GOT ANY GRAPES 𓆝 WEIRD DUCKLING


her expedition beyond riverclan camp's protective hedging had been short - lived, her experience with the rolling wetland meadows far briefer than she had initially thought. she is standing paws deep in the shallows, strawberry eyes gazing unblinking into the shimmer of water and the occasional shadow flitting just beneath, not far beyond the reed exit of camp with lichentail lingering somewhere behind. her mentor ; the word still beams a bright light through her chest, solemn as the pointed deputy had been since smokestar's untimely disappearance. she doesn't like to think of it much, doesn't like to think of what would have happened to the ebony - coated leader if he had survived. she prays starclan guides him, envelops his paws with alabaster stardust for as long as it took for his body to recover. she's still yet to see the gorge. she does not ask to see it, either -- not now. instead, she asks the river, whispers to the babbling brooks to keep him safe wherever he'd found himself. she dreams that she can see the spots of bloodspattered ivory he bore in the great net of celestial black above.

but in this mortal plane, the evening glows with a low, fiery simmer ; the golden hour of dusk, where all along the river cascades into a citrus - swarmed ichor. cicadas sing loud at her back where a noise sends her into an emergency crouch. her belly wets with the moving brook but she sees it through the sedge, through bladed ribbons of water - dappled newleaf greenery ; something yellow, something toddling the water along the banks across from her. it looked to be a young bird of some kind, its tail curved into a neat, dandelion point, orange beak flitting through the bars of reed and undergrowth. she is new to hunting, still. an understatement, really -- she's yet to have a catch to claim, tempered only by the knowledge that she hadn't had much of an opportunity yet. like this, pupils blow wide as she wriggles her hind end. like this, an opportunity. to bring home a young bird on one of her first outings, she can feel heavendusted eyes watching as she takes a leap, pushes off limbs still thickening with recovery. claws splayed, her paws cup it's back neatly, squarely. her catch lands, and with the speed of an overeager viper, she ducks to take a bite.

it squeaks. it does not bleed.

confusion paints her shell - cracked expression, sacchririne eyes singing a frustrated rust as bites again. squeak. again. squeak. again. black eyes stare dully at her, unflinching, heatless beneath hard, strange - feeling skin. she doesnt like it, not at all. it stares uncannily at her, she stares back until the crunch - splash of a pawstep behind her brings a lilac tail to a mighty lash, hooded luminaries casting an annoyed glance towards whoever approached, ” there's something wrong with it! β€œ anger sounds strange still in her featherbeat tone ; in annoyance, the new apprentice swings a paw at the unfortunate duckling, sending it toppling over.. and immediately back to it's upright float. squeeeak, ” ugh! β€œ

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  • i. bingo event slot - salmon. she's found a rubber ducky along the shore! mentor tag for @lichentail < 3

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  • SHELLPAW 𓆉 SHE / HER. SEVEN MOONS OLD, APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN, MENTORED BY LICHENTAIL ; SMELLS LIKE SALT & RIVER BLOOMS. HAZECLOUD xx LICHENTAIL, NIECE TO SMOKESTAR. PENNED BY ANTLERS ----------------- Β° ❀ ⋆
    frail alabaster molly with lilac striping and watery amber eyes.
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    she is pallid ; platinum splotched with ribbons of dovey lilac curls, wisped ends like memories of a distant shore and plush enough to conceal the juts of malnutrition beneath. tufted elderdown fur conceals a body worn fragile by tumultuous youth, too thin in some places and round with baby fat in others. her face is short - muzzled, framed half mast by eyes coined rheumy, rosen amber. the anemic cold pink - purple at tender paws and nose tell a lifetime of sickness, further made obvious by the feathering weakness in half - whispered tones.
    CHRONICALLY ILL ; prone to wheezing, nose at a constant drip from longterm illness - induced nasal polyps. not contagious.

 
Troutsnout had been lingering nearby when frustrated grunts and a squeak catches her attention. The scent of twolegs is extremely vague which makes her nose tickle and a chambray gaze observe her surrounding as she makes her way to Shellpaw. " What do you mean? " She warms softly with a tilt of her head as the apprentice's annoyed tone in the child of Lichentail and Hazecloud. It takes her a second as the spotted tabby soon notes the strange object in the shape of a duck float back up after the lilac tabby's slap. Her nose scrunches as the realizes the weak scent of something foreign on it as she hesitates for a moment.

Was this one of the strange things the recent reoccurring twolegs brought? " I think it belongs to twolegs... " Trout would murmur as she allows herself to trail off before using a paw to lift the rubber ducky up from the waters. Her chambray gaze studies it with her paw pressing on it and it lets out an exasperated 'squeeaaaak' that makes her ears pin back. It was loud for being so small. " We should probably move it away further from the territory. " She states as she glances at the other two to see if they agreed or not. It would most likely be a dangerous thing in case a twoleg kit or one of twoleg adults went on a search for this strange duck.
 
The strange, piercing squeal of the small duckling seems to cut straight through the sound of the bubbling river and the sunset-beckoned insects, and captures Hawkcloud's attention immediately. It would almost sound like the cry of fearful prey if it weren't so loud and oddly regular, repetitive as Shellpaw continues to bite. It certainly doesn't sound like a young bird being killed, a noise that would be all too quiet and snuffed out immediately beneath the apprentice's eager jaws. It must be something else entirely. Hawkcloud bounds over to the small group, intrigue keeping her ears perked and short, bite-cropped tail nearly aloft. "I want to see!" she chirps excitedly.

Troutsnout must be right, the she-cat thinks as she examines the lifeless duckling. Its body is smooth and featherless and eyes unblinking, even as the other warrior removes it from its dance along the waters and squeezes it against the dirt. The small bird isn't alive at all, and certainly isn't born of nature. It likely is from Twolegs, after all. "I wonder if they put it in the river on purpose, or lost it..." Hawkcloud muses with a thoughtfulness nearly uncharacteristic for the simple-minded she-cat, but it's her curiosity that leads her to wonder if the Twolegs didn't place fake prey into the water as a trap. Although the little duck is intriguing and might be fun to play with, even the optimistic Hawkcloud doesn't trust Twolegs.​
 
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Loud squeaks and annoyed speaking interrupts Moonbeam from moving along soft-swept currents in search of herbs, and much like the others that had soon gathered near Shellpaw curiosity moved the medicine cat's paws closer, small rounded ears pricked forward as she carefully moved along the river. She didn't know what she had expected to see when reeds part and she neared those that gathered but it hadn't been... this.

"It should be moved, carefully." She'd speak quickly, ears pinning back for a moment before she looked to the rubber duck once more. "I don't doubt it's scared away all the prey in the area, and if any twolegs or predators are near here they would have heard it, so it should be disposed of quickly." There were too many things washing up, too many dangers in the territory and in the camp due to these twolegs and their trash they let float down the river.

She didn't know how they were supposed to get rid of it quietly as it seemed any small movement if a cat were to grab onto the thing caused the noise, but they needed to get rid of it one way or another. She didn't want anyone thinking about bringing it back to camp and bringing danger to the kits, queens, and elders that reside there that couldn't fend for themselves fully and she was sure Lichentail would agree with her.

  • --
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    MEDICINE CAT;
    β€” κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯ FLESH WOUNDS
    β€” κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯ INFECTIONS
    β€” κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯ ACHES & PAINS
    β€” κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯ ILLNESS
    β€” κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯ BREATHING ISSUES
    β€” κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯ TRAVELING HERBS
    β€” κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯ BROKEN BONES
    β€” κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯ KITTING
    β€” κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯κ•₯ POISONS
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    κ•₯ SH white masking cinnamon torbie w/orange eyes & small ears
    κ•₯ speaks softly & often found humming
    κ•₯ 12 moons old; ages the 17th every month
    κ•₯ homosexual homoromantic ; interested in beepaw & redacted
    κ•₯ currently mentoring none
    κ•₯ easy to befriend/interact with ; hard to anger/upset
    κ•₯ "speech", thoughts, attacking
    κ•₯ easy in combat unless in water, focuses on defensive tactics
    κ•₯ peaceful powerplay allowed
 
MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”​

”If the predators are half as smart as the prey, they will have run away from that awful noise as well,” Snakeblink grouches, coming in Moonbeam’s wake with his ears pinned to his skull in annoyance. He’s had it with these stars-forsaken twolegs in his territory and their stars-forsaken stuff with no discernible use that they leave everywhere they go.

(Although he can’t help but be curious, as well. What could this thing possibly be?)

”If it squeaks like that, perhaps we ought to touch it as little as possible,” he muses in response to Troutsnout and Moonbeam’s concern. ”It seems to float well… Do you think we could set it floating downriver? Although it might get caught on driftwood on the way.”

β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€”β€” so god damn lonely
  • apprentice tag @turtlepaw
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    β€” Snakeblink β€’ he / him. 51 ☾, riverclan warrior
    β€” a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
    β€” gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo


 

SQUEAK! It was impossible not to hear it- it sounded like something horrendously in pain, and immediately Ferngill's expression collapsed into something quite concerned and confused... a little concoction of both.

It was definitely wonderful to see Shellpaw as an apprentice- as she should have been a moon ago, had unfairnedd not wrenched her throat up. As he did for many of the kits, he'd felt a strong protectiveness over her- though there were no cats greater than Hazecloud and Lichentail to raise her. That look-out nature hadn't shifted completely, now Shellpaw was a paw... when bright paws carried him over, fleet like flame on oil, he was relieved to see that the shrill wail hadn't come from her.

Padding up next to Snakeblink, Ferngill cocked his head curiously. It was one of the brightest ducklings he'd ever seen... dead eyes and motionless, save for its bobbing on the waves. A grimace creased up his expression. "It's completely lifeless... definitely a Twoleg thing," he shuddered, feeling very suddenly as if they should get this thing far, far, far away from them. Snakeblink's suggestion to send it away earned an enthusiastic nod. "Nothing'll happen if we just... bat it downriver, will it? And if it gets caught... well, whatever left it here'll probably come back for it. Then it's good riddance, right?" He couldn't imagine just... leaving a belonging bobbing along like this...
✦ penned by pin ✦
 

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βœ¦γ€€Λš γ€€βœ§β€ˆΛšγ€€.Λšγ€€βœ¦ γ€€βœ¦
  • Storm-somber eyes travel along the horizon and down the stream like they are searching... seeking something in the shape of dark shadows or burning fire-light... So enamored by what she wants rather than what is already there, Lichentail doesn't even notice that Shellpaw has already made herself into a worthy hunter of some... thing until it caterwauls in wretched squeals that hurt her ears.

    Turning with a start towards petal-curled fur, the deputy's nose scrunches in distaste for the soft honk of her apprentice's prey as she once again attempts to pierce it with eager fangs... but it does nothing except scream again. Others flock towards the outcry, some equally annoyed and others more so afraid...

    It is... summarily decided to be a Twoleg object and a deceitful one at that... It is reminiscent of a young duck and disappointingly not full of bird-flesh to feed to their clan-mates. A shame... duck is hard to come by. "Well..." Shellpaw's already smacked it wayward into the shallows again, seemingly irate to have been tested as a fool- gingerly, and quickly, she reaches to offer a reassuring lick to the base of her ear- "You did catch it.... It's still... good practice, petal.."

    Casting a glance towards her clan-mates, she tries to shove down the weird feeling of embarrassment that insists on being heard anytime she expresses any sort of public fondness for her children and clears her throat to dispel it. "It should float away... just fine. We'll just... have to watch out... for others."

    Who knew how many more fake prey-things had been tossed in their hunting grounds?
  • about
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    penned by tieirlys
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