SHALLOW DAYS ★ DECORATING CAMP

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    decorating the camp... of course. it was just his luck that the task he'd been given, out of all of the tasks that heronstar could've conjured up for him, was a creative one. call him unimaginative, and you'd be correct. the only creative art that he's ever mastered is the way of sarcasm and quick-witted remarks, which isn't even really an art. so, coming up with a plan to decorate and redesign the camp interior was a gruesomely slow process. he'd been sat in a corner of camp, his shoulders hunched, eyebrows furrowed, tail tip twitching, mulling over how to go about doing this for far too long now. surely any cat who'd seen him would think that he's plotting some kind of revenge, with that thoughtful scowl he had going on. blame it on his resting pissed face; he wasn't actually mad about anything. frustrated with his lack of ideas? yes. growing impatient with himself and this task? most definitely. but mad? no. not yet, anyways.


    it was nearing mid-afternoon by the time kestrelswoop grew restless and padded into the center of camp, his head feeling as if it was about to split open from thinking too much. at this point he had decided, screw it, he was enlisting the help of his clanmates. "hey! any creative minds or slackers needin' an excuse t' get out of their responsibilities for th' day want t' help me spice this place up?"

    MOTHSHINE ♚

    Skyclan - Senior Warrior - Female - 16 moons


    ― Mothshine had watched her fellow senior warrior for a moment, head tilted in curiosity before his call rang out. She nearly laughed at his request for help. That's right--his weekly task. Quite a fit for Kestrelswoop. "Is that what has you looking so sour? Decorating?" She teased, approaching with her tail high. Now, she knew well enough by now that that expression he wore was common place. She'd seen it plenty by now, and had learned quickly enough to never take it personally. Maybe it had something to do with having Juniperthorn as a best friend. She knew how to deal with prickly type. At least, she did when they were her clanmates. She'd even dare say she had missed Kestrelswoop's presence, grouchy expressions and all, around camp. They had both dealt rather personally with the bitter aftermath of the dog fight. Even in victory, they couldn't get away entirely clean. With stolen lives and half his sight taken from him, that much was clear. Now they'd both recovered, with two very different scars to show for it. She smile she offered him was indication enough that she was keen on helping him through his task, so he could get back to...whatever it might be that he'd prefer to be doing. "It'll be fun, Kes!" She insisted. Then again, she'd always enjoyed these sorts of thing. Maybe now it was because it reminded her of Lavenderstar, with her painting and her flowers. "I've got an idea!" She blurted it suddenly, making a beeline for the freshkill pile.


    She nosed through what prey was available. Certainly this would've been easier in newleaf, but she'd make do with what they had. She'd be especially grateful to their warriors legs that lent themselves well to climbing. It meant there was always a bird or two to be found here, if not more. With gentle teeth, she plucked away what in tact feathers she could find. When she turned to face him again, she had a decent mouthful. In fact, the warrior probably looked a little ridiculous, even if she didn't seem bothered. With feathers tickling her nose, she approached him a second time. "Feathers!" She huffed around them, voice muffled and her smile clear in the way it met her eyes. She deposited them near her paws, nudging a few in his direction. Normally she'd have gone for flowers, but with a forest covered in snow and ice, this would have to do.

    MOTTLEWISH

    the tales untold

    Mottlewish joined in the duo, hoping to help Kestrelswoop with his weekly task. She still had yet to do her own one. "I would love to help you decorate," she said, padding closer. She loved when things were pretty- her nest and the things around her were always pretty colorful back when she lived with twolegs. She wished sometimes DarkClan could've been decorated better. The caves were always so... dull. But that was just a general characteristic of the territory, and the cats weren't dull at all.


    Feathers? That sounded very original and creative. She wished she could come up with an idea like that. Oh well, there would be time. "Feathers sound like and amazing idea! SkyClan, makes sense," she joked.

    And he had thought his weekly task wasn't productive... he supposed there were some cats that appreciated decorative tasks or games or whatever, but Juniperthorn was simply not one of them. It seemed he and Kestrelswoop were quite similar in their general wish to work, to be productive in everything they did. Of course, in short moments of recreation Juniperthorn found some solace in painting with berries, but that had been a hobby drilled into his head by his mother and he wasn't about to stop now. Eyes falling upon Kestrelswoop, he couldn't help but smirk in amused mockery, finding it rather funny about how the other had pleaded for something productive and had ended up pulling the short straw.


    "Wow, Kestrelswoop... isn't it your lucky day?" he remarked, nose wrinkling up slightly in amusement. No doubt he'd be eventually pulled into this, but for now he'd bathe in schadenfreude and sarcasm. "I bet you're happy." Really he attributed this as a task you gave to sick cats or kits or young apprentices that could barely care for themselves, so the dark-striped tabby looked on in sadistic amusement before someone inevitably dragged him into helping as well. Besides, it was... something to do, even if it was barely helpful in Juni's own eyes.

    Truth be told, Heronstar could sympathise with Kestrelswoop's lack of enthusiasm to decorate. As a younger warrior she had been much the same herself, not seeing the point in something so trivial as prettying up the camp when there were more important warrior duties that needed taking care of.


    "Sorry if it's not quite the task you were hoping for Kestrelswoop," Heronstar mewed as she approached the scene. Although her words could be regarded as sarcastic by some, there was genuine sympathy in her voice as she addressed him, as if she felt bad for giving such a menial task to him. "I don't mind offering an extra paw to help if you want?"

    let me dream with the stars // skyclan

    He was still...adjusting to being here again. This open invitation seemed like as good a chance as any to maybe get some of those who were still side-eyeing him and his every move to see him in a better light. Not that Whitenose particularly cared what others thought of him, but it would certainly make moving around his everyday life a little less...awkward. Walking quietly up the group, he offered a nod to Kestrelswoop and waited to see if he might be offered instruction or if he was supposed to figure this out on his own.

    speaking thoughts

    "put me in the dirt; let me be with the stars."

    ☆☆☆☆☆

    Decorating seemed interesting. She has never done it before but there was a first to everything. Besides, Kestrelswoop looked a little miserable with the task so she might as well help. "I'll do it!" she said as she walked over to the group.



    ("Speech", Thoughts)

    well, damn. he wasn't expecting this many cats to be interested in decorating... or, maybe they were more keen on helping out a clanmate than they were on the actual decorating part. that wouldn't surprise him; skyclan was filled with kind souls who wanted to help others and make the world a better place. (for a split second, kestrelswoop wondered where the hell he went wrong. was it his bloodclan ancestry that made him turn out so prickly, or what?) whatever the reason for their assistance was, he was grateful that he wasn't stuck trying to figure out how to decorate the place alone.


    mothshine had been the first to approach, bouncing up to him with the energy and optimism he expected from the grey-and-white molly. at her teasing words, he snorted derisively, tail tip twitching behind him. "fun? 'm not sure what your idea of fun is, but decorating certainly isn't mine," he muttered. fun would be competing in a climbing competition- well, it would've been, if he still had depth perception- or sharing tongues, or bantering with his friends. what wasn't fun is getting a migraine over decorating the camp.


    as soon as she'd appeared, mothshine had ran off towards the freshkill pile, claiming that she'd gotten an idea. that was fast. really fast. he'd spent nearly an hour mulling over what to do, and mothshine had come up with something nearly instantaneously. was he the only one that was bad at decorating? or was mothshine just freakishly good at it?


    in the time that it had taken her to retrieve the feathers from a bird and return, another cat had approached. mottlewish, a perma-queen whom he didn't know too well. "alright, great. the more the merrier, as they say." kestrelswoop never thought that he would've used such a positive saying in his life, yet in this scenario, it was shockingly truthful. the more cats who volunteered to help, the sooner he could finish this task and go back to doing something more useful. and while he could've put more enthusiasm into his voice to make it sound less sarcastic, that was way too much effort for some stupid quote that he was never using again.


    kestrelswoop eyed the mouthful of plumage that mothshine had stuffed in her mouth upon her return, narrowing his eyes quizzically. mottlewish sung her praise for the idea, but kes, ever the pessimist, had some doubts. "where would we put th' feathers, though? and how would we keep 'em from.. blowin' away, or whatever?" before his questions were answered, however, a snide voice rang in his ears. his head swung around to glare at the owner of the voice- juniperthorn, one of the only cats in skyclan that rivaled kestrelswoop's attitude. "oh, yeah, real happy. 'cause it's always a treat t' be stuck doin' a kit's task when you could be out providin' for your clan," he retorted, mirroring the deputy's sarcasm with an added flair of rolling his eyes. then, an idea popped into his head. an idea born out of pettiness and spite. "since you seem so fond of th' task yourself, you should help out. as i said before, th' more th' merrier."


    heronstar's sympathetic words were refreshing after juniperthorn's mocking ones. kestrelswoop blinked at her as she approached, hoping that she didn't hear his first retort to her deputy, or that if she did, she wasn't too offended by them. normally, kestrelswoop wouldn't give a shit if cats were offended by his sharp tongue, but it was different for heronstar. he respected her a great deal, after all; which is why she only received a half-hearted response than a cutting remark from him. "whatever, it's too late t' change it now," he muttered with a shrug. "but th' help would be nice."


    two more cats approached, both of which he was also unfamiliar with. he nodded to them both, accepting their help with hidden gratitude. "now, do any of you have any bright ideas on what t' do with these feathers?" because he sure as hell didn't.


    //opinions are ic :,)

    let me dream with the stars // skyclan

    Unsure of if his voice speaking up would be appreciated, Whitenose hesitated for a moment before deciding he didn't particularly care. If they wanted to shoot down his idea after, he wouldn't be offended. It wasn't even his idea, really, more of like a far off memory of something one of his sisters had come up with ages ago that had never seen fruition. Flicking his ears, Whitenose said quietly, monotonously, "We could weave them into any plants around the entrances to dens."

    speaking thoughts

    "put me in the dirt; let me be with the stars."

    Heronstar merely gave an incline of her head at Heronstar's words. She was not too bothered by his tone, but did wish he could have perhaps shown a little more enthusiasm. Still, she knew and understood that such a task wasn't really something most cats enjoyed, so she would not fault him for being a little unenthusiastic. "I think weaving the feathers around the entrances would be a good idea," Heronstar mewed in agreement to Whitenose's comment. "Maybe we could carefully place them around the branches by the warriors den? It might be a little hard to weave them in such a manner from up there."

    MOTTLEWISH



        ✦ - Mottlewish shifted as the group soon grew in cats. It sure would go quick if there were so many of them. Kestrekswoop didn’t seem too happy about the task he got, that was fine. He could still have fun with everyone. The suggestions about where to place the feathers were very smart. But the wind problem could potentially ruin their work.


    “Those are all good ideas. If we wanted to put some below the trees like in front of the nursery for example, we can maybe try and make small holes in the ground with our claws and put them in, then cover it up with dirt. If there is thick snow somewhere we can use it instead. They’d be like flowers. I can help with that,” she suggested. “Or we could use sap or something as sticky to stick it to tree branches.”