SHUDDER IN SURPRISE — arrival

[EERIENIGHT]

As moonlight flickers into ShadowClan's camp, darkness calls the marsh-dwellers to their nests.

It's a regular night for ShadowClan. Warriors return to their nests after a hard day's work. Apprentices file into their own den after parting ways with their mentors. Queens gather their kits back into the nursery after a day of play. All is normal - a routine repeated with every night that passes.

As the nightly march to their nests proceeds, a tom-kit finds himself fast asleep in the nursery, curled into the warmth that comes from mossy nests. A perfectly normal scene.

That is, if the kit belonged to ShadowClan's ranks.

With an inky coat of fur, spider-like limbs, and batty ears, the peculiar kit appears nothing like ShadowClan's youngest. Faces that the clan had gotten used to, known by name. Faces, the young tom didn't fit in with - an unrecognizable face, nestled into the nursery as if he'd been there all his life. He sleeps where they sleep, curled beside other kits, despite his presence within thorny confines being non-existent, mere hours before.
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[Tornadopaw]

If you don't like me, that's your problem

Tornadokit is rattled awake when another kitten rolls over on their side and their paws hits her across the face. A low, disoriented hiss explodes from her ebony maw as she lifts her head to glare down at the still sleeping culprit. Groggily she pushes herself into a seated position where she uses a single dark paw to wipe her face. There were so many other youthful bodies that the nursery often felt very cramped. The smoky female blinked once then twice, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. However, she did not expect for her senses to pick up on a new scent amongst mass of shadowclanners. To her knowledge she had been the only "new kid on the block" along with her siblings Snow and Typhoon. So to pick up on a new smell so late into the night piqued her curiosity.

Icy lemon eyes scoured over the twisting limbs and lumped bodies until eventually she spotted him. An ebony kitten much like herself excluding her smoky undertones and curly coat. Tornado's gaze narrows, masculine jaw clenching as she mulls over the thought of how he even got here. Lifting a paw, and not knowing her own strength, she aims to prod him rather roughly awake, lowering her head just a smidge in the process. "Hey. How'd you get in here?" Or better yet. "Who are you and where'd you come from?" She asks while placing her paw back on the ground.​

When I let it bother me, that's my problem​

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[GHOSTPAW]

Ghostpaw woke up at night, sometimes. He liked it a lot more than the day. It was never too bright and it never burned. And it was quiet at nighttime. Everyone was too snoozy to talk lots. There were owl noises and crickets to play with... Night was nice. But it was nicer when- when cats weren't being noisy...

Tornadokit doesn't have a good inside voice. Ghostpaw's mama would've scolded him for talking that loud... He pokes his head inside the nursery, pale face a bright spot against the dark walls of camp. There's someone new here. New friends are good... And- And Tornado isn't talking to them like a friend. "That's rude..." he tells her, though it wasn't mean-sounding. That's just what his mama would've told him You're not supposed to wake cats up either... Maybe she's too young to know... He looks to the new kit. Ghostpaw likes his ears. "Hi," he says. "You can... go back to sleep..." he tells him, blinking slowly.​

 

[fallenmoon]

Shes quite honestly a light sleeper, and its both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes she wakes up to a distant crack of a branch, an owl hoot, or even talking... Such as it did now. She rouses from her nest in a downward stretch, sleepily trotting over to the nursery where the voices were coming from. Ghostpaw is sticking his head in to the nursery, hes talking to someone about being rude and she herself pokes her head in.

She almost doesn't catch him. Theres a new child in the nursery and Fallens at a loss for words. "Wha- What?!" its all she can manage to get out as her brows quirk in slight fear of this child. How the hell did he get in here without waking anyone else up? "Uhm... Kiddo, don't go back to sleep, uh, like, I think we gotta get Pitch or something?" shes incredibly sleepy and its obvious the cloudy fog hasn't cleared from her brain. This child terrifies her, master of stealth and disguise.​

"speech"​

 

[GECKOSCREECH]

❝ holding it together with one loose string. ❝​

when fallenmoon departed from the den, the leaves that clung to the thin branches lf the bramble bush that housed the warriors would rustle against the movement before falling silent once again. in that period of time, eyes would blearily begin to open to the sight of curled bodies rising and falling with every breath. geckoscreech noted an empty nest in her peripherals but didn't really chalk it up to anything worrisome and slowly began to drift off into the comforts of sleep until small bouts of conversation touched upon her ears.

it probably was nothing but one could never be sure so unfurling from her position, geckoscreech found herself rising from the warmth of her nest and slipped passed the entryway of the den to take a quick look at what might be happening. the warrior wasn't expecting to see fallenmoon and ghostpaw sticking their heads in the nursery, talking in quiet voices about something. with near silent steps, she'd approach the scene from behind the two with confusion glittering in her eyes. "you two better not be bothering the queens and kits with all this poking around." she'd mew, stifling down a yawn that crept up her throat unaware there was a strange kitten curled up among them.
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[Brawlinglion]

"What's with all the commotion?!" Brawlinglion growled as she thrust her head inside the nursery, a scowl darkening her features. How was a warrior meant to get some sleep with all that racket going on? The calico lashed her tail to and fro as she squeezed her way fully inside so she could better assess the situation. Everything looked normal to her... wait, "one, two, three... there's one kit extra here", she thought suddenly as she locked her sights upon the latest addition. That was a new kit. "Did someone pop out a kit without telling us?" Or perhaps someone had taken it back and forgotten to inform the rest of the clan. The she-cat shifted closer, now intending to loam over the mystery kit. "What's your name?" She growled the words and made a point of flashing her teeth. She wasn't going to hurt them of course, she wasn't that cruel, but she wanted to make it clear that she wasn't messing about either.
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[EERIENIGHT]

Long limbs soon become uncomfortable in their curled-up position. The kit's legs stretch out as far as they can, and he rolls over in the process. Paws hit something soft, but he pays no mind to it, sleep hanging heavy over him.

His slumber is soon cut short as the world around him grows loud, as he's shaken awake.

He sits up quickly eyes wide as he looks around. He's quick to find the cause of the shaking, void-like gaze staring down at the new face, confusion evident. Who was this? Why was this?

The kit blinks, before looking around the thorny confines. This wasn't... He fell asleep somewhere else, didn't he? Or... maybe it was here he fell asleep? Just... now he's got... now he's got friends?

His confusion lingers as one new face becomes two - this one paler than he's ever seen, though seems much nicer. A friend. Yes. Friend urges him to go back to sleep, and he settles back down in the nest, slumber calling out for him.

But, sleep doesn't seem like it's allowed here. Wherever here was.

One. Two. Three more faces show up, and void eyes grow wider at the sight. Big friends. Loud friends. Angry friends?

The last asks him what his name is, and, the kit hardly knows himself. Hardly knows what a name is, even. But, the last one looks funny, face all toothy like that. He answers by copying her face, baring sharp kitten-teeth back at her.
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[snow]

Snow is fast asleep besides her sister, snoring as she normally does, until the irritating, grating noise of chatter wakes her up. The fury on her face as Tornado stirs and people begin to poke their heads in, its not normally seen on the tired kids face. She scrunches up her face, puffing out her cheeks in indignation, angry, pissed even! "Why does it matterrrrr....?" a drawn out whine leaves her mouth as she stumbles to her paws, shaking her pelt from the remaining moss. "It is SLEEPY time, you guys suck at this!" she stamps her paw against the ground, searching for this mystery kit that had everyone so worked up. Hes there, with ears just like the bats mama used to tell her about, she giggles, he looks funny!

She stumbles over her own paws trying to get to his side, where Tornado was. "Yeah, you can go back to sleep.." Snow echoes Ghostpaw before she settles down besides the newest addition to the nursery. "But-" theres a yawn that breaks her sentence. "You made everyone loud so now you gotta be my cuddle friend, mhm. Also, i'm Snow!" and so Snow settles down, places her head down on to her paws. This guys silly, she thinks.​

 

[Brawlinglion]

"Not much of a talker, hrm?" Brawlinglion wasn't entirely sure as to how to address such a situation, but she quirked a metamorphical brow in intrigue when the mysterious youth opted to copy her facial expression. Unfortunately the teeth of a young kit didn't match up to that of an adult warrior's own, but was oddly charming. Lifting her head up higher she then gnashed her teeth, snapping at air in a manner that seemed more playful than intimidating in a bid to see if the kit would repeat her actions. But it seemed as though Snow was far more keen with everyone to return to the realm of slumber. "Tell you what, we'll deal with this in the morning. I'm going to sleep here in the nursery by the entrance, that way our little guest can't flee before the dawn birds cry."
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[Tornadopaw]

If you don't like me, that's your problem

Indignation flickered within the depths of her eyes, squinting at the apprentice that thought it best to correct her despite his soft tone of voice. "I'm rude for questioning a stranger? How is that?" She thought that the clan was always careful of outsiders. The curly female's gaze then flickered about as more cats began to pour into the now cramped den. Tornado's head then turns in the direction of her sister, ears flattening slightly at the annoyance dripping from her tongue. She'd forgotten about how much Snow treasured sleep. "It matters because we don't know where he came from...he won't even talk to us." The curly kitten whispered to Snow who was now making her way over to the clan's newest arrival, snuggling up with him. A sigh falls from the girl's lips as she turns around, coming to stand by Brawlinglion "I'm sleeping with you then."​

When I let it bother me, that's my problem​

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[BONERIPPLE]

The commotion almost makes her ill and her gaze narrows tiredly as she leaves from the warrior's den. The look upon her face is easily discernable given how she walks with a stiff limp towards the nursery and all the noise that they are making. Some cats would like some sleep around here. With a frown still marring her muzzle she finally comes to see what everything is all about. A kit that does not belong here, a stray that has wandered into their domain. Of course. Shadowclan seems to be the hotspot for children, oerhaps because they have so many to begin with. She, herself, only has one child she considers her own for now and she hasn't thought about adopting another one yet. "I hope you all won't get any louder. It's just a kit, won't do us any harm. We will definitely figure something out when the sun comes."

Her gaze then cuts to the kit, almost biting before she merely suddenly sighs. She would carry them to the medicine den if she cared to go back to that place.​