♂ 20
♀ 14
total 34
servings 6
pebbles 20
xx
________________
________________xx
gods anytime
kitting n/a
injury none
den decay 4m
archive here
paragraphtawnyrose was lying in her nest in the temporary camp when softglow poked his head inside to find her. even at his entrance, the queen kept her eyes shut, opening them only when the king called out to her. "tawnyrose," he said, "the clan's ready to go, we're just waiting for you." with that, softglow dipped his head and disappeared back outside, leaving tawnyrose to gathering her thoughts on her own. from outside, she could hear the muffled voices of her clan, excited to return to their rightful home. with spring always came the flooding, when the snows melted from the mountains, filling the streams and rivers beyond their banks could hold until, at last, the waters swept through camp. the very thought of the yearly flood made tawnyrose freeze, recalling the memory of when her entire family was wiped out by the flooding. the highgarden she'd known as a kit, lost forever.
paragraphwhich was why she was particularly careful when it came to the recent seasons, constantly waiting for the first signs of the thaw so that she could get highgarden to the temporary camp, where they would be spared such an awful fate. "we're still alive," tawnyrose heard herself say aloud, reassuring her before she rose to her paws and shook out her fur. highgarden survived and would have moons of warmth and prosperity ahead of them to enjoy spring and summer; if nothing else, it was a cause for celebration, and tawnyrose knew precisely the way to honor the seven gods that cared for highgarden so dearly. but first, it was time to go home.
paragraphjust as softglow told her, the clan was waiting, gathered together in the clearing. she spotted tulipsteam and bassflow with their three kits, maplelily, sunglow, and smokeman nearby to help them take the kits back to the main camp. likewise, it appeared that merlinsong had gathered several thorns along with spencer to help carry his supplies, and softglow was speaking to him, likely asking if he needed any further help. before tawnyrose even had the chance to wonder where bluetcrest was, her attendant was at her side, and she shot him a sideways glance. together, they weaved through the clan to assess if there was any last-minute delay. "i sent swiftheart and dippernose to scout ahead, just to check to make sure that our journey would be safe," bluetcrest was saying, and tawnyrose nodded along with his words. "with tulipstream's kits, i didn't want to take any chances, and they're two of the fastest cats we have."
paragraph"that was a good idea, thank you," tawnyrose said, continuing to assess the crowd. "i want the thorns traveling in the middle with tulipsteam and merlinsong, and whoever else is assisting them," she said after a moment before nodding to mapleshadow, who was chatting with flickersky betonypetal. "have mapleshadow travel on the left flank, then hurricanejaw on the right. birchflame and clovershine'll take the back of the patrol." with that, she looked back to bluetcrest, who dipped his head diligently and made to turn away to tell those cats their instructions, but tawnyrose halted him. she hesitated, but lowered her voice, and bluetcrest leaned closer, "any news about him?" she asked, and bluetcrest was quick to shake his head. beyond the attendant's shoulder, tawnyrose could see erasmus among the other knights, not speaking as a part of them, but standing close enough to be associated with them. while it was clear that he was not able to yet integrate himself as one of the members in the same way that merlinsong seemed to welcome spencer and the roses had taken in sagecloud as one of their own, erasmus understood where he was supposed to fit into the hierarchy.
paragraph"no," bluetcrest said, keeping his tone quiet as well. "he's been keeping himself in line, it seems. he's gone to the herbalist den often, but i'm assuming that it's for spencer. otherwise he sticks to himself. goes on patrol, does whatever he's instructed." at that, tawnyrose flicked her tail dismissively, and bluetcrest turned on his heels, calling out to mapleshadow, birchflame, clovershine, and hurricanejaw, who were quick to assemble around the queen's attendant.
paragraphat last, it was time to leave, and tawnyrose turned to address her clan. the chatter faded out until the cats were silent, and tawnyrose tilted her chin up towards the sun when she finally commanded their attention. "cats of highgarden, today is a good day. thanks to the mother, we have survived the spring floods and may return to our rightful camp in the valley of the roses," she announced, pacing slowly from her place at the front of the patrol. to one side, softglow and bluetcrest were seated. for a long heartbeat, the clans remained in silence until a shout of joy went up from the middle of the group, and tawnyrose recognized hornetpaw's voice, followed by dippernose's chastisement, though the knight's words were lost under the chorus that joined hornetpaw. tawnyrose smiled and nodded in hornetpaw's direction. "we're going home," she stated simply. then, louder to be heard above her clan, "in honor of the mother and the gods that have graced us with our lives, i have decided to reinstate the spring tournament, where the knights will give a display of their strengths to give thanks to the mother and the warrior. in five days' time, we will honor our gods. for now, we stand together and reclaim our home." chatter rose again from behind tawnyrose, and the queen turned with a wave of her tail. with her king and her attendant at her sides, tawnyrose led highgarden back into the valley where their camp was waiting for them.
paragraphin the days that followed leading up to tawnyrose's spring tournament, the entire clan was abuzz with wonder and excitement, ready to take a break from the usual monotony of patrols and training. following the announcement, tawnyrose explained the spring tournament to her clan: the custom had been started seasons earlier, far back before she could remember, far before her parents could recall, she was sure. each spring, as a testament to another spring the clan had survived, the clan was to gather together to give thanks to the gods for allowing them sanctuary from the floods that threatened to sweep them away. to do so, the knights would engage in a fight without their claws, meant to showcase their strength for the queen. the knight who won would have the chance to lead patrols and choose his next thorn at his discretion. it was the type of reward that had several of the knights flexing their muscles, preparing themselves to show off.
paragraph"it's not fair," hornetpaw complained, not for the first time since the announcement. he was lying on his back in the grass outside of the thorns' den. iguanapaw was finishing her meal, sharing with warblerpaw, and tigergaze had joined them for the evening. ever since warblerpaw came to hornetpaw that one afternoon in the secondary camp, hornetpaw had been doing his best to invite her along whenever he was going somewhere. would she like to walk with him to the training hollow? had she eaten already and would she like to eat with him? and so on. for his own part, hornetpaw came to enjoy her company and dared to invite the other thorns, though the siblings kept close together and only accepted the invitations sparingly. in the moment, none of hornetpaw's friends seemed to have too much sympathy for him. "i should be allowed to fight," hornetpaw continued, swiping at the air above him, only to let out an indignant squeak when tigergaze jabbed a paw into his stomach.
paragraph"you're not a knight," iguanapaw pointed out dully, and warblerpaw laughed quietly.
paragraph"you guys are supposed to be my friends," hornetpaw huffed, aiming his next swipe at tigergaze, though his friend batted his paw away easily. with another sigh, hornetpaw rolled over so that he was on his stomach instead. "friends are supposed to be sympathetic and back me up and everything," hornetpaw pressed, though iguanapaw shot him a withering glance from over the finch. "besides," hornetpaw continued to argue, not yet deterred, "i'm old enough to be a knight, so that alone should be grounds enough to fight. i'm almost as big as tigergaze and i'm faster than sunglow."
paragraphthough iguanapaw and warblerpaw shared a knowing glance, tigergaze had the grace to shrug. "have you talked to dippernose about it?" he asked, flicking his tail when hornetpaw nodded dejectedly.
paragraph"maybe you just need to accept it," iguanapaw said with a shrug of her own. "it wasn't like your training started all that great," she pointed out, seemingly more interested in her meal than hornetpaw in the moment, and she returned to plucking a feather soon after speaking.
paragraph"please, do we really need to bring it up every time? so i got distracted a lot in the beginning, so what? i'm fine now. i can swim, i can hunt, and i can fight," hornetpaw replied with a bit of bite to his tone, one that pulled a question from warblerpaw:
paragraph"wait, i'm confused, what happened?" she asked, looking between her new friends. hornetpaw refused to meet her eyes, iguanapaw bit on a bone, leaving tigergaze to clear his throat.
paragraph"hornetpaw almost drowned in rose lake during one of his first training sessions. and he was fine -"
paragraph"thanks to a groveclan apprentice," iguanapaw cut in at last, only to swipe her tongue over her whiskers when hornetpaw shot her a look, hurt visible in his glance. she mustered an apologetic smile and stood to cross over to hornetpaw. at first, the older tom turned his head away from iguanapaw, though she pressed into his side. she caught warblerpaw's eye, who was looking on with wonder, but iguanapaw blinked slowly at her, hoping that she understood that it was a touchy subject, not to be spoken about so flippantly. iguanapaw herself made the slip. "i'm sorry," she murmured quietly, only to feel hornetpaw's muscles relax under her touch, and he turned back to her. "anyway, training is always rough in the beginning. and you're right, you're better now. but, come on, there'll be next spring. if tawnyrose is having a tournament now, there will definitely be more," she said, looking to her friends for further help.
paragraph"definitely. and then you'll have an even better chance since you'll have even more experience," warblerpaw added. she pushed aside the remains of the finch to join her friends, the group completed when tigergaze moved closer and nosed hornetpaw's shoulder.
paragraph"and just think about it, it's scary thinking about what i'm going to have to do in a few days, have you even seen how big some of the other knights are?" tigergaze said, wrinkling nose.
paragraphat that, hornetpaw let out a loud laugh, lighting up at the chance to poke fun at his friend. "gods, you're right. i wouldn't want in yet. even without claws, erasmus'll tear you apart," he said, and iguanapaw and warblerpaw were quick to join in.
paragraph"have you even seen hurricanejaw? isn't that what they say, that the quiet ones are always deadly?"
paragraph"he's my mentor and i can tell you that you don't stand a chance," iguanapaw confirmed with a nod, "and birchflame? he's not as big as erasmus, but he's strong enough."
paragraphthe pair went back and forth, discussing the different knights. how clovershine wasn't as muscluar as birchflame, but his eyes shifted a lot, so he must be faster than any of them knew. how bassflow and newtmask were bigger and stronger than tigergaze, surely. hornetpaw watched tigergaze's expression and caught when he winced. while the mollies giggled and rambled on, hornetpaw bumped his shoulder against tigergaze's. "you'll be fine. i wouldn't expect to win, but, that's the point. that why tawnyrose won't let anyone use their claws. when you get tired, you just stop. you'll be fine," hornetpaw assured, though tigergaze's expression only relaxed slightly.
paragraphthe training hollow was filled with the thorns and their mentors. though the thorns were unable to participate in the tournament, the knights had taken it upon themselves to have the younger thorns engage a small tournament of their own. dippernose had opted out with hornetpaw, saying that it would be better to have hornetpaw prepare for his upcoming assessment over playing at a tournament. the rest of the mentors were sitting around the perimeter of the hollow, hurricanejaw commanding the thorns and reminding them of the rules. they were merely sparring and trying to show off their strength, not trying to actually fight one another. from across the hollow, birchflame met clovershine's eyes, and the white tom flicked his ear silently, acknowledging that he understood that birchflame wanted to speak to him. clovershine leaned over to newtmask who was sitting beside him. newtmask nodded and clovershine padded away, having momentarily excused himself.
paragraphbirchflame, in turn, waited until hurricanejaw had finished running through the rules of the tournament and the thorns had begun before he looked to obsidianwing. the younger knight was watching the proceedings, his eyes tracking warblerpaw's form as she tussled with cougarpaw in a whirl of fur and lashing tails. "hey, would you mind looking at foxpaw? i'll just be a minute, i'll be right back," birchflame said, and obsidianwing blinked at him in surprise, clearly distracted, before he nodded and birchflame ducked away.
paragraphclovershine wasn't waiting far off, but he stood and loped towards birchflame. "i told newtmask i was having a stomach ache and needed to walk it off," clovershine said, and birchflame stifled a laugh.
paragraph"did you pick the most obvious excuse you could think of?" he teased, returning clovershine's lopsided smile. before his friend could say anything further, birchflame gestured for them to move away from the hollow, not wanting any of the others to see them standing and talking so openly. "come on, i need to tell you the plans for the tournament."
paragraph"the tournament?" clovershine parroted back, clearly surprised and not expecting it to be what birchflame wanted to speak about. birchflame shot him a sideways glance and clovershine winced, realizing that his voice had been raised. he bounded after birchflame, speaking when they were a safer distance from the training hollow. "what about the tournament?"
paragraphat last, birchflame rounded on clovershine, facing him when he spoke. "i need to win it, that's what," he said bluntly, and clovershine's eyes widened.
paragraph"are you crazy? erasmus is huge and comes from a rough clan. no offense, but i don't think anyone can beat him." when clovershine dared to speak the smoky tom's name aloud, he twisted around to scan their surroundings.
paragraphbirchflame rolled his eyes. "and we're from azgeda, or have you forgotten?" birchflame countered, to which clovershine scoffed and swished his tail. "exactly my point. we aren't so easy to mess with. we were trained by some of the best, we fought alongside some of the best, we are some of the best. scared of erasmus? i'm not. he's just big, but that doesn't mean anything." as he spoke, birchflame could see clovershine's eyes light up, his shoulders straightening as he gained confidence.
paragraph"right, so we'll team up, then," clovershine deduced, and birchflame nodded his agreement. "but what's the point? the tournament is just for the gods or whatever, what's the point of winning?" he asked then, and birchflame hummed softly.
paragraph"it's more than that, even if it's not official. it's to show the queen that you're strong. a queen must like strength. she has softglow, sure, but tawnyrose can see me - us, you too - as valuable. and the closer we are to her, the less she'll be to ask questions. she'll trust us. and we'll have power in the clan: influence, sway, she'll pick us to train more thorns. it's our way of ensuring that we live comfortably here for a long time, clovershine. help me win and we'll have this clan eating out of our paws."
paragraphobsidianwing watched warblerpaw dash ahead of him and the other mentors with the rest of the thorns following the impromptu thorn-tournament held in the training hollow. it had been a long spar, and obsidianwing himself had been surprised when iguanapaw came out on top as the winner of the group. even more surprising was the way the thorns all still found the energy to race one another back to camp, and bassflow had been the one to scoff as he watched them go, "i don't think i ever had the type of spunk. not even when i was that young," the older knight commented, though there was only amusement lining his tone, and hurricanejaw pulled a laugh from him when he replied:
paragraph"the way you talk, anyone would think you're an elder, turning into dirt before our very eyes," hurricanejaw said in a nonchalant tone that pulled a laugh from group, so much so that even newtmask cracked a smile.
paragraph"and you're even older than me. so what does that make you?" bassflow attempted to tease back, though hurricanejaw rolled his eyes.
paragraph"young at heart, i'd say. though iguanapaw would probably say that i'm ancient." hurricanejaw spoke in the same casual monotone, though obsidianwing joined the others in their laughter. it felt good, he reflected, to be a part of a group in this way. even when he'd been in basinclan, obsidianwing hadn't felt as if he was a real member. he didn't feel connected to any of the other cats, didn't feel like he really belonged. but there was a fullness that came to him while he was there, laughing between hurricanejaw and birchflame as the group of mentors waited their turn to go through thorny tunnel that fed into highgarden's camp.
paragraphbefore he had even managed to recover from his bout of laughter, he heard his name called from across the camp, and he found himself looking to smokemane, who waved him over. for a moment, obsidianwing almost wasn't sure if she was actually speaking to him, and he dared a glance over his shoulder to see that he was the only one standing there. that smokemane was most definitely addressing him and saw him look around for anyone else named obsidianwing.
paragraphhis fur warm, obsidianwing padded over to the pretty molly, who was busy grooming her long gray and white fur. "hey," he managed to say, keeping his voice even, "what's up?" he continued, mentally praising himself for not managing to embarrass himself any further yet.
paragraphfortunately, smokemane was kind enough not to comment on his actions and instead nodded to the space in front of her. "hi, care to sit for a minute? you must be tired after training thorns all day. and you should rest up, you know?" she said, letting out a breezy laugh, only to pause when obsidianwing must have appeared confused. "the tournament?" she filled in, brow furrowed slightly, "it's in, like, two days."
paragraph"right!" obsidianwing said as she spoke, quickly seating himself in front of smokemane. "right, of course, i didn't forget i'm just... i don't know, not as excited for it as some of the other knights are?" he said, questioning his own statement, even more so when smokemane tipped her head to one side. "i mean, i am excited, i am, i really am," he tried again, clearing his throat awkwardly, "but, like dippernose keeps talking about the different moves he's going to show off, and birchflame seems really intense about it. i'm just not like them, i guess." at that, smokemane's expression softened and she nodded.
paragraph"that makes sense. you're just not as competitive as they are," she said, and obsidianwing was quick to nod, taking the excuse as she laid it out for him. "i'm still looking forward to it. sunglow was saying the same things as you. he keeps saying that he'll be the first to tap himself out, like saying it now will make it easier on his ego later." she shrugged at that, then flicked her tail, "but you shouldn't worry. i was watching warblerpaw show iguanapaw some moves she said she learned from you, and they seemed really strong and quick. i'm sure you'll be great." at that, she seemed to have said what she called him over to say, and returned to grooming her chest fur. taking the cue, obsidianwing stood and began to pad away, though he paused for a heartbeat and then doubled back, blinking at her.
paragraph"are you going to be cheering someone on?" he asked, to which she squinted up at him, questioning. "i heard maplelily telling bassflow that she would be cheering for him since they're littermates. and warblerpaw and iguanapaw are cheering tigergaze on, since they're friends and he's the youngest. but... will you be?"
paragraph"oh, yeah," smokemane said, and her smile was gentle. "sunglow or newtmask, i guess," she said, quickly adding, "because sunglow's my brother and newtmask's my father. but if not for them, then i would be cheering for you." her words were so genuine, so sincere, that obsidianwing felt like he was walking on air when he turned away.
paragraphas the sun was setting over the highgarden camp, hurricanejaw settled in to groom his fur before he would be heading into his nest earlier. it was just as he was working a burr from his fur that a shadow fell over him, and hurricanejaw looked up at newtmask. the gray tom stood there for a moment, his eyes flicking back and forth before he cleared his throat. "can we talk for a minute?" he asked, and hurricanejaw nodded, unsure what he could possibly say in the moment. instead, he waited for newtmask to speak, which he did in his own time. "i just felt that we should clear the air between us. if there were any hard feelings, i'd like to stop them from continuing."
paragraphfor another moment, hurricanejaw could only blink at newtmask, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. since hurricanejaw brought maplelily and her family to highgarden, hurricanejaw simply assumed that he and newtmask would interact only when push came to shove. though hurricanejaw was fine when it came to speaking with bassflow, maplelily herself, his kits, and even newtmask's kits, it was newtmask who proved to be the biggest unknown. not that hurricanejaw would blame him for the circumstances - newtmask had been maplelily's mate first. had their roles been revered, hurricanejaw would be bitter too. "i don't hold any ill will towards you," he stated truthfully, and newtmask nodded, still silent. hurricanejaw blinked at him again. "and i hope that you don't dislike me."
paragraph"i did," newtmask said at last, "i disliked you for a while. when maplelily had your kits. i was upset. i disliked you until i met you and saw that you weren't this evil unknown. you're not bad. gods, i doubt you even knew," newtmask said, and hurricanejaw shook his head with a weary smile. "like i thought," newtmask sighed, breathing out a short chuckle. "it'd be easier if i did hate you, if you weren't nice and funny. i wish you were rude and obnoxious," he said, earning a snort from hurricanejaw.
paragraph"no offense, but i'm glad that i'm not," hurricanejaw said in reply, and newtmask laughed again, this time a little louder.
paragraph"so am i, really." there was a long moment of silence between them before newtmask dropped his gaze to his paws. "i still love her, but i don't think that she's loved me in a long time."
paragraphhurricanejaw offered the other knight a sympathetic smile. "i'm sorry. if there was a way i could help, i would," he said, though newtmask merely sighed. hurricanejaw stood, deciding to leave him alone for the moment before pausing, "if it's any consolation. i don't love her anymore. and with the tournament... i don't know, it seems like a chance to get her attention, if that's really what you want." he rested his tail tip on newtmask's shoulder before walking away.
paragraphwhen the day of the spring tournament finally came, softglow awoke to the sound of tawnyrose and bluetcrest speaking excitedly just over his head. he blinked up at them, bleary, and it took him several moments to absorb words from their speech.
paragraph"- and the thorns helped clear a space large enough in the mother's grounds, just as you asked," bluetcrest was saying, only to pause and grin at softglow when the king raised his head. for as long as softglow had known bluetcrest, he consistently found himself unsettled by the attendant's smile. it was the type of smile that showed over sharp teeth and came off as predatory, even when softglow knew that bluetcrest was harmless, for the most part, and that there were far more cats with sharper teeth and a lot more reason to fear them. "there he is, good morning, ready for the big day?" bluetcrest said with that toothy smile, and tawnyrose huffed a laugh, which bluetcrest joined in.
paragraphsoftglow sighed and stood to shook out his pelt. "any news?" he asked. tawnyrose leaned to bluetcrest and whispered in his ear, then turned to exit the den, leaving softglow with bluetcrest.
paragraph"nope," bluetcrest said, popping the 'p' in the word, and softglow wondered if it did it just to annoy softglow in that moment. "everything is going according to plan. the tournament is set to begin at sunhigh, right on time."
paragraph"are all of the knights participating?" softglow asked before bluetcrest had the chance to follow tawnyrose out, and bluetcrest tipped his head to one side, eyes narrowing. clearly he understood exactly who softglow was so interested in knowing about.
paragraph"of course. such to honor the mother who protects us with her mercy," bluetcrest answered before turning on his heels. by the time softglow left his den, tawnyrose and bluetcrest were no where to be found, and asking mapleshadow who was sitting in the clearing told him that they had left to assess the set up for the tournament.
paragraphindeed, softglow concluded when the sun reached its zenith, the tournament would be an event to keep the entire clan entertained as the mothers grounds had been turned into a place worthy of the gathering. the trees and bushes were abloom with flowers, and spaces had been set aside for tawnyrose's inner circle to watch the knights, along with separate spaces for merlinsong in the case anyone was injured, the other spectators, and the great space for the knights.
paragraphthe air was charged with energy when the time came, and softglow's stomach tightened when tawnyrose addressed the knights sitting below them. on tawnyrose's other side, bluetcrest was arranged himself neatly, his tail placed over his paws and chin tipped toward the sky. tawnyrose, as well, looked the part of the noble queen with her meticulously groomed pelt. "remember, this is not to hurt or injure one another," tawnyrose was saying as softglow assessed the knights. in truth, they all looked impressive. even the younger knights such as tigergaze, obsidianwing, and sunglow looked lithe and muscled, ready to take on the likes of smallheart and newtmask. hurricanejaw's eyes were hooded, and covershine was standing shoulder to shoulder with birchflame. erasmus, however, towered over the other knights and softglow adverted his eyes quickly so that he would not make eye contact with the massive tom. "this tournament is for the mother in thanks for saving us from the flood. you may surrender at any time. and you all remember the reward. when i give the signal, you will begin." with that, tawnyrose sat and gave the knights time to orient themselves.
paragraphit was in that period of relative silence when softglow felt his mouth go dry and he remembered what he had told merlinsong the moon before when erasmus first came to their clan. what if he broke the rules and used his claws? they would surely lose several of their own before they had the chance to attack back. softglow's eyes turned to tigergaze and sunglow, who stood together and exchanged a glance as the other knights shuffled around the cleared space. they wouldn't stand a chance against erasmus. what if they had all been so wrong?
paragraphthen tawnyrose waved her tail and the tournament began.
paragraphbelow softglow, the knights erupted into battle, and his breath caught in his throat. he saw they leap at each other, pelts flashing, and his chest loosened when he realized that there was no howls of agony, no cry of pain. dippernose swatted at tigergaze, knocking him off-balance, but there was no flash of claws, and tigergaze was stunned, but otherwise fine. and, when his eyes tracked to erasmus, the massive tom gripped smallheart and tossed him aside, but he hadn't aimed to knock him into a tree or rock, and had grabbed the scruff of his neck. instead of looking to hurt the other knight, erasmus looked for where he would be fine, and smallheart landed on his paws and aimed a blow at bassflow in the next instant. erasmus hadn't tried to kill the smaller tom, and softglow released a long exhale.
paragraph"your nerves don't suit you, softglow," tawnyrose commented, and the king looked to the queen, who twitched her whiskers with amusement. "your job is to enjoy the display, not pass out from holding your breath." and, for the first time, softglow decided to listen to tawnyrose's advice. he looked into the tournament and realized that it was just what tawnyrose had promised: a display of strength of her knights. his ears pricked curiously, and he shuffled his paws. "see?" tawnyrose said, "enjoy the show." and she laughed then, though softglow realized that, perhaps for the first time, she wasn't laughing at him, she wasn't laughing to mock him, and softglow heard his own laugh mingle with the queen's.
paragraphfurther down, the roses and thorns were bunched together to cheer for the knights and, slowly, several of the knights began to escape the clearing, dipping their heads respectfully to tawnyrose, then softglow, then bluetcrest, before joining the other spectators or limp over to merlinsong, who nosed them over for any scrapes or other minor injuries. first sunglow and tigergaze, who dropped out at the same time - in what bluetcrest said must have been a planned move, and softglow was inclined to agree - then obsidianwing, smallheart, and so on. clovershine and birchflame fought together, as if a single unit, and softglow watched them, impressed. together, they batted dippernose back while hurricanejaw and erasmus were sparring across the clearing. at last, dippernose surrendered, then hurricanejaw, so that only erasmus stood against clovershine and birchflame. clovershine's sides heaved and birchflame shook dust out of his fur, though erasmus appeared unperturbed.
paragraphwith purpose, the three cats came together and softglow leaned forward as if to get a closer look. for what felt like a long time, it was a back and forth between the paired knights and erasmus. a mighty swipe of his paw would send clovershine skidding away, but the combined effort of birchflame and clovershine could send erasmus reeling and disorient him.
paragraphat last, a gasp went up from the spectators when erasmus managed to grab clovershine by his scruff in a similar way he had to smallheart. birchflame was collecting himself from where erasmus had sent him scrambling a heartbeat earlier. clovershine hit the ground and appeared to be stunned, and erasmus looked up towards tawnyrose when clovershine let his head rest against the ground, submitting, though tawnyrose said nothing. erasmus' brow furrowed until, in the same moment, birchflame exploded and rose himself from the ground, catching erasmus under his chin. erasmus stumbled back, but birchflame pursued him alone now that clovershine had crawled away towards merlinsong. it seemed that, before erasmus could properly catalog birchflame's movements, the ginger tom landed another blow and caught him off guard. softglow's breath was caught in his throat when erasmus landed sideways and birchflame moved forward to pounce, but erasmus waved his tail. "i submit!" he bellowed, and the clearing fell silent.
paragraphall eyes turned to tawnyrose, and the only sound came from merlinsong and clovershine speaking in hushed tones. until tawnyrose nodded to birchflame, her eyes glittering with what softglow could only place as intrigue. "birchflame, as queen of highgarden, i name you the champion of the spring tournament. the mother smiles down on you, knight." with that, cheers erupted from the clan and birchflame stood in the middle of it all.
paragraph"i credit my victory to you, my queen," birchflame said, blinking up at tawnyrose. "my victory is to honor the gods and the mother, but also you. we have been blessed by the gods, and i won for you." tawnyrose, in the moment, dipped her head again before climbing down from the perch. she padded through the others until she stood beside birchflame, facing the clan.
paragraph"the spring tournament has come to a close. i present you your champion."
paragraphwhich was why she was particularly careful when it came to the recent seasons, constantly waiting for the first signs of the thaw so that she could get highgarden to the temporary camp, where they would be spared such an awful fate. "we're still alive," tawnyrose heard herself say aloud, reassuring her before she rose to her paws and shook out her fur. highgarden survived and would have moons of warmth and prosperity ahead of them to enjoy spring and summer; if nothing else, it was a cause for celebration, and tawnyrose knew precisely the way to honor the seven gods that cared for highgarden so dearly. but first, it was time to go home.
paragraphjust as softglow told her, the clan was waiting, gathered together in the clearing. she spotted tulipsteam and bassflow with their three kits, maplelily, sunglow, and smokeman nearby to help them take the kits back to the main camp. likewise, it appeared that merlinsong had gathered several thorns along with spencer to help carry his supplies, and softglow was speaking to him, likely asking if he needed any further help. before tawnyrose even had the chance to wonder where bluetcrest was, her attendant was at her side, and she shot him a sideways glance. together, they weaved through the clan to assess if there was any last-minute delay. "i sent swiftheart and dippernose to scout ahead, just to check to make sure that our journey would be safe," bluetcrest was saying, and tawnyrose nodded along with his words. "with tulipstream's kits, i didn't want to take any chances, and they're two of the fastest cats we have."
paragraph"that was a good idea, thank you," tawnyrose said, continuing to assess the crowd. "i want the thorns traveling in the middle with tulipsteam and merlinsong, and whoever else is assisting them," she said after a moment before nodding to mapleshadow, who was chatting with flickersky betonypetal. "have mapleshadow travel on the left flank, then hurricanejaw on the right. birchflame and clovershine'll take the back of the patrol." with that, she looked back to bluetcrest, who dipped his head diligently and made to turn away to tell those cats their instructions, but tawnyrose halted him. she hesitated, but lowered her voice, and bluetcrest leaned closer, "any news about him?" she asked, and bluetcrest was quick to shake his head. beyond the attendant's shoulder, tawnyrose could see erasmus among the other knights, not speaking as a part of them, but standing close enough to be associated with them. while it was clear that he was not able to yet integrate himself as one of the members in the same way that merlinsong seemed to welcome spencer and the roses had taken in sagecloud as one of their own, erasmus understood where he was supposed to fit into the hierarchy.
paragraph"no," bluetcrest said, keeping his tone quiet as well. "he's been keeping himself in line, it seems. he's gone to the herbalist den often, but i'm assuming that it's for spencer. otherwise he sticks to himself. goes on patrol, does whatever he's instructed." at that, tawnyrose flicked her tail dismissively, and bluetcrest turned on his heels, calling out to mapleshadow, birchflame, clovershine, and hurricanejaw, who were quick to assemble around the queen's attendant.
paragraphat last, it was time to leave, and tawnyrose turned to address her clan. the chatter faded out until the cats were silent, and tawnyrose tilted her chin up towards the sun when she finally commanded their attention. "cats of highgarden, today is a good day. thanks to the mother, we have survived the spring floods and may return to our rightful camp in the valley of the roses," she announced, pacing slowly from her place at the front of the patrol. to one side, softglow and bluetcrest were seated. for a long heartbeat, the clans remained in silence until a shout of joy went up from the middle of the group, and tawnyrose recognized hornetpaw's voice, followed by dippernose's chastisement, though the knight's words were lost under the chorus that joined hornetpaw. tawnyrose smiled and nodded in hornetpaw's direction. "we're going home," she stated simply. then, louder to be heard above her clan, "in honor of the mother and the gods that have graced us with our lives, i have decided to reinstate the spring tournament, where the knights will give a display of their strengths to give thanks to the mother and the warrior. in five days' time, we will honor our gods. for now, we stand together and reclaim our home." chatter rose again from behind tawnyrose, and the queen turned with a wave of her tail. with her king and her attendant at her sides, tawnyrose led highgarden back into the valley where their camp was waiting for them.
paragraphin the days that followed leading up to tawnyrose's spring tournament, the entire clan was abuzz with wonder and excitement, ready to take a break from the usual monotony of patrols and training. following the announcement, tawnyrose explained the spring tournament to her clan: the custom had been started seasons earlier, far back before she could remember, far before her parents could recall, she was sure. each spring, as a testament to another spring the clan had survived, the clan was to gather together to give thanks to the gods for allowing them sanctuary from the floods that threatened to sweep them away. to do so, the knights would engage in a fight without their claws, meant to showcase their strength for the queen. the knight who won would have the chance to lead patrols and choose his next thorn at his discretion. it was the type of reward that had several of the knights flexing their muscles, preparing themselves to show off.
paragraph"it's not fair," hornetpaw complained, not for the first time since the announcement. he was lying on his back in the grass outside of the thorns' den. iguanapaw was finishing her meal, sharing with warblerpaw, and tigergaze had joined them for the evening. ever since warblerpaw came to hornetpaw that one afternoon in the secondary camp, hornetpaw had been doing his best to invite her along whenever he was going somewhere. would she like to walk with him to the training hollow? had she eaten already and would she like to eat with him? and so on. for his own part, hornetpaw came to enjoy her company and dared to invite the other thorns, though the siblings kept close together and only accepted the invitations sparingly. in the moment, none of hornetpaw's friends seemed to have too much sympathy for him. "i should be allowed to fight," hornetpaw continued, swiping at the air above him, only to let out an indignant squeak when tigergaze jabbed a paw into his stomach.
paragraph"you're not a knight," iguanapaw pointed out dully, and warblerpaw laughed quietly.
paragraph"you guys are supposed to be my friends," hornetpaw huffed, aiming his next swipe at tigergaze, though his friend batted his paw away easily. with another sigh, hornetpaw rolled over so that he was on his stomach instead. "friends are supposed to be sympathetic and back me up and everything," hornetpaw pressed, though iguanapaw shot him a withering glance from over the finch. "besides," hornetpaw continued to argue, not yet deterred, "i'm old enough to be a knight, so that alone should be grounds enough to fight. i'm almost as big as tigergaze and i'm faster than sunglow."
paragraphthough iguanapaw and warblerpaw shared a knowing glance, tigergaze had the grace to shrug. "have you talked to dippernose about it?" he asked, flicking his tail when hornetpaw nodded dejectedly.
paragraph"maybe you just need to accept it," iguanapaw said with a shrug of her own. "it wasn't like your training started all that great," she pointed out, seemingly more interested in her meal than hornetpaw in the moment, and she returned to plucking a feather soon after speaking.
paragraph"please, do we really need to bring it up every time? so i got distracted a lot in the beginning, so what? i'm fine now. i can swim, i can hunt, and i can fight," hornetpaw replied with a bit of bite to his tone, one that pulled a question from warblerpaw:
paragraph"wait, i'm confused, what happened?" she asked, looking between her new friends. hornetpaw refused to meet her eyes, iguanapaw bit on a bone, leaving tigergaze to clear his throat.
paragraph"hornetpaw almost drowned in rose lake during one of his first training sessions. and he was fine -"
paragraph"thanks to a groveclan apprentice," iguanapaw cut in at last, only to swipe her tongue over her whiskers when hornetpaw shot her a look, hurt visible in his glance. she mustered an apologetic smile and stood to cross over to hornetpaw. at first, the older tom turned his head away from iguanapaw, though she pressed into his side. she caught warblerpaw's eye, who was looking on with wonder, but iguanapaw blinked slowly at her, hoping that she understood that it was a touchy subject, not to be spoken about so flippantly. iguanapaw herself made the slip. "i'm sorry," she murmured quietly, only to feel hornetpaw's muscles relax under her touch, and he turned back to her. "anyway, training is always rough in the beginning. and you're right, you're better now. but, come on, there'll be next spring. if tawnyrose is having a tournament now, there will definitely be more," she said, looking to her friends for further help.
paragraph"definitely. and then you'll have an even better chance since you'll have even more experience," warblerpaw added. she pushed aside the remains of the finch to join her friends, the group completed when tigergaze moved closer and nosed hornetpaw's shoulder.
paragraph"and just think about it, it's scary thinking about what i'm going to have to do in a few days, have you even seen how big some of the other knights are?" tigergaze said, wrinkling nose.
paragraphat that, hornetpaw let out a loud laugh, lighting up at the chance to poke fun at his friend. "gods, you're right. i wouldn't want in yet. even without claws, erasmus'll tear you apart," he said, and iguanapaw and warblerpaw were quick to join in.
paragraph"have you even seen hurricanejaw? isn't that what they say, that the quiet ones are always deadly?"
paragraph"he's my mentor and i can tell you that you don't stand a chance," iguanapaw confirmed with a nod, "and birchflame? he's not as big as erasmus, but he's strong enough."
paragraphthe pair went back and forth, discussing the different knights. how clovershine wasn't as muscluar as birchflame, but his eyes shifted a lot, so he must be faster than any of them knew. how bassflow and newtmask were bigger and stronger than tigergaze, surely. hornetpaw watched tigergaze's expression and caught when he winced. while the mollies giggled and rambled on, hornetpaw bumped his shoulder against tigergaze's. "you'll be fine. i wouldn't expect to win, but, that's the point. that why tawnyrose won't let anyone use their claws. when you get tired, you just stop. you'll be fine," hornetpaw assured, though tigergaze's expression only relaxed slightly.
paragraphthe training hollow was filled with the thorns and their mentors. though the thorns were unable to participate in the tournament, the knights had taken it upon themselves to have the younger thorns engage a small tournament of their own. dippernose had opted out with hornetpaw, saying that it would be better to have hornetpaw prepare for his upcoming assessment over playing at a tournament. the rest of the mentors were sitting around the perimeter of the hollow, hurricanejaw commanding the thorns and reminding them of the rules. they were merely sparring and trying to show off their strength, not trying to actually fight one another. from across the hollow, birchflame met clovershine's eyes, and the white tom flicked his ear silently, acknowledging that he understood that birchflame wanted to speak to him. clovershine leaned over to newtmask who was sitting beside him. newtmask nodded and clovershine padded away, having momentarily excused himself.
paragraphbirchflame, in turn, waited until hurricanejaw had finished running through the rules of the tournament and the thorns had begun before he looked to obsidianwing. the younger knight was watching the proceedings, his eyes tracking warblerpaw's form as she tussled with cougarpaw in a whirl of fur and lashing tails. "hey, would you mind looking at foxpaw? i'll just be a minute, i'll be right back," birchflame said, and obsidianwing blinked at him in surprise, clearly distracted, before he nodded and birchflame ducked away.
paragraphclovershine wasn't waiting far off, but he stood and loped towards birchflame. "i told newtmask i was having a stomach ache and needed to walk it off," clovershine said, and birchflame stifled a laugh.
paragraph"did you pick the most obvious excuse you could think of?" he teased, returning clovershine's lopsided smile. before his friend could say anything further, birchflame gestured for them to move away from the hollow, not wanting any of the others to see them standing and talking so openly. "come on, i need to tell you the plans for the tournament."
paragraph"the tournament?" clovershine parroted back, clearly surprised and not expecting it to be what birchflame wanted to speak about. birchflame shot him a sideways glance and clovershine winced, realizing that his voice had been raised. he bounded after birchflame, speaking when they were a safer distance from the training hollow. "what about the tournament?"
paragraphat last, birchflame rounded on clovershine, facing him when he spoke. "i need to win it, that's what," he said bluntly, and clovershine's eyes widened.
paragraph"are you crazy? erasmus is huge and comes from a rough clan. no offense, but i don't think anyone can beat him." when clovershine dared to speak the smoky tom's name aloud, he twisted around to scan their surroundings.
paragraphbirchflame rolled his eyes. "and we're from azgeda, or have you forgotten?" birchflame countered, to which clovershine scoffed and swished his tail. "exactly my point. we aren't so easy to mess with. we were trained by some of the best, we fought alongside some of the best, we are some of the best. scared of erasmus? i'm not. he's just big, but that doesn't mean anything." as he spoke, birchflame could see clovershine's eyes light up, his shoulders straightening as he gained confidence.
paragraph"right, so we'll team up, then," clovershine deduced, and birchflame nodded his agreement. "but what's the point? the tournament is just for the gods or whatever, what's the point of winning?" he asked then, and birchflame hummed softly.
paragraph"it's more than that, even if it's not official. it's to show the queen that you're strong. a queen must like strength. she has softglow, sure, but tawnyrose can see me - us, you too - as valuable. and the closer we are to her, the less she'll be to ask questions. she'll trust us. and we'll have power in the clan: influence, sway, she'll pick us to train more thorns. it's our way of ensuring that we live comfortably here for a long time, clovershine. help me win and we'll have this clan eating out of our paws."
paragraphobsidianwing watched warblerpaw dash ahead of him and the other mentors with the rest of the thorns following the impromptu thorn-tournament held in the training hollow. it had been a long spar, and obsidianwing himself had been surprised when iguanapaw came out on top as the winner of the group. even more surprising was the way the thorns all still found the energy to race one another back to camp, and bassflow had been the one to scoff as he watched them go, "i don't think i ever had the type of spunk. not even when i was that young," the older knight commented, though there was only amusement lining his tone, and hurricanejaw pulled a laugh from him when he replied:
paragraph"the way you talk, anyone would think you're an elder, turning into dirt before our very eyes," hurricanejaw said in a nonchalant tone that pulled a laugh from group, so much so that even newtmask cracked a smile.
paragraph"and you're even older than me. so what does that make you?" bassflow attempted to tease back, though hurricanejaw rolled his eyes.
paragraph"young at heart, i'd say. though iguanapaw would probably say that i'm ancient." hurricanejaw spoke in the same casual monotone, though obsidianwing joined the others in their laughter. it felt good, he reflected, to be a part of a group in this way. even when he'd been in basinclan, obsidianwing hadn't felt as if he was a real member. he didn't feel connected to any of the other cats, didn't feel like he really belonged. but there was a fullness that came to him while he was there, laughing between hurricanejaw and birchflame as the group of mentors waited their turn to go through thorny tunnel that fed into highgarden's camp.
paragraphbefore he had even managed to recover from his bout of laughter, he heard his name called from across the camp, and he found himself looking to smokemane, who waved him over. for a moment, obsidianwing almost wasn't sure if she was actually speaking to him, and he dared a glance over his shoulder to see that he was the only one standing there. that smokemane was most definitely addressing him and saw him look around for anyone else named obsidianwing.
paragraphhis fur warm, obsidianwing padded over to the pretty molly, who was busy grooming her long gray and white fur. "hey," he managed to say, keeping his voice even, "what's up?" he continued, mentally praising himself for not managing to embarrass himself any further yet.
paragraphfortunately, smokemane was kind enough not to comment on his actions and instead nodded to the space in front of her. "hi, care to sit for a minute? you must be tired after training thorns all day. and you should rest up, you know?" she said, letting out a breezy laugh, only to pause when obsidianwing must have appeared confused. "the tournament?" she filled in, brow furrowed slightly, "it's in, like, two days."
paragraph"right!" obsidianwing said as she spoke, quickly seating himself in front of smokemane. "right, of course, i didn't forget i'm just... i don't know, not as excited for it as some of the other knights are?" he said, questioning his own statement, even more so when smokemane tipped her head to one side. "i mean, i am excited, i am, i really am," he tried again, clearing his throat awkwardly, "but, like dippernose keeps talking about the different moves he's going to show off, and birchflame seems really intense about it. i'm just not like them, i guess." at that, smokemane's expression softened and she nodded.
paragraph"that makes sense. you're just not as competitive as they are," she said, and obsidianwing was quick to nod, taking the excuse as she laid it out for him. "i'm still looking forward to it. sunglow was saying the same things as you. he keeps saying that he'll be the first to tap himself out, like saying it now will make it easier on his ego later." she shrugged at that, then flicked her tail, "but you shouldn't worry. i was watching warblerpaw show iguanapaw some moves she said she learned from you, and they seemed really strong and quick. i'm sure you'll be great." at that, she seemed to have said what she called him over to say, and returned to grooming her chest fur. taking the cue, obsidianwing stood and began to pad away, though he paused for a heartbeat and then doubled back, blinking at her.
paragraph"are you going to be cheering someone on?" he asked, to which she squinted up at him, questioning. "i heard maplelily telling bassflow that she would be cheering for him since they're littermates. and warblerpaw and iguanapaw are cheering tigergaze on, since they're friends and he's the youngest. but... will you be?"
paragraph"oh, yeah," smokemane said, and her smile was gentle. "sunglow or newtmask, i guess," she said, quickly adding, "because sunglow's my brother and newtmask's my father. but if not for them, then i would be cheering for you." her words were so genuine, so sincere, that obsidianwing felt like he was walking on air when he turned away.
paragraphas the sun was setting over the highgarden camp, hurricanejaw settled in to groom his fur before he would be heading into his nest earlier. it was just as he was working a burr from his fur that a shadow fell over him, and hurricanejaw looked up at newtmask. the gray tom stood there for a moment, his eyes flicking back and forth before he cleared his throat. "can we talk for a minute?" he asked, and hurricanejaw nodded, unsure what he could possibly say in the moment. instead, he waited for newtmask to speak, which he did in his own time. "i just felt that we should clear the air between us. if there were any hard feelings, i'd like to stop them from continuing."
paragraphfor another moment, hurricanejaw could only blink at newtmask, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. since hurricanejaw brought maplelily and her family to highgarden, hurricanejaw simply assumed that he and newtmask would interact only when push came to shove. though hurricanejaw was fine when it came to speaking with bassflow, maplelily herself, his kits, and even newtmask's kits, it was newtmask who proved to be the biggest unknown. not that hurricanejaw would blame him for the circumstances - newtmask had been maplelily's mate first. had their roles been revered, hurricanejaw would be bitter too. "i don't hold any ill will towards you," he stated truthfully, and newtmask nodded, still silent. hurricanejaw blinked at him again. "and i hope that you don't dislike me."
paragraph"i did," newtmask said at last, "i disliked you for a while. when maplelily had your kits. i was upset. i disliked you until i met you and saw that you weren't this evil unknown. you're not bad. gods, i doubt you even knew," newtmask said, and hurricanejaw shook his head with a weary smile. "like i thought," newtmask sighed, breathing out a short chuckle. "it'd be easier if i did hate you, if you weren't nice and funny. i wish you were rude and obnoxious," he said, earning a snort from hurricanejaw.
paragraph"no offense, but i'm glad that i'm not," hurricanejaw said in reply, and newtmask laughed again, this time a little louder.
paragraph"so am i, really." there was a long moment of silence between them before newtmask dropped his gaze to his paws. "i still love her, but i don't think that she's loved me in a long time."
paragraphhurricanejaw offered the other knight a sympathetic smile. "i'm sorry. if there was a way i could help, i would," he said, though newtmask merely sighed. hurricanejaw stood, deciding to leave him alone for the moment before pausing, "if it's any consolation. i don't love her anymore. and with the tournament... i don't know, it seems like a chance to get her attention, if that's really what you want." he rested his tail tip on newtmask's shoulder before walking away.
paragraphwhen the day of the spring tournament finally came, softglow awoke to the sound of tawnyrose and bluetcrest speaking excitedly just over his head. he blinked up at them, bleary, and it took him several moments to absorb words from their speech.
paragraph"- and the thorns helped clear a space large enough in the mother's grounds, just as you asked," bluetcrest was saying, only to pause and grin at softglow when the king raised his head. for as long as softglow had known bluetcrest, he consistently found himself unsettled by the attendant's smile. it was the type of smile that showed over sharp teeth and came off as predatory, even when softglow knew that bluetcrest was harmless, for the most part, and that there were far more cats with sharper teeth and a lot more reason to fear them. "there he is, good morning, ready for the big day?" bluetcrest said with that toothy smile, and tawnyrose huffed a laugh, which bluetcrest joined in.
paragraphsoftglow sighed and stood to shook out his pelt. "any news?" he asked. tawnyrose leaned to bluetcrest and whispered in his ear, then turned to exit the den, leaving softglow with bluetcrest.
paragraph"nope," bluetcrest said, popping the 'p' in the word, and softglow wondered if it did it just to annoy softglow in that moment. "everything is going according to plan. the tournament is set to begin at sunhigh, right on time."
paragraph"are all of the knights participating?" softglow asked before bluetcrest had the chance to follow tawnyrose out, and bluetcrest tipped his head to one side, eyes narrowing. clearly he understood exactly who softglow was so interested in knowing about.
paragraph"of course. such to honor the mother who protects us with her mercy," bluetcrest answered before turning on his heels. by the time softglow left his den, tawnyrose and bluetcrest were no where to be found, and asking mapleshadow who was sitting in the clearing told him that they had left to assess the set up for the tournament.
paragraphindeed, softglow concluded when the sun reached its zenith, the tournament would be an event to keep the entire clan entertained as the mothers grounds had been turned into a place worthy of the gathering. the trees and bushes were abloom with flowers, and spaces had been set aside for tawnyrose's inner circle to watch the knights, along with separate spaces for merlinsong in the case anyone was injured, the other spectators, and the great space for the knights.
paragraphthe air was charged with energy when the time came, and softglow's stomach tightened when tawnyrose addressed the knights sitting below them. on tawnyrose's other side, bluetcrest was arranged himself neatly, his tail placed over his paws and chin tipped toward the sky. tawnyrose, as well, looked the part of the noble queen with her meticulously groomed pelt. "remember, this is not to hurt or injure one another," tawnyrose was saying as softglow assessed the knights. in truth, they all looked impressive. even the younger knights such as tigergaze, obsidianwing, and sunglow looked lithe and muscled, ready to take on the likes of smallheart and newtmask. hurricanejaw's eyes were hooded, and covershine was standing shoulder to shoulder with birchflame. erasmus, however, towered over the other knights and softglow adverted his eyes quickly so that he would not make eye contact with the massive tom. "this tournament is for the mother in thanks for saving us from the flood. you may surrender at any time. and you all remember the reward. when i give the signal, you will begin." with that, tawnyrose sat and gave the knights time to orient themselves.
paragraphit was in that period of relative silence when softglow felt his mouth go dry and he remembered what he had told merlinsong the moon before when erasmus first came to their clan. what if he broke the rules and used his claws? they would surely lose several of their own before they had the chance to attack back. softglow's eyes turned to tigergaze and sunglow, who stood together and exchanged a glance as the other knights shuffled around the cleared space. they wouldn't stand a chance against erasmus. what if they had all been so wrong?
paragraphthen tawnyrose waved her tail and the tournament began.
paragraphbelow softglow, the knights erupted into battle, and his breath caught in his throat. he saw they leap at each other, pelts flashing, and his chest loosened when he realized that there was no howls of agony, no cry of pain. dippernose swatted at tigergaze, knocking him off-balance, but there was no flash of claws, and tigergaze was stunned, but otherwise fine. and, when his eyes tracked to erasmus, the massive tom gripped smallheart and tossed him aside, but he hadn't aimed to knock him into a tree or rock, and had grabbed the scruff of his neck. instead of looking to hurt the other knight, erasmus looked for where he would be fine, and smallheart landed on his paws and aimed a blow at bassflow in the next instant. erasmus hadn't tried to kill the smaller tom, and softglow released a long exhale.
paragraph"your nerves don't suit you, softglow," tawnyrose commented, and the king looked to the queen, who twitched her whiskers with amusement. "your job is to enjoy the display, not pass out from holding your breath." and, for the first time, softglow decided to listen to tawnyrose's advice. he looked into the tournament and realized that it was just what tawnyrose had promised: a display of strength of her knights. his ears pricked curiously, and he shuffled his paws. "see?" tawnyrose said, "enjoy the show." and she laughed then, though softglow realized that, perhaps for the first time, she wasn't laughing at him, she wasn't laughing to mock him, and softglow heard his own laugh mingle with the queen's.
paragraphfurther down, the roses and thorns were bunched together to cheer for the knights and, slowly, several of the knights began to escape the clearing, dipping their heads respectfully to tawnyrose, then softglow, then bluetcrest, before joining the other spectators or limp over to merlinsong, who nosed them over for any scrapes or other minor injuries. first sunglow and tigergaze, who dropped out at the same time - in what bluetcrest said must have been a planned move, and softglow was inclined to agree - then obsidianwing, smallheart, and so on. clovershine and birchflame fought together, as if a single unit, and softglow watched them, impressed. together, they batted dippernose back while hurricanejaw and erasmus were sparring across the clearing. at last, dippernose surrendered, then hurricanejaw, so that only erasmus stood against clovershine and birchflame. clovershine's sides heaved and birchflame shook dust out of his fur, though erasmus appeared unperturbed.
paragraphwith purpose, the three cats came together and softglow leaned forward as if to get a closer look. for what felt like a long time, it was a back and forth between the paired knights and erasmus. a mighty swipe of his paw would send clovershine skidding away, but the combined effort of birchflame and clovershine could send erasmus reeling and disorient him.
paragraphat last, a gasp went up from the spectators when erasmus managed to grab clovershine by his scruff in a similar way he had to smallheart. birchflame was collecting himself from where erasmus had sent him scrambling a heartbeat earlier. clovershine hit the ground and appeared to be stunned, and erasmus looked up towards tawnyrose when clovershine let his head rest against the ground, submitting, though tawnyrose said nothing. erasmus' brow furrowed until, in the same moment, birchflame exploded and rose himself from the ground, catching erasmus under his chin. erasmus stumbled back, but birchflame pursued him alone now that clovershine had crawled away towards merlinsong. it seemed that, before erasmus could properly catalog birchflame's movements, the ginger tom landed another blow and caught him off guard. softglow's breath was caught in his throat when erasmus landed sideways and birchflame moved forward to pounce, but erasmus waved his tail. "i submit!" he bellowed, and the clearing fell silent.
paragraphall eyes turned to tawnyrose, and the only sound came from merlinsong and clovershine speaking in hushed tones. until tawnyrose nodded to birchflame, her eyes glittering with what softglow could only place as intrigue. "birchflame, as queen of highgarden, i name you the champion of the spring tournament. the mother smiles down on you, knight." with that, cheers erupted from the clan and birchflame stood in the middle of it all.
paragraph"i credit my victory to you, my queen," birchflame said, blinking up at tawnyrose. "my victory is to honor the gods and the mother, but also you. we have been blessed by the gods, and i won for you." tawnyrose, in the moment, dipped her head again before climbing down from the perch. she padded through the others until she stood beside birchflame, facing the clan.
paragraph"the spring tournament has come to a close. i present you your champion."
actions
[ dens ] tawnyrose inquires into expanding the den for roses and knights
[ consumption ] highgarden eats one big fish and three mice
[ gods visit ] tawnyrose requests a root from the gods
[ rank changes ] hornetpaw is ready to take his assessment. if he passes, he will be known as hornetshade
[ hunting 1 ] tawnyrose, bluetcrest, betonypetal, maplelily, smokemane, and flickersky hunt
[ hunting 2 ] softglow, mapleshadow, swiftheart, sunglow, tigergaze, and smallheart hunt
[ supply gathering ] dippernose, erasmus, and sagecloud
[ training ] iguanapaw, warblerpaw, cougarpaw, racoonpaw, foxpaw, and wolfpaw learn how to swim
[ herb hunting ] merlinsong and spencer
[ herbalists ] merlinsong and spencer practice medicine
[ notes to mod ] i ask that no one die on patrols though injuries are fine xx
[ dens ] tawnyrose inquires into expanding the den for roses and knights
[ consumption ] highgarden eats one big fish and three mice
[ gods visit ] tawnyrose requests a root from the gods
[ rank changes ] hornetpaw is ready to take his assessment. if he passes, he will be known as hornetshade
[ hunting 1 ] tawnyrose, bluetcrest, betonypetal, maplelily, smokemane, and flickersky hunt
[ hunting 2 ] softglow, mapleshadow, swiftheart, sunglow, tigergaze, and smallheart hunt
[ supply gathering ] dippernose, erasmus, and sagecloud
[ training ] iguanapaw, warblerpaw, cougarpaw, racoonpaw, foxpaw, and wolfpaw learn how to swim
[ herb hunting ] merlinsong and spencer
[ herbalists ] merlinsong and spencer practice medicine
[ notes to mod ] i ask that no one die on patrols though injuries are fine xx
queen (2/2)
tawnyrose, 28m, ♀
the wayward queen
king
softglow, 30m, ♂
the lost king
heir
name, age, gender
notes
attendant
bluetcrest, 32m, ♂
the wayward's attendant
herbalist (2/2)
merlinsong, 35m, ♂ ✿✿✿✿✿
spencer, 30m, ♂ ✿✿✿✿✿
roses (19/20)
sagecloud, 46m, ♀
mapleshadow, 44m, ♀
maplelily, 38m, ♀
betonypetal, 27m, ♀
flickersky, 26m, ♀
swiftheart, 22m, ♀
smokemane, 16m, ♀
name, age, ♀
notes
knights
erasmus, 42m, ♂
hurricanejaw, 40m, ♂
bassflow, 38m, ♂
newtmask, 37m, ♂
dippernose, 37m, ♂
birchflame, 29m, ♂
clovershine, 26m, ♂
smallheart, 26m, ♂
obsidianwing, 19m, ♂
sunglow, 16m, ♂
tigergaze, 15m, ♂
name, age, ♂
notes
thorns (7/10)
hornetpaw, 12m, ♂
cougarpaw, 9m, ♂
racoonpaw, 9m, ♂
foxpaw, 9m, ♂ bobtail
wolfpaw, 9m, ♀ bobtail
iguanapaw, 9m, ♀
warblerpaw, 9m, ♀
name, age, gender
notes
tawnyrose, 28m, ♀
the wayward queen
king
softglow, 30m, ♂
the lost king
heir
name, age, gender
notes
attendant
bluetcrest, 32m, ♂
the wayward's attendant
herbalist (2/2)
merlinsong, 35m, ♂ ✿✿✿✿✿
spencer, 30m, ♂ ✿✿✿✿✿
roses (19/20)
sagecloud, 46m, ♀
mapleshadow, 44m, ♀
maplelily, 38m, ♀
betonypetal, 27m, ♀
flickersky, 26m, ♀
swiftheart, 22m, ♀
smokemane, 16m, ♀
name, age, ♀
notes
knights
erasmus, 42m, ♂
hurricanejaw, 40m, ♂
bassflow, 38m, ♂
newtmask, 37m, ♂
dippernose, 37m, ♂
birchflame, 29m, ♂
clovershine, 26m, ♂
smallheart, 26m, ♂
obsidianwing, 19m, ♂
sunglow, 16m, ♂
tigergaze, 15m, ♂
name, age, ♂
notes
thorns (7/10)
hornetpaw, 12m, ♂
cougarpaw, 9m, ♂
racoonpaw, 9m, ♂
foxpaw, 9m, ♂ bobtail
wolfpaw, 9m, ♀ bobtail
iguanapaw, 9m, ♀
warblerpaw, 9m, ♀
name, age, gender
notes
- roots (4/10)
tulipstream, 30m, ♀
- mate: bassflow
- kits: stagkit, seedkit, rabbitkit
name, age, gender
notes
seedlings
stagkit, 2m, ♂
seedkit, 2m, ♀
rabbitkit, 2m, ♀
name, age, gender
notes
wilted (0/5)
name, age, gender
notes
name, age, gender
notes
allies & enemies & borders
here
medicine
here
prey
total x42
mouse | x13 | 1 servings
vole | x6 | 1 servings
squirrel | x4 | 2 servings
rabbit | x3 | 2 servings
big fish | x1 | 3 servings
finch | x2 | 3 servings
den supplies
brambles x1
feathers x0
moss x1
rocks x1
sticks x0
mentors
dippernose, hornetpaw, 4
bassflow, cougarpaw, 3
newtmask, racoonpaw, 2
birchflame, foxpaw, 3
clovershine, wolfpaw, 3
hurricanejaw, iguanapaw, 2
obsidianwing, warblerpaw, 3
mentor, thorn, 0
deceased
here
family trees
here
