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Post by Kaeldra on Sept 10, 2022 3:32:07 GMT
Lily || she/her || 14 moons
Lilypaw had always thought living in a Clan would be a grand adventure. She would spend her days defending her territory against rogue cats, hunting for her Clanmates, and maybe she would even become leader someday! But so far, it had just been a lot of annoying rules and older cats getting mad at her.
She supposed maybe that’s just what apprentices did. After all, the stories she’d heard from her father as a kit were all about warriors, not apprentices. Being a warrior was exciting; being an apprentice was stifling.
They had all been training for moons already, anyway. But Shellspots still wouldn’t give anyone their warrior names, not until she was officially chosen by StarClan as leader. Lilypaw was a little worried that was just an excuse, that she just didn’t want to make her and her siblings warriors because of their mother, but even Shellspots’ own kits were still ‘paws.
Lilypaw wanted to ask her father what to do, but she just knew he’d give her a sugar-coated “I told you so” and take that as a sign to cart them back to Twolegplace for good. It wasn’t that she wasn’t cut out for being a warrior, it was that she didn’t even have the chance to prove herself! She always got blamed for stuff.
So she was going to go see the one cat who had always told her to follow her dreams, no matter how impossible they seemed: her mother. She knew that sometimes her father thought Dahlia was too soft on them all, but Lilypaw appreciated her mother’s gentleness. She would know just what to say.
Of course, she hadn’t told anyone where she was going, but it wasn’t like she had training to do or dens to clean. She had made sure no one would be mad at her for missing a duty. Cautiously picking her way across the river, Lilypaw felt her spirits rising for the first time in a while.
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Post by Solaris on Feb 26, 2023 15:18:43 GMT
Flower 18, 2021 | Kaeldra Since her first swimming lesson, Bayou had taken as many opportunities to practice her swimming skills as she could, so that she wouldn’t disappoint Melodypaw the next time they had a session. Sure, it was great that Melodypaw was her teacher, and that they had an excuse (not that they needed one) to spend more time together, but… The downside was that Melodypaw could also see all of Bayou’s mistakes, in clear view too! And that, frankly, was embarrassing.
So they were crouched over the river, gingerly pawing at the water’s surface. For all of their swimming practice, they still weren’t accustomed to the sudden blast of cold that reached up to their neck, whenever they entered the water. While in this process of coaxing themself to swim, they saw a seal point cat crossing the river, a few lengths away. Curious, Bayou plunged into the water, bearing the brief coldness that passed over their pelt, and forced their feet to kick to stay upright.
At least now, she could float just high enough to keep her chin above the surface.
They paddled to the other side, and when they neared the edge, they thrust their feet upward to propel themself up and over the ground. They shook the droplets from their fur when they exited, relishing in the sun’s warmth and in their successful swim.
She padded over to the seal point she saw earlier, but this time, she registered the cat as Lilypaw. They never interacted much with each other, but she was surprised to see Lilypaw out here. As far as she knew, the dirtplace was on the the other side of the territory.
“Hey!” Bayou called out, now standing in front of Lilypaw. “Are you going hunting or something?”
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Post by Kaeldra on Mar 10, 2023 3:10:48 GMT
Lilypaw || she/her || 14 moons
It was always a relief to set her paws on solid ground. Lilypaw still wasn’t a huge fan of swimming, though she’d never tell any of her Clanmates that. Not even her sisters. Normally she would love to complain, but she didn’t want to give anyone the slightest inkling that she wasn’t cut out for Clan life.
Why did RiverClan have to be the Clan I joined? Lilypaw thought morosely. It hadn’t been like she’d had a choice; there were no other Clans to speak of. (Yet. She was convinced the other three would someday be real, too. But for now, she couldn’t be picky.)
She had only taken a few steps on the opposite bank when a creamy shape came into view, casually blocking her path and asking where she was going. Lilypaw froze, before she realized it was just Bayou. Their fur was slicked down with water, showing they had recently gone for a swim.
Lilypaw looked away from Bayou uncomfortably, shuffling her paws. She didn’t talk to the other cat much, despite their closeness in age. Somehow, Bayou had managed to avoid being made an apprentice upon joining the Clan around a moon ago, despite being only a moon or two older than Lilypaw and the rest of them. That had put a bit of a burr in Lilypaw’s pelt, and certainly didn’t endear the chocolate point to her at all. As such, he hadn’t exactly gone out of her way to get to know her.
“Or something,” she finally grumbled, echoing the last part of Bayou's question. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get away with slipping off to Twolegplace before shaking Bayou off her trail. If it had been one of the other apprentices, she might have been able to tell them the truth without worrying they’d go tattle to Shellspots about her unsanctioned field trip, but she had no idea where Bayou’s loyalties lay. Better to keep it vague for now.
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Post by Solaris on Mar 30, 2023 0:05:22 GMT
Flower 18, 2021 | Kaeldra “Whoa, whoa! What dog bit your tongue?” Bayou blinked, surprised by the discomfort in Lilypaw’s tone. Was it something they did or said? They had hardly spoken to Lilypaw since joining the clan, and there wasn’t much of a reason for bad blood between them. Maybe she caught a furball in her throat, or got straw stuck between her teeth? That was an old horseplace saying… But regardless, Lilypaw hadn’t even answered the question! The lack of an answer rose suspicion in Bayou. Was she doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing?
“If you don’t want to tell me, suit yourself,” she said with a shrug. She started grooming her fur of the more stubborn water droplets, partly to prove her nonchalance, but also because her pelt was still decently wet. “I was only curious.“
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Post by Kaeldra on Apr 18, 2023 1:55:48 GMT
Lilypaw || she/her || 14 moons
Guilt wriggled like a worm in Lilypaw’s belly at Bayou’s shocked response. She obviously hadn’t been expecting Lilypaw to be so prickly, but the apprentice couldn’t help it. She was already in a foul mood, and now here was another obstacle in her way. She just wanted to see her mom, for StarClan’s sake!
“Just going for a walk,” she said, her voice clipped and defensive. “Is that against the warrior code?”
Her eyes narrowed at Bayou, silently daring the other cat to challenge her. Before they could, though, she decided to turn the question on them.
“What are you doing out this way, anyhow? Shouldn’t you be in camp, mooning over Melodypaw?”
It didn’t help matters that Bayou had managed to integrate herself nearly seamlessly into the Clan; because of her close relationship with Melodypaw, she was able to easily spend time with the apprentices, but the fact she wasn’t an apprentice herself made it so that she could be on the same level as the warriors, too. Meanwhile, Lilypaw was still struggling to make friends that weren’t her sisters. It just wasn’t fair.
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Post by Solaris on Apr 24, 2023 0:04:45 GMT
Flower 18, 2021 | Kaeldra Bayou’s head bobbed back, pinning back their ears from Lilypaw’s defensive tone. Something was clearly bothering her, and they weren’t exactly sure what… But maybe Lilypaw woke on the wrong side of the nest, and was feeling sour ever since? They couldn’t tell from her hardened expression, only that something was bugging at her. Bayou had the snipping sensation that maybe, just maybe, they were the cause for her bitterness, and they wanted to know what they did.
“No, you can walk by yourself, I just—” Bayou stopped, then her eyes widened when Lilypaw starting asking a series of pointed questions. Mooning over Melodypaw… She frowned, wondering to herself if her affections were that obvious to the others—but also from how the words stung, and she didn’t know why. She backed away to give Lilypaw space to decompress. “I’m sorry if there’s something I did or said, that I didn’t know about? I didn’t mean to hurt you. I can leave you alone if you want, I was only practicing my swimming.”
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Post by Kaeldra on Jun 3, 2023 23:42:32 GMT
Lilypaw || she/her || 14 moons
It was honestly a bit disappointing that Bayou wasn’t biting back in the way she’d expected. Lilypaw wanted to argue, to have a fight where she could get all her frustration out! But perfect Bayou had to go and give her space, apologizing for something that wasn’t even their fault. She felt herself deflate a little.
The only thing you did was join the Clan and be better than me at everything, Lilypaw thought bitterly.
“It’s fine,” she mumbled, averting her eyes. “Sorry for snapping. I’m just– I’m upset.”
She had intended to leave it at that, but before she could stop it the rest came tumbling out.
“It’s just not fair! We’ve been training so hard– I’ve been training so hard! I ask to go on patrols, but it’s always “no Lilypaw, you need to clean out the dens” or “no Lilypaw, you haven’t done enough training yet” or some other bee-brained excuse!” A pause, a shaky breath. “And then you came and joined the Clan, getting to skip over all that boring stuff just because you’re, what? A moon older than me? Give me a break!”
There were small furrows in the earth where her claws had dug in, and Lilypaw stared at them numbly. Now that she’d said her piece to someone who wasn’t her father or sisters, the fight began to fade out of her. Maybe she’d upset Bayou. Maybe Bayou would go tattle on her to Shellspots and she’d get in trouble. Again. Did it even matter?
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Post by Solaris on Jun 6, 2023 2:31:49 GMT
Flower 18, 2021 | Kaeldra Overwhelmed by Lilypaw’s burst of rage, Bayou figured it would be better to wait quietly for her to finish. They struggled to compose the words to reassure her, because every attempt at comforting or deescalating only stoked her fire more. And it frustrated them to no end. That their usual attempts at friendliness and charm were worthless against a stubborn wall of anger. It was like talking to a rock, it was like talking to Bog.
But she stepped back, breathed in, and held the retorts that yearned to escape her tongue. Bayou really studied Lilypaw this time, squinting her gaze to see beyond the jagged edges of a projected anger, to find the exposed stomach, the bleeding gash. From the way her eyes flittered elsewhere when she spoke, Bayou wondered where her anger was targeted to, as if Lilypaw was speaking to another cat in their midst. A dark phantom who happened to resemble Bayou’s shape, and was the closest match there was.
Then they saw Lilypaw for the cat she was, jealous, and angry, but most of all, under-appreciated and overlooked. From there, they tried to talk. And hopefully, Lilypaw would listen too.
“I don’t understand either,” started Bayou, hesitant at first. She had shared sympathies with the other apprentice over the unfair situation, and most of the time, those conversations went well. But here, she thought sympathy would not be enough. She realized she would need to reveal a truth to Lilypaw, a truth she kept guarded close to her heart. Only when she lay in the darkness of the sparse warriors’ den did she admit the secret to herself. “And when I joined this clan, I didn’t realize there would be all of this conflict. I still don’t understand all of this warrior business, and maybe I never will, but I know you deserve to be a warrior more than I do. You deserve to be respected by your clanmates, by Shellspots.”
“I would trade places with you, even! I would be an apprentice if it means I have friends to stay with!” blurted out Bayou at last. “And before you start, this isn’t about Melodypaw (although, they admitted quietly to themself, that it partly was)… this about wanting to have a community of cats. I would hang out with you apprentices than with the older warriors any day.”
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