[☆] silentclan: a rise clan

[dimi.]

The same night Amber had been exiled from her clan, Howlclan had grown tense. Cats were whispering among themselves, fearful for what Wolfstar may do them. Would he kick them out next? Among these worried cats were Hauntingchirp, Hollowcry, Fawneye, and Cypresscloud. The four of them had gathered in the warrior's den, ushering the others out to host a private meeting. Once all the cats were out, the four funneled to the back of the den, a word having not yet been exchanged between the four. Hollowcry made his way to the exit, peering outside of the den before pulling the moss curtain shut, turning to his friends behind him, who wearily eyed him.

"Okay, we're in the clear." Hollowcry said as he made his way down to the back of the den, sitting beside his mate Fawneye. Their tails naturally coiled, a motion the two of them had gotten used to.

"We need to take down Wolfstar," Hauntingchirp instantly began, her lip curling inward over her top layer of teeth as she snarled. "He demoted you for expressing your opinion. He's nothing more than a coward!" She slammed her paw against the ground, her golden eyes glinting in sheer rage. The other three nodded their heads, knowing it would be best to let the fiery red she cat express her feelings without censorship. "We need to do something.. We need to kill him." She hissed out with a soft idle smirk, as if the idea of killing were nothing more than a chore to her.

Cypresscloud swung her head in the direction of Hauntingchirp, her mint green eyes locking on the red she-cat corrupted by anger. "No. We must be cautious. If we are to kill him, we must get the other members of the clan behind the idea, or do it in secret." She said, glancing between the three warriors. "He trusts me the most out of the four of us. I could lure him into the back of his den, and take him out there." The others glanced between one another, Fawneye shaking her head.

"No. If you go in there alone, you might get more hurt. You may need to spill it into the center of the camp so the others can see if it gets too bloody and break it up." Fawneye explained, lapping at one of her paws to brush behind her ear before returnign to her original position. Hollowcry nodded with Fawneye, just as Cypresscloud began looking over at Hauntingchirp.

"I know you want this to be swift, but it's just too risky." Cypresscloud said with a soft sigh. "You can't deal the killing blow if this goes right, but if this fight spills out into the center of the camp.. the blow is yours." Hauntingchirp's golden eyes lit up at the offer before she nodded her head. "Then we have a deal."

Cypresscloud turned to face the entire group before she began to speak again. "I'll move into the den early tomorrow morning and fight him while he's in his groggy state. If I'm successful in killing him, well, we'll figure out where to go after that. If it spills into the center of the camp, I don't want anyone but Hauntingchirp intervening. After all.." Cypresscloud's eyes drifted down to Fawneye's large belly. "You have your own family to worry about." Cypresscloud then rose to her paws, her gaze looking slightly disappointed after eyeing Fawneye's stomach. She had lost her own daughter, who happened to be Ebonypaw, several moons prior.

"We need sleep now. Come on." Cypresscloud adjourned the meeting, and the four returned to their nests, each quickly dozing off in anticipation of the following morning.

[dimi.]

chapter 21

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chapter 22

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chapter 23

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chapter 24

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chapter 25

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chapter 26

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chapter 27

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It had been several moons since the dream struck Amberstar, when starry silhouettes had surrounded her. The dream that told her to craft a clan of her own, one she could call her own home. She had swiftly taken up the mission to do so, seeking out an unclaimed plot of territory. She had roamed various territories for roughly a moon, wandering aimlessly. Wandering without a specific destination had become a normal occurrence for Amberstar, as she had learned in journeying with Wraith for a moon, but she was persistent in her mission. She didn’t stop wandering about until she had found a place to call Silentclan’s territory.

She had ended up in the middle of a plain, with two bodies of trees in the midst of it, about a quarter mile between each forest. To the north of the larger forest, the forest Amberstar had started her clan in, was a large river. The river maintained cold water almost year round, with fish that thrived within; a great source of prey. To the south was a series of mountains, which towered far above Amberstar, the mountains daunting to her.

In the east, the land was seemingly barren. There was a plain for miles, with a gradual hill upward in the distance. The hill had been declared the “training hill” of Silentclan. In the training hill, Amberstar would send apprentices up it to challenge their mentors, the land primarily used for fighting training and practices between warriors and their apprentices. And in the west, several miles out, there were blurs of towers, built by the two-legs. Smoke would rise from the metal buildings in the distance, something that alarmed Amberstar, but it was so many miles out, it didn’t really affect her clan, at least not for the moment.

After being granted her nine lives, Amberstar had began to plan what exactly her clan was about. She had already designed a camp in the forest, since there were several large stones resembling caverns in the middle of the forest, with dense trees that almost completely shielded the sunlight out, the forest remaining reasonably dim through all the seasons except winter. During winter, the trees were stripped of their leaves, the bright sunlight almost blinding for any cat that dwelled in the forest long enough for their eyes to adjust to the brightness, as Amberstar did.

While she had designed the camp, she also came up with a concept of a clan. She had decided her clan would be called Silentclan, and they would work in the shadows. She would allow any cat to join, and wouldn’t kick them out, so that way several cats wouldn’t randomly be abandoned as she had been seven moons earlier. Not only that, but she had built a new system; one that other clans didn’t traditionally performed. She had built a system called a contract system, where cats could pay in prey or other cats in order to have services such as theft, kidnapping, defamation of character, and in the most severe cases; murder.

Murder had to be justifiable, of course, as Amberstar still wanted the support of Starclan. Unjustified murder was against the warrior code, which Amberstar still wanted to follow. She just wanted to strive for justice, and thought the concept of contracts was one that could help out.

However, the design of the camp or her clan’s purpose weren’t among Amberstar’s primary worries. Since her and Wraith had departed from one another, going their separate ways, Amberstar had found out she had become pregnant with his kits. She knew the tom wasn’t to be seeked out for the time being, as he had gone on a mission to find his sister, and she didn’t want to disturb that. Perhaps when the kits were older, maybe apprentice age, she would seek the tom out. Only then would he know of the kits existence.

She sighed softly, knowing that being pregnant without another cat in the clan to hunt for her was a dangerous task. She knew that leading a clan would be impossible with her kits, but she was the only member of her clan, and she was unsure how it would work out. Amberstar still had about two more moons until the kits were to be born, and she had plenty of time to plan; and plenty of time to find cats to recruit for her clan.

Until then, she would have to hunt and just be extra wary, in the event something large could come and attack her. The camp had been set up for about two weeks, and already it seemed as if the clan would flourish when other members began to join. She was, of course, going to be relying on the loners roaming about to join her clan, but once a couple joined, she would be set.

A bush rustled nearby, making Amberstar instantly whirl around, her claws instinctively unsheathing. She then called out, her eyes scanning each direction. “Hello?” She called out, a sharp breath heard from her as she peered forward, her head tilting curiously as a large brown she-cat emerged from the bushes.

The she-cat was large in size, her shoulders broad. She had long fur, her tail and paws splashed with dark broad stripes. The bridge of her nose was a deep brown, with stripes going through the point at her nose very faintly. The majority of her body was a light brown, with the exception of her paws, which were the dark brown all her other stripes were. Against her brown pelt, she had staggering icy blue eyes, ones that Amberstar silently found beautiful. The cat lifted her head up, revealing a mint green collar across her neck.

“A kittypet?” Amberstar mumbled beneath her breath as she studied the cat. When the cat saw Amberstar, she backed up, but Amberstar moved forward, calling out. “You’re okay! Come here, I won’t hurt ya.” She said with a welcoming smile, taking a seat on her haunches. She placed one of her paws forward, showing her claws were now sheathed. The large cat looked at the cream tabby warily before bounding forward.

“Hi there!” The brown cat called out in a cheerful and curious tone, cocking her head to the side. She then perked, her eyes widening as she innocently gasped. “Are you one of those clan cats? My friend Spruce would always talk about you cats. Said he hated you.”
“Yes, I’m a clan cat. I’m the leader of Silentclan, a new clan.” Amberstar said, looking over the warrior. She seemed naive, and incapable of defending herself. “Why are you so far away from your home?”

“Well, I got bored there! I wanted to explore and see the world, y’know!” She said with a small laugh. “What’s ya name?”

“I’m Amberstar. And you?” Amberstar asked, watching as the cat bounded forward, sitting down in front of her.

“I’m Heath! Like the chocolate bar.” Heath cooed out happily. Amberstar blinked, staring at her in silence. “Oh! Right, clan cats don’t know what that is. It’s a nice treat the two-leg’s eat. Makes them happy.” Amberstar nodded her head in acknowledgment before speaking again.

“Hey, Heath, tell you what. How about I offer you a position in Silentclan? We’d have to get that collar off though, and I’d have to train you, but trust me, the life out here is much better than a two-leg home, just a bit more difficult since you fight for your resources. Are you interested in joining?” Amberstar explained, her hazel eyes curiously lingering on Heath. Heath’s icy blue eyes lit up almost immediately as she began to frantically nod her head, eagerly accepting Amberstar’s offer.

“I’d love that! Would you train me to be one of those really cool warriors?” Amberstar nodded her head, raising to her paws as she gazed at the naive brown cat. She seemed confident and excited to learn, which Amberstar found endearing and encouraging. She just hoped the cat would take the training seriously and actually become a strong warrior. Amberstar would have to train her quickly, as she was pregnant.

“Yes, I can. However, I am going to have kits in a couple of moons. I’m going to need you to hunt for me. It’s a big task, but my kits and I have to be fed. Do you think you can do that if I teach you?” Amberstar asked the brown cat softly, cocking her head to the side.

“You got it! I’ll get you so much food, you’ll look like you’re 2 moons along before sunrise each day!” Heath cried out, bounding around happily. Amberstar laughed at her comment, a genuine laugh having not been heard from her in about a moon, ever since she and Wraith departed from one another.

“Thank you, Heath. Let’s get to work.” Amberstar said, making her way towards the clearing in the center of the camp, turning to face Heath. “We’ll start with a hunter’s crouch, alright?” Amberstar asked at the brown cat made her way forward.

“Yup! Show me how to do it!” Heath chirped out happily, her bright blue eyes locking on Amberstar. Amberstar nodded, slowly crouching to the ground. Her hind legs were stuck out slightly, her rear slightly in the air as her tail stayed still, not moving.

“You need to get in a crouch, and make sure your hind legs are down so you can leap far enough to get prey from a distance. You should be low enough for your fur on your chest to barely graze the grass beneath you.” Amberstar gestured to how low her chest was, waiting for Heath to watch her for a moment before she sat up, sitting back down. “Now you try.”

Heath nodded, crouching down to the ground in a similar fashion. Her tail lashed anxiously, a nervous habit the brown cat seemed to have. Amberstar looked over her form, noting her crouch itself looked fine, just the fact her tail was moving ruined it. “That looks really good, but you have to make sure your tail isn’t moving. Some of the animals out here have really sensitive ears, and even your tail moving the wind is enough to startle some prey away.”

“Really? Mice can hear that far?” Heath asked in amazement as she forced her tail to stop moving for the most part. However, the tip of her tail was still flicking back and forth eagerly. Amberstar sighed as she stared at Heath, not wanting to admit she wasn’t even sure herself if mice could hear that far. It was just something she had heard in her previous clan. She was also staring at Heath’s twitching tail, but decided that mistake could be corrected later. Amberstar wanted to get Heath as prepared as possible to hunt for her, as she was going to need food in order to nurse her kits when they were born.

“Yes, Heath, they can.” Amberstar huffed out, hoping to satisfy Heath. Heath then nodded her head, looking at Amberstar.

“So, now what?” The brown cat cooed out curiously, wondering the next steps. She was eager to become a warrior, and even more eager to protect a mother in need.

“Well, now you gotta put in a pounce.” Amberstar quickly bounded over to one of the dens, grabbing a ball of moss. She tossed it in the clearing, looking at Heath as she stayed a few feet back. “Now, lunge for it. Act as if it is alive, and as if you have to stay quiet. The slightest sound, and the prey will scurry away.”

“Okay.” Heath mumbled, feeling the pressure on her as she crouched down, her tail static as it pointed upward towards the sky. Her hind legs were crouched towards the ground, tilted slightly in order to lock in a position for a bounding leap. A moment passed, and suddenly Heath sprang into the air without making a sound. However, she over shot her leap, swinging her paw downward to hit the moss ball, sending it rolling.

Amberstar giggled softly, watching as Heath landed, stumbling over her paws as she turned to face Amberstar. “Like that?”
“Kind of, but you actually have to catch the prey. You can’t smack it, you need to kill it. And swiftly. The prey we eat is still living, and we don’t want to play with it.” The cream tabby explained, gazing up at the sky. “Just don’t overshoot your shot. Try again.”

Heath turned in the direction the moss ball had moved, crouching down again. Her hind legs were altered to be less bent, in hopes of gaining a shorter, but still lengthy bound when she sprang up. She parted her maw slightly, baring her top fangs before she leapt upward, soaring towards the prey. This time, her shot was at the perfect height, her teeth grasping the mossball firmly. She slid to a stop after catching the prey, turning back to face Amberstar, the ball hanging from her mouth as she purred in delight.

“Like that?!” She cooed out excitedly, proudly dropping the ball as she beamed.

“Yes, like that, but make sure you can land neatly afterwards and don’t slide. Sometimes that can make you tear up the prey in your mouth a little more than you would actually want to to kill a mouse.” She explained, crouching down. “Drop it and I’ll show you how to do it.”

Heath immediately dropped the moss ball, leaping to the side. She watched in anticipation as Amberstar leaped forward, making her way towards the mouse. She leaned her head down, nipping the top of the moss ball, lifting it off the ground. She then landed neatly, turning to face Heath. Her blue eyes widened in amazement, bounding around happily.

“That’s so cool. I’ll be that good one day.” Heath said proudly before looking at Amberstar. “Wait, am I going to have to change my name while I’m here?”

Amberstar hadn’t thought much of it, but it would be pretty weird to have a cat in her clan with a kittypet name. She nodded her head, taking a seat on her haunches. “I think I have a name for you. How about Heatherpaw? Paw is the name for an apprentice, and since you’re learning under me, you’re an apprentice.”

At the name, Heatherpaw smiled. “Yes, I’d love that! It sounds like my name, just with an “er” tossed on the end.” She said with a nod of her head.

“It sure is. Let’s get back to work.” Amberstar said as she retrieved the moss ball from the ground, making her way towards Heatherpaw once more.

[dimi.]

Heatherpaw and Amberstar had spent several hours training each day for about a moon. A particularly vigorous six hour session had taken place the prior day, and as a result, the two felines remained sleeping in for several hours after the usual wake up time. Amberstar only awakened when she heard a cat meowing outside of the camp, her brows furrowed in confusion. She turned to Heatherpaw, who was sleeping beside her, nudging her awake as she whispered cautiously. “Someone’s here.”

Heatherpaw rose to her paws, immediately leaping into action. “A fight?” She asked anxiously, flexing her claws to show off how eager she was. Amberstar shook her head, crouching low to the ground, slowly creeping outside of her den. When Amberstar stepped outside the den, Heatherpaw followed, staying close to Amberstar’s flank, pressing her tail against hers nervously. Amberstar looked at her, smiling in reassurance as she slowly crept up the leader’s ledge, peeking over the rock.

In the center of the camp, a large black tabby tom stood. His intense yellow eyes were surveying the terrain, glancing left and right. When he saw Amberstar’s figure appear atop Leader’s Ledge, he bowed his head, sitting on his haunches to show he meant no harm. “Are you the leader of Silentclan?” He called out, looking at Amberstar. Amberstar grew startled; most cats beyond those they had organized contracts with prior didn’t find them, it was supposed to be the other way around.

The cream tabby narrowed her eyes suspiciously, taking in a sharp breath before speaking. “I am. What do you wish of me?” Amberstar asked, her hazel eyes refusing to leave the tom. If he knew who they were, it could be dangerous business; assuming he wasn’t here to discuss a potential contract, of course. The tom sighed in relief, looking up at Amberstar. He seemed to be pondering something before he began to speak.

“I am here to organize a contract. I heard about your clan from one of the cats back in the city, and I wanted to come to you for help. I can offer you a medicine cat from my rogue pack in exchange, if we are allowed to discuss the details.” At the mention of a new cat, Amberstar’s eyes lit up as she rose to her paws, Heatherpaw standing by her side. “We may discuss this. Follow me into my den.”

Amberstar turned to Heatherpaw, whispering in her ear. “This is something you cannot observe until you’re a warrior. Please, head into the apprentice’s den. I will get you when we are done discussing the details.” Heatherpaw nodded her head, leaping down from the rock, bolting to the apprentice’s den. The black tabby seemed to intimidate her quite a bit. Amberstar then ushered the tom to follow, her, guiding him into the den behind leader’s ledge.
“Now, I need to know your name.” Amberstar began, sitting down on her haunches once they were inside the den. Her eyes refused to leave the black tabby, a habit she had picked up on after having growing suspicions about everyone around her.

“My name is Cedric. I come from a rogue pack close to the two-leg city a few miles.. I think it’s west of here.” The black tom said, slightly rambling about the location. Amber noted the tom seemed a little deranged and confused, making sure to remember that as the contract details were being discussed.

“And why exactly are you here today?” The cream tabby pressed on, her hazel eyes narrowing as she studied the tom’s frame. He was a large tom, his shoulders broad and his body wide. He wasn’t as tall as Amberstar was, but he was certainly wider and heavier than she was. His pelt was made up of long hair, but the strands of hair were only long enough to barely hang off his actual body. His yellow eyes, which pierced Amberstar’s calm hazel ones, locked with Amberstar’s.

He was missing several tufts of fur on his front, his shoulders and chest covered with various scars. Amberstar assumed these scars had to contribute to his desire for a contract in a way, her gaze meeting his the moment he began to speak again.

“I would like to organize a murder contract. In exchange, I will give your clan a gifted medicine cat. She is still learning, but she knows almost all the herbs like the back of her paw.” The tom said with a confident smile.

“You should know that Silentclan does not take murder contracts lightly,” the cream tabby began, looking forward at the tom without hesitation. “I will need a legitimate reason to end someone else’s life. But first, I must know who they are. What is their name, what do they look like? All of that.”

“Alright. His name is Dysis, he’s another combatant in my rogue pack. You see, about a moon ago, he ambushed me while I was getting a wound tended to in the medicine den. He’s the source of all the scars on my front. He stated prior to attacking me he was going to ‘end my useless life’, and ‘put me out of my misery’.” The tom explained, his eyes glinting with annoyance. “I fought back, but it’s escalated to him humiliating me before the entire clan, saying things that simply aren’t true. The others have began to shun me because of it. I want to exact revenge on him.”

Amberstar sat in silence for a moment, nodded her head as she soaked in every word. “With that incident, I will take on your contract.” When Amberstar stated this, his eyes lit up, praise emerging from his maw.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” He howled excitedly, leaping to his paws in the fire of his excitement. Amberstar stared at the tom in awkward silence, sighing softly. She found that the tom was just a bit too excited over a case of murder, but decided not to comment.

“Now, if you could quit hooting and hollering, I need to know what this tom looks like and sounds like.” Amberstar said, flicking her tail downward, a motion for Cedric to take his seat. Cedric sat down once more, looking at Amberstar as he idly nodded his head.

“Alright. He is a brown shaded cat for the most part. He has a darker shade of brown at his paws, the bridge of his nose, and his tail. He also has these deep green eyes, ones that some of the nasty females back in my pack call ‘entrancing’, or handsome. Tch..” He rolled his eyes as he described the tom. “Dysis has a scar over his left eye, one that I inflicted in defending myself. You could say I used the eye for an eye philosophy.”

Amberstar nodded her head, forcing a smile across her muzzle as she uttered. “I live by that philosophy. Alright, final question. Where is your rogue pack located?”

“It’s outside of the two-leg city just west of here, in a small forest nearby. They often go into the city to hunt out of the cans two-legs use to throw food away. I’d recommend ambushing Dysis at night when he’s going through the alley by this one place with a huge blue dumpster.” Amberstar took mental note of everything the tom said before nodding her head.

“Alright. We will have this done hopefully within the next two weeks. We expect payment immediately. If this is something your leader didn’t agree to for payment, and we happen to not get the payment, we’ll take your life instead. Do you understand me?” Amberstar hissed out in warning. “And you are to never, EVER tell anyone of Silentclan’s location. We are the ones that seek out cats in need of assistance, not the other way around. Now, show yourself out of my camp.”

Cedric obediently nodded, raising to his paws. He was well aware he had over stayed his welcome the moment the contract details were decided, swiftly making his way out of the den. “Thank you!” He yelled out as he exited, bolting out of the camp, yipping and hollering in excitement as he did so. Amberstar watched the black tabby tom leave, sighing softly as she exited her den, making her way towards the apprentice’s den.

Heatherpaw had made herself comfortable in one of the nests near the front, playing with a moss ball between her paws. When she saw Amberstar enter, she leapt up, looking at her. “What was that all about?”

“You see, Heatherpaw, I take contracts in this clan. Other clans can pay me to deal with troublesome cats. It’s why we have random bits of prey appear at times, it’s sort of payment for things I do when I’m outside the camp.” Heatherpaw’s eyes lit up in curiosity, followed by another question.

“Are you going to be killing someone, Amberstar?” Heatherpaw asked, seeming frightened by the concept. Amberstar hadn’t thought about it, a soft sigh emerging from her. At this point, she was a month along in her pregnancy, getting into a fight was not the best idea for her.

“No. You will be the one to do it, Heatherpaw. Consider it.. A test. I will be with you, observing from the shadows. If it gets too bloody, I’ll intervene and quickly end it, but it’s very risky for me. You need to protect me and my kits, do you understand?” Amberstar said as she gazed down at Heatherpaw. Heatherpaw nodded her head, beaming with pride at the concept that Amberstar trusted her enough.

“Is this murder for a good cause, though?” Heatherpaw asked curiously, glancing up at the sky. “Starclan might be angered.” Amberstar let out a soft laugh at Heatherpaw’s comment as she sat on her haunches, replying to her absent mindedly.

“I’m miles ahead, dear. The murder is justifiable. A tom tried to take his life, and he wants to finish the job.” Amberstar explained without hesitation, finding that being blunt with the brown apprentice was the best way to go about most things. Heatherpaw was oddly.. Relaxed, and it somewhat reminded her of Wraith, a sigh of disappointment and longing to see the tom again drawn out from her.

“Ooh.. I’m not going to lie, I’m excited. I get to help you AND another cat out. I’m becoming a good warrior, huh?” She asked, Heatherpaw’s voice laced with it’s normal excitement and naive nature.

“Of course you are, Heatherpaw. Now, I need to plan how we are going to get into the city unseen. The two-legs have a tendency to get handsy. Claw at them if you have to. Until then, we are going to have to work on training you in stealth. We’re called Silentclan for a reason. Come with me, we’re heading to training hill.”