Bumblestar knew ShadowClan had always been on a bit of a power trip, but she'd never considered they would go as far as to eat another cat right on the border.
She couldn't really muster a response to Redhawk for a good moment, staring blank-faced at the Hornet as her tail-tip flicked across the ground behind her. It wasn't often she could be shocked into silence, but this - this worked.
"...Foxdung." The only word she could think of at first. "The hell do they think they're doing? First Spiderthroat killing those two for trespassing 'n now this." Not to even mention the way their borders had been so blatantly disregarded those couple moons ago. "How do you think we wanna handle this? I've never even heard of this kinda brutality."
Redhawk - ThunderClan Hornet
She/they | 32 moons | The Ultimate Predator, The Collector, Kitty Softpaws
For awhile it was just quiet. The silence was so loud to Redhawk, who was struggling to remain still and not flee from the den and bury herself into Mudhound or Wolfhive or the first cat who could make her forget about this awful, gruesome scene on repeat in her head. She peered at her leader from where she had shakily sat down, unable to comprehend it still. She'd heard scary stories as a kitten of things like this happening... but to actually see them made her sick.
Spiderthroat's patrol was news to her, and if the circumstances were different she might've asked. "I-I don't know," she murmured when asked how they should handle it. Red had never considered herself having the brains for any sort of leadership role, or a role of cats looking to her for answers. She was perfectly content following along whatever plan was made up. But this... she knew it would require not just Bumblestar's head, but hers... and the rest of the hornets, too.
"Increased p-patrols in the area might be g-good, and not letting apprentice's anywhere n-near unless they have adequate battle t-t-training.
I don't t-think cats should go along to t-the b-border, either..." The thought of finding another one of her Clanmates like this had Redhawk pausing, shaking her head to dispel the nausea. "...SSS-Should I get Mudhound a-and Wolfhive? Maybe t-they have ideas on how e-else to handle... t-this..."
Mudhound
Thunderclan Hornet | They/them | 35 Moons
Bilingual T2 | Flock Together T3 | Rapid Recovery | Beefed up T3
.........
......................
That was..... Did she really?........ The abject stupidity here was enough to stun Mudhound and frankly the warrior was not used to that.
Honestly the longer they stared in shock at their sibling the less impressed they were with her, face slowly flattening to reflect that in an expression that might even be kind of frightening to Bumblestar. See, without intending it Mudhound pulled the exact same expression that the two's shared mother had pulled when she was especially unhappy with her childrens antics.
"No. Just, no. To all of that." A paw reached up to gently bap the leader. "Bad." Mudhound knew they had to explain however, and drew in a breath before beginning.
"Ok so first Drizzlecloud cant take care of it because she is in the same state but less bad. She has the same fears but is less stressed because shes older and older cats deal with being stressed better then a child. Also, you need to do it because youre leader. If demotion occurs you'll be the one doing it, Springpaw is afraid of disappointing you and thunderclan which means you have to deal with it because youre both you AND the walking representative of the clan." Big word and the tripod was lucky they knew it from talking to a kittypet who claimed their twoleg was a leader (yeah right, like twolegs had leaders).
"Second. Bad. That thinking is bad and unhealthy and unsafe and may work for short times but hurts over long ones and you make so much more sense to me now that I know you do this."
Why the hell was Mudhound having to be the smart one here?!?! They were the clan idiot but thug and were happy with that role! They didnt wanna be the smart one because no one had emotion intelligence here!
Another sigh and a thoughtful expression as the hornet explained. "Its like..... Your thoughts are a clanmate and your head a camp. Usually clanmates are great but sometimes they go wrong, be it by the clanmate being rotten or they eat a bad herb that makes them go crazy.
You cant just 'kill' them because you cant tell between the two types, so what your doing is just shoving them in a den so they cant hurt the rest of the camp and then ignoring them. It works, for a time, but Sis eventually there's gonna be too many thoughts. Theyre gonna be too big, too loud, to dangerous and hurtful and that den is gonna burst from being too full and you'll find instead of keeping your camp safe by not thinking about it its now just a destructive issue all at once.
Unless you take the time when things are safe to take them out of the den one by one, examine the problem closely then deal with it one way or another its gonna make things worse."
Mudhound hoped that made sense but if not....
"Ok take Springpaw for example. Her worry is that if she stops constantly working and ever prioritizes herself over being a medicine cat she'll be a disappointed and cast aside. When she was new to the rank it wasnt the time, the clan was a mess cats needed healing and she needed training. But the longer she does your method of 'beating it back' of ignoring it and not addressing it the worse she gets now. She's not sick but close to it and not resting, shes a nervous wreck, she's unhappy and is loosing whats left of her young life to a heavy burden because she wants to do good for the clan.
Thats not too bad, but what happens when she is actually sick or hurt and freaks out because she thinks she'll be shamed like Cinderpaw was for 'not doing her duty'. When she looks up one day after an awful day of healing and sees apprentices playing like she never got to because she never spent a moment making herself happy, do you think she'll want to stay in that role?
Ignore my advice about your health if you want Bumble, I can help you be happier but only if you want to be, but dont ignore Springpaw because its awkward and hard. She doesnt deserve that.
Go talk to her. Be kind and gentle and tell her its ok to think of herself. Teach her why Cinderpaw ended up the way she did and what you actually expect of her, not what she thinks you do. Sooth the worry thats eating her alive and maybe talk about ways to help the medicine cats be less overwhelmed.
Do it or maybe your less of the cat then I think you are."
The tripod shifted to leave, unable to muster much more conversation after that mess of a ramble. It was all too raw, too much effort to verbalize more eloquently then Mudhound usually spoke in order to be understood, too heart wrenching to realize how their sister was hurting herself and so the cats around her. The hornet needed space to calm down, and Bumblestar probably did to to process.
But..... Their words, while pointed and honest were harsh and it hurt Mudhound to say them in a way. Even if it was to help it felt mean and they never wanted to be mean to their sister. So, hesitating for a moment a large brown head dipped down to press against Bumblestars, a short soft purr rumbling out. "Cuz.... Yanno I do think of you like really highly. I love you sis and Im so happy I came back, I just want you and the clan to be happy too...."
With that and a small grin the hornet slipped out of the den, leaving the leader to mull things over.
Bumblestar's ears airplaned and she shrank away from the bap directed at her face, nose scrunching. Mudhound was saying a lot. A whole lot of things that Bumblestar didn't really agree with. Crazy cats did get killed, if that was what needed to happen. It didn't matter if they ate something that made them lose it or if they just came out that way - Bumblestar would never be one to play favorites between the two if it meant keeping the Clan secure. Maybe she was losing the point of the metaphor. Those had never really been her thing.
Wait a second, what did Mudhound mean by "she made sense"???
She opened her mouth to protest, but Mudhound just kept talking. The longer it went on, the more uncomfortable Bumblestar seemed to get. She shifted in place, brow furrowed.
"That makes zero sense," she bit out. "Springpaw's been doing a hell of a lot more than Cinderpaw ever did 'n everyone can see that." She wasn't even going to touch on the thing about playing and being a kid, that she understood, but the whole obsession with Cinderpaw was just nonsense. She sucked in a breath to carry on, but then-
"Do it or maybe your less of the cat then I think you are."
Her jaws snapped shut. She didn't move to reciprocate the head bump, nor did she respond to the attempted comforting words that followed. Mudhound slipped out before she could even muster a reply, anyway.
Bumblestar lashed her tail and looked away with a huff. Half the cat they thought she was her ass.
Springlight long-furred, oriental-shaped, gray-and-orange calico molly with blue eyes; torn right ear
purrks: herbal knowledge - tier 2 | the collector | mind reader | skip the steps[all perm. active; sts for battle training]
It had been a while since she had visited the leader’s den. Hell, or had a chance to interact with the leader as a whole except for a few spontaneous moments. At the time of day, there wasn’t quite a lot of commotion around the clan. Honestly, with the day being relatively nice out, she had decided to go out of her way to at least create a few flower crowns for a few cats in mind, Bumblestar being one of them. Springlight wasn’t relatively certain of what colors were the leader’s favorite for any of her particular flower types, so the calico had decided to go all out with her delve of creativity towards creating such feeble objects for cats that she liked in particular. Her jaws were gently clasped around an average-sized crowd with different arrangements of flowers decorating its grasp, mainly ranging from blues and reds to yellows. The green stems of the flowers were easily noted behind the twigs that were used to help keep the crown itself together as a whole, the small bits of greenery spotted behind the twigs that held it together. A smile grew notable along her lips as she struck her head through the vines adjacent in front of the den, eying the leader as the recently-named herbalist adjusted the crown in her jaws. “Hey… Bumbles… I got… something for… you to… have… I made… it earlier… today.” Her voice was muffled by the natural crown she held in her jaws, stepping into the much cooler den and she carefully inspected the other molly’s reaction towards her gift.
@dino. [ spring bumble interaction was needed ofc ofc so in rebuttal, spring made a flower crown ]
Bumblestar had been... putting that talk off. Not because she didn't want to do it - she just didn't know how. Mudhound's attempted explanation had been pure nonsense and only made her anxious, which she hated feeling, which made her feel worse, and then everything just turned into a dumb cycle. So color her surprised when Springlight just so happened to essentially throw herself into Bumblestar's den just as she was starting to debate on what to say again.
Not like she had an excuse to duck around the topic now.
She blinked at the flower crown the medicine cat brought in, slightly caught off-guard. She wasn't ungrateful, but she just wasn't sure what to do with it. She certainly wouldn't be wearing it, that was so not her style.
...Would Violetfreckle appreciate a flower crown? The tabby was always leaving her with flowers.
"Uh. Thanks. I'll find something to do with it, I'm sure." If Springlight set it down, Bumblestar would scoop it next to her nest in a safe place. A beat of silence as she mulled over what Mudhound had said for probably the hundredth time over, before she managed to ask, "You mind stickin' around? I got something I need to talk to you about."
Status: Alligator bites are focused on the down stroke of their bite. YOU CAN HOLD THEIR MOUTH SHUT. [YAY]
Gender: Any pronouns, but non-binary
Bump Policy: Whenever I am needed, speaketh my name and I shall arrive.
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Re: ThunderClan Leader's Den
Ashenheart made her way over to the Leader's den, her tail swaying. "Hi, Bumblestar! I've been meaning to let you know that despite my age I still have a lot of energy and fight left in me and want to go back to being a warrior. I'll do whatever it takes to prove myself!" Ashenheart meowed softly to the leader. @dino.
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"I am Princess Nightwolf Primal, of the Furybeast Kingdom. My goal here is unknown for now, and until I know my true capabilities I refuse to return to my people."~ Nightwolf, (WIP)The Beastlands.
Wolfhive had dropped off the chipmunk after returning to camp, and wasted no time in heading to Bumba's den. He hadn't seen Whiteriver since the dude dipped on Wisppaw's training and he was irked.
"Hey ma, have you seen Whiteriver? We were on a patrol and he ditched Wisppaw 'n myself. Dunno where he pissed off to." But he kinda wanted to deck him for abandoning his apprentice.
Thorntail walked in, her grey hair around her muzzle, and her tail down, making a trail in the dirt. Her green eyes glossed. 'Bumblestar...' she choked. 'I have news to tell you.' She took a sharp breath, knowing this wouldn't end well for her or her son, Fallingkit. 'Bumblestar, as I grow older and I get closer to my time to visit StarClan, I need to tell you about my affair against the clan,' she trailed off, refusing to look at the leader. 'When I was expecting my kits, most of the clan thought they were Swiftbird's, but they were not his kits. They were from a ShadowClan cat named Forestfire.' She took a breath. 'He and I were mates, and I had my kits, Fallingkit and Forestkit, who passed. But please don't punish my son. He didn't choose his father; I picked him. He was the most lov-' She stopped, knowing what she was saying, knowing she would not survive this interaction. 'I will leave the clan if I have to, and for Falling, it's up to you.' The air around her felt cold and dark, knowing she should not have said this, but it was too late.
@dino.
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Spider-claw is the current deputy of bug clan
Last edited by Spider-in-the-corner; April 20th, 2024 at 09:24 PM.
Thorntail walked in, her grey hair around her muzzle, and her tail down, making a trail in the dirt. Her green eyes glossed. 'Bumblestar...' she choked. 'I have news to tell you.' She took a sharp breath, knowing this wouldn't end well for her or her son, Fallingkit. 'Bumblestar, as I grow older and I get closer to my time to visit StarClan, I need to tell you about my affair against the clan,' she trailed off, refusing to look at the leader. 'When I was expecting my kits, most of the clan thought they were Swiftbird's, but they were not his kits. They were from a ShadowClan cat named Forestfire.' She took a breath. 'He and I were mates, and I had my kits, Fallingkit and Forestkit, who passed. But please don't punish my son. He didn't choose his father; I picked him. He was the most lov-' She stopped, knowing what she was saying, knowing she would not survive this interaction. 'I will leave the clan if I have to, and for Falling, it's up to you.' The air around her felt cold and dark, knowing she should not have said this, but it was too late.
@dino.
Bumblestar sat up in her nest as Thorntail entered. She'd been expecting something useful or worth her time, not this waste of her breath. She scowled.
"Well, now I know where Fallingkit gets his lack of brains from," she grunted. "I don't care that you screwed up some fifteen moons ago 'cause it clearly hasn't affected anything around here. I'm not gonna go beat on Fallingkit for your dumb mistake either." She wasn't so cruel as to blame kids for their parents idiocy. "Get the hell outta my den unless you actually have something worth my while. 'N next time you have kits with someone who's not ThunderClan, maybe think about letting somebody know before it comes back around to bite you in the ass." If it happened again, she wouldn't let it slide.
Bumblestar sat up in her nest as Thorntail entered. She'd been expecting something useful or worth her time, not this waste of her breath. She scowled.
"Well, now I know where Fallingkit gets his lack of brains from," she grunted. "I don't care that you screwed up some fifteen moons ago 'cause it clearly hasn't affected anything around here. I'm not gonna go beat on Fallingkit for your dumb mistake either." She wasn't so cruel as to blame kids for their parents idiocy. "Get the hell outta my den unless you actually have something worth my while. 'N next time you have kits with someone who's not ThunderClan, maybe think about letting somebody know before it comes back around to bite you in the ass." If it happened again, she wouldn't let it slide.
ThornTail nodded her head and left
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Spider-claw is the current deputy of bug clan
SPRINGLIGHT
she/her | thunderclan medicine cat | 19 moons
long-furred, scarred, oriental-shaped, gray-and-orange calico molly with blue eyes; torn right ear
active purrks: herbal knowledge - tier 2 | the collector | mind reader | skip the steps [ @dino. (this isn’t late wym)]
Either Springlight was hallucinating, or she could’ve sworn that she saw Bumblestar look… disheveled. She wasn’t quite sure how to properly word it, but the leader looked anxious. There wasn’t a lot for Springlight to dive in upon, but she could easily note the tabby looking worried about something. As much as the medic was someone to dive in with questions about how someone was feeling internally, she decided to avoid it and wait patiently for if the leader had been wanting to go into further detail about how she felt. As she had expected the leader took the crown without much thought, the calico giving her a simple smile and whisk of a tail as she prepared to dismiss herself from the leader’s den, as the gift of the crown had been the only thing she was preparing to give her. But, the moment that Bumblestar requested for her to stay for a bit, the calico froze and stared at the molly with a questionable look in her eye. Of all things, she hadn’t necessarily expected Bumblestar to question the medic to stay in the den for a little bit longer. Had there been something that she did and she hadn’t noticed it? Or, something she wanted to privately discuss with her? It was confusing, but the calico supposed that she would find out at some point during this discussion.
Nodding, the calico placed herself onto her haunches, expectantly waiting for the molly to speak as she tilted her head to the side. “Of course… nothing is… really happening… in the… medicine den… for right now… and I… was only… just planning… on hopefully… gathering a few… cats… to go… bring back… some herbs… for the… den… but I am… completely fine… with that… waiting for a… bit.” Springlight explained, her tail whisking as she proclaimed that she hadn’t necessarily been all that busy. Doing very little made her feel anxious, and the lack of commotion occurring was something that always bothered her, so she’d always try to find ways to give herself something to do other than dealing with nothing for the rest of the coming moons.
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Springlight is one of ThunderClan’s current medicine cats.
She has a semi-closed den policy.
Feel free to DM or VM me if you have any questions or concerns!
Please know that my character's personal thoughts and opinions do not reflect my own.
I am simply playing as their character.
My writing often depends on my motivation and therefore due to having autism, I struggle with maintaining focus for writing.
I hope that's understandable.
Re: ThunderClan Leader's Den
