i am the ribbit king ✿ forg

[Petalpaw ★]

He is cleaning after a long day in the tunnels, shaking dirt from himself and splashing his paws in the water of the sun warmed pool to give his aching pads a moment's reprieve from the mindless digging he had just accomplished. Nothing big, just a small divet in the side where he could sit out of line of sight of a few of the tunnels; continuing his task of desperately trying to break his own fear of the winding grave he was meant to work within going forward. Petalpaw sighs with his chest, shoulders rolling as he raises a damp paw to smooth over his ear and he can feel the tickle of dirt flaking away to ripple down his back. He would never be clean again, he recalls seeing Scorchstreak once rise from the tunnels a solid brown mass of earth with cat attached and he dreads the day he must slither about in the damp mud of the dirty burrows. So far it had not been too terribly bad.
As he thinks mindlessly to his future writhing in the ground something springs up in front of him and lands with a smack onto the log upturned in the pool directly before his face.
Startled he jumps back, lands on his tail on the soft ground near the edge as his would-be attacker faces him. A frog, shiny and green and looking very much like a sparkling insect carapace with how reflective its smooth hide is. ShadowClan ate these apparently and though he wished to one day try he didn't feel up to chasing it around right this moment.
Rrrrt-rrrrt.
His ears flick, eyes narrowing curiously as it spoke to him but he had no idea what it said.
"Rrrt...rrrtt..." The apprentice mimics back, rolling back to stand and crouching to observe the new creature. He couldn't speak cat, but apparently he was not too bad at frog as it responded in turn and then so did he.
Rrrt-rrrrt.
"Rrrrtt Rrrttt!"
Riveting discussion at last.

---

[Ooc]
Prompt: With cracked paws after a long hunt, your patrol finds themselves at the sun-warmed pool, where they discover a strange creature. It's a frog! How will your characters react to this ShadowClan prey?
​

 

[Sunflowermask]

.°☀ AND IF IT EVER STARTS TO FEEL BAD, LITTLE FANG

---

Sunflowerpaw is lying by the edge of the sun-warmed pool, front paw soaking the aging injury in its waters. It's easier now, not as difficult to walk on as it was when they were fresh out of the medicine den. Still bearing bouts of stiffness and pain, still never the way it was, but better. They can live with that. The soaking helps, loosening the muscles, keeping it from getting worse. They've taken to coming here whenever it bothers them, training or no, now that they can leave camp freely again.

It's nice to see Petalpaw here; they're always glad to see the quiet tom out of his tunnels, he's one of the few cats they feel comfortable around. So naturally, when he startles and jumps back, they are quick to rise to their feet. Keen eyes search for his attacker, eventually landing on... a frog? The kind that ShadowClan eats, they know. They've seen them at the border, but this creature is far from its marshland home.

It doesn't seem to actually be attacking Petalpaw, the way they know some other prey-creatures can. Instead, it makes a strange noise, a droning rrrt-rrrt. Petalpaw seems to lose his fear for it quickly, begins to mimic. Curious, Sunflowerpaw creeps closer, listening to the apparent conversation the two seem to be having. They may not understand what's being said, but they've never seen Petalpaw so talkative before.

"Rrrt, rrrrt," they add cautiously, hoping they're not intruding on some kind of private frog communication.

---

IT'S EASY TO EXPLAIN 'CAUSE THIS WORLD'S NOT TAME .°☀

⟪ OOC ⟫ ⟪ INFO ⟫ ⟪ REF ⟫

• //​
• SUNFLOWERPAW named by their half-brother vulturemask after his friend and mentor.
  — they/them, 5 moons.
  — windclan apprentice, mentored by wolfsong.
  — reserved yet loyal, distrusts most.
  — mild limp.
  
  primary character, high activity. penned by saturnid.​
• 

​

 

[SPARROWBREEZE]

Off to the side, warm water laps at Sparrowpaw's own feet. When she'd arrived here after her long day of training on the moors, her paws were no longer mismatched, rather all matched in their mud-soaked hue.

And though the days are long, and her limbs ache after her sessions end, Clawtail says she's learning fast. For someone who wasn't born here, the warrior is always sure to add. Sparrowpaw knows some still don't welcome her presence - knows that outsiders like her are frowned upon - but, if she's learning as quickly as she can run, that had to count for something, right?

A usually snow-shaded paw swishes aimlessly in the water in an attempt to rid it of it's camouflage, and something moves out of the corner of her eye. Jolts back, and startles Sparrowpaw into looking over at the source of the movement.

Amber gaze spots Petalpaw crouching down, looking at something. And Sunflowerpaw, Sunflowerpaw's moving to join him. Though hesitant, Sparrowpaw too can't help to investigate the scene, quietly exiting the pool and padding over to the two.

And, oh! A frog! Eyes go wide at the sight, and she wants to come look at it closer, but knows the things startle quicker than her, that it has the chance to hop away and ruin the moment for Petalpaw, and Sunflowerpaw too. They mimic the frog's ribbit, and they both do it quite well, as if they knew the frog's language. Did they? Sparrowpaw wouldn't be surprised.

The apprentice stays silent for a second, before she too tries to speak frog.

"Rrrt-rrt," she chimes in, hoping her mimicry is a good enough hello to the ShadowClan prey.
​

​

 

[SUNNVAR]

At times he cannot help but wonder if the youth of WindClan are truly well in the head.

Trouble follows the moor clan, and those too young to make sense of it were unpredictable in their way. They stood upon changing ground and were expected to hold their balance; though Sunstride does not think them in need of shelter, they were in need of learning. Thought and response, trust and faith in equal measure to firmness and force. At times they did not find a balance. He knows that. The other warriors know it too. Even the apprentices must, for how they act. Here at this sun-warmed pool, nearly choked by the swarm of them, they are so beyond understanding that there is no other explanation for it. Had he acted in this way as a kitten? would he have, were his days not so choked by the expectations of another?

Auburn fur heated beneath the warmth of the sun, his tail swishing slowly across the stone and his front paws dipping into the cool water, Sunstride cannot find it in himself to disrupt them. He does not encourage them to work as another might, or chide their foolishness. It is exploration, simple as it comes, and for all the wounds that they had carried for the sake of WindClan....perhaps they deserved a moment of reprieve. Silly as it may be. If they are not well in their heads, after all, what better way to recover than talking to frogs?

﹥ˏˋ〘  OOC NOTES INFORMATION 〙ˊˎ﹤

• ooc: i thought he was actually gonna be productive in this post but it turned out too cute for me to scrap when he decided he's not actually interacting with them yet ^^;
• SUNSTRIDE. named for his coloration and his bold chasing of fate.
  —— cis male, he - him. thirty-eight moons old. lead warrior of windclan + former rogue.
  —— gay, but somewhat closeted. will not be open about his interests. single, will be so.
  —— seems comparatively stranger than who he was some moons ago, serious and cool.
  
  sunstride is broad and bold– a creature standing above most of windclan, though not a beast beyond its borders, with fur that flames red at its base and deepens to a burnt amber with every whorl and stripe. his eyes, in comparison, are a pale summer's blue, still as bold as the rest of him.
• "speech"

​

 

[Badgermoon]

Truth be told, after ... recent events ... Badgermoon had been doing his best to avoid the sun-warmed pool. Every time he drew close to the invitingly warm water, he felt the weight of sorrowful amber eyes on him, felt his heart crack! in two, felt his own cowardice rip everything he had ever wanted away from him. The black-and-white tomcat had, therefore, been opting to soothe his paws in the small creeks which ribboned through the rolling hills of the moorland, the better to avoid thoughts of Curlewnose. This being said...his pursuit of a hare had taken him closer than he'd realized, and as he watched the accursed creature evade his leap and slip into the nearest tunnel he heard some strange noises: rrrrrt, rrrt. Badgermoon skidded to a halt, puffing, tail lashing in annoyance at his lost prey. That irritation faded gradually, to be replaced by puzzlement as he watched the trio of apprentices - all of whom, he realized, were on the quieter side - make frog-noises at the frog.

Badgermoon sidled over towards Sunstride, casting his friend a look of mingled amusement and confusion. "Do you know what they're doing?" he asked the mottled lead warrior in an understone, a small grin appearing on his face. He tipped his head to one side, studying the smooth green skin of the noisy little creature, before adding, "Are we being rude? Should we rrrt-rrrt, too?"​

 

[curlewnose]

"the wolf comes in the night when your mind is trying to sleep"​

Curlew had not been above-ground much recently, only emerging from the tunnels to look at the stars. His pelt, normally well kept, was a mess of dirt and sweat, clumped together.

Today felt promising, however. He'd left the tunnels during the day and decided to go wash out some of the matting in his fur. That was how he found the apprentices speaking with a frog. Curlew felt the edges of a grin tug at his mouth, and he came to sit near the small group. "Rrrt, rrt." He did another: "Rrrt, rrt!". A smile crept in with each addition to the conversation, and Curlew found himself grinning for the first time in what felt like moons. So wrapped up in this kit-like joy, the tom did not notice the other warriors nearby.

​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[JaggedOak]

"THEY SAY THAT IM RECKLESS BECAUSE I'M RELENTLESS"​

At of all the strange sights the tom had come across in all his Moons, this had to be near the top of the list. It wasn't often the tom stopped by the warm pools of the moors. But with leaving against hard stone and his backend feeling like it was cracking against the rock he watched on, he felt today would be a good day to visit. It seemed, with the nicer weather, that he wasn't the only one visiting for a break.

Walking up to the black and white deputy, Jaggedoak stared out at the cats surrounding the amphibian visiter, trying, apparently, to learn it's own excuse for a language. When his deputy starts questioning if they should join in, the tom couldn't help but release a but of a laugh. ❝ Well, I don't think they'd mind the extra company, if you ask me! ❞ He pointed at the addition of Curlewnose as proof before he stilled his laugh and watched with a soft smile on his face.

After a few seconds, he'd lean towards his deputy, so only the adults in the further side could hear. ❝ Honestly, if they weren't trying to strike up a conversation with our slimy guest, I'd be teaching them to hunt it. It's been quite a long time since I've had frog. ❞ There were times where he did miss the slightly different taste of the swamps. It had been nearly a year since he'd hunted there. The Moons sure did fly. ❝ They're not nearly as good as Hare but the texture is a different experience. ❞
​

⊱ ♞ ⊰​