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Post by berryjuice on Nov 9, 2022 4:54:06 GMT -5
Specklestar appeared caught off-guard by Jasminfur’s thanks. He smiled to him pleasantly. “It’s the right thing to do- StarClan’s wish, after all.” There was a genuine warmth in his voice, and a friendliness in his eyes that most ThunderClan cats lacked. Though it was easy to see why ThunderClan was not especially fond of him- his personality possibly being too passive and indecisive for leadership, as well as lacking the bloodlust that ThunderClan appeared to value- he was a likable cat who cared for his Clanmates, and maybe even the refugees.
Brightfrost stayed protectively close to Jasminefur as they entered the clearing, just in case there was some kind of danger. She told herself she needed to be ready for anything- but she wasn’t ready for what she saw. Her fur stood on end as she stopped in her tracks. A scent filled her nose that wasn’t unfamiliar. Where had she encountered this before? The horrible smell of blood- but different than what one might experience on the battlefields. It was putrid, rotting…
A familiar chill ran down Brightfrost’s spine as she remembered. My dream.
She didn’t have much time to take this in as she remembered Finchstar’s accusations. Typical- the other Clan were never on ThunderClan’s side! Why would they be now? Brightfrost’s hopes for getting their help were dashed; no wonder her older Clanmates were so hesitant to attempt diplomacy.
Specklestar was at a loss for words as he looked to the other leaders, his eyes wide and showing much more fear than a leader probably should. “We…we didn’t…” Even if he was a likable cat, he was again displaying why he was perhaps not fit to be leader. He didn’t seem to know how to appear strong or how to deal with such unexpected horrors, followed by a challenge from another Clan.
Brightfrost’s fur stood on end as Specklestar continued stammering. Someone had to defend the Clan; they couldn’t back down from such an accusation. She opened her mouth to interject, but Stoneheart shot her a silencing look. Normally that wouldn’t keep Brightfrost quiet for long, but another ThunderClan cat was soon taking charge.
“ThunderClan would never do such a thing!” Robinpatch bellowed, with surprising volume for such an old cat. “Even if WindClan deserved it- ThunderClan would never do something so dishonorable! We believe in the code more than any Clan!”
Goldenspots spoke up next. He appeared relatively calm in the face of such an atrocious sight. “We’ve taken in two of WindClan’s refugees. We wouldn’t do something like that if we were trying to destroy the entire Clan.” He nodded to Jasminefur. “In fact- we planned on coming here to discuss this tragedy.”
At Goldenspots bringing up Jasminefur, quite a lot of cats turned to look at him- many eyes suddenly on the grieving warrior. Brightfrost moved to his side with her usual protectiveness. She felt terrible that he would need to give any kind of testimony when he was in such a shocked state. She couldn’t imagine any cat being keen to talk to such a large audience immediately after coming across such a grisly sight- especially not a cat who preferred to avoid the center of attention as much as Jasminefur.
She pushed her anger and disgust about the situation down for a second, pressing against him in an attempt to provide some kind of comfort- or at least remind him that she was here. Even though she knew that she should focus on their mission and on ThunderClan’s honor and on figuring out what was going on here, her heart broke for Jasminefur as she listened to his cries. Now more than ever, she wanted to support him. Maybe she couldn’t completely shield him from the horrors around them, and maybe she could never really understand what he was going through. But she could do her best to protect and to help him- and to be a light in the darkness.
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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~
Posts: 617
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on Dec 14, 2022 11:37:02 GMT -5
The snow was almost a blessing in disguise--the sight and stench likely would have been far more revolting given sunny, hot weather, perhaps to the point of making his passed clanmates unrecognizable. But Jasminefur would have known, even if that had been the case. This was the thought that had been in the back of his mind, creeping around, that he had been forcing to stay in the back of his mind. Realistically, it was the logical result of what he had seen the day he fled with Fernkit. No clan could realistically survive that sort of surprise assault.
None of those facts made seeing this any easier, and it left Jasminefur crushed and stuck to his spot, crouched down several tail-lengths away as his legs would not support him standing. His eyes were fixed on the pile in front of him, and he was too in shock to be overtaken by the horrid stench coming from it. How could it be worse than what all these clanmates being dead meant for him?
He didn't seem aware of the explanation the Thunderclan tom-cats were providing for his being here, or the dozens of cats from the two clans that turned to focus on him, expecting some sort of confirmation.
Amidst the chaos, accusations from RiverClan and many cats listening in to the ThunderClan cats' explanation, an aged, grissled warrior was snarling in disgust at the sight before them, as well as the subsequent reactions from several cats. Her disapproving glare turned to Specklestar as he failed to address RiverClan himself, instead leaving it to his deputy and a warrior younger than her. "Perhaps we should get the apprentices back to camp?" Her voice was curt, and it really didn't seem like she was making a suggestion, despite the tom-cat's obvious position of authority. The apprentices didn't need to be here to witness all of this, and if Specklestar wouldn't take charge, other cats had to.
"All ThunderClan thinks of anymore is how to slaughter WindClan! Of course they would do this!" An out-of-turn yowl came from a few tail-lengths behind Finchstar, and a quick 180 degree turn accompanied by a withering glare quickly silenced the cat. Then, the leader of RiverClan turned back around, even having to recompose himself a bit at the new information he was hearing. Certainly, this cat was from WindClan. The thin, sleek frame made that much obvious, even if the leader had failed to notice his scent amid the putrid stench of death and the wave of ThunderClan cats.
And Finchstar felt it unlikely that there would be any WindClan refuggee allowed in ThunderClan in the first place--just the presence of this cat challenged the assumptions he would normally make, so he had to wonder if there was some truth to what these cats were saying. He didn't address the deputy or Goldenspots right away, instead looking to Specklestar, not noticing the ThunderClan she-cat who had just finished speaking to him moments ago. "Where is the other refuggee, then? And who is this cat here? Will he freely explain what happened, or do we have to take only your word for it?"
"Jasminefur..." It was a weak mewl from Creekpaw, who had been pushed to the back of the Clan intentionally by some of their other clanmates. It was impossible not to see and smell what was there, though. The apprentice struggled to understand how so many cats could be here, dead, or even what it meant for a Clan itself to be gone--but Creekpaw could see Jasminefur, obviously distraught, and she wanted to wade through the crowd of cats to say something and offer comfort, but there was no way she was going to be allowed through.
Jasminefur could barely breath through his choking sobs, and as he felt a cat press up against him again, he knew who it was instinctually. Their recent dispute was left forgotten, and the recently colder conversations between them had no weight now. He pressed his face into Brightfrost's flank, finally managing to tear his face away from the horrible sight that he had expressed his fear, his terror of, to this very cat. She was the cat who knew he had always wanted to help and be useful to the cats lying dead here, and he had never been able to accomplish that. He had been more open to her with some of his fears than any of his clanmates, and she was the one witnessing his world finally come crashing down.
So he sobbed into her flank, unable to say anything, or move from this spot, let alone turn around and explain to all these cats what had happened.
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Post by berryjuice on Dec 31, 2022 6:04:41 GMT -5
Specklestar looked to the older warrior, then to the apprentices. He spoke quickly and quietly, “Good idea. You, Goldenspots, and Applewing- escort the apprentices back to camp. Take the safest route.”
Honeypaw pushed her way forward. “Why- maybe we can help…” She didn’t actually know anything that she could do; this situation was far beyond anything that she had dealt with in her short time as an apprentice, and she hadn’t even really processed the horror of it all. But she knew that this was a big and that it involved Jasminefur; she didn’t want to be back in camp worrying about was happening.
Goldenspots, for his part, didn’t appear thrilled to return to camp either. He seemed to always want to be involved in these things, one of the cats who liked to speak authoritatively as if they were leader or deputy. But he seemed to quickly see that it was necessary to protect the apprentices and he nodded without arguing. “You heard your leader; it’s time to return to camp. We'll make sure you have your names called at the next Gathering.” he said gently. He began leading the makeshift patrol out, brushing his tail against Creekpaw’s flank to make sure she stayed close. Honeypaw glanced back at Jasminefur before reluctantly walking out beside her sister.
While this was happening, the rest of ThunderClan had its tensions running high. Stoneheart remained coldly stern, but was certainly angry at Finchstar’s accusations. Her even, though nearly growling voice moved through through the crowd. “The other refugee is only a kit. We certainly were not going to bring her all the way to the island. And this is Jasminefur, of WindClan. Surely one of you has seen him at a Gathering.” She looked to Jasminefur intensely, obviously not pleased that he was not speaking in ThunderClan’s defense.
Brightfrost looked between them quickly, then to the rest of the cats. She felt torn. Jasminefur needed her by his side, but she also felt like there was more she needed to do here. Tensions were only increasing; she knew that if Finchstar continued on with his mouse-brained accusations, then her Clanmates would soon question why they even needed to bother convincing an enemy Clan. Her blood was boiling as well, but she knew that she needed to at least try getting the remaining Clans to work together. At the very least, they needed to be able to share information. And if Jasminefur couldn’t speak, then she would have to for him. She hesitated before parting her flank from his.
She climbed up onto the roots of the big tree, where deputies and medicine cats would normally sit. She didn’t hesitate before speaking- she couldn’t give her Clanmates any time to notice and demand she come down. “LISTEN! StarClan would want us to listen to each other to figure this out!” she shouted, her voice quite loud. Rather than look to the Clans, which she was sure would be angered that a young warrior had the audacity to address them at a Gathering, she looked at the full moon for assurance. “One of the Clans is gone and we need to set things right. StarClan chose to bring two of WindClan’s survivors to us- to ThunderClan- so we’ve been keeping them under our protection. There must be four Clans by the lake. If we wanted to end WindClan, why would we keep two of their cats alive and feed them our prey?” She flicked her tail towards the dead bodies. “And look at those wounds- that’s the work of beasts, not warriors.” She was sure Autumneyes would agree; she hoped she would convince the other medicine cats to see reason. Brightfrost scanned the crowd, not sure how long she could command their attention. She thought about bringing up the strange evidence she and Jasminefur had found, but thought better of it. There was some information that should only be shared with those she could trust- if she could trust anyone. “Besides, there’s still a threat out there- and WindClan’s destruction proves that it’s too much for one Clan to handle on its own. We need to put our suspicions aside and work together so that this doesn’t happen again. We can settle our differences after the lake is safe for all the Clans.”
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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~
Posts: 617
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on Jan 13, 2023 3:17:28 GMT -5
Dovefoot wanted to growl as Specklestar volunteered her specifically to carry out the idea that she had suggested; her irritation that he wasn't performing the task on his own was compounded by the fact that she would be made to take the apprentices back herself. She wished to hear what RiverClan would say in response to the scraggly WindClan cat's tale, and yet her own irritated suggestion had made it so she wouldn't be able to. With an irritated huff, definitely loud enough for her leader to hear, she turned about, starting to push uncaringly through the crowd of ThunderClan cats towards the apprentices.
"But--...w-we can help him! He told us the story! We can-" Creekpaw pushed against Goldenspots' guiding tail, making a second effort to move through the crowd of cats towards their WindClan guest. But Dovefoot was just behind Goldenspots, and her angry glare left the apprentice paralyzed just long enough for the warriors to start to push her away from the crowd once again. She didn't stop protesting; she whined about wanting to help, but Dovefoot was completely uninterested in the apprentice's pleas, far less tactful than Goldenspots as she ordered them to shut their mouths and obey their elders.
RiverClan was left murmuring between themselves as Stoneheart defended her Clan. There was no way to prove that they had a kit in their clan, but it was dangerous thing to challenge without anything to base it on. Finchstar himself seemed to see the reason of this as well. The leader remained silent for a time, taking in the whispers of his warriors--few seemed certain of whether they had seen Jasminefur or not. They were asking each other questions about him-- 'Is he that warrior that never spoke to many cats?' 'I think I might have seen him, but I can't place his voice in my head.' Finchstar considered what Stoneheart had said as he measured his clanmates' experiences with the WindClanner.
Jasminefur was consumed by grief, unable to address any of the questions bubbling around him. However, he could feel the growing tension, and he could sense that even Brightfrost was coming to a point where she needed to address it. He choked back a sob....tried to catch his breath....and just when he was about to say something to her, to try to vocalize his internal torment, she pulled away from him in a rush, hurrying towards a higher perch, and he was left breathless, staring after her as she hurried away.
Finchstar's attention was drawn immediately to the ThunderClan warrior who had rose up above the rest of the cats gathered around the clearing. His offense was immediately noticeable; the warrior had dared raise herself to the level which only deputies deserved to be near. He was close to yowling out some protest, but Brightfrost's voice silenced all of them before the leader managed to voice his own thoughts.
The leader of RiverClan had a tough time answering the question which Brightfrost was posing to all of them. If the bloodthirsty clan really had ended this many cats, why would they be taking care of Jasminefur? Why would he have looked, at the least, fairly fed? His gaze traveled around to the ThunderClan cats who stood many tail-lengths from his own, and he noticed many looks of displeasure and discontent murmurs among them. The leader's ears weren't so sharp anymore as to hear what they said; but he imagined that they could be the angry murmurings of cats who were tired of sharing their prey with another clan's warrior.
Finchstar let out a deep breath that he didn't know he had been holding. Brightfrost directed their attention to the carcasses that lay in the Gathering. It wasn't as easy to tell for him as Brightfrost might have thought; the bodies certainly were not fresh. Finchstar decided to draw closer to the bodies, even though it caused a visceral reaction from him as he realized how much worse the stench was as he drew closer.
Yes...I suppose these are not the claw marks or the bites of a cat... The leader exhaled as he pondered to himself. He looked up towards Brightfrost, forgetting her perched form for the moment. "If WindClan has been reduced to this-" His tail pointed towards the pile of bodies. "-Then what truly remains when there is but a warrior and a kit?"
Jasminefur, despite not having been able to pay much attention, seemed to have heard that. He still couldn't look back to the dozens of cats gathering behind him, but his useless tears continuing dropping to the ground as he asked himself the same thing. What was his clan when he was about all that remained?
---
"In the name of StarClan..." A burly voice sounded from behind the gathered crowds of RiverClan and ThunderClan cats. Pinestar had just finished crossing the log connecting the territories to the Gathering place, and she finally laid eyes upon what Rosepelt had told her about. Pinestar's medicine cat was close behind her, and warriors began filing in behind her, but they slowly began shuffling around the leader as she struggled to move out of the way upon seeing the utter carnage on display at the far end of the Gathering place. Their arrival temporarily blocked the departure of a group of ThunderClan cats, mostly apprentices, that seemed to be trying to leave, but that simply didn't demand the same attention as the sight before them. "What is this disgusting display?" The ShadowClan leader's voice wasn't very loud, likely not audible beyond a pawful of tail-lengths away; certainly not as far as the other two leaders, though their arrival was certainly obvious by now, given the shocked cries and yowls of her clan.
Rosepelt had already seen so many of the bodies before she escaped; it wasn't a complete shock to her, but seeing them stacked in a pile, one on top of the other on top of the other...it left a brutal scar on her heart as she stepped away from the log and drew closer to the other two clans of warriors. Her eyes drifted over the pile of bodies, lingering for a few moments, before her gaze shifted to the cat closest to it, hunched down on the ground, facing away from the crowd. It took her a couple seconds from the distance between them, but his pelt was unmistakable to her. It took no more than two seconds for her to recognize him.
She audibly gasped, her paws frozen to the floor.
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Post by berryjuice on Jan 27, 2023 6:29:19 GMT -5
Brightfrost stood taller as the cats in the clearing considered her words. She felt like she was getting through to them. Her first priority was to prevent fighting from breaking out under the full moon- her next step would be to somehow get everyone to work together. And find information that might lead them to the evil white cat. While supporting Jasminefur- she looked back down at him, alone in the crowd. She- they- had a lot to do, but she had to believe they were making progress.
She tensed as she saw that ShadowClan was arriving. She did pity them somewhat for what they were about to see- nothing could really prepare you for it. They also represented something of a threat- another Clan that might accuse ThunderClan for no reason and would need to be convinced, although at least Finchstar might be on their side now. But then she saw Jasminefur’s reaction and heard mumbling throughout the crowd. There were WindClan cats with them! They must have taken in refugees as well. So Jasminefur and Fernkit weren’t the last remnants of WindClan. She thought there was something familiar about the she-cat; maybe she had seen her at a Gathering?
All eyes were now off of her and on the new arrivals, so Brightfrost took the opportunity to climb down from the tree root- glancing to the full moon as she did so, checking again that StarClan wasn’t too angry at her. The sky was still clear, so they must have understood her intentions. She returned to her place beside Jasminefur, but about a tail-length away from him this time without thinking about it. It was as if the return of Jasminefur’s Clanmates had served as a reminder to her subconscious that he belonged to WindClan and she belonged to ThunderClan. They weren’t meant to be close.
—
Cricketpaw’s ears were pricked for any danger as he stepped onto the island. He was always alert these days- always worrying that there could be another attack. He had heard from another cat that dogs couldn’t swim, so at least they were probably safe from that on the island. But on the island, they would have ThunderClan to deal with.
He looked like what was typically expected of WindClan cats- lithe and lanky, built well for running. He was mostly a sandy beige, with faint stripes on his tail and legs. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at what was ahead.
He walked beside Rosepelt, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the dead bodies of his Clanmates. He had known that nearly the entire Clan had died horribly- he had assumed that nearly all his friends and family were gone. But that was different than looking at their bodies and knowing that they truly were gone. Even if they were barely recognizable, he could still see the cats he had known- the Clan he had known. Rotting on this island.
His blood boiled as he saw ThunderClan was already there. They must have had something to do with this- he had already suspected as much. But then he saw something he didn’t expect- that took his gaze away from the horrific scene, even if only for a moment..
“Jasminefur?” Seeing another from WindClan alive was a relief- he and Rosepelt weren’t alone after all. Even if this wasn’t a cat he had spent much time with previously, reuniting with any WindClan cat was like reuniting with family. He glanced to Rosepelt- wasn’t this her brother? For her, it really was a family reunion. His stomach twisted as he looked back towards the bodies, knowing his littermates were among them. But why was Jasminefur standing near ThunderClan? He thought some of his Clanmates might have been taken in by RiverClan, but ThunderClan? Surely there was something else going on here. He walked towards his old Clanmate. “It’s…you’re alive? What happened to you?”
—
Specklestar bowed his head respectfully towards Cedarstar as he arrived. There were two cats with him that were clearly not ShadowClan- they must have taken in WindClan cats as well. He wondered what this would mean for what StarClan expected ThunderClan to do; he would have to talk to Autumneyes later. At the very least, this meant that ShadowClan was aware of what was going on and would hopefully be less combative than RiverClan. Although, ThunderClan’s relationship with ShadowClan had never been great…
He approached Pinestar. “I see that your Clan has also taken in a few WindClan cats,” he said, motioning towards the reuniting refugees. “I assume you’re aware of what’s going on? Well…aside from all the dead here. We don’t know how that happened either.” He cleared his throat. “We were just about to discuss the next steps in dealing with...this.” He began making his way to climb up the tree, though he didn’t have the confidence to take charge and officially start the Gathering.
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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~
Posts: 617
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on Feb 18, 2023 4:17:40 GMT -5
ShadowClan was filing in at a delayed pace, as Pinestar slowly moved away from the log that she had used to cross, drawing just a bit closer to the horrid scene before all the gathered cats. This made it hard for the cats assigned to escort the ThunderClan apprentices away to truly leave, as a whole clan was still awaiting their opportunity to cross the log. This gave Creekpaw the opportunity to stick around. She wanted to slip away and stay at the Gathering, but with a simple glance around, she could see that several ThunderClan warriors were keeping a keen eye on her, and likely on her sister as well. She gave a quiet mewl of protest as large, muscular ShadowClan warriors shoved past them and almost bowled the little apprentice over.
-----
For a brief moment, as Cricketpaw drew closer to her brother and called out to him, Rosepelt pictured her brother, just minutes before the attack on the WindClan camp. She remembered, very vividly, the grin on her face as she stood next to her friends, all of them listening to him being chewed out by a senior warrior for arguing with his fellow apprentices, instead of just doing the tasks they had had assigned to them.
It had been so easy to bully him into doing all the things she was too lazy to do--he was quiet and obedient enough to do what he was bullied into, like helping out with apprentice-work -- but he wasn't confident enough to stand up for himself when he was heavily criticized for not doing the other tasks that had been directly assigned to him. Rosepelt had almost found a form of pleasure in seeing him squirm under the withering gaze of their clanmates, as her friends laughed at her littermate and reiterated how pathetic of a cat he was.
This rush of memories flooded her as Rosepelt saw the living figure of her brother. She hardly registered what Cricketpaw was saying. Her mind brought her back to the horrifying sight she had seen after sneaking back into the WindClan camp, after waiting for hours to ensure the dog-scent was growing stale. The way she had treated him was at the absolute forefront of her mind as she saw his relatively acceptably-kept pelt hunched down in the middle of the island of the Gathering.
Jasminefur was surprised by a young voice that sounded familiar to him -- it pulled him out of his own thoughts of dread and horror caused by the pile mere fox-lengths away from him. He managed to lift himself up off the ground, though his legs were shaking as he struggled to turn about a half-turn. His tear-sodden eyes came to rest upon Cricketpaw, and Jasminefur was stunned for a while as he took in the form of a young clanmate of his.
"Jasminefur!" A clear, loud mew of anguish sounded from a few tail-lengths behind Cricketpaw, and Rosepelt was quick to close the distance between herself and Jasminefur. The tom-cat barely had time to process it before his sister was upon him, drawing close and pressing her muzzle into his shoulder. It was unclear how easy it may have been to see, but Jasminefur became quickly aware of the fact that the she-cat beside him was shaking about as much as his legs were, and as he recognized the scent of the she-cat, and he realized who was pressed against him, Jasminefur sucked in a sharp breath, disbelief starting to clog his mind.
"Jasminefur! I...I can't..." Her voice sounded again, and Jasminefur almost didn't believe that her voice was filled with relief and affection. To any other cat, it would have been very clear, but Jasminefur himself had memories that vividly recalled a less cordial relationship between the siblings. Even so, he could hear that Rosepelt was beginning to emit a warm purr, and she began rubbing her muzzle against his cheek just as he was trying to process whether this was a real experience or not.
-----
Pinestar listened intently to Specklestar as he explained what little he knew about the ongoing situation. She had certainly been willing to give refuge to Rosepelt and Cricketpaw, but this had come under strong advising from her medicine cat. Pinestar was always worried about a resurgence in negative sentiment from ThunderClan; this was something passed down from generation to generation in the ranks of ShadowClan. It was only due to the cats being from WindClan that the ShadowClan leader had finally ceded to her medicine cat's near-demands that she host the cats and provide them shelter. Pinestar had almsot gotten the sense that the ShadowClan medicine cat believed the cats would be fundamental to the survival of the cats of the clans, but Pinestar was under no delusion that two cats could be so important.
"I see you have taken in WindClanners as well," Pinestar's always forceful voice was pointed and seeking more information about the current situation, but Specklestar wasn't giving much more for the moment. She made a point of speaking quietly, considering they were not yet on their perches as leader. She was disinterested in the opinion of whatever warrior decided they could match a leader's experience. Of course, she didn't know how Brightfrost had called for a general calm to the Gathering, and as such, her piercing gaze was stuck fixed on Specklestar, trying to figure out anything she could. "So, WindClan's bloodthristy rival has decided to shelter the last of their lost kits? What is your game, Specklestar?"
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Post by berryjuice on Feb 27, 2023 1:59:24 GMT -5
Cricketpaw looked to the warrior by his side, appearing in awe. “Rosepelt, this is amazing.” He thought she seemed very happy, even if perhaps she and Jasminefur were not as close as he had been with most of his littermates. He was still on edge, but he felt differently now that he knew that they were among another WindClan cat. They were still definitely a group of stragglers rather than a real Clan, but any increase in numbers was good. He looked to Jasminefur. “We didn’t know anyone else escaped.”
As he remembered their situation and looked around, a few cats were watching them- this was something of a spectacle, after all. But one cat in particular was watching them more closely than he would like. A she-cat, with thick enough fur that at first he assumed she was RiverClan- but no, she had the stink of ThunderClan on her. Her eyes were less openly hostile than ThunderClan cats’ usually were, but he hated how focused she seemed on the WindClan cats. Whatever her intentions were, he didn’t like it. He glared at her intensely, but she didn’t react much, which only annoyed him further.
—
Brightfrost kept her silence, as well as her distance, as she watched things play out between WindClan’s remnants. Rosepelt is alive? Not only were there more living WindClan cats, but one of them was Jasminefur’s sister? That must be a miracle from StarClan. She tried to read Jasminefur’s body language to figure out how he was feeling- it might be hard for him to feel much joy with so much darkness around them, but surely this was a good thing. In keeping with the general oddness around her birth, Brightfrost was the only kit in her litter, so she didn’t know much about what it was like to have a sibling. But she thought that her fellow apprentices who were littermates often had a special kind of relationship. Perhaps closer than regular denmates- although, especially when they were younger, they often seemed to have more heated rivalries. And she did know that Jasminefur may not have always gotten along well with those in his Clan; she didn’t know if that might extend to his sister as well. No, surely there was a bond there- which would seem even more important now.
So he doesn’t need me anymore. She doesn’t really know where that thought came from. Sure, she had at times tried to provide emotional support to Jasminefur, and now he had someone better for that. But it’s not like that was ever Brightfrost’s purpose in sticking by him. Her duty was simply to keep him safe and to guide him through these dark times. None of that would change.
In fact, maybe StarClan would want her to protect all of the remaining WindClan cats. Fernkit was likely safe at camp. Brightfrost had seen how fiercely protective Fogfoot was of her own kits, and surprisingly seemed to feel a similar attachment to Fernkit. For Jasminefur, she did still worry about how long Jasminefur would be allowed to stay at ThunderClan. It wasn’t like he could be returned to WindClan when WindClan was barely existent- and their territory still likely unsafe. But if Specklestar needed convincing, Autumneyes would help with that. And as long as Jasminefur and Fernkit remained in ThunderClan, Brightfrost could easily watch over them.
But what about these two newcomers? Rosepelt appeared to carry herself with more confidence than Jasminefur had, but these were very difficult circumstances for anyone. And there was this apprentice she had arrived with. He was watching the reunion between the two siblings, but his eyes often moved off that to dart around looking at the other gathered cats and to glare at Brightfrost, though she was mostly too lost in thought to notice his hostility. Even if he was older than a kit, he was still rather vulnerable. It appeared they both had been allowed to stay with ShadowClan. How long could they continue living there? Brightfrost felt a pit in her stomach as she wondered what Jasminefur would do now. Would he try to go to ShadowClan? He would want to be with more members of his Clan, right? That would make it even harder to work together and keep him safe.
—
Specklestar looked to Pinestar, frowning at her accusation. It was strange, wasn’t it? He couldn’t have imagined having WindClan cats in the camp even a moon ago. “We believe this is what StarClan wants,” he said tersely. He thought it best not to share details of the message that Autumneyes had relayed. “I’m sure you feel similarly.” He climbed onto the tree and made sure the leaders, deputies, and medicine cats had gotten to their proper places.
The rush of having so many cats staring back at him never went away. He cleared his throat, not used to being the one to call the Gathering to order. But it seemed like there were some things that they should address sooner rather than later. “Let the Gathering begin!” He looked towards the empty spot on a branch where Wrenstar usually was. Fittingly, it was the farthest away from where the ThunderClan leader traditionally sat. “WindClan has been attacked. By dogs. We had nothing to do with it.” He shot a look at Finchstar. He was much more agreeable towards the other Clan’s leaders than past ThunderClan leaders had been, but Finchstar’s accusations had ruffled him. “We have taken in two WindClan cats: Jasminefur, who we have brought here with us, and Fernkit. Despite ThunderClan’s tumultuous relationship with WindClan, we feel strongly that StarClan wants there to be four Clans in the forest. It would be wrong to allow WindClan to be, er…exterminated.”
Some murmurs of disbelief rose up from cats of all the Clans gathered. It was hard for the other Clans to believe that the ThunderClan leader was sincere about this. Cricketpaw in particular thought it unlikely that ThunderClan had nothing to do with this, much less that they wanted to help. And even for the ThunderClan cats, most of them clearly disagreed about the need to keep WindClan alive. Stoneheart shot an intimidating glare to silence some younger warriors, but this could be out of a general belief that talking while being addressed by the leaders was a breach of etiquette, rather than out of genuine support for her leader’s words.
Specklestar looked to the WindClan cats in the crowd, then to Pinestar. “We see that ShadowClan has also taken in refugees, which is…good.”
“Maybe they can take ours too!” yelled a voice from the back of the crowd, which Brightfrost was pretty sure belonged to Aspenpelt. She covered her paws with her tail to hide her claws unsheathing.
“Pinestar, do you have any more information to share?” Specklestar was eager to ignore the heckling crowd. “We also must address the threat that apparently now lives with us by the lake. Every Clan’s warriors ought to be alert for dogs. One dog did end up on ThunderClan’s territory, but a patrol of our warriors dealt with it easily.”
No report from ThunderClan was complete without a statement about their superior fighting prowess. In Specklestar’s rather brief time as deputy, Cragstar had made sure to beat that idea into him. It served a dual purpose of reminding the other Clans that they remained strong, as well as stroking the egos of the ThunderClan warriors that were currently unhappy with him. "Um, that's all- from ThunderClan, anyway."
–
Goldenspots had waited for the ShadowClan cats to file onto the island so that he could leave with the apprentices. He kept the younger apprentices close, blocking Honeypaw when she tried to sneak back into the Gathering and preventing them from getting trampled by the ShadowClan cats.
By the time Specklestar started the Gathering, the cats were in their proper places and there was room on the bridge. He made sure he had his small patrol together before he began guiding the apprentices across. He did slow as he followed, pausing in an attempt to listen to Specklestar address the crowd. Unfortunately, his torn ear did impact his hearing, but he still managed to get the gist of it. His whiskers twitched in amusement at ThunderClan’s opposition to its leader.
After a few moments, he was satisfied with his information and seemed to refocus on the task at hand. He made sure everyone was across who was supposed to be. “Come on now, time to go,” he said softly, almost to himself as much as the apprentices, before leading them back through the territories.
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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~
Posts: 617
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on May 8, 2023 3:26:01 GMT -5
Pinestar gave a rather curt and insincere grin as the ThunderClan leader addressed her snide comment directly, showing a bit of acumen for defending his clan's actions. She wasn't particularly interested in putting ThunderClan in a place of defensiveness, but she hadn't been able to help herself from pointing out the strangeness of the situation. She was surprised, if even a little bit impressed, by how in stride Specklestar took it, turning it right back around on her.
She didn't respond to his comment, because she didn't feel he was looking for a response; it seemed to be meant quite rhetorically. Speckelstar unilaterally called for the beginning of the Gathering, but she didn't particularly object, as ThunderClan was, in some sense, the center of attention at this Gathering. She headed for their perches, almost in step with Finchstar, before effortlessly ascending her own perch, Finchstar taking the space between her and Specklestar.
Pinestar casted a glance at Finchstar, trying to gaze his reaction to this whole situation. She was trying to calculate all of the moving pieces around them, but she paused her thinking and tuned in closer to Specklestar's words as he explained the refugees that currently occupied the ThunderClan camp.
She had to hold back a chortle as Specklestar stuttered. Of course the tom-cat had a hard time affirming they didn't want WindClan exterminated -- deep down, the ThunderClan leader must have had the same bloodlust for these cats as any other cat in the camp. Of course, that still left the question of why he would leave two WindClan cats alive. Of course, they only really had proof of one of those cats being here, but Pinestar could only throw so many issues at the leader's paws at a time and expect a real response.
There was a momentary glower from the she-cat as some cat took it upon themselves to assume ShadowClan would take on the burden of more WindClan strays. She raised her voice for the first time, turning her head to look at Specklestar. He was addressing her, asking for her input, but she wasn't going to let the warrior's yowl go so easily. "I think you'd best learn to discipline and control your misbehaving apprentices, Specklestar. They make your clan look disunited." There was a slight smile on her face, as Pinestar took just a little bit of pleasure referring to whatever cat it was, obviously a warrior, as an outbursting kit. It was a great way to take ThunderClan down a peg, taking a sharp swipe at the ego of a strong, arrogant warrior of ThunderClan that any cat would be a fool to challenge. She was a leader, after all, even if a leader from another clan. A good warrior would bow down and silence themselves.
Pinestar then shook her head, not letting Specklestar get a word in edgewise. "There has been nothing particularly worthy of mention in ShadowClan, given the circumstances. We chased off a couple foxes that had strayed onto ShadowClan territory, but I sincerely doubt they'll remain around the territories, given...anyways, these dogs seem to be the most pressing business."
Finchstar silently pondered for a few moments, after Pinestar quietly asked if there was any news that he wished to bring to their attention. He had been meaning to bring up some recent encroaching that his warriors had noticed on the borders, but as he pondered the situation at paw, he decided that it was not a conflict that outweighed the importance of the threat of these dogs for RiverClan. There was a momentary grimace that slipped through his stoic facade, but he shook his head. "No. Let us proceed with the matter of these dogs. As well as..." His gaze turned downwards to the awful scene below the leaders, an impossibly gruesome sight that couldn't conceivably be ignored by the gathered cats. There was going to be quite the task ahead of them. They couldn't allow these cats to fester in this clearing, blessed by StarClan, more than they already were.
---
Jasminefur was lost for words as a new flood of emotions overwhelmed the ones he had been experiencing just moments before, looking over the pile of their dead clanmates. He could smell the unforgettable scent of his own littermate, even beneath the masking, intermingled scents of ShadowClan marsh and putridness. His previously speechless self managed to string together a word, and he got up on shaky legs to press himself closer to his sibling. "Rosepelt!" He gasped quietly, taking in a deep scent as if he still couldn't believe this was reality, even with most of his senses seeming to be confirming that fact.
His attention was off of his guardian for the moment, and as a result he wasn't tuned in to the subtle reactions she was having to him reuniting with his sister.
Beyond her form, the young voice addressed him, and though he refused to pull back from his sister, his gaze traveled to Cricketpaw, and he let out an exasperated "Oh, sweet StarClan..." as he recognized another one of the few survivors they had left. It was unbelievable that his own littermate had survived, but something about an apprentice surviving as well...for some reason, there was some part of Jasminefur that wanted to see that as a good sign for their future as a clan. But he couldn't linger on that thought too long, as the noise around them transitioned to above them as the Gathering got moving into it's...'normal' proceedings.
Still, he ignored it for a time as he let out a sigh of exasperation. He took a small step back from his sister, and she did the same. They exchanged a few seconds of a deep, amazing look between each other, before Jasminefur looked to Cricketpaw again. "I thought I was the only cat. I...I saw Wrenstar..." He gulped, a sick feeling beginning to bubble up in his stomach. His expression showcased the feeling clearing, leaving little doubt to what he was trying to say. It wasn't the best time to bring up the WindClan leader's death, but he was too in shock at seeing them and not sure what was best to say. "I..." He was lost for what to say, stunned and filled with pain all at the same time. It was a horrible moment for them to be reunited, what with the pile of bodies behind him. "I'm...so happy to see you both," His voice cracked right as he expressed his emotion, but he finished saying how he was feeling, and he was relieved to get a quiet, sympathizing nod from his sister, and he glanced at Cricketpaw, hoping for the same.
---
It was a little hard for Applewing to work up the courage to say anything now that Aspenpelt had been so directly insulted by the ShadowClan leader. He knew what Paleheart wanted him to do, but the tom-cat was sweating enough for a RiverClan cat to swim, struggling to build up the courage to directly challenge Specklestar's willingness to keep the WindClan cats around for so long.
Of course, Applewing didn't particularly like Brightheart. She was arrogant, self-assured, and felt the clan should grovel at her paws since she thought StarClan saw her as special. It did get on his nerves, and he would never directly defend the she-cat. But Applewing was struggling to speak up for two reasons. The first was that it was clearly a direct defiance of the leader. Paleheart had surely been ready to do so, given how angry he had been that Applewing would be going to the Gathering without him. But the tom-cat wasn't so brazenly willing to defy the leader as his partner seemed to be.
And secondly...where were the WindClan cats going to go? Perhaps ShadowClan would take in two more refugees, but Applewing seriously doubted they would do that. In fact, he was surprised the cats that often had hearts rotted by the putrid marshlands would take in two, let alone four. And on some level, wasn't it better to keep enemies closer and in control, than to allow them out of ThunderClan's sight? In the camp, they could keep Jasminefur on a tight and narrow leash, much like the two-legs with their dogs. Applewing saw serious flaws in what Paleheart wanted him to do here, but he had been too nervous to bring any of it up to him.
So, the result was a somewhat sheepish and half-hearted protest. "The dogs haven't bothered any of us yet. They've only attacked WindClan, and haven't been seen since, right? So, maybe we should leave the WindClan cats to their territory to take care of their problem." Something about his way of intonating almost made the protest sound rehearsed. "Why should ThunderClan, or...or ShadowClan have to put up with these..." He gently cleared his throat, struggling with the word for a few moments. "Leeches?"
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Post by berryjuice on May 23, 2023 5:56:59 GMT -5
Cricketpaw glanced away at the mention of Wrenstar. He had assumed Wrenstar was dead, but this seemed to confirm it. It was strange to imagine that his leader could have died in such a sudden and horrible way. He knew he had already lost other strong cats in his life, like his mentor and his parents, but he thought Wrenstar was the very strongest he knew. If she had fallen so quickly, what hope did the rest of them have? Especially if the dogs came back…
He felt Jasminefur’s gaze and nodded to him, still seeming dazed by everything that had happened. He had never had much respect for this warrior; his mentor and his parents had seemed to have a low opinion of him. But they were all dead now. And even if they were alive, surely they would tell him to hold onto the last remnants of WindClan. Finding out he had another Clanmate alive, even if it was Jasminefur, was a miracle. He wanted to say something, but felt at a loss for words. And soon, he had the leaders to pay attention to.
—
Brightfrost couldn’t hold in her anger any longer. Hadn’t Applewing seen the sign from StarClan? It was clear as day- and Autumneyes had confirmed it. How could they send Jasminefur away after that? Especially when so little was settled, and they didn’t even know where the dogs had gone. She whirled around to face Applewing, her voice ringing out through the clearing as it had when she had boldly addressed the Gathering. “Mousebrain! Do you think the dogs disappeared into thin air? It’s not safe on their territory; what if we send them back, and WindClan ends up gone for good?”
Aspenpelt scoffed. “Do you expect us to send them guards for their own territory? Or do you think the other Clans should be forced to take care of the leeches forever? Why should we waste resources on a Clan that’s been slaughtering our kin for generations?”
“That’s enough,” Robinpatch snapped. Brightfrost tensed and sat back down. She suspected that Robinpatch agreed with Applewing and Aspenpelt, but didn’t like that they were making ThunderClan look bad by arguing so publicly.
She wished she could claw all their ears off. How could they bring up their ancestors when surely it was their ancestors that had told Autumneyes of taking in WindClan cats. Of course, it was hard to think of their ancestors without thinking about Icestorm. Her mother had not appeared to her, but surely she had had a part in sending StarClan’s message. However…a part of her did wonder what Icestorm would be saying if she were alive right now. Brightfrost’s recollection of her mother was foggy, but she could always remember the intensity in those piercing yellow eyes whenever Icestorm talked about the dangers of the other Clans.
Specklestar cleared his throat and continued. He still felt like he was on the defensive, and he hadn’t appreciated Pinestar’s comment at all. Even though any cat could tell that his warriors were acting unruly and that it did not paint ThunderClan in a positive light, he still had pride for his Clan. And he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at the interrupting warriors when he understood where they were coming from. He was old enough to have witnessed the Clan suffer for many moons due to WindClan, and he knew much of the Clan had lost friends and family to their enemies. But Brightfrost was acting based on her faith, both in Autumneyes and in StarClan, which Specklestar shared. “Well, er, as it stands now, WindClan is not exactly…a Clan. They have no leader, no deputy, no medicine cat…this is unprecedented, isn’t it? Should the other Clans intervene? Surely it’s not StarClan’s will for there to be one less Clan?”
Nightsong, a ShadowClan medicine cat, spoke up. She kept an eye on Pinestar, seeming like she was only stating her interpretation and did not mean to undermine her leader like the ThunderClan cats were doing. “It was StarClan’s will that brought four Clans to the lake. However, didn’t StarClan guide each Clan to the territory that suited them? These are WindClan cats; in the end, they belong on the moor.”
Brightfrost couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They couldn’t send the small group of refugees to survive on their own against the dogs. Surely they needed to take a more active role in protecting them, and in rebuilding WindClan. To let them die out would be turning their back on everything their ancestors had built!
Deeper than this, she also held fear at the idea of Jasminefur being alone. He wasn’t exactly helpless in battle- she had seen that when they had fought that first dog together- but she didn’t like the idea of him being out in the moor with only one warrior to watch his back. Especially not with a pack of dogs still unaccounted for. No, this wouldn’t do; her ancestors had given her the job to look after him. And unlike some of her Clanmates, she would never go against StarClan’s wishes. She wouldn’t leave Jasminefur unprotected.
Specklestar spoke up before Brightfrost could interrupt again. “Well…it would be best for WindClan to return to the moor, yes, of course. But only if that is the right choice. ThunderClan will aid WindClan if that is StarClan’s wish.” This inspired another wave of irritated murmuring. Was Specklestar agreeing to continue helping the WindClan cats? Would they be obligated to take Rosepelt and Cricketpaw as well? Much of ThunderClan didn’t like that idea. “Um, anyway, there is the matter of the…the…the crowfood that’s been left here. Maybe we should begin moving it out of here? With all of us here, surely it won’t take too long.”
Finally, a statement had been made that most of the cats there agreed with. Regardless of how one felt about how to proceed with WindClan, no one wanted their bodies to remain rotting on their sacred island.
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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~
Posts: 617
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on May 28, 2023 2:06:52 GMT -5
It was growing hard to linger in the moment with his sister and Cricketpaw, as the commotion around them was growing louder and reverberating more and more throughout the gathered cats. Jasminefur could sense that there was a lot of discontent at the idea of WindClan remaining anywhere near ThunderClan, and ShadowClan didn't seem too eager about the prospect either. Jasminefur was a little surprised they hadn't turned his clanmates away, but he shoved that thought to the back of his mind as something he could ask Rosepelt later.
A very rare wave of indignance spread over the tom-cat as he heard Applewing's words. Jasminefur turned about abruptly, and he missed the frown that spread on Rosepelt's face as their eye contact was broken and her attention was drawn to their surroundings as well. An even rarer glare fixed itself on Applewing's profile as the warrior seemed to be gauging the reactions of cats around him.
Applewing thought that he caught some murmurs of agreement from around him, but with all the general noise that wasn't normal of a Gathering, it was hard for him to pinpoint who might be doing so. He was certain Aspenpelt didn't agree with taking any more Windclanners or letting these two stay longer; he just hoped he could get a sense for who exactly Paleheart could speak to to corral some organized protest to the idea. He was starting to look around to see if there were any nods of agreement or cats whispering to one another, but his focus was broken as a livid Brightfrost's retort stormed his eardrums, causing his gaze to snap at her with a bit of surprise. He knew she wouldn't have liked what Paleheart wanted him to say, but he was unprepared to take it directly and also be able to respond.
Brightfrost's words were searing, and a fairly obvious point that everyone was probably aware of, even if they fell on the side of wanting the Windclanners gone. Applewing tried to quickly think of a way to bite back at Brightfrost, but he didn't have the skill at arguing that Paleheart did, and he found himself stammering for a response until they were silenced by the unhappy command of Robinpatch. His gaze withered downward as he imagined Brightfrost would burn holes through him with her glare if she could. He decided to obey and keep quiet, even if Paleheart would be angry.
Rosepelt was taken by an even greater wave of anger than his brother, as the warrior began seeing red for this cat who was pretty unfamiliar to her. Still, she was also surprised by the fiercer and surprisingly intelligent analysis of the logical conclusion of throwing the Windclanners back into their territory. She began scrutinizing the golden she-cat who was biting back to defend cats who were her generations-long enemies. She did vaguely remember this she-cat from some Gathering or another, but Rosepelt wasn't sure how to place the Thunderclanner's intentions, and with no sense of who she really was, Rosepelt had to thank StarClan for the time being for someone standing up for them.
She leaned in towards Jasminefur, however, taking the opportunity to murmur something into his ear. "I mean...There's no way we're going to be staying with ThunderClan, though..." She paused, expecting a relatively quick and decisive 'no' from her brother. When it didn't come for a couple seconds, and she noticed Jasminefur's shoulders tensing up a little as he gazed towards the conflict between Brightfrost and Applewing, her eyes narrowed a little, and her voice gained a bit of a sharp edge. "...Right?"
Jasminefur gulped, his eyes flittering over to where Brightfrost stood challenging her fellow clanmate. The prophecy that Brightfrost had been trying hard to convince him was relevant to him echoed within his mind as his sister questioned their futures amidst the clans. He didn't know where they were going to go, but if Brightfrost and Autumneyes were correct, it would seem that StarClan wanted them, for whatever strange reason, to take shelter with their enemy of generations. He didn't know how to respond to Rosepelt, and he didn't have time to explain everything that had occurred, so he remained silent.
Finchstar nodded in clear agreement at Specklestar's recommendation. "I don't know how or where we can bury so many. But we should move them off the holy island, no matter what." Technically, it should be the WindClan cats' responsibility to bury all of these cats. However, it was obvious that two warriors and an apprentice weren't going to be able to bury so many. "RiverClan will freely provide their aid in this matter--" It was a message to his own Clan not to protest, more than any statement of generosity aimed at WindClan. "And perhaps we should confer with our medicine cats in order to best determine the course forward?" It was an open suggestion-- surely each clan was going to attempt to select the most beneficial course for itself, but he wanted to get the least biased opinions, those of the medicine cats, in order to weigh every angle of the matter.
"Out of the way," a semi-sharp order came from a young tom-cat passing by Applewing. Larchleap felt it disgraceful how some of their clanmates were interjecting unprompted and directly challenging their leader in front of every other cat here. He had no patience for a cat who would sow discord like Applewing suddenly seemed committed to doing. It seemed fairly out of character for the normally quiet follower, but Ravenleap didn't care to ponder the issue any deeper. His actions spoke for themselves. "Help move the bodies, or get out of the way and let the warriors through." Disdain coated his voice and he gave a parting scowl as he passed Applewing, being among the first to reach the pile and start trying to hoist a cat partially onto his back. The silent antagonist was quick to retreat away from the crowd of his clanmates, trying to find a safe spot between some other clan's cats.
Autumneyes seemed to appear at Brightfrost's side, her tail falling across the warrior's flank in an attempt to provide her some semblance of comfort. "We're not going to abandon them," She whispered, her gaze fixed on Brightfrost's fuming profile. "I won't let that happen." Autumneyes was certain that nothing made the warrior angrier than cats who refused to heed the word of StarClan and in the process made her duty more challenging. Autumneyes wished half of the clan were as devout as the young warrior--just a couple pawfuls of cats following her example would create a far more just clan, not so thirsty for blood.
Jasminefur was struggling to gauge what the leader's were going to be doing from this distance, but he noticed that Autumneyes was saying something inaudible to Brightfrost, and he decided to start padding towards the pair, with no particular intent in mind.
He stopped halfway there, realizing he was leaving his sister and Cricketpaw behind. "Errmmmm..." He awkwardly cleared his throat. "Rosepelt...Cricketpaw...I need you to come meet these cats. They're..." He shifted his jaw around a bit as he struggled to find a word that would explain the situation to his clanmmates. "They've...helped me out." It was a weak and incomplete explanation, but he couldn't think of anything better to say. With a quiet, exasperated sigh, he turned around again, and drew closer to Autumneyes and Brightfrost, his gazed fixed on the she-cat who had been caring for him until now, uncertain of what the rest of this night had in store for them--though he didn't say anything to her for fear of interrupting her and Autumneyes.
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Post by berryjuice on Jun 1, 2023 3:15:04 GMT -5
Brightfrost felt reassured by Autumneyes’ statement. "You're right." No, they wouldn’t abandon these cats. The two of them would make sure of it. With the Gathering going the way it had, she was more relieved than ever that she had someone on her side. She felt so overwhelmed by her current emotions that she longed to bury her head in the medicine cat’s side, like she had done in the difficult times of her kithood. But she was a warrior now; she needed to be strong.
That would prove important in making a good impression on these newly-discovered WindClan survivors. She looked them both over. Perhaps she had seen them at Gatherings, but that was hard to remember now that there was so much other information to process. “Hi- I’m Brightfrost. I saved Jasminefur from a dog.” This statement likely sounded boastful, though she intended for it to serve as proof that she could be relied upon. That if it were StarClan’s will she was ready to put her life on the line for others, even from an enemy Clan.
She motioned to Autumneyes, deciding to introduce her even though they might already know her from Gatherings due to her important position. “And this is Autumneyes, ThunderClan’s medicine cat. She understands that StarClan wouldn’t have sent Jasminefur to us for no reason, so she convinced Specklestar to let him stay.” She definitely gave the impression that she was a cat confident in her own strengths, but she spoke of her friend glowingly as well. “I’m sure we can help you too.”
“Don’t expect us to be grateful, squirrelbrain,” Cricketpaw growled, his fur standing on end. “We’ll never fight for ThunderClan.”
Brightfrost kept her cool, although she was shaken out of the friendly demeanor she had tried to put on. Cricketpaw’s aggression had reminded her that it wasn’t long ago that she would have seen the three cats as nothing more than her enemies, and they likely would have thought the same about her. As always, she felt like her loyalty to StarClan was waging war with her loyalty to her living Clan- a conflict that didn’t exist within most cats, for whom these loyalties were essentially one and the same. She was not entirely immune to the feeling that something was wrong with speaking to WindClan cats as allies, and that feeling was not as easy to push down with these new cats as it was with Jasminefur. But she would have to. “I never said anything about making you into Clanmates. I want there to be four separate Clans, as StarClan intended. We all have that goal, right? So we can work together.”
Cricketpaw only grunted in response. Wanting to prove her worth, Brightfrost went to pick up the body of an apprentice she remembered from her visions. Cricketpaw growled again, louder this time, and tried to shove her back, although he was not strong enough. He glared furiously as he picked up the body himself. “Lightpaw should be buried by WindClan. Definitely not ThunderClan," he spat.
Brightfrost knew that there was no way that most of these bodies would be moved by their own Clan; after all, there were only three living WindClan cats here and far more WindClan bodies. And some corpses were already being carried off by the other Clans; Nightsong had gone to find the WindClan medicine cat's body to pay respects before she returned to advise her leader, and Ravenleap and Robinpatch were working together to get the body of an elder safely across the tree bridge. And cats from ShadowClan and RiverClan that Brightfrost was unfamiliar with worked diligently as well, some even seeming properly mournful. The island would be cleared, with or without WindClan's input. But she wasn’t going to argue with Cricketpaw when it was easy to see why he felt so strongly; she couldn’t imagine how hard it was not to be able to give your Clanmates a proper burial. And this had been his denmate, and could have been a close friend or even a littermate.
She said nothing and went to move a different body. She glanced to Jasminefur; she thought he might join in, but didn’t really expect him to. Not only was this traditionally a task for elders, but it might also be too emotionally difficult at the moment. Brightfrost had seen the dead bodies of her Clanmates before, but never so many at once, and never rotting like crowfood. She remained with more of a distance than usual from Jasminefur, although still not getting too far from him in case he needed protecting. She did hope that they could use this opportunity to investigate like they wanted to. Surely someone must know this strange white cat that had caused so much turmoil.
—
Specklestar climbed down from the tree and set about finding the best way to help everyone with this task. He was relieved to no longer be addressing the Gathering or arguing with the other leaders. Although, he had so many thoughts bouncing around in his head that he wished he could curl up in his quiet den to think everything over. However, he knew his Clan would not be happy about partaking in this duty, so he needed to lead the way.
As he set to work, he noticed Stoneheart gazing across the Gathering, staring at the bodies rather than helping move them. Specklestar didn’t think this was laziness; she wasn’t usually the type to try to get out of hard work, especially if it was something that called for brawn.
He supposed there was a lot about this situation that could be troubling her. He moved to stand alongside her. “I know this is strange. Not long ago, we would have never thought about fallen WindClan cats in this way. But, well, these are strange times, so…”
Stoneheart grunted a response that made Specklestar think she wasn’t really listening, although it was often hard to tell with her. As he studied her expression, he realized she wasn’t simply staring off into space. She was looking for something. She didn’t take her eyes off the bodies as she spoke in a half-snarl, “He isn’t here.”
“Who?” Specklestar responded, though he was unsure if she was actually talking to him- or to any of the nearby cats. And who could she expect to see among the bodies? He wouldn’t expect her to even know the name of anyone from outside ThunderClan. And surely she didn’t have affection for anyone in WindClan…although, he had been taken by surprise about this sort of thing before.
His eyes wandered over to Brightfrost, causing a wave of nausea to wash over him as he realized what Stoneheart was looking for. He too now found himself searching the bodies. She was right: he wasn’t here. So where was he? Specklestar wanted to believe that he was buried in WindClan’s own territory, having died a normal death before all of this. But somehow, that didn’t feel correct. Did Brightfrost notice? It didn’t seem like it; she was busily talking with the remnants of WindClan. He took in a sharp breath and looked back to Stoneheart, whose gaze hadn’t moved. “Oh.”
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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~
Posts: 617
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on Jun 2, 2023 17:40:36 GMT -5
Rosepelt turned her attention towards the ThunderClan medicine cat as Brightfrost finally took the attention off of herself. The WindClan warrior analyzed her as quickly as Brightfrost, but the results were significantly different.
Her autumn eyes shone with sadness as they took in the three lone figures, remnants of the devastated clan of the moor. Jasminefur looked like he was running through a million emotions, his shoulders sagging from the weight of it all, even with a spark of life returned to him upon seeing his sister and another one of his clanmates. The apprentice couldn't have looked angrier and more hostile if he tried, but Autumneyes wondered if this was just pure hatred, or if the apprentice didn't know how else to process and express how the last quarter-moon had impacted him. And Rosepelt looked....overwhelmed. there wasn't any friendliness in her gaze; far from it. But Autumneyes believed that through the guardedness she could see how afraid Rosepelt was too. She lingered close to Jasminefur, but seemed to be trying to put up a strong front; stiffened, broad shoulders, and a hard, emotionless expression. But her eyes betrayed how overwhelming the pile of bodies and finding her brother alive at the same time was to her.
Autumneyes felt a strong wave of grief rushing over her as she finished taking in the three. It took all of her focus not to release how overwhelming it all was, herself. But her words needed to be steady and sure; she was a medicine cat after all.
"I grieve so many cats being sent to StarClan too early. Our ancestors' response has been clear; none of you shall come to any harm under my watch." She spoke after Brightfrost had introduced her and finished speaking, but her words didn't have much time to hang in the air before Cricketpaw spoke up to cut off any attempt to make a connection between herself and the WindClan cats.
Rosepelt saw a look of sadness flash over Autumneyes' face as Cricketpaw lashed out at the two Thunderclanners. She squinted at the other cat now, trying to look for any sign of artificiality in the display of emotion -- but Rosepelt couldn't seem to break through and get a sense of Autumneyes' true feelings.
She had to let it go for now as Brightfrost responded to the apprentice. I hate to admit it, but she seems to have more tact than I'd expect from one of these arrogant brutes. And, she seemed to acknowledge that StarClan would look poorly upon there being three Clans beneath Silverpelt. Rosepelt could never abide being held within the paws of ThunderClan, but... Maybe they could be useful to us, if they can appeal to StarClan's wishes and get other cats to help us recover.
Jasminefur tried not to flinch as Cricketpaw instinctively lashed out against the two cats before him. Without looking at his sister, he knew that she too wouldn't be happy about the idea of speaking with ThunderClan cats as equals. But it seemed she at least had the wits not to lash out and bluntly express her hatred for them at a time like this. Cricketpaw was young and unfiltered, and he bit his lip hard as the little cat tried to shove Brightfrost away from helping with their clanmates, taking a step forward instictively. He wanted to say something, but Brightfrost seemed not to take it too personally, which surprised him a little bit after seeing her react to some of her own clanmates' comments. He blinked, biting his tongue, and looked down at his paws as more and more cats, most of them begrudgingly obedient, began taking bodies of WindClan cats upon their backs.
"Come on, Jasminefur," Rosepelt's voice was quiet, and unusually gentle compared to what he was used to when she spoke. Rosepelt took the lead ahead of him and started preparing the horrible work of carrying their dead clanmates away. Jasminefur quietly asked her to wait after just a couple seconds, and she turned back around for a moment, listening to him.
"We...we have to take mom and dad," He murmured, flashing back momentarily to his last time seeing their mother. Rosepelt held his gaze for a long time, and he saw a rare flash of heavy emotion take over her traditionally stoic face. He caught a lip quiver as she gulped. "Yeah..." She croaked. "You're right."
Jasminefur caught Brightfrost's attention as soon as he could. "We're...we're carrying our parents off..." He looked down at his paws, struggling to say much more than that with so much going on. "Will you...make sure no one takes our mom, while we're carrying Poppypelt?" He was starting to feel a strong wave of emotion crashing down on him. He knew that things were still a bit tense between him and Brightfrost, after sneaking out and not trusting her to help him. But he needed someone's help right now -- he and Rosepelt did -- and she was the first who came to mind. Rosepelt grimaced as she considered the thought of asking a Thunderclanner for help. Even worse, Jasminefur had a way of asking that was so meek and made them look so weak. She hated seeming that way in front of any clan, let alone their worst enemies. "I mean...just as soon as we find her?" It was a pile after all -- and he didn't know that Brightfrost had seen her before.
Jasminefur finally forced himself to hold Brightfrost's gaze, instead of his eyes dancing around the air around her head. "P-Please?"
---
Bristlebark was not eager to get her paws dirty on the corpses of WindClan cats, but she wasn't so eager to defy Specklestar's orders either. Cragstar hadn't made him leader for no reason at all, even if the cat did suffer from struggling to make calls and maintain authority over their meetings at times. So, instead of directly defying him, Bristlebark avoided the crowd that was beginning to help with the bodies, and made her way towards the ThunderClan deputy, a cat she felt might be more likely to understand her concerns. Once she spotted Robinpatch, she made her way over to him, bowing her head respectfully before quietly clearing her throat, quietly so that no other Clan cats might overhear her, and asking "Robinpatch? May I speak with you for a moment?" It was more a courtesy than anything; she outnumbered the deputy in age by numerous moons, and knew she could have just called for his attention. But she didn't enjoy playing her rank to have herself heard.
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Post by berryjuice on Jun 3, 2023 3:08:54 GMT -5
“Yeah, I can do that,” said Brightfrost quickly. She was still desperate to show that she could be trusted. Additionally, something in her did still want to bring comfort to Jasminefur in any way that she could. She wasn’t the type to be deeply in touch with emotions, so she often didn’t really know how to help him with such an overwhelming amount of grief. But this, she could certainly do. As she went to find the body, she gave Rosepelt and Jasminefur some space. While she never liked to get too far from Jasminefur, she was sure he wanted to be with his littermate. But she found herself frequently glancing back at them. She wondered what Rosepelt thought of her- and what Jasminefur thought about, well, everything.
She thought back to the cat that had appeared in her dreams, which she believed to be Petalfur, and searched the pile of bodies for familiar brown fur. There were so many bodies that it was difficult to pick them apart, although there were progressively less as the assembled cats worked together to bring them off the island. The task was going at a decent pace due to how many workers there were, but it was not as quick a process as it could be since there were only so many cats that could cross the tree bridge at one time. And while most of the ThunderClan cats were clearly not too broken up about all this, some of the cats helping were taking moments to pay respects. She supposed some of them must be grieving their friends in WindClan. The idea of having friends in other Clans was an odd idea to Brightfrost; while talking to a WindClan cat as a ThunderClan cat would especially attract scrutiny, being friendly with outsiders was generally not the norm in ThunderClan.
But even if Petalfur would have once been her enemy, now she was a StarClan cat. After a moment of looking, Brightfrost found the familiar she-cat. Although, ‘familiar’ was perhaps too strong a term. This mangled body was a far cry from the cat she had seen in her dream. She could still remember the deep, mournful eyes. She bowed her head and mumbled a soft prayer to StarClan before glancing up at the full moon, hoping Petalfur could hear her and know that she still intended to do everything she could to fulfill StarClan’s wishes and protect Petalfur’s son- and now her daughter as well.
She realized it might be strange that she had been so easily been able to find Petalfur and she felt like it was still not a good time to tell Jasminefur everything about her dreams, so she called back, “This is her, right?” She added softly, “She, uh…she looks like you.” It wasn’t really a lie. She did look like Jasminefur; that had helped her to realize who she had been talking to. They had the same kind of deep brown fur and similar facial structure. It was easy to see they were related, unlike Brightfrost and Icestorm.
She stood guard by Petalfur’s body until her kits could bury her. This earned her some odd looks from her Clanmates; Stoneheart especially kept glancing over at her, likely preparing some stern words for later. She could also see Aspenpelt looking over and making a snide comment to Applewing that Brightfrost was sure was about her. She only glared at them in response. Normally she might go argue with them, but that was less important right now. She would take this responsibility as seriously as if she were sitting vigil for a Clanmate.
—
When Bristlebark approached, Robinpatch was carefully putting down the body he had been carrying on the other shore of the lake, where most of the others were being placed. It wasn’t exactly a burial, but it would do for now. It would at least keep them from filling their sacred Gathering place with rot.
He was deep in thought about the events of the Gathering, like many cats were. He was annoyed about the warriors speaking out. And the audacity of Brightfrost to address the Gathering, as if she were a leader when she was barely a warrior! As for the others, he could understand why they were so upset. The idea of helping WindClan and allowing their warriors into their camp was disgusting. However, Aspenpelt and Applewing’s behavior was unacceptable as well. Specklestar had been chosen by StarClan to lead them- his nine lives were proof of that- which meant that his word was law. Robinpatch had certainly gotten into arguments with him, but never at such a public meeting! And of course Robinpatch always accepted his leader’s decisions in the end; to do otherwise would be to break the warrior code. The insubordinate cats would have to be punished: Brightfrost having to trail after a WindClan cat was punishment enough, but maybe extra patrols for the other two. Or apprentice duties- Creekpaw and Honeypaw would enjoy that.
But…yes, like the troublemakers, he had concerns. If the refugees stayed longer, they might start feeling entitled to a spot in ThunderClan. Quickbird and Fogfoot had already asked about keeping Fernkit and having her train as a ThunderClan apprentice when the time came. Accepting a WindClan kit into their Clan was undesirable, but easier to accept; the code demanded that they protect kits, and an extra warrior could prove useful in war someday. Although, it was hard to imagine a cat with WindClan cat blood being useful to them for anything, at least there could be moons of training ahead.
But the two full warriors? Those were WindClan cats, through and through. Even the apprentice, he would never want to let anywhere near ThunderClan. What obligation did they have to outsiders anyway? Especially WindClan, a Clan which had so little honor that they had killed a nursing queen as if she were prey. He was sure that these older cats had already been given that cruel training. Even if Autumneyes believed they wouldn’t harm the Clan, obviously they couldn’t trust them fully. And she had said that about Jasminefur; the other two could be preparing to destroy ThunderClan.
He nodded respectfully to the elder, although he had a brusque sort of ‘make it quick, I’m in the middle of something’ attitude. “Of course.” He walked a foxlength away from where most of the other cats were in case she wanted a bit of privacy. It wasn't hard to imagine what she might want to discuss. “What’s bothering you?” It was common in any Clan for advice from older cats to hold weight, but especially here, where Specklestar was such a weak-hearted leader that he often just went along with what his respected warriors wanted. Robinpatch trusted Bristlebark; she was from a generation that really valued the code. And not many older cats had survived the turmoil they had gone through moons ago. He feared the day he was replaced as deputy by a younger cat. Would they really have what it takes to make the Clan safe for his kits, and for his kits’ kits?
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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~
Posts: 617
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on Jun 20, 2023 0:48:15 GMT -5
Bristlebark followed Robinpatch a fox-length and a half away, turning back to face him and, further away, the cats the deputy had previously been speaking with. Specklestar hadn't made an announcement in regards to the refugees yet, which was the only reason she would bring up her concerns so directly to the deputy. Were it not so, Bristlebark would feel inclined to keep her mouth shut, or otherwise go to the leader directly, and approach the issue with much more tact.
But it wasn't so, so Bristlebark was far more blunt, refusing to mince words to the deputy. "We aren't going to have to take care of two more WindClan mouths, are we? Leaf-bare is just around the corner, and-" as if to emphasize her point, the light dusting of snow that had afforded them relative tolerability of the weather during the burial began to strengthen, bringing with it a slowly deepening chill. "- we're already occupied feeding two of them." It wasn't particularly fair to say that, as Fernkit was almost exclusively being cared for by Quickbird and Fogfoot; and in Jasminefur's case, Brightfrost had almost exclusively caught prey for him. But it was easy to look at it as a waste of food, which should've been feeding loyal ThunderClan cats.
She wouldn't have spoken out as some of the younger warriors did, and she was still careful not to openly question her ancestors. She added on to her complaint, conscious that she was speaking quite openly against their leader's potential decision. "Now I'm not questioning StarClan's decision -- it's clear they have a path set in mind for Brightfrost and Jasminefur in particular -- but how are we going to keep all of our warriors strong with four extra bodies to feed?" Her concern rang clear. She didn't think that, as she expressed her concerns, Robinpatch seemed unsympathetic to what she was saying. Perhaps she had made the right choice coming to him, if she wanted a fair shake of her opinion to be given, but that remained to be seen.
Of course, she wasn't letting in on her personal misgivings towards having the ThunderClan cats around. Letting her emotions get involved was apt to get her in trouble with her leader -- Specklestar had been very clear that Jasminefur and Fernkit weren't to be the targets of ThunderClan's ire for the innumerable past battles. Even so, the memories of too many friends being lost to battle, and to sickness from battle, lingered in her heart, an unsealed, leaking fountain of pain that showed no sign of abating.
She too, had analyzed the pile of bodies before turning away to speak with Robinpatch, and she had come up with the same conclusion. His name had escaped Bristlebark for the time being; it felt like it had been so many moons since she had seen him. He wasn't present at numerous consecutive Gatherings, which was very unusual, and here he was absent from the pile of bodies. She wouldn't have forgotten the mange-heart's snow-white pelt, ever. Not after he took a queen of ThunderClan, and a friend.
Bristlebark began to wonder if something had happened that Wrenstar had never reported. But, she left this thought for the time being as she chose to pad over and speak with Robinpatch; it could wait until she had time to speak more directly about the topic with the more senior cats of ThunderClan.
---
Rosepelt and Jasminefur hadn't been at it for long when Brightfrost came up with the body of their mother. They were given pause as the Thunderclanner called out that she had found Petalfur, exchanging a brief glance with each other that didn't say much to a stranger. Then they turned to Brightfrost again, moving towards her as a unit. Jasminefur blinked down at his mother as he drew close. It was certainly her. He gulped down a choked sob, and sucked in a deep breath, holding onto a string of composure as Rosepelt let out a soft gasp beside him. He might have thought it was a little weird that Brightfrost had found their mother, and was nearly certain of that fact in so little time -- but that was so unimportant compared to all that was going on around them, and he had forgotten it within just a few seconds.
More specifically, a quiet sob escaping his sister drew his attention far more urgently. Of course, she hadn't seen what remained of their mother. The stench had begun fading into the mixture of overstimulating sensations all around the holy clearing, but somehow seeing their mother was bringing the putrid stench back into focus. He pressed closer to his sister, and she mumbled something about thinking she would have escaped, that she was so fast, that nothing should've been able to catch up to her.
A vision flashed in Jasminefur's mind, a dog leaping towards their mother and tearing her throat out as he stood still and watched. How was he going to tell his sister that she died while he was watching, doing nothing? The thought horrified him to the core, the rage that Rosepelt was likely to feel towards her brother when she discovered her parent was dead because of his inability to be up to the task, as always.
"Come on," He murmured breathlessly, trying to pull in oxygen as he felt more breathless from his memories than after his chase from the dog. "We...we must bury them..." He gulped again, releasing a shaky breath after he had sucked in enough oxygen.--- It wasn't a short task. Rosepelt and Jasminefur moved slower than the most senior warriors with the most brittle bones, aggrieved at carrying the corpse of their father so far to a grave that didn't even really belong to WindClan. Then, they'd have to do the same for their mother. Thankfully, they didn't need to worry that their mother would be taken by someone else; Rosepelt hated to admit it, being it was a ThunderClanner watching the body when Cricketpaw easily could have done it -- but it was a relief knowing that the burial would be done by her and her brother.
Cats from all three of the remaining clans were taking bodies, some sets of cats deigning to wait for the two WindClan warriors to proceed, as if they saw them as leading the burial in some respect. Needless to say, with so many cats around, the two warriors and Cricketpaw weren't really in danger from any conniving ThunderClan cat. Someone murmured to the half-attentive WindClan warriors, telling them about the burial place. It wasn't a short distance. No one said this aloud to Rosepelt or Jasminefur, but the RiverClan cats had been unwilling to have the cats buried so close to their camp, being that the island let the cats off at a relatively short jaunt to it compared to the other clans' camps. The warriors could likely surmise this on their own, but neither seemed inclined to care. The distance didn't really matter. So it was a long while before they returned. Eventually, Autumneyes started encouraging Brightfrost to take a break, to get off of her paws for just a moment. Even after promising to watch over the body for her for a time, she wasn't able to get the warrior to take a step away from the broken bodies. Autumneyes feared Brightfrost would struggle even moving the next morning, as tight as her vigil was; but something in the medicine cat saw the determination in the warrior, and she gave up dissuading Brightfrost from taking it unendingly.
Ravenleap was working silently with a RiverClan warrior who didn't looked please to be participating in this work; nonetheless, no complaints came out from his mouth, nor did any come from Larchleap. He was one of the cats making short journeys carrying cats over the mercifully wide log, transferring the bodies to another warrior or two, and then returning to ferry more of them over.
The work wasn't proceeding rapidly, but it was moving forward. It was hard to notice anything over the passing of a few minutes, but over several pawfuls of them, cats could tell that the massive gathering of flies and maggots was giving way as bodies were transported away. It likely made for an unpleasant journey, carrying these things along with the bodies, but Larchleap wasn't in earshot to hear the bellyaching that was certainly going on from the three clans.
He paused when he noticed that the pile was starting to become less of a pile. He counted nine cats remaining, and cats were walking around Brightfrost to get at the body behind her, though they were quickly shooed away by the warrior. The usually expressionless warrior was a bit taken aback at this, and he had to consciously plaster a less reactive look on his face before he approached her and quietly asked what it was she was doing, though his voice didn't possess the snideness that would be normal from those more experienced in battle with WindClan. He wasn't that much older than Brightfrost, after all.
It didn't take long to understand her purpose in guarding the body. Larchleap was solemn and didn't have much more to say as he understood this was for the sake of the WindClan warriors, who must've just felt like lost kits at a time like this. He could only emit a quiet "Oh. I see..." before clearing his throat awkwardly and continuing with their work.--- The work was wearying and lengthy. Cats were exhausted by the time the bodies were all off of the island, and the WindClan cats were likely to be out even longer, mourning at the graves of their parents and friends. Clans starting slowly breaking into their own separate groups again. The moon was past its peak in the sky, having begun its slow descent back down to the horizon beyond the lake. Normally, they would be leaving now or had already left, the Gathering concluded; but the matter certainly wasn't closed yet, and few complained in more than quiet whispers about waiting for the return of these cats.--- If taken out of the context of the horror on the island, and the following mass burial, a cat could comment that the clans had found a beautiful place to bury the bodies. Although the Twolegplace was just visible in the distance behind them, the cats had found a lightly grassy patch of land jutting out towards the Gathering island, with plenty of space for the necessary burials. Occasional flowers jumped out of the ground towards them, the cats had seemed to have taken care to find the places in between to bury the cats. Perhaps in many years, the flowers would spread, given new life by the disturbing of the dirt and the burials beneath them.
It was rough work, digging their own parents' graves. The helping paws of a lot of other cats made the work much quicker, but it didn't defang the blow of lowering their own flesh and blood into these holes in the ground. Someone murmured their condolences, another cat expressed they knew what it was like and were so sorry. These words felt empty to Jasminefur, even though these cats meant it in the best way possible. No cat had seen it how he had seen it -- failed as he had failed.
The lost, leftover siblings murmured something that wasn't really a prayer -- more of a lamenting. Rosepelt asked how they were supposed to carry on with no guidance from them; Jasminefur couldn't relate exactly to that feeling, but he verbalized his guilt, apologizing to the corpses of their parents, and failing to say much more than that without the threat of breaking down in front of numerous cats from other clans rearing its ugly head. Rosepelt quietly murmured that this wasn't his fault, something that surprised him a little; but the air hung silent around them as he didn't know what else to say, and the cats surrounding them watched in a mix of discomfort at the grief on display, as well as horror and some sympathy that even some ThunderClan cats couldn't help but feel springing up into their hearts.
Rosepelt and Jasminefur ensured that Cricketpaw was given the time he needed too -- lest they forget that he had lost everyone close to him. They murmured quiet prayers at any grave Cricketpaw did, but it was hard to touch every grave, and to pay respects to each cat. They hadn't seen every individual body being buried, a pain that he knew might hurt Cricketpaw more than it did he.
Jasminefur's legs dragged along as they began stepping away from the mass grave. He took several long steps away, following behind Rosepelt whose shoulders sagged as well. He stopped after awhile, cats starting to filter away from the mass grave after them; but many stopped as he did, shortly followed by Rosepelt, for some reason. He turned around slowly, looking back to the graves, scanning them for a few seconds, before looking again to where their parents were buried. A cat had just reached the graves, and placed a flower clutched between her teeth down on Petalfur's grave, then another on Poppypelt's. An apprentice who somehow had managed to escape the escort away from the Gathering lingered at her side, more flowers held in her jaws. The warrior then turned around, looking at first to another grave, then quickly noticing the stopped crowd of cats, and her eyes widened as she saw Jasminefur staring at her.
Jasminefur gazed at the dark red flowers for a few moments. His mind wandered to the times their mother would bring a gorgeous flower from a place they didn't know, finding a place to secure it on his and Rosepelt's head. He wished he could've found the same flower -- but in its absence, he felt like the dark red flower was a nice enough touch.
He could see the she-cat freeze, nervous that she had offended the WindClan warriors. But his gaze was soft, and he let out a quiet sigh, holding her gaze for awhile. He studied her blueish-grey features, wondering if he knew this cat--but no name came to him. Still, he would remember her face after tonight.
He silently murmured a 'thank you' at her, before turning around again slowly, beginning the long trek back to the island.--- Many cats returned in a group, a silent vigil held collectively between them the whole way back. The clans stirred as the group escorting the WindClan cats filed back over the log onto the island. They began separating into their own clans slowly, each cat turning towards their respective leader, wondering what was to come next. The awful work had been done; the clearing air was already being freshened by the brisk, cold night chill from after Moonrise. Now, were they to discuss the matter of the dogs further?
Jasminefur drew close to Brightfrost as if by instinct, murmuring quietly to her that it was done, and emitting a nearly breathless, yet sincere thank you as he half-settled and half-collapsed onto the ground near her, sighing heavily. Rosepelt drew near him, though she stared wordlessly at Brightfrost as she picked up on her brother immediately beelining it for the Thunderclanner and saying something quietly to her without even speaking to Rosepelt. She didn't like that.
Jasminefur turned back to make sure Rosepelt and Cricketpaw were close by. She was looking past him at something, but her gaze fixed to his as he looked at her. He couldn't read her expression, but he exhaled softly, parting his lips to say something, though he didn't know what he wanted to say. He had been able to say that he had a confidant in ThunderClan, but having his sister back with him was something truly special, no matter their history in the past. He could already feel something had shifted in her demeanor, both in general and towards him. Somehow. he knew, and believed confidently, that the past didn't matter to either of them, not after this.
He continued unable to pick any words, gazing stupidly at her as he was. After a few seconds, Rosepelt let out a quiet "I know," before drawing closer and settling down next to him with a gentle nuzzle.
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Post by berryjuice on Jun 24, 2023 5:51:29 GMT -5
Robinpatch understood Briarbark’s concerns completely, but he didn’t think it was necessary. “Surely not.” Yes, Specklestar had allowed the first two refugees to stay. But obviously they were going to take in the kit; doing otherwise would have been a blatant violation of the code. And Jasminefur, well…he didn’t like it, but it had been at the request of the medicine cat. Sure, Autumneyes was rather green to be making those kinds of decisions, and she blatantly had a soft spot for Brightfrost- he would have been much more confident if it had been Tawnybreeze’s claim. But it helped Autumneyes’ case that they all saw the sign. It was not his business to interpret signs from StarClan, but that beam of light was obviously not nothing.
But two more refugees? Specklestar may be more soft-hearted than Robinpatch would be, but even he definitely knew how mouse-brained that would be. Like most cats in ThunderClan, Specklestar had lost many friends and family members to WindClan. And he knew how important it was to conserve prey and herbs during leafbare, as he had gone through one of the hardest leafbares in ThunderClan’s history. Specklestar would never forget the terrible events that took away his brother- the cat that everyone believed was meant to be leader. And he wouldn’t forget that these things were really WindClan’s fault. If they had had more territory, maybe they would have been able to keep everyone fed and healthy.
“Specklestar knows better than to invite enemies into our camp and expect us to take care of them. He understands how important it is to focus on ThunderClan above all us; he's seen what happens when we aren't strong enough,” Robinpatch assured her. “And this whole idea about StarClan wanting them here…Autumneyes only insisted on keeping Jasminefur. She hasn’t said anything about these other two.”
“And it would make us look weak to let another Clan force this kind of burden on us.” He already felt that Specklestar hadn’t been firm enough during this Gathering. And there was two moons ago, when he had let a trespassing ShadowClan apprentice off with simply a warning. Maybe he wanted to improve relations with other Clans for some reason, but Specklestar would know better than to let the other Clans walk all over them. “Even if it wasn’t for many moons, he served as deputy under Cragstar. I’m sure he would have taught Specklestar that ThunderClan doesn’t let anyone push us around.” Robinpatch understood that it could be difficult to have faith in Specklestar- he was more sympathetic towards this line of thinking from the older cats than he was to the younger cats. Especially since cats like Briarbark didn’t have the gall to argue with the leader in front of a Gathering, and they understood that following the code meant following the leader. But he did know that sometimes it was best to appeal to his fellow older cats both by urging them to trust Specklestar and to trust Cragstar who had trusted Specklestar. Cragstar was a strong and confident leader that would never show the other Clans any mercy. It was always clear to see that everything he did was to lead ThunderClan into greatness. Even if Specklestar appeared different in personality, Cragstar surely never would have chosen him if he did not see those important values in him. Robinpatch was not cynical enough to feel that Specklenose had only been chosen because there had been nearly no other healthy cats eligible for the position, or because Cragstar desperately hoped that the strong leadership he appreciated in Featherclaw was something latent in Featherclaw and Specklenose’s shared blood.
No…Specklenose had become deputy because Cragstar saw something special in him, and had then become leader because StarClan saw that very same thing. “I appreciate you bringing this to me, and I’ll make sure we and the other more mature warriors meet with him back at camp to figure out what needs to be done. But rest assured, Specklestar would never make us weak."
—-
Cricketpaw paused for as long as he could to sit vigil for Lightpaw. But soon he needed to get up to insist on burying Meadowfoot, an older tabby tom who had been his mentor. He had been wise and ever-patient, his experience with teaching showing in his every action. Cricketpaw had been far from his first apprentice, and should not have been his last. As he identified his body, Cricketpaw could still hear his mentor’s final lesson in his mind. Meadowfoot had always been so consistent in everything he did; Cricketpaw had thought he could count on his advice forever.
Unfortunately, burying a senior warrior was a more difficult task than burying a young apprentice. Meadowfoot’s body was too big for him to drag off the island on his own, and eventually he had to accept help from Mallowtuft, the ShadowClan deputy who had gotten along well enough with the refugees and appeared to have sympathy for them. While he didn’t know if he would call them his friends, he had some appreciation for the Clan that had taken in him and Rosepelt- certainly not hating them as much as he hated ThunderClan.
As they piled on dirt together, making the closest thing they could to a grave under the circumstance, Cricketpaw thought about all that he could have learned from his mentor. He supposed that he would still have to learn from somewhere if he wanted to be a proper WindClan warrior. That was even more important now that there weren’t many WindClan cats left. He didn’t know if Rosepelt thought of herself as his mentor, but he would listen to her as if he were her apprentice. She was skilled enough and perhaps she would have received an apprentice soon anyway. He didn’t like the idea of his mentor being replaced, but he knew that Meadowfoot would want him to learn from wherever he could and stay loyal to his Clan.
After ensuring that those that had been closest to him were being given their proper due, he went to join Rosepelt and Jasminefur. Even if he hadn’t known them all that well a few moons ago and he had only just been reunited with Jasminefur, he felt closer to them now. They were a Clan, after all.
—-
Brightfrost stepped aside once Jasminefur and Rosepelt came to take away Petalfur’s body, ending what had been almost a vigil of her own. She thought Autumneyes’ suggestion to rest didn’t make much sense. She needed to watch out for the WindClan cats, and she needed to be able to help them however she could. She certainly wouldn’t rest until they did- maybe even not then either. She kept an eye on the two but didn’t go with them, not wanting to crowd them. They were a Clan now- one that she didn’t belong to.
She wondered who this RiverClan cat was that approached Jasminefur. She had thought that she had been Jasminefur’s first friend in another Clan, but clearly not; she wondered if he had been talking to this she-cat regularly at Gatherings for moons previously. She also noticed her sharing a few words with another pretty RiverClan she-cat. One with white fur. In fact, there were a few RiverClan cats with lighter fur; it seemed less of a rarity than it was in ThunderClan or likely ShadowClan.
This reminded her of their plan to investigate the other Clans at this Gathering. She had tried to account for a lot of ways it could go, but encountering the dead bodies of WindClan was not something she had anticipated. She wondered if it would be inappropriate to move forward with collecting information; she definitely wouldn’t ask Jasminefur to help with that. As she looked around at the Gathering, she didn’t think most cats would want to talk. She did her best to silently observe and glean what information she could. She didn’t want to have to wait for the next Gathering, since she doubted that the evil white cat would wait around for another moon before striking again. But maybe there was another way. They had gone to WindClan territory without being noticed; maybe they could investigate the other Clans in this way. Maybe Jasminefur having a friend in RiverClan wasn’t a bad thing.
She still couldn’t help but feel that the relationship she had had with Jasminefur was over. Well, they had never really had a relationship; she simply had an obligation to guard him, a responsibility given to her by both StarClan and ThunderClan. That would continue. And they had never really been friends or anything, had they?
So, she was surprised when Jasminefur moved close to her; this was reflected by her fur standing on end before relaxing. Why was he seeking comfort from her when he could be with family now? She glanced to Rosepelt, who appeared just as confused. And yet, Brightfrost did find herself reciprocating by moving closer, her flank almost touching Jasminefur’s. But only for a brief moment, aware as she was of their situation. Even if he had his family now, he may still need her.
Eventually, the bodies had been moved and cats began reconvening on the island. Surprisingly, they had managed to finish this task with time left in the night. But it wouldn’t be too long before it was morning, and the gathered cats wanted to sleep. Though the elders were used to the duty of burying the dead, this had been enough work to make some of the oldest ones look like they were about to fall asleep on their paws.
As the Clans prepared to leave, the question of where the refugees would go could not be ignored any longer. This argument was ignited by what was intended to be a polite gesture from Mallowtuft who had perhaps misunderstood the events of the Gathering. She padded over from where ShadowClan was gathering and bowed her head respectfully to Rosepelt and Cricketpaw. “Please travel safely. May StarClan light your path even in ThunderClan.”
A nearby Mintbreeze scoffed, suddenly seeming to have plenty of energy. Loud enough for the whole Gathering to hear, she insisted, “They aren’t coming with us!”
Robinpatch nodded firmly, glancing to Briarbark reassuringly. “You’ve got bees in your brain if you think we’re taking in even more WindClan cats right before leafbare.”
Mallowtuft was taken aback by the blatant disrespect she was being shown by a fellow deputy. “What happened to ‘the other Clans should help’? Were you simply giving out orders to ShadowClan and RiverClan?”
Specklestar hadn’t been paying much attention, shaken as he was by what Stoneheart had brought to his attention. But he snapped out of it at the sound of the argument and quickly came over to attempt to make peace. “Ah, no, of course not. We only…well, it hasn’t been decided what will happen to the WindClan cats.”
Mintbreeze’s fur stood on end as if she were about to come out of retirement and leap into battle at a moment’s notice. “Hasn’t been decided?!”
Specklestar cleared his throat, avoiding the gaze of Robinpatch who looked to him with disbelief. “Well…”
Brightfrost responded to Mintbreeze with a similar level of anger. The idea of the two new WindClan cats being sent away filled her with anger, but now she was especially defensive as she thought that ThunderClan might soon want to send away Jasminefur as well. She couldn’t let that happen. “Where else would they go? We can’t send them back to the moor, or the next dog attack will leave none of WindClan left!”
Mintbreeze rolled her eyes. “I don’t get exactly how that would be a bad thing.”
Specklestar spoke quickly before Brightfrost would inevitably fight back. “Well, er, of course we…every Clan ought to do their part to ensure WindClan’s survival. But, you know, two additional cats is…well, they’re already living in ShadowClan, so…that seems fine.” The ThunderClan leader looked haplessly between the cats that were in yet another argument. Back when he was a warrior- even back when he was deputy- he had been quite skilled at smoothing over conflict. His friendly personality allowed him to get along with most cats, and of course he wanted them to all get along with each other. But as leader, that personality was perhaps a detriment. He couldn’t please everyone, and he found he often ended up pleasing no one. This was one of those times. “Of course if it were needed, we would take them in. For the time being.”
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