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total 99 : ♂ 51 ♀ 47 nb 1 | servings 16 (+104) | moonpool anytime | pebbles 59 | mod kacchan, | archives xx xx | font credits xx xxx │└──────────────────────────────────────────┘
xindentin the before, the three of them had decided on a safe space where they would gather in the case they were ever attacked, in the case everything began to fell apart. maybe they'd grown complacent, but layla never forgot where the space was, in a dip on the other side of the barn, out of range of wind and set away from the moorland borders, where the quickclan cats wouldn't find them. of course, as time wore on and nolan became more certain of his victory - that they had already taken the lives of warriors and apprentices, and then nolan had killed redstar - it seemed that they would never have to worry again. they would have the moor in due time, and their family would be safe. the very thought, now, made layla's shoulders shake with broken laughter and undisguised grief. she'd lost everything: it had all been taken from her. her mate and close friend were both dead, nolan and graham struck down while she watched from the side of the barn. the others who survived fled and had refused to follow layla. nolan is gone, graham is gone, they said when she asked if anyone would come with her. as if she needed the reminder.
indentthe longer she thought, the angrier she got until it burned through every inch of her being, molding from crippling grief to motivating fury. they would pay, for the future they stole away from her. layla's paws carried her past the barn and didn't stop until she found herself in the middle of the open moorland. there, she waited and waited for them to find her.
indentas days passed on, injuries began to heal, groveclan and hazeclan cats began to return home. quickclan slowly returned to normal as the last warmth of greenleaf began to fade away. it would always be impossible to forget what happened, sweetecho supposed as she looked around the camp, and they would always want to remember, but relief came when patrols stopped having to look three times over their shoulders to make sure that they weren't about to be ambushed. they were all still cautious, of course, but quickclan's hold on the moor was reaffirmed and the ties binding them to their allies was as strong as ever. as the groveclan and hazeclan cats healed and returned to their respective camps, it was easy to see that their presences were missed. more than once, she heard snakespots talking to falconflight about turtledove, and fleetingmoon had been teasing cardinalheart about falcongaze from groveclan. sweetecho decided not to pry. instead she reflected.
indentshe'd told oakseed that killed nolan and getting revenge might offer some sense of relief, some sort of closure. even then, she knew it wouldn't be the case, though she had greatly hoped that she would be wrong. she thought on the days of before, when she met her kits after their training sessions and groomed them while they told her about their days. heatpaw had always been the worst at sitting still, always trying to duck out of her reach until redstar might stroll by on his way to find cyanslash or alpinemask. but nothing was the same as it had been: heatpaw and redstar were gone and cyanslash was cyanstar. nolan was dead, his followers chased off, and sweetecho felt even more empty, more alone than ever before. oakseed kept busy with patrols and was quiet when they shared meals together, her own kits too busy hunting and practicing to spend too much time with her. she knew that it wasn't on purpose, but it left sweetecho feeling lost, floating through the camp like a ghost who moved around them but stood apart from the actual proceedings. she was redstar's mate, heatpaw's mother. most of her friends were dead, and the friends she did have were dealing with their own shadows. which was why, days after the battle, sweetecho was surprised when honeyflower sat down beside her in the middle of the clearing. the ginger queen was quiet, staring off into the distance, and after a beat of silence, sweetecho spoke, "where's vermilionkit?" she asked.
indenthoneyflower blinked and turned to face sweetecho. "off playing some game with heronkit and scorpionkit," she said, nodding towards the other side of the camp, where sweetecho could make out vermilionkit's distinct ginger tabby pelt, small when compared to heronkit's tall and lithe figure and scorpionkit's bulkier frame. before they knew it, the older pair of kits would be given mentors of their own. if she blinked, she could imagine that vermilionkit was on his way as well, with the rate that moons were passing before her very eyes. honeyflower's voice broke through sweetecho's thoughts, and she turned back to the queen. "willowfrost snapped at them. apparently they were whispering too loudly while she was trying to take a nap," honeyflower said, and sweetecho let out a snort of amusement, not missing the way honeyflower rolled her eyes.
indent"to be fair to her," sweetecho pointed out, "kits rarely know how to be quiet. they struggle with using inside voices. it's like they only know one volume: loud." this time it was honeyflower's turn to laugh, the sound coming from her stomach, a pure and genuine sound that sweetecho decided suited the pretty molly quite well. "owletcry used to be the worst. not only did she now know how to be quiet, but she was also so clumsy back then," sweetecho continued, purring fondly at the memory. "there was one time i really thought piperskip and sunnywhisker were going to claw her when she tripped over webtail and woke him up. so he cried, but owletcry shouted that she was sorry and for him to be quiet."
indentanother beat of laughter passed before honeyflower let out a quiet exhale. "well, you all survived it. and clearly you've been a good mother. fleetingmoon has been coming by to play with the kits and keep them entertained, and i heard that rainypath brought back an impressive amount of prey back the other evening." as honeyflower spoke, she shifted closer when a cool breeze stirred the air. honeyflower's head came to rest on sweetecho's shoulder, the latter of whom stiffened for a moment before relaxing into the comforting warmth swapped between their brushing fur. "i just hope i can do right by vermilionkit."
indent"he must know how much you love him," sweetecho murmured, once more looking off to where the young ginger tom was playing with the older kits, scampering to keep up with heronkit's longer strides. "kits surprise you. they're resilient." starclan knew how much her kits had been through over the moons, yet they continued to grow and live their lives.
indenthoneyflower's hum carried through her body, and sweetecho felt it rather than heard it. "you should come by the nursery more, you know. your company is more refreshing than willowfrost's, and sagetuft and hawkrise just like to gossip." honeyflower pulled away then, and sweetecho pretended not to notice the sudden chill that crept through her fur. "and i'm sure you have stories for the kits. vermilionkit said that i'm bad at telling stories." sweetecho shrugged, only to nod a moment later when honeyflower pressed, "and hawkrise's kits are really cute, but also getting into trouble. we could use a few more paws to help keep chaserkit from escaping."
indent"maybe i'll stop by tomorrow," sweetecho said, and honeyflower grinned when they stood together.
indent"you know where i'll be."
indent"i know a secret," canaryleap stated as he led the small patrol over the dips and crests of the uneven moorland. thunderpaw followed his mentor closely, stepping where canaryleap bounded as if to make sure that their steps lined up perfectly, while duneserpent and ploverpaw walked side by side behind them. at canaryleap's outburst, duneserpent sent ploverpaw a sideways glance that made the smaller molly stifle a laugh. if canaryleap noticed this, however, he didn't comment, instead jumping up onto a rock and perching there, regarding the rest of the patrol from a vantage point, his gaze measured and expectant, his grin wicked.
indent"alright, i'll bite," duneserpent said when he and ploverpaw caught up to stand with thunderpaw, recognizing his cue to play into canaryleap's game. "what do you know?" at that, canaryleap's tail kinked pleasantly over his back and his grin widened even further.
indent"i know one of your secrets, dear duneserpent," canaryleap said, leaving no room for duneserpent to speak again before canaryleap nodded to ploverpaw and thunderpaw. "as you both know, i am extremely observant and have an eye for the fine details -" he said, not even pausing when duneserpent scoffed playfully, "- and i have finally concluded that duneserpent," he continued, lowering his tone and dipping his head, eyes flickering back and forth between the apprentices with an air of exaggerated dramatics that drew another laugh from ploverpaw, "has a crush!"
indentcanaryleap sat back on his haunches then, and ploverpaw exchanged a glance with thunderpaw before turning to assess duneserpent's expression. her mentor's maw was twisted in a bemused expression, contrasted against the way canaryleap drew a paw over his ears. at last, duneserpent scoffed again and shook out his fur, turning back towards the camp. "you really do have keen eyes, don't you, canaryleap?" he said, attempting to regain his previously lighthearted tone, though there was now a defensive undercurrent, and ploverpaw perked up.
indent"you do have a crush!" she said, bounding to cut into his path, and canaryleap let out a loud laugh. "who is it?"
indentduneserpent leveled a withering glance at ploverpaw, though she wasn't so easily dissuaded. when she didn't budge, duneserpent groaned and twisted to look at canaryleap over his shoulder. "you know she's not going to let this go, right?" he said, and the other warrior shrugged, though he was still visibly amused and not sympathetic.
indentinstead, canaryleap jumped down from his rock and padded forward, thunderpaw trailing a step behind. "would you rather tell her, or should i?" his teeth were sharp in his grin, his eyes gleaming playfully. ploverpaw suspected that, if duneserpent truly was uncomfortable, that canaryleap would back away immediately and go back to talking about how he caught a bird by accidentally missing his mark and landing on top of it sideways. however, duneserpent narrowed his eyes at his friend before letting out a breathy sigh.
indent"let's see how much you actually know," he said, and canaryleap puffed out his chest, preening under the attention and chance to show off even further.
indent"of course, you have a crush on -" canaryleap began, only to be cut off when thunderpaw brushed past his mentor.
indent"cats on the moor!" he said, and the warriors immediately turned, dropping the antics for the time being. though, since the battle, the moor had been quiet with no signs of the barn cats, the fear had not entirely dissipated.
indentsure enough, on the horizon, two cats were approaching. from the distance, it was difficult to see much about them, and duneserpent drew his tongue over his muzzle before looking to ploverpaw. "there are only two of them, we'll go slow and see what's going on. ploverpaw, stay behind me. canaryleap and thunderpaw, you hang back a bit, make sure it's not a trap." they fell into formation. just as duneserpent said, they walked slowly, assessing the moorland around them for any signs of other cats who might be with the pair while canaryleap led thunderpaw down into one of the many dips and hollows to check the surrounding area. the wind shifted several times, carrying scents from further along the land, though the only foreign markers were from the two cats: upon a closer inspection, one was a molly with long fur, the other a skinny tom who ploverpaw suspected was about her age. "you're on quickclan territory," dunserpent said when the two groups came to a halt, meeting in the middle. "please state your reasons for coming here."
indentthe molly was pretty, though her eyes gave away how tired she was. when matched with the tom's wide-eyed expression akin to fear, it was clear that these cats were no threat. even still, the molly held her head high when she spoke, "i've come to see redstar." the former leader's name was spoken with such confidence and authority that it took the patrol a moment to recover. in the beat that passed, the molly sensed that something was wrong and pricked her ears. "i need to talk to him." her voice was strained, pained, and ploverpaw thought for a moment that she recognized it, some distant memory in which the foreign scent was warm and welcoming.
indentat last, duneserpent found his voice, stepping forward with a soft expression. "i hate to tell you, but redstar died a few moons ago. our new leader, cyanstar-"
indent"no," the molly snapped, and duneserpent recoiled as if she struck him. "no, you don't understand. i need to talk to redstar." she growled low in her throat, and duneserpent squared his shoulders, opened his mouth to speak before he was cut off again. "i was mates with redstar. my son, oleanderkit, is redstar's son and our clan disbanded. i need to see redstar. my other kit is here." the statement clearly surprised duneserpent, and ploverpaw was left to blink at the young tom, seeing him in a new light. suddenly, not as a fearful stranger, but as a brother who was scared.
indentsuddenly, a streak of brown tabby fur caught ploverpaw's eye a heartbeat before canaryleap called out to the group, "flowerskip, is that really you?" flowerskip turned at the sound of her name to watch canaryleap approach, thunderpaw in tow. immediately, the tension in her muscles seemed to release and her eyes widened in shock.
indent"canaryleap? dear starclan, aren't you a sight," she said, padding forward to meet him. "honestclan... it's been moons. far too long." they touched noses and canaryleap turned back towards duneserpent and ploverpaw.
indent"let me introduce you. this handsome but serious tom is duneserpent, and that's his apprentice, ploverpaw," under flowerskip's gaze, ploverpaw ducked her head, suddenly shy. when she glanced up again while canaryleap continued to jabber, those large yellow eyes were still trained on her.
indent"ploverpaw..." flowerskip mouthed, and she brushed past canaryleap, pausing only when duneserpent put himself between the queen and his apprentice. even still, flowerskip had eyes only for ploverpaw. "my other kit... redstar said he was going to name her ploverpaw... are you...?" the fragmented question hung in the air, ripe with hope. the breath caught in ploverpaw's throat, and she looked to the strange cats, then to duneserpent, before letting the breath out slowly.
indent"i am," she said in an answer, and dunserpent wasn't able to stop flowerskip when she rushed forward to bury her nose into ploverpaw's shoulder. all the while, ploverpaw stood frozen in shock while flowerskip rattled on to her, leaving ploverpaw to look past the long calico fur to where her newfound brother mirrored her.
indentthere was no denying how much the clan had lost, sparrowcall reflected as he sat among his clanmates following cyanstar's usual call to gather quickclan together. there was no denying how much he had lost personally. poppyhaze, who had always been by his side was gone, as was rivuletpaw. he lost his mate, one of his kits, and friends along the way. with each day that passed, he was aware of the passing of time, that he had been in quickclan for some time now, had seen his fair share of seasons. it was the question of why and how he lived when poppyhaze, sootstone, and duskflower were all gone. he was the oldest of the quickclan warriors, and had dreamed of retiring with poppyhaze by his side until the end of time, when they would go to starclan together and weave among the stars, two souls attached endlessly, inseparable. and the barn cats had taken it from him, and for what? it was a feeling of hollow loneliness that couldn't be filled or forgotten, only dulled in spare moments of joy, such as watching his remaining kits sit under the wind rock, waiting eagerly for cyanstar to call their names. sparrowcall tried to forget that rivuletpaw should be with them, the third in a trio. at last, cyanstar bounded up to the height of the lower camp and addressed his clan.
indent"quickclan, this evening we gather to celebrate the accomplishments of three apprentices who have completed their training," cyanstar began, and he paused to allow for the cheers that went up from the gathered clan. his smile was wide when he regarded dandelionpaw, tinselpaw, and magpiepaw. "what do you say? let's begin," cyanstar said, jumping down neatly from his perch to stand among the clan. tallpeak sat back in the shadow of the wind rock when cyanstar padded forward and raised his voice to be heard across the entire camp. "i, cyanstar, leader of quickclan, call upon the spirits of starclan and all quickclan ancestors to look down on these apprentices, who have trained hard and passed their assessments to become full warriors of quickclan." cyanstar's bright blue eyes turned first to dandelionpaw, who met her father's eyes eagerly. "dandelionpaw, do you swear before quickclan of past and present, to uphold the principals we hold most sacred, to protect the clan with all of your body and mind?"
indentdandelionpaw's voice was clear and resolute when she nodded just once. "i do and always will," she said, and cyanstar's smile was fond when he spoke again.
indent"then from this moment forward you shall be known as dandelionspring, for your lasting energy and optimism. we honor your determination and strength of mind as a full warrior." several cheers went up from the crowd before cyanstar turned to tinselpaw next. sparrowcall straightened up even further, his heart in his throat from the wash of pride he felt for his kits. "tinselpaw, do you swear before quickclan of past and present, to uphold the principals we hold most sacred, to protect the clan with all of your body and mind?"
indent"i do!" tinselpaw asserted, clear and concise.
indent"then from this moment forward you shall be known as tinselstorm, for your whirlwind of strength and passion. we honor your strong will and tenacity." sparrowcall shouted his daughter's new name to the gathering twilight, joined by several others, falling quiet only when it came time for magpiepaw. "magpiepaw, do you swear before quickclan of past and present, to uphold the principals we hold most sacred, to protect the clan with all of your body and mind?"
indentthere was the slightest tremble in magpiepaw's voice when he answered, giving away just how nervous he was, but his eyes were bright and filled with wonder. "i do, cyanstar."
indentcyanstar offered the young tom a gentle and soothing smile when he finished, "then from this moment forward you shall be known as magpiesong, for your kind heart. we honor your grace when dealing with tough choices and your careful choice of words." at last, cyanstar stepped back and allowed the clan to cheer for the newest warriors, and the bubble of pride that had been building in sparrowcall's chest expanded full to bursting, so full of love. he pushed forward until he could touch his nose to tinselstorm's cheek.
indent"your mother would be so proud of you," he murmured to tinselstorm, who licked his shoulder in silent acknowledgement. "your mother is so proud of you." he glanced for magpiesong, and found his son several tail lengths away, talking to cricketchirp. for a moment, sparrowcall moved to go to his son, but hesitated when cricketchirp pressed his nose to magpiesong's cheek, the gesture so fond and tender that sparrowcall smiled to himself and turned back to tinselstorm, who wore a knowing expression. "i'm so proud of you both," sparrowcall said at last.
indent"autumnpaw, you know the rules about having friends in the den," gorseberry said as soon as he entered the medicine cats' den and took in the sight of his apprentice with her group of friends. flintpaw was stretched out on the ground, his whiskers twitching in amusement at the sound of gorseberry's voice, and autumnpaw flicked her ear from where she was seated between flintpaw and peckernose. ravengaze had joined the group since his arrival, as had marshstripe over the moons, though gorseberry chalked the latter up to a crush on ravengaze. peckernose, in the very least, blinked politely up at gorseberry, who sent the younger tom a half-smile before he attention returned to autumnpaw, expectant.
indent"the rule is that i can have friends here after i'm done with sorting the stores, which i have, and you can check," autumnpaw replied, unbothered, with a swish of her tail.
indentgorseberry shook his head once and padded closer to the group. "you're forgetting the other part of the rule," he said with a click of his tongue. "the other rule is -"
indent"- that we have to stay out of alpinemask's way, otherwise we'll make him grumpy," she finished for him, and not even gorseberry could contain his smile at that, fond for the eldest medicine cat as well as his apprentice. "but alpinemask isn't here," autumnpaw continued before gorseberry could say anything further, "he said he had some business in hazeclan and that he'll be gone until tonight or early tomorrow morning." she must have sensed gorseberry's confusion and stood, crossing the circle of young warriors until there was little more than a breath of space between them. she leaned up and touched her nose to gorseberry's, inhaling his scent before backing off again with a quiet huff of laughter. "of course, he probably could have told you that for yourself if you weren't spending half of your time in groveclan with dusklight." when autumnpaw spoke, however, there was no judgement or sourness in her tone. if anything, she sounded amused, and gorseberry smiled once more at the sound of his mate's name. even still, he wasn't yet prepared to give her the satisfaction and bent his head to nip playfully at her ear, earning a swat in turn.
indent"what i'm doing in groveclan isn't your business. if you stop being annoying, maybe next time i'll bring you along so you can see mousestone again." autumnpaw paused at that, and gorseberry grinned. of course he had noticed how much autumnpaw had come to like having the groveclan and hazeclan cats in the quickclan camp, even if she said that more than one of them had walked into her - dusklight included, she had been sure to point out - and gorseberry saw that she was especially fond of dusklight and mousestone. for the final few days of their stay, she had become like a shadow to mousestone, more than pleased to know that mousestone was half-blind, could fight, and was a skilled medicine cat; clearly autumnpaw admired mousestone for that. "anyway," gorseberry said at last, shuffling his way through the group of warriors, who moved out of his way with mumbled apologies. "what are you all up to, anyway?"
indent"waiting for nightfall so we can go train," flintpaw said without missing a beat. at first, when cyanstar, tallpeak, and nightfall came to the medicine cats to ask if flintpaw should take up his warrior training again, gorseberry had been, admittedly, hesitant. the past moons hadn't been easy on flintpaw, physical injury aside. for moons he woke up with nightmares, and at other times gorseberry worried that he was too reclusive, blocking out even peckernose on more than one occasion. but it was ultimately decided that it was for the best to, at the very least, try and see how he handled getting back into fighting and hunting. finally, when he heard flintpaw laughing with ravengaze and peckernose - a very welcome sound from a tom who had once always been so energetic and cheerful - gorseberry concluded that it had been the right choice. "ravengaze said he has a few moves he wants to try out, and marshstripe wanted to see him fail to catch me off guard again," flintpaw continued with another laugh, ducked out of the way when ravengaze made to swipe gently at him. the group erupted into laughter at ravengaze's annoyed growl.
indent"actually," autumnpaw cut in, following gorseberry when he picked up his herbs and moved towards the stores in the back of the den. "i was thinking that i could go with them. i mean, i know the rogues are gone, but it wouldn't hurt to try and learn something. and ravengaze and nightfall have been getting really good at helping flintpaw, maybe i could learn something too, and -"
indent"autumnpaw," gorseberry broke in when he set the herbs down, quieting his apprentice. "it's a good idea. you should go, just be careful, alright? and don't forget the rules."
indentautumnpaw' grin was bright, infinitely so, and she pressed her face into gorseberry's chest. "i know. don't tell alpinemask."
indent"that's right," gorseberry said, and their laughs mingled, nearly managing to drown out the sounds of nightfall's arrival from the entrance of the den. "go on then," he urged, nosing her back towards her friends and smiling as she went.
indentthe training had been difficult in the beginning, but over time flintpaw thought that he might be handling it all better. navigating was likely always going to be a bit of a challenge, and he accepted that it would always be easier if he had someone to help guide him. the training hollow, however, would always be imprinted in flintpaw's memory, the ground worn down from numerous paws, smooth and trustworthy under his paws. flintpaw had always found comfort in the hollow, in training until he was exhausted and his muscles burned from exertion. after several moons of recovery, he found that it took some time to get back into his training, and his body ached for several days following his first sessions with nightfall and peckernose. in the beginning, he got frustrated often and wanted to give up time and time again, but his mentor and brother were persistent, reaffirming that flintpaw had wanted this, had begged for it, and now that he had the chance to train again and show that he could still be a warrior, this was his chance to prove himself. so he worked hard, harder, and even harder.
indentravengaze. ravengaze was a good addition to the training. he was faster than peckernose, more agile than nightfall, and stronger than flintpaw had been before his injury. the former-jaggedclan warrior had mentioned once that one of the medicine cats from his old clan had been blind. when he saw the group leaving for the training hollow, he had asked if he could come along, to see if he might be able to pick something up from the warriors. as the days passed, ravengaze moved from an observer to a participant. he turned from a stranger to a friend, and flintpaw was happy that he was there.
indentacross the hollow, nightfall and marshstripe were talking to autumnpaw, going over the basics of fighting with the young molly. peckernose and ravengaze had stayed with flintpaw, to help him in his day's battle training. it was easy to pick out and distinguish their steps from one another: peckernose's twisted leg lent itself to an uneven limp, a far cry from ravengaze's lighter and quicker stride that crossed more ground. his new friend and brother circled flintpaw likely passing signals back and forth for their next moves through silent gestures and looks that flintpaw couldn't see. instead, he tensed his muscles and anticipated.
indentpeckernose came at him first from the left, his speed unhindered since he had learned how to manage his twisted leg. flintpaw knew that peckernose's forelegs had grown stronger over the moons, learned from one too many times being bowled over by his brother who used to be all spindly legs and fur. his muscles had hardened, and flintpaw knew better than to try and outmatch him. instead, he fainted right, aware that ravengaze was likely waiting for him there, and he didn't pause long enough to let either attacker come at him. he dropped down instead, taking in the sounds of peckernose's paws scrape against the ground, felt ravengaze's breath on his hindquarters. another gesture likely passed between them, but flintpaw didn't wait for them to make the first move this time, opting to go on the offensive and kick back towards where he judged ravengaze might be. sure enough, his paw made contact with soft fur and ravengaze grunted, only for flintpaw to have his forepaws hooked out from under him when peckernose swept forward. flintpaw's chin hit the ground and his teeth rattled, but flintpaw wasn't yet ready to give in. he twisted instead, not giving peckernose the chance to grab him. a shift in the air told him where ravengaze was, and peckernose's scent came from the opposite side. between his brother and ravengaze, flintpaw let out a frustrated growl before bunching his muscles and jumping at ravengaze. many times before, he misjudged the distance, but this time he was pleased to feel ravengaze under his paws, and they rolled together. flintpaw cuffed his friend's ear, ravengaze nipped at his shoulder, locked together. at last, they fell apart, gasping for air, and then ravengaze laughed, so carefree and happy that flintpaw laughed too. the weight that had been carried on his shoulders for so many moons seemed to have fallen away in that moment, replaced by the pleasant burn in his muscles, the dust surely clinging in his fur, and ravengaze laughing beside him.
indent"that was good, flintpaw," nightfall's voice reached them, and flintpaw rolled over onto his stomach to stand and meet his mentor. nightfall's tongue rasped over his ear, and flintpaw ducked his head to hide his grin. "we should talk to tallpeak, see if we can set up an assessment for you. you're getting better every day. and you've been an apprentice for too long." his joy grew.
indentbluesky's paw pads felt rubbed raw from walking across the moorland, his eyelids heavy from sleepless nights, and his stomach was wrapped with hunger pains, but the quickclan leader's den was warm, a welcome break from the wind that had whipped at his fur during their journey. in the falling night, it had been hard to see much of the quickclan camp, but bluesky had been able to see a number of silhouettes emerge from the shadows, dappled in moonlight, as he had been led down a stretching path, down, down, down from the moorland. the handsome ginger tabby tom who found the dewclan refugees had worn a nice smile, his voice welcoming, as he gathered them into is patrol and taken them to the quickclan camp. quickclan. it wasn't a name that bluesky recognized, but he was too weary to continue on any further, and his companions seemed to be of the same spirit. so they had followed the patrol, let themselves be led across the final stretch of open moor and down into the camp to meet this leader on the moor.
indentcyanstar had been just as welcoming when the ginger tom - falconflight, as he introduced himself - brought bluesky to him. bluesky did most of the talking, sunnyheart and birchface too tired, too out of their element in that moment, to do much other than interject soft words when asked directly to do so, and lean against one another. after bluesky told of their misfortune, how dewclan had broken apart and left them stranded, cyanstar had sat back on his haunches and conferred with the molly who sat at his shoulder. falconflight had disappeared early into the meeting, though bluesky heard his whisper to cyanstar that he would return after cyanstar had finished with bluesky and his group. "please," bluesky had heard himself say at one point, his voice scratchy in his throat, his eyelids drooping despite his best efforts to fight sleep. "we just... we can't travel any longer. please help us." begging: it wasn't something that bluesky wanted to do, but he looked at birchface and sunnyheart and knew that they had no choice. they wouldn't make it out there on their own much longer before the weather turned, prey, disappeared, and one of them fell ill. or worse. bluesky had trained hard to learn everything about medicine, he knew that it was only a matter of time that one of them gave out from lack of food and sleep, too much pressure put on the body without respite. they needed cyanstar's help.
indentand cyanstar must have seen this desperation in his eyes, for he blinked warmly at the trio. "quickclan is a clan made of refugees. we have prey to go around and warm nests to sleep in, medicine cats who can tend to you. you are, of course, welcome here," cyanstar said, but bluesky anticipated the but that was waiting suspended in the air before cyanstar drew in a deep breath through his nose. "but i'm afraid our medicine cats' den is full. we have two full medicine cats and an apprentice," even in the dark of the den, bluesky could tell that cyanstar's eyes were shockingly blue, not much unlike his own. "we could always use more warriors to help around..." cyanstar added, nodding politely to birchface and sunnyheart, the former of whom straightened and squared his shoulders.
indentbluesky didn't hesitate. "then take them in, please, they are strong warriors who will be a great asset to your clan -" bluesky began, only to hiss low in his throat when birchface cut in, sunnyheart speaking over him as well.
indent"we've gone this far, we're not splitting up now -"
indent"bluesky, don't say that, we're in this together -"
indent"enough," bluesky hissed, turning his head to send a sharp glare in their direction. sunnyheart slumped against birchface's shoulder, who merely shook his head, eyes hot and indignant. "my brother and his mate are good warriors. if quickclan would take them, i would be very grateful," he said, this time to cyanstar, who blinked at bluesky with those wide blue eyes.
indentthere was a pause, in which cyanstar turned again to his deputy, and they exchanged a silent glance before cyanstar returned his attention to bluesky. the laugh that the lithe leader let out was decidedly unexpected. "bluesky, we do not expect you to separate from your family. you are very welcome here as well. like i said, we don't have use for another full medicine cat, but perhaps we can find another place for you," cyanstar said, flicking his ear at the molly, who spoke in turn.
indent"we could always use more paws on the ground for hunting and patrolling," she said, brown eyes inviting and searching, only to widen slightly when bluesky sighed and shook his head.
indent"like i said, i'm not a warrior..." bluesky trailed off.
indent"would you consider becoming one?" cyanstar said, tone so genuine that it gave bluesky pause and the leader continued, "we have warriors from many different walks of life, and there is no standard for what it means to be a quickclan warrior. we can help train you, and you can be a warrior here, if you'd like that." at bluesky's side, birchface shifted again, this time his head tipped to one side, as if silently trying to find some hidden motive in cyanstar's words. it seemed almost too good to be true after they had run across the lowest of lows. cyanstar must have interpreted the beat of silence as reservation, for he added on quickly, "you don't have to give an answer now. falconflight said that you must have been traveling for some time and you must be hungry. please, take the night to eat and rest, and we can talk more tomorrow. i can introduce you to oakseed and you can decide on your own time." cyanstar stood then, and the others followed suit, bluesky once again aware of how numb his paws felt, how tired he felt. "tallpeak will show you to a place to sleep for the night. rest well, and welcome to quickclan."
indentthey found her where she waited for them. she didn't recognize the faces, but she didn't need to know who they were to know what they had done. it didn't matter: they would all pay by the time she was done with them, after all. she saw the leader, his deputy. she saw the camp, just as graham and nolan had described it to her after the successful attack. she pretended to be curious, pretended to be excited for this new home, this oasis in the middle of the windy moor. they answered her questions about living in their clan, and she took it all in. it was easy to play the part.
indentadmittedly, she almost slipped up when they asked for her name. the truth was heavy on her tongue. my name is layla. but she lied. she prepared for this, after all. "lilacshadow," she had said, then going on to tell about the clan she once lived in. how it had been wrongfully attacked, how she had struggled to escape. they offered their condolences. it occurred to her that one of them might recognize her from the barn, might somehow see through the act and catch any lasting scent of their enemies on her, but none did. nolan had always insisted that she stay out of the fighting, that she stick towards the back, especially after she told him that she was expecting his kits. he had been so excited, wasn't willing to risk her life or the lives of their unborn kits.
indentit was during the tour that she found her, while the warrior had been showing her around the camp. brackenrose was a lovely tour guide, layla decided after they parted for the evening. she was a quiet cat, but sweet. or, as sweet as might be expected given that she had played a role in stripping layla of everyone she had ever loved or cared about. "this is the elder's den," brackenrose had said, and layla felt her paws itch eagerly. miranda wasn't alone, but appeared to be in the middle of telling a story, surrounded by younger cats who listened intently and clung to each individual syllable. layla hated her, hated all of them.
indentlayla basked in the moment when miranda looked up. at her ear, brackenrose was talking about how miranda was currently the only quickclan elder, how she was always helping out in the nursery and telling stories to the kits and young apprentices. but layla held miranda's gaze, and felt a curl of pleasure in the flash of fear that stretched across the old molly's mouth. she was the only cat who knew the truth, and she knew what layla was capable of. she knew what lilacshadow had come to do. but, there were no words exchanged between them, as brackenrose began to lead back out towards the camp and miranda had to finish her story for the waiting kits. so lilacshadow merely offered a curt nod of her head and followed her sweet tour guide away to see what else quickclan had to offer her for the taking.
→ actions
added cats oleanderkit and flowerskip (x), aged up with permission to match ploverpaw; bluesky, birchface, and sunnyheart x
consumption quickclan eats five hares and a mouse
kitting sagetuft is kitting, the father is tumblepounce of steamclan. sagetuft is given x1 lavender
rank changes flintpaw, dovepaw, and plumpaw are ready to take their assessments. if they pass, they will be named flintspark, dovewish, and plumblossom
hunting sparrowcall, chanterellestep, marshstripe, hollyfur, rainypath, and patchwing
tallpeak, flurrywind, marshstripe, dartersplash, bouldertooth, and canaryleap
eagleheart, thistlestrike, kindleflare, cardinalheart, fleetingmoon, and fluffytuft
oakseed, loonlight, acorntail, minnowjump, mulestomp, and sproutclaw
border patrols nightfall, swiftscreech, ravengaze, owletcry, webtail, and grassthorn
blizzardrush, oriolefeather, peckernose, rowanfoot, roselight, and hollowfang
training valleypaw, kestrelpaw, frogpaw, rootpaw, hootpaw, and branchpaw learn swimming
ploverpaw, pinepaw, crakepaw, charredpaw, and lagoonpaw learn fighting
herb hunting gorseberry and autumnpaw look for herbs
medicine cats hickorypatch's wounds are treated with x1 cobweb and x1 chervil
notes i'd prefer if no cats die on patrols, though injuries are fine, thank you! xx
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LEADER ⎯⎯
cyanstar, 45m, ♂
→ 8 lives remaining
DEPUTY ⎯⎯
tallpeak, 57m, ♀
MEDICINE CATS ⎯⎯
alpinemask, 50m, ♂ - 6sp
gorseberry, 31m, ♂ - 6sp
MEDICINE APP. ⎯⎯
autumnpaw, 13m, ♀
→ blind
WARRIORS ⎯⎯
sparrowcall, 80m, ♂
snakespots, 62m, ♂
sweetecho, 54m, ♀
blizzardrush, 52m, ♀
brackenrose, 51m, ♀
falconflight, 50m, ♂
flurrywind, 50m, ♂
flowerskip, 50m, ♀
splashfall, 49m, ♂
hickorypatch, 49m, ♀
aspenwish, 48m, ♀
xx
WARRIORS CONT. ⎯⎯
nightfall, 47m, ♂
hollyfur, 43m, ♀
eagleheart, 43m, ♂
thistlestrike, 43m, ♀
kindleflare, 42m, ♀
fluffytuft, 40m, ♂
oakseed, 38m, ♂
duneserpent, 37m, ♂
loonlight, 36m, ♀
bluesky, 36m, ♂
patchwing, 33m, ♀
pearsblossom, 33m, ♀
treespirit, 32m, ♂
berrypad, 31m, ♀
whitesnow, 31m, ♀
flamestrike, 31m, ♂
alderpatch, 31m, nb
brightcreek, 30m, ♀
acorntail, 28m, ♀
minnowjump, 27m, ♂
mulestomp, 27m, ♂
canaryleap, 27m, ♂
chanterellestep, 26m, ♂
swiftscreech, 25m, ♀
twiteflight, 23m, ♀
birchface, 22m, ♂
xx
WARRIORS CONT. ⎯⎯
sproutclaw, 22m, ♂
mintstem, 22m, ♀
cherrydawn, 22m, ♀
ravengaze, 21m, ♂
grassthorn, 20m, ♀
oriolefeather, 20m, ♂
peckernose, 20m, ♂
→ limp
rowanfoot, 18m, ♂
roselight, 18m, ♂
sunnyheart, 18m, ♂
hollowfang, 17m, ♂
marshstripe, 17m, ♀
dartersplash, 17m, ♂
cardinalheart, 16m, ♂
fleetingmoon, 16m, ♂
owletcry, 16m, ♀
webtail, 16m, ♂
rainypath, 16m, ♀
bouldertooth, 15m, ♂
daffodilstem, 14m, ♀
finchthroat, 14m, ♀
cricketchirp, 14m, ♂
dandelionspring, 14m, ♀
tinselstorm, 12m, ♀
magpiesong, 12m, ♂
xx
APPRENTICES ⎯⎯
flintpaw, 20m, ♂
→ blind
dovepaw, 14m, ♀
plumpaw, 13m, ♂
thunderpaw, 11m, ♂
valleypaw, 10m, ♀
kestrelpaw, 10m, ♀
frogpaw, 11m, ♂
rootpaw, 10m, ♂
hootpaw, 10m, ♀
branchpaw, 10m, ♀
ploverpaw, 9m, ♀
oleanderpaw, 9m, ♂
pinepaw, 8m, ♀
crakepaw, 8m, ♂
charredpaw, 8m, ♀
lagoonpaw, 8m, ♂
xx
QUEENS & KITS ⎯⎯
willowfrost, 64m, ♀
→ due in 1m
honeyflower, 55m, ♀
→ vermilionkit, 3m, ♂
lilacshadow, 46m, ♀
→ due in 2m
hawkrise, 33m, ♀
→ waspkit, 1m, ♂
→ copperkit, 1m, ♂
→ chaserkit, 1m, ♂
→ accentorkit, 1m, ♀
→ sedgekit, 1m, ♀
sagetuft, 24m, ♀
→ expecting now
heronkit, 5m, ♂
scorpionkit, 5m, ♂
starlingkit, 2m, ♂
smokekit, 2m, ♀
ELDERS ⎯⎯
miranda, 114m, ♀ ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
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MENTORS ⎯⎯
gorseberry, autumnpaw, 4
nightfall, flintpaw, 4
pearsblossom, dovepaw, 4
cyanstar, plumpaw, 4
brightcreek, valleypaw, 3
twiteflight, kestrelpaw, 3
falconflight, frogpaw, 3
berrypad, rootpaw, 3
whitesnow, hootpaw, 3
flamestrike, branchpaw, 3
canaryleap, thunderpaw, 4
duneserpent, ploverpaw, 2
snakespots, oleanderpaw, 0
sproutclaw, pinepaw, 1
cherrydawn, crakepaw, 1
xx
MENTORS CONT. ⎯⎯
splashfall, charredpaw, 1
mintstem, lagoonpaw, 1
xx
MEDICINE ⎯⎯
xx
DECEASED ⎯⎯
xx
FAMILY TREES ⎯⎯
xx xx
PREY PILE ⎯⎯
minnow, x20, 1 serving
mouse, x13, 1 servings
rabbit, x12, 2 servings
small fish, x12, 2 servings
squirrel, x13, 2 servings
hare, x10, 3 servings
big fish, x10, 3 servings
bird, x12, 3 servings
total: 203 servings
xx
ALLIES ⎯⎯
hazeclan, nightwolf950
groveclan, solyn
ENEMIES ⎯⎯
n/a
BORDERS ⎯⎯
north, hazeclan, nightwolf950
north-east, n/a, n/a
north-west, n/a, n/a
east, n/a, n/a
west, quartzclan, miles morales
south, n/a, n/a
south-east, n/a, n/a
south-west, swiftclan, phina d wolf
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