Posts by SHADEPAW.

Was Flamestar serious? She was like, half dead, and yet acting so calm about it. As much as Shadepaw hated to admit it, he would have been in tears by now! He understood though - Flamestar probably wanted to appear strong for her Clanmates, and he respected that.

And yet Shadepaw felt a frustrating pang of worry. For a long time, he had felt nothing towards his leader, but he was starting to respect her, maybe even care for her a tiny bit. He didn't want to fuss too much over Flamestar, he didn't want to freak out to much but... he did hope that she was okay.

"Be careful." He watched his leader, a concerned frown upon his maw. Hesitating, he then moved a little closer to her - not to the point of which she was suffocating her, but close enough that if something was to go wrong, he would be able to help and support her. Noticing that Marigoldkit and Rosekit were quite understandably confused, he faced the two kits, his green gaze softening. "She's going to be okay," he reassured them gently, hoping that he was right. "The medicine cats will make her better." Or they could completely screw up and fail to save her, but that was something he decided was better left unsaid in front of such young children.

"that's just what gangsters do."

The young tom padded over, brushing his tail against Pumpkinstrut's shoulder as a friendly gesture to his mentor. "I'll come." This patrol was for a good cause after all. Shadepaw had always had a softer spot for kits and elders, so he was pretty eager to help out with them in any way that he could, provided that he wasn't putting himself at risk.

"that's just what gangsters do."

Shadepaw couldn't help the smile which came to his face at the sound of Ivorypaw's voice. She was one of his oldest friends, one of the original members of KitClan, and though he didn't always know how to express his feelings, he knew that he genuinely adored her with all of his heart. The small tom let out a deep, rumbling purr as Ivorypaw touched her nose to his cheek, bright eyes focusing on his friend as she spoke.

"Gossip? Sounds interesting," the smile upon the ebony apprentice's maw began to shift into a mischevious grin. As the molly began to search for wounds on the shorthaired tom's body, he pointed with a small paw to a few small wounds on his body. "Honestly nothing that serious. Those BloodClanners didn't stand a chance against me." Not that Shadepaw's good fighting moves had made the raid any less scary - he had still been scared for his life.

What Ivorypaw said next caught the little tom off guard - to an extent. He had suspected that something might have been going on between Ivorypaw and Doepaw, but he hadn't been entirely sure. What certainly did catch the young boy off guard was her mentioning Mouseridge. "Mouseridge?" he spluttered, emerald eyes gleaming with amusement. "I can admit, he's really handsome, but I didn't realise that we were a thing." Mouseridge had Shellpaw, didn't he? The lanky warrior wasn't even interested in toms from what Shadepaw knew, and he could hardly blame the guy if he had feelings for Shellpaw - she was incredibly pretty, at least in Shadepaw's opinion. Then again, maybe Shadepaw just found everyone attractive.

"Now Doepaw..." he leaned a little closer to his friend, a playful smirk upon his maw. "You should go for it. If she says no, you know that you tried, but honestly?" he paused, drawing his paw across the fur on the top of his head to make sure it lay down perfectly. "She's my friend too, and I suspect she's interested." Ivorypaw and Doepaw would be really cute together, that was for sure, and now that Shadepaw knew about Ivorypaw's crush, he was determined to help them work things out. They were his friends after all - he wanted them to be happy more than anything. He touched his nose to Ivorypaw's cheek once he was done talking - a gesture of both reassurance and affection.

"that's just what gangsters do."

Shadepaw was next to arrive. Someone at the border? Sounds like fun. The young tom casually strolled over, showing no signs of hostility. He halted close to the border, bright green eyes resting on Kodiakmask. "What's up?" He sounded completely relaxed - this guy didn't seem to be a threat after all.

"that's just what gangsters do."

It felt good to be on a mission such as this one - Shadepaw was sure that the queens, kits, elders and injured cats would appreciate it. "I guess." He mumbled around the mossball in his jaws, which was gradually growing soggier the more water it collected. It wasn't a huge concern to the ebony male whether they ran into RiverClanners or not, though he supposed it might make the patrol a little more interesting. But there were no RiverClan cats here right now, and the young male simply had to focus on collecting plenty of water for the cats who needed it.

"that's just what gangsters do."

Flamestar was being weird - really weird. He especially didn't like how she had referred to Shadepaw as 'unproductive.' Who was she to insult him, when he worked so hard for his Clan? Pumpkinstrut was present too - and she was the deputy, she worked super hard! He felt his obsidian pelt bristle slightly as the molly then wandered off without another word.

Turning back to the newcomer, he forced out a laugh. "Well, I guess you're in then, don't worry too much about Flamestar," he wanted to insult her, but Pumpkinstrut and Whiteheart were both there, and he knew better. But surely they had to be thinking the same thing. Nodding towards Whiteheart, he tried to reassure him, "Well we're going to get to know him if he's our Clanmate, aren't we?" his bright eyes flickered back to Kodiakmask. "But what's your name anyway, mysterious stranger?" There was a teasing note to the small male's voice as he tried to lighten the mood, which was pretty difficult to do after Flamestar had been so irritable. He was quite curious at to what had happened to her though - she had been acting strangely recently, from what many of his Clanmates had told him. Shadepaw wanted to know what was going on, and wondered briefly whether he should check up on Flamestar, but he quickly pushed the thought away. Maybe he would later, but right now, his fur was still ruffled after hearing her rude comment, so he thought it would be better to leave the leader alone for the time being.

"that's just what gangsters do."

//thanks for making! <3

Shadepaw had been hunting when he had noticed a familiar flame point pelt through the trees. It hadn't been long since he had last spoken to this cat, but he had to admit, he was quite eager to see her again. For a start, she was pretty, any cat with two working eyes could see that, but it wasn't just about that. Shadepaw thought that she was sweet and funny, and already considered the young birman a friend, which was a rarity, as he gave not many cats the blessing of such a title.

Picking up the large raven which he had just caught in his jaws, the small apprentice headed towards the border, waving his tail casually in greeting. He hoped that maybe he could impress Honeypaw with his catch - it was the best thing he had caught on his hunt so far after all.

He halted by the border, dropping his catch to the ground, emerald eyes flicking down towards it briefly, feeling a rush of warm pride. Shadepaw then looked back at the SkyClanner, greeting her. "Hey," he licked a paw before using it to smooth down some of the fur on his shoulder, which was sticking up slightly after an intense hunt. Shadepaw was a cat who took a lot of pride in his appearance generally - he was often preening himself, or looking at his reflection in any bodies of water that he could find. The young male didn't necessarily think that he was handsome, but he wanted to maintain his at least decent looks as much as he could. Perhaps Shadepaw felt the need to look good even more than usual now though, considering that Honeypaw was here. "How have you been?"

"that's just what gangsters do."

Shadepaw came up beside Maisy, looking up at Stormchaser. "I would also like something juicy." He echoed the molly, emerald eyes flicking in her direction, gleaming playfully. Of course he would rather not get on her nerves, but if she chose to get frustrated by him, that was none of the obsidian pelted apprentice's concern. He meant what he said after all - he wanted something fun and interesting, and he hoped that Stormchaser would be able to provide such an activity.

"that's just what gangsters do."

Flamestar had been acting weird lately - Shadepaw was sure that almost everyone in ThunderClan had noticed the changes in her behaviour. New Flamestar was interesting, but Shadepaw didn't really like her. Perhaps he would change his mind later on, but right now, she was getting on his nerves. He wondered what had caused Flamestar to change - perhaps she was just feeling the pressure thanks to all of their issues with BloodClan. While Shadepaw was frustrated by the leader's attitude, he found himself slightly concerned about her. He cared about Flamestar, even if it was only a tiny bit.

The small apprentice padded over to Mouseridge, sitting beside his friend. "ThunderClan's local weirdo calls a Clan meeting," he muttered quietly to the young warrior. "You have noticed how off Flamestar has been recently, right?" Despite his harsh words, his green eyes softened slightly with concern as they rested on Flamestar. He didn't know what was going on with her, and he wanted to find out.

"that's just what gangsters do."

Well.

This was happening.

The young tom didn't know how to feel, it was one thing after another. He supposed that he wasn't happy about this. Kits being apprenticed early was wrong - he knew that. He had an overprotective side when it came to kits, and the thought of them being forced into apprenticeship, into training, into danger, before they were ready scared him. It was true that back when Shadepaw had been a kit, he had wanted to be apprenticed early. But he was older now, and he knew that it was important for kits to stay in the nursery until they hit six moons. It was for their own safety.

Then there was Shellpaw's new, disgusting name. He couldn't agree with it - he despised it. Shadepaw had already noticed Flamestar acting weird, but he hadn't expected her to go this far. It wasn't Shellpaw's fault that he had gotten hurt.

The only part of the meeting that he was happy with was his warrior ceremony. While deep down, Shadepaw, no, Shadepelt, had his doubts that he was ready to become a warrior, he certainly appreciated this anyway. Becoming a warrior early? He had to be special. But while Shadepelt wanted to celebrate, he knew that he couldn't. Not right now. Not yet.

Everyone around him was beginning to argue, their voices roaring, searing painfully through the ebony pelted tom's ears. With every word, Shadepelt grew angrier and angrier. It had been wrong of him to gain respect for Flamestar, it had been wrong of him to trust her even a tiny bit. This was why it was easier for him to not give a crap about anyone rather than actually care for them. As more and more voices shot around camp, Shadepelt felt his claws unsheathing, his black pelt bristling. Unable to hold back any longer, the young male leaped to his paws, emerald eyes fixed on Flamestar.

For a short, startling moment, Shadepelt thought that he might try to attack her somehow. His claws were already out after all. But he couldn't. He knew that he couldn't. Yes, his Clanmates were angry at Flamestar, but they would probably view him attacking her as one step too far. As well as that, she was the leader, much, much, older than him, with much more experience in battle. Shadepelt was strong for his age, but he knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against the older molly.

He forced himself to sheath his claws, though he couldn't stop himself from letting out a low snarl as he faced his leader. I can't believe that I respected you! How could I be so stupid?

"What's wrong with you?" he snarled. "You braindead pile of foxdung! Those kits are too young to become warriors - you know how easy it would be for them to get hurt? Do you really just not give a crap at all? It's not just about making the Clan strong, it's about protecting those in it," it was true that Shadepelt felt nothing towards most of the cats in this Clan, but he knew that he cared for the kits. "And I refuse to call Shellpaw that name," his green glare focused on the leader's burned face as he continued, unable to stop himself, "Besides, at least Shellpaw only hurt her leg. You managed to mess up half of your face, and you know what? I think your face looks disgusting!" a smirk slipped on to his maw as he remembered something Pepperpaw had said to the leader a while back. He didn't know what had happened to the bengal, and celebrated his disappearance every day, but that didn't mean he couldn't use his rather inventive insult on this crowfood eating, sorry excuse for a leader. Maybe Pepperpaw had been right about one thing after all. "You're nothing but a half burned monster, a complete mess, and an embarrassment to this Clan. For as long as you call Shellpaw that stupid name, you'll be Burntface to me."

After speaking, he staggered back slightly, taking a few deep breaths. Crap, crap, crap. Had he gone too far? What if Flamestar exiled him?

I did the right thing. I know that I did the right thing.

And yet, Shadepelt already felt guilty. The respect that he had gradually built up for Flamestar... had it really been all for nothing?

Deep down, he was worried for her. Deep down, he knew that something had to be bothering her, for her to act so out of character. He felt both sorry and not sorry at the same time.

Shadepelt's bright eyes still glared at Flamestar, but while there was fury in his eyes, there was concern upon his face.

What happened to her?

I wish I could help.

"that's just what gangsters do."

The young male let out a laugh, followed by a deep, rumbling purr. If he was being honest, he had felt at least slightly attracted to cats from other Clans before. His first crush, Okapipaw, for example, had been a RiverClanner. Shadepaw still worried about him - he had no clue what had happened to him.

"I'm not running off with someone from another Clan," he told Ivorypaw, before giving his friend a teasing nudge and a wink. "Yet!" He felt as though he could joke about these things with her - they were close enough, and he doubted that she would get mad.

It seemed that he hadn't quite convinced Ivorypaw yet, so he continued to reassure her. "Ivorypaw, you're not just some cat! You're one of the kindest, coolest cats that I know. And you're every bit as pretty as Doepaw! Besides," his voice became more firm as he continued, "It's not about who your parents are - it's about who you are. And I think you and Doepaw would be pretty cute together," he wanted to vomit after saying such soft things, and so he gagged dramatically. "And that's enough sappy stuff from me - go get your girl, alright?"

It was then that Mouseridge came over. Shadepaw laughed for quite a few seconds just at the comedic timing of his arrival - right after him and Ivorypaw had finished talking about him. "Hey, Mouseridge," he waved his tail lazily in greeting, moving a little closer to his friend before, an idea forming in his mind, he batted his eyes flirtatiously at him. "You look handsome today." He then glanced at Ivorypaw, playfully smirking at her. While he doubted him and Mouseridge would ever be mates, that didn't mean that he couldn't mess around a little.

"that's just what gangsters do."

If Shadepelt was being honest, he didn't really give a crap about Briarheart coming back. It was good, he supposed. More cats in the Clan meant more cats to hunt prey, and more cats to fight in battles. But he had never gotten to know Briarheart before she had gotten captured - they had never been friends. So how was he meant to care about her? Sometimes, Shadepelt felt guilty that he was so disinterested in the welfare of his Clanmates, but what was he supposed to do about it? He'd been this way for a very long time, and surely it was too late for him to change his ways, even if he wanted to deep down.

But this was a party, and parties were fun. Parties were social events, and Shadepelt liked social events. He also liked food, and there seemed to be a lot of that here right now. Besides, it would seem weird if Shadepelt didn't attend a celebration for his returning Clanmate - she was well loved by the rest of the Clan, after all.

"Sounds fun!" the obsidan furred tom exclaimed, before heading towards Shane, a smirk upon his face. He could already guess that Shane probably wasn't going to enjoy the social part of this party. Grabbing a squirrel from the fresh-kill pile, he then headed over to Shane, coming to stand beside him. "So," he lowered his voice a little, "Enjoying yourself?" He flicked his tail in the direction of the party. More and more cats were arriving, chattering loudly and laughing together. Oh boy, Shane was going to love this. After speaking, the small cat took a bite from his squirrel, his emerald gaze still resting upon the older warrior, waiting for a response.

//ic opinions lmao

"that's just what gangsters do."

Shadepelt had been sprawled out relaxing when he had heard Molly's voice. It had become pretty difficult for the young male to relax with all of the madness which was going on with Flamestar, but today, he had been determined to relax.

It seemed that he just couldn't have nice things.

"I think Crimsoncry is dead."

The ground lurched beneath the small cat's paws, and he could practically feel himself about to vomit. For a while, he refused to even look at Molly, staring in the opposite direction, trying to steady his breathing.

No no no no no no no no.

He could feel heat rushing to his pelt - he felt faint, and sick, all at the same time, his entire body burning. The obsidian furred tomcat no longer felt as though he was laying on the ground - instead, he could feel his paws floating on air.

Under his breath, the boy murmured a quiet, and yet undeniably fierce, "Death to StarClan." How many times were they going to screw up? Did they genuinely not give a crap about the Clans they were meant to watch over? Did they genuinely not give a crap about the lives of so many cats? Did they not even bat an eye at those who suffered, whether physically or mentally? Did the cries of grief from the living just go in one ear and out the other?

He forced himself to turn around and face Molly, an undeniably vulnerable expression upon the child's face. It didn't take him long to notice the red-orange fur of his father on the ground, it didn't take long for his bright green gaze to suddenly darken, becoming unusually dull and dead.

"Where did you find that?" the small tom staggered to his paws, weakly making his way over to Molly. His pelt brushed Heatherpaw's as he came to stand beside her - his sister, his beautiful, beautiful sister. What if he lost her as well? His voice became more fierce, though as the same time, it trembled more and more with every word. "Where the hell did you find that, Molly? What do you mean, you think Crimsoncry is dead?" He couldn't look at the fur anymore, and so he focused on Molly's eyes. His eyes were round, pleading with Molly to tell him something good, to tell him anything good.

//AAAAA IT'S OK BUT AAAAAAA

"that's just what gangsters do."

: CITLALI :

Shadepelt was... well, a mess.

It seemed like he was being put through one thing after another. His leader had gone completely crazy, apprenticing kits, giving Shellpaw a disgusting name and exiling Pumpkinstrut, then his dad had 'died' and then one of his closest friends had gotten injured. It had all happened in the past moon, and Shadepelt was tired of it.

While the young male had spent a lot of time sulking, he had soon come to the conclusion that it had only made him a thousand times worse. He probably needed to distract myself somehow, to entertain himself one way or another.

His bright eyes then rested upon a pale golden shape - Marigoldpaw. He didn't know the young she cat well, he wasn't even sure if he had ever spoken to her. They didn't even share a den anymore, as Flamestar had promoted Shadepelt to the warrior rank despite his young age. But right now, Shadepelt just needed to talk to someone. He couldn't see any of his friends in camp, and he just needed someone, anyone, to take his mind off the living hell he had managed to get himself trapped in.

The black furred tomcat padded towards Marigoldpaw, mind desperately searching for something to say to her as he walked. Usually, conversation came so easily to the confident young male, but right now, he was struggling. He hadn't spoken much since Crimsoncry's death, and all his words were painfully lodged in his throat.

"Do you want to practice some battle moves or something?" He spoke casually upon reaching the she cat's side, glad that in the end, he'd been able to say something. Shadepelt would probably do a pretty great job at teaching Marigoldpaw anything that she needed to know - he was good at hunting and excellent at fighting. Hell, it seemed the only thing that he was bad at he was keeping the cats he loved from leaving.

Don't think about that. Just focus on this random apprentice. Just focus.

"that's just what gangsters do."

She was down. Good. Hopefully Marigoldpaw would be decent enough of a distraction. "Sure," the young tomcat answered, his emerald gaze then flicking towards the camp entrance. "Let's go." The small warrior started to head towards the camp entrance, walking slowly so that Marigoldpaw would have enough time to catch up with him.

Shadepelt knew that he needed to make conversation. He was a naturally sociable cat, and there were few occasions where he wanted to be quiet. "So, how's your training going?" the shorthaired feline asked, green eyes resting upon his companion. It was a pretty standard question - nothing interesting or out of the ordinary, but he was sure he could make up for it later. "You haven't been training for that long, have you?" Shadepelt generally didn't pay much attention to his Clanmates or what they did, but he was working on that. It wasn't because he gave a crap about the majority of his Clanmates, but more because he thought it was useful to have as much information on the cats around him as possible. From what he remembered, Marigoldpaw had been just a kit not too long ago, though of course, he perhaps was completely wrong.

"that's just what gangsters do."

A generic question deserved a generic answer, he supposed. Shadepelt half wished Marigoldpaw had told him something juicier, such as confessing her secret hatred for her mentor or something. That would have been a fun thing to talk about.

As the young molly spoke about her mentor, Shadepelt felt a pang fiercely hitting him in the heart. He loved his mentor too - or his former mentor, more like. Pumpkinstrut meant so much to him, and yet Flamestar had exiled her from ThunderClan. Shadepelt couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Marigoldpaw - it seemed that her mentor wasn't going anywhere.

I hate Flamestar. He didn't know what had happened to her, but she had done a great job of pissing him off to no end recently. Making kits apprentices early, giving Shellpaw a disgusting name, exiling Pumpkinstrut... the only thing she had done which he was happy about was making him a warrior.

At the apprentice's joke, Shadepelt snorted. This was pretty much the first time he had spoken to Marigoldpaw, and so he didn't really feel anything towards her yet. She seemed friendly, which was good he supposed, but that didn't mean that he felt positively towards her. Since a young age, Shadepelt had struggled to care for other cats. He felt a strong attachment to those he was close to, but towards most cats, he felt nothing. Marigoldpaw would need to befriend him before he actually felt something.

But of course, the obsidian warrior could play a lot. "Of course," he answered smoothly, brushing his tail along his companion's shoulder, a playful gleam in his green eyes. "And why did you agree to tag along with me? Did you realise how cool I was too?"

The joke left his maw easily, and yet it hurt him a little. Deep down, Shadepelt didn't think very highly of himself. He wished that he cared for cats more, he wished he didn't have such a nasty temper, and he wished he wasn't such a massive coward. But the small warrior wasn't the type to share such insecurities with others, especially those he barely knew, such as Marigoldpaw here. A few lies and jokes here and there were good enough - nobody needed to know how he actually felt.

"that's just what gangsters do."

Shadepelt was a little late, but he still wanted to come. After all, this was a pretty good group of cats to go on a walk with - there was Ivoryskull, (though he didn't know whether sne wanted to be referred to by that name) Pumpkinstrut and Mouseridge, three cats that he considered himself close to. Maisy and Shane were there too, but in true Shadepelt fashion, he found himself barely caring about their presence. They were fine to talk to as well he supposed, and he did quite like getting on Shane's nerves in particular, but he just didn't really know the two of them very well.

A walk seemed like a good idea after all. Shadepelt knew that many of his Clanmates were furious with the way Flamestar was behaving recently - Shadepelt included. He liked that she had promoted him to the warrior rank, and that was about it. As long as Flamestar didn't try to tag along on this walk too, which he doubted she would do, everything would be fine.

He couldn't hold back a smile upon hearing Ivorypaw refer to him by his Kitclan name. Man, he missed the good and easy days of Kitclan, back before the real world had come and kicked their asses. ThunderClan seemed like a mess right now, so Shadepelt found himself quite eager to spend some time in Kitclan instead.

"I'm here!" the small cat bounded over, his tail raised high in greeting. Before speaking any more, his green eyes scanned the camp - no sign of Flamestar, which was good. He didn't want that pathetic excuse for a leader ruining anything. He wouldn't let her. "Should we get going?" They had a decent sized group by now, and Shadepelt honestly wanted to hurry up before Flamestar decided to pop out of nowhere. A smirk appeared on his maw as he remembered that Ivorypaw had wanted to lead the walk, and so of course, he ran on ahead of her, giving his friend a mischevious grin.

"that's just what gangsters do."

Amused by his friend's reaction, the young tom simply let out a deep purr. "Just complimenting a friend, that's all," before he had a chance to say anymore to Shadepaw, Doepaw arrived on the scene. The black tom tried to hold back a grin - and he succeeded, mostly, though the corners of his mouth were twitching a little. Hopefully Doepaw would think that he was just being friendly. "Hi Doepaw, what's up?" A casual greeting which didn't really mean much, as Shadepaw had already turned around and was watching Ivorypaw, a hint of amusement in his eyes. It was always funny to see two cats who obviously liked eachother interact and make themselves look like fools, and so the young tom was ready for this, knowing that he would certainly enjoy himself.

"that's just what gangsters do."

The young tom couldn't help but be amused by Shane's reaction. He doubted that Shane was his biggest fan, and he knew that the older tom was quite grumpy. That was half of the reason why the black tomcat felt the need to pester Shane so much - because he was pretty sure that he annoyed him, and Shadepelt found that funny. He needed at least some entertainment in this Clan after all. Besides, Shadepelt genuinely didn't mind Shane. He understood why the grumpy tom didn't like being in ThunderClan, and he respected that. Shane was an okay guy, although Shadepelt felt no emotional attachment to him.

Taking another bite from his squirrel, the small tom then let out a laugh. Keeping his voice low, the obsidian warrior answered, "Trust me Shane, I think anybody in this Clan would be a better leader than Flamestar. She's an absolute joke. I don't know what's wrong with her," his bright green gaze then flicked towards Maisy, amused by her careful method of eating prey. While Shadepelt wasn't necessarily a messy eater, he couldn't imagine going to the same extremes as Maisy. "Take your time." He joked, his tone gentle. He didn't want the she cat to think that he was mocking her - she had already been put through enough by Flamestar in the previous meeting, and it wouldn't surprise him if Maisy felt more sensitive than usual.

"that's just what gangsters do."