camp BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE — first snow, "cuddling"

[PITCHSTAR]

"SHIT."

the aggravated voice of the leader rings through the stillness of early morning. twin embers glower at the thin, disgusting blanket of snow covering the camp, while one paw hovers over it in mid-step. snow! he hates snow! there is nothing to enjoy about snow! it's cold, it leaves his fur damp, and it drives away what little prey shadowclan has.

no, this is not how he wanted his morning to go. sickening, absolutely sickening, fate is.

half-walking, half-hopping from his den, pitchstar's teeth have already begun to chatter as his fur spikes out against the frigid air. "it's fuckin' cold." in the midst of his complaints, he seeks out the warmth of a nearby clanmate, trying to press up against them and get as close as he physically could to savor their body heat. (uncaring that he smells like a corpse left to rot in a dumpster, unsympathetic for the poor clanmate's nostrils. he's cold, and he doesn't want to be.) "how're we goin' to get anythin' done, when our paws are at risk of turnin' into icicles?"​

 

[Frostbite]

Frostbite was living his best life today. Snow! It snowed!!! Nothing like the mountains, but this was good enough. He was sitting with his eyes closed, enjoying the frosty air and the snow beneath his paws. He blended in for once.

He did  not expect Pitchstar of all cats to cuddle up to him.

Yeah, Frostbite was soft and fluffy, but.....

But......

He wasn't used to this. He tensed a little bit. What is he supposed to do.

"We'll manage," he said. "Just as always." They had no other choice, after all.

He glanced over at Pitchstar. Man he really did smell, huh. He wasn't going to say anything, but man.
​

 

[. Heathershade .]

Unlike a certain grumbling leader, Heatherpaw adored the cold and the snow- her family often joked on how she was meant to be a snow rabbit instead.
When she steps outside of the apprentices done, she is delighted to see the thin but sparkling blanket of snow that awaits her, casting the typically gloomy moors in a pale light.
"Snow!" Heatherpaw gasped, even lifting her nose slightly to catch the spare freckle of snow that still sparsely danced in the chilly breeze.
Puffing out her long coat, she was about to begin her search for Halfshade when an angry curse was suddenly shouted.
Heatherpaw looked to see Pitchstar practically plowing himself up against Frostbite.
She glides over, her head tilting in amusement. "Maybe you could cover yourself up with moss" she hums to Pitchstar, having to suppress a crinkle of her nose. If she wasn’t worried about a cuff around the ear, the apprentice may have even suggested pine sap or a dip in a stream as well.
"I thought you big bad wild cats were built for anything and everything-" truthfully, she hadn’t expected the musing to actually leave her lips, but she rode with it with a playful tone and a small laugh as she took a seat, drawing circles in the snow with a claw.
"Speech."​

[ COCOA BUTTER KISSES ]​

 

[smogstar]

StarClan's personal vendetta against ShadowClan lays beyond the grasp of Smogmaw's comprehension. If the almighty crowd of ghost cats had any sympathy at all then surely they'd have cut his clan some slack by now. Besides being cursed with the slimmest margin of prey, the swamp territory exists as the poorest geographically speaking. And now that a coating of white evil covers the landscape from top to bottom, there's not a single redeeming factor about his current living situation. Surely this is the work of some higher power. Pitchstar must have committed a cardinal sin of some kind.

If only he bore the ability to hibernate. Oh, how he'd shut his eyes until early Greenleaf.

As nice as it'd be to just wallow around in the warrior's den for hours on end, the tom is unfortunately burdened with responsibilities. There is an apprentice to train. There are mouths to feed. There are clanmates to find fault in. And thus he drags himself out of the brambly bush's protection and into the wretched hellscape.

Not so long after he punches the metaphorical clock, he witnesses a vile, morally censurable act. "Public displays of affection have been banned since the last meeting, bear in mind," he quips, a morose attempt at humour escaping his system as he drew near the couple. A sidelong glance is shot towards Heatherpaw at her comment; if her stream of consciousness were as naive as her words, then surely she'll be in for a harrowing Leaf-bare.

"Perhaps we could bury ourselves underground à la WindClan, maybe we can keep warm that way," Smogmaw drawls on. It's a terrible idea, but he's putting it out there to pull Pitchstar's leg. The leader appeared just as bothered by the cold as him. "Otherwise, you should just keel over and give up now. It's not going to get any better." ​

 

[Shimmerpaw]

SAM SHIMMERPAW - SHADOWCLAN - TOM - SINGLE - HOMOSEXUAL​

---

Mornings were always the coldest in the wetlands, and it was probably Shimmerpaws least favorite part of the day. While the cream tabby was far from lazy, there was something distinctly unpleasant about waking up to a bone-deep chill and cold-stiff muscles. Never in his life had he been so tempted to just close his eyes and go back to sleep, snuggling deeper into the warmth of his nest, but that wasn't really an option. There were chores to be done, patrols to attends, and expectations he was expected to meet, and so the boy mustered what energy he had and forced himself to his paw and out of his nest.

Bleary-eyed and sluggish, Shimmerpaw lingered in the entryway of the apprentices den as the first blast of cold air truly hit him. He shivered against the cold, blue eyes blinking open wider in surprise as they registered the state of the camp before him. It had snowed! And not like last time, either! The wetlands were a canvas of white unlike anything he'd ever seen before, and the sheer contrast it provided was enough to chase whatever lingering exhaustion he'd been feeling right off.

"Whoa! This is so cool!" he exclaimed as he padded out into the white, whiskers twitching mirthfully when he realized he was leaving almost perfect pawprints with each step. "It's is pretty cold though." he agreed. "But, maybe itll be easier to find prey now that we can just follow their trail?"

It was an innocent enough suggestion, optimism at it's best. Sure, they were all cold and hungry and a little miserable with how things were right now, but maybe they could spin this into a positive for themselves?

​

---

-- A SMALL, SLEEK CREAM TABBY WITH SKY BLUE EYES. HE HAS HIGH WHITE MARKINGS WITH CREAM COLORED SPOTS AND SPECKLES ON THEM

 

[Halfshade]

"Oh, Heatherpaw, don't tease them! Some cats aren't blessed with fur like ours~"
She watched Pitchstar move with a purpose, nose wrinkling in distaste but thankfully he honed in on Frostbite first and foremost and cuddled up close to the other who looked so terribly uncomfortable she almost wanted to go bat at the leader aggressively until he left; but sadly she was not interested in dealing with the deranged man anymore than she had to so the pale warrior was left to his own devices. Halfshade did give a low chuckle, sitting comfortable on her own nearby with her legs tucked up under her body and tail curled around her; a stretch extended out her forepaws and she left them splayed before her in preparation to stand and go about her day soon. Smogmaw's approach and expected disdain was met with a laugh on her part and she shook her head in disbelief.
"When did we impliment THAT horrid rule? How will I keep my toes warm in the middle of camp now if I can't shove them under another cat?" She looked down at her paws, the only part of her body except her face and ears that were not draped in thick layers of pale orange, blue-gray and white fur and thus more susceptible to the coming cold. Shimmerpaw's naive enthusiasm had her smiling wrly as she glanced at the golden apprentice with a look both motherly and amused, poor dear had no idea.
"Most prey sleep under the ground when it becomes cold, dear. We won't have too many tracks to chase! Especially us, the lizards and frogs don't like the cold so they all but vanish!"

​