ThunderClan: Life Before 2020's Fire

[lio]

Originally Posted by Rose Child (Gay Bean)

Amberpaw stumbled into the clearing, after moons of searching for her lost love, Mudspeck, being back in camp felt surreal... Sort of foreign. But the anber-coloured Somali had changed, too. She had grown taller, slimmer, and stronger. Maturity showed on her face, and a dark sadness clouded her amber eyes. The molly blinked around her, suddenly noticing her clan looked... Weaker. Had there been a raid? Oh, no... she thought, suddenly feeling stricken that she had been away when her clan had needed her. She silently waited in the clearing, ignoring the stares as she waited for Duskstar to appear from the leader's den. [ @hxneysuckle ]

Duskstar limped from her den to lay her eyes on a familiar face. A face that had not been seen in the Clan for moons. She quirked her brow, approaching the younger molly. "Amberpaw, you have returned. Where have you been?" Her head tilted to the side inquiringly.

×

[ @Slushie @Wings ]

Hearing Buckbranch's call, Duskstar looked up from where she had been grooming herself, her eyes narrowing. She stood and limped over to the tom, gaze focused on the ShadowClanner he had pinned. "Information? Well, spit it out, ShadowClanner. What ever could be so important to share?" she growled. With the recent raid, she despised ShadowClan. Icestar and her selfish pride had injured her Clan, killed one of their warriors and disfigured a few others. She hated it.

[lio]

In order to keep things in one place, all patrols are to be reported here. All reports are to be given to Duskstar or Softbriar-- please mention me or @Socks so we know you have finished your patrol. This takes place in the ThunderClan clearing.

Idea originally by BILL.

[~dust~]

Quailkit looked at her “ can you play with me we could play moss ball or mouse and hunter”. Flamesong looked at her just don’t wear out your new sister

[RedHead]

Okay, so NOW you're asking me for my advice and help?! Uh uh. Nope. Flintspirit took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool. He wasn't known for his anger, but he knew that there were times when he could just blow up. He'd been much more prone to it as a younger warrior. And now he could feel all that rage just building up again. All the suppressed anger and rage he'd been holding inside. This was the last straw. She'd crossed the line. Flintspirit was so DONE. He never thought that it would've come to this, but here it was, coming to this.

Matching Duskstar's gaze with his own steely glare, Flintspirit narrowed his eyes. "Selfish seems the right word for this situation, Duskstar." The tomcat meowed, tail flicking to and forth behind him. Maybe there was still some way to salvage this. Maybe there was still some way he could remain, some way he could still help her.
But is that what you want? Do you want to waste anymore of your time and energy trying to help someone who's not going to listen?
"You want to know something Duskstar? Did you even think about what would come of you just waltzing into Shadowclan's camp and declaring the alliance off? You've barely had any direct interaction with Icestar. You had no idea what she was like." Flintspirit could feel his voice rising, and so he took another deep breath, curling his claws into the ground beneath him. He needed to keep himself calm. "I wanted to talk with you before you called off that alliance. I was stupid in making the decision in the first place, I know. But once I realized what Icestar was really like, I started thinking of good ways to go about breaking the alliance that wouldn't end up like your plan ended up. With Thunderclan getting hurt!" Now his voice was getting a little louder than it should be at their proximity. But the tom kept going. Maybe at this point, it didn't matter if he was angry. At this point, maybe he just needed to let her have it. "So yeah, Duskstar, you've also made a selfish choice by trying to prove that you're a good leader. But why even demand leadership like you did if you're not confident that you could be a better leader in the first place? To me it seems like you're trying to prove yourself to the clan, and yes, that's good, but you're trying way too hard. Like you're trying to compete with someone. And I don't think it's me." Flintspirit never thought it was him. He knew that Duskstar seemed to have a certain... liking for Riverclan and their members. He'd even just smelled Riverclan scent on his way in here. But he wasn't going to ask about that, it wasn't his business anyways, right? With the way she's been acting, nothing is my business anymore. "When I resigned, I told you that I'd be around to help you make decisions and give you guidance. I didn't realize that you were going to be rejecting all of that and doing everything on your own. Because ever since you stood on the highpeak and demanded I step down, I've felt useless. I used to know most of what was going on within and without the clan, but now I feel like I know nothing. Because you're too selfish and prideful to even ask me for my help!" His last sentence became a snap as he could feel his emotions overflowing. Useless. A tool. A fraud. Submissive and weak. He'd been called all those things, either directly or indirectly, but he knew it. And Flintspirit was on edge. He was so very done, and everything was just flowing out with no stopper to stop it anymore. He could feel his eyes welling up with tears, but he pushed that down. He. Would not. Cry. Those tears were the only thing that weren't going to flow out. He wanted to keep some shred of his dignity.

"It's like you only kept me around to placate the clan. Because what else have I been good for, huh? Doing patrols? Yeah, sure, like you would even want to do that in the first place!" Flintspirit stepped closer, his eyes narrowing into slits. The tears were so close. So close to flowing over his cheeks. "And I don't even know who you are anymore Duskstar. You were reliable and organized and.... honorable. And now.... Now you're none of those things! You killed a kit for Starclan's sake!" A few tears slid down his cheeks as he said that. He was heartbroken. Over Duskstar's change and his inability to help, over her complete betrayal of his trust, over Thunderclan's current state and how he just couldn't do anything about it. His breath coming out short and gasping, Flintspirit knew he needed to get out of there soon, otherwise he was going to crack. He'd said what she needed her to hear. He took another breath to try and calm himself before he spoke. "I normally would be sorry Duskstar, but this time I'm not. You've taken the leadership of Thunderclan into your own paws and changed it completely. And I no longer want to be or even have any part in it. You've shown me that much. All I can wish you is good luck in finding a new deputy who maybe you'll actually converse with and confide in." Flintspirit straightened up, turning around and heading for the den exit. He glanced over his shoulder, green eyes swimming with unshed tears of frustration and betrayal and a manner of other emotions. "I am resigning from the position of deputy Duskstar. I'm out." With that, Flintspirit stomped out of the den, before turning and running into the territory. He needed some time alone. It's all going to be okay after this. This was just the hardest blow.

@hxneysuckle

[lio]

[ @Vessel ]

She tilted her head to the side, genuinely curious. "Oh, but I thought Buckbranch and Foxbound were mates. Is he being disloyal to her?" Duskstar's tail flicked. Shaking her head, she chuckled. "If you do not stay away from Buckbranch, you will not be accepted into my Clan. Your friendship with him has only proven to be detrimental to the way you two complete your duties, and I do not wish for such things to happen. Either you abstain from speaking to him, or you are to leave. Make your choice, Sunsnow." A difficult choice indeed, but one she believed had to be made.

x

[ @RedHead ]

Flintspirit's outburst truly surprised her. She was taken aback, her ears flattening as he spoke. Each word he spoke brought speechlessness to the leader, her jaw hanging open. Any time she wanted to jump in, he kept speaking. And then he was crying. Why was he crying? Duskstar's mind seemed to completely blank, her mouth falling dry. A lump formed in her throat and she found herself releasing the breath she didn't know she had been holding. Something within her wanted to reject anything he said, to back up her actions. But she couldn't. As his ranting came to the end, Duskstar finally forced herself to speak.

"I... I did what I thought was best for our Clan. I want us to be strong, to be better. The alliance needed to be broken off as soon as possible. Breezekit... she was a danger to our Clan. She may have been a kit but she was far beyond help! I didn't want to kill her, but I did what I had to do for our safety. Exile had not worked- she came back within the same day and proceeded to attack others once more. I had to do it." She tried to argue against all he said, she really did. But she couldn't argue against the truth. The death of Breezekit still made her sick. The taste of the kit's blood still haunted her.

Duskstar looked down at her paws. Had she truly been such a horrible leader? She was doing what she thought was best. Did she just make everything worse than it had been before? She curled her tail closer to herself, falling silent. But as Flintspirit spoke of his resigning, she looked up in surprise. "W-Wait! But-" even as she spoke, he had already left. The Torbie was left calling into open air. Her den suddenly felt too big, too open. Her heartbeat was too loud. And she felt too... alone. She swallowed, her body physically deflating.

She had really been horrible, hadn't she? Duskstar felt the realization sink in, wrapping its claws around her like brambles. How could she run the Clan if she was only making things worse, making them all hate her? But how could she fix everything she had ruined? With a sigh, she walked to her nest, curling into herself and allowing her thoughts to wander.

Things had to change.

[Sweetie]

Originally Posted by Zesty Mango

(Sorry I took me a bit to reply)
Ivorykit was a bit confused but started jumping forward hoping she was correct that this was a jumping game.

It was cute to watch his adopted daughter jump towards him. Her paws were so tiny and adorable! "Come on, let's see if you can tag me!" Ravenspirit said hoping to encourage and hype the kit.

[Vessel]

@hxneysuckle

Sunsnow swallowed hard.

Apparently, it only took five words to make his world crumble

Foxbound? How did I not notice? How did I not realize that it was over already?

Tears welled in his eyes, and just before they fell, he turned away.

I should have known.

No; he had to keep up hope. After all, he wouldn't put lying past this fox-hearted she-cat.

He turned to Duskstar once more, a hiss in his throat and his head held high.

You can do this.

He was going to miss Thunderclan- the fire-scarred forests, the friendly faces, the welcoming cats- all of it. But it was no longer that lovely, warm place.

Thanks to the leader standing before him, it was a place that didn't follow the code. It was a place of brutality, where every little thing was controlled and judged and cats were forced away from those they loved.

This? This was not his home. Not anymore.

And he was going to let Duskstar know it.

"You have ruined Thunderclan! It is supposed to be place of happiness, a refuge for all cats. That is the legacy we have made, and you've destroyed it! You are turning me away because your pretty little head can't stand the headache Buckbranch and I gave you during a clan meeting. One clan meeting! And because you think I'm a miserable failure! Never mind I didn't finish patrols because my apprentice was slow, no, never mind that. Blame the cat who would have given his life to save yours. Tear him down and force him away from his only friend. From the cat he loves!"

Sunsnow's voice had risen to just below a screech, but he didn't care.

Let the whole clan hear!

"You demanded that the cat Starclan had chosen as leader step down so your greedy, pitiful self could have the authority you craved! You thought yourself better than Flintstar, and although I wasn't here for long, I've seen more foolishness than he ever had in his time!"

He took a deep breath before lowering his voice and murmuring;

"This is not my clan. You have made it unrecognizable, and I hope Starclan lights your true path."

With that, Sunsnow dipped his head and padded out of the den.

It was time to say goodbye.

[Shade.]

"I...was missing during the battle. I...forgot t-to go to the nursery a-and a ShadowClan cat approached me in the clearing. I d-don't..think he wanted t-t-to harm me....b-but I attacked him out of f-fear. He tried to shoo me off of h-his face but accidentally h-hurt me...in..the process." She touched her cobweb-wrapped pace." Iw-was scared so I...ran out of camp. O-out there...i started t-to cry and was m-missing for a period of time. Imsowwyplesdontkillmehiiiiii!" Pinekit was shaking and sobbing uncontrolably.


@hxneysuckle

[~dust~]

Quailkit looked over at ivorykit “ do you want to play moss ball with me and Goldkit we can gather as many kits as possible”.

[Arie]

Originally Posted by Ombre Party

Owlstorm stretched his legs with a massive yawn as he walked out from the warriors den, shaking his brown pelt in an attempt to wake up. Having little to do after the raid besides sleep and rest, Owlstorm was ready to get out of camp and stretch his legs in the territory. But it was no fun going alone. Owlstorm wanted to share his first day back out of the warriors den, fully healed now even though his neck now had a scar on it, with some cat. He wanted excitement. Owlstorm's gaze roved over the clearing, looking for cats not doing much, before finally spotting Doepaw. He padded over and prodded the she-cat's shoulder playfully. "Hey Doepaw." He mewed. "Want to go hunting?" He asked the apprentice hopefully, eyes flashing with hopefulness that she would say yes. He thought not only would this be good practice for him but it would be good practice for her, and he always thought being an apprentice was exciting; you had your entire life ahead of you and the world was still new.
@Arie (I'm not very good at meaty starters lol)

{Nah this is fine. I don't plan on replying all too long as it kind of puts a stopper on training lessons? So like 1/2 paragraph to 2/3 paragraph is fine}

{ Doetraining }

As she heard the other cat approach she lifted her head slightly, her ears flicking back and forth signalising she'd heard his approach just fine. As he mentioned going hunting it sparked her curiosity but also her anxiety. She was often afraid of moving out in the the open, but if they stuck to more wooded areas of the territory, she hoped she would be fine. "I've... I've... not... had... much... experience... hunting..." her stuttering voice broke off slightly as the tabby female adjusted herself so that she was sitting up and roughly facing the other cat. "Flint... Flint... has.. been... very..busy... teaching... me... borders. Could... you.. maybe... teach.. me... how..to.. hunt... birds?" Birds sounded intriguing to Doepaw, especially because was absolutely terrified of them... Big birds scared the living hells out of her, but she liked the meat that were on the birds from the fresh kill pile. "But... I.... I'm... afraid... of... big... birds... Can.. you... maybe... watch.. the.. skies... as... well? I cannot.. see.. anything... but... small.. birds... are.. very.. easy... to hear." Relying mostly on hear hearing made the little molly especially vulnerable and she disliked it. But she had to get more used to climbing trees and sensing distances that practice as the only way to get things done.