[ `` northernclan !! ] [ archives - dnp ]

My gallery · by **solyn** » Sun Jun 16, 2019 7:24 pm

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍.
population: 42 cats [ 21 fem : 21 male ]
servings required: 08 [48] - pebbles: 20

𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩

moderator: deimos - next moonstone: 9th june
moons since last nonsense: 1

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𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐨.

Whisperwind's pads were silent against the camp's rocky ground as he circled his target. His eyes gleamed as he crouched, and launched forward without a sound, focusing intently on the she-cat in front of him. Bearears' ear swiveled toward him, and as he was airborne, she spun, kicking her back legs up to catch him in the chest. Whisperwind hit the ground on his shoulder and rolled to his paws, watching her ears shift this way and that, listening for any sound of him as he noiselessly slipped around her side, creeping closer.
"Four tails on your left," Magpiefeather said, and Whisperwind only had time to shoot her a glare before Bearears launched forward, digging her teeth into his scruff and tossing him onto his back. Whisperwind rolled to his paws again and scampered away, trying to hide his smile from Magpiefeather's booming laugh. He schooled his expression and turned on her.
"Not helping," he said, ducking away from Bearears' paw as she swiped at his head with a purr.
"On the contrary, this is very helpful."
"It's cheating!" Whisperwind protested, skittering clear of Bearears again as she advanced on him, ears trained on the sound of pebbles scattering underfoot. Magpiefeather laughed again, the tail end of it morphing into a cough. Poppywish shot the pair of them a glare, but he couldn't feign enough irritation for it to stick.
"You two are going to give her a chest infection," he said, as Magpiefeather snorted dismissively and waved him away with her tail.
"Oh, I'll be fine, stop your fussing. I've had my fair share of greencough and it hasn't managed to kill me yet." Poppywish gave her a stern glance for a moment, before apparently deciding he was fighting an uphill battle with a drawn-out exasperated groan.
"Operative word being 'yet', Magpiefeather, but if you insist on catching your death of a chill I suppose there's not really any stopping you, is there?" The black and white molly rumbled a laugh, shaking her head good-naturedly.
"There is not. You'd do well to lighten up, Poppywish, you've been cranky for the past few moons. Besides, if greencough finally manages to kill me this time, at least I'll walk to the stars having seen these two getting better. Bearears should be ready for patrol in no time." The younger molly ducked her head bashfully, casting a small smile at her paws as she covered them with her tail.
"I don't know about that... but however ready I am, I owe it to Whisperwind. It can't have been easy to get Sleetstar to agree to letting you stay behind, especially not with Minkfur out for kits and so many mentors caught up with apprentices. I would have thought it would have been all paws on deck but... whatever the reason she let you help me, I'm glad she did."
"She's been in good spirits lately, actually," Whisperwind blinked, contemplative, "I suppose it's a little odd considering we usually don't see eye to eye, but she's been... better. Happier, I think, which seems weird to say when everyone can see how she and Summitsky are falling apart but... well. I've never been able to figure out what's going on inside her head."
"And that's my cue," Poppywish got to his paws, "I don't do gossip. Magpiefeather, I have some more of that honey and crushed ginger poultice for you, so let's get going, and then you can come back to annoying these two. No I can't carry it down to you, the answer is I'm physically capable I just don't want to, and I have better things to do than play ferry medicine cat when you're clearly well enough to be up and about." Magpiefeather rolled her eyes and mouthed 'cranky' at the two young warriors as she pushed to her paws, trailing after the ginger tom to the medicine den.
"I mean it, you know," Bearears said, "I owe everything to you. Thank you for believing in me."
"You don't have to thank me for that, Bearears. I owed it to you, for everything you did for Galepaw. I know it'll probably take some time to get over the trauma and get back out there, but... well. You're back on your paws now, and that's an improvement, and I won't judge you for however long it takes. Whatever you've been through, both here and before, you deserve your own time to deal with that."
"Thank you, Whisperwind," Bearears said with a small smile. They sat in silence for a moment, a comfortable companionship hanging between them, before Bearears spoke again. "W'wiye."
"Pardon?"
"When I told stories, I spoke of secret names our clan had, names that only you and those important to you would know. Before here, only my family and my mate knew, and now I have carried the burden of it alone. But... you are my family here, Whisperwind. And so you should know it."
"I'll treasure it," Whisperwind said earnestly, "share the... burden of the secret with you."
"There's no one better," Bearears said, before she lashed out suddenly, making Whisperwind yowl in surprise as she smashed his paws out from under him with a smug purr, "but your reflexes could use some work."

-

"Augh!" Emberpaw glowered at her brother, dripping wet from his splash. With a booming laugh, Flamepaw skittered back out of range of her attack, before he yowled in surprise as Brackenstrike upended a massive spray of water onto him. Fallowstep, bedraggled and soaked to the bone was laughing so hard he was close to keeling over in the shallows of the river.
"I'm not sure this is teaching them anything," he said, narrowly managing to sprint out of range of the crossfire. Brackenstrike laughed, splashing water at the apprentices who had forgotten their feud in favour of teaming up against the large she-cat. In the Newleaf afternoon, the sun made them feel warm, even chest-deep in the cool water of the eastern river. The size of their apprentices still astounded Brackenstrike. It seemed not long ago that Emberpaw and Flamepaw hadn't even reached her chest, and now they were almost full grown.
"That's half the fun of it!" Brackenstrike called back with a laugh, splashing the apprentices and making them yowl. Emberpaw was petite like her fathers, slim and leggy, but Flamepaw seemed to have inherited his height from perhaps a grandparent, as he neared Brackenstrike in height. He looked smaller by virtue of being leaner, with spindly legs, but there was no denying how big he'd gotten since he'd first joined the clan. Nonetheless, it was still easy enough for Brackenstrike to knock his paws out from under him and douse him in water, before retreating to join Fallowstep at the riverbank, leaving them to play.
"Newleaf is shaping up to be surprisingly warm," he said, shaking out his fur, "I remember last year it was still bitterly cold, but it's definitely not too cold to swim, and it's still early days yet."
"Trust me, hot summers don't bring much relief out this way," Brackenstrike shook out her fur like a dog, making Fallowstep grunt and duck away from the spray, "there's still just as much trouble to be had with that kind of weather, so you better starting praying to StarClan that they give us a break this time around. I think that the clan could really benefit from not having to deal with the same stuff as we did last year."
"Old wounds healing and all that," Fallowstep agreed, watching Emberpaw and Flamepaw shriek and splash each other, "it seems like it was just yesterday we lost Galepaw, and yet it still seems long ago. And now Whisperwind's a warrior and Flamepaw and Emberpaw will be almost ready to take their warrior assessments. Sure, there's still... cracks in the clan, but for the most part, things seem to be okay again, and I for one would really like everything to calm down." They fell silent for a bit, before Brackenstrike slid her eyes sideways to Fallowstep's troubled face.
"Are you hoping that if things calm down, you'll be able to go and find your kits?" Fallowstep's eyes closed, and he sighed.
"No," he said finally, "I mean... I thought about it, a lot. The first time I had the opportunity to be a father, I failed miserably, and that's my fault even if I wasn't ready. I should have been more responsible. But this time... Ravencall and I finally made nice after all this time, and now I don't know where she is, or if her kits are with her but... I can't help but hope that one day they come back to us. I want to be a dad. I want to have kits, with Hawkeyes, but... I guess the universe has other plans."
"Well... it's good kitting season now. Have you talked to Hawkeyes about finding a surrogate?" Fallowstep shook his head a little.
"No... I guess I'm half afraid that it'll feel like abandoning our kits that we have out there, you know? Like we've given up all hope on having them return to us." Brackenstrike's smile was kind, as she nodded knowingly.
"I understand. But if you want my advice...?"
"Please."
"Live in the present, Fallowstep. Tomorrow is unsure and hope is the greatest strength we can be afforded, but maintaining hope does not mean you have to stagnate in anticipation for what could be. If they return to you, they'll understand. I promise you that." Fallowstep gave her a shy smile.
"You give good speeches, lady." He said, and Brackenstrike's laugh filled up the afternoon air.

-

"Is she going to be okay?" Winderstrike watched Poppywish as he darted back and forth between his medicine supply and Viridianfire. The little molly was seated in a medicine nest, one eye squeezed closed and fur a little damp where Poppywish had dabbed away the blood. The other green eye was watching him flit back and forth, before her gaze settled on Winderstrike with a reassuring smile.
"I'm fine."
"You wince every time you try to open that eye, Viridianfire, you're clearly not fine." The molly rolled her good eye with an irritated huff at the racing medicine cat.
"Well, I'm not dying, so that constitutes as fine to me. Besides, I think Winderstrike could do with some peace of mind right now, or you're gonna be treating the poor guy for a panic attack." Winderstrike tried to glare at her, but the guilt immediately wracked his features again as he gave Viridianfire a stare that could only be described as plaintive.
"I'm so sorry, Viridianfire."
"Easy! It's not like you conjured up a freak snowstorm on a perfectly sunny day. You did the best you could, it was an accident, and it's unlikely either of us could have prevented it. We shouldn't have been out in that kind of weather in the first place, but we needed to find shelter and we both agreed on that so it's at least partially my fault, and like I said, I'm not dying. It's just an eye." Winderstrike didn't look much happier about that, but he didn't get time to respond as Sunnynose burst into the den.
"What happened? Are you okay? Sleetstar said someone was injured on border patrol-"
"Do NOT clog up this den!" Poppywish's voice ricocheted off the walls of the den, and Sunnynose exchanged a glance with his mate, who gave him a small, tight smile that seemed to reassure the ginger tom that his mate was okay. Emberpaw and Flamepaw hovered at the mouth of the den, backpedaling as Sunnynose turned tail and scampered out again, leaving Viridianfire and Winderstrike in fraught silence. The skittering of paws broke the stretch as Koishimmer shouldered her way into the den with Birchfang and Waspshine close on her heels.
"Viridianfire-"
"What did I just say!" Poppywish groaned, glaring over his shoulder at them. "Fine! Run mad! There's chaos enough in the clan anyway, I suppose lawlessness like this won't make any difference!" Winderstrike exchanged an amused glance with the other warriors, before he gave Viridianfire one last, worried look.
"I'm gonna go check on Sunnynose," he said, "he'll want to hear it from me that I'm alright." Viridianfire nodded, and the tom got to his paws, nudging Birchfang's shoulder as he passed. The other looked a little confused for a moment, before he brightened, and turned to Waspshine with a mischeivous twinkle in his eyes.
"Hey, Waspshine, remember that thing I wanted to talk to you about?"
"Noooooooooooooooooh yeah!" Waspshine nodded fervently, casting a fleeting glance at Koishimmer and Viridianfire, who watched them with twin flat stares. "Right uh, that super important thing. Uber important. Yeah." He got to his paws and fled from the medicine den with Birchfang hot on his tail, sending Koishimmer a conspiratorial wink before he bounded out of sight. The calico rolled her eyes as Viridianfire stifled a laugh.
"They're not very subtle."
"Whatever. I didn't ask them to do that."
"Of course not," she purred, "but you did charge in here like your tail was on fire. Worried?"
"Maybe. You gonna make fun of me if I say yes?"
"Oh, only a little." Koishimmer rolled her eyes, but a smile graced her maw nonetheless, as she settled next to Viridianfire's next with her tail wrapped around her paws.
"We heard whispers someone had been hurt on border patrol, and then someone said it was you and I guess... yeah, I was worried. I mean, you and Birchfang are kind of my only friends and lately I've been playing third wheel to those two so... you can't die on me, okay? I can't deal with their terrible flirting on my own. It'll literally drive me insane." Viridianfire laughed, as Koishimmer paused. "How is it, really? How are you?"
"It hurts like the mother of a dog," Viridianfire admitted with a shrug, "but I'll live. I trust Poppywish to keep me alive, and the way he's running around like a burning branch got tied to his tail, well... I know it's not looking good but it really is just an eye. It'll take me a while to adjust, but Whisperwind has a jump on training blind warriors so don't worry, Sleetstar's not gonna banish me for being useless or anything." Koishimmer glared.
"That's not funny."
"It's kind of funny. It's a little funny, right Poppywish?" The ginger tom shrugged.
"Admittedly."
"Whatever," Koishimmer rolled her eyes, but her expression softened quickly, "but... uh. Well. I'm... here for you, okay? So... if it ever gets too much, just know... I'm a shoulder that you can lean on." Viridianfire gave her a smile to match Koishimmer's own shy one, before Poppywish crossed her line of vision, shooing her with his tail.
"Enough making eyes, I have a patient to treat." Virdianfire laughed, smiling after Koishimmer as she ducked her head, and retreated from the medicine den with a singular backward glance, lit by the flurry of snow bearing down on the Newleaf night, before she vanished into the storm.

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧.

"This is really high up," Silverkit announced, without much fear in her voice. It had been easy enough to escape the nursery. Sorrelsong had been taking a nap, Rivermask and Minkfur had been bickering about yet another story they disagreed on, thus making it easy for their troublesome kittens to slip away from the game of mossball with their sisters in order to wander nonchalantly down the cliffside.
"It's cool, right?" Sprucekit asked, peering over the edge.
"Totally." Silverkit exchanged a grin with her best friend, before she recoiled as a smell wafted toward her on the air. "Eugh. What is that!" Sprucekit scented the air, a thoughtful look overcoming his facial features, before he brightened, ears pricking forward excitedly.
"Oh! Poppywish has that scent on him all the time. I'll bet that's his den. I've always wanted to see where he sleeps."
"Uh... why?"
"Just 'cause." He shrugged. "I dunno, Poppywish is weird right? He sleeps away from all the other cats and everything, like Sleetstar does, but I heard Mom saying that's only because Sleetstar and Summitsky aren't very happy with each other right now, but Poppywish always sleeps alone."
"That's not what my mom said," Silverkit sniffed, "she said that Howlingeye used to stay with Poppywish in his nest but she said that Dad said that Howlingeye has been purposefully dodging Poppywish for the past couple of moons so they're 'on the rocks' too."
"And that... means something to you?"
"No," Silverkit shrugged, "I don't even know who Howlingeye is."
"Neither," Sprucekit nodded sagely, before he flicked his eyes toward the den entrance, "still... feel up for an adventure?" Silverkit grinned, and surged forward, leaving the tabby tom to chase her in order to catch up. The pair of them scampered down the rise, careful to stay out of Whisperwind's line of sight, where he and Bearears were training in the camp with Magpiefeather looking on. Together, they ducked into Poppywish's den, eyes widening almost immediately.
It was much warmer in the medicine den than it was in the others, warmer than even the nursery. The walls were covered in naturally growing lichen that insulated against the cold stone, hollows in the twisting cavern shielding nests from the wind. The nests themselves were soft and downy, meticulously maintained with feathers and moss. And lighting the cave, protruding from the lichen, were glowing plants that lit up the dim space, shining albeit dully in the sunlight.
"Whoa," said Silverkit, and Viridianfire lifted her head from her nest.
"You two aren't supposed to be here," she said, sounding amused. From behind them, a distressed noise drew their attention towards a harried looking Poppywish, who promptly dropped a bundle of herbs from his gaping maw. Clearly, the sight of the two escaped kittens had shocked him beyond belief, which was fair enough since the previous inhabitants of the nursery had all been exceedingly well-behaved, but the knowledge that Thunderjaw and Rivermask's blood ran in the veins of the kittens before him sent him spluttering back to his wits.
"You're supposed to be in the nursery-" he started, but Sprucekit's eyes had already lighted on the bundle of herbs at his paws.
"Fresh herbs! We'll help you put them away, Poppywish!" He declared, darting forward to snatch up the bundle. He and Silverkit sprinted deeper into the cavern, Poppywish hurrying behind with a protesting yowl. Laughing almost hysterically, Viridianfire got up to follow him as he barked orders at the kits.
"Do not touch that! Sprucekit, put those down, you don't know where they--- no! Don't mix them up- Silverkit get away from the poppy seeds don't touch those! Augh, Sprucekit, get your nose out of the honey- don't touch my turtle sh- Silverkit! Ugh!" He turned to Viridianfire, exasperated and beyond frazzled as she simply continued to laugh, the sound of her mirth having brought her temporary den-mate and her friend back to the mouth of the cave.
"What's going on?" Asked Whisperwind.
"It sounds like Poppywish is dying," added Bearears.
"Painfully," agreed Magpiefeather.
"Silverkit and Sprucekit escaped the nursery and are taking up a prospective career as Poppywish's apprentices."
"Don't give them any ideas!" The ginger snapped, having finally managed to get his bundle of herbs back. "Misfortune befalls anyone who has either of them as an apprentice, let alone both of them at the same time. Now will someone please get them back to the nursery? Whisperwind?!" The white tom was laughing, so hard his shoulders were shaking, as he nodded his head to Silverkit and her accomplice.
"Come on, you'll have plenty of time to annoy Poppywish another day, but your moms are probably worried since you scrambled off without telling them where you were going." Silverkit sighed, but nodding, bouncing toward Whisperwind with Sprucekit hot on her tail. As they reached the entrance, he turned to call out to Poppywish, his eyes twinkling with delight.
"I'll be back! You haven't seen the last of me yet!" As his boisterous laugh faded into Minkfur's amused one and Rivermask's apologies to Whisperwind who sounded like he was trying to hold back a fit of hysterics, the three mollies inside the den swiveled their heads to watch Poppywish, who sighed, shoulders sagging as he turned back to his herbs.
"Don't mind me, ladies, just wondering where I went wrong to start receiving threats from kits."

-

"Hey," Summitsky jumped a little, turning to find Sleetstar watching him, fidgeting a little under his gaze, "do you mind if we... talk?" Summitsky's stomach dropped a little. The events of the 'talk' were fairly obvious to him, but the fact that Sleetstar was willing to come to him, instead of the passing smiles and amicable small talk that had dominated the past few moons meant at least a little to him. He nodded, and together, they made their way up the cliffside to Sleetstar's den. The silence that stretched between them was fragile and uneasy, as Sleetstar looked at her paws, and then took a deep breath.
"These... past few moons I haven't been good to you, I haven't been fair, and I haven't been a mother to our kits. It's a lot of failures on my part, and I'm sorry for them but I know that doesn't change much. I know you must have a million questions... and I want to answer them. If I can. It's the fairest I can be after... everything." Summitsky blinked, and then tilted his head back to the ceiling as if to look contemplative, even though the question he already knew he would ask had been burning at the back of his mind for weeks as Midnightblaze slept soundly next to him in the warrior's den.
"Do you... did you really not want our kits?" Sleetstar glanced away, brow furrowing for a moment.
"Just a few weeks ago... I would have made some weaselly excuse about it being more complicated than that, but... I didn't want to have this talk until I felt that I could be one hundred percent honest with you, because that's what you deserve. The short answer is no-" Summitsky sucked in a breath- "and the long answer still equates to it for a number of reasons, but I understand if you don't want to hear them."
"I do. I want to understand."
"I know," Sleetstar's voice was choked, and Summitsky moved closer to her instinctively, pressing their shoulders together as she took a steadying breath, "I was... I wasn't ready, and I think you knew that, and I knew that too, and it put pressure on me because I was still figuring things out, and then the attack... and I felt guilty that I didn't stop it. That I couldn't do anything. That I had to hide away. But even before that... I deceived you, and I understand if you can't forgive me."
"Hey, come on. What's going on?" Summitsky touched his nose to her cheek, surprised when she turned her head and pulled away.
"Northstar came to me at the Moonstone," she said with a venom to her tone, "and told me that before Leaf-fall I would have kits, or else. For a while I thought little of 'or else' until she sent Midnightblaze to intimidate me. I know he didn't want to, I see how good he is in how he interacts with you, and the rest of the clan, and I've no doubt that Koishimmer was a warning from Northstar since he failed to keep me in line. But... I was afraid and I didn't want to lose my 'second chance'. And so I put you in the middle of it."
"So... it was all a lie?" Sleetstar gritted her teeth at the pain in Summitsky's voice, and her own wavered when she answered.
"Yes. I'm so, so sorry. In another lifetime, I think I could have loved you. Should have loved you, if I knew what was good for me, but... well. I think you know the 'but' in this situation."
"You're still in love with her."
"You sound less hurt by that than I expected you to be."
"I..." Summitsky paused, "I am hurt. Of course I am. You lied to me, and you used me, and we brought two wonderful kits into this world with a foundation that wouldn't last, and I've been on the outside of all this, but... really what hurts me the most is that you didn't trust me to tell me what was going on. If you'd asked, if you'd told me then... I would have done it anyway. I would do anythin-"
"I know," she cut him off, shaking her head, "please don't say it. Please. It's already hard enough as it is, and I know this is all my fault and I don't get to complain about it being hard but-"
"Why tell me now?" Summitsky asked, tilting his head. "I mean, I know this is coming to an end, I'm not stupid, but... you didn't have to be honest with me, and yet here you are." Sleetstar lifted her head then, squared her shoulders and met his eye.
"Like I said, it's what you deserve. I've realized how much this fear has caused hurt, and hurt to cats that I care about. What good is a second chance at life if I let somebody else live it for me? I don't want to be afraid anymore. I want to be better- to live better and to do better, and part of that means coming clean about the mistakes I've made and trying to move forward from there. You are not a mistake. My mistake was in putting you in harm's way which is the last thing you've ever deserved. You've been nothing but supportive and kind, Summitsky, and I took you for granted and put my frustrations on you when I had no right to do so in the first place. My deepest regret will always be how much I hurt you, and I know I can't take back that hurt now, and I understand if you want nothing to do with me anymore, but I-"
"You're still trying to push me away," Summitsky said gently. Sleetstar's mouth closed, and then opened. And then closed again. After a long pause, she spoke again, tentative and curious.
"You're not... mad? You don't hate me?"
"I don't... love this whole conversation, no," he said, shaking his head, "I just can't believe you've been carrying this burden the whole time, on your own. Or... maybe not on your own, but I know you well enough by now to know you consider yourself some kind of a martyr." Sleetstar choked out a laugh, shaking her head.
"Thunderjaw was my confidant for a long time because he seemed to be as suspicious as I was, whereas everyone else seemed to accept it, but he's been... distant. Weird and cagey, and then he's been busy with Minkfur and the kits recently so... alone for a while now, yes. I'm really sorry I didn't tell you sooner, and I know it doesn't excuse the things I've done." She cleared her throat. "So let me rephrase. I don't want this to rip our family apart. I want to be there for my kits. For our kits. To try and be a mother to them, because they deserve better than my resentment for a choice I made, but... I don't think we can do that if we stay together. I don't want to live that lie, and you deserve much, much better than that. But... if you'd be okay with it, I want to stay friends, like we should have from the start." Summitsky quirked a sad smile at her.
"Break a guy's heart and ask him to still be friends immediately afterwards? Cold." She glared.
"I didn't mean immediately. Obviously if you need time to forgive me you can take all the time you need, I-"
"Sleetstar," he laughed gently, "I was teasing. Maybe it's a poor time for jokes but... I'm trying to be positive here. I came in here fully expecting to be dumped with the caveat of never speaking to each other again and using Midnightblaze as an inbetween, so at least I know there's a reason- if not a seriously messed up one- for why this all went wrong, and that it's not just me. I think things will take a bit to get back to normal, since I have some... feelings that I need to work out, but ultimately I'm on the same page as you. We've both known this wasn't working for a long time now, and I think it's better off that we end it. But... I do want to stay friends, as long as you promise not to shut me out again."
"Promise," she said firmly, with a smile, "swear it. On all nine of my lives."
"It's serious then, friend." Sleetstar let out a choked laugh, her body sagging against Summitsky's with exhaustion as he leaned his head against hers, savouring in that bittersweet last moment of intimacy, before he pulled away. "I just have one last question."
"What is it?"
"What are you going to do about Northstar? Surely she must know you're planning to... rebel."
"I don't know," Sleetstar replied earnestly, before her eyes blazed with determination. "But she can try whatever she likes. This is my life, and my clan, and this time I'm not letting her do anything to cause it harm."

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` servings consumed
8/8 - x4 rabbits
` clan events
bramblingpaw and ausmaspaw take their warrior assessments!
bearears and whisperwind use x1 clay, x1 feathers and x1 moss to upgrade the nursery
sorrelsong is kitting! poppywish assists.
↪ genetics chart
summitsky and sleetstar choose to mutually end their relationship.
sunnynose and winderstrike try for kits
poppywish searches for herbs for viridianfire's eye [wintergreen, celandine]
poppywish keeps magpiefeather under observation & gives viridianfire x1 broom
wolfpaw & butterflypaw learn to hunt
tempestpaw, blizzardpaw, brewingpaw & lightningpaw learn battle
emberpaw and flamepaw learn advanced battle
` patrols
hunting-
1 - breakerhowl, waspshine, birchfang, koishimmer
2 - midnightblaze, twilightflower, winderstrike, sunnynose
border-
3 - frostclaw, twosight
den supplies-
4 - sleetstar, dawnbreeze
↪ no priority

mod note: yes i'm aware i got dawnbreeze's name wrong all last post.
no i will not do anything about this.

My gallery · by **solyn** » Fri Jul 05, 2019 2:01 pm

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍.
population: 45 cats [ 22 fem : 23 male ]
servings required: 08 [48] - pebbles: 30

𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩

moderator: deimos - next moonstone: 9th june
moons since last nonsense: 2

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𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐨.

"Fancy seeing you here," Sleetstar's voice carried, and Varvara's ears pricked up as she turned toward her, a delighted smile crossing her face. The long-furred brown molly bounded toward the pointed she-cat as she skidded down the hill to press their noses together, both of them purring broadly as they delighted in the comfort of being near each other once again. Varvara scented her love. It had taken her a while to understand the differences in Sleetstar's scent strain, but she smelled crisper, fresher, like stone and snow. It was a nice change.
"You asked me here," Varvara reminded her, the pair of them turning away from the side of the Thunderpath to walk deeper into the trees. While the crossing was hard, it was the safest place for them to meet up and talk, away from the borders of their clan and between the scent of cats that lay deeper into the forest beyond. Sleetstar did not know who lived there, and she did not care to find out. The concept of another enemy to be made left a poor taste in her mouth.
"Hey," she jumped a little, turning to find Varvara watching her with concern, "you're drifting. Is everything okay? There's not any trouble with... NorthernClan?"
"No, I'm mostly concerned that you remembered," the chocolate molly scoffed and knocked her shoulder, sending her stumbling as she laughed. It reminded her of better, easier days, back when everything had been new, before either of them really understood the world they'd been born into. It felt easy now, like it had back then, a comfortable sense of nostalgia without any of the wistful longing that usually accompanied it. "I um. Actually... things have been going really well. Summitsky and I agreed to break it off, which... sounds bad, I know, but it's actually put a lot less of a strain on our family."
"I'm glad," Varvara smiled, carefully sidestepping a particularly mushy patch of ground, "you must know that it means everything to me to see you happy, no matter what form that happiness takes."
"Well... I am. I know things are going to get harder before they get easier, but things have also come in great leaps and strides. For example... Sorrelsong had her kits- she's the really young queen I was telling you about- and they were both healthy, so that's a good thing. The vagrant apprentices are warriors now, Ausmasthorn and Bramblingrose. They asked to be named after each other, just like-"
"Whisperwind," Varvara interjected, with a smile, which faltered suddenly, "I remember."
"I don't... blame you for that," Sleetstar said gently, but Varvara shook her head, a little frustrated.
"You should, and I'm sure he will," she blew out a sigh, "I know you're going to say I was just defending myself, but I should have just let you be in the first place. And then you're going to crack a joke about how if I hadn't been so stubborn we wouldn't be here right now, and I don't regret that it lead us back together, I could never be sorry for that... but I am sorry that I had to hurt you, and cats close to you to do it. I mean, is there ever going to be a happy ending for us? Will your new family even accept me if we try to be together again, after everything I've done?" Sleetstar was quiet, watching the expression that crossed Varvara's face.
"Boscoe's putting pressure on again, huh?" Varvara closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.
"It's times like this that I really, really miss Elodie. I think if she'd lived, things would have been so much easier, even if she was just a shoulder to lean on. She would have left with K- Brackenstrike, I mean. They would have gone together and that would have been enough to send things crumbling into ruin. And every time I think that a shoulder to cry on would be nice..."
"That's why she had to die," Sleetstar said, quietly, "she made things too complicated."
"And now I'm the one making things complicated," Varvara lifted her eyes to meet Sleetstar's, brow creased in worry, "what happens if I'm next? We all know that family doesn't know how to love, and maybe the only one who ever did is dead and gone. I'm still expendable, and if I don't make my keep..." Sleetstar closed her eyes, tipping her head back to the sky.
"We'll think of something. We have to. I just got you back, Var. I'm not letting you go agai-" Sleetstar quieted abruptly as a twig snapped in the near distance. The two she-cats bristled instantly, eyes scanning the tree-line as a dark shadow darted between trunks, so fast that neither were sure if they'd imagined it.
"What was that?" Varvara whispered, shrinking closer to Sleetstar's side. She frowned, turning her head to touch her nose to Varvara's forehead.
"I don't know, but we shouldn't tempt fate. Let's get out of here." Varvara nodded firmly, and the pair of them turned, racing back through the forest toward the Thunderpath, unable to shake the feeling of something watching from the shadows.
Waiting.

-

Pleased murmurs circled the campground as the cats gathered in the Newleaf afternoon. Near the front of the semi-circle that gathered in front of Highrock, the two bobtails sat, shoulder to shoulder, sharing smiles. Wedged between Magpiefeather and Bearears, Whisperwind felt the acute emptiness of Galepaw at his side. Seeing Bramblingpaw and Ausmaspaw together reminded him of the bond he'd had with his sister. It also reminded him how much he missed her.
Sleetstar and Midnightblaze approached Highrock, speaking quietly between themselves for a moment. Sleetstar nodded to the deputy, who veered away to sit next to Summitsky and Howlingeye, while Sleetstar vaulted up the crags to the top of the rock, and a hush settled over the clan, ears pricked forward in anticipation as Sleetstar began to speak.
"Today, NorthernClan gains two new warriors; cats who have proved they have what it takes to survive these lands. Ausmaspaw and Bramblingpaw step forward as I, Sleetstar, call upon the warrior ancestors of NorthernClan to see you: for you have trained hard to understand the code. Do you promise to uphold this code and to defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Ausmaspaw said, resolute and firm.
"I do!" Bramblingpaw echoed, vibrant and proud. Sleetstar smiled at both of them, with a chuckle.
"Ausmaspaw, please recite the vow."
"To my clan, to my home, to the blood that binds; I pledge myself to the cliffs and the snow. The North is all." Sleetstar nodded, and looked to Bramblingpaw. Before she could even ask, he jumped in, reciting the vow clear and firm, chin lifted proudly, eyes glittering with excitement. Sleetstar laughed, seemingly thrilled by his enthusiasm, as she called out again, voice echoing around the walls of the clan camp.
"Then from this day forward, by your own request, NorthernClan will forever know you as Ausmasthorn and Bramblingrose. StarClan honours Ausmasthorn's intelligence and Bramblingrose's vivacity, but most importantly the stars honour the love you share for one another. This bond is sacred, and I hope your names allow you to carry one another with you always, as Whisperwind carries the spirit of Galepaw. Congratulations, and welcome to the clan." Yowls went up, cacophonous, almost deafening in volume, as the two newest warriors were welcomed to the clan.
As the clan converged on them, Whisperwind lost sight of the pair, shaking his head in amusement. They were smaller than a lot of the NorthernClan cats, so it was no surprise that he could no longer see Bramblingrose's familiar orange pelt, lost in the way the wind whistled about and kissed at his fur. Normally, reminders of Galepaw made him ache, but this time, he felt... content. Of course, he still missed his sister and he doubted he would ever stop, but with the way she had been honoured, and the comfort of taking her spirit with him in name had him feeling peaceful, as he imagined her cocksure smile next to him, jesting about the way his eyes lingered on fluffy orange coats for a second longer than they needed to.
Suddenly, orange paws filled his line of sight, and he looked up into the grinning face of Bramblingrose who leaned forward and touched their noses together with a bright laugh, like sunshine itself, before he was rubbing their cheeks together, and pulling back, eyes sparkling happily. Whisperwind stared at him in bewilderment, slack-jawed as the other grinned back.
"Wha-" he started.
"I wanted to," Bramblingrose said simply, "now come on, this is my big moment, I'm not letting you sit there and not rant and rave about how great I am and how pretty my new name is. You should be showering me in compliments and you're slacking." Whisperwind let out a startled laugh as the ginger tom purred, little bobtail wiggling as if he were trying to swish his tail in pleasure. Whisperwind finally settled on a smile, pushing himself to his paws and stumbling after the other, allowing himself to wriggle into the fray, squished between Birchfang and Waspshine as he paid his polite congratulations to Ausmasthorn.
Across the way, his eyes met Bramblingrose's, surprised to find the orange tom watching him with a fondness, head cocked to the side easily, ear swiveled toward whoever was speaking to him, but attention decidedly elsewhere. Whisperwind's pelt felt hot as he waited for the other to turn away, but Bramblingrose simply winked at him, and Whisperwind couldn't help but mirror the broad grin, not bothering to fight it as it spread across his maw and warmed his heart like the Greenleaf sun melted snow.

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧.

"Hey, got time to talk?" As the sun set over the first days of Greenleaf in NorthernClan, Hawkeyes looked up to find his mate smiling down at him, fur billowing in the gentle breeze. His gaze softened, as he stretched upward to touch their noses together, feeling his chest warm at the happy purr his mate made. Settling into a new clan hadn't been easy on either of them, but Fallowstep had been markedly more miserable than Hawkeyes had been. It was good to see him happy.
"I always have time for you, my love," Hawkeyes replied, pushing himself to his paws, "you never have to ask. I can't think of a scenario where I would say 'no' to you." Fallowstep laughed, smiling bashfully at the taller tom as the pair of them moved to a more secluded corner of the camp. They settled in close, and Fallowstep swept his tail over his paws, leaning on Hawkeyes's shoulder.
"I know. I'm just nervous."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong," Fallowstep gave his mate a reassuring smile, "did you know we've been here for over a year now? It seems weird to think about that. In some ways, I feel like GraveClan was a lifetime ago, and in others I feel like it was just yesterday. When we came here, I was convinced that NorthernClan would never feel like home... but it does. We've made a family here- more than we could in GraveClan, with Brackenstrike and Splitface and little spit-fire Koishimmer- even Birchfang and Waspshine. And I..." he paused, taking a deep breath, "I was talking to Brackenstrike about it. When I came here, I was ready and willing to be a father to our kits, and I was robbed of that opportunity, and I am happy with this family, and all I need is you, but... I want to try again. I want to be a dad. And... if you think it's a good idea, I want to have kits." Hawkeyes smiled at him, leaning forward to press their foreheads together.
"I would like nothing more than that, Fallowstep," Hawkeyes said gently, "my home is where my heart is, and my heart is always with you. You're gonna make a great dad, but you know that means we're going to have to start thinking about surrogates, and I'm not sure... if you know anyone you'd be comfortable enough to do that with." He paused, glancing away at the ground as Fallowstep leaned forward and touched his nose to his cheek.
"We can talk about it together," Fallowstep mewed, "you have to be comfortable too, you know. I was thinking... maybe we could ask Brackenstrike and Splitface? I don't know if they want kits themselves, or if they'd be willing to do it... or we could ask Midnightblaze! You guys are close so maybe he'd agree." Fallowstep shook his head, with a small smile. "We don't have to make a decision right now, of course, or any time soon, but... I'm committed to our family here. To our home. To building something that will remain long after we're gone."
"Okay then," Hawkeyes purred, nuzzling their noses together, "here's to the future."

-

"Ugh," Dawnbreeze huffed out, scrambling to the top of the rise and panting, heavily. Although they'd only been there for a few moons, Twosight and Dawnbreeze were struggling to catch up with cats who had already survived the harsh winters of NorthernClan. Now, the sun beat down in Greenleaf, leaving the heavy-pelted cats often lethargic from the heat. Ahead of her, Midnightblaze pushed himself back to his paws, muddied from the melting snow he'd rolled himself in to keep cool.
"It is steep," he said sympathetically, "we can take a breather, everybody. I don't want anyone overworking themselves, I'm not liking my chances against Poppywish if I bring someone back with heatstroke." The patrol allowed themselves a laugh, relaxing on the wooded ridge. Twilightflower and Winderstrike retreated into the shade, where the sun would be less likely to reach their black pelts. Brackenstrike and Fallowstep followed Midnightblaze's lead in covering themselves in quickly melting snow, chatting amicably between them. Midnightblaze turned to follow after the other black cats, pausing as he saw Dawnbreeze gazing out over the territory.
The past few moons had been better for him. Sleetstar had finally started to treat him like a proper second. She was still shy around him; cautious. He couldn't blame her, but he felt palpable relief that Sleetstar relaxing seemed to have the rest of the clan relax too. Or maybe it was Midnightblaze who was more relaxed now. Things with Koishimmer hadn't quite come to a head, although he would be foolish not to think it was coming, the way she slinked around after Howlingeye and shot him furtive, tumultuous glances. Nonetheless, NorthernClan finally started to feel like a fit. He turned, and made his way toward Dawnbreeze, admiring the greenness of the coniferous forests that sprawled below.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He asked, and the molly jumped, turning to smile at him.
"It is," she said, "hard work living out here, but worth it for things like this. Who would have thought the clan swallowed by the blizzard would have been so beautiful in the daylight?" Midnightblaze smiled, ducking his head to glance down the cliff they'd climbed, shining grey in the sunlight, no snow in sight.
"Sometimes beauty comes from the most unexpected of places," he said, casting a glance sideways at her, "but it's more than that, right? I hope you don't think me intrusive, but it's clear something else is on your mind. Do you want to talk?" Dawnbreeze laughed, shaking her head good-humouredly.
"Not intrusive at all. I think it's nice that you care- it's good. A deputy should, especially if they're next in line to become leader. I don't anticipate anything happening to Sleetstar, she seems like a tough nut, but... that doesn't absolve you from having the clan's best interests at heart, so it's good to see you're taking an interest." Midnightblaze chuckled, rolling his eyes in amusement. Dawnbreeze purred, turning her gaze back out to the territory. "But don't worry, it's nothing bad. I was just thinking that it's kind of poetic in a way that I ended up here. I'm pretty sure this is the clan my dad used to talk about being from." Midnightblaze started, swinging to her with wide eyes.
"What?"
"Yeah," she purred, seeming not to notice how shaken Midnightblaze appeared, "before we found BorealClan when I was... oh, five moons or so? We were with a group of travelling loners. Not a very big one- a couple cats and then my parents, Elspeth and Dandelion. He always talked about the clan he grew up in being in the mountains. He said he got to see very little of it, and the life there was hard, but nothing beat watching the sun rise from atop the basin. I think he missed it."
"What does your dad look like?" Dawnbreeze blinked at him, puzzled, before she shrugged.
"He was a big tom," she said, "brilliant ginger, like the way the sky turns at sunset, with little white paws." Midnightbreeze pushed out a breathy laugh, a grin stretching his face with a purr.
"So he made it then," Midnightblaze said, voice warm with fondness, "you might not know this, but I was born in NorthernClan- the old one, back when Northstar lead it. Dandelionpaw- Dandelion- was my denmate, and one of my best friends. I remember my mother always wanted me to play with Daisykit and leave the boys to it, but Swallowkit was always closer to her, and Iykit would only play peacemaker to our mischief making." Midnightblaze's smile faltered, for a moment. "I remember when we became apprentices, and everyone started thinking about love. I was so young- I barely had my apprentice ceremony before the clan fell apart, but it's hard times where love is the most needed, and we used to huddle together and talk about it maybe being us." Midnightblaze chuckled, shaking his head.
"He'd be glad I found you, then," Dawnbreeze said with a smile, "he always used to mention a Midnightpaw, his oldest friend he said. I think he'd be happy that if he couldn't be there to look out for me, at least his best friend had his back, even after all these moons apart."
"Of course," Midnightblaze said with a smile, "we always used to talk about our kits being in the nursery where we grew up, but I haven't had good reason to be back there yet, so I suppose that passes the baton on to you, doesn't it, if we're really talking about the poeticism of things coming full-circle." Dawnbreeze laughed, nudging his shoulder with a playful purr.
"Find me a decent cat, dad number-two, and then we'll talk."

-

"How can two old cats move so fast?" Birchfang laughed, delighted by the glare he got from Twosight as he deigned to pull away from his conversation with Frostclaw. The other tom shook his head in amusement, surging on to check a scent further along the border. Twosight hurried after him, leaving Birchfang standing, looking amused, with Waspshine at his shoulder. The ginger tom chuckled quietly, nudging his shoulder.
"Don't antagonize them so much. Koishimmer isn't here to save you if Twosight starts to fancy shredding your ears." Birchfang shot the other tom an impish smile, trotting after him as he meandered to a tree to scratch the NorthernClan sigil into the bark, marking the edge of their territory in more ways than one.
"Is that your way of saying that you'd miss me?" Waspshine gave him an amused look.
"Maybe," he said, "but fishing isn't going to get you that answer. You'd have to pry it out of me naturally, and we both know you don't have the brain cells to make me confess to anything." Birchfang gasped, bounding easily after him as he feigned offense.
"I can't believe you'd insinuate I'm stupid-"
"I can," said Twosight from in front of them, forcing Waspshine to stifle a giggle as Frostclaw coughed to hide his own amusement. Birchfang raised his voice to call out to the odd-eyed tom.
"Don't you have another old tom to be flirting with, Twosight?"
"Who are you calling old?" Frostclaw asked, narrowing his eyes at Birchfang, who gave them a wide grin.
"So you admit he was flirting then, or at least you hope he was." The two older cats exchanged a wide-eyed glanced, before they looked away bashfully. Twosight kicked snow at Birchfang, who dodged nimbly with a gleeful laugh, purring as Waspshine nudged him and rolled his eyes. Twosight and Frostclaw fell back into step and quiet conversation, taking the lead round the border route, while the two younger toms matched step behind them.
"Okay, so maybe you're more cunning than you let on. Koishimmer would miss you for sure."
"I know she would, we're best friends even if she tries to deny it, duh," he grinned a little, "I want to know about you, though. Would you miss me? And be honest because we both know I can con you into admitting it, whether you meant it or not. I'm smarter than you give me credit for." Waspshine laughed a little, ducking his head bashfully. He was quiet for a moment, before he spoke.
"I would miss you. You and Koishimmer really made an effort to make me feel welcome here, and you're one of my best friends here, which is saying something because I'm not really used to having friends at all, let alone enough to use the phrase 'one of', as in implying more than one. Plus... I like you. You're sweet and you're funny and you always put a smile on my face. Without you, things wouldn't be the same." Birchfang purred, clearly pleased.
"I'm glad we agree on my importance to the clan. And for the record, you're one of my best friends too, and I'd miss you a lot if you were gone. So... don't die on me, okay?"
"I'll try not to," Waspshine said with a laugh, glancing up ahead at Twosight and Frostclaw, "now come on, I want to take the lead on this stretch so I don't have to watch them try and fail to not be so painfully into each other."

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` servings consumed
8/8 - x4 rabbits
` clan events
sleetstar asks starclan for a warrior
emberpaw and flamepaw take their warrior assessments
poppywish treats viridianfire's eye with x1 wintergreen and x1 celandine
added the stranger from this readopt
` patrols
hunting-
1 - sleetstar, bearears. whisperwind, koishimmer, bramblingrose, ausmasthorn
2 - midnightblaze, winderstrike, dawnbreeze, twilightflower, fallowstep, brackenstrike
border-
3 -twosight, frostclaw, birchfang, waspshine

My gallery · by **solyn** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 12:10 am

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍.
population: 52 cats [ 26 fem : 26 male ]
servings required: 09 [55] - pebbles: 30

𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩

moderator: deimos - next moonstone: 9th june
moons since last nonsense: 2

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𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐨.

Duckpaw watched the raggedy old tom climb the steep cliffs of the mountain. For such an old cat, Duckpaw couldn't believe the clan he claimed to be residing in would let him leave the elder's den, let alone the campground itself. Clearly, her parents didn't care, but then again, both seemed to care about very little. When the clan had fallen to bits and Juncopaw and Rookpaw had followed Loonlight, the fraught line between her parents seemed to snap. Her mother- tall, proud- said nothing, and her father walked with his shoulders sagged and his head down.
"Not much further now," the tom said in his raspy voice, making Duckpaw jump and snap her head up to look at him. He smiled at her, trotting ahead. Duckpaw caught sight of her mother's deep frown, before she shook her head, and continued on. Duckpaw paused, waiting for her dad to catch up. She gave him an encouraging smile, rewarded with a weak one in return as she pressed against his side, the pair walking in step as they followed the cats.
"It's not your fault, you know," she said, quietly, "Juncopaw and Rookpaw are old enough to make their own decisions now. We all are." Her father gave her another smile, and touched his nose to her ear, before The Stranger turned abruptly through a tunnel. Addersong paused, momentarily, and then followed through after him, cautious Duckpaw and Summitstar bringing up the rear behind them.
They emerged into a high-walled basin, sun shining down on patchy grass and mountain wildflowers blooming, a single tree standing out among craggly rock formations. A black and white she-cat was watching a tabby molly practice battle moves with a grey and white she-cat. Nearby, a large, burly queen was chatting amicably with a blue pointed molly, while their kits rough and tumbled together, the large brown tom smashing a moss ball across camp with a powerful swipe of his paw. A cream-coloured queen slept under the tree, dozing in the shade watched over by a caliby molly with her sleeping kits curled into her flank, while a ginger tom descended the basin's cliffside trail, and paused, upon seeing the strange cats. The two fighting mollies stopped abruptly, turning to the new group.
"You left the camp?" The ginger tom asked, incredulous. The Stranger gave a janky shrug.
"I deliver those who are lost," he said, sweeping past the other tom without so much as another word. The black and white molly turned to the new cats, catching Duckpaw's eye and mouthing 'weird'. She gave her a timid smile, shrinking closer to her father, who tried to draw himself taller as the ginger tom moved closer, eyes narrowing as he studied them. He smelled strongly like herbs, like Loonlight had, although he seemed more bristly than JaggedClan's medicine cat.
"You have clan smell," he said, loud enough to draw the stocky molly to her feet. Even Addersong balked at the sheer sight of her, towering above the other cats with muscles thick and rippling under her pelt as she moved closer. When she spoke, her voice was smooth and rich, but there was a hardness to it that made Duckpaw shrink in on herself even more.
"Can we help you?" She asked, standing shoulder to shoulder with the ginger tom, who was dwarfed by her sheer size.
"Yes," Summitstar managed after a moment of struggling to form words, "my name is Summitstar. I am- I was the leader of JaggedClan. It's... disbanded now. This is my daughter, Duckpaw and my... mate, Addersong. We. We need a home. Is your leader here? Could we talk to them?"
"She's on patrol," the ginger said, ears flattening, "don't think that means you can try anything."
"Easy, Poppywish," said the big she-cat, turning to Duckpaw with kind eyes, "my name is Minkfur, warrior and queen for NorthernClan. This is Poppywish, our medicine cat. He'll check you over for injuries while you were travelling, and I won't hear any argument about that. Viridianfire, go with him. You can stay in the medicine den until Sleetstar returns."
"Thank you," said Addersong, although there was a stiffness to her tone. Duckpaw supposed her mother wasn't used to feeling intimidated or out of her depth, wasn't used to being given orders. Duckpaw simply smiled at the big she-cat, as a pair of curious heads appeared near her paws. Even though the kits couldn't have been apprentice-aged yet, the tom was almost as tall as Duckpaw, and his sister not close behind him.
"Who's this?" He asked curiously.
"Some travelers, Sprucekit. Poppywish is going to check them for injuries before they meet Sleetst-"
"Cool! Do you need help, Poppywish?" Sprucekit's eyes glittered as the ginger tom spluttered, shaking his head rapidly while Minkfur struggled to contain a smile.
"I do not. This way." He swished his tail, turning to hurry quickly back toward the cliffs, leaving the pouting kit in his wake. Duckpaw stepped after her mother, wandering calmly after Poppywish up the incline toward the medicine den. She turned, on the ledge outside, to let her father past, looking down into the camp where Minkfur was still watching her, kits playing once more. She gave the large molly a tired smile, and ducked into the den after her parents.

-

Midnightblaze's gaze was fond as he watched Koishimmer in the camp below, walking shoulder to shoulder with Viridianfire as the fierce molly took her obligatory turn around camp. She was healing fast, and even though her scratched eye didn't seem like it was of much use to her anymore, she seemed happy, like she was dealing with it. Winderstrike crossed toward them, carrying a mouse- no doubt for pregnant Sunnynose- sharing a laugh with the two mollies before he continued on. As he scurried up past Midnightblaze, Koishimmer's attention followed him. The black tom froze as his daughter settled on him, and he anticipated a scowl, but instead, she smiled, so briefly that he might has well have missed it. He startled, as she glanced away, and his own warm smile returned.
"Deep in thought?" He looked up, surprised to see Summitsky cresting the path to his jutting ledge, settling down next to him to look out over the campground.
"Guess so," he replied, smiling up at his taller friend, "things okay?" Summitsky smiled back, with a small nod. Ever since Sleetstar had broken off their relationship, Summitsky seemed less melancholy, as ironic as that was. He moved freer, smiled more, but Midnightblaze knew he still missed what could have been. Even now, he caught Summitsky's gaze travelling to his ex-mate, where she was sitting with their kits and laughing at something Butterflypaw had said. Midnightblaze smiled at him, leaning their shoulders together.
"They get big so fast, don't they?" He said, and Midnightblaze chuckled a little, nodding his head.
"It sneaks up on you," he admitted, "watching my girls... it seemed like one minute they were just little kits, bumbling along helplessly, and then you blink and suddenly they're all grown. I watch Koishimmer sometimes, and I think about how she was when she was a kit. Her, and Prim and Selene. Troublemakers, the three of them. And now... well. Now she's all grown. She doesn't need me to bail her out of trouble."
"You're still her father," Summitsky said, with a smile, "how come you never gave them warrior names?" Midnightblaze paused, his ears flattening a little as he shifted his paws, and then shrugged, awkwardly.
"I... well. I didn't have many good memories of my time in the clan. My mother was more traditional, wanted me to be tied to our heritage but... I was young. Most of what I could remember was war, and sickness, and everyone dying. Swallowpaw... my sister. My friends. My whole life was with the barn cats, and they didn't have warrior names. My daughters had no connection to the place I remembered, and so they didn't need warrior names. At least, I didn't think so." He looked around, his gaze suddenly troubled. "I didn't think I'd ever end up back here."
"I'm glad you did. I'm sorry that it came at the cost of your happiness, but... I'm happy that you're here. Is that selfish of me?" Midnightblaze turned, suddenly aware of how close his face was to Summitsky's. Their noses were barely an inch apart, the other tom's hot breath ruffling his fur as he studied his face curiously. His warm eyes, the small twist of his maw into a shy smile, the self-conscious way he hunched his shoulders. Midnightblaze smiled, with a sigh.
"It's not. All things considered... I'm glad I'm back too. I wish it had been under different circumstances, I do, but... there are things about being here that are good. Better than good. Perfect." Summitsky's smiled broadened as he tilted his head to study Midnightblaze, silent. As the silence stretched on between them, warm, and comfortable, Summitsky didn't look away, his gaze almost unbearably fond. Finally, the black and white tom laughed, shaking his head. "What?"
"You have... beautiful eyes," Summitsky said, as if suddenly struck by this revelation. Midnightblaze ducked his head bashfully, and his friend coughed, turning his face to look out over the campground again. Neither of them spoke, but Midnightblaze shifted just a little closer, and he didn't miss the way Summitsky's tail swept around him, as together they watched the hustle and bustle of NorthernClan.

-

"I don't... really need an apprentice," Poppywish said awkwardly, not looking at the apprentice who shrank back in front of him. His sister- taller, and stockier- leaned against him, encouraging look on her face, "frankly, I don't have time to train one and the medicine den isn't anywhere near leaving me in the state of mind to do an apprentice justice. Sorry, kid."
"I don't know how to do anything else," the apprentice said, and his sister nudged him, giving Sleetstar an imploring look from where she and Midnightblaze sat in the mouth of the den. She gave her deputy a questioning look, and he simply shrugged, which seemed to send the she-cat into a frenzy.
"We'll work hard," she said, "Silver Snow only trained as a healer's softpaw, but he could learn! He might have to work a bit harder to catch up, but he's very determined and I know he could do it, he's just a bit scared is all, we've been on our own for so long and it's dangerous and-"
"Deep breaths," Midnightblaze cut in, with a smile, "we're not going to throw you out." The she-cat looked troubled, glancing toward Sleetstar for confirmation. The pointed molly chuckled a little, giving Falling Feather a a kind smile. The she-cat relaxed a little, taking a deep breath as the leader spoke.
"Midnightblaze is right, you two are more than welcome to stay here. You will have to work hard to catch up, the both of you, but hard work makes the reward worthwhile, right?" She stood, nodding to the deputy. "Midnightblaze will take you down to meet the other apprentices. I'll hold proper ceremonies for you two later to assign you mentors, but it might help to get used to the names Featherpaw and Snowpaw now."
"We won't let you down. Come on, Snowpaw!" The newly-named Featherpaw nudged her brother, who got to his paws, casting one more anxious look back at Poppywish before he trailed after his sister and the deputy. Sleetstar turned in the opposite direction, climbing higher to where Thunderjaw was waiting, patiently, to speak with her. The other apprentices were in the campground, a cluster of three sat together, watching a group of four bat a moss ball about between them. Midnightblaze's presence seemed to get their attention, as a black maine-coon looking apprentice scooped the ball onto her paw, casting a curious look at the deputy.
"Who've you got there, Midnightblaze?"
"This is Featherpaw and Snowpaw, the newest apprentices to join the clan," he announced, with a smile, "I hope you'll all make them feel welcome. This is Tempestpaw, and her siblings Blizzardpaw, Brewingpaw and Lightningpaw. That's Wolfpaw and Butterflypaw, and this is Duckpaw. She's new to the clan too, just like you are." Duckpaw gave them a shy smile, and Featherpaw regarded her curiously, sure she was about the first short-haired cat she'd seen in the clan.
"It's nice to meet you," Brewingpaw said, looking much like his sister, but with smokier fur. His voice was deep and rumbling, much like the storm after which he had clearly been named. Their tabby siblings glanced curiously at the new apprentices as Midnightblaze dipped his head, and crossed the camp to catch up with Howlingeye, who paused to let him fall into sleep.
"So!" Featherpaw said cheerfully, "This is everyone?"
"Mostly," Wolfpaw's voice was quiet and calm, as he swept his tail over his paws, "Emberpaw and Flamepaw too, but they're on assessments right now, so they likely won't be apprentices for much longer."
"They're nice though," Duckpaw said, "they've been kind to me since I came here, so you should definitely take the time to get to know them when they come back. They're pretty good friends with all of us."
"Where are you from, originally? Midnightblaze said you were new."
"A clan called JaggedClan," Duckpaw shrugged with a little laugh, "not much of a change of scenery. At least I'm with my parents though- Addersong and Graypeak." She turned to point out two cats on opposite sides of camp, both alone.
"Is everyone else clan-born? As in, from this clan, I mean." Featherpaw asked, watching as her brother scuffed his paw over the ground, looking awkward among such a large group.
"Yep!" Lightningpaw was cheerful, "our mom is Twilightflower, and our dad's not in the picture. Sunnynose and Winderstrike are Emberpaw and Flamepaw's parents, Sleetstar and Summitsky are Wolfpaw and Butterflypaw's. We've been denmates since birth, I guess, and yet they're both still so quiet."
"There's nothing wrong with being quiet," Butterflypaw said with a tinkling laugh, and Snowpaw's head shot up, his eyes wide. His gaze met the pretty molly's, and she ducked her head bashfully. "I just don't have a lot to say, not all of the time, but I don't mind people who do. Wolfpaw's just cranky, though." The apprentices laughed as Wolfpaw shook his head, amused. Featherpaw relaxed, blowing out a sigh amidst her laughter. Her anxieties had eased; the apprentices of NorthernClan were kind, and welcoming, and suddenly adjusting to life here seemed a lot less daunting.

-

The cats gathered underneath Highrock as the sun began to set, casting the basin in glorious colours. In front of Sleetstar, Flamepaw and Emberpaw sat, both clearly excited, with Winderstrike and Sunnynose either side of their kits, looking every inch the proud parents of soon to be warriors. Sleetstar cleared her throat, looking around at her gathered clan, before she began the warrior ceremony:
"Today, NorthernClan gains two new warriors; cats who have proved they have what it takes to survive these lands. Emberpaw and Flamepaw step forward as I, Sleetstar, call upon the warrior ancestors of NorthernClan to see you: for you have trained hard to understand the code. Do you promise to uphold this code and to defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do!" Flamepaw's voice rang out strong and clear.
"As do I," Emberpaw echoed, firm but lilted with excitement. Sleetstar purred, happily.
"Emberpaw, please recite the vow."
"To my clan, to my home, to the blood that binds; I pledge myself to the cliffs and the snow. The North is all." She turned to Flamepaw and asked the same, the vow echoed back to her with barely contained glee. It warmed her heart, the enthusiasm of her cats, these first kits of NorthernClan who had grown here and were now about to become warriors. Soon, that would be here kits, and as she caught Summitsky's twinkling eye in the crowd, she saw that he knew it too.
"Then from this day forward, you will be known as Emberpetal, for your gentle and sweet nature and Flamestream, for your speedy and agility. StarClan honours Emberpetal's optimism and Flamestream's boundless kindness. It is my honour to welcome you to the clan as full warriors. Honour them!" Yowls went up around the clan as Sunnynose and Winderstrike converged on their kits, purring happily as they nuzzled close, tails winding high over them. The warmth of the sun shone onto the pelts of the NorthernClan cats, as they crowded close around their newest warriors to bid them congratulations.

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧.

Working with Sleetstar wasn't exactly how Whisperwind would have pictured his first apprentice, but the she-cat had been accommodating. She kept them in camp or close to it so that Bearears could sit in, and she would watch both Featherpaw and Snowpaw if Whisperwind wanted to work with his friend to help her out. Now, she was demonstrating a swiping move to Featherpaw who mirrored her attentively. Next to her, Snowpaw tried, clumsily, to recreate the same movement.
Whisperwind could see his tail lashing in frustration, and he felt pity. It was obvious that while Featherpaw was rusty on skills from her old clan, Snowpaw lacked the foundation that she had. He was slower and more bumbling, and Whisperwind could see easily how frustrated he got when he didn't pick something up as easily as she did. His brow creased a little as he watched his apprentice, white fur blowing in the wind to mix with Bearears as she sat next to him, head cocked slightly and ear swiveled to pick up the sound.
"He doesn't sound too happy."
"He's struggling," Whisperwind admitted, "I don't think he's picking it up as fast as he'd like." Bearears didn't say anything to that, the pair of them smiling amicably as Sleetstar settled next to them to watch the apprentices spar with each other. It was obvious that Snowpaw didn't stand a chance from the get go. It wasn't three seconds before the poor tom was flipped off his paws and pinned to the ground by his sister who cast a curious glance at Sleetstar.
"Like that?"
"Perfect," she nodded, glancing at Whisperwind. The white tom stood, smiling encouragingly at his apprentice, who refused to meet his gaze.
"Good work, Featherpaw," he said, "Snowpaw, why don't we have a talk?" Glumly, the apprentice got to his feet to follow after his mentor, keeping his gaze transfixed on the ground beneath his paws as they moved away from the two mollies. Whisperwind settled them under the clan's tree, on the soft grass. He let the silence hang between them for a moment. When it became clear Snowpaw had nothing to lead with, he cocked his head, fixing him the gentlest smile he possibly could.
"You can talk to me, you know," he said, "I understand this is hard with you, and I'm not upset that you're not picking this up. I'm just... worried that you're pushing yourself to learn in a way that doesn't work for you, and I don't want you to feel miserable because of that." Snowpaw sighed, hunching his shoulders as he crouched in close to his paws, blue eyes watching the ground idly.
"I just... I was always going to be a medicine cat, I guess. That was everyone's plan for me. And now I'm here, doing something I've never been good at, training for a job I'm afraid of." He paused. "I'm afraid I'm not going to be good enough. That I'll try and try, but no matter what, it just won't... be enough." Whisperwind sighed, sympathetic.
"I understand, Snowpaw, I really do. But... you can't let fear hold you back. You have to fight to overcome your fear, to push yourself past that mentality where you're hindered by what-if's. You can say what-if as much as you like, but one never seems to think about the what-ifs that you miss by being so fixated on every little thing that can go wrong. You're not alone in this, and nobody is asking you to work it out without help. I'm here to guide you every step of the way, and you're lucky to have a sister like Featherpaw who'll be right beside you, and a big intake of apprentices that you can practice with. You're going to be great, okay?" Snowpaw took a deep breath, and looked Whisperwind in the eye.
"Okay," he said, offering him a tiny smile. Whisperwind smiled back.
"Good. Now, let's take some time away from Featherpaw, and you can tell me what you're still having trouble with. We can take it from the ground up, and we'll only stop when you're absolutely sure you've got a handle on it." As he and Snowpaw moved toward a clear patch of grass, away from Sleetstar and her apprentice, he didn't mind the shy, pleased smile on his apprentice's face.

-

The sun set below the horizon on the Greenleaf night in NorthernClan. The basin's walls were bathed in vibrant orange and cotton candy pink, the queens bringing their kits from the nursery to sit on the ledge in front of the den and watch the sunset. The sky above was even more brilliantly coloured as the last rays of the dying sun made a valiant effort to cast warmth down upon the clan. In the middle of camp, life went on.
Bearears and Whisperwind were sparring with Magpiefeather watching, Koishimmer and Viridianfire took their customary stroll around the campground while she was still on rest, laughing together. Brackenstrike and Splitface were coiled close together, sharing tongues, while Hawkeyes and Fallowstep mirrored them on the other side of camp, laughing with Winderstrike and Sunnynose about something or other. Sleetstar stood atop the ledge outside of her den, looking onto the cats of her clan, with a fondness in her expression.
"Something's coming." A voice said from behind her. She whipped around, looking for the spectral cat she'd come to associate the voice with, ice chilling in her bones. Ever since her talk with Summitsky, the verbal commitment to rebellion, to rejecting Northstar's guidance, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of the former leader. She looked back and forth, frantic, and down to the camp, where she realized a bitter, metallic smell was reaching her nose.
"NorthernClan!" Her voice rang out, catching the attention of her clan as the first set of paws came through the entrance to camp, cat after cat flooding into the camp in a slow wave, fanning out to block the exit. Sleetstar's stomach dropped. Rogues in the camp, again. She scanned the pelts for familiar faces, but neither Varvara's warm, chocolate pelt nor Boscoe's scarred ginger one stood out to her. These cats were strangers, and there was not a doubt in her mind they were here to harm the clan.
Thunderjaw met her strides as she passed the nursery ledge, racing down the path to the aide of her clan, frozen in shock. He cast her a questioning look, and she shook her head. He understood. It wasn't them. They weren't here for her, the biggest of the cats was already making quick ground toward Splitface and Brackenstrike as the clan slowly moved, screening off the apprentices as Koishimmer ushered them back toward the path. Brackenstrike put herself between her mate and the big tom. He paused, and flicked his tail. Instantly three cats surged forward, slamming into Brackenstrike, knocking her off her paws and pinning her to the ground.
"No!" Sleetstar yowled, sprinting forward to get to her friend faster. The big tom slammed his paw down onto Splitface's chest, knocking her to the ground and digging his claws in. She shrieked in pain, writhing underneath him as she scrabbled at his foreleg. He seemed not to feel it, simply shaking his head.
"Ah-ah-ah," he tutted condescendingly, "not a step closer pretty lady, our business is not with you." His gaze fell onto Splitface, leaning closer to her. Despite the red welling on her coat, the molly's golden eyes blazed furiously as she turned her head away from his rancid breath, chest heaving under the weight of his paw.
"Get off of her," Brackenstrike spat, ignoring a set of sharp claws held near her throat, "leave her alone. If you hurt her I'll kill you. You hear me?" The tom simply laughed, brazen. Sleetstar's eyes scanned the area for Howlingeye's coat, and found him standing high up the ledge, where he was being watched by one of the clan members. It hit Sleetstar suddenly in a way that made her feel ill. The shapes in the forest with Varvara. Every prickling feeling down her spine, the inexplicable abandoned prey carcasses, weird scents on border patrols, everything she had assumed to be the Merchants. It had been these cats. Watching. Waiting. And Sleetstar knew exactly what it was they wanted.
"Relax, big girl," he said, ignoring the way Brackenstrike spat out a feverish hiss, "nothing's going to happen to anyone so long as we get the rune." Silence hung over the air as cats glanced between each other uneasily. Sleetstar could feel Minkfur's eyes on her- not angry, not judging, just knowing. Sleetstar flicked her ear, and Minkfur started forward, down the rise, toward the medicine den. The cat watching her kept its eyes trained on the den's mouth, waiting for her to return. Sleetstar knew she wouldn't. "The rune." The cat said again, more forcefully this time. "Where is it."
"Gone," hissed Splitface, "you and your posse will never find it, not where the Brothers will hide it, for our order to be reborne. You are too late. Its power is beyond you now, and you were never worthy of it in the first place." The tom's face contorted in fury as the words overtook him. Sleetstar's ears pounded with her heartbeat. The tom's paw drew back, shaking with his violent anger as he glared down at Splitface, baleful.
"Then I should finish the job," he hissed, "sisters should die together, after all."
"No!" Screamed Brackenstrike, trying to launch free of her captors who only dug their claws in harder. The tom's paw started to come down, and Sleetstar stopped thinking. With a powerful cry, she darted forward, and slammed her whole body into the other tom's. She heard the grunt of surprise as she hit him, claws tearing into his flesh as she held on for purchase. His weight crushed her into the ground the first time they landed, but as they bounced, she flipped him over and brought him down hard against the rock, his head jarring against the ground as she dug her teeth into his ear. They rolled; she yanked her head back, and he let out a pained yowl, enough to make even her shiver. She spat, and kicked him away with her hind legs, rolling shakily to her paws. His ear dripped with blood where she had torn it, and his eyes blazed with malice.
"Kill them all."
It was a simple enough declaration of war Sleetstar supposed, and she didn't even have to give the cry before Brackenstrike gave her body a powerful wrench, flipping a cat away from her, twisting another's paw under her and crushing it against the rock, her claws scraping harshly against the third's throat. Chaos erupted in the camp. Koishimmer and Viridianfire, unable to get back up the cliffside in time hurried Sunnynose passed them one way, Howlingeye and Midnightblaze the other, before they stood staunch to defend the bottom of the trail.
Thunderjaw was first to clash with the other clan. His powerful body twisted sideways, slamming into two cats at once, grunting as a third and fourth leaped onto him and held him down. He writhed and bucked under their claws, throwing them this way and that, the last cleared from on top of him by a precise slice from Howlingeye, who bounded effortlessly over him and into the fray.
Splitface was on her paws, stumbling toward Sleetstar as she caught her breath. She pressed at her shoulder, giving her a serious look as they faced off against the manic leader of the rogues, his breathing high-pitched and heavy with frenzy as his eyes darted back and forth between them, his jaws parting in a snarl as he sneered at them.
"Sisterhood is so beautiful, don't you think? It's such a shame that I'll have to rip you to pieces. Pretty, pretty mollies in itty bitty little pieces, pretty little carrion gifts for the vultures and the crows." He cackled then, leaping forward, as Sleetstar and Splitface twisted out of the way. Sleetstar was quickest on the turn, raking her claws down his flank and eliciting a yowl as he rounded on them again.
"He's mine!" Splitface spat, her eyes set and hard.
"I'm with you, I've got your back," Sleetstar assured her.
"Touching. Now fight!" The tom lunged at them again, and they ducked out of the way, sure to steer clear of his paws and his lunges. Both she-cats were smaller than him, and what they lacked in size, they made up for in speed. If they were to win, they had to utilize this advantage. Sleetstar's stomach rolled, not being able to focus on anything else. She couldn't see Summitsky, except in brief flashes where she would turn, and catch Midnightblaze's pelt, the toms working together in tandem. Brackenstrike's cries were lost to her, and even Thunderjaw's bulk blended into the background.
Howlingeye darted from cat to cat. He nicked the back of their legs, causing their paws to buckle underneath them. He smashed his front paws against their temples hard enough to make them stagger and crash to the ground. It was easy, like a reflex, and this time Howlingeye couldn't feel bad about using it. Not when Poppywish's pelt flashed brilliant amber in the fading red of the sunset, not when Midnightblaze yowled a furious cry and tackled a cat away from his daughter, not when Summitsky's powerful paws shook with fatigue as he defended Bearears, whose pelt bristled, ears swiveling rapidly to pick up the commotion. They were depending on him. His friends. His clan.
A cat leaped at him and he ducked, rolling underneath them and aiming a kick at their sides, knocking the wind out of them as they bounced across the ground. Nimbly, he spun, smashing his paw under the jaw of another attacker, before he pushed off and tackled a final opponent out of thin air, rolling a few times before he firmly pinned them to the ground and cuffed them once round the ears. The cat went limp. Howlingeye moved on.
Thunderjaw and Minkfur were not in need of his help, the pair of them fighting in easy tandem. Though Minkfur had been out of commission in the nursery, she seemed no less able to keep up with Thunderjaw than the rest of the clan. It was like falling back into a rhythm for them, something natural that they'd never lost the feeling of. Each flick of an ear, each ripple of a muscle- a secret code, just for them, that had them cutting through rogues and backing them toward the exit. Summitsky was at Minkfur's shoulder, Brackenstrike on Thunderjaw's, Viridianfire and Koishimmer next to her, Midnightblaze and Howlingeye firm near Summitsky.
More and more warriors of the clan joined them, spreading out into a wide arc to fence the rogues off from their leader who battled with Sleetstar and Splitface, easily holding his own against the two inexperienced mollies. Hollyfeather and Frostclaw held off the stragglers, Bearears, Whisperwind, Ausmasthorn and Bramblingrose defending the path to the dens in the absence of Viridianfire and Koishimmer.
Sleetstar landed a good hit, causing the rogue leader to stumble, as Splitface leaped and scored her claws down his face. He yowled in pain, fury in his eyes as he staggered back, the pair of mollies boxing him in toward the basin wall. His eyes darted this way and that, blood dripping into them, searching for a way out. There was none. A cat among the rogue bulk bristle, and bolted forward, straight for Howlingeye. He was one of the smaller cats in the line; petite. Sleek. His claws were unsheathed as he braced himself, moving to slam forward into the cat.
But something was wrong. Minkfur's desperate warning came a fraction of a second too late, and the cat twisted, slamming into Holwingeye. He came down hard, his paw trapped under him at an awkward angle. Howlingeye yowled in pain, the sound cut off with a strangled breath of shock as claws raked down his stomach, before the rogue moved away, sprinting toward his leader with a war cry.
"Double back!" Midnightblaze yelled. "Brackenstrike, Minkfur! Help Sleetstar!" The large mollies nodded, charging away as the rest of the group fractured, arcing around to get in front of the rogues who had plunged through the gap left by Howlingeye. A rogue stalked toward him, languidly, as he tried to get to his paws, unsuccessfully.
"Nice, for a former assassin," she said conversationally, "but you get sloppy when you leave the order. I've always wanted to see what it would be like to kill a cat Born of Shadows... I suppose now I'll know." Ginger flashed across Howlingeye's vision, and paws planted themselves firmly in front of him, Poppywish's fur bristling as he spat with a fire so characteristic of the ginger tom.
"Over my dead body." The rogue she-cat's gaze darkened, her muscles bunching as she prepared to spring.
"That can be arranged."
"Poppywish, run-" but she was leaping already, and Howlingeye tried to struggle to his paws again with a forlorn cry as he collapsed, eyes wide with horror as she descended on the tom with her teeth bared. Poppywish dropped onto his back, and his back legs found her stomach, pushing her up and away from them with a powerful wrench. She hit the ground on the other side of Howlingeye as Poppywish flipped back to his paws, and a second later Breakerhowl set after her, chasing her away from the two toms.
Howlingeye couldn't look at Poppywish, couldn't say anything to him as the tom dug his teeth into his scruff and dragged him out of the way of the fighting. The rogues were being pressed back. Minkfur and Brackenstrike were defending Sleetstar and Splitface, their efforts wearing down the rogue leader, whose panic made him sloppy. The tide was turning. Everything would be okay. Which meant Poppywish was going to say something to break his heart, just like he'd shattered his.
"You idiot," he said softly, his voice rough with emotion, "you fool. I can't believe you let yourself get hurt." Howlingeye laughed, suddenly exhausted.
"It's nothing, just a gash to the bone." Poppywish made a strange noise, and it was then Howlingeye realized he was crying. He stretched his good paw out, touched it to his shoulder, and was shocked when he pressed his face into the scruff of his neck. The ginger jerked back abruptly, sniffling to himself as he pressed cobwebs to Howlingeye's wounds. He didn't say anything after that, and Howlingeye couldn't bring himself to break the silence either.
His attention was drawn away to a strangled cry, as he and Poppywish turned to see Splitface leaping away from the body of the rogue's leader. Fighting came to a standstill, the rogues glancing between each other, looking for guidance. Splitface was breathing heavily, collapsing against her mate's sturdy flank. Sleetstar's white fur was red with blood. She looked around at the rouges, gaze steely.
"Get out of my clan," she said, "the rune is not here, and neither is the power you seek. If you don't get of my territory right this instant, I won't think twice about killing you all." That seemed to be all the encouragement the rogues needed. The second nodded firmly to Sleetstar, and flicked his tail. The rogues sprinted for the exit, two large cats cautiously passing Sleetstar to take the body of their fallen member. The clan cats watched them go, in silence. When the last tail had disappeared from view, Sleetstar collapsed to the ground.
"Sleetstar!" Summitsky yelled, voice strangled with panic. He sprinted to her, dropping to the ground next to her to nudge her back up on shaky paws. Her body was limp with exhaustion, but most of the blood in her fur wasn't her own.
"Thank StarClan no one called my bluff," scattered nervous laughs echoed around the basin. Sleetstar's weary eyes scanned her clan, gauging their status. Her eyes landed on Thunderjaw, tenderly checking a gash on Minkfur's side, and supporting her as she limped along on an injured paw, and they flicked onwards. "Frostclaw, Hollyfeather, Breakerhowl. Follow them, make sure they're off the territory, but stay out of sight. I don't want them to get second wind. Be safe." The cats nodded to her as they ran past, on the tail of their attackers.
Silence descended over NorthernClan, the cats shocked by the attack. Midnightblaze was the first to speak, slow, and cautious, clearly afraid of breaking whatever fragile alliance lay between them at the moment. The apprentices descended the path, seeking out their parents and pressing close to them to make sure they were alright. Sunnynose ushered Willowkit and Sprucekit toward their parents, where they weaved in relief around Minkfur's paws.
"Sleetstar?" Midnightblaze said, quietly, "what was that all about?" Sleetstar could feel all eyes swinging onto her, but the gaze she knew as Brackenstrike's burned brightest of all. Splitface's eyes were closed, exhausted from their fight. Minkfur's face was grave, concerned. After a long, extended pause, she let out a sharp bark of laughter.
"It's a long story," she said, smiling tiredly at Summitsky, "someone get me a poppy seed, because I ache like a dog's mother, and then get the clan together so Poppywish has us all in one place. I get the feeling this is something everyone's going to want to hear."

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` servings consumed
9/9 - x3 hares
` clan events
added featherpaw & snowpaw from this readopt
added graypeak, addersong & duckpaw from this readopt
poppywish practices medicine
wolfpaw, butterflypaw & duckpaw learn to swim
tempestpaw, blizzardpaw, brewingpaw and lightningpaw learn to hunt
featherpaw & snowpaw learn the battle skill
a group of rogues attacks the clan. please roll the following cats for injuries:
sleetstar, splitface, midnightblaze, flamestream,
viridianfire, minkfur, birchfang, howlingeye
` patrols
hunting-
1 - midnightblaze, dawnbreeze, twosight, bramblingrose, winderstrike, breakerhowl
2 - howlingeye, fallowstep, koishimmer, birchfang, twilightflower, ausmasthorn
border-
3 - brackenstrike, frostclaw, waspshine, graypeak

My gallery · by **solyn** » Mon Aug 19, 2019 9:21 pm

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍.
population: 53 cats [ 26 fem : 27 male ]
servings required: 09 [55] - pebbles: 30

𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩

moderator: deimos - next moonstone: 9th june
moons since last nonsense: 2 (greenleaf)

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𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐨.

The medicine den was quiet in the night. There was still an air of dread that hung over the clan in a cloying cloud, but families relished in the fact that they were alive, that their loved ones were going to be okay. Howlingeye supposed that part of the quietness was the alcove into which Poppywish had tucked him. He wasn't stupid- he knew the ginger tom was waiting to talk to him, now that Howlingeye had effectively no choice but to listen. He and Sleetstar had insisted on being treated last; Poppywish had done good emergency work on him, but there were others who required more immediate attention.
Pawsteps rounded the threshold of the gave. Poppywish's ginger fur illuminated only by bio-luminescent algae clinging to the walls of the cave. Howlingeye sighed and settled back into the nest, closing his eyes. Neither of them said anything for a long moment, but Howlingeye knew he was there. Poppywish was like that, he could feel his presence halfway across camp, like the other piece of his heart that he was aching to return to.
"Pretending I'm not here isn't going to make me go away," Poppywish said, with a sniff. Howlingeye opened his eye to look at him. Poppywish looked haggard; exhausted by the day's events. Suddenly, for the first time Howlingeye viewed him as frail; small and narrow in the shoulders with tiredness in his eyes and an ache the pointed tom could place so acutely that he had to look away for fear of crumbling.
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Yes there is," Poppywish's voice cracked, broke like a dam, and suddenly tears were flooding, "do you not understand how scared I was today? I love you Howlingeye, and I know you're afraid, like if you let me get close you'll break me, but I am not so delicate that I will be shattered like thin ice, and what hurts more than that is being apart from you, held at tail's length so that you can agonize over what you can't give me while I sit here and think about how more than anything I want to be with you. You could have died today, do you understand that? You could have died, and I was so afraid that you would and that I would lose you forever."
"I know, Poppywish, but I don't feel like th-"
"Oh, fox dung, Howlingeye. You're so full of it. Do you think I didn't see how afraid you were when that rogue came for me? You couldn't even stand and yet you tried to throw yourself in the way just to defend me. I know you care for me. I know you're afraid, but please, just talk to me. I can't go on without you, it breaks my heart every time I see you, and I don't know how much longer I can walk around with this wound deep, deep in my chest, hoping that things could go back to how they were." Howlingeye shuddered, closing his eyes as he inhaled shakily.
"Poppywish I can't hurt you like that."
"Hurt me like what? Do you really think it would hurt me for you to love me?"
"Yes!" Howlingeye's voice was loud, echoing around the alcove, before he sagged, back into the nest. "My whole life has been characterized by shadows. Don't you get that? I've got more black marks against me than any cat in the world, most likely. I let myself be used as a tool, and I have to live with that guilt every day of my life. I will never be open. I will never be able to let my walls down all the way, and you don't deserve someone who will only give most and not all of them to you. I can't hurt you by forcing you to sit around and wait for me to let you in. I can't ask you to fix me."
"Idiot," Poppywish moved forward, pressing his forehead to Howlingeye's, "as if you haven't given me all of you already, as if you aren't right now. I don't want to fix you. I think you're perfect just the way you are. I know you don't see it, but I love you for all of you, as I met you and as I came to know you, that's what I love, not some idealized version of you I have in my head. I know you still have guilt, and pain, and it's not my job to fix that for you, but I love you, and I want to bear your burdens too, when you'll let me."
"They're so heavy, Poppywish, it's a lot. You don't want that."
"I do, though, I do. You don't get it, Howlingeye, I just want you. All of you, truly and completely, for better or for worse because I love you, and that's what you do for cats you love. You accept them as they are, you bear their burdens, and you lean on one another as you climb and as you grow. I don't want to grow old in this clan with anyone but you. I can't imagine a future where I don't come to bed every night with you in my nest, waiting for me. When we were together, those were the best nights of my life. I want to feel that way again, every night for the rest of my life."
"Poppywish..." Howlingeye let out another shaky exhale, this time sounding more like an anguished sob, "I don't know. What if it goes wrong? What if we mess this up. You're too important to me, and I don't want you to be broken under the weight of everything I've done. What if I lose you?"
"You won't. You just have to say it."
"I love you."
"Again."
"I love you," Howlingeye turned his face up to press their noses together as Poppywish let out a shuddering, hiccup of a sob, "I love you, I love you, I love you."

-

"You've caught us at a bad time, I'm afraid," the big tom seemed tired, strong shoulders sagging, eyes exhausted but kind. Sycamore shrunk close next to her mother, who swept her tail around her protectively. Falcon shot a look at the tom they'd been travelling with- an ex-clan cat named Honeyheart- to see what he made of the situation. The tom smiled, a warmth to his green eyes as he dipped his head to the grey and white clan cat.
"I understand, Greenleaf is as hard a time for clans as Leafbare is. I'm sorry your clan has experienced such hardship, my friend." The tom's ears perked up, and he cocked his head, evaluating the other tom, before his eyes flicked to the molly he was travelling with. Her ears flattened and she bared her teeth at him, making him startle, before he chuckled, tiredly.
"Did you say you were a clan cat?"
"Yes," Honeyheart nodded, "this is Falcon and her daughter, Sycamore. They've been living as loners for a long time, and we've been travelling together for a while. We just need some shelter and a place to rest, and we're happy to help out if we can. None of us will be dead weight. Sycamore may be little, but she has been training in things akin to what clan apprentices learn essentially since she could walk, from what Falcon tells me."
"It was a necessity," the molly said, with a nod, "we've had to do what we can to survive."
"Well, we can use all the help we can get right now," the tom said with a smile, "my name is Summitsky, I'm a senior warrior of this clan. Our leader was hurt in the battle, but once she's back on her paws, I'm sure she'd be happy to formally welcome you to the clan for as long as you'd like to stay, but you can consider the next few moons a trial run of how you fit in. If you like it here, you are more than welcome to join us."
"Thank you, Summitsky," Honeyheart said with a chipper smile, "put us to work."

-

The day had passed in a hazy blur. For most of the NorthernClan cats, scuttling in and out of Poppywish's den like glorified apprentices made up the majority of clan activity, caring for their loved ones. Hunting patrols had been scarce, with both the leader and the deputy in the medicine den, Thunderjaw had taken over organizing patrols between dutifully checking on his mate. He and Summitsky had agreed that border patrols were more important, making sure no one else slipped through to take advantage while they were in a weakened state. Bramblingrose had floated through the day easily, with nothing more than a vaguely anxious knot in his stomach.
Night descended, and the clan fell into a hush. Bearears had moved back into the warrior's den to make room in the medicine den for all the injured cats, curled back-to-back with Whisperwind in his nest, just a few over from where Ausmaspaw slept soundly next to him. Bramblingrose was wide awake, listening to the sounds of the night. He didn't miss the unmistakable shuffling of a cat getting up, and Whisperwind's white pelt was ghostly in the moonlight. At first he paid no mind- he was probably going to make dirt- but the minutes ticked on and on, and Bramblingrose started to worry. Finally, he disentangled himself carefully from his sister's sleeping form, and padded from the den.
Moonlight shone down upon NorthernClan in the heat of the summer's night, bathing everything in an eerie white glow. The night was warm, uncharacteristic for so high in the mountains, and the air was still, no breeze to be found inside the basin's walls. Whisperwind's white coat stood out harshly against dark ground, where he sat near the entrance of the camp, staring blankly at a spot on the ground. He didn't seem to hear Bramblingrose approach, jumping as the tom spoke from just behind him.
"Sleetstar wouldn't like you being out here on your own," he said, and Whisperwind whipped around to face him, shock evident on his face, "I heard you get up, and I got worried when you didn't come back. It's probably safer out here with a buddy." He settled next to Whisperwind's shoulder, close, so that their fur was pressed together. Whisperwind closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah." His voice cracked. "No."
"Talk to me."
"It's a lot," Whisperwind shuddered, shoulders falling as he hunched forward. Bramblingrose leaned across, covering his back with his chest and leaning his chin on top of his head. "The last few days... I was so afraid of losing somebody else. It was just like when those other rogues attacked us, when they killed Galepaw." He let out a broken sounding sobbed, and Bramblingrose's heart shattered for him. "This is where she died, you know. The blood's gone now, rain washed it away probably, and I wondered if I still remembered, but of course I do. How do you forget something like that?"
"I don't know. I think a part of me believes you're not supposed to. It's not a bad thing to remember your sister, or how much you love her."
"Loved. She's gone now."
"Dead, maybe, but not gone. Look around you, Whisperwind, everywhere in this clan is a place her memory lives on. In the hearts of the cats, in the stories we will tell in the elder's den, in Bearear's heart, and the way she will teach her future apprentices, in you, and your name. All of that love for her remains, and while her body isn't with us anymore, her soul is still twinkling above in StarClan, watching over you." In unison, they lifted their heads to the stars overhead. "There's no right way to do grief, and there's no undoing a trauma like you experienced, but it doesn't define you. You don't have to forget, but you don't have to let it rule you, either. On days like this, it's okay to remember, it's okay to be thankful that we didn't lose everyone else. I personally think it's because in StarClan, Galepaw saw what was happening and said 'not today, we won't lose anyone else'."
"How do you always know the right thing to say?" Whisperwind's voice was soft, as he turned his head to give a weak smile to his friend, tail curling around the bobtailed tom as he leaned into his shoulder. Bramblingrose leaned his head against the other's with a little chuckle.
"Because I know you. I'll stay out here with you for as long as you want."
"Okay," Whisperwind said, his eyes closing contentedly, "let's just remember."

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧.

With a moon between them and the rogues, Thunderjaw had relaxed his insistence on border patrols. Now, the hunting patrols fanned out across the territory to make up for the prey lost in the crackdown. Summitsky didn't mind it; being along gave him time to think and time to process, but he couldn't shake the crawling feeling down his spine of being watched. He knew it was likely irrational, just leftover fear, but thinking about the looks on his kits faces made his stomach sink with dread. Something behind him rustled, and he whipped around, ears pricked forward suspiciously.
"Who's there?" No response. He scented the air, and his hears flattened. "I can smell you, you know. If you think you're going to get a sneak attack in, you might as well give up now." He unsheathed his claws, fur bristling as he faced down the underbrush. It went still, and then slowly it parted, a chocolate brown pelt stepping through. Summitsky recognized her instantly; the molly from the first rogue attack, looking fraught and frail. His claws retracted, and he straightened up. "What are you doing this far into the territory?"
"I had to find one of you," she said, her eyes guarded but desperate, "I have to know that she's okay." Summitsky blew out a sigh, closing his eyes and hanging his head.
"So your rogue clan knows."
"Yes," she said, with a nod, "I'm... I know you have no reason to believe me, but I'm keeping him at bay. Boscoe, I mean. For now. Convincing him there's no reason to strike and that we have bigger things to worry about but... I can't stop thinking about Sleetstar. She hasn't been down by the borders recently. I just- I have to know she's okay." Varvara looked at him with big, imploring eyes. "Please...?"
"Summitsky." The she-cat deflated.
"Oh."
"It's okay," Summitsky gave her a tired smile, "I always knew it was you, I think, I just didn't want to admit it to myself. She's still my friend, and I won't pretend I understand what's going on with you two, or why she goes back, but... I know she loves you. And I know you love her, and this is kinda better for us. She's actually engaging with our kits now, and it's nice to have my best friend back. She's... well. It's bad. She'll live, Poppywish won't let anything happen to her for sure, but... it might be a while before she's ready to get back out here."
"I understand," the she-cat inhaled deeply, looking at her paws, "I'm just glad she's okay. I've been sick with worry this whole time, not knowing what happened or if she was ever coming back." She closed her eyes. "I thought I'd lost her."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes. You didn't have to do this for me, so yes, you may."
"Why do you stay? You obviously want to be with her, but yet... here you are, on the wrong side of the line." Now it was Varvara's turn to give him a sad smile.
"You don't understand what he's like. This whole misunderstanding was borne from her trying to keep me safe from him, from how unpredictable he is. He thrives off of power, craves it, demands it. He is only happy when he can subjugate others for complete, and total control, and to defy that, to beat him, is the most heinous of crimes. I am not strong enough to beat him, and he still has loyalists inside the clan who would snuff out dissent if they caught a whiff of it- they do. To leave him and go to Sleetstar would put a target on her back, on all of you. He doesn't like to be humiliated, and I've already hurt your clan by being too weak to resist his fury once, I won't do it again. I love her, and because I love her, I have to stay."
"I'm sorry," Summitsky said, "that you have to go through this at all. I wish things had been different for you."
"Me too," she said, "but I've made my choices, made my mistakes. Now I've simply got to live with them."
"For what it's worth... I forgive you. For the attack on the clan. I don't think it was your fault- it can't be, if Sleetstar trusts you enough to love you again. In truth, she never stopped, and I know that, but it feels nice to pretend sometimes." Varvara and he shared a tight, timid smile, as she tilted her head.
"Listen... I know I'm probably the last cat you'd want to hear it from but... I've not known you very long at all, and I can already tell. You're a good cat, Summitsky. One day you're going to find someone who loves you and appreciates all of you, who cherishes you and is worthy of all your kindness and your patience. Sleetstar deserves those things too, but you deserve someone who can devote themselves to you, fully and completely, and I can already tell that you will find it, one day."
"You'll find your happiness too, you know," Summitsky said, "the stars have a funny way of working themselves out. Your constellations will shine at the same time, one day. And who knows, maybe we'll be able to play happy family side by side." Varvara chuckled, but it was tired and a little strained.
"We'll see about that." She dipped her head, moving past him. "It was good to meet you, Summitsky. Take care of my girl."
"Until next time, Varvara." He stood and watched as she smiled at him one last time, before vanishing into the trees.

-

"Whoa," a small voice said from the entrance of the den, dragging a groggy Poppywish's attention directly toward it, "there's more cats in here than ever before."
"Sprucekit, you shouldn't be here," Poppywish said, scuttling across to the kit to try and herd him away from the den, but he ducked past him nimbly and wandered further into the den. He stood, looking around, and Poppywish was suddenly struck by how big he was getting. Sure, he would be ready to be apprenticed soon, he knew that, and logic served that Thunderjaw and Minfkur would have produced large children, but for some reason, Sprucekit's size stunned Poppywish into dumb silence.
"Rivermask says you're not sleeping," he said, "she was telling Breakerhowl in the nursery that you've been working day and night to help everyone, so you should let me help." He turned to face Poppywish with a determined face. "My mom is here. I should be helping her, and it's not right that you're not getting any sleep, so tell me what to do and I'll do it, and when you think I can do it by myself you should go sleep."
"I'm not going to leave you alone with the patients."
"We'll see." Sprucekit shrugged, flicking his ears. "What's first?"
Although apprehensive at first, Poppywish appreciated the help. Sprucekit moved nimbly and fluidly, and he was an attentive listener. Soon, Poppywish felt like his paws were dragging in comparison to the young tom, who seemed to think three steps ahead all the time. Once Poppywish had showed him one thing, he wouldn't simply stop there, but would take the initiative to patch up all cats with similar wounds the same way. The den was peaceful and relaxed, Sprucekit chatting cheerily to the injured cats who weren't too tired to talk. Still, Poppywish worried.
"Will you be okay if I just nap for a little bit?" Sprucekit smiled up at him, and Poppywish was struck by how similar he looked to his mother, with his long brown fur and his golden eyes that sparkled with the same intelligence and the same mischief. He nodded, enthusiastically, sweeping his tail over his paws.
"Yep, I'm gonna be fine, Poppywish, I promise. If anything else happens I'll wake you up but you should get some rest." Poppywish gave Sprucekit one more worried look, before he relented, retreating back into the alcove at the back of the cave, where Howlingeye was dozing peacefully. He climbed into the nest, the other tom blinking awake, before he smiled, and wrapped his tail around Poppywish. The ginger tom buried his face into Howlingeye's chest fur and finally fell into blissful sleep.

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` servings consumed
9/9 - x4 rabbits & x1 vole
` clan events
poppywish tends to injured cats. he gives:
↪ x1 chervil each to midnightblaze and minkfur
↪ all other injured cats rest, poppywish keeps a close eye on them.
sunnynose is kitting! winderstrike is the father. poppywish assists.
↪ please refer to the genetics chart!
poppywish sends brackenstrike and bearears to gather herbs for the injured warriors
↪ (herb gathering) ; cobweb, horsetail, chervil priority
wip
` patrols
hunting-
1 - hollyfeather, waspshine, breakerhowl, emberpetal, twilightflower, wolfpaw
2 - summitsky, fallowstep, hawkeyes, blizzardpaw, lightningpaw, butterflypaw
border-
3 - thunderjaw, koishimmer, addersong, duckpaw

My gallery · by **solyn** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:37 pm

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍.
population: 58 cats [ 28 fem : 30 male ]
servings required: 10 [62] - pebbles: 30

𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩

moderator: deimos - next moonstone: 9th june
moons since last nonsense: 3 (lf)

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𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐨.

"You're looking better," Koishimmer's voice startled the black tom, and he swiveled from where he'd been sitting, hiding away from the hustle and bustle of the clan. Sleetstar fell in and out of fitful sleeps, and Poppywish seemed worried about her, but their leader was calm when she was awake. Thunderjaw and Summitsky had tightened up the clan security, so even at night warriors were on watch, just so that no one would take them by surprise.
Midnightblaze was feeling better by all accounts. Sleetstar had insisted on him having priority treatment, and his protests had been overruled by Summitsky who flitted about the medicine den nervously, with all the grace of a two-leg lost in the harsh brush edging the territory. The truth was, the clan needed a leader, and they trusted Midnightblaze. Koishimmer finding him was surprising. She'd visited once, when she thought he was sleeping. He wasn't sure why she sought him out now.
"I feel better," Midnightblaze said, with a shy smile, "Poppywish has been taking good care of me. I should be back to business in no time at all, you know." He fell quiet, as Koishimmer ducked further into the crevice and settled across from him, face cloudy and conflicted. His ears pricked forward, and he tilted his head. She didn't say anything for a long time, so tentatively he broke the silence. "Is something wrong, Koishimmer? I know... I know you're still angry at me, but I'm still you father, and I love you. I want to make sure you're okay." Koishimmer sniffed.
"You know, before all this fighting... I asked Howlingeye whether he thought it would be worth making up with you. He said that what made you leave hurt you too, and that I might not like the answer I got, and so I spent all this time trying to figure out how to bring it up with you, how to steel myself for whatever it could be... but then all this happened, and when you were in the medicine den, I know you weren't terribly hurt, not like Sleetstar, but... the thought of losing you." She shook her head, and sighed roughly. "I didn't want you to go without making this right. You are my dad, and I miss you, but I don't know how to not be angry at you when I don't know why you did it. So I want to know. Please."
Midnightblaze paused, gazing at his daughter. For the first time since she was a kit, she looked small, and Midnightblaze longed to wrap himself around her and groom her until she felt better, but he doubted Koishimmer would respond well to the gesture. After a long moment, he closed his eyes, and then he nodded, curling his tail over his paws. His shoulders sagged, and he curled in on himself as he spoke.
"You know most of the story already, really. I was born in the NorthernClan before all this, back when Northstar was the leader. I wasn't very long for here- it collapsed shortly after I was born, and what was left of my family struck out for somewhere new to survive. We found the barn, our safe haven. Your father lived there before me, and we were fast friends. I think he liked having someone his age around, and it was easy for us to be together, to play all day in the fields as kits, and then to work together on hunting patrols as we got older. He was the first cat I told when I came out, and I was thrilled when he said he loved me as more than just a friend. It's easy to be in love with cats who treat you like you're the only thing in the world that matters, and I didn't know anything else. He was always good to me, and he'd helped me through my transition. I had nothing to doubt him for, and when he suggested we have kits... I was excited. I wanted to be a parent. I wanted a family with him, and I don't want you to think I regret that. You girls are the best things that have ever happened to me."
"You're speaking like you're about to give me reason to think that you might regret it," Koishimmer gave her father a nervous look, "Dad, what happened?"
"You were too young to remember, really," his voice sounded dull now, far away, "the way he got. He was very careful about it, but after you were born, he changed. He wouldn't let anyone near you. I had to convince him that the medics should be able to look at you, to make sure that you weren't sickly. He started to get jealous; possessive. He didn't want me around our other friends, or anyone else from the group. He would throw tantrums if I stepped outside of the barn for a minute; I was supposed to watch you all at every waking moment. When you got even older and started to go out on your own, when you didn't need me so much, it got worse. He would have vicious outbursts of his temper, he would yell at me and put me down, anything to keep me under his paw. When that stopped working, he got violent."
"Dad-" Koishimmer took a step forward, but her father forged on.
"It was a living nightmare, Koishimmer. I was scared, and I had no one to turn to for fear of what he would do if he found out. He started threatening to take you all away from me. Said he would just steal you away during the night, and you would go somewhere else and be a proper family. I was so afraid of that happening, so I suggested we go on a walk together, just the two of us. I thought if it was just us, I could convince him to stay. That I could fix things. But he didn't want to fix things. He didn't want me to have some kind of partnership with him. I think, looking back on it, he wanted to own me in some version of the word- wanted to feel like he had the power. He got violent again, and this time there was no one around to help. So." He took a deep breath. "So I swung back, and I scratched up his ear. It's beyond use now- most of it's just gone. He was in so much pain, and I didn't even feel anything. I told him to leave, and not to come back, because I would kill him if he did. And then I pushed him over into the river, and I ran. I didn't even stop to see where he went. I just hoped he wouldn't call my bluff. And then I told you all that he died, because I couldn't bring myself to make you hate him."
"You should have told us," Koishimmer's voice broke, "Dad, I had no idea that you were going through that. After everything he did to you, I would have hated him too."
"But I didn't hate him," Midnightblaze broke into a sob then, "that's the worst part is that I didn't even hate him. I still loved him, and I was so hurt for everything he'd done to us. I didn't want you to have to remember him the way that I did. I couldn't bring myself to ruin all those good memories you had of him. You were so young, after all."
"This still doesn't explain why you left. That was a long time ago, Dad. What happened to make you go?"
"It all sounds so crazy," his legs gave out from under him and he buckled to the ground. Immediately, Koishimmer got to her feet and crossed to him, settling down around him and grooming between his ears. "Northstar came to me, from StarClan. She told me NorthernClan had risen again, and they needed a deputy, and that I would go, or she would send your father to me so that I could repent for my sins in another way. I was so afraid of what he would do if he found me, if he came back, that I left. I wish I could have said goodbye, but I didn't want you to know where I was, just in case I disappointed Northstar and she sent him to me. I didn't want you to have to deal with that."
"If I ever see him again, I'll claw his throat out, I will. For what he did to you, for what he put you through it's the least he deserves." Koishimmer pressed her nose to the back of her father's neck, sweeping her tail around him as he sobbed. "I love you, Dad. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all this alone. I wish I'd known. I wish I could have been there for you. But make no mistake, I'm here now."
"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. I'm sorry that I hurt you so much- all of you. I should have said goodbye."
"Maybe, but I understand why you didn't, and I forgive you. Prim and Selene will, too, you'll see." She paused, and then after a moment, she cleared her throat. "Have you told anyone else?"
"Summitsky and Howlingeye," he said, sounding tired, "I was too weak to carry it on my own."
"You're stronger than any cat I've ever met. Don't you ever put yourself down like that again. You're not alone anymore, Dad. Those boys would go to battle for you, and so would I. When the dust clears on this attack, and when Sleetstar is better, we'll go to her together, and we'll tell her too. If Northstar is as dangerous as you say, then we have to be prepared for anything. If Father sets a paw on this territory, he'll answer to me, and the rest of the clan."
"I don't know if I'm strong enough to share this with anyone else. I don't know what I'll do with everyone knowing."
"Nothing will change. You'll do what you always do. You'll survive."

-

"Would you quit that?"
"Quit what?"
"Looking at me like I'm going to shatter into a million pieces."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're full of it." Minkfur rolled her eyes, shoving her mate's shoulder, playfully. The tom laughed, tail kinking up over his back as he purred. Poppywish had finally given Minkfur the all clear, which meant that she had decided to take a stroll through the territory with her mate, who seemed much more relaxed, now that she was moving about freely again. Minkfur leaned on his shoulder, purring as he tugged teasingly at her ear.
"Can you blame me for being a little worried about my mate? I love you dearly, you know, and you are the mother of two extraordinarily troublesome kits."
"They get that from you, you know." Thunderjaw laughed, shaking his head good-naturedly at his mate. She smiled at him, touching her nose to his. He didn't argue with the assessment; perhaps Willowkit and Sprucekit's hardheadedness did come from him, or maybe it was a combination of both of their parents, but it was a point that he didn't care to argue. He'd been distraught during the fight when he'd seen his mate injured, and he was simply happy that she was up and about again.
"The clan's grown a lot," he mused, smiling at his mate with twinkling eyes, "do you think that means the end of our patrols?"
"Well, I doubt Sleetstar needs to put us back in the get-along plot, so maybe so. I'm sure that due to your freakish stature you'll be on plenty more border patrols to stretch your abnormally long legs, if that's what you're worried about." Thunderjaw let out a rumbling laugh, shoving Minkfur with his shoulder. She shoved him back.
"You can bully me all you like, but I happen to know that you quite like my 'freakish stature' as you so call it."
"Hmm, I don't remember admitting to that."
"Two kits would say otherwise."
"They don't look all that much like you, who's to say they're really yours?" The pair of them burst into laughter again, as Minkfur nuzzled her head under the big, smoky tom's chin. He rumbled out a purr, and their stroll came to a stop, as Thunderjaw pressed against her insistently, finding comfort in her familiar scent. Minkfur sighed, contentedly. "You don't have to say it, you know."
"I know. I just... I was so worried."
"I know."
"If anything had happened to you-"
"You won't get rid of me that easily."
"Good." Thunderjaw pulled back, touching his nose tenderly to the molly's. "I love you. I want to be stuck with you for a long time yet." Minkfur laughed, purring contentedly as Thunderjaw drew his tongue in a fond swipe over her forehead.
"And you will be, you gargantuan freak of nature." Thunderjaw's booming laugh echoed around NorthernClan territory as he and Minkfur bantered their way through the last rays of a dying Greenleaf, content and happy with each other's reassuring presence.

-

Poppywish's medicine den was still filled with cats. Luckily for the ginger tom, Minkfur's kit hadn't given up on helping him after his mother had moved out. Sprucekit wandered around day in and day out, ferrying herb orders and descriptions to the warriors who would run for Poppywish, and helping the ginger tom whenever he needed to sleep. Poppywish was resting now, in his hollow at the far back of the den where Howlingeye would inevitably be curled around him, exhausted as the rest of them were. It was quiet, with Sprucekit sorting through the herbs and patiently bringing water to some of the other injured cats.
Brackenstrike was resting against the far corner of the nest, her broad body acting as a pillow for her smaller mate, exhausted from her fight with the rogues. Brackenstrike had been able to shake off the injuries easily, but Splitface was unused to such rigorous fighting and had taken the brunt of the damage. She slept most of the time, except for when her mate jostled her awake to take water from Sprucekit.
"Thank you," she whispered to the small tom, so as not to disturb his other patients.
"No problem, Splitface," he said, curling his tail over his paws. Brackenstrike could tell he would grow to be big, like his parents. "Are you feeling better?"
"Every minute, yeah," she smiled at the little tom, leaning forward to press her nose to his forehead, "Minkfur must be so proud to have you helping out like this. Poppywish won't admit it, for sure, but I know he's glad to have you around to help. I suppose he was too prideful to get Snowpaw to help out after he rejected him as an apprentice." Brackenstrike shook her head.
"No, he asked Snowpaw but... the poor thing never had any training. Not anything substantial, anyway, his appointment was mostly just because he seemed to soft to make it as a warrior. I'm sure Whisperwind is doing a fine job training him, but Poppywish didn't want anyone getting in the way. Determined not to have a repeat like Galepaw, I suppose." They all fell silent at that, before Sprucekit picked up his turtle shell of water.
"I didn't know Galepaw," he said, "but Poppywish seems torn up over it, so I'm not going to let anything like that happen again. I'm gonna go get you some fresh kill, okay Splitface? If anything happens, send Brackenstrike to get me." And then he was off, leaving the she-cats watching him with amusement.
"Already thinks he runs the place," Splitface said with a shake of her head.
"Aw, he's cute about it," Brackenstrike chuckled, grooming her mate between her ears. Splitface leaned back into her with a pleased rumble. After a moment of silence, Brackenstrike cleared her throat. "This... might not be the best time to ask about this but I was wondering... have you ever thought about having kits? With me, I mean." Splitface blinked, turning her face up to look at her mate, who smiled back somewhat nervously.
"I... well. Kits were never an option until I came here, so I suppose I didn't. I wasn't aware that you wanted kits. If I was, I would have given thought to it." Brackenstrike shrugged, and then looked away. Splitface gave her a fond smile, pressing her nose to her cheek. "I love you, Brackenstrike, and you've given me more than I could have ever hoped for. More than I ever realized I was missing. You've given me a home again after I lost it. A purpose. A reason. So we should think about it. Think about expanding our family."
"You really think so?"
"I really do." She paused, tilting her head at Brackenstrike, with a smile. "Who would our surrogate father be, then?" Brackenstrike laughed, nuzzling her nose into Splitface's cheek, bringing a purr from her throat.
"I was thinking we could talk with Hawkeyes and Fallowstep? I know they've been thinking about having kits again. Maybe we could surrogate for them and vice versa." Splitface nodded a little, smiling up at her mate with an amused look in her eyes.
"They wouldn't look at all like me, you know."
"A shame, your beauty does eclipse everything else."
"And you're a very handsome cat, Brackenstrike, so either way our kits will be gorgeous." Brackenstrike rumbled a laugh, stopping only when a dull thud in front of them brought her attention to the mouse that Sprucekit had dropped, eyes twinkling.
"Are you thinking about having kits?"
"Maybe." Said Splitface, diplomatically. Sprucekit nodded, before he nudged the mouse closer and turned, likely to go back for his turtle-shell of water.
"Well, for what it's worth, I think you'd make great moms." And with that, he bounded from the den, leaving Brackenstrike and Splitface to share a fond smile, as the tortoiseshell molly leaned back into the broad shoulder of her mate.

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧.

"Happy to be out of the nursery?" Rivermask's voice was amused, as her mate leaned against her shoulder, tail swishing away from his daughters as they tried to capture it. Willowkit and Sprucekit sat near Thunderjaw, on Minkfur's other side, beaming proudly up at him as he rumbled a low conversation, head ducked so that he could press his nose to each of his kit's cheeks. Sleetstar limped out of the medicine den, leaning heavily on Summitsky. She did not climb onto the rock.
"As most of you know, I'm a little under the weather. Poppywish is doing his best, and I'll be fine since I've got nine lives to rely on, but just to keep things safe we're going to keep this as succinct as possible. Today, we have four new apprentices joining the lively ranks. Thunderjaw and Minkfur have been exceptional warriors of this clan since we first started out, and although Rivermask and Breakerhowl are newer additions, they're both kind and humourous cats and I hope their kits inherit that good spirit. Apprentices are the future of this clan, and StarClan will guide their paws down the path of prosperity for NorthernClan. Willowkit, Sprucekit, Silverkit and Aurorakit- please step forward. From this day until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Willowpaw, Sprucepaw, Silverpaw and Aurorapaw respectively." Sleetstar let out a sigh, and Summitsky touched his nose between her ears. Her ear flicked as an acknowledgement, and she continued.
"Willowpaw, your mentor will be Brackenstrike. She is a strong, capable warrior of this clan, a loyal friend and a warm presence. I know she will train you well, and she can act as a benchmark for the size you aspire to be." The clan cheered for the molly as she wandered to her new mentor, and touched noses with her. "Sprucepaw, you have shown yourself to have an indomitable spirit and a vehemently tenacious personality. Your mentor will be Frostclaw, a fierce fighter and a temperate soul who will help you balance into a formidable warrior of this clan." Sprucepaw grinned, bounding across to his mentor, who rumbled a polite greeting as the large apprentice settled next to him.
"Silverpaw, your mentor will be Koishimmer. She's still young, but she is fiery and brave, and she loves wholly and completely without reservation or fear. She is an excellent cat and an esteemed member of this clan, and I know she will teach you to be as great a warrior as she is." Koishimmer looked a little bewildered at the cheers, but when Silverpaw touched noses with her, a proud beam came over her face, especially as Midnightblaze touched his nose between her ears. "And last but not least... Aurorapaw. Your mentor will be Winderstrike. We've had him for a little less time than we've been thankful to have his mate, but he has proven himself to be thoughtful and kind, and he will treat you well as a mentor. I know he will pass on all his knowledge and his sweetness to you." Sleetstar waited for the last cheers to subside as Aurorapaw and Winderstrike exchanged a tender greeting.
"Thank you all for coming out. Midnightblaze will be handling patrol assignments. It's been a hell of a season, so if you'll excuse me I'm going back to sleep."

-

"My father always says if you glower at something too long, the wind will change and your face will be stuck like that," Snowpaw jumped, looking up to see Butterflypaw standing at his shoulder. His pelt flushed, and he looked away, embarrassed. The molly was pretty, with her long, silken fur and delicate grey patches, and her pretty blue-gray eyes. Snowpaw mostly avoided her, sure he would trip over his own words, but he saw her laughing sweetly with his sister and the other apprentices, who he mostly also avoided so he wouldn't have to act okay about it if he lagged behind.
"Sorry," he managed, after a beat of silence, "just thinking." Butterflypaw nodded, curling her tail over her paws.
"You know, when I was a kit, my mother was of the opinion that I didn't have the disposition of a warrior. She wasn't in a good place at the time- scared and depressed and angry at herself for what had happened before I was born. She thought that I needed to be more like Wolfpaw- firm, direct. She thought I was too sweet, too gentle to ever really succeed as a warrior, but Wolfpaw and I either win together or we lose together. I'm not like my brother at all. I'm not as brave or decisive as he is, but I have other qualities that will make me invaluable as a warrior, when my time comes. My mother sees that in me now that the fog in her mind has cleared."
"I'm... sorry, I don't think I understand where you're going with this." Snowpaw's brow furrowed. Butterflypaw let out a tinkling laugh, shrugging her shoulders lightly.
"Nowhere, perhaps. I just think your fog hasn't lifted quite yet. Look at Poppywish for example- he can do what us warriors do, but none of us can do what he can. This is the easy stuff. Even Bearears is back out on patrol today, and she was blinded. My point is... don't let anyone else tell you what you can and can't do. You'll doom yourself before you even start if you go into something believing that you'll fail." She got to her paws then, turning away from Snowpaw. She got a few steps before he called out after her.
"Hey!" She turned, gave him a curious look. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Butterflypaw smiled, a brilliant, sweet smile.
"Any time."

-

Frostclaw watched his new apprentice as his claws dug into the earth, delicately tugging a plant free, roots and all. The big apprentice had insisted on being the pair to help Poppywish for the day. Frostclaw had heard that Sprucepaw had helped out in the medicine den while he was in the nursery still, and thus assumed he would have an easier time with the herbs, which in turn would make it easier for Poppywish. What Frostclaw couldn't figure out is why Poppywish hadn't snatched the apprentice up.
"So... you like this herb stuff, huh?" The apprentice blinked at him, one dirt-laden paw being shaken out to dislodge clumps from between his claws.
"I guess," he said, "it was more interesting than being in the nursery. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister and Silverpaw is my best friend in the whole world and I like Aurorapaw just fine... but day in and day out of playing with the same kits gets monotonous and I liked learning about the herbs with Poppywish. It challenged my brain." Frostclaw was struck by how articulate the tom was, for someone so young. He cocked his head to the side.
"So Poppywish never discussed wanting to make you his apprentice or something?"
"No, Poppywish made it pretty obvious he doesn't need an apprentice right now," Sprucepaw said evenly, "besides, my parents pretty much combine to create the hardiest warriors in the clan, right? It's not as if I don't enjoy things like fighting and hunting. I liked it just fine when we played at it, and I want to be good at it too. I just liked helping him out, that's all. It gave me something to do while I was waiting for this." He paused, squinting at Frostclaw. "You seem very invested in this decision."
"I just find it all a bit odd. After all, Poppywish turned down Snowpaw as an apprentice, but he seemed perfectly happy to let you muscle into his territory and help out. I thought that maybe he liked your temperament a bit better, someone with a bit more guts who could handle him. I guess he just appreciated the help."
"It's been a stressful time for everyone, right?"
"Right," Frostclaw said with a nod of his head, before he gestured to the herbs. "Got everything he asked for?"
"For now. We'll see what he's got cooked up for us when we get back."
"Joy," muttered Frostclaw, and Sprucepaw laughed, loud and booming like his father as the pair of them trudged back to camp.

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` servings consumed
10/10 - x5 stoats
` clan events
poppywish tends to injured cats. he gives:
↪ x1 cobweb each to viridianfire and flamestream
↪ x1 horsetail to splitface
↪ x1 chervil to birchfang
↪ all other injured cats rest and are kept under strict observation
wolfpaw & butterflypaw learn advanced battle
blizzardpaw & lightningpaw learn to swim
snowpaw and sycamorepaw learn to hunt
duckpaw learns to battle
poppywish sends frostclaw and sprucepaw to fetch herbs
↪ herb hunting action ; wintergreen + cobweb priority
[moonstone] northstar sends [prim or dapple] to help out
` patrols
hunting-
1 - midnightblaze, honeyheart, bearears, fallowstep, brewingpaw, featherpaw
2 - breakerhowl, brackenstrike, emberpetal, graypeak, tempestpaw, willowpaw
border-
3 - twosight, winderstrike, koishimmer, silverpaw, aurorapaw

My gallery · by **solyn** » Tue Sep 24, 2019 1:17 pm

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍.
population: 59 cats [ 29 fem : 30 male ]
servings required: 10 [62] - pebbles: 32

𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩

moderator: deimos - next moonstone: 28 sep
moons since last nonsense: 4 (lf)

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𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐨.

"Augh!" Koishimmer's ears flattened against her head as she shook her fur out roughly. Winderstrike did an excellent job of trying not to laugh, looking amused as Aurorapaw's tail kinked over her shoulder, smiling at the calico. Silverpaw smiled up at her mentor, stretching on her hind legs to help sweep the snow off of the other molly's head. "Snow all the time," she grumbled, "even in Greenleaf you have freak snowstorms. Doesn't it know that it's not Leafbare yet?"
"Maybe it knows, but my greatest suspicion is that it doesn't care," Twosight said with barely concealed mirth.
"Excellent," grumbled Koishimmer, gently nudging her apprentice forward. The two pointed mollies raced each other to the border, eager to impress their new mentors with what they could scent. Koishimmer hurried after them; the youngest, and with the most to prove, as Twosight and Winderstrike watched fondly. Silverpaw stiffened, and balked, backing away from the border with her body curled to defend her sister.
"Is something wrong?" Winderstrike called, ears pricking forward in worry.
"There's a strange cat scent," Silverpaw said, casting a look at Koishimmer. Her mentor tensed. "It doesn't smell like the rogues when they attacked the camp." She glanced between the three adults as they moved closer to the newly apprenticed cats, still barely bigger than kittens. Willowpaw and Sprucepaw would have made a more formidable presence, but unlike their denmates and close friends, Silverpaw and Aurorapaw were not borderline freakishly large. In fact, they were rather reasonably sized.
"Merchants?" Winderstrike suggested, scenting the border. He shook his head. Twosight did the same, and seemed to agree with the verdict; the cat scent was unknown. His hackles raised, just a little, as Winderstrike gave the apprentices an encouraging smile. "So what do we do, Twosight?"
"Mark the border again. Hopefully it'll scare off whatever manner of intruder is lurking. We should be extra careful along here, everyone's eyes open. In fact, maybe one of you should go back to check in with Sleetstar, or see if you can't find Midnightblaze now that he's better. Koishimmer's the fastest- Koishimmer?" Twosight paused, with a puzzled look at the calico molly, who was scenting the air with a confused look.
"Everything okay?"
"I... know this scent," she sounded dazed, stepping closer to the border again scenting intently. After a long, quiet moment, she lifted her head, eyes scanning the underbrush with her ears pricked forward. "Prim? Is that you? It's me, it's Koi." There was silence. Slowly, the bushes parted, and a flame point molly stepped through, standing silently in front of the other. Despite the colouring, the family resemblance was clear; the same slope of the nose, the same intense eyes, the same broad shoulders and firm legs that mismatched their father's build.
"Koi." She said, soft and gentle. Koishimmer let out a laugh and surged forward, tackling her sister to the ground. The molly laughed with her, pressing her face into the fur of her neck and rumbling a long purr. "Koi. You're alive."
"I'm alive," she agreed, "I found Dad. It's a long story, a long story and it's best you hear it from him, but you shouldn't be mad with him. Please don't be angry with him- I wasted so much time doing that."
"Oh, I was never angry with him," the molly laughed like tinkling bells, "you and Selene have always been the hot-headed ones, Koi. I've simply been worried for him, but if he's had you around to watch his back, then I know he's been safe, and if you're telling me not to be mad, then I know he's had his reasons for leaving. I'm sure I'll understand them in time." The cat known as Prim rolled herself back to her paws, helping her sister up. "Are you going to introduce me to your friends?"
"Of course!" Koishimmer beamed, purring happily. "Primrose, these are my fellow warriors of NorthernClan- yes, like the one Dad comes from, only it's better. Newer. And these are the cats that make it so. Twosight and Winderstrike, and Silverpaw and Aurorapaw." Her chest puffed out proudly. "Silverpaw is my apprentice."
"You must be one of Midnightblaze's other daughters, then," Winderstrike said with a smile, "it's a pleasure to meet you. Midnightblaze is a good cat, and he's been an excellent deputy to all of us. And Koishimmer is extraordinary- competent and brave, and even if she's only been mentoring Silverpaw for a few days now, she's been so good with her, especially for never having had an apprentice before."
"You're telling me our father is a deputy and someone trusted this hot-head with a young cat?" Koishimmer shoved her sister, who simply laughed her tinkling laugh. "It's been a long journey, and I can only imagine what it was like for them. Thank you for taking care of my family, and I hope I give you cause to embrace me the same way you've embraced them."
"Oh, they will," said Koishimmer, "or I'll personally scratch their ears off."

-

The apprentices crowded around Duckpaw, Wolfpaw and Butterflypaw, chattering excitedly. Although most of them were close in age, those three had been slated for an upcoming warrior assessment in the next moon. It was exciting: the thought of their friends finally becoming full warriors. Tempestpaw was especially eager to speculate about what their warrior names would be, as her training seemed as if it would take the longest due to Howlingeye still being out for the count. The only apprentice who hadn't crowded around to congratulate them was Snowpaw, sitting by himself and staring listlessly at a mouse.
"You know, talking to him would likely make him speak." Butterflypaw jumped, before she smiled at Brewingpaw. The big tom rumbled a chuckle, and Butterflypaw nudged his shoulder with her own. "Go on. I'll cover for you."
"Take your own advice," Butterflypaw said back, noting the way Brewingpaw's ear flicked toward Wolfpaw, as if checking to see if he'd heard. Shaking his head, Brewingpaw turned, large shape shielding Butterflypaw's retreating frame as she scurried toward Snowpaw. Carefully, she settled beside him, and he looked up, giving her a kind smile. She smiled back, draping her tail over her paws. "Hi."
"Hi," he said, "fog's back."
"I heard training didn't go so well."
"It's weird without Featherpaw being there. I know why she's not but I miss her. Whisperwind's great and he's really patient with me but... I don't know. I just can't get the thought out of my head that I'm not meant to do this stuff. You were right, it sets you up to fail right from the start, but I don't know how to stop it." They were quiet, wind brushing their fur together. Snowpaw shifted closer, although Butterflypaw didn't seem to notice, lost in thought.
"Well... it's a process. I guess it can be hard to fight the fog if it's all you've known all your life. But... a start can be making friends with the other apprentices. The thing is, they'll be your best support through all of this. All of us learn together and train together, and it makes it a lot less daunting. When I was falling behind, Wolfpaw and Brewingpaw would train with me to help me catch up. Tempestpaw and Featherpaw might not be actively training, but Lightningpaw and Duckpaw have been helping them out. We support each other, because one day we're going to be the oldest warriors the clan has, and we need to have those bonds already formed."
"I'm just worried they won't like me. That they'll think I'm too quiet or something."
"They think Wolfpaw and I are too quiet, but that won't make them dislike you, it'll just make them determined to be your friend even more in hopes you come out of your shell. Kind of like Whisperwind and Bramblingrose." Their eyes cast across camp to where Whisperwind's scrawny white form was shaking with laughter, Bearears looking confused while Ausmasthorn nudged her ginger brother who looked on the verge of hysterics. "Everyone has bonds you don't notice at first, but when you look closer you see the unlikely friendships and the likely ones."
Snowpaw took the time to look around camp. Midnightblaze sat with his two daughters curled around him, looking up at Summitsky and Howlingeye, the latter of which was telling a story. Twilightflower and Magpiefeather were sharing tongues, while Hollyfeather and Koishimmer swatted a moss ball around with Viridianfire. Birchfang and Waspshine were congregating with Rivermask and Breakerhowl, while Thunderjaw sat up by the medicine ledge with Poppywish and Sleetstar, and Minkfur laughed with Brackenstrike and Splitface. Snowpaw smiled.
"I guess you're right. But you have to be my wing-cat just in case I mess up."
"Don't worry, if you trip over your own paws, I'll catch you." Their eyes met for just a second as they stood, Snowpaw brushing a fraction too close. Their eyes averted, but neither of them mentioned it as they wandered back to the group of apprentices, shoulders touching in careful tandem as they walked.

-

"How does it feel to be back on patrol?" Most of the other cats had drifted off to sleep, but the excitement thrumming through Bearears's veins kept her awake. Whisperwind settled down on her right, close enough for their shoulders to touch. Instinctively, Bearears leaned her head onto his shoulder with a content sigh that dragged a laugh out of Whisperwind. The laugh made her heart swell; she wasn't sure if she would ever hear Whisperwind laugh again, but in Bramblingrose's presence, happiness seemed infectious, and she didn't have to be able to see in order to know just the way Whisperwind looked at the other tom when he thought no one was paying attention.
"It feels so good," Bearears said with a sigh, "I have to say thank you for everything, again. I don't think I would have ever gotten to this point if you hadn't pushed me."
"Hardly," Whisperwind purred, "it's all you. All I did was give you the nudge, and then you dove in head first. After that, no one could have stopped you, not even Thunderjaw if he'd tried really, really hard." They laughed at that, before a particularly cold gust of air caught Bearears and she squealed, ducking closer to Whisperwind as he continued to cackle. Bearears smiled up in his general direction, round ear turned toward him. "What?"
"I don't know," she said, "it's nice just hearing you laugh. You spent all this time trying to make me happy again, and I was worried you'd never find that for yourself. But lately... you've been different, in a good way. In the best way."
"Well... Bramblingrose gave me some advice."
"Bramblingrose, huh?"
"Ugh, shut up!" Whisperwind laughed again, although it was shier this time. "After the rogue attack... he told me that it was okay to remember and that the clan remembers Galepaw by living, and I don't have to hold on to all the grief the way I have been. He reminded me of why I chose this name and I... I don't know. It made me realize that I've been living like never moving past it will bring her back, and if she were here she'd cuff me around the ears and tell me to stop being so stupid. I won't forget her. I'll probably name my first born after her, but she wouldn't want me to wallow in this sadness for the rest of my life."
"She'd also tell you that if you didn't make a move on Bramblingrose, she would." Whisperwind spluttered, and Bearears could feel his pelt get several degrees hotter. She smirked.
"Wh- no! It's not like- there is NOTHING-- we are JUST friends."
"Okay."
"Seriously. Just friends."
"Just friends who hang out together late at night and have serious deep and meaningful conversations about your emotional scars."
"That's what we're doing!"
"Just friends who gaze at each other with forceful longing whenever you think no one is looking."
"You're blind!"
"You don't have to have eyes to tell, Whisperwind, you're that obvious." There was a pause, and then Bearears sputtered as Whisperwind's paw slapped a bit of mud directly onto her forehead. "Hey!"
"That's for slandering me. Bramblingrose and I are just friends." Bearears didn't respond. Her paw dragged through the muddy patch of ground, damp from the Leaf-fall rain. Whisperwind waited a beat. His friend's grin grew wide and crooked as she raised a menacing paw, dripping with mud.
"You are so going to get it."

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧.

Frostclaw watched the apprentices intently. Koishimmer and Falconstreak were conducting most of the battle exercises, while Winderstrike and Brackenstrike chatted amicably, making sure that the group exercise didn't go awry, and keeping their ears trained for any intruders. Frostclaw watched for anything to advise Sprucepaw on, but the large tom moved swiftly and struck decisively. He was smart, Frostclaw decided, especially for his age- serious, although so was his sister. Silverpaw and Aurorapaw didn't stand much of a chance against them, and Sycamorepaw could barely hold her own if she kept moving, which the pair of big apprentices had picked up on and exploited heavily by forcing her to move until she was worn out.
A shape settled next to Frostclaw and he jumped, turning his head to find Twosight sitting next to him. He relaxed almost instantly. It was nice to have another cat around his age in the clan, even if Twosight was a little more eccentric and acerbic than steady, reliable Frostclaw. Twosight was funny, at the very least, and Frostclaw assumed that Dawnbreeze was otherwise preoccupied if the odd-eyed tom was seeking him out.
"Help you?" He asked coolly. Twosight shrugged.
"Came to see what the new apprentices look like."
"They're a good bunch," Frostclaw said, "Willowpaw has a good head on her shoulders. She's smart and she plays it more defensively, doesn't work herself hard. Sprucepaw's a heavy hitter and he relies on it a bit, has more of an aggressive attack style, which he teams well with Willowpaw. Sycamorepaw is fast, she could outrun any of them easily. Silverpaw's sneaky, she keeps waiting until one of them is distracted to attack since she knows she's not the fastest or the strongest. Aurorapaw mostly follows Silverpaw's lead, but she's a precise striker. I doubt she'll be particularly fond of brawling, but she'll make an excellent hunter, where I think Sprucepaw and Willowpaw will be a little clumsy."
"All this from a simple sparring session," Twosight said with a slow nod, "I'm impressed."
"Please, like you aren't an old paw at training apprentices. You'd catch it too."
"Maybe. Or you could just take a compliment." Frostclaw's heart skipped a beat, but he dismissed it quickly. It was foolish to get ideas about flirting.
"I suppose I could. It would aggrieve me greatly but it could be done."
"How much complaining would I have to listen to."
"Endless amounts," Frostclaw said, insincerely and unconvincingly, and Twosight chuckled. He hadn't been in the clan for very long, but during that time he hadn't heard Frostclaw complain once. The tom was polite and hard-working. He could see why he was well liked by the clan; he might have been soft spoken and perhaps a little shy, but he was dependable and kind. Sprucepaw was in good paws. "Have any tips?" Twosight blinked, watching the cats fight.
"Sprucepaw leads a little heavy on his left side and it unbalances him slightly. He'll want to tighten that up or someone smart will take advantage of it." Sprucepaw lunged for Sycamorepaw, just as Silverpaw smashed into his side, sending him toppling over with a yowl, drowned out by her triumphant holler. Twosight grunted. "Like that."
"He'll bounce back." Sprucepaw indeed twisted and got a foot under Silverpaw, nudging her away like she weighed as much as a fly, rolling to his paws to charge back into the fray. "Told you."
"So you did. You like proving me wrong or something?"
"A bit too much, perhaps." Twosight chuckled, shaking his head at Frostclaw. "Seriously, though. Thanks for stopping by. It's nice to have you around."
"Could have me around whenever you like, you know," Frostclaw flushed, ducking his head with a shy smile, "no need to look so embarrassed about it. If you want to hang out, you know how to find me. No one in the clan would bat an eye about two old friends just hanging out, right?"
"Right-ish."
"Oh?" Frostclaw's smile was gentle, still a little reserved, but happy.
"We've not been friends for long enough to be considered 'old', but we are old in a different way."

-

The hunting patrol progressed calmly through the first snow fall of Leaf-fall. To the cats in the clan who'd already been there for a Leafbare, it was hardly a surprise, but to some of the newer cats, the idea of snow falling and not even in Leafbare was exciting. Viridianfire and Flamestream walked together at the front of the group, Twilightflower and Addersong laughing together, likely exchanging kit stories, while Bramblingrose and Bearears brought up the rear. Bearears had been watching Bramblingrose's shoulder for a few minutes now, a solid, contemplative stare. Finally, the ginger tom laughed.
"Are you just going to stare all day, or are you going to say what you want to say?"
"I don't know what you mean," Bearears teased.
"Why, madame, were you not aware you were staring at me? Or, in my general direction at least." Bearears snorted, flicking him with her tail. His little bobtail wriggled in response.
"Very funny," she said, and she did sound amused. Bramblingrose dropped back so that they could walk shoulder to shoulder, having some privacy from the rest of the hunting patrol. He waited patiently for Bearears to form her question; although he'd heard the molly had become more reserved since her injury, the Bearears he knew wasn't shy about saying what she wanted, it was clearly just taking her a moment or two in order to put the words the way she wanted. Finally, she said: "what's going on with you and Whisperwind?"
"Nothing," said Bramblingrose, glumly, before his ears pricked forward, "wait, why. Did he say something about me?"
"In so many words," Bearears said. Bramblingrose blew out a sigh.
"I'm not being subtle about the fact that I like him," he said, "he's a handsome tom, that's what got me at first, like he's just so pretty, and then underneath the surface you have the most kind, determined, intelligent tom I've ever met, and I get the feeling he thinks we're 'just friends', so needless to say that dying would be less painful. Genuinely debating pitching myself off the ravine in anguish at my unrequited affections." Bearears snorted.
"Look, I won't lie to you, he does think that, but he wasn't exactly slick in convincing me that he believed you were just friends. It's more like he was afraid to admit he liked you more than that."
"Well it makes sense, doesn't it? He doesn't want to get close to anyone in that way in case he loses him like he lost Galepaw, or he's never had anyone his age to crush on before, so it's all new to him. Oh no, what if he does like me but he only likes me because I'm the only cat available to him and we have a stale, painfully average relationship until a hot tom turns up later on in our relationship and because he's so thoroughly dissatisfied he-"
"Bramblingrose, you're way overthinking this," Bearears chuckled a little, nudging his shoulder with her own, "look, if Whisperwind wanted to have a crush on someone, he would by now, and you're not the only available tomcat in the whole clan. Flamestream's not that much younger than you, it wouldn't be that weird if he liked him, and even then you don't know if he likes mollies or not."
"Oh, he doesn't, that was one of the first talks we had, so at least it rules that out." Bearears gave him a smile, shaking her head good-naturedly. "I don't want to mess this up. I know that's why you're asking- to see where I stand and to understand what's going to happen- but I'm just scared. He's a good friend to me, and he needs a friend more than he needs romance right now I think, but I also really like him. In terms of I think I feel forever about him."
"Then go for it," Bearears said, nudging his shoulder, "maybe not right away. You might have to be more blunt with him so he can see its okay to like you that way, and I'll drop as many hints as I can from my end, but you won't betray him if you tell him you want to be with him. He's got other friends."
"You and Magpiefeather. A real trio of mus-cat-eers."
"Terrible joke."
"You laughed though." It was true. She had. Up ahead, Viridianfire turned, and called out to them:
"Are you done gossiping?"
"Yep," said Bearears.
"No!" said Bramblingrose. The whole hunting patrol burst into laughter as Viridianfire shook her head, amused. Bramblingrose smiled at Bearears as the group moved forward, quieter now so as not to disturb the prey. "Thank you for your help. I promise I won't do anything to hurt Whisperwind- I would never dream of it, you know that- but if we do get together in the way I want, then I owe everything to you."

-

Summitsky's patrol was heading back into camp. Graypeak was walking with the tall tom, speaking to him in hushed tones about something. The smaller tom had been sullen since he'd arrived in the clan. Most chalked it up to wounded pride from his clan collapsing on itself, but in recent weeks he'd managed to start speaking to a few of the clan members, mostly the stable ones who seemed wise or kind. Behind them, Tempestpaw and Featherpaw were laughing amicably, snow turning Tempestpaw's shining black coat almost pure white. At the rear were Waspshine and Birchfang. The latter wandered along calmly, while the ginger tom just about vibrated with nerves. They were nearing the mark.
The rogue attack had been a harrowing experience for all of the clan members. Luckily, no one was lost, but the unspoken knowledge that someone could have been hung over the camp like a cloud weeks afterward. Waspshine had spent a lot of time in the medicine cat den, watching over Viridianfire and Birchfang, two of his dear friends. When Birchfang was gone and it was just him and Viridianfire, or out on patrols with Koishimmer, Waspshine had asked advice. The consensus was life was short and saying how you feel was never a bad thing. Still, Waspshine thought he might pass out from the stress. They passed the tree he'd agreed on with Summitsky, and he cleared his throat.
"Hey, wait up a minute. Birchfang, I want to show you something before we go back to camp."
"Oh, okay?" The tom said, puzzled. He glanced to Summitsky, who simply nodded and ushered the rest of the group on, leaving them along. Waspshine smiled at his friend, and then inclined his head. Together, the pair of them took off through the territory, strong muscles bunching in their legs as Waspshine led them along. It was a good, hard run and Birchfang felt pleasantly puffed by the time his ginger companion slowed down, near the river on the eastern side of the territory. Birchfang recognized them as being above the waterfall, where Waspshine wandered through the trees, and then slipped into a burrow.
The burrow was set at a steep angle, but lead into a hollow which lead on to a less steep natural tunnel in the rocky cliff-face of the waterfall. Waspshine lead him through it, and out onto a ledge inside a cavernous room with a pool at the bottom, the waterfall rushing at the opening of a cave. Birchfang's jaw dropped.
"Whoa," he said, eyes widening, "does anyone else know about this? How did you find it?"
"I told Summitsky when I was telling him about my plan to come here. I said he can tell when we get back to camp. I found it a few weeks ago, when I was chasing a rabbit. It ran into the burrow and I caught it there, and then I felt the wind from the tunnel so I went to explore. Pretty cool find for a Leaf-fall afternoon I suppose." Waspshine puffed his chest up proudly at the accomplishment, purr caught in his throat. Birchfang nodded, before he seemed to catch on, cocking his head to the side.
"Wait, you planned to come here?"
"Yeah," Waspshine took a deep breath, "I cleared it with Summitsky so he wouldn't worry, but I wanted to show you this place because it reminds me of you. Not in the way that implies we have any sort of meaningful attachment to here, but because it's like you in characteristics. From the outside, all you see is natural beauty- the strength of the waterfall, the staunchness of the trees, the cheerfulness of the wildflowers. And then, when you look a little closer, you see a hidden depth, something even more beautiful than you could have initially thought. A heart that can shelter you, and can keep you safe." Birchfang's eyes widened, glittering excitedly as if he could tell where this was going.
"Some cats say you shouldn't make big decisions after a tragedy, which is why I waited, to see if I was sure, and now that things are slowing down, it becomes increasingly clear to me that I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing that makes me feel happy is seeing your face. I love the way you say my name, and I love how you always shut your eyes when you laugh, like you just want to be absorbed with the feeling and nothing else. You're so happy, and you're so kind and so funny. You have an infinite amount of positives, and even your flaws are lovable to me. For the rest of my life, I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up, so that I can be as happy every day as I am when you're with me. What I'm trying to say is-"
"I love you too!" Birchfang pressed forward, despite Waspshine's laughed protest, pressing their foreheads together and nuzzling. "Sorry, sorry, say it. I just got so excited."
"I love you. I love how excited you get. I love how your laugh is brighter than the sun. I love how you make everyone feel warm and safe all the time. I love how much you care and how deeply you feel and how you seem so unafraid all the time. I just love you so much- everything about you, and if you'll be my mate, I will love all of those things about you every day for the rest of our lives, until the sun sets for the final time."
"Oh, Waspshine-" Birchfang laughed, voice raw with happy tears, "there's no universe where I say no. I've been waiting for this for a long time, you know. Waiting for the chance to tell you that I love you. Waiting to call you my mate."
"Well I'm yours," whispered the ginger tom, the gesture seeming silly in the echoing cavern. Birchfang had no such ideas. Instead, as loud as he could to make the echo the loudest possible, he yelled:
"I love Waspshine!" Their laughs bouncing off the walls of the cavern were louder still, quieting the bird song outside the cave with their cacophony of pure, undiluted happiness.

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` servings consumed
10/10 - x10 voles
` clan events
poppywish tends to injured cats. he gives:
↪ x1 cobweb to sleetstar
↪ x1 wintergreen to howlingeye
↪ x1 poppy seed to lightningpaw
↪ sleetstar and howlingeye are kept on rest, under observation
poppywish searches for herbs
wolfpaw, butterflypaw and duckpaw take their warrior assessments
blizzardpaw and brewingpaw learn to climb
lightningpaw learns stalking
snowpaw learns to hunt
sycamorepaw, sprucepaw, willowpaw, silverpaw & aurorapaw learn to battle
waspshine and birchfang become mates! (cannot bio have kits)
` patrols
hunting-
1 - midnightblaze, fallowstep, emberpetal, ausmasthorn, honeyheart, primrosepetal
2 - summitsky, graypeak, waspshine, birchfang, featherpaw, tempestpaw
3 - viridianfire, twilightflower, addersong, bramblingrose, flamestream, bearears
border-
3 - minkfur, thunderjaw

` ally clans
none currently.

` enemy clans
none currently.

` borders
↑ | summit of boreas | noctem.
→ | whitebark | grey_hoodie
↓ | two-leg village
← | ski slope

` medicine store
catmint [4] | greencough
poppy seeds [0] | pain
burnet [0] | strength
lamb's ear [1] | strength
lovage [1] | coughs; c
broom [0] | broken bones
lungwort [1] | yellowcough
raspberry leaves [0] | strength
ragwort [1] | strength
chervil [0] | infections/bellyache
chickweed [2] | greencough
tansy [1] | greencough
fennel [1] | hip pain
cobweb [0] | bleeding
wintergreen [0] | wounds
mallow leaves [1] | bellyache

` fresh-kill pile
vole | x0 | 1 servings [00]
rabbit | x3 | 2 servings [6]
stoat | x2 | 2 servings [2]
small fish | x7 | 2 servings [14]
hare | x3 | 3 servings [3]
bird | x4 | 3 servings [12]

` mentors
thunderjaw | wolfpaw [4]
↪ battle, hunt, swim, adv. battle
summitsky | butterflypaw [4]
↪ battle, hunt, swim, adv. battle
howlingeye | tempestpaw [1]
↪ battle
hollyfeather | blizzardpaw [2]
↪ battle, hunt
splitface | brewingpaw [2]
↪ battle, hunt
hawkeyes | lightningpaw [3]
↪ battle, hunt, swimming
sleetstar | featherpaw [1]
↪ battle
whisperwind | snowpaw [1]
↪ battle
addersong | duckpaw [4]
↪ hunt, pounce, climb, battle
falconstreak | sycamorepaw [1]
↪ hunting
frostclaw | sprucepaw [0]
↪ skills
brackenstrike | willowpaw [0]
↪ skills
koishimmer | silverpaw [0]
↪ skills
winderstrike | aurorapaw [0]
↪ skills

` deceased
galepaw | murdered by boscoe
stormkit | weak at birth
hurricanekit | weak at birh

` family ties
fallowstep + hawkeyes - ravencall; surrogate
↪ batkit, racoonkit & beaverkit (snakeclan)
sleetstar x summitsky
↪ wolfpaw & butterflypaw
mother + father
↪ whisperwind & galepaw
twilightflower x father
↪ tempestpaw, blizzardpaw, brewingpaw &
lightningpaw, stormkit, hurricanekit
sunnynose + winderstrike
↪ emberpetal & flamestream ; dandelionkit,
buttercupkit, daisykit & pansykit
splitface + brackenstrike
midnightblaze x rafe (?)
↪ koishimmer, primrosepetal & selene
minkfur + thunderjaw
↪ sprucekit, willowkit
rivermask + breakerhowl
↪ silverkit, aurorakit
tipstream (pineclan) x father
↪ bramblingrose & ausmasthorn
sorrelsong x father
↪ blackkit & sootkit
addersong + graypeak
↪ rookpaw, juncopaw (chessclan) &
duckpaw
falconstreak x father
↪ sycamorepaw
waspshine + birchfang

My gallery · by **solyn** » Mon Sep 30, 2019 10:14 am

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍.
population: 61 cats [ 31 fem : 30 male ]
servings required: 10 [62] - pebbles: 32

𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩

moderator: deimos - next moonstone: 28 sep
moons since last nonsense: 0 (lf)

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐨.

"Don't feel bad, Butterflypaw," Blizzardpaw said, nudging the molly's shoulder as she lay sulkily slumped into her brother, who groomed her between her ears. "Brewingpaw stepped on my face today during training while we were halfway up a tree. At least you didn't have to catch a whiff of his smelly toe pads." The tabby narrowly ducked his brother's hefty paw, laughing as he flicked his ears, looking a little embarrassed as Wolfpaw rumbled a chuckle.
It had become somewhat custom for the group of apprentices to meet after training. While most were the same age, even the younger ones had integrated fine. Sprucepaw was well-spoken, and Willowpaw was intelligent and had a witty streak that kept her evenly paced with sharp-tongued Lightningpaw. Silverpaw was charismatic and charming, and while both Aurorapaw and Sycamorepaw were quiet, they liked to be included, and the elder apprentices didn't feel inclined to exclude them. It was nice, with how full the den was.
"Like you said. It's just brain fog. You'll get it next time, I'm sure." Snowpaw's smile was shy, but it quickly grew in confidence as Butterflypaw smiled back. Duckpaw curled her tail around her tighter, shivering against the breeze. Instantly, Tempestpaw and Brewingpaw wedged closer to her on either side, bundling her up in their fluffy pelts. She sputtered at a mouthful of black fur, laughing good-naturedly.
"It's Leaf-fall anyway and the weather is tough. It was just bad luck, but you can turn it around. You're winning either way, because you're not freezing your butt off in this cold. I thought JaggedClan was bad enough, but this is a whole other level."
"Mind you don't catch a cold," Wolfpaw said, brow creasing in worry, "if Poppywish catches you with even the slightest cough he's going to put you on full twenty-four hour quarantine lockdown."
"I know all the best escape routes," Sprucepaw stage-whispered, and the whole group laughed, the big tom looking smug as Silverpaw shoved him. The pair sat close together, tightly pressed up against one another, while Sprucepaw leaned lazily on his sister from the other side. It was obvious to anyone how close the denmates were, having been thick as thieves essentially since birth. Whenever one was causing trouble, the other was not far behind, although Silverpaw had been decidedly absent during most of Sprucepaw's medicine adventures.
"That's only because you're in there more than you're out," Willowpaw said, amused, "you should have seen him today. Took Silverpaw's hook to his jaw so hard he almost put a tooth through his lip."
"Poppywish was very upset about that, by the way. Ranted for a full three minutes and it probably would have been longer if Howlingeye hadn't been limping about to remind him he actually had work to do. Good thing Silverpaw's paws are so little, or there would have been a lot more to worry about."
"I guess my little paws are why I'm not picking up on these battle moves," Silverpaw wrinkled her nose a little and she shook her head, "I don't know how you two are so good at it already."
"It's in our blood, most likely," Willowpaw said, "you've met our parents- they're widely regarded to be some of the best fighters in the clan. I assume we got some of their genetics, but I know your parents too, and I think you're both going to outshine us when we move on to hunting, for sure. Rivermask is a really excellent hunter, I've heard cats talking about how much prey she brings in from patrol."
"Everyone's got their own strengths and weaknesses," Tempestpaw added with a purr, "being an apprentice is all about learning those. I'm just hoping that all the work I've been doing on patrols with Howlingeye injured is going to give me an advantage when we finally get back to training."
"Is that soon?" Featherpaw asked, curiously.
"Hopefully," she nodded, "I think you and I will be working together a lot, since Sleetstar's been sick too. They both look a lot better, though- I saw both of them just the other day. Summitsky was helping Sleetstar take a walk around camp, but she doesn't really need to lean on him anymore, and then Midnightblaze joined them with Howlingeye, who looks a lot less sickly, so I'm anticipating we'll be able to get back into it soon."
"You think training will be hard in Leafbare?"
"Probably," Tempestpaw nodded, "but Viridianfire did it, so can we."
"That's the right attitude to have," Silverpaw announced, "maybe a couple of us didn't do so well today, but we can't give up! We're all going to be warriors together one day, and so we've all got to keep trying, and keep pushing ourselves so that when the old guard are gone and we're all that is left, we'll know that it's the best of the best watching our backs."
"Let's make a pact then," Sprucepaw said, with a grin, "to watching our backs- even you two who are leaving us soon." Wolfpaw laughed, shaking his head.
"Okay. Everyone, paws in." Everyone put one paw into the circle. "Under the stars of Silverpelt, shining ancestors of NorthernClan who sacrificed untold and unfathomable amounts for the future and the legacy of this clan, each cat here tonight does solemnly pledge mind, body and spirit to the protection of one another, so that when our stars shine above, they'll shine together."
The group cheered, an agreement that had Aurorapaw smiling shyly and Sycamorepaw laughing for the first time since she'd joined the clan. Even Butterflypaw's morose mood seemed to have vanished and the group settled back into idle chatter, the warmth of their circle protecting them from the cold encroaching on NorthernClan's territory.

-

The sun had not quite sunk below the horizon when the border patrol returned. The rocky walls of the camp were painted orange and pink in the glow of sunset, the sky above still bright and radiant, sun blinding if you tilted your head just wrong and caught sight of it lowering between the mountaintops. The patrol was not so much a patrol as it was simply Thunderjaw and Minkfur on what probably constituted as a romantic stroll for the pair, but the combination had always proved effective to Midnightblaze, and they'd been happy to cycle in and out of camp together multiple times in a day, which suited him just fine.
What he had not expected was for two cats to return as four. What was even stranger is that the two newcomers were both newly pregnant, it seemed, not yet heavy with kits but their bellies bore a tell-tale swell that would only grow with time. Minkfur was leading them, with Thunderjaw bringing up the rear. Both warriors towered over one of the mollies, but the other- gray, with her ears flattened against her head- was just a little shorter than Minkfur at the shoulder.
"Uh?" Said Midnightblaze, half-rising from his position between his daughters.
"I'll get Sleetstar," Thunderjaw said with a nod, glancing around the clan, "you can stop staring now. They're just travelers, and they've had a long few weeks." He moved away then, and the clan tried to go back to what they were doing as Minkfur guided the pair toward the cliff face, up the path, with Midnightblaze trailing behind them. Protectively, the gray molly had the smaller red and white one huddled against her side, where she was sobbing loudly. Everyone did their best to ignore the very obvious sound, even Howlingeye and Poppywish as they exited the medicine den, where Sleetstar had struggled upright. Summitsky looked a little bewildered.
"Should I... stay?"
"Probably not," Thunderjaw said, "no one's very fond of toms at the moment, but Midnightblaze should be here considering he has a job to do but... it's best we don't stress out these mollies too much- and before you protest, Haze, I'm well aware you can take care of yourself, but Plumiris's had a time of it and crying makes me a little awkward, to be honest." The gray molly flicked her tail, but she looked amused. Summitsky gave Sleetstar an apologetic smile.
"I'll come back later- maybe with Bearears, if she feels up to telling a story. It was nice to meet you." He paused, briefly, to touch his nose to Midnightblaze's cheek in greeting, before he hurried after Thunderjaw, out of the den. Sleetstar peered at Minkfur and the two mollies, wincing a little at the reverb of the red and white molly's sobbing bounced off stone. Midnightblaze settled at Sleetstar's side as her face screwed up in pain even more.
"Is she... okay?"
"I don't know, Sleetstar, what do you think?" Minkfur didn't sound annoyed, just amused.
"Normally I'd appreciate the sass keeping me on the tips of my toes, but this is all giving me a splitting headache."
"I'm starting to agree with Thunderjaw about the whole crying thing," Midnightblaze said.
"Oh come on," she huffed a little, "I'm all for this recent camaraderie between you two, because it's better than giving me anxiety about Sleetstar murdering you in your sleep but if you two can't behave then I'm going to call Poppywish back up here and make him make you." Midnightblaze barely suppressed a laugh as Sleetstar gave him a half-smirk that was too tired to carry any real weight. If Poppywish's reports were to be believed, Sleetstar had lost enough blood to make her feverish for a while, and generally she just seemed exhausted after the whole debacle with the rune.
"Okay, okay. What's going on, Minkfur? Who are these strangers you've brought to my clan?" The big molly looked toward the gray one with a curious expression. She nodded, and took a step forward, the red and white molly sniffling miserably and following alongside her to bury her face in the larger she-cat's shoulder.
"I'm Haze, and this is Plumiris. Minkfur and Thunderjaw came across us in a den that we'd camped out in. I'm just a loner- I was travelling with my mate, but she was out hunting and I'm sure she'll find us eventually. What matters most to me right now is Plumiris here- she's from a clan a little way down the Thunderpath, and they kicked her out for getting pregnant with a tom's kits from another clan. From what I've been able to deduce, he also had another mate in that clan." A fresh round of sobbing wracked the queen. "She's young, and she's scared, and she shouldn't be alone. I've kitted on my own before, and it didn't go well for me. She needs clan life. She needs stability."
"It's very kind of you to bring her here," Midnightblaze said, "Plumiris? That's a really beautiful name." The molly miserably tried to stifle her sniffles. "My name is Midnightblaze. I'm the deputy of this clan, and everyone in this den right now knows how scary kitting can be. Myself, Sleetstar and Minkfur have all gone through it, and I promise, if you choose to stay with us, we'll make sure you stay safe, and your kits will have a home."
"Ultimately it has to be your decision," Sleetstar said with a smile, "I've had enough of outside forces bullying cats into changing the trajectory of their whole lives in order to join this clan. I want cats here who believe in what we're doing and who want to be here. I won't blame you if you choose not to stay, and we'll try to send you on your way with what herbs Poppywish can spare, and what prey we can, but, if you'd like to stay, our queens in the nursery are lovely."
"You'd like Sunnynose," Minkfur said, "because everyone does." Plumiris seemed to mull this over, turning to look at Haze as she settled back on her haunches, sweeping her tail over her paws. The molly had pretty green eyes, and they hardened in determination suddenly, as she turned back to Sleetstar and jutted her chin out. Although young, and obviously scared witless, she did her best to summon some semblance of bravery.
"I'll stay if Haze does."
"What?!"
"She's been like a mother to me. I met her by pure coincidence, her and her mate, but they've been nothing but kind to me when they didn't have to be, and she took me all the way here just to make sure I'd be safe. I don't know if I could feel safe without her right now- because I need a mom, and mine's dead, so Haze is the closest I'm going to get."
"Don't say that-" Haze protested, "all of these cats are nice, and they're actually parents. I'm sure they'd do a fine job of looking out for you, and from the sounds of it there's already queens in the nursery that you could talk to. You don't need me-"
"She trusts you, Haze," Midnightblaze said, "sometimes it's not about what could be, it's about who you trust to be there with you even when things are the toughest, and you've already proven yourself to her. You seem like a strong molly, anyone can see that plain as day, and I can tell it wasn't your intention to join a clan but... we'd be glad to have you. You and your mate, if you decided to stay." Haze's eyes met his, and she peered at him curiously for a moment, trying to ignore Plumiris's eyes watching her, wide and hopeful. After a long beat of silence, she let out a sigh.
"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Plumiris gasped in relief, and Minkfur laughed. Sleetstar snorted, and slumped back into her nest, closing her eyes tiredly.
"Most likely."

-

The clan had seen a lot of excitement, but true to form, Summitsky helped Sleetstar down the cliff face, as the last rays of light hit the clan. The new queens remained up in the medicine den with Poppywish and Minkfur, to whom they'd taken a liking, as Midnightblaze had descended to call the clan together for the ceremony. Sleetstar settled at the base of the rock, smiling tiredly at her clan. She was doing better, barely needing Summitsky's support, but he still sat next to her, beaming proudly at his son, their fur brushing companionably. Duckpaw sat in front of her parents, who sat a comfortable distance away from one another and who seemed stiff. Sleetstar amused herself with the thought that not a few moons ago, they could have been a spitting image of her own relationship with Summitsky.
"I wish I had more energy for today, I really do," she let out a chuckle, "thank you all for being patient with me, but it's not every day your son becomes a warrior, so if I start crying, someone send Thunderjaw to give me a good thump upside the ears and get me back on track." The clan rippled a laugh, and Wolfpaw ducked his head, pleased. "Today, NorthernClan gains two new warriors; cats who have proved they have what it takes to survive these lands. Wolfpaw and Duckpaw step forward as I, Sleetstar, call upon the warrior ancestors of NorthernClan to see you: for you have trained hard to understand the code. Do you promise to uphold this code and to defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do."
"I do."
"Wolfpaw, please recite the vow."
"To my clan, to my home, to the blood that binds; I pledge myself to the cliffs and the snow. The North is all."
"Then from this day forward, your name will be Wolfwhisker, for your intuition and keen senses. StarClan honours your resilience, and it is my privilege to welcome you as a full warrior of NorthernClan. Honour him!" Yowls went up from around the camp, praising the newest warrior. Duckpaw purred, touching her nose to Wolfwhisker's cheek as he stepped forward to exchange ritual with his mother. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered, "Dad too." Wolfwhisker simply nodded, beaming at Thunderjaw as he stepped back and settled next to Butterflypaw and Brewingpaw again. "Duckpaw, please recite the vow."
"To my clan, to my home, to the blood that binds; I pledge myself to the cliffs and the snow. The North is all."
"Then from this day forward, your name will be Duckbriar, for your sweet but firm nature. StarClan honours your competence, and it is my pleasure to welcome you as a full warrior of NorthernClan. Honour her!" Again, yowls went up from all the clan, apprentices clamouring over one another to shout the loudest for their former denmate. Duckbriar was shy as she stepped forward to exchange ritual with Sleetstar, before she turned and ran back to her parents, while the clan converged on the two new warriors. Summitsky was quick to reach his son, purring loudly as he rubbed their foreheads together.
"Oh, I'm so proud of you. Congratulations."
"Mom said you would say that," Wolfwhisker laughed, "stop fussing over me and make sure Butterflypaw gets her warrior name soon. It won't be the same without her sleeping by my side. No one to keep my back warm." Sleetstar clicked her tongue, leaning on Summitsky's shoulder as she touched noses with both of her kits.
"Please endeavour to treat your sister as if she has more use than a butt warmer. It's not becoming of a NorthernClan warrior." The group laughed, as Butterflypaw purred and accepted the nuzzle of her cheek from her big brother, her parents stepping back so that their friends could crowd around them, chattering loudly with the last few minutes of daylight they had left, before Wolfpaw and Duckpaw would sit their vigil together. Sleetstar slumped onto Summitsky's shoulder, and he licked her once between her ears. "It was a bumpy start, but I think we did good. You did good, mostly."
"Maybe you weren't so involved from the start, but there's a lot of you in him. He has that same quiet, inward competence and the same intelligence- and the same fire too, I can tell. He just happens to have my stature- they both do, really. It's a shame that they didn't get more of your genes." Sleetstar hummed.
"I am much prettier than you."
"I'd argue, but we both know you're right." They shared a chuckle, Summitsky leaning his head affectionately against her own. Sleetstar let out a sleepy, content sigh, nestling into the big tom's shoulder as she let the night wash over her, content to just be, to just feel.
"This is how it always should have been," she said, "just took us a while to figure it out."

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧.

Sleetstar's next appearance showed a marked improvement. The last moon had been good to her- she'd eaten more, hydrated better, and her fur had been shiny and glossy once more, her eyes bright, and her movements unhindered by lethargy. As Leafbare encroached, she seemed to shake off the residual effects of her energy, and she stood proud atop leader's rock in the cool air as the clan gathered- including Plumiris and Hazerise, the clan's newest queens, who stuck close together. As predicted, Hazerise had struck up a quick rapport with Sunnynose, and she seemed quite happy as he and Winderstrike settled next to her, beaming at Sorrelsong where she sat with her kits and her foster kit, all bouncing with excitement.
"Well, it's official, we've almost made it through Leaf-fall, and I can't think of a better way to close out a season meant for reflection, for thankfulness and for hope than to look to the future of our clan. The kits that we bear will carry this clan and its legacy into the future moons, long after I'm dead and gone, and as such it is our duty to nurture them and to teach them what we hold dear so that essence can be preserved for their kits, and the kits after them, too. Today, I'm proud to announce NorthernClan's future looks forward to two new apprentices, whose paws will be guided on this journey of learning by our ancestors in StarClan. Blackkit and Sootkit from this day forward until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Blackpaw and Sootpaw, respectively." She took a deep breath, smiling warmly at the beaming apprentices, and at Sorrelsong, whose eyes shone with pride.
"Blackpaw, your mentor will be Breakerhowl. In his time with this clan, although shorter than some, he has proven himself to be kind, quick-witted and intuitive, and I know he will teach you well and nurture your curiosity." She paused, allowing the young tom time to find his mentor in the crowd and stretch upward to touch noses with the tall tom, purring broadly as the clan cheered for him. Sleetstar smiled warmly, and continued. "Sootpaw, your mentor will be Graypeak. Although his old clan didn't have the strength NorthernClan has to endure, the fact that he's standing here today is testament to his determination. Graypeak is a kind tom, if not a little shy, so you'll have to look out for him a bit, too, but he is intelligent and he is sweet and I know he will teach you everything there is to know to be the best warrior you can be." The little molly beamed, darting toward a shell-shocked looking Graypeak. Sleetstar nodded to Midnightblaze as the cats cheered, leaping down from the rock in search of Featherpaw and Howlingeye to start training for the day.
Graypeak found her seconds later. "Sleetstar, thank you for the honour, but I don't know-"
"I'm gonna stop you there," Sleetstar said, turning to the tom with an amused look, "when I came here, I overestimated how prepared I was for leadership. Don't mistake me standing here right now as a sign of success- this clan is still going, sure, but I'm not sure how because I made a lot of mistakes to start with, mistakes I still need to fix. But I'm trying. Because this clan is about fresh starts, about having everything ripped away, taking a deep breath, and starting again. I've seen you, you know, ever since you came to the clan. Things haven't been going well for you, and I can tell you're losing faith. So, what you need right now is someone who believes in you, and a purpose. Now you have both of those things." Graypeak was silent for a moment.
"What if I let you down?"
"You know, my daughter has this saying about 'brain fog'- that when you think negatively about the outcome of a scenario, you doom yourself right from the start because a fog settles in your brain that makes it impossible to see the light through it. Don't get brain fog, Graypeak. You can do this. Just one paw in front of the other, one day at a time. You're not alone here, you know? If you need a shoulder to lean on, we have some cats with excellent shoulders."
"Thunderjaw is pretty impressive," Graypeak said weakly, and Sleetstar laughed.
"That's the spirit. So are you going to argue with me some more, or what?" Graypeak smiled, this time a little more convincing, like a small amount of weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Or what, I suppose."

-

"It's so nice to have you back," Hollyfeather said, and Splitface let out a pleased purr, "I was worried for a bit there- Poppywish was working himself to the bone, and Brackenstrike was fussing over you to the point where I thought you were in danger of dropping dead any second."
"She was just worried, as all mates are when their beloved goes head to head with a maniacal murderer who has already slaughtered their prior family," Hollyfeather snorted, shaking her head, "but I assure you, I'm fine."
"I have no doubt you are. You're a smart cat. I like to think I am too, but I have to admit, that whole rune story that Sleetstar told... I would not have picked that being your backstory at all. I always wondered why Minkfur was so suspicious of you both, especially Brackenstrike. I'm sure you noticed but in the early days I pretty much thought Brackenstrike walked on water. I still do, honestly, but after seeing you fight that cat... she's not the only one with moves."
"No, she is not," Splitface chuckled, "and as I recall, you didn't particularly like me all that much in the early days, either."
"Don't remind me, I was so embarrassing. I guess I was just obsessed with the idea of having structure, I was anxious about things collapsing, and it didn't help that Midnightblaze and Sleetstar had that whole standoff thing going- thank StarClan that's over with- but I'll admit I didn't take too kindly to a strange, sullen and secretive cat coming in and stealing the attention of my idol, who I thought might be the one cat with her head screwed on straight. But... I don't know. I've been evaluating these past few moons, and I realized I was so high-strung back then that I think I alienated most of the clan. I don't really have many friends."
"Oh, Hollyfeather, I'm sure that's not true."
"Well, I have Summitsky of course, but he's more like a big brother than a friend, you know?"
"If it's any consolation, you always have Brackenstrike, and although we started out a bit rocky, you have me too. It's been great getting to train with you these past few moons- and Sleetstar clearly trusts you; so that's at least a grand total of three." Hollyfeather laughed a little, shaking her head a bit.
"I was so worried about making this work that I was so suspicious of everyone, and I said some things that I don't even know how to start to apologize for, you know? It feels like things are finally getting back to normal in NorthernClan, but I don't know what my normal is." She frowned a little, at her paws, startling as Splitface leaned across to press her nose between her ears, a comforting gesture that Hollyfeather relaxed into willingly. It was lonely in the warrior's den without anyone to curl up to; Summitsky had been noticeably absent from his usual nest, bouncing between Midnightblaze, Howlingeye and most recently Wolfwhisker when he was in the den, or staying up with Sleetstar while she'd been recovering.
"It's all about time, Hollyfeather," Splitface said with a smile, "Sleetstar didn't like me much at first because of the whole rune thing, you know, but you saw how willingly she threw herself on the line to fight with me. To fight for me. Time will heal things, Koishimmer and Midnightblaze are testament to that. It's just about finding the right words first, and then taking your steps forward, one paw in front of the other, one step at a time. You're a smart cat, Hollyfeather, and you have a relentless determination. No hell or high water can stop you once you put your mind to something, so try not to fret too much about all of this. You'll find your balance, I'm sure of it, and if I'm wrong, then feel free to come find me and claw my ears off." Hollyfeather laughed, shaking her head a little, but a warmth bloomed in her chest.
"Thanks, Splitface, I think I needed the pep talk. It gets hard shouldering things alone sometimes."
"Well, remember what I said; you're not alone. Not as long as I'm still breathing." She paused, with a sigh, peering down from the plateau's ledge, "my apprentice is going in the wrong direction. I'll go correct that, and then I'll be back. Eyes on." Hollyfeather gave her a nod of acknowledgement as Splitface bounded down the cliff face away from the plateau. It was a nice spot, sun high in the last days of Leaf-fall.
The whole northern half of the territory seemed to be her view; Blizzardpaw's tabby pelt almost invisible against the rocky ground as he tracked the scent Hollyfeather had left for him. Beyond, the crags raised high with deep, dark ravines between them, limestone cliffs shining brilliantly in the sun. Hollyfeather took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, drinking in the fresh air and the warmth from the sun, sure to disappear when Leafbare set in. She opened her eyes, and something moved.
Hollyfeather's whole body tensed, and she swung around instinctively to look for Splitface, but the tortie molly had only just gone, Hollyfeather knew she wouldn't be back in time for whatever it was. Blizzardpaw was down there, but it would take Hollyfeather time to get to him, and even then the apprentice would only be half as capable of backing her as the elder she-cat would be. Her ears flattened, and she tried to trace the shape that had bothered her, eyes scanning the region until they landed on a small, white shape, purposefully striding toward the cliffs.
Blizzardpaw was approaching the limestone cliffs at speed, and panic set in. Hollyfeather bolted forward, scrabbling nimbly down the cliff-face, and landing hard from the last jump just in front of Blizzardpaw. He jumped, with a light yelp of surprise.
"Hollyfeather?!" He asked, before his ears flattened, as her tail swept up in a silencing motion. She inclined her head toward the bend that would bring the cliffs into view. The pair of them stuck close to the side of the trail, padding quietly toward the bend, using what little shrubbery they had to shelter them from sight of the shape that Hollyfeather had seen. Here, the cat was closer; taking a dust bath in the limestone, seeming particularly unworried about the clan scent that Hollyfeather knew the border patrol would have set not too long ago.
"What the-?" Blizzardpaw whispered, looking to Hollyfeather for guidance. "What do we do?"
"Run and find Splitface, or your brother. He might have seen where she went. She was back the way you came, last time I saw her. The cat is far away, so I don't worry about being attacked, but maybe I can keep them talking for long enough to figure out what they're doing on the territory. It might be one of the Merchants, scoping out for another attack, so we should treat it seriously." Blizzardpaw nodded and bounded away a few steps, before he ran back and touched his nose to her cheek.
"Be safe." She nodded, firmly, and gave him a reassuring smile. Blizzardpaw looked reluctant to leave her, but nonetheless, he turn and ran for Splitface, like his mentor had intended. Hollyfeather crouched and waited; watched the cat. Their movements were unhurried, as they rolled carefully and methodically through the dust in the basin at the foot of the cliffs, body elegant and lithe, arching and twisting with graceful agility. Hollyfeather wondered how one could feel so at ease, knowing they were on enemy territory, but she didn't have time to ponder this right now. Instead, she took a deep breath, and stepped into view.
"Hey!" The cat froze, and then spun onto their paws instantly. Their pelt shone in the sun, glittering from the limestone dust that had stuck to their fur. Hollyfeather was shocked at the raw fury in their eyes, glaring balefully at her from so far away. She balked, and that was all the time the cat needed. They promptly turned, and darted into the trees. Cursing herself, Hollyfeather picked up speed, carefully but quickly navigating her way around the ravine to the cliffs. The cat would be long gone by the time she got there- not even Howlingeye would have had a chance of catching up- but Hollyfeather was confident she could track her down. Her paws skidded through silvery dust, painting her paws fully shimmering white as she scented the air.
She frowned. She scented again.
There was nothing; just the scent of the clan from Thunderjaw's patrol. Hollyfeather had seen them pass through about a sun's rotation ago, and the scent was still strong, but standing directly over the dust bath of the strange cat, she should have been able to pick up something. Hollyfeather felt frustrated- as far as she could remember from training, the dust shouldn't hide someone's scent, not like water did- but as she scented more and more rapidly to no avail, all she succeeded in was tickling her nose and sneezing violently, sending a cloud of white dust billowing around her.
When it cleared, she was still standing in the same spot, eyes closed, trying to let go of the bitter tang of failure. Whoever the cat was, they must have been calm because they knew they couldn't be traced. Or, a part of her mind reasoned, they knew because they've been watching. Hollyfeather pushed it away uncomfortably, at the same time that Splitface and Blizzardpaw skidded into view, Brewingpaw hot on their tails.
"Hollyfeather! What's going on?" Splitface yelled across to her. Hollyfeather paused for a beat, unsure of what to say. Unsure of how to say it, too. Finally, she simply shook her head, moving closer to the edge so that she didn't have to yell so much for Splitface to hear her.
"Nothing," she called back, "just a loner, but I think I scared them off. I doubt they're coming back." Hollyfeather had no way of guessing that, no way beyond silently hoping that that was the truth, because the alternative was a lot, lot worse.

-

As patrols began to filter back in for the day, Poppywish sorted his herbs, exhausted. The last few moons had taken a toll; with patients in and out of the den and the little sleep on which he was running, too busy fretting over Howlingeye while he slept, or over Sleetstar who tossed and turned and hissed, startling Summitsky awake most nights until he soothed her back to sleep by grooming her tenderly. It was good to see their friendship reworked the way it was. It gave Poppywish a little more hope for the future. But his brain still nagged him in some spaces.
The largest gap in his heart that his brain tugged and poked and prodded at was Howlingeye. Of course it was, Poppywish doubted he'd thought so much about anything else than he had the other tom since he'd joined the clan. It had been good, having Howlingeye in the den for a few moons. It meant that he had to face the gravity of admitting his feelings for Poppywish. But now he was out. And there was no way to tell what he would do- if the heat of the moment would evaporate and he would go back to denying himself happiness.
"Ugh," Poppywish growled as his paws, clumsy with tiredness, fumbled with a fresh batch of poppy seeds and sent them skittering across the floor. An amused chuckle made him jump, and he whirled, ears flattened, to find Howlingeye silhouetted against the cavern's entrance. His heart leapt embarrassingly, and he gave the other a smile that seemed almost shy.
"I can tell you're wondering, but I only just got back in. Tempestpaw keeps me on my paws more than I keep her on hers. She's a spitfire, you know, but that's half the fun of training her. It's nice to be back." He let out a rumbling laugh, stepping forward to help Poppywish sweep the seeds back into order.
"Well, I'm glad you're having fun, but the den is outright miserable without company."
"Get an apprentice, Poppywish," Howlingeye said, amusement tinting his tone.
"I don't need the help."
"It's not about needing the help, it's about needing the companionship." Poppywish stopped dead, his blood running cold, but Howlingeye was already continuing. "It's all well and good to be up here working your magic the way you do, but... it could do you some good to have someone around even on days when the rest of the clan is not, otherwise you're going to end up fluffing about the nursery, trying to gossip with the queens, or down in the elder's den trying to twist facts out of the stranger, StarClan forbid." Poppywish snorted, but he kept his back turned to the other, mostly so he wouldn't catch the fear in his expression in the next question.
"What about you? Where will you be?" Howlingeye was quiet for a long moment.
"I meant it, you know," he said finally, "it wasn't just because I was scared or because I needed comfort for being hurt, or because I didn't want to make you upset. I do love you. I'm afraid of what that means for me, because I don't want to let you down and I really don't want to hurt you... but I thought about it while I was in here, and I realized that you were right, that I didn't think at all about what you wanted, about how things made you feel. I was selfishly distancing myself from you so I wouldn't get hurt when you didn't want me anymore, and pretending I was being selfless by defending you from all of the black marks on my history. But the truth is, Poppywish, I've never been happier than I am with you." Poppywish turned then, to see the adoration, but the shyness in Howlingeye's expression.
"I've never met someone with wit as sharp as yours, with as much drive, as much dedication. You're smarter than I could ever hope to be, and nothing can stop you. You go and you go and you go, and I realize now how much it takes out of you, but you never complain and you never ask for help, you just do what needs to be done because if you don't, who will? You've always been kind to me, but you don't suffer fools. You can hold your own just fine in a fight and you won't let anyone stomp over you. I watch you and I'm always in awe of just how perfect you are- perfect to me. Perfect for me. And I love you. I love you in all the ways I never thought I could love anybody, and I love you for all the things you hate about yourself and for the things you love too, and I don't want to pretend that I don't anymore. Even if I'm scared, I've realized I can trust you to be there when I fall, to help me back to my paws again, and to push me to keep going. To keep trying. You make me want to be a better cat, Poppywish, and the truth is you're everything I never knew I wanted. I love you, and." He took a deep breath. "I want you to be my mate."
"StarClan above I've been wondering when you were going to ask," Poppywish's voice was choked as the poppy seeds went scattering again, forgotten as the ginger tom crossed to him and urgently pressed their foreheads together with a shuddering sob. "I love you, Howlingeye, for better and for worse, through sunshine and through sleet, I love you, and I promise to adore you every day for the rest of our lives. You and me against the world, okay?"
"Not against the world," Howlingeye whispered with a laugh, "with the world, in stride. Things are always going to be easy when we're together."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

` servings consumed
10/10 - x5 small fish
` clan events
poppywish searches for kitting herbs
butterflypaw and lightningpaw take their warrior assessments
blizzardpaw, brewingpaw, snowpaw and sycamorepaw learn to track
tempestpaw, featherpaw, sprucepaw, willowpaw, silverpaw and aurorapaw learn to hunt
↪ regardless of success, please roll sprucepaw for a minor injury
howlingeye and poppywish become mates! (cannot bio have kits)
sleetstar asks starclan for a warrior to help out
` patrols
hunting-
1 - summitsky, rivermask, honeyheart, dawnbreeze, hawkeyes, fallowstep
2 - midnightblaze, primrosepetal, bearears, bramblingrose, twilightflower, twosight
3 - viridianfire, waspshine, birchfang, emberpetal, duckbriar, ausmasthorn
border-
3 - thunderjaw, minkfur, flamestream, wolfwhisker, addersong

My gallery · by **solyn** » Sat Oct 05, 2019 10:25 pm

𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐨.

"Stop," Minkfur pulled up short, ears swiveling a little. Thunderjaw's bushy tail raised, and behind him, the rest of the patrol came to a halt, quietly listening for whatever it was Minkfur was hearing. "Do you hear that?" She asked. The patrol listened. With Leafbare encroaching, the days were getting shorter, and with the sunset on the horizon, the patrol was heading back before predators too difficult to deal with came prowling. Minkfur had been tense ever since scenting wolves near the vanishing past, even if the scent had been stale. They heard what she was hearing though; voices. Strange voices. Laughing.
"How should we play this?" Addersong asked, sharp eyes sliding to Thunderjaw. The big tom looked around at them: Flamestream was big, but nowhere near as big as he and Minkfur, and Wolfwhisker was barely a warrior. Addersong was sturdy and spitfire, but unused to the terrain. He nodded to the underbrush around them.
"You three get low and circle around- stay hidden in case they're hostile. Minkfur and I will approach; with any luck, our sheer size will warn them off any kind of attack." Addersong nodded, and then motioned to the younger toms, disappearing into the shrubbery with them close on her tail. Minkfur smiled up at her mate, nudging his shoulder affectionately.
"Cute date idea," she said, and Thunderjaw rolled his eyes in amusement, the pair of them moving forward toward the voices. They found them at the bottom of the slope, a dark black molly, coat flecked with snow, and a ginger tabby tom, shaking out a particularly large drop of half-melted sludge that had evidently slipped from a bough above his head. The molly was laughing at him, and he was laughing too, batting snow at her with his paws as she dodged, nimbly. Minkfur cleared her throat. The pair looked up, and the tom startled.
"Holy StarClan," he said, "you're the size of a dog." Minkfur burst into laughter as Thunderjaw did his best to look disgruntled, failing to hide his clear amusement. "I'm gonna take it as a 'thanks I get that I lot'?"
"Not in such colourful phrasing, but... to the same effect. I hate to ask because you seem a nice kid, but... you do know you're on clan territory, right?" He cocked his head to the side. "Which then means I'm obligated to ask who you are and what you're doing here."
"My name's Foxspring, and this is Selene," the name had Thunderjaw and Minkfur exchanging a startled glance, "I've been looking for my famil-" he cut himself off as the bushes rustled and Flamestream burst forward, eyes wide. Foxspring slid a glance toward the two big cats, who were looking at the ginger tom curiously. "Friend of yours?"
"Yeah, I'm Thunderjaw, and this is my mate Minkfur. The little guy is Flamestream, one of our clan's newest warriors."
"Did you say your name was Foxspring?" The young tom asked, breathless. Foxspring squinted at him for a second, before his eyes widened in recognition and he let out a whooping laugh, darting forward as Flamestream tore down the hill toward him, the two gingers colliding with force great enough to knock Foxspring onto his back as he caught his younger brother between his paws with a gleeful whoop.
"Dude! You got so big!"
"No kidding, you were so scrawny last time I saw you! Not that I remember it all that well but- hey, hey you'll never guess! Dad and Papa are both here, and Emberpetal and me are both warriors now, and I was even in a rogue fight and I got a scar. Look!" He turned, twisting so that his flank was visible.
"Hey! What are you doing fighting rogues- are you trying to give Papa a heart attack?" Selene looked baffled by the whole going on, watching as Wolfwhisker and Addersong also appeared from their hiding spots, smiling warmly at the reunion, the brothers chattering away excitedly, much of their mannerisms mirroring that of their cheerful fathers.
"Your father wouldn't happen to be named Midnightblaze, would he?" Thunderjaw asked, and the she-cat startled, swinging around to narrow her eyes at the big, smoky tom.
"How did you know that?"
"Lucky guess," he said as Minkfur whistled, "small, small world."
"You mean you know my dad? You know where he is?"
"Where all your family is, actually- right here, in NorthernClan." Selene's face screwed up a little, and Thunderjaw chuckled. "I can see the resemblance to Koishimmer. She's one of my favourite warriors, you know. She's so headstrong and determined- I'm sure she could shift the mountains if she put her mind to it- and she still found it in her heart to forgive your father after being mad at him for so long." Minkfur nudged her mate.
"What the big idiot means to say is... try to keep an open mind when you see him. I don't know what happened between you all, but... I hope the fact that your sisters seem to be over it eases a little of the anger you're feeling." Selene exhaled a little, glancing toward Foxspring with an expression that seemed fond.
"What about him? What's his deal?"
"His dads are here too- Sunnynose and Winderstrike. We found Sunnynose alone with Flamestream and Emberpetal when they were just kits, and I assume Foxspring hasn't seen them since then. It's a small world, Selene, but we'd be happy to have you be a part of it."
"He's made a... good travelling companion so far, so I guess where he goes, I'll follow. Besides... even if I'm still mad at him, I do want to see my dad again. And Prim and Koi...shimmer?" She squinted a little, as if deciding how the clan name felt on her tongue. "Lead the way." Minkfur nodded, whistling sharply to get Flamestream's attention.
"We're heading back to camp now. Wolfwhisker, can you run ahead and find Sunnynose, Winderstrike, Midnightblaze and his girls?" The young tom nodded, and then turned, sprinting back up through the territory toward camp. Together, the two groups of cats crested the rise to meet Addersong, and the five of them turned to head after Wolfwhisker. Foxspring happily introduced his younger brother to his travelling companion, before the pair went on to explain to the rest of their patrol made their way back to camp. When they ducked through the entrance, they emerged to see the clan curiously gathered, Sleetstar waiting alongside Midnightblaze and his girls, Sunnynose and Winderstrike speaking nervously with Emberpetal.
"Selene!" Koishimmer bounded forward as her sister shouldered ahead to run for her.
"Koi!" They collided with a cacaphony of purrs as Winderstrike and Sunnynose stood, hurrying toward their eldest son with happy cries. "Prim!" Selene laughed as her sisters twined around her, purring happily. The purring faded as she looked up, eyes meeting her father's, deep with concern as he hovered anxiously on the outskirts of their group hug. Selene felt the worried eyes of her siblings on her, and her expression softened.
"Dad," she said softly, and then again, louder, her voice cracking as she raced forward to press her forehead against his, "Dad!" Midnightblaze choked out a joyous laugh, twining around her happily as her sisters joined in, their little family wholly reunited once again. He let the three of them wind tight around him, crushing together in their embrace. He let his head fall to the side, leaning against the top of Koishimmer's as she let out a content sigh.
"I'm glad you're here," she said to Selene, who laughed a little.
"Yeah, I know. I hear you took a clan name."
"We both did," Primrosepetal said, "so you can cool it with the teasing, baby sister." Selene stuck her tongue out at him, her gaze falling on Midnightblaze as he smiled fondly at him, overwhelmed with love for his daughters.
"I missed you," she said, drawing his attention to her, "I don't understand why you left... but Koi and Prim forgive you... so I'll try. I just wish I knew why you did what you did." Midnightblaze paused, sharing a look with Koishimmer, before he took a deep breath, and nodded a little bit.
"I'll tell you. I want to tell you, but..." he paused, turning to the leader who was retreating toward Brackenstrike, "Sleetstar, stay. This is something I need to tell you- to tell everyone, really. I've been ashamed of it, but... I have cats who support me," he smiled at Howlingeye and Summitsky, who nodded back to him, "and I owe it to my daughters to let them know what happened. I trust this clan to watch my back, and so it's my turn to watch yours by letting you know what happened, in case it comes around on all of us again."
"Dad?" Selene asked, curious. "What's going on?"
So Midnightblaze took a deep breath, and he told her.

-

"Poppywish, you can quit looking like a bee flew up your nose," Sprucepaw laughed, watching the ginger tom bustle hastily around his den. He paused, glowering over his shoulder at the young tom, who simply smiled innocently. "I'm going to be fine. You know what herbs to use and I'm not dumb enough to go and get it infected and Willowpaw has already made fun of me more than enough to cow me into shame for my failure so I'm probably not going to do it again."
"Probably?" Poppywish sounded exasperated. "I swear, you spend more time in this den than you do out of it."
"You didn't seem to mind after the battle," Sprucepaw said with an innocent blink. Poppywish gave him a stern look, but as he turned away the apprentice descended into laughter again. "Poppywish, come on, I don't understand why you're so upset. You must get bored up here all on your own since Howlingeye is busy training his apprentice, and as far as I can tell you don't really have any other friends-"
"I have plenty of friends, thank you!"
"Okay, well, none that I've ever seen you willingly hang out with. You're always trying to keep yourself busy even when there's not really a lot to do, but come on, I know it's not a big deal that I got a little scraped up during training. I'm going to be fine, so what's actually going on." Poppywish narrowed his eyes a little, using his paw to apply goldenrod poultice to Sprucepaw's injury. Patiently, the apprentice sat still, and he was struck by the young tom's resemblance to his mother; the same twinkling eyes but the same strong shoulders and tough resolve.
"Nothing's wrong, I just... well, I worry. You helped me a lot, and if you're in here all the time, that's not very conducive to your efforts to become a warrior."
"Maybe I don't want to be a warrior."
"What?!"
"Don't get me wrong," Sprucepaw shrugged, "I like doing warrior things, and I'm good at them... but they don't challenge me. I love my friends, and being with them as an apprentice is like... the most fun thing in the whole world... and I could be happy as a warrior, but I also had a great time helping you with all this. I'm really fascinated by all the herbs and the healing processes, and it made me feel like I was doing something; like I was useful beyond just having my parents's genes. I mean, I get it, everyone thinks Willowpaw and I were made to be NorthernClan's perfect warriors because our parents are... well. You know. But... what if I don't want that? What if that's not the destiny I think I should forge?"
"And you want to be a medicine cat instead? That's a hard path, Sprucepaw, and it's certainly no alternative to warrior training if you're simply sick of it and you want something different. I'll admit, you were a great help in here and I liked having you around... but don't you think NorthernClan needs you more in other ways?"
"Who's to say," Sprucepaw shrugged, checking his chest to make sure the poultice was setting in, before he got to his paws, already taller than Poppywish and still growing. "I'm not bored by my training, and I'm not sick of it- like I said, I like it, and I'm good at it, but... I'm passionate about this. I still think about all the herbs you taught me, I'm always sniffing them out when I'm training or on patrol. If I ended up spending all my time in the medicine cat den, I don't think I'd mind it, and I don't think you would either." Poppywish averted his gaze, thoughtfully, as Sprucepaw turned toward the mouth of the den. "I'll see you around, Poppywish." He said as he ducked out of the den, leaving the ginger tom with a lot to think about.

-

Brackenstrike frowned at the nest she and Splitface shared, tilting her head a little. Something was missing from the renovation, something to keep them warm in the coming months, but she couldn't put her paw on exactly what it was. In her head, she ran over her mental checklist, but she knew an item was missing, settled neatly just beyond her reach, taunting her. She squinted harder at the nest, as if that would make it simpler.
"You're missing lichen," a voice said from behind her, making her jump, "you always found it was less coarse than moss and molded into shape easier with the rest of your nest. You said so when we were still in the Merchants." Sleetstar tentatively sat beside her, looking pleased as Brackenstrike rumbled a chuckle, tilting her head slightly in amusement.
"Sometimes I forget how much you know about me. Or maybe it's just that sometimes I don't think you care enough to remember." Sleetstar winced, but she laughed, with a light shrug.
"I deserved that." She paused, sweeping her tail over her paws. "I haven't been a good friend recently. Maybe I never was- but you've always been a good friend to me. You gave me advice when I needed it, you watched my back in the Merchants and you've followed me where you didn't have to go absolutely and without question time and time again, and I took advantage of your kindness and your loyalty and assumed that I was owed it for no good reason. I'm so, so sorry about how I treated you, Brackenstrike. You know you're more than a friend to me- you're my family, my sister, and I should have honoured what that meant much sooner. What I said to you was unacceptable and way, way out of line, and I'm- I'm so happy that you found happiness with Splitface, after everything you've been through. You don't have to forgive me, but I'm trying this thing where I try and fix everything that I've broken so... I'm sorry. You deserve better than how I treated you."
"I know," Brackenstrike said with a smile, "you remember what I said last time, don't you? I always know when you mean it, Sleetstar, and I know when you want something. This isn't for anything, and I can tell that already, and I accept your apology. You were going through a lot, and while that doesn't excuse you lashing out at me the way you did... you're my sister, and at the end of the day you still know me better than I know myself sometimes. I forgave you a long time ago, really, I just needed you to work your own stuff out... and you have. And I'm really proud of you. I'm sorry about Summitsky, though."
"Don't be, I think everyone knew we were fooling ourselves," she chuckled a little, "I hate that I used him the way I did... but we're working on it, and we're better as friends. I missed having him as a friend, really. I didn't like resenting him for things that were my fault anyway, and it was unfair to keep him tied down to me when I can't be what he needs or what he deserves. So... we're adapting. And we're learning. And I'm trying to do better."
"It's been a lot of changes since you left the Merchants, you know. We've weathered a lot, this clan." Brackenstrike smiled. "Did you ever see us in a position like this?"
"I dreamed of leading the Merchants, of keeping you and Varvara safe, but... well. What I thought was just a fantasy, and this is far different, but it's better. A learning curve, for sure, but... better. I couldn't imagine being in a world where I didn't speak to you for a day, let alone for moons, but... the distance gave me time to think and actually evaluate my actions, and that was what I needed most. Even when you're pulling away, you're always pushing me in the right direction. I'm lucky to have you."
"Yeah you are," the pair of them laughed together, as Sleetstar leaned on her friend's shoulder, closing her eyes with a sigh. "Thanks for backing Splitface in that fight. I never said that before but... I was scared. Didn't want her to face him alone, but you didn't have to throw yourself in like that."
"I know. I didn't do anything about Elodie, and you've been through enough. I wasn't going to let you lose someone else you love." The pair of them fell quiet for a bit, before Brackenstrike's tail swept around the smaller molly, and she let out a breathless chuckle, although the sound was bittersweet.
"Elodie," she said, "it's been... it's been a while since I thought about her. Is it bad that I feel like I'm forgetting?"
"You'll never forget," Sleetstar said, "the wounds are just healing. Everyone was shocked by what happened to Elodie- I think it was the first sign that Boscoe's mind was going. To kill your own sister... there's a special kind of messed up that breeds that. At first I thought you might never be happy again, and then you started to hide how sad you were, but I knew better. Just because we all pretended it wasn't there doesn't mean it was gone... but Splitface made you different. She made you happy again. She makes you happy. So... no, it doesn't make you bad. In fact, Elodie's probably up there right now, laughing at you for taking so long to move on. It's not exactly like you weren't a ladies cat before you two settled down." She nudged Brackenstrike's shoulder, the brown tabby molly rolling her eyes.
"Ha ha, you're very funny. Just because you and Varvara had that kithood sweethearts thing going on." Sleetstar stuck her tongue out at her, before the two of them burst into laughter. Brackenstrike looked up as her breathing returned to normal, to see blue eyes staring at her fondly.
"I really missed you."
"I missed you too. But hey, as long as you're going to keep your head out from under your tail, everything's gonna be just fine."
"I'll do my best. That's a promise."

-

The clan congregated on Sleetstar's call. With Leaf-fall fading rapidly into Leafbare, weather conditions threatening to worsen with every passing hour, most cats retired early to their nests inside their dens, or one of the many crevices around camp that went functionally unused except for areas where large groups of friends could talk without disturbing the rest of the clan. Now, they appeared from every nook and cranny, settling around an excited Butterflypaw, flanked on either side by her father and her brother.
"Excited?" Snowpaw asked from behind her, which made Wolfwhisker snort.
"Beyond," she whispered back, beaming broadly as her father leaned across to touch his nose between her ears with a rumbling purr.
"I'm so proud of you, Butterflypaw. You've been the best apprentice a cat could hope for, and you're going to do wonderful things as a warrior." Butterflypaw's bashful grin was only worsened by Wolfwhisker's affectionate jostling of her shoulder, his own eyes glittering with pride for his little sister.
"The den hasn't been the same without you."
"Today is another very special day for me," the clan fell silent as Sleetstar spoke, "it's taken her a while to get here, what with all the craziness this clan brings with it, but it is today that my daughter becomes a warrior. She has proven that she has what it takes to survive in the harsh environment that we call home, and even more impressive she has done it while proving that she does not have to be as hard-headed or fatalistic as her mother. Butterflypaw step forward as I, Sleetstar, call upon the warrior ancestors of NorthernClan to see you: for you have trained hard to understand the code. Do you promise to uphold this code and to defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Butterflypaw said adamantly, stepping forward with her shoulders squared. Her mother's eyes were fond and shimmering with pride.
"The vow."
"To my clan, to my home, to the blood that binds; I pledge myself to the cliffs and the snow. The North is all."
"Then from this day forward, you will be known as Butterflyshine, for the brightness of your spirit and your unrelenting kindness. StarClan honours your compassion, and I could not be more proud to welcome you as a full warrior of NorthernClan. Honour her!" The clan cried out for their newest warrior as she dashed forward to exchange ritual with her mother, laughing excitedly. Sleetstar rumbled a purr, nuzzling their foreheads together affectionately. "I'm so proud of you, Butterflyshine."
"I wasn't sure if I could do it, for a minute there."
"Of course you could, you can do anything and anyone who has ever thought otherwise is wrong, including myself. You are my daughter, after all, and I've a reputation for being notoriously stubborn." Butterflyshine laughed, eyes sparkling as she touched her nose to her mother's, the rest of their family scrambling forward to meet them while the rest of the clan politely held back with barely restrained excitement.
"I'd be lucky to take even some of that will into warriorhood with me."
"I'm sure you will- and if you ever need someone to bolster you, I'll be here. I'll always be here when you need me- both of you." She smiled at Wolfwhisker as he purred, touching his nose to hers, and then to his sisters. "All of you," she amended, making eye contact with Summitsky, who was smiling so broadly she thought his face must have ached, "family looks out for each other, and I'm lucky to have family as good as you."
"Sap," Summitsky said, laughing as Sleetstar headbutted him with a laugh. Wolfwhisker and Butterflyshine ducked away from their parents as Midnightblaze, Brackenstrike and Thunderjaw gathered around them to offer congratulations, Splitface and Minkfur a step behind, watching as Sprucepaw and Willowpaw weaved through the throng of cats toward the newly named warrior and her brother, the big group of apprentices converging.
"No more brain fog?" Snowpaw asked, touching his nose to Butterflypaw's as she laughed, purring contentedly, accepting nose touches from the rest of her friends, one by one, the younger apprentices looking excited while the older ones were proud, Duckbriar huddling close to Wolfwhisker to stave off the cold, half-disappearing into his fluffy gray fur.
"Not today," Butterflyshine said, "I'm sure it'll come back at some point, but today I have no doubts, and I know that if I ever feel like that again, I've got the best support system possible, so I'm really not worried." Featherpaw sniffed, ducking her head to wipe her eyes against her shoulder with a little laugh.
"I'm going to miss having you around the den. It's not going to be the same without you."
"That just means you're going to have to get your warrior name faster," Tempestpaw laughed, looking around the group, "we all are. We've got catching up to do if we don't want these two and Duckbriar to have all the fun."
"We'll try not to have too much fun without you... but no promises," Wolfwhisker chuckled along with Willowpaw, who batted a pawful of snow at him half-heartedly. Her attention turned to Butterflyshine, whose eyes were elsewhere. She tilted her head at her, taking a step closer. Even a full half a year younger than the elder molly, Willowpaw was nearly the same size as her, and still growing.
"Is something wrong?" She asked, jolting the pretty she-cat back to the present. "You look far away."
"Everything's fine," Butterflyshine said with a small smile, "there's just... something I need to do first." Willowpaw tracked Butterflyshine's gaze to where the new queen was sitting awkwardly on the edges of the group. The one she'd come with- the big grey molly, was laughing at something Sunnynose had said, the pair chatting amicably to the group that Sleetstar and Summitsky had joined, while the ginger and white molly stared at her paws. Willowpaw's expression softened, and she nudged Butterflyshine's shoulder.
"You know, it won't be right without someone like you to look out for the rest of us, but we'll catch up soon enough. For now, she needs you more than we do." Butterflyshine grinned, touching noses with Willowpaw. The two mollies purred, before the older she-cat bounded away toward the young queen. Plumiris looked up, startled, as paws landed in the snow near to her, looking up into the smiling face of Butterflyshine, warm and sweet.
"Hi," she mewed, "Plumiris, right?"
"Yeah-" the queen seemed startled, "and you're Butterflyshine. That's a really pretty name, you must be so pleased."
"I am, yeah, although I personally think Plumiris is lovely too, and it really suits you. Hey... listen, my friends and I were going to get some freshkill and hang out in one of the caverns until I have to sit my vigil, and I was wondering if you wanted to join us? If you don't mind my saying so, you've seemed kind of lonely since you joined the clan, and everyone should have friends." The molly stammered a little, glancing nervously at the group of apprentices watching her, turning a nervous glance to Butterflyshine.
"I don't want to impose-"
"You wouldn't be. The more the merrier, and besides, we already made a pact to look out for one another, and although you weren't there when we made it, you are the same age as us, so I'm using my name day to officially decree you're part of the pact too. These mountains can be a lonely place, and no one should have to weather it alone. So, come on, I'll introduce you." Plumiris' smile was shy, but ecstatic as she nodded, getting to her paws to walk shoulder to shoulder with Butterflyshine, being lead back toward the group. "Hey everyone, this is Plumiris, and she's going to be hanging out with us from now on. Sprucepaw? You can stop annoying Poppywish so much and go mess around in the nursery instead." Plumiris chuckled daintily as the rest of the group laughed at the large apprentice who rolled his eyes with a laugh.
"If Plumiris would like that, then I sure will, although bet Poppywish gets cranky about me being underfoot there, too."
"I would like that," she said softly, smiling at the group, "and don't worry, I'll protect you from Poppywish."
"Thank StarClan," Sprucepaw said dramatically, amid giggles from his friends, "someone has to."

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧.

Sleetstar was the first awake in the chilly Leafbare morning. Something about the season invigorated her- the bite of the air and the cut of the wind, everything about it was exhilarating. Not to mention, a traitorous part of her mind nagged, Leafbare reminded her of the snowstorm that had brought reconciliation in its many forms. How could she begrudge the season anything when it had brought her clarity?
Midnightblaze was emerging blearily from the warrior's den, glancing reluctantly back toward the mouth of the cavern in a way that had Sleetstar chuckling, catching his attention. His ears pricked up, and he smiled warmly at her, the pair of them falling into step as they descended, shoulder to shoulder down the cliff face toward the bottom of camp.
"How's Lunardawn settling in?"
"The... news about Rafe is hard for her to handle, I think, but it helps that she has Koishimmer and Primrosepetal here to help her. She and Koishimmer have always been close because of their similar temperaments, and she'd do anything for Primrosepetal, and both of them have already made up their minds about where they stand on this issue, plus... I think all that time with Foxspring has dulled the resentment because she just hasn't thought about it... which I'm more than thankful for."
"I wish you'd told me sooner, but I understand why you didn't. I wouldn't have told me either, when we first met. It just makes me furious for everything that you've been through- and I was pretty horrible to you."
"It's not like I wasn't holding you at tail's length as well," Midnightblaze chuckled, "I didn't really know to what degree you followed Northstar, but now it's pretty clear to me that it's not at all. Plus I doubt she would have thought much of that whole rune business, you know." Sleetstar laughed, loud and happy as she shook her head with a grin and a groan.
"Oh, don't remind me- that was a mess. I was so freaked out, and I can't believe I snapped at Brackenstrike like that and then expected her to forgive me exactly when I needed her to. But... I think that's when I realized everything was going wrong, so in a way I'm grateful for that rune, because whatever chaos it may or may not have caused, it brought me calm on the clear skies after it was gone, and now I see things a lot more clearly."
"Including a mentor for the clan's newest apprentice?" Midnightblaze teased. "Not one of your closest confidantes again because everyone else is out to get you?"
"Watch it, buddy," Sleetstar said, but she was laughing, "no... I was thinking of taking a chance on one of our younger warriors, actually. I think a lot of the time I lean towards mentors who've been here longer, so I know them, or parents with their kits who they're already familiar with... but I was thinking Ausmasthorn might have the constitution to make a great mentor."
"I think you're right," Midnightblaze said with a smile, "not that it means much, but I'd endorse that decision."
"It means a lot, actually," Sleetstar said with a smile, "this was your home. I'm done making decisions just about me. When I came here, it was all about what I could to do repair the hurt that had been done to me, but... that's not what it means to be a leader, and I have cats depending on me now, which means my decisions need to be about us, about the clan. You've got a good head, and you've always been more compassionate, more open, and better at relating to the newer cats. I'm lucky to have you as a deputy, and if you're endorsing my decisions, it means I'm heading in the right direction."
"Bit early in the morning for sentimentality, isn't it? Are you sure you're not coming down with something?" Midnightblaze laughed as Sleetstar shoved him, playfully, "but... that means a lot, and honestly, I like being your friend a lot more than I like being your enemy. You're brave, and relentless, and I only wish I had half the strength that you do."
"You've got double it, Midnightblaze, believe me," she said, "it doesn't feel like it when you're at rock bottom, but everything you've carried and all you've weathered... never doubt your strength. If you were weak, we wouldn't be having this conversation, but you're standing here as tall and as proud as someone who has never known hardship, even though you've known more than any one cat should. I know you're strong enough to take whatever the world throws at you and hurl it back, but you've got us now. You've got me, and I'm gonna put up one hell of a fight before I let anything happen to you."
"Thank you," Midnightblaze's smile was gentle and sincere, "it almost sounds like you and Howlingeye could be friends."
"Who's to say we're not already?" Midnightblaze's expression made her laugh, and she shrugged. "We'll call it a work in progress. Should we get this apprentice ceremony started?" Midnightblaze nodded, taking sentry at the bottom of the Great Rock as Sleetstar clambered up onto it and took in a deep breath of bracing air, yowling into the morning; "All cats gather beneath the great rock!"
The camp was still for a beat or two, and then there was life. Ironkit shot out of the nursery, followed by a nimble Sorrelsong who snatched her up before she got too close to the ledge. She padded down the incline, joined by Magpiefeather from the elder's den. Poppywish emerged from his den with Howlingeye at his side, studiously trying to tamp down a particularly sticky-up bit of fur at the back of the ginger's head. The newest warriors broke from their den first to join the flood of apprentices, chattering excitedly into the morning air. Soon, the whole clan was gathered at the base of the rock, save for Sunnynose and Winderstrike who remained at the nursery entrance with their kits tucked between them.
"NorthernClan survives by the strength and determination of its cats, and the desire for a future. The apprentices of this clan are our future; they will carry forward our legacy and their memories of us to ensure that even when our bones return to the earth, our names will live on, and we will not be forgotten. Today, NorthernClan welcomes another apprentice- Ironkit, from this day forward until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ironpaw, to signify the journey StarClan will lead your paws on to your destiny as a warrior. Your mentor will be Ausmasthorn- although I did not have the pleasure of training her personally, in the short moons that I advised her, I found her to be warm, intelligent and decisive, and I know her training from her previous clan will serve you well. Ausmasthorn, I trust that you will pass on everything you know to Ironpaw, and train her to be a warrior worthy of carrying this clan's legacy." Sleetstar smiled at the shocked young warrior as her brother nudged her, and the clan cheered for the new apprentice, who ran up to the calico molly to touch noses with her. Ausmasthorn's smile was wide, if not a little bewildered as the fluffy gray she-cat settled at her paws with a purr.
Sleetstar looked out over her clan with pride. Midnightblaze stepped up to quiet the cheers so that he could assign patrols with the whole clan gathered. She watched the cats mix and mingle, saw Featherpaw saying her goodbyes to Duckbriar and Wolfwhisker before she found her brother to wish him luck, and weaved through the crowd toward Sleetstar quite happily. Fondness swelled in her chest as she looked out over her clan. Her clan; for the first time since she had come into her role as leader, she finally felt as though they were thriving.

-

The campground was bustling- with Leafbare settling in and so many apprentices still to train, the clan was scrambling to maximize productivity, even as darkness settled early over the camp. The basin protected the cats from the worst of the elements, but with fresh snow falling, the last rays of sunshine were sending cats scurrying back to their dens to defend themselves from the storm that would inevitably pick up as the sun went down. Twilightflower made it as far as the base of the cliffside trail before teeth sunk into her scruff and she was yanked sideways into a crevice.
"Excuse me?" She hissed, a familiar scent washing over her as she was towed deeper away from the entrance, into a small cavern. Even in the dim light, Hollyfeather's eyes glittered fiercely with that same sharp, calculating intellect and stubborn determination. Twilightflower, however, was less enthused to see Hollyfeather than she usually was considering she'd just been dragged into a crevice by the furtive molly.
"I need to ask you something," she said.
"And you couldn't have done that in the warrior's den like a normal cat?"
"No, I don't want anyone to overhear." Twilightflower went quiet, and then narrowed her eyes at Hollyfeather as she nervously shifted her paws, blowing out a ragged breath. "I don't even know how to ask this, or where to start. I know we haven't always seen eye to eye and I've been rude to you in the past but... you're a smart cat, and you're observant, and I figured if anyone would know something you would. I... trust you."
"You could have at least tried to sound less pained to say that," Hollyfeather glowered at the black molly as her maw twitched into a smirk, "Hollyfeather I have no quarrel with you. I think you're fascinating, if not a little neurotic, so whatever it is, you can trust me with it." Hollyfeather's scowl deepened.
"I am not neurotic," she snapped, ears flattening against her head, "I saw something. I really saw something, and Blizzardpaw saw it too so I know I'm not imagining things- there was a loner near the north border about a moon ago, and I can't get them out of my head. It was strange... they wandered into view just after the border patrol passed by, like they knew the exact time they would be there, and then they went straight for the limestone cliffs and rolled in the dust, but when I went around to track their scent... there was none."
"Well, that's definitely odd," Twilightflower frowned, "all cats have a scent, and there's not exactly any bodies of water in the very far north that they could have gone through, and even then surely rolling around in a localized area would have left some kind of a trace."
"Exactly," Hollyfeather nodded emphatically, "I just... I don't know. I wondered if you'd seen anyone acting weird, or if you knew if anyone had seen something similar. I didn't tell Splitface everything because I didn't want to worry her since she's been so on edge after the rogue attacks anyway, and I thought that maybe the dust was masking the scent, but I've been kicking up dust and snow as much as I can for the last moon to test it and I can always smell the trail, as faint as it is. I just don't understand what I'm mis-- what? Why are you staring." Twilightflower's smile grew wider.
"I think it's cute that you care about Splitface enough to do that for her, and you're very dedicated to your research," Hollyfeather ducked her head bashfully, and then shook herself roughly.
"Stop that! This is serious!"
"As am I!" Twilightflower barely bit back a laugh at the pouty, flustered looking on the bicolour molly's face, before it schooled itself back into a weak frown. "Look... I don't know much about any other weird occurrences like that happening. I was in the nursery for a long time which meant I had free time on my paws, but now... now I guess I'd have to make an active effort to listen in."
"I don't want to ask you to do th-"
"I will," Twilightflower interrupted, "for you, because you usually know when something's not right. You knew about Midnightblaze and you knew about Sleetstar and you knew about Splitface, so if you say something weird is going on, then I trust you. And I want to get to the bottom of it. If there's a chance we can stop something bad from happening to this clan- to our home- then I'm going to take it. I won't sit by and end up ruminating on what I could have or should have done." Hollyfeather's smile was shy, but genuine.
"Thank you," she said, quietly, "I just hope I'm wrong."
"Something tells me you're not, unfortunately." Twilightflower got to her paws. "Eyes on, Hollyfeather, I'm gonna need you watching my back."

-

The wind howled outside the dens, but inside the cats stayed comfortable and warm, kept sheltered from the wind by the stone and the barriers the warriors had fashioned over the week. The elders den was particularly warm, especially with the extra down added to the nests. The Stranger had abandoned his earlier in the evening and had made his way to the medicine den, although for what Magpiefeather couldn't be sure. Nonetheless, her night was not lonely, as Whisperwind and Bearears had descended to curl up in her nest with her, the three of them chatting amicably together.
"-and the sun shone down, bright on the rest of their days." Bearears concluded, as Whisperwind and Magpiefeather laughed, noticing the way her own shoulders were shaking with barely restrained glee. It was nice to hear her telling stories again, the way she had at the clan's beginning. Seeing Whisperwind so elated made Magpiefeather's heart glow with warmth; the pair of them had healed well, she thought.
"Ugh, if these are the stories you got told as a young cat in your old clan, your clan sounds really cool," Whisperwind rolled onto his back, stretching his paws into the air to click his back, "they're really creative."
"Surely you heard stories from your parents, Whisperwind."
"Not really," Whisperwind shrugged, awkwardly, "my parents weren't the 'story' kind. Maybe the 'lesson' kind, in that a mistake was a lesson but not in... not in a good way. Not in the way that Summitsky made mistakes into lessons, how it was always something you could learn from and improve with. My parents always made it seem like mistakes were the be all and end all. It was abundantly clear you weren't supposed to make them." The three of them fell silent, before Bearears finally spoke.
"I never talk about the before," she said, her voice quiet, "I never wanted to. All I wanted to do was forget, and for a while after I lost my vision, it was even worse, because you didn't have new images to replace the horror. But this clan made me feel safe, and you two especially treated me kindly and with love. I never thought I'd experience it again, after what happened." She paused, lifting her head to look in Magpiefeather's direction as best she could. "I want to talk about it now, if that's okay."
"Of course it is, Bearears," Magpiefeather smiled, placing her paw over one of the tabby molly's own. "Whisperwind and I are both here for you. If talking about the past will help to heal those wounds, then we are only too happy to listen." Bearears smiled, the expression a little weak, before she took a deep breath.
"Not so long ago, when the moon touched the earth and Silverpelt danced in glee, our clan was happy, and it was thriving. The terrain was not as harsh as NorthernClan's, and to the south of the territory we had an abundant lake that attracted a lot of prey. The lake was territory that our neighboring clans wanted to control, but we had a good leader who trained strong warriors and focused more on strategy than on honing individual skills. Any battle for the lake was quickly won, and so we lived quite happily. Perhaps we were not friends with our border clans, but there was peace and there was respect. During the Leafbare prior, one of the clans fell ill with a bad plague. Our clan sent a medicine cat with all the herbs we could spare, but nothing worked. They suffered many losses, including that of their leader and their deputy."
"That's horrible," Whisperwind said, "I was scared enough when you and Magpiefeather caught greencough. I can't imagine what I'd do if Poppywish's herbs didn't work."
"I know," Bearears nodded, "they were left without leadership. Out of respect, the other clans stayed away from them to allow them time to collect their affairs, but there was lots of infighting. Eventually, a group of cruel cats took over the clan, who were angry at the rest of us for what they viewed as inaction on our parts. They came to my clan in the dead of night to say as such... before they called forward any who would follow them, and attacked us. It was... it was a bloodbath. Some of us stayed to fight for as long as we could. Those who were smart ran. I wanted to stay and defend my family, but my parents fell, and then my brother, and my sisters... and then my mate." Bearears's voice cracked, as she let out a shuddery sigh. "I saw there was nothing left, and few left standing, so I ran too. I didn't think I would ever get the scent of blood out of my fur. And then I came here, and the rest you know." Silence descended over the den, before Whisperwind shifted and leaned across Bearears to press his forehead to hers, insistently.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," he said, "I always wondered why you froze up like you did, but now I know. To think you were struggling with that the whole time... I wish I'd known. I wish we'd been friends back then so I could have been there for you. Maybe it would have... maybe it would have stopped everything else that happened."
"Maybe it would, or maybe it wouldn't have. Either way, I don't regret losing my vision. For a while I was scared, but ultimately it gave me a greater gift: love. A family. It gave me you two, cats that I would willingly fight and die for. I hope you know that I consider you blood."
"And I you," Magpiefeather said, touching her nose to her ear, "I miss my kits sorely. Outliving a child is hard, but you two make it easier. I imagine they would have given me grandkits like you- strong, and a little bit mouthy." Whisperwind snorted, but his heart wasn't in it. Silence fell again, as Whisperwind seemed to think about something. After a long moment, he let out a shaky breath.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Anything. Always." Bearears pressed her nose to his forehead. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, now," he took a deep breath, "but I never told you why Galepaw and I came to the clan. Not the real reason. We always told people that we lost our parents, but that we didn't know why. It was a lie. We did know." Whisperwind had started to cry. "They weren't good parents. They were cruel, and they were obsessed with survival. They wanted us to be strong, to do whatever it took. Galepaw was always their favourite because she was stronger, physically and mentally, and I didn't know how to deal with the things they wanted us to do. One day they got really mad at me for it, because I wouldn't- I wouldn't-" he choked, his shoulders shaking.
"You don't have to tell us," Bearears soothed, "it's okay, just keep going."
"I wouldn't kill someone for them. Someone who didn't deserve to die. Someone they had a grudge against. And they were furious. My father said he was going to kill me- so Galepaw killed him. He came at me and she did what she had to do to protect me. Both of them." Whisperwind squeezed his eyes closed, shaking hard. "She told me not to think about it after that. That we would find somewhere else to go, and we wouldn't have to think about it, and I wanted to believe her so I didn't think about it, and then Thunderjaw found us... but I do still think about it. I think about what she did for me, to protect me, and I swore up and down to myself that I would always protect her as a thanks... and then I failed her. And I know she wouldn't be mad at me, and I know there was nothing I could do, and I don't blame her for doing what she did because she saved me twice over... but neither of us should have had to go through that. Why did we have to go through that?"
Whisperwind felt Magpiefeather curl around him, felt Bearears shift to press against him from the other side as he cried. "Oh, Whisperwind," said the old she-cat, "you and your sister went through so much, and you were very brave and very strong to survive it all, to be who you are on your own terms and not theirs. It wasn't fair- it still isn't, and the world is cruel, but it's no excuse for what you faced. You're safe now, Whisperwind. I've got you."
"So do I," Bearears said, "you and me, we're going to look out for each other. We're going to be strong for each other, so Galepaw knows she left you safe, okay?"
"Okay," Whisperwind sobbed out, "okay." The pair of mollies settled their chins on his head and wrapped their tails around him, bundling him close between him as they let him cry, let the memories wash out and away, into the storm, the weight of the revelation pulled along with them.

-

"Thank you for your hospitality," he said, "you've been most helpful."
"Y'welcome. Most travelers don't have the guts to react to us the way you did, and I respect that about you. We're more than happy to help you on your search."
"And your scouts are sure they've seen them up that way?"
"Yep, the black and white tom and the calico cat both. 'Couple of times, in fact. They've been there for moons, if the reports are to be believed, so I don't think you'll have to worry about missing 'em."
"I'll pick up their trail anyway," his blue eyes seared across the treeline, trying to pick up shapes in the shadows. The scent of clan cats was strong on his nose. "It's been nice to meet you, Boscoe." The ginger tom grunted, turning and padding back toward the town. His second, a chocolate brown molly with burning golden eyes watched him tensely, her shoulders hunched and her muscles stiff. He grinned. "What's the matter, pretty kitty?" He crooned mockingly. Her ears flattened, and she opened her maw as if to reply, but the ginger's voice cut in.
"Varvara!" The molly cast one frustrated glance back toward him and the border, before she turned, and stiffly bounded after her mate. He surmised the pair of them would not last- the molly showed no signs of affection toward the big ginger tom, but either he was too stupid to see it or too proud to care. Either one of those were dangerous.
He tilted his head up to look at the craggy mountain range towering in the distance, boreal woods covering a large majority of the mountainsides beyond the two-leg places where they sped down the mountain on slabs of wood. He flicked his ear- torn, destroyed- and blinked once. It would be a long walk, and it would be an effort to stay out of sight until he knew enough to make his move. But he was wasting daylight hours, and a storm was on the horizon.
He stepped over the border.

My gallery · by **solyn** » Tue Oct 08, 2019 8:32 pm

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍.
population: 63 cats [ 32 fem : 31male ]
servings required: 11 [69] - pebbles: 32

𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩

moderator: deimos - next moonstone: 7 oct.
moons since last nonsense: 0 (lb)

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writing too long and can be found here

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` servings consumed
11/11 - x4 small fish & x1 hare
` clan events
poppywish gives sprucepaw x1 goldenrod
poppywish searches for kitting herbs
tempestpaw, snowpaw and sycamorepaw learn advanced hunting
willowpaw learns advanced battle
featherpaw and sprucepaw learn hunting
silverpaw, aurorapaw, sootpaw and blackpaw learn battle
lightningpaw, blizzardpaw and brewingpaw take their warrior assessments
[moonstone] sleetstar asks starclan to guide hazerise's mate to northernclan
` patrols
hunting-
1 - hollyfeather, hawkeyes, fallowstep, viridianfire, waspshine, birchfang
2 - splitface, summitsky, twilightflower, sorrelsong, flamestream, honeyheart
3 - midnightblaze, lunardawn, primrosepetal, foxspring, bearears, bramblingrose
border-
3 - thunderjaw, minkfur, rivermask, addersong

My gallery · by **solyn** » Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:58 pm

𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍.
population: 65 cats [ 33 fem : 32 male ]
servings required: 11 [69] - pebbles: 44

𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩

moderator: deimos - next moonstone: 15 oct.
moons since last nonsense: 0 (lb)

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𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐨.

Fog's fur fluffed against the onslaught of the wind. Her mate's scent had concreted itself around a basin in the mountains that cats weaved in and out of frequently. A clan. Haze's kits would be coming soon, the big she-cat knew, and if she wanted to be there for the birth of her kits, she needed to make her move. The problem was, she didn't know whether or not the clan cats would be hostile, and she had picked up a straggler.
"This is a lot of sitting about and waiting for nothing," the bengal tom grumbled, his own long fur puffed up against the howling gale as Fog gave him an amused look. Leopard was a nice enough young tom, albeit impatient and impulsive. He hadn't thought much of Fog's insistence on staking out the camp and keeping out of sight of the cats, but he also hadn't thought much about moving on to be on his lonesome again.
"Don't worry," Fog said, "we'll have to do something soon." Leopard grumbled, and his ears flattened against his head as he sulked. Fog simply waited. The patrols had all gone out already, one by one, splitting away into different sections of the territory. She had watched the big, smoky black tom and his equally big tabby mate lead their border patrol away. There was just one last thing to worry about. Slowly, but surely, apprentices and their mentors began to come from the clan's tunnel entrance, moving together in groups. "Okay. Now we go."
"Finally!" Leopard leapt to his feet, so much smoother on his paws than Fog. Together, the pair of them carefully descended the rocky face of the mountain, stepping carefully over the freshly fallen snow. The sounds inside the tunnel were muted, but Fog moved quietly, face taut with purpose, Leopard padding along silently behind her, simply happy to be moving again. The basin seemed alive with life when they emerged, even with most of the clan out and about.
An old black and white molly was laughing with a ginger tom, who had his tail pulled over his paws. A raggedy old tom lounged against a rock wall, heated by the Leafbare sun, as weak as it was. A few young warriors laughed together, while Haze was walking slow laps around the camp with a sunny ginger tom. Her head snapped up, and she whirled around at the exact same moment that Fog realized she had miscalculated; the beautiful colourpoint molly with sharp eyes and the tabby-point apprentice lifted her head from where she had been speaking to the young warriors, at the same moment that Haze shouted:
"Fog!"
She didn't need much more encouragement than that; Haze was moving toward her as quickly as she could, encumbered by her pregnant belly, so Fog closed the distance at double the pace, twining around her mate with a happy rumble, ducking her nose to touch it to the other molly's belly. Haze laughed, and cuffed her upside the ears with her tail, before the pair of them settled their foreheads together, rumbling a purr.
"Haze," Fog sighed, "are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"No, why would I be hurt?" She laughed, butting her head against Fog's affectionately, "I might be pregnant, you daft old thing, but I'm certainly not helpless. If they'd tried to keep me here against my will, I would have fought them all off easily. But here I am, gone and done the unthinkable- took a clan name with the intention to stay."
"Oh?" Fog's eyes slid across to Plumiris, the young clan she-cat that they'd been travelling with. She was smiling shyly at Fog from where she sat with the young warriors, who all looked curious but not disturbed by her presence. The sunny tom was smiling too, head cocked slightly as a pale ginger tom walked up to his shoulder, and a dilute calico on his other.
"Hazerise has been an excellent addition to the clan," a voice said, and Fog swung to face the colourpoint molly, coming toward her, "we're lucky to have her- and I'm aware she means to follow through and shred through all of us if she ever decides that the clan isn't for her anymore. I'm Sleetstar, leader of NorthernClan. I'm assuming you're Hazerise's mate, but who's your friend?" Fog chuckled a bit, swinging to face Leopard. The tom made a valiant effort to pretend he hadn't been staring at the young pale ginger tom with the sunny cat that Fog assumed was his father.
"Oh, we're not really friends," he said, "I'm Leopard."
"You call trailing me like a homesick kit 'not friends'?" Fog chuckled as Leopard huffed, ears flattening as he sulked. "He's my friend, even if he doesn't want to admit it, because I suppose being friends with old mollies doesn't exactly make him the coolest." Sleetstar chuckled as Fog laughed, a deep, belly laugh that had Hazerise snorting.
"Sometimes older mollies are the best friends you could possibly have, trust me on that one," she said, "NorthernClan is experiencing a time of great prosperity right now, even as we go into winter. We have a medicine cat- Poppywish- who has already made preparations toward making sure Plumiris and Hazerise kit safely in the poor weather, and we have plenty of warriors who would welcome new additions. And don't worry, Leopard we have plenty of warriors your age- Flamestream and Emberpetal, for example."
"Hey," said Flamestream with a crooked smile. Emberpetal simply purred and leaned her head against her father's.
"Well, I go where my mate is," Fog said, "I can't speak for Leopard, but... as far as I'm concerned, you've got yourself a new warrior, Sleetstar."
"Make that two," Leopard said, eyeing Flamestream again, "I've been on my own for far too long. It'll be nice to have a family again."

-

"You must be excited for your warrior ceremonies this evening," Plumiris said, watching as Lightningpaw and Brewingpaw smashed a moss ball between themselves as Wolfwhisker and Butterflyshine tried to intercept it, the rest of their teams calling out for a pass. Flamestream and Emberpetal had joined in, along with Bramblingrose and Whisperwind, and newcomer Leopardrunner. Fogbelly and Hazerise were supervising the game as Plumiris sat with Silverpaw and Sprucepaw, watching.
"Excited as you can be, I suppose," Lightningivy said with a crooked grin, before hissing as Duckbriar nimbly swooped through and scooped up the ball, flicking it overhead to Wolfwhisker who in turn batted it to Whisperwind with an elated laugh, cats sprinting after him as he moved nimbly toward the other end of the playing 'field', even with Bramblingrose leaning heavily on him in an attempt to steal the ball.
"Your warrior ceremony can't have been that long ago either," Sprucepaw reminded her, with a smile. Plumiris looked up at the big apprentice, with a small purr. "Well, that tells me you haven't forgotten. What was it like?"
"It was really... I don't even know how to describe it. Just knowing makes you so proud, and I was so excited I thought I was going to burst. I was running over all these names in my head... and somehow the one I got was better than all of them, and sitting vigil with my siblings and a few of our den mates..." Plumiris' face crinkled fondly, as she wrapped her tail around her belly. "I like to think back on that when I miss my parents. They made it clear that I didn't mean anything to them when they found out I was pregnant with kits from another clan, but... I can't help but miss how proud and how happy they were when I got my name."
"Parents are meant to love you unconditionally," Sprucepaw said, gently nudging his shoulder with hers, "I'm sorry that they did that to you, but... you do still have parents who love you, you know." Plumiris followed his gaze to where Fogbelly was grooming Hazerise between her ears, glancing up with a smile as Sunnynose and Winderstrike stopped in front of them to chat.
"I know," she said softly, before letting out a surprised squeal as the moss ball flew past her face. Duckbriar's paws slammed into the snow as she skidded to a halt, about a whisker's width away from bowling Plumiris over in her enthusiasm. The shy warrior gave a nervous laugh, her pelt growing hot at how close her nose was to Plumiris' maw, before she gave her a tight nod and weaved around her to chase after the ball. Embarrassed, Plumiris ducked her head to groom her chest fur, leaving Silverpaw to watch Duckbriar race back to the game insistently.
"What was that about?" Silverpaw asked, and Plumiris jumped.
"Nothing! There's nothing going on. It was about nothing." Sprucepaw squinted at Plumiris.
"Do you have a crush on Duckbriar?" Plumiris spluttered and stammered, and Sprucepaw chuckled. "Oh, you do."
"Duckbriar is really pretty, and really nice," Silverpaw offered, "she's not the worst cat in the world to have a crush on. You could have a crush on Sprucepaw." She grinned as her best friend gave her a cranky glare, flicking snow at her with his fluffy tail.
"Very funny. You're hilarious."
"I try," Silverpaw chuckled, sticking her tongue out at Sprucepaw. "Seriously, Plumiris, it's okay if you do, and Sprucepaw and I won't tell, promise."
"Yeah, I'm Willowpaw's brother and I haven't even told her that Silverpaw has a crush on her." Silverpaw rolled her eyes.
"If you want me to be embarrassed about liking a molly because she's tall and broad shouldered and just very handsome over all and she's also kind of a really good friend and brave and supportive then you're going to be waiting a while," Plumiris chuckled as Sprucepaw stuck his tongue out at Silverpaw, before spluttering as the lynx point she-cat scooped up a pawful of snow and mushed it into his face.
"I... guess I do have a crush on her," Plumiris said with a shy shrug, "I guess it's not anything serious, I just think she's very pretty and she seems really nice... but I guess it doesn't matter because she has a thing with Wolfwhisker, and I don't want to go through what I went through again." Sprucepaw and Silverpaw exchanged a glance, looking puzzled.
"What do you mean she has a thing with Wolfwhisker?" Sprucepaw asked, sounding puzzled. Plumiris looked between the two of them, confused.
"Does she... not?"
"No," Silverpaw said with a laugh, "they're just good friends- Wolfwhisker is quiet enough that Duckbriar feels comfortable around him and they trained together a lot at the end of their warrior days. If anything, Wolfwhisker has a thing with Brewingpaw, by which I mean Brewingpaw has a hugely obvious crush on him and Wolfwhisker is super oblivious but literally everyone else knows about it, including Duckbriar, and she is super not interested in him. They're just friends."
"Oh," said Plumiris, feeling her pelt get hot, "that's... good."
"What you went through is scary and I can't imagine how heartbreaking," Sprucepaw said, "and no one is expecting you to bounce back and recover super duper fast. But... it also can't hurt getting to know something that you have a crush on. Duckbriar is a good friend, and I think you need good friends right now. As great as Silverpaw and I are... you could always use more."
"You're very wise for someone so young," Plumiris said with a tinkling laugh, "and very tall."
"Yeah, he's kind of a freak of nature, isn't he?"
"Okay," Sprucepaw said flatly as he got to his paws with an amused roll of his eyes, padding toward his parents. As Plumiris and Silverpaw laughed, the sound of pure joy in the young queen's voice putting a smile on his face.

-

"This is it," Twilightflower said with a purr, nudging Brewingpaw's shoulder as the tom beamed brightly, "finally time for you rascals to get your names. Just know I'm proud of all of you and Tempestpaw? When you're up here, getting your warrior name, we'll all be cheering for you so loudly."
"I know, Mom," Tempestpaw chuckled, rubbing her cheek against her mother's as the smaller molly purred, "but tonight's about the others, and even if I'm super jealous and a little gutted not to be up there with you all, I'm gonna scream until my throat gives out for all of you." Her siblings crowded around her to crush her in an embrace as Tempestpaw laughed, licking them all on the forehead for good luck.
"Today, NorthernClan rejoices as some of our mentors have their pawfuls taken off of them, finally freeing them from shenanigans that no cat should have to deal with," the clan laughed a little as Sleetstar smiled, "since the day they became apprentices, these cats have shown again and again that they have the spirit of true NorthernClan warriors- strong and determined, but not without compassion and a deep love for their friends. Brewingpaw, Blizzardpaw and Lightningpaw step forward as I, Sleetstar, call upon the warrior ancestors of NorthernClan to see you: for you have trained hard to understand the code. Do you promise to uphold this code and to defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do!" Called out Brewingpaw, and then each of his siblings in turn.
"Brewingpaw, the vow."
"To my clan, to my home, to the blood that binds; I pledge myself to the cliffs and the snow. The North is all."
"Then from this day forward, you will be known as Brewingice, for your cool and observant nature. StarClan honours your intelligence, and I am pleased to have such an intuitive cat as a member of NorthernClan. Honour him!" Cheers went up for Brewingice as he stepped forward to exchange ritual, beaming broadly at the she-cat. Sleetstar turned to Blizzardpaw, who didn't wait for her to ask, and called the vow out loud and proud. Sleetstar laughed, but it was a happy sound. "Then you will be known as Blizzardheart, for the strength of your spirit. StarClan honours your warmth, and I know the clan will fare well with someone so friendly and compassionate as a full warrior. Honour him!" Again, cries went up for the newest warrior, but none louder than those of Tempestpaw, who yowled for her siblings like every sound was the last one she would make.
"And finally... Lightningpaw. The vow." Lightningpaw spoke the vow firmly and confidently, eyes shining with pride as she faced Sleetstar. "Then you will be known from now on as Lightningivy, for your tenacity and unbreakable spirit. StarClan honours your loyalty, and I am proud to have you as a full warrior of NorthernClan. Honour her!" A last round of cheers went up for the new warriors, before Sleetstar silenced them by raising her tail. "Thank you all for being here to celebrate these new warriors. This clan has grown very much from where it started, and it is with the same determination, compassion, and spirit that we will continue to thrive. Everyone, enjoy your nights." She ducked her head, signalling the end of the ceremony, and the new warriors were immediately swarmed by their friends and former mentors, all yelling their congratulations.
"Blizzardheart!" The tom was laughing, pressing his forehead to Hollyfeather's, "can you believe it! That's such an honoured name, and I can't believe- whoo! Hollyfeather, I'm just so happy, thank you for everything!" The black and white molly laughed, touching her nose to his forehead.
"Hey, I just gave you instructions, everything else was up to you. Now enough emotional stuff, go hang out with your friends. You've only got a few minutes before the sun goes down." Blizzardheart nodded, beaming as he sprinted off to catch up to Snowpaw and Butterflyshine who welcome him enthusiastically, rubbing their cheeks against either one of his with happy purrs.
"You did good with him," Twilightflower said, making Hollyfeather jump, before she smiled.
"I could say the same to you," she said, watching as Brewingpaw laughed with Splitface and Brackenstrike, and Lightningpaw spoke confidently to Hawkeyes and Fallowstep. Tempestpaw weaved between her siblings, shouting her congratulations and touching noses with them happily. "You raised incredible kits, and you did it all on your own."
"Oh, I wasn't on my own. Look around, Hollyfeather, and really open your eyes- look at all my family; Splitface and Hawkeyes, who took my most inward kits and made them confident and friendly; Howlingeye who Tempestpaw adores... and you." Twilightflower smiled at Hollyfeather, warmly. "Maybe I don't have a mate, and maybe my kits don't have a formal father, but... we're not alone. Our family extends beyond blood." Hollyfeather's face softened, and she bumped shoulders with Twilightflower, lightly.
"You're right," she said, "you have a habit of making me see things that I'm too in my head to see."
"Do you see yet that your family is this clan as well?"
"Yeah," Hollyfeather said, locking eyes with Summitsky from across the camp as he mouthed 'congratulations', before pausing and turning to speak to Whisperwind, "yeah, I do."

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧.

The camp was quiet as patrols set out, older warriors picked over younger ones to brave the Leafbare weather. Mentors and their apprentices were gone too, leaving the queens and the elders with Poppywish and the small contingent of non-patrolling cats to defend the campground. Wolfwhisker didn't particularly mind being left behind; he knew it was no malice on his mother's part, and he liked hanging around the camp, taking a heavily pregnant Plumiris on turns around the campground before she tired and returned to the nursery to sleep.
"How's she doing?" Wolfwhisker looked up from where he was sunning himself near the entrance to camp to see Brewingice standing over him. He smiled up at his friend, struggling to sit up as the black tom settled across from him and swept his tail over his paws. Wolfwhisker flicked his ears with a little shrug.
"Plumiris is fine, although I worry about how many kits such a small cat could fit inside her. She looks like she could have a full six." Brewingice chuckled a little bit, shaking his head in amusement.
"That's just how pregnant cats look. Plumiris' fur is a little shorter than Hazerise's so it hides it less, but she's the exact same. The pair of them will be just fine, and everyone is very excited for their kits... except for perhaps Poppywish, who looks every day more and more like he's going to kill you if you speak to him." The pair of them laughed a little as Wolfwhisker shook his head, looking up to the dens just in time to see Poppywish dart out of the nursery and scurry into the medicine den, looking suitably frazzled.
"Poor dude," Wolfwhisker said, "he's just doing his best."
"Everyone is, and he's doing a great job. I don't think he likes seeing me up there now, not with kittings on the horizon." Wolfwhisker looked puzzled.
"Why wouldn't he want you there? Poppywish doesn't strike me as extremely superstitious." Brewingice chuckled, and shook his head a little.
"Not for that reason. I think seeing any of us reminds him of Stormkit and Hurricanekit. He couldn't save them." Wolfwhisker and Brewingice fell silent, thinking about that. None of the siblings really remembered the deceased pair, eyes not even open when they had died. It was easy to forget it had happened at all, a feeling that made Wolfwhisker a little uneasy. Death usually resonated so powerfully within the clan, it felt strange to think of two kits being gone as inconsequential.
"I forgot," he said quietly, "that seems like so long ago now."
"That's because it was," Brewingice said with a little smile, "I know Mom still thinks about them every now and again, but none of us have any memories of them, we only know they were alive for a very short time and we never really bonded with them because of that. There's not much to say, other than I'm sure they're happy in StarClan, playing to their heart's content. An eternal kithood and all that. I just feel bad that Poppywish seems so upset about it... like he's started kicking himself for it so much after the fact, even though the clan was so small back then and he wasn't prepared because he'd had so little time to prepare."
"You know Poppywish... he overthinks everything," Wolfwhisker said, "maybe we should send Sprucepaw to annoy him again. It's kind of funny how good he is at sorting things out... I forget he's quite a bit younger than us, you know? When he speaks, it always makes me think he ought to be older than he is. He's taller than me, anyhow."
"Taller than me, too," Brewingice admitted, grudgingly, "I thought we were going to be some of the biggest cats in the clan since it's clear from Tempestpaw and me and that our father was probably a maine coon but Willowpaw and Sprucepaw are both bigger than me now, and Sprucepaw's even bigger than Tempestpaw. I don't know about Willowpaw yet but I'm betting she'll get there." Wolfwhisker chuckled, flicking a bit of snow at his friend.
"Oh, I'm so sorry that a young apprentice is showing you up for being so tall. Whatever will you do?"
"Challenge you to a spar for mocking me, I suppose," Brewingice chuckled, "I've got to keep sharp somehow." He launched at Wolfwhisker, then, as the grey tom let out a yell, the pair of them tumbling to the ground. Brewingice was bigger than the other tom, but Wolfwhisker was nimble and made up for what he lacked in strength with agility. The two toms rolled around in the snow, batting at each other and pushing each other away, only to launch back in, before Wolfwhisker flipped Brewingice and pinned him into the ground.
They were both laughing, Wolfwhisker's eyes scrunched up closed as Brewingice gazed up at him fondly. Wolfwhisker opened his eyes, blinking down at the black tom, who looked away, as if embarrassed to be caught. He cocked his head to the side a little, laugh still bubbling in his throat. "What?"
"It's nothing- it's not important at least," Brewingice said, turning back to Wolfwhisker with a smile, "best two out of three?" Wolfwhisker laughed.
"You're on."

-

Waiting was the hardest part.
He had never been good at waiting, had never been too patient. Life at the barn had been slow and he had needed to fill it up. Midnightblaze had been good for that once, had followed willingly and made the days full. And then he had taken everything away. And so now he needed to pay.
The clan was bustling, even in winter. He watched as patrols came and went, saw cats with younger cats, teaching them things. He scouted high, settled on crags where he could watch a brilliant ginger tom squeeze out of a crevice out the back of the basin to pick herbs from a ledge, and then duck back in. He watched a haggard looking old cat wiggle out from a secret back entrance and continue down into the territory. He filed it away for later.
Mostly, he watched Midnightblaze, laughing with his daughters. They were together again, all of them, playing happy families without him like he hadn't existed, as if they would still exist if it were not for him. He saw Primrose laughing with her sisters and felt fury- at least the other two looked a bit like their other father, but Primrose looked like him. She was his, and Midnightblaze had stolen her away. Had stolen them all, just like he'd been planing to do all along. He had known then, but no one else had seen it. He had been right to try and put Midnightblaze where he belonged. Now, he would have to get revenge, to show them all he had been right.
He had to wait.
He waited for the better part of the moon; got to know the cats, hunkered low next to patrols and learned names. Koi's grey and white friend that she spoke shyly too, with nervous, stilted laughter and gentle fondness in her tone was Viridianfire; the booming brown and white tomcat with a laugh that shook the trees was Birchfang, his little ginger mate; Waspshine. Selene's friend, the cheeky ginger with a cackling laugh and a broad smile was Foxspring. Primrose seemed fond of a black and white tom, Winderstrike, and a blind tabby, Bearears. But most infuriating of all was Summitsky.
He knew when Midnightblaze was in love- he had seen what the tom had been like toward him, once upon a time, and it made his blood boil to see him look that way at someone else. Adoration, that was the term- to see his wide, mismatched eyes gaze up at the sturdy grey tom as if he'd single handedly placed the stars of Silverpelt. The idea of being replaced was anathema to him, and he would have to do something about that cat. There was no other father for his girls than him. Midnightblaze was a fool if he could not see that.
The she-cat came to him two days before he planned to make his move. "You're taking your time," she said evenly, her white tail wrapped around her paws.
"I didn't realize that StarClan had a time limit," he said coolly, "you're not a very patient cat, are you?" The she-cat chuckled her tinkling laugh, but he knew better than to hear the laugh and miss the sharpness in her eyes; the coldness.
"I simply don't understand what you could be waiting for, after I guided you back to your family. Is it not what you wanted? To see them again?" He blinked at her, and then cocked his head. Blue eyes met blue. A standoff.
"I have unfinished business. It requires delicacy." He had said. She had laughed, and then she had vanished into the treeline. He felt cold in her wake, but the territory was plunged into Leafbare, and he thought little of it. He went back to watching, and waiting. He had to get every move perfect, every move right, in order to destroy Midnightblaze's life the same way he had destroyed his. He would have one chance, and failure was simply not an option.
The sun was setting when he finally moved- he knew from his watching that the clan would all be inside by now, would be unwilling witnesses to the treachery of Midnightblaze, exposed before all of them. He climbed the embankment behind the clan, where the bedraggled stranger had climbed out of so many times over the past moon. The smell of cats was strong, but he zeroed in on a familiar one, and followed it through the twisting cavern, before he broke through a crevice, and into the camp.
"-wrong," Midnightblaze was saying, looking fraught as Summitsky and a brown colourpoint that he did not recognized crowded him with concern. Midnightblaze's whole body stiffened, before he whipped around, panicked eyes locking with his own, halfway across the camp. "No," he said, voice raw, "no, no no no no."
"Yes," he chuckled, flicking his destroyed ear, "it's been a long time, hasn't it? Are you not happy to see me." He watched as Summitsky moved, placed the bulk of his body in front of the shaking black and white tom, while the colourpoint bristled, blue eyes glaring hard at him. "How sweet," he said sarcastically, "this is what you replace me with?"
"He's not replacing you," Summitsky said, "you need to leave."
"I came here for my girls, and I won't leave without them," he turned, scanning the camp, his eyes picking out Koi, looking furious as she stood between Viridianfire and a bobtail calico that he didn't recognize. Primrose looked shocked, standing with a worried looking Selene, whose shoulder was pressed tight against Foxspring's. It was a little different to how he had anticipated it being, but he could see everyone. He would not be surprised.
"You should go," said a cold voice, and he lazily turned his head to see the colourpoint she-cat he'd come to know as Sleetstar, from the StarClan molly's visions, staring at him, "you are not welcome in my clan, Rafe. Not for what you did to Midnightblaze. I've no hesitation to run you out."
"I see his lies have spread to you too," Rafe said, with a shrug, "I should have expected it, really, for you all to let poison like him stay here for so long." Summitsky growled, deep in his throat, but Rafe continued. "I just came to get my daughters, to tell them the truth of what happened so we can be a family again, a proper family." Koi's hiss drew his attention, her fur bristling as she stalked forward.
"We know what happened, you lying, vindictive piece of fox dung. We all know what you did to Dad, all of us, and we'll never forgive you. You're going to get out of our clan right now, or I'm going to make you."
"Koi... have you really let them brainwash you like this? You were always such a smart little girl, I don't understand what happened! Surely you aren't foolish enough to believe the lies meant to poison you against your father?"
"I wasn't smart enough, apparently," she said coldly, "my name is Koishimmer, I see clearly now, and you are not my father." Something twisted in Rafe's expression then, turned his bright blue eyes cold and hard, before his ears flattened and with a powerful swipe, his claws raked across Koishimmer's throat, sending her stumbling to the ground with a shocked gasp.
"Koishimmer!" Viridianfire tried to launch forward, but a big smoky tom caught her by the scruff, holding her still as Midnightblaze shouldered around Summitsky to race to Koishimmer's side, eyes wide and body shaking violently. Howlingeye and Summitsky advanced, moving up to flank him again, shielding him from Rafe.
"Don't," said the black tom, "if we all rush in, we'll be injuring each other. He knows we can't touch him." The flame point tom didn't seem to care, moving toward Primrose and Selene. Primrose shrank back, and Rafe laughed, although it was a tad maniacal.
"Surely you're not scared of your father, Primrose? Koi is just being silly, being rude, but we know you're not like that. You were always so good, such a perfect angel, never had a bad word to say about anyone. And Selene... so rational, so composed. I know you see things clearly, my darling, I know your eyes and your ears haven't been clouded by the poison of this clan, this place... I know I can trust you still."
"You hurt my sister," the black she-cat said, "which means you hurt me. I don't trust you. Like Koishimmer said, you are not my father." Rafe bared his teeth in a hiss, lunging for her throat. Black flashed across his vision as Selene hit the ground with a surprised 'oof', and his teeth clamped down on the neck of a ginger tom who hissed at the pain, swaying unsteadily as Rafe pulled back, maw dark with blood.
"Have you all abandoned me? Have you all been so stupid as to fall for such blatant lies? So careless that you would choose him over me?" He rounded on Midnightblaze, who was propping Koishimmer up, eyes hardened with resolution now. "You... you did this. I tried to tell you. To show you. Warn you what would happen if you continued with your ways... but you wouldn't listen. You destroyed my life, and so now, I'm going to destroy yours."
"I told you if you came back I'd kill you," Midnightblaze said, but his voice wavered just a little, "and I meant it."
"We'll see about that." He lunged first for Koishimmer, but Howlingeye's form flashed into his vision, and as the tom leaped forward, Rafe changed directions and smashed his shoulder into his chest, sending the smaller tom flying. He hit the ground hard, on his side and rolled, Poppywish's ginger form streaking toward him instantly. Rafe spun, and slashed his claws across Summitsky's forehead, before he tackled him into the ground. The big tom yowled, crying out as claws dug into his abdomen, Rafe's laugh echoing into the basin.
"Stop!" Sleetstar screamed. "Stop, leave him alone!" She was moving toward him, fast, her claws unsheathed and her face full of fury. Rafe lifted a paw, wiggling his bloodied claws as Summitsky winced at the weight on top of him, breathing shallowly to avoid digging the claws deeper into him.
"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you," Rafe sing-songed, "I don't think it was very good of Summitsky to move in on my mate when I was still around. Just because we were having a minor dispute, Summitsky, does not mean you should go around chatting up a tom's mate." Summitsky closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. "Oh, that's sweet. I was in love with him once, too, and look how that turned out for me! You think he won't turn on you? You think he won't hurt you the way he hurt me?"
"I'm not you," Summitsky said, even and steady, "I'm better." Rafe hissed, smashing his claws along Summitsky's throat, drawing a scream from Sleetstar and a blooming red trail in their wake. He hopped off of the other tom, making his way toward Midnightblaze. Koishimmer struggled to her paws in front of her father, green eyes boring into him as her fur ruffled and she hissed, but Rafe batted her aside with one paw as if she weighed nothing.
"Finally," he said, as Midnightblaze backed away from him, "you have no idea how long I've waited for this moment, to take back everything that you took from me." He smashed his paw across Midnightblaze's face as the tom flinched, sending him stumbling and collapsing to the ground. "Still so weak. Did you feel safe here? Did you think I would forget about your betrayal? I was there for you through everything, loved you even when I didn't have to, and you repay me by taking my kits away?"
"You weren't good to me," Midnightblaze hissed, "you hurt me, like you're hurting me now. You wanted to control me. You didn't love me, you loved the power I gave you. But you don't have it anymore."
"Don't I?" Rafe slammed his paw down on Midnightblaze's throat. "Because it feels like I do. But I don't want you to die now, Midnightblaze, I want everyone here to see what a fraud, what a liar you are. I want them to see how you'll betray them the same way you'll betray me. Was it not enough to have me, did you have to have someone else as well? Have to take my kits away from me so I would be left with nothing?"
"There was no one else," Midnightblaze was sobbing now, raking his claws down Rafe's unmoving foreleg, "there was only them. They were more important than you were."
"So I just wasn't good enough for you?"
"You were my world! I weathered so much because I loved you too much to worry about how you hurt me! But it's not about me anymore. It's about them. Everything I do- everything I did is for them. And I won't let you hurt them, and I won't let you hurt me. You don't have that power anymore."
"Liar!" Rafe's screech bounced off the walls of the basin as he slashed at Midnightblaze's face, dragging his claws down his cheek. Midnightblaze cried out, but he flipped onto his back as Rafe began wailing blows, claws ripping tufts of fur from the other's belly and painting it red with blood. Midnightblaze's leg kicked out, suddenly, sharply, and caught Rafe in the jaw. The tom staggered back, as Midnightblaze rolled onto his side, breath heaving.
"Kill me," Rafe laughed, "you can't even face me! You're as weak as you were back then. So desperate for someone to love you, to care for you, to accept you. You would have settled for anyone, really, and it was so easy to make you love me. It's such a shame you stopped. We could have been great. But now. Now you have to pay for what you did. Pay for how you've made me suffer. I think I'll start with your ear, right here, where everyone can watch so they know how you tried to chase me away." Rafe struggled to his paws, claws scraping along the ground as he made his way toward Midnightblaze, who couldn't even struggle to his paws. "Poor little Midnightblaze, still too much of a coward to ever really stand up for himself. I liked it when you had a backbone. It made you more fun to break." Rafe lifted his paw, and then he was flying.
His body felt weightless, being lifted through the air, before his head thudded hard against the ground, shoulders and back painfully pinned into the rock, sending sharp, white-hot pain whipping down his spine. On top of him, Midnightblaze's forelegs shook, weak with pain and panic, but his eyes blazed with raw fury. Rafe's maniacal smile broke back onto his maw as the black and white tomcat spat, tail lashing.
"You haven't broken me, not now, and you never will. As long as my girls are alive, I will have the strength to keep fighting, to protect them, most of all from you. I won't let you hurt them, and I won't let you manipulate me the way you used to when I was still too in love with you to see the kind of sick and twisted monster you really are. I know where my priorities are, and I'll do anything to protect them. Maybe that makes me a bad cat, but if it's for them then it's worth it, and you should fear me for what the love I have for them will drive me to do to cats like you that threaten them."
"Do it then," Rafe laughed, as Midnightblaze faltered. His back paws slammed up, into the other's stomach, eliciting a pained cry as he was lifted, before he hit the ground hard. Rafe staggered to his paws, body aching from the fall. "Pathetic. All the speeches in the world can't save you from action. That's where it's really important: those that say, and those that do. And I have no intention of simply saying, unlike you. You can't kill me-"
"But I can." Rafe's bad ear twitched, just in time for Howlingeye's wiry body to slam into him, pinning him to the ground, one paw on his throat to hold him in place. Rafe wheezed, panicking when no air entered his lungs. "Strength isn't about how many cats you can fight off or who you can hurt. Strength is the ability to weather insurmountable pain and come out the other side standing. Midnightblaze is stronger than any cat I know, and when you are returned to the earth he will stand again, and he will live, and he will thrive."
"Are you really going to fight his battles for him?" Rafe sneered, his voiced choked beyond the paw. "What do you expect? His love?"
"I already have it, because I'm his friend, and friends have each other's back. I'm not fighting his battle for him. I'm ending it." Howlingeye's eyes were hard and cold. Rafe suddenly felt a chill of panic sweep over him. "I release you to the shadows," Howlingeye said and Rafe shook his head roughly, struggling now, "may you prowl them in eternity, but never again set living paw on this plane."
"No-" Rafe shrieked, but it was too late. Howlingeye's jaws clamped shut over his throat, and the shriek died with them. He was still. Howlingeye pulled back, and spat, stepping away from the body. The whole clan was silent, Midnightblaze just inches away and shaking with panic, breathing laboured and high-pitched. Sleetstar muscled Summitsky's bigger form to his paws, staggering under his weight.
"Howlingeye-" she started, voice raw with pain for the other tom.
"Sometimes, when you've done as many bad things as I have," he replied, with a wan smile, "you have to strike the blow so that someone better than you doesn't have to." Midnightblaze broke into sobs then, collapsing in on himself. The clan was no longer still; everyone burst into action, Virdianfire released by Thunderjaw as the pair of them hurried to the injured, Virdianfire helping Koishimmer to her paws as Thunderjaw curled around Midnightblaze, wrapping his tail around him and cradling him fiercely into his side as the other tom cried. Primrose and Selene helped Foxspring to shaky paws as Sunnynose and Winderstrike sprinted across to him, Sunnynose fraught with panic.
In all the flurry of motion, cats suddenly searching for crevices that Rafe could have come through, the young warriors dragging a bramble barrier across the tunnel entrance, injured cats being marched one by one to the medicine den; Howlingeye remained a still beacon, face drawn and taught as he stared into the distance. The camp cleared out and snow bore down, howling around him and covering his paws in pure white, obscuring Rafe's drying blood from the world.
A nose touched his shoulder. He jumped, and looked up to see Minkfur with sad eyes, staring back at him. Howlingeye looked away, ashamed of what he would find, but Minkfur simply pressed her shoulder into his, and tilted her forehead to rest on the crown of his own. The tenderness of her touch surprised him, and the grief at the surprise bubbled up with such a force that he had no time to tamp it down. The first sob escaped, anguished and desperate, and then another and another. As a blizzard set in, covering Rafe's body in a peaceful drift, Howlingeye leant into the sturdy beacon of comfort that was Minkfur's shoulder, and he cried.

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` servings consumed
11/11 - x8 voles & x1 bird
` clan events
added leopardrunner from birthday cat allowances (thank u dei for the colour in!!)
hazerise is kitting! fogbelly is trans and is the other mother. poppywish assists and gives x1 raspberry leaf
plumiris is kitting! please refer to the genetics chart. poppywish assists and gives x1 raspberry leaf
↪ genetics chart
sycamorepaw takes her warrior assessment
tempestpaw, featherpaw and sprucepaw learn advanced battle
snowpaw, willowpaw, silverpaw and aurorapaw learn to track
sootpaw, blackpaw and ironpaw learn to hunt
please roll injury for the following cats:
midnightblaze, koishimmer, summitsky, foxspring
` patrols
hunting-
1 - midnightblaze, bramblingrose, primrosepetal, lunardawn, fogbelly, foxspring
2 - twosight, dawnbreeze, rivermask, hollyfeather, twilightflower, viridianfire
3 - bearears, addersong, leopardrunner, splitface, falconstreak, waspshine
4 - sorrelsong, honeyheart, emberpetal, butterflyshine, lightningivy, duckbriar
border-
1 - thunderjaw, minkfur, fogbelly, flamestream, leopardrunner, blizzardheart

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