PAFP Camp ShadowClan Like swimming stars in arm's reach || Fireflies

[Stoatstream Stoatstream]

{$title} A restless evening in the camp, a swarm of fireflies decend on the pocosin for all of Shadowclan to behold.

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

The night was high, and the clan slept like scattered leaves dappled on the pocosin floor. For a cat who could not hear, the absence of noise was something anyone could feel, the serenity of a cool greenleaf evening where the only waking souls were those few out in the territory hunting at the side of their leader. Graciously, he had allowed her to stay home; exhaustion had begun to tug on her mind and seared her paws like too-hot stones stepped upon without bracing. Working herself to the bone was an understatement, so this moment of peace was something Stoatpaw welcomed with a shuddered sigh and drooping shoulders.

Her gaze rose to meet the sky on a clear evening. Wind bristles her fur in a soothing touch, a loving gesture. The apprentice's gaze followed the bundles of stars, making out the same sorts of patterns she had noticed night after night. If she just reached out, she could draw lines between them like a claw in the sand. But her expression faultered, where she absently traced the visage of a bird outlines in the stars, something clicked in place. There were twice as many stars as usual.

For a moment, her throat grew dry, mind wandering to the starlit tom at the gathering. But her eyes darted up again, wonderment as she watched the stars move, dancing along like specks of snow in the warmth of greenleaf. It was only as her eyes focused that the distant glimmer wasn't so, but the little stars were nothing of the sort, but rather little flying critters. A smile happened upon her face, some small delight in watching them soar about camp, like distant bodies come to visit the clan in a moment of rest. But she knew what they were: fireflies. She just hadn't seen them like this, on a still night, not chasing prey or trying to catch the scent of trespassing cats.

Though, her attention was drawn by the sensation of being watched. Stoatpaw turned to look to her side, her smile softening to see a small form wander from the nursery. "Blightkit." She whispered, motioning the kitten to join her in the clearing of camp. Looking down at them, a kitten who had melded into the dark like a shadow taken life, but still had vibrant eyes that gazed up. "Have you ever seen them before? The fireflies?" Her voice was quiet, but still a rolling purr in the back of her throat. Quiet moments like these were few and far between in the pocosin, so Stoatpaw always welcomed company to enjoy evenings like these.

——— While you were sleeping,

Everything changed at once. ———

• Let @Blightkit reply first :3 heres the thread i promised tikki !!
• 
  Stoatpaw
  ✦—Shadowclan apprentice | 11 Moons
  ✦—She/Her
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK, PAWSPEAK
  ✦—A slender white cat with faint lilac markings and blue eyes.
  #96d5f1/#50BBF0
  
  ⤷ Written by Phoenix ​

 

[Blightpaw]

They were used to waking up in the middle of sleep now, whether it be due to commotion that happened outside the nest that Blightkit slept in or because of paws that itched to be out of camp somewhere else causing restless sleep. Every night there were times where they woke up, head shooting up for a moment to look around to see if anything was happening before it carefully lie back down to go back to sleep - something they had been told many times that they wouldn't get much of once they were an apprentice so "might as well get it now" - as if it was easy.

Instead of head moving back down this time the black kit found their eyes caught over on Stoatpaw, staring up at the sky for some reason before head turned and the kit found themself standing up, orange eyes trained on the other as quietly named was called, motion was made for them to come near, and obediently they followed. Although the silence of the night hadn't registered to Blightkit yet they could tell something was off compared to other nights. Those that usually snored loudly were quieter tonight, the crickets were chirping less frequently, and as Stoatpaw brought attention to the fireflies lighting up the sky the oddness of the air caught their attention at last.

"No." They'd respond, head shaking at the same time before looking to the apprentice once more before going back to the sky, back to the bugs that seemed to float instead of fly as they flickered their lights off and on. "How come I haven't before? Why aren't they flying away from camp?" Were they not scared of the ShadowClanners that could surely kill them in one go? Or were they some sort of magic thing that didn't fear the cats that reside here, did they know something that they didn't? And why hadn't they shown their little faces around the camp before now, the many nights that Blightkit had spent with head up watching things happen they hadn't once seen bugs like this, hadn't once seen the lights flickering except far up in the sky...

"Are they from up there?" They'd motion with a paw up towards the sky, falling over slightly to lean into the older apprentice as they did so, eyes blinking with curiosity as they stayed trained up at the sky, tail flicking back and forth with the new-found energy of a million burning questions on their mind.

​

BLIGHTKIT they/them, shadowclan 5 moons old.
black smoke with orange eyes
mentored by none // mentoring none
littermate to none
NPC x NPC / parent / mated to none
"speech" // "thoughts"
penned by tikki ↛ rabbitcake on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[Grayflight]

┍

Grayflight hadn't really considered the stars to be more than twinkling lights before their Clan was formed. That being said, the tom was a fan of everything that sparkled and shone, and therefore he'd always enjoyed watching them, seeing how their positions moved across the night sky over the seasons. Well, now he supposed that was ancestral cats moving to new hunting grounds, probably.

Night and shinies. No wonder stargazing was something he enjoyed.

He was a rather nocturnal fellow, and as such, tended to lightly rest at night, keeping an eye or ear out for trouble. Tonight, there was no trouble, just a swarm of fireflies and two young cats marvelling at the wonder of the little creatures, and he curled his paws under his body as he watched. He twitched his ear as one of the fireflies landed on his nose, its light blinking brightly in his eyes before fluttering off.

Fickle creatures.

‎┙

OOC

Feel free to notice him or pester him, or simply ignore him as he quietly watches everything.

BIO

ShadowClan Thief
57 moons || he/him
SPEECH || THOUGHTS
View attachment 386

 

[Stoatstream Stoatstream]

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

It was moments like those that let the dread slip from her shoulders, a smile knit across her face, watching Blightkit's eyes light up. Eyes crinkling with a smile as Bllightkit wandered over, full of questions. "You can only see them at night, that's why. They glow when it's dark so they can see their friends." At least, that's what conclusion she'd drawn to following them in the night and watching groups of them fly in sync.

"Most cats are asleep; they aren't scared of us if we're quiet and still." The ivory apprentice, her own pelt shimmering in kind under the moonlight, held out a paw as more fireflies descended closer to camp, eyes glittering as a little creature clung to her pelt, tail glowing rhythmically.

What surprised her was the feeling of the smaller body slump against hers as they motioned up to the sky, where the stars melded in the background of the fireflies dancing too and fro. One flittering down and bobbing about the kitten, Stoatpaw holding her breath not to scare off the thing. But as it flittered off, Stoatpaw found herself lost in thought.

"Are they from up there?"

A simple question, but from the mouth of a kitten, it made her think. She craned her head up, gently putting a paw around Blightkit so they wouldn't tumble as she shifted in place. Now they mentioned it, if you watched for long enough, it was hard to tell the difference between the twinkling stars and dancing fireflies.

It was profound, almost, the strange sensation of warmth in her chest. Almost like there was a comfort in the stars dancing amongst the living... She had seen it once before, cats with pelts adorned in stars. Maybe they really were?...

Finally, Stoatpaw spoke again, still staring up at the sky. "Maybe they are. I've never seen them in the day after all." She wasn't so sure how much she believed in bugs living with stars, but after what she'd been seeing the last few moons, she had no idea what to believe. Perhaps her father might know...

"Where do you think they come from?" She mused, looking down at the kitten again. Though her gaze caught Greyflight, still awake and being pestered by fireflies, too. She had to stifile a laugh, but it was nice for the clan to enjoy the simple pleasures of life in the pocosin.

——— While you were sleeping,

Everything changed at once. ———

• 
  Stoatpaw
  ✦—Shadowclan apprentice | 11 Moons
  ✦—She/Her
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK, PAWSPEAK
  ✦—A slender white cat with faint lilac markings and blue eyes.
  #96d5f1/#50BBF0
  
  ⤷ Written by Phoenix ​

 

[CICADABUZZ]

CICADABUZZ, 32 moons / shc + med. cat
a SH cinnamon tabby/chocolate tortie chimera w/ black eyes
parent to cloudberrypaw, hemlockpaw, mistletoepaw ; mentor to magpiepaw
a reserved, pragmatic healer driven by duty rather than sentiment

Cicadabuzz lingers at the edge of camp, half in shadow, half beneath the glow of the fireflies. They had been watching long before Stoatpaw and Blightkit began their quiet marveling, gaze drawn to the strange shimmer that blurred the line between earth and sky. Their paws are still, but their tail stirs once, slow and deliberate, the herbs knotted there rustling faintly with the movement. They do not intrude on the moment, though their ears angle toward the soft exchange of apprentice and kit. The quiet awe in their voices is not something Cicadabuzz feels compelled to break. Instead, their eyes track the rise and fall of the little lights, the way they drift between tree line and clearing as if guided by something unseen.

When Stoatpaw asks her question of the kit, Cicadabuzz shifts at last. Their paws carry them a few lengths closer, steps soundless against the damp earth. They stop short of the two, gaze falling on Blightkit, then lifting to the fireflies once more. "They come from here," Cicadabuzz says, voice low, steady, carrying no weight of wonder, only certainty. Their eyes linger on the insects. "Born from soil, living in wet land, taking wing when it suits them. Not stars, not omens—just bugs."

 

[Grayflight]

┍

Grayflight let out a low hum at Cicadabuzz's statement.

"Just bugs, huh?" he asked, his purr rumbling through his body as he finally stood to join the apprentice, kit, and warrior. "So the ancestors don't use them to give you signs or nothin'?" He may not be a medicine cat or leader, but surely something as fantastical as these creatures had a purpose.

‎┙

OOC

Edit to correct his comment - i forgot Cicadabuzz is the medicine cat lol

[SLIDE_HEADER]

BIO

[/SLIDE_HEADER]
[SLIDE]

ShadowClan Thief
58 moons || he/him
SPEECH || THOUGHTS