camp weak knees and all -- intro

[RUMBLERAIN]

Since the moment their personality had begun to show, Rumblekit had been a little bit of an oddity. Not to the extent of the Mallowlark they'd been compared to once by a warrior (who, conveniently, Rumblekit hadn't seen since he'd made that comment! Weird), but enough so that, if not for the rowdiness of their family and other denmates pulling them into games and discussions, Rumblekit might be left well enough alone most days. They don't mind being alone, honestly; it gives them time to explore and learn at their own time ... and, in the case of today, find a really cool bug.

The grasshopper, as Rumblekit would later learn it was called, sits idly on a tall piece of grass, completely ignoring the kitten's nose that practically touches its leg. They've been frozen in place for about two minutes now, trembling just slightly with the effort of ... keeping their eyes open? Nothing weird to see here but Rumblekit, having a staring contest with an insect. The insect ignores them, as insects do, but a puff of their shaky breath causes it to jump. Off the grass, through the air, and right onto the dark-pointed kitten's face.

Rumblekit recoils with a shrill screech, acting as if the sky has fallen, and shakes their head to dislodge the tiny beast. The grasshopper, completely unbothered, clings harder to short strands of fur.​

 

[SCORCHSTORM]

TAGS — "Hold still!" Scorchkit tries to follow the strange green thing on Rumblekit's seal-streaked face as best she can, but they whip their head about with such panicked vigor she's having trouble keeping up. Their wild shriek had pulled her over in the first place, and all she wants is to help, really! After all, if she can't help, then Rumblekit might have a weird green thing on their face forever. Scorchkit's white-dipped paws hover in front of their sibling's face, trying to wait for the perfect moment to bat the bug away from them. One, two...

Smack. The girl aims for the insect, but instead hits her sibling square in the nose. "Oh, uh...." She missed. And she hit Rumblekit right in the nose. A chilly sort of guilt nips at her, etching a frown into her bi-colored muzzle. "Oops." What is this thing, anyway? Maybe it's totally invincible....​

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[LUCKYPAW]

The distressed cry of his sibling from across camp quickly alerts Luckykit, who had been idly passing the time by watching the hustle and bustle of cats moving about performing their duties for the day. All burgeoning thoughts of Clan dynamics are immediately pushed aside at the sight of Rumblekit's frantic movements and at Scorchkit rushing to their aid. As he moves to follow, terrible thoughts race through his mind - what if Rumblekit is hurt? What if they pricked themself on a stray thorn and are bleeding out, or tripped and knocked something out of place? What if it's serious? He doesn't have any idea how to help in virtually any scenario, other than to hope that someone else with more experience shows up, but he doesn't hesitate to head to his sibling's aid. Scorchkit gets there before Luckykit can, and even as he's racing to join them, he stumbles in confusion, brow furrowed as he watches his sister swat their sibling on the nose. That...didn't seem like the right thing to do, or helpful in the slightest, but any question he might ask dies on his tongue as he finally spots the cause of all the trouble.

At first glance, it seems like a piece of moss, green and stuck fast to Rumblekit's face, but surely there wouldn't be that much fuss if that's all it was. His sibling's movements make it hard to track, but after a moment his eyes widen when he sees the strange scrap seem to move all on its own, giving a slight wriggle as it holds on, resisting being thrown off. Surely he hadn't just seen that - surely it hadn't just moved like that, as if it were alive or something? Moss, or whatever it was, wasn't supposed to do that! And yet, there it is again, the next movement just enough to fully convince him; definitely not moss. But, if not moss, then what was attacking Rumblekit? "What is that? What is that?" Luckykit cries out, tone pitching upwards as he repeats himself with rising panic as he feels the situation begin to spiral out of his grasp. Not an inkling of what to do in this situation, he stands by, a paw lifted as if to do something to help, but held back in fear of making the situation any worse. "Wh- how - what do we do?" he splutters out, turning to Scorchkit as if she might have a better answer - not that bopping Rumblekit seemed to be very effective the first time, but maybe it was better than doing nothing at all.​

[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​

 

[cottonsprig]

Cottonpaw is admittedly not a frequenter of the nursery. Ever since being released from its threshold, she's been more than happy to wander the camp's limits, and even the moorlands (when her mentor allows her to. Which, more recently, has not been often.) She's stopped by once or twice when Spiderbloom's kittens were young, however most of those visits were attached to some sort of chore she was meant to do for the queens. Perhaps she should right her habits in some way - especially since Scorchstreak and Badgermoon's kittens seem to be screaming to StarClan about a silly little bug.

She hops off of her beaten path to find the squealing kittens at war with a little grasshopper clinging to one's face. Rumblekit, she thinks? Their siblings seem to stand with each a paw raised, ready to smack the thing right off the point's nose (though Cottonpaw had not seen Scorchkit's previous failure.) "Are you guys spooked by this little guy?" Cottonpaw mrows with some soft chittering beneath her tone. She can remember when Sunflowerpaw had a butterfly land on them, and how fascinating it had been then for her. She supposes different litters have different experiences...?

"Here, here," she holds up a paw, eyes focused on the victim of the grasshopper's crimes. "Swipe your face like this," and she tries to give an example, drawing her paw quickly from her forehead down the bridge of her nose. "Like... you're grooming yourself. But do it quick, y'don't want it stickin' to your paw, next." It's almost exciting, to be the one teaching rather than learning. Regardless, she mimics the action again, this time adding a stern flick to the motion.​

 

[RUMBLERAIN]

Smack! Rumblekit wails in response to the impact even after they'd oh-so-politely held still for Scorchkit, an ear-splitting sound in the way that any toddler's shriek could be, though it's far more from surprise than any actual pain. Their vision blurs with reflexive tears and they shake their head again, but still the bug is stuck firm. Rumblekit has no suggestion to offer Luckykit, who seems almost as panicked over the bug as they are, but a third and far more amused voice joins them just as Rumblekit closes their eyes against the bug as it sticks a horrible little leg on their eyelid.

"Cottonpaw!" Rumblekit cries. Thank the stars, their saviour. The apprentice could surely get it off their face without smacking them. The little pointed kitten misses her explanation, blue eyes squeezed shut so they don't have to see the green obstruction to their vision. "Get it off! Please!"
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[SOOTSPOT]

Below the surface, how quickly one reacted to sound could be a matter of life and death: the shifting of soil overhead, the running of water, the hiss of a snake, and the breath of a waiting predator. A scream signaled danger, and with all the intensity of a LionClan warrior, he burst out from the camp tunnel he was hiding within, long fur bristled and claws out with the anticipation of running head first into an enemy. Instead, yellow-green eyes were met with a large green bug, clinging onto Rumblekit's face like it was trying to offer them a hug. His pupils narrowed then evened out as they adjusted to the light, and Sootspot's ears and tail began to twitch in annoyance as he looked at the gaggle of kittens and apprentices all gathered around the lynx-point child. "It is, perhaps, a small mercy you will not be chosen as a tunneler." Gangly limbs would make them a poor digger at best, and if a grasshopper was enough to spook them, he loathed to think what they would make of the spiders and centipedes they came across on a daily basis. Cottonpaw seemed willing to handle the manner, but at that moment, Sootspot felt strangely perturbed at being overshadowed by his younger sister.

It was so petty that even his own stomach began to twist in disgust at it, but he powered on. Drifting forwards, the tunneler stood over Scorchstreak's child and slowly began to raise a charcoal forepaw. Watching with great intent, Sootspot suddenly struck, aiming to swipe the grasshopper right off of Rumblekit's face with the precision of a praying mantis. He did his best to avoid actually hitting the child and, when the deed was done, he recalled his paw and brushed it against the long strands of fur upon his alabaster chest. If he succeeded or not, he would not try again: perfection demanded results on the first try, not by some measure of trial and error.



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[SCORCHSTORM]

TAGS — Luckykit is quick to arrive and turn to her in newfound panic, asking what could be done. "I don't know," she answers, white-tipped tail lashing in her confusion. She'd swung and she'd missed-- and her failure was made all the more obvious by Rumblekit's shrill wail. "Sorry! Sorry!" the girl fumbles, trying to assuage her sibling (though she feels her chances at success have vastly diminished). Thankfully, Cottonpaw swoops in with all her infinite knowledge, and Scorchkit is hopeful that maybe she can rescue the situation in her stead.

She speaks about the terrible green scrap as if it is not actively ruining their lives, but the demonstration she gives seems straightforward enough. Now all Rumblekit has to do is just swat it off their own nose, without chance for an accidental smacking, and they'll be okay! The tides of Scorchkit's panic seem to calm-- but it seems that Rumblekit has missed the explanation entirely. They'll need a new hero, it seems. And, just in time, Sootspot comes along to fill the role. She thinks that his quip is, perhaps, not very heroic, but... at least he got the bug off, right?

Scorchkit departs the group to inspect the fallen insect (though she's careful to maintain enough distance to prevent it from hopping onto her own face next). "What is this?" she queries to the apprentice and the warrior that join them, whiskers twitching. It had terrorized her sibling-- she figures it must have a name if it could do all that.​

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