Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Apr 18, 2019 23:36:58 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Apr 18, 2019 23:36:58 GMT -5
The truth was, Dogclaw had not been unreasonably harsh with the apprentce—just blunt. What was harsh was seeing firstpaw what had been done to these two cats, something that he knew wasn’t supposed to be done for any ends whatever they be. Uncertain of why they had done this exactly, but having the suspicion that it wasn’t particularly...objective driven, and rather a matter of simply sporting, he began a brisk pace throughout the camp, seeming to lose sight of how his presence might affect the Riverclan cats. His mind was whirring about with the obvious moral emptiness Shadowclan had collectively shown beyond just capturing Riverclan.
Lilyheart seemed tuned in to exactly where he was at though, and before he could trample any tails she was stopping him and trying to check in with him. Gulping, he turned to face her directly as his eyes glossed over lightly with the sight he had beared witness to. He believed more or less that he knew where Lilyheart was going with this. “I...I thought he just...scratched me up because he wanted to make me tougher. Just me. He....how could he allow this? I....He murders, and he....I....Lilyheart, I don’t understand...”
Ebonykit was going to say that he felt like he had an idea of the direction, but when his brother mentioned heading out for the sound of the river, he nodded with resignation. “That should work well enough. I mean, we just have to pass through Th7nderclan, right? So, head towards the trees and after that....we can find the water.” He eyed the bald spot on the tail his brother seemed embarassed of, and he could not hide someth8ng of a giggle as he viewed it. It looked quite silly, and he turned to head off before his brother could flush and go red.
The dead rabbit dropped to Tawnyface’s paws as she began sniffing the air a little more carefully. She had thought the awful stench of rabbit was just throwing her off, but that couldn’t be. She could very clearly, after dropping it from right below her nose, pick up the recent scent of fox as she approached the side closer to Thunderclan than Shadowclan—it smelled very recent, heading through the Windclan territory, not necessarily towards the camp but inwards. Grunting with irritation, she stared down at the rabbit that wasn’t really bury-able in the dirty and wettened moorland. She resigned herself to potentially losing it as she set off after the scent. She would trac them and then, if it seemed too much for her, she would simply get back to the camp and....
She hissed quietly. The warriors were gone for the most part. Well, there was Hazelrunner. Tawnyface figured she would do, the young cat being sturdy and agile. She figured they wouldn’t be sending an apprentice out to fight a fox...or foxes. Treading through the moor back towards the center-land of Windclan, she kept a sharp eye about for danger.
“Come on, Cinderkit!” The kitten squeaked as he picked up the pace to a fun run! They made it out! Now they could go see their dad and see if he was okay. If he wasn’t, Ebonykit was going to have to arrange a kitten attack to remedy the situati9n! It was the best herb.
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Apr 19, 2019 9:45:05 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Apr 19, 2019 9:45:05 GMT -5
The medicine cat quickly moved to stand at the apprentice’s side. She should have been more afraid of this happening. It was probably too soon for Shadowpaw to have to come face to face with exactly what a Shadowclan led by Nightstar was capable of. Still, it was something he needed to see. “Shadowpaw.” She repeated softly taking in a deep breath. “Nightstar has a twisted sense of what the clans and cats should be. He is trying to impose his version of the warrior code on to every clan. He doesn’t have much use for cats that don’t fit in that mold.” Lilyheart wanted him to understand that Nightstar wasn’t just doing what he’d done to these cats or Shadowpaw because he wanted them to be stronger in any way. Nightstar was trying to create his own world out of the ashes of the old ways. She craned her head a little to be able to look at Shadowpaw through her good eye.
Even though his brother’s giggle wasn’t loud, it was loud enough for Cinderkit to hear. His face flushed red and pressed his tail even closer to his side. The small tom-kit stared at his now patchy tail. It wasn’t that bad was it?! Wriggle it this way and that he was too busy moping about his tail to immediately go after his brother. How embarrassing what it that he’d lost a fight with a bramble bush. He finally stopped feeling sorry for himself when Ebonykit called back to him. He perked up remembering they were on a mission and didn’t have any time to waste.
”Hey wait up!” Cinderkit yowled as he picked up his pace to catch up with his brother. Stretching his legs out as far as he could as he ran he quickly made up the lost ground. He couldn’t imagine how excited their dad would be to see them. If anything would make him feel better it would be seeing them again.
The she-cat had gotten a hold of herself after a few moments of nearly panicking at the thought of just being able to be yanked in the Dark Forest any time she fell asleep. It also didn’t help that Shadowpaw had seemingly vanished from camp. She talked herself off a ledge, he could have just gone to go hunting or to help Riverclan. She reassured herself that it would be alright. Still, that didn’t stop her from peaking in to the apprentice den to check on Leafpaw. She sighed to herself when she saw the she-cat still fast asleep. She hoped that Dawnstar would find a way to break the news to both of her kits before it was too late.
Settling down in front of the apprentice cat den she glanced around camp briefly. She was surprised to see the prey pile had quite a few pieces added to it, several small mice and a blackbird. She tipped her head to the side when she caught Mousepaw coming back into camp with a rabbit clamped in his jaws. She blinked wondering if he had been out hunting this entire time, trying to distract herself from any other worries in her mind.
He followed the lake shore until he reached the entrance to his camp. He took a moment to take it in. The leader dove into the water first followed by the warriors that had come with him. There was a heavy and troubled look on the tom’s face as he came into the camp. The Starclan cats that had come to grant him his lives were all clearly fighting the urge to speak to him more than the ceremony allowed. There was something making them bite their tongue. Even Coralpelt, the ever smiling medicine cat, was unusually somber. The last cat to come to him was Shadestar who was the most distressed out of any of the cats. He gave him the last of his lives but, stayed behind as the other cats left. They had a brief conversation before he woke up. The first question the tom had asked him was how Redsky and Applepaw were. As much as it hurt him to say he informed him of the aftermath of the battle. Shadestar had given him some advice before leaving him as well.
Now, as he emerged back in camp he went to go speak with a Riverclan cat. He was acutely aware of the fact both Ravenfang and Wrenflight were gone, and that the Thunderclan leader had settled himself down in front of the leader’s den...his den now. Frowning he continued his search for the she-cat Silverfang. She had been the first Riverclan cat to kill a Shadowclan cat and join their side. He needed to speak with her as soon as possible.
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Apr 19, 2019 10:05:32 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Apr 19, 2019 10:05:32 GMT -5
Shadowpaw thought through the warrior code he had been given by his father and the contradictions betweenit and the one he had been gradually learning in between the days he was in Windclan. He couldn’t deny of course that his father’s way wastwisted from what the rest of the clans followed; but it felt like such a leap to go tobelieving hs father was bent on forcing his version into every corner of the lake territory.
His mind flashed back to the sight of his mother’s torn-open neck lying on the floor of the Shadowclan camp. He remembered the words his mother had given him when she sent him out to hunt. “Your father and I need to talk about the future for a bit, okay sweetie?” Gritting his teeth and emitting a hiss, not necessarily at Lilyheart but at....at their situation, their position in history, he gazed straight into her eyes. “My mom would not let this happen. My dad....he wanted his version to spread...and so he murdered her. And if he would start his path with murder, then....on the path he would....” His eyes gazed back at the medicine cat den, where Dogclaw and Redsky were lying.
It didn’t take Shadowpaw long to fit the pieces in—more importantly, when Lilyheart explained it bluntly to him, he didn’t seem to seek a justification or alternative explanation. It was a strange moment of outspokeness and comprehension that he didn’t always show. “How...how do we...” He felt the conclusion that he didn’t want to face coming. “How do we st.....m-make him understand his desire is twisted and wrong? How do we make him change?”
Cinderkit was lagging behind a bit, so Ebonykit pulled to a slower pace for a bit until they were matching each other. He began taking the path that surely led towards the Thunderclan side and that would pull them towards the river as well. He continued on joyously as he thought about how to surprise thei father when they got to the camp, losing focus on exactly where they were going as he simply kept straight ahead.
A wind was starting to blow, chilling the morning air around them and leaving Ebonykit in a shiver as he continued along. “Wow, that is really cold! Why couldn’t it have waited another...10 minutes? Ugghh...Well, whatever. Let’s keep on....” He scented the air as he started catching something of a strange smell, one that made him crinkle up his nose in recoil. “Uggghh! What in Starclan is that!?! It smells like rotten rabbit!”
(Mousepaw: Look Leafpaw, I caught six pieces of prey!)
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Apr 19, 2019 10:45:31 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Apr 19, 2019 10:45:31 GMT -5
Despite the fact that his hiss wasn’t directed at her in any way she flinched very briefly out of reflex. She quickly straightened herself back up, trying to keep her reaction from being too obvious. As he looked at her she watched some the pieces seem to snap into place for him. She slowly nodded her head sighing to herself. She could remember seeing Dawnstar in the middle of the camp for every cat to see. Despite what he’d done he still convinced so many cats to believe in him and the twisted set of rules he wanted to replace the warrior code itself with. The medicine cat truly hoped that Shadowpaw was starting to see all of this for himself.
She felt hopeful of that when he didn’t try to search for some sort of justification for what Nightstar had done. Her hope was dashed as soon as he asked her a question she couldn’t possibly have an answer for. She flattened her ears against her head. She couldn’t say she blamed him. Nightstar was all he seemed to have left in the world with his mother gone. “I’m sorry Shadowpaw I don’t know that there is.” Lilyheart’s eye clouded over thinking about her many conversations with Dawnstar, practically begging her to pick another cat as her deputy and then later to be careful of trusting the tom. Dawnstar had decided to stay with him maybe in some hope that he was a good cat deep down. Lilyheart didn’t want her son to fall into the same trap she had.
Cinderkit huffed and puffed as he hurried after his brother. The cold air didn’t bother him as badly with his thicker coat but, he still could feel the cold breeze hitting his face. With it it brought the horrible scent of something with it. Coughing and gagging like it was choking him he pulled a face of disgust looking at his brother. “Maybe it is a rotten rabbit!” He exclaimed, probably too loudly for his own good as he followed along beside his brother. “I bet it’s nothing.” The kit brushed it off with a shrug. Surely anything that smells that bad couldn’t possibly be alive.
Now the wind had slowed his brother down Cinderkit started to move ahead making his way across the moor. “A battle might have happened here...maybe this is what a battle smells like.” Cinderkit tried to rationalize what that smell was.
(XD Mousepaw: Gives Leafpaw prey like a bouquet of roses)
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Apr 19, 2019 11:08:05 GMT -5
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on Apr 19, 2019 11:08:05 GMT -5
One of Dawnstar’s greatest faults had always been believing in the chance for anyone to be better no matter what they held inside of them. While it had always sounded lovely and made for an excellent stirring speech, Dawnstar had been blind to to the wickedness that Nightstar could show, justifying and finding ways to alternatively consider what was happening; somewhat similar to how Shadowpaw seemed to have been since leaving Shadowclan.
Shadowpaw stared at Lilyheart as she laid it out for him, the point that other cats had danced and parried around any time it came up in his vicinity. Hazelrunner had been close to this, but she had given him a softer version which left him room to consider wiggling for alternate solutions. Now, Lilyheart put the truth as she saw it before him and didn’t leave him that same chance.
“Then...Who...” It wasn’t anger inside his voice, or sadness, or desperation. “Then I have...I...if my parents are gone, I...I have no one...I...I am no one...” It was a suddenly blurted remark that might have seemed abrupt, but he continued struggling for more words. “...I...No...I...I need someone....He is all that...” his eyes cast themselves down towards his paws. He knew how bad that sounded. That his dad was all that he had, and so he couldn’t d...
“I already lost one parent...I...I can’t...” his voice broke, and it was easy to see the tears beginning to well up in the pools of his eyes. He opened his mouth again to keep blurting out more words, but cats entering the camp mixed with is own internal turmoil quieted him as he tried to fight back tears.
Ebonykit nodded in passive agreement with the suggestion, not having another more logical explanation for the awful stench. Maybe the battle had made it all the way out here? That made sense. Pulling further along the moorland, he continued with his carefree-shivering-prance as they passed a hill of the moor, and his eyes rested on a figure in front of them. “Is that a cat? Hey! Come here!” He called out to a somewhat distant figure that suddenly turned toward them. It remained still for a moment before it began approaching at a brisk pace.
It didn’t take Ebonykit long to realize that it was not a cat. Its pointer ears and firelike-orange pelt was distinctive from any clanmate they had, and he stammered out a sentence as the creature approached. “C-cinderkit...I don’t know..if that’s...”
Opposite of them, over another hill of the moorland appeared another figure, this one moving at a rapid sprint, closing in on the closer figure quickly as it was coming into vision. As the second grew even closer, Ebonykit could see it was the same type of creature, only...significantly bigger.
She had caught sight of it trying to hide from her—the sneaky fox would have been better off staying low and hidden from Tawnyface, but it decided to sprint away at full speed instead. Though she couldn’t understand why, she quickly began pursuit, feeling confident she could catch up to and handle a single fleeing fox, and if not, at least chase it into...well...Shadowclan territory.
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Apr 19, 2019 11:46:24 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Apr 19, 2019 11:46:24 GMT -5
The medicine cat wished there was another way she could think to break the news to him but, she also had been much softer when trying to convince Dawnstar of the truth. Her brow furrowed lightly ignoring the stares of the Riverclan cats around them. Drawing in a shaky breath she kept her gaze fixed on the younger cat remaining as steady as she could while trying not to let it show that her heart was breaking from having to make him confront the truth of the matter.
”You aren’t alone in this world I promise. Losing family isn’t ever going to be easy but, Shadowpaw you aren’t alone.” She looked over his face wishing she knew what else she could say to give him some sort of comfort. “In the last moon without having Nightstar around did you feel alone?” She risked the question knowing very well that his answer could be yes. Losing his father was going to be a traumatic experience but, she wanted him to realize that his identity wasn’t solely tied in with the monster of a cat that was Nightstar.
Cinderkit perked up when his brother noticed something in the distance. “Don’t call attention to us! We don’t know who that is!” He lectured his brother, mostly not wanting to get found out and get into trouble. They might make them wait to become apprentices if they found out. Sighing he turned his attention towards the figure, expecting to see a cat coming towards them but, when he got a good look at the thing running after them he realized that it didn’t look much like a cat. He wheeled around hearing another set of pawsteps behind them. He stared in shock at a bigger creature coming right for them!
”Run! Ebonykit run!” He yowled shoving his brother forwards. He looked around wildly for any sign of which way home was. “Run for the trees!” He yowled loudly not knowing where else to go. He put himself between his brother and closer fox. His tiny heart was beating right out his chest at this point. Making a run for the trees he was praying to Starclan the whole time that the creatures chasing them would get struck by lightening or have a tree fall on them or something! Cinderkit was mainly occupied with running as fast as his little legs could carry him, while also watching out for his brother to make sure he didn’t fall too far behind. Maybe they could lose them in the trees or something.
Mousepaw was practically dead on his paws when he came back into camp. Instead of taking the rabbit to the prey pile he disappeared inside the apprentice den with it. He thanked Starclan the whinny little apprentice was still fast asleep. As soon as he woke up he was going to have to make good on his promise to take him to see his mother. It was just about the only thing he could say to get Applepaw to come out of hiding. He glanced towards Leafpaw’s nest. Shifting a bit uncomfortably he made his way over dropping the piece of prey beside her nest before going to lay in Applepaw’s nest since the little rat had stolen his. Sighing loudly to himself he sat down for a moment to try and get himself a second wind. No one ever warned him that making nice would be so much work.
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Apr 19, 2019 12:13:41 GMT -5
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on Apr 19, 2019 12:13:41 GMT -5
Shadowpaw’s ears dropped as Lilyheart didn’t let up, assuring him there were much better cats who were there ready to be with him. He didn’t understand how they could replace someone like his mother or his father—yet as he thought about her question he couldn’t put his paw on the exact feeling that he had been feeling this last moon. “Lonely...? i....I don’t think so....” he answered as honestly as he could. He didn’t know how to iterate exactly what he had been feeling—because he knew that something was not exactly as it should be—but there had been at least a few cats with him this whole time. Alone...that had been a poor choice of words on his part.
“Its just...I...there’s a special...a special way that parents...umm...I just always felt this special feeling with...” he bit his lip. “...well, just with...my mom. When she would dry my tears, and curl up with me and promise me that Shadowclan would treat me better soon, I just...” He didn’t know how naive he sounded; he didn’t know what he was expressing verbally. “I just don’t have any one else that I feel so...” He stared right at Lilyheart, trying to get a read of how strange he sounded. “That makes everything fall away, if only for a little bit.”
He couldn’t help it now. It wasn’t violent or ugly, but the tears starting coming at a slow stream from his eyes and yet he held her gaze. “And its so so impossible but I...I remember the really early days when my dad was less...I don’t know...I guess I feel like he used to be less...” a couple drops of water hit the ground beneath him and he lowerd his gaze to stare at them. “I guess that’s gone now. Its...its all gone now, I can’t rely on any of...I can’t find someone that comforts me like that anymore if...if we kill him.” He almost mumbled te sentence, trying to deny that he was saying that word. Kill. He had been avoiding if for over a moon now and saying it sent a sharp jagged rock scraping down his heart as he couldn’t avoid that image coming into his head.
Ebonykit wasn’t ready to move until he felt a sharp shove from his brother, and he suddenly animated into action...or rather, re-action. He had made a big mistake, and his heart let him now as it began thumping faster than the river flowed. He turned tail and bolted away as he tried to keep stride with his slightly larger brother who had the advantage of a longer stride if need be for it.
It wasn’t a contest. His effort was certainly valient and a few shoves along the way from his brother kept him going for a while, but soon enough he caught a branch on the ground and he went tumbling several long tail-lengths and laid splayed and dizzy across the floor of the moor that was just starting to turn into forestland. This was it. He messed up. “R-run, Cinderkit!” He cried out what he with terror believed were going to be his last words.
Tawnyface hadn’t been prepared whatsoever for the scene she came upon. The very first thing she noticed was that the fox she had seen was traveling at an impressively fast pace, having increased it since going over the hill of the moorland—secondly, she could see another one of similar color as she pelted after the first, and she realized that it must of been a parent with a child given their size differences, particularly noticeable.
Then, she saw the two tiny specks fleeing at a rapid pace, and the pieces came together for her; this was a hunt, two pieces of prey running, chased by the child, being pelted towards by the mother who sensed the danger present. She redoubled her speed as she realized they couldn’t be rabbits with that shape, nor could they be mice with their size. No, those were cats. Small cats. A surge of frustration surged through her as she pelted herself forwards, angry she couldn’t simply stretch her legs and hunt for the first time in peace. She pushed this aside immediately when she saw, to her own dismay, one of the blobs at the front suddenly come to a messy stop.
Leafpaw didn’t even stir despiteher uncomfortable position and likely hunger; it seemed her exhaustion was somehow winning it over in this situation. Though a close discerner could likely hear the mumblings of dreams or nightmares running through. Her mind as she lightly stirred every minute or so, mumbling something and settling back down.
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Apr 19, 2019 18:37:48 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Apr 19, 2019 18:37:48 GMT -5
The medicine cat seemed to relent from her questioning, instead quietly listening to Shadowpaw in a sullen silence. She had most likely pushed him too far so fast but, Lilyheart couldn’t stand by if he was left to believe that Nightstar could still be reasoned with. She fold her ears flat against her head. There was a bit of uncertainty in her expression as she tried to understand what he was trying to describe the feeling and comfort no cat could replace his parents. It was a comfort most cats lost as much need for as they became older. In the environment Shadowpaw had grown up in, he needed that comfort more than most cats. Her expression softened, replaced by a look of finally understanding.
She couldn’t say whether Nightstar had ever been better but, she would never really know how Nightstar was when around his kits when they were first born. The tip of her tail twitched beside her paws as she kept looking at the young cat for several moments after he had looked away to look down at his tears falling down his face. Lilyheart let out an audible sigh she looked down at her own paws in a sullen silence as he finally addressed the reality of the situation...that to end this Nightstar would have to die. “You might not” The medicine cat echoed quietly keeping her eyes down. “There might never be any other cat in your life that can take Dawnstar’s place...or never make you feel as safe as you were when you were young.” She admitted with a painful truth.
“There will be so many cats that you won’t be able to replace. You can revisit some of your memories with them but, it’s important to not loss yourself in them” The white she-cat carefully looked back up towards Shadowpaw after saying this.
Despite the fact that the larger kit was trying not to leave his brother too far behind as they ran, his large legs carried him farther ahead of his brother. His claws were out trying to help him get traction on the grass. His mind was racing trying to find a way out of this. Panting loudly he stared ahead trying to tell himself not look behind them. If they did he might freeze up with fear and lose ground. Running for his life and trying to make sure his littermate was keeping up with him. The moorland was starting to give way to the trees. They would make! That thought was enough to get him to push himself to run that much harder.
All at once the world seemed to slow down as he saw his brother go tumbling to the ground and go rolling several tail lengths. Ebonykit called for him to keep running. Of course he ignored his brother’s calls he skidded to a halt. Cinderkit had to dig his heels in to keep himself from going tumbling into the grass like his brother. Turning sharply he scampered over to his brother. “I’m not going to leave you.” His fur’s was standing up on all ends as he went to stand defiantly in between his brother and the fox that came to a stop, sending dirt and bits of grass spraying up in the air.
The kit didn’t feel very large now staring up at the fox, shaking like a leaf on the wind. His hackles were sticking straight up, desperately trying to make himself look big or scary in some way. “Leave my brother alone!” Cinderkit yowled out swatting at the air in front of him. He wasn’t going to leave Ebonykit alone, even if this was really it.
Mousepaw laid down tucking his paws under himself. At first he thought that Leafpaw’s unresponsiveness was due to her exhaustion. The longer he looked though, he noticed quiet mumblings of her sleep. He sat in quiet contemplation before standing himself up to gently nudge the she-cat to rouse her. It was a gamble but, he’d take if she was trapped in a nightmare.
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Apr 20, 2019 1:58:22 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Apr 20, 2019 1:58:22 GMT -5
Shadowpaw went still as she suddenly warned him that it was possible and perhaps even likely he would never be able to replace the cats that had mattered to him, his eyes going misty as the warning stunned him. He stared at her blankly and misty-eyed for some long seconds as he tried to figure out what he was meant to do if he was never going to find the only thing he really knew that he wanted. He wouldn’t be alone but he might never feel safe again. What point was there to living through that sort of life? Why would any cat want to go about their lives feeling insecure of the future and that they might always be in danger?
He was left to ponder the few good memories he had with his mother in the last pawful of moons, the few times she had the time and energy to mess around with him, wrestle a little, reassure him his bullies weren’t right. These moments were so few in number and spaced out so much that he felt everyone and couldn’t bear the thought of never having a moment of safety and happiness like that ever again.
He had to not get lost in that? Knowing he likely wouldn’t ever encounter it again? Her advice was equally hard to believe and hard to reconcile and yet he knew that Lilyheart had no afoul motive that would give her reason to lie to him. “What if I.....” His eyes were still misty and dropping pellets of water infrequently as he ignored the Riverclan cats around them. “...if I’m already lost?”
Ebonykit’s heart filled with horror as his brother refused to take the only opportunity that he had to escape the impending death that awaited them. As the fox approached, a strangely thrilled light in its eyes as it stalked closer and closer, Ebonykit quickly scrambled to his paws and hissed as loud as he could while shaking with terror. “You’re a mouse-brain for not running!” He didn’t hold what he thought back from his sibling as their death approached.
if it had just been this young fox, the two semi-grown kits might have had a starry’s reaches chance of double-teaming the creature and wounding it badly enough that it went fleeing. But as the parent came racing up from behind it, Ebonykit knew it was all over. He pressed his pelt up against his sibling’s as he kept shaking.
it seemed the larger fox was aware of the cat coming from behind, as once it finely reached its child and saw the insignificance of the cats here, the parent turned around and prepared to defend its child from the larger cat.
It had been a smart effort to prepare for her, but Tawnyface was already there as the larger fox turned; not letting up her intense speed she barelled into the parent and sent the both of them tumbling together into the second fox, rolling far enough that they might barrel over the kits if they didn’t get out of the way, before coming to a stop in a large splayed pile of fur. Tawnyface was quite dazed by her own attack, having gone from one of her fastest sprints over to headbutting a fox, and it took her a couple seconds to recover.
Rising up from the ground first, the smaller fox let out something like a hiss and turned to Tawnyface, immediately moving to scratch the warrior’s exposed back.
Leafpaw stirred immediately as Mousepaw disturbed her noisy sleep, and she quickly lifted her head from where it lie, then gave a quiet groan of pain as her back complained of the way she had been sleeping, even given how short it had been. Her head turned to face the cat who disturbed her and when she saw Mousepaw, she kept her expression steady (aunque sleepy), not giving any information in the tone of her gaze. “Hey, what is it?” She quietly murmured.
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Apr 20, 2019 8:49:39 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Apr 20, 2019 8:49:39 GMT -5
Sighing to herself she really did believe that a cat like a parent or littermate couldn’t be very easily replaced in someone’s life. That was what made family rather special. If Shadowpaw tried to replace his lost family through his whole life he was going to be unfair to both himself and the cats in his life now. Although she personally did believe that Shadowpaw would be able to find cats that brought him comfort and safety like Dawnstar had, she wanted to prepare him for the thought that he might not have something like that in his life forever.
”Than you might miss out on making new ones.” The medicine cat shifted a little looking the tom in the eyes. They were still misty and she watched the occasional tear fall down his cheek. She was speaking with earnest sincerity, clearly having the best of intentions even if that didn’t completely come across.
Swallowing thickly he ignored his brother’s horrified look when he came back. In what world did he ever think he would leave him to become fox-food alone? He continued to hiss at the smaller of the two foxed, although it clearly had little effect of fox. His attempts to be scary were especially pointless when the larger fox came running in after them. Cinderkit was suddenly bewildered when the large fox simply turned and faced the other way to look somewhere else. He couldn’t see anything through the blockade of foxes but, heard rushing pawsteps coming towards them. His little mouth fell open as the mother fox tumbled followed by the baby.
Blinking he realizing that the foxes were rolling right for them. Without having much time to think he shoved his brother to the side and scrambled to get away himself. The tom-kit continued to shiver as he stared at the cat that had saved their hides. Cinderkit looked over his shoulder, briefly considering taking the distraction to make a run for the trees but, decided that it might just draw their attention back to them.
As the baby got its bearings again he realized it wasn’t much bigger than Lavenderfur. The warrior who had helped them still seemed dazed and out of breath. As the fox moved to claw at her he decided to do something that had a high chance of ending horribly. Crouching down and bunching up his muscles he made a jump to leap on the baby’s back. It was one of the moves he’d begged Lavenderfur to show them while he was in nursery.
Mousepaw stepped back a bit as her head suddenly came up. Standing stiffly he was more than a little nervous about what her reaction would be. Her tone or expression didn’t tell him anything about how she was feeling at the moment. “Sorry, I would have let you sleep but, you looked pretty uncomfortable.” The tom said with a bit of uncertainty in his voice. “I brought you a rabbit back from hunting. If you don’t want it you can always give it Applepaw.” He paused motioning with his paw towards the rabbit he’d managed to chase down. “...And I wanted to say I’m sorry for being a mousebrained idiot this past moon.” The tom mewed shifting a little as he looked down at Leafpaw for her reaction.
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Apr 20, 2019 12:22:05 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Apr 20, 2019 12:22:05 GMT -5
Shadowpaw tilted his head at Lilyheart. The answer sounded so simple and obvious coming from the medicine cat, like it was the only answer that could possibly come from that question. The idea that 'new ones' might even come to him was still strange to him, being that he had lived most his life isolated from other cats and only having three cats he ever really had a memories with before coming here.
He gazed at Lilyheart, the only cat from Shadowclan who Shadowpaw would say that he liked to be around. He didn't want to have to leave behind his memories of the only nice cat from Shadowclan who was still with him, just so he could make new ones! He didn't know what to say at this point. There were so many thoughts in his head, from all of the things she had said to him to all of their implications for the future--he felt like he was about doomed to lose every tie he had to his mother at this point. His face showed his uncertainty about...well, everything as he wasn't saying anything more.
Speckleflower said what he was ready to hear, and he gave a quiet groan as he shut his eyes and shook his head. "No, no you can't...you can't say that. Because i protected my own clanmate first because she's my clanmate. And that's the wrong reason. I'm...And I have to go back and face Applepaw and tell him that its my fault that happened to her, that if I had helped her his mother would be just fine. And its...its right after his father...Its just...Why...why'd I do that...?"
Ebonykit had to scramble to his paws once again as he was thrust to the side by his sibling as the baby fox came sprawling right beside him almost crushing the kit beneath its pelt. His eyes went wide as the baby was the first one up, fearing he was about to get his eyes clawed out; but instead it approached the dazed form of Tawnyface, who through some amazing turn of luck, was out of the camp.
He got even more scared as his brother suddenly thrust himself on the back of the smaller fox, a nearly suicidal move that worked in their playfights but seemed to do nothing more than delay the baby fox as it responded by taking a step back, trying to rear Cinderkit off, and then once it felt that that was unsuccessful, the baby simply let itself fall back on the ground, trying to crunch the kitten between itself and the ground.
Tawnyface needed a few more seconds before she was able to gather her bearings, a splitting headache had crashed into her with her fox collision, and it was still thumping at her as she forced herself to push up onto her paws. Quickly scanning and seeing the parent fox rising up as well, she gave a heavy hiss and realized she couldn't do anything about the idiotic kit that had thrown himself into the battle. He would have to find someway to not die because the larger fox would skin Cinderkit and Ebonykit alive in a second.
Rushing forward, she weaved around its side to get in between it and the mini-battle playing behind her before rushing in to try for a speedy strike at its neck; the fox was prepared for this and weaved to the left and out of the way and tackled into her, sinking its teeth deep into her shoulder almost immediately, causing a cry of pain from the Shadowclan warrior.
Leafpaw turned to the side as Mousepaw pointed to the bouquetrabbit that was at her side, very close, and she gave a little squeak of surprise. "Oh...I...wow, it's big..." Her tone of voice turned from surprise to a hungry interest. "Umm...I..." She glanced at Applepaw asleep as Mousepaw mentioned giving it to him if she didn't want it. The sudden suggestion left an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she had picked up on how nervous he seemed to be as he spoke and she was feeling sympathetic to him for some reason. And, starting to make an apology sure helped too.
"I...wow, umm...thank you, Mousepaw. I'll um...I'm pretty hungry so..." She blinked a couple times, as if suddenly she remembered something. "Umm, h-have the warriors come back yet? M-maybe they need to eat and, I shouldn't cause of the...the Warrior Code..."
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Apr 20, 2019 15:55:58 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Apr 20, 2019 15:55:58 GMT -5
Lilyheart looked back at him seeing the uncertainty about what she was saying. “I don’t want to discourage you.” She said knowing it probably wouldn’t do much to help since she still seemed to have managed to do that regardless of her intentions. “But, you’re young. I want you to have the chance the chance to live and get to make a few new ones.” The Shadowclan cat did her best to explain herself, a bit of sadness in her eye. “I know you have fond memories with Dawnstar but, I don’t think you really had the same chance to live like you do now...” The medicine cat admitted with a light shake of her head.
Speckleflower sighed to herself as her mate insisted that wasn’t what she was supposed to say. What would be an appropriate answer for something like this? Maybe he should have tried to jump in to help Redsky but, he still had an obligation to protect an injured clanmate. At the mention of Applepaw she couldn’t help but, picture seeing Applepaw reaction after Hazelrunner brought the news back to camp. She couldn’t imagine how Applepaw would react to knowing that Lavenderfur could have helped her and didn’t. She hesitated, letting a long silence come between them. The queen silently stared at her mate before letting out a very soft sigh. “You don’t know that, you might not have been able to help Redsky even if you had interfered.” Flicking her ears back she was clearly conflicted by the situation. “I really don’t know....” She trailed off as she stared ahead.
The kit latched his claws on to the fox’s back, realizing just how different this was from the play fights they had in camp. Yowling loudly as the fox tried to snatch him off his mind went completely blank on what he was supposed to do now that he he was up here. He was left kind of just flailing around trying not to lose his grip. All at once the fox flopped down taking him down with it. He couldn’t unlatch himself from fox’s back in time. Cinderkit was left helplessly squished underneath the heavier body weight, his back leg twisting painfully to the side
Cinderkit was panting heavily he desperately started to scratch and bite at the fox to get the weight off of him. After several moments of trying desperately to out of what felt like a load of boulders pressing down on top of him he finally was able to break free. Gasping loudly he dragged himself out from under the younger trying to keep weight off his back leg barring his fangs.
Mousepaw chose to take it as a good sign that she didn’t just pass over the rabbit out right. He shifted his weight from paw to paw, not trying hide his obvious nervousness talking with Leafpaw. He had always been somewhat nervous talking to the she-cat since he’d had a crush on her for a long time. Now of course he was nervous for a completely different reason. His apology was not outrightly rejected either. He wanted her to know that he was apologetic for his actions not just from last night but, his general attitude over the past moon.
“There is plenty of prey on the prey pile and the camp is still pretty empty.” He explained with a light shrug. He could take credit for bringing almost all that prey in himself but, figured that bragging wouldn’t do much to help his apology. “I doubt Starclan would strike you down for eating a rabbit.” The apprentice mewed, mostly as an attempt to help with some of the tension in his own voice although, there was no way to mask his nervousness completely. “I don’t expect you to forgive me...I just wanted to you to know I said and mean it.” The apprentince said softer as he moved to go settled down in Applepaw’s nest, not planning on pushing his luck any farther than he had to.
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Apr 20, 2019 17:21:36 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Apr 20, 2019 17:21:36 GMT -5
Shadowpaw stiffened a little bit at the last thing she said, telling him how she felt about his chances to live now that he was out of that clan. She was pulling out what she saw as a positive, that being the sum of all of the freedom and chance to control his own life that he had received...though it came at a cost. He left the place behind that had all of those memories, the ones he never wanted to release. He gulped as she shook her head slightly, getting to some extent the point she was trying to make. He had a freedom now that he didn't before and it was the chance to push his life the way he wanted now that his mother was gone and his father was...gone.
He didn't know where to push it or how he could get there. He didn't even have the skills to be a warrior yet. But perhaps there was something...worthwhile about being here, and trying to move forward. He was just...very scared he was going to lose those memories of the past.
Lavenderfur stared down at his paws as his mind started drifting to his own kits. How was he going to explain that he let a mother of a kitten almost perish in battle? How could he explain that in a way to little kittens that was honest and true to the poor choice he had made? "I...I pray this doesn't make Cinderkit and Ebonykit look at me like..." Like he was almost a murderer? Like he was a coward?
The little fox started clawing at Cinderkit's back legs as he started escaping from underneath it, starting to sink his claws in when Ebonykit, having been terrified into paralization until he saw his brother being slowly flattened under the fox, finally sprung forward and set a group of claws down the fox's face; the fox let out a terrible cry of pain as blood started dripping down its upside down face into its left eye, its claws releasing Cinderkit in the process.
Tawnyface cried out again as the fox's claws dug into her left side while the fox's teeth were still in her shoulder, before the fox started trying to pick the cat up, though Tawnyface was too heavy for that and she took the chance to throw all of her weight to one side swat the fox right on the head.
She felt the fox dislatch from her (with a painful tear of fur) before hearing the cry of pain from the fox. She very quickly cast a glance to see how screwed the kittens were, and was shocked to see bloo forming around the creature's eyes. She heard the parent rising from the ground, trying to turn to attack the kittens, but Tawnyface was too quick and had the fox on the ground after a moment; yet again she felt claws quickly and reflexively tearing at her chest.
"Well, okay..." She quietly murmured as he explained that he didn't think the situation warrented her being concerne about feeding the other cats in the clan first. She glanced over at the rabbit for a moment and then returned her gaze to Mousepaw as he addressed the apology. It was weird to hear him apologizing so quickly but perhaps her snapping at him had made him think about it for a minute. "Well, I...I'm glad to hear it. I think ummm...I think Applepaw is the cat who really needs to hear the apology more than me, though." She was certainly predictable when it came to her sense of justice.
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Apr 20, 2019 19:27:28 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Apr 20, 2019 19:27:28 GMT -5
There was only so much that she could really say now. He was almost old enough to be a warrior already so, he could take her advice or leave it. “If you do anything for me Shadowpaw please just to try to enjoy the right now. Whatever comes will come.” Lilyheart added before a call from the medicine cat den drew her attention. Wildberry was standing the entrance waving her tail to try to get her attention. She got up to her paws catching sight of the medicine cat’s urgency. She glanced over to Shadowpaw briefly. She wouldn’t ask him to come along since she had no idea what was going on. Quickly she turned to hurry towards the medicine cat den, leaving Shadowpaw behind for the time being.
“They won’t look at you any differently than I do.” Speckleflower spoke with a renewed conviction to her voice. “We all make mistakes, but that doesn’t make us love you any less. It doesn’t mean they won’t look up to you any less.” The she-cat’s eyes were fixed on her mate. She still didn’t believe he should beat himself up as much as he did over a decision he made in the heat of the moment. Regardless, she knew that both Cinderkit and Emberkit would understand...they had to..
Cinderkit let out a pitiful cry when he felt the claws catch his back legs and sink deeper and deeper into his back. Hissing loudly in pain he continued to try and squirm away from the fox’s claws. Just when he was sure he was a goner, he heard the cry of the baby fox and the grip on his legs finally give. Not hesitating for a moment he drug himself out from under the fox. Panting he turned around stumbling, not able to support himself wobbling on his paws. His eyes went wide seeing his brother right in front of the fox cub. Wincing he reared up on his back legs to swipe at the fox’s side.
Mousepaw wasn’t the slightest bit surprised when she pointed out that Applepaw needed an apology more than she did. He turned his head to look at the curled up apprentice. He would have rather clawed out one of his own eyes before apologizing to Applepaw but, he’d swallowed his pride and done it. “Don’t worry about that. I apologized to him first.” Mousepaw replied rather nonchalantly, especially for how much he had truly hated to do it. “It took a while but, I talked him into getting some rest. I’m going to take him to see Redsky when he wakes up.” The apprentice mentioned turning his attention back to Leafpaw. Mousepaw still saw all of it as sniveling and whining but, if it would shut the little kit up, he’d be more than happy to do it.
Longshadow had sat around camp, not seeing any sign of Tawnyface for quite some time. He could only sit on his tail for so long. Grunting he got to his paws and went for the camp entrance. They weren’t going to stop him from getting out of camp. He might just be a paranoid old cat but, he didn’t like the fact that she still wasn’t back yet. Hobbling towards the entrance, there weren’t nearly as many cats to stand in his way. Any cats that might think about getting in the senior warrior’s way, the glare he gave was enough to make it clear that he wasn’t going to back down from his decision to leave camp.
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Apr 21, 2019 13:01:38 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Apr 21, 2019 13:01:38 GMT -5
Shadowpaw blinked at her with a confusion in his head as she asked him simply to enjoy the right now, and as there was a sudden call for Lilyheart he gave a quiet sigh of irritation. How in Starclan's name was he meant to enjoy the moment when his father supposedly had to be killed for all that was going on and he was discovering more and more how much he had been raised in a lie? What part of his life could he get 'enjoyment' from? It didn't make any sense to him, but he didn't push the matter for the moment as it seemed there was something urgent that took priority, hearing Wildberry's voice and its tonage. Sighing quietly he waved his tail at her and then turned to look about the camp to see how much attention had been on the two of them.
Lavenderfur quietly sighed as Speckleflower speculated about how the kits would react to the situation. She seemed unwavering in her feeling that he hadn't been necessarily 'in the wrong' in what he had done on the situation and he was struggling to hear it even having known that it was coming. He abruptly stood up as his mate finished speaking, hearing the urgent call from elsewhere in the camp, turning to look at Wildberry as she called for Lilyheart, who seemed to have entered with...Shadowpaw...?
Blinking, Lavenderfur began approaching the medicine cat's den as the two medicine cats scurried into it, then began rethinking entering the den with Wildberry in her current state. Instead, leaving behind his mate abruptly and without a word, he stalked over to the side of the entrance, not poking his head in but using his ears to listen in.
Ebonykit didn't stop as the fox seemed to be desperately trying to wipe the blood out of its eyes, taking his own claws and shoving them deeper into the creature's cheeks as Cinderkit batted at its side. His heart was ready to break out of his chest as they advanced on this dangerous creature. This had gone from a daring escape from camp to a threateningly deadly situation in a matter of moments, and he couldn't imagine how lucky they had been that Tawnyface had arrived in that moment.
Leafpaw looked a bit surprised as he mentioned that he had already apologized to the apprentice before-paw, but a little bit of a smile twitched onto her lips as she seemed pleased with that fact. Her eyes widened, though, as he told her that he was going to take him back to Riverclan once he awakened. This news was very surprising to her and though the battle had been concluded, she calculated it could be a dangerous decision. Still...he was trying, and she didn't want to discourage his recompensation in any way. "Well, umm...that's really nice. Uhh...let me know if you...need a third cat for something..." She awkwardly offered to accompany them back thinking that perhaps she could see Ravenfang for a minute as well as say goodbye to Applepaw, figuring he would not be returning afterwards.
There was a loud clearing-of-the-throat several tail lengths from Longshadow as he approached the entrance to the den, and a cat came stalking closer whilst Longshadow moved his way towards the entrance. Russetfur looked overall exhausted and seemed to have little or no energy in his voice and eyes. The cat who had conspired with Amberberry to throw out the Shadowclan cats had figured he would be interrogated and thrown back out after he let them know that Amberberry was doing something with Shadowclan, but so much had happened recently that it simply never was a matter addressed. Instead, he hunted and ate every once and a while, existing inside the clan he had been expelled from with little notice.
Yet, he was always watching. He had watched Shadowpaw in and out of the camp getting a little better, a little more worthwhile each time and he had seen Tawnyface...well...hunt and be grouchy with Longshadow. He hadn't noticed Tawnyface leaving the camp, but for some reason he noticed as Longshadow struggled his way out. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I think you're just going to hurt yourself a little more," His voice held the slightest small drip of mocking to it, as he had, just like Amberberry and even Hawktail to some extent, never really appreciated the character of Longshadow. "I don't think Wildberry will appreciate that." Despite his tone of voice he wasn't necessarily acting out of malice; he knew that leg would become worse if pushed too much and he didn't want the old cat suffering by any means. "What do you need? Stop pushing yourself like a mouse-brain and tell me what you need."
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