Rise Summer Event: Summer of Thorns | Path 1

[Wolfiedog3]

Writing Prompt 3!
Username: wolfiedog3
Clan Thread: LostClan
Prompt Writing: TwistedStorm watched the stars quietly as he laid by the Starpool. The rogues said that they had been lead here by the Starry Cats, that had to be the StarClan, correct? He sighed heavily and laid his head down on his paws. Slowly falling into a deep sleep from the soft chirping around him.

[—————————]

“TwistedStorm? TwistedStorm!”
Twisted awoke with a start, still looking around for who had awoken him. Standing in front of Twisted was a blurry figure, see-through as well. He slowly recognized the cat. Showing the faint point markings and covered in deep scars as well as a missing eye.
“FallowFur.”
The cat nodded slightly. Fallow has been the leader before Eclipse, having been killed in an attack by rogues themselves. Still, they were surprised calm with knowing that rivals had shown up. Twisted tilted his head slightly, looking at Fallow, wondering what was going to happen with with rogues.
“As you know, why history with rogues isn’t all to good, but I need you to trust us.”
“Us? Who is us?”
Soon more blurred figure of cats appeared around Fallow. A few of the old leaders, some of the past medince cats, and sadly a few kits. Twisted watched them all, knowing a few of them before they had passed. Why had they all shown themselves to Twisted? He only needed answers, just something to tell them what was happening with the rogues. It was all too quiet.
“We need answers, Fallow, do you know anything that could possibly help us?”
It stayed quiet, the starry cats thinking to themselves. They seemed unsure themselves. Still, it had been a long time since they had dealt with some world problems. Finally Fallow walked up to Twisted and laid a paw on his shoulder.
“Twisted, gain trust. Don’t let your guard down thought, we don’t have all the answers for you yet, but trust must be gained to show the way.”
Twisted tilted his head. Gain trust? But don’t let your guard down? What does this mean? Twisted looked up, wanting to ask one more question.
“What do you mean? Gain Trust?”
“It will all come in due time, just be patient.”
Twisted went to open his mouth, just as they all faded away. Nothing that night had made any sense. He sighed heavily. Laying back down where he had been. He would have to tell Eclipse what had happened in the morning. While none of it made too much sense, they could think of a plan for it.

[hazilnut]

Writing Prompt 3!

Username: hazilnut
Clan Thread: Aridclan
Prompt Writing: 544/600

Aloeleaf had left the home plateau as soon as the sun had begun to dip in the sky, flanked by two warriors as was customary. Mothstar insisted that any cats out after dark keep in groups of threes so that if anything happened one could run for help while the other stayed behind with whomever was incapacitated. While on healer's principal Aloeleaf appreciated this safety measure she doubted she would need the entourage. Starclan would protect their own, and surely the rouges, if they respected The Oracle as much as she believed, would not attack another spiritual leader.

"Visit or hunt if you wish. Hopefully I will return with answers." Aloeleaf dismissed her escort with a simple nod before venturing into the Moon Boneyard. The pale vanilla moonlight painting the neatly arranged stack of bones as yellowed with age, even those barely out of Drying Crevice. But Aloeleaf wasn't there to pay respects to the dead. She needed a plan.

The Aridclan medicine cat pressed her nose to the conduit, a thick column of bone that seemed to scrape the sky. A shiver ran down her spine and suddenly Aloeleaf was overwhelmed by visions. Snarling. A flash of claws down a silver pelt. The sound of a kitten mewling. The scent of fresh caught prey. Laughter. Hickorysplit. Frostwhiker. Oxfang. A long, drawn out battlecry. The scent of rotting herbs. Drought.

She pulled away gasping. Aloeleaf was an experienced medicine cat, she knew how Starclan communicated to her clan, always in dream-like visions or flashes of memory. But never since the drought had the medicine cat felt such strong visions. She took a shaky breath, trying to remember and make sense of what she had seen. The snarling and claws; a call to battle or a warning? Was the kitten mewling from joy or hunger? And why the images of those three cats? Ah but of course, they were all outsiders who had joined Aridclan. They had assimilated well. But then there was the memory of the drought...

Aloeleaf knew Starclan was fallible. That was the first lesson she was taught. For all their sway over dreams they were little more than dead cats, their advice based on, and often communicated through, their memories. Yet the sheer magnitude of contradictions disheartened Aloeleaf. If Starclan cold not reach a consensus, what hope was there for living cats? This called for a deviation from tradition.

Leaving behind the bone column, Aloeleaf instead approached a stack of bones in the leader's section of the boneyard. "Shadestar I call upon your spirit. Bless me with your advice that I may advise your clan and your daughter." This time, when Aloeleaf touched her nose to bone, there was only a single vision.

It was an image of Aridclan territory as viewed from the top of the home plateau. Though Aloeleaf could see many days travel across the land she could not find where the badlands came to an end, if they ever did. She watched day turn to night and night turn to day, over and over again. And yet never was the landscape fully touched by the sun or moon. It was too large; one segment was always in the light or in the dark.

Aloeleaf came away understanding.

[clouds-move-on]

Writing Prompt 3!
Username: ☁Lady Raincloud☁
Clan Thread: NocturneClan
Prompt Writing:
"Nothing was achieved by this meeting."
Edgewalker said this quietly to Crimsonsparrow. The two sat star gazing. It had been a long, tiring and, actually somewhat boring day. The patrol hadn't taken a liking to the strangers, nor their idea that they belonged here. Snowsight and Tempestcloud had luckily gone with their brother, and it was only for that no fight broke out. On top of that, Blizzardstripe was in full-on panic mode, muttering and hissing about doom and invading rogues. No one had ever seen him like this, and only Crimsonsparrow, who knew him best, seemed to understand.
"We'll figure something out." Crimsonsparrow said hopefully, with a small smile. "They weren't hostile, at least. Not that I could very well tell with... 'the orator' or whatever he called himself."
"Oracle."
"Yes that... person. I don't know what to make of him, but tonight we'll sing our usual songs and hopefully, the universe willing, we'll get some peace and maybe wake with insight." Crimsonsparrow finished with a hopeful look. He looked to the sky as he continued. "I didn't think much about this SongClan you talked about when I joined... yet I do believe if an afterlife and somehow your traditions of song bring my solace. I feel as if someone greater than me is listening who cares, even if we can't talk directly. I hope it brings you the same peace... you need to relax. We won't let them take our home from us, but we cannot act drastically."
He said this as he noticed Edgewalker tense, slightly, at the words 'we won't let them take our home from us'. He was... on edge, as it were, and was quite prepared to start battle plans. Still, thinking over how few fully trained cats they had, he nodded.
"At least they didn't crush my herbs, eh? Other healers understand how important it is I think! Now, speaking of which, I'll join you at Song Sound in a couple of minutes; need to give Blizzardstripe something for his nerves."

At Song Sound- a rivulet which drifted into the seas and down some rocks, and which also connected Fishsong's River to the sea- the NocturneClan cats gathered in song. It was sad, as it had been for several nights, to meet there without the conductor Ashclover. Ordinarily, he and Quietpaw would be helping direct the mood, tone and direction of the song. He'd use a bone, or a twig in his jaws, or just his tail and paws to waves up, and down, and side, and back again. It wasn't very professional - they were mere cats - but it was understandable. On occasion cries of laughter would go out from the cats on such occasions; if someone went off tune, Ashclover would throw something at them, and everyone thought it was funny.
Now, after the song was done, all that echoed down the cliffs was the forlorn cries of cats. There was no laughter or purrs in the misty air.

The clan awoke next morning. They had no signs from SongClan in the night; that wasn't the way of SongClan, nor the universe. And yet, for at least this brief time before sun high, the clan felt a bit more at ease than they had for awhile.

[canadianhowl]

Art Prompt!
Username: DasCanadianSparkle
Clan Thread: PumaClan
Art Prompt Number: 3
Prompt Art:

[Ravenshadow17]

Art Prompt!
Username: Ravenshadow17
Clan Thread:AuroraClan
Art Prompt Number: 2
Prompt Art: https://sta.sh/01v3hh5xrytf


Art Prompt!
Username: Ravenshadow17
Clan Thread: AuroraClan
Art Prompt Number: 3
Prompt Art: https://sta.sh/01p2c53cboj5

[synastry]

Writing Prompt 3!
Username: synastry;
Clan Thread: Streamclan
Prompt Writing:
Rosestar had walked back to camp in confusion after the meeting with the pair of healers. She didn't like how that smaller one... Janus, was acting. He seemed fishy. The older one reminded her of some of the elders she had met, but Rosestar didn't dare say such things out loud. Of course, the cat she had taken to the actual meeting was Ebonyclaw, while Snowstrike and Fallowcall stayed behind and watched for danger.

The most confusing thing about the entire meeting had been Janus's mentioning of 'the starry ones' telling them to settle here. Why would Streamclan's ancestors tell foreign cats to come to their land, steal their prey, and completely ignore the borders? So, naturally, she sent Wrenflight to Starstream to try and get some sort of message. Rosestar was slightly concerned about the location of Starstream; if any of the rogues were hostile, they could easily take Wrenflight hostage since it was so far from camp.

The medicine cat hadn't come back until the next morning, and she looked both tired and awake at the same time. Rosestar beckoned the other she cat into her tree hollow, sitting down with her paws underneath her.

"So? Any news from Starclan?" she asked eagerly. Wrenflight gave a small sigh, then replied. "The only things I were getting from them were very vague... they can be interpreted in so many different ways, setting ourselves up for only one path could harm the clan. But Starclan said they brought these cats here for our benefit... but I don't understand how those rogues can talk to our ancestors. I mean, sure, they can have the connections and all... but shouldn't you have to know about the cats in Starclan first?" Rosestar took all of this in, trying to make sense of it. For Streamclan's benefit? How could this possibly benefit Streamclan? Their leader sounds hostile, or at least unwilling to talk. They can't truly come to a compromise until their leader speaks with them... "But Rosestar, what are we supposed to do? We can't defy Starclan's wishes, but at the same time we can't just let these cats over run our territory. Sure, it's big, but not for two groups of cats who refuse to work together."

"You're expressing the concerns I already have, Wrenflight. But what are we supposed to do? Tell these cats to leave or face our anger, and face Starclan's wrath, or let them run rampant and steal all of our prey?" Then a stupid idea hit her; what if they told some of the rogues they could join Streamclan? No... loyalty could never be guaranteed. This entire situation was making Rosestar tired, and she just woke up. "I'm not sure Wrenflight... I will hold a meeting with you, me, Snowstrike, and Ebonyclaw later on today to try and figure out what to do. For now, get some rest, you look like you need it." Standing up, she added "And start stocking up on some extra herbs. As much as I want to avoid it, we may need to fight. I want to be prepared."

Side note;; Wrenflight, Ebonyclaw, Snowstrike, and any cat except Rosestar are concepts for future cats.

Word count;; 517

[nightshyne]

xxxWriting Prompt 3!
Username: rockpelt.
Clan Thread: boulderclan
Prompt Writing: (541/600 words)

The band of cats slowly waled back towards their clan. Lionstar and Thorntooth lead the group, whispering to each other about something, definitely regarding the intruders. Roseflame, Ratrunner and Falcondream followed behind, but gave the leader and his deputy some space. “What are we going to do?” Falcondream mumbled to himself.

“Don’t worry about it, kid. Lionstar will figure out what to do, and then if we need to fight, so be it.” Ratrunner looked down at the smaller tom. “It’s probably best if you just go to your den and get some sleep. Try not to fret over this.”

“We could lose everything, Ratrunner. He should be fretting about it.” Roseflame spoke cautiously, not looking at Falcondream.

“He’s barely more than an apprentice. No use making him scared to set foot outside of camp.” Falcondream could feel tears welling in his eyes. He didn’t want to be chased out of the camp by some rogues. He didn’t want to be chased out by anyone!

“P-please don’t argue about this. I’ll be fine.” Falcondream’s voice shook. He only managed to take a few steps before he felt Roseflame press against his flank, closely followed by Ratrunner on the opposite side. The two older cats walked by him until he met with the Cave of Stars. “Sleep well, Roseflame, Ratrunner.” They both smiled and nodded as he walked into his den. The purple hue from the Dream Stone almost blinded him from being out so late, but he managed to see a figure sit up, stretching their back.

“How’d the meeting go?” Aldertail.

“You really need to start sleeping in the warrior’s den, you know that right?” Falcondream snapped. Aldertail’s eyes widened, being used to being told off, but not so harshly. “S-sorry. Long night.”

“It didn’t go well then?” Falcondream shook his head. “Are we going to fight?” Another shake.

“Not yet, anyway. Apparently their ancestors told them to come here and that they can’t leave. Or something like that.” The young tom sat himself down next to Aldertail. “I don’t think it’s our StarClan, whoever’s guiding them, but I hate it. I don’t trust them one bit but I know that if we let them stay, it’ll end up terrible for us.” Without a word, the older cat curled himself around the smaller. It was just like the old days.

“You know I don’t believe, but I know you do. Sleep. Let them tell you what to do.” Falcondream was shocked at his words, but didn’t bother saying anything. He could hear Aldertail say something more, but drifted off before he could process them.


StarClan’s hunting grounds were empty.

“Hello?” Falcondream called out to the empty fields. He could feel a soft breeze through his fur, but when he turned around, nobody was there. He began to walk, hoping for someone to appear. Hoping for anyone to appear. Suddenly, a figure bowled him over, pinning him to the ground. “Boulderstar?”

“You need to leave. Just go. Wake up.” His words were fast and blunt. “Right now, we can’t help you. We can’t tell you anything. You have to rely on Lionstar. He’ll know what to do.”

The endless void surrounded him once more.

This isn’t what he wanted to hear.

[TheSongOfTheStars]

Art Prompt!
Username: TheSongOfTheStars
Clan Thread: Songclan: Forum/viewtopic.php?f=103&t=3731932&hilit=Nightlily
Art Prompt Number: 3
Prompt Art: Forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3866025

[StormSerpent]

Writing Prompt 3!
Username: StormSerpent
Clan Thread: LotusClan
Prompt Writing:

When the patrol returns they split up to spread the news. Gossip spreads like a wildfire. And EmberStar heads over to frostpaw’s den, but she’s nowhere to be found. She sighs and heads to her den for the night finding it destroyed, with FrostPaw in the middle. She sighs, and explains that the young medicine cat needs to contact StarClan, and she describes the meeting. Later that night FrostPaw looked at the pond solemnly this was a life or death deal, she stared at the pond as everything faded away into stars. BlueMoon greeted her with a gentle smile, “how fares your day my little one?” she questioned softly. FrostPaw breathed in her warm sent, like honey blowing on a warm spring breeze. She rubbed up against her mother’s downy undercoat; forgetting why she was there. CragHeart appeared from within the starry shadows "a dark cloud of ash and rain hangs above your head, something's troubling you little one" FrostPaw looked up at the elderly StarClan cat. She suddenly remembered. The rogues! “Yes! There’s been some unwanted rogues invading our territory, they said the starry ones sent them here, to stay! Why’d ya go and do that!?” she says finishing with a glare, seeing CragHeart’s face she cowered “oh, uh i’m sure you had a good reason” after a moment Crag spoke again “nebulas and realms spread far, to places where the starry talons of shadow and fate, are split by the neverending darkness of death and life.” FrostPaw stared at him blankly, blinking a few times before glancing at her mom with a look of “this cat is crazy” BlueMoon sighed “the elder speaks with words in riddle. There are many different ancestral groups in the stars. We can’t travel between them. Except that one time…..” she trails off. FrostPaw looked from Blue to Crag. “Sooo do you know why they’re here?” she asked. Crag shook his head impatiently “this mind is dull, like the edges of a blade of grass, weakened by the chewing teeth of a rabbit.” he paused “nevermind. NO, we don’t. You idiot, WHY are you the medicine cat?! Do you think we wouldn’t tell you if we did know” He stormed off. BlueMoon hugged her kit closer to her. “Don’t listen to his words of woe, his intent is good, but never forget my little kit. His spirit has lasted that of thousands of moons.” she said with a gentle brush of her tail. Soon FrostPaw found herself tumbling back into the camp.

EmberStar eagerly awaited her answer but got something about ashen talons and dead clouds. She shook her head in dissapointment.

[NightWolf950]

Writing Prompt 3!
Username: NightWolf950
Clan Thread: WolfClan
Prompt Writing:
(I don't have a medicine cat yet. So I hope you don't mind making it my leader instead)

While Wolfstar was away, Leopardspots had retired to his nest for some time a bit annoyed that his leader just left on his own. The spotted tom's tail twitched back and forth, his eyes glued to the entrance of the warrior's den as he watched the outside light slowly fade into night. A small and familiar figure appeared in the entrance' followed by a small sigh. "Whats wrong Violetpeltal?" Leopardspots asked, lifting his head from his paws.

Upon hearing the spotted tom's question, Violetpetal padded over and lied next to the tom. She rested her head on his paws and let out another small sigh. "I'm worried. I know he wen't to talk to them in hopes of resolving things peacefully, but what if it doesn't work. What if we have to go to war? We would surely die. They have the numbers and we do not." the lilac explained, worry clearly evident in her voice.

Acrossing the territory Wolfstar's meeting with Janice and Oracle ended, the tom gave one final respectful nod to the other two toms before turning and heading back home. His mind swirled with many thoughts, unable to fully grasp the idea of why a cat would just jump paws first into a battle. "They way the talk... It's as if their leader doesn't care about spilled blood..." Wolfstar mumbled to himself. The large tom's pace was slow, clearly in no rush to return back to camp.

Wolfstar made his way through the territory, his paw's having a mind of their own as he arrived at the Moonpool. The large tom padded to the water's edge and gazed into the deep blue water, watching as it rippled softly with each small gust of wind. Bending down to take a small sip, Wolfstar then lied down next to the water's edge letting sleep take over only to awake inside his dreams. Upon awakening in his dreams, Wolfstar was greeted by two familiar faces. "Pebble. Thunder." the tom purred, stepping forward and nuzzling the two StarClan cats. "It's so good to see you Wolf... or should I say Wolfstar." the smaller of the two figures purred. "We are so proud of you. You where always so full of spirit and determination." the other one spoke.

The three cats nuzzled one another once more before Wolfstar took a step back. "I have come to ask for some guidance. The threat of war is at paw. The leader of this group doesn't seem to be willing to talk." the tom explained. He went to speak more, but was cut off by the larger figure. "Pebble and I can not help you in this situation. All we can do is be here for support. This is a task you must face as a leader." Thunder explained. "As StarClan we don't always have the answers." Pebble meowed.

Wolfstar looked at his siblings, frowning slightly, but knew they spoke the truth. "I understand..." he meowed softly, gazing at his paws before returning eye contact. "I guess this is good-bye for now." He meowed softly, watching as both Thunder and Pebble disappeared.