Rise Summer Event: Dark Skies

[Sabatea]

Writing Prompt!
Username: Sabatea
Clan Thread: TreeClan
Prompt Writing:

Maplestar woke up quite groggy. His own cats were usually much gentler, and rarely touched him to wake him. His tired mind had a hard time understanding who the two cats in his den were. At the she-cat's insistence, he sat up and shook himself awake. He had met these two cats before, though they were not of his Clan, and he had never seen them within his camp before. They lived in the forest, hunting the mice and rabbits that the Clan didn't bother with. Before he was able to ask them just what they thought they were doing here, or how they'd even gotten in, they began speaking.

As they continued, Maplestar grew more and more uneasy. Crowtail was not often one to speak to other cats, and he was quite friendly with TreeClan's leader. Why had he not just told Maplestar himself? Perhaps it was because TreeClan would need the help of Hecate's group to make it through this hardship? His Clan was still small, and Skylight had just brought kits into the world... Would they already have to face danger? They were so young, and Skylight herself was still weak from kitting.

Another storm? Maplestar feared, his spine bristling as he thought of the terrible storm that had been the basis behind his forming of this Clan. Many cats had lost their homes, and while he had been happy to provide one, he wouldn't wish for any cat to go through what his had. Or was it another danger entirely? Maybe another group of cats, one that wouldn't be as amicable as Hecate's? Skylight had mentioned a group of cats she had used to live with that she had been forced to leave behind, maybe they would return for her?

Maplestar forced his spine to lay flat, raising his head high in front of the two cats. He wouldn't back down here. Regardless of what the danger was, or why Crowtail had not simply spoken to him about it, they would face it as a Clan. If Skylight's group were to come for her, they would protect her. No cat would harm her or her kits, or take them away. Even if it were some other danger, he would be certain to protect his Clan. No cat of his was going to be homeless again, he would be sure of it. No storm or cat could take them from their home!

If there was a danger though, he might not be able to ensure Hecate's group would be unscathed. Though he didn't mind them using the forest or doing as they pleased as long as they stayed out of the trees, he wasn't responsible for them. Hecate didn't seem apologetic about walking around in his camp in the middle of the night and waking him up either, which he didn't appreciate. At least The Oracle seemed rightfully nervous and unhappy about the situation. As he should be. Maplestar thought to himself grumpily as he settled down to hear what the tom had to tell him.

(514 words)

[kamelgirl]

Writing Prompt!
username: kamelgirl
clan thread: rimeclan
prompt writing: Eveningstar ducked beneath the tabby's swipe and lunged forward, sinking her teeth into his throat. He fell without a whimper. Nearby, a calico wailed in dismay and leaped at Eveningstar, who rose up to meet her. They rolled head over heels across the ground, narrowly avoiding the battling cats around them.The Rimeclan leader clawed with her back feet as she grasped for the calico's neck, but she-cat twisted away whenever Eveningstar moved.

Eveningstar snarled in frustration and broke from the hold, pinning the calico down with one paw and pulling back the other for the death-blow. Just when she was about to strike -

"Hey, wake up!"

- someone grabbed her shoulder and shook it. Eveningstar's eyes snapped open and an unfamiliar scent filled her nose. Intruders, she realized hazily, and struck out.

"What the- watch it!" The cat growled, blocking her strike easily.

Eveningstar rolled onto her feet, ready to sound the alarm, when the cat's face registered. Hecate? What the Dark Forest is she doing here? "Give me one good reason I shouldn't rip out your throat this instant," she snarled.

Hecate scowled, tilting her nose up as though she'd like nothing more than to take Eveningstar on, but said nothing. Instead, she stepped aside to reveal the Oracle standing behind her, looking like he'd really rather be anywhere else. Eveningstar could sympathize with that.

"Your ancestors have spoken to me once again," he rasped. Eveningstar listened with rising irritation as he foretold a great danger that would befall both groups.

"We haven't received any warnings," she pointed out testily. Maybe she was being more rude than shed usually be, but in her defense these two had broken into her camp, woken her up in the middle of the night, and begun making vague prophecies about a terrible danger. I have a right to be annoyed! "Why would they go to you?"

Hecate looked almost as annoyed as Eveningstar felt. The she-cat was flexing her claws as though considering an attempt to claw off Eveningstar's face. Last year, she would have. Dimly, Eveningstar was aware that she might be burning bridges she couldn't afford to lose, but right now she didn't care. The two cats glared at each silently, before Hecate broke off with a shrug.

"Your ancestors seldom speak to me," she said after a moment. "They offer me no more than the vaguest sense of what they are trying to say. Nothing nearly as detailed as they show him," she flicked an ear in the Oracle's direction. The older cat simply turned up his nose in response. "I don't know why they haven't approached you yet."

She paused, clearly debating her next words. "This is me paying you back for you letting my group live peacefully beside you even after the trouble I caused. Do you wish to hear the prophecy they gave us or debate the mechanisms behind it," she said at last, with the flattest tone Eveningstar had ever heard from her.

Something about Hecate's words - her efforts, no matter how brusque, at diplomacy, and the almost grudging offer of help - snapped Eveningstar out of her half-dazed bad temper. What am I doing? This is no time to act like a kit. She straightened up, mind running through several possibilities. Could it be Twolegs? We've been having increased activity at that old farm. Or another rogue pack? Predators, maybe? "Of course," she said with a smile. The Oracle wrinkled his nose, but if Hecate was disturbed by the abrupt change, she didn't show it. "What do they have to say?" [586/600]

[Elliad.]

Art Prompt!
Username: Elliad.
Clan Thread: Thornclan
Prompt Art:

[SpaghettiOhs]

Art Prompt!
Username: SpaghettiOhs
Clan Thread: JuniperClan (link in sig)
Prompt Art:

[BlueEyedKite]

Writing Prompt!
Username: BlueEyedKite
Clan Thread: Meadowclan
Prompt Writing:
(Meadowclan has no healer so I tweaked my leader's response a bit)

A sickly yellow moon loomed dead above Meadowclan camp, announcing the time of Moonhigh. Two silhouettes crept through the tall grass creating a shiver of blades that marked their presence wherever they marched.

Unaware of the impending intruders, a sleek blue lynx point she-cat slept fitfully in her den beneath the Great Oak's roots. She dozed strategically with her back to the wall of the den and her nose pointing towards the exit. Her body was in the "cat loaf" position, all four paws under her and belly on the ground. All the better to spring up to her paws quickly if danger came knocking. And perhaps it was soon.

A rough shake to her shoulder foreshadowed what tidings were to follow, Meadowclan was soon to receive a rough shake as well.

"What! Halfmask?" The lynx point, Lynxstar, groggily exclaimed while jerking to her paws.

Instead of her loyal calico smoke Deputy before her she saw a short and stocky she-cat and a Tom as thin and brittle as the reed grass outside.

"Your ancestors have spoken to me once again. They warn of great danger that will befall both your clan and our own group."

Lynxstar snapped her blue eyed gaze to the weathered white tom as he spoke.

"Wha-what is he talking about? I have heard no word from our Mysterious Ones."

The short calico she-cat, Hecate, rolls her shoulders in an unsympathetic shrug.

"Your ancestors seldom speak to me. They offer me no more than the vaguest sense of what they are trying to say. Nothing nearly as detailed as they show him," she states matter of fact.

Briefly she glances at her companion tom, The Oracle, to see if he will divulge more. When he makes no move twitch or whisker, she continues." I don't know why they haven't approached you yet." Hecate looks clearly uncomfortable, the tell her anxious dig of claws in the den floor." This is me paying you back for you letting my group live peacefully beside you even after the trouble I caused. Do you wish to hear the prophecy they gave us or debate the mechanisms behind it."

Lynxstar briefly pins her ears back at the distasteful reminder of their "truce". She still did not know if it had been the right call to offer the olive branch rather than drive Hecate's clan far from their territory. Starclan knows Halfmask had been rearing to cross claws rather than offer their Southern Border to the outsiders. The Deputy had only relented when Lynxstar reminded the she-cat their rogue warrior, Nightrunner, could keep an eye on the bordering clan from the abandoned two-leg den. Their neighboring status was shakey at best, still, if this was Hecate trying to reinforce their ties Lynxstar had to allow it.

"What have they to say?"

Before the Oracle confessed the so-called "prophecy" Lynxstar allowed herself a moment to reflect. For a quarter-moon prior she had confessed an uneasy sinking in her insides to her clan members. It was not that she had eaten crow food, but that she had this nagging that danger was coming. For one, she noted that Nightrunner had not made his usual trek to give his report. Halfmask, never a fan of the rogue tom, had dismissed Nightrunner's absence as just proof he was avoiding his responsibilities. No. Lynxstar knew it was a sign of something to come. Now before her was proof that something was encroaching from their Southern border. She licked her lips nervously as the Oracle finally began his tale that would mean there was no going back now.

Word count: 600

[SurgeFire]

Writing Prompt!
Username: SurgeFire
Clan Thread: AsterClan
Prompt Writing:

Now, Minkstar wasn't accustomed to this kind of trouble. The last time these group of cats had come had been before their time as leader; when Thistlestar had been leader... before her disappearance.

They weren't sure at all what kind of danger this group of cats could mean. Rationally, he trusted them; they had come to their Clan before, and there wasn't really a reason to distrust them, to be honest.

Now, Hecate and the Oracle in their den - that was... a minor annoyance. They'd bear the annoyance, of course, given how their personality was - but not without a slight grouch in their tone. Hecate was a slight pain in how she talked to them, but it was better than nothing.

Back to the percieved threat.

It couldn't be something related to the Fallen Kingdom, they hoped. The war had been moons ago; few, but enough time had passed ensuring AsterClan's safety regarding any stragglers wishing to seek revenge. They were safe on that front, at least.

Although... they had their own paranoias regarding that event. They knew spirits and ghosts were real and out there; what was the difference between an evil spirit and a good one? ...could an evil spirit return to the lands, seeking revenge? AsterClan was a very spiritual, somewhat superstitious Clan; thus they believed in these sorts of things, and after all, parts of it were true, even if the dead couldn't fully communicate to the living.
...couldn't fully being the full phrase, it was ever so frustrating to hear that their ancestors had failed, once more, to warn them of this great danger. Though he couldn't give up on them; they were as much important as they were rather annoying.

It was irrational, they decided. There had to be something keeping the evil out, or somecat doing evil deeds and being sentenced for it could easily get justice; just like that. It would be unfair, right?

Whatever it was, spirits wouldn't be it, they decided.

Could this danger not be caused by cats? The thought came into their mind, suddenly; it scared them, truth be told, because while cats could be reasoned with and dealt with (or fought and killed, though he'd much prefer the former), anything else would be unpredictable and unable to be dealt with immediately.

But what could the great danger be?

And why could this cat - the Oracle, Hecate said - know more than their ancestors?
Something was off, and their fur prickled in anticipation.

[414]

Art Prompt!
Username: SurgeFire
Clan Thread: AsterClan
Prompt Art:


it's so bad i'm sorry

[AstroCat]

Writing Prompt!
Username: AstroCat
Clan Thread: The Clan of the Woods
Prompt Writing:

[439 words]

Monostar was not known for his good moods in the morning, and the arrival of the rogues certainly didn't help. Adding to his annoyance, he noticed that his visitors had knocked over some of his flowers that he had spent a long time carefully arranging next to the entrance of his den. But that was the least of his concerns now.

His thoughts raced in his mind as he hauled himself to his feet. He couldn't understand why the Spirits would ever communicate with an outsider instead of Hazelflame, or any other cat in the Clan for that matter. He knew that Hazelflame had a very close relationship with their ancestors, surely they would have spoken to her. Or, for some reason, was his healer hiding something from him? Monostar shook his head at the thought. He trusted Hazelflame completely, there's no way she wouldn't speak up if she had received any sort of warning from the Spirits.

I think someone mentioned scenting strange cats at the border near the city. Has one of the rogue gangs become strong enough to be a threat to us? There had been no talk of any large gangs the last time he had visited the city, but that had been almost a moon ago. Things could change quickly; the city cats would ally themselves with anyone if it meant they would have food in their belly. Years ago, a large group of rogues had challenged the Clan for their territory but had disbanded after being defeated. Had some new cat risen to power in the city with that same idea?

Or, worse, could the plague that wiped out the Clan moons ago come back again? Monostar couldn't help but shudder at the thought. We barely survived it once. If the sickness reappears, there's little hope for us. I don't think Hazelflame could cure an entire Clan without falling ill herself. Surely the Spirits wouldn't have asked me to reform the Clan just to watch it fall again? The more he allowed his mind to wander, the more anxious Monostar became. He forced himself to focus on the present instead.

He would need Tigerstorm and Hazelflame to hear what the rogues had to say. Maybe Adderstripe as well; Monostar always felt better with his brother around. But if this affected his whole Clan, shouldn't everyone hear it? Or would that just cause more trouble than it would to keep it to his usual inner circle? No, he needed to hear it first, alone.

"Sure," he finally spoke, doing his best to look the part of a stoic leader. "What have they to say?"

[MeltiTheDragon]

Writing Prompt!
Username: MeltiTheDragon
Clan Thread: Cascadeclan
Prompt Writing:

"Campionstar!"

"CAMPIONSTAR!!!"

Her eyes shot open, her heart beating out of her chest. Another nightmare, just for something bad to actually happen. She blinked hard. Once the groggy haze cleared, she was even more startled. Not Sprout, her usual eagle eyed messenger. Not Mallow, her usual gossip magnet. Not Lightning, and his uncanny twitch that he gets when trouble's afoot. Not even her own mate Godwit, a notorious worrywart.

It was Hecate. And the Oracle, who somehow managed to come in unseen. She looked out into the glaring sunlight filtering into her den. It must be important, and probably very dangerous out there, for the two to lay even a single paw on their territory since the debacle that had happened moons ago between their groups.

The silence was painful. But eventually, the Oracle broke through the silence and started a conversation that she was sure no leader wanted to have half asleep at sun-high with the whole rest of the clan still fully asleep.

They talked things over for a long while. She kept a straight face, purposely relaxing her ears and tail to reassure them, but her already fried nerves felt as if they were slowly disintegrating as she spoke. "Most certainly Hecate. What do they have to say?"

A million thoughts raced through her head at once. Her tired brain was far beyond its fullest functioning capabilities ; they were fragmented and disjointed as all the Dark Forest. What she could follow in a steady trail of thought though...was why Mottlenose hadn't seen or heard anything. The clan's resident oddity had to have seen something certainly? But, if she had, certainly she would've given her usual long ominous spiels? Maybe the clan did something wrong, she thought. But she couldn't think of anything they did. It didn't make sense to her at all.

She anxiously awaited their answer. Their answer would make more sense than anything her poor exhausted mind could, she could be sure of that. She glanced over them for a moment. Was that a shadow she just saw there on the blisteringly bright cave floor? She could've sworn there was. When she took a second glance, the shadow was no longer there. She shook her head. She really needed more sleep. Now, she was officially seeing imaginary things. Why, again, was she even awake?

-----

At the top of Highledge, loomed a frail, large eared shadow. Little did the rogues know, Campionstar wasn't the only one listening.

Little did they realize, the Oracle wasn't the only medic that could sneak around unnoticed.

[426/600 words]

[clouds-move-on]

Writing Prompt!
Username: ☁Lady Raincloud☁
Clan Thread: Lighthouse
Prompt Writing:

A steady falling of rain echoed outside the den.

Edgewalker had been awoken with a start. He had half a mind to run these cats out without a word, but, now sharing his den with his mate and three kits, he let the fur on his back a fall. He wasn't going to start a fight with them there. Besides, it had barely been a month since their last war, and trouble enough was in his ranks to start more.

This time, he didn't have Tempestcloud to advise with him either.

The tom looked past the two before they spoke, and noticed the soggy shapes of Emberbright and Java behind them, watching. Evidently they'd brought these two here... he raised an eyebrow, denoting he'd talk to them about this later. Emberbright simply smiled a grim smile in return. Java stared, expressionless, at the ground. Edgewalker could never tell what that feline was thinking.

The two, Hecate and the Oracle, spoke, and Edgewalker listened. Recollections of their talk of signs and ancestors from last time came to mind and his tail again began to sweep the floor in annoyance. While there was some belief among some cats he knew of such things, and Edgewalker himself believed in some form of afterlife, their claims of signs and words in dreams were always questionable to him.

"This is me paying you back for you letting my group live peacefully beside you even after the trouble I caused. Do you wish to hear the prophecy they gave us or debate the mechanisms behind it." came Hecate's final reply.

The burly tomcat stared at the strangers in silence, pettishly imagining him stomping the tiny she-cat into the ground. How dare she barge in, wake him up, tell tales of supposed signs from starry dream cats and then talk with such attitude in her voice. He prepared to say something to that opinion when he was stopped by Snowberry- she lay beside her mate, her copper eyes narrowed drowsily as she listened in on the proceedings between them. The three kits nestled besides her- almost apprentice aged, now- were beginning to stir as well, and she poked his back with a claw in a signal to 'keep your voice lower, let them rest'.

Edgewalker let himself calm down, slightly. He couldn't simply fly into action as he often wished to, as was proved time and again. And despite Hecate's words- she evidently believe there was something bad about to happen. Even if it was some meaningless dream the Oracle had had, they at least believed what they were doing as actually true, surely?

Tempestcloud had always told him to give other a chance to talk first. He would do this now.

"Sure, what have they to say?"

[~HєуRєι~]

Writing Prompt!
Username: ~HєуRєι~
Clan Thread: Beamclan
Prompt Writing:

The deep blue, worn eyes of the pointed skytouched shifted open and shut as the words of her skyfollower and the guests shifted from muffled to clear. Shrikestar's tired muscles raised her up to a sitting position within her hollowed tree den. She asked her skyfollower to leave her and the guests be to discuss in private. The appearance of The Oracle and Hecate brought her nerves up tenfold, considering last time they appeared, Hecate was more or less an enemy and the Oracle wasn't much help from reports of those that he visited. After the prior moons of stress, with the report of new threats on the horizon Shrikestar didn't know what to think, what to believe.

Could it be another test from their ancestors? Perhaps even another plague. Beamclan barely survived last winter, with members dying on her beginning moons, they are just barely recovered from it. Another plague would surely destroy the clan's economy- or perhaps new invaders that are stronger than the last. Losing territory is something the current numbers wouldn't be able to prevent, especially with Beamclan needing new members as is to just easily protect and survive on the land they have. Stress is still high from Doestar's rule, being that she started unnecessary hostile acts against those around her. Shrikestar certainly doesn't wish to put up such precautions again for safety's sake.

The Oracle's and Hecate's uncertainly fueled her stress, which ran continuously more situations which pose a threat to her clan's well being. She asked frantic questions as her mind cleared of sleep, "any further signs?","What could we do to possibly prepare?", "should we follow the ancestors so blindly?"

Doubt set in her stomach like a boulder in the river, feelings of confusion swimming blindly like fish down th currents. There could be a possibility that the ancestors are wrong, their prophecies aren't always threat filled, but she didn't know how willing her clan would be to take that chance. To do nothing on the slim chance that hardships will pass them by peacefully. The tortie point shifted uncomfortably in her own den, the cold air helping cool her heated nerves. Despite it being moonhigh, the skytouched could no longer sleep, her overactive mind bringing forth troubling situations and ideas to which this threat might impose. Providing a safe place to sleep was all Shrikestar could remember to offer the visitors before she decided to go on an unguarded stroll outside camp. She was new to this leading thing, and didn't know how to approach the situation. The threat to her was completely unknown.
[433/600]