:: 𝔻𝕣𝕚𝕫𝕫𝕝𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕥 ::
𝕂𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕠𝕗 ℝ𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕟
One foot. Left and right. Little legs were shakily moving the small and chunky tomcat near the exit, his knees knocking slightly. “Oof.” He grumbled, the grey-cream speckled tomcat tripped over his toes. “Ow.” Drizzlekit mumbled softly, her chin quivering slightly before he started to wiggle his rump with his tail sticking straight up as he struggled to push himself back upright. Grunting, he somehow managed to find his footing with his legs awkwardly splayed out. Lips parted as he panted, pale green eyes looking down at his white toes before shakily taking another step. His siblings had been taking off with their walking lessons, but he was feeling a little shaky. Ears perked up slightly as he could hear the reeds rattling from the breeze, piquing his interest as the small kit stumbled to the entrance of the den. Leaving behind the comfort and warmth of the leader’s den, his eyes narrowed against the sudden sunlight, nose scrunching up. Plopping down on his behind with a ump, he was curiously gazing around the camp, nose twitched as he scented the sweetest scent he had yet to discover, eyes roaming before they landed on a scallop shell. Licking his lips, he wasn’t yet weened off of his mother but he was getting curious of solid foods. Shakily standing up, he tripped over his paws moving down the slope, tumbling down a short ways as grass and dirt clumped to his pelt. “Owww.” He whined, still glancing towards the fresh-kill pile, where was that darn scallop?
Streampaw
Riverclan Apprentice
"It's kinda hard to start with, but you just gotta...feel around and hook your claw into the little gap!" She mewed as she was prying the scallop apart. Watching the kit's face as she opened the shellfish was more than entertaining, the way his face was crossed by doubt as he realised that the scallop looked kinda gross when it had just been removed from the shell.
"Yeah, they look kinda gross, but the taste makes it worth it!" She told him, her eyes lighting up in unison with his as he chewed the sweet white meat. "See?" She prodded him lightly with a paw, laughing softly.
"Think you can manage another piece? Or do you want something softer?" She asked, there was no harm in going at his pace. If he thought he couldn't manage another piece of the scallop, there were many more different options for fresh-kill he could taste. All kinds of fish, even some land prey!
:: 𝔻𝕣𝕚𝕫𝕫𝕝𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕥 ::
𝕂𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕠𝕗 ℝ𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕟
Lips lifted in a smile as he noticed that Streampaw was moving the tough scallop shell to where she could get to the mouth of the sea critter, his pale green eyes wide and curious. Moving from rubbing against her leg, he was now peering down at the shell as she used her toes to get it into the position she desired. “How.. How do you get, get your claw in dere?” He asked, standing on his toes and stumbling slightly but he was watching carefully as she slipped her sharp claw under the lip of the shell. Brows rising in surprise when she was able to pry the shell all the way open with a pop!
“Oh!” He squealed out in surprise, eyes narrowing slightly as he looked inside of the scallop, nose scrunching in disgust as it looked like a heaping of slime. Hesitating as he cautiously looked up at Streampaw, how would she react if he had changed his mind. Pressing his lips together as he looked down at the shell she pushed towards him, despite looking like a glob of boogers, the stark white and round meat in the middle smelled so sweet. Ears perking up slightly as she cut off a slice for him.
“Looks funny.” Drizzlekit meowed, looking up at Streampaw for the millionth time, clearing his throat as he lowered his head in order to cautiously sniff the white meat. It was definitely the sweetness he sought after. Humming as he finally took it into his mouth and started to chew. Immediately his eyes started to light up as the flavors sparked over his tongue. “Dis gewd!” He said around his mouthful, although he felt like he was chewing forever as his small baby teeth weren’t cut out for the rubbery meat.
Streampaw
Riverclan Apprentice
As the apprentice sat down with Drizzlekit, she watched him try and chew on the scallop with an amused laugh. His antics were adorable, and she knew she couldn't wait to see Snowstar's litter more lively and running around the camp when everything was back to normal. The other clans all thought Riverclan were weird for eating fish and other seafood. But this was normal.
"That's not how we eat them!" She mewed, before taking the scallop between her paws as Drizzlekit rubbed around her leg. "Of course I can! Look, I'll even let you watch!" Making sure that the kit could see, she pushed her paws onto either side of the scallop, hooking her claw inside the lip on the tightly closed shell. Then, she twisted that claw and used it to pry apart both sides of the shell until finally it popped open.
Then, she pushed the scallop toward Drizzlekit, using that same claw to tear off a piece of the meat inside of the shell, and held it out toward him on her paw.
"Normally, you can eat them all at once, but since you're still little, I don't want you to eat too much at once!" She said, her voice gentle but not babying. She knew how important it was for kits not to feel like they were being condescended. They were just so curious, learning about the world. "And now, you can eat it!" She placed it down on the empty part of the shell, waiting in anticipation.
:: 𝔻𝕣𝕚𝕫𝕫𝕝𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕥 ::
𝕂𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕠𝕗 ℝ𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕟
Struggling to get himself back up from his little tumble, the little tomcat blew out a frustrated snort from his nostrils. Tail lashing in annoyance before he lifted his chin when he heard his name being spoke, little ears perking up as he found Streampaw. She was smiling friendly enough, perhaps she would be able to keep the fact he fell a secret and not tell his siblings. They already made fun of him for lacking. “Hi..” He said warily, but he was also really trying to remember her name, seemed like there was an abundance of Riverclanners that he needed to meet and learn. Although she quickly piqued his interest as she found exactly what he had been eyeing all the way from the leader’s den. Was she able to read minds?
“Yes!” He squeaked, pale green eyes wide with astonishment that she had been kind enough to bring the scallop all the way over to him. Managing to sit up, his small paw moved to lightly pat at the hard and ribbed shell of the scallop, head tilting slightly as he flared his nostrils to breathe in the sweet scent. Holy Starclan, it smelled amazing, nothing like he had ever scented. Mouth watering instantly as he pawed at the shell, surely he didn’t have to eat the shell right? Maybe he did, lowering his chin for his tiny and growing teeth to bite at the shell, whining at how hard and unforgiving the scallop shell really was. Feeling silly, he withdrew from his first attempt, ears lowering against his head as he looked up at Streampaw hesitantly. “How do we eat?” He asked quietly.
His grey-cream pelt began to bristle with excitement, finding the strength to push himself up and walk towards the apprentice to rub his small body against her foreleg and giving a purr. “Can you open it, please?” He asked, eyes sparkling at the concept of being able to try fresh solid food before his siblings.
Streampaw
Riverclan Apprentice
Recovered enough from her injuries after the avalanche that had destroyed the Riverclan camp, Streampaw was working hard in the efforts to restore the camp to what it once had been. Despite the fact that some warriors had been despairing at the fact that the camp was utterly destroyed, Streampaw was as chipper as ever, excited to be assisting with the repairs. It was as she was dragging a clump of reeds toward the nursery when she noticed Drizzlekit beginning to take some steps out of the leader's den.
The apprentice stopped, watching him fondly as he clambered to his paws with determination she could still remember having herself. Noticing he was glancing toward the fresh-kill pile, the she-cat padded over and sat down beside the prey. "Hiya, Drizzlekit!" She called to him, waving her tail in greeting. Hooking a couple of scallops out of the pile, she kicked one toward the kit, the other held in her mouth delicately.
Padding to his side, she sat down beside the little kit, dropping the other scallop. "Let me guess, this is what you wanted?" She remembered the first time she had tasted scallop as if it were yesterday. The sweet yet fishy taste was just delicious! Now that her father, Coppercloud, was the deputy, Streampaw felt it was her responsibility to help Snowstar get the kits out of her fur every now and then.
"I dunno if you can eat this kind of stuff properly yet...but I'm sure I can make it eat-able for you, if you want to try!" She gave him a mischievous look, "You'll be able to taste fresh-kill before your littermates!" She'd noticed how Snowstar's other kits had been up and walking around and exploring the world, whereas Drizzlekit had been lagging behind, so she figured the kit could use a little secret, that he could hold over his siblings' heads.