BETTER TO LEAVE IT UNSAID ☾✩ nursery prep

[nightbird]

the nursery.

it was a place nightbird actively avoided. she would take the long way around camp just to stay away. she could only hope she was never unlucky enough to have to reside there, doing nothing except entertaining children. honestly, they scared her. she lacked any knowledge of how to talk to them, and even less on how to comfort them. it probably wouldn't come as a surprise that the molly had no want for kids of her own. there wasn't a motherly bone in the smoke's body.

today though, being tasked with insulating the nests of the nursery in preparation for leaf-bare, she couldn't avoid it. she wanted to protest, to say this was the job for an apprentice, but was too determined to be a helpful member of the clan. now, she had a mouth full of leaves, feathers, and any other things she could find to beef up the nests a little bit.

she specifically waited to enter until it seemed like all of the nursery's inhabitants had left. that way, she could sneak in and escape before being cornered by the clan's youth. when she stuck her head in, it appeared mostly empty. she could see some sleeping bodies, but as long as she was quiet they shouldn't become an issue.

nightbird carefully began her work. she was doing everything as quietly as possible in order to not awaken anyone, she was barely even breathing. paws moved quickly to reinforce the nests and she was almost finished too, when on her way back to her supplies she stepped on a stray stick. she held her breath entirely as it snapped, instantly freezing as silver eyes darted to where the resting cats were. she wasn't entirely sure if she believed in starclan, but still prayed to them that they would remain sleeping.
​

[ RETURN FIRE WITH SUPERIOR FIRE ]​

 

[Howlfire]

If there were any cats in StarClan watching over Nightbird they were clearly not listening to her prayers for the inhabitants of the nursery to stay asleep. The snapping of the stick jolts Howlkit awake, and though she lies still for a few moments, she is very much awake. Blinking awake, she rolls onto her side and stretches, likely kicking one of her siblings in the process. She pokes her head up looking for the source of the sound and spotting Nightbird working away on the nursery walls.

The dark she-cat doesn't appear to realise Howlkit is awake which is perfect for Howlkit as it gives her the opportunity to practice her hunter's crouch and try and sneak up and scare her. Unfortunately for her but fortunate for Nightbird, she doesn't get to see out her plan as she trips over the tail of a sleeping queen and faceplants into the floor, making an audible "Oof!" as she hit the floor. When she's recovered her bearings she looks up at Nightbird, "Hi!" She says cheerfully. "What are you doing?"​

 

[MORNINGPAW ☆]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Morningkit likely would have stayed asleep throughout Nightbird's quiet nursery repair task. If she had woken up, she'd likely taken one look at the dark-pelted she-cat's face and pretended to go right back to sleep, curled tight between her littermates and the crook of her mother's leg.

But the little tortie point's eyes fly open as Howlkit stumbles over something, lands with a loud Oof! next to her, and begins chattering to the warrior.

Morningkit rolls over, giving Nightbird a cautious look. She looks as though she would rather the nursery were empty entirely. "M... maybe we should go outside, Howlkit," she murmurs, giving Nightbird a pseudo-terrified look.

- ,,​

​

 

[nightbird]

relief washed over her as no little bodies stirred, she even had gone back to her work, this time at a quicker pace. a close call, but luckily it seemed like she would make it out of this unscathed.

it wasn't long at all until her luck ran out. a kitten faceplanted. right behind her. night whipped around, glancing over howlkit to make sure she was unharmed. the last thing she needed was an injured child at her feet. the molly let out a sigh when it bounced right back up, almost as if nothing had happened. resilient little things they were.

then it started talking. oh god. that cheerful tone was almost enough to send her running. nightbird offered howlkit a tight smile as greeting, but then the kid started asking questions. "wha-" she started. 'what does it look like i'm doing?' is how she wanted to respond, but the queens around likely wouldn't appreciate that, so she bit her tongue. getting chewed out by a mother was definitely not on her to do list. "i'm making your home warmer. leaf-bare is coming," nightbird corrected herself, pretty matter-of-factly.

then another one was awake. lovely. she listened morningkit's hushed tone as she told the other they should leave. more panic. what happened when a queen woke up to find that a warrior sent two kits out of their den unsupervised so she could renovate? the shadowy molly did not want to find out. "no! it's fine, you wanna help?" she said, the last part quite begrudgingly. she never thought she would say this, but she hoped they would stay. "i'll teach you, and then when you become apprentices you'll have a leg up." she added, attempting to make fortifying the den sound enticing. ​

[ RETURN FIRE WITH SUPERIOR FIRE ]​

 

[Howlfire]

Nightbird seems a little perturbed to see Howlkit standing there talking to her, not that it deterred the young kit from going away. Not even her sister's quiet suggestion that they go outside does not move her. "Help?" Howlkit scrunched up her face a little as she says that. They had only just woken up why would they want to help? But the prospect of getting a leg up on their future apprentice peers intrigues Howlkit. "Okay," She says after a moment of deliberation. "We'll help!" Howlkit adds enthusiastically, pledging not only herself but her sister for the task.​

 

[Fireflyglow]

WE'VE BEEN DOIN' ALL THIS LATE NIGHT TALKIN' ✧​

Freflykit feels the shifting in the collective nest with his siblings, blue eyes fluttering open in exhaustion as he wakes- Howlkit is speaking so loudly, and Fireflykit groans audibly in irritation. Why were his sisters so loud, so obnoxious? He rubs his face into the nest, inhaling the sharp scent of mint to clear his nose of any snot before he stands up. The mention of making nests, reinforcing the nursery.. It all seemed a lot to him, but he stood either way. Never one to enjoy being left out. "Lower your voice or you'll wake up the others. Do you want Crescentkit to be whiny again?" He meows softly, giving Howlkit a grimace at the idea.

@CRESCENTKIT ​

 

[nightbird]

she watched as howlkit deliberated the task, silently wondering how she had gotten promoted to baby sitter after she avidly avoided this place. someone had to be playing a joke on her. there was no other explanation.

nightbird offered the small torbie a grin when she affirmed her and her sister would be partaking, and was about to begin explaining when another one appeared. how many were there? she was going to need more supplies to keep them busy. as fireflykit spoke about another kitten being whiny, silver eyes darted around to see if she could spot this fourth kit. these ones seemed pretty tame, but a whiny kit would probably have her pulling her fur. "yes, this is absolutely a quiet activity." she lied, but in the long run it would probably work out better for her.

she separated the remaining supplies into three piles before explaining. "take anything from the pile, and stick it through the brambles," she began, demonstrating with some dried leaves, "the first one to finish their pile gets a prize," she added. nothing like a little competition to get em going! did nightbird have any idea what the kids would want as a prize? absolutely not. she would figure something out. ​

[ RETURN FIRE WITH SUPERIOR FIRE ]​

 

[Howlfire]

Never one to be left out, it doesn't take long for another of Howlkit's siblings to appear. Fireflykit urges her to be quiet lest they wake Crescentkit up. Howlkit mirrors her brother's grimace, recoiling at the idea of potentially being on the receiving end of some complaints from their sister. "Good point," She says to him, voice notably quieter now.

After Nightbird separates the remainder of her supplies into three piles, Howlkit eyes her newfound supplies curiously, before watching the elder she-cat intently, trying to put her technique to memory. Howlkit makes an attempt herself afterwards, twisting a leaf through the brambles as Nightbird had shown them. It wasn't bad in truth, just a little clumsy thanks to tiny kitten paws working at it. "What kind of prize would we get?" Howlkit asks as she works away. She couldn't see anything that would constitute as a prize nearby so she assumed Nightbird would get something after they were all finished. "I really like pretty feathers. Would we get a pretty feather for winning?"​