pafp ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE | premature tunneling

[cottonsprig]

"Y'ready?"

Cottonkit tilts her head slightly as she looks towards Burnetkit, her paws itching to tear ahead of the other and patience wearing thin. She could tell that the red kitten, too, was only barely holding herself back, perhaps more excited than her grey furred counterpart. While Cottonkit can't place why her friend is so interested in the underground, she surely can find the reason to her own curiosity. Icepaw and Kingletpaw made the tunnels out to be important, after all. Perhaps more important, even, than the expansive moorlands once they become dusted with snow. She wonders what can be found down there, what discoveries can be made...

For now, though, they just need to take the first step. Cottonkit is full of initiative however in the moment, she hesitates, almost wanting Burnetkit to break rank and launch forward ahead of her. The thought doesn't linger for long however. She reminds herself of who her mother is, her father, of who she and her siblings are and will be and - once she does, it's incredibly easy for her to pull forward in front of the red tabby, simply flicking her tail to signal the other to follow her. The tunnels can't be that scary, right?

[ pls wait for @BURNETKIT ! also feel free to stop them or accompany them :3c ]​

 

[BURNETPAW]

"Born ready!"

The tunnels yawned as it invited the two kittens into it, like a gaping maw though bearing no teeth to bite and no tongue to brandish. It was merely an abyssal call, but a temptation for the intrepid, reagardless. That was what a good warrior did, after all - they heeded the croon of adventure and tailed it accordingly, allowing no brevity of cowardice nor hesitation to stop them. Burnetkit matched such a temptation with a hungry gaze of golden, swallowing the darkness and replacing it with an aureate glow, for she had never been afraid of the dark. Even in the absence of sight, one could still hear the rustles between the spaces, smell the trails tangling about, and feel their heartbeat wrest with the confines of the narrowness. Shivers ran down her spine in anticipation, and she practically shook in place with how excited she was, more than any leaf-bare's chill or hoarse hoarfrost could make it. She would be going on an adventure with her friend Cottonkit! Into the tunnels, no less!

Little paws pitter-pattered after Cottonkit made a break for it, paying no heed to whoever would watch the two go in unsupervised. They should be proud, she figured. The tigrine kitten followed in suit behind her grey-colored partner-in-crime, like the rain follows the stormcloud, and the day lags after the sunrise. Although she wanted to lead, she figured it was better if Cottonkit led. She didn't want to accidentally get both of them lost - not that she thought she would, but the mere thought planted anxiety in a budding, thrumming heart. Cold drafts of the caverns tickled at her tousles playfully, dancing around flame-flushed fur. It was controlled, tempered, unlike that of the unpredictable moors. "Let's try to find a rabbit den! Ooh, or a badger den! We can fight them off and save Windclan!" She mewled ecstaticly.
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[icebreath]

TAGS — Courageous as the little mollies may be, royal as Cottonkit is, Icepaw's anxiety and adherence to the law will always come first. The sound of two squeaky voices reverberating through the tunnels sends a wave of confusion washing over the apprentice from her own position within the labyrinth's shadowy depths; she crouches reflexively, pausing to listen with swiveling ears. Their first impulse is to pass it off as a figment of their imagination, because kits aren't even allowed to leave camp, much less venture down into such a dangerous part of the territory. But another enthusiastic mewl quickly confirms it, sending a jolt of fearful realization through her small frame. "I think I hear kits," she calls blindly to her nearby tunneling companion and any other patrol member who's close enough to hear. Then she's off, nose twitching and ears continuing to swivel this way and that as she navigates through the tight space.

A bit of light starts filtering in the longer she prowls; with relief she realizes they haven't made it too far at all. Thank StarClan. But that isn't enough to curb her anxiety just yet, especially when she recognizes Cottonkit among the pair. Oh no! Sootstar would kill them if they let something happen to her daughter! "What are you guys doing? You can't be down here!" they exclaim frantically. Their tone, while forceful, is absent of anger and overcome with worry.
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[SCORCHSTREAK]

The blue-pointed apprentice’s words send a spark of something down Scorchstreak’s spine, leaving them feeling as though someone dunked them in chilly water. They lift their head quickly, golden eyes narrowing in the dark space. Kits in the tunnels? That’s not supposed to happen, and the fact that Icepaw thinks they hear kits is concerning. The calico follows Icepaw until the kits come into view—and oh dear, it’s Cottonkit and Burnetkit.

"Kits," she warns, voice low. She knows how to scold a child—she’d spent months scolding her Finnegan, the troublesome kit that he was. Though her own son’s antics did not specifically include going into places that she told him were off-limits. Of course, she doesn’t believe these two (one of whom being Sootstar’s own child) are being intentionally rebellious. This seems like typical kit curiosity, and Scorchstreak forces back a smile, replacing it with a grimace. "As Icepaw said, you shouldn’t be down here. It may seem fun, but there are things down here that aren’t safe for young cats." Not even considering the occasional predator in the tunnels, collapses happen every so often, and hates pose a threat in their own way. The clan would surely be devastated if two of their kits were lost to something as simple as the tunnels.
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[ MONSTROUS WOMAN ]​

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[HARRIERSTRIPE]

It was well known many of the dens along the sandy hollow contained tunnels that allowed cats to enter and exit camp from. It made for a good emergency exit for those who could fit and were trained to navigate the dirt paths. Harrierkit had once wished his destiny was to become a prestige tunneler, but his genetics would not allow it, quickly he’s come to accept this. Not at all did it change his plans, he was still going to grow into being a magnificent warrior of WindClan.

It was evident by their statures that both Bluekit and Cottonkit would make sublime tunnelers, the ladder was even taking to exploring her career path early! Harrierkit blinks his yellow eyes in disbelief watching his sister vanish with friend Burnetkit.

Once they’d long vanished into the shadows he creeps forward, an ear curves to listen to the echoing voices. Had they… run into tunnelers down there already?! Harrierkit snickers, amused they had gotten caught so quickly. If they, or anyone, came back up they’d be met with him there eavesdropping. ​

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Spoiler: TAGS 🪶 02-16

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· SOOTSTAR, male — he / him
╰ ‣ 2 moons . pisces. ages on the 14th
╰ ‣ windclan kit . believes in starclan

╰ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells of the earth and dry grass , status — 100%
╰ ‣ blue and brown chimera . average sized WindClanner . yellow eyes

╰ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ESTJ-A ❝ EXECTUTIVE ❞ , Slytherin, Chaotic neutral
╰ ‣ self-reliant, loyal, disciplined, direct, impatient, unsympathetic, judge mental
╰ ‣ finds moderate difficulty in relating to others . can be cruel, but typically displays mercy

╰ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· WEASELCLAW x SOOTSTAR, sister to Windstrider, Sootchaser, Moorkit, Adderkit, Bluekit & Cottonkit
╰ ‣ sexuality unknown
╰ ‣ apprentice to TBD
╰ ‣ poor fighter . poor hunter .
╰ ‣ will start fights . unlikely to flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.​

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[MOORBLOSSOM]

Moorkit brushes past her earthen-toned brother. Headlong strides take her down into the underground, and a giggle trills in her maw as the daylight grows sparser. The tunnels are so cool! It's like a totally different world, where there's less sunshine but a lot more worms. Whatever the girl told Icepaw in days past has since become trivial. Tunnelers are important, and although they might not be as cool as Moor Runners, they do play an important role in WindClan.

Cottonkit and Burnetkit's voices bounce off the loamy walls. Soon joining them are the tones of a big kid and a grown-up, yet this does not deter Moorkit in her quest. She can't let any of her siblings or friends see more of the underground than her. It wouldn't be fair!

A toothy smile takes hold of her mouth as she encroaches on the other cats. "Hi guys!" she calls out, all while dawdling near on stocky limbs. Moorkit only comes to a standstill when she's in easy reach of Burnetkit. "I'm here, too! Can you show us around?"​

 

[Addervenom]

Life doesn't discriminate

The sight of his sisters diving head first into the tunnels earns a disapproving shake of his head from the second born. If Swiftshrike or their parents spotted them, what then? Could they even be in the tunnels without being apprenticed first? Adderkit comes to stand beside Harrierkit, ears angled towards the sound of excited voices deep within the earth. Rocking back upon his haunches a low sigh flutters from his lips as he overhears the soft chiding of apprentices. "Caught already...a shame really." The boy tsks in the direction of his brother, tail draping over his paws. A minute albeit wicked grin touches his lips as he continues on. "Think they'll get in trouble?" Part of him believe otherwise but he was curious of Harrier's answer. If he could slap Gravelpaw over the head not once, but twice, and not be disciplined for it then maybe the girls could get away with this little stunt. ​

Between the sinners and the saints​

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[Voidwhisker]

The abyss was no place for kits. While he admired their enthusiasm to explore the depths, he had to make it clear to them that they were not yet ready to descend into the maw of the earth. He followed the sound of voices, slipping through the shadows like a snake in the grass.

As soon as he was close enough, he would call out, as to not crowd already cramped space.

"As my fellow delvers have said, this is no place for kits. Have you any idea how dangerous it is down here?" He said. Who was responsible for watching kits today? He would have a word with them.

"Cats have died down here, crushed in the maw of the earth, never to be seen again." He continued. "We will happily show you around when you are apprentices, but for now, out!" He finished firmly.

He didn't care if he were punished for lecturing the leaders kits. SOMEBODY had to discipline them, and he'll be damned if he found kit corpses down here.
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[HARRIERSTRIPE]

Harrierkit merely scoffs as his final sister brushes past him to head into the tunnels. Fool… he thinks, wrinkling his nose. Had she not heard they were already getting scolded? Why go down herself to get berated by warriors? Certainly would not be him, he’d sit up here and listen but he would not move his paws another inch into the tunnels.

At least Adderkit wasn’t half-brained, perhaps the she-kits of their litter had been born with worms in their brains. Besides, why did Moorkit want to go down there anyways?! The three of them were to be moor runners, only Bluekit and Cottonkit had tunneling in their destinies. The earth-toned kitten has a feeling this more has to do with not wanting to miss out and less of Moorkit having a secret yearning for the tunnels.

Think they’ll get in trouble? Harrierkit nods, ”Definitely.”​

---

Spoiler: TAGS 🪶 02-23

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· SOOTSTAR, male — he / him
╰ ‣ 2 moons . pisces. ages on the 14th
╰ ‣ windclan kit . believes in starclan

╰ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells of the earth and dry grass , status — 100%
╰ ‣ blue and brown chimera . average sized WindClanner . yellow eyes

╰ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ESTJ-A ❝ EXECTUTIVE ❞ , Slytherin, Chaotic neutral
╰ ‣ self-reliant, loyal, disciplined, direct, impatient, unsympathetic, judge mental
╰ ‣ finds moderate difficulty in relating to others . can be cruel, but typically displays mercy

╰ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· WEASELCLAW x SOOTSTAR, sister to Windstrider, Sootchaser, Moorkit, Adderkit, Bluekit & Cottonkit
╰ ‣ nephew to Mintshade & Bluepool
╰ ‣ sexuality unknown
╰ ‣ apprentice to TBD
╰ ‣ poor fighter . poor hunter .
╰ ‣ will start fights . unlikely to flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.​

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[Mintshade]

"Let them go if they want, Soot can just pop out some replacements when they get buried alive. No problem!" SootSTAR. SootSTAR. It was a habit she was still trying to work herself out of and sometimes they just slipped out. Her sister did deserve her respectful title, after all, Mintshade was just a cat who often forgot things unless they were life or death; she even forgot her own name sometimes but that was from being called Minty for so long she didn't really register anything else as worth responding to. "Sootstar-" She said again, this time making sure to remember the honorifc bestowed upon the other by their new sparkly overseers, "-can try again and maybe get a few more nicer looking ones. Like Moorkit." Wait, oh no, that one was also trying to crawl to her death. Unfortunate! His bright green gaze flit from Scorchstreak and Molewhisker before pausing on Icepaw's smaller form; they had a good gaggle of cats telling them no-no-no already! If they didn't listen then that was their own foolish little faults and maybe one of them would survival the tunnels to take it as a lesson. Or maybe she was responsible and actually did something to prevent this, alright fine. She would give it a go.
"You kids wanna murder Molewhisker for fun instead? I can hold'em down for you."
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[cottonsprig]

Burnetkit's chatter is enough to crowd Cottonkit's ears for the moments it lasts. She trills a giggle, ready to agree - after all, if they find a rabbit den, then all of WindClan would be fed for moons to come! Same with a badger den, though she's unsure if a cat has ever eaten badger. After all, they're posed as threats more often than not. It's a question she'll have to sprout when they find adults again. For now, though, she and Burnet are on a mission, and -

And they're caught.

Cottonkit's excitement doesn't die immediately. At first, it's just Icepaw, who's worthy and excited demeanor prior makes the grey kitten believe that they'll be just fine. After all, Icepaw was gushing about the importance of tunnellers before! Surely they would happily guide herself and Burnetkit deeper into the caverns and tussle an angry badger with them. Instead, their tone comes across as frantic, worried - Scorchstreak is next and the older she-cat's expression could easily rival her mother's on a bad day. The happiness in Cottonkit's chest fades partially, frustration replacing it instead.

She doesn't understand the danger. She's heard stories of traitors, skirmishes, formidable foes - but all above ground. Stars, badgers are meant to be scary, but with the lot of them there, doesn't that mean they're each more safe than moments before!? Cottonkit opens her mouth, starting with, "But -" when Moorkit arrives next. Her sister is nonchalant, excited, as if she's heard not the tales of woe from Icepaw and Scorchstreak moments before. She looks expectantly up at the two - maybe a third hopeful kitten will make them change their minds. But just as she hopes, those hopes flutter away. Molewhisker is quicker to detail the horrors of tunneling, unwilling to allow the kittens to keep their partial innocence.

Cottonkit, angrily, shoots back - "Cats die up there too!" She emphasizes her words, although they're hardly a few meters from the mouth of the tunnel. Three against three, with three more sitting outside the tunnels and waiting for the hammer to drop. Cottonkit wishes she could be stubborn, like her siblings often are, but in the moment her frustration is more apparent and she sticks out her tongue childishly. She's the first to retreat, unwilling to argue with a bunch of whiny adults. Maybe she can sneak down here at night...

Her aunt's words are lost to her until the offer of murdering Molewhisker. They'd have one less roadblock if he were gone, but they would also have one less tunneller, and Cottonkit doesn't want to thin out the team. "I could rough him up on my own!" she protests, standing a foot or two from the maw of the cave.​

 

[BURNETPAW]

The first tunneler to catch the two kittens was the spindly-statured Icepaw, angular contour emerging from sharpened shadow, like a smoothened cloud of moonlit white in the thick night. Even the starkest of alabasters could be masked by the gloom of the underpasses, which fascinated Burnetkit more than anything. Even she, of sunset scarlets and tigrine swathes, could be invisible! Scorchstreak arrived shortly afterwards to cut their well-earned adventure with that characteristic curtness that adults tended to hold fast to. Burnet rebuked such rimed indignation with the spark of youth. "Yes, we can! Because we're tunnellers!" Moorkit bumbled just in tow, and Adderkit and Harrierkit stood just at the precipice of the tunnel's maw. ( She wanted to call to them, but perhaps the future moor runners were afraid of the dark. ) Well, the kits were bound for a great expedition filled with woes and wonder!

"What!? Sootstar can do that?" Burnetkit practically spun on her heels to face the pitch-painted Mintshade, as if the warrior didn't need shade's cloak to blend into the night, and perhaps she had been birthed from the mire and murk of the underground. However, the thought of taking down Molewhisker made her eyes shimmer with a mischievous sheen, setting her sights upon the pearlesque-colored tom. It would be round two with the man she had deemed a giant while she was Burnetclan's leader. An ivory-toothed smile quickly replaced wondrous dips in clay features, perking at downy countenance like strikes of ink against impassioned concrete. "Yay! I wanna beat up Molewhisker!"
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[Mintshade]

"I got no clue, do I look like I know anything about kits other than what they might taste like?" White flashed against black fur, each tooth sharp and pristine as she took pride in her fierce smile and would pick at her teeth to keep them clean; first impressions mattered in a fight. She wanted to stain them red properly and old blood lingered too long if left unbothered. The children all seemed rather intrigued by the notion of committing horrific atrocities, maybe she wasn't so bad at this kitsitting thing after all if it was this easy to redirect and entertain them.
Mintshade stepped back and then dropped to a crouch, carefully shifted paws to mimic the exact way she might position herself to spring after a hare before it darted away and her shoulders tensed; every muscle coiled tight.
A sudden spring from the molly sent her slamming into the pale tunneler and throwing him down with ease to pin with a paw to the chest and another pressing perhaps a little too hard down onto his throat; it was just there to shut him up if he sassed her. Promise.
"You heard the kits, Molewhisker. Your days are numbered. Any final words before I put you in a tunnel thats closed on both ends now?" A smirk rose across her face, leering down at the tom with utmost venom as if she truly planned to end his life. It was hard to tell where the thin line between a joke and an actual threat was with her, so lighthearted were he remarks to rip a cat to shreds. It was a coyness most couldn't grasp and she reveled in her own mystery. Always keep them on their toes you know, it was the only way to remain ahead of the pack.

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[Voidwhisker]

Alas, the people cried out for his punishment for trying to look out for their safety. He was to be overthrown and executed for his audacity!

Oh woe, he would not live to speak of his tale.

"The kits crave my blood! How terrible~" he said.

No sooner did he finish speaking did Mintshade ram into him, earning her a startled "AH-!" Without even the chance to react, he was forcefully pinned down with a paw on his chest and one on his throat....

She asks him for final words, but all he can think about is how he was enjoying this. Minus the borderline choking. He liked Mintshade. She was black as the darkness he dwelled in and her eyes were such a lovely shade of green.... She was an all encompassing void.... A thing of beauty.

"Ghg.......My last words in this mortal coil....." He dramaticly put a paw to his forehead. " I have none, I accept my fate at the paws of Sootstars kits and her wonderful sister!"


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