Rise Summer Event: Summer of Thorns | Path 3

[CertainNorth]

Summer Event ‡ Archive ‡ Store

Answer writing prompts and drawing prompts for a chance to gain reputation points, which can be put to use buying fun items from our store.


ＷＲＩＴＩＮＧ ＰＲＯＭＰＴＳ

Each writing prompt you finish you will earn reputation points! For writing prompts to count they must answer the prompt in a relevant way and be between 400 and 600 words. Once a new writing prompt is posted, answers to the previous prompts will not be awarded reputation points.

Completed writing prompt = 5 reputation points


ＡＲＴ ＰＲＯＭＰＴＳ

Art prompts are extra ways to earn reputation points. They are not necessary for participating in the event, but they're an extra challenge and something you are able to do throughout the whole event.

Finished, colored piece (fullbody) = 4 reputation points {X}
Finished piece PLUS partial background = 5 reputation points {X} (1-3 distint and unique objects.)
Finished piece PLUS full background = 7 reputation points {X} (4+ distint and unique objects.)

Path 3 Prompts
Prompt 1, Prompt 2, Prompt 3,Prompt 4

[CertainNorth]

1. All site and Rise rules apply during this event.
2. Once you choose a path you can't go back; choose wisely.
3. All prompt answers are to be submitted via their respective form on their respective thread.
4. Once a new writing prompt it opened up, you can't go back and answer a previous one. You can jump in on a current prompt even if you haven't participated in previous ones.
5. Art prompts are open for the entire event.
6. You may only answer each prompt once.
7. You aren't required to do both the art and writing prompts; do what you're able.
***New!!! 8. It's suggested that you post your art prompt in a separate post if you don't do the art and the writing prompt at the same time. Editing your post with previous writing prompts will likely end up with the art not counted as it will be missed. On the last day of each writing prompt, any edits after the stated end time will disqualify your writing prompt in that post (at the time of judging).

[CertainNorth]

»»———— • ————««

You decide your best course of action will be to ignore this invading group. They may be taking what belongs to you, but you have space to expand your territory to make up for what they take. It's easier than confronting them, and you have a feeling any attempts at a peace talk won't go well. It may not be the most warrior-like option to take but living in the wild is already hard, you don't need to make it harder by picking fights. So, you just let it slide, knowing that the stealing will continue but that you won't be risking the lives of any of the cats in your clan. You ask your medicine cat to speak to your ancestors, hoping they may have a solution that won't lead to blows.

»»———— • ————««

Prompt 2: Why did your leader decide to take a passive route?
Art Prompt 2: With potentially dangerous cats close to your camp, what does your clan do to protect themselves in the meantime? Draw at least one of your cats taking part in an activity at camp.(training, cleaning, standing watch, pulling pranks, whatever it is they do)

»»———— • ————««

Writing Prompt End Date: 19th July
THIS WRITING PROMPT IS NOW CLOSED

Code: Select all

[b]Art Prompt 2![/b]
Username:
Clan Thread:
Prompt Art:

[~HєуRєι~]

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

The group of cats dispersed as their leader leaped down the now cooling ledge, the moon rising overhead as the group cats dispersed to their duties, some going to sleep due to exhaustion from tension. Doestar was quickly followed by her deputy, Echofrost, over towards the clan entrance.

Her deputy persisted with his concern, following the mink leader as he spoke, "What do you think you're doing? We have to do something to stop these ca-" Once more the shecat turned, though this time more than a little irritated. "We aren't strong enough. What part of that do you no understand? We can't risk clanmates when we don't know how large or small this group even is." her ears turned, tail swishing side to side in annoyance.

Avoiding the she-cats intense gaze and intimidating stature, the deputy tried to continue reasoning, "We can gather allies, w-we can find more m-" oddly hopeful the tom's shine was shattered as his leader snapped. Standing as tall as she could, Doestar hissed at her own deputy, frustrated at his constant questioning, "We can't risk other cats to fight for us. Waiting it out is the best course of action right now and my decision is final, Echofrost. We will not speak of this further." As the aggravated she-cat turned and stalked away towards a clearing, leaving the slightly dumbfounded and mopey deputy to follow meekly behind. While Doestar wasn't completely alright with how she reacted, she needed to put her paw down when it came to decisions and authority. She'd shown herself as one of the people but she still was their leader, and they all must respect her decisions.

The moonlight created a symphony of blue shades, the soft and slow flickering of fireflies floating around the clearings, ignoring the shadowy figures of birds and other creatures that moved through the night. Stopping on the path to look towards the sky, curious to find now dark clouds littered it, completely clear to reveal the white speckled sky. 'Was this the right action? Is she doing the right thing by ignoring the possible threat?' Lost in thought, she didn't notice as her deputy padded up beside her, once more trying to speak to her, though on a separate matter.

"Doestar!" her ears finally focused on the tom, teeming with concern as he quietly yelled, "Wha-", her deputy shushed her as soon as she started to turn to where her deputy now faced. As the dark green leaves of the bushes waved lightly in the breeze, a darker figure seemed to stand in the clearing, eyes bright and ears alert as they looked for signs of life.

Shocked and nervous, she looked to her clanmate for re-assurance of what she was seeing... These strange cats.. they were moving closer. [Word Count: 465]

[.paris.]

Writing Prompt!
Username: .paris.
Clan Thread: flameclan
Word Count: 595 words

_____

Later on that evening, as the sun was finally slipping below the lake, Icetalon and Blazestar sat in their den, overlooking the rest of camp as everyone else drifted off to sleep. Only Falconclaw remained, sitting in the middle of the clearing, carefully observing the camp as a guard, settling the uneasy feeling Blazestar knew every cat had.

Despite Falconclaw’s presence, she could not bring herself to settle down. She paced the length of her den, back and forth, lost in thought. Icetalon’s eyes followed her, narrowing as she watched her leader and mate, overwhelmed with anxiety. Icetalon stayed quiet though, waiting for Blazestar to inevitably break the silence.

Eventually, as expected, Blazestar spoke up. “Do you think I made the right decision today?”

Icetalon blinked, expecting the question and yet surprised by the unabashed admittance of uncertainty. “What? What other option did you have?”

Blazestar sighed. “I—I don’t know. I just feel like I—we—could’ve done something more.”

“Like what? Blazestar, you said it yourself, we’re too outnumbered for an attack, and if we attempted diplomacy and things went wrong, we would only be setting ourselves up for an ambush. Ignoring them, alongside more patrols, is the best option we have right now.”

Blazestar sighed, finally taking a moment to sit down. “You’re right, I just—I don’t know. It feels so…unwarrior-like. To just sit back and wait. I feel like we’re sitting prey, and we’re about to be stricken with something we just don’t understand. I feel like—we’re in danger.”

Icetalon gently nuzzled her fretting mate, before sharing tongues with her, in an attempt to calm her down. Blazestar relished in the moment for just a second, before her anxieties came flying back, nearly knocking her off her paws with their strength. She opened her mouth to say something more, but Icetalon did not give her a chance to speak.

“Blazestar, I may not know as much about life as a warrior as you. You grew up in this world, governed by your laws and customs, while I am only an outsider looking in on you. However, what I do know is that, as a warrior, and as a leader, even if you are unsure about the decisions you make, you have to stand firm in them once you decide. If you waver, both your clan and the rogues will sense your weakness, and it will only cause more strife.

“I understand that you’re scared, trust me, I do. To be frank, I am too. But you’ve made your decision—a rather wise decision, I might add, given the circumstances, and you need to stick with it. If things change later, you can change your mind later, but for now, you need to try to relax. Otherwise, your anxiety is just going to flake off on the rest of the clan, and that will just make things so much worse for everyone. Do you understand?”

Blazestar found herself nodding along, knowing that her deputy, although stern, was right. She curled up underneath her chin, purring, twining her tail with hers. “Thank you,” she breathed, feeling her anxiety finally calm down a bit. “I love you.”

Icetalon nodded, blinking warmly at her mate. “I love you, too. Try and get some rest.”

After a moment, she took one last glance outside, nodding at Falconclaw, before returning into her den. Taking one last deep breath, she curled up next to Icetalon, taking solace in her slowed breathing, and allowing sleep to finally overtake her into a deep and dreamless slumber.

[CertainNorth]

Writing Prompt!
Username: Tendency
Clan Thread: Dustclan
Prompt Writing: 520/600

Ghostzephyer pressed his muzzle to his brother's flank to get his attention. Driftbreeze paused, halfway to the camp entrance and turned back, blue eyes expectant. Ghost always thought of their sister when he saw his brother's eyes.

"I wanted to apologize. We all know the ancestors can be cryptic...and we all want to know why they called us here. It wasn't my place to question you." The black bengal pressed his shoulder to Drift's to reaffirm his support. Sometimes, he couldn't help but ask questions. But he loved his brother and he would never give up on him for anything.

The cream bengal tom shook his head. "I wish we knew. I miss walking under different trees." He got a far off look for a moment.

Ghost chuckled. "You say that, but just last moon you were gone for days! It's not like you can't travel. Well..." he trailed off. They couldn't travel now. Not with those cats there. Which was another good reason to not push against them right now. So many Dustclan cats traveled, be it for a day or sometimes longer outside of their current territory. The clan was a safe place to return to and recuperate, not someplace that caged them all in one place. Ghost was sometimes surprised Drift made it all work.

"When Lightsong gets back, I'll talk to her. See if she can read the signs. Not that I hold out much on that. I'm pretty sure one of our ancestors was the value of independence." Driftbreeze chuckled and Ghost couldn't help but smile. They had both been there, at Drift's leadership ceremony. And while he hadn't really seen anything, Ghost always had the feeling that it hadn't gone the way it normally went.

"That would probably be my fault." Wraith's words from behind made Ghost jump. For the love of stars, he wished the blue tom would stop doing that! He flinched, but kept his focus on Drift. Wraith wasn't worth his time. Even if he was trying to make a joke. Which was...strange.

Driftbreeze rolled his eyes. "Luckily we can always blame you, Wraith," he joked. "You wanted to send out more patrols?" He flipped the topic quickly. Drift seemed distracted by something.

Wraith nodded. "To make sure they know we are here and watching. A show of strength."

Ghost found himself nodding and had to stop. It wasn't that he disliked Wraith really. In another life, they two might have been friends. But Wraith had done what he could not, and that was support his brother through everything. Ghost, Drift's only blood, had decided to stay behind when Drift first left on his travels while Wraith, a complete stranger, had gone with him. Ghost envied their connection. One he should have had. And he envied Wraith's position as second in command. But he couldn't argue that Wraith wasn't qualified. Even if Drift was concerned for their numbers and safety and that's why he didn't want to rush it, it made sense to make sure the intruders didn't think the same. Ghostzephyr had to agree with the blue tabby tom there.

Art Prompt!
Username: Tendency
Clan Thread: Dustclan

Some cats in Dustclan are really excited about the invaders. And Wraith just really wants to get some sleep.

**points to be awarded by another staff member**

[Neah]

Writing Prompt!
Username: Neah
Clan Thread: SunClan
Prompt Writing:

Ketsrelstar sat at the peak of Star Watcher point, her eyes closed and face turned towards the rising sun, basking in the warmth as it slowly crested the hills and mountains around camp. She had climbed up here to think in peace, away from the fur prickling energy in camp. While her clan was ready to fight if needed, she wasn't sure if they wanted to elicit the ire of the band of rogues. They had just begun to thrive again a moon or so back after the extremely harsh winter they had weathered through. They may be hardy and battle ready, but she wasn't sure if drawing them into a battle so soon after regaining their strength was a good idea.

Peace was their way. They were diplomats first, warriors second. Being quick to leap into battle was poorly suited in rough mountain terrain where even the summer months could be difficult. And talking... they had made attempts to talk to the other group, stopping patrols and sending messages; none had been answered. It seemed that the mysterious leader didn't want to face those who occupied the land they were invading.

Really, all they could do now was wait them out. SunClan would be able to make due, they were used to the territory, at home in the mountain slopes. This new group was undoubtedly uneasy, most likely not used to the environment. They would be struggling to learn how to hunt, and if they had a healer they would probably be unsure of where to find herbs. She could only hope waiting them out would draw them out of their seclusion.

Kestrelstar's ears twitched back, hearing the barely audible sound of paws on stone, and knew without a doubt who would be joining her this early. As her deputy came to sit beside her, she could feel herself relax. Rosecloud always had wise words to offer, she would know if ignoring the rogues would help them in the long run.

"Have you come up here to think, then." It wasn't really a question, her deputy knew her well enough to not have to ask. "You're second-guessing yourself Kestrelstar. You know the clan will follow you in whatever path you take." Rosecloud ducked her head to catch her leaders gaze, eyes soft. "We all know you are choosing what will keep us safe."

Kestrelstar sighs, pinning her ears back but returning the eye contact all the same. "What if it isn't, though. Waiting won't work forever."

"You doubt your clan's capabilities." Kestrelstar moves like she's going to interject then, but Rosecloud keeps talking, not letting her get a word in. "You don't mean to; it's done out of worry. SunClan is strong, we have survived in this territory for many, many moons. We have the knowledge and skill to work with what we have here, we can afford to wait out these invaders. Eventually, they will grow desperate, and in that desperation, our course will be set. They are the ones that decided to settle here, they are the ones that refuse our attempts at peace. Let them decide their fate." She purrs, dropping her head to brush her nose against her friend's cheek. "Take courage. We have not lost yet."

[Placebo]

Writing Prompt!
Username: Placebo
Clan Thread: Floodclan
Prompt Writing:

“Oh Starclan, this is too good!”

Lightningsong’s raucous laugh sounded through the undergrowth as Daystar padded back to camp with his mate. The smaller tom tried not to laugh himself, but he couldn’t help but be tickled. The cats in the invading group could barely swim, and they were looking to take territory from Floodclan! In Wetleaf, of all seasons! Daystar couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled through at the thought. The invaders would sooner drown than get far enough into their borders to be much of a problem. That is, if the otters didn’t get to them first. “Looks like we didn’t have much to worry about in the first place, huh Ramesh?” Daystar inquired to the handsome tabby, and his mate flashed him a smirk filled to the brim with mirth.

“This works even better in our favor, Damien! Maybe now we can actually start up that betting pool Cain was looking to make.” At the mention of their young warrior, Canaryleap, Lightningsong nudged Daystar conspiratorially. His brow wiggled expectantly. “And maybe we can even get him to catch us that duck you’ve been eyeing for the past quarter moon.”

Daystar flicked his tail in faux annoyance and rolled his eyes at Lightningsong’s antics. Still, the classic tabby’s grin was unmistakable. “Maybe so.”

Daystar peered off into the trees thoughtfully as they approached the temporary camp that the clan set up for the emergency of the invading cats. It seemed like less and less of a crisis with every paw step, and the new information made Daystar confident of the clan’s advantage over the rogues. “We’ll need to tell the clan this new tidbit of info... For now, what do you think we should do, Ramesh? Stage an ambush on our soil?”

Lightningsong turned his warm golden gaze onto the lovely tom, a bit surprised. The larger tom was content with Daystar taking the lead with this situation, but seeing the careful leader defer to him made Lightningsong pause to consider his own thoughts. “You know... I think we should wait it out, just for now. I’d suggest a more aggressive stance if I knew the whole group could possibly navigate this territory, but seeing that they’re not able to, there’s a good chance they might simply leave the floodplains as a lost cause. Sometimes the passive aggressive means is the only aggressive way you need.”

“Oh, really, now?” Daystar raised a brow at his mate wryly.

Lightningsong grinned cheekily, and pointedly looked at Daystar. “I learned from the best, after all.”

"Oh shove off, you," Daystar growled playfully, and Lightningsong laughed and bounced a bit of a ways away to escape his mate’s faux wrath.

Daystar’s attention drifted from his mate once more as he became softly pensive, and thought to his medicine cat’s, Lilyfrost’s, words earlier that day. “You do bring up a fair point, though. Best to see if they’ll simply leave... though I do know Lily had requested that I speak to her today, even though she told me it wasn’t urgent enough to derail our patrols of scouting out the invaders.”

Lightningsong hummed in reply. “Very true... let’s see what she has to say, then. And if they do manage to get far, we can always just drown them.” At that, Daystar sighed at Lightningsong. There's the violent response he was waiting for.

{560}

[CertainNorth]

Here are the awarded points from the previously submitted prompts.

~HєуRєι~ has received 5 reputation points.
.paris. has received 5 reputation points.
Tendency has received 10 reputation points. **awarded by Neah**
Neah has received 5 reputation points.
Placebo 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.

[CertainNorth]

»»———— • ————««

The next morning you're woken by your medicine cat, they've got stars in their eyes and seem somewhat breathless. You sit up quickly and ask what's happened, hoping that they received the sign you wished for. "Our ancestors sent a sign. They offered no words but they showed me the sun wreathed in daisies and poppies." You blink in confusion at this, unsure of what it's supposed to mean. Your medicine cat notices and does their best to explain it. "These are two separate things. The sun is the focal point, probably the cat making decisions, the flowers wreath it, so they're most likely a follower of the sun. The daisies mean innocence, loyalty and cheer and the white poppy mean consolation and peace." This doesn't give you much more insight, but you understand it means there will be two cats, hopefully bringing peace like the poppies indicate.

Raising to your paws, you shake out your pelt. "Let's hope these peace bringers show up soon. if they steal much more territory we'll have to move out of camp." You turn troubled eyes to the entrance of your den, peering at your camp beyond, full of cats who depend on you. "I can only pray that we won't be forced to take action before then."

»»———— • ————««

Prompt 3: Does your leader believe that these cats will show up like prophecized?
Art Prompt 3: Draw your medicine cat receiving the sign/prophecy from their ancestors. Did they share a dream with an ancestor? Meet one in a special place? Or receive the sign in some other manner?

»»———— • ————««

Writing Prompt End Date: 22nd July
THIS WRITING PROMPT IS NOW CLOSED

Code: Select all

[b]Art Prompt 3![/b]
Username:
Clan Thread:
Prompt Art: