☀ ❝ . ━━ ⊱ 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐘𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍 / o&a . ❞

[este11e]

𝑊𝐻𝐸𝑅𝐸 𝐻𝐴𝑆 𝑂𝑈𝑅 𝑌𝑂𝑈𝑇𝐻 𝐺𝑂𝑁𝐸?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

a hazy autumn glow is cast through a beautiful forest canopy, streams of golden sunlight reaching towards the floor. usually, gentle pawsteps can be heard crunching through the dead leaves and grass as a group of alderclan cats can be seen casually patrolling their borders. life in alderclan seems like it would be perfect.

alderclan has always had a very specific way of doing things. everything has a system. the oldest cats in the clan provide insight and wisdom to those who are younger, and respect for the elderly is absolutely everything in this clan's culture. but... what happens when suddenly, the youth are stranded to take care of themselves?

one morning, a pair of twolegs camping in the forest left a fire going. at first, the campfire seemed like it would just dwindle out on its own. it was only a tiny fire, after all. however, time has proven over and over again that even the smallest spark can cause a forest fire, and that's exactly what happened. most of the forest that alderclan and their neighbors, webclan and shimmerclan, called home was ablaze within a few days.

there was a small group of survivors from all three clans, but sadly, mostly young warriors and apprentices were able to escape the blaze. now, all that's left of their former home is soot and ash. after a short journey across the valley, the cats found a new territory and are now settling in. however, how do the youth cope without the guidance of those before them? for the first time in their lives, these cats are stranded with only each others' minds to guide them.

now, the cats have decided to be known as valleyclan.

rules [yeah, boring, i know]

- keep characters realistic (no powers/crazy appearances)
- please try to post at least once weekly
- keep all forms/ooc on the discussion thread :^)
- no being your own mate/crush/mentor/apprentice
- please make diverse characters! uniqueness is highly wanted! (lgbt+ wanted!)
keep in mind that all characters must be under 35 moons
for the plot.

♦ formerly of webclan
♔ formerly of alderclan
✪ formerly of shimmerclan

ＬＥＡＤＥＲ
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
♂ piedstar / a shortfurred black and white bicolor tom with honey-brown eyes ♔

ＤＥＰＵＴＹ
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
♀ cougarsong / an elegant tan tabby molly with striking pale green eyes ✪

ＭＥＤＩＣＩＮＥ ＣＡＴ
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
♂ dustcloud / a small, lithe brown tabby tom with stunning green-gold eyes ♦

ＷＡＲＲＩＯＲＳ
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
♂ wolfchaser / a muscular fluffy brown and white tabby tom with green eyes ♦
♀ nectarstep / a limber white molly with auburn tabby patches and fern-green eyes ✪
♂ barleyfox / a fluffy, ginger and white tabby tom, currently unknown eye color ♦
♀ cottonflower / a short-furred cream molly with stunning light blue eyes ♦
♀ brightsong / a fluffy, muted ginger and white tabby molly with forest green eyes ✪
♂ brownfeather / a muscular, fluffy dark brown/black tabby tom with light amber eyes ♔
♂ shadestep / a small black tom with characteristic white splashes and amber eyes ♦
♀ creamflower / a long-furred cream and brown ragdoll molly with pale blue eyes ✪
♂ blue-eyes / a short-furred solid silvery-grey tom with clear, sky-blue eyes ♦

ＡＰＰＲＥＮＴＩＣＥＳ
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
♀ snowpaw / a small cream and dark brown molly with stunning pale blue eyes ♔
♀ otterpaw / a fluffy silvery-brown tabby molly with yellow-green eyes ✪
♂ rookpaw / a skinny black tom with pale green eyes and a scorched tail-tip ♔
♀ wrenpaw / a short-furred brown and white patched molly with blue eyes ✪
♂ amberpaw / a tall, fluffy ginger tabby tom with muted honey-toned eyes ✪

ＱＵＥＥＮＳ / ＫＩＴＳ [closed]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

ＥＬＤＥＲＳ [closed]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

ＯＵＴＳＩＤＥＲＳ [closed]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

relationships
shadestep mentors snowpaw
barleyfox mentors otterpaw
brownfeather mentors rookpaw
dustcloud mentors wrenpaw
nectarstep mentors amberpaw

[este11e]

★ ❝ . ━━ 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 . ❞
"i've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks."
deputy - 26 moons - scorpio - formerly of shimmerclan - feeling; blank

a pair of pale green eyes surveyed the landscape surrounding, gazing across acres basking in the soft lighting provided by the nighttime. the lithe, athletic frame moved softly as a shaky breath was exhaled, releasing a hoard of silent emotions into the air that took the form of a small cloud of mist in the crisp fall atmosphere. after a while of silent thinking, the night had lost its youth and the sky was beginning to pale.

cougarsong shifted, realizing she'd been perched on a tall tree stump in the middle of a clearing for over an hour at that point. sleep was uncommon for her most nights, and this was no exception. ever since the fire, the only thing on her mind was making sure everyone was safe. so, thus began her secret nighttime ritual of sneaking out and guarding the camp while everyone else was asleep. it gave her something to distract herself from the nightmares, so she was grateful.

her dreams, if you could even call them dreams, were always the same. the entire valley engulfed in flames, her surviving but being unable to save anyone she loved. she would wake up in tears and a cold sweat every night until she decided sleep just wasn't worth it.

cougarsong sighed softly, watching as the sun began to dawn on the horizon. a new day. she had a hunting to organize once the warriors and apprentices were awake, but that was really it. border patrols became practically useless, except against other animals, because the clans were unified. it was still strange walking amongst the cats who were her blood-born enemies just a moon ago, but she knew the only way they would be able to live in harmony is by putting their differences aside.

with a light sigh, cougarsong delicately hopped off of the tree stump, padding back towards the clearing that they now called camp. it was different, but it was nice. it was much better than soot and ash. their new camp was pretty, a gorge clearing with a small pond in the corner, lilypads floating around. beautiful oak trees covered in moss surrounded the camp. there was a pretty autumn glow to the morning, but cougarsong wasn't sure if it was enough to lift her spirits.

☾ ❝ . ━━ 𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐑 . ❞
"wish i was there, wish we'd grown up on the same advice."
warrior - 19 moons - sagittarius - formerly of webclan - feeling; refreshed

streams of sunlight trickled in through the den entrance, hitting the brown tabby warrior directly in eyeshot as the sunrise began. with a groan, the muscular tom opened his eyes and then immediately squinted as he realized his mistake, his vision blurred for a few seconds by the unexpected brightness.

standing up, wolfchaser shook out his long fur and stepped outside, looking around as the cats began to wake up and get about. it had been a difficult move for all of them, and he was glad everyone was beginning to get used to a different way of living. however, he wasn't entirely happy about it himself. although he knew how to keep a smile on his face, he desperately missed his best friend, a molly named robinwing who died in the fire. his heart still ached, the wounds were still fresh, but he had to move on.

wolfchaser never liked showing weakness, so even while others were grieving, he pretended he was fine. he kept the smile up and continued with his duties as if nothing happened, which was probably quite strange to many, but not to him. putting his emotions on mute was the only way he knew how to deal with them sometimes, especially emotions as strong as love and grief.

looking around, the tabby sat down in the clearing, wondering what was to come.

❄ ❝ . ━━ 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐏𝐀𝐖 . ❞
"would you stay if she promised you heaven? will you ever win?"
apprentice - 11 moons - aries - formerly of alderclan - feeling; confident

---

[phayraoh]

𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚍𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛 [/pīd- stär/] — 31 moons
𝖫𝖤𝖠𝖣𝖤𝖱. a black-and-white tom with amber eyes
location: camp | tags: cougarsong

Piedstar woke suddenly from a deep slumber, eyes alert and ears perking. He groaned and looked down at his paws, realizing he'd fallen asleep at the mouth of his den. He'd been crouched there long after the clan had retired to their dens, but he certainly hadn't meant to remain in the position. With a grunt, the long-legged tom stood up and arched his back in a drawn-out stretch before casting a longing glance at his nest, the depths plump with feathers and fresh moss. He longed to crawl in and return to a more comfortable sleep, but he knew deep down that he shouldn't sleep in while everyone else would be blinking sleep from their eyes.

With a light sigh, he slipped out into the clearing and tilted his muzzle to the skies, filling his lungs with the crisp leaf-fall air to chase away any more thoughts of dreams and cozy nests. Upon spotting his deputy returning to the camp, Piedstar strode over and dipped his head to the molly in greeting. "Good morning, Cougarsong," he mewed, turning so that he could gaze out into the camp whilst he spoke to her. "I wouldn't mind leading a patrol, I've been meaning to see how the prey has been running."

Not only that, but he'd been spending most of his time within the camp walls, overseeing the building of dens and offering his support to his new clanmates. He knew it must be difficult for many of the cats to sleep beside those they used to rage war against, and was determined to keep tempers from flaring. They needed each other now more than ever.

𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙 [/ˈnektər - step/] — 16 moons
𝖶𝖠𝖱𝖱𝖨𝖮𝖱. a white molly with ginger tabby patches and green eyes
location: camp | tags: open

The stirring of bodies roused the molly from her slumber, who had never really been a deep sleeper. She huffed and screwed her eyes shut tighter, willing the minute noises to fade away so she could catch a few more winks. Between long days of hunting, patrolling, and building dens, Nectarstep didn't have much energy to spare, and it didn't help that most of her clanmates spent the night squirming and whimpering in their nests.

When she realized that her mind was clearing up, the she-cat decided that she could try for a nap later on in the day and rose from her nest with a wide yawn. Giving her pelt a shake, she hopped from her nest and exited the warriors den with a light trill. After all the fires had cost the clans, Nectarstep thought she should feel more troubled, but she was almost happy to do away with the trivialities of borders and petty grudges against the other clans.

Other cats were waking and getting started with their day, but Nectarstep wasn't in the mood to converse quite yet. She settled down within eyesight of the deputy and began to groom her unruly pelt, teasing out bits of nesting material and wondering if there would be much prey to add to the pile today. The journey was long and arduous enough, and with leafbare on the way, it was urgent that the clan get some meat on their bones.

[christine,]

⧽⧽ ºﾟ･ ⌢ ⌽ ── ｂｒｏｗｎｆｅａｔｈｅｒ x

───────────────────────────────────────

⌽ ･ warrior ･ location: main camp ･ tagged: cougarsong, piedstar, rookpaw

What a beautiful morning, Fernstep thought Brownfeather, blinking the last of a heavy sleep out of his speckled amber eyes. Curled in the moss in the dark of the makeshift den, he just about imagined that she was curled up beside him ;; he caught a whiff of sweet sorrel, saw a flash of grey fur, and his heart lept. Daylight brought truth, however, and the streaming sun through the roof of the den revealed it to be nothing but an illusion to his sleep-muddled brain.

The warrior heaved to his paws, licking the moss and dust out of his pelt. The lingering effects of sleep rumbled in his body ;; he wasn’t quite a morning cat. But the vivid memory of Fernstep was enough to make him eager to leave the den and step into the routine for the day. Upon exiting, the warrior caught sight of Piedstar and Cougarsong ;; the two seemed to be discussing some sort of plan for the day. Well, the least I can do is make myself useful if I can’t go back to sleep the tabby chuckled to himself.

“Good morning Piedstar, Cougarsong.” He dipped his head in greeting to the deputy and leader ;; an odd extension of friendship for the usual stoic tom. “Sorry to interrupt, but I happened to hear word of a patrol. I’d be happy to lead one this morning— Rookpaw could use the experience, and I’m eager to get started this morning.” He mewed, a dark and grumbly sound (unsurprising of a tom of his size) that still held the rough edges of recent sleep.

Yes, Rookpaw. He was probably still asleep at the moment, but that was expected. Brownfeather had certainly been pushing him hard the last couple of days, he deserved a rest.

wrenpaw wip

[Animals65]

Creamflower is eating a rabbit from the fresh-kill pile, savoring the delicious taste. She scans the clearing, seeing whose up and about this morning.

[este11e]

★ ❝ . ━━ 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 . ❞
"i've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks."
deputy - 26 moons - scorpio - formerly of shimmerclan - feeling; blank

upon hearing a familiar voice, the deputy turned slightly to see piedstar striding over towards her. an unexpected sense of comfort flooded her mind at the sight. it had been such a traumatic time for everyone and piedstar seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and handling it like a champion.

she politely dipped her head in return and smiled in greeting. "good morning, piedstar. that'd be excellent, i think we should get a better idea on where the surviving animals have gone. the fires scorched the entire northeastern side of the valley and there isn't very far to run." cougarsong meowed, looking around at the camp. "we're lucky we found this place."

perking her ears, the tan tabby noticed brownfeather right before he greeted them. with a warm smile, she dipped her head in greeting to the warrior. "good morning, brownfeather. i think that would be a wonderful idea. i believe piedstar was about to lead one, perhaps the two of you could join him?" cougarsong asked, flicking her tail softly.

☾ ❝ . ━━ 𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐑 . ❞
"wish i was there, wish we'd grown up on the same advice."
warrior - 19 moons - sagittarius - formerly of webclan - feeling; refreshed

---

❄ ❝ . ━━ 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐏𝐀𝐖 . ❞
"would you stay if she promised you heaven? will you ever win?"
apprentice - 11 moons - aries - formerly of alderclan - feeling; confident

---

[nyabeille]

vineshadow, currently: in camp

❝Please just go! Make sure everyone gets out safe!❞ The voice in Vineshadow's dream was drowned out by the loud woosh of flames encompassing her entire view. Her eyelids flew open as she bristled her fur in fear, immediately greeted by late morning sun in her eyes. Weaselsong.. Her chest pained heavy, keeping her in her disheveled bed. While usually she was able to get past it, some mornings were harder than others. Sure, she's adapting to the new clan life, but she harbored a deep resentment. Not towards anyone, just towards their situation in general. Life out of order was chaotic, and she's never thrived well in chaos.

Hunger brought the warrior to her feet, stretching each leg as she exited the den. She saw Cougarsong organizing patrol, and while she'd usually jump at this opportunity, food was at the forefront of her mind. The prey pile was meager, nothing that could settle her growing hunger, so she decided to ask to go hunting. Nothing better than bringing home prey for the returning border patrols, and the chance to catch a snack while enjoying the crisp morning weather. Vineshadow looked around for Shadowpine, an alderclan cat she had befriended, bonding over their age and ability to help carry the weight around on the journey. She might want to join her, and she'd really appreciate some company, since it'd take tediously longer on her own. Vineshadow cleaned her paws before trotting over towards Cougarsong & Piedstar.

[razzberry]

♧ ━━ 𝐒 𝐏 𝐑 𝐎 𝐔 𝐓 𝐏 𝐀 𝐖
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅xx▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅xx▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

「 apprentice 」 「 intact tom 」 「 10 moons 」 「 formerly shimmerclan 」 「 tags: 」

Long legs turned up over his body as the tall apprentice tossed and turned in the small nest he had built for himself. Splayed on his back with his paws hanging in the air above his chest and belly, Sproutpaw's flanks displayed signs of his slumber in the steady swell that came and went. As what had become the norm for the tomcat, his faced took on a pained expression as his dreams were soon ambushed by images of thick flames, licking at the sturdy trunks of trees, tearing through the fragile bonds of the branches and leaves, and the terrified yowls and cries of cats, his clan mates and family, as they tried to flee for their lives. The fire had taken everything, and not just from him but from all the clans that had inhabited the forest. Webclan, Shimmerclan and Alderclan alike had all dwindled down to merely the youth of their ranks. Leaders, Deputies, Medicine Cats, all fallen in the fire and forever lost to the wild flames.

Sproutpaw's nightmare ended the same way they always did; with the terrified face of his former mentor, Dawndew, as she tried to drag herself from underneath a fallen branch, only to be crushed by another that was engulfed in flames. The pale silver tomcat shot up in his nest, his pelt soaked in sweat and his breath coming in pants as his racing heart fought against the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Sproutpaw took a few minutes to steady himself and regain composure before he rose and slipped from the den. The usually upbeat tom ambled across the camp, dipping his snout into the pile of furry bodies before retrieving a plump wren, retreating to a patch of grass to savour his breakfast.

✹ ━━ 𝐒 𝐇 𝐀 𝐃 𝐎 𝐖 𝐏 𝐈 𝐍 𝐄
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅xx▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅xx▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

「 warrior 」 「 intact she-cat 」 「 33 moons 」 「 formerly alderclan 」 「 tags: vineshadow, piedstar, cougarsong, bronfeather, rookpaw 」

It felt odd, all of it did. There were still some things that the shaded warrior couldn't wrap her head around, and some things she chose to not accept. Her home was destroyed, probably nothing more the crisp wood, ash and the charred remains of her kithood and adolescent moons. The life she had once knew and been so comfortable in was nothing more then a distant memory that would soon be only that; a fraction of a memory in the back of her mind as time progressed. Shadowpine was now surrounded by cats of all three clans; her own and those whom were once considered her rivals. She wasn't sure what to make of it and hardly knew how she was supposed to act now. As one of the older cats amongst the newly organized Valleyclan she figured she should at least look like she had her emotions figured out, conceal that she wasn't constantly tormented by her own thoughts so other's would find peace of mind.

Although out of everything she had befriended another she-cat, closer in age to her than some of the others and someone who she found she could openly talk to with ease and that truly brought comfort to the black and white warrior. Rising from where she had finished up her meagre breakfast after spotting her friend's thick grey coat, Shadowpine strolled over and briefly touched her nose to Vineshadow's shoulder in greeting before turning her attention towards her leader and deputy, dipping her head politely. She had known Piedstar previously due to them both being from Alderclan so him being in a position of power was yet another thing that ease the unease within her. "Good morning everyone" she greeted the supple group of cats, her steady green gaze shifting from Piedstar and Cougarsong to Brownfeather, Vineshadow and then Rookpaw. "I could take out a few cats as well if you would like. Whether for hunting or to check up on the borders" Shadowpine offered with a swift twitch of an ear.