pafp SOMETHING I CAN'T HAVE [ code questions ]

beetlepaw

LET THIS WORLD EXPLODE
Mar 14, 2024
53
9
8
Beetlekit had been... patient, well, at least in his mind. To any of the warriors that passed that looked even a SMIDGE guilty about what they've done, green eyes narrowed and he huffed at them, sighs massive and needle-point like his tiny teeth. He was waiting for someone in specific, his ears wiggling this way and that as he tried to listen to scent her. Vision turned as his grandmother stepped into view, and the black smoke rushed to his paws, bounding over to her through the ravine. Little nose lifted up towards her, green eyes wide.

"Grandma, what happened? I know that warriors stole prey and that's against the code by why is it a code and why did they do it?" He spat out that question in a rush, tone impatient but understandably confused. To the kit, the code was the rules of life. It taught them how to live and breathe and exist, and Dovekit had been just as upset about this as he. Falconheart had tried to visit them, Stagstrike had tried to reason with them, but Beetlekit wanted it directly from the source. He sat perhaps not-so-patiently, his head still tipped up towards her.

// please wait for @HOWLINGSTAR to post!

—————---***I DON'T START FIGHTS BUT***————---

  •  
  • LH black smoke with green eyes. scruffy looking with a very solid build.
    3 moons old; ages the 16th every month
    tba orient. ; currently not looking
    child of BURNSTORM and ROEFLAME
    thunderclan ; loyal to FAMILY
    medium to befriend ; trusts family mostly, trusts little otherwise
    "speech", thoughts, attacking
    peaceful powerplay allowed
 
The tabby's face seems weighed down with exhaustion. With so much going on after her son's escapade to SkyClan, she feels she cannot rest. When will a warrior break the Code next and get their whole clan into trouble? What reparations will she need to constantly make to keep the peace? Ah, but those are thoughts for another time, for when she sees the dark-furred kit bounding towards her all worries melt away. "Hello, Beetlekit," She purrs, leaning down to touch her nose to his in greeting. A visit from any great grandchild of hers is always a blessing.

His questions come as a surprise to her, but perhaps they shouldn't. Of course word would travel fast enough for the kits in the nursery to hear; queens do love gossip. Her kin's curiosity is endearing, if not stressful for the leader who so badly wants to forget the ordeal. But she recognizes this as a learning opportunity for Beetlekit, and so she swallows her weariness and sits down for a lesson. "Well...it is a code because many moons ago, WIndClan crossed ShadowClan's borders and started a fight. This law was put into place to protect every clan. Because of it, we must respect borders." She pauses, pondering how to explain the next part, and decides it would be best to not delve too deeply into it. "All you need to know is your clanmates had the clan's best interest at heart. Hunger...is scary. You haven't experienced it, and I pray you never will." But I suppose that would be naive. He will live through many leaf-bares. "They wanted to feed their clan, so they hunted on SkyClan's territory. They will not do it again." Simple as that. She swipes her tongue over her great grandson's head and mews, "Do you understand?"
 

Tension surrounding the warrior and apprentices that's broken the code had been thick over the last few days. To her dismay, her brother had taken part in stealing prey from their neighboring clan and while she was happy with the notion of food at first she's unsure of how to feel about it now. Flamewhisker was unhappy and to a degree, Scorchedkit feels the need to mirror the ginger queen's attitude. But when she looks at Falconheart's mopey face it makes her sad. From what she understood he'd only wanted to help but his willingness cost him. The tortoiseshell ambled through camp wearing a disgruntled expression, struggling to sort through her emotions when she noticed Beetlekit making a beeline towards Howlingstar.

With her interest piqued, Scorhedkit picks up her pace to reach her denmate in time to overhear his question and the tabby leader's answer. Mismatched ears twitch and swivel as Howlingstar presents her answer, settling down on her haunches with her tail covering her paws. Hunger sounded as if it drove cats to commit atrocious acts. A frown deepens across her maw as she chimes in next. "Are we overeating miss Howlingstar?" Scorchedkit asked with a slight shuffle of her covered paws. She was always delighted at the sight of food, but never once stopped to think about how hungry anyone else might have been. This realization made her wonder if she was being selfish in the past. "You can have my food if there's not enough. I don't want anyone to be hungry." She concluded with her ears pressing tight against her skull.
̶̶̶̶  «̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ «̶ ̶̶̶   thunderclan kit / four months / she/her  ̶ ̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ »̶ ̶̶̶  
 
Much like their brother, Dovekit had been curious as to what exactly happened. They knew that a code had been broken and knew of some of the cats that had done the breaking, they even knew that there were cats that were upset with those that had broken the code and so Dovekit had tried their best to be upset with them too but still they couldn't understand. When Beetlekit moved to Howlingstar, staring up at the leader to ask his question Dovekit found themself moving closer to listen to the answer that their kin would speak ears pricked as interest was piqued.

"Is it bad?" Question would be asked, ears pinning to their head as soon as it was done. "What if it does happen again..." She'd said that it wouldn't, and Howlingstar was smart so it wasn't going to happen again right? But how did she know that?

  • --
  • 80849671_MHf3ynWKukM6Dxa.png
  • DOVEKIT - GEN 4; ROEFLAME X BURNSTORM
    -- afab ;; they/them ;; thunderclan kitten
    -- sibling to littlekit && beetlekit
    -- lh chocolate silver lynx point
    -- stubborn && questions everything
    -- speaks in bolded #96b6a6
 
*+:。.。 Wrathpaw's large ears settle uncomfortably down along the sides of his head. Despite being a few fox lengths away, he catches every word.

When everything had happened, Wrathpaw admittedly hid for as long as he could behind his ignorance. He'd figured that if Raccoonstripe had led a patrol there - if Wildheart had specifically had Wrathpaw join - then what they'd done couldn't possibly have been bad. But watching everyone get reprimanded, seeing Fallowpaw and Skyclaw's injuries, watching Howlingstar walk with an added weight so clearly visible on her shoulders...Wrathpaw found it more and more difficult to justify his part in everything. He felt...embarrassed now, having defended Raccoonstripe knowing now how little he actually understood.
Now, as he listened to Howlingstar explain it all to Beetlekit and the rest, Wrathpaw sat with the lump in his throat heavy enough to squash down any further excuses. He'd done a very bad thing. A bad thing that, by Howlingstar's words, had led to an event so fierce the whole five clans had decided never again to repeat it. And yet, he had.

They will not do it again. Wrathpaw flinches, curling in on himself as he resumes clawing at the mossy nest he'd been tasked with cleaning. To think, he'd only just begun his apprenticeship and already he'd done wrong by his leader. "Do you understand?" Although the question was by no means directed at him, Wrathpaw felt his heart twinge with misery. Yes, he wanted to mewl pitifully, but he understood...

"Are we overeating miss Howlingstar?"

Although Wrathpaw wasn't much older than the kits present, Scorchedkit's question sends daggers shooting through his gut. He knows what Howlingstar's response will be, but his head hurts that she'd even had to ask. Looking back on his moons as a kit now, scarfing away only what he pleased and secretly playing with some food items when no one was looking, he can say with certain that he'd overeaten. Now, he sits on the other end of the stick, eating last after the kits, queens, and elders, no longer being allowed to unabashedly scarf down whatever his maw touched despite having put in the effort to learn to catch it himself.

He doesn't want the kits to think they can't eat to their fill...
But as he spits the clean moss he's gathered to prepare new bedding, he can't help but wish it was meat between his teeth instead of a dry plant. He wishes he could've had a bigger breakfast than he used to get. He wishes he could look forward to a consistent dinner instead of having to deliver the best food to the nursery first and waiting for whatever scraps were left at the end of the day. He especially wishes that, while he ate, he didn't have to hear the grumbling bellies of warriors more patient than he - his youth giving him the privilege of at least eating before the older warriors, sometimes at the cost of one of them going without any food at all for the night.

He shoots a somber glance at Howlingstar, a question of his own now balanced timidly on his tongue. How hungry was Windclan when the code was made? he wants to ask, though he doubts he has any right to. And what happens if this code means we're to stay hungry even when across the border they have plenty?.

How worth it is it to be good by the clan if it's the good guys who are the ones hurting the most?.




  • GENERAL:
    Wrathkit
    DMAB— He/Him
    6 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
    Brother to Lovelight, Joywing, Giggle-
    Thunderclan — Kit
    Mentored by Wildheart




    COMBAT:
    Physically easy | mentally easy
    Attack in bold #4a59ff
    injuries: None currently
 

New leaf is meant to be a time of peace, of full bellies and more than abundant prey. But ThunderClan's heavy influx of kits meant that there were more mouths to feed and not enough paws to feed them. He works tirelessly in this endeavor. With no apprentice of his own, he does not need to spend time training and any free moment he gets he finds himself out in the forest, hunting as much as possible in order to catch his kits their next meal. It was a tireless job, one that never seemed to end and he knows that in green-leaf it would only get harder. He does not complain though, it is a warriors duty, after all. A fathers, too.

Admittedly, he agreed with his uncles line of thinking. SkyClan could more than feed themselves, and if they were ever hungry couldn't they all just go eat twoleg food with the kittypets? He doesn't dare bring it up now though, not after everything is said and done and squared away. He listens to his sons question from where he lays nearby, his tired limbs begging for rest and protesting when he forces himself to stand and head over to the small forms of both Beetlekit and Dovekit "Of course you're not overeating Scorchedkit" he says as he approaches, fluffy black tail waving in greeting "You all need the prey you're eating to grow, don't worry it'll be okay" At least, he hopes it will. "If it happens again, it'll be taken care of" he assures, bumping his shoulder gently against Dovekit's and flicking Beetlekit's flank with his tail his children should not have to spend time concerning themselves over such things. In fact, their only worry as far as he's concerned should be over what game they were going to play later, or what story their mother would tell them at bedtime.

  • 73593410_oSE7LuZcU8tOnrY.png
    BURNSTORM THUNDERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR ; HE / HIM ; BROTHER TO MORNINGPAW, MOONWHISPER, HOWLFIRE, FIREFLYPAW, SKYCLAW & DUSKBIRD ; MATE TO ROEFLAME ; FATHER TO DOVEKIT, BEETLEKIT, AND LITTLEKIT
    A large, sharp tongued, tom with long black fur and golden, oval shaped, eyes.
    Difficult in battle. A skilled fighter + fights honorably
 
Beetlekit's ears twitched as a crowd gathered. He knew he was asking an important question, and so his chest puffed up and chin lifted gently. Dovekit and Scorchedkit were close as his head turned towards them, vision lifting back towards Howlingstar. And he listened intently- asking the question was just as important as listening to the answer, right?

Eyes widened gently at the story. He did not interrupt, but a frown did pass his face. Howlingstar's soft promise that they wouldn't do it again seemed to satisfy, as Beetlekit nodded in understanding. "Yes, I understand." His mouth parted to ask his next question, but Scorchedkit beat him to it. Green eyes shifted towards her with a small nod. His typical energy had waned at the story- it seemed even this situation weighed upon him.

Dovekit asks another question, once he wanted to know the answer to- but dark pelt akin to his own was approaching. His vision lifted to his father, and he twitched his ears in thought. "Taken care of. Punishment?" He asked, though his tongue suddenly tasted like it was made of sand- was there not enough food? Even at his father's reassurance, ears did lower gently in thought, frowning to himself.

—————---***I DON'T START FIGHTS BUT***————---

  •  
  • LH black smoke with green eyes. scruffy looking with a very solid build.
    4 moons old; ages the 16th every month
    tba orient. ; currently not looking
    child of BURNSTORM and ROEFLAME
    thunderclan ; loyal to FAMILY
    medium to befriend ; trusts family mostly, trusts little otherwise
    "speech", thoughts, attacking
    peaceful powerplay allowed
 
Howlingstar nods down at the young tom as he confirms his understanding before her attention shifts to Scorchedkit. Her face softens with pity. "No one is overeating," She echoes her grandson, glancing at his face in an attempt to read him. He hadn't seemed all too upset about the situation, and she wonders if given the chance, he would do the same as his uncle. Her eyes trail down to the kits again and she frowns a bit. She doesn't want them to be thinking of such things...it's too stressful for such little minds.

"Just...taken care of," She repeats Burnstorm, leaning down to nuzzle Beetlekit's cheek gently. She looks to Dovekit and Scorchedkit, eyes filling with something unreadable. Hearing stories of code-breaking isn't what she wants the clan's kits raised on, but she can't stop word of mouth. She draws herself up to her full height again and purrs, "The Warrior Code is here to protect us and keep the clans safe. As long as we follow it, we will be in StarClan's favor and everything will be alright."
 
WE WERE PLAYING IN THE SAND


he talked about this briefly with gentlestorm but now he wants to talk to howlingstar. he doesn't wanna interrupt her when she speaks but she she says makes sense. it is a valid worry, right, to think that maybe they're overeating if other cats are going hungry? orangepaw would galdy give any cat that needed it a piece of prey. he's becoming a good enough hunter. slowly and surely he's getter better and better. if only he could focus to actually catch anything, then he would be a great hunter! even now thinking about the code, and cats going hungry, has him thinking about other things. was his mom hungry? maybe he should bring her a squirrel or a bird or something like that!

"starclan's favor? whats that mean?"

he smiles gently as he tilts his head comically to the side. he doesn't understand what that means but it seems to be a good thing if howlingstar talks about it like that. he hopes he can win their favor!