Dawnclan | Art and Writing

[coppercanary]

This is where I will store my prompt responses for Dawnclan, my Rise clan. Please do not post here.

< Information and Lore

The Cats >

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At Level 0, you can have: 1 cat total (1 leader)
► Get your founder
► Make a thread
► Describe your territory (100+ words)

At Level 1, you can have: 3 cats total (limits: 1 leader, 0 deputy, 0 medicine cats)
► Describe your clan (100+ words)
► Give your leader a history and/or personality (200+ words)
► Write about or draw a scene showing your leader meeting one of your new clan members

At Level 2, you can have: 7 cats total (limits: 1 leader, 1 deputy, 0 medicine cats)
► Write about or draw a scene about your clan's camp
► Describe your leader and deputy's relationship (100+ words)
► Describe your clan's reputation (50+ words)

At Level 3, you can have: 10 cats total (limits: 1 leader, 1 deputy, 1 medicine cats)
► Write about or draw your medicine cat
► Give at least one of your cats a history and personality. (200+ words)
► Write about or draw a scene of your choice

At Level 4, you can have: 15 cats total (limits: 1 leader, 1 deputy, 1 medicine cats)
► Describe a clan tradition (100+ words)
► Write about or draw a scene of a clan meeting
► Write about or draw a scene of your choice

At Level 5, you can have: 20 cats total (limits: 1 leader, 1 deputy, 2 medicine cats)
► Write about or draw a patrol
► Write about or draw a meeting between your leader or medicine cat with Starclan
► Write about or draw a scene of your choice

Each level after Level 5, you can get 5 additional cats. (limits: 1 leader, 1 deputy, 2 medicine cats)
► Draw or order art of 2 characters
► Create a personality or history for 2 characters (200+ words each)
► Write about or draw 2 scenes of your choice

[coppercanary]

The day was cool and cloudy. Leaf-fall was giving way to leaf-bare, and Bark was searching for shelter. Leaf-bare meant rain and snow- both of which Bark hated. Shelter in the pine forest was scarce, however, and she had been forced to wander far away from her usual haunts. She hardly noticed when she passed the scent markers of another cat; as a loner, she had encountered enough of them to pay little attention. She stepped lightly, letting her naturally coloured pelt camouflage her- using shrubbery as cover often led to things getting stuck in her long fur, which were a nightmare to remove. Her brown colouration was one of her advantages; if she had a light pelt like that cat over there- she paused suddenly. That’s another cat. She instinctively crouched, watching the other tom with beady eyes. He hadn’t noticed her yet, and she would use that to her advantage. She crept forward, stepping only on places devoid of dry leaves. He still hadn’t seen her, and she was only a metre away. Prime time to pounce, she thought to herself. One more step... and she launched herself into the air.

Her leap had rustled some leaves, and her target spun round to face her as she landed on top of him. He was stunned, not retaliating as she pinned him to the ground and placed her mouth around his neck. The tom closed his eyes submissively, and Bark released his neck. “Your light pelt sticks out a mile,” she spat at him. “What are you doing here anyway?” The other cat sat up quizzically and looked at her.
“I could ask you the same thing. You are in my clan’s land, you know.” Bark laughed harshly.
“Your clan? I smell no other cats on you, and the markers around here are yours alone. Do you really believe you are a clan, when you are only one cat?” The tom watched her calmly.
“I do. My clan may be myself for now, but sooner or later I’ll do d another cat to join me.” He looked up at Bark, his small size compared to her large size not intimidating him whatsoever. “I don’t believe I have introduced myself. I am Birchstar, leader of Dawnclan. And you are?”
“I am Bark. Loner.”
“Well, if you’re looking to join my clan, you will need a new name. Let’s see... Barkheart? Barkpelt? Barkfur? No. Ah, I’ve got it! Barkshine.”
I think you’ve made some mistake. I’m not looking to join your clan. I like being a loner, and the only reason I’d join your clan is to lead it.” There was a certain edge to her voice.
“I’m sorry, but the position of leader is taken by me.” Barkshine’s irritation was evident. She sat down and glared at Birchstar. That was when the first fat drop of water broke through the tree cover. Barkshine laid her ears back and huddled against the ground, not caring about the mud in her belly fur. Noticing her peculiar behaviour, Birchstar seemed to remember something about his clan. “We’ve got shelter back at camp.”
“Alright then, I’ll come,” she muttered begrudgingly.
“You never know, you might enjoy it more than you think.”
(537)

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Birchstar crouched, creeping towards the small mouse that nibbled a seed in front of him. Although it was chubby, it was still only a small meal; the beginning of leaf-bare had been hard on the only two cats of their clan. He didn’t notice the larger she-cat padding towards him on soft paws, focused as he was on the mouse. He didn’t notice when she dropped into a crouch and began stalking him. He leaped into the air and landed squarely on top of the mouse, killing it with a quick bite to the neck. The she-cat launched herself into the air and landed on top of Birchstar, who had the wind knocked out of him and was laughing very hard. “Barkshine,” he coughed, “what... why did you pounce on me?” Barkshine sat on top of her mate, a cheeky smile painted on her face. “Oi, get off!” Birchstar tried to lift himself off the ground, but he’d never been known for his strength and was unable to get up.
“What’s wrong, Birchstar? Too difficult for you?” Barkshine asked sweetly. Birchstar panted and looked up at his mate, who smiled at him nicely but had a mischievous glint in her eye. She flicked her tail at Birchstar’s nose, making him sneeze.
“Gerroff...” Birchstar wheezed. Sensing that she’d gone a little too far, Barkshine got off her mate. “You should be more careful!” Birchstar pointed out indignantly. “You’re a lot heavier than me! You know, I could have lost a life there,” he said teasingly. Barkshine chuckled and jumped at him playfully, knocking them both to the ground in a bundle of light and dark fur. They toyed with each other for a few minutes before tiring. Then they sat together, simply enjoying one another’s company. They entwined their tails, and Birchstar buried his nose in Barkshine’s thick fur.
“What do you think the kits will look like?” He whispered quietly. Barkshine nuzzled him in return, enjoying the feel of his smooth fur.
“I think that there’ll be one just like you,” she murmured. “We should call one of them Beechkit, and another one Fernkit.”
“I like the sound of Larkkit.”
“Well, maybe we’ll have three kits, hm?”
“Maybe we will.” Birchstar nudged Barkshine’s slightly swollen belly. “What would happen if we don’t have a medicine cat when they come?”
“I’ll be fine. Queens have had kits without medicine cats before. As long as you’re there with me, I will be alright.”
“Well, since you’re the one having the kits, I think you deserve this mouse.” He pawed the fresh mouse towards her, but she shook her head.
“No, I can’t eat this all by myself. I’m not that hungry.” This was a lie, and Birchstar know it; there was hardly a time when the cats in the fledgling clan weren’t hungry.
“Barkshine, I know that you want to share. But you’ve got kits to look after, our kits to look after. You need to eat this.” But Barkshine would not be convinced.
“No. I want to share. You need this just as much as I do, because you’ll be doing all the hunting soon. Not just for yourself either, but for me and the unborn kits.” She looked him in the eyes. “Birchstar, either we share this mouse, or it gets left to rot. Which would you rather?” Birchstar pulled a thinking face, then replied.
“I suppose that if you don’t want it, I’ll have it all to myself.” Barkshine’s face broke into a wide grin, and she nudged him with her shoulder.
“Oh no you don’t.” Then she took a large bite from the mouse, and Birchstar followed suit. Before long, the mouse was gone, and it was just the two cats sitting peacefully together.
(626)

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“Alderleaf, do you promise to uphold the warrior code?”
“I do.”
“Do you pledge your loyalty to the Clan, never to leave and to take it to only good places?”
“I do.”
“Will you protect all those who need protecting, and do what you must, even through the toughest of times?”
“I do.”
“And finally, do you accept the prestigious role of deputy?”
“I do.”
Birchstar’s face broke into a grin. “In that case, welcome to the clan.”

Birchstar’s relationship with Alderleaf can vary from day to day. It is normally a formal connection in public, but when they’re inside things can change. They get a lot more comfortable with each other than the stiff face they put on outside, and act like brothers; although not related by blood, they are very close. Like brothers, Birchstar can snap at Alderleaf when he’s in a bad mood, but Barkshine and Alderleaf know just how to clan him down. Because if the large amount of trust Birchstar has to put in Alderleaf, they sometimes go out in their own to discuss clan matters, and to confess their mistakes. One can always reassure the other when he’s feeling down.
(Part one 78 words, part two 118 words, altogether 196 words)

[coppercanary]

Emberkit hadn’t been able to sleep well. Something hadn’t felt right about that night, and as she’d curled up beside her family, sleep had evaded her for many minutes. But she had finally managed to sleep.

Just after her eyelids closed and she slipped into sleep, Emberkit woke up. She sat in the forest, but it wasn’t a part of the forest she’d been before; something about it was ominous and threatening. Emberkit made up her mind quickly. This was not somewhere she wanted to be. Before attempting to wake up, she looked around the clearing and saw something very unexpected. There was another cat on the other side of he clearing, sat atop a large rock. Even from the distance between them, he was huge. He bore a gleaming black pelt with white flecks on his chest, along with a large scar across his muscly shoulders and one across his back right leg. His front left pew was raised with claws extended, larger than those you’d expect. He glanced upwards, dark green eyes scanning the kit. Overall, the cat was a fine specimen. “So.” The tom’s voice was deep and commanding of respect. “You came.” Emberkit looked at him in wonder, not quite sure what to say. “Well, speak up then!” He mewed impatiently.
“O-oh... I didn’t exactly decide to come here,” she replied.
The black tom snorted. “Well then. I must introduce myself.” He leapt down from the rock and advanced upon Emberkit. He was at least twice her size, she realised; although a kit would never be able to stand up against a fully grown adult, this cat could kill her with a flick of a single claw. “I am Black Thorn that Pricks Paw,” he whispered poisonously into her ear, “but you will know me as Blackthorn.” Emberkit gasped and tried to back away, but her paws were stuck to the ground. “Going somewhere?” Blackthorn hissed. He struck out at Emberkit, bowling her over. She managed to stop at the edge of the clearing and clambered to her shaky paws.
“I’m sorry, Blackthorn,” she mumbled, “I thought you were just a legend. You’re always seen as a bad cat when Daddy tells me about you.”
“Birchstar could not see me as anything but an evil cat. He would not understand my true motives. You see, the Tribe of the Dawning Sun was weak under the rule of Branch that Falls From Alder, or Alderbranch as you know him. The tribe was soft, I tell you, soft! It needed a strong leader to guide it to glory, and I was that leader! Our territory was larger than it ever had been before, both our Bloodseekers and Furcatchers were stronger than ever, and who was behind it? Me! I did it all, then my reputation was tainted by Boulder that Falls Down Cliff! He led a rebellion that led to the collapse of a tribe in its prime! If anything, he’s the one who deserves to be in the Tribe of Blackened Pines, not me! I was the greatest leader the tribe had ever seen, and he destroyed it all.
“And now, Emberkit, it is you who will follow in my pawsteps. I chose you out of your whole clan. You are better than the others. You have more potential than the others. I will teach you things that you never even dreamed of learning with your clan. I’ll teach you how to kill with a single blow. I’ll teach you how to manipulate others to your will. I’ll teach you the ways of a great leader. But first you must learn how to disregard your friends and family. They never liked you. They just think you’re an insignificant scrap who could die in leaf-bare and not be remembered in the moons to come. That is what you are at the moment. But with my tuition, you will become greater than any cat in the history of your clan or mine, apart from yours truly. So you must do that now. Family? Friends? They’re not important now.”
“But Blackthorn,” Emberkit mewed, voice trembling, “my family do love me. They’ve said so themselves.”
Blackthorn rounded on her, face twisted into a snarl. “Love? You think that will get you anywhere in life? No! It won’t! You’re on your own, Emberkit. You have to learn that.” He turned away and passed next to her, twining his thick, muscled tail around her smaller, fluffier one. “I know it’s a lot to take in, my great-great-great-great-granddaughter, but this is the right thing to do. I will bring you back here when I know you’re ready.” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “And you’d better be ready, or face the consequences.”
As the dream faded, his voice hissed in her ear, “Don’t tell anyone about this. It’s our secret, hm?” And with that, the dream was gone. She was back in camp with her family just waking up... No. They’re not family, she told herself. If I want to see Blackthorn again, I must convince myself that they’re nothing more than random cats.

(849)

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