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snakekit snakepaw snaketooth snakestar
98 moons//roughly 8 years
tom-cat//male
warrior
detached, quiet, somber
sweet, loyal, strong
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OH, WERE YOU STILL TALKING?
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xxx“
Berrypaw come back. You know we aren't allowed out here by ourselves!" Snakepaw hissed, his eyes surveying the dark forest surrounding him. He and his sister had only been named apprentices the night before and now she had managed to drag him beyond the camp walls with no supervision. The trees loomed above them, making him feel like a newborn kit that just stumbled outside the nursery where full grown warriors towered around him. The trees branches swayed and an eerie groan echoed in the leaves. Snakepaw couldn't stop the shiver that wracked his tiny body.
xxx"Stop whining, are you still a kit?" Berrypaw sneered. With a mighty leap and a lot of scrambling she pulled herself atop a fallen tree. There she stood with her chest puffed out and tail held high. Her yellow eyes sparkled in the dark. "I couldn't stand being cooped up in the nursery all those moons. Now we're apprentices and soon we'll be warriors." She whispered the title sounding excited. "I'll be a warrior in no time and you'll be left crawling in my shadow, Snakepaw." And with that Berrypaw jumped down from the log and landed on the other side out of Snakepaw's sight.
xxxWith wide eyes Snakepaw studied the log. There was no way he was getting up there without a struggle and no way he'd even attempt, much too afraid of hurting himself in the process. But Berrypaw's words stirred inside his head. They were rather unsettling for some reason. In her shadow? Me? Snakepaw laughed the thought away. I"ll be in no cats shadow. I am Snakepaw. There is no other cat like me. I will be great! Yet even his own mind couldn't stop the unease that burrowed in his heart. He paused for a moment, listening. Berrypaw must be waiting for him on the other side but he desperately wished she'd climb back over so they could go back to camp. Back to safety.
xxxSnakepaw couldn't hear anything except for the rustling of leaves overhead and the scuttling of mice between the cracks in roots. "Berrypaw." He whispered. No response. "Berrypaw!" He raised his voice, growing more anxious by the second. Still no reply came. So Snakepaw mustered all his strength, crouched low to the ground, rocked his haunches side to side, and burst forward and up with every muscle in his legs. He crashed into the trees side and immediately dug his claws into the rough bark trying to hoist himself up and over. When he finally managed to pull his weight up Snakepaw came barreling head over paws onto the ground. "Yowch!" He cried, unscrambling his legs and rising slowly to his paws again. A dull pain throbbed above his right eye and he took a moment to regain his bearings.
xxxUnsurprisingly this side of the fallen tree looked no different than the side he had just come from. But that was unimportant. What Snakepaw really wanted right now was to find Berrypaw and drag her back to camp. They weren't supposed to be out here in the first place. Snakepaw's mentor had told him they'd learn hunting techniques that evening when he returned from patrol. Yet that promise was long forgotten to the little tom. He gazed around but caught no sign of his sister. His tail twitched nervously behind him as he took a few steps forward. "Berrypaw." He hissed again. Suddenly a loud crack erupted in the trees and something heavy crashed on top of Snakepaw. He yowled in surprise and tore himself from the mysterious figures grip. His heart was thundering in his ears and his eyes focused and unfocused on the cat now stood before him.
xxx"Ahahaha! You should have seen your face!" Snakepaw recognized the cat instantly and bristled in response though slightly relieved. "Oh Starclan that was great! I wasn't expecting the branch to snap but I'm sure glad it did." Berrypaw shook with laughter while trying to catch her breath.
xxx"That's enough, Berrypaw, let's go back already. It's getting dark and we'll get lost." As if to prove his words a dark cloud passed over the canopy of leaves and blocked any sunlight filtering through. Snakepaw jumped as a thundering crack split the sky and rain began to pour down. Within seconds the drops seeping through the blanket of leaves had his fur soaked and already he was shaking from the cold. "P-please Berryp-paw?" he pleaded. But Berrypaw had vanished.
xxxWith the rain in his eyes Snakepaw could see very little. His body shook with fear (or he likes to believe it was the rain that caused his trembling) and his heart quickened its pace. Where was Berrypaw now? She was right there only seconds ago she couldn't have gone far! Just then a shrill cry pierced through the drumming of the rain and Snakepaw jumped. Berrypaw! his eyes lit up. With what little instinct he had Snakepaw took off in the direction of the cry. Or at least he hoped it was the direction. The rain thundered above and the trees stretched out in an endless maze. He was barely able to stop himself from flying into the river that cut through the forest. Its dark waters surged and foamed almost as if a thousand cats were trapped below all of them trying to reach out and escape. And within the raging water was Berrypaw.
xxxIn that moment time stood still. The look of utter terror on Berrypaw's face was mirrored on his own. She clung desperately to the bank while the waves continuously submerged her head. "Snakepaw!" She cried pathetically, choking on water. "Help me!" But Snakepaw was frozen. His eyes as wide as the full moon but unseeing. Conflicted he made his way as close to the waters edge as he could, slipping on wet leaves and mud. He knew if he got any closer he'd be swept in as well and they'd both inevitably die. But what was there he could do? Berrypaw's head broke through the surface again, bringing his attention back, and he looked around frantically. A gnarly and twisted branch lay buried in the mud a tail-length away. Snakepaw dug it free ignoring the pain in his claws as he pried at the branch. When he had a hold of it he swung it towards his sister, jaw clenched tight. It took all of his remaining strength and will to pull, his teeth protesting greatly. And then it snapped. He felt as if he were suddenly in a dream. And he prayed that was all it was. A horrible nightmare that he would wake up from. That, as he watched his sisters small body get swept away, he'd suddenly wake up back in camp where she'd be sound asleep beside him.✴✴✴
xxxSnaketooth sat among a group of warriors on an especially hot day. The shade the trees provided did little to keep the air from becoming dry and stiflingly warm. He groomed his paws contently until a nasty hiss caught his ears. The warriors around him grew rigid and he could sense they were uncomfortable. He looked up and was greeted by none other than his mother, Mouseclaw, now an elder, who was staring him down from the elders den.
xxx"Look at you," she bit out, her voice hoarse from age. "Sitting there pretending everything is fine. And it is, isn't it? The life of a murderer is just fine." By now the warriors that once sat beside him were inching away and more cats had come out of their den to see what was happening. But they were all used to this. Ever since Snaketooth's sister Berrypaw had tragically died his own mother could hardly look at him. The old she-cat believed he was at fault for her daughters death and no longer saw Snaketooth as her son but as a villain that had ruined her life.
xxxYet despite the twinge of sadness in his heart the warrior remained unbothered and expressionless. He had long since stopped mourning Berrypaw's death and moved on with his life. Snaketooth would simply ignore her frosted words. After all, he'd been doing it for the past fifty moons.I STOPPED CARING LONG AGO...
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