camp lost in a wave of emotion - broken shell

[owlpaw.]

Mama was gone.

This was her nest. His now. And they kept trying to take it. "Mine." A growl from the fluffed up kitten as tiny claws swiped towards a nearby apprentice trying to change the bedding. No, they couldn't remove her nest. It was his.

It smelled like her still, very faintly, and he wanted it.

He was going to have it.

"No." He hissed, revealing a jaw of teeth poking from gums here and there. He was told, no means no. Did they not understand?

The bedding was dirty, messy, but it was his mother's. A beige stone, and a black and white shell lay to the side, and as he tried to swat again to bat the apprentice away, he felt a crunch underneath his back paw.

His head whipped around, mismatched eyes widening as he lifted his paw to reveal the broken shell beneath it, and a hiss erupted from him. Ears peeled back, he would rip claws through the soft moss he had been protecting.

Before throwing a messy clump at the apprentices face. "You!" It's your fault! You didn't stop when I said no!

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[SANDPELT]

ꕀꕀ Well, he hadn’t expected to be dodging kit claws today. Yellow eyes widen with surprise as the kit hisses and bares tiny teeth, trying to claim the old bedding as his own. Stars, he usually likes kits, but this is growing more irritating by the second. "Hey, I’m just tryin’ to do my job," he grumbles at the kit, ears flickering back against his head. Frustration courses through him, every muscle tensed as he fights to remove the bedding. The kit obviously objects, but it’s dirty. He can’t just leave it here to stink everything up. So he continues on with his task, attempting to work around the kit and avoid catching a needle-sharp claw to the eye or ear. But as the kit lifts a paw to swipe at him again, there’s a barely-audible crunch from beneath his little paw, and he startles. Sandpaw immediately feels guilty,

"Oh…" His lips peel back into a grimace, peering down at the shell. It’s been crushed, clearly unable to be fixed or… smashed back together, somehow. The kit flings a clump of moss into his face, and it clings stubbornly to one of his cream-toned ears. "Oh, no. It’s broken, huh? That’s all my fault, I’m sorry." His tone is sympathetic, but he tries to twist it into something more casual, and less pitying. "D’you want me to get you a new one? I’m sure I can find one just like it. Or are you just mad—d’you wanna bite me, to make up for it?" Please don’t cry. Please don’t cry.​

​

 

[SWIFTFIRE]

I'VE LEARNED LOVE IS LIKE A BRICK — Grief was a complex and all-consuming thing, and it only got all the more complicated when you were as young as little Owlkit was when you had to deal with it. His stubbornness and clinging to what was once his mother's nest alongside his own was understandable, though also frustrating in equal measure. There was a grimace on the bicolored warrior's face as she entered the nursery, having been able to hear Owlkit's furious cries even out in the middle of camp. "Owlkit, he really is just trying to help. The bedding is old, not to mention how dirty it is. The last thing any of us would want would..." Swiftfire's voice faltered, as if she was struggling with whether she wanted to finish the statement or not. Eventually she just allowed a heavy sigh to slip from her muzzle. "Would be for you to get sick too." He had already been through enough, he didn't need to risk the chance of contracting the same sickness that had yanked his mother away from him far too soon.

She was about to step forward and try to help Sandpaw when she heard the crunch, ears swiveling in confusion as she tried to figure out where it had come from. Her heart sank when she spotted the broken shell beneath Owlkit's paw, a far cry from the stray twig that she had been hoping was the source of the sound. "It's... oh. It's alright. Sandpaw is right, we can find you another shell. One that's similar, or even one completely different, if that's what you'd prefer..." Could the kit even understand her, so caught up in anger and grief when he was still so early in his development? Swiftfire certainly hoped so, considering Sandpaw's latter offer didn't exactly sound great to her. She doubted a bite from Owlkit would do too much damage to him, but he'd already had to put up with the child's frantic swiping at him while trying to clean the nest.

YOU CAN BUILD A HOUSE ✿ OR SINK A DEAD BODY

• 
  ✧ shorthaired blue and red tabby chimera molly with green eyes
  ✧ 38 moons old; ages the 1st every month
  ✧ bisexual; currently not looking
  ✧ daughter of lilou and germaine
  ✧ formerly of the ripple colony; loyal to riverclan
  ✧ easy to befriend; desperate to improve the former colonists' reputation
  ✧ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ✧ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[owlpaw.]

Too young to understand grief, to understand the pain in his heart when Swiftfire herself had told him that his mother was in Starclan. He didn't know what it meant. He just wanted his mom, and they were taking everything from him.

That's how he perceived it all. The apprentice said he was trying to help, but it didn't feel like help- at all! Even the much bigger not mama warrior would mention how they didn't want him sick too, but he just didn't understand. He wanted his mom back, and she was going to come back! ...Right?

She was!

She had to.

She had faith.

He had faith.

The moss clung from the apprentices face, and his tufted ears remained folded back, the others words soft. A part of him wanted to scream, to attack, and the other wanted to cry, and all he could do was stare at the broken pile momentarily. They spoke words, those long string of sentences, and he ducked his head to nose at the pile, somberly sniffing at them.

Bite me.

He.. didn't have the energy to bite. "Mama..." He whispered, as if defeated. He clenched his teeth together, which wasn't comfortable either, before looking up to them with a pitiful wide gaze of blue and green. "No new- fix. Needs..." His lips trembled and claws dug into the moss again.

"Sandpaw-" He had no clue of names, but as the not mama warrior exclaimed Sandpaw- the apprentice, who already was trying to help. He didn't his help before, but he found himself wanting it now. He needed it. His gaze trained to the others. "Help."

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[bubbleburst]

"GOT A LITTLE CASH NOW SO THAT SKIRT IS DIOR"​

Kits are awfully fickle and temperamental. As much as Bubblepaw enjoys going into the nursery- in fact, it is her favorite place to be assigned for apprentice duties- there is never doubt in her mind some of the youngest RiverClanners will be disquieted by one thing or another. They are full of enthusiasm and always seem to have an opinion about one thing or another. She's rooting around in another corner of the nursery when the commotion between Owlkit and Sandpaw snatches up her attention.

Bubblepaw, ever the collector or shiny and pretty things, can understand Owlkit's sadness at his shell breaking. However, the sentimental value seems to be lost on all the RiverClanners crowded into the nursery. Bubblepaw herself does not know the sentimental value the shell has to the kit, and assumes he had just been attached to it in that same way so many young kits are attached to one object or another. A source of comfort and security rather than something that has any kind of value attached to it.

Owlkit's lip trembles, and Bubblepaw pushes forward to face him with a gaze that is soft. "I've got lots of shells if you want one," Bubblepaw offers empathetically, not quite understanding the kit's sadness and assuming it's a byproduct of his age "We can even decorate a few if you'd like!" Sharing is caring to Bubblepaw, and she is more than willing to part with a few shells if it will help Owlkit to feel better.​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[Moonbeam]

There were very few within RiverClan now that were without grief, who had not experienced what it was like to lose a loved one to StarClan. It was hard to see however the feelings of grief within those so young, so fickle, and Moonpaw couldn't help but let a frown grace her features as head peeked within the nursery quickly watching the scene before her unfold, as quick as it had started it had ended now and others were offering help in their own ways and though Moonpaw did not know Dewchaser as well as she had wished she knew that this had been her nest, that this was the only place that Owlkit knew and that if she were in his paws she, too, would not want to lose the scent of her mother so quickly after losing her entirely.

And thus the apprentice pad forward, sitting near to the kitten and attempting to curl her tail around the other in some sense of comfort, hoping that it would help until a queen arrived who knew what was best. "What if we get a big shell to put that shell in and some moss from your nest, hm?" To keep the pieces together, to make sure they didn't scatter and get crushed more, and to make sure there was still some of the old moss that the kitten wanted to keep so badly. "We can keep your shell safe in the big one, I'm sure Bubblepaw has a very pretty one that will fit it nicely." She'd look over to the younger apprentice then, hoping that she would say that she did or if she didn't Moonpaw was sure she'd be willing to help find one big enough for Owlkit to have.

I WISH PLANT LIFE ꕥ WOULD GROW ALL AROUND ME

• 
  MEDICINE CAT IN TRAINING;
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ FLESH WOUNDS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ INFECTIONS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ ACHES & PAINS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ ILLNESS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ BREATHING ISSUES
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ TRAVELING HERBS
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ BROKEN BONES
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ KITTING
  — ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ POISONS
• 
  ꕥ SH white masking cinnamon torbie w/orange eyes & small ears
  ꕥ speaks softly & often found humming
  ꕥ 9 moons old; ages the 17th every month
  ꕥ homosexual homoromantic ; interested in beepaw & redacted
  ꕥ currently being mentored by ravensong
  ꕥ easy to befriend/interact with ; hard to anger/upset
  ꕥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ꕥ easy in combat unless in water, focuses on defensive tactics
  ꕥ peaceful powerplay allowed

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[SANDPELT]

ꕀꕀ Sandpaw stares down at the kit, bewilderment clear in bright yellow eyes. He looks to Swiftfire as the older RiverClanner approaches—help me out, his eyes read, but he says nothing in response to her suggestions. A pale paw lifts to swipe the moss from where it still clings to his face, and he straightens his posture a bit. He’ll go out right now and find a new shell if that’s what the kit wants—but before he can offer to do so, the kit tries to explain what he’s thinking. Mama, Owlkit says, and Sandpaw’s muzzle twists in a frown. Oh, he realizes, this kit’s mother had recently been killed. That explains why Owlkit is so attached to the nest, and why Sandpaw spent far too long dodging swipes of his tiny little claws.

Owlkit speaks haltingly, mouth twitching in a way that makes him look even smaller, more pitiful. The cream-colored tom tips his head to the side when the kit attempts to explain what he wants, and then simply says help. Moonpaw and Bubblepaw’s presence helps to ease Sandpaw’s worry for the kit, and he smiles as the others offer things that Owlkit can do. "That’s a good idea, Moonpaw." If they could find a big shell, then the kit would be able to keep a bit of the nest without risking illness in the rest of the clan. "We can all go and find shells together, if you want. It could even be a game," he suggests, tail flicking playfully.​

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