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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Characters : [SC]Heatherberry| [TC]Vinecrawler | [R]Grub | [R] Grun Jr Clan/Rank : [H]T3 BT MC / T4 MC | [G]T4 Rogue | [GJ] T1 Rogue [V]T5 Warrior Number of posts : 4497 Gender : she/her Age : 26
Subject: Lilypaw's Moonstone Journey Tue 12 Mar 2024 - 19:42
It was rare to for one to revert back to being an apprentice and be given the unfortunate opportunity to meet StarClan a second time at the Moondstone, but it was never an impossible feat. "I'm sure you remember the steps from the last time: get comfortable, press your nose to the stone and await your dream. I will be here when you wake up." Tucking her paws under her body, Heatherberry made certain the sickening shine of the Moonstone was in her blind spot as she closed her eyes for even the briefest amount of rest.
There was very little conversation to be had as the pair made their way to the moonstone, a step in her apprenticeship Lilypaw would have been glad to skip. The thought of StarClan left a sour taste in her mouth. Even if they were real, which she highly doubted, Lilypaw had long ago decided that she didn't care about them. Even less now that she had returned, and yet another leader that had supposedly had 9 lives was gone. What was that, 3 now? They should have brought back her mother. They should have brought back Froststar. They should have brought back her brother.
She wanted her family back.
Maybe that was why her expression was so different from other apprentices who would see this stone. While other cats may look at the glowing aura in awe, Lilypaw simply glared, hoping Heatherberry couldn't see. She wished she could tear the foxing rock down. Take from StarClan the same way they took from her.
Instead, with a deep breath, Lilypaw touched her nose to the stone.
"speech."
If we did what was easy, then there wouldn't be anything to live for. —— info.
"Rose- Uh. Lilypaw!" Harechaser appeared next to her sister in a swirl of starlight, bright patchwork pelt a stark contrast to the starry marsh that surrounded them. "You were away for so long, you missed so much. You're... Home, though. I'm... Glad of that, actually." Their family had been through too much for her to continue to hold an old grudge, no matter how infuriating her sister could be in life. And Harechaser at least, could sympathize with her anger toward the stars.
"You... You remember me, don't you?" She asked, mismatched eyes watching her sister hopefully. It had been a long while since Harechaser had spoken to the living, and even longer since she had last seen the cat formerly known as Roseburn.
For a moment, Lilypaw just stared as her sister appeared beside her. Because of course it would be Harechaser.
"The stars really do hate me. Or maybe my guilt is just playing tricks on me. Just show me the family I left behind. The ones I couldn't save."
She scoffed, purposefully turning away. She didn't want Harechaser to see the war of emotions in her eyes. "Of course I remember you. Stars, I remember everything, Harechaser. Your faces haunt me every foxing day of my life, ever since I ended up in that city. The hatred that would be in your eyes at seeing the coward's return. After all those moons of cruelty towards you, all that hostility, and then I had the nerve to show up on your territory again."
She whirled around to face her sister again, and she couldn't hide the tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "Why aren't you even mad, Harechaser? How can you even stand to look at me? This is your chance. Yell at me, claw me to shreds. Get mad, Harechaser! Don't you get it? I left! I abandoned my Clan! Everything was going wrong, and I just ran. And maybe if I had stayed, you would be alive. You, and Echomist, and Nightstar, you'd all still be here."
She couldn't hold back the tears anymore as they flowed freely down her face. "Please, Harechaser. Let it all out on me. I don't deserve your forgiveness, or your kindness, because stars somehow you're always so kind."And that kindness might just be what breaks me. She didn't say those final words, she just let the thought hang in the air between them, just staring expectantly, desperately, at her littermate.
"speech."
If we did what was easy, then there wouldn't be anything to live for. —— info.
Lilypaw's response was one that Harechaser had been afraid of, and the brightly-patterned she-cat flinched, mismatched eyes dropping to her paws. Why was she so afraid, though? This was still her sister, even after everything. Her gaze lifted, holding Lilypaw's.
"I'm real, this isn't a trick. I'm here because I care, Lilypaw, not because the stars wanted to play some trick on you. I was drawn to your appearance. We're family." She hoped that Lilypaw would at least listen... Though part of her wasn't confident she would.
"I'm dead, Lilypaw. Haven't we lost enough family? I never wanted to hold a grudge... I can't even hold one for our brother when he caused so much hurt for the clan." Her ears flattened as Lilypaw continued to rant, dismay evident. Even now, her sister couldn't help but try to start an argument. Didn't she see that her guilt was misplaced? That trying to argue was pointless?
"You couldn't have saved me, Rose... Lilypaw - that name's going to take getting used to, but I think it suits you - I died in my sleep. Same thing that got Basilbloom, I think. Couldn't take the stress of living in highstones while every other cat was getting captured by twolegs. There was nothing anyone could have done. And nobody could have saved Nightstar, not from himself."
Lilypaw let out a sigh. Harechaser wasn't wavering in this one. The softness in her voice felt like thorns in her heart, and she couldn't stop her paws from stepping forward, stop her head from leaning on her sister's shoulder.
"I still should have been there. I should have done more."
And then she added, more quietly, "I wish you were still here."
She stepped back, looking at her sister, this time truly seeing her.
"If I could do it all over, I would. I would be a better sister. For you. I would be a cat deserving of your love."
"speech."
If we did what was easy, then there wouldn't be anything to live for. —— info.
"You did return, though. Be there for Swiftheart, and for the rest of the family we have left. Be there for the clan." Harechaser hoped her words would be taken as encouragement rather than an indictment, but with Lilypaw it was always a tossup. "I wish I could have been stronger, that I'd held out despite all the stress. I wish I'd been more understanding but neither of us really knew what we were doing back then, did we? Can't change the past." Harechaser sighed, "But we can change the future, Lilypaw."
