The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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Dawnpaw finally finished up his tour around Thunderclan territory with Rosepaw not more than an hour or so ago. His brain buzzed with the excitement of actually having broken the rules and got another cat to do the same. Who else could he convince to break a few rules? Maybe his next project would be a Shadowclan cat. He couldn't imagine liking living in a nasty swamp of all places but that wasn't the point. It was a big dirt kick to Starclan, which was his ulterior motive anyway. Pull as many true followers away as he could, maybe make some friends or a gang of sorts all from different clans in the process. Maybe they would even disagree with their clans at some point and all go rogue, while still retaining their clan's abilities. Maybe we could beat the tar out of some lone cats for fun after that. He mused with a smirk. He walked lightly, but not necessarily silently through the woods as he made his way back to camp. He felt quite secure in his own home, so felt no need to move with any sort of stealth. All of his trouble making was done now anyway.... for the time being.
Beechpaw had been hunting when her eyes landed on a suspicious patch of fur snagged in the undergrowth. White and pale-gold and smelling of Skyclan, she noted, eyes narrowing. She inhaled again to confirm her suspicions, and sighed.
Lifting her head, she eyed the surrounding forest, and spotted another clump of fur not far off. Deciding that this was more interesting than hunting for the moment, Beechpaw began to follow the clumps of fur curiously. There were a few pale-furred cats in Skyclan, but Dawnpaw was the only one with that particular shade of pale gold tinging his fur.
Did Blossomstep have her brother hunting through thicker undergrowth on purpose? Beechpaw's whiskers twitched at the idea. Her brother was vain, and that would have made for an excellent punishment in her eyes. Yet she wasn't seeing signs of prey around here, either. Nor could she scent Blossomstep. Curiosity itching at her pelt, she continued to follow her brother's trail. It didn't take her long to realize what the increasing thickening of undergrowth meant, and Beechpaw was careful not to leave her own fur stuck as she made her way past it. The Thunderclan border wasn't far.
Beechpaw paused, jaws parting slightly as she took another breath and caught her brother's scent. Fresher, this time, and... Another scent, one that definitely belonged to another cat... Thunderclan, she realized uneasily. Still no signs of blood, either. So if there hadn't been a fight... What are you up to, Dawnpaw?
And still, a fresher trail caught Beechpaw's attention. She followed the first trail she'd found, and realized that it had crossed the border. Again she picked up that fresher trail and realized what was so off about it. It was leading from the border, and while it carried Dawnpaw's scent, it also had a hint of that same Thunderclan scent. What had he got into now?
Mind made up, Beechpaw began to follow the trail of her brother back into Skyclan territory. The trees and undergrowth thinned out a bit, and Beechpaw curled her lip as Dawnpaw's scent grew and she spotted the white and gold apprentice through the trees, his back to her. She could still smell the Thunderclan reek that clung to him, it looked like he hadn't bothered to hide his tracks at all. Beechpaw hung back and carefully circled her brother, so that she was approaching him from the side instead of looking like she'd been tracking him. At least, she hoped it wasn't obvious that she was. He was overconfident, maybe it would go unnoticed? Her expression was carefully neutral as she cast a look over one shoulder, eyes scanning the trees for signs of prey. She had been sent out here to hunt, after all.
Maybe she was a squirrel. Go unnoticed? Yeah, right.
"Hey Dawnpaw, catch anything interesting lately?" Beechpaw broke her silence as she approached her brother. Since they'd been made apprentices, they'd mostly avoided each other, aided by mentors who were seemingly determined to keep them busy. Maybe it was on purpose, either way, Beechpaw actually hadn't spoken to her brother much recently. Which was probably a good thing, she had to admit. Because conversations with her brother always went smoothly and never led to arguments of fighting. Right.
Dawnpaw had been distracted with his thoughts and never noticed Beechpaw creeping around him. It wasn't until she called out to him that he snapped out of his daydreams and put his eyes on her. He stopped in his tracks and stared, his knee-jerk reaction being unsheathe his claws and fluff out his tail. "Catch anything interesting lately?" She asked him, and immediately his mouth was moving before his brain actually processed the tone of her words.
"Yeah, your freaking snark." He growled at her, but then only just after speaking, he realized that her voice sounded different. It actually... wasn't snarky or sassy in the slightest. The look of surprise flashed across his face followed quickly by uncertainty. Wait was she actually interested in what he had been doing as an apprentice...? Oh...
"Uhm...." He thought back to when he and Blossomstep were out, but he didn't want to give her the whole details. He didn't want her trying to improve herself and catch up to him, even if she had a lot of catching up to do in his mind. "I caught a robin... I caught a squirrel... I've caught a few things." he paused a moment, and for once his voice had no edge or snarl to it like it normally did when he spoke to her. This was... weird.
"How has your training been going?" He asked, though the suspicion was thick in his voice.
Beechpaw's ears flattened at her brother's tone when he first spoke, "I don't know why I bothered--" She muttered, though the response was half-hearted at best. Why did everything lead to headaches between them? Stars, she was tired of it. So bloody tired of it.
Beechpaw eyed her brother warily at the odd expression on his face. Was it shock? She couldn't tell. On his face, it seemed wrong. Since when was the arrogant tom shocked by anything? He listed a few of his catches, and Beechpaw gave a shrug. She wasn't going to congratulate him and inflate his ego anymore than it already was.
"Was that all you caught?" She had to ask anyways. She could still smell the scent of Thunderclan now that she was a bit closer. It was stronger now that the wind had shifted slightly, blowing towards her. Would he actually admit to it, if she pressed him further? "I noticed a fair bit of fur left behind in the thicker undergrowth near the border..." Beechpaw's voice trailed off as she kept her eyes on Dawnpaw's face, waiting for his reaction to that.
"I've been sparring a lot with Wolfcall. Caught a few squirrels, and quail too." She responded, not quite able to hide the satisfaction from her voice at how her training had progressed. No angry geese had attacked her yet, unlike poor Primrosepaw and Smokefeather. A part of Beechpaw wished she'd been there to see it, maybe help drive it off. Why did Primrosepaw of all apprentices get to experience an actual fight with something other than her mentor on her very first day of training?
Dawnpaw wasn't entirely sure what to make of this conversation. It was the most civil they had been toward eachother in.... well probably ever. Sure enough though, as soon as he waited long enough, she mentioned finding tufts of his fur along the border. His claws gouged the earth beneath his paws and his ears rotated back against his head. He turned so that his shoulders lined up with her's. She continued to talk after that, and he curled his lip slightly, showing the tips of his canines.
"Are you seriously just going to beat around the bush or do you just want to ask about my adventures in Thunderclan territory with Rosepaw?" He growled. He hated beating around the bush. Later on in life he would realize why sometimes it was necessary, but for now, it just angered him. The fur on his tail fluffed out dramatically as his pulse quickened in his veins. Heat began to burn away at his insides and his ability to control his temper.
Normally Dawnpaw was very good about keeping his emotions in check but right now... in this moment... he was feeling his resolve to stay level-headed slip....
"Rosepaw, was it?" Beechpaw's whiskers twitched. She hadn't had to question him much, after all. The civility really had been too much to ask, it seemed, as Beechpaw noted Dawnpaw's posture and rising hackles.
"Don't act so defensive, brother. It's not my fault you were careless." Beechpaw hissed in response, ears flattening against her head as the fluffy apprentice glared at her brother. Every word out of his mouth tested her resolve, always had. Beechpaw had tried her best not to start fights, she really did. But the prideful tom in front of her made her want to start a fight. Still, she would refrain from being the one to make the first move. Beechpaw was better than that... For now.
Stars help Beechpaw if she had to endure his talking for much longer, though.
Dawnpaw narrowed his eyes even further when she asked the Thunderclan apprentice's name. He wasn't going to say it again. Then she hissed at him, hissed her words. A growl rumbled from the back of Dawnpaw's throat and he bent his forelegs and hindlegs into a crouch. She had a point... he did leave a trail. It was unfortunate that he hadn't thought to move through the trees instead of on the ground until he was already fairly close to the border. He hadn't fought with Rosepaw like he originally planned, but now there was an apprentice he would have no problem fighting. A smile spread across Dawnpaw's face, but his eyes suggested nothing but malice.
"We're both apprentices now, sister." He growled at her. He stalked to her left, his stance low and his tail tip twitching. "Surely we're supposed to test our skills at some point. So why don't we do it now? I think I a good fight between the two of us will settle a lot of problems. For example, you should learn to mind your own business." He spat his last sentence as he continued to stalk slowly around her, his tail fluffed out to the maximum length and his hackles bristled down his spine to the point he nearly resembled a hyena.
"Are you going to tell on me? Tell mom? Tell dad? Tell Spottedstar?" The growl in his voice intensified. A single drop of stringy drool seeped from his lip and dropped to the ground. He hardly sounded like Dawnpaw anymore. His voice had dropped unnervingly low and his typically smooth, honey-like voice now sounded as coarse as gravel.
"I don't believe that you wouldn't, so don't try to deny it. If I'm getting in trouble anyway, I'll be getting something out of it." Dawnpaw exploded forward, at first racing right by Beechpaw but then zipping off to the right toward a tree trunk. Scrambling up the bark nearly as fast as he could run, Dawnpaw twisted his body around and pushed off of it with powerful hind legs, aiming his outstretched claws for his sister's body or face, whatever was easier to get to.
Dawnpaw used Leaping Bound, dealing 4 damage and -10SP Beechpaw is stunned for 1 turn
A low growl escaped Beechpaw's throat as she glared at her brother. "I'm surprised you convinced a she-cat to put up with you. Poor girl doesn't know what she's in for, does she?" At his next words, she couldn't help but to sneer in response, "Why waste my breath telling them? Anyone with a working nose and half a brain could figure out what you were up to." Not like there would be rain to wash away the scents anytime soon. And the clumps of fur were glaringly obvious.
Dawnpaw moved, and Beechpaw twisted to follow him, claws unsheathed. Good, she decided. Let him deal the first blow. Whatever happens is on him. Dawnpaw's claws sank into the thick fur on her back, and Beechpaw tensed beneath him. He would pay for that sooner rather than later, she knew her brother couldn't hold this position for long as she struggled beneath him.
Dawnpaw pinned Beechpaw below him, feeling his claws bury themselves into her flesh as deep as they could go. Not wanting to lose his momentum, he willingly flopped sideways while still holding her and buffeted her with his hind legs. His claws were unsheathed as he sought to claw up her stomach. He knew she'd break out of this most likely, but he also felt that it was worth it to maybe knock some of the breath out of her. She was bigger than him, after all. He had been born arguably the smallest of the litter, but he vowed that he would be far from the weakest.
"You're right," He snarled malevolently. "She has no clue, and if you tell her I'll beat you worse then than I do today!"
Dawnpaw used belly rake, dealing 7 damage and -10SP
Was he still talking? Beechpaw twisted, attempting to avoid his unsheathed claws that had been aimed at her belly. She aimed a vicious swipe at his head in response.
Beechpaw used Dodge-and-Fight for -15sp. Effect Dice Roll: 1,2,3: no counterattack. 4,5,6: counterattack.
Dawnpaw: 20 / 20hp 60 / 80sp
Beechpaw: 16 / 20hp 65 / 80sp
Beechpaw had just missed ripping into an ear, but that was fine. She took several paces back now, eyes locked on her brother as she awaited his next move.
Dawnpaw felt the air of her claws whoosh passed his ears at about the time his kicks landed on empty space. She was quicker than he thought she would be. He broke away quickly and sprung into action, again racing around her to scramble up a nearby tree. This time he got to a relatively low hanging branch and kicked off of it. He needed to hit her harder. She was too big to hit lightly and he could feel himself becoming tired form the effort of fighting a larger opponent already.
Once again, Dawnpaw's claws sank into the fur on Beechpaw's back, this time ripping into skin and drawing blood as well. Beechpaw was trying to hold back still, the rational part of her brain telling her that this was wrong.
Dawnpaw was making it so very difficult. So difficult. She couldn't understand how her brother had no regard for the rules or the code, and Beechpaw figured she never would. And now, she fully intended on defending herself. If Dawnpaw's precious fur happened to get shredded in the process, so be it.
Beechpaw twisted, and sank her fangs into Dawnpaw's tail, giving a hard yank in order to pull him off balance.
Beechpaw used Tail Yank on Dawnpaw, to deal -2 damage for -10sp. Dawnpaw is stunned for 1 turn.
Dawnpaw tired to land on his sister and then kick off of her immediately after, hoping that it would be enough to knock her to the ground. As he bunched up his hindlegs to push off of her back, her teeth sunk into his tail. He sucked in a wheezing gasp as his sister pulled one way and his weight tried to go the opposite. He didn't even really have time to scream before he landed hard back on the ground, though at least he managed to land on his feet. The problem was, his sister was way too close. He wouldn't have time to move now.
Foxdung... He thought, standing side by side with his larger sibling. The worst thing to happen to him was to be grabbed by his opponent... and it had happened.
There was something deeply satisfying about hearing Dawnpaw's ragged gasp as Beechpaw brought him back down to earth. The gold and silver apprentice was stunned, at least temporarily, and Beechpaw intended to make the most out of it by raking unsheathed claws across his belly.
Beechpaw used Belly Rake on Dawnpaw for -7 damage and costing -10sp.
