pafp BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE [ kit training ]

[claythorn]

She is crouched forward, eyes trained on her kit. Claythorn's body is held still, perfect in her land-hunting crouch yet despite the moons curled in a cushy nest. When her kits had asked her about the stance, she had promised them she would teach them- but after more then enough calling to it, she had risen from her nest and stepped into the sunlight. The sky was a pretty blue, untouched by clouds, with the sun warming her fur. That would be rare yet, the warmth of the rays something she was chasing before they were gone.

Paws were placed firmly on the ground, weight low and her haunches poised for a leap. "Notice how I keep my tail low and vision forward. You have to make precise, calculated moves." Claythorn states, now showing how one would glide over the ground. Front paw lifted and extended, placed with careful and practiced precision. Her other three followed in succession, a smooth working machine. A moment later she rises, shaking her fur out before turning her vision to Sparrowkit.

"Show me." She asks softly. It is not a demand, more a statement then a question- but if Sparrowkit wanted to learn, she needed to practice. Claythorn steps back to her kit, moving around her as she patiently waits for her 'shadow' to crouch down.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ┌── THOSE FIVES WORDS IN MY HEAD ⋅❁⋅ YOU SAID ILL NEVER LET YOU GO! ──┐‎

• "speech"
  // please wait for @SPARROWKIT !! the rest of the family is getting tagged too, @otterbite @DROPLETKIT @eelkit @DARK-KIT @ONYXKIT , but no need to wait for them, only sparrow!

• 

• CLAYTHORN she/her, queen of riverclan, sixteen moons.
  ⭃ LH chocolate torbie with mismatched golden eyes, scars across her right cheek and over her left ear. cold exterior and threatening glares, built for stamina/battle and not swimming (tall/muscled)
  ⭃ mentored by darkbranch (npc) / / mentoring no one
  ⭃ mated to otterbite / / mother to dark-kit, onyxkit, sparrowkit, eelkit, dropletkit
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

 

[SPARROWKIT]

Sparrowkit has been incessant. She knows she has been incessant because she always is; her will, even as a young sprout, is sturdier than the oaks in Fourtrees, and today Sparrowkit's will guides her to Claythorn's side, thirsty for a rain of knowledge. She and her siblings are still young, of course, but in four short moons (nearly two of her lifetimes from now) they will be apprentices. Sparrowkit will not be unprepared. She has heard tales of unprepared apprentices before — of tragedy and violence, though just in whisperings. It is difficult for a kit so young to glean. All she knows is that danger lies ahead of her, and it lies ahead of her siblings, and she must be as prepared as possible to prevent it.

And so she has pestered Claythorn, day in and day out, for a lesson. Today's subject is hunting — a concept Sparrowkit has only recently become familiar with, freshly weaned and harrowingly new to eating flesh and blood. It is one of the core tenets of being a warrior, and so she must perfect its art, and who better to learn with than her own mother?

The sunlight washes them all in warm gold. The sky is beautiful. Summer's last hurrah has brought all its birds into the clear sky, but Sparrowkit's attention is only for her mother. Molten eyes travel the length of her, assessing the posture — all its peaks and valleys, the angle of each vertebrae, the ratio of weight spread evenly across four paws, the exact muscles that bunch in preparation for a pounce. Her siblings mimic it in the best ways they know how, but Sparrowkit pays them no mind. Her mother is the master, after all.

She does not move with her siblings. Sparrowkit is a much better seer than she is doer, at least for now. Her attention is almost surgical in its precision, each detail carefully articulated on the back of her lids. It's not like this is play. It's important. She needs to get it right, and she needs to do it the first time. When Claythorn asks her to demonstrate, Sparrowkit simply offers a twitch of her lilac-mottled ear, as if the pressure in her chest has not suddenly expanded tenfold.

She tries to do as well as she sees, but her body is so small, and her sense of balance not so keenly refined. Sparrowkit wobbles as she falls into her crouch — but her belly brushes only millimeters above the sandy floor of camp, just like Claythorn. She re-centers herself and drops her weight low to the ground. She tries to bunch all of the right muscles. Then, the big step forward. Her paw extends and it is like breaking still water, the ripples smooth around her, and it falls in a measured step, only a hair too big for her kitten body.

Her ears burn. She knows it was not perfect, and she knows Claythorn will not care, but Sparrowkit cares. Sparrowkit cares that it is imperfect. "Was that good?" she asks, soft and quick and harsh, like a hot wind. She knows it wasn't — wasn't good enough, anyway.

𝐈 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘 ( 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 ) !

• ooc.
• SPARROWKIT —— kit of riverclan . claythorn x otterbite . littermate to onyxkit and dark-kit, adopted sibling to eelkit and dropletkit ✦ penned by meghan
  
  ✦ a tiny black and lilac tabby chimera with low white and fierce amber eyes. studious, dismissive, and solitary. has a fierce passion for riverclan. if befriended, a friend for life.
  ✦ amab trans girl / she her pronouns / 02 moons & ages every 26th
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— will start fights / will not flee / may show mercy. a kitten, she can hardly defend herself, but that will not stop her from picking fights with other kits. will fight until she has no fight left to give, even just for play.
  
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, all opinions are in character
  ✦ full biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  

• 

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[iciclefang]

Claythorn's kits have progressed; their tiny, worm-like bodies have thickened, their limbs sturdy, their faces developed beyond smears of kitlike wonder. Iciclefang sits near the nursery she'd once inhabited, her blue eyes uncharacteristically soft as she watches the queen demonstrate a hunting crouch for her daughter. The little tabby adheres herself to her mother's side, mimicking her movements to the best of her underdeveloped ability, and Iciclefang is forced to remember her own kits at that age, the way they'd fumbled, the way they'd fallen and laughed at the impact.

"You did very well." She directs her praise not only to Sparrowkit, but to Claythorn; the other she-cat is young, as young as she'd been when she'd borne her kits, but she is a taciturn and attentive mother all the same. Iciclefang flicks her blue gaze back to the queen and tilts her head. "It will become easier to keep your balance as you get older. Your body is still growing."

She thinks of Pinepaw sinking her teeth into the dying bird's neck; she thinks of Crabpaw, on the cusp of apprenticeship, fearful of the minnow's blood on his tongue. You will impress your mother as much as you will disappoint her, she thinks without vitriol. It is a child's destiny; it is a mother's, too.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Iciclekit . Iciclepaw . Iciclefang, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — 28 moons old, ages realistically on the 17th.
  — mentored by Smokestar ; mentoring Pinepaw ; previously mentored Cicadaflight
  — riverclan lead warrior. mudpelt x icesparkle, gen 2.
  — former mate to Stormywing ; current mate to no one.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh tortoiseshell and white she-cat with ice-blue eyes. confident, capable, proud, dry, conceited, condescending, distrustful.

​

 

[robinheart]

Robinheart sits a tail length away from Iciclefang - forever regarding the lead warrior's space just as she had when they shared the nursery. Her gentle citrine gaze rests upon Claythorn and Sparrowkit. There is unspeakable joy at watching a mother teach her child; there is unnameable guilt heavy as a stone in her belly that Robinheart was not able to do so when her kittens were that young. In the days of isolation in the medicine den, her hind leg broken and mending.

Even now could she teach her brood to stalk as smoothly as Claythorn? As perfect as Iciclefang? The tortoiseshell knows she would falter now - her hind leg weakened and stiff. It would require moons more of practice before she could teach one of her own.

Brookstorm would have taught them well.

"That was very good," Robinheart is quick to echo, blinking away a fine mist across her sunbright eyes. "You kept your tail low and vision forward, just as your mother instructed. Keep practicing and you'll find your movement will become more fluid." That should bring some peace to the young kit's mind. And besides, it was the truth.​

[ penned by kerms ]​

 

[BLACKPAW]

Watching Sparrowkit practice under Claythorn's instructions reminds her well of how she would engage in training with her adoptive father, his style intense and merciless, though still meant to hold a rough but genuine meaning of love. Yet, as much as Blackkit isn't fond of the old geezer's form of training, she still misses being trained by him— she misses her adoptive father so much. Blackkit silently watches Sparrowkit mimic her mother's movements of a hunting crouch, her balance breaking in the end. Blackkit's chest twinges. She feels a common mistake that she is most famillar making, with only the following dissaproval and dissapointment in curled lips and averted gazes. "You're doing great!" Blackkit echoes her praise with the two older RiverClanners to Sparrowkit as she hopes the other will find ease in the support, a bit louder than she intends her volume to be, "You'll do greater than ever the more you practice, for sure!" but coming from a broken place where she'd want the most approval from her own real family, she means it all.​

 

[BEEFANG]

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ — Beefang had never been the type to be interested in the antics or shenanigans of kittens but there's something about Claythorn's brood that peaks her curiosity, both of her ears angle forward in the direction of mother and kits. Her whiskers twitching briefly as the chocolate torbie begins to demonstrate a hunting crouch and her kittens follow her example but Sparrowkit doesn't do anything until after the queen finishes her demonstration. The black smoke can't help but settle down nearby as her lone eye focuses all of its attention onto the chimera kitten and her feathery tail settles in front of her snowy dipped paws, she listens to those praise the little kitten for it and Beefang's gaze strays to focus onto Claythorn for a heartbeat only to join in "You did pretty well." The white streaked moggy begins only to tap the ground lightly with the tip of her tail and nods, "I'm sure by the time you're made an apprentice that you'll catch your first fish." She can recall the little family outing with her littermates and both parents, how she had caught her first minnow but that had been due to practice and Iciclefang showing them how to fish out worms.

"With practice, of course." She adds on agreeing with those there that a little practice went a long way and even if Beefang isn't the greatest hunter by any means, well, she could keep trying and she's content with being a good fighter. A part of her wonders if Otterbite even visits the nursery to see his kittens and mate, she knows that the tom liked sending his apprentice to go do the basic things of prey and bedding material. Perhaps, she would've asked Claythorn but they weren't as close as Moonbeam is with her so she wouldn't get into the others business since it isn't really her place to ask such a thing.

DROWN IN YOUR SORROW AND FEARS ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ CHOKE ON YOUR BLOOD AND YOUR TEARS

• ooc —

• 

  WARRIOR SKILLSET;
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧ HUNTING
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧ TRACKING
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧ COMBAT
  — ✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧ STEALTH
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧ STRATEGY
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦ SWIMMING
  — ✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ CLIMBING
• 
  ✦ a shorthaired black smoke molly w/low white and a singular amber eye
  ✦ oftentimes comes off as untrusting of those around her, closed off, and not the easiest to engage in conversation with, she's not easy to befriend. distrusting of outsiders and will snap at you if y/c walks up to her on her blind side. all her opinions are IC only.
  ✦ 14 moons old; ages the 10th every month
  ✦ asexual homoromantic; mated to moonbeam
  ✦ currently mentoring... roepaw ; formerly mentored by smokestar
  ✦ firstborn daughter of cicadastar and smokestar
  ✦ sister of cicadaflight and loveburn
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ✦ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[otterbite]

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- This could go on record to be the rare moment Otterbite has appeared beside his mate and children and not find the excuse to slip away after a few minutes. Claythorn had suggested the tempting idea to test the skills of their children, and so he remained to watch with curiosity to observe which of them displayed his strength the best.

He and Claythorn were both natural fighters in their respective ways. The larger molly made for a heavier hit and could take them, too, without tiring herself out. Otterbite was lithe and compact, allowing him to make several quick strikes and dart away with little harm returned to him. Hunting was not his most loved contribution to the Clan, even if the reasons for his time away from camp said differently.

Sparrowkit's keen attention to detail and repetition is impressive, and though his maw is unmoving there is pride in his chest. Her search for her mothers approval may not have been his most favorable feature in his kits, but it shouldn't take much to correct.

"Of course they hold great promise while still young. We were not much older learning the same, once." It is innate in their structure just as filling the lung with air was. He and Claythorn could be seen in every speck of them, even the stowaways he and Willowroot found that same night.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── IM OUT OF CONTROL ⋅❁⋅ OH, HOW I BURN FOR YOU ──┐‎

• 

• 
  OTTERBITE ✩ he/him, warrior of riverclan, seventeen moons.
  ⭃ scruffy blue/black chimera with a white tail-tip and green eyes. noticeable kinked whiskers
  ⭃ adopted son to pikesplash // former apprentice to coyotecreek
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay requires permission / / underline and tag when attacking or making an action toward
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by beatae ↛ gonkpilled on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

 

[claythorn]

Studious eyes study her young- as Sparrowkit drops into the crouch with a wobble. Her eyebrow twitches- that is to be expected. But what does impress her is how her daughter moves, and a breath of pride leaves her, eyes studying her daughter's movements. Ears twitch, and she bites down a wide grin when others begin to approach. Iciclefang speaks first- to which she lifts her eyes. Not only does the former queen's vision rest on her kit, but on Claythorn as well.

It's like an icy shock to her system- stills and cools before it flames hot, biting her flesh. Praise? The shock of it all leavse as quickly as it came, embarrassment in it's place. It was a silent redirection, not immediately obvious to most that it was praise for both Sparrowkit and Claythorn, but it's one that has her ears burning as she turns her vision to Sparrowkit once more. She speaks just after Robinheart does, voice warm and carrying approval, that of which she's sure her kit seeks. "Yes. It was good- soon, it will be great." She agrees with Robinheart's words.

"It is not something immediately learned- but you did very well, my hatchling." A term of endearment- most of her kits got them. Raindrop, for Dropletkit, and now hatchling, for her little sparrow. A chorus of agreement rises- Black-kit, who she regards briefly, but Beefang has her vision for a longer moment. She hums for a moment, another thought striking her then- golden eyes shift toward Sparrowkit once more. "When you five are a bit bigger, we'll try the waters." She promises in step with Beefang's words.

Mismatched goldens found seafoam ones, and her ears twitched. There is a slight narrow to her eyes, unreadable and gone in moments. She hummed a noncommittal noise, vision turning back towards Sparrowkit.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ┌── THOSE FIVES WORDS IN MY HEAD ⋅❁⋅ YOU SAID ILL NEVER LET YOU GO! ──┐‎

• "speech"

• 

• CLAYTHORN she/her, queen of riverclan, sixteen moons.
  ⭃ LH chocolate torbie with mismatched golden eyes, scars across her right cheek and over her left ear. cold exterior and threatening glares, built for stamina/battle and not swimming (tall/muscled)
  ⭃ mentored by darkbranch (npc) / / mentoring no one
  ⭃ mated to otterbite / / mother to dark-kit, onyxkit, sparrowkit, eelkit, dropletkit
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

 

[SPARROWKIT]

Praise comes in waves. Sparrowkit's ears burn more fiercely now as warriors crowd about her and her kin, as warriors watch her form and assess it on their own, without her permission. It is a sudden reminder, and one that churns oil in her belly — but it isn't entirely unwelcome, either. Even a private kit like herself thrives off of positive attention, especially that from esteemed lead warriors, or from a queen she has known since birth, or from her kin and peers.

Sparrowkit bows her head to Iciclefang's praise with all the reverence a good child should possess for their superiors. "Thank you," the peon utters, righting herself into a straight-backed seat. It would be a terrible misstep to not properly thank the lead for her advice; if Claythorn and Otterbite have taught her anything, it is her manners (and, now, her hunting crouch). To Robinheart she offers much the same — the den mother is fittingly warmer than Iciclefang, but that does not mean she takes the warrior's praise for granted. Her own honeyed gaze meets the queen's, and then timidly turns away, deferential. "Thank you," she repeats. The warm burn has spread to her cheeks, now.

Blackkit meets her with an enthusiasm that Sparrowkit has hardly seen before (perhaps only exceeded by when Dropletkit was playing mossball). It's hard for her to gauge how to react to the other kitten; while she is encouraging in no small measure, she is also so... much. Sparrowkit is a creature of soft tongue and comfortable independence. In other words, an introvert. "Um, thanks," she stumbles, and feels suddenly stupid that she can only seem to say thank you in varying degrees. To remedy this, she tacks on, "I'll be sure to practice more, and stuff."

Beefang offers her a mote of hope, too, and Sparrowkit's golden eyes shine in reply. A fish... it feels ambitious, but she is already on the right track with her land hunting, apparently. Surely hunting in the river cannot be much harder? When leafbare comes, after all, she will need to be prepared — able to feed her Clan, her kin. "I'll do it," she answers in a promise. She'd catch the fish, and she means it.

And then her parents. She feels Otterbite's eyes on her like talons hooked into her flesh. She loves her father in the way good children should — knows that he loves her, too, because Claythorn says that he does. But rarely does he spend much time with them; even more rarely does he participate in their games. It is an understatement to admit that Sparrowkit is... nervous. Nervous to find out what he thinks of her performance, nervous that that might translate to the whole of his love for her — but she whisks the thought away. Surely Otterbite would love her even despite her wobbling crouch. A parent's love is unconditional. Isn't it?

She searches him for direction; sinks her teeth into the words he offers to other warriors. She offers him little more than a wide-eyed glance, though — he had not spoken to her. Besides, Claythorn is speaking now, and so Sparrowkit offers her mother her rapt attention once more.

She is her mother's hatchling. A quiet purr rises in the girl's throat and embarrasses her thoroughly; still, the noise does not stop, nor does her happiness. "I'll keep trying," she assures her mother, all leaf-fall tones and golden sap. Claythorn doesn't ask it of her, but she feels she owes it to her mother to be a picture of perfection. The broken record skips: "Thank you for teaching me." Sparrowkit headbutts Claythorn's ankle gently, her thin tail flicking in black and lilac wisps behind her. Then, she steps away, only to drop into the hunting crouch once more.

𝐈 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘 ( 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 ) !

• ooc.
• SPARROWKIT —— kit of riverclan . claythorn x otterbite . littermate to onyxkit and dark-kit, adopted sibling to eelkit and dropletkit ✦ penned by meghan
  
  ✦ a tiny black and lilac tabby chimera with low white and fierce amber eyes. studious, dismissive, and solitary. has a fierce passion for riverclan. if befriended, a friend for life.
  ✦ amab trans girl / she her pronouns / 02 moons & ages every 26th
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— will start fights / will not flee / may show mercy. a kitten, she can hardly defend herself, but that will not stop her from picking fights with other kits. will fight until she has no fight left to give, even just for play.
  
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, all opinions are in character
  ✦ full biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  

• 

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