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Post by niftyshark on Mar 9, 2019 17:11:04 GMT -6
With the snow melting, Aurorapaw found her spirits growing. While she still found herself stressing over things that weren’t under her control, everything was simply easier. Prey was slowly starting to come back. Calm bellies led to calm cats, so she found it easier to deal with her clanmates. She spent a lot of time outside of camp, even if it wasn’t to train. She didn’t want to admit that she was struggling with her mentor—was it even possible for a mentor to not like their apprentice? She supposed it was possible, if it was herself. Something about her wasn’t a normal clan cat, that was for sure.
Aurorapaw returned to camp earlier than she anticipated, but it wasn’t for any poor reason. She caught something she never saw before, and she had to wonder how common it was on the moors. She knew one kit who would likely appreciate it, and she scanned the clearing to seek him out. The apprentice neared the nursery, her find in her jaws and tucked away against her thick fur.
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Post by theatricals on Mar 13, 2019 19:31:25 GMT -6
"Ow, ow, /ow/!" Darkkit screeched, taking a swipe at the thorn bushes with the ferocity of a full warrior up against their worst enemy. He wasn't playing games, and if that bush wanted to receive his full rage, he wasn't at all against it. The kit had been trying to follow the elders' orders by leaving the camp just beside the apprentices' den to get the moss that grew just beyond the closest tree, but aside from making a fool of himself re-entering the camp, his moss had pretty much been shredded in the process.
It was infuriating, and at that point, the tom had lost all of the motivation to even try again, despite still needing to get moss for the elders. Stumped, he sat down--more like slid despairingly, but still--eyes crossed and brow creased in frustration. When he spotted Aurorapaw, he almost rolled his eyes. "You had to have had a better day than me."
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 15, 2019 17:23:30 GMT -6
Aurorapaw glanced down at the moping Darkkit, blinking curiously. She wasn't sure what kind of day he had, but she was unconvinced about his being worse than hers. She spent the morning doing extra, redundant training after a slip up of a move, and she walked away feeling like she belonged back in the nursery. Hunting by herself helped her calm down, but she figured talking with an old denmate would help her cheer up more. She was glad for the prey in her jaws that gave her an excuse to avoid any reference of her day. She dropped her catch at his paws--a small bird with bright blue feathers--and she watched him in anticipation. "Look what I found! I've never seen feathers this color before. It looks like the sky."
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Post by theatricals on Mar 16, 2019 20:44:20 GMT -6
While his mood wasn't the greatest, Darkkit still wouldn't pass up an opportunity to see something new and interesting. What he was looking at, though, was a complete mystery, and he made it known quickly enough. "What even /is/ it?" he asked. It didn't occur to him to clarify that he /knew/ it was a bird, but he had never seen a bird like this. His curiosity was piqued, but there was also a part of him that wondered if it was a strange bit of prey from beyond their own territory. Was it special in some way? He had no way of knowing.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 24, 2019 12:17:13 GMT -6
"Some kind of bird. I didn't know they came in this color," Aurorapaw whispered excitedly, encouraged by his interest. If they looked like the color of the sky, what else could they look like? Birds as green as grass, as yellow as the sun, as white as the clouds filled her mind. Most of the birds that the hunting patrols brought back were shades of brown or black, and she wondered what caused their colors to be different. "Ah, here," she mewed as plucked off a long, blue primary feather and placed it in front of him. It shimmered iridescently in the sunlight, tipped with bright white and crossed with black stripes. "For you."
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Post by theatricals on Mar 25, 2019 15:15:50 GMT -6
Darkkit came closer to sniff at the bird, finding that it really didn't smell all that different from the other kinds of prey on the fresh-kill pile. It was nothing /too/ crazy. He then lowered himself to the ground, observing and admiring the feather by itself. It looked very different when it was not a part of the bird, almost like it was a blade of grass with the colors of the river. Very strange, but something he wanted to know more about. "What should I do with it?" he asked, pressing on the pointed part to help stand it up.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 27, 2019 11:46:34 GMT -6
Aurorapaw watched as he observed the feather, and she took a moment to think about it. “You could... weave it into your nest maybe? Or weave it into the den wall by your nest so you could look at it. Oh! You could also set it on a puddle, or a stream when you’re an apprentice, and make a wish as it’s washed away.” It seemed like a waste for a feather that beautiful to be washed away, but she wasn’t going to hold back any suggestions if he wanted to do them. “You could also bury it and dig it up later, as a memento to who you want to be in the future.” Future... what did hers hold? Was it secure? Did she ever learn the answers she wanted to know? She didn’t want to get stuck worrying, so she brought the bird over to the fresh-kill pile before returning to Darkkit. Unfortunately her mind wasn’t any clearer.
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Post by theatricals on Mar 30, 2019 17:35:06 GMT -6
Darkkit nodded along at her suggestions. They all sounded good, but he couldn't figure out what would be best. He didn't know how things worked in the apprentices' den, but he knew that in the nursery, some cats didn't care what was in their nest--they'd mess it up anyway. It was that alone that kept her from weaving it into his nest, or even into the den wall. There was no way he was going to let his denmates ruin it.
Her last idea sounded the best to him. "Where could we bury it?" he asked, quickly following it up with, "Where no one would find it? I don't want a dumb warrior finding it." He knew that cats tended to bury their prey on patrol, so ensuring that it wouldn't be dug up by accident was a high priority.
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Post by niftyshark on Apr 12, 2019 15:51:20 GMT -6
Aurorapaw hummed as she glanced around camp. It would be hard to find a place that would be untouched. “Maybe we can bury it in a corner somewhere, then re-bury it when you’re an apprentice? Right now it can serve as your dedication to becoming an apprentice, then it can serve as your dedication to becoming a warrior.” She bounced in excitement, possibly more taken with the idea than even Darkkit was. “Then you can visit the spot, and it can be a spot that’s special only to you!” She shook her head, before she got too off-track. “What about behind the medicine cat’s den? I don’t think too many cats go back there, especially when there isn’t any sickness going around.”
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Post by theatricals on Apr 17, 2019 21:44:41 GMT -6
Darkkit didn't think too much about her excitement, finding that it only served to encourage his own. However, while he wasn't a deep thinker, he had dealt with his siblings and denmates long enough to know the annoyance when they got into things he considered to be his. It was that alone that sparked his determination, although he still felt doubt that there was anything that would stop his nosy clanmates. "Are you /sure/ no one will find it?" he asked, and then added on, "...and that we won't get in trouble with Dartwing?"
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Post by niftyshark on Apr 24, 2019 12:13:55 GMT -6
Aurorapaw paused. If she was truthful, she couldn’t say for sure that anyone wouldn’t find it, or that something wouldn’t happen to it. “No, I can’t promise that,” she admitted. “Although, I’m most certain that Dartwing won’t mind, as long as it’s not in his way. Maybe we can bury it in an unassuming corner, and he won’t even notice.” She looked over towards the medicine cat den as she spoke. She wasn’t sure if it was occupied, and there was only one way to find out. She crept over, as quietly and casually as she could, and angled her ears towards the entrance. There wasn’t any shuffling or any other noise to indicate that he was there. She waved Darkkit over discretely.
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Post by theatricals on Apr 26, 2019 12:43:10 GMT -6
Darkkit wanted to speak up as Aurorapaw walked away, but realized quickly that making any noise probably wouldn't do them any good. He glanced around, wondering if anyone was watching them. If he was a warrior, he would probably be suspicious. When Aurorapaw encouraged him to come closer, he did so quickly and quietly, his ears pinned against his head as though it would help him appear inconspicuous to everyone else. "Anyone in there?" he whispered when he pulled up beside her.
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Post by niftyshark on Apr 26, 2019 20:04:58 GMT -6
She was quiet for a moment longer as she listened once more. “No, I don’t think so,” she said. With a bit of confidence, she stepped into the den without checking to see if someone was watching—looking around would be attention-getting in its own right. Aurorapaw let her eyes adjust to the gloom of the den, and she scanned for a possible hiding place for the blue feather. She didn’t notice anything immediately, but if she did, that wouldn’t make it a good hiding place. She walked forward a bit more, then rolled her shoulders to loosen the tension in them. They didn’t know when Dartwing would be back, so they would have to move with some sense of urgency. She checked the herb store, then by the nests, then by the shallow dip on the side that held water when it rained. Her eyes settled on a slight nook in the roof of the den, by the overhang where Dartwing’s nest was. “Maybe there?” she whispered to herself.
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Post by theatricals on Apr 26, 2019 20:21:29 GMT -6
Darkkit padded after her, keeping as low to the ground as he could to prevent his pawsteps from making any noise. It was probably unnecessary now that they had entered the den, but he wanted to be sure. The tom caught up to Aurorapaw just as she pointed out the nook in the roof, and he squinted to see it better. "Are you sure we can reach far enough to make sure it's snug?" The roof wasn't that high, but it didn't look like it'd be a comfortable position to get stuck in should they have trouble getting the feather in place. He glanced at his companion, hoping she had some sort of idea.
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Post by niftyshark on May 16, 2019 21:02:47 GMT -6
She glanced at Darkkit, then again at the nook in the roof. Did they have time to try it? Aurorapaw worked her jaw as she considered it. There weren’t many options she could think of on short notice, so perhaps it was worth it. She picked the feather up and reared on her hind legs, bracing her front paws against the den wall. She tried to stretch up to wiggle the feather in place, but she struggled. She was stouter than she was tall, so her reach was just short of what was needed to secure it properly. She sighed and dropped to all fours as she set the feather down. “Maybe we can just bury it deeply by the herb store.” No one but Dartwing would hopefully go by there, so perhaps it was the safest bet.
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Post by theatricals on May 18, 2019 15:18:00 GMT -6
Aurorapaw still had the slight advantage of size, so Darkkit didn't have much of a reason to believe he could reach it when she couldn't, but he still wanted to try. "Let me see," he said, taking the feather from her and taking her place. Noticing a sloping wall off to the side, he braced his back legs against it and reached up, careful not to rest his front paws on part of the shelves that held the herbs. His legs trembled as he stretched, trying to reach the corner that could hold the feather. It was only the violent movement of one of his back paws that made him panic, and before long he was thrusting the feather into the corner, hoping it stuck, and the front half of his body came crashing down, bringing half of the herb store with him.
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Post by niftyshark on May 24, 2019 18:59:29 GMT -6
She was lost in thought for a moment, but it was enough that she didn’t immediately notice Darkkit attempting to place the feather somewhere else. She glanced over towards him, just catching him in his attempt—and subsequent mistake. Aurorapaw’s jaw dropped when she saw the sheer amount of leaves spill to the ground. “Oh... oh no...” she whispered, staring at what had to be half the herb store at their paws. All the leaves looked the same and she had no idea where they went, since all the small cubbies in the rock face also looked the same. “What are we going to do? We’re gonna be crowfood,” she hissed, nearly in panic. There was no way they could hide what they did. Even if they managed to clean it up, it wasn’t like they knew where the herbs went. There was absolutely no way to hide it from Dartwing. She doubted they had enough time to gather everything, never mind sorting it correctly.
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Post by theatricals on May 29, 2019 21:26:24 GMT -6
His paws felt numb from when they hit the ground, but it was all but forgotten when he realized just how much of a mess he had left in his wake. His eyes widened, and without even a glance at her, immediately he sprung into action, sweeping the leaves towards the edge of the den with his paws in an attempt to hide them among the small clumps of grass and weeds. "Come on!" he told her urgently, ignoring the dirt that was getting stuck to his pelt as he frantically tried to hide what he had done. Really, Aurorapaw could run out and blame the whole thing on him, but he wasn't going to let that happened. They were both here, and he wasn't going down for it. No way he'd face up to Dartwing alone, either.
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Post by niftyshark on Jun 7, 2019 6:50:18 GMT -6
“The -grass-?” she said incredulously. “He’s going to notice half his herb store outside of the den.” Despite her worrying, she scooped up pawfuls of leaves to scatter them in the grass just as Darkkit had, having no better ideas. It would be hard to do it without being noticed by someone, but she moved back and forth as quickly as possible. There were so many leaves, and the scents of them spread out across the den would make their deed so obvious. But she wasn’t thinking clearly, and she was more than a little afraid to get into trouble. Aurorapaw knew in some spectrum that they were only delaying the inevitable, but maybe StarClan would grant them leniency and it would look like something else had done it.
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Post by theatricals on Jun 8, 2019 14:29:34 GMT -6
Darkkit thought he could hear someone coming. It could have been a warrior, a cat simply passing the den, or even Dartwing himself. Or, perhaps Darkkit was just going crazy in his panic. Still, his movements became more erratic as he struggled to "hide" the rest of the herbs as he all but ignored Aurorapaw. It may have been pointless, but he didn't care. And somehow, in his jumbled mind, he thought to glance back at the feather. There it was, wedged in one of the corners of the den. It was a small victory. "Is there another way out of here?" He almost thought to walk right out the way they came, but he was almost sure that herbs clung to both of them, and without anyone there, they had no excuse of coming in for treatment.
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