camp birds of many feathers |➹| a windy tragedy

[sparrowsong!]

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It was hardly a secret that Sparrowpaw loved birds. Big birds, small birds, colorful birds, dull birds. All of them. They never felt more comfortable than when they could simply close their eyes and hear them sing. Sometimes, they could imagine they were one of them, soaring through the skies.

As such, Sparrowpaw enjoyed collecting feathers. Since their arrival to SkyClan they had managed to amass quite the hoard, of various colors and sizes. It had been Greeneyes that started it, honestly, allowing them to take it even when they hadn't yet properly met. The feather of a bluejay was still one of their more treasured possessions.

The chocolate tabby couldn't quite remember how or why the conversation sparked up, but it had shifted over to birds, which had shifted to them gushing over how cute they were and their favorites and, eventually, their feather collection. There was little prompting involved before they rushed to their den to fetch a mouthful of them, gingerly held in their jaws as to not fray them.

Swift paws carried them back. Their eyes were bright, happy to share as they set them down before the onlookers, carefully spreading them out to show their beauty. "See? This one's from a crow, and this one's from a bluejay - Greeneyes gave it to me a few moons back - and this one's from a thrush I think..." Many of their feathers were common, some hardly a sight to behold, but they made them happy nonetheless.

The smell of rain was in the air, and while many predicted it would likely fall at some point later that day, nobody predicted the breeze it would kick up with it. It was light at first, gently tugging at their fur and the feathers upon the ground - nothing a firm paw planted upon them couldn't fix. What Sparrowpaw didn't expect, however, was the abrupt gust that would carry them up and into the air, cruelly yanking them from their reach.

Instinctively stretching up to catch them with a dismayed cry, the remaining feathers that they had been pressed upon were snatched away with it. Vainly they raced away to try and catch them, one of them snagging on the outer wall of the nursery, but the rest were gone, carried off into the forest.

Slowly, they plucked their remaining feather from where it had caught on the den, shoulders and tail drooping as they turned back to the cats they had been sharing their collection with. Plodding paws carried them over, gray eyes watery and ears tilted back. "They're gone," they uttered in a soft whine. All that remained was a small brown feather, held firmly in their jaws.​

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[DOEBLAZE]

Bobbie couldn't quite recall how she'd landed here as an onlooker of the bright-eyed apprentice's display of feathers (and, perhaps, why she wasn't currently chasing after one kit or another), but she was perfectly content to sit and watch them explain each one. Nothing wrong with placing sentimental value in objects, in her mind; after all, the pins slung on one ear and the red collar buckled about her neck were careful containers of memories to the queen. Besides, the happy glitter in Sparrowpaw's eyes was rewarding enough; it brightened her spirits to see the young cat so excited as they gushed over birds and proudly displayed the feathers, which were perhaps common but still quite striking indeed.

Unfortunately, it was all ruined in the span of moments by an errant gust of wind and the cruel paw of the sky, which had taken enough from SkyClan this moon for a lifetime, it felt like. The chocolate tabby padded back to the little gathering of onlookers with slumped shoulders and watery eyes, a single feather held sadly in their jaws. The sight of the forlorn young cat, so cheery only moments ago, hurt Bobbie's heart; the lilac queen got carefully to her paws and stepped forward towards them, wishing not for the last time her tail was longer so she could provide a comforting tap as she'd seen other cats do. "Oh no, I'm s-sorry..." Her mew was hesitant as always but filled with genuine sympathy as she offered, "If I find any around, I pr-promise I'll give them to you." Bobbie glanced about the other cats nearby, hoping they might pitch in as well.
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[Fireflyglow]

Fireflypaw is nodding along to his friend's teachings, listening intently to their words. This one was from Greeneyes? Envy riddles him for a moment, though it quickly dissipates in favor of awe at how many different feathers they had. Fireflypaw leans down to sniff one, though the wind quickly carries them away with a good breeze. "Ah." Fireflypaw panics for a moment, wide blue eyes staring sightlessly in the direction of his friend. Hadn't Sparrowpaw put a lot of thought into these?

"I'll help you find more. Like Bobbie says, if we find any, we'll bring 'em to you." He attempts to reassure the other, though he doesn't try to push things down as irrelevant or minimize the issue. These meant a lot to the brown tabby.. ​

SKYCLAN MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE ✦ 11 MOONS ✦ CHUNKY, BIG-FOOTED SEAL POINT ✦ TAGS​

 

[GREENEYES]

The warrior isn't too sure why he's sat among the small group of onlookers that Sparrowpaw has amassed, but he doesn't mind the break too much. The distraction, really, as the apprentice shows off their collection - an array of feathers in an array of colors and sizes.

Greeneyes has his own little collection settled in his nest - shiny trinkets he's picked up over time, some more sentimental than others. A cicada shell from his brother, handed off to him during their days in the nursery. A shiny leaf-like object he'd stolen from Coyotecrest when the new warrior was merely a kit.

But, Sparrowpaw's collection is larger than his, he thinks, even in the far shorter time that they've been a part of SkyClan. More treasures simply meant more memories, more sentimental value, didn't it?

Greeneyes is wondering if he should keep more things in his own nest when his name is brought up. A ginger ear twitches as his gaze moves to look at the bluejay feather Sparrowpaw has their audience marveling over - one that he'd gifted to the brown tabby a few moons ago. He was at the end of his apprenticeship then, but it still feels like a lifetime ago though, with how much has gone on, with how much has changed as of late.

His gaze is still locked upon the blue feather when the wind picks up. Its sudden presence startles the young warrior, his eyes going wide as he looks up to the trees around them, as his chest tightens. Not again, not again.

Though the wind isn't as strong as it had been, its means of arrival is only to take. A cry from the brown tabby pulls his line of vision back down, toward the apprentice instead. White paws move to try to catch those that move toward him, but he's too late. Too late, as feathers are swept away, as the blue hue of his gift disappears into the forest.

"Oh no..."

What remains is one small feather, and a teary-eyed Sparrowpaw. His heart twists at the sight, thinking of how upset he would be if his own treasures disappeared like that. How devastated, if he returned to his nest to find Snowpath's cicada shell gone from its usual spot.

"We can... We can go look for them!" he offers, feeling bad for the brown tabby. If the remaining feather had been caught on a den wall, maybe the pines would have stopped some of them too? "Or... I can help get you some new ones too, if we don't find them all!"

Greeneyes wouldn't be going too far out of his way with collecting new trinkets for Sparrowpaw - birds are his favorite prey to catch, after all. He just wants to fix this, wants the brown tabby to have not lost anything to the wind.
​

 

[sparrowsong!]

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It wasn't that particularly many of them held particular individual sentimental value to the tabby - although plenty did, - it was that the feathers had made them happy. A feather picked up here on a patrol, a feather there from a shared meal. A sign of growth, friendship.

The wretched look on Sparrowpaw's face deepened as the reality of it began to set in, a tear threatening to fall when their audience began to sputter reassurances. Offers, one by one, to help them find more feathers, to start a new collection. If only a little they raised their head, eyes upturning to look between them. Although they felt heavy, they shifted their paws.

"Y...yeah?" Something like hope brightened their gaze. Yet when it landed on Greeneyes, they sagged again. "But your feather... I thought it was really pretty..." Striped with black and tipped with white. "I'm sorry, Greeneyes, I didn't mean to lose it like that..."

Almost tauntingly, the wind had died down to a light breeze, and although they didn't dare lessen their grip on their remaining feather, Sparrowpaw looked up at the overcast sky above. The ginger tom had suggested looking for them. "Do you really think we could find them?" If they found any, which would be left? Were they running out of time just standing there?​

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