The forest was still soaking wet, even though the rain had stopped a little while ago now. The rain and warm (for this season) weather had melted the snow away, revealing the browning grass underneath. Most of the leaves had decayed away to mere slivers of their former selves.
The moon itself was about the width of a cat’s claw, almost completely covered by shadows. That left the forest quite dark, which in turn made Oriolepaw very nervous. He knew he shouldn’t be out of camp alone, being an apprentice. But, he was tired of seeing his Clanmates go hungry. Wasn’t Copperfire supposed to make sure they all stayed fed, even in leaf-bare? Oriolepaw himself had lost quite a bit of weight, leaving him weaker than normal.
Several times on this trek, he wanted to turn back and go home. But he pressed on, thinking of his thin Clanmates and their barely-existent prey pile. Yes, he’d get in trouble for leaving camp alone, but he figured his Clanmates couldn’t see him as more of a disappointment than he already was.
Eventually, he reached a crumbling structure of some kind. It didn’t look like anything he’d ever seen before. In the dark, it loomed before him like a monster. The wind howled around him, promising colder weather down the line.
He looked around, trying to spot some prey. Opening his jaws, he scented the air. The smell of rain was strong, almost overwhelming him. He closed his eyes and worked to separate the rain from all the other scents present. Finally, he scented something warm and meaty, but new.
A loud hooting caused him to snap his eyes open. The fluttering of wings drew his attention to a branch that hung just over one of the walls of this odd structure. A small bird with wide eyes sat atop the branch, its head swiveling around unlike that of any other bird Oriolepaw had ever seen.
Slowly, the apprentice approached the tree that the branch grew from. Remembering what he’d learned from Orchidbriar, he scrambled up the trunk. The quick motion startled the bird, which flew over to part of the wall about three tail-lengths from the branch. Okay. It wasn’t over yet.
The bird now had its back to Oriolepaw. If he took it slow and careful, he could approach it without alerting it to his presence.
He crept along the branch, carefully dropping down onto the top of the crumbling wall. He recoiled at the odd feeling under his paws. Cold, hard, and wet. What kind of place was this?
Unsheathing his claws, he stalked the bird. One step at a time. Closer. Almost there.
Once he was close enough, he leapt. His claws sank into the bird’s back and right wing. It screeched and attempted to get away, but was unable to. Oriolepaw landed on a slick part of the wall, his hind paws slipping out from under him almost as soon as he did.
With a surprised yelp, he tumbled off the wall. His claws brought the bird with him. His right shoulder slammed into the ground, sending a crack of pain through him like a lightning bolt. Oriolepaw yowled in pain, his claws reflexively releasing the bird. The bird’s neck had snapped as a result of the fall; it simply flopped out of Oriolepaw’s grasp.
This pain. It was nothing like Oriolepaw had ever felt before. He tried to stand, but the second he attempted to put pressure on his leg, the pain got ten times worse. Stars swirled in the apprentice’s vision, making him think he was going to StarClan.
He fell back, his head falling against the dead bird. Wetness from the damp earth crept into his fur, making him shake. What was he going to do? He was alone. Nobody knew he was out here.
( Closed now )
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Fadingsun is currently RiverClan's leader. He has an open den policy; his den can be found here. If you have any questions or concerns about RiverClan, or any plots to propose, feel free to leave me a VM or DM! Please do not take my characters' IC opinions as reflective of my own.
Last edited by occultation; December 25th, 2022 at 04:54 PM.
Roosterflame looked around Giant’s Rest with his nose held to the ground as he tried to find any scent of prey during these harsh times. The giant trees for which the area is known tower above him, providing him with a steady shower of leaves that crunch beneath his paws and scatter in his pelt, making him have to shake his multicolored fur out every now and again.
Suddenly, Roosterflame stops his shuffle through the leaf mold. The scent of rabbit covers a small area nearby, and he starts forward, making sure to make minimal noise in the crunchy leaves, which proves to be a bit of a difficult endeavor.
Soon, he finds a small burrow, and the wind is blowing the scent of rabbit straight towards him, and his own scent far away in another direction. He takes a deep, but quiet breath, and his hunch is confirmed, at least two rabbits reside in the den. His heart skips with the excitement of catching some juicy rabbits to feed the starving clan.
Roosterflame creeps into the den, low to the ground. He hears rustling around, now. He can smell the fear scent. The rabbits know he’s in here.
Eyes adjusting to the dark, he sees that he has two adolescent rabbits caught in the den, and all he has to do is catch and kill them and some hungry bellies will be filled tonight.
Roosterflame darts forwards and seizes one of the rabbits by the neck in one swift moment. He snaps its neck and mutters a hurried thanks to those starry kitties before dropping the meal and turning just in time to catch a buck to the side of his head as the other rabbit scrambles for the exit. Head swimming and stars flicking the edges of his vision, Roosterflame seizes the rabbit by the leg with his claws, just as it reaches the den exit, and pulls it down into the den with him, where he rakes his claws along its side, grappling for purchase, and breaks its back, paralyzing it, and then just as quickly putting it out of its misery. He utters a thanks to StarClan, because on the off chance of them being real, he wants to be on their good side.
Roosterflame drags his quarry out of the den, a dull throbbing is beginning in his head, and surveys the two morsels. The first rabbit is a clean kill, very little blood, no displaced fur, while the second is another story. It looks like it just went through a battle. Roosterflame grimaces at the messy prey, but he reminds himself that the starving cats back in camp will be thrilled to eat it besides its mangled appearance, so he grabs the rabbits by the scruff of their necks, and begins to carry them back to camp.
Suddenly, he drops the rabbits, as he has caught the scent of mouse. Roosterflame hurriedly buries the rabbits under the leaf mold and creeps along the mouse’s scent trail. It’s fresh.
He follows the trail for a stretch before he finds himself at the edge of a half iced-over creek where the trail abruptly stops. Roosterflame prays that he hasn’t lost the trail and that he doesn’t have to abandon.
He wanders along the bank, stealthy, for a while, before he begins to lose hope in catching the mouse. Though, right as he’s about to give up, he spots the mouse on the opposite bank, nibbling something or the other, and he loses no time leaping across and killing it with a thank you to StarClan added at the end.
Now, with a good bounty, Roosterflame pads back to the rabbits and carries his prey back to ThunderClan camp, though the pounding in his head still remains and his recently-healed leg has begun to twinge.
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Probably permanent roleplay hiatus, though I’ll be around nonetheless. Might make some throwaways every now and then for people’s plots + Non-Clan cats and Nonwarriors roleplay characters. Free Art Auction
His paws crunched on the cold ground, he could already feel the bristling frost of snow reach into his veins. He jittered before he puffed out his feathery fur to prevent getting frostbitten. He sniffed in the cold air before he hesitantly asked the patrol he was with for directions. "Well this looks to be a good place to hunt, prey might not be prominent here but it’s our best option.." He grunted, turning towards Birdblaze as he waited for the patrol leader to take action. He was just stating his claims on the situation. And of course prey was ought to be cuddling up somewhere in their dens. So they can’t do much on hunting.
Crocuspaw slinks across the twolegplace and dives back into ThunderClan's forest. What had once looked intimidating was now a comfort though, and a feeling of relief ebbs through his small, lanky body the moment his paws are all well within the Clan border again. It would come as a surprise to anybody, most of all himself, but he hadn't the time to really consider it. His face stung where he'd been scratched, and his nose actually dripped a few times during his sprint back to the forest. Now the blood had dried at the tip of his nose. It made breathing awkward, and he felt cold flakes of blood falling off if he huffed heavily enough.
It was time to slow down now. The apprentice was back. His body ached, from the cold, from his run. Still, he needed to find a place to clean up. It wasn't hard- A stream breaking off from the river that probably ran through RiverClan scored through the territory, and Crocus would not take it for granted. He pauses near the small stream and sniffs cautiously at the water before gingerly touching his nose to it. A chill runs through him- It was winter, and the water was COLD! Drawing back quickly, the young tom shakes his head by instinct. A moment later, he begins to lap at his paw and draw it over his face to wash.
Cleaning up, it was obvious to see he'd been raked across the face not once but twice. Over his nose, and another messy mark just above one eye.
An unknown feeling settles in the tom's chest as he sits there, beginning to think about what to tell Sundust.
Crocuspaw slinks across the twolegplace and dives back into ThunderClan's forest. What had once looked intimidating was now a comfort though, and a feeling of relief ebbs through his small, lanky body the moment his paws are all well within the Clan border again. It would come as a surprise to anybody, most of all himself, but he hadn't the time to really consider it. His face stung where he'd been scratched, and his nose actually dripped a few times during his sprint back to the forest. Now the blood had dried at the tip of his nose. It made breathing awkward, and he felt cold flakes of blood falling off if he huffed heavily enough.
It was time to slow down now. The apprentice was back. His body ached, from the cold, from his run. Still, he needed to find a place to clean up. It wasn't hard- A stream breaking off from the river that probably ran through RiverClan scored through the territory, and Crocus would not take it for granted. He pauses near the small stream and sniffs cautiously at the water before gingerly touching his nose to it. A chill runs through him- It was winter, and the water was COLD! Drawing back quickly, the young tom shakes his head by instinct. A moment later, he begins to lap at his paw and draw it over his face to wash.
Cleaning up, it was obvious to see he'd been raked across the face not once but twice. Over his nose, and another messy mark just above one eye.
An unknown feeling settles in the tom's chest as he sits there, beginning to think about what to tell Sundust.
[ open ]
Flameheart
Flameheart just got done with her solo patrol, her ears flicked as she got the idea to stretch her legs a bit, her injured one especially. It was beginning to get a little stiff from not doing much during the cold days. The splashing of water split through the still environment, and all the young warrior could think about was RiverClan trespassing yet again. She curled her lips in annoyance and stalked toward the sound, not afraid to give the trespasser the what-for.
Fortunately, it was not a RiverClanner. Instead, it was an apprentice who had been missing from camp for what? A moon, maybe two? "Crocuspaw, you better have a good explanation as to why you're out of camp, injured, and why you've been missing for so long." Her tone was full of concern, though the question was enough to show how serious she was. Now I'm dealing with returning Clanmates. What am I, an unofficial Keeper or Deputy? Jeez, ThunderClan needs to get its act together."Look, why don't you explain on the way? I'll escort you to the camp. After that, you get to Sundust. We can't have those cuts getting infected, especially at the start of leaf-bare."
The young warrior stood still for a moment, waiting for the younger Clanmate to come forward and begin his explanation. I'll be visiting Sparrowstar again soon, I suppose. This will be one of those things I'll mention. Other than the cuts on his nose and above his eye, Crocuspaw didn't seem too badly injured. There's that, at least...
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ThunderClan: None
WindClan: None
ShadowClan: Lightningkit
RiverClan: None
Outsiders: Crow (Purrks: Heightened Perception (hearing), Agatha Kitty (clue and inconsistency finder), and Hulk SMASH (strength boost when angry)
Bumping Policy: After ONE week!
Last edited by SpiritedWarrior; December 24th, 2022 at 03:17 PM.
Roseraven needed to take a breath. After crying for a few hours, she realized she still had blood all over her paws. She could wash them in the medicine den stream, but she'd rather get out of camp. So random territory water it is!
Roseraven had been able to process what happened. She realized it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The kit and the mother were dying already, and her mistakes just soed up the process. She made a mental note to elaborate on that. But it didn't make it any less heartbreaking. She didn't even want to look at herself. It was definitely all her fault, and the clan knew. She couldn't keep doing this. What if something worse happened? What if more cats died because of her!? She thought being a medicine cat meant not having to kill others. Somehow, this felt even worse than what she imagined killing someone in battle was like. She...she shouldn't be allowed to touch cars anymore.
What drew her attention from the distress was the shape of an apprentice by her destination. They looked mildly injured. Roseraven's face scrunched up as she tried to remember their name.
"Croak-Crocus...Crocuspaw? Oh, stars, are you okay!?"
Last edited by Shade.; December 24th, 2022 at 03:18 PM.
[ @SpiritedWarrior, @Shade. - if you're both alright participating i'm fine with it ]
The cat was having a difficult time coming up with anything. Maybe he would revert to his initial mannerisms... Feigning terror over every little thing was a good way to wiggle out of difficult explanations. Not everyone was as shrewd as Sparrow.
But Crocus barely had the time to settle on this decision before a ThunderClanner arrives in... Quite the huff. "I- uh-" Stammering, the apprentice could barely formulate a cohesive sentence before Rose, Sundust's... helper.. appeared.
Quick to feel overwhelmed, Crocuspaw instinctively draws back from both of them. Amber-green eyes move from the assertive warrior to Rose, and he manages a slight nod.
"I'm fine, I- I..." Well damn, he hadn't come up with that excuse yet.
Roseraven needed to take a breath. After crying for a few hours, she realized she still had blood all over her paws. She could wash them in the medicine den stream, but she'd rather get out of camp. So random territory water it is!
Roseraven had been able to process what happened. She realized it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The kit and the mother were dying already, and her mistakes just soed up the process. She made a mental note to elaborate on that. But it didn't make it any less heartbreaking. She didn't even want to look at herself. It was definitely all her fault, and the clan knew. She couldn't keep doing this. What if something worse happened? What if more cats died because of her!? She thought being a medicine cat meant not having to kill others. Somehow, this felt even worse than what she imagined killing someone in battle was like. She...she shouldn't be allowed to touch cars anymore.
What drew her attention from the distress was the shape of an apprentice by her destination. They looked mildly injured. Roseraven's face scrunched up as she tried to remember their name.
"Croak-Crocus...Crocuspaw? Oh, stars, are you okay!?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by neptune
[ @SpiritedWarrior, @Shade. - if you're both alright participating i'm fine with it ]
The cat was having a difficult time coming up with anything. Maybe he would revert to his initial mannerisms... Feigning terror over every little thing was a good way to wiggle out of difficult explanations. Not everyone was as shrewd as Sparrow.
But Crocus barely had the time to settle on this decision before a ThunderClanner arrives in... Quite the huff. "I- uh-" Stammering, the apprentice could barely formulate a cohesive sentence before Rose, Sundust's... helper.. appeared.
Quick to feel overwhelmed, Crocuspaw instinctively draws back from both of them. Amber-green eyes move from the assertive warrior to Rose, and he manages a slight nod.
"I'm fine, I- I..." Well damn, he hadn't come up with that excuse yet.
Flameheart
Shortly after she had arrived, the medicine cat apprentice had shown up. Well, I suppose we're both out here to clear our heads after what's been going on. Giving a brief dip of her head in greeting to Roseraven, Flameheart turned her attention back to the rather nervous-sounding apprentice as he attempted to explain what had happened to cause the scratches. I suppose we should get going, Crocuspaw needs attending to. And doesn't need to be interrogated... now, anyway.
"Roseraven, why don't you check on Crocuspaw's wounds back at camp? I'll go to Sparrowstar and tell her he's back." Her voice was much more gentle now, afraid of making the young tom any more nervous than he already was. "If you wish, Crocuspaw, you can inform Sparrowstar what happened after your wounds are tended to. Does that sound good to you two?"
__________________
ThunderClan: None
WindClan: None
ShadowClan: Lightningkit
RiverClan: None
Outsiders: Crow (Purrks: Heightened Perception (hearing), Agatha Kitty (clue and inconsistency finder), and Hulk SMASH (strength boost when angry)
Bumping Policy: After ONE week!
Status: discord i'm howlin at the moon and sleepin in the middle of a summer afternoon
Gender: she/her or they/them
Posts: 28
My Mood:
Re: ThunderClan Territory
ADDERHEART
"I was thinking, maybe we could see where the prey leads us? I mean, not that they're that smart- I just mean if they're going in a certain direction, or.." she trailed off sheepishly, feeling like she was just rambling incoherently. Communication wasn't her strong suit; sure, she enjoyed socializing with other cats, however she struggled to phrase things in an understandable way.
"If you have somewhere in mind, though, I'll follow your lead," she added on. Maybe the leader life wasn't for her; even being the leader of a hunting party seemed to be a struggle.
"I was thinking, maybe we could see where the prey leads us? I mean, not that they're that smart- I just mean if they're going in a certain direction, or.." she trailed off sheepishly, feeling like she was just rambling incoherently. Communication wasn't her strong suit; sure, she enjoyed socializing with other cats, however she struggled to phrase things in an understandable way.
"If you have somewhere in mind, though, I'll follow your lead," she added on. Maybe the leader life wasn't for her; even being the leader of a hunting party seemed to be a struggle.
“I was thinking maybe we could go hunting in Wisteria Falls,” Riversplash suggested,”But your idea sounds really nice as well. Maybe we could do that in Wisteria Falls?”
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"Do you and Barley have kits?" - Bella
Re: Mossy Den
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