Dapples in the Marsh [C]

Frostgaze tread carefully through the muck that constituted most of the landscape, doing his best to not get too dirty. Sometimes he wondered just why he had to have such white fur, when most in Shadowclan had such dark fur. It was a hindrance, to say the least. Turning his head slightly to ensure his former mentor was still behind him, he continued padding along. "It is good that we have not caught scent of rogues. At the very least, fresh scents." So far, his mind said. Frostgaze was not one to count birds before they hatched. The closer the pair got to the border, the less muck there would be, though the chance of finding a rogue would only go up. Not quite the exchange the white tom wanted, but it would do for the time being.

Suddenly, a small noise, and the scent of rogue wafted toward him. Waving his tail to signal to Shira to stop, Frostgaze lowered himself to the ground. The only good thing about his short stature. "Rogue scent, that way." He whispered back, before stalking toward the scent. It wasn't long before he found the source of the scent, a hollow tree stump, too small to fit a fully grown cat. Curious, he inched closer, peering inside. A... kit? "Hello, small one... do you have a name?" He must look like a loony, talking to the inside of a tree stump. Yet the kit was there, and he was curious.


ooc: since flintstar doesn't let anyone out alone, little ripped will be joining us with shira!

[rolling for rogues]

The member 'Alexcentria' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 2

A small kit sat in a tree stump, curled up a on a small pile of ferns. She had been waiting for a cat to find her since sunset and was starting to get bored. She wanted to leave and try to find the cats herself, but was strictly instructed by her mother to stay put. Almost on cue, she heard a faint meow. That must them, she thought before mewling as loud she could. She waited for the cats to find her hiding spot and soon saw a cat peering into the small opening. The white cat asked her if she had a name? The kit feebly mewed back, “Umm, mother would normally call me daughter. But she once called me Dappled, would that be my name?”

Shira walked along with Frostgaze.  The marsh was horribly wet after the Greenleaf storms.  She was pretty sure that the normal white of her paws was now completely stained a version of brown.  She constantly wondered what a Shadowclan cat once must have done for Starclan to decide to torture all of there clan with this wet mud for the rest of eternity.  Shira walked behind Frostgaze, staying mostly quiet.

When Frostgaze mentioned that there was a rogue scent, she squinted.  She was both nervous in case she could end up like Foxspark and excited because this could mean she could get revenge for his death.  She hurried after Frostgaze, wanting to see who this rogue was.  This could be my chance.  I can get revenge on the one who killed Foxspark.  This is his murderer, I just know it.

Then she saw the little kit curled up in the tree stump.  On second thought... I guess not.  She stared blankly for a moment.  Sort of stunned to see the kit.  She looked at the small weak form that lay there.  Her eyes were still squinted, looking at the bright green eyes of the cat.  "Most likely yes," she responded to the kits question.  Even though she had kits of her own, once they grew up she had no idea how to deal with kits again.  It was always and forever going to be a mystery to her.

"What are you going to do with the kit?" She whispered to Frostgaze, making sure to make it clear that she wasn't going to take any responsibility for this discovery.

"Dappled, a fine name. Where has your mother gone? We will return you to her if you're waiting for her." Frostgaze's head turned to look back at Shira, raising a non-existent eyebrow. She was certainly quick to want nothing to do with this. So be it. "If her mother is around, she will be returned. If she is not, I will bring her back to camp." He whispered back quickly, and after, he leaned into the stump. "I am going to grab you now." His jaws closed around the kit's scruff, hauling her out of the stump and onto the ground before the two warriors. He sniffed for a moment, trying to detect the scent of the kit's mother, but found none. Either the mother had been gone for a while, or was not returning at all.

The other cat answered her question by saying it most likely her name. She liked it, it was pretty and it showed what she looked like. The same cat who asked her what her name was proceeded to ask where mother was, and the kit made a small squeak as they lifted her out of the stump. Once she was placed back on the ground she mewed, “Mother told me stay to stay in this tree stump until some nice cats found me. Then I would go live with them in a clan. Are you the nice cats she was talking about?” She looked at the two cats that had found her. They seemed to be nice cats, but she could never know until she got to know them more.

Shira looked at Frostgaze, puzzled.  She didn't think of Frostgaze as the kind of cat to just bring a kit back to camp and, if she understood what he was saying correctly, take care if it.  Although, some cats still did surprise her.  She listened to what the kit said.  "It sounds like your mother-"  Shira held her tongue after she started.  Probably telling this kit that her mother left her in just a few minutes of meeting her wasn't the best way to go about things.  It would probably just make the kit angry.  She looked at Frostgaze, knowing what the tom said earlier.  "I assume we're the ones your mother was talking about," she answered.  "Well, at least he probably is.  I'm just kind of here."

"Your mother was likely talking about Shadowclan, which we are a part of. As it seems currently, your mother is not to be returning to us. Come, climb on my back Dappled, we will take you to our camp." Frostgaze lowered himself to the ground, low enough that the kit would be able to scrabble onto his back. Quickly, he realized the kit didn't know his, or his clanmate's, names. That was something that needed to be remedied quickly. "My name is Frostgaze, and hers is Shira. We are both warriors of Shadowclan." Lifting himself back off the ground, Frostgaze began padding back toward camp, kit, hopefully, in tow. He could tell Shira wanted nothing to do with this, and she would not if she did not want to. It made no difference to the tom.

Dappled listened as both the cats said that they must of been the cats mother was talking about, but maybe not so much for the she-cat. The white tom said that she was talking about ShadowClan, and to climb onto his back. ShadowClan, the name reminded her of cats elegantly stalking through shadows. She hoped it would be a nice place to live. The tom crouched down and Dappled pounced, scrambling up onto his shoulders. He introduced himself as Frostgaze and the she-cat as Shira, and that they were warriors. Frostgaze and Shira sounded like very nice names, she didn’t really know what they meant, but liked them nonetheless. “Are there more clans than just ShadowClan? And what is a Warrior?” the kit meowed, she was curious about the new life she would have.

Shira attempted a small smile when Frostgaze introduced her to Dappled.  It worked, except for the part were it didn't reach her eyes, but she didn't think anyone would notice that.  She nodded to the kit when she asked the questions, these she could answer.  "Yes.  There are five clans including Shadowclan.  There's Shadowclan, Riverclan, Skyclan, Thunderclan and Windclan, but me and Frostgaze live in Shadowclan.  A warrior is an adult cat trained in combat who fights for their clan."

Frostgaze began heading back towards camp, kit on his back. He was short, so at least if she wanted to jump off, it wouldn't be too hard for her. "Yes, Shira is correct. When we return to our camp, I will introduce you to our leader, Flintstar. He is sure to take you in." His paws moved gracefully, making the ride as smooth as possible for Dappled. A part of him felt... bad? This kit had been abandoned, she had no one. At least he had his clan, acquaintances, even a friend or two. The thoughts felt emotionally compromising, so he held them back, focusing on his paws, and the path ahead of him. He could clean himself again once the kit had been brought back.

ooc: feel free to post once more, but I have made a topic that is a direct continuation of this one! link: https://warriorclancats.forumotion.com/t45288-small-one-home-open-flintstar-needed#500137