The belly of the beast (Foxpaw/Spiderstep) | GOSSAMER ; a literate warriors rpg

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The belly of the beast (Foxpaw/Spiderstep) Jan 2, 2014 22:42:07 GMT -8

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Jan 2, 2014 22:42:07 GMT -8

into the belly of the beast

311

Foxpaw

Let's do this thing

A white pelt flecked in sporadic dashes of grey stretched out languidly as far as a cat could see, encompassing all that was WindClan. It was almost as if an enormous ivory cat had settled upon the ground to slumber, wrapped up in a cozy protective ball around the camp. As its mighty lungs released a breath of air the snowy plain would suddenly be swept up in a small storm. Just as quickly as the gust came it would then seep away into the shadows, back into the belly of the beast.

But Spiderstep wasn’t thinking about any of that nonsense. The tabby’s head was aglow with other, more confusing matters. That is, what to do about a particular she-cat.

No. He would not ponder that particular headache anymore. With a predominantly dainty looking paw he swept his ears back before casting his gaze about the immediate vicinity. The camp’s outermost reaches was hardly a sparrow’s hop away, so it would be entirely impossible for his apprentice to misplace their meeting location. Yet, the little ginger tom was nowhere to seen. To be entirely fair, though, Spiderstep was a good deal early for their first planned excursion into the territory. Still, he couldn’t help feeling the slightest bit anxious.

It wasn’t from fear that he reacted so. While Foxpaw was his first charge the task of being a mentor didn’t appear all that daunting. After all, he’d just finished his own training not too long ago. Spiderstep would simply go through the same actions as before. How hard could it be? No, the over-confident cat wasn’t the least bit concerned about that. Instead his nervousness was attributed to excitement, and the desire to begin what could only be a fun distraction from the usual chores. Training would be enjoyable. He was just as sure of it as he was naïve.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

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The belly of the beast (Foxpaw/Spiderstep) Jan 3, 2014 2:41:20 GMT -8

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Jan 3, 2014 2:41:20 GMT -8

Spiderstep. Now, what did Foxpaw know about this particular meower? Freshly made warrior and apparently a reknown she-cat tom, too. Well, from what he’s heard from gossip, that is. He grimaced, not knowing whether that made him more intrigued or more uncomfortable. Maybe what he was feeling was just disdain. Yeah, that was it, a good balance between the two.

If he caught the tom flirting while he was supposed to be training him, well then. Foxpaw’d have to do something drastic, like complain to his favourite rock or something.

The apprentice made his way through the camp, tail held high to avoid the snow. A tour of the territory in this weather didn’t hold much appeal to him, but he supposed that that was his lot for turning six moons smack in the middle of leafbare. Then again, he didn’t really mind it much. He had been a kit born in the dregs of greenleaf, so he’s only ever known cold and colder weather. Maybe that’s why he had the attitude he had.

He saw Spiderstep waiting at the fringes of the camp, but didn’t think that the young warrior saw him. The brown tabby had a nervous edge to his posture (but to be entirely truthful Foxpaw had a bit of the butterflies himself, if showing up slightly earlier than the appointed time said anything. Not that he would admit that though, and besides, it was only a tick earlier, much better than his jumpy mentor).

Best not keep him waiting, though that’d be a sweet game, wouldn’t it? mused Foxpaw. Make your mentor uncomfortable, that’s the greatest first impression, But the idea risked smearing his own fresh reputation with a pawful of mouse-dung, so it was better not to.

Instead the ginger tom struck a direct path to Spiderstep, leaving the lightest indents on the snow as he went. When he got close, he inclined his head in greeting and sat down right in front of the warrior, expectant. I wonder what he’ll say if I’m not forthcoming. His whiskers twitched and Foxpaw fixed his eyes on Spiderstep’s, face still.

TAGGED: Spiderstep
WORDS: 353
NOTES: Heukheukheuk

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GS AND BTN

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The belly of the beast (Foxpaw/Spiderstep) Jan 3, 2014 16:20:16 GMT -8

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Jan 3, 2014 16:20:16 GMT -8

into the belly of the beast

397

Foxpaw

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Copper eyes, a matching set of marbles against a field of brown, failed to notice the hushed crunching complaint of snow under paw. No, his attention had continued to drift. Carried by the breeze of fancy, it skipped about his childhood, and through a chain of ties, to Foxpaw’s as well. He had known of Applekit and Harekit’s death. Indeed, the whole clan had milled listlessly about camp during the sickly she-kit’s fight for life. And it had all been for naught. All their strength, support -even when coupled with the skill of Briarheart- had meant nothing. StarClan had had the final say.

Of course Spiderstep did not blame the fluffy red kit for his littermate’s death. It would be foolish to assume that anyone but StarClan could take a life in such a way. All the young warrior felt on the matter was a somber realization that life was not in his control after all. If the starry warriors code take away the life of a kit, why not the life of warrior?

Without intending to, the tom let out a strangled hiss. Eyes flashing down from the arching sky above unexpectedly landed upon the cat of his thoughts. Oops. Immediately heat rose to Spiderstep’s ears. How long had his apprentice been standing there? Great. Just great. This certainly made for a brilliant start to their relationship. If his ability as being a proper mentor had already been in question, now it was certainly in doubt. But, such feelings of personal insecurity could not last long. He was too self-confident and prideful to let them linger any longer than necessary, and to him they weren’t necessary at all.

“Aren’t we the early bird?” He teased in warm, light-hearted mew. A smile slipped onto his features with practiced ease, curling deliciously about his maw. Spiderstep doubled its effect by raising his slender tail delightfully high above his back in a loose curl. “Come on now, don’t look so serious. We’ve got a territory to explore. You’ll be caterwauling in joy before you know it.” The brown tom wasn’t an idiot. He knew Foxpaw was a pessimistic fellow with a relatively solemn disposition (at least from what he had witnessed in the past), but that wouldn’t get in his way. Anyone could be befriended, it just took a little elbow grease and a few dabs of honey. Right?

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

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The belly of the beast (Foxpaw/Spiderstep) Jan 4, 2014 4:37:20 GMT -8

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Jan 4, 2014 4:37:20 GMT -8

Maybe I should call Briarheart and tell Tallstar I got a cloud-brain for a mentor, mused Foxpaw, struggling to hide a grin at Spiderstep’s obvious embarrassment, though his whiskers certainly gave a tick of a twitch. Caught you with your hind leg up have I, o great warrior? He wondered whether all older cats did that, get lost in their thoughts like a mouse in a rabbit burrow, and made a mental note to make sure not to do anything noteworthy so that there’ll be no time for nostalgia when he’s older.

Life rarely turns out the way cats plan it though. A tip of the head to you, StarClan.

“Aren’t we the early bird? Come on now, don’t look so serious. We’ve got a territory to explore. You’ll be caterwauling in joy before you know it.” The smile and tail curl that accompanied this sunshine bright statement had Foxpaw simply swooning.

Honestly though, it was hard not to be inclined towards liking the warrior. There was an inherent charm in the tom, he had to admit, but Foxpaw was no she-cat. Technically he could make Spiderstep’s job more difficult, but he reckoned it wasn’t worth the effort. It was hard keeping quiet all the time anyway, and another fresh pair of ears to talk to would be welcome.

He wasn’t going to make it look like Spiderstep won him over completely, though, so he started with a single deep sigh, as if it pained him to talk with the tabby. ‘Well look who’s talking. I saw you here moons ago, Spiderstep,’ True, a bit brash, especially seeing as he was the junior cat here, but when has Foxpaw ever paid attention to seniority?

‘I don’t see what’s so joyful about planes and planes of snow, ‘less you’ve never seen it before, but I guess I could give you the benefit of a doubt. I'll have you know I've never caterwauled in my life,’ Foxpaw gave a flick of his fluffy tail to take the sting off his words (past, present, and future, so he wouldn’t have to do it again). What should he say next though? A trickle of unease settled on him; a very foreign feeling to the ginger tom. He was used to repartee, and indeed Foxpaw thrived on it, but…Should he take the initiative, or was the mouse now in Spiderstep’s paws?

Come on, it was technically his first lesson as an apprentice, on the way to receiving his true warrior name. He was allowed a few loose butterflies, right? ‘Now, um,’ he got to his paws, lightly shaking each one out. ‘Do we…start?’

TAGGED: Spiderstep
WORDS: 428
NOTES: Lead on melek

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The belly of the beast (Foxpaw/Spiderstep) Jan 4, 2014 21:22:20 GMT -8

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Jan 4, 2014 21:22:20 GMT -8

into the belly of the beast

597

Foxpaw

Here we go~

Subtle and smooth, as if the tender breath of a mother, an unexpectedly warm winter breeze flitted across the moors on silent paws. It toyed with the tabby’s whiskers in a pleasant sort of way, dislodging whatever crystalized flakes of snow still clung. He felt himself inhaling, as if anticipating a beloved scent to follow. That which did was nothing more or else then the peaty odor of the grasslands. To the tom it was a soundless encouragement. A reminder that in the end the land alone reigned supreme. So why fret about anything less?

A deep release of breath pulled him from his thoughts. “Well look who’s talking. I saw you here moons ago, Spiderstep.” The line could have been taken in a plethora of ways. Was it hot-headed and demanding? Did it desire to unstable the frail power the mentor held over his apprentice? Or, was it simply a light-hearted remark meant to be a friendly tease? Well, out of all of those options he certainly deemed the last as the most agreeable, and decided to treat it as if meant in such a light.

As the younger cat continued to go on in a rather bleak outlook on the whole ordeal Spiderstep soaked it all in with a grin. Foxpaw was living up to his mentor’s expectations. Rather than disappointing the copper eyed cat, it instead made doubly interested in conversing with the other. Conversations alone could be boring, but when done with someone unwilling to fully cooperate it turned into a game, a competition. Spiderstep loved competitions.

“Now, um,” his companion began again after a brief pause. “Do we…start?” Personally, the warrior was under the impression that they had already begun to their training for the day. This interval of unspoken thoughts and withheld observations was just as much a part of the process as any other. Tilting his head so as to point with his ears, Spiderstep nodded towards the towering stone which seemed to overlook not only the camp, but the rest of the territory up to the stars themselves.

“Come on, let’s go check out Outlook Rock first. If we’re going to explore the whole territory it’s better we get our bearings now. Don’t want to be stumbling into the gorge on accident, or popping out of the badger set, now do we?” With a beckoning flick of his tail the confident tom stepped sharply to his right before heading off towards the impending boulder. It really was impossible to miss, even from the heart of camp one could clearly make it out on a good day.

Tossing a curious glance over his shoulder, one brow lifted in a questioning way, Spiderstep spoke again. “Oh, and by the way. We had already started. Half of the battle isn’t just being the best warrior you can physically be. It takes a pawful of social smarts as well.” Assured that the other was following, her lengthened his gait. It wasn’t yet to the point of a run, and instead hovered at almost an awkward power-walk. “It’s not just you on your own, you know. There’s this whole other thing called a clan. We must work together to survive. You can be as strong and powerful as you want, but if you can’t play nice with others then you might as well be a lone little kittpet peering over your garden gate at a world you could never be a part of.”

As the last of his little sub-lesson came to a close his paws landed upon their first destination –Outlook Rock.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS

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The belly of the beast (Foxpaw/Spiderstep) Jan 7, 2014 1:04:02 GMT -8

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Jan 7, 2014 1:04:02 GMT -8

“Come on, let’s go check out Outlook Rock first. If we’re going to explore the whole territory it’s better we get our bearings now. Don’t want to be stumbling into the gorge on accident, or popping out of the badger set, now do we?” Foxpaw was feeling better about this whole ordeal by the second. Surprisingly, the dashes of humor, albeit slightly flat, really smoothed matters out. No, genuinely, no entailed sarcasm (he suppressed a smile at his own wit). Despite being a bit of a daydreamer, Spiderstep actually seemed to be made of decent mentor material. And anyhow, each cat had his own faults, so while the older tabby had his misty-eyed bouts, Foxpaw could stew in his own pensive reflections.

A swish of his ginger tail later and the apprentice was tagging along behind his mentor, keeping a peaceful distance. The weather was a tick more pleasant than usual, just the tick, and the sojourn to Outlook Rock was nearly enjoyable. Winter winds, cold and colder, were all that Foxpaw had ever known though, so it wasn’t like he would have anything to compare with, but it felt warm all the same. Most likely come greenleaf he would be feeling very warm, what with his seasonally inconvenient coat and all. The thought made him frown and found him half wishing that it could be eternally leaf-fall (mayhaps even leafbare), but he knew that few cats would agree.

Was it a succinct judgement to say that new leaf and greenleaf scared him? Probably.

Spiderstep looked back at him, and Foxpaw, unwilling to be as easily caught unawares, scrambled to sharpen the vacant stare he adopted when lost in his musings. The result was probably insufficient, but it was better than nothing. Well, thought Foxpaw as he matched the warrior’s glance with a green-eyed gaze of his own. I guess I can’t call him a cloudbrain anymore without sounding contradictory now, can I? He conceded the victory.

“…We had already started. Half of the battle isn’t just being the best warrior you can physically be. It takes a pawful of social smarts as well.” Hopefully the first few words weren’t that important. Foxpaw cocked an eyebrow. Social smarts? He had those in spades. They were just dormant ninety percent of the time. And it wasn’t like he was one of those hotblooded, claw-unsheathed cats that lived for confrontation either. So he reckoned he was good by Spiderstep’s standards.

“…you on your own, you know. There’s this whole other thing called a clan.” Ah, there he goes again, zoning out. What was wrong with him today? “We must work together to survive. You can be as strong and powerful as you want, but if you can’t play nice with others then you might as well be a lone little kittypet peering over your garden gate at a world you could never be a part of.”

The warrior had a good point, and again Foxpaw considered himself in the safe zone. Sure, he was quiet, but that didn’t mean he was a shy loner or anything. It just meant he had thoughts he’d rather not share, for the benefit of all parties involved. This Spiderstep fellow was really writing himself into the apprentice’s good books.

Said cat was also quickening his pace, so Foxpaw, on his comparably (comparably, alright?) stubby legs, hastened to follow. They made it to the base of Outlook Rock by the end of Spiderstep’s speech. Impressive, maybe lucky, timing.

Close-up, it was a grand structure, towering and looming over the landscape like some stony (again, what wit!) guardian wedged in by some ephemeral, ghostly paw of StarClan’s. Foxpaw reckoned you could see the entire territory from the top, which was probably its raison d'être. Were they going to climb it? He voiced as much to Spiderstep while circling the base, tail flicking back and forth in curiosity. The rock would be ghastly cold under paws, and it didn’t look like the snow would be thick enough to completely cushion a fall (not that he would, mind you, but as a precaution). Foxpaw would be willing to try though. All he needed was a request given by an elder authority so he would have some cat to blame if he came to injury.

TAGGED: Spiderstep
WORDS: 714
NOTES: I know cats don't know books or French, but yes. We are rp-ing after all~ Lots of introspection, but it felt like an introspective day.

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GS AND BTN

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The belly of the beast (Foxpaw/Spiderstep) Jan 11, 2014 13:18:29 GMT -8

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Jan 11, 2014 13:18:29 GMT -8

into the belly of the beast

783

Foxpaw

Sorry this is so terribly late! I had to get my muse back for Spider and return to his roots~

As a warm breeze scurried across his perpetually ruffled pelt the tabby craned his neck up in order to cast his gaze about the height of the structure. Beneath his paws the stone was grounding. It stood not only as a landmark for the eyes, but as a means to remind the soul how fleeting their existence was in comparison, how frail a cat really was in the face of such ancient power. It really put one’s life in perspective, if you were into that sort of introspective thing.

Releasing a gust of breath from between his jaws, Spiderstep gave an amused huff. “Dude, if you want to lose a limb go ahead. Just don’t blame me for your lapse in judgment. ”

Had he still been a young apprentice, or in older company, the tom would have made a competition out of the endeavor and completely set aside their goal for the day. After all, what was better than a deadly race to the top of a snow-coated icy boulder? But as it were he had other responsibilities. And although he was far from the perfect mentor, especially when it came to being self-aware of his own faults, he still retained some semblance of authority. “Some” being the operative word. Which, undoubtedly, included the ability to resist bad decisions.

Turning tail upon the lumbering giant of a rock he instead set his sights on their next destination. While they were still too far to see it without getting atop Outlook Rock, even from the heart of their territory the rush of paws on stone could be distantly heard. It was the unmistakable growl of a monster charging along the black path. Of a beast so pitifully overgrown that no room had been left for a brain. At the very least it made for a great guide, though many a cat found the noise unsettling. Not to mention the stench that would follow. Luckily, they were still too far to be burdened by it.

Deciding to utilize the journey rather than have it be a cause for awkward silence Spiderstep began to test Foxpaw on what he already knew about his home. Kits had to have learned something during their six moons of being stuck in camp, right? They had elders to tell them stories, and warriors to poke and prod at like some specially crafted toy spat down by StarClan just for their delight. The orange kid had to know something at the very least. “So, did you learn anything while stumbling around camp as a kit or was drooling your main priority?”

A smirk crossed his features, not entirely unfriendly in form and intent. It just felt good to finally be relaxing again. The whole “apprentice” thing had really caught him off his game, but now with the wind on his back and the camp in his rear view mirror his life began to fall back in step. It wasn’t that he had been nervous. No. Spiderstep never got nervous. Never. Of course not. There was no way. Okay, maybe he had been a little nervous. Just a little bit. Who wouldn’t be? No one had the right to judge him on this.

Flicking an ear to dispel the sudden realization that he had, in fact, been anxious, the tom continued drilling the other. “What can you tell me about Outlook Rock? Why is it important? And more importantly, why should we be stumbling around in the fucking freezing snow just to teach you what it is and where it is?”

Okay, maybe cursing in front of an apprentice wasn’t the best way to go about mentoring. But hey, he had to be himself. And to be honest, it felt a great deal better than trying to be some uptight smart-ass with the perfect response to every possible question. If Tallstar had thought that that was what Foxpaw needed he surely would have given him to someone more capable in that department. Like Emberfang, for instance.

She was an egg-head if he ever did see one. Not that being able to recite facts calmly was a bad thing. A boring one maybe, but not bad. One just had to dig beneath all that rough exterior to find her cuddly nature. Unfortunately, few seemed to be the least bit interested in giving others a chance. If there was a pretty tail that they could chase they’d much ratter flatter it then give a damn about their own clanmate. Life was more than a bouquet of tails. If Spiderstep could admit as much, then it shouldn’t be a problem for anyone else.

Apparently someone hadn’t gotten over his earlier encounter with a certain she-cat.

CODED BY DUCKIE OF GS