WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[CatontheMoon]

Originally Posted by CatontheMoon

Lightningsprout growled again through the fur of the heavy rabbit. He was already tired from the chase, he didn't need Windclaw taunting him. He dropped his rabbit and hissed, "Just shut up already! Don't you have anything else better to do then waste your time sneering and mocking?" Anger flowed through him. He stalked off.

Windclaw smiled. "You look so cute when you're angry. It's almost hard to take you seriously." she hissed and chuckled to herself. Lightningsprout roared in anger and dropped his rabbit to charge at the taunting she-cat. Windclaw neatly stepped to the side and fake yawned as he crashed to the ground a few tail-lengths away. As he struggled to get up, growling, Windclaw bolted away. She snatched up his hare as she ran toward the far moor. She heard him yowl for her to stop, but she ignored him, laughing to herself.

[CatontheMoon]

Originally Posted by CatontheMoon

Windclaw smiled. "You look so cute when you're angry. It's almost hard to take you seriously." she hissed and chuckled to herself. Lightningsprout roared in anger and dropped his rabbit to charge at the taunting she-cat. Windclaw neatly stepped to the side and fake yawned as he crashed to the ground a few tail-lengths away. As he struggled to get up, growling, Windclaw bolted away. She snatched up his hare as she ran toward the far moor. She heard him yowl for her to stop, but she ignored him, laughing to herself.

"Hey! That's my prey! Come.. back-" Lightningsprout sighed. It was no use. His ribs ached from the fall and it was hard to stand up. He had worked and battled for that prey fiercely and now it was gone. Windclaw would probably either claim it as her own or eat it herself. His ear still stung and now his paw hurt too. It was twisted in a slightly different direction. As he lifted it, it hurt even more. As to not risk further injury, he limped and held his paw from the ground. Camp was a far ways away. He groaned in pain from his ribs, paw and ear. Hopefully the medicine cat could help him. The marigold popped into his head again. Lightningsprout looked back to where the plant was. He could gather it later.

[Topaz]

|:| @-Skyfall- |:|
(This is before Twilightstar’s kits)


~Miststone~

With an unusual happy skip, Miststone pranced out the nursery and into the territory. What a lovely morning!

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

(Open to anyone who wants to interact!)

~ ASHFEATHER ~

Ashfeather rested in the WindClan clearing, one round cheek laying on a sturdy paw. It was warm, as it normally was in greenleaf. Even though there were gray clouds scattered across the sky, she could still feel the heat beating down on her pelt. Right now, she was feeling... alright. Lifting her head somewhat, she looked over her left shoulder at her own body. She could only see her back from this angle, so she switched to looking over her right shoulder. Of course, that meant craning her head further because of her blind eye. Still, it was difficult, though she did barely catch a glimpse of the light gray fur on her stomach. A small sigh escaped her, a twisted release of air made weird by the way her mouth was angled. She'd been trying to eat more, and she'd been eating those borage leaves, all to produce her nearly lost milk store for Twilightstar's kits. She was taking care of Leechkit and Midnightkit. One was already feisty, she thought, remembering how Leechkit had knocked Midnightkit away to get milk.

Ashfeather turned away, slumping her cheek back down on her paw again. She was gaining a bit of weight, but she was still skinny. Also, she was one of the few cats in the Clan who didn't care much for food. But at the same time, she had to think about it a lot. What looked softest on the fresh-kill pile, how strong her jaw was feeling at the moment. Having a crooked jaw is terrible, she thought with another sigh. But she'd lived with it all her life. She had to get better by now. Brindlejaw had a crooked jaw, she remembered. But had his been as bad? She didn't think so, but then again, the time when the tom had been deputy felt like so long ago. She'd only been a kit...

She knew that she didn't have the best build, or looks, for a warrior. I'm technically a queen again, since I'm nursing kits. Ashfeather wasn't thinking of life as a nursery queen, though. She was thinking about her warrior duties, when she had performed them. She was small; sure, a lot of WindClan cats were. However, she had a hunched posture that made her look smaller, and she was underweight, more so than a normal WindClan cat. Her long, broken, crooked, twisted tail unbalanced her, making normal cats difficult. She had that blind eye, too-small ears - that luckily didn't affect her hearing - and that jaw of hers. Ashfeather did have some good physical attributes: her long and sharp claws, as well as her stronger legs and broad, sturdy paws. But that was it.

Remember all those cats who helped hold you up? Birchpaw, Curlpaw, Dodgepaw... but they're all gone now. They just disappeared. My mate, the cat who loved me, died. My three kits are all gone. They're missing, and one is dead.

Speaking out loud without meaning to, Ashfeather whispered, "Oh, StarClan... I know that I wasn't destined for anything great. You've made that clear. I love my Clan, and although some of them have done some wonderful things to make me feel better, others hate me, or dislike me, or find me useless. I want to be a warrior, but that's harder for me. When I work harder, they don't notice me. When I tried to gather up those cats to stop Dawnstar, when I finally got myself together, we hardly got anywhere. When I got friends, they all disappeared. When I got a mate and kits, even though I looked like this... they went away, too." Wetness began to accumulate in her eyes; her vision in the one that she could see out of got blurry. When she spoke, her voice was even lower, just barely a whisper.

"Please, StarClan... make something go right. There were times when I was happy, and I'm ever so thankful that a cat that... that looks like me has ever gotten this far. But... please... I beg you... I want something that's here to stay. I... I really need something. I want to be happy."

Her voice broke on that last sentence, and she buried her head in her front paws, shutting her eyes tightly. Ashfeather knew that she was having a breakdown right in the middle of the clearing, but she didn't care. Nobody else would. My Clanmates have worked so hard to try and make me feel accepted... Twilightstar has... but I know that so many others don't like me. They think that I'm a waste of space, and maybe they're right. Why am I like this? I will do anything I can to help Twilightstar's kits... but what will happen after that? Am I worthy of this? Will the Clan think anything of me... or them? Ashfeather didn't know anything anymore. It felt as though everything had fallen completely down for her, and she desperately wanted... no, she needed... something. Something that wouldn't disappear on her, or at least something that could make her feel happy again.

[poppy]

@Topaztaill

Ah, his beloved was happy, and that was reason enough for him to be happy. Cricketfire leaped forward, landing next to her. Ah, my beautiful mate. He whispered, rubbing his cheek on hers. If you're free I have a surprise for you. 2 moons in the works, it is finally ready.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by -Skyfall-

@Topaztaill

Ah, his beloved was happy, and that was reason enough for him to be happy. Cricketfire leaped forward, landing next to her. Ah, my beautiful mate. He whispered, rubbing his cheek on hers. If you're free I have a surprise for you. 2 moons in the works, it is finally ready.

~Miststone~

She jumped a bit, before turning. Miststone’s eyes sparkled with joy, it’d been so long since they talked. “Really?” She asked, purring as Cricketfire rubbed his cheek to her own. “What is it?”

[poppy]

@Topaztaill

A surprise. He grinned, nuzzling her, then leading the way through the moor. A sheltered clearing surrounded by beech trees and undergrowth soon appeared. He glanced back to make sure she was following and when he saw her, he realized how long they had gone without seeing each other. How distant he had been raising the kits. Guilt pulsed through him and he sighed.

Consider this my apologies, the first of many I'm sure. Cricketfire said, pushing his way through the bushes and weeds and led her into the clearing. In wonky, uneven patches, there were wildflowers of all varieties. Shiny, beautiful stones were scattered about.

He turned to face her, shame and guilt clouding his gaze. Can you forgive me for wronging you so?

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by -Skyfall-

@Topaztaill

A surprise. He grinned, nuzzling her, then leading the way through the moor. A sheltered clearing surrounded by beech trees and undergrowth soon appeared. He glanced back to make sure she was following and when he saw her, he realized how long they had gone without seeing each other. How distant he had been raising the kits. Guilt pulsed through him and he sighed.

Consider this my apologies, the first of many I'm sure. Cricketfire said, pushing his way through the bushes and weeds and led her into the clearing. In wonky, uneven patches, there were wildflowers of all varieties. Shiny, beautiful stones were scattered about.

He turned to face her, shame and guilt clouding his gaze. Can you forgive me for wronging you so?

~Miststone~

The scenery was beautiful, Miststone couldn’t help but wonder if it was the surprise. Those wildflowers and stones were pretty together, she couldn’t imagine anything as great as this. She purred again, her face curling with smile. “How can I forgive you for something that I have already forgiven you for?” She stepped closer to him and licked his nose gently.

[Tuftdrawsanddoodles]

Originally Posted by TheNyanCatMinecart

(Open to anyone who wants to interact!)

~ ASHFEATHER ~

Ashfeather rested in the WindClan clearing, one round cheek laying on a sturdy paw. It was warm, as it normally was in greenleaf. Even though there were gray clouds scattered across the sky, she could still feel the heat beating down on her pelt. Right now, she was feeling... alright. Lifting her head somewhat, she looked over her left shoulder at her own body. She could only see her back from this angle, so she switched to looking over her right shoulder. Of course, that meant craning her head further because of her blind eye. Still, it was difficult, though she did barely catch a glimpse of the light gray fur on her stomach. A small sigh escaped her, a twisted release of air made weird by the way her mouth was angled. She'd been trying to eat more, and she'd been eating those borage leaves, all to produce her nearly lost milk store for Twilightstar's kits. She was taking care of Leechkit and Midnightkit. One was already feisty, she thought, remembering how Leechkit had knocked Midnightkit away to get milk.

Ashfeather turned away, slumping her cheek back down on her paw again. She was gaining a bit of weight, but she was still skinny. Also, she was one of the few cats in the Clan who didn't care much for food. But at the same time, she had to think about it a lot. What looked softest on the fresh-kill pile, how strong her jaw was feeling at the moment. Having a crooked jaw is terrible, she thought with another sigh. But she'd lived with it all her life. She had to get better by now. Brindlejaw had a crooked jaw, she remembered. But had his been as bad? She didn't think so, but then again, the time when the tom had been deputy felt like so long ago. She'd only been a kit...

She knew that she didn't have the best build, or looks, for a warrior. I'm technically a queen again, since I'm nursing kits. Ashfeather wasn't thinking of life as a nursery queen, though. She was thinking about her warrior duties, when she had performed them. She was small; sure, a lot of WindClan cats were. However, she had a hunched posture that made her look smaller, and she was underweight, more so than a normal WindClan cat. Her long, broken, crooked, twisted tail unbalanced her, making normal cats difficult. She had that blind eye, too-small ears - that luckily didn't affect her hearing - and that jaw of hers. Ashfeather did have some good physical attributes: her long and sharp claws, as well as her stronger legs and broad, sturdy paws. But that was it.

Remember all those cats who helped hold you up? Birchpaw, Curlpaw, Dodgepaw... but they're all gone now. They just disappeared. My mate, the cat who loved me, died. My three kits are all gone. They're missing, and one is dead.

Speaking out loud without meaning to, Ashfeather whispered, "Oh, StarClan... I know that I wasn't destined for anything great. You've made that clear. I love my Clan, and although some of them have done some wonderful things to make me feel better, others hate me, or dislike me, or find me useless. I want to be a warrior, but that's harder for me. When I work harder, they don't notice me. When I tried to gather up those cats to stop Dawnstar, when I finally got myself together, we hardly got anywhere. When I got friends, they all disappeared. When I got a mate and kits, even though I looked like this... they went away, too." Wetness began to accumulate in her eyes; her vision in the one that she could see out of got blurry. When she spoke, her voice was even lower, just barely a whisper.

"Please, StarClan... make something go right. There were times when I was happy, and I'm ever so thankful that a cat that... that looks like me has ever gotten this far. But... please... I beg you... I want something that's here to stay. I... I really need something. I want to be happy."

Her voice broke on that last sentence, and she buried her head in her front paws, shutting her eyes tightly. Ashfeather knew that she was having a breakdown right in the middle of the clearing, but she didn't care. Nobody else would. My Clanmates have worked so hard to try and make me feel accepted... Twilightstar has... but I know that so many others don't like me. They think that I'm a waste of space, and maybe they're right. Why am I like this? I will do anything I can to help Twilightstar's kits... but what will happen after that? Am I worthy of this? Will the Clan think anything of me... or them? Ashfeather didn't know anything anymore. It felt as though everything had fallen completely down for her, and she desperately wanted... no, she needed... something. Something that wouldn't disappear on her, or at least something that could make her feel happy again.

Roseclaw padded up to the glum looking she-cat, “Hey, um, are you alright?” She asked Ashfeather. Ofcourse she’s not alright she looks miserable! Though it wasn’t hard to guess why, that’s for sure

[Abyssopelagic]

When none of the rest of their patrolmates seemed to show up for patrol, Shockholly went out on their own into the territory. Keeping Twilightstar's warning in mind, they avoided the areas with higher rabbit populations for their hunting.
They caught two mice and a bird before coming back to camp to report in.