PAFP Camp WC Of all the flowers you picked, I knew you would forget... Forget-Me-Not 🌾 Returning with a Kitten

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

It wasn't how Merrystalk at all expected his day to go, one of his first sort of normal patrols since coming back to camp and... Well... Now he was trudging back to camp with a kitten clasped gently between his jaws. He dangled there, purring as he chattered away, Merry unable to reply, but the little ball of sunshine was just excited to be carried. Questions about Windclan, about the cats on patrol and when they would find his mother. There wasn't an ounce of fear from the kitten, just a slow exhaustion as the sun kissed the horizon and darkness crawled across the sky.

Merrystalk was the first to enter camp, pausing not far from the entrance, trying to catch his breath. He turned to his brother, who entered camp just behind him. "Can ya' get Dusty please, Goldy? 'nd uh, maybe peek yer head in the nursery? He hoped the queens wouldn't mind the extra mouth, especially if it was... Temporary, supposedly. Though pushing the dread aside, he looked down at the kitten sitting between his paws with a small smile. "This is Windclan, lil' buddy, we're still puttin' everythin' back together after the storms, but this 's where we live."

He was a little too aware of the gaze of the cats on their new little guest; he just hoped they wouldn't be too intrusive. "My friend Dimmingsun's gonna check 'nd make sure yer all okay, 'nd we can getcha somethin' to eat and somewhere comfy to sleep." He gently reassured, he could only imagine how overwhelming it could be in such a new, strange place. But, then again, the kitten seemed so enamoured by the discussion on their way there, he couldn't have been surprised if he didn't have even more questions.

---

Let @poppykit reply first!

​

MERRYSTALK He/Him, Windclan Gale Guard, 33 moons.
A lithe, tortoiseshell cat with green eyes and pelt speckled with rye grass.
mentored by none // mentoring Talonpaw
sibling to Goldenroar and Sunnyspring
NPC x NPC / parent to no one / mated to Harefoot
"SPEECH" // "THOUGHTS" // ATTEMPTED ACTION
penned by Pheo ↛ phoenixwashere on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[poppykit's icon poppykit poppykit]

POPPYKIT ──

windclan | kitten​

​

The kitten's eyes go wide as he is carried into the camp - he's never seen a place like this before, much less so many cats all at the same time!! His expression is one of wonder as he sits between Merrystalk's paws, his kitten-blue eyes meeting the gazes of those who turn to look at him, and he grins excitedly. He'd thought three cats to talk to is exciting - now look how many friends he can play with!!

"Hello Win'Clan!!" he chirps, his tail swishing back and forth. When Merrystalk speaks to him, he turns his head upward to look at him, nearly falling backwards with how quickly he whips his head around.
"Dimmin'sun?" He yawns, tiny fangs exposed for a moment. He won't admit it yet, but he is getting pretty sleepy. He wants supper, and to sleep next to Momma… but this is too exciting!! Can't sleep yet!! "Will he play with me too? I want play!!"

always an angel

never a god

• ooc:
• "speaking" | thinking | action

 

[Yewkit]

YEWKIT

.

Yewkit meant only to grab some food and return to mother - she was not to stray away, she only told Plague she was getting food and that was all she was allowed to do. After all, she needed to be extra obedient after what she'd done and caused during the floods, and she was determined to be so.

And yet.

When Merrystalk and his patrol walked into the camp, their expressions full of sorrow, she could not walk away. The little kitten at the Gale Guard's paws was not one she recognised and, though Yewkit didn't know all of her clanmates, she certainly knew all the residents of the nursery. And this was not one of them. He didn't look scared nor sad, but Yewkit saw the way the patrol looked at him and themselves, glances of some kind of understanding she did not know. Something was wrong.

She heard the call for Dustystar and for Dimmingsun from the Gale Guards and so she walked up to the kitten with her food in her jaws, dropping it at his paws. "Are you hungry?" she asked as she sat down, voice quiet, but enough for the kitten to hear, wrapping her tail around her paws. She hoped mother would not be upset, after all, this was only a kitten, smaller and frailer than even her. "I.. I'm Yewkit."

She looked up at Merrystalk and blinked at him, hoping the Gale Guard would understand - she was here and she could watch the kitten, if they needed to go fetch the healers or leader or anyone else. And if mother came looking for her, then she could watch the kitten too. Or so Yewkit hoped.

 

[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

.

Cricketpaw bounded after the little group, her worried eye flicking toward the kit every now and then, ears pricked forward. He was so young, too young still. He didn't understand what was going on, or what had happened, and the realization made her stomach twist with unease. She slowed as she neared Merrystalk, brushing lightly against the older cat's side before glancing up at him with her single bright eye. " ...Merry? " she whispered, careful that the kit's attention stayed elsewhere. " Do I... Should I ask someone to go search with me…? " Her gaze dropped for a moment, then she flicked her plume-like tail subtly toward the small kit.

" Maybe I can try to find... " she trailed off, unable to finish the thought aloud. A mother. A home. Something the poor little thing had lost. She swallowed hard, then lifted her chin, voice small but steady. " I-I wouldn't mind. " she murmured, determination glinting faintly behind the softness of her words. " I could help look. "

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

9 MOONS

𖧧

WINDCLANNER

𖧧

SONG

𖧧

bio

 

[poppykit's icon poppykit poppykit]

POPPYKIT ──

windclan | kitten​

​

The kitten looks to Yewkit as she approaches, his mouth watering as he looks down at the food that's offered to him.
"I can have it?" he asks, looking to the other kitten for approval; he wants to dig in now, but if his momma taught him anything it was to not be rude!
"Yewkit," he echoes, nodding as his smile grows. "Nice to mee'cha! Wanna be friends?" That seems to be at the forefront of his mind through all of this, blissfully unaware of his own situation. It's just part of a game, part of his adventure to find out where his momma is hiding, and when he does find her, he'll have a great story to tell about this big group of cats all living together!!

His ear flicks at the sound of Cricketpaw's voice, and huge eyes blink at her as he listens. "Don'worry, all of you can help me look!" he chirps. "When we find Momma she'll be so surprised!!" He giggles at the thought of her surprised face upon seeing him with several other cats. I hope she won't mind when I bring my new friends!

always an angel

never a god

• ooc:
• "speaking" | thinking | action

 

[DIMMINGSUN]

Dimmingsun hears his own name carried by the wind before anything else. It's something he's gotten accustomed to these past few moons—the way he has to keep one ear focused on the backdrop of camp, always anticipating an emergency, or at least the need of his presence for whatever reason. His own importance keeps him afloat. Few things can hinder his mood when he is now sure of the fact that WindClan needs him. The flood's aftermath has certainly given that a boost. If only he could do more than scout the territory day after day in hopes of new growths on the moor, considering the pitiful state of their herb stores now... leaf-bare approaches fast. That is what presses on his mind most urgently nowadays.

Shaking any remnants of plants from his fur, Dimmingsun emerges from his den. It's Merrystalk; always something with him, it seems. Amusement flits at the edges of his eye, though it halts the moment Dimmingsun notices a kit dangling from the gale guard's jaws. Oddly reminiscent of the time Dustystar herself had brought an orphan to their doorstep.

"Who's this?"

Dimmingsun asks Merrystalk, head tipped to the side like a beast inquiring prey. Dustystar will have final say, but he doubts that she has it in her to turn away a helpless heap of fur. She had allowed him to seek refuge, after all... and he had been more than capable of taking care of himself, if one looks past the state he had been in that day.

The previous mirth returns at the kit's bold way of approaching him.

"Play? Sure we can."

He watches in silence as Yewkit and Cricketpaw approaches the newcomer like moths drawn to a flame. When the kit's attention isn't on them, Dimmingsun turns to Merrystalk once more.

"Lonely kitten by the border, I assume? Anything noteworthy about his condition, or am I just to do a routine check?"

 

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

Even in the face of a clan of strangers, the kitten didn't seem to falter, grinning as he immediately seemed to gravitate to Yewkit and Cricketpaw. Merrystalk smiled and pressed a gentle nose to the top of Yewkit's head. "How thoughtful of ya' to help our lil' friend." For as much as he seemed only ever to irritate the molly, he was grateful her kits didn't seem so disdainful about him. Yew a diligent little thing.

Then, Cricketpaw spoke up, brushing against his legs as she stared up with a bright gaze. He gave the apprentice a watery smile. She was smart, incredibly so. The look of determination mottled with sorrow in her eye made it all the more evident that she seemed just as aware of how fruitless a search may be, but there was something there he wanted to protect: hope. She still held that desperate hope their little visitor could be reunited with his mother, and for a young molly who had lost her own, he couldn't turn away that slim chance. "Once we've fetched Dimmin' 'n sure there's nothin' wrong, we can head back ou-"

Though his reassurances to Cricket were interrupted by that all too familiar voice, he turned to smile at the medicine cat. "'m sure yer sick've seein' me by now." Merry chuckled, trying in some vain attempt to keep some semblance of lightheartedness to the conversation, particularly with so many of the youngest of the clan about. Though a sigh slipped from his maw, nodding. "Found him in the middle've the moors cryin' fer his mama, we're gonna go lookin' fer her."

His gaze flitted to the three, who'd turned to greet the medicine cat, so he was quick to shake his head, mouthing to the other. "She ain't comin' back." It'd be a conversation he would need to have with Dustystar there too, but it didn't feel his place to break it to the kitten he had been abandoned, nor to break Yew or Cricket's spirits on the matter.

But the gale guard cleared his throat, bowing gently to stir the kitten's attention again, before he got too distracted wanting to run off and play. "Nothin' I can see, but thought ya'd wanna check him over, just to be safe." For a kitten clearly abandoned, he wasn't in bad shape, not visibly hurt or scared, just hungry. He didn't particularly want to wander off and leave him again. If his inclinations were right, the last thing the kit needed was cats he seemed acclimated with to leave again. If he was able to settle in the nursery after being checked over, then he would take Cricketpaw out on the moors to check, give her that closure that they had done all they could.

​

MERRYSTALK He/Him, Windclan Gale Guard, 33 moons.
A lithe, tortoiseshell cat with green eyes and pelt speckled with rye grass.
mentored by none // mentoring Talonpaw
sibling to Goldenroar and Sunnyspring
NPC x NPC / parent to no one / mated to Harefoot
"SPEECH" // "THOUGHTS" // ATTEMPTED ACTION
penned by Pheo ↛ phoenixwashere on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[Yewkit]

YEWKIT

.

Yewkit wouldn't be surprised if the younger kitten's mother was long dead, considering the looks the adult cats have been giving each other. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have no mother - if Plague was no more. Mother was Yewkit's only constant in life - where everyone else would leave, mother would remain, forever with Yewkit and her siblings. This poor kit, she thought. She knew if that was the case, she wouldn't be the one to tell him. It would be someone gentler, wiser than her - like Meadowpaw or Dustystar.

She nodded at him, to confirm the food was all his. When Merrystalk approached to touch her, she winced, though she wasn't sure why. The tom's touch was gentle, despite his cold nose. "Um..." she tried to answer the kitten who seemed way too full of energy. His voice was cheerful and loud where hers was stoic and quiet. "If mother allows it, you can sleep in our nest tonight." What does a friendship look like? She supposed this was it - what she had with Talon and Meadowpaw, was that friendship? Sharing warmth and protecting each other? "I will be your friend." she announced. If this kitten had no one to look after him, she would be that somebody.

She knew better than to plead with mother, but she hoped it wouldn't have to come to that. Mother was kind, she would understand. Or so Yewkit hoped at least.

 

[poppykit's icon poppykit poppykit]

POPPYKIT ──

windclan | kitten​

​

When Dimmingsun approaches the group, the kitten looks to him with awe. Wow! He's really big too! Were all cats supposed to grow to be this big? Will he grow up to be this big? That would be so cool!
"Who's this?"
Of course, by the time Dimmingsun had asked this question, the kitten had eagerly taken a large bite of the fresh-kill that Yewkit had so graciously given him. He chews quickly, tiny teeth doing their best to ground up his food enough for him to talk around it - "I'm Child," he says, muffled through his food but still distinguishable. He swallows with a loud gulp. "It's what Momma call me." He's not sure why he feels the need to clarify that every time; it must be something about the odd look the other cats seem to have when he says the only name he's ever known. Maybe the name is just... really uncommon? That must be it. It's a special name, one that Momma gave him because she knows that he is special.

When Dimmingsun agrees to play with him, he leaps for joy! "Woohoo! Play! Play!" Unable to contain his elation, the kitten runs in a circle around the giant cat, nearly tripping over his own paws in the process. Now that he's gotten that out of his system, he can think about what game he wants to play first... Wait, if I play a game while I'm looking for Momma, am I playing two games at the same time? What a paradox...
Yewkit offers to let the kitten sleep in her nest, and then declares herself to be his friend; he nods vigorously at the invitation, and his little fangs peek out as he grins so big his eyes are all squinty. "Yay!! I've nev'r had a friend who's young like me! You'll play wit' me too, right?"

always an angel

never a god

• ooc:
• "speaking" | thinking | action

 

[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

.

Oh haredung, she thought she'd been quiet enough! But kits always heard more than anyone expected, didn't they? She had been the same, once. Feeling heat rush to her ears, Cricketpaw forced a bright, flustered smile, nodding quickly. " Y-yeah, yeah, we're gonna. " she meowed, trying to sound confident for the kit's sake. But when Merrystalk spoke, and Dimmingsun joined them with that steady, serious tone, asking who the young one even was, her words dried up. She pressed closer to Merrystalk's side, the comfort of his fur grounding her for just a moment as she followed his gaze to the kit.

" Child... " Her heart twisted. That wasn't a name. That was... What he was. Just a kit. Not someone's Child. Had the mother not even named him? Did she even care? The thought hit her like cold water, and for a long moment she couldn't breathe. Her eye fell to the kit again, so small, so trusting and something heavy and sour settled deep in her chest. She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't.

But still... The ache in her stomach told her she already did.

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

9 MOONS

𖧧

WINDCLANNER

𖧧

SONG

𖧧

bio

 

[DIMMINGSUN]

Dimmingsun doesn't expect the joke from Merrystalk, but he grabs onto it with enthusiasms nonetheless.

"Tired of you? Never,"

he says, smooth as ever.

The light-heartedness doesn't get the chance to stick. What Dimmingsun learns next is something he has anticipated since first seeing the gale guard with an unfamiliar bundle of fur; abandoned, and too young to understand, at that. Dimmingsun can't decide which version is worse—remaining oblivious to the pain of one's parent never returning, or being told the full picture without hiding any painful detail. Kits of this age should not be subjected to such horror. And this one... this kit is much more jovial than Dimmingsun had been. Perhaps that's why he had been dealt with such cards of fate. Faulty from the start.

He doesn't dwell on it—has learned not to. Dimmingsun nods in acknowledgment, telling Merrystalk that he understands without having to voice it aloud in such company.

"Child,"

Dimmingsun repeats the "name". It is improper; either their parents have not given them one, or they had not heard one. He remains as natural as ever when addressing the kit.

"Certainly a descriptive name. Can you follow me to my den? If Yewkit's mother approves and allows you to sleep in their nest, you'll need to be checked for a nasty cold. The moors are cold this time of year."

His eye glimmers with approval.

"Though, you seem strong. I'm sure you're in tip-top shape. And then we can play something."

 

[poppykit's icon poppykit poppykit]

POPPYKIT ──

windclan | kitten​

​

There it is again. The way that the other cats repeat his name with an emotion that the kitten doesn't recognize. He doesn't dwell on it, not yet - he'll understand soon, but not now.

Dimmingsun instructs him to follow to his den so he can be checked before they play, and recognizes how strong he is. The kitten puffs their chest out proudly when he says it as if to affirm his words. "Yeah, I'm big and st'ong!! The tip-toppest shape! C'mon, c'mon, let's go!!" Clearly in a rush to skip ahead to playtime, he bounds past Dimmingsun several paces before skidding to a halt when he realizes he has no idea which den he's supposed to be going to. Glancing back behind him, he watches Dimmingsun with round, unblinking eyes to see where to go. He probably should have listened when the medicine cat had said to follow, rather than bounding ahead, but his paws tend to carry him faster than he can think.

always an angel

never a god

• ooc:
• "speaking" | thinking | action

 

[Yewkit]

YEWKIT

.

Yewkit noticed the way the adults tensed and looked at each other at the mention of the child's "name", though she was unsure of the reason. Sure it was custom in the clans to name your kits the day they're born, but there were other traditions out there. Like mother's.

Yewkit has not always been Yewkit, stars, she's been without a name longer than with it - Plague waited to think of the perfect names for them and waited until she was ready. "Nice to meet you, Child." she repeated his name, rolling it over her tongue. It didn't seem unnatural, she's heard a name similiar to it so many times - her and her siblings have simply been children for the first moons of their life. And if mother was to care for this child, Yewkit was sure she would pick the perfect name for him as well.

Or simply let him keep his name, Yewkit supposed. Nothing wrong with it if he liked it. She mused on these thoughts silently as she watched Child walk away with Dimmingsun, cheerful step and innocent eyes. She hoped he would keep the joy and innocence even upon learning the truth. His childish behaviour made her feel warmer inside, for some unexplainable reason, and she held onto it, like a lost child holds onto the first stranger it lays its eyes upon.

 

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

The gale guard knew he and the medicine cat were finally getting along again after his outburst some moons before, but the just-as-teasing reply made him clam up, chuckling awkwardly. He wasn't used to someone matching his energy with his jokes, usually laughed off or a light-hearted eye roll. Merrystalk cleared his throat, looking away for a second before his gaze fell to the huddle of youngsters. "Just got 'ere 'nd you've made friends, would ya' look at that!" He purred, it was a genuinely lovely thing to see. Windclan wasn't unaccepting of new cats, younger or not, and it was reassuring to the tom that the little thing wasn't alone in any capacity, not anymore.

He had to laugh as the kitten skittered off, before looking utterly lost and looking to Dimmingsun with wide eyes. Merry looked back up to his friend, a smile on his face. "You'll be able to manage 'em alone, right? Though I'm sure Yewkit'd want to introduce our little friend here to her Mother 'nd littermates once he's got the all clear?" He hummed, glancing to Yewkit and tilting his head to follow the Medicine cat. "Me 'nd Cricketpaw'll head back out with the rest've our patrol to go... Look fer his Mama." It was hard to hide the sorrow in his eyes, but he wouldn't let Cricket, of all cats, see that.

Merry peered over to her, a muddled sort of look in the apprentice's eye, something that made his face fall visibly. The gale guard pressed a nose to the apprentice to get her attention, lowering his voice to a whisper. "He's okay with us, don't ya' fret too much." Merry had a duty to protect the apprentice, even if she wasn't his own to train; he knew she was in the same boat, the same kind of quiet ache. He always promised Pumpkin to watch over her little bug, and that wouldn't change now. He sat up and spoke clearly this time, smiling at the apprentice. "Ya' ready to head back out then, Cricket?"

​

MERRYSTALK He/Him, Windclan Gale Guard, 33 moons.
A lithe, tortoiseshell cat with green eyes and pelt speckled with rye grass.
mentored by none // mentoring Talonpaw
sibling to Goldenroar and Sunnyspring
NPC x NPC / parent to no one / mated to Harefoot
"SPEECH" // "THOUGHTS" // ATTEMPTED ACTION
penned by Pheo ↛ phoenixwashere on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[Talonpaw]

Talonpaw had been hunting on his own- clearing his head, finding peace in the silence. His days were blending together, yet the only thing keeping him sane was the fact he could look at the sun and have time. Gage that it had been almost three full moons since he arrived in windclan- and he wondered if soon they would want him to leave. Consider his dues paid- but he hoped not. A small part of him hoped not- except they still spoke of this leaf bare and preparation, so he was unsure.

His body had grew in his time here, remaining lean, long- yet taller and taller still. He was tiny when he had first came here, yet he feels as though he had not grown at all. He feels no different except for the fact he stood above others- when he actually stretched out- but it was hard when he kept himself low at all times, stalking, creeping, sulking, slithering- however you wanted to call it.

He dragged his mice in by their tails, head lowered, long limbs bent as he moved through camp to drop his prey at the pile when voices made him turn his torn ears. Another kid, their voice announcing their name was child- Yewkit, introducing herself so friendly. It appears Plague would be taking in another kid, and Talonpaw stared at the scene. Moving forward, the tom would keep his blue eye on the stranger, before hed paw/pet roughly at Yew in greeting before turning to Merrystalk.

"Jus' got back from huntin'- I'll join ya if y' wish. I'm sure Childkit an' Yewkit will get along fine with Dimmin', " Talonpaw said, not occuring to him that Child was not an actual name nor was kit added to it yet. Even him, it made fine sense for that name.

​

Talon he/him, windclan 8 moons old.
black tabby with dark greyish brown undercoat and white underbelly. white crest on chest, and scars lining left side of face, blinding his right eye. icey blue eyes and white that is slowly starting to streak his features. Back scars non-existent for now.
mentored by Merrystalk // mentoring none
littermate to none
NPC x NPC / father/mother to none / mated to none
"speech" // "thoughts"
penned by Deidre ↛ deidre on discord, feel free to dm for plots. Art by PurpleCandyCorn.