pafp jaybird, jaybird | nursery-duty

[salmonshade]

She's really, really wanting to just get this over with. Salmon had taken a quick breather before she had fully made her way to the nursery, and now its too late to turn back. She pokes her head in with flattened ears, squinting just slightly as her eyes adjust to the dimmer light. She searches for the gray-pelted molly she was sent to help and lightly taps her paw against the soft earth below to get her attention.

"...Hazecloud," she begins, taking a deep breath. "I was sent to help with the nursery..." she trails off awkwardly, too stubborn to admit she does not know the first thing about helping in the nursery. She avoids this den like the plague and the only "kitten" she had interacted with was little Moonpaw, back before the six month rule had gone in place. Why, Lichentail... She suppresses a frown. "Just tell me what you need and I will do it." she gives a stoic little nod, forcing herself to steel her nerves as she awaits for instructions.

₊˚.༄ info

• @hazecloud
• 
  -> salmon ,, salmonshade
  -> cis female ,, she/her ,, 36 months
  -> warrior of riverclan ,, former marsh grouper
  -> fluffy & dainty chocolate tortie smoke with white, blue eyes
  -> "speech, ff91a4" ,, thoughts
  -> lesbian ,, single
  -> smells like warm flowers & freshly cut grass
  -> chibi by pin

​

 

[hazecloud]

It hasn't been something Hazecloud has put much thought into, which of the warriors avoided the nursery most and which didn't. She only ever took notice in those most involved with her vastly growing family like Ravensong or Moonpaw's visits. Which apprentices cleaned up the quickest or made the kittens nests with better care. How long since Lichentail or Rosewater last came to visit.

Thankfully by now all six sets of paws are able to play outside the nursery more often than not, the feeling of isolation melting away with newleaf's touch. She's just about to start their day in the warm sun when Salmonshade approached, and it doesn't take much to see the warrior is uncomfortable.

"Good morning, Salmonshade! Is this your first time?" While she teased it's not malicious. Kittens are not for everyone, but they it was pretty difficult to avoid ever interacting with them. Hopefully Salmonshade would relax with some practice! "We're getting ready to play outside today. So @HORIZONKIT needs help carrying his mossball outside, @TWINKLEKIT and @EVENINGKIT still need their faces groomed from breakfast. @PEBBLEKIT. has been asking to get a head start on learning some hunting crouches... I think that's all I need help with! At least until the real fun starts."

Now with the ice gone and the river warming up it was only a matter of time before they tested her patience in splashing around the shores without her.​

 

[HORIZONPAW [transferred]]

"I don't," Horizonkit announces, dropping the mossball at his feet. It is almost as large as him, and fraying wildly at the edges with use, so that strands of green trail after him as he waddles. "Don'need help," he insists, directed entirely towards Hazecloud and none towards the stranger at the nursery entrance. He's learned that strangers come and go very often, and if he ignores them they'll usually go away on their own, but not without talking to his sisters or his mother first. Maybe Eveningkit and Twilightkit will bound past him, as they usually do, and crowd around the ginger shape's legs as though she were their mother.

The little grey-furred tom resolutely picks up the mossball again and begins to stride towards the entrance. But the stranger is in the way. He pauses, triangular tail twitching with uncertainty. The stranger is blocking his way. Well, not really. He can see an odd strip of light between the stranger and the sedge-lined wall of the nursery. Horizonkit heads towards that, careful not to touch any part of the stranger on his way out.​

 

[EVENINGPAW]

-

The mahogany-painted she-cat arrives, and Eveningkit's focus is entirely on her. She had been the one who almost talked back to Lichentail- or at least, muttered something under her breath that either wasn't heard or was simply ignored. Paying attention to Clan meetings not just to see her mother order everyone around but to learn more about Clanmates has been a very thoughtful experience so far, and it seems to be paying off; if drawing early and quite frankly inconsistent conclusions can be called a reward for Eveningkit's troubles.

"What!" Eveningkit exclaims upon Hazecloud's instructions. "My face? What's wrong with it?" She swears she's already cleaned it. The thought of something sticking to her muzzle or cheeks is an unsettling one, and she's quick to lick her paw to draw it over her face.

As expected, Horizonkit has no interest in the stranger. It's honestly really funny to see him try and squeeze past the long-legged warrior.

"What's the real fun?" Eveningkit asks while still staring at first Horizonkit then Salmonshade, question directed at Hazecloud. Then, the next one at Salmonshade. "Are you gonna have fun with us?"

˗ˏˋ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ & ɪ ᴅᴏ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ! ´ˎ˗ ᓚᘏᗢ 03.05.24

• 
• ✦ OOC -

• EVENINGKIT ⸝⸝-- RIVERCLAN -- SHE/HER -- 2 MOONS

  ✦ DAUGHTER TO Lichentail x Hazecloud
  ✦ SISTER TO Horizonkit & Twinklekit & Snowflakekit
  
  ✦ Pale grey point she-cat with yellow eyes.
  ✦ Penned by ˏ 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙣 ´​
•  

​

 

[PEBBLEPAW]

( ☼ ) "i'd know my hunting crouch already if i was an apprentice..." yes, pebblekit is still keeping a grudge. it's a grudge he thinks he'll hold at least until he's a warrior, if not longer. he knows in his heart of hearts that his uncle means well, but seriously! way to get a boy's hopes up only to dash them! golden embers stare up at the flame pelted she-cat, head tipped in curiosity. "you're a warrior, you could be my teacher today if you want."

horizonkit taps resolutely towards the strip of sunlight shining behind salmonshade, and pebblekit will turn to follow him, leaving the warrior with his offered opportunity. "'rizon!" he'll call after his adoptive brother, tumbling out of the nursery after him. the day is bright and new, his stomach is full from breakfast, and the river sings along its bed, dappled with flecks of sunlight. a perfect day for kit shenanigans, if peb does say so himself. white tipped paws knead the earth beneath them for a heartbeat, tail lashing as he takes in all of his options.

I DO NOT HAVE WINGS, LOVE ☼ I NEVER WILL

• // " speak "
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  
• 
  PEBBLEKIT ☼ HE / HIM, KITTEN OF RIVERCLAN. KINDLING x UNKNOWN, NEPHEW TO SMOKESTAR. 2 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a large blue tabby with low white. pale blue fur covers the length of pebblekit's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.
  
  
  
  

​

 

[TWINKLEPAW]

Twinklekit is nibbling at her claws when Salmonshade enters the den proclaiming she is here to help. The silver she-kit makes eye contact with her, blue eyes friendly and bright before continuing to nibble on her toes.

An ear flicks at the sound of her name alongside Eveningkit’s, huh??? ”I don’ need it cleaned.” She insists, content with it remaining smeared with remains of her breakfast. She is much more interested in learning how to nail a hunter’s crouch like Pebblekit and jumps to her paws, forgetting about nail-biting.

”I wanna… I wanna learn too!” Declares the kit, moving to stand at the legs of their potential babysitter. ”But can you show me how to fish? I wanna be the best at fishing!” She unfolds her lips to reveal a toothy grin.

𓆟 INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Unnamed Kit
  » RiverClan Kit
  » She/her . AFAB
  » A pretty blue lynx sepia with blue eyes
  » ”Speech”․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A meager kitten, defeating her is no boastful feat.
  » Excels in hiding, running from danger.
  » Fights defensively to survive.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[salmonshade]

Hazeclouds teasing lands on too keen of ears, flicking a bit uncomfortably as she levels the blue molly with squinted eyes. She opens her mouth to quip something back before Hazecloud launches in to what needs to be done for the day. Salmon doesn't let her shock show outside of her tail tip flicking, slowly nodding. After all, she did say to tell her what to do... Lichentail, what did you get me in to?

And now... She's swarmed with kittens. Oh, Stars... The first one, the one she assumes is Horizonkit, seems to have little to no interest in being helped with his mossball. "Are you sure?" she tries, ears swiveling back. She tries to address the kitten as a little one, but her tone comes out more as if she were speaking with a fellow warrior instead. Eveningkit is next to pop up, asking loudly about her face. This one seems clean, at least... "Yes. I am here to have fun with you all." Salmon nods slowly, stiffly.

How does Hazecloud corral these guys?! Theres like... four of them here, not including the other kittens in the den, and Salmon already feels her head spinning from trying to keep an eye on all of them at once. She shoots another glance at Hazecloud, a hint of bewilderment in her gaze.

Back to Twinkle's question, and Pebblekit's insistence that she could be the teacher for today, if she wanted... A rare chuckle leaves her lips, dissipating in the air. "If your mom says yes," she looks up to Hazecloud once more, not wanting to go against her agenda for the day. "Then I can teach you all what you want to learn, yes..." oh, and what was it again? Didn't Hazecloud say Twinklekit needed her face cleaned? She looks again and her stomach twists in disgust- for a woman who keeps her appearance constantly sleek and well-groomed, this situation was a nightmare to be in.

"C'mere... We must get this off first." Salmon steps forth despite the dread in her stomach, swiping a tongue across her paw and trying to scrub at Twinkle's face, doing her best to not just smear the bits and pieces everywhere. She could always wash her paw off later, right? I think i'm in over my head... Salmon does her best to keep her disgust with this task under wraps.

₊˚.༄ info

• 
  ❥ salmon ,, salmonshade
  ❥ cis female ,, she/her ,, 37 months
  ❥ warrior of riverclan ,, former marsh grouper
  ❥ fluffy & dainty chocolate tortie smoke with white, blue eyes
  ❥ "speech, ff91a4" ,, thoughts
  ❥ lesbian ,, single
  ❥ smells like warm flowers & freshly cut grass
  ❥ chibi by pin

​

 

[TWINKLEPAW]

’If your mom says yes…’ In a heartbeat sky-blue eyes are set on mom. Wide and pleading she meows while grinning, ”Pleaseeeeeee?” Twinklekit would behave for Salmonshade, she swears she will!

However, she was not expecting her new babysitter to actually clean her face off. Twinklekit refrains from squirming away as a displeased look on her face unfolds as she wrinkles her nose. ”Uh! Your breath is stinky Salmonshade.” She squeaks, not intending to be rude but… it was true!

𓆟 INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Twinklekit
  » RiverClan Kit
  » She/her . AFAB
  » A pretty blue lynx sepia with blue eyes
  » ”Speech”․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A meager kitten, defeating her is no boastful feat.
  » Excels in hiding, running from danger.
  » Fights defensively to survive.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[hazecloud]

The kittens pop up as they're named and of course, as the youth do, are not as behaved with strangers around. Strangely it only amuses the queen how different they are compared to herself at their age. From the moment she could get up on her paws her mother and father taught her to give their attention as demanded. To listen to whoever spoke, and do whatever as asked. It instilled through fear, to not act as someone her age but as a simple puppet to do whatever asked of. It wasn't a childhood she wished on any of these kittens.

They learned respect and the ways of a Clan through gentle love and nurturing- and stars did she have more than enough love for them all. She almost didn't want them to leave the nursery; greenleaf was rolling in too quickly.

Horizonkit, strongly independent still marched on past Salmonshade after a firm retort that he didn't need help. Hazecloud nodded her head, letting the tom-kit carry his own toy then and make the decision for himself. Pebblekit chases after him and she trusts the boy enough to make sure his little btother stays out of trouble for just a few more moments.

"That's fine, as long as no one pounces or swipes on each other." Eveningkit prompts her to believe her face is already clean but she can't help but stare at the way Salmonshade tried to clean Twinklekit's face.

"Oh, you'll be a lot quicker just doing this," Hazecloud looked down at Eveningkit and licked directly over her muzzle and her nose, gently patting the space between her ears as she leaned back. "Hmm, I guess you are clean enough. Ready for the 'real fun' of watching you all play outside. Makes me tired just seeing all of you bouncing off the dens!"

Twinklekit exclaimed at Salmonshade's breath and she quietly gasped, hovering a paw over her maw before waving it down. "Twinklekit! You can't say that when you still have salmon stuck in your teeth." Poor Salmonshade, kittens were too brutally honest. ​

 

[HORIZONPAW [transferred]]

A blanket of sunlight drapes over his face as he parts the sedge curtains, transforming squinting eyes from the color of stale old moss to vivid Greenleaf lily pads. He blinks hard, clenching the raggedy moss ball tighter with each one. Behind him, he hears his sisters begin to squeal in protest, above them rising his older brother’s deeper, louder voice.

The ruddy-faced cat tries to speak to him, but he summarily ignores her. Yes he’s sure; he already told her. Stupid strangers who didn’t know how to listen.

Another voice pipes up behind him, this one more welcome: a shining cry of ”’rizon!” Horizonkit plops the moss ball at his paws before turning towards the larger tomkit, his name tumbling off a tiny tongue. ”Peb!” Horizonkit chirps.

He fumbles over on back, fur bristling with mischief, then quickly rights himself while batting the ball towards the speckle-striped kitten. ”Let’s play!” he mews, pointy tail sticking straight up into the cool Newleaf air. ”You hit it to me, but, but you can’t let me catch it, but I try to catch it, and if I catch it, um, if I catch, if I catch it, you…” He thinks for a second. ”You have to try again!”

The kit sneaks a quick glance towards poor Eveningkit and Twinklekit, still stuck in the den, trapped by that stranger. At least he has Pebblekit. ”Come on!” he exclaims, hopping around.​

 

[PEBBLEPAW]

( ☼ ) behind him, the nursery entrance seems jammed... hazecloud's voice is heard, and then salmonshade confirming she'll try to teach him. privately, peb considers she might not have a lot of time (his sisters are kind of demanding sometimes,) and so he turns back to his brother. delight gleams in amber hued optics as horizonkit trills a greeting, and the long-furred tail will flick over his back, shaking cheerfully. "okay! let's go!" white tipped paws bap the moss ball towards his brother, watching as it narrowly avoids the other boy's paws.

"do i go get it again now then?"

I DO NOT HAVE WINGS, LOVE ☼ I NEVER WILL

• // " speak "
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  
• 
  PEBBLEKIT ☼ HE / HIM, KITTEN OF RIVERCLAN. KINDLING x UNKNOWN, NEPHEW TO SMOKESTAR. 2 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a large blue tabby with low white. pale blue fur covers the length of pebblekit's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.
  
  
  
  

​