ThunderClan: Life Before 2020's Fire

[dionysus]

Originally Posted by Brilliance

[ That’s okay! ]

Passionstar was a listener, so when someone talked deeply about what they liked, he was all ears. A small plastered on his face, and his eyes blinking periodically. It was just something about hearing another talk about their ambitions, their dreams...themselves. The tom always believed himself to be boring, leaving most of his credit untouched, and preferred getting to know the interesting facts that his company enjoyed giving. Unfortauntely, Passionstar couldn’t do the same. He was quite the reserved tom, and in order to get to know him, they would have to accompany him. He was more of a tom filled with action than verbals. His eyes had broadened - only for a second - something they had in common. The joy of gloomy weather. Not most cats enjoyed a storm, in fear of getting their fur drenched, but Passionstar was the tom to run through the rain for as long as it was flowing down. He was the one in hopes of drowning in the tears that fell from the clouds. He had chuckled softly when Magnoliaspark mentioned she didn’t like getting her paws wet. At all. On the contrary, he liked his paw pads wet. He liked jumping; chasing through the puddles and spraying water in different directions. He liked making muddy paw prints and dancing around the area to confuse the wandering cat of which way the trail led to. “Getting your paws wet isn’t that bad,” his whiskers twitched, sounding casual to hide a smirk coming onto his maw. It was actually quite comforting to him. He listened to her next words, nodding along. Despite displaying a kindred nature, Passionstar carried somewhat of a sadistic, morbid nature. He preferred the imperfections of life, the horror of it. Sunny days did nothing for him, except the fact that he could get work done. Although, hearing Magnoliaspark speak of sunny days, caused him to see it in a different light. “It does look quite nice. Seeing light filter through the dark parts of the forest,” he commented, thinking for a moment. “Gloomy weather never does that to me,” His face scrunched up for a moment as he reflected if he ever was sad about a thunderstorm of a small flood through the forest. Even as a kit, he used to like laying st the entrance of the nursery and watch little droplets patter down. If was almost like artwork to him, the paint was the rain, dripping on the forest, it’s canvas. There would always be a smile when he watched the rain. Then comes the thunder - he’s jumping up from excitement, followed by the lightning, inspiring him. “Call me a lunatic, but sunny weather is so...cliche to me. If that makes sense.” It didn’t mean that he didn’t like sunny weather, he just found something dark to be at its most beautiful. “No, no, don’t apologize. I’m intrigued, you sound so poetic about sunny weather. For some odd reason, I found dark weather to be enticing.” He couldn’t exactly explain what he felt for such, but it was there. Whenever the storm was around, he’d sit and watch, his concentration focused.

Magnoliaspark wrinkles her nose. Nothing about the feeling of wet paws appealed to her. She rolled her eyes at his smirk and continued talking about her favorite types of weather as if it was an interesting topic. Magnoliaspark didn’t have a very long attention span, but she could enjoy almost any conversation. The molly could see by his facial expression that he disagreed and grinned as he acquiesced that the patterns could be pretty. She hadn’t meant to get deep about something so silly as the weather, but it had just come out. Passionstar mentioned that he didn’t get the same feeling and Magnoliaspark wasn’t surprised. It seemed rather contradictory to be sad about something that one also likes. Magnoliaspark nodded along to Passionstar’s explanation, understanding what he meant. She didn’t feel the same but she could see where he was coming from. The Somali merely smiled as Passionstar talked about how he felt the same about dark weather as she did about sunny weather.

[Tazzy]

Hollywhisper dropped her squirrel on the pile before turning toward Stonewater. “Thanks again for spending time with me, your the best.” She purred. “If you want to spend time again you know where to find me.” She leaned forward and gave his nose a quick lick before turning away.

@Soup

[lone]

It’d been a little while since Caliapaw had had any sort of interaction with other apprentices. She’d spoken with Everpaw some… and of course there were her patients… but other than that, she’d been pretty much alone. The only medicine cat Caliapaw had met had been Shinefang, and as nice as he’d been, she was hoping to meet some of the others at some point. Caliapaw hadn’t been able to catch up with any of her other friends lately… it was actually weird, not speaking to them. Her eyes scanned the clearing as she curled her tail around her paws, gaze flickering over each of the others there. Some of them she had treated before… others, she didn’t recognize. It was hard keeping up with the cats she knew in ThunderClan, and the weird thing was, the less she spoke to them, the more comfortable she was.

Caliapaw was comfortable being on her own. It was a good thing for her, healthy, even… as strange as it might have seemed. The biggest problem right now was finding a good balance between being alone and being with other cats. Thankfully, her job kept her pretty occupied with a mixture of both, and it was now - in her free time - that she chose to stay mainly alone. Sometimes she would speak to a family member, but that was about the extent of her social life these days. Kind of sad. It’s just too bad I can’t figure out more. She thought with a flick of her tail. She’d grown in the past few moons… she was 13 moons old now, and would be 14 fairly soon. It was exciting, thinking all of this through. Soon she would have her full name, as well… and perhaps start looking for an apprentice.

Caliapaw didn’t like kits very much, they made her a little uncomfortable, but maybe this would be a good way to… get to know a few of the younger cats around ThunderClan. Perhaps she would train an apprentice, or even a warrior - to be honest, Caliapaw wasn’t planning on being picky. It was exciting, thinking about the future of all this… and a little scary, too. But she wanted to have the future planned out before it was too late.

@RedHead

[Charmer]

@Flameleaf
@blue jellie
@The Loner Forever

The little black and white tom tucked his tiny tail over his nose. He kept to the side of the other kits, enjoying the quiet and the warmth of his mother without all the moving from his siblings.

Cherrydawn smiled at her kits, nestling together, then looked at the little black and white tom off more by himself. "He looks so much like you," she breathed. "Just this one," she said as she nosed the runt of the litter. "Smallkit. It's just too perfect for him. How about you name one next, my love." The ginger and white queen lifted her forepaw to give Skyfeather a better view of his kits.

[RedHead]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

”Summoned, ha!” The tom chuckled at his friend’s words, seeming to settle in a little at a familiar kind of joking. He loved games. But, all playfulness faded away at the tone in her “I’m fine…” he wasn’t good at telling when someone was lying, not really, but he could tell she was. Why was she lying to him? He didn’t have to wonder for long, before she continued - he should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to get away with a playful atmosphere for long. He could handle it, but… these kinds of emotions had always made Ottertail uncomfortable. Other cats didn’t really… cry around him, after all, he’d always been able to keep them happy.

He was pretty good at it. And as much as he would’ve liked to be a listener, he was as much of a speaker as many of his friends were. Sometimes even more of one. Maybe now it would come in handy, maybe he’d be able to say something that would make her feel a little better. He certainly hoped so, anyways. ”It’s going to be okay, Cres. I promise you that. I know you miss your family, but… you’ve got your kits and your friends here, now.” Hesitantly, the tom raised a paw and awkwardly brushed away some of her tears. It wasn’t easy for him, and he felt like he was doing the wrong thing, violating her space or something… but at the same time, it felt a little right. Wasn’t he supposed to do that? Make her feel better, like he had before? ”Your kits are beautiful. They sound awesome, very sweet… from what you told me, they aren’t going to have any problems here. And, as far as you go - as far as whatever problems you have go - I’m here for you if and when you need me.” Ottertail wondered how he was supposed to make this sound natural. It was one of the weirdest things he’d said in a long time. The problem was, Ottertail was used to being around cats who were just as fun as he was - Crescentmoon was a little more delicate these days, so he felt like he should be careful around her.

He wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt her, not ever… after all, she’d been a good friend for a long time. It was his turn to return the favor. Moments passed before he was able to say anything again. ”Are you going to be okay?” The tom glanced around the clearing, taking a look at the other cats who were involved in their own conversations. Thank goodness no one was watching - some nosy cat might decide to poke their nose into a private conversation. Then again, the middle of the clearing wasn’t the greatest spot for a private conversation in the first place. Not unless they were really whispering. ”Do you want to get out of here? Like, in the territory or something?” Ottertail shifted his weight from paw to paw.

He wasn’t sure how she’d feel about leaving her kits behind for the moment, but it could be good for her to get out for a little while. Maybe she should leave them for a little bit. They seemed like they’d be okay, with friends and everything… and surely one of the other queens could look after them for a few hours while Crescentmoon took some time for herself… maybe Ottertail could watch them, if he needed to. He hadn’t ever been great with kits, but wanting a family of his own someday, he was going to have to learn how to be good with them. After all, what would be the use otherwise?

Crescentmoon looked up at Ottertail as she felt his paw on her face, wiping away her tears. She simply stared at him for a moment, her round blue eyes still glistening with tears at the edges. She took a few breaths while staring at him, and his words broke the silence that had been there for a moment.
She nodded, knowing what he said was true. Her kits would be fine here, she knew that for sure.

But she wasn’t sure about herself. As Ottertail’s last statement sunk into her, she dropped her gaze to the ground for a moment. She didn’t like relying on others for support, she’d learned how much it hurt when they left. That had been learned the hard way. She trusted Ottertail, yes, but she was still very fragile. And tender wounds were being reopened, something that the silver-furred molly did not deal with well.
She knew that Ottertail was a fun-loving tom. That was her favorite part about him. And she didn’t want to bring him down. But she knew she needed support. Inside, she was stubborn and wanted to try and hold her own head up. But the she-cat knew her stubbornness was something that she’d have to push away. She needed to accept the help of others. Especially if they were outrightly offering it to her.

Taking a deep breath, Crescentmoon opened her mouth to say something to the tom when he suddenly asked her if she wanted to leave the clearing. The thought came as soothing to her. She loved being out in the territory, taking walks through it had always been her favorite thing to do. The more she thought about it, the more crowded and stuffy the clearing seemed to become.
What about Starrykit and Southkit? The thought hit her heart with a pang. She wanted to go out and enjoy the rest of the daylight in the territory, but she didn’t want to leave her kits. She sat there for a moment, contemplating. A little walk couldn’t hurt, right?

“Yeah, a walk sounds nice.” She meowed, giving Ottertail a reassuring smile. “I think Starrykit and Southkit will be fine for now, there’s plenty of other queens and other kits that will help watch them.” She had faith in the members of her clan. That was something she’d never lost, even when she was living as a loner.
The silver she-cat stood up, brushing last Ottertail towards the exit. Her mood had become a more positive be one, and a bright smile was now on her face. “Come on furball.” She purred, a playful note in her voice.

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

It’d been a little while since Caliapaw had had any sort of interaction with other apprentices. She’d spoken with Everpaw some… and of course there were her patients… but other than that, she’d been pretty much alone. The only medicine cat Caliapaw had met had been Shinefang, and as nice as he’d been, she was hoping to meet some of the others at some point. Caliapaw hadn’t been able to catch up with any of her other friends lately… it was actually weird, not speaking to them. Her eyes scanned the clearing as she curled her tail around her paws, gaze flickering over each of the others there. Some of them she had treated before… others, she didn’t recognize. It was hard keeping up with the cats she knew in ThunderClan, and the weird thing was, the less she spoke to them, the more comfortable she was.

Caliapaw was comfortable being on her own. It was a good thing for her, healthy, even… as strange as it might have seemed. The biggest problem right now was finding a good balance between being alone and being with other cats. Thankfully, her job kept her pretty occupied with a mixture of both, and it was now - in her free time - that she chose to stay mainly alone. Sometimes she would speak to a family member, but that was about the extent of her social life these days. Kind of sad. It’s just too bad I can’t figure out more. She thought with a flick of her tail. She’d grown in the past few moons… she was 13 moons old now, and would be 14 fairly soon. It was exciting, thinking all of this through. Soon she would have her full name, as well… and perhaps start looking for an apprentice.

Caliapaw didn’t like kits very much, they made her a little uncomfortable, but maybe this would be a good way to… get to know a few of the younger cats around ThunderClan. Perhaps she would train an apprentice, or even a warrior - to be honest, Caliapaw wasn’t planning on being picky. It was exciting, thinking about the future of all this… and a little scary, too. But she wanted to have the future planned out before it was too late.

@RedHead

Ever since becoming an apprentice, the silver tomcat had been nothing but trouble. Trouble for other cats, trouble for his mother, and most specifically, trouble for his mentor. Jaggedpaw had already tried multiple times to assert his dominance over his mentor, which was a very big risk, considering he was the clan leader. The silver tomcat of course didn’t take Passionstar’s rank into consideration. To him, the ginger tomcat was just like any other cat. Inferior to his undeniable awesomeness.

Stepping into the clearing, Jaggedpaw’s sharp lime-colored eyes raked the area, taking in all the small details of the cats and things in the clearing. After he had assured himself that nothing out of order was happening without him, he sat down and began to groom his silver and black pelt. The tomcat had always been an early riser, and it had become kind of a routine for him to go on the dawn patrols every morning. He seemed to have an endless supply of energy, always waking up early and usually going to bed late. He seldom took daytime naps as well.
Once he was done grooming his pelt go considerable perfection, he glanced around again. His eyes lit up as he spotted Caliapaw step from her den and into the clearing. The younger cat hadn’t seen his friend in a while, ever since she had become a medicine cat, he had felt like he was now out of the picture.

Jaggedpaw would make sure that he didn’t leave her life unless he wanted to though. And he definitely didn’t want to. Caliapaw was his kithood best friend, she had been the first cat to talk to him when he was brought by his mother to Thunderclan at a young age. Jaggedpaw wasn’t going to let her go so easily. He knew that he annoyed her. In fact, he enjoyed annoying her. But he would never go to far to the point where he might possibly hurt her. Jaggedpaw hates hurting other’s feelings, especially those of his close friends and family.

Getting up, Jaggedpaw sauntered towards the age-cat, his prominent smirk overtaking his face as he came within earshot of her. “Hey Cals, how is my beautiful flower-princess doing?” He purred, walking close to her and smirking downward at her. He may be younger than the she-cat, at only about eight moons, but he was a tall cat for his age. He was always told by his mother that he had inherited his father’s insane height. And insane was the right word to describe it. Jaggedpaw could often be mistaken for a young warrior, if it weren’t for the lack of muscle he still had. The tomcat was awaiting his growspurt, he had noticed a lot of cats had one, usually right before they became a warrior.

[Mango]

Originally Posted by The Loner Forever

Boulderdust felt his heart clenching inside his chest. He didn't like seeing Redpaw. It made him feel bad and sad. "I've had many apprentices in my life and the one cat I wish could be my apprentice was you." meowed Boulderdust almost in a whisper. He let out a few coughs, feeling his lungs began to collapse. @Okapi;

Redpaw shook his head,” No.” his voice sounded sorrowful and upset, as he choked out the no. He blinked away tears,” Caliapaw can help you, and if she can’t she could fetch Daydream or Shinefang!” He repeated trying not to believe it was the end of Boulderdust.

[Crumbleless]

@Fuzzyfeline
Lupinshadow opened his jaws in a sigh. The sun shown kindly upon his dark pelt warming him very quickly. Glad for the good weather, the rowdy tom made his way to the apprentices den to see if his own apprentice, Icepaw was inside the structure.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Crumbleless

@Fuzzyfeline
Lupinshadow opened his jaws in a sigh. The sun shown kindly upon his dark pelt warming him very quickly. Glad for the good weather, the rowdy tom made his way to the apprentices den to see if his own apprentice, Icepaw was inside the structure.

Icepaw had be chatting with some other new apprentices. This white duel eye colored molly was so excited to start training, she almost went looking for Lupinshadow in the warriors den but a older apprentice convinced her not to. Scenting her mentor out side the den the snow white apprentice pushed out of the den bubbling with excitement. "Your finally awake." She chirped eyes shining. Waving her white tail she bonded up to the dark pelted tom. " What are we going to do? " She ask assuming they were going training. Well that was all she thought apprentices did was training. What else would they do?

[Crumbleless]

Originally Posted by Fuzzyfeline

Icepaw had be chatting with some other new apprentices. This white duel eye colored molly was so excited to start training, she almost went looking for Lupinshadow in the warriors den but a older apprentice convinced her not to. Scenting her mentor out side the den the snow white apprentice pushed out of the den bubbling with excitement. "Your finally awake." She chirped eyes shining. Waving her white tail she bonded up to the dark pelted tom. " What are we going to do? " She ask assuming they were going training. Well that was all she thought apprentices did was training. What else would they do?

Lupinshadow gave Icepaw a wry grin, " How about we do some hunting practice? And maybe we'll try some battle moves afterward." The tom was confident in his apprentice's abilities, and although he enjoyed hunting he knew he couldn't just teach her the hunting part of being a warrior.

[Brilliance]

Today was a good day. Nothing could ruin this day. Passionstar looked more than pumped as he realized that his niece; his little she-kit was finally becoming a warrior. Evidently, he didn't forget that there were a few other apprentices that were more than ready to become warriors, and he was ecstatic about that as well. To not waste any time, Passionstar quickly scrambled on the high rock, looking over his clan with a bright grin. ''All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather under the high rock for a clan meeting!'' He boomed, his voice deep, but filled with melting excitement.

''Today, we have a new apprentice joining the ranks,'' As much as he wanted to get to the warrior ceremonies, there was a lone kit that needed to be appreciated into becoming an apprentice. ''Shellkit, please step forward.'' Passionstar called dutifully, staring at the young cat, he dipped his head at her. ''You have reached your sixth moon, and it has come to my attention that you are to be made an apprentice,'' He smiled, gently. ''So, until you become a warrior, your new name will be Shellpaw,'' He announced, then scanned the crowd, ''Russetwish will be your new mentor.'' His tail twitched.

{ @Tazzy } { @Ombre Party }

Now, for the moment he was waiting for. Inhaling deeply, the tom straightened his posture to look as proud as can be. ''We have apprentices that have trained long and hard to become warriors to the clan.'' He stated. ''Foxpaw, Everpaw, Jaypaw, and Spiderpaw, please step forward.'' Once all the called apprentice stepped forward, Passionstar's eyes glowed brightly when he stared at his niece. ''You each have reached the time in your life important to every apprentice; to become a warrior. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code, honoring it, and protecting it even if it costs your life?''

''I do.''

Passionstar nodded. ''With the power invested in me through Starclan, I commend you as warriors to them.'' He started with Foxpaw. ''Foxpaw, you will be known as Foxbound. The clan honors your resilience and fearlessness.'' Turning to Everpaw, ''Everpaw, you will be known as Everwalker. The clan is grateful for your determination and loyalty.'' He smiled. ''Jaypaw, you will be known as Jaylight. The clan appreciates your kindness and loyalty.'' Lastly, ''Spiderpaw, you will be known as Spiderfrost. The clan is thankful for your quickmindness and strong-willed.'' With each new made warrior, he touched the top of their head with his nose. ''Congratulations on reaching the newest journey in your life.''

{ @RedHead } { @Empress Of Evil } { @The Loner Forever } { @Crumbleless }

With the ceremonies finished, Passionstar let out a breath of relief. ''With that finished, clan dismissed.'' He called down calmly, jumping off the high rock with a trip in his step. After shaking his pelt from the embarrassment, he couldn't deny the excitement that his kin would be a proud warrior of Thunderclan.