camp THE CITY IS A JUNGLE (story) YOU BETTER TAKE CARE

[butterflytuft]

"Legend has it that the tigers didn't even have stripes once upon a time." Butterflypaw crouches outside the nursery, forepaws crossed as she begins to spin a tale. This is her favorite place to be, where she can entertain kits and help the queens out with whatever they may need. The clan's kits are gathered round, and even some older clanmates have stopped by to listen in. Once, the tortoiseshell might have hated the attention, but these are all cats she's come to know and care about over the last couple of seasons she's spent in the clan. She doesn't mind one bit if they want to listen to a story.

"They were large and menacing, but only golden in color, not a speck of black on them. Looking so plain, they became jealous of the other Clans. LionClan had flowing manes like the sun that seemed to glitter when shaken. LeopardClan had their spots that looked like giant black pawprints speckling their coats. Their jealousy of the other Clans' uniqueness caused them to grow bitter. They avoided the other Clans whenever possible, only ever hunting at night so as to never be seen. But Thorntooth, a TigerClan warrior, took it too far." She pauses, blinking wide yellow eyes at her captive audience. "He stole fresh-kill right from LeopardClan's camp in the dead of night, when no one could see him. And after that, he even stole Petalkit, the daughter of Goldenstar, LionClan's leader!" Another pause, for she wants to give time for those listening in to react. Specifically, she looks across the kits' faces, whiskers twitching idly.​

 

[ThistleBack]

Teeth thrum over the grooves of withering pine bark, two large paws crossed to steady the chewing apparatus Thistleback busies himself with. Butterflypaw had begun her story, the nursery chimes with the thrilled whispers of kits as they bustle quietly to hear better.

A tale of clans and war, over the jealousy of coats. To steal prey and even child. Thistleback chuckles to himself around the stick being ripped and splintered bit by bit in his jaws. She had come a long way hadn’t she? Thistleback would be proud of her but it wasn’t his place. All the apprentices nearing their warrior’s ceremony, his own kits apprentice ceremony. He hardly felt like he was getting older but he must’ve because the reclusive, shy, and softspoken Butterflypaw was telling stories to a crowd.

Though numb to most tedious feelings, he felt- happy to actually witness the progress of his clanmates. To see the otherwise troubled or worried sorts, for once- living freely in a moment. Not caged by their minds or emotions.

" Eve… Prickle…Want to come listen to Butterflypaw’s story my little scorpions? " he murmurs as he spots his daughters, flicking his tail to invite them over. His heart pangs a bit to see them growing up, to have spent just a little more time with them as kits.

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OOC INFO REF

• — @eveningpaw @Pricklefern.
  
  
• 
  
  
  ✧ T H I S T L E B A C K
  thirty-three moons
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan
  — taken by
  Deersong 9.29.22
  — mentoring quillpaw & snowpaw
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

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[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar watches his apprentice crouched just outside the nursery, her forepaws crossed and her posture reposed. She begins to spin a story, and he draws near with his ears pricked. He's heard of LionClan, TigerClan, and LeopardClan from Little Wolf. She'd told him her own mother had spun the stories for her and her siblings when they were all kits, and he'd been enthralled. Imagining cats bigger than dogs, with enormous fangs and long claws. Cats with golden manes, rippling tabby stripes laid over coats of fire, spotted with darkness.

He blinks at Thistleback, who calls to his daughters to see if they want to listen to Butterflypaw's story. His heart twists -- Fireflypaw and Howlpaw are so busy with their duties now, one training to be Clan's next medicine cat and one becoming a fierce warrior. And he can't help but think of his kits in ThunderClan, alienated from him.

And the unborn children... He closes his eyes against the rush of sorrow that batters against him. His days of sharing tales with his kits are over. When he re-opens his eyes, he gives Butterflypaw a vague smile to indicate he's listening to the tale, but the joy has been snuffed from his eyes.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[SILVERSMOKE]

Sometimes, it was difficult to believe in an era full of large beasts. The names had to come from somewhere, yet if they were as grand and as idolised as the clans made them out to be, surely they would still be alive. Silversmoke couldn't imagine what had to capacity to kill such creatures - it was with a mixture of fear and wonder that he imagined meeting their killers one day and doing what the old clans never could. He was distracted by the thought as Butterflypaw told her story, blinking out of his arrogant daydreaming as paws shuffle close to him. Thistleback and Emberstar move towards the narrator, one of whom was calling his own family over. There was a pained look towards his paws for mere moments before he settled his two-toned eyes onto the apprentice, paying more attention to the latter half of the tale. Stolen freshkill, stolen kittens, vanity, jealousy. The corner of his lip curled upwards in a cynical smirk, weak in execution but backed by a quiet scoff. "You've just described the modern clans." He pointed out, though not to be critical of Butterfly's story. It was interesting that, no matter how many moons had passed, cats were destined to remain the same thieving, jealous creatures they'd always been - not that he was any better.



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[butterflytuft]

Butterflypaw lifts her gaze to see her mentor smiling at her, and she offers one in return. It's easy to notice the lack of light in his eyes, though, and the sight causes her own smile to falter. But there are eyes on her, she must continue. Blinking away from him with a mental note to approach him after the story, she giggles lightly in response to Silversmoke. "I guess so," She trills bashfully, still unused to holding the attention of a small group. The girl licks her chest fur down to get over the rising embarrassment within her before shifting her position to continue telling her tale.

"Shadestar, TigerClan's leader, was very unhappy to hear his warrior did such a thing. He called an immediate Gathering, while the sun shone down on all of them instead of the moon. When all three clans gathered, Shadestar returned Petalkit to LionClan, but the other two clans were angry. As punishment, they banished TigerClan to the shadows for one whole moon. When the clans gathered for the next Gathering, TigerClan arrives with their golden coats stained with darkness. Black stripes as dark as night sliced their bodies, as if letting everybody know of their misdeeds and the punishment they endured. From then on, the tigers were all born with stripes, and their pelts were no longer plain."

She sits up, eyes expectant as she peers around at her clanmates. Did they like the story? Bored with it?​

 

[APPLEPAW!]

"POWER OF A SMILE"​

The tales relating to the clans had always mesmerised the likes of Apple, and today she was being treated to stories about some old clans named after ancient big cats. With eyes wide with wonderment, she sat there with mouth formed in an 'o' as she hung on every one of Butterflypaw's words. She could barely contain the squeal building within her chest as the story of TigerClan reached its conclusion. "Did... did the other clans accept TigerClan after that? How did LeopardClan get their sp-spots and how did LionClan earn their manes?" More than anything she just wanted more stories, it couldn't end there!​

- ★ -​

 

[eveningsun]

eveningpaw was admittedly not too interested in the story until thistleback prompted her to join. still, she trotted over with a grin and took a seat close to the spiked tom, shifting her weight to lean into his side.

despite her former reluctance, eve quickly became overtaken by the story. her pale eyes were wide as butterflypaw spoke tales of theft, kidnapping, and banishment. being banished to darkness for a whole month would probably drive her insane. soon the story had concluded, but the tortie still found herself waiting for more. she was almost relieved when the kit, apple, spoke up asking more questions. ​

[ FALLEN STAR ]​

 

[GREENEYES]

His older sister twists words into a story worthy of a crowd.

Greenpaw merely settles within it to listen to her tale and to give her support. A story of TigerClan, LionClan, and LeopardClan is enthusiastically uttered by Butterflypaw. An ending of stripes caused by darkness and shadows. The apprentice glances down at his own stripped fur at that - markings not blackened by shadows but a darker orange instead.

"Is that how we have stripes too? The shadows?" he asks, crooked tail thumping against the ground. What did that mean of ShadowClan then, who lived in the shadows, surely more of them should have ink-black stripes then?

It's a story, Greenpaw reminds himself. One he's probably too old for now, though the way his sister tells such a tale makes it almost sound of fact.

Apple asks of the other clans, and how they had gotten their traits. Greenpaw glances over at the kit, then at Butterflypaw, pondering the idea.

"Why don't we have big manes?" Greenpaw asks, trying to imagine himself with LionClan's features. Heavy fur around SkyClan's faces - it would certainly keep them warmer in leaf-bare, wouldn't it? "I think it would be cool to have one of those."
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[Orangestar]

Oh, she remembers these stories. They were a bit different when Orangeblossom was a kit, scattered and informal and borne of individuals and not Clans. TigerClan has a nice ring to it, she thinks as she settles next to their leader - a sentinel at his side, silent and attentive. Butterflypaw is a good storyteller, she notes; that might be useful for corralling the kits in future. At the very least, one of Maeve's little ones listens with rapt attention and promptly asks a generous pawful of questions at the end.

"LeopardClan fell in the mud, I think." She offers a rare joke, quiet as a breath, to Blazestar. She calls, louder, to Greenpaw; "Some cats have a lot of neck fluff, Greenpaw. Do they count as manes?"​

✦ ooc ✦ info

•  
• 
  ✦ orangeblossom, deputy of skyclan
  — mentoring eveningpaw.
  ✦ 26 moons, she/her
  ✦ fluffy white and ginger cat with brown eyes. torn left ear, scar on right foreleg. injured!
  ✦ bi, single. @ on discord for plots.
  ✦ "speech" — thoughts

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[BASILPATCH]

Upon Butterflypaw's call, Basilpaw would immediately come as if following a siren's song. Truth be told the young tom loves stories, though he had not heard one in a very long time. Gardenia used to tell him and his siblings stories, once. He knows she had, he has vivid memories of his mother's voice, calm and gentle, regaling him with tales of heroes and villains. That was before the great battle. Afterwards, Gardenia never seemed to want to tell him stories anymore. And now she was gone...

He tries not to think of his mother as he listens to Butterflypaw's story, he focuses on the tortoiseshell's words, and damnit he cannot help it, he begins to tear up. Not because of the story, no. Thoughts of his mother are what make his eyes water. Quickly, he wipes the tears away with the back of his paw, trying his best not to let the rest of his clan see him cry. They already knew him as the over-emotional baby, he did not need rumors to go around that he cried about a story about Tiger Clan, even if that wasn't what he was crying about. "That's a beautiful story Butterfly" he says quietly, clearing his throat before she spoke. He does his best to smile but it falters ever so slightly.
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