tunnels JAWS OF THE VIPER | prompt, snake eggs

[SOOTSPOT]

Preperation for RiverClan's tunnel had taken up much of Sootspot's time since the meeting. It was important that no strand of the spider's web beneath their clan was unaccounted for, not when the orb-weavers sought to expand - the Tunneler would not be a good candidate for such growth if he didn't show his skills were sharper than those already working on it. Mundane patrols had become practice to the chimera, this particular dawn, the tom would linger towards the back and purposefully take wrong turns to ensure that such a thing would never happen when he inevitably pushed his way to the front the next day. One such dead-end had revealed a patch of disturbed earth, white whiskers pressing against firm soil in front of him before his nose caught the smell of something... off. It was a stale scent, but it did not belong to a cat. His limbs tensed as claws unsheathed, suddenly aware of his isolation amidst the most dangerous part of WindClan's territory. No animal willingly found itself in a dead end unless it wanted to sleep... but, time did not reveal a threat.

He heard a voice from a patrolmate calling for him, and the complains caught in his throat. "A moment!" He shouted back, certain a meow'd have finally stirred whatever beast lurked. 'It is not just my clanmates I have to worry about, the territory may very well kill me too.' A reminder of his fragile mortality was as irritating as fleas, and as a paw pressed forwards into the dark he realised could happily lose a paw if it meant his heart still beat. The pad ran against something leathery, when he kneaded into it, the skin seemed to give way somewhat. The paw continued to move, brushing the strange thing as tentatively as a lover until it reached a rounded edge, where another bump soon formed. If wasn't boorish to sigh in relief, Sootspot may have breathed so hard that the foundations of the tunnels themselves collapsed. He moved forwards and blindly nosed around what he'd correctly deduced to be a clutch of eggs. They were nutritious, and the temptation caused his belly to growl, but hidden in the dark was admiration glinting in his eyes. Movement from the tunnels caused his head to snap upwards - quickly, he buried a few of the eggs deeper and rolled one that still remained towards whoever had come to check on him.

"A trespasser has given us an apology."

[ New-leaf is notorious for being the time when all sorts of babies are being born! If your character is a tunneler, write about them finding a clutch of snake eggs in a tunnel. ]
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[RATTLEHEART]

AS HE RAISED HIS FIST BEFORE HE SPOKE — Tunneling was one of the few areas where Rattleheart actually appreciated Sootspot's company, even if he had recently managed to earn her ire over his tunneling-related babblings. That was easy enough for her to let go once they were actually down in the labyrinth of overlapping tunnels, shoulders brushing along the pelts of other patrol members and the nearby walls. She had been so focused on her own tasks that she hardly noticed Sootspot lagging behind, attentions zeroed in on packing walls tighter and forcibly brushing away cobwebs. "One of these days I'm going to end up with a spider up my muzzle..." The older tunneler's soft grumbling was interrupted by a call from one of her nearby patrolmates, searching for the missing haze of blue and white that was Sootspot. His absence immediately set her on edge, slim body twisting in the dark to pad after his scent.

A soft grunt left her as the egg Sootspot had pushed forward collided with her paw, lowering her head so that she could sniff at the smooth surface that represented a mixture of hard and soft. "A snake egg...? Must have burrowed down here to get away from the cold." It was easy enough to roll the egg beneath her paw, claws carefully sheathed so that she wouldn't break the surface of it. Though it was surprisingly sturdy, a doubt in her mind that anything less than a full swipe would properly rend it apart. "Good find, we should grateful that their mother took off somewhere. Are there any more? We could teach the gaggle of kits the wonders of what egg tastes like." Though honestly she hoped they wouldn't all want to try it, the prospect of such a rare treat causing her mouth to water and her stomach to gurgle in an echo of Sootspot's own interest. Were she a hungrier warrior at the moment - or just suffering from weaker conviction in general - she probably would've sunk her teeth into the egg right on the spot.

As it was, she simply turned and rolled the prize in the direction of the next cat to come along investigating, realizing that their temporary pause would probably attract more attention from the rest of the gathered patrol. Hopefully Downypaw was more likely to come along than Pinkpaw, Rattleheart unsure that the cheerful apprentice would be able to keep her endless excitement and energy from crushing the egg somehow.

// @downypaw apprentice tag <3

THE RIGHTEOUS HAND OF GOD 𓆩♡𓆪 THE DEVIL THAT YOU FORGOT

• 

• 
  ❥ longhaired black and white tom with pale green eyes
  ❥ 49 moons old; ages the 1st every month
  ❥ afab; uses he/she/they pronouns
  ❥ homosexual homoromantic; mated to venomstrike
  ❥ sibling to scorchstreak, lizardbounce, and rabbitclaw
  ❥ currently mentoring downypaw
  ❥ somewhat difficult to befriend; wary but kind
  ❥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ❥ peaceful powerplay allowed
  ❥ all opinions are ic

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[downyfur]

"Sootspot?" Their wondering cry is answered by a distant, "A moment!" It seems as if she had been the only one, if not one among a few, to notice the absence of her former mentor. The rest seemed to be keen enough to discard him in the rear end, to let him wander the darkness without the light of companionship as he might be keen enough to let them do. It was a question of whether he, or they, deserved it then. Downypaw begins to think that no one deserves such a lonely fate, but they shoo away that naivety with an invisible flick of the ear.

They hear the body in front of them, Rattleheart, twist after Sootspot. They imagine her new moon face in the dark, maybe scrunching with displeasure, or twitching whiskers with curiosity. Worry bubbles delicately in her chest. Sootspot had not provided anything other than the reassurance that he'd be back, and the vaccuum of information immediately draws their mind down a darker path. It subsides somewhat when their mentor speaks again, voice caught with surprise. "The egg...?" No, the snake. The snake, not the egg, had been the one to burrow. It makes sense, upon further consideration. Snakes had no where else to go. They couldn't fly away from Leaf-bare like birds could, and the even colder waters wouldn't provide much respite. So the only way would be down.

They're just about to ask for it when it comes rolling right towards them. She investigates with her whiskers, her paw, even her lips. It's cool to the touch, no surprise given where the patrol found it. It seems to be a very fragile stone, which does not roll exactly like a stone, with a constitution far lighter than a stone. Faintly, the sound of bellies rumbling reaches her ears like distant thunder. Downypaw has never eaten egg before. They'd be happy enough to pass on the opportunity to the sea of kittens in camp; they're not eager at all to try eating a rock, no matter how delicate it seems to be. "Snake kits come from here, right?" she queries, carefully keeping any hint of concern out her voice.​