|
|
Post by Fawn on Feb 3, 2017 15:30:40 GMT -5
 Pulvis et umbra sumus. 6 Moons NightClanShadowkit had never experienced winter before. For the longest time, he felt content to stay in the nursery where it was warm and dry, and the biting cold that ruffled the warriors' pelts could not reach him. But... without his sisters for company, and the elders' stories getting repetitive (though he was always very respectful, listening anyway), Shadowkit's boredom conquered his complacency.
He stole like his namesake across NightClan's camp, his thin dark-brown tail wrapped neatly about his slender body as he lurked beside the entrance. The scent of freshly fallen snow stung his nose when he inhaled deeply; the kitten shivered, ears pricked forward despite this. Shadowkit glanced to the nursery with a small tinge of remorse; maybe he should have woken up Echobreeze after all? But Mother had seemed tired, and he felt guiltier disturbing a cat from their much needed rest than simply leaving the nursery without permission.
Besides, there were plenty of warriors milling about camp. He only wanted a peek outside.
The hill to the entrance was longer than it looked, and his soft limbs worked hard to carry him up, claws making tiny scratches in the earth for traction. The soil felt cool, but damp. As if a dozen wet paws had been tramping in and out of the camp all day - which, in retrospect, Shadowkit supposed they had. I wonder when Father's patrol will return? As curious as a crow, Shadowkit poked his head outside, marveling at the great white world around him. Impossibly tall pines made him feel tinier than even the smallest mouse, his golden eyes round with awe. NightClan's territory was huge!
We are but dust and shadow. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2017 12:39:05 GMT -5
 --- Padding home from a guilt-filled hunt, Patchfur dipped her head a little in remorse as she carried a mouthful of voles in her jaws. She wasn't keen on violence of any sort, including that which involved even the smallest creature, and it had brought her no joy to feel the warmth leave their little bodies as she had quickly dispatched them out in the territories. It was her duty however, and despite her distaste for the appetites cats had to keep in order to survive, she knew it was for the best for her clan that she brought home freshkill.
Seeing Shadowkit peeking out from inside the camp heartened her, and the little she-cat smiled with twitching whiskers at the kitten, dumping the voles down in front of him with a warm expression. She knew the voles were covered in fresh scents from the territories, and it looked like Shadowkit was curious.
"Hey Shadowkit!"
She chirruped pleasantly. She had seen him around camp every now and then as he had grown, and thought him a lovely young tom. She eyed him up and down curiously and smiled wider,
"My you've grown a lot since I last saw you. You can't be far off being an apprentice!"
She mewed, glancing out at the territories where he himself had been looking,
"Not long now before you can make your own tracks in the snow out there. You hype?"
Chin Up!
Everything's Gonna Be Okay |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Feb 19, 2017 10:21:28 GMT -5
Pulvis et umbra sumus. 6 Moons NightClan KitShadowkit was not a timid creature; rather, the hesitation he felt when he saw the white and ginger-patched she-cat walking over wasn't due to fear or anything like that at all. Rather, Shadowkit felt a thorn-prick of guilt over not remembering her name.
She knew who he was, greeting him warmly. Shadowkit wracked his short memory over the past six moons, trying to remember who had visited the nursery and when; cats were always coming and going. Shadowkit hadn't paid as much attention back then as he should've, he now realized.
Resolved to simply tell the truth and smooth things over before he can fumble his way into an awkward situation, the young tom nodded. "Hello, is it very cold outside? Yes! I'm - I'm very hype," he mewed, hoping he'd used that word correctly. He'd never heard it before, and made a mental note to ask Echobreeze about an exact definition later.
Made curious by the voles, Shadowkit's long black whiskers shivered with anticipation as he leaned in, scenting all of the different smells that clung to their small fuzzy bodies. Their fur isn't as soft as cats' fur. Noticing the little things like this, Shadowkit, even with his mouth watering, chose then to sit in front of the warrior rather than dare take a bite.
She couldn't possibly have brought all those voles for him - and he didn't want to eat by himself. He preferred to share with Echobreeze and Hollowcry.
"I don't know very many of my Clanmates yet. In fact, I only know the names of my parents, my three sisters, and our leader, deputy and medicine cat. Can you tell me your name?" She was right. He would be an apprentice soon; wasn't it time for him to start interacting more with everyone? Become a proper part of Clan life? The nursery was like a butterfly's cocoon; it was safe and nice in there, but eventually he had to come out and join the world. We are but dust and shadow. 330 Words Tags: @sparrowkeeper |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2017 9:52:45 GMT -5
--- Patchfur plopped her rear down onto the snow-covered ground, displacing a little cloud of light snow that was quickly snatched up by the wind and swirled away. She grinned at the small tom, responding to him quickly as he spoke.
"It's pretty chilly, but I think it's more because the wind is so strong and less because of the air temperature."
She chattered, ears flicking as she saw him sniff at the voles. She had caught them pretty far out into the territories, having had to search for a long while to find somewhere that the prey weren't all cowering away from the wind. She was rather impressed by him not choosing to eat one, as he certainly looked like he was peckish. He probably knew full well that prey was first given to kits, elders, and queens, but the fact that he wasn't going straight for it indicated to her that he was starting to get into the mindset of an apprentice. She may not be her own kit, but ever child was a child of the clan, and she was a warmth of pride for the tom. His polite tone about forgetting her name only added to it,
"No worries, you'll be introduced to everyone bit by bit as you become an apprentice, my name's Patchfur."
She mewed, shaking out her fur a little to displace the snow that had settled on it during her hunting trip,
"Hey, wanna learn a hunting crouch? You could blow the fur off your mentor by being super prepared!"
She giggled, relaxing back conversationally and regarding the kit with a mischievous sparkle in her mismatched blue and brown eyes. She didn't have anything important to attend to now that she had done her hunting for the day, and it could be quite boring to be stuck in camp for a kit so close to apprenticeship, so she reasoned that he would probably welcome a playful teaching session.
Chin Up!
Everything's Gonna Be Okay 334 Words - Fawn - Notes |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Feb 26, 2017 15:46:05 GMT -5
Pulvis et umbra sumus. 6 Moons NightClan KitPatchfur! Shadowkit's already lamp-like golden eyes widened a bit as the realization hit him. Cats were named after their appearances! It just... hadn't occurred to him until just now. Suddenly everything made so much more sense; some of the names still baffled him (like his father, Hollowcry's), but Blackwolf and Patchfur, those were self-explanatory.
He would have to withhold his urge to guess everyone else's names; Shadowkit didn't want to have a slip of the tongue and call someone 'Tornear' when their name was really Redflower. I should be careful, and always ask first.
"It's nice to meet you, Patchfur." Shadowkit mewed, and these polite words were accompanied with a soft nod, remembering his manners. Echobreeze's soft-spoken nature had rubbed off on the little tom, though clearly he wasn't as timid.
Quiet, but not fearful.
Just before he could curiously raise questions about Patchfur's bicolored eyes, the warrioress had offered to teach him a hunter's crouch. That caught his attention immediately; with a studious light in his eyes and an eagerly raised tail, Shadowkit quickly assented. "Yes! My sisters have tried to teach me, but they lose patience fast, and..." They tend to practice their pouncing on each other. Which usually meant the 'lesson' dissolved into a mock battle of which he could take no part.
He loved them all dearly - but sometimes a little peace and quiet didn't hurt.
"Do you know who my mentor will be? Could I ask Dimstar for someone specific?" Shadowkit's tail-tip twitched, the black kitten wondering about so much of Clan life.
We are but dust and shadow. 253 Words Tags: @sparrowkeeper |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2017 13:44:45 GMT -5
---
Patchfur crouched excitedly in response to Shadowkit's assent, tail rising up just as his did as she kneaded at the ground energetically.
"Not sure who will mentor you. To be honest it's not unusual for even your mentor to not know until the last minute. Dimstar might listen if you had a preference, but it's usually a choice made based off how compatible a mentor and apprentice pair will be for each other."
She mewed, starting to circle the kit with twitching whiskers and a friendly twinkle in her eyes.
"Try crouching down, like you were trying to creep up on somecat."
The she-cat suggested, placing her paw gently on Shadowkit's rump to make sure he kept it low and didn't make the rookie error of sticking it in the air.
"Not so low that your belly brushes the ground, not so high that you might be seen."
She commented, tail flicking as she crouched down alongside him, eyes focusing on the imaginary prey they were stalking.
"Keep your ears perks up, your senses alive. It helps if you open your mouth slightly to taste the scents around you."
She breathed in the smells of their surroundings, letting the wind whistle in from outside to bring in messages of the world beyond the camp. Most of it was frost, cold and bitter, but there was a green undertone of life and hope, and the soft scent of a distant mouse. The she-cat smiled softly, imagining the small creature's simple little life, skittering back and forth with a heartbeat fast as raindrops in a storm.
Chin Up!
Everything's Gonna Be Okay 275 words - Fawn - Notes |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Mar 15, 2017 11:46:50 GMT -5
6 Moons NightClan Kit
He appreciated Patchfur's guidance. She was companionable and kind, easy to get along with - like his mother. Feeling as if he was in safe paws, Shadowkit concentrated on her explanation, going over it word for word, and trying to find the sweet spot between 'don't let your belly brush the ground' and 'don't crouch so high you could be seen'. Shadowkit's ear flicked with uncertainty, as if trying to throw away any cobwebs of doubt stuck to his pelt.
Speaking of cobwebs...
It helped to picture a spider right in front of him. Eight legs moving in perfect unison; they were interesting little creatures. He hadn't given much thought to the idea that the world could be filled with things even smaller than mice. Yet here they were, living, eating, making webs. Shadowkit stalked the imaginary spider, and his tail weaved S patterns behind him - a forgotten appendage in his rush to get his paws in the right placement. Remembering at the last second that she had mentioned keeping his mouth open, Shadowkit parted his jaws just slightly, as if he were about to say something and had been told to whisper.
What am I supposed to be smelling? There was a rush of new smells coming in; catscent mixed with the prey kill pile. He had trouble distinguishing which was which sometimes, but at least he recognized one smell in particular. Patchfur smelled like the other warriors did; of pine forests and wet earth, but he was able to distinguish it somehow from the others. Each cat must have their own unique scent.
"When do I know when to pounce?" Mewed the tom, picturing his eight-legged prey stopping to weave a web from a pinecone to an old moss ball nearby.
We are but dust and shadow. 288 Words @sparrowkeeper Notes |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2017 17:10:34 GMT -5
--- Patchfur purred encouragingly as Shadowkit did his best to get into a hunting crouch, gently padding to crouch beside him as he crept forwards, grinning to herself as his tail lifted and swayed entertainingly behind him. She stuck there as he mewed his question, following his line of sight to imagine the pine cone an moss ball in front of them might be the prey.
"It really depends what you're stalking, but broadly speaking you want to be close enough that you could get it in one movement."
She mewed tail gently resting on his tail to calm it down as she focused and let her hind-quarters wiggle playfully in anticipation of a leap.
"If it's a fast and skittish creature, you want to be as close as you can possibly manage before it notices you, since the second it catches wind of you it'll be off as fast as it can."
She mewed, glancing over at him,
"If it's a big and slow creature, you might be able to afford to allow a bit more space since you can make up for it with how fast you are."
She let her claws gently in and out, grabbing at the ground,
"When you jump, have your claws out and ready to go. The sooner you get a hook on the prey, the better your chances of keeping it."
Chin Up!
Everything's Gonna Be Okay 237 words - Fawn - Notes |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Apr 6, 2017 22:19:43 GMT -5
6 Moons NightClan Kit The luminous glint of his eyes revealed sheepishness, Shadowkit obediently allowing his tail to relax almost all the way to the ground. There was so much to keep track of, when hunting. Smells. Posture. Timing. Some of it felt very natural; he enjoyed the sensation of crouching, of feeling low to the earth, almost as if he had stepped into a different world. Or a different mindset. But the young tom was a while off yet before he became the stellar hunter he hoped to be.
For fast and skittish creatures, he needed to be close. Shadowkit gave the tiniest, perceptible nods, and crept forward. Here little spider... Spiders were definitely fast. He'd seen one scuttle out of the elders' den once. Night-tail, who had been ancient even when his mother had been an apprentice, had made a lazy swipe at it, but the arachnid had managed to avoid the pendulum swing of the decrepit tom's efforts, and skittered into a hole in the cave wall.
Picturing the spider in his mind's eye, Shadowkit got close, a little too close, his nose only a hare length from the pine cone. One. Two. Three... Four... Now? Now. Shadowkit's haunches wriggled, and the sleek kitten leaped forward, landing square on the pine cone with unsheathed claws, feeling the tips sink in between the pleated sections of the cone. Shadowkit purred. "Did I catch it?" If that had been a real spider, he would've. "What was the first thing you caught, Patchfur?" It was probably a mouse, or a frog. He always saw frogs on the fresh kill pile. We are but dust and shadow. 238 Words @sparrowkeeper Notes |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2017 15:13:05 GMT -5
---
That's it
Patchfur thought as she watched the kit lower his haunches a little and get into a better stance. He was a good listener, and she smiled at the thought of such a thoughtful young tom growing up to join the ranks of her clan. They needed more apprentices like him.
She grinned as he leaped, a little flame of pride lighting up in her chest for her clanmate as he landed squarely and well on his target.
"You most certainly did!"
She praised him, padding over to bat playfully at the pine cone in his grip. His question disarmed her, and she paused for a moment to bring the memory of her first prey back to herself. It wasn't a very pleasant memory, as she had a great distaste for killing things and her first time at it had hardly been easy on her. A gentle frown flitted across her features.
"It was a mouse. A little brown one with soft fur and fast paws."
She said after a moment, looking a little far-away before she snapped back into the present.
"Don't mind me though, I'm sure you'll hear from the other cats of the clan at some point that I'm rather squeamish with hunting. Never was a massive fan of it, but that's my worry, not yours."
She returned to purring, smile back on her face.
Chin Up!
Everything's Gonna Be Okay 238 words - Fawn - Notes |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Apr 24, 2017 10:40:12 GMT -5
6 Moons NightClan Kit Squeamish? About killing prey? Shadowkit looked at the pinecone that had fallen victim to his pouncing lesson; he tried to imagine what that would be like if it had been a real creature. There would be... blood and... pain. Pain for the mouse? The dark tom's ears pinned back briefly, thrown off guard by the realization. Every cat acted like this was absolutely normal; that killing things to feed the Clan was the best and only way to do things.
If it comes to down to feeding my family or letting the mice go, I'd choose to feed my family. That didn't make him cruel, just... reasonable.
Shadowkit hoped so. He didn't want to be a cruel warrior when he grew up.
"You could become a queen," Shadowkit purred, smiling at Patchfur as the answer darted into his head like a fox after a rabbit. "Then the others would hunt for you. I'd bring you something every day, Patchfur." She was very kind. He'd never forget his first hunting lesson. Thoughtful, Shadowkit's luminous yellow eyes slid away from the ginger-and-white warrioress to another multicolored she-cat, his heart warming as he thought of his mother.
She'll get lonely without me in the nursery, won't she? It was a sad thought, but he couldn't stay in there forever. "Maybe you could be friends with Echobreeze. She's wonderful to talk to." She was. Of his parents, though he took after Hollowcry more in appearance, Shadowkit felt a special connection with his mother. They were birds of a feather; gentle, compassionate, and preferring reason to violence.
We are but dust and shadow. 252 Words @sparrowkeeper , BlooRey DVD Notes |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2017 7:57:28 GMT -5
--- Patchfur felt a flash of guilt as she saw Shadowkit's ears pin back briefly as he contemplated the idea. She wondered sadly if he ever would have questioned the feelings of his prey if she hadn't mentioned being squeamish, and felt regret at having opened up that avenue in his mind. She agonised over it enough herself, and she had no right to drag kits into her internal moral debates. There was nothing a cat could eat to sustain themselves besides prey, so there was no use making other cats think on it.
The kit surprised her out of her reverie with a suggestion that made her flush awkwardly. She smiled at him, embarrassed but touched by his offer to take care of her if she were to have her own kits. His heart was in the right place, he just didn't fully understand all the implications of what he was suggesting. Her heart warmed as she saw him glance over towards the nursery and mention his mother.
Bless this little tom
"I'm sure she is, and I'm sure I would love to chat with her if I were to stay in the nursery, but I'm afraid becoming a queen isn't quite as simple as wanting to."
She mewed, unsure of exactly how much education Shadowkit had so far received in exactly how kittens appeared into the world. She decided to go for a pragmatic approach that both avoided details but didn't skip around the facts.
"You need a tom and a she-cat to pair together for the she-cat to become a queen, and I don't have a tom in my life, so at the moment it wouldn't be possible."
She said, bi-coloured eyes glancing over to the nursery where Shadowkit had previously indicated,
"On top of that a she-cat needs to want kits of her own, and to be willing to sacrifice her freedom to stay in camp. Raising kits is no easy feat, and a cat who commits to it must be strong and willing."
She paused, mulling the idea over in her head,
"I've always wanted kits, and I personally think I would be very happy to be a queen, but I don't have a mate."
She said frankly. She was an open cat, and while the response might be rather mature compared to the age of the cat she was speaking to, he seemed to her to be a thoughtful young tom who would be able to handle it. He was about to become an apprentice soon after all, and being introduced to these concepts would only help him empathise with her older clanmates, and perhaps add to his already healthy respect for his mother.
Chin Up!
Everything's Gonna Be Okay 458 - Fawn - Dancing around the birds and the bees talk xD |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on May 3, 2017 16:16:40 GMT -5
6 Moons NightClan Kit Shadowkit listened keenly to Patchfur's explanation, aware that she had the same kind of... 'explanatory' tone that most adults got with him whenever he asked a question. Shadowkit wasn't so sure he liked that tone of voice; it made him feel very small and very young, but he listened anyway, because it was the right thing to do. Patchfur needs a mate to have kits! Simplifying a very complex topic in a way only a kit could, Shadowkit offered a solution. "Echobreeze says that kits are a gift from StarClan, and are given to cats who need more sunshine in their lives."
Golden eyes, large and bright as fossilized amber, cast a wide net over the Clan's camp. "Juncoflight is so serious. Maybe he should be your mate? Then StarClan will give you what you want." And, Shadowkit thought privately, Juncoflight needs more sunshine. He's mean sometimes.
It wasn't going to occur to Shadowkit until later that he was making Patchfur uncomfortable. Or muddying the already complex waters of social interaction between toms and she-cats. For Shadowkit's sake, perhaps he would have a more detailed talk with his father about the birds and the bees that would leave him a little less clueless when he reached apprenticeship.
As Shadowkit chased the scuttling spiders that represented each little thought trail in his mind, he followed one in particular and reached a conclusion that startled him. Someday, Darkpaw, Cobrapaw and Thornpaw could all have kits! Shadowkit's eyes widened. His sisters? Back in the nursery? It sounded about as far fetched as flying mice, but apprentices became warriors... and female warriors became... queens? Did they always, or only sometimes?
What if they fell in love and wanted families of their own?
How would I keep track of them all? If they each had three kits of their own... that was... eight kits? No, nine kits—more kits than he could comprehend. Shadowkit spared himself a migraine, fluffing out his short brownish-black coat.
"I have another question, Patchfur," Shadowkit mewed, following another loose thread. "If kits are gifts from StarClan, and medicine cats get signs from StarClan, how come medicine cats don't have kits? Do they not want them?"
We are but dust and shadow. 345 Words @sparrowkeeper , BlooRey DVD Notes: xD His questions never end. We can wrap up the thread with her going on patrol, or Echobreeze calling him in to take a nap. |
|
