WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[spade]

@Zero to Hero

Moonkit sat as still as she could manage while she allowed her uncle to work his magic with herbs - which she still could not get over, it was truly amazing work to her - and slowly the pain curbed to a dull edge. She blinked, thankful that her kin was the medicine cat of the Clan and that she knew she could come to him with anything. "Thank you," she murmured, although she felt bad; his herbs should be saved for those who actually needed it. She was about to reciprocate this thought to her uncle but thought twice. If she was in his position, she would do the exact same thing. Despite taking an oath to treat all cats equally, she would always hold her kin at a bit higher level than the rest - however, that did not interfere with her instinct to help every cat, regardless.

At the mention of helping with herbs, Moonkit let out a grateful sigh and nodded, looking over at the pitiful storage that was all except barren. "Yes, please," she murmured, already maneuvering her way to sit in front of the storage. She had spent so much time with her uncle that she practically had it memorized at this point, and looked over at him as he joined her. "At least you didn't run out of everything. Hopefully the rest that you need to get isn't too harmed by the snow." Since winter was on them, it worried the young kit about how the Clan would fare coming into new-leaf. Although a majority of the injuries had been treated already, Moonkit feared for even worse illnesses that were lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting Clan just when they got back up on their paws.

[Zero]

Surgestorm smiled and dipped his head. "You're welcome," He meowed softly, watching his kin fondly. The medicine cat followed after his niece as she moved to sit in front of his herb storage. He sat just to the side and behind her, knowing that she knew what she was doing when she sorted through the leaves, berries, and seeds (though there wasn't much of anthing in the crevices this time). We should start with the most important stuff first, which would all be lined near the front. Of course, the front of basically empty except for a few leaves and seeds here and there. They had maybe 10 poppy seeds, one stick of cobwebs, a pawful of catmint (half of which couldn't be used because it was going bad), and no marigold left. He galred at th shelfs, as if he could scare them into producing herbs. "It's gotten kind of... low..." He murmured halfheartedly.

[spade]

@Zero to Hero

Moonkit perked her ears and looked up and over at her uncle. A tug was felt on her heart as she saw his face drop at the sight of his storage. At that moment, despite her kind nature, she silently cursed StarClan for this winter, and for some of Surgestorm's herbs starting to die due to frost. But she instantly perked up and figured that the best way to approach this was in a positive light. Anything else, and it wasn't worth it. "Okay, so you have the essentials, at least to numb the pain for anyone who comes in," she started, leaning forward to paw through the handful of leaves. Her face was screwed up in concentration, and it became apparent just how much work was ahead of Surgestorm in restocking. "Maybe the other medicine cats fared better. Should you check with them?" she asked, looking up at Surgestorm. She tried to hide her negative thoughts, knowing that most of the herbs that he needed wouldn't be available again until new-leaf.

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by arumin

Dogtooth was silent for a moment, replaying Rookpatch's mutters in his head. The tom was a little... hard to understand, to say the least. But Dogtooth understood. He had trouble speaking to others too sometimes, and while it wasn't near as bad, he understood how frustrating it could be.

"Nice to... meet you too, Dogtoo- Oh!" He chirped in surprise once he had finally been able to piece together Rookpatch's words, and hurriedly tried to reply to fill up the silence. "Uhm, It's nice to meet you too... R..ookpatch?" He tried the name on his tongue slowly, a smile forming. "Rookpatch. That's an interesting name! I'm uh, pretty sure you can guess where my name comes from," He mews meekly, his lip getting caught on one of his large fangs as if on some kind of qeu. He licks his lip, settling it back in the right place.

"How did you get Rookpatch?" He asks, nervous.
He tenses up a tad when he realizes the death sentence he's just given Rookpatch - the poor tom had trouble enough introducing himself, and now Dogtooth has just asked him to explain the meaning of his name.
Good one, mousefodder! He kicks himself mentally.

"I mean, I understand if you dont want to tell me about it..." He adds stiffly, eyes glued to the frozen earth. "B-because, uhm, names are kind of personal!" He adds, trying his best not to call attention to Rookpatch's verbal predicament. He tries his best to muster up a reassuring smile, but it's wobbly and unsteady, the adreniline of talking to someone getting Dogtooth fidgety.

He probably has a hard time understanding me just like everyone else.. Thought the tom glumly, clamping his jaws shut as he waited to see if the other tom would just up and walk away or sit there in silence, or maybe even respond, at this point, he didn't know which he'd prefer. He almost wished he could remain silent and that would be socially acceptable, but he knew fairly well that that's not something that he could do. It would be considered rude and possibly make cats like him even less.

Ears perking up as he realized the large tom had decided to respond to him, he glanced up to read the emotions that the other was putting off and realized that they weren't really angry or anything, they seemed to be just as awkward as him and he almost wasn't sure if he liked that, or if it made him even more scared and awkward because he's never really interacted with another cat that was awkward. That weak, quivery smile of his sputtered onto his lips as the other tom commented on his name, nodding slightly and almost seeming to flinch back as the other flashed a smile, accentuating their rather large fangs and quickly looking away again. He's not purposefully trying to scare you, he's just showing you how he got his name.

"U-Uh.."
Oh no he wants me to talk more. Lowering his head slightly, his eyes focused on his paws again. He knew what he wanted to say, he always did.
My mom's favorite bird was a rook, and well, I had a large black spot on my back that reminded her of the bird so she named be Rookkit. And well I have patches all over my body, patches of different colors so that's why they call me Rookpatch. It's.. Not like I have any above average skills or anything, it's just based on my appearance.
Sighing inwardly, he decided he wanted to leave out the last part, this tom didn't need to know that, though he would probably already be able to tell.

"N-Nuh-No it's fine." That tiny smile of his quivered onto his lips, he was proud of himself for only stuttering over one word.
"Um.." He exhaled, forcing himself to calm down, if the tom had stuck around to listen to him the first time, then he wouldn't leave now.. Right?
Anyways, to spare you the horror of reading his horribly stuttered and stumbled speech, it took the calico tom approximately 3 minutes to say the following,
"I was named Rook because it was my mothers favorite bird and I had a big black patch on my back that looked like it when I was born and -patch because I have patches of different colors all over my body. I guess that would be kind of obvious too heh."
Afterwards, he practically seemed to be out of breath, but vaguely proud of himself for eventually getting it out instead of giving up.

[kkriket]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

He probably has a hard time understanding me just like everyone else.. Thought the tom glumly, clamping his jaws shut as he waited to see if the other tom would just up and walk away or sit there in silence, or maybe even respond, at this point, he didn't know which he'd prefer. He almost wished he could remain silent and that would be socially acceptable, but he knew fairly well that that's not something that he could do. It would be considered rude and possibly make cats like him even less.

Ears perking up as he realized the large tom had decided to respond to him, he glanced up to read the emotions that the other was putting off and realized that they weren't really angry or anything, they seemed to be just as awkward as him and he almost wasn't sure if he liked that, or if it made him even more scared and awkward because he's never really interacted with another cat that was awkward. That weak, quivery smile of his sputtered onto his lips as the other tom commented on his name, nodding slightly and almost seeming to flinch back as the other flashed a smile, accentuating their rather large fangs and quickly looking away again. He's not purposefully trying to scare you, he's just showing you how he got his name.

"U-Uh.."
Oh no he wants me to talk more. Lowering his head slightly, his eyes focused on his paws again. He knew what he wanted to say, he always did.
My mom's favorite bird was a rook, and well, I had a large black spot on my back that reminded her of the bird so she named be Rookkit. And well I have patches all over my body, patches of different colors so that's why they call me Rookpatch. It's.. Not like I have any above average skills or anything, it's just based on my appearance.
Sighing inwardly, he decided he wanted to leave out the last part, this tom didn't need to know that, though he would probably already be able to tell.

"N-Nuh-No it's fine." That tiny smile of his quivered onto his lips, he was proud of himself for only stuttering over one word.
"Um.." He exhaled, forcing himself to calm down, if the tom had stuck around to listen to him the first time, then he wouldn't leave now.. Right?
Anyways, to spare you the horror of reading his horribly stuttered and stumbled speech, it took the calico tom approximately 3 minutes to say the following,
"I was named Rook because it was my mothers favorite bird and I had a big black patch on my back that looked like it when I was born and -patch because I have patches of different colors all over my body. I guess that would be kind of obvious too heh."
Afterwards, he practically seemed to be out of breath, but vaguely proud of himself for eventually getting it out instead of giving up.

Dogtooth waited patiently for Rookpatch to think of what words to use - He's been there, done that, and even though he's gotten a lot better about it, it's incredibly reassurring to be able to think of what you want to say before you actually say it.

So he waits, pretends to bite an itch at the base of his tail so as not to freak Rookpatch out, or pressure him into rushing. Soon enough, he has his words gathered, and has begun to speak. And it was... just as lengthy as when he spoke before. But Dogtooth felt like he could help a little this time - if Rookpatch had trouble finishing a word that Dogtooth knew, he would nod along and let Rookpatch move on to the next word. He hoped it was actually helpful, and not pushy, but at least it didn't take near as long as he thought it would.

When Rookpatch finished, Dogtooth heard himself make a noise of surprise more than actually register it, startled that it was suddenly his turn to speak.
"It's a nice name," he mewed awkwardly, unsure of exactly what to say. "I mean- I like it. It's unique." He stumbled, his words rigid with uncertainty.
There was a long moment of silence.
Dogtooth had always heard stories about the elusive "comfortable silence," but had yet to ever encounter it, and became desperate to fill the air with something, anything. A few thoughts seemed to gather all at once, and before he could filter them -
"Do you wanna go on a walk? Calico toms are pretty rare, you know. I'd love to get fresh air," - they all tumbled out at once, tangled as a cobweb. His face heats in shame.
"Oh - I'm sorry. Let me, uh..." He trails off, takes a deep breath, and tries again.
"Do you want to go on a walk? In the forest? It's kind of..." He sends a glance around the busy camp, feels himself curl up just a bit more. "It's kind of suffocating here."

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by arumin

Dogtooth waited patiently for Rookpatch to think of what words to use - He's been there, done that, and even though he's gotten a lot better about it, it's incredibly reassurring to be able to think of what you want to say before you actually say it.

So he waits, pretends to bite an itch at the base of his tail so as not to freak Rookpatch out, or pressure him into rushing. Soon enough, he has his words gathered, and has begun to speak. And it was... just as lengthy as when he spoke before. But Dogtooth felt like he could help a little this time - if Rookpatch had trouble finishing a word that Dogtooth knew, he would nod along and let Rookpatch move on to the next word. He hoped it was actually helpful, and not pushy, but at least it didn't take near as long as he thought it would.

When Rookpatch finished, Dogtooth heard himself make a noise of surprise more than actually register it, startled that it was suddenly his turn to speak.
"It's a nice name," he mewed awkwardly, unsure of exactly what to say. "I mean- I like it. It's unique." He stumbled, his words rigid with uncertainty.
There was a long moment of silence.
Dogtooth had always heard stories about the elusive "comfortable silence," but had yet to ever encounter it, and became desperate to fill the air with something, anything. A few thoughts seemed to gather all at once, and before he could filter them -
"Do you wanna go on a walk? Calico toms are pretty rare, you know. I'd love to get fresh air," - they all tumbled out at once, tangled as a cobweb. His face heats in shame.
"Oh - I'm sorry. Let me, uh..." He trails off, takes a deep breath, and tries again.
"Do you want to go on a walk? In the forest? It's kind of..." He sends a glance around the busy camp, feels himself curl up just a bit more. "It's kind of suffocating here."

While it did take a while for the tom to get out his replies, surprisingly enough, he had been worse off than this earlier in his life before he made the two closest friends he has now, he hadn't even hardly been able to speak at all, or at least form coherent sentences, but those cats, they had helped him so much and he really has been making progress, even if he was still struggling at the moment. Perhaps one day he would be able to speak normally, that's what his goal was, and once he could speak normally, or at least without little stuttering, he might be able to work on his paranoia and fear.

And really, Dogtooth biting at his tail and seeming to be relaxed really did help the tom and allowed him to slow down a bit so that he could speak better because when he felt rushed, the words jumbled together and didn't make much sense, making him try even more until he was eventually just a crying mess that couldn't talk at all. This had only happened a few times, most cats were considerate enough not to rush him luckily enough, but those few times had stuck in his mind and caused him to become even more terrified of other cats, scared that they would reduce him to that crying, sobbing mess again before leaving him. But Dogtooth certainly did help the tom out a bit by not being pushy.

At hearing that his name was nice, Rookpatch nodded his head a bit, his head turned down, but there was the small smile on his lips again that quivered like a leaf and threatened to disappear as his fear fought with it. His gaze glanced up at the brown tom for a moment as a long moment of silence hung in the air before awkwardly looking away, licking his lips nervously.
The calico tom didn't like these silences because he felt like every time there was one, the other cat was silently judging him, and it also forced him to listen to the voices screaming in his head about how he was going to die, that a hawk would swoop down and just carry him off, or there was a cannibal cat somewhere in the territory waiting to pick him off, all sorts of things, his mind never really ceasing to come up with ways that he could die at any moment.
Blinking as he heard the toms voice again, he looked back over, his body stopped trembling momentarily, or it at least became less apparent as he focused more so on listening to what the other tom had to say.
Ah walk.. In the forest? All the way by the border with Thunderclan and Riverclan and Shadowclan?
His body shivered and he looked away nervously. He liked the moorland a lot more, while it was open, he didn't feel confined to tight spaces, he could see what was coming for miles, he could run and run and run, but the forest.. It was in a far reach of the territory and he always had the feeling something was hiding in the undergrowth, something he couldn't see, or in the trees, and it was so close to the borders with the other clans, he hated it. But he didn't want to deny the other tom. Licking his lips again, he didn't bother wasting breath on saying anything and just looked back at the other tom with a nod as if to say, 'Yeah, sure I'll go with you.'

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by Dark Rose

Sunpaw's eyes raked over her sister, a frown on her face as she took in Sootpaw's wounds. She herself was scratched up a bit, her left ear bearing a V-shaped nick and a few scratches and missing fur along her side, but she had done fairly well in the battle to be honest.

Now as her sister spoke a few more words, Sunpaw pricked her ears, head tilting ever so slightly as she listened. watching her sister hesitate before finally speaking again. Sunpaw listened intently, nodding ever so slightly before grinning at the last sentence, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.

"Expert huh? I dont know, I dont have that many friends." Though deep down she knew this wasnt that true, Sunpaw had befriended nearly ever apprentice in the Clan and maayyyybe a few in the other Clans, just maybe, "Of course i'll help you sis. You know you're a likable cat, and I know a bunch of apprentices round here that would love to be your friend!" She purred, her green eyes lit up as she smiled.

{Sorry about the late reply to this!}

For the most part, during the battle, she had tried to hide, Sootpaw just wasn't the type of cat to really want to fight anyone, she wasn't a strong cat either. She was a coward. That's what some of the apprentices called her and all the while she tried to hide during the battle, those words echoed in her mind. The enemy warrior had called her the same thing when they found her and she was forced to fend for herself in the fight, but was luckily saved by another warrior, a Skyclan warrior. But nonetheless, she.. She still thought of herself as a coward for not fighting, but she just couldn't. Despite her being bullied by other cats, despite not getting treated the best, she just couldn't bring herself to hurt another cat and really, she had trouble hunting too because she felt bad for the animals that they had to kill in order to survive. But I digress.

As she asked her sister the question, she was nearly convinced that she knew the reaction she would get, her sister would hesitate before reluctantly agreeing to help her, even though she likely didn't want to. That's what her mind thought even though she deep down knew that her sister wouldn't do that, that her sister would happily decide to help her find friends, without any hesitation, in fact, she would probably be eager to help her sister. But all her mind could think was that her sister wouldn't want to voluntarily do it.

"Don't be silly Sunpaw, you're always with another cat if you're not training, you have tons of friends." Sootpaw smiled a bit as she said this, knowing her sister was trying to be modest but really, she knew her sister had lots of friends, she didn't know what they were like, but she knew she had friends.
"I'm.. A likable cat?" Now she frowned, not able to keep herself from wondering if her sister was just trying to make her happy with her words because.. If she was a likable cat, wouldn't she already have friends? That was her thinking anyways. I really hope I am.. If I'm not a likable cat, then I'll never get a friend. Sighing inwardly, she looked at her paws.

[Static]

Weasel tail eats a mouse near the camp entrance but not blocking it with her tail covering her scared about healed leg

[The Skeleton Prince]

Originally Posted by Stormpelt

"Admiring my pelt? For what reason?", the molly was kinda confused. What was there to admire the fact that she had a large scar across her shoulder. "You know what never mind..", she said as she went silent.

He shrugs "Why wouldnt i admire ur pelt? Dont u admire ur own pelt?" he asks

[Stormpelt]

@Willowstorm

"Me?, admire my own pelt not at all.", The molly said as she padded on.