the vicious hydra aka, life lessons for kits [open]

[Johnnyflame]

HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

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OOC- @Las Plagas , feel free to post before!

The camp was busier than Johnny had ever seen it before, packed to the brim not just with warriors, but newcomers who were still trying to find their footing with this new life.

Among these newcomers were the clans youngest members; the kits. Funnily enough, they seemed to have the easiest time adapting to their new surroundings, but Johnny supposed that was probably because that old saying was right- ignorance was bliss, and he was sure some of the older arrivals were also wishing they had some of that naivety. The koi tabby was honestly doing everything he could to try and help the shelter cats feel comfortable and welcomed in Skyclan, from fetching them nesting materials to build beds with, to pulling individuals aside for friendly chats or hunting lessons.

That morning as he made his way into the Skyclan camp though, it was the nursery he made his way toward.

With a lively bounce in his steps the short, stocky tom crossed the clearing with one clear goal in mind- give the queens a breather from the bundles of energy that had been suddenly placed in their care. After being unceremoniously mobbed by the group of kits the other day he'd become aware of just how much of a handful the tykes could be, and he was sure the expecting queens would be happy for a bit of peace and quiet.

So, Johnny had come prepared. In his jaws was a small, wriggling creature which he dropped to the ground and quickly pinned with a steady paw before calling into the nursery. "Alright ya little fleas, I know your not sleepin- come out here and see what I've brought for ya!"

It was, of course, a snake.

Not a particularly big one, nor was it anything venomous. Just a common garter snake that was only sizeable enough to deliver a tiny pinch to the kits if it happened to get it's little mouth on them. It was perfect for what Johnny had in mind- small enough to not be a real threat, but big enough to still ingrain the idea in the kits that they'd have to be careful not to get pinched! It would be good practice for them, a life lesson that would teach them to be wary of snakes for their bite while letting them practice their hunting and snake handling skills.

They'd need them, in case they ever crossed paths with an adder.
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[Plaguepaw]

I've been trying not to

Prior to Johnny's arrival, Las Plagas spent his time being an absolute menace to the poor queens inside the nursery. Tiny claws skittered about the milk scented area trying to pounce on one of their tails. While his mouth remained wide open, glinting with fangs ready to chomp should he manage to catch one. Luckily for them, the patchy kitten's attention is diverted to the mouth of the den. Skidding to a stop he nearly crashes into Doomguy and his brother, using lanky limbs to clusily jump over the younger pair. "What is it?!" Las Plagas exclaimed excitement bubbling underneath the surface of his patchy pelt until he looked down and noticed the squirming snake under Johnny's paw. "Whoa! What is that thing?" Could he eat it? He could always go for another snack.

He found it strange that this creature didn't have legs of its own. Instead it seemed to be all belly with only a head. Crouching low the boy uses a paw to poke at the garter snake. The reptile in question then bites one of his toes, thrashing underneath Johnny's weight while still holding on. The kitten's eyes grow wide with shock but he doesn't pull his paw away from the snake's angry chewing. Las Plagas' face contorts into an expression that is both pleased and in a smidge of pain. "Look! I think it likes me!" This snake chomped on him the same way he ran around terrorizing his newfound clanmates. ​

Go off the deep end​

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[Johnnyflame]

HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

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He wasn't the least bit surprised to see Las Plagas as the first one out to greet him, the eager little kit rushing over to investigate with a fearless enthusiasm that Johnny couldn't help but smile at. The headstrong child reminded him a lot of himself when he'd been a kit, and he'd be a liar if he said it didn't grow a fondness in him toward the little one.

"This is called a snake." he informed them, watching as the patchy tomkit crouched low to bat at the thing. Had it been a more dangerous snake then Johnny would have never let them get that close to begin with, but there was no harm to come from the wriggling creature beneath his paw.

"Look! I think it likes me!"

A genuine chuckle fell from pale lips at the declaration, and he couldn't help but settle back onto his haunches so that he could lift his free paw to ruffle what little fur sat atop their head.

"Aye, it appears so!" he agreed, "But not all of them will. Some of them are hiding big old teeth in that mouth of theirs, and if they bite you it makes you sicker than you've ever been before. Might even kill a scrap like you."

A harsh lesson, yes, but necessary.

"That's why I brought this little guy over- so we can play a little game." he explained as he reached out to gently pry the snakes mouth off their toe. "We're gonna turn old Mr. slithers here loose, and if you can pin his head to the ground without getting bit, you win a prize."
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[Cherryblossom]

I'm not a flea, thinks Cherrykit. Maybe Johnny is joking; he's never been anything but friendly to her and her littermates. The tiny tortoiseshell peers with narrowed eyes from beyond the nursery entrance. The torbie sits a little ways away from her home, and Las Plagas wriggles in front of one of his sturdy paws. From her holly-studded vantage point Cherrykit can't make out what the other kit is squealing about, but she assumes it's not something she would be interested in. Curiosity gets the better of her however, and she creeps forwards until she can barely make out the writhing shadow beneath Johnny's paw. Writhing?

A quiet shriek emanates from behind holly walls as Cherrykit tumbles backwards, eyes saucer-wide with horror and ears pinned to her head. Gross! Grossgrossgrossgross— Had it been holding onto Las Plagas' paw? All the more reason not to touch him, but . . . it looks like it hurts. Cherrykit feels a shiver sweep down her spine, up into the ends of her fur, nausea and revulsion and empathetic pain howling for a single second. She's never so much as gotten a thorn in her paw, and somehow she knows the teeny fangs of the thing are dangerous beyond their sharpness.

The feelings quiet down quickly, as all kitten feelings do, and Cherrykit hesitantly pulls herself forwards again. Johnny's voice is still even, though she's never heard the daylight warrior's voice be anything else but. She inches forwards, tail down and gaze hooked upon the "snake" that Johnny calls, as though it could twist free of its furred shackles at any moment and decide the succulent Cherrykit was a better target than the stinky thing it was currently biting. She keeps a wide berth between the pair and their prisoner, keeping the nursery at her flank. Johnny keeps talking, and Cherrykit's eyes keep growing wider. "What?" she squeaks, unable to tear her eyes away from this scrap of a snake. There are bigger ones? "Why'd you bring it here?" Cherrykit demands, mismatched brows furrowing. Las Plagas seems to be okay, and Johnny is unconcerned, but the kitten remains unconvinced.

"We're gonna turn old Mr. slithers here loose—" Cherrykit finally swings her head towards Johnny, eyes glowing the panicked yellow of a dying canary in the mine dark. "NO!" she yowls, leaping to her paws. Back arched, she hops a few steps away like a distressed cottonball. "It's gonna bite someone! It's gonna bite me!" Minitature floodlights glare up at Johnny admidst a cloud of fur. "Don't do it!" she growls, tail lashing. It's gross and smells weird and looks weird, and what if it bites her or Ashenclaw or Orangeblossom? What if it has friends that it invites to their camp to bite them all? Bigger, smellier, nastier friends? What if it's just a snake kit and it has parents coming for it? And why is Las Plagas so excited about that thing being attached to him?
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[Eggbounce.]

I LOVE YOU SO, SO, SO, SO MUCH
eggkit | 02 months | male | he/him | physically easy | mentally easy | attack in bold #108297

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Eggkit is much less concerned about the snake than his sister, staring with wide eyes at the creature upon the other kits paw. He's missed most of the rathe rinformative conversation, distracted as he was by other more important things, but the sight of a wriggling worm-thing has caught his attention and finally drawn him over. "Does it hurt? Or does it tickle? My teef's hurt, it's why I'm not allowed to bite anymore when I play, cause I could hurt someone," he says, rambling on about a mile a minute as his mind wanders. Johhny's already moving to pry the creature away, and he wonder's if it'll be his turn next. He's startled at the sheer force of cherrykits panic, almost becoming nervous himself, but instead the round-faced boy simply puffs up his chest and moves in front of her with a grin. "Don't worry cherrykit, I won't let it bite you! I'll bite it first!" he says proudly, flashing his own sharp kitten teeth. He's pretty sure after all that the rule only applies to his fellow cats... right?

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[Plaguepaw]

I've been trying not to

Las Plagas' smile seems to brighten a tad bit more as Johnny ruffles the fur atop of his head. As the writhing reptile continues its hold upon his toe he watches with unyielding fascination as the lead warrior introduces the name of the creature. "A snake..." He murmurs, voice trailing off softly as he takes mental notes of the dangers larger snakes possess. The girlish squealing firing off from behind him causes the patchy kitten to lift his head and look over his shoulder. Cherrykit looked mortified with eyes as large as the sun above and ears plastered against her helm. What was she scared for? Johnny made it clear that it was too little to hurt them.

His forked tail whisked back and forth as he twisted his body to get a better look at Eggkit and his sister, leaving Johnny to release the snake's hold on his paw. "Really? No one told me not to use my teeth when I play and I bite plenty hard. Your mamá must be really strict. Must be a horrible rule to live with amigo." Las Plagas voices, feigning sympathy for the tom kit beside him. "But, yeah. It hurts a little, like claws poking you." Once the snake was no longer attached to his paw, his crooked grin spread wide as he eyed Cherrykit. "I bet she could handle it herself." Snapping his attention back to the lead warrior he continues. "Go ahead Johnny, toss it at her and lets see how fast she pins it!" ​

Go off the deep end​

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[Johnnyflame]

HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

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Cherrykits panicked mewls left him torn between amusement and sympathy, knowing full well she was in no danger but aware of how scary such things might sound to a kit. Eggbounce was quick to come to her defense though, just as a good brother should.

"Aye, there's nothing to worry about from this little guy, Cherrykit. Even if I were to take my paw off him right now, he'd try running away, not toward you. He only bit Plagas because we've got him trapped right now and he's scared." he explained, figuring this was an important thing for the kits to know as well. If they were expecting this little gardner snake to try chasing them down they were going to find that quite the opposite was true- the only ones who'd be doing any chasing were the cats.

"But," he added firmly, gaze shifting among the three cats, "That does not mean that all snakes are safe, and if I hear that any of you approach one without a warrior present you'll find yourself in a world of trouble. Some snakes can seriously hurt you if they aren't handled properly- this one just happens to be one of the harmless ones. Good for teaching kits like you the basics."

Cherrykits fear wasn't a bad thing, and Johnny didn't want her to feel like it was. A fear response was a smart instinct to have against potentially dangerous critters, but there may come a time in her life where a fear response wouldn't help her. Snakes came and went as they pleased, and Johnny had heard plenty of storys of them slipping into the burrows and dens of animals to eat their young. He wouldn't voice such a thing now lest it incite panic, but the fact remained that lessons like these might provide life saving information one day.

"Go ahead Johnny, toss it at her and lets see how fast she pins it!"

"Ha! And have Orangeblossom shred our ears for traumatizing her kit? I think not, ya wee devil." he chuckled, quickly dismissing the idea. "Besides, it wouldn't be very compassionate to throw something at her when she's scared of it, would it?" he chided gently, gaze shifting back to the group as a whole.

"Cherrykit, you don't have to play the game if you don't want to- I'd never force you to do something that scares ya- but surely a brave girl like you can at least watch and keep score of whose winnin'? Maybe off to the side somewhere, away from old mr. slithers?" he suggested, trying to appeal to her in a way that would make her at least pay attention to the lesson-game that was about to go on.
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[DOEBLAZE]

Bobbie had been sleeping, unconsciousness currently the best medicine for the discomfort of pregnancy, until a shrill kitten-yell awakes her with a start. Gaze still clotted with the dregs of her late nap, she seats herself in the nursery's small yawning mouth of an entrance (it reminds her of a sleeping kit sometimes, oddly enough?) to watch the situation at paw. Johnny has it under control, so she doesn't mean to interfere—clearly the patchwork tom had lead the shelter patrol for a reason!—just to watch with a sleepy contentment the lesson to the kits. He's smart to give it, she reflects; well, she'll certainly feel safe of her kits' future if warriors like Johnny are willing to keep an eye on them occasionally. She's sure Orangeblossom appreciates the break (Five kits! It must be exhausting), and she knows just about every nursery resident appreciates any break from Las Plagas, herself included. She would've woken up one way or another, no doubt about that.

The lilac queen watches with tired amusement the little goings-on between the kits; it's the ever-familiar patchy prankster, Las Plagas, and two of their newest residents. Orangeblossom's kits, Cherrykit and Eggkit if she can recall correctly; they're so cute, she thinks, and look a good deal like their mother as well as Ashenclaw. Privately, Bobbie hopes her own kits will look like her; she's worried a constant reminder of their father could be too painful. Regardless, she'll simply sit, perhaps washing her pelt a bit, and enjoy watching the kits' unusual lesson.
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