[Archaeopteryx.]

What haunts this kitty? Unlimited impress me.
Prompt suggested by vivika

Ends January 12th at rollover (12th to 13th)

Code: Select all

[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Cat Name:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Rank:[/b]
[b]Clan:[/b] (Please link)
[b]Age:[/b] (1 year or above)
[b]Prompt:[/b]

x
Name:
Gender:
Rank:
Clan:
Description: Black calico (carrying classic tabby) with high white
Age:
Edits: [nr] claws, expression
[c] short tail, min fur, whiskers, ear placement
Owner:

[elliott.]

username: elliott.
cat name: strike of poisonous viper, or viperstrike
gender: dfab [she/her]
rank: cave-guard
clan: tribe of forgotten past
age: 55m
prompt:
Every time she closed her eyes, Viperstrike remembers what it was like to live in fear every day.

She remembered being trapped inside that house, so pristine and clean, with a family that lived with large smiles. She had never wanted to be stuck inside there, loved her life as an outside cat, but she had taken food from them one too many times, to the point where they believed she had chosen them, and therefore had locked her inside with no chances of escape. She constantly heard them say the same words, the only ones she picked up in their language, and she knew they were all negative. Feral, stray, unfriendly.

But Viperstrike didn't care about what they called her. All she cared about was being around them. Not because she enjoyed them, but because she didn't enjoy the company of the other one in the house - Ozzy/

A playful name, latched onto a dog with a friendly enough face and soft eyes, but the dog was the devil when the family wasn't around. The minute they left the room, the dog was running over to her, all teeth and fangs. Whenever the humans did happen to catch it, they'd always scold him with a slight pat to the nose or rump, but he'd never listen. He chased Viperstrike up her little fake tree and up on cabinets, although she'd always be kicked off the latter.

It only ended when he finally tore skin, opening up a big cut on her hind leg. They took her to the vet, and they never came back. She was healed, and then she was taken to a shelter.

Surprisingly, she didn't stay long. She was taken by another family, but they were more lenient. They let her outside through a small flap in the door, and every time she came back, they simply fed her, gave her a long stroke down her spine, and left her alone. It was fine, until she continued her treks farther and farther, until she met Tribe cats. A life, outside? No dogs, no humans, no nothing?

Peace. And no fear she couldn't deal with.

[Fernathy]

Username: Fernathy
Cat Name: Ember (Ember's Light)
Gender: she-cat
Rank: medicine cat
Clan: Storm's End
Age: 60 moons
Prompt:

"Change your mind."

A simple three word phrase that she couldn't wrap her head around. How could she change her mind? She huffed in frustration at StarClan's unending ability to give her more questions than answers. She was coming to them for guidance, how could the answer be dependent on her?

"Change your mind", she kept thinking. What does that mean? Her connection to StarClan had been dwindling for sometime now, and this filled her with fear. She called out to them for help every night, yet it seemed that with every cry, they only got further away. Why were the Stars turning their back on her? She wracked her brain about what she could have possibly done to upset The Cats Before her. What did she do? She thought she was doing everything right. Was she not everything that a medicine cat should be? Her bond to the Stars was dying and all they could do was give her riddles.

She knew she had to find out soon, and with this added desperation, the fear she felt continued to grow. In her mind, she was already done for. The Stars had given her one final chance, it seemed, and she couldn't even understand what they meant.

[KittyandCat]

Username: KittyandCat
Cat Name: Snowshoe
Gender: tom
Rank: senior warrior
Clan: HollowClan
Age: 72 moons
Prompt:

“Come on, Snowshoe! Let’s show these apprentices who’s the best at catching rabbits!” Marshrunner purred, already haring after the fleeing prey.

He sighed, knowing his friend too well, knowing it was a ploy to goof around, but gave chase anyway. At first he only jogged, figuring Marshrunner would swerve in front of the rabbit, making it turn and race right into Snowshoe’s paws. But the tom turned back, calling “Race me!”, a smirk on his jaws as he sped up.

The wind buffeted his face as Snowshoe picked up the pace, extending his legs further with every bound, his breathing speeding up as he made every effort to catch up. Marshrunner had the advantage, having started first, but Snowshoe was already gaining. He was sure the apprentices on their patrol were already far behind, and soon the river came into view. The rabbit swerved, and so did the two toms.

They were running along a small stretch of field, bordered by the river on one side and the forest on the other. Snowshoe was alongside Marshrunner now, his muscles aching as he tried to pick up the pace and surpass him. The strip of field got thinner and thinner, their pelts closer and closer. Snowshoe clenched his teeth as each bound made his legs scream more and more, everything, except his prey, seeming to blur.

Until he heard a screech.

He stopped, his momentum making him fall as the rabbit hared away into the forest. He looked around, his eyes slowly but surely landing on the river. Brown fur flailed in the water. White eyes flashed. A desperate “Snowshoe!” Echoed through the air, before the water grew still.

It all hit him at once. Snowshoe had knocked his best friend into the river. Marshrunner couldn’t swim.

He clambered up, desperately trying to get to the water on wobbly legs, before he collapsed. The patrol caught up to him, and he cried out, “Marshrunner! He’s in the river, please, please help me get to the river, I-”

He was silenced by another warrior on the patrol. “You’re too tired to swim- you can hardly stand. Stay.” Before he could protest, they leapt into the water, leaving him alone on the shore.

Marshrunner was never found. The clan felt his loss horribly, though no cat, besides himself, ever blamed Snowshoe for the accident.

[eldritch hound]

Username: angel bugs
Cat Name: scorchchaser
Gender: agender
Rank: fighter
Clan: mothclan
Age: thirty two months
Prompt: ,,six hundred and seventy five words,,

scorchpaw was so excited, they couldn't contain their anticipation as they hopped from one paw to the other, standing in front of their young leader, as she stared down at the two calicos before him, eyes gleaming with pride. it was the day these mirrored cats became warriors. they had both reached the age of twelve months and had excelled at their exams with flying colours and were ready to be given their warrior names (it also helped that this was carrionhornets first time hosting a ceremony since his ascension) so tensions and exhilaration was running high with everybody.

it was that evening when the moon was high and the winds were calm, when the newly named scorchchaser and maplewing ventured out of the camp and into the dark surroundings of the forest encompassing them. it was cold and the pair wasn't paying much attention to their environment, bouncing around each other in excitement and exhilaration of being beyond the confides of the camp without the supervision of an adult because THEY were adults.

the pair were out giggling and wriggling and jumping around, oblivious to the approaching dangers of a four legged friend. it wasn't until a particularly loud snap of a branch broken caught their attention that they looked around and by then, it was already too late: standing above them, drool slipping from the great beasts lips like a waterfall over rocks was a giant galumphing dog, deep brown, almost black, eyes glared down at the two cats with a crazed fervour that screamed danger

the siblings were frozen in place, staring back up at the beast as it stared at them.

there was a blur of movement,

a flurry of white and black and brown and orange as everybody moved at the same time.

and three things happened at once, complete with a harsh cacophony of sound:

1) the lunging of the dog, yellowed teeth bared and jaws snapping towards the last whispers of a cats tail fleeing the scene,
2) the scraping of claws against an oak trees trunk as somebody tries to gain purchase of bark hugged in ivy
and 3) a spattering of crimson against the green foliage of a forest in summer

all of this was punctuated by a gut-wrenching scream of agony and fear. all while scorchchaser watched the scene. their eyes as wide as the moon as they watched their brother get ragdolled around the forest clearing, spraying the green with a dark liquid that glistened in the star light. it took a couple of minutes before the dog got fed up with its new toy and having thankfully forgotten all about the second cat that had scampered off.

it was a few heartbeats more before scorchchaser found the courage to creep back down the ivy covered tree, their white fur picking up stray splotches of red, not that they cared, their eyes trained on the limp body that was their brother. they didn't move until morning when the hunting patrol was sent out.

they weren't blamed for their siblings death, although, even if she didn't say it, they were pretty sure their mother held a strong resentment towards them for not at least trying to help their twin, even if it had meant scorch chasers death too.

but it didn't really matter what other people thought about their actions. its was always there. under the surface and at the back of their mind. especially when they sleep, where her brother lays in wait, in a pool of glistening wet, where it twitches with the last morsel of life leaves his body, with a croaked 'you' and a narrowing of eyes and a glare of resentment.

when they're out on patrol, which they often do alone, to try and spare the lives of the rest of their clanmates, they still feel the eyes of their brother out in the forest, between the foliage and leaves of the underbrush, taunting them, blaming them, making sure they *know* that he's no longer there because of their cowardice.


(( -- this is much longer than I thought it would be, sorry, ^^ ))

[basils]

Username: basils
Cat Name: ember
Gender: dfab she-cat [she/him]
Rank: warrior
Clan: delta gardens
Age: 14 moons
Prompt:
nightmares.

ember has had nightmares for as long as she can remember, horrid images flashing before his unconscious mind like a scary movie. because of this, he doesn't sleep much, preferring even exhaustion over those dreams where crimson coats his paws.

[LittleMaple]

Username: LittleMaple
Cat Name: Burningmaple
Gender: nb, feminine leaning they/she/xem
Rank: warrior - assassin subset
Clan: Aetherclan
Age: 6 years
Prompt: Burningmaple tends to keep quiet about xeir past since xey were part of a band. They have done many things that they regret and continue to follow them into their new life. Whenever someone asks them what the worst of these things was, they typically refuse to answer. Today, however, they are feeling more open, and actually considered your question when you asked them. They look around camp where the two of you are standing idly and then start walking out. They signal for you to follow them, and you do. She leads you into the woods, in a secluded place. Xey sits, and motions for you to do the same. You hear a sigh escape them before they look at you with tired eyes. “Kid, I have done so many things that still haunt me to this day, but you want to know the one that I can never force out of my mind? The one that haunts my waking and sleeping hours?” Xey asks you, xeir tone menacing. You sheepishly nod your head and xey smile. “Good, I wanted to make you were serious about this,” as they say this, their expression turns somber again, “I want you to know, I don’t share this with anyone, kiddo.” You nod again a sit down slowly, and Burningmaple follows suit. Xey looks at you with sad eyes before they start to spin their tale of sorrow.

“It was when I lived in a band. We were ruthless, killing for the fun of it. One day, a queen and her kits showed up. Our commander… was suspicious of newcomers. The three of them were starving, I could count the ribs on the kits. He let them join us until they could get back on their feet, but then they had to leave. One night, I spotted her sneaking out, and decided to follow her. She had been plotting with a different band commander to overthrow us…” Burningmaple pauses clearly choked up over these events. Xey takes a moment to collect xemself before continuing.

“I intercepted her on her way back to camp and forced her to let me escort her to our commander. I’ll never forget the look of fear in her eyes, or what I was made to do next. I presented her to our commander, and the disdain in his eyes was enough to make me nervous for her. He screamed at her, hurling insults and curses. She just took it, not saying anything. When he was done, he looked me in the eyes, ’ Burn, you will be the one to give out her punishment.’ Of course, I didn’t dare disobey my commander, so I asked him what he wanted me to do. I could’ve never dreamed he would say that I needed to kill her…” Burningmaple takes a moment to let a few tears fall from her amber eyes.

“So... I looked her in the eyes, told her I was sorry, and then I… I killed her. Slit her throat. I made sure it was as quick and painless as possible. The look on her kits' faces when they crawled out from where they had been hiding… was horrible. I had never killed another cat before, never even considered it. But right there, right then, I was a murderer. I have never been so guilty about something in my life, and I doubt I ever will be. She was an innocent cat, just being forced to do bad things. And her kits were victims too since now they had no mother. I left a moon or two after that, I couldn’t stand seeing those kits every day, and the commander had started taking a liking to me. It made me sick. He would come up beside me while I was hunting and get really close, he started to put me on fewer patrols and had me stay with him and plan out ‘battle tactics.’ In reality, though, it was just him ranting to me about his day and then trying to get me to cuddle up with him. I wish I hadn’t been born to that band, I wish I had never killed that poor she-cat. It was the worst decision I ever made,” Burningmaple is evidently done talking, as she hides her face in her paws. You try to comfort her, but the look of sadness and hatred, followed by one of sheer vulnerability, tells you that you should just leave them alone.

(746 words)

[Swishy & Broken]

Username: angel bugs
Cat Name: scorchchaser
Gender: agender
Rank: fighter
Clan: mothclan
Age: thirty two months
Prompt: ,,six hundred and seventy five words,,

scorchpaw was so excited, they couldn't contain their anticipation as they hopped from one paw to the other, standing in front of their young leader, as she stared down at the two calicos before him, eyes gleaming with pride. it was the day these mirrored cats became warriors. they had both reached the age of twelve months and had excelled at their exams with flying colours and were ready to be given their warrior names (it also helped that this was carrionhornets first time hosting a ceremony since his ascension) so tensions and exhilaration was running high with everybody.

it was that evening when the moon was high and the winds were calm, when the newly named scorchchaser and maplewing ventured out of the camp and into the dark surroundings of the forest encompassing them. it was cold and the pair wasn't paying much attention to their environment, bouncing around each other in excitement and exhilaration of being beyond the confides of the camp without the supervision of an adult because THEY were adults.

the pair were out giggling and wriggling and jumping around, oblivious to the approaching dangers of a four legged friend. it wasn't until a particularly loud snap of a branch broken caught their attention that they looked around and by then, it was already too late: standing above them, drool slipping from the great beasts lips like a waterfall over rocks was a giant galumphing dog, deep brown, almost black, eyes glared down at the two cats with a crazed fervour that screamed danger

the siblings were frozen in place, staring back up at the beast as it stared at them.

there was a blur of movement,

a flurry of white and black and brown and orange as everybody moved at the same time.

and three things happened at once, complete with a harsh cacophony of sound:

1) the lunging of the dog, yellowed teeth bared and jaws snapping towards the last whispers of a cats tail fleeing the scene,
2) the scraping of claws against an oak trees trunk as somebody tries to gain purchase of bark hugged in ivy
and 3) a spattering of crimson against the green foliage of a forest in summer

all of this was punctuated by a gut-wrenching scream of agony and fear. all while scorchchaser watched the scene. their eyes as wide as the moon as they watched their brother get ragdolled around the forest clearing, spraying the green with a dark liquid that glistened in the star light. it took a couple of minutes before the dog got fed up with its new toy and having thankfully forgotten all about the second cat that had scampered off.

it was a few heartbeats more before scorchchaser found the courage to creep back down the ivy covered tree, their white fur picking up stray splotches of red, not that they cared, their eyes trained on the limp body that was their brother. they didn't move until morning when the hunting patrol was sent out.

they weren't blamed for their siblings death, although, even if she didn't say it, they were pretty sure their mother held a strong resentment towards them for not at least trying to help their twin, even if it had meant scorch chasers death too.

but it didn't really matter what other people thought about their actions. its was always there. under the surface and at the back of their mind. especially when they sleep, where her brother lays in wait, in a pool of glistening wet, where it twitches with the last morsel of life leaves his body, with a croaked 'you' and a narrowing of eyes and a glare of resentment.

when they're out on patrol, which they often do alone, to try and spare the lives of the rest of their clanmates, they still feel the eyes of their brother out in the forest, between the foliage and leaves of the underbrush, taunting them, blaming them, making sure they *know* that he's no longer there because of their cowardice.


(( -- this is much longer than I thought it would be, sorry, ^^ ))

Sorry about the wait <3
Arc has given me permission to judge this adopt ~

I've taken a look through each of these entries, and fell in love with this one.
Congratulations on your new kitty c:

[eldritch hound]

sorry , i just saw this now

i'm glad you liked my entry, swishy !
and tysm for the new kitty :)