[dionysus]

Originally Posted by Constellation

Passionblaze was always the courteous one. The polite kind. The helpful and encouraging one. He knew from day one to respect the female kind because all she cats were a force of desire. They were beautiful, exotic, creatures, hand carved by the grand Starclan themselves. And, their temper? Good Starclan, their temper! Such steamy fire that ran your head in circles. This is what Passionblaze took interest in. Not their beauty (as to him every Molly was gorgeous) but their attitude. It showed a lot about their character. Currently, Passionblaze felt lost in a beehive. Only without the honey sweetness. It was apparent Piperwing took offense to what he said, and yet he didn’t care. A throb in his head was banging as Piperwing was talking. Passionblaze wanted to growl to tell her to be quiet but that would had been rude. She would had been ignited even more instead of extinguished. Passionblaze bent his head down, breathing heavily. “Did I ever say you were weak? Did those exact words come out my mouth?” He spoke. He didn’t bring his head up, but he did move his eyes sideways to glare at her. “I know you are strong. You’re strong, you’re smart, you’re beautiful, but I don’t think you’re very experienced. You’re young after all. You’d be crowfood trying to fight off two mollies.” If Passionblaze was honest, he didn’t see Piperwing as a fighter. Not that he thought she was weak or anything. Passionblaze knew mollies were far stronger than any tom. When it came to mental, physical, and emotional strength. He saw his mother use these combinations of power, and never had he found himself looking up to another cat in his life. Passionblaze’s eyes flashed when she challenged him to a fight. He would had laughed - actually, he did. It was a hoarse chuckle. “Fight you? Challenge accepted. Perhaps another time though. It wouldn’t be a fair fight with both of us injured, ay?” Despite feeling downward, his tone was a little light. Maybe it was because she was being challenging, and Passionblaze loved a good challenge. The tom has completely ignored the fact that she compared him to the reputation that the Fuzz family held. Instead, he looked down at his paws, striking the dirt into aimless lines as he debated to close his ears or listen to her. Certainly, he chose the latter.
Passionblaze knew he was in the wrong, but others who knew him well knew to leave him alone when he was in his mood. Passionblaze directed his anger to any object in his view. Unfortunately, she was that object. Passionblaze found himself looking up at her again, a stoic expression on his face. “I don’t think because I’m deputy that I treat others poorly,” He spoke, the words foreign to his tongue. If anything, Passionblaze always tries to find a fair way to keep everyone happy. “But, did you have the right to treat me poorly in the first place? I fight for my clan just like I’ll fight for my clan mate. I wouldn’t even think twice before I even died for them. Forgive me if I’m a little overwhelmed for what’s been going on these last few moons.” With losing his first apprentice by that Starclan-forsaken monster. Then with the skirmish, and the battle...all Passionblaze could feel was emotional pain. He took too much pleasure in the physical goodness of pain so that he didn’t have to feel that hurt deep in his chest.
Now, she was scolding him in a way. He had refused to eat that squirrel, and he still refused to do it. It’s not that he wasn’t hungry, he just felt empty. “Give it to the cats who were badly injured,” he says quietly. “I need to be back on that field. Fighting until my last drop of blood is spilled. I should be out there fighting for my clan, not stuck in camp waiting for the others.” Passionblaze scrunched up his face into a grim expression. This may not have been a big deal to Piperwing, but Passionblaze carried a fierce passion for his clan. For his clan mates. It wasn’t fighting for Thunderclan. It was fighting for those who loved within Thunderclan. Passionblaze had turned to look at Piperwing. His usually green eyes flecked with golden as he gave her a desperate look. “It is shameful to me.” Passionblaze didn’t think she would understand how powerless he felt at the moment. He left his leader to fight when he should had been guarding her with his life. In other words, Passionblaze should still be out there; fighting fiercely as his name suggests.
Passionblaze’s eyes widened when Piperwing mentioned Rabbitpounce. She was nothing more than a warrior, but every warrior was important to their clan. Piperwing wasn’t the only one who thought about that. Maybe, that’s what made him soften when he thought about that day. The ginger tom grunted as he laid himself on the ground, purposely flopping his hind leg out to pulsate pain through it. It should had made him scream in agony, but it didn’t. Instead, he ignored it. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. You three were my responsibility and I allowed the attack to happen, when I should had stopped it. Those windclanners had no business provoking us when we all had one job to do. Rabbotppunce’s hostility killed her.” He spoke, quietly. Then, he sighed, shaking his head. “I just wish things went differently. Sometimes we can’t control the fire rising in us,” he paused, knowing he was one of those cats. Passionblaze didn’t have much of a temper to hold, but he did have a passion for battling. Sometimes when he started, he couldn’t stop. His mind wouldn’t yell at him until the other cat was severely wounded, on the verge of death, or possibly...dead. It was a bad example to set for his clan, and something he needed to work on. Then again, Passionblaze needed to work on a lot of things when it came to himself.

Piperwing was still glaring at Passionblaze when the tom responded to her accusations. He didn't seem as angry anymore, but his response still wasn't polite enough to quell her anger. Piperwing's anger was usually proportional to the anger of those around her. If someone responded to her yelling with kindness, she'd quickly simmer down. His seemingly exasperated words, however, were not calm enough to extinguish her fire. In fact, Piperwing was preparing a stinging retort at that very moment when Passionblaze continued. "N-" The sandy warrior's sentence ended midway through the first word as she processed what Passionblaze had said. I know you are strong. You’re strong, you’re smart, you’re beautiful. She blinked in shock, speechless for a moment. Of course, he'd also called her young and inexperienced, but Piperwing could see the truth in that. Perhaps if she'd heard his thoughts she'd still be angry, but as of that moment the fire was simmering down. His chuckle surprised her again and Piperwing tried to make herself angry again, but his words seemed more teasing than insulting. "True," she conceded in a calmer voice that held traces of amusement, "But I'm holding you to that. No matter how much you beg to get out of it, we're battling someday." Her green eyes turned to look down at her badly injured shoulders. She was in no shape to fight anyone at the moment. Even someone as injured as Passionblaze. Piperwing didn't know the tom and therefore was unaware of the unspoken rule not to bother him when he was in a mood. Even if she had, she wouldn't have adhered to it. One word to describe Piperwing: feisty. She didn't care if he was in a mood or not. She was going to exercise her right to free speech by talking to him no matter what. The stoic expression and his denying words did nothing to improve her mood but they also didn't worsen it. He seemed to be accusing her of rudeness, which she'd already apologized for. Her anger would've returned if not for the dejected addition at the end. Her words came out in a softer, more sympathetic tone, "You're right. It was wrong of me to be rude before. However, I already apologized and won't be doing it again. You definitely have a right to be overwhelmed, but not a right to take it out on anyone not involved. Do you want to talk about it instead?" Piperwing was aware that the two barely knew each other, but she wanted to assist him. Passionblaze seemed upset and had an unhealthy amount of anger even by her standards. Still, he refused to eat the squirrel. Piperwing was beginning to grow exasperated again and said determinedly, "You're badly injured and you need to eat. Do you think I don't want to be out there fighting with everything I have too? Do you think I don't want to protect my clanmates? You're clan does need you, Passionblaze. But you're of no use to anyone if you die from bloodloss. Do you really think that it's shameful? You just told me that you know I am strong. Tell me, if strength was based solely on whether or not you're killed in battle, would I be strong? Should I be ashamed to be injured and at camp instead of still fighting? Are you ashamed of me? Would you really say that about me?" Piperwing didn't know how to get through to Passionblaze, but she knew she had to. His moping reminded her of her own pain. It had been a rough few moons for her too. Both of her parents had died in the Gathering battle and she had no siblings. Piperwing was officially alone in the world. She had made the mistake of taking that pain out on Rabbitpounce and now the she-cat was dead. "Don't I know it." Piperwing muttered in response to Passionblaze's fire comment. Sighing, she shook her head. "You can't blame yourself for Rabbitpounce. That's one thing you can take off your shoulders, so at least you're not carrying the whole world. Rabbitpounce is solely my fault. I took my pain out on her and look where it got her." Looking down at her wounds once more, Piperwing whispered, "look where it got me." Emotion cause her voice to falter and she had to look away for a moment to blink back tears.