DeerMoth

TW for Death and Neglect(?)

As a young apprentice, DeerPaw wandered away from her mentor while on a patrol. She had heard a lot of commotion and wanted to see what was up, despite her mentor's multiple warnings to stay close. Curiosity over taking her, she followed the sound only to get what felt like an ambush of humans quickly scooping her up like a toy. She screeched, wiggled, and scratched, but it all was useless as the humans started carrying her away from the forest. DeerPaw saw IvorySpirit and the rest of the patrol watching from a safe distance as the humans dragged her away from them. Not intervening in the moment to try and get her back.

After long months of trying to escape and being lost in the human's houses and town, DeerPaw finally found her way back to the forest. Exhausted, starving, paws calloused, and feeling as if she'd been gone for centuries, she raced home. Finding peace in being back in camp, she was shocked by the lack of response from her clan mates. Other than being profusely sniffed down by the medicine cat, no cat ran to her, overjoyed by her return. Not much reaction, a few "Welcome backs", but they sounded so forced.

Once the medicine cat let her go she dragged herself to the leader. Announcing her return and insisting that she should be able to become a warrior from her long trip, this should have proved she was able to be a warrior for her clan. She came back after all. The leader only laughed and told her that she would still have to train because there was so much for her left to learn. Reluctantly DeerPaw was yet again apprenticed to IvorySpirit.

The month following her returning was hard for DeerPaw as she gained back her strength, got back into training, and tried to talk to her siblings. They were all cold towards her, making jokes about the stupid mistake she had made. How they wouldn't have been caught if it were them. DeerPaw took the insults each time, too tired to argue with her siblings. She ends up asking about how the clan reacted, she saw the patrol before she was taken away, they must have sent out patrols to try and get her back? To her dismay her littermates inform her about how the clan never sent out patrols. That there was no point in going after her, that she was a lost cause. Rethinking the quietness of her clanmates the day she got back sent her into a spiral of despair. Not helped by the fact that at the end of that month she watched her siblings be named warriors and got left alone in the apprentice den.

DeerPaw became quiet and resentful as she finished up the rest of her apprentice training. She gets her warrior name, DeerMoth, and sits at her vigil. Though, while sitting her vigil all she can think about is how her clan hardly spared a squeak to cheer for her, yet when it was her siblings, they yelled their tails off. DeerMoth became an empty husk as she did whatever her clan asked of her like a walking corpse. In her free time, she often would sulk into the woods to practice battle moves by herself. As new apprentices were being made, DeerMoth was assigned a cheerful and loud apprentice. SnowPaw was IvorySpirit's child and DeerMoth was furious with that fact. Having to babysit IvorySpirit's kin when she hadn't even cared enough to save DeerMoth when was an apprentice. DeerMoth reluctantly went with the training, finding out how curious SnowPaw was and how many terrible and stupid questions the child had.

One morning SnowPaw asked DeerMoth about her being abducted by humans, startled DeerMoth asked who had talked about it. Only to find out IvorySpirit was warning her children about wondering from their mentors and used DeerMoth as an example. DeerMoth was furious and decided to run a test against her clanmates. Telling SnowPaw that they were going to do a lesson on how to stay safe if you are left without your mentor, she leads SnowPaw to a safe spot to hide, telling them to stay there as she races back to camp. DeerMoth enters camp in a fake hysterical state, yowling about how the apprentice was taken by humans and they needed help. IvorySpirit starts screeching in despair, crying about how DeerMoth lost her baby and 'of course it was you who could do this'. A patrol is quickly made and follows DeerMoth to where the she left the young apprentice.

As they get to where SnowPaw was hidden, DeerMoth goes ahead, yanking SnowPaw from the spot they were hiding. DeerMoth sinking their teeth into SnowPaw's neck as she raises them up and chomps down. The patrol was in shock as DeerMoth drops the limp body and starts going on her rant. About how the clan is a bunch of rogues for not treating their clanmates equally and how everyone treated her like a stranger. IvorySpirit blinks out of her shock and in a blind rage attacks DeerMoth, but she reacted quickly and killed her mentor. Though she didn't get time to celebrate her victory as the other 2 warriors in the patrol took her down.