camp Crafting Table || Mud Monster

[Garlicheart]

Garlickit considered herself an ARTIST. Yes, she considered the growing mound of dirt and mud in front of her a work of art. It was an ugly thing, but she thought it was incredible. Mud was so much fun to play with, it was squishy and could be bent to her will whenever she pleased.

And today, it was being bent into a MUD MONSTER. She worked with a bright smile out of the way of most of the camps traffic. She couldn't have anyone squishing her mud monster. Every pawful of mud was carefully placed to make a sizeable lump.

Two rocks were pressed into it to be the eyes. But it wasn't complete yet.... She grabbed two stray pine branches and stuck them into each side of the lump, some pine needles still clinging to the branch.

And as a finishing touch, she shoved her paw into it where the mouth would be. Pulling it out, a gaping hole was left behind. Covered in smudges of mud and her paws practically made of it, she declared her creation complete.

"I made a MUD MONSTER!!!" She declares proudly.​

 

[Wheattail]

Wheat was Wheatpaw now, and had been for some time, but the prideful apprentice didn’t think the suffix suited her. It was a strange thing, hearing that extra syllable tacked on the end, ruining it like someone seasoning a fine steak with peanut butter. Amber eyes narrowed as she looked for ways to blow off her duties for the day, soon coming to rest on the perfect scapegoat, along with…whatever it was next to her.

As autumn paws ambled forwards though, the small and squeaky cat at the end of her gaze soon made very clear what the creation was meant to be. Wheatpaw scoffed softly, saying nothing else as she circled the ‘mud monster’, inspecting it with the sharp eyes of an art critic. When the wanderer eventually ceased her scrutiny, she came to stand next to Garlickit (though keeping a few tail-lengths between them, lest any mud get on her fur).

“If we put these on the border, cats will certainly stay away…” Wheatpaw voiced after a long silence. Still, even though she liked to put on airs about her maturity, the unwilling apprentice was still a child, and the idea of an army of mud monsters patrolling Shadowclan territory made her feel the slightest spark of excitement. The wanderer sighed as if she were admitting defeat, anything that could conjure up such a mental image deserved more than a backhanded compliment. “Well done” She said, looking down at Garlickit with softened features.​

 

[Halfshade]

Her jaw tightens, teeth clenched, eyes narrowed; Halfshade had just moments before finished grooming that kitten just for her to wander off into a puddle and make a mess of herself right before her very eyes. Garlickit continued to be her most difficult child, constantly at wits with her and her need for cleanliness, taking every bath as a sign to redirty herself the second she got. The queen couldn't even get her fur to lay straight, long minutes stretching onward in her battle to put that scruff of unkept hair down atop her head to no avail. It was about time she threw in the towel and realized there was no controlling Smogmaw's genetics. He'd been upset that none of the kits looked like him at all, but he certainly wasn't lacking in one who acted like him. The blue's of her daughters pelt matched her mates very well and she swore they seemed to grow larger, great spots spreading as if his influence crept on further. Halfshade gave a snort of dismay, refusing to get up and chase the kit down and leaving her to wallow, maybe a trip to the stream would be easier to clean her up later, she wasn't looking forward to her tongue being coated in mud.
​

 

[NETTLEPAW ♡]

A boisterous call burst through the air, firework-bright. Wide blue eyes found the culprit; blue-and-cream, tossed with stripes... a kit, like him, but he couldn't remember her name. Still, he wouldn't admit that... someone was bound to say it, weren't they? And if he played it friendly enough, he would be able to pull it off rather well, he reckoned. With all the bravado he could carry in such a small body, Nettlekit strode over, admiring the mucky handiwork of the other kitten, circling her creation like a vulture around a carcass.

"Huh," he exclaimed, a vague air of something akin to respect buried in his wide-set gaze. His expression soon softened, glancing up at... the other cat, claiming it would scare away intruders, before setting his attention back to the kitten. "You could make another one with what you've got on your paws," Nettlekit joked, a smile framing his words. A small laugh tailed his jest.​

penned by pin ♡​

 

[smogstar]

Taking a gander at Garlickit was like glimpsing a reflection of his tenderfoot self, had his nervous tendencies been traded in to double his rowdiness. While he now took stock in his prudent gumption, pride swelled up in his heart whenever he saw his daughter embrace life with such exuberance, such passion. And hell, being the parent to the loudest kit in the clan was a blessing in its own right. When her high-pitched wails ring in the ears of her older clanmates, it leaves no doubt about Smogmaw's own presence in the clan. A fact that he can derive solace from.

Out of the four, she stood out as the one most inclined to ensnare herself in unusual and extraordinary predicaments. The apexes of his maw coil into a grin as he comes to see what today holds, slowing his steps in the vicinity of Halfshade. "It's good to see her in high spirits again, isn't it?" he meows, tone warm whilst he lovingly rubbed his cheek into her own. There's no denying the surge of dismay she felt in the face of such an unsettling display. In a matter of mere moments, their daughter had undone a morning's worth of grooming and brought her mother's blood to a curdle in the process. Smogmaw thus elects to foster a positive ambiance, drawing on harder times to remind his mate what they've built as a family. "I'd thought her brush with the bears would've given her some sort'a trauma, or long-term distress or whatever. But it's just pebbles and empty air in that skull of hers... and I wouldn't want it any other way."

A passing "I love you" is flung in the moggy's direction before he departs from her company. His knit-browed, narrow-eyed focus instead latches onto the peculiar creation of Garlickit's doing, and the deputy fails to stifle a low laugh the longer he looks at it. "Looks just like you, Garlickit," he would remark brightly, shooting her a fond expression. It looked like utter shit. A prettier sculpture could be made from a badger's entrails. Yet, it's a work borne from childish vim, and Smogmaw supposes that's the true beauty of it. "Why don't you teach us how to make a... 'mud monster'?" he then adds, gesturing towards Wheatpaw and Nettlekit respectively with brief nods. Keeping her creative fires stoked is important to him, even if it means getting his paws dirty (and disturbing Halfshade even further).​

 

[APPLEJAW]

Applekit had been groomed already, and she knew well enough not to fling herself into dirt and immediately get herself messy all over again. In fact, she never did, cause she hates how mud feels squishing beneath her toes. There were so many colors on her already, and one more would just be too many. She'd look all wrong.

Garlickit doesn't know as much though, apparently, and Applekit would look on alongside her mother as Garlickit forms some kind of mud monstrosity, complete with rocks for.... fleas or something, probably. Loudly, her sister declares that she has created a mud monster, and Applekit would blink at it very slowly. " ...Why? " What purpose does this mud monster serve? It won't defend their camp from enemies. You can't eat it. It definitely isn't pretty. Applekit scrutinizes it very seriously.

In the end, Aplekit most agrees with Wheatpaw. Some cats would stay away. Though bloodthirsty ones would charge right past. She sniffs at Nettlekit's comment. They definitely didn't need more of them. She doesn't think so, anyways. She wonders if Smogmaw will make her get rid of it, but he just seems glad that he's happy, and that's... Okay, Applekit supposes with a sniff. It was good for cats to be dumb sometimes, apparently. Applekit ponders this a little longer.

Looks just like you, Garlickit. Was that a compliment?? It didn't seem like it. Applekit returns to scrutinizing them both. Then Smogmaw suggests Garlickit teaches them as if A. this mud mosnter did anything, and B. Garlickit didn't just make it by flailing her paws around for a few moments. Again, she asks, " Why? " the question genuine as its directed at Smogmaw.​

 

[GHOSTMASK]

†—— the moon-dipped shekit lives in a place between the dingy mud-clumped fur of many of her clanmates and the pristine pelts of those like halfshade and applekit. she doesn't luxuriate in the marshy filth of camp or wear layers of dirt like a badge of honor as some do, nor does she particularly love the mud, but she's not as obsessively (or so she thinks) neat about her looks as some of her clanmates might be. self-consciousness is a foreign animal to ghostkit, who barely wears decency as an ill-fitting skin—insecurity a far-away, meaningless word. still, she cannot say she loves to play with mud and writhe in the muck like other kits do.

namely, garlickit, who today is molding some ugly creature from the mud of camp. it's roughly shaped, with rocks and sticks stuck into it to form a vague face; the deputy's kit is coated in mud, ghostkit notes with a disaste she barely feels, and she approaches cautiously. she's no neat freak, but she'd rather not be splattered with any rebellious flying muck that could spontaneously appear. an apprentice whose name she doesn't care to remember is here too, but she chooses to ignore the stranger and advance carefully towards garlickit and her ..... creation. t

he patchwork kit's sleekly pretty mother arrives soon after, her face stiff with what ghostkit recognized as familiar distaste, but saying nothing. her own brother joins in as well, chest puffed with bravado as he strides about the twisted mud-shape, smiling and joking in a way that's still unnatural to ghostkit. recalling how granitepelt was "not good", she pushed down her distaste with no small amount of struggle and nodded agreeably, not quite willing to offer a smile but instead a backhanded compliment, "it's very .... fitting for you, garlickit."

smogmaw himself arrives and she turns interested dark eyes on him, curious, almost hungry—hungry to know how he had attained the power of deputy. she says nothing, though; she's observant enough to have noticed he and halfshade don't exactly adore her father, and likely her by extension. his words almost mimic her own and she watches him with some fascination, some curiosity, at how casually he tosses an i love you halfshade's way. they make an odd pair, for one thing, with odder children; that, and ghostkit has only a vague concept of what love is. unbeknownst to her, her parents do not exactly provide a stunning example.

ghostkit does not speak much, not now, and she will never be exactly chatty even as she learns the art of being charming. she simply doesn't offer words when they don't feel necessary, especially not when she's learned she can be chastised for saying the wrong one. still, when applekit arrives, offering slow questions of why? as she appraises garlickit's creation, she lends her voice again, "i dunno. i guess it's just what garlickit likes to do for fun." the words are right but the tone is wrong, laced with condescension, with distaste.

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┏━•†˚୨୧⋆ OOC ꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷ INFORMATION ⋆୨୧˚†•━━━━━┓ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ♡ ༘*.ﾟ

• ooc: ——
  

• 

• † ghostkit — named after the deceased ghostpaw she/her ; afab cisgender female — shadowclan — kit — 2 ☾s —— ghostkit is the daughter of the soft-spoken medicine cat starlingheart and her possessive mate, granitepelt. she looks just like her mother, and while she can be a little difficult, there's nothing really wrong with her ...... right? —— smells like milk, herbs, and .... iron? ; sounds like tbd ; speech in #EB80B7 ; thoughts in #253DC6 —— peaceful / healing powerplay permitted ; attacks/contact in underline ; won’t start fights ; will flee ; will show mercy ; won't kill or maim (kitten) —— too young for romance ; open to enemies, "friends", tormenting other kits, plotting ; not open to battles, romance penned by dejavu— desklamp9 on discord for plots

• shhh don't look here (battle info will go here at some point)

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[Swansong]

————— ☾ —————
NOW I KNOW WHAT'S REAL, WHAT'S FAKE

"Hello, Garlickit. Hello, mud-monster," Swankit greets politely, when he hears his sister's declaration. It's quite a monster indeed, a strange contortion of mud. Looks just like you, says Smogmaw, and — ah, maybe at the right angle... Maybe if he tilts his head he can see it... Is that Garlickit's cowlick, up top? No, it's collapsed into the rest of the mud...

Swankit seems lost in thought staring at the "monster", his mind quickly swept from Smogmaw's comment to Wheatpaw's. Pictures form hazy and dreamlike in the kit's mind, the monsters trudging their way from camp to stand sentinel, dark shadows cast in the dim of the night scaring off any ill-meaning intruder...

He seems to snap out of it when Applekit begins questioning the usefulness of making them, when Ghostkit speaks of his sister in a tone bordering on disgust. He doesn't miss it, that distaste, but he decides to be nice. He'll try to explain. "Didn't you hear what Wheatpaw said...?" he murmurs, casting a half-lidded side-eye towards Ghostkit and his sister. "Everyone'll be scared... No one will, um. Will mess with us... If we've got monsters. If the monsters are on our side..." he trails off, a clumsy conclusion for a clumsy explanation. He understands, but he's not sure if the others will.

"Um. I'd like to learn..." he adds, looking to Smogmaw and then Garlickit. The images swim in his mind again; an army of mud-monsters, crafted with his own paws. A smile draws across his tired face.

RATHER SLEEP THAN STAY AWAKE
————— ☾ —————

☾⋆⁺₊⋆ info ; visual

• //
  ​
• SWANKIT named for his pale fur, after his maternal grandmother.
  — he/him. 3 moons.
  — shadowclan kit.
  — quiet and dreamy.
  
  penned by saturnid.​
• "SPEECH"
  ​
• 

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[Garlicheart]

"Yeah!!" She agrees with Wheat. Windclan will NEVER come near them if there are MUD MONSTERS at the border!! She is so proud of herself. She has invented the future.

Nettlekit says she could make another one with the mud on her paws....And her eyes brighten at his words! "You're right! I could!" She chirps, and gets to business wiping the mud off her paws to make a much smaller lump on the ground. Its a LITTLE mud monster.

Smogmaw is indeed correct... There is just pebbles and air in her head. The bears taught her what mortality was and how easily life could be stolen from you. So she figures... Instead of being scared and sad about what happened, she'll spend her time being happy and silly. Enjoy life while it's in your grasp. She looks back at her parents with a bright smile and a giggle as Smogmaw makes his way over.

He says it looks just like her..... She stares at the mud monster for a moment, comparing it to the last time she saw her reflection. Hmmm.....

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........

"Yeah!!!" She agrees finally. Did it really?? No, but she can't think too hard.

To hear that Smogmaw wants her to teach them HOW to make a mud monster excites her and brings her so much joy. "I will!!"

And so it BEGINS.

"First, you need a lot of MUD!!" She says, scooping up a smuch mud as she can. "And then, you make it into a lump!!" She instructs next. She gathers the mud into a....Neat? Lump. A mound. A symbol of Halfshade's current despair.

"And when you have a good lump, you gotta give it eyes so it can see!!" She says, matter of factly. Two stray pebbles are taken from the ground to ascend to their higher calling, to be eyes for a big lump of mud. She squishes them in, leaving two paw prints in her wake where the pebbles were stuck.

Satisfied with this, she moves onto the next important part. "Now it needs arms!!" She declares, moving to pick up two pine twigs and putting them on each side of her creation. "Like that! Now it just needs a mouth!" She explains.

"And you give it a mouth like this!" She says as she plunges her paw into the lump to make a hole that would be its mouth. "And thats how you make a mud monster!!"

She's so happy. Truly, she is an artist ahead of her time.

Applekit brings up a very important question. Why? A question most would like to know. Fortunately for her, Garlickit has the answer. "Because it's fun!" She replies simply.

Ghostkits distaste goes right over her head. She doesn't realize she's being mocked, and probably wont until it's blatantly obvious. Pebbles for brains, you know. She smiles at Ghostkit. "It is!!"​