ShadowClan Life Before Destruction

[Jynx]

Originally Posted by mythical myik

@Deranged Llama
The tom walked rather quickly to the training grounds, rushing and practically tripping over everything he came across. His exploration with Foxclaw had gone on longer than he expected, and the cat found himself running late to his meeting with his mentor. Sneezepaw leaped over a small branch, his fur a mess. He ran to the rendezvous, seeing Rumblestorm. He smiled and let out a few short pants. "H-hey! Sorry I'm," He took a breath. "Late, I didn't realize how far into the territory I was!" He mewed, Sneezepaw let out a small sneeze, then another, then another. Looking around he noticed a small daisy clinging to his pelt. He brushed it off, turning his attention back to his mentor. "So Rumblestorm, what are we doing today?" He mewed, despite the embarrassment that warmed his pelt.

Rumblestorm sat in at the edge of the training clearing, his tail flicking back and forth. He was eager to start training with his apprentice. It was another opportunity, another chance, to prove himself to his clanmates, and to himself. He looked up, notincing that the sun was quickly climbing higher into the sky with each passing moment. He felt a twinge in his stomach, Sneezepaw, hi sir newest apprentice, was late. Rumblestorm wasn't one for yelling just because a cat was late once, but if his lateness became a common occurance, he knew he'd have to speak up and set down some ground rules.
As he was thinking, the count of paw steps on leaves alerted him to the arrival of Sneezepaw. He stood up and shook out his marbled brown and grey fur, turning his head to meet his gaze with the younger tom's own eyes. "Don't worry," Rumblestorm replied quietly, stepping forward so he was a comfortable distance from him. "However, I must ask you not to be late to a trainings session again, to the best of your abilities. We are here at this time for a reason, and I hope that you come to value your time spent training to become a better hunter and fighter, and in turn, a better Warrior." Rumblestorm's low voice, which was grave and deep at the best of times, gained a lighter tone. He gave a half-smile to raise up the previous mood of seriousness. "Now, let's get to training." He padded to the middle of the clearing, beckoning Sneezepaw with a sweep of his long tail. "We're going to start with some battle moves today." His voice gained a commanding edge. "I want you to try and knock me off my paws, any way you can." Rumblestorm's cunning blue eyes gleamed as he watched his apprentice, claws sheathed, tense and waiting for any sign of where he was going to attack him from.

[Madelaine]

Originally Posted by Greywind

"I love you too." He purred.
(can you make the mention for the clearing.)

Dovetalon limped into camp, looking back st his mate. He let out a purr whrn he saw her face.

[graves]

Originally Posted by RedHead

Small and frail. That’s what Daydream looked like to Canarysong right now. He knew that they had always been smaller, but Canarysong had always seen an untapped strength in his sibling. Just because he hadn’t spoken to them very often didn’t mean he didn’t watch them from the sidelines. He’d watched them grow along with himself. Watched them come out as non-binary, watched them become a medicine cat. Watched them help train other medicine cats, watched them hold their head up with a strong determination. Watched them lead the peacemaker rallies, and watched them lose the ones they loved, and regain new friendships. He saw the strength and the fire inside of Daydream. Yet, he still looked out for him. Canarysong had never gotten along with his brother, and he wasn’t exactly close with his mother. Daydream had been the one he’d singled his attention on. Ever since kithood, Canarysong had always had a big heart, and his way that he stabilized himself was caring for another, but connecting himself to them and watching out for them. He’d done that with Daydream. He always gave Daydream the necessary support they needed, even if it wasn’t direct. He stood up for them, put a good word out for them, and tried to just be there as an outside comforting source.
But Canarysong had never gotten any of this back. He’d been alone for most of his life, helping and supporting others, all the while depleting himself of the held he needed. There were days when things went bad, and Canarysong realized he didn't have anyone to talk to. So he’d done the most logical thing at the time, which was bottling himself up. Telling himself that nothing was wrong. That he wasn’t strong, and could be there as a supporting figure. But he didn’t have an endless supply of mental strength. His trouble caught up to him soon enough, reducing him to his current state. His state where he was confused and lost, as he’d never felt like this before. It will all go away soon. It was just a passing sickness. He’d convinced himself of that.

He didn’t blink as he looked at Daydream now, still as small and frail as he remembered them. But he couldn’t find the same fire he’d always seen in them. It was like, for the first time, Canarysong was seeing his sibling truly tiny, his own cracked heart distorting his vision.
And for once, Canarysong felt bigger than them. He’d be always held himself equal with Daydream. Even below at many times. But now, his gaze was turning cold. His weak mindframe was making him blame Daydream for his current suffering. Making him believe that because they hadn’t tried to be there for him as he’d tried, that was the reason he was becoming so messed up. Canarysong feared not being able to keep hold of his emotions. He feared becoming unstable, broken, and insane. Aby instability in his life was threatening to bring him down. And Canarysong wasn’t experienced. He had no idea how to handle it.
“Yeah, you always seem to be busy. No surprise.” His voice cracked and Canarysong winced. He was scared of what was happening to him.
And Daydream was only making it worse.

ouch. okay, daydream deserved that one.

they had been busy. the last time they had talked was right when they were made apprentices..god, that had felt like a life time ago. since then, they had loved, and lost, almost died countless times, and fought with so many people. and they had been so in their own head and sorrow, that they didnt even look towards their brother for help.no, instead they pushed him away. why? they didnt know. maybe it was something with emotional maturity, wanting to claim everything was fine when it wasnt, and then sulk in your own sorrows. granted, daydream had been through alot to warrent that. they had lost everything they loved. they had befriended cricketpaw, they had loved cricketpaw, and the next thing you know she was found slaughtered. dead. they had almost died during the flood and considered ending their own life, but they didnt, and ended up meeting geckoleaf that way. she had been the mother they never got, the nurtering kind that wasnt stricken with grief so hard she couldnt care for her kits. she taught them how to care for themselves, to eat, to sleep, to have hope. to be happy. she was their happy. and then she went missing. and then she died in daydreams arms, right on shadowclan soil. they could still feel how soaked their fur had been with her blood. they shook themselves of the memory. and then flashpaw had stepped down from her position due to stress, and it was daydreams fault. they had put so much pressure on her from their own problems she felt the need to leave. and in that moment they felt like they had nothing, so they pushed their brother away. that was better than forming a bond, only to lose him too, right?

wrong. obviously theres been more hurt than good here. and it was all daydreams fault.

"i know..and im sorry." they replied honestly. their was no aggression in it at all, their tone much softer than their brothers. they could understand the hate and distaste he must be feeling, which only weighed them down even more. they felt bad, there was nothing more to it. "i..i wanted to know how you were doing-" they piped up again, trying to make conversation despite his short answers,"i heard you had kits. im really happy for you," they wished they couldve been there to meet their neices and nephews right when they were born, but they werent.

[CheetahPelt]

Originally Posted by Miss Bliss

Shadedmoon starred out of the den at everyone in the camp. She liked when he was there it made her feel not as lone.

"You have very pretty eyes." He remarked. The lowlight glittered on them, he turned his head alightly

[Madelaine]

Originally Posted by CheetahPelt

"You have very pretty eyes." He remarked. The lowlight glittered on them, he turned his head alightly

"Thanks. Yours don't look bad either." sh replied. Shadedmoon realized whst she had just said and frlt her ears go agsinst her hesd with awkwardness.

[:blue:]

Originally Posted by Nutella

Ravenfrost nodded a bit curtly at her answer ,she didn't mean it to be in a rude way but she wanted this conversation to get a move on and not necessarily be over with but she didn't want to be here for too long. Her ears twitched at the next question but once she heard the final word ,her mouth glued shut and her throat tightened along with her body tensing should I answer?.... He looked hurt when windy gotten demoted, I don't want to hurt him either ....what if in the long run this proves to be the second worst mistake I've made ? What if it saves my pelt? There's always that what if....and did he have to ask that? What cursed him to? this made her close her eyes and draw her lips back to release a low snarl and to shake her head ,now looking at her leader with what looked like a raging fire in her eyes before it died down and leaving just a hint of pain escape which soon grew into an overwhelming amount for her , she raised her head and narrowed her eyes her ears back "no,why on earth would i? There monstrous .troublemakers . And a chore to take care of . If I were to , I wouldn't be mom of the year material anyways . " she meowed her tone cold at first before melting down into what seemed to be like a joke , well....it was her poor excuse of a joke ,it somehow in a twisted way made her laugh afterwards but it was an empty one to cover up what she was truly feeling . And most of what she said was kinda true ,with the kits she saw around here they tended to be like little unruly beasts , but there were some who had manners and actually had their head together , those she liked. She remembered when she was a kit she was such a recluse that she didn't even wanna go out of the nursery when it was time for her apprentice years , she always had trouble connecting with one's her age ,she always had friends that were of newly turned warriors or older . But her friends never really stook around long enough though and it pained her . Her ears went back up and sighed "Goldenstar...do you think you've made the right choice? About this? I mean there are plenty of other well trained warriors in this clan. Like ....Specklenose even though she's young I still think she has potential . " she meowed with doubt . Forget about waiting .

Goldenstar watched his deputy, seeing almost every stage of grief sliding over her face. He was quiet, trying to let it all pass before he spoke again. “I don’t know, I just thought you seemed kind of like a mother,” the words came out awkwardly, and he hated it. However, they were out now, the question had been asked, the response was given. He didn’t know what else to say, more words maybe should have come out, but they didn’t. He listened to her next words for a moment, trying to put together the answer. He could hear doing in her voice. “Well, it’s kind of hard to explain,” Golden admitted. “When I find a deputy, I look for someone who has potential, but there are other things that go into that. I look for someone who I don’t believe will go behind my back,” a small tinge of pain was left in his voice, the remnants of Windy’s betrayal, “l look for someone who’s not afraid to speak their mind, and who is okay with speaking to other cats,” he said, nodding. “You exhibit all these traits, and while a younger cat may have more energy, you have more experience to help make decisions, which is important,” he finished, internally, he was praying that he had chosen right, though, externally, he seemed as he always did. That had become his talent recently, smiling at Raven, trying to help her feel more comfortable.

[aleka!]

Originally Posted by CheetahPelt

The she cat grinned and scotched closer to the tom cat, sinking closer to him with a happy purr. She sighed, not really realized she was pressed up against Inksplash's side. "Thank you." She purred, her brilliant gray eyes glistened, not their usual stormy turbulance. She looked up at the tom cat, her left eye half closed, making it easier to focus with her eye that had full vision. She frowned a little. "Am i making you uncomfortable? You don't have to." She shifted her feet, ready to scootch away if she was making him uncomfortable.

Inksplash's tail twitched as he tensed even more. "Oh, its fine." He hated the fact how awkward he got when he made contact with another cat. He stared ahead, not really knowing what to do. If he made direct eye-contact with her it would just be weird. He glanced at Briarstorm as she looked at him. The tom stiffened even more somehow. Seeing her frown, he tried to appear more relaxed. He didn't want to look as uncomfortable as he was. "Oh no, its fine." He reassured her. He hoped he would get more comfortable soon.

[Crystalwhisker]

Originally Posted by Miss Bliss

Dovetalon limped into camp, looking back st his mate. He let out a purr whrn he saw her face.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" She asked him.

[vellichor]

Originally Posted by Solstice!

honestly, the last thing milk would be upset about was someone cuddling close to him. but right now he knew windy was emotional, which meant his mind was going a thousand miles per hour and any little action he did he thought was wrong. it was a panicked mindset, but milkweed understood it, not moving at all when windy had fallen into him slightly. "windy," he said in a hushed tone, looking at him directly in the eyes,"your mind is going too fast right now. focus on me right now, okay?" he didnt want him to think about the demotion, or goldenstar, or being a warrior, or anything else. he just wanted him to focus on him right now,"now come here, i dont bite." he mewed, the thick southern accent of his tone shining through, it was something he could never shake as a kit since his mother had been an ex kittypet. slowly, he scooted back closer towards windy where he has been before after he fell, cuddled up close into his side. he tucked his tail around him again, just like before, and perching his head ontop of windygales head, thick purrs coming off of him in waves now that he was comfortable. he glared at anyone who dared even looked at them for too long. his ears perked up at the question,"i am proud of you," he repeated, this time firmly,"no matter what did or does happen, i know you tried. and thats what matters to me."

Every single thought raced through his head at a rabbit’s pace. It was like a stampede, and he couldn’t catch any. All of them screamed, wanting to be heard. They all yelled some variant of “what if” or “why” or “no one likes you”. He was struggling to focus on reality, his vision flickering. Squeezing his eyes shut, he hoped to get his racing thoughts under control. But one word from Milkweed dispelled his racing thoughts of negativity. Windygale opened his amber eyes, focusing on Milkweed’s similarly colored hues. His breaths were still quick and panicked, and his heart still raced, but his pulse and breaths slowed the longer he looked at Milkweed. The toms voice was clear, and, unintentionally, he scooted closer to the fluffy white feline. He felt a slight pressure on his head, and lay it gently on his shoulder. His tears had nearly dried up. Windy looked up as Milkweed answered his question. A smile formed on his maw, one speaking of gratefulness. “T-thank you.”

[graves]

Originally Posted by Sagittarius

Every single thought raced through his head at a rabbit’s pace. It was like a stampede, and he couldn’t catch any. All of them screamed, wanting to be heard. They all yelled some variant of “what if” or “why” or “no one likes you”. He was struggling to focus on reality, his vision flickering. Squeezing his eyes shut, he hoped to get his racing thoughts under control. But one word from Milkweed dispelled his racing thoughts of negativity. Windygale opened his amber eyes, focusing on Milkweed’s similarly colored hues. His breaths were still quick and panicked, and his heart still raced, but his pulse and breaths slowed the longer he looked at Milkweed. The toms voice was clear, and, unintentionally, he scooted closer to the fluffy white feline. He felt a slight pressure on his head, and lay it gently on his shoulder. His tears had nearly dried up. Windy looked up as Milkweed answered his question. A smile formed on his maw, one speaking of gratefulness. “T-thank you.”

"of course," he hummed contently, comfortable in their position. he could sense that windy was calming down and that comforted him, that he was atleast doing something right. milkweed had had his share of..dealing with panicked states, so he knew how to handle them pretty well by now. "thisll all pass, everything does." life went on whether you wanted it too or not, but windygale, if surrounded by the right people, would also move on. goldenstar was wrong to demote him for sure, but at the same time, there was nothing they could do, so they had to take it and move on. "everything will get easier eventually, i promise." and he meant it, even if he had to tell that to windygale every single day he would, over and over again till he got it through his head. that deputy or not, he still mattered just as much to this clan as anyone else. pulling his head off of windys, he finally got a good look at his face now, seeing the tears dry up. there were still lingering streaks in his fur, but nothing that wouldnt go away with time. his eyes seemed just a bit brighter then before this talk, before they had been such a dull yellow, but no windys eyes seemed to have that small twinkle in them like before. "your eyes change colors," he piped up, changing the conversation to something more happier, and just a little bit corny,"its how i know when youre happy. theyre at their prettiest when youre happy,"