ThunderClan: Life Before 2023's Sinkhole

[Weekend-Wondering]

Ashkit
He/Him

*.*.*

Ashkit’s paws continued to lead him in whatever direction
they decided they wanted to go, as the small gray tom
weaved his way through a few cats. ThunderClan seemed
to be in fine shape, but maybe this was just how it
seemed through the eyes of Ashkit, a young kit with little
to no worries. Well, he did have worries, but pretty pathetic
ones. Pathetic worries like, ‘What if I get bullied for wandering
around like this?’, ‘What if I get hurt in a humiliating way
and have to confront Sundust about it?’ or ‘What if I bump
into some cat on accident and hurt them or myself? What if
that’s what I would have to explain to Sundust?’

Ashkit made a random sharp turn, just as he heard the
voice of an apprentice, but thinking it wasn’t directed at him,
he continued walking, only to find himself moving, face to
face with the female apprentice he recognized as Autumnpaw.
Just as she asked him where he was headed, (which he
himself really didn’t know) he trust his paw in front of him
to stop himself from ramming into the she-cat, but something
caught his right foot. Flustered, he made an odd sound that
sounded like a “YIPE!” And tripped. He toppled onto the
apprentice’s front paws, slumping into the soil, fur prickling
along his neck and spine.

Eyes wide, his head whipped around to shoot whatever had
tripped him a sharp and accusing glare, to find out it was a
small, jagged rock. A little, pathetic stone. Immediately,
he felt his face flush with humiliation, as he glanced up, and
sprawled away, a bit of wet soil dripping from his muzzle. He
didn’t give the apprentice another glance, and instead, stared
at his small paws. “I- am- SO, sorry!” the kit
began to splutter, ears falling back against his head. “I
didn’t mean to- please don’t get mad…”
Well, he thought, deeply frustrated with himself.
Now you’re just making a complete fool of yourself.
Eyes still dull with humiliation, he forced himself to
glance up at Autumnpaw, trying to send a silent, second
apology.

Would his day end up getting any worse? He doubted it-
again, the lazy kitten life kicking in again. But still, this
experience probably shouldn’t have humiliated him quite
as much as it did.

*.*.*
~ @ophelia ~

[beau]

Wolfpaw emerged from the apprentice den as he heard the Suncat's call and his heart leapt to his throat as he caught sight of the scene. There, in the center of the clearing like some morbid display, lay a small kit's body. There was no rise and fall of her chest, no small sleepy movements. Just stillness like Wolfpaw had never seen before and berry juice leaking out of her mouth. A corpse, he realized. He had never seen a cat corpse before.

His stomach twisted uncomfortably and he wondered somewhere in his disconnected brain if he was going to be sick. He hoped not. His head felt so light. His heart was going so fast. What had killed this kit? There was no danger he could see, nothing the could have hunted her. Just the berry juice dripping down her chin to the floor. Maybe he was going to be sick.

A kit's wail made the scarred tom flinch with alarm, his head swinging to look at her, to look for the danger, but there was none to be found. She was crying for the kit that lay dead. His chest tightened more as he watched the grief-stricken scene. He wasn't sure what to do or where to go. His eyes focused on his paws, though he could not help but sneak glances at the body, no matter how much he did not want to look at it.

[ open ]

[littlelove]

Why was it the sickeningly sweet that held such ability to kill? The inconspicuous berry that had killed Acornkit the second she swallowed it wouldn't have stood out to anyone, after all, if it didn't have such deadly consequences. Cinderpaw still wondered if she would ever be able to take the world at face value again, and this sure wasn't helping.

Her ears rung as she walked into the clearing's chaos. Her mind scrambled, fought for anything to point at, for something to blame, but a scapegoat never came. All that the eldest apprentice had to analyze the situation was a dead kit, symptoms of poisoning all too familiar -- she'd seen many of her clanmates die to it so many moons ago. What did deaths mean when there was nobody or nothing to blame? Were they just meaningless? Did those who die just not matter enough to be given a reason to die? If there had been nothing else for her to do, Cinderpaw would have found herself locked to her spot forever.

But she had no such luck. There were things still alive, things to take care of, and she needed to be the one to do it. Strangled cries of kittens, her kittens, reached her ears and the she-cat sparked back to life. It was easy for her to zero in on Fireflykit and Zyon amongst the crowd, Cinderpaw reaching down to grab the tortoiseshell by the scruff and guiding the other kitten with a paw. "Let's get outta here, yeah?"

[ @jupiter @Guardian Fox ]

[bells_n_whistles]

Midnightkit gazed, confused, at the berry. She looked at Cherryrain, wondering why Acornkit was lying there, unmoving.

@mooncake

[Abyssopelagic]

Sorreldust padded into the nursery, eyes scanning for Rainfall.
She wanted to talk to her about an idea that had been sparked by something she heard, and she hoped it would help with their current kit situation and would encourage far fewer incidents like the many that have been happening recently.
Once she spotted the forever queen, she dipped her head in respect as she approached her.
"Rainfall, I'd like to discuss something with you, if you're available. It's nothing bad, in fact I'm hoping this can be of some good to the nursery."

[ @xavier. ]

[Ragwort]

Originally Posted by littlelove

Why was it the sickeningly sweet that held such ability to kill? The inconspicuous berry that had killed Acornkit the second she swallowed it wouldn't have stood out to anyone, after all, if it didn't have such deadly consequences. Cinderpaw still wondered if she would ever be able to take the world at face value again, and this sure wasn't helping.

Her ears rung as she walked into the clearing's chaos. Her mind scrambled, fought for anything to point at, for something to blame, but a scapegoat never came. All that the eldest apprentice had to analyze the situation was a dead kit, symptoms of poisoning all too familiar -- she'd seen many of her clanmates die to it so many moons ago. What did deaths mean when there was nobody or nothing to blame? Were they just meaningless? Did those who die just not matter enough to be given a reason to die? If there had been nothing else for her to do, Cinderpaw would have found herself locked to her spot forever.

But she had no such luck. There were things still alive, things to take care of, and she needed to be the one to do it. Strangled cries of kittens, her kittens, reached her ears and the she-cat sparked back to life. It was easy for her to zero in on Fireflykit and Zyon amongst the crowd, Cinderpaw reaching down to grab the tortoiseshell by the scruff and guiding the other kitten with a paw. "Let's get outta here, yeah?"

[ @jupiter @Guardian Fox ]

Zyon startled but shakily meowed "o-okay" and followed at a wobbly pace

[mooncake]

Cherryrain bowed her head, mourning the death of the small creature. Acornkit. She'd never talked to the kit. But it was always a tragic thing. For someone so young to die so early. She hoped the same fate would not befall her soon-to-be-kits. Looking back at Midnightkit, she wondered how she could explain the weight of this event to the kit. When Midnightkit's older, she'll likely not remember what I say to her now. This whole ordeal will be but a vague remembrance in her young mind. But, if I explain this thing right, the concept might get ingrained in her head. Which is always a good thing. Morals.

[ @Acantha ]

[poppy]

Choking, strangled sobs came from the shaken child, and she just lay on the ground, a skinny lump of sunshine, fire and ebony, sides heaving as she frantically gulped in air. "aster. aster. aster please." She pitifully cried out for the cat who wouldn't be able to hear her. The cinnamon warrior was nowhere to be found, they hadn't arrived at the scene yet, and she couldn't move. She saw no one safe through blurry, tear-filled golden orbs, so she stayed curled up in a fetal position, inhaling large gulps of as much oxygen she could take in, needing more and more.

Soon, she was approached by a tom who she didn't recognize, and she stared up at the scarred kit with wet eyes, his form barely recognizable through the dizziness and the thick fog that encircled the tiny kid. She barely heard his words over her strangled chokes and sobs, but she heard "away". Yes. Away sounded good. "yeah.... a-a-away." She pleaded softly, breathlessly. A gentle grip lifted her up, and she uncurled from her fetal position, lightheadedness causing her to have no energy to struggled. Recognizing the voice that spoke to her, she nodded weakly, shaking paws reaching up to wipe her tears that just kept coming. "cinder... i-i can't..." another frantic, uncontrollable wheeze came, and she tried again, words coming in a rush and her voice was shaky and almost unintelligable. "I can't breathe. I don't wanna d-die a-and I... cinder please. please. please make it stop." A note of panic made her voice jump a few octaves, but she struggled to force it down.

She dangled so helplessly in Cinder's jaws that if it weren't for her pleading words, she herself would look like the dead body. The thought was chilling.

[ @littlelove @Guardian Fox ]

[SeonghwasBunnyEars]

@yugo.
Weepingwillow looked around her camp, her long bark colored fur shining as she finished her grooming session. "Oh how cute" she smiled to herself as she saw Ghost'paw emerge into her peripheral view. "The darling apprentices, they have a bit of potential no?" she asked her brother.

Longsky smirked, "Your such a steelier. How many toms hearts have you broken?" he snorted with a purr.

Weepingwillow smiled. "Many brother, many. It's not my fault there not clean! Or good at literally anything" she remarked. Weepingwillow flicked her brown tail in greeting to Ghost'paw. "Hello Ghost'paw. Hows your training going?" she smiled.

[dino.]

To hell with the pounding ache in her head. Bumblebreak was on edge following the battle and Sparrowstar's sudden disappearance, and being cooped up in the warriors den while she waited for her condition to fizzle out didn't help one bit. She needed to move.

...Patrols sounded good.

She spent a moment convincing herself that moving from her spot was actually worth it before clambering to her paws and slipping out of the den to stand in the middle of the clearing. She was grateful to the clouds for shielding her from the sun today; it made everything about ten times easier. "YO!" she barked. "Listen up, patrols are going out. I'm only callin' your name once so you better pay attention, if you're slacking it's on you."

(Optional Prompt: Something small and shiny sticks out of the ground. It jingles when you poke it, and doesn't seem to be dangerous.)
"Flameheart [ @SpiritedWarrior ]! Take Cranberryfrog [ @perseus. ] and Spiderthroat [ @Starfall ] to the ShadowClan border. Keep a careful eye out, and for skies' sake, don't start anything. We've pissed the frogs off enough lately." Flameheart was reliable; Bumblebreak hoped she understood the stakes here.

(Optional Prompt: Crack! A branch snaps behind you and you whip around, expecting danger, only to find... a tiny baby rabbit sitting under a bush. How embarrasing.)
"Hailhawk [ @poseidon ], take Autumnpaw [ @ophelia ] and Winterpaw [ @teddy. ] to Smallpines. I'm not anticipating any issues but be careful all the same. Last thing we want is to give those river rats another reason to go after us."

(Optional Prompt: A mysterious fog creeps over the glade just as you arrive, rendering it eerily difficult to see. Creepy!)
"Batblood [ @Spotty ], Owlbranch [ @Karlos ], and Vixenpaw [ @Estelle ], I want you three to head over to the WindClan border. Try not to tick any WindClanners off if you see 'em." She didn't expect Batblood to cause issues, but she had no clue about the other two, so she was saying it just to get the point across. Just in case.

Now hunting. The worst of the headache was over.

(Optional Prompt: Ouch! Who left that thorn there??)
"Ghostflake [ @Faline ], take Oriolepaw [ @Cherry~ ] to Sunkissed Creek. Leaf-bare's coming to an end, but I don't want us slacking on prey. Bring something back."

(Optional Prompt: All this moss looks mighty soft... maybe the queens would appreciate the gift?)
"Orchidbriar [ @nykyrian ] and Wolfpaw [ @naiad ], try the Mossy Den. Keep an eye out for rats." There shouldn't be any lurking about since she and the others had last cleared them out, but a word of caution never hurt anyone.[/B]

(Optional Prompt: A discarded antler lays untouched near the forested edge of the clearing. Its twin is nowhere to be found, but still, how cool is that?)
"Dawnstream [ @Dawnstream ], bring Peachpaw [ @mooncake ] with you to Firefly Cove. Should be good hunting there."

(Optional Prompt: Tiny silver fish dart about near the outer banks of the stream. Minnows! Are they worth the trouble and the wet paws?)
"Finally, Rabbitchatter [ @wren ] and Springpaw [ @dishshoap ]! See what you can find near Wisteria Falls. Don't fall in, I'm not taking 'I tripped and fell face-first into the stream' as an excuse if you don't get this done."


Claws crossed that at least some of these patrols would be competent enough to finish up in a timely manner. She wasn't afraid to tear into idiots who couldn't do the most basic of jobs.

--- --- ---

These patrols are due back MARCH 21ST, 11:59pm EASTERN TIME. Any report submitted after that time will be considered late. Patrols who fail to report back will be subject to punishment at Bumblebreak's discretion, as will individual cats who don't show up.

If you need an extension, request one by March 18th. Any request made after that date (March 19th and onward) will be disregarded.

If your character should be replaced, message me by March 8th and make a post in this thread with said character giving Bumblebreak an excuse as to why they can't go. Any message or post made March 9th and onward will be disregarded.