camp slow it down // fair weather & digging

[LUCKYPAW]

At first, Luckykit hadn't even noticed the change in the weather. The wind was something fickle, he had come to learn, and a day or two without gusts knocking him off his paws seemed to be par for the course, frustratingly enough. It was always sure to come back with a vengeance after it let up briefly, and so these past few days of the wind calming down had been met with bated breath and tentative enjoyment that he was sure was shared by his fellow clanmates. By now, he's almost convinced this weather is here to stay, with the sun beating down on his back and a comparatively gentle breeze brushing through his fur, serving as a reminder that though it's calmed down now, it could always pick back up again. Being able to freely move around camp without stumbling or dashing towards the nearest safe haven is a relatively new feeling for Luckykit, and even if it means he no longer has an excuse to hide away in the nursery, he thinks it's a pretty fair trade. Besides, it's about time that he started spending more time out and about and focusing on things that were important - namely, practicing digging. Ever since the demonstration led by Sootstar, he'd gotten the idea into his head that he needed to be better at it, to have more experience before his apprenticeship in order to be on par with the other new apprentices, and so he'd been trying to practice little by little, one hole at a time.

At first, it had only been scattered practice, considering he hadn't wanted the wind to blow his piles of dirt into anyone passing by, but these past days had been almost perfect to do a little digging. Even now Luckykit is situated as near to the gorse wall as he dares, attempting to find somewhere unintrusive and out of the way, both so that he won't disturb any of his clanmates and so that they might not disturb him, either. Methodically, he scoops up pawfuls of dirt, depositing them neatly behind him in a slowly growing pile, remaining ever vigilant for any stray stones that might ruin his day. He's improving a little bit, he thinks, though it's more that he feels a bit better and a bit more confident at the feeling of dirt coating his paws and sticking between his toes. After every practice hole Luckykit digs comes an intense grooming session, trying to remove every bit of dirt that clings to his close-cropped pelt, which is one (among many other) things he's dreading about apprenticeship. He's seen tunnelers, seen them fresh from the tunnels and even having been in camp awhile, and stains cling to them all alike, the earth leaving its mark on them. When he's an apprentice, it seems like there will no longer be any staying clean, his fur doomed to always be streaked with his work, and so he makes sure to relish his remaining days under the sun with a pristine pelt. For now, though, he's content with his stained paws tugging up chunks of the earth, mind at least trying to focus on the task at hand as he quietly expands upon his work.​

[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​

 

[WOLFSONG]

── .∘°°∘. ── It is certainly a relief that the land's vicious winds have eased. He knows that it means they should form a patrol and search for any signs of the warrior swept into the gorge, but Wolfsong still waits carefully for any sign that the great gales might return, scouring the skies. One warrior taken is more than they can spare in such a tumultuous time— losing several more would be far worse, and he thinks a little longer will not make too great a difference for their fallen clanmate. Awful as it may seem, he is very likely beyond help, and it's best not to risk more lives for the sake of retrieving remains.

He is returning from a hunt when he hears the shuffle of paws and shift of dirt. Wolfsong doesn't immediately investigate, first depositing his catch before trailing back to the outskirts of camp. That the cat responsible for the sound is a child does not surprise him— in fact, he would be concerned if he found a warrior digging within camp.

Approaching their deputy and lead warrior's kit, Wolfsong hums thoughtfully to announce himself. "Are you building a tunnel, Luckykit? Perhaps you'll stumble upon a den and make your first catch." He chuckles, the suggestion born of amusement. "You must be looking forward to following in your mother's pawsteps."​

WOLFSONG of WINDCLAN ROGUE TURNED LEAD WARRIOR (MEDICINE CAT IN TRAINING). 35 MOONS, HE/HIM, NPC X NPC PARENTS. BIO, PINTEREST, & PLAYLIST.

medicinal expertise med. part ii med. part iii med. part iv

• — ★★★☆☆ WOUNDS: You're (mostly) in safe paws. You'll know if he's less experienced if he asks for your permission to try a treatment. No wound can scare him away from knowledge. — ★★★☆☆ INFECTION: He can prevent most infections. If you feel feverish, let him know— he'll hum thoughtfully over herbs and sniff your wound before saying, "With your blessing..."
• — ★☆☆☆☆ ACHES & PAINS: If you complain to him of pain, he'll ask where. If it's a headache, you'll likely feel a bit better. For anything else, "Try this, if you'd like, and tell me how you feel." — ★☆☆☆☆ BROKEN BONES: At best. he can ask you to remain lying down in the den. He may try to distract you with conversation while he considers what herb to feed you.
• — ★★★★★ TRAVELING HERBS: Going somewhere? No worries; Wolfsong knows just what you need to stay hale and healthy during your journey. The rest is up to you. — ☆☆☆☆☆ KITTING: He doesn't remember what it was like to be born. Coincidentally, that is the extent of his familiarity with kitting. At least he won't leave you without moral support.
• — ★☆☆☆☆ POISONS: It's best if you avoid eating anything unfamiliar to you— it's probably just as unfamiliar to Wolfsong. The best he can do is offer you yarrow and sit with you. — ★★☆☆☆ ILLNESS: If it's white or greencough, you'll likely recover. Otherwise, prepare for odd concoctions and the usual request that you consent to a little trial-and-error.

​

 

[PEONYBREEZE]

✿ — Peonypaw wouldn't say, but his opinion on the strong winds has been clear as day - usual stoic expression replaced with a frown, eyes squinting against the dirt in the air, tail lashing in frustration. At least he's now old enough that being carried off his feet doesn't seem like a plausible threat, but given his small size and lanky frame, it means he shouldn't let his guard down too much.

At least it's finally dying down to a more tolerable level.

The small holes Luckykit has been unearthing were hard to spot due to the weather, but now his current project is visible even from afar. Peonypaw passes by the gorse wall and decides to stop by, peering down at the kit who's already starting to put his little paws to good use. Unless the warriors trip over a hole - but Peonypaw thinks these are a good way out of their legs to be a problem.

"Careful," he offers. "Don't get your pads scratched by the rocks." He clearly remembers the day he first tried to dig tunnels, only to pull away with a startled screech as pain flooded his leg and made blood flow, the pinks of his paws not yet used to such things.​

❝ I DON'T WANT TO RUN — JUST OVERWHELM ME ❞​

​

 

[SCORCHSTORM]

TAGS — Scorchkit, too, had despised the weather-- not only had it trapped her inside the gorse-walled nursery immediately after she'd gotten a taste of freedom, but it had also embarrassed her in her race against Hollykit. That event in particular is not one she looks on fondly. And yet, part of her feels guilty for it. After all, she lives in WindClan; should she not embrace each gust that sweeps her? It had been fun to find hidey holes with Luckykit as they explored the breezy hollow of camp while it had still been so windy, too. Maybe it wasn't all bad.

It seems that he's carving out more today. Scorchkit holds a similar sentiment to her brother: she wants to be a tunneler, and she wants to do it well. She'll obviously be a tunneler, because she takes after her mother in so many ways; her inherited broad shoulders and taller frame don't phase her yet. The flame-streaked girl trots after Wolfsong to find her littermate digging at the gorse walls, and her white-tipped ears twitch curiously. She wants to join in, though perhaps she just wants to prove that she can do it too rather than being helpful. She nearly stumbles thanks to one of his previous potholes, but the girl regains her composure quickly and joins Luckykit without a word.

It takes a few beats of quiet digging for Scorchkit to feel the need to speak. Her tunnel is markedly worse than Luckykit's is, even with the advice her clanmates are offering. The feeling of the dirt between her toes puts her off, too. How does her mother do this all the time? "Why is mine crooked?" Scorchkit asks, looking up to Wolfsong or Peonypaw for guidance. It's hardly a tunnel-- more a shallow divot in the earth --but she is already displeased.​

​

 

[Bluepool]

Bluepool does not quite understand the need some cats felt to bury themselves, to spend their days like moles and worms. No joy came to her from being trapped underground. No, it only made her think of her own morality and how someday her body would rest in the very same earth. No need too speed the process up and offer herself to an early grave. Still, she understands the need for tunnelers in WindClan. They were a vital part to the clan, just as a moor runner was and as she watched Scorchstreaks kits play around in the dirt and the mud, she can feel herself softening up a little bit.

She comes up behind Scorchkit to survey her work as the young tortoiseshell asks why hers is crooked. "I'm sure you'll get better with practice" she offers. She couldn't give the kit any pointers, of course, but if Scorchkit or Luckykit were anything like their mother she is certain they will turn out to be excellent tunnelers.

​

 

[SNAKEHISS]

❪ TAGS ❫ — Pupils slitted thinly like that of an agitated adder fix onto the sight of his clanmates fawning over and encouraging his mentor's spawns. How cute they were, dirtying themselves and making holes near the reinforced walls of camp! A bitter taste beads on his tongue, his the hairs on his pelt crawling at the very sight of the kits. Scorchkit in particular was a spitting image of her mother. Another litter descended from his superiors, destined to overshadow him and his achievements solely because of their blood. Snakepaw hails from a long-running line of moor cats, respected and known, but he finds frustration in the fact that it was practically all for naught in the eyes of Sootstar. Badgermoon and Scorchstreak themselves had been outsiders once, now ranked above the cats whose ancestors had dwelled in these lands for generations! The leader just wanted to hoard the notoriety for herself, his father constantly remarked to him in private, while she bulked her army with former loners and rogues.

Badgermoon was his mentor, his superior, the next in line for leadership. He was someone that Snakepaw currently held mixed feelings for; respect, admiration, but also a deeply-rooted prejudice against those born outside of the moors. At one point, the apprentice felt that if he could look past anybody's background then it would be his own mentor's, but his own ambitions and hunger for power only fueled his judgment. Now that Badgermoon had kits of his own to focus on and overlook Snakepaw for, he found himself distanced from the deputy.

Sootstar had allowed the kits to practice tunneling in a specified spot behind her den; now, they felt that they could uproot the dirt lining the gorse wall and make piles of soil everywhere! Ugh, those hare-brained little...

Everybody else seemed to be just fine with Scorchkit and Luckykit's little "practice session", but Snakepaw made it very clear how he felt with a curt criticism rolling off his tongue, "You'd better cover those holes when you're finished. There's plenty of them outside of camp, we don't need them in camp as well." A bunch of scattered, half-dug tunnels made by the impatient and eager kits of Badgermoon and Scorchstreak wasn't necessarily an aesthetically pleasing look for WindClan's camp. Plus, what if he were to accidentally step in one and trip? He could hurt his leg again!​

 

[LUCKYPAW]

At the sound of Wolfsong's approach, Luckykit's digging slows as he switches his attention over to the lead warrior's words. Glancing down at his work, a ripple of embarrassment passes through him as it's likened to the beginnings of a tunnel, though he's quick to shake it off. "Oh, I'm just practicing for now - I don't think I'm going to get very far. I don't really know all that much about digging tunnels yet, honestly," he admits, running a paw through the small pile of dirt he'd gathered so far. The hole before him didn't really look like much, certainly not anything of real importance, though the idea that Luckykit might stumble upon some creature as he practiced is equal parts exciting and terrifying. It would make for a great achievement, he's sure, but at the same time, it's not as if he has any idea about how to actually dispatch anything - the most he's done thus far is shred moss, which doesn't seem equal to prey at all. Wolfsong's last statement about being eager to follow after Scorchstreak momentarily throws him for a loop, the very question that feels like it's been rattling around in his brain nonstop lately.

A hesitant nod turns a little more fierce to punctuate his answer - "Y-yeah, I wanna be a great tunneler, too. Just like mom is!" The answer is clear, of course, and yet Luckykit cannot help the mounting trepidation he feels, increasing as he grows closer and closer to his apprentice ceremony. It feels like an impossible task to live up to Scorchstreak, who practically lives and breaths the tunnels, when he's still digging paltry little ditches about camp. A part of him worries that he'll never improve, either - that not only will he not live up to Scorchstreak's reputation, but he won't live up to his mentor's expectations, either, and that he'll only ever be a subpar tunneler, doomed to fall behind the rest of his fellow apprentices. Maybe if he would just grow a little bigger, he'd be a moor runner instead, though really it'd still come with the same issue, only this time with Badgermoon instead of Scorchstreak. Besides, despite his worries, becoming a tunneler still seems more appealing than becoming a moor runner; if he pretends, the tight walls of the tunnels sound like being pressed into the nursery, and he finds no such comparison for the undoubtedly open, expansive moorlands moor runners are expected to traverse.

Peonypaw's advice earns a much more enthused head bob as he slips back into motion. "I'm watching out for sharp rocks - look, I even picked one of 'em out! I made sure to be real careful," Luckykit responds, one paw pointing towards his mound of dirt where a small stone lies, half-buried. Searching for obstacles like that has really been slowing him down, but he supposes it's probably better than missing something and hurting himself; after all, then he wouldn't be able to practice at all, slow or not. Next comes Scorchkit, practically the spitting image of their mother, with the only thing that throws off the image being her frame, and though he had thought she was destined to be a moor runner because of it, the way she settles into place working on her own tunnel beside him gives Luckykit second thoughts. Perhaps her stature isn't too bulky to fit in among the tunnelers; after all, tunnelers had some sort of size variation, at least to a certain extent. Maybe she's just on the larger end, and she'll still fit in fine. Unfortunately, the work laid out before them doesn't exactly inspire confidence in that theory, he has to admit.

While Luckykit doesn't think all that highly of his own efforts so far, he has to admit that they're at least better than Scorchkit's. His experience is limited, but it's still at least a little more than his sister's - maybe that makes more of a difference than he had been thinking. Bluepool's suggestion that she'll get better the more she practices receives a nod as he turns his attention away from her work and onto Scorchkit herself. "I'm not sure why it looks different - um, maybe you just need to dig differently," he echoes unhelpfully, though it's only because he really doesn't know what other advice to give. In truth, he's not really sure if there are other ways to dig, or if that's Scorchkit's problem; after all, he's been digging in the same manner the whole time and it's been mostly effective. He only tears his gaze away from his littermate when Snakepaw speaks, growing more serious as he regards the apprentice's words. "We will. I'll make sure the ground's all patted down, and that there aren't any stones sticking out or nothin'." The last thing Luckykit wants is someone to trip because he left a mess behind, and he especially doesn't want to earn any more of Snakepaw's ire; the black tom always seemed prickly for some reason, and he wouldn't want to give him more of a reason to be unhappy.​

[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​

 

[PEONYBREEZE]

✿ — He's crouched between the two kittens, oddly finding the whole ordeal... almost cute? Is this what mentors feel when they take their apprentices out for the very first time and sees them tackle things that they've been doing for moons upon moons already? It's not like Peonypaw would feel confident enough to actually teach yet - but maybe a few pointers here and there wouldn't hurt.

He finds Snakepaw out of the corner of his eyes and rolls them for good measure. Luckykit is quick to brush him off but Peonypaw must chime in as well. "It's all out of the way to begin with."

A satisfied hum is heard when Luckykit presents the rock he's found- amongst the pile of half-hidden ones too."Nice work," he adds with a twitch of his whiskers, movement suggesting he's amused. It almost looks like Luckykit is determined to be on clean-up duty instead.

His attention shifts to Scorchkit, the kitten so very similar to her mother that it's almost like having the lead warrior around, just- err, smaller. Peonypaw ponders for a moment before adding his two cents. "Don't worry about it yet. It's easier to get the basic shape down and then start smoothing out the edges."​

❝ I DON'T WANT TO RUN — JUST OVERWHELM ME ❞​

​