The Colony until six months ago 𓇻 cuddle pile

[juniperstar]

juniper

there's a hunger for companionship and bonding that nestled itself in the pit of her belly the moment Fray had passed... for such a substantial loss, there were bound to be weakened spots that he'd once held together. cats drifted apart in their uncertainty, their fear. she'd nudged who she could to try to stir a mischievous, harmless thrill into tired, cold bones... a prank, something to remind them who they were. that they were a group, a collective, in constant collaboration. they would only survive if they stuck close, didn't let themselves get distracted and turn their friends into enemies over night.

"Hurry... hurry! He'll be back soon, we have to all pile in and pretend to be asleep!" there is a weak glimmer, a tiny hope clung to ferociously in the corners of new-leaf greens, a smile pulled on as encouragement first but growing more sincere with every body that piles in to join her.

"Don't crush each-other- watch your elbows-" the spotted she-cat practically dives into Hawthorne's nest, faint as his scent may be it will only grow fainter now with their trifling. a tail curls tightly around her body, chin rested against the pillow of moss he seems to have formed in his tossing and turning. others shuffle in, taking up their places, laying paws over one another, twisting tails, leaning and growing warmed by their closeness.

---

[[ OPEN: in an effort to remind the colony of their bond as a group, juniper has recruited some pranksters to all invade hawthorne's nest and pretend to be asleep in a big pile when we returns! ]]

 

[Smudgepaw]

Smudge

---

It was getting colder, and it was hard to find food; it felt like a guillotine was hovering over The Colony's head. The tension was palpable. Everyone was starving, and with Fray dead, Smudge had noticed her mother's unease. It was written all over Nightingale's haggard face. So, it was during moments like this — with Juniper hearding a group of cats into Hawthorne's den — that Smudge appreciated the distraction.

"Hey…" Smudge says, draping herself over Juniper's body. The small she-cat plucks a frayed piece of moss out of Hawthorne's nest, and holds it in-between her claws. His scent was stale. "If you really wanted to surprise Hawthorne, you could have just put a bug in his nest instead." It's obviously a joke, but the mischevious glint in the she-cat's heterochromatic gaze says otherwise.

 

[Sealpaw]

┍

Seal had been insistent on helping with the prank, noting with a frown how tense everyone seemed now with the news of Fray's death. There was nothing that could be done for their old leader now. That much she understood. Maybe, just maybe, this tiny action could ease things. Just a little.

Short legs that struggled to keep up with the adults before everyone reached Hawthorne's den, causing the tabby kit to pause at the entrance as everyone else moved to file in. Was it really ok to be doing this? She'd been told time and again not to bother someone else in their den-but this was different, wasn't it? Another moment of hesitation before paws moved of their own accord.

"I'm coming! W-wait for me..!" Crouching for a moment to brace herself for the jump she intended to make into the center of the pile, butt wiggling, Seal took a flying leap right into the side of Juniper. "I'm here too!"

┙

┍ ─WAVING THROUGH A WINDOW─ ┙

•  
• 
  
  
  Seal
  — Future Shadowclan Apprentice
  — She/They
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  — Grey, Rosetted Tabby With Blue Eyes And A Bobbed Tail.
  #4c66bf
  
• 
  

 

[THUNDERFLASH]

☆ Pranks were something he loved getting into. Thunder had readily agreed when Juniper proposed, grin on his muzzle and all. He slipped into the den with the rest of them, snickering to himself and nudging someone aside as he himself climbed into the pile, becoming what would be essentially the bottom of the pile. While this was... a hint suffocating and claustrophobic, he took it in stride and snuggled in.

"Ow- a'righ', watch m' eye-" He complained as someone's tail poked it, his head ducking down. More cats joined the nest- Smudge drapes herself, Seal leaps directly onto Juniper. A grunt left him as others did the same, a laugh following in turn. "A BUG? Naw, tha's nothin'. We see bugs all th' time. Wha' if it jus'... crawled out, yeah?" He asked, turning to grin at Smudge. "You got-ta put a whole pile of em' in." He nodded like he's done it before. (He has. To his youngest sister. She screamed for what genuinely felt like three minutes.)

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ITS TIME TO DO IT NOW ☆ AND DO IT LOUD

• "speech"
  

• 

• THUNDER he/him, future thunderclanner, nineteen moons.
  ☆ a sh/lh chocolate tabby with low white and stunning baby blue eyes. stands of average height with a 'mohawk' and spiky-shaped mane.
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[Manzanita]

*+:｡.｡

Manzanita's ears snap up at the ruckus disturbing the once-calm chilly air. Pausing in her meticulous grooming, she watches with widening green eyes as an army of felines rushes into Hawthorn's nest. Something's afoot, her whiskers quivering with the insatiable need to be part of the drama - even if it's to snitch about it. Jerking to her feet, the girl bounds over, especially when she notices Seal among those crowding their leader's den. "

Did Hawthorne approve of this?

" she sniffs, raising her chin high in the hopes of replicating her mother's regal disposition.

Manzanita hadn't been among the pranksters specifically invited to the joke, so she chooses to linger, pouting at the sight of what has to be an illegal infringement of Hawthorn's property. One wouldn't necessarily need to argue that the little girl was a prime example of Juniper's fears regarding a crumbling community. She hesitates at the entrance, peering in as the colony cats snuggle into each other, joking about bugs and avoiding smacking each other. It looks warm... Manzanita thinks, but stubbornly keeps her paws frozen.