pafp landscape with the fairy — exchanging [ camp ]

[YUKIO]

don't rush something you want to last forever .​

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶​

Yukio fidgeted, staring idly at the makeshift nursery, unsure. What did he say? The cream-ticked tabby shivered, bouncing on the tip of his toes, mind a muddled mess. It made it difficult to have a cohesive thought, grief still raw and afraid.

Sucking in a shaky breath, the queen padded towards Orangeblossom’s form, shoulders tucked close to his ears, head low as he came to a stop, shuffling. “H, Hi!” He shuttered, heart palpating. It was only right he asked, wasn’t it? Or…? Yukio frowned, confusion clouded his vision. “C, Can I ask you s, something? I, It won’t t, take l, long!” I hope.

“I, I was wondering if … if y, you could h, help me w, with my hunting s, stance?” He shuttered, kneading the ground nervously. “I, I can g, give you f, flowers in e, exchange!” Should he have done more? Would flowers be enough? Oh, heavens.

please wait for @orangeblossom to respond !​

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thought speech​

 

[Orangestar]

Orangeblossom's ears prick as a nervous - though friendly, and familiar - greeting pierces them. From where she'd been talking to one of her kittens she turns, eyes alighting on Yukio, who is definitely talking to her, and nods at him to continue. A question? She's fielded plenty of those, and while none have really been from Yukio himself she's confident she knows enough to answer him (provided, of course, it's not something personal). She's pleasantly surprised by the request of a hunting stance lesson, something she knows and doesn't have to delve into any emotional turmoil over; and while Orangeblossom has no interest in the flowers he offers in return, her kits might.

"Sure." The sunkissed deputy jerks her chin out of the nursery, towards the camp proper. While it's slowly becoming sturdier by the day, there's no room in the new nursery with all the kits. "Show me what you've got already, and I'll correct you where necessary. How long until you start hunting properly?"

— info

•  
• 
  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

​

 

[Cherryblossom]

As bad as she knows it is, Cherrykit can't particularly bring herself to care about Yukio's lost kits. Yukio is sad, which made her sad, but he's been sad for, like, several sunrises straight now. Just huddled in the nursery shadows, shriveling into his nest until someone like Duskpool or Bobbie drags him out on a field trip, after which he continues sulking in the back again—Cherrykit doesn't really know if he does that, actually. The life of a kitten is all-consuming, and after she'd been appropriately sad, she forgot all about that night. The girl hadn't been looking forward to having to share the rebuilt nursery with two more kits anyway.

Still, mismatched ears perk up when a soft voice trickles through the nursery. It's Yukio! Depressed or not, the tom has never been anything but nice to her and her littermates. A slight wind of joy catches her paws at his newfound initiative, sending a flurry of pale paws scuttling to Orangeblossom's side to see him. "Hi, Yukio," she chirps. The little calico is a porcelain-painted figurine of her mother, jutting her chin out of the nursery just as she does. "I wanna see too. And I want flowers." Pale eyes blink curiously at him, as though expecting his tender legs to fold into a perfect hunting crouch right then and there. Then he would give them flowers, and she could use them as accessories like Spiderpaw said.​

 

[FIGFEATHER]

FIGFEATHER ♀​ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥​

Playfully Figfeather stumbles over to the scene, "Don't let them scam you out of your flowers, Yukio!" she grins. She ends up coming to a stand beside Cherrykit, or Cherrystar depending on the moment. "We share knowledge here in SkyClan, we don't bargain for it." It was a nice gesture of course, and Orangeblossom was far from forcing payment, but Figfeather doesn't want Yukio to think he has to pay them to better his hunting skills. Then she shoots an amused glance to her deputy, "And if payment is what you want, at least don't undercharge yourself! Your hunting advice is worth way more than that, I would know." She puffs her chest out proudly, recalling the few times she had sought ground-hunting advice out of Orangeblossom.

 

[falcongaze]

❝ CALLIN' IT QUITS NOW ✧°.☀ ————————————
Make that three more kits. Falcon and his siblings had arrived recently as well, despite the fact that Falconkit had found it hard to really settle in yet. This was one of the few times he left the den- and it was likely because Yukio himself had left from his own determination, to which Falconkit found a bit inspiring. His ears twitched as he listened, and followed a moment later. The air between himself and the queen who had lost his kits was strange, but he wasn't here to comment on it.

Blue optics shifted towards Cherrykit, then up to the two unfamiliar cats. The deputy, and Figfeather. He settled down, his tail shifting to cover his paws. Scruffy long fur hadn't grown in completely yet, and he looked like a weirdly shaped cloud, but he didn't let that stop him, watching intently. For now, he held his tongue, and leaned forward in interest.

"SPEECH"

[penned by dallas - ☀]

———————————— ☀.°✧ BABY, I'M A WRECK ❞ ​

​

 

[YUKIO]

don't rush something you want to last forever .​

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶​

Yukio perked, ears swerving with a silent bounce of his paws, nervousness fluttering about in his stomach like hummingbird wings. He had wanted to do more than wallow in silent misery, wasting away until he too joined his kits in the twinkling lights that hung above their heads each night.

He nodded, gait wobbly. Oh, heavens. He wasn’t sure what a hunting crouch even looked like, biting back a wince when Duskpool had once tried showing him when he was a loner, unaware of the horrors of life, nestled beside friends he hadn’t seen in so long. He missed them. He wondered if Duskpool would take him now that he no longer carried life, instead turning to peer at Cherrykit with a closed-eye smile, trilling softly in greetings. “H, Hello!” He chirped. He laughed softly, bobbing his head in acknowledgment. “O, Of course!” Let’s hope I don’t make an utter fool of myself. Naturally, Yukio never had the best of luck.

“O, Oh! No! I don’t—” He nibbled his lip, his smile wobbly, tittering. “I, I’ll keep that i, in mind.” He rubbed his nape, tail sweeping the floor nervously.

He shuffled, glancing idly at Falconkit sitting, offering the kit a gentle smile, optics crinkling until his gaze veered, landing on Orangeblossom with a nervous chitter. What did Duskpool say again? His brows furrowed in silent determination. He could do this, couldn’t he? He needed to prove to them he wasn’t always useless. With a sniffle, Yukio shuffled into a poorly done crouch, unsure of where to put his paws, body unbalanced, appearing more like he was cowering than anything else. “I w, was—” He fumbled, cheeks heating in embarrassment. Oh, dear. “N, Nevermind!” ​

​

thought speech​

 

[Orangestar]

"It's my job, Figfeather." Orangeblossom responds, though there's fondness in her voice. She reaches absent-mindedly with a paw to ruffle Cherrykit's fur as her daughter plops down between them, and gestures with a tilt of her head for Falconkit to join their little audience if he wants. "My payment is you bringing us prey to eat from successful hunts."

She blinks, unimpressed. On top of not answering her question, Yukio's form is near pathetic in the way a kit's first attempt is - tail tucked like a scolded apprentice, no semblance of strength to his paws, and none of the cuteness of her childrens' attempts. The deputy clicks her tongue, disapproving, ochre eyes sharpening as the cream-furred tom stands back up.

"Not nevermind, you wanted to learn. Get back here. Tuck your paws in close - you need to balance on top of them so you can control the level of sound you make as you move and so you can pounce with more strength." She'd said the same thing to Figfeather, once upon a time, though the pollen-pelted apprentice had already taken to hunting prior to her injury. She demonstrates, shuffling her paws in close with a small grunt. "Keep your tail off the ground for the same reason, but not all the way up in a greeting. Now pounce. Don't aim for something yet, just land properly - front paws first, don't fall over. Go."

She'd wait for Yukio to try before she executes her own, holding a hunting crouch until that point. Orangeblossom shifts her weight a few times back and forth, scowl taking on an introspective angle; she might have to spend a moon with one of their lead warriors to get back into the swing of hunting. Motherhood has made a lot of her skill rusty, which Figfeather or another watching warrior might notice; but the duo of kits wouldn't, and Yukio wouldn't, and that's what matters.

— info

•  
• 
  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

​