TO THE MOON AND TO SATURN [ moving ]

[willowroot]

( ☾ ) she's finally resigned herself to the fact that she's gotten huge. there's constant movement in her belly, kicking and shoving and general mischief which makes her terrified for the moons to come. if the little creatures in her belly are this wild unborn, she dreads corralling them into apprenticehood. still, there's an odd excitement every time a wriggle ripples up her abdomen. her heart pounds in her chest, delight sparking and burning out the worry. this week, with patrols and meetings, there's a soft voice in the back of her head telling her it's time. stars, she wishes she could continue working. there's an odd guilt in her chest every time buckgait passes over her for a patrol, or smokethroat urges her to rest. she's letting her clan down in the season they need her most. idiotic, she'll hiss to herself, resigned to watching ashpaw and steeppaw pad after npc mentors, knowing they're learning more with them than they will with her.

it's this self hatered that has kept her from the nursery, even as she becomes bigger and bigger. gone is the delicate gait of a practiced hunter. her grace has been replaced with a slow shuffle, and she's moved to the corner of the warriors' den in an attempt to keep out of the way. it hasn't worked. she knows it's time to invade the nursery. it's not an easy decision.

teeth gritting together with effort, the femme carries their nest towards the inviting entrance of the nursery, a soft hum of satisfaction echoing from their throat at the sound of waves lapping on the shore. ducking inside, they place the comfortable bed near the center of the den, brushing off their paws and nodding. they'll reorganize later, they decide, ducking back out and stumbling back towards the warriors' den, intent on moving the rock collection. setting each stone out in the chilled sun of the clearing, willowroot begins sorting. they're downsizing, albeit reluctantly. slender paws sort the shining stones into piles, pausing on each to reminisce. after minutes, they have a sizable pile of 'giveaways.' there are plenty in riverclan who will happily take more pretty trinkets, and willow knows one by one that they'll stop by.

// not happy w this post but willow's moved finally!! she's giving away some of her rock collection. feel free to have your character take some!​

( THE LIGHT YOU GAVE ME )

 

[Minnowpaw]

( ♬ ) Minnowpaw didn't really pay attention to the relationships or physical changes of her clanmates. Not out of disinterest but more because she just liked to keep to her own. Today she couldn't find Garpaw anywhere, so the apprentice was on her way back toward the apprentice den to see if she could squeeze in a quick nap before Dogteeth came looking for her.

A soft glow of something would catch her attention, and she stopped in her walking to see Willowroot placing stones outside. A curious tilt of her head would lead to her walking over, "W-What are these for, Willowroot?" She would ask in a tone as soft as a churchmouse, but it was clear the younger molly was captivated by the older warriors' collection. ​

( BUT I WATCH YOUR EYES AS SHE; WALKS BY )

 

[FINCHPAW]

---

Most of the clan was aware this would happen at some point, but Finchpaw didn't think time could move that fast. 'Soon we'll have more tiny paws running around....I'll have to make sure there's not a single hole in the nursery's walls so they don't freeze.' He pads over past Minnowpaw, jaws absolutely bursting with feathers and the last reeds of the leaf-fall season, before setting them up near one of the nursery's outer walls. The apprentice then returns to observe the collection of trinkets Willowroot has been sorting through. There's one that catches his eye, a bold greenish blue stone that reminds him of how Shellpaw's eyes reflect the water when they went swimming in greenleaf.

'I wonder if....'

He decides its best to explain to Willowroot that he'll be working on some den repairs first, waiting politely for a break in the conversation before doing just that. Though its increasingly clear exactly what trinket the patched apprentice has his eyes on, almost to a rather adorable degree. ​

---

 

[BEESONG]

"finally decided to move, huh?" beesong hums as he watches willowroot drag their nest towards the den tucked beneath the sedge. it's for the best that the queen gives in to the constant chivvying from her clanmates and make herself at home in the nursery; not only for the benefit of herself and her unborn kits, but for the clan as a whole. willowroot is just too big to patrol or hunt now, they would only be liability.

once the lead warrior is situated in the nursery, they begin the arduous task of transferring their considerable collection of pebbles. different piles are made, and beesong tilts their head. willowroot is organizing the pebbles. for what, beesong hasn't a clue. minnowpaw inquires about it before they could, so instead, the healer decides to satiate another burning curiosity. "why do you have so many rocks, anyway?" willowroot's collected them for as long as she's resided in riverclan, probably even longer than that. beesong's never bothered to ask why, before now.

finchpaw's appearance catches the eye of the cinnamon tabby. beesong shifts his gaze onto the other apprentice, observing how the boy admires a particular stone with sparkling eyes. the sight of finchpaw's obvious fawning brings a teasing glint to the medicine cat's own aqua hues. "see something you like, finchpaw?"​

 

[GILLSIGHT]

The familiar clunk of rocks moving catches Gillpaw's attention. The black and white tom turns his head, warm eyes searching for the source of the sound. Part of him is surprised to see it's Willowroot. The lead warrior collected rocks too? Was that something he'd known? Something that was lost in the ever-growing list of fellow rock collectors within RiverClan?

He pads over to investigate the piles. They're the sort of rocks Gillpaw could only dream of having in his own collection! How lucky Willowroot was, to have them in theirs!

"T-Those are pretty r-rocks," he comments, eyes scanning over them, noting how they glimmered under the sunlight. He looks up at the black smoke, eyes wide with curiosity. "W-What are you doing with them?"
​