border FORCED TO CHANGE // abandoned kit

[Whitekit]

The warm embrace of his mother's side had been ripped from him during the early hours that day. Large hands held him tight as to avoid him escaping before he was bundled into a cold cardboard box. Feelings of confusion and fear swirled in his young mind as he was thrust into the unknown. Strange noises sounded beyond the dark walls that surrounded him, then came the crescendo to the chaos as his prison was sent tumbling into the undergrowth of the forest on the outskirts of twolegplace. Snowy held his breath as terror gripped him as he was thrown about the interior of the box until it finally came to a stop on its side with the lid parted open.

Snowy's sides rippled with rapid breaths as pain throbbed from all over. Cautiously he neared the opening to the box so he could look outside, but there was no cosy home interior to greet him. Instead tall trees stood all around like the imposing giants that they were. With a whimper he backed into the shadows again, especially as he heard rustling coming from nearby. Something was coming! But what was it?

"This isn't happening... this isn't happening!" Snowy curled up tight with baby blues full of fear. He wanted his mother! He wanted his siblings! But it seemed that he had been cast out and left to the mercy of the wild.
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[edenberry ?!]

They weren't immune to the less than firm loyalty of Twolegs... It felt like a lifetime ago now, that their own house-folk had grabbed them by the scruff and tossed them head-first over the fence that lined their yard. Hazelbeam the only witness to such cruelty... and few others told about such torment for fear of validating the hateful narrative that daylight warriors put their trust in something that didn't love them back.

Seeing a ramshackle box on their walk back towards SkyClan is enough to make their stomach twist. The smell of kitty-soft fur stands out, drenched in the scent of home that wasn't the forest.... As they approach with ears perked forward to listen for the sounds of life, they're both relieved and horrified to hear the terrified whimper of a kit from inside.

They poke their snout into the small opening, wiggling their nose as they draw in a sniff. They withdraw, not detecting the strong stink of blood at the very least before laying on the ground in an appeal to safety, peeking through the opening with a sympathetic smile. "You okay in there?"

They don't reach a paw in to try to scoop at them to come out, worried that'll do the opposite of build rapport. "It's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you... I've-" They cut themself short, feeling it unfitting to claim they've got two little ones like this when they'd shoved them into the paws of their other parent so hastily. "I've got some friends your age," they offer instead, a passable lie (they can't say that's particularly close to Oleanderkit or Budkit... opting to avoid them out of their own shame).

"My name's Edenberry.... Do you have a name I can call you?"

---

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 〰 i want no more than this

• -- edenberry / skyclan daylight warrior / any pronouns / 16 moons
  -- mostly white with black pinstripe and green eyes / scarred face and back
  -- color #728c69​

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[FIGFEATHER]

Figfeather’s dawn patrol has so far turned out unlucky. Frost nipped at the scarce undergrowth and the leaf-fall air was enough to chill her bones. If she had to guess most of the prey would be in hiding until around sun-high when the territory would warm.

Figfeather was insistent to not give up easily despite this. She takes her patrol closer to the twoleg place in hopes that what she had learned to be called ‘bird feeders’ would draw unsuspecting birds wanting to stuff themselves with seeds to the outskirts of the forest.

The patrol doesn’t find feasting birds, however, just Edenberry who was crouched and speaking in a soothing voice. Figfeather’s eyes shift to the box, her pelt prickles as the stench of twoleg flows into her nostrils. Her ears perk to hear the rapid heartbeat of a frightened kit. She does not possess the same parental instincts Edenberry does and her first concern is the possibility of nearby twolegs.

”Did you see any? Are there twolegs in our territory?” Her mind flashes to the image of cats in cages. She sees Daisyflight’s frightened eyes staring back at her, Snowpaw and Butterflytuft pressed into their mother’s fur with terror. Daylight warriors may claim their twolegs drown them with love, but once a twoleg entered the forest it was never here to share its love.

Her fur continues to bristle, she looks around wildly to every shadow as if a twoleg might lunge from it at any moment.

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[Whitekit]

The second a face peered inside the young tom ended up bristling and arching his back high in utter terror. Though no hiss broke from him, he was too scared to even make the noise and all too suddenly his bright green collar felt too tight. Was this it? Would he be torn apart by these strange cats? Such a fate didn't seem on the cards today, but it didn't bring him any peace of mind as his eyes remained wide enough for the whites to be seen around the pools of blue.

His soft pink nose soon began to twitch as he sniffed the air, detecting the scents of even more cats. This 'Edenberry' wasn't alone. A single ear seemed to prick up as he tried to heed their words, but it wasn't easy when the roar of his racing heart thundered above all else.

"S-Snowy... my name is Snowy." He was honestly surprised that he had managed to get the words out at all. With cautious steps he edged closer to Edenberry and he gave them a curious sniff before crouching low by their form with his eyes focused on the scar on their face. What had caused that?! "I think he's returned to my momma and Diamond and the others..." It came as a whisper as he cast a wary gaze towards the other feline who spoke. He assumed 'twoleg' was in reference to the 'Tall Ones', considering that they walked on two legs.
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[Johnnyflame]

MY WORLDS ON FIRE, HOW 'BOUT YOURS?
THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT AND I NEVER GET BORED."​

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Johnny held his breath as he watched the twoleg throw the box into the treeline before walking away. For a moment he sat there watching, muscles rigid in disbelief. Surely not.. It was just some selfish human dumping their trash along skyclans border, right?

Sunny eyes shifted at movement, catching sight of Edenberry moving in to investigate, and the second he saw her mouth begin to move he knew.

”Rotten, no-good, piece of trash, two-leg! No business havin’ a cat if-” and on his curses went as he jumped down from the fenceline to make his way over. The bobtail was visibly seething as he caught up with the patrol in time to reach the box, and he let out a sharp huff at Figfeathers words. ”The coward tossed them and left.” he confirmed, trying to reign in the frustration he felt as glanced toward the cat cowering in the box.

Just a fucking kit, terrified from the looks of it. He couldn’t help but soften at the sight, not wanting to make it worse. ”Well, you're among friends now, Snowy. It’s okay to be scared, but you're safe with us, aye?” he assured them, forcing a half-grin that didn’t come quite so easily as it usually would.

”Are you hurt at all?” he asked, wondering if they needed to fetch Dawnglare of Fireflyglow.

---

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[SILVERSMOKE]

Following Figfeather on patrol, the longfurred tom found himself hovering towards the back of it until the point where Edenberry and the box came into sight. Odd eyes blinked incredulously as a little head popped out from the cardboard, a kitten, and the blood that often ran so hot within the male's veins suddenly turned to ice. His skull swiveled quickly at his mate's cursing, a sinking feeling making his gut feel like an anchor.

He listened to Johnnyflame explain what had happened, the muscles in his jaw growing tense. Before he realised it, black claws had sunk into the earth below, kneading it as if picturing a Twoleg, eyes wide yet seething. Within SkyClan, Snowy wouldn't be the first cat abandoned by their owners, but each knew case as a thorn in the heart, a toxic reminder that no matter how much good Twolegs had done for his friends, there were enough bad ones to wash out any feelings of neutrality towards the no-furs. "Foxheart!" He snarled, propelling himself forward with the lash of a tail. Silversmoke moved passed the box and toward the Twolegplace, stopping a generous distance away from the first fence. The houses and cobblestone contorted in his view, growing larger and narrower and smaller and rounder and....

Fear gripped his heart, threatening it to pump faster. What vengeance could he enact upon a Twoleg? He would just be separated from SkyClan again, this time with twice as much to lose as before. It wouldn't be for Snowy's sake that he tried to claw one anyhow, he had to remind himself of that before he did something stupid. With a frustrated noise, Silversmoke whipped his head around, anger for the young kitten brimming upon a scowl and stormy eyes. Watching Edenberry and Johnnyflame hover over the box, the spotted tabby hesitated getting closer, wanting to help, but knowing he was likely better off guarding like Figfeather. "Are they alright?" He didn't want to speak to the boy himself, lest the terse anger brewing beneath their words threaten them back into the box. They didn't want to be scary to a child, but with tempers high within the tabby, it would take some time for him to come down.

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[edenberry ?!]

A sympathetic smile sits on their face as the tiny scrap offers up a name... it's fitting, certainly. Snowy... and stark as the winter's forest floor. "Nice to meet you Snowy!" They sit up abruptly, at the sound of Figfeather's high-strung nervousness about the return of the Twolegs- spring-green pools glance around for confirmation before they notice Johnnyflame's approach. He'd seen it too then...?

The daylight warrior offers the former lead a small frown, knowing he understood the same thing they did. What kind of betrayal this was... how much it stung in a way none of the other SkyClanners could possibly understand. Silversmoke's fury is tempered by concern, surprising the black and white cat as they'd rarely known him for considerate softness.... "Uhm... I don't think he looks hurt," they answer as the calico next to them asks the kit more directly instead.

Bobbed-tail flicking in anxious frustration, their gaze travels towards the path that the child's house-folk had stalked off to... Why? It is the same question that had haunted them too, barely halfway into their apprenticeship, in the dead of winter... alone.... He's just a kitten...

"Can we bring him home," they ask, turning towards Figfeather as an acknowledgement of her authority in the situation. "Johnnyflame's right, little friend... We can keep you safe... Take you somewhere you'll be warm. Does that sound good?"

---

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 〰 i want no more than this

• -- edenberry / skyclan daylight warrior / any pronouns / 16 moons
  -- mostly white with black pinstripe and green eyes / scarred face and back
  -- color #728c69​

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[WOLFGRIN]

Wolfgrin had spent much of his early life as a kittypet, but he, at least, had been blessed with the choice to leave of his own volition. His barn cat origins had eased the transition - well, as easy as going straight from a sheltered life into the harshest alleys of the Twolegplace could be. Many aren't so lucky.

As he trails after Figfeather, he releases a breath through his nose, his shoulders tense. The smell of Twolegs and the sight of the floppy, woody-smelling material many strays had used as dens paint an ugly picture, and the terror on the poor scrap's face completes it. What a rotten, selfish creature, to abandon such a young and vulnerable creature to the wilds. It's a good thing SkyClan lives so close to the Twolegplace. Abandoned kittypets wouldn't survive long in the wild without the support of a Clan.

Can we bring him home? Edenberry's question seems unnecessary to Wolfgrin. "Well, we aren't rogues," he mutters pointedly, though he doubts any self-respecting SkyClan warrior would leave a kitten to starve.
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[ EVERYTHING DESERVES TO LIVE ON ONCE IT'S GONE -- ☀ ]​

 

[Whitekit]

It was hard to not be overwhelmed by the growing sea of faces that gathered around. He could practically feel the anger radiating off of a few, though thankfully such feelings were not directed at him. Rather it was towards his owner... former owner. What did this all mean for him? Instinct told him that he would be foolish to ignore the offer of refuge that was being extended, but what sort of home could such cats even give? Something told him that he wouldn't be living the plush life anymore.

Slowly Snowy's fur began to lay flat as he felt a little calmer, though he remained visibly timid as he looked towards Johnnyflame. "I'm just a little sore, but I'll be okay." Bruises would be his main worry, but he was thankfully without cuts or worse. His attention returned to Edenberry and his expression was filled with sadness and relief. Nervously he nodded in response to the tentative offer of going somewhere safer and warmer than here. With his ears lowered, he abruptly slunk forward and attempted to push into Edenberry's side and he desperately tried to hide his face in their fur. Right now he trusted them the most, and truthfully he was desperate for any sort of security he could get.
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[FIGFEATHER]

Johnnyflame appears over the fence line, his eyes ablaze with fury. No twolegs were around anymore, the kit had been left to the wilds. Figfeather's whiskers shrivel uncomfortably at the thought of a fox finding the kit, or the rogues who had been harassing them at their borders for sometime now.

Edenberry asks Figfeather if they can take the kit home. It was strange to be looked to in the presence of Silversmoke and Johnnyflame who had seniority over her just moons ago. Now both of them stood together in retirement of the position for their own unique reasons, leaving this decision on her shoulders, she welcomes it.

Allowing Wolfgrin's pointed mutter to roll off like water on a duck's back she nods, "We will bring him back. I'm sure Butterflytuft would be able to look after him while we figure out what to do." She's confident that is the right call.

Turning around she flicks her tail, beckoning her clan-mates to follow her home, Snowy in tow.

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