Posts by thornpaw.

x x x A look of uncomfortability flashed in the other's posture and Thornpaw regretted mentioning anything of the personal sort. Why didn't he keep it in like he usually did? The young apprentice felt so weak. His yellow eyes caught a red tabby entering the den, the snarky comment reaching his ears. Of course he'd call the poor kid Birdpaw. "It's okay, he sucks at names in general," Thornpaw reassured the elder sitting beside him. Maybe Kestrelpaw would always be like that, it was simply a part of him. "Now, aren't you glad that I'm your first friend here, rather than him?" A light smile, and he greeted Kestrelpaw with a small wave of his tail. Who knows what kind of stereotypes about WindClanners would enter Sparrowpaw's mind if the first cat he met here was a nasty one. Not like Kestrelpaw - someone more like those discrimnating apprentices that had been active a moon ago.

//sparrowpaw sounds good

"Speech."

x x x The empathetic voice of the elder apprentice surprised Thornpaw a bit, but he didn't change expression. Why was he being nice, even? He was aware that Kestrelpaw wasn't mean-spirited in the least, but he expected a joke coming or something. Guess not. And was he really not here for Daisykit's death? It happened not too long ago, and Thornpaw had expected the entire Clan to be aware of it. He really didn't feel like talking about it and getting weakened by emotions in front of Kestrelpaw. He needed a front, something to protect himself from appearing as he felt. Anger was the easiest default. It was especially easy to get angry at someone he felt didn't care a lick about Daisykit. Thornpaw narrowed his eyes and dug his claws into the dirt, mumbling his answer out bitterly. "My sister. Don't you know that?" Internally, the tabby knew he shouldn't be blaming Kestrelpaw for that. But he would anyway. "Nevermind, it's not like you ever gave a shit about anyone else but yourself." He hated himself for even uttering such a thing - to someone who was only trying to help him, above all else. How weak he looked now, losing all of his self-control and turning on one of his only friends. Thornpaw felt like he could jump out of his own skin any minute now.

//and he's become a straight up a-hole now

hormonal overload for this pre-pubescent lil boy

"Speech."

x x x He despised how the other simply took his words, consuming it all and responding with comfort rather than a sharp retort. Why wasn't he yelling at him? Or leaving, at least? Thornpaw shut his eyes, thumping his tail against the ground restlessly. He's apologizing to me. No, this kind of conversation wasn't what he wanted, and he needed to change this now. He didn't like hearing Kestrelpaw's false claims that he cared - he never even knew her, probably. And maybe Thornpaw didn't, either. "Stop that. Let's talk about something else," the apprentice hissed, desperate to find something to distract his mind. Feeling, speaking, presenting himself like this was unacceptable and he needed a break. "Tell me about yourself, anything." Just focusing on somebody other than himself could calm his anxiousness and extinguish the reoccurring thoughts. Perhaps Kestrelpaw would also feel better talking to him casually rather than what they were doing right now.

"Speech."

x x x Yeah, yeah blame it all on him. Thornpaw was too used to that, but it was whatever. Eaglepaw didn't stand a chance against him anyway. His gaze traveled over the appearances of the WindClan apprentices who'd shown up, and lazily waved at them with his tail. "Do what you want," he simpered quietly, adding in his head, but make sure you're actually prepared before arguing with me next time. Eaglepaw could have fun if he wanted to. Might as well, before he became a warrior and then couldn't.

"Speech."

x x x Thornpaw laughed genuinely at Dovepaw's comment, which was all too true. Seriously, all of the apprentices had bird names for some unknown reason. Was there a trend among the queens recently that made bird prefixes more ideal? Thornpaw was the weird kid on the block - guess his mom must have been different or something. The tom looked displeased at the effect of Kestrelpaw's last sentence, which seemed rather unthoughtful and without consideration for someone he didn't know well. Not that Thornpaw was all that different, it's just he never felt that 'quiet' automatically made one inferior. What an annoying assumption. "Y'know, Kestrelpaw," the grey tabby spoke, appearing unamused. "We're not entertainers." Getting to know the quiet ones was something that Thornpaw enjoyed, actually. Though they took longer to open up, they were generally smarter anyway.

//the relationship of all these apprentices feels genuine and brotherly

like, they argue but they still enjoy hanging out

"Speech."

x x x Thornpaw watched silently as the other told him things about himself that he already knew, and displayed his lacking sense of self-worth that he'd already observed about Kestrelpaw. Clearly he had battles of his own that Thornpaw needed to respect and try not to make worse. Unfortunately, the grey tabby already had by completely disregarding the older apprentice's feelings earlier. Nothing would make him apologize, though. "You've got issues," Thornpaw established with a roll of his eyes and more open disposition. Stay out of mine, and I can do the same for you, he thought internally. Unless Kestrelpaw actually wanted to talk about his, in which Thornpaw couldn't tell at the moment. He looked uncomfortable, that's for sure. "Why don't we move on? Like ..." He glanced up at the dark, brooding cloud passing above them, then gazed boldly back over at the other apprentice. "Are interested in anyone? Romantically, I mean?" Thornpaw couldn't help but find intrigue in such elementary gossip.

"Speech."

x x x Kestrelpaw hadn't thought much about it? Thornpaw shook his head, refusing to take that answer seriously. Sure, it was a little difficult to picture Kestrelpaw trying to flirt with someone, but it seemed possible. "You sure you haven't been following me around everywhere because you've fallen for me?" he suggested, a small grin on his maw. It was certainly far-fetched and a bold thing to hint at, but he was only being half serious and enjoyed messing around with the older apprentice. Who knows if Kestrelpaw was even attracted to toms? As the question was turned back on him, Thornpaw had to re-evaluate past events. "I don't know. I have one other close friend, but it's Twilightpaw." The medicine cat apprentice, and it would be forbidden for him to even try to approach that sort of relationship with her. But if he really knew her and liked her, that stupid Warrior Code thingy would not hold him back. "I suppose not," he decided on, shifting his weight onto another paw.

"Speech."

x x x "'Sup, Kestrel," a shorter tom called as he padded up behind the red tabby, peeking curiously around him to see the girl he was talking to. She looked pretty freaked out and confused. It wasn't such a common occurence for kids like her to wind up here somehow, but it did happen sometimes. "You're in WindClan. Ever heard of it before?" They were certainly not the most popular nor impressive when it came to their history, but she had to know about the Clans, right? "I'm Thornpaw, and this is Kestrelpaw. We're apprentices." I'd recommend to leave while you can before getting sucked into it all - he'd add that last part just to himself, spiteful of the Clan as a whole. Regardless of being a part of it, he wasn't very enthusiastic about the Clan structure itself.

"Speech."

x x x Thornpaw rolled his yellow irises at her impatience. This girl must've lived under a rock, she didn't even know what a Clan was. And she had the audacity to make fun of what he was called. "That's just the name I'm stuck with," the tom explained with a slight glower. "Clans are basically large families that live together. Now, is there something you wanted?" Or perhaps they were going to stand here until the next season froze them over. If she wanted in, one of them would have to run and fetch Jasperstar.

"Speech."

x x x Thornpaw shrugged, maybe family wasn't exactly the correct word to describe it. "We're like a community; not all of us are related and some don't have any family. But we still take care of each other, no matter our relations." Yeah, that's it. And if this Willow girl didn't have anywhere else to go, then she could live in WindClan if Jasperstar allowed it. "There's a lot of WindClanners that were loners, like you." Loners, half-clanners, ex-kittypets, you name it. WindClan was quite diverse in that way.

"Speech."

x x x At the sight of the torn up and bleeding Ironclaw, a look of alarm flashed through Thornpaw's eyes before he also padded forward to see the warrior. Tipping his head to the side, the first thought that came to his mind was how he even got injured like this. Was another Clan invading? Did he meet someone dangerous on the border? He seemed fairly banged up, but luckily not on the brink of death. The grey tom sat down beside him, flicking his striped tail in a brief greeting. "Jeez, what the hell happened to you?" the apprentice rasped after Ironclaw had requested Kestrelpaw for some cobwebs. He wasn't much for herbs, so the apprentice was unaware of another way he could assist the warrior. "Besides that, is there anything else you need?"

"Speech."

x x x Though Thornpaw couldn't read the older's mind, he subconsciously felt a similar way when it came to romance. Why erase half of your choices? The main point of sexuality may be to provide offspring, but Thornpaw personally didn't care for the subject of biology. Snickering at the Kestrelpaw's pretend dialogue, he swished his tail a couple times and laid his head patiently on his paws. As he mentioned Twilightpaw, the bit of light in his eyes died. No, that's not right - why should his closest friend's name elicit such a melancholic response? It was because of the incident. Thornpaw was sure Kestrelpaw would know, it was mentioned in pratically everyone's gossip. "Yeah, uh ..." His eyes rolled up to the sky again. "I don't even remember anymore. She's been depressed ever since those asshole apprentices made fun of her because one of her parents is from RiverClan." That was probably the pettiest thing to fuss over, was heritage. And then look what it had driven her to - to the point of self-hatred that she couldn't to deal with living anymore. The shorter tabby turned his head, directing two choleric eyes back on Kestrelpaw. "I don't know, I think she t-tried to ..." His throat closed in and a small sob wracked his form. Ashamed, the apprentice whipped around and hung his head angrily. "Ugh, I h-hate m-myself." He was crying, full-blown sobbing in front of a tom moons older than him. He was so weak, but he never thought it would show so obviously; Thornpaw had never ever cried in front of someone, at least not a time he could recall. If he could be free of the world's burdens, he would choose to fly away from here and live on the moon for eternity.

"Speech."

x x x Outsiders - a very common occurrence in WindClan these days. Practically half the cats Thornpaw knew weren't originally from this Clan. Whatever, he couldn't care less. The only thing that bothered him was that all these outsiders keep sitting alone in a dusty old corner instead of actually trying to interact with somebody; didn't they know the natives don't bite? So the grey tabby would join the trio consisting of a polite kitten, a shy bird twin, and the crazy girl called 'Honeypaw' who was mumbling to herself. "Hello, you three," the tom slurred quietly, sitting down by Sparrowpaw and curling a tail comfortably around cold paws. He'd hate to mention something as trivial as the weather, but the approaching Leaf-bare season was catching him off-guard. Instead, the younger apprentice would turn his head to the unfamiliar she-cat and settle on, "I'm Thornpaw. Was that ... a prayer or something?" It was his only hypothesis for Honeypaw's foreign expressions that he wasn't able to hear. Prayers to StarClan weren't often spoken unless it was a desperate time, but traditions were different depending on the individual. Maybe this girl always whispered prayers while creepily watching the Clan from a distance.

"Speech."

x x x There wouldn't ever be a word about it, but Thornpaw would generally always snooze on the job while out hunting. After countless nights of claiming barely a lick of sleep, it was to be expected. Most of the time it was an accident. Most of the time no one caught him. Today would be the only day Thornpaw would wish someone had found him passed out, sitting in the grassy plains with a piece of prey he'd caught earlier that day. The terrible odor of the fumes wafting violently from the burning territory entered his nose, and he was awake. He slowly opened his chartreuse eyes, which would widen at the sight of the black smoke hanging above the dry plants.

This ... is definitely not good. The tabby would back away, trying to gage the direction of the fire before realizing it was chasing closer after him. There was certainly nowhere to jump down low, and he didn't if it was possible to outrun it in time. The air was becoming warmer by the second. Deciding he had no choice but to find shelter, Thornpaw whipped around and began to bound through the plains. He figured there'd be someone recognizable back at camp, and hopefully they'd all noticed as well. The apprentice felt his legs begin to slow down automatically with the loss of oxygen, no matter how hard he willed himself to keep away from the flames sweeping the life out of their home.

Luckily, the clearing was in proximity from him. Tripping clumsily and tumbling into camp, Thornpaw fell into a coughing fit from the smoke that he'd inhaled. He couldn't even stop; a cycle of wheezing and choking overtook him, so much so that a small amount of blood exited from his jaws and he couldn't breathe any longer. To add to it, his eyes stung as if pepper juice had been extracted on them. At least it seemed that many of the apprentices he cared much about were able to escape the fire - Sparrowpaw and his vexing brother, Eaglepaw. Maizeykit and Jasperstar appeared to be fairing alright, too. That was fortunate, but where were Kestrelpaw and Twilightpaw? He'd only hoped that they'd be on their way out with the others. To Eaglepaw's credit, he was actually searching for them. Struggling to get back on his paws and regain his breath, the apprentice dragged himself away from the plains and towards the dens to help Eaglepaw search.

"Speech."

x x x The camp's clearing and the dens were barely visible by now, covered in a thick cloud of smoke. It was hot and terrifying and the flames were rapidly growing. Thornpaw gasped as his yellow eyes wildly flickered around for anyone he could assist, and it was impossible to catch the air he'd lost. Maybe everyone had got out. Perhaps he was killing himself for no reason. His eyes caught what looked like Kestrelpaw's form, who was expressing his own relief at the sight of them. The only one to be concerned about now was Twilightpaw. What if she was standing out in the territory while searching for herbs? Or if she was stuck in the medicine den, still recovering from the earlier incident? The tabby turned to inspect the medicine den, but suddenly he forgot what direction he was facing. The darkness surrounded camp, only lit by the expansion of fire.

Opening his maw, the apprentice attempted to call to any cat who was still trapped in camp, but his throat constricted and he collapsed into the dirt. No. There was no more time for the others, unless he truly had a death wish. The thought of leaving someone suffocating in a den was haunting; he let out a choked cry in frustration by the possibility of it. But it was time to leave. Staggering forth, Thornpaw attempted to catch up with the others in any form he could, even if he had to crawl to escape the smoke. By the time the abyss cleared up, the tom realized he'd lurched straight into Sparrowpaw, crumpling the ground for the the third or fourth time today. Just ... ugh. Not only were fires painful and fear-inducing, but also exceptionally humiliating. Thornpaw pulled himself up, an apology trying to exit from his throat for Sparrowpaw to receive it, but it stopped abruptly and he ended up harshly coughing out more blood. With a shaky gasp, he decided it was best to focus on fleeing rather than speaking at all. He couldn't help acknowledging he'd always recall evacuating his home instead of making an attempt to save somebody. Just one more thing to add to his long list of failures. Was life even worth trying to protect when it could be destroyed so easily?

"Speech."

x x x // pre-fire, i'd assume?

What an uncomfortable day. Frost encompassing the dry blades of grass in WindClan's plains, a soft sprinkle washing away the dirt caked in Thornpaw's fur, and no sun to be seen. The apprentice trudged back to camp from the outskirts of the territory, paws muddy and a couple shrews dangling limply from his sharp teeth. Tossing them in the fresh-kill pile, the tom sat down in a contemplative manner before the apprentice's den. Recently things had began to turn up for him. He'd met many of the other apprentices; Kestrelpaw, Sparrowpaw, and Dovepaw were a few of them he was relatively fond of. Then there was also Eaglepaw, but he was not Thornpaw's taste, and he wouldn't consider going out of his way to speak to him anytime soon. Albeit, it wasn't like they'd talked much anyway - so in truth, they didn't know each other. But there was an irksome aura about the kid that made Thornpaw not even have the desire to know him. Spreading his ragged, filthy form across the ground, the tabby took this precious break to close his eyes for just a moment. Rest and forget there's another day tomorrow ...

"Speech."