ShadowClan Life Before Destruction

[Role]

Originally Posted by kitten~

Nightshade was silent, leading Willowpaw over to the back of the camp's clearing. She turned to look at her apprentice, flicking her ears as she studied the young feline. She had a beautiful pelt; but it was unkempt, making her melt into the background. Willowpaw's eyes would be enchanting, if she held up her head and looked cats in the eye so that the light could properly show off their beautiful color. Nightshade smiled slightly, her mouth curling into a delicate smirk. "You're no longer a kitten, Willowpaw. As such, you are now in charge of keeping up your appearance; making yourself shine. When you grow up, you will be a beauty- but only if you keep your fur clean and tidy, and let others see your beautiful eyes." She circled the apprentice, her gaze cold but calculating. "You will learn to hunt, to fight, and to be an example among your peers. You're a ShadowClan cat, Willowpaw- you should display confidence! Use everything you have at your disposal to get what you want, when you want it!" She leaned closer, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "To be successful in both hunting and fighting, you will learn how to walk; how to keep your balance. But being a good hunter and strong fighter is not enough; social skills are just as important, if not more... with the right words, one could either start a war, prevent a war, or end a war." Her muzzle brushed past Willowpaw's ear, whispering the last sentence. Nightshade withdrew from Willowpaw, flicking her tail. "So the question is, Willowpaw- will you become one of the greatest members of ShadowClan, or will you hold back everything you have and remain in the background for the rest of your life? Because your answer will determine how successful your training will be."

Willowpaw watched her mentor examine her looks. Willowpaw felt a bit self-conscious, but she shoved it down. Not the time. As Nightshade spoke up, Willowpaw straightened her back. Realizing she was right, Willowkit looked at her pelt. A few clumps of fur had been sticking out in the wrong places. The ceremony had been so sudden, she hadn't had time to clean herself up. Embarrassed, she groomed her fur back to normal as quick as she could so she could listen up. Willowpaw frowned at the mention of fighting, but listened anyway. Yet again, Willowpaw concluded that Nightshade was right. ShadowClan cats were meant to be proud, or at least the other Clans thought that. As Nightshade leaned closer, Willowpaw blinked in surprise. Willowpaw felt a spark of determination as her mentor talked about coordination and social skills. She lacked in those two skills, that's for sure. She never really tussled with her brothers and sister as a kit, and she never really played many games. She needed to learn sometime. And her social skills? Those needed some work too. Willowpaw was a quiet, sweet little she-cat who didn't talk much, but listened. Willowpaw shuddered as Nightshade whispered the last few words of her statement. That was definately true. She had heard how Snowstar said the wrong things at the Gathering, and she had heard how Blazingstar declared war on ThunderClan. Maybe Nightshade wasn't such a sinister cat as she thought. Maybe Nightshade had the most sense of them all. As her last few words were spoken from her lecture, Willowpaw looked down in thought. Remaining in the background seemed very nice. Keeping quiet, learning information she never knew, just following orders and being a nice, quiet cat. But standing out? Now that was a whole new story. Willowpaw had never stood out in a crowd, so she wouldn't know how that was. Was it fun? Was it right? Willowpaw frowned. She had never stood out, but she felt like she wanted to. Yes, it was all clear now. Willowpaw wanted to be in the spotlight. Of all her siblings, she got the least attention, and it was all coming back to her. How she was last to get comforted in a dire situation, how she was sometimes ignored, how she was forgotten. Now fuming, Willowpaw snapped her head up to look at her mentor. "I want to stand out. I want to be a good warrior. Make me the best warrior I can be," she answered boldly, eyes shining with a hidden fire that was not there before.

[:blue:]

Originally Posted by woly

taking a step forward into the den they eyed the leader. it was obvious he had wounds of his own and hadnt had them treated, but daypaw would yell at him for that later. right now they wanted to focus on the future of shadowclan. this upcoming leafbare was going to be hell. "i wanted to talk to you about my herb store," they mewed, tone serious,"after coming back from the flood most of them were water damaged or destroyed completely. and with the leaf fall being drastically cold faster and faster each day, with plants dying all around, its hard to find any," there were few places, but some herbs they couldnt pick in order to make sure that they came back next year in new leaf. "after the battle with the Dusk Syndicate its been hard to treat everyone,hell a warrior went blind today because i wasnt prepared." their tone was somber. they felt like they could do more, be more, try to do anything to help their clan. they felt helpless, useless even. what was the point in being a medcat if you couldnt heal anyone? watching your own clanmates suffer while you stand there watching them,having the power to heal but unable to use them? it was cruel. "Shinefang, the newest medicine cat of Skyclan, has offered me to use their spare herbs. as much as i dont like having charity i think we should take up the offer."

Goldenstar tried not to flinch as he saw Daypaw look at his wounds. He would rather the medicine cat didn’t yell at him for that, as they had clearly come for something more important. Thankfully, Daypaw didn’t, and that let the leader relax quite a bit. He nodded as they began to speak, slowly becoming more and more worried. If they were out of herbs, that would not be very good for the clan. He noticed how their tone was somber, and he desperately wanted to find some way to help them, but he was having trouble figuring out if it was really the right thing to say. He decided it wasn’t, and let the medicine cat keep speaking. As Daypaw finished, Goldenstar nodded, “I think we should do that,” he said, nodding. He was trying to keep his anxiety tamed as he tried to come up with a clan. “However, if you’re going to SkyClan to get the herbs, at least one other cat should come with you,” he added. “It’s just with the way all the clans have been recently, it’s hard to know what any of the cats will do,” he explained, somewhat tense. He didn’t want to make Daypaw feel weak in any way, and he hoped that he hadn’t. However, he could never figure out what to say or do. That was one of the many resons he wondered why he had been picked as deputy. Well, that was all in the past now he supposed, looking at the other cat, waiting to see what they would say.

[rubinaito]

Originally Posted by Role

Willowpaw watched her mentor examine her looks. Willowpaw felt a bit self-conscious, but she shoved it down. Not the time. As Nightshade spoke up, Willowpaw straightened her back. Realizing she was right, Willowkit looked at her pelt. A few clumps of fur had been sticking out in the wrong places. The ceremony had been so sudden, she hadn't had time to clean herself up. Embarrassed, she groomed her fur back to normal as quick as she could so she could listen up. Willowpaw frowned at the mention of fighting, but listened anyway. Yet again, Willowpaw concluded that Nightshade was right. ShadowClan cats were meant to be proud, or at least the other Clans thought that. As Nightshade leaned closer, Willowpaw blinked in surprise. Willowpaw felt a spark of determination as her mentor talked about coordination and social skills. She lacked in those two skills, that's for sure. She never really tussled with her brothers and sister as a kit, and she never really played many games. She needed to learn sometime. And her social skills? Those needed some work too. Willowpaw was a quiet, sweet little she-cat who didn't talk much, but listened. Willowpaw shuddered as Nightshade whispered the last few words of her statement. That was definately true. She had heard how Snowstar said the wrong things at the Gathering, and she had heard how Blazingstar declared war on ThunderClan. Maybe Nightshade wasn't such a sinister cat as she thought. Maybe Nightshade had the most sense of them all. As her last few words were spoken from her lecture, Willowpaw looked down in thought. Remaining in the background seemed very nice. Keeping quiet, learning information she never knew, just following orders and being a nice, quiet cat. But standing out? Now that was a whole new story. Willowpaw had never stood out in a crowd, so she wouldn't know how that was. Was it fun? Was it right? Willowpaw frowned. She had never stood out, but she felt like she wanted to. Yes, it was all clear now. Willowpaw wanted to be in the spotlight. Of all her siblings, she got the least attention, and it was all coming back to her. How she was last to get comforted in a dire situation, how she was sometimes ignored, how she was forgotten. Now fuming, Willowpaw snapped her head up to look at her mentor. "I want to stand out. I want to be a good warrior. Make me the best warrior I can be," she answered boldly, eyes shining with a hidden fire that was not there before.

Nightshade's eyes gleamed proudly, her delicate little smirk turning into a smile. "Then you will be the best warrior in this entire clan." She said with utmost confidence. As long as Nightshade was in this clan, there would always be cats that would not be brutish and disgusting; they may not be housecats, like she once was, but they can be the better clan out of them all. And she would begin with this beautiful, young, ready-to-learn apprentice of hers. She began going through the routines she would have Willowpaw go through today. A balancing regime would be good; have her practice posture and how to hold up her head so that her eyes would catch the light just perfectly... Flicking her ear slightly, Nightshade snapped herself out of her thoughts and focused her lamplike green eyes on the apprentice before her. "Now, one thing I don't object to is showing you the territory; helping you distinguish ShadowClan scent from... other clans. The more familiar you are with the territory, the more you can confidently stroll through the land like you own it." She used her tail to tap Willowpaw's shoulders. "Now, bring your shoulders back; straightening your posture is good when your standing or sitting around, but you don't want to look stiff while you walk. Instead, you want to appear fluid and graceful." She demonstrated by walking around Willowpaw, her paws appearing to hit the ground lightly and all tension released from her shoulders. "We'll practice while we go through the territory."

[graves]

Originally Posted by .:Blue Wishes:.

Goldenstar tried not to flinch as he saw Daypaw look at his wounds. He would rather the medicine cat didn’t yell at him for that, as they had clearly come for something more important. Thankfully, Daypaw didn’t, and that let the leader relax quite a bit. He nodded as they began to speak, slowly becoming more and more worried. If they were out of herbs, that would not be very good for the clan. He noticed how their tone was somber, and he desperately wanted to find some way to help them, but he was having trouble figuring out if it was really the right thing to say. He decided it wasn’t, and let the medicine cat keep speaking. As Daypaw finished, Goldenstar nodded, “I think we should do that,” he said, nodding. He was trying to keep his anxiety tamed as he tried to come up with a clan. “However, if you’re going to SkyClan to get the herbs, at least one other cat should come with you,” he added. “It’s just with the way all the clans have been recently, it’s hard to know what any of the cats will do,” he explained, somewhat tense. He didn’t want to make Daypaw feel weak in any way, and he hoped that he hadn’t. However, he could never figure out what to say or do. That was one of the many reasons he wondered why he had been picked as deputy. Well, that was all in the past now he supposed, looking at the other cat, waiting to see what they would say.

daypaw would rather go to riverclan for help, but they had been helping so much recently that they felt that russet would refuse. it would give them an excuse to see geckoleaf and juniperpaw. but shinefang had offered, despite them budding heads in the very beginning. their eyes went into slits at the mention of another cat going with them. they were fully capable of taking care of themselves, after all they had been close to a warrior name. but they were mature enough to understand,"fine. ill find a cat to escort me,even if im capable of defending myself." they mumbled. medicine cats worked differently, to them there were no borders. but with the dusk syndicate broken up and on the loose, they always had to be on watch. "i wanted to talk to you on the declaration of war against Windclan and Thunderclan. do you have any thoughts on if youre going to get involved or not?" they mewed curiously. Shadowclan wasn't closely involved with neither of the clans. if it had been riverclan, shadowclan would be at their side in an instant daypaw imagined, seeing as they gave them a home not to long ago. personally, daypaw thought they shouldnt get involved. from the home changes to the lack of herbs, they had no room for any more violence.

[Role]

Originally Posted by kitten~

Nightshade's eyes gleamed proudly, her delicate little smirk turning into a smile. "Then you will be the best warrior in this entire clan." She said with utmost confidence. As long as Nightshade was in this clan, there would always be cats that would not be brutish and disgusting; they may not be housecats, like she once was, but they can be the better clan out of them all. And she would begin with this beautiful, young, ready-to-learn apprentice of hers. She began going through the routines she would have Willowpaw go through today. A balancing regime would be good; have her practice posture and how to hold up her head so that her eyes would catch the light just perfectly... Flicking her ear slightly, Nightshade snapped herself out of her thoughts and focused her lamplike green eyes on the apprentice before her. "Now, one thing I don't object to is showing you the territory; helping you distinguish ShadowClan scent from... other clans. The more familiar you are with the territory, the more you can confidently stroll through the land like you own it." She used her tail to tap Willowpaw's shoulders. "Now, bring your shoulders back; straightening your posture is good when your standing or sitting around, but you don't want to look stiff while you walk. Instead, you want to appear fluid and graceful." She demonstrated by walking around Willowpaw, her paws appearing to hit the ground lightly and all tension released from her shoulders. "We'll practice while we go through the territory."

Willowpaw smiled at her words. That was the answer she was wanting. Willowpaw noticed Nightshade was lost in her thoughts, so she got lost as well. Good opportunity. She wondered how her siblings would react to the new her. Owlpaw would be pleased at her newfound confidence, but she wouldn't like her new outlook. Hollypaw would be happy for her either way. Berrypaw... now he was unpredictable. Sure he was goofy and would probably be happy for her, but he can be a bit.. arrogant. He wouldn't like all the attention being on her, and not him. When Nightshade found her voice, Willowpaw looked up. She nodded as she took a mental note to find differences in each Clan scent. She figured RiverClan would be quite easy to scent as they spent a moon with them. Willowpaw felt a tap on her shoulders, and she put her shoulders back as told. Willowpaw stood up when she said practicing through the territory. Great, let's go," she purred, eager to leave the camp.

(Continue in the territory?)

[ShiningFern]

Originally Posted by Undercover

Ivolrykit looked up from her place beside the nursery, startled by the flood of cats that had suddenly started moving in one direction. Her blue and green gaze immediately shot to the Highbranch. Sure enough, Goldenstar was standing there, ready to perform a few ceremonies. With a jold, she realized she would be becoming an apprentice today! She stood up and scampered over to the gathering cats. As Ivorykit patiently waited for her turn, tail curled around her small paws, nervousness pricked along her spine. Who would her mentor be? Would they like her? Would she do well to become a warrior? Questions galloped a mile a minute through her mind as the white kit watched her leaders' maw intently, making sure she didn't miss anything. She had spent time making sure she knew what her name looked like when people spoke it. Goldenstar's mew formed words that broke through her barrier of calmness. The young female feline glanced up and got to her paws. She would act like a dignified cat, not a bouncing kit. As Ivorykit neared the Highbranch, her tail twitched slowly back and forth, and her gaze held a suppressed sense of excitement. She was becoming a ShadowClan warrior apprentice, despite her minor hangback as a kit. Standing in front of her leader, Ivorykit couldn't help feeling rather humbled. She watched his jaw form words she couldn't hear. Ivorykit recognized a few of the less commonly used words such as her own name, the word known, and the word mentor. She assumed that after the word 'known' would be her apprentice name, Ivorypaw, and after the word 'mentor' would be her mentor's name. Not recognizing the name, however, she turned around and waited for her mentor to show her or himself. Ivorykit stepped back into the crowd of ShadowClan cats once her own ceremony was done, settling beside Snarlfang. Pride shone in her bi-colored orbs, and she felt excited. What would Goldenstar say next? She fixed her intense gaze on the tom cat. She admired his courage and strength, even though he was a newly-made leader. The white she-cat's gaze left him as he proud looking the cat who had padded forward. It hit Ivorykit suddenly, a warrior ceremony! The clan cheered for the newly named warrior after she made her warrior vows. Ivorykit lifted her small muzzle and meowed her name to the slightly cloudy sky, a little late in timing since she had caught on a little later. Since she couldn't hear them yowling herself, it made her off beat for some things. The female flicked one snowy-furred ear from her place beside Snarlfang, curious at what was next. She watched with interest as two cats padded to stand in front of the rest of ShadowClan. As Goldenstar finished their ceremonies, and once the cats had finished cheering, the tom cat dismissed them by simply jumping from Highbranch. Ivorykit smiled. She was an official apprentice of ShadowClan!

Snarlfang watched as everyone gathered around Highbranch, slightly hoping he could be assigned an apprentice. If that was even the purpose of the ceremony. He stood shocked as Goldenstar called up some kits, naming him as one of the warriors to mentor them. Ivorypaw. Ivorypaw is now your apprentice. He ran the name over and over again, familiarizing himself with how it sounded. All in all, the ginger tom was nervous about what his apprentice would think of him. Spying the small she-cat, he padded over eagerly. "Hello, Ivorypaw. I am your mentor, Snarlfang." He said, doing his best to hide his snaggletooth for a bit. He didn't want to frighten the new apprentice. He flicked his ears as he heard a new warrior be named and Goldenstar jump off Highbranch. "How do you feel, now that you're an apprentice?" He wondered, remembering his own apprentice ceremony. Snarlfang had been thrilled and ready to learn everything. Slowly, he turned his head to fully face his apprentice, grinning so the snaggletooth wasn't as obvious.

@Undercover

[:blue:]

Originally Posted by woly

daypaw would rather go to riverclan for help, but they had been helping so much recently that they felt that russet would refuse. it would give them an excuse to see geckoleaf and juniperpaw. but shinefang had offered, despite them budding heads in the very beginning. their eyes went into slits at the mention of another cat going with them. they were fully capable of taking care of themselves, after all they had been close to a warrior name. but they were mature enough to understand,"fine. ill find a cat to escort me,even if im capable of defending myself." they mumbled. medicine cats worked differently, to them there were no borders. but with the dusk syndicate broken up and on the loose, they always had to be on watch. "i wanted to talk to you on the declaration of war against Windclan and Thunderclan. do you have any thoughts on if youre going to get involved or not?" they mewed curiously. Shadowclan wasn't closely involved with neither of the clans. if it had been riverclan, shadowclan would be at their side in an instant daypaw imagined, seeing as they gave them a home not to long ago. personally, daypaw thought they shouldnt get involved. from the home changes to the lack of herbs, they had no room for any more violence.

Goldenstar was silent for the time being. “I know you can defend yourself,” he said simply. “You can just never be too safe, with everything that has been happening.” He said softly, tensing up as he thought about everything that had been happening. He honestly had thought that was where Daypaw was going to leave the conversation, and just go and do...whatever. Probably grump about Goldenstar not letting them go alone. He tried not to flinch as he thought about that, automatically feeling bad. It was amazing the ways he could overthink other cats and things that had and hadn’t happened. He really needed to talk to someone about that, but, of course, he hadn’t, preferring to keep his troubles to himself, and worry about others instead. As Daypaw spoke once more, he was silent for the longest moment. “Shadowclan will be staying neutral for the time being,” He said, nodding to himself. “We don’t really have the best reason to go against either clan, however, if we’re given a good reason, we might pick a side,” he said simply. A few moments passed, a bit of curiosity building up inside him, but he pushed it away. Daypaw probably had their reasons for asking. He didn’t know whether to continue the conversation or not, but he decided to ask, “How has everything been with you?”After all, all the clans had just experienced a huge battle, and he had to wonder how the medicine cats were fairing with all this craziness.

[graves]

Originally Posted by .:Blue Wishes:.

Goldenstar was silent for the time being. “I know you can defend yourself,” he said simply. “You can just never be too safe, with everything that has been happening.” He said softly, tensing up as he thought about everything that had been happening. He honestly had thought that was where Daypaw was going to leave the conversation, and just go and do...whatever. Probably grump about Goldenstar not letting them go alone. He tried not to flinch as he thought about that, automatically feeling bad. It was amazing the ways he could overthink other cats and things that had and hadn’t happened. He really needed to talk to someone about that, but, of course, he hadn’t, preferring to keep his troubles to himself, and worry about others instead. As Daypaw spoke once more, he was silent for the longest moment. “Shadowclan will be staying neutral for the time being,” He said, nodding to himself. “We don’t really have the best reason to go against either clan, however, if we’re given a good reason, we might pick a side,” he said simply. A few moments passed, a bit of curiosity building up inside him, but he pushed it away. Daypaw probably had their reasons for asking. He didn’t know whether to continue the conversation or not, but he decided to ask, “How has everything been with you?”After all, all the clans had just experienced a huge battle, and he had to wonder how the medicine cats were fairing with all this craziness.

"good, i dont know how many more cats i can treat after this battle. with leaf bare coming closer i," they paused,"i dont know how well were going to be." they mewed. they didnt have many herbs. and leafbare was a deadly season,filled with unforgiving snow and winds that could freeze you into a crisp. if coughs got around, runny noses or anything of the sort, they wouldnt know what to do. hearing the question they perked their ears. how were they doing? in the battle at the gathering they had never felt true disgust for themselves until they had taken out the eye of a warrior. that their paws,that were meant for healing, had taken the sight of another. it had made them feel hypocritical. no better then the insults they would tell their self in their head. but they wouldnt say it outloud,"with the recent tension it hasnt affected the medicine cats right now." they mewed. they sat down, curling their tail neatly around their paws,"i was injured in battle," they paused, sighing,"more then id like to admit." normally they wouldnt admit something like this to anyone, showing vulnerability. but their needed to be some trust between a medicine cat and leader, right?,"im going to see if shinefang can treat my wounds while im gone. besides that its been hard treating everyone, trying to ration out herbs and everything. but ill some how manage, we have to after all." it wasnt like they had a real choice. their eyes wandered to the leaders body, inspecting his wounds carefully. they stood up, walking closer to him,"im going to have a look at your wounds if you dont mind. and while im at it why dont you tell me whats stressing you, i can taste your anxiety in the air, its a medicine cat thing."

[graves]

Originally Posted by Charmer

Nightpaw cocked her head as she listened, noticing that Daypaw seemed a lot more calm and relaxed out here, away from the medicine den. Not for the first time, Nightpaw felt a twinge of sadness that the enby had not been able to live the life of a warrior. It seemed like they regretted it. Following Daypaw's directions, she lowered her body, rocking back to put weight on her hind legs, so that her muscles in her haunches felt tense and ready to spring, "Like this," she asked? Nightpaw could help but have some mixed feelings about learning to fight. On one hand, she liked the idea of getting stronger so that she could defend her clanmates from dangerous animals. And if she ever had to fight a dog again... she wanted to be ready. But she'd never fought another cat before. No cat had ever done anything to hurt her before.

daypaw loved teaching, no matter how grumpy they were. daypaw walked around the shecat in a circle, inspecting her form and how she was crouching. they smiled,"yeah, just like that," they felt happy seeing their warrior training going to use.their tone was softer, as if they were talking to a family member, all grumpiness gone. they wonder what kind of apprentice they wouldve gotten, what kind of mentor they wouldve been like. they were old to be an apprentice. they were a moon away from getting their warrior name, only to restart their life all over again. they missed this, being out on the training ground, preparing to defend their clan. now they patched things up. you could see genuine happiness in their eyes when they see nightpaw got it right,"im going to place a moss ball a little bit aways from here, i want you to see if you can land on it,alright?" they mewed, though they were sure she could handle it. padding about two fox lengths away they caught a ball of moss between their claws, placing it on the ground and taking a few steps back.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by woly

daypaw loved teaching, no matter how grumpy they were. daypaw walked around the shecat in a circle, inspecting her form and how she was crouching. they smiled,"yeah, just like that," they felt happy seeing their warrior training going to use.their tone was softer, as if they were talking to a family member, all grumpiness gone. they wonder what kind of apprentice they wouldve gotten, what kind of mentor they wouldve been like. they were old to be an apprentice. they were a moon away from getting their warrior name, only to restart their life all over again. they missed this, being out on the training ground, preparing to defend their clan. now they patched things up. you could see genuine happiness in their eyes when they see nightpaw got it right,"im going to place a moss ball a little bit aways from here, i want you to see if you can land on it,alright?" they mewed, though they were sure she could handle it. padding about two fox lengths away they caught a ball of moss between their claws, placing it on the ground and taking a few steps back.

Nightpaw smiled, he tail waving happily as Daypaw announced she had the form right. And what's more, Daypaw looked happy to see it. Nightpaw had had a couple of conversations now with the enby where they'd been able to talk about the things that bothered then, but being this happy and relaxed was not a thing she'd seen before. She liked it. She like seeing Daypaw happy. And what's more, they were a good teacher. Nightpaw was able to very clearly understand what the medicine cat wanted when they explained it, unlike Skunbelly who seemed to expect her to already know everything and get frustrated when she didn't. Eyeing the mossball carefully, Nightpaw waggled her haunches as she prepared to spring. She began to leap but stopped, realizing she was pushing up from her front paws instead of her back. She inched backwards to her spot again and rocked on her haunches, trying to remember the feeling of her back legs springing. Ready at last, she leaped and over shot the mossball by half a tail length. "Mousedung," she muttered, and returned to her spot again.