Flower Crown 101 [Open]

Something had been bothering Roe recently - the fun of the games had been for the warriors...So what about his fellow Asylum cats? They needed a way to take a break, relax and learn how to make some flower crowns. Making crafts was a skill that was taught Pelt Wards mostly, they were the ones that dealt with the pelts, they didn't have...Really anything better to do. But Roe had always been a curious sort and had sat in on a few lessons, things that he thought was wonderous. So, he and Lexine had stopped by the different Clan camps with a simple message - in a few days time, he would hold an opportunity for his fellow Asylum cats to relax and learn how to make flower crowns if it interested them.

He stood back as he finished rearranging the flowers that he had collected - many different colors so that they could really express themselves with their creation. Yeah...Yeah, this was going to be great. His ears perked at the sound of paws approaching, turning with a smile as he saw the first of his students arriving. "Welcome!"

After his encounter with WindClan’s medicine cat, Pyrik had decided to “take a break” from socializing with Asylum’s would-be allies. He still went on patrols when asked, attended to his duties like any good Standard, but he kept the fox over himself and his mouth shut tight and his hopes for their future with the Clans tucked far back in his mind. Maybe the dust would settle someday, but a whole moon had passed with little change. And so, when word of a “craft day” back at camp went around, Pyrik sprang at the opportunity to be back home…to do something he might even be good at. He’d always been decent with his paws; that was part of why he cleaned and repaired his pelt himself, though he knew Mishka and the other Pelt Wards were better trained for it.

Of the higher-ranking Nightstrikers, Roe was one of the most approachable. Pyrik, right on time for the lesson, shot him a quick, almost sheepish grin as he passed, which morphed into awe the second his eyes fell on the bundles of flowers nearby. “Hey, Ro—oh, wow! We get to use all of those? Where’d you even get them, these ones aren't even in WindClan—” Remembering his manners, he bit his tongue to stop himself short. “Uh, I mean, this looks really cool.”

Trailing a distance behind Pyrik was Thalia, eager to learn something new as well as take another break for her Nightstriker duties back in WindClan. Truthfully, even if she hadn't been interested in the subject of today's lesson, she likely would have come anyway if only for the teacher. It wasn't exactly a secret that she looked up to Roe, after all, and she was always happy to see him around; so the promise of learning something new from someone she looked up to and a break from the hostile stares of clan cats, not to mention a chance to maybe see some of her other friends, had certainly caught her attention.

She let out a little gasp at the sight of the flowers, many of them unfamiliar to her. "Oh! They're so pretty!"

The games had been entertaining, and had hopefully been fun for the clan cats, but Eos had found herself wanting to get away from Riverclan's camp for a bit and be among her fellow Asylum members. She found herself in Asylum's camp now, well-kept hare pelt thrown over her shoulders for warmth as she made her way through, ears picking up traces of conversation here and there. The conversations went mostly ignored until a particularly excited call caught her attention, and Eos turned her head, watching with interest the bits of flowers and plants that a cat seemed to be toying with.

Oh, this must be that crafting thing I heard talk of. She thought to herself, eyeing the assorted flowers curiously.

"Roe, wasn't it? And... Pyrik?" Eos padded over curiously, a soft smile flitting across her face briefly. A brief glance at the pair told her that neither of them were scouts, but she'd heard that as far as Nightstrikers went, Roe wasn't so bad. She'd heard their names mentioned briefly, had seem them a time or two in her wanderings, though had never interacted much with either as she mostly stuck to her fellow scouts.

Before she could say anything else, another was joining them, though Eos didn't quite recognize her. She was assigned to windclan based on the scent, but that's all she could tell.

"Hi, I'm Eos." She offered, tone light.

"Well... here goes nothing." muttered a certain green-eyed Nightstriker to herself as she hesitantly padded over to her fellow Asylum members who were just starting to assemble. Apparently Roe had taken upon himself the responsibility of teaching how to make flower crowns to whoever was interested. Naturally, Katana, at first, had wanted to pass the chance since decorating really wasn't her forte. She just wasn't into cutesy stuff in general. However, as soon as she had heard that Thalia was going to join in, she begrudgingly agreed to show up. It was a prime opportunity to get to spend more time with her bestie and there was no way she'd pass it up. Also, Roe was pretty cool and she wouldn't mind getting more time with him. Before she could face them, however, she had to quickly fix her demeanor so none of them would think something was up.

"Heeey ya furballs! How're ya all doin' this fine day?" she greeted as she strode over with a lazy grin plastered on her face. Her eyes scanned around the familiar faces, gaze lingering just a bit longer on Thal's. She spotted Roe -no duh-, Pyrik, someone she wasn't so sure of, and Thalia. Thank goodness there were many more than she had expected to show up. She was more comfortable in bigger crowds.

"The name's Katana. Yours?" the light-colored Nightstriker asked the cat she didn't really recognize. She had RiverClan's scent and appeared to be a scout. That's about all she knew of her. As she awaited the she-cat's response, her eyes settled back on Thalia's figure. A hint of giddiness surfaced in her chest. She was anxious to head right over and start up some chatter with her partner.

"What is this?"

A sugary-sweet inquiry hung heavily in the brief interlude of silence following Katana's curious introductions, the fairly innocence wondering lightly interwoven with an undercurrent of some unfamiliar emotion- equal parts beguiling honey and encroaching venom. Niylah, who frequently grew restless when confined to the dreary and often soaked lands of RiverClan's territory, had become habitual in her regular treks back to the familiar sanctity of Asylum's home-grounds. Normally, however, there wasn't this much unusual commotion upon arrival. The comforting weight of her fox pelt hung heavily on the delicate line of her shoulders as she paced closer to Roe and his little gaggle of students, head cocking as she observed the countless flowers carefully bundled up at the tom's paws.

Sharp gaze drifting to the various others currently mingling about, and pausing only to give the generally familiar shape of Eos a vaguely welcoming flick of the ear, Niylah reached forward with a single claw to gently prod a vibrant flower petal that had been lost in transition. "I must've missed hearing about... whatever this is."

Roe's eyes brightened at the sight of Pyrik, his bob-tail twitching in excitement as smiled. "I know, right?" he purred, turning to look at the arrangement of flowers."We have some cats patrolling some territory not far from here but still outside of the Clan's reach - I was able to convince some of them to help me collect flowers and so we got quite the lot to choose from," he gushed, before a new voice caught his ear. "Thalia! I'm so happy that you made it!"

Truth be told, part of the reason he had wanted to do this was for her - but also the younger cats who felt out of place with this being the first real take-over. This was a way to smooth tensions, give them a way to relax and have fun with just their fellow Asylum cats. There was some more excitement as he turned to see even more cats, a few that he hadn't been very close with but that made him all the more happy, mostly as he recognized a few being Nightstrikers. "Hello! Wonderful to see you, Eos. Come all, sit! We'll begin shortly, once I feel like everybody has arrived," he explained as he dipped his head to the newest arrival, Katana...

Until a voice asked what it was. The calico turned to see fox-clad...Scout, he assumed. He was pretty sure he had seen her hanging around the scout quarter but it was impossible to see her rank scars due to her pelt, not that it mattered. Cats from any fraction and of any rank were free to join, so he simply gave her a smile and a purr. "Oh, hello! The Clans got their share of fun recently so I thought we ought to do the same, so I am going to be teaching how to make flower crowns! Everybody looks good in flowers, so I thought it would be fun! You are free to join if you want, or you could just watch - either is good for me!"

Ivory originally had no plans for flower crafting. She had just finished picking up her pelt, a silver fox. She donned it and wore it proudly, feeling on some level more connected with the father she never met but only ever heard of while she was inside it. She had yet to decorate it with any sort of claws, fangs or quills, but the fox pelt was already so pleasing to look at that she didn't know if she wanted to. The fox had lived a very easy life and bore no scars to tell no tales.

She noticed the gathering of cats and stopped just outside the Standard Quarters. She listened, and her ears picked out her mother's voice from the crowd. A burst of excitement as well as... maybe some tears about to well up, flooded through her. She trotted in the direction of the meeting and her eyes picked out Eos fairly quickly. Although it was on the tip of her tongue to say hello and to tell Eos how much she had missed her mother's company, Ivory quietly padded up beside Eos and sat, saying nothing to her. She would notice in just a moment anyway.

"I'm Ivory," She said softly, suddenly feeling a tiny bit of stage fright with so many other cats around. "I was recently named a Standard." She could hardly contain her pride when she said that and straightened her body posture up. What an amazing day that this was turning out to be! She got her new lovely fox pelt and now she was going to create something with her mother. It was a special day... one she would cherish forever.

Making flower crowns was usually considered a Pelt Ward activity, but Nero figured it wouldn’t be so bad to try. It could prove to be fun, and it was a good opportunity to make more Asylum allies. Plus he was sick of the boring Skyclan camp, where the most interaction he got from the clan cats was being glared at. So he made sure to be in the Asylum camp at the right time, and walked over to the group of cats gathering around Roe.

“Hmhoo.” He said, through the mouthful of colorful flowers. “I mean, hello.” He repeated with a charming smile, after setting down the flowers. “I hope I'm not late. I brought some extra flowers, just in case. It seems you already found plenty though!" He nodded in the direction of the huge pile of flowers.

He waited for Roe to answer his question, and carefully studied the other cats around him. A few looked familiar, but for the most part they were complete strangers to him. "My name's Nero. I'm a standard stationed in Skyclan." He introduced himself to the others.

Roe perked up at the sound of even more paws - a little surprised by how popular it actually was. He was expecting Thalia and maybe a pawful of others he had gotten to know well - not cats he hadn't really gotten the chance to meet before! He could barely contain his excitement, wanting to bouncing his paws but he simply smiled as he dipped his head to Ivory and Nero as they introduced themselves. "Hello! Yes! You are just in time, we haven't started yet or anything. Its great to meet you both - and I appreciate it, Nero! More flowers is always better," he added with a purr, raising his head with a smile. "Take a seat, feel free to chat with whoever! This is suppose to be a time to relax and get to know each other - mostly if you are stationed in different Clans! It should be starting soon - want to leave some time for a few more to arrive just in case."

Yew had heard about the activities going on in Asylum camp today, and at first he had disregarded the idea in favour of hunting or just hanging around the Thunderclan camp. But when it had crossed his mind that he might see his mother, littermates (and hopefully) his father, he had been quick to join. A rather large group of cats were already gathering around the piles of flowers, and he rushed over immediately when he spotted his mother and sister's similar pelts. He wanted to tackle Ivory to the ground as a hello, but after noticing the delicate blossoms and the surrounding cats, he decided against it.

"Hey Ivory!" He excitedly whispered in his littermate's ear. Since Eos was the other side, he decided against greeting her as well. They could catch up later. "Also, hi! I'm Yew and I'm a Standard in Thunderclan, this looks so cool!" When he joined he had caught the tail-end of another Standard joining, and as he had introduced himself, Yew felt the need to as well. Maybe he could meet some of the other cats closer to his age, and learn about the other clans. Especially Skyclan. He glanced at Nero, who had said he was stationed in the neighbouring clan to his. This is my time to learn things. He looks nice enough, maybe I could try talk to him? But for now, he kept his mouth shut and waited for the demonstration to begin.

"As Roe said... My name is Thalia," she responded politely to the cat that had asked, before turning her attention back to Roe. She was about to question more about the flowers, or perhaps just how things had been going while she wasn't around, but a familiar voice caught her ears over all the sound. She was a Nightstriker, after all - she knew her partner's voice. "Kat! I thought maybe this wasn't quite your style, but... It's good to see you!"

(She's pretty sure she doesn't need to say it. She says it anyway.)

Fixing her attention on Roe once again, she asked the question burning brightest in her mind. "So, how do we do this? I'm ready to learn!"

It wasn’t often a cat, especially one he couldn’t entirely call a friend, replied to his enthusiasm in kind; when Roe did, Pyrik grinned again despite himself. “Maybe I can go see? Only after things calm down in the Clans, of course—!" As Roe turned to greet Thalia, Pyrik went quiet, a tentative smile settling on his face. A territory full of foreign flowers, beyond the Clans and their chaos… No doubt it’d be ages before he’d get to go there, but even something so distant was better than having nothing at all to look forward to.

He didn’t have much time to imagine it; the rest of Asylum had come streaming in. A fishy-smelling she-cat drifted toward him and Thalia, pulling his attention away from Roe and the flowers. “That’s me,” he confirmed with a nod. “And you’re Eos, right?” Aside from her name and her pelt (the real one, not the hare she carried with her), he didn’t know anything about her, though a glance at her left shoulder told him she was a Scout. Clan ranks were so hard to keep track of. It made him even more grateful for the simplicity of Asylum’s system. Before he could say much else, Katana strolled over to sweep Thalia into effortless conversation. Pyrik watched quietly, curling his tail around his paws as he sat. For all his unease around any group of cats headed by Theron, he couldn’t help but envy the bonds Nightstrikers seemed to have; aside from Griffon, his own factionmates weren’t nearly as fond of him.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to sit in the silence for long. Among the flood of cats were two faces Pyrik had never seen in his life. Young as they looked, they couldn’t have been assigned to their factions that long ago. One of them planted herself beside Eos; the other lingered nearby, more than close enough for Pyrik to hear his introduction. Ivory and Yew, two new Standards—two new factionmates! (Of course, neither was stationed in WindClan, but he wouldn’t let that bother him.) “I’m a Standard, too,” he said brightly. ”My name’s Pyrik, it’s nice to meet you!”

Silky dark edges of wispy fur catching sharply against the smooth burn of the afternoon sun, there was an occasional flash of softly feathered fur bursting to life with bright illumination, framing the gentle and beguiling movements of Niylah in a ruddy, red-tinged halo. Softly feathered edges of her well-worn fox pelt gently shifting and rucking in upon itself under the beguiling, smooth movements, the Scout was slow to take a seat somewhat adjacent to Roe, bright nose dusted with a lazy, haphazard twitch as she continued to peer at the various flowers strewn about the unusual little crew. "That sounds.. nice," The dark-furred molly eventually remarked, unwilling to reveal the extent of her rapidly building curiosity- it was such a strange, entirely... Pelt Ward thing to waste the afternoon doing, but it sounded fairly mindless and enjoyable.

Niylah's pale gaze remained fixed upon the scruffy, and entirely unfamiliar, shape of young Ivory, the young she-cat gently wreathed under the silky, pale flash of a pale fox coat- the young Standard nothing more than a watery smear of pale shades in the reflective dark gleam of her simmering amber gaze. "Congratulations, Ivory," Niylah eventually mewed out, soft voice pitched to carry across the multiple conversations currently transpiring within the thinly spread circle of Asylum cats, "you must be pretty excited, huh?"

"Ivory, Yew." A hint of a smile, and some genuine warmth filled her tone at seeing her kits. They'd grown, and she was glad they'd be under the standards for training. Soft eyes swept over their chosen pelts, and Eos couldn't help but nod in silent approval at the choices. The silver fox pelt was beautiful, truly.

"Eosphoros, or Eos. It's good to be back in our own camp, among friends." The calico offered Pyrik an easy smile in response. "Hopefully things will calm down sooner rather than later. The Riverclanners aren't so bad, in truth. At least not compared to some of the stories I've heard."