BOYS & GIRLS | frog

Dec 30, 2022
152
63
28

Stars, sticking to Tigerfrost's schedule was not easy. Their sleeping sickness had lessened but so had their mood, the shift from having 'all the time' to having 'no time' like a slap from particularly sharp claws. They'd practically sprinted to the sun-warmed pool when they'd been dismissed, their pale pink paw pads tinted a rosier colour with how worn they were. Respite could not come soon enough, the side of clear water between gaps in the rushes leaving Snailpaw more grateful for it than a river in a desert. With little care for who watched them, they barged right through the foliage and stepped into the pool, the warm water lapping at their heels. It was a comforting hug, though not a cat that particularly liked water, its presence today was more than appreciated. A long sigh escaped from the tabby and with a swish of their tail, they reclined down into the shallow waters. They winced as their belly touched the water for the first time before easing into the odd sensation, taking the weight off of their cracked pawpads and resting their chin mere nanometers above the water.

Ribbit.

Snail turned their head, one eye closed as it went underwater and the other focused on an amorphous blob on the corner of the pool. It was brown- no, green? Perhaps yellow? As it slowly rotated, Snailpaw caught a series of black markings upon its back, blotchier than a tabby but reminding the old apprentice of one all the same. "Hey little fella." They mewed quietly, not entirely sure what they were looking at. They'd heard ShadowClan describe frogs before and the slimy little thing definitely matched the description of one but it did not look appetising at all. Snailpaw could imagine eating one would be like chewing fat, they could imagine its taste was almost deathly from all the flies it ate. What in the Stars was wrong with their former allies if they could take one look at the creature and think 'lunch'? Riiiiiiiiiib. They shuffled their sideways body closer, splashing water everywhere. The amphibian turned its back to Snailpaw and prepared to leap away - the fear of losing sight of this strange beast was enough to halt the apprentice. Seconds passed and the tabby held their breath until eventually, their froggy friend swivelled back and sat sideways to the sun-warmed pool. Phew, thank the stars. The apprentice wanted to study this new thing before their clanmates came and killed it.



 
──⇌•〘 INFO The only clan whose home Wolfsong would despise living in is ShadowClan's. He isn't fond of marshlands, of slogging through shallow water and mud— not for the inevitable mess, but the energy required simply to walk. Wolfsong would prefer spending it swimming, or climbing, or even risking the moors' holes in a full sprint. He and Sunstride travelled quite a distance to wind up with Gin's rogues, and by then, Wolfsong was familiar with several terrains. He knows now what does and does not work best for his size and musculature.

Deep mud might swallow him up the way heavy snowdrifts have, and Sunstride's long legs would do little to blaze a trail for him.

So everything that finds shelter in ShadowClan's territory is an oddity to Wolfsong, frogs included, which is why he's careful not to disturb the rotund beast the moment he spies it by the water. Snailpaw doesn't seem inclined to hunt it, and Wolfsong crouches simply to loom less. It must be the lack of fur that suits them to mud and water so, he thinks, though he does not say as much. Speaking might chase it off and he is not ready to watch it leave yet.
 
When the patrol approaches the sun-warmed pool, Gravelsnap is grateful. At last, it presents an opportunity to give their tired, dry paw pads a break. Maneuvering about on three paws has proven more difficult as the days pass by, and they’re practically dragging their tired limbs along with them by the time they slump onto their haunches beside the water. They stare blankly at the pool for a few moments, silent until they see the gray-striped apprentice moving. Snailpaw’s discovery catches their attention, and they immediately feel irritation filling their chest. Frogs are ShadowClan prey.

ShadowClan’s new leader is awful, stupid even, to break off their alliance with WindClan. ShadowClan hardly survived the winter, so he never quite understood why Sootstar chose to align herself with such a weak clan anyway. But to turn their back on WindClan so blatantly? What a bumbling fool of a leader. The monochrome tom had once had felt neutrally toward ShadowClan, but Chilledstar’s decision had fully wrecked his opinion of the marsh dwellers.

They narrow their eyes at the frog. If ShadowClanners eat it, then it must be terrible. ShadowClanners eat garbage; their tastes in prey cannot be trusted. And the marshland cats have proven themselves untrustworthy. Who’s to say they don’t make a show of eating frogs just to fool the other clans into believing the amphibians are tasty, only to bite into one and recoil in disgust? Just looking at the freak of nature kind of makes Gravelsnap’s skin crawl.

"Gross," the young warrior mutters, turning up his nose at the ugly creature. Neither Snailpaw nor Wolfsong move to pounce upon it, and the black-patched tom has half a mind to dispatch the thing himself—but there’s not a chance in all the five clans that they’re about to even touch the slimy little vermin. "Should we kill it?" He looks pointedly to Wolfsong; the warrior is older, more a warrior than Gravelsnap himself. He trusts the golden tom’s word, if he believes that leaving the thing alive is the best route.
[ DEATH OF A DREAM ]
 


It might be young Moorpaw's naivety at play, but the knowledge that each new day offers is simply thrilling to her. Within her young mind lies an endless wellspring of curiosity, an empty page just waiting to be inscribed with the stories of her discoveries. Peculiar scents that tickle her nose to the point where she has to sneeze. Gorgeous flowers just meant to be stuck behind her ear. Even the mysterious formations in the stars, surely etched into the skies by StarClan themselves. Wise cats will say you should be learning a lesson with every day. Moorpaw strives to learn at least two.

More than a few of her clanmates viewed patrols as naught but tedious chores, a burden forced upon them by duty. Some dared to employ smalltalk as a method of fending off their purported boredom. For the midnight-furred apprentice, it tends to be quite the opposite. Patrols were breeding grounds for untapped understanding, adventures into uncharted territory, keys to unexplored chambers of knowledge! Metaphors be damned! Patrols are just really fun!

Situated at the stern of the wandering crew, Moorpaw dilly-dallies. Jade eyes dance from one sight to another on a momentary basis, finding appeal in a landscape others cast off as boring. What a load of rubbish. Some blades of grass stood taller than the rest, for instance, and every so often the group would happen upon a landmark; like the sun-warmed pool!

A half-second would pass before her focus firmly latches onto its next target. A bouncing, croaking, warty thing. Is this what they called a froggy? The apprentice watches with awe as Snailpaw's wee buddy flings itself around, before her train of thought comes to a screeching halt at Gravelsnap's bloodthirsty proposal. "Nuh-uh!" she protest, glaring daggers at the black-splotched warrior. This is a guest on their territory, not a RiverClanner! It wasn't like they were going to eat it after killing it. Ugh, the bare idea of it is repulsive. "Dun' kill it, you can't!" her objections persist. "You're suh-poseda kiss it and turn it into a handsome tom!"

Even ding-a-lings like Gravelsnap should know how these things worked!

 


62289140_iL0AGPqlGNJO9U0.gif
Harrierpaw hasn’t spent much time around the sun warmed pool yet, he’s more interested in exploring the land and keeping his paws moving over relaxing on Outlook Rock or dipping his paws into the warm water. Yet here he was with @Firefang , doing his best to follow the faintest scent of hare…

Seems like they’ve ran into a dead end, there was no way now a hare would be lurking anywhere nearby. He looks to his mentor before padding closer to the scene, eyes dilating when he spots the frog bouncing inside the sun warmed pool. He agrees with Gravelsnap, it was an ugly thing… As for his sister he rolls his eyes, ”A stupid queen’s tale.” he tells her, caring not for the stupid tales anymore. He was an apprentice, not a kitten. He thinks the black and white warrior is right, they should kill it before it hopped back to ShadowClan and provided them with prey.

IMG_0274.png

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )
🪶 ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· HARRIERKIT, male — he / him
╰ ‣ 3 moons . pisces. ages on the 14th
╰ ‣ windclan apprentice . believes in starclan

🪶 ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells of the earth and dry grass , status — 100%
╰ ‣ blue and brown chimera . average sized WindClanner . yellow eyes

🪶 ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ESTJ-A ❝ EXECTUTIVE ❞ , Slytherin, Chaotic neutral
╰ ‣ self-reliant, loyal, disciplined, direct, impatient, unsympathetic, judge mental
╰ ‣ finds moderate difficulty in relating to others . can be cruel

🪶 ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· WEASELCLAW x SOOTSTAR, sister to Windstrider, Sootchaser, Moorpaw, Adderpaw, Bluepaw & Cottonpaw
╰ ‣ nephew to Mintshade & Bluepool
╰ ‣ sexuality unknown
╰ ‣ apprentice to Firefang
╰ ‣ poor fighter . poor hunter .
╰ ‣ will start fights . unlikely to flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.
 
❪ TAGS ❫ — Snakepaw had seen a frog once before; their appearances in WindClan weren't very common, so seeing one again was a strange sight. It was all slimy-looking with bulging eyes and bubbles (presumably) full of air ballooning out of its throat. It was like a wet, bloated lizard.

His scathing green hues watch the frog with disgust, ears twitching as his clanmates debate on killing it or not. Who would want to eat that thing? Snakepaw couldn't tell which was worse — RiverClanners eating slimy fish or ShadowClanner's eating slimy frogs. At least WindClan didn't have tor resort to such measures! "I'm not touching it." He scoffs, keeping his distance well away from the amphibian.