Posts by VIPERKIT!

✦ ✧ ✦ Leafpaw didn’t want to talk about what was bothering him, jaws clenched tightly shut as the younger tom climbed to his paws in preparation to leave the uncomfortable situation. A few cats had come up to try and comfort the crying apprentice, but it seemed like their words weren’t getting through to Leafpaw’s head. Crabpaw was silent as he listened to a few cats speak, eyes flickering between all of them before turning back to Leafpaw.

Leafpaw was leaving, dropping hints that he didn’t want to talk about it, even stating it loud and clear as he headed towards the apprentice’s den. The tabby’s pale green eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the tom leave, ears shifting slightly as he let a breath out, air hissing out between clenched fangs as he didn’t speak. He didn’t want to make the situation worse, so he just stood there as the rest of the group chattered amongst themselves as Leafpaw trotted away, Crabpaw’s mind swimming with thoughts as his eyes lowered to gaze at his paws intently.

✦ ✧ ✦ Crabpaw had stood silently by, his pale green eyes as wide as saucers as the situation played out in front of him. Wolfpaw had taken a step back from the gorge, the voices of Spiderpaw and Yarrorkit pulling him from his trancelike stare. Morningfrost spoke as well, but the pulsating of his heart seemed to drown out most of the words that came from the cats around him. Had Wolfpaw...been planning to jump off into the gorge? To descend to her doom, soft grey fur being swallowed whole by the churning waves of the gorge's rushing waters?

"I'll come with you." Crabpaw's spoke up suddenly, his brain coming back to earth as he took a tentative step away from the edge of the gorge, green eyes sliding to glance at the bottom before he pulled himself away. The abyss of the gorge had stared back at him, making his stomach do flips in his body as he scooted farther away from the mouth of the gorge, head reeling and spinning as he watched Morningfrost glancing over at Yarrowkit, offering to bring her back to camp. Good thinking, a tiny thing like her would be an easy life to claim for the gorge.

✦ ✧ ✦ Kids. The thought of kittens made Crabpaw incredible uncomfortable; they were too fragile and too impressionable, quick-witted and soaking things up like a sponge. They learned very quickly and that was not a good thing when Crabpaw was around. The grey tabby apprentice did a lot of stupid shit and said a lot of even more stupider shit, so the idea of having tiny kits around that would repeat anything he said made his pelt bristle nervously. Ugh, he really didn't like being around children.

Frostfall leaving so suddenly had caught his attention and being the curious guy he was (lies), he followed the warrior until she finally came to a stop. The small squeaks let him know that it was a kitten the large molly was making noises at, her high coos and calls to the kit made him pin his ears against his head in annoyance, face scrunching up as the high notes made him want to claw his ears off. The kid was small and looked hungry, though what kid didn't look hungry? "Maybe you should bring the little tyke to camp so they can get a good bite to eat. Must be hungry if they're wandering around all alone like that." Crabpaw piped up, though he really wasn't much help with children. He was the most festering pile of awkwardness and uncomfortableness around young things, so he chose to hang back just out of earshot so that the kid wouldn't be tainted by his impurity.

//welcome to windclan! <3

✦ ✧ ✦ The grey tabby had let his mind float away from him a bit as he listened to Leafpaw chatter, the other apprentice's voice lulling him into an almost dreamlike mindset. He hadn't felt this calm in a long time, the peace and serenity of his mind was startling, his thoughts for once not filled with the angry screeching and screams of his inner dialogue. Crabpaw could think clearly without interruption and that was what freaked him out the most.

He was calm.

Say something before you look like you fell asleep while he was talking. Oops. "I-I mean, it's still a good rabbit. You picked a...good rabbit." He mumbled out quickly, mentally slapping himself because he sounded like a total dickass. Crabpaw couldn't go one minute without saying something that sounded like it was ripped straight out of "How Not to Socialize with Others". He let out a shaky breahth to try and compose himself, his mind still peaceful and void of the useless ranting he would usually be experiencing by now. Pulling his limp leg in a bit and laying his tail over the embarrassing scarring, the tom's pale green eyes studied Leafpaw as pearly white fangs dug into the rabbit meat and pulled away, the satisfactory glint of hunger being quenched sparkling in the other's eyes as he chewed on the gamy prey.

"You said you were getting along with everyone okay...anybody you like to be around the most? Like a best friend sorta deal?" Crabpaw asked quietly, the awkwardness around the tom almost palpable as he ducked his head to shove his face with more of the rabbit so that he couldn't ruin the bonding moment even more with his dumb words and questions.

✦ ✧ ✦ A border patrol sounded like a godsend right about now. Crabpaw had been stuck in camp taking care of elders, the only thing remotely close to patrolling borders was failing to hunt in a small hunting patrol a few hours ago. He had come back empty-pawed and grumpy, storm clouds broiling over his head as he retired to his nest for a not so deserved nap, but he was mentally done and if he didn't take a nap, he would rip somebody's head off.

The crabby tabby's tired head poked out from the apprentice's den at the call for a border patrol, fur sticking up in spiky chunks from the restless nap he had been trying to take. "I'll come." The apprentice called from across camp, approaching Frostfall and Lionstrike, trying to push his fur down so he didn't look like a grumpy porcupine.

✦ ✧ ✦ Crabpaw had taken a few more bites of the rabbit, although they were small as to not take all of the meat and not leave any for the apprentice also taking nibbles of the hare. The apprentice licked at his paws while Leafpaw spoke, ears perked inquisitively to let him know that he was listening and not letting his brain go into sleep mode. Was the best friend question stupid? Ugh, he couldn't think of anymore questions besides...never mind.

The other apprentice's words made Crabpaw feel weird, his paws shuffling nervously against the ground as his stomach started to do flips in his abdomen, fur standing on end as he tried to keep his racing heart under control. No, stop, stop. Crabpaw could not feel like this, feeling like this was bad and he wanted to run, but he also wanted to stay as close to Leafpaw as possible. Feelings were stupid, so fucking stupid.

"Uhm...everybody's pretty okay. You're probably the...closest to me, I made Wolfpaw cry and I don't think Spiderpaw likes me too much, though I...can see why he doesn't like me. i'm not exactly the most likable guy in Windclan, that's for...sure." Crabpaw kept stuttering and tripping over his words, tongue-tied and embarrassed, pale green eyes moving from the background to the foreground, focusing on the grey and white tom in front of him. "Do you...like anybody?" Okay, wow, what a generic and basic question to ask in this sort of scenario.

Stupid shit.

✦ ✧ ✦ Crabpaw was lucky that they had no mirrors laying around in Windclan camp or he would've scared himself every time he set foot near it. He wasn't ugly, but the tabby apprentice wasn't exactly the most confident about his appearance. He didn't even know what he looked like to other cats, he only saw his reflection in cloudy puddles of rainwater and the occasional shimmering stone, slick with rain or dew if it was early in the morning. The apprentice didn't know that there was something that could show what he truly looked like to others until he stumbled upon Spiderpaw.

The lanky apprentice was hovering over a reflective shard of something, the sun beaming off of it and nearly blinding the approaching Crabpaw. Spiderpaw was taking a moment to make weird faces and dumb expressions at the shard of glass, tilting his head to the left and then to the right as his chocolaty eyes steadily locked on the reflection in the mirror. What the hell was he doing? "Spiderpaw, what are you...WHAT IS THAT?" The apprentice choked on his tongue, his fur fluffing up as his reflection stared straight back at him, looking more mauled and vicious than he had thought himself to be.

Crabpaw was atrocious. He had youthful features warping into anger and moons of frustration, pale green eyes hardened and filled with a hatred that he hadn't known was there. Scars raked across the left side of his cheek, still barren of the grey ticked fur that made up the rest of him. A quick paw tried to swat his reflection away, but it only moved the mirror closer to him and revealing more of his body. "I hate it, I hate, I hate it! What is that and why is it doing that?!" Crabpaw hissed, more scared than angry as he darted out of the mirror's way, fur standing on end as he searched Spiderpaw's face for answers, green eyes wide and frantic.

✦ ✧ ✦ Crabpaw couldn't wait to be a warrior; being able to leave camp whenever you wanted and going out on patrols without older cats breathing down your neck sounded like a blessing. The scarred apprentice appeared from the den where he had been napping, looking disheveled but rather calm as he approached Cowspots and Figpaw, giving the fellow apprentice a blink of acknowledgement. Figpaw was a cool guy so there was no reason for Crabpaw to get snippy...not yet, at least.

"I'll play along." Crabpaw piped up, tail twitching as he actually could feel a bit of excitement blossoming in his stomach at the prospect of learning. The tabby had been bouncing between mentors and had been getting a bit of training from Eaglespirit at the moment, though extra training never hurt anybody.

✦ ✧ ✦ Another moon had seemed to fly by and the next meeting was called, Jasperstar standing proud on the Tall Rock to address all of Windclan. The tabby apprentice drug himself out from his nest, kicking a bit of clingy moss off of his hind leg before coming to sit under the rock, head craning back slightly so that he could see all of the tom perched atop the stone high above their heads.

//track post <3

✦ ✧ ✦ The first thing that stuck out to Crabpaw about the apprentice across the way was that he was stuttering over his words like he was, Crabpaw's ears perking slightly as the thought of Leafpaw being equally embarrassed and uncomfortable...strangely put him at ease. Not that Crabpaw liked seeing the other so flustered, but to get confirmation that he wasn't the only one super bad at interactions like this; it was comforting, to say the least.

Leafpaw had somebody in mind? Ahahah, it's not me, that's for fucking sure.The tabby's mind briefly flickered to the fiasco to the mirror that Spiderpaw had found a few days previous; Crabpaw's angry expression had been branded in his head, how his face contorted when he got embarrassed and how his scars shriveled grossly when Crabpaw made certain looks. If he hadn't been self-conscious before, now he definitely was. His paws shuffled anxiously and he cleared his throat awkwardly, embarrassment flickering over his face as he mentally stumbled over what he was going to say.

"You're not stupid...most of the time. Sometimes you're stupid, but we're all a little stupid, especially yours truly." Crabpaw mumbled, gesturing to himself before trying to smooth over his warbling voice. "I mean... if you like them, w-why don't you just go ahead and say it? Prolonging your feelings only makes you feel worse and...me?" Crabpaw was taken aback by Leafpaw's question, ears lowering against his head as the apprentice asked if he liked anybody.

He was so fucked.

"Maybe? It's dumb and I'm just...not good at this kind of stuff." The tabby finally managed to spit out, his pale green gaze staring holes into his paws, unable to meet Leafpaw's own gaze.

✦ ✧ ✦ Crabpaw had gotten lucky once with Timepaw. Although the relationship had been short, Crabpaw had fallen way too hard for the tom and then he had disappeared. The tabby didn't like to think about Timepaw; thinking about the grey and white tom brought back a lot of bitter thoughts and messy emotions that he didn't want to experience again. He had already cried his heart out and yelled at Starclan to bring his ex-boyfriend back, but all the stars did in return was nothing, not even a twinkle of acknowledgement. Crabpaw had been left frustrated, angry and hopeless that night.

Relationships were hard and confessing your feelings was even harder. Leafpaw surely was talking about another tom, it couldn't be him, life didn't work out that smoothly for Crabpaw, ever. A paw lightly pressed into his fur before quickly recoiling, pale green eyes sliding over Leafpaw's face as Crabpaw choked down a surprised yelp, his fur twitching where the soft paw of the other tom had grazed his coat. Geez, get yourself together, asshole!

Leafpaw was asking about the cat he liked. Fuck, fuck, shit, shit! This was the worst idea, talking about crushes was the absolute worst conversational starter. "I'm sure the cat you like likes you back, w-who wouldn't?" The grey tabby mumbled softly, eyes yet again staring holes into his paws as they absently patted at the grass in front of him. "I like...a tom, an apprentice who I hang around a lot more than I probably should, because he's too cute and...he has the cutest smile and he makes puns that make me want to roll my eyes and also cuddle him. It's the most confusing thing in the world...crushes are messy." Crabpaw rambled on and on, finally shutting his mouth as his gaze flickered back up to Leafpaw to see how he would react.

Was he dropping enough hints or did he have to say Leafpaw's name explicitly?

✦ ✧ ✦ "Sorry for intruding!" What the hell? The voice of the medicine cat had drawn the scarred Crabpaw from his NPC-led patrol, pale green eyes narrowing as the fishy scent of Riverclan wafted over him, causing his face to scrunch up in mock disgust. Why was this guy prancing all over the moors smelling like a pile of rotting fish meat and bones?

"If you were really sorry, you wouldn't be dancing all over Windclan territory while screaming and howling at the top of your lungs." Crabpaw snapped as he approached the medicine cat, no sign of fear in his eyes as he traipsed straight up to Rootlegs, silently daring him to say anything in order to get him to back off. "What do you want with Windclan?" The tabby apprentice asked harshly, ears lowering against his head as his gaze slid over the tom's figure. Hmph, who did this asshole think he was?

//ic opinions <3

✦ ✧ ✦ "It...It's o-ok." Crabpaw's meek voice spoke up, his fur burning with the heat of embarrassment as he forced his fur to lay flat again. He still wasn't used to intimacy and the soft touches of a crush or potential mate; Timepaw and him had cuddled a few times, but there was a lack of fleeting touches or comforting brushes of a gentle shoulder or tailtip. Crabpaw wasn't used to it, but he could get used to it if given the chance and the opportunity to experience more of it.

Crabpaw forced himself not to sputter out some incoherent mumbling as Leafpaw began to answer his questions, the tom's words coming out of his maw in smooth sentences, the added flavor of puns making the scarred tabby tom laugh a little, though he used his paw to try and muffle the small giggles bubbling from within his chest. Puns, Crabpaw had never been a fan of the play on words, but Leafpaw used them in a way that made them slightly more tolerable than when they came from another idiot's mouth.

Leafpaw...seemed to be talking about Crabpaw, though he hoped he wasn't being too self-centered in thinking that the grey and white tom before him might be crushing on him. It was a whimsical thought to have, but what if it was true? What if Leafpaw was talking about him? What if?

"I like you." Crabpaw was always the one to make the first move, why was it always him? Not that he didn't like getting his mushy feelings off of his chest, but...ugh. Crabpaw wanted to so desperately to run out of the situation as soon as he had confessed, his entire body shaking with a mixture of fear and adrenaline, but he forced himself to stay planted in front of Leafpaw to hear what he had to say.

✦ ✧ ✦ //no harm done stine! we'll miss you but you know ill be stalking hornet wherever he goes <3333

Hornetwing was a former Bloodclanner...Crabpaw didn't know this. Hornetwing had been a nice guy, thoug he and the grey tabby never really interacted all that much. He was leaving and confessing his sins, pulling away the white and grey mask that hid his true identity. Caledon's son, a prince of Bloodclan, if you will.

Crabpaw didn't know how to feel. He knew he hated Bloodclan with a burning passion, he knew that he bore the scars of a mad man named Sheogorath...sick bastard. Jasperstar was talking now and his words were cold and as sharp as the knife that Hornetwing had lodged in all of Windclan's back. Wolfpaw was almost dizzy with defeat, her words turning to ice as she seemed to fade into emotionless anger. Crabpaw's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, but nothing would come from him as he only came to gently comfort Wolfpaw, his ears lowered against his head as his pale green gaze found that of Hornetwing's.

He wouldn't say what he felt because he wasn't sure what he felt. He felt anger, betrayal, but also...empathy? Was it bad to empathize with somebody like Hornetwing? "...Hope you have a safe leave." Crabpaw's words were simple, effective as he pressed his side into Wolfpaw's to try and offer her some comfort.