pafp TRACES OF THE PAST ✧ gossip / nostalgia ring

[lostkit]

lostkit had been doing her best to make true her promises to ternstar at her joining -- to learn the ways of shadowclan, to learn their culture and history, to serve the clan well. and, well, she was trying to, but why were there so many names? sometimes she went and played with the other kits just to have something to do that wouldn't make her head feel like someone had tried to stuff too many berries in a hollow, but today found her sitting in a group with her older clanmates by the elders' den, listening to their own reminiscing.

from what she had gathered so far, the leader that had welcomed her into the clan, ternstar, had only been leading for a moon, and shadowclan's recent track record of disappearances and what-have-you's weren't optimistic -- she had gathered that much from the mutterings of elders about back in my day and so forth. but with names like smogstar and mirestar and disappearances and starclan (and wasn't that a brand new concept for the former loner kit to grasp), really, who could blame lost for getting confused?

the kit had lost track of the conversation again, nose wrinkled in confusion. she had been trying to sit quietly and just let the information flow to her, but she was rapidly losing any semblance of understanding. "wait -- so -- who's chilledstar again?" she asked, directing her attention to sneezeduck.

｡:ﾟ.°✧ PLEASE DONT LET THEM SEE ME

• ooc. please wait for @sneezeduck ! otherwise feel free to be anyone participating in the conversation or someone who stopped by ^-^
• 

  LOSTKIT (she/her) is a four moon old shadowclan kit with shorthair cream tabby fur with low white and blue-green eyes. she is the gen1 daughter of two rogue npc's.
  
  TAGS. penned by riyue. dm me on discord (xriyue) for plots.​

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[sneezeduck]

As the angst of the most recent battle began to wear off, Sneezeduck found himself settling into a normal routine once again. He felt one of the Clan again, no longer snapping at Clanmates and hiding away to lick his wounds. Today, things felt almost normal - normal enough to relax under the winter sun, anyway.

There's chatter and occasional laughter as he recalls memories of moons past with the Clanmates that relax with him. They are careful not to draw on sorrow - he makes a point not to mention the recent deaths, the battles, and they do well not to mention the conflicts that came before him, like Sootstar and her crew. Instead, they talk about the good times - the trouble they got into when they were young, the harmless gossip they've heard, the warm days of greenleaf. Stars, even the frog invasion finds its way into their conversation, sending shivers up his spine as he laughs - stars, he hates frogs after that..

Sneezeduck is recalling his apprenticehood in a way quite different than he's used to, recently. Not the uselessness of himself, or the fear he felt, but the innocence, the antics, the bonds. "I used to be, like, so scared of Chilledstar," he mews between smiling teeth. "Weird, right? They were like.. the least intimidating leader we've ever had."

"I remember.. I wanted to practice hunting once, and Sharpshadow was out with Halfpaw. I was so scared of being in the presence of this big, powerful leader.. and for some reason, I went and asked them anyway." His eyes grew round with faux fear. "I was stuttering up a storm, and shaking like I've seen a fox. And they - they just said, like.. 'alright, let's go then!' like it wasn't the most scary experience I've ever went through, talking to the leader themself. I was so- so weird!"

The boy lets out a hearty chuckle, but before someone else can continue, a small voice pitches up beside him. Who's Chilledstar? Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten - Chilledstar isn't here anymore. They haven't been.. for quite some time. Sneezeduck's whiskers twitch thoughtfully as he looks down on the kitten, who had somehow sat through a whole lot of nostalgia without so much as a peep or fidget. His smile does not dwindle.

"Chilledstar was a great warrior. A leader," he begins, lifting his chin ever so slightly as he speaks, as if speaking to the former leader themself, up in the sky. "They were the leader before Smogstar - who came before Mirestar, who came before Ternstar. They gave me my apprentice name." Not my warrior name, Sneezeduck remembers with a bittersweet pang. I wonder.. what they would have named me..

He clears his throat, rids himself of the sadness, and carries on. "Chilledstar was with us for a long time. They carried us through a lot - they cared for us, like we were all kin. And now, StarClan cares for them in their hunting grounds." A rest well-deserved.. even if you were taken too soon.

WISH AWAY THE NIGHTMAREㅤ ✩ ☾ㅤINFO.ㅤ/ㅤ12/28/2024

• ooc: text
• 
  ■■■■■■ ✶ sneezeduck. warrior of shadowclan. ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ་༘࿐⋆｡𖦹°⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
  ☾ㅤamab cis male, he/him | undiscovered sexuality, single.
  ☾ㅤ14 moons old | ages every 2nd. created 2/5/2024
  ☾ㅤa young warrior, inexperienced in most things. | mentored by sharpshadow
  ☾ㅤLH chocolate tabby (carrying cinnamon, dilute)
  ☾ㅤunknown xx duckshimmer | brother to singeglare and swallowflutter
  ☾ㅤclose with marblepaw
  ☾ㅤwritten by ixora, ic opinions | tags‎

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[Halfsun]

Halfsun was of the opinion that Ternstar was in possesion of what one might call a 'bleeding heart'. ShadowClan could barely feed the cats it had, and here they were picking up strays who couldn't feed themselves left and right. If she was just a touch more hare-brained, she might go right to the blue toned leader and ask what it was she was thinking doing such a thing, because if it were up to her discretion, Lostkit would have stayed that way. Lost.

She is lounging nearby, catching a rare patch of sun before the pines swallowed it in shade, and totally not eavesdropping at all. If one did not want others to listen to their conversations, they should not hold them so loudly, so publicly. Still, she pretends to be interested more in her claws then whatever Sneezeduck is saying to this kit. That is, until her father is mentioned. It is brief, merely in passing, but to hear Smogstar mentioned in the past tense, to hear him reffered to as a was instead of an is, it was like reopening a wound that hadn't already healed every time.

But she can play the pain off. Its what she's good at. "Sneezeduck, have you told Lostkit the part about cats randomly going missing every once in a while? That's my favorite. Stolen right out of their nests some cats say! Make sure you're careful Lostkit. Never trust anyone. Even cats you think you know." She had made that mistake before.

( ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ) smile for me when you set me free

• 
  
  
• 
  HALFSUN SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO APPLEJAW, ASHENFALL, SWANSONG, GARLICHEART, AND LAURELGRIN
  

  A tall and well-toned she cat with a long half-and half pelt, one side being a dark blue tabby and the other a bright cream, split by a pool of white at her center and travelling up her face like flames she is fire and ice simultaneously swirling into one. Her eyes are a mismatched shade of blue, with one being bright like the daytime sky and the other dark like the depths of the river.

  ✦ Difficult in battle + a skilled fighter
  

 

[SHARPSHADOW]

Sharpshadow is settled somewhere between his former apprentices and Lostkit. To say that it was a thoughtless motion would be a lie... Honestly, it's weird to sit with them with no real goal in mind. To not be breathing down either of their necks... just, sitting around. Listening to the conversation more than she was contributing to it. Poor Lostkit would have more -stars to remember in ShadowClan than she would've at any other border...

His fur prickles at the sound of his name, even if the story had nothing to do with him, really... It goads a disbelieving plume of breath from him then, the picture of a then-Sneezepaw stuttering up a storm in the face of Chilledstar... To say they were the least intimidating Leader ShadowClan's ever had would be a disservice to Mirestar, really... but Sharpshadow can't remember ever being frightened by them the way Sneezeduck apparently had. Annoyed by, maybe. At some point, she had resented them...

Before Smogstar - who came before Mirestar, who came before Ternstar. It sounded ages away, but it hasn't even been two seasons yet... She could still remember the fresh twinge of blood. Dog's fangs sinking into a dark coat. Not for the first time, but certainly for the last.

They cared for us, like we were all kin. Guilt gnaws at the pit of his belly. It had taken him far too long to realize.

Dark ears swivel toward Halfsun, her seemingly disinterested mask cast in a few short moments. Whatever talk of Chilledstar had nearly dredged feelings of fondness, long thought dead from him, Halfsun evidently did not feel. His frown returns with a vengeance, slots back onto his face like it was the only thing he looked right wearing. Really, it's true.

" Sneezeduck doesn't need to tell her that. " Not now... It was only a matter of time before she saw it for herself, really. " Neither do you. " Picture of his namesake, Sharpshadow bristles. Don't trust anyone, it was probably true... But he'd like to pretend that it wasn't, for just a moment. He'd like to keep the kits from worrying, for just a moment. " There are cats you can trust, Lostkit." If if couldn't be Granitepelt... If it couldn't be Smogstar, Mirestar, Forestshade... she didn't know who was left. Not really. Someone had to believe in ShadowClan, even if it couldn't be her. Maybe, just maybe it could be Lostkit.

And that someone who could be trusted... If he hadn't been deputy, maybe it could have been him. His gaze passes over Lostkit, then Sneezeduck, then Halfsun... It isn't convincing when he says it. " There are. "

SHE SAID THAT I MAKE EXPRESSIONS LIKE HIM ♱ [ MY LEGS TO MY SHOULDERS AND MY CHIN ]

• OOC: . . .

• 

  SHARPSHADOW ♱ SHADOWCLAN DEPUTY. HE - HIM - SHE - HER
  A large, scrappy feline with pessimism seemingly baked into his bones. It's clear she doesn't make much of an effort to maintain herself, though the namesake of her coat would likely stand out either way.

  HEAVY IC OPINIONS! This mf is mentally ill

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[lostkit]

"Chilledstar was a great warrior. A leader."

lostkit looks up at sneezeduck with awe in her expression as he talks about the previous leader. ternstar, then mirestar then smogstar, then chilledstar -- so three leaders ago, three eras, during sneezeduck's life. in the back of her mind, she wonders if the other clans see such a high turnover in leaders, or if shadowclan really was cursed as all the elders complained that it was. she shakes the thoughts from her mind -- chilledstar sounded like an amazing leader, someone sneezeduck really admired. she thinks ternstar is pretty cool too -- thinks back to sneezeduck's story and wonders how ternstar would react if she asked to go hunting with her.

she opens her mouth to ask about the other leaders (if chilledstar was so great according to sneezeduck, and ternstar was so great according to her, what about the two in between?), but before she can, another voice chimes in.

"Sneezeduck, have you told Lostkit the part about cats randomly going missing every once in a while? That's my favorite. Stolen right out of their nests some cats say! Make sure you're careful Lostkit. Never trust anyone. Even cats you think you know."

innocently unaware of halfsun's internal thoughts, the kit's eyes widen comically in response. "stolen?" she echoes in disbelief. "that's awful, were they alright? no one's gotten stolen recently, right?" she asks, eyes big and round. well, the elders did talk about warriors leaving -- did that count as, as being stolen? but halfsun made it sound so much more ominous...

" Sneezeduck doesn't need to tell her that. Neither do you. There are cats you can trust, Lostkit."

the kit turns to spot their deputy approaching, and smiles up at him. she had dismissed halfsun's never trust anyone comment as soon as it had been uttered -- it simply wasn't in her blood. after all, she had shown up on the shadowclan border, complete strangers, newly abandoned, and they had still been worthy of her trust. and sure, some of the kits were mean sometimes, but she wasn't a pushover either -- she just, well, trusted.

"oh, i know!" the kit chirped innocently, happily. "i trust you guys!" and then, easily moving past the topic - sharpshadow, do you have any fun stories from your apprenticeship? did chilledstar also give you your apprentice name?" she questioned.

｡:ﾟ.°✧ PLEASE DONT LET THEM SEE ME

• ooc.
• 

  LOSTKIT (she/her) is a four moon old shadowclan kit with shorthair cream tabby fur with low white and blue-green eyes. she is the gen1 daughter of two rogue npc's.
  
  TAGS. penned by riyue. dm me on discord (xriyue) for plots.​

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