live in the now - fossilized shell

[sparrowheart]

he liked shadowclan. but there were definitely a lot of people, and it took a while to adjust. a long while. but he was doing it. he had accepted that his dad was not coming back- and he had accepted that this was his home. so the subject was no longer talked about. the older males words however, rung through sparrowpaws mind making him want to persist harder and harder every day.

he'd beat himself up a little too often, he'd cry a little too much- but everywhere else he seemed to be excelling. every day the long limbed apprentice was getting better at what he felt was proving himself to shadowclan.

sparrowpaw was currently sniffing not too far from camp, intent on finding some sort of trail for prey when he found something else instead. a rock- except it was carved into a swirl and looked delicate as he picked it up with a clawed paw to examine it better. whatever it was looked old, almost like a brittle bone. a hole was on the side at the beginning of the start of the swirl, and he couldn't help but admire it with ice blue eyes.

fossil

​

 

[Willowburn]

THE GODS CAN KNEEL ⋆⁺₊⋆
"Hrm? What's that you've found?" Willowburn queried after catching sight of the apprentice fiddling about with a small rock. The warrior had been hunting close by at the time, admittedly without much success, so naturally his inquisitive mind was drawn to the next interesting thing. The tom sauntered over slowly before he peered down at Sparrowpaw and their find. "Oh, that's an unusual object. I can't say that I've ever seen a stone like that. What do you think it might be?"

- ⋆ -​

​

 

[smogstar]

Cats of Sparrowpaw's sort—unlicked kits, left forsaken on the territorial outskirts—occupied the lowest rung in ShadowClan's pecking order. Bottom feeders by definition, and not on their own volition. They've not so much earned their place in the clan as they have fallen into it, thanks to the hapless parents who'd shunned them, not to mention a long-standing tradition of raising strange kits with no questions asked. Had the older tom a greater say in the entry policies around here, he'd vet newcomers a tad more stringently; it isn't as though they're up to their necks in prey, after all.

Sparrowpaw, to his credit, has endeavoured to adapt, and, to his credit once again, he has done so admirably. Of particular note is the initiative he's demonstrated, taking it upon himself to slink beyond camp's margins and hunt among the pines. If their marshland territory hadn't become the stomping grounds for two murderous exiles, perhaps Smogmaw would find a touch more relaxation in the apprentice's little escapades.

On listless pawsteps does the deputy draw near, snow's crunch swallowed beneath the clearing of his phlemgy throat. An authoritative reproach flares at the rear of his tongue, only to splinter like thin ice the moment he catches what lies at Sparrowpaw's clawtips. "Is that...?" he wavers, converging on the object opposite to Willowburn. "That looks like a... large worm that got caked in mud, or sum'n. How'd you find that?" A benign glint in his eyes, the deputy's brows knit in approval. He's a purveyor of peculiar finds; and the captivation here far outstrips any funghi he's found sprouting out of the swampy floor. ​

 

[sparrowheart]

he hadn't meant to leave unattended. he was on the trail of something, the breeze having wafted a sweet scent into camp that made his belly rumble- so he knew whatever it originally was was something that could have fed someone at the very least. as he had followed it however, he realized just how faint it was.

the apprentice adorned in a shadowed coat lifted his head towards willowburn, the shell hanging from a hooked claw being held out so she could see better as well. out of the corner of his eye, he would see the grey scarred deputy approach, golden eyes at first seeming to have something to say- but his interest quickly turned, and he was instead commenting on the object at paw.

"I'm not quite sure what it is, but it feels as brittle as thin ice, and I think it's pretty neat- whatever it is," he said, a bit excited at the idea of it captivating others. of course if not even the deputy knew what it was, that means he found something super cool.


​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

---

the leader blinked curiously as they came over to the small gathering. anyone that knew chilledstar, knew that they love their rocks, and this one... they wanted it. they wanted it for their collection. it was perfect for it. their tail flicked back and forth as their eyes narrowed in thought.

"it's neat."

they hummed with a tilt of their head. they sniffed near the thing, curious noise bubbling within them as their ears perked right up. it didn't smell that bad, either! huh!

"can i have it? do you mind?"

they could have just used their authority to take it, sure, but this seemed more appropriate.
​

 

[sparrowheart]

The chocolate apprentice dipped his head a bit as a greeting towards the leader approaching, sniffing at the rock before eyes lighting up. Like a kitten biting into their first piece of prey, chilledstar looked amazed- despite only saying the rock was neat.

They proceeded to want it, and Sparrowpaw stared at the fossil between them, blue eyes calculating, tilting his head. It was so fragile, the rock feeling light and hollow, like moving his claw would shatter it into pieces. And though he desperately wanted it, how he kind of actually liked the fact everyone was so interested in it, he couldn't help but give a small nod.

Chilledstar could protect it. Small clumsy paws of apprentices moving past him, he could only see the horror of waking up to it shattered. "I wouldn't be able to protect it from breaking-" he started, before a small smile appeared on the boys face. "You can have it."

Hed gently set the object down, and though longing was in his eyes, he knew that with everything chilledstar did for the boy, they did deserve this trinket.
​