ThunderClan: Life Before 2023's Sinkhole

[Raven~]

Larkstorm ducked her head shamefully. “Yes, Dogbark.” She then listened with a cocked ear. Her head jerked up when Dogbark broke the news. Of course it was already clear that Aspenstar was dead, but the how and the why hadn’t been easy to guess. Up until this point, Larkstorm had been guessing that she had been caught in an ambush. And Larkstorm supposed that that wasn’t entirely false. Aspenstar had been caught unawares, just not by another cat. Larkstorm looked over at Shiningskies and smiled at her supportively. The she-cat would be devastated that her…closer-than-friend was dead. She would need all the support she would get. Looking back at Dogbark, she meowed aloud, “Aspenstar was a courageous and noble leader even in the face of death.”
@ninjaBoss(for the notice)

[bubble[error].]

Sharpkit overheard the talking. Huh? Aspenstar is dead? Our leader is dead!? He crawled over to the Thunderwillow. He stayed hidden before running back to the nursery and sobbing.

[carmen]

@NinjaBloss @Eclipse
[felt like you might like to know whats going on]

Sleeping was nice. She enjoyed floating in the endless void of black darkness, hanging out in the blackness without feeling. It was glorious. No worries, no stress. Foxpaw awoke with a yawn, jumped out from the void due to the yelling of a familiar voice. Gruff and male and completely usual. She stretched and prepared to slowly make her way out of the den when she froze, eyes widening. Why was Dogbark calling for a meeting? That was Aspenstars job, was it not? Fear raced through her body, adrenaline fueling a fire she hadn't felt for moons, not since Riverclan took Firefly Cove

"What's going on?" Louder than normal. So much louder. Something was, off. More than off, something was wrong. She swallowed hard, racing out of the apprentices den and skidding to a stop in front of Dogbark. Was that? No, it couldn't be. But why would Dogbark be calling a meeting? The moonlight bathed the pelts of her clanmates with dull white light, impairing her usual ability to tell who was who by the pattern of their fur. The body on the deputy's back was familiar, pulsing in the back of her mind. She knew who it was, but she didn't want to know. She wouldn't accept it. Thunderclan was finally happy, albeit, missing a medicine cat, but this wasn't happening. It couldn't be.

"Aspenstar?" The gasp that escaped her lips was barely a whisper. This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening. "But, Icicleripple, and Eveningstar, and..."She fought back tears. Deal with it, Foxpaw, you're not weak. Swallowing back another gasp, she reached a white paw up and wiped away a stray tear, determined to show a brave face. No, not a brave face, what she really looked like, who she was all the time. The emotional sweet mess of a cat had left a long time ago, and she wasn't coming back. Not if Foxpaw could help it. No one liked a weakling. So, as she stared, slack-jawed at the face of her leader, she kept a frown on her face pushing down the pain.

"I thought she had nine lives?" She looked up to Dogbark, pushing past the crowd and stepping forward. "What happened to her other lives?" Maybe she would wake up. Maybe all this was for nothing, she'd stand up and take a staggering step, say this would be alright. But as she watched, it wasn't. The honey colored leader didn't stand, didn't tell her to stop crying. Her face was wet now, wet with salt she hadn't felt fall. She barely knew the leader, just like she barely knew Whitewolf. Whitewolf. They were two cats she wanted to know, two cats who had been ripped from their lives and families right when they were ready to be re-involved. Right when she was ready to get involved. Make friends. Be a normal apprentice.

Her gaze shifted to Shiningskies and she began to breathe. Hard.

One. Two. Three. Four.

What came after four?

Fury

No, no anger. She was done with that part of her as well. Done with the fury
that always ended with her getting hurt and doing nothing to help anyone else. Done with it all. Done with doing everything she could to be perfect and failing every step of the way. It's not fair. Not fair at all.

Stop.

It was her fault. No, it's not. She hadn't been there, it wasn't her responsibility. She hadn't been there, she hadn't stopped it. She hadn't stop what? The blood clustered at Aspenstars neck seemed to be a prophecy, that whatever had happened was big and mean and fierce enough to force her out all at once. She had barely heard what Shiningskies said, the coyotes, the beasts that had been attacking the clans for as long as she could remember, even longer. Of course. The sadness flared up again. Regret for the loss. Feeling that she could have done something. She could have done something. Foxpaw always could have done something. Fought with Whitewolf, walked behind the leader, been hunting instead of sleeping, been nearby. Something, anything.

She couldn't be complaining about what she'd failed about. She was staring into the cold, blank eyes of Aspenstar. She had cared about her clan. She had been willing to step down if that was what they wanted of her. She had lead the way on the plan to make peace with Riverclan. She had been their leader. She had been loved. Respected. Cared for. She did the caring. Aspenstar had a family, did she not. Eyes widened at Shiningskies. That was why they were together. They were family, or, soon to be family. It was worst, the stone in her stomach, knowing that the cat who had won the right for love lost it before it had been cemented.

Dogbark was speaking, saying something about the coyotes, the sounds. The blurred voices that she couldn't hear. She was too focused on the bloodied body in front of her. She couldn't tell what was happening, but she wasn't sure she wanted to. All she wanted was to fade out of this. She knew what was going to happen had to be prevented. She was done with the anger, the hatred.

But she couldn't be done. She would never be done. Her eyes hardened on the shape of Shiningskies. She was why Aspenstar was gone. They went out on a walk together and one came back gone, depated, missing. She wasn't where she was meant to be. "You." The voice that floated from her mouth was new. Gone was the white-hot fury that had never fully sunk in. Gone was the sadness. Now it was just flat. Flat, bored, uncaring. It scared her. But Foxpaw wouldn't stop. She stepped closer to Shiningskies and smiled flatly. What am I doing, stop. Stop! "She's dead, because of you, right? It's all your fault." Her voice was quiet, so only those who knew to look for it in the cacophony of chaos would find it. The blood was rushing in her ears.

One. Two. Three. Four.

She looked around, disgust in her eyes. Foxpaw didn't want to do this. She didn't want to, but she did, didn't she? "You're the reason Thunderclan has to prop their deputy up as leader once again. How long until he's dead too?" Another step, louder voice. One closer to the face of Shiningskies, anger and sorrow and hatred. Foxpaw wasn't sure who she hated. Foxpaw hated what she was doing but she didn't want to stop. "You're the reason why Thunderclan has to bend back over and pick up the pieces. She died for you, right? Or she died because she was attacked and you couldn't save." She was louder now. Not yet at screaming, but enough to alert her surroundings of what had happened.

"She was the best leader we've had for as long as I can remember. I was barely more than a kit when Buckbranch died. I don't know how he was, but I know she cared about us. She cared about us. We were important to her. And you took her away." Emotionless. Her intonement betrayed nothing, though her eyes showed everything.

She was done yelling.

Foxpaw was back.

But she couldn't believe what she had done.

[dino.]

// @RiztheHuntress

>Lynxfuzz<

The pale brown tom glanced up with an exasperated huff as Dogbark addressed him. He lifted a forepaw to pat Emberpaw gently on the head. "I said one thing, Wolfy, don't get your whiskers in a twist. Got an apprentice here to take care of, here." It was all he could do to stop himself from rolling his eyes, because holy crap, was this guy really about to cry? He bit down on his tongue to keep himself snickering.

Emberpaw pipep up from her spot in front of him and he looked down, the laughter fading. He shrugged. "Yeah, if he doesn't decide to scurry off somewhere. Aspenstar was a good, strong warrior, but she was fairly weak as a leader and I wouldn't be surprised if Dogbark was too. Like, c'mon, the dude's literally about to cry up there."

[duskfire1]

Larkfrost

She silently bowed her head at the passing of her leader, flattening her ears to ignore the pain. Ignore it? No, why bother thinking that was possible. Aspenstar was dead, there will be a Dogstar now. She looked at Dogbark, his eyes clouded with grief and... confusion. She had never seen him so... vulnerable. He was devastated, he had let down his wall. His wall was something he was seen for, and it was just, gone. Not down, gone. Gone! She cast nervous glances to those who spoke out to Dogbark, hoping they would gain sense soon and refrain from spitting more uneducated comments. As she looked around, she sighted devastated faces. Everywhere, scattered in her lost clan. She wearily looked up at Cindersky who seemed to be in as much pain as she was, gathering everyone around, giving them the comfort they needed. StarClan, what would we do without her? She thought bewilderedly as she stared at the small group she had formed, their faces fearful but hopeful, for they knew Cindersky was to be trusted.

Her ears instantly pricked she whipped her head around, searching for the source that had feebly called her name, slowly letting it rest on a young, fearful apprentice that seemed to be in many different chaotic lands. As if the call had summoned her, she quickly got up and padded over to Emberpaw, the call of her name still lingering in the back of her mind as everything fell to pieces as she fixed an unfocused gaze on Emberpaw, the hairs of the young cat up, fear clear and glinting in her eyes. She shot a blank glance to Lynxfuzz as she sat down next to Emberpaw, not saying anything as she offered quiet comfort, knowing that Lynxfuzz had it properly handled, but she would always be here if Emberpaw needed it. Death at this age, their bound to experience it, but their leader? StarClan why...

The cold wind sharpened her sense as she nervously glanced around, alert and worried for her kits as she searched for them. Where are they? Are they okay? Her worries were whipped away like ash in a windstorm as she sighted Bushpaw, and he was crying. Crying. This was bad, very bad. She sighted a dazed Mistpaw as well as she lifted her neck fur up in alarm. Her kits were in pain, they needed her. Right? "Bushpaw! Mist..." She was about to call out her daughters name when she realized that Buckbranch had it handled as he quickly scooted next to her, giving her reassuring words. Smiling softly she locked her gaze onto her emotional kit, beckoning him over with a flick of her tail. She was a safe haven for her kits, so she needed to let Bushpaw know that. Mistpaw seemed to need someone strong, someone who had the charge, the comfort, and the strength. That cat was not her.

She looked back to Emberpaw in wait for Bushpaw's arrival, her ears flicked around in discomfort as she saw the mixed feelings of her clan mates, some of them posed sadness, grief, some even distaste. Who could ever believe that Dogbark committed this treachery? Giving Emberpaw a quick lick upon the ears, she then stared back up at Dogbark, hoping that he was okay. The clan will rejoice, but it will take time. She glanced back at Bushpaw, giving him a sad, but reassuring smile that she was here if he needed it.



@Papaya @error @RiztheHuntress @Willowfern
--

Dirtfoot

He glanced around, his weariness increasing like the cold in leaf-bare as he sighted the dead body of his leader, torn and bleeding, dried and foul. His leader was dead. Dead, dead, dead, dead... He kept a unmoving face as he stared at it, looking away with flattened ears as he sighted Dogbark. It will all be okay again, right? This is all fake. Fake, fake, fake...


--

Oatkit

He awoke with a start at the sound of voices as he sleepily got up and stretched, flexing his claws to remove the heavy weight of sleep on them as he stumbled out, a goofy smile on his face. "What's going..." He stopped, casting an uncertain look at the cats around him as he stepped forward, more steadily now, scanning the clearing until his eyes rested on a body. Why was there a body? The horror unraveled as he saw the crusted blood, lifeless eyes, and familiar pelt of the large stature he normally saw upon the Thunderwillow. It was Aspenstar. Oh no, oh no. He saw the hissy departure of Vulturefang out of his peripheral vision as he weakly turned around, his ears perked at sudden yelling. It sounded like his sister. Why was his sister yelling? She never yelled, right? He stopped, watching her as her emotions thundered out. He knew the death of their leader was hurting her, he could help, surely he could, they were siblings, kin. Surely he could. He shakily padded up to her, saying nothing, making no attempt to stop her. She needed her emotions out, and he couldn't be a burden to that. It would fuel her more. He pressed his smaller body against hers, shivering against the cold night air. Nothing will ever be the same again.



@Pheasantflight //

[poppy]

(cloudy had no posts under her name therefore I just resubmitted her)

the young she-cat's lean, taut muscles became tensed as the scent of blood filled her nostrils. What in StarClan happened? Her home, her old home now current home was filled with the familiar scents, but also the scent of blood. But it was imaginary. She was imagining the smells of blood. Of death. She had been scared of finding a Clan in ruin.

The scent of death had become barely noticeable to her, apprentice aged but weathered by the sights and experiences she had had in her time away. Raised by that rogue, she barely remembered her family. Her mother, she remembered her mother. Bushkit. She knew him. She had a sister, too. She never spoke with any of her littermates. Then, she snuck out of camp. Fell into the river. Washed up onto the bank, a small scrap of fur. It had been a miracle, her survival had been. A rogue had found her. Starla was her name, wasn't it?

Starla raised her.
Starla fed her.
Starla was a good parent.
Until she wasn't.
Until she started getting angry.
Starla taught Cloudy how to kill.
She taught Cloudy how to be a murderer.
Cloudy didn't want to be a murderer.

So Cloudy ran. Ran away from Starla. Alone in the world, 5 moons old. She wanted to go home. She wanted to, so, so bad, she missed her mother and father and siblings. But she didn't know where to go. She had cornered a kittypet, and interrogated them. She had found an alley cat, asked them where the forest was. The alley cat got mad, attacked her. Cloudy didn't know how to fight. She only knew how to kill.

And that's what Cloudy did. She killed that cat, and found the forest herself. But she had to fight someone else. They wouldn't let her leave. She tried not to kill them, but that was all she knew how to do. Kill or be killed. She barely slept. Ate Nofur trash.

And now she was home. HOME. Her mother was there. Her father. Her brother. Her sisters. She couldn't wait. Running now, Cloudykit burst into camp. ''Mother?'' She called, the name sour on her tongue. ''Bushkit?'' She remembered his name. ''Someone!''

@duskfire1 @Jayvines @error (just sliding cloudy in here for some morale boosting, perhaps?)

[WinterMara]

| Softpaw of Thunderclan |

Okay, Dogbark announced it, calm down, calm down, Cindersky is right here, and she's noticing you're panicked great. Wait, how did Aspenstar die, did he. . .no, not again, no. Those damn, horrible, things caused yet another death. Softpaw's breathing began to get, heavier but also worse, honestly it felt as if she was choking, it was. . .questionable on if she had noticed Cornpaw or Cindersky at the moment.

The young, three moon old kit heard screaming. Her brothers panicked, and so was her mother. ' 'Mommy, what is going on-' ' Before she could even get an answer, she was scurried out of camp, although, she noticed these. . .strange creatures attacking her clanmates, what, were they?

They not only killed some warrior either, but their leader, the one who was supposed to save them.

Kits went around gathering moss, Softkit and Aspenkit tried to as well, but their mother stopped them, seeming worried. Another queen explained to her that it would be alright, and Softkit was proud of helping her clan, she was happy, she had her brothers, her mother, her friend Bluekit was close by, and this queen seemed nice! Hopefully the cats back at camp would be okay.

Would, Dogbark die too? She didn't want him to die, she had grown to respect and even care about him and, she wasn't ready. As she got a setback to reality, she heard. . .him again, saying something disrespectful. . .again. ' 'SHUT UP LYNXFUZZ, OF COURSE DOGBARK WOULD BE ALMOST READY TO CRY, WE JUST LOST OUR LEADER TO SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN PLAGUEING US FOR MOONS, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF SHE WAS A, MAYBE TERRIBLE LEADER, SHE SHOULDN'T OF DIED AND NO ONE SHOULD HAVE DIED AND IT IS NORMAL TO CRY OVER DEATH AND I'd. . .' '

She couldn't do it anymore, she couldn't speak, she couldn't breath, she just, couldn't. Softpaw just, began having a meltdown on the ground, if it was a question on if she was aware of the others before, well, it's been answered. So many mental images of her loved ones possible deaths couldn't escape Softpaw's mind, and they were just racing through her head like a monster, she couldn't handle this and it this point. . .she barely even cared how others viewed her right now, she just, needed this to end.

| @tulle @sid @littlelove @Papaya [Mentioning those involved/mentioned/near Softpaw!]

[Rizo]

Emberpaw shuffled her paws at Lynxfuzz's answer. Dogbark is weak? For... crying? She looked at the ground, her thoughts racing faster than a rabbit on Windclan's moors. Does that mean... I'm weak? Because I cried? Because I don't want anyone else to...to... She winced as a flashback raced through her mind, seeing her little sister's fate all over again...
-----
The small, white kit looked at her with her big bewildered eyes, just starting to change from their blue that all cats have when born to a brilliant emerald green. The little kit giggled as she padded closer to the strange, foul smelling black stone. Ember looked on at the scene, wonder in her eyes. She carefully placed a little orange paw on the hard surface, confused by the substance. When she looked up again, her sister was much farther out, bounding over the strange path.
"Frost, wait, come back! Momma will be worried!" Ember called, looking back over her shoulder at the bushes, beyond which lay their den.
"It's fine Ember, come on-" her sister started to reply before a roaring drowned her out. The sound grew louder and the pair looked at each other, bewildered. Ember watched as a huge creature, its pelt shiny like metal, barreled towards them. Her eyes grew wide and she looked back to the center of the weird stone. Frost was stuck in place, cowering
as the monster bore down. In the very last moment, Frost turned her wide, frightened eyes and met Ember's gaze. She held out a paw, about to move, but it was too late.
She stood frozen at the edge of the Thunderpath, eyes boring into the sight before her. What was once her sister, bloodied and mangled, white fur stained with red. She felt the bile rise in her throat, but what finally snapped her out of her statue-like state was her Mother's scream-
-----
Emberpaw flinched as she endured the memory, eyes going wide and seemingly struck rigid once again. The familiar nausea came to her now, the terror of watching such a horrific scene unfold. She clenched her jaw and returned her gaze to her paws, her hackles rising. She wouldn't cry again, she wouldn't turn into someone Lynxfuzz would consider weak. She couldn't, right?
She felt her fur brushing Larkfrost as it bristled, but she was too focused on trying to keep herself from breaking down that it barely registered in her mind.

[ @duskfire1 @Papaya ]

[error]

He was tired. It was a chaotic meeting it had been. Aspenstar was really dead. Truly dead. He groaned, and looked up. Maybe the hunting Larkstorm had taught him would get his mind off it. He looked up, and he couldn't believe it. All his worries about Aspenstar, Dogbark, and anything about the meeting just faded away. He let out a shaky breath, his eyes locked on her.

It was Cloudykit.

He immediately ran to his sister, a trail of happy tears behind him. She was back. Cloudykit was back. After disappearing as a kit, she was right there. He was so excited, it was a horrible experience when she had gone. But she was back! Right there! "Mistpaw! Mom! Get over here!" They wouldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. But there, was his missing sister.

( @Jayvines @duskfire1 @Poppy, )

[Jayvines]

~ Mistpaw ~

The touch of a Buckbranch's tail and his words of comfort (why did they sound all muffled and warped?) were hardly noticed by the young she-cat, eyes staying glued to Dogbark as he clung to his spot on the Thunderwillow and began to speak. She had to know what happened. Maybe if it got too scary then she'd wake up! Everything would be fine again, or as fine as Thunderclan could be. However, the longer Dogbark spoke the more the fuzzy mist around the apprentice seemed to dissipate; the dull chill of the ground against her paws and the frosty breaths she exhaled forcing her to realize that this was in fact NOT a dream but her unfortunate reality.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard her mother's call for Bushpaw and the beginnings of a call to her, but her paws stayed rooted to her spot. A coyote had done this?.. There was a coyote out there on the territory ripping away lives like it was nothing?! A heavy blanket of grief lined in dread settled onto Mistpaw's shoulders and she hung her head in silent mourning. Aspenstar hadn't deserved that... No cat deserved that...

Grey body slumping down into a loaf next to Buckbranch, the molly lowered her face onto her paws and tried to focus on the small puffs of breath that escaped her muzzle. If she sat like this long enough she could melt a Mistpaw shaped hole in the snow... The whispers and lowered voices around her began to turn into grief-filled shouts by some cats, but Mistpaw merely buried her face further into her paws. She didn't want to hear anymore shouting. Not after everything that had happened tonight...

[ @Papaya @duskfire1 for the mentions ]

~ Sparrowflight ~

Steely gaze and pricked ears focused onto Dogbark as he listed what had brought their leader down. A coyote... they had come back again?! Stiffening in shock, the molly attempted to quell the surge of memories from the last time Thunderclan had dealt with the ravenous beasts. So many had died... Hanging her head for a moment, she sent a silent prayer to Starclan that Aspenstar had made it safely into their fold. With a sigh she hefted herself back to the present and quickly cleared her throat. Her voice was needed in order to gain the knowledge necessary to protect her clan. No more of her clanmates would fall prey to those vicious THINGS.

"Is this beast still prowling about our territory?" she questioned, voice raising up in solemnness towards Dogbark as he kept his head lowered in mourning. "If it is, or if there are more of them, I would like to put my paw forward to help get rid of the accursed things."

Glancing around to see if others would be willing to do the same, her green eyes locked onto the familiar large frame of Scorchfrost... He seemed disgruntled; uncomfortable even. Mind you, that was to be expected of the current situation, but it was the first time Sparrowflight had seen his normally cool demeaner shifted. She was relatively confident that he would help her on this task, if it was indeed necessary, so she offered him a small nod and a melancholic half-smile in greeting.

[ @Willowfern @Froya for the mentions ]