camp the one with the prettiest of views | intro

[DOGSNARL]

Like a thundering storm, a jolt of pain woke the slumbering apprentice. The gray tabby jumped from their nest. Paws landing on the nest she had just been slumbering in and then sought a different place, leading her out of the apprentices den late in the night. It seemed only a few cats were awake at this time. Normally crickets were the only sign of life, but they had gone now. The only thing left was silence. It loomed over the apprentice like a dark cloud, leaving her within unending thoughts.

The now-named Dogpaw yawned, knowing that there was no going back to sleep now. Rubbing her bare cheek, the feline felt the stubble of fur grating against her pawpads. Maybe it would grow back…She had hope, but then again it had been nearly 4 moons since she had found herself in trouble with an unforgiving small-sized dog. So, hope was dwindling and perhaps it was because she knew. This scar would never allow them to grow back their fur. A scary sight for all to behold, right? Wrong. No, Dogpaw knew it was a sign of her hardship. It was a sign they had survived. A sign of a survivor. She wouldn’t let her appearance be trivialized over some scar she had.

With a huff, the apprentice scanned with her one good eye, trying to look for something to do while she waited for the rest of her clanmates to wake up from their slumber. The marred feline pondered, not sure what wouldn’t require interaction to complete. “Huh.” She mused to herself. “There’s nothing do to unless I was to wake someone up.” Maybe she’d get lucky and someone else would be awake too.
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SHADOWCLAN ✦ APPRENTICE ✦ 11 MOONS ✦ GREY TABBY​

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[hitch]

Most scars, even the most grotesque and gruesome, go relatively unseen in ShadowClan. He can't speak for the other clans, obviously, but in all his moons here, he can remember someone asking about his throat only once: the young Ghostpaw had simply been curious, nothing more. Even frazzled as he was, he cannot recall any disdain or disgust. True, the pale swathes of damaged skin are not the grisliest of sights, but for all their flaws, he thinks it is safe to believe ShadowClan is not so fixed on appearances. Why would they be, living in a marsh and gnawing on frogs and wearing mud as a second skin?

Maybe the last bit is more so Rosemire than most other ShadowClanners. Still, with leafbare just around the corner, he's sure he'll see more of them slathering it on in hopes of blocking out the wind.

"Might be another patrol you could join," Rosemire suggests after overhearing Dogpaw's spoken thought. He dips his head toward the camp's perimeter. "Saw one leave not too long ago, when I came back from a hunting myself. Frogs are uh...real uppity tonight." The night patrols are his best friend, what with his sensitive skin, but he still feels awful that his apprentice is forced to carry the same schedule. At least Comfreypaw is still alive to have a schedule. Silver linings, and all.
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[newtpaw]

Prone to waking up, a light sleeper, Newtpaw is up and about rising from her nest in the apprentices den, blinking the blur out of her eyes. She wiggles to shake the drowsiness of sleep off, her paws immediately taking her to the nearest felines when rising to consciousness. "I'm awake!" she approaches the duo, eyes squinting with sleep, bright eyed despite being sound asleep not too long ago.

The excitement for conversation comes easily. "Frogs! They're really fast." prone to stating the obvious she does it nonetheless, eager to talk as much as possible. "What did you catch?" She asks Rosemire. Her own hunting is sloppy, but that doesn't stop her from enthusing about the accomplishments of both herself and others. She takes a seat nearby, curling a tail around her paws. A patrol? "I hope so, that would be cool be fun, wouldn't it?" This time the question is direct at Dogpaw.
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[Frostbite]

You know who else is awake? Frostbite. Night patrols were his specialty, there was no sunlight to hurt his eyes and if he checked the borders, he could do so without squinting. He is a creature of the night, just like all the other creatures in this marsh. So when he hears Rosemire speak of a night patrol, he readily chimes into the conversation.

"I could take one out, if you'd like. Was about to head out myself." He says.

He smiles at Newtpaw. He's quickly fallen to the charm of innocence the younger cats have ever since becoming a father. "Yes, they're very fast. That just makes the hunt more exciting!" He says.

He looks to the two apprentices. He'd be happy to take them out, but he'd like at least one more warrior on the patrol to help keep an eye on them. All sorts of things come out at night, including dangers hidden in the shadows. He will not be negligent when it comes to the safety of their apprentices.

"How experienced are you with night hunting?" He asks them. Its a good thing to know, after all.​

 

[NETTLEPAW ♡]

ShadowClan never slept, not really. The night was late but eyes flickered open all the time, and Nettlepaw was no exception. What past experience had made him a light sleeper, he didn't know- the slightest noise flickered his eyelids open, and a snow-capped head was lifting from its resting place to seek out the source of it. Bored apprentices, that was the answer- and Nettlepaw felt drawn to the problem. Experienced in the art of being a bored apprentice, of course, he was sure he could help...

Night hunting was the answer that hung in the air, though- suspended like fog. Hunting, hunting, hunting- it made sense, of course. Leafbare and all that. Nettlepaw had to wonder, though, if all he'd be doing for the rest of his life was hunting.

"Oh, Newtpaw's one of the best hunters I've ever seen," Nettlepaw encouraged, the worse slipping easily from his mouth. Past his smile, past the blank look of mild happiness in his eye. It was very bold-faced exaggeration, the humour in which the cinnamon tom did nothing to downplay. Might be fun though to make this conversation about anything but just hunting, hunting, hunting.​

penned by pin ♡​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

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"if forestshade wasn't stuck moping around camp, i'm sure she'd quite disagree with you, and say that she is the best hunter you've ever seen. maybe even make a joke."

sometimes they miss those days. of their lazy apprentice turned focused, the way she could easily hunt with a bit of guidance before she got the hang of it. she was blind, yes, but she did not that define her or what she did. hell, she even had kits of her own. chilledstar could have learned a thing or two from her, surely, if they weren't so damned stubborn in the first place.

"do you want to go on a hunting trip? perhaps we can have a bit of a competition and the winner gets the biggest frog all to themselves."

they know of the code. elders and kits should eat first. and they would get the second best, that was for sure.
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[DOGSNARL]

Dogpaw was overwhelmed by the amount of cats that seemed to come out of nowhere. Rosemire seemed to speak to them first and it was a nice idea. Soon Newtpaw, overly chipper in Dogpaw's opinion, seemed to be talking a mile a minute, then finally asking if it would be nice if another patrol was going out. The marred feline nodded. "I suppose so." Then Frostbite, the lead warrior, offered to take a patrol out. The gray tabby feline smiled in their own way, a soft gaze and a small smile. "I'd like that. It would be nice to stretch my legs." The apprentice, nearly warrior aged, cat answered his question. "Night hunting isn't something I'm terrible at." Truth be told, her mentor had yet to take her night hunting. It wasn't something Dogpaw knew how to do. So, this was her time to get versed in hunting at night. However, she was great a hunting in general. So, she couldn't foresee it being a problem at all.

The feline flicked their tail and looked between Nettlepaw and Newtpaw. They couldn't tell if it was friendship or not, but Dogpaw was intrigued by their relationship. However, she would rather not get involved with such ideas. It had been a while since she had actually had a friendship. Perhaps it was time to be more social. Since the dog attack, Dogpaw had distanced themselves. Truth be told, Dogpaw wanted to protect themselves. But were they hindering their social life by doing so? The feline had to take a chance. This was the opportunity to do so. Hearing Chilledstar mention a contest, the apprentice was curious. Honestly, she wasn't much for it. Yet, she knew it would inspire them to do their best. "I'm in, I suppose. Shall we get going?"
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SHADOWCLAN ✦ APPRENTICE ✦ 11 MOONS ✦ GRAY TABBY​

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