ThunderClan: Life Before 2023's Sinkhole

[Shade.]

Rosepaw tucked the cobwebs away. She fully expected the warrior to be gone now. Most cats considered the herby smell of the fen unpleasant. She'd gotten used to it. It surprised her that Moosecrash was here and apparently talking to her. Did he need anything? Oh, he was just asking how she's doing. Considerate.
"Oh, um, I'm fine. How are you?" she asked, remembering she's socially awkward. Being a medicine cat was kind of solitary, at least for her, since she didn't have to go out of the medicine den often unless she wanted to and usually she had no particular need to go out and get hit by falling pinecones.

@RiztheHuntress

[poppy]

Cloudypaw
she/her || @Naiad @starry. @Shade.

She was quiet for a moment, watching the medicine cats work. Looking back at at Sundust she sighed heavily. "Rainpaw didn't do anything. The apprentice crossed the border, from what I saw, and attacked. I didn't recognize her, she just smelled like... like ShadowClan." She drew in a nervous breath. "I'm sorry.... I should have gotten there faster." Her soft blue eyes dropped to look at the ground guiltily. It was her fault Rainpaw was so hurt. It was her fault. "I... If that's all you need from me I'm.... I'm gonna get out of your fur." Chuckling a humorless, forced laugh, she swept her tail along the ground.

[Zesha]

Thistlerose turned around a few times and flopped into her nest, exhausted.

[Jayvines]

~ Sparrowflight ~

And tensions mounted.

As cats began making there way across the clearing to cast their votes, Sparrowflight narrowed her eyes at each warrior and apprentice that chose to make their way to the front of the clearing. While it didn't seem like their chosen option was going to be the majority, it still troubled her that SO MANY of her peers would choose this option. A quick glance back towards Nectarflame showed her much of what she expected; a still expression and the slightest touch of resignation.

Ridgeclaw's sudden appearance and call tore into her heart, and Sparrowflight quickly looked his way to offer what could only be described as a comforting, but worried look. Her clan as a whole wouldn't stoop to such levels, but... The fact that there were some members who would troubled her just as much as the idea of the act itself.

Jaws opened to call out some sort of comfort, but a sudden ruckus above her had Sparrowflight jumping suddenly to the side in alarm almost instinctively. The rapid --THUMP, CRUNCH, SCREECH-- that echoed out from where she had just previously been standing caused her fur to immediately puff up as she spun around to see... Cinderpaw crumpled on the ground.

Green eyes widened in shock as her peers jumped into action to help the apprentice, while Sleethound merely strutted his way over to vote like he hadn't just broken his kin's leg. What in the star's was that tom THINKING... A few dumbfounded blinks later, Sparrowflight quickly moved a few mouselengths out of the way so that the medicine cats could move Cinderpaw to their den without having to shove past her.

Clearing her throat, she turned back to the crowd of cats before her once it seemed that Sundust had control of Cinderpaw's care. Attempting to force her fur to lie flat again she finally spoke up.

"As you have decided, Nectarflame will be kept in Thunderclan. However," green eyes flicked towards Cindersky and Moosecrash who had offered an... interesting idea. "She will be confined to a separate den until the details of her punishment have been solidified. Now Sleethound..."

Professional tone turned sour, as Sparrowflight cast her eyes towards the cat who had just thrown an apprentice off the Thunderwillow.

"You will be joining Nectarflame in her imprisonment for now. I don't know what you think gives you the right to harm an apprentice of our clan, much less your own kin, but you'll have plenty of time to think about it and perhaps discover some humility while you're at it."

The last few words were practically spit from her glowering jaws as she stared down the offending tom, before turning back to her peers.

"Cindersky, please escort those two to the Elder's den for now. They can stay on the draftier side until their den has been finished. Now unless anyone else has any other forest-shattering news, I suggest you all return to your nests. It's almost dawn at this point, and I doubt any cat wants to be out here longer then necessary. Clan dismissed."

Deflating ever so slightly, Sparrowflight sunk back to her haunches and lowered her head to think on the chaos of this night.

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@Naiad @Shade. @implimm @tulle @NinjaBloss @Slushie @Bliss. @A Wolf @InsertCoolNameHere; @corgigirl @Ritsuka @~Gale~ @flopsy @Dreamer! @Leafspeaker @Jae @Kunaiskrill @Qibli @poppy. @Mistletoe @Wintermist @CloudDOuG @door~ @SpottedPaww @elysian @shivver @S t a r @gs29513 @Ravenfrost' @Clock Dragonshifter @VexSkullz @Songwrite @PlayWithFire @sid @Levi 99 @Prevail @luciduscolors @Atticus @littlelove @WinterMara @x ghostie @error @RiztheHuntress @Tracker @feather lily @Zesty Mango @Firebender @WinterBug @beancat @Panda1440 @Rani @Pheasantflight @Rockfall @GoldenDays @Fae @spade @TheNyanCatMinecart @Brightlight @Ravensong @Cherryfalls @ChillCat @zenosaurus @starry. @falling @Dilli @WhitesilverQueen @Lightningpelt @marshall @Tuftdrawsanddoodles @Pine'Paw @QueenOtter @Hawkice @Hopeless @Forestheart Flower

[taillow]

Cindersky
She definitely was not the best cat for the job, but... Cindersky let her gaze flicker from the medicine cat apprentice to Cinderpaw. Her paws remained rooted in the ground as a trickle of doubt seeped down her spine. Comfort and calm. Two things that Cinderpaw needed above all else, and yet she was the last cat in the entire Clan who could provide those things.

Somewhere around the clearing she heard her apprentice speak and briefly lifted her head to track her movements into the apprentices den. Not for the first time the senior warrior wished she could be in two places at once. Her heart longed for her paws to follow Cloudypaw, while at the same time they urged her to check in on Softpaw. Bushpaw and Bumblepaw, Rainpaw and Mistpaw. Even Cinderpaw, who was right before her and yet felt a million moons away.

It was subtle at first, and then came crashing down like a wave; the realization that she just was not enough. For the apprentices, for ThunderClan. For her. Ever since the death of her mate, she had been working her paws into the ground because her love of ThunderClan outweighed everything else. Whether to forget about the way she was so easily torn apart, or because her sister knew the truth and could use it to get her exiled.

...Had she gotten it wrong all this time?

More commotion in the clearing, but by this point Cindersky felt a solid pounding in her head that made her want to shut her eyes. Rare it was for her to feel lost within her own mind like this, always so sure of herself and those around her. But somehow the flood gates had opened this meeting, and a certain pair of green eyes had been lodged tightly at the forefront of her mind. Reminding her over and over and over again of the branch extended to her that she allowed to snap under the weight of expectations.

Cats were coming forward to help Cinderpaw now, and Cindersky just stood numbly off to the side as she watched them. Emberpaw, Shallowshiver... they would be the best cats for the job. Not her. They would be the ones that Cinderpaw would wish to rest her tired and exhausted gaze upon when she came to. The sight of her own silver fur would only set her off. Sundust arrived as well shortly after, and though she could tell he spoke words to her, her ears turned them into nothing more than an incoherent mumbling.

Part of her wanted to shift her gaze back to Nectarflame. To observe and watch and maybe share a look with the golden bengal. It had not been easy to deny the longing her heart felt, and perhaps it had been the wrong decision, but it was a decision that had already been made.

It seemed now, that the voting was beginning to die down. All three options had cats backing them up, and something akin to relief washes over her as she realized that while those who had voted for exile had been the most outspoken, they were not in the majority. At least, if anything good came of tonight, it would be the knowledge that Nectarflame would remain underneath the same moon as her. A selfish thought she knew, but one that stayed nonetheless.

...Along with Nectarflame, it seemed like Sleethound would be joining her. Good. The only sign of agreement came in the form of slightly narrowed eyes directed at the tom. She still had a few words she wished to say, but if she were being honest exhaustion was weighing heavily on her (and her roleplayer) so she remains silent, eyes looking back to Sparrowflight.

As much as she wished to go back to her nest, to sink into it and forget this entire night, Sparrowflight had called for her to escort them to the prisoners den. So with heavy paws she padded over to where Nectarflame sat, her blue eyes (empty and void of emotion) sweeping over her and going to Sleethound. "Come now," she told both of them, something... different in her voice making it almost unrecognizable. She began to lead the two towards the den where Firebird had been kept, silently hoping there would be no pushback (and no outcry over it).

[ @sid @implimm @Jayvines ]

[Shade.]

@Naiad
@poppy.
@starry.

The two apprentices were stabilized now. The cinnamon tabby sighed and turned to Sundust.

"We should keep them for a while. Those injuries are pretty serious." she said urgently. Upon hearing their story, she felt a headache incoming. Oh great. Perfect. Wonderful. More random attacking. At least it wasn't internal this time. She couldn't do anything, she couldn't go shout at people to stop fighting, and it made her feel horrible.

[Jayvines]

~ Mistpaw ~

A brief shudder went through her as bugs were brought up again.

"You uh... You guys can be in charge of all the crawly things," she stated, glancing over to the spot Cornpaw had pointed. "I'll go grab some uhhhhhh brambles and twigs??? I think that's what our den is made of at least."

Scurrying off towards the scattered piles of material sitting by Jaystride, Mistpaw grabbed a few bendy looking twigs and brambles in her jaws (Extra carefully mind you. She didn't want any unnecessary pokes) before dragging them back to her crew.

"D'ya fink we just kinda just... Do vis?" she mumbled through her mouthful as she separated a few bendy looking sticks from the stuff she had dragged over. Sticking the top into the camp walls, she pulled outward slightly to create an arch before shoving the base into the ground. With a few well placed thumps the dirt around the base seemed... pretty sturdy??? So she grabbed the next stick and repeated the process.

[ Makin a dope frame ]
[ @sid @poppy. @starry. ]

[littlelove]

Cinderpaw didn’t pay much attention to the cats skirting around her broken body - not even the few peeps from the crowd about what had happened phased her. With every new gasp of air to enter her lungs came out another howl. With every click of bone against each other as Rosepaw rushed over to right their place came a shriek. All the pain flooding her body had well since overloaded her, and she could hardly process it anymore - why exactly she was still screaming, even she didn’t know. It hardly even registered to her that Shallowshiver had stationed themselves over her, shielding the apprentice from any further harm.

It still felt like she was flying and under that Riverclanner’s shadow and burying Firkit all at once. All that ricocheted through her head were pulses of memories and feelings and words she just wanted to bury, never to be exposed again until her head cracked open and brains splattered against the forest floor. She figured that was where a lot of cats wanted her, anyway - and who was she to deny them that? Her head began a dull yet deafening ache as she let out another scream. Her voice was so hoarse from her cries that it didn’t take so long for it to fizzle out into not much more than a whimper.

Cindersky mumbled something to her about it all being alright. If fear and despair hadn’t been conquering her, no doubt rage would have choked her. They would never stop promising things to her that they couldn’t - or would never bother to - guarantee, would they? Her claws gouged the ground as her eyes flickered to the poppy seeds before her… and ignored them. There wasn’t much of a point of numbing pain that she’d have to feel all over again eventually.

Lifting a paw, one of her peers nosed her way under her side and tried to help her up. Emberpaw… she knew the other apprentice as somewhat of a scaredy-cat, and to see her upfront at such a terrifying situation lit a spark of surprise inside Cinderpaw. Last time they’d properly interacted, she’d been terrified of just a little centipede… upset churned her belly and poked black stars in her vision as she stood up with the other molly’s help. She looked towards Sundust, who had reassured the warriors that she would be alright with the healers’ help. Her eyes narrowed at the further lie, but any sharp words died on her tongue. She was so, so tired of fighting.

Pain seeped into every inch of her body as she pulled away from any nudging or other further help. If they were going to force her to stand on her own in every other face of pain, she could shoulder this one by herself too. Cinderpaw shot an appreciative look back towards Emberpaw - by the other apprentice’s stoicism, she’d also been hurt badly. No such look was reserved for anyone else, even if a bud of thankfulness had found itself lodged into her chest.

Silently, she turned and staggered towards the medicine den, pain dizzying her vision. The tabby couldn’t help but hope she would collapse on her way and be done with it all…. She wasn’t one to get what she wanted often, though. Sparrowflight’s call behind her met her ears, and a shard of ice seemed to lodge itself in her heart. “NO! No, no, nononono….! Haven’t you all done enough?! Don’t– Don’t rip my family apart anymore. Don’t…” The words she was already struggling to rasp out grew impossibly small. “I get it now. I’ve been put in my damn place like you all wanted me to be. He didn’t hurt anyone else. Please.”

Cinderpaw found herself burning holes into the new-leaf grass by her paws with her gaze’s intensity. Instead of being set aflame, though, they grew wet with the tears that began to pour from her dull green eyes. Her body began to shake with little sobs that sent jolts of pain through her bones at every breath. She hated every second of this.


@Atticus @Jayvines @tulle @RiztheHuntress @Naiad @Shade.

[JackHunt_17]

Hawkice was in shock. He assumed so was Cinderpaw. Looking at his own lame leg, he remembered the shock that came with breaking it.

[Jayvines]

~ Sparrowflight ~

There was a certain sense of deja vu as Sparrowflight slipped into the elders den with a mouthful of den repair supplies.

This time however, she was not as excited. None of the puffed up pride that she had held on her previous foyer into the den with Cactuspaw was present as the visibly weary molly padded her way in and very pointedly avoided the side of the den that Nectarflame and Sleethound were being kept. She didn't have the energy to maintain the professional façade she had donned last night, so with a brief huff she placed down the brambles and stalks of grass before turning to the apprentices with her.

"Emberpaw, focus on that side of the wall. There are a couple of drafty holes that you should be able to close up by weaving in some grass and perhaps some moss and mud if it really needs it. Duskpaw you can work on the entrance here. Some brambles should help strengthen it up nicely."

That was probably clear enough.

Padding over to a back section of the den, Sparrowflight quickly began threading some fresh twigs into the walls. For now, she would strengthen them and next she'd make sure to stop up the drafts.

[ @RiztheHuntress @Bean_The_Cat ]