Fawndapple watched as Nightwhisper tore away and started after him at a light trot, trusting that her other ancestors would keep the scene from spiraling off the rails entirely.
Nightwhisper was at her side in an instant. ”N-no. No way!“ He began to laugh, tears streaming down his face. “I...I can see her.” He hugged the she-cat tightly. “Oh, thank you thank you THANK YOU!” He tore off across the fields, heading for Earthclans camp.
A ghost of a smile appeared on Fawndapple's lips. "And yet I'm standing before you. The warriors of StarClan came to the clans this morning to offer up a new code, one which we hope will stop the senseless bloodshed between the clans. We are staying with the living clans until the full moon. Silversplash is with her mother, repairing EarthClan's camp."
The black cat whirled around. “But...StarClan cats...how...how do you mean? Starclan cats can’t just interac with the corporeal world! ....Can they...?”
"I can pass along your message, but I think that both of you would be better served by you telling her yourself," Fawndapple told him. "The clans have ended the war; you will not be in danger."
Nightwhisper nodded. “If...if you are returning, please. Tell her I think of her, always. I want her to remember that I wont forget her.” He looked away, his voice choking up a bit. “I just...I was a fool to leave her behind.”
Fawndapple nodded, her eyes knowing. "You should not shut yourself off to life, though, and think only of what you will do in the Starpelt. You both are so young, you have more life ahead of you than you have behind you. She wouldn't want you wasting your moons away."
Nightwhisper sighed. “Yes. I suppose I simply must be patient. My time will come, and I suppose, someday in the distant future, I will see her again.” He smiles, if only for a moment. “I will hold her in my heart until then, and I can only hope she will hold me in hers.”
"You could have given up the entire forest and it would not have saved her," Fawndapple sighed, drawing a bit closer to the younger cat and licking his forehead in a distinctly maternal gesture. "Even StarClan could not have saved her; it was her time to join us."
“I could’ve saved her...” He mumbled, trailing off. He looked so dissapointed in himself. “I really and truly would gave up everything to have saved her.” He sighed. “But here I am, sounding like a lovestruck idiot.”
"It's always a hard adjustment, especially with a cat so young and full of life," Fawndapple answered, her smile falling. "In time, she'll be content again."
Eyes opening wide in surprise, he scrambled to his feet. “Oh, I see. Well, thank you.“ He looked around for a moment, mumbling something about looking foolish. ”Um...tell me, is she well...?”
"I'm Fawndapple, a DawnClan warrior," She introduced herself. She drew a little bit closer, the stars in her pelt twinkling more clearly as she stepped into a shadow.
"Silversplash is my ancestor. I've come to thank you." She dipped her head to him, "You were a great comfort to her as she joined StarClan... but now it seems that you're the one in need of comfort."
Nightwhisper‘s ears flicked, and slowly, like a boxer unwilling to give up the fight, he stood, thinking he was needed. “This is he. I’m assuming you need medical attenti-“ He paused, staring at Fawndapple. “You...you look familiar...do I know you from somewher...?”
Fawndapple stepped through the underbrush, her calico pelt gleaming in the darkness of the thick leaf-fall litter. She shared some resemblence with Silversplash, in the set of their jaws and their expressive ears, but the resemblence was only slight, owing to their many-times-great kinship. She opened her mouth to better scent the air and adjusted her course to approach Nightwhisper. She slowed as she neared, approaching with a lowered tail.
"Nightwhisper...?" She meowed, her warm voice barely above a whisper.
Nightwhisper lay in a ditch, his entire body weighed down from the feeling of absolute crushing sadness that resided in him. After Silver had died, he‘s done his best to bury her, and then he started walking. He remembered only fuzzy images of memories. He didn’t remember when he had last eaten, or drank, all he remembered was finally having to collapse when his paws started bleeding from walking so much. And there he lay, in a muddy pit, dirty and bleeding, dying of a broken heart.
"Uh- okay!" Heatherpaw chirped and tore out after the strange tom, not considering for even a second that it could be a trap. "We're looking for a queen, a young cat, and an elder!" He shouted. "Have you seen any sign of them?"
Fallenpaw had heard about the rescue mission patrol and snuck off despite the fact that his father hadn't added him to it by name. The dark gray tom padded after his brother, Heatherpaw and Ivywhisper and screeched in surprise as a strange smelling cat jumped out at them. He could smell something familiar about the brown tom... he couldn't quite place it, but whatever it was urged him to follow the cat. "Come on!" he called to the patrol as he bounded off.
The tortoiseshell she-cat followed closely behind the apprentice, doing her best to keep he teeth from chattering. The cold was starting to get to her. Her fur clung to her sides and her paws ached from the journey. Ivywhisper paused to scent the air, a frown marring her face. She started to cough slightly, the smell of death overwhelming her. "I believe it's coming from this way." She moved to push through some bushes when a havanna brown cat jumped out, panic written all over his face.
"Thank goodness!" He breathed out. "I need your help!" and without a response, he turned and dashed through the forest again- what the patrol was unable to see was a wicked grin spreading across his face.
Heatherpaw lead his patrol through the dark territory, his legs beginning to shake with cold and exhaustion as the night drew on and they made slow progress along the border. He opened his mouth to scent the air, more out of habit than actual hope that he'd catch anything through the overwhelming scent of mud and rain, and was greeted by the thick stench of cat blood. "Can you guys smell that?" He asked, walking in a tight circle as he tried to pinpoint it.
A small drizzle had started soon after Riverstone took his first breath. Jupiter smirked, allowing the water to wash the blood from his fur and claws. He turned away from the carnage, smiling at Marshmumble.
(sorry not sure what to do- we can wait til the rescue patrol finds them)
Marshmumble watched Riverstone die, her green eyes widening and her ears flat-back with shock. Her legs were frozen with cold, despite the way her heart pounded at the extremities. So much had happened in the past few minutes- three were dead. Her son, her friend, and her elder. She'd been threatened in such an intimate way, and there was no way her legs would function. She did not have the instincts of a warrior. When her claw connected and it ended with Riverstone's end, she withdrew to herself, floating far above her body in a way so that she was unresponsive. She babbled incoherently to herself, the stress too much, but her mint eyes tracked Jupiter's one eye the entire time.
In the last few moments of Riverstone's life, he set his eyes on Marshmumble and wouldn't give the rogue the satisfaction of seeing the fear and defeat in his gaze. He had failed Stormstar; assuming Marshmumble's life would end shortly after his own. He could hear StarClan whispering in his ears as blood loss made the tom's mind fade. His breath slowed and heart fluttered as he reminisced on his short life. His new mate, Rainingfeather would be left behind... but she was safe in EarthClan. Images of her soft gray pelt and blue eyes brought him a strange calmness. "It's ok Marshmumble. I'll see StarClan now." his voice wavered as the tom turned towards him. He closed his eyes one last time, bracing for the blow. It came as expected and he lay motionless, slowly bleeding out onto the dirt under him. "Marsh- run-" he gurgled and blood spilled from his mouth with his last words.
A sigh left his throat at their meek attempts to stop him. He was starting to get annoyed, single green eye shining in anger at her disobedience. He shifted away from her claws- or at-least tried to. Her paw struck his face, blood leaking from a small cut underneath his good eye. He flashed her a sickly sweet smile and then licked the blood that trickled down his cheek.
"Your loss." He turned, catching riverstone's throat with his paw. Jupiter gazed at him for a moment before sinking his needle-like claws into his flesh.
Marshmumble felt bile rise to her throat. She heard Riverstone's plea and felt honored, but confused- where was Thunderpaw with reinforcements?!
"Riverstone! No!" Marshmumble said in outcry, but not only at his insinuation. It was also a no to Jupiter- an initial reaction that reached far beyond her own abilities to refuse. It was primal. She would not fulfill his request willingly.
She stood, shaking, and attacked again, claws outstretched for Jupiter again. She just had to distract . . . they just had to distract . . .
Fox-lengths away, Notchedfin and Sparkpaw's bodies bled out onto the muddy ground.
The small bengal tom was thrown like a rag-doll by the rogue tom, wincing as he landed against a rock with his shoulder taking the impact. He looked up to see Marshmumble begging for her life, and for her kits. Not only were most of her children in danger here, but also a whole new litter of EarthClan kits. His eyes widened as he struggled to regain his paws, spitting out blood and hissing at the intruder. "Take me, leave her be!" he shouted. He knew Stormstar would never recover if the queen and all their kits were murdered. For once EarthClan had a true leader and they couldn't lose him now. "I'll do anything you want!" he screamed desperately, scrabbling toward him with dirt and blood covering his belly and paws.
Jupiter absorbed the impact like it was nothing, hip checking Riverstone in order to send him stumbling to the ground. He cackled at their pain, the thrill of knowing his opponents underestimate him is what fuels his fire. He focused his singular green eye on Marshmumble, ears perking in interest at her words. "What makes you think I care?" He circled her, barely paying attention to the sounds of Riverstone's sputtering and coughing. Such pathetic cats. As he came to stop in front of the queen again, a thought crossed his mind. He leaned in close and whispered his request in her ear.
Marshmumble screamed again as Riverstone appeared, but not before she replied, begging, "P-Please, I'm pregnant! My mate- he'll wonder what happened! Stop this carnage!"
Riverstone grumbled in a heap on the ground, blood pooling from his chest. The warm liquid coated this throat and he coughed, spewing it onto the dirt in front of himself. The tom gasped as Sparkpaw lie lifeless, and Notchedfin wounded and scrambled to his paws. Marshmumble was vulnerable to the wrath of the crazed tom and in a last ditch effort, Riverstone raced forward and attempted to body slam him.
Jupiter froze for half a second before he realized who spoke. In the moment, he'd thought Mars had screamed for him to stop and maybe if she had been there he would have. Unfortunately for these earthclanner's his sister was no where in sight to control the monster. As soon as Notchedfin jumped, Jupiter's paws met his face at the exact same time. A sickening crack that was followed by a thump echoed through the forest. He turned back to Marshmumble, grinning from ear to ear. "Tell me again that I should stop." He approached the queen, sliding his paw down the side of her injured face, admiring his handiwork.
Marshmumble screamed in pain when Jupiter clawed her face, feeling the impact of the clawmarks rip into her cheek and bounce off of her eye socket, yanking something vital with them. Blood poured and half her vision went dark as pain exploded behind her closed and tattered eyelid. She couldn't do anything but cower under it, though she tried to look when she heard Notchedfin stop. She turned her head from side to side, trying to get her bearings, but the shock was real and covered her legs with hypothetical molasses- she hoped her son could be back with reinforcements- prayed to someone, anyone, that he would.
"S-stop-" she said weakly, cowering in submission, too slow to run away and too weak and unmatched to Jupiter to fight back. He was like a weasel and Marshmumble was like a sparrow- lacking in appendage and will to know how to defend herself. She had never been a good fighter.
Notchedfin gasped as Jupiter easily beat back his attack and stumbled, blood rushing down where he'd been clawed across the base of his neck. He tried to leap forward again but stumbled, his vision swimming.
The scrawny tom-cat smiled at their advances, he loved it when they underestimated him. His size was anything but intimidating, but his battle history would scare the living **** out of them. Jupiter ducked out of the way of Marshmumbles claws and faced Notchedfin's attack head on. They tumbled across the ground for a bit until the Havana brown cat pinned the older feline. He didn't stay with the tom for too long, his eyes now set on the she-cat. They all seemed pretty protective of her. Jupiter had a few more scratches on him from the elder's claws, but he managed to slip away from his hold. His paws carried him across the mushy ground, faking to the females left before aiming a deadly swipe to the right side of her face.
Notchedfin rushed to keep up with Marshmumble, hoping to overwhelm Jupiter with their sheer number as they attacked together. As Marshmumble went for Jupiter's throat, he opted to try and tackle him to the ground, praying that Marshmumble's attack would leave the cat's balance unsettled.
Marshmumble saw the battle around her and managed to pull away from Sparkpaw to witness Jupiter wound Riverstone. She hadn't even remembered the tom come along, but Marshmumble realized she was the most capable warrior in the patrol- and she wasn't even fighting.
She withdrew, a lick on Sparkpaw's head, before she turned to stand next to Notchedfin. She launched herself heroically at Jupiter, his long-legged form meaning he would easily be able to outreach her.
"For Sparkpaw!" she shouted as she aimed a deadly swipe for his throat, her mightier weight aiming to bodyslam him away from Notchedfin.
Thunderpaw was only frozen for a split second, green eyes flicking to his mother at the sound of his name. He nodded quickly, racing in the direction of MoonClan, pausing only to lick his brother's forehead gently in farewell. He knew his mother wouldn't give up on him, but he could see that his brother wouldn't make it. "Sleep well, Sparkpaw." He whispered, before tearing off in the direction MoonClan again. [MC Terr}
Jupiter glanced sideways just in time to lean away from the earthclanner's attack. It seemed the universe had given him prey on a silver platter. He released his hold on the tom-cat underneath him in favor of slashing his claws across Riverstone's belly. The sight of blood seeping from the wound did little to placate the loner's hungry. He needed more.
He jerked his body, rolling away from the two older felines in favor of witnessing Marshmumble cry over her dead kits body. He dodged another attack swung by Notchfin before dropping to the ground and propelling him forward, a bite aimed at his neck.
"Marshmumble, get back to camp!" Notchedfin yelled at the she-cat as she joined Riverstone in his attack, his own paws clumsy and untrained. While he was not yet an elder, he was not young either, and he had never been either skilled or talented.
Marshmumble screamed louder as Jupiter aimed to attack again, her mind troubled at the blood that coated her paws as she stood over her son's body. "No!" she exclaimed, praying to StarClan that some sort of residual medicine cat knowledge would reveal itself to her. How she could save him- she scrambled and tried to put pressure on the wound, but nothing would do it- nothing would stop the bleeding. Marshmumble was hyperventilating, but she looked up at Thunderpaw, "Go! Now, to MoonClan! Get reinforcements!"
She screamed again as Jupiter attacked Notchedfin, but a large amount of determination filled her grief as she stood over her dying son. She leaned down, licking his cheeks, singing soft lullabies, speaking softly, anything she could think of to wake him up.
"Baby, mommy loves you, you know that, right? There's not- there's nothing to be scared of-" she choked out.
Riverstone followed the scent trail of the patrol from a distance, taking his time to admire new-leaf in EarthClan. Stormstar had tasked Marshmumble with leading her first patrol with the apprentices, mostly consisted of their first litter of kits. He hadn't been able to spend time with them recently but promised the leader that he would watch over his family while they were out. SunClan and EclipseClan were still very much a threat. Little did the group know that there was a much larger danger rushing toward the camp at this very moment. The small bengal tom heard their voices ahead of him and he jogged up to the patrol with a smile, just in time to witness the life leaving Sparkpaw's eyes. Riverstone was never much of a fighter but these were his best friend's kits. He lept into action, yowling and slashing at the air with his claws. He fell short, leaving his belly wide open for a counter attack and only realizing this when it was too late to move.
"Oh dear," He mewed, licking the blood from his claws as he gazed at the group of cats. "I really wanted to keep this quiet." Jupiter removed himself from the apprentice's body a smile enveloping his face as he stared with a single green eye.
"Who's next? Eeny." He pointed at Thunderpaw first. "Meeney." His gaze fell on Marshmumble. "Miney," He slowly turned his head to look at Notchedfin. "Mo." As soon as the words left his mouth, he was on the move. He raced toward the elder, pushing Thunderpaw out of the way before tackling the older feline to the ground. His claws dug into the flesh of his belly as they tumbled.
Marshmumble's tufted ears swivelled with conviction as her maternal instincts activated, powers unknown to her as her baby cried out for assistance.
She was too late. The fact presented itself victoriously, like a trumpet's call, a blow to the face harder than anything any cat could to do Marshmumble. Grief presented itself in her pale green gaze before she looked up to see Jupiter, blood on his mouth and paws. Fear gripped her- she was frozen, as she stared into those soulless eyes. She was a kittypet again, and forgot what to do in the heat of the moment.
The scent of clan-cats caught his attention, heart fluttering in anticipation. His muscles were still tense, frustration clouding his better judgement. He knew his mind should be focused on recruitment, maybe he could persuade a clan cat or two to join him. Starclan was not on the young earthclanner’s side, however, because Jupiter was in a killing kind of mood. The Havana brown cat was set solely on sinking his needle sharp claws into flesh.
He hunkered down into a crouch, creeping up slowly on the lone earthclanner, a wicked smile stretching across his face. Jupiter could feel his anxieties, the sadness which just made this whole situation ten times better. The small one smelled like the she-cat leading the group. Blood family? That thought sent shivers down his spine.
“Four little kittens jumping up and down.” Jupiter hummed, creeping out of the underbrush.
Sparkpaw stumbled backward, he scrunched his face in disgust. The sight before him causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand. Who is this weirdo? The loner’s blood soaked paws and blood stained muzzle screamed danger, but no matter how hard Sparkpaw tried, no words not even a whimper left his mouth.
“One by one, Jupiter spills their blood.” The scrawny loner continued, scraping his claws against the snowy ground as he closed in on the small one. He had never been good at rhyming. Without any further hesitation, Jupiter leapt at the apprentice.
“MOM!” Sparkpaw’s scream caused the earth beneath their paws to shake. The needle-like claws dug into the flesh on his back, he could feel the loner cat rip away the fur and skin. Warm liquid spurted from the wound.
Jupiter had wanted to draw it out, torture him a little, but it seemed he’d gotten to excited. The havana brown cat swiped his claws slowly across Sparkpaw’s throat, the sound of his coughing and sputtering like music to his ripped up ears.
The black apprentice pawed at Jupiter’s grip on his throat, the only thing he could taste or smell was blood. He desperately tried to grasp onto the pathetic thing he called life, but the light slowly fade from his eyes until he no longer struggled.
Jupiter watched as the apprentice died, bringing his bloodied paws up to his mouth to lick the red liquid from them. “Thank you! You have no idea how much I needed that.”
"Hmm... Battle stories..." Notchedfin considered, his tail flicking above him. With his shortened face and general tendency toward having his thoughts far in the clouds, he also failed to take notice of Jupiter's scent above the other rich scents of their waterlogged territory. "Have you heard of Glass-star? He was before your time, but your mother is sure to remember him."
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Nov 23, 2018
Thunderpaw dipped his head in apology, looking up at Marshmumble a little sheepishly. "I'm sorry mum. I didn't mean to." He mewed, glancing between the two older cats as they walked.
Marshmumble enjoyed the jovial atmosphere and vaguely remembered Wrinkledface from her first gathering, never forgetting a face. She was dumbstruck, and struggled to find anything good to say about the plainly ugly she-cat.
She was so enamored in conversation that she still failed to notice her son following them, and her lack of smell, dulled by moons within vicinity to sharp-smeling herbs, had no hope of smelling the dangerous Jupiter.
"Don't be so impatient, Thunderpaw. He's telling a story now," she guided. "Wrinkledface always seemed so confident. It's hard to think she would retire- I looked forward to seeing so level-headed a cat take the helm of EarthClan, even when I was in EclipseClan," she said with a chuckle. "Though it did all work out- Stormstar's as level a cat as I could hope for, and he loves this clan dearly."
A scrawny, thin Havana brown tom-cat pushed his way through brambles and bushes, his singular green eye glowing in the darkness. He'd traveled far, his dark pelt stained with blood. His fight with Winterjay hadn't gone as expected. The plan was to take his life and leave unscathed. It was only fair, especially after what the former loner had done to Jupiter.
The small cat was filled with hatred and distaste for anyone who called themselves clan-members. Just the thought of joining one caused bile to rise in his throat. Disgusting, pathetic creatures. He gathered the saliva in his mouth and spit, what he had expected to be clear liquid was red. If that Moonclanner hadn't gotten in my way... He grumbled to himself, swaying slightly on his paws.
Jupiter's injuries were nothing to worry about it, they were just a small annoyance to him. A tiny bump in the road. He had bigger problems to fry, such as figuring out how to gain back his followers. After that wretched eclipseclanner had stepped in and basically stole all of the queens, his soldiers had left him, alone in the void.
"Why not persuade young kittypets to join you?" He thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head. "No that wouldn't work. Winterjay was like them and he betrayed me." His needle like claws dug into the ground as he walked, snow freezing the pads of his feet.
A small black furred tom-cat followed after the patrol, staying downwind as best he could with what little training he possessed. He had meant to ask his mother if he could join, but his social anxiety -even with his own kin- made it extremely hard for him to approach. Especially because he thought she liked his siblings more than himself. Sparkpaw, almost an exact copy of his father in the looks department, stopped for a moment to scent the air. He'd never been to this border before. He knew what Sunclan smelled liked, but there was a hint of loner in there as well.
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Nov 22, 2018
Thunderpaw looked up at the elder as he spoke, keeping his eyes and ears and mouth open for scents. "Do you have any battle stories or things like that..?" He asked softly, trying to be as polite to the elder as he could. He didn't want to seem rude, but he was genuinely curious and loved to hear stories about anything the elders could think of.
"Here, actually-- there isn't much of a story to it," Notchedfin chuckled. "Though if it's a story that you're looking for, you might think I would be starting one with the fact that Wrinkledface was my mother, but in truth there's very little to that. She retired shortly after my birth and I was very young when she died. I remember very little of her."
He scented the air again, half-attending to the hunting, and entirely oblivious to the fact that the name Wrinkledface might mean nothing to Marshmumble.
The EarthClan patrol was indeed as slow-going as Marshmumble had hoped and she enjoyed its mosey pace like the thaw of leaf-bare.
"So, where're you from, Notchedfin?" she asked, having not spoken intimately with the elder since her arrival as an EclipseClan failure. She'd first been afraid of all the unique stories of EarthClan's cats, but had soon arrived to treasure them. Each one was like a tributary leading into one great pool.Independently, she wished her sons to know how to politely engage in conversation.
Silversplash started back toward the camp, with Kudzuthroat making his way behind her. She glanced back frequently, not liking the idea that he could just spring on her and have his teeth in her neck before she'd even realized. Still, there was no better way to do it-- he didn't know the way to camp. So, she settled for numbing chatter.
"So, uh, what's your name?"
"Kudzuthroat."
"Like the vine? Weird. What was your mother thinking with that one?"
"Well, my sister's name is Dieseltooth, so..." Kudzuthroat forced a laugh.
Kudzuthroat nearly collapsed in relief as even Silversplash drew short, even if it was to give Cherrybloom a warning glance. Still, she hesitated, and when she spoke up much of the bluster was taken out of her tone. "Why didn't you send a patrol?"
"It was urgent, our medicine cats couldn't afford to wait."
"Oh.... okay. Look, if you come with us to our camp, we can see if Nightpaw will have what you need. You aren't going to find anything here, it's all dead or sleeping."
Kudzuthroat gave a grateful nod, though a new lump of worry rose in his throat. "Please, let's hurry."
"Of course- Cherrybloom, can you run ahead and tell Nightpaw what happeed?" Silversplash asked, not knowing that their medicine cats were off at the meeting.
Cherryblossom nodded and followed Silversplash, feeling a little relieved she wasn't imagining things. She was pretty sure she could hear the other cat moving around now.
“Nope, nothing?” Silversplash initially answered Cherrybloom, almost dismissing the tone before she felt the other cats stiffen around her and opened her mouth to scent the air once more. EclipseClan? She wondered, glancing between her clanmates to gauge their reactions. Definitely EclipseClan.
“Stay near me,” She ordered and started in the direction of the scent. “I don’t know why they’re this far south, but it can’t be good.”
Kudzuthroat heard a rustling in the undergrowth and considered bolting, but ultimately remained rooted in place. I’m here for herbs. They can’t begrudge us those. I’m not a threat, he told himself. If they attack, then I’ll run. As they approached, he started ruffling through the frozen leaf litter as if in search of the herbs once more and entirely oblivious to their presence, his face the perfect picture of worry.
Tunnelvision's fur spiked at the scent she had caught, she knew something had been off, but it was much stronger now. Another cat, that was good at least, with clan blood though. With the tension between the clans she regretted what would happen as the encountered the other party. Her ginger coat shivered as she kept quiet, Cherrybloom had already spoken about the intruder.
Klondike was on the right side of Silversplash, his blue eyes focused ahead and a soft smile traced on his face. He hadn't been in the clan for long and had heard this story quiet a bit from the elders and queens. He quite enjoyed spending time around the nursery and Elder's den whenever he wasn't doing anything. "And I'm guessing they haven't checked the border in so long because of Glass-star's death."
Houndrunner strayed behind, his brown pelt sticking out among the snow and dead leaves. He listened to the conversations ahead of him, but also kept an ear out for his surroundings.
"They haven't gone after this border in generations, but we still need to check it-- and StarClan only knows what EclipseClan could push them into, there are all sorts of stories of SunClan getting pushed around by whoever their ally of the moon happens to be. You know, they did kill Glass-star at this border-- he was on their side, to be fair, but still." Silversplash shrugged, tromping along the riverbank with no particular care or sense of caution. "And there could be a fox or badger or dog or something."
Kudzuthroat froze, hearing voices in the distance. He opened his mouth to scent the air, but the wind was against him and he realized as soon as he had that by the time his own city-dulled nose caught who was there, they would have already seen him. They probably already have, he thought, an icicle of fear piercing through his heart.
Kudzuthroat walked along Snake's Gorge, sniffing through the snow for the plants that Mapleshadow had instructed him to find. It was a hopeless cause and he knew it, nothing was in bloom- even in twoleg gardens the plants had been dead, but here in the forest where they were all tangled together as thin sticks and dried stems coated in snow, he couldn't even find a live plant, let alone the ones she'd requested.
Pippa rolled her eyes when she was hauled over to the grass by her older Denmate. "Hmph," The tiny molly pouted as she plopped down beside the large tom, her sleek pelt brushing up against his side. "I have four, workin' paws, ya know?" She whispered back to Thunderpaw, not at all pleased by him. Her lime colored eyes drifted back toward the river, and she almost felt a shiver run down her spine when the tall, golden grass swayed in the wind. Leaf-fall certainly was cold.
Thunderpaw pricked his ears, and when he heard voices he grabbed the small molly by the scuff and hauled her into the tall grass with him. "Don't let them see us," he whispered, crouching. "And be quiet."
Pippa watched the river flow with her lime green eyes wide in thought. 'Ain't that somethin'? I wonder if it really does go all the t' the barn...' Her ears flicked before she turned to look up at Thunderpaw again, upon hearing voices farther up the river. "Aren't those are clanmates voices? Why are they talkin' t' an Earthclanner?" She asked him quietly, not exactly wanting to interrupt the scene farther ahead.
Hidden in the undergrowth on SunClan's side, two black and white apprentices were crouched behind the long grass. One was large and muscular, and the other a small molly.
Dawnshade didn't let up from her offensive position. She watched the apprentices carefully to make sure they weren't a distraction for an actual patrol to ambush them. The EarthClanner seemed to avoid their question and that irritated the she-cat. "Calm down?!" she huffed, rolling her eyes. "You're hunting across our border, and it seems to me that you don't care!" she spat back. How could EarthClan let their apprentices wander off and hunt wherever they felt like? The she-cat's fur bristled along her back, but inside she felt calm as Burdockbone stood by her side.
Riverstone headed up the back of the group to the border. Instantly he caught the strong scent of SunClan and his fur stood on end. Oh no... he dashed forward to find Nightpaw and Silverpaw face to face with a full SunClan patrol. He only let his eyes off the two for a moment! He scrambled to find the right words to avoid an attack, but truthfully he was never the best at talking. "What have you two done?" he scolded, glancing to the warriors who were posed for attack. He eyed the patrol carefully. "And what were you doing over here?" he questioned suspiciously. What if they were planning an attack on his very patrol? Or even worse, the camp?
"You're on our territory," Burdockbone explained, standing stock-still as he watched the other EarthClanner emerge from the forest and cross the creek border to the territory.
Nightpaw looked around carefully approaching Silverpaw. “Look, I’m a healer, not a fighter, okay? Could we please try and calm down, and explain what is going on” The black cat looks to Silverpaw. His eyes are wide, full of fear, but it doesn’t seem like it’s coming from this situation. What speeked him? “Silverpaw, what happened?”
Nightpaw looks around for a moment of confusion, not processing the situation. “W-where’d it go?! It was just here!!“ He paced, tail thrashing violently. He suddenly appears to process the situation. “Silverpaw, what’s going on here...”
Dawnshade was startled, jumping around to find the source of the shouting. Right in front of her, an apprentice age EarthClanner had just come barreling out of a bush and nearly ran face first into her. She backed up, hissing with her hair on end, ready to fight if she must. "Who are you?!" she growled through closed teeth.
Nightpaw burst from a bush, gasping and wheezing for breath. he whirled around, frantically looking. “WHERE ARE YOU?! I KNOW I SAW YOU!” He shouted. Soon, his breathing calmed down, and he dug his claws into the earth, hissing in frustration. “Stupid stupid stupid, that was the fifth one this week...”
"Okay!" Silverpaw chirped, glancing back at Glass-star and giving him a smile she hoped would be reassuring. She padded right up to the border of the creek and started through it, unaware that the border was actually on their side of the creek, not the further shore.
"Just wait there a moment!" Burdockbone called to his patrol as a monster passed. He looked one way, then the other, and gave the remaining cats the signal to cross. When they were safely along the far side of the thunderpath, he set out at a quick pace toward the river.
Glass-star trailed along with the patrol, feeling oddly nauseated. It was probably just something he ate - he wasn't too concerned. Scenting the air idly, Glass-star faltered in his stride - he could've sworn he scented other cats, but it could've just been the rest of the patrol's scents mingling with the scent of SunClan territory across the border.
Riverstone led the two apprentices toward the border. His paws carried him quickly as his heart raced with adrenaline. He wasn't used to leading anyone, let alone trying to check the border. He remembered the day of the EclipseClan fight and him being nearly killed trying to battle and looked both directions when he reached the border. He turned to the two, "Ok, check for any stale border markers or scent of another clan." he instructed. His river colored eyes darted back and forth as he hoped, no, prayed to StarClan that they would finish their task without running into anyone.
A SunClan she-cat sped across the two-leg road as her paws were accustomed to the rough texture of the asphalt. Once at the other side, she waited for her fellow clanmates to cross and head to the border. While she waited, she listened carefully for a sign of an EarthClan patrol. It was difficult as the two-leg monsters rushed back and forth behind her. Her eyes straining to get a look at the border, she caught a glimpse of a brown blob.. another cat? Maybe just her imagination. Itching to go check it out she flicked her tail to the patrol. "Let's go!"
Burdockpaw smiled and started prowling through the long grass while the others fanned out around him. His legs were aching with the effort of maintaining a perfect prowl when his ears finally pricked forward at a strange scuffling noise in front of him. He scented the air, deer mouse?
Dawnshade dipped her head in agreement and started off, sniffing the air for any sign of prey. She felt pretty comfortable now, a little more part of the clan after worrying so much that she would be an outcast. The flutter of wings grabbed her attention and she crouched down low, camouflaging herself in the foliage. A bright yellow and black bird floated down and began pecking at the ground. Placing each paw strategically, she crept forward inch by inch until she was just a fox length away. The small bird caught her and took off into the air but it was too late. The she-cat launched up with her hindlegs and reached out with her paw, catching the bird in mid-air and giving it a swift death when she landed. Dawnshade turned and headed the direction of the camp, hoping to meet up with the other two on the way back.
The warrior contemplated it for a few seconds before nodding at the apprentice, trying to show that she approved of his idea. "What a warrior's way of thinking," Pepperblack laughed, tail waving slightly. "Alright, then, let's get a move on. Fan out and catch what you can, and then we'll go back to camp."
"Why don't we just fan out a bit and see what we come across? It'll be dark if we put too much focus on it, but we should bring something back for the queens and elders." Burdockpaw suggested, trying to sound mature and responsible.
"Alright," Pepperblack announced, satisfied that they had completed the task of marking the territory. "I'm content with our work. Let's start heading back to camp. Unless you still wanted to hunt?" She addressed the rest of the patrol, the large cat tilting her head slightly.
"Are there many of them?" Burdockpaw asked, watching a vulture that soared high above them, so far out of reach that he couldn't hope to grab one, even from the highest perch of the tallest tree in MoonClan's territory. "I know MoonClan eats lots of birds, but the rest of us don't. Fish are easier, for EarthClan, and there just aren't many birds here to catch."
Dawnshade thought for a moment, wondering what to say. She escaped a two-leg home, so she didn't know everything about the city, but surely cats had to hunt. "I would never eat crowfood myself, so I hunted the birds that would hop around on the ground." the she-cat explained contentedly. She learned pretty fast how to get food for herself, as starving wasn't the best look for her. The birds in the city were pretty dumb and a cat could nearly just walk up and grab them without a fight. The she-cat shifted her weight as her paws began to get sore; she wasn't used to being on her feet for so long. This patrol was taking awhile now, and she contemplated if they should go back yet.
The she-cat felt like this job was never-ending, continuously marking the border, on and on. At least she had made an acquaintance who she could talk to. The apprentice was definitely inquisitive but she didn't mind the attention. "Yeah, it's a whole different world; only the best cats can hunt by scent there." she agreed, it was hard, but once you lived there your whole life it becomes easy to distinguish the smells.
Burdockpaw nodded in agreement with Pepperblack, but knew it wasn't his place to condemn a warrior. Instead, he opted to shift the topic, "What's the city like, Dawnshade? I've heard that it's so loud and smelly that you have to hunt by sight, but I haven't been able to ask anyone who actually lived there if that's true."
Pepperblack listened to the conversation between Burdockpaw and Dawnshade, ears pricked with interest. She was curious about life beyond the clans, but not enough to go experience it herself. Once Poplar-run has wandered over and away, she tilted her head. "I wonder why they're out here alone? There's no reason to badger one of our warriors, though-- we should report it to the deputy when we get back to camp, however." She signaled to her patrol for them to continue.
The Siamese pointed she-cat nodded to the apprentice. "Yeah, I was born there." In a cozy twoleg home no less... She despised it though, being cooped up all the time. The horrors that two-legs do to their cats, she bolted out of their door the moment it opened. She had been so young, barely weaned when she left. She wasn't but a couple moons older than the apprentice. Now the little tom was staring at her like some sort of celebrity and she blushed. The she-cat craved attention since her own mother was too busy taking care of her 5 other siblings and she was always pushed to the side as the runt of the litter. She didn't even get a name, so she named herself after the shade of the clouds at the break of dawn. Dawnshade kept her eyes on the other cat who was supposedly a clan-mate. "Why are you here? We have orders not leave the camp alone." she piped up trying to sound like a warrior should.
"So you're from the city?" Burdock-paw pressed, looking at her with an expression that verged on awe. He followed her gaze toward Poplar-run and meowed, "Huh, that's one of the other warriors... I wonder what she's doing out here."
Dawnshade couldn't help but feel important as the younger cat asked her questions. She enjoyed the attention that she had been lacking since living on her own. "Not me, I didn't come from any clans. As far as I know the city cats don't believe in anything but their own pelts." she admitted; she never bothered looking into city cats. They were all the same: cold, rough, and mean. As the she-cat was sniffing out the border, she caught scent of another cat nearby and glanced up to see another stranger. "Who's that?" she looked toward her clan mates for an answer.
(Hi Elegance! Be sure to join the Discord soon, so we have a way to get in contact with you :) )
"Was it a clan?" Burdockpaw meowed, his ears pricked forward with curiosity. "I know there are cats that call themselves clans very far away, but cats say that only the ones here know about StarClan and follow The Code. Do you know if that's true?"
In his haste to ask the warrior a question, he didn't notice the fresh SunClan scent coming from Poplar-run and didn't think to question why a cat was out on her own, against Flintstar's orders.
The she-cat smiled as she checked another marker. "Somewhere far away." Not much of an answer but she hoped it cured the curiosity, at least for now. She wasn't about to announce to strangers that she was born a kitty pet in a city far from here. Yet, Dawnshade was nowhere near being as soft and fragile as a kitty pet. She had escaped the two-leg house and never looked back. She learned to hunt on her own, and learned to fight by fending off dogs, raccoons, and foxes.
Dawnshade nodded and padded up to a tree, crouching down and sniffing the rough bark to find the scent of the clan, which was a bit stale. She stood and set a fresh marker. This was easy enough, and, hunting afterwards. This new clan life didn't seem so bad after all. Now she just needed to get to know her clan mates and maybe make some friends. The she-cat looked over to the other warrior. "I'm Dawnshade, kinda new around here," she introduced herself. She didn't grow up around cats so at time she can be antisocial and seem cold.
The senior warrior caught up to Dawnshade and took the lead, not going to show any weakness to a newcomer. She may be nice, but Pepperblack still held other emotions than joy and friendliness. "We're marking the border and hunting on the way back," she informed the she-cat with a small smile, but her eyes didn't hold kindness. To demonstrate, she crouched and placed a scent marker, waiting for the rest of her patrol to do the same.
Fawndapple watched as Nightwhisper tore away and started after him at a light trot, trusting that her other ancestors would keep the scene from spiraling off the rails entirely.
Nightwhisper was at her side in an instant. ”N-no. No way!“ He began to laugh, tears streaming down his face. “I...I can see her.” He hugged the she-cat tightly. “Oh, thank you thank you THANK YOU!” He tore off across the fields, heading for Earthclans camp.
(EarthClan Camp time?)
A ghost of a smile appeared on Fawndapple's lips. "And yet I'm standing before you. The warriors of StarClan came to the clans this morning to offer up a new code, one which we hope will stop the senseless bloodshed between the clans. We are staying with the living clans until the full moon. Silversplash is with her mother, repairing EarthClan's camp."
The black cat whirled around. “But...StarClan cats...how...how do you mean? Starclan cats can’t just interac with the corporeal world! ....Can they...?”
"I can pass along your message, but I think that both of you would be better served by you telling her yourself," Fawndapple told him. "The clans have ended the war; you will not be in danger."
Nightwhisper nodded. “If...if you are returning, please. Tell her I think of her, always. I want her to remember that I wont forget her.” He looked away, his voice choking up a bit. “I just...I was a fool to leave her behind.”
Fawndapple nodded, her eyes knowing. "You should not shut yourself off to life, though, and think only of what you will do in the Starpelt. You both are so young, you have more life ahead of you than you have behind you. She wouldn't want you wasting your moons away."
Nightwhisper sighed. “Yes. I suppose I simply must be patient. My time will come, and I suppose, someday in the distant future, I will see her again.” He smiles, if only for a moment. “I will hold her in my heart until then, and I can only hope she will hold me in hers.”
"You could have given up the entire forest and it would not have saved her," Fawndapple sighed, drawing a bit closer to the younger cat and licking his forehead in a distinctly maternal gesture. "Even StarClan could not have saved her; it was her time to join us."
“I could’ve saved her...” He mumbled, trailing off. He looked so dissapointed in himself. “I really and truly would gave up everything to have saved her.” He sighed. “But here I am, sounding like a lovestruck idiot.”
"It's always a hard adjustment, especially with a cat so young and full of life," Fawndapple answered, her smile falling. "In time, she'll be content again."
Eyes opening wide in surprise, he scrambled to his feet. “Oh, I see. Well, thank you.“ He looked around for a moment, mumbling something about looking foolish. ”Um...tell me, is she well...?”
"I'm Fawndapple, a DawnClan warrior," She introduced herself. She drew a little bit closer, the stars in her pelt twinkling more clearly as she stepped into a shadow.
"Silversplash is my ancestor. I've come to thank you." She dipped her head to him, "You were a great comfort to her as she joined StarClan... but now it seems that you're the one in need of comfort."
Nightwhisper‘s ears flicked, and slowly, like a boxer unwilling to give up the fight, he stood, thinking he was needed. “This is he. I’m assuming you need medical attenti-“ He paused, staring at Fawndapple. “You...you look familiar...do I know you from somewher...?”
Fawndapple stepped through the underbrush, her calico pelt gleaming in the darkness of the thick leaf-fall litter. She shared some resemblence with Silversplash, in the set of their jaws and their expressive ears, but the resemblence was only slight, owing to their many-times-great kinship. She opened her mouth to better scent the air and adjusted her course to approach Nightwhisper. She slowed as she neared, approaching with a lowered tail.
"Nightwhisper...?" She meowed, her warm voice barely above a whisper.
Nightwhisper lay in a ditch, his entire body weighed down from the feeling of absolute crushing sadness that resided in him. After Silver had died, he‘s done his best to bury her, and then he started walking. He remembered only fuzzy images of memories. He didn’t remember when he had last eaten, or drank, all he remembered was finally having to collapse when his paws started bleeding from walking so much. And there he lay, in a muddy pit, dirty and bleeding, dying of a broken heart.
"Uh- okay!" Heatherpaw chirped and tore out after the strange tom, not considering for even a second that it could be a trap. "We're looking for a queen, a young cat, and an elder!" He shouted. "Have you seen any sign of them?"
Fallenpaw had heard about the rescue mission patrol and snuck off despite the fact that his father hadn't added him to it by name. The dark gray tom padded after his brother, Heatherpaw and Ivywhisper and screeched in surprise as a strange smelling cat jumped out at them. He could smell something familiar about the brown tom... he couldn't quite place it, but whatever it was urged him to follow the cat. "Come on!" he called to the patrol as he bounded off.
The tortoiseshell she-cat followed closely behind the apprentice, doing her best to keep he teeth from chattering. The cold was starting to get to her. Her fur clung to her sides and her paws ached from the journey. Ivywhisper paused to scent the air, a frown marring her face. She started to cough slightly, the smell of death overwhelming her. "I believe it's coming from this way." She moved to push through some bushes when a havanna brown cat jumped out, panic written all over his face.
"Thank goodness!" He breathed out. "I need your help!" and without a response, he turned and dashed through the forest again- what the patrol was unable to see was a wicked grin spreading across his face.
Heatherpaw lead his patrol through the dark territory, his legs beginning to shake with cold and exhaustion as the night drew on and they made slow progress along the border. He opened his mouth to scent the air, more out of habit than actual hope that he'd catch anything through the overwhelming scent of mud and rain, and was greeted by the thick stench of cat blood. "Can you guys smell that?" He asked, walking in a tight circle as he tried to pinpoint it.
A small drizzle had started soon after Riverstone took his first breath. Jupiter smirked, allowing the water to wash the blood from his fur and claws. He turned away from the carnage, smiling at Marshmumble.
(sorry not sure what to do- we can wait til the rescue patrol finds them)
Marshmumble watched Riverstone die, her green eyes widening and her ears flat-back with shock. Her legs were frozen with cold, despite the way her heart pounded at the extremities. So much had happened in the past few minutes- three were dead. Her son, her friend, and her elder. She'd been threatened in such an intimate way, and there was no way her legs would function. She did not have the instincts of a warrior. When her claw connected and it ended with Riverstone's end, she withdrew to herself, floating far above her body in a way so that she was unresponsive. She babbled incoherently to herself, the stress too much, but her mint eyes tracked Jupiter's one eye the entire time.
In the last few moments of Riverstone's life, he set his eyes on Marshmumble and wouldn't give the rogue the satisfaction of seeing the fear and defeat in his gaze. He had failed Stormstar; assuming Marshmumble's life would end shortly after his own. He could hear StarClan whispering in his ears as blood loss made the tom's mind fade. His breath slowed and heart fluttered as he reminisced on his short life. His new mate, Rainingfeather would be left behind... but she was safe in EarthClan. Images of her soft gray pelt and blue eyes brought him a strange calmness. "It's ok Marshmumble. I'll see StarClan now." his voice wavered as the tom turned towards him. He closed his eyes one last time, bracing for the blow. It came as expected and he lay motionless, slowly bleeding out onto the dirt under him. "Marsh- run-" he gurgled and blood spilled from his mouth with his last words.
A sigh left his throat at their meek attempts to stop him. He was starting to get annoyed, single green eye shining in anger at her disobedience. He shifted away from her claws- or at-least tried to. Her paw struck his face, blood leaking from a small cut underneath his good eye. He flashed her a sickly sweet smile and then licked the blood that trickled down his cheek.
"Your loss." He turned, catching riverstone's throat with his paw. Jupiter gazed at him for a moment before sinking his needle-like claws into his flesh.
Marshmumble felt bile rise to her throat. She heard Riverstone's plea and felt honored, but confused- where was Thunderpaw with reinforcements?!
"Riverstone! No!" Marshmumble said in outcry, but not only at his insinuation. It was also a no to Jupiter- an initial reaction that reached far beyond her own abilities to refuse. It was primal. She would not fulfill his request willingly.
She stood, shaking, and attacked again, claws outstretched for Jupiter again. She just had to distract . . . they just had to distract . . .
Fox-lengths away, Notchedfin and Sparkpaw's bodies bled out onto the muddy ground.
The small bengal tom was thrown like a rag-doll by the rogue tom, wincing as he landed against a rock with his shoulder taking the impact. He looked up to see Marshmumble begging for her life, and for her kits. Not only were most of her children in danger here, but also a whole new litter of EarthClan kits. His eyes widened as he struggled to regain his paws, spitting out blood and hissing at the intruder. "Take me, leave her be!" he shouted. He knew Stormstar would never recover if the queen and all their kits were murdered. For once EarthClan had a true leader and they couldn't lose him now. "I'll do anything you want!" he screamed desperately, scrabbling toward him with dirt and blood covering his belly and paws.
Jupiter absorbed the impact like it was nothing, hip checking Riverstone in order to send him stumbling to the ground. He cackled at their pain, the thrill of knowing his opponents underestimate him is what fuels his fire. He focused his singular green eye on Marshmumble, ears perking in interest at her words. "What makes you think I care?" He circled her, barely paying attention to the sounds of Riverstone's sputtering and coughing. Such pathetic cats. As he came to stop in front of the queen again, a thought crossed his mind. He leaned in close and whispered his request in her ear.
Marshmumble screamed again as Riverstone appeared, but not before she replied, begging, "P-Please, I'm pregnant! My mate- he'll wonder what happened! Stop this carnage!"
Riverstone grumbled in a heap on the ground, blood pooling from his chest. The warm liquid coated this throat and he coughed, spewing it onto the dirt in front of himself. The tom gasped as Sparkpaw lie lifeless, and Notchedfin wounded and scrambled to his paws. Marshmumble was vulnerable to the wrath of the crazed tom and in a last ditch effort, Riverstone raced forward and attempted to body slam him.
Jupiter froze for half a second before he realized who spoke. In the moment, he'd thought Mars had screamed for him to stop and maybe if she had been there he would have. Unfortunately for these earthclanner's his sister was no where in sight to control the monster. As soon as Notchedfin jumped, Jupiter's paws met his face at the exact same time. A sickening crack that was followed by a thump echoed through the forest. He turned back to Marshmumble, grinning from ear to ear. "Tell me again that I should stop." He approached the queen, sliding his paw down the side of her injured face, admiring his handiwork.
Marshmumble screamed in pain when Jupiter clawed her face, feeling the impact of the clawmarks rip into her cheek and bounce off of her eye socket, yanking something vital with them. Blood poured and half her vision went dark as pain exploded behind her closed and tattered eyelid. She couldn't do anything but cower under it, though she tried to look when she heard Notchedfin stop. She turned her head from side to side, trying to get her bearings, but the shock was real and covered her legs with hypothetical molasses- she hoped her son could be back with reinforcements- prayed to someone, anyone, that he would.
"S-stop-" she said weakly, cowering in submission, too slow to run away and too weak and unmatched to Jupiter to fight back. He was like a weasel and Marshmumble was like a sparrow- lacking in appendage and will to know how to defend herself. She had never been a good fighter.
"Please- please, spare him!" she screamed.
Notchedfin gasped as Jupiter easily beat back his attack and stumbled, blood rushing down where he'd been clawed across the base of his neck. He tried to leap forward again but stumbled, his vision swimming.
The scrawny tom-cat smiled at their advances, he loved it when they underestimated him. His size was anything but intimidating, but his battle history would scare the living **** out of them. Jupiter ducked out of the way of Marshmumbles claws and faced Notchedfin's attack head on. They tumbled across the ground for a bit until the Havana brown cat pinned the older feline. He didn't stay with the tom for too long, his eyes now set on the she-cat. They all seemed pretty protective of her. Jupiter had a few more scratches on him from the elder's claws, but he managed to slip away from his hold. His paws carried him across the mushy ground, faking to the females left before aiming a deadly swipe to the right side of her face.
Notchedfin rushed to keep up with Marshmumble, hoping to overwhelm Jupiter with their sheer number as they attacked together. As Marshmumble went for Jupiter's throat, he opted to try and tackle him to the ground, praying that Marshmumble's attack would leave the cat's balance unsettled.
Marshmumble saw the battle around her and managed to pull away from Sparkpaw to witness Jupiter wound Riverstone. She hadn't even remembered the tom come along, but Marshmumble realized she was the most capable warrior in the patrol- and she wasn't even fighting.
She withdrew, a lick on Sparkpaw's head, before she turned to stand next to Notchedfin. She launched herself heroically at Jupiter, his long-legged form meaning he would easily be able to outreach her.
"For Sparkpaw!" she shouted as she aimed a deadly swipe for his throat, her mightier weight aiming to bodyslam him away from Notchedfin.
Thunderpaw was only frozen for a split second, green eyes flicking to his mother at the sound of his name. He nodded quickly, racing in the direction of MoonClan, pausing only to lick his brother's forehead gently in farewell. He knew his mother wouldn't give up on him, but he could see that his brother wouldn't make it. "Sleep well, Sparkpaw." He whispered, before tearing off in the direction MoonClan again. [MC Terr}
Jupiter glanced sideways just in time to lean away from the earthclanner's attack. It seemed the universe had given him prey on a silver platter. He released his hold on the tom-cat underneath him in favor of slashing his claws across Riverstone's belly. The sight of blood seeping from the wound did little to placate the loner's hungry. He needed more.
He jerked his body, rolling away from the two older felines in favor of witnessing Marshmumble cry over her dead kits body. He dodged another attack swung by Notchfin before dropping to the ground and propelling him forward, a bite aimed at his neck.
"Marshmumble, get back to camp!" Notchedfin yelled at the she-cat as she joined Riverstone in his attack, his own paws clumsy and untrained. While he was not yet an elder, he was not young either, and he had never been either skilled or talented.
Marshmumble screamed louder as Jupiter aimed to attack again, her mind troubled at the blood that coated her paws as she stood over her son's body. "No!" she exclaimed, praying to StarClan that some sort of residual medicine cat knowledge would reveal itself to her. How she could save him- she scrambled and tried to put pressure on the wound, but nothing would do it- nothing would stop the bleeding. Marshmumble was hyperventilating, but she looked up at Thunderpaw, "Go! Now, to MoonClan! Get reinforcements!"
She screamed again as Jupiter attacked Notchedfin, but a large amount of determination filled her grief as she stood over her dying son. She leaned down, licking his cheeks, singing soft lullabies, speaking softly, anything she could think of to wake him up.
"Baby, mommy loves you, you know that, right? There's not- there's nothing to be scared of-" she choked out.
Riverstone followed the scent trail of the patrol from a distance, taking his time to admire new-leaf in EarthClan. Stormstar had tasked Marshmumble with leading her first patrol with the apprentices, mostly consisted of their first litter of kits. He hadn't been able to spend time with them recently but promised the leader that he would watch over his family while they were out. SunClan and EclipseClan were still very much a threat. Little did the group know that there was a much larger danger rushing toward the camp at this very moment. The small bengal tom heard their voices ahead of him and he jogged up to the patrol with a smile, just in time to witness the life leaving Sparkpaw's eyes. Riverstone was never much of a fighter but these were his best friend's kits. He lept into action, yowling and slashing at the air with his claws. He fell short, leaving his belly wide open for a counter attack and only realizing this when it was too late to move.
"Oh dear," He mewed, licking the blood from his claws as he gazed at the group of cats. "I really wanted to keep this quiet." Jupiter removed himself from the apprentice's body a smile enveloping his face as he stared with a single green eye.
"Who's next? Eeny." He pointed at Thunderpaw first. "Meeney." His gaze fell on Marshmumble. "Miney," He slowly turned his head to look at Notchedfin. "Mo." As soon as the words left his mouth, he was on the move. He raced toward the elder, pushing Thunderpaw out of the way before tackling the older feline to the ground. His claws dug into the flesh of his belly as they tumbled.
Notchedfin called out as Sparkpaw was attacked, but he was too slow to interfere before Jupiter tore through his throat.
"Run!" He lept in front of Marshmumble, his fur standing on end as he hissed toward the cat and blocked his path to the queen.
Marshmumble's tufted ears swivelled with conviction as her maternal instincts activated, powers unknown to her as her baby cried out for assistance.
She was too late. The fact presented itself victoriously, like a trumpet's call, a blow to the face harder than anything any cat could to do Marshmumble. Grief presented itself in her pale green gaze before she looked up to see Jupiter, blood on his mouth and paws. Fear gripped her- she was frozen, as she stared into those soulless eyes. She was a kittypet again, and forgot what to do in the heat of the moment.
She was a sitting duck.
The scent of clan-cats caught his attention, heart fluttering in anticipation. His muscles were still tense, frustration clouding his better judgement. He knew his mind should be focused on recruitment, maybe he could persuade a clan cat or two to join him. Starclan was not on the young earthclanner’s side, however, because Jupiter was in a killing kind of mood. The Havana brown cat was set solely on sinking his needle sharp claws into flesh.
He hunkered down into a crouch, creeping up slowly on the lone earthclanner, a wicked smile stretching across his face. Jupiter could feel his anxieties, the sadness which just made this whole situation ten times better. The small one smelled like the she-cat leading the group. Blood family? That thought sent shivers down his spine.
“Four little kittens jumping up and down.” Jupiter hummed, creeping out of the underbrush.
Sparkpaw stumbled backward, he scrunched his face in disgust. The sight before him causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand. Who is this weirdo? The loner’s blood soaked paws and blood stained muzzle screamed danger, but no matter how hard Sparkpaw tried, no words not even a whimper left his mouth.
“One by one, Jupiter spills their blood.” The scrawny loner continued, scraping his claws against the snowy ground as he closed in on the small one. He had never been good at rhyming. Without any further hesitation, Jupiter leapt at the apprentice.
“MOM!” Sparkpaw’s scream caused the earth beneath their paws to shake. The needle-like claws dug into the flesh on his back, he could feel the loner cat rip away the fur and skin. Warm liquid spurted from the wound.
Jupiter had wanted to draw it out, torture him a little, but it seemed he’d gotten to excited. The havana brown cat swiped his claws slowly across Sparkpaw’s throat, the sound of his coughing and sputtering like music to his ripped up ears.
The black apprentice pawed at Jupiter’s grip on his throat, the only thing he could taste or smell was blood. He desperately tried to grasp onto the pathetic thing he called life, but the light slowly fade from his eyes until he no longer struggled.
Jupiter watched as the apprentice died, bringing his bloodied paws up to his mouth to lick the red liquid from them. “Thank you! You have no idea how much I needed that.”
"Hmm... Battle stories..." Notchedfin considered, his tail flicking above him. With his shortened face and general tendency toward having his thoughts far in the clouds, he also failed to take notice of Jupiter's scent above the other rich scents of their waterlogged territory. "Have you heard of Glass-star? He was before your time, but your mother is sure to remember him."
Thunderpaw dipped his head in apology, looking up at Marshmumble a little sheepishly. "I'm sorry mum. I didn't mean to." He mewed, glancing between the two older cats as they walked.
Marshmumble enjoyed the jovial atmosphere and vaguely remembered Wrinkledface from her first gathering, never forgetting a face. She was dumbstruck, and struggled to find anything good to say about the plainly ugly she-cat.
She was so enamored in conversation that she still failed to notice her son following them, and her lack of smell, dulled by moons within vicinity to sharp-smeling herbs, had no hope of smelling the dangerous Jupiter.
"Don't be so impatient, Thunderpaw. He's telling a story now," she guided. "Wrinkledface always seemed so confident. It's hard to think she would retire- I looked forward to seeing so level-headed a cat take the helm of EarthClan, even when I was in EclipseClan," she said with a chuckle. "Though it did all work out- Stormstar's as level a cat as I could hope for, and he loves this clan dearly."
A scrawny, thin Havana brown tom-cat pushed his way through brambles and bushes, his singular green eye glowing in the darkness. He'd traveled far, his dark pelt stained with blood. His fight with Winterjay hadn't gone as expected. The plan was to take his life and leave unscathed. It was only fair, especially after what the former loner had done to Jupiter.
The small cat was filled with hatred and distaste for anyone who called themselves clan-members. Just the thought of joining one caused bile to rise in his throat. Disgusting, pathetic creatures. He gathered the saliva in his mouth and spit, what he had expected to be clear liquid was red. If that Moonclanner hadn't gotten in my way... He grumbled to himself, swaying slightly on his paws.
Jupiter's injuries were nothing to worry about it, they were just a small annoyance to him. A tiny bump in the road. He had bigger problems to fry, such as figuring out how to gain back his followers. After that wretched eclipseclanner had stepped in and basically stole all of the queens, his soldiers had left him, alone in the void.
"Why not persuade young kittypets to join you?" He thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head. "No that wouldn't work. Winterjay was like them and he betrayed me." His needle like claws dug into the ground as he walked, snow freezing the pads of his feet.
A small black furred tom-cat followed after the patrol, staying downwind as best he could with what little training he possessed. He had meant to ask his mother if he could join, but his social anxiety -even with his own kin- made it extremely hard for him to approach. Especially because he thought she liked his siblings more than himself. Sparkpaw, almost an exact copy of his father in the looks department, stopped for a moment to scent the air. He'd never been to this border before. He knew what Sunclan smelled liked, but there was a hint of loner in there as well.
Thunderpaw looked up at the elder as he spoke, keeping his eyes and ears and mouth open for scents. "Do you have any battle stories or things like that..?" He asked softly, trying to be as polite to the elder as he could. He didn't want to seem rude, but he was genuinely curious and loved to hear stories about anything the elders could think of.
"Here, actually-- there isn't much of a story to it," Notchedfin chuckled. "Though if it's a story that you're looking for, you might think I would be starting one with the fact that Wrinkledface was my mother, but in truth there's very little to that. She retired shortly after my birth and I was very young when she died. I remember very little of her."
He scented the air again, half-attending to the hunting, and entirely oblivious to the fact that the name Wrinkledface might mean nothing to Marshmumble.
The EarthClan patrol was indeed as slow-going as Marshmumble had hoped and she enjoyed its mosey pace like the thaw of leaf-bare.
"So, where're you from, Notchedfin?" she asked, having not spoken intimately with the elder since her arrival as an EclipseClan failure. She'd first been afraid of all the unique stories of EarthClan's cats, but had soon arrived to treasure them. Each one was like a tributary leading into one great pool. Independently, she wished her sons to know how to politely engage in conversation.
Silversplash started back toward the camp, with Kudzuthroat making his way behind her. She glanced back frequently, not liking the idea that he could just spring on her and have his teeth in her neck before she'd even realized. Still, there was no better way to do it-- he didn't know the way to camp. So, she settled for numbing chatter.
"So, uh, what's your name?"
"Kudzuthroat."
"Like the vine? Weird. What was your mother thinking with that one?"
"Well, my sister's name is Dieseltooth, so..." Kudzuthroat forced a laugh.
His sister is the deputy?! ___!
[EaC Camp]
Cherrybloom nodded. "I can do that."
She turned around and started running back towards camp.
Kudzuthroat nearly collapsed in relief as even Silversplash drew short, even if it was to give Cherrybloom a warning glance. Still, she hesitated, and when she spoke up much of the bluster was taken out of her tone. "Why didn't you send a patrol?"
"It was urgent, our medicine cats couldn't afford to wait."
"Oh.... okay. Look, if you come with us to our camp, we can see if Nightpaw will have what you need. You aren't going to find anything here, it's all dead or sleeping."
Kudzuthroat gave a grateful nod, though a new lump of worry rose in his throat. "Please, let's hurry."
"Of course- Cherrybloom, can you run ahead and tell Nightpaw what happeed?" Silversplash asked, not knowing that their medicine cats were off at the meeting.
"Oh no. That's terrible," Cherrybloom said.
She meant it too, instantly taken in by the explanation. She glanced at the other cats in the patrol.
Silversplash broke through the undergrowth into full view of Kudzuthroat.
"Hey!" She shouted, her fur standing on end.
Kudzuthroat looked up, legitimately startled by her shout. "Wait!"
Silversplash hung back, though her claws dug into the thawing ground beneath them.
"We need herbs-" Kudzuthroat explained. "One of our queens is terribly sick."
Cherryblossom nodded and followed Silversplash, feeling a little relieved she wasn't imagining things. She was pretty sure she could hear the other cat moving around now.
“Nope, nothing?” Silversplash initially answered Cherrybloom, almost dismissing the tone before she felt the other cats stiffen around her and opened her mouth to scent the air once more. EclipseClan? She wondered, glancing between her clanmates to gauge their reactions. Definitely EclipseClan.
“Stay near me,” She ordered and started in the direction of the scent. “I don’t know why they’re this far south, but it can’t be good.”
Kudzuthroat heard a rustling in the undergrowth and considered bolting, but ultimately remained rooted in place. I’m here for herbs. They can’t begrudge us those. I’m not a threat, he told himself. If they attack, then I’ll run. As they approached, he started ruffling through the frozen leaf litter as if in search of the herbs once more and entirely oblivious to their presence, his face the perfect picture of worry.
Tunnelvision's fur spiked at the scent she had caught, she knew something had been off, but it was much stronger now. Another cat, that was good at least, with clan blood though. With the tension between the clans she regretted what would happen as the encountered the other party. Her ginger coat shivered as she kept quiet, Cherrybloom had already spoken about the intruder.
Klondike was on the right side of Silversplash, his blue eyes focused ahead and a soft smile traced on his face. He hadn't been in the clan for long and had heard this story quiet a bit from the elders and queens. He quite enjoyed spending time around the nursery and Elder's den whenever he wasn't doing anything. "And I'm guessing they haven't checked the border in so long because of Glass-star's death."
Houndrunner strayed behind, his brown pelt sticking out among the snow and dead leaves. He listened to the conversations ahead of him, but also kept an ear out for his surroundings.
Cherrybloom nodded. Truthfully, she hadn't thought about threats from the foxes or badgers. So she sniffed the air and frowned.
"Silversplash? Do you smell something? I think someone else might be here."
"They haven't gone after this border in generations, but we still need to check it-- and StarClan only knows what EclipseClan could push them into, there are all sorts of stories of SunClan getting pushed around by whoever their ally of the moon happens to be. You know, they did kill Glass-star at this border-- he was on their side, to be fair, but still." Silversplash shrugged, tromping along the riverbank with no particular care or sense of caution. "And there could be a fox or badger or dog or something."
Kudzuthroat froze, hearing voices in the distance. He opened his mouth to scent the air, but the wind was against him and he realized as soon as he had that by the time his own city-dulled nose caught who was there, they would have already seen him. They probably already have, he thought, an icicle of fear piercing through his heart.
Cherrybloom followed her patrol out to the border looking around before focusing back on the other cats.
"Do you think Sunclan has changed anything? I don't see why they would?" She shook her head slightly.
Kudzuthroat walked along Snake's Gorge, sniffing through the snow for the plants that Mapleshadow had instructed him to find. It was a hopeless cause and he knew it, nothing was in bloom- even in twoleg gardens the plants had been dead, but here in the forest where they were all tangled together as thin sticks and dried stems coated in snow, he couldn't even find a live plant, let alone the ones she'd requested.
"Cold, ain't it?" The older apprentice seemed to read her mind. He shook his pelt. "Well anyways, are you having fun?"
Pippa rolled her eyes when she was hauled over to the grass by her older Denmate. "Hmph," The tiny molly pouted as she plopped down beside the large tom, her sleek pelt brushing up against his side. "I have four, workin' paws, ya know?" She whispered back to Thunderpaw, not at all pleased by him. Her lime colored eyes drifted back toward the river, and she almost felt a shiver run down her spine when the tall, golden grass swayed in the wind. Leaf-fall certainly was cold.
Thunderpaw pricked his ears, and when he heard voices he grabbed the small molly by the scuff and hauled her into the tall grass with him. "Don't let them see us," he whispered, crouching. "And be quiet."
Pippa watched the river flow with her lime green eyes wide in thought. 'Ain't that somethin'? I wonder if it really does go all the t' the barn...' Her ears flicked before she turned to look up at Thunderpaw again, upon hearing voices farther up the river. "Aren't those are clanmates voices? Why are they talkin' t' an Earthclanner?" She asked him quietly, not exactly wanting to interrupt the scene farther ahead.
Hidden in the undergrowth on SunClan's side, two black and white apprentices were crouched behind the long grass. One was large and muscular, and the other a small molly.
Dawnshade didn't let up from her offensive position. She watched the apprentices carefully to make sure they weren't a distraction for an actual patrol to ambush them. The EarthClanner seemed to avoid their question and that irritated the she-cat. "Calm down?!" she huffed, rolling her eyes. "You're hunting across our border, and it seems to me that you don't care!" she spat back. How could EarthClan let their apprentices wander off and hunt wherever they felt like? The she-cat's fur bristled along her back, but inside she felt calm as Burdockbone stood by her side.
Riverstone headed up the back of the group to the border. Instantly he caught the strong scent of SunClan and his fur stood on end. Oh no... he dashed forward to find Nightpaw and Silverpaw face to face with a full SunClan patrol. He only let his eyes off the two for a moment! He scrambled to find the right words to avoid an attack, but truthfully he was never the best at talking. "What have you two done?" he scolded, glancing to the warriors who were posed for attack. He eyed the patrol carefully. "And what were you doing over here?" he questioned suspiciously. What if they were planning an attack on his very patrol? Or even worse, the camp?
"You're on our territory," Burdockbone explained, standing stock-still as he watched the other EarthClanner emerge from the forest and cross the creek border to the territory.
Nightpaw looked around carefully approaching Silverpaw. “Look, I’m a healer, not a fighter, okay? Could we please try and calm down, and explain what is going on” The black cat looks to Silverpaw. His eyes are wide, full of fear, but it doesn’t seem like it’s coming from this situation. What speeked him? “Silverpaw, what happened?”
"Nightpaw?" Silverpaw called back, her ears turning back as the full force of the SunClan patrol stepped out of the tall grass ahead of her.
"Get back," Burdockbone growled, flashing his unsheathed claws. Silverpaw stepped back then froze, her ears pinned back rabbit-like against her skull.
Nightpaw looks around for a moment of confusion, not processing the situation. “W-where’d it go?! It was just here!!“ He paced, tail thrashing violently. He suddenly appears to process the situation. “Silverpaw, what’s going on here...”
Silverpaw startled and jumped back into a reflexive defensive position, her fur going on end.
"Who are you?" She growled the question back, shooting a nervous look back toward her patrol as the other SunClanners emerged from the grass.
"Stay back," Burdockbone ordered the SunClan apprentices and slunk to Dawnshade's side, a growl rising in his throat.
Dawnshade was startled, jumping around to find the source of the shouting. Right in front of her, an apprentice age EarthClanner had just come barreling out of a bush and nearly ran face first into her. She backed up, hissing with her hair on end, ready to fight if she must. "Who are you?!" she growled through closed teeth.
Nightpaw burst from a bush, gasping and wheezing for breath. he whirled around, frantically looking. “WHERE ARE YOU?! I KNOW I SAW YOU!” He shouted. Soon, his breathing calmed down, and he dug his claws into the earth, hissing in frustration. “Stupid stupid stupid, that was the fifth one this week...”
"Okay!" Silverpaw chirped, glancing back at Glass-star and giving him a smile she hoped would be reassuring. She padded right up to the border of the creek and started through it, unaware that the border was actually on their side of the creek, not the further shore.
"Just wait there a moment!" Burdockbone called to his patrol as a monster passed. He looked one way, then the other, and gave the remaining cats the signal to cross. When they were safely along the far side of the thunderpath, he set out at a quick pace toward the river.
Glass-star trailed along with the patrol, feeling oddly nauseated. It was probably just something he ate - he wasn't too concerned. Scenting the air idly, Glass-star faltered in his stride - he could've sworn he scented other cats, but it could've just been the rest of the patrol's scents mingling with the scent of SunClan territory across the border.
Riverstone led the two apprentices toward the border. His paws carried him quickly as his heart raced with adrenaline. He wasn't used to leading anyone, let alone trying to check the border. He remembered the day of the EclipseClan fight and him being nearly killed trying to battle and looked both directions when he reached the border. He turned to the two, "Ok, check for any stale border markers or scent of another clan." he instructed. His river colored eyes darted back and forth as he hoped, no, prayed to StarClan that they would finish their task without running into anyone.
A SunClan she-cat sped across the two-leg road as her paws were accustomed to the rough texture of the asphalt. Once at the other side, she waited for her fellow clanmates to cross and head to the border. While she waited, she listened carefully for a sign of an EarthClan patrol. It was difficult as the two-leg monsters rushed back and forth behind her. Her eyes straining to get a look at the border, she caught a glimpse of a brown blob.. another cat? Maybe just her imagination. Itching to go check it out she flicked her tail to the patrol. "Let's go!"
Burdockpaw smiled and started prowling through the long grass while the others fanned out around him. His legs were aching with the effort of maintaining a perfect prowl when his ears finally pricked forward at a strange scuffling noise in front of him. He scented the air, deer mouse?
Dawnshade dipped her head in agreement and started off, sniffing the air for any sign of prey. She felt pretty comfortable now, a little more part of the clan after worrying so much that she would be an outcast. The flutter of wings grabbed her attention and she crouched down low, camouflaging herself in the foliage. A bright yellow and black bird floated down and began pecking at the ground. Placing each paw strategically, she crept forward inch by inch until she was just a fox length away. The small bird caught her and took off into the air but it was too late. The she-cat launched up with her hindlegs and reached out with her paw, catching the bird in mid-air and giving it a swift death when she landed. Dawnshade turned and headed the direction of the camp, hoping to meet up with the other two on the way back.
The warrior contemplated it for a few seconds before nodding at the apprentice, trying to show that she approved of his idea. "What a warrior's way of thinking," Pepperblack laughed, tail waving slightly. "Alright, then, let's get a move on. Fan out and catch what you can, and then we'll go back to camp."
"Why don't we just fan out a bit and see what we come across? It'll be dark if we put too much focus on it, but we should bring something back for the queens and elders." Burdockpaw suggested, trying to sound mature and responsible.
"Alright," Pepperblack announced, satisfied that they had completed the task of marking the territory. "I'm content with our work. Let's start heading back to camp. Unless you still wanted to hunt?" She addressed the rest of the patrol, the large cat tilting her head slightly.
"Are there many of them?" Burdockpaw asked, watching a vulture that soared high above them, so far out of reach that he couldn't hope to grab one, even from the highest perch of the tallest tree in MoonClan's territory. "I know MoonClan eats lots of birds, but the rest of us don't. Fish are easier, for EarthClan, and there just aren't many birds here to catch."
Dawnshade thought for a moment, wondering what to say. She escaped a two-leg home, so she didn't know everything about the city, but surely cats had to hunt. "I would never eat crowfood myself, so I hunted the birds that would hop around on the ground." the she-cat explained contentedly. She learned pretty fast how to get food for herself, as starving wasn't the best look for her. The birds in the city were pretty dumb and a cat could nearly just walk up and grab them without a fight. The she-cat shifted her weight as her paws began to get sore; she wasn't used to being on her feet for so long. This patrol was taking awhile now, and she contemplated if they should go back yet.
"Do the cats need to hunt at all? I heard from an EclipseClan apprentice that mostly they just look through the crowfood," Burdockpaw meowed.
The she-cat felt like this job was never-ending, continuously marking the border, on and on. At least she had made an acquaintance who she could talk to. The apprentice was definitely inquisitive but she didn't mind the attention. "Yeah, it's a whole different world; only the best cats can hunt by scent there." she agreed, it was hard, but once you lived there your whole life it becomes easy to distinguish the smells.
Burdockpaw nodded in agreement with Pepperblack, but knew it wasn't his place to condemn a warrior. Instead, he opted to shift the topic, "What's the city like, Dawnshade? I've heard that it's so loud and smelly that you have to hunt by sight, but I haven't been able to ask anyone who actually lived there if that's true."
Pepperblack listened to the conversation between Burdockpaw and Dawnshade, ears pricked with interest. She was curious about life beyond the clans, but not enough to go experience it herself. Once Poplar-run has wandered over and away, she tilted her head. "I wonder why they're out here alone? There's no reason to badger one of our warriors, though-- we should report it to the deputy when we get back to camp, however." She signaled to her patrol for them to continue.
Burdockpaw watched as Poplar-run wandered off.
"I guess she didn't hear us?" He offered and waited for the warriors to either go after her or continue to meander along the border.
The Siamese pointed she-cat nodded to the apprentice. "Yeah, I was born there." In a cozy twoleg home no less... She despised it though, being cooped up all the time. The horrors that two-legs do to their cats, she bolted out of their door the moment it opened. She had been so young, barely weaned when she left. She wasn't but a couple moons older than the apprentice. Now the little tom was staring at her like some sort of celebrity and she blushed. The she-cat craved attention since her own mother was too busy taking care of her 5 other siblings and she was always pushed to the side as the runt of the litter. She didn't even get a name, so she named herself after the shade of the clouds at the break of dawn. Dawnshade kept her eyes on the other cat who was supposedly a clan-mate. "Why are you here? We have orders not leave the camp alone." she piped up trying to sound like a warrior should.
"So you're from the city?" Burdock-paw pressed, looking at her with an expression that verged on awe. He followed her gaze toward Poplar-run and meowed, "Huh, that's one of the other warriors... I wonder what she's doing out here."
Dawnshade couldn't help but feel important as the younger cat asked her questions. She enjoyed the attention that she had been lacking since living on her own. "Not me, I didn't come from any clans. As far as I know the city cats don't believe in anything but their own pelts." she admitted; she never bothered looking into city cats. They were all the same: cold, rough, and mean. As the she-cat was sniffing out the border, she caught scent of another cat nearby and glanced up to see another stranger. "Who's that?" she looked toward her clan mates for an answer.
(Hi Elegance! Be sure to join the Discord soon, so we have a way to get in contact with you :) )
"Was it a clan?" Burdockpaw meowed, his ears pricked forward with curiosity. "I know there are cats that call themselves clans very far away, but cats say that only the ones here know about StarClan and follow The Code. Do you know if that's true?"
In his haste to ask the warrior a question, he didn't notice the fresh SunClan scent coming from Poplar-run and didn't think to question why a cat was out on her own, against Flintstar's orders.
The she-cat smiled as she checked another marker. "Somewhere far away." Not much of an answer but she hoped it cured the curiosity, at least for now. She wasn't about to announce to strangers that she was born a kitty pet in a city far from here. Yet, Dawnshade was nowhere near being as soft and fragile as a kitty pet. She had escaped the two-leg house and never looked back. She learned to hunt on her own, and learned to fight by fending off dogs, raccoons, and foxes.
Burdockpaw set his own scent marker along the bank of the river and meowed.
"I'm Burdockpaw." He paused a moment, then piped up again, curiously asking "Where are you from?"
Dawnshade nodded and padded up to a tree, crouching down and sniffing the rough bark to find the scent of the clan, which was a bit stale. She stood and set a fresh marker. This was easy enough, and, hunting afterwards. This new clan life didn't seem so bad after all. Now she just needed to get to know her clan mates and maybe make some friends. The she-cat looked over to the other warrior. "I'm Dawnshade, kinda new around here," she introduced herself. She didn't grow up around cats so at time she can be antisocial and seem cold.
The senior warrior caught up to Dawnshade and took the lead, not going to show any weakness to a newcomer. She may be nice, but Pepperblack still held other emotions than joy and friendliness. "We're marking the border and hunting on the way back," she informed the she-cat with a small smile, but her eyes didn't hold kindness. To demonstrate, she crouched and placed a scent marker, waiting for the rest of her patrol to do the same.