pafp BRING YOUR SALT — snow-cat

[GRAVELSNAP]

The snow has been coming down harder, the entire landscape chilled by the wind. They’ve had to work harder than ever just to catch anything of use to the clan, and they have to rest more than usual just to have enough energy for hunting. Today, though, they’ve decided to take advantage of the snow, attempting to form a snow-figure of the clan’s new deputy. They’re about halfway done with it when they spot the real, not-snow Badgermoon, and trot over to pester the tom.

The apprentice gestures to their snow creature with their black-patched paw. "Look at him, Badgermoon. He’s so misshapen." Their shoulders drop a bit in disappointment—they’d thought they were making something cool, but all they’ve got is a blob of snow with a poorly defined shape; one side of the head-shape is lopsided, and it has no tail. "I was trying to make a snow-Badgermoon. Maybe if you help me, I could make it even better." It’s pretty stupid, all things considered, but they’ve finished up all of their duties for the day, and their mentor has granted them a break. Downtime is important, she said, and mentioned something about not burning himself out. Of course, he can already imagine the biting words of Juniperfrost—can see the cold look on his uncle’s face. Something about how Gravelpaw is weak and useless if he isn’t constantly working his little black tail off.

// pls wait for @Badgermoon
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[ DEATH OF A DREAM ]​

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[Badgermoon]

It was midway through a (vain) effort to clear the matted balls of snow from the fur on his forelegs that Gravelpaw appeared before Badgermoon. The tom looked up in surprise, yellow eyes round as the celestial body for which he was named, before his face split in a grin. "You're making a snow version of me?" he asked in a tone of incredulity, getting to his feet and hastening towards the - admittedly somewhat crooked - version of him. It was ... utterly magnificent, really, and he could hardly believe that someone cared enough to try to recreate him in snow. That it could potentially be out of malice or mockery didn't even cross his mind as he purred, "I think it's absolutely perfect. Though maybe we could give me a tail. Or! Or!" he grinned a slightly mischievous grin. "We could make it even more lopsided and say it's a snow Juniperfrost." it felt fair enough to tease the grouchy warrior, at least a little bit, especially since Badgermoon knew that Gravelpaw was one of the blue-eyed tom's favorite victims.​

 

[rainpaw]

Rainpaw had been avoiding the snow as best she could, hunkering down in the tunnels, but she couldn't stay down there forever. She had only recently emerged from the tunnels, still shaking dirt off her striped coat, when Gravelpaw and Badgermoon caught her eye. She didn't want to barge in on what they were doing but, well, she couldn't help but pick up on their exchange, and building a snow-cat sounded fun. Rainpaw was desperate for a bit of fun- as much as she loved training for her tunneler duties, she needed a break, espesically since WindClan felt so strained as of late. Luckily, just like Gravelpaw's mentor, Curlewnose wasn't the type to stop her from taking said break. The snow stung at her paws as she trotted over, ears pricked up. "Hey, can I help, too? I could look around for some pebbles or plant stems or something, 'n' maybe put them in where the eyes would be?" She suggested, glancing around to see if the snow had spared any patches of ground that she could scoop something up from. She had nothing to contribute in the way of whether it stayed fashioned after Badgermoon or became a lopsided Juniperfrost, although there was a hint of amusement on her face. Rainpaw hadn't faced Juniperfrost's judgment before, but she knew he he had a reputation as a grump, and that was enough for her to think it was funny to hear the clan deputy make a small joke at his expense. ​

 

[SMOKESTEP]

TAGS — This snow is really just awful. Smokepaw's coat isn't built for this sort of cold, especially not when he'd acclimated to the underground so quickly. Not that it was exactly cozy down there, but there was at least no snow or wind to bother him, and that went a long way in terms of preserving his body heat. He'd complain if he could. Maybe he could chew Firepaw's ear off about it later- except he's sure that, even if she felt the same way, she'd never agree with him out loud. Tiring. She's very tiring, he thinks, but not without a slight hint of brotherly affection all the same.

Still, when he spots Gravelpaw, Badgermoon, and Rainpaw, he thinks their company might be preferable to his hot-headed sister's. He trots over, grateful for the cloud-cover overhead. It's easier on his eyes, especially when the snow seemed to reflect and intensify every molecule of sunlight it got ahold of. Silently, his ears twitch as he listens to the conversation, and then his lips twitch barely upward, something like a smile. A snow-Badgermoon? The idea is just... silly. He doesn't really see the point, not when there's hunting that could be done, or... something. But the apprentice in him (and he is an apprentice, so he's not sure why he suppresses it) finds it all amusing enough to take a break for, especially amidst the rising tensions with SkyClan. As long as Ravencry doesn't see, he supposes.

"I'll help too," Smokepaw meows, finding himself at Rainpaw's side. "Your snow-Badgermoon, um... looks good. Even though it's crooked, I guess."​

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[WEASELCLAW]

Despite his misgivings about time wasted, the tabby warrior has to admit there's a certain amount of charm and creativity to the fake Badgermoon. Like Gravelpaw had said, it's a bit misshapen, but the fact that Weaselclaw can tell it's a cat is more than impressive to him. He himself could never have looked at a pile of snow and thought to roll it into another shape.

He approaches the crowd with glinting eyes, a smile forming crooked on his maw. "Badgermoon, my friend, you've seen better days." It's said lightly, teasingly. Weaselclaw's blue gaze sweeps over the snowcat and he adds, "Love the expression, though. You really captured that."​

 

[curlewnose]

"leave those snails alone, they've got problems of their own"​

Curlewnose wandered over behind his apprentice, glad that she was taking time to make friends and destress from training. The heavy snowfall made it perfect for snowcats; it helped too that the snow dampened the noise aboveground, so the tom was far less jumpy than usual. ”That’s looking great, kids!” Curlew steps in to get a better look, his eyes squinted against the bright light reflecting off the snow. ”You got our deputy just right! You’re definitely taking the bad out of Badger with that snowcat! He laughs raucously, thoroughly amused by his own horrible joke. ”Let me help you find those pebbles, Rainpaw. I think I have just the ones in my collection.” The tom scrabbles to his nest, retrieving two deep yellow stones he found while tunneling during greenleaf. ”Here,” he says around the stones, putting them down in front of the younger cats. ”These should really bring it together!"​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[GRAVELSNAP]

Badgermoon seems surprised. He looks very pleased, though; the tomcat beams at Gravelpaw and calls the poor snow-creature perfect. Which, given the state of the tailless thing, Gravelpaw is not inclined to believe that, but it can be saved. They drag a claw down where the snow-cat’s chest is supposed to be, marking out a line that almost matches the scar on the tom’s chest.

They snicker at the deputy’s suggestion, lifting a snowy-wet paw to their muzzle. They like their uncle—they have to, because he’s family, and families love one another deeply even if it doesn’t seem like it—but it’s still funny to hear Badgermoon make a joke at Juniperfrost’s expense. "If I made it look like him… it might be too ugly to survive," they lament, voice low. Their dull gaze is cast around quickly, searching for the familiar silvery pelt, but they don’t see him anywhere. Safe for now.

A tabby-striped apprentice approaches them next, and the monochrome apprentice gets the brief urge to hide away their snow-failure. It’s almost meant for Badgermoon’s eyes only—but Gravelpaw only sighs and shuffled a few pawsteps away, allowing all the clanmates who have joined them to stare at their creation. Hazel eyes regard the other apprentice for a few long heartbeats, then her name clicks in their head with dark skies and wet fur. Rainpaw. "Pebbles… perfect," they say, because they’d expected her to suggest something dumb, but instead she’s shared a great idea.

Another apprentice—this one is Smokepaw, easily recognizable even before he speaks—joins them and Gravelpaw offers him a sliver of a smile. "Thank you," they respond to the stuttering, unsure compliment, confusion painting their expression. They can’t tell whether Smokepaw is being genuine or not, but they’re quickly distracted again. "Maybe I could make one for… all of you," the black and white apprentice offers, pawing at the side of the snow-deputy to pack a bit of dirt-stained snow to its side.

The lead warrior is an intimidating figure, and unlike Badgermoon, Gravelpaw knows next to nothing about Weaselclaw. He’s just another adult to them, a warrior to appease for fear of being swatted across the ears. The brown tom has the same air about him as Lynxtooth—someone to be respected, someone who can look scary and back it up with their skills. And yet, here Weaselclaw is, complimenting their snow-demon. They dip their head instead of verbalizing their thanks, trying to imagine Badgermoon in place of the snow-cat.

Rainpaw’s mentor, whose name escapes them right now, slips over to them, makes a terrible joke, and then is gone before Gravelpaw can collect their thoughts enough to say anything. He’s only gone for a few moments before he deposits a few pebbles onto the snowy ground; Gravelpaw lifts a paw to tap one of the yellow rocks. They glance between the pebbles and the deputy, then back to the pebbles. "They match his eyes." Hazel eyes flicker to where Rainpaw stands. "Help me put them on?"
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[ DEATH OF A DREAM ]​

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[SNAILSTRIDE]

Snow Badgermoon looked like he'd been involved in a tragic accident. They were a stone's throw away from saying such an observation in jest, but one quick glance at the solitary Gravelpaw told Snailpaw that this was one comment they should keep to themselves. They moved closer to the gathered group, their tail sweeping the snow behind them. Already, a plethora of suggestions had been offered to improve the almighty snow-Badger, with his head tilted upwards and mouth open in preparation for their turn to speak, the marbled tabby watched intently as the figure suddenly gained a pair of (currently) disembodied eyes. They glanced between the pebbles and Badgermoon, nodded in agreement with Gravelpaw's statement, and leaped to the statue's side to better assess it. If he squinted, he could see their charismatic Deputy, perhaps with a broken neck and severed tail, but existing all the same. Snailpaw tilted their own head to the side, frowning in deep thought. They wanted to help bring the darling snow-cat to life, to give them features that popped out from the regular bundle of snow and make it a tribute worthy of their first friend, but one only needed to take a single look at Snailpaw's winter nest to know that design was not their strong suit.

Unless, of course, that design was a random assortment of feathers and bones.

"It's just missing one thing once the eyes are in place! Apart from the tail... and the black colours... and the nose... ok it might be missing a lot still but that's ok! There's one way to make it obvious that this is Badgermoon!" An optimistic grin split their muzzle as they lifted their paw towards the snow-cat, looking to Gravelpaw for permission to add the 'signature' piece. "A big ol' goofy grin! Look look look look look, he's even modeling one for us now!" Mischievously, they gestured with their nose toward the Deputy.




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[rainpaw]

As Smokepaw stopped at her side, Rainpaw gave him a nod, although it quickly became paired with a light, curious furrow of her brow. Her expression cleared as Weaselclaw and Curlewnose came over next, both willing to humor the creation of snow-Badgermoon and even add some humor. Rainpaw rolled her eyes at her mentor's joke, but there was no malice behind the gesture. She was happy to have the pebbles delivered to her, espesically since Gravelpaw seemed to like the idea. Who knew that building a snow-cat could also work as a way to bring the clan together? "Thanks, Curlewnose," She chirped, a smile slipping onto her face. She turned when Gravelpaw addressed her again, and she nodded again, pleased to be involved. "I'd love to. Here, I'll take this one." She hooked a paw underneath one of the yellow stones, Snailpaw's chatter serving as the background noise for her task. She carefully scraped away some snow from the snow-cat's face, hoping to form the impression of a socket, and then did the awkward act of flipping her paw over and pressing the pebble into the dent at the same time. For a heartbeat, she was worried that by pressing the pebble in, she would end up breaking some other part of the face... but it remained intact.

"A grin would make it look very Badgermoon." She agreed, setting her paw back down on the snow. Her blue gaze flickered to his black-and-white face at Snailpaw's insistence, and they were right. She couldn't put all her focus on the sculpting of the snow-cat's grin yet, though- Rainpaw was back to scrutinizing her placement of the eye. She looked to Gravelpaw. "Does that look alright?" The question was mostly directed toward the younger apprentice, since they were the initial builder of snow-Badgermoon, but she wouldn't be upset at anyone else's input.
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[curlewnose]

"leave those snails alone, they've got problems of their own"​

”I know how to make him grin,” Curlew purred mischievously. ”Hey Badgermoon, how did the rabbit get away?” The tom grinned, barely waiting for the deputy to respond. ”Because he was out running on the moors!” He waited for a grin, feeling very pleased with himself.
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✦ ★ ✦​