[almondkitty]

Username: almondkitty
Cat Name: jolene
Gender: demigirl
Rank: cryptid
Clan: rosemary meadows
Age: unknown (4 yrs - ~2000 yrs)
Prompt: STRS-2800

[LittleMaple]

Username: LittleMaple
Cat Name: Drifting Stars (Drift/er)
Gender: no gender, it/they/he
Rank: Lost One
Clan: Aetherclan
Age: ???
Prompt: ooohhh boy

[Wretched.Felidae]

Mark

[ethium]

𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄
───────────────────────
a person often meets his destiny
on the road he took to avoid it
───────────────────────
𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐃𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐄

[literal.swag.]

Username: literal.swag.
Cat Name: tbd
Gender: tbd
Rank: tbd
Clan: https://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=103&t=4845730&p=141432483#p141432470
Age: hhhh 4?
Prompt: i am rigging this in my favor /j
wip wip wip! <3

[harvestberry]

Extended to May 14th! Still ends at CS Rollover.

[canadianhowl]

Username: canadianhowl
Cat Name: mottledskip
Gender: female
Rank: elder
Clan: galactic skies
Age: 215m
Prompt: ꧁•⊹٭𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭٭⊹•꧂

[Archaeopteryx.]

Username: Archaeopteryx.
Cat Name: Cloudedheart
Gender: Female (she/her)
Rank: N/A
Clan: Enurian
Age: Adult
Prompt: we'll see if i have enough time to throw my hat in the ring :eyes:

[harvestberry]

Extended by one more day (still ends at rollover)

[Knickknacks]

Username: knickknacks
Cat Name: Quartz
Gender: female
Rank: acolyte
Clan: knollclan
Age: 4 years
Prompt: [1382 words]

Life begets death, begets life again.

The first time she heard these words, they were spoken to herself, and her brother- her and Copper. Life begets death, begets life again- this is the mantra they were told, the cycle they were inducted into- born in the deepest parts of the wood, in the caves beneath the knarled roots of a tree of age uncountable. When Quartz was old enough to ask about the tree, this was what her mother told her: that she rested secure in the hold of Mother Yew-Tree, who had lived life many years and dealt death with the fruits that she bore. Life and death, united in one.

This was life in the order of the Yew Following- shrouded in the shade of the ancient wood, wrapped tight by tradition, and by the watchful eye of their leader. How old Foxtrot was, Quartz did not know- he didn't seem to age, remaining as spry and fervently devoted to the Following as he had been on the day of her naming ceremony.

"Life begets death, begets life again," she and Copper had chanted- herself with shining eyes, Copper with hunched shoulders and a downcast gaze. Her brother had always been more frightened of the dark than she, shivering at their bedtime stories and hesitating to return to the tunnels they called home. That was okay, though- whenever Foxtrot saw her, he smiled gently and told her that her faith was infectious, that Mother Yew was well pleased with her, that others would come to follow her example. She would be bold enough for the pair of them, and Copper would come around. After all, it was a cardinal rule that one did not leave the Yew Following. Those born in the shade of the mother-tree would live and die in her grasp, living out fully the cycle of life and death in her sight. This was where she belonged- and where Copper belonged, too. Even if he did not see that yet.


- - - - -


"Something is wrong with this place."

This was the beginning of Copper's rebellion- or perhaps it had been brewing in silent long before that, and this was merely the first word of it he had offered to her. Quartz blinked at him, startled, a creeping feeling starting under her fur- she did not think this was something she wanted to hear. Did not think this was something Copper should be thinking. She thought of the reaching branches of Mother Yew, the watchful gleam of Foxtrot's eyes, the glistening red of the yew berries, the bringers of death, and she shivered.

"You shouldn't say things like that," she murmured to herself. "What could be wrong? We are-"

"'Secure in the shade of Mother Yew,' I know," he cut her off, baring his teeth in the beginnings of a snarl as he recited the words they were well familiar with. Quartz had been saying them all her life, and she did not like the shape of them in her brother's mouth just now. The words she had come to find comfort in rolled off his tongue as something bitter, something he had bitten into and found lacking. "I just- the secrets, the darkness, Foxtrot and his rituals... something feels wrong."

"You do not trust Foxtrot?" Quartz frowned at him. Their leader had been practically like a father to her and Copper, guiding their steps with gentle paws. He had even told her that, should their faith be true, the two of them might be promoted to the order of priests one day, being able to partake in the ceremonies the Following made to honor Mother Yew. "He has nothing but the good of the Following at heart- which includes you, too, Copper. Need I remind you how kind he has been to us- especially after Mother departed?"

"-Died," Copper hissed. "Mother did, Quartz. She didn't 'depart' or 'rejoin Mother Yew' or 'continue the cycle' or however it goes-"

"It doesn't go like that," Quartz sniffed. They'd been learning those mantras their whole life. She was surprised that he'd managed to get it wrong, after all that repetition.

"It doesn't matter," Copper said, suddenly sounding sadder and wearier than Quartz had ever seen. She turned to look at him, startled to see that her brother was shaking. Startled, she moved to press against his side, supporting him with his shoulders, offering a quick lick to his forehead- Foxtrot tended to frown upon dramatic displays of emotion that were not connected to reverence for Mother Yew, and she did not want Copper's ill feelings to reflect negatively upon the pair of them.

Still, though... she drew back and peered at her brother. He had always been a bit smaller than her, and looked so especially now, hunched over and shaking against her side.

"I miss Mother," Copper murmured into her fur. "I hate that we weren't allowed to properly grieve for her. I hate living in secrecy like this, I hate not being able to see the sun whenever I want- and I hate that Foxtrot parades around those yew berries like trophies- they're dangerous, and he goes about showing them to kittens and everyone like they should be an object of reverence. It's-" he cut off with his largest shudder yet, breaths coming panicky and fast against Quartz's side.

"-This worship of death," he croaked out. "I can't take it anymore, Quartz. I'm going to leave."

Whatever heretical things her brother had said before, this was the most shocking yet. Quartz drew sharply away from him, eyes wide.

"You can't," she said, numbly.

"I can," he growled. "And I will. I'm going to. I will not live like this any longer." Standing on shaky paws, he turned to face her once more- despite the way he trembled, his eyes were steady.

"I only tell you this," he said, "to ask if you will come with me. Let us both escape this place together, sister."

But his smile fell- Quartz was already shaking her head.

"I can't," she whispered. "I can't leave Mother Yew."

Copper hesitated, his tail dropping forlornly, but nodded nonetheless.

"I will not force you," he said, voice wearier still. "But I had to try." Turning his back to her, he began to wind away through the tunnels. As he departed, his voice echoed back to her.

"I'll be leaving when everyone is asleep. I will miss you, Quartz- but I wish you nothing but happiness."


- - - - -


"Quartz?" Foxtrot's eyes sharpened with interest.

"What brings you to my chambers? You do not often stop by unprompted- though perhaps this will change, once you and Copper are promoted, hm?"

"It's Copper I am here to speak to you about, my liege," Quartz spoke from where she was pressed to the ground, bowing. "He's- I've just heard that he intends to... do something terrible, and I don't know how to talk him from it."

Chancing a glance upward, she saw that Foxtrot had gone very still indeed.

"Tell me about it, my child," he said, voice gone cold. "Every word."


- - - - -


"Life begets death," were Foxtrot's words when he returned next. His paws and muzzle were stained with blood, and her brother's scent clung to his fur.

"This was not what I intended," Quartz sobbed into her den- empty of her brother, in an even realer way than before.

--

"Your grief is clouding your devotion," Foxtrot murmured to her, shaking his head gravely. "I'm afraid we cannot allow priests with wavering faiths to ascend, now can we?"

Quartz's whiskers quavered with the desire to argue, to show that her faith was still true, but she could not argue- not when grief sat so heavily in her chest. She shook her head, bowing still deeper.

"No. No, you are right, we cannot."


- - - - -


Her mother, her brother, her hopes for the future- all of those, Quartz reflected, were gone.

And yet- she smiled down at the single kitten in the nest beside her. Her only daughter, a blessing from Mother Yew. Foxtrot had already been to see her, and proclaimed that this kitten would do great things in the name of the Following.

For the first time in moons, Quartz smiled. Her precious Magpie, her offering, her reward.

Life begets death, begets life again.