Nursery Inspection || Incomplete RP

Solidago ||

Certainly, his least favorite part of his job was maintaining appearances, especially when it came to tasks he would never enjoy. One such task would be looking in upon the nursery, blessing the mothers and kits with his presence. Though it was nice to be gazed upon with reverence by the young, amazed to be in their Lieutenant's orbit, they were disgusting little creatures. Why someone would willingly have such brats to possibly put a stain upon their reputation in the future was beyond him. No one would ruin his legacy except for himself, and even then, he'd likely never do that.

Usually he settled for peeking into the nursery and allowing his face to be seen by a few mothers and kits before disappearing back into the tunnels. However, he'd recently been alerted to his sister's precarious situation- she would be living in this squalor, soon. She'd allowed a buck to place their filthy paws upon her, and now she was expecting. Though he usually seemed a subpar brother, especially to Sergeant Root, he'd always had a softer spot for Magpie. Nothing over the top, but he wasn't about to let her move into the nursery until he knew it was good and ready for her. Soon she'd be spending a good amount of her time in the tiny den stuffed full of newborns and other mothers, and he wanted to ensure she had the best experience possible. And if that meant kicking another mother out because her or her kits wanted to cause problems.... Well, Bogweed still had their prisoner pits, even if they'd fallen into a bit of disarray due to disuse.

So the orange buck swaggered into the nursery as if he owned the place, a charming smile on his lips as he greeted the mothers and went about inspecting the area. He had to admit, the den's current occupants were doing a good job of keeping it livable.

Slug ||

Shooting a withering glare back at the sleeping kits he was almost ashamed to call his own, the slender buck grunted as he threw down some fresh vegetation he had picked up for them. Despite his lack of visible care for the two, something in him felt the urge to carry out some of the necessary acts of a responsible father.

The two kits were still deep into their dreams as Slug stood tall above them. He snapped his head around, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips, taking a few steps towards the exit of the nursery. His almost disgusted gaze at some of the mothers scattered around the den was broken as he noticed a familiar looking orange buck enter.

His posture changed almost immediately, from hunching over and walking with heavy steps, he had now straightened himself up, with his long ears perked. A smirk spread across his face - well, more like some kind of jagged smile - as he nodded a greeting to Lieutenant Solidago.

Solidago ||

The orange buck noticed Captain Slug almost as soon as the brown buck noticed the Lieutenant, blue eyes a bit disinterested as he studied the other for a moment. He wondered what a buck was doing in the nursery, before realizing perhaps Slug was a father to kits in here? And then he recalled the Captain's story. He'd relented to a doe's advances and they'd had kits together, at which point the doe had passed away not soon after. Now the poor fool was stuck with kits he hadn't even wanted. At least Solidago's had been an accident, and not intentional. What buck in his right mind would purposefully try to impregnate a doe?

Well, he supposed a lot. Bogweed was full of foolish bucks, reproducing left and right. Let them, he thought. There would be more soldiers for the future, the only way Bogweed would still be around in moons to come, realistically.

"Looking in upon the rats, Captain?" He commented with an amused smirk, searching out Slug's kits in the small crowd of the nursery. They were sleeping soundly at the moment, fresh vegetation in front of them to be eaten when they awoke. Solidago remembered he hadn't even bothered to try and care for his own accidents, instead pawning them off onto.... Truthfully, he couldn't recall.

Slug ||

A subtle cackle came from the Captain in response to Lieutenant Solidago's comment on his kits. Slug was never the most fond of the fact they had been handed to him as their guardian after the passing of their mother, but alas, here he was, taking them under his wing. The buck hoped and prayed they would work to become at least somewhat decent soldiers for the warren. Perhaps a little early training may aid them to this?

Well, that was a thought for later.

"Certainly am, Lieutenant." The expression was returned with a nod and a snicker. It was a little relieving to the buck that the two of them likely saw eye to eye. The parents he had encountered to date were always so fussy and protective of their kits.

"May as well keep them in good health...,” he added, briefly glancing at the two sleeping kits out of the corner of his eye. "...They may be useful for the warren one day... Hopefully." The Captain's expression dropped with that last word. Slug definitely had faith in his teachings, however, Partridge was always a little reckless and Pheasant was simply too insecure. These traits could end up being their downfall, and his kits being disappointing Sergeants - or perhaps even Captains - would be humiliating to Slug.

Solidago ||

Ah, what a dedicated and thoughtful soldier. He clearly had no desire to nurture and raise the accidents he'd created, yet he would suffer through the responsibility anyway, if it meant providing his warren with more soldiers. Solidago had never paid the Captain much attention before, however, he would from now on. Captain Downpour made an excellent right-paw man, but the Lieutenant's left-paw position had been open for many moons now. It was so hard to find good soldiers who could tolerate his flamboyant personality.

"And hope they don't tarnish your name, yes? That's the problem with ilk," he sighed, looking disappointed as if the kits would be his problem. "That's why I put distance between mine and me- they can't ruin my reputation if everyone forgets they share my blood, ya hear? The one is so terribly soft, and the other... Last I knew he hadn't even made it to Sergeant yet, but maybe he finally has? And don't even get me started on the girl. She may have the family's ginger gene, but she's far too much like that soft-hearted wench who gave birth to her." It was truly a testament he could even remember how many kits he had alive, and their genders.

Slug ||

"That's certainly correct, Lieutenant," the slender buck spoke with a sigh - a heavy and obvious one at that. Seems as if they were two of similar mindset in regards to their own offspring... Well.. Except the Lieutenant had left his own without a father. That too was Slug's initial intention up until Bilberry's death.

Foolish doe...

The chatter between the two brought another smirk to Slug's face. "Ahh, I understand that. It would be humiliating if one slipped up and caused any havoc. It would taint the representation of those like us." He spoke with an air of confidence and strong belief in his words, gesturing his paw to himself then at Solidago.

"My two are... Ah, well they have much to work on. I plan to fix their attitudes before they become Privates though, so nothing much to fret... My training may make the job a little easier on whoever gets the burden of mentoring them." He had a cocky tone to his voice, it was obvious that this buck was full of himself aside from his belief in his abilities. Scowling back at the two out of the corner of his eye, he turned his head again to look at Solidago.

"Unfortunately, their mother was incapable of putting up a decent fight to defend herself," the Captain rolled his eyes before continuing. "And someone around here must take the challenge of raising their offspring to become quality Captains... I fear some parents are too soft." 

Solidago ||

Like us? Solidago could appreciate confidence, likely had far too much himself, but even he knew his place. He was Lieutenant, not yet General, and he remembered that each day. This buck as a Captain, not even a very noteworthy one outside his loyalty, at that, certainly no Lieutenant. "No two rabbits are alike, Captain," he hummed, a subtle dig at the other to remember his place. No matter the level of familiarity they seemed to naturally establish, Solidago would not stand to be compared to another.

"Entirely too soft," he agreed, thinking of Lantana and Crowberry, and all of their but one dead kit. Then he thought of General Gladiolus, and how his own litter had turned out. Deep within him, the Lieutenant might have felt a momentary glitter of pride at how his own children managed to do better than the General's. But then it was gone just like that. "My sister is due soon, this will be her second litter. I expect they'll be fine soldiers with her at the helm."

Slug ||

The confidence seemingly left the buck's body with almost a physical jolt as he was corrected by the Lieutenant, eyes opening a little in bewilderment. The Captain was never a suck up to anybody, but this was a higher rank he was talking to; what was he thinking? Likely not even thinking at all in his books... A hint of nervous laughter escaped his mouth as he began to sputter out a reply. "Ah! My mistake, Lieutenant!", he exclaimed, bowing his head in respect to the other.

The buck was glad the two seemed to agree on the nature of the parents when it came to their kits. In Slug's mind, kits should be raised to become soldiers for the warren, not mollycoddled, but tested to see their worth. The only reason he had taken it on his own, after all, was to ensure they grew up to become his idea of so-called "perfection".

"I wish her well! I'm sure she'll raise them excellently." He was making sure to be more careful with his words, he didn't want to get on the bad side of the Lieutenant...