ThunderClan: Life Before 2020's Fire

[Freesia]

Originally Posted by CheetahPelt

He ignored the look on the medicine cats face and plopped on his back, eyes open as wide as he could. "I'm ready." It wasn't fun getting plant juice squeezed in his eyes, but anything to stop him from going more blind was good. He steeled himself for the sting of the stinking plant's juice

Tallmarsh stood over the elders face, the goop of leaves between her teeth. She leaned down and squeezed the juice out onto his eyes--just a few drops. The medicine cat immediately spat out the disgusting leaves. "Ugh, that's the worst. You have to do this all the time?" she said.

[CheetahPelt]

Originally Posted by Delta

Tallmarsh stood over the elders face, the goop of leaves between her teeth. She leaned down and squeezed the juice out onto his eyes--just a few drops. The medicine cat immediately spat out the disgusting leaves. "Ugh, that's the worst. You have to do this all the time?" she said.

He winced with a hiss and blink furiously before climbing to his feet. He was still blinking when he looked at the she cat. He closed his eyes and then opened them again. He sat down with a slight frown. "Give me a moment." He pawed at his face, and blinked some more before cleaning his face from the liquid that leaked from his eyes. He closed and opened his eyes one more time. He blinked, and his eyes cleared. "Good. Yes we have to do that every sunrise."

[IkeaMann]

Originally Posted by Delta

Tallmarsh was trying to get her herbs somewhat ordered and was laser-focused on the task at hand, so she was surprised when she heard a voice from behind her. She turned around, a glare and a snarky comment at the ready, but she stopped when she saw the apprentice before her. The dark tabby medicine cat could tell that she was nervous, so she dropped the annoyed expression in favor of an encouraging smile. "I'm doing okay! A little stressed, but otherwise fine," she replied in her cheeriest tone. She didn't usually talk to younger cats, so she wasn't sure how to act around them. She could tell that this apprentice was a bit lacking in the confidence department, so Tallmarsh decided immediately that she would protect and support Berrypaw at all costs. She didn't know if there was anything else going on in this young cat's life, but her motherly instincts were kicking--and Tallmarsh wasn't usually the motherly type. She padded over to Berrypaw and sat in front of her. "How are you? Do you need healing?" she inquired. She'd had a lot of cats drop by the medicine den lately for chatting as opposed to healing, but she didn't want to assume anything.

Berrypaw smiled slightly. "Oh that's good...Wish I could say the same for me" She'd let out a sigh. She'd shake herself a few times to get her spirits up and get thinking about good things, but nothing worked. Berrypaw would look back up at Tallmarsh with somewhat of a grin on her face just to seem now happy. "Oh...I'm fine I guess, and no I don't need healing I just want someone to talk to who might get what I'm saying for once...So I have now come to you since your a medicine cat and all I thought that you might relate some way"She'd explain her smiled fading and her face looking quite serious.

[Freesia]

Originally Posted by *Spoopy Carrot*

Berrypaw smiled slightly. "Oh that's good...Wish I could say the same for me" She'd let out a sigh. She'd shake herself a few times to get her spirits up and get thinking about good things, but nothing worked. Berrypaw would look back up at Tallmarsh with somewhat of a grin on her face just to seem now happy. "Oh...I'm fine I guess, and no I don't need healing I just want someone to talk to who might get what I'm saying for once...So I have now come to you since your a medicine cat and all I thought that you might relate some way"She'd explain her smiled fading and her face looking quite serious.

Tallmarsh wrapped her long tail around her paws, listening intently. Her expression became concerned as this apprentice explained why she was here. This cat needs someone to talk to. "Of course. I'm here to serve my Clan," she said with a light purr. It seemed that today she wasn't going to be treating this young she-cat's outer wounds so much as her inner struggles. Tallmarsh wasn't usually a very open, loving cat, but she'd had her fair share of hardships in her life, and she knew what it was like to have that dark cloud of emptiness and exhaustion constantly hovering over you. She'd been separated from her family at a young age, then been forced to choose between her sister or freedom. She hoped that she would be able to help this cat in any way possible. "Whatever you need to say, you can say it here. I promise that this is a safe place for you," she encouraged.

[Brilliance]

Originally Posted by Delta

Tallmarsh had to avoid rolling her eyes at Passionstar's poetic comment. She noticed that one large difference between the two of them was that while Passionstar seemed to enjoy vague, poetic statements, Tallmarsh preferred things to be very straightforward, no interpretation required. This was definitely going to cause some...interesting situations in the future. The dark tabby hesitated for a second, then replied, "I'm not really sure how to describe it. I guess you could call it 'amazing', but...I think the word I would use to describe it is 'eye-opening'." She paused, kneading the ground with her paws. "I wasn't born in the Clans, so I never really believed in anything like StarClan before joining. When I joined ThunderClan, I was told about StarClan, and I had a hard time accepting it," she admitted. She had noticed during their conversation that Passionstar thought of StarClan highly, so she tried not to be too cynical. Even though she had visited StarClan and talked with dead cats, she still found herself having a bit of a hard time completely putting her trust in them. She continued, "But visiting StarClan... Seeing all of the ancestors of my Clanmates... I guess you could say I was a little more than surprised." She looked away for a moment, remembering the starry footprints, shining pelts, and glowing eyes.

Their differences hadn’t really sprouted to Passionstar’s acknowledgement. Foreshadowing a future of working together and serving the clan, it is more than likely that they’d get into plenty of arguments and banters. Passionstar could be a pretty playful, annoying tom, and Tallmarsh looked very finicky and all about business. “Eye-opening? How so? Did you come to some type of revelation while there?” It wasn’t very far fetch, even though his tone was comical. Some cats who were chosen to see their fallen ones usually state it was a milestone. For him, certainly. He loved it there, which was why he wasn’t afraid of death. He knew that when he died, joining the ranks of Starclan would be the best thing in the world. Honestly, if Passionstar really thought about it, it was possible that they were apprentices together, if not, then she was at least a few moons older than him. So, that meant she’s been in Thunderclan for quite a while. “That’s most with loners and rogues. Clans cats believing in such absurdity. What do you think happens when we...die?” He was genuinely curious. If she didn’t believe in Starclan, then what did she believe in? Did she believe in an after life at all? Passionstar didn’t judge her, he learned to accept opinions because there was a diverse of cats and mindsets. “It’s kinda hard to not accept it now, isn’t it? After all, you seen dead cats. You’ve been to Starclan. Seeing is believing isn’t it?” Passionstar didn’t fully believe in ‘seeing is believing’ in certain situations. For Tallmarsh, he assumed that if she seen it with her own eyes, then she believed it.

[IkeaMann]

Originally Posted by Delta

Tallmarsh wrapped her long tail around her paws, listening intently. Her expression became concerned as this apprentice explained why she was here. This cat needs someone to talk to. "Of course. I'm here to serve my Clan," she said with a light purr. It seemed that today she wasn't going to be treating this young she-cat's outer wounds so much as her inner struggles. Tallmarsh wasn't usually a very open, loving cat, but she'd had her fair share of hardships in her life, and she knew what it was like to have that dark cloud of emptiness and exhaustion constantly hovering over you. She'd been separated from her family at a young age, then been forced to choose between her sister or freedom. She hoped that she would be able to help this cat in any way possible. "Whatever you need to say, you can say it here. I promise that this is a safe place for you," she encouraged.

"Well..." She began. "I'm currently having issues making friends since I use logic against them"Berrypaw would mew with a sigh. "Also I'm afraid of telling others that my dad is a Shadowclan cat and I never knew my mom.."She'd explain feeling somewhat embarrassed about telling that her family wasn't pure Thunderclan. "I normally don't talk about this stuff, but since you're the medicine cat I can trust you"She'd give a small smile to show that she was happy about talking with her and not any other cat.

[Freesia]

Originally Posted by *Spoopy Carrot*

"Well..." She began. "I'm currently having issues making friends since I use logic against them"Berrypaw would mew with a sigh. "Also I'm afraid of telling others that my dad is a Shadowclan cat and I never knew my mom.."She'd explain feeling somewhat embarrassed about telling that her family wasn't pure Thunderclan. "I normally don't talk about this stuff, but since you're the medicine cat I can trust you"She'd give a small smile to show that she was happy about talking with her and not any other cat.

Tallmarsh nodded knowingly. With her usually abrasive personality, she wasn't one to have many friends, and she was born a loner, so her family was definitely not pure ThunderClan. "I know exactly how you feel. I don't have many friends because I can be...abrasive," she replied. "And most cats don't remember, but I joined ThunderClan when I was around your age. I was born a loner. I never knew my father--it was always my mother, my siblings, and me." She was glad that Berrypaw felt that she could come to her about this. She smiled encouragingly at the apprentice.

[Freesia]

Originally Posted by Brilliance

Their differences hadn’t really sprouted to Passionstar’s acknowledgement. Foreshadowing a future of working together and serving the clan, it is more than likely that they’d get into plenty of arguments and banters. Passionstar could be a pretty playful, annoying tom, and Tallmarsh looked very finicky and all about business. “Eye-opening? How so? Did you come to some type of revelation while there?” It wasn’t very far fetch, even though his tone was comical. Some cats who were chosen to see their fallen ones usually state it was a milestone. For him, certainly. He loved it there, which was why he wasn’t afraid of death. He knew that when he died, joining the ranks of Starclan would be the best thing in the world. Honestly, if Passionstar really thought about it, it was possible that they were apprentices together, if not, then she was at least a few moons older than him. So, that meant she’s been in Thunderclan for quite a while. “That’s most with loners and rogues. Clans cats believing in such absurdity. What do you think happens when we...die?” He was genuinely curious. If she didn’t believe in Starclan, then what did she believe in? Did she believe in an after life at all? Passionstar didn’t judge her, he learned to accept opinions because there was a diverse of cats and mindsets. “It’s kinda hard to not accept it now, isn’t it? After all, you seen dead cats. You’ve been to Starclan. Seeing is believing isn’t it?” Passionstar didn’t fully believe in ‘seeing is believing’ in certain situations. For Tallmarsh, he assumed that if she seen it with her own eyes, then she believed it.

Tallmarsh tilted her head to one side, considering the leader's question. "Yes," she finally said. "Like I just said, I realized that StarClan does in fact exist." Her tone was determined, almost condescending (if you read into it enough). She had been hearing stories of StarClan almost her whole life, but it had always seemed to farfetched to be real--plus, she had never gotten a sign from them or anything like that until becoming medicine cat. She supposed that now that she had visited StarClan, she had to believe in it. She avoid Passionstar's gaze--she felt ashamed and a bit embarrassed that she, the one cat who wasn't sure of her belief, had been chosen for the role of medicine cat, the one cat closest to the Clans' ancestors. She sighed, "Well..I guess I always just assumed there wasn't really anything after death. I never really thought about in depth where we came from or whether there's an afterlife. As a loner, the only things I was focused on were staying alive and finding my family..." She trailed off for a moment, then continued in a firm tone, "I don't know yet. I've had my whole adult life to think about this, yet it's never really been at the front of my mind since the first time I was told about it." She knew that she should believe in StarClan now, because she'd been there and seen it with her own two eyes. But despite what she wanted to think, she couldn't seem to put her trust in some dead cats in the sky who wanted her to follow blindly. For her, seeing did equal believing, most of the time. She didn't have any particular desire to follow StarClan, but she felt a certain sense of duty to her Clan to be the best medicine cat she could. And part of that responsibility was interpreting signs from their ancestors, which she couldn't do if she didn't have faith.

[IkeaMann]

Originally Posted by Delta

Tallmarsh nodded knowingly. With her usually abrasive personality, she wasn't one to have many friends, and she was born a loner, so her family was definitely not pure ThunderClan. "I know exactly how you feel. I don't have many friends because I can be...abrasive," she replied. "And most cats don't remember, but I joined ThunderClan when I was around your age. I was born a loner. I never knew my father--it was always my mother, my siblings, and me." She was glad that Berrypaw felt that she could come to her about this. She smiled encouragingly at the apprentice.

"Wow I didn't know that you could be abrasive"She mewed her eyes kinda wide. "Wait so you were born a loner and you never knew you're father? Wow sounds somewhat like my family. I know my father don't know my mom and I'm not sure if I have any siblings...I wish I had some"She's sigh " Or at least knew them" Berrypaw was very happy to find out that Tallmarsh had the same type problems as her. So it was good to talk to her. Berrypaw felt like some weight had been taking off her mind.

[Doom]

@Duskflight

It was just before dawn. The sky was still a dark gray and the air was crisp - leaf-fall was definitely here now. Squirrelkit was wide awake, as she usually is around this time. She was always an early riser, ready to start the day before anyone in the nursery was even nearly awake yet. The little orange tabby had moved from her family’s warm huddle, eager to check on that specific plant she’s been watching in the corner nursery. It was unclear to her what type of plant is was, but it was a wee little thing; just a sprout with two leaves stuck out in different directions. She loved plants. Like, really loved plants. Squirrelkit enjoyed watching them grow and change overtime - feeling as if it were a metaphor of some sort about life. Perhaps it was StarClans way of telling her things grow in different ways, as plants do grow in all different shapes, colors, and sizes. Some grow better than others, and some not really much at all. Whatever it all meant, Squirrelkit just loved examining them. The tall she-kit sat hunched with her feathery tail swaying curiously, nose-to-nose in front of the little plant. “Hello, little one.” She spoke softly, a deep purr rumbling at the bottom of her chest. “Such a beautiful morning, isn't it? Nobody else is awake yet but us. We have a little time to talk, but must keep quiet.” Her dark amber orbs glossed in fascination at the plant as the first morning light dappled it's way onto its soft bright green leaves. “You’re rather beautiful today.” She complimented it, wishing to one day have the same beauty as a plant in sunlight did. “StarClan must really like you to let you be that gorgeous, and let you be the first plant in the nursery to get sunlight.” It was all so remarkable to her.

This was all routine for her by now, and while most kits in the nursery thought of her as strange, Squirrelkit ceaselessly continued her morning talks with her favorite plant.