- ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐๐
(medicine cat) (27 mns) (she/her) (appr: cloudpaw) (x)
(location: outside medicine den) (tags: open) (mentions: none)
Morning dawned in darkness. If Briarseed hadn't been awake all night, watching pale light creep over the horizon, she never could have noticed the sunrise. Thunderclouds had gathered over the camp, looming above in a featureless expanse of gray. FallsClan was enshrouded in a night of no stars.
Against her better judgement, Briarseed stepped out into this false dusk. She had spent the actual night tossing and turning, any rest torn apart by fears of the future. She couldn't get it out of her mind--- the sight of her mentor dropping into the foggy abyss. Her trust ripped out from underneath her, replaced with a hollow afterimage of hope. Now with the deputy dead too, could anywhere be safe? Could StarClan really protect them here? Briarseed cursed herself for these traitorous doubts, shaking her head as if she could shake them out. No, she had to have faith. Her purpose was to follow the path set by the stars. StarClan, save us.
Any normal cat would have hidden in the dens by now, but Briarseed drifted forward as if transfixed. Her scarlet fur stood on end. It was as if the air itself was holding its breath, waiting for the storm to break. Her expression mirrored that pained, pensive sky. Slowly, the medicine cat turned around to face the herb garden. In that next moment, the storm let loose its fury and fear all at once. Rain slammed into the earth, the winds howling alongside. Briarseed alone stood in the center of camp, staring at nothingness as showers drenched her pelt. The moss beneath her turned to mud but still she lingered. Why? Even she couldn't say.
Because then lightning split the sky, striking a small tree above the canyon. The tree was reduced to splinters in an instant. Without that obstruction, the medicine den's creek swelled in the force of the storm. It flooded the herb garden, surging as it met with the river below. Geese and gulls shrieked and took off to escape the blast. Briarseed remained--- paralyzed, petrified. Her mouth began to form words no more than a whisper:
"Roots will rise as rocks now roll
Birds take flight over bog and wall
When storm strikes and splits the mount
Falls will flow and know no bounds."
Birds take flight over bog and wall
When storm strikes and splits the mount
Falls will flow and know no bounds."
The storm subsided as quickly as it arrived. And with it, the spell was broken. Briarseed took a step back, staggering before finding her balance again. Was that... a prophecy? It had come out like a song in another's voice. She didn't dare interpret what such sacred words meant. If only... if only Fogfern were here. Her head spun. The song echoed onward as she numbly walked to her favorite garden, hoping to save what was left of the uprooted herbs.
- ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐๐๐ข๐ช๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ง
(warrior) (40 mns) (she/her) (appr: goosepaw) (x)
(location: fallsclan camp) (tags: gullsplash) (mentions: briarseed)
Swallowsight watched over her stormswept home, blue eyes boring through its clouded haze. Always an early riser, she awoke under the obscured sun. The warrior would normally pull her brother out of his nest too, but there wasn't much use going out in a thunderstorm. She greeted the morning in solitary reflection. Finding an open spot under the outermost branches of the den, she felt the damp of the air as she stared out into camp. She shuffled her paws, shuddering. This morning was more still than most. At this early hour, Coyoteleap would have already stepped out to prepare his patrols. Fogfern's white coat would drift between the nursery and elders' den in her morning rounds. Camp never felt so desolate without them. Only young Briarseed remained, her expression vacant and mannerisms odd. Swallowsight would never question a medicine cat, but as the rain worsened, Briarseed still would not leave. She could get electrocuted if she didn't take shelter! The warrior had almost made up her mind to go out there when lightning struck. Sparks and shards hurtled down toward camp, blackened branches crashing into stone. Ears flattened, Swallowsight tore out at once to help. Her nose wrinkled at the acrid scent of burning wood. No cat seemed harmed, but the herbs had been crushed or washed away.
She returned to the warriors' den, prodding her brother roughly in the flank while muttering: "Hey. Gullsplash. Get over here and help with this mess." After an affectionate lick on the top of his head, she lowered her voice and whispered directly in his ear. "Come on. Don't make me drag your lazy tail out myself." Gullsplash might not be a kit anymore, but she'd still haul him out by the scruff of his neck if she had to. Without looking back, Swallowsight left to move charred debris out of the clearing.
- ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ช
(apprentice) (9 mns) (he/him) (mentor: spottedfeather) (x)
(location: apprentice den) (tags: goosepaw) (mentions: none)
Rain rattled on the log of the apprentice den. Hopperpaw's ears pricked up, his green eyes glinting brightly in the gloom. Normally, he'd roll over and catch a morning snooze when it was still dark like this, but the fearless apprentice could never miss a storm. Slipping past his denmates, he leapt out into the downpour. Who cares if he looked and smelled like a wet rat? Electric excitement rushed through his paws as he crouched beside the den. This was a big one. Maybe the gales would sweep him away, sending him on adventures far beyond these mouse-brained borders. But the best was yet to come. A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, exploding a tree into smithereens! Hopperpaw's eyes grew round. Back arching in thrill and awe, the fluffed-up tom looked as if he'd been struck by lightning too. He scrambled back into the apprentice's den, whisper-screaming the incredible news: "Goosepaw! Goosepaw! You won't believe what I just saw!" He nudged his friend in the side, a wide grin on his frenzied face. "A whole tree went boom, just like that!"
- ๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐จ๐ง
(elder) (121 mns) (he/him) (x)
(location: elders' den) (tags: open) (mentions: none)
Rumblespout awoke with a start. He heard a sharp crackling blast, louder than even the roar of the falls. The self-appointed guard lurched to his paws, ignoring his aching joints as he dragged himself to the elders' den entrance. When his yellow eyes pierced the darkness outside, he spotted cinders spilling down from above. A tree must have been hit by the storm. Lightning almost never struck this close to camp, but thankfully no cat seemed hurt. This must be a sign from the stars. "The old ways will light our path through this storm," he mumbled in awe. Rumblespout bowed his head, a rare gesture of respect from the pompous old tom. FallsClan had come to troubled waters these past moons, but undoubtedly his great clan would prevail.