Open a little hope makes its nest in the rafters | MUSSEL CRACKING

[Frostmoth]

Frostmoth and his sister had been born as shipcats. They'd been raised on a diet of fish scraps- and scraps was a minimal way of putting the abundance of fish he and Stormswirl had been freely given- and in close proximity to the beaches. The shipyard had come later, after the twolegs had sold off their boat and moved elsewhere. He and Stormswirl, like many of their clanmates at the time, had suffered hunger because of the riptides and difficulty of ocean fishing. However, there had been a mainstay in many beach diets and activities: shelling and hunting for mollusks.

Here in the rainforest, RiverClan's territory is lacking in the same population of clams and conchs. Instead, freshwater mussels populate the sandy bottoms of the fast-moving tributaries and streams. While the shells on the beach had been vibrant and easy to spot, these shells prove to provide a challenge. Their grey-brown hues are hard to spot through the moving water, especially against a palette of gravel and sand. Still, he remembers what Adderfang had shown him not that long ago: to submerge oneself completely and fish at the bottom of the water.

And Frostmoth does just that. His success rate is somewhat shoddy. He manages to bring one up maybe half of the times that he splashes beneath the surface, but his pile has grown from three to four to five in no time. The deputy decides to take a break from the diving- partially because it feels like his ears are about to fill with water- and brings himself to the shore. There, he finds himself a decently sized river rock and aims a swift blow between the shell of the mollusk and the hard top edge of the stone.

It cracks open nicely, and Frostmoth cracks a smile. With some additional effort, he manages to pry the shell the rest of the way open. Inside, there's both a tasty morsel of fishy-smelling meat (this, he thinks, Hazecloud or one of her kits might like) and a pearl! He gingerly peels the pearl away from the meat inside, and sets them apart before picking up another mussel to repeat the process all over again.

OH, MY GOD ★ MAKE ME IN YOUR IMAGE

• "SPEECH"
• ★ FROST — he/him, riverclan deputy, 20 moons
  — penned by carat, feel free to ping or dm for plots!
  — longhair black and white bicolor with blue eyes
  — peaceful powerplay ok! all interactions ok!
  
• penned by carat!

 

[Wavesong]

And that's why we share all we have with you
Though there's little to be found
When all you've got is nothing
There's a lot to go around

.

The pregnant queen puffed softly as she toddled over to where Frostmoth was working, her steps slower these days but no less determined. With a sigh that seemed to rise from the depths of her soul, she eased herself down onto the ground beside him, her gaze settling on him with a familiar warmth. " Ahoy, Frosty! " she chirped, her eyes glinting with good-natured mischief as she eyed the mussels he was working on. " Mind sharin' one o' those with me? I've been cravin' 'em somethin' fierce, an' I can't exactly go divin' with a belly full o' critters. " She gave her noticeably round middle a dramatic little pat, a playful pout on her face.

" Ye know... I think there's more than just three swimmin' around in there... " she mused aloud, casting a thoughtful glance down at her belly as it shifted slightly beneath her fur. Her sigh this time was almost theatrical as she flopped onto her side. " It's gettin' mighty hard t'do much of anything these days... Stars help me, I think it's time I actually head to the nursery. Take m'self off patrols for a while. " The words came with reluctance. There was an edge of frustration beneath her humor, the kind that only an active spirit faced with forced stillness could carry. She glanced over at Frostmoth again, brow creasing slightly in worry.

" Do ye think I should tell ? " she asked, quieter this time. There was vulnerability in her voice now, tucked beneath the cheerfulness. The kind of quiet confession she only let slip around those she trusted.

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

37 MOONS

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RIVERCLANNER

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bio

 

[Frostmoth]

Frostmoth cracks a small smile when Wavesong comes to join him. Though she is far more talkative than he is, her words fill the air with a certain warmth and she always finds something to talk about that's interesting. He remembers when the molly had introduced herself to one of the SkyClan cats as a 'storyteller', and such things ring true even now. He cracks open another mussel, repeating the same process as before. The pearl from this one is smaller, but the meat is plumper than the last. He pushes the shells with their heaps of meat toward the pregnant queen. "Of course," he nods "I'd been thinking about bringing some of this to the nursery for you all to enjoy anyhow. They aren't much my taste."

He pauses to think about how strange it might seem that he's cracking open all these mussels without the interest of keeping the meat for himself, but feels too sheepish to mention that it's really the pearls he's after. He's gotten into the habit of sneaking them into his loved ones' nests. He's a bit too awkward and stilted to freely give much of anyone a gift, but the pearls, he thinks, are a mainstay of RiverClan these days.

Wavesong's comment about her pregnancy breaks him from his reverie. "I believe you," he looks at her with round, sympathetic eyes. Wavesong certainly does look that she's getting to the point of misery. Hazecloud had been that way too, but he hadn't been nearly as close to her as he is now to Wavesong. "There's no harm in that," Frostmoth agrees "You work hard enough for three warriors. It's okay to take a small break until your kits are here." Then, when Wavesong confides in him further, his ears flatten a little, unsure of how to approach it. After a pause, he nods silently, but tries not to deepen the breadth of the warrior's vulnerability. Frostmoth looks back to his pile of mussels, picks one up again, and goes back to trying to fish out some pearls and meat. This time, with Wavesong in mind.

OH, MY GOD ★ MAKE ME IN YOUR IMAGE

• "SPEECH"
• ★ FROST — he/him, riverclan deputy, 20 moons
  — penned by carat, feel free to ping or dm for plots!
  — longhair black and white bicolor with blue eyes
  — peaceful powerplay ok! all interactions ok!
  
• penned by carat!

 

[Wavesong]

And that's why we share all we have with you
Though there's little to be found
When all you've got is nothing
There's a lot to go around

.

" Not much yer taste, hm? " she drawled with a smile, voice carrying that smooth ripple of a twinkle of mischief. " Ye mean t'tell me ye've been sittin' here like a crab in the reeds, bustin' open half the river's worth o' mussels… just t' make a queen fat and shiny? " There was no malice in her voice, just a glimmer of knowing. Her eyes dropped for a moment to the small gleam of a pearl nestled beside one of the shells, and the curve of her mouth deepened, affectionate and unspoken. She leaned back slightly with a soft sigh, one paw pressing to her belly as if in silent conversation with the kits within. " I'll take yer advice then. " she murmured, quieter now. " Just this once. 'Til the wee ruffians decide t'make their grand entrance, I'll stay outta patrols. " A pause. Then her voice softened again. " Even if sittin' still feels more like punishment than rest. " she meowed before shifting a bit.

She would still continue to search for herbs, to keep moving atleast a bit. She didn't want to be stuck in the nursery the whole time. She watched as the deputy once more dove into the water, her ear twitching once before she turned her head to gaze off. She wondered how long the tension would last before it would all fall back to normal... And if it did, she would be here, as ever. Hopefully it would not last longer than her pregnancy did...

Speech, thoughts/emphasis
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37 MOONS

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RIVERCLANNER

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SONG

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bio