private PEPPERMINT CANDY // scorchstreak and CO.


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SOOTSTAR
Tiny paw-steps and squeals of delight could be heard through the branches of the gorse bush, the once growing quiet nursery was now booming with activity again. Any day now Juniperfrost's and Spiderbloom's kits would be apprentices, leaving Scorchstreak's kittens to have the den to themselves. StarClan knows they'd need the room, she was sure they were beginning to grow big already.

Her head peaks into the entrance of the den, a mole she had caught herself dangles from her jaws. "Scorchstreak." She meows in greeting, spotting the tortoiseshell's tricolor pelt in the dim lighting of the den, shadows of kittens playing beside her. "I've brought you prey. May I come in?" It was about time she met the new litter for the first time. It was important for a leader to visit with their youth, and watching the furballs play around without a worry took her own mind away from the grim realities of the world. Above all else, these kittens were extra special to her, heirs of her deputy and lead warrior. They would have the perfect upbringing to become strong and capable warriors of WindClan. She hopes many of them retain their small size so that they could become tunnelers in their mother's pawsteps, perhaps with Scorchstreak's permission she'd take them out digging behind the nursery.

// @SCORCHSTREAK @RUMBLEKIT @SCORCHKIT (unfortunately idk the @s of the other kits, please @ them for me!)
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To be visited by the clan’s leader is a great honor, in Scorchstreak’s eyes. Such a visitation shows that Sootstar supports her in her parenting, and wants to get to know the newest members of her clan. So when the blue-furred leader pokes her head into the nursery, a bright smile slips across Scorchstreak’s muzzle. "Sootstar," she greets with a dip of her head, though she doesn’t rise from where she rests in her nest. She would normally be on her paws to speak with the leader, but wrangling her litter is a bit draining. It is rewarding, being a mother again, but her energy is not boundless as her kits’ seems to be. "Of course you can come in. Thank you, for the prey." It has been strange, having so many clanmates delivering prey to the nursery for her as of late, but the calico is appreciative. Her clanmates will always take care of her, just as she takes care of them.

Her golden gaze flicks over to her kits, and then returns to rest upon Sootstar. This is the leader’s first time meeting the litter, an official reason to introduce them. "I suppose this will be your proper introduction to the kits." She lashes her tail, drawing herself up to the greatest height she can while remaining tucked into her nest. She’s already told her litter about the Sootstar, about her protection of the clan as well as her position as leader. They will grow to respect their leader for as long as she reigns—a leadership that would last forever, if Scorchstreak had any say in Sootstar’s fate. "Kits, come say hello to Sootstar."


// @frostkit @LUCKYKIT
[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]
 
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TAGS — Scorchkit, like her namesake, seems to lack the boundless energy that her siblings present. It's not that it's not there; there is plenty of energy and focus behind the child's bicolored gaze, but it's currently being spent studying the scar on her mother's chest rather than clambering around the nursery. The pink flesh parts the white fluff like an ocean. It's curious; Scorchkit, after all, doesn't have any of these, so how had her mother gotten one? Not to mention the streaks that marred her shoulder, or that swept her eye. The kitten presses a soft paw to her mother's chest fur, her own thin tail twitching, revealing her intense curiosity. Little does she know that the scar across Scorchstreak's chest was Sootstar's own doing. Maybe in time, she'd come to learn it-- but StarClan knew what she would think when the time came.

For now, her study is distracted by the blue smoke, the smell of prey cutting through the heady milk sweetness of the den. Her mother sits up, and Scorchkit finds herself now at her paws, small gaze fixed upon the great presence of a molly who has come to see her. Her. Well, her and her littermates. The child's head tilts, ears perked. So this is Sootstar. In Scorchstreak's stories, she is a figure that commands great respect, a hero to her Clan and a protector of her clanmates-- and when Scorchkit sees her, illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the gorse-wreathed opening, she can't help but agree. A childish imagination can mold any silhouette to its preceding reputation. She's almost anxious to say hello, then, faced with a great power; but she can be brave, if her mother should command her to be.

"Hello Sootstar," the kitten cautions. Her eyes are nearly saucer-sized from where she sits, small against the soft floor. It occurs to her that she might want to say her own name to make it a proper introduction. The girl's tail curls around her paws. "I'm Scorchkit."​
 

Just like any other day, Luckykit tumbles alongside his willing siblings, batting at ears and tails in a game that always seems to shift even when they're in the thick of it. Sometimes it's play-wrestling, and sometimes it's something more akin to tag, the latter being his preference - after all, it's hard not to miss the way that, little by little, half his siblings are beginning to outpace him in size. While not particularly fast, his clumsy kitten paws not exactly lending themselves to precise maneuvers, he's at least got more of a chance than a head-on strength contest, where Luckykit's wiry frame does him no favors. From a roll, he attempts to launch himself at whichever sibling is closest, but the spinning sends him off course, ending with him right back on the ground, small paws flailing about in search of some sort of traction. His struggle to right himself is suddenly interrupted by a new voice not belonging to any of his family or his denmates, and he goes slack even as he still lies flat on his back.

Clearly, this new visitor is not their father, and even as Luckykit begins to sort through the short list of cats that he knows, Scorchstreak is already greeting her as Sootstar. The name seems to pass like a ripple through the litter, each of them processing their leader stood before them, and after a moment passes it's as though the spell holding him in place has dissipated; a frantic scramble later and he's back on his paws, though this time his limbs are held still, no longer bouncing about. Silently, he takes her in - while she's even smaller than he had imagined her to be, it makes her no less intimidating, and Luckykit edges a little closer to Scorchstreak, seeking the comforting warmth of his mother. Of course, they would all have to meet her eventually, and the rest of the Clan as well, but he'd never really put any thought to what that entailed, naively ignoring the idea in favor of focusing on one day at a time.

Scorchstreak tells them all to say hello to Sootstar, and he snaps to attention, glancing first at Scorchstreak and then back to Sootstar. This moment seems...important, at least to Luckykit; after all, their leader likely had plenty of other things to attend to, and yet she was choosing to take time out of her day to come and meet them. Idly, he wonders if this is something special, if they all were something special in Sootstar's eyes, and the thought bolsters his confidence, if only by a small amount. Straightening up, he quickly knocks away a few stray strands of moss as Scorchkit introduces herself, and in that moment he is eternally grateful that his sister had been the one to begin the introductions. "Hello. I'm Luckykit," he greets next, trying not to let his nerves get the better of him. "Thank you for coming by," Luckykit adds, hoping it's the right thing to say to make a good first impression. Even though he's still just a kit now, he wants to impress her, to show her that he'll grow into a strong warrior one day, or at the very least to not displease her at their first meeting.
[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]
 
The peace of earlier moons has left them entirely. Frostkit is glad for the change, and intimidated all the same. He's taking to it slowly. Some of his siblings seem more eager than he. Scorchkit, less so. Like her, the black and white tom is not currently stationed for battle. Though he plays at times, or takes a passing swipe at Luckykit's ears, he is currently lounging across his mother's shoulders, his face resting in the denser fur at her nape with his eyes partially closed. It is already warm in the nursery, but the closeness of her heartbeat is more comforting than the warmth or the wind, or even the sound of his littermates' play.

Given a few more moments, they might have fallen asleep at their perch. The rustling of their mother yanks that course of action from him, and with a sleepy, "Mrrp?" Frostkit lifts his head. Pale, bleary eyes take in the shifting of light at the nursery's entrance, and all at once he is fully awake. Seriousness swamps him. Despite his nearly comical pose across his mother, and shifted about by her own straightening posture, Frostkit looks unblinkingly upon their leader and becomes at once a statue of precision and maturity. Or...so he intends. The image is somewhat ruined by age and a lack of experience with the world. Even still it is an admirable attempt, and...probably definitely better than what Luckykit manages. Glancing down to his other, smaller littermate, Frostkit immediately wants to leap down and begin grooming his fur. Had he missed a little piece of moss? Oh no.

"I'm Frostkit. Can we ask you questions?"
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  • ooc:
  • frostkit. named for his coloration, and in memory of tigerfrost.
    —— amab nonbinary, he - him - his; will soon add they - them. kit of windclan.
    —— badgermoon x scorchstreak. sibling to rumblekit, luckykit, and scorchkit.

    frostkit is remarkably average, all things considered. he is of the expected size and shape, if perhaps a little blockier with his father's influence. his black and white pelt is short and scruffy, and his eyes are the expected kitten blue, if a shade lighter than what is typical.
  • "speech"
 
"I'm Rumblekit." The fourth and final kitten announces themself in response to Scorchstreak's introduction of Sootstar, pressing their pelt to Frostkit's in a show of comfort towards their littermate. For a moment, they're quiet, studying the leader through little flicks of their eyes. She's shorter than Rumblekit had imagined, expecting someone closer to their father's height than their mother's, but the way she carries herself makes a little part of the kitten's mind agree that this is what a leader should look like. It puts them at ease, enough so that they ignore Frostkit's venture on politeness in favour of delving directly into curiosity.

"Mama named me after Redrumble; are you named after anyone, Sootstar?"