pafp get your hands in it ❀༉˖° halfkit

[PEONYBREEZE]

Small, unseen particles of dirt were stuck between the short strands of Peonypaw's fur, but thanks to the large amount of them, it made him appear like he had been gotten caught in some sort of sandstorm and instead of looking for shelter, he stood tall and proud and let the crazy winds engulf him. Had he not gotten used to life within the tight walls of the tunnels, he might have found it irritating against his skin, itching and desperate for a thorough cleaning, but the apprentice seemed more than content as he stalked through the camp's entrance.

It was barely past sunhigh. The lack of prey in Peonypaw's mouth indicated he had been attending other matters down in that shadowy world, only emerging into brightness for a short while before venturing back in.

Peonypaw paused by the fresh-kill pile, glaring down at the selection like he was looking for something specific. One paw moved, probably to sort through the food, but stopped mid-air.

Dirty. All of him- but especially his paws. Even if he was used to this kind of lifestyle now, he knew the last thing he wanted was to taint the pile and have any nearby Clanmates hiss at him for being so improper. That, at least, he could agree with.

He moved back to plop down, giving himself room to get the bits of earth from between his paws and claws.

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@Halfkit

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[Halfsun]

Peonypaw was one of those cool older apprentices, the one that Halfkit wanted to hurry up and be already. He was a tunneler and though, according to Sootstar, Halfkit was going to be a moor-runner, she still found herself curious about the role. ShadowClan didn't have any special ranks that she was aware of other than the usual but maybe she could be the first ever ShadowClan tunneler! She thinks she remembers the tunnel she had been brought here in alright. She could use it to travel between the clans and wouldnt that be something! Besides, Pinkpaw was also a tunneler so that meant it had to be cool right?

When she spots Peonypaw settling down to pick dirt from between his toes, that's when she makes her move. "HEY!" she calls out loudly before bounding over. "You're a tunneler right? That why you have all that dirt on your feet right? Does it hurt? Is it scary? Have you ever seen someone die?" her line of questioning is a bit intense, but she doesn't notice, she wears an expectant smile on her face as she stands on her tippie-toes, rolling back onto her feet then back onto her toes as she waits for the answer.

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[RATTLEHEART]

Small. Lanky. Built for burrowing down beneath the ground, rather than dashing endlessly across the wide open moors. Rattleheart had known from the moment he and his siblings had become full members of Windclan that he would be a tunneler. It only made sense, considering the comfort he found down in the cramped darkness of the underground, not to mention the way his monochrome pelt stuck out like a sore paw in the middle of the grass. He'd taken to the role like it was built from him, and one of his only real gripes had always been with the excessive amount of cleaning that the job came with. His paws, his pelt, any prey that he caught while down there... everything was always dirtied, to the point an afternoon bath in the Sun-Warmed Pool had practically become a tradition for him.

Peonypaw was one of the similarly unlucky ones, his cream fur unable to effectively hide the little gifts that the tunnels left them all with. Much like Rattleheart's own white parts that became a light brown after a day's work - maybe that was part of why they had been paired together?

He'd been heading over to the apprentice, intent on congratulating him for a day of hard work, when Halfkit came bounding over with a seemingly endless line of questions on her tongue. A chuckle bubbled up from Rattleheart's throat, shooting an almost apologetic look in Peonypaw's direction as he settled nearby. "He is a tunneler, but as you can see we get all of that dirt on far more than just our paws." A single paw gestured towards Peony's pelt and then towards his own, cringing at the fact that he hadn't managed to get his own bath in yet. He might've tried to answer her other questions, but... Peonypaw knew enough to answer them to some extent.
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[ PENNED BY EO ]​

 

[PEONYBREEZE]

❀༉˖° Eating in peace ceased to be an option when not one, but two points of interest appeared in his vision. Halfkit was hard to miss, not only due to that mismatched pelt, but the implications she carried with her. Peonypaw never failed to remember her... circumstances, and each and every time, he found his heart twist with some sort of sympathy. He didn't have it in him to scoff at her or turn away even if he didn't find kittens to be particularly good company.

"That I am," he answered before Halfkit continued her onslaught of questions.

He peered past her while she talked- and there was Rattleheart, mirror of himself when there was duty in the tunnels. He dipped his head respectfully to his mentor before freezing altogether.

Have you ever seen someone die?

The memory of Petalpaw's last breath was still fresh, and Peonypaw hadn't prepared for a reminder. It was innocent enough of a question; he himself remembered the many curiosities he had about the tunnelers when he wasn't a 'paw yet.

"Don't need to go as far as the tunnels for that," he muttered, not intending to scare the kit, but also wanting to answer that with a non-answer. He was sure he would get her attention with something else, anyway. "No, it doesn't hurt. You just have to know what you're doing."

He glanced at Rattleheart againt before speaking to Halfkit again. "As for the dirt, you learn to live with it. The moor runners can look just like us after a rainy night, when they slip while hunting for a really stubborn rabbit."

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