WHO TELLS YOUR STORY - open, storytelling

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    sink me in the river at dawn

    send me away with the words of a love song — tags

    Lilyfall had been given a task to hold a storytelling session by Tansyface, and they had done some pondering on what sort of story they wanted to tell. There wasn't really much they could say about ShadowClan, as they had barely been here anytime at all. The dark tabby got the impression that that was perhaps why Tansyface had given them the task - so that they could share the experiences they had had prior to them joining ShadowClan. Lilyfall hoped that was the reasoning behind Tansyface's choice, anyway. While Lilyfall's loyalty was to ShadowClan now, they still held their past very close to their heart, and it was nice to think that Tansyface didn't want to invalidate it in any way.


    Perhaps some of the more judgemental ShadowClanners wouldn't want to hear about Lilyfall's past experiences, and that was fine. They weren't going to silence themselves just because some cats lacked interest or disapproved of their past as a kittypet. And so, bounding to the centre of camp, the dark tabby called out, their voice as excited as that of a kit, "Storytelling! Gather around here for storytelling!"


    The tall, slender feline intended on telling one story about their past, and then asking anyone else who was present if they had any stories to tell. That, in Lilyfall's opinion, was the best way to ensure that everyone was included. Besides, Lilyfall thought that it would be unfair if only they spoke and everybody else listened. The power of words was a beautiful thing, but it was not beautiful just to talk. No, it was beautiful to use words to express thoughts, emotions and opinions, but only if the speaker was also prepared to use their ears to listen to the words spoken by others too. There were many cats, too many cats, who only spoke and never listened, and Lilyfall found that to be a huge pity, as they constantly missed out on the beautiful words spoken by others.


    "I have to go."

    ROBINPAW

    ( 3/50 )



        ✦ - Robinpaw made her way towards Lilyfall, a glowing smile on her maw. Stories, that sounded fun! They would certainly have some interesting stories to tell. Adventures! Yeah, she hoped there were some adventures. Maybe she could get some ideas for adventures of her own after this. Just you wait world, soon she would have stories to tell! “I’m here! What are you telling of?”

       

    ◆◇◆ Larkpaw was next to approach and found a seat beside Robinpaw who she liked well enough. The other cat’s amiable nature made it easy to get along with her and she didn’t have to worry about being bullied or yelled at or mistreated in anyway that was very common with her denmates. Her eyes moved to Lilyfall, wondering what sort of story they had in store. She liked to listen to stories, often listening to the ones the elders provided when she cleaned out their nests. She was sure a warrior had stories that were fresher and much more exciting. Larkpaw may not have wanted to be a warrior, but that didn’t mean she didn’t like hearing tales of cats much stronger than her as they braved the wild world and protected their Clan.

    Stagheart enjoyed stories every now and then. Sometimes he struggled keeping up with them, since he wound up day-dreaming if they went on for too long, but others were engaging and mentally stimulating. He preferred listening to real tales, historical ones, just to brush up on his knowledge of the clans. It was all rather fascinating, really. Even so, whatever this story was about, Stagheart decided to listen in. The long-legged tom approached the group on silent pawsteps, offering those present a wave of his serpentine tail as a way of greeting.


    I’LL BOMB DOWN ON ‘EM —


    storytelling? really?


    stormpaw was at the age where he was so concerned with acting like the grown cat he wanted to be that anything even remotely kittish was appalling to him. at least, on the outside, it was. in all honesty, it hadn’t even been but less than a moon ago that he’d been a kit himself, at least by clan standards; and even if he wasn’t going by clan standards, he was still pretty young, and hearing about new things always intrigued him. but... nobody here was gonna know that he was interested. even he didn’t want to believe he was truly interested.


    “this seems stupid,” said the long-furred tom to himself, coming to take a seat by larkpaw.



    //cries in Hamilton reference



    — I’M COMING THROUGH

    sink me in the river at dawn

    send me away with the words of a love song — tags

    Lilyfall smiled happily as they spotted Robinpaw approaching. Thank StarClan at least someone seems interested! At the apprentice's question, the dark tabby answered, "I was going to tell the story about the time I made friends with and shared a den with a fox pup, if that sounds good with you?" They thought it was a pretty sweet story, though they got the impression that some of their Clanmates might be a little judgemental of the story, even going as far as to not believe it, even though it really had happened to Lilyfall.


    They decided to wait a while to see whether anyone else wanted to listen before starting their story. A second apprentice approached - Larkpaw. She didn't say anything, but as she had settled next to Robinpaw, the tabby assumed that they intended on listening too. Not long after, Stagheart approached, standing next to the rest of the group.


    The final cat to arrive was Stormpaw, who decided to voice his more... negative opinion on Lilyfall's storytelling activity, before deciding to sit down anyway. The dark tabby's whiskers twitched with amusement, "Can't seem so stupid, if you're choosing to stay!" They answered, their voice soft, their light blue eyes resting gently on Stormpaw, trying to reassure him that they weren't making fun of him.


    Four cats had gathered now, and Lilyfall had decided this was a pretty good amount. Of course, if anyone showed up later, they too would be free to join. "Well, let's get started!" The tall feline smiled excitedly, short tail waggling as they spoke.


    Taking a deep breath, Lilyfall then began their story. "So, as you all may or may not know, I was a kittypet before joining ShadowClan. After I decided to leave my twoleg nest to come here, I had to spend a short while travelling through twolegplace, and had to find a place to stay the night," the memory had stayed in Lilyfall's mind. It had been an interesting night, and Lilyfall felt as though they had learned a lot from their experience. "I found an abandoned twoleg nest - very broken down, uncleaned, but safe. So I walked in there, but then, I realised there was a little fox pup staying in there, and they had already seen me!" The tabby remembered the pup's round eyes as they stared at Lilyfall, the way their little black nose had twitched upon picking up feline scent, the slight swishing of their tail and the pricking of their ears. Their bright orange pelt had stood out like a ray of light against the darkness of the den.


    Continuing to talk, Lilyfall mewed, "There was no way I could just run away - they'd already seen me, and, I'm... not really a fast runner," the brown and white feline smiled sheepishly, giving a little shrug. "I expected the pup to approach me, but it didn't. It just looked at me. So I slowly, carefully, went over to the corner of the den and I curled up in a ball. For a while, nothing happened, but then, guess what happened?" pressing, reassuring the gathered cats that they wanted them to participate, they repeated, "Come on, guess!"


    Lilyfall hoped they were doing it right, hoped they were engaging their companions enough. The tabby loved the story that they were telling, but they were afraid that it might bore some of their Clanmates, especially Stormpaw. Hopefully they were all enjoying themselves.


    "I have to go."

    "So I walk alone down the darkest roads"

    "The anthem of a bird with a broken wing" — Canarysong


    "Did...it get up? Whats a pup?" The senior warrior asked, a curious look peering in her gaze while she came to settle down next to the others. Her tail swishing softly before she settled herself down and dipped her head in greetings towards everyone else while a soft smile twitched on her maw. It was strange that Lillyfall wanted to make a story about being a kittypet, something one shouldn't perhaps bring up but she will settle down and listen in for the story. Besides she was adding guessing games in how fun.


    "I am who I say I am"

    "Speak" "Thoughts"

    ShadowClan deputy | black & ginger torbie | missing left eye | tags


    Tansyface had wanted to listen from the beginning, but found herself arriving on scene just in time to hear "-realized there was a little fox pup..." and found herself sitting next to Canarysong, Tansyface's injured foot still splayed to her side when she sat down. Tansyface draws on her image of how a fox looks when young, all brown fur and clumsy steps, yapping and tugging at the ears of a sibling until being hurried into an underground den by a watchful mother. Did Lilyfall truly doubt their ability to outrun something like that? She wonders if she is imagining this particular fox in this scenario to be too young, that maybe this fox had grown into it's adult colors, gangly limbed and curious as to what it could truly hunt.


    When Lilyfall asks for the gathered to guess, Tansyface finds herself abruptly snapped from her thoughts. Right, guessing. What did she think would have happened? "Did it's mother appear?" She asks because that seemed to be the next logical step. Where there were babies, there was typically a mother. Not always, she supposes, for the first time considering that non-felines could be orphaned just as easily as any other. That every fox, every badger, every mouse, had to have been given birth to. It feels like a disquieting thought, Tansyface doesn't like to consider that maybe the life of a fox could be just as complex as her own. Canarysong's question distracts Tansyface from her musings before she could fall too deeply into them, "You know, a youth. A kit or a whelp."

    I’LL BOMB DOWN ON ‘EM —


    yeah, stormpaw definitely didn’t believe this. especially since apparently, lilyfall had once been a kittypet, which immediately erased any respect that he might have had for the cat. sniffing, the grey tabby rolled his eyes upon hearing about the supposed “fox pup.” what a bunch of badger droppings! even at a young age, foxes could be cruel and vicious. stormpaw was certain of that fact. more than that, why in the world would lilyfall have not tried to run away? if the fox truly had been just a pup, it probably wouldn’t have been that hard to escape.


    his mood dropped even further when lilyfall asked them what might happen next. exhaling sharply through his nose, the tom listened condescendingly as canarysong and tansyface offered their answers. if they were thinking realistically, tansyface’s answer probably would have been the best bet, but obviously they weren’t, as stormpaw was still convinced this was a fictional story.


    — I’M COMING THROUGH

    sink me in the river at dawn

    send me away with the words of a love song — tags

    The tabby waited, listening as Canarysong and Tansyface gave their predictions. Responding to the former's question, "A fox pup - like, a baby fox," they then gave a small smile, "You're right though Canarysong, the fox pup did get up!"


    Continuing with their story, the dark tabby mewed, talking a little faster as they grew more enthuasistic, "I heard its tiny little paws tapping against the ground," Lilyfall tapped their own paws, small and delicate, against the ground, to place emphasis. "And then I felt something warm curling up next to me. I opened my eyes, and I saw the fox pup! It was right next to me, digging its muzzle into my shoulder. I was... really surprised," they gave a soft laugh, remembering the shock they had felt when they had felt the close warmth of the pup's bright orange pelt. "But I stayed. And I fell asleep, we both did, just like that."


    Lilyfall had a feeling that their Clanmates, especially Stormpaw, would doubt the story. But it was true, it really was. The ending of the story was likely to be much more believable. "Then I was awoken in the middle of the night by some angry barking, and I woke up to find the pup's mother running towards the pup and I," the brown feline gave a nod and a smile to Tansyface as they spoke - her prediction had been correct too, it had just come a little later in the story. "The den was pretty roomy, so I managed to dodge around the mother and get out. I must have looked like a nice snack to the mother, and she may have even thought that I was harming her pup. The pup though... little sweetheart, just wanted a cuddle," they sighed softly, remembering the pup with a fond smile. "One day that pup's going to grow up to be big and strong like their mother, and then they'll probably see cats as meals rather than friends. But still... it's a nice memory to have."


    For a moment, Lilyfall was silent, before then flicking their short tail. "And that's the story that I wanted to tell. But what about the rest of you? Does anyone else want to tell a story?" the slender tabby figured that perhaps some of them might feel a little shy about sharing, so they added, "It can be about anything you want - real, made up, it doesn't matter. No one will judge." At least, Lilyfall hoped that that was true. Stormpaw had been making his opinion on Lilyfall's story quite obvious, and he hoped that if anyone else wanted to share, he would not give them the same treatment. Even he could share a story if he wanted to - I'd quite like to hear something from Stormpaw.


    "I have to go."