Poisonberry's Vengence

Frustration and Sibling Disputes

Bluepaw! Base by Louixie.

Bored out of her mind,  Hopepaw crouched in the shadows of the den, watching her Clanmates as they were sent out or returned from patrols, spent time with their mates, friends or kin, or napped in their nests. Nests Hopepaw had cleaned and refreshed. 

Darkdaisy, the cat that could have been her mentor, sat side-by-side with her mate, Wolfwhisper. Emeraldpaw's mother, Brookspirit visited Frostedmoss for some herbs to treat her cough, and the elders slept like they usually did. The rest of the Clan, even her own mentor, were out in the sun, enjoying the late Snowmelt day. She longed to join them, but couldn't. She'd been confined to camp.

There aren't even any more chores to do! She complained to herself, irritated. This is stupid. I could be learning how to hunt better, but instead, I'm stuck in here. She slid her claws in and out on the moss of her nest, halfheartedly searching it for twigs or thorns. Then, a thought struck her. What if I sneak out? There aren't any guards. There's nobody watching, and if they do see, they'll think I'm visiting the Dirtpatch. I'll go, hunt something big,  come back and show everyone, even Tumblesoar and Bluepaw, that I'm competent. 

 Thrilled at the idea of evading her Clan, she cautiously crept out of her den and slipped inconspicuously through the shadows. She tried her best to remain as she headed towards the tunnel and quickly ascended it, emerging into the near-blinding light of midday. 

BleakClan cats' eyes were especially used to both stark darkness and the bright white light that bounced off of snow, into unsuspecting eyes. Cats could go blind from the snow light, and she blinked rapidly, just to be safe. 

Surveying the mountains, she saw a distant patrol, trekking along a rocky ridge. She couldn't see to the bottom of the mountains,  but she knew that if she kept to the bushes and stayed low, she could blend in and stay hidden. Taking one last glance at the cave, she fled down into the smudge of green that was the forest. 

                                                                             ~❆~

Birds sang in the trees as Hopepaw padded through carpets of soft clover, new leaves rustling gently above her head. Some clouds had covered the sky, making everything dim under the trees, but she didn't mind. It was still quite peaceful. 

Searching through the underbrush, she came across the scent of a squirrel. She'd only smelled it once or twice but knew it well enough to recognize the russet-furred animals. As she passed through a blackberry bramble, Hopepaw had to grit her teeth as thorns assaulted her pelt, catching and tearing out her soft fur. "Hawk-dung," She muttered, stumbling free from the hold of the spiky branches. "Stupid brambles." But her mood improved, and her ears pricked as she saw her desired prey, the squirrel, sitting below a large oak tree. 

Barely daring to breathe, she kept as low as she could and stalked forward. Easy. It's not even looking at me! Simple as- Suddenly, a black and white blur shot out of the grass, striking the squirrel before it could even cry out. Breathing hard, the cat turned to look at her. Emeraldpaw. "Hopepaw? What are you doing out here?" She didn't even sound surprised, just annoyed, her words laced with venom. 

"That was my prey!" Hopepaw protested, tail lashing and ears pinned back onto her head. "No, I was already tracking it. Bluepaw will say the same thing if you ask him. Bluepaw?" As if attached to her paw with a vine, on command, Bluepaw padded out of the same grass that Emeraldpaw had appeared from. "Yeah, she'd been following it for a while. It's her prey. And why are you even out here? You're confined to the camp." 

"That- None of your business, Bluepaw! "

"It is my business. You're my sister, and you shouldn't be out here." Hopepaw narrowed her eyes. The bitterness she'd been feeling for the last few moons poured out of her, in a wave of hate.

"Huh, so now you pay attention to what I do? Now you acknowledge that I'm your sister? Because lately, you're closer to her, than you are to me!" She spat, furious. "What?! I'm allowed to have friends, Hopepaw! What's wrong with you? " 

"Nothing's wrong with me. But there's obviously something wrong with you! What do you see in her?"

"I- You have no right to say who I am and who I'm not interested in! Emeraldpaw is a wonderful cat. Better than you'll ever be." Emeraldpaw, who had sat silently watching the fight between the two siblings stood up. "Come on, Bluepaw." She coaxed coldly. "She's not worth our time." She snatched up the squirrel and padded away with the tall blue tom by her side. 

With hot, angry tears burning her eyes, Hopepaw turned around and marched away from the two wretched cats she had just interacted with. She felt as if she had ice and hot coals in her stomach at the same time. Anger and dread swirling around in one dark cloud of despair. Anger that Emeraldpaw would dare to take her brother, and her prey, and insult her too. And dread that she would lose Bluepaw, no matter how much she hated him at the moment, forever to the awful cat he called his friend. 

                                                                             ~❆~

"What were you thinking, Hopepaw? I told you to stay in camp! Can't you listen to anything?!" Tumblesoar ranted his fury as Hopepaw shrank down in front of him, barely listening to a word he said. Thorns still covered her pelt, melted snow plastered her belly and leg fur to her skin, and she hadn't managed to catch anything more than a small, skinny vole. "Sorry." She muttered, staring at her paws. Not sorry. 

 "If you had just told me you wanted to hunt, maybe I would have taken you on patrol with me! But you ruined that by going behind my back, getting into a screaming match with your brother, and getting torn up by brambles." He took a deep breath in, and let it out in a tired sigh. "Just... Just go to your nest. I'll decide what your punishment is in the morning when we've both calmed down." 

Most of the Clan stared at the angry exchange between mentor and apprentice, and she caught sight of Gentlebreeze off by the nursery, eyes filled to the brim with sadness and disappointment.  She quickly looked away, not able to bear seeing her mother look so distraught because of her actions. Hopepaw veered away from the crowds of cats and headed for the Medicine den. 

"Screechpaw?" She whispered, ducking under the feathery tendrils of lichen. Frostedmoss and Screechpaw were sorting herbs together, and the senior medicine cat lifted his head, giving a welcoming nod to the newcomer. "Can I help you, Hopepaw?" Hopepaw tipped her head. "Can I have something for some thorn scratches, please?" 

Frostedmoss nodded and stood up, heading to the battered apprentice to look her over. He took some lichen in one patched gray paw and used it to light his way around her fur, searching for deeper wounds. Eyes lit up by the blueish-silver glow, he pulled away and turned to Screechpaw, who had been watching with a worried expression. "Fetch comfrey root, and a bit of dock."

 Screechpaw dutifully dipped his small paws into several small dips in the ground, covered by leaves, and retrieved the herbs. He passed them to his mentor, who began applying them to the numerous scratches. "This might sting a bit," He warned, and Hopepaw gritted her teeth against the pinpricks of pain, caused by the dock. "Come back if they get inflamed or hot to the touch. Other than that, you're fine! Luckily, I don't think they'll scar. And the fur you lost will grow back in- at the most- a moon." 

With a small, grateful smile, she thanked Frostedmoss. He shrugged her thanks off and padded into the main cave area to find something to eat. That left just Screechpaw. "What happened today?" He queried, eyes shimmering with anxiety. "I heard that you yelled at Bluepaw and Emeraldpaw. What did they do?" Gossip travels fast, I see. 

"Emeraldpaw took my prey. I... snuck out and tried to hunt something big to show Tumblesoar that I could. I was so bored! But she came out of nowhere and attacked the squirrel I was tracking. She makes me so mad, and she has Bluepaw totally under her control! I confronted him, and he told me that she was a better cat than I'd ever be... I want to be his friend like we were when we were just little kits. But that stuck-up excuse of a cat is making it really hard."

Screechpaw tipped his head sympathetically. "Just try to be kind to both of them. It'll get better!" Hopepaw's mind jumped back to when she was a kit, and her mother had told her the same thing. And to the dream she'd had moons ago, where her father had insisted she be civil and kind. I've failed that badly. "Thanks, Screechpaw. I'll... I'll try." Touching her nose to his ear, she slipped out of the den.