pafp Stealth Mission || Hide and Seek

[Frostbite]

He was feeling better now, so it was time to actually play with his kits while also teaching them important skills. He lays in his nest with the tip of his tail thumping in thought... He hadn't been lucky enough to have someone to play with at their age. At all, really. It was difficult to look back on his own experiences for inspiration..... They were useless in this case. But Frostbite wouldn't give up, he thought long and hard about what to do and eventually, he figured something out.

Stealth was an important skill to know.

Knowing how to hide when needed, whether it be for safety or an ambush, was very important. It was easy for him to do in the mountains with his coat, and while the marsh wasn't the best place to practice digging into the ground to lie in wait, this is where they lived, and they would have to learn.

"Kits! We're going to play a game, okay?" he calls gently to his little worms. "We're going to play hide and seek...." He begins to explain, looking them over.

"I count to ten, and you have to find somewhere to hide before I finish! The only rules are to stay in camp, stay out of the medicine den, and make sure you don't trip anyone. Our warriors are very busy, you know." He continues with a smile.

He fully plans to be able to find each of them, but he'll pretend to have some trouble. He wonders if this game is a recipe for trouble, but reassures himself that it will be fine.

"Are we ready?"

(( @Wolfkit @GRACEKIT. @POPPYKIT Let at least one post first! ))​

 

[GRACEPAW.]

This game seemed easy enough, even with her lacking motor skills. All Gracekit had to do was hide really well, right? She stood up on her shaky little legs and nodded, a tiny squeal escaping her jaws. "Ready!"

When given the signal to go ahead and Hide, Gracekit glanced around the camp. Somewhere safe... Somewhere she wouldn't bother anyone. Somewhere in camp, somewhere that wasn't the medicine den. She thought hard about where to go, but there seemed to be one spot she could think of that fit all the criteria - in her mind filled with limited knowledge.

Slow, clunky steps made her way to her chosen spot, a spot she knew all too well, and a spot her father likely also knew all too well. Of course, she simply assumed he wouldn't find her there, nestled in the nursery and curled up in a corner, trying to make herself seem as small and hidden as possible.

"Speech"​

---

I CRIED IN THE SHAPE OF MY DREAMS​

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[FLINTWISH]

ShadowClan is full of kittens, but Flintkit is often the odd one out. It is certainly for his resemblance to his father, who is all unforgiving stone and sharp, flinty edges; and Flintkit is just like him, with his cutting gaze and cutting tongue. The other kits shy away from him, and so he shies away from the other kits, resolute in his isolation. If nobody wants to look at him, if nobody wants to speak with him, then he will simply make himself unavailable in accordance with their wishes. Then, when he shows them all up as ShadowClan's finest warrior (as ShadowClan's leader, even), they will regret their treatment. He will make sure of that much.

But when Frostbite orchestrates a game for his kits, Flintkit cannot help but overhear. Tentative steps bring him closer to the gaggle of kittens (ones that he cannot help but judge upon seeing), listening to the rules of the game. At least they would be staying out of the medicine den-- if he had to allow these kittens into his refuge he would certainly hate them for it. But he thinks he can abide by these rules, and so he declares his entry: "I'm playing, too." And when Frostbite starts counting, he hops away to camouflage himself.

Flintkit figures his gray pelt will blend in best with the gray stone of the Clanrock, and so he positions himself on the side opposite of Frostbite and sits in wait. It isn't the best hiding spot, maybe, but he thinks it will get him farther than Gracekit, at least. The nursery just seemed too obvious.​

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[SCREECHSTORM]

Younger than him, Screechkit thinks Frostbite's kits are strange. It's a simple, kit-like judgement, one brought on by the fact they weren't born around the same time as Forestshade and Starlingheart's litters - by their dull-colored pelts and odd names.

What even is a tarma -- termite... whatever, anyway? If Screechkit doesn't know, then Ptarmigankit definitely doesn't. At least Gracekit sounds more normal, though less than Poppy and Wolf, he thinks.

And, even if Screechkit is three moons old now and doesn't really want to play with a bunch of babies, Frostbite's call to his kits comes at a time of boredom. It's a brief moment of stillness, sprawled out at the mouth of the nursery, broken by talk of a game.

Dark ears twitch as rules are explained - no leaving the camp, no going into the medicine den. The usual boring stuff, but Screechkit still sees some interest in the game of Hide and Seek. Perhaps can use this to his advantage, somehow. He'd rather be out playing than taking part in his sister's favorite passtime of watching from the sidelines, anyway.

The boy rises, nearing the group as Flintkit announces he's playing as well. Bicolor eyes look over to a gaze further mismatched, and then up at Frostbite. "Me too," he states with an assertive nod of his head.

And when the warrior finally begins counting, the tom bounds off, moving to hide in the shadows behind the nursery's thorny structure. With such little time to hide, he thinks this will be a good enough spot - somewhere his dark fur can blend into; perhaps even more so when he crouches down to shield his sunlit markings.
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[POPPYGLOW]

( tags ) Poppykit had been busying herself with the testing of a hypothesis of hers that afternoon. Her Papa, for all of his numerous strengths and skills—being cozy, feeding them, being comfortable to sleep on—, was severely lacking in pigment. Shadowclan was full of cats of many shades, there was grey and brown and black as far as the eye could see, and yet Frostbite remained white as a cloud. Poppykit wondered if he came from a cloud, and that was why he was cloud-colored. In any case, Poppykit was perplexed by his stark whiteness and was currently attempting to remedy it by giving him some of her own orange-ness.

Ginger-socked paws kneaded into his fur determinedly as she worked with a soft hum vibrating tunelessly in her throat. After some time, tired feet were removed from the pelt of interest to reveal... nothing but white fur. How disappointing. Poppykit sighed softly at her failed project, but would, fortunately, find her attention captured by the words of her test subject.

A hiding game! Scratch that- a hiding and seeking game! What an interesting game Papa had conjured up! Poppykit could add that to her Papa's list of numerous strengths and skills, a good game-conjuror. A few of the other Shadowclan kittens manifested nearby to express their intentions to participate—a testament to Frostbite's tremendous game-conjuration skill, indeed—and they were off!

Poppykit had the same idea as the grey bitter-leaf-smelling kitten, bounding across camp like a red and white bunny rabbit. However, Poppykit had not the capacity to think of such cerebral tactics as camouflage and instead found herself hopping to a halt behind the unsuspecting body of a cat. They peeked their head to catch a glimpse of the nursery once more before settling into a crouch, and if the cat who had become her unwilling hiding place acknowledged her in any shape or form, they would only be met with a purr and unblinking stare.

"SPEECH"

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[Skunktail]

Skunktail was cleaning his paws, taking the time to chew the dried mud and grit from between his toes from an earlier hunt that had lead him right into almost chest deep swamp water in pursuit of a particularly springy toad. Said toad was not resting on the freshkill pile and begging for someone to swipe it up but he was lacking in any appetite at the moment so he just focused on his grooming until Frostbite wandered out to call to his kits. Pale green eyes lit up in amusement as he listened in and stood idly there as the kits all scampered off to hide, one such kitten wandering over to him and scooting around behind him as though he was merely part of the scenario and not an actual cat.
Poppykit, he believed this one was named, after the white tom's apprentice who had been lost during the horrible bear attack upon their clan. Skunktail resumed his grooming in silence, not acknowleding her and even raising his tail up in a curl at his back to offer more hiding cover from those prying blue eyes; if she remained quiet and still she'd not be found until Frostbite walked all the way around him.
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[Frostbite]

"Go ahead! Anyone can play." He says to Flintkit and Screechkit as they declare their participation. He smiles at Poppykit as she kneads his fur. He doesn't know her mission, but finds it cute all the same. "Alright, get ready!"

He covers his eyes and begins counting, making sure not to go too fast to give them some time to find a spot. When finally he reaches ten, he uncovers his eyes.

"Ready or not, here I come!" He calls. And so his search begins.

He gets to his paws and steps forward, scanning the camp for the players of his game... They seem to have hidden themselves well enough. They aren't TOO obvious, though he hasn't looked behind him yet. Gracekit remains undiscovered....FOR NOW.

A twitch of his ear alerts him to the sound of purring. Purring coming from the settled form of Skunktail, but it wasn't their purr... He walks towards him with a smile. "I wonder where they could be...." He wonders out loud.

Reaching Skunktail, he notices he is chewing his foot. "....Are you enjoying your foot??" He asks. His eyes look around him as he looks for signs of stowaways.​