pafp HEATHEN // chatting in camp

[Sunnyday]

☀ - WHILST MY HEART STILL BEATS
The tom wished he could spare more time to the other things he longed to do, but between his warrior duties and juggling two apprentices he was finding it hard to have any downtime to himself. Though today he clung to the rare moment of spare time granted to him that he could spend doing whatever he wished. The temptation to scour the border alone had been strong but instead he decided to gather more snowdrops to help replenish the flowers decorating the camp's interior. Many of the former ones he had put up were now in a state of wilting and no longer brought a sense of elegance to the place, so he worked to remove them to make way for the newest batch.

It wasn't long until he found himself caught up in idle conversation with Stumpybounce, another who was sat around the camp for the day. At least the company was proving to be pleasant and helped to pass the time whilst he busied himself. They drifted between topics over the stretch of time, chattering about apprentices, newleaf, politics relating to RiverClan, and then of course that of the flowers. "I honestly never expected to find myself taking joy from carrying out tasks like this, but it is what it is. It does make things all the more peaceful though, wouldn't you say?" He beamed a smile in Stumpybounce's direction as he worked to apply the final few snowdrops to the base of Highrock. "Won't be long until the dandelions start blooming, I can starting collecting them next."

//please wait for @Stumpybounce
Prompt: A cat asks if he's brought 'any new cats' to the clan recently and it's hard to tell if this is a genuine question or a jab; knowing Howlingstar may overhear his response, how does he reply?
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[Stumpybounce]

❝ six feet tall and super strong ✧°.☀ ———————————— It seemed everyone felt that pressure to never take a moment to breathe, to exhale the air that was held so deeply wound inside. And although Stumpybounce's preferred way to relive the pressure in his lungs would be to have a nap or sunbathe, he was also willing to indulge in another cat's relaxation, almost as good honestly. He also had always liked seeing the flowers in camp and with them wilting he had been left with a small sadness. So, it made all the sense in the world to assist by chatting with the other tom, and occasionally help pull some of the flowers down.

He was a loud cat to make conversation with but it didn't seem to bug Sunnyday. And after trying his hardest to change the conversation from politics they eventually got hooked on flowers, something much more Stumpy's speed. He patiently listened to what the tom had to say about and nodded "I know it defiantly calms me down. Quiets your head a little." he said lifting a paw to tap his own forehead.

Flower picking was a craft Stumpybounce hadn't often partaken in to his recollection and honestly he couldn't really see himself savoring it. The thought of Sunnyday collecting the small yellow flowers also brought the thought of him collecting cats, something that Styumpybounce also couldn't see himself doing. "You have enough practice in collecting things, huh? Between flowers and cats," he honestly wasn't thinking when he said it, but if he had had the hindsight he would've shut his trap "Do you have any new cats to drag into the clan as of recent?"

[penned by user - [tags☀]]

———————————— ☀.°✧ we'd always get along ❞ ​

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[Sunnyday]

☀ - WHILST MY HEART STILL BEATS
The smile that had been sat upon Sunnyday's features slowly began to fade and his paws fell away from the flowers he had been arranging. At first he didn't respond or look at Stumpybounce, mainly as he weighed up what exactly the other tom meant by those words. It was no secret in the clan what reputation he had stoked with his past actions, but he had hoped that any malicious or jesting attitudes might have fizzled out. Clearly that wasn't the case and he found it rubbed him the wrong way, even if was perhaps not the intention here.

The senior warrior turned his head and he aimed to lock the much younger tom with a stern stare. "The last cat I extended a kind paw to was that of my apprentice, Lichenpaw. Thankfully Emberstar let him stay, even let me train him." He began whilst pawing at the ground in front of him as a way of steadying whatever feelings were bubbling beneath his pelt. "I do not collect cats, I want to make that clear. If a feline is in need then I cannot ignore them, so I make the effort to give them a home. It's a kindness that Emberstar held, and I'm certain she would want me to keep that open and welcoming heart."

"Even if everyone else remains closed and uninviting..."

Bringing up the former leader still brought with it the burden of grief, even more so as he found himself longing to keep his promise despite the growing hurdles that were now standing firmly in his way. He would find a way to keep the flame burning bright, for the sake of Emberstar's memory. However, setting that all aside he began to realise that he was ranting at the poor tom. A low groan of frustration broke from him as he returned to the flowers. "Sorry, I'm a little touchy on that subject. I've been sneered at before about bringing in cats, but I just cannot bring myself to turn away those who need help. I just... I just keep thinking what if the roles were reversed? How would I feel about being chased away and left to die without ever being given a chance? It makes me feel sick."
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[freckleflame]

𓍊𓋼 ⠀ . ׁ ⠀ frecklepaw didn’t mean to overhear. in fact, she wasn’t even trying to eavesdrop, for once. the apprentice was straightening out a bundle of moss she’d been sent to collect, forcing it out of its bundled state to layer on the elders nests. it’s only when two felines move, decorating the camp walls ( so pretty! ), that she would find herself drawing distracted from her assigned task. she’d never interacted with sunnyday, nor stumpybounce, but slowly, paws stop kneading the bundle of moss, emerald eyes blinking wide at their conversation. she was young when emberstar had openly allowed joiners, little and hidden away aside sunfreckle, mousepaw and sparkpaw in the nursery.

a thought springs.

her tail snaps upward, bouncing onto her toes to stumble towards the duo, “ but what if they lied? ohhh, what if they were a bad guy ‘n went — “ without a thought, she gives up any indication that she was not listening. stopping aside sunny, the girl rears up on her hind limbs for a moment, before slamming down her limbs hard and pounding at the ground with ginger - kissed paws, leaving little indents in the dirt aside them, “ POW POW POW right on all the lil’ kits? “ could she trust a stranger? her dads had always told her not to — wasn’t it dangerous?

— SUN - KISSED 𖤓 information visual

• FRECKLEPAW —————— cherry waves.
  f. she / her. apprentice of thunderclan, daughter of sunfreckle and rabbitnose. fluffy cream tabby / tortoiseshell chimera with seaglass eyes. her namesake shows shows himself in shades of vibrant ginger patches across her form, interwoven in mottled patches of red and black. unspecified maine coon heritage from sunfreckle’s side brings her to a size expected to rival her parents, with large, round paws and long, tabby - splotched limbs. as she grows, kittish fuzz has lengthened, leaving her bulk thick and fluffy, concealing the toned muscle beneath in swathes of red - orange.
  
  — lesbian, single. smells like warm stone and oak leaves.
  − six months, voiced by madeline peters as scootaloo.
  
  penned by antlers​
  
  
• 
  
  
  

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[HOWLINGSTAR]

Like Frecklepaw, the tabby isn't meaning to eavesdrop. She is padding towards the fresh-kill pile with a shrew in her maw, a successful hunt after a long, hungry leaf-bare. It's a good feeling to grasp a plump piece of prey again, but ThunderClan still has a long way to go before they're comfortable with the amount of prey their territory provides them.

The conversation happening nearby gains her attention. White paws falter, her head tilting towards the small gathering of cats as ears prick upon her head. Her and Sunnyday have butted heads for as long as ThunderClan has been in existence. She knows he means well, but stars is he mouse-brained sometimes! Lifting her head higher, she decides to take a detour and pad closer. She sets her shrew at her paws and gives Sunnyday a look that says 'there's more to it than that.' "You were sneered at because you brought a stranger into our camp without any of your higher-ups knowing, With kits and elders here, you know why we can't let that continue to happen," She reminds him, voice not unkind but matter-of-fact. Luckily, he hasn't done it since and so she believes the lesson had been learned.

Frecklepaw puts on a show, a sight that brings a smile of amusement to the leader's face. "Frecklepaw is right. We don't know the intentions of strangers. We must look after our own first." ThunderClan must always come first. Loners are perfectly capable of going on and living full lives away from the clans - most ThunderClanners were loners, after all!​

 

[Stumpybounce]

❝ six feet tall and super strong ✧°.☀ ———————————— "Oh boy" a soft gulp is let down his speckled throat as his eyes meet with Sunnyday's. He always figured someday he would make a joke that didn't land, or fall on the right ears, didn't think it be today while making camp look pretty but, there he was. He was able to muster up silence and listened with soft sage eyes "Hey, I really didn't mean... or I didn't mean to come off like I don't think.. I don't really know. I'm sorry." Honestly he didn't know, he was predisposed to listen to authority as he didn't feel he was smart enough to make such devastating calls. But, he also fully understood the sentiment Sunnyday held, gosh he hated this.

Then his small slip up became a thing, not only with a nosy apprentice butting in, but a nosy leader. It was a small thing, why did it have to become a big thing? He felt a twist in his stomach as the warrior was scolded in front of him. That's when his gaze turned down to the dirt, he couldn't think of any other position for himself other than that of a sorry kit.

[penned by user - [tags☀]]

———————————— ☀.°✧ we'd always get along ❞ ​

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[Sunnyday]

☀ - WHILST MY HEART STILL BEATS
ThunderClan had ears everywhere, that was something he could forget at times. The tom brought his focus round to that of Frecklepaw and he gave her a chance to speak, even though he was eager to cut in so he could give his side of things. "Fortunately that hasn't happened with any of those I've brought home. I like to think I'm a good judge of character, so it wouldn't matter if they tried to lie, I'd just see through it." As it stood he had only seen evil growing like a tumour inside the clan, or within the other clans for that matter. But who was keeping track of the score?

Then along came Howlingstar. His heart sank and he found himself on the verge of walking away, but he managed to root himself to the ground for the time being. Though the way that he was tensing up showed that he wasn't particularly in the mood to have another argument with her. How quickly a day of relaxation had turned sour. "You mean the blind, freshly abandoned kittypet that we brought back under the escort of three experienced warriors in order to find you and Emberstar?" Hardly a threat in his mind, unlike the potential risk of crossing paths with a fox.

"Don't always know the intentions of our own clanmates..." Sunnyday muttered quietly as he absent-mindedly traced a paw up along the length of his underbelly, clearly in reference to what had happened to Howlingstar when Trufflepelt's madness got out of hand. Sighing, he then looked over at Stumpybounce again before he could be forgotten in the midst of the moment. "Perhaps we should go for a walk. I need more flowers."
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[LITTLE WOLF]

The sound of voices draw Little Wolf from the nursery, chatter drawing her closer, wanting to be involved in whatever had captured her mothers attentions. She stretches ebony limbs in front of her, soaking in the sun through her black pelt and reveling in the new-leaf warmth. So much more welcome than the cold that was beginning to settle into her very bones.

She is heading over to the small group with a greeting on her lips but then she pauses, hearing their words. As Sunnyday continues to talk, the fur on the back of her neck begins to raise. Her mothers tone had been friendly, the apprentice playful and here he was, pantomiming someone slashing open a stomach. Like Trufflepelt had. The insinuation hits her like a monster on the thunderpath. And it takes everything in herself to gather enough composure to speak. "That was low, Sunnyday, even for you" she says, her voice icy. Rare was it to see the ebony she cat angry like this but her small frame shakes "Dont listen to his lies Stumpybounce." she nearly hisses, disgust making her blood boil. If he had not mocked her mother in such a way perhaps she would’ve let everything else slide but she could not let the slight against her family go unpunished like this. "did it ever occur to you that that cat could be lying? That she could’ve left and told other cats where we lived? Brought a group to raid us after seeing our numbers and where our most vulnerable live? You endangered my kits that day and for that I cannot forgive you." she moves to intercept him, not done with him though he tries to move away, presumably to go and get flowers. "you say to be an excellent judge of character but we all saw how you groveled at the paws of a murderer. And now you mock my mother for nearly falling prey to a cat who had us all fooled. But go ahead, go and collect your flowers" she nearly spits the word at his feet "Try not to bring back any cats though. I will not hesitate to attack any strangers that come into our camp with you." she is angry, so angry but she steps aside, eyes narrowing as if she dares him to say anything else before stepping out of the camp.

// IC opinions this was hard to write I’m sorry ;-;
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[Sunfreckle]

He does't want to join the conversation he hears briefly in the distance but he wanders over all the same, from Sunfreckle's perspective it appeared as though several cats were discussing something about newcomers and he arrives in time to hear Sunnyday decree himself a good judge of character. The red tabby is warily thoughtful on this, he thought he was too but he'd made mistakes. Shallowpaw was a good lad, but there was that one incident with the strange cat brought directly to camp that Howlingstar herself brings up. He remembers the flicker of terror and unease at the sight of her, that his kittens were roaming around and could have very well been hurt had she poor intentions. Sure the warriors could've stopped her if she did anything, but why further traumatize his and Little Wolf's children when the solution had just been to simply fetch their high positions.
"And what of her now...vanished like the ghost she was named for." Sunfreckle finds himself commenting bothered, no idea what became of that cat in the end. Took advantage of Emberstar's goodwill and took off the moment it suited her supposedly. He could only imagine the murmurs of 'just like a kittypet' that surfaced because of it and he felt uncertain of himself even more.

The red tabby hears 'blind kittypet' as an excuse and despite himself it pinches his nerves. Did her disability render her too weak to be trouble? Did her kittypet heritage mean she was harmless? He couldn't help but find his gaze drifting away briefly in embarrassment because what then did he seem like to Sunnyday? A useless lead warrior. Howlingstar picked wrong. Sunfreckle says nothing, but smiles warmly at his daughter's insistence on being wary of strangers. He was glad the lesson stuck even to this day, it seemed silly but you never knew the intention of strange cats. And he had hope she would guard herself well in the future.

The gesture is missed to him, head tilted to the side curiously and he was about to ask if something was wrong with the golden tom's stomach when Little Wolf erupted and the realization of the implication brought a gasp from him, "That's...so cruel." Howlingstar almost died from that, even if they didn't like eachother that much to openly mock her near death was just terrible. The three-legged tom's ears feel flat, watching his dark-furred friend step before the golden tom as he attempts to leave. Finally he acts, rising to stand and press alongside Little Wolf in a gesture of support and comfort, "Perhaps its good you do take a walk, Sunnyday."
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[freckleflame]

𓍊𓋼 ⠀ . ׁ ⠀ all too suddenly, she is surrounded by warriors but sunnyday addresses her, and she is rapt. a good judge of character — she always thought she was, too. she was young still, only seven moons but that was grown up as far as she and the clan were concerned. still, she couldn’t tell for sure when someone was lying, and he could see through it in an instant. how? could she ever? the molly blinks, twitches a brow in equal parts confusion and cautious doubt, “ you can do that? “ he sounded so sure, so confident in himself. frecklepaw was a confident gal, but she wouldn’t say for sure who was a goodie or a baddie. shadowclan was bad. riverclan was pretty bad. what of the rest of them? with a little help.. well, it wouldn’t hurt to ask, “ can you teach me? “

a shadow crosses her only seconds later and the chimera’s head lifts, tufted ears swiveling forward upon spotting the plump tabby leader. she beams a greeting — only for it to slip just slightly as she speaks. he sounded in trouble, and the mere proximity of it makes her pelt burn with shame. she sounds so nice, but her words are pointed, seemingly repeated and a grimace stretches light upon her maw. ah, she was stuck in this now. despite the way she wants to dip her head and skirt away, howlingstar turns her sight upon her with a smile and it eases her just enough for her to remain, great round forepaws shuffling idly at her front. a golden flare erupts in her chest, a simple pride at being told she was right — to a warrior, no less! — but it, too, is short lived.

blind, abandoned kittypet. the words are spit like an insult towards the leader and her ears swivel backward at the implication of it. kittypet was no bad word, but it invokes the same response in her, in the older felines around her. a brief flash of hurt crosses her face — she didn’t know who they were talking about, who the golden warrior had taken in before lichenpaw.. but lichenpaw was nice. did he talk about them the same way? she feels as though she shouldn’t be hearing this, shouldn’t be watching as sunnyday slowly draws a paw over his stomach, and for a beat, she doesnt understand. like her father, it’s only when little wolf approaches that the information sinks in. she hadn’t seen it, thank the stars — but howlingstar had been in the medicine den for what seemed like moons.

her jaw twitches and she is uncomfortable, suddenly wanting to leave for more reasons than howlingstar’s light chiding. her happy - go - lucky aura drops, swallowing hard and averting her gaze towards the dirt underfoot, “ never.. mind. “ it’s quiet and uncharacteristically meek, ginger paws bringing her a step back alongside her father and little wolf, the latters dark features pinched in anger. she’d never seen her so angry, not even back in the nursery when she and sparkpaw kept her first litter awake well into the night. she takes a breath, finally darts her gaze towards the queen, aims to bonk her head lightly against her shoulder, friendly, “ hey miss little wolf.. can i go play with duskkit and skykit for a lil’ bit? “ her chores were done, and the dark molly could take some time for herself, if only for a few moments. starclan knows frecklepaw could now use the same.

— SUN - KISSED 𖤓 information visual

• FRECKLEPAW —————— cherry waves.
  f. she / her. apprentice of thunderclan, daughter of sunfreckle and rabbitnose. fluffy cream tabby / tortoiseshell chimera with seaglass eyes. her namesake shows shows himself in shades of vibrant ginger patches across her form, interwoven in mottled patches of red and black. unspecified maine coon heritage from sunfreckle’s side brings her to a size expected to rival her parents, with large, round paws and long, tabby - splotched limbs. as she grows, kittish fuzz has lengthened, leaving her bulk thick and fluffy, concealing the toned muscle beneath in swathes of red - orange.
  
  — lesbian, single. smells like warm stone and oak leaves.
  − six months, voiced by madeline peters as scootaloo.
  
  penned by antlers​
  
  
• 
  
  
  

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[HOWLINGSTAR]

Howlingstar isn't expecting the warrior beside her to grow tense so suddenly. Her ears prick in surprise - he sounds upset. She hadn't meant to sound scolding. To her, she was making conversation, and had assumed well enough he might have even laughed off his past mistake. It seems he doesn't think it was a mistake at all, though, even after all these moons. Sunfreckle makes a comment that the girl he had brought back had vanished; no one ever did know what became of her.

What leaves her stunned, however, is the low muttering, the line drawn down his stomach. She flinches back in bewilderment as he purposely mimics the attack that had left her bleeding out in that clearing, her own eyes growing wide. The usually stoic and calm woman is left speechless by the cruel act. The scar running down her belly seems to burn in response to the memory and she finds herself bringing a paw protectively to the soft flesh, as if to ensure it is still closed and healed. Little Wolf and Sunfreckle scold the tom, and she wants to say something, but she can't. What did Trufflepelt have to do with any of this? What was the point of bringing up the moment she nearly lost her life, all alone in the forest in a pool of her own blood? Rattled, that's what she is. It's a rare sight to see, but the warrior next to her had accomplished it.​

 

[Sunnyday]

☀ - WHILST MY HEART STILL BEATS
Shit.
The realisation that he had taken things too far came too late and naturally he was facing the backlash from his clanmates. Little Wolf first, then Sunfreckle immediately after. Though it's Little Wolf's words that make him recoil the most, especially when the topic of his connection to Cinderfrost was raised despite the former medicine cat's name not being mentioned. He knew exactly what she meant. A low blow for a low blow, he supposed he deserved it so he didn't make any move to defend himself.

Valid points are raised, even though he still views Little Wolf's stance as somewhat overly paranoid, and it was also raised that the former kittypet in question was now gone from their clan. Why, he would likely never know for certain. Though he doubts she was would ever mean harm to ThunderClan, if she was still alive out there somewhere. He just prays that it isn't a case of 'kittypet madness', a horrible situation that abandoned cats could go through. He didn't fully understand it himself but he recalled his father talking about it once and it still sent chills through him.

Frecklepaw is lost to him in that moment, he couldn't bring himself to focus on the apprentice. Not when he was staring at Little Wolf and Sunfreckle in front of him, which was proving to be more overwhelming that he had first expected. Though whatever scolds were dealt by them would pale in comparison to what he feared would come from Howlingstar herself. However, the silence stemming from their leader was becoming a deafening weight. Not a peep, which prompted him to look back at her with deepening uncertainty. The sight was actually haunting, especially since he had never seen her look like that before. Guilt gnawed at his gut. "Sorry..." He made the decision to say nothing more than that as he moved to hurry past Little Wolf and Sunfreckle so he could leave the camp.
​

 

[SHALLOW]

Shallowpaw had heard a alot of insults directly at him since the day he first had got brought here. Up until now he had always brushed them aside determined to change all of their minds one day about him. But, this was the first time their words actually got to him. Bad guy. How many times have he not heard that by now?. Howlingstar was the complete opposite to who Emberstar had been. She had taken him in without any hesitation looking at him with none judging eyes. But their current leader would have. She would have turned him away probably not seeing anything but a dangerous rogue who might harm their clan. Little Wolf words did not make it sting any less. So hard he had been trying to fit in to strive to become one of them but all he currently saw now was his former rogue group who would leave disabled cats like him behind because he was a burden. Was that really the cat he wanted to be, to throw his life away for?.

" So...all i've ever been to all of you are an unwanted burden that you wish Sunnyday never would have brought in... " his words lacked any feelings but his eyes looked sad. It made his stomach sick just thinking about it but how could he not?. They where talking about all of the risks over what Sunnyday had done in the past which meant he too had been a risk they never had wanted to deal with. We need to look out after our own first. He had never been one of them and it didn't seem like he ever would.

They called Sunnyday for cruel, naive, but he was the only one who had ever shown kindness towards him who had believed there was something good in him. Shallowpaw might not agree with what Sunnyday had said about Howlingstar but at the same time he couldn't relate to an trauma like that. In that very moment though he felt no sympathy for their leader just a loss. He missed Emberstar more then ever. At least she had been someone he wanted to fight for so he could repay her one day but...their current leader had rather let him die then give him a chance to live. " I guess...i was wrong." [ he would mumble to himself in defeat. He had thought he could make this clan to his home, to earn himself a place here but...it didn't seem like there was anything to earn here. He had been abandoned by one rogue group only to end up in another one who only cared about themselves and nobody else.

Sunnyday run off, and Shallowpaw?. He turned his back on them as well to walk away.

// out!


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[Stumpybounce]

❝ six feet tall and super strong ✧°.☀ ———————————— Stumpybounce was finding himself in a situation he did not like. It honestly felt like half of Thundercaln was now confronting the other cat and Stumpybounce was starting to feel a claustrophobic. He was ready to go and get the flowers with Sunnyday, although a part of him wanted to retreat to someplace else. Away from the prying eyes and possibility of rumors. He was coming to the conclusion that he was taking a side no matter what he did at this point, even if he truly didn't have one.

And he was told not to believe his lies, but how do you really know lies from truth when sometimes the truth was objective. Like a blind kittypet can be a threat while also being pitiable. It wasn't exactly truthful to say either is false. Stumpybounce's sage eyes darted from cat to cat. "Could we just like take a step back? It seems it's all a little heated now and pointing out flaws you see in someone's character is never going to really get the results we want. Maybe just dropping this for now would be better." The words fell from him as he tried desperately to deescalate. Especially with Shallowpaw now voicing his feelings. "I highly doubt that any of this is directed at you Shallowpaw. I think this was just a stupidly made comment that shouldn't have been said turning into something much to big." He knew that this last point was most defiantly not going to quell the apprentice but it was worth the try he figured.

[penned by user - [tags☀]]

———————————— ☀.°✧ we'd always get along ❞ ​

​