The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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Subject: Beyond the Camp Walls [C] Fri 9 Feb 2024 - 23:38
nightkit
"Fox-dung!" A small voice hissed as an even smaller body flung itself across the clearing. The kit ran in his best imitation of an all-out sprint, stumbling over his own paws, until he came skidding to a stop just at the edge of camp. His ears flattened. He'd arrived just in time to watch a small, round ball of moss go rolling right into the thorn tunnel that served as the warriors' entrance into camp. The tunnel that he was most certainly not allowed through.
It was early sunhigh, and most cats were out on patrol, leaving the camp empty enough for Nightkit to play as he pleased. His latest solo game - and they were all solo games, weren't they - was mossball, and it was quickly becoming his favorite. Unlike most games, mossball was just fine played alone. He didn't need another kit like a playfight did, or hide and seek, which really required a group of cats if you wanted to have fun. It didn't require him to sit quietly at the edge of the group, pretending to be the medicine cat while his denmates got to be warriors, deputy, or even leader in a game of Clan. It was just pure, unadulterated fun, without any squabbling or condescending denmates. In fact, it really was best played alone - there was nobody to hog the ball or, worse, steal it.
Except now his only ball had just gone bouncing beyond the camp walls.
Fox-dung, fox-dung, fox-dung. What was he supposed to do now? He glanced over his shoulder, but there was practically nobody in sight, save for the odd apprentice or kit. The warrior guarding camp was talking with another cat he didn't recognize, and he was much too intimidated to go toddling up to them and ask if they could retrieve his ball. I'm sure they wouldn't like a kit interrupting them, anyway...
Asking one of the apprentices was much too scary, anyway. He could barely talk to his denmates. Approaching one of the older cats was enough to make his paws tremble. Instead, he flattened himself to the ground and rested his chin on his paws, gazing forlornly at the spot where his beloved moss ball had disappeared.
Subject: Re: Beyond the Camp Walls [C] Sat 10 Feb 2024 - 12:09
Hedgepaw wasn't sure which she liked better: the duties in the territory, or the duties in camp. She loved ShadowClan territory. It was always beautiful at every time of night, from dusk to dawn, especially the Pine Grove where she'd gone with Silverhawk. The starlit snow, the tall conifers, the distant sounds of prey animals running around, the gentle squishy sensation of walking on mud. It was so pretty and so nice to walk around in. However, she also loved camp. Especially since she'd missed it so much when she was growing up over the journey. It was nice just to sit here, weaving nests with her paws, and enjoying the fact that she was home. And besides, camp was safe. Out in the territory, there was always the nagging fear--however quiet--that something bad could happen, even though she knew that Quillsplash or Silverhawk or Pineblossom or anyone she was with would protect her. Camp had none of that. She was as safe as she could be here. And besides, other cats were in camp, too. Her Clanmates that she could interact with and say hi to. She didn't quite know all of them yet, but hopefully she would, soon!
However, her entire train of thought was derailed when a mossball rolled by in front of her. Curious, her eyes watched its trajectory, all the way out to the very entrance of camp. Hedgepaw blinked. How strange. The full picture became clearer when she looked back and saw a kit staring longingly after it, ears pinned back against his head. It looked like he'd been playing a bit too vigorously, and now it was just beyond his reach. Sympathetically she frowned, looking down at the nest she'd been mending. Well... her apprentice duties could wait for just a moment, right? It couldn't hurt. Quietly she stood and walked forward, easily avoiding obtrusive notice from the camp guards, and used a single white paw to quickly bat the mossball out of its danger zone. The warriors wouldn't care; she was an apprentice, so she was allowed to go wherever she wanted. Her small stature and dark fur made her practically invisible to them, she figured. It didn't take too long at all.
Once the mossball had been rescued, Hedgepaw bapped it forward a few more times, rolling it across the half-melted snow of camp towards its owner. Then she offered a smile. "Hey, this is yours, right? Don't worry--stuff like this happens all the time. Might wanna be careful how strongly you toss it around, though." Her head tilted in a manner reminiscent of her brother's. Green eyes sparkled down at the kit. "I'm Hedgepaw. What's your name? I just got out of the nursery a few days ago myself, so I hope I'm not too scary."
Subject: Re: Beyond the Camp Walls [C] Mon 12 Feb 2024 - 17:35
nightkit
The tom-kit was so lost in mourning his ball that he barely heard the apprentice approach, much less creep past him. His ears perked up as he noticed a white paw stretch out and bat his ball back into camp, and he looked up at the shape the paw belonged to - who was this brave savior?
He let out a small gasp, nearly jumping halfway across camp as he turned his head to see the cat. An apprentice! Eek! Nightkit tucked his ball safely underneath his belly and skittered a few steps back, looking at the molly with wide, scared eyes, as though studying her. She didn't look quite as big as some of the other apprentices...but still, he was nervous. What if she made fun of him? What if he said something stupid? What if -
"...I hope I'm not too scary." The apprentice - did she say her name was Hedgepaw? - finished, and Nightkit took a deep, shaky breath. She was right. It was evident that she was a newer apprentice - she was only a little bigger than some of his oldest denmates. He took a shaky step toward her, sniffing her cautiously. Hedgepaw...
Well...she hadn't given him any reason not to trust her yet. And she had white paws, just like him. He nodded, as though deciding she was okay, and sat down again, looking back at her with solemn amber eyes. He hesitated before speaking. He was afraid to talk to most cats, especially anyone close to him in age.
"I'm Nightkit." He squeaked, then shook his head. Don't be such a scaredy-kit!, He scolded himself. "O-on account of my dark fur, like the nighttime." Nightkit added proudly, puffing out his chest a little.
He took a moment to consider her. "Hedgepaw's a bit of a funny name. Er - no offense!" He exclaimed with wide eyes, suddenly terrified he'd offended her. Oh, Stars! "I mean - I like it! I like your name. I've just never heard that before, that's all." Nightkit tripped over his words, suddenly anxious to make things right with Hedgepaw. He wanted to hide his face in his paws and hide. I've offended her. I've known her for two heartbeats and I've offended her! Change the subject, Nightkit!
The brown-black kit hesitated, realizing he had the perfect way to change the subject in the way of a question. "Um...is being an apprentice...fun?" Nightkit asked shyly, looking up at her with a glittering gaze and shifting his paws. "It...well, the other kits would laugh, but - I'm a bit scared." He admitted, looking away.
Subject: Re: Beyond the Camp Walls [C] Thu 15 Feb 2024 - 19:11
Hedgepaw offered a smile when the kit--Nightkit, he said--sat and spoke with her. He'd seemed so jumpy, she'd been worried he might have wanted to run away. She would've understood if he did. Bigger cats could be scary sometimes, if you didn't know them like she knew her big brothers. "I can see that! Your fur is super dark," she said with a nod. Then she blinked. Her name... funny? Huh, she'd never really thought about it. The way Nightkit panicked immediately after saying it caused her to giggle a little bit. "No, no, it's fine! I haven't thought about that before. It's not easy to understand like Night." What did her name mean? She could have sworn Mamma told her, at some point. Her eyes squinted slightly as she thought--a habit she'd picked up from her brother Fernpaw. He was way smarter than her, so he'd definitely know. But she couldn't go looking for him right now; she had to give an answer. "I think it's kinda like a hedgehog, if you've heard of those. They're really prickly animals that have, like, spikes on the outside of 'em. Or it might be the name of some kind of plant. I know there's a lot of plants. I can't remember, but it's one of those two!" Well, that would have to be good enough. She'd ask Mamma again later.
His next question was an easier one to answer, though. Hedgepaw blinked down at him. It hadn't been so long ago she'd been a little kit, looking forward to being an apprentice so she could go on patrols with her brothers. "Yeah, it's fun!" she answered warmly, kneading the ground before her with white paws. "I mean, it's a lot of work, and you don't have as much time to play mossball. But I think it's worth it to go and see how pretty the territory is, and learn how to catch your own food." She glanced behind her at the entrance, and leaned down conspiratorially to whisper to Nightkit. "I get scared too sometimes. There's big scary things out there in the world somewhere, so I get what you're worried about." She sat back up and smiled, showing off small, perfect fangs. "But when you become an apprentice, you get to spend time with other warriors and apprentices, and they teach you how to be safe! You can learn how to defend yourself and hunt bad things away. So you won't be in danger at all."
![Beyond the Camp Walls [C] EqTrJzt](https://i.imgur.com/EqTrJzt.png)