Leaderboard
Popular Content
Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/09/2024 in Posts
-
DAY 9! Im so close! I’ve almost survived the whole thing! Because we’re going home on DAY 10 at around 11 am3 points
-
2 points
-
1 point
-
“This is the best place to gather grass for my proje-” Spottedeye cut herself off as she realized she should teach her apprentice about the important stuff first “for bedding” she corrected herself but Chipmunkpaw just seemed mostly unimpressed. “Uh-huh” He just made a noise of reply. “Why do you care about those silly projects anyway?” Chipmunkpaw’s words made Spottedeye flinch back at the phrasing of it but she bit down her defensive words as she reminded herself that he’s young and doesn’t know better. “They’re relaxing and a good way to express my feelings without accidentally hurting another nicheling’s feelings” Chipmunkpaw’s ears raised a bit at her words. “How does it help with your feelings?” Chipmunkpaw’s sudden interest took Spottedeye by surprise but her excitement quickly won over any surprise she felt. “If I’m angry I can just make something pretty or even messy to express it without lashing out at anyone which prevents strain in my relationships with my clanmates” She explained as she thought of the best way to explain it to the young nicheling “It’s also a way to explain how you feel without words” she explained the other use her art can have. “I didn’t know you could use it for that” Chipmunkpaw said as he considered trying the idea for himself. “Maybe sometime between training I could let you try making your own art” As if reading his mind, Spottedeye spoke with a smile as she shuffled paw to paw with excitement. “Okay” Chipmunkpaw easily agreed with a nod making Spottedeye beam before realizing she should continue the patrol. “We do have to finish the patrol though” She spoke her thoughts into existence making Chipmunkpaw slightly deflate. “Okay…” He said as he got ready to start walking again. “Don’t worry we’ll have plenty of time to try your own projects over the course of your apprenticeship” Spottedeye attempted to reassure the apprentice which seemed to work a little as his posture because the smallest bit brighter before Spottedeye continued the walk around the border. “Brightpaw” The apprentice froze as she realized her attempt had failed and she turned towards her mentor with a smile that twitched with annoyance at being caught. “What? I was just…smelling the grass” Tigerspark deadpanned at the sad attempt of an excuse her apprentice tried to cover her failed attempt to sneak off and explore by herself. “No you’re not” Tigerspark cut straight to the point as she continued “as an apprentice you need to have respect for your mentor” Brightpaw rolled her eyes which Tigerspark instantly noticed. “Don’t roll your eyes” Tigerspark spoke before continuing what she was going to say “It is your first ever patrol and you’re still quite young so I’ll let it go but you can’t disrespect your clanmates” she said despite realizing Brightpaw was barely listening. “I’m not being friendly and nice towards nichelings who don’t deserve it” Brightpaw sneered and Tigerspark suppressed a sigh as she realized how much of a headache this apprentice was going to be. “Who doesn’t deserve kindness then?” Tigerspark asked making Brightpaw scoff. “Dawnpaw, Fuzzypaw, and especially Nightpaw” Brightpaw easily listed the ‘obvious’ ones in her mind. “And why those three?” Tigerspark wasn’t in agreement but wanted to see why Brightpaw would think that. “Well Fuzzypaw is way too soft, acting as if she can just talk away any problems and she hates play-fighting because she’s ‘scared to hurt someone’” Brightpaw said as she remembered how Fuzzypaw would actively avoid joining any games that involved it. “Dawnpaw is the opposite problem, he argues with everyone over every single thing if he doesn’t get his way” Brightpaw was surprised by a laugh coming out of her mentor. “Pretty ironic coming from you” Tigerspark said making the apprentice scowl. “I’m nothing like him” She spat but Tigerspark just said nothing. “And what about Nightpaw?” Brightpaw’s scowl only deepened at the mention. “Have you seen how she acts? Not only does she just weirdly stare at nothing but any time she play-fights she tries to draw blood!” Brightpaw said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I doubt she means too, and as an apprentice she’ll learn how to be more careful” Tigerspark dismissed the idea as Nightpaw was still young with time to learn. “Can’t we finish this patrol already? I’m hungry” Brightpaw huffed and Tigerspark shrugged before gesturing for her apprentice to follow. “And this is the border where the most loner scents show up though none of them actually come into our territory” Sunglow explained to his new apprentice who just nodded her head without a word. “You don’t have to be so tense around me, I might be your mentor but you can relax” Sunglow said as during the patrol he had noticed that Lionpaw had continually tried to hold up a ‘proper’ posture and agreed with everything he had said without asking a single question. “But as your apprentice I need to listen to you to learn the most I can” Lionpaw said as she stood up straighter as if to prove her point. Sunglow’s face morphed to one of sympathy after hearing his apprentice's words. “Being an apprentice is about learning, and that means asking questions to get a better understanding” Sunglow said as he sat down to better talk with the young nicheling. “But why would I question you if you know what you’re doing?” Lionpaw’s face became puzzled as she looked at her mentor for an explanation which Sunglow easily gave. “Just because I know more and am teaching you doesn’t mean I’m always right” Sunglow began as he returned her stare “blindly following someone just because they’re higher ranked is how plenty of bad events started, you shouldn’t be rude about it but questioning others can be good in moderate doses” he continued as he noticed Lionpaw slightly tilting her head “For example if a leader refuses to let others ever question them then maybe they’re not fit to be a leader at all” he finished his explanation by nodding. “What do you even do if a leader isn’t good anymore? They still have their three lives” Lionpaw asked as she tried to figure out how that would work. “Well if they’re bad enough StarClan might take away those lives, but if they’re not then the clan can make them step down or even exile them so their deputy can take over instead” Sunglow replied with an idle wave of his paw. “Oh” Lionpaw simply said as she thought it over. Sunglow sighed as he noticed the sky was beginning to darken. “Unfortunately we do have to finish the patrol unless we want our clanmates to worry” Sunglow’s words snapped Lionpaw out of her thoughts as she looked up. “Alright” Lionpaw nodded her agreement before following her mentor. Lichenflash paused as she noticed Dawnpaw wasn’t walking side-by-side with her anymore so she threw her gaze back to see him dragging his paws and at first she waited for him to catch up while tapping a paw against the ground as her ear twitched. But once it was obvious he would continue at the slowest possible pace she let out a low growl before turning around and going over to him. “Is there a problem?” Lichenflash asked making Dawnpaw look up at her. “I don’t see the point of patrolling, there’s never been anyone or anything attacking us” The apprentice grumbled making his mentor’s ear twitch. “That’s because we patrol the borders so nothing ever gets the chance to get into camp” Lichenflash replied as she idly sniffed the air. She was able to relax after scenting nothing dangerous before her apprentice gave her any sort of reply. “But can’t we do hunting first instead?” Lichenflash was mildly surprised to hear the apprentice actually wanted to hunt but shook her head at the request. “You can’t hunt if you don’t know the basic territory first” Lichenflash said but she did mentally store away the knowledge that he had an interest in hunting as the apprentice mostly seemed disinterested in everything else. “I guess” Dawnpaw hesitantly agreed though he was obviously not interested in the idea. Lichenflash hoped she could ignite some sort of ambition in the apprentice as he currently seemed to have no interest in getting better at most skills, maybe hunting would prove better than this.1 point
-
1 point
-
1 point
-
1 point
-
“Where is mom and Nightshade going?” Dust asked as she watched the two walk into the grass. “Your mom is just spending some time with Nightshade” Mulch replied with a glance towards the rustling grass left in their wake. “Can’t she do that here?” Dust asked with a tilt of her head. “We wanted to each spend time with just one of you pups alone” Mulch explained as he smiled at Dust but she just seemed more perplexed. “Why?” Dust asked another question as she slid her gaze over to her dad’s face. “Because we wanted to form deeper bonds with each of you pups” Mulch answered with an idle stretch. “Why?” Mulch struggled for a response for yet another ‘why’ question as his pup asked it. His line of thought screeched to a halt as the shriek of a bird rang out from the skies causing him to look around before spotting the offending bird flying too close for his liking. “Oof!” Dust let out a noise as Mulch tugged the pup against him before looking at him with confusion. “Why’d you do that?!” Mulch quickly shushed the pup as his eyes never left the sky. “That’s a bird, they’re dangerous” He explained as he kept his eyes trained on the bird with laser focus. “Why?” Dust asked the question once more as she didn’t understand, it was loud sure but is that enough to be scary? “...They take unattended pups” Dust’s eyes widened as she looked at her dad upon hearing his words “Why don’t you fight it to scare it away?” Dust asked as she felt it wouldn’t be that hard. “First of all they can fly and I can’t” Mulch spoke with a sense of unease at the fact the bird was circling the sky above him and his pup “And something dangerous could grab you if I’m busy fighting” he continued while continuing to hold Dust against his side. “Mom will protect Nightshade right?” Mulch froze as Dust’s words sunk in at the realization that those two were somewhere else. “Yeah, of course she will” Despite the fear he felt he wanted to make sure Dust didn’t panic. “We should see if we can find them though” Mulch said before grabbing Dust by the scruff, making her squirm before resigning herself to her fate, and walking in the direction the two went. “Well I could go back and see if they’re there” Bandit offered as Fern stood over a sleeping Nightshade. “Maybe that would be the best solution” Fern agreed as she looked vaguely in the direction her mate and other pup would be. “In that case I’ll return shortly” Bandit said before standing to her paws and walking towards the kingdom’s current spot. “I’m sure they’re fine” Silver’s words snapped Fern out of her thoughts as she looked at him “Mulch seems like he’d fight an army to keep his pups safe so I’m not too worried” he said in an attempt to reassure Fern, who closed her eyes and took a deep breath before forcing herself to relax. “You’re right, he’d never let something happen to her” Fern repeated to try and soothe herself. “Yeah” Silver simply said before looking around idly. An awkward and tense silence fell between the two as they found no topics to discuss nor any real common ground. The two respected each other and did care to an extent but they weren’t exactly friends either, more like friendly acquaintances. Fern felt guilt worm its way into her as she realized that they probably wouldn’t have split up if she hadn’t proposed the idea of separately bonding with their pups. Maybe then she wouldn’t have to worry for their safety like this. She did have another reason for this though, she gives benefit of the doubt since the pups are so young but she’s a bit concerned at how possessive Dust is over anything she deems as hers. She wanted to start with some light lessons in being a royal to see how Nightshade reacted to the idea but now she was just terrified at the idea of that bird taking one of her pups. “I found ‘em” Bandit’s voice caused all three nicheling’s heads to turn in the direction of the sound in time to see Bandit, Mulch, and Dust appear out of the grass. “Oh thank goodness” Fern let out a sigh of relief before rushing over to Dust, checking her over for any signs of injury or stress. “Mom!” Dust said as she used a paw to try and push her away making Fern smile at the unshaken reaction of her pup. “Alright, Alright, just making sure you’re okay little one” Fern said as she took a step back to give her pup some space. Nightshade rushed over to his sister with obvious curiosity. “What?” Dust asked upon seeing the look in her brother’s eyes. “Did you see it?” Nightshade asked making Dust’s face morph into one of confusion. “See what?” She asked making Nightshade point toward the sky. “The bird?” Nightshade nodded as his sister’s question making her let out an ‘oh’. “Yeah, didn’t you?” Dust asked as she looked around and noticed no signs of the bird anymore. Nightshade shook his head causing Dust to tilt her head and ask “How?”. “Sleeping” Nightshade answered only to flinch back as Dust barked out a laugh. “How did you sleep through that thing’s awful noises? I felt like my ears were bleeding!” Nightshade’s fact soured at his sister’s words but he just stuck his tongue at her causing her to do the same. “I’m just happy you two are alright” Fern spoke with the four adult nicheling grouped together, though constant glances were thrown the pups way as nerves bit at all of them. “As soon as I heard the screech I pulled Dust close to me so the bird would reconsider” Mulch said as he looked at Dust for a few moments before returning his attention to the conversation once more. “Good thinking, those things don’t hesitate if a pup is left alone for even a moment” Bandit scanned the skies for a sign of the bird in unease at the idea of it returning. Silver tuned out of the conversation as he mindlessly stared at the clouds drifting by. He was terrified of the pups getting hurt at the moment but now that there wasn’t even a hint of the bird’s presence he felt as if he could rest easy. His mind drifted from the current moment into other thoughts as he considered how he felt about this whole kingdom thing. He was originally a wandering healer who helped those he came across on his travels but then a nicheling came to see him. This nicheling, who turned out to be the ruling queen of the Kingdom of the Woods, offered him a place in the kingdom where he would be protected and well fed if he offered them his healing skills. He only accepted because the stability sounded nice but he intended on heading out on his lonesome at a later point. At least…until he met a certain nicheling. “Silver” The voice of Mulch cut through his thoughts and he flinched back at being suddenly snapped into the present. “Oh uh, what is it?” Silver stumbled a bit over his words as he regained his bearings. “You seemed a bit…zoned out” Mulch spoke as he waved his paw. “Yeah, I kinda was, sorry” Silver said with a nervous laugh as he realized it had been obvious. “We were asking if there was any herbs to try and dissuade birds” Bandit filled in the blanks. “Not really? Herbs aren’t really good for dissuading birds considering how high up they usually fly” Silver shook his head. “Well it was worth a shot” Bandit replied as she scanned the skies once more. “We should go back home, Dust is getting cranky” Fern said as she pointed out the pup, who was currently grumbling at her brother to ‘let her sleep in peace’. “You’re right, have fun getting Nightshade to sleep” Silver gave an amused grin and Fern sighed as she realized that it would be a pain considering he just slept. “Thanks” Fern said with sarcasm dripping from her voice as she went over and grabbed Nightshade by the scruff while Mulch grabbed the much more fussy Dust by the scruff. The group turned around and walked back towards their current spot.1 point