::TGB:: Kronk | Sheena [ CH.1 Smithen Life ]

[ Blue-Green-Fire | Kronk | Fire-Tribe Camp ]

The camp was covered in a nice layer of pure white snow, all except the Smith area where the Smiths of the Tribe work tirelessly. The snow was grey and near black in some parts from the ashes of burning metals and such. Kronk was at his forge now, trying to work but his tattoo was quite unstable… he knew only after a while that it was the work of the ongoing war between the spirits in the stars. He noticed every cat had the same problem… it was annoying because it meant his work was going slower than his usual pace… he sighed with a grunt. He was trying to shape some Iron, making a certain… accessory. Even with such big paws, he could make dainty and beautiful things~ So odd from such a big tom cat.

”Not working again…” Kronk muttered as his Tattoo flickered on and off… it simply wouldn’t activate now and he knew it would take a while before he could use it again. He decided to give up for the day… at this rate, he would never finish any of his work! He looked up to the grey skies, almost glaring at them… ’How long will this war last…’ he thought… ”And when do you plan to drag us all into it…” he added darkly in a soft growl… He shook his head as the bit of snow flew off his ears… the cold didn’t bother him, he didn’t have thick fur for nothing after all.

{ Pink-Fire | Sheena | Fire-Tribe Camp }

Sheena crept through the snow, hoping that her dark pelt wasn’t as noticeable when it was covered with flecks of the icy powder. She fluffed up her pelt but it did little to protect her from the cold. She bounced over another drift, her paws skimming over the top before she landed on the other side. But here the snow was beginning to change from the stark white to a worn out grey, specks of black snow dotted across the grey. That must have meant one thing, either the snow that had fallen had decided to change it’s color or she was at the forge; she guess the latter.

The Pink-Fire trotted along, her tail held high and her necklace bouncing off her chest. Upon reaching the forge, she could smell a rather musky cat scent, not really one of the most pleasant ones mixed with the smell of burned metal. The Pink-Fire crept closer, perking over a pile of snow and seeing a massive tomcat, he seemed even bigger than the Silver-Fire! He had fluff that seemed to shoot in every direction and a rather stern expression stretched across his face. Sheena padded closer, reaching out a paw to touch the tip of his tail lightly, she couldn’t help it, he just looked so soft. And he was soft! Sheena rubbed her face against his tail before climbing on top of it and rubbing her face and back against his fluff. It felt like Fauna’s tail, all big and fluffy. The black-furred she-cat laid on the Fire-Tribers tail, content to just snuggle there for the rest of the day.

[ Blue-Green-Fire | Kronk | Fire-Tribe Camp ]

Kronk was just sitting there, head tipped to the clouds as though he was talking to the spirits but really, he was just annoyed that his powers were unstable at times… and to think, as a kit he didn’t even have powers… he sighed… then blinked as he felt something on his tail… he didn’t notice when a kit was touching and rubbing her face on his tail but he felt it when she decided to climb onto his tail. He turned his head back, watching the tiny kit… or… oh, it was an apprentice pft. Wasn’t she one of the new ones..?

”Can I help you young’un?” he mewed, lifting up his tail and making the Pink-Fire roll off his tail--unless she decided to cling to it. He wasn’t really all that soft, it was more… rough in places and soft in places. His belly fur, chest fur and back fur near the shoulders were soft. His cheek fur, bottom of his tail and atop his head was quite bristly… like a softer broom but not that soft at all, that was why it stuck out that way. He tilted his head, looking at the small Pink-Fire.

{ Pink-Fire | Sheena | Fire-Tribe Camp }

Sheena rolled onto the frozen ground and landed with a thump, jarring her insides and wounding her pride a bit. She rolled back onto her belly and fluffed up her fur again, looking up at the big tomcat with slightly reproachful eyes. She felt like a wee little ant in front of this Blue/Green-Fire but she puffed up her chest and meowed, ”I was going to ask you the same thing, seeing as I’m the new head smith around here.”

She trotted towards his tail again and clung stubbornly to it. ”And I was using this, thank you very much.” The Pink-Fire snuffled it, wrinkling her nose slightly; first thing she would do is make this smell better with flowers. ”So what brings you here into my forge, eh, tough-guy?” she asked as she wiggled into his tail again, peeping out of the fur to eye him once more.

[ Blue-Green-Fire | Kronk | Fire-Tribe Camp ]

Kronk huffed with amusement at the sassy new apprentice, he grinned and sat down again. ”Oh the new Head Smith are you? So you’re able to make better things than…” he smirked, ”Than the Silver-fire?” he told her, stating that the leader was once a Smith like he and the little black she-cat was going to be. Of course, he himself would be the best~ He would someday take over and be Head Smith! Even if there was no such title, he was going to be the best and be recognized for his skills.

The older tom watched the Pink-Fire snuggled into his tail again and he got up and started to padd, dragging the younger apprentice along the frozen snow, chuckling softly. ”Right, why? Because I am Head Smith around here~” he said with much confidence and a smirk upon his maw. He stopped and turned his head, leaning down towards Sheena, ”Name is Shade,”

{ Pink-Fire | Sheena | Fire-Tribe Camp }

”Mmhmm,” Sheena replied, her voice muffled by Kronk’s fur as she snuggled into it again. ”I’ve been making things before I was even a smith! Eileen helped me make my necklace, but she only did about two percent of the work! I bet that I could beat the Silver-Fire any ol’ time!” the dark-furred she-cat meowed stubbornly, her voiced edged with defiance.

The Pink-Fire’s ears perked up as the tail she was clinging onto was being dragged forward. ”Suuuuuuuuuure you are,” Sheena meowed, kneading Kronk’s tail before snuggling into it again. ”I think that you’re just saying that! No one can challenge me! I’ve got cool powers! And a cool tattoo!” Sheena was going to say more but closed her mouth, wrinkling her nose as his breath wafted over her. She rubbed her maroon nose with a paw, ”What kind of name is Shade? It makes it sound like you’re a bad guy; my name’s Sheena.” She grabbed his cheeks with her forepaws and meowed, ”Now say it with me, Shhh-eeeee-na!” Rubbing her paws up and down, the Pink-Fire squished the older tomcat’s cheeks together to mimic how her name sounded.

[ Blue-Green-Fire | Kronk | Fire-Tribe Camp ]

”Oh Really??” Shade mewed as he looked at necklace, he hid his disgruntled expression for the feathers she bore, he hated them after all but he decided to keep that to himself. She did make it after all… or most of it. ’Its not made of metal though pft,’ He sighed and smiled. ”I dare you to try~”

The older tom huffed in a friendly way, a grin gracing his maw. ”Oh I can challenge you in a heartbeat pipsqueak~!” he chuckled, afterall, he was moving into a phase where he would make armor and weapons. He blinked as the tiny apprentice grabbed his cheeks, ’Sheena?’ pft, he stared at her. ”Shuuuna?” he teased then shook his head free and pressed a paw on Sheena’s head, messing up the fur there. ”Good to have a feisty little apprentice here, Shuuuu--na~” he purred with a flick of his tail.

{ Pink-Fire | Sheena | Fire-Tribe Camp }

”With all the smithin’ I’ve been doing, I don’t think I’ll have time to take on any petty chanllenges,” Sheena scoffed, picking at Kronk’s tail fluff in a detached manner. In truth, she had zero knowledge of being a smith, but so far, her bluff seemed to be working. She had just arrived in Fire-Tribe and met her mentor, Odessa – otherwise known as Mags – and she hadn’t even activated her tattoo. She wasn’t even sure if she could!

Sheena was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she forgot she had told Shade her name. ”No! It’s Sheena!” she meowed indignantly as the Blue/Green-Fire’s giant paw covered the top of her head, mussing up her fur. ”My fur is off limits!!” she let out a squeal, ducking her head and rubbing at her ‘bangs’. After rearranging them, Sheena climbed up Kronk’s tail and sprawled all over his broad back, pawing at his weird little bunch of fluff held back with a blue metal band. ”Do you got any siblings, Shady?” Sheena inquired, pawing at his ear before nuzzling his shoulder fluff. ”Do you have a brother and sister and a pap and a mam?”

[ Blue-Green-Fire | Kronk | Fire-Tribe Camp ]

Shade snickered! He knew~ he had been there once, he was a new apprentice quite some time ago and even he had problems before. Not like it can be much of a challenge right now anyways, since their powers were always up and down while the spirits are fighting. It simply made working harder. Still~ ”Oh I see, guess we’ll never know who’s good enough to be head smith now,” he was only teasing.

The charcoal tom chuckled, watching the little she-cat fix the fur. He didn’t mind when she decided to climb up his back, she wasn’t at all heavy. Instead, he started to walk around camp, giving Sheena a ride. ”Careful now young’un,” he warned her softly, he didn’t want his pony-tail to come loose, then he would need Ink’s help, tying it back up. ”And yeah, I got five other siblings…, three of them recently arrived, two in Earth Tribe, one in shadow and my sister here with me, Inky,” he told her, smiling fondly as he thought of his family, ”And My Mother and Father are living in exile, last I heard, there are doing well with my remaining sibling in my litter,” he said, he didn’t mention his older siblings from the litter before him, he didn’t know them all that well and when he met one, it was short and he hadn’t seen her since. ”And you Shuuna? Any family among the tribes?”

{ Pink-Fire | Sheena | Fire-Tribe Camp }

”We all know the answer to that – it’s obviously me!” Sheena crowed loudly before she began nibbling on Kronk’s fluffy ears. He wasn’t that bad, this big old shady looking dude. He was stocky and fat and she liked him, even if he didn’t smell all that well.
She stopped nibbling at his mention of his family. ”Inky sounds like a cool name! Is she cool? Is she like you? I wanna meet her now!! Is she here?” She looked around excitedly, as if to see this “Inky” appear out of thin air to greet her. Sheena couldn’t help but feel a little crestfallen after Kronk’s sister failed to appear. ”It’s Sheena!! Sheesh! And…kind of. Mam and Paps went off with Eden somewhere and they haven’t come back, at least, that’s what Eileen told me – she’s my foster-parent. I have a big, fat, stupid brother named Cypress and he’s about the stupidest tomcat I’ve ever known. He’s off in Water-Tribe probably drowning because his head’s too big to stay afloat. I have the…best sister named Tabitha, but I call her Tabs. She’s in Earth-Tribe…I haven’t really seen much of her though, I kind of miss her drool and boogers.” Sheena let out a soft sigh before regaining her spunky attitude. ”If you tell her that I’m going to pull out your fluff!! So keep it hush hush!”

Sheena continued her nibbling on Kronk’s ears, pausing now and then to remove any fur that got stuck in between her teeth. ”Do you think my Mam and Paps will come back from wherever Eden took them?” She couldn’t hide to hope in her voice, as if this tomcat could tell her exactly where Debito and Fauna were.

[ Blue-Green-Fire | Kronk | Fire-Tribe Camp ]

Kronk laughed out, his body shook when he did of course~ ”Okay okay, Miss little Head Smith,” he grinned, she was only a kit so he had no problem letting her have the title for now~ His ears twitched at the nibbling and he shook his head slightly, ”Behave up there young’un,” he huffed, lifting his tail over his body to fall over Sheena like a blanket. He looked like a Skunk now. ”Nope, Inky is resting now, she hurt her paw so she can’t walk for a while..” he frowned.. but shook it away. He was still slowly walking around Camp.

The big bear of a tom listened to Sheena, he felt a bit saddened to know her parents were passed. Up right now living in the stars… living with them. He was lucky he still had all his family, alive and well. At least, everyone he cared about. ”I see… but hey, you have to treasure all your family members, even that stupid big headed brother of yours…~ You never know when they might have to go to Eden too..” he said with a soft smile. ”You should visit her then, I’m sure she must be missing you too, Tabs,” he mewed, sticking out his tongue at her little threat~ When she suddenly asked him about her parents… he went quiet for only a moment…

”The thing is Sheena…” he mewed, wondering if telling her was a good idea… but he felt making her believe they would return was cruel. She would find out eventually and realize the harsh reality that they were dead, that she didn’t understand. ”Eden is not a cat… its a place closest to the stars… once you go into Eden, its impossible to return… no matter how much they want to…” he said, turning his head to look at the little apprentice. ”But from Eden… they can watch over us and keep us safe, they will always watch over you Sheena, and be proud of you as you grow into a fine young Smith,” he smiled gently.

{ Pink-Fire | Sheena | Fire-Tribe Camp }

Sheena snuggled into Kronk’s tail, only her head poked out of the thick fur as she listened to him. ”But Cypress is just an idiot, I don’t like him anymore…at the Gathering, we got into a fight and he was rude and discouraging to Tabs. And I’ll visit her; I just want to make her something before I visit so that she can wear stuff that I made.”

She fell silent again and when Kronk began speaking, his voice was in a slightly different tone. She could feel…something close to her heart begin to crumble -- hope. The hope that she had latched onto that everything was a lie and that her father would come from the dens and ask her if she wanted to play again slowly disintegrated. Her throat was tight and she struggled to speak. Swallowing a couple times, she meowed, ”So…they won’t…come back and play with me again…? …If they won’t come back…will you be my Paps? You’re big and grey like he was…please?”

The Pink-Fire struggled with herself for a moment, fighting, willing herself not to feel this way. She was the oldest of her litter, she was the first born, and she could show no fear or sadness. She didn’t like this sadness and she wanted it to go away…but how long would that take? A day? Moons? A season?

[ Blue-Green-Fire | Kronk | Fire-Tribe Camp ]

The young Smith felt bad about Sheena losing her parents at such a young age, it was awful for a kit to suddenly lose their parents like this. Sure, he couldn’t see his mother but he knew she was alive and well at least. When the young she-cat spoke, her voice full of heartbreak, he shook head, no, her parents won’t return, but as she went on to ask him to be her father… or more like, father figure, he blinked in surprise. And well… he couldn’t say no to the poor kit, he didn’t want to make her sadder than she already was… but… but… he was still young… he could be an older brother! He was way too young to be a dad to a 6 moon old!

’Crap, I have to say something..!’ Kronk thought as he just reached over to her cheek and nuzzled it with his nose, ”If you really want to, t-then I guess I can..” he mewed, hoping he wouldn’t regret this small decision. But… his sister Ink would always be his most important, no matter what. He was sure if he told Ink about Sheena, she might just streak with joy!

{ Pink-Fire | Sheena | Fire-Tribe Camp }

Sheena let out a squeal of delight, nuzzling him back wholeheartedly. She snuggled back into his tail, feeling happiness wash over her. ”Will you come and play with me like Paps used to do? He never met my bug buddy, but you’re going to have to meet Bernard to make sure he approves of you!! He’s a centipede!”

If she wasn’t on Kronk’s back, Sheena would have been bouncing with joy, but instead, contented herself with cuddling into his thick frame. She liked him, big and buff and huggable, just like how Debito was. His thick tail was like her mothers, so she basically had two in one! How great was that?

[ Blue-Green-Fire | Kronk | Fire-Tribe Camp ]

Feeling little Sheena hug him tightly, Kronk smiled, he supposed this would be fine, she was a bright young cat who was learning to be a smith too. ”A bug buddy? Centipede…” when the heck did cats start taking in bugs as friends? He used to squish them as a kit, there were just creepy crawlies after all! ”Ah right, sure,” he grinned, a bit awkwardly though.

Kronk made a round around Camp, returning to the Smith’s Area before dropping her off. ”Alright, its time you find your mentor and get started on those lessons of yours, I have to work too,” he mewed, putting her back on the sandy ground before rasping his tongue between her ears in an affectionate way.

{ Pink-Fire | Sheena | Fire-Tribe Camp }

”Goody!” Sheena meowed enthusiastically; she couldn’t wait to show Bernard her new big brother. She felt sure that her little insect companion would find him appropriate for the role and if not, well, she would just make him see the light.

After a couple more minutes of Kronk’s piggy-back-ride, he returned to where they had originally started. Sliding down his back and onto her rump, the Pink-Fire felt a sudden rush of attachment. She didn’t want to go just yet! There was still daylight…but the better part of her told her that that was enough for now. Though Sheena longed to stay and bother the adolescent more, she knew that she should find her mentor and continue training to become Head Smith. ”Okay…” she mumbled half-heartedly.

It wasn’t really part of her nature to feel so attached to Kronk, but something about him just made her feel more comfortable and less afraid. The Pink-Fire pushed her cheekbone against Kronk’s side before bounding away, her paws flicking tufts of snow in the air behind her. Just before she was out of earshot, she called hastily over her shoulder, ”Bye!” before she continued on her way. She couldn’t wait to get Bernard and show him their new friend.

[ Blue-Green-Fire | Kronk | Fire-Tribe Camp ]

Kronk smiled softly as Sheena rubbed her cheek against his side, then he watched the young apprentice bound away with a hasty ‘Bye!’ He flicked his tail in response… he wondered if this was the right thing to do, Sheena was nice and a bright apprentice… hm, he was never really responsible for anyone besides Inky… this should be interesting.

With that in mind, he went back to work.

END