camp WHERE THE SUNSHINE STARTS ✦ INTRO + JOINING

[Joykit]

Joy walks close to Splashdance, her pelt brushing against the warrior's leg as they push through the reeds. Every step forward feels heavier than the last, exhaustion creeping into her bones, but she doesn't stop. She can't, for the first time in her life, her belly is full.

Splashdance had stopped along the river before bringing her here. Then, with a strength Joy could hardly believe, the warrior had pulled a fish from the water like it was the easiest thing in the world. Joy had hesitated at first — she'd never eaten fish before, only what meager pieces of scraps her mother had been able to scavenge. But at the first bite, warm and rich and unlike anything she had ever tasted, hunger had swallowed any reluctance.

Now, warmth settles in her belly, a strange, almost foreign feeling. It dulls the constant ache that has been her companion since birth, makes her limbs feel heavier but stronger all at once. She isn't quite sure how to process it.

But the moment of comfort is short lived. The smell of water still clings to her fur - thick in the air, mixing with something new — something unfamiliar. The reeds ahead part at Splashdance steps through them and suddenly, the world is so much bigger than she could have ever imagined. She freezes.

The hollow beyond the river's edge is alive with movement, a world bustling with noise and scent and the shifting bodies of more cats than she's ever seen in her life. Warriors stride across camp, their movements confident and sure, as if they have never once had to worry about where they were going to sleep at night. Others lounge in the sun, sharing tongues in easy companionship. There are so many of them, each stronger and with fuller bellies than her or her mother.

Joy feels their gazes settle on her, prickling against her fur like millions of tiny thorns. Some eyes hold curiosity, some quite caution. A few are unreadable, their expression guarded. She shrinks beneath their stares, instinct telling her to bolt. The reeds are right there, she could slip into them and disappear before they sent her away themselves. But she doesn't. She has to be brave. Brave like the river, always moving forward, brave like the wind, never stopping. That's what Mama would've said, anyways.

A cat approaches. Her fur fluffs up slightly, but she holds her ground. She doesn't know who this cat is, if they'll welcome her or send her away. She doesn't even know if she belongs here, if she'll ever belong anywhere ever again. But she has to try.

She swallows, summoning what little courage she has left. Her voice wavers but she manages. "Hi. My name's Joy. It's uh.. nice to meet you." she doesn't know if that's the right thing to say, but she says it anyways, ears twitching nervously as she waits for a response.

// anyone is free to be the cat she is talking to!
She is with @splashdance but no need to wait!
Takes place immediately after this thread

( °❀.ೃ࿔* ) just miss what it was

• 
• 
  JOY LONER; SHE / HER ; RUE X UNKNOWN ; SIBLING TO LIGHT & HOPE
  

  Joy is a fiercely independent and passionate she-kit, born into a harsh world where survival is a constant battle. Abandoned by her mother on the border of RiverClan, she is determined to carve her own path, driven by a competitive spirit and a need to prove herself. Proud and quick-tempered, Joy's journey will be shaped by her struggle to stand strong in a world that doesn't always show mercy.

  ✦ Unskilled kit

 

[bubbleburst]

〔✦〕Splashdance returning to camp is not enough to draw Bubbleburst's attention from the meticulous action of trying to sort through the scales she's just collected; trying to sort out the scuffed or duller ones to keep the better ones instead. It isn't until a murmur nearby about a kit with Splashdance catches her attention that the molly snaps her gaze towards the lead warrior. And sure enough, there stands Splashdance with a fearful looking kit.

Not wanting to be another pair of nameless, staring eyeballs, Bubbleburst abandons her project to approach the pair. The kit puffs up and she has to suppress a small giggle, not wanting to give the wrong impression. "I think Joy is a very pretty name!" Bubbleburst exclaims with a smile. Joy seems awfully unsure of herself- a feeling that Bubbleburst does not feel is in any way misplaced- but she hopes that she can help the kit feel a bit better given the circumstances. "Well, it's nice to meet you joy. My name is Bubbleburst!"

She looks to Splashdance now, a questioning expression dancing into her face. "Where did you find this poor thing?" Bubbleburst asks. She winces slightly, knowing how the question might be taken by the lead warrior, and in order to avoid any sort of confrontation she looks back to the little form of Joy. "You must be hungry. Have you ever had fish?"

sucker love, a box i choose ( no other box i choose to use ) !!

• ooc.
• BUBBLEBURST —— warrior of riverclan , mentoring twinklepaw . mudjaw x breezeflower . littermate to swanpaw ✦ penned by carat
  ✦ she/her / 16 moons & ages every 13th
  ✦ single / bisexual / open to romance
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— not a strong fighter, often prefers diplomacy and strategy over strength and battle skills
  
  ✦ "speech", 'thoughts', all opinions are in character
  ✦ biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  
• 
  
  

  a mediumhaired silver marbled tabby with moderate white and blue eyes

​

​

 

[shellpool]

the sound of rustling at clan's entrance gave pause to the warrior's passing stroll, a striped ear swiveling to meet it. her nostrils flare. she can tell it's splashdance by the smell, the permeating scent of milk that had already begun to ring her dark pelt. her eyes nearly cut away on reflex alone, a pointed thought she tucks desperately away for another time. the smell, however, begins to give way to something else . . loner scent, beneath the heavy fish and brine. shellpool pauses, at last turning her head to watch as the plump molly trods in with . . a child in tow.

a young, horribly scrawny she - kit ; her coat catches the evening light in shades of bleeding sunset. russet rosettes over eiderdown fur still spiky with kitten fluff, remnants of starvation stolen fat clinging to babysoft features. she toddles in with an uncertainty one so young as her should never bear. for a moment shellpool only stares, passive expression a resting warmth despite firmly set rosen gaze . . around her murmurs begin. glances between astonished, pitying riverclanners.

her heavy gaze softens.

memories of hazecloud's soft voice, telling stories of their arrival . . omitting the razored edge of it, the scheming and hate her birth mother had carried. she'd been nearly newborn when kindling had brought her to the border, simpering a story of survival against the odds, asking for acceptance into an already struggling riverclan. smokestar had not bent to her. he had, however, accepted them ; they were named moments after being laid at her momma's belly. pebblekit, riverkit, shellkit. the curls of rotten frostbite that cling to her remaining brother's ears was a testament to it.

joy is lonerblood as she was lonerblood, until destiny led her litter to her uncle's star guided leadership ; glory runs like comets through her veins . . but splashdance is not smokestar. this kit was not born of star and gleaming waters. splashdance was fat with the swell of her brothers kits, tainting them with bog blood to release into riverclan's muddying ranks. didn't it seem just right, that the one who'd simply showed up in their camp would eventually cart in one of her own? the river would make its judgement in due time. she prays the water favors them . . and that the kits mother did not return with a vengeance, in the way kindling had.

she mutters a prayer beneath honeyed breath as she approaches, half lidded eyes twinkling a calm she hopes soothes the child in wake of bubblebursts loud exclamations. have you ever eaten fish? her nostrils flare, taking in the scent that clings to the pair. fresh water, descaled bits of minnow flesh. her eyes flick pointedly up at splashdance, then back to bubbleburst, " smells as if . . she's already eaten. " she murmurs, hopefully softer than the girl could hear herself. leafbare had not been kind to them. their sunningrocks win a bigger loss than it had been a gain . . with the thawing ice they could afford to feed an extra mouth, even as the chill clung to its hold.

her tail lifts into a gentle curl when she looks finally to joy again, who had fluffed up under the blue tabby's attention, " well . . thank stars it's nearly newleaf. "

it's said with as much cheer as her soft, fluttering vocals could provide ; pleasant, to a child's ears, but ever barbed towards splashdance in the way bubbleburst had cringed away from, " it must've been very scary, making it all the way to riverclan camp . . but you can rest now. " her bravery was astounding, young and fragile as she seemed. her heart aches, a guileless pity simmering beneath her ever still expression. the ghost of a smile curls serene features, squinting rosen eyes, " my name is shellpool. our leader will be here soon to see you, then we can . . find you somewhere to lay your head. "

regardless of how she'd been found in riverclan territory, she looked no older than two moons . . unless the girl left herself, she would be tucked right into the nursery if lichenstar had anything to say about it. bubblebursts asks the questions that swim in her mind, and shellpool twitches an ear splashdance's way to indicate that she was curious as well. she blinks slow at the kit, sniffing heavy with the way her head cranes slightly downward, " are you cold? " she looked exhausted, more than anything . . but the winds were still sharp in late leafbare, and the girl was thin as reeds. her tail falls in a loose semi circle at her side, plush and woven with lotus, lavender petals ; an open invitation, though not one she would force the little molly into. she was twitching, nervous thing despite her brave face . . but shellpool supposed she would be to, in her state.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 ₊˚໒꒱ 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒

• ooc.
• 
• SHELLPOOL . 𖥔 ݁ ˖ 𓆝 ࿐ SHE / HER, 14☽s OLD. WARRIOR OF RIVERCLAN ; HAZECLOUD xx LICHENSTAR. SMELLS LIKE SALT & RIVER BLOOMS. PENNED BY ANTLERS ---------------- ° ❀ ⋆
  frail alabaster molly with lilac striping and watery amber eyes.

  

  she is pallid ; platinum splotched with ribbons of dovey lilac curls, wisped ends like memories of a distant shore and plush enough to conceal the juts of malnutrition beneath. tufted eiderdown fur conceals a body worn thin by tumultuous youth, too thin in some places and round with stubborn baby fat in others. her face is delicately constructed as the rest of her ; heart - shaped, fragile, tendered with warmly shadowed eyes. beneath the languor of lapis - veined lids, her gaze brims a rheumy, rosen tinge — ruddy like a pulsing bruise, curtained with heavy lashes that keep her serenely half - lidded.
  

  LIVING WITH LONGTERM ILLNESS ; always exhibiting the symptoms of a lingering cold, most notably a runny nose and eyes. not contagious unless specified otherwise.

 

[MIDNIGHTASH]

જ➶ A pink tongue rasps against her paw. Stroking over healed skin that feels thicker and less flexible. Resting is something she has been grateful to have despite how it came to be. Her eyes close as she leans her head forward, a sigh lingering on her lips before the scent of milk reaches her nostrils. The scent of freshly opened fish becomes prevalent. With her head turning she finally looks toward the scene that finds alreadg two others looming. Her own body finally moves and she makes her way over to see just what is actually going on.

Pressing through a little burning ambers finally focus in on the kit that stands beside Splashdance. Her maw frowns a little as she glances toward the rounding belly of the other and then to the child that has been brought into clanlife. With a heavy sigh she merely steps back no words leaving her for the moment as other'scomment about the child and if they are okay, or of they are hungry. Her own mind is processing this much different. Feeling a strange sense of isolation before she forces a smile upon her muzzle. "Welcome to Riverclan. I'm Midnightash. Hopefully you will love the nursery and you'll...you'll have playmates soon." Both already there and soon to be born. ​

 

[lichenstar]

✦˚.✧˚✧˚✦˚ ✧ ˚✧˚✦˚✧.˚✧

CLAIM THE BURIAL I SEEK IN DREAMS FLOWING RIVER CEMETARY ✧

• Wasn't often that they were given surprises.. and even lesser were the odds it was a pleasant gift. The shining eyes of a curious, though understandably nervous, kitten, is a welcome sight. At the very least, RiverClan is not so cruel as to turn her away, shaking and lonesome as she is... They'd find a way to make it work, to keep her fed better than the harsh, isolated wilderness would. The amassing crowd is what stirs her attention, fevered stare fixating on swirls of lavender and rippling blues first. Bubbleburst and Shellpool, huddled close and speaking in gentle tones. That is not outside of their nature... but they hunch down as if speaking to someone small.... that is unusual.
  
  Standing on shivering limbs, the reed-wraith skirts from her position roosting like a vulture in the shade of the willow tree to join them, listening to the lilting voices that coddle their new guest in shades of warmth. "Did I hear... right...? Joy?" It's a presumptuous name, one given by a parent that hoped for the world to be laid out at her paws... Lichenstar's chest aches with empathy, the understanding of how much she too would give to see her children thrive. For the most part... they have... but still, it never seemed enough. To not be able to take the rasp out of Shellpool's breath, the anxiousness in Pebbletail's eyes, the warble of Horizonthroat's voice. It would never be enough.
  
  The lynx point draws in a bubbling breath, ignoring the hitch of popping phlegm in favor of attending to their cautious friend. "You're safe here..." Her gaze slides towards her petal-frail daughter, tracing the shape of her ribs under her coat for all the memories held between them. She'd been in worse shape than even this, when Smokestar had brought her back to camp in the frigid cold, not so different from today.
  
  "She looks... healthy but... I'll ask... the medicine cats to... look her over," she decides in wispy tones, "Let's... get her warmed up..." Her nose lifts in gesture towards the nursery, confirming no further action necessary left but to welcome the new kit into the camp completely.
• about
  
  speech hex code ✧ #6368A5
  
  ooc notes ✦
  tagging ✶
  penned by tieirlys
• ˚ ★⋆. ࿐࿔ ✦ . . ˚ . . ✦ ˚ .
  
  . ˚ * ✦ . . ✦ ˚ ˚ .˚ ✦ . . ˚ . ✦ . . ˚ ੈ✧˳·˖✶ ✦ ˚ ✦ . . ˚ ★⋆. ࿐࿔
  
  . ˚ * ✦ . . ✦ ˚ ˚ .˚ ✦ . . ˚ . ✦ ​

 

[Joykit]

The first cat to speak—Bubbleburst—meets her with a warm smile, a bright, easy energy that Joy doesn't quite know what to do with. The she-cat says her name is pretty, and Joy blinks, unsure how to respond. It isn't something she's ever thought about. Her name is just her name. It's never been anything special, just something her mother whispered to her on cold nights when they curled together for warmth. But there's no suspicion in Bubbleburst's gaze, no sharpness in her voice, and Joy finds herself mumbling a quiet, "Thanks," before she even realizes it.

The next cat—Shellpool—is different. There's something in her eyes, something measured, quiet, and knowing. Joy doesn't know what it means, but she doesn't flinch when the warrior's gaze lingers on her, doesn't shrink when Shellpool speaks again, softer this time. The words aren't meant for her, but she catches them anyway. She's already eaten.

She stiffens. She doesn't know why, but something about the words puts her on edge. It isn't an accusation, not exactly, but it makes her feel… watched. Noticed. She'd eaten, yes, but that shouldn't matter, should it? It was only one meal, the first real one she'd ever had. And yet, she can't shake the feeling that it does matter, that everything about her is being picked apart, analyzed in ways she doesn't understand.

And then there's Midnightash, her smile something that looks practiced, something meant to be reassuring, though Joy can't quite tell if it's meant for her or for the black and red molly herself. Her words catch her off guard. You'll have playmates soon. Joy's ears twitch. Playmates. The word feels foreign. She had Hope and Light once—her siblings who should have been her playmates. But they were always too sick, too weak. No chasing, no wrestling, just tired eyes and Mama's quiet reassurances. "You have to be strong, Joy, Mama had said. "For them. For all of us." So she had been. She had ignored the hunger clawing at her belly so they could eat first. She had stayed awake while they slept, listening for danger, keeping watch like Mama told her to. She had been strong because they couldn't be.. Until they were gone. Her throat tightens. That was then. This is now. She doesn't know how to play. So she says nothing.

She barely has time to process the thought before yet another cat approaches. The way the others react tells her this one is different—important. And then the she-cat speaks.

"You're safe here."

Joy doesn't realize how much she needed to hear those words until they settle in her chest. Safe. She has never been safe. Not truly. Safety was always temporary, always uncertain. But this cat—Lichenstar—says it like it's a fact, like it's something real, something that belongs to her now. She doesn't know what to say. She doesn't know what to do with any of this—the kindness, the attention, the way they all look at her like she's something more than just another scrap of fur standing between them and their next meal.

She swallows hard, feeling the exhaustion pressing down on her limbs, the warmth of her full belly making her sluggish. She should say something—thank them, maybe—but the words stick in her throat. Instead, she only nods, her voice small when she finally manages, "Okay."

She doesn't know what comes next. She doesn't know what to expect. But she's willing to find out.

( °❀.ೃ࿔* ) just miss what it was

• 
• 
  JOY LONER; SHE / HER ; RUE X UNKNOWN ; SIBLING TO LIGHT & HOPE
  

  Joy is a fiercely independent and passionate she-kit, born into a harsh world where survival is a constant battle. Abandoned by her mother on the border of RiverClan, she is determined to carve her own path, driven by a competitive spirit and a need to prove herself. Proud and quick-tempered, Joy's journey will be shaped by her struggle to stand strong in a world that doesn't always show mercy.

  ✦ Unskilled kit