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Post by Solaris on Feb 6, 2023 2:45:48 GMT
Day 2 of Thunder Moon 2021Sun’s Blazing Thunder Moon 2021 Day 2 | Greenleaf
Kaeldra SUMMARY: It’s greenleaf, and it’s hot. Bayou has to find creative ways to stay cool and entertained.
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Post by Solaris on Feb 6, 2023 2:53:54 GMT
BAYOU | She/They | 17 moons She was dying. She was so sure of it. Fur baking under the intense heat of the sun, they thought their whole body was blazing in fire. They could barely move, for crying out loud! They took to hiding under the shade of trees for the slightest protection from the unbearable heat—but of course, even that was a futile effort. The heat was inescapable and insufferable. The worst part? She was dreadfully bored. Not just regular bored, no. She was bored bored, crazy bored, the kind of bored that made her do stupid, impulsive things just so she could feel… something. Anything. She wanted to run around in circles. She breathed out a steadying sigh, and made her way to the fresh-kill pile, which was of course, almost bare.
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Post by Kaeldra on Feb 6, 2023 20:26:56 GMT
Spiderpaw || he/him || 16 moons Spiderpaw padded into camp, wilting from the heat. It was an oppressive, humid warmth, and he had never been so happy to finish a hunting patrol before.
“Alright, good job everyone,” Noctus said, though his voice was subdued. The apprentice wasn’t sure if it was the heat weighing down on him, or the fact that they’d only managed to catch two pieces of prey between the four of them. Probably a bit of both. “Put your prey on the fresh-kill pile, and go rest up.”
Spiderpaw didn’t need to be told twice. He padded over and deposited his vole, while Pandora laid down her fish. Bayou was on the other side of the pile, looking through the scant offerings. He still didn’t know the other she-cat very well, her somehow avoiding being made an apprentice despite being only a moon older than him. She seemed to get along with Melodypaw well enough, though.
“You can have this if you like,” Spiderpaw offered, pawing the vole toward her. He hadn’t eaten anything since last night, but the heat had made his appetite vanish. All he wanted was to sprawl out somewhere and wait for it to pass.
ulla
Solaris
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Post by Solaris on Feb 7, 2023 1:59:11 GMT
BAYOU | She/They | 17 moons A voice startled her from her heat-driven delirium, and she looked up to see a ginger tabby. She squinted at the cat's features, struggling to place the face... Oh! "You're Spiderpaw, right?"
They hadn't the chance to interact much with Spiderpaw, partly because they spent more time with Melodypaw, but also because they were still getting accustomed to clan life. Now that they had lived in RiverClan for about a few moons now (strange to think), they tried reaching out to other cats more. They took the vole, bowing a head in thanks, before biting into its head. It wasn't much, but at least it brought a quick distraction from the heat. "How was your day so far?”
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Post by Kaeldra on Mar 6, 2023 2:20:20 GMT
Spiderpaw || he/him || 16 moons Spiderpaw blinked wordlessly at Bayou. The heat really had gotten to them, huh?
“The one and only,” he affirmed, grinning. “And you’re… Bayou?” He played along, acting as if he’d forgotten their name as well. He honestly couldn’t blame them; it felt as if his brain was turning to mush.
“Hot,” he answered miserably, sinking down to the ground with a sigh. “We barely caught anything. All the prey is hiding from the heat, too.”
He’d been optimistic when they had set out, and had certainly given it his best effort – the Clan needed to eat, after all – but in the end it had felt a bit like a waste of time.
“How about you?” Spiderpaw asked, realizing he should return the question to be polite. He didn’t imagine Bayou’s answer would be much different than his own, but perhaps something interesting had happened in camp while he’d been out hunting.
ulla
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Post by Solaris on Mar 6, 2023 5:26:54 GMT
BAYOU | She/They | 17 moons “Hey, don’t judge. It’s so hot, I can barely think!” Bayou retorted, though she wore a good-natured grin. She would probably laugh too, if she wasn’t suffocated by the heat. She moved her head around, but only so far as to bite into the vole Spiderpaw offered her. ”Sorry to hear about your hunting trip. Maybe we’ll have better luck when the heat dies down.”
As they chewed on the morsel, Bayou glanced back at the apprentice. “Nothing happened while you were gone, other than Flare and Shellspots fighting, but that’s hardly news to anyone.”
She nudged the half-eaten vole to Spiderpaw, realizing he hadn’t eaten since returning. “You want any?”
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Post by Kaeldra on Mar 10, 2023 3:13:14 GMT
Spiderpaw || he/him || 16 moons “I know what you mean,” Spiderpaw agreed. “I almost feel like going down to the river to cool my paws, but that would involve moving.” He wasn’t normally one to jump at the chance to swim, though he’d gotten used to it over the past few moons. It helped that his fur was glossier now, at least. But this heat had him almost daydreaming about the way the cool water would wash over his pelt.
He wondered idly if the temperature would drop enough after sunset to warrant another hunting trip; perhaps it would be worth it to nap now and stay up later to have a better chance at catching some prey. He’d suggest it to Flare later if he saw him.
Rolling his eyes at Bayou’s camp update, he accepted the vole from her. He supposed he should try to eat at least a little bit.
“Of course they were,” he said with a sigh. “What about this time? I swear, they’re worse than us apprentices at this point. Even Lilypaw and Bluepaw have been better lately,” he admitted, only half joking. He had noted the two she-cats had been more obedient recently, carrying out their duties with minimal complaints. He wondered if they were trying to prove that they were ready for their warrior names.
Even he was starting to feel like it was overdue, all of them having hit a bit of a wall in their training. They did assessment after assessment, but each time they were met with a non-committal “good job!” rather than anything concrete. He chewed on a mouthful of vole, mulling over the whole situation.
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Post by Solaris on Mar 12, 2023 17:53:11 GMT
Kaeldra BAYOU | She/They | 17 moons“I don’t think I can even crawl to the river with how bad the heat is,” grumbled Bayou. If she had the energy to, she would absolutely dive into a pool of refreshingly cool water and pretend to be a fish for the rest of the day. It beat sitting around, soaking up in the sun’s flames anyway. There was sun-basking and then there was sun-drowning. She felt like the sun was drowning her! “Borders, I think? I know Prowl wants stricter borders, and that’s somehow related to the arguments Flare and Shellspots are having. I’m not sure about all the details, but they were definitely at it for a while.”They cast Spiderpaw a look of sympathy. “All of you are more than ready to be a warriors! Like you, Spiderpaw. You’re easily a better swimmer and fish-catcher than me, no question about that. Just because I knew how to hunt and fight before I joined the clan doesn’t mean I’m more qualified to be a warrior than all of you. You’ve been here longer than I have!”
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Post by Kaeldra on Mar 13, 2023 2:18:05 GMT
Spiderpaw || he/him || 16 moons Spiderpaw let out a grumble of agreement; the heat had his bones feeling like jelly now that he had stopped moving. When he was hunting he was able to push through purely on momentum, but now that he was laying down it seemed almost unthinkable to stand up again. He glanced over, eyeing the edge of camp where the reeds swayed in the shallow water. Maybe if he rolled that way…
He gave a snort as Bayou elaborated on the argument. He thought he may have heard snippets of that one before, too. It wasn’t a particularly new one, but were any of them at this point? It seemed they just went in circles and worked themselves up more and more.
Spiderpaw’s pelt prickled hotly at Bayou’s praise. He knew their words were true, having put in countless hours of practice to get better at his skills, in hopes that eventually he’d be recognized for his effort. His techniques were pretty dang good, if he said so himself. But still, he was a bit embarrassed to hear it from them, knowing his emotions must have been clear on his face.
“Thanks,” he said with a tired smile. “I know it’s just a matter of time, but…”
But sometimes I worry that Shellspots will never get her sign to be leader and I’ll be an apprentice forever.
Their warrior names were another thing Shellspots and Flare tended to argue about. His brother did his best to advocate for them, he knew, but it was one thing that the leader refused to budge on. Spiderpaw sighed, taking one more bite of prey and then pawing the vole back over to Bayou in case she was still hungry.
“But I hope it's not too much longer,” he finally finished aloud.
ulla
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Post by Solaris on Mar 31, 2023 2:30:10 GMT
Kaeldra BAYOU | She/They | 17 moonsBayou took the vole with a thankful mew and finished it in a few big gulps. Once they were done, they yawn and arched their back, loosing their bones with delightful cracks. It didn’t improve the heavy burden of the heat from their fur, but they felt better at least. Refreshing, almost. “Hey. You’ll be a warrior soon. I don’t know that much about clan traditions, but eventually, Shellspots will have to make you warriors or else we’ll have a clan full of apprentices!” exclaimed Bayou, giving a reassuring nudge to Spiderpaw’s shoulder. “What do you think your ‘warrior name’ will be?”When she first arrived in RiverClan, she never questioned the unique names she encountered. Back at horseplace, there was a colorful array of names and strangers from different parts of the world. It wasn’t until a moon ago that she learned that names a lot of significance to clan culture. Supposedly, apprentices were to receive names when they became warriors. Bayou wondered what hers might be, and was a little confused as to why cats like Noctus or Flare never received their names even though they were warriors. It all went back to Shellspots, oddly enough. Something to do with a sign? That confused them more. All of the apprentices were clearly skilled enough to be full warriors, why did she have continue waiting for a sign that didn’t seem like it would come anytime soon? Of course, she kept those opinions quiet. Just like she kept her desire to share a den with Mels deep under the ground. Though, at this point, most cats were well aware of their… sort of relationship. Drifting their eyes to the waters creeping the edges of the camp, they sought out a reprise to the disappointment and heat. An idea popped into their head, and they grinned at Spiderpaw, nodding a head to the surrounding water. “Those are the shallows, right? You wanna go for a dip?”
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Post by Kaeldra on May 2, 2023 4:32:25 GMT
Spiderpaw || he/him || 16 moons Spiderpaw snorted at the thought of being held back as an apprentice forever. He supposed Bayou was right; unless Shellspots wanted to be the leader of a legion of apprentices, she’d have to give them their names at some point. If any more young cats joined the Clan and needed training, the poor warriors would be overwhelmed.
Spiderpaw wondered idly if he’d ever get to be on the other end of the lessons. He had received training from every adult cat in the Clan at this point, and the idea of passing on all he had learned to someone younger was certainly appealing. But until he was a warrior, he supposed it was out of the question.
“Thanks,” he said, grinning back at Bayou. Admittedly, he hadn’t put much thought into what his warrior name might be. He knew it was out of his paws, so why worry over it? “Hmm... I haven’t really thought about it. Maybe something like… Spiderclaw, or Spiderheart?”
Truth be told, he actually didn’t know what all the name options were. He just picked a couple that he knew he had heard before in the stories his brother used to tell. He knew it had something to do with a cat’s personality, so he doubted Spiderclaw would actually be his warrior name. While his battle skills were decent, he could hardly be called ferocious.
Then the subject of swimming came up, and it was so hot that Spiderpaw actually agreed. The cool water would be fantastic.
“StarClan, yes,” he sighed. “Though you might have to carry me there. I’m nearly a puddle myself at this point.”
ulla
Solaris
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Post by Solaris on May 7, 2023 14:11:04 GMT
Kaeldra BAYOU | She/They | 17 moons“Okay, I don’t know that much about warrior names, but no offense, neither name suits you,” said Bayou, a little more bluntly than she was expecting. But it was true! She squinted hard at Spiderpaw, sizing up his frame, and trying to figure out what his potential name could be, though she didn’t know what other options existed. After a moment of intense thought (and bearing the intense heat!), she shook her head. “Nevermind, I’ve got nothing for you.”“Though, I’m curious, what do you think my name would be?” they asked, indulging in the idle thoughts as well. At the very least, it was entertaining. She laughed at Spiderpaw’s comment. “Too bad. You’re on your own, Spiderpaw! I guess I’ll have the nice and cold water all to myself!”They ran to the water, wading their feet at the bottom of the riverbed. They sighed happily as the water lapped against their legs, relieving the warmth from their fur.
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