~WhiteCardinal~
The molly perked her ears up, beginning to walk towards that familiar thunderclan scent. Her eyes flickered from her spot over to the spot of... A tree? Recognizable, sure... But which one?
@dino. (sorry for her absence forgot to mentipn i was on vacation ;-
Mud and dirt masked his tortoiseshell fur. He almost tripped over a tree root. He regretted his decision to leave camp to follow that squirrel. But that squirrel was teasing me, enticing me to pounce on it! . Whatever. That didn't matter now. What mattered was that he found Frostfeather and his camp. Oh, what would Frostfeather say if she saw him like this? I'm never letting you out of the nursery, he bet that's what she'd say.
He stumbled upon a tree and decided to rest there. Maybe someone else would find him? Frostfeather, or Bumblestar maybe.
@dino. (Will Pebblekit be punished? I want to apply for a kit to apprentice rank change after this)
They expertly lept over the roots of trees sprawled out in front of them. They were quite worried as they were having a little trouble scenting their Clan. For someone who's never been to the Twolegplace, Frostfeather think they did quite a good job getting out of there. Thankfully, they had somehow managed to evade the collar or only StarClan would know how to get it off. A familiar scent drifted towards Frostfeather's nose and they started following it. "Thrushstar?", they called out.
Mud and dirt masked his tortoiseshell fur. He almost tripped over a tree root. He regretted his decision to leave camp to follow that squirrel. But that squirrel was teasing me, enticing me to pounce on it! . Whatever. That didn't matter now. What mattered was that he found Frostfeather and his camp. Oh, what would Frostfeather say if she saw him like this? I'm never letting you out of the nursery, he bet that's what she'd say.
He stumbled upon a tree and decided to rest there. Maybe someone else would find him? Frostfeather, or Bumblestar maybe.
@dino. (Will Pebblekit be punished? I want to apply for a kit to apprentice rank change after this)
There are nice things about being outside in the lovely greenleaf weather. Alderstep enjoyed his time outside relaxing under the sun's rays, all alone and away from that constant blunder that was ThunderClan's camp.
Until he was very much not alone. He smelled a cat. It didn't take him long to spy the little guy (gosh, that was a child) by a tree. "Who are you?" he inquired, taken aback. Of all the things the deputy had expected for the day, it was not coming across a kit in the forest. Nope. He narrowed his eyes at the cat, growing a bit suspicious. "What're you doing out here?" He asked, a bit more hostile than his previous question.
[depending on how this goes, there may be a punishment but it probably won't be so harsh that pebblekit will be withheld from ranking up for awhile, so long as he meets the requirements it'll be fine ]
By far, that place of capture had been much more difficult to escape from than the others.
There were tall shiny trees(?), and monsters everywhere. Roosterflame himself had been confined to one of the tall shiny trees, endlessly waiting out his sentence. The only way he’d even gotten free was by biting one of the Twolegs handling him as he was carried to a monster. The cat across the hall had told him that he was being taken to the cutter, a place where no cat came back the same. In his desperate scrabble to not go to the cutter, Roosterflame had spotted an opening and taken it, not caring if the world he was escaping into was more hostile than when he last was in it.
He’d been held up in that tall silver tree for less than a moon, but he felt like he’d been gone for longer. The Twolegplace was cold and scary, and the cats that inhabited it were not soft kittypets, nor were they warriors with codes of honor and nobility. He had been attacked multiple times in his search for Sparrowstar, as he had a fleeting hope for a time that he would find his friend here, but after a half-moon of searching, he’d resolved that if Sparrowstar were here, it’d be impossible to find her.
He didn’t want to, but he’d given up the search, and turned to find home. Maybe, Whispered his breaking heart, Maybe she’s come back while you were gone.
.
Roosterflame wasn’t hindered by a jingling collar this time, the Twolegs who had captured him hadn’t bothered to give him one. Since his last two captures, Roosterflame had grown much more hostile towards the upwalking creatures. He had refused to cooperate with anything, and that included getting a collar.
Prey was more abundant as new-leaf rolled over into greenleaf, and Roosterflame didn’t starve, but he felt a hollowness in his stomach besides. He missed his home. He missed his clan, his family.
He wondered what had happened in his absence. How was ThunderClan getting on? Was Thrushstar a good leader? Was Bumblebreak doing well as deputy? Hopefully, these things were answered with positives. Roosterflame couldn’t bear to return to his clan with another stranger there to greet him. Not that it had been so bad last time, but that was different. That was Sparrowstar.
He wondered if, in the time that had passed since he’d gone missing, he’d been disgraced. Perhaps ThunderClan didn’t know the truth of his disappearance, and they’d assumed the pressure of being a Keeper had been too much too soon.
He knew this, at least, when he returned, he wasn’t going to be a Keeper anymore, that was evident. He wondered if he had a chance at anything anymore. Probably not. Maybe everyone was glad he was gone.
He didn’t know what it was, but during the day, he felt a little more than drained. He assumed it was the traveling. Yet, at night, he was full of all the energy he should have had during the day. Perhaps it was a side-effect of those artificial lights that had beaten down on him at all hours of the day and night during his time in the large Twolegplace. Maybe he was burnt out from the lights.
He wondered if he’d even be accepted back. He thought about it. If he we’re leader, would he accept someone back after their third disappearance? Especially if they were a Keeper? He knew the answer, yes, of course. Almost everyone deserved another chance. But would Thrushstar think the same? Roosterflame still didn’t know much about the guy, even after having that talk with him in the leader’s den. Who knew how he’d react.
And Bumblebreak, if she was the one handling his rejoining. Would she welcome him back? They were friends, but Roosterflame didn’t know how much weight that held for the newly-appointed deputy. What if she cut him off as someone who did too little, and returned too late?
All those thoughts swirled and eddied in his mind like a rising hurricane as Roosterflame spotted the ThunderClan border on the horizon.
.
The squirrel he had caught just before reaching the border felt like a stone in Roosterflame’s jaws as he made his way through the forest, his ears upwards, his eyes peeled for someone, anyone he knew. Everything seemed well, there were no signs of recent battles, no lost scent of… hm.
Where was the cat scent? He was reaching the camp, but the scent was…
Oh, oh, craaaap.
The camp, the camp was different now, he remembered that much. The sinkholes had taken over, and Thrushstar had moved the clan to a new camp where the old one had been. He remembered that, but what he didn’t remember was where it was.
Shoot.
He pressed his nose to the ground, seeking any lingering cat scent, but found none. This was not good. He had to find the camp, or he’d risk meeting a patrol, and he didn’t want to run across anyone from his clan until he saw a high rank, because he didn’t want to have to learn any bad news unless it was straight from the horse’s mouth because he didn’t know if he’d be able to stand anything else, especially if he heard it from someone who didn’t even know him.
What was he thinking? His mind was wandering to the what-ifs and he needed to stay in the present! Skies! He needed to get himself together, the sadness of losing Sparrowstar was still lingering, and with him being back home, it was increased tenfold. He thought he had healed a bit but no! It was just the gift of distance! Skies!
The thought of Sparrowstar made his mind wander back to the day, a moon ago, where he’d been captured. He’d been out, hunting, and he’d just hidden Sparrowstar’s rose quartz underneath a rotted log. I hope it’s still there! He thought suddenly, his ears pricking up, his pupils dilating, If someone found and took it, or if it fell into a sinkhole or something, I’ll feel awful!
Roosterflame remembered exactly where the log had been, and he pelted straight to it, praying to whatever afterlife was listening that it would still be there. Lo and behold, he found the log. That was a good start.
He leapt upon it and reached beneath it, feeling a shock of momentary terror when he couldn’t find it. Though, he reached deeper beneath it, and he found it. It was covered in rotting wood, but it was whole, and it was exactly how he’d left it. He cleaned off the rotting wood, and made his way back through the forest, once again on his search for the new camp.
[ @dino. ]
"Bumblestar," she corrected, quickly and firmly. "Thrushstar's gone, just like everyone else before him." Roosterflame's surprise didn't startle her in the slightest, and she kept a sharp stare locked onto him, tail swaying irritably behind her.
Of course it was Twolegs. It was always Twolegs. She understood younger cats getting trapped, but experienced warriors? The idea was mind-boggling. You just ran. How hard was it to run? Everyone did it every single day, it wasn't mountain-science.
With a rough sigh, Bumblestar shook her head once. "You're not getting punished. But you're no longer a Keeper, I hope you know that. Your repeated absences have proven to me that you're not ready for it. 'N honestly, I'm kinda doubting that you're actually deserving enough to come back. So why don't you tell me what you think you can do to get my trust back?"
Bushtuft knew it was the day. He could smell the Thunderclan scent he was so eager to smell again. His heart pounded on his chest. I'm ready for this. I'm ready for this. I've been ready for this, and no matter if I'm turned away, I'll be fine. It made him nervous, but he was going to try his best. Try his best revive the social life he was taken away from.
Bushtuft was...different, from when he last touched Thunderclan territory. A scab had formed on his face, caused by cat's claw swiping across his cheek when he asked for help to remove the collar around his neck.
The gray cat tried again, and like all the other times, failed, to cut the purple collar around his neck, enough times that it was now covered in small cuts at the edges. Though he had gotten used to it inside the Twoleg dwelling, now that he thought of his friends, who were all uncollared, the collar was almost unbearably uncomfortable.
He was pacing around the territory, looking aimlessly for some kind of cat he could talk with, without getting scratched on the face. That was until he finally saw a cat, a Thunderclan cat! It was none other than Bumblebreak, a mutual friend of Cinderpaw's back when they were apprentices. The excitement of the familiar she-cat caused his heart to (needlessly) race. Before second thought, he leaped over to the warrior and started spewing out words in mindless excitement. "Bumblebreak! Oh Starclan, am I glad to see you! I've been gone so long, I was taken by Twolegs! I hadn't the chance to ever get out and when I- oh by the way, can you help me get this off? -But yeah! They took me and I couldn't get out and uh-" The words fell quickly and sloppily out of his mouth, he was so overwhelmed and excited at the interaction that he couldn't straighten his thoughts to tell a story that was in any way understandable.
[ @dino. ]
Well. That wasn't a face she thought she would ever see again.
Bumblestar's ears flipped up and she turned around quickly, startled away from tracking a mouse by Bushtuft's sudden appearance. Holy moons. How long had it been? The last leaf-fall, maybe? "Bushtuft?" she managed after a moment, taken off-guard as her eyes flickered over him; they lingered momentarily on the ragged collar before drifting back up to his face. "Woah. Uh- yeah, hold on, let me get this off 'n then you can actually tell me what happened. Pull your head back when I give this a tug."
She'd correct him in a second about her name. For now, she moved forward to take a loose portion of the collar between her teeth and tried to tug it over his head.
~WhiteCardinal~
The molly perked her ears up, beginning to walk towards that familiar thunderclan scent. Her eyes flickered from her spot over to the spot of... A tree? Recognizable, sure... But which one?
@dino. (sorry for her absence forgot to mentipn i was on vacation ;-
Bumblestar's head poked up from a cluster of fern's eyes finding Whitecardinal easily. "Oh, it's you. Where've you been and why are you just wanderin' around in the middle of the woods?"
[ @Loveless.Fawn i promise i haven't skipped you! valery should be getting to you shortly ]
(Don’t have time to do this fancy, but I’m gonna get her back because I didn’t really how fast time goes,)
@dino.
LavenderKit was wailing out side of camp. Secretly, she had been hiding in the walls just to reveal herself many days later… let’s face it, she wanted… Attention…
Something was crying incessantly. Further investigation showed to Alderstep that there was a kit hiding outside of camp. Great cats, why and how were there random children showing up where they shouldn't be? "Hey. Shut up. Who are you?" The deputy asked, glaring down at the creature that interrupted his peaceful relaxing time. He still didn't know the names of the kits very well, though he vaguely recognized the kit's scent. ThunderClan. Didn't explain what the heck this child was doing out of the nursery, and apparently gone for who knows how long. To be short, Alderstep was mildly annoyed.
[aha i found yours! it was being sneaky and hiding ]
They expertly lept over the roots of trees sprawled out in front of them. They were quite worried as they were having a little trouble scenting their Clan. For someone who's never been to the Twolegplace, Frostfeather think they did quite a good job getting out of there. Thankfully, they had somehow managed to evade the collar or only StarClan would know how to get it off. A familiar scent drifted towards Frostfeather's nose and they started following it. "Thrushstar?", they called out.
"Thrushstar's gone," Bumblestar said flatly, stepping out of the undergrowth to fix Frostfeather with a stern look. This was a cat who had been gone for a long while, if she remembered right. "Vanished, like the rest of them. I'm in chrage now. Where've you been?"
Well. That wasn't a face she thought she would ever see again.
Bumblestar's ears flipped up and she turned around quickly, startled away from tracking a mouse by Bushtuft's sudden appearance. Holy moons. How long had it been? The last leaf-fall, maybe? "Bushtuft?" she managed after a moment, taken off-guard as her eyes flickered over him; they lingered momentarily on the ragged collar before drifting back up to his face. "Woah. Uh- yeah, hold on, let me get this off 'n then you can actually tell me what happened. Pull your head back when I give this a tug."
She'd correct him in a second about her name. For now, she moved forward to take a loose portion of the collar between her teeth and tried to tug it over his head.
He was relieved Bumblebreak could finally get it off him. When she pulled up, the collar had gone up most of the way, only needing to wiggle his head a bit for the collar to slip off. “Thank you.” When the collar was off his neck, Bushtuft felt as if he could breathe for the first time in moons.
After the collar came off, Bushtuft gave a moment of silence between the two of them to let himself calm down and regain his head for a second to explain his absence for the past six moons. “I can barely remember how I got taken by Twolegs in the first place, but what I can recall…I was hunting. I had gotten a bit far off from camp to find prey, but before I could think, I was picked up by the torso and placed into some kind of…container?” He explained, digging around in his memory for a description. “Soon after, I was trapped in a Twoleg dwelling. They never let me out, never opening their entrance-covers to let me out. Every time I had a chance, they’d shoo or kick me away. Finally, a Twoleg kit left the entrance open, and immediately, I sprinted out of the dwelling.” In addition to his story, he shot his paw out to the side to show how fast he was getting out of there.
He sighed. “It’s been ages. I don’t know what kits have been born, what apprentices have become warriors, or who has died in my absence. But I just…” He paused for a moment, reflecting on everything that must’ve happened. “I just wanna come home.”
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♥ Have a good day/night! ♥
[Currently, a new finder for my characters is being made, so please vm me if you ever want to roleplay, and please only bump me after 48 hours!]
Last edited by error; June 25th, 2023 at 03:21 PM.
Re: ThunderClan Joining & Rejoining
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