ThunderClan: Life Before 2020's Fire

[Dirtfur]

Shadepaw glared at the crowd of younger apprentices. The old apprentice couldn't sleep, thinking of plans to get rid of Duskstar or Flintspirit and rise to the top of the clan, becoming the ThunderClan leader. Though he knows that Dumbdstar and Flintspit are already suspicious of the black-furred tom. I better stay on their good side or else I will never become leader. The Turkish Angora hissed, then closed his eyes to sleep.

(OPEN)

[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak couldn't remember ever feeling glad that he was within sight of ThunderClan clearing, but he was arriving in a decent amount of time--it wasn't too long after night had fallen, and his leg was beginning to ache from the strain. That feeling of gratefulness ebbed away as he drew closer and the tang of coppery blood hit his senses, yet might as well have smacked him upside the head in its intensity. All thoughts of his own minor injury forgotten, Fawnsqueak rushed forward, singletrack minded in learning what could've happened. He didn't care that he was tripping over undergrowth and dodging tree roots, just knew he had to get there and fast. Whatever had occurred was recent.

It was overpowering at the camp entrance. Nausea caused him to waver. His paws were frozen to the ground, eyes glued to the spatter of blood around the clearing.


@hxneysuckle [..or anyone who wants to jump in? not picky]

[lio]

[ @Dipper ]

Duskstar had been moving around the clearing, checking on all those still laying in it when a familiar face appeared. She looked up, coming to focus on the RiverClanner-- she still didn't know their name-- and frowned. Giving a nod to the cat she was currently checking on, the leader limped closer to the RiverClanner, tail flicking in greeting. It wasn't too difficult to determine that a raid had taken place on their camp, the scent of blood still strong in the air. Duskstar seemed to be purposefully ignoring the scent as well as her own injuries given by Icestar.
Once she had approached, she opened her mouth to speak.
"Is something wrong? Don't tell me Icestar decided to antagonize RiverClan as well..."

[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak hardly registered that Duskstar was heading toward him, still entranced by the remainder of something terrible spelled out in the blood of ThunderClan's cats. Exactly what, he couldn't decipher but genuinely hoped it wasn't what Lionstar suspected: the work of ShadowClan.

It was only when Duskstar was basically in front of him--standing in his line of vision--that he snapped from his daze to flick unfocused eyes on her, speechless. There were no words for something like this, and a simple greeting felt out of his grasp, not to mention incredibly inappropriate. So his throat worked, but no noise came.

And everything stopped when she said Icestar. Oh stars. Fawnsqueak felt dizzy, and it couldn't be just from the overwhelming stench of blood-- battle in the air.

"I..." His throat had never been drier. He swallowed. "You-- there... Icestar?" It was a squeaky string of attempts at a sentence, bewilderment and anxiety scrawled over his face. Shaking his head, Fawnsqueak tried to snap himself out of it, get his composure together. When he spoke again, it was shaky but at least understandable, "...Icestar attacked?"

That must have been the key, because new questions flooded forth. "How-- when? Was it... It had to be recent, right? The blood, it's-- everywhere, fresh, and.." Peeking beyond her, the injuries of her clanmates became all the more visible. "Why? Why did ShadowClan..?" He refused to believe it was just over the alliance, surely she wouldn't...

@hxneysuckle

[lio]

[ @Dipper ]

She nodded solemnly, unfazed by their stuttering words. Passing a glance over the clearing, a frown on her lips, she allowed a sigh to slip into the blood-scented air. It was gruesome, the amount of gore that was painted over the camp. One would have thought that multiple murders had taken place, and yet, only one cat had officially died in the battle. But others had been horrifically disfigured.
Duskstar shuddered at the thought of Pinepuff and her now-missing nose.
"Icestar raided us. It was suppose to happen at moonhigh, as one of her warriors had warned us, but I can only assume that they were caught. ShadowClan raided early, in broad daylight. We were unprepared. Only one of our warriors was killed, but..." She shook her head. "She did this out of her fragile pride. To 'teach us a lesson' because we broke the alliance. Shed the blood of many warriors, and for no good reason." Duskstar's tail lashed in anger, ears flattening as she thought back to the raid that had taken place not long ago.
"It was selfish and heartless. And purely out of pride."

[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak tried to absorb all of that, a difficult endeavor when his mind was swimming yet equally bogged down with extra inquiries about the battle itself, its purpose, what'd gone down between the leaders, the outcome-- maybe not that last one. There were no winners in battle. A blunt "huh?" fell from him at the revelation that it'd been an act of pride, or perhaps an act of vengeance; they were separate motivations to him, but he also hadn't truly met Icestar. He had no idea what she was like but couldn't imagine that was actually the reason behind a full-scale raid.

His ears flattened with hers, posture deflating. "Wow, I'm.. sorry," he managed out, eyebrows furrowed. It was still puzzling, why she would do such a thing. A solemn silence seeped in the seconds that passed with no words exchanged, there was nothing to say. Expressing condolences simply made him feel helpless. Drawing in a deep breath, he released it again in a strained puff. "Lionstorm sent me because he felt like something was off. And.. I guess I'm glad he did. Is... there anything RiverClan can do? I mean, I know... nothing is going to help." Not with their losses at least. "But just, anything to make it easier..?"

@hxneysuckle

[lio]

[ @Dipper ]

Putting together each of her thoughts, Duskstar gave a quiet "it'll be... okay" before she worked to think of a solution. It would take a while to heal from what ShadowClan had done, especially as they were already struggling beforehand. She hummed, Torbie tail twitching back and forth in thought. What could RiverClan do?
Many of their warriors were injured and would need to rest, and hunting had already been low beforehand. It wouldn't hurt to have some food, and maybe some extra protection in case Icestar decided she hadn't had enough...
After many, many heartbeats, Duskstar responded.
"If you can spare it, ThunderClan would be grateful to have some warriors sent over to help with hunting and guarding. Our warriors are worn down and hungry after a long leaf-bare with little food. But with the amount of injuries received, we'll have a hard time getting back on our paws with patrols and guarding the camp. It is solely up to Lionstar to decide, but we would be forever thankful to be given such help."
It wasn't much, but she couldn't bring herself to ask for more. Her job was to get the Clan to trust her, to believe in her ability to build them back up again. If she depended on RiverClan for everything, she would be seen as weak, and she didn't want that. Even so, the small amount of help would go a long way in allowing ThunderClan to recover.

[Fawn]

"...Oh."

Fawnsqueak wasn't expecting a genuine, tangible response to that after ThunderClan's record of being too proud or too incompetent to accept help when it was offered, though it was a pleasant surprise. As pleasant as it could be, he supposed, considering they were dealing with the aftermath of tragedy. Realizing she was probably waiting on a confirmation, he dipped his head. "I'll.. see if he can do that." It was iffy, but he had idealistic hopes. They'd already sent the help patrol to WindClan, but to do so for ThunderClan as well.. he didn't know how far Lionstar's generosity would extend.

"I'll let Lionstorm know about that, and..." a thick swallow, his eyes sweeping over the camp again, "well, everything. Thanks for-- for having me, and your time, Duskstar." It may have been a smooth meeting, but the discovery was devastating. He didn't know if he was relieved to be leaving to unload it onto Lionstar or dreading the potential consequence.

@hxneysuckle

[lio]

[ @Dipper ]

Duskstar offered a genuine smile, though anger and sorrow still clouded her hazel eyes. "Thank you. We appreciate you checking in on us," she mewed, speaking on the behalf of all of ThunderClan. "I wish you safe travels back to RiverClan." With a wave of her tail, she turned around, limping off to speak with more injured cats. Hopefully RiverClan could spare some generosity and help them...

[Abyssopelagic]

Mossyflight woke with a stretch, a lot colder than he remembered being when he fell asleep. He blinked himself awake and realized he fell asleep in the clearing. way to go, dummy he scolded himself.
He rubbed a paw over his face in an attempt to wake himself. Giving a small shake for extra measure, he padded outside the camp and looked at the sky, trying to gauge the time of day. It seemed early to mid morning, the light absolutely blinding him at this angle.
He slinked back in, groaning a little as he blinked away the spots in his eyes. Maybe Bonepaw was awake and up for training? He still needed to be shown around the territory, as he hadn't gotten the chance before Shadowclan attacked.
He popped his head into the apprentice den. "Bonepaw?" He kept his voice low to avoid disturbing the other apprentices.



@Bravekit