camp it's considered a delicacy ↷ [ FROG EGGS ]

[smogstar]

// retro to pitch's death :3

Transclucent globules, sticky to the touch and pungent in scent. Each and every one is about half the size of a kit's paw, and harbours a small black sphere right in the middle. Collectively, they form in an ample clump on the base of a freshly-picked leaf, which pulls along the swampy floor at a snail's pace. One might presume it to be mold, the ooze which occasionally hugs the surface of ShadowClan's mires, but Smogmaw is quite familiar with his peculiar plunder. A little too familiar.

Stem in mouth, his nose held captive in a scrunch, the black-trickled tabby hauls his spoils in camp's direction. His manner is unremittingly cautious, so not a modicum of frog spawn dropped from their vessel. They'd been difficult enough to retrieve in the first place; some of their slimy encasing still clung to his fur in a gummy film, which doesn't even speak to how wet he currently was. Yet, all of his trials and tribulations will prove fruitful in the end, that much he is sure of—if his clanmates did not share his fondness for the taste, their dismayed reactions would instead suffice.

His gait gains momentum as he crosses the hollow's threshold, though he remains just as careful with his towing. He intends to be as discreet as possible. After casually relinquishing the spawn-carrying leaf beside the fresh-kill pile, Smogmaw acquires a couple of the gelatinous eggs in his maw, wanders a fox-leap away, settles down in a comfortable position, and begins to chew.

​

 

[Magpiepaw]

"The stars will not forgive this end of life, this distruption of the cycle."
Also it was really gross. Frogs were meant to be eaten when they were fat and plump and Smogmaw was devouring their eggs. There was some symbolism here about how much this ticked bastard didn't like children and would happily eat them but Magpiepaw was only offended he hadn't been offered any. Though he wasn't even sure Smogmaw could see him, most of their interactions were simply being ignored by the other as they passed by without so much of a glance almost as if their RPer was committed to some kind of bit they didn't even register he was there. Was it him? Was he too quiet? Blended into the shadows to acutely to be detected? Was his stealth unrivaled by even apprentices far older than he was? Magpiepaw had no idea, nor was he actually bothered by it too much. Smogmaw was stinky, his attention uninteresting and thus not worth being frazzled over unobtaining. This did not stop him from wandering over the the leaf, blue-violet eyes wide as the pool within it as he stared at the lumpen little orbs suspended in translucent and sticky liquid.
He glanced up to the tabby munching away and then back to the leaf-it was already removed from the world. Taken from its home. Never to be frogs for the future. There was no further harm in trying it, he decided, and so his mouth opened over it to lower; a glob of the congealed clumps filling his mouth as he teetered backwards to split it from the rest and he did not so much chew as he began to stand there and shake his head in confusion.
Regret. Immediate.

​

 

[RAGGEDBITE.]

THE REST IS STILL UNWRITTEN​

---

raggedkit was looking for something to do. he wasn't bored, per say, but he did like– huh? what was that? immediately distracted he is by a flurry of an old leaf, from way before he was born. he watches it in the light breeze, giggling as he skips after it. it isn't until he sees smogmaw that he is once again distracted, his head tilting off to the side before he scrunched his nose, bouncing over to the tom, but not without missing a few steps in between the gap. he couldn't help that he was a bit off balance.

"hi, smogmaw! are you eating something? what's that? can raggedkit see?"

he doesn't have much patience– it's not malicious he simply just has so much energy, it left it hard for him to slow down and take time to be patient– so he aims to push himself under smogmaw's chin. had he been successful, he would hum with slight curiosity, moving to climb onto the brooding tom cat's head. his paw gently tapped against smogmaw's ear.

"what's those? are they good? raggedkit has never seen them before... where'd ya get them? how come they're slimey? why don't they just roll off the leaf? and why are they so small? can raggedkit play with one? oh– can he keep one? he doesn't wanna eat it, he just wants to have a friend!"

he didn't have many of those. not ones that talked back at least. there was flamekit... and maybe crowkit. but most of his friends were rocks and sticks he collected around and gave names to. he didn't mind, either way. friends were friends, no matter what they looked like.
​

 

[MARROWPAW]

𓆈 ⠀ ── ⠀ it’s as if the entirety of starclan is against smogmaw at this moment, as here comes marrowpaw right after the younger two. he stops aside magpiepaw, teetering just a little over raggedkit to get a good look at the round baubles the deputy salivated over. were those.. eggs? his entire body seems to recoil at the idea, the thought of the slimy, round little things slicking up his mouth, almost gags at the imagined feeling of popping them between his molars. in fact, he does gag — right over smogmaw and his meal, ears twitching back and body lurching forward grossly. eugh. eugh! his stomach rumbles but he would never, never. he recovers from his reflex in mere seconds, all too used to the repulsion of nasty texture and feels. he slaps his tongue across his maw instead, licking up any excess saliva that had poured into his maw as a result. who ate frog eggs? magpiepaw speaks and.. well. he sure doesn’t know where that came from! but he nods anyway.

“ yup. plus, you’re weird. “ he offers, helpfully, raising a hind leg to loosely scratch at an ear — as if he hadn’t casually retched over him only seconds before. in fact, magpiepaw eats one, and he nearly recoils physically. instead, he whips his gaze down to raggedkit, who was attempting to climb up onto the tom’s head. a friend? he snickers quietly, before crouching low, tail up and lashing playfully, “ but raggedkit, what if it grows up real big and EATS YOU! “ he opens his mouth wide, garbling a loud, exaggerated monster noise before aiming to snap his maw in the air around them. so much for a peaceful meal.

BIKES N BONFIRES information visual

• MARROWPAW —————— marshland menace.
  m. he / him. apprentice of shadowclan, son of briarstar and amber. lanky black bicolor with ghost rosettes and sunburst orange eyes. inheriting his mothers sharp features, his fathers frame and his family’s trademark spiky fur, marrowpaw can be mistaken for nothing but true shadowclan. sly and brimming with false confidence, an objectively good - looking feline ; he stands a hair taller than most, and bearing a remarkable resemblance to both his aunt bone and late brother pitchstar in structure and coat. whip - like, long and coltish with legs lined with hard, wiry muscle beneath an ever - ruffled pelt, marrowpaw is wild, untamed in both looks and attitude, and ever self - assured.
  
  — bisexual, single. smells like rotting leaves and asphalt.
  — apprentice, voiced by skeet ulrich as billy loomis
  − eleven months old, mentored by shadetooth ;
  
  penned by antlers​
  
  
• 
  
  
  

​

 

[Starlingheart]

Starlingheart had never experienced new-leaf before, born too late into the year that she would not remember it anyways even if she had seen it. ten moons she had been on this planet now and she had yet to experience when the leaves grew anew, and other things as well. Frogs. It had never occurred to her that frogs would have to come from somewhere, though she had never guessed eggs. She had thought only birds laid eggs but now she begins to wonder how other animals enter this world. She knew how cats were born, at least. "Huh" is all she says as she comes to stand next to Magpiepaw. Silently she remembers he was an apprentice now. It was hard to see him growing up so fast. Is this what her mother had been talking about whenever she had something similar to Starling and her siblings? She did not think of Magpiepaw as hers persay but she did feel something towards him. Like he was a little brother or something.

Speaking of brothers, her green eyes dart to Marrowpaws familiar flank and then just as quickly dart away. It was awkward between her and her siblings, she feels. Distance and responsibility, among other things in some cases, has pulled them all apart. She no longer knows how to speak to them so she doesn't, choosing not to move from Magpiepaw's side. She ignores Marrowpaw's remarks about Smogmaw being weird, she happened to like the gray pelted tom, though she could agree this new thing was on the strange side even for him...

She watches the warrior eat the eggs without a problem but as shes considering trying one for herself, Magpiepaw beats her to it. She lets out a small laugh at the look of disgust on his face "That b-bad huh?" she asks, glad that she hadn't eaten any first.

​

 

[RAGGEDBITE.]

THE REST IS STILL UNWRITTEN​

---

the tom kit watched marrowpaw with wide eyes of curiousity. he looked so cool! he knows he's seen the older tom before but that's neither here nor there, now is it? his tail swayed as he listened to marrowpaw talk about the possibility of the thing growing up, and eating him before he snaps his jaws right in front of him. with a giggle, he tumbled off of smogmaw, standing back up and shaking off his pelt.

"it'll get that big?! that's cool! how will it eat him? will it start like this?"

he hops eagerly toward marrowpaw, tilting his head slightly before aiming to bite the apprentice on his right hind ankle. he blinked before going to his tail to attempt to do the same thing. had he been successful, he would speak up– muffled by a mouth full of fur.

"or like this?!"
​

 

[smogstar]

Every egg had a little bit of give to it. They squish under the pressure put on them by closing jaws, inevitably liquefying when teeth puncture through their jellied casings. Within a moment, the whole of Smog's maw is saturated in their pongy ooze, smearing the fold of his tongue and the roof of his mouth. He can only grin as he swallows. There may not be a lot in this miserable life that reminded him of simpler days, but frog eggs were as nostalgic as they were slimy.

Cryptic utterances sabotage his indulgence. Mud-coloured eyes flick to their source, and they sink under their lids upon identifying who it is. "Don't knock it 'til you try it," is all he shall spare, for the swamp's local weird kid isn't worth the extra words. The only life Magpiepaw ought to worry about is his own. StarClan knows all the ways they've almost gotten themselves killed. Though the tabby's gaze descends upon his own paws, in his peripheral he glimpses the apprentice giving the delicacy a quick sample. Their unpleasant reaction amuses him dearly.

Just then, a child worms their way under his jaw. A child younger than Magpiepaw, one who remained in the 'wriggling mass' stage of development. Before Smogmaw can recoil and embark on a crude tirade, the parasite had climbed on top of his skull. "Gidoff'a me! Gidoff!" hoots the tom, his face contorted into an unpleasant sight. His neck swivels in a bid to free himself of Raggedkit's pestilence. It's no use. The bastard clings on to dear life. "You won't have any friends after I put you on the fresh-kill pile—which is what'll happen if you don't let go."

Marrowpaw ought to thank the stars that Smogmaw hadn't heard his initial remark. He isn't feeling quite fond of children at the moment. However, his mood would ease upon sighting the ink-and-marble apprentice retching at the scene. Marrowpaw would also manage to seize Raggedkit's attention and draw the wretched louse from the top of his noggin, a commendable act if anything.

A sigh parts from his maw amidst the kitten chaos. He'd just wanted to provide the people with some interesting food and relish in their reactions. The dark-smirched tom would despairingly seek out the oldest present, which happened to be Starlingheart. "It's not bad," he assures the medicine cat, sounding a little blasé. "It's an acquired taste, sure, but I used to eat these things for days at a time. I turned out fine. I think you should try one." ​