❝ . refuge . open!

[Dia.]

Spottedhawk --

The spotted-furred tom was lazing in the sun, recovering from his early morning patrol and drifting in and out of sleep. It was definitely warm today, and it made him sleepy. He purred, thanking Starclan for being assigned such an early patrol. Early morning was his favorite time because the sun is hardly awake. With that thought, he fell once again into sleep.
The lithe she-cat weaved in and out of the boulders in the canyon, looking over her shoulder to mock her brother with a laugh. Leopardtail was fleet-footed, and she always made sure to let her brother know she was faster. "Come on! What's dragging you down?" She mocked again, turning her head just in time to notice a large rock and leap over it. Spottedhawk, panting, tried to catch up to her.
Suddenly, he heard a shocked yowl and the crumbling of earth beneath scrambling paws. "Leopardtail!" The tom yowled as he watched his sister scramble on a crumbling bank. He jumped forward and carefully picked his way to where she struggled. When he reached down to grab her scruff, his jaws clamped down on open air. The tom watched in horror as the ground gave way to the churning river below them. "Leopardtail!" he yowled again. Before he could make the irrational decision of launching himself in after her, one of the two-leg's floating monsters swept down the rapid. Spottedhawk watched as a two-leg swiftly reached out to pull his sister into his grasp where she lay panting and trembling.
Thinking that the group was going to stop at the next beach, Spottedhawk raced along the river to meet her at land. They quickly outpaced him, and when he made it to the stopping point she was no where to be seen.
The tom woke with a start, paws twitching and sides heaving. This dream had been haunting his sleep since his sister disappeared with the two-legs a few moons ago. He couldn't forget the look in her eyes as he watched her disappear in the distance.

He took a long deep breath in trying to calm his nerves and the scent of newcomers flooded his senses. Spottedhawk very deliberately rose to his paws, hoping that the stranger hadn't seen his embarrassing unease. The tom padded lightly over to where his leader stood, but respectfully waited a few tail lengths behind her. He watched the tom carefully through narrowed eyes and sized him up. Honestly, he didn't seem like he could put up much of a fight.

[Nightsent]

ＢＡＤＧＥＲＮＯＳＥ
indent the ledge near the top of the canyon. it has always been badgernose's favorite place to go, and he had been just getting ready to hike up there before something happened. a scent was carried with the wind, a scent of foreign places, and foreign cats. so much for a lazy day in the warm sun. these cats could intrude upon the gorgeclan camp, they could wreak havoc, and kill kits. they could-- an image flashed through his mind, of death. bodies were sprawled all around him the grass under him ripping at his pawpads. but just as quick as the image came, it left. and the only thing it left behind, was the grass. this often happens to badgernose; he gets bits and pieces of his past, and then he looses them again seconds later, but he rarely gets to keep a part of them.
indent grass. the word floods his brain as his leader, and admitted crush, comes into camp through the side entrance. "badgernose, squirrelfoot, dapplesong, snakenose, ivyrose, mousenose, we might have some danger outside of camp, wake your apprentices in case there is trouble." but the warrior has figured out the situation by now, and is already halfway to his apprentice, spiderpaw. "wake up! quickly now! we've got a bit of trouble outside camp. come, come!" he whispers, nudging the young cat awake before pushing him to his feet and out the den entrance. "come on, spiderpaw! stretch those legs of your's!" he shouts playfully, running now. who could these cats be? why are they here? sandstar is alone? why would she do that?! that's way risky..
indent it takes him a minute to realize how fast he is running, before badgernose begins to skid to a stop, sending pebbles flying as he flanks sandstar. they had been kithood friends-- she was the cat that badgerkit felt he never had to be someone special for, and still doesn't. she didn't treat him differently because of his origins, unlike the queens, who were always treating him special, out of their own sorrow for his upbringing. not that he didn't like that, of course, but sandkit had been a nice change. someone to be friends with out of fun, not sympathy.
indent "you ok, sandstar..?" badgernose now whispers, keeping his words quiet enough for only them to hear. these cats were different from what he had expected, however.. they look, in their eyes, like they had been worn down to nothing. like they had traveled so far, that they are all ready to drop dead. but... they also look like they have a purrpose. and that is something badgernose has not seen in a foreign traveler's eyes in a long time.

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﹙ badgernose ﹚ ﹙ around 40 moons ﹚ ﹙ tom ﹚ ﹙ in camp ﹚ ﹙ sandstar, spiderpaw, tribe ﹚ ﹙ 450 words ﹚
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indent dreams have always been a thing mistleaf has cherished, and now, she is thankful more than ever. cats. about a dozen cats have shown up at the clan entrance. this is not all new to mistleaf, though. she has been anticipating this moment for weeks now. "you are.. the tribe," the medicine cat says hesitantly, planning her every word before saying it. gazing out at the clan cats before her, mistleaf prepares herself to explain this strange occurrence to her clan. she owes it to them, after all.
indent "three weeks ago," mistleaf starts aloud, turning toward her clan taking a nervous breath, "i received a message from starclan, telling of a group of cats that t-traveled down here for our help.." im done no more talking yay wow ok time to go hide after sandstar makes a decision and.. and.. she stares at the tom who seems to be leading the group, almost entranced. "i know you" the medicine cat says softly, "you were in my vision. you really came this far to find us?" they had been so far away, mistleaf found it a miracle that so many made it alive. but then again, all of these cats require medical attention. do they have a healer? if so, does that healer know of any new herbs i can use? hm.. gonna need some aloe vera for those sunburns.. and maybe some ivy hm.. maybe some bramble twigs if they cant sleep.. OH! and i'll need some marigold and broom malice poultices annnd poppy seeds! and chamomile! yes, yes, yes! they'll be good as new in just a few days! oh, they look so tired now.. poor fellas. from where she is at, mistleaf quietly scans over every cat, looking for even the smallest injuries. a few cats had cuts which could be infected, others had sunburns, but all of them had a restless look in their eyes. no doubt it will be hard for them to sleep tonight.

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﹙ mistleaf ﹚ ﹙ 28 moons ﹚ ﹙ molly ﹚ ﹙ in camp ﹚ ﹙ sandstar, stoneteller ﹚ ﹙ 318 words ﹚
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[lacke]

♚ -- ＳＴＯＮＥＴＥＬＬＥＲ
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( gender . male ) ( rank. healer ) ( tagged. sandstar, mistleaf, tribe ) ( words. 343 )

xxxstoneteller watched the patched she-cat step forward, head and tail held high. the weak, skinny healer glanced around at her clan quickly, before turning his gaze back to her, raising his chin slightly, a bit satisfied when he turned out to be taller than her. he opened his mouth to speak, before another she-cat padded close. a pretty, long furred white and brown molly. she knew who they were. stoneteller instantly felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. his heart nearly dropped. he did, however, have to keep his stance. he turned his gaze to the she-cat, his gaze softening ever so slightly. she looked just as he felt, amazed. after she paused, awaiting his response, stoneteller took one step back before clearing his throat.
xxx"my name is stoneteller, and i am the healer of my tribe, the tribe of burnt ashes. we have been traveling for nearly 20 moons in search of gorgeclan, after two-legs invaded our territory, forcing us down into the canyon. we may not look like much," he motioned to the tribe standing behind him. "but we lost many of our ranks on the journey to find you. we have a kit-mother who has had her kits on this journey." he motioned towards sage with his tail, before turning his gaze back to gorgeclan, well aware of all eyes on him. he slowly, and somewhat shakily, sat back on his haunches, drawing his feathery tail over his paws as he patiently awaited a response. suddenly, a larger tom approached sandstar and whispered something to her, and stoneteller strained his ears to pick up what he said. he then felt guilty and turned his gaze away. whilst glancing past the leader, stoneteller began to doubt this decision. a clan was different from a tribe. they would most likely turn them down, or be-little them. the healer casually looked back at sandstar, who never took her eyes away. he twitched his whiskers ever so slightly, hoping that she would at least let them rest for a day.

[isildur]

ｓａｎｄｓｔａｒ

The she-cat turned her gaze towards the clan's medicine cat, Mistleaf, as she addressed the clan about her dream she had from Starclan. She had already knew about this dream that Mistleaf had. Starclan wanted Gorgeclan to take these strange cats in and show them the ways of the clan. However, she still felt a little bit uneasy about the whole thing. In the comforting presence of Badgernose, she finally let her shoulders relax. She gently pressed her nose into his neck fur and murmured. "I'm okay." The leader tore her gaze away from the tuxedo tom and back to the grey tom who was sitting now in front of her clan.

"My name is Sandstar and I'm the leader of Gorgeclan, the clan you've been looking for." She shifted on her paws, sending Mistleaf a quick glance for reassurance. "Stoneteller, you and your tribe are welcomed in the Gorgeclan camp. We will shelter and feed you for the time being. Her eyes flickered to the cats behind the tribe leader. They were scrawny for sure, but they had a hidden strength beneath their pelts. She wanted to be sure that nothing bad would come from letting these cats inside the clan, but something in the back of her head left a nagging feeling of trouble.

Sandstar turned to the black and white tom who was standing next to her. "Badgernose, take a hunting party out and bring back as much prey as you can manage. We will need to feed all of these cats plus the clan." She touched his shoulder with the tip of her tail, blinking at him with her golden eyes. Badgernose was her most trusted friend and she would give up anything for him. She turned around and nodded at Spottedhawk who was standing behind her. "Take a couple apprentices and gather some extra bedding outside of camp. They will need a spot to rest. I'm sure they are tired from their long journey." The ginger and white she-cat turned back to Stoneteller. "Bring your tribe inside of camp now before the heat hits the center of the canyon. The camp is positioned to where the direct sunlight is shaded by rocks. Our medicine cat will gather herbs and start treating your cats right away." Sandstar approached the tabby tom, tail standing high behind her. "Bring your queen and kits into that crevice over there in the rock. That's where our queens and kits sleep. It protects them from outside dangers. One of our apprentices will bring her fresh bedding." This is what Starclan wanted. Sandstar glanced at Badgernose, an unclear emotion in her eyes that only he would recognize. She was scared.

[Dia.]

Spottedhawk --

Spottedhawk scoffed at Mistleaf's announcement. There was no way Starclan would want them to help a band of rogues. He stared at the clan's medicine cat through narrowed eyes, wondering what darkness she wanted to bring upon his clan and his tail lashed. In his mind, there was no way that helping these cats could end well. It very well may be the end of times.

He watched intently as Sandstar spoke, waiting for her to tell the strangers to get lost and to never come back. It wasn't like Sandstar to invite strangers to see Gorgeclan's inner workings. Other cats didn't make the trip down into the canyon unless they had questionable intentions. It didn't make sense for them to make the journey otherwise. His jaw dropped in shock when instead of chasing them off, Sandstar invited them to stay in camp and eat their food. There were times that they could hardly bring in enough prey to keep bellies full as is. Why would she waste energy and resources on a group of cats who couldn't take care of themselves?

Aware of how foolish he must look with his mouth hanging open, he snapped it shut. He looked around for Squirrelfoot, wondering what she thought of the whole situation. Surely her mind would be in the right place. As Sandstar addressed him, he nodded curtly. Despite his true feelings, he definitely was not intending for her to see his disapproval. He had a reputation to uphold as a loyal warrior, and these newcomers wouldn't ruin that for him. In fact, maybe he would be so outstanding that they would be intimidating by his behavior and leave on their own. Cats outside the code obviously couldn't compare to such a stellar warrior.

"Who's coming with me?" He called for the apprentices. He knew that gathering bedding was not a preferred task, and it was unlikely he would get any volunteers. He figured he would give them the chance to spare themselves the humiliation in front of the strangers before picking his party.

[ultravi0lence]

—— ＳＮＡＫＥＮＯＳＥ
[male] [29 moons old] [gorgeclan warrior] [tags: clan + stoneteller] [words:325]

Snakenose, the young, quirky tabby tom, was running on the forest floor. The sound of leaves rustling and the wind howling filled his ears. His long legs thudded against the soft earth. With his claws, he churned the dirt beneath him as he ran. His eyes narrowed as he locked his vision on the furry body running in front of him. A small squirrel, to be exact. It was running fast, very fast, and Snakenose feared he wouldn't be able to catch it. He pushed himself forwards with his back legs in an attempt to catch up with it. It was so close but so far... Snakenose grunted under his breath and pushed himself again, sprinting like mad. Slowly but surely, he caught up, and he could practically taste the mammal. He opened his jaws, ready to execute the final blow.

''badgernose, squirrelfoot, dapplesong, snakenose, ivyrose, mousenose, we might have some danger outside of camp, wake your apprentices in case there is trouble.''
Panic immediately filled him. He scrambled to his paws at the mention of danger. Eyes wide open, he looked outside the den, only to find a long furred foreign cat in camp. Like any confused and concerned cat would do, he clawed his way awkwardly to the center of camp. The cat smelled, and looked, different. He definitely isn't from here. He was short with long, long fur. He looked a bit... worn out. Snakenose didn't ask any questions and instead listened to what Sandstar and the cat had to say. All throughout the conversation between the two, he bit back remarks. It wouldn't look good on the clan's part, having a cat who can't keep his mouth shut.
Sandstar's letting them stay? Wouldn't it get a little crowded? It'll be a lot of work taking care of an entire tribe. Hopefully the tribe cats aren't too numerous... I hope they know how to hunt or at least do something.

[lacke]

♚ -- ＳＴＯＮＥＴＥＬＬＥＲ
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( gender . male ) ( rank. healer ) ( tagged. sandstar, mistleaf, tribe ) ( words. 304 )

xxxhe noticed she looked away alot. stoneteller tilted his head as she quickly glanced at... mistleaf. when she looked back at him, and answered, stoneteller dipped his head politely, not saying another word. as cats began to mingle, stoneteller glanced back at his cats, and waved for them to enter the camp. as a few of them passed, he quickly touched his nose to their ears or cheek, or flicked them with his tail. as they dispersed, stoneteller took a step besides sandstar, dipping his head once more, before laying the tip of his tail over her shoulders. "sandstar, i thank you. i owe you my life, our lives, really. i promise that i will help you and your clan out in anyway, and i will see to it that my tribe does the same. now, i'll get out of your tail and help my tribe." he murmured, dipping his head once more before stepping away. he glanced around for the apparent medicine cat - mistleaf. he spotted her near her den and quickly trotted over to her, slowly approaching. "erm, hello," he greeted, glancing back at his own cats. "i am the healer and leader of my tribe, and i was going to offer you some help in seeing to all the cats." he looked back at her before tilting his head slightly. "i can take care of myself later, once my cats are tended to," he murmured, mainly to himself. he looked back up at the she-cat, before glancing past her into her den, where the scent of herbs drifted out. how many did they have? could mistleaf perhaps teach him some tips? stoneteller never got the opportunity to learn. he laid his ears back slightly as she caught himself staring inside her den, and he glanced at his dirty, dust ridden paws.

♛ -- ＳＱＵＩＲＲＥＬＦＯＯＴ
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( gender . molly ) ( rank. warrior ) ( tagged. spottedhawk, falconpaw ) ( words. - )

xxxsquirrelfoot stared at sandstar, eyes full of anything but how she felt. she noticed spottedhawk move up behind the leader, and as sandstar and... stonetellers... conversation ended, squirrelfoot quietly moved up to spottedhawk as the tom turned, asking who would like to be on his patrol. squirrelfoot approached the tom and pressed her nose into her close friends ear, before sitting besides him, drawing her thin tail over her paws. "me and falconpaw will join you." she said coolly, light eyes skimming the clearing for her apprentice. whilst the two sat waiting, squirrelfoot glanced at the warrior. "so... what do you think about whats going on?" she asked quietly, not sure if it would be appropriate for others to hear. she knew other cats were thinking it, but expressing her concerns right infront of their leader probably wasn't the wisest thing to do; it was tense times and squirrelfoot would hate to get in trouble.

[roman]

━ ━━━━ ＳＷＡＮＴＡＩＬ
( feeling ) cautious ( tagged ) sandstar, stoneteller ( words ) 492

swantail, who had awoken at the same ungodly hour as usual, had seen the band of cats approaching camp and witnessed introductions and tense welcomes. he surveyed their ranks with precision, instinctively picking out the cats that would pose a threat, and those that would not be a problem if a fight were to break out. they were worn, lanky creatures, but had a gleam in their eyes and a determination to not only live, but thrive. swantail sat contentedly apart from the crowd, far enough away so that none would take notice if they weren't looking, but close enough to hear exactly what was going on. he was curious to find what decision his leader would make concerning the "tribe".

"stoneteller, you and your tribe are welcomed in the gorgeclan camp. we will shelter and feed you for the time being," she said.

swantail's ears twitched in irritation, but he successfully managed to shove the feeling of foreboding down in his chest. these cats had just appeared out of nowhere, but if the medicine cat and sandstar accepted them, no matter his doubts, it was his job to welcome them as well. it wasn't in his nature to judge cats before he'd met them, but as a warrior, he had to be cautious. the well-being of the clan outweighed many things, including the hunger and weariness of a foreign group of cats.

sighing, he stood from his spot and weaved his way through the tribe from the back to the front, sights set on the cat who called himself stoneteller and sandstar. out of everyone except badgernose, he'd known the clan leader the longest, and even though he forced a distance between them and made it a point to be formal around her, he would die for her. it wasn't just the rules of the job, no, it was far more. he would not hesitate to show her kindness, give her help on puzzling matters, or really anything she asked him to.

these thoughts were running through his head as he padded up to the two cats. he walked straight into the gaze of stoneteller, and nodded respectfully to both cats. his piercing eyes examined the grey cat relentlessly. no emotion adorned his features, and he brought himself up to his full height before sitting before the strange cat and the she-cat he knew so well.

"greetings," he said monotonously. not unkindly, but not exactly in the most warm way possible. "my name is swantail. as you can assume, many of us are━" he paused to glance at sandstar while choosing the correct wording. "a little wary of you, but I promise you can expect the utmost kindness from everyone here. as a warrior and friend, I offer you my nest tonight, and if you wish, I can remain with your tribe. however, I can understand if you wish to be with them on their first night in gorgeclan."

[Nightsent]

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indent "I'm ok." sandstar had told him, but badgernose blushed. he's liked sandstar since he was a kit, and the more he wishes he had told her that, the more he doesn't want to now. what if the other cats see it as wrong? badgernose loves being the center of attention, but not when it's for a bad reason.
indent he'd spaced out while sandstar and stoneteller were talking, but the moment she said his name, he snapped back into reality, flinching a little as he did. "hunting? sure, why not. we'll need all we can get," badgernose replied, before looking toward spottedhawk, who'd been assigned to gather bedding. he gave the other tom a quick nod, before leading his apprentice toward snakenose and swantail. "would either of you like to come hunting with us?" he asked quickly, wanting to get away from the commotion of camp. "snakenose, you could bring tawnypaw, if you like." swantail hasn't been assigned an apprentice yet, but badgernose is certain that with these new cats in camp, more and more cats would be 'unofficially' assigned to teach the tribe's apprentices, unless they had a system already. he looks to his apprentice, questioningly. had sandstar assigned him a mentor because she thought he would do well, or just because she didn't want him to feel left out? badgernose has been wanting an apprentice for a long time now-- he always thought of them as someone who looks up to him and everything he does... but was that really why he wanted an apprentice, or was there deeper meaning? badgernose sees spiderpaw as a little brother, but he really doesn't know how that is supposed to feel. are they supposed to argue and fight?
indent shaking his head a little, badgernose expels the thought from his mind. his family, wherever they are, would never fight. badgernose would make sure of it, if only he knew where they were.

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﹙ badgernose ﹚ ﹙ around 40 moons ﹚ ﹙ tom ﹚ ﹙ in camp ﹚ ﹙ sandstar, spiderpaw, swantail, snakenose, spottedhawk, tribe ﹚ ﹙ 319 words ﹚
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indent mistleaf watched, as sandstar looked to her for confirmation, which the medicine cat is honestly quite surprised about. usually it is the other way around. the two talk a few moments, and mistleaf retreats off to the side. she doesn't like attention. she would much rather lay low in the shadows and listen.
indent it wasn't until sandstar sent the group to gather supplies, that mistleaf realized that she should have paid more attention. what if something important was told? moving toward the large group of cats settled near the back of the camp. "can uh.. the cats with sunburns and other small injuries move to the right please, and um those with bigger injuries lay down where you are? the rest of you, can you go to that side of camp and sit tight? uh thanks.." mistleaf watched as the cats divided themselves. only one or two major injuries to be dealt with.. that's good.
indent mistleaf is on her way back to the medicine den for what few supplies she has gathered, when she is stopped by stoneteller. "if you really want to help your cats, um, you'll care for yourself.. but if you are going to be persistent with me, then i suppose you can uh look for some herbs with me? i won't be able to accommodate well for those with the larger injuries, but i think i have enough aloe vera for the sunburns. i'd also like to check over your kits and queen, if you don't mind? you can do it yourself, of course.." two healers. two medicine cats. mistleaf is not the best at working in groups-- she's just that kind of cat, but if she has to, she will most certainly try, for the sake of everyone. peeking inside the medicine den, mistleaf calls for her apprentice. hopefully he can keep a few of the cats company, or check on the smaller injuries for her. "foxpaw, could you come here a moment, please?"
indent "if you have an apprentice, er some sort of healer-in-training, maybe they could help foxpaw? i'm going to have him check on the cats with the uh smaller injuries.. just.. ya know.. to see what we're working with.." the medicine cat asks stoneteller, not sure what to call the cats that they have in training.

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﹙ mistleaf ﹚ ﹙ 28 moons ﹚ ﹙ molly ﹚ ﹙ in camp ﹚ ﹙ sandstar, stoneteller, foxpaw ﹚ ﹙ 367 words ﹚
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[lacke]

♚ -- ＳＴＯＮＥＴＥＬＬＥＲ
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( gender . male ) ( rank. healer ) ( tagged. mistleaf, swantail ) ( words. 336 )

xxxstoneteller watched the medicine cat hesitate and he smirked a bit when she mentioned that he should care for himself. he patiently waited, however, and when she brought up his 'apprentice', he nodded. "my to be would probably love to help out, she may just be tired like the rest of us." he murmured, glancing back over his shoulder. "as soon as i find her, i will report back to you. if we keep you waiting, however, do feel free to carry on," he meowed politely, before standing and dipping his head. he turned, and began trotting towards the group of tribe cats, before he was suddenly stopped by a feathery white tom. "hello," he meowed, dipping his head to this cat. he listened to the... warrior, a smile forming on his face at the toms kind offer. "my friend," this was something he needed to stop. assuming. but the cat had said it. but stoneteller seemed to like everyone, unless they proved to be an issue. "that is a wonderful offer, but you should stay with your fellow... clan. you have worked hard and a newcomer such as myself shouldn't take that away from you. so thank you, but i will be staying with my tribe for tonight, to ensure they are alright." he dipped his head to the tom. "i also want to thank you for assuring me you all mean no harm. i have no doubts, but some here seem to... be afraid or doubtful, so the best thing i can try to do is prove that we are no threat. if you would still like to offer another your nest, i will not stop you. i only ask that it be to someone such as our kit mother or a to be." he suggested, smiling gently at the tom. were all warriors like this? stoneteller hoped so. "oh, my name is stoneteller, or more formally teller of the pointed stones. my old name however was goose that wanders, but goose for short."