Chamrosh's Chattel Conglomeration

[Chamrosh]

Nuudotkhyat

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xxxxQutugh stared out across the valley below her, brown-and-white-peppered hair flying in the harsh winds despite all efforts to tame it, including a fur hood made of white bear fur. Her hands trembled on her staff, both due to the cold and the effects of the injury which meant she needed it upon her brain.
xxxx"Come on, Qutugh.” called her young companion. Jochi was several years younger than her, and had been her older sister’s apprentice, although he had grown past that label a few years back. He’d grown into a man, which was bizarre, as, despite her injuries, Qutugh could clearly recall him as a baby. She felt ancient, and she wasn’t even as old as her mother had been when she was born.
xxxxQutugh carefully lifted her weight from her staff, holding her feet carefully on the rock below her, before shifting the staff, and practically pulling herself over to the wood. When their village had survived, before it had fractured beyond recognition and her sister had died, Qutugh had, as a shaman, been able to grab rides on others’ shoulders frequently enough that she could walk everywhere she couldn’t persuade anyone to go with her fine. Now, with only one companion, she couldn’t risk that. She was sure her leg muscles were stronger now, but her left leg was still horribly malformed, with the bone twisting at uncomfortable angles, and her hips slanting heavily to provide all the force through the limb that she could muster. Her shoulder blade didn’t move correctly, limiting its movement backwards, her hand was wrenched out of place, and shoved back in, and so brutally that the scars from it were still evident. And when she’d slipped from her vantage in the highest tree in the forest at her childhood home, her head took so much of the force that she was lucky she had a skull at all. A dent in the back of her head, a strange sagging of one side of her face, some slurring of words, no memories from before, and frequent nervous twitches and shakes were her coming off lightly.
xxxxHer cousin had died from a similar injury, in excruciating agony. She was lucky.
xxxxWhen their village had fallen apart under conflict, and Qutugh’s sister had died, Jochi had both trusted her as an individual, and known that even if she wanted to hurt him, she wouldn’t be able to achieve much. He hadn’t said it, but it was obvious. Qutugh couldn’t blame him, and he had proved to be very helpful. Without him, there was no way that they’d have found even the scraps of food that they had to survive. Without him, her fleeting chance of finding people to look after them long-term would be nothing.
xxxxQutugh shuffled another few steps down, picking the shallowest path she could.
xxxx"Stop.” Jochi practically hissed. It wasn’t needed. She was travelling so slowly, because she was so nervous of losing her footing and falling down the slope to her right, that the chances of her movement alerting anyone was minute.
xxxxBut-
xxxxThere over the next ridge of rock-
xxxxIt wasn’t just the wind that made today so biting. The storms had truly set in for the winter, and snow blew so furiously across the land, that the wind was screaming a warning to anyone foolhardy enough to be in its path, but even the wind itself was no match for the sheer rage that snow could hold. Blizzards were mighty, and required a mighty being to create them, but no good being could create something so blood-thirsty. Storms would bite your nose, your fingers, your ears, your toes, anything they could reach, corrupting the flesh into blackness before the sheer horror of what they had experienced caused them to abandon you themselves.
xxxxThe snow deafened you, pounding against your ears, requiring that you wear a thick, muting hood, and bellowing at you until you gave up on ears.
xxxxThe wind blew away all scents, and even if it didn’t, all that would reach your nose would be damp earth.
xxxxWhile air to a degree of cold tastes fresh in the mouth, a blizzard in these mountains, where glaciers could plunge so low they were no longer a mountain feature, and cross a whole valley, was cold enough that you felt it in your belly if you opened your mouth a fingernail’s height, like a metal shaft rammed down your throat, the frost nipping at your lungs within.
xxxxEven through thick fur layers, Qutugh could feel the pressure of the wind behind her, and feel the force of it urging her onwards, and each increase – an increase from a base high enough that wind from the ground could easily whip up to chest height, and that Jochi had to lean forward almost to face the ground to walk against it – was a million daggers biting into her skin.
xxxxThe snow that whipped up, that swirled around – though an individual flake was beautiful and danced elegantly – worked together in mesmerizing patterns, to be as hard to see through as possible.
xxxxThe shape in the snow was barely a few metres away, judging by how huge it was, but she had only noticed it after Jochi had pointed it out, and he had very good eyes. In the dim light and through the snow, he was barely a pale grey silhouette.
xxxxA pale grey silhouette which was drawing closer. Clearly, he could see them.
xxxxHe’d barely paused for a moment, and a few huge steps closer, and he was standing in front of them, towering over them both. His eyes didn’t even glance at the staff – he’d already taken in Qutugh’s disability, as little as she liked that.
xxxx"Wherever you’re going can wait ‘til you’re warm.” The hulking figure said before – what?! – lifting Qutugh like she was barely a weight at all and moving her onto his shoulders. His hand clasped her staff. In freezing snow and with a slope beneath, Qutugh didn’t dare disturb his balance by trying to break his grip.
xxxxJochi reached behind him, and pulled out a spear. He was clearly cold through his furs, as demonstrated by the slight quiver in his arms as his hands shifted on the wooden shaft.
xxxx"Look, mate, we can have a fight out here and you can lose all your fingers and prob’ly end up with a couple broken bones or you can trust me a minute. If I wanted to kill you I’d have already. Blizzards aren’t the place for niceties with South-men.” Whoever this man carrying her was, he was a good sight stronger than any men in the village Qutugh was from – carrying her on his back, as well as what felt an awful lot like a bag of rocks, walking directly up the slope and not even panting slightly. Where were they even go-
xxxxOh.
xxxxAs they crested a flight of rocks, in a slight depression in the slope, was a single large travelling-house. It was made in arching bones from taiga giants, hides wrapped tight over it, probably large enough for about eight people if they didn’t mind the lack of privacy and the smell.
xxxx"Hey!” Jochi yelled after, stumbling in the snow as he tried to run up the slope to catch up. “Hey, she’s a shaman, you can’t - hurt - her, think what - the spirit - would - do…” Jochi was a good scout, but rather maladapted for snow. He trailed off as he saw the huge figure crouch down, leaning his back and extending one hand for a support so that Qutugh could struggle down. Her left leg sagged beneath her, but the giant caught her before she could fall in the snow, and hastily handed her her staff again.
xxxxThere were a couple of muffled voices from inside the tent, mainly one that sounded like a young and excited teen.
xxxxQutugh glanced over at the giant, and then firmly deciding she didn’t care about social niceties with a man who introduced himself by basically kidnapping her (even if he clearly did have good intentions), strode up to the tent entrance – as much as she could be said to stride, anyway. She brushed the material of the tent open, to encounter a dark space, lit by just a few small candles, cleverly secluded so as not to present the risk of anyone setting themselves ablaze in their sleep. And in that space were three sets of eyes, one far wilder-looking than the others, each marked out by the light reflecting off their scleras.
xxxxShe was barely inside before Jochi followed her after, and then the huge man filed in last, closing the entrance carefully behind.
xxxx"That’s awesome,” came the whisper from the wild-eyes’ direction. “He must be really brave to dare to threaten Melor with a spear.”
xxxxJochi slowly put the spear away.
xxxx"I am Bokotei Qutugh, this is Chengizgiin Jochi. I a- was the shaman of my village and I’m looking for somewhere safe that would keep us.”
xxxxOne of the sets of eyes slowly rose from its position, jerking to one side as they presumably shifted from a slumped position against something to a cross-legged one.
xxxx"You’ve met Melor, that’s Gyatso-" (“Hello!”) “-and his sister, Pema. I’m Nitin. You’re very welcome here.”
xxxxQutugh frowned.
xxxx"I don’t think you understood. I’m a shaman.”
xxxx"I believe that Nitin quite understood. We have come to the decision to keep travelling so as to avoid the band that destroyed our old home. As the shaman of our village has taken the long journey over the grey sea, we are lacking one, and gaining another who might join us would make – I am sure – more than just myself grateful. None of us have shown any tendency to be dangerous which I have witnessed.”
xxxxQutugh leaned more heavily on her staff, and preempting her difficulty standing, Jochi made the snap decision to help her down onto an empty patch of floor. Even if they did end up leaving first thing in the morning, it was getting into the evening now, getting dark, and they had no sign of shelter ahead of them. Staying here with strangers was preferable to sleeping on the ice. Here there was a risk of being killed in their sleep, rather than a certainty.
xxxx"I’ll consider staying if you get another tent.”
xxxx"I am glad that someone finally suggested that.”

-----

xxxxJochi swung out from the slope, kicking gently on the rock face and flying backwards, veering wildly across the face of the slope, his centre of mass forming a beautiful wide arc as the rope tied in a legged seat around his legs, connecting to another around his shoulders, redirected his momentum. After a second, Jochi was pulled back into the sheer cliff face, and bracing his knees, he neatly caught an outcrop of rock. He was at the lowest point of his journey, having tied himself onto a boulder far higher up, descending as far as he had the patience for, and plummeting like a loon down the cliff face until the rope snapped taut and held him suspended above a deep void.
xxxxA few neat movements of his legs, one hand holding onto the rope above him, and he started swinging as the end of a pendulum, until he connected with the rocks. He’d lined himself up carefully to get the best angle before he’d launched, and he was very close now.
xxxxAn ankle hook, and a nigh-impossible manoeuvre, where his hands took a grip on a nook barely a few centimetres wide above his head, and then somehow kept pushing higher and higher until his waist had risen to that same height. One elbow moved slightly to the side, giving him a point to wedge himself using his ankle alongside his elbow, and then moving the other hand, hooking his non-weight bearing leg on top of that arm, taking the weight off the first leg, Jochi left all the weight of his body on the grip in his left hand. Gentle shuffling does it-
xxxxThere!
xxxxSlowly, he pulled himself onto the outcrop which he’d used his arm to wedge himself in with. And here was his prize.
xxxxIt wasn’t just one wide outcrop, but many nestled together, some barely as wide as his foot. He picked through them, leaving the largest and fullest, so that the next generation of cliff birds would be healthy too, and provide more food for later years, but took anything that seemed defective or overly small. He found a blood egg – one with no shell at all, just a dark red mass in its centre, and carefully wrapped that up separately within the bag he carried, in case it broke inside, which would make it rather hard to store the others without it being contained.
xxxxIt wasn’t just an easy matter of moving into the nests without protest, of course. Many of the nests had occupants. But many others did not. Jochi chose his targets carefully to avoid any painful nips on his fingers.
xxxxOnce he was done (and before any angry parent birds returned), he hurried off the other edge of the promontory, only hesitating an instant before flinging himself a full stride’s distance, and hitting his target of a narrow gap in the rock with enough force that he was almost dislodged even as he got a grip with his hand. Almost. His front slammed into the rock. Luckily – or rather, with foresight – he’d attached the eggs to his back.
xxxxGetting back up was a far simpler matter of using the pressure between his limbs to keep one side of his body wedge in the narrow gap and using whatever leverage he could purchase in there. As he emerged from the chimney of rock (it having entered the cliff face a few metres from the top), he was greeted by Gyatso’s beaming face.
xxxx"You are even cooler than Nitin! You must teach me that!”

- 2336

[ Bokotei Qutugh and Chengizgiin Jochi join the Nuudot ]
[ Melor looks for nomads ]

[ Pema goes hunting ]
[ Nitin gathers food ]

[ Gyatso tries being a scout with Jochi ]

[ Qutugh researches medicine ]

Melor finds a scout.
Pema catches x1 caribou.
Nitin gathers x2 persimmons and finds a persimmon seed.
Gyatso and Jochi find a scout chief.
Qutugh gains a knowledge point.
The scout's traits are: ST-A1 | HC-94 | HS-LW | EC-LBlue| H. Denisovans
The scout chief's traits are: ST-F5 | HC-68 | HS-S | EC-DBrown| H. Sapiens
Nuudotkhyat has 0 more fasting days, you will now need to feed your village.

[Chamrosh]

Gustclan

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Gustclan Description
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xxxxHeronstar padded softly to the moonpool. She looked up at the stars directly above, or at least the ones she could see through the clouds that were doubtless carrying yet more heavy rain for the territory, for a few short seconds, working up the courage to ask for what she needed.
Initially, she had wanted to ask for a Medicine Cat first, but had realised that without warriors to protect and feed them, a medicine cat could not do their job properly. Furthermore, Heronstar now had her nine lives, and had no need of medicine directly herself yet. Even if her gut said she would rather have the safety of a medicine cat first, her head knew that she needed someone else first.
xxxxShe came as close to the pool as she could, and was grateful that the pool had strong rocks around it, as the water level had risen a little in the recent rain, then bent her head slowly down so that her nose touched the water. "Greetings to Starclan, with my great thanks for my territory, the new territory of Gustclan. You have tasked me in return to grow a strong clan, and to achieve this I request a warrior to make my deputy. I desire them to be wise and caring, and to be able to navigate any slopes that I cannot, but trust your guidance."

- 230

[ Heronstone becomes Leader (Heronstar) and founds Gustclan ]
[ Heronstar requests a deputy from Starclan; wise, caring, good at climbing ]

Starclan has sent you a deputy

[Chamrosh]

Gustclan

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Gustclan Description
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xxxxHeronstar opened her eyes, her nose now well away from the water. It was a strange experience, waking up from your first encounter with star clan as a leader. She looked across at the mottled tom who had appeared, and was now sitting by the pool alongside her. He seemed to have a gentle, graceful demeanour about him, but those bright yellow eyes hinted at something else beneath; no cat got to be a warrior without learning to fight, not least of all a deputy that Starclan approved of.
xxxx "Good to see you, awake, leader. I'm Chubtail. I just got this strong feeling to come here, and, lo, a new leader."
xxxxHeronstar gave a little nod to him, pleased that he really did seem to have a gentle nature. She didn't want a deputy who would needlessly attack other clans, and risk their clans safety.
xxxx "I'm Heronstar. It's good to meet you. Come, we'll head back to camp, I'll show you around it, and we can choose the warriors den."
xxxxHeronstar lead the way back to camp for him; Chubtail gasped as they approached the old two-leg den. "All due respect, but warriors can't share a den with two-legs! We're not mere Kitty-pets. Besides, how do we get in?" He had a mildly derisive tone.
xxxxHeronstar tried not to show her amusement at that. He was a proud warrior, which was definitely good. "They have not been here in many moons, and-" They were coming close to it by now- "They used to have a kitty-pet. There's a..." Heronstar didn't know a suitable word to describe it accurately, so she used the closest analogy she could think of: "Fin in one side we can jump through." Heronstar jumped through it and Chubtail followed close behind.
xxxxHeronstar lead him through the old two-leg den, showing him each of the smaller component dens, and then up the stairs. She showed him, first, the leader's den, which had a large, soft platform in the middle. He claimed the next den as the warrior's den- it had a soft platform twice as big as the leader's den. There would be plenty of space for warriors; besides, the floor was made of a strange, spongy soft material, which was still softer than many warrior dens.

-----

xxxxThe first priority now was ensuring that there was enough food to feed themselves. Heronstar wanted to get to having a functioning clan as soon as possible, and focus on training for specific fighting skills and such later on. They needed to have the security to build on, not build up to have security; have the food to fuel their warriors before the battles to demand more warriors.
xxxxThe sensible course of action was to go on a patrol, and to not stray too far away until they had more (or rather, multiple) warriors. That said, with only one cat before, Heronstar had not been able to patrol very effectively, and had definitely not surveyed the whole area for what resources it may or may not hold, and the abandoned two-leg house that had been claimed as the camp was only a short distance from the Southern border. The old thunderpath followed a winding path to the Southern border, and even following it, it did not take long to reach the boundary directly. Thankfully, this area of the territory was somewhat sheltered by the more Southerly of the Eastern hills, and so the house was mostly obscured by the trees that could grow there.
xxxxIf they stayed close to the house, they would also be obscured and their obvious lack of warriors would not be an issue if any other clans' cats saw them... hopefully. Furthermore, it allowed a quick retreat to the camp should the rain get too much worse, or persist for too long.
xxxxUntil they had more warriors, exposing themselves to needless risk was ill-advised. This meant being observed as well, and this was why Heronstar decided to remain close to the main camp area. Patrols had an added benefit, of course. If they met another warrior, they could be more adventurous on future patrols; and for this sake, Heronstar hoped that they did meet a new warrior.
xxxxHopefully the stream wouldn't have swollen enough to cut off any of the relevant area.

- 718

[ Gustclan has a new deputy – Chubtail ]
[ Heronstar and Chubtail go hunting ]

While on patrol, Heronstar and Chubtail caught a hare and squirrel

[Chamrosh]

Gustclan

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xxxxWhile on their patrol, Chubtail made a shushing noise suddenly, and pointed his nose towards a shrub. Heronstar stopped in her tracks, and crouched down, as he shortly did. Chubtail started inching forward along the ground, getting closer to the source of the noise he’d picked up with each foot fall, and then suddenly he stopped entirely, braced up minutely and pounced. For a second, Heronstar thought he had entirely missed the target, as the body of the squirrel seemed to move forwards afterward, but then it suddenly stopped in place, and Heronstar saw that one of his paws had landed on its tail. That was either a very good catch or a sure sign that Starclan was looking out for them. Judging by Chubtail’s expression, he thought he’d missed it, too. He thanked Starclan and quickly finished off the squirrel.
xxxxThe hare required a lot more effort when they came to it. Partly because Chubtail started distracted, calculating how to place the squirrel so they wouldn’t lose it, but mainly because of its speed. They did manage to catch up to it after it initially bolted, and pounce on it properly, but it was rather fast. They cut the patrol short as they now both had fresh-kill with them, and because the hare combined with the rain had taken a lot of energy out of them both.

-----

xxxxChubtail sat staring out at the ground beyond their main camp, where the edge of the territory was only just visible through the trees, still a way off. He heard a monster pass by, one of the huge ones that had rows of sheep held within them. What were they going to call them? He hadn’t known before he’d come here that the monsters carried their prey back to camp. And what a lot of them there must be to need so much! Sometimes he could make out a noise like a metal bird song through the trees, accompanied by the loud panting of a two-leg on a strange device made of metal sticks and what looked like hollow slices of tree trunk. They would need a name for those, too.
xxxxThis territory was quite different from what he was used to. He’d never been this close to a two-leg place before. He could see why his mother had always said to avoid the two-leg places now; they seemed to have so many more types of monster than he’d even known had existed.
xxxxThe fin flapped around noisily behind Chubtail, and Heronstar sat down beside him. She was rather beautiful, he thought, but she seemed far too cautious to want kits before they had a medicine cat and several other warriors. It was best for the clan, and for her, that he didn’t say anything about it yet.
xxxx "The rain has finally cleared up, so we should be able to patrol farther now, Chubtail; I want us to head down to the Eastern border. We might be able to better define it, and perhaps test out your fishing.”
xxxxChubtail wondered why Heronstar always seemed to speak so formally, especially when she was referring to Starclan, but didn’t say anything, instead following his Leader as she set off.

- 536

[ Gustclan consumes one Squirrel ]
[ Heronstar and Chubtail are on patrol ]

While on patrol, Heronstar and Chubtail found a warrior

[Chamrosh]

Gustclan

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xxxxThere were two strange cats in Boulder’s territory. They seemed to be looking for something, but what on earth it could be, she wasn’t sure. They had no right to be on her land. She’d had to fight off the previous tom who’d lived here before, she’d earned this land, and no cat was taking it away from her. She run towards them and jumped, howling, out onto their path, and landed clumsily on one paw, which skidded on the still damp ground, then regained her balance.
xxxxThe other two cats’ haunches tightened, and the molly tensed up as if about to start a fight. Boulder kept her posture relaxed and slick. She was sure they’d listen to reason.
xxxx"Oi! This is my land, wocha doin’ trespassing on i’?” She yowled.
xxxxThe other two cats exchanged a look, unsure how to react to her argument.
xxxx"Greetings. I’m Chubtail, and this is Heronstar, of Gustclan, You’re welcome to stay on your territory if you become one of our warriors.” the tom said. The molly gave him a sceptical sort of look for just a fraction of a second, then glanced her eyes over Boulder. Boulder flicked her tail at them both.
xxxx"Why’d I wanna be a warrior? What’s a warrior, anyway?”
xxxxThe molly, Heronstar, quickly explained, in a voice that sounded so much more formal than Boulder’s own that she had to ask Heronstar to repeat several times before she was sure she’d understood.
xxxx"Allrigh’, don’t sound much diff’rent from being a loner, ‘sept you got more friends. Bu’ I wanna’ve a tough sounding warrior name. I’m Boulder.”
xxxxThe three headed back to camp together. Heronstar slunk off, not planning to head all the way to the moonpool, but instead, to the old pond outside, thinking of what to call the new warrior. She waited for the moon to rise, thinking it was closer to starclan than she might otherwise have been. She remembered that hasty run and leap that the new cat made, the quick-talking nature which had required so many inquiries into what was being said, and the impulsive confrontation. Heronstar decided that a new suffix might be needed to describe what she’d seen. Boulderdash. That sounded like a good name for her.
xxxxIt was great to have a new warrior, just a shame that they hadn’t been able to get to the stream to fish.

-----

xxxxThey only had a little piece of Hare left, enough for one meal, and only for one of them. They’d only gone out hunting recently, but they already needed to head out again to gather more.
xxxxAt least they could rotate it more evenly when they had more warriors. They already had three, they should be able to gain more warriors if they ensured there was always plenty of food around, so they should be able to become a strong clan without too much difficulty. Heronstar could tell that Chubtail was keen to have kits (with whom she wasn’t sure), and she was keen for the clan to have kits as a whole, but they needed to be able to support them, and they definitely needed a medicine cat first; Heronstar wasn’t going to allow any undue risk to her warriors if she could avoid it. Their priorities had to be maintaining the food pile and getting a medicine cat.
xxxxIt was also probably good to be testing out Boulderdash’s abilities as soon as possible. It would be rather embarrassing for her (though Heronstar somehow doubted that Boulderdash really had a concept of embarrassment) to become a mentor and not actually know the skills she was meant to yet. It would be better to nip any issues in the bud. And judging from their first encounter, Boulderdash could really do with some additional fighting training, as she had deliberately run straight towards two larger cats than herself and hadn’t even seemed to be prepared at all to defend herself. They could hopefully help a little, at least, with that on patrol. To be honest, it seemed to be common sense training that was needed.

- 681

[ Gusctlan accepts the rogue Boulder as the warrior Boulderdash ]
[ Gustclan consumes most of a hare ]
[ Heronstar, Chubtail and Boulderdash go hunting ]

[While on patrol, Heronstar, Chubtail and Boulderdash found a medicine cat]
[They also caught two big fish and a rabbit]

[Chamrosh]

Gustclan

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xxxxThe patrol had proven one thing definitively; Boulderdash was probably a good enough hunter to make up for her awful fishing skills. She’d got the rabbit caught and killed with lightning speed. They thanked Starclan for it, and carried it along with the two already-caught fish.
xxxxIt was as the three cats were returning to camp, and already close, that Chubtail saw something suspicious. His golden eyes flicked through the trees and he stopped in his tracks.
xxxxChubtail dropped his fish for a second, to talk. “Wait! There’s someone over there!” He flicked his paw up to point almost directly towards camp. The two mollies stopped beside him, waiting to see something. They froze like that, waiting, for a few seconds.
xxxxThen the shape darted across their vision again, a dark grey shape that was almost certainly a cat. Before Chubtail or Heronstar could stop her, Boulderdash ran forward towards the shape. Chubtail tried to give Heronstar a questioning glance, to ask what they should do, but Heronstar was already running after the molly. The name Boulderdash very much suited the grey tabby- she was far out of Heronstar’s league for running, and Heronstar wasn’t slow. Chubtail ran after the two mollies. He was faster than Heronstar, and caught up with Boulderdash to see her pinning a young tom down onto the ground.
xxxxThe tom seemed absolutely startled, with his amber eyes wide open and staring at the molly. His fur was laying messily against the leaf litter around them.
xxxxBoulderdash had her claws out over his face.
xxxx “This is Gustclan land, wocha doing trespassing on i’?”
xxxx“Boulderdash, stop it! He might be friendly, and killing him is against the warrior code!” Heronstar called out, now behind Chubtail. Boulderdash kept lowering her claws. Chubtail was very glad of his running speed, because it was just then that he caught up to the molly, and knocked her paw away from the tom’s face.
xxxxBoulderdash snapped her eyes up to meet Chubtail’s and her gaze met his briefly. He scowled at her, and she retracted her claws. The tom tried to shift Boulderdash off him, but he clearly hadn’t had much fighting training. Boulderdash released her pressure from him, and he rolled onto his side, and then stood slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on Boulderdash, clearly suspicious of getting pinned again.
xxxxHe sniffed, trying to maintain as much dignity as he could in the face of that. Heronstar stopped a few steps before them, flicked her tail up and turned to the tom.
xxxx “Greetings.” She was clearly straining to sound dignified and authoritative after that. “I’m Heronstar, leader of Gustclan, and I assume you’re here for a specific reason?”
xxxxThe tom cleared his throat, grumbling something about surprise attacks under his breath. “I had just received my medicine cat name-“ Chubtail saw Heronstar’s ears flicker; that had definitely got her attention- “When my clan got a new leader. I was born a kitty-pet, and the new leader said that to truly keep the warrior code, we had to remove all traces of kitty-pets from the clan. He was calling for violence, so I ran before… anything could have happened. I haven’t been a wanderer for long, and I’m not very good at hunting for myself, so I was looking for a clan that needed a medicine cat and would accept me.”
xxxxChubtail was not overly happy about accepting an ex-kitty-pet, if that was what Heronstar was about to do, but he doubted that any cat intending to go back to a cushy life would have taken the plunge into becoming a medicine cat. Besides, they really did need to have one.
xxxxHeronstar nodded slowly. “Alright. We need a medicine cat, so you are more than welcome among us.”
xxxxThe tom didn’t so much look grateful as less annoyed. But then, most cats would be annoyed at a surprise like that. “Thanks. I’m Harrierpelt.”
xxxxThe three cats showed him around the camp together. Harrierpelt seemed reluctant to use the medicine cat den that Heronstar had already picked out at the back of the two-leg den. It took a lot of persuasion for him to accept that they really weren’t going to mock him for staying in the two-leg den.
xxxx “There’s only a few things two-legs are really good for, and building dens is one of them. I’m not going to give you the inconvenience of getting any cats sick when there’s a perfectly good shelter here, which could help against at least some illnesses.” Harrierpelt appreciated having a leader who would actually consider how difficult the role of a medicine cat was when leaders took too many risks.

-----

xxxx “Chubtail, I want you and Boulderdash to accompany Harrierpelt on a patrol out of camp. He will be needing to collect herbs for his supplies; I want you to be staying close by to him so that you can ensure his safety until he’s familiar with the area.” They were only making a very short walk, just outside of camp, so that they could talk as leader and deputy, alone.
xxxx “Heronstar, why are you tasking me with this instead of doing it yourself?” He asked, away he may have been missing something.
xxxx “I’m going to be visiting the Moonpool again tonight, and it works rather well as a task of you learning how to work as a leader and to assist Harrierpelt if he desperately needs it.”
xxxxChubtail nodded. He hadn’t realised that it was time for Heronstar to visit the Moonpool again already. It didn’t seem like long since he had arrived, himself. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for something he’d meant to do since that first night he’d arrived in Gustclan; it just seemed appropriate to ask her now, and he knew that if she was caught up in welcoming another cat into the clan he might well feel too awkward to ask her it. “Actually, er, before that I was thinking that… well, I was wondering if…”
xxxxHeronstar held his eyes patiently for a moment, waiting him to follow up with the words that had lodged themselves tightly in his throat. “If what?”
xxxx “If you’d want to be my… my mate?” The last word almost squeaked.
xxxxHeronstar stared at him for a long awkward moment, just slightly drawing her head back like she’d just put the pieces of something together. “Oh.”
xxxx “Oh, what?” Chubtail’s voice squeaked again.
xxxx “I… I didn’t think you wanted…” She looked down, and scuffed her paws against the grass she’d settled them in. “You mentioned wanting to have kits before, I just thought that was a general comment.”
xxxxChubtail gave her an awkward side-ways glance. “Heronstar, why wouldn’t I have meant that as a comment for you? You’re considerate, you’re careful, you’re a good leader, and… you’re absolutely beautiful.” He felt like he was over doing it, and Heronstar was a little embarrassed, but also secretly pleased. She hadn’t seriously considered him that way before, but she was aware he would be a good mate and father, and he was already a good friend. Honestly, what had held her back from that consideration was the loss of her previous family, but that had now been quite a few moons past, and with a medicine cat in place to look after cats, and two very capable warriors as well, she was fairly confident they could support a few kits.
xxxxHeronstar nodded. “Chubtail, I’m sure you’ll be an excellent mate.”

-----

xxxxHeronstar watched Chubtail, Harrierpelt and Boulderdash head out before leaving. She’d wanted them to look for the herbs while she was gone so that hopefully everything would be sorted before she returned. She wasn’t sure exactly what they were looking for, but knew that Harrierpelt would be using his judgement as best as he could. He was so young to have to take on the role; she hoped he was wise enough to do it properly already.
xxxxHeronstar turned around and started trotting in the direction of the Moonpool.
xxxxGetting there was a little more awkward than usual, as there were some two-legs with their dogs walking nearby and they ended up in her path several times. It was very difficult to avoid them effectively, and she had to take a long, winding route to be sure she’d kept enough girth. Several dogs yapped at her and it terrified her at each time, but luckily most of them were contained on the strange cords that humans were so fond of attaching them to. Heronstar ended up reaching the moonpool a lot later than she had meant to.
xxxxShe closed her eyes, thinking over what they needed for a few seconds.
xxxxThe water level was lower than the first few times she had been here, meaning she could get in closer to the pool, and it was far more comfortable of a stretch.
xxxxShe touched her nose to the water cautiously. It was painful seeing Starclan, seeing the remains of what she’d lost there, like they could come back home for her at some point while she was still alive, but at the same time, she knew she now had a new family, too.
xxxx“Greetings, Starclan.” She did not want to make a long, elaborate introduction. “I request a new warrior, and trust your guidance as to who they might be.”

-----

xxxxHarrierpelt knew what Chubtail was about to say as they headed out on patrol as a group, and interrupted him, as he opened his mouth. “I know the deal, Chubtail. Heronstar wants you to mind me because she’s worried I’ll get hurt. I can run well enough away if I’m concerned about anything and have to, and you’ll probably just get in my way when I’m looking for herbs around here. You can stay nearby if you want, but you actually accompanying me isn’t going to help either of us.”
xxxx“Actually, she said to stay close, and I meant to ask whether you actually wanted help or not, anyway.” Chubtail replied.
xxxx“Oh. I’ll yowl if I want either of you, okay?” Boulderdash gave him a fierce, piercing look and followed Chubtail off to hunt.

- 1695

[ Harrierpelt joins Gustclan and becomes medicine cat ]
[ Harrierpelt chooses the following five herbs to start his collection: Tansy, Cobweb, Comfrey root, Feverfew and Honey ]
[ Heronstar and Chubtail are mates ]
[ Harrierpelt is collecting herbs ]
[ Boulderdash and Chubtail go on a patrol ]
[ Gustclan consumes the rest of the hare and half a rabbit ]

While herb hunting, Harrierpelt found catmint and burdock root
While on patrol, Boulderdash and Chubtail found a warrior

[Chamrosh]

Gustclan

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xxxxHarrierpelt was ultimately quite happy with what he found. He’d expected it to be difficult to find anything at all around here, given he’d never been to the area and had no idea where the best spots to find each of the plants were, but he now had a good stock of catmint and burdock root. It was more difficult getting them back home, and he kept having to take small trips back until he’d collected what he thought would be enough for one use of each.
xxxxIt took him a while to find somewhere to stash the new herbs, but he eventually managed it, and was quite pleased when he had. He might quite possibly be one of the youngest full medicine cats in generations, but at least he was getting well stocked!

-----

xxxxBoulderdash was not as surprised as Chubtail when she encountered the stray. She was far more used to having to claw over scraps of territory than he was, and to not be prepared at any sign of a trespasser didn’t normally go well on your own.
xxxxThe large tom came out of the bushes about a half dozen leaps ahead of them, and assumed a position like he was prepared to fight them if he had to.
xxxx“Who are you, then?” Boulderdash was sure she wasn’t imagining that she saw his gaze soften as it fell on Chubtail just momentarily.
xxxx“Warriors of Gustclan, and who’s you?” The strange tom definitely softened up at hearing they were warriors.
xxxx“Myrtleclaw. I was looking for a clan to call home.”
xxxxChubtail flicked his tail slightly, surprised at the boldness of his statement, but also his ability to predict what he was about to say. “That’s fortunate, as our clan is only small and could do with some mo-“
xxxx“Good. Where’s camp then?” Boulderdash admired the tom and his daring. He really seemed her type. That was, if he wasn’t obviously more interested in Chubtail. He tagged along with them for a short distance before Chubtail accepted he’d really meant to stay with them, and then followed them all the way back to camp.

-----

xxxxBoulderdash curled up tight against Myrtleclaw in the warrior’s den. She was struggling to sleep, not because she was worrying about anything, but because she could feel a question burning in her chest. Her eyes were just barely open, regarding the new tabby, and it really gave her a fright when she heard a voice ask “What?”
xxxxShe sprang up instinctually, before she realised it was just the new tom.
xxxx“I saw you lookin’ at Chubtail earlier.”
xxxx“And?”
xxxx“You were definitely checkin’ ‘im out. You’re gay, ri’?” Myrtleclaw laughed in a very clearly faked tone, and snorted, obviously trying very hard to make that sound ridiculous. “You’re really not very good at ‘iding it. I ain’t got no issue with you being gay. I was actually wondering something else.”
xxxx“Is this based on you- ridiculously- thinking I’m gay, or something else?”
xxxx“Well, you’re kinda answering it for me, and I ain’t even asked yet. I was thinking, if I ever I ended up ‘aving kits with some tom who don’t want to admit he’s a father for whyever, if you’d be wanting to pretend you’re the dad?” Myrtleclaw snorted in derision again, making it even clearer he was making an act. “It’s blinding obvious you’re gay, and you clearly don’t like me knowing so. If you’re supposedly a dad, then no-one else’ll know, ri’?”
xxxxMyrtleclaw blinked, not having thought of that. “Well, that’s fair enough. Sure. But I want to know what the dads look like in advance. It’s not like I can pretend to be ginger.” Boulderdash suppressed a laugh at the idea that a cat could change their coats to match it, and shook her head slightly. If she was being smart about it, she'd make sure she found a white tom willing to do this as well, so she didn't have any pressure like that should any circumstances needing this deal arise, but right now she didn't have the luxury.
xxxx“Pretend mates we are, then.”
xxxx“As long as you find someone else to pose for ginger or white fathers, you’re my… what’s the term for it when you’re hiding you’re gay by pretending to love someone you don’t- at least, not in that way?”
xxxx“Dunno. But I’m gonna call it Myrtling.” He looked at her, clearly mortified at the very idea of his name being immortalised as such, and Boulderdash broke down into silent laughter at it. Yes, she was sure they'd got on, even if it was on her terms specifically.

-----

xxxxChubtail came into the leader’s den and curled up next to Heronstar in the early morning, when she was only half-awake. Heronstar raised her head, prepared to be annoyed, and her expression softened quickly as she realised who it was. She gave him a few affectionate licks, and he gently nudged her to imply that he had something important to talk about.
xxxx“I… was wondering if you’d want to have kits? We’ve got two other warriors, and myself now, we should be able to support a few little ones and make sure they can all get their own mentor, and we’ll need them to make sure the clan keeps going. And I always wanted to be a f-“
xxxxHeronstar interrupted him with fervent nodding. “Yes. I didn’t want to while there was any issue about kits being left without mentors, or going hungry, but I really doubt that would be a issue. I’d love to have kits now.”

- 927

[ Myrtleclaw joins Gustclan ]
[ Harrierpelt goes looking for more herbs ]
[ Heronstar and Chubtail want to have kits together ]
[ Heronstar and Chubtail go on patrol ]
[ Boulderdash and Myrtleclaw go hunting ]
[ Gustclan consumes 1/2 a rabbit and 1/3 of a big fish ]

Harrierpelt searched the clan's territory, finding some good sources for watermint and feverfew nearby the lake. After gathering a fair amount, not too much and not too little to make the trip be for nothing, he went back towards the camp to store the herbs he had gathered, satisfied enough with the find.

[Harrierpelt found watermint and feverfew]

The two warriors chose to hunt neaby water so that they would have something to help them deal with the sun above which almost seemed to be intending to set the ground on fire. The warriors tried their luck in fishing, missing a few times and eventually Myrtleclaw decided to give searching for prey on land a try, spotting a mouse at the water's edge, drinking with its ears twitching and searching for any noises that could mean a threat. He snuck up to the creature, but it dashed away just before he pounced, making the tom rush after it to pin it down with a paw and finish it with a quick bite. When he returned to Boulderdash's location, the she-cat had just caught a large fish that hung from her jaws. Happy enough with their catches, the warriors returned to camp.
[Boulderdash and Myrtleclaw cought a mouse and a big fish]

Heronstar and Chubtail went from border to border, marking them and looking for signs of cats that may possibly want to join their clan or may have even been hostile and intent on stealing prey. So far it had been quite uneventful so the two went on a bit of a detour to carry out their 'plans' before continuing on. While at the last border they were to check, the two discovered a scent, a fresh one at that. It belonged to a loner, possibly one that may join the clan. Or perhaps it was not worth following...
[Heronstar will be expecting kits]
[Heronstar and Chubpelt stumbled upon a fresh loner scent]

[Chamrosh]

Gustclan

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xxxxIt didn’t surprise Myrtleclaw that he had caught prey far smaller than Boulderdash had. He hadn’t been the best apprentice at hunting, and had excelled in combat. He was proud of his reflexes though, and that he’d managed to provide something for his new clan at least.
xxxxThe look on Boulderdash’s face at having caught such a huge fish was ultimately priceless. She looked so (rightly) proud, and clearly the leader and deputy’s attempts to teach her (as he’d gathered it to have happened) had paid off perfectly. He found himself thinking he quite liked her. If he was going to be pretending he was anyone’s mate in future, he was happy it was Boulderdash, as they got on quite well between them, and not just because they were both quite prideful of their fighting abilities.

-----

xxxxHeronstar came back to camp concerned, with her mate. Judging by the scent of it, the loner had been nearby very recently, and given the size of their clan and the difficulties they would have had previously in protecting their borders, it was entirely possible he’d been there for a while. Boulderdash had mentioned something about fighting for her claims on the land from other cats, and it was entirely possible that she had met this one.
xxxxWhen they got back to camp, and described the scent to the others, Boulderdash was at a loss. “No idea who that could be, ‘cause I ain’t come across anyone who smelt like that around here before.”
xxxx“Have you come across anyone who smelt like that at all?” Myrtleclaw gently prompted his friend, noticing how she’d made it sound like she had.
xxxx“None, nada.” That was a little disappointing.
xxxx“Okay, well, I’m going to see if they’re interested in joining Gustclan. If they’re not, we’re going to need someone willing to help me get them off the territory. We’re not risking a hostile loner sneaking into camp if we can avoid it.” Chubtail gave Heronstar a mildly questioning look, surprised that she wouldn’t be open-pawed to all new-comers, but then, with kits potentially on the way, it was clear she was thinking of what was best for their next generation of warriors.
xxxx“I’ll come.” Said Myrtleclaw; “I didn’t earn my warrior name for nothing.”

-----

xxxx“Harrierpelt, I sort of have a… er…”
xxxx“Inquiry?” Harrierpelt asked from his position, lying back flaked out on the floor of his den. It was hot, even in the dens, and with his long coat, spreading himself out like that helped quite a lot. He’d roll occasionally, to get different parts of him in contact with the cold surface below, but at the time Heronstar walked in, he was on his back, and looked up at her like that before slowly rolling and standing as she continued.
xxxx“I don’t know if you’ve noticed but, I’m… I’m pregnant.”
xxxx“First patients I get, they’re tiny mewling things who can’t tell me what’s wrong yet!” There was a joking, sarcastic tone to his voice, which he thought was pretty clear, but at seeing his leader’s slight quiver of uncertainty, added; “But at least I’ll be doing something. You have told Chubtail haven’t you?”
xxxx“Of course I have.” Heronstar gave a tiny huff, indicating she’d be ashamed of any cat who didn’t immediately tell their mate, which was probably a good sign. “You’ll be ready to help with them, when they come, won’t you?”
xxxx“As long as you don’t expect me to start mentoring any kits yet, I should be able to manage.”
xxxx“That should be fine. Thank you so much, Harrierpelt.” Heronstar turned and left, visibly relieved about what he’d said.
xxxxWell, that gave him something specific to search for; anything that would help with kitting. There was a bit of an issue though- he had no idea where to start, as he hadn’t seen anything of the sort yet! He should get on with that as soon as he was able.

-----

xxxxBoulderdash came into the medicine cat’s den not long after Heronstar had left. She ran her eyes over the still-young tom. She wasn’t one for commitment, really, but he’d definitely caught her eye. It was a shame that medicine cats weren’t allowed to have kits.
xxxx“Is there anything you’re after, Boulderdash, or is there something more useful that you could be doing?” Came the tom’s voice, as he became aware of her presence.
xxxx“Uh… er, yeah, sorry. Bye." Harrierpelt was left wondering what in Silverpelt that had been about.

- 745

[ The clan consumes two portions of fish (2/3 of a big fish) ]
[ Harrierpelt goes looking for herbs, hoping to find something useful for queens/kits/kitting ]
[ Heronstar and Myrtleclaw set out to look for the loner; she wants to ask them to join the clan but brought Myrtleclaw in case they refuse! ]
[ Chubtail and Boulderdash go hunting together ]

Harrierpelt set off with a specific goal in mind, thankful for the cool breeze that helped to keep him cool. He took note that some of the plants were beginning to shrivel up due to last moons however, it was only the ones that were more needy when it came to water thatay have flourished during the floods in Newleaf. In his search, he found what he recognized to be Ragwort. Some of the leaves seemed to be beginning to shrivel, but there were more than enough healthy ones. After scouring for a bit longer, he found himself quite lucky to stumble upon a starshaped flower that he quickly identified as Borage. He gathered enough for one use, unable to find enough to make gathering more pay off. After all, if he took all of it there may be a problem later on.
[Harrierpelt found Borage Leaves and Ragwort leaves]

While on the hunting patrol, Chubtail and Boulderdash ended up staying together for only so long as Chubtail stopped to drop into a crouch and sneak up on a mouse,
Boulderdash went for a squirrel she saw, but apparently so had it. As Chubtail pounced, catching the mouse between his paws, quickly dispatching it with a bite to the neck, Boulderdash darted off in pursuit of the fuzzy-tailed rodent eventually catching up to it and pinning it by its tail before snapping its neck with a blow from her paw. As the molly picked up her prey, the limp body dangling from her jaws, with the intention of going back to join up with the tom she had set out with, her ears swerved to the side, the sound of rapid pawsteps catching her attention. She saw an unfamilliar tortoiseshell molly running almost in her direction, dropping her prey and waiting for just the right moment to dash forward and with a quick kick from her back legs, she landed on top of the skinny loner, knocking her off balance and quickly pinning her. Chubtail was not far away, hearing the commotion caused as the loner began to fight back, spitting and yowling at the bigger cat pinning her. The deputy took his mouse, hurrying toward the sound to see that Boulderdash as well as both his mate and Myrtleclaw were there
[Chubtail and Boulderdash caught a squirrel and a mouse]

The leader set out to find the loner, Myrtleclaw close behind. They made found the scent trail, following it. At first it seemed they wouldn't be able to find the loner, but soon enough they realized there was a lot of the same scent around. Perhaps the cat had decided to set up their own camp nearby, but as Heronstar decided to turn back, the two saw a strange tortoiseshell near the border. The clan cats chased after as the molly noticed them and ran into their territory. As it was, before they could catch the thin yet quick molly, they chased her to the hunting patrol and Boulderdash knocked her off her paws. Despite being pinned under the tabby molly and weakened by apparent hunger, she gave her best efforts at knocking off the tom, putting up quite the fight and getting a good scratch or two before giving in.
[Heronstar and Myrtleclaw found a warrior]

[Chamrosh]

Gustclan

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xxxxMyrtleclaw and Boulderdash pinned the molly between them, with her struggling against them. She got a scratch for her troubles, and a smug-looking pair of grey-pelted warriors kept her down.
xxxxHeronstar flicked her tail in response to this loner’s actions. “You look like you’re quite hungry, but we can provide food for you if you join us as a warrior.”
xxxxThe tortoiseshell weighed up her options in her head, thinking of how much ready food would really be worth before nodding. “I’ll join you. I’m Argusheart.”
xxxxThere was a brief look of confusion between the clan cats, wondering where that name came from for a second-
xxxx“Oh! It’s from the butterfly, ri’? Scotch argus?” Boulderdash asked her. She quite liked the idea of the unusual name, and given their territory, why not name kits after the plants and wildlife that only seemed to appear in their area?

-----

xxxxHeronstar hadn’t bothered moving out of her den to have her kits. No one else had had any kits yet, and it made sense, without the presence of any other queens or kits to just stay with what she found most comfortable. She curled up piles of soft objects she could find to make a warm nest for her kits when they came, thinking she’d have to transfer them to a proper nursery once her pregnancy was finished. Maybe she could even turn that into a game with the kits, somehow.
xxxxShe was looking forward to having them, and having them around. Heronstar was somewhat aware that she shouldn’t show them any favouritism if she could avoid it, but with three non-parent warriors, she now doubted that was an issue.
xxxxHeronstar was quite away of Harrierpelt’s near-constant hovering, but she supposed it was his way of being sure that his first patients were okay. Boulderdash was also visiting quite a lot, normally alongside Harrierpelt, which Heronstar thought was probably her just feeling protective of the new kits, and wanting to know what to do if something happened while he wasn’t there.

- 338

[ Argusheart joins Gustclan ]
[ Chubtail, Boulderdash, Myrtleclaw and Argusheart go on a border patrol ]
[ Harrierpelt stays in camp in case the kits come ]
[ Heronstar prepares for her kits arrival ]
[ Gustclan consumes most of a big fish – 2 portions ]

The four cats set out on their border patrol, leaving their expecting leader and medicine cat at camp alone. As they went from border to border, it soon became quite dull so the pair of mollies and the pair of toms began to chatter together to help pass the time as nothing interesting seemed to be around. They simply marked their borders and moved to check the rest, one or another occasionally catching a snack. After all, this wasn't a hunting patrol and so eating what you catch is allowed. And it wasn't as if the clan was short on fresh-kill. All in all, nothing interesting had been found nor happened and the patrol returned to camp after their deed was done, Chubtail's first destination after that being to the leader's den.
[The border patrol passed uneventfully]

Heronstar remained in her den, her belly having swelled from the kits she had been carrying until they were ready to face the cruel outside world. And as her kitting kicked in, Harrierpelt was close by to hurry to her aid. The kitting went smoothly enough and the tired mother began to lick her new kits, proud to have the next generation of her clan enter the world, though not quite able to experience most things yet due to being blind and deaf for now of course. One of the kits was pure white at birth, but would gain its colourpoint markings as it grew and developed of course.
[Heronstar gave birth to two kits]

[Chamrosh]

Gustclan

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xxxxHeronstar curled tight around her two tiny newborn kits. One a beautiful gingery-brown, the other a just-off-white colour. They were both boys, and they were both beautiful. She was sure that anyone who saw them would agree, and that that wasn’t motherly bias. They really were, with their still-shut eyes and (even she would admit) weirdly folded ears, still completely adorable.
xxxxHeronstar looked up as Chubtail entered her den, and she was sure he instantly realised the kits had arrived by the look of happiness he seemed to instantly adopt at seeing her.
xxxx“They’re all healthy? 18 toes, 2 eyes, a tail, everything in place?” Heronstar nodded hugely, and Chubtail bounded straight over to join his family, curling around his mate and kits. “They’re both beautiful!”
xxxx“Both beautiful toms. What are we going to call them?”
xxxxChubtail got a proud look on his face. “I always liked sun-dews. They eat insects, even though they’re plants- a kit named after them would be so good at hunting that nothing could stop him, I feel.”
xxxx“We can’t call him sun-dewkit! But… There’s another name I heard for them before… Drosera?”
xxxx“I like Droserakit.” Heronstar beamed at her mate as he said that. She did too. “What about the other kit?”
xxxx“I like a few options. I was thinking of Saxifrage at some point, after those tiny white flowers, or Squill, but I don’t think either suits him. Maybe Mistletoe? Sheep? Shell? But if his brother has a meaning to his name, he should too.”
xxxx“Shell could have a meaning. Good at defending himself… at home in water… er…” Heronstar snorted at his attempts to come up with a similar level of meaning for it. She nodded.
xxxx“I like Shellkit.” Chubtail beamed wide and gave his mate a lick, followed by each of his sons.
xxxxHarrierpelt came in a second later. He raised his eyebrows at having walked in at such a scene of affection, not entirely comfortable. “Do they have names I can tell the others, then?”
xxxx“Shellkit and Droserakit.”

----

xxxxArgusheart wasn’t sure what she made of the two tiny kits. She’d wanted to have children but she’d always thought kits looked a bit weird when they were so young. Wait until they were a few months old, old enough to actually do something other than just lie there, and she could much more appreciate them.
xxxxShe loved the effects of clouds when she was a kit, and she looked forward to seeing how these two would react once they were big enough to leave their mother to the clouds outside.

----

xxxxBoulderdash came in at one point to admire the kits. She played with them a little, watching the tiny ones. Heronstar was grateful at the opportunity to stretch her legs while Boulderdash kept them warm for a few minutes. They were blind and deaf and helpless, but they could smell it wasn’t their mother. They didn’t seem to mind for a few moments, and when they grew restless Boulderdash called for their mother, who came, almost in a panic of concern about what could be wrong.

----

xxxxMyrtleclaw visited with Boulderdash a few times. It made Heronstar wonder whether they’d decided to become mates or something, but somehow she felt they hadn’t. It was a shame, they’d be brilliant together. She wanted to see if they’d ever become mates, because if they hadn’t realised how much they clearly meant to each other by now, it looked a lot like they wouldn’t ever.

----

xxxx“I want to mentor one of your kits, when they’re old enough.”
xxxx“That’s not for me to decide. Heronstar assigns mentors, not me, and she values patience.”

-----

xxxxDroserakit’s eyes started opening first, but only with tiny little flickering movements; only kitten dreams making them move. Shellkit kept trying to clamber over his brother instead of around, and Heronstar found it rather endearing, even if he kept bumping her in the ribs when he did it.

----

xxxx“Harrierpelt, I… I don’t intend to get in the way when I come in ‘ere.”
xxxx“Oh it’s fine, I don’t mind having cats in my way when I’m trying to deal with kits.” Harrierpelt responded to Boulderdash, knowing it was her, both from her still-strong accent and because she seemed to have some fascination with him.
xxxx“I was wanting to ask you something, actually.”
xxxx“I’m not taking apprentices yet.” He replied, almost instinctively. “Wait, you’re not-" He waved his paw around uncertainly, almost like gesticulating. “You’re not already mates with Myrtleclaw, are you? I already have two impossible patients.”
xxxxBoulderdash sat bolt upright at that suggestion, startled that he’d thought that himself. “No, nothing like that. I was going to ask if you… if you wanted to be… mates with me?” Before that moment, Harrierpelt had not realised that the tabby cat could even be nervous around another cat. He scrutinised her carefully, trying to work out if she was serious (she seemed to be) and then working out how to react.
xxxx“No. I’m… a medicine cat, I’m not meant to have kits or a mate.” Boulderdash was clearly down-hearted at that response, not having noticed his pause and intonation. Harrierpelt walked closer towards her, close enough that he couldn’t be over-heard. “Not now, anyway.” And he stalked off, glancing behind, leaving a confused Boulderdash in his wake.

- 884

[ Shellkit and Droserakit are born ]
[ Myrtleclaw and Argusheart go hunting ]
[ Chubtail and Boulderdash go on a patrol ]
[ Heronstar stays in camp with the kits – Shellkit and Droserakit ]
[ Gustclan consumes a big fish – 3 portions ]

Myrtleclaw and Argusheart left camp together, an awkward silence between them for a few moments before a conversation was innitiated. For a little while they chattered with one another, trying to get to know each other a bit better since they were now clanmates and it wouldn't be very...nice living alongside complete strangers after all. Soon enough, the two warriors quited down, Argusheart dropping into a crouch and sneaking towards a rabbit like creature - a hare. She neared it slowly, but her stalking could have used a bit more work as the hare noticed her, pelting away. She jumped to her paws, racing after it with Myrtleclaw following behind, yet the distance in-between grew until he gave up on the chase, taking a little break to catch his breath, only to see that Argusheart had managed to nearly corner the creature, only for it to run in another direction. She gave up on the chase, padding back towards Myrtleclaw who began to pad towards her as well, only to notice a mouse running towards shelter. He quickly caught up to it, giving the small rodent a quick death. Argusheart was clearly tired from the running when she finally caught up to the other warrior, earning a little chuckle and a comment about how she should probably try something smaller for now. The two hunted for a while longer, Myrtleclaw acting almost like a menotr by helping Argusheart with her crouch and when the two returned, they merely had a mouse and a squirrel, but it would do.
[Argusheart and Myrtleclaw caught a mouse and a squirrel]

Chubtail and Boulderdash may have been on the same patrol, but due to the molly still being bummed out about being rejected, her thoughts occasionally drifted and she ended up a bit behind before being snapped out of it by the tom who eventually became quite annoyed with her, trying to give her some comfort about the situation via applying logic. But eventually both of their attention was caught when they encountered an unfamiliar scent. Perhaps Argusheart hadn't been the only one hunting on clan territory...
[Chubtail and Boulderdash found a rogue scent]