ThunderClan Stormcrest

[Mica]

Duckfrond
ThunderClan Warrior
he/him | 21 moons
[Plush russet abyssinian with a bob tail and green eyes]
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ Strength ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
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[Open] [Spring - @iliri ]
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The muscled form of a young warrior slipped through the crowd, using the commotion to hide his tardiness to the meeting. Yikes--he had totally overslept. How he had done so over Bumblestar's yelling, he had no idea. He would have felt sorry for the poor sap who was facing her ire, but one look at the scared kits at her paws whisked his pity away. Yeah, whatever rage she was receiving was deserved. The abyssinian scoffed under his breath, the ever-present urge to get into a tousle flaring up under his skin.

As Duckfrond settled in the crowd like he had always been there, he spotted a familiar pelt up near the Stormcrest. Shock rooted him to the spot, green eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the thin, ragged form of someone who had been mourned by everyone. No kidding, huh? She... was never dead. Instead she ran away and stayed in the outskirts. Anger flared in Duckfrond's paws, wicked claws sinking into the soft clearing dirt. Tch. The starsdamned nerve. He had mourned her just like everyone else--if not more because she was supposed to be his best friend! Sure, her time as medicine cat had caused the pair to drift apart, but Duckfrond hadn't minded. And sure, that fool Orangeblossom had whisked her away right out from under him, but whatever made her happy! Now she was here, scarred and frail, pregnant. Pregnant. The stump of Duckfrond's tail twitched irritably. If she hadn't gotten pregnant, would she even have shown up again? Would he have ever seen his childhood friend again?

At least she was here to teach Wolfpaw, who had been doing an alright job so far (ignoring the outbreak). Duckfrond shook out his pelt, the lingering wisps of sleep dissipating like morning dew. Thank the stars he hadn't dreamt of Springli--Spring, he totally woulda forgotten to tell Bumblestar. Duckfrond didn't really think cats could visit normal warriors in dreams--besides, it was all subconscious stuff that he didn't understand. Maybe Wolfpaw made sense, but that was because he was a medicine cat apprentice. Drizzlecloud too, since she had been a medicine cat. But simple ol' Duckfrond? Nah, no way. Even if he thought he and Springlight had been two peas in a pod, she hadn't bothered to show up in his dreams. But WHATEVER!!!! It wasn't like he was salty about it or anything!!

Duckfrond brought up a paw to begin cleaning his face, listening to Bumblestar snarl and rant above them. Whooo boy she sure sounded mad. He understood, but his felt a little more righteous. Or was it less righteous? Meh, regardless, he was pissed. It made Duckfrond want to get into a fight even more (but he wouldn't. He might have been dumb, but he wasn't stupid.)

[Starphobia]

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Starlingkit
Dark brown tortoiseshell she-cat with white freckles and sage green eyes

Purrks:
Lyrebird’s Lullaby [INACTIVE]
She/Her | 1 Moon | + every 30th | ThunderClan Kit | Manipulative
. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.

. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.
Her momma left. Momma left. She was gone. And Hawkkit had caused it! If he never did anything... If he never screamed his stupid head off, she would still be here! If Momma hadn't hit him, they would not be scared. If she—no, Hawkkit. She was talking about Hawkkit—if Hawkkit was in his right mind, they would not be causing everyone to freak out! She wasn't freaked out. She never freaks out! Nothing scares Starlingkit. Nothing.

And when Orangeflower pads over with a soft, gentle expression, Starlingkit refuses to look weak. Why had Momma hit Hawkkit? Why not her?

Her lips curled up in a snarl, and she let out a loud hiss, throwing herself between Hawkkit and Orangeflower, eyes narrowed into slits. She kept her sage green eyes on Orangeflower, daring her to come any closer. Nobody touches Hawkkit.

Except Momma.

And she had.

{ @Spider - @Luna16 - @dino. - @Rowan }
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[anika]

Darkholly
ThunderClan Warrior
Lyrebird´s Lullaby

Spotting Duckfrond make his way forward, Darkholly pushed herself to her paws and followed her Clanmate. Green hues landed on Spring´s form shortly after Bumblestar´s announcement as the warrior settled down beside the tom.

´´So..´´ Darkholly murmured softly, wrapping her tail around her paws. ´´Spring was never dead?´´

[ @Mica - Darkholly is talking to Duckfrond lmao ]

[Diamondfur]

Darkpaw runs around chasing the other aprenices

[Rowan]

♡OrangeFlower♡
Female | 33 Moons | Posts: 52
white, fluffy, and small she-cat with an orange circle in the center of her face, orange ears, paws, and a tail tip. her eyes are a bright green and she has floppy ears
Purrks: Kitty Softpaws T1 [ PERM ACTIVE]
@Beann (small wolf mention) @Spider @Starphobia


She watched as the medicine cat shot her a glare. Had she done something wrong already? She simply wanted to help the little thing…Guilt laced the she as the medicine cat spoke so softly to the kit and all she got was a glare. Was there an issue with her antics and wanting to help? She gave the tom an apologetic look and went to softly speak with HawkKit more before another presence joined.

This was another kit of the litter she believed. And yet again she was met with the same harshness. A hiss from simply a kit. Before her mind could ramble she reminded herself of their situation. They just watched their sibling get hit and their mother exiled. Of course they could simply be a bit shaken. “Hi hun. Why don’t we go over to the nursery, yeah? You can walk if you want, whatever you’re comfortable with. I don’t want to hurt you though. I promise.” she swore to the kit. She wouldn’t rush them too much, simply do her best.

[Starphobia]

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Starlingkit
Dark brown tortoiseshell she-cat with white freckles and sage green eyes

Purrks:
Lyrebird’s Lullaby [INACTIVE]
She/Her | 1 Moon | + every 30th | ThunderClan Kit | Manipulative
. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.

. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.
So it was on.

Starlingkit let out another hiss, fur bristling and tiny teeth bared. She will NOT back down! She will not let this cat hurt touch her or any of her littermates.

"No!" She hissed. "No touch!" It wasn't much, but she hoped it helped get the message through the cat's thick skull. ... Or wherever sound went to. Ears, was it? She shot an angry snarl at Hawkkit before turning back to the white and orange furred she-cat, body lowered and tail lashing defensively.

((She is just itching for a fight >:3 I give you pp perms to pick her up and move to the Nursery if you wish!))

{ @Rowan }
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[Beaan]

art by velli
S W E E T S W A N

> Oh stars what is going on? Sweetswan poked her head out of the warriors den. It took her a minute to process what happened. Larkswoop exiled, Hawkkit hurt, and Springlig- no, Spring - was alive and with kits. Her amber eyes glared at the former medic, listening to bumblestar as she sat outside the warrior's den. So the medic could go in dreams? That was... confusing. She watched as W//olfpaw stepped forward, admitting he shared a dream with Spring. Sweetswan didn't think much of it and continued to half-listen to the meeting.

[ o p e n ]

[Spooky_Blossom]

Originally Posted by Starphobia

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Starlingkit
Dark brown tortoiseshell she-cat with white freckles and sage green eyes

Purrks:
Lyrebird’s Lullaby [INACTIVE]
She/Her | 1 Moon | + every 30th | ThunderClan Kit | Manipulative
. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.

. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.
So it was on.

Starlingkit let out another hiss, fur bristling and tiny teeth bared. She will NOT back down! She will not let this cat hurt touch her or any of her littermates.

"No!" She hissed. "No touch!" It wasn't much, but she hoped it helped get the message through the cat's thick skull. ... Or wherever sound went to. Ears, was it? She shot an angry snarl at Hawkkit before turning back to the white and orange furred she-cat, body lowered and tail lashing defensively.

((She is just itching for a fight >:3 I give you pp perms to pick her up and move to the Nursery if you wish!))

{ @Rowan }
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Willowpaw watched her mother try to calm down one of the kit's. They were putting up a fight. She decided to go and try to help calm Starlingkit down. She hopped up and walked over. "Hello Starlingkit." She said sweetly. "Would you mind going in the nursery? We can even play if you'd like." She added. @Rowan -Orangeflower mention

[Spooky_Dreamz]

 

Originally Posted by Beaan

art by velli
S W E E T S W A N

> Oh stars what is going on? Sweetswan poked her head out of the warriors den. It took her a minute to process what happened. Larkswoop exiled, Hawkkit hurt, and Springlig- no, Spring - was alive and with kits. Her amber eyes glared at the former medic, listening to bumblestar as she sat outside the warrior's den. So the medic could go in dreams? That was... confusing. She watched as W//olfpaw stepped forward, admitting he shared a dream with Spring. Sweetswan didn't think much of it and continued to half-listen to the meeting.

[ o p e n ]

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A battle-scarred light orange cat with brown tabby stripes and blue eyes.
♪ Honeypetal ♪
She/he/they • ThunderClan • Warrior • 25 moons
❝ This is all my fault. Everyone I love is disappearing and I'm next, I'd deserve that too. ❞
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Honeypetal was tired. She was stressed. Hurt, but only on the inside. The young warrior padded backwards, not turning her back, for some reason a bit untrusting of her Clan right now after all that'd just happened. She sat on the side to listen to the meeting instead, refusing to go into the crowd right now. Spring's absence was the reason an 8 moon old kid had to take on the responsibility of being a full medicine cat before learning much of anything about medicine. Honeypetal knew nothing about Spring's situation, but if Spring hadn't left, maybe Wolf and Hollow would've had it a lot easier.

Honeypetal had sat rather close to a fellow warrior, and so he moved over, not wanting to invade her space. Then, he mumbled sadly, "poor Hawkkit."

[iliri]

Spring
long-furred, scarred, oriental-shaped, gray-and-orange calico molly with blue eyes; torn right ear
purrks: herbal knowledge - tier 2 | the collector | mind reader | dreamwalker
she/her | … | 24 moons

---

cw: emotional distress, mentions of abandonment & guilt

From all the sudden yelling, Spring only felt her head beginning to pound. Bumblestar’s words echoed, resounding in the air with a finality that weighed heavier on her than before. Each word felt like a physical blow, an endless reminder of the choices she'd made and the life she'd lost. Her heart had already been cracked from that first conversation with Bumblestar when she tried coming back, but hearing it again—laid bare for everyone to witness—only deepened the wound. She couldn’t escape this; it was happening all over again, as if someone had taken one of their foreclaws and dragged it across the tender scab she’d tried to form over her grief. She had braced herself for this moment before returning, of course. She knew there would be questions. Knew there would be punishment. But the numbness that she had felt at first—the same numbness that had protected her from shattering under the weight of everything—began to falter. The shock was over. The protective walls she’d built around herself to survive had started to crumble, leaving her vulnerable to the full brunt of Bumblestar’s fury. Now, as the leader laid everything out for the clan, every word was a hammer chipping away at what was left of her defenses. She’d been broken, yes, but she thought she could handle it. After all, she’d survived the Outskirts, she'd survived the loneliness, and she'd survived the guilt gnawing at her since she was taken.

Yet now, standing in the front of the crowd, her body weak and scarred, the truth of her situation pressed down on her like the weight of the whole sky. Spring could hardly breathe, her chest constricting as though the very air around her had turned heavy with judgment. Bumblestar’s words rang out, the accusation piercing through her like a claw to the heart. Abandoned. She never wanted to abandon them. She hadn’t returned because she had been broken, too broken to return, too unsure of who she even was anymore. The memories of her time in the Outskirts flooded back—the faces of strangers she had helped, the wounds she had tended, the lives she had touched. But they weren’t her clan. She hadn’t known them, hadn’t cared about them the way she cared about her clan. And yet she stayed. Why? Because she had been afraid. Afraid of the pain. Afraid of returning to see what her absence had caused. Afraid of facing Bumblestar and the clan after everything she had been through. But none of that mattered now. To the clan, to Bumblestar, she was a deserter. A coward. And maybe, in some ways, she had been. But hearing it now, in front of everyone—having it laid out so plainly—was unbearable. The words felt like shackles, trapping her in a truth she couldn’t deny. She had abandoned them. She had left them when they needed her most. And now, it seemed to them, she was beyond redemption.

The snarl in Bumblestar’s voice sent a shiver down her spine, just as cold and sharp as the harsh leaffall wind. The name that had once held so much meaning to her, that tied her to her clan, her family, her history—gone. It felt like another part of her was being stripped away. She was no longer Springlight, the medicine cat who had dedicated her life to her clan after working hard to rebuild it. She was simply Spring, a cat with no home, no name, no legacy. The sting of it was nearly unbearable. She had worked so hard to build her place in the clan, to prove herself worthy of the name Springlight. Now, it was all for nothing. Her heart ached, the pain swelling until it was almost too much to contain. She wanted to scream, to plead with Bumblestar to understand, but no words would come. What would it even change? Bumblestar had already made her decision. There was no going back. Spring had no more right to argue, no more right to claim she had tried her best. Her best hadn’t been enough. The final blow came with the reminder that she had chosen outsiders over her clan. It wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t fair either. She had helped those strangers because, at the time, it was all she could do. She had been lost, both in body and soul. Helping others had been her way of surviving, of keeping herself together when everything inside of her had been falling apart. But none of that excused her choices, not in Bumblestar’s eyes. Not in the eyes of her clan-mates.

And now, she was going to be exiled after she had her kits. Cast out and forever removed from the place she once called home. She instinctively shifted on her paws, feeling the weight of her unborn kits in her belly. They, at least, were innocent in all of this. Yet, they would be born into a world where their mother had no place in it. They would most likely never hear the stories of her past, of the cat she had been before everything had fallen apart. Instead, they would grow up knowing only that their mother had been exiled, cast out for her choices. She feared for them, feared what kind of life they would have. Would they resent her? Would they even care? Hell, was she turning into Smallsky? Her thoughts quickly died as soon as she heard Bumblestar speak again. Hearing her accusation—perhaps the most painful of all—hit her like a physical blow. Bumblestar’s anger wasn't just about the practical consequences of her absence. It was personal. Spring hadn't gone to Bumblestar for help, hadn’t trusted her, hadn’t even told her that she was alive. Guilt surged through her, being both bitter and sharp. Bumblestar had every right to feel betrayed; she had been considered a close family member to her. Spring hadn’t known what her clan had been going through since she was gone, yet she had stayed silent to even figure it out, too afraid and too ashamed to face them.

The idea of having disappointed the cats she once considered her family cut deeper than she could ever express. She had loved them. She still loved them. But her love hadn’t been enough to stop her from making the irredeemable mistakes she had made. It hadn’t been enough to bring her back sooner. And now, here she stood, broken, exposed, and without any sense of where to go from here. Her paws felt rooted to the ground, her heart pounding in her chest, yet somehow hollow at the same time. She wanted to disappear, to fade into the shadows and never face the clan again. The weight of their judgment was too much for her to bear. Yet, here she was, forced to stand in front of them, her shame laid bare for all to see. She couldn't even look at them. Couldn't look at Bumblestar. Couldn't look at Duckfrond—seeing her childhood friend made her feel more guilty in her actions. She had lost so much already, and the thought of losing what little remained—of losing herself entirely—was almost too much to bear. Her heart ached with a deep, endless sorrow. She had tried to survive, but survival had come at too high a cost. She was now forced to stand here and withstand the harsh realities of her situation, be pressured down onto herself, and feel the anger and frustration of her clan-mates pour itself onto her. She was entirely alone, and she knew it. No one would want to be around her again.

@Mica ( uwu; don’t gotta reply )