[Only_Sky]

Res. W minnowheart

[Adamented]

Username: Adamented
Cat Name: Poppyfrost
Rank: Warrior
Clan: Dreamclan
Age: 22 moons
Future:
His hopes for a future were simple, he had the dreams of a hopeless romantic in life. Until his life was turned upside down, and his one and only life goal became to enact vengeance and find peace once again within the safety of his own head, void of his anger and anxieties.
(summary)

Writing and Art: Part 1 - his past vision of the future (Art: with his mate in a cozy nest, surrounded by their kits, grandkits and kin.)
Part 2 - his present vision of the future (Art: some kind of depiction of an achieved peace, with- minimal- blood on their paws- more symbolic than anything)

[MeltiTheDragon]

Username: Diamondshine101
Cat Name: Sleetstorm
Rank: Warrior
Clan: Cascadeclan
Age: 22 Moons
Future:


The soft, gentle rush of the green-leaf rains filled Sleetstorm's ears with soothing calm. She certainly needed it. Her mind wasn't entirely with her these days ; her beloved sister Vervain had always been sickly, and just the other day she'd come down with a nasty case of white-cough. All she could do was hope that her sister wouldn't take a turn for the worse.

Her sister and her had been through everything together. Abandoned as kits, they were taken into the clan's orphanage and raised as clan cats. They trained together, hunted together, fought together. Neither jealousy, nor strife would dare weaken their bond. As they trained to become loyal and devoted Cascadeclan warriors, they made grand plans for their futures. They'd both have long, exciting lives full of achievement. And maybe one day the two mollies would settle down for a few moons with their true loves to start one big family where they'd help each other raise a new generation of warriors. Nothing would ever separate them, they vowed to each other.

But illness threatening death dared to do that very thing, and it already almost did.

Though they were unfortunately very true, she shoved those troubling thoughts aside. No sense in worrying when her sister was probably just fine back at camp. The little socialite was probably gossiping about the latest strange thing that went on in camp, happy as anything. She tried to focus herself on her hunting. Between the thick canopy of the forest and the foreboding dark clouds obscuring the silvery light of what should've been a full moon, even the sharp-eyed warrior could hardly see through the darkness that laid in front of her.

Despite the horrible weather, she eventually managed to find a pair of scrawny field mice shivering further up the ridge. She stared at the prey. It would hardly be enough to feed a single cat. Disappointed in the prey she'd caught, she started to stalk the lone rabbit that was crawling its way across the top of the cliff.

CRACK

A bright flash of light blinded her, the roar of thunder muffling everything around her and leaving her with a dull throbbing in her head. She could smell the smoke of whichever tree the lightning hit clear as day. The rabbit had long run off to the safety of its warren, leaving her with her own meager catch. She sighed, giving the dead mice a forlorn look. The storm wasn't getting any better ; if anything, it was only getting stronger. Her chances of getting struck with lightning were going up by the minute. She grabbed both tails in her mouth and dragged her exhausted body back down the cliff, careful not to slip over the edge and become just one of the increasing number of cats that have died a painful death on the hard unforgiving stone below her paws.

Through the muggy evening air, she trudged into camp practically dragging her tired paws with each step. Her fur was soaked all the way down to her skin, showing just how little of an appetite she'd had as of late. As she padded to the fresh-kill pile, she left a trail of watery paw prints and swooping tail marks in her wake. Cascadeclan's leader stood frowning at her offering to the pile.

"I'm sorry, Campionstar. It's all I found. The weather turned foul before I could look for more."

The massive white molly gave her a look of sympathy. "It's okay. I know you've been having a rough time lately. I'm quite sure you'll find more tomorrow," she meowed, her large paw resting on her prominent shoulders. For a moment, Sleet was able to relax herself.

"Vervainheart, just hang in there a little longer."

Her heart sank like a heavy river stone. Her sister had taken a turn for the worse. Panicked, the young warrior got a bit of a second wind. She rushed past the Silver River, her paws frantically pounding against the arch over the Moon Lake. The dripping wet silver molly skidded to a screeching halt not a whisker's length away from her sister's tattered nest. Vervainheart was barely conscious of her sister's presence as struggled for each ragged breath, her disheveled pale fur slicked into tangled mats with cold sweat. Speechless, she turned to the almost skeletal-looking medicine cat.

"This ain't white-cough darling. Yellow-cough, from the look of it." Her raspy, deep voice never seemed to match her. It took her until she was staring at the molly during her warrior's vigil that she'd realized their medicine cat wasn't a tom. That just made her voice creepier, sending a chill up her spine as she spoke.

After taking a long moment to gather her thoughts, she managed to choke out a few words. "C-curable I h-hope?"

The medic stopped for a moment to stare at her with unnaturally large sickly green eyes. "You can hope all you want, but Starclan's already decided her fate. If I were you, I wouldn't keep high expectations here."

Her harsh words stung like a queen hornet. But she had to face it ; though her interpretation of omens and visions had always been off-kilter, their current medicine cat was rarely wrong on matters based in logic like this. Ever. She choked back a sob. "What can I do to help?" she mewed, her voice hardly more than a whisper.

"Nothing. I'm doing everything I can."

She couldn't contain herself anymore. Her body was wracked with sobbing, tears bubbling at the corners of her eyes. The medicine cat opened her mouth to protest, but she was already committed. She shakily laid down next to her feverish and likely delirious sister. With short strokes of her tongue, she worked out the uncomfortable looking mats in her pelt. The herbs started to take affect as she worked, lulling her tense sibling into a deep sleep. As Vervain's breathing evened out, she murmured half to herself and half to her sister.

"Get well soon, sister. We have a long life ahead of us, a blank slate meant for our dreams and ambitions to come true. You've just gotta remember that, okay?"

She'd overstayed her welcome into the medicine cat's den. Breathing in the herb-tinged scent of her sister one last time, she slowly padded back to her own den. At the top of the arch, she stopped for a couple heartbeats. She gazed at her reflection in Moon Lake. Under her breath, she whispered a fretful prayer to her ancestors through what many before her believed was the gates to the spirits' territory.

"I hope that I can spend my future with my favorite cat in the whole world. Please Starclan, I don't care about a mate or kits or mentor-hood anymore. Just let me have my sister with me."

She could only hope. And if her sister were to end up walking with Starclan instead, far before her time? She had no idea what she would do. Hopefully, she'd never have to make that decision.

[1172/1500 words]

[denja]

Username: Diamondshine101
Cat Name: Sleetstorm
Rank: Warrior
Clan: Cascadeclan
Age: 22 Moons
Future:


The soft, gentle rush of the green-leaf rains filled Sleetstorm's ears with soothing calm. She certainly needed it. Her mind wasn't entirely with her these days ; her beloved sister Vervain had always been sickly, and just the other day she'd come down with a nasty case of white-cough. All she could do was hope that her sister wouldn't take a turn for the worse.

Her sister and her had been through everything together. Abandoned as kits, they were taken into the clan's orphanage and raised as clan cats. They trained together, hunted together, fought together. Neither jealousy, nor strife would dare weaken their bond. As they trained to become loyal and devoted Cascadeclan warriors, they made grand plans for their futures. They'd both have long, exciting lives full of achievement. And maybe one day the two mollies would settle down for a few moons with their true loves to start one big family where they'd help each other raise a new generation of warriors. Nothing would ever separate them, they vowed to each other.

But illness threatening death dared to do that very thing, and it already almost did.

Though they were unfortunately very true, she shoved those troubling thoughts aside. No sense in worrying when her sister was probably just fine back at camp. The little socialite was probably gossiping about the latest strange thing that went on in camp, happy as anything. She tried to focus herself on her hunting. Between the thick canopy of the forest and the foreboding dark clouds obscuring the silvery light of what should've been a full moon, even the sharp-eyed warrior could hardly see through the darkness that laid in front of her.

Despite the horrible weather, she eventually managed to find a pair of scrawny field mice shivering further up the ridge. She stared at the prey. It would hardly be enough to feed a single cat. Disappointed in the prey she'd caught, she started to stalk the lone rabbit that was crawling its way across the top of the cliff.

CRACK

A bright flash of light blinded her, the roar of thunder muffling everything around her and leaving her with a dull throbbing in her head. She could smell the smoke of whichever tree the lightning hit clear as day. The rabbit had long run off to the safety of its warren, leaving her with her own meager catch. She sighed, giving the dead mice a forlorn look. The storm wasn't getting any better ; if anything, it was only getting stronger. Her chances of getting struck with lightning were going up by the minute. She grabbed both tails in her mouth and dragged her exhausted body back down the cliff, careful not to slip over the edge and become just one of the increasing number of cats that have died a painful death on the hard unforgiving stone below her paws.

Through the muggy evening air, she trudged into camp practically dragging her tired paws with each step. Her fur was soaked all the way down to her skin, showing just how little of an appetite she'd had as of late. As she padded to the fresh-kill pile, she left a trail of watery paw prints and swooping tail marks in her wake. Cascadeclan's leader stood frowning at her offering to the pile.

"I'm sorry, Campionstar. It's all I found. The weather turned foul before I could look for more."

The massive white molly gave her a look of sympathy. "It's okay. I know you've been having a rough time lately. I'm quite sure you'll find more tomorrow," she meowed, her large paw resting on her prominent shoulders. For a moment, Sleet was able to relax herself.

"Vervainheart, just hang in there a little longer."

Her heart sank like a heavy river stone. Her sister had taken a turn for the worse. Panicked, the young warrior got a bit of a second wind. She rushed past the Silver River, her paws frantically pounding against the arch over the Moon Lake. The dripping wet silver molly skidded to a screeching halt not a whisker's length away from her sister's tattered nest. Vervainheart was barely conscious of her sister's presence as struggled for each ragged breath, her disheveled pale fur slicked into tangled mats with cold sweat. Speechless, she turned to the almost skeletal-looking medicine cat.

"This ain't white-cough darling. Yellow-cough, from the look of it." Her raspy, deep voice never seemed to match her. It took her until she was staring at the molly during her warrior's vigil that she'd realized their medicine cat wasn't a tom. That just made her voice creepier, sending a chill up her spine as she spoke.

After taking a long moment to gather her thoughts, she managed to choke out a few words. "C-curable I h-hope?"

The medic stopped for a moment to stare at her with unnaturally large sickly green eyes. "You can hope all you want, but Starclan's already decided her fate. If I were you, I wouldn't keep high expectations here."

Her harsh words stung like a queen hornet. But she had to face it ; though her interpretation of omens and visions had always been off-kilter, their current medicine cat was rarely wrong on matters based in logic like this. Ever. She choked back a sob. "What can I do to help?" she mewed, her voice hardly more than a whisper.

"Nothing. I'm doing everything I can."

She couldn't contain herself anymore. Her body was wracked with sobbing, tears bubbling at the corners of her eyes. The medicine cat opened her mouth to protest, but she was already committed. She shakily laid down next to her feverish and likely delirious sister. With short strokes of her tongue, she worked out the uncomfortable looking mats in her pelt. The herbs started to take affect as she worked, lulling her tense sibling into a deep sleep. As Vervain's breathing evened out, she murmured half to herself and half to her sister.

"Get well soon, sister. We have a long life ahead of us, a blank slate meant for our dreams and ambitions to come true. You've just gotta remember that, okay?"

She'd overstayed her welcome into the medicine cat's den. Breathing in the herb-tinged scent of her sister one last time, she slowly padded back to her own den. At the top of the arch, she stopped for a couple heartbeats. She gazed at her reflection in Moon Lake. Under her breath, she whispered a fretful prayer to her ancestors through what many before her believed was the gates to the spirits' territory.

"I hope that I can spend my future with my favorite cat in the whole world. Please Starclan, I don't care about a mate or kits or mentor-hood anymore. Just let me have my sister with me."

She could only hope. And if her sister were to end up walking with Starclan instead, far before her time? She had no idea what she would do. Hopefully, she'd never have to make that decision.

[1172/1500 words]

the winner is Diamondshine101!
both the story and art was gorgeous and it gave me such a feel of sleetstorm's personality aaa i loved it

HM's will be going to positivitea & ~HєуRєι~!

[MeltiTheDragon]

Thank you so much, denja! I'm absolutely thrilled that I've won her. I've had so many ideas for her buzzing around my head and I can't wait to write more about her. Congrats on the HMs, positivitea and HeyRei!