camp honey from the sun [prompt]

[FALCONHEART]

Though he’s graduated from apprentice to warrior, the tabby-striped tom still takes time to do the tasks that others see as apprentices’ chores. He may be a warrior, but he certainly doesn’t feel like one, anyway. He hasn’t proven himself worthy beyond his assessment. He’s not done anything extraordinary—not like Stormfeather has. So Falconheart carries feathers to and from the nursery, a habit that is both helpful in quieting his nerves and in aiding his clan.

As he lifts some of his pile to find the softest feathers, something that falls out catches his eye. A pristine white feather, somehow dry and perfect despite the snow and mud that’s settled all around the forest. "Oh," he murmurs, plucking the feather from its place. For a moment he wonders whether he should just put it back—what if this one feather is the difference between warmth and cold? What if someone needs this feather more than he does?—but he clenches his jaw at the thought. He wants it, so why shouldn’t he take it? Realistically, one feather isn’t going to change anything. He knows that.

Still, it feels a bit like breaking a rule when he tucks the pretty white feather into the thick fur of his tail. It catches on the strands, sticking easily into place. Falconheart smiles, a touch of pride blooming in his chest. It looks good, and he tests whether it will stay with a quick lash of his tail. As he’s admiring himself, though, he fails to notice someone walking his way. His head jerks up immediately to regard the other cat with wide blue-green eyes, surprise written all across his face. "Uh—oh, hi. I’m just… doing things," he says, haltingly. He doesn’t need to explain himself; he’s probably making himself seem more suspicious than he actually is. But he needs to explain himself, right? "What kind of feather do you think this is?" He gestures to his tail as he flicks it for emphasis, hoping that he’ll receive a decent answer.​

[ find me way out there ]​

​

 

[Marigoldpaw]

After helping Falconheart collect feathers about half a moon ago, Marigoldpaw’s interests in feathers and therefore birds has grown. It was already an interest beforehand, but decorating himself with great tit feathers made him curious about how many other birds are out there. Birds come and go so frequently, and it feels like there’s millions of species to be found! Not that he’ll ever leave the clan territories unless necessary; he doubts he will ever discover them all, but that’s okay.

Finding Falconheart later doing the same as him, examining a certain feather and testing how it looks in his fur, and Marigoldpaw approaches with a smile that he rarely puts on. “You’re fine,” the creme apprentice assures the warrior. “It looks good on you.” The pristine white blends in perfectly, accenting the already small amount he has in his otherwise brown fur. “You should definitely keep it.” Marigoldpaw’s not about to be a hypocrite and say that he can’t when he did the exact same thing.

And as for the kind of feather…a few species of bird come to mind when it’s brought to question. There’s not that many birds that are pure white that he’s seen, and he’s found that even if a bird may look like it has lots of white, singular feathers are typically patterned despite. “My guess is an egret. Could be a goose or swan, but I highly doubt it.” Of course there’s no way they would ever fully confirm, but estimates work just as well.​

 

[FALLOWBITE]

( ⁀➷ )　 Tucking feathers into your fur seems a little silly to Fallow, but it can't say it's much a fan of birds in general. She has no clue what the feather could be from, but it seems Marigoldpaw has some ideas. "You a bird expert or something?" she shoots at him, question landing flat and nearly accusatory rather than inquisitive. He certainly looks the part, feathers scattered along his back. He looks like he could take flight at any moment.

Falconheart's choice is far more tasteful, a single feather that matches his fur nicely. "...It does look good. Snowy." The tom already looks speckled with snow himself. She gives a little snort. "Maybe it'll help you blend in." The snow-birds (egrets?) might think he's one of them. Marigoldpaw too, though she has no clue what kind of bird he could be. She imagines that might help with hunting, but it still looks pretty gaudy to her critical eyes.

WEARING CROWNS ⁀➷ OF TWIGS AND LEAVES 【 12.12.23 】

• //
  ​

• "SPEECH"

• ˏˋ　°　•　*⁀➷ FALLOWPAW.　THUNDERCLAN APPRENTICE. SHE / HER & IT / ITS.
  4 MOONS & AGES ON THE 1ST.　PENNED BY SATURNID.
  
  
  

  ➳ A SCARRED, POINTED BROWN MOLLY WITH PATCHY WHITE SPOTTING.

  
  NPC xx NPC. FOSTERED BY TANSYSHINE.

​

 

[SHININGSUN]

☼ "I haven't a clue what bird it came from but I bet that it's a lucky feather!" Shiningsun announced as he padded his way over to inspect the feather adorning Falconheart's tail. It was indeed rather eye catching, though decorating his own fur with such things wasn't really his style. A soft purr rumbled in his throat as he heeded the suggestions being made by the others, especially by Marigoldpaw. "Wow! How do you know so many types of birds?" He could barely recall the names of five. Then again he wasn't exactly taught much about the wider spectrum beyond the birds that you had to fear or hunt.
​

 

[FALCONHEART]

Thankfully, the cat who approaches first is not judgmental. Marigoldpaw seems interested, saying that he should keep the feather—it does look good on him, after all. His gaze catches on the multicolored feathers strewn throughout the apprentice’s pelt, a bright smile crossing his face. "Thank you! I’m, uh, glad you think so." His ears flicker as the other tom mentions the possibilities of what bird the feather could have come from, though. All the birds he mentions sound somewhat intimidating, so Falconheart immediately feels relieved that he’d picked it up from the woods rather than plucking it directly from a bird. Surely he’d be returning to camp with several cuts or bruises if he’d run into the bird itself.

Fallowpaw approaches and asks whether the other apprentice is a bird expert, and it may be true. The younger tom sure seems to know a lot about birds, and the feathers in his fur say that he has quite a bit of expertise with them. The scarred apprentice says that the feathers look good, and it even says they might help him blend in. "You think? I bet it would help you blend in too, huh?" He asks, glancing back at the feather. If he can get more feathers, perhaps he can blend in better with the snow. Hunting would be even easier, then, wouldn’t it? And if Shiningsun is correct, then his hunting luck might just turn around for good! "I hope I can find more," he says, tail flicking carefully to avoid knocking the feather loose.

The older warrior asks Marigoldpaw how he knows so much about birds; Falconheart glances between the two, curious. "Yeah, how do you know all that? Do you know what feather this is?" He grabs another of the feathers off the ground, a rather plain brown-speckled one. He isn’t too interested in birds apart from prey, but he can’t deny his own curiosity.​

[ find me way out there ]​

​

 

[Marigoldpaw]

Marigoldpaw’s face gets hot under his fur, immediately embarrassed at letting his new passion show. It’s not taken in a bad way, but his instinct is to still become defensive. “Not a bird expert, no. There’s just like, maybe four birds who are all white that would leave a feather like this. Seems obvious to me,” he scoffs. “I… just like learning new things. And birds are interesting. That’s all.” It’s only a half lie, as he does care greatly about becoming more experienced in anything he can, even if he has obvious preferences.

When Falconheart asks him about another feather found on the ground, he tilts his head in thought. Nothing comes to mind immediately, but the name of said warrior makes him have more of an idea. “Maybe… an owl? Though, it might even be a falcon,” Marigoldpaw smirks. Their feathers aren’t that common, but anything is possible, and he likes making a good impression.​