username: solstice roses!
clan: FloodClan name: Skyshard
age: 38 moons
gender: amab he/it
prompt: Skyshard hails from the far-off mountains -- the ones whose peaks will only rise above the sun-line after two days' travel. Thirty moons before the birth of the Glade, SwanClan cats had once abandoned the four Clans around the river. After a vicious, hateful feud with the other Clans had been stirred up once again -- some petty quarrel over a trade between SwanClan and RobleClan, it should have been nothing consequential -- the bitter Clan was searching for a new territory that was free of any and all other cats. After a quarter-moon of travel and backtracking, the SwanClan cats saw something huge poking up from the sun-line, blocking the blistering, setting sun from their view.
SwanClan had been traveling towards the enormous mountains for almost another quarter-moon at this point. They'd never seen anything like them... Wire Mountain was
nothing compared to these gigantic, towering masses of rock and mud and plant. The elders were sick, the kits were weak, and the warriors were tired -- SwanClan would have to settle soon, on the brilliantly glowing white peak of the closest mountain. The ascent was grueling, but once the Clan had reached the top they knew it was worth it! The beautiful rock ledge they decided to nest on looked untouched, and they could scent birds and hares and weasels nearby. All of SwanClan felt that nothing could go wrong again... and then the crying started. A bone-chilling shriek of pain, followed by unintelligible cries.
Polar Bear had only been a loving mother to Snow, Blue Jay, and Ice, and Stone was almost glad to see the four of them leave him behind when they changed dens again. He was
almost glad; Polar Bear had never taught Stone how to hunt, hissing that his gray fur standing out against the snow would be nothing more than a burden on the molly. Stone tried to ignore that the memory made his paws prickle and the fur on his shoulders rise. Besides, judging by the way his siblings had laughed when he tried to teach himself, there really was no point in trying; after all, Stone's family would still feed him, no matter how begrudgingly. Then he woke up to their tracks being covered in snow and their belongings completely gone. Needless to say, Stone was starving in a matter of days.
Stone had no idea how much time had passed. Time had begun to pass slower, and his stomach really, really hurt. Stone was hungry, exhausted, and parched, all while unable to walk or even crawl around.
Curse his stupid gray pelt for being a beacon to predators!Stone's pelt prickled. He heard... something. A hare, maybe, or a bird landing in the snow? He hoped it was his family, come back to save him, or that it would at least finish him off quick. His heart was beating his ribs like a bird's wings in the wind. Trying to adjust himself to be more concealed under the rock shelf that he'd been nesting in, Stone cried out in pain. His back legs were twitching and convulsing, and suddenly he was slipping out of consciousness. Barely lucid, he mewled for his mother, but he knew that she would never come.
Cactusbelly had immediately darted to the source of the crying, despite his terror and much to the dismay of his Clanmates -- if a cat was in pain, it was Cactusbelly's job as the SwanClan herbalist to help them! The loud screech of pain was something Cactusbelly knew all too well himself.
Oh, StarClan, what happened here...?Cactusbelly's heart sank as he watched the young gray tom seizing in the snow. He'd never heard of a kit this young having such aggressive seizures. The ginger and white tom lifted the small, twitching body in his jaws gingerly, slowly padding back to his Clanmates.
It had been two sunrises since SwanClan had left the river, but Cactusbelly still couldn't find any snapweed for Stone's pain. SwanClan was hungry and tired, and Stone was frequently in too much pain to speak or move too much. Hollowstar, just as exhausted as her Clanmates, gave in to her Clan's demands and began the trek back to the river territories. After treatment, Stone was to be handed over to a grieving FloodClan queen who had just lost her litter and had milk to give.
Cactusbelly was uneasy as he told Gingerswirl where the kit had come from -- he was starving and abandoned on a far-away mountain, and he kept trying to hunt despite the fact that he shouldn't have even been weaned yet. Immediately, Gingerswirl swept her tail over the gray and white kit, promising that she would take good care of him with the help of her Herbalist. He was to be named Skykit, she said, as he had touched the sky where StarClan respred on that mountaintop.
Skyshard was initially given the suffix of "shard" for the way his body had broken down but he had still become sharp and resilient, but Gingerswirl was shocked and disgusted by the leader's absolute gall to say her adoptive son's body had "broken down" and demanded that the leader change the reason. The majority of FloodClan, who had all grown to adore Skyshard, agreed with Gingerswirl. The leader protested, hissing at Gingerswirl, so the warrior shoved the leader away and took her place on the Highbranch. She proclaimed that her son's suffix was "shard" for the way he lodges himself in everyone's hearts and minds, assuring that every cat would always have someone to look forward to seeing after a patrol. The leader, infuriated, began to protest again, before she was drowned out by FloodClan chanting his new name.
TLDR; Sky - born on a mountaintop and almost died / shard - initially because he was disabled, but changed to be because he was
so loveable that he sticks like a shard in everyone's heart.
Also don't tell anyone but I initially chose Sky for his eyes and shard for the leg pattern & then realized that Skyshard was totally mountainous
by Wretched.Felidae » Sun Dec 29, 2024 6:44 pm 
