WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[lone]

Aspenpaw couldn’t remember the last time he had been so lonely. There was a sort of dullness in his eyes now, most of the hope having been drained from him over the past few moons. Then again, it was hard to be hopeful when there were so many things going wrong. It’s alright. It’ll all work out for the better soon. Aspenpaw’s friends were disappearing or dying, one by one… at this point in time, he had very few. It was hard for him to think that anything good could come of this. Why should it? He was hopeless, and he would even go as far as to say cursed. Yes, cursed… that seemed like a good word to use. There was something hanging above his head and the heads of his friends that couldn’t be ignored forever, and to be honest, he wasn’t quite sure how to fix this. Problems were becoming more and more abundant, and Aspenpaw was hoping that once he became a warrior, he could make some new friends. Younger warriors often were friendly towards apprentices, but as far as the older warriors went, they seemed to have their own little cliques that Aspenpaw wasn’t a part of. Eventually he would make new friends, and things would go back to normal… or at least, as normal as they could get back to. Whatever that meant.
@spring

[Fel]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Aspenpaw couldn’t remember the last time he had been so lonely. There was a sort of dullness in his eyes now, most of the hope having been drained from him over the past few moons. Then again, it was hard to be hopeful when there were so many things going wrong. It’s alright. It’ll all work out for the better soon. Aspenpaw’s friends were disappearing or dying, one by one… at this point in time, he had very few. It was hard for him to think that anything good could come of this. Why should it? He was hopeless, and he would even go as far as to say cursed. Yes, cursed… that seemed like a good word to use. There was something hanging above his head and the heads of his friends that couldn’t be ignored forever, and to be honest, he wasn’t quite sure how to fix this. Problems were becoming more and more abundant, and Aspenpaw was hoping that once he became a warrior, he could make some new friends. Younger warriors often were friendly towards apprentices, but as far as the older warriors went, they seemed to have their own little cliques that Aspenpaw wasn’t a part of. Eventually he would make new friends, and things would go back to normal… or at least, as normal as they could get back to. Whatever that meant.
@spring

Tawnypaw wasn't suffering from the same problem of disappearing friends, of relationships which were laid to waste by sudden tragedy. No, when Moonpaw passed away, she'd decided that there was nothing left for her to care about. Flashpaw and Aspenpaw, they'd become the only other cats she even bothered to talk to-- it was strange, choosing the one whose father killed her mother and the one who her best friend fell in love with over her. Perhaps she'd learned that, despite how much she cut herself off from other cats, it was time for her to move on. The tortoiseshell exited the apprentice's den and into the clearing with a loud yawn, stretching her paws out in order to flex her claws for a couple seconds. Bright green eyes blinking sleepily, the apprentice found herself merely glancing around camp for a few seconds before finally, her gaze settled onto a familiar face- one of the two close friends she'd been thinking about already. "...Ah, Aspenpaw. It's... nice to see you," she murmured with a small huff, flicking her tail in a signal for him to come to her- a gruff greeting, but one that was to be expected from Tawnypaw.

[wolfie]

the birds chirp, everything sounded peaceful, the clan was busy with there jobs, nothing could destroy the peaceful atmosphere. wait, no. get that tom out of here! flickerlight waddle out of the warrior den, yawning extra loudly [ well didn't sound so loud to him ] to make his presence known. he stretch his long body, a bright smile on his face. what would he do today, only starclan knew. they were probably just shaking their heads, scared for what would come. flickerlight bounce to the fresh-kill pile, he nosed a rabbit, carefully sniffing it. he didn't really enjoy rabbits or as he would say it, ebonies. he shrug his shoulders, quite a picky eater when it he first awoke. he finally decided on a thrush, flopping onto the grass to enjoy his delicious piece of prey. the handsome tom could feel the sun on his back, new-leaf and green-leaf weren't his best time of the year. his long fur kept him hot and sweaty, flickerlight wish he could have a snow cloud above him. his unique tooth that overlap his bottom lip was purely white like fresh snow. however right now he just look like a mess of a cat, just waking up, of course.

@Honeystorm(she)

[Raids]

Originally Posted by The Fallen Queen

the birds chirp, everything sounded peaceful, the clan was busy with there jobs, nothing could destroy the peaceful atmosphere. wait, no. get that tom out of here! flickerlight waddle out of the warrior den, yawning extra loudly [ well didn't sound so loud to him ] to make his presence known. he stretch his long body, a bright smile on his face. what would he do today, only starclan knew. they were probably just shaking their heads, scared for what would come. flickerlight bounce to the fresh-kill pile, he nosed a rabbit, carefully sniffing it. he didn't really enjoy rabbits or as he would say it, ebonies. he shrug his shoulders, quite a picky eater when it he first awoke. he finally decided on a thrush, flopping onto the grass to enjoy his delicious piece of prey. the handsome tom could feel the sun on his back, new-leaf and green-leaf weren't his best time of the year. his long fur kept him hot and sweaty, flickerlight wish he could have a snow cloud above him. his unique tooth that overlap his bottom lip was purely white like fresh snow. however right now he just look like a mess of a cat, just waking up, of course.

@Honeystorm(she)

Ashheart was aleady in the camp, sitting under a bush.

[Lionstar-sushi]

Lionkit want to have parents

[lone]

Originally Posted by spring

Tawnypaw wasn't suffering from the same problem of disappearing friends, of relationships which were laid to waste by sudden tragedy. No, when Moonpaw passed away, she'd decided that there was nothing left for her to care about. Flashpaw and Aspenpaw, they'd become the only other cats she even bothered to talk to-- it was strange, choosing the one whose father killed her mother and the one who her best friend fell in love with over her. Perhaps she'd learned that, despite how much she cut herself off from other cats, it was time for her to move on. The tortoiseshell exited the apprentice's den and into the clearing with a loud yawn, stretching her paws out in order to flex her claws for a couple seconds. Bright green eyes blinking sleepily, the apprentice found herself merely glancing around camp for a few seconds before finally, her gaze settled onto a familiar face- one of the two close friends she'd been thinking about already. "...Ah, Aspenpaw. It's... nice to see you," she murmured with a small huff, flicking her tail in a signal for him to come to her- a gruff greeting, but one that was to be expected from Tawnypaw.

”Hey, Tawnypaw. Good to see you too.” Despite the lack of enthusiasm in his voice, Aspenpaw was truly happy to see his friend - she was one of the few that he had remaining. The problem was, for how long? How long could it possibly be before he messed things up, or before she decided to pull away again? ”Are you doing okay?” He asked as he approached, a flicker of a smile the only thing that showed he was pleased at having been invited to come sit with her. His personality had changed, more than he would’ve thought possible, really… who could have guessed that within a few short moons, he would have had a crush on a cat who would die? Aspenpaw certainly hadn’t. Tawnypaw was pretty much the only remaining tie to Moonpaw, at this point. Everyone else was moving on. But she had been close to the she cat, and she probably had more memories than he did - how she was coping with it now, he didn’t know. Aspenpaw didn’t know a lot about Tawnypaw now, it felt like. He didn’t want to push anymore. He didn’t want to ask questions, because if he did, what if it scared her away? She’ll talk when she’s ready to talk. So if she didn’t answer his question from earlier, that wouldn’t surprise him at all. Aspenpaw wished they could start over and repair everything. Maybe if there was some method of time travel, they could. But since there wasn’t… they were going to have to figure something else out.

[RedHead]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Ah! Now he was getting somewhere! That sad sob-story about his Mother had really opened up a new conversational path, now Mercurypaw could get some information… the more she told him about herself, the more she would slowly start trusting him. And the more he “told” her about himself, the more she would feel like she knew him. Mercurypaw could tell as many lies as he wanted, just as long as they sounded believable enough - and so long as he had proof to back them up when she asked for it. ”They aren’t, are they? Mine was a real beast, like I said… I’m lucky to be alive now, really. She was never a nurturing cat, and… well… I’ll just say that my Dad got me out of there in time. Things could have gone from bad to worse.” The more hard-knock-life, sob-stories that he told, the easier it might be for her to identify with him. She seemed like the type of she cat who’d been through some hard stuff in her life, might as well take advantage of those things. ”What about your Mom? Mind telling me what she was like?”

He was already expecting a rude comment, and he would press a little harder and once she came close to snapping, he would back off until she was ready to talk again. It wasn’t hard, and it was certainly much nicer than pushing until someone broke… you really could catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Another idea came to mind, something Mercurypaw had heard long ago - asking someone to do a favor for you could actually make them like you more. Helping out, and all of that nonsense… or perhaps it was having someone ask, putting a little power in your paws. ”Actually, scratch the whole thing about your Mother. I know that has to be a painful subject for you. I was just going to ask… well, it’s a little embarrassing, but my hunting skills leave quite a lot to be desired. I was wondering if you could do me a favor and accompany me when I go out again? Maybe give me a few pointers?” It was doubtful she’d want to do it for nothing. Mercurypaw would be prepared to pay, if he needed to, but… right now he was counting on his charm to see him through.

Quailpaw was a bit surprised at how open Mercurypaw was being with her. When she had first run into him when he was an older kit, a couple moons ago, he had been very standoffish to her. Now though, she was hearing things actually about him. He was telling her about himself. Quailpaw didn’t understand that. She listened to the story about his mother, her eyes still not holding his gaze. If she had not been treated so badly in her young life, then she probably wouldn’t have believed his story. She wouldn’t have believed that someone in a clan would be able to get away with things like that. But she’d experienced it. And her mother, although dead now, had gotten away with plenty of that. Flicking her ears a bit, she glanced over at Mercurypaw, unsure of how to answer his question. She could tell him no, she could close off the conversational topic, and keep herself safe from others. Or she could finally tell another cat what horrors she’d gone through as a kit. Does it really matter if he knows about my mother? That’s nothing about me, so it should be safe. Quailpaw wanted to so badly talk mouse-dung about her mother. Her impulse and wants took over her guarded logical sense, and she gave into telling the younger apprentice. “She was worse than a badger. A real piece of fox-dung. No good in that thin body of hers. And when she grew old and feeble with greencoich, I stood by and laughed. Because then she finally knew how it felt like to be weak and humiliated. But unlike me, she was old and spent. She couldn’t change herself, couldn’t train endlessly to strengthen herself and make herself better. Her life was over. And it ended in the best way for her.”
Quailpaw’s yellow eyes sparked with anger as she remembered this experience. The sickening joy she had felt when her mother had lay in her nest at her paws, coughing, depleting of oxygen at each feeble breath. “She never deserved the cats she had in her life. She deserved no one.”

Quailpaw had growled about her mother before Mercurypaw had spoke again. Her voice had been low and gravelly, so when she snapped out of her state she supposed Mercurypaw might not have heard her.
As he asked for help and “pointers” with his skills. Quailpaw instantly shook her head. “No.” Was her instant response, her tail lashing as she turned away. “I can’t teach in a way you’d understand. I’ve had to adapt.” She meowed, gesturing her tail to her clouded eye. Quailpaw had never wanted to teach anyone, and she sure hoped she never got an apprentice. No one understood the odd way she hunted and battled. This was just her adaption to her condition. And she couldn’t teach Mercurypaw, he seemed perfectly healthy to her.

[Fel]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

”Hey, Tawnypaw. Good to see you too.” Despite the lack of enthusiasm in his voice, Aspenpaw was truly happy to see his friend - she was one of the few that he had remaining. The problem was, for how long? How long could it possibly be before he messed things up, or before she decided to pull away again? ”Are you doing okay?” He asked as he approached, a flicker of a smile the only thing that showed he was pleased at having been invited to come sit with her. His personality had changed, more than he would’ve thought possible, really… who could have guessed that within a few short moons, he would have had a crush on a cat who would die? Aspenpaw certainly hadn’t. Tawnypaw was pretty much the only remaining tie to Moonpaw, at this point. Everyone else was moving on. But she had been close to the she cat, and she probably had more memories than he did - how she was coping with it now, he didn’t know. Aspenpaw didn’t know a lot about Tawnypaw now, it felt like. He didn’t want to push anymore. He didn’t want to ask questions, because if he did, what if it scared her away? She’ll talk when she’s ready to talk. So if she didn’t answer his question from earlier, that wouldn’t surprise him at all. Aspenpaw wished they could start over and repair everything. Maybe if there was some method of time travel, they could. But since there wasn’t… they were going to have to figure something else out.

"I'm doing the best I can." Tawnypaw murmured bluntly, her eyes diverting down towards the ground as she stared down towards her paws. She was done with crying, after all- the only thing that remained was a sense of numbness, an empty feeling in her chest which hadn't gone away since the day her friend had been attacked, even before she'd died. Tail flicking across the floor of the camp almost restlessly, the she-cat kept her mouth shut for a few moments before finally snapping her head back up towards the other apprentice, eyes closing as she let out a long, winded sigh. "Life goes on, Aspenpaw." She murmured softly, though it appeared as if she wasn't intent on taking her own advice. She'd been closer to Moonpaw than her own family, but now... both things seemed to be gone. Both things except for a couple nieces and nephews she'd never even met, and a father who she hadn't talked to in what seemed like moons. "...How have you been?"

[RedHead]

[Alright, I’ll start the party guys X3]
[How about we post in the order I mentioned you? Just to keep things simple and easy]

@Silver Fishie @Fuzzyfeline @Lonestar23
[Cloudedpaw, Shadepaw, Buttercupbreeze, and Omenstrike]

After a long day of avoiding him, Cloudedpaw had finally been caught by his mentor and had to pause in his intellectual activities (as he likes to call them) for the day. And the cream-colored apprentice was not looking forward to battle training. If he could choose between hunting and battle training, he’d do hunting. Though he wouldn’t choose either if that were an option.
What was much worse to the tomcat was that Omenstrike had told him that they would be battle training with another apprentice and mentor pair, though his mentor hadn’t expanded on who. “What’s worse than battle training is battle training with another dim-witted apprentice.” The tomcat grumbled as he pushed his way trough the heather into the part of the moor specifically put aside for battle training. Cloudedpaw had run ahead while his mentor got the other two cats, just to have at least a little alone time before he was bombarded with social activity.
Cloudedpaw walked towards a clump of thick grass, crouching down in front of it. While he was an exceptional fighter, Cloudedpaw could not hunt. He would rather hunt than battle training, because that was alone and no one would have to see him fail, but that was another thing. He would fail. The tom’s mind always wandered when hunting, because he had to be so still and quiet. While battle training, his adrenaline got pumping, and his mind was all focused on his next moves. One of the only times another would see a competitive Cloudedpaw would be during fights. The tom’s quick thinking allowed him to make quick movements to defend himself and even quicker movements to attack back. Truly, he really did enjoy battling. But not against other cats who were all brute force dummies. He had trained with one of those cats before, and almost gotten suffocated because of their insignificant mind.
Focusing on the grass, Cloudedpaw began to stalk towards it. But then his ears started flicking, and his eyes moved to a rock sitting just next to the grass. That would be perfect for my rock tower I was building earlier. The thought came so quickly that he abandoned his “prey” and went towards the rock, running his paw down the smooth stone, admiring its grainy yet slick feel. I better hide it before they get here, so no one takes it. He started to nudge the rock towards the heather he had come through, hoping to hide it underneath the branches of the plant before any other cat arrived.

[pomegranate]

Originally Posted by RedHead

[Alright, I’ll start the party guys X3]
[How about we post in the order I mentioned you? Just to keep things simple and easy]

@Silver Fishie @Fuzzyfeline @Lonestar23
[Cloudedpaw, Shadepaw, Buttercupbreeze, and Omenstrike]

After a long day of avoiding him, Cloudedpaw had finally been caught by his mentor and had to pause in his intellectual activities (as he likes to call them) for the day. And the cream-colored apprentice was not looking forward to battle training. If he could choose between hunting and battle training, he’d do hunting. Though he wouldn’t choose either if that were an option.
What was much worse to the tomcat was that Omenstrike had told him that they would be battle training with another apprentice and mentor pair, though his mentor hadn’t expanded on who. “What’s worse than battle training is battle training with another dim-witted apprentice.” The tomcat grumbled as he pushed his way trough the heather into the part of the moor specifically put aside for battle training. Cloudedpaw had run ahead while his mentor got the other two cats, just to have at least a little alone time before he was bombarded with social activity.
Cloudedpaw walked towards a clump of thick grass, crouching down in front of it. While he was an exceptional fighter, Cloudedpaw could not hunt. He would rather hunt than battle training, because that was alone and no one would have to see him fail, but that was another thing. He would fail. The tom’s mind always wandered when hunting, because he had to be so still and quiet. While battle training, his adrenaline got pumping, and his mind was all focused on his next moves. One of the only times another would see a competitive Cloudedpaw would be during fights. The tom’s quick thinking allowed him to make quick movements to defend himself and even quicker movements to attack back. Truly, he really did enjoy battling. But not against other cats who were all brute force dummies. He had trained with one of those cats before, and almost gotten suffocated because of their insignificant mind.
Focusing on the grass, Cloudedpaw began to stalk towards it. But then his ears started flicking, and his eyes moved to a rock sitting just next to the grass. That would be perfect for my rock tower I was building earlier. The thought came so quickly that he abandoned his “prey” and went towards the rock, running his paw down the smooth stone, admiring its grainy yet slick feel. I better hide it before they get here, so no one takes it. He started to nudge the rock towards the heather he had come through, hoping to hide it underneath the branches of the plant before any other cat arrived.

Shadepaw had been patiently waiting for her battle training. The day was warm, not unusual, but a slight breeze cooled the air around her, as it was always a pinch windy on the moors of Windclan. She didn’t mind, actually, as the breeze floated through her soft gray fur and kept her senses sharp.
She dashed ahead over the grass and heather, the scents tickling her nose. She had been told that she would be training with another apprentice. She was horrible at fighting, on her terms, and she definitely needed the practice. Her swift paws flitted like a sparrow, the ground flying underneath her as she dashed ahead of her mentor and Omenstrike, who had gone to fetch Shadepaw and Buttercupbreeze. She soon arrived at the training spot, her green gaze flickering around the small area where many training sessions had occurred. Scuff marks and claw shaped dashes in the ground betrayed the moons of mentor’s and their protégée had come to face off.
She was a bit disappointed when she saw no one. Her gray ears flicked in a bit of frustration, she had been told the apprentice would already be here! She sniffed the air, just as she saw a long white tail with darker cloudy rings around it poking out of the heather nearby.
The tomcat apprentice soon took form in her eyes, and she instantly padded over, not caring to be quiet. She walked loudly up from behind him to alert the feline of her presence, her gaze pondering at what in the world he was doing in a patch of greenery.
“What are you doing?” She asked loudly, peering around the cat who was nosing something out of sight. He looked almost wary and disgruntled, and she immediately worried about disrupting him, just from his already annoyed expression.
He hadn’t even heard her yet, but she knew she shouldn’t have said a word. Shadepaw flicked her tail dismissively, she was sometimes a bit annoying.

@Fuzzyfeline