camp 𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 ✦ chores [elder's den]

[ADDERSNAP]

Eleven moons. Adderpaw was so close to warrior — hood it filled his senses, making him water at the mouth with anticipation. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if Leafhusk would deem it necessary for him to stay behind for a moon, to truly make sure that he was prepared to experience the 'what — if's' that exist. The scenario of more wolves returning while he was a warrior flashed into his mind, and he couldn't exactly say that he could imagine the outcome to be extraordinary. Shaking his head to rid of voices that buzzed around in his mind like beetles, focusing on pulling the feline's fur to the sides before him, tongue slightly poking out from under his lip as his teeth gently rest on top of it. Some of the apprentices, including himself, had been instructed to care for the elders for the day in order to keep them 'entertained' and as a reminder that they weren't warriors just quite yet.

Stifling a sigh, the tomcat lowered his face into the elder's fur to chomp down on a rather large tick, disgusting filling his veins as he could taste some of the blood from its body trickling into his mouth from the puncture of his teeth. Spitting it out into the sand with pity and regret, he closed his eyes before squashing the pest underneath heavy paws. Adderpaw cared for most bugs, but he felt little remorse for those that actively tried to cause him harm. However, seeing the tick fleeing for its life made him second guess himself for performing his action. Sitting back more comfortably on his haunches, the tabby unsheathed a claw to drag in the sand in a swirl as though entranced. "Do ya need me to do anything else, Lizardtongue?" He questioned to the molly who shook her head, shrugging his shoulders as he moved over towards her nest.

The slow movement of the older feline's head got his mind whirling for a moment. What would it be like for him to be an elder, basically dust and bones the moment he moved into the den? (That's how he imagined it, at least, although it was nothing like that at all.) Adderpaw had never thought about his life past like 30 moons, so the idea of getting so old and frail and helpless didn't exactly bring him peace. But was he any different now? The only thing that he had going for him was that he was young, so he still had his mobility. What if he was left behind by his clanmates, told he was just extra baggage for them to worry about saving? Lizardtongue's voice of concern shook him from his thoughts as she asked if he was alright. "Yeah. Yeah, 'm good. 'M gonna work on your nest now, okay?" The reddish-brown tabby looked around at his immediate surroundings to realize his bundle of replacement moss was missing with a grumble. Tapping the nearest apprentice lightly on the shoulder, he inquired casually: "Do ya know where my moss went? I can't find my moss bundle."

𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 ✹ . + 　 ˚ 　　　 · 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍?

• 

• 

  an apprentice of thunderclan, adderpaw is one of the oldest in his rank at ten moons. he is being mentored by leafhusk, and is on track to graduate as a warrior later than his peers. displays a similar looking pattern to the adder snake, with a reddish-brown coat sporting splatters of white to compliment dark tones. often smells of fresh soil & musky wood.　✦

​

 

[BURNSTORM]

When he had been an apprentice, he had had a strong work ethic. Even now, that had not gone away, but it was different when you were a warrior. Less was expected of you, in a way. No longer did he feel the heavy burden of his heritage on his shoulders, blood begging to be proven against. Still, he remembers those days of cleaning out the elders den, picking through the fresh kill pile, and the other thousands of tasks he had been assigned to do with a certain fondness one usually reserved for their childhood memories. When he sees Adderpaw performing one of these duties diligently, he finds himself nodding respectfully. Now that was what an apprentice should be doing in their free time. And he would expect no less from him, not with Leafhusk was the toms mentor. "Good work Adderpaw" he praises as he draws closer, placing prey at the paws of an elder before speaking.

One day, with any hope and a good lot of luck, it would be him and Roeflame in this den. Together. They would grow old and order the apprentices about in impossible tasks, pretending as if their memories were on the fritz and laughing softly to themselves. Maybe they would even have a few grandchildren of their own by the time that happened. It was something to look forward to, something to fight for. The chance at one day having peace like that.

( ☼ ) come and take it

• 
  
• 
  BURNSTORM THUNDERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR ; HE / HIM ; BROTHER TO MORNINGPAW, MOONWHISPER, HOWLFIRE, FIREFLYPAW, SKYCLAW & DUSKBIRD ; MATE TO ROEFLAME ; FATHER TO DOVEKIT, BEETLEKIT, AND LITTLEKIT
  

  A large, sharp tongued, tom with long black fur and golden, oval shaped, eyes.

  ✦ Difficult in battle. A skilled fighter + fights honorably
  

​

 

[doepath ࿔]

It was a far better option than being outside in the heat, running through the undergrowth looking for prey or wandering the sweltering grass beside the Thunderpath. That area in particular felt hellish under this sun... but the elders den... it was shaded and comfortable and had no threat of immediate death for her like the unpredictable forest did. She'd gotten used to the monotony of these sorts of chores, didn't mind participating in them... Though Adderpaw seemed a bit mortified by the suggestion that he too might reach this stage of 'uselessness' and decay, Doepaw thought it was sweet. Before ThunderClan she hadn't even considered a cat could live to be this old in the first place! And to be cared for was a nice way to give thanks...

A gentle tap at her shoulder pulls honeyed stare towards her peer, whiskers twitching in question before the boy finally got around to his inquiry. "Your moss?" Round eyes blink dumbly, glancing towards the ground and its dizzying array of browns and greens in dismay... It wasn't exactly easy to make out... "Uh.... uhm..." Her tail flicks this way and that... nervous... growing more uncertain by the second up until she notices that it is catching... on something...

Standing up and lifting her tail off the ground in annoyance, she turns to squint at it, "Was it under my tail? Is that it?"​

 

[SQUIRRELPAW]

What may seem monotonous and boring to Adderpaw and the other older apprentices, seemed like a dream come true to young Squirrelkit. She was so, so excited to become an apprentice and finally have some freedom, that sometimes she actually felt herself shaking at the idea of it. Soon, she would be able to go out into the forest with her mentor, like all the other cats in the clan. She'd be allowed to climb real trees, and not just the stupid dens; she'd be able to learn how to hunt and fight for her clan! Like a real warrior. Like her momma... and her papa.

In the face of all that, cleaning ticks off the elders seemed like no big deal.

The fluffy bicolored kitten bounded towards the small gathering, flashing a grin as she skidded to a halt just short of running into Lizardtongue. "Oops, sorry!" she giggled insincerely when she noticed the elder open her mouth to scold her. "Watcha doin over here?" She only heard enough of the conversation for her attention to be immediately drawn to the moss ball in question, suddenly reappearing as Doepaw moved her tail. "Ooh fun! I wanna play too!" She squealed in delight, her paw lashing out at lightning speed to bat the moss ball far, far across the clearing.... and she turned back to her clanmates with a cheeky grin, wondering who was gonna go toss it next. They played this game all the time in the nursery! Who knew elders and apprentices played too.

---

‎‎ooc ♡ info

• 
  

  

• SQUIRRELPAW ♡ she / her, apprentice of thunderclan, 6 moons
  ⭃ lh blue torbie with high white and green eyes. round and fluffy. good at climbing.
  ⭃ single, crushing on no one // flamewhisker x flycatcher // mentored by no one
  ⭃ sister to bugpaw, scorchedpaw, sunpaw, falconheart and stormfeather
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted // underline and tag when attacking.
  ⭃ penned by limerence ↛ @limericks. on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

 

[Myrtlekit]

Myrtlekit often found solace in listening to the tales of the elders. They were knowledgeable and watched the clans grow in their time. ”Hi miss Lizardtongue!” The blue lynx sepia would respond with a purr as the older molly gave her a gentle smile. Lizardtongue was sweet despite the typical elder attitude that came (mostly because of aching pain from age). Adderpaw inquired about where his moss went and it was mistakenly squashed by Doepaw, and the focus of Squirrelkit wished to play mossball. ”I'll get you some fresh moss, Adderpaw.” She responds softly as she bounds off in search of fresh moss that still had its fresh plump from it. This would allow for the elders to have fresh moss and for the squished moss underneath Doepaw to be allowed as a moss ball between Squirrelkit (and whoever else wished to play).

”Here you go,” Myrtlekit meows as she drops all the moss her tiny jaws can carry before the apprentices. Her plush ivory tail sweeps side-to-side as wide brown eyes focus on the apprentices before flicking to Burnstorm and Squirrelkit. Squirrelkit seemed to wish to play, and it seemed better to take the older girl off to the side, out of the way of the apprentices from their chores. ”Mm. Let's go play Squirrelkit!” After she accepts the invitation to play, the small girl bounds after the moss ball and bats it softly.
​

 

[ADDERSNAP]

Eyebrows furrowed in a quizzical fashion, Adderpaw's muddled thoughts were swatted away by the unprovoked praise from Burnstorm. If his fur had been any lighter, the pink that had flushed quickly into his cheeks ( before slowly spreading up to his ears ) would have been extremely noticeable. "Uh... t — thanks, Burnstorm." Monotone rumbles heightened by excitement poured from his mouth with rare glee. The tabby usually received praise from no one other than Leafhusk, yet as time began to count down towards his assessment, it was easy to hear the strain in her vocal chords despite her merciful .

Dipping his head to hide his arrogant smirk ( and in respect towards the lead warrior's words ), the flick of Doepaw's tail against moss interrupted the boy from wandering into fruitless thoughts. Adderpaw didn't know Doepaw quite well, other than the fact that she was the sister to Fallowpaw and had eyes that, well, didn't work — to put it bluntly. Though such a minor inconvenience about the moss being misplaced would have irritated him to the core just a moon or two ago, the sourness that spewed from his bitter tongue had subsided in order to maintain a . . . mature persona.

Grumbling out a "thank you," the tabby reached his white paw out to bat the ball closer to him when Squirrelkit's squeal nearly made him jump out of his skin, furry ruffled and prickly as he snapped his head towards the kit. Opening his maw to warn her that it wasn't meant to be a play — thing, his lips slightly curled back to show the beginnings of a soft snarl, the girl giggling with glee and naiveness swatted the ball so far across the camp it brought a defeated look to his features. Why him? He always had to deal with the energetic kits and their outbursts, tumbling into him with a small "sorry!" chirped as they skedaddled past. Did they do it on purpose, or were they really that ignorant and inconsiderate?

Adderpaw got to his paws with hackles upright, glare harsh after he tore his sights on the bundle that now lay across the camp. He just wanted to get these damn chores done with so he could stop thinking about what his future had in store for him. "Apprentices don't play games," he hissed through a clenched jaw, his tone level despite the force at which the words were delivered. He had to try and keep his composure somehow, right? Closing his sunlit hues in a fluttering mess, he focused on twitching his lips upwards into what became more of an unsettling grin instead of comforting and unsure. "A — at least not in the elder's den. Don't wanna disturb our elders, yeah?" Hesitating a glance towards Burnstorm's way to make sure he at least made up for his behavior, dragging his paw on the ground in a swirling motion to try and get his mind off of what choice words he could have thrown his way.

Myrtlekit's hello towards Lizardtongue made it impossible for the apprentice to stifle a groan, rolling his eye as one his age would do towards the situation at hand. Wasn't this supposed to just be a task for apprentices only? Maybe when he was a warrior he could finally tell off the kits — but something told him that it probably wouldn't be his place to do such a thing. Not like that would stop Adderpaw in any way, but it was something for him to dwell on. However, her mentions of getting Adderpaw ' fresh moss ' made him pause for a moment with an eyebrow quirked, eyes following her out of the elder's den before switching his gaze back towards Lizardtongue. "'M sorry about 'his, Lizardtongue, we're — uh . . . mmm . . . — gettin' that moss now," he went slow on his words to see if maybe the kit would come back during his sentence. And sure enough, she bounced back in and plopped it right before his paws as though it was nothing. No complaints? No wallowing that she had to go grab something that Squirrelkit has misplaced, or expecting something in return? Blinking in confusion as the girl excitedly leapt at the opportunity to play and darted away with Squirrelkit, Adderpaw felt dumbfounded as he stare at the moss bundle blankly. Huh.

Shaking his head, he looked up at Lizardtongue with a crooked smile. "Doepaw, mind lendin' me a paw to finish up Liz — uh, Miss, heh — Lizardtongue's nest all set up?" Maybe not all kits were so bad after all.

A D D E R P A W ( he/him )​

✦
✦
✦
✦
✦
✦
✦

( ooc ) ignore this grumpy teen smh

​