GUMDROP ANGEL \ joining

[TANTOMILE]

"Stupid, stupid, stupid..." A harsh murmur moved as quickly as the young tabby marched, synced with the slosh of her paws against the bog's surface. It was dark here- very dark, too dark. It reminded her of nights in the kennel, but there were no warm bodies to cuddle up against, not the steady breathing of her family to lull her to sleep.

Bingo had come from the outside, and had lived there for many moons before ending up in the kennel- was that how he had been shaped to be gentle and yet firm, all at once? He was a marvel, really, an idol. To see him decline, die, before her- it was as if she was witnessing some terrible impossibility.

To leave had been an admittedly rash decision- Crumpet, over the fence, had sneered and called her stupid. Said she'd come running back as soon as something scared her, but she didn't know anything, she didn't know Tantomile at all. She liked to think she did, but she was snobby, stuck up, coddled like every other stuffy idiot housecat in that stupid stupid stupid place. Hah- triumph filled her thoughts, for who was the stupid one now? She hadn't gone back- she wouldn't.

She couldn't now, she supposed. Not quite yet cadaverous, her bones still poked out a little noticeably- her hunting held little to be desired, and she worried she might not learn quick enough to avoid starving. That realisation was when she had started walking, forward and endlessly until her legs hurt. If she kept marching in a straight line she was sure to run into someone eventually- and the scent of nearby presences brought her hopeful heart to her throat. ​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[betonyfrost]

The rat that Betony carries is a scrawny thing. Taupe and underweight; Betony is certain that in the time it had taken her to catch it, any of her clanmates could have caught at least three of a higher quality. A small, embarrassed part of her wants to hide the rat away-- convinced that coming back with nothing would be better than this shameful catch.

There is a stranger in the marsh.

Betony stops abruptly, staring at the stranger with a trepidation she has never before felt. The rat drops from her mouth and lands with little fanfare into a puddle of mud, and Betony steps over it, back at an awkward half-arch, but her tail raised in a friendly hook. She doesn't know if she is supposed to try and invite this stranger to stay or run them off, if she is even capable of such a thing. What was it that Briar had said?

"You there," Betony says, and winces at the unsettled wobble to her voice. She's supposed to be tough, ShadowClan is supposed to be tough! "You-- I don't think your supposed to be here? Unless--"

Betony is messing this up. She always messes up.

"Um," Betony says, but doesn't continue, or attempt to continue. Things go better when she doesn't speak. Rather, she looks around herself, desperate for someone else to step in and recover this interaction.

shadowclan apprentice | blue mackerel tabby | tags​

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[BONERIPPLE]

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Molten eyes blink in the shadows as she watches the awkward interaction between Betony and the stranger. For a moment she almost deems it unnecessary for her to come out but she notices how the other stammers over her tone of voice. Frowning just slightly she looks away from her and to the stranger who looks young and so she does not see a threat. Just a child and perhaps said child has wandered much too far. Her muzzle twitches as she pulls in the scents around her and she curls her muzzle in disdain before she finally pulls herself from the shadows. Her lithe and tall figure easily picks a path across the ground and she stares at the stranger with a sharp gaze. "We'll make this short." The woman begins as she looks over to Betony and the meager rat she has dropped to the mud.

She has no opinion on it and so she focuses on the one who has trespassed potentially unwittingly into their territory. Two weeks. She remembers the rules. "This place is Shadowclan. This territory is ours and you are trespassing here. Are you looking to join because if not then I can show you out."
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[TANTOMILE]

Of course her theory was correct! How could she have doubted it- how could she have worried? Before her stood two cats, one shrunken a little, interrupting herself, and the other looking down her nose. The thickness of the atmosphere went largely unnoticed- Tantomile simply greeted them both with a sharp grin and hurried bow of greeting. The excited twitch of her bent whiskers betrayed the racing thrill of her thoughts, eyes aglow with deep blue fire. The first she-cat had mentioned that she was not 'supposed' to be here, whatever that meant- but the implication was soon solved by the latter's more direct approach.

"ShadowClan," she repeated, an action seemingly completely useless at first. What an interesting name! Was it the place, or the cats that lived there that held that name? "Well, I wasn't tryna trespass, promise! Just needed to find someone, cos-" Blue eyes dropped to the mouse at the first molly's feet, and her expression lit up even more, yellowed fangs shown off in an enthusiastic grin. "If joinin'll teach me to hunt, then count me in! I'll starve out here otherwise- don't want that, no, no!" Joining- she was unsure to what that pertained. Was it a pack, like the one from home? How big of a pack was it- surely there couldn't be that many like her waltzing about around here, right?

She had only ever known cats to be pampered and sheltered, scared witless by her family when they meant no harm. The black-and-white molly's level, stern tone failed to strike a sinister chord of intimidation- Tantomile was simply impressed a cat could be so fearsome.​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[hitch]

in character   out of character   character tags   reference

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  ── Oh, for fuck's sake. Roseal thinks living in this bog for so long has filled some of these cats' bodies with so much mud that vital organs have calcified— like the brain. He can count the poor thing's ribs without having to squint, and in a week of her current circumstances, he's sure they could pass for stairs. But territory is, as always, so much more important. The first words to her aren't, "You look a stiff breeze from falling over, let me help you," but, "you aren't supposed to be here," which, in turn, sounds an awful fucking lot like, "Go starve to death on a different patch of dirt, this one's mine."
  
  But apparently that's the standard this 'ShadowClan' of Briar's wants to set, as though the battle with the pine cats hadn't already demonstrated the fruits of territorial aggression: blood and death.
  
  "As I'm sure you can already tell, some people here are very possessive of the mud. Since you want to join, maybe that's something you'll get to learn." He wouldn't be staying himself if he didn't have an obligation. "Someone will teach you how to hunt, and fight, and glower at starving strangers. That said, we should get you something to eat— if Betony is willing to share her catch, that is." Pale eyes find the cat in question, and Roseal hopes that her fumbled attempt to ward the other child off doesn't ever evolve into genuine intimidation. She deserves to be more than a guard-dog of the muck and humidity.
  
  "My name is Roseal, by the way. What's yours?"
  

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• ──── surr'oseal'isme (roseal). he/him pronouns. roamer; goes where he pleases.
  ──── approximately thirty-eight months old; not entirely certain of his own age.
  ──── single & uninterested in any romantic attachments; possibly open for flings.
  ──── very tall, scarred albino with sharply-peaked ears and a bobbed, scruffy tail.​
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[BRIARSTAR]

Her warriors knew that she had called for them to invite more cats into their ranks should they not already have an alliance with one of the other four groups or were in any way associated with kittypets, so when she finds Betony and Roseal with a potential joiner, a brief but welcome swell of hope swirls in her chest. She pads over, grateful that ShadowClan might gain a valuable hunter today. Well, from what she gathers from the conversation, this potential valuable hunter will actually have to learn how to hunt first, but she figures with as many strong hunters that ShadowClan has, she'll learn from the best and will be up to par and helping out in no time. Besides, she isn't exactly in a position to be too picky with who she allows to join her ranks (aside from her obvious restrictions).

"Hi there," she greets as she stops beside Betony and Roseal, flicking her tail to the pair in greeting. Her dull gaze is focused on the stranger before them. She speaks her proposal, hoping that her words don't deter this stranger from joining them. Life in the marshes isn't particularly easy or rewarding but it does mean she won't be alone, and she'll have someone to watch her back. "My name is Briar and I'm ShadowClan's leader. You came just in time, we're allowing new members for a short while. A recent conflict has left our numbers low. I can't promise an easy life, but you won't find loyalty anywhere else in the forest like you will in ShadowClan. We're family, and damn good hunters too. We can teach you everything we know as long as you promise to carry your own weight."​

 

[BONERIPPLE]

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Her eyes narrow slowly as she turns her attention to Roseal and his words seem to bite at her pride. Even though this cat is young she doesn't feel the need to be simply welcoming for the hell of it. The way he puts it makes her step back from the group as a whole and she sighs a little. Perhaps she is too strict in how she approaches the situation but she feels like she can not trust anyone, let alone strangers that walk into the midst of their territory. Yet it seems that things are put simply and done with when her sisters arrives on the scene. Briar stands with Betony and Roseal and offers the other a place amongst them. Within Shadowclan and that seems all there is needed. She looks on for a moment, debating on how well this new one will do. She is but a child still but the youth seem to pick things up faster and they work harder. With a simply dip of her head she decides that it is time for her to take her leave. There is no reason for her to be here anymore and she can see that the others will most likely take the ropes from here.

Guiding the other through the territory and teaching her how to get back to camp. So the midnight and light touched molly slips her way back into the foliage from where she had come.
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[TANTOMILE]

Tall, stark-white and scar-strewn before her stood a tom, pale eyes of strange blue-pink studying her. She felt as if her very bones were being regarded; perhaps they were, poking peaky through her poppy-hued fur. His words, though- that was what she hung onto, attention gripping like grasping claws. A grin crept across her maw, and grew all the wider at the spiny shadow who drew up beside him- oh, what a contrast. She spoke of being leader- ShadowClan's leader, and Tantomile gathered that the cats gathered around her were her kin, either by blood or name. So it was like a pack!

Blue eyes flickered to the white-and-black molly as she began to take her leave, and to Roseal's question she was soon to give her answer. "I'm Tan-to-mile," she said, tone staccato as she cheerily bounced upon each syllable. Tattered ears stayed skyward-facing as blue eyes curved crescent with her smile, her happiness a tangible buzz, flitting about her form like a tiny wingbeat. "Not looking for easy- nope, nope. Just looking for- well, this, cos it sounds perfect! ShadowClan," a giggle followed her words, and her eyes rushed about, struggling to keep pace with her fleeting, thrilled attention. "'M gonna be a Shadowclanner like you guys! Hah- heehee!!"

For that moment, her hunger was forgotten. ​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​