stumbling and tumbling

[swallowpaw]

The branches from the bushes that surrounded the edge of ShadowClan territory snagged and twisted Swallowpaw's fur. She struggled her way deeper within, before spinning around and facing the opening she had just climbed in through. Through the thick and intertwined hedges, she could see the orange pelt of the fox that had been chasing her. It thrust its muzzle within the bush and she screamed, backpedaling. With a yip of pain, the fox withdrew, scratching at its face as it tried to rip the thorns off. Snarling, it crouched down, meeting her gaze with its own beady eyes. A shiver ran up her spine. She hated this. She couldn't just stand here and let herself be its next meal!

With a gasped whimper, she threw herself out of the hedges. The thorns and branches ripped off small chunks of her pelt and she sucked in a yelp. She had to get out of here, she didn't have time! The thunderpath was eerily silent as she scurried across it. The sound of branches being crushed sounded behind her and she glanced over her shoulder. The fox had, from what she could tell, jumped on top of the bushes, before catapulting itself off. It was gaining on her. Spittle flung to the ground as it snarled at her. She made a noise in the back of her throat and pushed herself off the ground, forcing her paws to move faster. For a moment, she could feel the sharp sting of teeth gnashing on the tip of her tail. Shrieking, Swallowpaw whisked her tail away. Just beyond the end of the thunderpath, there were trees dotting the side and she felt a bit more confident about her odds. All she had to do was just make it there!

The harsh acidic ground of the thunderpath melded to soft grass, as she made it across. Without looking over her shoulder, Swallowpaw dug her claws into the trunk of the tree and clambered her way up. Below her, she could feel the fox jumping and nipping at the spot where she had just been, the air whooshing as it tried. When she made it to one of the sturdier branches, she paused and settled down to catch her breath. She glanced down, panting and watching the fox whirl its way around the tree, glaring up at her. It gave a couple of yips, before it turned and fled back across the thunderpath.

Wearily, Swallowpaw got up and began her climb down. However, as she began sliding down, she stumbled over a jutting knob in the side of the tree. The world tipped over as she tumbled down, rolling head over paws. The rough bark from the tree scratched and knicked at her, as she fell. She landed right on her stomach, her legs splayed, and let out an "Oof!" The wind was knocked out of her and she struggled to breath, the world swaying as she stumbled to her paws.

Just as she was about to take a stock as to where she was, she froze. The scent of an incoming WindClan cat hit her nose and she crouched down, low to the ground. Despite the knicks and the bruises she was sure to feel the next morning, Swallowpaw called out, "Who's there?"

doepaw | it begins 👀

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[doepaw]

•  D O E P A W •

Doepaw was out hunting with her mentor, but they had decided to go their separate ways to cover more area. The apprentice decided to go towards the borders closest to Shadowclan. Her plan was to catch as many prey as possible so that the fresh kill pile would be full (and maybe she'll get a praise from her mentor too). The she-cat weaved her way through the grass tasking the air for any signs of prey. From a distance she saw something sit up from the grass. It was a brown plump rabbit. Doepaw's whiskers twitched as she checked the direction of the breeze as rabbits will smell you even before they can see you. Crouching low, she moved towards the furry creature. Just as the torbie neared the creature, the rabbit sat up on its hind legs, it's ears and nose twitching. It turned its head, before looking straight at the thunderpath with its dark beady eyes. Just like that, the rabbit got onto all fours and darted away.

Foxdung! Doepaw's fur stood on end, surprised by the prey's sudden movement. With a huff, she chased after the prey, but paused in her tracks as she realized that it had already disappeared into the ground somewhere. Disappointed, the apprentice plopped down and looked around. She was sure that the breeze was not blowing towards the rabbit, but what made flee? She tasted the air again, and something sent a something that brought a chill down her back. There was the scent of a fox and something else. Doepaw rose to her paws, ready to turn back towards the heart of the territory, however, she stopped herself. Maybe if she found the fox and the intruder, maybe her mentor would be impressed. Determined to make her mentor proud, the young apprentice bounded towards the direction of the scents. 

She found herself nearing the thunderpath, the border between her clan's territory and Shadowclan's territory. She crouched down, having no intentions of being caught by an enemy patrol near the border. Suddenly, she heard a meow somewhere close.  Taking a breath, Doepaw gathered up her courage and moved towards where the meow was coming from. "Hello?  I'm Doepaw of Windclan. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Mousebrain, she though, you didn't need to tell them you're name, what if they're dangerous? Unsheathing her claws, Doepaw braced herself for what or who she's find. 
                              
Tag:// swallowpaw

[swallowpaw]

Swallowpaw could taste fear in her mouth as the torbie she-cat appeared; it had a metallic tinge to it as she swallowed. From what she could tell, the voice sounded young, maybe around her own age, and the speaker - Doepaw, was it? - sounded like they were alone. And yet her fear intensified. There had been no such lessons about interacting with a different clan: what in StarClan's name was she supposed to do? For a beat, she was frozen, her mouth open, though no words came out.

Swallowing - here, she winced as her dry throat from exerting herself ached -, she relaxed her stance, trying to appear as nonthreatening as she could. She dipped her head, trying to appear as easy-going as she could. "I apologize for intruding on your territory, Doepaw," she called up. Grimacing, she made herself pause; fantastic, she had just admitted to breaking a part of the Code. Swallowpaw took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm Swallowpaw, apprentice to ShadowClan's medicine cat. I was out searching for herbs when I was attacked by a fox. I was unable to fend it off myself and without thinking, I fled across the thunderpath."

She shifted where she sat and let out a hiss of pain, the scratches and cuts on her front paw aching now that she wasn't invested in avoiding certain death. They flared with pain, as though she had just stepped through fire. "I mean you no harm! I am...unfortunately, wounded from the encounter with the fox. I would be honored if you could help me," she continued, her voice wan with pain, "I'm unsure as to whether the fox is gone or not and I would be hesitant to limp back to the camp in the state that I'm in."

Swallowpaw could already feel the self-deprecation bubbling at the surface; this was pitiful. Her, begging for help from a WindClan apprentice, unable to fend for herself. She could feel her throat tightening up with irritation and exhaustion at just how defenseless she felt in this moment.

doepaw

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[doepaw]

•  D O E P A W•

The Windclan apprentice could smell the fear of the other cat before seeing them. She looked around until she saw who she was looking for. Doepaw let out a sigh of relief and relaxed a little, her claws retracting. The stranger didn’t seem like any harm in fact, the other cat seemed to be her age. The torbie apprentice wasn’t sure what the other cat was doing on Windclan territory.

The intruder seemed nervous and restless. They said they were Shadowclan’s medicine cat apprentice. Doepaw sniffed, and took a step back, indeed the other cat was from the rival clan across the thunderpath. The cream colored she-cat ears pricked up when the other apprentice mentioned the fox she had scented. Her fur bristled as she looked around, alarmed, “Did it cross the thunderpath? Is it on Windclan territory?” If the fox had crossed into Windclan, then she would need to find her mentor fast. A fox wandering in their territory meant trouble.

“Why is the Shadowclan medicine cat apprentice doing out alone?” Doepaw frowned, “isn’t there supposed to be a warrior who’s supposed to go along with you?” The young she-cat turned her attention back to the wounded Shadowclan apprentice. Doepaw was not going to send the other apprentice back to their territory when they were wounded. At the same time, should she help the apprentice? Swallowpaw is from an enemy clan… but at the same time, she was a medicine cat. After a moment of conflicting feelings, Doepaw made up her mind that she was going to help the other apprentice. She gave Swallowpaw a reassuring nod, “I’ll help you,” she meowed. Even if she was caught helping a cat from an enemy clan, the clan leader wouldn’t be able to be mad at her right? A medicine cat apprentice won't be able to do any harm, and besides they are cats close to Starclan, so surely Doepaw wouldn’t be punished for helping a cat in need. Maybe they’ll be proud of me for helping a medicine cat apprentice the torbie apprentice thought.

Tags:// swallowpaw
                              

[swallowpaw]

When no attack came, Swallowpaw felt her nervousness dissipate into a numb exhaustion. Even her whiskers drooped in the that sudden spike of adrenaline. As the torbie apprentice fired questions off at her, she sat up a bit straighter. "I don't think it came over here," she replied, after a moment's hesitation, "the last I saw it, I ran back to ShadowClan territory." Although it hurt to move, Swallowpaw gestured with her nose, off in the distance. "I am unsure if it will come back or not." It was a relief that the WindClan apprentice believed her, she was far too tired to defend herself so heartily. Though she did feel a small pang of regret, at how nervous she looked at the mention of the fox. "But I would not think that it would come skittering back across the thunderpath like that again," she said, trying to reassure the apprentice.

At Doepaw's other question, she glanced away, her nose scrunching as she thought. Her ears flattened against her skull at the pointed question. After opening and closing her mouth repeatedly, with no words escaping, Swallowpaw replied, "Most of the warriors were too busy to head out with me. I had thought that I would be able to complete my herb hunting without any incident." She twitched her whiskers ruefully and ducked her head. Look at what happened when I did that. But she had to stay positive; nothing bad actually happened. Well, other than the intruding on another Clan's territory. StarClan, she would have to explain herself to Chanterellegaze when she got back. She was not looking forward to that.

Her thoughts wound to a close and she perked up in an instant, at the apprentice's agreement to help. "Thank you so much, Doepaw, I will be forever in your debt," Swallowpaw purred, tipping her head to the side and squinting her eyes. "I hate to do this, but would you mind hunting for some cobwebs for me? I only need maybe three or four, at max. It'll be for covering my scrapes and bumps." She wanted to add that she also needed something to soothe her wounds, but she figured that would be pushing it too far; cobwebs could be replenished far faster than a soothing herb like goldenrod or chervil. Besides, she figured that the WindClan medicine cat wouldn't be too happy to find out that their herbs were being used. Cobwebs, she was sure they wouldn't miss.

"Again, I really do appreciate this," she dipped her head, settling back down on the ground, quietly hissing as her wounds flared in pain. But despite the pain she was in, her heart swelled with positivity; if this didn't prove that the clans could work together than she wasn't sure what would!

doepaw

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[doepaw]

•  D O E P A W •

At the Shadowclan apprentice's reassurance, a huge wave of relief came over the Windclan apprentice, as her fur began to lay back down, and her stiffened stance slackened. Doepaw tasted the air again, just to double check, and indeed the stench of the fox was no longer as strong as it was when she had first scented it. "It better not come back," the lilac torbie muttered, her ears still perked up and alert, still not wanting to let her guard down just in case the fox happened to return, or some other danger came along. She took a quick mental note to let the hunting patrol know about the fox so that they could warn the other patrol to keep a look out.

Doepaw returned her attention back to the wounded cat and shook her head, "What a mouse brained idea, I'm sure your mentor would have asked a warrior to go with you." Then again, Doepaw would have probably done the same thing as Swallowpaw if the Windclan apprentice was in the same position. "I'm sure they would have noticed you're out alone now right? A patrol may be out looking for you soon," Her gaze drifted to the white and brown tabby's wounds, the strong scent of fresh blood filling her nose. They had better get those wounds covered soon, the scent of blood would draw plenty of unwanted attention, furthermore, the sooner Doepaw helped the Shadowclan apprentice, she would be able to return back to her initial task of hunting.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, I think I would have my ears chewed off if I didn't help a medicine cat," Doepaw lightly chuckled lightly as Swallowpaw expressed her gratitude. The lilac she-cat nodded at the other cat's request. Cobwebs... those shouldn't be hard to find and she didn't think Windclan would miss a few cobwebs. "I'll be right back" She meowed, turning away to scavenge for the cobwebs. A bit hesitant to leave the wounded cat alone, the young she-cat decided to stay nearby so she would be able to get back to the Shadowclan cat if there was trouble. Keeping her eyes peeled, she nosed around, looking for the familiar thin strands that she would typically avoid. It took her some time before she found some. Grabbing a nearby stick in her jaws, she leaned forwards and removed the cobwebs from its spot. It took a bit of time to find the rest of the cobwebs, but Doe eventually collected the requested amount, and quickly returned back to the waiting apprentice. Presenting the stick of cobwebs to the medicine cat, Doepaw sat down while meowing, "I hope this is enough." Hopefully, she had enough time after to catch some prey so that she didn't return to the hunting patrol empty pawed. She wouldn't want to disappoint her mentor. 


                              

[swallowpaw]

Swallowpaw winced at Doepaw’s blunt words, her ears feeling hot in her own embarrassment. Although she knew that the other apprentice was right, she herself didn’t want to feel as though she had to rely on warriors to take care of herself. There was this desire to show - to whom? - that she could take care of herself, that she wasn’t just some helpless medicine cat apprentice who struggled to go hunting for herbs. That was such a humiliating thought, she then realized.

Thankfully, though, she didn’t have to defend herself, as Doepaw padded off, looking determined to find cobwebs for her. Another rush of gratitude made Swallowpaw let out a sigh; she wasn’t sure what would have happened if she would have run into any other WindClanner besides Doepaw.

She had the chance to look around WindClan territory and found that she quite liked what she saw. From where she sat, she could see gusts of winds blowing across the rolling hills and she could just tell how nice it would be to watch the stars and just relax.

“It’s beautiful," she commented when Doepaw returned with the cobwebs. She murmured a “thank you” as she took them and began washing her wounds lightly to clean the dirt off of her. “I’ve never seen hills like these,” Swallowpaw continued, gesturing with her tail to their surroundings. She wouldn’t be surprised to hear that WindClan was closer to StarClan than any other clan, due to their proximity to the stars with how high their hills were.

When she fixed the cobwebs over her injuries, she took a moment to look them over and gave a rumbling purr at her work. “I’ll make sure to remember your kindness,” she said, dipping her head. It made her heart swell to think that someone from outside her clan could be this understanding and ready to help others.

Swallowpaw tasted the air again, still worried about that fox, before turning back to Doepaw. “I promise I’ll be out of your fur as soon as I can, but I was wondering if you could just wait until I’ve crossed the thunderpath. I think I’ll be fine, but-” Her tone turned grim and she shuddered slightly, pushing away those horrible thoughts.

“As soon as I’m back in ShadowClan territory, we can both forget that we saw each other, if that would help?” She had absolutely no idea how warriors responded to their apprentices coming back and telling them that they had run into another clan’s apprentice. Swallowpaw wasn’t sure if giving Doepaw an out was good or bad, but it didn’t hurt to ask, did it?

Struggling to her paws again, Swallowpaw winced and sucked in a short breath as pain shuddered through her legs. Taking a moment to compose herself, she turned back towards the thunderpath and gave Doepaw another purr, before turning back and beginning to limp her way back to home.

doepaw

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[doepaw]

•  D O E P A W •

As Swallowpaw complimented the Windclan territory, Doepaw, gave a couple of licks to her chest before glancing around her clan's territory. She wrapped her tail around her paws while sitting up straighter, quite proud that a member of another clan was impressed by Windclan's home. She glanced back at the medicine cat apprentice, watching Swallowpaw curiously as the Shadowclan apprentice tended to her wounds.

"Oh, the hills are great for laying out in the sunlight and feeling the breeze ruffle your fur. They're also the best place to find rabbits!" Doepaw lightly bragged. She waited quietly as Swallowpaw finished tending to her wounds. From time to time she would look around to make sure that no one else was around.

"There is no need, " she meowed as the Shadowclan apprentice finished up, "Any cat would to the same for you, not all cats are that cruel." She rose to her paws and was about to leave to return to her initial task, when the other apprentice made a last request. Doepaw sighed knowing that she needed to return to the hunting patrol soon, but she couldn't just let the wounded cat cross the thunderpath without making sure they crossed safely. Making up her mind, the Windclan cat nodded, "I can wait."

She trotted over next to Swallowpaw. "Be sure to roll yourself in something to cover the scent of the moors and thunderpath. I don't think anyone from your clan would be pleased to know that you crossed the thunderpath."

[swallowpaw]

It was interesting, really. Doepaw was the first one she had met who was outside her own Clan, truth be told she had been a bit wary of those from other Clans, even as excited as she had been to meet others. Though she wouldn't admit it aloud - because then that would suggest she had been worried in the first place - she was quite relieved at Doepaw's words. “I suppose so," she mused quietly to herself.

At Doepaw's agreement to watch her as she crossed the thunderpath, Swallowpaw felt a rush of relief wash over her and she purred. "My thanks, again, Doepaw." The she-cat turned back to the thunderpath, now feeling reassured that when she did cross it; obviously, if a monster came rumbling down, there wasn't much Doepaw could technically do, but still. The thought of having at least someone watch over her made her feel a bit more relaxed.

"Alright, I'm going now," she said, dipping her head again at the WindClan apprentice. There were so many questions she had that died on her tongue, remembering Doepaw glancing over her shoulder repeatedly; she didn't want to bother her more than Swallowpaw had to.

As Doepaw padded up beside Swallowpaw, the apprentice took an unconscious step back, a bit flustered at the sudden closeness; it was more the principle of anything else, despite the fact that Doepaw was still at a respectable distance, it still made Swallowpaw surprised.

She dipped her head, more of an odd bob of the head than anything else, and turned back to the thunderpath. After glancing left and right, Swallowpaw darted across, keeping her body low to the ground. When she made it across, she turned back to look over at the WindClan border and waved her tail as a goodbye to Doepaw. "Thanks again, Doepaw! May StarClan light your path," she called across, before she slipped into the bushes, disappearing from view.

doepaw

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[doepaw]

•  D O E P A W •

Doepaw dipped her head to the Shadowclan apprentice as she watched the other cat turn towards the thunderpath. She felt her skin crawl as she watched Swallowpaw prepare her journey across. The medicine cat apprentice didn't seem at all as hostile as Doepaw had though Shadowclan cats were. Maybe it was because they were both apprentices and that's why she felt close and somewhat bonded to the other clan cat.  She held her breath as Swallowpaw made her way across the thunderpath and back into Shadowclan's territory. Letting out a sigh of relief she waived her tail back to the other cat on the other side. You too. Doepaw thought as she watched Swallowpaw disappear into the bushes.

Rising to her paws, Doepaw stretched before trotting towards where she had been before finding the injured cat. To Doepaw's surprise, she found herself wondering if Swallowpaw would make it back to camp safely. Either way, the she-cat knew she would eventually meet the medicine apprentice again. The apprentice turned her head towards Shadowclan one last time before racing to find the hunting patrol.