[ruethefangirl]

Username: ruethefangirl
Storage: Sunclan
Last Patrol Post: Patrol 4
Patrol:
When spirits are low and cats need a change of routine, Sunclan has a game day. They have prey catching contests. They test who catch the biggest and smallest prey, the most prey, and see who demonstrates the best use of teamwork while hunting. They see who can breathe the longest underwater. They have swimming contests to see who is the fastest. They slide down Little Falls together. They also have an herb scavenger hunt and a relay race.
-
Darkviper grew up with emotionally neglectful parents. Their father died when they were still a kit. His mother was always perusing new partners more than she payed more attention to him. None of them ever stuck. They were rouges for a while, with Darkviper having to grow up fast. He was forced into learning how to care for himself since his mother was often busy with other things. This led to them getting into a lot of shenanigans as a mischievous young cat, but they survived. Eventually, they joined the Jungle Cats colony. As an apprentice, he fell for a she-cat, B, who had tried to set him up with her best friend, C. They got along well but broke it off due to some petty apprentice drama. Darkviper ended up courting C after that. They were not the best match, but as young warriors they had a kit together. -kit was sickly. C was overbearing and overprotective. At one point, C decided Darkviper was too irresponsible to watch -kit so she would try to keep them away from -kit. As the drama heated up between C and Darkviper, C ended up confessing that she was cheating on them with another tom that she really wanted to be with. Darkviper was alone for a period of time after that. During this, B had been mates with another cat. She had two kits, Raspberrykit and Blackberrykit. B ended up leaving her mate and rekindling her friendship with Darkviper. Their relationship progressed to them becoming mates for good. Darkviper adopted Raspberrykit and Blackberrykit, but they had always been more interested in a son. They tried their best but struggled to closely bond with them. Darkviper and B left the jungle with the kits to put distance between them and C. The couple struggled to find footing for their family which put them in unstable situations. After much struggle, Darkviper was able to find a home for them in Meadowclan. Darkviper feels blind nostalgia for the past, often wishing he could go back to the Jungle Cats, but also struggles to risk leaving the stability of Meadowclan.
-
Darkviper excels when they stick to routine. Much of their life they spent moving around from place to place, which stressed them out. They like to wake up at the same time, plan their day, and stick to their schedule. He likes to keep busy. He feels that cats who do not do as much as him are beneath him. He feels that cats who sleep in are lazy, even if they do the same amount of tasks that he does just as a later time.
-
Even though they have their ups and downs, Darkviper feels that they were meant to be with B. They feels like B is their soulmate. B is the only cat they can really trust. Deep down, they feel like B is a better cat than them and they secretly resent B for it. They make little jabs at B in the form of teasing her. When B complains, they say that they just want her to be the best version of herself. Even though he is open to critiquing his partner, Darkviper is unwilling to listen to or take critique of his own actions. Darkviper cannot handle confrontation unless it is physical.
-
Another day left to his own devices. At least their mother had left them breakfast this time. Many mornings, she just told them where she had hunted that morning for herself and left them to figure it out. Darkkit made a plan. The junkyard was where all the fun stuff was. First, he would climb the tire pile. Next, they would check out the weird human machinery. After that, they would talk to one of the junkyard cats to see if there was anything he could do to help them. They let him stay around because he was useful. They gave him food. He owed them. By the time that was done, he could return home. His mom sometimes had tasks for him, too. Annoying, mind numbing tasks. She was their mom, though, so they had to do what she asked. With this in mind, Darkkit headed toward the junkyard. He did not plan to make additional stops. It was only that he had accidentally stepped in mud and was trying to get it off when he changed his mind. He saw a mouse toy through the window of one of the human nests. It was a nice looking toy. His mother would never get him like that. She would find him some soggy old thing from the trash. The trouble to get it would be worth it for him. He craved a little danger in his day. Darkkit crept over to the house. Some had cat doors that were easy to get in. Others had open windows. Some days he had to wait for the humans to come out. Darkkit did not see a cat door on this house. The windows were open, but there was some silly cover he could not get through. There was another trick that worked on and off. Darkkit let out a loud pitiful meow. They did this for a few minutes before a human got curious enough to open the door. Darkkit darted into the house, too quick for the human to see. He ran through it, searching for the toy. They found it.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"
Darkkit had the toy in his mouth. They looked up to find a cat yelling at them.
The cat yowled, "WHO ARE YOU!"
Darkkit growled. They did not care about this cat. They just needed this mouse.
"STRANGER!"
The human ran into the room. It started yowling, too. It walked toward him. Uh oh. Darkkit ran off. The human chased him. They scrambled around, finding cover, but then the human would get too close. They scaled the curtains. The human grabbed them.
"LEAVE!"
They held onto the curtains as best as they could. The human pulled them away. Darkkit scratched at it until the human struggled enough that it put them down. Darkkit jumped onto the window sill. He threw himself at the cover. Miraculously, it came free. Darkkit tumbled to the ground outside. They shook themselves off. The human stood there looking at them through the window like it did not know what to do. Darkkit ran off with their mouse.
This mouse would become their greatest possession. There was not much they could keep when they moved around so often. Cats changed. Places changed. Their mouse toy was consistent and safe.
-
Raspberrygaze's parents were young and immature. They often found themselves in poor living situations with strangers, bad housing and limited access to food. They argued frequently because of the stress. Raspberrygaze maintained a strained relationship with her father, Darkviper, because he was prone to angry outbursts. Her family ended up moving a few times around the humanplace. Raspberrygaze remembers living in a junkyard, under a shed, in a barn, and behind a human foodplace. For a brief time, she went into their grandparents human home through the cat door. The humans did not mind the kittens at first, but when they realized her parents were also eating the food, they closed tried to close them out. They ended up joining a clan that was passing through, but poor leadership led to it falling apart. Finally, they found Meadowclan. They settled there for a time. In Meadowclan, it was custom for new warriors to leave for a year to get experience out in the world. Raspberrygaze asked her bestfriend and her sister to come with her. While exploring, they ran into Sunclan cats who recruited them.
-
Oceanbreeze's favorite thing to do for fun is watch fish swim around. Her second favorite thing is taking naps. She often falls asleep by the waterfall in camp or the creek in their territory.
Word Count: 1,400

[wolfpack12]

Username: wolfpack12
Storage: Stormfall
Last Patrol Post: N/A
Patrol: Nova glanced down at the rushing water in front of her. She had always found it interesting how lakes and ponds seemed to freeze during the winter while rivers didn't. Often wondering what would happen if their own river froze over, before quickly shoving that thought away. Even if the river running through her group's territory did suddenly freeze, they could just break the edges of the ice to get to the water underneath.

" Getting distracted again, are we Nova?"

The black-red charcoal rossetted tabby let out a yelp as she leapt backwards. Causing her to trip over an upturned tree root, that proceeded to send her tumbling into a cold pile of snow. Grimacing at the feeling of ice cold water sinking into her fur, she managed to pull herself free from the snow pile. She then began to scan her surroundings in order to figure out who had startled her, only to freeze when her gaze met that of the chocolate mackerel tabby's.

Heather had been watching the younger she-cat for a while now. Having sent the rest of their patrol to carry on ahead without them, while she waited for their easily distracted teammate. She couldn't help but chuckle as she watched Nova struggle to pull herself free from the snow." Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you! Are you alright?", she asked. Before jumping down from the rock she had been sitting on.

Nova shook her fur in an attempt to remove the last of the snow and water. She then glanced up at the approaching she-cat and gave her a quick nod." I'm fine", she replied. Before quickly looking down at her paws with a mix of embarrassment and shame." Sorry for getting distracted again, Heather.", she added sheepishly.

The patrol leader merely smiled warmly at the younger she-cat." Nothing wrong with a little bit of curiosity, especially since this is your first patrol as a fully fledged scout", she said reassuringly. Heather then approached the black-red charcoal rossetted tabby and gave her a friendly nudge with her shoulder. Before turning around and walking in the direction the rest of the patrol had gone." Now come on, let's go catch up with the others, maybe we can even test to see how much of your training you remember along the way", she added. Her smile growing when she heard a second set of footsteps rush to catch up with her.

Nova spent the rest of the journey checking the border for any new scents, identifying different tracks left in the snow, etc. Determined to prove herself after her earlier embarrassment. Heather would sometimes correct her if she got it wrong, or help her identify scents and tracks she might not have come across before. By the time the two had finally caught up with the rest of the patrol, they were both in a far happier mood.

Unfortunately that mood didn't last long.

Gathered near a tree were their fellow patrol members, their attention focused on something neither she-cat could see. The chocolate mackerel tabby frowned upon sensing their growing uneasiness." What's wrong?", she asked. Watching as they quickly moved out of the way to let her see what was putting them all on edge.

"Intruders", was the only reply she got. It was the only response she needed. Because right there in the snow were paw prints. Lots of them. All heading deep within Stormfall's territory.

" What do we do?", Nova whispered. As if she was worried that if she spoke any louder, it might alert the intruders to their exact location.

Heather looked at the younger she-cat, before glancing back at the rest of their patrol. She knew if she didn't regain control of the situation soon, someone was going to do something stupid." We report back to camp and get reinforcements", she replied. Upon hearing the annoyed grumbling from some of her patrol members, a snarl didn't hesitate to leave her throat." We don't know what these intruders intentions are or if they are even a threat! Not to mention there's a good chance we might be outnumbered, so unless you have a better idea I suggest you all start heading back towards camp, now!", she ordered.

With another grumble their patrol started to head back the way they came, until it was just her and Nova left. With a sigh, the chocolate mackerel tabby gave a reassuring nudge to the younger black-red charcoal rossetted tabby." Don't worry, there's a good chance that these intruders might be a group of cats who have either gotten lost and just didn't notice they were crossing into our territory or are just passing through", she said.

" I hope you're right"

Heather glanced one last time in the direction of the paw prints, before following after the others. Trying to ignore her own growing uneasiness as a single thought entered her head.

I hope so too.

Word Count: 820

[DachasaurusZen]

Username: DachasaurusZen
Storage: Awashed Shells
Last Patrol Post: here
Patrol:

ShellStar laid lazily inside of her log den. Her stomach had been hurting recently, ever since she had eaten that strange fish. ShellStar should've gone to SeaBunny so that he could check up on her, but she didn't want or need to be coddled like some newborn kit. So, she would have to deal with it. Grunting, ShellStar stood and stretched. She walked tiredly out of the log that she called her den and over to SandpiperCall.
"Good morning!" The young warrior offered enthusiastically.
"Shall I patrol the Eastern or Southern border this morning?"
ShellStar paused, considering the two. To the South was the beach, to the East was simply land.
"How about Western? There's some good herbs over there, and I'm in need if this colony is to grow," a voice yowled from across the camp.
ShellStar turned around, her bushy tail making a whoosh sound. It was just SeaBunny, one of the two Herbalists. ShellStar flicked the tip of her tail in irritation. If she didn't wamt to be coddled, she would have to get away from him.
"That's fine. I'll patrol to the South, and find StormySea to send her hunting out to the East," ShellStar finalized curtly and briskly trotted towards the camp entrance. The camp was encircled by both dead and live shrubs, the tail-length wide space between two of them was the only place that her fur wouldn't get torn by twigs.
ShellStar slid through the shrubs and towards the beach, where she knew that StormySea was relaxing.
Once she reached the sand, ShellStar dug her toes into the warmness. She had always lived the beach, and that's why she had decided to settle so close.
But, she constantly thought about her old home. She jad tried to stop thinking about the past and start thinking about the future, but the picture of a broken park bench kept entering her mind.
ShellStar shook out her fur, attempting to clear her mind. She still had to get StormySea to go hunting. Once more shaking our her long, smooth coat of mottled fur, ShellStar set off across the sand to get to the blueish dot by the water that she knew was StormySea.
"StormySea!" ShellStar called once she was in hearing range.
StormySea sat up, her ears perked forwards, "Yes?"
"You need to go hunt in the Western territory," ShellStar told her only hunter, but as she stepped forwards, ShellStar tripped and fell. On the ground, she began coughing.
"ShellStar! Are you alright?" StornySea yowled.
"I'm fine," ShellStar said between coughs, "my stomach has just been hurting recently."
StormySea frowned, "I better get you to SeaBunny and CrabBristle anyway."
ShellStar sighed, but she stood and leaned on StormySea's shoulder to be led to the Herbalists' den.

Word Count: 460

[dimi.]

Patrols for the week of November 15th are now closed.
To claim this XP, head over to Leveling and fill out the Patrol form! This experience will not be applied until you do so.

Moonblaze-Angel 338 xp
KelpieMomma: 218 xp
lacke: 170 xp
ruethefangirl: 140 xp
wolfpack12: 82 xp
DachasaurusZen: 48 xp


Posts for the week of November 22nd are now open!

[dolly]

Username: dolly
Storage: https://toyhou.se/DollyDo/characters/folder:6230214
Last Patrol Post: october 29th
Patrol:

Mixed breed. Due to her dubious origins, not much is known about her parentage. It is presumed that she is a standard short-haired mixed breed. Storm is a cinnamon classic tabby with high white. Her markings are contained around her face, back, shoulders, and front left paw. The tips of her ears both have small tufts of brown fur. Storm has a lean, muscular build. She is shorter than one might expect, due to malnutrition in her youth as a street cat. Due to her disability, she has honed exceptional strength in her three remaining limbs. She primarily uses this for agility feats such as climbing. Storm has highly reflective, sharp olive green eyes. Something about them always makes one feel like they're being watched... Storm has earned various minor scars in her many years as a street cat. However, her most noticeable injury is that of her limp back leg. As of current day, she has no feeling in it beyond the thigh. It is functionally immobile, thus the vine sling she wears to keep it from dragging on the ground. This injury is a result of her battle with Ghost during The Great Rebellion.

Storm was the runt of her litter. Not that she’d know that. She never knew her parents. She doesn’t know what they sound like, what they look like, or where they came from. The only parental figure she’s ever known was Thorn. Thorn who came across her as a weak, mewling kitten in the back alleys. Thorn who reluctantly took her under her wing until it was unimaginable to separate.
Together, they navigated the brutal world of the city. Around every corner there seemed to be a new cat wanting to pick a fight over food or places to sleep. Thorn was tough, but she wasn’t invincible. There were many days where they starved or slept out in the cold. Friends weren't easy to come by, either. Nobody wanted to open their territory to more mouths to feed. Not when things were tough as is.
But that only inspired her to get stronger. Thorn protected her, so it was only right that she protected her mother in return. She learned from watching her mother fight. She observed each swipe and hit, begging to be taught. Soon, they were hunting alley mice together. Soon, she was joining the fights. Soon, they were winning more and more of them. But that wasn't a life. It was survival, but it wasn't living. Storm dreamed higher than fighting for a place to sleep each night, always tussling around the politics of alley life. She dreamed of a place where she was in charge. Where she would welcome others in the way they never were.

They didn’t know where to start. According to Thorn, there wasn’t a place in the city that wasn’t contested territory. Everyone was always fighting over what scraps they could get. But what else is there, Storm had thought. What was the world outside the alleys like? It started as a passing quandary, but it grew and grew. For as well-treaded of an adventurer as she was, Thorn had never gone beyond the city boundaries. There was never any need to. This was their lot in life. But Storm wanted bigger.
She urged Thorn out with her, to see what really laid beyond the concrete. And it was massive. It was endless. The horizon went on for as far as the eye could see. They’d spent all that time at each other’s throats for damp, musty alleys when the world was at their paws. From the moment she saw the horizon, there was no going back. She rallied. She told them all of what she saw, and she told them what was left to be seen. Day in and day out, it was the same. Join her. She was going beyond the walls. She was going to brave the world beyond, and anyone who was tired of fighting for scraps could join her.
Few cats even spared her a passing glance. She was young. That is to say, stupid in their eyes. Too naive to be taken seriously. A few humored her, but they didn’t believe. They were content to live their lives as always. It sickened her. It infuriated her how they couldn’t want more. But it didn’t dissuade her. She’d leave, even if it meant only Thorn joined her. She’d create something glorious for the both of them.
So, they left. Only the two of them, as it had always been. They crossed into where stone turned to grass, and they didn’t look back. Not when the sun began to drop, and not when the night-birds started to howl. They slept under a tree, and for the first time in weeks, they didn’t have to fight to do it. There was no keeping watch or sleeping light, just in case. Only peace. The morning was the same. No cats to fight over the rat caught in the brush. No cats at all. Only enough mice to sustain themselves forever if they needed to.

But as they kept journeying towards the large mounds on the horizon, they stopped being alone. There were cats, but not the half-starved ones they’d always know. On the way to the mountains were two-leg buildings with fat, happy cats. Ones who were pampered and lazy thanks to their two-leg families. She’d heard of such a thing, but had never seen it. They spoke to them, and invited them as they journeyed. Few held any interest in the concept. But in many moons to come, they’d be the first ones to carry along the word. To tell of the great coalition built on the horizon, the one which any cat could journey to.
Only one cat of those many would join them: Marlow. Their first member. A friendly cat who’s elder two-leg never came home one day. They welcomed her as family. And, more than ever, the vision of her coalition was upon Storm. A place where the lost and forgotten would rally together, no longer content with the scraps life gave them. They trudged on at record pace. As they moved, more and more heard of their ideal. A pipe dream, most called it. But not all. For every hundred who dismissed them, one cat saw potential. Or, one cat had nothing left to lose. So, they welcomed those cats. They invited them into their blossoming new order, and a new way of living began to be invented in front of their eyes.
Moons passed before their journey ended between the two massive mounds they’d been marching towards. It was a beautiful place. Full of pine trees, large stones, and a rich river. It was home, if there was ever going to be one.

Word Count: 1,135

[ruethefangirl]

Username: ruethefangirl
Storage: Sunclan
Last Patrol Post: Patrol 5
Patrol:
“Your dad is very charismatic.”
“Yeah, I know right. Another one of my friends said that to me a while back. She was like, ‘Darkviper doesn’t seem so bad.’ I’m like ‘yeah, because you don’t live with them.’ They are really good at putting on a face around strangers. It’s like they know what they should and shouldn’t say. They just treat us like crap when other people aren’t around. I mean, he’s not like… terrible all the time. He can be very considerate sometimes and it makes me question if I’m judging him too badly. Other times they’re just a complete jerk.”
-
“Darkviper is a good mentor. They explain things well and are patient. They don't stress me out. When [Name] teaches me, he makes me nervous.”
“Yeah, but I hate when he over explains everything. I don’t need to know every detail or history on why or when we do this move. I just need to know how to do it. I know he does it because that’s the way he likes to be taught. I’m not that way. It makes me feel like he thinks I’m dumb. Like he thinks I won’t understand if he doesn’t explain meticulous details.”
-
How would others describe Raspberry?
Blackberry: My sister is the kind of cat that has to make her own mistakes. You can give her advice, but she likes to learn the hard way. She’s charismatic but doesn’t believe it. She gets along with my friends easily. If you want her to be on time for something, you should tell her a time earlier than when you want her to be there.
Darkviper to Blackberry: Your sister is so hardheaded.
Ambergaze: She overthinks and ends up overcomplicating situations more than necessary but I love that she can be very compassionate.
Raspberry’s mentor: She is a joy in training sessions. She is creative and intelligent. However, she talks a lot and gets distracted by her friends.
Friend: Raspberry is great. She’s easy to talk to. I will say, she can get obnoxious and loud.
-
One of Lavapaw's favorite places in camp is a hidden alcove by the leader's den where cats go to discuss private matters. That was where she was, about to doze off, when she heard them speaking about the tiger. This jolted her to attention. The tiger had once been a bedtime tale to keep the kits from leaving the nursery without supervision. One cat had claimed to have ran into the tiger before. He did have the scars to prove it. Lavapaw liked to see things herself. However, she was not rash enough to go out looking alone. Magmapaw and his friend, though... this could be her chance. She could get rid of him without actually getting her paws dirty.
"The apprentices are not to leave camp until the tiger has passed through. Keeps the guards posted at the top of the cliffs. Make sure they are in pairs," [Name] meowed.
As she was making her way back to the apprentice's den, she heard him add, "Do not provoke the tiger a second time." She sat cleaning her pelt as if she had not heard a thing. She watched a few warriors go around talking in hushed tones to the other clanmates. No announcement from their leader. They must be trying to avoid panic. Sure enough, when her mother came over, all she said was, "Lavapaw, do not leave camp today until I tell you otherwise. If you are hungry, you may share something from the fresh-kill pile with Magmapaw." Lavapaw dipped her head. "Of course, mother." She would *never* go against her mothers wishes. Her mom walked away. Lavapaw tiptoed after her. She leaped into another one of the rocky columns in camp. There she watched as her dumb brother played with a bug, too distracted to pay too much attention to what their mother was telling him. This would be easy. After convincing him that she wanted to go hunting with him, and turning it into a competition, she waited until the adults were distracted to lead him out of camp. “A starling counts for three pieces of prey!” She sang out before darting off. She circled her way back to safety. Back in camp, she took that nap she had put off earlier. She dreamed that Magmapaw was attacked by the tiger and could no longer lead the clan.
But that dream was interrupted by her mother shaking her awake. "Lavapaw! Where is your brother?"
Lavapaw looked around blearily. "I thought he was right here? We were both napping."
"No. He is missing. I told him to stay put. Why weren't you watching him?"
He was not her child! Lavapaw kept that thought to herself. "I'll help you look for him, mom." She got up. "I'll look over on the east side of camp."
"Good." Her mother muttered to herself, "At least one of my children listens to me. Why doesn't he think? He has a clan to lead one day!"
Lavapaw rolled her eyes. She walked off, half heartedly searching.
It was about twenty minutes later when she heard her mother shout, "Magmapaw!"
What??? Lavapaw ran to see what was happening. Maybe someone found him injured and dragged him back to camp. Maybe the tiger had killed him. No. There he was, standing in one piece. Unscathed. Annoyance clawed at her but she tried not to let it show. No one else could know what she had done.
“Why don’t you listen?! I told you to stay here!” Her mom was scolding Magmapaw. “You could have been killed by the tiger! Do you understand?”
Lavapaw stepped in, "Yeah, Magmapaw. Why would you leave camp when she told she not to?" She knew he would not be able to say anything to prove that she was the one who convinced him to go. It looked like she had been in camp the whole time. Magmapaw seemed to realize that, because he gave a miserable apology.
"I was so worried when I heard you were missing," Lavapaw meowed. "What would the clan do without you? What would I do without my brother? How could you do this to our mother? She was so worried!”
"My kits. You mean so much to me. Do not scare me like that again," Their mother meowed. She licked them both on the head. "Magmapaw, go get yourself something to eat. Lavapaw, go with him."
Magmapaw dragged his feet over to the kill pile. By now, all of the prey must have been from yesterday. The fresh stuff would have been devoured by the queens and older cats. He wished he had brought back his catch before he saw the tiger.
“Did you see it?” Lavapaw prodded.
“Huh?”
“The tiger?”
“Oh. Yeah.”
“What was it like?”
Magmapaw’s tail twitched. He didn’t want to tell her anything.
His best friend ran over. “Magmapaw! Yo, I heard you saw the tiger.” He lowered his voice. “You should have told me. I would have gone with you.”
“I wasn’t *trying* to see the tiger. I didn’t know it was there.”
“Was it huge?”
“It was gigantic. Bigger than ten cats. Its claws…” Magmapaw shuddered. “Its eyes stared right at me.”
“How did you get away?”
Magmapaw shrugged. “It walked away.”
“Walked away???? That’s wild! You are so lucky.”
Magmapaw glanced at his sister. “Right.”
-
"I think I want to change my name."
"Are you sure? You're allowed to keep your name. I don't feel good about forcing everyone to change to the same name style just because we all live together," Sunflower said.
"Yeah. I mean, there's nothing wrong with Serafina. I just want something different. Does that make sense?" She asked.
Magmatuft nodded. He knew about leaving his old name behind.
"Layla is a pretty name," Ginger meowed.
"What kind of names do you like?" Sunflower asked.
"That's pretty," She agreed. What did she really want? "You all have nature-like names. I think something like that would be neat. I always was interested in nature from what I saw on the picture box," She meowed.
"Willow? Lily?"
"Serenityheart?"
"Sandfluff?" Magmatuft suggested.
"Sandfluff? Be serious," Ginger scolded.
She giggled. "I kind of like it."
"Minnow-Watcher?"
"How is that better than Sandfluff?"
"Oceanbreeze?" MouseSqueak suggested.
"That's good! MouseSqueak, you're so creative," Sunflower meowed.
"Yes! That's it!"
-
Magmatuft enjoys his role in Sunclan. Growing up with the Jungle Cats, he was expected to inherently know how to be leader one day. His father was leader so it was somehow "in his blood." He never desired that amount of control over the lives of other cats. Being a Tunnel Watcher is a big duty for sure. His clan is counting on him to protect them while they are vulnerable. It is a job he can do without worrying that his clanmates are critiquing his every action. Some cats find it boring to sit alone, but he finds it relaxing. Even if he messes up, there are other guards in camp as a failsafe.
-
Sunflower did not realize just how close she had grown with Ginger until she left. She did not know what to do with herself when she got back to camp. They had spent so much time talking about who knows what and hunting together. Of course she liked spending time with all her clanmates… but she was starting to see that her feelings about them and her feelings about Ginger were different. This was an unfortunate thing to figure out now that she had just walked Ginger back to the junkyard. She still had a lot of questions. Would they ever get answered? Oceanbreeze walked over to her. “Hey! I caught some fish for us. MouseSqueak already ate. I thought we could go for a walk after you were done.”
Sunflower gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Oceanbreeze.” Oceanbreeze kept her company while she ate lunch. She told her about some of the things her human would do. They did not talk about Ginger. Maybe her clanmates knew it was a sensitive subject at the moment. She spotted MouseSqueak cleaning her pelt as they were about to leave. “Will you join us? We’re going for a walk.”
“Um…”
“Please?” She did not like to ask MouseSqueak to do anything that would make her uncomfortable. She did want her to come this time, though.
MouseSqueak nodded. “I should look for herbs,” She meowed.
“This is just like the first time we all hung out!” Oceanbreeze pointed out.
Sunflower smiled. “The start of Sunclan.” She led the way. “I never knew I would have my own clan one day.” It had been slow in recruitment since Magmatuft had joined. She had gained multiple members in one week and then it fizzled out. Now, Ginger being gone put them back. Should she be concerned? How fast did clans usually grow? Things seemed to be running smoothly, though. They all had food and water. They were healthy.
“I never get over how beautiful the jungle is.”
“Yeah.” Sunflower added, “I like the flowers. They’re so vivid! Ginger said she liked them, too…”
Sunflower remembered the day she had pulled one off the vine and put it on Ginger’s head to be silly. Lulu had helped grab more. The two had filled Ginger’s fur with flowers. Ginger had laughed and demanded they stop. She had kept them in until they went to bed, then she claimed that they would somehow disturb her sleep. Sunflower noticed Ginger had kept one in her nest. “It smells nice,” Ginger had said.
Oceanbreeze sighed. “I miss Ginger. She’s funny. And Lulu, she’s sooo adorable.”
They walked in quiet for a moment.
MouseSqueak pointed to a plant. It looked like any other plant to the other two. “I need these,” She meowed. She began gently collecting them. “Like this.” Sunflower and Oceanbreeze did as instructed. They peppered her with questions about the herbs as they carried them back to camp.
-
Guilt and stress kept MouseSqueak from falling asleep that night. She had seen the red fruit earlier. She should have figured out what it was before her clanmates messed with it. Then they would have listened to her when she said not to eat it. Her limited knowledge was all they had to go by.
-
“May everyone old enough to swim in the Falls gather around the Speaking Rock.” Sunflower called a clan meeting after talking to MouseSqueak that morning. Once everyone was there, she spoke. “MouseSqueak thinks that this herb may help Magmatuft. It has round orange leaves and a flower with yellow petals.”
“Good idea,” Oceanbreeze said.
“We should split up,” Ginger meowed. “That would help us cover more ground.”
“That’s true…” Sunflower agreed.
“What about if we went in pairs? We could have one group check the jungle and one check the forest.”
“We should all search the same place at the same time. It will be quicker,” Ginger argued.
Sunflower was torn. What if the flower was in the forest but they spent a whole day searching the jungle? They would cover more ground in the jungle if they had both groups looking in different spots, though. “I… think we should go with Oceanbreeze’s idea. If we don’t find anything by tomorrow, we can have the groups switch locations. They can cover anything the first group missed. Is that okay?”
Oceanbreeze and MouseSqueak nodded. Ginger flicked her tail.
Sunflower took that as a yes. “Oceanbreeze and Ginger, you can go through the tunnel to check the forest. If you run into other cats, ask if they know anything. MouseSqueak and I will check the jungle. Come back to camp by sundown.”
“I think we’ll find it,” Oceanbreeze meowed. “See you guys later!”
“See you,” Sunflower purred.
“Bye,” Ginger meowed. The groups split off.
…
While they searched for the flower, Oceanbreeze asked, “Do you believe in destiny?”
“Destiny?” Ginger repeated. “How do you mean?”
“Like… fate. Things happening for a reason. For example, I might not have left my human nest if I hadn’t heard MouseSqueak and Sunflower talking outside my window. Both times the window was left open.”
“That sounds like coincidence to me.”
“Hm, that’s fair. I guess the timing is interesting to me. MouseSqueak was just kicked out of her home. Sunflower happened to walk past. My window happened to be open. It feels like it was meant to be. And with Magmatuft… I feel really bad. I’m not saying I wanted him to get hurt. But maybe it was meant to teach us something. Or… I don’t know…” She trailed off.
“That is… one way to think of it,” Ginger said delicately.
“You think I’m wrong, don’t you?”
“Oh, look. Is that the flower we need?”
…
“Hello friends~ We’re back! Did you find anything?” Oceanbreeze asked.
Sunflower sighed. “No. We looked everywhere. I wanted to keep going, but MouseSqueak was hungry and she said we shouldn’t exhaust ourselves because that wouldn’t help. I just kept thinking, ‘what happens if we don’t find it?’ I feel like I could’ve been fine going further.”
“It’s okay. We found it!”
“What?!” Sunflower shot to her paws.
“Look,” Ginger meowed. Lulu ran down Ginger’s leg. In her mouth, she held a bundle of flowers.
“Oh my stars! MouseSqueak!”
MouseSqueak ran out of then den.
“They found it!” Sunflower exclaimed.
Lulu hopped over to MouseSqueak with the herbs. She dropped them at her feet.
“Thank you.” MouseSqueak carried the flowers onto the den. When the others moved to follow, she bit her tongue. They were just excited. They did not realize the hovering was adding to her stress. She began to delicately pick the leaves off the stems.
“Can we help?” Sunflower asked.
“I don’t know…” If they weren’t careful, they would rip the leaves. MouseSqueak hated saying no, though.
Sunflower studied her before she spoke, noticing the tension in her. “We will go gather some water for him.” She motioned for Oceanbreeze and Ginger to leave with her. “MouseSqueak and I saw some boars while we were searching. They were so big. I thought, imagine eating one of those for dinner! But how would we even take it down? They look so tough. Do you think it’s even possible?”
MouseSqueak relaxed. She continued pulling the leaves and placing them on Magmatuft’s body. The leaves should pull the toxins from him, causing them to wither. She sprinkled flower petals over him as well. They had some healing benefits, too. It would take until morning to see results. They went to bed feeling hopeful.
Her optimism was dashed when she saw no change to him in the morning. Either they were the wrong flowers, or Magmatuft’s ailment was too bad for the leaves to work on him.
-
Ambergaze was born in a rescue after her pregnant mom was picked up as a stray off the street. They lived in a free roam facility. Her litter was one that got little attention from potential adopters because they were "too plain." Her mother and her mother's boyfriend also did not get much attention as adult cats, which meant Ambergaze was forced to be around them. Ambergaze did not have the best relationship with her mom. Her mom was jealous of her friends, immature, nosy, and a big gossip. Her mother's boyfriend was a rude bully. Not a great combination. Her mother loved to take in kittens at the rescue that lost their parents but then she would go to another room to gossip with other cats, leaving Ambergaze to watch them. Ambergaze never understood why it was her responsibility, but her mom would get mad if she didn’t watch them for her. One day she spotted a cat around her own age hanging outside the rescue. He started sitting below the window to talk to her. He was always out of sight so to the humans it just looked like she was hanging out in the window. Eventually, she managed to escape the rescue during one of their spay and neuter days when they were distracted moving carriers to their cars for transport. Ambergaze and X were together for a few months before they broke it off because it just was not working out. He was enthralled with her, but they had no clue what they were doing, and it was just better off for them to split to figure things out. Ambergaze found out her mom and her boyfriend got adopted together at a house nearby. She stayed with them for month to work out a plan. Finally, she moved on to the Jungle Cats colony. While there, they gave her the name Amberpaw rather than just Amber. Amberpaw bonded with a cat named Darkpaw. She actually tried to set him up with her friend C originally. Now, she can not really remember why they broke up. It might have been some silly drama with his own mom not liking her. After earning their warrior names, Darkviper ended up becoming mates with C and having a kit with her. Ambergaze rekindled with her ex after he joined the clan. They had two kits together, Raspberry and Blackberry. Ambergaze discovered that her feelings for X would never match the strong feelings he had for her. She broke it off with him for good. Darkviper had gone through his own relationship drama in that time but was now single. They started talking again until their relationship evolved to being mates. Feeling stifled with cats from both their pasts still being in close proximity, they made the decision to leave the jungle. The problem was, they did not have a solid plan. They took it day by day. Ambergaze wishes she could have provided a more stable childhood for the kits. Maybe she should have stayed in the Jungle Cats colony. At least her parents helped her out a little. They sneaked the kittens into the house and gave them food from their human. Ambergaze was not a fan of relying on her mother again. Her relationship with her mother’s boyfriend did get better slightly as she was older. They got into less arguments and he had less say over her actions. It was a relief when Darkviper led them to Meadowclan. There, they did not have to worry about how they would get food, where they would sleep, or if it was safe.
-
Ambergaze has been with Darkviper for a long time. She feels comfort in knowing them since she was young and growing through hard time together. However, they have not always treated her the best. Her self esteem suffers because of bullying from her mom’s boyfriend. Darkviper does not always help. When they would fight when they were younger, and Darkviper would threaten to leave her, she would beg them to stay. She needed them. Now, she finds herself wondering what would have happened if they had not stayed together. Now that they live in Meadowclan, it would not be so bad if they were separated. Ambergaze knows that Darkviper does not see their relationship the same way she does. She thinks they would be clingy and she would have to leave for them to truly let her go.
-
Ambergaze spent some time training to be a healer. One day, they got asked to help a cat that was half feral from pain and madness. Ambergaze got scratched deeply, leaving a scar. That was not the incident that led to her changing her mind about being a healer, but it did not help. She found the other healers to be… catty. Sometimes family members would get mad at her for somehow not healing their beloved fast enough. Or “good” enough. As if it was in her control whether there was a scar or not. After a while she just did not find joy in it.
-
Magmatuft prowled from the back of camp toward the fresh-kill rock. Camp was quiet and calm like it should be. Wait. What was that scent? He paused on the way down the outcrop. There was a lone monkey descending the cliff. Most of the time they stayed far up in the trees. As he watched, it went to the fresh-kill pile, snatched up a dead lizard, and left. Magmatuft just stood there, dumbfounded. After a moment, he shook himself off and went back to his post. Hours later, when Sunflower asked how his night was, he just uttered, “uneventful.” Who would believe him, anyway?
-
Ginger was known to take her sleep seriously, so it was a rarity that she awake before her brother. “Wake up! It’s our birthday!”
“What?” Root mumbled, peeking open one eye to look at her.
“Our birthday!” Ginger repeated. “Mama said they got us something special!”
“Oh.” Root got up. “I bet my present is better than yours!” He ran over to Mamacat.
“Mama, we are both awake. Can we see our gifts now?” Ginger asked, hot on her brother’s heels.
“Ready for presents so soon? You’ve barely opened your eyes!” Mamacat meowed.
Ginger and Root shared a look. “Pleaseeee?” They pleaded.
“Alright. Jack said everything should be ready.” Mamacat walked them over to where the other cats were gathered. They began to call out Happy Birthday to the young cats. Ginger purred at all the attention.
“Here you are, darling Ginger. Handsome Root.”
Ginger pawed the box open. Inside lay a beautiful flower crown. She squealed in happiness. “I love it!!!” Mamacat helped put it on her head.
Root opened his own box to find a brand new toy. “Thanks!!”
“There’s more,” Mamacat added. “This way.” She led them around the corner.
Ginger gasped.
“Awesome!!!” Root meowed.
In front of them were two brand new beds. Ginger’s was pink with a frilly lace. Ginger jumped into the bed. She laid down in it and rolled around. “This is amazing!!! Thank you!!”
“And we got you two a special breakfast from the humans.”
No way!! Tuna?? Sausage?! Ginger truly was spoiled. She was pretty sure this was the best day ever.
-
Lavapaw woke up buzzing with excitement. She stretched out her paws, letting her claws unsheath. Today was the day she would become a warrior. There was no way her brother would beat her. Her parents thought they could shape him into the perfect ruler, but what ruler could be bested by his own sister? She was superior in all ways. She purred as she trotted out of the apprentice den for the last time.
Mamgapaw awoke to a feeling of dread settling in his body. Today he would have to fight his sister. She would not hold back her claws. She never had. He watched her walk around camp, chipper. His parents would be expecting him to win. He would heard it if he didn’t. He never wanted to fight anyone for his place in the clan. He had no other choice. He got to his feet, forcing himself to leave the den.
-
Coming face to face with a tiger alone? Terrifying, but he had survived. Battling with his sister? Also terrifying. But having to fight his best friend, knowing that whoever failed would get kicked out of the clan? Magmapaw was pretty sure this was the worst day of his life. He barely slept. When he woke up, he saw xpaw was already gone. Probably talking to his mom. Magmapaw did not even know what to say to him if he was there. This was a nightmare. “Magmapaw!” His father called for him. He went to him. “Do not fail us a second time.”
-
Ambergaze would say that Blackberry was an easy kit. Quiet and calm. Their relationship is more like friends than mother-daughter. Although that does not stop Blackberry from rolling her eyes occasionally or giving her looks. But then who does not get annoyed with their friends at some point? Blackberry tells Ambergaze practically everything. On the other hand, Ambergaze has to take a more hands on approach to parenting Raspberry. Raspberry does not always make the wisest choices and has to be guided to the right decisions. She does not always listen to reason, though.
-
The sisters loved to slide down the hill when it snowed. They had seen humans doing that trick one year and decided to try it for themselves. This year was no different.
“When I tried going down the big hill last time, it was too steep. I almost got hurt. I wouldn’t go down that side,” Blackberry warned her.
“Okay,” Raspberry replied. She would be going down that hill. Just because it happened to Blackberry did not mean that would happen to her! She slid down the regular hill a few times. When Blackberry walked off to look at some icicles, Raspberry began to slide down the big hill. This was so fun!! She was going super fast! Much faster than the other one! Oh, no. This was bad! She was getting too close to the trees. Suddenly, she was flying through the air. She landed in the snow and rolled. A stick scraped the side of her leg. She cried out.
Blackberry’s ears perked. “Raspberry? Where…?” She scanned the hills for her sister. “Raspberry!” She half ran, half tumbled down the hill to her. Annoyance warred with her concern. “Are you okay?! Why didn’t you listen to me?”
“My foot hurts,” Raspberry whined.
-
Ambergaze and Darkviper sat on the beach together. Blackberry was hopping around, kicking up sand with her feet. Raspberry was digging a hole. Blackberry trotted over to her. “What are you doing?”
“Burying my shell.”
“Why?”
“So I can find it later.”
“That’s dumb. You’re going to lose it.”
“You know what else is dumb?”
“…what?”
“Your face.”
“Whatever…” Blackberry watched her cover the shell and then draw a circle in the sand to mark where the shell was buried.
If you say so, Blackberry thought. “I’m going to search for my own shells.” She ran closer to the ocean. Raspberry chased her. She splashed water at her sister. Blackberry tackled her in the water. They wrestled around and chased minnows in the shallows. “Fishhhh!” Raspberry exclaimed happily. Blackberry dug up little clams, sticking her face close to the sand to get a better look at them before they dug themselves deeper.
“You have sand on your nose,” Raspberry told her.
After a while, Ambergaze called, “it’s time to go.”
“Wait! I have to get my shell!” Raspberry ran back to where she’d buried it. Or… where she thought she buried it. She dug frantically in the sand. Blackberry watched.
“What is she doing?” Ambergaze asked.
“She buried her shell earlier,” Blackberry answered.
“Kid, come on. You are not going to find that shell anywhere around here,” Darkviper meowed.
“I want it! It’s here!”
“We’re leaving,” Darkviper said.
“But my shell,” Raspberry whined. She plopped her butt down. She saw Darkviper and Ambergaze start to walk off without her. She swiped her paw through the sand again. No luck. Raspberry ran to catch up with her parents.
“You can take my shell,” Blackberry meowed.
“It’s not the same.” She took the shell anyway.
-
When Raspberry was an apprentice, she loved to sing all the time. Loudly and not in tune. If you asked her sister, Blackberry would say that was one of the most annoying things about Raspberry growing up because they had to share a den. The songs would get stuck in Blackberry’s head, too.
-
One of the reasons why C and Ambergaze grew apart as friends was because of their differing stance on Starclan. C thought Starclan needed them to have frequent ceremonies in their honor, including prey left out for them, or you would go to the Dark Forest. Ambergaze disagreed, especially when food was scarce. Darkviper never believed in Starclan or Dark Forest. When he was mates with C, he just went along with what she said so that she would not complain. Ambergaze does have some wavering faith in Starclan, just not enough to go to Starclan related celebrations.
-
Ever since Lavapaw had caught her first starling, they became her favorite prey to hunt for. She crept forward on the branch. Quiet. Slow. Careful.
Foxdung!
The bird took off. Not because of her, but voices down below. She perked her ears.
Was that C and Darkviper? They bickered a lot. No… Lavapaw peered down at the two cats. It wasn’t Darkviper. It was another tom. That was intriguing.
“I just can’t handle him. He is so immature,” C complained.
The other cat laid his tail across her shoulders. “I agree. He is immature. You do not have to deal with his behavior.”
C purred. She brushed against him.
Ew.
“One day, we will be together.”
“But I still need him right now.”
Hm. She bet Darkviper would love to hear about how he was being used.
She jumped down from the branch. “Hi!” C and the tom leaped apart. Lavapaw laughed. “What’s wrong?”
“L-Lavapaw…” C stuttered.
“Spying on your clanmates is wrong.”
“Ha! So is lying and cheating,” Lavapaw meowed.
“I’m not cheating,” C insisted.
“Of course not.” Lavapaw sat down and inspected her claws. “I’m not sure Darkviper would see it the same way.”
They eyed the apprentice wearily.
“But I can keep a secret, too. As long as you don’t tell my mom anything about seeing me outside camp from here on out, for instance.” Her mom did not need to know what she was up to all the time. She was too nosy.
“Fine.”
-
Raspberry absolutely insists that she has a terrible long term memory. She claims she can barley remember things from her kithood. She thinks something is wrong with her. When she brought this up with her mom, Ambergaze told her she was fine. Blackberry also does not think it is something to be cornered about.
-
Raspberry was dying to go to the Starlight Market. It was all she talked about for a week until she convinced her best friend to go with her. It was about a days walk from Meadowclan. The Starlight Market was only open once a moon. The cats had magical booths with all kinds of trinkets, foods, and herbs. This was where she found her bleeding hearts jewelry. She also laid eyes on a handsome tom that she swore she was meant to be with. She saw him again later, but something happened before she could speak to him.
Word Count: 5,407

[DachasaurusZen]

Username: DachasaurusZen
Storage: Awashed Shells
Last Patrol Post: here
Patrol:

ShellStar dragged herself across the sand, still leaning on StormySea's light colored shoulder. Her paws and legs felt flimsy, and her head felt foggy and tired.
"Are you alright? You should have gone to see SeaBunny or CrabBristle," StormySea mewed. She kept her front leg stiff so that ShellStar could lean on it properly and walk.
"I'm just fine," ShellStar grunted between clenched teeth, flinching as she walked.
StormySea flicked her tail in response, wrapping it along ShellStar's flank to keep her balance against her Chieftess's weight.
ShellStar tilted her head as she walked. Why was she feeling this way because of some bad prey? Eh, whatever. It probably wasn't important.
She wasn't sure how long the two of them walked. ShellStar knew it wasn't that long of a walk to her new Colony's camp, but it felt like a whole season.
ShellStar finally heard a cat's voice, and the sand under her paws grew sparse grass. "ShellStar! Are you alright? StormySea, what happened?"
She recognized the low voice as SeaBunny's.
"She suddenly just fell, and on our way back over here, she said that her head felt dizzy," StormySea informed.
ShellStar couldn't recall telling Stormysea anything of the sort, but for all she knew she could've.
Suddenly StormySea pushed against ShellStar's shoulder gently, and her opposite flank leaned against SeaBunny's. SeaBunny's side was really soft, slightly soothing ShellStar's uncomfort. She saw his paws start to move, so ShellStar quietly started to walk. Her eyes adjusted to a dimmer light, probably when they entered the Herbalists' den. SeaBunny laid her down onto a nest of moss. ShellStar nestled into the soft, layered green.
"So what happened, exactly?" SeaBunny asked, grabing something leafy and greenish-yellow from a hole in the sandy dirt and stone wall.
ShellStar curled up in the moss nest and then stretched, feeling each of her toes before rolling onto her stomach and sighing. "I ate a bad fish a couple of sunrises ago. My stomach started hurting, and earlier today, when I went to fetch StormySea, I fell and now I feel dizzy."
"I see," SeaBunny murmured, "I'll check the prey that SandpiperCall brings back later."
"Good idea," ShellStar offered, laying her fluffy head down on her paws.
SeaBunny looked at her for a moment, and then continued shuffling his paws around in the herb-filled nicks in the wall. He dropped some of the leafy, yellow-green stalks onto a big spread out leaf, and then added a couple of pale yellow petals. SeaBunny topped off the herb assortment with
a wet looking root. He picked up a rock in his mouth, positioning his head over the herbs, and dropped the rock. It made a small squelch as it landed on the root, and when SeaBunny kicked thr rock out of the way, the herbs were somewhat mushed into a paste.

Word Count: 473

[Berryy]

Username: Berryy
Storage: LushClan
Last Patrol Post: Here
Patrol:
Once over their momentary hesitation, the pair hastily approached the source of the screams. Muscles tensed, like a trap ready to spring, they crouched underneath a bush as they watched the scene unfolding. A group of three cats were standing around on the shore, looking at something… Paradise couldn’t help feeling a little intimidated by their broad shoulders and powerful frames. These must be those warriors…? But what are they doing? Who was screaming? She didn’t have to ponder too long as the horrible realization, like a stone in the stomach, suddenly set in. Among these “warriors” was a small, black, and grey she-cat, lying on the ground and coughing and gasping for air as huge paws dunked her face beneath the waves repeatedly. With wet fur clinging to her skin, it was easy to see how malnourished and weak she was. What were they doing!? She clearly isn’t a threat to them! Paradise sank her claws into the ground, as the sharp fangs of anger gnawed on her insides. The molly shot a quick glance at her companion, who was just as eager to put an end to this.
With a violent yowl, Paradise launched herself onto the back of the nearest one, digging her claws into his pelt, biting and tearing as hard as she could as the terrified tom tried to struggle free. The two tumbled around on the ground, as the warrior tried to crush the tawny she-cat with his weight. These guys were indeed difficult foes, but molly and her friend weren’t rookies either, a couple of dirty tricks cannot intimidate them! The battle raged on with a certain ebb and flow, the warriors with huge, brutish, blows and duo’s fast, well-aimed strikes. With an unexpected attack, Paradise fell to the ground. With the heavy weight of her enemy against her ribcage, the molly’s breaths turned panicked as her oppressed lungs struggled for air, each of her kicks growing weaker and weaker. Nononono!
Suddenly a blur of black, almost like a shadow, entered her field of vision. Was she… suffocating? Soon, the black completely blinded her vision, and a heartbeat later… She was free. Paws were still shaking, and the molly got on her paws as the blur in her view slowly cleared. What was going on now…?
“Are you okay, little bird?” Paradise could feel the wetness of Salty’s nose against her ears. The tom definitely got a decent beating, with several deep scratches scattered across his pelt, but seemingly nothing a bundle of cobwebs couldn’t fix.
“Well, thanks for the distraction, you two. Just please make sure that on your next little rescue mission, you won’t be the one to be saved. Anyways. Wolf won’t be happy I gave his new recruits a good whipping and his soldiers will soon arrive, so I don’t recommend sticking around.” Now Paradise finally understood what the dark shadow she had seen a moment ago was. It was her!
“The part after the thank you wasn’t necessary, you know…” Salty grumbled. He was right, they took a serious risk for her, why is she acting so
“Whatever, I was just kidding. And I would have managed on my own anyway. But, to show my appreciation, I’ll take you somewhere safe where you can lick your wounds, and since these mouse-brains didn’t manage to steal my prey this time around, I think I can spare you a bite or two as well” The black she-cat let out a please purr, as she triumphantly pulled a huge fish onto the shore. “Okay, follow me, make sure not to lag behind if you don’t wanna die horribly!”
Paradise looked at her friend questioningly, but he just shrugged. Oh well, guess they’re following this weird, scrawny molly they just met, deeper into the jungle to some random place. Sounds perfectly normal and reasonable!

Word Count: 641

[dimi.]

Patrols for the week of November 22nd are now closed. Sorry for the delay.
To claim this XP, head over to Leveling and fill out the Patrol form! This experience will not be applied until you do so.

Dolly: 113 xp
ruethefangirl: 540 xp
DachasaurusZen: 47 xp
Berryy: 64 xp

Posts for the week of November 29th are now open!

[ivyy.]

Username: ivyy.
Storage: the abandoned order
Last Patrol Post: the ambush [patrol #3]
Patrol: Eyes darting from side to side, a silver shadow lifted herself off the ground, a gaping circular wound in her leg spilling a slow stream of blood as she did. Fighting to not let out a scream of pain, her skull still echoing with the sound of the loudstick that had caught her in the first place. Cats yowled around her as the men put loud, husky voices forward as well. Gritting her teeth, she dragged herself, leg still pulsing furiously with pain. Grunting with the effort, she pushed on and found herself shakily crawling into an unoccupied fox burrow, colorful eyes flashing in the stuffy dimness of the abandoned den. Large clumps of tilting valley grass shielded the entrance from the direct sight of twolegs, brushing against her fur as she slid into the safety of the underground den. The agonized cries of other cats were muffled where she slumped, her paws giving way from under her as she allowed sleep to steal her away. It felt impossible to ignore the pain in her rear left foreleg but somehow the mist of exhaustion and fear swarmed her faster than she could fight it off, dragging her into a deep slumber.

---

"You're alive!" Beetle felt relief as she heard Steel mew happily, tiredness still edging his voice from their desperate search for stragglers. Three days had passed since they had found anyone- anyone alive, that is. Beetle huffed a worn-out sigh of relief as Steel rushed forward and propped the juvenile, she-cat against his sturdy gray and white shoulders, "Who's this, Steel?" Beetle flanked the young she-cat on her opposite side, propping the injured cat between both other their shoulder blades, her back leg dragging lamely behind them and the maneuvered their way out of the burrow. "My name is Elois but Steel calls me Aloe. You can call me that too." She chuckled lightly and the silver tom shared a playful gleam in his eyes although it disappeared fast as she grunted painfully. "Help me out of this cursed den."

Carefully, they guided the silver she=cat back to the briar bush where they had made a makeshift den for the survivors they had discovered. When Esper had appeared that fateful day, it led to a chain of other discoveries. A black and white tom, similar to Beetle in appearance, had appeared right behind her, apparently having kept her alive after he discovered her injured. Now, the same tom greeted her immediately once he noticed the damage feline her and Steel were leading. He had introduced himself as Rye, not an original member of the Strays but one who overheard their distressed cries and decided to come and help, apparently, he was decently trained in healing and remedies. "Rye! This is Elois, or Aloe. She doesn't care, really." His voice came in a hurried whisper, fading as he watched his friend crumble before Rye, her eyes flickering closed. Rye grabbed her by the scruff and dragged her to the shade of the briar bush, Onion quickly carrying Little Bird out of the way.

The three cats stood watching, Esper had already been settled inside the bush days ago, cobwebs covering her major wounds and poultices stinging her fur with herbal scents. "This is bad." A blue she-cat crawled out from under a neighboring bush. Beetle turned to the grave voice and nodded, Crystal had found them only the day before while Steel and Onion were out hunting and had left Beetle and Rye on Little Bird duty. Now, the little tom wiggled and cried out at her words. They had been feeding him with chewed up prey, but he didn't seem to find much nourishment from it. His ribs showed through his sides, and he was constantly crying out for milk to no avail. Esper weakly blinked her eyes open, barely noticeable from behind the dark briar leaves, "He needs... milk..." Her voice was raspy and choked before she closed her eyes again. Rye snorted sarcastically, "Yeah, no kidding." Snapping his attention back to his work, he continued to apply a chunky, gray salve to Aloe, growling slightly. Without looking up, he murmured at Steel, "Go get some wet moss for both of these two, it seems this cat- Aloe, you said? She's extremely dehydrated. It's good you two found her when you did." His voice held a disturbing seriousness, his back to the small group.

Steel nodded and darted off, leaving behind Crystal, Beetle, Onion, and Little Bird who sat staring at the two injured cats through the thick leaves of the bushes. Shaking her head to clear it of the negativity that drifted, she spoke. "We need to find out if Archer is alive." She whispered, her eyes clouded. "He's the second in command, without him, there is no one to lead us." Crystal and Onion both nodded in agreement, their eyes dull and tired. Onion sighed through the crying ball of fur that shift in her maw, "Hush, Little Bird." She attempted to soothe him, but her words only seemed to make him more agitated. Beetle's gaze surveyed the shape of the kit, and she realized where her first priority would be. With ribs showing through his flanks and a runny nose, she knew before even thinking about searching for Archer, they had to find milk for the kitten. "Other than... his mom, were there any others that were nursing or had young kittens?"

Onion and Crystal looked at each other for a moment before Crystal responded, "No, not that we know of. Remi was the only one." Remi, Beetle repeated in her head. That must've been his mother, poor scrap. Beetle shifted on her paws before lifting her gaze boldly, "I refuse to let him continue on the diet of chewed prey, it's not helping him much." She lifted a paw and gestured at his emaciated state. "We need to find him a real source of nutrition before it's..." She trailed off, not wanting to imagine the death of such a energetic little kitten. Crystal looked at Onion before sighing in agreement, "Yes, it's true. The poor thing won't live much longer like this." Beetle flicked her tail, forcing her eyes shut as she attempted to think of a solution. Before she could murmur an idea, an excited voice spoke first. "What about the human village?" Steel had returned with wet moss, the volume of it muffling his words.

Beetle tilted her head, curiosity edging her tone. "What village?"

---

Eyes darting from side to side, Onion and Beetle slunk through the sparse ungrown, ears pricked for the gargling sounds of sickly humans or the loud booms of explosives. Edging closer to the border of bracken, the dry grass shielded her from view, her pelt brushing up against Onion as they surveyed the landscape before them. Rolling fields of yellow extended before them, trees edging around the open land in scattered clusters. An aged cow-den or what Onion told Beetle was called a "barn". Its rickety stature made her nervous, but it was the safest way to get through the humans' farmland without encountering. The hay fields would easily allow the pair to get lost, even separated and could easily hide all kinds of dangers.

Taking the pathway wouldn't be a much better option...

Ahead of them, just before the neat squares of hay grew and weaving alongside the mud-colored barn was a dirt pathway, rough gravel littering it. Beetle's heart raced at the thought of not having any sort of cover to hide her and Onion.

Not like we can make much use of that way either.

Exchanging an uncertain glance with Onion, she nodded determinedly. After Steel had drawn them a map in the peat of where he had wandered as a kitten. Onion refused to stay behind and volunteered immediately; certain she wanted to assist in saving the young kitten's life. Rye eventually joined in on adding notes for them to look out for on their way to the human village. "Let's go." Beetle whispered. "Rye and Steel said the village is past the barn. We might not get back until late." The sun still hung low, just having risen after they had slept on their plan. At the thought of returning at night, Onion puffed up her chest but the fur on her hackles remained lifted.

"We'll need to take the short cut alongside the barn if we want to give Little Bird a chance at survival." Onion concluded quietly, echoing Beetle's thoughts out loud. Beetle nodded slowly, "Yes but if we are to make it back, we'll need to be extra vigilant and try to seek out shelter where we can." The dirt and gravel path curved along the barn, stones the size of cat paws littering the rugged trail like small, gray orbs catching. "Right. Ready?" Beetle murmured after a moment of thought. When Onion flicked her tail in agreement, the tuxedo she-cat bunched her muscles and took the lead.

"Off we go, then."
Word Count: [1,507 words]