SparkClan || Varis Writing || dnp

[Griffin Torrens]

𝕊𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕜ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕟 & 𝔹𝕚𝕣𝕔𝕙ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕟

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[Griffin Torrens]

Sagebreeze meeting Spiderweb
651/200 words

"Filthy Twolegs," the tom mumbled, distaste evident in his voice. Head held high, Sagebreeze let his gaze rake across the eerily lit street. "Why on earth would any cat wish to live here?"

Yet the evidence was all around him, even a newborn could tell this place was lived in. Sounds of prey made his ears swivel, strong scent markers saturated the reeking air and clumps of snagged fur blew gently in the wind. Mind whirling as it processed each new clue, Sagebreeze felt his heart sink at the realization they were all rather stale.

It's as if cats have abandoned this area, he realized. Well worn paths were now covered in a layer of undisturbed grit and all the scents were stale. What could have caused it? Continuing to hug the shadows, the brown tom padded confidentiality down the street, tail tailing behind him. He scanned his surroundings in the hopes of spotting the new factor that seemed to have driven cats out.

A new smell caught his attention, hitting the back of his throat as if demanding to be noticed. It was a unique one, new and exciting, holding a hint of danger. Eyes lighting, Sagebreeze altered his course to find its source.

He found himself in an alleyway, a dead rat at his paws. It's black eyes stared up at the stars, too dull to reflect them. Curious, Sagebreeze leant his head closer, intent on figuring out this new mystery. Cold but not stiff, so it died a short while ago. No puncture wounds and an intact spine, it wasn't a cat. Ragged claws must suggest it does in pain, grasping for life. Something seems to be wrong with its stomach and it's mouth is wide open. It must have eaten some kind of-

"Poison," a voice called.

Cursing himself for getting so distracted he didn't notice the approach, Sagebreeze raised his head to look at the newcomer, the dead rat between them.

"I wouldn't eat it if I were you. Humans have been poisoning them, most of us know to stay clear."

"Yes, I figured," Sagebreeze responded curtly, glancing over her and eating up all the details he could. However, he caught himself before he said anything aloud. You're supposed to be recruiting cats, not scaring them away, an annoyingly familiar voice said in his head. "My name is Sagebreeze, and you are?"

The black she-cat padded around the rat and headed back to the street, pausing to see if he would follow. "Spider."

"Well Spider, tell me, why are you so fascinated in plants?"

This took the stranger by surprise, evident in her slight pause of movement and rising pelt. "How did you know about that?" Suspicion laced her voice, but the faint wonder didn't go unnoticed either.

Smiling back at her, Sagebreeze kept his gaze forwards. "Plant scent clings to your pelt, which could have meant you'd been travelling somewhere green, however so many kinds are mixed and layered, it seems as if you keep going back to many different places holding different kinds. When you were speaking I could see a slight green tint in your teeth, plant juice I assume, from the past and recently. Last I heard cats don't eat plants for fun. So tell me, what's the fascination?"

Spider opened her mouth as if to shoot back a clever remark, hesitated, then decided against it. "Yeah okay, you were right. But you don't understand, plants are amazing! They have so many unique properties that go wasted because no cat knows. Did you know they can be used to cure infection, ease pain, or even help a cat sleep?"

"Really?" This time it was Sagebreeze's turn to be surprised. "Jaystorm could probably do with knowing that," he mumbled.

"Who's Jaystorm?"

The brown tom gave Spider a devilish grin, excitement showing in his eyes. "Why don't you come and find out for yourself?"

[Griffin Torrens]

Conkertooth's Opinion on Sagebreeze
171/100 words

Sagebreeze is one of those cats that clouds your judgement. You can go from admitting his skill to wanting to claw his pelt of in a matter of heartbeats. For the most part, Conkertooth finds the Consultant obnoxious and infuriating. Even without opening his mouth the other tom manages to rub Conkertooth's fur the wrong way.

On the days when the brown and white cat finds himself in a bad mood, he's grateful for the fact the advisor does most of the social aspects of a leader, else he's not sure he'd be able to keep his temper.

Despite this, Conkertooth has to admit that Sagebreeze is an outstanding cat. Not just his speed and hunting abilities, but the cat is a genius. He's an impressive leader, being able to work things out and make decisions at an impossible speed. So what if he doesn't know how to interact with others and insults them without meaning to?

His opinions may be mixed, but Conkertooth is proud to be in Sagebreeze's Clan.

[Griffin Torrens]

Batpaw's First Gathering
1,384/200 words

He'd never admit it to his Clanmates, but Batpaw was excited. Not for the gathering, big groups and important events tended to make him nervous. No, he was just glad that for once, the rest of the Clan would be going to sleep the same time he usually did, so he'd get no odd looks for waking up later than the rest.

Glancing to his side, Batpaw let a small smile creep on to his mouth. Jackdawcap was stood close to him, making him feel a lot less intimidated by the group of cats he could already see on the rock.

"You shouldn't have any trouble jumping the stepping stones," his mentor and best friend assured him. The sphynx nodded back, eyes locked on said stones. Flintstar was hopping nimbly across, followed by Dandelionwish and a few warriors he'd forgotten the names of.

Then it was just Batpaw and Jackdawcap left. The white cat nodded for Batpaw to go ahead. Stepping up to the bank of the river, the black cat cast a quick glance to judge the distance before confidently leaping onto the first, second, third stone, and smoothly on over to the meeting stone.

Jackdawcap landed beside him a heartbeat later, but Batpaw was too distracted to notice. He stared scores the top of the large rock, emotions jumbling up at the sight of so many cats, all sat in groups and conversing like lifelong friends.

"I need to join Flintstar and the the other leaders and deputies," Jackdawcap meowed, "why don't you go talk to a cat from another clan?"

Batpaw shot Jackdawcap a panicked look, silently begging him not to leave.

"I'm sorry, it's my duty as a deputy. But I'll catch up with you later, and I know you'll be fine," he explained in a soft voice that warmed Batpaw's heart. "Bye Batpaw."

"See you soon," Batpaw mumbled. He watched as the tom padded away, padding up to a white and cream tom with an alarming scar on his shoulder. Jealousy flared up in his chest, and Batpaw glared daggers at the other tom despite the lack of focus on him.

Distracted, he hadn't seen the cat approaching him. "Hi there!"

The voice made Batpaw freeze, skin tingling where hair would be standing on end. He rounded on the other with a mixture of anger and nervousness, he kept his mouth shut.

A cream She-cat smiled brightly at him, a tortoiseshell close behind.

Batpaw felt himself shrink under their gaze, self-conscious and wishing they'd just leave him alone. Are they gonna mention the fact I don't have fur?

"My name's Appleblossom, from SparkClan, and this Cindersqueak from RainClan," the first cat introduced.

"I'm Batpaw," he mumbled back.

The small tortoiseshell, Cindersqueak, pushed her way forward, head cocked to one side. "Aren't you cold? I'll share my pelt with you if you like," she purred with amusement.

This hadn't been what the tom expected, but it brought a smile to his mouth. "I'm used to it by now, but yeah, it's a little chilly," he explained. If Jackdawcap was here I wouldn't be.

"Have you been recently taken in then? Because I've never seen you before, yet your age suggests you can't have just been old enough to be an apprentice," Appleblossom questioned.

Hesitating a little at the analysis, Batpaw them nodded. "Uh, yeah, I found myself in their territory and they offered me a home. I'm still training how to be a Warrior though. But Jackdawcap says I'm doing well and will be a warrior before long."

"Jackdawcap? Your mentor is the deputy? BirchClan definitely sees something in you!"

"What do y-"

Before Batpaw had time to question Appleblossom on her statement, a call from Flintstar brought silence to the gathering cats.

"Welcome all, to Deer Creek's Fullmoon gathering!"

A few cheers rang out at this, and Batpaw glanced around. Noticing the other cats had settled down, he too sat, cursing slightly at the coldness of the stone.

Looking up again, he spotted Flintstar, a brown tabby tom (SparkClan, Sagebreeze, Jackdawcap had said, and Batpaw still couldn't figure out why he hadn't just taken on -star) and a calico She-cat (RainClan, Thistlestar).

The leaders were sat on a raised section of the rock, and below each sat their deputies. He caught Jackdawcap's gaze and felt warmth spread over him. He then spotted the tom from earlier sat beside him, and felt the sourness return. SparkClan's deputy?

"Let's begin," Flintstar meowed, halting his thoughts. "Prey is still plentiful, and the plants are growing strong. We have taken in an outsider who's now training under Jackdawcap. Having found him in the wake of a deer, we believe his meant to be with us. We're proud to welcome Batpaw, and we know one day he'll make a strong Warrior."

As she spoke, a few cats turned their heads to look at him, and Batpaw felt his skin prickle under the attention. Luckily though, their gazes didn't linger, and not one seemed to believe he didn't belong here.

"That's about everything we have to report," she finished, stepping back slightly as the Calico stood.

"Our prey is running well too, and all our cats are healthy. A few kittypets have been spotted on out Twoleg border, but they haven't caused any touble?. It's been a good, peaceful moon, and we hope this will continue into the next." With that, she too stepped back, and Sagebreeze took the stage.

"We found some discarded hare bones in our territory close to the stepping stones, but with a quick investigation we discovered the culprit was a fox. We don't think the creature has any intention on crossing the river, but be aware just in case. Jaystorm is currently organising a patrol to find it and drive it out," the tom explained, nodding towards his deputy at the mention of him. "Other than that, all is well and we have nothing to report."

When he stood back, Flintstar took position again. "With that, that meeting is over. As always, you're welcome to head home or stay until sunrise."

As if on qué, the cats around Batpaw came back to life. They moved around, finding their friends and settling down to talk, or heading towards the stepping stones. Batpaw saw Dandelionwish and a black she-cat make their way towards a white and brown tom. Sagebreeze hopped down and stood beside Jaystorm, pets brushing. Jackdawcap meowed something to them that Batpaw couldn't hear over the chatter before making his way over to the sphynx.

Appleblossom and Cindersqueak were still beside him, chatting away happily but clearly leaving the conversation open for him to join. However, Batpaw wasn't listening, eyes locked on Jackdawcap and wishing he'd just hurry up. Finally, the tom was in front of him. "Jackdawcap, fianlly, I thought you were gonna spend the whole gathering talking to that other tom. How do you even know him?"

The white tom chuckled, eyes twinkling as if he understood a joke Batpaw didn't. "That's Jaystorm, SparkClan's Advisor."

"Oh, okay. Important deputy talk then?"

"Not really. This stays between us, but he was telling me about how Sagebreeze is completely oblivious to his feelings."

Finally, the jealousy settled, and Batpaw felt himself relaxing. "But Sagebreeze likes hi too?"

Jackdawcap looked at him in confusion. "You think? How can you tell? We've been trying to figure it out for ages."

Batpaw looked at his paws, glad his dark skin would hide his blush. "Well, it's pretty obvious by the looks he gives him and the way, despite not seeming to like socializing, he chooses to deliberately stand that close to him. Sometimes it's the small things that give it away." Please don't compare it to me, I know I do those things, and I'm not ready to admit the reason yet.

Luckily, the tom just nodded, looking deep in thought. "Perhaps you're right. We'd best let them both figure it out themselves though, it's not out place to get involved."

Knowing he'd hate if someone told his crush he had feelings for him, Batpaw nodded in understanding.

"So, you eager to get out of here and head back, or do you want to stay?"

Looking over the cats on the rock, all sat together, atmosphere bright, Batpaw smiled. "I'd like to stay."

[Griffin Torrens]

Medicine Cat Meeting
562/200 words

Spiderweb kneaded the ground, unable to contain her excitement. She hasn't see Dandelionwish and Flamepetal since the last gathering half a moon ago, and was dying to tell them her news.

The sun hung low in the sky, lazily slipping down behind the mountain she called home. Finally, she spotted Dandelionwish emerging from the gaping mouth of a cave on the other side of the river. It always amazed her how the BirchClan cats would traverse the dark, unforgiving tunnels so naturally, by choice. It was a mystery SparkClan could never seem to answer.

With a few confidant bounds, the pale tom made his way over the stepping stones and onto SparkClan's bank. As if on queue, she spotted Flamepetal approaching the gathering rock and hopping over to her side as well.

"Hey you two! It feels like it's been seasons since I last saw you. How're the herbs running?" Having memorised this routine like her own pelt, the trio set off without needing any kind of signal, conversation flowing easily.

"Not much has happened in BirchClan since the last gathering. I found Robinbreeze staring at mushrooms yet again, but she at least remembered not to breath in any spores this time." Spiderweb rolled her eyes at this while her other companion let out a light hearted chuckle.

Now his turn to speak, Flamepetal briefly thought over the question. "Everything is still growing nicely and there's not much news to report. What about you Spiderweb?"

Excited to finally speak, the black she-cat grinned at the other medicine cats. "I discover something amazing! I left the territory for a small expedition, accompanied by Conkertooth and Acornbite. Conkertooth, as you'd expect, was messing around and scratched himself on a bramble. There were no spiders around," she shuddered at this part, relieved to be around the only two cats who knew her secret fear of them. "But! I found this odd stick like plant I'd never seen before. It had little balls of white stuff on it, so I experimented, and they work as a covering!"

The two toms looked back with wide eyes, sharing their friend's excitement. "So can you now use that instead of cobwebs?" Dandelionwish stared at her expectantly, while Flamepetal seemed lost in thought.

"Well," Spiderweb muttered, mood dampening slightly. "It doesn't really stick. It stops bleeding, but you have to hold it in place yourself. It's definitely good as a temporary thing, or would work really well on bigger wounds if you stuck it down with cobwebs. You see, it's more dense so would be able to soak up more."

Nodding at her analysis, the medicine cats continued on, long out of SparkClan territory and following the river scores a large grassland. Then Flamepetal perked up. "Oh! I finally remember, I think I saw that plant near the Twoleg place, I asked a local and they said it was called cotton."

"That's the one!" Spiderweb beamed back. "I heard kittypets talk of it often when I was a street cat, but had never seen it or know it's use!"

With that, the trio let their conversation wander to stories of other plants that had surprised then when they finally saw them. It would still be a little while before they made it to the Moon Stump to speak with StarClan, but they were happy to simply have the others' company.

[Griffin Torrens]

Spiderweb's fear
174/100 words

She'd kept it a secret her whole life, fearing it would risk her position. However, she'd grown so close to these cats, and she knew she could trust them. When she told them, they didn't laugh. They looked at with nothing but understanding. She'd ranted after that, explaining the countless troubles her fear of spiders got her in to. "Gathering cobwebs is the worst, because even if you can't see a spider, who knows if it will jump out! Living in a cave doesn't help either. I keep finding them in there and having to think of excuses to sleep in the main cave until I can bring back a live bird to eat it!"

Dandelionwish looked at her, deep in thought. "You know, I headed that spiders don't like conkers. Maybe you should put a few of them in your den? No cat would even think they're out of place in all your other herbs."

Her eyes filled with relief. Finally, her own bed could at least be safe from the little monsters.

[Griffin Torrens]

Sagebreeze's fear
"What is one thing your cat is most afraid of?"
163/50 words

As the cat that's know to jump head first into danger, many assume that the tom is too unconcerned to have any fears. This is just how Sagebreeze likes it. Because it's true, none of the trivial things or possible risks to his health phase the tom. What he doesn't want them to know is that he does have a fear, one that often keeps him awake at night.

You see, he won't ever admit it, but Sagebreeze values Jaystorm's opinion on him. For all he cares, the others can call him names and talk behind his back, but Jaystorm has always been the exception. He's always been the one there for him, loyal and trusting, seeing past what others turn at.

Sagebreeze is terrified that one day Jaystorm will realize what the others say is true, he's not normal. And on that day, he can picture the disgust in the tom's eye as he turns and leaves.

No, that can't become reality.

[Griffin Torrens]

Robinbreeze's Future
"When this cat was young, what did they want to be?
Did it become reality?"
120/50 words

When she was a kit, Robinbreeze was convinced she was going to be a frog when she was older. Her mother gave her a quizzical look, but never once shut down or laughed at the idea. Robinkit would beg to go on hunts for frogs as her day trips. And every time she found them, she odd kit would follow them around, whisper to them, and then ask to bring them home. The answer was always no.

Robinpaw settled for becoming a Warrior, excited by the idea when given a mentor. She trained hard, but her love for the forest and frogs never died.

No, the she-cat never became a frog. And looking back she laughs at her younger self.

[Griffin Torrens]

Conkertooth's Morals
"When was there a time in this cat's life that they questioned their morals?"
346/50 words

Growing up, it was common knowledge in his homeland that every cat was responsible for themselves. There was no help or support given, you were expected to provide for yourself. If there was an enemy, you'd face them alone. If you grew sick, it was up to nature to decide your fate.

Conker never questioned this. It was all he knew, and to him, it made sense. The fate of those around him meant nothing to him, and likewise, he kept himself to himself.

That was until a particularly harsh winter, when sickness was in the air. He'd tried so hard, but the low temperatures weakened him, and he fell ill. Settled down under a low bush, he was prepared for his fate, watching other pass by without a second glance.

When he naked opened his eyes, he met a mismatched pair. One orange, one blue. "Here, eat this!" Conker couldn't wrap his head around the situation. The black she-cat was pushing a leaf towards him, eyes honest and encouraging. "It'll clear up that sickness in no time."

"Why would you help me? I'm not foolish enough to trust you."

The black tabby tipped her head to one side. "Why wouldn't I help you? We're all a part of this wretched planet, the least we can do is look out for one another."

"Tch, you've got a lot to learn newcomer. That attitude will get you nothing but scowls and a clawed muzzle," the patchy tom spat.

"That's why I don't stay. Where I come from, it's my sole duty to care for my clanmates by healing them, and in turn, they care for me with food and protection."

Conker was caught off guard. "Cats... Helping each other?"

She nodded. "And I'm their medicine cat. So take my word for it and eat this if you you don't want to be stuck under there for a few days." With that, the black cat shuffled backwards and started padding off, leaving Conker with a lot of questions about the world around him, her, her clanmates, and himself.

[Griffin Torrens]

Batwing's Biggest Flaw
"What is this cat's biggest flaw and how does it affect their life?"
191/? words

Batwing has a lot of things that he would consider flaws. His mental health has never been normal, he's always tired, and he's pretty sure there's a bunch more problems he just hasn't found a name for yet. However, no matter how much he refuses to admit it, his biggest flaw is his inability to seek help.

A lot of his issues could be worked on and helped if he would just talk to the medicine cat. Or even admitting what he's got going on could get him the extra support and understanding from those around him. Refusing to do so affects his life greatly.

Whenever it's a bad day, and it takes all his energy just to drag himself out of bed, he's shot with teasing or annoyed remarks on how lazy he is. This only further lowers his self esteem and self worth, dragging him further down.

He can see this, he knows it's happening, but that doesn't make it any easy to admit it and find help. It's his biggest flaw, and one he treats as a secret. However, with Jackdawcap's help, maybe one day he'll overcome it.