“Honestly, I just Hate to not Hate You.”

[Weekend-Wondering]

Rosekit
Male / 2 1/2 Moons / ThunderClan / Sexuality Unknown
Chocolate-brown and russet tabby Tom with fluffy fur and bright amber eyes, thin scars on his legs and a wide scar across the bottom half of his face

“Sure, I’ve got half a face, but you’ve got yourself half a brain, so I’m sure we’ll get along just fine, ey?”
~Rosekit

✽❀✽

Rosekit dragged his paws across the clearing ground, watching the dirt bubble up behind each drawn-out step. He had created a pattern for his eyes to follow; back left paw, front left paw, back right paw, front right paw, blink, repeat. The most interesting thing was the dirt popping up every time he lifted a paw, and with the amount of time he had been spending trying to be entertained by this, it was beginning to feel torturous. Watching himself walk wasn’t exactly Rosekit’s idea of fun, but then again, what was in this place? ThunderClan camp, at least to Rosekit, was beginning to feel like a little box. Within this little box, Rosekit was prancing laid back and forth, never loosing a single ounce of energy because walking had become effortless to him over time, and finally, he would lay down and rest for the night. Then once he awoke, it was right back to prancing.

The only escape from this box-trap was by being an obnoxious hairball, and that came to Rosekit naturally. But the very moment he was finished being a bother, it was always right back to prancing laps and kicking up dirt. The russet tom-kit looked up briefly from his paws and the dirt and up at camp. Aw, man- can’t wait for apprenticeship… He thought to himself, for what was most likely the millionth time in the past hour. And yet I’m not even halfway. This is my life, and I’ve never hated anything more.

He stopped circling the camp kicking dirt once he reached the nursery, pausing to take a look inside. He tilted his head to get a proper look in at the scene, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary going on in the den. Only kits tumbling over one another and their mothers- queens staring at the chaos and simply trying to make sure nobody was setting fires as they played. It was amazing to Rosekit how all over the place his peers could be, loud and restless 24/7. Anyway, in the nursery, it seemed nothing was new at the moment.

Then again… He started to think, glancing back grumpily at his paws. Maybe they’re just more like me than I’d like to think. Bored out of their minds and ready for some craziness. But at least I TRY to walk off my boredom, instead’a rubbing it off on some poor ol’ mothers. He payed no attention to the fact that walking only made him feel even more bored with life, and padded away from the nursery, back to circling camp. The other kits could live life however they wanted, Rosekit had no reason to care. At least, he didn’t until it was time to bother and tease one of them- but that was different.

Eventually the torture of boredom took over and Rose’Kit finally stopped walking for good. He found a spot in the center of camp to stay for a while and sat, ending the trail of his scrappy paw prints across ring of the camp. There, he turned his attention to his clanmates, scattered all around camp, existing in whatever ways they felt happiest. Whether that be by having civil conversations, playing around, squabbling with a friend, or just enjoying the peace, all of those activities seemed to be out of Rosekit’s reach. The tabby kit just couldn’t quite grasp the feeling of satisfaction- he was left unfulfilled, incomplete.

I can wait another three and a half moons, can’t I? He asked himself, but it wasn’t helpful. Three and a half moons was a long time to wait, and the idea of it wasn’t very exciting. Hey, maybe I’ll pick up a friend or two before I become an apprentice. Somebody ambitious, and… someone with strong hope in their future self… yeah! Kind of like me, right?

But when all he did was walk, bother others, and be bothered, finding friends wasn’t easy. Rosekit just needed a good conversation- a cat who could get him out of this never-ending cycle of boredom. No more kicking dirt- Rosekit would have somebody to practice Warrior-to-Warrior combat with! What a life that could be, where he could get to training even before he reached the age of six moons! So I guess that just means more waiting, then, Rosekit realized with a surge of annoyance. Waiting for this said cat, that is… Of course. The never-ending cycle truly was never-ending. Eat, sleep, drink, kick some dirt, repeat. Rosekit looked down to glare at his paws, unsheathing his claws to reveal trapped bits and pieces of old dirt and grain.

There was a lot of waiting ahead of him, wasn’t there? Infinite, horrible, torturous waiting. It made him sick. But what could somebody so insignificant do?

✽❀✽

// Here! This might be a bit of a wonky starter, my bad- wasn’t quite sure what to put. But here it is, I lived. \\

~ @Dolomedes ~

[Dolomedes]

Orangeblossom
| He/him | TC warrior | Moons: 17 | No purrks |

Orangeblossom had spent his time like he did every other day, he was sent on a patrol or two where he tried to make some friends and keep the cheer up while he and the rest of the group hunted or gathered as he tended to find himself less on border patrols for some reason, then it was time to pad into camp where it would nearly too late to do anything with his siblings and maybe he would trip and hurt himself enough to get a chance to talk to Springlight. It was a simple life but it was one that Orangeblossom didn’t find that he minded, it beat having wars and fearing that every battle could mean never seeing his siblings again, every fight knowing it could drag on long enough for his siblings to be thrown into the fray. No, he would take a simple cycle and repeated days of patrolling than any sort of fight. He only hoped that Windclan and Shadowclan would keep their noses where they belong and despite their shared histories given what he heard about the last Riverclan raid, Riverclan wasn’t much of a clan to worry about. Regardless, here the warrior was, dropping off some mice at the pile before looking around camp to check out the happenings.

His green eyes moved through camp as he watched some of the felines in it move on from one thing to another and then back again. A sigh escaped him but it wasn’t sad or anything, just a sigh, not even Orangeblossom really knew what it was about really. His gaze shifted from the clearing over towards the nursery, his siblings would probably like a visit, likely, or they would throw a fit because he had promised them a visit yesterday only to get assigned double patrols. They were never mad at Orangeblossom long but it still made him feel guilty, it wasn’t like he meant to work so much, he still cared about them, made time for them. Heaving himself to his paws even though he couldn’t really remember sitting down, the warrior made his way to the nursery. Or at least, he was aiming to when his eyes caught on another tiny kit. Well, that was kind of unfair to them, all kits were tiny compared to him because they were, well, kits. The kit seemed to be pacing and very clearly bored and from somewhere in his mind Orangeblossom thought that they looked familiar but the warrior was sure that they haven’t interacted face to face yet, so maybe the ginger had seen the kit running around sometime and the memory was brought to mind.

Regardless, the warrior found himself smiling and finding energy after the tiring patrol with a trot over to the kit. The poor thing looked bored out of their mind and it was clear even to someone that didn’t know them well, or maybe, the kit just liked pacing and staring at their claws, well no harm in asking if they want to play a game. His siblings didn’t seem to want to see him based on their callous good mornings to him, so maybe Orangeblossom should give them more time. They would need to understand, especially as they get older, the importance of Orangeblossom patrolling and that he couldn’t really just skip out just because they want to play. He shook out his fur to clear his thoughts before calling out to the lone kit, “You look awfully bored? I’m Orangeblossom, figured I would ask if you want to play a game?”

[ @Weekend-Wondering - Rosekit ]
[ Sorry this is a bit clunky as well /w\ I wasn’t quite sure what to do. ]

[Weekend-Wondering]

Rosekit
Male / 2 1/2 Moons / ThunderClan / Sexuality Unknown
Chocolate-brown and russet tabby Tom with fluffy fur and bright amber eyes, thin scars on his legs and a wide scar across the bottom half of his face

“Sure, I’ve got half a face, but you’ve got yourself half a brain, so I’m sure we’ll get along just fine, ey?”
~Rosekit

✽❀✽

Hey, he started to tell himself. Looking on the bright side, maybe with all of this saved up energy, I’ll never grow tired during my apprenticeship. Wouldn’t that be…. nice? His amber gaze continued to dart around camp, hesitating on anybody who had either just arrived or he simply hadn't noticed earlier on. Eventually, they paused on a curly, multicolored tom that he recognized as Orangeblossom. For a little bit, he let his eyes follow the warrior as he walked in a certain direction, but once Rosekit realized that it seemed he was headed towards the nursery, he looked away. Dang it, not another one! He had looked away just in time for Orangeblossom to notice him.

I mean, maybe he’s got family in the nursery or something, Rosekit considered the idea, because it sounded familiar… but he was sure Orangeblossom wasn’t a father. Not yet, at least. But did random warriors with no association with anybody in the nursery other than their mother-like appreciation for kits and queens always have so show up and crowd up the already packed nursery? Rosekit could only hope Orangeblossom had a reason to be there- sibling, nephews, nieces, whatever it may be. Siblings sounded about right, but he couldn’t be sure.

He turned back toward the rest of his clanmates that populated ThunderClan’s camp, returning to his usual boredom. What a day. Why was the most interesting thing that had happened to him today getting one of his claws caught on a little stone? What kind of Highlight-of-the-Day was that? A painful one, sure, He sighed, quickly and grumpily. Why cant somebody invade camp? Give me something to worry about, augh!

That was when he noticed a familiar figure coming his way from the edge of his vision. Orangeblossom was back. The warrior was trotting along through camp- he must have decided against spending time in the nursery. Oh, nice, Rosekit’s whiskers twitched. Finally somebody who actually understands the lack of importance in blabbering and playing role-play with some babies. Smart guy- When he found out that Orangeblossom was actually headed in his direction, Rosekit’s heart jumped. Him? Somebody except the empty-headed Spottedfire was coming in his direction, and voluntarily?! What was going on? Heaven was opening up.

He made a full turn around to face the warrior, one eyebrow raised. Orangeblossom called out to him, starting off by mentioning his boredom. The little russet tabby’s eyes narrowed. Quite an observation, huh? Who knew! Following the comment came a question: ‘Figured I’d ask if you wanted to play a game?’ Hey, at least he got right to the point. Rosekit appreciated the simplicity of the request- there was no, ‘It would be my greatest honor to bestow upon you an offer, an invitation, to join me in the action of playful amusement?’, unlike the nonsense Rosekit had heard time and time before, but that didn’t mean he was going to just brush it off.

Orangeblossom dared to ask him if he wanted to play a game? Rosekit, the most mature and warrior-like kitten of ThunderClan? A game?

Rosekit straightened and lifted his chin. Then clearly and confidentially, he declared, “I don’t play games,” He fixated his gaze on Orangeblossom’s, trying his hardest to maintain eye contact. He had heard from somebody that staring into the depths of others’ souls was admirable, so here he was. “And boredom? Well yeah, duh! What’s there to do other than send dirt flying? You wouldn’t get it… uh…” Nickname generator activate, please, “… Curl’Clump. You’re no kit, you just can’t understand. Until my apprentice ceremony, I’m completely meaningless- and where’s the fun in that? So of course I look ‘awfully bored.’ But…” He lost his train of words, only retrieving it after a long blink and little smile. “… what a fun surprise. You’ve got eyes?”

He wasn’t sure where to go with this, so as if it would help him, he glanced back at the nursery for a second or two. He had to add something to the playing-thing, didn’t he? It felt unsatisfying to just say ‘no’ to the idea and move on. It wasn’t mean ad detailed enough. There were kits playing and tumbling over one another over in the nursery at this very moment- he could see them- and goodness, they looked like idiots. That was a good start, wasn’t it?

“Again- no games for me,” The tom-Kit repeated, smirking. “When I ‘play’, I’m actually just practicing. One day all of the other kits will realize that I have double their skill, all because I don’t play, I train, right? Like, battle practice?” Then an idea clicked into his head. A brilliant idea, at that. Rosekit’s smirk brightened into a real smile. He was going to show Orangeblossom what he could do. “Wanna see? Look- I can pounce, see? Are you looking?”

Without waiting for an answer, he shrank into the saddest and worst angled stalk in the history of stalks, and braced himself. Due to the crookedness of his position an inaccuracy of it, it was a little painful, but it wasn’t like he’d ever done it before, so he wouldn’t know. “I’ve never actually seen someone- do this-” He made sure to tell Orangeblossom as he adjusted himself into a slightly less painful position. It was still very wrong, but he was trying his best with the little information and limited knowledge that he had. His voice was tight, and his awkward crouch made it almost impossible to get any words out without them sounding breathy and pitiful. So he spoke quickly, and lied, “This feels… about right!”

Rosekit briefly debated shutting up and given Orangeblossom some time to respond or comment, but he brushed off the idea a soon as it had come. Then squinting at Orangeblossom, marking the warrior as his target, he sprung forward. Except… forward wasn’t forward… forward was sideways. And sideways, instead of being Orangeblossom, was the floor of the camp clearing. Rosekit made his clumsy landing against the hard ground, far from Orangeblossom. He caught himself just before he could knock his head, sending a puff of dirt popping up around him. Dang it, dang it, DANG IT! His thoughts screamed.

Oh, the humiliation. Quickly, he scrambled back onto all fours, and glared over in Orangeblossom’s direction. Quietly and shallowly, but just loud enough for the warrior to hear, he mumbled, “I… was never taught.” He shook the stray dirt from his pelt, letting bits of grain and dust fly off and away from his fur. His face was hot with embarrassment by now.

Desperate to feel less like a dummy, he raised his voice. “But… I bet you couldn’t pounce when you were a kit, Curl’Clump!”

✽❀✽

// If there’s ever a random comma between Rose and Kit, (Rose’Kit) I’m sorry. I have autocorrect to blame. \\

~ @Dolomedes ~

[Dolomedes]

Orangeblossom
| He/him | TC warrior | Moons: 19 | No purrks |

Orangeblossom watched with a fond smile as the kit continued to act tough, like he didn’t have all his life to be that way. He’s a kit and should be having the time of his life before learning what it's really like outside of the camp’s walls, but that was only a view gained after one too many battles and losing one too many people, not something a kit could wrap their head around in any meaningful way. At least, not without having seen anything like that sort. Though what had started as some pretty normal kit boredom turned kind of sour as words of being meaningless were thrown about as well. Those were some strong feelings about being stuck in camp. Well, Orangeblossom couldn’t leave the kit alone, perhaps some training rather than games. “No need for that, you aren’t meaningless, no matter what, you’ll have meaning just sometimes you have to make your own. Onto other things, I was a kit once too, you know? I get it, watching all warriors and apprentices leave while your stuck, and I know it means nothing but you gotta take life as it is and not get too lost in what could be… anyways…Curlclump is a new one, hehe.”

Certainly was, and Orangeblossom knew that it was tossed at him in some sort of making fun of tactic given the way the little kit said it but the name itself was so silly that it really didn’t land that way. Not that many mean names could do much to Orangeblossom, he grew up with his mother, who teased him any time she could. You learn to shrug off the little things being her son. His green eyes stayed on Rosekit as he continued to ramble about training not games, and Orangeblossom found himself fond of the warrior spirit even if he was very avid in letting kits be kits until they were old enough to start. Some cats just don’t slow down for a while and that’s fine as well. The warrior hummed as he watched as Rosekit asked him to, “I’m watching!” Rosekit dropped down into a crouch and it reminded Orangeblossom of his visit with Vixenkit not long ago at all. Where he had shown the little thing how to crouch and pounce and looks like he’ll be doing it again. He purred a bit but it was all in good nature, as the little warrior aimed for Orangeblossom and missed quite painfully.

The warrior nodded a small bit at Rosekit’s final words, “Sure couldn’t, I couldn’t pounce right until I was like 9 moons or so. Something about balance never really clicked for me like it did for the other apprentices. So you’re already doing better than 9 moon old me! Would you like me to show you how to crouch and pounce?” He offered with a reassuring grin, the kit had no reason to be so defensive. It was the same thing that the warrior had offered to Vixenkit. He really did have a hard time with pouncing right and as such hunting was always a struggle for him but he was certainly better than he was then. Though hunting at times still fought against him as though he were the prey in the situation. Orangeblossom stood up and took a small pawstep back for space before dropping down into a crouch for hunting. His paws were spread and he took care to keep weight even across all his paws, his legs bent lower to the ground. “It's supposed to look like this. For a hunting crouch you gotta be low to the ground, and try to balance across all of your paws so you have better control over your steps and more especially the way they hit the ground. Prey can be awfully sensitive to movement so it plays a big part in hunting. Some other things it keeping your tail low, I wouldn’t know much about that though so you may want to check in with someone with more experience, hehe.” The warrior started the demonstration with a small wag of his stubby tail, before watching for Rosekit. Waiting for him to ask questions, try mimicking, or just straight leaving. Whatever in the end was fine by Orangeblossom.

[ @Weekend-Wondering - Rosekit ]

[Weekend-Wondering]

Rosekit
Male / 2 1/2 Moons / ThunderClan / Sexuality Unknown
Chocolate-brown and russet tabby Tom with fluffy fur and bright amber eyes, thin scars on his legs and a wide scar across the bottom half of his face

“Sure, I’ve got half a face, but you’ve got yourself half a brain, so I’m sure we’ll get along just fine, ey?”
~Rosekit

✽❀✽

By the time he had finished making Orangeblossom wait until he had settled down, Rosekit still felt awfully dumb. Had he seriously just leapt into a crash-landing? Confidently failed? What kind of strong warrior would jump into battle and get beat instantly? Not any warrior that I know, Rosekit thought sadly. He glanced down at his paws and felt his ears pull back slightly. Or apprentice, for that matter. I just suck. Well, for now, that is.

Rosekit began to think about the words Orangeblossom had said to him before, about his usage of the term, ‘meaningless’, and felt slightly irritated. What was the warrior trying to prove? It was obvious that kits were only there to eat, sleep, and eventually grow up into something better, but currently, Rosekit felt pretty unnecessary. They’ve got so many kits here, like- The russet tom took a glance back at the nursery, then back at his paws. -who needs a half-faced narcissist? Orangeblossom is being awfully generous here. But then a new thought entered the kits head. If there were so many kits, then wouldn’t that just give him more the reason to be competitive? To be confident? The irritation Rosekit felt increased, half in himself and half in life in general. I don’t even know anymore- there’s no right or wrong, just stupid truth- why? Why does life hate everybody?!

The tom-kit was brought back to the image of himself tumbling clumsily onto the ground after his failed pounce when Orangeblossom gave him a little nod, and he felt his face heat up. Ah, right. That. But despite his humiliation, he listened carefully and quietly when Orangeblossom spoke to him. The warrior’s explanation about how he hadn’t mastered the arts of balance until later in life made Rosekit feel a little bit better about his mistake, seeing as he was only three moons- a whole six moon age gap from Orangeblossom’s pouncing-age. If an apprentice could struggle with it, Rosekit thought that there shouldn’t be any problem with the fact that he did too. But when Rosekit heard the warrior add, ‘So you’re already doing better than 9 moon old me!’ he raised an eyebrow. Honestly, what? Sorry, better??? He spoke up his opinions quickly, adding, “Debatable,” before hearing out Orangeblossom’s last offer.

The warrior asked him if he’d like to learn how to properly pounce, and Rosekit’s whiskers twitched. Well, who wouldn’t!? He thought, and reluctantly returned Orangeblossom’s grin. Heck, Orangeblossom had just watched him fly face first into the dirt in a failed attempt to get the move right- he would like nothing more than to both learn how to do it right and make up for his mistake/humiliation by actually doing it correctly. Fortunately, Orangeblossom was giving him an easy chance to do both.

Rosekit watched with wide, focused eyes as the warrior took a small paw-step back, beginning to prepare for the crouch and pounce. Paws spread strategically, the warrior was careful with evening out his weight, and he shrunk into the crouch. Rosekit tried to catch onto as many details as he could manage while also listening to Orangeblossom’s voice and processing what he was telling him. The warrior told him that the hunting crouch had to be a low one, balanced with each paw receiving the same burdens, allowing for careful and accurate movements when heading forward. Rosekit thought about prey and its sensitivity to movement, making a realization. So that would probably be something he would have problems with in his future, something he should work on- don’t disturb the things. Rosekit admitted that he could be obnoxiously noisy sometimes, and if that could do the job of scaring off prey in an instant, it was something he would have to work on. Rosekit listened to the information about tails, narrowing his eyes when Orangeblossom mentioned experience, but holding his tongue for once.

Once Orangeblossom had finished his demonstration, Rosekit decided that it was best to try it himself. I may be young and dumb, but at least I know that you can’t uh… whatsit… right, you can’t do something just by watching it! That’s it. He gave Orangeblossom a strained smile of thanks, before putting the image of a hunting warrior in his mind, tracing back through Orangeblossom’s example for any key details. First, he took a paw-step back as he had watched the warrior do, careful and decently calculated with his paws, and fell slowly into a crouch. It was certainly feeling less painful than his last one, but he wasn’t finished, so he didn’t celebrate yet. He held the position but for Orangeblossom’s sake kept his claws sheathed as he shifted in his direction, stopping once they were face to face. Quietly, he told the warrior, “Okay… okay, I’m going to try again. I’ll get it right this time, I think…”

Rosekit squinted and confirmed that he was balanced with his tail level with the ground beneath him, landing his gaze spot-on Orangeblossom. Then slowly but surely, he stepped forward once, twice, and finally, braced himself. “Here we go!” He announced, and with a grunt, he released himself, aiming to land on one of Orangeblossom’s shoulders and land a fake killing blow tot he neck, just like he’d heard about apprentices and warriors doing to finish catching their prey. Whether he missed or managed, he still leapt off and into the ground afterwards, landing less clumsily than last time. Then with wide eyes eager for a response, he whirled around to Orangeblossom.

A little out of breath, he asked, “Well? How was that compared to the first one? Did I do better, Orangeblossom? Orangeblossom, did I do better? Did I do better than you? How bad were you?!” He finally gave the warrior a chance to speak, shutting his mouth and awaiting a response, ending his rant of questions and demands.

✽❀✽

~ @Dolomedes ~