ShadowClan Clearing

[shoomy]

Yellowpaw waved his tail. The tall apprentice was obscenely bored, but saw no good place to make his own entertainment.

[Fade]

Houndhunter grumbles

[ closed ]

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Mousepaw |
Shadow Fiend - Active | Just a Scratch - Inactive | Beefed Up [Tier 1] - Inactive

Paws in the air, belly to the sky, Mousepaw lay on the camp's clearing, wriggling on the dirt beneath him, an irritating itch driving him downright mad right at the nape. The thought occurred to him that he might be getting ticks, and he'd almost blanched at the vision of those detestable creatures infesting his fur. How ironic that now that he'd started to properly take care of his pelt, he might be getting riddled with parasites. Well, if a good old mud bath would drive the critters to oblivion, he would more than happily oblige. Now if only he could find a warrior brave enough to take him to the swampier areas of the marsh and take a dive with him.

Upside down as he rested himself, the muscular apprentice's gaze landed on a familiar gray pelt, and his muzzle soon sported a wide, happy-go-lucky grin. His Auntie Larky seemed to be making rounds, what luck! Although... hmmm... maybe in her condition she shouldn't be diving into any swamps, nope. Might get sick, and then her kits... A shudder ran down the young tom's spine as he flailed for a moment, swiftly getting up, his gaze boring into his Auntie's pelt with confusion.

Itchiness long forgotten by now, the gray furred tom had to wonder... why had Auntie Larky not moved on to the nursery still? The signs were clear. Mousepaw had been close enough to his mum to realize when she'd been acting different. When she had made it clear she was pregnant he'd made note of the changes. Of the signs. He had to be a good son and take care of his mum, after all. It's not like Branchfire and Hazelkit were there to help, and never mind the idea of Elmshadow even noticing anything that didn't directly affect him. Hmph! But he was getting off track, and none of that answered his question. Maybe... maybe it was because she was an enforcer? She thought she couldn't be in the nursery and be an enforcer at the same time?

A chortle escaped him at the thought, fully remembering how Cougarivy had actually been a better enforcer throughout his entire kithood than a mum. Not that... Auntie Larky would have that problem. Oh stars no! He would help, mmmhmm. Be the best uncle. Or was that cousin? Well, whichever it was, maybe it was his job to remind her to take it easy. For her kit's sake, yeah? Oh, maybe even help her pick out the best nest! Gasp! Maybe even make her the best nest! Victory!

With a happy pep in his step, Mousepaw approached the petite enforcer, a beaming, open mouthed smile on his face. "Auntie Larky, Auntie Larky, hello hello! You look tired, you do! A bit queasy too. You know, you know? I bet I can help you make the best nest at the nursery, mmhmm. Help you out with the comfiest materials. Won't even miss your warriors' den nest, nope! What do you say, what do you say? Want me to get started on your new nest? Bet I can find the best spot, heh heh! I'll be done before you know it, yes?"

Chest puffed out with pride, the heavy set apprentice shuffled his paws giddily. Look at him, taking care of his Auntie Larky! Bet mum would be proud of how observant he was being, yes! Or at least, he hoped she would be. He would take super duper care of his Auntie Larky. Oh, even offer to kitsit whenever she had to be on enforcer duty. Bet she would love that! And he would be the best uncle/cousin, yep yep. He would ask her that, of course, but one step at a time. First the all important questions once she agreed to the nest. Was she a rabbit fur cat, or did she have a preference for mouse fur?

-

@Rose [Larkfire] | @Darkclaws [Darkfall]

[Dark]

Darkfall

Shadow Fiend: Inactive | Beefed Up (T1)
___________

Darkfall stepped out of the warrior’s den and stretched with a large yawn. For the last few moons since coming back to the clan, he tried to find something to occupy his time instead of remaining stagnant. Whether it was taking his apprentice out for training, going on some kind of patrol, or doing some kind of solo training (though because of Dawnstar’s newest restrictions, that involved sneaking out of camp late at night). Perhaps he’d go for a walk? Or maybe a little sparring?

Scanning the clearing in search of a victim for his shenanigans, his eyes landed upon Larkfire. There she was, in all of her magnificent, enforcer-esque glory. It had been a short while since he began properly appreciating and admiring his former best friend. From the way that she always seemed to have some apprentice or another with her, or how her amber gaze sharpened when she was focusing on something, the way wind blew threw her feathery tail or even the way tried to act tough when she was clearly not having the best of times. He liked it all. Especially the last one, as he himself was unable to properly deal with the things weighing him down and ended up completely avoiding her for moons while he tried to get himself sorted.

Making a step in her direction, he noticed that a muscular cat was already approaching the she-cat. Frowning slightly, he stopped and watched the interaction through partly narrowed eyes. He had gotten beat! Oh wait, that was Mousepaw. Well… he guessed that that was fine. It was what Mousepaw said that wasn’t fine.

’Nursery? What is he talking about?’ the tom wondered. His eyes drifted across Larkfire’s form and he frowned once more. It was true that she had been seemingly sick more often, and she was getting rounder, but Darkfall just chalked it up to the clan being prosperous so she was able to enjoy eating a bit more, and the sickness could be… well, literally anything else.

Putting the pieces together, he ended up coming to the same conclusion. Larkfire was pregnant. Like, very obviously so and he hadn’t even put the pieces together! How could he be so dumb!? Now that he actually gave it some thought, it all made sense now. The constant sickness, her dazed and spaced-out looks, the rounding of her belly, her seeming more lethargic than usual - that wasn’t the usual Larkfire. It was then that he made a realization. Wait, hold on. If Larkfire was pregnant, didn’t that mean she already had a mate?

As soon as this thought went through the tom’s mind, his surroundings seemed to turn dark. ’Larky… has a mate…?’ he thought, dumbfounded. Yes, he messed up really badly and all, but he didn’t think that she’d move on completely! He thought he had more time! He had been trying to pick up more duties around camp and get some extra training in, in an attempt to impress her. What was the point of it all if the driving force for him returning to the clan was no longer within reach? Who was it? Who had managed to melt the ice around Larkfire’s heart enough for her to even find them tolerable to be around? And when? Was it while he was gone? Or was it even before that, when he stopped talking to her? Did he know them? What did they have that he didn’t?

Suddenly, his mind flashed back to when they were apprentices and how the amber-eyed she-cat accidentally unsheathed her claws into his shoulder wound while they were sparring. Larkfire had been so worried about him in a bit of a cute way and his mouse-brain decided to say ”You know what Larkpaw, I’m almost jealous of whatever cat is lucky enough to have you by their side when you find yourself a mate when we’re warriors. With all the fussing you’re doing.” Now look at him, so infuriatingly jealous because he felt he missed the opportunity of a lifetime. All of those moments spent together as apprentices or even the brief ones they had as warriors… seemingly all for nothing now.

He then remembered what Larkfire had said previously. "... I'm afraid even friendship is deemed out of the question." These words have been haunting him for the last moon. Was it already too late then? If he had explained what he had been dealing with at that moment, would things have changed? Could they have gone back to how things were before?

All of these thoughts were going through his mind as he stared blankly at the pair. Larkfire… was gone. Like irrevocably gone now, and he didn’t have a chance at getting her back. This was all his fault. If only he just talked to her about what was going on instead of avoiding it and running away. If only he took the time to check up on her more and see how she was doing, instead of selfishly distancing himself. If only he made more of an effort and noticed her feelings sooner. What would happen then? Would he and his former friend be together right now instead of whoever she was with now? Would it be the two of them that were getting ready to start a family instead?

Wow… this actually kind of hurt.

 

Deep within his chest, it felt like someone was squeezing his heart and twisting it around. He remembered having a similar feeling when his mother, sister, and mentor died. Is this what heartbreak felt like? Feeling like everything around you was closing in, crushing you and nothing mattered anymore? Darkfall could feel his breath starting to quicken and his pelt prickling uncomfortably. He had to get out of here. He didn't know where he was going to go, but it just had to not be here.

’Wait, Darkfall get yourself together’ He thought to himself, shaking his head and forcing himself to take deep breaths. It was fine, everything was fine. He just… missed out is all. Surely, there was someone else out there for him.

The issue was, he didn’t want anyone else. He wanted Larkfire.

If the tom was satisfied with just anyone else, he could’ve stayed out in the outskirts and spent the rest of his days happily living with Heron, but he didn’t want to. He knew he’d never be satisfied. Every time he looked at the young loner, he’d be reminded of Larkfire and that yearning in his heart had been enough to tell him when it was time to leave. But none of that mattered now. He no longer had a claim on her heart. (or so he thought)

Giving himself a slight shake, he quietly approached the two cats. ”Hello Mousepaw,” he said with a slight nod of his head before turning to Larkfire with a disheartened smile. ”Hello to you too Larkfire, I guess congratulations are in order. Congratulations! I uhh… I wasn't aware that you had a mate, but I’m sure your kits will be lovely!” he said a bit awkwardly, trying his best to seem enthusiastic. Would she notice that he was upset? No, right? The smile should be believable enough, right? And his tone? Should be fine. Hopefully...

Truth be told, the large tabby warrior wanted to just bolt out of the camp and scream about how unfair life was and how badly he wished his position was different. Despite this, however, he figured the least he could do before doing so would be to congratulate the enforcer on becoming a new mother, ex-friends or not.

Gosh… this was the worst.

[ @Rose @Alchemist Kitsune uhh… sorry for this huge wall of text]

[Minku]

─•~❉᯽❉~•─
X Nightkit - ghost/ghostself X

Nightkit nearly tripped and fell as ghost slowly made ghost's way to the clearing before looking around. It's really boring just being stuck in camp all day. Ghost has been trying to imagine what the territory looks like. But it'll still be some time before ghost becomes an apprentice so...it's useless for now. Nightkit knew why ghost is stuck in camp....but it was still boring. Ghost didn't really find any kits ghost wanted to talk to. Nightkit didn't know who ghost wanted to talk to anyway. So the kit kept looking and looking around, slowly walking around the clearing.

[Open..? I'll try to make the next post longer or somethin ]

[ChaosBringer.]

Burnkit

Burnkit trotted out into the clearing, waiting for his friend.
@Everseenabee

[lio]

NIGHTHOUND
He/Him - ShadowClan Enforcer
No Current Purrks

Good, most of them had arrived. It appeared as though Ospreysplash may not have heard him, or was simply coming a little slow, but he wanted to get a move on. The sun only lasted in the sky for so long and Nighthound needed guards to watch. Looking over those who had approached, the Enforcer waited for a few more moments before deciding to speak. If Ospreysplash arrived later, he would simply explain the details again- as much as he disliked wasting his breath on repeating himself.

Shifting his paws where he sat, the massive tom began to speak, "I would like each of you to join Larkfire and I in nightly guard duties. Every night, two or three of us will remain awake to keep watch of the camp. I want at least one inside, and one outside. Apprentices, you are to remain with a warrior at all times when guarding the outside of the camp." Orange eyes stared at the two apprentices, narrowing briefly. This would simply be extra training experience for them. He didn't want to take any risks with them being out alone- inside the camp, it was easy enough to get help if needed. Outside, well...

His tail lashed for a moment before he went on. "I don't want anything to go unguarded. Nobody is to get in or out of this camp without us being aware of it. If I hear about anyone getting through our guards, I will be giving ears as gifts to Dawnstar. Am I understood?"

He looked at each of them, waiting for their responses.

[ How will this work? ]

[ Every week or every other week, you are to post your character guarding either the clearing or the territory at least once to ensure no outsiders (i.e. anyone not on the Allegiances) is snooping about. ]
[ Alongside this, anyone who is attempting to sneak out of camp (like kits or lone apprentices) should be caught as well. It does not matter where or how long your post is- as long as it gets done! ]

//. @Darkclaws @Ladiebugg @xavier. @Alchemist Kitsune .\\

[carmen]

Spiritpaw

Her sister had been gone for a while. Which was really annoying. Like super duper annoying. Shadowclan was boring and without her sister, there wasn't a saving grace. She didn't get to fight, she didn't get to explore, she didn't get to do anything fun except sit around and watch other apprentices get eaten by dogs. Ew. Or, maybe... Maybe she could do something better, maybe instead of having to be around the boring lonely nobodies of Shadowclan, she could go off on an adventure and find someone worth exploring with. Hollowpaw.

"Hey losers!" Oh wait, perhaps she needed a specific loser she needed to talk to. The weird one with the face? Or perhaps the big angry lady? Hmm, her mentor probably needed to know, but she didn't know where they were, and there was no time to waste! The ugly-face dude was too weird, but maybe one of the two cats she could actually stand would do. "Catpaw! Catpaw, Catpaw, Catpaw, Catpaw!" Wait, what was his name? "Dogface! Dogface, Dogfart, Dogfoot! Catnose! No tail half-face man!" She bounced around the clearing, looking for him.

@xavier.

[MockingRabbit]

Froststorm, Cloversun and Eggpaw just existed.

[poppy]

Flowerpaw and Chubpaw hugged.