camp FOGGY MORNINGS / official move

[splashdance]

"... Are you sure?"

The conversation could be half heard in the chatter of camp. Splashdance, indisputably round and visibly tired, holds a ball of moss beneath her chin. Her river blues hold to her partner, who's warmth bleeds from him like a river. He upheld his end of the bargain - that she wouldn't have her life upended until newleaf came. Perhaps it's a shimmering comfort in his eyes knowing that she will no longer attend patrols nor try to hunt - that she and their shared lineage will be safe. She imagines she would have the same relief if she were on the other side, and as much doesn't admonish him for being something of a hovering hen in the moment. Still, "I can find new moss, Pebs. You can keep our nest..."

Still, they press forward. Splashdance finds the itching in her paws to be of no comfort as they approach the nursery, not quite empty but not as full as it had been when she arrived here all those seasons ago. She didn't expect herself to be among the first queens here (and frankly, dreads the responsibility that may be for her.) Her tail lashes as she steps inside, trying to hide the discomfort beneath her silky fur. Her eyes glaze over the emptiness, all before landing on a puddle of sunshine once again.

"Looks like I'm finally joining you, Joykit," she attempts to inject the other's namesake into her tone, dropping the moss and beginning to paw it out into a comfortable shape. She'll be needing more... but she'll complain about that later.

[ talking with @pebbletail and @Joykit but no need to wait for either! ]​

 

[Joykit]

Joykit had been watching the camp like a hawk, her sharp eyes flicking from one cat to the next as she tried to make sense of their movements. She was getting better at predicting what certain actions meant—when a cat lingered near the fresh-kill pile too long, they were about to eat; when a warrior sat close to another, they were probably friends. But there were still things she didn't understand, and this was one of them.

Splashdance had been slower lately. Rounder. Joykit didn't know why. She thought maybe she had eaten too much, that this was just the result of having a full belly for a long time. But then why did Pebbletail—Pebs?—look at her like that, all soft-eyed and worried?

She had been avoiding Splashdance a little. Not on purpose, not really, but… she didn't know what to think of her. The she-cat had been the first Clan cat Joykit had ever met, the one who had carried her here, but now that she was in RiverClan, she didn't know what she was supposed to be to her. She wasn't her mother—Joykit had a mother, even if she wasn't here anymore. And she wasn't her littermate. She wasn't… anything, was she?

But now the midnight furred warrior was stepping into the nursery, and Joykit stiffened, ears angling toward her even as she kept her eyes fixed stubbornly on her paws "Looks like I'm finally joining you, Joykit."

The attempt at warmth in Splashdance's voice made something twist in Joykit's chest, and she hated it. She didn't like the way it made her feel. She didn't know what to think about any of this. Her gaze flickered up, eyeing the she-cat as she pawed at the moss. Her nest. That was what this was about, wasn't it? This was where the queens stayed. Her tail flicked, uncertainty shining in her blue-green gaze. "Joining me?" She echoed, her voice soft, uncertain. She looked around the nursery with a furrowed brow. The warmth, the comfort, the security of this place was still unfamiliar to her but it was a nice change from the cold and constant uncertainty she had felt before coming here.

"…Why?" The question came before she could stop it, blunt and wary. "I mean- you're not a kit." And she didn't have any of her own that she could see like Houndkits mother. After a pause she adds "Does that mean you're going to stay here… like all the time?" That wouldn't be a terrible thing, she liked Splashdance, after all. Even if she still felt a little uncertain towards her.

( °❀.ೃ࿔* ) just miss what it was

• 
• 
  JOYKIT KIT; SHE / HER ; RUE X UNKNOWN ; SIBLING TO LIGHT & HOPE
  

  Joykit is a fiercely independent and passionate she-kit, born into a harsh world where survival is a constant battle. Abandoned by her mother on the border of RiverClan, she is determined to carve her own path, driven by a competitive spirit and a need to prove herself. Proud and quick-tempered, Joy's journey will be shaped by her struggle to stand strong in a world that doesn't always show mercy.

  ✦ Unskilled kit

 

[pebbletail]

PEBBLETAIL

HE/HIM RIVERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR

white splashed paws kneed gently at the earth, river-dappled ears flicking as the tomcat fusses and preens around his mate. "i'm sure, lovely," he purrs, warmth soaking his tone as he pushes the bundle of moss and feathers towards the nursery. tail hovered gently across splashdance's back, the man guides his mate along. her body shudders next to him, and soft eyes fix back on her form, worried as she lashes her tail. "you'll be more comfortable in your own bed, yeah?" pebbletail is quite aware of his mate's distaste for this retirement, but there is a flame of protection burning within him that has asked her to heed his own worries regarding both her and their kits. she ducks into the nursery and he follows, dragging the nest behind. splashdance greets the lone kittish shape within, and pebbletail will smile at joykit, offering a soft blink. allowing the two to speak, he trundles the moss off to a nice corner of the den, then pats it down with his paws until it forms a nest again.

nursery scent overwhelms him here. golden eyes gaze around at what had once been his only world, recognizing the patched holes from where he used to escape, the crumbled moss from old nests. hazecloud's scent has long since faded from this place, her residence now lichenstar's den, but even so, he can almost see her in the shadows. turning back to splashdance and the kit, pebbletail rejoins them, brushing his mate's pelt with his own. "she is," he answers joykit's question. "until our kits are born at least. more playmates for you, young one!" the girl reminds him painfully of himself at her age. two moons old and new to clan life, she is uncertain of her place in the bustle of riverclan, just as he had been. smiling down at her, he sees shellkit, riverkit... pebblekit. she's latched onto splashdance as much as he'd latched onto hazecloud as a kid, and the age difference between pebbletail's unborn children and joykit is as similar as himself and his younger siblings. life repeats itself, he supposes.

// "#a2bfba"

⋆˙⟡𖤓⟡˙⋆

PEBBLETAIL TAGS / TOYHOUSE
✦ cis tom (he / him) / bisexual, taken by SPLASHDANCE
✦ 15 moons old ages realistically, every 15th of the month
✦ lead warrior of riverclan
✦ adopted by LICHENSTAR x HAZECLOUD
✦ brother to SHELLPOOL, HORIZONTHROAT, EVENINGCLOUD, TWINKLEFLIGHT
✦ mentoring RYEPAW / mentored by FOXTAIL
✦ penned by lavs / message lavendes on discord for plots!

a large blue tabby with low white and vitiligo. pale blue fur covers the length of pebbletail'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.

 

[hazecloud]

—————————————————————⊰✿⊱————————————————————
Fluttering hearts warmed in the newleaf sun, it is a blessing to see her kin grow from just beyond what little bodies tucked beside her as a queen. It's hard to believe now, seeing Pebbletail wearing the life of a warrior, that he was ever so small. Practically all her kits stood at their mothers height and while it was not she and Lichenstar who wove them to be, they practically wear their mothers features as if it were true.

"Has it really been so much time already? It's so begrudgingly slow on the other side." Hazecloud's words are an offer of empathy for her sons mate, who she greeted with a gentle press of her forehead against his shoulder. "It's nice to get some practice in, too." She added in regards to little Joykit who earned a warm beaming smile.

"It won't be so bad, kits are pretty quiet and boring when they're new. Pebbletail loved to watch the babies, though." Any little movement and sound had his interest, and now they all padded about as warriors. Hunting for themselves, fighting for RiverClan, creating their own legacy.

✿ ———— I'll be your regular mama ✿ ————— And I'll put that gun away

•  
• 
  
  
  Hazecloud
  —⊰⋅ Warrior of RiverClan
  —⊰⋅ She/Her
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ LH blue smoke with green eyes.
  

 

[Newtpaw.]

MIND OUT OF ORDER
AND HEART ON MY SLEEVE​

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newtpaw & 10 moons & agender & they/it & riverclan apprentice ​

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━━ Newtpaw feels awkward, hovering around their mentor as she settles in - eyes darting from Joykit to Pebbletail to Splashdance herself, uncertain. " Is there anything I can do to help? I'm like, super good at helping y'know, " they say awkwardly, ears flat as they ramble, shifting from paw to paw. It will be strange, they think, training under Pebbletail instead - Splashdance is only the coolest mentor ever, and really their not sure her mate will live up to Newtpaws standards. Still, they're more then happy for her, whiskers quivering in excitement at the thought of little kittens running underpaw at some point. Perhaps, if they're really lucky, maybe they'll get to play with them - or even train with them! Their warrior ceremony is looming around the corner, maybe someday they'll even be a mentor? Head shakes as though to forcibly dislodge the running thoughts, instead flashing a smile towards those gathered - and hopefully, someone will give them something to do, so they can feel useful again.

━ actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes' ━

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j u s t ━ t h a t ━ k i n d ━ o f ━ b e a u t i f u l ━ a n d ━ i m ━ h e l p l e s s

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