Open The Farm Backwritten Event Barn Cat Ain't this the life? // a day on the farm

[Ravenmask]

{$title} takes place prior to the barn fire

The spring air was crisp and light, bringing along the scent of freshly turned dirt and newly ambling lambs. Raven curled up in the loft of the barn, letting the breeze ruffle his fur, his paws twitching as he chased a mouse in his dreams. As he readied himself to pounce, he flexed his legs and...

"Wake up, ya big lump!"

Raven was shocked out of his sleep, looking up at the interruption. Mallow stood above him, grinning and flicking his tail to and fro. His brother tapped Raven's head with one soft paw, laughing as Raven tried rolling out of the way and instead getting a faceful of hay.

"Leave me alone, Mallow!" he grumbled. "Haven't you ever heard of respectin' your elders?" Mallow snorted.

"Callin' yourself old?" he teased. Raven huffed and stood, shaking flecks of hay from his pelt.

"Get on outta here," he meowed, playfully shoving his brother. "Weren't you going to see what was goin' on with those big groups by the forest?" Mallow shrugged.

"Maybe," he answered. "All I know is someone told me last night not to let him sleep in." Raven sighed and brushed past his brother as he made his way to the ladder down.

"Alright. Just be careful out there, yeah?" Without waiting for an answer, Raven hopped down each rung to where the rest of the barn cats gathered, purring as he greeted a few of his fellow residents.

"Mornin'," he mewed. "Anyone up for a little mornin' run in the field?"

___________________ UPHILL IN THE SNOW ☆ BOTH WAYS ___________________

• "speech" || "thoughts"
  Tagging:
  This thread takes place a few days prior to the fire as part of Ravenmask's requirements for the backwritten badge!
  Mallow is his younger brother, currently an NPC - you can adopt him here!
  
• 
  
• RAVENMASK he/him, windclan elder, 93 moons.
  ☆ White and black tom with smoky stripes, bright green eyes, and a twisted back paw.
  ☆ brother of Mallowfeather
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline when attacking/physically interacting
  ☆ penned by plot ↛ plot_twists on discord, feel free to dm for interacts.

 

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

—————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

The tom had to laugh at the distant back and forth between Raven and Mallow off somewhere in the hayloft. Merry had risen from his comfy lump of hay and was planning to go for his morning wander about the barn yard, snatch up some mice for Owl, see if the livestock were all fine, and maybe hitch a nap on one of the sheep if the lovely ladies were in a good mood that day.

Though his gaze flickered back as the pair of siblings descended to the bottom of the barn, he watched curiously at them, smiling back at Raven as he greeted the other few cats dappled about. "Mornin' Raven!" He purred back, giving the older tom a grin.

"Y'know 'm always up fer a run!" He chuckled, with a click of his tongue, hopping down from his perch, tail swaying absently. "Was gonna go mousin' 'round the stables, see if I could find anythin' juicy fer folks to eat, but I ain't complainin' 'bout warmin' up first." The tortoiseshell stretched, a yawn parting his lips. "It'd wake me up too, if I didn't make myself useful, I'd fall asleep again." He chuckled, sheepishly.

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 
  Merry
  ✦—Barncat | 25 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46

 

[Jaypaw ⏾]

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Little Jay ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☽⋆⁺₊⋆-

Little Jay was slowly getting used to the changes happening to him. His fur has started to grow longer, his frame taller. Or at least that's what momma told, though he was still too small to reach most of the other cats' bellies. His fur, however, he did notice, for it kept getting tangled in everything and momma had to spend a lot of time cleaning and untangling it.

With the growth of his body, and his legs mainly, he has felt the need to walk and run everywhere, to test them out and to stretch them. Sitting on them for too long made them numb, harder to stand on when he eventually got up. So when Raven asked if anyone wanted to run with him, Jay chimed up. "Me, me, me! I wanna go wun!"

Jay was too small to understand that his paws could never run as fast as those of the big cats, or that his momma would worry about him out in the field. All he knew was that he wanted to run around chasing the other cats, letting the wind ruffle his fur. It was all he wished for in the moment really.

"Pwease Waven, pwease Mewwy!" he pleaded, twitching his ears at them cutely, to get them to melt at the sight of him. He was the most adorable kitten in the whole barn after all, as momma told him every night before sleep. Hopefuly his charm would also work on the two cats in front of him.

 

[Ravenmask]

Raven chuckled at Merry's teasing, bumping his head against the other tom's shoulder. He gave a long, luxurious stretch, purring at the prospect of a run with him.

"Eh, ain't nothin' wrong with a lil' snooze," he mewed with a rumble in his voice. "But I getcha. A nice run to wake us both up'll be-" He paused at Jay's interruption. Cute little kid, honestly. He was fairly certain they could keep up a decent pace for him and still get the blood pumping and muscles ready for the day.

"Well Jay, I tell ya- if you can keep up with us and promise you ain't gonna leave our sight, we'll take ya along with us. Right, Merry?" He looked to the other tom, his own eyes mimicking the little pleading look from Jay.

___________________ UPHILL IN THE SNOW ☆ BOTH WAYS ___________________

• "speech" || "thoughts"
  Tagging:
  
• 
  
• RAVENMASK he/him, windclan elder, 93 moons.
  ☆ White and black tom with smoky stripes, bright green eyes, and a twisted back paw.
  ☆ brother of Mallowfeather
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline when attacking/physically interacting
  ☆ penned by plot ↛ plot_twists on discord, feel free to dm for interacts.

 

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

—————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

As he talked with Raven, a scrap of greyish-blue fur scrambled to stare up at both of them. A smile happened across the toms maw as he chuckled warmly. "Ya' gonna be able to catch up, Jaybird?" He hummed, playfully. Merry was never one to turn away the curiosity of the kittens of the barn, and Peafowl was just as determined to get his nose into whatever the adults were doing. So there was little reason to turn away the grinning little thing.

He had to nod with Raven, crouching a little to get on Jay's line of sight. "Ya' ain't gonna run off, okay? Yer Mama'll have my pelt if ya' get in any trouble." Though he had to chuckle again. "But yer a smart kid, Jay, 'course ya' can come with." Merry nodded, having to bark a laugh at Raven copying the pleading look the kitten wore. "Didn't know I had to eldersit too today." The mouser jeered playfully, gently shouldering the other tom. Genuinely, he had no idea how he kept winding up kitsitting, but maybe some practice before Owl's little chicks showed up could give her some respite. He was used to being somewhat of a climbing frame these days.

Merry stood up, shaking his head to wake himself up more. "C'mon then, lil' fella, show us what'ya got." He motioned towards the barn exit. The tortoiseshell had no worry about catching up with the kitten, bless him; he stumbled over his words still, let alone his own four paws.

He would keep his word to keep a good eye on the kitten, no matter what sort of trouble he got into - and Raven too, even if he teased the old geezer he'd still go through hell and back to protect his barnmates. But, then again, this was just going to be a pleasant run; he hoped he'd never have to fish either of them out of trouble.

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 
  Merry
  ✦—Barncat | 25 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46

 

[Jaypaw ⏾]

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Little Jay⋆⁺₊⋆ ☽⋆⁺₊⋆-

They were letting him go with them! Little Jay was so excited, he couldn't keep still at all. His tail twitched and when Merry encouraged him to go on ahead, he all but sprinted out. Not too far, to make sure Merry and Raven still kept him in their sight.

The wind ruffled his fur, tickling his whiskers. The soil beneath his paws warm and he could feel the sun on his pelt, shining down on him. Further ahead there were creatures momma had described as sheep. They didn't seem to do much but graze and Jay wondered if their legs hurt from not moving properly all day as well.

"Come on!" he called back to his friends. "It's so nice out hewe!"

Just then a little insect fluttered by, a white butterfly, dancing in the breeze. Jay's eyes grew large as he instinctively batted his paw at it. Momma had told him to stay close to the barn, but the fields were just so big, full of so many things Jay wanted to explore. He couldn't wait for Raven and Merry to join him, to show him around on their run.

 

[Ravenmask]

"Hey now, you gotta respect those older than you, Merry! And I'm not that old." He was, however, the oldest cat in the barn, so he tried to take the teasing in stride. One of these days, and sooner than he truthfully wanted, he'd probably be past his hunting days. Best to enjoy them while he could.

He padded out alongside Merry, following behind Jay. The kid was certainly a bundle of energy, and already hared off ahead of the two of them.

"Gracious," he mewed. "Kid's got a lotta energy. Don't s'pose I was ever that quick." He picked up the pace, following the kit's call as he moved steadily towards the sheep. He caught up soon enough, nearly scaring off the little butterfly that'd caught the other cat's attention.

"You're not gonna make it easy on us, huh?" he laughed, nosing the kit affectionately.

___________________ UPHILL IN THE SNOW ☆ BOTH WAYS ___________________

• "speech" || "thoughts"
  Tagging:
  
• 
  
• RAVENMASK he/him, windclan elder, 93 moons.
  ☆ White and black tom with smoky stripes, bright green eyes, and a twisted back paw.
  ☆ brother of Mallowfeather
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline when attacking/physically interacting
  ☆ penned by plot ↛ plot_twists on discord, feel free to dm for interacts.

 

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

—————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

It wasn't even a blink of an eye before the kitten darted off, the tom had to chuckle warmly seeing the bundle of fur's energy as he ran full sprint. Even so, he didn't get too far as Merry and Raven strolled along to follow, the younger tom laughing at the older. "Yeah yeah, aint no shame in agein', just means ya' livin' the high life, Raven." He teased playfully.

The life of a barn cat wasn't one of luxury; it wasn't an easy one either, all of them working hard to maintain their keep and feed their friends and family. So, in all honesty, it was why Merry respected the other so much. Raven was still a strong cat to look up to, and while he was many moons from being considered an elder, he hoped to be the same sort of pillar for the barn as Raven is.

As Jay darted off, the pair picking up a trot to keep in time, Merry realised the kitten had led them straight to the sheep. The tortoiseshell's eyes lit up. He padded over to the fence and hopped up, headbutting one of the lovely ladies who came to greet him, too. He always wondered what they thought, if they saw the cat as a friend, as he saw them all as companions too.

But his attention was drawn back to his fellow barn cats. "These kittens 're faster than even I was, Raven." He chuckled warmly, perched up on the fence watching as the grey scrap of fur watched a butterfly intently. "Jaybird's gonna give us a run fer our money once he's old, mark my words." Sometimes, kittens needed that little ego boost, who knows what Jay would grow into, but just as many of the barn cats had come to support Merry in his youth, he wanted to give them the same strength he was provided.

A yawn parted the tortie's maw as he stretched, balancing delicately atop the fence. Tilting his head as he looked down upon the two, eyes crinkling at the small joys his barn mates could bring in days that could get tiring or monotonous. "Easy ain't part've bein' a barn cat or a kitten." Merry added with a click of his tongue, hopping back down to return to the two cats' level. "Then again, a kitten's gotta learn somehow." He hummed, plucking a strand of hay from the sheep's pen and tucking it in his mouth.

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 
  Merry
  ✦—Barncat | 25 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46

 

[Jaypaw ⏾]

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Little Jay⋆⁺₊⋆ ☽⋆⁺₊⋆-

Little Jay hadn't realised where he had been leading them until he smelled the warm scent of the sheep in front of him. While Merry jumped up on the fence to greet them, Jay was a little more cautious of these strange creatures - giant, with big round fur and thick claws that didn't retract, but stayed out all the time. He sniffed at their legs through the fence, the scent of mud and their fur unknown, yet pleasing.

When the sheep moved, they made a strange rhytmic noise coming from their throats, a sort of Ding Ding Ding, a noise Jay could get used to. As he stared at their legs through the fence, he failed to notice one of the sheep lowering its head to look back at him through the holes. A head at least three times bigger than him suddenly appeared in front of him and he jumped back, startled. But the sheep didn't snarl nor bare its fangs at him, it merely stared, with black, empty eyes.

He approached the creature once again, sniffing at its nose, though prepared to run if the sheep chose to attack. They sniffed back and forth at each other for a while, until Jay concluded that this particular sheep was of no threat and he rubbed himself against its face, letting his guard down. Perhaps the sheep weren't so scary after all.

He had been too distracted with the sheep to listen to Raven and Merry talk, only when the tortoiseshell jumped down from the fence did he join them once again. "How do they hunt with such thick pelts?" he asked. "Don't they fall over? And why do they make so much noise when they move? They will scawe all the food away!" Little Jay didn't understand these strange creatures at all.

 

[Melonpaw. Melonpaw.]

LIVING LIKE A RIOT

SETTING OFF THE SIRENS

​

---

melon & 01 moon & genderfluid & he/she/they/it & windclan apprentice

---

─ ─ Of those in the barn, Melon is one of the youngest. With baby blues that still squint at the world, and a voice still struggling to form words, she is a tiny, pitiful thing.

A warbling cry announces her awakening — because of course, Raven and Mallow have managed to wake more then just eachother. Wordless squeaks continue as Melon toddles over on unsteady paws — much to her parents weariness, as she darts glances between Jay, Merry, and Raven.

"

Mel' go to!

" they demand. Please isnt even in their vocabulary.

─ actions & "

speech

" & 'thoughts / quotes'​

---

( Ain't got time for dyin' - I'm too busy thrivin' )

---

MELONPAW ​

★ a chaotic force, Melonpaw is a typically rebellious teenager. seemingly allergic to being told what to do, while not necessarily the most irresponsible of cats, they seem to do far better being allowed to follow their own whims then being bossed around. generally cheerful and friendly, their antics seem to be well-meaning... even if they can be a bit to much at times.

─ mentored by NPC

─ somewhat easy in battle (inexperienced)
─ all opinions IC
─ penned by Kitty-Kat-

 

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

—————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

Merry's face crinkled with a smile, observing as tiny Melon toddled along too curling his tail about the kitten as his attention was drawn by Jay's idignant noise as the sheep baa'd at him. He was meant to be responsible, but it was impossoble not to snort in thinly veilded laughter. It was natural for the kittens not to understand what the ladies were, but his questions really cemented the realisation that kittens needed everything explained to them.

"Sheep don't hunt, Jaybird." He hummed with a small chuckle, smiling as the kittens seemed enamoured by the beasts. "They ain't got the teeth 'r claws fer it, they eat grass 'n hay." The tom padded a little away from the group, towards where the yellowish bundle of grass was piled, some of the ladies happily eating away. "They don't need prey like we do, the twolegs feed 'em 'n the ladies give 'em their wool fer twoleg pelts." The weather meant the sheep were utterly rotund seeming with thick fleece, happy trundling about with their noisy collars clattering about.

"Them collar's 'r so the twolegs don't lose 'em from what I can tell, they need the sheep so they don't freeze in the snow, no sheep means they don't have no pelt!" He had watched the utterly horrifying event that was the twolegs peeling the fleece from the sheep; he had nearly jumped to the ladies' rescue, but it turned out they seemed happier once they were freed of their pelts, once the weather grew warmer after the thaw. He didn't look forward to when it would happen again, that'd be soon enough. Merry cringed a little at the thought. That'd be an interesting thing to explain.

He sat back on his haunches, wrapping his tail about the side of Melon, just so he wouldn't lose track of the kitten, smiling warmly at the sheep as the plodded about. "They're different to us, but they're lovely creatures. I always wonder what they're sayin' when they bleat like that, but I like to think they're just as fond've us." Merry purred, considering they let him sleep on their backs, he assumed they saw him as a friend too. He wasn't so sure as some of the other cats, but that was their own issue.

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 
  Merry
  ✦—Barncat | 25 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46

 

[Jaypaw ⏾]

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Little Jay ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☽⋆⁺₊⋆

"Gwass?" Little Jay was confused - rabbits ate grass, mice and birds ate seeds. But they were food - small prey (or big, in the case of rabbits, at least compared to Little Jay), brought to them by the bigger barn cats. Sheep were big and scary. "Awe sheep pwey then?" he asked, unsure of what to think. "But what would hunt sheep? They'we huuuuuge!" he stared up at them, eyes big and wide. He has never seen anything bigger than a sheep, so what could possibly hunt them? And then- "I don't want to eat them!" Little Jay approached the sheep again, baby tears threatening to roll down his cheeks. The sheep were a little intimidating, but they seemed nice. Merry certainly seemed to believe so, nuzzling them and enjoying their company.

Little Jay then looked back to Raven, not wanting to think of eating the sheep anymore. "Can we go?" he pleaded. "Fow that wun you mentioned, i guess." yes, a run would do him good. Carefree, not thinking about the sheep no more, just free chasing after the wind.

"Let's wace, Melon!" he smiled at the younger kitten, already forgetting all his worries. He was a kitten, after all, and could not hold so many thoughts in at once. One moment he was thinking of sheep and the next his thoughts danced with the wind. And in a moment, soon, he would think of the sun or the birdsong, no thought of his fears in his mind anymore.

 

[Cricketpaw Cricketpaw]

'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance
A foxtrot above my head, a sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread

.

Cricket, ever the curious little thing, had been hopping and bouncing about the barn, twirling into the air to chase specks of dust and stray bits of hay. Pumpkin and Beetle had kept her under a close watch at first, but as their attention waned, young Cricket's ears perked at the familiar voices of Merry and Raven. With a delighted chirp, she bumbled forward, big kit-blue eyes bright and wide.

" Merruh, Merruh! " she squeaked, her stick-thin tail shooting high as she tripped over her own paws, tumbled, and rolled to a stop near the others. Her smile never wavered. " Wanna come with! " she mewed, puffing out her tiny chest as if making a very important statement. The world was so big and so fun! Her gaze soon drifted past them and froze. Her eyes went round as full moons. " Waaawww! " she breathed, scrambling upright and bounding toward the sheep in a flurry of excitement. " Baaah! " she called, mimicking the sound with all her might. " Baaaaah! "

She giggled, spinning back toward the others, whiskers quivering with delight. " Run? We runnin'? " she piped, already bouncing in place. " I'un verruh fast! " she announced proudly, only to immediately get distracted by a swaying blade of grass. " Oh..! " she gasped, batting at it with both paws.

A hurried voice broke through her happy noises. " Cricket! " Pumpkin's call rang out as the ginger molly came rushing after her daughter, fur slightly ruffled and worry clear in her eyes. She came to a stop a few paces behind the kit, catching her breath before offering Merry a sheepish smile. " I'm so sorry. " Pumpkin panted softly, flicking her tail toward the bouncing kit. " She slips away the moment I so much as blink. Would you mind keeping an eye on her for a bit, Merry? I'd be grateful, she listens to you better than she listens to me these days. " she joked gently.

Cricket turned her head at that, a wide, innocent grin spreading over her face as she pressed up against Merry's foreleg, purring loudly. " See, mama? Merruh's fun! " she chirped brightly, causing Pumpkin to let out a soft sigh, affection tugging her expression into something warm and weary all at once. " That he is, little one... That he is. "

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

9 MOONS

𖧧

WINDCLANNER

𖧧

SONG

𖧧

bio

 

[Ravenmask]

It's like he blinked and suddenly both Raven and Merry were surrounded by kittens. Did kids these days have no patience? Lucky for them, the little things were cute.

"No worries, Miss Pumpkin," Raven mewed as the molly approached. "We're happy to take the littl'uns for a run." He turned to the gathered gaggle of kits, fixing each of them with a faux-stern look.

"Aight now, kids. We're gonna go for a lil' run, but we're gonna run by the sheep instead of through 'em, okay? They're friends with us but ain't able to see a little kit underfoot sometimes. Make sure ya can see another cat when yer taking yer lope, 'kay?" He looked at them and Merry.

"Mister Merry here'll take the lead, and Jaybird you can follow after 'im. Cricket 'n Mel, you follow Jay, and I'll bring up the rear, 'kay?"

___________________ UPHILL IN THE SNOW ☆ BOTH WAYS ___________________

• "speech" || "thoughts"
  Tagging:
  
• 
  
• RAVENMASK he/him, windclan elder, 93 moons.
  ☆ White and black tom with smoky stripes, bright green eyes, and a twisted back paw.
  ☆ brother of Mallowfeather
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline when attacking/physically interacting
  ☆ penned by plot ↛ plot_twists on discord, feel free to dm for interacts.