STS | To the Edge

[Maggotscorn]

A light wind tugged at Maggotscorn’s thin fur. The weather was growing chill; it wouldn’t be long until the lake was frozen now.  

The treacherous rapids below were less prone to the stillness of frost. Maggotscorn was keenly aware of the fast-moving water below as they padded along the edge of the dip, claws scraping along the cool stone. They could hear the rapids roaring beneath them, could feel the tremor in the stones at their paws; the raw power of this water contained was…impressive. A power to respect and, perhaps, fear.  

Their front leg still ached as they walked, and the chill seemed to exacerbate it. That was far from an optimal position for them to be in; they clung to some scrap of hope that it would heal more thoroughly as time passed.

Another pawstep. Pebbles shifted and clattered down the steep stone incline and into the rapids below; they walked near the edge in silence, content to step silently alongside that which struck terror into their bones. Soothing in a way – cathartic, perhaps? 

Interrupted. 

A young apprentice (Guppypaw?) stood a little ways in front of them, apparently looking for something. Maggotscorn scowled, glancing about briefly to see if she had a mentor nearby.  

No such luck.  

Fine. 

”Keep a distance from the edge, scrap. The ground beneath your paws isn’t stable; step carelessly, and you’ll find yourself at the mercy of cold, quick-running water. Swept away as if you had never been born at all.” They flicked their tail as they stepped closer towards her, growling their warning loudly enough that she must be able to hear.

[Guppypaw]

Guppypaw usually never has a goal in mind in that head of hers. Wherever her paws take her, she goes, despite all the lessons she's learned from her parents and mentor. Well, only a few lessons to this extent... Usually she explores in camp, but lately she's been edging further and further to the remaining forest on the outskirts, untouched by her young paws. 

The dip she's been to before- only once- but it's a great place to explore! Of course, she has Bubbles in tow with her. She can never forget him, but she knows this place is dangerous. That's why her moss friend isn't with her anymore. She's going to find it though! 

She prepares to descend the steep rocks until she's interrupted by an older voice. It almost spooks her off the edge, and that would've been a not-so-fun tumble. But she safely turns around and eyes Maggotscorn, not really remembering if she's met it before. She doesn't really register what he said, the only thing on her mind being that someone else is with her now! What are they gonna do together? 

"Can you help me find my moss friend? It went down there. I never saved it. I have a new friend though! Do you wanna see?"

[Maggotscorn]

Maggotscorn’s chest lurched unpleasantly when Guppypaw jumped at their voice. That…could have been remarkably bad. Their expression shifted to a hard grimace as they paused a mere tail-length away from the young apprentice. She hadn’t stepped back yet.  

That was dangerous. 

”If your “moss friend” fell down there, it’s gone. Mourn it, and move on; do not join it in its death.” Maggotscorn eyed the black-and-white she-cat for a moment, brows knitting together. Where was her mentor? Or anyone, for that matter – she was alone here, poised at the precipice of disaster.  

”It’s dangerous to be alone here. Step back; you do not want to fall down there.”  

Why was she alone? What brought her here?

[Guppypaw]

Guppypaw seems satisfied with the answer. She didn't really know what to expect from this cat's mouth- actually, she doesn't expect anything from anyone's mouth. Words are really funny.

 "Oh... Oh- I've heard that word before! 'Danger'. Hootpaw taught me that one," she exclaims proudly, her features then dramatically contorting into confusion. "But... someone gave me my moss friend. I don't want it to die." 

Her green eyes peer down at Bubbles, and she holds her pinecone close. Maybe keeping Bubbles safe is more important than finding her old friend... "I'm not alone though- I'm never alone. I have my Bubbles with me. Oh, do you wanna play with us?" 

Picking Bubbles up in her mouth, she gallops over to Maggotscorn and sloppily places it down, giving the white cat a few licks on its chest as a greeting.

[Maggotscorn]

Maggotscorn flicked at ear at mention of Hootpaw. Was the moody scrap warning other kits from his ill-advised journey? Hm. 

As the young black-and-white she-cat loped over towards him, he winced – she really shouldn’t be moving so quickly along the edge of the- 

Maggotscorn took a surprised pawstep back, scowl deepening as Guppypaw greeted him with her tongue. 

”No.” He told her, working his jaws a moment as he processed what she’d just done. ”I don’t play, and I do not want to be licked.”  

Wasn’t she an apprentice?  

”Sit down, scrap. Your moss friend is dead; that is a part of life. You will grow numb to it someday, and it will be easier to accept when you do.” The large, scarred white warrior told Guppypaw.  

”But you are correct as well; you will not be alone. Beyond Bubbles, you have your own strength to rely upon.” They tell her, pausing a moment as they briefly glance down to the toy she had deposited nearby them. It was…very slobbery. Hm.

[Guppypaw]

Guppypaw's tongue lolls out of her mouth as the new cat rambles on about something, shoulders relaxed and head off to the side. When Maggotscorn is obviously not permitting her to continue her licking rampage, she moves back to chewing on Bubbles, but not before dignifying them with a response.

"What does that mean?" she asks. "Dead? Not a good thing, huh? Like when all the monsters come to gobble you up... That's not good." 

A few snaggly teeth peek from her smile, bright eyes tightening behind her dimples. "You sound like my momma. 'Sit down, scrap!'" She giggles, visibly enjoying mimicking the warrior's voice. "Oh, but she don't say scrap, she says small thing. That is kinda the same." 

She lies down with Bubbles in her grasp, but she's no longer gnawing on it. Instead, her nose twitches. "Um... now what? If you don't wanna play or lick then we're just gonna do nothing I guess! Except talk. We can talk. I don't talk that much sometimes... Oh, Quail and Hootie let me talk, but... they don't hang out with me no more." 

The tuxedo cat appears to be in thought for the first time. She doesn't like the feelings that come up when she talks about her friends and family. But why? She likes them, but sometimes her body doesn't like them... 

She glances up hopefully. "Do you want to be friends?"

[Maggotscorn]

Maggotscorn furrowed his brow as Guppypaw asked her questions. ”Death is neither a monster nor a bad thing, it is an irrevocable part of life.” He answered slowly, choosing each word carefully. He had many thoughts on death as a part of life, but this young apprentice didn’t quite seem the right person to share them with – and frankly, she ought to have learned this already. 

At her next statement, Maggotscorn’s expression hardened, and something in its belly twisted uncomfortably. Where had it learned this language it used? Was scrap meant to demean, or was it a comfortable term for someone who’s name it didn’t know? It knew who had taught it the term; it knew what she had meant by it.  

Guppypaw continued, and Maggotscorn worked his jaw as she told him that “Quail and Hootie” didn’t speak with her anymore. Burnt scrap, this apprentice was…incredibly alone, wasn’t she? Maggotscorn growled softly, feeling his claws scrape against the stone beneath them in an almost absently frustrated gesture. 

”Fine.” It told her, scowling deeply at the small black-and-white she-cat as the tip of its tail twitched.  

This did not feel “fine”. No, this felt like a mistake – but perhaps the young apprentice would be too wrapped up in her training to bother it frequently. Perhaps it could simply find her when it had the time to do so, and take her to look for scrap and bones the way Pip had done for it. 

”Come with me.” It told her, flicking its tail as it turned and started padding towards the forest. It wouldn’t let any harm befall her, and perhaps it could offer the same comfort that Pip had once extended to it; the knowledge that even those things which most people found unbearable were important, and perhaps beautiful too.

[Guppypaw]

Guppypaw is ignorant to even the most vivid of facial expressions. In her eyes, there’s a bit of hope in every interaction. This time, it seems she’s struck gold, with Maggotscorn’s invitation. She plucks Bubbles off the ground and trots to the warrior’s side, pressing against them for warmth and, honestly, physical attention. Both of her mothers are a bit lackluster in that department, and it’s difficult prying Baypaw for an ounce of attention.  

She’s forgotten all about her moss friend, for now. ”Can you lick my head? Oh, also, where are we going?”

[Maggotscorn]

Maggotscorn noted with a twitch of their brows that Guppypaw seemed entirely ignorant – of boundaries, of danger, of death. She asked them to lick her head; it wouldn’t be doing that. 

”No. We are moving right now, I cannot lick your head.” Was what they told her. It was true – perhaps if they were laying somewhere they would groom her – though they doubted it. They did not know her beyond that she had wandered herself to a cliff’s edge. 

”I mean to show you to find things, Guppypaw, that are beautiful and inevitable.” It was vague, and the tip of their tail twitched before they asked, ”What do you think of death?” a question not dissimilar to the one Pip had asked them once. Perhaps she would not understand – but they would try. She was alone, and they expected she may find some solace in dead things, the same as they did now.