clan population: 13 | next starclan visit: april 15th (today) | servings: 03 | mod: katrione | pebbles: 50 | previous: x | archive: x
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────Heathersong was the first one to notice the sound of unfamiliar pawsteps, echoing somewhere outside the cave entrance. "Hey, Sparrowstar," she said, springing to her feet with an alert, nervous look in her eyes. "I think someone's coming." The tom paused in his grooming of a squirming Ravenkit, while the nearby Greycloud stilled, drawing Thistlekit in close to her chest with a protective paw. He leapt to his feet as the SpruceClan cats sharing tongues all ceased, while the rumpled Ravenkit skittered over to his mother for safety.
"Got it," he said coolly, "I'll go see what it is." Heathersong nodded as she, Nightfang, Smokestep, and Cricketpounce all moved to stand in front of Greycloud and her kits defensively. He didn't get far. Sparrowstar had taken only a few steps before an unusually tall white tom with large, black ears stepped out from the shadows of the cave entrance. SpruceClan's leader let his lips curl back, threatening, before he spotted the limp golden bundle clutched in the warrior's jaw.
"Are you done posturing?" the tom drawled, a strange, foreign edge to his words as he set the kitten down on the stone floor. "Because I've got a kit here that could use some milk in its belly, and your StarClan cats seemed rather insistent I come here to help you... Sparrowstar, was it?" Sparrowstar stilled immediately, while the unfamiliar cat just smirked. The golden kit between his legs blinked up at the leader with tired eyes. "Does the name Marshstar ring any bells for you?"
"I..." he murmured, blinking slowly. It took everything in him to keep his hackles from rising. There was something distinctly unsettling about this cat. "Yes, of course, she was the leader before me."
"Well, thank the stars I wasn't hallucinating," the cat sniffed. "My name is Thorn. Marshstar insisted you all needed to grow in number, so here I am." Slowly, Heathersong and Nightfang relaxed, no longer feeling threatened. Thorn gave the small group a once-over, his one black ear flicking. "You don't seem all that weak, or all that small, for an organized rogue group. Why are they so concerned that you repopulate?" Thorn narrowed his eyes slightly. "Now that I think of it, Marshstar was oddly... desperate. Something happened to you, didn't it?"
Sparrowstar's hackles raised, this time. Heathersong grimaced, while Nightfang and Cricketpounce shared a distraught look. Only Smokestep and the kits seemed completely out of the loop. "Something happened?" the young warrior murmured, glancing to his mate with worry-softened eyes. "Nightfang..."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sparrowstar growled, no longer making an effort to keep his voice level. Thorn raised a brow, still wearing that infuriatingly smug grin. "I don't know what you think you've heard, or what Marshstar told you, but—"
"You're right, Thorn," a voice called out. It was Greycloud, stepping forwards and shouldering past Cricketpounce. "Something did happen to us, and I think it's high time we stop pretending that everything's normal, like it was before. It won't be. It can't be, and it never will." She glanced to Sparrowstar, equal parts righteous and apologetic. "So if you won't be honest about it, I will. My kits deserve to grow up knowing the truth, Sparrow. They deserve to know more about their father." Sparrowstar's eyes closed, but he dipped his head, allowing her to carry on. So Greycloud, young and angry, stared down Thorn and opened her mouth to explain.
"My name is Greycloud, and I am a cat of SpruceClan. But I'm not from here, and neither were any of the cats you see around you. SpruceClan used to be from the forests at the base of this mountain. We were a great clan, a powerful clan, under the rule of proud Marshstar and her noble deputy, Dapplefur. But there were cats who weren't content, cats whose ambitions were too powerful and cats whose thirst for power made them vulnerable to the manipulations of the Dark Forest. Led by a cat called Sharptalon, half of our warriors and our apprentices turned on us, attacking by night. They killed Marshstar, Dapplefur, and countless others. We won, in the end, but it was brutal. I lost count of how many cats gave up, lost their faith in StarClan after watching their own friends and family murdering their mates, kits, closest allies. My mate Blackpatch, the father of my kits, was one of the cats who left us. We were in shambles, Thorn. But Sparrowtail— Sparrowstar— saved us. He refused to give up on our clan, said it was stronger than the wrath of undead, scorned warriors. And it was. So here we are, Thorn. We're vulnerable, and small, and missing half our number, but we're alive. You're here to help us keep it that way."
Greycloud's tirade ended, the frantic energy of the story seeping from her suddenly. The grey queen just looked small and tired. But she held her head high, and walked over to where Thorn was standing, scooping up the small she-kit from between his front paws. "Honeykit," she decided, giving the golden tabby a swift lick. "I'll take good care of you." She padded off towards the nursery, pausing only to motion with her tail. Ravenkit and Thistlekit came running after her, too shocked to give even a squeak of protest. Thorn watched them, just happy to see the kit in good hands. He turned back to Sparrowstar, intrigued by the pain on the tom's face and the horrible sympathy on Smokestep's, and raised an eyebrow in invitation.
The leader looked away sharply. "Greycloud has told things as they are. As it is our custom to give our cats proper warrior names, we will call you Tallthorn." This was all Sparrowstar could muster up the strength to say. "Clearly StarClan has already given you its blessing." He stalked off, unable to stop the prickle of shame beneath his skin and the all-too-familiar grip of sorrow. The rest of the clan broke off into quiet murmurs as the leader of SpruceClan retreated to his den, needing time to grieve. A concerned Heathersong followed after him. The newly-christened Tallthorn watched the leader disappear around a corner of the stone tunnels to what was certainly his den, followed closely by the pretty red tabby. Once they were gone, he glanced down at his front paws with a slightly-offended snort.
"Tall-thorn? Are my legs really that long?"
---
It was barely visible, but Briarmask knew. She could feel it in the slight unsteadiness when she walked, the gentle sway of a soft curve that hadn't been there before, in the nausea that had been nagging her when she awoke that morning. She'd been lying awake in her nest for hours, unable to sleep as guilt and panic gnawed at her mind. "Cricketpounce," she rasped, clambering out of her nest to go shake the slumbering tom fiercely. "Cricketpounce, stars above, please wake up!" With a groan, the stocky black-and-ginger tom stirred, blinking up at her tiredly. Even through the haze of exhaustion, he could see the fright in the younger molly's eyes.
"Mmmrruh? Briarmask?" he grumbled, stretching out and sliding out of the nest. "What's the matter?" The she-cat's lip trembled.
"I— I— oh, StarClan, Cricketpounce, I don't know what to do," she whimpered, before the SpruceClan deputy burst into tears. Cricketpounce blanched as the distraught tabby buried her face in his chest, sniffling quietly. Still uncertain as to what was going on, but fully awake now, he ran a paw down her back in an attempt to comfort. Briarmask continued to babble softly, shaking violently. "I can't— I can't, I'm not ready to be a mother, I don't—!"
Cricketpounce's gentle pats froze immediately. "A mother?" he croaked. 'Briarmask, what?" She looked up at him, eyes blurred with tears, before burying her face in his chest again. It didn't take a genius to understand; Cricketpounce could easily recall her pleased purrs about a handsome tabby tom from the last moon's Gathering, and a cold feeling settled in his stomach. "Oh, Briar, sweetheart, what have you done?" A pained gurgle from the she-cat in question, whose face was still buried in his fluffy chest. Cricketpouce scrambled to correct his mistake. "Um, well, I could always pretend to be the father? Would that help?"
Briarmask pulled back, green eyes full of despair in a way that Cricketpounce was sure would haunt him. "No," she rasped. "Cricket, you don't even like mollies. Everyone will know the truth, and if they don't already figure it out, they will once they see the kits." The tom bit his lip. She was right, of course, as Briarmask usually was. "Thank you, though," she murmured. "For trying. For not being mad."
Cricketpounce sighed softly, giving the tabby a lick across the forehead. "Of course, Briar," he murmured. 'We'll figure it out together, alright? I'll help you hide it for now. And in the meantime, I'm sure Applefall will know what to do. He tends to be smarter than me about these kinds of things." Briarmask didn't speak, but the sound of her quiet purr was thanks enough. Cricketpounce stayed curled up besides her for the duration of that night, trying to comfort as best he could.
---
The underground river current wasn't very strong, but it was deep enough that even lanky Tallthorn's ears couldn't have breached the surface if his paws were on the river's bottom. Ivypaw stood over the edge, only trembling a little bit. It was a testament to how much she'd grown since her trek up the mountain that her fur, fluffed up with nerves, looked less like a grey dandelion and more like the coat of a real cat. "Do I have to do this?" she whined, claws digging into the loose rock at the shore.
"Yes," came the synchronized reply from her true mentor and her unofficial mentor. Both Nightfang and Smokestep grinned at one another, all moony-eyed and gross. Ivypaw grimaced, but obediently dropped one paw into the icy water. Of course, it was freezing, and way too wet. She yanked the paw right back out, teeth chattering and tail spiked.
"I can't do it. I can't. It's not happening." Ivypaw glanced over at her mentors with the most pitiful gaze she could muster up, but Nightfang wasn't even looking! She was too tied up in making doe-eyes at Smokestep as he slid into the water with the grace of a swan. She looked to Smokestep next, who was always more of a sucker for her pleading looks. "C'mon, Smokestep, please? Do I really have to? We drink out of this river!"
Smokestep ignored her, kicking gently against the current to stay in place. "Comin' in?" the grey tom purred. "The water's real nice!" NIghtfang rolled her eyes, following behind him and allowing the water to support her weight. Smokestep, it seemed, would not stop purring. 'Whatever Smokestep and Nightfang talked about after his naming ceremony turned them both into saps. Gross.'"Ivypaw," the former called, "your turn! Hop in here, silly furball."
She stayed completely still in defiance, not even budging at Nightfang's mischevious smirk. For a moment, she almost thought she'd won the battle. But then, Ivypaw's eyes went wide as she was yanked off the shore and pulled underwater roughly by a black paw. Everything was dark and cold and wet, from her ears to her tail tip. Ivypaw's head burst up, spluttering and coughing, while Smokestep and Nightfang paddled around her in circles, laughing at her. Smokestep flicked water at his junior with a tail. She hissed as the droplets hit her face, bobbing up and down as her legs thrashed ungainly, but Ivypaw managed to stay afloat. "You guys are mean," the apprentice whined, but she was smiling anyways.
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ACTIONS
SpruceClan consumes 1 bird
StarClan
[ Sparrowstar asks for a pale or cream warrior from StarClan this moon ]
Rank Changes & Newcomers
[ Tallthorn and Honeykit are welcomed to SpruceClan ]
Patrols
[ Nightfang, Smokestep, Tallthorn, Heathersong, and Ivypaw hunt ]
[ Briarmask and Cricketpounce patrol ]
[ Applefall searches for kitting herbs ]
Apprentice & Skills
[ Nightfang and Ivypaw train in swimming ]
Kitting & Healing
[ Applefall practices his skills ]
[ Briarmask's kits are due in two moons ]
MOD NOTES
* Please do not kill any cats marked with a ☾ symbol.
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- LEADER
Sparrowstar | 42 moons | male | x
Lives: ★★★★★★★★★
DEPUTY
☾ Briarmask | 32 moons | female | x
HEALER
☾ Applefall | 37 moons | male | x
Skill Points: ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿
WARRIORS
☾ Nightfang | 29 moons | female | x
Cricketpounce | 37 moons | male | x
☾ Smokestep | 28 moons | male | x
☾ Heathersong | 40 moons | female | x
☾ Tallthorn | 25 moons | male | x
APPRENTICES
☾ Ivypaw | 12 moons | female | x
QUEENS
Greycloud | 30 moons | female | x
KITS
Ravenkit | 2 moons | male | x
Thistlekit | 2 moons | female | x
Honeykit | 1 moon | female | x
ELDERS
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]x[/url]
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]x[/url]
- HERB STORAGE
Alder Bark (1) | toothache
Borage (1) | eases fever, produces more milk
Broom (1) | broken bones
Catmint (2) | cures greencough & whitecough
Chervil (2) | bellyache, infection, kitting
Cobweb (0) | binds a wound, stops bleeding
Fennel (1) | eases pains
Goldenrod (1) | chewed into poultice for wounds
Honey (1) | infections, sore or damaged throat
Horsetail (1) | infection, stops bleeding
Marigold (1) | infection, inflammation, stiff joints
Yarrow (1) | extracts poison or toxins
FRESH-KILL PILE
Snow Hare | x 3 | 3 servings
Bird | x 1 | 3 servings
Small Fish | x 2 | 2 servings
Ermine | x 1 | 2 servings
Frog | x 0 | 1 servings
Mouse | x 0 | 1 servings
MENTORS
Nightfang | Ivypaw | hunt, swim, climb, battle
DECEASED CATS
Cat Name | Cause of Death
Cat Name | Cause of Deaths
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