ThunderClan: Life Before 2023's Sinkhole

[Rani]

Necterflame wasnt acknowledged as she entered at first, the elder focusing on hooking claws into the dreaded collar and slowly trying to pull it off. "Bumblepaw try and pull your head back through it. If we slip it off this way then this matter will be over easy like but otherwise if it doesnt work we can try chewing it off. Go on give it a tug Ill try and slip it off over your ears." Sometimes twolegs tied the things too lose and as long as you had something to tug on they'd come off easy like (thats how he got that strange cone collar off) but if it was tight Bumblepaw was in for a harder escape and Ridgeclaw and Sparrowflight would have to take turns chewing the damned thing.


With that matter underway the attention was turned to his old apprentice. "You know it'd be kinder to say you didnt mean it to be so harsh instead of that drivel but with you current lack of empathy it'd be a lie wouldnt it. You are not stating facts Necterflame, you were purposefully and publicly humiliating an apprentice who's just come out of a hard situation. I do not judge ex kittypets but it is the ex that is important. To be a kittypet is to be an antithisis to everything a good warrior stands for and so to call someone that is cruel Necterflame.

And if it is the truth (and I do not believe it is otherwise I'd be a kittypet and I am not) its the truth, yes even I admit. But when dealing with the young and easy to hurt maybe consider the truth can still be harmful and that it takes nothing on your part to ease the blow at least a little. You've tossed out friends and kin and though rightfully so now is the time to be kind. I regret that I did not teach you that as apparently it is something I missed you needing.

It is not your place to decide what is statement or insult it is the cats youve spoken those 'facts' to. If we and they chose to view it as insult then you stating otherwise does little to change that.

You tossed out my daughter and my grandkits mother along with a great deal of the clan and hurt, however unintentionally, a vulnerable apprentice tread carefully as our feelings are raw in the wake of today."

@Papaya @littlelove @Jayvines @implimm

[Raven~]

For @SpottedPaww
__________
Larkstorm sniffed the air, thinking her nose was playing tricks on her. But no, an unfamiliar cat scent was on ThunderClan territory. Larkstorm followed the scent, not unsheathing her claws but getting ready to. She came upon the cat, but when she saw her Larkstorm realized her mistake. “Spottedpaw. You’re back.” She remembered the apprentice, from a long time ago. They had shared a mouse together, if Larkstorm wasn’t mistaken. And she had told her about her eye. A…rouge has been the cause she was pretty sure. Larkstorm examined Spottedpaw head that tail. “What’s wrong with your leg? Did you hurt it?” She asked when she noticed Spottedpaw was limping. “Did you get attacked?” She wondered if Spottedpaw had tried to join some other Clan, maybe ShadowClan, first but had been chased out. Or she had joined a rouge group.

[Rizo]

Originally Posted by Howlpaw+

Charpaw nods slowly. The smaller cat, the color of coal nods. It's not like he'll ever meet a cat who'd want to be her friend. Not like they'll ever find a true love.
"Well, I guess that's fine. Can we at least be acquaintances?" He asks Emberpaw.

She blinked, amber eyes full of confusion. Acquaintances? She looked up at Charpaw and pondered for a moment. "I... I g-guess that w-would be fine..." Emberpaw mused, apprehensive. I just don't think its a good idea to get close to me...

[dino.]

// @Rani @littlelove @Jayvines @implimm

>Bumblepaw<

Bumblepaw yelped as Cinderpaw hooked a massive forepaw underneath the collar and yanked, hard, succeeding in doing nothing but dragging Bumblepaw along with it. "What is WRONG WITH YOU STOP IT OW OW-"

He cut himself off as Nectarflame entered the den and wriggled away from Cinderpaw so that he could sit next to Ridgeclaw again. The she-cat's words sounded harsh, even if she hadn't meant them to be, and he glanced down, curling his tail around his flank. As Ridgeclaw took his turn in hooked his claws around the collar, Bumblepaw obeyed silently and did his best to duck away from it.

....finally. OFF. Man, it felt like he could breathe again. Gingerly he lifted a paw to rub at his throat. "Stupid collar," he muttered, under his breath.

Ridgeclaw continuing on made him jump and he took a moment to glance from the elder to Nectarflame and back again. This was awkward and just some other spiel he didn't want to be apart of. "I... look, it's fine, it's- it's off now, so... not a kittypet anymore, right? Um."

He turned to look at Nectarflame, eyes narrowed as if considering his next words, and then ducked his head. "Okay, yeah, admittedly, I was out there by myself. It was kind of a stupid decision but I just really needed some air and didn't want to bother anyone, so... off I went. I was never really given a tour of the territory? So I just wandered. I must have crossed the border at some point because I ran into this group of Twolegs and the little one scooped me up. Stuck me in some sort of monster and the next thing I know, I'm trapped in one of their dens. Did my best to get out but there's, like, dozens of those things all combined into one massive grouping of them. It was like a maze." He raised his forepaws as if to demonstrate the size, brows furrowed. "I managed to get out after a while and find the border again, but... I was out there for a few days, at least, and when no one showed up, I figured I should just see myself over?"

He craned his neck to peer over Nectarflame's shoulder through the den's entrance, wincing. "If I'd known it was going to be this chaotic I'd have stayed out a day or two longer." His voice seemed to rise, becoming sharper, as he continued, "But I want you to know that even with that stupid thing around my neck I didn't laze about like some fat, overfed kittypet. I spent every waking moment looking for a way out of that dump."

Story finished, Bumblepaw once again tried to glance out to the clearing. "Where... where is Aspenstar, by the way? I didn't see her when I, y'know."

[Clock Dragonshifter]

Originally Posted by Firebender

Sharpkit looked at Wishkit. "Oh hey Wishkit. I'm four moons now. I'm thinking about my future mentor. I wonder if it's Blackjaw..." She started pacing again.

~Wishkit~
The small kit tilted her head to the side in thought.
"dunno, never thought about it" The she-cat spoke cheerful. She'd truly never thought about being an apprentice but know that she thought about it she'd be six moons soon. The she-cats face turned to worry thinking she'd be a bad apprentice though she never voiced such thoughts.

[bubble[error].]

Originally Posted by Clock Dragonshifter

~Wishkit~
The small kit tilted her head to the side in thought.
"dunno, never thought about it" The she-cat spoke cheerful. She'd truly never thought about being an apprentice but know that she thought about it she'd be six moons soon. The she-cats face turned to worry thinking she'd be a bad apprentice though she never voiced such thoughts.

Sharpkit nodded. He sat down. mentor, mentor, mentor...

[Clock Dragonshifter]

Originally Posted by Firebender

Sharpkit nodded. He sat down. mentor, mentor, mentor...

~Wishkit~
"Do you think you'll get a good mentor?" The small kit asked fluffing up her fur smiling widely.

[Toodle]

As Nectarflame stepped off the Thunderwillow, Leafecho felt the heaviness of reality sink into her stomach. Everything in the clearing was beginning to settle as the banished cats were escorted out and many other cats were dispersing. Leafecho stood slowly, heavily. She turned first to the camp entrance, wanting to take a walk but her limbs were exhausted and there was a small, possibly irrational, worry that if she left now she wouldn't be permitted back in. So she dragged herself to the warrior's den to find her nest and collapse.

[bubble[error].]

Originally Posted by Clock Dragonshifter

~Wishkit~
"Do you think you'll get a good mentor?" The small kit asked fluffing up her fur smiling widely.

Sharpkit looked at Wishkit. He shrugged. "I don't know..." He traield off, thinking.

[Jayvines]

~ Sparrowflight ~

The sound of Nectarflame's voice brought Sparrowflight's attention back to her post at the door. Narrowing her eyes ever so slightly, she stepped over to block her peer from moving any further into the den. Bumblepaw deserved to be seen as the apprentice he was, so until that blasted collar was off she would act as their wall. The yelp followed by murmured curses towards the two-leg contraption had her glancing back to confirm that the collar had indeed been removed. Seeing that her mentor was successful she gave Bumblepaw a moment to collect themselves before she stepped to the side, green eyes directing their icy gaze towards Nectarflame.

Ridgeclaw's "lecture-voice" was a familiar companion as he launched into his speech on Nectarflame's actions and aspects she needed to correct. Vaguely, Sparrowflight was reminded of one of her first hunting lessons with the cantankerous tom. While she had been given notes on how she succeeded in certain aspects, there was always room for improvement. It seemed that while Nectarflame was a well-spoken cat, diplomacy and tact may not have been her strong suit.

"Before you launch into your interrogation, perhaps you'd like to greet this apprentice? Ask if he managed to get back to us without any wounds or other ailments, hmm?" she stated softy but sternly, attempting to quell the urge to growl towards her peer. A brief zap of excitement raced through her spine as she spoke in such a tone. She wasn't one for rebellion, however acting in defence of her younger clanmate filled Sparrowflight with a determination she was unfamiliar with. Was this how she'd feel towards an apprentice of her own? Ready to take on the clan for their opportunity to find success in their ranks?

Ears perked up towards the aforementioned apprentice as he began his story of how the two-legs managed to catch him. If nothing else, she was impressed by his ability to make it back home from the maze of two-leg nests he had been ensnared into. A small swell of confidence in this young cat filled Sparrowfight's chest as he spoke with such conviction that he was not and never would be a kittypet like Nectarflame had claimed. However, that swell of emotion was abruptly deflated as he asked for their previous leader's whereabouts.

"Aspenstar is... Well..." Sparrowflight began, attempting to find the right words so as not to completely derail the apprentice who had just gotten the fight back into them. "Aspenstar sacrificed all nine of her lives to save a clanmate... A coyote was within our borders again and..."

Green eyes turning towards Ridgeclaw with a look that screamed, "Help! I'm out of my depth here", Sparrowflight tapered off her words as they came. That was the bare-bones explanation. Bumblepaw needed to worry about his future now, and take his own time to grieve if necessary.

@Papaya @littlelove @Rani @implimm