pounce | hunting fireflies

[Addervenom]

Life doesn't discriminate

Evening shades bleed across the sky, allowing the first few twinkles of starlight to shine forth. An interesting glow catches the moorland prince's attention. One that flickers before vanishing just as quickly as it came. Gathering himself, Adderkit stands to his paws, lowering himself into his best hunter's crouch. His shoulders move like twin blades as he slowly stalks forward, carefully placing one paw after the other. The mysterious light eventually lands rather lose to his den mate's tail, but he would not allow that detour him from his hunt. Young muscles coil and bunch before snapping in a burst of speed and precision. Mismatched paws capture their target, effectively trapping the lightning bug underneath and by proxy, a portion of Whitekit's tail. "Don't move..." He murmurs, carefully manipulating the bug by inching its glowing form off of the ivory strands of the kitten's tail. "There." Adderkit voices with a fanged grin, learning down to get a closer look at the flickering insect. "Why do they glow like that?" He'd never seen a bug that can twinkle like the stars do. There is a brief moment where he wonders if these little bugs were touched by starclan. After all, why else would they shine the way they do? (@whitekit) ​

Between the sinners and the saints​

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[whitedawn]

In her short life, the ivory femme had developed a routine. Once the sun went to sleep, her energy would rise and she could be awake during the night. It was, usually, quite lonely. However, with Newleaf in arrival, it seemed nature was offering company. Of course, she hadn't noticed it, not at first. Her lilac hues were turned towards the sky as the twinkling stars glittered in existence when her ears twitched on reflex at nearby paw steps. She almost ignored it until a murmured request for her to remain still followed the weight of paws on her tail. Blinking owlishly up at the sky, she waited until it was safe to move to roll on pale paws. Blinking, it took a moment before Whitekit focused on the odd little bug that glowed almost in time with a heartbeat. "I dunno..." She murmured quietly. She was curious if any of the older cats knew. Before she could suggest it, her attention was drawn to another one of the.. starbugs -Is that what they are?- hovered near the tabby's ear. Inching closer, she raised a snow-hued paw gently to get it to land, ears twitching curiously. "Pretty.." She whispered. ​

[I'M BREATHING]​

 

[MALLOWLARK]

Lying spine-to-ground, supine and staring at the sky and the moving stars that illuminated it, for a moment Mallowlark let his distractions wander. Bugs with glowing tails, drifting aimlessly through the air. What point did they have? Everything on earth was placed there for some purpose, he was sure of it... for fireflies, was that purpose entirely aesthetic? Purely for observation- for kittens to get their first glance at beauty?

Idly, an inky paw batted at one... it was a half-hearted strike, and in truth Mallowlark could not tell if he'd even gotten close.

"You think we'd glow if we ate enough of 'em?" An abstract question, but so were most that fled from his maw. It was offered to the playing kittens nearby, their own conversation lightly touching on the illumination of these enigmatic bugs. He had no answer to why they glowed for Adderkit, unfortunately... but theorising was always vaguely entertaining, and hearing the often out-there guesses of those less experienced in the world was bound to blandish from him a chuckle. ​

☺PENNED BY PIN​

 

[HARRIERSTRIPE]

With hunting instincts growing, Harrierkit could not help but give in and squish as many as the flickering bugs with his paws. They were pretty much asking for it! Their lights-on, lights-off rears only made him more interested in hunting them down. No matter how many he killed he did not dare eat them, who knows what inside them made them light up the way they did!

His brother and Whitekit seems to be fixated on them too- in a less violent manner than he was (and with recent events that was quite shocking for Adderkit).

Mallowlark, a tom of mostly white but with sudden jet black paws throws out an abstract question. Harrierkit typically usually stays clear of the Tom when he can, but considering he’s right here… he’ll grace him in conversation. ”That would be silly” Harrierkit snorts, too “mature” to indulge in such kit-like questions! ​

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Spoiler: TAGS 🪶 02-23

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· SOOTSTAR, male — he / him
╰ ‣ 2 moons . pisces. ages on the 14th
╰ ‣ windclan kit . believes in starclan

╰ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells of the earth and dry grass , status — 100%
╰ ‣ blue and brown chimera . average sized WindClanner . yellow eyes

╰ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ESTJ-A ❝ EXECTUTIVE ❞ , Slytherin, Chaotic neutral
╰ ‣ self-reliant, loyal, disciplined, direct, impatient, unsympathetic, judge mental
╰ ‣ finds moderate difficulty in relating to others . can be cruel, but typically displays mercy

╰ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· WEASELCLAW x SOOTSTAR, sister to Windstrider, Sootchaser, Moorkit, Adderkit, Bluekit & Cottonkit
╰ ‣ nephew to Mintshade & Bluepool
╰ ‣ sexuality unknown
╰ ‣ apprentice to TBD
╰ ‣ poor fighter . poor hunter .
╰ ‣ will start fights . unlikely to flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.​

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[MOORBLOSSOM]

Reflections of the bugs' brilliant behinds would fluctuate across her fascinated gaze. She stares wide-eyed at the luminous display, her maw contorted into an ajar smile. Internally, her thoughts were as scattered as the insects themselves. How in the name of StarClan are they doing that with their butts, she wonders. Should she focus on her own butt, would it also glow? Above all, did they taste yummy?

Moorkit, unlike her siblings, does not give in to her innate violent tendencies and elects to spare the peculiar creatures' lives. The girl would instead mimick their movements, winding her back up into an arc and scuttling across the hollow on hurried steps. Short inky strands stand on end, which enhances her already-silly comportment. She bounces and bobs, and she skips and she twirls. A giggle tears into the night air as she imagines herself as one of the bugs, zooming through the sky above camp, doing bug things.

Unfortunately, her chaotic fun is quickly brought to an end. Tragedy strikes when viscid firefly juice squelches under a hastily-placed paw.

"Yucky! Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, gross!" she cries, though there's no use. No amount of protest will sponge out the goop from her fur. Trying to wipe it off in the sand only works it further between her digits. This is such a gross feeling, she literally can not even.

What was once an expression of joy has devolved into a distraught grimace. "Careful, guys!" she calls, earmarking Adderkit, Whitekit, and pretty much anybody who considered prodding the bugs. "These things are juicy!"​

 

[SPARROWBREEZE]

Such pretty things, flickering in the night sky.

Sparrow, like the rest of the kits she now shares a den with, has never seen the twinkling bugs before. Amber eyes watch with wonder. Stars. They're like stars, only closer, held in the form of little bugs - as if messengers from the sky. She thinks of her Ma, her brother - oh, how Kestrel would have loved to see these!

And, then, a paw blurs through her vision, and one less star floats above her head.

Her gaze widens to look at the dark-furred kit who'd swiped at the bug. "You hurt it!" she squeaks in alarm. Why? she wants to ask, but spares the question. Sparrow doesn't understand the need to hurt such a shiny, shimmering thing - it didn't look harmful, after all. Poor star.
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[DAZZLEPAW]

It was entertaining to watch kits seeing fireflies for the first time and now when newleaf was here they where gonna see them every night or so!. The fact they actually tried to kill them though. Poor bugs what have they ever done to them?. Sparrowkit seemed to be the only one who took empathy for them which was amusing for the tunneller to see. Her heart was far too soft for this clan life. If only she had been better fortunate to have been found by a skyclanner or a thunderclanner....perhaps her life would have been brighter giving her heart a chance to glow and thrive. How long would it take he wondered before she would have to turn her heart into ashes to fit into this environment or...would she break under it all like their former medicine cat had?. Only time could tell. In the meantime....

" Hey kids look at this!." Dazzlepaw jumped up on his paws as he dashed out deciding to try Mallowlarks theory out!. He started to jump in the air after the fireflies as he snapped his jaws at the bugs trying to catch one in his mouth he would continue doing this until he actually did!. Dazzlepaw then turned himself around to face the kits and grinned so widely that his teeth was showing and in doing so his mouth started to glow because of the glowing bugs he had in his mouth!.
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[BLUEFROST]

A lack of imagination does not hinder Bluekit's natural instincts. When the insects begin to flicker in and out of existence, their rears like a descending star, she watches every movement with careful eyes. Her paws begin to tingle, and she naturally drops to the camp floor, her tail wiggling behind her. It's Adderkit, though, who pins the squirming bug against Whitekit's tail. "Why do they glow like that?"

She has no answer, either. She's never seen an insect shine before -- she's never seen anything with that kind of light, except for the sun, the moon, and the stars. "From StarClan?" She guesses... but, no, that makes no sense. StarClan is for cats, not bugs.

Her ears flick at Mallowlark's approach. Instinctively, she moves herself away from him, closer to her littermates and Whitekit. She grimaces at his question. "You think we'd glow if we ate enough of 'em?" "I don't eat bugs," she tells him primly, tiny nose wrinkled. Harrierkit shoots him down too, too busy stamping the flies into mush in the sand for rhetoric.

Moorkit's squeal causes Bluekit some alarm. "Did it burn you?" She asks, her tone more curious than worried. But, no, her sister is only appalled at the squish of the bug's guts between her toes. Bluekit smiles -- a rare sight. "Wait, don't wipe it off. I want to see if it looks like the inside of prey."

Sparrow, that strange outsider kit from before, is alarmed that Moorkit and Harrierkit had smashed the bugs. Bluekit looks at her haughtily. "You don't know anything," she tells the barn cat primly. "Bugs do not have feelings. Only cats do. You cannot hurt a bug."

Distracted momentarily by Dazzlepaw's arrival, Bluekit watches with morbid fascination as he gathers multiple flies in his mouth and shows the kits his teeth. Sure enough, the trapped insects glow behind his displayed fangs. "Whoa...!" She inches closer to Dazzlepaw, face tilted towards him. Maybe Mallowlark is right? Impossible. You know what Mother says about him.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[whitedawn]

It seemed with the newleaf arrival of new creatures, it also called out to some other cats. Though it wasn't surprising, there was a limited amount of things one could do to entertain themself in the dead bareness of leafbare. Seeing most of her denmates out and about, along with Mallowlark and Dazzlepaw, was a nice change. It made sitting up at night not as... lonely. Her ears swiveled to and from, listening to the few conversations as she watched the glowing bug crawl across her paw before taking flight and drifting away again. Pink-hued orbs drifted to Moorkit, who was joined by Sparrowkit, and soon Bluekit, who had been lingering by her and Adderkit. She listened to Moorkit's fair warning about squishing them, Sparrowkit's brief bout of horror in response, and Bluekit's rather... snobby response. She considered it briefly before deciding to add her own opinion. "Killing them seems boring." She admitted quietly. "They're more interesting to look at than ants, and it'd be sad if they went away 'cause we killed them." She added, before her attention was drawn towards Dazzlepaw, her normally half-lidded gaze, widening in surprise at the sight. All while one of the glowing bugs glowed on and off while sitting on the tip of her twitching ear.​

[I'M BREATHING]​

 

[Addervenom]

Life doesn't discriminate

The flickering creature crawls alongside his single ivory paw before spreading its wings to take flight once more. Whitekit labels it pretty and in some way Adderkit does find them nice to look at. "Hmm..." The child's hard gaze follows the bug briefly before turning in the direction of his littermates. Harrierkit squelches them beneath his paws mercilessly and in a morbid way, the tabby enjoys watching the florescent goo splatter underfoot. But he refrains from preforming the action himself because he still does not know if these bugs hold some kind of connection to starclan. Moorkit squeals as she accidently smashes one between the digits of her toes and he simply shakes his head, listening as Bluekit addresses Mallowlark.

The kittens continue to exchange words, some even chastise Sparrowkit for feeling bad over some of the bug ill fate. Adderkit on the other hand glances at Dazzlepaw, brow lifting as they run about capturing the fireflies in their mouth. Before long he the apprentice's mouth is aglow, causing Adderkit to blink once with interest. Straightening himself, the boy tilts his head ever so slightly, expression shifting back to something neutral through his half-lidded gaze. "How will you get them all out without some of them climbing down your throat to choke you?" Adderkit mumbles cooly, remembering some of the adults whispering about the time Moorkit choked on a worm. ​

Between the sinners and the saints​

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