essentials | nest making

[Coyotecrest]

Angry at all the things I can't change

Dark brows knit together in frustration as cream colored paws push and sloppily weave a new nest together. He'd busied himself with plucking out old clumps of bedding that would be replaced with new, softer things. Coyotepaw's lips purse into a thin line, teeth gritting behind the veil as he works pine needles and feathers into place to the best of his ability. With the nest exposed to the elements it required frequent fine tuning than if it were tucked away within the apprentice den. An exasperated sigh flutters from his lips as he halts his progress, leaving the rest of his project in disheveled disarray. His paws were sore and he was growing more annoyed by the minute as wind continued to blow things out of place. He had half a mind to just leave it as a mostly flattened heap and just lay on it as is. ​

when you're lost in the universe don't lose faith​

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[QUILLSTRIKE]

JUST MOVE WITH ME, DARLIN'​

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"Want some help with that?" asked Quill as he made his way over, eyeng the disaster of a nest and not botherng to hide his skepticsm about its structural soundness. There was no snark to his words though, mainly because at the end of the day coyotepaws nest-making abilties had no effect on Quill himself. "Thistleback used to have me fix nests for the queens and elders when I was a pain in the ass. Lame work, but you pick up on a few things here and there." he informed them, with a shrug of his broad shoulders. Of course, Quill was being modest. The boy had spent the majority of his apprenticeship with a double-workload for attacking that other apprentice, which meant he'd spent a ridiculous amount of time not just weaving together nests, but reinforcing den walls, gathering delicate chunks of moss, and so on. It had made his paws, large and built for destruction, surprisingly gentle and accurate when it came to tasks that required more patience and hand-eye coordination. Perhaps comically so, his own nest was almost immaculate because of it, something he never really thought twice about because it was just a habit now.
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skyclan - male - 12 months - bisexual - homoromantic - single - a very tall, dark chimera tomcat with mismatched eyes and several scars. has bluejay feathers woven like spikes along his spine and neck.

 

[GREENEYES]

He watches Coyotepaw fuss with needles and feathers, a semblance of a nest, if Greenpaw squints hard enough.

"You look like you're really struggling with that," the apprentice points out as he nears the duo. He'd offer to help, but Quillstrike beats him to it, so Greenpaw settles to watch instead, crooked tail thumping aimlessly on the ground. The warrior goes off explaining his nest-making expertise, and the tom's gaze lights up. "Hey, maybe you can make mine next! Since you're so good at it?"

It always takes so long, when Greenpaw makes his own. Though... not nearly as long as Coyotepaw seemed to be working on this one before the warrior took it into his own paws. For that, he should be lucky - he would be there all day if he took as long as the former WindClanner, he thinks!

"Hey, does WindClan have nests?" he asks, gaze now turning back to Coyotepaw. It's a genuine question, though it might not sound like it. "I heard they don't have dens! Was it cold at night, sleeping outside?" He tries to picture it, having to sleep out in that blizzard that took over the pine forest. Maybe that's why WindClan's so angry all the time?
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[Coyotecrest]

Angry at all the things I can't change

The sound of paws coming near drags Coyotepaw's attention away from his disastrous nest to the warrior now moving to his side. Eyes of minty hue find the tabby briefly before glancing back at the atrocity. "You can try..." He murmurs, not having much confidence in Qillstrike's abilities, but anyone else's outside of his own would be heaven sent at this point. Perhaps he would even learn a thing or two while watching the tom work and weave his nest together. An ear twitches in the direction of Greenpaw next before his eyes follow, whiskers twitching at the tom's statement. "It's certainly not my best work." Coyotepaw sighs, shaking off a few pine needles that clung like burrs to his limbs. Cautiously he looks up again, contemplating whether or not he should answer the fellow apprentice.

His tone was kind, curious, and there seemed to be no ill intent behind his words. Because of this he tucks his tail around his paws, nodding his head as he did so. "They do. There's a medicine den, Sootstar had her own space just like Blazestar, a nursery, and there were warrior and apprentice dens just like here. But most of the clan preferred to sleep outside beneath the stars." He explains, brushing the pine and feathers closer to Quillstrike for an easier reach. "It was cold, yes." He finishes. ​

when you're lost in the universe don't lose faith​

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[QUILLSTRIKE]

I PRAYED TO GOD AND THEN I WENT TO SLEEP WITH BLOODY HANDS​

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"You can try.."

Yeah, and he'd fucking succeed too. Quill knew his skillsets and he could afford to be confident in this one, accepting the offered supplies as he got to work.

Thankfully, he wan't expected to maintain a conversation with the other. Not because he didn't like Coyotepaw- they were fine enough he supposed, though the honest to stars truth was that Quill didn't know the kid well enough to pass any kind of judgement on him. No, Quill just wasn't good at holding conversations with others- particularly cats that weren't overly familiar with him. He had a tendency to speak bluntly or to lack proper inflection, making everything he said sound monotone and some level of disinterested unless he was spurred by some strong emotion.

Plus, what did the two of them really have to talk about?

Actually, probably a lot, his mind supplied unhelpfully, and he had to suppress an annoyed sigh because he knew that on some level, that was true. They both knew what it was like to hate the father they'd been born to, to crave escape. They both had a found family, and in their own ways, had left the place they called 'home' in hopes that it would make things better for those they'd left behind. Memories of a sister, beloved by their parents but kept from having a proper life with them because of Quill surfaced for a moment. He'd left to spare her the trauma of having to watch their father lose his shit whenever Quill was nearby, just as Coyote had left to spare Skyclan the ire of his father and windclan.

None of that had to be voiced though, because Greenpaw happened to come alone at that exact moment, picking up the obvious slack Quill had left in the conversation. He shrugged at the others comment about him fixing their nest too, because maybe, maybe not. Quill would see how generous he was feeling by the end of all this, though he supposed he would owe the kid for keeping things from growing too awkward.

He listened to the pair chatter about Windclan, and for perhaps the first time he found himself envious of the moor dwellers. Their view of the sky was fully unobstructed, the stars on full display every night. "Man, if I could sleep under a sky like that every night, I'd be so happy." the tom sighed as he worked, and while there seemed to be a genuine wistfulness in the words, it was severely undermined by the dullness of his tone.
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skyclan - male - 13 months - bisexual - homoromantic - single - a very tall, dark chimera tomcat with mismatched eyes and several old scars. has bluejay feathers woven like spikes along his spine and neck.