CLOUDJUMPER

“Partially, yes.” The large fluffy tomcat meowed, resting his chin on the edge of his nest, “There’s never been a time in my life where I’ve seen any of the clans get along. ShadowClan is especially ruthless towards cats that aren’t, well, ShadowClan.” He had seen some temporary allyships in his younger moons, but those kind of things never lasted and often ended in not a nice way. Cloudjumper could only hope that this kind of talk wouldn’t prompt young Springkit to try and go outside to see these kinds of things in person. Then again, if a whole clan couldn’t notice one kit slipping out of camp, then they were all surely doomed. “As long as we stay within our own borders, other clans don’t seem to give us any trouble.” The RiverClan warrior meowed with a quiet sigh leaving him, “Outsiders are… another matter completely, however.” Once again, Cloudjumper wondered if he should continue. Was this too much information to be telling a mere one-moon old kitten? Should he stop now before he made a mistake?

It was better to know these things right away though, instead of being left blind to the outside world though, so he defended his doubts with that logic. “Outsiders, meaning cats whom are not in any clans, are categorized as three types: loners, rogues and kittypets. Kittypets wear loud collars and usually stay away from clans in favor of their warm twoleg homes. Rogues and loners, however, are cats that roam from place-to-place, living with neither clan cats nor twolegs. Some respect our borders, but others do not and can be violent.” Cloudjumper thought back to moons ago when rogues killed RiverClan cats, especially kittens, and it was a problem for awhile. That seemed to happen less these days, but that didn’t mean any of them should let their guard down. “That is why kittens and apprentices aren’t allowed to leave camp without an adult. Promise me, young one, that you’ll never go out alone.” He said sternly, “You want to become a RiverClan warrior, don’t you?”

[ @Leafie ]

Goosecurl | She/Her & They/Them
Short smoked tabby with a cream underbelly and pale yellow eyes
—

Goose was in the midst of a dream. A particularly lousy dream actually. No happy butterflies to chase or minnows to watch in shallow pools of water. No dreamy sunshine to bask under. In fact this dream was more on the horrifying side. Riverclan looked the same, but she was older. Grey muzzled and crotchety… and before her (what she could only guess) was her kits. The unborn ones. Except… they were old. They looked familiar in a mysterious kind of way. But there was something wrong… some seemed to be crumbling, the very appearance of them fading into dust. Violent coughs and tremors. Sick. Just as sick as she was.

How could she have done this to them? She was bringing small lives into the world and- she felt pathetic standing here before them. Looking them in the eyes and desperately wanting nothing more than to save this from this fate she’d placed on their shoulders. An invisible burden. ”I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” her gaze drifted to the ground where she saw her own paws, greyed and scarred by long life. ”I didn’t even think… I wasn’t thinking. It’s my fault you’ll be like this I- and I can’t do anything to save you from it” tears welled up in her eyes. The sense of hopelessness became a crushing weight and just then… all five… all five of her beautiful kids began to decay. Falling into piles of dust and dirt “no- no no no! No wait! No!” Goosecurl charged towards the pile dropping down and trying desperately to scoop the piles back into discernable figures.. ”COME BACK! COME BACK IM SORRY!”

And just like that Goosecurl shot awake, the air of the real world felt like a sting against her face and… a contraction. For a moment heavy heavy breathes wracked the queens chest… and then she collapsed back onto her side with sobs that shook her whole body. The pain within her belly compounding after the seconds. ”Lilycreek… Lilycreek they are coming… Lily…” her voice was desperate in calling for the forever Queen, her paws grasping to hold onto the edges of her nest. Sure she’d given birth before… but it had only been Berry at the time. A single kit. If her dream was close to true… she was pregnant with five.

And she was terrified.

 

And then kittens appeared magically!

Goosecurl lay on her side, the break of dawn had just pushed its way into the sky. Bathing the small crack of the nursery to be flooded with a deep mauve and purple glow. The morning. They’d made it. The smoked tabby curled over the small precious ones, and even through her exhaustion could feel a small glimmer of pride. ”Lily…” her voice was hoarse and she reached a paw out for the comfort from the other. ”Do they look ok?”

@Poprock - Cranekit
@ares - Cormorantkit
@puppeteer - Ducklingkit
@Flaming Ice - Swankit
@TawnyNeedsACoffee - Ospreykit
@sol. - Lilycreek