The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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will somewhere darker, with a little more bite do? [OPEN]
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xaandiir Former Staff
Characters : [P]oppyshine; [Pi]neblossom; [W]hisperear; [C]rookedlight; [L]arkspring; [Wi]llowwisp; [R]ashoumon Clan/Rank : RC T5 Deputy; SC T5; WC T5; SkC T5; RC T4; RC T4; Rogue T1 Number of posts : 2988 Gender : Any Pronouns Age : 25
Subject: will somewhere darker, with a little more bite do? [OPEN] Tue 20 Jun 2023 - 13:10
Pineblossom
Pineblossom dragged the fox’s body through the territory and into camp. She was not sure how much time had passed in total, but she was gone for a long time. Most likely she had missed the patrols that she was scheduled for that day, but her mind was still too fuzzy to think about that. Her injuries stung and the dull ache of anger and sadness thrummed in her veins. But now she had returned with her rite in tow, and she had no idea what to do with it.
She came to a stop and released the tail of the fox so it lay in the middle of camp. She looked around, honestly at a bit of a loss for what to do. She was unaware how to properly skin the pelt from the predator, and some quiet, self-hating part of her did not want to get her injuries tended to…She just wanted to sleep, after the mountainous week this had been.
Number of posts : 2299 Gender : gorl -Copperbeanz says hi <3
Subject: Re: will somewhere darker, with a little more bite do? [OPEN] Tue 20 Jun 2023 - 14:43
Blackpaw had just returned from a hunting patrol to find camp in a bit of a fuss. It wasn’t quite a din, more of a ‘what’s happened now’ than a ‘may the stars preserve us’, but apparently Pineblossom was late for patrol? Really? A senior experienced warrior like her should never be late. Blackpaw huffed quietly, flicking her tail as she stalked over to proudly place her dove on the fresh-kill pile. Rather an impressive kill, that, though it wasn’t like anyone noticed, busy as they were with their precious schedule.
…and then Pineblossom came stumbling into camp, dragging a fox behind her, and Blackpaw’s euphoric mood evaporated like dew on a green-leaf morning.
“…wow,” Blackpaw mewed quietly, circling at a distance. ”Can I… get you anything?” She wasn’t quite sure what to say- she knew of… the deaths, yes, and one had been due to a fox… perhaps this very one? What was one supposed to say in such an instance?
Subject: Re: will somewhere darker, with a little more bite do? [OPEN] Wed 21 Jun 2023 - 14:46
Leopardsun was weary. Tired, grieving, more sorrow than she knew how to carry weighing on her shoulders. It was never-ending, all-consuming, and in the relative safety of ShadowClan's camp few things cut through the dreary haze of her dulled senses.
Still, the scent of blood reached her nose and anchored her firmly to reality.
Pineblossom. Alive- hurt, maybe, but alive.
And...
A fox.
She sighed, long and heavy, but real and honest concern tinged her voice. "You were attacked. Were you seriously hurt?"
I'll start tracking the borders better, she thought.
First Honeylight.
Now this.
But Pineblossom was still standing, still living, and she let out a soft sigh of relief at that small mercy.Thalia was no stranger to the bodies of predators. Given her primary role in ShadowClan by now, she had more than desensitized herself to handling them; and even before, they had never haunted her the way the blood and the bodies of dead cats did.
With the bloody body of a fox dragged back to ShadowClan, she thought she had some idea as to why.
Rites were not to be attempted alone. Period. No exceptions.
And if it were anyone else, Thalia would have lectured them immediately. But Pineblossom had been her apprentice, Pineblossom had lost her son, Pineblossom was clearly hurt-
"Pineblossom," she spoke softly. "Should I get Burdockroot?"
She didn't think she was very good at comforting others, or using her words. But she tried to.
"We'll deal with this later," she said, gesturing to the fox. "For now, let's just make sure you're alright."
Characters : [P]oppyshine; [Pi]neblossom; [W]hisperear; [C]rookedlight; [L]arkspring; [Wi]llowwisp; [R]ashoumon Clan/Rank : RC T5 Deputy; SC T5; WC T5; SkC T5; RC T4; RC T4; Rogue T1 Number of posts : 2988 Gender : Any Pronouns Age : 25
Subject: Re: will somewhere darker, with a little more bite do? [OPEN] Thu 22 Jun 2023 - 15:07
Pineblossom
The appearance of an apprentice near her brought her out of her daze and she looked to Blackpaw. “Ah…that’s alright. I don’t need anything,” she told her. Pineblossom knew that she needed to get her injuries looked over at one point, but that could come…later.
Thalia appeared at her side and Pineblossom focused in on her. “…probably a good idea,” she murmured when Thalia mentioned Burdockroot. “I just want to be sure that this is taken care of.”
Her ears perked at Leopardsun’s concerned voice. She did not want to bother the deputy. There was…so much she was dealing with right now. Pineblossom understood that deeply. Having her think this was another senseless attack after Honeylight had just…No, she would not let Leopardsun think that was what happened.
“I wasn’t attacked,” she told her deputy. “I sought it out.”
Number of posts : 2299 Gender : gorl -Copperbeanz says hi <3
Subject: Re: will somewhere darker, with a little more bite do? [OPEN] Thu 22 Jun 2023 - 16:09
Blackpaw nodded quickly at Pineblossom’s words. The deputy and a senior warrior (the one with the odd name- Thalia) approached, and so the mottled she-cat slunk back into the shadows, watching the fox’s corpse as if it might spring to life and bite down on one of her Clanmates. Hmm. She felt she had not been helpful, exactly, but she did not think she had further damaged the situation. Besides, she had been taught a lesson, of sorts- to not presume to think she knew better. Pineblossom had been late for a very good reason… although she could’ve let others know. Still, Blackpaw could not imagine the crushing grief which must currently weigh down the warrior. Impressive, that she even remained standing.
[ooc: Blackpaw has left the topic!]
speedy
Number of posts : 2894 Gender : Unspecified
Subject: Re: will somewhere darker, with a little more bite do? [OPEN] Thu 22 Jun 2023 - 20:14
Swiftheart watched as the dead fox was carried behind her friend. Swiftheart knew how exhausting it was to fight a fox alone. At least, it had been when she had done it for her rite. She regarded pine as stronger than herself so maybe it was not as difficult for the brown furred warrior?
She wished she knew how to better comfort her friend
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Subject: Re: will somewhere darker, with a little more bite do? [OPEN] Thu 22 Jun 2023 - 21:12
Silverpaw
Silverpaw was assigned no patrols that night. He had nothing to do but stay by Forestbreeze’s side, and for a few hours, that had been enough. He was restless, but exhaustion and bitter grief still weighed him down. Having nothing to busy his paws with drove his mind in circles, though, so he kept himself occupied by tearing apart mossballs and stripping the down from feathers’ quills. Until he’d heard Pineblossom was unaccounted for, at least— then he was on his paws, nervously pacing the length of camp and asking anyone he made eye contact with if they’d run into her on patrol. She hadn’t been seen yet. If she had—
Silverpaw’s claws dug rivets in the earth where they snagged as he paced beside Forestbreeze. If something had happened to her, too, he would rend the forest in half himself.
The sudden ripple of surprise that went through camp pulled his attention immediately toward the entrance. A pile of russet fur, weightless but crawling backwards and broken through the thicket, was the first thing he saw. Silverpaw bristled and jerked forward immediately, three steps into a reckless bound before he realized the fox was dead already. He faltered, stumbling into a stiff walk. The fox was dead already. It was only moving because someone had been dragging it.
Eyes narrowed, he warily looked away from the fox to sneer at whoever had brought it. But it was Pineblossom, wounded and bloody and soaked and covered in half-dried mud.
And dragging a fox’s shredded corpse.
Silverpaw’s pace quickened again, skirting passed those already gathering around her. “Pineblossom!” Concern turned his voice to a low, nearly-accusatory hiss. There was more burning on his tongue, but anything he would have said died when he got closer. He took up space at her side opposite the fox, looking between the teeth marks buried in her ribs and the predator, still at her paws. Dry blood coated its throat, almost— almost —hiding the scar slightly lower on its neck.
A little shiver went down his spine and Silverpaw looked quickly away, turning his head to touch his nose gently to her shoulder, ruffled but uninjured. He remained there for a few moments before leaning away to look over. She was hurt, but that’d already been acknowledged by Thalia and Leopardsun both. His mouth moved wordlessly until he settled on, “I'm glad you came home.” said softer, quiet with relief.
Subject: Re: will somewhere darker, with a little more bite do? [OPEN] Thu 22 Jun 2023 - 22:00
As Pineblossom spoke the truth of what had happened, Leopardsun swallowed a miserable sound that might have been a groan of frustration. She had been content to ignore it, but if she insisted on acknowledging the fact that she had broken the rules of ShadowClan's rite of passage-
There was nothing she could do, other than enforce the rules they had put in place for safety.
"You're lucky to be alive, Pineblossom," she sighed, unable to hide her sympathy- as much as she tried to keep her feelings hidden, they threatened to flood out with every word she spoke. "But you know the rules as well as any warrior should. Do what you will with it now, but- it doesn't count. It won't be accepted as a rite of passage."
What was the rest of the punishment they'd decided upon?
"As punishment for violating the safety rules, you'll be confined to ShadowClan's camp until you're cleared of all injuries," she said decisively. She hadn't thought too long on the duration, but- until she was fully recovered, that seemed fair enough, didn't it? Not too cruel. Less than a moon, surely, probably not too much more than a few days if she had been lucky.
(And, well. She was still alive, wasn't she?)
They weren't rules put in place to discourage anyone, after all; they were rules put in place to encourage safety, and they couldn't just be ignored without consequences.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, which was true. Another hint of her own feelings slipping through, pulled safely back behind her invisible mask as she walked away. Thalia and Pineblossom were close, or closer than she was to either of them- and even if they hadn't been Leopardsun wasn't sure what comfort she could be, given the situation.Thalia brushed against Pineblossom's side again. "I'm sorry, too," she said, softly. "About everything. I understand, but-"
She shook her head.
"Please don't do anything so reckless again. I've seen too much of it- too many of the cats I care about have been hurt, not just from this. "
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