Climb High [open]

OOC:
i don't believe i'm writing a warriors rp post in the year of our lord 2021. cool kids don't do drugs

IC:
Sleepykit poked his nose out from the drooping brambles of the nursery, only to snatch it back from the bracing nip of cold. A thin fog had settled over the camp just after the departure of the dawn patrol, forming a wall and ceiling with the gray bank of clouds hanging oppressively low in the sky. After a bit of prodding and poking, he had determined his mother and the other queens were asleep, and he set his plan in motion.

Driving rains the night and night before last had turned the soft, loamy riverbank soil into pure mud. It wasn't the first time he had been in trouble for tracking that mud into the nursery, but if he had to be cooped up in the nursery either way, then why not break out? Inside there was a feather nest lined with moss, reeds decorated with glittering shells, and absolutely no room to do anything fun. Better to be exiled.

With one last glance behind him, he pushed his whole head out of the hot, stuffiness of the nursery and into the crisp leaf-fall air. The small gray kit took high, arcing steps, skirting around the well-trodden mud puddles in a winding path toward the great willow tree. The willow tree where their leader, whoever that was, gathered all the Clan's warriors, apprentices, elders, and queens, but not their kits. Sleepykit had rarely gotten to approach the white gnarled roots without a sharp word from one queen or another, but that wouldn't stop him trying again. Today was different. The misty sprinkle of rain seemed to have every cat looking down at their own paws, or sheltering in their nests.

As Sleepykit approached the base of the tree, his eyes traced over the low-hanging branches where their leader sat, but it seemed all the more daunting of a height from this close up. Glancing around, he stretched up on his hind legs, and went scrabbling up the damp pale bark.

His claws failed to find purchase and he went sliding back down on the attempt. Almost...! Twitching his ears, he dug in his claws and went shooting up the base of the tree again, leaping and grasping for the nearest branch, and—...!

Oof. Sleepykit went sliding back into the mud.

The damp, moisterous scent of rain still clung onto the air, making her nose twitch uncomfortably. It wasn't that she didn't like rain— though she'd still prefer it more if leaf-fall had less rainfall. The weather almost always seemed so damp and cold, though she wasn't practically waiting for leaf-bare to arrive, either. The cold would surely be much more spine-chilling than this. The thick layer of mist seemed to hover through the air, though Hollypaw seemed not too much minded of this. She got up, about to head back into the apprentice den, when.. Spash!

Hollypaw swiveled her ears back, glancing behind in curiosity.  What was that? Then she spotted it— a kit, drenched in mud. A dusky-colored kit.. or at least, she assumed that the kit was dusky-colored, despite the mud clinging on the tom-kit's fur. The molly trotted over, gently picking the kit up from it's scruff, and setting it onto a spot that was more dry than others. "Are you alright?" She asked, her tone kept calm as always. "What's your name?" She asked again. She then opened her mouth again, intending to ask more— though she hesitated, and closed it instead. She assumed it would be nicer to at least get to know the kit's name first before anything.

A little orange tabby tom stretched in his nest, back arching as he laid on his side and spread out as far as he could, a satisfying tingle running down the base of his spine. A feather was caught somewhere in his fur, he felt the slight prick of the base against his skin, but he was so comfortable. Electing to ignore it, he began to curl up in his nest again, watching with half-lidded eyes as his one of his many den-mates trotted out of the den, almost secretively after checking the others were asleep.

As the brambles moved to allow the other passage, a slight chill touched his fur, waking him almost immediately. Aspenkit pouted internally, but decided that now he was awake- he wanted to see what the gray kit was up to. White paws and an equally white nose peaked from the entrance of the nursery, brown eyes tracing Sleepykit's path from the nursery. His head cocked to the side as he watched the other kit carefully round the puddles plaguing the clearing, heading straight for the great willow looming in the middle of the clearing.

Without much warning, the gray kit had failed his ascent and fell tail-first into the mud, and Aspenkit's whiskers twitched in amusement at his elder's accident. Almost immediately an apprentice rushed over, and he was suddenly up on his paws too, wanting to be involved in the early-morning action. He caught the end of Hollypaw's questions, instead butting in like his mother warned him not to do.

"Hi! I'm Aspenkit! I have no clue what he was doing. He did wake me up though," Despite the complaint, his voice was a steady squeak filled with positivity. Aspenkit was just happy to be included, really.

As new shapes began to gather around him, he scrambled back to his paws, shaking off sludge. Brown flecked his face and pelt, and smeared across his hind legs and flank where he'd slipped into the mud. Caught. Sleepykit turned up his chin, with a sharp glint of pride in his eyes as he met the apprentice's gaze. It was a thin mask for the naked embarrassment of being seen falling flat on his haunches. "I-I knew that would happen. Of course I'm fine." He said it so emphatically he almost believed himself, as if he wasn't internally howling at the cold mud slicked to his pelt. His eyes switched sharply from the apprentice to his denmate, and back to the apprentice again.

"I'm Sleepykit. And whatever I was doing, I bet it's better than laying around in the nursery." Sleepykit made it sound as if that wasn't exactly what he did, day in and day out. These adventures outside were temporary, fleeting escapades, usually snatched away too soon. The flint of fear of getting in trouble by an older clanmate made the kit bite his tongue rather than blurt out that he wanted to sit where he had only seen the Clan leader sit. The branch swayed overhead with the chill breeze, tantalizingly close.

As soon as she made her appearance, another kit made his way over, gleaming with his bright orange stripes. "Ah, I see." She nodded, looking over to Aspenkit, then to Sleepykit. Sleepy.. That's an odd prefix. She wondered what kind of warrior name he would get from that, but decided to ask later on either way. And aspens.. she'd heard briefly about it before, but she wasn't very sure what it was, either. "Sleepykit and Aspenkit, hm?" She smiled, "I don't think I've ever seen you two around before. I'm Hollypaw." She greeted them both with a soft purr. Then, the molly widened her eyes in interest. Purposely slipping into the mud? Was that a kit game recently created that she didn't know of..? She blinked. Either way, she was curious of what Sleepykit intended to do.

She caught Sleepykit's eyes glancing over to the Willow Branch, and let out a curious purr. "Or actually.. have you been intending to get on that branch? I don't think that's very proper, though I understand your curiosity about it." She spoke. Quite frankly, she had always been curious about it as a kit. She tried her best to act respectful though, and stopped herself from climbing on. "Though I appreciate it that you two wanted to head out of the nursery. It.. can be quite suffocating in there at times." She remarked, chuckling. Light breezes flowed through the air, making her shiver slightly. "It can also be cold in leaf-fall, though. Since leaf-bare's approaching soon."

He nodded enthusiastically in agreement with Sleepykit's statement about there being more interest in falling in mud than lounging in the nursery; Aspenkit didn't necessarily agree - oh how he'd love to still be asleep in his feather lined nest - he wanted to appear more interesting and unique in the eyes of his older clanmates. Hollypaw introduced herself, and the kit's whiskers twitched in excitement, he was talking to a real apprentice. "Nice to meet you Hollypaw!" He chirped, plonking down on his hind-legs, noting how the ground didn't look muddy where they gathered, but it definitely wasn't the best for white fur. He was going to get an earful later.

Aspenkit's eyes narrowed as Hollypaw deterred his denmates interest in climbing the tree, thinking internally there was no real harm in sitting atop of it; it's not like Sleepykit is going to call a clan meeting and declare himself the new leader of RiverClan. That being said, this was probably the third time he'd left the nursery, so he was not about to back-chat the apprentice. He nodded once more in agreement at it being stuffy in the nursery, puffing out his chest fur at the comment about it getting colder and colder, attempting to mask his own full-body shiver. "N-nothing we can't handle!" The ginger tabby said between chattering teeth, noticing quickly how his kit-fur was failing to provide good insulation. "The nursery can get boring though. There's nothing to do, and so many of us at the moment that you can barely go a step without tripping! Plus the queens are extra cranky and never let us play outside!" He rambled a little, hoping that the other two would understand, another chill racing through his tiny body- maybe there was a reason they weren't really allowed out lately.

He visibly shrunk under the gentle exposure of the truth—yes, he'd been caught in the act scrabbling up the willow tree. But improper? With a flare of untapped ambition welling up inside his chest, Sleepykit resolved to perch up there one day sooner or later. "I mean, you're curious too, right? I bet you could do it, Hollypaw." Sleepykit went on, trying to suppress a shiver from the chill and forwarding an approving nod toward Aspenkit. "T-This cold's nothing for us. We could stay out here all day. If you're really tough, you can jump in that mud like me."

Yes. Totally intentional. Definitely...

She paused, as if she wasn't sure of what to say, or do for a minute or so. She could— though she choose not to. Sure, if she were only going to gaze down from up there for just a few seconds, perhaps it would be alright. As long as her mentor doesn't catch her doing something so silly like that, or maybe even the leader or deputy themselves. That would.. be embarrassing, for sure. She'd also probably be dismissed after, though. Then, she simply nodded in response, pretending as if she didn't just notice them practically shaking in the cold now. "If you say so, then. Though I wouldn't want to get my pelt mud-stained now, I'll have to clean it all over again." She teased. The mud wasn't exactly as cold as the streams and rivers, but she betted that it would feel just as icy-cold to the kits. The rivers definitely were something else in the cold, though. Maybe she'd even tell them a story about it?

"Soon, you'll be able to learn hunting fishes and other critters in our territory. I'm not sure if you would even be able to head off to the streams now though, since it's so spine-chillingly-cold. The fishes would hide, too." She frowned, shaking her head. "Quite frankly, I heard the rivers freeze to ice in leaf-bare. They'll be so cold, that it's even further more than anything you'd ever experience before." She spoke, then immediately continued after, "Though try not to slip through the ice. It's dangerous." She flattened down her ears in a wary-like manner. Would telling them this time now be right? No, she already have told them that— and it'll be too late to turn back either way. She only hoped it'll bring them more caution as an apprentice when they grow. Though surely, if they get in trouble.. warriors would rant on her for all sort of things. She bit her inner cheek, already loathing the thought of it.

Aspenkit's brown eyes widened in nothing short of overwhelming excitement as Hollypaw told cautionary tales of what lay outside of camp during the coldest part of the season to come. He thought of skidding across the ice, swimming in bone-chilling waters to catch anything he could, to bring home and brandish proudly, lacking the necessary connection of how cold the water would actually be, and how dangerous the ordeal would be for a newly-made apprentice. If not for his mother's somewhat looming presence coming from the nursery, the tom-kit would surely be on his way to explore the freezing rivers and the territory, desperate for a taste of what awaited him.

The ginger kit shook his head, attempting to draw his focus back to the cats in front of him - not somewhere outside of the safety of RiverClan's camp. "I wanna be out there!" Aspenkit blurted out, up on his paws in a heartbeat, the gentle wave of his tail carrying over his enthusiasm. "You're so lucky Hollypaw." There was almost a little hint of jealousy in his voice, and he looked over at Sleepykit, eyeing his mud-soaked pelt. "Don't you wanna explore too?" The kit queried, wondering if his denmate felt the same itch in his paws to be out there.

(If this isn't open, I'll delete)

                                                             *-Whisper'kit-*          

Whisper'kit walked by the small group with a small sigh. An older cat was telling what appeared to be two other kits of all the Immense dangers outside of camp during the cold. Whisper was unsure of what that would do except scare the kits and maybe stop them from going outside. However, she thought, If you thought logically, It couldn't be that dangerous, as they still sent cats out there. she walked up into the circle, and sat down, not saying a word. Really, she just wanted to hear about what to expect outside, as she supposed when she became an apprentice hunting would be necessary.

Realizing that It was disrespectful to appear impromptu, she decided to introduce. She said, "Um, I'm Whisper'kit, but you can call me Whisper. How about you guys?" in a volume barely loud enough to hear and be decipherable.

As Hollypaw spoke, words which had just been half-imagined concepts in his mind began to take vivid shape and color. The entire river, frozen? The river was both ever-present and something mystical and beyond the periphery of camp, besides the gurgling rush of water and glimpses of glittering, choppy waves that could be picked out from between the woven reeds of the camp walls.

The scarcity of prey, the lethal chill, the true impact of leaf-bare was lost, but now he was rapt with curiosity. He had heard of snow, but he had yet to catch it in his paws or see it drifting from the clouds overheard.

"Are you joking? We should go right now!" Sleepykit answered his denmate, with a fervent excitement glowing in his eyes that suggested he was at least somewhat serious. Why should they wait until they were apprentices to see their own hunting grounds? RiverClan needed all the strong warriors it could get, as soon as possible!

As another kit padded up to join them, Sleepykit whirled with a puffed up chest. He had to strain his ears to pick up the faint meow. "Sleepykit. We're talking about exploring!" Mentally, he couldn't help but wonder what it would take to get Hollypaw to sneak them out... but probably there was nothing a few kits like them could offer an apprentice. Frustration over his kit name bubbled over again, but his attention was now fully on the older cat. "What places have you seen, Hollypaw? Have you ever been to Fourtrees? Or the Gorge? Have you ever been in a battle?!" The questions came pouring out in a flooded stream.

Stars, maybe she should've kept her tongue more.

The molly let out a somewhat awkward chuckle, though hearing their plan to leave, she immediately paused. Her ears flattened down— and she could already imagine the things that could've happened to them if they went outside alone. Then another kit appeared. "I'm Hollypaw. And Whisperingkit, I see? It's nice to meet you." She hurriedly greeted. Then as her ears perked up, and the only things that she could comprehend briefly next for the few seconds were Sleepykit's gush of questions— pouring out as if they were thunderstorms and streams. She gulped. Instinctively, Hollypaw rose to her mitts, darting to the clan's entrance to stop them from going any further out. If they were going to run, they'll have to go past her first. Which seemed not very likely to her.

If she couldn't stop them, other apprentices, or even warriors will. The apprentice took in a deep breath, then exhaled. "No, no no no— you can't. Didn't you forget that the queens are still watching you right now? Even if they're only in the nursery." She made up an excuse. "And er, yes— I have been to many places, but you'll get to go through them as apprentices, too." She smiled. "Though apprentices are not allowed near the Gorge. It's too dangerous, the warriors say. It's very steep." Hollypaw stopped herself from answering any more than needed, and gave them a nod. She haven't exactly.. gotten into a battle yet, though maybe some other time. She felt lucky she hadn't had any gruesome scars so far, despite what the kits might think of them. She remembered some kits thought they looked cool, though her pelt had none. For now.

“Hmm, I have a question, but first, Sleepykit, you should listen to Hollypaw. If she says it is dangerous, we should assume so as well. I am not saying don’t try new things, but recklessness is a path to danger unless supported by reason, or so I would think. Anyway, I was also wondering about the opposite. If it is so dangerous, why do we send cats out?” She blabbed, getting a bit braver.

“Sorry, was that weird?”

ooc: hey scooble, just letting you know the posting order is sleepy, arcana, myself & then you ! just to avoid any confusion

Instantly the tom was swept up in the tidal wave of excitement and urgency from Sleepykit, tail transitioning from a gentle wave to lashing like his denmates, spiked up as he thought of trekking through the territory; the sights and smells washing over his senses and providing relief to his own burning desire for exploration. Within a few moments, another kit had padded over, introducing herself in a voice so soft even when he strained he failed to make it out-- lucky for him, he had two others to decipher for him.

Aspenkit waited for the other two's response to gauge his own, figuring out it was some sort of introduction. "I'm Aspenkit! Nice to meet you!" He was careful not to say a name, worried he had heard the wrong name from Hollypaw and Sleepykit - his ears often failed him on the most random words, especially names, and he hadn't exactly heard this one from the molly herself.

He nodded along with the same fervour that Sleepykit threw questions out at Hollypaw, itching to know the answers, a desperate need to satisfy his own cravings for the great beyond without jeopardising himself. The ginger tom watched with narrowed eyes as Hollypaw moved from their spot to the camp's exit, as if to protect it with her own body, and rapidly felt himself become indignant at the suggestion he wasn't allowed to forge his own path through their land. It didn't matter he was a kit, he could do this- the stars themselves wouldn't stop the tom!

Hollypaw explained the queens could see, and surely that meant that more of the clan could, but he didn't care; he felt as if a challenge had been issued, and he was not one to back down. The apprentice spoke some more, an attempt at deterring further, and he lashed his little tail. At 4 moons he had zero advantage against Hollypaw, but he was determined. Even if only to just take a step outside and immediately come back into camp, to prove to himself and others - mostly himself - that nothing would dare stop the ferocity of the orange tabby. Whisperkit's warning of danger, echoing the same sentiment as Hollypaw made up his mind for him on the increasingly stupid plan he was fostering.

Spotting a gap in the camp's exit he was thankful it was only an apprentice blocking his way, so she didn't cover the whole thing. The ginger kit ducked out, standing outside of the reeds that had protected him since birth, eyes widening in wonderment and his heartbeat thumped so loud it hurt his ears, as he took in the sights outside; and within a heartbeat he returned through the reeds, pushing past Hollypaw once more, paws so jittery he felt as if he could fly.

"S-see?" Aspenkit's voice came out as a stutter as adrenaline coursed through his little body, electrifying every nerve and making his fur stand on end. "Can't be that dangerous, if I'm still standing!" Immediately regret replaced the adrenaline, realising, oh stars. Not only did an apprentice see him, but quite possibly the queens, other warriors, and worst of all, his mother. He crouched down before Hollypaw immediately, intensely embarrassed and awaiting swift repercussions. But hey, you sure did it.

(Ok gtk! Disregard other post.)

As Whisper’kit watched Aspen’kit run over to specifically the spot he was told not to, she gave a sigh. She thought it better to break it to Hollypaw now. “You won’t get them to listen. What you have to do, I assume, is find something more fun for them.” She said in a flat tone. All this energy being used by the kits just tired her out. She smirked a little despite herself once Aspen’kit realized his actions. “Umm, would you guys like to do something else? A story or something?” She volunteered, wanting to go back inside because of the cold.