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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Perchstar did not like being in the nursery. It was never a place she had been fond of, especially after Mallowmist's death, but being in it as a queen was something different entirely. This had never been in her plans for her life. Some cats came to it naturally--Poppyshine had always had a mothering nature, even as an apprentice. The leader was possibly the least suited person for the job that she had ever known. Emotions were foreign to her, and she had never known how to control, express, or even feel them properly. Queens were supposed to be kind, nurturing, warm and caring. She had no clue how to be any of those things. It was odd enough to have four little balls of fur following her every step and constantly crying out for her. The fact that she was supposed to be fulfilling her leaderly responsibilities only made it worse. How could she supervise mentors and apprentices, see to the daily workings of camp, speak with Sandyshell, and fish and patrol and everything else at the same time as the full-time job of being a queen? It was tiring, and frustrating, and nearly impossible, but she was doing what she could.
Right now, the kits were finally asleep. She thought. It was difficult to tell. However, Perchstar had managed to escape out of the nursery into camp. Sighing in relief as the sun hit her pelt, she sat down on the sandy banks, enjoying a brief breath of fresh air. Returning home had not meant that she could relax; she'd been at her busiest in moons during the past few days. But thankfully, she could have a quiet moment of respite here, if only for a little while. Until anyone came to speak with her, she would be sitting with eyes closed, soaking in the sunlight.
Rookkit stretched across the sand, eyes half closed and tail twitching lazily. It was getting warmer and warmer as new-leaf settled in full, growing hot enough now that they could feel the slight singe of the sun against their dark fur. They enjoyed the heat; if they had it their way, they would spend each day laying out in the sun.
Pawsteps disturbed their light rest. Opening their eyes a little wider, they saw it was Perchstar who was moving about, making her way out of the nursery. For a while, Rookkit didn’t move from their spot; only stared after her, unblinking. Admittedly, they’d grown a reluctant interest in Perchstar since her return. There were many questions Rookkit wanted to ask, but they couldn’t gather any of them when they were actually near to her. They’d seen a lot more of her than they had before, too, as she’d been taking up space in the nursery, even though she seemed as pleased about the tight quarters as they were.
Ears twitching, Rookkit slid into a crouch, slithering forward across the sand. They’d planned only to stare at her until she took notice, but she’d closed her eyes against the warm sunlight. Their ears flickered back and forth again with a dull indignation. It was worth trying, at least; Rookkit pulled themselves into a tidy sit, wide yellow eyes watching her intently. It was only a few moments before they tired of waiting, cleared their throat and said plainly, “Perchstar. Hello. You are not in the nursery.”
”Rookkit!” Toadlegs called excitedly from the other side of camp, long legs tangling in the excitement to get to his friend. Well. Rival? Toadlegs wasn’t really sure anymore. The two of them hadn’t really spoken since Toadlegs became an apprentice, which had to have been ages by now. It was so strange, to think that the two of them were around the same age, yet while Toadlegs had earned his warrior name Rookkit still lounged in the nursery.
Toadlegs knew the reason, of course, and it was a very good one. Even if he didn’t quite understand it himself.
Finally, finally Toadlegs had some time to himself, time to do whatever he wished that didn’t involve being a big bad responsible warrior; he finally had time to go and talk to Rookkit again, maybe see if they were still rivals like Toadlegs had claimed all those moons ago.
Too caught up in his excitement, Toadlegs didn’t notice Perchstar’s presence until it was far too late, nearly bowling the poor she-cat over. Toadlegs gave out a shrill squeak as he stumbled over himself and his leader, profuse apologies falling out of his mouth like loose teeth. Perchstar had gone missing, came back with kits and more responsibility than ever before, and like an absolute idiot Toadlegs managed to ruin his first impression. He had never managed to even talk to her before! All of his training, even his warrior ceremony was done in her absence!
”I’m sorry!” Toadlegs bleated for the umpteenth time, not sure whenever to run away or grovel on the dirt. ”I’m sorry Perchstar— I’m Toadlegs, I-I’m one of your newest warriors! I’m not usually this bad, I swear!”
Owlkit let out a scoff at the display in front of him. Blue eyes narrowed on the warrior after the actions he has taken. That wasn't the behavior a warrior should display at all. It was a shame really, he had met so few cats and it seemed that none were too ken on keeping their pride in tacked.
The brown tom had been sitting outside the nursery when Perchstar emerged. He had gotten used to her company a little bit, but he knew even more now he had to keep up appearances. Nothing could be out of place. While she didn't make the best impression, she was still the leader, and he wanted to make a good impression on her. He was about to get up, go over there and introduce himself to her, but it seemed Rookkit beat him to the punch while he was making sure everything was good with his fur, then along came Toadlegs.. Stars, Toadlegs. How hard was it to keep control over your excitement?
"Well that was a mess.." The younger cat heaved with a sigh. "Give her some space to breath, stars. She hasn't been back that long." Owlkit said to the warrior, with an unamused look on his face.
It appeared that a silent rest was too much to hope for. Perchstar opened her eyes almost immediately as a calm voice piped up from nearby. It was Rookkit. Larkkit's sibling, if she recalled correctly. One of the three who seemed permanently chained to the nursery. His observation was strictly that--an observation. Her whiskers twitched slightly. "Neither are you," she pointed out. "And yet we both still exist. How curious." Perhaps she ought to ask him whether he felt well enough to become an apprentice yet?... Or perhaps she ought to leave that to Poppyshine, whom cats always seemed to get along with better. She knew very little about this kit. It would not be harmful to engage in conversation and get a sense of what type of cat they were--especially if they were to be an apprentice soon and serve the Clan. "Rookkit, what do you--"
She was cut off by another form bowling into hers suddenly. Her voice stopped short in a sudden grunt of effort. Surprised and irritated, she glanced up to see a lanky form she did not recognize stumbling away from her, squeaking out some startled attempt at an apology. A slow blink was all she could manage for the moment, straightening up into a sitting position. Who was this tom, and why did she not recognize him? As his name tumbled out of his mouth, she let out a quiet sigh of recognition. This was the other warrior that Poppyshine had mentioned. Toadlegs. Well, apparently the name was more apt than she could have imagined. It would not be wise to let her frustration show outwardly, however annoyed she might be with the unorthodox interruption. "I don't believe we've met," she said quietly. "But I suppose I will have to take your word for it." What was she supposed to do in a situation like this? He'd already apologized, so there was no point in reprimanding him. He must have not been looking.
Another small voice entered into her ears. Sliding her eyes to the side revealed yet another kit, also outside the nursery. She knew him due to spending so much time in the nursery recently; Owlkit, if she recalled correctly. Perchstar kept a slightly amused, slightly rueful sigh to herself. If she had wanted to speak with multiple kits she would not have left the nursery. But at least it was sunny out here. And a leader was supposed to speak with anyone who needed them. "I suppose I ought to be flattered if my Clanmates are falling over themselves to speak with me," she said, almost surprising herself with how naturally the deadpan joke found its way out of her mouth. For some reason it reminded her of Birdstar. "So we have Rookkit, Toadlegs, and...?" Though she knew the tom's name, it would be more polite to let him introduce himself. This had not been the outing she'd planned. But she would make it work.
Rookkit stared back at Perchstar, quiet and unblinking. Her response made his head angle almost entirely to the right. It was, just as she’d supplied, a curious answer. He wondered if it was a joke– it sounded like something that would make other cats laugh. Rookkit righted his head and nodded. It was fair, he’d decided. And it sounded like there was a question waiting for him, one he was honestly curious to hear, but a shrill voice and the sight of Toadlegs crashing in a heap against Perchstar interrupted whatever she might have said.
The disturbance made Rookkit get up faster than usual, taking several steps backward. Rookkit wasn’t sure why Toadlegs had come running for them anyway. He always brought an insufferable amount of noise and chaos and never seemed fond of them, anyway. Hadn’t he decided they were rivals, or something of the sort? Whatever it was, Rookkit did not want his company. They had been speaking to Perchstar. They turned away from the flurry of apologies and willed their bristling spine to flatten.
Yellow eyes caught sight of Owlkit a little while before he spoke. Selfishly, they hoped he would not engage. One unexpected party already made them frown. They held no opinion of Owlkit as they did Toadlegs, but they had not been planning to speak to several cats. Especially so… chaotically. “Mess,” Rookkit echoed tersely. They remained in their new, slightly distant spot while Perchstar prompted introductions, silently begrudging the nicety.
Toadlegs wanted very much to crawl into a small hole and die. This had to be the most embarrassing moment in his entire life, and he meant it this time, because he said that quite a lot. For a few moments he considered making his escape during Owlkit’s interruption, but the opportunity left as quickly as it came. Rook was giving him a look and Perchstar was at attention, and turning tail now would only suit to embarrass Toadlegs further. ”I—uh— I just wanted to, um—“ Perchstar sounded mad at him, but she seemed to sound mad most of the time. The stress was starting to weigh on him. ”Rookkit, I heard you’re going to be an apprentice soon, so i just wanted to know if we were still enemies— or rivals.. or something.”
This was not a conversation he wanted to be having in front of Perchstar, especially considering that Toadleg’s supposed enemy was a kit. Oh well, he was never one for good impressions anyway.
