Prompt Camp E U P H O R I A ───〃strange tracks & imaginary friends

[Magpiekit]

MAGPIEKIT

WE DON'T GET WHAT WE NEED

we're all wrapped up in GREED - THERE'S AN EGO TO FEED

He was not accustomed to the loamy earth, the way it sunk slightly under each step as though he was some great behemoth lumbering over the ground - Magpiekit was small, yet his paws left tracks easily in the rich soil and he often followed his own pawsteps in circles in idle amusement; head bobbing and slender limbs struggling to keep his body upright as they staggered and stumbled along. The ink spill of a kitten tilted his head down, careful not to lower it too close to the earth because if he tripped his nose would get a flood of dirt right up it when it crashed downward. His eyes blinked slowly before he winked them each one at a time, nose scrunching up in thought and uncertainty; the tracks he was ambling along after had suddenly grown larger and he placed a tentative paw down on one to match the size. Far bigger than his own tiny black foot, the toes ending in scrapes along the muck as though the claws were perpetually unsheathed. The leader's son inched forward more, shuffling pawsteps carrying him after the trail that turned sharply from the nursery to the edge of camp and vanished in the tall reeds and thick fog. Purple eyes danced back to the den briefly, looking for any sign of Timberfrost to tell him not to venture out too far, to call him back into the warmth of the nursery, but when he heard nothing he pivoted about to follow the tracks, feeling a chill kiss his nose and then lance down his spine in a shiver before the paw prints abruptly ended at the edge of the camp leading outward to the sinking bog.
"Hello?" He chirped quietly, ears pricking upward and then suddenly he leaned forward, straining as if hearing something before continuing, "...but papa says I'm not 'sppose to leave camp on my own."

Prompt-A combination sort of using both these prompts but specifically this one "Your character is walking through the pocosin and suddenly notices they can see their own breath while feeling an unusual chill. when they look around, a trail of pawprints appear to have stomped over their own." and to a lesser degree this one "it's typical for kits to develop imaginary friends, but your character swears this friend theyve met is not imaginary! how do they explain it to the caretakers and denmates?"

❝ i don't know euphoria - i'd like to meet her someday - c'est la vie ❞

MAGPIEKIT

— kitten of shadowclan
— He/They
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— Solid black w/low white & blue-violet eyes.
— Has 'wobbly cat' syndrome.
#9272ee

 

[Tickpaw]

TICK

So what if you can see the darkest side of me?

Tick hadn't made much effort to familiarize himself with the cats of the camp, but he did remember the kits that had come with the leader. And if that tom was the leader, then keeping his kits safe had to be a priority, right? That meant if one of them was wandering toward the edge of camp, that was not on. What was his name again? He wracked his brain. He was certain he had heard it before… Something about a bird. A bird that liked shiny stuff. Mousedung. He'd figure that out later.

For now, his thin frame moved quickly, scrambling to his paws and making his way toward the kit. His ears twitched as he caught the sound of the kit's voice. The kit was talking to… someone. Tick's fur prickled. His sharp gaze scanned the area. No one. And yet, something was there. A strange, lingering chill. The air felt off. Was it always like this here? No matter. Priorities first. The wandering kit.

" And I think your dad says that for good reason... " Tick spoke up, sauntering closer with casual ease, though his eyes flicked toward the camp's edge again. Maybe if he got closer, he'd see whatever the kit was seeing. Nothing. His frown deepened, his tail flicking. " Hey, you... " he muttered, turning his gaze back to the kit. " Who are you talking to? "

═════════════⊹⊱ ⟡ ⊰⊹═════════════

 

[Stoatpaw]

——————————————— Together, we'll make our way home ✦

There was a peculiar chill in the camp; of course, it was still leaf-bare, but the warmth of new leaf had started to creep into the nooks of the day. Instead it felt like maybe the cold still had some claws left dug into the earth. Though the day was young and that wouldn't stop Stoatkit, instead she wanted to wander about camp and see if anything fun was happening. Cats milling about made her feel far safer, especially while there was still daylight. So with a pep in her step she wandered about the camp, eyeing up the freshkill as she passed by. Maybe a little snack with friends could be nice! Fleapaw was probably off on warrior training or something and Timberfrost was probably fussing with Monsterkit again.

Stoatkit was keenly aware she'd kept her circle rather small, so seeing the characteristic dark pelt of Magpiekit made her eyes light up. She'd been determined to help them and Dreamkit, they were new to camp too and Timberfrost was juggling a lot of kittens at once, and well Sablestar was busy being a leader! So she would be happy to step up! She padded over, only to watch Magpiekit... Was he? "Hey!" Her voice a sharp little squeak, surprise and a little fear evident in her tone. "You can't leave camp alone, it's dangerous!"

She opted to ignore her own hypocrisy, she'd lived in this swamp more time than she hadn't by now, she knew this place like the back of her paw, Magpiekit was new to this place. He could get hurt easy... Stoatkit gulped with that realisation, a cold shiver running down her spine. She gently but firmly stood in front of the younger kit. Though confusion knits across her face at Tickpaw's addition. "You were... Talking with someone?..." That cold shiver became her body feeling icey cold all the sudden, like leafbare was in full swing again. That awful, terrible sensation of feeling watched made her fur prickle up.

——— While you were sleeping,

Everything changed at once. ———

• 
  Stoatkit
  ✦—Shadowclan kit | 5 Moons
  ✦—She/Her
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A slender white cat with faint lilac markings and blue eyes.
  #96d5f1
  
  ⤷ Written by Phoenix ​

 

[gingerpaw]

ginger

It was one thing for Sablestar to go around giving everyone cooky names but another thing entirely to be bringing back weird brats they had to feed. Wasn't the whole point of showing Hawthorne their rears to say that they wouldn't let his blind idealism starve out the rest of them? Gingerpaw himself hardly could promise his own meals, much less Sable "The Weird" Junior. He scrunches up his nose in distaste as the other kits swarm around him, declaring of dangers- that made him alike a hero right? Since he was brave enough to endure those wilds daily?

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad...

"'Course he was talking to someone..." the apprentice offers smoothly with a lopsided grin. "That's what makes ThunderClan a bunch of freaks- Still talking about Hawthorne like he's still around..." Narrowed eyes fall upon Magpiekit, unkind in his commentary. "With Juniperstar for a mother, I'm sure he's got all sorts of nasty spirits clinging to'em. Best not to get close Stoatkit..."

Tickpaw would surely forgive him some of his theatrics... at least as apprentices they could take care of themselves well enough alone.

 

[DREAMKIT]

(𓆩✧𓆪) dreamkit's still not sure he belongs in this boggy, misty new home. he loves his papa - sablestar has been nothing but kind and gentle with him. he loves feeling like a prince, protected within the sharp thorns of the shadowclan nursery. he loves having magpiekit here to experience this all with. but he misses mama, and asterkit. he misses tumbling about with heartkit. he misses serpentberry's little quips and graybird's visits, and he misses imagining littlekit looking over him. dreamkit has yet to see the stars in this thick clumped swampland.

resting beside the nursery, the tomkit's ember gaze is fixed firmly on his brother as magpiekit wobbles about in the muck. the boy's own earthen fur is free of mud, thanks to the immaculate grooming he'd done himself, but he has a terrible feeling it'll be covered again by the time this day is over. the black and white form of his brother slowly moves further away, treading carefully towards where the briars part and the territory opens up. his brother is about to step paw out of their safe haven, and dreamkit hurries to his feet, galloping over with worry in his gaze. "mag!" he calls, halting beside the boy as two other clanmates approach. a chill runs down the spine of juniperstar's spitting image as his brother seems to talk to thin air. he's about to question, to ask with playful curiosity if magpie has perhaps developed an imaginary friend, when the grating voice of an apprentice ruins the moment.

freaks, gingerpaw calls them. nasty spirits from juniperstar... talking as if magpiekit is somehow contagious. righteousness flares within the tomkit as he eyes the older cat. "shut up, fox-breath!" he growls, earthen fur fluffing, eyes so like his father's flashing. "thunderclan aren't freaks! and my mother isn't a nasty spirit!" a hiss escapes his maw, teeth bared in a kittish snarl. "we're sablestar's kits too, or did you forget? he would not be happy to hear you talking about his mate like that!" and he won't even get into the hawthorne thing right now... serpentberry would flay this fool alive if she'd heard.

SCATTERED ACROSS MY FAMILY LINE 𓆩✧𓆪 GOD, I HAVE MY FATHER`S EYES

• // mr nepotism here to save the day (cause problems) " #e9af74"
• 
• DREAMKIT 𓆩✧𓆪 HE / HIM, KIT OF SHADOWCLAN. 01 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a longhaired chocolate spotted tabby with low white and orange eyes. silky chocolate fur cascades in waves across his boxy frame, darker dapples giving him his tabby pelt. creamy white splashes his paws, belly, tail tip, and muzzle, freckling across his face. the hue of a crackling fire sparkles from narrow sockets.

​

 

[webpaw]

Webpaw hadn't liked to sneak out of camp in her few days as a kit. It was too warm, and too protected, and she could do anything she wanted. Nobody called her things, stole her food. ShadowClan was nice. Now, she was able to leave and train, though she wasn't very good at the latter yet. The mysterious things happening to the Clan were more interesting than some dumb hunting moves.

"I'm telling on you if you leave!" she whooped, practically racing over to catch them in the act. Oh boy! One more step, and they were going to have to do her elder duties for her!

Halting, spraying up a bit of mud, her head tilted to the side as Gingerpaw cast scathing words towards the kit. Webpaw cared less about where he came from, but talking to mid air? "That's so weird!" Maybe it was Magpiekit who was causing all this ghostly stuff to happen.

⊹ ࣪ ˖͙͘͡

she/her; afab / any gendered terms / 6 months
shadowclan kit / mentored by bluegale
seal sepia with vitiligo / orange eyes

peaceful powerplay allowed, no perms needed
ask before hostile powerplay unless preplanned
always open to interaction in battle unless stated otherwise
ask before injuring !

 

[Magpiekit]

MAGPIEKIT

WE DON'T GET WHAT WE NEED

we're all wrapped up in GREED - THERE'S AN EGO TO FEED

Magpiekit doesn't move still, turning at the voices urging him to not go and his nose wrinkles - had he not already explained to them? What was the use repeating it, "No, I know, I was telling them." Coal black paw raised, waving in a jerking motion before him to nothing but the rustling wind in tall dying grass. He's only new here, he doesn't want to get in trouble just yet, not until he levels what kind of trouble he can get away with. Tickpaw and Stoatpaw receive slow blinks of acknowledgement, but his ears pin back as another cat approaches. Webpaw blurts out something, he doesn't hear it over the chiding sound of his mother's name. Curses. Curses and slow death.

Gingerpaw's remark does not even earn a turn of his head, his gaze flicking past the older tom behind him, pupils dilating and then narrowing into slits before he glances away as if having seen something.
"Do you speak so loudly because you feel so small? That's okay." The black and white kit chirps in reply, his voice a quiet murmur in comparison to Dreamkit's louder and more boisterous shouting, "Bugs are small too, but they eat us when we die and clean up all the bits left. It's important. There's importance in the little things." He glances down at his paws, lifts one to regard it as if seeing something before placing it back down in the same place, his print and pad aligning neatly. Magpiekit's purple eyes drift away from the noise, wandering back to the marshland beyond the camp where he tilts his head and regards the distance before deciding against it. Not today. Maybe he would play later.

His brother's presence is always welcome, but he too longs for the forest and the life he'd been so comfortable in but there was no denying ShadowClan was not fascinating in its own right. His ears twitch, cricket song in the distance, birds cawing in the trees, the strange chill in the air is gone now but he still feels it in his toes and he flexes them against the earth in thought. Distraction. Gingerpaw is promptly ignored, his crooked tail raised as he leans forward until his nose nearly touches Stoatkit's, "Do you want to play pretend? I'll be the evil spirit and you have to run or I'll eat your soul."

❝ i don't know euphoria - i'd like to meet her someday - c'est la vie ❞

MAGPIEKIT

— kitten of shadowclan
— He/They
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— Solid black w/low white & blue-violet eyes.
— Has 'wobbly cat' syndrome.
#9272ee

 

[Tickpaw]

TICK

So what if you can see the darkest side of me?

Tick flicked a torn ear as Stoat approached, commenting on how dangerous it was to leave camp alone. Yeah… probably true. He didn't know much about the world beyond yet, but he'd heard the stories, predators, rogues, all sorts of dangers. Still, a smirk ghosted across his muzzle as he studied Stoat. She wandered out of camp too, didn't she? Sure, she was older, nearly an apprentice, but still… Then another voice entered the conversation, making his ears flatten against his head. One of the apprentices.

Tick shot a wary glance toward him. He didn't know him well. Sure, they shared a den, all the apprentices did... But that didn't mean he had to like the way he spoke to the kit. " …Sometimes I still talk to my mom. " Tick finally said, his tone even, his gaze steady. " Even if she's no longer with us. I like to think the wind carries my words to wherever death has taken her. " His eyes flickered toward the kit. A bird. He knew it was a bird. Magpie? Yeah, that sounded right.

" I don't see any evil spirits hanging around him. " Tick drawled with a shrug. Another kit hobbled over, and that one, he did remember. A funny little name. Dream. Dream knew how to take care of himself, how to bite back just as hard. Good. Tick nodded slightly at his words. The kit was right. " I like to believe Dream has the right of it... " he murmured, hollowed eyes settling on Gingerpaw. " And I don't think being nasty to the leader's kits is going to win you any favours. "

A familiar presence suddenly blundered into the group, and despite himself, a faint, fleeting smile crossed Tick's face. He batted at his sister, nudging her shoulder with his own. " It's not too weird, Web. " he said lightly. " Weird stuff happens all the time here. Not long ago, I thought I saw another cat staring up at me from a puddle. " He shrugged nonchalantly before turning his gaze back to Magpie. The kit knew how to stand up for himself.

Tick nodded solemnly. Yeah. He's seen it too. The memory of bugs and dead flesh sent a shudder through him, nausea rising for a moment before he forced it down. Even the small things mattered and had their purpose in life... As vile as the image could be... " I think that's a nice game. " he mused before casting Gingerpaw a pointed look. " …So, you joining in? Or are you just gonna keep baring your teeth at a kit? I thought apprentices were supposed to be a good example for the next generation. " There was no accusation in his voice, simply a question. He, after all, was still learning about clan life too.

═════════════⊹⊱ ⟡ ⊰⊹═════════════

 

[Stoatpaw]

——————————————— Together, we'll make our way home ✦

Stoatkit expected the interaction to be as simple as guiding Magpiekit back into camp, maybe figuring something out to keep him entertained if they were already restless enough to want to leave- or uh.... If someone was talking to them. She glanced back behind her for a moment, apprehensive of if there was anyone out there; she wanted to nudge the other kitten away though it seemed a small crowd began to form. She'd hoped the apprentices would help her guide Magpiekit away, but her fur bristled at Gingerpaw's cruel sentiment.

She breathed, as if to tell Gingerpaw otherwise about their new friends, but like a blur Dreamkit ran over to the group. He seemed excited until it seemed like he heard what Gingerpaw said too. His little face contorted with anger as he hissed at the apprentice, Stoatkit had to hold back a giggle, seeing new kits hold their ground against apprentices was always rather funny, especially since it was really deserved, she had to admit. Magpiekit seemed to had said something too, they'd turned away so she wasn't sure what. However, her amusement was paused as Magpiekit's attention snapped back to Stoatkit he drew in close and she had to strain to tell what he was saying, but she cocked her head curiously.

"Is that a game you play a lot in Thunderclan?" She hummed but stood to her feet, even though she was still in the nursery; compared to Magpiekit, she towered over him. It was jarring, she had to admit, she wasn't used to being bigger than someone - other than Monsterkit - so amusement returned to her face. "If you think you can catch up, I'll take it as a challenge." She purred, she'd seen how Dreamkit got muddy so fast every day, not use to the pocosin like she was, the same would be for Magpiekit. Maybe it was unfair, but they had to learn to traverse the mud somehow.

She looked to Tickpaw with a grin, "Are you gonna try and catch me too? Give Magpie and Dream a headstart- maybe Ginger too if he's gonna act like a kitten as well." She jeered a little, she didn't like to cause issues but sometimes it was needed - she had to take Fleapaw's advice some of the time!

——— While you were sleeping,

Everything changed at once. ———

• 
  Stoatkit
  ✦—Shadowclan kit | 5 Moons
  ✦—She/Her
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A slender white cat with faint lilac markings and blue eyes.
  #96d5f1
  
  ⤷ Written by Phoenix ​