Sparrowpelt padded back into the camp. It was a just after they'd taken Cattail Pond and he felt like celebrating a little. Quickly, the tom went and snatched up a sparrow from the fresh-kill-pile and turned to walk up to the first cat he saw.
Unfortunately for Alderstep, that'd be him. "Hey buddy! Hey pal! Wanna share this snack with me to celebrate!" Sparrowpelt spoke through the feathers, padding up to the deputy with bright eyes and his tail high. He wasn't going to take no for an answer so Alderstep was better off not fighting his destiny.
After yet another battle, Alderstep found himself tired in his usual adrenaline crash state. It'd taken every bit of his willpower to pay attention half of the time during the meeting after everyone had come back from Cattail Pond, and he still needed to eat. Irresponsibility meant that he'd yet to eat that day and it was...yep, night.
The hunger in his stomach made him hesitate by the fresh-kill pile, though he wondered if eating now would just make him nauseous, what with the post-battle jitters wracking his nerves.
Oh, but his dilemma was easily solved, much to Alderstep's chagrin, by the very cat that he'd been staring at before RiverClan had officially shown up to Cattail Pond to brawl. Sparrowpelt. "Not your 'pal'," Alderstep muttered obtusely in protest, eyeing the sparrow in the warrior's mouth. How the guy spoke through all those feathers, he wouldn't know.
Sparrowpelt was highly lucky that he was too tired to put up a fight. Alderstep simply loafed down, starting up his half-lidded glare again. "Fine," he capitulated, none too happy about it, but at least food was involved. He'd stay for the 'snack.' To 'celebrate.'
__________________
time is nothing when you've nothing to do, don't you know
A grin formed on the large tom's maw as he watched the deputy do an absolutely perfect loaf. SO CUTE. He mentally screamed.
Sparrowpelt settled himself down besides Alderstep, his large paws holding the sparrow gently as he began plucking the feathers from the small avian. "I was serious, y'know. Keep staring at me with those razor eyes and you'll-" he plucked another set of feathers off "-give me bald spots," Sparrowpelt let out a small chuckle as another mouthful of feathers left the bird. He lifted his head high and swished his luscious mane, trying to look majestic in the dying daylight. The feathers in his mouth tickled his nose in the process and Sparrowpelt had to hold back a sneeze.
An idea popped in his head though and the mischievous gleam in his eyes returned, similar to the time he chucked a mouse at Alderstep. Sparrowpelt then proceeded to blow the feathers from his mouth onto Alderstep, watching them settle on the deputy's head and shoulders. "Such a great look for you!" He exclaimed with an amused tone. "Keep a feather in sometimes, you're more handsome than normal like that," Sparrowpelt nearly choked on his words after they spilled out of his mouth. His ears heated up, but he played it off with another laugh, avoiding eye contact with the other feline now.
Before Alderstep could even think about leaving, Sparrowpelt quickly split the sparrow, pushing half towards the deputy as if he were trying to justify his actions with a bribe. Hopefully he'll ignore that last statement!
"Eat up!" He spoke, offering a friendly smile through half closed eyes, ignoring the steaming glare he could almost predict was coming after him.
Unbeknownst to Sparrowpelt, Alderstep was trying to make the cat vaporize using his mind and glaring powers that he definitely had. Anything to wipe that exuberant smile off his face. Seriously, how was he so cheery right after Cattail Pond? He could never.
If it was even possible, Alderstep became even more hunched and tense in his little loaf, his glare acquiring the heat of ten thousand suns as the brown feathers settled atop his russet fur. Stars, what would it take to get away with strangulating one of his clanmates? Haha, kidding. Mostly. His left eye twitched in irritation, but Alderstep refused to break form and swipe the offensive feathers off himself. He stayed and suffered.
Oh, and this guy was unprofessionally flirty. Alderstep bristled at the comment, eyes widening minutely before he resettled back into his bothered state. He was getting food for this, he had to remind himself. Just sit through it, power through, get through this torture and he could satiate his hunger.
"Good for you," he said flatly, not oblivious to the way Sparrowpelt had atrociously shaken his head about, in what had to have been an attempt to show off? It only gave Alderstep second-paw embarrassment. Anyways, the Sparrow had given him his share of the sparrow, so Alderstep commenced eating.
Horribly so. There's a reason he didn't often share his meals. If he had to talk, he did so with food in his mouth. He took massive bites that no cat should be able to swallow, but he managed in some mystic way, and he was a messy eater.
__________________
time is nothing when you've nothing to do, don't you know
The tom watched for a moment as Alderstep started eating his share of the avian. It was. . . interesting to say the least. He seemed to not know what food was. With a small shrug, he began eating his own half.
It was a few minutes of silence, a rarity for the loudmouth cat, before the bird was gone. Sparrowpelt was busy licking his lips and whiskers clean, stealing a glance at Alderstep who still had the feathers on him. Without a second thought, the warrior allowed his tail to sweep over the deputy. They were gentle, graceful, movements as his fluffy tail swept the feathers from Aldersteps shoulders. He was especially careful when it came to his head. There were two main reasons for the precise placement of the sweeps; (1) He didn't want his tail chomped on and (2) he didn't want to flick the deputys whiskers, knowing the irritation that can cause.
Sparrowpelt was content with how Alderstep looked now. He did in fact leave a singular feather that fell snug in the deputy's head fur, closest to his ear. He could remove it if he wanted to, but the warrior enjoyed the look. Sparrowpelt had already moved on to cleaning his paws, the silence still lingering until his soft purr left his throat. One of content and comfort.
"Thanks for sharing the meal," the warrior did eventually speak between tongue strokes, his golden hues giving Alderstep a side glance.
SPOTTEDFIRE
he/him/his - 12 moons A calico tom with a white patch up his side and blue/yellow eyes.
@Shadowed Flower
She was incredibly insightful for a younger cat. He gave his shoulder a nervous lick - it looked disheveled, as he'd forgotten to give himself a good grooming earlier that morning. Or was it evening? The tom couldn't tell. Or maybe he forgot that he didn't do that at all that morning, and thought he had because there wasn't a mat anywhere to be found upon his short coat.
"It's just... I always seem to forget where I am, and... what I'm... doing... names. Faces. Places. Words. It just won't stay in my head. Like it's a kit trying to wriggle its way from its mother's grip all the time and won't stay where it belongs."
He purred a smile. It meant he could always learn it again, and perhaps he was sometimes still an apprentice with a warrior's name, learning everything over again and it was always exciting. He got to try everything for the first time a lot, he supposed. "Stuff I'm supposed to know. Wait... who are you again?" The tom tilted his head. "I'm Spottedfire.
Fawnpaw
Fawnpaw realized he might have memory problems, so she silently swore she'd help him as best as she could. "I'm Fawnpaw. Nice to meet you, Spottedfire. Wanna share tongues? Or can I atleast help you groom?" She asked, stepping towards him to help. "If you don't want me to help, that's ok!" Fawnpaw said.
__________________
My characters thoughts and actions are not my own. They are simply roleplay characters and reflect nothing of my person and who I am.
RaspberrySplotch heard the call and looked over towards RoseKit, seeing the owl taking off with her. She jumped to her feet, running over. She leapt at the owl, hooking it with her claws. The owl let out a screech of pain, dropping the kit. RaspberrySplotch delivered a quick bite to its neck, before turning to the kit. 'Hey little one, you alright?'
StarClan rest her soul, Mapleface had really thought she'd spend the rest of the evening sitting on top of Cracklepaw in the nursery in peace. Apparently, fate had other plans. One step, another, into the clearing, Mapleface could barely keep her composure, her teeth gritted as she willed her spine into steel. All she wanted to do was grab Cracklepaw by the tail and march him back to the nursery. Maybe humiliate him into never doing something so stupid again would get her ire through his thick brain. Sometimes, Mapleface wondered how they were even related, but she also knew that trying to force Cracklepaw into anything would make him rear his head back and go full-force in the opposite direction.
Somewhere along the way, Yarrowcrest had joined them, but Mapleface did little to acknowledge the adolescence. She was still attempting not to scold Cracklepaw in front of an audience, though she did try to sneak a few stern glances in her brother's direction here and there.
Her stormy, unhelpful thoughts came to a screeching halt as something in the clearing caught her attention. A scent, terror and blood and sadness entwined into one. Mapleface's heart all but stopped as she froze in place, jade-coloured hues widening by the second as she took in the sight of Rosekit, a fellow queen looming over them.
Her expression glazed over for a moment; fury giving way to disbelief, and then to shock, that the kitten she'd left tucked safely in the family nest was now bleeding quite profusely. And no one was doing anything about it! "ROSEKIT!" The Red Queen gasped, abandoning all thoughts of how much she'd scold Cracklepaw as she staggered towards her kin, paws hitting the ground on either side of Rosekit as she hovered over them with a quiet whimper. "Rosekit, Rosekit. Look at me, baby." The red and white molly gasped, her tail fanning out frantically behind her.
Her head swung up, desperate gaze landing on Raspberrysplotch. "What happened?" The queen demanded through panicked gasps, bending to lap at Rosekit's wounds in an attempt to... Stars, she didn't bloody know! Her baby was hurt, and Mapleface was panicking. "Someone get Drizzlecloud. Springpaw. Hell, get Roseraven!" She bit out, chest heaving with her ragged breaths.
The red and off white molly was trying to sleep when she heard lots of screams. Her mamas voice was the loudest, but she heard her sibby too. Redkit let out a tiny whine, tumbling out of her family's nest and scampering to her sibling's side, looking down at the red liquid staining Rosie's back.
"Rosie?" She peeped out, confused, looking around at the other cats. The fear wafting from her mother triggered an immediate feeling of terror in the kit, and her plumy bobtail wagged side to side with fear. "Mama? Uncle Crackles?" Her mama was busy with her sibby and the red stuff, she she hurried over to her Uncle and tried to cling to his side, sniffling softly. "Uncle Crackles, what's happening?" She squeaked, glad to have her genius uncle here to explain. Or someone. Maybe another bigcat would tell her. Confused tears streamed down her face and if allowed, she'd bury her face in Crackles fur- or the fur of the nearest cat.
yarrowcrest // he/him // 17 moons
purrks active: mind reader
---
The walk back to camp is tense. Silence wasn't particularly something that bothered him. But tense silence was another monster entirely. Between the soft padding of paw steps, the stern looks, and the chirping of crickets in the underbrush, Yarrowcrest was never more glad to pass through the entrance of home than he was in this moment.
Until the scent of blood set in, anyway. As the trio make their way to the clearing, the sight of a kit stained red makes his heart thud loud in his ears. The queen's scream sent a shiver down his spine but he wastes no time in running after her to be at her side, looking over the little one with concerned eyes but not daring to touch them. He knew better than to touch the kit of an enraged queen. As a small voice peeps up from behind where Cracklepaw stands, he turns his head to see another kit having stumbled from the nursery, asking to know what was happening. Seeking comfort. If it were just him here he would make an attempt to comfort her... There were more pressing matters, unfortunately. Perhaps her 'uncle' would take that responsibility in stride and do what was obviously right in this situation.
Turning his attention back to Mapleface at her cries for help, he speaks up, claws anxiously digging into the dirt beneath his paws. He had to do something. And fast.
"Do you want me to run back to the Seastones? I can retrieve one of the medicine cats for you while you watch over them!"
It was the least he could do. Starclan was staring fondly upon him this day-- he had been sent here for a reason. Who else would sprint back to Seastones to ease this mother of her worry and look after the bleeding kit if not for him? It had to be fate. And he would graciously allow the wind to guide him back to the gathering as quickly as his legs could carry him if it meant bringing peace of mind to the panicking molly.
v-Cracklepaw-v
(84/100)
-----
While he had been high spirited at the gathering, the trek home was certainly something. The entire walk, Mapleface would send the same disappointed and angry look. The jade hues would shatter his heart little by little when they met his own yellow gaze. And i-it.. Was ... AWFUL. Large ears drooped as confusion and sadness washed over him. What had he even done to her? He was just proving a point at the gathering! Nothing more! So, why was Maples mad at him! She never got angry at him before... So why was this time any different?
Eyes dropping to the ground, he followed his sister back to camp; silently wallowing in his own self pity. This was so dumb! Why couldn't she understand? Was she that STUPID!? Wait, no... No she wasn't stupid. She was far from stupid. She was the best cat in the whole world! So, why was she hurting his feelings by being mean? UGH! She was being unreasonable! He would be sure to explain this to her when they got back.
Sniffing lightly, he sidled up next to the queen when they reached camp. " Maples... Why are y-" mouth opening to ask his question, he halted mid sentence. Eyes widening in surprise he looked to see Rosekit bleeding. HUH? Was there a battle here?? DID HE MISS A FIGHT!? NO! HOW COME ROSEKIT GOT TO FIGHT IN IT! THIS WASN'T FAIR- wait... There wasn't any suspicious scents that hung in the air. So the stupid thing probably hurt itself. That was tolerable.... At least he didn't miss a battle or anything. Blinking dully at the situation, he was too worn out to care( and even if he was in a better mood he probably still wouldn't care). Feeling someone wipe their snotty face into his fur, Cracklepaw grimaced. Looking down to see Redkit, he lifted an unsure paw and attempted to pat the kittens pathetically small head. " Uhumm... There, there, small demon..." cringing slightly at the beast, he looked for an answer. " Your smelly rat of a sibling is bleeding all over the clearing... They probably need help from a capable adult... Which neither of us are, so we should probably go to bed." Turning to his worried sister, he brushed his nose against her shoulder. Casting an awkward glance at Redkit then back at her, he tossed out his offer. " I'll take Redkit back to the nursery. " without waiting for a response, he lowered his head and attempted to snatch up the fluffy white and red vermin. " Come here child, it's sleepy time for you." hoarse voice lowering into a VERY rare instance of something that could be considered care, Cracklepaw tried his very best at 'soothing' his niece before carrying her back to the nursery.
> THE HOPELESS ROMANTIC •°.. 《 No active purrks 》
|| they/them ||
So much was happening. For a moment they were up in the air, their back hurting and red stuff coming from it. The next they were back on the ground being talked to by some queen. The kit couldn't hear a thing she was saying, all Rosekit heard was the pounding of their heart in their ears. Rosekit didn't want to move, it hurt to do so. That's when a familiar voice broke out into the clearing. One of the whole reasons Rosekit was even out of the nursery. Blue eyes met deadly worried green ones. Oh, now the surprise was ruined.
"Mama?"
The kit whispered out as the red queen started to lick at their back earning a small wince at the gesture. The red and white kit tried to move closer to Mapleface but only got a few inches before stopping when a sting of pain went through them. There was so much going on. From the corner of their eyes they could see uncle crackles and sissy. Oh, how badly the kit wanted to call out to them too but nothing would leave their mouth to due so.
SPOTTEDFIRE
he/him/his - 12 moons A calico tom with a white patch up his side and blue/yellow eyes.
@Shadowed Flower
Spottedfire's ears perk up a little bit. "Oh? Um... sure-? Did I...?" he gave the space over his shoulder a quick glance, and... "Oohhh..." the tom's body recoiled from the realization. He'd been walking around the camp like this? He looked a complete and utter mess! Not very warriorlike and certainly not very catlike, in his opinion.
He seemed to shrink into his pelt. "Y-yes I would... like... help." Instinctively, he lay down. "This is... embarrassing."
Even though he was taking big bites like a heathen, Alderstep was still somehow eating when all of a sudden, Sparrowpelt was brushing feathers off of him. Unleashing his awful habit, Alderstep meowed, "Make up your mind whether you want me in feathers or not." Or, at least, he tried to. It instead came out as a meowing "nom nom nom" as the russet tabby continued wolfing down the sparrow.
Irritated, the cat then swallowed his mouthful of food to try and chomp at his company's tail, to no avail, unfortunately. Alderstep's expression became even more grumpy, and dare he say, pouty, stretching the limits of possibility. He stared dourly at Sparrowpelt, watching him purr and clean his paws.
"Yeah yeah, whatever," he grumbled, his ear twitching in quick succession as he became aware of the feather lightly resting there. Despite how irritating it was to him, he didn't shake the adornment off. Maybe Sparrowpelt had just assassinated him by poisoning his food, and that was the true reason he had chosen to share prey with him. Or it could just be that he was looking for a chance to be a flirt in a place more appropriate than the battlefield. Regardless, Alderstep found it all very suspicious and so he continued to stare 'menacingly' at his clanmate.
His whiskers twitched with amusements towards the deputys reactions. He sort of predicted the chomping and was glad he was quick enough to avoid a tail chomp. Sparrowpelt wouldn't let the deputy live down that moment, so perhaps it was beneficial it didn't happen.
Now Alderstep was staring daggers at him again. He could feel his fur falling out in the spots the deputy was staring. His golden hues shifted towards him and a playful grin formed on his face again. "Didn't anyone ever tell ya grimacing like that will cause wrinkles!?" Sparrowpelt exclaimed, rolling onto his side and stretching his legs out towards the loafing Alderstep, even being daring enough to give the deputy a boop on the nose.
He didn't pull back quick enough and if the deputy wanted to chomp his paw, it could happen.
Re: ThunderClan Clearing
