[Cinxer]

Day 3 prompt has officially ended! Prompt #4 is up! Your rewards will be shown on the first page.

Those who wrote 100 or more words were given 10EXp for the attempt. Any with less than that were not included in the rewards

[Sunlitsecrets]

Username: Sunlitsecrets
Clan: Fallwick
Prompt#4 response:
The winter before this, Snail's human family left her behind...

[SilentMelody]

Username: SilentMelody
Clan: Shoreclan

Prompt #4

Tempestslash never looked forward to the leaf-bare holidays. Despite everyone claiming for the holiday meaning to be about "family", she never felt included. Her parents always doted on her sister and praised her for the simplest things while Tempestslash had to work the hardest. She never got praised for doing any hard work.

Due to her low expectations, she ruined her first leaf-bare holiday as a member of Shoreclan.

Tempestslash headed for the nursery to meet her mate, Pearstorm. The two had been in love with each other for a long time but only recently expressed their feelings for each other. They currently didn't have any kits, but she was always gushing about how much she loved and wanted some. Perhaps they would adopt one day, but at the moment Tempestslash wasn't sure. She was still trying to get used to this new mateship.

"Tempestslash!! Are you here to bring us to Starclan so we can learn about our ancestors?" Three kits bounded over to the she-cat with wide eyes. This was another part of the leaf-bare holiday tradition. Not only did these cats think about their living family, but they thought about their dead members of the family. Geodekit, Acaciakit, and Jellyfishkit belonged to Jaggednose, another caregiver that lived in the nursery. He had fallen in love with an outsider that didn't want to join the clan, but they agreed that Shoreclan would be better for the kits. As much as that was true, the three kits could be a pawful.

The blue silver tabby blinked at the little ones and glanced over at her mate, unsure of what to tell them. Pearstorm nodded her head in encouragement, but Tempestslash had other ideas. She wanted to get out of here and get these kits out of her fur. "No, I'm here to take Pearstorm on a walk through the forest."

"Awww, come on! Don't you care about your family?" the kits whined and continued to look at her with big eyes. Wary, Jaggednose approached and gave Tempestslash a mean expression.

Her temper flared. "No, I don't care about my family. They never cared about me, so I've learned not to care about them," she hissed lowly and turned to walk out of the nursery. Tempestslash hesitated and looked back at her mate, gauging her expression. Pearstorm seemed furious and sad at the same time.

Instead of getting angrier, Tempestslash felt a spark of guilt and depression. Had she just ruined their relationship? Pearstorm always talked so fondly of having their own family... had she just failed the test? What could she do to make up for it?

Nothing right now. This was by far the worst leaf-bare holiday she had ever been through. And it was her own fault.

(460 words)

[Cinxer]

Day 4 prompt has officially ended! Prompt #5 is up! Your rewards will be shown on the first page.

Those who wrote 100 or more words were given 10EXp for the attempt. Any with less than that were not included in the rewards

[Cinxer]

Day 5 prompt has officially ended! Prompt #6 is up! Your rewards will be shown on the first page.

Those who wrote 100 or more words were given 10EXp for the attempt. Any with less than that were not included in the rewards

[faelyn]

username: faelyn
clan: the shore of dreams
prompt#6 response:
the stars were in motion. dancing, shimmering. they were like gentle kisses across the sea of shadows. sparks of light that gave off a beautiful, warm glow. a radiance that basked the darkness in it’s soft shine.

the pastels of a silver season were twirling around the full lips of a new moon. the craters engraved within it’s ghostly light still present as it watched, a silent presence that rested it’s head on falling comets. it was truly beautiful.

illustrations of a paradise beyond the heavens danced across rows of endless constellations, giving off a vibrant light to guide the earth below. the zodiacs. on a lonely hill, he could see every detail, every edge that had been lined with a starry host. from their sly wink that twinkled with passion to their bridge of united arms, the constellations represented each soul that were hopelessly entangled in the maze of love.
souls such as his.

he remembered the day when he broke her heart. shattered her dreams. he had anchored her soul to the dark truth of reality. bound her with the chain of lies.

she was his star. he was her sky.

he remembered the day when blue adorned her eyes. that day she became a falling star. a comet breaking apart the earth with it’s desperate rage.

all he could do was wonder. if time could rewind just a little, he could only wonder how much it might’ve changed his entire world beneath every single star.
he shouldn’t have let her go. shouldn’t have taken her for granted. if only, the heavens would give him a second chance to make it up to her and let her know how much he loved her.

but, no.
the kings and queens of the stars were cruel. oh, so cruel.

so, here he was. up here on a hill as lonely as he was, on this cold winter night. afraid to move forward. fearful of what was to come.
was she somewhere out there? with the family which she loved so dearly, celebrating the first fall of silver. dancing amongst the breath of the angels? he hoped so.

the tickle of winter’s chill shimmered across the canvas of his back, if he was still the young, naive child he had once been, he would’ve delighted in this beautiful moment of heavenly peace. of the heartfelt awe as the whole world was put to sleep under a blanket of white.

but, he wasn’t.
glaciers of ice were the mirrors of his miserable face. scarred from the fire that spiralled out of control on that wretched day. he hated seeing himself. right down to the scar on his face to the tears on his ears as his brothers tugged him out from the ashes.

they laughed at him, then.
he had never been a talented musician. could never sing a falsetto, much less heighten his voice into a heart wrenching alto. they told him he was good for nothing, now that his looks were ruined. his eyes that had once been called a ‘beautiful work of a god’s hands’ were now called devilish, a sign of evil, and the moon-like swirls across his back, the mark of a demon. he had dropped so far down into an abyss of which he may never arise.

he could never count how many sleepless nights had gone by since that nightmare.
but, at least he could still think. there was music in his mind. a symphony that would never end. he could hear it. the angelic voices and high falsettos in his mind. a caroling melody that soothed the throbbing ache in his heart. notes of high and low were being sung, a melody that no one else could ever hear.

ballads upon ballads, crying out to him for a chance to be heard outside of the cage of fantasies. there were symphonies in his heart that begged to be free, alas.
telling him that he was a composer. but, how could he? he could never be a vocalist.
eileen was.

her voice was a lovely instrument. strung like a harp, and as delicate as a flute. she was a raven, with a beautiful soprano in her voice. one that could sing every falsetto to the altos he could never sing.

a symphony of memories wrenched a tear from his eye.
no, no, no. he mustn't cry. not like this. he wasn’t weak. he would suffer in this life, and wouldn’t drag anyone else into it.
never again.

but, nightfall felt as if it had turned against him. closing around his throat with a darkness he couldn’t have imagined on his own.
breathe, orpheus.
but, he couldn’t as much as he tried.

“jae, is something wrong?”

ah.
he remembered, now.

he remembered that day when stars had granted him a blessing. a gift that he would never forget.
he remembered seeing her face to face for the first time in many seasons.
he remembered how angelic she looked. how the light of the moon seemed to flutter like an angel’s wing on her back.
he remembered when together, in the first time of what seemed to be forever, they orchestrated a blue moon sonata.
a symphony of love.
hope.
and forgiveness.

she was as beautiful as ever. a majestic raven singing amongst the pastels of winter. a gentle reminder that nightmare was over. how they had made up after moons of longing, and were together, now. laced in each other’s arms once more.

"of course, not. i'm just happy you are here with me, tonight."

he was no longer orpheus. the greek poet and musician like his brothers. but, something much, much more. he was jae. a singing bird like his beautiful bride. who gave him another reason to keep living. to not fall deeper into his troubles but to rise up from among them. she taught him how to live and live freely. fly among the skies, no matter how dark they might be. she enlightened him once more of the things that mattered most.

she gave him something that was a gift greater than anything he could ever receive.
a new identity.
and for that he would forever be in her debt.

(1038 words! <3 told in the perspective of jae)

[sunny-skies]

username: sunny-skies
clan: valleyclan
prompt #6 response:

ever since winter had begun, doeskip just seemed so... sad. dewdrop couldn't help but begin to feel concern for her friend, and she hated seeing her so dispirited. even though the pale brown molly was one of the newer members of valleyclan, dewdrop had been drawn to her gentle demeanor and kindness. it wasn't long before the two became friends, and she would often visit the healer's den to talk with her. even though she wasn't quick to open up and put her trust in others, dewdrop could easily say that she trusted doeskip.

dewdrop wished that she could do something to cheer her up. she had always been awkward when it came to reassurance, and always seemed to be at a loss of what to say. besides, words could only do so much to make someone feel better. so, what could she do?

she could always give doeskip something that she liked. ripplestep had told her how they would do something similar from where he came from. a cat would give something, such as interesting-looking rocks and feathers for their nests, to someone else that they admired. it was usually done for a loved one, such as a mate, a mentor, or a friend. dewdrop really liked the idea, it sounded thoughtful.

so, she pondered on what to give her friend. something soft for her nest? no- that wouldn't work. she wanted it to be more meaningful than that.

then, it hit her. flowers! doeskip loved flowers, especially lavenders. dewdrop had spotted a patch of the fragrant, purple plants not too far away from camp. she only hoped that they hadn't succumbed to the winter's harsh temperatures. thankfully, her clanmates seemed to be preoccupied with their usual chatter. hopefully they wouldn't notice her short absence from camp. carefully, as to not draw attention to herself, she stepped outside of camp.

with sheets of snow covering the landscape around her, it was difficult for dewdrop to navigate through the territory. still, she was certain that she was on the right path. with her back against the foresty pines of valleyclan camp, the trees thinned out as she began to approach the more open area of the territory. while it didn't cover much of the clan's territory, there was still a good amount of distance between her and the other clan that bordered them. this was where the fields of flowers and other plants bloomed in abundance during the springtime. but now, in the winter, they were hidden underneath the snow. some, she could see, had even begun to wilt from the season's chill.

dewdrop gave a small shiver as she continued her trek through the snow. out in the open air, without the shelter of the trees above her, it definitely felt colder. not like it mattered much, hopefully she would be back at camp soon enough. she narrowed her eyes, her gaze carefully scanning her surroundings. she was glad that the weather was calm, it would be impossible to spot anything if it was snowing.

there they were! the she-cat caught a glimpse of purple peeking from under the snow from an area not too far away. dewdrop rushed over to where she had seen them. under her paws were the pale purple petals of lavender, half buried in the snow.

pawing at the snow around it, she unearthed the thin, delicate stalks of lavender. dewdrop was surprised with how unaffected the plant was by the cold. they were, if a little droopy, perfectly fine. she could even still smell the sweet fragrance that they gave off. she dug up a few more, picking them from the ground gently with her teeth, until she had a good-sized bundle. perfect. doeskip would like them. at least, dewdrop hoped that she would.

grabbing them as carefully as she could, as to not damage them, she began her journey back to camp with the flowers held in her mouth.

when she returned, dewdrop was glad to see that her clanmates hadn't taken note that she had left. they were where she had seen them last, continuing their cheerful conversations. she noticed that doeskip wasn't among them. she was probably in the healer's den. as it was near the outskirts of camp, it wasn't that far from where she stood. dewdrop had always liked the healer's den- it had an overall vibe to it that put her at ease.

as she stepped inside, the molly caught the sweet scent of herbs that the den always seemed to carry.
doeskip was sitting by the far side of the den, her back turned to the entrance. all of her attention was focused on sorting through the herb storages, though her ears pricked at dewdrop's arrival. turning around, doeskip allowed herself a small smile at the sight of her friend.

"hey, dewdrop!" she nodded her head in greeting. her gaze flicked to the lavender thay dewdrop held in her mouth "what's that?"

the molly dropped the bundle of flowers in front of her paws. "they're for you," she admitted, her tail twitching anxiously. dewdrop began to feel worried, she had never given a gift to someone before. she really wanted doeskip to like it. "you've just seemed so sad lately, I wanted to cheer you up. so I got some lavenders. I know how much you love them, and I saw a patch of them close to camp. so I took some." she nudged the purple stalks towards doeskip before finally dropping her gaze.

"oh? they're for me?" the other molly cocked her head slightly to one side. after a moment, her face broke out into a grin and she gave a small chuckle. "thank you," she purred, "I mean it. it's really thoughtful of you." she stepped forward, taking a pause to sniff the bundle of lavender before grabbing them in her jaws. "I've never been given something like this before. lavenders are my favorite." the she-cat admitted, her voice somewhat muffled by the flowers.

dewdrop breathed a sigh of relief. she allowed herself to relax her shoulders and return her friend's smile. "I'm really glad you liked them." she paused for a moment before adding, "did you wanna go outside? everyone's out there, and they seemed pretty happy... it might help you feel a bit better."

doeskip's mood seemed to have improved, as the molly was in better spirits than she was before. setting the pale purple flowers gently aside, she gave a small nod. "oh, why not? lead the way." she said, giving dewdrop a playful nudge. and, with that, both mollies headed out of the healer's den.

[ 1105 words ]

[nio]

Username: nio
Clan: BayClan
Prompt#6 response:
Arnicastar found some coins that they knew Cloudpaw would love for their collection! Cloudpaw was so excited when she got the gift.

[Cinxer]

Day 6 prompt has officially ended! Prompt #7 is up! Your rewards will be shown on the first page.

Those who wrote 100 or more words were given 10EXp for the attempt. Any with less than that were not included in the rewards

[SilentMelody]

Username: SilentMelody
Clan: Shoreclan

Prompt #7

Embersnow had fallen sick when traveling between Shoreclan territory and Pebbleclan territory to visit her mate. When she got there, news of a sickness that had spread through the clan reached her. But on top of that, the illness also got to her.

She coughed heavily, shifting in her nest in the medicine cat den. Embersnow would be staying here for a while, and she had been relieved of her duties at the moment. She was temporarily in the medicine cat den, and she didn't particularly like it. Luckily, she had Yolkpaw the medicine cat apprentice to keep her company and her son Ripplepaw visited when he could.

"Happy leaf-bare, Mama! Are you excited for the holidays?" Ripplepaw asked on this particular day. He was excited about the prospects of getting and giving gifts to and from his friends.

Embersnow laughed lightly, but it was cut off by a sudden fit of coughing. Mucus shifted in her chest, and she cleared her throat when the coughing subsided. "Not exactly. But I know you'll have a lot of fun," she rasped and smiled at her kit. Although he wasn't a kit anymore.

Ripplepaw rubbed his cheek against hers and purred, "I'll stay with you during the whole holiday then! At least, once I deliver my presents to everyone. Speaking of which, I still have to find one for you! I'm going to do that today."

"You don't have to do that for me, dear. I don't even have anything for you!" Embersnow protested hoarsely. Raising her voice hurt her throat, so she quickly quieted down and swallowed multiple times. That didn't do anything to help the pain. She wished she could ask Cloverflame for some honey.

Ripplepaw turned to touch his cold nose to hers, flicking his tongue out to lick her. "That's okay, Mama. If you heal fast, that'll be the best gift! I miss going on patrols with you." He finally settled down beside her and purred loudly, burying his head into her fur. Just like he did when he was a kit. Embersnow knew that he didn't like it when she pointed it out, but he still had his old adorable habits or affection for her.

She simply smiled and joined in with his purring.

(377 words)