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.
Welcome to WCC! Here are our latest announcements:
Activity checks take place on the 1st of the month. PM a staff member with the completed form if you missed it.
Newleaf is finally here, and the Clans hope to find reprieve from the tough Leaf-bare.
Gatherings take place on the 1st of the month; keep your eyes out for a staff member's post!
Please feel free to hit up any staff member if you have any questions!
Subject: sweeter than apple pie (c) Tue 27 Jun 2023 - 19:32
Bubblekit wasn't stir-crazy. She was just regular crazy. She didn't yearn to leave camp like the other kits did, though she wouldn't mind seeing the territory, and was of course very excited to be an apprentice soon. But she did find herself wandering around camp, peeking into every den with wide unblinking eyes and searching restlessly for a distraction. Thankfully, it didn't take her long to find one. She was walking so quickly that she hardly saw where she was going, which led her to bump into a large cat she hadn't really noticed before. She looked up--and up--and up before finally making eye contact with the she-cat. She was so big! A veritable mountain of gray and white fur, her head nearly shadowing the sun with her height (especially compared to the tiny, delicate kit beneath her).
"Whoaaaa," Bubblekit found herself saying, jaw dropping as she craned her neck. "You're so big! How did you get so big? Did you eat a specific kinda prey or something? Waitwaitwait." Gray and white. Big. Green eyes, regal bearing. The kit blinked for a moment, then her jaw fell open even wider. "Wait a minute, are you the leader?"
Subject: Re: sweeter than apple pie (c) Fri 30 Jun 2023 - 19:36
Birdstar
It was rare Birdstar allowed herself much time to relax, especially with recent tensions— forest-wide or isolated to SkyClan’s walls. But it was a skill she was working to learn, and with the arrival of Juniperheart and Sunfire’s litter, there was no better time than now. She’d spent some time in the medicine den, making sure Juniperheart was doing well after her troubled kitting, and after leaving, she found herself with little to do other than rest outside her own den, quietly watching over her Clan.
Little to do until an even littler weight bumped against her leg. Birdstar tipped her head down, slightly-widened eyes blinking slowly down at the kit who’d stumbled into her. An amused purr rolled through her throat at the series of questions, deepening to fill her chest at the final, awe-striking question.
“Yes, I would be Birdstar,” she rumbled affectionately, lowering herself until they were at eye-level with each other. “And you’re Bubblekit. You are my niece, you know— great-niece, I suppose. Your father is my nephew.” A gentle laugh took over her purr, and with a sigh (intentionally deepened so the huff would playfully stir Bubblekit’s fur), Birdstar considered her other queries. “I suppose I am so big because the rest of my family is. I didn’t do anything special… I’m simply big.” She shrugged loosely and let her legs fold so she could lay down properly rather than crouching. Bubblekit was tiny in front of her, hardly the size of a paw. It was hard to imagine she had ever been so little. “Perhaps if you had someone to grab your tail and someone to grab your nose, they might stretch and stretch you until you are as big as I am.”
Subject: Re: sweeter than apple pie (c) Fri 7 Jul 2023 - 18:29
When Birdstar answered in the affirmative, Bubblekit briefly had trouble picking up her jaw from off the floor. It was the leader--the leader of SkyClan--standing right in front of her! The leader whose warm breath was softly ruffling her thick gray fur. However, she got over her sense of awe pretty quickly, as the space for it in her brain was crowded out with a thousand new bits of information and questions to ask. Instantly she felt comfortable with the she-cat, despite how much larger she was than the tiny kit before her. "So you're my aunt! Great aunt! That's so cool! I dunno if stretching would work, daddy says I just gotta eat lots so I get big. But if we're related then maybe I'll get big too!" She attempted to stand up on her hind legs as Birdstar lay down comfortably. Bubblekit managed to meet her eye-to-eye for a brief moment--shining pale green meeting their brighter, wiser pair--before she had to flop back down. "What's it like bein' leader? Wolfblossom is my gramma and she's the deputy, does that mean she'll be leader someday? How do you choose deputies? How old do you hafta be? Wait, how old are you? Actually nevermind, that one's probly rude. Sorry. But are you related to Uncle Rain too? How many other cats am I related to that I haven't met yet? Do you know a lot about my mama? I don't get to see her much 'cause she's feeling so sick. Can you tell me about her?" The questions fired off one after the other, almost rapid fire, until Bubblekit had to stop and breathe. In the meantime, she kept eye contact, craning her neck up despite how it was beginning to hurt. Birdstar! The leader was her greataunt! Did that mean Bubblekit was destined to be leader someday? Or no, if someone was gonna be, it'd probably be Bearkit. He was the coolest brother ever anyway.
Subject: Re: sweeter than apple pie (c) Mon 31 Jul 2023 - 17:38
Birdstar
Birdstar’s fond smile grew listening to the chatter. She blinked slowly, affectionately, when Bubblekit wobbled onto her hind legs, and trailed her gaze down when she dropped onto all fours again. Immediately, more questions ran at her rapid-fire, and Birdstar just nodded curtly after each of them. “Well, let’s see,” she began musingly. “As far as being leader… it is often stressful. The whole Clan depends on me, you know. The course of their lives– your life –is set by my own actions. But,” her smile had faded somewhat, but it returned now. “It’s not all bad. A heavy responsibility, but it isn’t mine alone. It is… its a good feeling, to sense the devotion of an entire Clan. To know they would follow where you, well, lead.” Birdstar blinked slowly. Bubblekit didn’t seem the type for such weighty introspection yet. “SkyClan takes pride in me, and I take great pride in SkyClan; we’re the best Clan in the forest, after all. And not to brag, but we have fared well under my leadership.”
Her first answer had already gotten long-winded. She had a feeling she might be here for the rest of the afternoon with Bubblekit, given their matching yet opposed cadences. She snorted humorously, a sound that quickly turned into a soft purr when she carried on. “Gramma Wolfblossom is my sister, and yes– assuming nothing changes her status as deputy, she’ll succeed me as leader someday.” Wolfblossom, leader… it sounded strange in her head. Her own position as leader still seemed wrong, some days. She had nothing but faith that Wolfblossom would do well, a reminder that made pride and affection stir in her chest.
“You don’t have to be a particular age to be made deputy. Respected, senior warriors are a sensible choice, as they will have the wisdom and experience necessary to lead, but not necessarily the best choice. I was asked to the position hardly a few moons after my warrior ceremony– I hadn’t even trained an apprentice. Briarthorn, my mentor and the leader before me… I don’t know what she saw in me, frankly. Saw what SkyClan needed, I suppose.” Birdstar paused to take a breath of her own. “I chose Wolf because she is the level-head I need. She is also my closest friend in SkyClan, and I would trust her with my life. It was an obvious choice for me, when the time came to choose my own deputy. It’s not always so easy, though.
“Anyways. I was born last green-leaf; somewhere around this time, I believe. You are related to many cats in SkyClan. It would take me some time to list them all; we will just have to introduce you as you continue grow. But in the meantime– yes, I am related to Uncle Rain. He is my son. Though I adopted him, that does not make him any less mine.” Another purr rose, taking over her throat for a few moments. He had grown so much. Her heart ached with love for him. “I was on the patrol that brought Junipherheart home, alongside Wolfblossom– and Rainfrost, for that matter. You know, you remind me of her, Bubblekit. Juniperheart always has more energy than I can imagine, just as someone else I know does. You’ll see for yourself soon, I’m sure; I have no doubt she will be well soon.” She did, but… Bubblekit did not need to be privy to her ever-present anxieties. “Juniperheart is stubborn when she wants to be. I doubt StarClan themselves could keep her from you.”
Subject: Re: sweeter than apple pie (c) Thu 10 Aug 2023 - 11:05
Bubblekit looked up with wide eyes as Birdstar spoke, with more and more and more words flowing from the leader's mouth. Some of them went straight over her head--which shouldn't have been surprising, given the size differential between them. All she could do was blink upwards at the enormous she-cat when the subject turned to things like stress and pride. But once Gramma Wolfblossom's name passed her lips, the conversation became followable again. The gray-furred kit smiled. "Okay! So there's you'n Wolfblossom and you're sisters, just like how me'n Sorrel 'n Plover 'n Cypress are sisters. Do you have any brothers? Or any other siblings? Or is it just the two of you? I mean that'd be fine too!" Most of the words about the state of SkyClan went in one of her ears and out of the other. She had no clue who "Briarthorn" was, and how a cat without the name of -star could ever have been leader, but she must've been smart if she made Great-aunt Bird deputy! But there was no time for any of that. She'd just learned how old the leader was--which must not have been that rude of a question after all.
"Whoaa, so you've seen all of the seasons, then!" Bubblekit was aghast, but her dropped jaw turned into a smile again. "Which one's your favorite? I like greenleaf so much 'cause the sun's so warm and relaxing, but I know there's like, three other whole kinds of weather! I've heard that the trees are on fire in leaf-fall, and that there's snow in leaf-bare. I dunno what snow would look like! Do you like the snow? Will I get to see it soon?" The news of her many many relatives had her letting out a bright, warm purr. "Family's so cool! I have all my siblings and Mama--well, I will have her once she gets better--and Daddy and Uncle Rain and Gramma and you!" Loneliness was never a concept that had even entered Bubblekit's head. She always had someone, and she was always secure in the knowledge that they were there. They'd never go away. Of course they wouldn't. They had no reason to!
One of the words that Great-aunt Bird had said was a new one. Bubblekit tried it out. "A-dop-ted." Sounding the word out tasted funny on her tongue. "What's that mean? Is it that you're family, but just cause you wanna be? Or is it one of those really complicated things? Thymekit was taken in by Foxtrot, she said, I think. Or some'n like that. Is that the same thing?"
Once Birdstar began to speak about her mother, though, Bubblekit quieted down. She managed to sit down and still her paws for just a moment. Her ears were pricked forward, drinking in every drop of information that she possibly could. It was so rare that she got to hear her mother mentioned at all... most cats didn't want to say anything that could upset the kits. When she heard that she was similar to her mama, warmth sprung through her, all the way down to her toes. "'Brought her home?' Does that mean she was a-dop-ted too? Rainfrost said he's her brother. But you said he's your son--so is she Gramma's kit or yours? Or both? How does a-dop-ted-ing work?" There was little time to remain on that train of thought, though. She was like her Mama! "If she's got energy, how come she's gotta stay in the medicine den all the time? No--wait--I get it. She's just tired. But once she gets out, do you think she can teach me how to climb a tree? I've always wanted to learn that! How long did it take Mama to become a warrior? Can I do it fast? I wanna be all grown up like her so I can catch the sun!"
