camp SALTMARSH AND SKYLARK \ scary stories for kits

[NETTLEPAW ♡]

Last to eat, of course... it was the Apprentice Way. By the bright, loud decree of the Warrior Code, no less! Nettlepaw wouldn't argue with it- to be a problem was to be like his father. To be a problem was to be disliked. But, but, it often meant he was saddled with a late bed-time. Time to wind down was after he'd eaten, after he'd helped feed everyone else... by the time he was settling down in camp, he became witness to one of Ferndance's little angels pitching a bit of a fit about bedtime. Seemed she wasn't too eager to retire, yet... still a-brim with energy!

It was quite cute, really- and, watching her, Nettlepaw couldn't help but smile. Not that it was difficult to smile. It was also not difficult to miss the gleam of desperation in the poor queens' eyes as they tried to usher Shadekit back into the nursery- and with that, the cinnamon tom decided he must help. Nothing but a bit of temptation to sort them out, right? Or, nothing but a bit of good-old-fashioned storytelling to scare 'em into behaving.

"Now, now, Shadekit..." he strode in front of them, ducking to their level. Sky-blue eyes gleamed with well-acted sincerity. "Don't you know that if you misbehave, Big Bad Granitepelt will get you?" A snap of the teeth, a gleam in the eye. Should work, right?

\ @SHADEKIT ​

penned by pin ♡​

 

[SHADEPAW]

Shadekit usually went to bed without a fuss. The nursery was warm, Ferndance's nest was cozy, and Shadekit's nature was typically easygoing. But, recently, Shadekit had been given freedom. Freedom to run through the camp, without a specific adult's watchful eye resting on her... and now she still had to end up in the nursery at bedtime. She would not go down without a fight. She felt like she still had something buzzing in her paws, a clarity in her head that did not signal sleepiness. She would not acknowledge that she usually felt that way around dusk, but as soon as her head hit that soft nest she would conk out. No, she was just going to ignore that fact, and continue skittering around, fur puffed up and claws scrabbling for purchase as she dodged a well-meaning paw that was trying to shepherd her toward the den.

"I'm not tired yet!" They protested, and then whirled around, bolting until they had to stop for breath. As they paused, tiny chest heaving from exertion, an apprentice stepped in front of them. Their head whipped to the side, looking for a quick escape, but they didn't run yet. Nettlepaw was speaking, and that was interesting. They turned back to him. Nettlepaw's rounded features were friendly, but the snap of the jaws was not. Their tufted ears twitched backward as he punctuated the end of his sentence. An effective move, but it would have been more so if Shadekit had a better idea of what he was talking about. Granitepelt was a name that was whispered among adults, going in one of Shadekit's ears and out the other. They had been spared the (quite literally) gory details.

"Who?" They asked, voice a breathy murmur. They had been told before that they spoke softly, and trying to catch their breath didn't help. Shadekit swallowed, and then chirped, loud, overcorrecting, "Who's Big Bad Granitepelt?" Well, at least Nettlepaw had gotten them to stop running.​

 

[BLOODWING]

Just as she was heading for bed, the large ears of the kitten picked up on something utterly diabolical - Shadekit refusing to go to the nursery! Ok, it wasn't actually that diabolical, since finding out that the world was bigger than just her mother's nest, Bloodkit had found herself wanting to explore all of it, but she had been blessedly obedient in terms of heading back to safety at the right times. She stood by the entrance waiting for the black tabby to be inevitably whisked back to the den when Nettlepaw began talking to her sibling, voice almost below a whisper from the distance she stood. The cinnamon tabby hopped closer, maw parted in anticipation of whatever the apprentice was going to say. Granitepelt. Copper eyes blinked incredulously, the name was familiar yet also a ghost, she would not be able to put a face to it, but she had heard it bounce around the nursery like a boogeyman before. Nettlepaw snapped his teeth and Bloodkit's spine arched to the greyscale sky, body turning sideways as they prepared to scrap with the other for the indignation. When Shadekit didn't budge though, neither did Bloodkit.

Shadekit was confused instead, just as confused as Bloodkit, but she had decided long ago that the 'big bad Granitepelt' was evil. She need not learn more. A singular paw moved in front of Shadekit protectively, assuredly - whatever Nettlepaw said, it wouldn't change her resolve. Bloodkit would protect her sibling from 'big bad Granitepelt' whether he was a giant badger or just some weird cat. "Sounds like a bozo! I'll bite his nose off," Bloodkit huffed, feigning being unimpressed.


​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

---

it seems that the awkward attempt at a joke from his own expense fell short. nettlepaw was coping as well as one could when they found of their dad was an insane murder, loyal to none other than the moors' falling queen, but they understood. their dad wasn't exactly the starclan candidate, either. even tried to kill them once. maybe more. they can't remember. but at least no one had to be a witness to that. no one except maybe serpentspine. poor kid.

"well that didn't work out very well, did it?"

they can't help the way the gently laugh, trying to get off some of the awkwardness that hung in the air. maybe it was for the best. maybe his name would be lost in the wind like a puff of dust... even if they did have a permanent reminder of their own failures upon their face.
​

 

[pipitclaw !!]

It might just be a story for kits but... this was a prime opportunity to learn something about the horrors of ShadowClan that had come and gone. Granitepelt sounded like an authentic name.. one of those clan-cat two-parters that Pipit would be granted at some point. The apprentices had taken to calling him Pipitpaw, which frankly, was a complete insult of his skills, even if he was on 'trial' for his prowess and shared their dens.

"Woah there," he chirps gleefully at Bloodkit's rabid eagerness to chew off noses, "Everyone knows the eyes are a better target!" Ignore that it is not child appropriate to be suggesting that kind of thing... hopefully he wouldn't be held responsible if the tyke decided to stab one of her siblings' eyes out.

"Who's Granitepelt," he asks in a hushed voice, leaning closer to Chilledstar to ask the leader for more insight. If anyone knew about that guy, it had to be them right?​

 

[NETTLEPAW ♡]

He'd gathered the attention of his subject- Bloodkit as a bonus. Pipit, and Chilledstar too, what an honour! Nettlepaw grinned at them, sharp and prideful, heart-marked chest puffed out. "Ah-ah-ah, Chilledstar, give me time," he told the leader, voice like the breeze. Oh, he wasn't done yet! The tale to scare them into sleeping... if it ha to be told, if they wanted to know, he would spin the web.

"Yes, listen to Pipit.. go for the eyes. But I'm afraid there's no fighting Granitepelt." He shook his head, solemnly. As he did it, it was easier and easier to pretend that he had never loved the cat he spoke of. That Granitepelt's blood did not lay in his veins. He grinned like the sun, and no one would be able to tell otherwise. He would be perfect, and loved, and loveless. "Now, some cats say he's just a scary story. But I've seen him! And he's pure evil. He'd eat kittens like you up for breakfast, and... ones who don't go to bed on time apparently taste the nicest."

Jay-blue eyes glimmered with silk-spun flare. Bite, he thought... turn tail, run away, and the queens could look to him with relief, and everyone in ShadowClan could be sure that Nettlepaw hated Granitepelt. ​

penned by pin ♡​