Skip Navigation
with our backs to the wall ! [open]
applepaw
SkyClan
Posts: 3
Rank: apprentice
Age: 7
Gender: female
Mentor: liontooth
Played By: crescendo
|
Post by applepaw on Jun 29, 2015 23:28:41 GMT -5
applepaw
rather die than do it your way
The roar of the falls was all Applepaw could hear as she picked her way precariously along the falls. There weren't many places in the territory as dangerous as Sky Falls, but then Applepaw didn't take warnings very well. They were like a challenge, a way to get her paws itching to do just what they were asking her not to do. Applepaw hated being told what to do, it was something that was bound to be a struggle through the entire course of her training.
The ginger-and-white tabby peered over the edge, breath coming in soft pants. Her pelt was bristling, but if she was caught she'd insist it was excitement. She wasn't afraid, that'd be stupid! Only cowards would be scared of a part of their own territory, and Applepaw was big enough that she didn't need supervision one hundred percent of the time.
Though, if she were going to be honest, she wished she'd gotten some cat to come with her. If only so that when she reached to the top she could turn around and puff out her chest. She could go back to camp after this and tell all the other apprentices, but there was something less fun about telling someone about it instead of making them see it. On top of that, Applepaw just hated the idea that they'd say there wasn't any proof she'd been up here. The she-cat's tail lashed furiously.
It's not my fault they were all busy doing stupid stuff and couldn't come with me, Applepaw seethed. In camp she hadn't let on that she'd been disappointed to find out that most of her peers were elsewhere. On her own, however, it was clear that Applepaw was less than happy. The tabby's ears were pinned flat against her skull, and she made her way along the precarious edge of the plateau with claws gripping the stone in fury. Fine, it's not like I need any of those stupid mouse-brains. They'd all chase their tails if their mentors asked it.
Applepaw didn't need anybody, she'd get up here on her own. Sure it was hard to have a race and be "the fastest to the falls" without another cat to eat her dust, but she could prove to herself that she'd get up here just fine. Applepaw was, after all, independent. Who needed validation? ...Okay, but when she got back to camp she was definitely going to tell them all about her trip up here. Only a mouselength from the edge, the she-cat's whiskers prickled with delight at the thought.
"What's most important is that I got up here in the first place," she assured herself, tail twisting slightly as she kept her balance. "Might've been better not to race anyway. One of those mouse-brains would just fall right over the edge and then there'd be trouble. Or I'd have to rescue them."
The idea of hauling a clan-mate to safety by their scruff gave her a small twinge of amusement, and made her feel a bit better about leaving them behind. She continued on her way, pausing when she finally reached a high spot. The roar made it hard to hear anything, and the smell of water was so strong that the young apprentice wasn't sure there was anything else out here. Still, standing on the edge of the stones and staring where the river bellowed its way to the ground sprawling below, she felt as if she'd sprouted wings and flew.
"I'm just as strong as you," Applepaw meowed, peering at the rushing water and digging her claws into the stone. "Stronger even, you're just making a lot of noise." Could she swim it? It looked like any cat would be knocked off their paws and thrown over the edge, but a daring part of her longed to try it. Or at least see if someone else would. She twitched her ears, deciding against it. She didn't want to look like a drowned rat after all. Besides, if it killed her she'd look like an idiot.
notes: applepaw please don't challenge to waterfall to a fight omg
wc: 677
|
|
|
|
Post by stormdapple on Jul 8, 2015 11:06:58 GMT -5
the grassy plateau might have always seemed peaceful in theory for its remoteness, its height up away from the troubled world below where someone always wanted to kill someone else and truly, in this respect it was a peaceful place indeed. however, upon actually hauling her aging bones up to the spot where clouds floating past seemed to brush the tips of her ears, it wasn't so calming after all. if she was completely honest with herself, the she-cat rather wished she hadn't come at all. the ascent had made her dizzy and sickened, and the thunderous, constant rush of noise intensified the sensation that she was falling. stormdapple shivered and put her head down. she was here, so she might as well get something done in the process.
she had only come up to the falls once or twice before, but each time it grew a bit more difficult. next time she needed something from up here, she knew she'd just have to send someone more nimble and brave than herself. stormdapple thought herself much better suited for a quiet, dry cavern back at camp. but she was doing her best to learn the new territory and its foliage completely so she wouldn't feel so cursedly helpless whenever her stocks got low. if she had to ask a patrol to go crawling to thunderclan one more time she would surely die of embarrassment.
so here she was, nearly touching starclan with her tailtip while contemplating the likelihood that the world would suddenly tilt and toss her over the side of the waterfall into the canyon below. then all of the sudden stormdapple realized she had a bit of company- a rather small bit indeed. she had been keeping her distance from the edge, but now crept forward to see who the little cat could possibly be- surely an apprentice who would be in big trouble if anyone found out they were up here. yep- that was the case. stormdapple nearly giggled aloud to herself when the young she-cat's voice echoed across the plateau, talking only to herself. the medicine cat couldn't quite make out the words over the shouting of the falls, but she made her way closer to who she discovered to be applepaw, and sat neatly down, wrapped her tail about her paws, and cocked her head.
"i'm not sure you ought to be challenging forces of nature, applepaw," the medicine cat called, her soft voice barely loud enough to be heard.
|
|
applepaw
SkyClan
Posts: 3
Rank: apprentice
Age: 7
Gender: female
Mentor: liontooth
Played By: crescendo
|
Post by applepaw on Jul 10, 2015 23:13:15 GMT -5
applepaw
rather die than do it your way
It wasn't that Applepaw hadn't noticed that there was another cat around, it was just that the other cat was clearly being nefariously sneaky or she totally would have. As it were (nefarious or not) Applepaw certainly didn't notice there there was anybody else around. She wouldn't have embarrassed herself with her own personal monologue if that had been the case. She also would have been bragging to them, maybe. Probably.
The first sound of the Medicine Cat's voice had Applepaw's bicolored pelt bristling in surprise. The she-cat very cautiously glanced over her shoulder, and felt her spine prickle with dread. Great, it was Stormdapple. If it had been some apprentice she might have been able to bully them into being quiet (or at least mention that tattling on her would also reveal that they ought to be in trouble as well). But a Medicine Cat was different, if she went and tried to bully her she'd probably get struck by lightning or something.
Dubiously, Applepaw twitched her ears, and she briefly considered just running away. What good would that do though? Except maybe embarrassingly pitch her over the edge and into the waters below. Besides, Stormdapple hadn't really said anything that suggested Applepaw might be in trouble. Yet. Maybe she could sweet talk her way out of getting told on? Or at least make the Medicine Cat understand.
"Hi Stormdapple," the apprentice mewed, as if she hadn't just come across a cat while caught yelling at a stupid waterfall. Her pelt prickled with embarrassment, "It wasn't like I was actually challenging them--not really."
"Would it make StarClan angry?" Applepaw asked, forward and genuinely curious. She wasn't really trying to challenge the she-cat, or StarClan either for that matter, but the thought sent a thrill prickling through her pelt. It wasn't like she wanted to fight with StarClan, but the idea that they would be watching over her--that their attention would be on her. That she wouldn't fade into the background of a sea of feline tails and whiskers, maybe her Warrior Ancestors were watching them now, tutting quietly to themselves about foolish apprentices.
"I was just telling them to be a little quieter," she added primly, tail twitching slightly as she glanced over her shoulder at the falls. The she-cat's whiskers twitched, and she padded away from the edge, toward the Medicine Cat. "It's not like you can actually battle a waterfall or anything like that anyway. If they could turn into a cat I'd beat em' though, probably. Are you going to tell Liontooth I snuck out of camp?"
There was that straightforward honesty again, almost challenging. She couldn't help it, she didn't want to fight the she-cat--in fact Stormdapple wasn't really a cat that Applepaw could say she disliked. She was just the Medicine Cat, but she couldn't seem to keep the proud tilt out of her head or the defiance out of her tone. No matter how hard she tried, respect just wasn't really her bit.
notes: when you like "hey this person is nice" but you approach everyone with this headstrong "ill fight u" attitude tho
wc: 503
|
|
|
|
Post by stormdapple on Jul 15, 2015 1:04:36 GMT -5
it took a moment before stormdapple realized exactly how fiercely her own whiskers were twitching in this particular situation. whether it was from amusement or anxiety in the presence of the falls, and seeing this young cat putting herself in such a perilous situation? this she could not tell, though somewhere in the back of her mind suspected her physical reaction was in response to both of these emotions. she couldn't help but find the headstrong applepaw funny- the young she-cat was perhaps a bit nuts, but surely in a good way. on the other paw, though, she was breaking at least one rule, if not many, by being out here near the falls alone. stormdapple closed her eyes and backed one step away, wishing the rushing water would hush for just one moment so she could think!
applepaw's words gave her a start, and she looked back out across the couple foxlengths separating them. "hi applepaw," she replied, stifling a chuckle unsuccessfully, so that she snorted softly. "well that's good! i hate to put out your fire, but i'm afraid the waterfall would probably win. and if you managed to be that particular force of nature, i think the landing afterward would certainly do you in," stormdapple assured the apprentice gravely, though her eyes still glittered with amusement at the younger cat's antics.
"angry? no i should think not, but they would be unspeakably saddened if you got yourself killed. why don't you step away dear?" the aging medicine cat finally urged gently, her gaze betraying the sense of worry fluttering inside of her chest at the sight of such a potentially reckless soul playing with such a dangerous weapon as the steep cliff side. the thought of applepaw tumbling accidentally over the precipice was enough to turn stormdapple's sensitive stomach, and again she closed her eyes to keep from getting dizzy. "quieter, yes," stormdapple agreed softly, eyes still shut, "i agree with you there. but such forces rarely consider the whims of meek beings like ourselves," she meowed, looking up again to gaze out over the land. it was easier to ignore the height if one simply appreciated the magnificent view.
she laughed faintly. probably. of course applepaw would beat 'em, the silly child. stormdapple smiled warmly at the young cat then, especially when she boldly faced the situation as it were. "starclan, no!" the medicine cat purred, backing another step, "i do believe liontooth would outright kill you if he found out, and i'd hate to be to blame for such folly. though," she paused, a mischievous glimmer in her hazy olivine gaze, "you will need an excuse for being out here, but fear not! i think i have an idea." she purred brightly, and flicked her tail, gesturing for applepaw to follow. "will you help me look for some herbs i thought may be up here? you see, i'm rather afraid of heights. i could use a brave young cat like yourself. plus! i'm sure your eyes are far more sharp than mine are anymore." stormdapple looked up at the apprentice beseechingly.
|
|
applepaw
SkyClan
Posts: 3
Rank: apprentice
Age: 7
Gender: female
Mentor: liontooth
Played By: crescendo
|
Post by applepaw on Jul 17, 2015 23:47:53 GMT -5
applepaw
rather die than do it your way
Was Stormdapple teasing her? Applepaw twitched her ears dubiously biting back an irritable retort be literally chomping on her own tongue. She winced slightly and glared over her shoulder. Some ridiculous part of her was tempted to hurl herself at the water just to prove a point now. Nothing could beat Applepaw, not if she didn't want to be beaten. Still, the she-cat wasn't a complete idiot. She'd rather not die a horrible gruesome death just to stuff Stormdapple's words back down her throat. Besides, she had a feeling the she-cat was right. She wouldn't win.
It still rubbed her pelt the wrong way.
Got myself killed, Applepaw thought with a flare of outrage. She stalked stiff-legged away from her spot obediently, but she was gritting her teeth. Like she'd do something so stupid as to get herself killed. To go out in such a sad and lonely way--Applepaw felt her fur crawl with irritation. She loathed the idea of that, of dying in a sad, pathetic, lonely way. Like mother like daughter, is that what she thinks?
No, not at all, not likely anyway. Even so, she felt her ears flatten against her skull and the fur along her neck bristled. It was all she could do to choke on her words, and she thought it was less because she didn't want to offend the Medicine Cat and more because she couldn't think of how to word her outrage. Even so, the words were lost on her, and that was likely for the better. She smothered her anger with a flexing of her claws, and tried to force her fur to lie flat.
"Kill me?" Applepaw echoed, thinking of her mentor and squinting both blue eyes in thought. Her tail twitched once, twice, and then she flicked it as though the gesture was helping her to discard that thought entirely. "I suppose, but he'd have to fight me himself to do so. I might not be very old, but I think I could give him a few scratches to remember me by before taking me out."
Applepaw flexed both claws, feeling better for the thought. She even quirked a spunky little smile at Stormdapple, earlier transgression--if there had ever really even been one considering her hyper-sensitivity--completely forgotten. "What is that your way of getting free labor out of me? Threatening my life in order to get an extra pair of paws to carry your herbs? And some mouse-brains say you Medicine Cats're soft!"
"Yeah, yeah fine I'll help you out," Applepaw puffed her chest out with undisguised pride. It was good to do good things like that anyway. Let her name get known through all the Clan, if she was good at doing her apprentice tasks she'd blossom as a Warrior. If she was a good Warrior, someday she'd become Deputy. Then leader. Then no cat would forget about her, she'd have a legacy, a story to be told. She'd make sure of it. "Joke's on you though, now you've got to put up with me all day! Just kidding, I won't be a bother I promise."
Applepaw let out a good natured purr, padding a few steps away and stopping to peer at Stormdapple. "What kinda herbs do you need anyway? There's not any up here are there?"
notes: give her something to do and she can't even stay mad lmao
wc: 553
|
|
|
