camp WORRIES AND WOES (( ☽ )) getting diagnosed?

[PUMPKINPAW]

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Recently, it wasn't too uncommon for Pumpkinkit's mama to wander away from the nursery. Often times it meant that the other queens would watch over them in her stead, evident by a sweep of a tail or a nudge of a paw when one of them wandered too far.

Today was one of those days. The mismatched kit watched with round eyes as Roseblaze got up, stepping over their nest. She looked unhappy. It couldn't quite place why, but it left a distinct sense of discomfort squirming within it. Pumpkinkit didn't like it when mama or Springkit were unhappy. Rather than depart, though, she looked down at her kit and reached over to gently nudge it along with her.

With its neck craning up to stare at her face, the unexpected gesture made it stumble forward a few paces. Despite the suggestion it didn't quite move yet, still gazing into her eyes. It took another nudge, Roseblaze mouthing at it briefly with a hesitant smile and stepping ahead, before it began to scamper along with her.

Pumpkinkit's previous worries had fallen away, smile returning as they ran about, weaving between her paws in an effort to see everything. It never seemed to get old, despite the way they had seen it day by day. Roseblaze's pace stuttered and she paused, taking a moment to sweep them from beneath her paws with a plumed tail. She continued on, and they trotted along with her.

When they stopped, it was at a place it hadn't yet explored, often warded away when it got too close. Pumpkinkit's nose lifted to the air, taking in the odd smells that wafted from the dim entrance. Excitement rose in its throat with a hum, rump waggling, but Roseblaze seemed to sense its intentions and barred it from bounding ahead with a dark paw.

Looking into the den, Roseblaze's jaw tightened. "Dawnglare?" she called out. "I need your help." It was only after he showed himself that she continued, expression troubled. "It's about Pumpkinkit. I can't- no matter what I do, I can't get him to... to do anything. I can't get him to speak, I can't get him to listen to me, I just―" She took a breath, eyes briefly closing. "Is something wrong with him? How can he become an apprentice if he's still acting like a newborn at his age?"

Pumpkinkit had briefly looked up at the newcomer, but its interest had quickly waned, settling for tumbling with a small twig it had discovered on the earth. It wasn't sure why they were here, but it didn't mind.

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☾⤙‹ (( ooc -☽- info )) ›⤚☽

• // please wait for @DAWNGLARE ​

• 

• ― (( pumpkinkit )) of skyclan, sibling to springkit ; npc x npc
  ↳ its/they/any pronouns, doesn't care about gendered terms
  ↳ AGAB undefined ; intersex ; gender unlabeled, it does not yet understand the concept
  ― currently 2 moons old, ages every 1st
  ― completely deaf. unlikely to understand anything said with words alone.
  ↳ this is not currently known, most just believe it to be quiet or slower to develop speech
  ― likely to respond to situations based on the expressions of others.
  
  a scruffy, shorthair chimera kitten that is a distinct and striking combination of glossy black fur and bold red stripes. it has bright, mismatched yellow and copper eyes. for its age, pumpkinkit is of average height. it smells of dry leaves and springkit.​

 

[DAWNGLARE]

Comfort broken through with the prick of claws. They are cruel things too, pinpricks that dig in without any sort of subtlety. They'd like him to know that they are there, and that itself is more trouble than he thinks it is worth. Cut through him all at once, get it over with, he begs. They remain silently laughing instead, sharing their hushed words as they click their unfortunate way past bone and marrow, through blood and ichor, eventually, to the soul. Disquieted is an understatement. His eyes burn in his sockets. Shoulders seize, when he hears the call of someone. And he realizes that he should answer, not that he was powerless; ridden in bed.

His eyes strain upon the queen. As she warbles words, the kit by her paws would be watched, unblinking. Unfamiliar; a cry that wasn't sickness or fever. Rather... a kit that would not speak; would not listen. Was she certain that it wasn't just stupid?

There's a crack of a not - right smile, and eyes to anything but them— like this most certainly was not his area of expertise. But it certainly was. Anything was— andthing could be, that's how it had been, but is that how it really was? Is something wrong with him? There were a great many things wrong with it, he's sure; but such where the things mothers always fought vehemently against. It seemed rude as any kit, tumbling about his den without a care. An investigation, then. Dawnglare looms forward, eyes burning.

He snaps the twig promptly with a heavy paw. His eyes crinkle at the edges. " He - llo? " loud and pronounced, as if the only problem were a mother's mumbled words. If there was anyone to listen to, it was him (wasn't it?), Perhaps there was something undesirable about the mewl of its mother. " Tell me something. Tell me anything. What's your name? " If there was anything kits knew, it was usually that.

A WISE WOMAN SAID I'M ALIVE 🍷 NOBODY'S EVER TOLD HER SHE'S WRONG

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• ( I'M AS ALIVE AS HER BEARD IS LONG ) DAWNGLARE Medicine Cat of SkyClan. Mentoring Fireflypaw
  𓆩♡𓆪 He / him , deeply confused by the use of other pronouns
  𓆩♡𓆪 Currently 59 moons old as of 11.20.23. Mated to Mallowlark
  
  Unsettling and strange, Dawnglare bears a unique perception to the world and stars above on top of a generally unpleasant disposition. Holds others to uniquely impossible standards and himself undeniably above the rest.
  Mood is decided by dice - rolls per thread, with the exception of some important threads

​

 

[Springshine]

There is something different about today. Springkit can sense it in the way her mothers demeanor seems to change. Like Pumpkinkit, she also did not like when her kin were unhappy. If she could help it a frown would never grace the features of the fierce mollies face, nor would Pumpkinkit ever have a reason to cry or be sad. She wanted to shield both of them from the world but she is not certain if such a feat could ever be achieved. When she notices her mothers discontent she opens her mouth and she asks what’s wrong really she does but her questions are met with a soft “shhh” and a fluffy tail flicked across her mouth. There would be time for questions later, Roseblaze had said so Springkit held onto them, having to practically bite her tongue to keep from exploding as she followed her mother and her sibling from the den.

Except she wishes she didn’t. They were drawing closer and closer to the dreaded medicine cats den, that place that stunk like illness and the bitter scent of herbs. She wrinkles her nose in disgust and she wants to ask her mother if they really have t go there but something in Roseblaze’s face tells her it is wiser to not and she refrains.

She only half listens as the tortoiseshell speaks, instead she is focusing on pressing herself comfortingly against her litter-mates side, on looking anywhere except at the skyclan medicine cat. Was he always so scary? Fireflypaw had seemed so nice, would he turn into a big scary monster too when he got his full name? When finally the attention is turned on her and her sibling she steels herself. For Pumpkinkits sake she summons every ounce of courage in her body to squeak out "His name is Pumpkinkit!" speaking on their behalf, like she was so accustomed to doing by now.

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[PUMPKINPAW]

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When a paw came crashing down in front of it, snapping its toy in half, the kitten jolted with surprise and a squeak escaped its throat. Pumpkinkit stared in dismay at the broken twig, its jaw briefly parted as if in shock.

Shutting it so fast its teeth clicked together, the patchwork kit's expression crinkled. "Mmmmmnh," it whined, long and thin. That was mean! Mean, mean, mean! Pumpkinkit stamped its paw once, twice, and then it finally looked up at Dawnglare, gaze trailing up the offending leg.

His stare was intense, crinkled, uncomfortable as it bored into the kit, but such feelings were drowned out in its frustrations. Questions unanswered entirely, it arched its back and slapped at the paw that remained firmly on top of its twig as if to challenge the medicine cat, to hurt him back for hurting its twig!

Springkit was pressing into their side. After a moment's hesitation they gave up their assault, paws wrapping around her shoulders and face pressing into her fluffy fur.

"Pumpkinkit, pay attention," Roseblaze uttered in something nearing a plea, tugging it away from Springkit in hopes to redirect its attention back to Dawnglare. Her jaw was tight, and she did her best to ignore the whine that once again filled the air. "Springkit, don't answer for him, baby. He needs to speak for himself. He's... always like this," she added in a lower tone to the tom, almost defeated.

​

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☾⤙‹ (( ooc -☽- info )) ›⤚☽

• // OOC​

• 

• ― (( pumpkinkit )) of skyclan, sibling to springkit ; npc x npc
  ↳ its/they/any pronouns, doesn't care about gendered terms
  ↳ AGAB undefined ; intersex ; gender unlabeled, it does not yet understand the concept
  ― currently 2 moons old, ages every 1st
  ― completely deaf. unlikely to understand anything said with words alone.
  ↳ this is not currently known, most just believe it to be quiet or slower to develop speech
  ― likely to respond to situations based on the expressions of others.
  
  a scruffy, shorthair chimera kitten that is a distinct and striking combination of glossy black fur and bold red stripes. it has bright, mismatched yellow and copper eyes. for its age, pumpkinkit is of average height. it smells of dry leaves and springkit.​

 

[Shimmerkit]

Shimmerkit peeked his head into the medicine den at the sound of Pumpkinkit's whimper. He'd been lingering outside after catching wind of Roseblaze's fretful tone. It was one he'd heard before from his own mother, one that had quickly morphed from concern to outright disgust once she'd realized what was wrong with him.

"Uh...is everything okay?" he squeaked, trying to squash down the worry blooming in his chest. Surely the cats in the forest were nicer than the ones in his old garden, right? Even if something really was wrong with Pumpkinkit, his family would still want him. He knew, vaguely at least, that Pumpkinkit was a little bit like him, with the same sort of ambiguity that had led Shimmerkit's mother to cast him from their cozy housefolk nest, and Roseblaze had still wanted Pumpkinkit then, hadn't she?

Shimmerkit looked down at his small gray feet, shuffling them nervously. What if something else was wrong?

 

[falcongaze]

❝ STATUES AND EMPIRES✧°.☀ ————————————
Falconpaw had found himself in Dawnglare's nests a time or two more then he felt he should have. The dizzy spells weren't ending, and he felt like he was either in a tossing, crashing wave, or he was on solid land. He really, really needed his brain to make up it's mind so he could get over this stupid sickness and get back to work.

A queen and her kit stepped into the den, and Dawnglare was summoned. Briefly, he picked his vision up from where he had been messing with his sick-nest, blinking gently. The snap of a twig, a loud call. His ears twitched and watched on, before two other kits were joining the queen's side- and a huff left him. Falconpaw pushed to his paws, swaying for a moment before managing to continue on towards Shimmerkit. Sitting near the kit- and the entrance- he spoke to him. "Whatever it is, it'll be okay. Dawnglare is suuuuper smart and knows how to take care of these things. " He reassured, voice soft and vision warm.

Falconpaw wasn't often this nice towards his peers- Cherrypaw deserved a whole different tone- but for cats younger than him? He only saw them like his younger siblings, so slipping into that mentality and tone was easy for him.

"SPEECH"

[penned by dallas - ☀]

———————————— ☀.°✧ ALL AT YOUR PAWS ❞ ​

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[DAWNGLARE]

Unwanted interruption. There is a chirruping— answering mew from an uninvited guest. He had not seen her before— ( losing your touch? ) and eyes blink, not kindly, to the little black and white she - kit plastered at her siblings side. Nostrils flare with the weight of his exasperation. Fur - ladden form shifts, as if preparing a mighty blow for the tiny intruder, but such never comes. Only a sneer – one he feels unfit to give – but he squashes that part of him, spine bristling slight. " Do not answer for him. " he grumbles. A white paw shifts atop twig - rubble.

And the patient— the medicine cat is still not convinced that they aren't but a brat— makes a sad little sound at that, face crinkling and fury stomping through their paws. Dawnglare quirks a brow, unamused by what was a kittish show of sass. The medicine cat cranes his head in response, the narrow of his eyes not relenting. He was no mother; soft - bellied and biased like no other. He would not be swayed by whining or by tantrums. And when they bat at his paw, Dawnglare would click his teeth in return.

The standoff is no more when they relent in favor of cuddling the other kit. Notably, they have not said a word outside of pitiful whining. Roseblaze's parenting is more akin to that of a meek rabbit's. What he truly needed was a nip of the ears. A moon in solitary, even? He's always like this, she says. Dawnglare peers up at her with squinted eyes, before looking to the subject once more. " So you care when It's something you don't like... Of course, " he scoffs, disapproval gleaming in too - blue eyes.

The commotion is apparently enough to have another tiny, and most of all, unwelcome face poking it's way into his den. The gaze Dawnglare turns on them is critical, and begrudgingly, he is thankful for Falconpaw's presence so that he would not have to talk to them himself.

And at his words, Dawnglare's neck would snap like bone, gaze wide and waned as if he had said something very wrong indeed— but it was but the truth. He could take care of anything; of anyone. His eyes are wide— but that's nothing unnatural. A bob of his throat, and Dawnglare is willing his fur flat. " Certainly. Of... course, " Unconvincing! But he did not owe anyone the convenience of sounding as such... Another glimpse is offered to... Glimmerkit, was it? And then there's a glance away, mumbling under his breath, " Too many kits in my den... "

His head swings to Roseblaze at last. " And in my conclusion— your kit is a brat. " Audacity. If there is anyone they ought to listen to— well, they were in this very room; painted dawn - and - white with pools for eyes. " Perhaps you've done something to earn this silent treatment, " he says with a snort, the idea of such a disrespectful kit as amusing as it was blasphemy. He''d never do such a thing to his own Mother.

A WISE WOMAN SAID I'M ALIVE 🍷 NOBODY'S EVER TOLD HER SHE'S WRONG

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• 

• ( I'M AS ALIVE AS HER BEARD IS LONG ) DAWNGLARE Medicine Cat of SkyClan. Mentoring Fireflypaw
  𓆩♡𓆪 He / him , deeply confused by the use of other pronouns
  𓆩♡𓆪 Currently 59 moons old as of 11.20.23. Mated to Mallowlark
  
  Unsettling and strange, Dawnglare bears a unique perception to the world and stars above on top of a generally unpleasant disposition. Holds others to uniquely impossible standards and himself undeniably above the rest.
  Mood is decided by dice - rolls per thread, with the exception of some important threads

​

 

[Springshine]

"But they never speak!" Springkit protests shrilly. It wasn't fair that Dawnglare was asking them all these questions when Pumpkinkit was unable to answer. Whether it was because his tongue was made of something other than flesh or some other ailment, she knows that it would be unable to speak for itself so she must speak on their behalf, that was the way it had always been. When she had said her first words, Pumpkinkit had remained quiet.

And then Dawnglare diagnoses her sibling as a brat and the fur on the back of Springkit's neck raises. "NUH UH!" she cries out indignantly "Pumpkinkit is the best! They're not a brat!" sometimes their inability to listen to the words she said did frustrate her, and she could tell it had a similar effect on Roseblaze, but she still loved Pumpkinkit all the same. She would not stand for this slander. "Maybe you were a brat when you were a kit but Pumpkinkit is not!" She is going to say more but then a fluffy tortoiseshell tail is brushing against her mouth. "Hush Springkit" her voice is just firm enough that it implies that if her daughter did not stop talking there would be consequences. Springkit pouts but she says nothing more, instead she turns away to glare at the ground, her eyebrows knitted together in her anger. "She is right though Dawnglare, he has never spoken. I urge you, please, there has to be something more you can do?" Roseblaze was frustrated with the answer she had been given. she had done everything right after all, but Pumpkinkit just had never been on the same level as other kits and now she was starting to get worried.

​

 

[Fireflyglow]

"Oh dear, oh dear.. What an odd situation." Fireflypaw chirps up from behind his mentor, head swiveling to look over the bunches of kits in the entrance of the den. Roseblaze is worried for her kit, rightfully so, because it doesn't seem to respond to most things around them. Fireflypaw thinks idly to himself, head leaned back in thought as he tries to process just what is going on with the kit. They didn't speak? At all? Well, some cats just preferred not to speak at all, wasn't that right?

"Surely they aren't just not talking on purpose?" Fireflypaw wants to give the kit the benefit of the doubt, remembers vaguely that he'd never seen them talk since they'd been born. The blind tom finds a sense of curiosity welling up inside of him; he'd never even had a case like this before, and from how Dawnglare reacted.. Neither had he. "Could they have a sore throat, or even.. Maybe.. Well, I'm stumped." Fireflypaw gazes sightlessly down at the kit, before he leans down to their height with a smile.

"Do you just prefer to not talk? That's okay, I know lots of cats who prefer to be quiet over talking all the time." He speaks softly, slowly- unable to truly see if the kit is paying attention. He sure hopes so, otherwise it'd be a bit odd of him.​

SKYCLAN MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE ✦ 16 MOONS ✦ CHUNKY, BIG-FOOTED SEAL POINT ✦ TAGS​