paragraphmore than once, softglow shot a glance across the camp to where birchflame was sitting. the sturdy tom had barely moved since ferretwhisker sprinted across the clearing from tawnyrose's, calling for merlinsong and spencer to come quickly. as patrols came in for the evening, softglow watched as the roses and knights bunched together, their eyes lit with excitement. even as the moon rose in the sky and bluetcrest emerged from tawnyrose's den to try and herd the rest of their clans into their dens for the night, only few budged more than a step. hurricanejaw had settled with his kits, the young knights and wolfhowl listening to their father tell a story about his time in echoclan. the thorns and pythoneyes had taken to playing a game of mossball with ferretwhisker and her kits. overhead, the stars began to shine over highgarden, and softglow rose to go to birchflame's side.
paragraphthe ginger knight blinked up at softglow for a moment, his expression blank. then, when softglow sat down beside him, his expression pinched for just a fraction of a heartbeat before it wiped clean again. "you must be very excited," birchflame said, and softglow swished his tail against the ground before curling it neatly over his paws. "this is a very special occasion for you, i wish you very well, softglow."
paragraph"thank you," softglow said after a brief pause. the cold leafbare breeze stirred through the clearing, but the clan merely huddled together, drawing warmth from the ties that bound them as an extended family. even mapleshadow and sagecloud had emerged for the evening, gathering with otterfur, maplelily, and bassflow. nearby their group, sandstrike lounged comfortably, sharing tongues with privetears, the pair laughing along with jaytalon, swiftheart, and smallheart. "it's amazing, what these kits are already doing. bring the clan together like this... and they don't even know what the world holds for them yet."
paragraphwhen softglow glanced to birchflame, he watched the larger tom breathe in deeply, then his entire body appeared to sag on the exhale, as if entirely drained of energy. "take care of them, won't you?" birchflame asked, finally meeting softglow's glance, and the king hummed quietly.
paragraph"as if they were my own," softglow promised, and birchflame lowered his head again, bunching his shoulders.
paragraph"i hope that you're a good actor, to convince everyone. get ahead of it before anyone can ask questions." at that very moment, bluetcrest emerged from tawnyrose's den, and immediately made his way to where softglow and birchflame were sitting. his eyes flicked between the two, but birchflame stood and nodded towards softglow. "sen tawnyrose my congratulations."
paragraph"i'm sure you'd like to hear it from you," softglow said, but birchflame managed only a tight smile before he had turned away towards his den, leaving softglow to look to bluetcrest, who managed a smile of his own.
paragraph"they're here," tawnyrose's attendant said, and softglow nodded towards the queen's den. together, they crossed the clearing.
paragraphit was dark with the night inside tawnyrose's den, and they had to squeeze inside so that softglow and bluetcrest could fit beside the two herbalists. immediately, softglow found merlinsong's pale green eyes in the shadows, and he was, admittedly, surprised at the soft expression his best friend wore. spencer hovered towards the very edge of the den, letting bluetcrest brush past him to tawnyrose's nest. softglow heard the attendant's purrs, but he hesitated, unable to take his eyes off of merlinsong and his smile. as if reading his thoughts, merlinsong tipped his head in their queen's direction. "two toms and a molly," merlinsong said, and softglow felt the world sway under his paws as the gravity of the truth sank in. to spencer, merlinsong flicked his ear towards the entrance. "can you go fetch some more water for tawnyrose?" he instructed, and the skinny tom didn't hesitate to duck out of the den, giving the rest of them a moment of privacy. when softglow still hadn't budged, merlinsong grinned at him. "go on then, meet the pride and joy of highgarden." and softglow did as he was told, stepping deeper into the shadows of the den.
paragraphwhen his eyes adjusted to the darkness, softglow froze at the sight of tawnyrose curled around three small kits, bluetcrest curled against her shoulder. "tawnyrose -" softglow tried to say, but his words caught in his throat. never before had tawnyrose's expression been so gentle, never before had she smiled the way she did then, meeting his gaze. there was no malice, hostility, or even lingering contempt. she looked, for a word, happy, and softglow dared to inch closer to the queen. "how are you?" he asked her at last, and tawnyrose flicked her ear dismissively.
paragraph"a little tired but it was nothing i couldn't manage," she brushed off. her green eyes turned back to the kits then, and she nosed at the first kit's ginger head delicately.
paragraph"they're beautiful," softglow managed, and tawnyrose purred quietly.
paragraph"aren't they?" she paused then, as if taking it in again. "i didn't think that they would be this small... they're so small and delicate."
paragraph"there's one thing i know for certain," softglow said, feeling a smile of his own curl his mouth. "if they're truly yours, there's nothing so gentle about them." mirth filled tawnyrose's eyes, and she shook with laughter. one of the toms twisted when she moved, and tawnyrose adjusted, pulling him back into the warmth of the nest. when they had resettled, her glance cut back to softglow, and she beckoned the king closer.
paragraph"have you thought about names?" bluetcrest asked. his chin hooked over tawnyrose's shoulder, and tawnyrose leaned her head back to rest against his shoulder. softglow settled in front of them both, mirroring merlinsong's grin when the herbalist took the space beside him, letting their shoulders bump companionably together.
paragraph"we thought about a few," tawnyrose said, and she didn't need to say his name for the ginger tom to be conjured into the space, joining them even when he couldn't be with them in the moment. even from across the clearing, softglow supposed that birchflame was imagining what was happening beyond his boundaries, and he supposed that the knight must be aching inside to be so close, yet a life away. "he thought the name bramblekit was nice... and hawthornkit too, i liked that one when he said it. like they'll be sharp as thorns like highgarden is known for."
paragraph"growing strong," merlinsong murmured, and tawnyrose offered him a gentle smile.
paragraph"growing strong," the queen echoed back. silence settled around the small group, waiting for tawnyrose to speak again. she took her time, clearly contemplating, and she touched her nose to the small molly's head again. "i spent the past few moons wondering... did my mother have trouble coming up with names for us? how much time and effort did she spend trying to imagine who we would become? i mean, i guess it didn't matter much in the end, since lighteyes was supposed to be the next queen, and i was never supposed to be where i am now but... it makes me wonder who they'll become." the kit's fur stirred from tawnyrose's breath and the queen pulled back, instead letting her head lean against bluetcrest's, and the attendant let out a gentle purr.
paragraph"whoever they'll turn out to be, they'll be great," bluetcrest said, and softglow hummed quietly.
paragraph"you should see the clan outside, ready to welcome them into the world. they already love them," softglow added, and merlinsong nodded his agreement.
paragraphtawnyrose flicked her tail, considering. "my sister lighteyes... she wanted nothing more in the world than to be queen. she breathed highgarden, she loved this clan so much. and she would have been a great queen if it hadn't been for the flood. when i saw her on the water's edge when i woke up, my first thought was not that i'd lost my sister, but that highgarden lost the best queen it would have ever had." silence enveloped the group when tawnyrose paused. she cleared her throat then, and nodded to her kit. "when i look at her, even now, i can only think that she'll be the greatest queen in highgarden's history. better than my mother, better than me, and better than lighteyes would have been. lightkit... heir to highgarden... for all that could have been, and what she'll be someday." tawnyrose looked up from her kits, and her eyes found softglow's, as if looking for approval, and the king couldn't stop his grin if he tried.
paragraph"it's a beautiful name, and it has a nice ring to it. lightkit, the future queen of highgarden," he said. "lightkit, hawthornkit, and bramblekit."
paragraphalready, bluetcrest and merlinsong were nodding along. when spencer returned with the moss for tawnyrose, the queen's eyes were beginning to be weighed down from exhaustion, and bluetcrest nodded to softglow. "i was going to stay here, to make sure everything's taken care of," he said when spencer had gone again, sent by merlinsong to begin to spread the news to the rest of the clan. tawnyrose's head rested against bluetcrest's chest, her eyes already shut and her breathing begin to even out. "you should stay too. it's warm in here, and..."
paragraph"i'm their father," softglow said, unable to look at merlinsong when he spoke. "i'm the king."
paragraph"they'll be lucky to have you as their father," merlinsong interjected when bluetcrest shot them a sympathetic smile. without interlude, merlinsong pressed his nose to softglow's cheek. "come get me if anything happens. they're healthy now, but with leafbare here..." with that, the herbalist left, leaving softglow with bluetcrest, tawnyrose, and the newborn kits.
paragraph"you're a good friend, softglow," bluetcrest whispered just as softglow had curled on the ground beside tawnyrose's nest, where moss had been put down. his heart caught in his throat, and the weight of the sky crashed down on his shoulders, but softglow blinked one last time at the three kits, and he felt a little less closed in.
paragraphcold wind nipped at hornetshade's nose and ears, but there were other things on his mind. over the moons, he tried to think of groveclan less and less, tried to throw himself into highgarden more and more. above all, he was a highgarden cat, no doubt about it, and regardless of what ferretwhisker thought, he was hornetshade and would only ever be hornetshade of highgarden.
paragraphhis muscles ached after a long day of patrols, and the sun had already fallen below the hills of their territory, leaving them behind for night to take its place. only the last streaks of red and pale blue in the sky served as evidence that the day had been there at all, and hornetshade stretched out his limbs, feeling the pull of his muscles and the energy that still lingered, hugging deep against his bones. despite his body's exhaustion, he felt the thrum of motivation, the urge to go and do something, anything, if it meant that he could drive away the itch he couldn't reach that had been pressed against him since juniperstorm came to their camp.
paragraphmidnightstream. as much as hornetshade wished that he could, possibly, forget his best friend, he knew he never could. his own name was a testament to the friendship they once had, which crossed their borders; it was a friendship that hornetshade had thought, then, would be eternal. so many days splashing each other with lakewater, catching up and talking about the recent happenings, from juniperstorm - juniperpaw, then - catching a massive squirrel, to hornetshade telling his best friend about tigergaze and iguanaspots. it had been so simple, and then it wasn't. maybe it was hornetshade's fault, that he had made his feelings too obvious and that had scared midnightstream away; maybe midnightstream realized that hornetshade wasn't the friend he wanted after all. maybe, maybe, maybe. the thinking and wondering left hornetshade lost, until it bubbled and bubbled, like he was about to explode.
paragraphhe heard of emberwing and midnightstream, of the kits they were expecting, and hornetshade didn't explode. he got sick, then he went numb, and it didn't matter. whatever had happened, whatever he thought could have been, was no more, and maybe it was better that way.
paragraphso he tried to forget, to block it out entirely. he was hornetshade of highgarden, and that was what mattered. groveclan was merely an ally clan, and midnightstream a warrior of their ally clan. he was hornetshade of highgarden, and he couldn't concern himself with what happened in groveclan. that is, until juniperstorm came to him.
paragraphthe last time he had seen her, they had been young, still growing into their whiskers, but he would have recognized the family resemblance anywhere, even if bluetcrest hadn't told him who she was. the scene before him just hadn't made any sense, no matter how hard and how long he spent trying to piece it together in his mind. it was a picture that he was missing a part of, and there were too many unanswered questions.
paragrapha paw prodded his side, and hornetshade snapped to attention, blinking up at warblercry and iguanaspots. "are you alright?" warblercry asked, leaning down to touch her nose to his cheek, a gesture which hornetshade returned.
paragraphbefore he could answer, however, iguanaspots shouldered her way to settle at hornetshade's side. "i've been worried about you," iguanaspots said, and hornetshade blinked at her, missing the way her eyes gleamed with familiar mischief. despite the scent that was distinctly highgarden - that of crushed grass, roses, and sunshine - that clung to warblercry, he could the tell-tale trace of groveclan there as well, further muddying his thoughts, even when iguanaspots rolled onto her back and stretched out her legs. "i'm worried that you've been thinking too hard about something lately. it doesn't suit you, you know."
paragraph"what doesn't?" hornetshade asked, and iguanaspots snorted.
paragraph"thinking," she shot back. it took hornetshade a moment, and then he scoffed, flicking his tail against her nose. warblercry laughed when iguanaspots spluttered. when warblercry sat beside hornetshade, leaning gently against his shoulder, he didn't even give it a second thought before he leaned toward her to groom between her ears, pulling a piece of grass from her fur. but iguanaspots wasn't finished: "i'm serious, though... well, kind of. you have been distracted, even more than usual," iguanaspots said, and warblercry hummed her agreement.
paragraph"if there's something on your mind, you could tell us," warblercry added, and hornetshade glanced between his friends. at last, he let out a sigh and ducked his head.
paragraph"i keep thinking about when juniperstorm came here," he said, and iguanaspots immediately scoffed.
paragraph"she had some kind of nerve, don't you think?" iguanaspots said, rolling over onto her side. she rolled her eyes. "thinking she can just come to highgarden and try to blame erasmus for something in groveclan that happened seasons ago." while iguanaspots talked, warblercry caught hornetshade's eye. she tipped her head to the side, subtle, just for him to see, and hornetshade shook his head minutely. in response, warblercry blinked at him and turned her glance back to their other friend. iguanaspots, however, wasn't done yet. "whatever happened, she had some guts coming here and pointing blame like she did. it's a good thing that bluetcrest is increasing patrols on their border, because who know what they'll try to do next."
paragraphthat was information to hornetshade, who thought of the groveclan scent on warblercry's fur. "i didn't know he increased patrols on the groveclan border."
paragraphiguanaspots shrugged, but before she could say anything else, warblercry pricked her ears and nodded towards the camp entrance. "lyrewhistle's back from the hunting patrol," she said, and iguanaspots turned quickly to see the other rose. she excused herself, and when she was out of earshot, warblercry turned to hornetshade. "what is it, really?"
paragraphhornetshade shrugged his shoulders at that, looking over to where iguanaspots was helping lyrewhistle carry the prey into the center of camp. "i just keep wondering how juniperstorm would even know erasmus," he said, and warblercry tipped her head thoughtfully. "juniperstorm said that bluetcrest knew something, and he didn't deny it. and erasmus knew juniperstorm, too. i think something must have happened, and bluetcrest knew."
paragraphwarblercry seemed to consider this for a long moment, giving it the consideration long enough to not immediately reject his questions. "what do you think it is?" she asked, and hornetshade shrugged again.
paragraph"i don't know, i didn't understand everything that she was saying," he admitted. "but the look on her face... whatever happened, i think it's real. she couldn't have acted like that for nothing." as if summoning the massive tom, hornetshade fell silent when spencer came from the herbalists' den, erasmus in tow, his mate's dark shadow, following wherever he went. to wablercry, hornetshade lowered his voice. "i've just got a bad feeling, warblercry. what if something did happen?" he asked, and her whiskers twitched.
paragraph"if you're right, it could be dangerous to try and figure it out," she said. their eyes didn't leave erasmus and spencer as they approached where iguanaspots and lyrewhistle were depositing their prey.
paragraph"i know," hornetshade murmured. "you don't have to help me."
paragraph"but i think i do," warblercry said, and hornetshade rested his head against her shoulder.
paragraph"i heard their eyes opened," clovershine said when he approached birchflame. the larger tom barely acknowledged clovershine at first, his eyes fixed on the nursery. as soon as the news spread and merlinsong had given the all-clear, the highgarden cats made it a point to visit the queen and her kits, wishing them well and welcoming them into the ranks. maplelily, bassflow, and tulipstream waited their turns to go into the nursery, and flickersky and ferretwhisker sat with them, smiling and laughing while they conversed. when dippernose ducked out of the nursery, tulipstream took her turn, and the sleek knight padded off, back to his duties for the day.
paragraph"they did," birchflame said at last, and clovershine flicked his ear. the air between them was stiff, stale, uninviting. the white knight shuffled his paws absently, and birchflame still watched the nursery.
paragraph"they're very cute, when i saw them. lightkit... i already think she'll look a lot like tawnyrose when she grows up," he said, and birchflame nodded absently. clovershine huffed, then, and lowered his voice: "though i doubt that bramblekit and hawthornkit will look much like the king -"
paragraph"stop," birchflame cut him off, finally turning his burning gaze on his friend. "if there's something you want to say, then say it."
paragraphclovershine, however, didn't even flinch at that. instead he tipped his head to the side. "i think you're lying to yourself. do you even love her?" he asked. when birchflame didn't immediately answer, clovershine's whiskers twitched. "or did you love the idea of getting a new rank? is that it?" he pressed, and birchflame's ears flattened against his head.
paragraph"stop," birchflame hissed lowly at him, but clovershine stepped forward until their noses were nearly touching.
paragraph"did you love the idea of power, so much that you didn't realize that you're not even playing the game right?"
paragraph"and what would you know about that? you and your little kit-crush, what do you even know?" birchflame snapped back.
paragraph"i know my place, for one," clovershine said. "i know better than to reach for something that i can't have, and i know better than to be disappointed when i reach too high and it doesn't pan out how i want it to." he lashed his tail, and birchflame rose then, standing over him. again, clovershine's voice dropped so that no one else could hear them. "i know not to try and start a romance that will only end with me getting my heart broken."
paragraph"and how would you know anything about that? how do you know that she actually cares about you?" birchflame shot back. "how do you know that she doesn't just feel bad for you?" finally, clovershine flinched, pain reflecting in his eyes, and birchflame took the pause to advance. "you think you're so smart, clovershine, but you've never known your place, and you'll never know what it's like to have some drive or goals." clovershine's fur bristled, his pelt fluffing out. "and you can stop worrying about my life, my kits, and who i choose to care about, because you'll never know half as much as you think you do, you'll always settle for less, because that's what you are, less -"
paragraph"enough!" clovershine shouted, finally breaking the whispers shot back and forth between them. it wasn't clear who lunged first, or if they moved at the same time, but they clashed, clovershine sweeping birchflame's foreleg out from under him just as birchflame threw his weight on top of clovershine. they became a tangled knot of fur, teeth catching skin and claws stretched out for their former-friend.
paragrapha shout went up from the other side of camp, and they broke apart only when bassflow knocked into them both, sending clovershine sprawling in the dirt, and bassflow held birchflame down. when clovershine growled low in his throat and birchflame struggled against bassflow's hold, dippernose streaked forward, this time holding clovershine back, saving enough time for softglow to step forward, his blue eyes cold.
paragraph"what's the meaning of this?" he asked, looking between the pair of toms. when neither of them answered, softglow lashed his tail. "are either of you going to say what happened?" already, all eyes were fastened to the proceedings, and clovershine fell still when betonypetal shouldered between maplelily and flickersky. softglow's glance lingered on birchflame for a long moment before the king sighed and nodded to bassflow and dippernose. "let them up." then, to clovershine and birchflame he said: "no more of this, it's over. everyone else, get back to what you're supposed to be doing. you two can see merlinsong if you're hurt."
paragraphwith that, softglow turned away, leaving the two to shake the dust out of their fur. birchflame sported a slash over his shoulder, and clovershine had a cut across his cheek. without a word, birchflame turned and stalked off to the herbalists' den, and clovershine sat, wincing when he dared to touch his paw to his cheek. it was only when betonypetal padded to him that he stopped, unable to meet her eyes. "i'm sorry," he said, and she sniffed absently.
paragraph"you should have merlinsong look at that when he's free," she said. when tears stung clovershine's eyes, betonypetal let him lean his head against her shoulder, and he began to sob.
paragraph"i'm sorry," he said to her, his voice thick and watery. "i'm sorry you had to see that." and, in that moment, she didn't understand, but she placed her chin on top of his head and let him cry.
paragraph"is this really a good idea?"
paragraph"are any of ayalla's ideas good ones?"
paragraph"i can still hear you!" the shout rose from above their heads, and riverfoam sighed, tipping her head back to peer up through the bare tree branches. without the cover of the leaves, it was easy to see kitechaser at first, the calico taking her time while climbing, despite ayalla's challenge to see who could climb higher in the fastest amount of time. though kitechaser had taken her friend up on the offer, it was clearly because no one else would, since riverfoam made her opinion on ayalla's games known long ago, and tanagercall opened her yawns in a wide yawn. tanagercall sat beside riverfoam, picking at the sparse grass, and riverfoam shifted to try and find ayalla, up in the thinner branches of trees. even still, ayalla made it look easy, balancing precariously on branches that wouldn't be able to hold the weight of many cats, and riverfoam supposed that ayalla was lucky that she was so small and light-weight.
paragraph"i think you won!" kitechaser called up to ayalla from her spot further down.
paragraph"giving up already?" ayalla shouted back down, and kitechaser didn't hesitate in her answer:
paragraph"i gave up before we even started, so can we go now?" kitechaser was already inching closer to the tree trunk, eager to be done and to be back on solid ground. as such, it was only a moment or two later before kitechaser jumped down from the low branches to join riverfoam and tanagercall, and the three were left to watch as ayalla peered down at them all.
paragraph"none of you are any fun!" ayalla shouted, and tanagercall flicked her tail.
paragraph"i have a different idea of fun, i guess," tanagercall mumbled, more to herself than anyone else, but kitechaser nudged the somali with her nose.
paragraph"yeah, napping," kitechaser teased, but tanagercall merely smiled, unbashed, and rivefoam laughed at them before looking back towards ayalla.
paragraph"seriously, ayalla, i'm hungry. we need to catch something before night comes and it gets too cold," riverfoam urged, and ayalla finally shouted down a noise of agreement, and the eldest of the group watched as ayalla began her descent, slower than she had, to riverfoam's relief, on the way up.
paragraphas ayalla came closer and closer, riverfoam suddenly stiffened as a new scent reached her nose. "more cats," riverfoam said to the others. tanagercall sat up quickly, shaking grass from her long fur, and kitechaser waved her tail to get ayalla's attention. quickly, kitechaser hissed for ayalla to stay where she saw, and the three mollies on the ground took up their spots just in time to watch a patrol come into their sights. when the patrol spotted them as well, the cats changed direction, headed towards riverfoam and her friends, ready to meet the cats.
paragraphthe leader of the group was a pretty tortoiseshell with a somber expression, though she was trailed by a gray tom who appeared rather bemused, a striped tabby tom, a pretty bobtail, and a small calico. the leader of the patrol padded forward and nodded to the trio of strangers. "you're on highgarden territory, please state your names and your business here."
paragraph"my name is riverfoam, these are my friends. we're just passing through. kitechaser and i were part of another clan, which disbanded some moons ago, we've been traveling ever since," riverfoam said, nodding to kitechaser to indicate her when she spoke. "of course, we mean you no harm."
paragraphthe leader looked over her shoulder to her companions, exchanging a long glance with the others on the patrol before she looked back towards riverfoam. "if it's a home you're seeking, highgarden has been known to take in strangers before. especially with how cold the weather is growing as winter comes closer. we don't like to leave cats out to freeze," she exchanged another glance with the bobtail, who shrugged her shoulders. "especially when the strangers are skilled cats and former clan cats."
paragraph"and what if not all of us are clan cats?" tanagercall asked, her green eyes meeting the tortoiseshell's glance without wavering.
paragraphit was the gray tom who spoke, nodding to the little calico at his side. "we train plenty of apprentices in highgarden." the tortoiseshell nodded her head in her agreement.
paragraph"i'm a little older than a kit," tanagercall stated, and riverfoam let her friend say her piece. the thought of finally having a new home made her paws itch, but it would have to be the home for all of them, they were to stick together through it all.
paragraph"you'd have to speak to our queen about that," the tortoiseshell said. "but tawnyrose is very fair and listens to your concerns. to have made it this far, you must have some skills that we can sharpen from here." at that, tanagercall seemed rather content for the time being, and her glance slid to riverfoam. kitechaser exchanged a sideways glance with riverfoam, who finally nodded towards the patrol. "i think we're in agreement then."
paragraphas they spoke, the patrol had fanned out a bit, with the gray tom and his apprentice moving closer to the large oak tree, and the striped tabby sat down, his gaze wandering beyond the conversation. only the small bobtail stayed with the patrol leader, who nodded at riverfoam in turn.
paragraph"then shall we go?" the tortoiseshell said. "we can speak more on the way back towards camp, of course, but our herbalist would be very upset if we stayed out in the cold too long and got sick." however, riverfoam hesitated.
paragraph"there is one more cat who is in our group," riverfoam said, and the tortoiseshell's whiskers twitched curiously when kitechaser stepped back from riverfoam and waved her tail in a signal to ayalla.
paragraphwithout any further pretense, the small ginger molly leaped down from where she had been waiting in the trees, close enough to the gray tom for him to jump back in surprise, and riverfoam glanced to the tortoiseshell. "this is ayalla. she's part of our group too."
paragraphfinally, the somber expression broke, and the tortoiseshell nodded her head. "in that case, i think we're ready to go."
paragraphat the same time, the gray tom peered at ayalla, who grinned when the little calico looked up to her mentor. "jaytalon," she said. "can you teach me how to do that?"
paragraphjaytalon balked, but ayalla merely let out a chiming laugh. she leaned past the tom to wink at the little calico. "my name's ayalla. if he can't teach you, you're welcome to come to me anytime and i'll show you how to climbs trees with the best of 'em."
paragraphwhen obsidianwing padded into the den, he was quick to shake out his fur, sending snowflakes flying, splattering against smokemane, tigergaze, and sunglow, who voiced their complaints in a chorus, and the knight smiled bashfully, ducking his head before joining their small ground. nearby, sandstrike was lounging with privetears, and the latter called out to him: "how's it out, obsidianwing?"
paragraph"just getting started, i think," obsidianwing shot back, and privetears let out a low groan into sandstrike's shoulder while obsidianwing smiled sympathetically. "bluetcrest and softglow sent out a few cats to get the patrols back to camp before it gets any worse. apparently merlinsong thinks it'll be a bad storm," he added, and sagecloud chimed in from where she had been sitting with mapleshadow and riverfoam.
paragraph"and unfortunately merlinsong is usually right with his sense of weather," sagecloud sighed. like that, the time passed quickly, as the knights and roses came in from the snowstorm, shaking their fur free of the flakes before finding their spots with their friends. warblercry chatted with tigergaze and lyrewhistle while hornetshade and iguanaspots had opted to share a nest to nap in; riverfoam's group stuck close to mapleshadow; and newtmask and bassflow caught one another up on their patrols from earlier that day, with smokemane chiming in to interrupt her father and uncle with her own thoughts, earning laughs from them both.
paragraphas night began to intrude and the den was filled, the mood turned somber and quiet, with laughs exchanged for whispers, and several had taken to going to sleep as well. among it all, it was racoonslip who called to his father across the den, eyes round and eager. "can you tell us a story?" he asked hurricanejaw, who paused, noting the eyes turned in his direction, but the senior knight shrugged his shoulders.
paragraph"what story would you like to hear?" hurricanejaw asked, and this time foxspark perked up.
paragraph"a new one! something we haven't heard before."
paragraphhurricanejaw hummed thoughtfully, settling into the soft moss that lined his nest, and his eyes scanned the den. beyond his own kits, even the older knights and roses had turned to listen to hurricanejaw, who took his time to think, drawing a paw over his ears in the face of so much attention. "how about i tell you one about the deal for the sky?" he asked, and this only drew further intrigued, and hurricanejaw let out a low chuckle when he scanned the den again to find all eyes on him. hornetshade's chin rested on the edge of his nest, his eyes half-lidded with sleep, and otterfur lounged in his space beside hurricanejaw; lyrewhistle and wolfhowl exchanged an excited laugh, and even riverfoam's group was attentive to him. "now," he began at last. "i doubt that many of you know that the sun and the moon forged a deal over the sky? well, the sun came first, filling the sky with warmth, shining down on the trees and the wild cats. the sun drew the rabbits from their burrows and the roses from the ground, and the more life the sun saw, the happier the sun was. the happier the sun was, the warmer the rays of light that were cast down upon the dirt. at last, the lakes began to dry at the edges and the grass began to wilt from how hot the sky became. it wasn't the sun's fault - the sun was just so happy to be helping, and the sun didn't see that the light could also burn. the sun didn't know any better.
paragraph"at last, the trees and the grass and the rabbits and the rivers called to the sun," hurricanejaw continued, his eyes sweeping the length of the den. outside, the winds began to pick up, rattling the entrance to the den, but the roses and knights were too focused on the story to notice. "'sun,' they all said. 'can you please stop burning us? the lakes are drying up, and we need to drink to survive. the trees are scorched, and the land is too hot to walk. please,' they begged. 'we love you, but please give us some respite from the heat.' and the sun was confused by this. the sun wondered how it was possible that the light could harm these creatures that the sun loved so much. the sun considered this for a long time and then decided that there needed to be another to take the sun's place for a little while, until the creatures could call the sun back to bring light and warmth to them again. so the sun called to the moon, and the moon took the sun's spot in the sky." hurricanejaw cleared his throat, and sandstrike rested her head against privetears'. jaytalon and ayalla exchanged excited smiles, and wolfhowl leaned toward racoonslip to whisper rapidly to him. "the moon wasn't as warm as the sun, and the moon couldn't bring the same light as the sun, no matter how much the moon tried. but this was why the sun called to the moon. because the creatures needed light that was weaker and wouldn't burn. and the moon was glad when the lakes filled again and the birds took to the sky. the cats could walk without burning their paws, and the trees stood tall again. they all thanked the moon, and relished the cold that was so different from the heat from the sun. but, of course, as we know, we can't live in darkness forever, and the creatures grew restless. they called to the moon. 'moon, can you shine brighter?' they asked, and the moon tried, but to no success. 'moon,' the creatures called after more time had passed. 'we're getting cold, can't you warm us? the roses can't grow without warmth, and the cats' paws will freeze if the land is too cold. the trees are losing their leaves because it is too cold,' the creatures said.
paragraph"and the moon tried so hard to provide for the creatures," hurricanejaw continued. "the moon wanted to help the creatures be warm again, but it was no use. the moon called to the sun, and the sun took the spot in the sky again. but, like before, too long with the sun caused the land to burn. so the sun called the moon, and the creatures grew cold. so the sun and moon came together and decided that they needed to find a way to help the creatures. they both loved the land and the lake and the trees. they wanted the rabbits and the wild cats and the mice to be happy, and they wanted to be in the sky for forever to watch the creatures. but they also saw the damage they caused. they saw the burns and the frost, and they feared. then, the sun said to the moon: 'what if we split the sky? what if you had one half, and i the other, and we'll trade every day. this way the creatures can be warm, but not too warm, and cool, but not too cool. and we will be able to watch them always. and the moon said: 'we can call your side day, and my side night. and it will be a cycle.' and the sun and the moon agreed, and that was the deal for the sky." finally, hurricanejaw fell silent, and purrs rumbled through the den. hurricanejaw let out a chuckle when bassflow jostled his shoulder, ducking his head to hide his grin.
paragraph"tell us another one!" cougarstrike called to his father, but hurricanejaw shook his head.
paragraph"oh no, i think i've said enough for tonight. i hear pythoneyes has good stories," hurricanejaw began, but pythoneyes scoffed from his nest, shaking his head.
paragraph"i feel as though i'm always telling daisypaw and briarpaw stories. let someone else have a chance," pythoneyes argued. in that moment, several voices mingled as the knights and roses suggested one another, but there was no distinguishing who exactly called out:
paragraph"i want to hear a story from erasmus." and the other voices fell silent. instead, eyes turned towards the dark knight settled in the far corner of the den, back away from most of the light-hearted conversations and festivities.
paragraphdippernose broke the subsequent silence, nodding to the larger tom. "i'm sure that you must have lots of stories from your past, erasmus. only if you'd like to share, of course," the sleek knight said, genuine as always, and erasmus snorted. for a moment he remained silent, but at last he straightened up his ears brushing the den's ceiling when he sat upright.
paragraph"you want to know why the groveclan cat hissed at me, is that it?" erasmus asked, and when silence reigned. he huffed, flicking his tail impatiently. "i suppose it was bound to come to light anyway... well, when i first came to highgarden, i didn't know that groveclan was our border clan. i didn't know they were our ally. but once i did... i told tawnyrose, softglow, and bluetcrest that my clan before highgarden had a bad experience with groveclan." he sighed heavily then, adverting his eyes, and he hunched his shoulders. when he continued, his voice was thick with sorrow, as if there was a lump in his throat. "our leader... dante... he was heartless. he ruled without mercy, and an apprentice, novella, she feared the kingdom of shattered bones. many of us... we wanted to escape, but novella... little novella was the one who managed where the rest of us failed, and dante had us track her to the groveclan border. he said that groveclan stole novella, and that they would continue to steal from us until we taught them a lesson." at that, his voice cracked, and erasmus shook his massive head as if to clear it. "we were forced to steal their leader's kits. badgerstar... of course he wanted them back, and dante knew this. he knew that badgerstar would come and try to negotiate to get them back. but we... we knew that dante never wanted to let those kits leave, and he killed one of the kits and told the rest of us that we had one choice: to kill the groveclan patrol, or die trying to defy dante. and groveclan... they made it out that day, but it was the same day that i decided that i was no longer a member of the kingdom of shattered bones. i wanted to put it behind me, and i wanted to protect spencer. so, the first chance i had, we left and vowed to never look back."
paragrapherasmus heavy a shuddering breath, trying hard to hold himself together. "i will never be able to erase the image from my head, of what dante did. and juniperstorm... she was so young, then, i don't blame her for blaming me for the death of her sister. i was there, so of course she would associate me with that terrible time... i blame myself too, that i hadn't done more to stop dante. i relive it in my dreams constantly, and think of what i could have changed if i hadn't been so scared myself." he sighed, letting his eyes fall shut when he shook his head again. "but i feel just as much horror as uniperstorm, and i carry that with me the same as she does. i don't blame her, i feel ashamed that i hadn't done more, but i knew what dante could have done to spencer, and my choice to protect him was, perhaps, selfish. but it was the choice i made, and i still fear dante's wrath to this day... juniperstorm had something horrible happen, and i guess her reaction was partly rational. it's a day i'll never not think about as well."
paragraphsilence. cold with the wind, rocking the den, shaking it to its core. finally, several others murmured their apologies and sympathies. through it all, however, erasmus' eyes locked with sagecloud, who appeared to stare right through him. but he shuddered and hung his head, and sagecloud looked away from him, and outside the storm raged on.
actions
[ added cats ] ayalla x, tanagercall (birthday cat), kitechaser (advent 25th cat, noted in last post), lightkit (as semi-custom for cham's clans from katrione)
[ consumption ] highgarden eats 3 big fish
[ patrol 1 ] bluetcrest, betonypetal, smokemane, iguanaspots, and warblercry
[ hunt 1 ] bassflow, erasmus, dippernose, otterfur, sagecloud, and hornetshade
[ hunt 2 ] softglow, swiftheart, tulipstream, tigergaze, foxspark, lyrewhistle
[ hunt 3 ] clovershine, obsidianwing, wolfhowl, pythoneyes, direfang, and sandstrike
[hunt 4 ] mapleshadow, maplelily, newtmask, riverfoam, kitechaser, and tanagercall
[ training ] stagpaw learns climbing
rabbitpaw and seedpaw learn hunting
daisypaw and briarpaw learn agility
[ herb hunt ] merlinsong and spencer (priority for kitting herbs)
[ notes to mod ] passed 50 cats so added another patrol and small fish as a prey option
i ask that no one die on patrols though injuries are fine xx queen
tawnyrose, 36m, ♀
the wayward queen
- mate: birchflame
- kits: lightkit, hawthornkit, bramblekit
king
softglow, 38m, ♂
the lost king
heir
lightkit, 0m, ♀
attendant
bluetcrest, 40m, ♂
the wayward's attendant
herbalist
merlinsong, 43m, ♂ - 5sp
spencer, 38m, ♂ - 5sp
roses & knights
otterfur, 72m, ♂
direfang, 68m, ♂
sagecloud, 54m, ♀
mapleshadow, 52m, ♀
erasmus, 50m, ♂
hurricanejaw, 48m, ♂
maplelily, 46m, ♀
bassflow, 46m, ♂
newtmask, 45m, ♂
dippernose, 45m, ♂
pythoneyes, 41m, ♂
tulipstream, 37m, ♀
birchflame, 37m, ♂
betonypetal, 35m, ♀
clovershine, 34m, ♂
smallheart, 34m, ♂
riverfoam, 32m, ♀
swiftheart, 30m, ♀
kitechaser, 28m, ♀
obsidianwing, 27m, ♂
ayalla, 25m, ♀
jaytalon, 25m, ♂
smokemane, 24m, ♀
sunglow, 24m, ♂
tigergaze, 23m, ♂
sandstrike, 21m, ♀
hornetshade, 20m, ♂
privetears, 19m, ♀
tanagercall, 18m, ♀
cougarstrike, 17m, ♂
racoonslip, 17m, ♂
foxspark, 17m, ♂
wolfhowl, 17m, ♀
iguanaspots, 17m, ♀
warblercry, 17m, ♀
lyrewhistle, 16m, ♀
name, age, gender
thorns
stagpaw, 10m, ♂
seedpaw, 10m, ♀
rabbitpaw, 10m, ♀
briarpaw, 8m, ♀
daisypaw, 8m, ♀
name, age, gender
roots
ferretwhisker, 41m, ♀
- kits: elkkit, beechkit, harrierkit,
quillkit, dewkit
flickersky, 34m, ♀
- mate: stormshroud, shadowed kingdom
- due: 1m
name, age, gender
seedlings
elkkit, 4m, ♂
beechkit, 4m, ♀
harrierkit, 4m, ♀
quillkit, 4m, ♂
dewkit, 4m, ♀
hawthornkit, 0m, ♂
bramblekit, 0m, ♂
name, age, gender
wilted
name, age, gender
name, age, gender
allies & enemies & borders
here
medicine
here
prey
total x106
mouse | x4 | 1 serving
vole | x10 | 1 serving
small fish | x0 | 2 servings
squirrel | x11 | 2 servings
rabbit | x14 | 2 servings
big fish | x6 | 3 servings
finch | x8 | 3 servings
mentors
hurricanejaw, stagpaw, 3
smallheart, seedpaw, 2
birchflame, rabbitpaw, 2
jaytalon, briarpaw, 0
sunglow, daisypaw, 0
mentor, thorn, 0
deceased
here
family trees
here
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credit goes to the cac staff & artists for all color-ins and lineart xoxo
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