camp NO WAY, NO HOW [ kicks ]

claythorn

AIN'T A DROP OF BAD BLOOD
Jan 7, 2024
171
26
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This may be... the closest she's ever been to joyful, very much so, since the beginning of finding out. Scared, perhaps, had been the chief thing she had felt- which wasn't common to her. It was the opposite- fear wasn't something she had known since she came to Riverclan. Terror was something she had left as a kit, left on that mountainside, left in the bushes where Hazel set her out in the cold and left her to die. That much was enough- that much had been gone.

But the look in Moonbeam's eye when she got told she was carrying made a jolt of fear go through her. Would she be like her mother? Crude, uncaring? Was that her? Claythorn's ears twitched away a bug from where she lay, just out of the sun and just outside the nursery. She had been quietly appreciative to Otterbite and his apprentice- or whoever else had chosen to bring her moss or food when she had days where her paws just couldn't or wouldn't cooperate. Today? Today she had made it out of the nursery. She was okay with that.

Her eyes slid close just moments before something occurred. A bump, a strange relocation from... from inside of her. Mismatched goldens flew open, turning to peer at her stomach from where she lay on her flank. It happened again- little flutters from tiny paws. Yes, this is perhaps the most joyful she had been since the beginning of this newest journey, and much unlike her, (and perhaps to many cat's disbeliefs,) a small smile spread on her muzzle.

She turned as much as she could, nose pressing to where her fur moved and shifted from kittens growing ever more active. Perhaps a promise formed in her head, small inklings of I'll protect you to I'll see you soon enough. Excitement, was it? Is that what she felt in her heart, demanding to burst from every seam? Perhaps so.
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  • CLAYTHORN she/her, warrior of riverclan, fifteen moons.
    LH chocolate torbie with mismatched golden eyes, scars across her right cheek and over her left ear. cold exterior and threatening glares, built for stamina/battle and not swimming (tall/muscled)
    mentored by darkbranch (npc) / / mentoring no one
    mated to otterbite / / only child
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

Eveningpaw would be lying if she declared the relationship between Otterbite and Claythorn didn't bother her to some extent. Otterbite is... weird, to say the least, and she tries her best to avoid him whenever given the chance. He's like a scarier Rookfang. Except Rookfang is a lot more likable from the get-go. And Claythorn... Eveningpaw likes her, so she does not understand how this pair came into being.

Love and all that is a complex subject though. She has little interest in pursuing it, so she just keeps her opinions to herself... aside from how obvious her face makes it when Otterbite slinks into her field of vision. At least Claythorn seems to be alone right now — her mate had quickly made himself scarce the moment that belly got too round for regular warrior duties.

"Claythorn?" Eveningpaw approaches with unusual apprehension. Claythorn moves about, and what Eveningpaw had thought to be signs of discomfort, is apparently reason enough to smile about. "Um, what's happening? Are you uncomfy?"
 
✦•··········•✦•··········•✦ He hadn't meant to watch Claythorn for so long. Well, that isn't entirely true— he was keeping an eye on her, but not for any reason driven by his natural, healthy skepticism of other cats. No, Loveburn intended —and intends— to stay apprised of Claythorn's condition. He learned secondhand that Smokestar did not have a particularly smooth experience with Loveburn and his siblings, in regard to both carrying and delivering. He wouldn't want Claythorn to be endangered by a clanmate taking just a moment too long to find Moonbeam, so of course he kept her in his range of vision while puttering about camp.

But he realizes when Eveningpaw approaches her that he might have been staring a little too intently, a little too obviously. He's not sure that the new queen has noticed; she seems quite taken with the state of her belly and the kits therein.

"I sure hope she's not smiling because she's uncomfortable," he chimes in as he jogs over leisurely. "Then again, that just might be in character." Loveburn grins, and when he speaks again, it softens to something more earnest. "Don't take this the wrong way, Claythorn, but you look happy to me."
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loveburn (formerly lovepaw and starlightpaw) — currently thirteen moons old
son of cicadastar & smokestar — brother to cicadaflight & beefang — he/him
single & not really looking — peaceful/nonviolent actions may be powerplayed
please note that loveburn has persecutory delusions & sometimes personal prose
will make patently untrue assumptions and mischaracterizations of other people.
 
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Keep him away from the other kits. Ever since then, Graypaw had done his best to stay away from the nursery. There is a piece of him that misses it more than anything, the safety and comfort drawn from the scent of milk and the way the willow branches and reeds shrouded him and his kin. It had been ripped away from him so fast, the same way most things seem to be taken from him - sudden and before he even has any time to know what he should even be mourning for.

Cats got pregnant all the time. Most turned out fine. He thinks the word most because he knows it is not the case all the time. His own mother, for example... No. He does not want his thoughts to go there so he makes to leave, to keep walking past Claythorn and not bother her, because surely his presence would not be welcome here, right?

But then Eveningpaw is there, and before he can think better of it his own paws are leading him to stand next to her, ears pressed flat against his skull as if he's expecting a scolding for being too close. His focus shifts to Loveburn as the warrior states that Claythorn looks happy. She does, he thinks, but he knows that sometimes the way things appear are not always everything... He keeps this thought to himself though, choosing instead to offer help "Do you need me to get you anything?" he offers. Anything to get him away from here...
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    GRAYPAW RIVERCLAN APPRENTICE ; HE / HIM
    LILYBLOOM X LAKEMOON BROTHER TO TBD ; MENTORED BY LAKEMOON
    A plush coated apprentice with a pelt marbled in varying shades of gray and white. He has dull green eyes and a tall stature. Most of his personality can be described as carefree though some also say that unmotivated is a more than apt term. His trust and love is easily won through praise but he will do little work to receive it.
    easy in battle + no formal training
 
brindlekit, like usual, watched from afar, head tilted in curiousity. what a wealth of information claythorn could be. the moon that had passed since her arrival she had noticed even more how these cats were strange. the patched molly decided to shuffle closer. eveningpaw's words rung true. "yeah, what's happening?" she mewed. her silent approach could be reason to startle. she didn't quite understand that either. strange.

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    abandond kit, brindlekit found mysteriously on the border of riverclan, with no memory of how she ended up there. she is 3 moons. she is very small for her age, but is healthy. she is a dilute tortoiseshell with a white throat and chest. her stomach, paws and tail tip are also white. her eyes are golden and round. penned by Twitchtail, 
 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- It would be far too on the nose for Otterbite to be late for every milestone his mate experienced. He is today, but not so far off that the entirety of camp experienced Claythorn's new development in pregnancy before himself.

It would be an unfortunate common occurrence in the coming moons, though. With the riverlands pouring out its last bit of harvest before descending into barren wastes again, Otterbite would not waste it over good company. He and Claythorn were never the type to be... clingy, Otterbite least of all enjoyed his independence by himself. If she truly needed any attention it could be found with another queen or whatever warrior friends she had.

"Don't bother." He answered Graypaw with nothing short of a growl as he hauled one of the fish he and Jaggedpaw had caught to set beside Claythorn. "What's wrong with all of you? Why are you so close?" His tail lashed to rest over her side as he sat at her back, ears pinned down as he looked accusingly to each of them- aside from Brindlekit, who wasn't spared even a glance.



  • OTTERBITE he/him, warrior of riverclan, fifteen moons.
    scruffy blue/black chimera with a white tail-tip and green eyes. noticeable kinked whiskers
    adopted son to pikesplash // former apprentice to coyotecreek
    peaceful and healing powerplay requires permission / / underline and tag when attacking or making an action toward
    see battle info here
    penned by beataegonkpilled on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

Her ears perked, hearing Eveningpaw's voice- mismatched goldens turned to face the young apprentice, spawn of one of the cats Claythorn respected the most. A small smile found her lips, perhaps not chilled yet by her normal temperance. Being able to feel movement within her, kits of her own that would come to bear soon? She couldn't kick the feeling of happiness, not yet.

She is asked if she is okay, in short. "Oh I'm.. I'm alright. The kits are kicking." She answers, just as Loveburn stepped close. Claythorn would have been blind to not know she was being watched from time to time, but as a queen, she had.. come to terms with that. The clan looked out for her. It was a strange feeling- one strange enough to evoke Cicadaflight bringing her food and becoming a close friend, one that made visits with Moonbeam to ensure she was progressing well the highlight of her day.

Loveburn's words cause a tiny smile to quirk at the edges of her muzzle. "How dare you, insinuating I can be happy." It is a jest in return, a dip of her head as her ears flamed gently. It was a hint embarrassing to have all the attention on her at once, for being such a private cat. Graypaw approaches next, one where she slowly raised mismatched golden eyes. She hadn't been there for what happened when he was a kit, but... she felt for him. She did. It wasn't his fault. No, it wasn't.

Claythorn could understand him, in a strange way. Feeling estranged from family because of what had happened, a guilt that you carried in your throat at all times. Before she can answer, the pelt most immediately familiar to her speaks. She does not look apologetic, but her ears dip with her head, an unspoken thanks to the all-but-shoo'd apprentice. Otterbite casts over her lain form like a shadow, and she shifted her tail to touch his paws briefly. She answers Brindlekit as she answers Otterbite, another small smile given to the kit.

"Was just telling Loveburn and Eveningpaw about the kits. They're kicking." Claythorn says. As she does, she shifts, tilting her eyes up towards her mate- stomach still in full view as it shifted from the bundles inside moving.
  • "speech"
  • CLAYTHORN she/her, queen of riverclan, fifteen moons.
    LH chocolate torbie with mismatched golden eyes, scars across her right cheek and over her left ear. cold exterior and threatening glares, built for stamina/battle and not swimming (tall/muscled)
    mentored by darkbranch (npc) / / mentoring no one
    mated to otterbite / / only child
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 
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