Open Camp i shine only with the light you gave me // new-leaf tidying

[Fujimoto]

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Hawkstar is out on patrol and with Fujimoto left in camp, the sun guard took her absence for a chance to get some work done that may ease her frustrations upon return. SkyClan's camp had come together well when they first landed in the pines and the forest almost felt like the hug of an old friend as it revealed the fern-dense clearing to them. It had been icy and cold, then. Snow built upon the hard flat ground and now with it well past melting and green stretching across the forest floor, it revealed more and more debris and opportunity to clear more space.

"I-I think having a clean space will, uh, help Hawkstar relax a bit." They were speaking to Swallowpaw in a hushed tone beneath the leaders crest. "Let's get you s-some help cleaning out the-the medicine den, and I think it's t-t-time replace the, um, ferns padding all the dens." Fujimoto straightened up as they stepped away from the medicine cat apprentice, his gait twitchy but no longer swaying as though he were a fawn.

"If you-you aren't already assigned to a patrol, p-pl... please come here... Yes, even you!" His eyes caught sight of a curious pair poking out of the nursery and gave an encouraging smile. "Old moss ha-has started to build up after being cleaned out. It, umm, it needs to be properly disposed of. There may be an old sett they can be thrown into nearby, but, eh, it can't be left out. It's how we get f-fleas." His tangent is more directed to the apprentices as they are more often charged with such chores, but it wouldn't be any good if a few kits decide to tear into it for play.

"Sw-Swallowpaw should get some help f-for her den, too. And if any, eh, caretaker or elder has a request, they are fr-free to share." He is sure they are in need of some sprucing up, too. He thought to maybe add some of the new blooming flowers to their dens to make the space feel refreshed, but he isn't sure how a warrior would take an assignment to simply pick flowers.

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[Swirlkit]

Swirlkit, -- 5 Moons / Skyclan Kit -- Ages on the 5th
Brown and orange tabby chimera she-cat with mismatched eyes.
Daughter of Milkheart, sister of Creamkit and Nutmegkit.
Swirlkit loves to play and help out around camp!

Tagging @Fujimoto

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Swirlkit perked up from where she peeked out of the nursery, excited at finally having something fun to do after a day of sitting around being bored. She glanced behind her, before quickly exiting the nursery, trotting over to Fujimoto. "Can I help?" she asked, ready to be put to work and curious about what task she was to be given. Anything to ease her bordom, even if it was picking stupid ticks off of cats.

She couldn't wait to be an apprentice. She couldn't wait to be able to run around the territory and do whatever she wanted! Well, the whatever you wanted part is for being a warrior, but being an apprentice is the first step!

 

[SWALLOWPAW]

swallowpaw nods in agreement to fujimoto's anxious, hushed tone. "i'd like some help." her tail-tip flicked back and forth, subconciously picking up the sun guard's nervous attitude. newleaf debris littered around their home in small piles, most of it lazily pushed to the edges of camp. it made camp feel stuffy, and that never helped anyone's mood— skyclan was still in a state of tension, as well.

swirlkit bounds up to the pair, her head high and eyes shining with eagerness. "you can help with umm...." swallowpaw speaks up, her eyes drifting towards the medicine den, thinking of the least... boring task to give an older kit. "do you see the large bundles in my den? help me pull those out, the herbs are no good anymore. your denmates can join if they want, too." she raises a paw in the direction of her den, and makes her way over, if swirlkit wishes to follow.

ʚɞ

 

[Swirlkit]

Swirlkit, -- 5 Moons / Skyclan Kit -- Ages on the 5th
Brown and orange tabby chimera she-cat with mismatched eyes.
Daughter of Milkheart, sister of Creamkit and Nutmegkit.
Swirlkit loves to play and help out around camp!

Tagging @SWALLOWPAW

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Swirlkit perked up and went to follow, turning and trotting on along behind Swallowpaw. "Okay, I can do that!" she replied, happy to help out. Paws padding across the ground as they approached the medicine cat den, Swirlkit asked "Where are we gonna put them? Are you gonna throw them in the woods, or the camp?" she continued too fast for Swallowpaw to interject, "How long to herbs last? Do you have to collect new ones alllll the time?" she peeked into the Medicine den and looked around. It was pretty cool!

 

[SWALLOWPAW]

the medicine den resides in a hollowed out log, perfectly split apart to give the space as much area as it needs. swallowpaw pushes past a privacy curtain of leaves, settling it behind a rock so it won't slap them in the face every time they have to leave. she blinks down at the dual-toned kit, using the time to answer her questions before the girl could speak up again. "we're taking them out into the camp, the older cats will be the ones to dispose of it into the territory." she's not used to being the sole medic, let alone the one in charge of disposing herbs. the dried-out, old bundles settle on the ground, while the useable herbs sit neatly atop of tree-bark shelves. out of kit reach, sadly.

"herbs last as long as they can if you store them correctly... which is, the difficult part." the last part is mumbled, topped with a sign. "i collect them when my stocks are low. overabundance is wasteful. move the piles like this, then we can sweep them out more with our tails." she pushes a small pile of dead herbs near the entrance

ʚɞ

 

[Swirlkit]

Swirlkit, -- 5 Moons / Skyclan Kit -- Ages on the 5th
Brown and orange tabby chimera she-cat with mismatched eyes.
Daughter of Milkheart, sister of Creamkit and Nutmegkit.
Swirlkit loves to play and help out around camp!

Tagging @SWALLOWPAW

---

Swirlkit nodded her head at each answer, looking more curious than before. Unfortunately for Swallowpaw, it seemed that her questions didn't end there. She padded over and pushed a small pile toward the entrace, before asking a question, "Why is overabundance wasteful?" She went to grab another pile of bad herbs, tilting her head and looking down at them all, trying to spot the difference between the leaves. They all looked the same to her. But maybe that was because they were dead. "How do you store them correctly? Won't they just die super fast anyway?" she asked again, pushing the pile toward the door and going over to collect another.

 

[Stonepaw]

Consumed by the darkness they bore
She will never wake up anymore

.

The way the older cats moved through camp every day reminded her of little birds fluttering between branches, never still for long. Des listened as the twitchy tom—Fujimoto—as she learned gave out tasks. When he looks right at her, she stares back—even her?

She dropped from her perch on a low branch near the nursery. Her paws moved across the leaf-litter, halting only when she reached the tom's shadow. "Okay. I'll work." She croaks quietly, Des looked up at him with those wide, glassy eyes too large for her small face. After a few long seconds she turns, deciding to start in the medicine den.

The kit glances at Swallowpaw and Swirlkit, who bombarded them with never-ending questions. Swallowpaw was kind. She hadn't gotten angry when Des chewed through her bandages or spat out the herbs that she now understood to be valuable. If the she-cat is irritated by Swirlkit, she's probably too nice to say so.

"Should you be asking so much? Swallowpaw is important and busy, and you're distracting her." Des mews and then slips past them both and immediately finds a nest. Then she starts pulling the old moss off with her teeth. A large chunk gives free, and she begins to drag it outside.

@Swirlkit @SWALLOWPAW

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

5 MOONS

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SKYCLAN

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bio

 

[SWALLOWPAW]

swallowpaw was fine with answering swirlkit's questions, kits are curious beings, and she needed the brush-up. "plants rot, like our fresh-kill pile. when they're pulled from the ground, we're actually um, killing them... like a mouse... so it should be used before." she explains, watching swirlkit brush the unusable herbs to the edge of the den. the change of seasons is easier for the warriors... they get to spend it hunting fresh-kill while swallowpaw hunches over in her den, triple-checking that the lovage still works.

"i take enough off of a growing plant in the forest, and keep them on those shelves by um... use. they go unuseable fast... so i am... checking it a lot... i just got lazy with throwing them out." a child thankfully won't care if a medicine cat misses a few days of herb throwing out, but swallowpaw does. she can't believe tigerfoot did this every single day.

while she nosed some more plants to the entrance, she notices des begin to pad over. another pair of paws to help is useful, the girl smiles bashfully at her comment. "no... no. it's fine! swirlkit's curiosity isn't a bother... i don't expect us to work in silence, after all." half a moon ago the colorpoint was half-feral, terrified of everyone, and now she waltzed into the den and began to work without a single care. "care-careful, don't spray moss everywhere..."

ʚɞ

 

[cygnetscratch]

Not being assigned to a patrol has got to be the worst damnation she can get yet. Lingering about camp, at the mercy of her own thoughts, Cygnetpaw struggles to do much of anything at all. She's too old to still be effected by what happened nearly six moons ago - but all the same, at what age would it be right to simply... get over abandonment? Cats of all kinds, within their borders and out of, have struggled with it in one way or another. So why is she lost to the whims of her personal tragedy?

The voice of the Sun Guard is a welcome one. He instructs them all to clean up, and while she would prefer literally any other task... anything to keep her busy is better than nothing at all, she supposes. Cygnetpaw watches as one of the kits rushes towards Swallowpaw, Des lingering not far behind them. Her lips press into a thin line as she moves slightly away, none-too-eager to help Swallowpaw entertain a few wayward souls. That's her job, and the mostly-white apprentice's job is... to be the in between pack mule. She guesses.

Cygnetpaw doesn't say much to any of them as she kneels over to pick up some of the discarded moss, readying to boat it out of camp.