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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No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing.
Thymelight didn’t want to recount her trauma from the war, but she knew that Smokepetal and Wolfblossom wanted the details to be filled in. She supposed she was a perfect candidate. She hadn’t fought in the war, she had played the role of spectator for the most part, and she had seen everything from where she had found safety on the edges of the battlefield. She wanted to speak about it sooner rather than later, while everything was still fresh in her mind.
The only thing she was unsure about was how she should recap Sunfire’s actions. Wolfblossom was his mother, and Thymelight realized that it was a mother’s duty to protect and side with her kits at all costs. She wouldn’t be mad at Wolfblossom if she defended her son. The medicine cat was unfamiliar with the feeling of motherhood, and she probably never would be considering the rules that her rank laid out for her, but she always admired those that showed the fierce traits that motherhood entailed. Her own mother had left her on SkyClan’s territory as an act of love to provide her with a better, healthier life that living with her as a loner would never be able to compare to. To be a mother was to make difficult decisions, but if Wolfblossom was faced with the truth about her son’s actions, what decision would arise?
The medicine den was a poor place to meet. It was rather messy since Thymelight still hadn’t found it in her to clean up her stray flowers. Cats with harsher injuries from the war still occupied the extra dens, and nobody else needed to hear what she had to say other than Smokepetal and Wolfblossom. She had told her mentor and Wolfblossom earlier that she wanted to speak with them both privately in the leader’s den later on that day, and once the sun started to set in the dusky sky, Thymelight gently reminded Smokepetal that it was time to go. “Ms. Smokepetal,” She said as she approached the other she-cat, “I think now is a good time.”
In a matter of moments, the two of them left the medicine den and headed toward the leader’s den. Standing in the recently abandoned den filled Thymelight with a feeling of dread. Birdstar had lived here only a matter of days ago... and now there was no trace of her except for the faintest trace of her scent that disappeared if she didn’t focus on it hard enough. Once Wolfblossom joined them, she sighed and attempted to hold on to the composure that she had before starting.
“I hope this time wasn’t too much of an inconvenience for you both, but I want to tell you both about what really happened on the battlefield… even if all of it may not sound appealing.”
Being summoned to the leader's den to speak with the medicine cats made Wolfblossom's ears flatten. No, not at the idea of speaking with Smokepetal and Thymelight, but at the thought of being in the den that Birdstar had occupied for so long. As Wolfblossom stepped inside, a hard knot formed in her throat as she caught the faint remains of her sister's scent.
Another reminder that Birdstar was gone. This was her den, not Wolfblossom's. She hadn't found the strength to move her nest from among the warriors, and wasn't sure she wanted to.
With a sharp shake of her head, the deputy forced her gaze to settle on the medicine cats. They were handling the injured as best they could, and Thymelight had been present for the fighting. What had transpired had lended to strong feelings from several of her clanmates, she knew, and Thymelight might be able to fill in the gaps of what exactly had happened. A medicine cat attacked, leaders losing lives... Beechfang's death. So much for the warrior code.
"It's no inconvenience, Thymelight." Wolfblossom mewed softly. The den... She would rather not be in. But she had figured this was best a conversation without the tempers of her clanmates.
Characters : Sunfire, Timberpaw, Newtpaw Clan/Rank : Rogue T1, SkyClan Apprentice, SkyClan Apprentice Number of posts : 1883 Gender : she/her Age : 32
Subject: Re: ill try [c] Wed 28 Feb 2024 - 22:55
Tear-stains still streaked Smokepetal's cheeks as she followed Thymelight across the camp and to the leader's den. The aftermath of the battle had taken its toll on the clan... and for an agonizing second time, there were more bodies in the medicine den than she knew what to do with. Was this why StarClan had given her two apprentices? They both certainly came in handy, when the patients outnumbered them nearly three to one.
It was only now that they'd managed to catch up, and everyone was sleeping soundly in their nests, that Thymelight was able to share her version of what had transpired. Snippets had caught her ear already as the clan discussed it among themselves, and she'd been able to piece together a general story, but she knew Thymelight's version would be detailed, and unbiased.
It was also the first time that she allowed herself to properly grieve. Smokepetal lost both a leader and a friend in Birdstar... a cat she'd looked up to since the first time she walked out of the nursery. Birdstar had been noble, and brave, and kind... she'd been a good leader, and the clan was worse off without her. Beechfang had been... an enigma. Once, she'd terrified Smokepetal, but the seasons had tempered the old she-cat, and her loyalty to the clan could not be questioned... so there was no sense in begrudging her daughters' happiness. It was a shame her presence had brought so much strife to SkyClan as a result, but had there truly been another way? Would she have turned away Beechfang? Condemned her to live out her elder years as a loner?
She had to admit, she wouldn't have. So there was no sense in blame, no sense in pointing tails at one cat or another for the consequence of their actions long past. Birdstar and Beechfang were dead and there was no changing that - she had stared at Birdstar's body for hours, praying to see the leader draw breath but only watching her grow more still, more cold. She was gone, and the only thing they could do was move forward. That started with knowing the full story.
When Wolfblossom joined them, Smokepetal blinked slowly in greeting, her worried eyes raking over the deputy. She knew her friend hadn't been physically hurt, but the hurt was clear there anyway, in the sag of her shoulders, in the haunted gaze that she finally managed to settle between them. It made fresh tears prick the corners of her eyes but Smokepetal blinked them away. Now wasn't the time. She cleared her throat gently, feathery tail curling up around her forelegs. "They're doing well, all things considered..." she said. "We're still lower on herbs than I'd like, but it looks like this weather is improving by the day. Hopefully Newleaf shows up sooner rather than late, and we can get that sorted before..." she hesitated for a moment, and then added: "We need it."
No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing.
Thymelight nodded in agreement as her mentor spoke to Wolfblossom about the injured. All she could do was pray that SkyClan would never reach a point where there were little to no herbs in their supply. Taking care of the amount of cats in the medicine den was already a hassle with the amount that they had now. Now, it was her turn to speak once again, her turn to recall the events that had injected such horrible emotions into her heart and mind. It took everything in her to not tear up as she thought about the stench of blood and death that had lingered in the air, the snarls that echoed through the trees, and the painful, rapid pulsing of her heartbeat as she healed her Clanmates through misty eyes.
“I’ll start from the beginning. We attacked them first from the trees, and everything was going fine- well, as fine as battle can be, until Beechfang was killed by Perchstar. She was the first cat to fall… may StarClan light her path. We were by the river so I suppose RiverClan had an advantage. They kept taking our warrior’s heads and dunking them under the river. I truly thought that Foxtrot was going to drown when one of their warriors did it to him.” She had to pause for a moment to catch her breath and calm herself down. That was only the tamest part of the battle, and it had only gone downhill from there.
She felt a pang in her heart as she swallowed down any fear she felt and continued. “Falconmoon and Sunfire came to me for healing, and so I left the branch that I had found shelter on and found myself closer to the combat than I would’ve hoped for. It was so difficult to focus on everyone at once. I think Stormwatcher was fighting the ThunderClan deputy at one point, a-and Briarthorn was fighting a she-cat that I couldn’t recognize, but everyone was so bloody and torn up that it was even difficult for me to recognize my own Clanmates.”
Thymelight knew exactly which part of the story was next. She locked eyes with Wolfblossom in particular, not knowing how the she-cat would react. “I thought that it would soon be over, but… Sunfire attacked RiverClan’s medicine cat with the intent to kill. I saw his teeth sink into his neck, and I watched him fall, and I healed him. That’s why Sunfire was so angry that day we returned to camp. He was upset that Falconmoon, Stormwatcher, and I had yelled at him to stop. Wolfblossom, I know that assisting the enemy isn’t normal in battle, but when I took my oath to receive my full name, I promised to stand apart from Clan rivalries and protect all cats equally. That tom was a peaceful medicine cat and our job is to heal… I couldn’t let him die. That’s a level of cruelty that I couldn’t accept. I’m not sure if any of the other medicine cats would’ve done the same for me if I had been the one that was attacked, but I felt it to be the right thing to do.”
She shook her head slightly as she attempted to pull more details out of her mind. There had been so many deaths and she was trying her hardest to remember every single one of them. “Then another cat was killed. I don’t know who it was, but I believe he was a ThunderClan cat. He pulled Sunfire off of the RiverClan medicine cat and Sunfire killed him for it. Everything else seemed to happen so fast. Honeydew passed out and the ThunderClan cat that she was fighting carried her body to me so she could be carried back to camp, and then I thought it was all over again, but the three leaders were locked in combat. Birdstar tried to kill Perchstar but Mottlestar took the blow instead, and Perchstar killed Birdstar in return. She was the only leader to survive. That was when Falconmoon told Foxtrot to return to camp… and that was all.” Thymelight’s voice was shaky as she finished. The war sounded just as brutal as it had looked in action, and she was almost envious of the fact that neither Smokepetal nor Wolfblossom had seen it with their own eyes.
Wolfblossom watched Smokepetal, a glimmer of concern in her blue eyes as she noted her former apprentice's tear-stained face. "Are you alright? Both of you. I know having so many to deal with must be draining." She mewed, gaze shifting between her and Thymelight. "I'm glad they're doing well, all things considered. Let's hope newleaf brings fresh herbs." Leafbare could not draw to a close fast enough.
Wolfblossom's tail lashed as Thymelight began to recount her experience of the battle. It was good that she had been there, as awful as it was... She was a cat who did not partake in the fighting and would see things that here warriors could not. "That's a dirty tactic." Wolfblossom muttered, tail twitching. "Isn't drowning a cat how we got into this mess originally?" Wolfblossom's frown only deepened as the medicine cat continued to speak. Her mother had been the first to fall, and Wolfblossom tried to hide her wince. It... Had been expected, that if she and Perchstar met one would not walk away. It still hurt, but not as much as Birdstar's death that seemed so senseless.
"I can't imagine having to heal anyone during the middle of that chaos... You did well, Thymelight." The Skyclan patrol had been fighting cats on their territory who had come explicitly in search of the death of their own. She could guess at how viciously they had fought.
A low sigh escaped her at the next bit of unwelcome news. So it had been Sunfire to attack a medicine cat. Falconmoon had omitted his name, but with how upset he'd been... "They came onto our territory for the death of our own. I would not condone attacking a medicine cat... Nor can I say I'm glad you helped heal him. Perhaps it was the right thing to do but..." The deputy shook her head. "I suppose that is what they will always expect from us. Dishonorable tactics. Not that they didn't come in search of such." Her tail lashed once, the tangle of mixed emotions and frustration tightening in her chest.
Sunfire had killed another, a Thunderclanner that had defended the medicine cat. "Foxdung." Wolfblossom muttered, "So much pointless death that day." And Birdstar, her poor sister... She likely only wanted vengeance for Beechfang, for the mother that she'd fought to bring home. It wasn't her fault that Mottlestar had inserted herself. Though perhaps she would have paid for it either way, knowing those two leaders.
"I hope that Perchstar, and Mottlestar, wherever she is, are happy with themselves." Wolfblossom growled, "Thank you, Thymelight... I know recounting this must have been difficult."
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