━ (✶) ━ 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕-𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 ━

[selasphorys]

fallsclan is an enduring, isolated clan. they take their
name from the grand waterfall beside their camp, at
once their greatest defender and destroyer. the roaring
cascades send plumes of fog over the camp and territory,
shielding the cats from sight, muffling their sounds, and
hiding their scents from danger. but it drenches every
surface, chilling cats to the bone as they balance on
slippery stones. the cats learn from kithood to maneuver
through the constant mist. they take pride in their senses
and stability, tenacity and devotion. ancient traditions
govern every aspect of their lives. their ancestors found
the safest paths for them along the cliffs. the cats must
adhere to starclan’s words or slip to their deaths.

however, the foundations of fallsclan will soon fracture.
the cats may have to leave their home, and with it, their
identity and history. as tremors shake the earth, more and
more rocks fall in once-safe areas. the previous deputy
and medicine cat have both died in these rockslides. faced
with it all, the new medicine cat is losing faith in starclan.

the power of the stars is ambiguous in this story. their
cryptic prophecies may be the convoluted truth, or they
may just be one perspective. these signs can be foolishly
misinterpreted, even purposefully skewed. whether the
cats stay or leave, follow the past or blaze new trails…
the fate of fallsclan is entirely in your paws.

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[selasphorys]

map made using inkarnate

fallsclan territory is centered around a long river gorge, bordered by walls of waterfalls to the south and whirlpool rapids to the north. the cats hunt in the mossy shrubland close to the falls, the low forests along the side of the river, and the high forests above the cliffs. they stay close to the canyon edge, as the lush forests beyond the river are controlled by warring rogue groups. the dangers of the falls keep the rogues away. the brown areas of the map are known rogue areas. there are no twolegplaces for at least a two-day journey.

locations (north to south)

✩ the whirlpool ⋆ the northern border of the territory. the river narrows here, rushing into dangerous, spiraling rapids. cats are forbidden from swimming or fishing too close to the whirlpool. any cat lost to the center of the vortex cannot be saved.

✩ smoothing stones ⋆ a sheltered cove where the half-moon gathering occurs. the rushing water smooths the stone, pockmarking it with small holes not unlike the craters of the moon. the half-moon shape of the rock makes it sacred to starclan. it is a time and place of balance, where all things become smooth. at the half-moon gathering, fallsclan cats settle all their disagreements, share tongues, and listen to stories from the elders. the distance from the falls makes conversation much easier here. though the cove is wide open to predators, starclan keeps them safe on the night of the gathering.

✩ training ring ⋆ a lush, mossy hollow just outside camp. this is a popular training ground for young apprentices, the perfect place to practice climbing, hunting, and battling. the ring of boulders protects the cats from the water’s edge, while the green carpet softens any crash-landings. unfortunately, the deputy was recently killed here in a sudden rockslide.

✩ fallsclan camp ⋆ hidden by the roar and mist of the falls, the camp cannot easily be found by enemies. it is nestled in a rocky cliffside, covered by shrubs and moss.


⋆ the leader makes their announcements from a tall, moss-covered boulder called highrock. it is said that only the leader can climb the slippery moss, and that every new leader must announce their return from the moonbow with a successful ascent. directly behind the highrock is a crevice in the cliff, hidden behind dense hanging ferns. this is the leader’s den.

⋆ the medicine den is in a larger cave to the right of the leader’s den. a small garden of herbs grows outside it, fed by a tiny rivulet branching from the falls.

⋆ the elder’s den is just past the medicine den. the cave is carpeted with lush moss. though the apprentices still need to remove soiled bedding, new moss grows back in days. the stone is chilled by the rivulet, soothing the elders’ joints.

⋆ the apprentice’s den is on the far side of camp past the elder’s den (so they can always answer the elders' demands). it is tucked into a hollowed-out log, from a tree that once fell over the falls.

⋆ the nursery is to the left of the leader’s den, nestled into the mossy cliffside and warmed by the sun. a black raspberry bush covers the entrance, protecting it with thorns while providing fragrant berries in greenleaf.

⋆ the warrior’s den is under a low red juniper bush on the leftmost side of camp, closest to where enemies might appear. the branches are reinforced with leaves and ferns to keep the fog out.

✩ moonbow ⋆ there is a special trail along the cliff, invisible to the uninitiated, but easily accessible to those who know the secret. the path leads to a grotto with a hanging garden of herbs. though the cave is high and shallow, it is said that starclan protects this sacred ground. the recent rockslide here calls this legend to question. when the full moon’s light shines through the cave’s skylight at a specific angle, a moonbow will become visible in the mist. after witnessing the silver beam, the cats will fall asleep and dream of the stars. they wake in the morning to gather rare herbs from the hanging garden before returning to camp. the leader also receives their nine lives at this location.

✩ foggy scree ⋆ a dangerous rubble hill at the foot of the falls, marking the southern edge of the territory. the water is turbulent, the rock falls are frequent, and the fog is dense. few cats venture here except when prey is scarce. it is possible to climb the scree to reach the top of the falls. a richly forested island awaits above, but rogues are known to hunt there.

the smoothing stones

prey

⋆ mice, shrews, rabbits and voles
⋆ squirrels and chipmunks
⋆ songbirds, sparrows, and blackbirds
⋆ fish and frogs
⋆ gulls, ducks, and geese (requires several cats to take down)


predators

⋆ owls and hawks (common)
⋆ venomous snakes (common)
⋆ raccoons and weasels (uncommon)
⋆ coyotes and foxes (rare)

note that the territory is based loosely around a fictional version of niagara falls that was never settled by humans.

[selasphorys]

fallsclan allegiances

leader:
name ⋆ age ⋆ gender ⋆ roleplayer

deputy:
name ⋆ age ⋆ gender ⋆ roleplayer

medicine cat:
briarseed ⋆ 27 ⋆ female ⋆ selasphorys
medicine cat apprentice:
name ⋆ age ⋆ gender ⋆ roleplayer

warriors:
swallowsight ⋆ 40 ⋆ female ⋆ selasphorys
reserved ⋆ age ⋆ male ⋆ theclockmaker
reserved ⋆ age ⋆ male ⋆ theclockmaker
name ⋆ age ⋆ gender ⋆ roleplayer
-------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ --------
mothdapple ⋆ 74 ⋆ female ⋆ npc ⋆ swallowsight’s mother
laurelthorn ⋆ 68 ⋆ male ⋆ npc ⋆ hopperpaw’s father
robinwing ⋆ 67 ⋆ female ⋆ npc ⋆ hopperpaw’s mother
flamerush ⋆ 52 ⋆ male ⋆ npc ⋆ briarseed’s father
voletuft ⋆ 27 ⋆ female ⋆ npc ⋆ briarseed’s sister
finflip ⋆ 27 ⋆ nonbinary ⋆ npc ⋆ briarseed’s sibling

apprentices:
hopperpaw ⋆ 9 ⋆ male ⋆ selasphorys
reserved ⋆ age ⋆ female ⋆ theclockmaker
name ⋆ age ⋆ gender ⋆ roleplayer
-------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ --------
skipperpaw ⋆ 9 ⋆ female ⋆ npc ⋆ hopperpaw’s sister
skimmerpaw ⋆ 9 ⋆ female ⋆ npc ⋆ hopperpaw’s sister

queens:
name ⋆ age ⋆ gender ⋆ roleplayer
-------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ --------
maplestream ⋆ 27 ⋆ female ⋆ npc ⋆ briarseed’s sister, expecting

kits:
name ⋆ age ⋆ gender ⋆ roleplayer
-------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ --------

elders:
rumblespout ⋆ 121 ⋆ male ⋆ selasphorys
name ⋆ age ⋆ gender ⋆ roleplayer
-------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ --------



✩

note: npcs are listed after the dashed lines in each section
npcs will leave or die for plot reasons throughout the roleplay
living kin of your character will usually be added as npcs

ask in the thread if you want to make an npc into a full character

✩


mentorships
tba

relationships
tba

[selasphorys]

high rank reservations:

pm me to reserve any of these spots
reservations last 72 hours
max one high rank per person
max one cat of non-clan ancestry per person

high ranks
leader: open
deputy: open
medicine cat: briarseed - selasphorys
med cat apprentice: open

outsiders
current or former loner (2/2 open):
current or former rogue (2/3 open):

reserved - theclockmaker
no kittypets or cats from other clans for the time being

-------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ --------

roleplay rules:

✩ follow all chickensmoothie rules

✩ must pm me for high rank reservations

- high ranks are a commitment and you must remember to post

✩ must pm me for outsider background

- limited number of spots for outsiders or those with outsider heritage
- no kittypets or cats from other clans, but spots may open up later in the rp
- those who wish to join the clan are given one moon to adjust before a warrior assessment.
most cats run away or die due to the harsh natural environment before the moon is over.
- kit and apprentice-age outsiders who wish to join are taken in and raised as normal.


✩ minimum of one post per week

- if you don’t post after 1 week, you will be reminded through private message.
- if you don’t post or notify me for 2 weeks, your character will be turned into an npc.
- npc cats may leave the clan or be killed later in the roleplay.
- if you know you will be absent, please tell me and your cat will not be made into an npc.

✩ minimum 4 lines per cat per post. please write something that others can respond to.

✩ generally realistic cat colors and personalities.

- I’m pretty lax about cat appearances as long as they don’t have purple fur and pink eyes.
- no cats with special abilities or special connections to starclan.

✩ LGBT+ cats are welcome!

✩ major plot developments must be discussed with me or the group before bringing into the roleplay

- these can be events like large rockslides, cats leaving the clan, and major battles

✩ battles with rogues or predators may be settled by dice rolling but this is tbd!

- attacker would roll to hit while the target would roll to defend. the higher roll is successful.
if the attacker rolled much higher the target would be badly injured.
- rolls would be posted in the discussion section.
- battles between player characters will be played out normally through roleplay.
- it’s my first time running a roleplay so suggestions are always appreciated!

[selasphorys]

prophecies and omens:

to be announced

fallsclan warrior code:

1. defend your clan, even with your life.

2. elders, queens, sick or injured cats and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders.

3. prey is killed only to be eaten. give thanks to starclan for its life.

4. a kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice or leave the camp.

5. newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.

6. a cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice.

7. the deputy will become clan leader when the leader dies, retires, or is exiled.

8. after the death, retirement, promotion (to a leader status), or exile of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.

9. the fallsclan gathering occurs at the smoothing stones every half-moon. any arguments must be settled at this time and place. no cat will leave with a ruffled pelt.

10. the fallsclan medicine cat meeting occurs at the moonbow every full moon.

11. boundaries must be checked and marked daily. challenge all trespassing cats.

12. no warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is an outsider.

13. the word of the clan leader is the warrior code.

14. an honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win their battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or if it is necessary for self-defense.

15. a warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet, the solitary life of a loner, or the bloodthirsty life of a rogue.

[selasphorys]

xxxxxx
xxxxxx
xxxxxx
xxxxxx
xxxxxx

roleplay status

> i. the tremors
>> fallsclan is shaken to its core.
>> several cats were killed by the crumbling cliffs.
>> the medicine cat fogfern died just over 1 moon
ago when a ledge split during the med cat meeting.
>> the deputy coyoteleap died yesterday in
a sudden rockslide while hunting near camp.
>> ____, the new deputy, was appointed last night.
>> tonight is the half-moon gathering. tensions run
high as the cats discuss whether to stay or leave.

ii. the fall
iii. the flight

-------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ -------- ⋆ --------

current conditions

season: greenleaf
weather: thunderstorms. hot, humid, overcast.
time: sunrise. half-moon tonight.

[selasphorys]

𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋
𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐈𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐃




Image Credits: x x

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
i. ryekit/ryepaw/ryepiper;
ii. tom, he/him; iii. heterosexual;
iv. warrior; v. 26 moons;
vi. mostly white tom with brown
tabby patches and hazel eyes;
vii. light, agile build;
viii. scent: snowdrops; ix. 7w6, 729;
x. sleeping at last - slow and steady;
axel flóvent - forest fires
xi. resilient, perceptive, supportive,
spontaneous, foolish, naive
❖ ❖
apprentice: open
crush: open
mother: mink/minkflame
sister: piperpaw
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍
𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃𝐒
𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇

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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
━━ 𝑴𝑨𝒀𝑩𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳 ━━━━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━ 𝑰𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑻𝑶𝑵𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑽𝑶𝑰𝑪𝑬 ━━
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ryepiper has an infectious optimism. He understands
the dangers of the falls, but he is determined to face
them with a smile. Even when the purrs rumble in his
chest, he stays alert to keep his clanmates safe. His
swift instincts have saved him more than a few times.
A strong team player in hunts and battles, Rye has fit
well into clan life despite being a loner's kit. He loves
the elders’ tales and eagerly awaits them at every
gathering. It never mattered that these ancestors
aren't his own. This might not be his past, but it is his
future. And he can dare to dream. A nurturing warrior,
Ryepiper will always be there to lend an ear and listen.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
━━ 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝑼𝑵𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑫 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑫𝑺 ━━━
━━━━━━━━━ 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝑾𝑬 𝑵𝑬𝑬𝑫𝑬𝑫 ━━
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ryepiper's mother was a loner named Mink, later
Minkflame, who joined FallsClan after a lifetime of
instability. As her siblings fell one by one to the perils
of this land, Mink made survival her highest priority.
She only opened her heart to one other loner, but
when she grew heavy with their kits, he died saving
her from rogues. She joined the clan to give their kits
a better life. Ryekit and Piperkit were named after
persistent little things that could survive anywhere.
They were the wild rye that thrives by the river, the
sandpiper that takes cover beside it. The two were
inseparable, with Ryepaw the ears and Piperpaw the
claws. He was a goodnatured goof, unlike his shrewd
sister. Mink didn't think her foolish son would survive.
But her tough love kept him on his toes, helping him
defy the odds to stay alive. In the end it was Piperpaw
who was lost. Coyotes attacked during her warrior
assessment. Her mentor returned with scars and a
scrap of fur. Broken, Ryepaw asked to be named in
honor of his sister, so they could still become warriors
together. Mink lost all hope in the clan after her kit's
death. She asked Ryepiper to run with her, to find a
new home far beyond the cliffs. He refused to abandon
his clan, so the last of his kin disappeared. Ryepiper
holds onto bright memories, seeds of hope-- that he
can start a family of his own, that he can someday see
his mother and sister again. It might be naive, but he
still believes they're out there. His home is in the cats
he loves, wherever they may go.

[selasphorys]

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒,
𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒, 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒
𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑




Image Credits: x x

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
i. pikekit/pikepaw/pikecrest/pikestar;
ii. molly, she/her; iii. demisexual;
iv. warrior; v. 29 moons;
vi. black smoke tabby with
jade green eyes;
vii. sleek, muscular build;
viii. scent: rhododendron;
ix. 3w4, 385; x. sleeping at last - eight;
xi. ambitious, cool, independent,
trenchant, proud, resentful
❖ ❖
apprentice: open
crush: unlikely but open
mother: blossomfrost
siblings: sykestar, raggedwing
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄, 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐊,
𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓, 𝐓𝐎𝐎
𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈❜𝐌 𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑

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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
━━ 𝑰 𝑨𝑴 𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑮 ━━━━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━━━━ 𝑰 𝑨𝑴 𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑮 ━━
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Born to a neglectful mother and an absent father,
Pikekit's very first memory was the feeling of being
unwanted. The only cat she had was her older sister
Sykepaw, who wasted the best of her apprenticeship
caring for the kits in the nursery. Pikekit internalized
that feeling--- that she is a sickness for her mother,
that she is a burden for her sister. And this sharpened
into two philosophies that guided her steps: a helpless
cat is a burden for the clan and I am unworthy of love.
She became fiercely independent from a young age,
relied on no one, focused only on her training. As she
grew up, Pikepaw idolized her warrior then deputy
sister. While she admired Sykeshadow's power, work
ethic, and elegance... she seemed to take all the wrong
things from them. She learned to be brisk and scathing
and glacial, to strike fear in the hearts of others, and to
never show even a glimpse of weakness. Pikecrest grew
into a cat who refuses to rely on anyone, looking down
upon those that do. If she made herself indispensable,
no one could ever turn her away. She drove herself to
excel in everything, to chase after an elusive perfection
that she can never sink her claws into. She will never
admit that she is merely a broken shadow of her sister.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
━━ 𝑰 𝑨𝑴 𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝑬𝑵𝑶𝑼𝑮𝑯 ━━━━━━
━━━━━━━━━━ 𝑻𝑶 𝑳𝑬𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑰𝑵 ━━
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Pikecrest became just like the mother she had grown
to hate. When Blossomfrost had and abandoned yet
another litter of kits, Pikecrest refused to have any
thing to do with them. All she saw in them was a
reflection of her former self, a self that she would
do anything to forget. But Sykeshadow was fiercely
protective of this third litter, even more than for the
second. When Blossom came to take the kits back
with another false promise, Pike watched her sister
attack their own mother. Blossomfrost left the clan
for good after that. Whatever emotions Pikecrest felt
from this exchange, she buried away. Vindication,
jealousy, regret? None of it mattered. She could only
dive deeper into her duties, waiting for the day when
she is worthy enough to become Sykestar's deputy.