Roly poly, topsy turvey, bumble paws

❖ ⭒ ❖ ⭒ 𓆣 ⭒ ❖ ⭒ ❖

Beetlekit sat near the fresh-kill pile with a scrap of fish between his paws, looking thoroughly unconvinced by the entire experience. The meal hadn't been bad, but it just wasn't milk. The verdict was still in debate within the little tom-kit.

With a small huff Beetlekit sat back on his haunches. The pile was much larger up close than he'd imagined from the nursery... It was all a bit overwhelming so he blinked away from it and swiped a glance around camp. And that was when he noticed it...a tail!

The color caught his attention immediately. And it seemed so long... Both his ears perked and the stub of his tail twitched. No...No, Mama said not to bother older cats and Beetlekit was good! Probably the goodest cat in RiverClan, although he'd never boast.

Beetlekit frowned at himself, brows furrowing as the internal conflict surged. Maybe just one pounce wouldn't be trouble, right? There was a tail practically begging to be hunted and his hindquarters gave a little telling tremor as eh rose and clumsily toddled over to the tail.

Leaving his meal behind, he followed the tail...which happened to belong to the warrior, Mistydawn, and gave a little kitten pounce as his kitten jaws attempted to grapple it.

One day, I’ll fight beside the warriors. Not against them

·: *ೃ༄ ☁︎ .ೃ࿐:·

The white tom walked through rabbit's warren. He was getting increasingly bored. There wasn't much to do in his opinion he could play with Skykit, Galekit liked his sister, but even he wanted a bit more to do. The small tom sat not to far from the nursery trying to think of ideas on what he could do. He could sort rocks again Clamsneeze seemed to have fun with it, and they got pretty far with how many rocks they could organize before they had to go back to the nursery, though he was quite happy about that it was fun at the start scavenging to find the smallest pebbles though as it went on it got to where the two kits could hardly move the rock. Galekits face burned thinking about it, it felt so unfair and while the older tom had talked about it like a game it was like a game only Clamsneeze could enjoy.

The toms paws slowly pushed forward sliding down to his belly before his head came to rest on his paw, he could rest well again… no he took one to many naps he didn't want to wake up to everyone else asleep he would be even more bored with even his sister asleep. He could eat something? Or would that be a waste, the kittens mind struggled back and forth between if getting freshkill to eat would be wrong to get if he was just eating it because he was bored. It wasn't like he was going to eat a lot though, what he ate right now could be what he ate later when he was actually hungry, and if someone seen him getting freshkill now and seen him getting more later would they say something? Maybe.

The smaller tom stood up making his mind, he would get fresh kill now and not eat later. He walked his paws padding softly as he made his way slowing down to really think if he was hungry, just a bit he wasn't starving for it but what else could he do. The white cat's ears fell as his face scrunched, he could feel himself getting more irritated at what he could do to solve his boredom. He couldn't do it with food, and he would rather swallow a rock before he organized another batch of them. As he thought he pushed a small rock away, it being near him wasn't bettering his mood.

There is peace even in the storm...

‹‹‹‹ ››››

Stormsquall was firmly ensconced on the grass near the riverbank at the place where it swung close to camp. She was currently calm, licking a paw to smooth it over the fur of her ears as she enjoyed the bright sunshine of the day. The grass around her hardly twitched in the stillness of the afternoon. She watched light dance off the lightly rippling surface of the river. Occasionally a fish pulled a bug from the surface, but even those disturbances were rare given the time of day.

She paused in her ministrations, twitching an ear to listen until she was convinced that nothing worrying was around her. Then she began again after switching paws to focus on the other ear. They had been just a touch itchy today. She might have Nettleplume take a look just to make sure it wasn’t mites or an embedded tick. Though it might just be her imagination. Sometimes worries itched as much as actual problems.

"Run. That is an order."

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Cinderwisp was tired. Although she had been managing better by slowly yet surely figuring out how to regulate her anxieties, she hadn't been able to stop herself - and probably her warriors as well - from burning out. She was scared that her warriors hated her for it. It wasn't sustainable. 

Gathering RiverClan by the twinwillows, the molly assigned the next patrols. "Nettlesky, Briarfang and Thornstrike; you three will patrol the WindClan border at moonhigh. Goosesong, Coldstar and Cottonbright, take the dawn border patrol along the ThunderClan border. Clamsneeze will lead Ashsong and I on a hunting patrol at dawn as well. At sunhigh, Ambersmudge and Mintwhisker will do a quick border patrol followed by Hailstrike, Merryaster and Mistydawn patrolling the twoleg border at dusk. Stormsquall, Sturgeonwhisker and Ravenbloom will hunt at dusk. You are all dismissed."

"Run. That is an order."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

It almost seemed like Cinderwisp’s heart didn’t know how to relax. Like it was always fretting about something. Just when things seemed to be looking up, another thing seemed to start worrying her. And this time around, it was the knowledge that leaffall would begin to set in, though this worry was less anxiety-inducing than her previous ones.

With a deep breath, the molly called for RiverClan’s apprentices and warriors, prepared to assign patrols.

“Nettlesky, you will lead Briarfang and Ravenbloom on a border patrol at moonhigh. Following this, Thornstrike will lead Stormsquall and Sturgeonwhisker on a border patrol at dawn while Goosesong takes Merryaster and Mistydawn on a hunting patrol. At sunhigh, Coldstar will take Mintwhisker and Hailstrike on another border patrol. Cottonbright, take Clamsneeze and Ashsong on a border patrol at dusk. Ambersmudge and I will follow close behind for hunting. That is all for today.” 

Garden's gem, in sunlight's blaze
༻❁༺

The light patter of rainfall was a soft, almost soothing noise that added to the atmosphere around camp. There was much to celebrate; kits were lively and healthy in the nursery and the Mad Rogue had been dealt with, finally giving them all a reprieve from the constant wariness everyone felt these past moons. It was as if the ominous cloud cover that lifted. Not that there wouldn't be additional hardships that would threaten them, but Merryaster was in good spirits.

Her foot falls brought her to the den of her leader and former mentor. Others may have been a bit reserved if one was summoned to Coldstar's den, but Merryaster's steps were light and unguarded. "You wanted to see me?" She greeted into the hollow, tail lifted to greet the longhaired, scarred tom.

There’s always something new to try. I’m hungry for all of it!

⋆⋅❆⋅⋆ ❄️ ⋆⋅❆⋅⋆

Ugh! Why did camp duties have to be so star-damned boring! It had been her and her siblings' duties mostly since the six of them had graduated from apprentice to warrior, since there was no new apprentices whatsoever recently, the duties were still theirs. And safe to say, Hailstrike couldn't wait until Skykit and Galekit got their apprentice names. Less work for Hailstrike. Although... Lilyriver did say she could have cleaned out the nests in the nursery faster than her while being half blind... Hailstrike sure showed her! Nursery was clear as it could be, and the queens and their broods were welcomed back into their freshly made dens.

Though... boredom still ebbed at Hailstrike like an angry cloud over her head, despite today's clarity. The pale warrior watched the nursery for movement, maybe she could mess about with the kits, play with them to at least temporarily treat her boredom. All of a sudden, as if a flash of light peeked through the camp, she saw movement of a tortoiseshell kitten from the nursery.

"Hey! Hey Cricketkit!" Hailstrike whisper-shouted as to not disturb the shrewish prude of a mother that sweet kit had, she'd just return Cricketkit back to Bloomfire before she woke up later during the day. If not, Hailstrike was prepared to match her fire. "Wanna come out and play? I've still got some left over moss." She chirped again, flicking her tail as a curious and endearing gesture. This'll be fun.

What I dream, the day might send. Just around the riverbend.

❖ ⭒ ❖ ⭒ 💧 ⭒ ❖ ⭒ ❖

Choosing a patch of sunlight near the roots of the twistijng willow tree that sheltered them, an older, but healthy Otterwhisker was in relatively good spirits. Relatively speaking, that is. A rogue that murdered indicriminately across the Clans dampened her adventurous desire. Coldstar wisely tried to discourage single cats going off on their own - and for an adventurous cat like her, it felt almost like a prison sentence.

She'd have to try and find an escort or two to the river and she hated to impose a selfish desire on the warriors of her Clan. For now she laid on the ground in a sunbeam, back leg stretched out as she dipped her darker face and groomed herself. Long swipes of her tongue against the back of a dark foot and foot as she worked a burr loose.

She was fortunate that she was flexible enough to take care of her own grooming and thankfully she didn't share the long pelt of many of her clanmates.

Garden's gem, in sunlight's blaze
༻❁༺

Warm greenleaf air drifted lazily through the hanging curtains of the Twin Willow as Merryaster stretched along one of the roots. The shade beneath the paired trees dappled her striped, pointed pelt in shifting patterns of light and leaf shadow as she watched. The young warrior had chosen the spot deliberately.

From here she could see most of camp without being directly in the middle of it. The steady rhythm of RiverClan life hummed around her like birdsong - and birdsong too. Greenleaf had softened Clan life into a temporary state of surplus prey and good fishing...even if there were always things for warriors to concern themselves with.

Merryaster rested her chin on her paws, eyes watchful. For the moment she was content simply to observe her Clan. While she had been called for dawn patrol the next day, there would be no patrols today - unless that meant a spontaneous hunting patrol. Those were always fun...with the right cat.

One day, I’ll fight beside the warriors. Not against them

·: *ೃ༄ ☁︎ .ೃ࿐:·

Galekit sat in the nursery, he would be fibbing if he said he wasn't bored. There weren't many interesting things going on in the nursery it may be cozy and safe, but it lacked the excitement that he wanted at the time of his boredom. He rolled over in the nest laying sprawled, he wanted to play with his sister, but she had played when he was taking a nap, but now he was awake, and she was exhausted. He rose his head to look at his mother she was more awake but was occupied with her fur at the moment which he didn't mind it was better than his fur that took way to long to clean rolling his body over he stared into the dimness of the nursery his yellow eyes going over the fur of prey that lined the nursery he could make out some that looked like prey he had eaten before, rabbits and squirrels is what the young tom recognized the most from the fur on the walls.

 

Galekit laid using his imagination trying to cure his boredom his mind wandering to the darkness of the nursery, my pelt would be dark he thought foolishly.

 

He blinked looking towards the entrance of the nursery, Galekit took a quick glance at his mother before he slowly got up and crept to the entrance. The young tom keeping himself low to the ground as he backed away towards the entrance, he turned quickening his pace and leaving the nursery not noticing the icy blue eyes that had watched him attempt to sneak away. He patted happily through rabbits' warren thinking he had successfully snuck out, his ears perked his eyes settling on the tunnel that light seeped through very different from the nursery that was very dark. With a flick of his tail he slowly moved to the light that shined outside rabbit's warren