pafp shredding the hills! | finding a sled

[SHREWTUFT]

things in windclan have been a little all over the place as of late.

poor nettlepaw had been torn to ribbons by an unknown assailant, their relationship with riverclan gone sour from the border skirmish, hyacinthbreath had been sent into exile and now everyone around her is coughing up a storm! for being a clan who claims to be in the good graces of starclan, they sure are getting a ton of bad luck left and right.

honestly, it was starting to feel a little depressing watching all this unfold so she decided an aimless wander around the territory sounded good. of course shrewtuft didn't want to go alone since two is better than one and after a quick scan of the clearing she spotted speckleclaw who she quickly approached and recruited to tag along with her. the chocolate sepia knew little to nothing about the red and white tabby aside from the fact that he came with that wave of rogues earlier but maybe this will be a good time to learn.

after a few good minutes of walking, something strange ends up catching shrewtuft's eye. just a few rabbit-lengths from where she stood lay an object she's never quite seen before, it was oblong and colored an obnoxious green and from what she can tell it was a little bit hollow inside as well. "woah, look at that!! whaddya reckon it is speckleclaw?" shrewtuft trills out in awe before taking a few cautious steps closer to give it an inquisitive sniff, it had the scent of twoleg but there wasn't one in sight. weird.

@tricky ​

[ penned by cobi ]​

 

[speckleclaw.]

Yeesh, if he didn't know any better, he would've thought he brought his horrible streak of bad luck right to the poor clan.

The snowy season was as vicious as ever, reminding him of past leaf-bares gone awry. Sam... Speckleclaw was no stranger to misfortune, having danced with death like the reaper was nothing more than a late-night run-in. He watched WindClan's woes silently from the sidelines, biting his tongue. In a month, some stupid skirmish got started over the desperation for a rabbit, a beloved member of the community turned on another cat and was banished for it, and the kids... many apprentices, some still with kitten fuzz, kept turning up injured or even mauled in one case. He cringed each time, reminded of the battered body he once knew as a sister ― he tried to avoid all the baby-faced warriors for that reason, too afraid of seeing anyone he recognized hurt.

Today, it seemed would be an exception. Shrewtuft spotted him in the crowd and singled him out; an easy task, considering the patched ginger hue of his fur. She wanted him to accompany her beyond the gorse walls. Though hesitant, he couldn’t really refuse, could he? Claw marks tearing through a soft brown underbelly flashed in his mind's eye when he looked at her ― yeah, he better go along, just in case.

Speckleclaw stayed relatively silent, allowing the young warrior to enjoy the peace outside of the always-busy camp. He could appreciate it too, despite the cold shooting up his legs with each new step across packed snow. Was this her first leaf-bare? Probably, though it'd be rude to ask. He was snapped from his thoughts by her call, and for a moment, he feared the worst. But she was fine ― in fact, she discovered something familiar. "Whaddya find?" he called back, distance having stretched between them when he was lost in thought. The red tabby trotted to catch up at her side, recognizing the strange object even more as it came into view. He didn't have a name for it to tell her, though he remembered watching two-legs perching themselves within its hollow space and skidding down hills, only to drag it back to the top and repeat for no apparent reason. A salmon-pink nose sniffed at the shiny material, checking how faint the scent was.

The smallest of smiles slowly dawned upon freckled features. They were on top of a particularly high slope... and when he looked over his shoulder, grooves in the snow from prior slides already existed. Maybe. It wouldn't kill them to have a break in all the doom and gloom, would it? Mismatched eyes flicked towards Shrewtuft briefly. "I've seen one of these before. It's for two-legs. But- check this out." Without further explanation, Speckleclaw hopped inside of the discarded object. He had hoped for a moment to actually sit down, but with his sudden weight, the sled shifted on the ice and slipped down the hill. The recruited rogue hastily pinned himself to the surface of the object, paws gripping the slick material as it accelerated down the hill. The wind ruffled his face fur and whiskers like nothing before, moreso than any sprinting could do. A short laugh escaped the tabby, not one formed from bubbling anxiety for once.

Just like that, his joyride was over when the bottom of the hill stopped the sled's momentum and he tumbled into the snow. Speckleclaw still grinned nonetheless, picking himself up from the spill and shaking out his fur. He circled the oblong object before finding the snake-like tether attached to its front, taking the handle in his teeth before wrestling it back up the hill. An arduous process, though he managed. Once back at the top, one paw reached out to pat the hard surface a few times, invitingly towards Shrewtuft. "Your turn, if you wanna. Don't worry 'bout falling or anythin'," Speckleclaw nodded at the warrior. "I'll push ya down." He had at least moved the sled to not be at a precarious angle, for a chance for Shrewtuft to adjust her footing. Whenever she was ready, he'd nudge the sled from behind with both paws to send it down the same slippery slope.​

 

[MALLOWLARK]

Well- wasn't this a doozy! Some weird thing- horse-but-not, prey perhaps, yet as sturdy as a tree. There- that was the benefit in frolicking among the Twolegs. You learned what these things did, which was some pretty smart conclusion as far as he was concerned. Speckleclaw flexed his smarts before them as if brandishing his claws, hopping atop the structure and managing to keep his balance perfectly as he slid down, down, down the hill! A raucous laugh left him as the fiery tabby went flying, like a stream of sunlight beaming down the moor. It was all he could do not to double over at the joy of it- for all the sights that he loved, new ones popped up daily!

It was so masterful how he managed I, manoeuvring as if he had wrangled the thing a million timed. And then to Shrewpaw an invitation was extended- to give her a go, to push her no less! Had his cackling not already become background noise it did then, like chittering birdsong. Giggles sent his steps woozy, like a bumblebee dizzy from pollen- and with a flumph of a noise he collapsed into the snow-sheet, covering his doglike grin with an inky paw. "Hah- oh, you'll go so fast, Shrewtuft!!" Maybe an obvious thing to point out, but he hardly cared, mind soon overtaken by the hilarious image of the sled breaking the sound barrier and sending the rest of them flying backward into oblivion. ​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[Coldsnap]

IM SCARED TO GET CLOSE AND I HATE BEING ALONE
I LONG FOR THE FEELING TO NOT FEEL AT ALL
THE HIGHER I GET, THE LOWER I SINK
I CAN'T DROWN MY DEMONS, THEY KNOW HOW TO SWIM

---

The sound of voices are what inevitably drew Coldsnap over, golden eyes catching sight of the group and joining them only because of the odd thing they were all standing around. He didn't trust very many twoleg things, and so leaving Mallow, Shrew, and Specklepaw alone with it felt irresponsible somehow, as if it would be his fault personally if something ended up happening to them even though he wasn't their babysitter.

He watched with only the vaguest of interest at the apprentice slid down the hill inside of the thing, gray shoulders tensing for a brief moment before realizing that the object was only doing just that- sliding down the hill. No hidden surprises.

With Specklepaw encouraging Shrewtuft to give it a try herself, Coldsnap made his way over to Mallowlark, the grinning tomcat giggling up a storm from where he'd collapsed into the snowsheet. He had no idea what they found so funny or even how they managed to grin like that at nearly everything they saw or heard, but by now it was something Coldsnap had grown used to. Hell, he didn't even hate Mallows company.

"Go down backwards, Shrewtuft." he challenged, the corner of his lips tilting upward into an amused smirk. There was little danger to be had even if she ended up wiping out on the thing, so worst case scenario she got a face full of snow.

---

windclan warrior - male - 12 months - a large, dark grey tabby with yellow eyes​

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