beefur (he/him) | shoreclan

There was an exciting freedom to being a warrior that still had not fully dawned on Beefur. No longer under the tutelage of Gullwind, so long as he was done his warrior duties, he could do what he pleased! Of course, Beefur was always up before the sun, would get whatever he needed to know for the day and usually be done before sunhigh.

That being said, he still had a ton of energy built up. And he knew that despite coming back to camp with two or three fish, the amount of which he'd already forgotten, he knew that having pent up energy would not do him well. His cousins would always give him side eyes if his paws were "too loud" as they said, when he was often just making biscuits without realizing it. Or perhaps his tail, flicking around wanting to move, would "kick up too much dust".

So instead, Beefur found the best thing to do was simply to get out of his cousins' way and go for a run. It was a win for everyone - he wouldn't be an annoyance to them, and he would get out all the energy he still had. On top of all that, it was a great way to get a little extra training. He could make his legs stronger by exhausting himself until his muscles were too sore to carry him any farther.

As of late, Beefur had been trying to see if he could make his way around the entirety of the territory lines. He wasn't very close yet, but he was positive that by next leaf-bare, he'd be able to race full speed all the way along the beach to GaleClan territory, make it to Moon Springs, race along the water to OrchidClan territory, and make it back to camp before he could spot the first warriors of StarClan.

But if there was one thing that Gullwind had taught him, it was to make goals he could achieve in the short-term so he could achieve his larger goals in the long-term. It was already sunhigh now, and knowing his own current limitations, he figured that at least today he could make his way along the beach to GaleClan and then race along the flatter land straight back to camp. It would help train him with running along the sand, which was always far more difficult than racing along the flat land. On top of that, he probably wouldn't be running into any border patrols either and wouldn't have to worry about getting in their way, a thing he was quite away that he was prone to doing.

As soon as the ginger and white tom stepped out of camp, he could feel his paws buzzing with energy, itching to move. Beefur did his best to hold himself back, at least stretch out his limbs so he didn't end up at Mellowpaw's whim again for idiotically pushing his muscles to a point that they hurt.

Not waiting a second longer, Beefur took off. He felt the wind as it moved through his fur, soon combining with the sweet salty smell of the water, having a great time making a game out of running right along the water line. He would watch it coming up along the sand and try to avoid it, whether that meant zig-zagging out of its way, or even having to jump and hurdle over a particularly hefty wave. He loved to listen to the sounds of the waves crashing in the distance, almost like his own personal soundtrack pushing him forward. Or he would imagine the waves threatening to catch up to him and crush him if he didn't move fast enough, like his own personal enemy or rival wanting to go faster than him. But no one would be faster than him if Beefur could help it.

When the smell of GaleClan started to wash over him, Beefur started to wonder if he'd already made it to the territory line. He looked skyward, seeing that while the sun had shifted, it wasn't close to where it normally was by this point. Had he really gotten that much faster since he last tried to race along the shoreline?

The tom brought himself to a stop, his paws kicking up sand. He shook off his fur and began to look around, a wave of confusion crashing over him. He wasn't as close to the border as he'd made himself to believe - but he was sure he must have smelled GaleClan, right?

Soon enough, his eyes caught a cat he didn't quite recognize.

"Oi!" Beefur called out, his voice more than loud enough to hopefully catch the cat's attention. He pulled himself up out of the sand and ran towards the cat, realizing as he got closer that she was the one who smelled of GaleClan. He looked about for a moment, making sure this wasn't an ambush before coming to the realization that there wasn't anyone else around. His ears twitched curiously as he padded closer, jumping clear of the last of the beach sand and onto the grass. "What'cha doing all the way out here, GaleClan?" he asked. Suddenly, he got on the defensive, yet still playfully saying: "You'd better not be trying to get some of our territory for yourself! Rabbits will fly before ShoreClan lets that happen!" though, after a few moments, Beefur stopped and thought to himself before looking at the she-cat in front of him. He paused.

"Rabbits don't fly, right?" he asked, curiosity coating his tone as though double checking. He began to wonder if rabbits over on GaleClan actually did have wings in comparison to the rabbits on ShoreClan's territory.

desolate ● 971 words

beefur (he/him) | shoreclan

Beefur followed the she-cat's gaze upwards, as though expecting that he might turn and find a rabbit off in the sky. But thankfully, there wasn't one. He tried to figure out what precisely it was she was looking at, but soon enough, the tom's mind started to wander back to rabbits.

"I'm sure I could still take one down," he said rather proudly. Beefur imagined himself sneaking up on a rabbit. He was never all that great at catching them in the first place, given that being quiet was never his greatest strength. They would often notice him and he would have to rely instead on his sheer strength and speed, something he was always working on given that he wasn't as large as he'd liked to be. Beefur was certainly around average size for a cat, but he so often wished he could be as strong and as fast as a cat like Wapatofur or Whitebark.

Beefur immediately dropped into a stalking position, as though he were acting out his rabbit chase. He began to squint his eyes before closing them altogether, thinking about sneaking up on the rabbit when all of a sudden, rather than slamming its foot on the ground to alert its friends, it slammed its foot on the ground in order to help it launch off the grass and into the sky. Suddenly, its ears would begin to flap - it made sense that they would use those big ears as wings, right?

"You'd just have to catch it like you catch birds," Beefur explained. He began to stalk forward through the grass towards nothing in particular. "Get as close as you can, and the second they begin to fly - BAM!" the tom cried out as he launched himself into the air, grabbing at the empty spot in front of him before landing on his paws, putting his weight forward as though holding his fake flying rabbit down.

For a moment, Beefur stood proudly over his fake catch before he turned around to the she-cat. His ears flickered a little uncomfortably. "Sorry," he said as a realization hit him. "I didn't mean to get so loud like that..." he began to lick a paw and groom behind his ears, the tom who seemed large enough in personality alone that his physique had grown larger by proxy suddenly seeming rather small in stature. Despite it only being himself and this GaleClan cat, he could feel the eyes of his cousins looking at him, rolling their eyes at his overexcitability. In almost an instant, the confidence had drowned away, flooded instead by an awkward young tom realizing that he was taking up more room than he was often granted.

desolate ● 472 words

beefur (he/him) | shoreclan

"Why are you sorry?"

Beefur blinked as he looked at the cat in front of him.

No one had ever asked him that before. Hearing those words for the first time, he found himself at a loss for words. He didn't entirely know how to respond to that sort of thing. Apologizing for his existence and taking up too much room had been something forced into him for most of his life. He opened his maw, but nothing came out. There were words flooding his brain, but it was hard to say them out loud. He was sorry for being too loud, for speaking too fast, for taking the spotlight away from others around him. He was sorry for getting in the way, for ruining someone's image, for just being an overall annoyance to others. He often felt like his personality was a burden to others, and tried so hard to fit in and understand how to get others to like him more.

Yet, when this she-cat suddenly started playing along, goading him on about his imaginary flying rabbit, Beefur perked up once again. Still, a pang of guilt still flooded his chest. Was she just doing this as a way to embarass him? He was waiting for someone to pop out and tell him to stop acting like such a kit, to grow up and be a warrior.

He watched her drop into a crouch, feeling himself torn. He knew he should act like he was above all of this, but his heart told him to play along.

Beefur looked over his shoulder for a second, towards deeper into ShoreClan territory, making sure there were no patrols around or anyone waiting to come get him. When he felt sure the coast was clear, he dropped into a crouch himself over his fake prey, pretending to grab hold of it with his teeth. He put a paw forward, as though to protect it from this sneaky GaleClan warrior. "And just what do you think you're doing?" he asked, eyes alight with amusememt. "Do you intend to steal this rabbit from me? I need to take it back to my Clan as soon as possible with this incredible new discovery!"

His mind and his heart started to race. He began to ignore all the feelings he had before about needing to apologize, trying to push it down for the first time in his life. "If rabbits can learn how to fly, what could we find next? Birds that know how to talk? Fish that know how to run? Before we know it, dogs are gonna start walking on two legs!" His eyes went wide at the terrifying thought, but the purr that was rumbling deep in his chest showed otherwise.

desolate ● 473 words

beefur (he/him) | shoreclan

Beefur had started to become engrossed in this conversation with this other cat, forgetting all the other things in his life and the voices of his family shaming him for the space he took up. Something about their conversation and their activity reminded him that sometimes playing was always healthy, that it was good to let your imagination run wild and have fun. When she asked about the strange fish of ShoreClan, something seemed to tick in the tom's head, his eyes lighting up. He seemed to forget entirely about their play over their flying rabbit as he looked back over his shoulder out towards the beach and thinking about some of the fish he'd seen out there.

"Have you ever seen a fish fly?" Beefur asked, eyes lighting up with excitement at the prospect of introducing this, what he believed to be a kindred soul, to the thrill of watching a fish fly for the first time. Granted, he wasn't entirely sure he could fully convince her to try and watch - he didn't know if any of the fish would be willing to perform, so to say, and didn't know how long that might take. He could always take the she-cat to a river and try and encourage the fish to jump and fly, but that was always a hit or miss.

There was a strange feeling in Beefur's chest that he couldn't quite put a word on. It was almost a nervousness? He wanted to take this she-cat to a river and show her the way that fish could fly, but was almost afraid of failing to show her the impressive sight. He'd never been one growing up to be worried about failing. Sometimes you mess up, but as long as there was a second chance, he was always willing to try again. Sometimes you miss the fish you were trying to catch, but there was always a whole school of them and you could go for the next. Sometimes you slipped while trying to practice your fighting, but there was always a way to turn things around and bring things back to your side. But... what if he messed up showing this she-cat something so interesting and she thought he was boring and a liar?

And all to think... he still didn't even know her name?

desolate ● 393 words

beefur (he/him) | shoreclan

Beefur's heart began to race as he stood to his feet, his front paws beginning to knead the ground in front of him in excitement. He'd always done it mostly as a way to help get some energy out, when his paws itched to run and race against the wind. But now, as white paws pressed into the ground, he wondered if this cat in front of him could feel the messaging that he felt comfortable and almost a bond with her. It was admittedly a comfort he hadn't felt with another cat in a long time, an openness he certainly rarely felt with some of his own family members. Yet, Beefur's mind raced too fast to even be able to think about it or realize it. All he could think about was fish.

The young tom looked around once again, as though to make sure the coast was clear. He hadn't been paying too much attention when Heronfrost had called the patrols for the day, but Beefur looked at the sky, as though he could maybe figure out where patrols were at this time. One might be coming along the border sometime soon, but if he took this pretty cat over to the shore, they'd probably be safe from prying eyes.

"Okay." Beefur said, as though thinking out loud, except for the fact that he didn't continue the thought out loud, nor did he really continue it inside his head that much either. He'd already made his plan. He would take the pretty cat towards the slightly somewhat forested area near the shore rather than along the beach. It would be closer to GaleClan so her scent wouldn't set off too much confusion if anyone got too close. "Follow me!"

Beefur took off, his paws pounding against the ground as he raced towards where he thought they would be able to get away with this plan the best. He didn't look behind to make sure his new friend was following, but simply assumed that a GaleClan cat would be able to keep up with him. The thought of that alone was exciting - he was always outpacing some of his peers, usually because he was itching to move and burn energy, and being called after to slow down. Would she be able to keep up with him when they started to get closer to the trees?

The tom broke into the brush, his pace admittedly slowing down some so that he could weave through without smashing into something. He wasn't proud to confess that he'd run into a tree before when he wasn't looking where he was going. He could practically hear the medicine cat apprentice's annoyance if Beefur returned asking where the second Mellowpaw came from.

But the smell of water was beginning to fill his nostrils, and Beefur finally brought his pace to a slow. His chest was heaving, but his breathing itself did not betray him. He was used to running and loved it, and they hadn't run all that far. Instead, the tom turned behind him, looking out for his pretty friend so he could prepare her for the excitement of her first time witnessing a flying fish. They'd need to make sure they weren't casting shadows, so that Beefur could surprise the fish and truly make them fly.

desolate ● bee just calling apple "pretty cat" cause he doesn't know her name ● 561 words

beefur (he/him) | shoreclan

Beefur felt the collision, though he shook it off rather quickly before purring in amusement. But his purring stopped for a quick moment as he watched the calico's body language change. While the young tom wasn't always the greatest at reading body language cues or voice intonations, he could feel a certain strike with the way the she-cat spoke. While perhaps there was something familiar about the way she shifted, he still couldn't quite place his paw on it. Instead, he simply did what he did best, brush it off. "Hey, no worries!" Beefur exclaimed with cheer, puffing out his chest. "I can take a hit or two!" he practically boasted, feeling a swell of pride before he quickly moved on.

The tom looked at the river and then back to the GaleClan she-cat. "Okay, so - I don't know if you've ever fished before, but fish don't really have ears or noses... I don't think," Beefur tilted his head a little bit, looking to the river for a second again and squinting his eyes, as though it might help him figure it out. He's really only seen their mouths and eyes, though they did also have those weird flaps at the side. Maybe those were their ears? Still, he shook it off and continued. "So they don't really hear or smell us coming, but they'll see shadows, so it's best to crouch down!"

Beefur instructed the she-cat, finding her a nice spot nearby where she had a fantastic view of the river but didn't have to worry about any shadows too much. Thankfully, given the trees, there was less worry about extra shadows, but there also weren't a lot of trees over the river itself, and he didn't want to scare the fish improperly and ruin the sight.

"Okay, perfect!" Beefur exclaimed with excitement as he helped her get into place. "Just wait right here, alright?"

He didn't wait for a response.

Beefur dashed closer to the river, crouching down near the edge. There was a very specific technique he needed to practice if he wanted the fish to behave a certain way. Scaring them simply with his shadow - as he worried with the she-cat before - meant they would simply dash away deeper into the river. The trick was that they needed to feel trapped with their fear, in which the only direction to go was up. The water needed to be disturbed in a very specific way that Beefur had mastered in his time from when he was an apprentice. To him, it often felt like an easier way to fish. Sometimes the water would make things look like they weren't exactly where you thought they were, but that didn't happen if the fish was in the air. He always found it much easier to scare the fish out of the water and then bat them in the air onto land, where he could pounce on them and kill them. While this usually meant he came out far wetter than some of his Clanmates who would just scoop the fish out of the water, he also simply found this more fun! Besides, weren't ShoreClan cats supposed to be okay with the water? Scooping the fish out made it seem as though they were afraid to get too much fur wet.

Yellow eyes scanned the surface of the water. He couldn't see much close to the edge, but instead, he peered forward a little and leapt onto a rock just a little from the edge. It was a simple jump, and he landed it with ease while still remaining quite crouched. Out here, he was able to spot some more fish, and Beefur's heart began to race. This was the moment he needed. He looked behind him once more to make sure the she-cat was still there and that she hadn't scurried off to GaleClan before he looked into the water below. Spotting a few carp near the surface, his excitement was palpable. Carp were dumb and easily scared, and made for his favourite kind of fish to scare and catch.

Rather unceremoniously, Beefur jumped into the air and in a way a twoleg kit might jump into a pool of water, flopped in order to create a nice big splash. As he did, he watched as the carp swam in random directions, including upwards into the air. They spiked through the surface, flipping and flopping in the air, its tail fins moving convulsively as it soared through the air. One of the fun things with carp was that the fear of one fish often caused a chain reaction, causing other fish to jump out of fear. The water was disturbed with fish jumping every which direction, sun sparkling through the pellets of water that followed the fish.

Of course, there was a bit of a dodging game with the fish sometimes, too. They weren't small, and could sometimes cause a bit of injury if one wasn't careful - perhaps being the true reason that Beefur's Clanmates didn't love his technique of jumping into the water and causing a dangerous game of eluding fish. There was probably some cat long ago that got knocked out from getting hit in the head with a fish, but that wasn't Beefur's problem if his technique worked for the time being.

Eventually, the fish began to calm down, and the tom swam his way to the shore, reflexively shaking out his fur of the majority of the water that had soaked into it.

He looked at the she-cat with excitement in his eyes. "So? What did you think?" He asked, starting to feel a nervousnness overcome him. He realized how deeply he wanted the approval of his new friend, how desperately he hoped that she would find as much joy in watching fish fly as he always had. He could remember the first time he watched it happen, and there had been no joy quite like it. It was silly to think of a fish flying out of the water like that, but it was simply a way that helped him connect to that side of him that was so often overcome with joy. He wanted to share that with this cat, and suddenly found himself worried that she might think it was weird like a lot of his Clanmates thought. But... she was different, wasn't she? StarClan above, how he prayed for excitement.

desolate ● 1098 words

beefur (he/him) | shoreclan

What do I think?

Beefur could swear his heart stopped in that moment in anticipation. He wanted to know every thought going through this she-cat's mind, wanted to know everything she felt. He longed to know what her mind and heart felt, what it was like to see the sight through her eyes for the very first time. It seemed as though he'd stopped breathing entirely waiting for her response, something that from an outsider's perspective likely was only a few moments, but for Beefur felt like an eternity.

He always longed for the approval of others. It often felt like it was missing most days. He wanted the acceptance and blessing of his siblings, Whitebark and Honeyhoot. He wanted the acceptance of his former mentor, Gullwind. He wanted to be affirmed by his cousins Cattailcry and Ducknose. He wanted Wapatofur to even give him a simple nod of approval - something that was now even more hard come by given that he was the deputy of a different Clan altogether. There was a small worry for a moment in Beefur's brain wondering if he wasn't performing for this she-cat in hopes she would go back and tell Wapatofur about the cool ginger and white tom she met, but he tried to shrug that off. She didn't know they were related - yet. It would probably be only a matter of time before the fact came pouring out of his mouth like everything else did.

But something about wanting this cat's approval felt different. It felt as though hearing the right words from her would change his entire life. He'd be riding on the high for moons, holding in his excitement until he could see her again, until he could talk to her, until he could smell her.

That wasn't weird, right?

When words started pouring out of her mouth, Beefur felt his entire body go warm. He loved hearing her talk. He'd been so used to cats telling him to shut up and be quiet that it was unearthly to see someone else feel an ounce of the excitement he was often shunned for showing. The way that she was animated, the way that she was interested and asking questions, it made his brain light up in ways he'd never felt before.

"Oh man, can they ever!" He laughed enthusiastically. Yet unconsciously, a small side of him came out of trying to come off cooler and bigger than he appeared. "But they don't hurt me, I can take them!" Which wasn't entirely untrue - Beefur was a decently strong young cat, but it was probably more a testament to getting hit in the head by enough fish that it no longer bothered him over a testament to his strength.

His laugh turned a bit to nervousness when he admitted: "Oh, I uh, I fell in one time back when I was still an apprentice. Gullwind had to jump in after me cause she thought I was hurt and wasn't sure if I was a strong enough swimmer yet... but I was totally fine! Now I do it on purpose all the time cause it makes catching fish way easier!" His anxious attitude turned around halfway through his statement, as though trying to catch himself from some weird blunder. "They jump out of the water and you just BAM! give them a good smack and send them flying towards the shore!" He shouted, his excitement growing more and more palpable as he thought about sending the fish barreling through the air. It was even more fun when he used them sometimes as a weird target practice, seeing if he could hit a fish hard enough that it smacked a tree. He knew it bothered his Clanmates though, so the tom often tried to do it away from other patrol members so they didn't look at him sideways.

desolate ● 663 words