Username: ivyy.
Clan: oceanclanQuest Number: 1
Response: Claws thrummed against the rough deck, bark splintering into their thick paw pads as they played. Leaping with outstretched paws, midnight blended into morning and joy brightened the sky more than the sun ever could. Every day was fun with his companion. They lived happily on this floating mansion where people would drop delicacies and even when it was dark, there was always light. The pair of felines only had to take care of any rodents to keep their place on the drifting paradise they knew as home. The seagull called out from the azure sky, clouds drifted almost as lazily as the cats batting at each other. Next to him, a silver tabby with a few scars etched into her fur rolled around the wood platform, flicking her tail lightly as she enjoyed watching the birds, mere specks in the sky, call out to each other.
"Hey, do you think those things would eat us given the chance?" The fawn-colored tom asked, a small playful smile sprouting on his maw.
Snow turned to him, her dark, green eyes curious. "Never thought of that before. Hmm... I think you should be more afraid of...me!" Rolling over she launched herself at her friend and their games of play-fighting initiated once more, claws carefully sheathed as they chased each other around before the twoleg crew awoke and began their chores among the cats.
---
A salty breeze stirred his whiskers, it whistled above his head as the sails turned, their clean white pannels of cloth allowing the ship to be steered by their leader. At only a year old,
Captain has seen a lot alongside his good friend. They had traveled the seas since he was only a little kitten, the both of them were raised together as babies, too, their mothers having been the past mouse-chasers on the boat before they were taken a couple months ago by an older lady who used to work on the ship. She had retired and given her position to their current leader, he even named Captain after his role. Captain adored life on the ship, nothing could possibly be better.
If his life would be anything like his mother's, he would spend ages hanging out with Snow and hunting down intrusive rodents. Maybe even a fish or two if they got lucky. Over the calm seas, the ship barely swayed over the sea. Today no guests were on board. Instead, the crew had decided to stop and dock to pick some supplies up as they were low. Despite their grumbling stomachs, their eyes shone with a thirst for adventure as they watched the sunrise over the smooth railing along the edge of the boat. "Where do you think we'll be this time?" Snow blinked slowly and rolled her shoulders, relaxing at the thought of adventure. "Does it matter? We get to explore!" Her voice revealed her excited, Snow's eyes still locked on the horizon. "As long as we get to some place knew, I don't care where."
Captain nodded, "Yeah, you're right. Do you think we'll see new cats, too?" Snow jolted onto her back legs, using her tail to balance as she lashed out against the air. "I sure hope so! I've been practicing my fighting moves." Captain rolled his eyes at her antics and turned, leaping back onto the deck and gesturing with his tail for her to follow.
"Come on, let's go see what's for breakfast."
---
When the sun had begun to set once more, Captain blinked open sleepy eyes, pleased to see a warmly lit dock just ahead of the boat's nose. Captain stretched and wandered over to Snow who lay curled just a paw step away. The silver and white tabby rested on a roll of thick rope, snoring softly and kicking in her sleep. He prodded her firmly, a whisper escaping his maw, "Hey, wake up. We're here." Snow yawned and blinked the sleepiness from her eyes, the drowsiness quickly chased away by the buzz of unfamiliarity. The idea of exploring seemed to allow her to forget any dream she may have been in. The pair of felines darted back over the front of the boat just a few fox lengths ahead, the both of them climbed onto the flat railing and gazed over the edge, brown and green eyes sparking with interest. Heart thrumming in a thrilling way, Captain's fur bristled as the ship grew closer to the collection of light posts and wooden planks, he knew to be a dock where the ship would rest while they ventured onwards.
The horn of the ship used to spook both boat cats when they were first getting used to living nomadically at sea. Now, they felt a thrill when the horn sounded- it was an alert that they were arriving, an announcement of sorts. The captain of the ship always did that as a sort of fun habit. Before the crew members even tied the bot to the side of the landing, both cats jumped off the edge and landed somewhat gracefully on the rough wood of the ramp leading down to the dock, already competing to see who could get the farthest first. When they had grown tired of running, Captain and Snow walked together towards the twoleg settlement just beyond the maze of the parked boats and ropes lying along the dock pathways. Ships similar to theirs rested nearby, smaller boats to. No matter how many docks they explored in their time, albeit many, it never failed to drive Captain into awe of the amount of twoleg captains that remained in this area with their manned vessels. Panting as they climbed up rugged cobblestone stairs, they reached a small village of sorts connected to the dock. The same cobblestone lined the pathways around the area, a few of it's trails branching off into different directions. One promised forest on the left, on the distance it was lined with tall, unclimbable boulders ran along the edges, almost a ledge over the vast sea.
The street ahead led to a collection of small homes, enough to fit a family of four or five twolegs. The houses looked old but were well-taken care of, their paint fresh and front gardens clean-cut. The last road to the right led to a few structures resembling twoleg places of socializing, a store and a few food places where they were guaranteed to have some delicious leftovers. By the time they boarded the ship again, there would be plenty of food and guests to leave food out so they wouldn't worry about food right now. The pair took off towards the twoleg place, eager to see what residents and twolegs they can meet from now until it's time for their boat to leave.
"Race you?"
Snow looked at him mischievously, an ambitious glow in her eyes sending a shiver down his spine.
There was something wrong...
---
Thrushslip hesitated as the world swirled around him and he found himself sprawled on the sandy forest floor. Blood spattered the root he was leaning on and a barely familiar silver tabby she-cat was squirming underneath his grasp, all of his weight pressed against her, claws to his once close friend's throat. Now there was no playfulness in her eyes, no joy or adventure. Only ambition and hatred. Soulless, moss-colored eyes stared back at him, a husk of what their sibling-like relationship had once been. Heartbroken but determined, Thrushslip lifted his claws, his foreleg casting a shadow over her face as he prepared himself to end this. To end them. To end her.
The fuzzy, distant memories and visions of happiness by Snowshell's side were faint. They were no more. The night they met Tansy was destiny, so was the outcome of their misadventure.
As silver claws collided with flesh, only one thought whispered in the eerie quiet of Thrushslip's mind.
"This is my fault."
Word Count: 1,323 words
Quest Number: 3
Response: A storm raged violently over the ocean, shaking the earth and forcing the cats of OceanClan to quake in their cavern, awaiting the angered seas to subside. They didn't. A full day, or what the cats assumed to be a full day, rolled by. Thunderous clouds and the vicious downpour echoed against the roof of their cavern, a never-ending thrumming inside the heads of the OceanClan felines.
And Rain was nowhere to be seen.
Heart racing with apprehension,
Sandytide peaked out the camp archway at the front of the cave about a million times, scanning the gray scenery for any sign of her ward. OceanClan had retreated to higher ground at the very back of the cavern where an escape route to the Ashen Trails mountain lay waiting, perhaps they would need to use it if the cave ended up flooding. The darkened sky casted a fierce shadow over the ocean and neighboring forest- her eyes worked to adjust to the gloominess of the stormy night. Eyes wandering the terrain, Sandytide waited a long moment, searching for any possible sign, smell, or sound of her assigned ward. Not only would
Tansystar turn her into a decorative pelt but Sandytide also didn't know what Rain was capable of.
Only recently having been assigned to baby-sit the mysterious outsider, Rain showed no intentions of speaking about life back in the Heart of Decay. Constantly lurking as if she was hiding something, Sandytide was immediately suspicious and vowed to watch over the strange black and white she-cat if it meant protecting her clan from a possible danger. She was told this stranger would help protect OceanClan but with all the attacks from the Ashen Trails as of late... she couldn't help but think one sole she-cat, one who refused to let her new temporary clanmates get to know her, would save them. How could Sandytide trust such a shifty figure?
Unsheathing her claws, she scratched them against the nearest stone, her tail lashing in frustration. Why couldn't her ward just
listen when she said to stay in the cave? A silver tabby emerged from the cave's darkness behind her, looking concerned towards her sister. "Sandytide, growling and swiping at our rocks won't make a difference. I don't want you to get hurt but..." The white she-cat turned to look at her littermate, Rapidstream. Sandytide sighed and locked eyes with her, "But I should probably go after her?" Rapidstream nodded slowly and leaned forward, her maw reaching for her sister's scuff. Around her neck laid an iridescent cloak she had worn since discovering it recently. Retreating, the cloak hung loosely from her sister's jaws, careful not to mess the pretty silk as Rapidstream stared back at her sister. "Good luck. I'll keep this safe for you until you come back." The words were muffled through the cloth but Sandytide already knew what she would say anyways. "Thanks." Offering her a small smile before quickly scrambling out of the cave, sliding down the smooth stone ramp and sending flurries of sand back towards the ocean.
Rain would surely be swept away by the ocean if she stayed out any longer. There was no time to lose.
---
Following a path along the ocean shore, Sandytide walked alongside the beach, a safe distance from the furious waves and on the outskirts of the sand-specked forest. "Rain! Rain?" Her cries echoed through the forest but were merely drowned out by the thunder and lightning that sparked amongst the murky clouds. "Rain, get your tail back to the cavern! The ocean will sweep you off!" White tail lashing, the blue bandana at the end had been long soaked- weighing her smooth appendage down as she flicked it irritably. The storm raged on, Sandytide swore it only grew more aggressive as she searched through the pouring rain to find her charge. Racing along the shore, sand flicked into the air, some disappearing into the splashing waves that grew closer and closer to her paws.
The water was rising. Rising more and more as she ran, her heart continued it's fearful thrumming. The white she-cat was way too far from OceanClan for them to save her if the waves tried to carry her off. Did she remember everything she learned during the Clan's swimming lessons? Unwilling to dwell on the awful thought of drowning, Sandytide carried on courageously, ignoring the way she felt as though another cat had their claws wrapped around her heart and lungs. The forest had long disappeared along the shoreline, her only option to escape the dark depths would be to turn around. To her right, the raging storm and unforgiving ocean, to her left a line of rugged boulders. Perhaps climbing them would be an option. Pausing, she turned and lifted her paws against the stone, attempting to dig her claws into the weathered rock.
Sandytide couldn't get a grip onto the stones, slippering and not allowing any paw holds for her to grip onto. Her normally smooth pelt spiked all over, fear holding her in a tight headlock as she tried to retrace her only trail back to the safety of the sandy forest shores. Whipping around, the path was almost completely underwater, the waves beating closer and closer as she tore back down the soaked sand, water and specks of grit flying from under paw. Mind and heart racing, there would be no end to this terror. Wind rushed through her fur, bringing the familiar scent of ocean and salt, no longer comforting in this moment of fear. The water licked at her heels, at first a gentle splash but growing into a more forceful tug, pulling her towards the deeper ends of the murky water. Twigs and leaves swirled among the water, buried under the waves before resurfacing once more.
Past her heels, her hackles still spiked grew freezing as the chilled, salty water touched them. Striking out against the waves, her mind grew into a fuzzy coldness, the racing thoughts slowing as she accepted the reality that this would be her death. Rapidstream should've stopped her before she made such a grave mistake, drowning at sea was the worst possible outcome for this search. A yowl echoed over the waves as they lapped at her chip, still swimming her legs grew stiff under the water, panic and cold settling into her bones as she slowed her strikes. Water swarmed her ears as it sloshed around her, her nose barely above the depths. Water surged her mouth, sputtering from it sending her under water as she struggled to not drown. A distant yowl echoed in her head, "Swim." The voice whispered, barely a murmur amongst the loud, rushing water.
Silver claws and barely visible fur leapt into the water beside her, a tugging on her scruff dragging her slowly towards the distant shore. Surfacing and remotely conscious, her eyes shut, and darkness flew over her, weak coughing the only thing having kept her from syncope.
"It's okay, I've got you."
---
Blurry yellow shadowed her gaze, eyes cracked open enough to tell the tempest was parting, giving way to what she imagined to be a beautiful dawn. StarClan was calling her name, whispering promises through such a gorgeous scene. A soft breeze stirred her whiskers and cheek fur. A feeling of malaise forced her to stumble under the imaginary weight, the vision fading, she was no longer in a golden field in the sky- instead, a pair of fearful eyes stared into hers. "Sandytide? Sandytide, wake up." The voice whispered, shaking her gently. As she opened her mouth to get a few words out, salty water rushed out instead, pouring onto what seemed to be the comfortingly familiar forest floor. "It's okay. It's okay." The she-cat next to her smoothed a paw over her belly as she emptied the inhaled water. After a while, Sandytide collapsed once more and leaned into the silky, cold fur. "Heavens above, what were you doing out there?" Jolting upright she realized who she was cuddling, an enemy. "Rain?" She wheezed from the rough movement of bringing herself upright and fell back onto the sandy moss once more.
A moment of silence passed between the two. Simultaneously both spoke, "I thought you were dead!" Turning her head, Sandytide searched Rain's gaze, surprised to see concern and fear edging them. Slowly lifting herself upright, Sandytide shifted away from the alluring black and white cat, her gaze flickering awkwardly. "Nope. Instead, I almost died looking for you." Immediately regretting the words as they left her mouth, Rain lifted an eyebrow in a teasing manner, her eyes dancing over Sandytide's drenched shape playfully. "Oh
really? The ever stoic and graceful Sandytide was searching for me? Her ward?" Playing into her bit ever so slightly, the white she-cat rolled her eyes and huffed exasperatedly, "Well, to be fair, Tansystar would've drowned me herself if she found out I had lost you or let you drown at sea." Rain rested her tail over Sandytide's spine, forcing her fur to spike with apprehension at the new show of affection. Sandytide sputtered again, "Oh yeah? Likely story. And anyway, it seems you did the drowning part for me."
Before she could respond, the white she-cat sputtered, breaking the almost friendly atmosphere. Rain offered her shoulder tensely, "We should get you back. That sounds..." Her voice trailed off, dripping in an unfamiliar concern. Sandytide, despite her dislike towards the annoying stranger, leaned into her comforting yet equally soaked fur, "Mm, I could definitely do with a minnow. This storm came out of nowhere, I hadn't eaten in a minute." For a moment, Sandytide flashed her charge a glance and noticed a wrinkle of distractedness forming on the other she-cat's face. Rain knew something she wasn't willing to share- ugh, what's new?
---
"I can't believe you'd let her go out in a storm like that!"
Goldenleaf had her paw firmly stamped on Rapidstream's tail. The silver tabby's mate, Swiftlake, stood with fur slightly bristling ready to defend her mate, still unused to the way Goldenleaf could go from zero to a hundred in a mere few minutes. Rain sat curled comfortably in the corner, watching the scene before her with a distant look in her eyes. Since when did Rain care about her wellbeing? Before Sandytide could get a word out, a bout of coughing interrupted Goldenleaf's lecture, all of the cats in the room turned their heads to look at her. Through blurry eyes, she could still see the concern on everyone's faces. Allowing her head to slowly sink back down into the moss, the ache in her chest was hard to ignore no matter how hard she tried to.
Sandytide didn't need a medicine cat to tell her that she was growing ill.
---
"May I come in?"
It had been a few days since Rain had saved her from drowning in the sea, she had been visiting her much more frequently than Sandytide would've ever guessed. Goldenleaf and
Sunpaw were out since morning searching for catmint and lavender, both to hopefully soothe the soreness in her lungs. Voice cracking as she spoke, Sandytide spoke, "Yes." Over the past four days, Sandytide had only digressed into a worser state. Crust edged her nose and eyes, and pain tugged at her internally- a wound she wasn't sure would heal at this point. The quiet tinkling of Rain's bracelet always signaled her presence before she asked to come in.
Her white and dark gray maw held a small bouquet of beach aster and bee balm, the purple of their delicate petals being Sandytide's favorite color. The white she-cat lifted her head, her gold cape shifting from her back as she did- relief filled her as she remembered that Swiftlake had given it back to her along with a sincere apology for encouraging her to run off during a storm. Rain kept her eyes on the floor as she placed the variety of flowers in front of Sandytide. Although she couldn't really smell them, the sight of them through her glassy eyes brought a... pleasant happiness? She couldn't believe she would even
think such a thing about this overly secretive stranger but Rain had been good company in the last few days. An odd sense of warmth washed over her as they locked eyes, "I had picked these special this morning. I wanted to give you something that reminded of you the ocean." Each word seemed an effort for Rain despite her not having a painfully raspy throat like Sandytide currently had.
Sandytide blinked slowly, a small smile forming on her face, "That's... kind of you." She choked out, despite her state her eyes danced playfully over Rain's awkwardly bristling form. "Why?" Rain flicked her ears to show she heard Sandytide but settled first before answering, lowering herself into the nest alongside Sandytide, the soft seabird plumage and moss it contained providing an addicting sense of comfort. Rain fidgeted with a loose feather as she explained, "I wanted to... apologize. For what happened." Sandytide lifted her head off the bedding slowly and perked her ears toward the other she-cat, willing to hear her out. Rain's silver claws shuffled the auklet feather around the smooth cave floor, "I haven't yet so I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention for you to nearly drown searching for me." Finally, Rain looked over at Sandytide, slightly surprised that her guard was listening so devotedly.
Rain and Sandytide both flicked their gazes away, tails flicking absently as they examined the walls of the medicine cat cave, unwilling to keep eye contact with each other. A rack of coughing from Sandytide drove away the silence that plagued the pair of she-cats, "S-sorry." Sandytide muttered, settling her head back down on to the comfortable bedding. "What for?" Rain lifted an eyebrow, shifting to rest her tail over Sandytide, a small gesture of concern and maybe... no, no way there was any affection in that. "Getting you and Swiftlake in trouble with Goldenleaf. She's been giving the both of you nasty looks whenever you come to visit. Lucky she can't claw you with her eyes." Both she-cats let out small mrrows of laughter until the both of them quieted once more. Shifting slightly, Rain tucked her paws under her, the feather forgotten by now. "Do you think I'll get better?" Sandytide's mew broke the silence, her voice barely a whisper in the silent den.
Rain seemed caught off guard by the question but shook her head stubbornly, "There's no way Tansystar will give me another guard as frustrating as you- you
have to get better or I'll have no one to argue with. I would..." Rain's voice trailed off and she flattened her ears at the thought. "...
not like to lose you." Flustered by the comment, Sandytide fought back against her swirling doubts. Maybe that was a bad thing. A stranger who rarely told her anything about her home, her past, or even her life wanted her alive. It was such a small gesture but one that would be remembered by her for a long time yet. Perhaps it was the chill she had been feeling from her fever or the sickness causing her to act irrationally, she wasn't sure. When she leaned into Rain's flank, the warmth was rewarding enough to allow her to drift to sleep, a small purr forming in her throat as her ward's fur began to lie flat from the interaction.
With sleepy blinks and soft snores, Sandytide decided she
had to get better, maybe this whole... closeness could become a habit if she did.
Word Count: 2,619 words
