Journey to the Trinity Tree - Summer event prompts

[Sunlitsecrets]

Username: Sunlitsecrets
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Calypso , Barley , Psyche , Sven
Link to their pride or group: Starheart's Regiment , The Wanderlust
Prompt level completion: 5
Prompt:
Letters are sent home, but no one's going home themselves yet. They have friends here now, people they want to keep safe. A lion from the army of decay, a cat from the tree of life, and a tree monster with a kind heart join the champions around the fire as they ponder what they'll do tomorrow.

[SurgeFire]

Username: SurgeFire
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: orpheus, lucian + new cats - calida, caspian
Link to their pride or group: Vallis
Prompt level completion: Level 5
Prompt:

The army of decay seemed... untouched, undisturbed.
Oh, yes, they were damaged; they had not gotten away without the army of life doing some damage. But as Lucian studied them, he truly wondered - could they even feel pain?
Could those creatures even be... hurt? It was so odd to be fighting besides an army composed of non-cats, that he had to stop and think about it for a while; he had thought about commanding these creatures once, yet it seemed so wrong. The two beings were so different, so... incomparable.
He was simply recovering from his own wounds, and he watched as the creatures seemingly... carried on. He and Orpheus were not badly hurt as some of the other cats there, but it was something they had to recover from.

Orpheus was still separated from Lucian by Lucian's own... request, of sorts. He wanted to respect the other cat not wanting to even entertain the idea of friendliness, but Orpheus did feel somewhat hurt.
What had he done?

He was going to fix things. Once and for all. He was going to confront this problem head-on... as he had never usually done. Orpheus was somewhat of a timid cat, and didn't really... do that.
It wasn't something he ever thought himself as doing. Confronting Lucian directly? That seemed rather difficult; the tom himself would never give him a straight answer.
But he had to, just this once.

"What did I do to you?"
Lucian turned back in a moment of surprise, and somewhat shocked manner; he hadn't expected him to actually make an attempt to talk to the creamy tomcat, yet... "What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean."

A pause.

"Go back. You couldn't quite possibly ever understand."
Such a non-answer... Orpheus couldn't help but feel so disappointed at this. "...Alright, Lucian," he muttered in a defeated tone, his tail low.
What was up with this cat? Why did he refuse to ever show him willing kindness?

After some time - after an encounter with Nereus, the tomcat who was Orpheus' mate; yet another cat he deeply disliked, and perhaps even more so... he had such a grudge against him, but it was not something he was going to vocalize - he was caught incredibly off-guard by... a portal.
A portal home.

He could tell this immediately, and his brain began racing with possibilities.
Would he want to go home when the opportunity presented itself right then and there? Oh, it seemed so... tempting. It was so tempting to finally be free of all of this nonsense. All the fighting, all the battles, all the lack of actual knowledge of the entire situation; to be free of the god and goddess nonsense, to finally catch a break.

But he remembered what he came here for. A chance to prove himself.

He stared across at Orpheus' face, attempting to gauge his own reaction. What was it? Sudden realization of the implications of the portals returning?
Lucian wondered if he would even go home... and the black tomcat stepped forward, closer to Lucian.

"That's... home, right?" he asked, his gaze still focused on the portals that opened up before them. "We can go home?"
"Yeah, we can. Not that I am. But..." he muttered, looking away, off to the side. "What do you want to do?"

"It's been real nice fighting with you," he muttered, stepping even closer to the portals, somewhat of a relieved look on his face. "...but I can't take this anymore, Lucian."
The giddiness of the lack of Orpheus meddling in his own plans rose, but his expression did not change.

"Hope to see you again soon."

Orpheus quickly went back in the portal, not looking back.


What was he about to do now? It was somewhat relieving not having to worry about Orpheus anymore... but he felt a little twinge of loneliness while he was thinking about it. He was here without any other cat from Vallis.
He hated to admit it, but the thing they had in common was that they came from the same place... it brought them together as allies even more with that. And with nobody from Vallis here anymore...
...well, he lost that entirely.


"Is that Lucian?"

He looked over to the side in the direction of the voice; a feminine one, but something vaguely familiar.

Is that Solaris' daughter?

There Calida stood, giving him a challenging look, as if sizing him up; she likely knew of his prickly personality, and he thought it quite amusing. The young cat was somewhat fiery, still learning to manage her temper... and presumably ready to start a fight with him if he provoked her enough.
Amusing, but exhausting. He felt somewhat relieved and somewhat disappointed at the same time; both for being accompanied once more, but for different reasons.
"Yeah, that's him."

Another blue cat stood at her side, his eyes wide; he was much more reserved and softer than the fiery molly, he could tell.
Of course.

I couldn't get rid of him. How foolish of me to think of that.

Caspian and Calida ran up to Lucian, both exclaiming various things at the same time; Calida much more enthusiastic, as she usually was, and Caspian just trailing along behind her.
"Guess you're stuck with us, now, huh, Luce?" Calida ended as she finally caught up to Lucian, her mismatched gaze challenging his own.
...unfortunately, he thought, staring back at them with a look of mixed amusement and exhaustion. Of course I've gotten stuck with these... practically-kittens. Orpheus was much easier to deal with.
Now I'm stuck with these two.

"I suppose," he spoke, looking back over the two, wondering what he was going to do next. "Why did you come?"
"We wanted to check out the portal because we heard you and Orph had come in already!" Calida spoke, interrupting Caspian as he started to speak, too; though it seemed as if he was used to this. "It seemed cool."
"Cool... do you realize the danger you're getting yourselves into?" he snarled, intimidating Caspian but not Calida. "How idiotic."

But, he supposed, he was stuck with them for now... he might as well tell them what they got themselves into.

[1038 words]

[ajax.]

Username: AJ.
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Nereus Alaz Nyx Ceto Volos
Link to their pride or group: Antiquis Aetheres
Prompt level completion: 5
Prompt: 1057 words

Nereus stared forward. His sides heaved despite him technically not needing to breathe, he kept the habit for sake of convenience, even if he panted now.
A gash covered his side, golden ichor slowly leaving it. It would close eventually, with dampness thick in the air and hanging heavily around him, he would recover.
Alaz wasn't doing so well though.
His pelt laid riddled with wounds, even if he was cautious about it he still ran into several occurrences where he got injured, and in the damp air no fire could remain lit. He watched his son shiver with fatigue, orange eyes squeezed shut in pain as he laid there. He couldn't recover without heat. He would keep suffering until the weather changed.
The blue tabby sighed, looked away and to where Lucian was, and realizing that there was a black tom with him. His heart stumbled and he leapt to his paws, running over.
"You're finally here!" He rasped, pressing his forehead into Orpheus' neck, inhaling his scent. It had been too long, and while Nereus wasn't willing to risk going back to the goddess' land and to the tree, he couldn't help but worry. "How long have you been here?" He couldn't remember seeing him in the battle, and he shifted so that Orpheus might not see his injury.
Then, he saw something, a slice of glowing light that seemed to cut right through the air itself.
Nereus stood, mesmerized and distracted from his mate, he watched Alaz lift his head, and soon the rift grew to a size where he could see home. His heart jolted and Nereus ran to the edge of it.
He watched his cats close in, inspecting the portal with interest and Nereus tensed before poking his head through.
Ceto stumbled back in surprise, and Volos nearly yowled in laughter, Nereus smiled, glancing around at the cats.
"Are you coming back?" Ceto asked, desperation evident in her voice. Nereus deflated, knowing how attached her friend had grown to him. He shook his head slowly and she frowned. "Then why the portal?"
Nereus shrugged, though he was sure no one else could see his shoulders. "It just appeared... but I was thinking."
Ceto walked forward and he whispered into her ear, she tensed, looking around wildly before nodding.
"How is he?" She asked, clearly trying to peer around him.
Nereus frowned. "Not good, the air here is so damp he can't recover from the recent battle. And I can't use my powers to heal him, he's stuck like this until the weather changes."
The blue tom looked back toward Orpheus, feeling his chest ache as he looked over to Alaz. He swallowed, shifting around on the muddy soil.
He shook out his thick fur, trying to determine what he should do. Then, he perked up.
"Nyx!"
His call was left unanswered as he yelled into the portal, then slowly, he watched the black she-cat approach.
His memory of the past use of the portal reminded him that he had to be careful. And that he had to be fast if he didn't want the fragile rift to close.
"Yes?" Nyx asked, hollow meow seeming to echo into Nereus' ears. He felt his whiskers twitch as she sat down across from him. Nereus didn't pull his head back yet through the portal.
"Just a moment." He asks, nearly desperate. He took a step forward to reach further through the portal, then he turned to face Alaz. His ear remained through the portal. "Azzy, come here." he called.
The black tomcat looked up, seemingly dizzy as he pushed himself to his paws. He nearly collapsed, the air penetrating his thin fur as he took slow step after slow step.
"Come say hi to Volos, he wants to ask how you're doing." Nereus explained, though his stomach churned to lie to his son again. He poked his head through once more as Ceto moved aside.
Volos took a step forward, seemingly understanding from the small amount of conversation he heard.
Alaz poked through, hanging his head and his tired eyes barely closed. Though, like the dry warm air was affecting Nereus, Alaz seemed to perk up slightly from their home's environment.
"Aye Azzy! I heard you kicked some tail?" Volos piped, and Alaz nearly laughed, the noise a dry, heavy chuckle. He nodded.
"Yeah, but I might have to train differently for the next battle, the air is too damp here for my powers... Might have to be more physical next time." He explained, and Nereus' stomach seemed to shift to allow his heart into his paws. He felt just as dizzy as Alaz looked.
He glanced at Ceto, who smiled warmly at Alaz as she stepped forward.
She flicked her ear to indicate the count down.
three.
two.
one.
Nereus moved swiftly, grabbing his son by the scruff, to which he yelped. "Hey! What're you--"
The blue tom threw his head up, tossing Alaz through the portal at the same time that Ceto reached through and grabbed him.
"Nyx!" Nereus called, and the black she-cat leapt through, landing silently on the ground beside Nereus.
Ceto still had Alaz by the scruff, but he frantically fought against her, eyes wild. "Father! I'm gonna---" His wounds had already begun to heal as his body became engulfed in flames, and Ceto had to drop him to remain unscathed.
Alaz ran forward, but it was too late.
The portal began to close, having been disrupted too much to remain open. Nereus' heart ached as he watched it happen. He pulled back through the portal. "Forgive me son, but you can't stay here."
When the rift finally dispersed, he turned back to Nyx, who stared around at the strange monsters, cats and lions around her.
"You should've brought Ceto instead of me." She mumbled, shaking mud from her paws.
Nereus shook his head, darkness was a good advantage, he turned to see Orpheus just as he went through another portal, and Nereus' heart sank.
No...
He flattened his ears as he watched other cats come through, and he nearly choked out a sob as he sat down, recognizing the blue fluffy form of his other son, Caspian.
"No..." This time it was audible as he looked at Lucian dealing with the two young cats. "here we go again."


(Alaz went home, and Nyx replaced him )

[snapshot]

Username: snapshot
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Mamba
Link to their pride or group: Lions of the Waves
Prompt level completion: 5
Prompt: June 10

[MySpoons]

Both sides of the battle have fled to nurse their wounds...well,mostly that of the army of life. The army of decay seem unperturbed, though they are seemingly plantlike in makeup and it's truly unclear if they even feel pain. The calm between the battles is unnerving. Your cats know they have very limited time to rest and recover. While training, resting, or whatever it is they choose to do- a portal opens to them. A portal Home. Some final offer from some unbeknownst being, or some freak coincidence offering them a way to retreat now, to flee these lands while they have their chance. To return with their lives intact, and their bodies as little damaged as possible.

Do they take this chance? Why or why not? Do they remain to fight for what they must? Do their egos demand they stay? Do they return for more help or try to find a way to communicate with their friends or family on the other side of the portal? Does someone else come in to join them, or see what's really beyond that portal? How do the older cats present the events that have happened to their new recruits, if they have any? Do they spurn them away and back home before they can get involved?


Username: MySpoons
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: MAR'S CHAMPION, Samael, Isolde
Link to their pride or group: The New Guard
Prompt level completion: Level 5
Prompt: [1052/1000]

Isolde slips inside the tunnel, surprised that she isn't challenged by the guards. The tunnel opens up quickly into a hallway with neatly cut stone and eerie blue lights illuminating the place. She slows her place, hearing her footsteps echo. It is dry and well kept. A few cats and lions rush in and out at the far end, emerging from crossways to disappear without a glance in her direction.

Without a clear direction, she heads forward until the space opens up into a large cavern. Isolde blinks in surprise. There are large stone structures, like houses or dens spilling everywhere. Against the walls, blending in with the dark grey cave walls, or growing out of the ground like features of the cave rock. Blue lights is everywhere, glowing calmly next to the more natural, fickle orange of candle flames.

It is a beautiful place.

But she is drawing attention from the citizens. Her antlers and ice mane are not inconspicuous. Spotting a path along the edge of the city, carved into the walls to create a covered walkway, Isolde keeps her cool as she starts walking that way.


- -- --- -- -

Samael turns, leaving his fellow soldiers on the battlefield. He is not a healer and this time, he isn't worried about defenses. It is too late for that. If they spent the energy on trying to fix the defenses, no one would have the energy to fight when the army of decay returns.

It is time to find that ice lioness. The guards at the tunnel entrance to not seem alarmed that she fled there, which causes Samael to question if she really was on the opposing side. What a weird place. He shakes out his mane, enjoying the lack of heavy armor flattening it, and sets off at a sedate pace.

The guards nod at him as he brushes by. No sign of her in the halls, no ice left. Clearly, she wasn't fighting anyone. Samael looks down every hallway at each intersection with the same results. He ends up back at the city without spotting her. A healer station has been set up close to the city's official entrance gates to receive the injured to stabilize them before sending them off to quieter places.

"Any of you seen an ice lioness, with antlers? Black and blue with white." Samael asks, voice gruff so no one takes the opportunity to interrupt his search with meaningless chatter.

A small black cat with white paws flicks her tail. "That way, along the outer path. Looked a bit lost to me."

Samael nods and continues on, picking up the pace just a little bit. Along this path, which circles the entire main part of the city, are more caverns that split off or artificial tunnels to specific rooms. There is no chaos in the city under the tree. At least, no more than usual. He also checks every offshoot carefully, listening for conflict and looking for residue ice magic.

His search turns up nothing-- and Samael starts to think he'll have to search for her within the city... and ask others to keep an eye out for her-- until a strange green glow seeps out from underneath a heavy oak door. Usually, the rooms right off the path are locked, which is why Samael is surprised it opens so easily when he pushes on it.

What first catches his attention is the floating disk surrounded by green light. It is the desert near the oasis he stopped at. Second, Samael sees the ice lioness sitting before the same disk, completely absorbed by the sight. The light refracting through her ice collar sends turquoise spots to land on the cold stone floor.

"You."

The lioness jumps about a foot in the air, spinning around with her ears flattened. When she realizes who it is-- she crouches further. Ice radiates out around her in a thin layer of fractal patterns. Although he has half a mind to summon his armor, Samael forces his fur to remain flat.

"What are you doing here?" Samael tries his best to keep his tone neutral. He makes the decision to sit in order to not spook the lioness into attacking. While Samael is quite confident that he could win a fight against her, he doesn't think he can do it without serious injury. Frostbite is not something to take lightly.

She looks at him, wary, still tense for a few more moment until she stands up straighter. "Looking for answers. I don't think this is what I was trying to find."

Samael looks back at the magical window. "So that's not your doing?"

"No. Portals are not something I can create."

Samael steps closer, curious. "A portal?" As he approaches, the heat from the desert seeps through to him. He closes his eyes and enjoys a few seconds of the warmth.

"Why there?"

"Oh, that's home. A way back, I assume. For whatever brought me here," She says as if she's speaking to herself.

Samael looks at her, then back to the portal to the oasis. "A desert?"

"Oh," the ice lioness blinks. "No. Is that were you're from? I see my home."

Samael shrugs, noncommittal.

"It must be to allow anyone to go home who was brought here," the lioness muses.

Samael thinks for a moment. "Why would we be sent back if the war isn't over? Nothing has changed."

"What's wrong here? In this realm." The lioness looks directly at him for the first time-- and Samael realizes her eyes glow like his. A soft blue.

"Some life goddess doesn't want things to die. I don't trust her. She's hardly said anything." Samael says, scornful. "But in the end, it doesn't really matter why I'm here. The war is enough."

The ice lioness looks away. "I need to find this goddess."

Samael shrugs. "You can ask pretty much anyone, they'll probably show you to her." He stays seated in front of the portal as the lioness leaves, watching the ice left over on the ground slowly melt away.

He'll get up soon and spread word about the portal. He knows more than a few cats are eager to go home, disillusioned with the conflict to the point where they're no longer willing to sacrifice themselves for a mute goddess.

[Jantzi01]

Username: Jantzi01
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Kosa Helios Virtue
Link to their pride or group: The Ushirikiano Pride Here
Prompt level completion: 5
Prompt:
Here

[Wet Bread]

Username: Wet Bread
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Worm, Aluraune Wormlet Ratatoskr
Link to their pride or group: Rusted Daemons
Prompt level completion: Level 5
Prompt:
Aluraune regained consciousness within the city beneath the tree, one of the healers tending to her. It took her a minute to get her bearings and realize she'd survived the attack. Thank goodness, it would have been a bit embarrassing to her reputation if she'd died defending Worm, of all cats. Thankfully, the healers here were good, really good. Aluraune was already able to rise back to her paws. She might even be able to participate in the next battle, though she was no longer sure she even wanted to. If anything, Aluraune wanted to haul Worm off back to their own realm, and be done with their battles. However, Aluraune knew that Worm wouldn't be inclined to follow along with her. Maybe Aluraune was better off leaving Worm on her own and saving herself? She was definitely tempted.

As Aluraune sat up and started to observe her surroundings, she realized the cats around her were bustling about, particularly the champions.

"What's going on? Another battle?" Aluraune asked the healer, who seemed to be the only one calm.

"No," The healer answered as they checked her over. "Another portal opened up outside."

At the healer's words, Aluraune joined the fray, quick to go see the new portal. Maybe enter it? She hadn't decided yet. However what she saw there made her realize that she had to stay. The form of a cat appeared in the portal, slowly taking shape. Aluraune stepped forward as she realized she recognized this shape.

"Ratatoskr?" She questioned as Bael's messenger stepped forth from the portal. Ratatoskr dipped her head nervously as a smaller cat stepped out from behind her. Wormlet? The young cat was quite a point of contention in Rusted Daemons right now. When Worm showed up with the young kitten one day, she didn't even try to hide the fact that Wormlet was hers. It was pretty hard, Aluraune mused, with that appearance and name. Wormlet looked eerily like her mother... If her mother was much smaller and nicer. She was actually in the running to be Bael's heir at the moment, if she developed any magic when the time came, she would be. She was still quite young though and had no business here.

"I was sent here with a message by Bael." Ratatoskr spoke quickly, eyes darting nervously to the surrounding cats and lions. She was as much a coward as ever. "Bring back both the worms unharmed or don't come back at all." Before Aluraune could say anything to her, Ratatoskr darted back into the portal.

"And what are you doing here?" Aluraune asked Wormlet, not even trying to mask her voice with sweetness like usual.

"I begged Grandmother to let me come." Wormlet confessed as she rushed up to Aluraune, not a trace of fear of her in her eyes. "I know my mother is here and I was worried. Though she really only let me come because she thought it'd be funny..." Aluraune felt a bit of amusement at Wormlet calling Bael grandmother. Bael probably hated that. This young cat really had no fear. "Where is my mother?" Wormlet asked, the worry showing in her eyes.

"We'll see her, but not until next battle." Aluraune informed her. "Stay with me, I have to keep you safe until then." Wormlet nodded, a cheerful expression on her face. It was beyond Aluraune how one little cat could be that naive.

~~~

Worm, for the first time ever, felt worry for Aluraune. She had no idea how she was doing, if she was even alive. She knew she shouldn't be worried for her enemy, but she had gotten hurt on Worm's behalf.

She'd retreated with the army of decay and other champions, to rest and recover before the next battle. Luckily, most of them weren't suffering from any major wounds. In fact, Worm didn't have anything more than a few scratches.

Worm had just settled down to rest her eyes a bit when the portal opened, sending a ripple through the cats around her. She could hear the cats whispering amongst each other, all of them debating whether or not to return home through it. Worm knew her decision. She'd made up her mind the moment she came through the portal, she wasn't leaving now.

Much to her surprise, some cats actually emerged from the portal. Worm couldn't fathom why any cats would want to join the battle now. Then she saw a very recognizable pelt. The pelt of her more temperamental, hot-headed daughter, Calida. Worm didn't see her often, didn't have many opportunities to be a proper mother to the young cat. Worm heard lots about her from Solaris though. She was struck by how, even now, Calida resembled Solaris so much.

Worm rushed towards the young cats talking to Lucian, worry coursing through her. Of course, Worm was happy to see her daughter but it was incredibly dangerous here.

"What are you doing here?" Worm asked as she joined the group. Calida's eyes momentarily widened with surprise when she saw Worm.

"Just wanted to check it out." Calida answered her, with a shrug of her shoulders. There was a look in her eyes telling Worm not to test her. If it wasn't such a serious situation, Worm would have been amused. She'd seen that same look from Solaris many times over. It was dawning on Worm, she had a lot to keep track of next battle. She was sure Solaris would kill her if anything happened to Calida. Aluraune officially became the least of Worm's worries. Hopefully, she'd just have gone home and Worm would one less worry. Worm glanced over her shoulder at the portal, still open. Part of her desperately wanted to herd Calida back through it and make her go back home, but what right did Worm have to tell her that? She could hardly call herself Calida's mother, they didn't see each other nearly often enough for Worm to parent her properly. With a bit of guilt, Worm thought of her own mother, Bael, who'd hardly parented Worm and Worm had felt so much resentment for. Hopefully she wasn't making Calida hate her to that extent but what if?...

[1,034 words]

[EchoIre]

Username: EchoIre
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Chetan and Kamala| Hazel
Link to their pride or group: Motoheri Pride | Hallow's Edge
Prompt level completion: Level 5
Prompt:

Chetan had scaled one of the trees outside of the underground city to rest. With so much happening and so much on his mind, he just wanted a moment away from everything before he battle began again. He wasn't truly alone this time, however; Mitra had returned from the colony of faes after having heard about the most recent attack, and had come to spend time with Chetan. He had made them promise to go back once the army of decay returned, however. As much as he missed their company, Chetan didn't want to see Mitra getting hurt.

A sudden, intense glowing down below caught his attention.

"Portal." Mitra chirped, standing up quickly.

"Portal?" He looked down. Sure enough, there was as portal hovering above the forest floor, gently swirling the leaves and grass around it. Unlike the last portal, Chetan could see through to the other side. It led back to the desert.

The leopard quickly descended from the tree, landing in front of the portal with a quiet thump. He looked it up and down, eyes wide with disbelief. Why was there a portal here? Did the goddess want to send him back? Why hadn't she said anything?

He paced around the portal, watching how it moved and reading its energies as best he could. This wasn't like the one the goddess summoned to his world. This was different.

"Strange..." Chetan murmured.

Mitra nodded their feathered head in agreement. "Very."

He looked around the forest. He was alone. The leopard turned back to the portal, already knowing what he had to do.

"Che-tan?"

He looked up, smiling softly at Mitra. "Don't worry, Mitra." He glanced at the portal. "I'm staying. I have to."

"Why?"

He sighed. "I can't just give up again, Mitra."

"Chetan-"

"No. I know what you're going to say, and you're wrong." Chetan said firmly, meeting the fae's dark eyes. Blue swirled through the multicolored scales. "I let him push me around when I had a job to do. I'm not going to run away from this. They need me as much as they need everyone else." He turned his gaze deeper into the forest, where Kamala surely was whether she was with the army of decay or not. "I can't leave Kamala here, too. I shouldn't have let her go off on her own, either, not in the middle of a war." He turned back to the portal, watching it close. "I have to fix this."

The portal was gone a few moments later. Chetan stared at where it used to be, his gaze hard. He felt his throat tighten but did his best to swallow down the nerves. Kai could forgive him, if he came back, but he could never forgive himself if he did. He shook his head then padded back to the underground city.

~

Hazel was training, sparring with the smaller cats despite a few joking offers from the lions to spar with them. Between bouts, the tortoiseshell found herself alone to catch a breath. She looked up, and suddenly there was a shimmering portal before her. She could see the moors through it, faintly distorted as if through a fog.

What was this? She crept closer, nose twitching as she scented the air.

Could she just... leave? What if it was a trick, designed to magick her away like what happened with so any of the other champions?

Whatever this was, she didn't trust it. Hazel turned and ran back to the sparring grounds, coming to a stop beside a familiar pale lion.

He looked down, concern creasing his massive face. "Everything okay?"

Hazel glanced behind her. The portal was gone. She felt a cold chilll run up her spine. "Uh.... yeah, everything's fine..."


Kamala was once again alone in the camp of the army of decay. She didn't really want it any other way, though. She had returned to the small oasis of life, settled a respectful distance away from the dead soldier.s Perhaps it was disrespectful of her toe spend her time here when she vowed to help the god of decay, but she doubted he would have the energy to protest.

She wrapped her paws around her head, wincing as she placed them too close to a few nasty scratches across he bridge of her nose. She had fought against lions yesterday, in a war she didn't even understand. In a war they probably didn't understand either. Had anybody died? Did anybody see her, recognize her? They were attacking again today, what if she had to fight against Chetan? Could she? What if he could, but she couldn't? What about Iah?

What about Iah?

Kamala groaned, wrapping her paws tighter around her head. She didn't wnt to think about this any more, any of it. She just wished she could go home.

Suddenly, a pale blue light shone through her paws. Confused, Kamala lifted them, and was met with the sight of a portal only a few tail-lengths away. Confused, she rose to her paws and walked a few steps closer.

Had the goddess heard her thoughts? Had the god of decay? Was this them telling her to leave?

She could see the desert in the other side. By all means, this appeared to be a way back home: exactly what she wanted. But now that she was actually face t face with the possibility, she found herself... hesitant. The god of decay still needed her and the other champions who answered his call. She couldn't jut abandon the post she took up again. Not when she had decided this was the right side, and the losing side. Not when she had already fought for this side of the war. She needed to win, and hopefully find a way to do so peacefully.

Still, could she really turn this opportunity away? She had been lucky so far, what if that all stopped today? What if this was the only way she would return home?

What would she tell her mother if she came back today? That she abandoned the goddess for the enemy, then left when that got to be too scary, even when she felt the 'enemy' was actually in the right?

Kamala sighed and stepped away from the portal.

She would stay.

[Kitten-Girl-500]

With reinforcements, the troops are bolstered and more ready than ever to fight their foes, on both sides. Though the next battle seems to approach quickly, there are murmurs around the armies as the generals each look for a new group... infiltrators- they call them. Unbeknownst to them they mimic each others words "Fire. We'll flank them and when they leave the tree to fight...we'll burn it to the ground". Such an irony that they have identical plans, one group to burn the tree of decay, another to burn the tree of life. "Who will join us? Who can be trusted? Who can be stealthy enough to lead or partake in such an attack?" So similar, yet so far apart.

Do your cats agree with the ethics of a stealthy, under the table death blow? Do they approve of using fire? Do they fight for a fair fight or lead the group in their mission to put an end to it?

As the armies begin to move, the splinter groups leave just ahead of them. Taking a new, longer route around to reach their destination, this one in silence as they prepare themselves for what they believe they must do. The rain is coming, and they have limited time to start a flame that can withstand it, from the inside out.

While they skulk around to achieve this, the armies meet again in the fields, bringing their all to this final battle. Their biggest brutes and forces, their best weapons and armor. It feels like the entire forest is filled with cries of anger and hurt, and the night's barely begun.

Username: Kitten-Girl-500
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt:
Ichyr | Ravah | Subira | Luina
Link to their pride or group: Summitfall Pride
Prompt level completion: Level 5

Prompt: Subira gathered with the rest of the able warriors in a courtyard close to the entrance tunnel. Sekhmet had been instantly willing to help as soon as she had heard Ichyr’s plan, and had volunteered to go out onto the battlefield as soon as possible. But the generals of the army had called their forces into one location to organize them for the next attack.
SPACE“We’ve decided to use fire as our weapon. We’ll flank the enemy, then have our group of infiltrators sneak into their territory and light the tree of decay on fire.” The general gave a cold laugh. “They’ll never see it coming.”
SPACESubira watched as Sekhmet seemed to fold in on herself. Subira knew how the brown-spotted lioness felt; she too saw that their previous plans were unraveling before their eyes. Ichyr had wanted Sekhmet to place a ring of flames around the tree to protect it; but now it sounded like Sekhmet would be needed elsewhere.
SPACEShe flattened her ears and growled. Burning the tree of decay was a low blow, and one that seemed like a last resort at best. Although, this probably was their last resort. Subira wished that their plan had been anything else, something that didn’t need fire. Sekhmet had come through to be an ally, but now she had put herself in a tough position.
SPACE“How can you call that a fair fight?” Subira snarled, standing taller. The crowd around her hushed, and the generals’ attention flitted to her.
SPACEFeeling her confidence grow with each passing second, Subira stalked toward the generals. “You keep on declaring that we’re fighting for justice. What’s just about this entire plan of yours?” When there was no answer, she snorted. “Just as I thought.”
SPACE“Now, listen here, lioness,” one of the generals, a stocky brown male, said. “You know nothing of the trials we’ve faced to protect the Trinity Tree and our Great Goddess.”
SPACE“You think I don’t know anything about trials?” Subira shoved her face in his. “I’ve been disowned by my own mother and given to another pride. I’ve had to learn early on that death is a part of life. I had to come here and save your own tails because you weren’t able to handle your own threats!”
SPACEHe shoved her backward with one forepaw. “We’re doing what’s best for Ikaika. We can’t just let the hiamoe destroy our Goddess.”
SPACE“That’s better than dealing so low a blow, you’re knocking your own paws out from under you,” Subira retorted hotly. “I don’t know how long this has been going on. But I want to leave with my integrity intact if I ever make it out of this star-forsaken place. You can send all the warriors you want to destroy that tree, but they’ll have to get through me first.”
SPACE“Traitorous words,” remarked another general.
SPACE“I don’t want either tree to be destroyed. All I want is balance and peace restored.” She faced the brown male again. “Something that you obviously don’t understand.”
SPACESekhmet bounded over to stand beside Subira. She laughed as coldly as the general had as she said, “I’m standing with her. And your lions will have a hard time burning the tree of decay when a lioness that can control fire is opposing them.”
SPACEAll five generals looked rightfully shocked by their words. “She has the gift?” one of the two cat generals, a stocky black male, said.
SPACE“You’d better believe it,” Sekhmet said, summoning a flame over her extended forepaw as proof. It vanished a moment later.
SPACEThe brown lion’s gaze darkened. “That is… unfortunate for you.”
SPACEHe flicked his tail, and immediately two lions grabbed her. A third rushed forward and held a damp cloth to her muzzle. Sekhmet roared and thrashed, almost breaking free, before her eyes rolled back in her head and collapsed to the ground.
SPACE“No!” Subira cried, racing forward to Sekhmet’s side. She looked up helplessly at Ichyr, who was doing nothing to help. He just stood there, another face in the crowd.
SPACE“Take these two to the prison,” the brown general ordered. He locked gazes with Subira, and she could have sworn that he was happy about them being locked up. “Make sure to put them in the deepest cell. We can’t have that one starting any blazes.” He flicked his tail toward Sekhmet.
SPACESubira screeched for help as two heavily muscled lions dragged her away. She shouted and fought and clawed all the way down into the dungeons. Subira screamed as she was thrown into a pit with walls higher than she could climb. She landed on her paws, but then had to jump to catch Sekhmet as her limp body was tossed into the pit.
SPACEThe guards murmured something to each other, then one of them left while another, a lion, stood watchful over the oubliette. There wasn’t much light that made it this far down, but there were a couple of torches up at the top of the pit.
SPACESekhmet’s eyes fluttered open. She sprang to her paws with claws extended, instantly awake and bristling. “What happened?”
SPACE“We were thrown into prison,” Subira snarled. “Hey, you up there! You’re nothing but a dirt-faced, cloud-brained—”
SPACE“He doesn’t deserve your insults,” Sekhmet said, quickly hushing the younger lioness. “Besides,” she murmured into Subira’s ear, “lucky for him, my powers extend beyond these walls.”
SPACESekhmet flicked her tail, and the fire from one of the two torches zipped down to hover above her tail-tip. Another flick sent it careening toward the guard. There was a shriek and the smell of singed fur, then rapid pawsteps heading upward.
SPACE“That’s our distraction,” Sekhmet said at full volume. “Now, can you shift? You just might be long enough to reach up there.” She pointed at the rim of the pit with her muzzle.
SPACESubira nodded, then shifted into her snake form. She coiled her base as much as she could, then extended her neck upward.
SPACEA quick escape, a couple of skirmishes, and some fancy footwork later, Subira and Sekhmet blended into the army heading out of Ikaika and into the fields surrounding it. As they left the confines of the tunnel and broke through into open air, Subira watched as a splinter group headed away toward the forest. She nudged Sekhmet and pointed toward the group, signaling for the brown-spotted lioness to follow. Sekhmet nodded, then headed off.
SPACEThe first wave of opposing forces were already clashing, and the sounds of battle rose high into the air.
1085/1000

[Sunlitsecrets]

Username: Sunlitsecrets
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Calypso , Barley , Psyche , Sven
Link to their pride or group: Starheart's Regiment , The Wanderlust
Prompt level completion: 5
Prompt:
None of them stand for this. They're going to try and stop it.
link