Rise Summer Event: Summer of Thorns | Path 2

[aergia]

Writing Prompt!
Username: aergia
Clan Thread: OceanClan
Prompt Writing: 411 words

When the news broke that Sealstar had chosen to strike first came, reactions were mixed. Some of the warriors were thrilled, others were shocked, a few were even scared. After all, they knew next to nothing about this rogue group.

Unbeknownst to all but Sedgefur, Sealstar was the most conflicted of all. She pondered if whether she was making the wrong choice, but then thinking back to her old clan, knew she had to act first. The rest of the day after the clan meeting was very tense, nobody knowing what quite to do or act. Business tried to continue as usual but it could not be denied that a storm was brewing. Apprentices gossiped and queens bickered, elders frowned and kits continued to play, oblivious to the incoming fire.

“Will everything be alright Sealstar?” Embercloud approached her in the evening, just as the sun was about to set. “I plan to take a few of the apprentices out to collect herbs with me tomorrow. Just in case.”

Looking up, Sealstar saw the intense worry on the healer’s face. “Everything will be fine, but there’s no harm in preparing for the worst.” Sealstar said, flicking her tail towards the younger molly. “Make sure you take Tansypaw, she’s been a little too happy since the meeting.” She said, gesturing to the giant fluffy apprentice playing in the centre of camp.

Sealstar had made a mental list of who she wanted on the patrol, all consisting of trained warriors who had her utmost respect and trust. Now she simply needed them to agree.

“Hello Smokefang, Dawnmask.” She said, approaching the two siblings who were deep in conversation. “I’ve chosen you both to be a part of the patrol, do you accept?”

Both cats agreed quickly and went back to their discussion. Sealstar couldn’t here what they were talking about but she could guess.

Eaglefeather, Batflight and Dacewhisker were all sitting together by the edge of camp, watching the apprentices. The three toms didn’t so much as agree to be on the patrol, rather they assumed they would be.

As Sedgefur’s mate, Sealstar knew Maplestorm would want to also come but she would let her deputy see to that.

Myself, Sedgefur, Maplestorm, Smokefang, Dawnmask, Eaglefeather, Batflight and Dacewhisker, I hope it’s enough, she thought to herself. The sun would drop below the horizon soon and Sealstar would be leaving camp with most of her strongest warriors.

She hoped she was making the right decision.

[Hawky<3]

You hear paw-steps, and with a moment to aim your jump, you spring out of your hiding place and onto the back of one of the intruding cats. The rest of your patrol moves to join you but you're all surprised that there's only a single cat and an extremely young one at that. She doesn't seem happy with the interruption to her day, and is spitting and hissing at the lot of you. You can already tell she's gonna be a pawful, and feel bad for whoever it is in charge of keeping an eye on her.

You only have a moment to be confused about why she's out on her own before she's aimed her snarling at you. "Hey! Who do you think you are!" She squints at the cats around her, and you can tell the exact moment she seems to realize that you're from the clan who's land they're invading. This information only seems to deter her for a moment, as she's soon back to growling at you. "My brother will come to get me! You guys will be sorry!"

You can only look at each other uneasily. You don't want her to get back to her group and warn them of the coming attack, and you really don't want to take a kit hostage. Your warriors mutter among themselves, and you know that whatever decision you make will have consequences. If you take the kit, it's not like you'll harm her. She could be a good source of information, and if she has a brother like she says, you could potentially trade her to learn whatever he knows. And if you let her go she could go running right back to her group and inform them of your presence.

After a moment to pray to your ancestors that you're making the right decision, you turn to your warriors, "Take her to camp. Absolutely don't injure her, she's a guest. If we're lucky her brother will come looking for her."

Writing Prompt:
Is your leader compromising their morals by kidnapping a kit?

Art Prompt:
How are you guards handling this... tempermental kit? Draw your warrior guard/guards keeping (or attempting to keep) this kit under control.

full kitten ref

Next Prompt Date:
7/22 at 12 EST

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[b]Writing Prompt![/b]
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[b]Art Prompt![/b]
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[Sanara]

Art Prompt!
!!this is from act 2!!
Username: Sanara
Clan Thread: HillsideClan

Prompt art

[Hawky<3]

Here are the awarded points from the previously submitted prompts.

dimi. has received 10 reputation points.
Gleon has received 5 reputation points.
ki-neko animura has received 12 reputation points.
Wileyfangs has received 5 reputation points.
Sanara has received 12 reputation points.
endless shelter;; has received 5 reputation points.
aergia has received 5 reputation points.

»»———— • ————««

Previous art prompts can continue to be done, but please post they as a new post so that they are not missed.

[Wileyfangs]

Art Prompt!
Username: Wileyfangs
Clan Thread: Swampclan
Prompt Art:

[dimi.]

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Writing Prompt!
Username: Dimi.
Clan Thread: Silentclan
Prompt Writing:
As Amberstar and her patrol made their way back to camp, her hazel eyes couldn't help but wander over to the kit, who was hanging in Heatherpool's maw, gently grasped by the scruff. She locked eyes with the kit briefly, silently admiring the fiery attitude the kit had. Despite being a foe, Amberstar saw great potential within the kit, and silently envied whoever she was working with for have a kit with such potential and work ethic from the start. Her gaze then drifted away from the kit, not wanting to anger her any further with curious looks, despite their intention to be welcoming. Soon, Amberstar found herself lost in her own thoughts, her eyes lingering on the starry sky above.

Amberstar, as cruel as her clan was, was never for killing or harming the young. The young, at least to Amberstar, had never done anything wrong, or at least they didn't appear to be capable of doing so. Amberstar, however, would do whatever would make sure her clan would continue to thrive as it had been for the past fifty or so moons, and taking this kit seemingly hostage was the best compromise for right now. Kidnapping a kit wasn't something that was beyond Amberstar's clan or even her own morals. Usually, kidnapping contracts were always targeting kits of other clans, usually rescuing them from another clan or an abusive parent. The kits they kidnapped were never harmed though, due to Amberstar's strong philosophy on not killing the young due to the fact they are innocent. The kits they brought into Silentclan were often bubbly, cheerful, and entranced by the tales that the other warriors would tell them.

Something about this kit, probably her personality, gave her a crystal clear sign that this was not going to be the case. The kit would need to be watched, like a hawk watches it's prey while circling from above. Amberstar let out a long sigh, and shook her head. She didn't know why such trifles were bothering her at this point, she had done far worse than kidnapping a mere kit. She had killed many beneath her claws, and often without a second of remorse. These murders were always justified, as were all of her actions, but whenever a kit was involved, it managed to cling to a new nerve that annoyed the hell out of her.

From her left, she could hear the kit muttering insults beneath her breath, resulting in Amberstar turning her head towards the kit once more. She looked over at her deputy, Heatherpool, and ushered for her to put the kit down. Heatherpool shrugged before putting the kit down, which resulted in Amberstar picking the kit back up almost immediately. "Hey, let go of me you.. you.. foxbrain!" The kit yelled out, thrashing wildly. Amberstar looked at the other warriors, tilting her head forward for them to go on. She then put the kit down, placing her forepaws on either side of the kit so she couldn't run.

"Look up." The kit growled, but obliged to looking up. "I'm not going to hurt you, and neither are the other warriors. We have morals that don't let us do that. We just want to make sure that our territory is safe. Your brother and his friends are intruding on our land. Tell you what. If you give us the answers we want, we might let you go. But only if you behave. Got that?" The kit glared at Amberstar, which simply resulted in an eye roll from Amberstar, picking her back up, continuing on towards the camp.[600 words]

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Art Prompt!
Username: Dimi.
Clan Thread: Silentclan
Prompt Art:

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[Sanara]

Writing Prompt!
Username: Sanara
Clan Thread: HillsideClan

Prompt Writing

All the warriors’ eyes bore into Falconstar. He could see the different feelings in each of them, and knew over half of the six clan cats sitting before him didn’t agree with, but the options were thinning with every spit and sputter of the kitten. The moment of rebellion passed within a heartbeat, but as it passed, the cats all stood to escort the child to camp.

As they walked further and further towards camp, Falconstar was sure his clan weren’t going to be happy with his decision. But it had been the only one to make at the time. After all, the only other alternative was death, and he certainly wouldn’t be the one to do the deed. In fact, the best case for this entire event was to keep the kitten as unhurt as possible. The way this kitten was still howling, it certainly wouldn’t be easy.
He could see the familiar hill in the distance coming ever closer and he found himself frowning. Was this really the right decision? Was he bringing death into his camp with a kitten in tote?

When they reached the hilltop, he heard the familiar chirped signal from Stonejaw that let the rest of the clan know cats were on the horizon. He saw the shadows flit in a bit of panic when they noticed eight cats approaching instead of seven. As the lead cat, he let out a small chirped signal of his own- One long, two short, two long- to let Stonejaw and the others know they were friendlies, and slowly the flitted shadows ceased.
Every face was weary as Falconstar emerged from the thorns, all held eyes of question and concern. Sharkheart’s held interest at their early arrival and lack of wounds. Falconstar could tell she wasn’t impressed by their prisoner when she entered camp.
“This place is disgusting,” The small kit said, to which Fallingbirch responded with a harsh hiss. The kit fell silent, but strolled away from the escort group and over to the fresh kill pile to choose a plump vole for herself. The cat’s eyes followed her with utter surprise, as she acted like she owned the place.
Falconstar, instead, strolled over to the stump and leapt up to the top. “I see you all have met our visitor,” he said, and then filled them in on what had happened that night. No one was impressed, least of all the kitten.
“You all are wasting your breath and time. I’m worth more than a bit of information, anyway.” she said, and then looked around for a place to sleep.
All eyes followed her to Falconstar’s den, where she quietly disappeared into the marigold tunnels. Falconstar scowled and turned back to his cats. “We will keep one guard on her at all times and rotate. At least one other warrior should remain in camp just in case an assist is needed. First up is Sharkheart, with Honeysuckle as her assist.” And with that, Falconstar stepped down to show the meeting was over. Almost instantly the clan began to shuffle for their dens, with Fawngaze taking Ploverkit to the nursery while Riptide started towards the Warrior’s den. Sharkheart sat before Falconstar’s den with Honeysuckle close by chattering with Littlebee outside her den. All discussion stopped as all eyes watched Falconstar trudge to the warriors den for the night.

Read the full Prompt here!

[ki-neko animura]

Writing Prompt!
Username: ki-Neko animura
Clan Thread: Mountainclan
Prompt Writing:
The past hour went by in a blur, the ambush on the rogues turned into the kidnapping of a kit... oh the irony. But Twinstar couldn’t risk letting the kit go in case she warned her brother. The calico couldn’t believe the words she spoke as she ordered her clan to take the kit back to camp. She made sure the little calico would not be harmed and would be treated as a guest.

She brought up the rear of the patrol as they walked back to camp, the kit surrounded by the warriors of the patrol. She knew taking the kit was the best course of action for her clan but she couldn’t help the feeling raging in her gut. The warrior code states that no kit is to be harmed... whether they were of clan origin or not. She let out a sigh as one by one they disappeared into the tunnels leading to the camp.

She followed not watching where she was going as he paws and the pelts in front of her guided her through the winding tunnels. The cats that stayed behind to protect the camp, watched as they escorted the small kit into the apprentice den. Luckily they had none yet and the den was vacant. “Make sure she is comfortable. Grab a spare Mossball from the reserves for her to play with. She is not to leave this den though. We can’t afford her getting lost in the tunnels.” She said quietly to Owleyes and Flickerheart as they stood guard outside the den.

Meeting the eyes of Bellerose and Dualgaze she flicked her tail towards her den before disappearing inside herself. Sitting in her normal spot she wrapped her tail comfortingly around herself as she watched her sister and her deputy enter her den. She could tell what each were thinking just by their eyes. “I had to... if the kit told the other rogues that we were planning ambushes this situation could have gotten out of hand.” Bellerose nodded, the deputy would have done the same though with a little less flair and compassion than her leader.

It was Dualgaze that seemed miffed about what happened, “Twinstar... a kit!? You kidnapped a kit!? How could you!.” She huffed her fluffy tail flicking back and forth in anger.

Twinstar sighed. “Like I said there was no choice. It is us or them!? I have given strict orders that the kit is not to be harmed, she is to be treated like a guest until this situation is resolved.” She replied her tail mimicking her sisters. “Do you think I wan... wanted this!? Sh eis a kit for Starclan sake!” Twinstars voice trembled as her eyes began to water some.

Dualgaze was going to continue when Bellerose rested her tail on the medicine cat, a small shake of her head silencing the smaller feline. “I... I’m sorry. It’s just hard... I can see your dilemma... I don’t think I would have made that choice... but I think it is the right choice for the clan.”

Twinstar let out a small gasp. She had been ready to fight for her choice even though it weighed heavily on her but Dualgazes reply took some of that load off her shoulders. She could breath a little easier knowing her sister and her deputy were behind her.

Word count 559

Art Prompt!
Username: ki-Neko animura
Clan Thread: Mountainclan
Prompt Art: Blop

[Wileyfangs]

Writing Prompt!
Username: Wileyfangs
Clan Thread: Swampclan
Prompt Writing:
Owlstar sighs as she and Roansplash assess the situation in her den. Everyone's back in Swampclan right now and they're not exactly happy.

They stole a kit.

There, she's glad to have put it out there. It eases some of the guilt she feels though she truly doesn't want the kit.
Not to be offensive but Swampclan has enough mouths to feed. And sure this is wrong, but her clan needs these cats gone. So why does she feel so guilt-ridden?

In truth, she knows why. Taking a kit had never been part of the plan and no matter how much she tries to justify it, it feels wrong, even to her. The kit shouldn't have been out on her own to begin with.

Roansplash watched as Owlstar paced anxiously, knowing that she was regretting her decision. But before she could try to backtrack or place the kit back he placed a paw on her shoulder. "You're doing what's right for your clan."

"By kidnapping a kit?!"

"By holding her safely for the time being."

"Holding her for ransom you mean."

"Because...."

"Because....I have no choice. We almost attacked her too. Oh starclan Roansplash if we'd have done that..."

"But we didn't." And Owlstar had to admit he did have a point. She paused in her pacing and gazed at him.

Roansplash placed his tail on her shoulders. "What's done is done. We're not proud of it and we aren't happy about it either, but the clan must come first more than our morals. Sometimes that means leading a raid on another clan and other times that means taking a kit...these things happen."

Owlstar sighed and stared down at the ground, sitting down on her haunches. "Well yeah but...never like this."
Roansplash nodded and sat beside her. "So we took a kit. And she's an angry kit. Maybe Wasppaw could mentor her when she's an apprentice, maybe her brother will come to save her. Who knows? But the good thing I do know is that this could perhaps end this silly thing. We keep her here we have a better advantage over those cats."

He paused and began grooming his chest fur. "And soon we'll drive them out. Maybe the kit'll go back with them. Maybe not. But hey we tried to be nice and look where it got us. It's their fault not ours, Owlstar."

Owlstar lay her head on her paws. "I hope you're right," she mewed. "Because it doesn't feel like it right now."

[[417 words]]

[aergia]

Writing Prompt!
Username: aergia
Clan Thread: OceanClan
Prompt Writing: 496 words

The bad taste in her mouth felt all too familiar as Sealstar looked at the tiny kit.

She had done a lot of things in her past that she wasn’t proud of and had tried to distance herself from her actions. Only a few individuals knew the true extent of her behaviour and just how much she had changed since she was only a warrior from a completely different clan.

She found her mind drifting to why the kit had been wandering on her own anyway, no kit that small should be away from her mother or at least some guardian. Wondering and worrying, she hoped that the kit wasn’t simply putting on a brave front. Her behaviour was similar to that of a spoilt apprentice, not a kit. Was she eating enough food? Sealstar knew malnutrition could stunt the growth of a kit, and judging by the fact that she was walking alone, that seemed a likely scenario.

However, whenever she or one of her warriors tried to question her, or even ask her name, she immediately grew defensive. Even the sweet-hearted Embercloud was hissed at.

“I’m worried about the kit.” Sealstar said to Sedgefur as the two sat atop HighStone.

“Why?”

“She’s so small, she shouldn’t have been out on her own, the snake infestation isn’t too far from where we found her. And have you seen how small she is and the age she acts?”

Sedgefur, ever the unobservant, had not.

“She seems more like an apprentice age, or at least an older kit but judging from her size she’s younger. I don’t know if she’s been eating enough. Have we given her much freshkill?”

“She ate a whole sparrow earlier.” Sedgefur reported, his eyes softening. “No please or thank you’s however.”

Sealstar held back a chuckle. “I thought I would’ve felt guiltier about keeping her here. As if we kitnapped her, but apart from her attitude she seems fine. I wonder where the brother is.”

“We can take on a brother. A rogue clan? Probably not. Let’s hope he comes alone.”

“May I interrupt?” Embercloud’s soft voice came from below.

“Of course, what is it?” Sealstar responded.

“It’s about the kit. I couldn’t help but overhear you, sorry.” She paused, deliberately not meeting Sealstar’s gaze. “I agree, she’s very tiny, very feisty too. A kit that size and approximate age would be calling for her mother, not a littermate.”

“The brother might not be a littermate. Sometimes kittypets and loners consider kittens from the same mother but different litter siblings.”

“Really?” Sealstar and Sedgefur exclaimed at the same time.

“Especially if she had no littermates.” Sedgefur said, deep in thought again.

“I hope she’s safe.” Sealstar said, looking towards the healers den where they had been keeping the kit. Dawnmask and Maplestorm sat out the front, Sealstar had instructed only female warriors to guard her as not to scare her further. She truly felt uneasy for the first time in many summers.