ThunderClan: Life Before 2023's Sinkhole

[HopeFeather]

Petalbee entered camp with a shrew and mouse hanging by the tails from her jaws. She dropped the prey into the pile and found a shady spot near the warriors den. Shaking out her pelt she cursed to herself quietly at her long fur. Laying on her side she wished for a breeze as no cat should have to deal with the harsh rays with no way to cool off. {Open}

[Willowfern]

Roosterflame
__
The bell tied around Roosterflame’s throat tinkled softly in the breeze as Roosterflame sat in the bough of the maple tree, his eyes half-closed, his claws digging into the soft, dew-sprinkled bark.
He hummed softly as he sat in the tree, in all appearances waiting for something, though from an outsider’s perspective, he didn’t seem to be paying much attention.
Soon, there was a rustle in the undergrowth, and the tom’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up, rigidly. Below, a young, black rabbit lopped between a pair of blackberry bushes, sniffling at and nibbling the deep blue berries, unaware of the danger that threatened it at that very moment.
The collar rubbed uncomfortably at Roosterflame’s neck, but he ignored the discomfort, the collar would be off soon, anyways. He kept a laser-focus on the rabbit, everything about him entirely still, the bell had even ceased its soft ringing as if it too was aware of the hunt.
Then, like a flash, Roosterflame dropped from the tree and directly onto the rabbit. The rabbit bucked beneath Roosterflame’s sudden weight upon it’s back, but it failed to dislodge him, and he quickly seized it around the throat and snapped its neck in one clean motion. It hadn’t even realized he’d done it.
Roosterflame licked the scarlet blood from his lips, tasting the irony flavor as he dropped the rabbit on the ground and bowed his head in reverence for the life that he’d taken. Roosterflame didn’t believe in StarClan, to be completely honest, but he always made sure to thank them, lest they actually exist and be upset that he didn’t acknowledge their existence.
It had been almost a full moon since he’d been catnapped and forced to live as a plaything for a twoleg family, but he’d escaped with only a few scrapes and cuts from the hole in the wooden fence, and now he was home free. Well, he wasn’t yet home, but he would be. Soon. Hopefully.
The collar jingled softly as he turned his head, a painful reminder of the past moon. He grimaced. Of course, the twolegs had chosen the gaudy color of pink for his collar during his imprisonment, and he had often been teased by the other cat living in the prison, a chubby tomcat named Turpentine.
Soon, the collar would be off, that he had promised himself. As soon as he found ThunderClan again, he’d rip the collar off. Until then, the collar would stay on, as it was his disguise for when he entered any Twolegplaces, as the twolegs assumed he belonged. The collar, however restraining, was currently his ticket to freedom.
He breathed in deeply, inhaling the familiar scent of a forest. He was close. He could smell it. Also, he could smell a drizzle on its way. The rain wouldn’t be good, it might was out the ThunderClan scent markers, if he were to come across them, and that would hinder his search for sure.
Roosterflame sat down, tail curled around him as he began to eat. He imagined that he was sharing the rabbit with a clanmate.
Oh, how he missed his clan.
…
It had been days since Roosterflame had caught and eaten that rabbit, and now he was standing at the ThunderClan border for the first time in what felt like forever to the fluffy tom.
He didn’t even hesitate as he bounded over the border, scattering dead leaves in his wake. He was home! Home! Joy pulsed beneath his pelt as he dashed through the forest, feeling freer than he’d felt in a long time.
He paused at a tree midway through the territory. Hooking his paw under the collar to make some room between it and his throat, Roosterflame tugged and tugged at it until a faint tearing sound split the air. He then paused, looking around for a rock. The ripping had been the elastic inside the collar tearing in half, so now the collar only needed to be cut off. When Roosterflame found a sharp enough rock, he put it in between his throat and the collar, and pushed. The collar broke with a satisfactory ripping noise and dropped to the ground. Roosterflame observed it with a look of contempt before collecting the bell from it and burying the ugly pink collar beneath the dirt for good. He also stashed the tiny bell in his neck fluff to put in his slowly growing collection of neat things beside his nest when he got back to camp.
Taking a deep breath without the collar was bliss.
Roosterflame looked around the territory, trying to judge how far he was from camp. He seemed to be close, thank goodness.
As he wandered the forest, he couldn’t help but be reminded of when he first was trying to join ThunderClan. He’d been wandering the forest similarly to today, and he’d felt the same intense feeling of homecoming as soon as he crossed the scent markings. Even though he had been born on a farm, ThunderClan had always been his home.
Soon, he smelled the familiar scent wafting through the air, and he once more broke into a run, excitement flooding his weary mind,
“Sparrowflight!” He cried, breathless, “I’m back! I’m home!”

( @Jayvines )

[Fade]

Longpelt | Active Thunderclan Warrior |
A Tall and Lean Sandy Tabby with Green Eyes | He/Him |
Apprentice: None

The tomcat was settling down until they reacted. ‘Good lord shut up. You’re embarrassed and only can respond with crying on how you’re upset someone called you embarrassing,suck it.’ His mind spoke,Longpelts slightly spiked up neck fur stung up. “You are embarrassing,Starting drama with A loner who was doing nothing. Clearly having no one around him or attacking him. Get over yourself.” he snapped back to the warrior. Mudsplash ,An idiot. Longpelt nearly hissed,he held his tongue though. { @friendlyghostz }

He shot the warrior daggers,His green eyes focusing onto Sparrowstar. A faint picture of Cindersky came to mind,he quickly felt his ears perk at the reference of returning warriors. “Finally.” he muttered under his breath,A slight wave of relief washed over the sandy tabby. His tail has quit lashing now and wrapped around his paws lightly. The warrior slightly dipped his head towards the returning clanmates. Good news for once.

Longpelt focused on the main attraction of this meeting,Her name. Sparrowstar- A great fit,hopefully for leadership as well. Longpelt dipped his head in respect to her as well,Offering nothing more to her though. The tomcat sighed of relief,Finally something good to hear about. “Sparrowstar!” he chanted once and then stopped. She had a lot of to live up too,if she lasts that long. The sandy tabby gave the leader a slightly questioning look but pressed on no longer.

Apprentices…Longpelt never hated them but disliked them. They were bratty and self-entitled. Thinking due to a rank up that they owned the damn world. Embarrassing…. “These ones better not be selfcentered ” the warrior whispered very lowly to himself. Longpelt broke his eye contact with leader and scanned the clearing for said cats that were to be made Apprentices.
{ @Jayvines [ If You want Sparrow to notice his very out of place staring at her lmao ] }

[Eaglet]

The feathery tom entered below the Thunderwillow, searching for Crowkit and Lavenderkit who have sat under the tree. He slinked near his kits for where they were seated. Sitting right next to Lavenderkit, over with the mourning. It was delightful to have their past sorrows be brought into the light with new achievements. He was quite surprised to know that Lavenderkit got here by herself without the help of others, being blind and all. He gave a small proud smile turning his head towards Crowkit. This surely was a big moment for the kit so he cheered him on from afar.

His heart did ache a bit to know that Crowkit won't be as dependent on his parents anymore. Hoping that Crowkit would get a great mentor to train under. Perhaps Weaselpaw could help give some tips towards the newly apprentice. He purr erupted from his throat. But he did have a few questions, Crowkit seemed to be the only one of his littermates to become a 'paw. He looked towards Lavenderkit, brushing his tail against her back to announce his presence to her.

" Crowkits becoming an apprentice, sadly you and Fallowkit aren't becoming apprentices. There must be a reason - but don't be too sad. You'll surely become an apprentice next moon or so. "

[ @XFR0G_L0veRX ]

[XFR0G_L0veRX]

She turned her head up to her father

"Oh... okay" She mewed "But CrowKit's gotta teach us somethin" She squeaked

[SpiritedWarrior]

Originally Posted by Eaglet

The feathery tom entered below the Thunderwillow, searching for Crowkit and Lavenderkit who have sat under the tree. He slinked near his kits for where they were seated. Sitting right next to Lavenderkit, over with the mourning. It was delightful to have their past sorrows be brought into the light with new achievements. He was quite surprised to know that Lavenderkit got here by herself without the help of others, being blind and all. He gave a small proud smile turning his head towards Crowkit. This surely was a big moment for the kit so he cheered him on from afar.

His heart did ache a bit to know that Crowkit won't be as dependent on his parents anymore. Hoping that Crowkit would get a great mentor to train under. Perhaps Weaselpaw could help give some tips towards the newly apprentice. He purr erupted from his throat. But he did have a few questions, Crowkit seemed to be the only one of his littermates to become a 'paw. He looked towards Lavenderkit, brushing his tail against her back to announce his presence to her.

" Crowkits becoming an apprentice, sadly you and Fallowkit aren't becoming apprentices. There must be a reason - but don't be too sad. You'll surely become an apprentice next moon or so. "

[ @XFR0G_L0veRX ]

Originally Posted by XFR0G_L0veRX

She turned her head up to her father

"Oh... okay" She mewed "But CrowKit's gotta teach us somethin" She squeaked

Crowkit huffed, his brows furrowed. Surely his family had to be around here somewhere, right? Maybe he had to look again. They just had to be! Looking to his left, he saw nothing. But once he looked to his right, he had to do a double take. His sister! And his father! They're both here! Crowkit wanted to go over and hug his sister, and tell her how happy he was to see her, but he couldn't. He had to force his paws to stay where they were. Wait... Lavenderkit and Fallowkit weren't going to become apprentices with him? Sadness once again overtook him, what was their reasoning? Littermates were supposed to become apprentices together and become warriors together! He quickly dropped his sad gaze and smiled back at his father. Quailfur wasn't anywhere to be seen, and neither was Fallowkit. Where's mama? A-and Fallowkit? Perhaps they were sleeping in the nursery still? He couldn't tell for sure, but that was most likely the case.

At Lavenderkit's squeak, Crowkit let out a purr, "I'll try, but I don't know how busy I'll be."

[Akira]

Bumbleflight hummed, dipping his head momentarily in respect to their dead. It was always upsetting to lose Clanmates, but that was Clan life, and he found some solace believing they might be watching over them from StarClan, like his mother, and he could visit their graves if he wanted. But now wasn't time to think of the past: now was to think of the future. Thinking and complaining of the past won't change anything, unless you put those thoughts into action. At least, for the future and for the sakes of those coming after them.

So, the dark brown tabby watched the soon to be apprentices be called up, watching and waiting to see who their mentors would be. Hopefully they would eventually become strong warriors and Clanmates once they begin their training.

[Lilacquartz]

Her green eyes slowly stretched across the willow. Seeing Sparrowstar up there, her eyes narrowed. The sun was a bit bright for her, she hasn't been out of the nursery for quite a while now. It was blazing into her eyes right about now. She snapped out of it and shook her head, she let out a long sigh as she strutted away from the nursery to near her clanmates. Her eyes darting around to find her family, she found a noticeable tuft of brown fur through the cats that looked like to be a feather. Quickly scampering through to gently slid near them. Seeing Thrushfur and Lavenderkit sitting next to each other, her facial expression relaxed with glee. Crowkit was a bit farther from the rest of them, she wondered why.

She wasn't there for the full call of the meeting, only for her hearing to be stretched out to only meet the nursery boundaries. Laying her tail over her paws with a regal image. Silver striped fur could be seen in the open. She glanced towards her mate and kits with a blank expression. She did feel a bit awkward at this moment, but she knew it had to be important. Her own heart gave her that feeling. She shuffled uncomfortably amongst the cats, she even felt a bit dizzy.

[Ian]

Hazelkit listened to the meeting intently but wasn't really focusing on the words being said. All she knew was that Sparrowflight had become Sparrowstar, which meant she was Sparrowleader, and she was finally becoming an apprentice with her brother! With an excited squeak, the young Siamese bounced up beside Juniperkit, uncaring that her pelt was a little messy. She was going to be an apprentice!

[beau]

 

Originally Posted by Lakestorm

Lakestorm blinked his eyes open, “what in the name of starclan happened, and why am I in the medicine cat den?”

(Like I said in healing requests he is now suffering from a bit of memory loss here and there) @Naiad

Well this was.. bizarre. Sundust decided he would have to ask the other medicine cats about head injuries the next time he saw them, as it seemed they could be a bit more complicated than he initially thought. Though, he wasn’t sure who he would speak to. He, Rosepaw, and Cowpaw were the most experienced medicine cats, which was.. concerning, frankly. Maybe if all the medicine cats could swap their knowledge the next time they met, or worked out some sort of plan to test out new herbs..? Honestly, they just needed to speak to StarClan. He knew there had to be a dead cat up there somewhere hoarding all the herb knowledge. Maybe he would make his own trip to the Starcave when he had time.

Despite the strangeness in how his injuries presented, Lakestorm didn’t seem in a critical enough state to demand bedrest. “You’ve had an accident while climbing is all. I’ve already treated your wounds, but I’d like you to stay within the confines of the camp for a quarter moon. Just so I can make sure your injuries aren’t too severe. You’re free to return to the warrior’s den in the meantime, but please come see me if you notice any odd symptoms or anything.” Heh, he was getting good at those medicine cat spiels.

 

Originally Posted by SpiritedWarrior

@Naiad

Mapleleaf wobbled into the medicine den, her belly nearly twice the size it was half a moon ago. It was beginning to worry her and after her small conversation with Thunderblaze, she decided to seek help for it. What if she was sick? What if she would be forced to retire to the elder's den early? Questions whirled around in her mind. Rosepaw would probably be unable to help with this, so she could only depend on Sundust.

Looking around, the calico/tabby warrior opened her jaws into a tone just below a yowl, "Sundust? I have some concerns, could you help?"

If the medicine cat wasn't in the medicine den storage, she would have to apologize to the tom. After all, she didn't want to seem like she was being disrespectful. It would put Mapleleaf in a horrible mood, a mood she strived to keep at bay for as long as possible.

Sundust’s ears twitched as he heard his name called, and he emerged from the herb store. “Hello, Mapleleaf. Do you mind describing any symptoms you’ve experienced?” He already had a hunch as to what the problem was, but intuitions could be wrong, so he wanted to verify. If he was right, then there would be a lot of kits born in the coming Leaf-fall. Kits who would be weaned by Leafbare. It was always a joy having kittens in the camp, but it seemed like resources were going to be a little tight during this Leafbare. He’d have to alert Sparrowflight so ThunderClan could start making preparations.

 

Originally Posted by Kunaiskrill

|Softshadow of Thunderclan|

He walked into the medicine den, a few scratches on him. "Hello, Sundust.. I have returned. I was beaten up by a strange white creature that delayed my return to the clan. Do you think you can heal me?" He asked the medicine cat. "If young Rosepaw would like to watch that is ok."
@Naiad

Sundust padded over to assess the tom’s injuries, already armed with cobwebs and marigold. “An odd white creature? Like a rabbit?” If it was a rabbit, then perhaps that would provide a bit more merit to Frozenheart and Mousepool’s bizarre story. Speaking of which, he still needed to speak with Sparrowstar about that. “Rosepaw, would you like to come help? You can put on the cobwebs after I’ve done the marigold if you’d like.” It was a simple job, but he felt bad for not being able to let his apprentice do more. It wasn’t as if he could teach her much in terms of herbs. Perhaps he should take her out sometime and teach her.. something. He’d figure something out.

@Shade.

 

Originally Posted by dino.

// @Naiad

>Bumblebreak<

She'd waited too long for this and now it was really screwing with her. Once the pain had been manageable - then the waves of nausea had started, accompanied by the occasional chills and increased discomfort. She'd opened it again, too, and it oozed something that smelled sour. As much as she'd prefer to mope about in the warriors' den or sit at one of their graves, she couldn't continue to go on like this.

She limped into the medicine den, gritting her teeth even though she kept the leg up off the ground. "Sundust?" she called out shakily. "I-" ...crap. "I need help."

Sundust could smell the scent of infection before Bumblebreak even spoke, and hurried to gather whatever marigold he could scrap up. Good StarClan, he needed to go herb gathering. Why, oh why did warriors insist on waiting until they were on death’s door before showing up? Did they want their medicine cat to die of a heart attack? Because he felt that was the direction they were heading. Still, he knew better than to let his exasperation show. Not that it would anyways. He could still be a little snarky though. ”I suppose you have an explanation for not coming in sooner?” He swore to StarClan he would implement mandatory check-ups if cats kept refusing to get their injuries checked out at a reasonable time. In the mean time, he supposed he would have to settle for burning through marigold like it was grass.

(pardon Sunny’s snark, he is turning into a grouchy old man ;w; )

 

Originally Posted by ~SilverShine~

stormpaw walked into the med den looking around he called out" sundust im stopping by to get mousebiles so i can get ticks off the elders," he said flicking his tail
@Naiad

Sundust twitched his ear in response to the apprentice. ”There’s some bile soaked moss in the corner over there. I recommend holding your breath if you can.” He did not envy the poor apprentice. He himself tried to avoid mouse bile when he could, even in his apprentice days. Somehow, it seemed he always managed to worm his way out of that particular chore.

 

Originally Posted by Catrina

Rainflower walked nervously into the med den "hello?" she called out before turing and meowing to thunderheart "i'm kinda nervous"
@Naiad
@WinterSage

”Oh, hello, Rainflower.” His gaze flitted to Thunderheart, dipping his head in a quick greeting, before returning his focus to Rainflower. He already had a bit of a guess as to what they came in for. Cats normally only came to the den with their mates for one specific reason, but it didn’t hurt to verify his suspicions. “I imagine you have something you’d like to speak with me about?”