Chamrosh wrote:Cicelynose’s ears twitched suddenly, catching Droseratail’s eyes. He looked back at his sister. Heronstar often assigned them together on patrols, as, although Cicelynose was legitimately skilled in her own right, she was stubborn enough that she’d listen to very few warriors about the dangers she couldn’t see, and without one of them, she’d be likely to hurt herself. Cicelynose would rarely listen to her littermate brother, and rarely listen to Droseratail’s littermate either.
xxxxBut what she would listen to was everything that no one else could.
xxxxAll cats have sharp ears, but with her sight missing, Cicelynose’s hearing had grown particularly acute, as had her smell, such that they had earned her her suffix.
xxxxSo as Droseratail saw his sister reacting to something unknown, and as Tabitha saw the tom’s head turn, too, they both knew there was something up. Cicelynose slowly turned, her head spinning so that her eyes still ended up focused on her target, unblinking and wide. Droseratail looked after, where she was looking, his head slowly tilting to the side.
xxxxWhat had his sister h-
xxxxAh!
xxxxDroseratail’s ears flicked back (as did the mollies’), and his teeth bared.
xxxxThere were voices from the bushes. Or it sounded like it, anyway. There was at least one voice, and it seemed unlikely they were talking to themselves, and they cut off, seemingly silent with just a low hum of agreement about something-
xxxxAnd a white-furred molly emerged from the bushes.
xxxx"Oh, um, greetings! Are you clan cats?”
xxxxDroseratail glanced between the other Gustclan cats, and realised with a burst of terror that he was the highest ranked between them and that his mother actually had some reason to treat him like a responsible adult now. Oh, that was terrible.
xxxx"Yes. We’re from Gustclan.”
xxxx"Excellent!” The white molly turned her head around behind her at the bushes briefly, and then turned her head back. ”I’m Little Sheepy Sheep-"
xxxx"Cicelynose.” Droseratail fought the urge to glare at his sister. It wouldn’t achieve anything anyway, she wouldn’t be able to see it.
xxxxAnd, of course, Tabbyfur had to take that as a hint too – “Tabitha” – and so Droseratail was essentially forced to go last on an act he hadn’t wanted to start anyway. He was in charge of the patrol!
xxxxUgh.
xxxxThe white molly whipped her head around back into the bushes, presumably at whomever had been talking with her. "It’s alright, Garganey, they’re clan cats!” Droseratail couldn’t help wondering quite why these non-warriors were looking for them so eagerly.
xxxxSlowly, a brown nose poked out of the bush, paused for a moment, and then was followed by the rest of a tabby brown molly, glancing around nervously. Her eyes whipped around, scanning for any and every sign of danger, and only when she was certain she was fine did she open her mouth and mumble something so quiet that none of the others heard anything.
[center]-----
xxxxSaffronpaw had a terrifying thought just before he roused from his sleep that night.
xxxxNettleflower’s kits were due to arrive within the next few days now.
xxxxAnd he was due to be a full warrior within the next 6 moons, probably.
xxxxWhich meant… Any of the kits that Nettleflower had could well end up being his apprentice.
xxxxHe wasn’t sure what to make of that.
xxxxSure, it was exciting to be able to see how he’d already be contributing properly to his clan within just a few moons.
xxxxBut… Chubtail and Heronstar were beginning to get old now. They were bound to be wondering if they could retire soon, and there were quite a few warriors not many moons younger. Certainly, by the time he was a warrior, and had mentored someone… certainly by then they’d be looking to retire. And probably they’d want to space out the next leader and deputy a little more. They’d probably choose a little more senior warrior – maybe Firepath! – but then, also… probably a rather younger warrior, to be sure that they’d prepared properly for ages.
xxxxAnd if one of these kits did become his and his sisters’ apprentice…
xxxxAnd Heronstar chose one of them…
xxxxGosh, either of his sisters as a leader was terrifying enough, and him as leader- ugh! No, no way would
that ever happen.
-----
xxxxAdoniscloud saw the clouds turn grey, and, being sensible and realistic about the thickness of his fur, the time of year and the smell in the air, started seeking out shelter from the inevitable downpour quickly. He slipped into a hollow between two boulders, his wide shoulders just fitting through the gap, although his fur swept away from the hard surfaces and towards his tail. The ground beneath his paws dipped in a moist spot near the entrance, and squished beneath him and into his fur. Ugh. He wished he’d
seen that. Cleaning that off was going to be disgusting.
xxxxAdoniscloud continued into the dark gap. From what he could see in the dark – and cats’ eyes are well suited for that task – the cave he’d found himself in was rather small, smaller than the nursery in the clan he’d been born into. But he could smell
something in here too-
xxxxHe lifted his nose a little to smell more clearly, and followed it, quite literally, to a small alcove in the back.
xxxxAh! Kit smell.
xxxxA young tom. A young, weak tom.
xxxxAdoniscloud approached slowly, croached down to look smaller and be as unthreatening as possible.
xxxxAnd as he saw the wide, fear-shining eyes, he knew to stop moving forwards.
xxxx"Hey? Um, are you okay, little fella?” The kit was shivering (understandably, his fur was still thin and looked damp from the last rain still, meaning he hadn’t been groomed fully since then).
”I’m not gonna hurt you. Look, if you’re cold, I can help?” Adoniscloud crouched down fully, and puffed out his fur.
xxxxThe kit shook his head slightly and retreated further back into the alcove.
xxxx"It’s cold, kid, and it’s gonna get colder. If you wanna be cold, you’re gonna be disappointed. I’m not gonna let a kit freeze to death.”xxxxThe kit pouted at him, huffed, and turned his head away.
xxxxAdoniscloud sighed slightly. This kit not wanting to be helped couldn’t deter his sense of honour. He couldn’t allow a kit to freeze or starve to death back here – whichever came first.
-----
xxxx"One of us has to be a warrior.”xxxx"It won’t be me.” Zinniakit said.
xxxx"Harrierpelt said he’d choose which one of us got to be his apprentice. I… I wish it could be both of us though.”xxxx"We could ask Heronstar, though? Surely that’d be alright, and then it could be both.”xxxx"Ooh!” Teaselkit nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah, let’s!”-----
xxxxThe rain was beginning to die down now, but it was turning dark at this point, and a dark leaf-bare night was no time for a kit to be outside, even with a warrior. Adoniscloud’s stomach was rumbling, but he didn’t trust the kit would stay warm without him. He dreaded to think how the kit felt. He could feel his bones through both of their fur.
xxxxHe curled up tight, subtly using his huge size to pin the kit in place, preparing to hunker down for the night. The cave was colder with the water finding its way through cracks in the rocks, even without the wind-chill he’d be facing outside.
xxxx"Where you from, kid?”xxxxThe kit shook his head, turning it up, not wanting to look at Adoniscloud.
xxxx"I can’t take you home if you won’t tell me where that is.”xxxxThe kit’s face fell a little, his eyes dipping down to the mud floor of the cave.
xxxx"No home left, huh? Same boat, kid.” He nodded slightly, trying to be reassuring.
"Hey, actually, uh… I met a ‘paw not that long ago, just a couple ‘moons? I reckon however she got that chatty, being exposed to that could help you a lot, right? I’m not saying that a ‘paw walking right up to a stranger’s great, but it’s uh, it’s a sign that she’s used to warriors being trustworthy. I reckon you could use that? At the very least, there’ll be other cats your age who might be less scary than me, right? It’s not far from here, either.” Maybe if Troutpaw had been exposed to toms her own age who she
hadn’t been raised with, that could help with him not being flirted with by her in a way he really did
not appreciate, even if he admired her courage. If he really was going through with this, he was glad he was bringing a male kit.
xxxxAnd very, very slowly, the kit’s head nodded.
xxxxGood.
xxxxWherever could get an apprentice to be that bold was…
probably going to be a good place for a kit to grow up. Hopefully they’d know what to do with a hungry kit.
xxxxAnd goodness, this kit could use some boldness.
-----
Haha!It was a terrifying prospect really.
BeautFor both of them, of course.
iful, sBut also for their parents, including the foster father.
o ma-Harrierpelt had joined Gustclan as a young and spritely – or relatively spritely, in his case, medicine cat. And he was almost a
grandfather.
ny livAnd the other three felt
old thinking of the ages of their kits now, and for them to already be having kits!
es I cBut there was
some good news, of course, from it. Their children wouldn’t be wanting to have children of their own now if they didn’t feel safe. And they were going to be
grandparents soon! That was amazing. Gustclan was doing well… if, not for some unfortunate circumstances that all of the parents would rather not think about (and several cats had noticed Harrierpelt being particularly upset and had assumed that that was due to remorse of his advice not being followed properly).
an cl-But from Nettleflower and Shellcloud’s perspective, it was even more frightening. They were the first kits of the clan to have kits of their own, and wasn’t that an unnerving thought?
aim sNettleflower’s mother had only left the nursery and her queenly duties last moon! Her kits would be not much younger than her own siblings! That was
terrifying!
o sooOh.
n! AnHow could she be
scared though?
d fro-She’d… she’d gone too far with her love of kits when she was far younger, and she knew to be more careful now, even if she could never properly warn someone of the due caution they must follow. If someone ever made the same mistake she had, especially if it went to the extremes that her mistake had, she’d never be able to live with it. But she also knew that her love of kits was almost a defining trait for her. She’d wanted to have kits since she
was a kit, and now she was finally getting to do that!
m thaAnd it was
wonderful.
t buffNettleflower couldn’t wait to be a mother. She was sure that Shellcloud was going to be a good father too.
oon tHe was very busy at the moment with training Mosquitopaw, and checking up on her, and his normal warrior duties, but he was really doing a fantastic job.
hat kNettleflower had decided to claim the nest her mother had used to birth her.
illed Sure, some cats might take it as weird, but Nettleflower found it neatly poetic. Like the cycles of the seasons being closed.
me! Maybe the nest could even become a family heirloom of sorts! The nesting material still smelt like her mother, in the calm, still, friendly air of the nursery where scents did not fade quickly. Ah, being a mother was going to be amazing! Terrifying too, of course, no one could deny that, but any day now… any day and she’d have her own little babies, who would be her babies for the rest of their lives, even if they grew to be elders together.
PerfeDespite her excitement about kits, even with the worry and nervousness – the responsibility! – bubbling in her stomach… despite that. She couldn’t help thinking…
ct!haBut no, no, she couldn’t let herself think that. One kit dying didn’t mean hers would too, certainly not. Her younger brother was just stubborn, adventurous and curious, all things a kit should be. Due caution and proper checking that her kits weren’t eating anything they shouldn’t should be plentiful in keeping them happy and healthy. And happy and healthy she would make sure they were.
"Would she really, now?”-----
xxxxGarganey sat calmly in the leader’s den, below Heronstar. Sure, she was timid when speaking, but when she was sure that someone wasn’t going to hurt her, she was
going to be bold. Her back stood straight and firm, her paws perfectly and precisely placed.
xxxx"I’m curious as to why you left your previous clan, Garganey. You’ve only been here half a moon and you’ve already proven yourself entirely capable in all else but volume when speaking. I’d like to give you a full warrior name back, Garganey, as I’m sure you were a warrior. But why aren’t you now?” Heronstar asked, clearly braced from her tone to have to listen closely.
xxxxAnd to Garganey’s and Heronstar’s surprise each, Garganey spoke up at almost a typical volume. It was still noticeably quiet, though.
xxxx"They called me Garganeymouse.” Garganey said.
"For my moons as an apprentice all I earned was being seen as not a cat, and I would have been all my life.”xxxx"Ah.” Heronstar nodded very slowly and solemnly.
“I see why any cat would leave after that. But I’ve seen your quietness does have a distinct advantage. You seem skilled at bringing back a good share of prey. How would you like your new name to recognise that?”xxxxGarganey nodded her head.
“Very much so.”-----
xxxxTroutpaw’s nose rose into the air where she stood near the edge of camp, returning from training with Martinwhisker. She held perfectly still for a moment before her head slowly span around, and noticing she was no longer just beside him, Martinwhisker stopped and whipped around to match.
xxxxHe took a deep inhale too, and tensed, fur sticking out at angels as his muscles tightened around him. There was a tom nearby, and from the smell, a large one. But-!
xxxxTroutpaw looked… happy? What?
xxxxMaybe her last clan just really liked fighting?
xxxxThe apprentice walked forward a moment, and Martinwhisker didn’t have to hesitate before he followed her. No way was she going to be able to manage this alone if he turned out to be dangerous. Which meant as stupid as her lack of plan was, now she was too far ahead to be stopped, he had to follow her to protect her.
xxxxAnd as Martinwhisker followed Troutpaw, it was very obvious what they had smelt.
xxxxTwo toms. One was huge, burly-looking and covered in more fur than Martinwhisker thought a cat could be. The other was a small kit, clearly tired out, and skinny-looking, stepping slowly, with the big tom only stepping occasionally forwards so as not to overtake.
xxxxThe large tom’s eyes stayed on the kit for a few moments, until Troutpaw was practically right next to him. And as he looked up, Martinwhisker was sure he saw relief there, but underlined with something else as well.
xxxx"Look, Martinwhisker, look, hey, this is Adoniscloud!”xxxxMartinwhisker sighed slightly. He’d been saying for the whole last moon that Troutpaw had hallucinated him into being. Apparently that hadn’t been true.
xxxxThe bulky tom completely ignored Troutpaw for a moment, looking past her to her mentor.
xxxx"Would your clan be able to take Minnowkit in?”xxxxMartinwhisker considered a moment before nodding. He couldn’t refuse a kit if it might mean them dying, or coming to any undue harm, really.
xxxx"Good. I found him a few days ago, having been separated from his mother and littermates, he could use a new family.” He puffed his chest out a little more.
”I’m staying with him at least until I’m sure he’s recovered.” Adoniscloud said that in such a matter of fact way, Martinwhisker didn’t really know how to argue back without the leader’s help.
xxxxIt would transpire that Little Sheepy Sheep who had been found a few days before had left to create her clan with Heronstar showing the way to a good patch of territory before dawn that morning. Adoniscloud had picked up the pair’s scents after looking for Troutpaw near the hill where they’d encountered each other, and had tracked the pair all the way back to the Gustclan camp. He’d been carrying the kit whenever he got too tired to continue walking, not wanting to have to delay to get him to a medicine cat and a warm nursery.
-----
xxxxHeronstar wasn’t one to roll her eyes. Much less at kits. But she found herself wanting to do it anyway. She’d been wanting there to be a kit willing and suitable for medicine cat apprentice for moons and now she found two who both would react terribly to being turned away.
xxxx"Yes. One of you must become a warrior. Much later, if we need a third medicine cat – and we don’t yet – then the other of you can become one then. We can’t support limitless cats who aren’t hunting, and who won’t fight to defend our camp. I’m sure either of you will do fine in whichever you train to become – in fact, I’m happy for the warrior between you to be taught some aspects of healing as long as it doesn’t slow their warrior training unduly – but Harrierpelt can only support one apprentice properly at a time. One of you becomes a warrior, and that’s final.”xxxxTeaselkit and Zinniakit looked at each other nervously. That was not the answer either of them had wanted. And they both knew that if they
didn’t help their sibling learn to heal anyway, they’d hate each other for life. With just a twitch of their eyebrows, each sibling had agreed to the deal. They’d both learn, whether the clan liked it or not.
[Garganey joins Gustclan – from patrol]
[Minnowkit joins Gustclan – from Leafclan Readopt]
[Moraine and Pearstone try for kits]
[Sparrowfoot and Langoustinefang become mates]
[Garganey becomes Garganeywhisker]
[Troutpaw and Martinwhisker, Pheasantpaw and Bugleclaw, Mosquitopaw and Shellcloud, Lobsterpaw and Lobeliafur, and Camberpaw and Merlindash train]
[Lionpaw and Osierfang, Ospreypaw and Clarystorm, Noctulepaw and Vendacethroat, and Saffronpaw and Firepath train]
[Ringpaw and Langoustinefang, Dipperpaw and Droseratail, and Squirrelpaw and Ploverstripe train]
[Harrierpelt trains Teaselkit and Zinniakit in basic healing]
[Heronstar, Argusheart, Pearstone, Adoniscloud, and Garganeywhisker go hunting]
[Chubtail, Sparrowfoot, Tabbyfur, Knotfish, and Narwhal go hunting]
[Boulderdash, Myrtleclaw, Nettleflower, Moraine, Cicelynose, Barnfish, and Aspenfoot stay in camp with Minnowkit]
[Gustclan consumes 1 mouse, 2 squirrels, and 1 hare, - 8 portions]
(Coding probably will get another touch up next post but I'm okay with this for now)
