private CLAW THE SKY ] lightningkit

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

He's used to the feeling of kit claws scrabbling over him at this point, used to high-pitched mews of excitement, little hisses of rage as one kit claws another. He does not envy Nightbird — their brood is more than a pawful. He singles one silver-dusted pelt out, picks out stripes black as pitch, and beckons her closer with the brush-like tip of his banded tail. "You look bored," he mews, smiling. "Don't want to play? Maybe we can do something else while your mom is out. We can let the other kits play." Led by Bayingkit and Stormkit, even Twilightkit and Tigerkit can't say no to the lull of flailing limbs and squeals of faux-distress.

Raccoonstripe invites Lightningkit to sit between his forepaws, and he cups her there, cradling her stout little body. Even at two moons, she's starting to fill out, to round in a way even Bayingkit can't lay claim to. Playfully, he pretends to bat at her from either side with both of his paws. "So, you want to hear a story, or what?" He's no Howlingstar, but he can try to keep his youngest entertained.

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

• ooc: @LIGHTNINGKIT
• 
• Raccoon . Raccoonstripe, he/him w/ masculine terms.
  — "speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 43 moons old, ages realistically on the 5th.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring Thistlepaw ; previously mentored Wildheart, Moonwhisper
  — thunderclan lead warrior. gray wolf x howlingstar, gen 2.
  — currently mated to Nightbird.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh black tabby with white and dark brown eyes. charismatic, charming, calculating, ambitious, shallow, manipulative.
  
  

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[LIGHTNINGKIT]

LIGHTNINGKIT . of . THUNDERCLAN

2 moons old (born 07.08.24) / lh silver tabby with green eyes / feminine pronouns
raccoonstripe xx nightbird / little sister to bayingkit, twilightkit, tigerkit, & stormkit

She likes her siblings, but some of them are so...Playing isn't playing. Stormkit gets bossy and Twilightkit gets bossy back, while her sisters Bayingkit and Tigerkit are just weird in a way Lightningkit doesn't have words for. Like playing isn't just playing for them, either. Not to mention there's four of them and one of her, so she feels like she's— she's like a tail, and they're the legs, and most of the time she's fine with that because it looks tiring. So she's relieved when her dad singles her out, and she leaves the knot of kittens behind to trot toward his smile with a pleased grin of her own.

Lightningkit likes her dad too, of course, and she's never gotten tired of him like she has her siblings. When he promises to find something else to do, she's curious— and then a little excited when he boxes her in with his paws, thinking that maybe they're going to take a nap and even cuddle. But he draws them away to playfully bat at her instead, and she bats back, gently slapping her smaller paw against his. Playing with her dad won't be so bad, she thinks. He's not weird like her siblings are.

"Oh, a story? What about um, how ThunderClan started! No, wait, that's boring. What about you and Mommy!" Shs tilts her head back to look at him, though she can't really see his face that well when he's upside down. "One of the other kits said that her mommy brought her daddy lots of food, and then he said they could be mates. What did you do to make Mommy like you? Did you bring her food?"
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[RACCOONSTRIPE]

His grin intensifies, revealing a hint of fang, as Lightningkit bats back at his paws with her tiny white ones. For a moment, he's tempted to give into the childish urge to roll around and let her attack him (something he never thought he'd do when she'd been in Nightbird's belly!), but then she clings to his promise of a story. Little olive eyes round and light up with excitement. She asks about him and Nightbird, and he gives a low, amused laugh. "Well," he says thoughtfully, "some cats still wonder what I did to make your mom like me! I didn't bring her food, no."

The tabby warrior stretches, dark eyes filmy as he reminisces. "Your mother and I were made lead warriors at the same time," he says, nose twitching as it descends upon Lightningkit's head to "boop" her. "I've always had a way with the she-cats, and when I took a liking to Nightbird, it was more because she wasn't impressed by anything I did." She'd been beautiful, but so had so many other cats — it had been her substance, her coolness, her loyalty to her Clan and leader, that had drawn Raccoonstripe to her like a moth to open flame. Something softens in his expression as he recalls the first time their pelts had brushed together. "We were friends for a long time. We antagonized other Clan cats at borders and at Gatherings together and gossiped about anything we could think of. But then she left for the Great Journey."

His brown gaze shifts toward Lightningkit's little face. "I was terrified that I was losing my best friend, but I was so proud of her for her bravery. She helped save all five Clans." He flicks his tail tip, remembering. "After she returned, I couldn't bear the thought of losing her again, so... I asked her to be my mate, and she said yes." The memory warms him. "That's a little better than bringing her prey, right?"

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

• ooc: —
• 
• Raccoon . Raccoonstripe, he/him w/ masculine terms.
  — "speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 43 moons old, ages realistically on the 5th.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring Thistlepaw ; previously mentored Wildheart, Moonwhisper
  — thunderclan lead warrior. gray wolf x howlingstar, gen 2.
  — currently mated to Nightbird.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh black tabby with white and dark brown eyes. charismatic, charming, calculating, ambitious, shallow, manipulative.
  
  

​

 

[LIGHTNINGKIT]

LIGHTNINGKIT . of . THUNDERCLAN

2 moons old (born 07.08.24) / lh silver tabby with green eyes / feminine pronouns
raccoonstripe xx nightbird / little sister to bayingkit, twilightkit, tigerkit, & stormkit

It really doesn't take much to engage Lightningkit in a story, especially one she's already so curious about, and she's already enraptured enough that she barely reacts when his nose drops against her head. The tip of her tail twitches, but she's mostly stockstill otherwise, trying to imagine Mommy and Daddy before she was born. She doesn't really understand why Raccoonstripe liked her mother more because she didn't. If Lightningkit weren't here, she'd be worried that Nightbird still doesn't like him, but— she likes him a lot! How did that happen? Her tiny brow furrows, the images of her younger parents uncertain and wispy.

They take form with more confidence when he continues the story. Daddy is bent close to Mommy, surrounded by faceless cats Lightningkit doesn't really bother to give much identity to. She doesn't know enough about the other clans. Do they look different? Raccoonstripe would probably have said so if they did, so they must look the same as ThunderClan cats do.

Her eyes widen and her heart feels like it's tripped the way Stormkit does sometimes. In her mind's eye, Nightbird is walking through camp, clanmates trying to get her attention, but she and Raccoonstripe don't notice anyone but each other. "She saved everyone? How— how did she do that? Why did she have to leave without you?" It is more interesting than bringing prey. She'll have to tell that kit about it (and see her face when she finds out Lightningkit's parents met better than hers!).
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[RACCOONSTRIPE]

His little daughter's eyes are stretched wide as she imagines her mother embarking on some grand quest. "She saved everyone? How did she do that?" Raccoonstripe lifts his forepaw and pokes at the pale expanse of her plump belly. "She went to the mountains with cats from all five Clans," he explains. "She helped find the cure for yellowcough and bring it home. Yellowcough was a terrible sickness — it killed many cats." He remembers his brother's ragged voice, his streaming eyes and nose, the terrible fever that had left cats delirious.

"Why did she have to leave without you?" Raccoonstripe's mouth twitches. "Well, someone had to take care of the Clan while she was gone, right?" He laughs, revealing his teeth. "I had to make sure things were running smoothly here at home. You don't think Burnstorm could handle it all on his own, do you?"

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

• ooc: —
• 
• Raccoon . Raccoonstripe, he/him w/ masculine terms.
  — "speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 43 moons old, ages realistically on the 5th.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring Thistlepaw ; previously mentored Wildheart, Moonwhisper
  — thunderclan lead warrior. gray wolf x howlingstar, gen 2.
  — currently mated to Nightbird.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh black tabby with white and dark brown eyes. charismatic, charming, calculating, ambitious, shallow, manipulative.
  
  

​

 

[LIGHTNINGKIT]

LIGHTNINGKIT . of . THUNDERCLAN

2 moons old (born 07.08.24) / lh silver tabby with green eyes / feminine pronouns
raccoonstripe xx nightbird / little sister to bayingkit, twilightkit, tigerkit, & stormkit

She startles a little when he prods her belly, her muscles instinctively twitching with the urge to attack his paw, but she settles for clapping it between her own and subsequently loses her balance, dipping into the nursery dirt. She hastily straightens up, too interested in her father's story to be truly embarrassed. "That's scary," she whispers, kneading the ground nervously. Obviously her mommy and daddy are fine, but what if the yellowcough comes back? Will Nightbird have to go away again to save them?

At least Raccoonstripe would stay. Because, like he says, Burnstorm wouldn't be able to do all of it alone (not that she really understands why he's singled out Burnstorm while laughing). She laughs too, a slightly confused giggle underneath a paw covering her mouth. "No!" She guesses. Really, she's probably like Burnstorm. Maybe Burnstorm doesn't like having to do things when other people can just do them instead. "And um, grandmama helped, right? Will...will the yellowcough come back and make Mommy leave?"
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[RACCOONSTRIPE]

He can feel the nervous flex of her abdomen muscles as his paw prods her belly, and a thrill shoots through him, something akin to a revelation. She's precious. He wants to wrap his paws around her, wants to let her sink the needles of her teeth into the softness of his paw pads, but all he does is blink down at her, at the way she rights herself, silver coated dusty and unkempt from her tumble. We would go to the mountains and back for you. "It was scary. It was scary to think about where she was... what she was doing..." His whiskers twitch. "I was afraid I would never see her again."

Raccoonstripe clears his throat, then, aware he's scaring Lightningkit. "But she did. She came back and the moonlight caught in her fur when we walked that evening." He smiles, carefully omitting the part where he had whirled on Nightbird for letting Little Wolf die. He would tell his kits of his sister's brave death sometime, but now is not that time. Lightningkit is tired and harrowed from the bigness of his story.

"I asked her to be my mate that night, and she said yes," he murmurs, his heart glowing in his dark eyes.

"The yellowcough will not come back. If it does, we have the herbs to treat it now," he tells her. He hopes his confidence isn't misleading, and part of him wants to give StarClan a challenging look, as if to say, I dare you to inflict that upon us again. He doesn't, though; he lowers his face to Lightningkit's and nudges his daughter's little nose. "Nightbird will not leave you," he promises. "And neither will I."

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

• ooc: —
• 
• Raccoon . Raccoonstripe, he/him w/ masculine terms.
  — "speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 43 moons old, ages realistically on the 5th.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring Thistlepaw ; previously mentored Wildheart, Moonwhisper
  — thunderclan lead warrior. gray wolf x howlingstar, gen 2.
  — currently mated to Nightbird.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh black tabby with white and dark brown eyes. charismatic, charming, calculating, ambitious, shallow, manipulative.
  
  

​