ThunderClan: Life Before 2023's Sinkhole

[*longfire*]

blazekit smile as he rolled around his tail flickered and his ears flicked
@Wingnettle

[Wingnettle]

Originally Posted by silentstalk

blazekit smile as he rolled around his tail flickered and his ears flicked
@Wingnettle

Oh, you're a playful one, uh? Ashpaw cuffed gently the little kit round the ear and moved his tail back and forth so that he could try to catch it. Do you have any siblings? I wonder who his mother is.

(I know he can't hear, but Ashpaw will keep talking to him nevertheless)

[Wingnettle]

Ashpaw entered the apprentices den to take a nap. He was tired and needed some time alone to rest.
What... what are you doing here? This is not the kits den. @Estelle

[Doom]

@Estelle

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CROWPAW | THEY/HIM
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Returning from their day of training, Crowpaw was looking forward to hitting the moss nest. They weren't used to doing so much in just one day, so for the first time ever, they were exhausted by the time training was done. Their days of being a night owl were slowly fading away...would this mean no more nightly collection hunts?? They sure hoped not! Their collection needed to grow, after all, and they hardly even found the time to collect anything since the gross lovey-dovey event. Hmm...since their mind was on it, they should

Crowpaw came to a sudden halt at the apprentice den's entrance, staring down at...was that a kit? Weird. They thought kits were supposed to stay in the nursery with their queens. Crowpaw squinted at the suspicious kitten to get a closer look at her, then gasped at the sight of their familiar petals. "THEIF! THEIF!!!" Crowpaw shouted. "THOSE ARE MY PETALS! You can't just take them! I worked hard to earn those!!" They lowered their head to her level and then tried to take the petals away from her.

[Doom]

@Jayvines

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CROWPAW | THEY/HIM
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It was hot out today...too hot. Waaaay too hot. If there was any day Crowpaw wanted to rip their fuzzy black pelt off, it would be today. But it was also a boring day...they were sick of sitting around in their apprentices' den...Raven was always busy with their mentor, too, so Crowpaw had way more alone time than they were comfortable with. Welp. The outside was too hot to do anything, so they thought it would be a good idea to explore the other dens!

They darted into the warriors' den at full speed and ran up to the first warrior they saw! Well, the first awake warrior. "HIII! I'm Crow! Can I sit with you until the hot sky-ball calms down?" They beamed up at the warrior with bright blue eyes. Hopefully they were a social cat and not a grumpy one! Crowpaw didn't want to get kicked back out into the heat...and they didn't want to go to the elders' den or nursery...those dens seemed boring.

[error]

Bushtuft was still processing that he was a warrior now.

[dino.]

Originally Posted by marni

Cinderstar
Ever since the patrol the two of them had been on, Cinderstar had felt this sort of... rift between them. Nothing had been done to really patch it up, though she had acted amicably with the tom since. Part of the words sued still weighed heavily on her mind paired with a twinge of regret. But perhaps too much time had passed, and bringing it up now would only serve to reopen a wound already healed.

"You're welcome to go where you please. I know your heart, Buckbranch. While it may have lost its direction once, I trust that it knows its path now." She kept her gaze on him, thoughtful and slightly inquisitive. There was obviously more to it than just being a walk, but Cinderstar didn't wish to pry. After all, he was a full grown cat and so long as he kept his vow made to swear loyalty to ThunderClan, she didn't see the harm in a walk - her and Sparrowflight were going to do the same thing whenever they both had a free moment to seek out and find Ridgeclaw.

Looking up above as a small light dashed across the sky, the leader let out a soft sigh. "I hope you know that your presence, and your willingness to stick with the Clan throughout all these past moons... it has not gone unnoticed. I want to thank you for taking some of my words to heart. Even though there were some which were spoken by mistake." She kept her gaze on the stars for now as she spoke, briefly wondering if he and his daughter had reunited yet. They had to, right? Icicleripple had been back in the Clan for some time now.

[ Apologies for the delay in this! ]

>Buckbranch<

He swallowed as she carried on, not bothering to look at her although he knew her gaze was on him. If they locked eyes this time, would she see the traitorous desire within them? To just... run away, and never look back. To let his paws carry him somewhere far away from the death, the burdens, the bloodshed, the guilt. To just lie down somewhere, find a family of his own, and finally be at peace.

It made his chest ache, how badly he wanted it.

Cinderstar moved on, and once more Buckbranch brought himself to shrug. "It's in the past. It hardly matters now. We need to focus on looking forward." Something remincisent of what he'd said to Duskfeather, all those moons ago. A piece of advice that he himself had also lost sight of in recent times, and as sad as it was, perhaps it had simply played a part in leading him to where he stood now: still wavering. Still unsure. But also confident that his heart knew where it wanted to go now, and he wasn't too keen on ignoring it any longer.

"...I won't lie," he added softly. "It's been... hard. Being back, not knowing what to do with myself or where to go. And I can feel myself drifting away again." Led away by warm and brilliant yellow eyes that held promise of unconditional safety and warmth.

It was so, so tempting. and Buckbranch was so, so tired, and he had never felt more torn.

"But I'm trying. I promise I'm trying. It's just... it's hard." Cinderstar truly had been a beacon in the dark for ThunderClan when they all needed her most, and he admired her, respected her, and trusted her to lead them down the right path, away from the crumbling precipice her predecessors had stranded them on. But Buckbranch was tired, and although it was no longer obvious like it once had been, he still couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until he finally turned away from his home altogether.

A sudden yawn gripped him, forced him to stretch his jaws wide and squeeze his eyes shut before allowing him to swipe his tongue across his lips. Jeez, how long had he been up...? He was exhausted. He cast Cinderstar an apologetic glance as he stood. "Sorry to leave you so quickly, but I am... I'm so tired. Good night."

He shook out his short fur and made for the warriors' den.

[Wingnettle]

(Hello, how can Ashpaw be included in a patrol? His mentor isn't very active and he hasn't anything to do right now. Should I have him trained by someone else in the meanwhile?)

[Jayvines]

~ Mistheart ~

Oh yes, these new shells would fit perfectly riiiiiiiight... there? No... Perhaps here... Hmmmm...

White paws nudged the two newest pieces of her collection from one spot to another as Mistheart thoroughly contemplated the best arrangement of the various bits and bobs nestled into the side of her nest. The brown twisty shell looked perfect right beside her feathers, but the pale yellow one was proving more difficult to place. It could join the feathers, but it didn't quite match what was there. Perhaps by her pebbles?... No, the colour wasn't right.

Humming in concentration as she nudged the shell about, Mistheart paused as it settled next to her empty snail shell. That was... That was perfect! A grin split across her muzzle as she settled on her newest treasure's spot and nestled it into the protective moss of her nest. Fantastic, now all she had to do today was---

Skittering paws and an enthusiastic voice interrupted her musing and the grey molly quickly turned her head to see who had barreled right into the warriors den. Oh! It was... Well they said their name was Crow-didn't they recently get a couple new apprentices with similar names? Deciding to take a gamble on getting their name right, Mistheart gave them a small smile and a tail wave of greeting.

"Oh uh, hello there Crowpaw," she stated, shuffling over to make room in her nest for the (apparently very warm) cat. "If uh... If you'd like to sit with me in here, I don't see why you can't. Just um, be careful where you step. I've got a couple... Well there are some pointy things near my nest."

Stars above, she hoped this apprentice was careful. She didn't want to try and replace any of her precious bobbles.

[ @lumina ]

[Raven~]

Larkstorm padded into ThunderClan territory, limping slightly. Her eyes flew over the trees and undergrowth, remembering every single spot of her home. She breathed in the forest air, glad to be back in ThunderClan land. She should never have left, but now was not the time to be remorseful. She was back, that was what mattered. What she was coming back too, that was what Larkstorm had to figure out. She had no idea if Dawnstar was still in charge of ThunderClan, or if her Clan had broken free. She hoped it had, or else her homecoming might be a bit more painful then she would hope.
@marni