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Post by spasticjazzhands on Nov 30, 2019 20:32:58 GMT -8
THE FALL OF A STAR ( 049 )
LAST MOON Twistedstar turned her head to the right but Ruststripe of course was not there anymore. Birchwhisker also wasn’t there along with half of her clan. She made do by looking to Sunchaser who also had lost all closest to him. He noticed her staring and with a sad smile approached. “We have a lot of decisions to make.” He murmured.
“With patrols, assigning new mentors, integrated the new members, and making sure cats rest, we’re going to be busy.” Twistedstar sighed. “But before we decide that, we need to talk about some of the current ranks.”
“Yes, it is unfortunate that Frostpaw mostly received warrior training along with Frigidthorn.” Sunchaser said. “We essentially are short a medicine cat.”
“I’m sure Spottednose and Galalight will do their best to assist him until we find an alive substitute.” Twistedstar wrapped her tail around her paws. “But I was alluding to the leader and deputy position.”
“Oh?”
“As you are aware, I am on my last life and nearing my departure of the clan.” She caught Sunchaser before he argued. “No, no, no, it’s just a fact of life. But that also means that the deputy will be promoted to leader.”
“And you are starting to doubt my abilities?”
“The opposite. I know you’d be a wonderful leader but wanted to make sure that is something you still want.” Twistedstar said. “If you want to step down and be allowed to eventually quietly retire to watch your kits grow up, I’ll allow that.”
“Oh,” Sunchaser wasn’t expecting that. “I…that thought never crossed my mind to be honest. I don’t think I could ever step down from my Clan and my duties.”
“I fully endorse that choice.” Twistedstar licked his cheek. “But I hope you stay my deputy for a little while more.”
“So do I.” He gave her a stern look. “I respectfully request you to stay alive for a long time.”
The heavily scarred tom that hovered near Frostpaw regarded Mountaintop with anxious eyes as he made his way towards them carrying a shrew. “Hey, Frostpaw, do you want something to eat?” He asked gently. He sat the bird down in front of Frostpaw, but he made no movements towards it or even acknowledged this interaction had taken place.
“Leave it here and he’ll eat when he needs to,” The tom slightly stuttered, clearly not comfortable around the clan who tried to kill the rogue group only days before.
“I also need to talk to him.” Mountaintop pressed. He couldn’t go back on his promise to Frigidthorn, he would care for Frostpaw whether he liked it or not!
The tom nudged Frostpaw. Frostpaw blinked once and seemed to snap out of his stupor for a few seconds. He recognized Mountaintop but didn’t offer any words or reassurances. “He needs to adjust.” The tom spoke for Frostpaw.
Mountaintop wasn’t a fan. Frostpaw was old enough to be a warrior for StarClan’s sake, he could speak for himself. But Mountaintop would take the high road and he nodded. “I’ll be here whenever he’s ready.”
Featherpaw nudged a moping Hollypaw. “C’mon, cheer up.” He urged his brother. He didn’t enjoy sitting idly by and needed to rouse his littermates from their stupor. “Sunchaser didn’t even yell at us.”
“We’re the reason those apprentices and kits died, Featherpaw.” Hollypaw spat. Even Ashpaw felt relatively guilty. None of the three ever thought their own selfish actions would cause seven deaths. Who knows what would have happened if they stayed?
“I know, but we can try to make up for it.” Featherpaw pressed.
“We already got our punishment.” Ashpaw sighed. “We have to start training all over again.”
“Yes, but what are we experts of?” Featherpaw waited for a moment before blurting out, “BEING ORPHANS!”
“And why are you reminding us of this again?” Ashpaw said scathingly.
“We can help Oakpaw with his family’s death. He can join in on our adventures and training sessions.” Featherpaw insisted. “That can be our penance.”
“I guess.” Ashpaw perked up. “He does need another family.”
“And Neritefang and Marsh would love to have another cat to tell stories to.” Hollypaw said. “Featherpaw, that’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“HEY!”
PRESENT
Starlingsky sat next to Mallardwing and Thistlefur with the remaining cats of TwistedClan along with scarred others who had been abandoned by the rogues. All were anxious as to what Twistedstar was going to cover at today’s ceremony. New mentors needed to be assigned, clan names needed to be given, and patrols were needed to be regrouped. Twistedstar herself had aged several moons since the battle even though only one moon had passed. Her hind legs were now so weak that her back half seemed to buckle towards the ground. “All cats able to climb a tree gather here below!” Twistedstar started the ceremony with the proper sentence although most cats currently in the clearing couldn’t even bend over without experiencing some kind of pain. “First of all, TwistedClan will hold a moment of silence for all the brave warriors lost in the Great Battle.” She and Sunchaser dipped their heads and the rest of the Clan followed suit. “Thank you.” Twistedstar grimaced and daintily sat. “If you will excuse me, I will continue from this position. Now, from those fallen warriors some were mentors that need reassigning. Thistlefur, you will take the place of Petalfall and continue Oakpaw’s training.” Thistlefur met a solemn Oakpaw and touched noses. “Now, Thundercry will replace Nightpelt and train Fogpaw, and Willowbranch will replace Flameleap and train Mistpaw.” The respective pairs touched noses. “And Lynxshine will take over Beetle’s training while Crowtalon is recovering.” Instead of the usual chanting after new apprentices being assigned, the clan broke into soft murmurs discussing the gruesome ends of the other cats. “Now, I understand that we have some new members of TwistedClan joining us.”
“And why should we trust them?” The challenging voice belonged to Shadow who was standing with her fur bristling. “They tried to kill us once, they’ll try again.” Pavilla sat next to her with her tail wrapped around her two remaining kits nodded briskly. Darkmist who was behind them smirked. Starlingsky understood the queens’ reservations. These rouges didn’t necessarily join voluntarily; they were deemed too weak and useless and were left behind by their own group. Starlingsky wasn’t the only one that was now thinking about their loyalty as louder murmurs swept through the cats.
“Silence!” Twistedstar was standing once more with an intense look she rarely used. “If their allegiance ever wavers, they will be punished, but as for now, we will show them mercy that they never experienced with the rogues. Now, Frostpaw has requested Volé to join him as a medicine cat assistant until Frostpaw studies enough to become a full medicine cat.” The heavily scarred gray kit paraded forward meeting Frostpaw halfway. An overeager nose touch sent Frostpaw reeling backwards who quickly returned to his seat in the shadows. “You will be known as Volépaw until you earn your full medicine cat name.” Twistedstar continued as if Frostpaw’s stumbling never happened. “We also have three new apprentices today.” Twistedstar flicked her tail and three nervous younger cats approached. “Phoenix, from this day on, you will be known as Phoenixpaw, and your mentor will be Rabbitear.” The calico chimera sheepishly touched noses with the young warrior and slunk back to the shade away from the stares. “Quail, from this day on, you will be known as Quailpaw, and your mentor will be Tigerstrike.” Twistedstar’s remaining kit met the small molly who was much more confident than Phoenixpaw had been. “And Pheasant, from this day on, you will be known as Pheasantpaw, and your mentor will be Mallardwing.” Mallardwing rose from her spot and met the eager Pheasantpaw. She was followed back by her new apprentice. “Finally, Skitter, from this day on, you will be known as Wishpaw, and your mentor will be Sunchaser.” The skittish tom that had been glued to Frostpaw touched noses with the deputy and immediately retreated. The apprentice ceremony was over, but no one chanted the new names.
“Now, we will welcome two new warriors joining our midst.” Twistedstar narrowed her eyes. There will no interruptions this time, her gaze seemed to say. “Frisk, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?”
There was some uneasy muttering, but no one stopped the silver serval from saying, “I do.”
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Lightningflash.” Twistedstar didn’t add a trait or value she noticed from the tom given the circumstances, it was reasonable. “And, Robin, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?”
“I do,” The one-eyed molly said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Robinripple.” Twistedstar said. Again, TwistedClan was silent, so Twistedstar continued. “If you are well enough to patrol which Frostpaw has to clear you to, you may go to Sunchaser to receive your new temporary patrol. Thank you.”
Starlingsky rocked to her feet and stretched. “That was almost as long as the nine-apprentice-ceremony last time.” She groaned.
“But hey, we all have apprentices together again!” Mallardwing said happily. Her tail flicked Pheasantpaw. “You’ll get to train alongside Oakpaw and Ashpaw.” She told him.
“Which ones are they?” Pheasantpaw looked through the crowd of cats.
“Oakpaw is only a moon older than you and doesn’t have any training yet. You’ll start off at the same pace.” Thistlefur said. He hoped that Oakpaw would be excited that Thistlefur was his new mentor or at least not disappointed. He pointed out the tabby to Pheasantpaw when he spotted him.
“And Ashpaw is…a lot to handle at the moment.” Starlingsky sighed. It seemed that every time Ashpaw was mentioned or dealt with, Starlingsky spent the majority of the time sighing. While she had been difficult before the Great Battle, now that her and her littermates were being punished for abandoning their posts, she had become unbearable. Ashpaw, Hollypaw, and Featherpaw had been demoted to six moon old apprentices having to relearn all the necessary skills along with the brand-new apprentices. Needless to say, they were pretty bitter but also understood the severity of their actions in the last moon. “She can help you two get some basic skills down as she has had training.”
“Who’s Tigerstrike? Can he train Quailpaw with us too?” Pheasantpaw asked.
Starlingsky was pleased at how open and confident the two new siblings were already. “He’s Twistedstar’s son and very kind.” Starlingsky explained. “He had two sisters, Riverstone and Cinderdust, but they died in the Great Battle along with their father, Ruststripe.”
“Like our parents.” Pheasantpaw said. He didn’t seem that sad as he kept his same cheery tone. “And Rabbitear? Phoenixpaw got him as a mentor, right?”
“Rabbitear is a younger warrior as well. He has four other littermates and his mother is Silverstem, a permanent queen. His father died a while ago from an illness…Wolfclaw, former deputy of TwistedClan.” Starlingsky said.
“And Skitter’s, I mean Wishpaw’s, mentor is the current deputy!” Pheasantpaw waved his tail as he knew that fact for sure. “Can I go see what Quailpaw is doing now?” Mallardwing nodded and he scurried off into the crowd to find his sister.
“You answered his questions very well.” Thistlefur noted.
“You could have jumped in at any time.” Starlingsky raised a brow at Mallardwing.
“I didn’t want to interrupt the history expert.” Mallardwing purred.
“That is all basic knowledge.” Starlingsky argued. “How is knowing Tigerstrike is Twistedstar’s son expertise?”
“You’ve known me for our entire time in TwistedClan,” Mallardwing laughed, “I am not as air-headed as Softdapple, but there’s a lot of cats here and I can’t possibly remember everything.”
“Darkmist,” A silky voice roused Darkmist. She looked around at her surroundings. It was clear she was in a dream, but this definitely wasn’t StarClan where she had earlier received her nine lives during her short stint of leader of Lucid Shadows. “Sorry, I had to bring you here instead of that twinkling forest.” The voice belonged to a long-haired copper tabby. Darkmist hadn’t the faintest clue as to who she was or why she was brought here. “I sense your confusion.” The molly continued. “I am Copperleaf, first deputy of TwistedClan.”
“Oh, thank you for meeting with me.” Darkmist dipped her head but maintained eye contact. She didn’t intend on trusting this cat about anything. “May I ask why you brought me into your dreamland?”
“I have a boon,” Copperleaf smiled but there was something else behind that smile. “Twistedstar is on her last life.”
“Really?” Darkmist along with most of her other clanmates had lost count in the Great Battle.
“It would be a shame if an illness took her last life right after TwistedClan’s victory.” Copperleaf’s eyes twinkled.
“No one has had any strange symptoms in moons,” Darkmist rolled her eyes. This molly obviously spent too much time in the dark here than spying on the clan.
“But it lies dormant close by.” Copperleaf snapped. “Do you think you know more than I? I’ve waited many seasons to see Twistedstar fall, and if you don’t want to follow my orders, I will find another cat that listens.”
Darkmist narrowed her eyes. “Alright, first tell what you need me to do.”
Quailpaw pressed against her brother. She made sure to stay on his left side, her blind side, and felt uneasy for the first time in TwistedClan. She was naively surprised at the lack of welcome the rogues felt. “I don’t think the others like us.” She murmured to Pheasantpaw. The two could be seated in the center of the clearing and not be worried about anyone stepping on their tails; they were automatically avoided.
“They will once they get to know us.” Pheasantpaw promised. “My new mentor, Mallardwing, seems nice enough. And your mentor is the leader’s son! You can’t beat that.”
“It’s not about the warriors,” Quailpaw said, “It’s the other apprentices. They won’t even look at any of us.”
“Well,” Pheasantpaw sighed, “It’s reasonable. Our group killed half of their clan members.”
“But we didn’t.”
“They can’t see that right now. The battle is still too fresh in their minds.” Pheasantpaw said. He sounded much older having to comfort his sister and his easy-going attitude dropped. “And think of Phoenixpaw, at least we have each other.”
“You’re right,” Quailpaw nodded. “Thanks for always making me feel better.” She spotted the calico chimera stretching in the early morning sunlight. “Phoenixpaw, over here!”
Silverstem thanked StarClan at least twice a day for the blessing of having all five of her kits still surrounding her in TwistedClan. She knew deep in her heart that Wolfclaw was watching over them and purred to herself. She also hoped Pebblepaw and Bluekit would be proud watching over their half-siblings live the life that got ripped away from them. Rabbitear had even been assigned an apprentice this moon!
Much to Silverstem’s dismay, Rabbitear becoming a mentor was the thing his littermates were teasing him about. “Listen to me, Phoenixpaw,” Squirreltuft said in a very exaggerated imitation of his brother, “The first rule is to not make fun of my big ears!” Mousespeck and Deergaze snickered. “C’mon, Shrewfeather, why aren’t you paying attention to my hilarious jokes?”
“Maybe because it’s not funny.” Rabbitear said grumpily.
“Or maybe it’s because she found something better to watch.” Squirreltuft followed her gaze and nudged her. “What is that molly’s name again?”
“Shut up,” Shrewfeather whined. “Can’t you leave anything alone?”
“I think her name is Robinripple.” Deergaze piped up. “She’s the one without an eye.”
“Don’t make fun of her.” Shrewfeather automatically snapped.
“We weren’t.” Mousespeck said. “But can we instead talk about Lightningflash? He has legs for days.”
“Isn’t he a little old for you?” Squirreltuft said.
“Crowtalon was much older than Flameleap.” Mousespeck pointed out.
“Yeah, but they weren’t serious.” Rabbitear’s ear twitched. “It was strictly a total rebound situation.”
“What even happened to Flameleap? Did he just run away? Join another clan?” Deergaze asked.
“Maybe, or maybe he crossed paths with another rogue. Who knows?” Squirreltuft shrugged. “What’s really important is I have another piece of information to tease Shrewfeather about.”
“I said, shut up!” Shrewfeather roughly shoved her brother who wouldn’t stop chanting, Shrew likes Robin, Shrew likes Robin!
Oakpaw grabbed a scrawny vole from the prey pile. He wasn’t enthused about the feast TwistedClan was hosting today; he couldn’t get past the rogues just mixing within the rest of the clan cats. These were the cats that killed his entire family, and he was just supposed to smile and act as if everything is okay? “Hey,” Hollypaw knocked the vole from his mouth. “Skip that and share our rabbit. It looks a lot tastier.” Oakpaw looked to where the rabbit was and Ashpaw and Featherpaw.
“Really?” Oakpaw didn’t blame the three apprentices for his littermates’ deaths, but he was still intimidated by their older age.
“We wouldn’t ask if we didn’t mean it.” Hollypaw offered a reassuring smile. “And family doesn’t just have to be blood related. You’re not alone here.”
A small sliver of happiness stabbed Oakpaw’s heart. “I like rabbit more than vole anyway.”
“Perfect, Neritefang, Fritillarystreak, and Marsh will join us later. They tell the best stories!” Hollypaw rambled on even though Oakpaw was already well aware of Neritefang’s old GraveClan tales and Marsh’s probably true memories.
“Look at who Hollypaw wrangled!” Ashpaw grinned as Oakpaw joined their group. “Perfect timing, want the leg or the breast?”
“Whatever works.” Oakpaw squeaked. Ashpaw is being unusually nice, he thought. She had already earned a reputation of the local snark.
“First bite.” Featherpaw tossed the rabbit at his feet. “You pick.”
While Oakpaw nosed the rabbit to find the juiciest bite, Neritefang stopped beside them. “Have any of you seen Marsh recently?”
“No, but we haven’t really been paying attention.” Hollypaw said. “Where did you last see him?”
“A couple days ago to be honest. I thought I was just missing him around camp by chance, but I really think he isn’t here anymore.” The elder looked absolutely perplexed. “Fritillarystreak hasn’t seen him either.”
“Aw, you really are worried about him.” Featherpaw teased. “I thought he annoyed you.”
“Annoying as he may be, Marsh is lost and a clanmate of mine.” Neritefang snapped. Usually she was much more pleasant with the young apprentices and kits, but her worry was obvious. She had grown fond of the rambling old man, and the cabin was a lot quieter than usual. “I’ll have to discuss this with Twistedstar and Sunchaser.”
“After the feast!” Hollypaw snagged a bite of the rabbit. “Right, Oakpaw?” He nodded and looked around the clearing. All of the clan cats were starting to find their prey and split into groups. Snowstorm offered the biggest piece for Twistedstar herself, an old hunk of deer that Rabbitear, Mousespeck, Shrewfeather, Squirreltuft, and Deergaze had dragged to camp as apprentices. Each of the warriors were grinning at their large prize being chosen for the leader except Deergaze looked a bit worried. Oakpaw had no clue why she would be worried, and Deergaze herself didn’t even understand herself. It was just a gut feeling. Twistedstar accepted the deer graciously. A few bites in, her movements slowed. That’s when the hacking started. Now, if any of the cats had been alive when Twistedstar had lost her first life, this scene would be familiar. She hacked and convulsed even after Frostpaw had dug out the half-chewed food from her mouth.
The entire clan held its breath as Frostpaw smeared his paw along the ground, leaving a bright red trail. “Deathberries.” He rasped. It was the first word he had uttered in the moon in which he returned, and it was full of spite. “Twistedstar is dead.”
Sunchaser couldn’t believe whose body laid in the center of camp. He had gotten desensitized to the smell of death but could never get used to seeing the limp bodies of his friends. Could he survive nine lives worth of watching his clanmates die while he got resurrected? And that thought brought another wave of shock rolling over him. He was the leader now. His head reeled with everything that needed to be done. A new deputy needed to be named, his nine lives needed to be earned, and the assassinator needed to be caught and punished. Yes, he thought, the latter needs to be taken care of first. He gave one last lick to Twistedstar’s head and straightened up. There would be another time for him to serve a vigil for the founder of TwistedClan. There was a murderer in their midst. Frostpaw was sitting to the side, remaining ear swiveling back and forth and whiskers twitching. “Come with me,” Sunchaser murmured in his ear and the apprentice kept pace with him. “Did you see anyone take that deathberry?” Frostpaw shook his head. “When could someone have taken it?”
Frostpaw shrugged. “It’s been chaotic.”
“Who has been nearby? Who brought the deer? Who caught the deer? Who…?” Frostpaw shrugged again, more aggressively this time. “I…what are we going to do?” Sunchaser’s tail drooped. How could Twistedstar be dead?
“You need your lives.” Frostpaw said.
“Right. We’ll have to do that in the next couple moons whenever you’ve cleared me for travel.” Sunchaser paused. “And I need to appoint a deputy, I suppose.”
“Do that now.” Frostpaw ordered.
“Now?” Sunchaser asked. “I suppose sooner is better than later, especially since I don’t have nine lives yet.” Oh, StarClan, he thought, we’re down a leader, a medicine cat, and nine lives with no clue who assassinated Twistedstar. Sunchaser returned to the clearing where the clan was mourning in somber silence. He looked up at the branch of the Ceremony Tree. He was supposed to climb onto that branch to make clan announcements and ceremonies, but it felt completely wrong. He looked around and noticed cats staring. Come on, he chided himself, I’m leader now, I need to know what to do! But he couldn’t make himself jump. If only Rainsong’s face was here in the crowd, he could look at her and gather all his courage, but she was gone, and nothing could ever bring her back. A brush of fur startled him and suddenly Patchnose was beside him.
“Are you ready?” Patchnose murmured. “We’re all waiting for you.”
“That’s the issue.” Sunchaser let out a nervous chuckle.
“Twistedstar named you deputy, and we’re all waiting for you.” Patchnose reiterated. “All of us trusted you as our deputy and now we trust you as our leader.”
“When did you get so wise?” Sunchaser sighed. “You sound like you should be my father.”
“Like you, I had to grow up fast during the last couple moons.” Patchnose nudged his shoulder. “Enough of this talk now, you get up there and lead.”
With Patchnose riling him up, Sunchaser leaped onto the lowest branch of the ceremony tree and took a deep breath. “Let all cats able to climb a tree gather here below!” His voice rang out loud and confident. It felt strange to be the one calling for a meeting. “We shall continue Twistedstar’s vigil in a moment. We have more pressing concerns; if anyone knows any information about her murder, yes murder, please come to me and discuss any concerns. Nothing is too little information, and believe me, we will discover who did this crime, and they will be punished justly. Now, I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve my choice. The new deputy of TwistedClan is Starlingsky!”
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Post by spasticjazzhands on Dec 7, 2019 13:01:21 GMT -8
THE INVESTIGATION ( 050 )
LAST MOON Rabbitear trailed behind the chatting queens. He understood that hunting took priority but sending him on a border patrol with two queens seemed like a slap in the face. He almost did get slapped in the face when he mentioned his concerns to Starlingsky and got told to “deal with it.” He cut back any more retorts in fear of his annoyance would be made clear to his mother. He was saved from listening to the chatter by a strange tom appearing in the distance. The queens’ fur automatically fluffed up and when they got close enough to see he had some scarring on the right side of his face, they were ready to kill. “Calm down,” Rabbitear felt like he was mothering his own mother. “Silverstem, it’s probably just a loner. A single rogue wouldn’t have just stayed behind.” Rabbitear was correct; the loner was wandering for a new new-leaf home. “Would you mind staying with a few more cats?” Rabbitear asked.
“What, like three more?” Lazarus, what he introduced himself as, scoffed. He was surprised by the expanse of the cabin with cats sprawling sunbathing in the sun. Rabbitear smirked and led him to Sunchaser and Crowtalon in idle conversation.
“Would you like a proper warrior name?” Sunchaser asked. He didn’t seem as pushy as Morningstar had been to all have uniform clan names. After Marsh refused a suffix and Shadow being her stubborn self, single names were spreading through the clan. Lazarus surprised them by relenting and Sunchaser had to rack his brain for a fitting name. While he was muttering combinations of possible names, Crowtalon hadn’t taken his eye off of Lazarus who in turn was eyeing him curiously. Crowtalon opened his mouth to perhaps actually introduce himself but Sunchaser cut him off with a triumphant “Eaglescreech!”
“I can show you around camp.” Crowtalon offered with a sly smile.
“It’s bigger than I thought it would be,” Eaglescreech took another look at the cabin. “I might get lost without a tour.” The two stalked off and Rabbitear caught Sunchaser’s eye.
“It’s been a weird few days.” Rabbitear said.
“It certainly hasn’t been normal.” Sunchaser said candidly. “But I think I could get used to naming cats. I’m already thinking about Tornadokit’s name and maybe Sanddu…” He stopped. “Oh.”
Rabbitear held his breath, he certainly wasn’t prepared to comfort the new leader with the death of his newborn kit. Don’t mention Rainsong, he wasn’t sure if he was telling himself or Sunchaser. “I’m sure Rainsong would be happy to give him a warrior name.” Oh, why did that come out of my mouth? Rabbitear scolded himself. Why, why, why, why, why did I say that!
“I suppose she will,” Sunchaser’s eyes blinked out of focus. He was now trapped in the limbo of past memories.
“See you around.” Rabbitear lamely ducked away. If Squirreltuft ever caught a whiff of this conversation, he would never live it down and he never wanted to relive it again.
Darkmist laid beside Pavilla who was watching Somni and Nitor like a hawk. Ever since Sopor was taken, she didn’t let her two remaining kits out of her sight. She was dreading the next moon when they were assigned mentors and started their warrior training. Darkmist figured she could play into the fear Pavilla still harbored to bend her to her will. “What do you think about the whole poison thing?” Darkmist widened her eyes into what she hoped was an innocent expression. “Do you think they could be planning on doing it again?”
She got the reaction she wanted; Pavilla let out a soft squeak. “They wouldn’t harm little kits, do you think?” She simpered. “The attack on Twistedstar seemed personal and she was leader.”
Darkmist shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just glad I was entertaining Somni and Nitor at the time, so they didn’t see it.”
Pavilla scrunched her brow in thought. “I…I didn’t know you were playing with them then.”
Darkmist doubled down. “Oh, yes. It wasn’t a problem at all. Somni even perfected the hunting crouch; she’s a natural.”
Pavilla hummed to herself still racking her brain. “Alright, I’m glad then.”
Lightningflash was used to stares ever since he was growing up. First it was because his ears were so comically large for his head, there would be comments about him being able to fly away with them. Then, cats noticed his long lanky legs and how he seemed to get tangled up and laughed at how ridiculous he looked. Now, they stared because they were jealous of his looks. He grew into his ears that stood at attention. He had an entire life to learn to glide on his feet without tripping. His coat was sleek and shiny, the few scars he had brought more attention to his spotting. But here, the stares weren’t for flirting or admiring, the stares were filled with distrust and apprehension. He lived with those rogues that attacked them, that ripped their families apart. He was one of the rogues that was present in the battle. It wasn’t if he would strike again, it was when because he was a strong, tall tom that has new and old battle scars. Robin, or Robinripple now, was having a slightly easier time. As a quieter molly, she was more approachable, especially missing an eye. She had that sympathy factor she could cash in on.
When Starlingsky assigned him to her own hunting patrol, he looked forward to having some solo hunting time, the only eyes following him was the observant forest. “Sunchaser and I thought it would might be better to hunt in groups of two.” Starlingsky told the patrol. “With all the prey we lost, teams of two could bring back bigger catches, right?” So, Lightningflash was stuck with hunting with a dark tom called Thundercry. He didn’t seem particularly thrilled about this development either.
Thundercry didn’t acknowledge his companion, and Lightningflash had to clear his throat a few times before the tom would even spare him a second glance. He raised a brow and Lightningflash was flustered for one of the few times in his life. “Shouldn’t we be trying to work together?” He stammered.
“I’m not working with you.” Thundercry spat.
“I’m great at catching rabbits.” He offered lamely. “I’m quite fast.”
“Why would I eat anything a murderer caught?” Thundercry hissed. “I don’t trust any of you.”
“I…none of us poisoned Twistedstar.” Lightningflash insisted.
“Not Twistedstar, moron, you rogues killed my mother and my sister.” And with that his long plume of a tail disappeared through a small section of bushes and by the time Lightningflash pushed through the leaves, he had vanished.
One of these cats assassinated Twistedstar, Sunchaser had climbed on top of the cabin’s roof and was now assessing each cat as they went about their daily business. And I need to get to the bottom of it before they strike again. Then a horrifying thought shot what felt like slivers of ice through his heart. What if I am targeted next? It would make sense and would even be easier to attack now before he received his nine lives.
The only solution to this would be to find the assassinator which was the first thing to do anyway. Sunchaser thought hard about the events that transpired before the poisoning. Twistedstar didn’t grab the deer herself, it was brought to her. Who had dragged it in front of her? Someone light-pelted, Sunchaser remembered, and that must have been Snowstorm. His first thought was that he had discovered the criminal, but it wouldn’t be that easy. He couldn’t imagine the gentle Snowstorm ever murdering someone, especially the leader.
That left the deer itself. Obviously the dead deer didn’t place the juicy poisonous berry in its own corpse, so who had originally caught the deer? It had been caught a while ago, he was sure, because the clan was saving the nice hunk of meat for bare-leaf when the prey turned scarce. If his memory served him correctly, the deer had been found and not hunted by a gaggle of apprentices. Was that batch Rainsong’s and Twistedstar’s kits or Silverstem’s kits? Could it have been Birchwhisker’s bunch right before they took their warrior assessments? He would have to question all of them to make sure.
PRESENT
“Can I speak to you about my patrol assignment?” Lightningflash asked Starlingsky sheepishly. He had finally caught her alone; she was constantly busy it seemed, always talking to someone about patrols or training or who knows what? Lightningflash didn’t and he certainly wasn’t about to interrupt the clan cats and make them hate him more.
“Yes?” Starlingsky couldn’t disguise her sigh of exasperation. It was clear she wanted to eat a meal alone and have some quiet time for once.
“I was curious if I could change hunting duos. Or just do a border patrol instead. Or even just hunt alone.” Lightningflash didn’t like how annoyed the new deputy was looking at him.
“Why?”
“Well…Thundercry doesn’t like working with me, so we’re basically hunting alone anyway.” Lightningflash didn’t want to throw Thundercry under the ice, but he couldn’t think of another way to say it.
“You are both adults fully capable of working through this without my help.” She huffed. “I’m not changing all the patrols because you two can’t get along. You are both TwistedClan warriors whether you like it or not, now let me eat dinner in peace.”
Frostpaw woke up shaking and crying out. Wishpaw slipped in the den and curled up next to his friend. “Another nightmare?” He murmured while licking his head. Frostpaw shook his head. “Oh? What is it?”
“A dream.” Frostpaw’s voice trembled.
“Is that not a nightmare?” Wishpaw was not prepared to debate the differences of dreams and nightmares this early in the morning.
“No.” Frostpaw was silent for a while, long enough for Wishpaw to clean his head and ears. “A dream is real.”
“Dreams aren’t real.” Wishpaw scoffed. “You just had a bad dream, a nightmare.” Frostpaw shook his head again and glared at Wishpaw. “Okay, it happened.” Wishpaw quickly relented. “But what did happen?”
Frostpaw closed his eyes. At first, Wishpaw thought he had fallen back to sleep. “A raven looked at me.”
“Just looked at you? We do live in a forest, Frostpaw.” Wishpaw said calmly. “There’s birds all over.”
“It flew at me.” And that’s all Frostpaw would say. Wishpaw groomed him until he fell back asleep.
“I need to speak to you.” Sunchaser dragged Snowstorm out of camp. “You brought the deer to Twistedstar, didn’t you?”
Snowstorm dipped his head down genuinely sad. “Yes, I did unfortunately. I wish I would have eaten the deer and taken something else to her.”
“Why did you choose the deer?” Sunchaser asked. “It already had the poison; how do I know you didn’t plan it?”
“I would never!” Snowstorm said offended. “You honestly think I would kill Twistedstar?”
“No, but the evidence is against you.” Sunchaser pointed out. Riled up cats tended to say incriminating things.
“Pavilla suggested the deer would be special piece of prey for her. I agreed, honest!”
“Pavilla?” That was definitely another name Sunchaser was not expecting, though he would never think that someone would murder Twistedstar either.
“She just had the idea, but I doubt she knew about the deathberry.” Snowstorm defended the queen. He couldn’t believe Pavilla could murder either.
“I’ll talk to her, thank you.” Sunchaser dipped his head. “Though I share the same thoughts as you.”
Starlingsky rolled her shoulders. Mallardwing, Thistlefur, and Tigerstrike were bringing their apprentices and joining her and Ashpaw’s training session later, but she wanted to be alone for the first half. Ashpaw was very angry at having to start training all over again. After another failed stalking, Starlingsky snapped, “I don’t care that you’re upset over losing your training sessions credit, you have to try!”
Ashpaw slashed her tail. “I’m not upset about that!” She spat back. “Marsh hasn’t come back and even Neritefang is worried about him.”
Starlingsky was taken aback. “Marsh is gone?”
“See, no one else cares! All they care about is Twistedstar but she’s dead! Marsh has vanished and you haven’t even looked for him.” Ashpaw stalked away but Starlingsky stopped her.
“What do you mean Marsh vanished?” She had to hold down the wiggling apprentice that was almost as big as her. “When did you last see him?”
“I don’t know, sometime last moon. I tried to bring it up to you guys, but all the focus was on Twistedstar and Sunchaser.” Ashpaw pouted. “Like, ‘oh no, Twistedstar is dead,’ but Marsh is still alive!”
“We can send out a couple of patrols to see where he might have gone.” Starlingsky said gentler. It was sweet to see Ashpaw actually care about someone other than her and her littermates. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”
Ashpaw hated the attention on her now. “Whatever, just as long as we bring him back home.”
Sunchaser stepped inside the nursery and immediately noticed how empty it felt without Rainsong and Sandkit. “Pavilla.” He stood in the doorway hoping to call the queen outside. “May I have a word?”
“Come back here to say hello to Tornadokit!” Pavilla called. “They’re all playing together back here anyway.”
He weighed the option of ducking back out but Silverstem came in with a mouse and forced him back towards the kits. “Daddy! Pavilla was telling us about mountains.” Tornadokit ran around his legs. “Can we go to the mountains?”
Sunchaser couldn’t bring himself to look at his daughter. “No, we live in the forest,” He said somewhat harshly. “I need to talk to Pavilla.”
“We can talk here,” Pavilla invited him to sit beside her but he shook his head. “Alright, you kits stay with Silverstem.” She waited until they stepped out into the sun to scold him. “Tornadokit lost her mother and brother, she can’t lose her father too. We’ve been keeping her happy and entertained but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to visit and play with her.”
“It’s just hard…”
“You don’t think it’s hard for her?” Pavilla hissed. “You’re a full-grown adult, but she’s just a kit.”
“I…I don’t…I’m sorry.” He stammered. What was he supposed to ask Pavilla about again? How did this turn into a lecture on his parenting skills? “I needed to ask you about the feast.” He said lamely. Some leader he would be if a simple queen could trip him up so.
“What about it?”
“Snowstorm said you suggested giving Twistedstar the deer to eat.”
“You’re accusing me of poisoning Twistedstar now?” Pavilla’s voice shook with disgust. “How dare you!”
“I…I’m just asking a question!”
“That wasn’t a question!” Pavilla shrieked.
“Did you suggest it, though?” Sunchaser wanted to crawl into a hole and never come back out.
“Yeah, only because Darkmist mentioned the deer should be saved for someone special. Sorry if I thought Twistedstar deserved a special meal.” Pavilla turned back to the cabin. “Is that all?” Sunchaser nodded sheepishly. “If you need to accuse me of anything else, I’ll be in the nursery raising your daughter!”
Hollypaw was now training not with his littermates but with the inseparable Fogpaw and Mistpaw since their mentors were siblings. Hollypaw could barely look Stormheart in the eye; he knew he was very hurt that Hollypaw didn’t listen to his reasoning to guard the camp. He tried to ignore the sorrowful eyes of Stormheart and instead listened in to the mollies’ conversation. “Have you seen Pheasantpaw?” Fogpaw asked. “His little white spot on his nose, did you see it?”
“He’s not cute, he’s evil.” Mistpaw wrinkled her nose. “Look at his sister, the rogues probably scratched her eye out themselves.”
“I don’t think they’re evil.” Hollypaw tried to be the devil’s advocate. “Just living with unfortunate circumstances.”
“They didn’t kill your siblings.” Mistpaw narrowed her eyes. “Of course, you think they’re nice.”
“They’re only six moons, they didn’t fight or kill anyone.” Hollypaw said.
“Well, you would know for sure if you were actually here.” Fogpaw said tail in air. “Too bad you weren’t.”
And Hollypaw felt even worse.
Sunchaser followed a quiet Frostpaw with a wad of moss soaked in mouse bile back to the elder’s den. He wasn’t exactly sure why Frostpaw kept prodding him until he clambered to his feet, but he was sure it would be interesting. Fritillarystreak seemed to expect them both and Frostpaw got to work spotting the large tick stuck on a patch of her dark fur. Neritefang was off to the side with Featherpaw discussing his new training regime. “How are you doing today, Fritillarystreak?” Sunchaser kept trying to catch Frostpaw’s eye but the medicine cat apprentice was purposefully avoiding him. StarClan knows what he was supposed to be talking about.
“Alright, luckily Featherpaw found this tick before it could get any bigger. I don’t think he found any on Neritefang.” She said.
“I’m glad he took it upon himself for checking without being asked.” But this compliment only elicited a glare from the apprentice.
“Of course, I do, I check every day.” Featherpaw said. “Too bad I can’t check on Marsh since he’s not here.”
“Not here…where’s Marsh at?” Sunchaser looked around and finally realized the elder’s den was missing the oldest elder. They were interrupted by Starlingsky nervously trotting inside.
“Ashpaw is right,” She muttered, “Marsh is gone.”
“He’s been gone for a moon or so,” Fritillarystreak said, “It’s been rather quiet and boring around here.”
“You…you should’ve told us!” Sunchaser exclaimed. How could they have just lost a clan member? “He’s gone?”
“You were rather busy with clan changes.” Fritillarystreak glared at Neritefang who had her mouth open and fur bristling. “We checked but didn’t get to the very edges of the territory.”
Starlingsky nodded to Sunchaser. “Yes, we’ll make sure to send a patrol to see if anything else is beyond the borders.” The tick fell off of Fritillarystreak and she stretched in relief.
“Thank you, Frostpaw. It’s great to have you back.” The elder purred.
Frostpaw rolled his eyes at Sunchaser. “You know Deathberries.” He said pointedly to Fritillarystreak.
“Why yes, those berries are sneaky little things aren’t they?” She chuckled. “Through the years we lost many a kit to the curiosity of how juicy the red berry was. You thought that I’m going to usurp you as medicine cat now?” Fritillarystreak lightheartedly poked Frostpaw but he scooted backwards quickly, now looking at Sunchaser. “Don’t worry, love, I only warn others of their danger not push them towards one excluding Dexter.”
Ah, Sunchaser thought, Fritillarystreak is cleared. She would have been another possible suspect but Fritillarystreak had nothing to gain. He flashed a quick smile to Frostpaw who returned the thanks with a blink.
Squirreltuft was enjoying a nice rabbit with Mousespeck when Sunchaser tapped him on the shoulder. “Mind if I join you?” He asked. The brothers looked at each other; some cats might be excited to share a rabbit with the leader of their clan, but they felt nothing good could come of this. But, there was no way to deny what was obviously not a question. Mousespeck shuffled to the left to give him room.
“Good thing this isn’t deer.” Squirreltuft joked. Mousespeck gave him a look that clearly said, not the time, moron.
Luckily Sunchaser found his joke to be a smooth segue into what he really wanted to discuss. “Were you the ones that originally brought that deer back.”
Mousespeck choked on his mouthful of rabbit. “I…I th…think so.”
“Think or know?”
“We did.” Squirreltuft sneakily stepped on Mousespeck’s tail. Let me do the talking. “It was a while ago.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t think a deathberry miraculously grow in it.” Sunchaser said. “I just need all the details.”
“We just found a dead deer. That’s it.” Squirreltuft shrugged.
Sunchaser sighed. “Thanks for the information. Now if only we could figure out the deathberry part, right?” The brothers uncomfortably chuckled and let out sighs of relief when he left.
“That wasn’t that hard.” Squirreltuft said.
“You didn’t tell him that it smelled…weird.” Mousespeck said.
“Did a weird smell kill Twistedstar or did a deathberry?” Squirreltuft shrugged. “It’s not our fault.”
Sunchaser was no closer to solving the murder of Twistedstar and still an entire moon away from receiving his nine lives, Marsh was missing, Frostpaw didn’t have a proper, alive mentor, and the clan cats and rogue cats were still arguing. It was a fantastic first moon as leader.
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Post by spasticjazzhands on Dec 8, 2019 18:13:59 GMT -8
THE LEADER CEREMONY ( 051 )
LAST MOON "Let all cats able to climb a tree gather here below!” Sunchaser was in the Ceremony Tree once more, this time holding an apprentice ceremony. Pavilla’s kits were six moons and ready to start warrior training. Starlingsky was at the base of the tree ready to usher the kits to the correct position. Somni was first and she carefully made her way up to the branch. Her legs were trembling even though they weren’t very high up. “You doing okay?” Sunchaser murmured and the kit nodded. “Alright, Somni, it is time for you to be apprenticed. Your mentor will be Squirreltuft.” Sunchaser paused, allowing for Squirreltuft to climb up and to touch noses with Somni. Sunchaser hoped that by assigning Squirreltuft an apprentice, he would be busy training and less able to mess around. Nitor was next and he gave his sister an excited tail wave crossing paths. “Nitor, it is time for you to be apprenticed. Your mentor will be Mousespeck.” The quick ceremony was finished and TwistedClan shouted their names.
Sunchaser stayed standing in the tree, once again scanning the clan cats. Who did it?
Starlingsky’s patrol returned with interesting news. “The elders were correct in thinking another clan might have moved in past our south border. They haven’t crossed our markers or in fact wandered terribly close to them yet.”
“Then it might be a possibility that Marsh strayed a bit too far and found other cats.” Sunchaser said.
“Do you think he’s…you know…alive?” Starlingsky didn’t even want to think about cats killing their dear elder.
“I really hope we find him alive,” Sunchaser closed his eyes and sighed, “Otherwise his death will be on our consciences.”
“We were really scrambling around…”
“No, no excuses,” Sunchaser shook his head, “There’s no excuse for misplacing an entire clanmate.”
Softdapple strained with the pains of labor. Frostpaw had Volépaw ready at his side with raspberry leaves, hoping this kitting would go better than the three rogue kittings. There was already one stillborn, a ginger tom, but two alive kits. Soon there were two more kits that had entered the world. Frostpaw gave Softdapple the raspberry leaves and Volépaw took the stillborn kit out to have him respectfully buried at the Burial Site. Frostpaw allowed the queen to lap up water droplets from a damp wad of moss. “I think I have to name them now,” She said weakly. Frostpaw nodded, obviously. “Perhaps Richterscreech would like a couple kits to remind him of Nightpelt,” She thought out loud, “We can each have two?” Frostpaw nodded again. “This one reminds me of Richter,” She licked the remaining ginger tom, “I’m thinking Quakekit. And I have to keep this darling,” She turned her attention to a tortoiseshell, “who shall be Dawnkit. I’ll let Richter name his two, they can have placeholder names for now.” Frostpaw nodded, I’m just glad everything went rather smoothly.
Frostpaw was having yet another dream. At first he looked forward to these dreams as they were the only way he was receiving his medicine cat training he had missed while he was trapped in the rogue camp, but even the times when he was in StarClan, there were elements of it that spooked him. Thankfully, this one was innocent, Galalight was lecturing about the differences of borage and yarrow. As he was scrutinizing the leaves, she trailed off midsentence and he followed her gaze. There was another raven staring at them with its beady eyes. Frostpaw’s pelt prickled as Galalight walked towards it. Her sweet scent smelling faintly of mint sprigs, turned into a slight pine needle scent. His heartbeat quickened and he trotted faster to keep up. Before he could reach his old mentor, she vanished leaving him in a cloud of pine needles staring up at the raven. He awoke to the raven swooping down and cawing once more.
PRESENT Sunchaser, Lynxshine, Frostpaw, Mistpaw, and Fogpaw walked back from the gathering. Sunchaser had learned valuable information from ChessClan, mostly regarding information about Valleyrunner, Lynxshine made a great future ally, Weaselstar of RavenClan, Frostpaw had made two slight adversaries being himself, arguing with Droserathorn of RavenClan and Fadedsun of VagaryClan, and Mistpaw and Fogpaw found a cute tom to fawn over, Cypresspaw of RavenClan. “What do you think of our new neighbors?” Lynxshine asked the group.
“Neighbors? Which ones are our neighbors?” Sunchaser asked. Lynxshine tutted. “What? I mostly talked to Valleyrunner and Richterscreech? They are only distant neighbors.”
“RavenClan.” Lynxshine said. “To our south.”
“So that’s the name of the new group that has moved.” Sunchaser pondered. “They seem a lot less hostile then the rogues at least. Frostpaw, is everything okay?”
Frostpaw had frozen in his tracks. Didn’t Droserathorn say that he was the shaman of RavenClan? He was too annoyed to notice. That might explain all of his raven dreams lately, but it seemed pretty extreme to only alert him of a new clan nearby. He’d have to think about it more. “Keep an eye on RavenClan,” was all he said.
Wishpaw stood next to Phoenixpaw at the fresh kill pile. “This clan sucks,” She said, “Only you guys and my mentor talk to me.”
“They just are having a rough time accepting us,” Wishpaw glanced over both shoulders as reflex. No one was coming to attack.
“You have Frostpaw, that’s no fair,” She grumbled, “They trust you more.”
“I can’t help that,” Wishpaw shrugged. “If we do well in training, they’ll have to be nice.”
Robinripple had an admirer but it wasn’t a secret. She thought the attention was flattering, but she also wanted to play hard to get. With a lot of her past being filled with uncertainty and distrust, Robinripple wanted a long-term relationship and not just some fling. She made a point to walk past Shrewfeather and lightly brushed her tail across her side or muzzle but would only talk about mundane patrols and weather updates. Would Shrewfeather be okay with being a friend first? Get the passion out of the way and connect on a more spiritual level? She was doing quite good so far and was also a fantastic hunting partner. Maybe in a moon, she would bring up the idea of courting because to be honest, she could hardly wait either.
Lightningflash was not having the same success rate with his hunting partner, Thundercry. All he asked was to work somewhat well together, they both didn’t want to starve after all, but he refused to communicate and Starlingsky kept rejecting each request to change patrols. Sure, they were both adults, but only one cat was acting like it! Lightningflash would angrily think, why can’t he just suck it up?
Sunchaser’s investigation was going nowhere. He still needed to ask all of the apprentices if they had seen anything suspicious but after asking the majority of the warriors with little information gained, he wasn’t very optimistic. But that would have to all wait as Frostpaw dumped a bundle of herbs as his feet. He was cleared for the trip to the Moonpool and ready to receive his nine lives. He dipped his head to Starlingsky. “You’ll keep everything running?” He asked.
“Of course,” She said, “and if you aren’t back by noon tomorrow, I’ll send out the day patrols like usual and will only come for you if you haven’t returned by sunset.”
“Very good,” He knew he had picked the right cat for the deputy position. He licked up the traveling herbs. “Lead the way, Frostpaw.”
Squirreltuft and Mousespeck took their apprentices to their first training session together. They were going to learn hunting first, one of the most essential skills for a forest cat. A cat couldn’t be a good fighter if they had starved to death. “Now have either of you had much practice with the hunting crouch before?” Mousespeck asked. Somni and Nitor both shook their heads. “Alright, then Squirreltuft will demonstrate.” It took the entire afternoon for the two to have some resemblance of balance. They were definitely not naturals.
Frostpaw and Sunchaser arrived at the Moonpool a bit past midnight. The water lapped gently as the soft clay on shore with the moon’s reflection shimmering on the surface. Sunchaser sucked in a breath looking at its beauty; he hadn’t been here before. Frostpaw gave him a little nudge and Sunchaser lurched towards the water. Frostpaw sat and waited for Sunchaser to join him. “I assume you have no idea what to expect,” Sunchaser murmured and received a brief head shake. “Alright, how do we get to StarClan?” Frostpaw laid down with his paws underneath his head allowing just the edge of his muzzle to touch the water. He looked at Sunchaser expectedly and he followed suit. He shut his eyes and prayed Frostpaw wasn’t pranking him. He shrugged off a few sharp prods with a claw, “That isn’t helping me fall asleep, Frostpaw!” He snapped. Teeth now gripped his scruff and shook him. He stood about ready to shove the medicine cat apprentice away but was stunned by the sight of the starry forest of StarClan. “Sorry, Frostpaw.” He said weakly. Frostpaw shrugged and started walking in what seemed to be a random direction. “Wait for me!” Sunchaser bounded after him and soon the two were at the base of a large tree not unlike their own Ceremony Tree in camp. As he looked closer, there were a plethora of cats watching from the distance. A handful stepped a bit closer, but an energetic ball of fur approached him fully first.."
“I am going to give you your first life!” His first apprentice bounced closer. “Is that alright?”
“Of course, it is,” Sunchaser purred. He always felt guilty about letting Pebblepaw join the patrol for the first dog fight of TwistedClan. “I’m sorry you never got to be a warrior yourself.”
“No, no, no. You can’t blame yourself anymore; let go of any guilt, I chose my path and never regretted it, so you can’t either,” Pebblepaw shook his head, “With this life I give you duty, to understand the significance of being a warrior, an apprentice, a clanmate who is always ready to give up their life for the clan.” Sunchaser bent down so Pebblepaw could reach his head and a warm tingling feeling zapped down his body. Pebblepaw scooted back but made sure he still could see the ceremony continue.
Spottednose, the grumpy first medicine cat, took Pebblepaw’s place with much more grace. “Sunchaser,” He formally greeted but Sunchaser didn’t miss the soft twinkle in his eyes. “It’s nice to see you again.” Sunchaser gave a half-grin, he was still somewhat intimidated by him, and Spottednose knew and enjoyed this. He rested his nose on Sunchaser’s head much easier than the little apprentice. “With this life I give you wisdom. You are not a small young warrior anymore; you are a small old leader now. Use all the knowledge you gained along your life to assist in your decisions.” Spottednose’s life was less tingly and more burn-y. Sunchaser screwed up his eyes and tried to ignore the pain.
When he opened his eyes again, Dovestrike, his adopted daughter, was in Spottednose’s place. “I miss you.” Sunchaser forced himself to not nuzzle her fur. “Patchnose could use some nagging every now and then.”
Dovestrike laughed. “I miss you too, dad.” She gently rested her muzzle on his head. Her breath tickled his ears as she spoke. “With this life I give you compassion. You have so much love to give to all of your classmates, not just blood related family. Don’t be afraid to show how much you care.” Sunchaser’s eyes shown with tears as her life flowed through him; it was a short burst of warmth and energy.
His tears freely falling only increased as his other adopted daughter, Petalfall took Dovestrike’s spot in front of him. “I’m really proud of you,” He whispered into her fur. “You fought with the strength of ten warriors.”
“We’re all proud of you too, so proud.” Petalfall laughed. “I can’t wait to watch you as leader.” She rested her nose on his forehead. “With this life I give you hope. No matter what battle or how many fights there are, TwistedClan will always prevail in some form or another. Look at every situation with hope and a positive perspective." Her life was just as painful as the last, but he endured.
Next up was Nightpelt, radiant and whole once more. “Sunchaser.” He dipped his head at the orange tom. “You were the best mentor I could have asked for.”
“And you a fierce warrior.” Sunchaser tried to memorize every inch of his pelt hoping to replace his broken body in his memories with the happy and healthy warrior in front of him. “I trust you found peace here.”
“Perhaps,” Nightpelt flicked his tail, whole again, and Flameleap was back further in the crowd. “With this life I give you mentoring. No one ever stops learning nor should they. No matter what age they are, do not stop teaching life lessons and skills.” The pain of each life was getting worse and now he had to will himself to not buckle underneath the shockwaves.
A fluffy dark figure took place of Nightpelt’s sleek one and looking up, Sunchaser was greeted by Stormstrike. “Long time no see,” Sunchaser grinned weakly at his old and first friend.
“I’d knew you’d go far,” Stormstrike good-naturedly nudged the tom almost sending him tumbling down on his weak legs. “Remember your loner name, Star? I said we had to change it incase you’d grow up and be leader and look at you now! Starstar.”
“I haven’t thought about that name in…forever.” Sunchaser’s mind drifted as Stormstrike’s muzzle rested on his head. They drifted to old memories and his heart ached. He felt guilty for a second; all of his old friends was already in StarClan, but he had to spend nine more lives on earth. Stormstrike’s voice snapped him to the present.
“With this life I give you instinct.” Stormstrike said as Sunchaser jolted with pain. “You’ll never be the same go-with-the-flow cat you once were, but some decisions can’t be made after days of thought. Trust your gut, Sunchaser, it got you this far.” Stormstrike snuck in a lick before he stepped back to make room for the smallest cat in attendance.
Sunchaser was now face-to-face (when he crouched down) to Sandkit, his lost son. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, buddy.” Tears once again spilled over his cheeks. “I’m so sorry I let you down.”
“You never let me down.” Sandkit said. He sounded a lot older than the two moons he was in TwistedClan. “With this life I give you acceptance. You can’t dwell on the past and wonder what could have been; you have to accept the fates of those around you and move on. Say hi to Tornadokit, okay? I miss playing with her.” Sandkit gently booped Sunchaser’s nose. Sunchaser still was almost on the ground from the fiery life even though he was thrice the size of Sandkit.
When Sunchaser stood back up, he was met by Rainsong, his love and mate. “Rainsong,” He managed to choke out. “I spent so much time being an idiot.”
Rainsong’s laugh was filled with the carelessness it used to be before clan life got rough and real. “I did too, Sun.” The two spent a few long moments breathing in each other’s scents once more. “Are you ready?” She asked after what seemed to be an eternity.
“Can we just stay like this forever?” Sunchaser didn’t want to let her go, especially since he wouldn’t be able to hold her again for a long time. “Just the short time of forever?”
“Not just yet.” Rainsong pulled back enough so her nose was touching his head. “Darling, with this life I give you the grace to offer second chances.” This life was the worst one yet; Rainsong almost had to hold him up by the scruff. “Everyone deserves a second chance to prove how much they’ve grown. I love you so much and am forever grateful for the second chance you gave me.”
“Until the end, I’ll love you.” Sunchaser whispered. “You can have all the chances in the world."
And finally, Morningstar, no longer the beaten down Twistedstar, faced Sunchaser. “This is how it ends.” Sunchaser said.
“No,” Morningstar smiled, “This is how it begins. My faithful deputy, with this life I give you certainty. You will never have complete certainty of choosing the best decision possible, but you will be certain that you chose the best option with the given information at the time.” He revealed in the pain of his final life. He wouldn’t feel this connected to StarClan again until he lost his final life. “I hail you by your new name, Sunstar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan and I grant you the guardianship of TwistedClan. Defend it well; care for young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code; life each life with pride and dignity.” The shouts of StarClan filled the air.
“Sunstar! Sunstar! Sunstar! Sunstar!”
“It’s going to be strange without you.” Sunstar murmured to his predecessor. “TwistedClan has never known a day without Morningstar.”
“It will continue on for a long while hopefully.” Morningstar licked his cheek. “I will miss it of course, but I won’t be gone. I’ll always be watching…making sure you aren’t slacking.”
“I don’t slack anymore.” Sunstar said. He wanted to keep talking, to keep this conversation going for a long time. Up here, he had help leading a clan. When he awoke, he would have all the responsibilities on his shoulders again.
“You can do it,” Morningstar seemed to read his mind. “But you cannot overstay your welcome here and our TwistedClan needs its new leader."
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Post by spasticjazzhands on Jan 29, 2020 19:38:24 GMT -8
THE RAVEN DREAMS ( 052 )
LAST MOON
Frostpaw sniffed the two herbs. “Which one is stinging nettle?” Galalight pressed. “Quickly now, you have to induce vomiting!” He pressed a paw near the nettle he identified. “Good, now these. Which are holly berries?” He jumped towards the small poisonous berries. She led him to another selection but was cut off by a raven cawing. She gestured to the herbs before her but Frostpaw could not hear her over the raven screeching and flapping above her. Frostpaw hissed at the noisy bird but a half-hearted swoop towards his direction made him scurry out of the way. Galalight touched noses with him and disappeared back to what Frostpaw assumed was a much quieter section of StarClan. He hissed once more but felt himself waking, and he spent the entire day feeling unrested.
Squirreltuft, Mousespeck, and Willowbranch followed their excited apprentices back into camp. It had been the brothers’ first ever training session and Willowbranch’s first session with Mistpaw. Even Somni, who had been particularly awful at learning the hunting crouch, was leaping with excitement. Sunstar stopped the warriors before they could disperse in the clearing. “How did everyone do today?”
“Mistpaw did wonderfully!” Willowbranch purred. “She picked everything up quickly! I think Fogpaw was practicing with her earlier.”
“That’s good news to hear,” Sunstar nodded and the molly found a nice plump mouse to nibble on. She sat alone while she ate clearly still missing the presence of her mate, Petalfall.
“Nitor got the hang of it eventually.” Mousespeck said. “He just took a little longer to gain his balance.”
Squirreltuft avoided the new leader’s eyes. He had wanted his first apprentice and first training session to have gone much better than it had. “Somni still needs some practice.” He muttered. He saw Somni waggling her rump unevenly by the other apprentices. It had taken all day to get such a mediocre result that definitely could not catch even the dumbest prey.
“There’s always next moon.”
Frostpaw’s dreams were now riddled with black feathers and persistent screeching. Every night he awoke quicker and quicker, and now he was running on no sleep at all. Wishpaw had to prod him after every bite of prey to make sure he didn’t choke on a mouthful of food. Mountaintop took him on brisk walks in the morning to try to get his mind up and moving but ended up practically dragging him back to camp. Frostpaw could barely stay awake but he couldn’t stay asleep either; he was dancing along some sort of limbo of the consciousness and unconsciousness.
Softdapple let the kits chase her fluffy tail. Quakekit and Dawnkit were the clumsiest of the four and ended up in a pile with poor Tornadokit who was helping Softdapple keep up with their energy. “We’ll miss you around here.” Silverstem lifted Tornadokit from the scuffle. “You’re a lot of help, you know.”
Tornadokit ducked her head. “It’ll be nice to have some quiet.” She muttered.
“Quiet?” Silverstem gently laughed. “You’ll be the fourteenth apprentice!”
“Just…” Tornadokit looked for the correct words. “They’re not kits.” Though, these weren’t the right words either…she truly hated looking at the spot where Rainsong was killed and Sandkit was taken.
Stinging nettle, stinging nettle, where did he put the stinging nettle? Frostpaw sniffed around the herb storage. Usually he had no trouble finding the herbs he knew, but this lack of sleep was gnawing at his brain. Stinging nettle, singing needle, signing nee…he collapsed spilling poppy seeds and sending yarrow spiraling everywhere.
The raven was waiting. “What do you want!” He screamed. “Leave me alone!” A second raven joined its branch. Then a third, and a forth, until there was an entire murder staring into his very soul. “What do you want?” He called a bit more uncertainly. If he still had his tail, he was ashamed to admit it would be tuck between his legs. A raven crowed from behind, the south. It beckoned, it fluttered, it called to Frostpaw. He spun around and faced it. “I won’t go until you tell me.” This statement, he realized, was useless as even in dreams, he could not talk to ravens. The raven cawed once more and swooped towards his head causing him to skitter sideways and continue that way. Now two ravens dove at him, and Frostpaw ran the opposite direction. More and more ravens joined in the chase until Frostpaw was sprinting down a dimly lit path towards the south.
It grew quiet and Frostpaw slowed his pace until he was stopped taking in deep heaving breaths. The ravens now lined the bare tree branches still watching him but with less malice now. He kept going down the path with the only noise being the rustling of leaves and feathers. Every now and then he glanced back up at them and they seemed to be disappearing as he went. As he padded along, a slightly familiar scent floated about and as he opened his mouth to better smell the pine scent, an orange oriental that had argued with him at the gathering. Behind him, the trees were filled with the ravens that had harassed him…just staring. He awoke the final time but still with the usual drama of the entire murder of ravens divebombing him once more.
“Frostpaw!” A voice called from above him and a warm tongue ran over his face. “He’s up, he’s finally awake.” The voice now Frostpaw realized belonged to Mountaintop was reassuring others that were standing watch. Frostpaw slowly blinked shaking the last grips of sleep from his mind. “You scared us, Frostpaw.” Mountaintop forced a smile. “You were out for over an entire day!”
“I’m fine.” He grumbled and stretched. His body sure felt like he was on the hard ground for a day, and his muscles also felt like he had travelled a long way.
“I brought a mouse.” Wishpaw tossed a small mouse in front of him which he and Mountaintop had to persuade him to eat. Frostpaw had a lot to think about. PRESENT Crowtalon tossed a shrew to Eaglescreech who caught it easily in his mouth. “That good enough?” He asked and received a nod in return. They sit in a sunny spot to share the meal when Sunstar approached.
“Crowtalon is showing you around properly, yeah?” Sunstar said.
“Couldn’t have a better guide.” Eaglescreech smirked. Crowtalon tried not to look so pleased.
“Wonderful,” Sunstar hesitated, “At the gathering we attended, Crowtalon, I got the chance to speak with Valleyrunner.”
Crowtalon sucked in a breath. Why couldn’t I had gone? He thought, I haven’t seen him since he left and took Ravenpaw and Twilightpaw. “R-really?” Eaglescreech looked between the toms with a confused look on his face. “Valleyrunner was my…old mate.” He explained.
“He is doing well, he wanted to say.” Sunstar continued. “Would you like to talk somewhere else?”
“N-no, it’s fine here.” Crowtalon stuttered. He wasn’t prepared to hear all of this at all.
Sunstar hesitated once more. “Alright then. He has taken another mate, Orangeray, and has four new kits. Ravenpaw and Twilightpaw have each gotten their warrior names as Raventalon and Twilightpounce.” Crowtalon couldn’t hide his smile. Valleyrunner had fully moved on…now he didn’t have to feel guilty about enjoying his time in TwistedClan without him anymore. And Ravenpaw had taken on his own suffix.
“That’s wonderful!” He exclaimed.
“And…” Sunstar had relaxed since the tom was taking this new rather well. “Twilightpounce and her mate, Juncoflight, are expecting a litter of kits.”
“Wonderful!” He shouted and leaped up. “I have to tell Mountaintop, he’ll be thrilled!” Eaglescreech and Sunstar were left in the mid-morning sun.
Sunstar stepped into the nursery. “Tornadokit?” He softly called.
Silverstem greeted him instead. “She’s out with Pavilla.” She explained. “Pavilla took her out on a walk to groom and have some girl talk.”
Sunstar stared. “Girl talk?”
“You know, it’s nice for a molly to have another molly to talk to.” Silverstem explained. “She doesn’t have a mother anymore, and sometimes you just need another mother to get advice.”
“Advice for what?” He pressed.
“Nothing in particular.” Silverstem said impatiently. “And…” Sunstar could tell another parenting lecture was coming. “You haven’t been around a lot lately, just two visits in the last moon if I have counted correctly. No, no, no.” She chided. “No excuses for your own kits. It doesn’t matter if you are busy, if Tornadokit is important to you, you’d find the time.” Again, he had a proper bashing and couldn’t find the words to defend himself. “I know you, Sunstar, and I know you are a good father, but you’re not acting like one right now!”
Sunstar backed out of the nursery with his head low and his tail between his legs. Silverstem reminded him of his mother and that was slightly terrifying. Now, he only had to wait for his kit to return and start her apprentice ceremony. He took this time to rethink his mentor decision. Should he really pick Lightningflash? He was a valuable warrior, but he had other concerns to worry about. He wasn’t deaf, he was very aware of the uneasy murmurings about the rogues. Even his own apprentice, Wishpaw, had been subject to rumors even though he mostly stayed near Frostpaw the majority of the time. He hoped this would show the clan he completely trusted the rogue additions. He saw her and Pavilla push through the bushes near the back of the cabin, and he purposefully made his way to the Ceremony Tree. When he called the clan to gather, he could see her tremble with excitement. “It is my pleasure to apprentice my very own daughter today,” He started “Tornadokit, would you join me up here?” Tornadokit scurried up the tree. “Tornadokit, it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, you will be known as Tornadopaw, and your mentor will be Lightningflash.” Sunstar paused while Lightningflash scrambled up to touch noses with Tornadopaw but she took a few steps back from her new mentor. “Come on,” Sunstar quietly urged while the clan below began their muttering once more. “You know what to do.”
“They killed Mom!” She quivered beside Sunstar. “Why did you think I want to learn from a murderer?”
“He’s a loyal warrior now,” He nudged her closer to Lightningflash who was uneasily shifting from foot to foot. “Touch his nose.” She accepted his nose touch, squeaked, and hurriedly rushed down the trunk. Ashpaw, Hollypaw, Featherpaw, and Oakpaw welcomed her into their little circle. Part of the orphan clique now? He internally sighed. The other warriors had heard whispers of what that group called themselves. But she still has me! He thought angrily.
“Is it alright if I head down now?” Lightningflash’s unsure voice startled him.
“Yes,” He said over the cheers of Tornadpaw! “I’m sure she’ll get over it.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Lightningflash said sheepishly. “But I don’t blame her or anyone else for their reluctance.”
“Give them time.” Sunstar crouched ready to leap to the ground. “They’ll come around.”
Moose guided Elk through the growing underbrush. “Just a bit farther.” He murmured when she let out soft cries of protest. Her belly was starting to grow with their kits, and she wanted to find a nice place to make their nest.
“I smell other cats,” She looked around anxiously. “We mustn’t overstep any boundaries.”
“The scents are rather frequent,” Moose pondered, “And lots of them. If there’s that many together, they must be somewhat friendly.” Elk wasn’t too sure about that idea but wasn’t eager to turn around and travel many more miles. Eventually, they found a small patrol of the resident cats and was brought back to a disheveled leader.
“It’s like everything I’m doing is wrong,” The orange tabby was saying, “And Silverstem keeps yelling at me.”
“I don’t know why you’re asking me,” A brown tabby replied, “I know nothing of parenting.” Snowstorm cleared his throat and gestured to the two newcomers behind him. “Oh, new clan members?” The brown tabby stood. “I’m Starlingsky, deputy of TwistedClan.”
“Sunstar, leader of TwistedClan,” The orange tabby introduced. He noticed the queen’s belly. “I’m sure you want a safe place to deliver kits and we can offer it.”
The two mates looked at each other. “It’s up to you,” Moose said.
Elk looked around the camp closer. There were cats of all ages mingling around, seemingly in harmony. “I guess we’ll stay.”
The day Lightningflash was supposed to hold his first training session with Tornadopaw, Sunstar made a point to wake up early before the sun had fully blessed the sky. He crept into the apprentice den and gently shook Tornadopaw awake. “Come with me,” He whispered in her stirring ear. He led his sleepy daughter to the Burial Site up the ridge. The flowers were in full bloom and still fresh with morning dew.
“I’m going to be tired for training,” She grumbled.
“You’ll do fine, I promise.” Sunstar reassured. “I just wanted to talk to you about some recent things.”
“I’m not sure I want to.” Tornadopaw looked at her paws.
Sunstar’s heart throbbed. “Okay, then can I talk and you just listen for a little bit?” When there wasn’t any protest, he continued. “I’m sorry I didn’t think about assigning you to Lightningflash like that. I was only thinking about how to show the rest of the clan the rogue members are trustworthy, and he is a very strong warrior. I think you will learn a lot from him. But,” He cut her off before she could protest again, “The main thing I wanted to tell you was about my leadership ceremony.”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to say anything about that.” Tornadopaw sounded a bit more enthused now.
“I’m won’t tell if you won’t.” He offered a smile to her that she thankfully returned. “Alright, well, Rainsong was there to give me a life. And…Sandkit was there as well.” Tornadopaw let out a little gasp. “He also gave a life and made sure to tell you that he loves and misses you.”
Tornadopaw’s eyes shown with tears. “I miss him a ton.” She pressed into Sunstar’s coat. “I really wish he was here training with me.”
“I do too, bud.” Sunstar sighed and licked her head comfortingly. They sat pressed against each other and watched the sun finally fill the sky with its golden light. “I think you should get back before Lightningflash wonders where you are.” Sunstar eventually murmured.
“I guess.” Tornadopaw sat up straight. “I can’t miss my first day of training.”
Pavilla consciously had to stop her fur from bristling as Sunstar drew near after Tornadopaw’s ceremony. She still was holding a tiny grudge against him after their confrontation last moon. However, she was pleased when he only seemed to want to talk about her kits, though her mood soured after he insinuated that her kits weren’t doing terribly great in their training. “Nitor had a hard time grasping the hunting crouch and Somni is still very unsteady. She’s going to have to retrain for her hunting skill this moon.”
“I don’t know where you got that information but Darkmist had worked with them as kits and she said they did it perfectly!” Pavilla huffed.
“Well, I talked to their mentors,” Sunstar said slowly, “And I couldn’t see any reason for Squirreltuft to lie.”
“Why would Darkmist lie either?” Pavilla turned her head in a haughty manner. “She even kept them from seeing Twistedstar die, so maybe Squirreltuft just isn’t very good at teaching.”
Sunstar took a step backwards with his eyes narrowed in thought. “Squirreltuft will stay her mentor for now. I will discuss this matter with Darkmist when I have a chance.”
“You better figure this out.” Pavilla stood. “Good day.”
Sunstar took in a deep breath. His hollow trunk den still had faint scents of Twistedstar with a little bit of Ruststripe. Please show me how to be a good leader, he prayed, I swear I’m trying so hard. He flinched when a soft knocking sound startled him from his thoughts. A small scarred face poked into the den. “Yes, Frostpaw?”
“I need to go south.” He stated.
“Wh-what?” Sunstar sputtered. How far south?
“To follow the ravens.”
Sunstar rolled his shoulders. “Okay,” He cracked his neck. “Can it wait a moon or so? We’re getting close to finding Twistedstar’s assassin, I feel.”
“Tell them yourself then.” And Frostpaw left leaving Sunstar even more concerned about his mental state.
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Post by spasticjazzhands on Jan 29, 2020 19:45:57 GMT -8
THE FINAL JUDGEMENT ( 053 )
LAST MOON
Frostpaw’s dreams were dark and filled with nothing. It wasn’t like he didn’t remember dreaming; he remembered every second of it, but there was nothing to be seen. It wasn’t even black…it was just nothingness. He knew the ravens were the cause of this. They were upset that he figured out what he was supposed to do but was still stuck doing his medicine cat duties in TwistedClan. “Frostpaw, are you alright?” Volépaw had his head stuck inside the den, watching his stooping figure with wide eyes. “Do you want me to grab you something to eat?” Frostpaw shook his head and the medicine cat apprentice’s…assistant(?) ducked away. He felt guilty that he had nothing to teach Volépaw yet, he himself wasn’t even a full medicine cat. He made a note to himself to as Sunstar to assign him a warrior mentor in the meantime. Frostpaw should have thought of that earlier, but he was too concerned with ravens and Deathberries to worry about his assistant.
“Was I not good enough?” Starlingsky had to lean in to hear Volépaw’s question.
“That’s not it at all,” Starlingsky reassured him. “It’s just that Frostpaw cannot properly train you to be a medicine cat yet, so you would be better off spending your time learning warrior skills.” She explained. “Eaglescreech will be your temporary mentor.” PRESENT Sunstar sat stiffly at the Burial Site. He was planning on discussing that day with Somni and Nitor. He was worried about what he would find out but was so close to discovering what really happened. He took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet aroma of the wildflowers on Morningstar’s grave. That seemed to calm him a bit, and he finally rose, ready to confront the day, but something caught his eye in the distance. At first he thought the spirit of Morningstar was coming to talk with him, but as the cat got closer, he realized it was alive…and a tom. Sunstar waved his tail in greeting as he bounded forward to greet a possible new clanmate. The new cat was all white with striking blue eyes and a gentle expression. “I am Sunstar of…” He trailed off as the tom shook his head and twitched his ears. “Excuse me?” He asked confused. The tom shook his head again. Then Sunstar remembered what his mother had told him a very long time ago. A lot of white cats with blue eyes were deaf. “Ah,” He said out loud, “You can’t hear me.” He flattened his ears and shook his head along with the tom. Thinking of ways to communicate without speaking, he jerked his head the direction of camp and flicked his tail in a beckoning matter. It must have worked because the tom followed him back to TwistedClan. And after a game of charades while eating a vole, Sunstar discovered the tom’s name was Windchill.
Another cat joined TwistedClan’s ranks though this one was a molly who could hear. She was a Siamese with folded ears, and she took on the name Chipmunknuzzle. Now it was time for Squirreltuft to get made fun of by his littermates. Her ears matched his and it was obvious that he was a little smitten by the soft-spoken molly.
Volépaw was standing in front of Eaglescreech for a good while before the tom noticed him. He had been distracted by fearlessly flirting with Crowtalon who if he could, was blushing like a schoolboy. Volépaw never had a problem getting Frostpaw’s attention before; the seal point was always quiet and on edge. “Hey!” He eventually waved his stumpy tail in their faces. “I’m apprenticed to you for a bit.” He spoke to Eaglescreech. “I don’t mind training with your mate though.”
“Mate?” Crowtalon said weakly. “We’re not…”
“We’re not?” Eaglescreech raised a brow.
“Oh!” Crowtalon choked. “You want to…”
“If you don’t mind…”
“Of course, not…”
“Alright…”
Volépaw backed away. He was glad he accomplished something but was sure he would have to come back and talk to Eaglescreech again. He wasn’t sure if the warrior would remember what he had said.
Somni felt awful about failing her first hunting lesson and now Sunstar was up in her business asking all about it. She held back tears and avoided his and Squirreltuft’s eyes. “I tried my best!” Her voice warbled. “I’m really sorry.”
Sunstar’s voice dropped in intensity. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean for me sounding accusatory. You did nothing wrong!” He flicked her shoulder with a friendly tail. “I just wanted to ask about you and Nitor’s miniature training session with Darkmist. It must have been a while ago, so it’s fine if you don’t remember details.”
Somni’s confusion overtook her embarrassment. “What are you talking about? That never happened.”
Sunstar suddenly looked very interested in her words. “Really? Do you remember the day Twistedstar died? Weren’t you with her then?”
Somni shook her head quickly. “No, I would definitely remember that. Nitor and I hid behind a bush so our mother wouldn’t catch us watching. We saw the whole thing.” She shivered. “It was kind of scary.”
“No doubt it was,” But now Sunstar seemed very distracted. “Thank you for telling me this.” And he left.
“What was that about?” Somni asked her mentor.
Squirreltuft looked just as confused as she was. “I have no clue.”
Starlingsky had no idea why she was dragged out of her nest before the crack of dawn, but Sunstar was in a frenzy. “Go wake Frostpaw,” He ordered while pacing, “He should be here.” Starlingsky started towards the medicine den but was stopped by the leader once more. “Tell him to bring a deathberry.”
“What?” Starlingsky rubbed her eyes. It was too early for this…whatever this was. “What are we doing that requires a deathberry?”
“We’re holding a trial of sorts. I’m waking the elders…well, the two that are here.” Sunstar paused, realizing he was sounding crazy. “I think we’ve discovered who killed Twistedstar.”
“Really?” Starlingsky gasped. “But…are you sure? They’re really a clan member?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Sunstar said. “The trail starts at dawn when we will wake the entire clan.”
THE TRIAL Sunstar stood on the Ceremony Tree, but it was now the Judge’s Stand. The jury surrounded the trunk and consisted of Starlingsky, Frostpaw, Fritillarystreak, and Neritefang. Sunstar would also have a say in the verdict. A single deathberry was placed in the center of the semi-circle and was shining in the dim light. Darkmist, the accused, was facing the tree in a confident manner; she didn’t look fazed at all. The rest of the clan sat farther back mainly wanting to be out of the drama. Sunstar inhaled deeply and spoke, “I stand before you, StarClan and TwistedClan, today and offer a swift paw of justice in the name of Morningstar.” He leaped down to the ground in one smooth motion and stood nose to nose with Darkmist. “I have reasons to believe that Darkmist, formerly Darkstar of Lucid Shadows, poisoned Morningstar intentionally.”
“I object.” Darkmist raised her brows with a smirk. “I did no such thing.”
Sunstar whirled around letting his tail to smack her face. “Snowstorm? Tell me why you brought the deer for Morningstar to eat.” His voice rang across the entire clearing.
“Pavilla suggested I take the deer to Morningstar.” Snowstorm dipped his head. He hoped the queen wouldn’t claw him to death for saying this, but it was the truth.
“And Pavilla,” Sunstar continued, “Why did you suggest bringing the deer to Morningstar?”
The queen stood with fur bristling. “Darkmist mentioned that that deer should be for someone special.” She said clearly.
Sunstar faced Darkmist once more with rage etched clearly in his face. “Darkmist, what were you doing that day of the feast?”
“Like I said before,” She said evenly, “Helping distract Somni and Nitor. After all, they were kits then.”
“Somni,” The young molly shook when Sunstar called her out, “Where were you when Morningstar was choking to death?”
“Be-behind a-a bush, pe-peeking at what was ha-happening.” She stammered.
“Was Darkmist anywhere near you?” Sunstar pressed.
“N-no.”
“What have you to say Darkmist?” Sunstar narrowed his eyes. “Did you poison Morningstar?”
“You can’t prove anything,” She shrugged with a glint in her eyes, “Can’t prove anything at all.” Her eyes glanced at Sunstar’s claws, now unsheathed. “What are you going to do, kill me?”
“You killed Morningstar.” Sunstar urged. “You poisoned her. Did you think I would make you deputy? Did you think your secret was safe? Did you think I wouldn’t care about you murdering my best friend?”
“She was old,” Darkmist leaned in, their faces almost touching, “She was weak. She was crippled. And who came into power? The same old, tired kind of leader: you. You think you’re going to last long? I deserve to be the leader this clan needs to regain its feet. I fell out of power wrongly, and I’m still at my peak. This clan is full of no-good, lazy, rotten…” She never got to finish her sentence. Sunstar’s claws ripped through her throat like new razors on paper. The deathberry remained untouched and blood spilled over Sunstar’s white paws.
THE PATROL Lynxshine shivered with excitement. Sunstar had greenlighted an “rescue and retrieve Marsh” patrol, and Frostpaw was sure he was south where the new clan, RavenClan, had set up camp. She was glad that Marsh might be finally coming back to his home, but she was also excited to see Weaselstar again. Fogpaw and Mistpaw were also joining them as they had also talked to a RavenClan apprentice at the gathering. Ashpaw also volunteered as she was the most concerned about Marsh. She had barged her way into Sunstar’s hollow trunk and argued with him until he relented. He was secretly glad that she cared about someone else other than herself and hoped this journey might knock some sass out of her. Regardless, the patrol of five was set to travel.
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Post by spasticjazzhands on Jan 29, 2020 19:54:39 GMT -8
THE SPARKS OF LOVE ( 054 )
LAST MOON
Wishpaw noticed the absence of Frostpaw more than he thought he would. He was used to being alone; in fact, he enjoyed being alone since that meant he wasn’t getting picked on by Ernest. In TwistedClan, however, he had gotten used to Frostpaw always being around. And Wishpaw really missed him. PRESENT Beetle’s stomach churned as he gathered up the courage to approach Sunstar and ask him for a favor. Well, it wasn’t necessarily a favor exactly, it was a very reasonable request, but he was still quite nervous. Without his two sisters by his side, he felt lonely. And he had to deal with Shadow hovering over him constantly. Even though he was warrior age, he was her only outlet to smother with her attention during Mistpaw and Fogpaw’s expedition. Back to the task at hand, Sunstar had just returned from his patrol and Beetle lurched forward before he could have second thoughts. “Hey,” Words quickly tumbled out of his mouth, “I know I passed my warrior assessment, but I really want to wait for Fogpaw and Mistpaw to come back, so we all become warriors together.”
Sunstar smiled, “Of course, I’m sure they’ll be pleased as well.”
“One more thing,” Beetle stopped him from turning to the fresh-kill pile, “Can-can I have a full warrior name?”
Sunstar hemmed and hawed for a moment. “I guess so,” He drew out the last word cheekily. “I’ll have to come up with a good one to give you a reason to keep it.”
“I’m sure whatever you come up with will be…”
“I jest,” Sunstar lightly chuckled, “I’ll have to work on my tone and delivery for next time.” Beetle was saved by Tornadopaw returning from training with Lightningflash a little bit behind. The leader’s attention snapped to Tornadopaw with eyes trying to see if she had an alright day or not. Beetle took this window of time to duck away and go find Pheasantpaw and Quailpaw. If he was being honest with himself, he was looking forward to hanging out with Quailpaw just a little bit more.
Tornadopaw slightly frowned as Sunstar cut off her path to the fresh-kill pile. Her training with Lightningflash was going better than she thought it would. Featherpaw never passed up a chance to bash him or any of the other rogue additions, but the other clan members had started to relax. “How did your session go today?” Sunstar rocked on his heels, looking slightly unsure of himself.
She avoided a lick to her head with a grunt. “It’s going fine, dad.” She shrugged. “Just I wish Rainsong was here to watch me.”
“I do too,” Sunstar’s voice was soft, “but I also know she’s still watching, just a bit further away than we’d like.”
Tornadopaw sighed. “Sometimes it’s really hard believing in StarClan when rotten stuff still happens.”
Her father nodded with a shaded look in his eyes. “It’s okay to question them,” he said gently, “actually, it’s natural too. But I hope your heart always makes it back to where we belong in the stars.”
Phoenixpaw was finally starting to feel like an actual TwistedClan apprentice. Rabbitear was very kind and was impressed by her knack for picking up new fighting techniques. She was starting to feel like a big sister to Somni and Nitor; they usually trained with them. Hollypaw was also very sweet and perhaps a little overeager to make her feel welcome…but Phoenixpaw wasn’t objecting. But Featherpaw certainly was. The older apprentices were all sitting restlessly waiting for Sunstar to start their warrior ceremony. The leader was still talking to Shadow and Starlingsky, so Featherpaw was using his time to insert his own opinion on what warrior names everyone, namely Phoenixpaw, should receive.
“Maybe her prefix will change too,” Featherpaw mock-whispered, “It should be Twoface; one face acting like a clan cat and the other a killer.”
“Oh, knock it off!” Hollypaw exclaimed drawing some stares. “You’ll die bitter and alone if all you do is complain!”
Featherpaw sprang to his feet. “Why would I want anyone around anyway? They’ll just die; it doesn’t matter.”
Before Hollypaw could retort, a white paw raked his muzzle and he could feel the sensation of warm blood trickling to the dirt. He rocked back stunned that his own brother clawed him. A sneer found its way onto his face. He ignored Phoenixpaw’s soft, “Hollypaw, don’t!” and retaliated with a bite to Featherpaw’s shoulder instead. The two were dragged apart by a furious Sunstar and Neritefang.
“How many times do you have to be forced to behave?” Sunstar hissed in their faces. “Why do you continue to behave like newborn kits? At this point, you will never receive your warrior names!” He turned tail and stiffly walked away. The rest of the clan remained quiet and stared at them shocked. Hollypaw’s muzzle was still oozing.
Neritefang looked at the brothers with betrayal. “I know I am not your parents, but I hoped to have taught you better than what you’ve shown us.” She also turned away with her tail low and exited quietly out the back of the camp. Hollypaw and Featherpaw shared the same humiliated glance. They hadn’t thought of how all of their shenanigans affecting Neritefang and hated how dejected she looked.
“Should we try to talk to her?” Featherpaw whispered, their fight quickly put behind them. But there wasn’t time as Sunstar moved things along and started the long warrior ceremony that was scheduled for the day. The brothers hunkered down where they were and tried to avoid any more stares.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Wishbone.” Hollypaw vaguely heard the first warrior’s new name. He was replaying what Sunstar had said again and again in his head. What was wrong with us? Why can’t we just behave? He thought. We can’t seem to do anything right.
Phoenixpaw was called up next and she brushed against Hollypaw as she went to the front of the clearing. “Thanks for standing up for me.” She murmured as she passed him. His stomach warmed and ears perked up. Featherpaw noticed and flattened his with a roll of his eyes.
“Phoenixpaw, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?” Sunstar called from the Ceremony Tree.
“I do.” She said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Phoenixfire. We’re all glad to have you here.” Sunstar rested his muzzle on her forehead. “Oakpaw, you’re the last one as Beetle opted to receive his name along with his sisters when they return.” He looked pointedly at Hollypaw and Featherpaw. “Oakpaw, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?” Sunstar called from the Ceremony Tree.
“I do.” Oakpaw said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Oakbreeze. You’ve made your family very proud.” Sunstar rested his muzzle on Oakbreeze’s forehead while TwistedClan cheered the three new names.
Deergaze watched Robinripple and Shrewfeather jealously. The two mollies had started courting last moon and had been getting more serious by the day. Shrewfeather had taken up staying on her blind side to give her more security. She looked to the tom she was interested in slightly ahead of her: Tigerstrike. She was much too shy and nervous to say something, at least so far. She kept this crush quiet in order to not be teased by Squirreltuft, or (StarClan forbid) Mousespeck just telling him. But she watched him from afar and gathered a little courage day by day, waiting for the perfect moment to say something.
Thundercry crouched in the shade of a full holly bush. The hot Greenleaf days were hell for his full longhaired coat of black fur. Lightningflash did most of the flushing out of the prey. His short silver coat was much more manageable and his attitude towards the whole thing was also slightly better. Currently, Lightningflash had found a vole and Thundercry quickly pounced on its back instantly killing it. “About time,” Thundercry grumbled. He was only somewhat upset and most of that was directed at the weather.
Luckily, Lightningflash was used to his…less than enthusiastic…attitude towards him and the other rogues, but the sourness was also deteriorating. Lightningflash had even eaten with Thundercry and his (living) littermates one night with no glares or snide remarks. “Would you like to try fishing instead?” Lightningflash suggested, only half-joking. He could always go for a trout to put some variety in his diet.
“Fishing?” Thundercry snorted. “Are you serious? Do we look like fishers to you?”
“If you’re bad at fishing, the worst thing you’ll be is wet and cooled off.” Lightningflash wagged his brows. “And I know you learned how to swim. I have to teach Tornadopaw how to swim this moon and since you’re such a strong clan-born warrior, you should have as well.”
Thundercry hesitated. “I don’t like swimming very much.” He stated, eyes to the ground.
“Your fur won’t stay wet for too long in this heat,” Lightningflash nudged him. “Starlingsky won’t mind; we’ll still be hunting. And it’ll be something new and exciting!”
“It’s just…” Thundercry kicked the dirt, “Before we were born, our father drowned in the river. Stormheart is named after him: Stormstrike.”
“Oh,” Lightningflash’s tail lowered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” A few moments of awkward silence passed between them. “My father died before I was born too. He got eaten by a fox; at least, that’s what my mother always said.”
“Isn’t it silly?” Thundercry said softly. “Missing someone you’ve never known?”
“I don’t think it’s silly at all.” Lightningflash responded. “It’s just wondering what could have been. I think I know where a rabbit nest is…?” He left the question open-ended in case Thundercry wanted to return to camp.
“No, let’s go to the river.” Thundercry decided. “But you’ll have to teach me how to fish.”
Tigerstrike’s muscles were starting to burn and his lungs were on fire, but he continued sprinting after the determined rabbit. He was coming dangerously close to their west border, shared with another clan rumored to be named ScarabClan. Leaping down a small decline in the terrain, he successfully caught the rabbit by crushing it under his paws. “Do you always trample your prey before you steal it?” A molly’s voice came from his side. Tigerstrike’s head snapped up and met the tawny eyes of a dilute tortie. “I would like to reiterate one more time that you’re stealing our prey.”
Tigerstrike tossed the limp rabbit her way wanting to avoid an argument. “You’re welcome for doing the leg work for you.” He couldn’t help but add a snarky remark. Sure, she was in the right, but he would have let this go just once (at least, he would like to think so). He was barely over the border.
“I don’t want any prey with your germs on it.” The rabbit was flung back his way. “I’ll just have to catch something on your territory to make up for it.” The molly slid past him and crossed the border.
Tigerstrike narrowed his eyes. This was getting out of hand. He knew the correct choice was to firmly remind her to get back on her side of the markings, but also her general attitude made it hard to think rationally. So naturally, he decided to hook the rabbit back onto his claws and whip it her way once more. It thunked her head. This started a perverse game of dodge-snowballs that ended in a somewhat flirty alliance.
Pavilla hadn’t been this close to two-leg settlements for a long time. She didn’t know what possessed her to travel this far away from TwistedClan, but she had to admit it was nice to have a small amount of time to herself. Though she wasn’t alone for long; a long haired LaPerm black marbled Bengal soon caught her eye (and also a small part of her heart). The look he gave her with his piercing green eyes made her feel like a young molly again, trying to entice a handsome lad. “You like what you see.” It wasn’t a question; the tom knew she was enamored.
“You think you’re all that?” Pavilla wasn’t totally off her game. After all, she had won over Somni and Nitor’s father with her charm.
“I am,” Again, it was a statement. “I can find another just as easily.”
“I’m not protesting,” Pavilla stepped closer. “I haven’t been in a city for many moons. Perhaps you could show me around?”
Windchill laid out in the sun with his belly towards the sky. He could see birds fluttering above and assumed they were singing, but he would never know for sure. He had been born deaf, thus never really missing the normal sounds of the forest. He could still hunt and fight like the rest of the clan, just utilizing different techniques. Like now, he could tell someone had sat near him from a small vibration through the dirt. He glanced left to see the leader, Sunstar, deep in thought. He flicked his white tail and hit a paw. What’s wrong? He tilted his head and rolled to an upright sitting position.
Sunstar exhaled and just shook his head. “Long story.”
Windchill could read lips of short sentences and simple words, making communication a little easier for all involved. He stretched back down inviting Sunstar to do the same. I have all the time in the world, his body movement said.
“Do you have kits?” Sunstar made sure his mouth could be clearly seen which Windchill really appreciated. He shook his head, no. “Tornadopaw,” Sunstar nodded to an apprentice. Windchill couldn’t make out that word but he assumed it was her name. “She’s my kit. I had three before her, but their mother was alive to help. I’m not a good father.”
Windchill assessed the young molly with his icy eyes. She seemed content enough talking to the other young apprentices. He raised a brow, how so?
Sunstar sighed again and shook his head. “I can’t do anything right with her.” Instead of waiting to see Windchill’s response, he joined him on the warm grass. They laid in silence, though one didn’t have a choice. But Windchill had a feeling Sunstar enjoyed this little moment of venting and peace.
Volépaw got raspberry leaves ready. Elkwhisper was about ready to kit and he was on his own. Frostpaw was still in RavenClan. Luckily, he had plenty of experience with queens kitting in the rogue group, even assisting Frostpaw during his stint with the rogues. But that still didn’t settle his nerves.
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Post by spasticjazzhands on Jan 29, 2020 20:01:12 GMT -8
THE JOYS OF FAMILY ( 055 )
LAST MOON
Moosebellow looked at his two new kits. Both had the same folded ears of their mother, and he couldn’t be prouder. “Cariboukit and Stagkit?” He suggested and Elkwhisper immediately agreed. She was tired and only cared that both kits were alive. A dry cough shook one of the kits and stopped it from nursing. “What’s wrong with her?” Moosebellow looked to Volépaw nervously.
Frostpaw hadn’t had time to teach him much, but Volépaw recognized that cough from when he first was “welcomed” into the rogue group. It was greencough. “She should be okay after I give her some catmint.” He turned and sniffed around in the medicine store. There was a leaf of catmint available, old but useable. He forced it into the tiny kits mouth and cleaned up any remnants of the leaf. “That should do the trick.”
Mountaintop was also missing Frostpaw and a pit of worry weighed heavy in his stomach. He took Frigidthorn’s last request very seriously, but he couldn’t protect Frostpaw if he wasn’t even in the clan! He was so preoccupied with wondering if it was worth trying to sneak to RavenClan that he didn’t realize the rest of his patrol had stopped to greet two young toms. Rabbitear cuffed his ear after he slammed into the warrior. “Pay attention,” A hiss chastised. Mountaintop ignored him and peeked over his head.
“I’m Lost,” The orange tabby bicolor was saying, “and my brother is Ghost.”
“And we’re both also lost. Very lost. We don’t know where we are.” The grey tabby butted in. “We chased a rabbit way too far.”
Mountaintop found this situation way too familiar. Two lone brothers brought to the clan? Hopefully their names stayed their names and not their fates like the other two brothers in TwistedClan. PRESENT Hollypaw had spent all day trying to shake off Featherpaw and he finally succeeded after inviting him for a quick swim. Phoenixfire, however, gladly took up his offer. Unluckily for Hollypaw, Quailpaw and Pheasantpaw overheard and asked to go along as well. The littermates scurried on ahead though, giving Hollypaw the time he wanted with Phoenixfire. “Were they always like that?” Hollypaw nodded to the disappearing tail of Quailpaw.
Phoenixfire laughed softly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them this loud and rambunctious, even as kits.”
“Really?” Hollypaw raised a brow.
“I don’t think you understand what’s it’s like to wake up every day and be frightened for your life,” She looked at the ground, “Our lives depended on keeping the older cats happy and well-fed.”
“Oh,” Hollypaw’s tail drooped. “I guess we had it easy growing up and we didn’t even realize.” He flashed through every memory of sneaking off or doing something else dumb. They had never taken a step back and realized how lucky they were to all still have each other and a clan that was safe and filled with love.
“I’m not negating your experiences in any way.” She flicked her tail against his flank. “We can both have rough patches without competing for which one was the worst.”
Hollypaw smiled. “I never thought about that before. To be honest, I always thought that we were the ones that had it worst.” He thought about how bitter Ashpaw and Featherpaw still were. “I’m trying to mature, but it’s hard when your support system is trying to hinder your progress, you know?”
“I don’t know,” She shot him a shy smile, “I’d say you’re making great progress.”
“We’ve been fishing for hours!” Lightningflash called from the shore. In the bright sunlight, his short coat dried rather quickly, unlike Thundercry’s thick, heavy pelt.
Thundercry angrily pounced forward, lost his balance, and disappeared underwater, popping up a bit further downstream even more frustrated. “I know we’ve been fishing for hours!” He hissed. “Because I’m the one that’s fishing!”
“I already caught my fish,” Lightningflash nudged his minnow. He was looking forward for dinner tonight. “And I did say I’d catch one for you as well.”
“I WANT MY OWN FISH,” Thundercry sent an arc of water to the dry warrior with his tail. “LEAVE ME ALONE!” Lightningflash just laughed and resumed grooming his ears on the riverbank. He was enjoying the dramatic show.
Sunstar had found the best parenting tactic was to ask the older child what they liked best and what could be improved on. That was what Patchnose was now for. “I don’t know,” Patchnose casually shrugged. “You were always in the nursery teaching us different fighting moves and playing.”
“Well, she’s not in the nursery anymore,” Sunstar said impatiently. “We are past that stage.”
“Then, I don’t know,” Patchnose said exasperated. “I always knew I could tell you anything no matter what it was. You weren’t the kind to keep secrets from us.” He didn’t notice his “father’s” guilty look. “How should I know anyway? I have no kits.”
“Well, I have kits and cannot figure this out.” Sunstar grunted. “What I’m learning now is that Rainsong was a much better parent than I was and am.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually.” Patchnose patted his paw. Sunstar good-naturedly snatched it away.
“Is there anyone you seem to be fancying lately?” Sunstar snagged Patchnose’s tail before he could duck away from the question. “It’s been all about Tornadopaw lately, and not enough about you.”
“Really, no one,” Patchnose shook him off. “I haven’t been focusing on romance.”
“Make sure to tell me if you do,” Sunstar said, “After all, we don’t keep secrets.”
Tigerstrike did not think about Gloryrise after their initial meeting. Sure, they had fun, but they both had other commitments. It had been a mutual understanding that their lives would go back to normal, like their meeting never happened. He snapped out of not thinking about Gloryrise and noticed a pair of stormy blue eyes staring his direction. Deergaze quickly looked towards the ground and shuffled her feet. “Do I have a leaf stuck in my fur or something?” He asked the fluffy molly in a light tone.
“N-no!” She stuttered. “You just seemed to be thinking about something. You had your brows furrowed.”
“I wasn’t thinking about anything important.” Tigerstrike snapped. Because he wasn’t.
“Of course,” Deergaze licked her chest hair flat. “It’s a fine day to just relax.” She paused her cleaning. “Don’t let Fritillarystreak get to you.”
“Fritillarystreak?” This was the first Tigerstrike had ever heard of Fritillarystreak having a problem with him. What does she want? I don’t think we’ve ever held a proper conversation before, he tilted his head. “What about her?”
Deergaze looked around her nervously. “Oh, nothing then!” Her voice rang high.
“No, what has she been saying?” He pressed.
“Oh,” She hopelessly shrugged, “She’s just wondering when you’re going to settle down and start a family.”
Tigerstrike’s fur flattened. “That’s it? That’s pretty tame, Deergaze!” He chuckled. “You had me worried for a second there.”
“That wasn’t really the part I was speaking of,” Deergaze continued, “She is worried about Morningstar’s line continuing and you are the only chance left.”
His expression soured. “I’m more than just the founder’s kit.” He frowned.
“I-I know that!” Deergaze leapt to her feet frantically. “I was letting you know how ridiculous that sounds! Very old fashioned as well.”
“Thanks for letting me know, I guess.” His tail flicked angrily from side to side.
“I’m really sorry,” Deergaze continued, “I thought you heard.”
“Now I have.”
The leaves were changing colors and were drifting in the soft autumn breeze. Thistlefur and Mallardwing were making the most of their time by holding a semi-friendly competition as to who could pin down the most leaves. Thistlefur was currently ahead and Mallardwing started spending her time trying to sabotage him instead. Soon a pounce went awry and the two landed in a green bush and on a green cat? He was a small little cat, now gray looking in the shadows and had neon green eyes. When he stepped in the sun, however, his pelt appeared more green than grey. “Oh, hello there!” Mallardwing sat back and smiled. “Sorry, we didn’t see you!”
“How old are you to be running after leaves?” The tom snapped. “I didn’t know newborns could be so large.”
“Who are you, killjoy?” Thistlefur mumbled. “You are rather small to be talking trash.”
“Don’t threaten him!” Mallardwing hissed in his ear. “This doesn’t have to be that big of a deal.”
“The name’s Mambasnap. My bite is as worse as my name, make a note of that.” Mambasnap snapped. “And old enough to have some dignity.” Thistlefur and Mambasnap argued all the way back. He had inadvertently led the green cat to camp and now had to deal with him daily.
“Today, we celebrate two apprentices who should have been warriors many many moons ago.” Sunstar shot a glare at the fidgeting Hollypaw and Featherpaw. “And their sister will earn her name when she bravely returns from saving Marsh.” Featherpaw grunted but obliged and joined Sunstar in the Ceremony Tree. “Featherpaw, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?” Sunstar asked.
“I do.” Featherpaw said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Featherflurry. Remember that every action has consequences.” He rested his muzzle on Featherflurry’s. Then it was Hollypaw’s turn. “Hollypaw, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?” Sunstar called from the Ceremony Tree.
“I do.” He said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Hollyshade. Remember that compassion is greater than grudges.” Sunstar rested his muzzle on Hollyshade’s forehead while TwistedClan cheered their new names. “And know that healing is not a linear process.” Sunstar murmured. Before the new warrior could respond, the leader leapt from the tree and disappeared into the crowd.
Just go up and talk to her, would be what Squirreltuft’s advice would be, but it was extremely hard to follow your own advice. If he saw someone else pacing back and forth behind the cabin, he would tease them mercilessly. It’s just talking, he would mock, but it was impossible to do what you want in case of the chance of failure. She doesn’t even know you exist! He would chastise. But it was unheard of for Squirreltuft to be nervous, so he pushed any thoughts of Chipmunknuzzle from his mind.
It was…interesting to communicate with a deaf cat. There were a lot of annoyed tail flicking, you’re so close but that’s not it!, a lot of shrugging, you’re not going to guess this word tonight, and a lot of giggling, I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but you look ridiculous. Understanding the big picture, the main message, was relatively easy after Windchill and Sunstar had gotten used to each other’s verbiage, but miming specific words was where all the frustrations appeared. It took an entire evening for the difference between rabbit and hare! Regardless, they were both enjoying each other’s company to keep their mind off of the boring trivial facts of clanlife.
Pavilla dreaded waking up for her daily patrol. She had been feeling extra groggy lately with no clue as to why. The last time she remembered feeling like this was when she had been pregnant with Somni, Nitor, and Sopor. Huh, strange.
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Post by spasticjazzhands on Jan 29, 2020 20:05:42 GMT -8
THE RETURN OF MARSH ( 056 )
LAST MOON
Quailpaw trembled next to her brother. They no longer had to fear about snide comments or cold glances from the other cats (at least from most of them). Now they were ready to receive their warrior names and be official members! Not even Featherflurry could argue with that. “Who do you think Sunstar will call up first?” Pheasantpaw murmured, clearly just as nervous and excited as she. “I don’t know if I want to be first or not.” Sunstar saved them from anticipation by selecting Pheasantpaw first. He climbed the Ceremony Tree easily but Quailpaw noticed his legs slightly shaking.
“Pheasantpaw, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?” Sunstar asked him.
“I do.” Pheasantpaw said confidently.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Pheasantscar. Remember that our pasts only make us stronger.” Sunstar rested his muzzle on Pheasantscar’s forehead. Quailpaw was already halfway up the tree when Sunstar called her forward. “A little eager, are we?” Sunstar softly chuckled as she ducked her head embarrassed. “It’s alright, enthusiasm is encouraged.” Sunstar stood taller to address the entire clan again. “Quailpaw, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?”
“I do.” She said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Quailcall.” He rested his muzzle on her forehead while TwistedClan cheered both their new names. Quailcall leapt down by her brother. Phoenixfire gave them a quick lick and Lightningflash nodded to them behind an excited Tornadopaw. Somni and Nitor gave their congratulations from behind, though clearly thinking about their own ceremony in the coming moons.
For once in a long time, Quailcall was overwhelmed by the growing wall of cats surrounding her. She left her brother in the madness and scooted backwards until she was at the edge of camp…and touching something else furry? She whirled around and apologized to Windchill. “I didn’t see you, sorry!” She squeaked, forgetting the tom couldn’t hear. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind and waved his tail dismissively. She briefly wondered what all their names were in his mind as there was only so much able to be translated through gestures. He leaned in closer and tapped his muzzle on her forehead, just as Sunstar just did and smiled. “Thank you,” Quailcall dipped her head in thanks of his congratulations. “I’ll tell him congrats too,” She added when Windchill flicked an ear towards her brother. “Do you…have any family?” She asked hesitantly. To her surprise, he nodded and pointed at her. “Oh, a sister?” He nodded. “Do you know where she is?” Quailcall was let down by a shake of his head. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’d be lost without Pheasantscar.” Windchill only shrugged. “I hope we find her one day.”
There was a small rut at the Burial Site, right off to the side in the shadows. It was caused by a distressed Tigerstrike. He hadn’t meant to have kits with Gloryrise! They just had an afternoon of fun away from all of their clan duties. He hadn’t been Tigerstrike, Morningstar’s kit with her. He had just been Tigerstrike. She didn’t know (or if she did she didn’t care) that his suffix was in honor of their old dear friend, Stormstrike. She had no expectations, only wanting a face to bounce off snarky comments of and maybe receive a few in return. But, he had royally screwed up now. Fritillarystreak and the rest of the clan will get their wish for Morningstar’s legacy to continue, but he didn’t think they would be too pleased about his choice of molly.
“What do you think Ashpaw and them are doing right now?” Phoenixfire asked Hollyshade. “Do you think they found Marsh?”
“I hope they did. You never really got to meet him properly.” He smiled thinking of all the times when Marsh and Neritefang would take them out of camp on little walks as kits, telling stories the entire time. “I think you’ll like him.”
“I have high hopes,” Phoenixfire paused before continuing quieter, “Do you miss Ashpaw?”
“Where did that come from?” Hollyshade sputtered. “Of course, I miss her, she’s my sister!” Phoenixfire lowered her head. “What? Am I not supposed to miss having my sister in the clan?”
“I just wanted to know how you felt about her.” Phoenixfire mumbled.
“How I felt about h…she’s my sister! We’ve been through hell and back,” He frowned, “We have each other’s backs no matter what.”
“I know that,” She sighed and stood. “It’s just your littermates haven’t been very nice to me, or anyone else for that matter.”
“They’re a bit more difficult to open up to but everyone had to adjust to you rogues merging with us.” Hollyshade argued. “It’s not just you.”
“It’s mostly me,” Phoenixfire met his gaze. Her eyes were hardened with no usual twinkle. “But it’s towards everyone. No one is good enough for the poor orphaned trio and apparently everyone else is supposed to bow down before you.”
“Where is this coming from?” Hollyshade’s stomach turned. He couldn’t really deny what she was saying, no matter how much he wanted it to be wrong. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, but I’ve lived with cats that have some sort of pity complex. It’s…it’s hard to feel normal after awful…things…but that doesn’t give you the right to take it out on others either.” A single tear dropped to the ground. “Hollyshade, I know I can’t ask you to choose between me or your family. If I had family left, I wouldn’t want to turn against them either.”
“I can be…friends…with you and them.” He said meekly.
“It’d be best if you just left me alone for the time being.” Phoenixfire gently pushed past him. His heart fluttered as they brushed against one another, perhaps for the last time. She left without another word. PRESENT Sunstar watched Pavilla intently. The queen had finally returned to the nursery expecting her second litter of kits and the whispers about the possibilities of who the father was had made it to every corner of camp. Crowtalon and Eaglescreech had no mention of finding a surrogate for kits of their own. Snowstorm showed no interest in settling down with anyone, especially corralling young kits. Thundercry, Lightningflash, and Stormstrike were all eligible bachelors but didn’t seem the type to go for Pavilla. Windchill kept to himself and Patchnose said he wasn’t in the mood for romance. So, who was the father? Pavilla said nothing to dispel rumors of the father being a non-TwistedClan cat but never confirmed it either. This might have to stay a don’t ask, don’t tell situation. He thought back to when Rainsong first told him she was expecting kits with Patchedmask of DewClan. She had been so frightened and alone it was hard to stay terribly angry at her…he was more hurt than anything. Pavilla didn’t have a designated cat for support. Silverstem of course was as motherly as always and Shadow saved a fresh piece of prey for her former-loner den mate, but no one knew her too intimately.
Speaking of prey, a magpie had landed in front of him. Puzzled, he looked to the side and saw Tornadopaw with a stray feather still hooked on a tooth. “Would you care if we shared that together? It looked tasty but too big for me to eat on my own.” She had inherited his tendencies to be slightly awkward at times and this was obvious by her nervously scraping the dirt with her claws.
“That sounds like a fantastic idea.” Sunstar pulled the bird towards him and took a bite. It was very nice and fresh. “How’s training with Lightningflash going?”
“I’m having a lot of fun,” It was her turn to take a bite. “He’s a really good mentor.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Sunstar removed the I told you so that he could have added. “Anything else on your mind?”
“What do you think about Pavilla?” Tornadopaw’s eye lit up. It was clear that the speculation had gotten to the apprentices as well. “Who’s the father?”
“It’s not polite to gossip,” Sunstar reminded her, ignoring the fact that he and Starlingsky had this exact conversation last night. “We can only ask for her kits to be healthy.”
“But if she’s more focused on toms wandering outside of our territory, that’s not good for the clan, is it?” Tornadopaw took another bite.
“Well, if she never neglects her clan duties first, who’s to say what she can and cannot think about during her free time?” Sunstar thought about Rainsong again. He missed her and her strength. Parenting with her had been a lot easier than trying to be a single father. Tornadopaw made a neutral noise neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Sunstar debated on telling her about her mother’s past but stopped himself. Even Patchnose, the surviving kit of the affair, had no clue Sunstar wasn’t his father. No, that information should be shared on a later day.
Softdapple had to sit on Quakekit and Dawnkit to groom their fur enough to somewhat flatten it down to a presentable length. They had both inherited her unruly fur and hated sitting long enough for her to lick it all. “You can’t be apprentices if you’re a mess!” She hissed.
Quakekit laughed. “You can’t tell me if I can be an apprentice or not! That’s what Sunstar is for.”
Dawnkit pounced on Softdapple’s fluffy tail. “And you will have to get permission from our father too! You can’t hold us back if he disagrees since he has parental rights just as much as you.”
“Good luck getting to the mountains before our apprentice ceremony.” Quakekit said cheekily. “Richterscreech wouldn’t stop us from being apprentices either.”
“We’ve never met him; how would you know that?” Dawnkit batted at him starting a tussle in the den. Softdapple sighed and separated them, their hair sticking up just as worse as before. She had not accounted for Nightpelt possibly dying, sticking her with full parental responsibilities when she agreed to be a surrogate. Of course, she chose to keep both Quakekit and Dawnkit because she did love them, but kits would wear down even the most veteran warrior.
“Alright,” Softdapple relented. “If you want to go in front of the clan all dusty, be my guest.” She waiting at the entrance, but it seemed like the kits had second thoughts. “Oh, do you want to look nice today?” She hid her smile as they nodded. “Then come here.”
“Let all cats able to climb the tree gather below!” Sunstar’s voice rang out. “Quakekit, it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, you will be known as Quakepaw, and your mentor will be Shadow.” Sunstar paused, allowing for Shadow and Quakepaw to touch noses. “Dawnkit, it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, you will be known as Dawnpaw, and your mentor will be Moosebellow.” Sunstar paused, allowing for them to touch noses as well. Their new names rang through the camp. Dawnpaw took her time climbing down from the tree. She liked the view from the branch and was also dreading trying to climb down. “One foot after the other.” Sunstar gently urged from behind. She tore her gaze from the ground, now seeming so long away, and was surprised by seeing two strange toms sneaking along the edge of the camp.
“Sunstar!” She gasped. “Intruders!” By seconds, the entire clan had their eyes focused on the two toms who froze in place.
“State your business!” Sunstar yowled.
“We are Covergrass and Carrotpatch. We have reason to believe our sister is living somewhere nearby.” The orange tom spoke. It was assumed he was Carrotpatch. “The four of us were split up as apprentices. She used to go by Galapaw.”
“Galapaw?” Sunstar murmured. The two did carry a resemblance to Galalight. TwistedClan broke out in soft whispers leaving the brothers to look at each other concerned. “This ceremony is over. Starlingsky, come with me and we will talk about Galalight.”
“She did become a medicine cat?” Carrotpatch asked. He did turn out to be the orange tom. “That’s good at least, she was always very passionate about herbs.”
“She was a great asset to TwistedClan.” Sunstar said. “And she died a brave, honorable death.”
“I can’t believe we were only a few moons late.” Covergrass sighed. “I finally found Cauliflowerpaw in a clan called Highgarden while her name is Warblercry now. Then, I asked StarClan for assistance to help guide me to Carrotpaw, now Carrotpatch. I hoped we would get to find the last one of us.”
“Look! Look!” Beetle’s yells created a stir early in the morning. The early patrols were getting ready to depart and Beetle’s cries alerted the majority of the still sleeping clan. “They’re back! They’re back and they brought Marsh!” Now the cats weren’t as annoyed (or concerned) with being woken up with screams. The patrol was back sans Frostpaw. “Fogpaw! Mistpaw! Are you guys okay?” Beetle ran up to his sisters who nodded in return.
Hollyshade and Featherflurry ran purring to Marsh and Ashpaw. “We finally have our warrior names!” Featherflurry said excitedly. “I’m Featherflurry and he’s Hollyshade!”
“You’ll have to hurry up and pass your assessment.” Hollyshade nudged Ashpaw. In the corner of his eye, he saw Phoenixfire turn away. “You’ll be the oldest apprentice ever soon.”
“Ugh, don’t tell me about it.” Ashpaw rolled her eyes. A flash of white caught her attention. “Hey, why did they follow us here?”
“Huh?” Hollyshade tilted his head trying to figure out what she meant. “You’re talking about Marsh?”
Ashpaw was interrupted by Lynxshine explaining where Frostpaw still was to a very worried Mountaintop, Wishbone, and Volépaw. “He’s finishing his medicine apprenticeship in RavenClan.” She reassured them. “He’ll be back as soon as Droserathorn deems him ready.”
“Then, we’ll have a fully trained medicine cat!” Sunstar smiled. “Everybody wins. Marsh, we are delighted you are back! Tonight we shall feast, but let me pick out what I want to eat.”
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Post by spasticjazzhands on Mar 5, 2020 12:11:38 GMT -8
THE SECRET IS OUT ( 057 )
LAST MOON “Sunstar,” It was Tigerstrike. The orange tom was shifting uncomfortably in front of the leader’s hollowed stump. “Do you have a minute before the warrior ceremonies start?”
“Well, since I dictate when the ceremony starts, I have enough time.” Sunstar smiled but was secretly displeased that he wouldn’t be able to talk to Tornadopaw beforehand.
“I don’t know how to say this, but there’s a molly in a further clan that may or may not be kitting any day now and I may or may not be the father.” Tigerstrike coughed awkwardly. “Neither of us wants to remain mates or continue seeing each other, but her and her sister want to come visit for a couple moons, so I get to see my kits.”
This news came as a rough shock to the leader. Tigerstrike had shown no signs of being distant or disloyal in his duties, though Sunstar knew from experience that some secrets are easy to hide deep down. “This is big news for me to digest and it will be for the clan as well.” Sunstar spoke carefully. “But those are still your kits which will be welcomed in TwistedClan.”
“What will the others think?” Tigerstrike blurted out. “What about Fritillarystreak?”
“They should wish that your kits are healthy and their mother is healthy.” Sunstar said. “They should be happy that you are figuring out your own life, and if they aren’t, it’s nothing you should be worried about.”
“Thank you for…” Tigerstrike paused. “…for being so understanding.”
“It’s my duty to care for each of my clan members.” Sunstar said. “And I need some advice myself. Does the name Mistgust or Mistgale sound better?”
“Uh…Mistgale?”
Starlingsky watch Quakepaw and Dawnpaw scuffle with the new brothers, Lostpaw and Ghostpaw. The lost apprentices had quickly integrated into clan life and were already discussing what their warrior names might be. She was still watching the rough housing when Featherflurry approached her. She subconsciously leaned away slightly, expecting some snarky complaint from the tom. “Sorry,” He muttered, noticing her drawback. “I was just curious if Ashpaw passed her warrior assessment. She hasn’t returned back to camp yet.”
Of course, he was only concerned about his sister. “She failed, probably out of practice from her RavenClan excursion.” Starlingsky explained. “She can try again next moon. She’s not back yet? The ceremony will start in a few minutes.”
“I don’t blame her for skipping,” Featherflurry mumbled, “She must be embarrassed.”
Starlingsky remembered how she had been held back from receiving her own warrior name coming from BearClan with little training experience. At that time of her life, she too had been angry and bitter. “There’s no shame in waiting,” She recalled Morningstar explaining the need for patience. “But I also understand how difficult it is.” Sunstar was now weaving through cats towards the Ceremony Tree. “You can either stay and watch or go find Ashpaw yourself.”
“I’ll do that.” Featherflurry quietly slipped out into the trees to go console Ashpaw while Starlingsky turned back to watch the ceremony.
“Let all cats able to climb a tree gather here below!” Sunstar called but TwistedClan was already sitting ready. “Somni, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?”
“I do.” Somni said.
“You shall stay as Somni, official TwistedClan warrior.” He rested his muzzle on Somni’s forehead while TwistedClan cheered. Next was her brother, Nitor, who also kept his name. “Fogpaw, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?” Sunstar asked the small molly.
“I do.” She said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Fogfield.” He rested his muzzle on Fogfield’s forehead while TwistedClan cheered. “Mistpaw, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?” Sunstar asked.
“I do.” Mistpaw said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Mistgale.” Sunstar rested his muzzle on Mistgale’s forehead while TwistedClan cheered. “And finally, Beetle, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?”
“I do.” Beetle said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Beetlebuzz.” Sunstar rested his muzzle on his forehead while TwistedClan cheered all their names.
PRESENT Lynxshine curled her tail around her midsection. This would be her first ever litter and she would go through it without Weaselstar. They weren’t even official mates or anything; she didn’t even know if he would want to be involved in her life after this. He was an outstanding guy, but he was the leader of a different clan. How much time could he devote to a family miles away? “Nervous, dear?” The round Pavilla caught her attention. “It’s natural to be scared the first time ‘round.”
“You’re on your second litter?” Lynxshine confirmed. If Pavilla and Silverstem could choose to rear another litter, labor shouldn’t be that bad, right? Pavilla nodded happily. “Are you nervous raising kits without a father?”
“I did it last time and I can do it again.” Pavilla said firmly. “Plus, they might not have a father, but they will have a whole clan filled with cats ready to help.”
“You really thought you would be raising kits alone?” Silverstem’s voice came from behind. “I’m not a permeant resident of the nursery for nothing.” The queens were interrupted by the lack of murmuring in the clearing suddenly. An unnatural hush fell over camp. “Who’s that?” Two new torties were following Sunstar’s hunting patrol with each cat carrying a small kit. There were six in total. “More loners, perhaps?” But something didn’t seem right to Lynxshine and she scooted to the side to give the patrol room to move the family into the nursery.
“Who’s this, Sunstar?” Pavilla pressed.
“Would you fetch Tigerstrike, Lynxshine?” Sunstar avoided the question for a second. “These cats are going to stay with us for a couple of moons.” He finally explained as Lynxshine returned with Tigerstrike following sheepishly behind. “Tigerstrike will hunt and care for them during their stay here.”
“Oh, they aren’t going to live here?” Silverstem took a break from licking one of the kittens. “You guys aren’t staying?”
Sunstar looked to Tigerstrike who hesitantly nodded. “They’re from ScarabClan only visiting to give Tigerstrike a chance to meet his kits.” And rumors started to spread.
“His own kits?”
“He has kits from some random molly!”
“Tigerstrike sired kits! Tigerstrike did!”
“So much for Morningstar’s legacy.” That one was from Fritillarystreak.
“Are we still ignoring Pavilla’s fling?”
“What happens now?”
“Has Sunstar gone mad?”
“Six kits!”
“What are they named?”
“Will he keep some?”
“Will she leave?”
“Will he leave?”
“Hey, we’re still not talking about Pavilla.”
“What would Morningstar think?”
Tigerstrike stayed huddled in the nursery for the majority of the first day. Lilacdawn, Gloryrise’s sister that tagged along, offered to help him hunt which he turned down. “We’ll go later tonight.” He assured.
“We walked quite far, you know,” Gloryrise’s voice came from behind. She was nursing their six kits with a disgruntled look on her face. “I know I’m starving.”
“I’ll stay and help wrangle the kits.” Silverstem offered though she knew that wasn’t his issue. “Go and catch something tasty.”
So Tigerstrike ducked out of the nursery followed by Lilacdawn. Dozens of eyes immediately turned to stare at the pair, so he led her out of a back exit. “Was the journey difficult?” He asked awkwardly trying to fill in the silence.
“As difficult as carrying six kits across the desert would seem,” Lilacdawn stated. If that sentence came from Gloryrise’s mouth, it would be sharp and sarcastic, but her sister was much more genuine and soft-spoken. “I’m glad TwistedClan has been welcoming so far.”
“Welcoming?” Tigerstrike couldn’t help but scoff.
“Well, we got offered warm nests and full bellies. If some whispers are all we have to put up with, that’s fine with me.” Lilacdawn shrugged. “It could be worse. And you seem like an alright influence on my sister.”
“Just alright?”
“I’ve only recently met you.” Lilacdawn chuckled. “We’ll see how this goes.”
The two returned to camp with two squirrels in tow. Sunstar and Starlingsky both followed them back to the nursery to check in on their visitors before dark. Gloryrise gratefully took the prey and started eating, so Tigerstrike took this time to take in her figure once more. She was stunning, but the more attractive aspect of her was her blunt strength and persistence. “Did…did you happen to name the kits?” He asked softly, now focusing on the six little kittens between them.
“These two black toms are Shinekit and Umbrakit after my parents. The other black tom is Riverkit. The orange tabby is Rustkit with the two other tortoiseshells being Cinderkit and Morningkit.” Gloryrise smiled in between bites as she pointed them out. “I named them all after our families.”
Tigerstrike carefully stood over them to nuzzle his…co-parent? Yes, that seemed right. “They’re perfect.”
“We’ll officially introduce them after everyone calms down.” Sunstar spoke from the entrance. “We’re glad to house you.”
“Let all cats able to climb a tree gather here below!” Sunstar stood on the Ceremony Tree’s branch, but this was no ceremony. “As I’m sure you’re all aware, we have eight welcomed visitors living with us for a few moons.” He nodded towards to Gloryrise and Lilacdawn in the back surrounded by kits and a sheepish Tigerstrike. “May I introduce, Gloryrise, Lilacdawn, Shinekit, Umbrakit, Riverkit, Cinderkit, Rustkit, and Morningkit!”
A collection of gasps ran through the crowd. “How dare she name that kit after Morningstar!” A yowl came from the fray. It was unsurprisingly Fritillarystreak.
“They are Morningstar’s kin no matter…”
Sunstar was cut off by Gloryrise herself. “I can name my kits whatever I want!” She yelled back and met the elder’s eyes.
“I am the last of my family,” Tigerstrike surprised everyone by chiming in. “If we want to honor our fallen family members, we will.”
“Family doesn’t have to be blood related,” Sunstar brought the attention back to him, “Family doesn’t have to be confined to one clan. Look at Patchnose, he is my son whether we are related or not.” A pine needle could drop the clearing was so silent. Oh, I should not have said that.
Luckily for Tigerstrike and his company, the spotlight wasn’t focused on them anymore and they had room to spend quiet time together with their kits. Unfortunately for Sunstar, Patchnose and Tornadopaw had ceased communication and the rest of the clan wondered what else was kept from them.
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Post by spasticjazzhands on Mar 12, 2020 11:03:51 GMT -8
THE UNRAVELING OF SECRETS ( 058 )
LAST MOON With all of the ruckus Gloryrise and Sunstar had caused, Pavilla quietly gave birth to two sweet kits with another father who was not a TwistedClan cat. Silverstem now knew enough to not ask too many questions with Lynxshine growing bigger everyday with no known mate in camp either. She was surprised by the influx of single mothers as she would never choose to try to parent alone. She had already reared her kits by herself and it was rather draining. So, she made no judgements about these queens and vowed to be the father, aunt, sister, whatever the queens and their families needed.
Starlingsky sought out Ashpaw and found her curled up in a too-small apprentice nest taking a nap. She shook her gently and rocked back to avoid a claw to her face. “’m sleepin’.” Ashpaw grumbled and turned away from the deputy. She protested loudly when she was roughly dragged out from her nest.
“I thought you’d want to know you passed your warrior assessment.” Starlingsky laughed as Ashpaw turned from groggy to fully alert. “After things have…calmed down…Sunstar will hold your warrior ceremony.”
“Really?” Ashpaw asked sincerely. “This isn’t a trick?”
“Why would I lie about this?” Starlingsky rolled her eyes playfully. “Keeping you as my apprentice forever isn’t on my radar.”
PRESENT Patchnose slunk into Sunstar’s hollow tree stump in the early hours of the morning. He stuffed his tail in his mouth before Sunstar could yelp and alert the others. Patchnose got right to the point. “Am I really not your kit?” He whispered, moons of love and trust now broken. “Did Dovestrike and Petalfall know? Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“It was a very complicated decision,” Sunstar blinked rapidly trying to wake up quickly, “It was ultimately Rainsong’s choice to tell you or not and in the end she decided it wasn’t necessary for you to know.”
“Not necessary?” Patchnose snorted. “You’ve lied to me my entire life. To me, my sisters, and my Clan.”
“If you look at it that way, yes, we did lie to you.” Sunstar paused. He wanted to clearly get his point across without screwing anything else up. It seemed that lately, all he could do was screw things up. “But from the second you were born, it didn’t matter that I was not biologically your father. I loved you as my own kits and raised you just the same as I try with Tornadopaw.”
“I can understand that,” Patchnose said after a long moment of silence, “I just wish you two were more transparent. I’ll let you sleep now.” He turned but stopped right before he exited. “I suppose you won’t tell me who my actual father is?”
Sunstar sighed. No more lies. “Was,” He corrected softly, “Your father was Patchedmask of DewClan.”
“I’m named after him?”
“Patchedmask didn’t live in TwistedClan very long before a rouge killed him, so you might not have the clearest image of him, but you do look remarkedly like him.” Sunstar said. “He and Rainsong never had a proper relationship after you were born but she did want to honor him by giving his son his name.”
Ashpaw could hardly sit still from excitement. Hollyshade and Featherflurry had received their warrior names when she was gone retrieving Marsh from RavenClan, and it was finally her turn! She secretly wished that Sunstar spent a lot of time picking out her warrior name even though she and her brothers had caused him a lot of heartache. She liked to think that they’ve improved, at least slightly, and she wanted the best warrior name in the entire Clan. Sunstar leaped onto the low branch of the Ceremony Tree looking somewhat nervous. Hopefully he kept his cool and didn’t disrupt the main focus of the warrior ceremony: Ashpaw. She was beside him before he started speaking. “Ashpaw, do you promise to uphold TwistedClan’s traditions and to protect the Clan with your life?” Sunstar called from the Ceremony Tree.
“I do.” Ashpaw said.
“Then, I give you your warrior name, Ashshroud. I know you learned patience like your dear mentor, Starlingsky, did.” Sunstar rested his muzzle on Ashshroud’s forehead while TwistedClan cheered. Ashshroud didn’t care about Rainsong’s apparent affair or who Pavilla and Lynxshine had shacked up with…she wasn’t Ashpaw anymore!
Phoenixfire was surprised by a small mouse landing in front of her crossed paws. A shadow appeared and the cat connected to it was Hollyshade with a nervous expression on his face. “I didn’t know if you wanted a snack or not.” He said.
I’d love one, is what she wanted to say, but she had to be strong. Since she was very young, she had endured snarky looks and comments. She didn’t need her mate’s kin making those toxic remarks; she deserved better. “Not really hungry,” She said instead, slightly turning her head away. Hollyshade apologized quietly and whisked the mouse away, ears and tail low. I’d love you, she wanted to say, I’d love you under different circumstances.
Mountaintop and Wishbone sat around lazily soaking up the last of the noon sun. “What do you think Frostpaw is doing now?” Wishbone sighed and put his head on his paws.
Mountaintop’s tail twitched, “I don’t know, maybe learning more about StarClan?”
“StarClan?”
“That’s where all cats go, or at least the good ones, when they die.” Mountaintop explained. “Each one is a star.”
“That explains why there’s so many stars then,” Wishbone closed his eyes and pictured the night sky. “Do you think one day there will only be stars and no sky? I bet there’s a lot of cats in the world.” Mountaintop didn’t know what to say to that.
While Cariboukit wasn’t as much as a fan of the younger kits as Stagkit was, she still played and wrestled with them. With six of them, it was tiring to chase after each of them, but she supposed that’s why Elkwhisper encouraged them to play. Gloryrise wasn’t the friendliest cat, so by allowing the visiting queen to have some quiet time, she became more tolerable. Lilacdawn was on the other hand much more approachable and even joined in with some of the roughhousing. Gloryrise was more of a supervisor of sorts, teaching sneaky fighting moves and snarky remarks. Overall, Cariboukit couldn’t complain. Gloryrise and her gang made the nursery so much more exciting.
“There have been many rumors and mutterings this past moon based on certain events,” Sunstar announced from the Ceremony Tree, “and I would like to address them. First of all, yes, Patchnose, Petalfall, and Dovestrike are not my biological kits, yet they are still one hundred percent my kits. Second, yes, Tigerstrike has sired six kits with Gloryrise of ScarabClan. She, Lilacdawn, and any of their kits are to be welcomed into TwistedClan at any time, along with any other interclan relationship. Rainsong was torn between a potential relationship and feelings of loyalty. TwistedClan will go into this new rouge-free, peaceful era with its head held high and accepting different paths of life.” Sunstar took a deep breath. “I know that’s what Rainsong would have liked.”
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