therefore, you and me | intro

[orchidbloom]

Theres a loud songbird overhead camp, from the pine trees that make up their territory. And it's driving Orchid crazy to hear; tweet, tweet, the songbird sings a melody that sounds so haunting, so anxiety-inducing that she almost wants to cry to her mama. They're not sure if her mama could do anything about it though, and if Tulipkit overheard that they were scared from a bird then they'd be laughed out of the nursery. Tears well in Orchid's eyes as they shuffle past the mouth of the nursery and away from their mother and sister inside, staring up at the tree canopy of needles above with frustration swimming in their misty eyes.

What can they do? They can't bring that bird that bird down, its too high up, and she doesn't know how to climb yet.

Orchid decides they want to flee backwards and in to the nursery once more, but after a couple steps forwards they stumble, trip over clumsy paws that bring them toppling down to the earth. They roll on to their back to attempt to glare at the trees and the bird, nothing short of embarrassment and shame fueling the fire in their chest, and silently start to let the tears flow. Please make it stop!

Orchid wouldn't dare ask that, so dejectedly she rises to her paws and makes her walk, shuffle, really, back to the nursery.​

"speech"​

 

[Rainecho]

The sound of songbirds, while it may be annoying to Orchidkit, was a non-issue to Rainecho. It was nothing more than normal forest background noise to her, something normal that just came along with the warm weather. Besides, she had heard cats more annoying than that! She does not think that it would affect anyone else so much, it doesn't even enter her mind that it could be an issue and thus she is confused as she watches Orchidkit with a dejected look on her face shuffle to the nursery. "What's got you so down kiddo?" She asks, hoping it was something stupid that was typical for cats her age. Oh to be young and experience the petty dramas again! She wishes her worries could be so simple.
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[RAGGEDBITE.]

THE REST IS STILL UNWRITTEN​

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"orchidkit! orchidkit! hey watch this one! look! lookit!"

the rambunctious kitten stumbled their way out of the nursery, nearly crashing into the quieter of the two but only tumbling over himself. he stood up, shaking his pelt out moving to try another paw-stand but he stops. she... looks sad. anxious, even. with a lash of his tail, he looks upwards, twitching his ears at the bird that she seemed to be focused on. was it too loud? was... he too loud? stars... he twisted himself towards the other, gently nudging her with a goofy smile upon his face.

"are you okay? can raggedkit help at all?"
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[DOGFUR]

Dogfur understood the mental pain of the songbirds. Their racket was more often than not a nuisance. When one was hungry, it was a siren call to a dead end. Most of the time, Dogfur was hungry.

Usually found not too far away from his favorite cats—Rainecho and Ferndance—it was not a surprise the tortoiseshell appeared from behind the warrior, peering down at the overstimulated and anxious-looking kitten. Before he could offer any words of comfort (he could not, in practice, because he was Dogfur) his attention snapped to Raggedkit. He grinned, showing off crooked yellow teeth.

"Bravo, Raggedkit! Look at them, Or-Orchardkit." He could not be counted on to remember all of the kitten's names! "That will get anyone in a happy mood."

​

 

[orchidbloom]

A white and chocolate-furred warrior is the first one to appear, and for now, the only one that had seen her pathetic attempt at an escape. Orchid takes in a sharp breath, the pit of anxiety already growing in their chest as they stare at Rainecho through large, terrified eyes. Would she say anything? Their stomach churns and oh Stars do they feel sick and almost light-headed, ears flattening to their skull as they take a hesitant step back.

"B-Bird-" she just barely manages to respond to Rainechos question with a squeak, lips already beginning to tremble as they tune themselves right back in to the song. It's terrifying! And Orchid doesn't want it to sing anymore, usually she loved to sit and listen to the songs they sang, but today? Orchid just wanted the bird gone and she doesn't care how they do it.

Orchidkit! Look! A familiar voice of her denmate rings louder than the melody and for a fleeting second Orchid is grateful. Until they turn their head and their heart skips a beat, Raggedkit nearly stumbles right in to them and Orchid stumbles back themself, sucking in another breath as if they were deprived for oxygen. This was scary, she just wants to go back, she wants to curl up with mama again, this was a mistake, she never should have left her nest today! "Don't hurt me!" Orchid flinches back, they knew Ragged wouldn't do so, but the thought of the other tumbles over from their paw-stand and straight in to them was... Bad, and they don't want to fathom the pain that'd come with it.

"No, n-no, please," they trail off when Ragged offers their help. Asking for help has never been in Orchid's vocabulary, never to anyone but mama. She feels pathetic, she knows she looks pathetic, but she cannot help the constant chill of ice-water that runs through her veins. How can she not when she worries so much? A ragged-furred tortie is next and Orchid takes yet another step back. Too many cats, way too many, and if anything went wrong they swear they'll cry, they swear it! Orchardkit, but her name is Orchidkit. They barely feel the nudge that Raggedkit gives them, staring at their paws. They don't think anything would put them in to a good mood, she just wants her mama.

"speech"​

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[Maggotfur.]

EYES COVERED IN INK AND BLEACH​

maggotpaw | 05 months | female | she/her | physically easy | mentally hard | attack in bold mediumpurple

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​

Oh great - yet another crybaby. This one seems a bit different though - turquoise gaze watches with a twisted sort of curiosity as the child seems to treble in fright from... absolutely nothing. Or at least, nothing Maggotpaw can see. Perhaps its like with magpiepaw - hearing voices no one else can. What had he said before? Ah that's it - birds. As she hears the girls stammered words, the previous conversation comes to mind - a quiet snort slipping out before she can help it. Why is it always birds? "That bird won't do anything to you," she says dully, her long plumed tail giving a lazy lash from her perch nearby. "It's probably smaller than you," then again, orchidkit does seem small, though everyone seems small to maggie thanks to her heritage. She doesn't really care whether her words help, but saying something is more interesting than doing nothing, and she's utterly bored.


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[FERNDANCE]

And, as Dogfur followed behind Rainecho, so too did Ferndance follow behind Dogfur. They were a conga line of various personalities, all of whom were now focused on the little kit before them. The timidness was strange to Ferndance, her head tilted so far to the right it could've popped right off her shoulders. "Bird?" Her ears twitched and with a scouting glance upwards, her swiveling ears caught the general direction of the grating songbird. It'd been white noise to the tabby until Orchidkit had mentioned it. Before she had a chance to properly ascertain what it was about the birds that upset Orchidkit, the little one found herself in a tangent, pleading in a way that caused green eyes to widen as they settled back onto her. Who said anything about hurting anyone? 'And the clan call me strange...' she thought to herself. Ferndance wasn't sure what would comfort Orchidkit at that moment, other than getting rid of the very source that was sending her thoughts into a frenzy.

She began to stroll towards the pine's trunk and, in her demure voice, she mewed an, "Ugh, birds are bitches.". There was a halt of two-coloured paws mid-gait, a look down towards the dimly coloured earth as she realised she'd sworn in front of a young child (two young children). Ah, whoops. Too late to turn back time, she pressed forwards, breaking out into a sprint as she circled to the exit of camp and towards the tree. She leaped and clambered up towards the canopy with a speed that could've made her a SkyClanner in another life, unsure of why she was doing something for a cat that hadn't even asked for help. A series of voracious noises escaped the agouti she-cat as she began to curl up to the edge of a canopy branch, noises that sounded like a cat's best attempt at imitating sheep, horses, and all sorts of other barn animals. Yet, to the birds, it would just be the nonsensical meowings of a cat with too much time on her paws. As she batted nearby needles with her paws, she would hope to disturb the songbird's incessant noise.


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[smogstar]

ShadowClan's kits ought to thank the stars—despite the troubles and strife brought by the preceding season, Pitchstar hadn't turned to a more desperate, yet more immediate food source.

For legal reasons, this was a joke.

The savage thoughts are shaken from his skull as the deputy moves en route to the nursery. His tail is held up stiff, though it lurches with every footfall, for his paws press firm into the ground with an itching curiosity. There are noises, ungodly noises, which penetrate the air from that end of camp. It sounds as though a cat is dying, enriched by the hysterical meows that arise when in the throes of their demise. Smogmaw presumes, for a fleeting moment, his cannibalistic inklings had been made manifest; though upon closer inspection, he sees it is merely Ferndance.

"Did someone hit her too hard?" probes the tom, looming behind the group of clanmates. His constricted gaze remains trained on the Lead Warrior—that is, until he fails to make sense of her inane antics. Exhaling sharply, his focus then falls upon what little he'd caught of the conversation: Bird. Orchidkit. Scared. Bitches. Pretty par for the course.

A nominal eye-roll foregoes his input. "Maggotpaw's right," asserts Smogmaw, giving the apprentice a wayward glance before homing in on the kits. "ShadowClan's got tiny birds. Small ones. Most dangerous thing about them is their droppings." Pigeons shat like it was their sole purpose in life, and hell, it probably was. "Now, WindClan, they've got the mean birds. Heard an apprentice got carried off by a hawk when they left camp on their own." It was a tale as tall as the trees surrounding camp, but it was a much friendlier warning than one telling of murderous rogues.​