Waiting Fangs [Spottedfern]

[˚Reason˚]

Galepaw
Apprentice of ShadowClan

For once, it was a bright day in ShadowClan, sure a few clouds disrupted this but it was still a rare sight. The cats of ShadowClan would usually be doused in darkness by the towering pines or dense fog that usually made ShadowClan territory live up to its name. One apprentice decided to use this rare weather to his advantage. This gray tome was sitting delicately on the edge of a pool of murky water gazing into it with a grin on his maw. Galepaw was an average looking tom with a misty gray pelt that was splattered with shades of black. Also adorning his pelt was mud that was all over the marshlands.

Galepaw tilted his head to the side, just barely able to made out his own forest green eyes reflected back at him in the murky depths of the water. He let out a small laugh as he dipped his paw into the warm water and let a shiver pass through his body. This was the rare occasion where the water was warm enough to allow a cat to take a bath in its warm depths. The tom lifted the paw from the water and ran it quickly over his ear to swipe at the dust and mud that hid there.

The tom glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "You know I talked to Frostfoot yesterday? She even showed me some battle moves! Isn't that great! The deputy of ShadowClan giving me some training! That was, before I caught that massive rabbit. Can you believe it, Spottedfern? A rabbit in ShadowClan territory! And I caught it all by myself!" Galepaw paused in his conversation with his mentor and felt his fur heat up slight in embarrassment. "B-but not without your teaching, Spottedfern! You've taught me everything I know and because of that I will be the best warrior ever!" The last word turned into a yowl that echoed around the marshlands, upsetting some birds. The apprentice jumped to his paws, purring loudly and turned to his mentor with a happy meow.

Galepaw really looked up to both she cats, Spottedfern and Frostfoot. They were both great warriors and Spottedfern was a great mentor, he couldn't ask for any better cat. The tom sat down again, calming himself once again and scratched at some loose mud on his fur with his hind foot.

[ℳintу]

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[atrb=style, background: #9ba68f; border: dashed #FFFFFF 0px; border-radius:20px 20px 0px 0px;] [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, border: solid #000000 0px; width: 400px; height: 400px; float: left; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 25px; padding-top: 25px;] [/style] spottedfern Spottedfern rushed through some undergrowth to catch up with her apprentice. It was a lovely day out, Spottedfern noted to herself, and she couldn't help but get caught up in the blissful scents about her. Before she had known it, her mind had wandered so far that Galepaw had made it to the marshes before herself. Spottedfern chuckled to herself for being such a lackful mentor, but she really couldn't help but appreciate nature for was it is: beautiful. As the tortoiseshell she-cat appeared through some trees, she smiled down at her apprentice. He had already advanced into the wetlands, although they were fairly warm today, and she couldn't help but admire his eagerness to learn. She truly adored Galepaw - he was such a bright young tomcat with so much left for his future. She felt blessed by StarClan to have received him as an apprentice; her joy seemed to overflow quite often. Spottedfern quickly went to his side, sniffing gently at the murky water before placing a paw of her own dark, mottled fur in it. "Oh, is that so?" she meowed sweetly, her eyes in a dazed look once more as she stared around at the scenery among them. "Why… yes! That's brilliant!" the she-cat meowed, secretly grateful to Frostfoot. Spottedfern was possibly the most pacifist cat in all of ShadowClan. She despised fighting, mostly because she felt it was bad karma and that nothing good could come from it. Regardless, she had secretly been avoiding the topic for their training, simply because she didn't have the heart to teach Galepaw the ways of fighting, at least not yet. One day she would explain to him how she fights and she would teach him to never resort to violence if it not required - one day, possibly soon in her mind. The she-cat's pale green eyes glimmered as he spoke of catching a rabbit. Hunting! That was her trade. Pride showed up for a moment in the she-cat before she allowed the feeling to leave, fearful of getting too vain over her apprentice. But she was very proud of it, and rightly so. Not many apprentices his age could handle a whole rabbit! "Oh, Galepaw, I'm so proud of you!" she meowed in her sweet tone once more, offering his ear a lick of approval. This was her apprentice! How lucky she was. She smiled at his comment about her teaching, and her smile seemed a bit too dumb-looking for any other cat. Spottedfern always had a way with her dumb-looking smiles, as though she was in her own world staring into space. But this was how she showed her true feeling of joy, and that made her content. Her pale orbs shifted to the watery ground in front of them and she attempted to hold her attention for once. She was always so bad at that. "Well then, Galepaw, shall I teach you some hunting tricks around the marsh?" there her dumb smile struck yet again, although this time it seemed more friendly than just content. table & image manip © minty, image © sxc.hu

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[˚Reason˚]

Galepaw
Apprentice of ShadowClan

Galepaw grinned at Spottedfern's approval of his catch and started to purr loudly. This quickly changed when the tom flinched away from his mentor's lick. "Spottedfern!" The tome whined, dancing away from his mentor and send her a playfully hurt look. "I'm all full of mud and dust! You don't want to lick me!" The gray tom smiled back at his mentor's dumb smile, Galepaw never minded it. Knowing it was just Spottedfern's odd way of doing things, Galepaw had long since gotten used to his mentor's way of acting a training and was proud to say he knew her rather well.

When she mentioned hunting, Galepaw's smile dropped. "Hunting? On such a nice day as today! I want to take an actual bath and get rid of this mud!" Galepaw meowed, gesturing to his disgusting pelt. He got a playful look on his face as he turned to the water and jumped in. The luke warm water was shallow enough to stand in but a little further out was a drop off that all the queens warned their kits about. The water soaked his pelt and washed away some of the mud that had gotten stuck between his claws. Galepaw carefully avoided the drop off and used his paw to bat some water at his mentor, chuckling slightly. "What's the matter Spottedfern? Afraid to get a little wet?" Galepaw taunted, hopping a little further into the water to avoid his mentor's reach.

Unfortunately for Galepaw, he didn't notice the subtle ripple in the water behind him before it was too late. From the murky depths of the water sprang a large dark shape, that headed right for Galepaw.

The gray apprentice froze and turned to look at what had disturbed the water behind him, and his heart stopped for an instant. It looked like an over grown weasel with dark brown on its head and body but white under belly neck and paws. It had a long powerful tail and webbed paws that ended with sharp claws. Dark brown eyes were the last thing that Galepaw saw before it was upon him.

The tom let out a yowl of shock, but it was sharply cut off as the mammal sunk it claws and sharp little teeth into him and pulled with all its might. Terror struck Galepaw like a shot of lightning, and his only thought was to escape the claws of this monster. Galepaw struggled, digging his claws sharply into the river bank, his green eyes franticly searching for his mentor, desperately hoping that she would help him some how, but it was already far too late. For one glorious instant, Galepaw dug his claws into a root of a nearby tree and clung to it, turning the struggled between the two in Galepaw's favor. With a audible snap, the root broke under the pressure and Galepaw flew further into the water and closer into the monster's iron strong grip. The sudden lurching motion caused Galepaw to gasp in shock and inhale a mouthful of water. The cat's limbs worked furiously against the momentum of the monster, but it was futile.

The animal pulled Galepaw along then under the surface of the water, digging its teeth into his neck and making it harder for him to breath. Galepaw sucked in one short breath before he was doused in the murky waters. It was the oddest sensation Galepaw had ever felt. Not being a RiverClan cat, he had no experience with water, so naturally he just lashed out wildly, having no clue what to do in such a situation. His sight was overtaken by the murky water, his hearing was nothing but rushing water and when he opened his mouth to scream for help he could only taste water tinted with his own blood. The ShadowClan apprentice was fight his claws tearing at the thing's limbs that had anchored into his flesh. Pain seared across his senses as the animal momentarily released his neck then clamped down with a firmer grip, cutting of his already limited breathing. Galepaw could feel each point as it sunk into the fur on his neck, somewhat like his mother used to carry him, but much harsher.

Galepaw looked up, the surface was getting further and further away from him as he was pulled into its dark depths. This can't be happening. Was a stray thought that broke through his panicked mind. The last of the air in his lungs left him in a single stream of bubbles and pain made his his mind work slowly. His vision was darkening as he felt the animal digging its claws deeper still into him. The teeth stopped their chocking hold and started to rip at his flesh. Its not even going to wait for me to die before it starts eating me?! Galepaw snarled in his mind as he turned his head to look at the thing right in the eyes and tried to lash out at it. His limbs were heavy and vision almost all lost to darkness.

Galepaw desperately turned his head to where he thought the surface was. Is Spottedfern okay? Was his last thought as he was consumed by darkness and the pain finally lessened. The last thing the tom did was turn his head to the surface, his green eyes lighting up with millions of stars.

[ℳintу]

i  know  much  more

[atrb=style, background: #9ba68f; border: dashed #FFFFFF 0px; border-radius:20px 20px 0px 0px;] [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, border: solid #000000 0px; width: 400px; height: 400px; float: left; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 25px; padding-top: 25px;] [/style] spottedfern Spottedfern chuckled at her apprentice, although for her high voice it sounded more or less like a giggle. He really could be amusing sometimes, and she adored that about him. He never failed to make her smile. She wasn't sure if their relationship seemed more like a motherly one or that of best friends, but she'd like to think that they had grown close together in the past moons. She watched over him like no other, and that was saying something for her attention span. Spottedfern laughed again at Galepaw's muddy pelt after she had mentioned hunting. He really did look sloppy with all of the mud on him - almost like a feisty kitten again. The water flew up at Spottedfern, taking her off-guard and splashing right up in her face. She blinked for a moment, startled, before giggling once more. She teetered over the edge of the marsh, giving her apprentice a playful sticking out of her tongue. "Of course I'm not!" she meowed, preparing to leap in herself. At the least minute, terror struck. Spottedfern watched with horror as a dark shape appeared in the water. Before she could yowl, it had grabbed Galepaw and attempted to tear him under into the deep water. Spottedfern's pale green eyes were as wide as they could have possibly been. Her mouth hung open as her breathing stopped; her body went into a rigid state of shock. This was her apprentice, the one she had loved and been so proud of, and he was being taken down by some animal! She moved quickly towards him as fast as her legs could carry her, and surprisingly she didn't fall at all. She attempted to grab his scruff with her jaws, but she was too slow. The beast had ripped him down into the murky water with Spottedfern staring on, not knowing what to do. She looked all around her, noticing a stray branch. She ripped it off with all of her might and threw it into the water for support before diving in after her apprentice. Spottedfern didn't care much for water, but this wasn't the time to be thinking of that. She pushed herself forward once she had entered the water, searching for her apprentice beneath the waves. She noticed air bubbles in one direction, and she pursued it. She was a terrible swimmer, though, and made it too late. The body in front of her was what she was looking for. Crimson-colored water surrounded it, not to mention a great beast attempting to chow down. Spottedfern wasn't a cat to get mad. She was a pacifist at heart. But today that all disappeared. Seeing the torn body of her apprentice in the animal's jaws set her off into a rage. Her pale green eyes turned to tiny slits in the water, hatred glimmering inside of them. With one big push of her body, she swam over to her apprentice's body. Her claws were out, and she raked them over the animal's face, temporarily making it lose its grip to deal with its wounded eyes. The body of Galepaw dropped a bit further, but Spottedfern was there to pick up his scruff. She dragged him with all of her strength back to the shore of the marsh. Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins. She looked down at the tomcat once they had reached the air, as she herself was gasping for air. She rolled Galepaw on his front and pressed on his stomach to push the water out of his lungs. He wasn't breathing. Her shocked eyes began to slightly water, but she shook the droplets away. She attempted to push on his stomach once more, and a bit more water came out; but there was no breathing. Clenching her teeth, her mind was a whirling mess of thoughts. She glanced down at his leg which was partially torn apart. "This can't be happening… Galepaw! Please, Galepaw! Wake up," she meowed to him in a hysterical tone. Her eyes darted everywhere around her, not knowing what to do. She licked at his leg wound, fearful for how much blood he had already lost. What was she to do? "FALLINGFEATHER!" she shouted out for the medicine cat at the top of her lungs. "Fallingfeather, please!" Her calls received no response - after all, they weren't exactly near camp. "Please… ANYBODY! Please… Help him…," she shouted out as loud as she physically could, only to end it in a whisper. She stared down at the form of her apprentice. Only moments earlier they had been laughing at one another - joking around and splashing. He had told her how Frostfoot had taught him, and how proud he had been of it. She had adored this very cat, to what measure she didn't even know herself. And here he was - blood dripping from his pelt, eyes glazed over, and not moving a muscle. Spottedfern's mind reeled into confusion, and she let out a piercing wail. Her pale green eyes had tears streaming down them, mixing into her dark tortoiseshell-and-mud covered fur. Her vision kept becoming blurry by the amount of tears that fell from her face, and she barely had the strength to use a paw to push them away. She was crying, really crying. And she couldn't stop. "Galepaw… please wake up… I beg of you… please wake up," she meowed, her sweet voice mangled as she choked on her sobs and pushed on his stomach. "Please…," she meowed one last time as more tears appeared on her face. But there was nothing that she could do, the inevitable had happened - he was dead. Her sobs continued as she finally began to accept the revelation; her mind wished StarClan would give him a miraculous cure of some sort. Even so, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She would never teach him how to properly fight. She would never teach him how to hunt in the marshes. She would never be with him again, a thought that pained her in her heart. She would never see his smiling, cheerful face again. And it was her fault. 'If only I'd reached you first. If only I'd pulled you back from that monster. If only I'd been strong and quick enough, none of this would have happened. You'd' still be here, right beside me,' her bitter thoughts rang out like a bell in her mind, forcing her head to crash. She let out a depressing yowl once more as the tears continued to flee her eyes, and she shook herself ferociously. She moved around the clearing anxiously, trying to figure out a way to save her dead apprentice. But she knew it was all in vain. He really was dead. More sobs erupted. She finally swallowed the saliva from tears choking back in her throat, and padded over to lie next to his body. "I'm sorry, Galepaw… I'm so sorry…," she whispered In his ear, her eyes staring at his body. She couldn't hear breathing nor a heartbeat, and her heart seemed to re-break all over again. This had been one of the worst days of her life. Her chest now felt completely void of any feeling except for regret and sadness. And it hurt her so much, even breathing made her body ache and shiver. She leaned over to the smaller tomcat and gave his ear a comforting lick (at least, had he been alive). She stared at him through tear-stained eyes, and gave his face another lick to groom his messy fur down. But it was no use. He was covered in mud and blood, of which both were now on her pelt as well. She leaned over to whisper one last time in his ear: "I'm sorry…," as she huddled up against him, closing her eyes. She would have to take his body back to camp, but she just couldn't. Not yet at least. Not until she spent her last minutes with her apprentice. table & image manip © minty, image © sxc.hu

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OOC| waaaaaah ;_____;

[White]

OOCl