camp Selfish Giving || taking prey to the nursery

[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
FOUR MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

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Part of him is being selfish. Greedy. This was his very first, real catch. A robin, so fresh that it had not yet gone stiff. It was still warm. And as the boy trots back into camp with head and tail high, he's suddenly reminded that he can't even eat it. Not according to the so-called warrior code, anyways. The rest of the clan probably won't even realize how important this is to the boy. He had been bringing in crowfood for weeks, claiming it was fresh-kill. Of course they wouldn't know how special this robin was. But as blind eyes dance toward the nursery, Nettlepaw starts to feel the creeping poison of bitterness as it seeps throughout his mind. He wanted to celebrate his catch. Instead, he'd be giving it to Apricotflower and Hazecloud, and the other Queens and their kits inside. He tries not to look sour about it. Nettlepaw wants to be a great warrior of RiverClan some day, and that meant following the code. It meant keeping his clan-mates safe and fed, even at the cost of his own belly. It meant bravery, and sacrifice.

But he still can't help the irritation.

Nevertheless, Nettlepaw makes his way to the nursery, his fresh robin clamped in his jaws. Darkwhisker and Foxtail hadn't caught anything, which meant that it was up to Nettlepaw to make sure the kits got fed a fresh meal. He stops at the mouth of the reed woven den, milky eyes piercing the shadowy depths within. Dropping the feathered bird at his paws, he speaks into the darkness, "Hazecloud? Uhh... Bitekit? Anyone in there want a fresh meal?" Nettlepaw inquires, and he silently hopes that nobody answers. It's selfish of him, he understands. Perhaps the cold of leaf-bare was getting to the youth, or perhaps he had always been this way. Many in RiverClan called him prickly and volatile for a reason, after all. Was his reputation that of a porcupine in a cat's skin? Add snow and food scarcity on top, and it was a recipe for disaster. For now, though, Nettlepaw keeps his bitter temper to himself. At least for those inside the nursury, the robin meant more than just mere food. The feathers would warm the nests of those within, or serve as toys for the kittens to play with.
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[BITEFLOWER]

bio ₊˚✧ ﾟ. He's been rolling the mossball around the nursery lazy, having spared all his energy on exploration, venturing the camp as if the sights aren't deeply familiar to him. The need to keep his paws moving is satiated for the day. When the apprentice enters the nursery, Bitekit descends from who knows where to stake his claim, moving with surprising speed. The brawny kitten pounces on the bird. "It's mine!" He taunts the occupants, tail swaying high above his head.

"Nettlepaw caught me something last time too." Preening in the opportunity to prove himself the best, he lords over the apprentice's catch. The last prey he's claimed as his own from Nettlepaw has had his stomach churning, but armored by his pride and unknowledgeable of the nature of the first catch he pays little mind. He's fully comfortable in obtaining bragging rights, his mother leaving to go to the dirtplace giving him little reason not to otherwise. "This one will taste good too." He lies, as if the last capture didn't leave something bitter in his mouth.
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[valesight ➶]

⸙͎｡˚⋆ ⍋ ѧѦ ѧ⍋ ⸙͎｡˚⋆

Valekit cannot help but quirk his brow slightly at the loud, over-eager lunge from Bitekit towards the snarky apprentice that had come to deliver more food to them. It hadn't smelled particularly appetizing but... maybe he was just being picky? He'd only been weaned a moon or so ago... Bitterly, the sweetness of that would be sorely missed now that his teeth were too sharp and his mother gone. He shrugs slightly at the loud announcement of newfound ownership before looking to Nettlepaw. "You catch more?" He is blind... that much is obvious (though Valekit admits he is impressed by how much the sour apprentice gets done in spite of that)... would this be easy enough to replicate or maybe it would be another moon before Nettlepaw could bring in prey. Valekit would be an apprentice already by that point surely... Would he already be catching his own food?​

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[Nettlepaw-]

NETTLEPAW ♂
RIVERCLAN
APPRENTICE
FOUR MOONS
BLIND IN BOTH EYES
BIOGRAPHY AND TAGS
APPRENTICED TO PIKESPLASH
PLAYED BY SHEOGORATH​

---

Bitekit was certainly eager, but that wasn't unusual for the youth. Nettlepaw isn't much older, though he can't remember getting so excited over prey. He thinks it's because he became an apprentice a moon before leaf-bare, when food was still plentiful, and there was no ice on the river. Either way, tufted ears pick up the sound of Bitekit pouncing upon the robin, proclaiming it as his own, before bringing up the previous catch. Ears flatten for a moment as Nettlepaw recalls, rather guiltily, the crow-food he had allowed Bitekit to eat before realizing it could make cats sick. He's glad for a distraction when the voice of Valekit fills his ears.

"No. Just the robin." Nettlepaw admits with a flick of his feathery tail. "I'll try to catch something on my next patrol." The boy assures. He wants to demand that Bitekit share, but truthfully, that would be a losing battle.
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