camp you can sit with us | sharing prey

[budkit]

Budkit thinks it is a real treat when her mother allows her to practice independence. Today the three moon old gets to pick a piece of prey from the freshkill pile for her and mama to share. So exciting! The seal point is practically hopping like a rabbit at the idea. She is going to pick the best looking piece of freshkill for Butterflytuft. Her mama deserves the very best after all!

“What sownds.. sounds good to you, mama? A bird? A squirwel? Oh! Oh, maybe a mouse?!” Budkit blabbers on as she bounces along beside Butterflytuft, unaware of her volume or attention she is drawing to the duo. That’s unimportant. Food and picking the food herself is of greatest importance.

As they draw near to the pile, fat with offerings, Budkit squeals with delight and scurries forward. Sapphire gaze beholds the mountain of offerings. She is a Mesopotamian goddess and surely these are the fruits of the harvest. “Starcwan bwessed us all!” It is a cheer of awed innocence - one that draws an amused chuckle from the elders resting in their den. Budkit beams them a cheeky grin before peering closely at the pile once more and choosing the most perfect, plumpest, freshest squirrel. “Dis one, mama!”

Baby teeth gripped around the squirrel’s neck, Budkit waddles to a shaded place to eat. The fat carcass drags between her legs and thumps awkwardly against her chest (not that she cares, she is a big girl and can carry it by herself). During the short venture, her eyes scanning the available spaces to recline in the shade, she spot an unfamiliar face. A muddy tom with a white splashed paw. Curiosity prickles her senses and that little innocent voice inside her head tells her to take mama and they can sit with him together.

So that’s what she does.

Without trepidation or fear of rejection, the seal point kit approaches Fang and drops the squirrel in front of him. “Hewwo! My name is Budkit. Dis is my mama, Butterfwytuft,” she introduces, waving a paw towards her most likely embarrassed mother. “I picked dis super fat squirwel for us to eat. I picked it all by myself! Can you bewieve it?! But also I think you can eat with us. We can all share, okay?” She nods vigorously, not giving Fang much of a choice in the matter. “Do you want the first bite?”

// @butterflytuft @FANG but no need to wait for either of them
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[ penned by kerms ]​

 

[butterflytuft]

Butterflytuft's whiskers twitch in amusement as she follows after Budkit to the fresh-kill pile, her daughter chattering away with her usual infectious energy. Affection glows in soft yellow eyes as she purrs, "A squirrel sounds lovely!" It is her favorite prey, after all. Her heart practically overflows with pride as the kit is able to pick through the pile by herself, so eager to help and so capable of selecting the meal they'll eat today. She watches her daughter race off, determined as ever, stumbling over the plump squirrel. She pads more leisurely in her wake, chuckling, when Budkit spots Fang. She raises a brow, not expecting her kit to head straight towards him. She herself doesn't even know him that well.

Oh StarClan...the queen can already sense what is coming before the words even leave Budkit's mouth. She proceeds to introduce herself and her mother, and Butterflytuft casts an embarrassed smile to the warrior. "Hi, Fang," She mews warmly, not exactly needing the introduction but she wouldn't tell her eager daughter that. As the seal point proudly presents the squirrel to the tom and invites him to share it, the tortoiseshell sighs softly, though there is no real frustration behind it - just the bashfulness of a mother watching her kit approach strangers with such fearless enthusiasm.

"Budkit," She begins gently, padding forward to stand beside her daughter. She dips her head politely to Fang, offering a soft smile to try and ease the awkwardness. "I'm sure Fang might appreciate the offer, but we wouldn't want to impose." Her voice is kind, though a hint of amusement flickers in dandelion eyes as she regards the tom, silently hoping he doesn't mind the interruption. He never seemed like...the most approachable of cats, which is perhaps why they never got to know each other, but she supposes Budkit had decided he was inviting enough. "Though, it's hard to say no to her when she's made up her mind," Butterflytuft adds with a chuckle, this time towards him. ​

 

[FIGFEATHER]

Figfeather was often not won over by the ‘cuteness’ of kits. She always thought something must be wrong of her for it, as even cats with the blackest of hearts seemed to be won over by their bright, big pleading eyes and words of innocence. Even as her own kits were brought into this world and grew before her eyes she had not faltered when they looked at her with their small pink noses and fluffy kitten paws.

Budkit gets close though. She watches the scrap of fur, growing bigger by the moon, drag the squirrel to her mother. Fang hovers nearby which inevitably causes Budkit to drag him into their shared meal, though Butterflytuft reminds her not to impose upon him.

Figfeather takes little interest in pestering Fang further but does give him a nod in greeting at her approach. Her main focus being Budkit as amber eyes center over her. ”In a few moons you’ll be catching the fat squirrels yourself.” She smiles, knowing it was not at all to be true. Squirrels she may catch in a few moons, yes, but not fat ones. By the time leaf-bare is here SkyClan will only have scrawny prey to hunt, critters who were unprepared for the winter and forced to come out of hiding.

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[DOEBLAZE]

Unlike her golden-pelted Clanmate, Doeblaze has always held a special place in her heart for the kits of the Clan. She had been a queen before she was anything else, after all, and she likes to think it has coloured her worldview for the better. Every kit—from uncanny Oleanderkit to her own now-grown brood—easily captures her subdued affections, but Budkit in particular easily draws a unique softness, reminiscent of her own troubled motherhood, from her. She is the daughter of a dear friend, after all, and her bright-eyed enthusiasm could capture anyone's heart.

Despite the unknowing divergence in their opinions, Doeblaze easily finds herself standing near Figfeather, a picked-over jay of her own temporarily abandoned in a patch of shade. Ambitious and (privately, she thinks) overzealous in her rule-following as the marmalade tabby may be, she still makes fine company—and Butterflytuft and her ward could easily brighten any space. Her innocent, wide-eyed friendliness to Fang draws an affectionate glance out of Doeblaze, who lets the tension seep from her shoulders as one forepaw kneads habitually at the pine-strewn earth.

" I think anyone would find it hard to resist that face, " she mrrows hoarsely, blinking her lone eye slowly at the miniature gathering forming around the pointed kitten. Her mint-sharp gaze flutters from the familiarity of the mother-daughter duo to Fang's impenetrable countenance, and then to Figfeather. The latter seemes to have momentarily set aside her stringent deputy-hopeful forwardness to make a simple, smiling remark. This, at least, Doeblaze can appreciate.

" StarClan willing, we all will be, " the warrior murmurs, withholding a sigh between her teeth as an early-autumn breeze ruffles her ear fur. The fresh-kill pile may be overflowing and the weather balmy for now, but scrawny prey and chilled winds will be here before they know it. Not the time, she silently chides herself, and tries to focus on the brightness of the present.

OOC : —

✦

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