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Blinded By Silence Vice Captain
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 Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 10:17 am
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 11:51 am
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A long time ago...
usernames LadyPipen and Bakphoon Rawr
preference list LadyPipen gets the apprentice, and Bakphoon the kit!
story
Patchpaw was not always the dutiful older brother he is now- though he may not remember it, there was a time when his name brought with it a... well, a reputation.
There was a very good reason why his closest and only friend was his infant brother- he was the only one without the maturity or experience to understand what a slack-off his older brother was. He thought Patchpaw was so skilled for pulling dangerous and stupid pranks and stunts, not a reckless idiot. While the clan only saw a lazy good-for-nothing that ran off and hid from his mentor to run around the territory causing trouble, Pebblekit bought into Patchpaw's proud boasting about how talented and skilled he was, up to the very end.
Pebblekit was only four moons when the incident occurred, still far from being old enough to take the responsibilities of apprenticeship, or travel unsupervised in the territory, and still young enough to buy into his brother's big boasting and stories. It began with more of this- boasting of his prowess and great skill, climbing and hunting and outpacing his peers, and describing his 'intimate' knowledge of the territory to his sibling.
"You'll see when you're big enough, Pebblekit, just you wait-"
"But I am big enough! I'm nearly to your chest now, and mother says I pounce better than anyone else in the nursery, my legs are strong and steady, she says!"
That was all it took, as Patchpaw laughed, watching Pebblekit display his oh-so-great talent at pouncing a leaf... And then he opened his big, stupid mouth. "Lets see you put your prey were your mouth is" never had more disastrous consequences.
'He'll be safe as long as he's with me,' Patchpaw thought- he never once considered that he would be responsible for his brother's death. It was innocent enough- kits being kits, though one of the kits was more than old enough to know better. His first foray into the territory and Pebblekit was entranced- especially with the cliffs, terrifying as the height was. And Patchpaw, immature as he was, needed only the thought of innocent fun to hide as Pebblekit raced about, waiting until the kit stood trembling, neck craned over the edge of a cliff before jumping out with a fierce hiss.
Pebblekit was not supposed to instinctively jump in fear- well, he was, but not over the cliff. For the first time in his life, Patchpaw did something incredibly heroic and selfless, in his own reckless, stupid way.... He leapt after his brother the moment he saw the kit's paws clear the ground, capturing his scruff and staring down with wide eyes at the rapidly approaching ground to begin to contemplate the severity of his actions before the pair landed face-first onto the waiting rocks below.
There is one single thing that has remained with the pair, even in death- Patchpaw will always be there for Pebblekit, even if he's a reckless idiot, and Pebblekit will always love and trust Patchpaw, even if that's a stupid thing to do.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 8:48 pm
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A long time ago...
usernames Tigeria and Nymphiea
preference list Apprentice goes to Tig, kitten goes to Nym
story
The apprentice and kitten were always inseparable; where one was the other followed. This caused a lot of fights between the two, although none were greater than the one that lead to their ultimate demise. The day had started the same as it always did: both of them playing in the den. The Apprentice loved his little brother, he truly did, but there were times he wanted to be apart from his little brother. He had gotten in trouble recently with his Mentor; the Kitten had followed them out of the den to see what they were doing and had distracted his older brother, earning both of them a sharp remark about safety outside the den.
The apprentice had started out in a frustrated huff, trying to think of things to distract his little brother so he could have some peace to try and sneak off to hunt; to prove himself to his mentor. He couldn’t think of much his little brother would do without him right there. He made his way out of the den, his little brother on his heels. Finally, he snapped at his brother because of his frustration.
“Would you leave me alone!” he shouted at the little kitten. “I don’t have time for you today! I’m already in trouble because of you.”
“But, but... brother!” The little kitten pleaded to his older brother. “I wanna go exploring with you!”
“NO!” The apprentice immediately darted away from the kitten, leaving him in the den -- or so he thought. The apprentice had not noticed his little shadow following him out into the rugged path that lead to the hunting grounds, which he was not allowed to go. He would prove that he was ready to help hunt with or without his mentor.
The kitten had followed his older brother out of the encampment?(might change later) He had watched his brother and his brother’s mentor long enough to know how to track paw prints. He watched as his brother sniffed around trying to find the scent of prey.
There was a strange scent that neither could identify, it was musky and smelled awful. The apprentice followed it trying to figure out what creature could have made the scent. He happened upon a den. It smelled of the same rank odor that he had been following. He cautiously headed inside the den tailed by his little brother.
Inside the den there was nothing the two could see that could make it a cat’s den. Loose fibers of grass were scattered all along the floor of the small cavern in the ground. It didn’t look like the owner had left all that long ago. The apprentice noticed something peculiar; tiny bones were scattered towards the entrance. There was a snap of a twig from behind the apprentice and he whirled around at the sound spotting his little brother blinking owlishly at him.
“What are you doing here?!” The apprentice yelled at his little brother.
“What am I doing here?” The kitten repeated incredulously, ears flipping back in hurt as he eyed his brother. “I followed you. I… I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Make sure I was okay?” The apprentice spat, head snapping back. He just wanted to be alone. For once in his life he wanted space -- time for him to improve his skills and prove to his mentor his skills. But, of course, his brother had to get in the way.
Except, as he looked at his younger brother he felt his irritation lessening. No, his brother wasn’t in the way…. It was annoying at times, sure, but…
His brother was just worried about him. The kitten’s wet eyes and firm pout was enough proof for the apprentice. As angered as he was and desperate for his own time to shine, he also appreciated that glimmer of worry he saw in his brothers eyes. For a moment, the apprentice felt his anger soften. His brother didn’t deserve to be yelled at.
“Look, I’m so-”
The sound was as abrupt as the apprentices change of heart. A solid crack rang through the den as the kitten watched his brother crumple before him, eyes duller than they had been a moment ago. Perhaps it was shock, or maybe it was simply naivety, but for a moment the kitten just stood there, eyes wild and confusion caught in his throat.
“Brother?”
And then it came. The kits mouth parted to let out a shrill wail as he felt claws dig into his hind leg, body tossing backwards frantically to avoid the fearsome and lumbering beast towering over him. Panic, as pure as it can come, flooded into his veins as he released one of the only defenses he knew; a mournful and frightened scream. What stood before him did not care. Badger’s don’t care one bit how much you scream. In the end, even the screaming prey became good meals.
The kitten scrambled, wincing as his leg gave away under his weight. He dragged his body between two large rocks, squeezing himself until he could barely breathe. The badger yowled behind him, frantically swiping and dragging at the dirt by the kittens feet. The kitten pressed further into the rocks, small nails digging into the earth as his heart hammered. His eyes locked on the body of his brother behind the writhing badger, mouth screeching out words he couldn’t quite register or hear himself saying.
“Bother! Get up! Are you okay? Get up! Please! Plea-”
In one swift swoop he was yanked from his spot and crushed, word collapsing under its on weight and left unfinished.
----------------------------------------------------
“Oh Sun Clan.... Have mercy….”
A large tom-cat stared down at the small and lifeless bodies, head turned to avoid the worst of the mess. Before him stood two children; one an apprentice and one a kit. The kit shared a glance with the apprentice, confusion written on their faces.
“How did we…?” The apprentice whispered, head jerking to their mentor. “Wait, hey! Can’t you see us? We’re right here.”
The kit turned as the apprentice prowled around their mentor, little paws stiffening as they looked at their fallen bodies. The kit swallowed thickly, a feeling that was far more hollow than he remembered it, as if it was a habit he couldn’t remember anymore.
“Brother,” the kit whispered, turning back to the apprentice. “He can’t hear us anymore.”
“What do you me-” The apprentice halted as he too viewed their bodies, head snapping back to his mentor. They were dead. Dead dead. As in, no coming back kind of dead. No. No, it couldn’t be! Just moments ago they were fighting. That’s right, they had been fighting. Yelling and accusing when it was the last seconds of their life. Both brothers looked at one another, mouths opening in unison as panicked cries left them.
“I’m sorry!” They both yowled, mouths hanging open at one another’s apology.
“No, I’m sorry,” They both said in unison, again. For a moment they smiled at the absurdity of their conversation before, with tentative young paws, the two nuzzled cheeks.
Regardless, it didn’t matter anymore. Nothing did, really. The silly fight would remain just that -- silly. Life would have a new meaning to it, if you could call it life. While both would mourn the living world, they were at least together once again and could travel this new journey with a friend. With a brother.
“I guess…. I guess we should go, then,” the apprentice whispered softly, taking one last glance at his mentor.
“Go where?” His brother quietly mewled, pressing his body against the apprentice.
“To our new home.”
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Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2018 3:22 pm
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A long time ago...
usernames Natitsuri and PeterPan_da144
preference list Natitsuri gets the apprentice, PeterPan_da144 gets the kit
story
Fishpaw was the first born of his litter, the eldest of all his brothers and sisters. He was always fairly protective of his siblings but even more so after his mother had her second litter. He always knew where his siblings were and what they were doing at all times. Well, for the most part. His youngest brother Pebblekit was always getting into trouble and sneaking off. It amazed Fishpaw at just how sneaky Pebblekit was! How was a kit able to get past him and out the den without being seen or heard? Every time Pebblekit would sneak off, Fishpaw would go track him down and bring him home by the scruff. That's how their lives went, day in and day out.
One dark night Pebblekit was having trouble sleeping so he decided to go practice his pounce. Not wanting to wake the rest of his family, he left the den and made his way out of camp. Instead of waking their mother, their youngest sister ran off to the apprentice den, woke up Fishpaw, and told him that Pebblekit was missing. Fishpaw grumbled to himself as he got up and quietly tracked Pebblekit out of the camp and into the wilds of the territory. The young apprentice had a lot of practice tracking down his youngest brother and it didn't take long to find him.
Pebblekit had found a big cricket and was stalking it out on a fallen log. A fallen log that laid over the rushing river that still flowed through the Mountain Clan territory. Fear flooded Fishpaw's body as he watched his brother stalk farther out over the river. The river was dangerous on the best of days but tonight was particularly dark and every cat could feel in the air the storm that was approaching.
"Pebblekit! Get off of-" He didn't have time to finish as his young brother pounced for his prey, slipped, and splashed into the river. Without hesitation Fishpaw ran out on the log and jumped into the river after Pebblekit. He swam with all his might and caught up to the panicked kit in no time. Grabbing his brother by the scruff as he always did, Fishpaw tried his best to swim the two of them to shore but the current was strong and constantly swept them underwater. Pebblekit mewed and yowled in terror every time they came up for air. After what seemed like swimming forever, Fishpaw gave up on trying to reach the shore and just tried to keep their heads above the water.
Finally Fishpaw managed to drag the two of them onto a rock that sat out in the middle of the river. He sat Pebblekit down and the brothers coughed up the water they had swallowed. The two looked around and dread washed over them both. They were pretty far from camp now and thunder boomed in the sky.
"We can't get across, can we?" Pebblekit asked, his voice shaky.
"No, we can't." Fishpaw replied softly. His voice was calm but his eyes were wide in panicked terror.
"What are we going to do now?" Pebblekit cried, looking to his big brother for answers. His big brother always managed to save him at the last moment, surely he could do that now, right? Fishpaw licked his fur for a moment then licked Pebblekit's fur for a moment before answering.
"Call for help and hope someone finds us." Fishpaw said, trying to sound hopeful. All of his hope soon vanished as the rain began to fall and fall hard.
"Help!" The two toms yowled as loud as the could, over and over. With the rain pouring down and the thunder rolling overhead, their cries were drowned out. Within just a few minutes the river began to rise, the water lapping at their rock getting closer and closer to their paws. Fishpaw had Pebblekit climb onto his back, trying to keep the small kit out of the rising water for as long as possible. But as the rain continued to fall, the river continued to rise.
Their call for help never reached the ears of their clan and they were soon washed off the rock and carried away with the river.
-----
As the morning sun rose, Fishpaw found himself sitting on the river bank, his tiny brother's ethereal form sitting next to him. With closed eyes they both sat and watched the water for awhile, their physical bodies trapped beneath a cluster of branches in the rushing river.
"I'm sorry." Pebblekit finally said in a quiet, sad voice. He looked to his brother, regret obvious in his tiny features. For a long moment, there was a silence between them.
"It's okay." Fishpaw said to him breaking the silence, a kind smile on his face. "At least now I can always keep you safe." he stood and motioned with his tail for his brother to follow him. "Come on, Pebblekit. Let's go make sure the rest of the family is safe as well."
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