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Post by Sigh on Oct 3, 2022 0:01:04 GMT
minnowpaw Minnowpaw stepped out of the den and into a light rain. She ducked her head at the first drops of water, light and warm, with the fresh arrival of greenleaf, but startling nonetheless. With a small grumble, she plodded further forward out into the camp. When her foot landed in a puddle, she halted. Looked down. Lifted her now soaked foot. Put it back down. It made a satisfying plunk noise, and although the wetness seeping into the fur of her paw was uncomfortable, there was something compelling about the splashing, the sound it made and the small explosion of water displaced from the puddle. Minnowpaw lifted and lowered her paw a few more times, more excited now than she had been upon her initial realization of the day's weather situation. With a burst of self-consciousness, she removed her foot from the puddle and returned it to its place next to its drier companion. She eyed her surroundings. Had anyone seen her? Not that she'd done anything wrong, per say, but it would have been embarrassing to have been caught in the act of acting like a kit. She was an apprentice now, had been one for a whole half of her life at this point! She should be above such antics, and yet...even as she worried about witnesses, she had to fight the urge to put her paw back in the puddle. 231 | open!
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Riley
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Post by Riley on Nov 9, 2022 5:39:56 GMT
Heronpaw had the unfortunate luck of a fat raindrop falling right on his nose as he followed his sister out of the apprentices' den. He stumbled back a step, caught by surprise, and shook his head with a muttered curse. He was much more prepared for the rain when he stepped out, and he looked around for where Minnowpaw had run off to without him.
She was standing by a puddle, making small splashes in it, and Heronpaw watched with an incredibly unimpressed face. Either she sensed his gaze or she realized what she was doing, because Minnowpaw stopped playing with small glances around like she was worried about being judged.
For a moment, Heronpaw's instincts warred within him. To be a pest of a brother or not... One side won and Heronpaw sauntered casually over to the puddle Minnowpaw was standing by, angling himself just so. "Hey Minnow." he meowed casually, just to get her attention.
Then he raised himself onto his hindpaws, way up, and brought his full weight down on the puddle, splashing both himself and Minnowpaw with a rare mischievous grin.
Sigh
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Post by Sigh on Nov 11, 2022 0:54:51 GMT
minnowpaw Ugh, he never gets my name right.As Minnowpaw turned to reprimand her brother, irritation overpowering her shame, she opened her mouth and was promptly met with a wave of muddy water. Said wave soaked her face and chest, and she spluttered indignantly. "Why, you bird-brained littleβ" She blinked a few times to clear the murk from her eyes, just in time to catch Heronpaw's infuriating smile. "Seriously?"There was no time to waste. With a yowl, she launched herselfβclaws sheathed, tempted though she was to do otherwiseβat her brother, attempting to shove him into the puddle. Sure, he had already gotten himself wet by splashing her, but payback was due. On her way down she thought that perhaps they were being too loud for so early in the day, and that being caught fightingβeven light-heartedlyβwith her brother would be even more embarassing than being caught splashing around in a puddle, but it was too late for second thoughts; she had already pounced.
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Post by Sigh on Feb 2, 2023 22:54:08 GMT
minnowpaw At least I'm not the only one making noise, Minnowpaw thought with a small mix of embarrassment and vindication, having heard her brother's laugh. She hadn't realized it until then, but it had been a while since she'd heard it; his demeanor had turned sullen so gradually that the change hadn't been obvious. Not to mention that Heronpaw was always a bit grumpy, in Minnowpaw's mind. This thought was quickly chased away, however, by a very sudden and unpleasant sensation of wetness. In spite of her success at inflicting the puddle on her brother, she herself had not been free from harm. She let out a disgruntled noise as she felt him strike out at her leg, and then burbled discontentedly in the water before righting herself with what tattered dignity she could muster. "Seriously? What are you, a kit?" Minnowpaw studiously ignored the fact that she had not a minute ago reprimanded herself for the very same thing, but internally she bemoaned her hasty retort. Heronpaw had seen her playing in the puddle, after all, and she had no doubt he would find some way to turn the quip against her. Hoping to distract him, she moved in closer and shook herself free of what droplets she could, aiming haphazardly for her already-soaked brother.
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Riley
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Post by Riley on Feb 21, 2023 0:38:17 GMT
She looked like a drowned rat when she righted herself, and Heronpaw burst out laughing. He doubted he was much better at the moment though, especially as he'd elected to stay down when she stood. He finally wound down to giggles when she questioned him, and Heronpaw smirked up at her. He might have started the splash fight but she'd been the one playing with a puddle.
And he was all ready to say that to her face when Minnowpaw moved forward and shook herself off right in front of him. Heronpaw blinked at her afterwards, back to unimpressed. "You. You do know it's already raining, right?" he questioned in disbelief. "You realize shaking yourself off right in front of me makes me no wetter than I was three seconds ago?"
Frankly the only thing Minnowpaw had accomplished was making tufts of her fur slick up into spikes, and the sight of them had Heronpaw snickering again. "You look like a hedgehog!" he teased, stepping forward with a grin. "Come here, ya gremlin." He licked at a cowlick on her forehead, grooming until it laid flat. "There we go. You look like a cat again!"
Sigh
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Post by Sigh on Feb 24, 2023 23:13:16 GMT
minnowpaw Minnowpaw held back a whine. She was far too old to be complaining in such an undignified manner. And she wasn't that upset anyway; Heronpaw's laughter was oddly uplifting. She was still getting used to the sound of it after so long without hearing it. He seemed to revert back to his snide smirks and sarcasm fairly quickly, but Minnowpaw still thought he seemed in much better spirits. "Of course I know it's raining," she said primly, in spite of her now disheveled appearance. "With my help, it just rained on you a little harder. It's the principle of the thing, Heronpaw."It was hard to maintain such an air of superiority with Heronpaw snickering at her. She appreciated his laughter a little less when it was targeted at her. Still, she submitted sheepishly to his grooming. "I think I would make a great hedgehog. A much better hedgehog than you." She paused. "But thanks, worse hedgehog." She gave him a couple quick licks, though really he was in much better shape than she was, grooming-wise. Shouldn't grumpier cats look more ruffled? Why isn't that a thing?
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Post by Sigh on Apr 7, 2023 22:59:47 GMT
minnowpaw "That's for sure," Minnowpaw replied before she could stop herself. But maybe it was okay because Heronpaw had said it about himself? It seemed wrong to complain about his prickliness when he was being so uncharacteristically prickly. Or happy, she supposed the word was. He didn't seem to be following their banter too closely, luckily, appearing more focused on the camp around them. It was still early, and no one else seemed to be waking up yet. The stillness paired with the light pattering of rain gave the camp an ethereal, unreal kind of atmosphere. It felt almost dreamlike, like anything could happen. Heronpaw's thoughts seemed to be going in a completely different direction, though. Plotting and conspiring while she had been daydreaming. Leave camp without permission? She was eager to go, but worried about the consequences. But if they brought back some fresh-kill for their clanmates to eat, bright and early on a rainy morning? Surely no one would give them a hard time for that. She returned Heronpaw's mischievous glance. "Last one back to the far bank with a catch loses their hedgehog status!" she yelped, and darted away. Belatedly, she hoped she had not spoken loudly enough to alert anyone else in camp.
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Riley
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347 Posts
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Post by Riley on Apr 8, 2023 22:28:47 GMT
Heronpaw was ready to argue and persuade his sister into leaving. He was even ready to leave without her if Minnowpaw protested. But what he HADN'T anticipated, and really he should have, was her being so EAGER to leave that she left without him.
He would have followed directly after her, but pawsteps in the direction of the apprentices den had him freeze and look. Melodypaw blinked at him, then looked in Minnowpaw's direction. Then she smirked at him. "I saw nothing, I heard nothing, I KNOW nothing. Have fun, try to be back by sunhigh or I'll have to tell."
Heronpaw smirked back. Sometimes Melodypaw was alright. He chased after Minnowpaw, leaving camp as he did so, and caught up. "Melodypaw's covering for us." he mewed, panting after the short sprint. "Where do you feel like going?"
Sigh
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Post by Sigh on May 14, 2023 22:09:43 GMT
minnowpaw "Oh. That's nice of her," said Minnowpaw, grateful that the only clanmate to notice them hadn't ratted them out. She glanced at their surroundings as if the trees would answer Heronpaw's question for him. "Since we're already wet, we could fish..." she started, but then reconsidered. "The rain might make the river more dangerous though. We could hunt near there without actually getting too close to the water?" She hated that it came out like a question. Shellspots never sounded like she was doubting herself, and Minnowpaw felt like the opposite was true of herself. Nobody would take her seriously if she didn't speak more firmly. Although, she mused, I don't know if Heronpaw would take me seriously anyway."Unless you'd rather go somewhere else," she tacked on at the end, berating herself further for the addition. Double down on your inability to make decisions, why don't you, Minnowpaw scolded internally. She hoped once they actually started hunting she could shake off the negative thoughts; her morning had been going pretty well so far, and she was frustrated by how easily she got wound up in her own insecurities.
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