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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 4, 2017 14:38:02 GMT -6
- Stormfrost- Swanpaw had chosen the leaders den to clean. Why? Because she was certain it would be unoccupied. She carried the moss all at once awkwardly, kicking the stray clumps forward whenever they fell. She poked her head in, glad to see it was empty. She hoped it would stay that way. Dropping all the moss she scraped the old bedding together with her claws, throwing it out behind her. She would get that later. She managed to clump the new moss together, shoving it in the corner. There, easy enough. With that she turned to leave. |
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Post by Oceanstar on Mar 5, 2017 4:31:23 GMT -6
Oceanstar had spent a long day training Cherrypaw and Sparkpaw, and he was ready for a rest. With weary paws the tortoiseshell padded into his den, nose twitching as he detected another cat within. For a moment he felt paranoid, then decided it would simply be an apprentice perhaps cleaning out his den. Such a thing still seemed strange to him. He liked the idea of cleaning out his own nest, not having someone do it as if they were his servants.
With a sigh Oceanstar entered, looking longingly towards his nest in the corner. "I hope you did a good job. Did you line my nest with feathers?" Oceanstar asked sternly. He was teasing her of course, but he hoped she didn't realize that just yet.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 5, 2017 15:27:00 GMT -6
Swanpaw sprang into the air in fear, twisting around with unsheathed claws, the hair on her spine risen. "Seriously?" She hissed, opening her mouth to continue yelling. She snapped it shut as she realized it was Oceanstar, her tail lowering in embarrassment. Now his first impression would be 'fraidy-cat'. Perfect, just perfect. "Err, no." She lowered her ears in annoyance, hiding a scowl. He wanted feathers? He would get feathers. "Give me just one second, oh great one." She bowed to him mockingly, moving past him out of the den. She came back with a few feathers, and a nice hidden surprise. She threw them in carelessly, dropping in a few thorns with them. "Sorry for the inconvenience, your highness." Served him right. |
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Post by Oceanstar on Mar 5, 2017 17:00:24 GMT -6
Oceanstar waited with endless patience as Swanpaw first left, and then returned. He hadn't expected her to be so entirely gullible, but that didn't matter too much. He waited in silence, a bemused and slightly guilty expression on his face. "Well, I see you're quite a master at this," he observed dryly, looking at his rather haphazard nest. This was exactly why he preferred to make it himself. "I certainly hope you and your comrades do a better job of the elder's den than you did here." To disrespect the clan leader was one thing, but Oceanstar was loathe to see Lilybarb in a tiff over a bad nest.
"Rather bitter, aren't you?" He asked absently, his gaze trailing to his nest. Amongst the feathers, he could make out the curve of a small thorn, it's dark flesh gleaming in the low light. Riiiight. He'd more or less expected that. "Honestly, I don't know what the queens are feeding you children these days but it's getting ridiculous." Oceanstar padded towards his nest and sat down, eyes steady on Swanpaw. "You seem tired, come here and rest for a moment. There are a few things I want to ask you." He waved his tail to gesture at the nest, his tone leaving no room for argument.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 5, 2017 21:13:33 GMT -6
"Oh yes, I've had lots of practice." She copied his dry tone, her eyes boring into his. She gnawed on her tongue, regretting how awful she was acting around him. She hadn't thought about just what he would do. Make her clean more dens? Sit vigil? Just what punishment would he choose? In her train of thought she hadn't heard of his comment about the elders, so instead she simply huffed. Huffing worked for everything.
Swanpaw simply shrugged, deciding stay quiet would be her best option now. If she gave him more mouth, her punishment would surely be worse. If she 'politely' disagreed, he would retaliate and embarrass her. She was running out of options. 'The souls of obnoxious mouse brains like you', was what she wanted to respond with when he mentioned what the queens were feeding their kits, though she clamped her mouth shut tightly. She watched as he sat down in his nest, no doubt avoiding the thorns, waving her over. "CloudClan have mercy." She mumbled, painfully slowly walking towards him. She flicked a thorn out of her way, plopping down next to him. The feathers were soft, at least. She pressed herself towards the edge of the nest, as far away from his as she could be, waiting for the lecture to start.
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Post by Oceanstar on Mar 6, 2017 16:07:34 GMT -6
Amusement danced in Oceanstar's eyes as Swanpaw flicked a few thorns out of his nest. "My, I wonder how those got there!" He exclaimed with fake shock. The tom's whiskers twitched with laughter but Swanpaw hardly seemed to be in the mood to joke around. Very few apprentices he'd met had been, in fact. It seemed awfully strange.
"Honestly child, can't you tell when someone is teasing you?" He sighed with bemused exasperation. "You're going to make me feel guilty." Oceanstar hadn't expected Swanpaw to simply follow his orders, though her bitterness with the thorns was an interesting touch. Not one he approved of, since she'd not answered his question about the elders either. He'd have to check in with Lilybarb and make sure the old tom hadn't been injured in any way. Still, that could be a scolding he left for later. "You must be about ready to be a warrior, right?" He asked. The leader ducked his head to give his chest a few thoughtful licks. "How is your training going?"
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 6, 2017 16:23:44 GMT -6
Swanpaw's rather large ears flattened against her head at the joke, a sheepish smile on her face. "Must have been from some rebellious kit, trying to pull a prank." She muttered, keeping her eyes locked on the exit. Oh, sweet freedom. She was honestly surprised he hadn't started lecturing her, that's what she had been waiting for, after all. Keeping her guard up she shuffled around in the sloppily made nest, tucking her paws underneath her.
"I don't like being teased, do you?" She raised a brow, flicking her gaze over to his. At the mention of guilt she offered a petty shrug, deciding that was her best choice of action. Guilt. "Yeah, I should be soon." 'So long as you don't delay my ceremony.' She shook the thought from her head. It would e ridiculous for him to delay her becoming a warrior because of a few thorns, wouldn't it be? She hoped he shared that thought with her. Swanpaw blinked, confusion settling in her gaze. He wasn't even going to yell at her? Why was he asking her so many questions, anyway? "Look, I'm sure you have more important things to do than talk to a dumb apprentice, so why don't we cut to the chase. Am I getting punished or not?" Wow, she really sucked at making other cats feel guilty, so much for that plan.
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Post by Oceanstar on Mar 6, 2017 16:48:55 GMT -6
Oceanstar hummed thoughtfully. "Yes, because so many kits come in here to change my nest," he murmured. He didn't roll his eyes or show any further exasperation, but Swanpaw's lack of honestly concerned him. Fireclan didn't need more deceitful warriors, it would be a danger to the clan if he couldn't trust them. "So when are you going to start telling me the truth?"
The tortoiseshell raised his head, for once offering a genuine smile. "I love being teased," he revealed. "When made in good jest, it's a good way to get to know others, and is generally a sign that they want to know you as well. Otherwise, why make the effort?" If he'd simply wanted to scold Swanpaw or make her leave, he would have even bothered making conversation. His ears flicked, not surprised by Swanpaw's vehemence, but not particularly finding it amusing either. "And what is it I'd be punishing you for Swanpaw? Tell me, do you think you should be punished for purposefully disrespecting and trying to injure your leader?"
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 6, 2017 16:58:35 GMT -6
Swanpaw stared at him for a moment, a smile stretching on her face. "Honestly, can't you tell when someone is teasing you?" She mocked him, though it held no malice. She hadn't meant it as a lie to cover her tracks, he had made a joke, so she had simply responded with another joke. She tilted her head, pursing her lips slightly in annoyance. "You already know the truth." She responded dryly, quickly reminding herself this was the leader she was talking to.
"Not really." She disagreed, flicking her tail lightly. The teasing she got as a kit was never kind, so it was hard for her to take things lightly. She could never really tell when it was a light hearted joke, compared to a cruel remark. Though, she didn't bother mentioning it out loud. Swanpaw thought about his question for a moment. Sure, maybe if she brought up some good points or pleaded for mercy she would get away without punishment. Though, by now she just wanted to leave, before she did something else to mess up. "Probably." She flicked her ear tips, as if to get rid of an imaginary bug residing on them.
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Post by Oceanstar on Mar 6, 2017 17:07:12 GMT -6
Oceanstar beamed, proud now that Swanpaw finally seemed to be responding to him. "Ahhh, that's better. I knew you had some fire hidden away somewhere." He'd wanted to see her passion, but not the hard shell she always seemed to be parading about with He knew he'd more or less forced himself in, but Oceanstar was glad he was finally seeing a bit of spark in the apprentice.
"Well, so long as you recognize that, I don't need to do anything, do I?" He purred with a shrug. "Though maybe leave the den cleaning to me next time, Honeyfur is busy enough this leafbare without having to pull thorns out of my paws." The clan was slowly going hungry since they were so large and the prairies were almost completely covered in snow. "Before you go Snowpaw. Are you excited to be a warrior? Is there a name you have you heart set on?"
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 6, 2017 17:15:14 GMT -6
Swanpaw couldn't help but snort in amusement at his response. "You're a hard cat to understand, I'll give you that." Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Or maybe he was. It was hard to tell with him, which frustrated her.
Swanpaw nodded dumbly, paws twitching anxiously. "If you want to clean your den, you can gladly do that." Swanpaw responded, her tail tip flicking back and forth. She stood, assuming she was now allowed to leave. She had already reached the den entrance when he called out to her. Swanpaw turned, raising a brow in question. She tilted her head, shrugging. "I suppose so, its not really much different." She thought about his next question, ears flattening against her head. She felt like the name she had wanted would be mocked. "Well, I was kinda thinking Swanleap." She admitted hesitantly.
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Post by Oceanstar on Mar 6, 2017 17:21:12 GMT -6
"I'll take that as a compliment," he replied with a smile. It wasn't the first time he'd been told as much. Even as an apprentice he'd been rather strange and hard to understand, but he was also highly perceptive and apparently kind, so it was a good balance.
Swanpaw's lack of excitement wasn't really a concern but Oceanstar took note of it anyway. His tail twitched thoughtfully as she suggested Swanleap as a name. Well, she did certainly have long legs, and it was fitting for a Fireclan cat. Likely not the name he would have chosen for her, but it was something he took into consideration nonetheless. "Interesting choice. I would have picked Swangrace or Swandance." With that thought delivered he dipped his head, indicating she could leave if she so wished.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 6, 2017 17:35:45 GMT -6
Swanpaw wrinkled her nose at the names, confused. "Why?" She questioned, rather doubtfully. She was certainly far from graceful, and her odd behavior of dancing alone wasn't something she thought others knew. Well, all but Cherrypaw. She hadn't told anyone, had she? With that thought in mind she sat down, rather slowly near the exit, still staying close enough to leave at a moments notice.
Swanpaw had been so eager to leave moments before, but she couldn't help but feel curious. He certainly was an interesting cat, and, though she doubted it, maybe she could try and eventually figure him out. It was a fun challenge really, trying to figure out a cat who seemed impossible to understand.
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Post by Oceanstar on Mar 7, 2017 15:58:15 GMT -6
Oceanstar chuckled, sensing that Swanpaw wasn't as fond of the names as she was. "It's less about the smoothness of your movement, and more about the purpose behind it. There's a freedom in your gestures that are rarely seen," he replied with a flick of his tail. 'Defiance' was another word for it, but freedom sounded better.
"Perhaps Swanmask for your reserved nature, or Swanfrost for your distance." He was almost speaking to himself at this point, not too concerned with what Swanpaw felt about the names or herself.
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Post by Swanfrost on Mar 7, 2017 16:34:19 GMT -6
Swanpaw wasn't so sure about that, but it definitely grabbed her attention. "...I think Oceanstar suits you." She decided, her lips forming a tight line.
Swanpaw kind of liked those names. It was interesting to see what others thought of her personality. "Scratch Swanleap, I think you deciding my name is better." It was odd, but it was extremely hard not to trust him. She trusted him enough to let him fully decide on the name she would have for the rest of her life.
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