Paint it Black [open]

[Deleted]

Frostkit

@ open

- i see my red door; i must have it painted black -

The rising temperatures of New Leaf—the very first that Frostkit had experienced—resulted in a lot of melted snow, and melted snow meant… puddles. Lots and lots of puddles. As the winds lost their bite and the sun gifted the clans with more warmth, Frostkit found himself slowly abandoning the winter games he had grown up thus far with in favor of these new New Leaf games. Particularly hardy flowers were beginning to sprout their buds along what stems had survived the harsh winter; there were new smells in the air and a lot of new sensations to experience.

And Frostkit took to every new thing he could find as quickly as he could.

Puddles were splashed in the first time he came across one; a stray bud was nipped from its hosting stem and promptly spat out, and the white-furred tom kit found it delightful whenever the sun reached its noon-high peak and beamed down at them, warming his pelt and the soft kitten skin underneath.

The day, as far as he was concerned, was going spectacularly and couldn’t get much better.

Making his way around Willowclan, the white-furred tom kit’s bright blue eyes flicked from here to there, seeking one one puddle after the next as the tufted eared tom leapt forward and bounded from here to there, splashing gleefully and getting himself absolutely soaked. The fur of his paws, legs, and belly had long since been set to dripping—grouped together in sloppy, muddy spikes as the deaf tom kit busied himself with this new game. Every now and then—particularly whenever he came across a cat that he wasn’t so fond of—Frostkit would dive into the nearest puddle in such a way that he hoped would splash that particular clan mate.

He’d learned a long time ago that most Willowclanners valued the state of their pelts quite a bit.

It didn’t even pain him to admit that he took a special sort of delight in causing some small bit of misery to his clanmates. After everything that he had already endured during his short life—it felt fair to him to exact these small bursts of revenge.

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[Bombora]

~ Mayo ~

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It was no mere small bit of misery the kit had inflicted on one tom in-particular. Mayo's face was transfigured into a horrified mask of fear. One might have thought he stared into the eyes of a roaring monster as he saw the little bundle of fur sully his pelt and splash around in the mud. Had he no self-respect at all? Mayo looked around incredulously to see if any WillowClan  warrior would stop the terrible display. Alas, they must have all been too scared to even get close to that torrent of filth. None of them were even looking his way except with mild discomfort.

I see what I have to do. Mayo inhaled deeply. Be brave, Mayo, be brave. After this they might officially make you an apprentice for your heroics. Besides that, you must save this ignorant flea-pelt from contaminating himself any further!

The six-moon old tom made a weird noise as he approached Frostkit quickly. He was hopping on his toes and turning his head up to the sky. "Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ewwww…" he repeated until the tom finally managed to scruff the little kit by his neck and toss him out of the puddle. Some of the older cats looked warily at the pair--not only because of their antics but because they didn't necessarily trust Mayo yet. Getting that close to one of their kits was unadvisable. Contrary to the praise Mayo thought he'd receive, most of the WillowClan cats simply ignored them and returned to their own devices.

The shorthair pouted, then gasped as he discovered some specks of mud on his chest. Mayo dizzily took a couple steps, as if he might faint, then stood as straight as a board. Just pretend it's not there, Mayo. You can clean it later! Just imagine walking out during those twoleg gatherings! Noble, composed, dignified... NO! I can't do it! Oh, curses to you Frostkit! You've made me a fool!

The ex-kittypet turned to Frostkit and lashed his tail. "I don't have time to protect you from the elements, young one. Why can't you find other things to do? Like, literally anything else?" Mayo let out an exasperated sigh. "I just hate to see you dirty your beautiful white pelt, so--" the tom cut himself off. He just remembered that Frostkit was a deafmute. The little kit couldn't understand a word of Mayo's lecture. However, that only made the tom more determined than ever to teach him manners! No cat could go around being deaf AND dirty! That would make him a double loser.

Mayo pointed a claw at the puddle, then shook his head side-to-side vigorously. The british shorthair then flattened his own pelt, struck a pose, and showed off what he thought was his perfect form. My image itself will touch your heart even if my words cannot!

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OOC Notes: @iderioux  

 

[Deleted]

Ottercloud

@iderioux ,Bombora ,

- Do I have to? -

"I don't have time to protect you from the elements, young one. Why can't you find other things to do? Like, literally anything else?" Mayo’s exasperated sigh reached Ottercloud’s ears as he cantered towards Frostkit and the former kitty pet in a state of near panic. He'd just tossed his favorite kit out of a mud puddle! The poor thing! None of the other warriors seemed to be paying any attention, or simply wanted to avoid the messy conditions, so Ottercloud mustered up the effort to approach the rowdy kits. "I just hate to see you dirty your beautiful white pelt, so--"

“Hey-hey-hey, easy there buddy,” Ottercloud laughed breezily as he slipped himself between the two kits and taking extra care to step daintily over the muck that the filthy Frostkit had slung in every direction. “You can’t rough him like that,” the older tom gently reprimanded the perfectly postured Mayo and gave him a stern nod. “He hates being touched without permission,” the tom explained.

Turning to Frostkit, Ottercloud crouched in front of the deaf kit and flattened his ears twice. Are you okay? The much larger tom offered the defective kit a slow, owlish blink before reaching out to wipe an accumulated glob of muck from the kit’s pelt. “And you’ll catch all manner of parasites like this,” Ottercloud chided more to himself than the kit that he was fussing over.

“And you’re almost just as dirty!” Ottercloud proclaimed as he turned back to Mayo. He narrowed his eyes at the flecks of mud speckled across the young tom’s chest and made a soft clicking sound. “You’ll never be clean again, just look at you.”

228 Words
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[Deleted]

Frostkit

Bombora @jackvall

- i see my red door; i must have it painted black -

His gave had been going well so far—the young tom kit had made about two laps around Willowclan’s camp before he was stopped. Everything had been fine until that moment; one surge of joy after the next as he pounced from puddle to puddle. His fur was slicked into heavily browned spikes, and as Mayo grasped him and halted his progress—a tiny wet squelch could be heard from the soggy, soaked fur at the nape of Frostkit’s neck.

By just about any cat’s standards, it was nasty.

The sudden feeling of being gripped elicited a loud hiss from the white tom kit as he flailed, losing his balance once his path was deterred and stumbling in the dirt. Whipping his head about, he fixed Mayo with a scowl—what was his problem?! Giving a little spit, Frostkit mrrwled in place and pricked at the dirt with his muddy paws until a familiar figure stepped in between them.

"Hey-hey-hey, easy there, buddy,” He didn’t hear.

Rising to his paws and stepping back a few paces, Frostkit flicked bright blue eyes between Mayo and Ottercloud as he tried to gauge what was going on between the two of them. Ottercloud was a nice cat; he’d spent a lot of time with Frostkit in the past and played with him on more than one occasion. He didn’t know Mayo as well... all he knew was that he really didn’t like being grabbed from out of sight.

”He hates being touched without persmission.”

The explanation was lost on Frostkit as he slowly stepped closer to the other two toms, bright blue eyes narrowed as his tail-tip twitched back and forth irritably. He was a sight with the amount of muck that had accumulated on his pelt. It was going to take at least three queens and several hours to get a fair enough portion cleared away from him.

Rather pitiably—as far as Willowclan standards were concerned—Frostkit didn’t seem to care.

As Mayo struck an exemplary pose, Frostkit issued a loud snrrht that wrinkled his muzzle as he tossed an amused look up at Ottercloud—only to find the older tom already addressing Mayo.

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[Bombora]

~ Mayo ~

---

Mayo's posture drooped. He hadn't considered what Frostkit's personal boundaries were. Even worse than that--he couldn't apologize for it either. A well of pity made a hole in Mayo's stomach. Frostkit was so full of vigor and life, but Mayo thought he would have been better off blind. No cat could never communicate to the small kit any sort of complex thought. Forget appearances, Frostkit would never even be able to comprehend the warrior code. He would always be the weakest link in a society defined by war and hunting... relegated to some menial and easy tasks for the rest of his life because of one defect. Warriors like Ottercloud would need to constantly supervise the kit, assuming he was ever allowed outside clan walls at all. A pitiful life. No wonder he hissed at me! He's dealing with so much as it is. Am I so cruel as to disrupt this kit's play due to my propensity for glamour?

"I will be clean again soon!" he corrected Ottercloud, evidently not catching the playful tone that was aimed his way. "I just think Frostkit should go back to the medicine den and... and..." Mayo stumbled over his not-so eloquent words. "Well, instead of splashing around and being a nuisance to me especially, should he not be examining herbs to assist our medicine cat?" In the back of his mind, Mayo knew that was also a waste of time. Not being able to communicate with cats was a massive hurdle for a medicine cat role. Mayo was desperate for something this kit could work on that didn't involve lashing out. Mayo feared Frostkit could eventually become a danger to himself, but he just couldn't bare to let such a pretty cat's other talents go to waste! There had to be something for Frostkit to do. Any sort of goal to work towards. Frostkit had to be a prodigy at something.

Mayo's yellow eyes glittered in the sunlight.

"Ottercloud!" the young ex-kittypet squeaked. "Can we hunt something for Frostkit? I want to try something!"

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OOC Notes: @iderioux   @jackvall

 

[Deleted]

Ottercloud

@iderioux,Bombora

- Do I have to? -

"I just think Frostkit should go back to the medicine den and... and..." Mayo’s stammering drew a patient, quizzical stare from Ottercloud. "Well, instead of splashing around and being a nuisance to me especially, should he not be examining herbs to assist our medicine cat?" With a smile akin to a grimace, Ottercloud considered the young cat’s words. While they held truth, they also carried a morbid optimism.

Ottercloud had thought of Frostkit’s future before, and the outcome was always a mystery to him. He adored the kit, but he wasn’t sure how anyone who didn’t get to know him would be able to communicate with him. The cinnamon tom had worked tirelessly to organize a very basic system of communication between himself and Frostkit, anything to get through to the struggling tom.

“Perhaps one day soon, but look at how much fun he was having! If he wasn’t out here, he would be inside of the nursery or upsetting Ashcloud. Do you really want Frostkit to start singing because he’s cooped up?” As he was speaking, he witnessed a blooming inspiration in Mayo’s glittering eyes and trailed off. The ex-kitty pet might not have even heard a word he was saying.

"Ottercloud!" the young cat suddenly squeaked. "Can we hunt something for Frostkit? I want to try something!" The glamorous looking tom suddenly regretted his decision to intervene. A hunt? As in, leave the camp? And actually roam the territory and do work? Ottercloud nearly swooned at the idea but remained upright. Before hysterical blindness could set in, the older tom derailed his train of thought and bared his teeth in an uncomfortable smile.

“A hunt,” he cheered in a strained, withering meow. “How grand,” he declared half-heartedly. “What are we bringing him? You better not let him eat anything nasty. I had to box some ears because some apprentices were trying to make him eat some slugs.”

Ottercloud turned to hunch down to Frostkit’s level. Offering a reassuring smile, the queenly tom blinked a series of slow and mostly meaningless and undefined ques to the kit, hoping that he might glean some encouraging meaning from any of them. Leaning forward, he snuffled half a mouse length away from Frostkit’s forehead and pushed his whiskers out to tease the young tom’s impaired ears. “Got a surprise in the works for you buddy,” Ottercloud mewed to the deaf kit, then reached out to gingerly hover a paw within Frostkit’s invisible bubble.

“What do you have in mind, Mayo?” Ottercloud asked suspiciously.

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[Deleted]

Frostkit

Bombora @jackvall

- i see my red door; i must have it painted black -

As the two other tom cats communed in the sunlight, Frostkit crept around to the other side to get a ‘better angle’ on the pair. He never could gauge exactly what was going on—but the younger grey tabby tom cat seemed almost remoseful for a few moments before his demeanor changed... perhaps some sort of question issued? Furrowing his brow, Frostkit’s bright blue eyes flicked over to Ottercloud. He’d seen that look before—most when other warriors were trying to get the freshly preened tom cat to do much of anything outside of the camp.

Outside...? his eyes drifted past Ottercloud and Mayo and to the boundaries of Willowclan’s camp. He had seldom been allowed outside—and the times that he had been out hadn’t exactly been the shining moments of his life. If they’d just be direct— the white tom kit fretted.

”Can we hunt something for Frostkit? I want to try something!”

The most he felt was some sort of vague sensation from far away—an indiscernible something that he was never privy to. Shifting his weight from paw to paw, Frostkit began hiking his feet up to flick the excess moisture off of them... at times sending it arcing towards his companions.

”A hunt—How grand...!”

If there was a chance that it had to do with the outside—he wanted to go. Shaking himself off, the big tom kit did his best to keep up with whatever was going on between his companions. Mayo had asked something of Ottercloud—and Ottercloud had given the same look he’d given many times before.

Pale whiskers pulled forward as the youngest of the trio took a few steps forward, prodding at the dirt repeatedly with his forepaws as though to announce his presence—or as was more likely... to demand its inclusion.

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[Bombora]

~ Mayo ~

---

Mayo simply couldn't have any cat in his company be ostracized. It was distracting. Annoyingly distracting. The British shorthair surmised that he felt so compelled to help the deafmute's plight not because he cared, but because he couldn't let any associates of his display anything less than the upmost integrity. If Frostkit was bullied... why, then that meant he was bullied by proxy! No, no, no, no, that simply wouldn't do. A king's status was reflective in the image of his subjects. It was only natural that Mayo took an interest in the well-being of Frostkit. I'm lucky Ottercloud is here to communicate with him, or I probably would have made him even more upset! He watched as Frostkit looked out into the woods, silently desperate to venture forth.

Mayo lead the pair east to the Rabbit Grove. The bunnies had returned to prominence after the devastating winter, and they scurried about the clearing with great speed. Everything was baked in a dim orange light as purple clouds obscured the sun. You don't need to smell rabbits. They're hard to miss. White pelts, powerful legs, I'll make something of you yet, Frostkit! Yes, Frostkit and Mayo! I can already hear your silent praise! I know you already have complete and utter faith in me. I shall not waste it!

"Otterloud," he mewed excitedly, "Why don't we just set Frostkit loose on these rabbits? You don't really need to hear them, right? If Frostkit practices here every day, as hard as he can, he could actually be really useful! I mean really useful!" Mayo nodded frantically. "I mean, I wouldn't be so crass as to demean myself with the busywork of chasing such easy prey..." Mayo looked uncomfortable. He could catch a rabbit if he wanted, of course. Sure. Easy. He just didn't want to do it right now. "Why don't you show him how to do it and we'll see what happens?"

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OOC Notes: @iderioux   @jackvall

 

[Deleted]

Ottercloud

@iderioux ,Bombora

- Do I have to? -

It had happened, but how? One moment, the odd trio had been inside of the camp discussing Frostkit’s boundaries. In the next moment, it had seemed, they had been marched out of the camp by the undeterrable Mayo. Ottercloud felt faint. They were really going hunting. He was going to have to walk, for far longer than he ever desired to. Before he could drop to the ground with despair and allow the crows to pick him clean, he disassociated and accompanied the chattering ex-kittypet all the way to the Rabbit Grove.

Ottercloud willed himself to rejoin the group, and stared around the meadow. Fighting the urge to sneeze, Ottercloud wrinkled his prim muzzle and screwed his face into an exaggerated snarl. This was terrible, and the cinnamon tom was convinced that there was no possible way that the situation could get any worse.

"Otterloud," Mayo’s mew caused the named tom to hunch into something just short of a flinch, "Why don't we just set Frostkit loose on these rabbits? You don't really need to hear them, right? If Frostkit practices here every day, as hard as he can, he could actually be really useful! I mean really useful!" Every day? They would have to come all the way here every day? Before Ottercloud could protest, Mayo piped up with a mewl.

"Why don't you show him how to do it and we'll see what happens?"

It had just gotten much, much worse. Ottercloud’s ears flattened against his skull, and he twisted his stare to the ambitious kitten. “You want me to show Frostkit how to hunt?” Ottercloud asked through gritted teeth. Taking a reluctant look around the meadow once more, the tom tried to locate any particularly slow or unobservant rabbits.

It’ll be a piece of cake, I’m fast! Or quick, at least. Back in training, it’ll be just like another training hunt..!

“I have to stretch first,” Ottercloud claimed, and began to enter a series of nearly impossible poses. He hadn’t run in quite some time, but he stretched almost religiously. I can do this. Twisting around to look at Frostkit, he fixed the tom with a warm stare and flapped his ears alternatingly before silently chattering his jaw. He had no idea what the deaf kit would take from his communication, but he figured it would mean something.

“Okay Mayo, I’ll show you how it’s done. But you have to go next.” Ottercloud lowered himself towards the earth, straining his muscles. Entering a slow creep, Ottercloud made his way towards one of the rabbits he’d taken note of.

Hunting Roll Result

Though he was not a good hunter, he knew how the basic principles to adhere to if one wanted to catch much faster prey. Ottercloud crept towards the rabbit using an approach focused on his talent for stealth. Knowing that he would need to close the distance quickly, Ottercloud drew slow breaths as he fought to keep himself calm. Once within sprinting range, Ottercloud relied on his running ability and burst out of the grass towards the rabbit. Committing to a quick chase, Ottercloud sprinted with as much effort as he could muster and thanked Starclan for his superior endurance.

Ottercloud and the rabbit tumbled out of view among the grass. Several seconds later, Ottercloud’s long furred head shot above the grass and he peeked around. Had they been watching? Nearby rabbits scattered. It would probably be harder to catch anything else while they were still alert. Ottercloud trotted back to the two kits he was with, his muscles trembling with exertion and excitement.

“Did.. did you see that?” he whispered hoarsely.

603 Words
Tag: @iderioux ,Bombora

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