pafp egads! ↷ [assassination attempt]

[smogstar]

The defensive value provided by the territorial landscape cannot be understated; especially in its current, semi-flooded, all-around unpleasant state. Before malevolent entities could come within a claw's reach of a ShadowClan cat, they'd have to overcome terrain so treacherous to unfamiliar paws, the land itself becomes an adverse deterrent. Add to this the serpentine tangle-thicket and the Clan's natural skill at stealth and ambush, and any potential aggressors' disadvantage is cemented.

Thusly, ShadowClan's gravest threats come from the inside. Granitepelt and Siltcloud stand as solemn testimony to the fact, and Flickerfire's subversive spying operations from way back when have long demonstrated how external influences give rise to internal betrayal. Diligently have these threats been rooted out, but with the Clan's very core values centering around ambition, secrecy, and independence, it is an endless task.

Smogmaw understands this. Smogmaw lives this. It is the duty, burden, and privilege entrusted to him by his Clanmates and leader. It is also exhausting, endlessly unable to be at ease in camp, constantly on edge. The days in which he's felt safest in the swampy hollow have been few and far between.

Today is one such day, however, and - tragically - today may be his very last. For, while the deputy strolls along camp's breadth with his head slung low and ears perked high, he is wholly unaware to the insidious forces lurking in the shadows.

// @Gigglekit @marblekit @BRANCHKIT
// thread opens when two of the kits respond! ​

 

[BRANCHPAW]

𖠰𖠰 Branchkit doesn’t know very much about what the older ShadowClanners do during the day, but he knows that they hunt their prey by being sneaky and quiet. That’s what the clan is known for, after all. The warriors might be big, but they all know the territory well—Branchkit hopes he’ll know the territory really well someday, too—and some of them have even fought in battles against other clans before. Most of them are really good at hunting, especially since they’ve been bringing back so many frogs lately! And the little lilac tom is definitely going to grow up to be just as good as all the warriors, so he has to start right now, before he’s an apprentice.

The tabby kit drops into a mock hunting crouch, his white-tipped tail sticking straight up into the air. His hindquarters wiggle back and forth, a kit’s approximation of a warrior about to leap for their prey—and then he bursts from his hiding place. "Get ’im!" He cries out just before he pounces at the older tom. He attempts to bite at Smogmaw’s tail, little needle-sharp teeth trying to find purchase on dark gray fur. If he’s successful, kitten-blue eyes will dart around, seeking his sister and his cousin. Hopefully they’re gonna be his… backup hunting patrol, or something like that!​

​

 

[MARBLEPAW]

Marblekit, by this time, knows what patrols are. Lilacfur goes on patrol all the time. Sometimes she brings back fresh-kill for them—frogs that are plump from the constant rain, whose flesh she’s come to accept as tasty, more or less, or maybe a rat with a thick middle. Sometimes, Lilacfur has told them, she goes to the borders of their territory to make sure there are no trespassers. Marblekit always feels a bit uneasy about her mother going to the borders—it sounds dangerous, and she knows what dangerous is, because she had lived in Twolegplace with Siltcloud. Other cats could be cruel, her birth mother had warned her and Sycamorekit, and from what she’s heard around camp, the other Clans could be, too.

Nonetheless, she understands that Siltcloud’s intention had been for her and her littermate to grow into ShadowClan warriors. Someday, she will be feeling the mud between her toes, biting into a frog’s neck and slinging it home for supper. Not only that, but she might be expected to patrol the Clan’s territory, to chase out dangerous cats, and she has to be prepared for that.

Branchkit leads this patrol. Marblekit crouches nearby, waiting for her cousin to explode from the thicket toward Smogmaw. He immediately sets to needling the deputy’s tail with his tiny teeth, and Marblekit sees her opportunity. She launches herself forward, mrrowing, “Gotcha!” She attempts to fling herself onto Smogmaw’s back and sink her kitten claws into his fur to hold on.

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

• ooc: —
• 
• Marblekit, she/they w/ feminine and non-gendered terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 3 moons old, ages realistically on the 1st.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored n/a
  — shadowclan kit, formerly a rogue. siltcloud x lilacfur, gen 3.
  — currently mated to n/a.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh fawn tabby with dull green eyes. bossy, brazen, outgoing, conniving, mischievous, skeptical, spiteful.
  
  

​

 

[Gigglepaw]

From observation, Gigglekit knew that one day, she would be expected to go out of the camp and return with fresh-kill, frogs and other vermin that also called the bog home, and she also knew that in order to do such things took practice - that was what being an apprentice was, practicing to become one of the big and strong warriors that protected ShadowClan and saw to it that it was well taken care of. Chilledstar might have been above all of that in Gigglekit's eyes, so the highest honors went to Smogmaw for his contributions. She wanted to be as great as the deputy was, and Branchkit had implied that there were ways for even some as young as them to begin their own little form of training before becoming apprentices. The idea had blinded Gigglekit, and she'd been immediately in.

Branchkit and Marblekit might be performing a hunting patrol, and by all accounts, so is Gigglekit - that is what she agreed on, after all, and she was going to see to it that the little patrol would be triumphant with prey of their own. But where her brother and cousin go for tail and back, Gigglekit chooses a different angle: she goes for Smogmaw's paws, trying to nip toes and leg and confuse the tom from below. It's a tactic that wouldn't be used to catch frogs, though it might see some light in a different situation; perhaps a situation where one would be going up against a cat-sized opponent. But Gigglekit doesn't know the difference. She simply moved on instinct once Branchkit had given the call to action.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎OOC ᓚ₍ ^. .^₎ .ᐟ.ᐟ INFO ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• !
  

• 

• GIGGLEKIT ✩ kit of shadowclan, two moons
  → blinks incessantly & uncontrollably.
  → peaceful and healing powerplay permitted.
  → penned by Archivist → .archivist on discord.
  

​

 

[Swansong]

⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ 　Smogmaw's time as deputy is coming to an end, it seems. Assassination, the spectre of death that hangs over the marshlands finally comes to claim him - in the form of three sets of kit-claws. Swanpaw surveys the scene through grim, half-lidded eyes, amusement sparkling in the pools of periwinkle. "It seems... the youth of the clan have decided a takeover is in order," the announce, drawing their paws closer to the scene.

Branchkit, Marblekit, and Gigglekit... A coordinated attack on their unsuspecting father. Swanpaw addresses the kits with a sense of urgency, laying on thick the play-despair. "Please..." they entreat, imprisoning the laugh that threatens to escape their throat. "Spare my poor father, he has done you no wrong..." They dip their head, unable to stop the endeared smile that ticks their mouth upwards. "You are all surely too fierce for even he to survive," the molly laments. Not to mention that they kits don't quite know how to sheathe their claws yet; their poor father will be covered in little pinpricks by the end of this siege, they're certain.

‎‎┌── WE FOUND TWO DEAD SWANS ⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ AND FILLED THEIR BODIES WITH FLOWERS ──┐‎

• 
  

• 

  
  
  "SPEECH"
  ​

• 
  SWANPAW　☁︎　she / they, apprentice of shadowclan, twelve moons.
  ➳ a pale, silky-furred cream tabby with droopy blue eyes.
  ➳ dreamy and detached, more ghost than cat. known for her perpetual sleepiness.
  ➳ halfshade x smogmaw, littermate to applepaw, garlicpaw, & ashenpaw.
  ➳ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ➳ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[lilacfur]

It's been a worry that's sat in her mind, that Marblekit and Sycamorekit might never truly find a place in the Clan. That the few who took poor reception and Betonyfrost's moment of terror may have forever changed the curve in which they're able to feel comfortable in the home they share. She had been far too naive to believe that all her Clan would hold their tongues, that being their mother was enough for them to have some faith for their future.

Thankfully she has Needledrift and now Frostbite in the nursery. Out of anyone in the Clan that could care for them, she trusted those two the most. Needledrift's kittens were kind, too, considering they were all cousins. Frostbite's kits would be their cousins too... Too many nieces and nephews to keep track of.

A clowder of shouts followed with some scuffling was quick to draw her attention, only to see the kittens banding together to pounce on their deputy. She spotted Marblekit among them, a smile crossing her maw.

"Bat him around, get his ears!" Lilacfur shouted in support against Swanpaw's bargaining.​

[ i need the clouds to cover me ]​

 

[smogstar]

War cries puncture the camp's thin veneer of tranquility. All in one fell swoop, safety dissolves and gives way to an abject danger, one which forbade the choice between fight or flight.

Only succumb.

Little opportunity is afforded to Smogmaw in the span between hearing the raucous screeches and feeling fangs tear into his pelt. Only succumb.

In a breath, three adversaries latch onto him like leeches and seek to draw his blood in a manner similar. Strength wanes, weariness weaves itself throughout his bones until movement becomes too strenuous, and soon, the broad tom ceases entirely. He has succumbed.

He does well to fake his death in a way that was harmless to the kit-sized assailants. The deputy cuts an imposing figure with his broad size and build, and were he to haphazardly fling himself onto the soil, those latched onto him may sustain worse injuries. So instead, he quietly crumples, all while gritting his teeth and bearing the (very real) pain. "I trusted you, Branchkit," he would gasp out, paws curling inward whilst he sinks onto his belly. "I trusted all of you, but I've been betrayed. You little monsters. I'll haunt your dreams."

The very moment Marblekit frees herself from her hold on his back, Smogmaw rolls over and dies. A pink tongue breaches from his limp maw, resting against his upside-down face.

Curious how a full seasonal cycle back, he wouldn't have granted a second thought to frivolous kit pastimes. He's always been a creature of spontaneity, keen on indulging in whims and impulses as they occur. Kits, however, used to terrify him. With their altogether fickle nature and unreadable agendas, being around them seemed more a danger than a benefit. Now, he understands them, having raised his own.

StarClan performs a miracle and reinvigorates him with life anew. An amber eye opens to the inverted world, the tom slowly picking his upper half off the ground, acting every bit resurrected. "That's one life gone. Got eight left, looks like." There's a twitch to his muzzle when he scrutinises his attackers, and when his gaze traces over Gigglekit's dappled form, it grinds to a halt.

"Even in play-fight, be careful around an older cat's claws," he says then, solemnity now present in his vocal cadence. "Could've gotcha good and given you a bad scratch; especially with Marblekit clinging onto me for dear life." Bemused, he imparts a glance in the named kit's way, all while curling his claws in a flex. Honed against the Burnt Sycamore's rugged bark, they're exceptionally keen, glinting sharply in the afternoon sunlight. ​

 

[MIRESTAR]

It's not often ShadowClan gets ambushed right in the heart of their camp, thankfully — and it's even less likely for their enemies to be kits, but you never know what tomorrow brings, for better or for worse.

Joyful cries fill the camp and with it, Mirepurr's heart gets a little more full. Newleaf has given them the opportunity to sit back a little, to enjoy the days as they come, without the constant worries that normally plague a Clan cat's life. It'd be foolish to completely slack off and ignore one's duty and responsibilities, but at least they can all give themselves a moment to relax now.

Not poor Smogmaw though.

"You already took one life," they say, plead, sliding onto their belly and all but crawling towards the kits, "I beg you for your mercy. Don't take any more."

---​

TRUTH BE TOLD ✦ I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE

• 
• MIREPURR ✦ SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR
  ────── THEY/THEM ✦ PENNED BY KARMEN ✦ 04/15
•  

​

​

 

[BRANCHPAW]

𖠰𖠰 The larger tom’s form goes crumbling down to the ground, defeated by the multiple attacks of Branchkit, Gigglekit, and Marblekit. Their clanmates watch on, and Swanpaw comments on their takeover, but no one is able to stop them. Lilacfur urges her kit on, a betrayal of her deputy, even as Sandpaw begs for their father’s life. There is no saving him, though.

I trusted you, Branchkit, says his felled enemy. All the while, the kit watches on with uncaring eyes, bloodied maw turned upward in a triumphant smile.

Or… maybe that isn’t exactly how it goes, since there isn’t any blood staining his muzzle, and Smogmaw isn’t actually dying (he hopes). But still, it sounds cool! The dark tabby promises to haunt all of their dreams, and that would scare Branchkit if he wasn’t so big and tough, and if Smogmaw wasn’t pretend-dead on the ground. But then… by the grace of StarClan, the deputy rises right back up onto his forelegs, once again towering over Branchkit’s head. He warns them about his big, sharp warrior claws, and how they should be careful even when playing with older ShadowClanners. It makes sense—Smogmaw is big enough to be attacked by kits and be fine, but if it was the other way around, he could easily hurt them all.

When Mirepurr crawls closer, begging for them to spare another of Smogmaw’s lives, the tabby-striped kit flicks his tail excitedly. "One more," he says in his best serious voice, but the bright grin across his muzzle gives away his joy. Mirepurr’s pleading doesn’t deter the kit in the least; instead, Branchkit leaps at Smogmaw once again, batting at a big paw with his own little paw. His claws are sheathed, careful not to actually hurt the older tom, but he pretends to scratch and scrape at the big, big paw.​

​

 

[MARBLEPAW]

Marblekit holds onto gray-striped fur for dear life, her claws sank deep into the ShadowClan deputy’s pelt. Gigglekit bursts from her hiding spot, tiny teeth nipping at Smogmaw’s toes. She giggles as the great tabby succumbs to his wounds and sinks to his belly; once he hits the ground, she’ll unhook her claws and roll onto her side, panting from exertion. Swanpaw begs for his father’s life, while Lilacfur cheers them on. “Bat his ears,” her mother calls, and Marblekit throws her an appreciative look through wide green eyes.

Amazingly, Smogmaw is still able to talk, his rasp tattered from the wounds he’d endured. “I trusted you,” he says, and for a heartbeat, Marblekit feels bad. Maybe she had clawed him too hard—maybe Gigglekit and Branchkit’s nips had been too powerful, after all. The deputy flops onto his side dramatically, his eyelids slipping over amber pools. “We killed him,” she observes solemnly.

And then he’s back up, claiming that he still has eight lives. The pale tawny she-kit brightens somewhat, relief flooding through her. “So we can do this eight more times?” Branchkit, despite Mirepurr’s plea, wastes no time in racing toward Smogmaw’s paws. She decides to take a page from her mother’s book and lifts a clawed forepaw toward the deputy’s ears to lightly bat at their tips.

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

• ooc: —
• 
• Marblekit, she/they w/ feminine and non-gendered terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 3 moons old, ages realistically on the 1st.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored n/a
  — shadowclan kit, formerly a rogue. siltcloud x lilacfur, gen 3.
  — currently mated to n/a.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh fawn tabby with dull green eyes. courageous, curious, introspective, observant, judgmental, snarky.
  
  

​