private IT CAN'T BE SAID I'M AN EARLY BIRD ✧ burdocktail

[lostkit]

the feather had floated down fortuitously, landing almost right in front of lostkit in the early hours of morning. the hollow had taken that tinge of pink-gray that indicated the sun was trying desperately to peek in through the shadows, and the tranquil, low-contrast scene illuminated the cream kit as she pondered on what to do with her day. blue-green eyes were focused elsewhere as she lapped up water from a soaked moss that some poor apprentice who had the misfortune to be called to his duties even earlier than she had woken had left at the nursery. a couple of warriors had risen already, but otherwise, the camp was empty and calm.

a sudden whoosh in front of her thus startled the kit, springing up into a half-seated position, but her eyes quickly recognized the shape -- a feather, drifting down right in front of her. the thing was huge, almost her size, and run through with large, bold stripes not unlike a tabby pelt. an owl feather, she realized, more from scent than visual recognition. but the smell was faint, even as she cast a nervous glance upwards just in case -- a feather that had gotten stuck, then, and a gust of fortune had blown it down as a gift for her. but what was she to do with a feather like this? she could add it to her nest, of course, she had noticed that the apprentices in particular were fond of taking... trophies of sorts, but that didn't really feel right, and she had no interest in such things.

but the feather's coloring reminded her of someone else, someone she had been meaning to pay a visit to anyways -- maybe it would be perfect for that.

carefully, she grabbed the moss between her small jaw, lifting it above the feather before clamping down. a gush of cool water rushed into her mouth, and an equal gush came out the other side, soaking the feather. from there, she carefully groomed the feather as if it were another cat, returning it to (near) pristine condition. there, now it didn't reek of owl -- just the clean scent of something run through water, and her own scent.

now all that was left to do was to wait. once she saw the familiar multicolored patches of burdocktail's pelt, the kit would bound towards the warrior, feather clutched gently in her jaw to be placed carefully in front of him.

"burdocktail! i, um, i have a gift for you," she said, gesturing to the feather. "i just wanted to say thank you for finding me at the border -- i haven't had the chance to talk to you yet," she continued shyly.

｡:ﾟ.°✧ PLEASE DONT LET THEM SEE ME

• ooc. @BURDOCKTAIL eep
• 

  LOSTKIT (she/her) is a four moon old shadowclan kit with shorthair cream tabby fur with low white and blue-green eyes. she is the gen1 daughter of two rogue npc's.
  
  TAGS. penned by riyue. dm me on discord (xriyue) for plots.​

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[BURDOCKTAIL]

A young voice calls for his attention. Burdocktail pauses in the meticulous grooming of his unruly pelt—not that any amount of grooming would fully tame the resilient prickles of fur—head tipping to one side. What could it be this time? Another kitten begging for his rapt attention? Perhaps intent on pestering him to play as a badger or ThunderClan warrior in one of their games?

None of their guesses turn out to be true. Instead, an owl's feather is presented to them, placed delicately at their paws. Yellow eyes flick down to the offering, nonplussed. Gifts are an unfamiliar concept to them. Outside of being proffered the occasional morsel of prey, they aren't well-versed in being given anything. They blink. One paw brings the feather closer to them, inspecting it with raised brows.

Burdocktail has never been materialistic. He doesn't collect baubles and knickknacks like some of his clanmates. But he wasn't going to hurt the feelings of an innocent child. Even if the feather was most likely going to be placed in his nest and forgotten about within a moon's time. "Thank you," he finally says.

Lostkit explains that it's a symbol of gratitude for finding her. Their chest swells with pride at that, the notion of being a savior to this young kit filling them with a sense of self-worth. They glance down at the feather, the sight of it now one of importance. "You're welcome," their voice rumbles with a purr. "Lucky it was me who found you, and not this owl, hmm?" They motion towards the tawny feather with their tail tip.

make me feel alive 𑁍ࠬܓ INFO

• ooc: text
• 
  ■■■■■■■ ✶ burdocktail. warrior of shadowclan ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ་༘࿐⋆｡𖦹°⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
  𖤓 ㅤafab nonbinary, he/they | bisexual, single
  𖤓ㅤ 36 moons old | ages every 1st
  𖤓ㅤ original marsh group member | mentoring none
  𖤓ㅤ lh tortoiseshell smoke/tortoiseshell chimera
  𖤓ㅤ npc xx npc | close with ???
  𖤓ㅤ written by nico, ic opinions | tags‎

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[lostkit]

lostkit closely observes the reaction to her gift, hoping it would be appreciated at the very least, even if it wasn't the most useful. but as a kit who couldn't leave the camp (and wasn't that the worst part of this whole thing, not being able to wander as she had done so for most of her childhood, even if she had been under her ma's supervision most of the time), it wasn't as if she could go hunt a nice juicy piece of prey to show her appreciation. though, there was an idea -- maybe next moon.

regardless, the owl feather is the best she can do for now, and the kit's chest puffs at burdocktail's gratitude -- never mind if it was discarded next time the warriors cleaned out their den, but hopefully it would be a good piece of decor til then.

You're welcome. Lucky it was me who found you, and not this owl, hmm?"

the kit giggles, then actually thinks about the words. "well, i did get chased by one right before i got to shadowclan. but i got away!" well, duh. and she wasn't absolutely sure it was an owl (she had been a bit busy running for her life), but really, all big birds with talons were exchangeable. she knew there were owls around the territory, though, had heard about sightings, which piqued the question --

"have you seen owls?" and then, another thought occurring -- "have you fought one?" she asked with a gasp.

｡:ﾟ.°✧ PLEASE DONT LET THEM SEE ME

• ooc.
• 

  LOSTKIT (she/her) is a four moon old shadowclan kit with shorthair cream tabby fur with low white and blue-green eyes. she is the gen1 daughter of two rogue npc's.
  
  TAGS. penned by riyue. dm me on discord (xriyue) for plots.​

​

 

[BURDOCKTAIL]

Burdocktail snorts at Lostkit's enthusiasm. He wonders, for a moment, where kittens get such gusto from; he couldn't imagine being so excited over the possibility of another cat fighting an owl. If anything, he'd be livid that StarClan sent an owl after a clanmate... or disappointed that a feline from across the borders scuffled with one and lived to tell the tale.

"How fortunate. The stars must've been on your side." There's something akin to bitterness in his voice upon uttering the second sentence. Burdocktail spares a glance towards the heavens. Why this stray kit, and not Starlingheart? Does StarClan regret it, now that ShadowClan has taken her in as their own? Oh, he hopes they do. He prays that they're wallowing in their regret.

"Who knows? Maybe this is a sign you'll grow up to be a strong ShadowClan warrior. Not many kits come face-to-face with an owl and survive."

As for their own encounters with owls... "I've seen enough owls to last me a lifetime. In fact, one passed right over my head the other night." They think of Halfsun and the feather she'd found. How they'd thought it strange that she'd stake a claim on the feather so vehemently. Now, they have one of their own. A paw runs over the barbs of the feather absentmindedly. "But I haven't fought one. Not yet, at least." Who knows? Maybe there'll be an opportunity for battling owls in the future. Maybe the next council member to fall will be at an owl's talons.

Burdocktail stifles a sigh. "You'll fight more rats than owls during your time in ShadowClan, I'm afraid." Their nose wrinkles at the mere thought of the mischief of rats residing in the Carrionplace; just one of many reasons why they hate that place. "Those little vermin love to protect their precious rubbish."

make me feel alive 𑁍ࠬܓ INFO

• ooc: text
• 
  ■■■■■■■ ✶ burdocktail. warrior of shadowclan ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ་༘࿐⋆｡𖦹°⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
  𖤓 ㅤafab nonbinary, he/they | bisexual, single
  𖤓ㅤ 37 moons old | ages every 1st
  𖤓ㅤ original marsh group member | mentoring none
  𖤓ㅤ lh tortoiseshell smoke/tortoiseshell chimera
  𖤓ㅤ npc xx npc | close with ???
  𖤓ㅤ written by nico, ic opinions | tags‎

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