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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It’d been about a week since Perchstar’s death and a few days since Pigeonpounce’s dream. She’d held onto it, half-hoping if she went long enough she could forget about it entirely, but memories of it gnawed constantly at her paws alongside guilt for putting it off. RiverClan needed a medicine cat… but did RiverClan really need her? Pigeonpounce frowned down at the pool holding her reflection. With a sigh, she pushed herself to her paws and padded away from the little field of shallows to rejoin camp. She made a beeline for the leader’s den once she passed through the entrance. It was late enough in the evening that she would expect to find Poppyshine there, readying for bed--and there the calico was.
Pigeonpounce came to a shuffling halt just outside the den. She’d never had trouble talking to her former mentor before, but now her voice caught in her throat. She swallowed, a dry, uncomfortable feeling, and forced herself to speak anyway. ”Poppyshine…?” She called out weakly. ”D’y’have a minute…? I know yer probably real busy ‘n’ all, but… ‘s important.”
Characters : [P]oppyshine; [Pi]neblossom; [L]arkspring; [Wi]llowwisp; [R]ashoumon; [B]lazekit Clan/Rank : RC T5 Deputy; SC T5; RC T5; RC T5; Rogue T1; WC App Number of posts : 3162 Gender : Any Pronouns Age : 26
Subject: Re: good things [C] Tue 21 May 2024 - 19:29
POPPYSHINE
Just stop your crying...
Poppyshine looked towards the entrance when her name was called. She was in the midst of attempting some decoration in the leader’s den. The last thing she wanted was to wallow in the empty, decoration-less den and continue being only reminded of Perchstar and her grief. She still missed Perchstar so badly that it made her heart ache, but she refused to let herself get swallowed up in it. She was leader now; she had even fewer excuses to give into such pitiful behavior. So after a full day of mourning, she had taken Perchstar’s nest out of the leader’s den and started gathering items to decorate the interior. She started with gathering reeds from the river to start applying to the walls to provide some extra texture, and nooks and crannies to hang things on when she got far enough in the process.
She laid down the reed she had been handling and headed over to the entrance. She pulled back the hanging willow vines and looked surprised when she found who it was. “Pigeonpounce! I’m not too busy. Come in.” When the young warrior had entered, she let the vines drop and close off the den once more. “What’s on your mind?”
Subject: Re: good things [C] Wed 22 May 2024 - 16:50
PIGEONPOUNCE
Life gives you lemons...
Pigeonpounce tried to smile at Poppyshine’s appearance, but she felt like the expression was weak and half-hearted. She was quick to duck her head to hide it and shuffle past the calico into the den. She paused once she was inside, cause for coming momentarily forgotten. She wasn’t sure what she expected the interior of the den to look like… but it wasn’t this. She’d expected to see it more barren. Maybe it had been, until recently; the reeds still strewn about, not quite in place, made it seem like Poppyshine was in the middle of decorating. Hopefully she didn’t mind having the chore interrupted too much.
Oh. Right. There was a good reason Poppyshine’s work was interrupted. Pigeonpounce retreated slightly into her shoulders and her tail swayed side to side, an early display of nerves. ”Well… I had a kinda, uh, kinda weird dream the other night.” She could not keep her paws from shifting nervously across the ground. She could hardly keep any part of herself still, really. Pigeonpounce shifted and rocked side to side and her tail continued to wave. ”I think-- well, no, I don’ think, I- I know...” Trying to introduce the information slowly made her feel like her teeth were being pulled. Pigeonpounce frowned, took in a deep breath, and decided to speak all at once.
”I gotta dream from StarClan an’ that Cloverheart cat was there ‘n’ she said I gotta be RiverClan’s new medicine cat.” That was all there was to it, right? Right…? Pigeonpounce looked down at her restless paws before dropping numbly onto her hindquarters. She wouldn’t meet Poppyshine’s eyes. ”Bu-but… I dunno… I dunno why. Or what to do. She told me t’ tell ya, but...” She shrugged lamely and scuffed the ground. ”I dunno. Tha’s jus’… what she told me.”
Characters : [P]oppyshine; [Pi]neblossom; [L]arkspring; [Wi]llowwisp; [R]ashoumon; [B]lazekit Clan/Rank : RC T5 Deputy; SC T5; RC T5; RC T5; Rogue T1; WC App Number of posts : 3162 Gender : Any Pronouns Age : 26
Subject: Re: good things [C] Sun 26 May 2024 - 10:34
POPPYSHINE
Just stop your crying...
Pigeonpounce stumbled over her words, but each syllable made Poppyshine’s eyes grow wide. A dream of StarClan, of Cloverheart. Saying she would be the medicine cat…Poppyshine was not as aware of these signs from the stars, but Littlesplash had been chosen in a similar manner through an omen. Perhaps the stars knew that RiverClan could not afford to only receive omens at this point, and so it was stated directly.
“Oh,” Poppyshine finally said. “That’s…That’s wonderful, Pigeonpounce.” She smiled, but Pigeonpounce’s unease was obvious. She moved forward and sat down in front of the new warrior. “Well, the stars are usually able to tell who has the talent for healing. They sensed it in Sandyshell, in Wrenpaw, then in Littlesplash, and now in you. They choose the best cat in the clan for the job when a new medicine cat is needed. They know we need one now, and you are the best fit.” She tilted her head as she looked at Pigeonpounce. “It is wonderful that you were chosen, but you don’t seem very excited about it.”
Subject: Re: good things [C] Sun 26 May 2024 - 13:26
PIGEONPOUNCE
Life gives you lemons...
When Poppyshine moved in front of her, Pigeonpounce finally looked up to face her former mentor. She listened silently, nodding along as Poppyshine spoke. She understood the words, and yet… they didn’t make sense. What made her fit for the position? What in the world did StarClan see in her? Pigeonpounce continued to shuffle her nerves out. ”I-I guess, yeah,” she agreed quietly. She would’ve been content to leave it at that, but Poppyshine’s final statement earned a wince Pigeonpounce couldn’t quite suppress. It wasn’t a question, but it invited her to speak. Pigeonpounce’s teeth grazed across her tongue.
”’S just-- ‘s just, I’m a warrior, y’know? I’ve spen’ my whole life waitin’ ‘n’ trainin’ to be one, ‘n’ now that I am, I don’t get to be?” She looked down at her paws again. ”I mean, I don’t-- not that I think I was a very good warrior anyway, but--still.” Now that she’d started talking, she didn’t want to stop. But if she continued, she’d just end up talking about Starlingflare or Scarletflare. The thought of bringing up either made her pelt crawl with preemptive embarrassment. ”’S just… frustratin’, at all. I don’ think I even wanna be a medicine cat, but… ‘s not like I gotta choice.”
Characters : [P]oppyshine; [Pi]neblossom; [L]arkspring; [Wi]llowwisp; [R]ashoumon; [B]lazekit Clan/Rank : RC T5 Deputy; SC T5; RC T5; RC T5; Rogue T1; WC App Number of posts : 3162 Gender : Any Pronouns Age : 26
Subject: Re: good things [C] Thu 30 May 2024 - 14:08
POPPYSHINE
Just stop your crying...
As Pigeonpounce spoke uncertainly, Poppyshine’s mind flashed back to a moment in her life, when she was younger, when her name was spoken by Perchstar and requested that she be the next deputy of RiverClan. She had felt a lot of uncertainty too; suddenly all of this responsibility thrusted upon her when the only real goal she had in life was to one day be a mother. It felt sudden and overwhelming, but it was an honor too. She hoped that this felt like an honor to Pigeonpounce, even if it scared her.
Poppyshine nodded. “That’s understandable. You think your life is going one way and then suddenly you have something else. For the past few medicine cats, the stars didn’t choose someone with warrior experience. The last one who had some warrior experience that I know of was Dovesight, who was the first medicine cat after Cloverheart. Perhaps the stars decided that we needed someone with a little more warrior experience back on the job. A lot of medicine cats we’ve had didn’t know much about being a warrior beyond the general things—you are new to being a warrior, but you have more experience than they ever did. That could be good. You have a unique perspective compared to other medicine cats.” Her smile softens. “And if you truly don’t want to be medicine cat, I won’t make you. We can choose another cat to be a medicine cat. But you were chosen for a reason, Pigeonpounce. You must have some great abilities lying within you. I would love to see what kind of medicine cat you can become.”
Subject: Re: good things [C] Fri 31 May 2024 - 16:08
PIGEONPOUNCE
Life gives you lemons...
Pigeonpounce’s round eyes got a little wider at the suggestion that her experience as a warrior was exactly why the stars chose her. Her toes flexed, splaying and pressing together. Her experience--and how much, exactly, was that? Spiraling thoughts threatened to crowd Pigeonpounce’s mind, but they were tempered by the softness of Poppyshine’s smile. A unique perspective, one that none of RiverClan’s recent medicine cats shared; not even Cloverheart herself, as far as she knew. Pigeonpounce swallowed thickly. She wasn’t that great at anything, nor was she particularly smart, but…she was unique. The idea was both reassuring and not. She wanted to be better than just unique… but at least she was something. Something that Poppyshine believed in. But of course Poppyshine believed in her; she’d been the cat to raise her to warriorhood, after all, and Pigeonpounce had faith in her former mentor’s teachings.
Pigeonpounce sighed and forced herself to smile. ”No, it… it’s ‘kay. RiverClan needs a medicine cat, yeah?” She said. Then she blinked. Why did she say that? Poppyshine had offered her the out she’d been hoping for--why hadn’t she taken it? Did she want to be a medicine cat after all? Did she want to be a warrior, truly? Her paws shuffled again. Maybe medicine had been her calling all along. Pigeonpounce didn’t know what she wanted. She only knew what was necessary to do.
Besides--she couldn’t feel too bad. Not when Poppyshine smiled at her like that, when she already sounded so sure of Pigeonpounce. Some great ability--it sounded a little laughable, with the way Pigeonpounce reflected on herself, but she nodded again and swallowed the words down as truth. She reached out and put a restless paw on top of Poppyshine’s, toes flexing again. ”I gotta do what I gotta do. I don’t… not want it, at least, I guess. So… all we gotta do is go t’ the Moonstone, right? ‘M okay with that. I’m… okay with this.”
