pafp all i am is a man // building "watch towers"

// please wait for @Pinekit ⭒

Cragkit doesn't join in the other kits' playing today like he normally does. Instead, he can be seen patrolling the edges of camp, almost like he's looking for something. Squinted eyes flick this way and that, a plan forming in his little brain. Mom says he will grow up to defend RiverClan with his life. Why does he need to wait to grow up? He needs to protect RiverClan now. He can help, even if he can't leave camp yet to patrol borders like the apprentices. An idea has already hatched in his brain and he soon gets to work, beginning to dig several holes around camp. It isn't the holes he's interested in, though. It's the sand and mud he digs up from them.

The tom-kit races from hole to hole, each of which is scattered around camp's edges. He begins to pack in the damp earth with his paws, and when he runs out of materials he returns to his digging so he can collect more. When one gets big enough, he bounds to the next to do the same, and then to the next, and back to the beginning. He sits now on the top of one of the mounds and shoves dirt into place, a look of pure focus on his face when his sister approaches him. "Not now, Pinekit!" He calls to her with a hint of annoyance, worried she'll ruin his fun - er, job.
 

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-ˋˏ ༻ ❆༺ ˎˊ- Cragkit’s disappearance from their playing was easy to notice, normally her brother was eager to scrap over what they would play, who they would play. Pinekit had taken up that role today, proposing a game of scavenge, ever since Ferngill had let her help him sort through all of his pebbles, collecting odd and shiny trinkets had become more and more of a hobby by the day.
When the brindled she-kit was met without the usually inevitable protest from Cragkit, she had been quick to stray away from the others and solve the mysterious case of her littermates disappearance.
He wasn’t hard to find, not really. Ashen fur frantically bouncing from one mound of dirt to the next had been the thing to give Cragkit’s whereabouts away, but by the time Pinekit makes her way over, he is perched upon one of the hills, snowy paws turned golden with earth.
Not now, Pinekit! He squeals, though his dismissal of her only draws her brow bones together with sparking frustration, fueling her last steps with even more curiosity.
“What’re you doing? Trying to become a worm?” Pinekit trills back, words laced with a tease.
Critical saffron hues climb upward to face her sibling, and while she has no interest in the dirt that coats Cragkit’s limbs, the view her brother had called to the tortoiseshell.
“Lemme see!” She finally chirps, placing an ivory paw on the base of his mound.



  • PINEKIT she/her, kit of riverclan, 2 moons.
    plush-furred tortoiseshell she-kit with white dipped forepaws, tail tip, and muzzle and round, honey hued optics.
    daughter of Iciclefang && Stormywing ࿏ sister to Cragkit && Crabkit
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by Noor@toyangel on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 
i'm in the in between, honey

As much as her elders tell her that she is a growing cat with new responsibilities everyday, all she wants to do is play. Turtlepaw's favorite days are when Snakeblink assigns her to clean out the nursery. If she cleaned out the milk soaked moss and the leftovers from the queens meals fast enough, she could sneak in some play time with the current kits. She knows her training will be used for more important things eventually.

The apprentice knows she was raised in peace. The rogues were ousted and war had ceased with WindClan when she was very young, the last of the kits in RiverClan to be granted apprenticeship early. Maybe that granted her the peace of mind to act like a kit still. The cloud of the possibility that the peace would end hung over her head like a thunder cloud about to burst. Turtlepaw promptly decided to ignore it.

For now, she would hastily shove moss from the nursery in excitement as she heard commotion near the camp's edge. Pinekit and Cragkit, Iciclefang's young'ins, bounced around small mounds of dirt and bickered enough to draw Turtlepaw's short attention span.

"I didn't know we were training WindClan tunnelers!" She chirped, moving closer with whiskers twitching in excitement. "What game are we playing?"

A weird twist started in her stomach as she realized just how much bigger she was than the kits. Had she really grown that much recently? Turtlepaw knew she was a stocky cat with wide shoulders and big paws. Lately, her paws seemed to match her proportions and her stocky shoulders felt less awkward. Like the thunder cloud of looming peace-break, Turtlepaw ignored the twist in her stomach at the realization of change.
 

It's not unusual to see and entertain the ambitions kittens have for their warriorhood. It was promising of a dedicated future, Hazecloud liked to think. That expressing the interest in their older Clanmates and attempting to mimic them may set a good example of what their apprenticeship may be. Pebblepaw and Riverpaw were exemplary tributes to that especially since they were the first of RiverClans nursery-dwellers that had to wait the extra moons to abide by the new code.

Cragkit appeared enamored with the life a warrior had, no surprise knowing who his mother is. However he's off about camp in a curious mission that she doesn't quite understand herself. Dirtying his paws with peat and sand, forming holes all around camp that would have to be refilled by someone to prevent anyone from tripping over them- what was he up to?

Turtlepaw mused he was acting more like a WindClanner than a RiverClanner which she expected not to be taken so humorously. The queen decided to approach closer in the case she may have to do some mediating. "Can Pinekit not help you, Cragkit? Or is this one of those toms-only games I've heard of."
 
His face scrunches with annoyance as he looks down at his sister. No, I’m not! I’m building lookout spots so I can watch for enemies,” He tells her matter-of-factly, his tail lashing with frustration. Isn’t it obvious? He thinks they look quite good, and they’re oh-so practical. Why doesn’t anyone else see his vision? He huffs in response to Turtlepaw, pouting down at her. “It’s not a game,” He whines. “I’m protecting the camp!” He is a little warrior, not a baby!

But as Hazecloud approaches, he feels his ears and tail tuck slightly in submission, knowing he should always show respect to the adults. He kicks a paw against the dirt as his gaze drops, muttering, No…” Yes, sort of. “She can help…as long as she doesn’t mess anything up,” He concedes, huffing again and pursing his lips. He looks back to Pinekit, tail twitching uncertainly. “I can show you how to pack the mud in. We need to get them high enough so we can see for forever,” He tells her, attitude slowly improving as he explains what he’s doing. But it’s not a game! Definitely not a game.
 

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-ˋˏ ༻ ❆༺ ˎˊ- Her littermates brash response has sunshine optics rolling before he is finished speaking. Juh-eez! Pinekit groans, “I just wanna see!” Her plea isn’t unheard by prying ears for long, and Turtlepaw’s light tease is quick to make Pinekit’s head turn with a small, distasteful scrunch of her nose- she didn’t give the apprentice permission to tease her brother, that was Pinekit’s job! Before the kitten can say anything, though, Hazecloud is coming up. Even if the queen didn’t always say things the tortoiseshell liked very much, she would never dare to jeer at an apprentice in her presence. If anything, the queens presence proves to add support to Pinekit’s cause, though the mentions of a toms-only game does prompt mismatched brow bones to knit together in confusion. Toms-only game? Those don’t exist! Even f’they did… I’d kick their tails n’show them how to do it better.” With her tone incredulous, she is quick to avert her gaze back to her brother with a suspicious squint, a silent well?
Finally, finally Cragkit relents, and grants Pinekit permission to join him atop of his dirt mound. “I’m not gonna mess anything up! Imma make it better, ‘member?” Kindly, Pinekit reminds her silly brother of her previous statement, a confident grin glinting under sunlight. He promises to show her how to pack the mud in, and Pinekit’s nose scrunches in slight disdain at the idea of playing in wet dirt. “M’kay, how about you show me exactly how to do it first?” With any luck, Pinekit could feign enough ignorance to get her brother to do all the work, then she could just enjoy the view.



  • PINEKIT she/her, kit of riverclan, 2 moons.
    plush-furred tortoiseshell she-kit with white dipped forepaws, tail tip, and muzzle and round, honey hued optics.
    daughter of Iciclefang && Stormywing ࿏ sister to Cragkit && Crabkit
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by Noor@toyangel on discord, feel free to dm for plots.