( little flower ) ⸺ introduction, open

[rosepaw]

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her father had told her, when she was still rosekit, just shy of four moons old, that she had to be special. the only member of her litter to survive into apprenticeship, she'd been born strong and resilient, and stayed that way her entire life. harsh leafbares, the loss of her mother, and her father eventually following the rest of them to starclan, his words stayed on repeat in her mind. "you have to be special, rosie. it's the only way to explain it." young and dumb, wide eyed to life, she'd witnessed death young and somehow still remained sheltered despite it all. and even still, she'd ended up apprenticed to the leader, the mighty talonstar himself. only the special ended up apprenticed to their leader, wasn't that right? surely, rosepaw the survivor ought to be destined to great things, to follow in her mentor's pawsteps, to bring even their great ancestors above to their knees at her greatness?

and what had she done with all of this promise, all of this special-ness?

the young feline sat in the sunniest patch of shadowclan territory she could find nestled deep within the woods, sprawled out in the sunshine, prodding at a beetle. she didn't kill it, didn't harm it; rather, every time the beetle attempted to run one way, she blocked its path with her paw, and continued this pattern.

she was out on the guise of hunting, but anyone who knew the adolescent would be right to suspect that she was doing anything but. despite the legacy she ought to have upheld, despite being the daughter of two widely esteemed warriors, rosepaw hadn't ever been one for ambition or any desire to impress those around her. she was mentored by their leader, but this only made her more or less apathetic to the awe talonstar might have inspired in her denmates. instead of working to uphold the pressures and the expectations put upon her, she instead found any excuse to avoid work or training.

truth be told, she held talent that anyone could see. if you managed to get her to try, even at her young age the ginger feline could catch an abundance of prey, or beat most of her peers and even a young warrior or two in mock battle. she had skill, she had promise, and maybe she really was special, to survive when those around her didn't. but she lacked drive and determination, and truth be told, she didn't really give a crap about much.

[color=#794748]"you're kinda cute," she mused lightly to the beetle, lips parting in a yawn, [color=#794748]"in an ugly way, i mean."

[TALONSTAR]

[align=center][div style="width: 400px; text-align: justify; line-height: 15px;"][font=calibri]Talonstar had successfully trained an apprentice all the way up to warriorhood , perhaps some ten-odd moons ago . The clan had been short on warriors at the time ( as it still is ) , and the previous leader had entrusted a young Talonmask in taking on his first apprentice only a mere two months after he had received his warrior name . Nevertheless , he had tackled the challenge head-on . He hadn't formed a particularly strong bond with his previous apprentice , unlike some of the relationships that other mentors had with theirs , but he would say that he made a fine warrior out of them .

Seeing as ShadowClan was still short on mentors by the time a new batch of apprentices came around , Talonstar had taken on another apprentice for himself . She , Rosepaw , was not the ideal student . She was his opposite in many ways , and maybe she just needed a push in the right direction or some other motivation , but Talonstar hoped to StarClan that she wouldn't tarnish his reputation . She was still young and there was still time to shape her into ShadowClan's ideal warrior .

The leader had been out for a walk . Naturally , as an introvert , he always sought out opportunities to break away from the camp and take in the forest's fresh air . Amber eyes fixed onto a familiar figure in the distance — his own apprentice . For StarClan's sake . . .

"Rosepaw ," Addressed the tom in his rather deep, monotonous voice . He approached her slowly and calmly , yet his words were direct and firm . "You shouldn't be out here alone ." She was barely an apprentice , and yet she was out in the territory on her own . Had he not found her , she could have strayed close to the Thunderpath or onto another clan's territory . Was Rosepaw trying to make him look bad ?