[nio]

extended til the 1st of may!

[Knickknacks]

Username: Knickknacks
Cat Name: Chestnuthollow ["Holly" for short]
Gender: male
Rank: warrior/scout
Clan: Knollclan
Age: ~3 years
Prompt:

[850 words]

"Sometimes it is easy to wish that none of this had happened in the first place."

The words were spoken quietly into the dark. Sagespot paused in her work of sorting herbs, turning around to glance at her patient. Chestnuthollow was curled tightly into his nest, fur flipped over to cover his eyes, both ends of his tail tucked tightly around him. The camp outside had quieted for the night, and the den was illuminated only by moonlight. If he hadn't spoken, her clanmate might have been mistaken for a silver statue, staring pensively into the stars.

"What was that, Holly?" she said, pricking her ears curiously. The spotted cat hadn't been particularly chatty since he'd shown up in the healer's den with a slight fever a few sunrises ago. She wondered what might be prompting this sudden bout of conversation.

If the other cat had any sort of protest to her use of the nickname, he did not show it, instead shifting about to face her, looking thoughtful.

"All of this," he said, raising a paw in a vague gesture. "Finchpaw, Rookstar, Duckstorm- and Dawngaze. I wish things hadn't happened that way."

Sagespot inhaled sharply at the list of names- Finchpaw, an apprentice killed in cold blood, whose death had set all of this into motion. Rookstar, the clan's former leader, stripped of his lives in a futile attempt to protect himself and all of them. Duckstorm and Dawngaze, who had been run out of the clan some time back. Of all the cats who had fallen to the chaos of recent events, she missed them the most. She remembered Duckstorm as Duckpaw, always in and out of the healer's den due to one mishap or another. And she remembered Dawngaze as- her heart twisted a bit at the thought of him, her coworker, her friend, her partner.

"So much has happened," she murmured in agreement. "So many losses."

Chestnuthollow nodded at her, mouth downturned into a frown, eyes distant.

"And yet..." he mused, turning to gaze at the moon outside. "I wouldn't change any of it, I don't think."

Sagespot's heart lurched once again, normally lighthearted features contorting into a darkly pained look.

"How can you say that?" She asked, voice quavering. "Cats have died- wouldn't you undo that, if you could?"

A moment of silence fell between the two as Chestnuthollow pondered his next words.

"I do mourn those deaths," he said softly. "Especially Finchpaw's. I was on the patrol that found her, did you remember that?" He didn't wait for Sagespot's words, continuing as she looked on, mutely.

"It was a beautiful day for a scouting trip- until we found her body, that is. I'll never forget the look on Spiderstripe's face- he was so horrified, he actually stopped talking. Didn't speak all the way back to camp as we carried her- nor through the night. We waited up while you tried to save her, hoping that we'd found her in time- but even the best of healers can't stop the inevitable, I suppose." He smiled ruefully, voice quavering just a bit as he recalled the memory.

"I wish she had not died," he murmured. "But think of what her death brought to light. Rookstar's lies and scheming- he roped Dawngaze into that too, didn't he? All of that dishonesty would never have been brought to light without it. Perhaps things would not look so bleak as they are now- maybe Rookstar would still be alive, or Cindersnap, and perhaps Duckstorm and Dawngaze would be here too. Perhaps Dragonbloom might have had a change of heart, and perhaps Vipercratch would not have done what she did. But those lies would have continued to fester." He paused, the twinned tips of his tail moving restlessly.

"It's an ugly truth," he mused. "That it is for sure. Our whole clan has been through so much, hurt in so many ways- you have borne a lot of it yourself, haven't you?" He glanced at Sagespot for a moment, expression unreadable. "But I would rather have the truth of our circumstance be known, terrible as it is, than continue to live under the shadow of a falsehood."

The two sat together, bathed in moonlight, while Sagespot pondered this.

"I suppose I can understand that," she answered him, shifting a bit closer so that their fur was brushing. Chestnuthollow did not protest, both allowing themselves this small comfort. "I still miss them, though. All of them." Leaning against her clanmate, she heard his breathing- steady, not rattling or feverish anymore, and contented herself with the knowledge that he, at least, would make it through the night.

And so Knollclan's sole remaining healer dozed off to sleep, pondering the merits of ugly truths and beautiful lies, lulled to rest by the reassurance that she had saved at least one life. The other cat remained awake, however, multicolored eyes staring into the stars, wondering himself if there's any way things might have worked out differently.

"I miss them too," he admitted, long after Sagespot had fallen asleep, the unanswering stars his only witness.

[nio]

extended to the 8th of may!

[alphias]

Mark

[BigFrog4231]

Cat Name: Tumbleweed
Gender: Genderfluid (all pronouns)
Rank: Outlaw
Clan: The Viper Raiders
Age: 17 Moons

Click Me <3

[wildsight]

Username: wildsight
Cat Name: gazelle
Gender: male
Rank: tbd
Clan: kingdom of khafra
Age: 30 moons
Prompt:

His heart was racing. Beating so quickly among his chest, so violently, that the tom feared it'd burst from its cage. The tabby kitten had never run so quickly in his life, but he supposed that all changed when said life was on the line. His breathing came about in short bursts, his gaze was poised upon the various tails that flew out ahead of him and his ears rang with the overwhelming sound of hurried pawsteps. Though so many things were happening, all at one time, which threatened to cause him to collapse in agony and distress, one thing kept him going and that thing alone: guilt.

On and on they went, tumbling over loose stones, various scattered objects and their own tails and paws. Many would think that they were doing a poor job in attempting to escape from their enemies. But in a way, it all made sense. They were exhausted and desperate, so much so, they were willing to put the entirety of their being into freeing themselves from this dreadful place. And as the sun was setting behind them, they believed that their moons of hard work had paid off, at last.

But then, a thought suddenly came to the young tom. The gates...not the gates! Internally, the tom screamed. He knew where this went from here on out and quite frankly, he wasn't looking forward to it one bit. Try as he might to stop himself from progressing, to stop the events from playing out for the millionth time, everything continued. They reached the gates and the royal guards confronted them, leading to the dreaded battle he so despised.

"NO!" The tom cried, as the events continued, from weapons being drawn to blood being spilt. War raged about him and cries, shouts and sobs surrounded him. His gaze was wide and round, filling with tears as he searched the battle for a familiar face...one of comfort. Maybe I can change things this time...maybe.

There. There he was, attempting to slip away from the battle, trying to find a safe place to hide until it was over. He could hear the sounds of the Pharaoh's approach, his cries ringing out over the evening desert realm. "Do not let them escape! Take them dead or alive, if you yourself, wish to live!" His heart seemed to stop the moment these words came to pass, for the very battle seemed to grow more violent and cats began to fall around him. Friends, family and even enemies alike fell to the sandy earth, covered in crimson, their breath fading. He had to find his brother. He had to find him now.

It was almost funny he had to carry out such actions as if he'd never done so before. But in the midst of reliving these events, the tom couldn't laugh in the slightest, he could hardly breathe after all. And to make matters worse, he knew what would happen next. If the battle wasn't enough to ruin him, this very moment was.

His heartbeat somehow seemed to increase the moment his brother came into view and there, just a few tail-lengths away, his soon-to-be murderer. Every time he reached this moment, the tom would try various different tactics in order to save his littermate, but it all ultimately ended the same, regardless of his efforts. I'm only a kit. He reasoned with himself every time, but even so, he threw himself into the battle regardless, a war cry sounding from him.

"DON'T HURT HIM!!!" He cried, with outstretched paws toward his brother, shoving him out of the way. As he tumbled away from the other tom, he yowled, scrambling to his paws and whipping about to face his fallen brother, as his attacker was already beginning to fall upon him. But suddenly, everything began to slow and his brother turned to gaze at him.

"Why do you try to change the unchangeable? Why do you try to be the hero, when you followed the path of villainy? Why try to save those you willingly allowed to be destroyed? It was never easy understanding you Gazelle but...even more so now."

"I...you don't understand! I was just as helpless as you are now, who knows what could've happened to me! I had no other choice..." He replied, with wide eyes.

"So, you did it out of fear? Don't you realize, you're among the most powerful cats to ever exist? You're hailed for your power or at least, you once were. And yet, you had the nerve to be afraid, even after everything you were taught? You SWORE to never SPEAK of the REBELLION. And yet, you gave us ALL away just to spare YOUR OWN life!" His brother countered, with eyes filled with hurt and anger.

"Coyote, PLEASE! Had I known my actions would've led to a war and the loss of so many, I would've never spoken! I carry the guilt of it all upon my shoulders every day, I know what I did was wrong! All I want to do is fix it, to relieve myself of this binding guilt and bring back my loved ones!" He cried, tears welling in his eyes.

"Would you really have? Would you really have done such or would you still have crumbled under the weight of your fear? For such potentially you possessed, you always gave it away due to fear. You were ALWAYS too afraid to do anything...who says you wouldn't be afraid to save us, if you had the chance? So don't even bother...it'll be too scary for you to handle." And then, Coyote's attacker fell upon him and those dreaded cries rang out once more. His final cries.

He awoke with a sudden gasp intertwined with a sob. Tears fell from his eyes and within moments, he was overcome with weeping. If only he could erase the war and the terrible deed he'd committed. If only...it'd been a dream.

wc; 1,000 words

[SushiFoxx]

Username: SushiFoxx
Cat Name: Spiritheart
Gender: female
Rank: warrior
Clan: https://toyhou.se/Sushifox/characters/f ... 891?page=1
Age: 24 moons
Prompt: [Song: (Optional) Everything moves

Spiritheart stared out.

"why do you believe them? Have you seen their eyes!" the ghostly figure exclaimed. "Oh, of course I have, but have you seen the spirit?" The second figure said softly. "THE SPIRIT!? Why does that matter?! Nobody will love them! Nobody!" The first figure yelled. "Oh but friend, you were loved, oh how you were loved dearly." The figure told them softly. "Oh how they loved you, loved you too much." They continued in their soft tone. "I don't care about their spirit, they shouldn't be here! They shouldn't be here!" The first figure argued angrily, they snapped their tail with anger.

"Oh please calm down, they need a chance, have you even watched them?" The figure asked. "No, but have you seen how they look? Oh look at that pitiful appearance!" They argued. "But look at them with kits! They may as well be a hero with the younglings, they have changed the future in such a positive way" The second figure told the first. "But they have scared so many cats!" The black figure argued. "But they have made it up in such a positive way" The white figure told the other one calmly. The two figures went their own ways into darkness and light.

~~~~~~~~~~~

They danced. Oh how they danced to the song of the breeze. Their conjoined tails following them. They continued to dance calmly. The kit approached them curiously. "Oh, why do you dance like that?" The kit asked. "Oh dear, everything moves." They answered calmly as they returned to their dancing. "You can view things in so many ways, so many angles of everything, come on, join me young one." They told the kit softly as they danced. The kit stared at them in awe and grinned excitedly. They joined in, throwing in their own little leaps.

The two of them danced gracefully. Oh how calm it was. The birds set in their own tune from above. The squirrels joined in. The deer stomped their hooves in tune. It almost felt perfect, the river sang, the birds whistles, the squirrels sang, the deer drummed. It was so nice, so, almost perfect. But nothing is ever perfect. As the two cats danced the sunset and they both knew the kit would have to go home. "Oh young one, please return home safe." The tabby carried the kit back and placed it on the ground then ran.

Oh how they ran away. They ran as fast as they could. Oh how they wished they could change the doubt the clans had of cats from outside the clan. Its taught, the kit was willing to learn, now they will never forget. "Oh let that kit teach others in a good light, let it tell others the lovely day it had from this mysterious cat." The cat spoke quietly.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The kit arrived home. Tired but excited. "Mother! Mother! I danced today! It was so nice! Nature sang the song that guided our paws! I didn't feel like I was controlling myself, it swept me into the dance!" The kit said excitedly. "Oh dear, you need to be careful, you know from the tales that other cats can hurt you." The mother told her kit calmly.

~~~~~~~~~~

The dappled cat arose from her sleep. The birds haven't started their call yet, it must be early. They stretched, it would be time to hunt soon and they would need to get in a hunt before all the clan cats arose from their dens. They have memorized when their patrols leave and which cats have the better senses. The cats who commonly hunted fish have better sight. The ones who catch mice have better hearing and scent. Ones who hunted birds have better sight, seeing, and hearing. They had learned this from studying the clan since they were a kit.

As they padded along they looked around, trying to scent for anything. Oh how they wished the clan was less weary of others.

At the blink of an eye they were on the ground. "WHO ARE YOU!?" The cat demanded, they were a confident brown tabby with many scars, clearly jumpy. They kicked them off and stood on guard. "I asked, who are you!" The cat growled at them. "I am merely one of you, calm down." They told the cat in a calm tone, obviously too calm for the other cat. "What is your name!?" They asked. "Name? Oh good question, I guess I have never really given myself a name, I guess my mother used to say I had a relaxed spirit so call me Spirit." They told the clan cat.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Mommy! Mommy! Thats the cat! Thats the cat I danced with!" The kit exclaimed happily as they pointed to Spirit. Spirit dipped their head calmly to the kit. The mother hid her kit, "Don't you go near that cat, baby, they are surely dangerous." The mother told her kit firmly. "But mom, look!" The kit broke free of its mothers grasp and ran over to Spirit. "Oh cat! I wanna dance! I wanna feel the wind in my fur!" The kit told Spirit hopefully. "Not now, young one, go back to your mother, she will be awfully mad at me and won't let us dance, you need to return to her." Spirit told the young cat calmly. "Soon." They promised.

Soon. That word stuck with the both of them. Soon was not soon enough to either of them, but for different reasons. "Soon." Spirit was promised for too long, was promised the day for when the clans would change, would change to accept them, accept different cats. It has seems soon was not close enough as they still hadn't changed. "Oh mama, why can't the pest change to accept us easier." Spirit whispered to themself calmly, their heart shallow in their chest.

"Oh show them, oh show them my dear, change them!" Spirit heard their mothers whisper in their ear. They perked up. Soon enough they were face to face with the leader. "I want to be accepted!" The first words rushed out of their mouth to fast for them to reel them back into the depths of their mind. The leader blinked in surprise so Spirit carried on. "Oh how my mother waited for you guys to change! She passed on waiting for you to change, change the future of your history!" Spirit told the leader. The leader nodded. "Oh, I know, I know too well." The leader spoke softly. "No, no you don't, I waited for too long, I waited for so long." Spirit spoke softly.

The leader raised their head. It had been a long conversation. "You would like to join?" She asked. "Oh yes! I would love to, I want to change their thoughts on other cats who are different," Spirit spoke softly to the leader. "Fine by me, my friend." The leader finished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dance continued.

[nio]

this is now closed for judging. please do not make any further edits past this point.

[nio]

hello hello! so sorry for the long wait on this. i just want to say you are all so so inspiring, all the art and writing and playlists and everything -- just so amazing! everyone in this community is so talented and i'm so proud of you all. :")
so i've decided to slice this cat into pieces and give you all a piece /j

let's start with the HMs!
Knickknacks: i love your writing so much!! oh my gosh, i want to read a whole book about your clan! you had me hooked!
wildsight: WOW oh my god! your writing!! the emotions were so intense, my heart was racing. very very well written and a fantastic response to the prompt!
SushiFoxx: oh i loved your story so much!!! the dancing scene was so captivating!! your writing is so lovely <3
craig?: wow… so much said through so little. the art too! so incredible. i really loved your entry!
.sins.: i love love this little snippet of your clan's plot! would absolutely love to read more about what happened!

RUs:
Bigfrog4231: oh my goshhh! the way the lyrics and the story paralleled each other was so cool. i was rooting for Tumbleweed so hard!! and the cliffhanger omg rhhdjfbfjfbfj. really really love the art you included too! wrapped everything so well together!
ethium: wahhh!!! ohhh!!! palepaw what have you done!!! this was such a gripping piece of writing. i’m enthralled, i want to know why corvidtwist and palepaw did what they did!
centipedes: the concept here, was just so incredible. i felt so connected on a persona level to the character you came up with! and oh my god, the art and PMV????? you did such a fantastic job
Deercan: your worldbuilding!!! oh man! so fantastic. i really loved your style, and the art you made was breathtaking.
Mooshyy: those art pieces. wow!!! holy moly, so gorgeous! your concept was fantastic. i loved' stargazer's powers and how they manifested. i would seriously read a whole book with this plot!

winner:
christine,: okay first off - congrats on making me cry, omg. your story was so poignant! i fell so in love with the characters. and wow, that story-game you made?! i played through to get all the options!!! i've never seen someone make something like this for a prompt, i was so excited. and the amount of commissioned artwork spoke to my heart of your dedication to this kitty! congratulations on winning dusk. <3

[coffee.berry]

CONGRATS ALL!!

I didn't have time to enter, but I'm super happy for all you guys <3