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Post by chaotic creativity on Jun 29, 2022 13:15:02 GMT -8
The Beginning( 001. )
The howls of the dead and dying filled Asp's ears as thrashed on the ground, claws sinking through his flesh and pinning him to the grass beneath. His teeth gnashed at empty air, his claws slashed at nothingness, and his vision was completely obscured by shadow. Hot breath washed across his face as his attacker lowered itself and pressed a wet, blood-slicked muzzle against his ear. "Do you see what you will cause?" the creature growled, its voice edged by unhinged laughter. Lightning flashed through the sky, the early warning signs of a storm approaching, and Asp was assaulted by the sight of a decaying cat standing over him. "You can't stop what has already been set in motion," the cat crowed, laughing as skin shifted unnaturally against semi-exposed bone. The cat lifted its paws, releasing its hold on Asp, and the tom surged to his paws and knocked the pile of bones over. As he tried to lunge, his paws landed on hard ground as the cat disappeared and rematerialized behind him. "Oh, you silly little snake, this is just a dream!" it taunted, grinning as Asp spun and lunged once more. "Go running back to your pretty little mate. Go tell her about the terrible nightmare you're about to wake up from. Go tell her about what you learned from the other alleycats yesterday. I know you, Asp, and I know everything you will do. It has been destined by the stars, and no force on the living or ancestral planes can stop it," the cat spat. The world was already beginning to dematerialize, bright light seeping in around the edges, but worry flashed through Asp. Before he could ask what his tormentor meant, it dissolved into shadows that raced away from the encroaching light. All at once, the world disappeared and was suddenly replaced by the image of the dumpster he and his mate had made their home. She was sleeping stretched out on her side, her mouth slightly agape as she softly snored through whatever dreams made her eyes dart back and forth beneath her eyelids. Asp couldn't help but sit and watch, a small smile curling the edges of his muzzle up as he imagined the future he had planned yesterday evening. He now knew of the perfect place for them to raise a family. A place where no monsters lay in wait to take away whatever future daughter they had. The loss of Snow still rang fresh in their hearts, even moons after her passing. A sort of depression pressed down on them at all times, so this hope for the future was a bright spot in an otherwise dark world. Once they reached their new home, they could spend all their moments in this sort of peaceful bliss as far as Asp was concerned. "You know that's kind of creepy," Horizon croaked, slowly lifting her head and blinking the accumulated sleep away from her eyes. Asp jumped and looked everywhere but his mate, eyes darting in different directions as he tried to hide his flustered embarrassment. Horizon just sighed, rose, stretched, and reached over to rub her cheek against his. "Despite your obvious creep tendencies, I still choose to live in this dumpster with you," she assured him, a purr of a laugh escaping her throat as Asp ducked his head and tried to hide his blush. Despite having chosen each other as mates many seasons ago, he was still easily flustered and embarrassed by this beautiful molly. To be completely honest, he couldn't even figure out why she had chosen him in the first place. He was a dirty street cat, and she had been a beautiful kittypet with a beautiful family of twolegs. "I had the dream again," he blurted out, color draining from his face as he remembered the sight of the reanimated corpse. Horizon's ears flattened against her head as she hissed in frustration, claws picking at the plastic they'd lined their nest with. "Before you start, I have some news. I was scrounging behind the bakery again, and these cats were talking about a Clan. They said those mountain cats don't exist anymore. The land is ripe for cats to move to. We should go, Horizon. We should start ChessClan again. My grandmother always told me about her days with them, and she always told me it would be my destiny to save it. What if my role is helping it begin again after the tyrant that made her leave with her mother destroyed it?" The words fell out rapidly, as if once they began they couldn't stop. Pure excitement radiated off of Asp in waves, and he watched as Horizon chewed on her tongue as she debated over the idea internally. "The journey is long and hard, I know that much, but would we be safe when we got there? Could we finally have a family again?" she whispered, her voice soft and broken. Asp could hear the tears she was holding back, so he leaned forward and ran his nose along her jaw. She drew in a shuddering breath, and Asp leaned back to watch the turmoil in her eyes fade away. "Let's do it, Asp. Let's go make a Clan," Horizon said, a smile slowly spreading across her face as Asp lunged forward, knocking her backward as he nuzzled her and purred. He had so many ideas already, he simply didn't know where to start. As his stomach gave a protesting growl, he figured he actually already knew step one.
Richterscreech stood at the front of the pack, eyes trained on the sky as he scoured the clouds for any passing shadows that might signal a hawk or eagle. Juncopaw and Rookpaw crowded around his paws, peering up from beneath him as they verbally acknowledged their hope a big bird would take him away before it spotted them. He shooed them away with a few gentle kicks, and he rolled his eyes as they blew raspberries at him while racing away. Traveling with cats old enough to know better than to act like kits was hard, but he knew they deserved some slack. After all, they had chosen to leave their family and travel with Sweethen, Loonfrost, and himself. They had felt betrayed when they learned that Loonfrost was carrying their half-siblings, and the tensions had reached a breaking point. Even with Addersong and Duckpaw forgiving Summitstar, something between Juncopaw, Rookpaw, and their father had been irrevocably broken. The past few moons had been hard, but the three warriors had stepped into a parent-like role and continued their raising and training. "I know you're thinking about JaggedClan," Sweethen murmured, bumping against him and reminding him he should be focused on watching for predators. He snuck a glance down at the molly, and she just looked at him with barely-hidden sorrow. "I miss them all just as much as you do, though perhaps not quite as much as you miss your mates," she sighed. Richterscreech's heart gave a shove against his chest, and he had to gasp for breath as he fought back the pain of a freshly broken heart. During the downfall of JaggedClan, it wasn't just the leader's family that had struggled with high tensions. His two mates had both decided to go their separate ways, claiming he was too distracted to fully commit to their relationship. He still fought with dispelling the ideas of what he could have done to keep them with him. The knowledge that they had left that easily when things got hard was still a sour point in his memory, so he tried not to think about them at all. "Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of them," Sweethen's voice dropped as she turned to fall back to where Loonfrost was struggling to keep up. "Don't apologize, Sweethen. You're here with me, and they aren't. It's simple to look at it that way. That way, I know I have friends that I consider family. That way, it doesn't make me feel like I was abandoned by the two mollies I loved more than life itself," he choked out, eyes misting with tears he fought to keep from spilling. He knew saying it out loud was supposed to help, but to him it just felt like he was tearing his heart out of his chest and stomping it into the ground with his claws out. With a sigh, he slowed to a stop and peered out over the landscape as the rest of the group joined him at the mountain's summit. A lush valley spread out below them. Trees dotted the landscape in clusters, and a medium-sized stream bisected the land in slow curves and loops. It was, quite frankly, the most beautiful place Richterscreech had ever seen. It was almost too good to be true. He tried to spot the signs of cats living in groups, but everything seemed peaceful and undisturbed. Could this be it? Could this be where they were meant to finally settle? As hope rang through his heart, Juncopaw's yelp of excitement dragged his attention to the very base of the mountain. "Look! There's two cats down there! They might be friendly!" she called, already scrambling down the steep slope. Before he could grab her, she was skidding down and sending a shower of pebbles and stones to the valley below. Anxiety rang through Richterscreech's mind, so he lunged after her and quickly joined her before two cats he had never seen before. One was a tabby tom with the look of a cat just now finding the riches of the land. The other was a beautiful brown ticked molly, her fur so luxurious that she had to have been a kittypet at some point in her past. "I'm so sorry, she's still quite young and getting used to what is proper," Richterscreech meowed, growling the last few words as he slowly swept Juncopaw behind him. The others had joined and fanned out behind him, so he felt a bit more secure. If these cats wanted a fight, they would sure get one. "I'm Richterscreech, and these are my companions Sweethen, Loonfrost, Juncopaw, and Rookpaw. We're just passing through, so there's no need to claim we're stealing your territory," he added the last bit defensively, knowing certain rogues could be extremely territorial. The tom looked like he was fighting back a laugh, and he leaned to whisper something in the molly's ear. She seemed to take it as a sign and stepped forward with a smile. "My name is Horizonstar, and this is my mate Aspstar. We have just received our nine lives, and we are starting a Clan in this valley. It seems you come from a Clan background, what with your names and all, so we wonder if you would be interested in joining us. And by us, I do mean just him and myself. ChessClan has yet to find its first knights," she purred. Richterscreech quickly asked that she give them a moment to discuss and turned to huddle with his companions. "Oh, please let us join, Richterscreech! We're so lonely, and maybe some more cats our age will join soon!" Rookpaw pleaded. Juncopaw looked up at him with big eyes, and Loonfrost reached over and patted the two young ones on their head. "I think we should give it a try," Loonfrost meowed, looking over at Sweethen with hopeful eyes. The molly looked conflicted for just a few moments before dipping her head in agreement. "It'll be good to not have to move for a while, but we can always choose to move onward should it not be a good fit," Loonfrost added, nearly hopping in place as she awaited Richterscreech's verdict. He had somehow become the leader, despite being the youngest warrior among them. "Just don't share my healer history. I want a new life, one where I can be there for my kits and not just when there's nobody else to care for," Loonfrost added quickly as he turned around. "Alright. We'll give it a try. Loonfrost here won't be able to carry out too many knight duties for a while, considering we recently discovered the wonderful news that she is expecting," Richterscreech announced. Aspstar and Horizonstar shared a look before smiling and nodding. It seemed the traveling band of ex-Clan cats had found the comfort of a Clan once more.
"Dad, Twilightpaw's standing on my tail!" "Dad, Ravenpaw's accusing me of standing on her tail!" "I've told you two to quit bickering. I've also told you two to quit using those stars-forsaken Clan names!" Geronimo snapped, looking over his shoulder at his two daughters. It was unnerving how similar they both looked to their other father, the tom who had shredded Geronimo's heart and chosen to remain behind even when something no cat understood was killing the inhabitants of the twisted forest. He shook his head to pull his thoughts away from the place he'd chosen to leave behind, along with his former mate and his son. When he had left, Twilight and Raven had joined him for some reason he still didn't quite understand. The two young mollies had fought most of the way through the mountains, and he was growing tired of their voices filling the silence every single second of the day. "Oh my stars, dad! Look! There's cats down there!" Twilight called, excitement filling every ounce of her body. Geronimo narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to tell her they would go around the valley, but Raven popped up in front of him and put on her best kit eyes. She looked up at him as she begged, and Geronimo nearly snarled as he felt his will giving way. If it would make his daughters happy, he supposed a short stopover to see some strangers who might be closer to their age than he was couldn't prove to be too much trouble. Just as his shoulders dropped, but before he could say anything, the two mollies were bouncing up and down, thanking him, and racing down the side of the mountain. It was almost terrifying how fast they were going, so he made sure to slide down nearly as fast so that he could catch one should something happen. As he reached the ground, Twilight and Raven were sniffing two cats who were just barely larger than they were. "I take it these two kits are yours?" a tabby tom asked, looking between the mollies and their father. Geronimo nodded stiffly, but the tom carried on the conversation without him. "They've called themselves Twilightpaw and Ravenpaw, and they've taken the liberty of asking if they can join ChessClan. They called you Geronimo, though, which is quite an odd name for the father of two little ones with Clan names," he asked, narrowing his eyes and peering at Geronimo intently. "They said you come from TwistedClan," he added, pausing as if prompting a response. "Yes, I go by Geronimo. However, I have a Clan name too. Valleyrunner, to be precise. I've told my daughters we won't be joining any new Clan, so they can chat with your apprentices, but then we really must be on our way. Clans are not a safe place," he spat, fur bristling as he remembered the haunting sight of his own clanmates dead at his paws. The tabby's eyes widened as he looked between the young cats and Geronimo. "ChessClan is perfectly safe, mind you, and we would desperately appreciate the addition of your daughters. Juncopaw and Rookpaw here are our only squires, and it appears a brother and sister tire of the other's company quite quickly. I'm Aspstar, king of ChessClan. I don't have any of our knights or my queen with me, but they would say the same I am. We live in such an isolated land that we're completely protected," he vowed. Geronimo could barely believe the words coming from Aspstar's muzzle. Safe? Isolated? Those were the promises provided to him upon joining TwistedClan, but now he had seen more death than any cat ever should and experienced the destruction of love in the aftermath. No, all Clans would experience terrible things, and he wouldn't have his remaining family be a part of one. "Let's go girls," he meowed gruffly, sweeping his tail against Ravenpaw's flank. She turned around to stare up at him, but he looked away in shame. He wouldn't be able to resist her begging, so he resigned himself to complete avoidance. "Please reconsider, Geronimo. We can do a trial period, and you'll be free to leave. After a moon, we can reevaluate your position on joining. We need the hunters, especially with one of our members expecting," Aspstar said, pushing himself into Geronimo's line of vision. The tom took a deep breath, and his gaze landed on the other two squires. They were staring after his daughters as if they were holding onto the hope of having friends. Against his better judgement, he finally nodded. "Though, if I'm going to be a Clan cat again, I'd better go by Valleyrunner," he murmured.
Words: 2,861
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Post by chaotic creativity on Sept 21, 2023 12:48:16 GMT -8
002. - Lynxkit is found on the border by Loonfrost - Wolfwhiskers joins the Clan as a medicine cat - Richterscreech saves Butterflyleap’s life and she and her mother join ChessClan - Boarshine and Flamingonose join ChessClan
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Post by chaotic creativity on Sept 21, 2023 12:49:08 GMT -8
003. - Orangeray, Thistleheart, Goldenpoint, Coatiheart, and Chasmkit join ChessClan - Sopranocavern and Violinpaw join ChessClan - Termitepaw joins ChessClan and takes her final assessment - Horizonstar and Twilightpaw both have colds
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Post by chaotic creativity on Sept 21, 2023 12:49:25 GMT -8
004. - Loonfrost welcomes two kits, Mouflonkit (sick) and Steppekit - Termitetongue’s warrior ceremony & Lynxpaw’s apprentice ceremony - Threepaw and Patisseriedew join ChessClan - Aspstar trains Threepaw only for an accident to nearly kill Aspstar - Rookpaw and Juncopaw attempt their final assessment
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Post by chaotic creativity on Sept 21, 2023 12:49:41 GMT -8
005. - Rookpaw’s warrior ceremony & Genetpaw, Martenpaw, and Chasmpaw’s apprentice ceremony - Juncopaw and Twilightpaw bonding - Mistysoul and Spectacledkit join ChessClan - Juncopaw attempts her final assessment again
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