Open Territory ShadowClan something old, something new || [open; a night at the Monster Tree]

[Grayflight]

{$title} Grayflight goes looking for trinkets at the Monster Tree.

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Grayflight padded in the comforting coolness of the night air. With Greenleaf in full swing, the night was even more of a comfort- his long fur tended to trap the heat from the season, and he'd be lying if that wasn't one of the reasons he'd chosen to become a Thief for his clan. Even in Leafbare he was blessed - his coat was nice and thick then, and he could be comfortable both during the day and night.

But tonight, he needed to focus, not look towards the cooler weather. He'd seen something the other day at the Monster Tree, glinting up in the carcass of the beast. Like a carrion bird, he wanted to scavenge that shiny for himself. To what end, he wasn't quite sure, but sometimes his Clanmates did "ooh" and "aah" over a pretty piece of Twoleg detritus. And maybe something sparkly could be used as entertainment for the kits.

ShadowClan was growing plentiful! And if he could help his Clan by providing entertainment for the kits, well, that would surely make him happy. Wouldn't it?

His pawsteps led him to the Monster Tree, and he looked up at the imposing oak. Yeesh. Pretty far up there.

"Come on, Grayflight," he muttered to himself. "It's just a silly tree!"

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OOC

open to any ShadowClan cat!

BIO

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

 

[Tickfrost Tickfrost]

When you're lost in the universe, lost in the universe, don't lose faith
My mother says, "Your whole life's in the paws of the Stars"

.

Tickfrost padded silently after Grayflight, his steps light but his brows drawn in a faint frown. Every so often, he cast a glance over his shoulder, back toward the direction they'd come from. It still felt strange, being out like this without anyone looking over his shoulder. No mentor shadowing his every move, no expectations hanging quite so heavy. Sure, technically he had a warrior with him now... but so what? He was a warrior too. That truth still hadn't fully settled in his bones. A sharp crack broke through the quiet as his paw came down squarely on a twig. He winced, shutting his eyes for a beat as he drew in a long, slow breath through his nose.

Well. So much for stealth.

He let the tension bleed from his posture and dropped the pretense entirely, striding forward with deliberate steps as if that had been the plan all along. His orange eyes locked onto Grayflight, watching the older tom with quiet curiosity. " What are you looking for? " he asked at last, voice even but laced with the usual edge of dry skepticism. He studied the way Grayflight moved, their e yes fixated on the giant tree that stood before them. Looking for something, but what he knew not... The older warrior always came back with weird little objects. Shiny, rusted, bent at odd angles. Twoleg junk, Tickfrost had decided early on.

But still... He couldn't help but wonder.

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

10 MOONS

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SHADOWCLANNER

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SONG

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bio

 

[Grayflight]

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Grayflight purred at the question. He'd forgotten, momentarily, that he wasn't the only one out here. He looks to the new warrior and flicks his tail towards the monster in the tree.

"Noticed something in there the other day," he mewed. "It looked pretty, so I figured I'd come and try to get it." He looked at Tickfrost, then at the tree. then back again.

Would the young warrior even want to go up there?

"If you don't want to go up with me, that's fine," he said, mostly for the other cat's sake more than his own. He stretched, getting his muscles ready for the climb up, regardless of if he would have company or not.

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OOC

Tagging: @Tickfrost
text

BIO

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

 

[Stoatstream Stoatstream]

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

She had decided to follow Tickfrost out into the pocosin; she had spotted Greyflight leaving too and was rather curious what they were up to. Stoatpaw had little else to do that night, and now with Jadethorn and her far too many kittens in camp all day, she would take any opportunity to wander away for a while.

It was a pleasant walk, but Grey wandered far into the pocosin, all the way to the monster tree. She let out a hum of familiarity, it was strange to think almost 6 moons ago her little brother had been found in there, it was lucky really their father had wandered out here, being so far from camp could have been.... Dangerous.

She shook the thought from her mind, sitting as she watched Tick and Grey talk, tilting her head as she looked to the mangled corpse of the monster far too high up. It seemed the older warrior was dead set on clambering up and searching for something or the other. Stoatpaw clicked her tongue as she shook her head. "I hope you find what you're looking for, I'm no good at climbing, but maybe Tick can help." She gave her dear friend a smile. It was nice to just relax out in the pocosin with good company.

As the pair of toms observed the tree, Stoatpaw decided to wander around near the base of the tree, seeing if there was anything interesting nearby, maybe some flowers or a little trinket? She pressed her nose down close to the ground, trying to catch twolegs scent. But her eyes widened a little as something else caught her attention.

That muddled death scent, faint but still evident enough. With careful paws, she tracked the scent, apprehensive as something turned in her stomach, trying to ignore that awful feeling. Though her expression fell as a bitter taste laced her tongue, the scattered and picked clean bones of a bird lay scattered amidst some muddied feathers, dark with wet mud, impossible to tell what they were from.

With a most delicate paw, she plucked the skull from the earth, inspecting it with a growing nauseous feeling. It had been a very long time now since she had found bones like this; it wasn't a cat's this time, so she shouldn't feel like this. She wasn't desecrating anything, just unfortunate memories from a distressing period of her life. She shook her head, taking a deep breath as she forced a smile. Fleafire would be happy to see it, so there was no reason for her to feel unsettled. Finally, she would have her little trophy, minus the ghosts.

Stoatpaw returned to the tree, craning her head up with the bird skull held close, maybe she could try climbing up... There was no harm in practising. For the moment, though, she would let Greyflight go on ahead, curious what he had seen and was looking for.

——— While you were sleeping,

Everything changed at once. ———

• You found... Intact Skull
  
  A rare discovery due to peatlands conditions, which speed up bone deterioration. Good find. You've got a great head on your shoulders.
  
  SCARLET'S TRINKET ROLLER
• 
  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 ​

 

[Tickfrost Tickfrost]

When you're lost in the universe, lost in the universe, don't lose faith
My mother says, "Your whole life's in the paws of the Stars"

.

" Up there, huh? " Tickfrost murmured, eyes lifting to the massive shape lodged high in the branches. The monster had always fascinated him, how in the hell did something that gigantic get stuck up there? Did it leap and fail? Was this its final resting place? Tilting his head, he glanced back at Grayflight. " Okay. " he said with a flick of his plumey tail, voice steady. " We can explore up there. " His gaze drifted briefly to Stoatpaw, a small smile tugging at his lips at the sight of her, strong, graceful, like a shadow that moved with purpose.

No distractions, he chided himself.

Clearing his throat, he gave a nod to Stoatpaw before turning his focus back to the tree. His eyes traced the bark, searching for the best spots to grip and leap. With a powerful push, he launched himself upward, claws finding purchase as he climbed with practiced ease. It didn't take long to reach the place Grayflight had indicated. His gaze swept the area, flicking over the branches and leaves, until something white caught his eye. His heart skipped. Face to face with a tiny skull, he almost slipped, a shudder running through him. Steeling himself, Tickfrost let out a quiet huff and flicked the fragile skull off the branch, letting it fall softly to the ground below. That was a whole other time... One he had felt... Many emotions under. He was older now...

" Alright, Grayflight. " he called, voice firm. " Let's see if we can find this trinket you're after. "

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

10 MOONS

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SHADOWCLANNER

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SONG

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bio

 

[Grayflight]

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"No worries about the climbing, Stoatpaw," he said, flicking his ear to the apprentice. Her searching seemed to have brought up something, and he wondered if she might find joy in the life of a Thief. Well, he wouldn't push too hard at the moment.

He watched Tickfrost jump up, and dodged the little skull that came toppling down. He bunched up his muscles and leapt to the lowest branch, digging his claws into the bark as he clambered up the trunk to the monster's body. He cast his amber gaze about the interior as he jumped onto one of the holes in its side.

"I appreciate the help," he said to Tickfrost, jumping onto one of the Twoleg seats inside. They felt springy, and he gave it a little bounce. Heh.

"Alright, so, it was small. Round, with a hole through it. Like a rat's tail curled up?" He moved his paw in a circle to illustrate the point. "And shiny."

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OOC

mentioned: Tickfrost, Stoatpaw

BIO

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

 

[Stoatstream Stoatstream]

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

Stoatpaw shook away her nausea, shooting a smile to Greyflight and Tickfrost as they clambered up the tree. Well, to admit watching them climb up made her stomach turn more, she was awful at climbing and sort of ashamed to admit she was frightfully scared of heights. Just watching them climb higher and higher made her queasy.

So, leaving her little bird skull be, she decided to nose about the area for anything else interesting. Passing by the remnants of the bird, she turned her nose up at it, trying not to think too much about the scattered bones. Instead, much like the mottled, scattered feathers around what remained of the bird, there were more feathers. Stoatpaw peered about, nervous about more abandoned half-eaten birds nearby, but it seemed whatever these belonged to had been taken away from the tree.

Iridescent blue on deep black feathers pulled a smile to her maw as the colours danced in the light of the moon. She already had a few select feathers in her nest, one her father gave her, one from her first catch and a couple of others her friends had given her. While there was no celebration behind this shimmering thing, there was no need for one. Sometimes, spending time with her clanmates was all she needed for a little celebration.

Tucking the thing into her tail, she hummed to herself as she circled around the tree. It seemed it was only a strange happenstance with the bird; otherwise, the place seemed to be undisturbed except for the cats now up in the tree. Maybe some quick hunting or flower picking could be nice-

She had to blink, confusion upon her face. Her eyes flickered up to the monster, where Greyflight had clambered inside, and Tickfrost was nearby. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but her throat grew dry as words faltered. A second skull, just as pristine of debris, but not a bird. She wasn't so sure what it was, but worse still was how did it get here? Her gaze dragged up, there was no one about, maybe it had come to the tree or?...

Stoatpaw loathed to think how many bones were scattered around, but, in case it was there purposefully, she tucked it near her bird skull, shuddering with the feeling of cool bone underpaw. She was overthinking it all; that was all. There was nothing sinister about it all, just... Weird happenstance. Once is random, two is coincidence. Yeah....

——— While you were sleeping,

Everything changed at once. ———

• You found... Feathers
  
  Damp from the moisture-heavy air. It belongs to one of many bird species.
• 
  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 ​

 

[DREAMPAW]

(𓆩✧𓆪) he hadn't been taken out at night much during his first moon of apprenticeship, but with halfshade as his mentor, he's gaining a lot more experience. as the boy pads through the darkness, he feels the satisfying squish of peat moss beneath his toes, once unfamiliar but now comforting. they head to the monster tree, a landmark whose name would scare a weaker cat than dreampaw. the boy is not quaking in fear, though, but rather excitement as he approaches his clanmates. "hunting for treasures?" he asks, eyes bright, a reflection of the king of shadows.

the boy leaves his mentor's side to snuffle around the base of the tree. he's not keen on climbing it right now - it seems slippery, and honestly way too high. he's heard tell that skyclanners leap between the trees like squirrels. dreampaw, however, has no desire to be anything like a skyclanner, so he'll keep his paws on the ground. "what'd you find, stoatpaw?" he asks curiously, scenting the she-cat's apprehension. bending his mottled muzzle to the earth, the boy peaks into the gnarled roots, tail waving in delight as he spots something. it's not shiny, but it has a dull gleam in the gentle moonlight. fishing it out with a deft paw, the apprentice examines his prize. an earthen brown and ringed green turtle shell sits in his paws, small in size but beautiful all the same. a pang of melancholy stings the boy as he wonders vaguely where the shell's owner might be. dead, probably, he reasons, biting his lip. oh well.

maybe he'll give this trinket to his mama. despite sablestar's best attempts at comfort, dreampaw still worries after juniperstar. her body had hung so limp as the thunderclanners had carried her out of the gathering. even though magpiepaw had reported back her recovery, he still yearns to see her in person. this turtle shell could make a good gift for her.

ACROSS MY FAMILY LINE 𓆩✧𓆪 GOD, I HAVE MY FATHERS EYES

• // mentor tag @Halfshade " #e9af74"
• 
• DREAMKIT 𓆩✧𓆪 HE / HIM, APPRENTICE OF SHADOWCLAN. 07 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.

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