Bristling Feathers (closed)

Featherpaw padded angrily in and out ignored the apprentice's den. His normally relaxed and calm demeanour exchanged for one that was bristled, his glance sharp and blazing. This wasn't the first time he was mad, but it was the first time the anger felt so ingrained. He glared in the direction of the warriors den and saw his father near it. Frustrated, he padded his way over to his father and sat down in front of the brown tom.

"How do you deal with fur-brained siblings dad?" He asked pointedly. His posture stiff as his mind raced ahead of him. All it would have taken was for one wrong move to have been made... he glanced down at his paws, thankful at being quick enough to avoid a serious bite. "I just can't understand it, Wisteriapaw and Dappledpaw could have been killed!" He hissed, a soft note of panic beneath his anger as he thought about it. No... he couldn't stand the thought. He needed all of his siblings, but how could he deal with two of them seeming so intent to rip it apart? He hoped Shrewheart had the answer.

"W-wha-? Oh, hi Featherpaw." Shrewheart was drawn from his thoughts about how horrible it was to be stuck int camp by his son, Featherpaw. The question caught him off guard, and he thought about it for a second. How had he dealt with his fur-brained siblings? While he thought about, his son's next statement caused him a little bit of concern. Wisteriapaw and Dappledpaw hadn't been killed, so why was his thoughts still lingering on that? Things like that never had made sense to the fluffy warrior, and he doubted he would ever understand them. But for now he could just give some advice. "Well, when I was younger, my brother Peatpaw was always kind of annoying. Always trying to not let me have fun. But here's what I did. If you don't like what they're doing, find something else for them to do. That helps a lot. And it doesn't help to linger on what could have happened. Remeber what did happen, and how brave the three of you were." A small bit of grief washed over him as he thought about Peatpaw, who had one day just disappeared without a trace. But he distracted himself with thoughts on how proud he was of his children. Even Wildpaw and Flickerpaw, for having the guts to dare their sister to do what she did.

His bristled pelt lowered a little as Shrewheart gave him advice. Distracting them could work, he was certain he could at least try to do that. He looked at Shrewheart curiously when he mentioned not to linger on it, dread clutches him again as he took a deep breath to help cal himself.
"How can I not linger on it?" He asked. It was easy to remember his injured siblings, each time wishing he had been bitten instead of Dappledpaw and Wisteriapaw. Especially with Dappledpaw'a heart. He hated to think about either of them not making it.

Still, he couldn't help but smile when his father said that he was proud of them. He stepped forward to lean into his father happily. His anger abated for now.
"Thanks dad." He said cheerfully as he sat moved to sit next to him. "Do you need any help?"

"Maybe try some of those distracting methods on yourself," Shrewheart said, half-joking. He felt that same feeling of love as Featherpaw leaned against him, having only the felt that way about a few cats. He grinned and flicked his tail against his son affectionately. When he was asked about if he needed help, he snorted in amusement and shrugged. His injured leg hardly bothered him now. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. What else have you been up to recently?"

OOC: Short because in a hurry

Featherpaw flushed at half-joke. He felt some shame about letting his sisters get to him. He should have been more patient with them. They were always the most energetic cats he knew. He frowned in thought until Shrewheart asked him what he'd been up to. His face brightening.

"Well, Did you hear about Wisteriapaw and I fighting off some Skyclan cats?" He asked cheerfully. "You might have been in the medicine den, but she fought hard." His smile turned prideful as he chuckled. "Starclan knows how powerful she'd be if she became bolder." His tail flicked in enjoyment of this rare quiet time between him and his father. It wasn't often he had a chance with all of his apprentice duties taking up his time. Those and... "I'be also been helping Daypaw... she's really sweet and pretty..." He added, his voice drifting off a abut as he wondered what she was up to.

The thought wasn't as unusual as it could be. He'd been thinking of the white and caramel coloured she-cat often lately. He hoped her mentoring was going well. He purred with the thought of finding her later and catching up on the day. Maybe she'd be up to hunting with him?

"You fought SkyClan? That's cool. Sometimes it just takes a little battle to make a great warrior." Shrewheart grinned at the mention of fighting. That was something that he understood. He listened to Featherpaw as he kept talking, a small and knowing grin slowly spreading across his face. It was easy to see what was going on, even if the younger tom might not. The positive adjectives and the thoughtful tone made it obvious. Memories of him and Sharptooth as apprentices filled his mind, and he nearly laughed. Daypaw seemed to be his son't first crush. And if he was anything like his father, also his future mate. Oh, this was something it was his duty as a dad to poke his nose into. "So, you and Daypaw are friends? Anything more you want to say about that?"

The question dragged Featherpaw's attention from his daydreaming. He looked at him and tilted his head at the knowing grin on his father's face.
"Well, I wouldn't mind hunting with her again. She's got great skills, I look forward to being on patrols with her." His smile returned as he thought about it. Featherpaw felt guilt pricking at his chest as he realised he looked forward to her more than a couple of his own siblings. He shoved the bitter feeling back. They needed him, but she actually liked his company. His thoughts paused as he realised what this sounded like... what this was "...How did mother and you meet?" He asked. His paws kneading the ground beneath him as he flicked his tail eagerly at the thought of a story. Softer feelings of anxiety in his heart as he wondered if she had any feelings this way.

"Well, Sharptooth was still a kit and I was an apprentice, my best friend, Reedheart, was captured by the mist. I'm sure you've heard about that," Shrewheart explained, not too surprised that Featherpaw was asking. "When she became an apprentice, her brother started a training group where apprentices practiced fighting, and both of us joined. We battle trained with each other a lot, even fought off a raccoon once. It was nice. When Reedheart came back, the three of us would hunt together sometimes. After we became warriors, we became mates, and you came along." It was nice to think about FightClan, and how his mate had dutifully taken over after Boarpaw's untimely death. But right now his focus was centered on his son, and this Daypaw. He had seen her around camp, but didn't know her that well. He was kind of curious what she was like.

Featherpaw looked at husband father curiously. His tail twitches with the anticipation of a story as he settled down to listen. It sounded amazing, and dangerous. He smirked at the mention of his parents being part of a fighting group. He knew his mother was strong, now it made even more sense and he was grateful to have such powerful parents to protect him and his siblings. A question burned in his mind though, and as Shrewheart wrapped up his summary, he tilted his head in obvious question.

"What's the mist?" He mewed uncertainly. His paws shifted in the snow uneasily. The idea of such a threat unnerved him a little. "Do we need to worry about it?"

"You haven't heard about it?" Shrewheart was slightly surprised by Featherpaw's ignorance on the mist, assuming Sharptooth must have told him about sometime during their moons in the nursery. But he would be more than happy to explain it, and it definitely wasn't that hard. The only part that he didn't like was the tom's use of the word worried. "Well, when your mother and I were apprentices, a strange mist with a mind of its own came to the forest and started kidnapping a bunch of cats from every clan, including Reedheart. One gathering the clans decided to do something about it, and the mist kidnapped all the leaders. One cat from a visiting tribe got up on Greatrock and began speaking ill of StarClan, and the mist turned into a Dark Forest cat. There was a big fight, a ShadowClan warrior saved all of our hide's, and the missing cats returned safely. The mist is no threat anymore."

His fur prickled as he listened. His green eyes widened with an almost kit-like awe as he explained how the mist was a dark forest cat. He had assumed the Dark Forest was nothing to worry about, that those cats could never hurt them. Clearly he was wrong. Though his father finished saying that they weren't a threat anymore, Featherpaw promised himself to remember this. He needed to make sure his siblings would always be safe against such a threat. He smiled at his father and nodded.

"You and mom are so brave." He mewed proudly. "I can't wait for you to recover so I can fight alongside you." He added, his green eyes shone with anticipation for that day.