Territory WC the drum of a heartbeat // tunneler patrol

[Weaselchirp Weaselchirp]

I'm a young soul in this very strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit 'bout what is true and fake
But why all this hate? Try to communicate
Finding trust and love is not always easy to make

.

Weaselchirp burst forward into the cave system as if the earth itself had tugged her whiskers and said: come home, child, come home. Her paws skimmed the ground with that half-hop, half-dance gait that only she could truly pull off, spraying little flecks of mud with each bright, eager step. The tunnels were wounded, yes, yes, scraped by floodwater, muddied, pushed in places where they should have bowed, bowed in places that should have risen, but they were alive. They breathed. And she would heal them. Together with the others, together with Harefoot, Staggerdance, Sparrowburrow and Slugpaw.

She turned, beaming at her patrol with teeth just a bit too sharp and eyes just a bit too wide. " Right! Right - right - right! Big task, important task, critical task! " she chirped, tail curling like a hooked question mark. " The tunnels need our paws and our brains, oh yes, don't forget your brains! Leave those aboveground and your head will rattle like a pebble in a gourd. " With a delighted trill, she motioned toward the branching chambers. " Check everything! Check the walls, the floors, the ceilings... The ceilings especially! " she warned, lifting a paw dramatically. " Debris may be hiding like naughty prey. Clear it! Reinforce everything that feels soft or smells wrong. If it wiggles, stomp it. If it drips, fix it! "

Her gaze shot upward thoughtfully. " Moss could help. Moss is absorbent. But also spongy... Hmm… Perhaps sticks woven together? Ohhh if only we had beavers. They make such... Excellent dens. Why can't we talk to beavers? " A sigh. A small mournful shake of her head. " Tragic that they do not speak cat. " Then her entire posture snapped upright again, vibrating with purpose. " Mentors, look after your apprentices! Apprentices, look after your mentors, they forget things sometimes! " Her eyes locked on Slugpaw, bright, encouraging, and as warm as underground firelight. She was well aware that she was the only mentor here, but she had to make it sound good! For what if there were moments there WOULD be other mentors and apprentices here?

" Slugpaw! With me. We'll clear this tunnel-mouth, the storm spit half the moor into it. " she joked as she began scraping debris into neat little piles with quick, practiced movements. " We must ask ourselves: how do we stop this from happening again? A barrier? A slope redirect? A... Oh!! " She gasped sharply, ears popping upright as she lifted her head. " A raised lip of earth! Yes! Or stones... Oh, imagine a stone-lined opening! Beautiful, sturdy, clever, unbreakable! " She spun back toward the patrol, grinning wildly. " Use your paws, your wits, your hearts! The tunnels can protect us! First, we must protect them! "

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

69 MOONS

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WINDCLANNER

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bio

@harefoot @Sparrowburrow @Slugpaw @STAGGERDANCE

 

[Sparrowburrow Sparrowburrow]

First patrol since warriorhood, and straight back into the tunnels. They weren't complaining, though; the open temporary camps were suffocating, too wide, too open. Even if the tunnels were dangerous, the tightness of the earth curled around their red pelt was the reassurance they needed.

Weaselchirp was just as eccentric, Sparrowburrow standing there with a mouthful of moss as she talked faster than the moor runners could catch, but she was leading the patrol for good reason. She thought so fast that everything she said was really full of wisdom; it was hypnotizing to listen to her talk. Then she corralled Slugpaw off to the first tunnel, talking about stone borders to tunnels to lessen the mud and water flowing in during rainfalls. Hm. Another incredible idea from the maw of a cat who didn't ever need to come back up for air.

They dropped their moss to their paws to finally reply. "I'll be in the neighbourin' tunnel, I'll try find where it connects 'nd make sure that's safe 'fore I carry on clearin' mine." Starclan, it was weird to think how much a say they got, let alone the fact they were without Sweetnose, it was unnerving even. Even in the last moon or so where Sweetnose didn't have to be so paws-on with their training, his presence was comforting enough that Sparrow was doing the right thing. They let out a small huff of a sigh. Dustystar had trusted them enough to be a warrior, and Sweetnose had to have agreed; they would be fine.

Unsheathing claws, Sparrow ducked into his tunnel, breathing the sweet air of the still rain-marred earth. It wasn't like the earth was saturated anymore; much had drained away, but the rain scent wasn't gone yet. Even if it stirred their stomach with something nauseating, their task was to safe-proof the tunnels so they could be used without fear. Someone had to make sure the walls were packed well, a crumbly wall drawing their attention with the thought. Thankfully, with all the loosened earth washed in, it was easy to pack the weak point, using their body weight to press the earth in with rhythmic thumping of their paws.

So many times they'd failed to protect cats they cared about, so they had grown adept at checking tunnels for weaknesses in their apprenticeship, and now their hypervigilance could be useful; they didn't want to always be so nervous about the slightest crumbling wall, a dripping ceiling, but fear kept tunnellers safe, cautiousness saved lives. Especially with new apprentices, Finchpaw in tunnels like these? They were terrified at the idea, so Sparrowburrow inspected their wall, satisfied with the start. They would be exhausted in the end, but the task was needed to prevent the walls of these tunnels from being painted with blood.

​

SPARROWBURROW They/He, Windclan Tunneler, 12 moons.
A longhaired tortoiseshell with amber eyes and protruding canines.
mentored by Sweetnose // mentoring no one
sibling to Starlingpaw
NPC x NPC / parent to noone / mated to noone
"SPEECH" // 'THOUGHTS' // ATTACK
penned by Hawk ↛ phoenixwashere on discord, feel free to message in #phoenix-pyre for plots.