( ✬ // ❝ the five )

[deftonesly]

( `♔ ＨＯＯＴＳＴＡＲ ! )
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( twenty-nine ) -- ( sunclan leader ) -- ( located den ; ledge ) -- ( tagged sunclan ; now open ) -- ( word count 2,423 )
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he acted like a king . . spoke like a king . . and carried himself like a king. the short calico even awoke like one, much to his big ego's delight. hootstar had slipped into a dreamless sleep last night after a very━what was the word?━warm and welcoming meeting with cloverstar and her sniveling, hare-brained cats. because his stubby legs had had to carry him so far to the gathering place, it was understandable as to why he was so tired. normally, after a gathering, he would have tried to sleep the day away and let his deputy carry out the clan duties; hootstar's clanmates might never even have to see him! but on this particular day . . he knew that he needed to get up, up, up. despite the fact that he had led his cats home━back to their nests━at midnight, and it was early morning now. the leader was sound asleep in a fluffy bundle of a ball in the back of his den: a cave that was squat like him and as flat and wide as his face. his tail was stretched almost painfully in order to wrap around his entire body, it was so short. obnoxious snores escaped his mouth; his maw was open and he was subconsciously sure that he was drooling all over his bedding. his eyelids kept twitching whilst his eyes rolled around beneath them.

indent the first thing he heard was the rush of water right outside. when the gray light of dawn infiltrated his den, making its way through the shield of water that was cast over the entrance to his cavern shelter, the british shorthaired male started to rise. there was a gracefulness and dignity with which he slowly unfolded himself from his nest━which he had demanded to be huge in order to accommodate his wild sleeping. while hootstar was known for his recklessness and youth . . there were indeed times like this when he was calm, composed, and utterly beautiful. these were times when he looked like a proper leader━let us just say that they did not happen all too often. he shook out his dense coat with an irritable growl, watching as pieces of moss and feather fell from the patterned hairs. he then hopped out of his nest and sat beside the entrance to the den━that way he could sit but not have to worry about getting more bedding stuck in places it really shouldn't be. hootstar plopped onto his meaty haunches after pawing the sleep from his unbelievably bright yellow orbs. his tongue popped out of his mouth to attention and he began to groom himself with brisk strokes of it along his furry form. it did not take long for a massive hairball to develop on the brute's barbed tongue; he pulled it off with a soft gagging noise, tossed it to the side to dispose of later, and then went back to his work. once his fur was firmly gelled into place by nothing other than his own saliva and particularness, he focused on his whiskers. the squashed-faced male raised a toe and began to twirl them around the ligament, curling them to perfection. he purred softly, bobbing his head just to see them bounce.

indent he watched the waterfall that cascaded from above him and screened off his den from prying eyes; he stepped back as mist sprinkled his face and paws. he needed to be careful when he slipped outside, so that the hungry tongues of the liquid would not douse him. confident that he could not look more perfect, hootstar ducked from his den; he kept his body pressed tightly against the rock as he waltzed down the well-worn pathway of his den. his head was held so high that it looked about to snap; his bright yellow eyes glinted with wildness and immaturity and everything nasty that he was. he exuded cockiness and high stature with every step he took. goofy as hootstar may have seemed with his flat muzzle and petite, chubby build, it was clear that he was in charge of the mighty group of sunclan cats. that he would never take no for an answer; that he was never a force to be trifled with, but one to be heeded and seen with caution. it was like he knew the latter when he flounced from the den. hootstar stood outside of his cave for a few heartbeats, blinking ferociously in order to get his orbs used to the harsh lighting of dawn. the sun was currently blotted out by great clouds, though he suspected that the gray, lumpy strands would eventually fall to the sun's rays━that the golden giant would show his face. he could hear the clan's sacred pools, chattering away, and the songbirds of the morning greeting one another from their nests. there was no wind to hustle through sunclan's settlement today. everything felt still━unbearably slow and humid and hot. he simultaneously thanked starclan for the sweltering day . . but also cursed them. he had one of the thickest pelts in the clan, so of course he enjoyed cool temperatures. but the wind would destroy his pelt and ruin all his hard grooming, too! a first appearance at the beginning of the day was key━a first appearance in general was key. he constantly, obsessively, made sure that his fur was tame and shiny. naturally, it made him edgy to think of his options: he could sweat to death or die of embarrassment of a ruffled pelt. he pushed both thoughts to the back of his mind.

indent glancing around the camp, he saw a few of his clanmates emerge from their dens, yawning and ready to begin their day. hootstar could not help but notice that they looked surprised to see their leader awake. he was infamous throughout the clan for sleeping in, so of course they were shocked. he nodded to the cats, unable to be identified from afar as they were, and with a leap he jumped onto the ledge from which his waterfall poured from. the spaces that were not damp served as nice spots to sun . . which was what he normally used them for during leaf-bare. he thought that he could make the leap, but he only ended up making it halfway. the british shorthair was forced to clamber up the rest of the way with his claws unsheathed and his legs waving to find footholds in the rock. ungracefully, he plopped onto the ledge with a massive huff and a series of heavy pants. he was so unused to such physical exertion that it was actually quite sad. righting himself, he padded to the lip of the ledge with his shoulders squared and his tail kinked high in spite of the humiliation he had just suffered. hootstar took many more deep breaths as he surveyed the cats below. he was taking so long to begin that a lot of his clanmates had seen him and guessed what he was up to, for the majority of them had gathered beneath him. hootstar's egotistically narrowed eyes roved over his clan, and a smirk was on his maw as he began to recite the speech he had mentally been practicing since the gathering. "let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the waterfall for a clan meeting!" he yowled at the top of his lungs, obnoxious and loud as per usual with his youthful voice. the sterile calico waited a beat until everyone was accountable.

indent once everyone was, hootstar spoke again━the words he uttered being ones he had said many times. they were boring and trivial at this point to him . . . but he forced some jubilancy and pride into his tone, just to encourage his clanmates. "as many of you know, early this morning, we returned from the gathering. it went smoothly, and we, once more, showed moonclan that we are the stronger, maturer clan. sunclan shall reign supreme, now and forevermore!" his voice rose several octaves on the last sentence, increasing both in volume and in pride. there was joy in his yellow eyes as the felines below his wide feet cheered and roared their consent, some even getting to their feet. you are under my command . . i am at your head . . you have faith in me, as you should. he thought with a triumphant lash of his tail, a grin, and a lift of his chin. "i'm sure that many of you also noticed the omen from starclan last night." his voice lowered, but he still spoke loud and clear so that panic would not spread about the fog and the covering of the moon. it was his job to protect everyone in the clan and make sure that everything ran fluidly; he did not want any cat's faith in him to be shaken. "i want to inform you all that everything is just fine and will continue to be. we will not ignore the warning, but we will not worry until we are given more information."

indent the meeting was going to be a short one, and hootstar was sure that everyone would be glad about that. there were duties to be attended to, prey to catch, and borders to patrol; he did not want to hold his ready warriors back longer than needed. the calico sped up his talking. "i will update you all once i know more information. but know this, my clanmates: we are sunclan, and we are one! nothing that potentially stands in our way will go unconquered! that is my promise to you!" and with that, he dismissed everyone and stepped back. but he remained on the ledge because he wanted to bask . . . and also feel more authoritative by being above everyone else. as his clanmates dispersed━chattering and sliding into dens, roaming about and calling for cats to patrol with, or simply heading out for solo hunting and whatnot━hootstar watched them through his peeled orbs. his patterned head was still high, his body still poised with an air of self-assurance about it. he slid onto a warm slab of rock with a throaty purr, stretching out onto his side but still keeping his head raised. he was doing his best to act leader-like and not sleepy, but the boulder━as it heated up the more the sun rose━was beginning to become wonderfully warm. while he lounged, he mused about what he had just said to the clan . . as well as the happenings of last night. hootstar had led his clan to the great oak, but . . things had seemed off since the start of the meeting━which was supposed to be friendly, if not reserved. naïve, insolent, and ignorant as hootstar tended to be, even he had sensed the electrifying tension, the glares razing his fur, and the secretiveness with which moonclan had acted. his clanmates had sensed this, too, he knew, which was precisely why he had called for a meeting: he wanted to calm their nerves . . as well as, to his chagrin, his own.

indent cloverstar was a peculiar molly, and definitely was not his friend, but he had picked up on a noticeable change in her last night. she had been like a stranger to him. he had never considered them to be on the finest of terms, for they had been butting heads long before he was made leader and even before he had been the belligerent deputy of sunclan. but he did consider himself an excellent reader━and provoker━of cloverstar, so it had come as a bit of a whiplash when the black-and-white had seemed closed off, stoic, and rather unwilling to share much at all about the well-being of her clan. while hootstar had prattled on about how the prey and catfish were running well and how sunclan was growing stronger than ever before, cloverstar had been brief and concise with her slim body as wrought with tension as the night air. when she had begun to speak, that was when the fog had rolled in, encompassing the gathering place and blotting out the light of the fully-waxed moon. he remembered the screams of terror from both of the clans and the wails of confusion. he even reminisced about his own fright, and what a struggle it had been not to yowl right along with the cats below him. the gathering had ended right then and there━with cloverstar slipping off into the night with her cats while hootstar reigned in his own. the female's speedy departure had just raised more flags for the british shorthair. why had she been in such a hurry? what had happened over in moonclan? had something gone awry? had cloverstar known that the fog would cover the moon? and why were things not so easygoing between them all? he was not really complaining about the last bit, but was just . . bemused and flabbergasted. hootstar was a male that loved battle and war and all prospects of it. he loved victory. so if his clan got into a war with moonclan, he would not hold back━would not hesitate to at long last launch himself at cloverstar. still, the anxiousness with which their neighbors had acted was strange and rather unlike them. normally, the felines strutted around the great oak, challenging the sunclanners and being boisterous. not last night.

indent hootstar thoughtfully swished his tail across his ledge and furrowed his brow, wrinkling his already-wrinkled face some more. he then pushed all thoughts of the gathering from his mind, repeating the words he had just howled to the clan under his breath. "everything is just fine and will continue to be." had he not just said that? the more he said the statement over and over in his cranium, the less he began to ponder. sunclan had a great connection with starclan━their leader however, did not━so surely the starry, dead fleabags would share the information they were supposed to know. at last wrenching his mind away from thoughts of cloverstar and something as silly as fog, he dropped his head onto his feet. he knew that his clan would know where he was and what he was going to do━doze and relax━so he did not bother with keeping his head up. and most certainly did not speak to anyone. his deputy would arrange the patrols and everyone would go about their day. they would come find hootstar if they needed him.

[thank]

( ❝ ＧＵＬＬＰＡＷ ! ! )
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( sunclan ) ● ( med. cat apprentice ) ● ( sixteen moons ) ● ( location den ↣ ledge ) ● ( tagged hootstar, wolfmane ) ● ( words 2008 )

xxxxxx
xxxxxxgullpaw's sleep was always haunted by nightmares. whether it was of his clanmates slowly dying with an incurably disease, or of tigers killing off all of the cats, he was constantly terrified of them. sometimes he wondered if starclan sent them to him on purpose. surely is was to strengthen the young cat? he cried out in the night sometimes, disturbing his mentor, wolfmane, from his own peaceful sleep. but he couldn't help it. no matter how hard he tried, the horrid dreams of blood and terror wouldn't stop. maybe that was because they couldn't be stopped. as dreams, he had no control over them. gullpaw, after a long journey back from the great tree, had been exhausted. he thought he would fall into an easy sleep, without being disturbed until he woke up on his own. but as much as he wanted that, it didn't happen. he lashed out in the night, yowling as he dreamt his clanmates battled moonclan at the gathering and slowly lost. the dream may have had to do with the sign from starclan that had happened just after the gathering had begun. and eerie fog had rolled over the moon, casting spooky shadows on the mossy ground. cat had screeched in terror, not knowing what to do, until their leaders lead them away into the night. but maybe it wasn't a sign at all, but just a deep down fear of his. gullpaw was a very paranoid cat. anything that could go wrong might as well go wrong. there was no such thing as good luck and bad luck.

xxxxxxgullpaw shot awake, his flank rapidly rising and falling as he breathed. he was lying in his nest in the medicine cat den, a little bit away from wolfmane's. or, what was left of his nest. in his restless sleep he had torn it to bits with his claws, sending small pieces of moss and bright colored feathers everywhere. it was like this almost every morning, and wolfmane would usually order the younger apprentices to fix gullpaw a new nest, since they always had spare feathers, and moss could be found almost anywhere. but gullpaw hated that the apprentices had to fix his problems for him, since it should be the other way around. so most of the time, gullpaw would go out and remake his own nest. gullpaw stood and stretched out his legs, pressing his chest to the ground. he looked around in shame at the macaw feathers scattered around the room and quietly went about, gathering them in his mouth as wolfmane slept. he places them back neatly where his nest had been and sat, rasping his tongue around his jaws. though he was no longer shaking, he was still slightly in shock from his dream. he wondered if it had maybe been a sign from starclan, and if so, why hadn't they come to him in the dream, or said anything? he decided that after hootstar was awake he would maybe talk to the fluffy tom.

xxxxxxgullpaw had mixed feelings about the sunclan leader. sure, he had an ego the size of the lake, was arrogant, and just straight up rude, but he was their leader, and should be treated with respect. gullpaw understood that, and did respect him. though sometimes he could be rather hard to deal with. at times the leader frustrated him, brushing away the small cat with a flick of his tail. but most of the time, hootstar actually listened. maybe that was because deep down, he truly cared for his clan. he had always wondered why the tom had been so arrogant, so rude to others. maybe to cover up his own insecurities? because honestly, no cat could ever be that rude. there were little things hootstar did to prove he really cared, or that's what gullpaw thought, at least. comforted his clan in their time of need. rested the clan on his shoulders, kept them safe. as much as hootstar probably hated to admit, gullpaw knew that someday, hootstar would soften up a bit and allow his ego to shrink. but probably not anytime soon. maybe he just needed a little nudge in the right direction. that's why gullpaw tried to be as kind as possible to their cranky leader.

xxxxxxthe sun was just barely up when he exited the den, careful not to hit his head on the overhanging rock, as he did many times before. he ducked out of the den at last, sitting on a small rock next to the pool of water. hootstar wouldn't be up for a while now. though gullpaw was tired and knew he needed a lot more sleep, he couldn't bring himself to go lay in his shredded nest. so he sat next to the water, watching as tiny fish swam past his paws. his stomach growled, as he had not eaten the night before. he wanted to swipe at the fish and catch one, but knew that it would not be filling enough for him, and that a hunting patrol would be back later that day with warm food for him to eat, such as a lemur, which was one of his favorites to split with wolfmane because it was so large, and the two cats put together always had a rather large appetite. gullpaw yawned and lied down on the rock which was slowly being warmed by the rising sun, finally giving in to his tiredness. he would need to be rested before he talked to hootstar, as he always had to watch his words rather carefully.

xxxxxxgullpaw fell in and out of sleep, but when hootstar's voice rang out through the clearing, he nearly fell in the small pool of water. he rose to his paws and stretched just as he had done earlier in his den and slowly padded over to be closer to hootstar. he blinked sleep out of his blue-green eyes and yawned, attempting to lick his fur flat. hootstar shone in the sun, which had now risen to just before sun-high. the humidity was terrible, and it was making gullpaw's rather sleek pelt stick to him like crazy. gullpaw had already missed half of the meeting, but purred as hootstar began to comfort the clan. "i'm sure that many of you also noticed the omen from starclan last night." hootstar said in a slightly more hushed voice than usual, but somehow, it was still just as loud. a shiver went down gullpaw's spine as he remembered the terrifying fog. the clan looked around in panic before hootstar continued. "i want to inform you all that everything is just fine and will continue to be. we will not ignore the warning, but we will not worry until we are given more information." a great sigh swept over the clan. gullpaw didn't really listen to the last few words of the speech as he was moving closer, getting ready to climb up and sit where hootstar was, to talk to him. the meeting ended, and just like gullpaw had guessed, hootstar shrunk down onto the rock, which probably was the warmest one in the clan, and was all his.

xxxxxxgullpaw hoisted himself up to the ledge, struggling as his legs were almost too short to. gullpaw quickly remembered their leader also had rather short legs and was able to get up just fine, so with one last leap, he was up atop the ledge. though he came up here all the time to speak with hootstar in private, it was usually with wolfmane. but today he didn't want to have the fluffy black tom with him. he wanted to speak with the leader alone about his terrifying dreams. "hootstar?" he wanted to get the leader's attention before he started to talk, or else he would likely be ignored. he bowed his head as the leader looked at him, showing a sign of deep respect, as he deserved. kind of. "i've come to speak with you about... the dreams i've been having." he had hesitated in the middle of the sentence, as he wasn't sure how to word what he was saying. but he thought it had ended up coming out alright.

xxxxxxgullpaw sat down on the warm rock, wrapping his white-tipped tail around his splotched gray paws, as he usually did when talking about something important, or what he thought was important. it was a bit of a habit, having his tail around him. you could say it comforted the young tom. he always seemed to get quite worried when talking to his leader, as he was known to snap responses. he still didn't know exactly what he wanted to say, and he didn't just want to spew out what was on his mind. "they are mostly of blood, the clan being attacked by tigers and jaguars, but most of the time moonclan." he started. he unsheathed his claws, becoming even more worried about them as he explained it to hootstar, who looked slightly annoyed. did gullpaw say something wrong? he cleared his throat and continued. was he going in the right direction with this? "do you think they mean anything? starclan hasn't exactly appeared or spoken to me in any of them..." he trailed off, looking at his paws. what and idiot he must sound like! no proof that the dreams are bad! they were probably just nightmares.

xxxxxxgullpaw tended to overreact a lot to situations that don't need reacting to, ecpessially when it came to sickness. gullpaw had exceptional hearing, and if he even heard the smallest sniff from one of the dens, he ran straight to wolfmane. his mentor would always look at him with a glint of amusement in his eyes and shoo him away with a flick of his fluffy black tail. but to gullpaw, he felt like he wasn't overreacting. if anything, he was giving that small cough too little attention. what if it turned to green cough, only to kill off some of the clan's cats? he couldn't bare the thought of his clanmates dying and it being his fault. it would destroy him! gullpaw instead kept his interfering to himself, usually giving the coughing cat honey. he would always collect more later to refill their stock. any fatal sickness that could be prevented should be prevented, whether wolfmane or hootstar or whoever liked it or not.

xxxxxxgullpaw didn't know what to say now. he gave his chest a few embarrassed licks and turned to look out at the clan as he waited for hootstar's to say somthing, who seemed to be taking a while to ponder the situation. how dumb he must have sounded! gullpaw watched the crystal clear water tumble over the ledge, landing into a large pool where it collected. a few of the younger apprentices splashed and played in the beautiful water, sending droplets through the air that sparkled when the sun hit them just right. a small patrol had just returned with a few parrots in their jaws, along with one cat who had a small monkey. gullpaw purred quietly. he would need to remember to get some more feathers for his bedding. gullpaw was honored to have such a high ranking in his clan, be honored by so many for healing them and ridding them of sickness. without the medicine cats, sunclan would have probably died off a long time ago. gullpaw quickly acknowledged the leader and deputy, too. without them, the clan would have been long gone.

xxxxxxgullpaw finally turned his small head back to face hootstar, his blue-green orbs fixing on his leader's vibrantly yellow ones. the small tom wondered how hootstar was coping with the humidity. gullpaw had an medium-thick pelt, but hootstar appeared to be a huge ball of fluff. gullpaw wasn't even sure how he was able to walk with so much fur, let alone lead a clan. gullpaw quickly shrugged off the thought, as he had done earlier when questioning hootstar's leg length. he somehow managed, and that was what mattered.

[Greenleaf]

--------❧ ＢＲＡＭＢＬＥＬＥＡＦ - ＴＨＥ ＰＡＴＩＥＮＴ ＯＮＥ
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age forty moons | rank medicine cat | mood tired, pained | location medicine den, camp | tagged mentioned Cloverstar, Hootstar; otherwise open

Brambleleaf woke with a start and found himself sprawled, limbs akimbo, in the tattered remains of his nest, practically drenched in sweat, and not solely due to the fact that the air was blistering humid as it was wont to be in greenleaf. His heart still racing from his most recent dream, he shakily sat up and attempted to put his fur and nest back into some semblance of order before he set out for the day, but his leg gave a sharp throb before he could do so, causing him to stop abruptly with a wince. It ached in a way that it hadn't done in moons, aggravated, no doubt, by the sudden change in weather and the long trek to and from the Great Tree for the Gathering the night previous; and when he rose from his nest and began getting to his paws, it was immediately obvious to him that he would be in for a highly painful and embarrassing tumble should he attempt to put any weight on it at all. Grimacing, he sat back down with a bump, shaking away the last fuzzy cobwebs of sleep away from his brain, and began gingerly stretching out his injured limb in an attempt to loosen it up. He normally saved such exercises for after breakfast, when his leg was more warmed up and himself slightly more awake, but it was evident today that his schedule would have to be adjusted in light of this recent development.

As he slowly ran through the required regimen of stretches, he finally began to uneasily think about the dreams he had just received. He, along with a large majority of the Clan, had headed out to the Gathering last night as they did every full moon, and it had been troubling, to say the least. MoonClan and SunClan had never really gotten along, but the tension last night had seemed as palpable as a thunderstorm, and crackled almost as loudly. The apprentices had warily glared each other down, and the warriors, while somewhat more reserved, had been just as uncomfortable. The fact that Hootstar had been his usual arrogant self hadn't helped in the least, and the Gathering's abrupt ending due to the clouds covering the moon was only the berry on the bush to top off an already ill-fated night. Given that they had all returned somewhat earlier than usual, Brambleleaf had reentered his den in an attempt to snatch a quick nap before sunrise, but his sleep had been fitful and his dreams disturbed. Brambleleaf certainly was no stranger to bad dreams, having frequently experienced frightening re-livings of the memories of the fated attack that had killed his brother and permanently injured his leg in the past, but the dreams last night had been of a distinctly different kind, involving lightning, thunder, and covered skies, and the shrieks of cats as they killed and were killed.

Not all of his nightmares concerned the attack that had wounded him, nor were all of his dreams omens from StarClan. And yet, he couldn't help but wonder if last night's dreams had been a sign of some sort. Coupled with the cloud-covered moon of the Gathering the previous night, it certainly seemed possible, and he worried as to what sort of danger was now threatening his Clan. This would definitely have to be discussed with Cloverstar and the deputy sometime later this morning.

He finished with his stretches and felt marginally more warmed up, though his injured leg still wobbled dangerously when he tried to stand on it. He regarded the traitorous limb with some irritation. The herb storage was running low, and though the chances of illness were significantly lesser in greenleaf, injuries and summer colds still threatened the Clan at any given moment, and he needed to be fully stocked with herbs in preparation for that. It was particularly in times like these that he wished he had an apprentice. He certainly hoped that he had some years yet before joining StarClan, but he would also be the first to admit that he wasn't getting any younger, and what with the typical dangers of Clan life and the amount of cats in the Clan there were to care for, an apprentice would certainly be much appreciated; not to mention that when his leg was as bad as this, it helped to have an extra set of paws aid him in carrying and finding herbs at the like. At the moment, however, he knew he would just have to grin and bear it, or else employ a warrior apprentice or a warrior themselves to help him if really necessary. He resolved to only do so as a last resort, however. The majority of cats were still tired from the Gathering and would possibly enjoy the small reprieve that finding herbs would bring, but he also had no wish to distract any cat from their duties or training.

He briefly considered taking some willow bark for the pain, but discarded the idea as quickly as it came. It was one of the herbs that badly needed restocking, and willows were uncommon in their territory anyway, being more readily available near SunClan grounds. After the tension from the Gathering, he didn't think that even approaching the border to restock would be viewed kindly by any potential passing SunClan border patrol. He didn't want to waste any herbs on himself that might be needed later for those who urgently required it, at least not until the strain between the two Clans died down somewhat. (That day might possibly be further in the future than usual, though, he considered worriedly. MoonClan and SunClan had had their frequent strifes, but none had before been accompanied by unsettling dreams such as the ones he had last night.)

After a painful few moments shuffling around in an attempt to rearrange his nest into a neater pile, he gave it up as a lost effort (some use you are, you hopeless furball. can't even make your own nest when the pain is bad) and headed out off the medicine den, blinking in the predawn light and trying to smooth his fur down with hurried licks. The Clan was just beginning to stir with activity, and he limped over to the fresh-kill pile, plucking out a squirrel and hunkering down to finish it as quickly as possible. He needed to discuss his dreams with Cloverstar, and then he would have to go about restocking the herb supply. It would be enough to keep him busy for the rest of the day.

[deftonesly]

( `♔ ＨＯＯＴＳＴＡＲ ! )
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( twenty-nine ) -- ( sunclan leader ) -- ( located waterfall ledge ) -- ( tagged gullpaw ) -- ( word count 2,138 )
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hootstar had promptly fallen asleep within heartbeats of pushing his thoughts━which should be more pressing, considering he was leader━to the side. the british shorthair was now sprawled upon his hairy backside with his left hind-leg twitching and his forepaw swiping at the air as if it were battling an unseen, invisible enemy. soft snores came from him━just more evidence that his hope to stay awake and look leader-like was lost. he had managed to ruin his grooming; it had all gone to waste, and not just because of the damp, humid air that disturbed his hair follicles. but also because of his wild dozing position. his fur was a mess━a series of clumps, all sticking up in odd places, that resembled rats' nests and cascaded across the ledge. the lazy tomcat rolled over onto his side with a moan, shifting to get closer to the sunlight; it seemed to be having a hard time breaking through the clouds, the tropical trees overhead. whatever thin rays that drifted down did no good; they just starved his basking spot of its purpose. as he moved, still grunting, to get closer to a circle of light dangerously close to the ledge's gushing waterfall, he became aware of a presence below him. and the sharp tang of . . herbs. he stopped inching toward the gap in the canopy. hootstar flicked his ears━the tufts of fur within them and at their edges waving━at the sound of a cat heaving itself up onto his ledge. there was a scrabble of paws and desperate claws, a small oof!, and then the sharp fragrance of medicine was in his face, in his nose━stronger than ever before. the leader rolled onto his side, splaying his forelegs before him and stretching for a second as his visitor also adjusted its position.

indent the arrogant tomcat calmly inspected his claws as he waited for his clanmate to make the effort to converse; he had not even bothered to look at the new arrival yet. and he would not give the fellow sunclanner attention━like the stubborn child he was━until he was certain that the interaction was worth his precious time. surely, whomever was off to his right had not clambered all the way over and up here just to nap with him. no, his clanmate had a reason for coming to him. hootstar had discovered within the past few moons of his leadership that cats did not usually approach him for friendly chitchat━mostly when they had to. and as it of course turned out . . his newfound companion was someone he needed to pay heed to. someone who probably had something important to share. at the sound of his same━"hootstar?"━murmured very softly, very respectfully by gullpaw, the medicine cat apprentice, the calico swiveled his owlish head around. hootstar's bright yellow orbs swept over the petite tomcat for a heartbeat; his orbs were narrow, scrutinizing, not missing a single thing━a single weakness. he saw it all: the nerves that were portrayed by the flicking of his tail; the heavy weight that seemed to rest on gullpaw's small shoulders; the haunted look in his blue-green eyes that hinted a lack of sleep. maybe . . just maybe this conversation was worth his time. after all, this was the medicine-cat-to-be of his clan . . and he often found that gullpaw spouted useful, wise things to him━regarding dreams and starclan and whatnot. he did not show it, but he was truly interested in what gullpaw had to say. one never would have known, though, judging by the yawn that hootstar suddenly let out and the bored expression on his squashed muzzle. the calico had been so distracted with analyzing gullpaw, predicting what he was about to say, that he almost missed the apprentice bow his head. now, that's a welcome sight. wolfmane must be doing something right in that herb-stuffed den of his! just look at the respect gullpaw's giving me; i do so love it when cats duck their heads, acknowledge my power. yes━a very welcome sight indeed.

indent he was about to tease the apprentice, ask him to give him a little curtsy, too . . but then the white-and-gray continued. "i've come to speak with you about . . . the dreams i've been having." there was a pause in the middle of the sentence━a nervous one. keeping gullpaw's pause in mind, hootstar flicked his tail, showing that he was listening . . that he had acknowledged what he had said. he stared at the apprentice, but his brain was drifting elsewhere━for once to a concerned place. a pause in the middle of a cat's sentence could be either good or bad or anything in between. this pause, though . . there was something about it that made a part of the sunclan leader edgy. made him begin to suspect that what gullpaw was preparing to spit out was not all sunshine and rainbows. could these dreams go hand-in-hand with the fog from last night? cloverstar's anxiousness? hootstar could not help the way he shifted a bit on the ledge so that he faced gullpaw; before, he had borderline had his back to him . . but at least now his snout was pointed in his direction. perhaps this was a bit more serious than he had originally thought? he put on a composed face and tried to look alert━ready to listen. but somehow he managed to come off as irritable and snarky at the same time━perhaps his attitude was just a constant part of him now. he watched gullpaw through narrowed eyes, watched him comfort himself with his tail, as the smaller male explained. "some are of blood . . or the clan being attacked by tigers and jaguars. but most of the time, i dream of moonclan." the words sent a pinprick of icy fear crawling down his spine . . like the longest of centipedes. tigers? jaguars? those were beasts he had heard about since his nursery days! he had been sure━since none of his clanmates, for seasons, had ever seen one of the creatures━that they were fake . . just myths invented to keep kittens up at night. could it be that they are real? that they are out there, prowling the jungle and stalking more than just dreams? the chubby calico thought with a thrash of his tail across his slowly warming ledge. and i can't forget about the blood . . about gullpaw's claim that they're "attacking the clan" in the miasmas of his nightmares. panic started to invade him━make his paws go numb, his eyes darken, his pupils narrow.

indent but then the proud leader realized that what he was thinking about was silly. that this entire thing was silly! he should not be letting some kit's nightmares get to him like this; he was the bold, unshakable, confident leader of sunclan! he should not be getting his fur in a twist about something so vague . . something as outrageous as the thought of their relatives waging war on them when their existence was questionable in the first place. but moonclan . . that is something i need to know more about. those cats are very much alive and very much pose a threat to us. maybe gullpaw has more information on their odd behavior? i would definitely love to hear more about that. the white-and-gray apprentice snapped him out of his reverie when he cleared his throat, softly, and asked him, "do you think they mean anything?" the poor cat looked incredibly nervous; he could scarcely meet his leader's cold stare. "starclan hasn't exactly appeared or spoken to me in any of them . . ." hootstar let out a very audible sigh, turned his round head away from the apprentice to think for a beat. he gazed out across his camp . . at his cats as they milled about, hopping over pools of crystal water or basking or chattering in groups. the calico contemplated what to say . . wondered what he could retort with that would put gullpaw's mind at ease and stop him from jabbering on about all his nightmare nonsense. i need to shut him up, hootstar mused, thoughtfully unfurling his claws and running them along the ledge beneath them. if he goes running around, telling everyone about his dreams, then a mass panic will arise. the best thing to do now is show him that i am not afraid, and hopefully that will calm him.

indent a wise leader━take drizzlestar, for example━was composed and compassionate and understanding. even when annoyed, a good and just head of any clan would do his best to control his expression and words. yet hootstar was not wise, and never had been. nor did he have any of the other aforementioned, desirable attributes of a leader. he was not half the leader that his father had been, and this he knew, but cared little to nothing about. this was his time to rise, to reign, so what did it matter if he was not perfect? what did it matter if he was tyrannical and as stubborn as a petulant parrot? the british shorthair was content to utter what he believed, whenever he wanted, to whomever he desired. he simply could not keep his mouth shut, his words always flying from his maw before he took the time to ponder how he would feel if they were said to him. he had pretty much no filter, and this was one of the many reasons why he suspected that, if not for the warrior code, all of sunclan would turn on him. oh, i know that they would, he thought. which is why i must rule with an iron paw. hate me they may, but follow me my clanmates must . . and, this, i command. he finished the thought with a concluding lash of his featherlike tail. hootstar realized that he had been hesitating for a while . . that he had been stalling. and that he now was ready to respond, having hatched an idea of what to say━for once in his rotten life. still keeping his gaze fixed on his warriors like they were the most interesting creatures in the world, hootstar finally responded. "everything . . . is . . . fine, gullpaw." he had not even recognized it until that moment, but he had included a part of his speech to the clan in the snarky reply. he turned back to the apprentice, yellow eyes scornful, his voice raspy and tough when he swept on in a flurry of twitching whiskers. "thank you for sharing what you've seen with me, son . . but what you're suggesting is preposterous." there was mockery in the last word, and he could not help the chuckle that slid from his lips. hootstar got to his massive paws, strode briskly over to the smaller cat; when he reached him, he sat down at his side, placed a paw on his back in an effort to comfort him. "now, hear me out," he purred softly, manipulatively . . . with his words coated in the sweetest of honey, "and let's think about this rationally. for seasons upon seasons tales of tigers and jaguars and everything striped or spotted in between have been told. but have we ever actually seen one of the monsters?" his intense, impossibly yellow orbs searched gullpaw's own blue-green ones almost sarcastically. hootstar already knew the answer to the question, so he did not wait on a reply. rather, he answered his inquiry himself: "no." he snorted. "the beasts you're seeing in your dreams are nothing to get worked up about. they're just figments of your imagination . . meant to spook you."

indent hootstar's voice dripped with false worry when he added, "ohh . . and just think of the chaos that will ensue if the clan so much as overhears the name of one of those animals." the rude calico clapped the medicine cat apprentice on his lean shoulders, pressing on in a tone that suggested he saw gullpaw as nothing more than a troubled child. "like you said━starclan hasn't even gotten involved yet. perhaps you should save your breath for when they appear. . . ?" still keeping his paw draped across gullpaw's shoulders, he looked out across the camp for the remainder of his speech. "there is, however, one thing you said that i am interested in hearing more of . . whether our warrior ancestors are involved or not. moonclan. i must know more about them, no matter if the information sounds stupid or not." his eyes widened, almost hungrily, at the prospect of gaining some sort of leverage over their enemies. "hold nothing back. tell me everything that you've seen . . everything that you know."

[draconic.]

Sparrowheart

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( x thirty-seven moons. ) ( x moonclan. ) ( x warrior. ) ( x warrior cats' den ) ( x tagged; brambleleaf -- mentioned hootstar and cloverstar. )

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A flicker of light streamed through the entrance of the warriors' den. Warming the furs of the cats within. One in particular clamped his eyes together as the rays drifted over to his face, shining directly into his closed orbs. Groaning lowly under his breath, the tom finally opened his eyes, glaring accusingly at the source of light. The sun seemed to pay no mind to his irritation and continued to gleam cheerfully. Grunting, Sparrowheart gathered up his front paws, pushing himself up into a sitting position to stretch out his limbs. It was already impossibly humid. Especially for the morning. Breathing out a quiet sigh, he managed to step over the tails and paws of his fellow sleeping warriors, and he ducked his head as he stepped out of the den. Mercifully, despite the fact it was still quite warm, a faintly cool breeze touched his fur, brushing against it soothingly as he settled out in front of the den.

His light green eyes glinted as they scanned the quiet clearing. Not many of his clanmates were up and about yet, but he could hear a few of them whispering and stirring within their dens. Soon the camp would be bustling with activity and the start of another day would dawn. His thoughts eventually moved away from the sight before him and to the gathering that had occurred the other night. It carried out as he expected. Hootstar was overly obnoxious per the usual, but other than that the event had gone smoothly as it could have. To be honest with himself, he was content and relieved with the peace that had settled over the clan. Hopefully it'll decide to remain peaceful. He murmured to himself, lifting one of his paws to give it a lick.

As he was swiping his paw over his ear, Sparrowheart's gaze darked over to Brambleleaf's den as movement caught his peripheral. The familiar figure of the medicine cat appeared from the den and Sparrowheart watced as the older tom limped his way over to the fresh-kill pile for his morning meal. Sparrowheart felt for the tom. That leg of his always seemed to bother him, as much as he tried to wave everyone off and insist that he was fine. An apprentice for him would prove to be extremely helpful. Hopefully one of these days a young cat would express interest in becoming the other tom's apprentice. He himself had never been interested in herbs. But perhaps he could assist the tom later on. He knew that Brambleleaf usually went to gather the herbs that he needed for his stock earlier in the morning. Before the heat of sunhigh could settle in, so maybe he could offer his aid before the other tom left. Cloverstar usually assigned a warrior to Brambleleaf anyway to help him in case if there should be any danger lingering about.

Clearing his mind of his musings, Sparrowheart stood and began making his ways across the clearing, slowing once he reached the fresh-kill pile. "Good morning, Brambleleaf." He greeted him, his tone friendly. Even from where he stood, he could smell the herbs in the other's pelt. "How are you doing this morning? Did you sleep well?" He wondered politely, picking out a particularly colorful bird from the pile as he settled on the opposite side from the other tom.

Enjoying the taste of the bird, Sparrowheart crouched over his meal in comfortable silence as he awaited the other's reply. His rough tongue running over the length of his muzzle to dislodge a feather from his jaw. The blue feather swirled from his mouth, fluttering down to settle neck to his paw as he took a second bite. It was already warmer than it was when he first emerged from his den and the breeze he had felt earlier wasn't as cool anymore. It's definitely going to be rather scorching today. He grumbled.

[fire,]

❝ ( ＣＬＯＶＥＲＳＴＡＲ !! ) ❞
( thirty moons ) ( molly ) ( moonclan leader ) ( leader's den ) ( no tags )
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as she opened her eyes, cloverstar wasn't sure what to make of what she saw. cats of all shapes and sizes were circled around her, and for a moment the grey-and-white molly thought she was under attack. her first instinct was to unsheathe her claws, but as the molly prepared for battle, she noticed something. the cats around her were unmoving and colorless, like statues. every cats' fur was dull and desaturated, like she was seeing in black and white. no one moved, not even cloverstar, but that was because her paws were glued to the ground. as the she-cat studied more and more of the cats' faces, she realized that some of them were her own. she could recognize her own warriors, apprentices, even her deputy. and her pelt immediately spiked up once she realized there were sunclan cats there as well. the most predominant one of them all was hootstar, the spoiled sunclan leader that had been chosen by hierarchy and favoritism. he did not move, but his big amber eyes, which were dull and almost grey in cloverstar's eyes, shone fiercely, as if he was getting ready for a fight. in fact, all cats' eyes seemed to do this. was this a battle. it seemed like time had stopped, which it perhaps had, but cloverstar did not know that. finally, the white-and-grey molly tried to move, but this time her paws truly were glued to the ground. she couldn't lift a claw up, like something was holding her down and making her stay there. all she could do now was watch every cats' fierce faces, light and dark eyes all staring directly at her. a shiver was sent down cloverstar's spine. what was this? after what had seemed like hours passing by, the she-cat realized that it now felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. hesitantly, she once more tried to walk, and took her first paw-step towards the circle of seemingly endless cats.

the molly opened her minty eyes slowly, sunlight filtering through the leader's den. her whiskers twitched as she heard the sounds of birds chirping and moonclan awakening, dawn already creeping up over the horizon. despite the dream, cloverstar was determined to act calm. she contemplated over sharing this with brambleleaf, but decided on telling him when the time was right. she didn't want to worry the medicine cat more than he already was until she had to. last night had been fretful, and cloverstar was desperately trying to keep her cats from attacking hers, and vice versa, though hootstar wasn't doing as good of a job. arrogant as always, he might have actually encouraged conflict between the two clans, but thankfully sunclan and moonclan alike until the gathering was cut short when the clouds covered the moon. starclan's clear displeasure and her recent dream ha cause for alarm, and the grey-and-white molly wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if the medicine cat came to her with news of a dream from starclan. sighing, cloverstar used her legs to push herself off of the ground and onto her paws, then immediately sat down again once she realized that her fur was a mess.

she did not stop until her fur lay flat and neat, though it still naturally puffed out with its feathery persistence. until the dawn patrol was assessed, the molly didn't have much to do except worry about whether or not her cats met sunclan on their side of the territory if they too were doing patrols, which they of course would be. there was enough tension between the clans as it was, and a fight seemed almost impossible to avoid. one wrong move and both sides would be at each-others' throats in a heartbeat. and speaking of sunclan, there was one cat in particular that cloverstar was anxious about: jaywing. the two had met as apprentices, and their friendship had developed into something more as they aged. when she, who was then known as cloverleaf, reported to the sunclan tom that she was pregnant with his kits, he didn't know what to think. they decided that in order for them to have the best life, they would stay in moonclan with their mother. but things got complicated as cloverleaf was elected for deputy after the previous, slatepelt, died of sickness. she decided to give her kits, cinderkit and pantherkit to a foster mother who was as of the present, deceased. now the leader had to watch her kits grow from afar, never being able to care for them like a proper mother should have. they made eye contact numerous times throughout the gathering, but never talked, which was not unnatural. the two had grown distant ever since cloverstar became pregnant, and now they rarely even smiled at each-other. she still had feelings for jaywing, but she knew she had to put her priorities as leader first, for the wellbeing of both her clan and her kits. and so, that is just what she did. after finally getting away from her thoughts, he white-and-grey molly padded out of her den, the humid air catching her off guard. for once the molly couldn't wait for leaf-bare, as it was so unbearably hot. they would have to push through until then though, as cloverstar wasn't going to let a little heat take away from her leading moonclan as usual.

[thank]

( ❝ ＧＵＬＬＰＡＷ ! ! )
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( sunclan ) ● ( med. cat apprentice ) ● ( sixteen moons ) ● ( location ledge ) ● ( tagged hootstar ) ● ( words 1649 )

xxxxxx
xxxxxxgullpaw didn't know what to do. he felt as if he was shrinking on the rock, melting slowly into the rushing water only to be dragged away by it's tumbling current. though hootstar had not said anything yet, he dreaded his response, just as he dreaded seeing all the cats injured and bleeding out after a battle. his stomach turned and he feared he would lose his meal from the night before. his pale gray ears pressed against his head as he scuffed his paw on the rock, drawing curly lines with his claw. he felt so much shame for coming to his leader instead of talking to wolfmane first. his kind and gentle mentor would have understood! if she small tom every had a doubt or worry, he usually went to his mentor, because wolfmane understood. it was rather... unusual, if you will, for him to go to hootstar. the two cats didn't seem to get along well at all. though gullpaw tried and tried and tried, the arrogant calico never seemed to respect the small cat back. though medicine cats were almost ranked as highly as them. almost. the leaders still had much authority over the medicine cats, however much they liked it or not. it was the warrior code, and that's how it always had been and always will be.

xxxxxxgullpaw held his breath as he waited for hootstar's response. "everything... is... fine, gullpaw." he hissed. gullpaw flinched at his reply, the way he hissed it. everything was most defiantly not fine! gullpaw wanted to screech back at his leader, tell his how wrong he was. but what if hootstar was right? what if they were simply just nightmares, similar to the ones he used to have as a kit in the nursery? his mother would always be there to pull him closer, wrap her tail around him and whisper in his tiny ear how it'd be all right, that it was just a dream. but his mother was not here now to tell him of how she, too, had nightmares when she was a kit. she was no longer here to tell him of stories of how she met his father, how brave and charming he was, how she chose the name "gull" for him when it could have been anything else, something sounding stronger, better. she was gone, and as much as the apprentice hated to admit it, she was never coming back. someday he would see her once again in starclan, but not anytime soon. unless she walked with him in a dream... but that was silly! if starclan needed a medicine cat, they would speak to wolfmane. wouldn't they?

xxxxxxoh, but hootstar was not over with scolding the young cat. or what gullpaw considered scolding. he had more to say, as much as gullpaw wanted it to end. "thank you for sharing what you've seen with me, son... but what you're suggesting is preposterous." hootstar did not shout. the last word made the young cat flinch, as if the words itself had hit him. and did it ever hurt. it was not preposterous! hootstar kept going, with more and more to say, more and more to prove the young cat wrong. oh, did gullpaw ever want to sink back into his den and never come out. "now, hear me out." did his leader almost sound... understanding? this was new. he was used to his proud leader disagreeing with him, as his very own opinion was always correct. but his leader showing compassion was new. maybe he was changing? becoming a better cat, even if it was extremely slowly? "and let's think about this rationally. for season upon season tales of tigers and jaguars and everything striped or spotted in between have been told. but have we ever actually seen one of these monsters?" the tom hissed. gullpaw was about to answer when he answered his own question. "no. the beasts you're seeing in your dreams are nothing to get worked up about. they're just figments of your imagination... meant to spook you." imagination? everyone knew gullpaw was the last cat to be thought of as imaginative. and he most defiantly did not get "spooked" easily. maybe if he were a kit, being told of such beasts, he would be frightened. what kit wouldn't? the thought of large cats lurking out there, ten times as big as the largest clan cat, ready to leap out at their victim at any moment was enough to frighten any cat, even the bravest ones.

xxxxxxgullpaw wanted to respond so badly, but knew his leader had more to say, and if here were to interrupt, he would be in huge trouble. so he kept listening, no matter how painful it was. but gullpaw was used to listening. he constantly had to listen to his mentor speak, not interrupt, for the things he had to learn were important. cats' lives depended on his knowledge of how to heal them! "ohh... and just think of the chaos that will ensue if the clan so much as overhears the name of one of those animals." gullpaw bowed his head, looking at his paws. of course! how stupid of him it must have been, prancing around, speaking of such evil around the clan. he might terrify some of the younger cats, warning of great dangers that were never going to come! the leader placed his paws on the small cat's shoulders, making gullpaw suddenly feel extremely uncomfortable. he tried to gently shoulder off the leader, but he was too large to do so. "like you said - starclan hasn't even gotten involved yet. perhaps you should save your breath for when they appear...? there is, however, one thing i am interested in hearing more of... whether out warrior ancestors are involved or not." gullpaw perked up a bit, staring into hootstar's yellow orbs as they gazed into his blue-green ones. what could hootstar possibly be interested in that the young cat had to offer? the only thing he could think of would have to be... moonclan? was hootstar planning an attack?

xxxxxxgullpaw's theory was proven correct. "moonclan." his leader said the word with such hunger it almost frightened gullpaw. hootstar's eyes lit up as he imagined what inside information the gray and white tom could possibly have that could help bring down that clan. "i must know more about them, no matter if the information sounds stupid or not." gullpaw hissed. he hoped nothing he ever said sounded stupid. well, besides what he had said earlier. gullpaw cringed at the thought. "hold nothing back. tell me everything that you've seen... everything that you know." everything? gullpaw didn't know much at all. all that was ever in his dreams was them fighting in a dark place, maybe deeper into the forest... all he could see was screeching cats dripping in blood, fighting for their lives. but over what, he wanted to know. what could be so important that the clans had to waste lives over it? not territory, he knew. they had so much of it already. too much, maybe. though greed was a terrible thing in his eyes, many cats craved more than what they had. gullpaw himself was satisfied with the life he lived, the friends he had. almost.

xxxxxxgullpaw decided to start off with the basics. "well..." he started, his voice squeaking like a mouse. as he said his first word, he realized how little he knew. all he could remember was cats fighting, their eyes glowing in the dark. gullpaw had nothing extremely important to note about his dream... except for maybe the cats he saw? he decided this is what he would tell. "cloverstar was there. she was fighting with a bunch of the moonclan apprentices and warriors. creekflight, nightstep, shatteredpaw, you name it. all of them." the young cat suppressed a shiver as he thought of all the claws raking pelts. he continued, gazing into his leader's yellow eyes. as he spoke he remembered a rather strange detail he had noted. he shook his head, trying to clear it so he could think properly. had what he had seen been correct? "all of the sunclan apprentices and warriors were there, too. but there was one strange thing about some of the cats." gullpaw still didn't understand. though most of the cats looked normal, just like regular cats, some of them were rather... strange. he didn't know how to explain it.

xxxxxxgullpaw took a deep breath and began to explain, scraping at his memory to try and figure out the mystery of what he saw. it wasn't that gullpaw had a bad memory. he could see everything vividly as if he were still living the nightmare. no, it was just that it was so preposterous, so hard to belive that his conscience couldn't comprehend it. "some of the cats were... odd." he wanted his leader to say something, anything, but he still kept quiet, soaking up every word that gullpaw uttered. it made the apprentice almost uncomfortable. "one cat, an apprentice, by the looks of it, burst into flames in the midst of the battle. flame!" he repeated. gullpaw wanted to cower beneath the rock, shrink back into his den. why did he dream of such things? were they visions from starclan, or merely just nightmares? if they were visions, they would probably be extremely important! why did starclan send them to him, a small apprentice, instead of his mentor, wolfmane? he gulped and continued to explain. "there was another cat that would disappear very few seconds, only to reappear somewhere near by. and yet another, that would say something that i coudln't quite hear, and cats around them would just drop to the forest floor, almost bowing towards him." gullpaw's mouth felt dry. did these cats really exsist? and if so, were they within the clans themselves?

[Megiy]

〉ＪＡＹＷＩＮＧ❞
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[ Sunclan warrior ] ✷ [ tom ] ✷ [ 32 moons ] ✷ [ location sunclan camp ] ✷ [ tags open - mentiones Cloverstar, Hootstar, Gullpaw ]



xxxxxx As the cats were coming back from the gathering the previous night, Jaywing didn’t feel like he would be able to sleep. So as the group of cats finally approached camp and slipped in one by one, or in groups, all headed for their nests, Jaywing stayed behind, next to the entrance deciding to join the warrior on guard.

The night air and the silence of night life of the forest did him good, and most of all he was able to think without interruption. His thoughts were the reason that even if he tried, he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night. He was displeased that the gathering was cut short. He could still see Cloverstar standing on one of the branches of the gathering tree. His heart broke a little every time he thought of her ever since she told him about the kits and they started to behave more and more like strangers. That night even the usual glances between them didn’t happen, the air was tense between the clans and he told himself that she didn’t want to be suspicious and had too much work with keeping the cats at bay. He could have lived with that this one gathering, but not just that the gathering was cut short, but Hootstar was going on and on about Sunclan… well more praising himself than anything else really, that when it was Cloverstars turn to report about her clan the clouds covered the moon and the cats scattered. Jaywing didn’t even find out if his kits were made apprentices. The kits…. By his calculations they were 6 moons old now. The last time he saw them they were just born, two little balls of fur, but he was sure that if they were made apprentices they were not at the gathering, thinking that he would be able to recognize them immediately.

The white tom looked at his paws, wrapping his tail around them, trying to find some comfort in the situation. Despite sometimes being angry at himself and Cloverstar for the fact that they were so naïve in their younger days, he was happy when he found out that Cloverstar, at the time Cloverleaf was bearing his kits. Confused and terrified, yes, but nonetheless happy. He never got the chance to tell her that. All the ease and enjoyable atmosphere, that was between the two cats disappeared with the news of kits. Of course there was panic. They were both loyal warriors to their own clan and they got scared.

He still stood by the decision that the kits should stay with their mother in Moonclan, things got a bit complicated when Cloverleaf became deputy and then Cloverstar, but Jaywing still couldn’t imagine what Hootstar would say or do if he brought two newborn kits to the clan, and he had a feeling that he didn’t want to find out.

These days he wasn’t angry at himself and Cloverstar any more, he was angrier that life made them be apart when they could have been so happy if they were simply born in the same clan. He thought a lot about the old days, when they were mere apprentices, becoming friends over the clan borders, then when warriors heading out for patrols or hunting just so they could bump into each other. The amount of times they snuck out of camp to see each other, Jaywing was amazed that no one noticed. But the forest and the territory was big, more than both clans needed, so finding a spot and covering their tracks wasn’t that hard. If only time could go back and we could go back to those days…


The night soon shifted in to early morning. Jaywing was so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice until it started to get warmer and he heard Hootstar call a meeting. He snapped out of his chain of thought and slipped into camp. He sat down at the edge of one of the pools in camp, just within earshot. He observed Hootstar on his ledge, Jaywing couldn’t help but smile as the tom spoke. Sometimes he got the feeling that this was all a game to Hootstar and he was its king. He had mixed feelings about the tom. Sure he was spoiled and was in his position for all the wrong reasons, and Jaywing didn’t really like the way the tom handled the clan and its cats. Still he could see in Hootstars eyes that the calico tom loved his position too much to let anything endanger it. That gave Jaywing some hope that the clan was safe and that Hootstar would protect it if needed. Probably from the ledge though…, he thought to himself, observing and listening to the freshly groomed tom.

The meeting was short, Jaywing was glad about that. He watched Hootstar stay up on his ledge apparently deciding this was the time for sunbathing. Well this is an extremely early hour for him to be up. The white tom joked in his own mind. He looked up at the sky and wondered how it could be so hot with all the clouds floating around letting only a few sunrays escape. At that time he was happy that his fur was so short and that their camp was made of pools. He stepped into the pool in front of him and lied down. The pool was shallow, so the water didn’t consume his whole body, but left his back dry. He closed his eyes and relaxed for a moment. His ear twitched when he heard voices coming from the ledge. Opening his eyes and looking up he saw Gullpaw talking to Hootstar. He could see the medicine cat apprentice shaking from where he was laying in the pool. Sweet Gullpaw was always a bit nervous and shy and Hootstar didn’t really help with that. He couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but for a moment Hootstar seemed like he was addressing the clan and Jaywing caught a few words, "everything . . . is . . . fine, gullpaw," and then swiftly turned back to Gullpaw like he had mistakenly said that towards the clan and not the medicine cat apprentice. Jaywing narrowed his eyes and wondered what the spoiled leader was up to now.

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[ Sunclan apprentice ] ❂ [ molly ] ❂ [ 10 moons ] ❂ [ location sunclan camp ] ❂ [ tags open – mentiones Lionpaw ]



xxxxxx Firepaw was still sleeping in her soft moss nest when she heard Hootstar call the meeting. She opened her eyes and had to blink a few times to adjust them to the faint light in the apprentice den. She could tell that the sun was already up by the amount of light that managed to slip through the waterfall, but she didn’t feel like getting up yet. Her green eyes still full of sleep she couldn’t help but yawn and stretch her front paws out of her nest almost grabbing Lionpaws fur with her claws by mistake. Luckily her brother’s nest was just far enough that she missed him by a mouse whisker. She retracted her paws back under her chest and looked at her brother for a moment. She was surprised that he was not up yet and that Hootstar was up at such an early hour. Both Firepaw and Lionpaw were at the gathering and it seemed that it took quite a tool on them even though it ended early.

Firepaw sighed and slid her right front paw over her ear and face a few times, trying to get the sleep out of her. She then slowly got up and stretched, her back rising up and her fur still a mess it made her look two times her size. After the stretch she sat back down for a moment before actually getting up and stepping out of her nest. She stopped next to still sleeping Lionpaw and nudged him with her paw on his shoulder. “Hootstar has called a meeting…” she started her voice still tired, she yawned again before continuing. “…get up..”. She was sure that her brother would wake up and she could already her the muffled sound of Hootstar speaking so she headed out of the den. He missed the start of the meeting but that didn’t concern her too much. If anything important was said, I’m sure someone will catch me up. she thought and looked around for her mentor Vervainstorm but couldn’t spot. She couldn’t hear Hootstar because of the little waterfall that guarded the entrance to the apprentice den. She sighed.

The apprentices den was a nice little space, but getting into it and out again was a bit annoying sometimes. There was no way you would make it without getting at least a little bit wet. If you managed to avoid the water falling from the ledge over the entrance you would at some point have to step into the pool that was in front of it. Firepaw didn’t like getting herself wet most of the time since she had dense fur and it took a long time for it to dry of on cold or humid days. Like today. She got an annoyed look on her face. On humid days her neck fur got all frizzy and stood out. Sometimes she thought that she should have been named *Lionpaw* when that happened since it looked a bit like she had a mane.

Finally she crossed the pool, trying to keep her paws as dry as possible and thinking that why haven’t they arranged some stepping stones yet?! She came close enough to the ledge from where Hootstar was speaking and listened till he finished. She was still a bit sleepy and she could feel the fur on her neck starting to frizzy up and she realized that her fur was still a mess. A moon ago she wouldn’t really care since it was a humid and hot day, and it didn’t really matter how she looked like as long as it didn’t interfere with her work. But today she decided to at least try to be decent and get her fur under control at least a little bit. So she started to arrange and clean her bright orange fur into something more presentable.

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[ Moonclan apprentice ] 🎵 [ molly ] 🎵 [ 6 moons ] 🎵 [ location moonclan camp ] 🎵 [ tags Cloverstar - mentiones Pantherkit ]



xxxxxxCinderkit woke up to an empty nest… again. Both she and her brother Pantherkit were early risers, they were kits after all up to no good and full of energy all the time, but somehow her brother managed to wake up before her ever so often. She hated to wake up alone, she hated the feeling that she got when she did, since the air around her was cold and there was no fur you could bury your face in and steal a few more moments to sleep, our a body to jump around on urging them to get up. The small she cat raised her head and looked down at the moss that made up the ground of the nest, it was so big and so empty. Her front paws were extended in front of her and she dug her claws into the moss, trying to repress the memories of her adoptive mother, Rosetail, which was not with them and more. He pale blue eyes got a bit watery but she closed them and shook her head. She was not going to cry. She said her goodbyes and today was a new day.

Cinderkit got up and shook herself and padded out of the nursery, trying to escape her thoughts. She stood outside of the entrance for a moment looking around camp trying to spot her brother whom she was sure was already lying in a distant part of camp, watching everyone wake up and go about their day. She finally spotted his black and white fur and his intense bright green eyes and he was just as she thought, lying in a shady spot watching over camp. Her brother moved on from the loss of their foster mother a lot faster that she had, but in her mind he was the stronger sibling and has always been a bit detached. She could see that he was agitated, his tail tip flicking up and down franticly, but wasn’t sure if it was the hot day or something else.

Cinderkit walked towards the center of camp, then stopped, not really sure what she wanted to do. She could see some cats at the Fresh-kill pile and wanted to pad to them and say hello, but with the corner of her eye she spotted a movement where the leader den was. She turned her head and saw her mother padding out of the den. Her mood brightened up a bit, At least we still have her, she thought and looked at the cat who was also the leader of their clan, and she is our mother… we still have someone. She always understood why their mother couldn’t be fully involved with their lives and Cinderkit knew that the molly tried her best, and always took the time when her kits needed her and maybe even gave them a lick on the head from time to time. But every time the she-cat spent some time with her kits, it seemed like it got her into a sad or distant mood, like her kits reminded her of something or someone. Cinderkit could see it in her eyes and never really understood it. But Cinderkit was still sad that they weren’t closer and that she didn’t know her better, especially now when she and her brother were alone and older.

She decided to greet her and started to pad closer. But as soon as she started to walk the usually cheery and social nature, that Cinderkit had, vanished and she became nervous and unsure. She was near her mother now and suddenly realized that she hadn’t cleaned her fur and put it in place. Usually a morning shake was enough to get her short fur in order, but today she was going to talk to her mother and she was worried that she might look messy and that her mother would not be happy about that. And Cinderkit didn’t want that, she wanted her mother to be proud of her not ashamed. So she stopped in her tracks not sure if she should go on. She forgot to breathe for a moment and looked at her paws. You look fine Cinderkit, she’s your mom, just go talk to her. How are you ever going to make a great warrior and make her proud if you can’t even speak to her? Besides you are too close to her already, and she will see you walking away. She was approaching Cloverstar towards her side so the she-cat hadn’t spotted her yet, but it was unavoidable. The leader had probably already heard her approaching so there was no point in turning around now.

Cinderkit made her paws move and padded a bit closer, “….Good… morning, mother.” She said and tried to keep her voice calm and not shake. She seemed older than she was, turning into a sophisticated apprentice while trying to speak to her mother. “Did you sleep well? Did you come back late form the gathering? How was it?” as she talked she for more relaxed and the cheery and the kit side of her slipped out a bit so she asked a few more questioned than she intended… and she had so many more and would have blurred them out all at once if she was talking to some other cat. But now she managed to stop herself and still felt nervous that she had asked so many.

[deftonesly]

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( twenty-nine ) -- ( sunclan leader ) -- ( located waterfall ledge ) -- ( tagged gullpaw ) -- ( word count 1,878 )
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he knew that he was making gullpaw nervous and annoyed, being so close to him, being so mocking, but hootstar ignored the signals the tom was giving him. annoying other cats was what he did best; he had no reason to stop what he was good at, now, did he? the calico could also sense that, no matter how hard he had tried, he had not succeeded in comforting the white-and-gray. the apprentice still had a light of fear in his eyes . . a smoldering fire, too, that hinted he found hootstar to be a fool for not believing him. the leader narrowed his eyes, letting his paw slide from the cat's bony shoulders, his jutting spine. on the inside, he was a bit defensive, but to the untrained eye he looked as cool and confident as ever. why does he expect me to listen to such nonsense? these visions of blood and tigers and jaguars are anything but real. moonclan, sure━i'll give those nightmares to him, but only because starclan could be putting them in his brain. but gigantic cats leaping from the shadows after so long of us being here? that's preposterous . . right? suddenly, he was not as sure as he had been a few moments ago, because something in the medicine-cat-to-be's blue-green eyes called out to him. the little cat genuinely believed in what he saw━or had believed. though the fire in his eyes was still there, it was clear that hootstar's words, a sprinkle of rain to the flames, had made it sway. especially when he brought up the clan, spoke about how sunclan would react; that really seemed to make the apprentice feel guilt, for he looked down at his paws. his expression of embarrassment sent a wave of pride crashing over hootstar. at least he was certain about one thing: gullpaw would not be running around, blubbering about his nightmares, to any cat. still, he thought, peering down at the cat as he inched away, back toward his heated spot on the ledge. there's something about the passion in his eyes. he doesn't think his nightmares are just figments, concocted by his stressed brain. maybe i shouldn't completely disregard them . . but he cannot know that i am even going to consider thinking about our distant relatives, let alone the threat of their attack! i must keep a removed air about me.

indent once he had backed a comfortable distance away from gullpaw, he collapsed down onto his ledge again. there was a soft plopping noise when is meaty body slapped onto the stone, and then the swish of his leg feathers and long tail as they draped across the smooth, gray surface. at this point in his interaction with the medicine cat apprentice, the gray clouds overhead had swelled, moved closer; it was clear that the jungle clans were in for a deluge today. he looked up at the amassing armies of gray and black, twitching his ears as he saw lightning flash in the distance. its jagged, bright white claws slashed contours across the distant skyline; thunder boomed a snarly, grumpy answer, annoyed by the presence of its old foe. it was just the right combination between cold and humid that the air━laden in moisture and heaviness━made his pelt fluff out against his will. it looked like it was going to rain soon, much to the calico's chagrin; the wind, the temperature . . the oncoming marching of the clouds━they all suggested it. the clouds stretched across the sky like heavily pregnant queens that were soaking up the sun; he had every confidence that they were going to birth upon sunclan and moonclan a rainfall to remember. he was not much of a fan of rain━again, because it messed with his coat, and the humidity that it brought also turned him into a walking hairball. ( well, a hairball that was denser than usual. ) the bold sunclan leader resisted the urge to shy away from the threat of the downpour, flee into his den for the day . . because gullpaw was not finished yet. he still had hootstar's questions to answer, his concerns to meet. the white-and-gray surprised him, managed to tear his bright gaze from the clouds, when he spoke; for some reason, his voice sounded louder than usual in hootstar's tufted ears. maybe it was the fact that it had gone up a few octaves and was rich with nerves. so much nerves.

indent "well . . ." gullpaw began, sounding not unlike a mouse. there was a long pause, as if the tomcat struggled to recall his nightmares━specifically the ones that mattered, the ones about moonclan. or perhaps he does remember? hootstar thought, spinning on his haunches and offering his shoulder to the clouds, the muttering thunder, so he could give the apprentice his full attention. yes, perhaps he does . . and maybe what he saw is too hard to put into words . . too hard to say aloud, it's so bad? oh, i hope that that's a good thing for us and a bad thing for our enemies━maybe he is having visions about the fall of moonclan and the rise of sunclan? before he had enough time to truly get his hopes up, the apprentice seemed to have reigned in his thoughts, formulated words on his tongue. "cloverstar was there. she was fighting with a bunch of the moonclan apprentices and warriors. creekflight, nightstep, shatteredpaw, you name it. all of them." hootstar tried to picture it all in his mind━the black-and-white molly fighting side-by-side with her cats, her mostly-white coat flecked in blood. the booming, caterwualing cries for battle; the shrieks for mercy when the moonclanners fled, only to run into the fangs and unsheathed claws of his clan; the bodies that littered the floor, either too wounded to move or already in starclan's ranks; the tidal waves of blood that splashed across the expanse of wherever they were fighting, lapping toward him in ominous ripples. no matter how hard he tried to envision the scene, he simply could not seem to imagine it the way gullpaw was. the little tomcat looked like he was suppressing shiver after shiver as he sat on hootstar's ledge, tail wrapped tightly around him. the white-and-gray shook his head in an almost . . puzzled manner when he proceeded, "all of the sunclan apprentices and warriors were there, too. but there was one strange thing about some of the cats." hootstar lifted one furry eyebrow, peered down the length of his stubby muzzle at gullpaw; the apprentice's mind seemed to be whirling, the gears of his brain clicking overtime, as he inhaled a shuddering breath. hootstar let him have his time, for once in his life being completely patient. he did not want to rush the smaller tom or add to his confusion, because that could mean the loss of details.

indent gullpaw was almost writhing with uncomfortableness under his leader's chilling, intense yellow stare, but he still accomplished spitting out what had been so hard for him to say. "some of the cats were . . . odd. one cat, an apprentice, by the looks of it, burst into flames in the midst of battle. flame!" hootstar shook his head, stricken━but unable to completely process what he had just heard. he could not, would not, lapse into thought just yet though . . not until gullpaw was finished. it looked like he still had words heaped upon his chest, ready to burst from his maw. and burst they did when the apprentice swept on, voice sounding hoarse and dry as he described these . . . these monster cats. "there was another cat that would disappear every few seconds, only to reappear somewhere nearby. and yet another that would say something i couldn't quite hear, and the cats around them would just drop to the forest floor, almost bowing for them." suddenly the small male's throat seemed to close up on him, because he stopped talking, nervously gazing up at his leader. he looked shaky and triggered, like he would give anything to melt into the stone beneath him rather than face hootstar. and hootstar did not blame him . . because, now, he had digested gullpaw's information about the monster cats and was ready to, once again, reassure the tomcat. stop him from telling anyone else about these dreams . . squash his hopes that the visions of flame cats and disappearing cats and telepathic cats were coming from starclan. starclan would never send these kind of dreams! he thought, getting to his paws with a groan and striding, for the second time, over to gullpaw. he did not put his paw on his shoulders, but drew very near. these visions are dark and deceitful━they could be from the dark forest brutes themselves! i cannot even believe i listened to this poor, star-crazed apprentice before me. all he has done is fill my 'noggin with unnecessary worry and doubt . . and all he will do is spread a clan-wide panic. i may not be a medicine cat or some sort of dream interpreter, but i can sense when something doesn't feel right. i don't think gullpaw is lying, oh no, but i do think that he probably is cracking under the stresses of his duties. he could've eaten a bad rodent, too, come to think of it. like the tigers and jaguars, i refuse to believe that any of this will come to happen. the british shorthair narrowed his eyes. so . . . i'm done with this conversation.

indent hootstar shook his head as he took his seat beside gullpaw, looking upon the white-and-gray like he was a disgruntled, disappointed parent. "gullpaw, gullpaw, gullpaw . . ." he blinked, almost sympathetically━and this time, he did not thank the tom for sharing his dreams, like he had for the tigers and jaguars part of their interaction. it was all too ridiculous to be kind anymore, show false gratitude. "i know that you're an intelligent feline, that you've been blessed with discernment and brains . . so why can't you realize that you're getting worked up over nothing?" the surly male's voice took on an edge. "what you're seeing isn't real," he chortled in his face. "it's not even from starclan's starry paws, from their mouths. these conjugations about our distant relatives and your 'power' cats are probably just the results of a lack of sleep, stress, and perhaps picking something old from the fresh-kill pile, son." he laughed softly again, running his tongue along his lips and getting to his feet; his yellow gaze made its way up to the clouds, which were scudding ever closer. he needed to wrap this up, get inside; it was not like gullpaw could stop him from ending this little chat. as he bunched his muscles at the edge of his ledge's walkway, prepared to slither down it, he swiveled his head one last time to lock eyes with gullpaw. the british shorthair's voice was condescending and amused when he purred, "run along now and get some rest and reprieve. you can come back to me when you've actually dreamed of something sound."

[no longer here]

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[ sunclan ] - [ apprentice ] - [ ten moons ] - [ location camp ] - [ tags firepaw, gullpaw ]

indentthere was fire. it lapped up at the trees and consumed them in one mouthful, smothering their vivacious leaves with its searing breath and leaving a blackened stain in return. lionpaw stood in the middle of it; he could feel the heat in his veins and the violent roar of the flame. as he watched in wonder and despair, he heard voices. the deafening whispers of cats he did not recognize surrounded him like the flame. they spoke all at once; their words stumbled over each other, and the young apprentice could barely make out a single word. lionpaw, look! look! the golden tom stood there for a moment, distraught with the cacophony surrounding him, but eventually his blurred vision was cast down to look upon his paws. he couldn't believe it, not in all of starclan!.

indentlionpaw was made of fire! wisps of the burning fragments of light fluttered from his paws, billowing out in every which way as his white-hot claws sunk into the blackened earth. a wail escaped his maw, and lionpaw could feel his head being pulled up by some invisible force as he was forced to look at the impossible event happening before him. a title wave of flame surged towards him, churning like an unstoppable current as it morphed into a feline, ten times the size of himself. with wide eyes, lionpaw could not move as the flaming creature bent down to rest it's nose upon his forehead. the voices whispered, chanting, and every moment it got louder and louder. lionpaw!

indentand suddenly, the large apprentice was forcefully dragged back into reality. he jolted upwards from his nest with a heavy and sharp gasp, only to come face to face with his sister, who had been trying to wake him up. his cheeks felt hot in embarrassment (really, his entire body felt scorching), and he grumbled. "it's probably just about the gathering. not like we know about that already, or anything. i'll meet you outside firepaw." a sigh of relief came from the young tom watched as his sibling left the den, and in his solitude, memories of the dream were beginning to bubble up in his mind again. he did not know what any of it meant, and was quite unsettled and conflicted over the fact that his dream could be a message from his ancestors. lionpaw figured he was obligated to let wolfmane and gullpaw know, for they knew how to interpret their own dreams, as well as that of others.

indentlionpaw made himself and his nest presentable before he left the apprentices' den, careful not to slip into the nearby pool as he exited the small den. his coat was damp and heavy in this weather, but he had well gotten used to the muggy feeling from his kithood up until now. nothing mattered more than an explanation at the moment, and it was the only thing at this moment that would lift his anxiety. he had never had a dream like that before; lionpaw knew there must have been some reason for it. his path was set on finding the young medicine cat; the apprentice half-heartedly acknowledged the cats who greeted him, and he cantered up to the tom, who he saw walking down from hootstar's perch. "gullpaw!" he meowed, dipping his head slightly before continuing. "i... i had a dream last night and i need your help interpreting it. it was strange, and i think it might have something to do with starclan. um, there was fire everywhere...it ate up the forest and everything around it. it was loud and roaring, yet I could hear whispers as clear as day over it. they kept telling me to look and so i did - but i was really forced to. i was made of fire myself! and then, the next craziest thing happened! i looked at the fire again and it turned into a cat as big as a tree! it touched its nose on me and whispered my name, and nothing hurt. i'm sorry for rambling, gullpaw. i'm still shaken from it." so what did gullpaw know?