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Post by darkwolf45 on Mar 26, 2019 19:39:33 GMT -6
I Look Into My Son's Eyes, And Realize I've Already Created Two.
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Clan life was relatively easy compared to the life of an outsider. There was security in having food (so long as there wasn't a famine), in having company, in having a place to sleep. Her life had been even harder than most outsiders she had known, the constant running and hiding and fear. Now though she found that clan life was safe, allowing her hopes and dreams she had long since given up on. She had adjusted, working with patrols, helping her clan-mates, even as she clung to her outsider name. She slept in the warrior's den, and when she had her kits, she'd stayed in the nursery. Being back in the warrior's den now though, she found one of the few things about clan life that confused her. The need for all these separate dens, the division. As an outsider she had shared nests with her parents until she had left home, shared nests with a pregnant queen. So being back in the warrior's den, away from her sons, even after it had been a moon of separation, was still odd for her.
An idea had crept into her mind, as she had patrolled with the dusk border patrol, her gaze sweeping over the border that emptied into the outsider lands. It was probably a stupid idea, given she knew it would gather some disapproval, but she honestly didn't care. She'd spent too long being afraid of things, and she wanted and needed this connection. She had told her sons the better memories of her life as an outsider, and some primal part of her wanted them to experience the connection a small group had. The bond between a queen and her kits, even after they could hunt for themselves. Like the one she had with her mother and her brother. The quietness of a small den shared by a family.
As the sun was beginning to set, and the camp was winding down for the day, she approached the apprentice's den, watching some of the apprentice's play and talk before they would all go to sleep. Her gaze dropped towards Beanpaw, his back paw in the air as he cleaned his pelt, his thicker fur smooth already. Her approach was noticed and he dropped his paw, smiling at her, "Dark!"
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 27, 2019 10:37:38 GMT -6
Haypaw was sitting in his nest in the apprentices’ den, talking with Cherrypaw amicably. He could sense she was getting tired, and he could hear Beanpaw’s voice drifting in from outside of the den. He bid the she-cat farewell before stepping from his nest and walking outside of the den. His eyes locked on Beanpaw, and he was mildly surprised to see Dark there too. She promised to give them some space as apprentices, and he snorted at the thought that she was already beginning to obviously miss them. He approached with a wide smile, circling around his family once before settling next to Dark, tucking himself at her side. “I see you couldn’t stay away from us,” he teased, licking her cheek. He was starting to grow even taller than her, so now it was easier than ever to give back what she gave them often. “It must be getting boring without our antics to entertain you.” He sent a sly look towards his brother.
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Post by darkwolf45 on Apr 7, 2019 17:14:25 GMT -6
Beanpaw snorted at his brother’s words, his own face curling into a small smirk as he remembered their time in the nursery. Adjusting himself into a sitting position he flicked his tail at Dark, “She’s totally gotta be bored, I mean now all they have her doing is hunting and patrolling! No more keeping up with her little escapees.” He watched as Dark rolled her eyes in good humor at his reference to their escaping camp as kits. There were numerous times when the dark she-cat had been expected to scold or punish them for some of their mischief, when much to the annoyance of some clan members she had only lightly reminded them to behave and then would ask about their mischief and games.
It was always a reminder that she wasn’t clanborn in those moments, that acceptance of her kits wild and free nature differing to the rules of the clanborn.
--
There was a soft chuckle and smile from her as she regarded her two precious kits, “I’ve no idea where you two get your mischief from.” It was a lie, she knew, something that she heard Beanpaw snort about. Curling her tail around Haypaw the best she could given he was much bigger now, she tilted her head. “Can’t I just hang out with my kits and have some quality time with them?” She let a thoughtful look cross her face, something she knew Beanpaw noticed right away given the fact her perked up. It was the face she always made when they were kits in the nursery, the face that came before a story about her past.
“I grew up as an outsider, which you both know by now. And honestly there isn’t much left to tell you after all the stories I’ve told you. But one of the best things about being an outsider was that freedom.” She’d not known it for so long that the memory was foggy at times, but she could recall the feeling of sharing a den with her family, that peace of knowing she had such support. “We traveled a lot once we were about your age, me my parents and my brother. At night, we’d find a nice bush or old den to sleep in. Sharing warmth in the cold, sharing a den as a family. It was peaceful, a good connection to the world and to each other.”
She paused, watching Beanpaw lean forward, curious about where she was going, aware of Haypaw too. “I want to share that with you two. You may be born in WillowClan’s walls, but you deserve to understand my heritage as much as theirs.”
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Post by niftyshark on Apr 12, 2019 15:20:33 GMT -6
Haypaw immediately perked up when Dark started speaking. She didn’t mention her outsider roots liberally, since it was information they often received as a reward for something, but the way she spoke about it now had his attention. She wanted them to experience a part of her life? It was certainly welcome, and it made sense to him. Dark adopted WillowClan’s lifestyle, but that didn’t mean she fit in perfectly. There had to be a part of her that yearned for her old life, and as his only parent, Haypaw would be remiss if he didn’t experience it with her. He could tell Beanpaw was interested too, and he nodded lightly.
He stood and moved by Beanpaw’s side. “I think we’re both in agreement. We’d love to see how you used to live. It’s partially our heritage too, and seeing how cats like us live would be an experience WillowClan couldn’t give us.” He wandered over towards the camp entrance, a spring in his step. “Can we go now?” They were all free, and he doubted their clanmates would miss them for a night.
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Post by darkwolf45 on Apr 26, 2019 21:18:48 GMT -6
Amusement curled in her chest as she watched the excitement in her son’s faces, the way Beanpaw immediately was on his brother’s heels when Haypaw made his way towards the camp entrance. Rising to her own paws she padded after them, stepping between them so that she her two precious kits could stand on either side of her. “Of course we can go now. I found a good place while out earlier today that would be perfect for this.”
Taking the lead she left the camp walls behind, relieved and happy that her sons understood her and wanted to understand what she had once had before joining WillowClan, before the fear of Lady had nearly ruined her. Keeping their pace steady she hummed when Beanpaw spoke up.
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Excitement. That simply wasn’t enough to describe the buzz running through his veins as Beanpaw walked alongside Dark. Glancing over at Haypaw he grinned, feeling the same buzzing atmosphere around Dark and his brother. “Adventure.” He snickered slightly, bushing up his pelt slightly and bouncing next to the dark she-cat. “The wild! Just us and the night sky! How cool is that! Do you think we’ll see anything crazy?”
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Post by niftyshark on May 18, 2019 7:23:22 GMT -6
Haypaw kept pace with his family, unable to put into words just how much he cherished moments like these. His clan was important, of course, but it didn’t compare to what he had with Beanpaw and Dark. He looked over Dark’s shoulder to smile at his brother. “We’ll definitely need to come out more often.” The clan couldn’t blame them for exploring all their roots, right? It was different for full-blood clan cats. They wouldn’t be able to understand having such a close link to the outlands beyond their borders. “I hope the craziest thing we see are the night stars. I don’t want anything to get in our way tonight.” He didn’t know where Dark was leading them, but as the border drew closer, he did know the likelihood of them encountering something increased in the outlands. Beanpaw’s conjecture could be right, but he didn’t want it to be.
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Post by darkwolf45 on Jul 5, 2019 20:04:48 GMT -6
She chuckled, a warmth in her chest as she listened to her boys talk, the crossing of the border was uneventful and she pricked her ears to listen for anything. Dark had already scoped this area before so she knew the dense bush she had chosen for their nest would be safe, and with some moss on the roots nearby it wouldn't take much to pad the forest floor into a nest for the three of them. "When I was little my brother and I used to try and see who could spot the first stars of the night. He was always the winner, so quick to notice anything about the world around us, the braver one of the two of us, he'd climb trees and rocks to be closer to the sky."
The dark she-cat slowed to a halt outside of the dense holly bush, turning to look at Haypaw and Beanpaw, "Holly bushes are good for hiding and sleeping in if you can get to the middle where its hollowed out. Most animals won't bother trying to fight their way through the sharpness of the holly leaves to get to you on the inside. When I came out looking earlier I was able to squeeze under the lower branches into the middle without any problems, so the branches are low enough to block larger animals, but perfect for us." She nodded towards the lower branches before she continued with her lesson.
"Moss and feathers are some of the nicest padding for a nest, as long as the moss is dry. There is a little bit of moss at the base of this tree here," She stepped to the side, pointing her tail at the large oak that backed the holly bush where its roots were absolutely covered in green fluffy moss. Dark smiled as she looked back toward her sons. "If you like doing this, maybe we can try sleeping here once a moon for a family tradition?"
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Post by darkwolf45 on Jul 5, 2019 20:15:06 GMT -6
Beanpaw nodded, a grin permanently plastered on his face as he trotted along with his mother and brother. This was probably one of the coolest things that Dark had approved of or taken them to do, and as they crossed the border he watched the way she seemed to become more alert. He always enjoyed the stories she told them of her life with her own parents and brother. He wondered sometimes where they were now. Once they were at their destination he blinked, listening intently to her words, imagining that her parents had once told her the same thing, and here she was passing down the same information to her kits now. Her last question made him bounce in place, "Yes!"
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Post by niftyshark on Jul 31, 2019 22:45:10 GMT -6
Some of what Dark described was what Haypaw was already learning, but some of it was new. Regardless, he focused in on her lesson, and his eyes traced her with every movement she made. Holly bushes… he never would have thought to use them as Dark described. He would definitely keep it in mind there on out. When she suggested returning once every moon, he grew as excited as Beanpaw. “It’s really nice here. I’d love to return once a moon.” His grin was wide as he surveyed his family and the area around them. He never wanted to take any of it for granted, and he would make sure nothing took these sweet and simple moments away.
(End here?)
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