Growth? [Closed]

Of all the things his father could have done, he had chosen the worst. The new warrior had never quite resented his father, but rather disliked his ever-positive outlook on life. Today, Mumblefoot held a special disdain for the deputy. He was to lead a patrol. Although, not just any patrol, one that was specially comprised of two younger cats who probably liked him least of any in the clan. Neither Poplarpaw or Sedgepaw had ever shown an ounce of liking to their former denmate. Both, each in their own unique way, managed to be rather unpleasant to be around. Sedgepaw's stubbornness and over-confidence had always irked the black and white tom. That paired with his sharp-tongue and lack of a filter managed to make Mumblefoot feel smaller than ever at times. Poplarpaw, despite their limited interactions, had done the same. He had been openly resentful on their patrol with Russetpelt.

Now, he was being forced to deal with both at the same time. The warrior tried to swallow a lump that settled in his throat. After all this time, the fear had never left him, he had been forced to learn how to manage it. His hearted thudded from its cage in his chest. How am I supposed to lead a patrol when the cats I'm with don't respect me? As he padded across the clearing and towards the apprentice's den, it took every ounce of strength to not turn around and beg Rippedsky to relieve him of this duty. However, the title of warrior hung heavily over his head. After his moonstone visit, and with the ceremony, he felt like there was an increased pressure to perform against his nature. Stepping back and resigning from his task would only increase the pit in his stomach that constantly reminded him he was a failure.

"S-sedgepaw? Poplarpaw? Rippedsky wanted us to go out for a border patrol. I-if that's okay." Mumblefoot, true to his namesake, stumbled over the words as he padded into the den where he had slept not too long ago. He berated himself internally for how pathetic he sounded. The patrol had been presented as merely a suggestion when it was an order from the deputy himself, and he was too weak to properly present that. His ears briefly flattened with discomfort. But, he quickly raised them and tried to straighten up. He was a warrior and had to act like one.

It felt like a curse. The moment he heard that Mumblek-Mumblefoot was going to lead their patrol, he felt like storming off into the apprentices den. However he also knew that Rippedsky was doing his best. He flicked his tail in irratation. Weak or not, Mumblefoot was a warrior now, and that meant Sedgepaw was supposed to respect him. Even if he did act more like a mouse than a cat. When he heard the tailess tom's hesitant voice, he snorted and stood up to pad past him. His green eyes glared at Mumblefoot's evenly.
"Oh yay. Patrol with the tailless coward." He muttered as he shoved past Mumblefoot's body in the entrance. He stretched, then began to wash his silver fur with quiet indifference. This was wrong. He was acting like the apprentice he had always been, but it was difficult to treat Mumblefoot like he wasn't useless. Unlike the Medicine cats, he had no skill with herbs. He wasn't an elder, and he certainly wasn't as imposing as Rippedsky.

He looked up at his mentor, where he had been organising patrols and sighed unhappily. This wasn't fair, not just to him. He turned to look at Mumblefoot and sighed, before he stood and made his way to where the other tom was.
"Where are we patrolling?" He asked, though he tried not to sound as if the thought grated him. It wasn't the other tom's fault he had no tail, and his mentor had been trying so hard... it seemed oddly... wrong... to just dismiss him. Wrong in ways he never considered or thought about before. It was strange to think about. Strange to know how his own thoughts had changed. He looked for Poplarpaw and nudged the other tom. He on the other hand, was healthy.

"Come on Poplarpaw. We should see if those pathetic kitty-pet clan cats are back." His eyes narrowed at the memory of that defeat. Oh how he'd make that she-cat pay for that someday. Next time they fought, he'd win for sure.

Mumblepaw? Er, correction- Mumblefoot? Poplarpaw would rather stick his head underwater than go on another patrol with the newly-appointed warrior. In the apprentice's mind, the other tom would just slow them down. Maybe this time, instead of being startled by a bird, Mumblefoot would be frightened by an idle leaf or a snowflake fluttering down from the branch of a tree. Or, maybe this time, he'd run off after seeing his own shadow. No matter how reluctant the tom was, he still couldn't pass on this hunting patrol. It would seem extremely immature of him, and Rippedsky had been the one to assign the patrol. When he heard Mumblefoot's voice, Poplarpaw didn't want to move. Hearing Sedgepaw's name gave the brown-and-white tom a little bit of hope. At least this patrol wouldn't be full of cowards and weaklings. As Poplarpaw followed Sedgepaw out of the apprentices' den.
"'If it's okay'?" The tom asked, referring to Mumblefoot's initial words, "Of course it's not okay. I'd rather eat mousebile, but I suppose if I really must go on a patrol, then I'll do it... like a brave cat. Unlike some other cats I know."

The apprentice finished talking with a curt and dismissive flick of his fluffy tail. He glanced over at Sedgepaw with his green gaze once he was nudged. Sedgepaw was one of the few cats in SkyClan, and any Clan for that matter, that Poplarpaw had come to respect. While he knew that he couldn't call the other apprentice a friend, he was quite glad that he couldn't. Friendships were relationships, and relationships slowed cats down. The young tom supposed that acquaintances, however, were fine. Once Sedgepaw mentioned the ThunderClan cats, his eyes narrowed in disgust. Wisteriapaw and Featherpaw were mousebrains, and Poplarpaw would quite enjoy it if they had the chance to tear them to shreds. If they ever ran into them again then they'd win this time. The brown-and-white cat nodded, stiffly.
"I'd love to rip their pelts right off of their fox-hearted bodies." He growled, trudging after Sedgepaw.

He stumbled a few steps backward as Sedgepaw showed him. Their comments caused him to tense up and his ears were hot with embarrassment. His father could not have chosen worse cats. Every part of him fought the urge to run, to hide, to panic. But, he couldn't. Their lack of respect was not surprising to him. This was exactly what he expected. The black and white tom dug his little claws into the ground to keep himself standing straight up. Mumblefoot quickened his pace just enough to stand next to the two apprentices who not long ago had been his denmates. It was as close to leading a patrol as he was comfortable with coming.

"Well, we are supposed to go to the Thunderclan..." Mumblefoot started. The idea of getting into a battle at the border seemed less than appealing. But, both the other toms seemed inclined to fight, "W-we're not going to fight, are we? I mean even if we decided to side with Riverclan, we're not enemies..." He worked hard to keep pace with the toms who had naturally longer legs. Although once the reached the based of a tree, he quickly began to scale it. Climbing and moving with ease through the trees was far more natural than trekking over the rocky ground. If he was going to lead a patrol, it would be like a proper Skyclan cat, even if he wasn't quite thinking that.

Even if they were bigger and better, Mumblefoot moved much more quickly through the trees than the others. The combination of Skyclan and Windclan blood had done him well, even if it left him smaller in stature. At times, he had to slow for them to catch up. He was nimble as he navigated the trees. This was perhaps the tiny black and white tom's one skill. Once they were by the Thunderclan border. He stopped. His claws dug into the bark to keep himself from slipping or falling to the side, as any Skyclan cat would, given the amount of time they spent up here. Scanning the clearing below the pit of nerves in his stomach grew. Everything seemed well for now, but if he had learned anything, it was that they would normally go horribly wrong. He glanced back at the pair of apprentices and hoped they could not catch the insecurity in his eyes.

There was a flicker at the edge of his sight line. The sickening feeling in his stomach threatened to grown, but he swallowed and forced it back. One cat stalked alongside the border, just inside the Skyclan side. This was his problem now and he was forced to deal with it. Scars covered the foreign tom's body. From the smell, this was no Thunderclan cat. Sedgepaw and Poplarpaw would get their fight even if it was not with Thunderclanners. A tremble ran down his spine. This was not something he could flee from. There was no older warrior or leader to run to now. This was Mumblefoot's problem.

For a second he merely froze. The stranger hadn't seen them among the trees, they had the advantage. His mind raced and he fought so hard to remember Eagleheart's words of bravery. Something needed to happen. After a moment, he dropped back, praying to Starclan the others would listen to him, "G-go around on each side. Follow my lead." My lead? What is this? It felt like something out of a dream as he paws moved silently over the branches. Unsheathing his claws was unnatural. But, today, Mumblefoot had to be on the attack. He swallowed once more without even daring to glance around and see if the others would follow him before leaping down with out stretched claws. They dug in as far as he could make them go, fighting for the clan and for all their lives. This time, his eyes didn't squeeze shut.

"Ugh, don't make your breath worse!" Sedgepaw teased with a smirk at Poplarpaw. He snorted at Mumblefoot as the tom stood straighter. As if he could command their respect. As if. He watched as the other tom settled in next to them instead of in front of and glanced at Poplarpaw from behind Mumblefoot's back. An idea in his mind that was quickly shattered when the small tom scampered up a tree. Sedgepaw readied himself and followed, claws dug deep into the frozen bark at each movement as they began to patrol from above as opposed to below like he'd been travelling with Rippedsky.

He thought about his mentor on the way to the Thunderclan border. He was windclan, but somehow fit into Skyclan well enough to become deputy. What was that about? He watched Mumblefoot move through the branches as he followed, at least the scaredy cat was good at something. An improvement from nothing. He glanced back at Poplarpaw behind him and bounced up onto a smaller branch, sending a gentle fall of snow to land on Poplarpaw as he came through below.

With a laugh, Sedgepaw continued on, until Mumblefoot stopped. He nearly crashed into the small tom and glared at the abrupt stop before he looked down and saw the interloper. Sniffing as Mumblefoot ordered him to follow his lead. Yeah right. He glanced at Poplarpaw, then lifted his head arrogantly.
"How about this, you sit here and be pathetic while we show you how to deal with an intruder." He glanced at Poplarpaw. "Or maybe, just maybe, you should do this. Show us how you could become a warrior before us." He padded up behind Mumblefoot. Only half a tail-length from pushing Mumblefoot and forcing the cat to make a move.

He readied himself to push Mumblefoot off when he remembered Rippedsky. The tom would be furious if his son was hurt and it was Sedgepaw's fault. His glare lessened to a sigh of discontent as he moved off and away from the small tom.
"It's a good thing your father's my mentor, or you'd be in the snow." He grumbled as he moved to obey Mumblefoot's order half-heartedly.

ooc; sorry, the post sucks. i have no muse and i didn't want to keep y'all waiting.

Poplarpaw grinned softly as Sedgepaw shot him a quick remark. The fluffy tom's ears perked once he heard that they'd be going to ThunderClan. Maybe he'd have the chance to tear someone's pelt off, now. He silently glanced over at Mumblefoot as he fell into step with both him and Sedgepaw, and he met the gaze of his fellow apprentice with one of his own. First, Mumblefoot scrambled up the bark of the tree. Then, Sedgepaw followed suit. Poplarpaw could've done the exact same thing. However, in the moment, he preferred to stay down on the ground that still had hints of snow in some places. Maybe Mumblefoot couldn't fight, and maybe he couldn't hunt, but he could climb and navigate through trees. Poplarpaw figured that he might as well just give the warrior some sort of kudos... but not too much. He picked up his pace to a run as Sedgepaw and Mumblefoot, overhead, continued on through the trees.

He couldn't help but pause as he felt some snow drop onto his head, and he glanced up at Sedgepaw with a playful glare and a glint in his eyes. Once he heard Mumblefoot's command, he couldn't help but let out a quiet snort. Who did this excuse for a warrior think he was? If anything, he and Sedgepaw should be the one ordering him around. It was his turn to head up the tree, and he hauled himself up the bark and joined the other two cats. Poplarpaw couldn't help but snicker at Sedgepaw's little remark, but it was quiet enough so that the intruder wouldn't be able to hear. His eyes glittered as he watched his fellow apprentice position himself to push Mumblefoot off of the tree, but he couldn't help but feel a small pang of disappointment as Sedgepaw backed off.
"I'm glad you didn't. We didn't want poor Mumblefoot over here to be spooked too badly." The tom had sarcasm in his voice that was so sharp, it could stab a cat. After all, the warrior had been scared by a mere leaf before.

ooc: tis a good post. do not worry about forcing yourself to type anything long

on another note, this loner is just for plot purposes and forcing mumble to fight, so no battle moves needed ;)

Their words ran through his ears, but for once, the warrior found himself brushing them off. The ever consuming anxiety gave way to the now crushing sense of anxiety. It had taken him so long to see it, but the lives of his clanmates and the fate of his clan needed to outweigh a personal fear. That same concern shifted to the wellbeing of the apprentices next to him. Mumblefoot felt, and was, small in comparison to them. But, he needed to constantly remind himself that he was older and a warrior, and needed to be the one to take charge. Crowstar and Rippedsky had faith in him enough to give him a new name. It was time for him to begin taking that up and heeding the Starclan cat's words. You're going to be a great warrior, but only if you stop being so damn afraid of everything and learn to use your claws.

Use my claws? He'd unsheathed his claws, and dropped down, digging them in deeply. A furious screech erupted from cat below. The loner writhed and twisted trying to shake his attacker. However, the tailless warrior clung on with every ounce of strength he had. Mumblefoot clawed at the intruder, who showed no signs of speaking up with a protest of peace. To his surprise, the larger cat flipped over and slammed him to the ground to leap back up and stand over him. Spittle from the loner's maw sprayed over his face and his ears flattened in discomfort. His chest tightened in panic as teeth snapped mere inches from his throat. Without thinking, Mumblefoot slid down and away from the threat while clawing up at his stomach. His own yowl echoed as he attempted to summon the rest of the patrol to fight off the loner.