Kazin
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Post by Kazin on Sept 21, 2023 16:42:05 GMT -8
Moons:00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, Archive/Storage Thread
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Kazin
Global Moderator
Posts: 254
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Post by Kazin on Sept 21, 2023 17:30:35 GMT -8
Prologue
The Dream Greenleaf was an enjoyable season, despite the cat's fluff. It didn't really feel like there was much to complain about, at least not for Flower. She was young, this only being her second Greenleaf; though Flower had quickly realized that Greenleaf was going to be her favorite. The way the sun felt on her thick pelt was amazing, the bright colors of the meadows that she called home lively with bugs, buzzing with the sounds of nature. The sun left sparkles on the surface of the stream she enjoyed getting a quick drink from, sharing her fresh water with squirrels, mice, chipmunks... really anything. Being only one cat, it was easy to find plentiful prey in the meadows and keep herself fed, even in Leafbare.
Yet, there was doubt in the young cat's mind. Something was missing, and she didn't really think about it as she was learning the territory, so caught up in exploration and the realization that she had the power to take whatever she wanted was overwhelming any other sense she had. Even the animals she shared the stream couldn't bridge the gap that she felt in her heart, the bugs not doing much to fill the void. The ultimate loneliness that was in her mind kept growing stronger every day she spent alone, the echo that her paws took on the grass filling her ears with disdain rather than excitement as it once would.
Flower had taken to exploring further out into the territory she had claimed as her own, attempting in vain each day to find another cat to befriend. She wasn't sure why, but there seemed to be a strange lack of anything bigger than a squirrel around her. Even the Twolegs, the once bustling Twoleg highway, suspiciously quiet. Yet, something told her it was where she was meant to be... and besides, she was tired of traveling. The meadows felt so right, so peaceful. The only thing she had to fix was the loneliness.
The end of Greenleaf was coming, and with the decrease in temperature came a decrease in Flower's mood. She tried her best to stay optimistic, her usually calm and gentle demeanor cracking under the social fatigue. She had always considered herself more of an introverted cat, but she couldn't deny the absence of another was aching her heart more than she cared to admit. As days passed, a few new scents would cross her nose, but none of the cats she scented seemed to stick around.
With a sigh - the sound making her feel more dejected as she realized she would once again only hear the echoes of her breath in the fox den she claimed as her own - Flower found her way back to her den after another fruitless day of searching. With a restless feeling in her heart, Flower drifted off into a unfulfilling sleep.
It can't be dawn already. The gentle glow coming into Flower's eyes was strange, not like any dawn she had seen before. Even despite opening her eyes, the den around her looked odd. It wasn't normal. Where am I?
Curiosity getting the better of her, Flower let her paws lead her forward, out into the meadow. Or, at least, what should have been the meadow. What was normally a view surrounded by colors of anything imaginable, was a misty terrain that she now realized was oddly dreamlike. "Oh, a dream..." Flower spoke out loud to herself, fascinated that it felt so real. "I'm dreaming, right?" Blinking hard a few times, Flower turned towards her tail, flicking it around to see if she could feel the air against her fur. She dug her paws into the cold dirt, shivering at the feeling in her paws.
Flower was mystified by her surroundings, still unsheathing her claws into the dirt, when another voice made her jump up to her paws, her fur beginning to bristle. "It may be a dream, young one, but that does not mean this isn't real." From the mist emerged the shadow of a cat, the figure staying just outside of Flower's vision.
"Who... what..." Flower shook her pelt, her eyes wide. "Sorry. This is weird. Who are you? Why are you here? What am I doing here?" The cat purred out a soft laugh, stepping further from the mist, revealing an oddly familiar cat, though Flower was certain she had not seen this cat anywhere in the living world. "All good questions," the cat responded coolly, nodding in respect at Flower. "Some I cannot answer, some I can. What I will tell you for now, if you're willing to listen, is an answer to a question you've had for longer." At Flower's determined nod, all anxiety forgotten, the cat continued.
"My name is Beestar. I was a leader of a Clan called MeadowClan - a group of cats that also once called these meadows home. We were ultimately wiped out when the foxes moved in, though it seems you have been able to reclaim what was once ours." The cat paused, flicking their tail to silence Flower's questions that were already threatening to pop out of her mouth. "What I sense in you is power, control, and ancestry I was compelled to believe was gone. A descendent of MeadowClan."
Flower let the words wash over her, a sudden barrage of dreams coming back to her. Flashes of pelts running through her, around her, battle cries, screeches, yowls, and the thick scent of fear. She shivered as she realized her dreams were more than dreams - they were stains of the past, the blood spilt here in these meadows now the reason for the multicolored flowers growing valiantly to the sky. It gave a new meaning to the flowers that Flower saw everyday, and a new fire in her heart.
"Why does this matter to me?" Flower asked after taking a moment to herself, nodding her head towards Beestar.
Beestar flicked their ears, tilting their head ever so slightly. "I'm here to rekindle MeadowClan, and I think you're the cat to do it. The others have given up, moved on, and they won't be coming back. I've been the sole reminder of the Clan that once was, of the clan that once thrived here. I ask you to lead MeadowClan and create it once again, back to a former place of glory. It would not come without pain, or without loss and hardship. But, you will never be alone again. You will have power at your paws, and a true place to call home. A family to call home."
The words of loneliness stung at Flower's fur, and she flinched slightly, though did not break her gaze away from Beestar. "I accept these terms," Flower said with conviction, little thought needed. "I want to welcome others into these meadows again, and I vow to restore MeadowClan to what it once was. To grow it, like the blood has grown these flowers."
"Very wise," Beestar smiled for the first time, the warmth spreading across their features, tail raising high into the sky. The mist hanging around the meadow lifted, if only slightly, illuminating Beestar's pelt a little more. Flower realized that Beestar almost reminder her of herself - the only true different being that Beestar's pelt was paler than Flower's. In Beestar's eyes, Flower felt herself reflected, and she couldn't help but wonder if she had blood relation to this cat who once led the clans.
As if reading more questions hanging in Flower's mind, Beestar shook their head. "I cannot answer you now, Flower, for you will have a great amount of work ahead of you and I cannot keep you here much longer. For now, I will let you know of our Star Meadows; where we can reconvene and I can give you your nine lives." Flower's eyes widened, but respectfully the she-cat kept quiet. "We will meet again on the full moon - do not forget to come to the Star Meadows. In the meantime, I am sure I can send another cat to you as thanks. Take care, Flower."
The mist grew thicker, blurring Flower's vision, until there was nothing left to see except the inside of the fox den.
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Kazin
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Post by Kazin on Sept 22, 2023 11:24:43 GMT -8
Moon 1
Star Meadow A few days had passed since Flower's interaction with Beestar. The she-cat had to keep reminding herself that it was a dream, but it was a real dream. She shook her head slowly on the morning of the full moon, wondering if she had really lost her mind after all the moons she had spent alone. Yet, there was a real prickle in the back of her mind that told her she wasn't. MeadowClan was real once before, and she would be the one to make MeadowClan real again. The thought made her shiver despite the late Greenleaf temperatures.
Flower spent the morning almost in a daze. She didn't remember catching a mouse by the stream, but her paws seemed to be acting without connecting to her mind - which was fine by her, as the tortoiseshell wasn't sure if she would have been able to take care of herself without her instincts, at least not today. The cool water was a wake-up for her after her meal, helping to bring some clarity to her brain. Tonight she would learn more about MeadowClan from Beestar.
Flower visited all her favorite parts of the territory now, everything looking a little different as she imagined multiple paws tramping through the paths she frequented, the flowers that would be appreciated by more than just her. The thought of leading cats caused her alarm, unsure if she would ever be the type of leader that Beestar seemed to have been, so sure and confident. Yet, Beestar seemed like they would be more than happy to rely on Flower.
The meadows were just started to be bathed in the golden glow of sunset when Flower shook her thick pelt once more, ready to begin her journey to Star Meadow. Except... she realized with a start that Beestar had never told her where the meadow was. Eyes widening in alarm, Flower began to sprint around the edges of her home meadow, hoping to catch a glimpse of something that might look vaguely misty or starry, hoping that something would lead her there.
The moon started it's ascent as Flower began to give up hope, her tail dragging through the grass of a far meadow. She wasn't sure that Star Meadow existed at all, and was beginning to doubt that Beestar had either. The fireflies had started to come out, blinking in their calming yellow. Flower took a moment to admire them, wishing for a moment that she could be a bug, lazily gathering pollen and having a colony to report to. "Lucky..." she sighed over at the nearest firefly, sitting back on her haunches.
As if in response, the firefly landed on her nose. Flower nearly went cross-eyed as she stared at this bug, never having seen one land before. It gave a few illuminations before gently lifting off, hovering just in front of the cat's muzzle. It blinked two more times, buzzing off in a direction but then coming back towards Flower, almost like it was... trying to show her something?
Flower tilted her head, mesmerized, her paws following the bug before she realized what was happening. Am I really going to follow a firefly? She asked herself, but didn't voice her thoughts out loud. After all, stranger things had happened in her dreams. The firefly wasn't the one who had talked to a dead cat and didn't even bother to ask where an important location was.
It felt like Flower was following a new path she had recognized before, but now she saw the strange plants that were guiding her path towards a spot farther downstream. She had never come too far downstream, the best spots to drink were closer to her camp anyhow. The stream eventually fed into a shallow, almost muddy point that Flower had always taken care to avoid. Yet, the bug seemed to be hovering above the mud, beckoning her closer, wanting her to cross. Shrugging, with nothing better to go off of, Flower waded into the muddy waters, not even gasping when the cold water hit her belly. The firefly continued to lead her across into a small field, one Flower had never noticed before.
The first thing that Flower noticed was a large tree that almost blocked out the full moon with it's thick leaves and branches rising about the meadow. It made the small clearing almost imperceivable from the outside. As she pushed aside a thick blackberry bush, she gasped at the sight in front of her.
The tree, despite it's thick covering branches, had left an opening for moonlight to stream into the clearing. The moonlight was captured by a mossy rock situated in almost the exact center of the meadow, the rock almost seeming to glow. Flower knew this was where Beestar meant for her to be, the gaps in the branches and leaves from the tree allowing the moonlight to light up the flowers and grass in the small clearing, almost making their own starry pattern in the vegetation. Flower immediately understood the reason the past MeadowClan cats had named this meadow so fittingly.
"Star Meadow..." she breathed, stepping cautiously closer to the mossy rock. Uncertain of herself, without knowing what else to do, she followed to where the firefly had landed on top of the rock, and pressed her nose gently into the soft moss, breathing in the earthly scent. Feeling herself pitch forward, Flower blinked, and suddenly found herself back in her misty dreamland with Beestar standing in front of her.
"Well done." Beestar said simply, though the hint of a smile lay beyond their typically expressionless features, a small flick of the tail betraying their elation. "Welcome, Flower. My kin." Flower let herself purr, nodding and blinking over at the past leader with respect.
"Now that you have reached the Moon Moss, you will be granted official leadership of MeadowClan and be granted nine lives." Beestar let out a genuine smile at Flower's surprise, laughing a gentle rumble. "Yes, nine. You will use these lives to uphold the values of your clan, to protect it and all cats under your care. Is this something you can do?"
Flower took a moment to find her voice, humbled at the thought of having so much trust placed in her. "Yes, Beestar. I vow to keep MeadowClan safe, as well as all cats that find themselves within it's heart."
Beestar nodded, saying nothing, but stepping forward until they were almost nose to nose with Flower. "From this day until your last, you will be known as Flowerstar. May your decision always be grounded in good intentions and good values." As Beestar reached forward to touch Flower's nose, the tortoiseshell felt a whole range of things happening at once, feeling different, feeling too much at once, feeling everything and anything until she suddenly felt nothing at all except the calm peace of being alone in the Star Meadow, blinking and realizing just as fast as she met with Beestar, her time with them had come to an end, at least for the night.
Flowerstar... With a nod to herself, Flowerstar turned and headed back to her camp. There was work to be done.
The sun was nearly at its peak when Flowerstar was able to rouse herself from her deep slumber, the events from last night making her fall asleep almost as soon as she had come back to her den. Now, the air felt slightly damp, a hint of rain on the horizon - something that would normally cause the she-cat to hunt a couple things, one for later and one for her first meal, and hunker down inside the dry den and watch the drizzle splash through the grass and flowers. Now, she knew she needed to start building a proper camp for other cats to enjoy, not just herself.
She tried to imagine how the old MeadowClan cats had done it, perhaps without fox dens. Maybe they had built their own makeshift dens, not quite like the foxes had, more above ground in the roots of the trees that lined the edge of the meadow. There seemed to be little give in the thick growth, so Flowerstar quickly gave up using anything but the fox dens, though she knew these would be fine as long as her and her clanmates worked to upkeep them and make sure no one had a den collapse on them. She thought if she had more paws to put to work, she could eventually open up the undergrowth enough to make their own camp aboveground rather than relying on what foxes had built, but that would be work for another day.
Flowerstar walked around the edges of what she wanted to be MeadowClan territory, knowing that she would have to maintain the border properly now. She started with a perimeter, making sure she understood where it started and stopped, ready to show the territory to her first clanmate.
Flowerstar started thinking then about having another cat to share her clan with. Beestar had promised to send someone, and she wondered when, and who, she could expect. Almost as if Beestar could hear her, she heard the ferns swaying as another cat entered her field of vision, each jolting at the sight of each other, neither expecting to see another cat. At least not yet.
Barely remembering that she was leader now, and she had a territory to protect, Flowerstar flattened her ears a bit. "Who are you?" She asked cautiously, signaling for the cat to stop. "You're on MeadowClan territory now - you may not go any further."
"MeadowClan?" The newcomer asked curiously, black and white fur shimmering in the sunlight. "I didn't think there would be any clans left around here. We were told the clans were wiped out a long time ago."
"We?" Flowerstar asked, fur bristling as she felt another pair of eyes looking at her from behind. She whirled, turning to face a gray tabby who had snuck up on her while she was talking to the first cat. As she hissed, to her incredulousness, the two cats shared a glance and a purr of laughter. "What's so funny?" She asked in a huff, ready to take a swipe at the gray cat nearest to her.
The gray cat rolled his eyes, stalking over to the other. "Oh, put your fur down. You're the funny looking one," he said, his tone a little gruff. "We're here because we thought this would be a good a place as any to start a life, but if you're here, we'll find somewhere else."
The cat's traveling companion narrowed his eyes, flicking their tail against the gray tabby's back to stop him. "Hang on, I think this could work for all of us. Right?" He asked Flowerstar, a curious look in the cat's eyes. "I've seen this cat before."
The cat's comment caused Flowerstar to widen her eyes in surprise and stand up straight, hostility forgotten for the moment. "You've seen me before? You don't even know who I am!"
"A cat told me about MeadowClan about a moon or so ago. I thought it was just a dream, but..."
"...but it was very real." Flowerstar finished the other cat's sentence, nodding. Beestar must have tried to guide the cat here, their promise to Flowerstar revealing. "You must have met Beestar. They also were the one that told me about this Clan, and they're the reason I'm here now. They're my ancestor," she added, seeing the confusion on the tabby's face. "Tell me your names, and let me lead you back to my camp. I think I can offer you a place of some sort in the clan. My name is Flowerstar, chosen to lead MeadowClan."
The black and white cat accepted Flowerstar's explanation with nothing more than a nod, though the tabby seemed a bit more reluctant. At a pointed look from his traveling companion, the gray tabby let out a heavy sigh and began following behind. It was the black and white cat, who introduced themself as Scuap, who told Flowerstar how they and Urchin became traveling companions after a pack of dogs chased them from the farm they used to live at, surrounded by Twolegs and horses and cows and other stray cats that never seemed big on companionship.
It was quick for Flowerstar to offer both cats a place in the clan, Scuap revealing medicinal talent that Flowerstar was glad to utilize, telling the black and white cat all about the Star Meadow and the communications they could have with StarClan. To Urchin, she offered the spot of a warrior, knowing that his strong legs and sharp tongue could serve her well. By the end of the second night of their stay, Scuap and Urchin had officially accepted their places in the clan - welcomed under the glow of the mossy rock in Star Meadow as Scuapstream and Urchinstorm.
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Kazin
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Post by Kazin on Sept 22, 2023 13:53:45 GMT -8
Moon 2
Growth
Flowerstar was still getting used to having other cats around. She was, of course, elated at their presence - but it didn't make it any easier to readjust to having more cats around. She often got into quarrels with Urchinstorm, often over small things; though Scuapstream assured her that Urchinstorm wasn't the most agreeable cat even on his good days. Slowly, Flowerstar adjusted to the two cats' personalities, enjoying having them around for the past moon as her trusted companions.
Leaf-bare had hit by the time Flowerstar felt that she finally found her groove with her two current clanmates. She learned about Urchinstorm - quick to anger, but passionate about those he cared about. She learned about Scuapstream - level-headed and easygoing, often a calming voice and easy to talk to for either of the other two cats.
Flowerstar herself felt like she adjusted to leadership slowly. Nothing came easy, at least not at first. She had a hard time getting Urchinstorm to listen to what she wanted him to do instead of running off and doing what he thought best, often acting in his own self-interest rather than the interest of the clan. After a hard day of patrolling herself, with Urchinstorm wandering the territory doing whatever he wanted, Flowerstar decided the trio of cats had been together long enough and she steeled herself for her first official meeting the next dawn.
"MeadowClan cats - please gather near the Tallrock for a Clan meeting." Flowerstar felt her voice project into the flowers, perhaps falling on deaf ears as she didn't see Urchinstorm or Scuapstream stir in their own dens, selected for the warriors' den and the medicine storage respectively. After holding her breath, wondering if she should do it again, she saw Scuapstream poke their head out and blink over at her before trotting over, softly calling Urchinstorm out as well. She gave Scuapstream a grateful nod, her fur puffing up against the wind as a gust came across the meadows. She didn't want to keep them long, but she felt she had to address her clan.
Urchinstorm sat with a growl, scowling at Flowerstar from his spot beneath the rock. "This better be good and it better be quick," the tom hissed, hunching from the cold. "My whiskers are going to freeze!"
Without turning to look at Urchinstorm, Scuapstream kept a steady gaze on Flowerstar's, holding her eyes for a moment, seeming to try and tell her something. He looked from her and gave a slight nod in Urchinstorm's direction, and Flowerstar reluctantly let her gaze drift to lock eyes with Urchinstorm's blazing green eyes.
"I need you to respect the clan meetings now, or leave the clan forever. This is non-negotiable," Flowerstar snapped, pausing Urchinstorm mid complaint. "We may not quite see eye to eye, Urchinstorm, but I am the clan leader chosen by StarClan, and I will have respect. Not just here, but in all forms."
The warrior narrowed his eyes, but kept his mouth shut. His tail twitched in anger ever so slightly, but Flowerstar took his silence as a sign to continue. "I wanted to call us together to discuss what will be our warrior code; our word of law. We cannot live without rules, as if we did, we would still be rogues wandering the world on our own. A lawless world cannot survive, right?" Letting out a soft sigh, Urchinstorm reluctantly nodded. Scuapstream glanced over at the tom with a soft purr of satisfaction, and tucked his paws underneath his smaller frame for a touch of warmth, also nodding his agreement.
"Perfect," Flowerstar breathed a sigh of relief, letting down her guard and smiling at her two clanmates. "Urchinstorm, thank you for listening to me. I will do my best to always listen to you, so please don't hesitate to let me know if you ever feel my actions are unfair or unjust. I want to lead this clan with grace and with fairness, not without council. So please know that I trust you wholeheartedly." Another nod, and Urchinstorm's rough exterior seemed to soften, if just a bit.
"What did you have in mind?" Scuapstream was the first to bridge the momentary silence between the three MeadowClan cats, glancing at each of their clanmates. As the sun rose in the sky, warming their pelts, the code was built, laying down the framework the MeadowClan cats would carry with them for the rest of their time.
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