pafp FIRST LIGHT [ cattails ]

[PEBBLEPAW]

( ☼ ) springtime in riverclan brings a plethora of new and exciting experiences to light. already, pebblekit has begun learning to swim, has helped moonpaw find shells washed up on the beaches, and has hunted around in the new plant growth to find grubs and worms to play with. he feels he is quite well versed in the new-leaf scene. still, he craves more, finds himself pacing camp, pestering warriors he has barely talked to for news outside of camp, paws itching to learn, to grow. any day now smokestar will make him an apprentice (something that should've happened moons ago), and he knows he must be prepared. he has to know everything about camp before he ventures outside of it.

this is what brings him to the riverside on a sunny afternoon. the water sparkles in the daylight, the scent of turned earth and fresh plant growth permeating the air as the boy stands on his tip toes, head arching up to align himself with a new phenomenon. he knows what cattails are- sometimes the apprentices braid them into their nests for extra security -but he has never looked close enough at them to notice the tips of the plant. they're puffier than the rest of the stalk, and soft to the touch. frankly, as the boy stands almost on his hind legs to reach one of the taller stems, they look very bitable.

logically, it probably won't taste good. one time he had to eat herbs and they tasted bad, so there must be a commonalty between all plants. still... he doesn't want to eat it, only to bite it, shred it to bits, practice his battle moves on it. even at his big size (he's begun to dwarf the smaller apprentices with his uncle's genes), he can't reach the top. huffing with distaste, the boy sits back on his haunches, glancing around to see if anyone is willing to help. ember eyes sparkle as the catch sight of a red tail and bright gaze. "heya foxtail!" pebblekit will greet the warrior, waving the man over. "could you maybe help me grab that big cattail?"

I DO NOT HAVE WINGS, LOVE ☼ I NEVER WILL

• // wait for @FOXTAIL to post pls! prompt thread! "cattails have begun to pop up again, do you dare take a bite?" " speech "
  
  
  
  
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  PEBBLEKIT ☼ HE / HIM, KITTEN OF RIVERCLAN. KINDLING x UNKNOWN, NEPHEW TO SMOKESTAR. 2 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a large blue tabby with low white. pale blue fur covers the length of pebblekit's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.
  
  
  
  

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[FOXTAIL]

Ah, Newleaf. It almost seems to make Leafbare worth all the struggle, if this is the outcome. New buds sprout in the earth and prey emerge from hibernation; and the territory slowly, yet surely, begins to fill up with nature once again. The river rushes outside camp; and birds sing in the trees. He drops a trout in the freshkill pile, and breathes in the cool, but not freezing, air. This is his second Newleaf, and it's far more familiar this time around. His last Newleaf he was an apprentice; still shaken up by his accident during Leafbare. ...He didn't get to fully appreciate the gifts of Newleaf, and certainly didn't have the time to explore any new findings like a kit can. But, he can appreciate it now that he's grown.

The sun shines onto his fur, and the warrior begins to pad towards the camp entrance. After a long hunt, and with the sun shining onto his fur just right, taking a nap in the sun sounded amazing. But his ear twitches at the sound of a young voice, pulling him away from his thoughts of taking a nap underneath the sun. He looks over to see Pebblekit, who's certainly grown up in the last few moons, attempting to get his paws onto a cattail. One specific cattail, actually. But Pebblekit's paws seem to fall short of reaching it, and the kit calls out to the young warrior. "H-Hey Pebblekit!" The warrior mews as he pads over to the kit, pushing his plans to take a nap into the back of his mind. "Could you maybe help me grab that big cattail?"

Cattails are one plant that's unique. They grow beside the river bank; throughout the patrols he's been apart of, he's never seen this unique plant in other clan territory. He admires Pebblekit's curiosity in it, and gives the kit a nod. "N-no problem," Foxtail says as he lifts his right paw, and with a single claw he tears at the stem. He picks up the cattail by the steam that's still attached to the tip of the plant with his maw, before lightly dropping it in front of Pebblekit. "There you go," He mews with a swish of his tail, "Y-you were just a tad too small to reach it, huh?" It won't be long until Pebblekit will be able to reach another cattail of a same height; StarClan kits grow up so fast!​

𝐨𝐨𝐜 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭

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  credit to skaicraft (via insta) for the artwork <3
  
• Foxtail

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  warrior
  warmhearted
  timid
  experience: trained
  backstory: tbd
  biography: [HYPERLINK]
  credit to sixbane for the minis & tropics for the icon <3
  

  cisgender male [he / him]
  eyes: green
  pelt: cinnamon/chocolate
  fur length: long
  parents: dawnflower and redfur (riverclan npcs)
  18 moons
  

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[PIKESPLASH]

"Not for long though," he interupts the pair with a smile. It is always heartwarming to see warriors and kits get along. Foxtail was a kind warrior from what he's seen and he can't help but feel relieved knowing that such a cat exists in Riverclan. Warriors are fierce, but that doesn't mean they must be cruel. He hasn't said hello to Pebblekit yet and he is going to rectify it. Therefore, the silver tom bends down and waves a paw towards the kit, "You'll be a warrior soon enough." Many moons have passed and he's always surprised how fast time flies by. Many kits have become warriors. He recalls when Otter was brought to Riverclan as a kit and was already grown up. Physically yes, but the tom still had a lot of growing to do.

Ugh, now I feel old. I guess I'm starting to feel it now that a bunch of cats I knew as kits are now warriors and I've seen so much. Flashes of deaths pass through his mind rapidly, which he promptly shuts down. There is no need to think of death right now. Be present. As if to distract himself from past woes he motions to the Cattail Foxtail retrieved for Pebblekit. "W-w-what, are you, uhhh, gonna do with t-that?" I hope it isn't what I think it is. It always goes badly every time it happens.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 my huckleberry friend

• — pikesplash / riverclan warrior / masculine pronouns / 52 moons
  — bisexual / polygamist / open to flirting and crushes
  — short haired silver mackerel tabby with green eyes
  — may powerplay minor harm / can powerplay healing
  — biography / @ on discord for plots
  — penned by velou

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[Hawkcloud]

Despite the way Hawkcloud continues to grow into a skilled RiverClan warrior with each passing day, honing her eager expertise with the blood of the river's fish beneath her waiting claws — her curiosity remains as insatiable as Pebblekit's. She, too, is grateful for the exciting warmth that ushers in newleaf, along with the way the forest surrounding them seems to open up, bloom like a freshly-growing flower to welcome it in turn. The world around them is fresher, a melody of birdsong filling the air as Hawkcloud makes her way over to the warriors standing beside Pebblekit and his newly acquired cattail plant.

"Yeah, what's so special about this cattail, huh?" she chirps once she reaches the group, pausing to give the stem a curious sniff. She'd seen Foxtail grab the cattail from amongst the fronds growing along the river at the edge of their camp as she approached, and she gives her littermate a fond bump with the side of her flank now. Turning to Pikesplash next, Hawkcloud blinks in confusion at the older tomcat's nervous tone. What was he so worried that Pebblekit would do with the plant, attack him with it? Perhaps even take a bite out of the deceptively solid reed at the end? The she-cat purrs with amusement at the idea of it, but she's sure somebody's warned the kit against it. Probably.

/ Retro to Pebblepaw momence​

 

[Moonbeam]

Cattails were never something Moonpaw had interest in biting down on as many other RiverClanners had thought of at least once in their life. She had never wanted to eat plants, only look at them or bring them back to nests that would be otherwise bare and the thought of the tall plants that grew along the waterside was not one that had appealed either of those wants so she'd never paid them much attention. That didn't mean that everyone else did the same and it was evident when the older apprentice looked over to see Pebblekit asking Foxtail to pick one of the taller of the cattails for him. The thought of the kitten trying to bite into it crosses her mind - there had been a few who she'd heard of doing such a thing and had been warned against doing it herself when she was younger - but she was sure that Pebblekit had already been warned, and even if he hadn't why would he want to eat a plant out of everything that they had lying around camp?

Moving over to gather with the others who had already done so, small ears flicked in response to Pikesplash's nervous question, head tilted slightly as she tried to figure out why it had been so important for the kitten to get one of them. "They're really soft on the inside," She'd offer, not realizing that that observation could make Pebble want to bite into it more, "Makes good nesting material if it doesn't fly away first." Amused, she'd watch for a moment to see what was done with the plant, curious.

A STRAWBERRY AVALANCHE ꕥ CRASHED OVER ME

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  MEDICINE CAT IN TRAINING;
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ FLESH WOUNDS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ INFECTIONS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ ACHES & PAINS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ ILLNESS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ BREATHING ISSUES
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ TRAVELING HERBS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ BROKEN BONES
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ KITTING
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ POISONS
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  ꕥ SH white masking cinnamon torbie w/orange eyes & small ears
  ꕥ speaks softly & often found humming
  ꕥ 11 moons old; ages the 17th every month
  ꕥ homosexual homoromantic ; interested in beepaw & redacted
  ꕥ currently being mentored by ravensong
  ꕥ easy to befriend/interact with ; hard to anger/upset
  ꕥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ꕥ easy in combat unless in water, focuses on defensive tactics
  ꕥ peaceful powerplay allowed

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