camp OVER MY HEAD ♥ intro

[Redwind]

The forest was particularly gloomy, winds pushed through the territory like no other ruffling and tangling the feline's long fur. The air stung her nose and shocked her lungs from mere power each time it blew in her face. It did not seem to faulter the cinnamon tortie, racing through the treetops after a squirrel. The winds unexpectedly blew her scent toward it and alarmed the animal but she wouldn't take no for an answer. The clan needed to be fed. It always needed to be fed.

She was as graceful and powerful as the wind throughout the treetops, weaving braches and landing effortlessly on each one until she made her catch. A purr dragged within her throat through the bundle of fur in her maw. It was a perfect catch.

Redwind carefully clawed her way down the tree and then leaped at a safe distance. The familiar sudden ache to her hips had told her she was finished for the day. It was best to end it to prevent another bad flare up. With heavy jaws of a meal for her clanmates, she limped lightly onward to camp.

"My stars darling! You should've seen me in those trees. Ah, almost as perfect as Silverpelt." She cheerfully meowed to a nearby member in greeting after she had settled her kill in the pile. She carefully settled beside her onlooker with a groan of protest to the ache of her hips. "All that wind messed my fur up. It's almost like it tangled it into mats! It's going to be a wonderful time getting this all out." She sarcastically added with a good humored purr, carefully going through her chest fur. Her back would need assistance she was sure, being flexible after any sort of exercise was known to cause her some pain. Instead of asking for help she looked to the other, "Hows the wind treating your fur?" She meowed, bumping her shoulder lightly against the other to get their attention.​

 

[Shinebug]

With most of his life being spent as a kit, right now Shinepaw felt like an outsider looking in. The newly-christened apprentice wasn’t used to normal conversation, something the sociable shaft of sunlight felt was strange, but seemed to make sense in hindsight. When one was a kit, talks with adults were usually one of three things: them half-listening to what you had to say, them patiently explaining the simplest of concepts to an even simpler mind, or, and especially for Shine, scoldings.

There were exceptions, of course. Shiningsun and his mother sprang to mind, but that wasn’t enough to prepare Shinepaw for just how weird it would feel to be talking about grown-up things like hunting or the weather. And now, he was doing both.

Shinepaw supposed the slight racing in his heart as Redwind spoke was funny in a sense; something that would become mundane in time being treated with excitement by an as-of-yet unrefined soul. Still, it felt good not to be treated like a kid. “I can’t wait ‘till I can climb trees like that!” He said excitedly, the knowledge that his stated goal was actually attainable now that he was an apprentice making the sentence taste sweet on his lips. “Does it feel weird to be so high up? I’ve tried it a few times now, and it’s like my body won’t let me leave the ground.” Soon a scatterbrained mind was shooting off in all directions, and the tomcat briefly wondered if it was warmer in the treetops. After all, wouldn’t you be closer to the sun?

At the mention of fur, Shinepaw found something he could actually relate to. He may have been an apprentice, but the boy still hadn’t grown into his ludicrous pelt. Flame-tinted fur shook instinctually at the mention of mats, and sky-blue eyes shone at the opportunity to assist. “Try getting it wet first” he offered casually, “It makes it easier to straighten out. That’s what my mom does for me!” The slip made sun-tinted cheeks turn red, and Shinepaw tried to save himself from embarrassment. “…What she used to do, I mean. When I was a kit, she did that a lot. …It helped” And like that, the boy’s energy was sapped like a sail in still wind.

Eager to move on, a tiny mind pondered Redwind’s final question, appreciating the contact, but slightly concerned they would end up tangled together. “The wind isn’t so bad” Shinepaw said after a moment. “If I turn towards it, it does a great job keeping the hair out of my eyes! Besides, I think a breeze is worth a few tangles.” ​

 

[Redwind]

Redwind was a bit different than Shinepaw, she didn't have trouble chatting up with any character. Most of the time she could conform to their personality. It was either calmer or had more spunk, reading others was something that came natural to the she-cat. It seemed as if Shinepaw didn't talk to others, not adults atleast. So, more friendly energy came to light when she saw the youngster. Everyone should be talked to. Everyone should be included.

Redwind did not feel uncomfortable settling beside someone she was older than. Infact, it made her eyes sparkle with more warmth as Shinepaw talked excitedly. A purr rumbled louder, "Oh darling, I'm sure you will get there! When you do, it is scary but amazing. I can't find the definition of weird, but it's certainly exciting. Tell me when your mentor teaches you the treetops, maybe we can go on a fun little hunt together if permission is granted. There's a lot more life up there!" She explained, amber eyes looking upon the other with excitement and adoration.

He then went on about the grooming, it was something her mother lacked to teach her. Mostly it was her mother taking over it all since she could only achieve half the work. No tips such as Shinepaw's were given to her before, her eyes widened with intrigue. "Oh, really? Maybe I should try that. It may half my workload, that's a good idea." She watched him suddenly become flustered, a chuckle automatically jumping out of her, "Mothers are helpful, I promise I won't look at you any other way if she still helped you. If mine were still here she'd probably be going through my fur now. These hips don't make things any easier after hunting. Also, there's no shame in sharing tongues, most of everyone helps a cat out once in awhile." She pressed, aiming to give his shoulder a reassuring nudge. "What ever is making you flustered, fellow clanmates… apprentices.. kits- excetera- I'll make sure to have a word with them."

"I do agree with that, smart one. Up in the tress it was more powerful, that wasn't the fun part of my hunt for sure. It’s certainly worth a few tangles, especially with how hot it's been." She responded, carefully going through her legs with her tongue. ​

 

[batwing]

The gloom was biting down on Batwing too. His ears twitched as he was holed up against the side of camp, biting into a piece of prey as Redwind blew into camp. Hah, get it? Batwing snickered to himself, joke rolling over his mind- it really wasn't even that funny- as she started speaking to those that would listen. And, of course, he was listening, his tail swaying behind him in an amused manner. He finished his piece of prey before Batwing pushed himself to his paws, stretching his entire body with a hum. Finally, he padded over to the pair speaking amongst themselves.

Batwing was much more like Redwind in terms of social ability. Perhaps a blessing and a curse to be able to saunter up to whoever you please and start a conversation. But perhaps that's where Redwind and himself differed. Perhaps not everyone deserved to be included. No one had made enemies to Batwing just yet. Who knows, perhaps this mentality would be changed.

Batwing announced himself with a soft huff, a grin on his muzzle. "Trees are great. Gotta love being up there." A paused, then a tilt of his head ."Say, Redwind, did you need help getting those matts out? I know you two were just chatting about it." Batwing grinned, leaning against one half of his body. His tail lowered to sway behind him, ears twitching as the wind continued to blow overhead. It was getting bad, he reflected. ​

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"speech"​

 

[Flycatcher]

Finally catching up with his apprentice, the deputy padded over to the growing huddle of cats. Flycatcher arrived as they were all speaking of climbing trees, listening as his newest apprentice spoke of wanting to climb trees one day, with Redwind and Batwing offering words of support. "Don't worry Shinepaw, I'll have you climbing one day," Flycatcher chuckled as he announced himself to the group. Flycatcher was one of the more notable climbers in the clan and had tried to teach the skill to all of his apprentices.

As Batwing asks Redwind if she needed any assistance with the tangles in her fur, Flycatcher thinks back to what he had heard the she-cat say, recalling she had mentioned that the wind up in the trees was part of the reason for her scruffy state. "You went climbing in all this wind?" Flycatcher asked, inclining his head to one side as he spoke. He wasn't sure whether to be impressed or worried. "You're a braver cat than me in that regard, Redwind. I worry I'll get caught in the wind like a stray leaf if I went climbing in this weather."​

 

[Redwind]

Redwind had found another face, gifting a trill of greeting to the newcomer. It was always nice to have someone as social as she was. Redwind didn't have a problem approaching others but she had to admit, it was nice to be the one approached. It was nice to see someone take an interest in her conversations. "Right? I could live up there if collapsing branches and lightning weren't a thing." she grinned, inviting Batwing over with a flick of her fluffy tail. Then he mentioned her fur, a bigger smile placed on her black lips as a chuckle flowed through her lungs, "Hah! Not mats just yet but tangles for sure! I try to keep up with my appearance with assistance. If you desire, I'd be more than happy to accept your help, love." she purred calmly, studying the tom carefully.

Flycatcher then arrived, offering the other cat an additional trill of welcoming. She had caught on that Flycatcher was Shinepaw's mentor at his remark, gazing over at the apprentice with a smile. "See? You got yourself a fine climber right here, maybe I can be a witness to your first time." She remembered Flycatcher being an avid climber such as her, she could see him covering branches in a much faster speed than she could. Her disadvantage was her size, she had to carefully calculate so she didn't have to say hello to gravity. If it was a race, she was sure she would lose unless wind storms came to play.

The tom complimented her bravery, her purr growing louder. She laughed at his remark, making a mental image of Flycatcher getting stuck as a leaf would. "Oh dear, hah! I'm happy I'm heavy enough to not blow away like that! If I was any lighter I'd be in your situation, I'm more at risk for a branch to fall beneath me but that hasn't happened for moons." She remembered back to her first fall when she was an older apprentice, the branch being far too light to hold her maturing body. She had stuck the landing then but the flare up in her hips had lasted longer than a day. They weren't happy about the impact. "Say, when did you both have your first fall?" She asked, ears twitching in preparation to hear their responses. "Also, dear Shinepaw, did you ever fall off anything?" It was important to include everyone. Obvious it was, if he didn't start climbing he couldn't have his first fall off a tree. Unless of course, it was off something else such as snake and running rocks. The two pieces of territory had some awfully high rocks.​

 

[Shinebug]

Sky-blue eyes looked up at his mentor, a sunshine smile plastering his face as the other promised that he’d be up in the trees soon enough. Still, Shinepaw couldn’t help a twinge of guilt at the idea that he would need Flycatcher’s help to hop from branch to branch. The apprentice knew he was to be taught, but the boy always worried that he was wasting the deputy’s time. “I swear I’ll learn fast” the sun-dappled tom said with a bow of the head before turning his attention to the others.

“I feel like I’d be embarrassed if anyone watched me climb” he admitted to Redwind with a laugh. “Who wants to watch a cat scrabbling around on some bark a few inches off the ground, anyway? You can watch when I’m good at it.” Shinepaw had played it cool, but in truth the boy was terrified at the idea of this warrior - someone‘s whose respect he wanted - watching him humiliate himself.

at that point Shinepaw was content to listen to the adults talk, drinking in their words with wonder as they talked so casually about exciting things he’d only daydreamed about, but a soft smile crossed the shaft of sunlight’s face as Redwind made an effort to include him. “Uh, mine’s not nearly as cool as all of yours, probably” he started, hoping to measure expectations. “When I was really little, somehow I managed to climb up on top of the nursery. I fell through the roof and bumped my head. I don’t really remember it, but my mom likes to joke that that was the moment she knew I’d be a paw-full” an embarrassed chuckle left the boy as he waited for the others.​

 

[batwing]

His head tipped as another approached, an incline of his head following to signify the greeting. He looked back towards Redwind, nodding in response. Not that Batwing wasn't up for a little bit of crazy climbing, but the way limbs and branches are being pulled and ripped away from trees was a bit telling. He responded as he stepped a bit closer to her. "I'm not sure I could totally live up there. I do enjoy the ground on my paws, after all." Batwing chuckled, before his ears perked up. A grin spread on his face, tail twitching. "Of course I can help." Batwing moved then, sitting next to her- but he wouldn't start just yet, as it would be a strange interruption to conversation.

"My first time falling? Mm..." Batwing trailed off for a moment, vision shifting overhead as a pair of birds flew by. His ears twitched again, then he spoke. "As a young cat, I hauled myself up onto the lowest tree branches that I could. A squirrel leapt past me and scared the stars out of me. I fell on my side, spent some time on my rear nursing an injured paw. I only got better from there." Not the most eventful Batwing story, but still something a little funny. In his mind, anyways.

He glanced at Shinepaw, tilting his head with a grin. "Everyone has to start somewhere. From barely gripping bark or to climbing the nursery. One way or another." A light-hearted laugh left him- one not meant to be targeting Shinepaw, but laughing alongside with him. ​

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"speech"​