ThunderClan: Life Before 2023's Sinkhole

[plum]

[ @zenosaurus - i will be responding to your last post with brightpaw separately from my response to... gee, everything else lol. i apologize for any disconnect between my last post and this one, a lot has happened and tbh i forget what i typed lol. to other readers: please don't take this as nectarflame's response to everything! just catching up (: ]

Nectarflame sits quietly with the others, both alarmed and soothed by the compliance of her apprentice. Brightpaw sat by her, and for a short duration they are silent to one another.

But the quiet doesn't stretch forever, and these two had much to speak about, even if neither one was willing to begin.

The Bengal regards Brightpaw, her malicious grin and wounded heart. She was well aware of the fact that she needed to choose her actions carefully. But what would be too much? And what was not enough?

"Brightpaw, I am a callous cat by nature. When combined with the presence of another... Volatile and cruel cat, the idea of coming near to anyone I would care to protect seems even more frightening. I would not want to endanger anyone for things I have done, things others may suddenly deem irksome." She could not disregard the apprentice, though. And admitting those things felt very dismissive. She had told Cindersky that she cared so deeply for her, and it did her no good. So, Nectarflame does not say those things. Instead, her green gaze falls, and after another heartbeat she dips her head low. "There is little any great amount of my words could do, I know this. I am deeply sorry to have wounded you, Brightpaw." Lifting her head, she meets her gaze again. "You should never feel that you need approval, from me, nor any cat, nor StarClan itself. And I have failed you in allowing that to become your mindset. If there were a way to make those moments up to you, then there is no need for hesitation. I was the one in the wrong when it comes to us. If you ever wish for me to make amends, then I will be all too willing to do so."

Her words are soft, not for others to listen in on- and who would, when the Clan was speaking to one another and making such noise around them? Their temporary business was a safeguard for both Nectarflame and Brightpaw, though it likely would not last.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by StarWatcher

"I told you I would never do that! I know I'm a coward!" She spoke, Yeah, I'm totally a coward.. She thought, "If any of us said to protect our clan, even at the cost of your life? What would happen" She mewed, "That is what some of us don't understand, that is why I fled ThunderClan in the dead of night"

Shiningskies let out an irritated growl as Geckoleap spouted nonsense and nothing about why she should be allowed back. "Maybe some more time in the Outskirts would do you good and let you rethink your decisions. I will not be allowing you to rejoin ThunderClan at this time. Come back in a moon if you're truly loyal, and if you do you'd better have found the answer to whatever the hell is going on with you."

[So Geckoleap is being denied rejoining at this time as her excuse is unacceptable for Shiningskies. You're welcome to have her try again in 30 real life days.]

Originally Posted by Kingly

@NinjaBloss

Hemlockfrost let out a huff. She had been away for longer than anticipated. But the clan had become overwhelming to the point where she felt as if she couldn't breathe. Stupid Shadowclan scum. If they were gone, most problems would be gone too. So the curly black-furred, one-eyed molly waited by the border to explain to someone the reason of her absence.

Hi! So I was actually informed that Hemlockfrost should not be missing as a post was missed in the sweep as it didn't have his name. You can go ahead and just resubmit him to the allegiances

[Silverfur & Co]

Silverdust padded around the territory and was now hunting hoping the clan would accept her back after she ran before shadow clan took over. @Jay

[BEAR.]

It didn't take long for Jaystride to catch a whiff of a trespasser, and even less time for him to track the scent to Silverdust aimless wanderings in their territory. "Silverdust, we have a border for a reason." It was one part confusion, two parts annoyed. Wasn't there a whole thing on how missing cats just did whatever they wanted? He hadn't been paying too much attention at the time but he thought that's why there was a mass kick out. "Other than scaring off all the freaking prey in the forest, where the hell have you been?"

[ @Silverfur & Co ]

[Silverfur & Co]

Originally Posted by BILL.

It didn't take long for Jaystride to catch a whiff of a trespasser, and even less time for him to track the scent to Silverdust aimless wanderings in their territory. "Silverdust, we have a border for a reason." It was one part confusion, two parts annoyed. Wasn't there a whole thing on how missing cats just did whatever they wanted? He hadn't been paying too much attention at the time but he thought that's why there was a mass kick out. "Other than scaring off all the freaking prey in the forest, where the hell have you been?"

[ @Silverfur & Co ]

"I excused myself before shadowclan took over before i said something that i shouldnt have." She mews as she responded about the disappearance. "Sorry about scaring the prey i was trying to catch some for you guys and leave it at the tunnel." She mews softly

[BEAR.]

"What are you talking about?" Jaystride twitched his ears, not masking his puzzlement of her explanation of events. "You were gone well over a moon before they showed up, and that's not touching the other several times before that you repeatedly vanished for moons at a time. Your track record for staying around is piss-poor at best, so maybe you should try this again.

"Where the hell have you been?"

[ @Silverfur & Co ]

[Silverfur & Co]

Originally Posted by BILL.

"What are you talking about?" Jaystride twitched his ears, not masking his puzzlement of her explanation of events. "You were gone well over a moon before they showed up, and that's not touching the other several times before that you repeatedly vanished for moons at a time. Your track record for staying around is piss-poor at best, so maybe you should try this again.

"Where the hell have you been?"

[ @Silverfur & Co ]

"Thats because I did not like the revolting that was going on in the clan it was either me leave quietly for the time being or be exlied and never aloud to come back. But i thought about coming but then heard bout shadow clan and stayed away. And well thats where the hell i was. because i did not want to cause any trouble in meetings and other things." She was getting tired of explaining and was trying to explain why all she had been gone but was at a loss for words

[BEAR.]

Getting out of camp was always a breath of fresh air, although Jaystride personally would enjoy it more if they were hunting. There was nothing quite like the thrill of a hunt, or the buzz of excitement he got seeing the fresh-kill pile full. The thought of it being empty bothered him.. a lot.

Today was not a hunting day. At least not yet. Today was a "wow our camp really sucks" day, and he was glad someone else was in a similar boat as him. "How they can look at our camp and not feel freaking exhausted is beyond me." There was so much work to do.

Before anything was addressed though, gathering materials was necessary. It would prevent a lull in repairs as cats would not need to leave the camp frequently to get supplies. Where did they even start? Jaystride momentarily struggled to wrap his mind around all that needed to be done. From what he remembered, none of the dens had been touched since he was a kit, when the Clan first moved into this newer camp.

"We'll be unlikely to find many feathers, so maybe we should just start with moss and long grass stalks." Things easily carried in bundles, that weren't necessarily abundant near camp like sticks were. He'd say brambles, but that seemed like a pain to cart around. His attention was briefly stolen by a nearby tree, plastered in thick clumps of green fuzz. Excusing himself momentarily, he headed over to peel as much as he could off - mindful to avoid taking bark and excess dirt to the best of his ability.

Having it neatly rolled up, he moved to rejoin Cindersky when something else caught his interest. A burning scent that made his eyes water, and he knew it to belong to that of a rogue. His pelt bristled, a low growl to his throat as he dropped the moss in grass and headed to confront the intruder.

(He'd be surprised if Cinds didn't notice, and didn't think he needed to alert her.)

The cat in question was just over the border, calling out to be noticed. She didn't seem like a threat, but Jaystride was on edge - this wasn't the first outsider to trespass (not including ShadowClan) recently, and he was getting pretty sick of it. This was ThunderClan's territory, not a freaking free-for-all.

"What are you doing in our territory?" His voice was a demand, an edge filled with daggers prepared to rip her apart - verbally and physically if needed. She only looked somewhat familiar, and not something his mind would linger on, because she reeked and the only cat who could have come to mind was long-since dead. "Outsiders aren't welcomed here."

[ @tulle, @Panda1440 ]

[Jayvines]

~ Mistpaw ~

She couldn't get her paws to stop trembling... Why wouldn't her paws stop trembling?

A shaky breath exhaled it's way through her muzzle as Mistpaw dragged a paw across her face. Since helping to... deal with Lightningpelt in the apprentice den she had been all... shaky. Jumpy at even the slightest surprise or misplaced sound.

To have a clanmate explode like that in front of her was... well it certainly wasn't something she wanted to repeat. Thankfully, Jaystride's call pulled her attention to other things. Perhaps... Perhaps this would be a good way to take her mind off everything.

"I'll... I'd like to help!" she called out, voice softer than she meant as shaky pawsteps carried her over to her peers.

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~ Sparrowflight ~

Well the past few days had certainly been.... Something. Jaystride's call roused Sparrowflight from her mindless pacing and her head turned towards the gathering crowd before she padded her way over as well.

"I've done some work on the Elder's den," she stated, leaving out the small pang of hurt as Cactuspaw flitted across her mind. Hopefully the young cat was safe, wherever they had gone. "If you'd like, I can show a few others the spots that need work there."

The least she could do right now was make sure Ridgeclaw and his denmates were comfortable.

[BEAR.]

"Revolting." How laughable, really. "Silverdust, I don't know if you're intentionally lying to me, but anyone with half a sense knows you've been having problems sticking around since Aspenstrike was named leader. Cats didn't have an issue with her then, we were in a frenzy about RiverClan's savagery, and you went and abandoned us. Repeatedly. You were fortunate enough to miss being addressed because of how shoddy our leadership was, but you can't run from this now." Jaystride wasn't sure what her plan here was, because she wasn't exactly a paragon of virtue when it came to loyalty and providing for the Clan. Her track record was worse than Eveningstar's when it came to sticking around.

And to par that with knowing the Clan was dealing with ShadowClan's takeover, and not wanting to return out of what - cowardice? "If you can't be damned to return when you know for a fact your Clan is need, then I don't see why we should want you back."

[ @Silverfur & Co ]