Ask to Join Smokey Hope

Looking this good is a full-time job
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Smokekit squirmed out of the nursery. The sun was out, camp busy. He was tired of being told to stay put and stay close. He flicked his tail irritably as he walked into the space of camp head held just a little higher than necessary.

"I'm not a baby." He muttered to himself.

Most of the warriors were leaving or already gone, which was rude, honestly, especially at this very moment. He watched them disappear with a faint scowl then huffed and changed targets. If no one was going to teach him how to be a warrior, he'd start by doing what warriors did.

The fresh kill pile!

Smokekit padded over with purpose, sniffed once, then seized a mouse that was absolutely big enough to make his point. He dragged it a short distance away then flopped down and began to eat. He did a decent job of it too, all things considered. When he was finished, he licked his paws, inspected the remaining scraps with a critical eye. No one would notice he simply nudged it back into the pile.

With his hunger dealt with and boredom creeping back in, Smokekit scanned the camp again. His gaze snagged on the Elder's Den, a place were there would most certainly be someone there for him. He poked his head inside first before stepping fully in, eyes landing on Boldclaw as he fully took in the den.

Smokekit tilted his head, studying the cream pelted tom with open interest. He saw someone who was young enough to be a warrior, and if it was the young Elder that he had heard about...this was gunna be good.

"Hi." He sat down carefully, so as not to look clumsy and wrapped his tail around his paws like he'd seen older cats do.

I’m still a Warrior no matter what you say!
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Boldclaw lay his head on his paws and stared at a pebble that was barely beyond arm’s reach. He had no answers for how to get out of his predicament. The only thought that came to mind was to continue requesting his return to his duties as a warrior. Even if they didn’t trust him to not fall asleep, surely they could give him the chance to prove himself. Maybe once the leaves began to turn and the cooler weather alleviated some of his exhaustion.

The cream coloured tom only vaguely noticed the arrival of a kit into the Elder’s Den but paid no heed. Kits never wanted his attention, Sunbear had far more interesting stories and was less grumpy. Yet, when the pawsteps seemed to come directly his way, Boldclaw lifted his head and watched as a young kit approached him and sat down with care. At first, the typically grumpy tom could only blink in surprise. ”Uh… hi?” he meowed uncertainly and sat more upright, trying to look less bewildered. Boldclaw glanced beyond the young tom, expecting to see others, his confusion only deepening as he realised only one kit was here. Were there any litters of just one kit? Or had this one been sent to the Elder’s Den as some sort of punishment?

”Did you, uh, need something?” the chocolate pointed tom finally meowed, head tilting as he stared at the kit. ”I could try telling you a story but one of the elders probably has a better story than I could tell…” he offered almost helplessly and shrugged. The uncertainty that Boldclaw felt was extremely apparent. The confident facade the tom once carried constantly had been crippled and broken by moons without escape from the mental cage that doubt had become.

Looking this good is a full-time job
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Smokekit blinked slowly at the uncertainty in Boldclaw’s voice. "I didn't get sent by anyone." He corrected, lifted his chin a fraction higher.

"And I don't want a baby story." He glanced over the broad tom's shoulder, peering over past him before briefly squaring up haunches to haunches. "I want a warrior to talk to."

His green eyes sharpened with interest as they traced the lines of Boldclaw’s frame. He didn't see an elder. He saw someone who had been out there. "What’s it really like? I wanna hear about patrols and scenting prey and...stuff."

He shifted forward slightly, leaning in without realizing it. "I'm not gonna be stuck in the nursery forever...I'll be an apprentice soon!" No more being forced to be stuck in camp, no more baby stories...he wanted to stretch his legs out on the moors.