pafp THE SHINING NIGHT [ ✦ ] long nights

[HEAVY SNOW]

Heavy Snow's kits were now apprentices and if he's honest, he's having a hard time believing it. Just yesterday it seems they were tumbling around the nursery, begging him to tell them stories and playing moss ball, doing all of the fun things one is meant to do in their youth. He is glad to be able to give them such a life, one without the hardships he had endured at a young age, though he would not deny that the ordeal with the rogues and the illness that had plagued their clan had not been hard on them. Despite how much he misses them now that they are in training, there is one thing he is glad for and that is the ability to once again share a nest with his mate. Brightshine's absence had left a gaping hole in the space they had once shared, one that made him ache every single time he had to rip himself away from her and spend a night curled up alone.

When he wakes, it is at the same time he always does. Once one's body is used to a particular schedule, it is near impossible to get it to chance course. Usually, at this time, dawn-light is just beginning to pierce the sky but when his eyes open they are instead greeted by darkness and when he looks to the sky, the dawn stars wink back at him. He takes one last look at his mate, still sleeping soundly in their shared nest, leans over and gently licks her forehead, before carefully extracting himself from his place beside her and moving away from the area in which the warriors slept. He does not mind the prolonged darkness, it is a natural occurrence, something that happened every time these particular seasons came to a turn. Colder weather was ahead.

When he spots @sparkspirit sitting alone in the camp he heads to the fresh-kill pile and picks out a plump hare (probably among the last plump piece of prey they would be eating for a bit) and he deposits it in front of the dark colored tom "No dawn patrol for you today either huh?" It was nice to have a morning he could spend with cats he considered kin, usually their schedules clashed and the only times they could chat was in brief passings. "Care to share this rabbit with me?" it was too big for him to eat by himself, after all.

If invited, Heavy Snow would settle in next to Sparkspirit, he would take a bite out of the rabbit and then he would push it in the toms direction. "So" he says after a moment of chewing has passed "What do you think about this?" he says, motioning to the sky with a tilt of his head.

// please wait for @sparkspirit and @PINKPAW to reply <3
(this is a prompt thread)

​

 

[PINKSHINE]

It's still dark outside, when Pinkpaw blinks an eye open. It was super weird sleeping outside. When she looked up, she didn't see a bunch of spinny, tangly branches overhead. Instead she could look up at the sky right away.

Pinkpaw stretches to her paws. Now that she wasn't an apprentice, Brightshine couldn't make her sleep when it's dark no more! Pinkpaw can walk around at night allll she wants! She contemplates any secret missions she can get up to while everyone is asleep... She needs to go and stretch her legs so she'll be big enough to be a moor - runner... So she decides to walk around camp with long, exaggerated strides, pausing to stretch out every leg before taking a step. She could practically feel them getting longer...

Apparently, she's not the only one awake though. She's at first super duper miffed that some cats might know her secret... but Ohmygosh, it's just Heavy Snow and Sparkspirit! They were gonna think she's the COOLEST for being up so late! Her pace picks up into a run as soon as she notices who it is.

Waking up to the sky is pretty cool... What's not pretty cool? How stupid and cold it is! Thusly, she's justified when she immediately snuggles up to her father's big fluffy pelt. Maybe she should steal parts of him so she would be tall enough... " Hi! " she chirps, probably too loudly for what time of day it is, but she's an apprentice now, so BACK OFF queens! " Think about what? I think it's cold! " she remarks discontentedly, tucking herself closer to the big fluffy bear cat that is Heavy Snow.

staring at the mirror gotta smile, smile 🌸🌷🦄🦩 don't be late, we got plans!

• 

• 

• ( IT'S TIME TO START A FUCKING RIOT, RIOT! ) PINKPAW APPRENTICE OF WINDCLAN. DAUGHTER TO BRIGHTSHINE & HEAVY SNOW. SISTER TO HEATHPAW, DOWNYPAW, & FINCHPAW.
  —— SHE / HER; UNOPPOSED TO THE USE OF OTHERS
  —— CURRENTLY 3 MOONS OLD. AGES EVERY 16TH
  
  A tiny, longhaired calico she - kit with yellow eyes, ringed blue around her pupils (sectoral heterochromia). While you can clearly see her flame markings on her face, the rest of her body is currently covered by a grey fever - coating. Though the whites of her are still very much visible. Pink-kit bounces around WindClan without a care in the world! Her emotions are big, and she makes little effort to regulate them, resulting in both her usually cheerful disposition, as well as making her prone to sudden bouts of extreme anger or sadness. Rarely seen without a smile!
  

  HEAVY IC OPINIONS! Pink-kit is a very irrational and childish character!​

​

 

[sparkspirit]

It could very well be his lack of experience alone, but Sparkspirit isn't as calm about the changing season as Heavy Snow is. He's only lived through one before, back when he was young. The cold months hadn't seemed so bad back then. He had plenty of food, and plenty of family to snuggle up to when he needed it. Looking back in time now, he knows it...didn't have to be like that. He could have gone hungry; his mother risked a lot, having him when she did. And then she repaid it by leaving him along with all the other fragments of his family. The ones that remained had been as far away as leafbare the older he got, and yet– here it was again. Heavy Snow. Longer nights. The inexorable cold. Funny how that works, isn't it?

In grateful silence, he takes a bite of the rabbit and passes it to Pinkpaw as if he had always expected the apprentice to show up. They shared aspects of their fur, wasn't that funny? Though littered with a dusting of snow, she had taken after her mother and his grandmother. Orange and black, but so far from each other in every other way. "That's what he's talking about, Pinkpaw. The cold. And it being so dark this early. Eat." He nudges the rabbit even closer to her. "I'm surprised Scorchstreak hasn't gotten you out to train already. Or is she starting you off on something else?"

(Better that than the night; better talk about her than the aching hole in his chest that could only be filled with sunlight. Of which he would be getting increasingly less of in the coming months. Better ask her than admit to Heavy Snow that he didn't sleep well no matter how long the nights were and he only regretted things more when he was alone in the dark.)

𝘛𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘓𝘌𝘋 𝘐𝘕 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘋𝘚 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘐  ･｡ﾟ  🗲  ╱╱ 10.15.2023 𝘊𝘈𝘕𝘕𝘖𝘛 𝘚𝘈𝘠 ˊˎ＜

• OOC. if you saw my mistake no you didn't
• 🗲 . ˚ . SPARKSPIRIT. HE - HIM - HIS. 12 MOON OLD MOOR RUNNER OF WINDCLAN. VERY LOYAL TO HIS CLAN. PENNED BY REVELATIONS. ————
  
  
  —— a trim mock tortoiseshell tom with mostly black fur splashed with the occasional patch orange. he has a singular white mark on the back of his neck shaped similarly to a lightning strike, and a small scar across the bridge of his nose. his eyes are a shocking electric blue.
  

  ✦ ECHOLIGHT x ELMBREEZE. ADOPTED BY YEWBERRY. BRIGHTFAM, BUT SOMEWHAT ESTRANGED DUE TO HIS LOYALTY TO WINDCLAN. ————————

• "speech"

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[SEDGEPOUNCE]

Under the dark smear of the early morning sky, Sedgepounce's pelt looks more silver than white. It fluffs all around him, a fuzzy jacket to the knitted fingers of frost reaching across the warriors' nest pile, but does little to keep him warm as he rises from his bed and pads blearily to the freshkill pile.

His paws drag him forward—blindly, at first, since his eyes are still sleep-heavy and he's not fully awake yet. But by the time he fetches a mouse from the pile and settles with it at his paws, Sedgepounce gains enough wherewithal to notice the company around him.

Is this awkward? Sedge blinks, glancing furtively between the cats settled nearby. He feels awkward, like he's interrupting some impromtu family gathering. But it would probably be more awkward if he got up and walked away now, right? Hmm.

Well, it's not like he's in bad company. Sedgepounce gives a glance of longing toward Pinkpaw smothered in the warm blanket of Heavy Snow's fur and wishes that he had a similar luxury, but ultimately turns toward Sparkspirit, flashing a smile through the murky pre-dawn darkness. "Pssht. Now you've done it," he murmurs jokingly. "You've summoned her. Now Scorchstreak's gonna show up and drag Pinkpaw away to do twenty laps in the tunnels, just you watch." He waggles a paw conspiratorially, more like he's telling a campfire story rather than a serious accusation.​

 

[Azaleafrost]

Azaleafrost watches Pinkpaw absorb into Heavy Snow's fur and briefly wishes she had someone to absorb into in the cold weather. She lays curled in her nest as the others talk, personally she hated getting up early and was content to lay in what warmth she had. She had been a kit during leafbare last year, barely remembering the blizzard that struck, even more scarce were her memories of the events that happened during it.

Now, she is grown. This may as well be her first leafbare, with how new it seems. The nights are long and cold, and she finds herself feeling more sullen than before. Perhaps its the lack of sunshine. Perhaps its the cold, the dwindling prey. But she finds beauty in it in the form of the changing of leaves and sometimes even the frost on the grass in the morning when its particularly cold. But she knows not to be charmed by mother nature.

Leafbare was nothing to be charmed by.

She can only think of how difficult this season will be, even after all they have already endured. It all feels like a precursor for something worse, and she can't help but feel a sense of dread crawl up her spine.

She catches Sedgepounce's comment about Scorchstreak coming to take Pinkpaw away to the tunnels to do laps. She thinks its funny, but it does not show.

"I bet Pinkpaw could do twenty laps in a snap." She says. She had so much energy. Where does she get it from, inquiring minds want to know.​

 

[HARRIERSTRIPE]

As the nights grow longer they also grow colder. Harrierstripe has noticed it for a few moonrises now and had found the need to add rabbit fluff to his bedding among the clearing. It couldn't be long and most cats of WindClan would be huddling next to each other in the night, thats what the older warriors claimed... Harrierstripe wasn't certain he'd join in, he liked his space even if it costed him some warmth. Perhaps when he's buried in snow he'll change his mind.

He finds himself standing nearby and hums at the musing comments about Pinkpaw. Scorchstreak is not a mentor he would've liked to have- sure she probably would've whipped Harrierstripe into a fierce warrior if he had been born for the tunnels... but he can't imagine having to meet her standards. Firefang had been a challenge enough. "Be grateful for the energy while you can, Pinkpaw. By the time you're a warrior Scorchstreak will have it zapped out of you." 'And that'd be a blessing for us all...

☾ INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Harrierkit . Harrierpaw . Harrierstripe
  » WindClan Warrior
  » He/him
  » A black and chocolate chimera with golden eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
• 
  » A foe who uses jeers and jaunts to distract his opponents.
  » Excels in using terrain to his advantage.
  » Fights to outwit and see another day.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

 

[Mintshade]

—————————————————————⊰☣︎⊱————————————————————
A shame she got sick, she wasted most of leaf-fall just languishing in a den and not knowing if she'd live or not; it bothered her to leave her fate up to clanmates traveling off into stars knows where. Now she was stuck with the coming cold and the ever encroaching darkness of night. The dark never bothered Mintshade much, she liked being able to sit and be barely visible, to crouch and go unseen until she opened both unsettling bright green eyes. It made hunting all the easier for her, it reminded her of the time of the Marsh Colony. She strides towards the group, the cats not chosen for the dawn patrol and left to rest when they were ready, to prepare for the next day at a normal pace. She was on light duty still, feeling well enough to be released from the medicine cat den but tentatively being watched still - a fact that she found most aggravating. Wolfsong had somehow gotten even more nosy since becoming their medicine cat, now he just has the authority to back up his busybody behavior.
"Ahhh~ The shade rising, the dark stretching out further, it suits me just fine!" Mintshade stretched nearby, long limbs pulled out and tucked back in quick movements before she settled down in a sit near Azaleafrost and found her gaze drawn to Pinkpaw's enthusiastic nature. She had missed several litters being born, this was one of Brightshine and Heavy Snow's if she recalled. She had missed Sunstride and Wolfsong's as well! Terrible really. If only she hadn't been sick, Moorpaw would be a warrior now and she might've gotten one of them to mentor.
"Has Scorchstreak not gotten you eating dirt yet, little sparkle?"

☣︎ All my friends are heathens, take it slow ☣︎ — Wait for them to ask you who you know

•  
• 
  
  
  Mintshade
  —⊰⋅ Warrior (Moor Runner) of WindClan
  —⊰⋅ She/Her
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ SH Solid black cat w/ acid green eyes.
  

 

[RATTLEHEART]

It was odd, still having the sky be so dark when he awakened to welcome in the day. This was hardly his first leafbare, but he had never truly gotten used to the stars lingering in the sky, clinging to their assigned spaces to shine down on all of Windclan even longer than usual. Some part of the tunneler wondered if they had extra reason to, with all that had been going on as of late. Would the hours of the night grow even longer, so that Starclan could keep a watchful eye over them all during a time where they were needed? Sootstar and her followers would probably say no - that Starclan had abandoned them, and cared nothing for the cats that slept beneath their watchful gazes - but Rattleheart had to disagree.

That was why he had simply stayed curled up in his nest for a while, light green eyes trained upwards as he let himself soak up the last bits of warmth that his surroundings saw fit to provide. Now that he was finally feeling better, he was sure his day would be filled with hunting patrols and border-marking, not to mention gathering supplies to make sure Windclan's camp was returned to its full former glory. For now though, he was allowed to just enjoy the peaceful atmosphere - that is, until a surprising number of voices broke through the air, causing him to start.

He briefly considered staying where he was, allowing him to shut his brain off for a while before making some grand attempt to socialize. Still, he'd been spending so much time away from others thanks to the yellowcough that he found himself actually eager for a chat, or at least the opportunity to tease one of their newest tunneler apprentices. Rattleheart's voice was light and amused as he chattered in Pinkpaw's direction, settling near both Mintshade and Azaleafrost. "And it seems she hasn't taught you how to decorate your pelt with tunneling bugs just yet - don't worry, you'll learn." Truthfully, he had always adored his own position as a tunneler. He knew he was using his small stature to help Windclan in a vital way, and he considered the tunnels beneath the territory to be almost like a second home - there was no shame in it for him. However, seeing as Pinkpaw seemed so devastated by the decision to make her a tunneler... well, he found that he couldn't help messing with her a little.
​

[ PENNED BY EO ]​

 

[Whisperwish]

The darkness is not something that Whisperwish fears. Her piercing white and grey pelt made sure that she stood out in even the blackest of nights. There's also peace in the solace of night, especially in the transition to morning. It's probably what she'd call her favorite time of the day, even when the sun rises slower than it usually does around this time.

The cold hasn't been that much of a bother to her personally, but it's no surprise that a young one such as Pinkpaw would find it harder to tolerate. She remembers how sleepy leafbare used to make her before she started growing into her own. She would snuggle into her father's similar silver pelt, finding solace in his warmth. Even if she doesn't have her father anymore, it's a welcomed memory.

The older cats all teasing Pinkpaw about how she doesn't like her assigned position as a tunneler apprentice has her smiling, though it's as much pity as it is lighthearted. She understands not liking the paw you've been dealt, but it's not like complaining will get her anywhere. Hopefully she'll grow to like it, but for now… "I heard that the bugs tunnelers decorate their pelts with have lots of eyes!" Whisperwish exclaims, allowing her voice to rise to add to the dramatics. Would be scary…​

​

 

[PINKSHINE]

That's what he's talking about, Sparkspirit tells her. Wow, she's sooo smart. The cold. Hate. And it being dark this early. HATE. She doesn't hate eating, though. And if she's honest, she was gonna eat even if Sparkspirit didn;t tell her, so it's a good thing that he did! She happily tucks in, and she's so ravenous that conveniently, her mouth is totally full when he asks if she's supposed to be training right now or something. Pinkpaw looks at him with her mouth stuffed full of rabbit. " Mmf... " Too bad she can't answer! Pinkpaw shrugs her shoulders, continuing to chew.

A warrior emerges from the darkness. Aw, what the heck? She thought being this cool and up this late was for her family only... Pinkpaw chews disgruntedly as they say somethin' somethin'... You've summoned her. Now Scorchstreak's gonna show up and drag Pinkpaw away to do twenty laps in the tunnels, just you watch.. Pinkpaw's jaw goes slack. " Wha? " Like, a bunch of half - chewed rabbit falls onto the floor. Eyes wide, she looks around frantically. Summoned? Like, was Scorchstreak gunna leap out of the heather to make her go dig holes? Noo, she doesn't want to dig holes!

I bet Pinkpaw could do twenty laps in a snap, someone tells her. Their exclusive night - time club is totally ruined, but she guesses that's okay because this cat was completely right... So maybe she shouldn't freak out. Slowly but surely, Pinkpaw returns to chewing. Be grateful for the energy while you can, Pinkpaw. By the time you're a warrior Scorchstreak will have it zapped out of you. Her brows crease in concern. " shapped ou'a 'e? "

A black cat— she thinks that's Sootstar's sister comes. She has no idea what she's saying at first but it sounds funny. Has Scorchstreak not gotten you eating dirt yet, little sparkle? A blink. Then two. Okay, she blinks like... a TON.

" Ion like dirft! I like rabfit! " Pinkpaw yells, eyes going round. She swallows her rabbit then finally, just in time to hear Rattleheart say, And it seems she hasn't taught you how to decorate your pelt with tunneling bugs— " WHAT? " she screams over the rest of what he says. Anyone who wasn't awake was totally awake now. No longer can she be comfortably settled against her fathers pelt. She it sitting up alert, waiting to see if there was any gross, suspicious crawling within the pelts around her. I heard that the bugs tunnelers decorate their pelts with have lots of eyes! " NOOO! " The girl wails. " Someone trade me for Scorchstreak puh-leaase! I don't wanna be a tunneler no more! I'm gonna run away FOREVER if i gotta be a tunneler!"

staring at the mirror gotta smile, smile 🌸🌷🦄🦩 don't be late, we got plans!

• 

• 

• ( IT'S TIME TO START A FUCKING RIOT, RIOT! ) PINKPAW APPRENTICE OF WINDCLAN. DAUGHTER TO BRIGHTSHINE & HEAVY SNOW. SISTER TO HEATHPAW, DOWNYPAW, & FINCHPAW.
  —— SHE / HER; UNOPPOSED TO THE USE OF OTHERS
  —— CURRENTLY 3 MOONS OLD. AGES EVERY 16TH
  
  A tiny, longhaired calico she - kit with yellow eyes, ringed blue around her pupils (sectoral heterochromia). While you can clearly see her flame markings on her face, the rest of her body is currently covered by a grey fever - coating. Though the whites of her are still very much visible. Pink-kit bounces around WindClan without a care in the world! Her emotions are big, and she makes little effort to regulate them, resulting in both her usually cheerful disposition, as well as making her prone to sudden bouts of extreme anger or sadness. Rarely seen without a smile!
  

  HEAVY IC OPINIONS! Pink-kit is a very irrational and childish character!​

​