Silverpaw
Apprentice of Skyclan
Silverpaw was not one to overanalyze his own thoughts. He was a warrior, sound of heart and mind, and he knew himself well. There were no dark, unexplored corners of his psyche; no repressed memories to haunt him in the quiet of the night— but sometimes he found himself combing through his thoughts, picking apart what he remembered of his past. Certainly he’d done something to offend Starclan, because he was cursed.. and that curse was Blushpaw. Somewhere nearby, he could hear her soft cries, and the sorrowful sound made his chest ache. By now, after hearing her cry so many times, he could likely recognize her just from hearing her crying alone; deeply familiar with every muffled sob and hiccup.
Clenching his jaw, the grey apprentice desperately fought the urge to go comfort her. He couldn’t always be the one to do it. It wasn’t his job. Though, when the ache in his chest continued to grow, he eventually gave in. Silverpaw heaved an exasperated sigh as made his way over to Blushpaw, irritated with himself for being unable to ignore her. He didn’t know what it was about her crying that mad him act so patheticly. “What’s with all the whimpering? Are you crying again?” he sat down next to her, awkwardly clearing his throat. Emotions were not his strong suit, so he never really knew what to say when she was upset. “If you keep this up you’re going to get dehydrated,” he warned her, using a paw to hesitantly pat the top of her head.
Silverpaw
Apprentice of Skyclan
Even though he felt his fur begin to bristle at her tearful explanation, not a hint of anger showed in his features. He knew that being angry might just startle her more, so instead, he swallowed his rage and awkwardly dabbed away at her tears. Gaze darkening momentarily, he glanced down at the stones that littered the forest floor in disgust. It made him unbelievably angry that anyone could be so cruel to Blushpaw. Being as softhearted and sensitive as she was, to bully someone like her was incredibly unfair. Though, they probably took comfort in knowing someone like her was unlikely to retaliate.
Silverpaw felt his jaw clench. He would have to think of how to deal with the other apprentices later. For now, he looked down at Blushpaw, troubled blue eyes meeting with hers as he whispered, “Listen to me… take deep breaths, okay? There’s no need to panic. I’m here now. You’re safe,” his voice was surprisingly gentle and soothing as he spoke, doing his absolute best to calm her, “Just stick around me from now on. They won’t bother you while I’m around.” He blinked in surprise at his own words, unsure if he had ever been this soft towards anyone before. Normally he kept an emotional distance from everyone, he just hated the distress he saw etched upon his friend’s face so much that couldn’t help but want to protect her.
B L U S H P A W
Young kids could be so cruel. If there was something even slightly different about you that stood out from everyone else, they would pinpoint it and pick at it and pick at it until you broke. In her case, there were many things that the other apprentices picked on her for. Whether it was her round face, her weight, her lack of skills as a warrior, or anything else about her that wasn't up to par, they were relentless. They bullied her daily and they never let up until they were satisfied, regardless of how much she cried or pleaded for mercy.
They just left her, their words cutting deep as they parted from the circle they had enclosed her in. Left behind were small rocks, scattered randomly around the ground from where they had bounced off of her at the will of the apprentices who threw them. Her lip quivered as she fought against the tears that welled in her eyes but despite her efforts, they fell in giant wallops. Blushpaw cried. She cried and she wailed, her sorrow spilling from her in waves.
It felt like she sat there and cried by herself for hours, ignored by her Clanmates as they walked by her and shot her side-glances that hinted their annoyance in her until someone stopped and came to her aid. She looked up, finding none other than Silverpaw looking down at her with his usual expression, something that said he was bothered but not necessarily by her. She could never figure out what it meant, but she was grateful for his companionship.
"S-S-S-Silverp-p-pawww-" She blubbered, rubbing her head into his touch, feeling incredibly comforted by his support. Her tears grew fatter and fatter as they fell, her lip quivering so hard she could barely get any words out. "Th-th-th-they're s-s-s-so m-m-mean, th-they threw r-r-r-rocks at m-m-me..."