cruel summer ⸸ migrating birds

[Magpiepaw]

—————————————————————⊰♰⊱————————————————————
The sky is awash in gray, the sun obscured behind thick rolling clouds of fog and he is looking directly up as he stares in the middle of the camp. A long time ago he remembers watching the sky cloak in a shroud of black feathers, sharp shapes darting above and falling like mist over the trees to perch. The forest had looked almost alive then, whirring with dark motion like a heartbeat of fluttering wings. Today he sees the darting swift outline of passing crows once more, but they do not settle near the camp as they once did and continue onward further out to the territory and maybe even further still. ShadowClan's scent had grown heavier with its creation, now creatures had learned this area writhed with feline life and claws and didn't dare venture closer for fear of retaliation. It was Briarstar who proposed borders, it was ironic how sequestered they were from most the other clans; rolling thunder and twoleg place like looming fences on either side and at its heart unclaimed; fourtrees.
When he was a kit he wanted to see the world more, he thought dying meant you grew wings and that was how you reached StarClan and his fascination with birds had only intensified since then but his desire to fly had been stifled in the recent moons. Starlingheart's near death, losing Lichenpaw, the tension in his clan that had finally ebbed like a bleeding wound closing, it had all left him feeling unsure of his own lofty goals. He didn't want to fly anymore. His legs moved him in an uneven gait, he couldn't run well and his walk was awkward, it would be a blessing to fly and no longer have to drag his heavy paws over the cold earth, to no longer stumble and fall. But his flesh is what made him, he thinks losing it might not be worth it.
"...guess I'll live." He remarks with a mutter, his breath a mist of fog as he settles down to sit.

————— ⸸ looks like the stars won't shine much longer ———— ⸸ so give me your hand

• OOC can go here.
• 
  
  
  Magpiepaw
  —⊰⋅ MCA of ShadowClan
  —⊰⋅ He/They
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ Black tom w/a white throat and blue-violet eyes.
  —⊰⋅ Has mild cerebellar hypoplasia (Wobbly cat syndrome)
  
  

​

 

[SNIPETHORN]

A breeze blows into his chest, brown fur parts and and ripples against the chill. He steps out from the warrior’s den, moss still clinging to his pelt as he makes his way into the clearing with thudding paw steps. He spots the black and white medicine cat apprentice, the tom-cats eyes wide and reflecting off the leaf-bare light. Following his gaze he watches the murder of crows pass by overhead, their caws almost mocking to the rumbling in his belly.

He’s not sure what they mumble, but if Snipe had to guess they likely shared the same complaint as him. ”If only the buggers would land here at our paws. I’m starving.” He meows, his tone more light-hearted than whiny. You would not catch him, a newcomer, truly whining like a barely weaned kit to the cats of ShadowClan. Soon he would find himself a suitable patrol to throw himself onto, if not assigned to one. Idle paws made Snipe antsy.

🗡️ INFO BATTLE

• » Snipe
  » Loner
  » He/him
  » A heavily-scarred chocolate tom-cat with amber eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• » A foe who uses brute strength and hits heavy.
  » Excels in taking opponents head-on.
  » Uses slow but powerful hits to bring them to the ground.
  » Fights to overpower and defeat .
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[Frostbite]

Frostbite often feels envious of the birds who soar overhead. They are free to go where they please. When there is no food one place, they simply find another. They are above borders, unlike the clans. He watches them overhead tiredly, acutely aware of his own thinning frame and dearly wishing that something good would happen in these marshes like a boom of prey for leafbare. The thought of stealing crosses his mind and it always sounds good, but they don't need more problems on their paws.

Looking down he overhears Magpiepaw mutter. He doesn't quite understand the remark.

"I sure hope you'll live... It wouldn't be the same around here without you." He says to Magpiepaw. When did he get so fucking big. He remembers when he was a little kitten, time sure flies when you're having fun.

An ear flicks at Snipe's words and he can only agree, bringing his thoughts back to their lack of prey. He's skipped plenty of meals so someone else can eat, mainly the queens, kits, and apprentices. He would make sure their young and most vulnerable did not starve this season.

"That would be too easy, wouldn't it..." He says solemnly. "Maybe the carrionplace has something interesting. Skunktail brought me a weird string of meat once." He says, recalling the day Skunktail came back looking like a snake was trying to strangle him.​

 

[smogstar]

Above, a spectrum of grays, dark greys, and somehow darker greys coagulate and meld into a roiling cloud cover. Beneath, a dainty cluster of clanmates sit with chins pointed to the skies, gazes glazed over by the murky canopy that swells beyond.

Nestled amongst them are murmurs about death and famine—the usual topics to tickle a ShadowClan cat's fancy. Dotted throughout are references to birds. When Smogmaw registers this in his distant observance, he too becomes caught in the synchronised skywards salute. Only he does not glimpse any. Simply a vacant, unforgiving, and rather uninteresting cloud cover. Disappointment wafts and causes his nostrils to flare.

The deputy plods towards the three—Magpiepaw, Snipe, and Frostbite respectively—without regard to his lack of relevant contributions to whatever discussion they carry. He tastes somber tones in the air. Bitter, sharp on his tongue, but also subtle somehow. Yearning. Yearning for something greater than ShadowClan has to offer. Logging this detail and allowing it to marinate, Smogmaw wordlessly welcomes himself onto the group's periphery.

When he does elect to speak, it is as one would anticipate for Smogmaw: a monotonous cadence, almost a drag on any conversation it infiltrates. Yet his words are introspective, a search for memory amidst the melancholic image. "I remember, during the journey... when me 'n Magpiepaw 'n Sharpshadow reached the mountaintop... 'n the land just went on, and on, and forever. Endless, it was, in every direction, reaching out farther 'n farther than my eyes could see. Clouds swaddled where we stood and rolled overhead, 'n below us, too."

Smogmaw stretches a front paw across the snow and makes a wide arc. While not the epitome of imagery, or coherent in any measure, he feels it conveys the message well enough. "Felt free, and light, and at peace... saw it all, just one time. Funny to think that, for birds, it's just another day." His mew drifts, as does his vision towards where Magpiepaw resided. "Those beaked busybodies pro'lly take it all for granted, too." ​

 

[SNIPETHORN]

The carrionplace, he’s heard of it. Infamous for being swamped with infectious rats and other vile, he’s not looking forward to his first visit. He’s been warned, however, that often during leaf-bare hunting becomes necessary with the lack of prey running in the swampland. His interest heightens at the mention of Skunktail, ”…An ‘interesting string of meat’? You mean to say you ate it without knowing what it was?” Snipe as a loner has had to get desperate a few times, but to eat food of unknown origins particularly from a place so filthy…

Smogmaw tells of a ‘journey’, the story is laid out as if he was supposed to know what that meant. He speaks of mountaintops and snow covered land scapes, land and terrain not even Snipe has ventured. He feels an almost kit-like fascination wash over him, he wants to know more. ”What took you so far away?”

🗡️ INFO BATTLE

• » Snipe
  » ShadowClan Warrior (in-the-making)
  » He/him
  » A heavily-scarred chocolate tom-cat with amber eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• » A foe who uses brute strength and hits heavy.
  » Excels in taking opponents head-on.
  » Uses slow but powerful hits to bring them to the ground.
  » Fights to overpower and defeat .
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​