camp Why does everybody love you? || kit underfoot, PAFP

[Emberpaw]

Right, so she was not allowed out of camp, under any circumstances. Emberkit had sighed and moped quietly, but only for a few moments. Normally, having nothing to do just made her bored. Thanks to the bear attack though, whenever it was empty her head would just flood itself with the past. If someone passed behind her too quickly she jolted. When she closed her eyes she saw gnashing teeth. Playing games with her fellows felt like a foolish distraction, one that might cost her or someone she loved dearly if they weren’t watchful. Even though they had returned home, she didn’t feel safe. How could she, with the camp strewn in pieces around her? The warriors were working hard to fix that, of course. Emberkit just wished it would go by faster. Hmm. What if I helped too? What a great idea!

It was not a great idea

After nearly an hour of pestering her clan mates, knocking piles over and bumping into others and being tripped over, an NPC warrior had finally had enough. Emberkit was scooped up by her scruff, moved to a quieter side of camp, and firmly told to ‘stay still, I mean it little one.’ Realizing that words wouldn’t hold her in place for long, the warrior surveyed the camp for a more permanent solution. ‘Ah, Ribbitleap, over here! Look after this one for us, will you? She’s been under our paws all morning.’ Anticipating a protest, the warrior added, ‘Someone’s got to. Besides, she’s your sister, isnt she? Just make up some game to play with her.’

And with that, Emberkit was left in the custody of a mildly grumpy looking warrior. Looking him over, she was pretty sure she’d seen him before, back in the tunnel. They hadn’t spoken, but the feline who’d just dropped her off had said something rather curious. Sister? But he’s not my sibling. After a moment of thought, the realization came to her. Oh! Is he related to Chilledstar? That must be it! The leader had very publicly taken Emberkit in, openly declaring her as their kit despite the lack of blood relation. They had helped her feel like Shadowclan really did accept her, like she had a place. Now it seemed she had a new brother. How exciting!
“Hello there,” she chirped, skipping up to Ribbitleap. “What d’you wanna do?”

/ please wait for @RIBBITLEAP to post ^^

 

[RIBBITLEAP]

Ribbitleap, just like every other ShadowClan warrior right now, is busy.

They've returned back to a camp in shambles, a war raged on their home by hulking beasts invading. And while he's glad the bears are gone, while he's glad to be back home - away from sleeping in tunnels and oak forests - Ribbitleap is not glad for all the work there is to be done. With rubble to be sorted through and dens to be rebuilt, it's going to take some time for ShadowClan to look normal again.

He's moving sticks - pulling them out of den walls and carrying them to a pile in the center of camp, when his name is called. Ribbitleap, over here!

Expecting the warrior needs help, the brown tabby drops the stick he's been carrying into the pile before padding over, only to see an unfortunately familiar scrap of fur nearby. Emberkit. Swamp-green eyes narrow, his gaze flickering to the warrior who called him over. Look after this one for us, will you?

"You're kidding," he mutters, a flick of the tail behind him. Why him? He's busy! "You can't find anyone else to --"

She's your sister, the warrior notes, a justification that only causes a frown to pull at his face, a flash of anger hitting him. Ribbitleap has one sibling - one. A brother. Leaping Toad. Emberkit is not Leaping Toad - she never will be.

The warrior gives him no choice, no room to protest further as they turn away from him to return to their work. "She's not my sister..!" he still calls after them, like it would make a difference. She's not, she's not.

And yet, he's stuck with the scrap of fur, all excited and bright-eyed as she asks what he wants to do. "My job," he mumbles, an annoyed sigh following. He'll have to make up for lost time and return to his job later - perhaps when the kid is asleep in the nursery, far away from those who can assume Ribbitleap is her brother. ​

 

[Wheattail]

While the warriors seemed to be busying their bodies, Wheat was occupied with trying to sort out her own head. There were quite a lot of rules to be remembered, it seemed, one of which she and Emberkit had learned together. The idea that a mature, experienced woman like herself was confined to camp had quite nearly caused a temper tantrum (the hypocrisy of which was entirely lost on the wanderer).

Of course, Wheat held slightly more freedom than her younger counterpart, but the idea of a chaperone was none too pleasing either. It was this lesson among others that the somali lookalike stewed over at the edge of camp, amber eyes flicking half-concentrated over her clanmates. It was strange, a closed maw longed to speak to all these new faces, but how exactly to go about it was a mystery. The wanderer was much more comfortable being approached than doing the approaching, but as no one seemed to be taking the beauty's bait, she was stuck in social purgatory.

Amber eyes flicked to life as Wheat spotted a more familiar sort of movement across camp, the child from the icy conversation with Chilledstar seemed to have gotten herself put in a different sort of purgatory. A soft snort left the wanderer as autumn-colored paws pushed up and propelled her forwards. Truth be told, Wheat felt a bit bad for Emberkit (though she'd never admit it). It was clear to even the childish cat that Chilledstar had snapped at them both due to a desire to protect their progeny, but such motivations were often lost on kits. If the wanderer said she'd had no part to play in goading Shadowclan's leader into anger, a lie would've been told.

So, in service to repaying her error, Wheat approached Emberkit and Ribbetleap, with a warm purr to the former and an unreadable stare to the latter. "Siblings?" she mused for a moment, almost to herself at the inability to see any family resemblance. With a small shake of her head. Though, the fox-like feline moved on. "I believe you are misjudging the young one's usefulness" Wheat said matter-of-factly, with a sly grin towards Emberkit. "No matter the size, teeth are teeth and claws are claws. Hers can be as mighty as you or I's if given the proper assignment. Do you not agree?"​

 

[Emberpaw]

For the first few seconds, Emberkit was blissfully unaware of Ribbitleap's indifference. She talked on ahead, answering her own question.
"Ooh, can we play um, er, swamp monsters?" Crowkit had introduced her to the game, the echoing squeals of joy and excitement still rang fondly in her ears.
"Or maybe-” She had been about to ask for a badger ride, but suddenly she halted. Ribbitleap’s glare was a bolt of lightning to her throat, burning her words to ash. Only now did she register the fact that he had denied any relation to her, and his cold response to her request to play cowed her further. He’s Chilledstar’s son, isnt he? That was what she’d heard, and she’d thought that the warrior calling her his sister was confirmation of that. And yet he stubbornly gazed anywhere but her, a storm cloud denying the wilting sprout any hope of rain.

Did I make him mad? It certainly seemed that way, though try as she might the child could not imagine what it was she’d done. Just as Ribbitleap’s chill grew too biting to bear, a ray of sunshine broke through in the form of Wheat. Emberkit gave a small smile, though it flickered weakly as she glanced back to Ribbitleap.
“W-Well, i tried to help, but, I just kept getting in the way,” she murmured. That’s why they sent me to Ribbitleap. She scuffed the ground with her paws, anxiety radiating off her pelt. She wanted to apologize, but what if that only irritated him further? At least Wheat is here, she thought, though it was unlikely that she could improve the tom’s sour mood.

 

[FERNDANCE]

"Kids are useful... you throw them at badgers to distract them so you can run away." Tone straight-laced, the ticked tabby moved closer to the trio with naught to explain herself except for an occasionally twitching smile upon her sharp muzzle. "I'm just kidding," she assured Emberkit about throwing her specifically to a badger, not the usefulness of cannon fodder - it was only a thinly veiled soft spot for children that prevented that. Had she been sincere in the comment, then there would've been a lot of children sacrificed to the raging bear. She didn't comment on whether or not they were siblings, she alleged to the clan that she had a son that didn't share any resemblance to her, despite Halfshade and Smogmaw's best attempts to prove her wrong, it seemed that not all siblings looked alike. Ears perked at Wheatpaw's sentiment, nodding along blankly to it. Finally, she turned to the brown tabby warrior, eyes filled with an otherwordly mischief. "Congratulations..." she whispered, leaning in like she was about to reveal a terrible secret "Your job has changed." Outranked by Smogmaw and Chilledstar or not, they weren't around to tell her she couldn't change the duties of her clanmates willy-nilly.

"I now demand you to play swamp monsters with Emberkit." She didn't seem to be joking.
​

 

[Needledrift]

Green eyes train on Emberkit, the wilting way they held themselves, the way their voice falters in the wake of the tabby warrior. She gives the child a sympathetic smile as she approaches at Ferndance's heels, curling into the lead warrior's personal bubble as if it were second nature to her. "I demand you play swamp monsters with Emberkit. You're a good monster already, why not play it?"

The paw against her jaw shifts to cover her giggle, the softest 'tee-hee' at her own little joke about Ferndance's attempts to roar in the aftermath of the bears. And surely, Ribbitleap wouldn't feel too overwhelmed by his new apparent ward with other warriors playing, right? Right. She casts her green eyes toward Wheat, head tilting in a question. What about you?​

i will never leave your room, tell everything that bothers you​

 

[RIBBITLEAP]

"Siblings?"

A narrowed gaze turns to look at the voice's owner. Siblings, Wheat calls them, brings yet another blow to the warrior. Ribbitleap shakes his head at the ruddy-furred feline. His sibling isn't here beside him, but what would a newcomer know about that? About the Great Battle; about the flame-furred tom that took his brother away?

"We're not siblings," he insists once more, as if changing the words would get his point across. Emberkit is not his sister. "I'm busy. Someone else can deal with her." Surely there was a queen around to watch over her? Or, maybe Wheat can, if she's so adamant that Emberkit's of use. She can play Swamp Monsters with the kid, whatever that even was.

And then Ferndance approaches with a joke about throwing kits to badgers that doesn't land with him, that only annoys him even more. He could be being far more productive than what he is right now, if someone would just take Emberkit away from him.

The lead warrior gets all too close to him, leaves him stepping backwards as she whispers to him. Your job has changed, she says. Ribbitleap takes this to mean he's earned a role of big brother now, as she demands he plays Swamp Monsters with Emberkit. Ribbitleap doesn't want to be a big brother. He never was one; he never wants to be one.

Needledrift arrives at some point and is quick to demand Ferndance play Swamp Monsters instead. How much would Ribbitleap have gotten done, if none of this conversation was happening right now? The brown tom huffs, his gaze moving to look at the kit at his side.

"Listen, you see those sticks over there?" he says, motioning with his head towards an array of scattered twigs on the ground. Smaller ones he hadn't bothered to grab yet while he was busy moving the bigger things. "Why don't you pick those up and bring them over to this pile, yeah?" If it kept the kid busy and out of his way, perhaps everyone else would leave him alone, would stop asking if they're siblings.

"... Maybe we can play Swamp Monsters after we're done." he adds, a pointed look to everyone else around him. Happy now?

​

 

[Emberpaw]

It was truly a blessing that Ferndance took the moment to assure those around her that she was only joking about feeding children to badgers, for Emberkit had stiffened up, wide-eyed with fear. For a moment she had had no reason to believe the lead warrior wasnt absolutely serious. The dark tabby was beginning to learn that not everyone looked kindly upon her, even if she could find no reason for them not to. Sure, she and Ferndance had quite literally never spoken even once before, but the same was basically true for her and Ribbitleap, and he looked like he really would feed her to a badger if it meant he didn’t have to look after her.

When she leaned in to whisper something in Ribbitleap’s ear, Emberkit’s fears made a brief reappearance. But it seemed Ferndance was not secretly scheming, for the next words out of her maw were orders for the grumpy warrior to play her game. A funny feeling washed over the child, gratitude mixed with guilt, gleaming river stones churned up in charcoal silt water. Ferndance seemed to like her, maybe, probably. But Emberkit feared her words would do more harm than good. Needledrift wandered over, a beam of sunshine cutting through the brewing storm. The kit smiled at her, the expression faltering at the way Needledrift suddenly gave orders to Ferndance. Can you speak to lead warriors like that? There was no narrowed gaze however, no clap of thunderous indignation, and Emberkit relaxed once more. I guess we don’t gotta be serious always.

It seemed Ribbitleap had been backed into a corner, outnumbered and outranked. He turning his gleaming eyes on Emberkit, his narrowed gaze snapping over her. Sticks? She followed his line of sight and quickly spotted the debris.
“On it!” The mew burst from her maw in a near shout, the child sprinting off as though sparks nipped her paws. She set about her task, stumbling over herself at times as she swept up twig after twig. Her twitching ears did not miss Ribbitleap’s murmur that maybe, just maybe, he would play with her afterward. Ill do a good job, the best job! I won’t get in the way like before. Soon enough the twigs were piled up, as neat and tidy as an energetic youth could manage.