A Journey for the History Books (RiverClan Journey to the Mountains)

[Wingnettle]

Starrykit
Riverclan | 1 moon
Mind Reader

DAY 1

Starrykit was glad to have someone they could rely on. Sweetsap, the gentle queen who had milked the two siblings along with her own kit, would not leave them on this journey. She wouldn't, right?
Ah, she was already clinging to her as if she were her own mother, she thought. But in her, Starrykit saw safety and old memories. She briefly wondered if Elderkit had the same thoughts.

This whole thing, it seemed, was to start an enormously long walk toward the unknown. That she had understood roughly 15 minutes after starting the journey, but the kits were soon extremely tired and Starrykit had to stop, leaving Sweetsap and her kit in front of them.

"Elder...!" Oh, dammit. These were the cases where she forgot entirely that her sister had her new name. She'd just called her Elder, didn't she?
"Wait... wait for me!" She panted, collapsing on the ground with her four legs open wide. She stayed silent for a while, trying to catch her breath as fast as possible while the cats of Riverclan trailed beside them.

They had never had to move to another place so far away. Viper surely never did it, so why were these cats?
She used her front legs to sit back when she was finally ready to speak again.
"I don't want to go any further. I'm too tired to walk.." she pouted, knowing that her little sister would surely understand and maybe comfort her.

@Estelle @SeonghwasBunnyEars

[SeonghwaBerry]

Originally Posted by Wingnettle

Starrykit
Riverclan | 1 moon
Mind Reader

DAY 1

Starrykit was glad to have someone they could rely on. Sweetsap, the gentle queen who had milked the two siblings along with her own kit, would not leave them on this journey. She wouldn't, right?
Ah, she was already clinging to her as if she were her own mother, she thought. But in her, Starrykit saw safety and old memories. She briefly wondered if Elderkit had the same thoughts.

This whole thing, it seemed, was to start an enormously long walk toward the unknown. That she had understood roughly 15 minutes after starting the journey, but the kits were soon extremely tired and Starrykit had to stop, leaving Sweetsap and her kit in front of them.

"Elder...!" Oh, dammit. These were the cases where she forgot entirely that her sister had her new name. She'd just called her Elder, didn't she?
"Wait... wait for me!" She panted, collapsing on the ground with her four legs open wide. She stayed silent for a while, trying to catch her breath as fast as possible while the cats of Riverclan trailed beside them.

They had never had to move to another place so far away. Viper surely never did it, so why were these cats?
She used her front legs to sit back when she was finally ready to speak again.
"I don't want to go any further. I'm too tired to walk.." she pouted, knowing that her little sister would surely understand and maybe comfort her.

@Estelle @SeonghwasBunnyEars

Sweetsap had let the kits finish, Blinking in confusion Sweetsap went over to Starrykit and Elderkit. "Do you want a badger ride? We need to keep moving but your more than welcome to rest on my back until your fit to walk again" The queen offered gently.

(I feel like I missed something... lol. IF it's alright with you... could you explain? I know it a thing between the kits but just for me to get a better understanding in my posts <3 )

[JellyCat]

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ Brokenstream | 20 MOONS | HE/HIM ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
sleek golden bengal tom with light green eyes, jet black ears & back legs
pixelgif by @/SnowheartTC

◜◜

Brokenstream padded wearily along with his Clanmates, grief clouding his thoughts. His ears twitched as he heard a kit complain about being to tired for the journey. The tom hadn't thought of that. This would be difficult for those too young or too old. Changing his direction towards Sweetsap and her kits, the warrior gave a respectful dip of his head. He didn't know the queen or the kits very well, but they were still Clanmates.

"Hello. My name is Brokenstream. It seems like you have your paws full here." He let out an amused purr. "Would you like some help?"

[ @Wingnettle | @SeonghwasBunnyEars | @Estelle ]

[Bean]

RUSSETHOWL
He/Him - 18 Moons - RiverClan Warrior [Formerly ThC]
Purrks: Ultimate Predator
(transferred from Wildtwist)
A large russet tom with green eyes

---

DAY 1

Russethowl turned his head as a new clanmate came over to him, surprisingly nice to the large tom. He prodded a claw at the starling before settling down to share a meal. "Prefer squirrels. I doubt that you fish know how to hunt them though. Thanks. For letting me share this with you," he said before taking a couple of bites out of the starling. He nudged the rest to his clanmate. They need it more, and Russethowl didn't deserve full meals anyway.

DAY 2

As another day of travel passed by, The tom grew more tired. This was cruel, being driven out of their own home. He had heard how fox-hearted RiverClan was, but now that he was a member of the clan, Russethowl's perspective changed massively. They're doing their best to survive, and they were forced out of their home just because a select few cats were rude. It wasn't fair.

DAY 3

As Fadin'sun announced their arrival, Russethowl was quick to notice the rocky and steep territory of the mountains. He was worried now, his clanmates could get injured. He wasn't scared, he was trained to climb and would balance on thin tree branches back in ThunderClan, he could handle some measly cliffs. So, this was his new home for the next couple of moons to come.

[ @glitch ]

[sleepyyjax]

 

Originally Posted by kenjaku

YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'VE SWALLOWED THE SUN

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ! ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

SALAMANDERKIT . 2 MOONS . SHE/HER . RIVERCLAN

DAY ONE : GROWING PAINS

 

The nursery is caving in. The ceiling is falling: heavy paws stomp it right through. Mean, heavy paws, talon-toed and bear-strong. They stomp it right through and the monsters fill the holes and the monsters seep in through the holes and the monsters make more holes for more monsters.

It's squeals and battle shouts. It's the smell from the inside of a slit prey-tummy. It's tiny bones crunching under mean, heavy monster paws. Fur pulled from skin pulled from meat. Monster mouths pull kitflesh from kitbone. What might the inside of her body look like in someone else's teeth?

Brother's jaw hangs askew, body a twisted shell. Brown and white and red all over. Mother's far away and she isn't coming this time. Where did everyone stronger go? Bitter blood-reek in her mouth, something hot and wet bubbling up in lieu of a cry for help. Silly. If they couldn't save themselves, why would she ever think they could save her?

Salamanderkit lurches awake from an early evening nap, stomach churning and pulse racing. She stands so fast she gets dizzy, spots shivering across her vision as she staggers up—out—away—!!

She's able to make it to cover (what she hopes is cover, anyway; it looks like privacy enough, but she doesn't quite check to make sure she can't be seen) before she's sick, retching up bile in small, pathetic heaves onto the grass.

( Salamanderkit has a nightmare and wakes up to be sick over it. )

She trudges back as soon as she's through, all awkward and shame-faced while her heart continues to punch a mean, runaway rhythm inside her chest. How stupid. Salamanderkit's ears are hot with embarrassment as she peers about the place, watching the older cats mess about and get settled while she waits to stop shaking. It feels like there's no shortage of work that needs to be done by everyone but her and other kits her age, and that does nothing to soothe that itchy, back-of-her-mind soreness. The monster-yuck, as she's taken to calling it, though remembering the phrase also has her remembering the nightmare she's just woken from with an unpleasant shudder.

Salamanderkit knows that they weren't really monsters, the cats who had attacked: they were just cats. From other clans (clans, plural, as she'd finally figured out from overhearing the talk; here Salamanderkit had assumed they were still only running from Windclan—to learn this was a far greater dispute than that...she couldn't name the feeling it left), but cats all the same. They had names and faces just like their own. Knowing that is worse than thinking of them as monsters, though, so Salamanderkit imagines them anonymous, shapeless, and many-fanged to ease the ache. Even after what she's just woken up from, somehow she knows it would be worse if she let them have names. If she let them be real, the way Riverclan gets to be real.

So they don't get to be. Not now and not ever.

She wants to do something about it, ultimately, but there isn't much that can be done by her. She doesn't know that she could walk half of what Tinytoad or Deerspark had walked that day alone, and even the relatively easy chore of balancing on her mother's back left her sore and fussy. She can't hunt for the clan, can't defend them on the journey, can't be called on to scout ahead for danger. All she can do is sit around, get scared, and be sick about it. And get carried like dead meat. Only the suckiest, weakest, and most boringest jobs, for her! Oh yes. Just marvelous. Exactly how it should be. Good call, life. Good call, Starclan.

Guh.

She hobbles back to where she'd been before the dream, where they'd all decided to hunker down for the night, flopping back into place with a low grunt. Fatigue has finally caught back up to her, but she sits there dreading a return to sleep.


DAY TWO : EYE OF THE TIGER

By their second stop, Salamanderkit has discovered a way to make everything, all of it, all better.

Kick-kick-kick. Bite-bite-bite. Foliage has never had a greater enemy than she. Kick-bite. Bite-kick. What is a twig? Nothing but a coward. Nothing but debris. And leaves?? Oh, don't get her started. Salamanderkit knows good and well how to put a leaf in its place. Smack-smack-smack. The hardest part is dodging the recoil, see, 'cause when you slap a branch really hard it'll first go one way before flying back the other way, right at you. She's gotten her nose flicked hard enough to make her eyes water about a half dozen times at this point.

What happened to the good old days, you roll up a bit of well-behaved moss and take it for a ride around the nursery, nobody cries and nobody gets hurt? Well, funny thing: stupid, awful, nasty monsters invaded and now there is no nursery and there are no well-behaved, simple mossballs and Salamanderkit has to resort to harassing each and every bush, shrub, and fern she comes across whenever they stop to rest in the name of training. It's something to do, some small way she can dupe herself into believing that she's being every bit as active and productive as all the grown-cats are. She can't tell if she's making any sort of meaningful improvements, but it's incredible stress-relief. There's something deeply calming in duking it out with the surrounding greenery until she's too smoked to stand. Salamanderkit's almost positive this would feel better with another cat, but she's still on the fence about it. Maybe she could hit Shellkit until she feels better but Tinytoad might have something to say about that, so she's been holding back. That's not a fight that Salamanderkit feels like starting right now, not with everything as awful as it's been lately. She might end up doing something stupid, like taking it all too seriously.

Slap-smack-wap—GAH! The bush she's bullying tonight scores a decisive revenge-shot right between her eyes after she carelessly forgets to duck. It's...highly likely she's not making any kind of progress at all, with how often this keeps happening. The shot stuns her into taking a quick break to paw irritably at her face.

@Desert Rain Frog ; TINYTOAD
@sleepyyjax ; SHELLKIT
@Marigoldwhisper ; DEERSPARK

travelband pings; the above doesn't all really need responses/acknowledgement, just what mander is up to on days 1 & 2

Day 1
Shellkit - 1 moon - he/him - RC

CWs: slight dissacociation, not extreme, mostly just daydreaming to cope. The type of stuff you'd go through if your camp was attacked at 1 moon old

Exessively bored, and basically alone with his thoughts, Shellkit found himself trying to sleep more often than not. Though Deerspark's presence was appreciated, he couldn't chat to him, nor could he see his face whilst clinging to his back. Salamanderkit was quick to climb up onto his mum's back, leaving him lacking the familiar comfort of mother or sister (well, mostly - they were walking right beside him the whole time). After a day though, he'd gotten used to it. Despite barely interacting with Deerspark, he began to feel like a familiar friend, and it was nice to get to know a warrior other than his ma. Everytime the kit felt worry and fear fill his stomach, it was easy to ground himself by feeling familiar fur beneath him.


Between naps, he noticed his sister was far more skittish than usual... It was hard to check in with her when the journey was so tiring - he could shoot a smile or words of comfort her way whilst they travelled, but each rest point was brief. The cats slept whilst they could, and once dawn broke, they set off again. Worry plauged his vision, yet he pushed it down - he wasn't sure what he could do.


On a more positive note, Shellkit was excited to see what lay beyond the camp. Great mountains, rivers, plains.. All things he'd never seen before, distant and near. He'd witnessed the camp outside the nursery less than a moon ago, maybe even days ago, so seeing the rest of the world was like a dream. His sadness surrounding the loss of his home was soon forgotten once he saw such things - keeping him in the new nursery was sure to be a chore. It's not as if he'd forgotten the clan's circumstance, it was far from it - he was just trying his hardest to ignore it. Sometimes, whilst he tried to distract himself he'd suddenly remember the things he heard and seen in the RiverClan camp - he'd quickly push it down, he'd gotten quite good at that. He'd imagine another situation, or whislt travelling he'd grab onto Deerspark's fur, and remind himself that he's nowhere near that place right now, he was in the mountains.



Day 2


Despite most of his time being spent napping, Shellkit felt fatigue fill him. He clambered off of deerspark, thanking him, then found himself a spot to rest. Constrastingly, his sister seemed vigourous, attacking bushes as if they were her real enemy. He longed to join in, but his body ached - why?? He was too bored for this, but it felt as if his body were glued to the floor. Warriors were rushing abiut the place, checking supplies or whatver warriors do; other kits were at leats playing. Yet still, he couldn't bring himself to move. Coping with past events had become easier, he just didn't think of them much. He could push them to the back of his head and watch his sister, or take in his surroundings. The mountains were huge, and he liked to look up at them, imaginging himself running aross the peaks.


Daydreams such as this often filled his mind, he preferred to think about them rather than what was really going on. When they took breaks, he couldn't calm himself down with fur beneath him - he was often alone, well, as alone as one can be in a bustling camp. It was nice though, he thought, living in his mind, imagining other worlds. Worlds where RiverClan won, worlds where they went to the mountains for fun, not for fear.


Tags -

Doesn't need a reply either !

@kenjaku - Salamanderkit
@Desert Rain Frog - Tinytoad
@Marigoldwhisper - Deerspark

[Bean]

Grande / WHITETHUNDER
She/Her - 12 Moons - Friendly, Chatterbox - RiverClan Warrior - Purrks: N/A
Fluffy white molly with flecks of light gray and heterochromic
eyes, one dark green and one light blue eye

---

DAY 1

Wowie. That was a lot of walking, more than Grande ever did in her life!! As the RiverClan made their camp for the night, Whitethunder didn't bother talking to other cats, she just straight-up collapsed, falling asleep within mere seconds.

DAY 2

As the second day arrived and passed, Whitethundee couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for these cats. Especially the kits. Being driven out and forced to move, that had to take a toll on all of these cats. Grande wasn't part of the RiverClan, but she wanted to join anyway. Now, she could see why all the cats looked scared only two sunrises prior.

DAY 3

Huzzah!! The RiverClan arrived!! In the... mountains??? Whitethunder had never seen a mountain, and now she was going to be living in them!! This was so cool!! For the first time since the trek started, Grande was able to ignore the aching of her paws after three days worth of walking, and followed the RiverClan to their new camp.

[ Closed ]

[Desert Rain Frog]

TinyToad

Day One

She Pants, Leaping Over Cracks And Creveses With One If Her Kits On Her Back. They Reach Their First Stop And She Sets Her Little Manders Down. She Tired, Limping, And Hungry. She Sleeps Until Tge Next Day.

Day Two

She Wakes Up, And Put Salamander On Her Back, As They Reach The Next Area.

[Bean]

╔════▣◎▣════╗

A N T L E R B R A N C H
He/Him - 31 Moons - Purrks: N/A
Dark brown tom with white stomach, tufts of fur on his
head, green eyes

╚════▣◎▣════╝

DAY 1

He was... Disappointed? Jealous? Angry? Whatever. He was upset that Wisteriawren hadn't noticed him the day prior, and he didn't know why. She was just an annoying shecat. So why was he feeling this way? Not like he liked her or anything... right? A day passed in the travel, and Antlerbanch could feel himself getting better. The headaches were starting to get less intense. So, he counted that as a win. He went to sleep, ignoring the growling of his stomach. He would hunt tomorrow.

DAY 2

As the clan made camp for the second night, Antlerbranch's headaches were almost completely gone. The tom went out for a quick hunt, catching a singular mouse and eating it with a few quick bites. He returned back to his clan, Uneasiness prickling his pelt at the ThunderClanners, WindClanner, and outsiders mingled with RiverClan

DAY 3

They arrived, And Antlerbranch couldn't help but feel a trickle of fear running through him. Mountainous terrain. No nice, slow-moving river to swim. Falls that could kill him. Well, this was going to be a fun two moons.

[ @Rose - Wisteriawren mention ]

[constellation]

REDWATER
// RC // Warrior // She/Her // 20 Moons //

Day 1– Rest
Redwater collapsed onto the ground with a gasp. Her legs were tired and her head pounded. Red’s long scratches had scabbed over…more or less, but they still stung. Her eyes watered, and her stomach growled with hunger. Red lowered her chin onto her paws with a sigh… trying to ward off the bad thoughts that were descending into her brain.

Day 1–Night
Redwater padded back towards her makeshift nest. She’d eaten a measly shrew, helping her stomach calm for a little while. Her body protested as she lowered herself—not-so-gracefully onto the hard ground. She used her aching paws to drag the dry, scratchy brush towards her, cushioning her… barely. Redwater sighed with a million emotions—sadness, ennui, and a huge amount of anger at the othe rClans for driving RiverClan away.

Day 2–Morning
Redwater stood up with a groan and picked up her tiny nest, to throw it into the brush. She shook scraps of thorn out of her pelt, new scratches arching down her back. She hissed, to no cat in particular, and sat back on her haunches to lick her fur clean.

Day 2– Rest
Redwater flung herself onto a rock, the light spring sunshine falling over her. She sighed as the warm rays lit up her fur. Redwater let out a soft mrow and closed her eyes… just for a second.

Day 2– Night
Redwater woke with a start. The stars glimmered down at her, and she realized he’d slept the evening away… on her rock. Ugh. Of course she did. Redwater slid off the boulder and padded to the edge of the makeshift camp, and she sat down, looking up at the shimmering sky. Silverpelt shone above her head, the StarClan warriors shining as bright as can be. Redwater searched for a single star… one she figured had to be Finpaw… or her mother.

[Rose]

She/Her | Purrk(s): Just A Scratch

[ Day #0 ]
➼ Replying to this post.

Wisteriawren had intended to reply to Antlerbranch [ @Bean ], but she had gotten sidetracked with picking flowers to cheer up all her friends and also try very hard not to itch her wounds (in reality her roleplayer was attempting to be on hiatus. apparently that goal is bound to fail. one day kat will have a hiatus and not post anything).

[ Day #1 ]
➼ Replying to this post.

It was a gazillion moments of walking endlessly later that she found herself sitting near Fadingsun [ @occultation ] again, gold-flecked blue eyes fixed on the back of his head. She was aware she was staring, but no matter how much she told herself to look away, it felt all the more impossible. She wanted to ask so many things. Questions about his mental well-being, his physical well-being, his thoughts, his questions, irrational things like whether he considered her a friend or not... There were so many that piled up in her mind that she couldn't voice.

Regardless, somehow she was able to make herself glance away when Fadingsun turned to her at first, so it didn't seem like she'd been staring. Against her will, her heart lit up, her eyes lit up as Fadingsun rose to his paws while looking directly at her. Were they going somewhere? One a walk? He didn't even need to ask. Wisteriawren could do that! She had once told Dusklion that she'd follow her best friend anywhere, but this. . . Wisteriawren realized just then the lengths she would go to make Fadingsun happy. She really would follow him to the ends of the world, all he had to do was ask.

So when all Fadingsun said was that he was going somewhere else on his own (which, to her irrational feelings and the stab of hurt in her heart, equaled him not wanting her company anymore), the former kittypet pasted on a smile and nodded vigorously. "Yeah, of course. I'll- I'll get some sleep." She said softly, noting that Fadingsun's words were quicker than usual, not as certain as he sounded during meetings (that was really the only time she got to listen to his voice, actually, aside from her two visits to his den).

So as he shuffled away, Wisteriawren rest her chin on her paws and stared off in a random direction. She knew Fadingsun had duties. He was the leader of this entire Clan, for stars sake! And she... her heart clenched with pain at the realization that she was just a 'kittypet' living off RiverClan's survival instincts. She had nothing to give them, no fighting skills, no hunting skills. Just herself wasn't enough.

➼ Replying to this post.

Her heart hurt, but she knew she was being irrational. A self-fulfilling prophecy was bound to be just that. She could be better. Better for everyone around her. Paws aching with tiredness, heart weighed down with an unfriendly mixture of guilt and despair, the grey tabby considered going to sleep. She would feel better when she woke - otherwise the thought being alone while surrounded by so many cats would haunt her.

The bright blue of a fire that blazed too fiercely caught her attention, Wisteriawren's gaze flitting to Dusklion's [ @taillow ] familiar form in the distance, her entire being seeming to sag with relief as her friend neared. She wouldn't be alone. She would not have to be... oh. Squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment as Dusklion turned away, Wisteriawren internally chastised herself after seeing the deputy change directions. Dusklion was the deputy, she had other cats to attend to. Wisteriawren was okay anyway. She wasn't actively bleeding, she was just... being ungrateful? Was that what she was being? Unable to handle being alone?

Swallowing roughly, Wisteriawren did the best thing she could do to chase away the pain. She let herself succumb to the bone-deep weariness in her exhausted body and went to sleep.