WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[Rani]

@Panda1440
Crowtooth let out an amused/slightly condescending snort at that comment rasping out. “Yeah it’s the tunnels it generally very dark. Listen if your worried focus on your other senses. If you need to find an exit smell for the moor and try and feel the faint breeze on your whiskers, that’ll lead you to the top. Don’t follow the sounds though they’re unreliable down here. Your main senses will be whiskers, so let them drag along everything so you can feel the area around you, and scents. I’ll leave some scent marking from about halfway down in a path to the rabbit court chamber when I leave, far enough down it won’t attract attention but as a help. You only really wanna be using your ears to listen for cave ins which are not common this time of year.” His little verbal lesson done he lifted his head and stood strait as they emerged into the larger chamber old pile of bones he used for the even standing tall in the centre. The area was big enough (with the bones) to accomodate 6 warriors sparring but Crowtooth didn’t know what that was in sleeping arrangements. Hopefully Maplebird had an idea.

“Right we’re here, this is the biggest and tallest room in this system as you can tell cuz you can stand up fully here. There’s another tall one about half this size not to far from his with my napping nest and it’s even covered by a protective flat rock so hidden but smaller. Will this do? You’ll have to clean...”

[Arie]

-- @Rani @Rainquail @elysian --

They were not tired! Or... they would say such a thing and then as soon as they tried to push Crowtooth's tail away from them, would fail to do even such a simple thing. Heronkit didn't know wherever it was because of the weakness and light headedness they felt because their body was radiating so much heat, and then having chills, or if it just because they were weak. They weren't supposed to figure that out, they weren't a medicine cat. So just deciding to croak out, they tried to reach for Crowtooth's nose to be a pain but still asked, "I am NOT sick! I've just got a cough!" A cough that had at this point rendered their voice from a squeak to a hoarse quiet whisper.

If their attempt at reaching for Crowtooth's nose would fail... then they burrowed further into the nest they'd been placed in and in between coughs found the warrior's leg and once again began chewing in it. It was a stress related issue... or so it seemed.

[ophelia]

Originally Posted by Arie

-- @Paradise --

Okay it seemed that this Windclan cat at least had some brains as it seemed she decided to drop the Dawnstar topic. Doetuft very much appreciated it... because she knew the leader would most likely be listening to any conversation that she could get her ears on and therefore it was a safety precaution to not talk as much about the dark ideas of said leader. So, as they continued on the topic of the Shadowclan pride, Doetuft couldn't help but snort out loud. She wasn't a born Shadowclan cat, she'd originally, like many of her friends, come from the clan of thunder before transitioning to life in Shadowclan.

So as she continued to snort she also let out a bit of a laugh. "Shadowclan... is most certainly... prideful and if... you don't know that.. then I don't know what... to think. But... remember, the death... of your deputy.. and disappearance of your leader... was not something Shadowclan... played a part in. Yet, do think... many of my clanmates want revenge. Last confrontation... we were driven out, forced... to struggle to get food enough... and herbs enough for our sick. Because... your leader... wanted to prove... a point. Shadowclan... do not forget... and it seems Windclan managed to forget that." Shadowclan held grudges... and they proved points. They were prideful and did not easily forget, and usually lay in wait until the prey was weak, which was most likely why Dawnstar had chosen now to strike.

"I do not... agree with my clanmates... actions but... do remember that it is not... unjust. Everyone has... their reasons... be they good or bad... such as I had... my own reasons when I left my birth clan... for a better place to live." Shadowclan had given her a lot and Doetuft was never going to forget that. The clan had given her more than any other and although living underneath the dark lady was hard, it was to her still better than Thunderclan.

Had she said something amusing? Fawnbriar looked blankly at the other molly, even though she couldn't see her. She didn't like it when cats laughed at her, unless she'd purposely done something funny. "I never said they weren't," she said, glad the ShadowClan warrior couldn't see her flush. "I only said I didn't believe you all intend us harm." Did she think Fawnbriar was doubting their haughtiness? Now that was something to laugh about. Everyone knew ShadowClan was the proudest clan, even they admitted to it.

She frowned a little, remembering the event. Icestar had certainly been wrong, but she personally thought it had been odd of Twilightstar to raid ShadowClan for it. Again, there was no way all of ShadowClan had been agreeing with Icestar's ideas. Fawnbriar huffed softly. Still, she was pretty sure Dawnstar wasn't doing this for revenge because of that incident. And why hadn't she brought Twilightstar back yet? That was the agreement, wasn't it?

"I understand that everyone has their own perspectives," she admitted slowly, hoping she didn't sound like a traitor for her words. Loyalty to her clan was the most important thing in the world to her, no matter what Nettlespark said. Calling it 'not unjust' was a bit of a stretch to her though. Even if Twilightstar had made a bad decision or two, it didn't justify Dawnstar's actions. "...but I would hardly call this an eye for an eye," she finished. "I know others will disagree," she hurried on, "and maybe I'm biased, but aren't we all?"

Fawnbriar desperately wanted to teach Dawnstar a lesson, but she couldn't do it alone, and she knew she would never act without Coldamber's order. Maybe that made her sound like a puppet or a coward, but really she was just afraid of more problems that could be caused for the clan. If she decided to rebel and drew a bunch of cats in and then they got caught, she'd hurt all of them.

She glanced back in Doetuft's direction. "Sorry for approaching you like that," she said a tad awkwardly. She wasn't the best at apologies.

[Undertaker]

Weird warrior? Who didn't care what happened to their leader? Twilightstar was a pain in ass to her, but she admitted that the cat wasn't too terrible a leader considering how long she's stood in her position. As the Feeatherfur rambled on question after question, Dawnstar slowly grew bored with the whole thing.

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?" Dawnstar questioned with a loud sigh. "We're done here." The clan leader turned away from the warrior, ending their discussion.
@~Fox~

Refocusing her attention on Fussy, she was a little bit upset that she was being so cooperative. Well, Dawnstar wasn't being completely mad. She wasn't here to destroy the clan, not yet anyway. The pair would never see eye to eye though, Dawnstar knew that the second the she-cat prattled on about asking her to assign the warriors to work. Yes, that wasn't going to work.

"That's nice to hear, but if the den is too cramped, I'll assign warriors to deal with it. I told you, I've come to merge our clans into mine, which means I lead. Don't expect me to come to you or ask for permission on every little thing. The bunnies here need to get that through their heads, as long I'm here I am in charge." Dawnstar smiled slightly, cold and unfriendly. They didn't need to respect her, but obedience was nonnegotiable.

"Unfortunately, I'm not overly interested in their wellbeing. If the cats fight they fight, I've found shredding someone to be very therapeutic. As hypocritical as this sounds, I will make sure to have my cats leave your elders, kits, and queens along so long as they don't start anything first, I'll try to make sure no one dies, but you'll have to deal with wounded cats. Warriors and apprentices are trained to fight, that's how it will be. Oh, and don't bother tending to my cats if they get into trouble. If they want to pick fights and lose they have Ebonyfang to tend to them." Dawnstar yawned, eyes dancing away from the she-cat as a few others claimed her attention.
@Rainquail

Why do they keep letting their kits near her? Did she not just kill one of their kits. Actually! Why hasn't that been brought up at all. We're they scared to bring it up, it wouldn't be hard for Dawnstar to deflect the blame on to the bunnies. Maybe they just didn't care?

"Don't annoy me, hairball. Go find your mother before I decide to sit on you." Leafkit wasn't all that aggravating, Dawnstar just didn't want to deal with her.
@Ella_heart

She swiftly disregarded the kit in favor of Pumpkinpaw as the apprentice returned. The glimmer in her eye spoke loudly of how genuinely please she was to hear that he was more than willing to get his claws dirty. It seemed to her that the current generation of warriors paled in comparison to the next generation. Dawnstar may have to start putting more faith in her apprentices over her warriors, there were too many disappointing warriors these days.

"Thank you, Pumpkinpaw, you may go ahead and tell them they must move, claws sheathed for now. Report back to me once you have them removed, I'll inform the rest of my warriors." Dawnstar mewed with a sharp dismissive nod.
@Willowfern

Dawnstar perked both ears as she received a patrol report. Yes, she was going to have to get border patrols. As much as she would like to send her cats to mark the borders, this was something of an experiment, it made more sense to keep the other clans from getting too suspicious. They'd jump to conclusions.

"You caught a ThunderClan squirrel stealing prey from you?" Dawnstar repeated in a questioning tone while looking at both warriors. "I would hope you shredded him. I am aware that you rabbits like talking things out, but what's the point of having fangs and claws if you don't use them, especially for a thief."
@Kai @Panda1440

[Rani]

If Crowtooth wasnt used to hunching in these tunnels his jolt wouldve had him slamming his head on the roof. This was a surprise but a pleasant one, Crowtooth had almost given up that any of his clanmate wouldve take a specific interest in the tunnels or at least were too intimidated by his harsh and ruined voice and mischievous and often a bit mean personality to approach. The skunk striped tom had even had to start viewing it as the first challenge/trail of tunnelling to be brave enough to approach him (because stars knows the depths are no place for hesitation and require a strong will to traverse deep) to avoid bitterness of the isolation. But Robintail had and Crowtooth was excited even with the new burden on his already heavy lot of responsibilities.
"You want to become a tunneller then? Good. More cats need to be bold like you in this matter. If you accept that you'll have to keep this secret close and defend it with your life from shadowclan I would be more then happy to teach you the skills necessary to survive the burrows on the moor. We can even start tonight to see if you have any natural talent and gauge your skills for the future."
@Cloudburst

[Abyssopelagic]

Coldamber pulled Snakekit closer, further curling around him, pressing herself to him, sharing her warmth. It disheartened her that he was refusing to take the catmint.
"If you eat the catmint, it'll make you feel better, I promise."
Even as he drifted to sleep, weak little sobs escaping him before softening to pitiful hiccups. It suddenly became clear to her he wasn't going to get any better. No amount of catmint could help him from this. She was too late, he had waited too long to come to her and now there was only one thing she could do.
She grabbed the catmint and made her way to the Herb Storage, trading it instead for one of those horrid little berries in the corner. She stared at it, wondering if this was truly what she should do.
But as Snakekit jolted awake only to continue shivering and crying.... it was for the best.
Regretfully, she separated a single berry and wrapped it in a leaf to avoid putting it in her own mouth. She settled back in beside the tom kit, and pushed the berry towards his snout.
"Take this. The pain will leave immediately, swiftly. There will be no need to wait....."
Her eyes darted away from him, guilt weighing at her.

((Cold is offering a death berry, if you'd rather he take it and his death be quicker)) @PEPPERMINT~



Coldamber looked to Crowtooth and the little kit attached to him.
She watched Heronkit, the weakness and coughing pointing to yet another case of green cough or whitecough.
It was..... probably a good thing she hadn't insisted Snakekit eat the catmint, else it would have been wasted and she'd likely have to send Bumbleshade to grab some.
Her heart tugged, still thinking about it and how much it had reminded her of Fizzlekit and Coyotesnarl.
"Telltale sign of greencough. I'm afraid you are, in fact, sick."
She turned her back to the two and fetched the catmint, bringing it back and dropping it in front of the slim kitten.
"Go ahead and eat this. It'll help your cough."
@Arie @Rani

[Rani]

Crowtooth sighed the sigh of a tired man as Heronkit whined having bent down further to meet the small scrap when he couldnt even manage to touch his nose. He wasnt the sick one he wasnt the sick on he wasnt the sick on he could breath he could breath he could breath he could breath HE COULD BREATH HE WASNT SUFFOCATING. Drawn out his head head with a deadpan "Ow." as the kit went back to chewing on his paw again (oh look at that some of his fur had rubbed away from the biting and the friction and now he has a nice bald spot next to his bite scars on his paw. Hopefully that'd grow back) but he didnt draw his paw away from the kit just sitting there as he was used as a teething toy.

The toms eyes tracked the medicine cat as she brought the herb (this is not Coyotesnarl Crow she wont just abandon Heronkit in this state) he rasped out "Theyll be ok right? Heronkits voice is sounds kinda... Well like mine. Doesnt honey sooth the throat or something better than water? Is there any way for them to get any?" he jolted as he realised his potential blunder "Ah dont mean to make it seem like Im bossing just remembering bits from my time here. I can leave if you want as soon as I make sure they actually eat the herb (stubborn little snot)."
And indeed his eyes were almost distant in thought but distant and empty in the way one remembered something they tried and couldnt escape from, despite his steady outer appearance. Crowtooth did not want to lead his Hellionkit here without him to keep watch but it was Coldambers domain, he would have sneak back in later to check if kicked out.

@Arie @Rainquail

[Poprock]

Originally Posted by Spoopy Eclipse

"Oh..oh yeah... they did", Slugstripe mumbled. Why did this cat have to remind him. He sighed. "If you really want me to go, I will." If he was making sure that he was safe, he cared. He didn't want to get into a potential fight with two clans.
@spade @Panda1440

If Breezepaw spent another moment with this bumbling idiot, he felt his head would explode. Basilwhisker was most likely already out in the territory, and the toms were wasting sunlight sitting here waiting for his mentor. His paws were itching to do more than sit idly in the shadows in his camp. After watching his whole world turn upside down, he needed some control back in his life.
"Let's go ahead and get going, Basilwhisker can meet up with us." He called to the warrior, already heading towards the borders. Not bothering to see if Slugstripe was following, Breezepaw broke into a sprint. His striped fur pressed to his body with the strong gusts of Leaf bare wind. His claws dug up dirt with every bound, hoping to drive him further from the camp.

@Spoopy Eclipse @spade

[BEAR.]

Interesting.

Fernkit had been watching Dawnstar since he didn't have much else to do, and the big scary Starcat hadn't done much. A lot of talking, and she didn't smoosh the kit that went here her.. so.

Steeling his nerves, he sprang up to his paws and bounced over to her. "Hey!" He squeaked up to her, craning his neck to get a better look. Boy, she was big! .. Or maybe he was just small. (He was smaller than most cats his age.)

Now that he's at this point, he hesitated. He knew ShadowClan cats were alive but.. "You smell like StarClan." Yep, that summed it up. "I was told.. this merge was bad, but if you're like StarClan then it can't be bad." Right? Seemed right to him.

[ @Undertaker, sorry for the double mention - database error made me double post ]

[Madelaine]

Spruceflight had managed to finally get to sleep. The expecting tom had had trouble sleeping with everything going on. Everything seemed to frighten him for the sake of his kits. The transgender tom's paws began to twitch as he dreamed. It started off as a nice one, but soon turned sour. He began to talk to himself in his sleep. "Take anyone not me.", he meowed almost in a yowl. Spruceflight sprung awake, body shaking. He was completely terrified.

// open \\