camp TENDER SMILES | intro + story sharing

[Swiftclaws]

Swiftclaws had always thought he'd like a good chill running through his pelt especially when he ran but not the kind that left his teeth chattering and shivering; no amount of trees or cover could hide them completely from leafbares rage. If leafbare was a cat he'd come at it paws blazing and give it what for that was for sure, send it packing so newleaf could return and bring with it warmth and plentiful prey. As lame as it was he couldn't fight the season he could only lash his tail and impatiently wait for the brunt of it to pass but man he was getting real tired of the way things were. He needed a nice full belly, warm moss for his nest and a good nights sleep that was for sure and so did the rest of the clan. There wasn't much he could do about it but do his best to bring whatever slim pickings he could find back to camp to those who needed it most; and as the wind and snow grew worse the less lucky he was and Swiftpaws always wanted to say he was one of the luckiest toms out there! Well he'd had no look today real shame seriously but he kenw better then to overwork himself, he'd let other warriors take his place out there on the frozen marsh but he certainly would not sit idly by counting his ribs nah that wasn't his style. If he was here in camp with no chores to do he'd find go make some good company, give a little morale boost to his clanmates. Sure it didn't fill their bellies but it passed the time to babble on and on about whatever they had on their minds, and Swiftclaws had quite the talent at that! Warm hearts were the second best thing weren't they, he'd say so.

❝Anyone wanna join me in sharing some stories, you can bet your tails I got some fun ones to share today!❞ his loud meow is a hard thing to ignore, he doesn't doubt he'd get a few takers - maybe some would take his lead as well ad offer some of their own. He's sure some of the kits and younger apprentices were dying to hear tails of Shadowclans exploits when the weather was more fair - he certainly liked listening to them speak when he was just a young newly joined scrap.
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( TAKE MY LEAD ; ILL SET YOU FREE )

 

[FLICKERFIRE]

Flickerfire pokes her head out of the warrior's den to see who's shouting now. She half-expects to see another cat stumbling around, yowling and bleeding from a wound inflicted by one of their Clanmates, but the tortoiseshell's eyes settle on Swiftclaws. A young fool, a new warrior with a big ego. She snorts and leaves the relative comfort of the den, if only out of boredom. Lying in her stale nest and pretending to sleep won't drive the hunger out of her belly -- and story time won't either, she knows -- but it's something different, at least.

She flops across from Swiftclaws with a half-reproachful, half-amused look. "Tell me a story, then, genius. A good one. For every second it's not funny, I'm gonna shove your face into the snow and see if you can breathe it." She begins to idly lick a forepaw, reddish gaze trained on the tomcat.​

 

[smogstar]

Smogmaw has since decided to refrain from dealing with shouting in camp. Last time he did so, the tabby smacked a child, received a scratch on the nose in turn, and had the medicine cat accredit his actions as the reason for her own defection. In the wake of that whole spectacle, he has vowed to keep his mouth shut for the sake of his own convenience. Never again—well, at least not for a little bit.

As fortune would have it, Flickerfire takes it upon herself to handle Swiftclaws. The fact that the lead warrior is actually conscious of the fact that she's an authority figure is commendable, really. He'll have to congratulate her later when he isn't busy holding his tongue.

After the slender tortie speaks her piece, Smogmaw stands up from his seated position over yonder and breaks out into a biiiiig stretch. He supposes there'd be little harm in passing the time, giving ear to whatever hogwash Swiftclaws is about to spew. An urge to smile wells up within him on his approach, though it is narrowly defeated; the she-cat's threat repeats in his mind, and as amusing as it was, he dares not to entertain it further. Her own ugly mug will end up in the snow if he dwells on the idea any longer.

Coming to a halt a respectable distance away, his eyes fall upon the younger warrior. Expectant, they are, but not confident. ​

 

[Magpiepaw]

Each plodding and heavy step from the nursery at the call sends him teetering in one direction and then the other, swaying from side to side and his nose brushing the snow underfoot as he catches himself with each stumble. Magpiekit had become even more gifted with keeping himself upright, now he only faceplanted occasionally but that had never slowed him down before; the kittens determination to get to his destinations was next to none. Today he heard the word 'story' whipped through the wind and it carried with it entertainment he was sorely in need of, not even his collection of trinkets could keep his focus right now and he craved something to invest his time in. Sometimes the truest struggle in life was having no time, but his was too much, the infinite expanse of it combined with no responsibilities to keep himself alive left him lethargic at times.
Magpiekit comes stumbling onto the scene, a prominent black speck on the snow, and as he gets closer he attempts to toddle past Flickerfire to sit closer to the joyous voice of the storyteller only to catch his paws on her flicking tail. Immediately he is face down in the snow again, upper body partially buried and hindquarters in the air; his tail twists into a question mark-like curl questioning its sudden new elevation. The kitten has learned to not wait for assistance here, cats often left him to his devices and so he fights and flails his way free from his frozen prison and lifts his head up sharply; snow spilling from atop his skulls where it had flattened his ears.
The stumble has not dissuaded him his goal and he continues onward until he is sitting directly in front of Swiftclaw, practically touching the blue tom's paws and head tilted directly up to gaze at him with blue-violet eyes round and unblinking.
​

 

[Swiftclaws]

// tldr: Swiftclaws embellishes a story of how he "fought" and outran a small dog

And here they come and he just can't bite back the big grin on his face, he shifts on his [paws as if already about to burst into a long winded excitable monologue on his adventures but he holds back for now would be a waste to start spouting them now before even his first audience member sat down. Flickerfire one of two of their lead warriors, and he can say he quiet likes her, she's strong for one thing and not the gloom and doom type that he often runs into, and she seems easy enough to banter off of if her words are anything to go by. He laughs, it's a hard thing to truly threaten the tom especially when a challenged was posed he always rose for every kind of task, especially the more competitive or dangerous kind. ❝Haha, jokes on you Flickerfire I can hold my breath for a loooong time❞ he purrs with a chuckle whiskers twitching with amusement, it was a acquired 'talent' something he learned from his father long long ago - didn't have to worry about your prey hearing you and running away if you didn't let out more then the whisper of a breath. He's half tempted to start now to keep the she-cat entertained but he hears more paws approaching and is met by the silent and stoic face of Smogmaw - he'd heard plenty of well his little incident but hey it was over and done with no use kicking up old stones.

❝Hey Smogmaw how goes it?❞ he's always been casual with those who are his senior, he saw no point in being stuffy and dipping his head and kissing the paws of those above him he was like that as an apprentice and he was like that now. In his eyes they were all equals were they not, just two warriors of Shadowclan there was something special about that to him. ❝Hope you're excited cause I'm just abouuuut to start❞ he revels in the spotlight, happy he has it for the time being and man would he bask in it. Impatiently his tail twitches he looks around to see if more are coming and whilst he has his head turned he can't see the small bundle of fur that is Magpiekit stumbling over his paws until he's right at the young warriors own set. He turns his head and looks down only to be suddenly greeted with the face of the frankly adorable little shadow of a kitten, he startles involuntarily surprised to be met with anything at his paws. He laughs paw coming down to attempt to ruffle the fur on top of Magpiekit's head. ❝Hey little buddy, you snuck right up on me❞ he chuckles mirthfully ❝You got skills kid, might even be as talented at stalking as yours truly❞ he winks with a grin and finally he decides it's time to begin to flap his jaw and spin his tale! He makes sure he's looking at his crowd as he begins.

❝Alright Shadowclanners where should I start, there's so many stories to tell! Hmm should it be the first time I was in a twolegs den.... Maybe even my joining nah not exciting enough!❞ he thinks hard tapping his tail against the ground before it suddenly hits him ❝Oh I know, i'll tell ya the story of the time I fought with a massive drooling beast; a real fleabitten hound!❞ he grins from ear to ear and so the story begins.

❝When I was out on my own after my old man and mom kicked me out of the den I went wherever my paws took me, no one could tell me where I could and couldn't go so I found myself in all kinds of places but one time i'd stumbled across this crazy place you may know as the horse place!❞ he looks down at Magpiekit again ❝Horses are these massive things bigger then twolegs, they got hooves that can squash any cat and they run even faster then I can! I know hard to believe right?❞ he's not sure if the other Shadowclanners know of them but he's certain the kit must be hearing of them for the first time.

He continues ❝So I'm catching mice there right, there's plentyyy of them there but most of the time you have to compete with these big plump barn cats and you'd think they'd be harmless but nah they got tempers especially after you insult them! Well they aren't what this stories about, the thing about horseplace is it's not just home to some twolegs, big ole' angry barn cats and horses no theirs some real danger there if you're not careful. Real dangerous and I live for danger❞ he smirks ❝There's dogs and one day while i'm getting my fill not paying attention one comes running towards me, he was really big and super vicious he wanted to rip my handsome self apart and I couldn't have that so I bolted but it gave chase barking loud like 'RAWRFF RUFFF'!!❞ he mimes the sound as best he can and its loud and if he hadn't gotten the attention he sought when he yowled the first time he had it now.

❝Well while I was faster I can't leap through walls so I got cornered in the barn and it caught up to me teeth bared❞ he shows his own to make the story feel more 'authentic' ❝drool going everywhere and as it's about to bite me I rear up on my hind legs and POW! Hit it right in the eye sent it hollering back but it still had me cornered I had no choice but to duck down and run beneath the belly of the beast! And boy did I run!❞ he puffs his chest out proudly ❝I left that barn and didn't come back, but I know one thing that dog still remember the handsome tom who clawed his eye! ❞ he finishes looking more joyous then he did when he started.

Conveinently he leaves out he fact the dog was only just a tad bigger then he was now, but hey they didn't have to know that!​

( TAKE MY LEAD ; ILL SET YOU FREE )

 

[Tornadopaw]

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

Tornadopaw enters camp after a long brutal day of training with Dewspider tired eyes skim the open expanse before falling upon the diminished fresh kill pile. Part of her debated whether or not she should eat before taking a nap but her thoughts are interrupted the moment she hears a loud barking sound. Quickly the girl's head snaps in the direction of the gathered crowd, huffing in relief to find the noise was only Swiftclaws reenacting a slobbering dog. With her attention grasped, she abandons the thought of food and meanders her way over before lowering herself to the ground. Long limbs fold underneath her body as she assumes a loaf like position, wrapping her tail around her curly form. There were moments where she found herself fully invested, slowly leaning forth as he described being boxed in a corner. Or wearing a lopsided grin when he mentioned socking the canine right in the eye just before fleeing the scene. As the story wraps up Tornado is tapping the tip of her tail against the snow covered ground, questioning. "Is the dog still there till this day?" She asks, breaking the silence of the crowd. ​

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

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[SHARPSHADOW]

† Sharppaw has better things to do than listen to stories. Especially, stories told by Swiftclaws, a warrior that she knew would never share anything for any good reason. Fun, he called it. It was a waste of time.

He was not listening. He truly wasn't. With a swipe of the tongue across teeth, she turns away from the fresh-kill pile, deeming it... too soon. Not her turn, yet. It wasn't her turn to eat. Ravenpaw nowhere to be seen, she takes the other bit of advice she's managed to pry from her clanmates. Fuzzy-minded, he reaches to think of Rainshade's lessons. Her crouch wasn't– was not horrible, but her tail was awkward against the ground, and her paws weren't always right. She would practice, and she intends to.

But he's stopped in his tracks by the sound of Swiftclaws barking like a dog. He thinks he nearly kills himself trying not to laugh. No matter what he thought of him, Sharppaw could not laugh– His chest nearly seizes. He feels like it's jumped into his throat. Rubber-black lips are bitten bloody. She doesn't even hear the rest of it. "W-wah?" Sputtered out just to lessen the awkwardness of it all, he thinks. With his wide-eyed stupor, maybe it'd look like he truly had seized, only in his udder terror at the story told... or something.​