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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Subject: more than restless mornings (c) Wed 23 Oct 2024 - 20:52
Bubblebeam wasn't sure what to think of all the disasters that had befallen the Clan lately. They'd been nowhere near as terrible as things she'd already dealt with, of course--but she hadn't exactly been close to any of the victims, so that was probably why she felt so lost. She recalled the terrible nightmares of wolves attacking, but she had never spoken with Juniperhunt before the young she-cat died. She hadn't known Fernpaw, either, though she felt awful for Silverbird and Hedgepaw since he was their brother. An apprentice getting mauled... Though their situations were different, she felt for him, as well. But the wolves weren't the only thing that had happened. Silverbird's other brother, Wolfpaw--the one he'd mentioned to her as "troublesome"--had attacked several Clanmates. Quillsplash, a warrior she had only seen around briefly, and Fishpaw... another young apprentice, and one that Hedgepaw had mentioned as a friend. Apparently he had been a recent addition to the Clan as well, a former rogue who they'd stumbled upon during his kithood. How would that be, to have grown up so completely outside of the forest? And then, when he thought he had found a place to belong, to be attacked so cruelly within the boundaries of where he called home? Even thinking about it made her heart ache with sympathy. She knew what it was like to feel unsafe, and she knew what it was like to unwelcome, but to be forced to look twice at your own Clanmates and evaluate them as a potential threat was a different kind of issue. Whenever she had a spare moment to remember the circumstances, she found herself hoping that Fishpaw would recover soon--not only physically, but emotionally as well.
She had known that life in the forest, no matter which Clan she was a part of, would not be easy. She had come to terms with that when she declined Crookedlight and Uncle Rain's offer to run away with them to Twolegplace. But even though she knew that there was no such thing as a perfect, horror-free life, she couldn't help but grieve when tragedies occurred. Yes, she knew how to move forward as if nothing were wrong, but she wished with an ache that bled through her chest that it would someday no longer be necessary. Was it too much to ask for, just to have a place of safety and comfort? To feel welcome... to belong? To know, with complete and utter certainty, that all the cats she loved more than life itself would be there the next day, just as the sun rose in the morning?
It was too much to ask, Bubblebeam knew. Far too much. But that did not keep her from wanting it.
Interrupting her heavy thoughts, a familiar voice chirped into her ears. Bubblebeam turned to see two apprentices walking together through camp. She recognized Hedgepaw immediately, but wasn't quite sure that she knew the mottled tom with whom she was speaking so animatedly. "So maybe someday, I can climb to the tops of the trees and see what it looks like from up there," Hedgepaw was saying. "Don't you think it would be cool to be a bird?" She turned and seemed to notice Bubblebeam. That bright smile grew on her face. For a cat who grew up in the night, she sure knew how to radiate light. "Oh! Hey, Fishpaw, this is her! This is who I was talking about!"
Oh--so this was Fishpaw, then. What a coincidence that she had just been thinking about him. Bubblebeam returned her smile, then turned her gaze to the other apprentice. "Hello, Hedgepaw. What are you two up to?"
"Not much, we've just been talking. This is Fishpaw!" Saying his name, she grinned at the tom, before looking back up at Bubblebeam. "Have you two not talked much before? You should! You'd be friends, I can tell." She looked between the two of them, then suddenly widened her eyes as if in surprise, a small white paw raised to her mouth. "You know what, I just forgot, I have somewhere to be. I guess you two will just have to talk together!"
Hedgepaw's acting was horrendous. Bubblebeam barely managed to stifle a laugh. Still, even with such a bad attempt at guile, she couldn't deny those shining green eyes. "I guess we will. See you later, Hedgepaw."
The small brown-and-white apprentice nudged Fishpaw's shoulder, then trotted off happily, though not before giving them a very obvious wink. Bubblebeam waited until she had left earshot to let out the laugh that had been on the back of her tongue during the entire conversation. How could she labor under such depressing thoughts, when there was so much warmth to be had here? ShadowClan had so many nice cats. It felt so nice to be welcomed into this little community so wholeheartedly as Hedgepaw had embraced her. Did Fishpaw feel that way, too?
In remembering his presence, Bubblebeam turned, regarding the tom with half-squinted pale green eyes, face still set in a smile. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Fishpaw," she said. "I guess you probably know about me, though I hope Hedgepaw hasn't been telling tall tales. I did promise to try and teach her to climb trees, but that doesn't mean that she can learn how to fly. Trust me--if I could fly, I would be doing it all the time. I would've flown far away from here a long, long time ago." Remembering her innocent kithood dreams left a wistful, forgotten taste of nostalgia in her mouth for a moment, before she brought herself back down to reality. It was silly of her to wish for impossibilities when she was already so blessed. "Don't get me wrong, though, I'm very glad to be here. You're relatively new to ShadowClan too, aren't you?"
~~PM me here or on Discord if you want a topic with any of my cats!~~ ~Signature and Avatar by Xaandiir!~
downfive Former Staff
Characters : [R]owansong [Ro]okflight [S]ilverhawk [P]igeonpouce [F]ishpaw [Fa]lconpaw [Fo]xsnap Clan/Rank : [R] RiverClan T5 Elder [Ro] RiverClan T4 Warrior [S] ShadowClan T5 Warrior [P] RiverClan Hybrid Medicine Cat [F] ShadowClan Apprentice [Fa] WindClan Apprentice [Fo] SkyClan T2 Warrior Number of posts : 2887 Gender : any or username Age : 22
Subject: Re: more than restless mornings (c) Sun 27 Oct 2024 - 8:40
FISHPAW
Now I face out, I hold out...
Fishpaw was content to do anything, so long as it was with Hedgepaw. He was fairly certain he would have been happy remaining still for years, watching over the marsh plants as they grew, so long as she was by his side. Walking by her side through camp, talking about nothing in particular but smiling wholeheartedly, was a delight. Hedgepaw was talking about the SkyClan cat who had joined the Clan recently, and he was hanging on every word she said. ”Yeah,” he agreed, half-breathless with the way she seemed to pull the air from his lungs. Anything could be cool if Hedgepaw framed it as such, but there was a particular appeal to being a bird. He wondered how they learned to return with the seasons… maybe, if he were a bird, things of that nature would be easier for him. It would be fun to see the world from that perspective, besides.
But then their conversation was quickly diverted elsewhere as Hedgepaw turned her smile onto a nearby warrior. Taller than them, fluffy and gray--oh. The cat from SkyClan. Hedgepaw’s brother’s friend. Fishpaw smiled toward her and joined Hedgepaw in moving closer. When he was introduced, he stood briefly taller, stretching onto his very pads and grinning wide up at Bubblebeam. It wasn’t really any interest in making himself look good in front of her that had him swell up like that; it was the resting of Hedgepaw’s smile on him.
As she went on to answer Bubblebeam’s question, she came to a realization, and Fishpaw knew immediately where she was heading next. It was no surprise to see the way her paw rose to feign shock, to hear her quick excuse to leave. There was a temptation to call her out on it, just to tease, but Fishpaw could not possibly deny nor contest her rounded, luminous eyes. He didn’t make the same attempt to stifle his laugh as Bubblebeam, instead letting himself snicker softly, but he inclined his head in a nod anyway. ”See you ‘round! I’ll miss you,” he chirped as Hedgepaw turned to leave. A purr rumbled out of his throat at her nudge, and Fishpaw watched her go for a few moments, drawn simply to the sight of her, until Bubblebeam laughed.
His attention quickly rounded back around. Fishpaw blinked at her for a moment before joining in on the laughter. Hedgepaw had that effect on cats--she brought warmth wherever she went. Any discomfort that might have come at being left alone with an unfamiliar cat was gone before it could form with Bubblebeam’s appreciative words; their mutual, quiet affection for Hedgepaw; and the way Bubblebeam turned to him, with a smile warm enough it was impossible to believe there was any ill-will hiding behind it. She spoke kindly, too, and interestingly, and so Fishpaw relaxed further in front of her. He smiled easily and sat back on his haunches, tail flicking rapidly back and forth behind him.
”I am,” he said with a nod. ”I joined before you, though. That makes me your senior in a way, doesn’t it?” He squinted with amusement and laughed again. ”I bet you’ve had an easier time adjusting, though. It’s-” His next chuckle was breathier, a bit rattly with nerves he’d never voiced, ”it’s a little difficult, coming into the Clans with no knowledge except… superstition.” Fishpaw’s nose wrinkled slightly as he recalled the teachings of his father, the Crew when it still stood. He took a breath, shook his head, and refocused his eyes. All thoughts of difficulty and past grief were pushed aside as quickly as he could make them go.
”Where would you go?” He asked, seemingly unprompted. It was a good way of finalizing the banishment of his thoughts, and Bubblebeam’s words had made him curious, besides. ”If you could fly, I mean. I know you can’t, not really.” Even if Hedgepaw’s enthusiasm for the idea made something as silly as flight sound well and truly believable. Fishpaw blinked up at the gray warrior again and angled his head to the side. ”It sounds like you’ve been thinking about it for a while. So, if you didn’t come here, where would you be?” Green eyes sought their paler counterpart, searching for an answer before one could be spoken until they slid away, looking vaguely toward camp’s exit. ”If I were a bird, I think I’d like to go somewhere less muddy. But… I’d want it to have cats like this. Good ones, that like me.” He laughed again, soft, his nose wrinkling with it. ”I think I’d be happy anywhere if Hedge was with me, really.”
Subject: Re: more than restless mornings (c) Mon 18 Nov 2024 - 14:20
Bubblebeam had not been exactly sure what to expect from the little apprentice she'd heard so much about, but she found herself liking him on impulse. Something about the way he seemed so bright and warm reflected those same feelings onto her. Or perhaps that was just the impact that Hedgepaw had. Either way, his quick jokes and banter left her at ease, making sure that the absence of their mutual friend didn't leave them feeling awkward or uncomfortable. She could see why Silverbird's sister had been smiling at him so brilliantly. "I suppose it does," Bubblebeam acknowledged, in response to Fishpaw's crack about being her senior. She grinned. "You certainly have the advantage of me there. And you've known Hedgepaw longer, so you have me on that, too. I wouldn't be too sure of which of us has had the more difficult time. You get to learn everything brand new, whereas I have to un-learn all the things I've been taught in order to act as I should here. Things are very different from what I'm used to... though it's true that there are some similarities, moreso than you'd probably experienced." The way that his gaze darkened when he mentioned superstition did have her intrigued. What was it like, outside of the Clans? What would Uncle Rain and Crookedlight be dealing with? However, it would be a little gauche of her to hit on a point that he so obviously disliked in their first-ever conversation. She would leave the prying of backstories for later.
All thoughts of Fishpaw's own story fled when he suddenly inquired into her off-handed statement. Bubblebeam blinked, her pale green eyes wide. Where would she fly? She hadn't really had a destination in mind, when she made the comment. It did make her sound unhappy with her situation, didn't it? But now that she thought about it, she remembered more of those sunlit dreams of her kithood, tinged with the bitter edge of growing up. "I dreamed a lot when I was your age," she said finally, feeling a smile return to her face. Her eyes still fixed on him, though they felt faraway. "There wasn't really any specific place I wanted to go. Just... everywhere. I wanted to fly to the sun; I wanted to chase the moon to the corners of the sky; I wanted to see what was beyond a mountaintop, and then the next one, and then the next one. But I would always have returned home. I'm tied too irreversibly to the cats that I care about to ever really break free." Thinking about her siblings, her father, sent a shock of pain down her spine that paused her breathing for a moment. Bubblebeam shook her head and spoke again, voice softer. "Or, that's what I thought, anyway... but I managed to cut all those ties when I came here. It's funny, isn't it, that I still care about them even after betraying them this way. Even though they hate me now."
So much for avoiding heavy topics in her first conversation. Bubblebeam gave a somewhat apologetic smile. "I suppose I did fly away, in a sense. I now live somewhere completely different. I am happy here, truly. Even if it's a bit muddy. It's a great place. There are so many kind cats here. I don't regret my choice at all. But there will always be a part of me that wants to keep going, and see everything... and it's the same part that misses them now." She caught the expression on Fishpaw's face when he spoke about Hedgepaw. That certainty, the softness behind his eyes and the utter, unshakable confidence in his companion--she knew that feeling, too. It was what had led her here. The former SkyClan cat brushed her fluffy gray tail against the ground behind her. "I think Hedgepaw is happy with you, too. It's a nice feeling, isn't it? To have someone that feels like home. It means that no matter where you are, you still have your heart. Far better than to be tied to one location, I think."
