ShadowClan Nursery

[Ymir]

Rosekit sat in a corner annoyed that she cant find a mentor

[Alchemist Kitsune]

Mousekit

Unusually clean white toes played with a small wad of moss. A moss ball that had evidently outlived its usefulness and been discarded by other kits in the nursery. Mousekit molded it methodically, old bits of feathers, fur, and tiny twigs by his side as he sat on his tail, his forepaws busy at work. The young kit needed the distraction, as much had happened as of late, and he didn't fully know how to... grasp it.

First he had learned that he really, really did not live being underground. Especially when he couldn't move. Being buried alive was no fun, no no no. Second, he had learned that he was a stupid head. A mouse brain. Probably why he had gotten buried alive to begin with. At least Fuzzy had been there to save him, by golly! He had been his SuperFuzz! True, the massive tom had gotten grumble grumble angry with loud, yelly words, but he had said he had only yelled at him because! Because he loved Mousekit. So it was okay.

Alright... maybe love was not the exact word the warrior had used, but that's how Mousekit had interpreted it, and it was going to stay that way. Hmph! The memory of these events fresh on the young gray tom's mind, Mousekit shifted his verdant hues towards the collapsed tunnel that had once been DigClan, a small longing in his eyes. It had been days since he'd dared to approach the site. The soil lay undisturbed since it had collapsed over him, dug around violently when Fuzzy had been on his quest to save the kit as he drowned within the soil, unable to rise to the top once more.

A shudder coursing through the stocky tom's body, Mousekit tore his eyes away, unable to stomach the sight of the site for too long. Not yet. His fear at the collapse was still too fresh. His heart still hurt from his Fuzzy's yelling, too, no matter how much he tried not to show it. Because Fuzzy had said. He had said that he should never be beat by what others said. So... so he would stay up. He would stay up, by golly! And ignore it. For now.

But it was hard, yes it was, it was. Because because... he didn't know where his Hazely was. His Hazely had... been avoiding him. Or at least, he thought his Hazely was avoiding him. And so, he couldn't get distracted with Hazely. Not that it mattered, he guessed. Hazely had been getting angrier at him lately... Telling him he was loud. He probably thought Mousekit was a mouse brain as well.

Rounded ears drooped lightly at this thought, wondering if he should ask his mum about Hazely before he realized... he couldn't. Ever since... the incident... he didn't dare go close to the collapsed den. Because he could get trapped inside again. And what if... what if his Fuzzy wasn't there to save him this time? What if he was left all alone? But! Without the den, it was so so hard to get his pelt all properly muddy. Hide his stupid, Stinkyshadow looking pelt. And he didn't want his mum to look at him and yell at him like Fuzzy had done. He didn't want to disappoint the two of them at the same time. So instead, Mousekit stayed by a corner of the den, practicing his nest building skills until he perfected them, wanting to fix up his family's den proper later, and maybe then Hazely and his mum wouldn't mind him hanging around with his ugly gray pelt.

Dark gray limbs moving deftly as Mousekit added a few blemishes here and there, the nest was starting to look properly professional by this point, almost artistic with the kit's attempt at making it as beautiful as he could, a smaller version of what he intended to do for his own family's nest. Tongue sticking out the side of his mouth in concentration, the monochrome tom grabbed some dirt from the ground to use as a further binding agent on the outside. Just like Fuzzy had taught him... He wondered... would Fuzzy be happier with him if he showed him how hard he was working on finishing... this...

Yes! Victory! A happy little trill of celebration escaped Mousekit as he finished his tiny project, wiping his nose with the one muddy paw as he stared down at his mock nest with pride. It was... the very bestest one he had made so far! Excitement perking up his small ears, Mousekit turned quickly to look for his mum and his Hazely, only to remember... they weren't there. They had been avoiding him, or he had been avoiding them. He didn't remember anymore, and he didn't really care. Ears drooping lightly as he turned his green orbs upon the finished play nest, he frowned, raising his paw to smash it, only to realize he couldn't do it. For once, he found no happiness to be had in the silly, rampant destruction of this small nest, the memory of the collapsing play den jolting alive in the back of his mind and spreading through him like a wild fire. Placing his paw back down, the kit just kept blank eyes on his tiny toy, knowing there was no one for him to share his nest with anymore.

-

@carmen - Spiritkit
| Have the odd case of a sad time Mousekit. He needs a friend to cheer him up or distract him! |

[Estelle]

A bemused smile spread on the former queen's maw as questions came pouring from the kittens after all. Though, there seemed a mild bit of hostility between them that Nightshiver couldn't quite understand. She decided to watch them more closely, to ensure nothing happened between them, but mentioned nothing as it seemed to remain too mild irritation with one another than actual aggression (luckily). Turning to Moonkit first, Nightshiver smiled gently.

"Lionstar was leader of RiverClan, before Sootstar, Skystar and Pikestar."
Having been.. In captivity at the time, the queen never learned of Kestrelstar.
"It's hard to say what was between them; Lionstar and Icestar never got along, though we were in a lengthy feud with RiverClan at the time. Like many feuds, I believe it started with minor issues around the border - such as apprentices trespassing and skirmishes, which may have gone unacknowledged by one or the other. Later down the line, besides the several raids RiverClan launched on us (and we retaliated), there have been attempts at expanding into the other's territory, which never went over well. BUT besides all that, I believe they just... Couldn't stand each other either."
She gave Moonkit a sad smile, purposefully remaining vague on some details due to how young one of the two was. Speaking of which, she looked back to Spiritkit, melancholy smile replaced by a pleased one.
"Iceheart. That was Icestar's warrior name."
She corrected gently, tilting her head at some of the kits' comments.
"They do have a pretty strong smell."
Wildpaw had said something very similar, she recalled, during their tour of the territory.
"Lionstar," the white lady once again corrected with a light smile, "Or Lionstorm, his warrior name. But yes, Icestar was a big battle lady, so was Lionstar."

"The feud between ShadowClan and RiverClan lasted almost four seasons. There were many skirmishes between that time, and many raids. RiverClan attacked ShadowClan at least twice, and ShadowClan retaliated by attacking their camp at least once.
...Lionstar had managed to take Icestar's first life during that first raid, though I'm certain Icestar returned the favour eventually.

Between all the issues with RiverClan, we raided ThunderClan once too. We'd been having issues with arrogant warriors, and some may have even been pushing the border. Icestar didn't take it well. It was around then that rumours started to arise, that our former leader was blinded by nothing but pride. ..But those were just rumours, of course."
She smiled. Perhaps those rumours held some truth, but that was highly subjective... She didn't want the clan's kits to have terrible opinions of their past leaders.

"As I said, the feud lasted almost four seasons. During this time, WindClan had grown increasingly irritated with ShadowClan, though we didn't have as much outer trouble with them. That is, until one night. Fed up, WindClan didn't just raid us - they attacked with the intention of driving us out. We were taken by surprise, and they succeeded. We were driven from our home that night. We were supposed to hide out at the waterbarn, a far away piece of our territory, but it mysteriously went up in flames. We were lucky to find Flintspirit, ThunderClan's former leader, who guided us to a wide clearing where we were able to stay until a new home was found.

what I haven't told you yet, is that sometime after Crowtail (and likely a few other deputies), Beastspark was named our new deputy. He served as ShadowClan's deputy for a long time, until one of the first meetings we spend in refuge. Beastspark was demoted, and Dawnstar - Dawnstripe at the time - was promoted to deputy instead."
She looked to Moonkit, now having reached the moment where she may attempt to answer the kit's previous question.
"While Beastspark was a capable deputy, I believe Icestar had high hopes for Dawnstar. Dawnstar had always been a capable and well-performing warrior, and Icestar must've valued trust. Some were shaken, as Dawnstar is Icestar's daughter, but she promoted for her skills and abilities, not for her relation to Icestar."
Or so the former queen preferred to believe; she knew very well that many at the time would disagree with that opinion.

"Dawnstar became our leader that same meeting. We don't know how or when, but when one of our former warriors pushed Icestar from a hightree, she lost what must have been her last life. Dawnstar had nothing to do with it. Many disagree, back then, but Dawnstar took over leadership like it was nothing. Soon enough, she led us to our new home, here."
Nightshiver gave a light smile as she gestured around her.
"Our feud with RiverClan died down, too. As Dawnstar had set her sight on WindClan instead, and chose to ignore RiverClan furthermore.

Any questions?"


[ @carmen @Wingnettle - just pretend the stutter please ]

[Shade.]

Seedkit spent two hours thinking of a rhyme for "raccoon".

[ophelia]

Mushroomkit waddled in, looked around, and promptly left again.
[closed] - 2

[*longfire*]

Spiritheart slept

[lio]

NIGHTHOUND
huge, dark grey tabby tom with orange eyes and many scars.
he/him

Shouldering his way out of the warrior's den, Nighthound passed a glance over the clearing before finding a place to sit. He made quick work of cleaning debris from his pelt, untangling bits of nest from his fur. It was all he could do, however, as the fluffy nature of his fur made it stick out wildly in random places, never wanting to lay flat. Nighthound had given up long ago on getting his pelt perfectly groomed.

Finishing his grooming session with a shake, the huge tom looked around once more. It would be good to find something to do. He didn't enjoy sitting all day being lazy- a warrior should be up and moving almost constantly, getting work done. Maybe he could find someone to go and hunt with. Or see if anyone needed help around the camp. Decisions, decisions.

Maybe he could see if any of the queens needed help. Surely they'd enjoy a rest from watching their kits every once in a while. So, standing up, he made his way to the nursery and poked his head in. Perhaps he could help fluff up any nests to make them more comfortable. Or something. Or just keep the kits company. Maybe.

Finally coming to a decision, he called out, "anyone in here?"

@teddy.

[teddy.]

Poppykit was attempting to groom himself but failing dramatically. his creamy fur sticking up in every direction and still little matts were protruding with odd bits of bramble clinging to him with all their might.

ah! a warrior!

Poppykit shuffled over, sitting himself at nighthounds paws with a small sniffle. "c-can you get the knots out, please? I'm not any good at it..."
@lio

[teddy.]

poppykit was BRIMMING with energy!! he felt like bouncing off the walls!! everyday was getting warmer and warmer; his apprenticeship felt like it was just on the horizon! (it wasn't)

he strutted into the play area for the first time; he had the skills to get around pretty good now so nothing was really off limits on a physical level.

poppykit wanted to play a game; but what? clans!

"who wants to play clans with me?!" he squeaked out eagerly, a smile plastered across his face. "I'll be the med cat!"

(open to any shc kits who want to play!)

[Rose]

Wrenkit tried to eat her own paw.