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Re: The Thunderwillow
Quote:
Originally Posted by valery
alderstep
he/him
thunderclan
russet tabby w/ white paws, green eyes
Alderstep almost flinched back at the deputy's...yowling. It was definitely a bit incessant, but he didn't really expect the guy to be okay. His kid died or something of the sort, and now his leader was likely missing. "Y'think?" he replied sarcastically to the apprentice, his eyes picking up on Creamcloud joining the meeting as well. "Yes, that's blood," he muttered in addition. He could faintly pick up the scent, but not entirely. Probably because there was too much fear-scent going around. Alderstep's ears flattened as he sensed an oncoming chaotic crisis. So much was going on, and apparently there was a kit wailing?
Peachpaw narrowed her eyes, annoyed at Alderstep's sarcastic manner. "And what d'ya suppose he's bloody from? I mean, I'm sure you wouldn't know the answer, but wouldn't it be fun to try to think of our most wild theories to explain it?" She asked, try to make her anxiety go away by sparking a conversation. She turned a blind eye to the overly-dramatic deputy and the chaotic sounds surrounding her and Alderstep. The noise was beginning to get to her. Peachpaw vaguely wondered why Roosterflame was taking so long to get on with his announcement.
A handful of fluff balls scurried over at her clan, and the silver-blue warrior could feel a little kindle of joy spark in her heart at their excitement. The kits also had some good guesses as to what you should do. Tidekit was first to speak. "Yes, scaring them could be a way." Glowkit and Cherrykit arrived, but neither seemed to have suggestions, then Icekit with a little bit feistier of an answer, she nodded at Minnowkit's (somewhat friendlier-seeming) guess, while Fuzzkit's made her smile a little, and after a heartbeat of silence, Honeykit joined the group as well.
That seemed to be all the answers she got, so Mistylight straightened back up after having bent down to listen, and continued teaching. "Those were all good guesses. You should always avoid starting with violence, and escalating things too fast isn't all that wise. You're right in that asking them about what they're doing here is a good first step - not everyone is trying to intrude or steal prey you see, some might want to join the clan, or just want us about a fox they spotted." She tried to make everything sound right, as she didn't want to talk too much about fighting to these young kits yet, but it would still need to be mentioned. "If they aren't there for any nice reason, you will ask them to leave. Ask nicely first, but if they don't leave, you can be a little more stern with them. If they don't leave when told to - this isn't their territory after all - you will have to make them. But leave that art up to you mentors or the warrior you're with, it shouldn't be a job when you're still young."
Maybe they should move on then. "Next up we'll talk about something you'll be doing once you're a little older; patrols!"Ok, Misty, make these sound decently fun at least, so they'll be eager to do them."Once your name is called for a patrol, you'll wait for your mentor, or whatever other warrior will accompany you, and go with them to whichever place you're assigned. Let the cat who assigns the patrol if the others don't show up - do NOT leave the camp alone!" That was very important. "If you're on a border patrol, and mark the border as well as take care of any problems there, ask your mentor about how to mark the border properly. But you can also be placed on a hunting patrol, and in that case, your objective is to hunt as much prey as you can and bring it back to camp. Then there are herb patrols, which are assigned by the medicine cat, they're like hunting patrols but you're hunting for herbs and not mice." A bit simplified but hopefully they understood.
"Any questions about this?"
[Everyone didn't post yet but it's been 20 days and we can't have this go on any longer so I'm continuing. Reminder that everyone who participates will need at least one post between Misty's posts to react or ask questions, moving forward I will try to post once a week (on weekends probably) regardless of how many post in between so we can keep this moving. If you for whatever reason can't post within 7 days, lmk, otherwise I might not mention you in my next post]
1. How to behave at gatherings
2. How to behave at a meeting
3. How to handle meetings with an outsider/intruder
4. How patrols should be executed
5. How to behave around camp (not running around and making a mess and running around, which dens to are and aren't allowed to enter, keeping the camp clean)
6. How kits and apprentices aren't allowed to leave the camp/go outside alone, and how to go about being outside as an apprentice (asking a warrior, not running off, possible punishments, and so on)
Honeykit waddled into the clearing as an unfamiliar call rang out through camp, calling everyone to the Thunderwillow. Huh. Maybe this weird red-orange funny cat was calling a meeting because she was finally getting her apprentice name. That was probably the reason. She was sooooo special, duhhh. Or maybe she was skipping apprenticeship and jumping straight to warriorhood. Mhm, Honeykit totally deserved that!
RUSSETKIT
tiny, fluffy she-cat with red fur and yellow eyes. she/her
Curled in a tiny ball was a fluffy red kit, her chest rising and falling in a gentle slumber. Her tail was curled protectively around herself, flicking every few heartbeats in her sleep. Russetkit was snoring without a care in the world, taking yet another nap. It wasn't like she had much to do, of course, as she couldn't leave the nursery... but she still had to get plenty of rest to grow big and strong like all the warriors in the Clan!
As long as her rest wasn't rudely disturbed once again.
His call had roused a large chunk of the clan. The fact that the majority of them were children didn’t pass by Roosterflame unnoticed, but he didn’t have it in him to tell them to go. They were going to hear it somehow, and they’d already seen how the adults were reacting. They weren’t going to want to leave, that was something Roosterflame was sure of.
Roosterflame gave Stormkit [ @Emo Rat ] a hollow look, but he said nothing about what happened. He only wanted to have to say it once. Actually, he didn’t want to have to say it at all. It was a horrible thing to have to say. Instead, he locked eyes with Puddlekit [ @/emo rat ]! “You two should go over to Rainfall [ @Le Batteur ], she’s calling to you,” He meowed gently, or as gently as he could without his voice breaking again. It was hard to speak and sound stable right now.
Roosterflame watched Alderstep [ @valery ] and Peachpaw [ @mooncake ] file over. Neither spoke to him, that was fine. He didn’t want to have to say anything until everyone was gathered. He didn’t want to have to repeat himself. It would be painful enough the first go.
The next cat address him directly was a molly that he didn’t know if he’d actually spoken to since her Warrior ceremony, but he was well aware of how much she’d been stepping up lately. Young as she was, Flameheart [ @SpiritedWarrior ] was a pillar of ThunderClan right now. “Everything is…” He paused, voice cracking as he whispered to Flameheart, “…awful.”
He couldn’t say anymore, he didn’t want to not yet. Those words were probably going to really startle Flameheart, but he didn’t care, truly. What he had to say in relation to them would be worse, after all.
Crowpaw [ @/spiritedwarrior ] followed not too far behind Flameheart and sat in front of the Thunderwillow. The way his eyes burned into Roosterflame’s pelt made him feel a tad bit uncomfortable by the intensity of the apprentice’s stare, but he didn’t shift his footing. He was used to being looked at.
Sandkit [ @daenerys ] and Wildkit [ @Angelique ] were next out of the nursery. That made it four kits out to witness this “meeting”, Roosterflame observed.
Sandkit actually padded up to him and told him not to wake the flowers. Normally, Roosterflame would have smiled and humored the little guy, but all he could think of was Sparrowstar. Sparrowstar likes flowers… He thought. “…Is everything okay?”
Sandkit’s words paused Roosterflame’s reflection, and he was kind of grateful. He might’ve cried if he’d continued to walk down memory lane. ”Not really, Sandkit, no,” Roosterflame meowed, looking down at the innocent ball of fur with a feeling of mourning. Oh, he wished he could also be so blissfully ignorant, “…but it will be, later, maybe. You should probably go join the other kits in the nursery, or over by Rainfall if she isn’t against you being out. It’s her call.”
Roosterflame saw Wolfpaw [ @naiad ] by the apprentice’s den entrance. The poor guy looked confused and apprehensive. Roosterflame felt a pang of pity for his new clanmate. Wolfpaw was a good kid, and he had literally just joined… This must be very weird and kind of scary for him, Roosterflame thought, I know that I’d have acted like that if my clanmate called a meeting in the middle of the night with half his cheek and his shoulder stained with his own blood.
Then, a voice nearby. Scared.
Roosterflame turned and he saw Asterdance [ @x ghostie ], and his heart cracked a little more. This was the second time something like this was happening to them, Roosterflame had no doubts that they were reliving the day that Dogbark announced Aspenstar’s death. What a horrible parallel. “Rainfall is out here,” Roosterflame meowed, answering Asterdance’s first question, “I’m going to go with her call on this one.”
He didn’t want to answer their second question yet, so all he said on that subject was, “That’s the subject of this meeting.”
As Roosterflame was closing his mouth, Thrushfur [ @Eaglet ] burst onto the scene. Roosterflame had to watch on in shock and slight fear as the deputy started acting in a way that Roosterflame might have thought akin to something rabid.
As Thrushfur darted around camp and made a ruckus (Roosterflame might have acted the same if he didn’t have the horrible duty of informing everyone what happened, to be totally honest.), Roosterflame realized that he couldn’t count on Thrushfur to be a voice of reason, he was just as distraught as everyone else, and maybe worse. Roosterflame could not break down now, the clan needed him to be a rock.
How ironic, Roosterflame, the cat who had literally just had his whole life destroyed by this event, was stuck in the position of consoling and helping others. He was a plaything for the gods, and the gods must be having a ball.
Now, Thrushfur addressed him directly. There was anger building inside of the usually mild tomcat. He was so sick of all of this. He wanted to curl up and forget it all. He didn’t want to be here. “The answer to your question, Thrushfur,” Roosterflame meowed hoarsely, barely finding his voice again, “Depends on what you classify as safe... no. Sorry. That was rude. Uncalled for. I promise I’ll answer you but I only want to say it once and I’m waiting for, oh, I don’t know. Everyone to stop yelling?”
He could smell what he knew was rain on the horizon. Even the sky wants to cry because Sparrowstar is gone, Roosterflame thought.
Russetkit [ @lio ] was out of the nursery now. She told Thrushfur he smelled. Roosterflame guessed that that wasn’t going to go over well. Duskhope [ @Cinderspirit ], Rowanblaze [ @Speckear ], Foggywillow [ @effervescent ], Spiderleap [ @/effervescent ], Frostbite [ @Caspian ], Softsky [ @WinterMara ], and Gingerflight [ @GingerFlight ] had all entered the clearing without saying anything to him, which was a small relief. He didn’t know if he could keep dealing with that one stupid question anymore.
Roosterflame saw Cinderpaw’s [ @littlelove ], Sundust’s [ @/naiad ], and the… kit’s [ @rowan ](Why was there a kit. She looked kind of familiar. Oh no, she was yelling.) entrance, but he couldn’t really bring himself to be all to curious. The kit they brought with them must have snuck out or something. It really wasn’t under his jurisdiction. Nothing was, but that was besides the point.
Suddenly, Roosterflame’s eyes locked on Quailfur [ @Lilacquartz ], who was consoling Thrushfur. Okay, that was nice of her. She was a good mate to him. Roosterflame wished he had someone to console him, but she was probably very far away by now. Roosterflame was about to turn away to see if anyone else was coming into the clearing and if he could finally announce what had happened, when Quailfur growled at a kit. Oh no. Oh no no. Quailfur and Thrushfur might have both been upset, but that was never an excuse to growl at a young one. Roosterflame shot her a very disappointed, and frankly, quite angry, look, but he said nothing. Hopefully Rainfall or another queen would gather Russetkit and Sandkit up along with the other kits running around, sooner or later.
Fireflykit [ @jupiter ] was near the Warrior’s den, and she had been since before he had called everyone out, he noted. Why was she outside and not in the nursery? Roosterflame made a mental not to check that out later, maybe, if a queen didn’t address it.
Loudmouth [ @/dizzy ], Blackfir, and Petalflight [ @Ravensong ] were all out here now, joining the fray. Roosterflame noticed the looks that Loudmouth and Blackfir were giving, it mirrored the majority of the clan’s faces, after all.
Fuzzkit [ @dizzy ] came out of… the warriors den? What was he doing in there? Roosterflame watched him come over, and he decided that this little guy would not be turned over to Rainfall. He needed a little buddy, and Fuzzkit appeared to be needing a big buddy, too. “Yeah,” Roosterflame meowed glumly to the kit’s remark, though he tried not to let it leak into his words, “It is rather stinky, isn’t it? I’ll clean it off in a few minutes, don’t worry. I just need to say something first. You can sit with me or Rainfall if you want, and the nursery is, of course, an option.”
Creamcloud [ @Oceanflower ] had joined the watch party, and her face mirrored everyone else’s. Roosterflame could see the fear behind her eyes, and the fear scent was almost strong enough in the camp for him to taste.
Now Batblood [ @Spotty ] was here to put his two cents in. That’s fine, Roosterflame thought, semi-bitterly, How about we all have circle time, and start yelling things. Maybe I’ll just never get to the actual point of this whole thing. Sure. “I said earlier that I’m going to let Rainfall handle the kit department. Though, if you really want to wrangle all the toddlers and board them up in the- not soundproof, so they’ll probably still hear everything- nursery, feel free.”
Roosterflame knew he was being a little harsh, and he became instantly aware of it after he finished, speaking, but he couldn’t take those words back now. He just hoped the keeper wasn’t offended by what he said.
Redhawk [ @/daenerys ] had just left the warriors den, and now she was saying something to Cinderpaw and the kit. This made Roosterflame’s curiosity bubble up again, despite the situation. How did Redhawk know the kit, he wondered.
He also saw Honeykit [ @Rose ] wander in, though she didn’t say anything, so his attention didn’t rest on her for all too long.
Now, there was a significant lull in cats entering the clearing, and Roosterflame waited for a moment, just to see if anyone else would come, but no. It appeared that everyone that was awake and had heard him was here. It was time for the moment he dreaded more than anything else, telling the clan what had happened to Sparrowstar.
It was beginning to drizzle, and Roosterflame took it as a sign to get a move on. He didn’t want to be standing in the rain. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Roosterflame cleared his throat, ready to raise his voice again. “I’m sorry for making y’all wait a second,” He began slowly, “But I… needed to answer some questions, and, truthfully, I needed to gather myself. I don’t know if it’s showing or not, but I am actually freaking out a lot right now and it’s so difficult to-“Get to the point, don’t make this last longer than it has to,”Sorry.”
He looked around, taking in everyone’s faces. “The reason that I have called this meeting, as many of you have guessed, is because Sparrowstar is…” He choked on his own words as a flash of lightning lit up the sky some miles away, “She’s-“ He couldn’t say it. Oh my god this was going to be so difficult for him to say. “She was going on a run though the forest, I think, and there was… a trap…” The sight of Sparrowstar in that cage resurfaced in his mind and a tear dripped down the side of his blood-crusted cheek, “And twolegs took the trap… and Sparrowstar… she…” The fur along Roosterflame’s spine began to prick up. He assumed it was the humidity. “Sparrowstar is gone-!“
Just as he spoke a giant fork of lightning leapt from the sky and struck a branch of the Thunderwillow, causing it to break off of the ancient tree and tumble to the ground with a shower of bark and sparks. Roosterflame startled and ducked his head under his paws, terrified, but the branch, thankfully, landed behind the Thunderwillow, away from the gathered cats. Roosterflame sat for a moment, still worried that something was going to fall on him, but when the thunder rumbled on, the rain began to pour buckets, and no more lightning struck, he raised his head to assess the damage.
There was a sizzling stump where the broad, sturdy branch once was, but there was no smoke or fire.
But above all of the fear from the lightning strike, Roosterflame was heartbroken, because the limb that had broken off… was the exact same one that Sparrowstar used to sit on when she called meetings.
A handful of fluff balls scurried over at her clan, and the silver-blue warrior could feel a little kindle of joy spark in her heart at their excitement. The kits also had some good guesses as to what you should do. Tidekit was first to speak. "Yes, scaring them could be a way." Glowkit and Cherrykit arrived, but neither seemed to have suggestions, then Icekit with a little bit feistier of an answer, she nodded at Minnowkit's (somewhat friendlier-seeming) guess, while Fuzzkit's made her smile a little, and after a heartbeat of silence, Honeykit joined the group as well.
That seemed to be all the answers she got, so Mistylight straightened back up after having bent down to listen, and continued teaching. "Those were all good guesses. You should always avoid starting with violence, and escalating things too fast isn't all that wise. You're right in that asking them about what they're doing here is a good first step - not everyone is trying to intrude or steal prey you see, some might want to join the clan, or just want us about a fox they spotted." She tried to make everything sound right, as she didn't want to talk too much about fighting to these young kits yet, but it would still need to be mentioned. "If they aren't there for any nice reason, you will ask them to leave. Ask nicely first, but if they don't leave, you can be a little more stern with them. If they don't leave when told to - this isn't their territory after all - you will have to make them. But leave that art up to you mentors or the warrior you're with, it shouldn't be a job when you're still young."
Maybe they should move on then. "Next up we'll talk about something you'll be doing once you're a little older; patrols!"Ok, Misty, make these sound decently fun at least, so they'll be eager to do them."Once your name is called for a patrol, you'll wait for your mentor, or whatever other warrior will accompany you, and go with them to whichever place you're assigned. Let the cat who assigns the patrol if the others don't show up - do NOT leave the camp alone!" That was very important. "If you're on a border patrol, and mark the border as well as take care of any problems there, ask your mentor about how to mark the border properly. But you can also be placed on a hunting patrol, and in that case, your objective is to hunt as much prey as you can and bring it back to camp. Then there are herb patrols, which are assigned by the medicine cat, they're like hunting patrols but you're hunting for herbs and not mice." A bit simplified but hopefully they understood.
"Any questions about this?"
[Everyone didn't post yet but it's been 20 days and we can't have this go on any longer so I'm continuing. Reminder that everyone who participates will need at least one post between Misty's posts to react or ask questions, moving forward I will try to post once a week (on weekends probably) regardless of how many post in between so we can keep this moving. If you for whatever reason can't post within 7 days, lmk, otherwise I might not mention you in my next post]
1. How to behave at gatherings
2. How to behave at a meeting
3. How to handle meetings with an outsider/intruder
4. How patrols should be executed
5. How to behave around camp (not running around and making a mess and running around, which dens to are and aren't allowed to enter, keeping the camp clean)
6. How kits and apprentices aren't allowed to leave the camp/go outside alone, and how to go about being outside as an apprentice (asking a warrior, not running off, possible punishments, and so on)
Minnow'Kit nodded. "How will we know what the herb looks like if we are gathering them?" She flicked her ear with curiosity as she cocked her head to the side
alderstep
he/him
thunderclan
russet tabby w/ white paws, green eyes
Alderstep did not answer the apprentice's question, noticing how Roosterflame had brought himself to finally speak. The tom stayed quiet and let the words reach his ears. It was as if for the first time in his life, he hadn't heard what a cat had said. Sparrowstar was gone. It didn't seem right. Unnatural.
The electricity in the air poofed up Alderstep's fur, though he remained unflinching as the willow tree branch broke off. He fixed his gaze up on the tree. Poor thing. Didn't even do anything wrong, just grew too high. The tom hunched over, letting the rain wash over his fur. Now what? He looked around the clearing, wondering who was going to be in charge. Thrushfur? He seemed to be in no condition, at least from the warrior's point of view.
"Now what?" Alderstep thought again, but this time he vocalized it.
Status: is this the real life? is this just fantasy?
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Re: The Thunderwillow
– owlbranch ; ; he/him
--he gathered underneath the thunderwillow with the rest of his clans, brows quirked wearily as his tail wrapped around his figure. where was sparrowstar? up upon the ancient oaks was roosterflame – not their leader, nor their deputy. owlbranch took in a sharp breath. “The reason that I have called this meeting, as many of you have guessed, is because Sparrowstar is…” no. no, surely not. sparrowstar was…? dead? missing? gone? were they going to replace her? swamp-green eyes scoured the cats for thrushfur, gaze almost vindictive, though logically, he knew it wasn't thrushfur's fault. unless it was a coup… well, he was sure it wasnt.
“She was going on a run though the forest, I think, and there was… a trap…” only now did he notice the blood that crusted the toms pelt. what if roosterflame had killed her, and this was all to deflect suspicion from him? no, that didn't seem like something that he'd do. owlbranch sighed. it was simple – twolegs were cruel. he could tell by the look on roosterflame's face that this wasn't his fault. thunder boomed in the distance, rolling like bubbling seafoam across a tear-ridden shore. “Sparrowstar is gone-!“ his fur had begun to spike up and…
lighting hit the tree, sizzling. the smell of burnt wood quickly filled his nostrils, and owlbranch reeled back in shock. without thinking, he cried out; "starclan has taken sparrowstar from us!" for it couldn't be a coincidence – the bright, burning light struck the very branch that their leader used to relay news from. their warrior ancestors surely had something to do with this. what a cruel prophecy. "thunderclan is doomed…!" he weeped out of panic, pelt frizzled up and sharp.
Re: The Thunderwillow
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