Username: x Griffingirl4everx3 x
Clan intended for: x Cliffclan x
Name Ram will take: x Ramblaze x
Why did Ram leave his home to join your clan?
Ram stood at the border of Cliffclan territory with a frown. Since when have cats lived here? He thinks, sniffing the air. He’d never really had a place to call home, instead of settling he’d been wandering across the land, going wherever his feet took him. The longest he’s stayed in one place had been when he was first born, and he had left as soon as he was big enough to take care of himself. He did occasionally return to places he had been before, places he had greatly enjoyed, and the cliffs near Cliffclans camp was one of these places. He greatly enjoyed both swimming, and climbing and this was a perfect spot for both. Between the calm waters, large rocks and multitude of ledges, this location was perfect. And now it was taken.
Ram glanced around before stepping over the border, not one to give up easily. He makes his way through the territory, managing to avoid any patrols. He wasn’t too surprised, he’d always been rather lucky. He reaches the beach and continues walking, soon reaching the stretch of rocky cliffs. He waded out into the water to a rock surrounded by water, but sticking out enough for him to sit an sunbath. It was his favorite spot to lay in whenever he stayed.
He’s only laying there for a few minutes when he hears an angry shout from a nearby. He jumps to his feet, looking around with wide eyes before spotting several cats swimming out of a cave not far from him. Ram quickly leaps from rock to rock until he reaches the cliff, climbing up as the other cats follow him. He stops on a ledge, looking back to see three cats following him, each having difficulty reaching him quickly. With a laugh, Ram climbs to another spot. He then waits for at least one cat to nearly reach him before moving to another spot, gracefully moving across the steep surfaces.
Soon, the three gather on a ledge far below him, talking to each other in hushed voices. With a nod, one of them makes their way down and re-enter the cave. Ram is left to settle down on his ledge, too far up for any of them to reach. Waiting to see what would happen next.
Several minutes pass before a black and white shape emerges from the water, a greying tom making his way up. He makes his way up the cliff, going as far as he could before calling up to Ram. “Greetings, my name is Eelstar and I am the leader of Cliffclan. Would you please come down so we can have a talk?” He says.
After some consideration, Ram nods and moves down the cliff until he’s standing in front of the leader. Eelstar offers him a smile before sitting down, looking off to the side towards the ocean where the sun was beginning to set.
“So, what brings you here, traveler?” Eelstar asks curiously, continuing to look out at the scenery.
“I’ve been here before.” Ram says, following the others gaze, observing the sky that was beginning to darken. “One of the best places I’ve been. Nice cliffs, nice water.” He fixes a small glare onto the leader “didn’t really expect to find anyone settled here, though I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised.”
Eelstar tilts his head, looking away from the view to stare at Ram. “So you’re here because the location is nice?” He asks, causing Ram to shrug before nodding in confirmation. “Yeah, I guess. Not a lot of places this nice.”
“Then what if we made a deal? Obviously you don’t want to leave.” Eelstar says. “I’m listening. What did you have in mind?”
“You will be able to stay on our land until the beginning of leaf-bare. You will be allowed to hunt on our land, but for every piece of prey you catch, you must catch an additional piece to give to the clan.” Eelstar offers. Ram only considers it for a moment before nodding in agreement “yeah, sure. Besides I’ll probably be gone by the next full moon.”
With a nod Eelstar turns away, climbing back down and leading his warriors back into the cave, leaving Ram to set up a temporary den in a small shallow cave open on one end to the sea.
~~~~~~
Ram was laying on top of a rock rising above the water, the same one he had been on a quarter moon ago when he had first arrived. He was laying there, enjoying the sun's warmth and the sounds of the ocean. He lets out a content sigh, his eyes slipping shut as he just enjoys the moment. Opening his eyes a moment later to gaze at the landscape around him. He pauses, noticing a strange color in the water near Cliffclans camp. Ram soon realizes the shape to be that of a kit, struggling in the water.
Ram immediately leaps down into the water, eyes wide in alarm as the tom quickly swims over to the kit, grasping their scruff and lifting them above the water. He hurries to swim into the cave, climbing up at the closest point that he could before setting down the kit.
“Hey, this kit nearly drowned!” Ram calls out as said kit starts to cough up water. The cats in the main cave had leapt to their feet upon discovering the visitor inside of the cave, instantly becoming aggressive once they say he had one of the kits.
“How do we know you didn’t take him?!” One cat accuses as another runs forward to scoop up the kit. Ram steps back with a small hiss “I saved him! It’s not my fault you all couldn’t watch him.” He huffs as a few share a guilty look. Before anything else can be said, a ginger and white she cat runs forward out of a tunnel, hurrying over to Beekit.
“Oh Starclan, what happened?” She gasps, wrapping herself around the kit. Beekit groans, blinking his eyes open “mama?” He calls out weakly “I fell into the water. But then a the strange cat saved me” at these words the clan seems to relax, now sure that Ram had actually saved the kit.
“Thank you so much for saving him!” Cherryberry says with a relieved smile. “He was asleep when I went to visit Waspthistle, and by the time I got back he was gone.” She leans forward to nuzzle Beekit “I thought he just wandered off to find me, so I started looking near our cave and I was about to start asking around when I came in and found you all.”
Ram turns away awkwardly with a shrug “it was nothing, any decent cat would’ve done the same.” He mumbles, turning and slipping back into the water before another word could be said, returning back to his temporary den.
~~~~~~
A day had passed since Ram had saved the kit, and he was now back outside the cave entrance, returning to his favorite rock. He sat there, looking around him at everything from the cliffs to the water, once again just enjoying the view. However, he kept subconsciously glancing at the water coming out of Cliffclans camp, on alert in case another kit happened to be drowning.
“Hey! Hey! Over here!” He hears a voice call from said camp. With a frown he turns to face the camp, seeing Beekit who had somehow managed to make his way to a rock just outside the camp entrance without slipping, the small tom grinning across the water to him. “Thanks for saving me yesterday!”
Ram huffs, rising to his feet in case he had to jump in after the kit again. “Don’t mention it kit, it’s not a big deal.”
“Death seems like a pretty big deal to me.” Beekit responds, causing Ram to let out a small laugh at the unexpected response. “Anyways,” Beekit continues “what are you doing here? Are you joining the clan? What other places have you been? Where-“ “woah woah, slow down.” Ram interrupts “also where are your moms? And shouldn’t you be recovering or something?”
“I’m fine now, and I just snuck out of the den again.” Beekit grins “ will you answer my questions now?” He asks again, moving to sit down on top of his rock. Ram rolls his eyes before settling down himself “fine, whatever. What was your question?”
Beekit thinks for a moment “hmm, actually I have a different question!” He says proudly “what’s the most interesting place you’ve been?”
Ram tilts his head, thinking for several moments. “Well, this place is pretty nice I suppose. I’ve also been to large forests full of trees that all blossom at the same time and turn pretty colors, only to turn different colors later on in the year.”
“Sounds boring!” Beekit says before Ram can talk about other places. “What about monsters? My ma told me she’s seen those big creatures travel faster than any cat could ever dream to run!” Ram just shakes his head, amused “yeah, I’ve seen them. They’re pretty common once you get closer to twoleg dens.”
“Oh yeah! Are twolegs-“ “Beekit!” Beekit freezes, his eyes wide as he turns to look inside “oh, ugh, hi ma! I thought you went hunting?” A black and orange face pops out of the cave “why are you out here already? You nearly drowned yesterday. Shouldn’t you be scared or something?”
Beekit shakes his head “nope! Besides I’ve been talking to Ram, he’s the one who saved me yesterday!” Beekits ma tilts her head, turning to Ram “oh? Well I’m Foxfire. Thanks for saving my son, but he really should not be out right now.” She turns to look at Beekit. “He’s given his mom another heart attack. Now come on, back in the cave.”
With a groan, Beekit hops back to the cave, saying a quick goodbye to Ram. Foxfire watches him go before looking back at Ram “he’s a little too curious, so if he was being annoying then sorry” she says. Ram just shrugs and looks away “kits will be curious” he says as Foxfire disappears back into the cave.
~~~~~~
“Are you leaving soon?” Ram pauses, the question from Beekit coming out of nowhere. He looks down at the kit laying next to him with a small frown. A moon had passed since he had first talked to the kit, and the young one had continued to question and talk to him every day without fail. Beekit had been taught to swim very soon after his accident, his mother’s wanting to prevent a repeat, especially after he kept sneaking out to talk to Ram. At this point they decided to just let Beekit do whatever, trusting Ram to keep him safe. So now Ram sat on his rock with Beekit curled against his side, with Ram telling stories of his travels up until the question was asked.
Ram lets out a sigh, looking away to stare out at the far horizon, responding with a simple shrug. Beekit frowns, following his gaze to stare out for several moments. “Well, do you think you could maybe stay until I become an apprentice?” He asks hopefully, looking back up at Ram.
Ram inwardly lets out a sigh of relief, glad to have another excuse to stay. “Yeah, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to stay a bit longer. Besides, the weather has been pretty good lately.” Beekit immediately lights up “great! I can’t wait to be an apprentice, then I’ll be able to hunt, and fight off big dogs like the ones you fought off!” He grins “can you tell me the story again? Please?”
“Again? I’ve already told you so many times!” Ram huffs. “I know, but it’s my favorite!” Beekit whines “please, please, please!”
“Fine, but I’m not gonna tell it again after this” Ram lies, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to say no to the kit if he asked again.
Ram ends up telling several more stories before Cherryberry appears from the cave, calling Beekit back in for the night and exchanging a friendly hello with Ram, before the two disappear into the cave, leaving Ram to return to his own den in the cliffs.
~~~~~~
Ram sat to the edge of the main cave, near the water that led outside staring down at the liquid. He didn’t feel too out of place as he had gotten used to staying for a while after dropping off prey, usually just chatting with Beekit or a couple other warriors he had gotten to know. He was currently sitting alone, Beekit and his siblings currently getting ready for their apprentice ceremony. He looks up after hearing someone approach, spotting Eelstar walking up.
“Hello, Ram.” Eelstar says with a smile. “How are you today?”
“Eh, good enough.” Ram shrugs “you?”
“Pretty good, this is the second litter born to Cliffclan that are becoming apprenticed. It’s quite exciting, don’t you think?” Eelstar moves to sit near him.
“Yeah, I suppose it is.” Ram glances towards the tunnel, starting to hear the excited talking coming from Beekit and his siblings. “Sounds like the kits are ready.” Ram huffs, amused as Foxfire and Cherryberry herd the kits into the main cave, trying to keep them from running ahead.
Eelstar stands with a small laugh, watching the family fondly. “Well, that’s my cue. Have a great day, Ram” Eelstar says, rising to his feet and making his way to the meeting ledge.
~~~~~~
Ram jolts awake, hearing something from next to his head. He blinks the sleep out of his eyes, frowning slightly in confusion “huh?” He looks down to see a shrew. Looking back up he spots Beekit- no, Beepaw standing in front of him.
“Look what I caught! Jaycloud was going to just show me the territory” Beepaw moves to sit next to Ram “but I asked if I could try to catch something, and Jaycloud said I could go ahead and try. So I tried, and caught a shrew!” Beepaw grins widely, looking extremely proud of himself.
“Good job, kit.” Ram smiles “I’m sure whoever picks it will enjoy it.”
“Oh, it’s actually for you, Ram!” Beepaw says, moving a paw forward to scoot the shrew closer to Ram. Ram just freezes, confused “oh. For me?” He questions, confused, earning himself a happy nod from Beepaw.
“In that case thank you” Ram leans forward to take a bite. “So, anything else eventful happen?” He asks after swallowing the bite, leaning down to take another as he listens to Beepaw ramble on about his first day as an apprentice.
~~~~~~
Ram found himself standing towards the top of the cliff, staring out sadly as the sky was painted with colors from the setting sun. Tomorrow was the first day of leaf-bare, and today was his last day in Cliffclan. He had been up on the cliffs all day, ducking out of sight when Beepaw had come to try to talk with him. Ram couldn’t bare the thought of leaving the clan, he had gotten so close to so many members, not just Beepaw. Call him selfish, but he didn’t want to be faced with Beepaw again knowing that he’d have to be gone by morning. He didn’t want to say goodbye, choosing to instead ignore everyone else instead of saying the words that felt so final. He didn’t want to admit how close he had gotten to the others, especially Beepaw. Beepaw had wormed his way into Rams heart, and he thought of the apprentice like a younger brother. He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning against the rock wall next to him.
“Ram? Do you think you could come down for a bit?” Rams eyes shoot open, looking down to see Eelstar standing on the ledge where he had made the deal several moons ago.
With a sigh, Ram nods and makes his way slowly down the cliff side to stand in front of the leader. “I know, I know. Be gone by sunrise.” He says, turning his head to stare out across the water again.
“Actually, I wanted to say that you don’t have to leave.” Eelstar says, watching as Ram turns to him with a confused look. “You’d be welcomed into the clan, I’m sure no one would disagree with you joining permanently.”
Ram lets his gaze wander to the rocks below as Eelstar continues. “And if you’d rather leave now, that’s ok. We’ll welcome you back if your travels bring you back towards Cliffclan. If you do choose to stay, but wish to leave later on that’s fine as well. You’ll always have a home here.”
Eelstar start to climb down the cliff “just let me know what you decide in the morning, ok? And… say goodbye to Beepaw if you do leave. He’ll be sad if you don’t.” He says, plunging into the water before disappearing into the cave.
~~~~~~
Ram walked into Cliffclans camp, being more at ease and happy than he’d felt in nearly half a moon, relieved that he would be able to stay. He makes his way through the tunnels, entering the main cave. He’s almost immediately knocked over as another cat rushes forward to press against his side.
“I’m going to miss you, Ram…” Beepaw says sadly before Ram pushes him away. Beepaw looks up at him with a confused and almost hurt expression as Ram stares down at him with a smirk.
“What? Miss me?” Ram tilts his head slightly. “You didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?” Beepaw just stares at him, still a bit confused.
“Nah, I’m not leaving. This place is too cool, I’m gonna be staying for a while.” Ram moves to sit down, looking across the cave before fixing Beepaw with a fake glare “Don’t get any ideas though, I’m only staying here because the views are nice.”
Beepaw smiles brightly, letting out a laugh “of course, of course!” He says, sitting down next to Ram and looking around at the cave as well.
Ram would later be given the name of Ramblaze, the clan warmly welcoming him into the clan. As he fell asleep that night, he felt more at home than he’d ever felt, leaving him to wonder why he hadn’t chosen to stay sooner. He slipped into sleep, vowing to do whatever he could for his new clan. He had always been lucky, after all.
End note: had to make up some events and cats, mainly Beekit since the clan currently has no kits. Had a lot of fun writing this, and it ended up being a lot longer than I intended it to be.