's see how important he thinks he is when a real warrior who actually matters scolds him!' She reflected, glowering up at Rockthorn.

"I'm gonna tell Darkstar and Blizzardshine and..and-" Poppykit cried, stamping her little paws angrily, "Stormcloud and Frostfeather! They'll make sure you do apprentice duties since you seem to be acting like on!" She continued, tilting her chin defiantly before turning on her heels and scampering away, scurrying towards the shady outcrop that Darkstar made her nest within. The little she-kit continued to march angrily towards the Leader's den, fully intending to report the toms outlandish, brash behavior.

Rockthorn was about to spit out another response when Poppykit shouted about his own upbringing - and quite spot on too - his jaw falling open as he mutely listened in response, his gut shrinking with his rage bubbling up and spilling over.  The kit seemed to be his only point of focus, everything else black and white with everything in the wrong place. The kittens rant continued and he listened through clogged ears, his body stiff with the amount of rage that he was struggling to contain in his body.

Self-doubt flitted through his head, the words that poured out of the she-kits mouth affecting him more than it should but with it hitting so close to home he just wanted to shrivel up and sleep, never to wake again. 'The kit is right, I don't know what a loving parent or parents are like.. sure there is Darkstar and Lionspark but they seemed only to be there for me when I was acting like a helpless kit but that seemed to be it. Much too busy for my lonesome. Dear Starclan, it must be disgusting to see me like that.'

The kit walked away but he didn't notice, frozen in time as his self-doubts tore him from outside to inside and inside to out, every way they could. 'I never could defend myself anyways, I'm useless when the clan needs me. I work as hard as I can but I'm never enough for them, what happiness can an ugly tom like me ever find? I tried to be the best cat I could be, but it never works for me, I am always so helpless... Can't even defend myself against a rogue!' Rockthorn wanted to vomit then and there, saliva burbling at his maw and wetting his chin an odd sounding growl rumbling from his throat.

Rocthorn blinked and it stung like a dozen bee's attacked his eyes, his pupil jaggedly moving to look at the stomping kitten. His self-doubts ringing in his ears and souring every step he took towards the kitten, his claws unsheathed and raking the dirt with each step he took. His fur fluffed and puffed tail stagnant the tom's ire making him appear rabid, his pupil merely a speck in the green that was his pupil. Stepping onto Poppykit's tail he looked at her, his ears that were full of cotton now full with rushing blood. Rockthorn picked the kitten up by the scruff and turned, putting her down outside the nursery, not inside.

He inhaled, his breath quivering, the same went for his voice. "There's a kitten in there, you know him. His name is Falconkit and I ripped out his mothers throat. It was easy, but I feared for my life but I brought him here and he is as happy as can be. Later, after moons of starving myself, staying awake all night wondering, hardly bothering with anything but trying to earn my place back in Thunderclan as one of them and not an outcast. I run into some Windclan cats, and we settle things peacefully, but as I was about to depart, I run into a rogue. I taunt him to make myself a target so my friends lives would be saved, but really, I was so guilt ridden and fearful that I might be killing a father I didn't fight back. I nearly died at four-trees, because I didn't want to destroy any more lives." Snarled Rockthorn, but oh, he wasn't done.

His tone was neutral as he spoke, rage so strong that he didn't dare raise his voice "I was alone without guidance, no way to know how right I was to do an act, I faced Starclan, nearly a mouse length apart each time, the kits mother would have ripped my stomach open, the rogue would have torn open my throat as he did my lip." Until that moment. "SO YOU TELL ME, IN MY EYES, THAT I DESERVE TO LOOK LIKE THIS! THAT I DON'T DESERVE MY PLACE IN MY CLAN WHEN I HAVE FACED SO MUCH BECAUSE I WAS STUPID TO CARE! THAT I DESERVE EVERYTHING I GOT BECAUSE I WANTED TO BE KIND AND WHAT EVERY CAT WOULD WANT ME TO BE!" The tom screeched, saliva misting out as he got down onto the kittens level. His voice calm once more.

"Don't you dare."