✦ Stars Catvent 2022

[coffee.berry]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: coffee.berry, #1008279
↬ clan archive: Peaceclan

↬ word count: 337 words <3
↬ prompt:


Silverstar breathed in the smell of rain. She didn't care that she would have to
wash herself later, she stood in the moment and let the rain and snow fall on her.
As this happened, Silverstar was reminded of a memory so far back in her life she
thought she'd forgotten it. But she was overjoyed she didn't.


It was a cold winter's day, and Silverstar was just a small kit. Her mother,
Marigoldstar, was laying beside her, telling her stories of a very kind Drakon
who would take cats for flying lessons every night, but no one ever figured out
how to fly. Silverkit (small Silverstar) had been determined to learn.

"I'll learn to fly, mom! I will!" she'd squeaked, and her mother had licked
her forehead with a look of love and disbelief on her face. Her mother moved on
to the next story, where she told of a frog who jumped around the clan, giving
cats what they wished for. "That's ridiculous - frogs don't give gifts!" Silverkit
had mewed, shaking her head.

"Ah, but they do." Marigoldstar nodded with a mischievous look on her face.
"Did I tell you that the frog can turn into a cat - Santa Claws?" Silverkit shook
her head. "That's even stranger than a frog giving gifts! The stories lie."

"Fairy tales never lie." her mother smiled, and looked to the sky. Silverkit
huddled closer to her mother and whispered. "Can we go dragon riding? One
day.." she yawned and fell asleep, curled up in a little ball beside her mother.

"One day, my little star." Marigoldstar sighed, and it started raining and snowing
on the two cats. After a while, Marigoldstar gently lifted Silverkit and took her into
the nursery.
Silverstar got back to reality with a dreamy look on her face - she missed her mother.
But there were cats to be fed and jobs to be done. She would go to the Cave of Secrets
later and see if her mother's ghost would be up for a chat.

[mrs]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: mrs + 1026844
↬ clan archive: Whispering Winds

↬ word count: 508 words
↬ prompt:
Wish watched the giant snowflakes begin to delicately fall down from the sky. They were similar to an angel's tears; he watched them fall to the ground, an indescribable sadness striking through his bones. He didn't quite have anyone to spend the holidays with, which left the leaf-bare season bone chillingly freezing. He didn't know what a holiday was, really, but that didn't keep him from feeling nervous about being alone during such a winter storm.. He thought back on his past as he laid his head down on his paws.

He was remembering a moment that occurred during his kitten years; a time when he had other felines to spend his time with. Playing, laughing - it was all warm times. He missed his family - he missed playing in the snow with his siblings. He wish he knew what happened to them... in fact, the sole reason why he had so many wishes, is why he's named Wish. He wishes he had his family, and that's not something that will ever change, regardless of what happens.

He isn't even sure how he lost them! That memory is one far too repressed, and not something that even delicate, graceful, falling snow could remind him of. Wish closed his eyes as he curled up tightly in his den. As he thought more on his past, more warm, light heartened memories came to mind. Specifically, he was thinking of Muddedshine. Ah, how Wish loved to spend time with him! He made all the problems in the world seem to disappear, whenever he was just looking into his eyes. He grinned as he recalled the time they sat by the lake, eating berries and just talking. Ah, they even had a nap together! That was wonderfully warm.

Wish also recalled the time he and Wish helped the Nixmas elf that came prowling to them, begging for help to find a hat. He felt proud to know that he was able to help someone who had been so desperately in need of assistance. He grinned widely and let out a purr as he recalled even the first time he met Muddedshine. It was a dulling memory by then; he was losing it to time, despite not much time passing. He's never been knowing for having such good memory..

Ah, he remembered how they had hunted together, that day. By the sky, the grass, and even the stars in the sky, oh how he loved to do things with Muddedshine. Wish rose his head, from his paws, as he gazed out into the winter storm. He brought himself up into a sitting position, a purr escaping him as he thought further back on Wish. He curled his bushy tail around his front paws... He no longer felt a frosty bite nipping away at his very being; instead, he found a warmth that he would never let go of - a warm feeling of belonging. Leaf-bare didn't have to be about cold, sad and old memories, it could be about remembering warm times. Delightfully warm times!

[unohdettu.lupaus]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: unohdettu.Lupaus | 946652

↬ clan archive:
x


↬ word count: 695 words
↬ prompt:
as Misha watched the snow dancing in the wind she remebered a menory she had since forgotten..the memory of her meeting dawn for the first time,the memory of the beginning of their friendship..
-

she had been trying to learn to hunt for a while now, yet she had not caught any prey and to her misfortune the snow layer on the ground was getting bigger and bigger nearly every day.

< i wish i stayed with my parents..> she thought as she once again failed to catch a mice to eat

her stomach grumbled.. she was hungry but she didnt have any prey to eat

as she walked around the snowy forest looking for anything too eat, she couldnt shake off the feeling of missing her parents

<why did i have to choose to leave so soon..i cant even hunt for myself> she thought
she smelled something she thought couldnt be real..the smell of fresh kill, someone had hunted something and been successful

as she crouched down on to the cold snow and started following the scent of the prey

<it has to be near here> she thought as the scent of the prey got stronger

that's when she noticed the small mouse that had been left on the snow
there was pawprints around it
”hello? Is anyone here?..” she called out trying to think of a reason why someone would leave their prey out on the open
she waited for a response but none was given.. ”helloo?..” she called out again.. no answer this time either


she looked around but no one could be seen either
as she approached the prey and started eating carefully, she stopped eating once in a while to look around for anyone… but nobody showed up..



after the mouse was eaten she got up and started walking towards her den, she had made a few nights ago

as she walked she saw some more pawprints on the snow

<thats weird.. i haven't seen anyone in here in the time i have been here> she thought as she turned to look to her right side..that's when she felt an uneasy feeling of being watched by someone

she was confused ” is anyone here??..” she asked as she looked around but couldnt see anyone

she sighed <I guess i am just thinking things>

thats when someone jumped down from a tree branch in front of her

she jumped a little, spooked by the stranger suddenly appearing front of her

”what are you doing in my territory?” the stranger asked looking at the gray cat

”this is your territory? im so so sorry! i didnt know- ill leave right n-” she apologized but was interrupted by the stranger.

”relax, i have been watching your hunts and i can see how thin you are, im not going to hurt you, i can teach you to hunt and you can stay, but i only just want to know why you're alone if you don't know how to hunt” the stranger spoke with a soft tone

”oh, you would teach me? a cat who has intruded onto your territory?” misha asked confused by the strangers kindness

”yeah, but can you tell me why youre alone?”

”well…i,. um i got into an argument with my parents and even after i apologized things were awkward between me and them..so i chose to leave without thinking..” misha explained

” oh.. i can understand your reasoning for leaving.. names dawn” dawn introduced themselves

” oh! my names misha, i gotta ask you how old are you? you seem pretty tall yet you sound about the same age as me.. i myself am 6 months” misha said

”i am about 6 or 7 months.. i just got pretty tall i don't know how” dawn told with a small smile

misha and dawn contiuned talking about each other for a small while before they both headed different ways to their dens, they met the next morning to talk and hunt together..

…-

”Misha? you there?” dawns voice brought misha back from her memory
”sorry! i just got lost in my thoughts, what were you saying?” misha asked

”i was talking about……

[ArtMajor]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: ArtMajor + 639839
↬ clan archive: blep

↬ word count: 251
↬ prompt:

The lightly falling snow, the gentle kiss of frost.

A sweet winters wind singing through the air.

As Dawnflower sat under the light of the moon, letting her senses fill with the essence of winter, she couldn’t help but reminisce.

How were her sibs? The ones who remained, who tangled their claws into fate, toying with lives like pieces of string?

She could remember the day she’d left clearly, the looks of betrayal sharp in her mind.

You have chosen them over us They had said. She had tried to argue, after all, why must there be separation between the mortals and Them? The Guardians were above Starclan after all, and Starclan was the bridge between the mortal planes and the immortal.

But despite her protests…

Dawnflower shivered, she could still feel Their claws as they tore away the pieces of Them from her. They had removed her from Them, and cast her into a horribly mortal frame. They probably thought it a punishment, and Dawnflower at first had agreed. What a terrible thing, to hunger and tire.

But with those burdens, came… such a gift. Emotion, such as could never exist in the Immortal realms. Beings who have never feared death, cannot feel love, pain, hurt, joy, or any other such feeling as strongly as those who must fight for survival.

And as Dawnflower sat in the sand, watching the night sky and thinking of her past, she knew that given the choice, she would never return to Them.

[Archaeopteryx.]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: Archaeopteryx. || 334452
↬ clan archive: Enurian

↬ word count: 429 words
↬ prompt:

The snow blanketed the world like a quilt and all that existed was wrapped in silence.

Amidst the white stood a small figure, fur dark as the moonless night and brighter than the hottest flame. They stood, still, listening to the nothingness of winter. The ever-present silence.

The only sound was the hissing of their paws against the snow underneath. Fizzing and bubbling as the ever-present heat instantly vaporized the powdery snow, sending it up into clouds of steam around them.

And they remembered.

It was hard not to, on a day like this. So very similar to the place of their birth. The southern slopes of the southern mountains, where their clowder and their littermates were born and raised. Where superstition both bloomed and fizzled in ways unlike the rest of the island. Where they had grown up, not with horror stories about the Imbroglio or the End, but rather, of creatures wearing a cat's skin, to slink into an unprotected group and to tear them apart.

And it was a day like this when the fire first came to them.

The cold. The frost that sunk into one's fur, into one's skin—they remembered, with the haze of childhood, that they hadn't cared for it at the time. That they wanted that warmth of summer back, wanted the heat of the sun's rays melting against their fur instead of melting slush.

It was as if the sun had bloomed inside of them. An ember, breathed to life within their chest, smoking and swirling and hissing. And the ice on their fur began to melt, and their paws burst into flame, and all around them their small clowder had gone into stunned silence.

It didn't matter that everyone had seen them and their littermates born. All that mattered was the hellfire erupting from their paws, the glint in their eyes, the fur raised on their shoulders.

Some of the scars still lingered on their skin from that night.

They breathed out a sigh, watching as the steam from their ever-burning body drifted towards the cold, clear, blue sky.

Another body leaned into theirs, and they jumped as a tongue rasped across their forehead. "You alright?" Prairiemist murmured, tail entwining with theirs.

"...Just thinking." They rasped.

"Well, stop it." Prairiemist rammed her head affectionately into them, and a purr started up in their chest. "Come back in. It's freezing without our heater."

And Firewalker looked at the one who gave them their name, showed them that the fire burning inside them could help more than it could hurt. "...Alright."

[kennymcnenny]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: kennymcnenny + 985228
↬ clan archive: Howling of the seas

↬ word count: 1,367
↬ prompt:
The Empty Shore was laying on the railing of the ship, staring down at the calm waves of the sea. It was a good night for sailing, the starts were crystal clear and the water was gentle, the moon mother had blessed them for the first day in their journey back home. It wasn't often that Empty Shore was seen, much less seen on the deck of the ship. They were almost always hidden away in their alcove below deck, doing whatever it was that seers do, reading the future and whatnot. But with the news of a common sailor, a cabin cat no less, having a vision, they had come up to the deck read the stars and the waves. And when Empty Shore found themselves in a vision, in a memory, they weren't surprised. It was the right night for one.


They sat on a beach this time, their paws much smaller than they should be. A memory from their kit-hood this time then. Before they were known as The Empty Shore. Before their life changed forever. They looked around the beach, their surroundings slowly growing more and more familiar. They recognized this memory. This was when everything changed. This was the night the moon mother came.

The Empty Shore remembered this night very clearly. She was so, so young, too young for someone that would be given the powers she had and the responsibilities that came with them. She was still just a kit, getting used to being away from her mother and adjusting to a new family of humans. She had snuck out through the window they left open during the night, made her way down to the beach. It had been so peaceful, the sound of the waves and the smell of salt on the breeze. The Empty Shore could hear and smell those things again, fading into the memory and the vision it brought with it.

They kneaded the sand beneath their paws, still slightly warm even though the sun had gone down. Though the shade and the crisp night are would be changing that soon enough. Empty Shore looked up as the last of the local birds flew into the trees behind them, a haunting cry echoing across the empty beach around as one of the birds called out. The Empty Shore wished for a moment that they could understand the creature, know who it was looking for, or if it was warning for danger.

Empty Shore let their gaze fall back on the sand and the waves beyond it, lost in thought. Thoughts about their mother, their siblings, about the new family they were with. They knew it was just how things went in a city like this, it was a part of life, but they still found themselves longing for the warmth of their mother's fur again, for the happiness that came with playing with their brother and sisters. But they knew they would never get that sort of peace again, but they didn't know just how right they were.

The odd movement of the waves was the first thing that The Empty Shore noticed, there was a patch that wasn't moving as it should be, like there was something just underneath the water, making it ripple in odd, dizzying patterns. Empty Shore squinted, leaning forwards to try and make out what was there, only seeing a blurred shape. Whatever it was it was big, bigger than any fish Empty Shore had ever seen before. They immediately backed away from the water, watching with apprehension as the shape seemed to get closer. As the young cat moved further up the beach, the.. thing in the water seemed to break through the waves, moving onto the shore behind them. It was huge, it's shape as incomprehensible, moving and shifting much like the water did. Empty Shore stared in horror as the being came closer, struggling to understand what it was or what was going on, but having reached the end of the shoreline with very little room to move, with how big this creature was.

"Do not be afraid, young one." A voice called out, it was nearly deafening, but as there was no reaction to the wildlife Empty Shore knew was behind them, they figure they were the only one that could hear it. It wasn't a comforting thought. "You have no reason to fear me. I am the one who makes the waves move, who creates the storms the waves rage against, who lights your path during the dark, lonely hours. I am the moon mother. I am here to help."

The Empty Shore couldn't move, felt like they could barely breathe, everything about this was impossible. The Moon Mother was a myth, a story told to make the younger kits behave otherwise the moon mother would take them back to the stars. They just stared at this impossible being before them, crouched as low as possible in the sand, trying to seem small.

"I have not been down here in so long. Things have changed. You do not know me as your ancestors once did. But I come to you now, and you most listen. The tides are changing and it's beyond my control. My children need somebody to guide them, to make sure they know that I am watching over them. And the world has chosen you, child." The shape moved, a piece of it resembling a large paw snaking towards Empty Shore, and they found themselves unable to move as it just barely brushed over their eyes.

Hundreds of images flashed before The Empty Shore's closed eyes, things they had never seen and didn't understand, things they did know. The ocean, an odd village made of colored stone, the night sky but with the starts moving, chasing each other in dizzying patterns. A great darkness under the waves, like the shape that was the moon mother, but colder. Then a great black ship, a crew of rough-looking cats, headed by a scarred calico, a large black cat with an eye patch by her side. More images, too fast for The Empty Shore to understand now. The future, the past, the present, from all over the world. And suddenly it stopped, the moon mother's paw being lifted. The Empty Shore stood before the great being, staring up at her, unable to say a single thing. They understood now, but they did not want to, they did not want the knowledge.

"You see now, little one. See what you are destined for. See your importance in this world. The ship will be here in three days. You must join it. The captain will know you. Now go. Hurry. Before it is too late." And with that, the shape started shifting in a more familiar way, moving with the waves and dispersing into the sand and the ocean behind them. It was gone in seconds, leaving no trace and making The Empty Shore wonder if it was ever real at all. But it was. They still felt that looming darkness and knowledge in the back of their mind, but it was quiet now. Waiting for the right moments to come to show itself.


The Empty Shore was back in their own paws in a flash, still on that beach, but grown once more. The confusing and painful knowing that was a vision flashing across their closed eyes, just like it did so long ago. Pictures of Scallop, of her on the ship, of a great danger. Empty Shore forced their eyes open after that, knowing that there wasn't much else to learn. But it explained why Scallop had been chosen and why now. They looked down at the water passing beneath the ship once more, letting the feeling of the wood beneath their paws ground them in reality.

The sight of snow falling past their nose made them pause and smile for just a moment. It was officially the winter festival, a time meant for peace and family and love. But being shown this memory, the vision too, was a foreboding thing and they dreaded having to ruin the Captain's celebrations to let him know the news.

[Deercan]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: Deercan | 776756
↬ clan archive: Forum/viewtopic.php?f=103&t=4723570

↬ word count: 825 words
↬ prompt: [a continuation/conclusion of sorts to this.]

Gentle snow fell upon the cat in a quiet whirlwind, circling his head and obscuring his view, the sun's rays causing them to glow like the finest crystals. Harley found himself breathless in this moment, caught in surprise by the way the snow shone like a beautiful halo. In one moment to the next, shining day turned to cool night as he blinked and found himself caught in an old memory.

It was a memory that felt all too real, it really did. It's strange how one instance of snow can take one back moons ago.

Although he was still, he could feel it all like he was there again.

A young cat in a strange place, fueled by youthful recklessness and an undying determination. The sound of something approaching, shaking him awake and pulling invisible strings. The snapping of the wires as he hastily got onto shaking paws, and despite the freeze edging in around him, he began to run. He hadn't been there as long as he had now, yet the young cat found his way up to the tracks, watching as the mechanical dragon rumbled through and chugged right down the tracks, the sound of it's roar as it threatened to leave him in a cold snowy dust that turned the dark night white.

With the experience of the past days practice, he began to run after it, never slowing down despite the pain. There was no giving up, no more running away. This was his last shot, and he could not waste it. He wouldn't.

Muscles burning as the pulsing fire escaped out his heart and shot into his legs, screaming for him to stop. As if invisible wolves were rushing behind him with snapping and gnashing jaws, he quickened his pace, claws out and clicking the cold metal like a panicking drum beat.

As if he had gained the gift of flight from something ethereal in the stars, he jumped, throwing himself onto the train. Like Icarus he flew too close to glory, and just as him Harley too fell hard. It was not a loss, however, but a well deserved victory.

Another soft blink of deep dark blue eyes, and Harley found himself in the memory following. Oh glory, he thought, is it really this one?
He felt a bit uneasy about it, but there was a gentle relief too.

The world seemed to slow down in the memory as he recalled it all, remembering each word spoken as if it a precious lullaby. He held this memory close, tears like glittering diamonds rolling down his cheek. He wasn't one to handle grief well. He never had been able to, evident by the act of tearing up at a past memory.

When he hugged his sister, he knew this memory would change location soon. It was one he revisited often, knowing the ending but never able to let go of the middle. The young memory cat held the white furred spirit closer, even as the train dragon pulled to brief stop. The warm bodies of his friends hopping up and surrounding him, helping to carry him back to the place he now called home. The wave goodbye, and the gentle concerned mew of his best friend Lilacwool still remained as if it had all happened only last night.

He felt the events there onward flash like lightning bugs in his mind, hardships and heartfelt moments all the same, every new breath and every tragedy. He reflected on just how far he had come, once the scrawny and determined hotheaded young adult in a new place, the cautious kitten he was before that, and now.. Now, he stood back in the camp of the group of cats who called him friends, family, leader.

It shocked him for a moment, the fact that he stood there with all he'd made it through like memories on older bones. He never imagined that he would have ever made it here, and with a smile, he thought about all the new memories he'd continue to make here.

The snow out of his view, with squinted eyes he saw the sunlight and swore he saw something twinkle beside it in the sky, if for only a brief moment. Is she still proud? He thought, and he knew the answer, yes, she was.

A distant rumbling brought his blue gaze back to ground level, and this time it wasn't a memory. The mechanical dragon once again roared on through, and without a moments hesitation, he found himself running after it again, kicking up snow behind him with powerful strides towards the thing that led him here to begin with.

Bright sunlight glistening on the snow around him, something else small and white caught his eye as he chased the train. Glittering with stardust, his sister matched his strides with fierce ease. Together with matching determined grins, they pounced with paws outstretched to grab onto the future.

[jay.]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: jay. + 688591
↬ clan archive: the aurora borealis

↬ word count: 4 words, art
↬ prompt:

[I Like Bees]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: I Like Bees
↬ clan archive: The Travelers

↬ word count: 25 words
↬ prompt:



Pretzel remembers a day he and his siblings built a snowman, back when they were small and together and long before everything went forever wrong.

[Plushbunny]

↬ catvent day: twenty

↬ username & id: Plushbunny + 858001
↬ clan archive: BlizzardClan

↬ word count: 20 words
↬ prompt: froststar, (or winter) playing in the snow during his first winter, when he was still a kittypet, and a kitten.