LOOK AT THE TIME [ mushroom rings / prompt ]

[scalejaw]

—————————————————【 she/her | menacing 】————————————————

【◈】It was a patrol that Scalejaw pulled out of camp. Even if no one was assigning them at this moment- Chilledstar's sickness, Halfshade's death- she was determined to keep some semblance of normal life together. Her ears twitched and rotated, trying to pick up the faintest hint of the prey she knew lurked nearby. Coming out in groups would hopefully deter the rogues from creeping anywhere near their catches. She hoped, anyways. It wasn't that easy.

The sight of something far more orange then she expected gives her pause. Scalejaw's ears perked, and she turned to look at them. A tiny breath followed, a crashing wave of emotion finally succumbing her. Mushrooms. She thought to herself, padding quietly over to the circle of mushrooms. She didn't dare step inside of the tiny cap ring, her vision following the formation it made. A rumble left her, eyes softening for some stars-forsaken reason. Before she could stop herself, words were slipping out of her mouth. "Smogmaw would be going crazy right now."

A soft chuckle left her moments later. Her shoulders stiffened, vision swinging back towards the patrol that had come with her. She rarely lost her disposition during patrols, so she was a tad bit embarrassed, if her ears laying flat against her skull was any kind of indication.

"yuh"

[penned by dallas].

​

 

[fleabounce]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Mushrooms in Leaf-fall are hardly an unusual sight — they sprout from anywhere mulchy and wet enough to support them in shades of bronze and white. Fleabounce can spit and hit three. What is unusual is the pattern that these mushrooms grow in: a near-perfect ring like the shed of leaves on a windless day. Fleabounce doesn't share in Scalejaw's hesitance to stand in the ring; she steps over one of the mushrooms and sits herself down directly in the center, then turns her face to Scalejaw with a grin.

"Have you ever seen such a thing?" Comes her monotone voice, and then Fleabounce jerks her head in invitation for Scalejaw to join her in the ring, "No need to be shy about it."​

SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR ▫ CHOCOLATE TORTOISESHELL WITH AN UNUSUALLY SHORT TAIL ▫ 81 MOONS

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[Garlicheart]

Mushrooms were her father's favorite thing. She thought they were pretty cool too, she liked the way they looked. There were different kinds of mushrooms too, some were stumpy, some were tall, some were flat, and some were round! Some even grew on trees and looked crumpled! What Garlicpaw found most mysterious about them was the fact that they could pop up out of nowhere overnight!! One day there could be nothing.... But the next day, a mushroom is poking through the leaf litter!

There is only one explanation for this phenomenon.

Mushrooms were MAGIC!!

When she hears Scalejaw mention something Smogmaw would go crazy over, it was only natural to find mushrooms. She padded up beside Scalejaw and gasped. She trotted around the ring of mushrooms with sparkling ayes and excitement on her face.

"Wow!!!" She exclaims, looking at each little mushroom. "I knew mushrooms were magic!" She says, bouncing excitedly. "What does it mean???" She asks. For a split second, she wants to go back to camp to get Smogmaw and show him. The instinctual thought is quickly brushed aside by the reality that she can't do such a thing now. It bites into her heart and for an instant, her happy expression falters before reinforcing it by shoving away the pain. She steps into the ring to join Fleabounce without a second thought.​

 

[FERNDANCE]

The natural world had always been of great interest to Ferndance. There was a respect that came with acknowledging how dangerous everything was, how that danger could be used to one's advantage, or in one's folly. She would ponder at the speed of Monsters and question why it was they killed so efficiently, she would breath in the musk of flowers and wonder why the prettiest things were the most deadly. Mushrooms were another one of the forest's many mysteries, so readily did they seem to grow, yet never were the hunted. Her mother had proclaimed them poisonous, their red and white pelts a warning to all those who dared be tempted by their beauty. Ferndance had been tempted many, many times, but gone were the days where she ate strange things so enthusiastically: one sickly leaf had been enough to change her tune on that particular inquiry. Hovering at the back of the patrol, Ferndance moved forward at the mention of Smogmaw. "Of course he will, his lover is dead." she spoke with a confused bluntness, what had caused Scalejaw to bring him up? Her head turned towards the front, where a snare of mushrooms appeared to be waiting, fascinating all those who saw it - apart from the dark she-cat herself, it seemed. Suddenly understanding, Ferndance murmured an "Ah."

With the confidence of a mediocre tomcat, the feline moved forward, paw gently grazing the tips of the mushrooms before she joined Garlicpaw and Fleabounce within the circle. It was beautiful, all the tales she'd ever heard would point to there being treasure buried beneath, or a large creature there to greet them, but Garlicpaw's excitement left the tabby with a different idea of the circle's purpose. "When the moon is full and you... you stand within the circle of spores, it is said you will be granted your heart's desire." Ferndance could imagine it now, basking in the moonlight's glow, her cinnamon pelt shining red and brown. She could wish but one thing, perhaps her rank back, perhaps the dominion of ShadowClan ruling over all others. Truly, in the tabby's heart at that moment, all she wanted was some good food. Mice and birds had been scarce pray since her first tenure within the mirelands, she missed the taste of fresh blood. A mischievous smile stretched across the Warrior's lips, blinks fluttering as she looked towards Scalejaw. "And what is your heart's desire?"

​

 

[NETTLEPAW ♡]

What an odd sight! Mushrooms themselves weren't particularly uncommon- Nettlepaw had seen his fair share by now in outings with Nightswarm, sprouting like clusters of bark from fallen trees. He'd never seen them situated like this, though- forming a ring as if protecting something. Magic, chimed Garlicpaw, a nice little fantasy-idea. With Ferndance's words, though, the snowcapped tom was snapped back into reality- his lover's dead, she said, at the mention of Smogmaw. A baffling thing to say really, like most of the stuff that came out of her mouth- briefly, Nettlepaw glanced over to Garlicpaw, then swiftly back to Ferndance. "Oh, tactful to bring that up in front of their daughter!" His voice was not steeped in scorn or aggression- his half-joke, half-disapproval was flung flippantly at Ferndance's face, and swiftly left for her to deal with.

He didn't really believe in magic, but it was a vaguely nice thing to think about. Especially when you were faced with something like this... how could your mind reach any other conclusion? Reluctant to reveal how much he revelled in fantasy, how much the sight of these mushrooms seemed like the start of a story, Nettlepaw decided to take a different angle. It wasn't far-fetched to suggest that something so deliberate-looking was placed her on purpose, was it?

"Ah, what does it mean... I wonder the same," he spoke theatrically, giggling a little at Ferndance's guess, the grin curling her lips. He brumped his shoulder against Garlicpaw's, offering her a bright grin of jest. "'Spose that's why we're not medicine cats. Guessing might make us look a bit..." he clicked his tongue, jerking his head in Ferndance's direction. "Insane?"​

penned by pin ♡​

 

[Maggotfur.]

🕱 NO I DON'T MIND YOU ARE A BEAUTY 🕱

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maggotpaw & 11 moons & female & she/her & shadowclan apprentice​

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Maggotpaw doesn't really understand why the patrol is so interested in the mushrooms - it's not like they can eat them after all. She'd learned that lesson early, one of the few times the nursery queens had noticed her activities long enough to lecture her about saftey and that not everything could be eaten more than once. Instead of staring at the circle, she instead focuses on the conversation, vibrant eyes turning upon ferndance in a blank stare. "It'd be cool to understand birds, like magpiepaw - or maybe bugs," of course, it's not as though that would ever actually happen - things like wishes coming true were only kit-tales.

— not temptation, you're my creation ♛

• Actions && "Speech," && ' Thoughts/Quotes '
  
  ooc: —
  tw/cw: —
  
• 
  — a massive tabby she-cat with striking turquoise eyes, there has always been something not-right about her. cold and apathetic, and more than a bit unhinged, the monster that is maggotpaw is a volatile presence within shadowclan. she seems strangely taken by magpiepaw, putting herself in role of both tormentor and protector.
  
  — physically medium && mentally hard
  — non-violent powerplay allowed && healing powerplay allowed && minor injury powerplay not-allowed
  — please attack using [b][color=mediumpurple]action here[/color][/b] and tag account

 

[scalejaw]

—————————————————【 she/her | menacing 】————————————————

【◈】 Scalejaw was far from a skeptical cat. That being said, though, she wasn't sure sitting inside the mushroom ring was a good thing or not. Her stomach squeezed as Fleabounce stepped right into the circle, seemingly making themselves at home and jerking her head at Scalejaw. Garlicpaw was quick to approach, though, and step into the circle with Fleabounce.

Her maw opened, speaking quietly. "Not sure what a ring of mushrooms mean. It's.. unnatural." Scalejaw decided quietly. Ferndance's words caused Scalejaw to snap her vision in the other's warriors direction, and a breath left her. Her tail flicked, unable to correct Ferndance before they were already moving on. Nettlepaw was sharp tongued, so she left it to the apprentice and didn't dwell on it. But then Ferndance was asking her something- one thing that caused her eyes to blink.

No one had asked her that in... moons, really. Since she knew her mate still lived and breathed, no one had. "My heart's desire?" She repeated softly, her tone near dangerous. What she wanted? Well, she wanted plenty. Her mate to live. Her worries to be gone, for prey to be plentiful, for Chilledstar to live an eon, for Smogmaw to return, for Halfshade to be alive. But her one true desire? She didn't know. "That's a secret, Ferndance." Her warm tone returned, near smoky with how smoothly it was stated.

A secret. To who? To them? Or to herself?

"yuh"

[penned by dallas].

​