I was going to post this as a CRP in TWC, but it was too long, so I put it in a project instead. Also this happened a few moons ago. CRP w/ myself - hehe manipulation time)) Blackmoon was patrolling the SpringClan border with PounceClan, every so often looking over into the territory. He liked patrolling here by himself as often as possible - there was so much going on over there, and Blackmoon liked to keep himself updated. He just had to avoid looking at the river, and he was fine. He was just about to turn back home, when a rustling in the bushes caught his attention. His working ear flicked upwards, and he gazed intently at the other side of the border. The bushes shook, and suddenly a PounceClan cat staggered out of them and onto the riverbank. They were pretty young - an apprentice, Blackmoon guessed - and their yellow fur was covered in dust. Exhaustion filled their eyes. Blackmoon watched in shock as the apprentice collapsed on the bank and rolled towards the river, falling in with a /plop/. They didn’t re-emerge. Blackmoon’s first instinct was to jump in and save the young cat, but he remembered that he’d get in trouble for crossing the border. Then he shook his head. /You idiot! An apprentice is in danger and you’re worried about borders? You should be ashamed! Remember what happened last time some cat fell into the river?/ Without further ado, he leapt into the water with a splash. It was dark and murky, and Blackmoon nearly panicked, but he continued to swim on. He could make out a mass of yellow fur in front of him. He reached out and pulled the apprentice towards him, grabbing them by the scruff. They were light and easy to carry, and Blackmoon was able to reach the SpringClan border fairly easily, despite the current. He dragged himself out and shook out his wet fur, before looking down at the apprentice. They were lying, limp, at his paws. Blackmoon was suddenly afraid. /Are they dead? Am I too late?/ He began to lick the apprentice’s damp fur, in an attempt to revive them. At last, to Blackmoon’s relief, the apprentice’s green eyes snapped open and they coughed up some water. Then they looked up at Blackmoon, eyes filled with fear. “Where am I?” she mewed. “Who are you?” Blackmoon could see how afraid she was and he did his best to show he was no threat. “My name is Blackmoon,” he replied gently. “What happened?” the apprentice asked. “I remember… falling… and the river…” “You fell into the river,” Blackmoon explained. “I had to jump in and get you out.” The apprentice blinked. “So… you saved my life?” she meowed, eyes wide. Blackmoon shrugged, trying to act casual. “I suppose.” “Blackmoon…” repeated the apprentice. “That sounds familiar. I think I heard some of my Clanmates talking about you once?” /She must be talking about PROTESTS cats,/ Blackmoon thought fondly, but he remembered not to voice this - his identity was meant to be secret. “Maybe. I don’t know why PounceClan cats would be talking about a SpringClan cat like me, though,” he lied. The apprentice seemed to accept this. “Anyway,” Blackmoon continued, “what were you doing out here without your mentor? If I hadn’t been there, you could have been in serious trouble.” The apprentice’s ears drooped. “I don’t have a mentor,” she whispered. “I’m still a kit.” Blackmoon’s eyes widened in amazement. “Still a kit? But you look like an apprentice! “I haven’t been made an apprentice yet,” she replied, “even though I’m nine moons old. I should be Mothpaw, but I’m not. I’m Mothkit.” She looked so upset. Blackmoon felt sorry for her - he remembered how he had felt when he was an apprentice, and he hadn’t been made a warrior until well overdue because his leader hadn’t trusted him. /How it feels to see your denmates leaving and receiving their new names, when you should be going out with them, but instead you’re stuck with the same old name for moons. Blackpaw, Blackpaw, Blackpaw. And nothing changes./ “How come you’re out of camp, then, if you still have the rank of a kit?” he asked, snapping out of his memories. “I snuck out to try and catch something, to try and impress Darkstar. I thought maybe they’d make me an apprentice then,” Mothkit replied. “But I didn’t manage to catch a thing! And then I got lost, and I was really tired, and then…” Blackmoon nodded slowly. “Why hasn’t Darko- I mean, “Darkstar” made you an apprentice?” He couldn’t help saying the name in distaste. Mothkit didn’t appear to notice. “I don’t know! I mean, I get they’re busy and all, and they’re pretty stressed out, but I don’t get why they can’t just hold a ceremony. I mean, ceremonies don’t take long. It’s not too much to ask, is it? The old leader… what was she called… Talonstar, she wasn’t like this. She gave everyone ceremonies regularly. She even offered to make me an apprentice early! If Darkstar’s not going to do things properly, I don’t know why they’re leader.” She cut herself off. “Sorry, I’m just… things aren’t great at the moment.”
CONT- The serval nodded understandingly, trying not to show how he was really feeling. /Mothkit likes Talonstar. Mothkit doesn’t like Darkout. This could be useful. This could be so, so useful. I’ve got an idea./ He did his best not to plunge in straightaway and tell Mothkit the truth about her leader - that could wait. He had to start slowly. “I know how you feel,” he meowed. “My leader didn’t make me a warrior until I was twenty moons old. My best friend became a warrior before I did.” /And then I kiIIed her, but you don’t need to know about that./ “I know what it feels like not to get your name when you deserve it.” He blinked at her. “I want to help you, Mothpaw. How about we do a deal?” Mothkit put her head to one side. “What sort of deal?” “Well,” Blackmoon replied. “How about I train you as an apprentice? My apprentice. I can show you how to hunt and fight. Then Dark”star” will have to make you a real apprentice - and even if they don’t, you’ll be able to go straight from a kit to a warrior.” Mothkit’s eyes gleamed. “In return,” Blackmoon continued, “you can keep me updated about what’s going on in PounceClan, and do any… favours I ask if you.” /Of course, I’m not going to tell you what those “favours” actually are./ “I already have an apprentice, but there’s no reason why I can’t take another one on.” He could see that his words were getting through to Mothkit, but the kit hesitated. “But Darkstar might not approve…” “They don’t have to know,” Blackmoon replied. When Mothkit still looked uncertain, he made one last effort. “Do you want to become an apprentice, Mothpaw, or do you not?” Calling her “Mothpaw” had worked, and she nodded eagerly. “I do!” “All right.” Blackmoon nodded back. “Do we have a deal?” “We do,” she replied, and Blackmoon smiled. “Excellent. Sneak out of camp tomorrow night, and meet me here. I can take you somewhere where we can train uninterrupted, for as long as we like. I would train you during the day but your Clanmates may notice your absence, and besides I have my other apprentice to train. Do you think you could do that?” “I absolutely could. No cat pays any attention to where I am,” Mothkit told him. “Perfect. See you tomorrow?” he checked. “Tomorrow,” she agreed. “All right. See you then, Mothpaw.” Blackmoon turned away from the border and stepped back into the comfortable shadows, while Mothkit returned to her territory. He felt satisfied. /That was a job well done. I can train her up as a proper PROTESTS cat, just like I’m doing with Ibispaw./ He smiled to himself in the darkness. /She’s the future - and so are all the other apprentices and kits that my PROTESTS cats are doing so well at swaying towards Talonstar. Oh, Darkout, you have no idea what’s coming. How are you going to rule if no cat wants you?/ Blackmoon headed towards his camp. /You really have got no /idea/ what you’re going to face./ End RP! Wow, that was loooooooooooong. And yes, even though Darkstar is Blackmoon’s arch nemesis, he respects their pronouns. Also, me jazzing Mothkit up a bit. Expect to see a lot of Blackmoon-Mothkit stuff very soon. ))
