border the root of the problem ( Kit at border)

[ripplekit.]

It was cold when he woke up. A breath of cold air escaping his lungs as he blinked open sightless eyes. It had never felt this cold before... Usually the pelt of mama kept him safe. The last few days were a struggle for him though, curling tucking tightly as he let out a feeble whine. He was hungry, and now freezing? It wasn't fair! "Mama, where-"

A paw pressed against his side, pushing the black smoky kit in a direction roughly, his tiny paws trying to keep up with the sudden roughness. "That wasn't very nice! I don't-"

"Hush." The voice of his mother sounded, the heat of anger in his lungs. "You're a liability, child. So loud. So clingy." The voice murmured, causing the kit to tilt his head.

"Lia- Ma, that don't even make sense!" He complained, shaking his head as he tried again to press towards the sound. But suddenly he was hoisted into the air. Well, they were moving again. At this point he was used to it.

"Ma I'm hungry." He said, trying to be softer, only for silence to reach his ears. Just the pawsteps against an icey ground, and the gentle thrumming of her heart next to his head.

Another voice sounded - papa. It was easy to distinguish the two. "Are you sure she's going to be safe here?" Papa murmured, the light of the childs life, a grin reached the kits jaws.

"I'm always safe, papa!"

But again, ignored as Mama responded with a shrug. She could feel the slight movement as she readjusted herself before being set down.

"Where are we going?" The child asks softly, shaking his pelt out as he aimlessly gazes to where he thinks the others are.

"We are going away. You will be staying here."

He shook his head, confusion flooding him. "But... It's cold!" He argues, taking a step forward. And there was silence. He squirmed around, pawing ahead of him, careful where he steps. "And ma, I'm hungry," he says, taking a few more careful steps forward, whiskers twitching before a shiver escaped his body, tucking in on himself.

Again, nothing.

"Pa, I thought- you said you loved me?" He yelled, his tiny voice seeming even quieter in the open world alone. "I thought-" his lips twitched, before he turned and sunk in on himself.

And now he was just stuck with his thoughts. As he usually was. Where was he going to go? What did they mean, is he* safe here? Was this a test? What even was a liability? So many questions wandered his mind, growing frustrated as his day seemed to completely turn upside down. And now? He was alone.

Alone. Cold. And frustration was growing. But most of all? Fear.

It wasn't long before he heard splashing nearby. His head perked up, smokey blue eyes searching frantically. "Hey! Is that, someone? Mama, are you back? Were you joking?" He calls, haphazardly stepping forward, and forward, until he trips and tumbles forward. "Please, I'm really scared!" He calls, louder, beginning to hear the soft rippling of the water, and another splash. And slowly... The child began closer to the edge of the river without knowing.
​

 

[MIDNIGHTASH]

જ➶ The sound of voices is what catches her attention. Three individuals lingering but she has a ways to go before getting there and a terrible swim. Yet she perseveres and makes her way toward the sound yet as she begins the swim her ears pull forward as she picks up only one voice now. Calling out. And it is young. A child. Swiftly she kicks her limbs that feel the biting chill of the river, slowing her down but she keeps moving because if it is a child she can not just ignore them. As she begins to make herself climb the shore line she sees the kit then. Bumbling toward the river's edge. "Wait!" Her voice is a jagged snap as she quickly pulls herself onto the shore and gently she tries to shove the kitten back. "The river is dangerous and it will sweep you away." For a moment she scans the area, knowing she heard others but the wind tells a story that they have left. Walked away and leaving behind this. Plus the wails of the kit asking if their mom was back tells more of the situation.

Abandonment. Her maw pulls down into a frown but first things first. "It's...its cold out here. We need to head back to camp and get warm. Do you have a name? Mine is Midnightash." A part of her wonders what Lichenstar will think when she steps into camp with an abandoned kit. Leafbare is already upon them and they are at a comfortable place but who knows how long that will last. Plus... The woman leans down then and she sniffs at the kit, looking at their eyes. Seeing the murkiness. They will need Moonbeam perhaps?​

 

[SUNSPARK]

Sunpaw had not been so blatantly discarded, but her blood family was long gone, likely never to be seen nor from heard again. They're all out by the river, doing their normal duties and it's Midnightash who hears it first. A voice calling. Then Sunpaw hears it as Midnightash calls out, and her ears flicker as she lifts her head and turns her gaze, her attention divided.

Mama, are you back? Were you joking?

The words strike something cold and deep in her chest and she finds her paws frozen for more seconds than she would like to admit. It's only... this strange feeling that drives her forward to follow Midnightash, her gaze dropping down to the little scrap of fur whose eyes are glazed over with a fogginess she can only attest like the frost that spreads across the ground in the morning. "I'm Sunpaw," she mews after Midnightash.

"We live nearby," she adds to Midnightash's explanation. It echoes what she heard so many moons ago in that Twoleg camp with those warrior cats. We're from RiverClan. "We have food and dens while... we figure out what happened to your mom," she adds.

Though... it's clear what happened even from what little this kitten has provided. "I'm still looking for my mom too!" she adds, forcing a chirp of cheer in her voice that she doesn't feel. It's a lie too, one that makes her tone sour at the edge but this kit is probably too young to recognize the falsity. She hopes. "So, for now, why don't you come with us?"​

// mentor tag @FOXTAIL

 

[ripplekit.]

A sharp call of wait made him stop in his tracks. his gaze did not turn to the other, oblivious to the direction, but he was trying, his nose in the air. but the scents were muddled by cold that inhaled through the kits nostrils. and the smell of something.. that he couldnt put a paw on.

"River?" He hadn't even realized, just heard the splashing. What a fool, he felt. But, it wasn't as if he could see or know even what a river was. or even what it could do. obviously, he knew of water. but he had no idea the correlation. "I- dont know what a river is." He said, his gaze staring forward, but his expression confused. His black ears pressing backwards, and his lips twisting in that emotion clearly. And even as this- other, who clearly wasnt mother, explained to him it was dangerous and will sweep him away. but what does dangerous mean? he only grew more confused, blinking softly.

"warm sounds nice..." he said softly. but he wasn't sure, kneading his paws gently into the muddy bank, feeling the thickness in between his paws clump over his fur, feeling heavier with each knead. frozen. oh how warm sounded really nice. oh- he stiffened, the other nearing him, sniffing at him. examining him. he slightly pulled away, unsure of the other. unsure in general. but he needed the help. he needed... he wanted to be warm. he wanted... a soft sigh escaped the boy, his kneading unrelenting, feeling the stress coil around his belly.

Midnightash. that was the others name. and... a sunpaw arrived. they had weird 'names'. but they asked for his, and he could only knead. unsure. had they ever told him his name? had he ever even heard them call her... anything? sunpaw mentioned food, and his stomach reminded him of that hunger, his teeth chewing on his tongue in unease. "um..."

he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. it was all so confusing. and he felt... hurt.

im still looking for my mom! his gaze turned slightly, his paw digging slightly into the ground.

"i cant look for them. they dont want me. and you shouldn't either. ill just... be a li-lib-" claws dug into the ground, eyebrows furrowing. "but.. im hungry. and. c-cold. and.." his small head turned away.

"i dont have a name. i d-d-do-nt have-" his tears started to wetten his face quicker then he could realize, streaking down soft fur and dripping onto his toes. he didn't even really feel this way. "i-" what was he supposed to say? his paws dug in, his head lowering to tuck into his chest. what if they thought the same of him once they found out about- him not being able to see? what if they abandoned him too?
​

 

[MIDNIGHTASH]

જ➶ Doesn't know what a river is? The look that sweeps across her face is nothing but incredulous but she supposes that that can be true. He is young and perhaps too young to know the world around him. Especially with no parents to guide him through this life. The more that he speaks on it the more the woman begins to realize that this is true abandonment. That the mother left this child with nothing more than cold bitterness. It makes her think of her own mother, a woman that had berated her and never showed her an ounce of love. Only wanting her to do as she said and be better instead of a waste of space. Perhaps this child is lucky that his mother gave up so quickly. Her tongue clicks then in thought before the child begins to cry. She has never been good at...niceness. Perhaps because she is hardly shown any herself. But with a paw lifting she moves in an attempt to wipe away the kit's tears. "Alright, alright... it's going to be okay." The woman then looks to Sunpaw and gestures with her tail. Casually her eyes flick to Foxtail as well. "Go tell the nursery we are going to have a plus one. I'll bring him home and talk to Lichenstar and Hazecloud."

Afterall, they can't just leave the kit to die out here. Not when leafbare is so close and biting upon them. Her harsh amber orbs suddenly snap back to the child then. A soft dip of her head. "We are going to take you with us. We can not leave you here by yourself. Once home you will learn who we are and make the choice on if you want to stay. I'm sure Lichenstar will approve if you do, just know life out here is just as uncaring as your mother is. Now, I'm going to pick you up." Now with that said she moves forward and aims to do just that. Teeth fixing into the kit's scruff to pick them up and potentially start the trek back to their reed surrounded camp.​

 

[Warblerpaw.]

UH OH, UH OH, UH OH,
YOU MADE A MISTAKE ​

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warblerpaw & 07 moons & demi-boy & he/they & riverclan apprentice ​

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The sight of a kit creeping closer to the water is enough to send stomach churning - and yet, jaws can only flap silently in his panic. There is relief when the others move far faster then him, though fur bristles against his spine anxiously. Lungs burn as flanks heave, struggling to keep his body n his own control.

The story the child paints is bitter - mismatched gaze shutting at the thought of being abandoned, left behind. A liability - its not too hard to puzzle out through the stammer, not when Warblerpaw more often then not makes even less sense.

Midnightash and Sunpaw seem determined to bring the child back, and Warblerpaw is left feeling... useless. Theres a nervous, timid smile on his maw, of wve of his paw the only comfort or help he can offer. Maybe he can see if Momma' would care for the kitten?

— uh oh, you better run away now

• Actions && " Speech, " && ' Thoughts/Quotes '
  
  ooc: —
  tw/cw: —
  
• ♩​♬♪♫​ — Warblerpaw suffers from multiple speech impediments, including selective mutism. He is more often then not non-verbal, and will react in visual ways such as body language or gestures to compensate for this. Situations which induce anxiety are more likely to cause a shut-down for him, and even when verbal he deals with a stutter and aphasia. ​