tunnels welcome to the planet -- roots

[Mouseflight]

Paws itched to go into the tunnels, to begin digging. They had always itched for the dirt, and no matter how much Mousepaw tried to do other things, he always found himself back to the territory and into the tunnels. With the new tunnel having begun already - StarClan blessed as well - Mousepaw had found his paws itching more to dig, and luckily he was able to do so more often than not now. He loved his other training that he was involved in as well, the fighting and the hunting, but this is what he was born for, and he could feel it. Mousepaw was at his happiest when he was underground, and it was clear to those that trained with him, and to the other tunnelers that had to deal with him both underground and above. Today was no different, the tunnel had been started and every chance he got Mousepaw found himself in it, trying to help with the digging. Today, however, seemed to be a particularly hard day, for the dirt seemed to be packed oddly around roots.

Normally, Mousepaw would just try to go around them, but he was especially stubborn today, and the roots didn't seem that thick, just long and kind of everywhere. After digging up roots after roots, the apprentice finally let out a noise of frustration before he lunged forward and began to chew on them, hoping to break them up at least a small amount so they'd be easier to get through.

OOC INTERACTIONS ✧.·:·.*

• [ooc]
• windclan (sootstar) loyalist
  dirty fighter/will aim to kill
  will bully anyone (some more than others)
  

  
  

  likely to attack first
  powerplay peaceful actions okay
  ping if needed in a thread
  
• 
  8 months old
  ftm calico -- he/him
  tunneler apprentice
  
  large ears
  always looks grumpy

​

 

[✧ Marmotbite.]

♢​♢ THE BEST MISTAKE YOU EVER MADE ♢♢​

---

marmotpaw & 09 moons & female & she/her & windclan tunneler apprentice​

---

Marmotpaw is mor enuetral to the tunnels than most - she is small, so she is a tunneler. It's simply a fact of life for the girl - not something she is proud of, and not something she hates. Though the saftey the darkness offers is nice, she supposes - less threats, and certainly no hawks. Another day, another tunnel to dig - really, theres nothing new about it. Except, something ahead of them has mousepaw frustrated - she hears it in his annoyed squeaks and grunts, and it's enough to unsettle her, the anticipation and impatience only building. "Whadaya' stuck on," she finally asks, words harsh and waspish - couldn't he have just asked for help or something? A frown crosses her features, tugging at her scars uncomfortably, but she's used the to discomfort by now.

— it sounds so fuckin' beautiful when you say my name ♡

• Actions && "Speech," && ' Thoughts/Quotes '
  
  ooc: —
  tw/cw: —
  
• 
  — a shockingly tiny she-cat with pale blue and cream ticked tabby fur, save for a single patch covering her right eye that is brown instead, and mismatched green-orange eyes. she has heavy scarring along the entirety of her left side, from her face all the way down her chest, belly, and flank; which has been there since kithood. she is a twitchy little thing, known for her bad attitude and an unfortunate habit of biting when startled.
  
  — physically medium && mentally medium
  — non-violent powerplay allowed && healing powerplay allowed && minor injury powerplay not-allowed
  — please attack using [b][color=#9ab973]action here[/color][/b] and tag account

 

[Mouseflight]

Ears pinned to Mousepaw's head as he heard the footsteps of Marmotbite coming over, before she finally spoke and asked what he was stuck on. Stepping back, the apprentice motioned his paws in front of him towards the roots before looking back towards the other. "These stupid roots are everywhere and I can't get around them. I was going to just break them up but there's so many and they're disgusting." There was a reason why cats were meant to eat prey and not plants, he didn't know how Wolfsong could chew on those leaves and not gag from the taste.

He looked back around once more, digging to the side before stopping again when he saw roots once more, head leaning back as he looked at the dirt roof above him, an exasperated sigh leaving his maw as soon as he had done so. "You ever seen roots like these before? I don't want to start over somewhere else and potentially come across them again." It would be a lot of work, and could get confusing for the cats that weren't used to the tunnels or who hadn't helped in this area, going down to get ready to go somewhere else only to reach a dead end.

OOC INTERACTIONS ✧.·:·.*

• [ooc]
• windclan (sootstar) loyalist
  dirty fighter/will aim to kill
  will bully anyone (some more than others)
  

  
  

  likely to attack first
  powerplay peaceful actions okay
  ping if needed in a thread
  
• 
  8 months old
  ftm calico -- he/him
  tunneler apprentice
  
  large ears
  always looks grumpy

​

 

[RABBITCLAW]

Looks like there's trouble. Wonder what's the fuss. Oooo, I hope it's something dangerous! With that thought in mind she quickly makes her way over to... Boring. This is boring. She comes across roots. Roots were not dangerous in their tunnels, but they were annoying because you were forced in some cases like this one to take a detour. Making tunnels were hard, but roots like these were a sign that a tree was above them. "Too bad Mousepaw, we're gonna have to take a little detour in digging to save what's been dug up already, or... Or we're going to have to start over a fair distance to the right or left." She pushes her way pas the pair and puts her paw with unsheathed claws on one of the thick roots. "This?" She scrapes her claws against the thick roots to signal to the pair on sound alone, "Are tree roots. If you dig up from here chances are you'll find yourself staring at a big ol' tree. And you've seen trees, no matter how much ya dig your claws in, it doesn't fall down. These roots here make sure trees don't go falling on poor cats. It's a good thing for our pals on the surface, not so much for us. It's annoying. Tree roots are big and cover a large area. You kinda have to guess how far the roots go out. We love a guessing game."

The news that Mousepaw would be forced to dig elsewhere was not fun to hear, just as it wouldn't be fun for anyone else being faced with roots such as these. However, it would serve some use for Mousepaw and Marmotpaw to know what this was and what to do for the next time. Sometimes there were battles you couldn't win underground, but tree roots were a nice indicator. the further they were from camp, then they would find themselves bumping into more trees. They were making progress. Maybe these two wouldn't be so bummed at the news. "It's not all bad though. Think about it. Windclan doesn't have much trees right? At least not compared to other clans, so we can take this here as starting to leave Windclan territory."​

 

[BLUEFROST]

The tunnel expansion project her mother—and StarClan themselves, seemingly—had ordered is not without its obstacles. Nearly every day seems to bring something exasperating, and Mousepaw has discovered yet another one. The gray she-cat can see the frustration burning in his golden eyes as he attempts to tear at root after root, only to find more webbed through the ceiling and walls of the tunnels. She looks up from where she's working beside Marmotpaw, seeing Mousepaw's dilemma with her own shining green gaze. “There’s no use. We’ll have to dig elsewhere.” Her tone is less defeatist and more resolute.

She flicks a tufted ear, only semi-pleased to hear Rabbitclaw confirm this. The moorland isn’t entirely barren of trees, but they are few and far between, with roots stretching deeper underground than she’d ever attempted to imagine. She sighs. “Suppose we go above ground and gauge how big the tree is and start at another point? We’ll never be able to dig through all this… and if we do, what if it does collapse?” She looks at the thick, dirt-streaked roots doubtfully. She isn’t sure it’s possible, but… just in case it is, perhaps they’d better try a new tactic.

✧ INFO.

• mentor tag @SOOTSTAR
• 
  — bluekit . bluepaw
  — she/her, apprentice of windclan
  — bisexual ; single
  — long-haired blue she-cat with white and green eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — art by Meg

​

 

[LUCKYPAW]

Hanging back behind some of the others on the mission, Luckypaw works slowly, running his paws and tail along the pathway they've only just begun to carve to make sure it doesn't need any extra reinforcement. Actually digging out the new tunnel is still daunting, but shoring up the walls? That's nothing new, and even though the cats in the lead clearly know what they're doing, he's learning that you can't be too careful down here. His work is diligent, if not glacial, trying not to miss any little divot, and though he'd followed the lead of @cygnetstare at first, he wouldn't blame her if she'd moved onto some other patch or task, allowing for more efficient work. Though careful not to fall too far behind, he's still maintained a modicum of distance - at least, until now, when he starts to sense that he's drawing unusually close to those who are paving the way ahead. Hearing conversation pick up, he stops his work after one last pat, head tilting curiously forward - why had they stopped? Something bad having happened certainly crosses his mind, though there doesn't seem to be much distress present in any tone, only frustration, maybe, and, of course, the well-known cadence of instruction.

Listening in closely, it's not hard to get the picture - thick roots block their way, apparently from a tree, and they're now faced with the dilemma of starting over or finding a way to go around. Luckypaw's seen roots before (or, mostly he's felt them), but as he peers forward at where Mousepaw currently seems to be doing battle with the protrusions, he quickly realizes these are like nothing he's ever seen. Now it makes more sense why they couldn't really be avoided - stretching out like that, it almost looks as though the tendrils have dug their way into the ground, like a clawed paw grasping the earth. It's intimidating, with how the roots look as though they could come to life at any moment, and he quickly decides he doesn't want anything to do with them. "Is there any way to tell when they might, you know, pop back up again? What if we dig around them now and run into another tree or something, and we can't go to the surface to scout because we'd be right in the middle of another Clan?" In the midst of all the solutions offered and frustrations vented, Luckypaw suddenly finds himself keenly aware of just how much better the moors must be than other Clans that live among the trees​

[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​

 

[RABBITCLAW]

It seems another cat has joined them, and from the sound of their voice it is Bluepaw. She can't help but smile in the darkness at the apprentice quickly understanding that continuing to dig was useless. How peculiar she didn't think she would be teaching these apprentices some tips and tricks today considering she rather go about her work or have a nice spar with a clanmate, but she supposed this was her duty as a warrior. She had no apprentice at the moment, but there was nothing wrong with teaching future warriors what she learned, right? For once she has an air of calm. Luckypaw, her nephew chips in as well which she keeps in mind. There is another scent with him which she assumes to be Cygnetstare. Anyhow, when her nephew finishes, she begins.

"Trees are strong and stubborn things. They refuse to bow to the wind. It won't collapse unless you foolishly keep tearing away the strong and thick roots. However, as I said. Trees refuse to bow to the wind. Only Starclan can bring them down or forces outside our claws. So don't worry your pretty little head about being crushed to death Bluepaw. Anyway, even if we go above ground it's hard even for seasoned tunnelers to say without a doubt this is how far we should go back and start here. Our guesses are a bit better. It is also also you said my dear Luckypaw, it would be terrible if we surfaced and found ourselves in another clan, but let this be a lesson."

All tunnelers would experience running into a tree at one point or another, so it would be a disservice to not prepare them with the knowledge on what to do should another situation arise and they find themselves in a bigger mess. "Stones are one of our worst enemies here for a reason, but with trees... Think of their roots as cobwebs. If you remember, cobwebs have many strings in the center, but the further you move away from the center you'll have a few strings. The same works for trees. Mousepaw you started running into thicker roots right? Well this isn't even as thick as they can get, but this means you're getting closer to the center of a tree. Patience... Dealing with trees requires patience. But remember. Tunnelers navigate through touch, right? All of you feel around, even the ceiling. I've given you all the hint you need to figure the rest out." I'm not asking too much, I don't think. With my guess the tree roots get thin a good two tail lengths away. Should be good enough to continue digging from there.​