[beauty and the beast] leafpaw

stuck in the midst of a pile of fur, flesh, and possible drool, leafpaw could seldom move an inch without elicting sounds of complaint from at least one of his brothers. rockpaw was immovable in his place, a comfortable ball of irritated huffs and furrowed brows near his left flank. to his other side, mintpaw sprawled all limbs in haphazard positions, mouth slack and open as loud snores erupted forth. his youngest littermate’s tail lashed and hit him in the face. great. thanks for that, mint. dewpaw, oh starclan bless his genius sibling, was by far the only one who hadn’t accidentally—or maybe intentionally; leafpaw wasn’t entirely sure all the kicks he had been receiving from rockpaw were subconscious decisions—given leafpaw some sort of physical injury. instead, the pale tom had himself in a half-curled position at his front, cuddling neatly underneath leafpaw’s chin. every once in a while, he would let out a string of incoherent mumbles then fall back into a comgortable silence. leafpaw held no doubts that his brother was most likely thinking another wild idea in his big head.

and see, the brown and white apprentice would have been fine with this. amid the warmth of his littermates, peace lulling his muscles into a relaxed state—it was perfect, actually. except it was still only past sunhigh. though the sun hung low by now, shrouded in a sea of retreating stormclouds, it still had a long journey before it disappeared into the horizon. leafpaw blamed the rain. for some reason, the beat of its fall against the ground cast a spell over the brothers. their activity ground to a pause, and time hardly passed before all but one lay passed out on the damp grass. ratwhisker would surely find them there, hidden away and taking naps when they were supposed to be doing work. leafpaw loved the warrior, thought of him as nothing less than an amazing father and teacher, but the idea of getting chided for this sent a terrified spark down his spine. yeah, no. getting his ears talked off in a lecture wasn’t on his list of things to do that day.

determined to brave through the ire of his slumbering siblings, leafpaw shifted from his place. almost immediately, a chorus of protests followed his movements. leafpaw rolled his eyes and shook them all off until he could finally pull himself free of his comfortable cage. he didn’t bother getting his pelt in shape—starclan already knew there would be no point. he was sure mud, rainwater, and sweat would be caking his fur by the end of the day, anyway. withouy further thinking, leafpaw took one last glance at dewpaw, mintpaw, and rockpaw before he raced out of camp and into the open moorland.

the muscles underneath his thin coat tensed as he bounded along the flat expanse, lungs filling with electricity-tinged air, claws extending to clutch at the slippery earth. he panted, and his blood rushed in his ears. he ran to the beat of his heartbeat. he’d lost the hare he’d been chasing minutes ago. ratwhisker’s stern voice entered his mind then, and it prevented leafpaw from sulking with his tail dragging back to camp. empty jaws won’t do. tabby paws pounded against the earth. mud streaked his face and green eyes lit up like lanterns with adrenaline.

distant rumbling—rocks and slick dirt creating a turmoil, he assumed. it caught his attention; leafpaw skidded to a halt. what was that? curiosity picked at his conscience. was there someone there? did they need help? leafpaw’s heart pushed against his chest. disregarding the possible risks of his decision, leafpaw changed course and rushed headlong towards the source of the noise.

at first, the bleak lighting made it hard to detect anything outside of the outline of grass. then, he saw the gaping hole fox-lengths to his left. the tang of charged air meddled with his senses, so he basically went in blind. not his brightest moment, surely, but he didn’t care. the closer he got, the more details he could make out from the post-storm haze. a collapsed den; possibly a badger’s. his hackles rose at the sight of a form in the midst. but—hold on, was that heronpaw? leafpaw approached more confidently and looked down into the opening. “heronpaw, are you okay? are you hurt? hold on, i’m gonna get you out.”

small rivulets of passing rain drenched leafpaw’s striped pelt lightly. it dripped into his eyes, carrying specks of mud and dirt that impaired his vision. impatiently, he shook it out of his face. he needed to be able to get his bearings on the surrounding area if he was going to get heronpaw out of her earthen prison. he dared himself to inch forward as much as he could. he craned his neck over the edge of the hole, claws gripping tight to the slippery ledge so that he wouldn’t befall the same fate as heronpaw. if that happened, somebody else would have to get them out, and leafpaw wasn’t sure how long it would take a patrol to notice their absence. no—he’d have to do this. there was no other plausible alternative lest he abandon the she-cat and turn back home, and it was clear that leafpaw was not that kind of cat.

he spied the brown and white female tucked into herself in a ball. from his point of view, leafpaw couldn’t tell if she was injured on not, though he could clearly make out her verdant-colored eyes, alight with a proud flame. almost as soon as he had asked her, heronpaw flared up. he tried not to get offended by her irritated moan. her snappish response bounced off of the caved-in walls, scratching at his ears as though she herself had come up to him and swiped at him. leafpaw flinched, but he stood his ground. having the same rank as heronpaw, he knew well of her aggressive tendencies and vehement declines for help. well, you’re just going to have to let me do this. leafpaw regarded her with suspicion. despite her claims, leafpaw wasn’t so inclined on believing them right off the bat. why was she so difficult anyway? the tom only wanted to help. what was so wrong about that? they were clanmates; it wasn’t like leafpaw would stab her in the back as soon as she got to safety. “i don’t believe you,” he stated bluntly. “if you didn’t need help, you would have gotten out of there yourself, and i know you’re perfectly capable of that. i mean i’m not claiming to be as smart as dewpaw, but i’m pretty sure something’s up...ergo, yeah, i’m still gonna get you out of there.” leafpaw’s tone was final. when it came to heronpaw, he couldn’t be a pushover. otherwise, the bullheaded she-cat would stay down there longer than necessary.

he knew arguing with heronpaw was hopeless, but her stubbornness usually ended up with things getting worse for her. he frowned. “see, i would, but i’m pretty sure there’s no birds in this part of the moors,” he retorted, nearly to the point of outright sarcasm. leafpaw could play her game, too. he quietly waited while heronpaw moved around, scrutinizing her every move. he was annoyed with the fact that he couldn't see very much from up where he was, so he couldn’t tell if heronpaw was lying about not being hurt. “go away leafpaw.” he stared right back at her with the most composed look he could muster. he straightened his posture—a sign that he wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. leafpaw blinked, letting the silence elongate for a few seconds before he finally replied, “are you done now? can i actually start helping out now? because you and i both know i won’t be leaving you here alone.”

he looked around and saw nobody else with them, proving his point. green eyes pointedly gazed at heronpaw. leafpaw tipped his head, silently asking her genuine permission for him to assist. he’d fight to help, always, but he wanted to give heronpaw a chance to accept or deny it first before he did anything.

feeling kinda blue

leafpaw paced the outskirts of the hole, nose pressed against the cool ground. he didn’t have his brother dewpaw’s prowess of mind, but the tabby apprentice was still clever enough to find ways to accomplish heronpaw’s escape from the pit. there should be another loose spot somewhere here. if i can just make an easier slope to climb on... He frowned, deep in his thoughts. Sometimes, his green eyes would flicker towards Heronpaw—who was still very much inclined to appearing like she was ready to spring out from her place and latch her fangs into his neck—and checking if the she-cat was okay.

“i can get out just fine on my own.” ah, he just hit a nerve there. leafpaw shook his head. he’d never understand heronpaw’s bullheaded attitude. alas, that didn’t hinder him. if anything, it fueled leafpaw more, just to prove to heronpaw that she did, in fact, require his help, no matter how much she’d deny it. “mm, no, still staying. sorry,” he mewed with a hint of a truly apologetic smile. he couldn’t help it! leafpaw wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully if he didn’t at least attempt to rescue heronpaw from her unfortunate predicament. as if to compensate for his—well, he guessed to her it seemed, unwanted—presence, he hastily added, voice shrinking to a near mumble, “i promise i’ll get out of your fur when you’re out...?”

leafpaw turned away from the green-eyed lady and resumed his search for a soft patch of earth he could disturb. it was a trying task, definitely. everything felt like it was going to collapse at any moment, and he really had to be careful stepping around the place. strangely, heronpaw was quiet. leafpaw expected that she’d try to sass him until he had no choice but to leave licking invisible wounds. concern made his heart flutter, and the apprentice hurriedly glanced at heronpaw.

“h-hey, are you okay over the—” he stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening at the sudden realization of heronpaw’s hastily thought-out plan. he scrambled over, though his attempts would have been futile either way, and all he could do was shout, “no, don’t!” right before he watched dumbfoundedly whilst heronpaw sailed up into the air towards a lower-lying ledge. leafpaw couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. wide eyes could only watch the she-cat miss her target and crash against the wall. he saw her scrabbling to get a foothold, something to grab onto, but it only resulted in her tumbling back where she had started.

time sped up to normal again, and leafpaw bounded to a place nearest to her. his heart raced with worry, and it showed in every feature in his face. now, he could see that she’d definitely been hurt. leafpaw leaned into the mouth of the pit, calling out to her as she scooted as far away from him as possible. “heron! hey, wait! where are you hurt? u-um, wait, okay, wherever you’re hurt, don’t move. hold on, i’ll find a way out of there. i just gotta.. just gotta find something. kill me all you want when you get out, but just listen to me for right now, okay?”

if ratwhisker saw him now - bumbling, dithering, lost in a frenzied panic - leafpaw would have gotten a good whack on a head and a stern stare. ratwhisker hated when any of his adopted sons could not regain their composure, and at least in leafpaw's mind, it was worse when he did it because he was supposed to be the level-headed one in the group. he was the eldest, the one in charge, the one who always had a plan. but right now, the only 'plan' leafpaw had was frantically find a weak spot in the collapsed hole whilst pinned under the infuriated glare of heronpaw from down below. however, the thought of his adopted father influenced his thinking. alright, stop what you're doing and breathe for a second, he instructed himself, and in his conscience, leafpaw could hear ratwhisker's voice, guiding him through. look at where you are right now. pay attention to your surroundings and use that to your advantage. if you can't find a weak spot.. make one.

drawing in a careful breath, leafpaw spared heronpaw a passing glance before immersing himself in his thoughts. adrenaline pumped in his veins, the cogs in his brain whirring and clicking and turning. the rain had now stopped, and the metallic tang in the air lessened because the storm was rolling off now into the distance. leafpaw shuffled experimentally. mud caked his paws and legs, and it squelched between his toes when he wiggled them. that's it! excitement gleamed in his eyes. leafpaw broke out into a grin and a breathy laugh as he hurriedly searched for the muddiest part of the hole. he'd missed it the first time around, but he skidded to a halt a fox-length or two away from where heronpaw was pressed against the wall of the pit. expression turning serious, leafpaw placed both paws on the area where the mud was at its slipperiest. he pressed down with all of his might. come on, come on! his muscles strained as he put all of his power into pushing against the ground. he could feel it moving underneath his weight, the earth shifting, shifting...

a chunk of it, nothing of considerable size but enough, crumbled and rolled its way down the pit. thank starclan for leafpaw's reflexes that caused him to flinch away, or else he would have met a similar fate to heronpaw's. mud-streaked, fur disheveled, leafpaw beamed at heronpaw. "i'll get you out real quick! i'll try not to hit ya with any of this dirt," he called over to the frowning she-cat. part of leafpaw's mind was still hyper-aware of the red staining the other apprentice's leg, but he knew he couldn't do anything about it. not until he could get her out. leafpaw focused his attention on the softened ground, and he repeated what he did earlier. more pieces fell down. sometimes, he'd dig at it, separate the more stubborn chunks of earth, but with enough determination and strength, leafpaw had created enough of a slope that heronpaw could climb. it wouldn't be easy - the journey up would be slippery, not to mention her injured leg - but leafpaw was prepared to jump in and get her out if he had to.

"quick! i don't know how stable this thing is. you gotta get yourself outta there before this thing collapses anymore than it already has." yeah, duh, leafpaw! his fur heated up at the realization of his words, and he avoided eye contact for a few moments. now is not the time. the brown and white tom crouched low and hung his torso over the edge, head low so he could grab onto heronpaw. he looked at her expectantly, quietly urging her to get moving.

feeling kinda blue