pafp sails upon the wind ✧ bird-watching

[lichenstar]

⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆

---

What a cruel thing was the relentless progress of time... they had spent so long wary of the way the water levels were dropping, preparing to hunger through the winter with a river frozen solid in its depleted state... They'd already been aware of the threat of starvation, since even before the other clans had felt the grimy, greedy paws of rogues to make matters worse. It had come as a shock to everyone then, that by bolstering their numbers with the fresh blood of the Ripple Colony, they had not been strong enough to fight back even still.

Yellow-cough. That was the problem... it always came back to the mild-mannered cold that had become tantamount to a death sentence. When would the journey cats be home?? It had been nearly a moon since they'd left and with no way to be certain- had they died? Was there even hope of a cure making it back? It seemed pointless...

Flicking an ear passively to dispel the wicked thoughts that wandered so loudly in her headspace, the ashy molly gave a sidelong glance to the tom she'd decided to bother today. If nothing else, she could at least try to ease the fears of their newer clan-mates; this was not the norm, this displacement... they didn't have to be afraid of what it meant for RiverClan. RiverClan always bounced back... even when WindClan had been cowardly enough to attack them in the dark, in the cold... when they were without a real camp to call home... and they'd survived.

"I know we don't have a lot of birds on our territory but... SkyClan's got plenty," she meows, struggling to create conversation with what is essentially a stranger. "Did the Ripple Colony ever hunt birds or... did you stick to the water ways too?" Getting to know someone made them less of a surprise... or, as Hazecloud put it, every face was a new opportunity at a new friend. Whatever that meant...

Pausing with narrowed eyes at a particularly spry looking tree, the lead warrior flicks their tail in a wide motion before turning to her conversational partner, "Any good at climbing," the follow-up question comes but does not wait for an answer as the molly clatters up the bark with no small amount of effort. With a bit of a heave to the first secure branch, she lets out a big sigh before glancing down again expectantly, a twitch of her whiskers suggesting what goes unsaid, 'climb up here then.'


---- please wait for @KAEDE​

​

 

[DAWNSTORM]

die with memories , not dreams .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Kaede followed the lead warrior silently, observing the pine forest with a curious, deadpan gaze that came naturally to the dual-colored tom. It reminded him of the mountains, his mother had been alive then, barely hanging on until she slipped under, cursing his birth. He hummed mutely, helm cocked at the stale memory. He hadn’t thought of that for some time, not since they made the journey, taking refuge in RiverClan’s territory unintentionally. “Oh.” It slipped out, startling the male into pausing, blinking languidly at the faux realization.

His gaze shifted, blinking. “Alright.” He offered nothing else, observing the trees with piqued curiosity. “Some carried a full-grown cat.” He mused. “The birds.” He added, no crinkling. Was this how people clarified things? He hoped so. Kaede never was good at this. “I preferred hunting on land.” He then added. “Some liked to hunt in the water.” He rarely got into the water unless his father ordered him to, nearly drowning on some occasions, but he was relatively unharmed.

He figured he should offer some context. “My father would toss me into the water when I was younger. I think he was trying to kill me.” He mused, unbothered by the loaded statement. “I suppose that was his way of teaching me.” He turned, watching the lead warrior, unblinking.

Oh. He watched the other clamber up like the few SkyClanners he witnessed with such interest, and now witnessing a RiverClanner do the same. “You would make a good SkyClanner.” He didn’t mean any harm, simply stating a fact, before realizing he had forgotten to answer her question. “Alright.” It wasn’t a genuine answer, instead, he focused on the task before him. He rarely climbed, preferring to feel dirt beneath calloused paws, but he didn’t want to abandon a potential friendship.

With a determined flash of dual optics, Kaede began, hooking claws into bark and pulling himself up. He realized then that didn’t have the wanted results, slipping down quietly. He tried again, but instead of his front paws, Kaede stumbled his way up using his hind legs until he clambered onto the nearest branch, huffing, turning to observe everything from a higher advantage point.

“Do birds carry you off?” He turned, tone deadpan despite the curiosity filling his heart. ​

​

thought speech​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Evidence of SkyClan's abundance of avian life lay in the tousles of Twitchbolt's tail, a shock-streak of blue given to him by his mate. Though the gifting of it preceded their union, whenever he looked at it he warmed with the memory of their confession, their promise. Within him therefore lay a certain fondness for birds, their pretty plumage and what it meant for him. Maybe a selfish fondness, but it was a private one as well.

It wasn't purposeful of him to run into the Riverclanners- in fact, Twitchbolt startled when he set eyes upon them, and was unable to flatten his hackles completely. And he shook, of course- and it made him look cowardly and flighty, didn't it? He knew it, knew they'd judge him when they set their eyes upon it, but- despite the mounting anxiety and the tenseness that was rising in his throat, the blockade- Twitchbolt managed to part a quivering maw to talk to them. Or at least answer the question of the Riverclanner perched on a low branch. "Nnn-not the ones here," he murmured with a slightly mirthless chuckle thrown onto the end. He knew they existed, birds that could carry you off- oh, and if everything was going wrong now, wouldn't it just be a matter of time?​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[✧ Frondfeather.]

⸙​⚘ TOP OF ALL THE MOUNTAINS OR VALLEY LOW ⚘⸙​

---

frond & 27 moons & female & she/her & ripple colony ​

---

As much as frond adores kaede - and truly, she does - she doesn't thinks she'll ever grow used to the way he can so casual say such things. Honestly, if she could, she might've thrown his father from a cliff - blamed it on the birds But she can't, so green eyes simply shut for a moment as she breathes. Perhaps it's one of those 'family' things that she just... doesn't understand, being an orphan and all, but she's pretty sure it's not normal to try and murder your kits.

Instead though, the topic moves on, and she simply beams - she's rarely far from kaede, so she can't help but take just as much challenge is lichentails words as he does. "Wait for me - just a moment," she chirps out, voice gentle and warm - powerful limbs drawing taught as she backs up - taking to the skies with a running leap. She's always been more comfortable within the water than on land of course, but in the mountains she'd been an excellent rock climber - certainly, climbing a tree must pale in comparison.

movements are a bit clumsy as she works her way up, but she's beaming just as much as she's panting, tail moving to flick her friend upside the head as she settles on a branch above him - she can't let her skills be outshone after all, even if it's all in good fun. "That makes sense - I haven't seen many eagles down here," she agrees absently to twitchbolts works, hunkering down now that she's joined the conversation.

— give you everything you've been dreamin' of ⸙

• Actions && "Speech," && ' Thoughts/Quotes '
  
  ooc: —
  tw/cw: —
  
• 
  — sleek and sturdy looking she-cat with a muscular frame and striking green eyes. she holds herself proudly, shoulders set and tail arched - all in all, presenting a steadfast front to friends and strangers alike. despite her mannerisms, frond is often a gentle feline - though she will not hesitate to get her paws dirty in the name of doing what is right.
  
  
  — physically hard && mentally medium
  — non-violent powerplay allowed && healing powerplay allowed && minor injury powerplay not-allowed
  — please attack using [b][color=#674099]action here[/color][/b] and tag account

 

[APPLEFROST]

Applefrost appeared, not quite from above, but above in any typical SkyClan manner. Powerful hind legs balanced on the branch of a pine while her forelegs were bent, leaning along the curve in a half-rest. Pale blue sights watched the RiverClan lead haul herself up, another cat mentioning how she would make a suitable SkyClanner. The 'compliment' drew a mixed smile of emotions that could be edearing as well as cringing.

No, no. This molly would make perhaps an average SkyClanner at best telling from her tact in climbing the bark, her eyes not trained to find footholds or tell which parts were the strongest to grasp by vision alone. She does not voice this, though, as they are guests to her home.

"Unfortunate that we don't." Applefrost voiced in a dreamy sigh, her gaze not focused on any specific cat so much as the general area they gathered. "Think about what an eagle could feed, or even a hawk. Hmm... but if we could take down such beasts it might just be blasphemy." ​

 

[lichenstar]

⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆

---

Kaede is certainly one to have.. interesting... conversation. His words are simple, direct... it's not far different from her own usual talking but it never strays far from mention of his father. This father that proposes near-death experience as love. Lichentail's paws shift uncomfortably, trying not to think of the problems with her own parents (they were so far away now... it was fine to pretend they never existed surely) but a SkyClan lead warrior breaks the tension with an answer to a more reasonable concern. Birds, their size, the prey they choose. It wasn't completely outlandish to her, who'd lived most of her life as a loner with a half-starved family... being in Marsh Colony and RiverClan since have offered a security she didn't know she'd needed so badly and luckily, the territories had less nefarious predators than the open world beyond.

Kaede comments that her skills for tree-climbing are adequate enough to make her a SkyClanner and the molly can't help but scrunch her nose at the thought. SkyClan is plenty nice... that part, there is no doubting... and she does have a love for birds unmatched by her clan but.... Her eyes travel towards where the Twolegplace lingers in the far distance just beyond another border line. Kittypets.... filling their ranks? It seemed like they were watering down their clan rather than bolstering it.

Best left unshared, the compliment still stands. "Uh... thanks... I think?" Blue eyes flick to Twitchbolt and they smile softly, "I don't think they'd be much improved with my contributions though... I'd probably be pretty middle of the pack in comparison to those who do this daily." RiverClan does not house the kind of biome she'd need for any real, authentic, consistent practice.

"You both made it up here too, not something to be shy about celebrating... Though I'm sure our friends have some critiques they're politely withholding." Applefrost's awkward stance says that much. She's again kind enough to keep her lips sealed and instead explores the idea of larger birds of prey...

"It'd be impressive to take one down but I suspect more dangerous than it's worth... we do well enough without them and our kits are safer for it." Did this girl think of anything more than filling her belly? She must be new to clan life...​