[Ginger]

Frostjaw

nightclan warrior 41 moons

It had been a successful hunting patrol. Frostjaw himself was not much of a hunter, only able to catch things that required strength instead of stealth, but the cats accompanying him had brought back a bountiful harvest of kills for the clan. StarClan was rewarding NightClan for making some better decisions.

For one, the decision to instill Clovermask as deputy instead of the weak-willed Rainfur proved to be a good one. Frostjaw approved of the new deputy's cunning and charisma. And of course, power recognized power.

As the large tom entered camp holding a moderately sized bullfrog, he made his way towards the nursery. His progeny needed to be fed if they were to grow strong. If they were to lead this clan towards StarClan's light even after he joined the ranks of their ancestors in the sky. 

These offspring were his legacy. They had to be perfect.

Poking his head into the nursery, Frostjaw saw four figures inside. His eyes glanced over each one, silently casting judgement.

Sootkit had shown the aggressive tendencies of her mother since the day she was born. She had been the first of the litter to get any of Darkstar's milk. Frostjaw looked approvingly at her as she appeared to be attempting to command the other kits to do her bidding. She lacked restraint, but Frostjaw knew he could make her exhibit it.

Wolfkit was a spectacle. He had taken after Frost in build, and even as a small kit, he was nearly the size of an apprentice. The fluff had to help a lot. He was quiet. Not in a meek way like that Breezewhisker, but in a way that implied he thought about what he said before saying it. There was great potential in him.

Icekit...Well. Icekit was small. Despite looking almost exactly like Frostjaw, her tiny frame said she would never amount to his strength. It hurt the tom to see his mirror image look so fragile. It was impermanent. He would find her strength and push her to exploit it. She would one day discover whatever purpose StarClan had for her and become emboldened and stronger with that knowledge. She had to.

Frostjaw didn't even want to look at Dawnkit. Dawnkit the disappointment. He had been so large when he came into the world. But as the moons went by, he grew little. He looked as if he had grown half a mouse-length in the three moons he had been around. Meanwhile, his siblings were nearly double his size. Even Icekit, who was small and frail, still looked as if she could take on Dawnkit and win. It was deeply disappointing. But Frostjaw understood that this was a challenge from StarClan. In each of these kits was his blood. StarClan's chosen blood. They all had a purpose. He just had to find out what it was. 

And that journey for a purpose started now.

He dropped the bullfrog on the ground, announcing his presence. "StarClan has blessed us with a bountiful hunt today. Never forget to thank them."

He sat, eyeing the four kits. "Whoever can show me the best pounce can eat first. You will not eat until I am satisfied."

only in darkness can you see the stars

♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 @jen Katara Silver & 533 words

[Deleted]

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❅ Icekit
NightClan ❆ Female ❆ Kit

A pair of light blue eyes blinked meekly at the four walled den that surrounded them. Three moons, and all life, seemed to revolve around these four layers, both a prison and protection from the outside world. The young molly's small limbs twitched and curled, upon her own whim and her young eyes watched, taking in the simple antics of her own tiny body. Almost as if momentarily fascinated or distracted.

At such a tender age, it was easy to get bored. The nursery while vast and large to a kitten, brought little entertainment to a restless soul, who was bent on exploring its depths. And yet while, she was blissfully oblivious, the kitten's attention was easily taken and shifted once more towards the other squirming and socializing forms around her. Her siblings. Easily recognized by their scents and seemingly bursting personalities. While it was unclear to her, there was a clear bond that was already cascading their future together.

A ribbon of destiny of sorts that would determine her own loyalty to those she cared deeply about. A small smile moved to touch a tiny maw momentarily, before she parted her jaws to let out a small yawn. Sharp but delicate teeth flashed then, followed by a small grumbling in the pit of her belly. Another distraction, and with it came a more pressing matter at hand. She was hungry, as she was sure her siblings would be as well. How long had it been since they had fed last? A blue glaze moved towards the other queens and the other kits playing among them.

The dark tortoiseshell pelt of her mother was not seen but Icekit, had known this to be true, long before she had turned to look around. It was hard not to hear the soft, yet endless whispers of the other kits and queens around her. While most kits would have felt something of their parents, one being the great leader of a powerful clan, and the other a powerful warrior, both proud and amazing in their own right. Icekit, was not the type to let positions of such, hinder or obscure her vision of things happening around her. At least, at her age, it didn't matter. It was too early to see how such things would influence her as she aged. Fortunately for her, she was more concerned with when food was going to come.

It was like as if something had heard her wish, because her ears perked up, at the sound of approaching footsteps. Those tiny limbs shifted forward on the top of her head, and her eyes moved up as a figure moved into the den's entrance. The tiny kitten's nostrils flared and recognition hit her. She had known this scent, much like her mother's, since the day she had been born. It was hard to misplace the scent of her own father, especially when it resembled her own so strongly. Much like her scent, it was hard not to tell whose daughter she was.

The resemblance she shared with her father was uncanny as it was mesmerizing. That strong, and imposing figure loomed over her and her siblings, eyes ablaze and glancing down over his kin. Reading and judgement clouding his vision. Icekit, tensed under that heavy glaze, forcing her eyes to stay on him. As if unwilling to let him out of her sight. Unease clouded her belly, but did nothing to push the hunger from her palette. She was hungry and it wasn't going away any time soon.

Her father's voice brought her attention back to him fully, his words bringing his objectives to the surface. He would feed them, that was true, which made her happy. But, they would have to do something for him in return. The best pounce would get the first taste of prey. The small fluff of white, felt the pains of hunger again. Just this one simple thing and she would eat? Fine.

"O..okay" She stated the word simply, looking up at her father. While the word was bold, and straightforward, her entire body was shaking. Perhaps because she had stood up too fast and that her body wasn't use to it or maybe it was because now that harsh gray, blue glaze, so like hers in color, would now be on her. She gulped softly, willing her stiff body to relax. She had seen many other kits do this before and under the watchful glaze of their mothers. It had seemed easy. All she had to do was mimic the action and- shifting her tiny body into posture, she took a breath and jumped-

Only to tumble head first into a nearby nest, the soft covering of leaves and bedding being the only thing to keep her from hurting herself. She landed with a loud OOF on her back and just laid there staring up at the ceiling of the den, in obvious embarrassment. It had been a good attempt, maybe her father would recognize that she tried at least, even when she had failed. "..I tried...was that okay?" She mewed softly, a twinge of something close to blind accomplishment in her tone of voice. She was clearly hoping that her father would acknowledge, the fact that she had attempted the pounce. It was a good enough effort for her to at least get a bite, right?

"Icekit Talking"

✦Ginger , ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 , Silver , and Katara ❅ 877

[Katara]

[googlefont=Yeseva One][googlefont=PT Sans]

[attr="class","dawntitle"]DAWNKIT

3 moons / tom / nightclan kit

[attr="class","dawnbody"]At dusk when they'd all woken, Dawnkit's siblings had all gone off to play outside in front of the nursery, and he'd settled down in the still-warm nest to watch them. He didn't really like the games they played, if only because he lost all of them, and losing stung. He tried to tell himself he was above their stupid little games too, but it wasn't true - he as a kit, the same as them - and a part of him wanted to play, but he was so much smaller than them. He frowned, staring at his paws. They were so big, much bigger than the rest of him, as if he was meant for a bigger body but something had gone wrong along the way. He wondered if it was StarClan's punishment for taking one of his mother's lives when he came into the world.

"Oh, Dawnkit," Skybringer had sighed then, "you've torn up the nest again."

Dawnkit looked down in surprise to see half of the nest in tatters, not having noticed his paws silently working. His ears had gone hot, and he'd hastily tried to scrape together the shreds of moss back into shape, but they just ended up looking look a bedraggled heap.

"It's alright," she'd assured him. "I'll ask one of the apprentices to fetch us some new moss." Her mew had sharpened when he hadn't looked up, staring shamefully at his paws. "Dawnkit, I've said it's alright. Now go sit outside while I clear this out." She licked the top of his head reassuringly, and the ginger tabby traipsed out of the nursery.

Now it was well after moonhigh, and the nest inside was replaced. This time, Dawnkit was careful not to paw at it, though he felt restless and antsy. Skybringer had said someone was going to bring them something to eat. Why couldn't they just go pick something out themselves? He got to his paws, pacing restlessly around the nursery as he waited, eventually settling in the far corner where it was quieter. He didn't like being in the nursery when everyone was present, it began to feel too hot and stifling, making him want to get up and start pacing again.

Then a familiar scent swept over him, bringing with it the scents of the forest and a freshly-killed meal. Dawnkit's mouth watered, but he stayed where he was as his father, Frostjaw, pinned each of them to their spots with a long, calculating stare. Dawnkit sat very still when his father's gaze finally moved, almost reluctantly, to him. He pricked his ears forward, wanting to make it clear he was paying close attention as Frostjaw spoke. His own eyes slid down the fresh-kill at his paws - an enormous bullfrog. It certainly was a blessing, and Dawnkit closed his eyes obediently, silently thanking StarClan for this meal.

His eyes flashed back open as Frostjaw went on, "Whoever can show me the best pounce can eat first. You will not eat until I am satisfied."

A test! This was the perfect time to prove himself to his father! Just because he was small didn't mean he couldn't be a good hunter, or just as clever as anyone else. He'd studied the apprentices closely when they'd been practicing their own hunting crouches, and had even accepted tips from them. There was no way he would fail. He recalled the position now, the classic hunter's crouch. He watched as his sister, Icekit, lowered herself to the ground, but he noticed at once her weight was unevenly distributed and that she wouldn't end up going anywhere if she tried to pounce like that. "Icekit," he mewed, trying to warn her, but it was too late. The white-furred kit crashed into their nest head-first, and he crooked his tail, inhaling sharply through his teeth as he imagined her pain. She must be so embarrassed, and he felt a wave of sympathy for her.

"It's all about evenly distributing your weight," he said. Maybe if he was able to teach Icekit where she had gone wrong, she would still be able to eat. "You were focusing too much on tensing your back legs for the pounce, that you forgot you were putting all your weight into your front paws, so you tumbled forward like that when you tried to jump." He'd watched the other kits do it too, make the same mistakes over and over again before they'd gotten it right. Sometimes his constant watching helped him learn far more than playing could ever do for him.

He could feel his father's gaze burning into him, and he tried not to squirm under the intensity of of it. "Like this," he said, sinking into a crouch. He struggled for a moment, trying to balance all his weight in his shoulders and haunches - the muscles he'd be using to pounce - rather than his paws, which he was trying to keep light. But it was harder than he had imagined, and when he tensed his back legs to prepare for the spring, he could feel himself coming unbalanced. What was wrong with him? Why was this way easier to explain than do himself?

He narrowed his eyes, focusing on a leaf half-way across the nursery as his target, gathered his strength in his back legs, and pounced. He fell short of the leaf by quite a bit, but he'd landed light on his paws. He realized then that he'd only moved a mouse-length from his original position. Call that a pounce? He flattened his ears and said nothing, turning away from the bullfrog he wouldn't get the first bite of. But he would get a bite. He returned to his spot at the edge of the nursery again, working his paws on the ground in front of him as he thought, desperate to perfect what he already knew how to do, if only in theory.

[attr="class","dawntag"]tagged Ginger, ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, @jen, Silver

[attr="class","dawntag"]notes protect him

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[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

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Sneaking in the pain, every truth becomes lie

[attr="class","wolf"]

[attr="class","wolftfl"]T

wo bright orange eyes watched from the shadows, a long, fluffy tail tip twitched back and forth. Though he held himself with an eerie stillness, the large tom-kit was bursting to the very ends of his fur with impatience. He had watched with fixated eyes as the hunting patrol left at sunset, and now the sound of crickets chirped to announce the coming of night. Hunger rumbled from the depths of his stomach. When would they return? White claws unsheathed, digging into the ground beneath him. He hardly paid attention to Sootkit, who seemed intent on trying to boss her brothers and sisters around the den. His ear twitched. He didn’t even grace her with a reply. Her authority mattered not to him. As far as he was concerned, any cat that he could easily squash in combat didn’t have any right to tell him what to do. Even if they were kin.

A flicker of movement outside the nursery tunnel, at the sloping entrance down into NightClan camp. Wolfkit’s tufted ears lifted, his eyes never leaving the entrance. The hunting patrol had returned, with the stark white figure of his father at its head. In his jaws dangled a shape, no doubt it was food. It was only when Frostjaw padded closer that Wolfkit made out the fat, bulbous shape of an ugly bullfrog. The grotesque legs tangled down, still twitching with the last remnants of life, but Wolfkit did not screw up his nose or turn his face away. He was used to eating even the most repulsive-looking amphibians. NightClan cats were not fussy like the other Clans no doubt were. They would eat whatever would give them the strength and energy to survive and grow stronger. The slimy, lifeless form was dropped to the ground. Frostjaw’s scrutinising eyes travelled over each kit in turn, the blue irises full of unreachable thoughts. Wolfkit straightened up silently as his father’s gaze passed over him. No doubt, his father was admiring Wolfkit’s size, strength and mature character. Confidence bloomed in his heart, a sturdy and ever-growing flower fueled by his own youthful ego that could one day become a well-rooted tree if his paws continued on his current path.

Wolfkit nodded as his father reminded them to always show gratitude to StarClan, and for the first time in many hours, the kit opened his mouth to speak. “Thank you, StarClan, for our prey.” He mewed aloud, his voice clear and strong. Words were precious and needed not to be wasted for silly reasons. Why waste breath on unimportant squabbling?

Wolfkit was about to make a start for the bullfrog when his father stopped him. The announcement of competition made the large tom-kit immediately concerned for his weaker siblings. Dawnkit was small and easily distracted, Icekit was small and frail, the weak counterpart to their father. Sootkit and himself would be mostly fine, though Sootkit often irritated him. Wolfkit himself had not yet practised many pounces. He didn’t enjoy playing with the other kits, as he found them often too easy to beat, but this had caused a lack of experience that Wolfkit hadn’t realised might put him at a disadvantage. Icekit lined up for her own pounce, white paws ready to leap. But as she did, she dove headlong into a pile of moss, landing not just awkwardly, but clumsily. Wolfkit winced slightly, the ashen taste of disappointment tinging his tongue. Sympathy flooded through his eyes, but he made no move to run to her to see if she was okay. He understood that his father expected strength from each and every one of them, and believed that Icekit could become stronger with time. But Wolfkit feared that his weaker siblings would forever be weak. That was okay. He could protect them with his own strength, which well made up for the failings of his brother and sister. His own size and prowess would shine behind them and give them the strength they needed. His face brightened slightly.

Dawnkit’s advice made Wolfkit prick his own ears, impressed. He hadn’t expected the golden and white tom to conjure up something sensible like that. Often, his brother made little sense to him, but now he seemed to be genuinely in tune with how to do things right. Following Dawnkit’s advice, Wolfkit crouched, making sure to carefully weigh himself against his front and back legs. His tail raised out behind him like a banner, gaze focused on success. With a heave of his back legs, he leapt forward and landed with slight awkwardness due to his excessive bulk. It wasn’t perfect, but Wolfkit still puffed out his chest slightly as he faced his father and siblings, feeling he had been the most successful attempt thus far.

To his complete bewilderment, despite the accuracy of his advice, Dawnkit seemed unable to complete the pounce himself. Wolfkit frowned. “Your paws are large. They may be heavier than Icekit’s.” He warned, hoping his tip would help improve his brother’s stance. Dawnkit was a failure at many things, but pouncing. Surely pouncing was something any cat could manage with genuine effort. He looked unsteady, like he had forgotten how to hold his own body up.

I won't trust myself once I hear your call

WOLFKIT

Progeny of NightClan

Tags: Ginger , @jen , Katara , Silver .
Words: 868

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[Ginger]

Frostjaw

nightclan warrior 41 moons

One by one, the warrior's progeny took their chances on a pounce. At Icekit's clumsy attempt, Frostjaw swallowed, but said nothing. He merely turned his head towards the next of the litter to try. Of course it was Dawnkit. Frostjaw had a hunch that the advice the runt had given to Icekit was something he had probably heard from apprentices in the clearing, not actually knowing what any of those words meant. That hunch proved correct as Dawnkit performed the weakest pounce he had seen yet.

"A newborn with its eyes still closed can move farther than that," he started, his words cutting. But he was not just here to chide - he was here to teach.  "You must center yourself mentally and physically before any technique. Feel where your paws touch the earth. Feel how your claws will bend it to their will."

Next, it was Wolfkit. Frostjaw had high expectations for the largest of his kits. His eyes glared intently at Wolfkit as he pounced a good distance away. His tail flicked slightly as Wolfkit struggled a bit to stick the landing, but overall he was satisfied. "As you land, you must have more bend in your legs. That will ensure greater stability."

Next it was Sootkit's turn. Frostjaw turned to her as she waited impatiently. He knew to save the best for last. "Show them how it's done." The small kit nodded intently, smirked at her littermates, then dropped into a deep crouch. She prowled around the nursery for added effect, showing off her ever-quieting paw-steps. When she had circled around the nursery three whole times, she snarled and pounced on Dawnkit, crashing into him.

"Almost perfect. But you will find that prey is harder to stalk than your brother. Come eat." Sootkit puffed up at 'almost,' but she smoothed over as she came to take a bite out of the bullfrog.

"Wolfkit, once more with what I told you, then you may eat." His eyes narrowed. "Icekit, Dawnkit... Again."

only in darkness can you see the stars

Katara@jen@fabrication@sable & 332 words

[Deleted]

Icepaw

NightClan- 6 Moons - Female

Embarrassment pulsed through Icekit's entire being like a second pelt. This pelt, however,  was a scorch of hot flames that washed over her, and burned where it hit flesh. The white molly slowly collected herself from her fallen posture and sat up, ears plastered against her skull and eyes drawn to the ground. She could feel the eyes of her siblings upon her, and while there was sympathy there, her father's glaze certainly held something more. Even when she hadn't met his glaze, she could still feel those intense orbs, so like her own, staring at her, as if burning into her very soul. 

She held back the urge to shiver and to squirm and kept her eyes glued to the ground, already sure that she had failed the first test of her kithood. Yet it was only when her brother, Dawnkit, spoke to her,  would she slowly raise her head up and turn towards her siblings. Her ears flickered, taking in his soft and comforting words for improvement. She nodded in response, not trusting herself to speak. Instead, when Dawnkit moved to show her how it was done, the molly found herself smiling with eagerness and amazement. Dawnkit was so cool! He was so confident in himself and so knowledgeable! He was totally going to get this right on the first try!

Icekit was certainly not let down with her brother's pounce. He had done it so effortlessly and so easily and despite the fact that he hadn't gone too far it, it certainly had been better than her previous try. At least he had landed on his feet! "That was gre," She had wanted to congratulate her brother for his well balanced attempt and had been in the mists of saying something in the line of her own encouragement, but she was instantly interrupted by her other brother, Wolfkit. Her ears that had been perked, in happiness at seeing Dawnkit's success, flattened once more against her skull at Wolfkit's words. Her brother had completed his own pounce effortlessly and had turned to direct his attention towards Dawnkit.

Even when the words he spoke, hadn't truly been directed at her, but there was an edge of....something that she could hear in that single warning, even if she couldn't exactly place it."Well, I think he did great," She almost hissed at Wolfkit, feeling a small edge of warmth threading in her words, "It wasn't perfect but at least he landed on his feet...," Unlike me. She purposely left out the last part of her sentence. There was a small silence that Icekit allowed herself to wallow in and when realization finally fell into play would she, instantly feel herself freezes as another wave of embarrassment swept through her. Her words been blunt and angry sounding and she lowered her glaze to the ground once more, wishing she could just disappear right then and there.

Thankfully it seemed that her outburst hadn't been noticed because the attention was pulled towards her sister, at her father's suggestion. The other molly flashed a smirk that made a frown pull to Icekit's maw in response. "Showoff.." She murmured quietly to herself, even going as far as to roll her eyes for a good measure. While the fluffy white molly knew little about her own feelings, she knew enough to know that Sootkit was the obvious perfection in their litter. The perfect kit, who could do everything perfectly without even trying. Icekit was too young to understand the concept of jealousy just yet. Her father's words brought the kit back to reality and she turned to look up at him in surprise. He he had called her name...maybe he thought her performance was good enough to eat some of the bullfrog? What fleeting hope she had was dashed at the simple word, that flowed from her father's maw. "Again" Of course, she had to try again! It was only natural right? She had to prove her strength to him, this was the only way to get food!

"Yes, Frostjaw," She mouthed sheepishly, before blowing out a breath of air from her mouth. She shifted once more into a crouch, though careful to avoid the mistakes she had done before. The echoes of Dawnkit's words and the easy light of Sootkit's success came to mind and using that, the molly took a chance. Putting her weight onto her back hunches she then concentrated and leaped -

And landed surprisingly on her paws, for a moment...only to have her body stumble and collapse into another nest to the right of her. Small threads of moss and bedding immediately covered her thick white body, once more hiding away the hot wash of embarrassment that washed over her.

Icepaw Talking

sorry for the wait on this! I thought there was someone else before me LMAO• Katara , Ginger , ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 • 415

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