pafp YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE ✦ SHADY PLACES

[Joykit]

The sun was bright today—brighter than usual, Joykit thought, squinting as she padded through the open clearing. The light bounced off everything: the river's surface, the smooth stones, the pale reeds. It made her eyes ache a little if she stared too long. But she didn't mind it too much. She'd grown used to the shimmer of sunlight on water, even learned to enjoy how it warmed her fur. Still, as her gaze drifted across camp, she noticed a familiar shape lingering near the nursery entrance, blinking awkwardly beneath the glare of the midday sun.

Riverkit.

Joykit paused, brow furrowing slightly. He looked uncomfortable—eyes squinting, head tilted like he was trying to escape the light with nothing but a flick of his ears. He hadn't followed his brothers out into the clearing like usual. He just sort of… hovered, paws twitching like he wanted to move but didn't know where to go. She hesitated only a moment before trotting over.

She didn't say anything at first. Just stood beside him, eyes scanning the camp. There were a few shadier patches, tucked under old roots and overhanging reeds, cooler spots where the sun didn't bite so hard.

She tilted her head toward one of them. "Hey," she said gently, not wanting to startle him, "It gets bright over here, huh?" Her tone was light, casual—like it was no big deal. Like it was just a thing she happened to notice.

She took a step toward a low dip beside a thicket of reeds, where shadows pooled and the light turned soft and dappled. "C'mon," she added, flicking her tail toward the spot. "There's a place over here where the sun doesn't get you so much. I used to sit there when camp felt too loud."

She padded into the shade and looked back at him, settling with a soft sigh as the cooler air pressed around her fur "See? Better, right?" she said, tilting her head slightly. "You don't have to stay in the bright spots if they bother you." Her tone wasn't pitying—just matter-of-fact. A quiet offering, not a rescue. Because Joykit understood what it was like to feel out of place and not want to say anything about it. She wasn't trying to fix anything. Just… show him he didn't have to deal with it alone.

She rolled onto her side in the cool grass, letting her paws stretch out. "You can still see everything from here," she added, voice a little softer now. "Just without all the squinting." And then she went quiet again, letting the stillness speak for her. Because sometimes you didn't need a lot of words to make someone feel a little more at ease. Just a bit of shade, and someone to share it with.

// please wait for @Riverkit

( °❀.ೃ࿔* ) just miss what it was

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  JOYKIT KIT; SHE / HER ; RUE X UNKNOWN ; SIBLING TO LIGHT & HOPE
  
  

  Joykit is a fierce and proud cinnamon marbled tabby kit with a sharp mind and a fire in her heart. Independent to a fault and stubbornly self-reliant, she carries herself with boldness far beyond her size, refusing to be seen as weak or helpless. Competitive, energetic, and cunning, she meets the world with a challenging glare and a guarded heart, shaped by the hardship and loss of her early life as a loner. Beneath her bristled edges lies a deep resilience and a drive to prove she belongs—on her terms and no one else's.

  ✦ Unskilled kit

 

[Riverkit]

RIVERKIT

HE/THEY RIVERCLAN KIT

Riverkit hates it. Hates the sun; bright and full in the sky, taunting him with its glow. His eyelids are already heavy enough as they are, he absolutely does not need to squint his eyes any further beneath the sunlight — and it gets worse, because his migraines flare up. So not only do his eyes hurt from the brightness, his head pulsates endlessly, too.

He doesn't notice Joykit approaching at first. His mind wanders, tidbits of his brothers' playing reaching his ears ( loud, loud, loud ) and aggravating his mood. Willowy tail lashes, and all Riverkit wants is to find someplace quiet — the stream wouldn't do, not today, not with the water reflecting the light so strongly.

It gets bright over here, huh? The tabby speaks, and he stares at her wordlessly, unblinking. Yes, it did, and sometimes he wishes their camp was protected by tree canopies like ShadowClan's and ThunderClan's are. There's a place over here where the sun doesn't get you so much. I used to sit there when camp felt too loud. Joykit tells him, moving towards the spot she mentioned. He follows without uttering anything at all, just pleased enough to get away from the sun and. . . everything else.

Odd gaze remains half-lidded but at the very least he is not squinting anymore. But how were his brothers meant to find him here when they were done playing? Would Splashdance and Pebbletail fret over not locating him in his secluded spot. Though, as long as Joykit sticks around, he figures they'd have an easier time seeing him. . . "I enjoy the shade." The gray kit mutters finally, perhaps not even loud enough to be audible. "And the silence."

ooc:

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accordion

Riverkit is a long-legged but graceful silvery-blue tabby kit with feathery fur and heterochromatic blue-amber eyes.
"speech" thoughts
pebbletail x splashdance / sibling to pearlkit, bogkit, chatterkit
2 moons old as of 03/21/2025

penned by nocthymia

 

[BEEFANG]

BEEFANG

SHE/HER 𓆩✦𓆪 LEAD WARRIOR

Beefang had settled near the medicine den soaking up the sunlight that soothed any of her sore muscles from an earlier patrol and blinks at both of her cousin's kittens playing with one another, she can't help but notice that one of them are missing, and it causes her eyebrows to knit together. Her lone eye turns to see that Riverkit's near the nursery and seems to be squinting at how bright the sun is, she's prepared to get up to provide him some sort of shade and saving grace from the rays of the sun yet Joykit beats her to it first. The way that the sunflower hued molly seems to talk to her silvery nephew reminds her of simpler times where she had gone to find Cicadaflight after his fight with Loveburn, or rather Starlightkit back then, and it causes her heart to ache knowing that her younger littermate avoids her like the plague. Just the same way as Joykit, she had helped Cicadaflight into quiet places where the both of them could relax and her brother didn't have to play if he didn't wish, she would listen... she had always listened. Too bad, it didn't seem like he returned that sentiment.

She tries not to dwell on the thought for too long knowing that she had mixed emotions about it so she pushes herself to her paws and decides to make her way over to the pair of kittens that had found a secluded spot "Hello minnows." The lead warrior greets making sure that her voice isn't too terribly loud to bother either of them and hears what Riverkit says about liking the shade and silence, she can't help but inwardly wince knowing that she's interrupting said silence yet continues in a hushed voice "If the both of you aren't tired by nightfall, you should come and watch the fireflies with me." Beefang glances around as if its some big secret only to continue her light murmur, "They're very pretty during the night... as if the stars themselves have descended from the heavens to visit us. What do you say?"

ooc:

text here

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

Beefang is a muscular, medium fur length/curly-haired black smoke moggy littered in several scars, missing a toe on one of her paws, and has a lone amber eye w/low white

Cicadastar x Smokestar / sister to Cicadaflight & Loveburn / Cousin to Shellpool, Pebbletail, Twinkleflight, and Horizonthroat
mentored by Smokestar / mentoring no one
21 moons old as of 03/22/2025

penned by BossTaurus

 

[splashdance]

She hates when this happens; a blink of her eyes, and her rowdy brood goes from a hearty four down to three, with one simply missing from the rest. Splashdance cannot quiet the panic in her chest, river blues flicking over her playful and frolicking sons to discern which one isn't accounted for. She notes who it is, and though the panic quiets for a moment - Riverkit isn't oft one to wander far, more likely to stand in her shadow on bright, sunny days like this - it stirs again only when she notices that her silver-braided boy is not huddled by her ankles. He is not shaded by the nursery or wading into the cool waters. He is not anywhere near her. And then, it starts all over again.

She feels her limbs lock as she looks around camp, stationed by her litter but still frantically looking for the lost one. She sees Beefang first, the molly's hulking figure not one to miss. And then not far from her, Joykit, the girl's golden fur rivalling the sun's warmth. And finally between them, Riverkit. Shaded, comforted, maybe even smiling in the way only he can. Her heart still hammers as if she's not found her son at all, but she releases the discontent as soon as she can. She trusts Beefang - the molly calls her family, enjoys her company and indulges her kittens in their little games. Joykit, too, is well loved by the lead warrior - even if the tabby has to see the worst of Splashdance every so often.

She waves her tail to the trio, leaving them to the comfort of their shade, and turns back to ensure she doesn't lose another child. Riverkit is happier where he is now; she's sure she will catch bouts of playful energy later, when his brothers are sleeping and the sun has left them. She's okay with that.
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