frontierclan writing storage | rise | dnp

[Sunlitsecrets]

the story continues

She finds Dust and Dusk a short ways downstream. They’re huddling together, both shivering desperately, and as Beaver approaches she calls out to them. “Hey! It’s Dusty boy and the punk! I’m so glad you two are okay...”
. Dusk sees her, his eyes widen with joy - is that her, is she really alive? - and before Beaver can say any more she gets tackle hugged by the tiny cat. “Woah, slow down there, kid. I promise I’m not going anywhere.”
. Dust ambled on over to the two of them - he has a slight limp, but otherwise appears fine. His smile is like a thousand sunrises. It means ‘I’m so relieved you’re okay’ but in the quiet things instead of saying it out loud.
. He joins in on the hug. They stay like that for perhaps 5 minutes until Beaver realizes she has to ask the hard truth. “Dust, where’s Orion?” she questions, with all the tact and gentleness she can muster (hint: it’s not much). And once again, his look, his drooping ears and sudden silence, tell her everything. Dusk, head buried in her fur, buries it even more, if anything.

“Blast it all. I’m gonna miss that guy. Even if he did just steal all the sunlight for himself and his afternoon naps.” Her adrenaline is wearing off by now, everything is going wrong again and there’s no manic energy to smother her sadness.
. Without another word, she untangles herself from Dusk and strides off into the forest. Looks like she’s gonna tear up another tree today.

Dust shows up after about an hour of her screaming into the void and digging her claws into the poor oak tree in front of her. Or perhaps he showed up earlier and she’d been too oblivious to notice. Either way, he’s at the side of the tree, and he waits till Beaver has twisted a claw before he speaks.
. “Beaver, come on. You’re only hurting yourself by doing this.”
. “So what,” she snarls. She hasn’t snarled at Dust in moons. “Orion is dead. What does it matter if I sprain a paw? It’s nothing.”
. “It’s not nothing and you know it. Now I didn’t come here to argue, I want to talk. You’re scaring Dusk.”
. That gets her to quiet down. They sit side by side and listen to the silence for a while, before finally Dust decides to say something.

. “We need to move on. There’s no prey in these woods, not after you scared it all off. But I want to ask you where you wanted to go, cause... you’re a part of this team. And I need you to help me out here.”
. Dust, asking her for answers. In any other time this would have been a victory moment. Now, it makes her feel nothing. Nothing but thought about the possibilities. “I say we go downstream. Water source, and a distinct direction for us.”
. “And I assume you want to hunt?”
. She grins, but they both know it”s hollow. “I’ll do it, Dusty boy. You know me.”

- - - -

They travel for a moon before they actually get anywhere. Sure, they’re seeing the sights, but a pretty view has never mattered to Beaver. And so, the weeks go by in a sort of muted blur - her only sort of registering what happens and doing her best to keep Dusk positive even when she feels like all the life in the world is gone, because Orion is gone, too. (20 moon old her would have scoffed, wouldn’t have cared about the death of an old fool. How the times have changed).
. But then, at long last, they reach a place where the river widens dramatically, gets deeper and more dangerous. This is interesting on its own, but the real highlight, in her opinion, is that they get stopped... by another group of cats. How wonderful. A new group for her to fight - or so she thinks, before Dust slaps her with his tail and she knows to just stay quiet and frown at them if she wants to express her inner negativity

. "You guys passing through, want to stay? What's your business here with FrontierClan?"
. There's three Clanners and three circus cats. Beaver feels confident enough to take them down if she needs to. The smaller brown tabby has an air of authority but she's clearly not much of a fighter. Same for the tiny, fluffy apprentice to her right (is that a... live mouse? Why does she have a mouse just hanging out on her head? And why is said mouse not trying to run away?). The apprentice notices her staring and shuffled a few steps away. Ah, wonderful. Intimidation.
. It's the well-built, frowning, grey-patched tom that is the real problem. She already sees him sizing them up like she's doing to them. They lock eyes for one brief moment and he bares his fangs at her. A barely noticeable gesture, but still one she's not going to just take lying down. She smirks back.
. Beaver hates him already.

Dust does what Dust is good at, he asks if they can stay in this Clan place for a bit and the tabby - obviously the leader - agrees. Very naive, that one. But still, she'll gladly take a warm place to sleep any day. She's tired of huddling under bushes in the rain with the other two.
. They're escorted to the camp, a small hollow in the middle of the pine forest, and the tabby (she hears that her name is Wildstar, interesting) calls a meeting. There's only six or seven cats in the Clan, a strangely small number, but that's fine, makes it easier to get to know everyone, their strengths and weaknesses. None of them are gonna hurt Dusk, not while Beaver's around.

"What's wrong today, Wild?" a large, stocky tabby with piercing orange eyes grumbles, before he realizes that their number has expanded to include three more. "Newcomers again?"
. "Yes newcomers again, get your act together, Flicker," the patched white cat commands.
. "They're looking for a new home, just like all of you were at some point in time. So we need to give them names," Wildstar explains simply, amicable smile on her face and tail flicking in the light breeze that's blowing through the camp.
. "Woah, hold up," Beaver interjects, holding up a paw for emphasis. "We - we already have names? I'm Beaver, tall and dangerous over here is Dust, and the kid is Dusk. You're not gonna go change them on us."
. "No, no we're not," Wild says. "But as Clan cats, you each add something onto your names for now. Think of it like a Clan name. Like, everyone calls me Wild, but my full name is Wildstar."

She wants to say no, but Dust says, "Sure, we'll do it."
. "Dust, I hate you," Beaver whispers.
. "I know," he says, with a cheeky grin.

- - - -

Dusk chooses the name Duskdreamer. It's adorable, Beaver supposes. It sounds nice. Dust chooses Dustedmoon. It really does fit him, but the two of them are always going to be Dusk and Dust to her.
. Beaver takes a day to think on her own name. She doesn't really want to change it, and she doesn't see the point. The next night, she heads down to the river and runs into another cat. A soft smoke point with graceful steps and a knowing smile. "I'm trying to think, lady. Go away."
. "The name's Smokedance," she says quietly. "And you're trying to pick a name but you don't understand why you would."
. Beaver whips her head around, frowns at Smoke. "You're right. I don't. How do you know?"
. Smoke calmly sits down next to Beaver and stares out across the river. "I've known a lot of kits. They always panic over choosing their name when the time comes."
. "I'm not panicking."
. "I know you're not. But maybe I can help."

- - - -

She chooses the name Beaverfang. It sounds... dangerous. She likes it.
. Smokedance and her had spent a couple hours just talking about life, names and... Beaver really liked it. Maybe she would give this Clan a chance after all.
. It's the next morning, she's announced her name choice, and now the two apprentices are looking up at her with wide eyes. She is not looking forward to this conversation.
. "Small said you're good at fighting," the black 'paw says with awe. The fluffy apprentice by his side nods. She must be Smallpaw, then. The mouse is once again on her head. It's annoying having the little creature always staring at her. Prey should be food, not... companions. Or whatever this is.
. "Well, yeah, I'm pretty good at it. Had to be to survive out in the world, you know?" If there's anything Beaver loves to talk about, it's her misadventures and the wild battles she's been in.
. She tells them stories for hours, until the sun is at its highest point. The apprentices run off, excited and laughing.
. Beaver finds that she really likes those cats. They remind her of Dusk, when he was younger.
. Things are going better than she expected.

- - - -

She meets Nightwatcher that night.
. The spotted feline approaches Beaverfang as she's sharpening her claws on the nearest rock. She doesn't say anything, and neither does Beaver. Night watches for five or so minutes until Beaver finally says "you gonna tell me something or no?" The calico frowns over at the other cat. She gets no response, only the harsh glare of aqua eyes staring back at her. It's a look filled with anger, and Beaver knows in that moment that neither of them will be able to trust the other.
. Nightwatcher still says nothing. She hisses at Beaver, turns around, and leaves.
. "Well aren't you a fun cat to be around," Beaver sarcastically grumbles to herself. Looks like she's already found an enemy in this new Clan.

- - - -

She's only spent three days in this blasted place and already she's got a thorn in her paw. Again. Wildstar notices her limping and suggests she head down to the medicine den.
. "What, with Flameflicker? The big danger cat? No way, i value my life," Beaver laughs. She tries to brush past Wild, but the leader stops her.
. "Flicker wouldn't hurt a fly. He's tired of battles. He might get fed up with your constant sarcasm, but he knows his craft well. Just let him help."
. Beaver snorts, but nods. "Fine, Wild. Fine. If I end up dead, though, I'm coming back from the grave to punch you in the face."

So she goes into the herbalist's den, fully prepared to face her impending doom.
. Instead of the horrible death she was fully expecting, Flameflicker simply takes the thorn out of her paw, tells her to lick it, and lets her go.
. This is the event that convinces Beaver to stay. The people here aren't all that bad... they're quite like Dusk and Dust, really.
. Maybe she'll be able to enjoy her time here.

- - - -

On her seventh day in the Clan, she's out hunting by herself when she sees a cat in the distance. He looks vaguely familiar... she starts to head closer, ready to fight and ready to talk. Whatever's needed. He notices her, too, and makes his way over.
. They get closer together and that's when Beaver realizes. That's not just any cat.
. That's Orion.
. "Beaver?" he says. He's realized as well, hasn't he?
. "ORION!" she shouts, louder than she's ever shouted before. They meet in the middle in a hug, and she's never been so relieved in her life. Everything's okay now, because Orion isn't dead, Orion never died, he's here and now.
. "I'm so glad you're alive, you old fool," Beaverfang says.

The next few hours pass as a blur. The two catch up on the weeks they've been apart. They head back to camp, Dusk and Dust are just as excited as Beaver had been. They spend hours just sitting as a group, until the sun is set behind the horizon. Orion is finally back. And the world, finally, is perfect.

[Sunlitsecrets]

courage never dies

"It was just me and him. I had gone wandering after the circus show one night and came across a terrible beast who quickly backed me into a corner. A beaver. My namesake. Its fangs were bared and so were mine, as I prepared for the fight of my life...
. "We stood, a foot apart, for a short few seconds, before I took the first move. I lunged, teeth latching into its shoulder, but before I could do much damage I was thrown off and hit the ground hard. And the creature was coming after me. It easily towered over any cat, and it thwacked me with its powerful tail so hard I could barely breathe. It was quite the exciting situation."

"You call that exciting?"
Smallpaw and Northpaw are currently sitting in front of her, listening to her tell her tale. And of course Small is being skeptical, as per always.
. "Dear, it was a fight for my life. Those are always... brilliant," Beaver replies, cheeky grin on her face and eyes shining with the memory of the skirmish.
. "Weren't you worried you were gonna die?" Northpaw asks. Unlike the frowning annoyance of Smallpaw, North is on edge, fur puffed up in fear as he listens intently to the story. "That sounds really scary, after all."
. "I wasn't scared," Beaverfang laughs, looking up into the sky and remembering what had come before. "It was a chance to prove myself or a chance to go down bravely. Those are always my favorite moments."
. "Wow," says North, and the calico grins. Wow indeed.

"So I manage to spring to my paws, I dart around to the side of this dangerous fellow, and claw his side, but his teeth snap at me and soon I realize this is a fight I can't win, no matter how good I am. But escaping is no easy task. The beast has trapped me right up against a wall, and the rock seems to be un-climbable.
. "But you kids know me. I try anyway. Paws gripping the stone, I hurl myself up the wall... but then teeth, sharp! Grab my tail, and drag me back down."

North, predictably, gasps in horror. "Did you die?"
. "She couldn't have, she's here now!" says Small. Smart kid. Well, if you call that 'smart'.
. "Of course I didn't die, punk! I'm standing right in front of you, aren't I?"
. "Oh. ...yeah, I guess you're both right."
. "Anyway... back in my thrilling tale..."

"The beaver has me pinned to the ground, and it's about to lunge at my face. I'm fairly sure in that moment that I'm going to die then and there. The sense of danger is electrifying. Then, though, in that moment, I get the most brilliant idea.
. "I attack first.
. "Before it can deal the killing blow, I claw its throat - not enough to kill it, but a short swipe. It lets me go, falls back, stunned, and I make my daring escape."

"You mean you ran away?" North cries in disappointment. "I thought you were gonna kill it!"
. "Kid, I'm only here today because I've got common sense. I love myself a battle, but not all battles have to end up with one side dead."
. "You're actually pretty smart," Small says. The mouse atop her head twitches its whiskers.
. "I talk a big game, but underneath it all... I know my stuff. Gotta play it safe sometimes to chase after the next big thing in the future.
. "After all, courage never dies. Not so long as you're willing to flee when it's needed."