The monochrome tortoiseshell was still sleeping when she heard the leader's call. She groggily got to her feet, fur puffing out as she braced the coldness of the outside world. Her vision was still somewhat foggy as she sat down, a strange scent brushed her nose, awakening a strange feeling of familiarity in the back of the starling's mind. But she was much to tired to investigate forward, instead she resorted to a trance-like state as her pale eyes narrowed in on Sparrowstar.
#44
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“Whatever you are physically, male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--
all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.” -Jem Carstairs
He turned his head, his ears perking alert as he ventured his gaze towards Quailfur and Vixenpaw. His eyes curled up with joy before giving a subtle nod. "Thank you both for that. You can now go and drop your catches in the prey-pile (well considering it was hiding somewhere). And go do.. whatever you’d uh- like."
If there was one thing her death hadn't proven to dull, it was her senses - at the vague sound of whimpering coming from within the apprentice's den, Cinderpaw was up. Her ear and whiskers twitched intently as she zeroed in on the source of the cries, and she was met with the splayed form of a very familiar tom.
Her face twisted into a grimace as she stood frozen over him. Quietpaw, his sister... Cinderpaw hadn't even been related to the peers she'd seen killed, and couldn't even begin to comprehend the pain that was calling him to call out in his sleep. None of these children could get a damn break... angry tears began to well in her eyes. What was there that she could do? She couldn't rip the stars from the sky and tell them to bring back his littermate, she couldn't trade her place for someone the clan would much rather be standing here...
Silently, the overgrown apprentice curled around her denmate with a sigh, hopefully keeping him from thrashing around and hurting himself in his sleep. The claw marks on her side from his (frankly justified) outburst before ached, but she was ready to gain some more. She was strong, stronger than him, stronger than any of them, because they shouldn't have to be strong. The only thing they should be right now were kids.
His cries were never heard and he was once again standing frozen, watching the blood bath happen again. The snow slowly turned red and engulfed his senses and... was beginning to engulf him. Rainpaw looked down and saw his reflection in the glistening copper-scented liquid. His face was covered in blood and bile rose up in his throat. Then a second later his sister's empty gaze stared back at him and he found his chin to be covered and dripping blood. Quietpaw's blood.
I should've been the one to die. Quietpaw didn't deserve any of that pain. She didn't deserve being abandoned by her parents... she didn't deserve that death. I should've been the one to be shredded. His heart ached as he fought to get the memory out of his head, but it seemed to be impossible. Terror suddenly gripped his pelt and his breathing quickened. He found himself to be clawing and ripping at the cat's pelt and when he looked back up, he saw himself as the fox.
His subconscious opened his jaws so he could yowl out once more, but a familiar scent of burnt wood and chilled air hit the roof of his mouth. The young tom calmed down slightly and began outstretching his paws in search of the comforting presence. When his paws touched a wiry pelt, Rainpaw slightly opened his left eye and looked at the fuzzy looking cat beside him. "C-cinder...paw?" he groaned quietly, looking into her green eyes. If Rainpaw wasn't so tired, he would've kicked Cinderpaw off his nest since he didn't want his sister's scent to be rubbed away too soon. "I... I miss her... I- I m-miss h-her so- s-so much..."
Tears came out of his eyes and he began to quietly sob, burying his face into his friend's fur all the while. "I- I sh-should've... I should've... taken her place... S-she s-shoved me o-out of the w-way... I sh-should ha-have b-been k-killed i-instead..."
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Characters
Crow (Purrks: Heightened Perception, Agatha Kitty, Hulk SMASH, Dreamwalker)
Ravenhawk
Last edited by SpiritedWarrior; February 1st, 2023 at 06:06 PM.
(Closed)
Leaf bare's harsh winds shook the warrior's den and covered Echosong's striped pelt in a new layer of cold. It was a common feeling this time of year, one that many dreaded. One that Echosong usually complained about to... whoever would listen. The warrior however was too preoccupied to care about the harsh weather that blew outside. She sat unmoving in the warriors den, her foggy blue eyes were too focused on the mega nest. Her bed she shared with--
The nest needed a little touch up. That's what that sinking feeling in her stomach was. The moss had gotten a disorganized from disuse her tossing and turning at night. The molly hummed at the thought. A wobbly sound, like she was balancing on a very high branch. Probably a hiccup. She certainly wasn't about to cry. She had to make sure their nest was ready for--
Echosong began poking and prodding at her bed like a kit batting their paws at a bumblebee. Like one wrong move could mean disaster but it was just too tempting to keep poking it. Just a little bit of rearranging and our bed will be good as new. I can't wait to see their face when they come home.
Her senseless prodding paused at the thought as a sharp jab shot through her heart. Home. Where was home if they weren't here? They were home and now... now they were....
It was pointless. She could barely see her Frankenstein nest through her watery vision. He paws shook with the effort it took to hold back her sadness; to keep it from leaking from her eyes and onto the moss that held so much love within. If she allowed herself to cry over them... if she allowed her heart to break over their absence again... it would be too real. Her beloved wouldn't just be out on an extra long hunting trip or simply have forgotten to sleep again. They would be gone. For real. Echosong didn't know if she could handle that kind of stress again, not after last time.
You need to be strong Echo. Can't have yourself crying when they return home. They're going to need you to lean on. Pull yourself together. A sharp voice reminded her. Whose voice was it? It was hard to place but... familiar. Was it Mother's? Faint memories of a sickly younger sister danced in her mind; toying with her already fragile emotions. How could she have forgotten her role so easily? Had her few moons together with them made the silver warrior too soft? She wasn't the one who cried. She was the shoulder to cry on. She needed to be strong. Had to be. For Pepper. For...
Another blast of cold air, this time it was strong enough to draw a shiver out of her frozen body. Gingerly she lay herself down on the scattered moss bed and curled into a ball. It wasn't nearly as warm as it used to be.
Acornkit smushed honey all over the nest, making it sticky and gooey. Then, she placed the pinecones on top and make the nest like a spike trap. She giggled.
@Jayvines
*Acornkit is free to either hide in the den or make a speedy getaway before Sparowstar returns*
He nodded. “I think we should add an age requirement for my Clan Relations class. Explaining why things are the way they are requires some…unpleasant history. Especially for Shadowclan. Even when I dumbed it down to only mentioning it, it still upset some of the one moon old kits I was teaching. I could always leave the history part out, of course, but at that point they aren’t learning too much about clan relations. I think it would be much better to just have them what until they’re at least three moons old.” His speech over he waited with baited breathe for Sparrowstar’s response. Would she understand where he was scoring from? Maybe it was a stupid request. Should I have mentioned that I was teaching my kit at the time? Either way adding it now would just seem awkward.
Hmmmmm... An interesting point that she hadn't considered.
Mulling over the ide awith a soft hum, Sparrowstar gave Duckfluff an introspective nod as she mentally debated the pros and cons.
"I think that can be arranged," she finally stated, turning her attention fully back to her clanmate. "That class is naturally designed more for kits who are approaching apprenticehood, so we can implement that without much of a fuss. Thank you for being so attentive to the needs of our clanmates."
Giving him an appreciative smile, the tan molly tilted her head at him before continuing.
"Was there anything else you'd like to speak on today?"
Sootfur couldn't make out if Sparrowstar was angry or not, but she sounded extremely serious as she recalled again the mistake he'd made. I know it was a risk... but I also know Dovefluff was honest. I just hope she will fit fast and well enough in Thunderclan. But that wasn't the greatest problem.
The Thunderclan leader was quick to remind him the bad impression he'd made at the last Gathering, by addressing directly Dawnstar and Shadowclan without Sparrowstar's permission. But now... I have one more certainty. Of course it wasn't possible to address any problem concerning Shadowclan. It'd been clear when their leader had dismissed his words as useless, silly words coming out of a kit mouth.
But the most shocking revelation had been when Dawnstar had allowed his warriors to attack, and the other leaders had turned their back on that. If no one challenges Dawnstar by uniting together... If she, alone, without even a deputy can even break the truce under the full moon of a Gathering...
From that moment, hopelessness had tugged at his heart and he'd realized how much the four clans were unsafe. ...There is no clan left to defend Starclan's ideals.
Before leaving the den, Sootfur added: "I'm sorry for that, Sparrowstar... I didn't mean to disrespect you, nor to make Thunderclan appear weak or chaotic. But I had to do it." He left his head hanging low, turned back and left the den with slow paw steps, his tail trailing on the sand.
What would become of the clans?
:۞:••:۞:••:۞:••:۞:••:۞:•• :۞:••:۞:••:۞:••:۞:••:۞
(After Quietpaw's death)
Sootfur had left Quietpaw's body in the clearing. The whole clan was mourning her, but Rainpaw, Thrushfur and Quailfur were totally destroyed. He was too heartbroken to remain there, as the pool of blood kept on widening and soaking the snowy ground.
His head thumped hard, threatening to break his chest in a hundred shards, but his head felt made of stone. Rage pulsed through his veins and a sickening desire of revenge was making its way into his thoughts.
"...Sparrowstar." His voice came out unexpectedly firm, but it sounded different from his usual cheerful one. Was the leader inside? She probably already knows of his apprentice's death by now. Sounds of sobbings and cries reached the depths of the leader's den, and echoed all around.
"I want to lead a patrol. I'll find the fox that attacked Quietpaw and Rainpaw, and we'll drive it out of Thunderclan." He pictured the blood red pelt of the murdered, and sunk his claws into the ground. Its muzzle had touched Quietpaw's blood... "We already have two volunteers. Sorreldust and Flameheart."
The scent would be still be fresh now. "We need to follow it before it starts snowing again, or its scent trail will be washed away." He spoke with urgency, noticing that his tears had stopped flowing on his fur, which was now drying up in the warmth of Sparrowstar's den. But his eyes were dark as the sky during a thunderstorm.
The tan molly sat stoically in the entrance of her den; the scent of iron had summoned her there, and the grisly scene awaiting her in the clearing had hit her like another kick to the gut. Thrushfur... Stars, Thrushfur wasn't going to be ok was he?... Rainpaw's sudden explosive action had caused her to raise to her paws, but the sudden appearance of Sootfur held her in place while Cinderpaw handled his outburst.
So many young cats lost... When would they stop being pulled to Starclan ahead of their time?...
Blinking suddenly as she realized the young warrior had stopped speaking, Sparrowstar turned a smoldering gaze onto the tom as his words sunk in.
"Run it far from our territory or take it down," she growled before glancing back to the blood in the clearing. "Do not allow any apprentices to come, but take as many warriors as you wish. I refuse to have any more of our youth lost this season."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eaglet
Thrushfur
The feathery tom entered the den wispily. He hung his head low and let his tail dredge beside his hind paws. He was only able to briefly look at the ground, which caused his shoulders to sag. His fur was only slightly tainted by the blood of his apprentice and kin, and he pondered how much more blood would be shed. To continuously stain his coat like crimson flowers in full bloom. His tear-filled eye bags were red as he reluctantly raised his head. He had clearly been grieving for almost a week. He was constantly in seclusion, contemplating ignoring his responsibilities. Or his heart was shattering from such intense shame. Cracking, but despite all the pain he was experiencing, it kept beating. He was in terrible pain all around. And now, what more? Starclan is undoubtedly pulling practical jokes on him. How can those haughty, 'hard-working' code devotees have the audacity to harm him in this way. Too much blood had been spilled, and it appeared that time was moving more quickly than usual. Like how many lunar cycles had passed, his life was flashing before his eyes.
As his gaze sunk into Sparrowstar's soul, his eyes were stone blank. He attempted to address his leader by opening his maw, but it hung open and he could hardly get any words out. It appeared as though his vocal cords were entirely torn. He was practically choking on the dryness of his already-dry tongue. His eyes were erratic. Everything felt so surreal because it kept going on and on. Attempting to choke out words, he nearly tumbled. He was feeling tongue-tied because something was preventing him from saying what he wanted to say. His voice trembled as he struggled to get out a few barely audible syllables as his pulse rate reached its peak. "He's dead, he's dead. ." He sank to the floor, kneading his eyes as if trying to smash his insides. His eyes began to well with tears, leaving a salty stain on his paws and cheeks. He was trembling. Cowering like a dog in front of Sparrowstar, his leader. The dried blood on his pelt trembled wildly along with his body. Too soon, too quickly. Was he ever qualified to serve as a deputy, given the way he trembled? Was it the reason Rainpaw skipped on congratulating him altogether? Maybe his son was correct. He was failing as a deputy, but perhaps in the perspective of his clanmates, he was a brilliant deputy. He merely felt as though he was carrying out his obligations to support Sparrowstar. Undoubtedly, it is what a deputy does. Just assisting, that's all.
She knew he would come, but stars she wasn't prepared for how utterly shattered her deputy would appear.
Blinking in shock at the words he spoke, the tan molly quickly sunk down next to the trembling tom on the floor of her den to press against his side and offer herself as some form of grounding. Another one... So soon?... Who could possibly have...
"Who has joined Quietpaw..." she murmured, voice low as she attempted to quell the fury that bubbled up at the prospect of another death. "Tell me you haven't lost your son as well..."
Gently, cautiously she began to clean off the blood on his pelt. He was a right mess, but she had been no better after the loss of her sister...
Quote:
Originally Posted by moonlit.x
| Lambkit |
| He/Him |
| A curlied grey furred tabby tom with a white tail tip and paws; Yellow eyes |
~ Lambkit giggled a little, What was a woodpecker? Did he look like one for this beast to think he was one?
"Noo! Im Lamb... Lamb.."
Hmmm, What would be a cool name he could give himself. One that could scare off this monster and Lambkit could claim the den as his! Or well claim it as his in his silly kitten imagination. Claw sounded cool. Yeah, lets go with claw.
"Lambclaw!! The best warrior in Thuderclan!!" ~
"Oh? Lambclaw, must be a fearsome warrior to claim such a title."
An amused purr resounded in her chest as she pulled herself up into a sitting position.
"And why has the mighty Lambclaw entered my den, hmm? Exploring? Mischief? Conquering territory for Thunderclan?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by jupiter
Fireflykit
[ @Jayvines sobs i apologize for lateness almighty jay ]
The tan leader seemed to enjoy her being there? Maybe? Fireflykit sure hoped so, but it was hard to tell. She wasn't the best with telling how other cats thought about her. Not that many cats even knew she was still around. She was sleeping behind the warrior's den (because no one could hurt her if she was close to all the big cats) but now, no one could hurt her or scare her, or even come close to it, because she was here, nestled beside the most powerful and strongest cat in the whole wide world.
And now... story time. She listened, yellow eyes wide as her leader began to tell the story. Who was Cinderstar? She had heard a few queens talking about her, but the kitten had been too scared to ask them who it was. Was it someone important? She wished she had someone to teach her this stuff. The firey apprentice sounded so brave... the scrawny child wished vehemently that she could be brave like that. Though that wasn't realistic. She didn't really know how to talk to anyone, let alone be brave enough to do the stuff that the fire apprentice did.
A stifled gasp escaped little Firefly as Sparrowstar spoke of Rivercats taking the fire girl back to their camp. Was she still there? Fire couldn't go into water, Firefly knew that. The fire wouldn't be healthy around wet all the time. The kit wasn't very educated in the ways of manners, but she did know that interrupting was equivalent to being bad. Listening as the leader told her about another Clan, StarClan, also taking the fire away. What was StarClan? She also heard everyone talking about them, too. Was StarClan a friend-Clan? Not like Rivercats or Shadowcats, because no one seemed to like them very much. Well, that was what she could gather from accidental eavesdropping.
But, luckily, she soon discovered, Starcats gave the fire-cat back. And a flower-cat, too! "maybe the starcats could stop taking cats away? then they wouldn't need to be given back, right?" She remembered listening to a mom yell at her kit for stealing things. So stealing was bad, like interrupting. Fireflykit had done her best to pick up those fragments of good and bad things to do, so that everyone would like her. Maybe she wasn't doing a good job, because she didn't have a lot of friends. But at least she had Sparrow!
"Remember this young one; if you follow what you truly believe in your path may not always be steady or straight, but you will always end up where you are meant to be."
The kit's eyes widened. So she would be okay eventually, right? Or maybe she needed to go back into the nursery to keep going on her path, because everyone else did. No, she could be different. Some cats didn't even grow up in the Clan, and their paths seemed like they were straight! "I'll remember forever." The kitten promised sincerely, drowsiness making her stifle a yawn. Was yawning during storytime rude? But she didn't have to worry, because with a gentle lick of the kitten's head (which, rather than it's probable purpose, relieved her but also sent a shooting pain of loneliness through the kitten's heart. No one had done that before, and no one would probably ever do it again.)
Mimicking the leader as the tan tabby laid her head down, the kitten did the same, nuzzled her chin lightly onto the molly's side, before slipping down and curling up beside her belly. "Night-night, Sparrow. Thank you for the story." She squeaked tiredly, closing her eyes. She already knew that she wouldn't dream about cracking kittens and wailing queens tonight. because now she had something else to dream about- Fire-cat!
As the young kit snuggled into her side and bid her goodnight a soft rumbling purr filled the tan molly's chest. Fireflykit deserved a good rest, and she could only hope that her tale had been good enough to keep bad dreams far away for this evening (and perhaps even other evenings to come). flicking her tail overtop of the dozing kit, Sparrowstar allowed her own eyes to close as she settled into the moss of her nest.
Perhaps one day... No, she couldn't consider that right now. Thunderclan needed her full devotion at the moment, but maybe once the clan was more stable... she could think about it.
A light chuckle made fog come out of both Flameheart's nose and mouth. "As long as we're able, both Sootfur and I will serve ThunderClan. We aren't going to let us being mates distract us from our duties. As for kits... neither of us have spoken to each other about it, but if we do, I will let you know so you're not caught unawares."
Looking back at the snow covered grass in the camp, the young Keeper huffed and spoke once more, "I have to return my duties, but before I do: I wanted to tell you I'll be taking a small break next quarter-moon to be with Sootfur. It will be for about a day or two, but I'll be doing as much as I can until then. Good day, Sparrowstar." With a dip of her head, she walked out of the den to do everything that was on her mental to-do list. It would take her a while to complete all the duties, but she'd get them all handled before she took a day break from her duties to relax with her mate.
Rainpaw
"Y-you know what? Fine. Trust a cat who abandoned his kits. I'm done trying to say something to someone so something is done about it. I'll shut up. No one clearly cares enough about a future warrior's mental health, you all just care about the Clan's survival."
His gaze darkened with each passing moment, full of fury and heartache for his sister. He would never get through ThunderClan's heads, even if he's tried his hardest.
"My sister's health, all mental, physical, and emotional will always be my top priority. The rest of ThunderClan will always be second. I don't care how you see it, that's your opinion. This is mine. I've told too many warriors I care about my sister and all I've received is backlash. I came in here to give Quietpaw the best life in ThunderClan possible and be the father she never had as well as her brother, clearly I accomplished nothing... I can't hide my disappointment, Sparrowstar. If no one can stick up for their family, ThunderClan is already crumbling."
With that, the tom got up and left, not bothering to dip his head to dismiss himself. He wanted nothing to do with his leader at the moment. He was tired of being able to accomplish nothing. I'm hardly even getting anywhere with training...
Watching the young tom leave her den with his final retorts, the tan molly narrowed her eyes slightly in frustration.
He would come around eventually... she had to hope for that. Once his training became his primary focus, other things would seem not quite as overwhelming. At least, that's how she felt when she was an apprentice.
Huffing a brief sigh, Sparrowstar turned her eyes to the roof of her den and sent a searching preyer to the stars. How can I help this young tom...
__________________
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
Well, cats seemed to still be trickling in, but she wasn't about to delay any longer on important matters.
"There are several things that need addressing today," she started, pity sparking across her eyes as she spotted her deputy slinking his way to his spot below her. She wouldn't have begrudged him for sitting out this meeting (stars only know the poor tom deserved time to grieve), but she would not judge him for his choice of coping method. "And we must begin with unfortunate news today..."
"For those of you who are unaware, we have lost 3 of our clanmates in recent days. Cloudyflight, Quietpaw, and Weaselpaw have joined our warrior ancestors in Silverpelt. They have been laid to rest in Willow's Rise, so anycat who wishes to pay their respects may do so following this meeting."
Huffing out a short breath of frustration, the thin molly dipped her head for a moment before returning her gaze to the cats below her; specifically giving a pointed look to each and every kit and apprentice present.
"I would like to remind our younger clanmates of the rules that Thunderclan has in place for your own protection. Kits are not allowed outside the bounds of camp unless specifically sanctioned and chaperoned. Apprentices, you are not allowed outside of camp unless you are accompanied by a warrior. Am I understood?"
"These boundaries are not meant to stifle your freedom, they are meant to keep you safe so that you may reach your full potential as a warrior of this clan. And to my warriors--"
Green eyes flicked amongst the ranks of her older clanmates gathered below her with a tired gaze.
"Do not run yourself into the ground by not caring for yourselves; whatever the reason, I implore you to reach out to a clanmate if you are struggling. This clan needs each and every one of you in order to become the best version of Thunderclan we can be, and neglecting your needs is not conducive to that goal."
Allowing a moment of silence for her words to sink in, Sparrowstar cleared her throat and swept her tail over her paws before continuing.
"On the topic of changes and growth, Starclan has chosen Cinderpaw to be Sundust's apprentice." Her gaze sought to find the gray apprentice in the crowd. "I know she'll serve the clan well in the moons to come." This was not an easy path, and she wanted to be encouraging to the younger she-cat. "With that said, Rainpaw please step forward."
The young tom that had burst into her den a few days prior needed a fresh start, and she had an inkling of how best to start that.
alderstep
he/him
thunderclan
russet tabby w/ white paws, green eyes
Alderstep had had an inkling that there was a lot of loss going on. Slight guilt filled him as he realized he hadn't really even known about the losses of two apprentices and a warrior. Were these the consequences of his actions, his determination to be alone? He shifted his paws uncomfortably. Perhaps later he'd visit Willow's Rise if only to remind himself of things. The tom absently noted Sparrowstar's reminder of the boundaries. It wasn't like he had to worry about that.
The leader's next words slammed into Alderstep. He fluffed up his fur against the cold to distract himself from her advice. What needs did he have? He was fine and not struggling, so he had to stop freaking out. Still, his paws itched for his nest's moss, to tear into something soft. Blah blah blah words and nonsense and dumb meetings; that's all this camp life was. Alderstep forced himself to perk up and sit still as Rainpaw was called forward. More ceremonies, most likely. He slowly let the air leave his lungs in a soft sigh, relaxing. His mind began to wander as he glanced around the clearing for any cats he knew. His eyes caught sight of both his apprentice and Creamcloud, but the tom hurriedly looked back to the ThunderClan leader.
Re: The Thunderwillow
Re: ThunderClan Punishments
