This was absolutely unacceptable! UNACCEPTABLE!!! Scorpionpaw stared in horror as Weepingpaw scolded her but praised her. The audacity!! Utter betrayal!!!! Her heart was shattering into a million pieces right before them. A MILLION! Scorp would topple backwards, bumping into Emberpaw dramatically all while side-eyeing the traitor and the witch cat. She'd lean on her sibling, tail thumping against the ground as she waited for some type of apology or explanation.
"Not yours! That's not yours!! That's StrangerCat! Mama says you can't trust them! C'mon Weeps! You caaaan't!" Scorp half howled, sitting up a little more just to nudge Emberpaw to get them to side with her. "Tell him Embers! He can't. We're family, she's not family!"
Then Strawberrypaw tried to tell her this wasn't a StarClan thing. Her eyes narrowed towards the she-cat, her tail thumping more as she tried to process it. "If not StarClan, how do you do that?! What's your secret??" she half hissed. The leaders were speaking, but she wasn't picking up on anything. She could feel her Mama's eyes burning into them briefly before her voice was booming across the crowd. She was sure the Gathering was going to end soon, so she'd have to try to get an answer out of this stranger soon or she'd hunt her down at the next Gathering and force an answer out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moonraven
Oops, it looks like he unintentionally hurt his sibling. Or at least that's what her dramatic act made it look like. Weepingpaw paws danced nervously on the sandy ground, itching to dart over to see if he had done any harm to his sister with her apology on his tongue, but the words thrown at him kinda hurt. It made something inside him throb with discomfort, and he felt super bad.
He spotted Emberpaw after Scorpionpaw fell back, his usual delight in seeing any of his siblings dimmed when he noticed she didn't seem happy either. Did he do something wrong? He just wanted to learn a trick and own a cat. He pinned his ears against his head, tucked his tail between his hind legs, and lowered himself closer to the sand. His cool stone all but forgotten at the thought of upsetting his family.
"Sorry, I am. Badcat is me. Weeping did mean to hurt you not. Trick learn I wanted. No replace Trickcat with family. I love family." After a battle of stubbornness, his tears fell from his face, but he ignored their victory while scrambling for words to fix whatever wrong he had done. He was highly aware that he didn't speak quite right. It never bugged him till he was stressed out trying to patch up something he didn't understand exactly how he broke.
Scorpionpaw didn't understand; she had Rude and Slobber, and she always talked to and played with Slobbercat. He wanted a cat of his own, one he could play with and talk to at the Gathering. He mostly wanted to learn Burr's trick, but other stuff could be done after he learned the talking trick. But how to say that in a way that won't sound like he was trying to make Trickcat family or replace his siblings.
Lost for words, more tears trickled out of his eyes in frustration, more than sadness. At this point, he figured he should just give up on keeping Burr. He wasn't going to pester her if it was going to make his siblings upset with him. His pelt twitched at the loud cry from stones. His ears jerked up and then back down as the clan names that had been eluding him finally emerged. WindClan. That's where Trickcat was from. Tears clouded his sight so he couldn't even tell if the WindClan apprentice was still around or had already left. He would have liked to say bye if he couldn't talk to her anymore, but he was not risking further upsetting his siblings.
@Undertaker @Rose @SuspiciousMindz @Mica
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mica
Emberpaw
ShadowClan Apprentice
she/they/he | 7 moons | 27/100
[Large dark brown tabby with golden eyes] Purrks: Agatha Kitty
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Magician ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
· · ────────────── · ·
[Scorpionpaw - @SuspiciousMindz ] [Weepingpaw - @Moonraven ] [Strawberrypaw - @Rose ]
· · ────────────── · · "Birdecho can do that." Emberpaw pointed out plainly, their voice soft and low, a tone that could quickly become dangerous if she wanted it to. But she wasn't really thinking about that--more about how odd it was that her technical niece and this stranger shared the same ability. "Not StarClan, just weird." Stars, Scorpionpaw was being dramatic. Sure, Emberpaw didn't like Weepingpaw getting all cozy with a WindClanner, but in the end it was Weepingpaw. He didn't have a hurtful bone in his soggy little body. Emberpaw shot Scorpionpaw a look as if to say "see, and look, he's sad now" before flicking her sister with her tail playfully. Emberpaw's siblings were beyond stupid but goodness did she love them. Emberpaw nosed Weepingpaw's teary cheek to show she wasn't upset with him. "Friends are good. She seems nice." Emberpaw met the unfamiliar she-cat's gaze over Weepingpaw's ears, pupils narrowing to slits in warning. No one was going to take advantage of her brother while she was around, no sir. She wasn't going to trust this moor-rat, but better to keep an eye on her from Weepingpaw's side than prevent him from making friends all together.
Post Count: 38/100 | Purrk(s): Lyrebird’s Lullaby
Honestly, the tan and white she-cat had no clue what was going on. She only stared blankly, blue gaze flitting between the three-ish (she wasn't sure if the last one counted) apparently talkative apprentices. Either that, or they just forgot she was still there. Strawberrypaw didn't mind. She much preferred letting others talk, only listening.
Except now her attention has been drawn away, fixed on a warrior beckoning her over. She knew he was from WindClan - he was Cottonpaw's mentor, the only thing of importance for her to note - but his name evaded her. Blue eyes widen with fascination as Greyandscarred bites a-cat-who'd-fallen-over-for-whatever-reason's tail! And suddenly this cat was a lot more interesting than before, because she wanted to do that! Her head whips in Crowtooth's direction, waiting for the reprimand that would never come.
It.
Never.
Came.
Seconds from marching over to tug at Crowtooth's metaphorical sleeve and point accusingly at Greyandscarred's display, Strawberrypaw gets sidetracked once more. The bauble Weeping had been guarding catches her eye, reminding her of the stories Papa had told them. About the gifts she and her littermates were named after, before Gnawingpaw's name had been changed. In another life, she would've stolen it to give it to Seedpaw.
In this one, Seedpaw wasn't here. So instead, Strawberrypaw takes a moment to unearth it from the sand, wrinkling her muzzle as she ducks her head, maw closing around a mouthful of sand to grip whatever that shell-stone thing was. "Yours." The word comes out muffled as she set it down on a drier patch of sand so it wouldn't instantly sink back in, if that was even possible.
Something like regret sinks its claws into her as she looks down at it, though. It wasn't even clean, and her mouth was now caked in sand alongside her paws, muzzle, underbelly, and the dragging end of her tail. Sometimes her long fur was horrible. She'd never give something like this to Seedpaw, her baby sister deserved better. So at least it was a good thing this wasn't her littermate. Small mercies.
Twilightstar was calling them all away to go home. She was coming to realize she was the Trickcat Weeping (Weeps?) was talking about. And she was also StrangerCat? And Burr? How many names did they give in ShadowClan? Oh! And Weeping's other new name was Badcat. Oh. Oh no. Her lips turn down into a frown, possibly even accompanied by a flicker of confusion. She understood loving family. She didn't understand yelling at family.
"No secret. And Weeping is not. Badcat. Family is good. I go." And she marches off abruptly, straight towards her next target.
"You bite. Him. I bite. You?" Strawberrypaw asks, trying valiantly to lick the sand from her jaws but ultimately failing, even as her eyes settled on the warrior's tail. If he was allowed to do it, why couldn't she? Just a teeeeeeny tiny bite. Crowtooth usually didn't mind. Sometimes. When he was too busy to cry wolf. And she was too busy being happy about gnawing on his tail to pay attention to him when he did. Oh wait, manners! Manners worked, right? Round, innocent blue eyes blink up at the Fury, Seedpaw's voice slipping out on pure reflex. "Please?" An innocent voice can only go so far; she's already eyeing his tail and paws curiously, clicking her fangs just to hear the odd sound the sand was making in her mouth. Biting this cat would surely get the taste of sand out of her mouth, right?
A pause, and then a recalculation. If not Seedpaw... "Only small. Bite. Not hurt."Cottonpaw's.
Spottedpaw and Ashcloud was hoping that there would be something more said or done at the gathering but it seemed like their clan was the hot gossip tonight. Oh well, soon all this activity would die down and their clan would seem boring again to the other clans. It was often better that way.
With a smile Honeysuckle's confidence was completely shattered. The spotted tabby tom opened his mouth, before closing it. He repeated this a few times before finally words escaped his mouth
"That's a p-p-pretty name" Oh my STARS Honeysuckle, get yourself together. He hadn't even said anything that should have you acting this way. Why did this tom's smile melt the Shadowclan tom's brain.
An awkward laugh escaped his maw "y-yeah- I guess- Ya never know though, maybe you're just a Shadowclan cat I haven't met or talked to yet" He joked, forcing a smile. Oh my god his entire pelt was burning with embarrassment, he'd never been this awkward before what the hell was even going on. His throat grew dry as he attempted to respond to Peony's last question.
He hadn't even actually noticed the staring, too lost in his own personal spiral. He sucked a breath in through his teeth, attempting to ground himself enough to respond normally.
"Yeah, for sure!" Honeysucklepaw rasped out. Well he certainly did not seem normal, he'd completely messed up this whole interaction. He pleaded with starclan to have the ground give way under him or have a stray bolt of lightning strike him down or SOMETHING that would end this. He tried to keep a cool outward demeanor though.
He knew he was radiating heat at this point but took his place beside Peonypaw. The dark grey Shadowclan tom was relieved when the leaders began talking. He listened to each leader speak, shooting occasional glances toward Peonypaw. His teal eyes were so pretty, he didn't think he'd ever seen a blue so green and pretty in his life. His tail tip twitched wildly behind him as he swallowed nervously.
Peonypaw
spotted brown oriental | he/him | teal eyes “I dream of you, almost every night”
Peonypaw glanced over as the high-ranks started to discuss all their clan business. Occasionally he'd stiffle a grunt or a scoff, but he tried to keep his eyes on the clans and not the gray tabby beside him. He was so pretty, it hurt.
__________________
And if you go, I wanna go with you | and if you die, I wanna die with you
"The sand is very annoying." Rainpaw gave her sister full credit for that, lifting a paw and flexing it, grimacing as gritty grains fell "It just feels bad and gross, doesnt riverclan have lots of sand with their rivers and beach things? How do they handle that." A snort before a low scornful "The dumb fish probably are too distracted by their own smells to notice actually. At least the sand is better then snow though, its easier to push through and not all wet and soggy and we only have to deal with sand once a moon." All in all the sins of sand could be worse, Rainpaw personally disliked snow and mud more.
To answer Coldpaws question Rainpaw purred, chest puffing a bit. "I was waving to Leechscar, he actually came to the gathering for once, probably to defend us because I told him about that Grottopaw weirdo we met last time. He just bit an idiot clanmate who fainted for some dumb reason, the idiot is awake now." Good, their special selves deserved defending against weirdos until they were properly ready to do it themselves.
"Actually.... I dont see him tonight, Peachpaw do you see any more of those Dawnstar spawns? We should know of our enemies." Pointing at a loud and uncivilized group nearby the silver-lilac molly mused "I thiiiiink those three tabbies, the brown ones who are being baffled by Strawberrypaw are some of them. They look right." A scornful snort "Theyre talking weird though, not even like 'Strawberrypaw talking in other cats voices' weird, arent they our age?!" Ugh how pitiful in the most ugly pathetic way Scorpionpaw and Weepingpaw (not that Rainpaw knew their names) were talking like they were baby kittens not established apprentices! Why were they doing that???
Even if Coldpaw couldnt see the group no doubt she could hear them given how loud they were being.
Coldpaw
[ 7 moon | She / Her | Wc Tunneller Apprentice | Heightened Perception: Touch ]
Rainpaw had a fair point, though Coldpaw would rather avoid any contact with sand. It was as bad, if not worse, than snow. The sand piles kept crumbling beneath her paws, making her world shift and drop and they got stuck between her toes! At least the snow was a little more compact, despite being cold, wet and slippery. Coldpaw sat at Rainpaw's side, sticking close to her two siblings, head tilting as she mused. "I heard some cats don't notice their own smell anymore when they're around it for long enough. Maybe it's the same with feeling sand? RiverClan might have so much stuck between their paws, they don't even notice they're walking on sand anymore."
Oh, Leechscar! In that case Coldpaw wanted to wave too. She lifted a paw and waved it back and forth (yes, she hit her own head with her paw) in whatever direction was ahead of her. Really, she didn't even know if Leechscar would see it, and flinched when her paw hit her head, but she also wanted to greet her big brother. "Maybe we can sit with him next gathering. He could 'protect' us better, then."
She knew the whole protecting business was likely just one of Rainpaw's delusions, but Coldpaw didn't mind. The chilly little apprentice thought the idea was cute, even if she was frankly curious and wouldn't mind meeting some of the Dawnspawn again. She was curious about them. As for the 'idiot' that fainted, Coldpaw grimaced at the mention.
As Coldpaw mentioned another three apprentice's talking with Strawberrypaw, Coldpaw strained her ears to listen; she hadn't been paying particular attention to her surroundings, aside from Peachpaw and Rainpaw, so the lilac apprentice hadn't noticed them just yet. When she focused on Strawberrypaw's voice however, she could hear some voices overlap from the same general direction. How odd, one of them had a very child-like way of talking, Rainpaw had a point. "The one talking about weeping and.... Trickcat?"
Coldpaw echoed, confused by the words she was picking up on. "I wonder what trickcat is."
Oh, her head turned all of a sudden. "Mother is calling us back."
She almost said momma, one of the many names she used in her mind and in private, but corrected herself before the second syllable could leave her maw. She waited a heartbeat to let Queen Rainpaw stand up first, giving a light shake to her pelt before she followed suit and got ready to go return home. While they were at it, Coldpaw sniffed the air for her brother. "You've been quiet today, Peachpaw."
She commented. Well, he often was quiet. Aside from his temper, it seemed Peachpaw spent a lot of time stuck in his own head. Sometimes Coldpaw wondered what was going on in that brain of his.
Copperpaw paced around nervously. Her first Gathering. Would anyone talk to her? Or just ignore her like all the cats in her Clan?
(open)
Specklepaw trotted up to the first cat she saw. This cat looked young-ish. Maybe she could make a new friend? Hello! She mewed. I'm Specklepaw! What's your name?
Littlepaw blinked at him for a moment. "Sleepysunrise? Whatta peculiar name!!" She commented, twitching her whiskers. "Ya guys have'a weird habit 'o namin' cats, huh?" She asked, giving the younger apprentice a gentle nudge to signal she was just teasing. She didn't want to offend him of course! He could make a good friend being outsider her clan! She knew it was frowned upon, but he seemed different than most ShadowClanners... that she'd heard about.
"Ya, I reckon we'll figure it out!" She remained hopeful before turning her attention towards the commotion. She was a tad taller than her partner here and could make out some words and the cat in question. "Guess someone fainted," she spoke, ears flicking once. "Always sumthin' happin'," she sighed, glancing back towards the leaders for their reactions then to Ashpaw.
Base by Cocoroll, color by Cloverspring ASHPAW
Shadowclan Apprentice | 6 Moons | A fluffy, pale grey tom with green eyes and a black-tipped tail.
Silver Tongue T1 | Mind Reader
~~~
Shadowclan had weird names? Ashpaw blinked in surprise. "I would say the same for Windclan... I don't think I even know what a 'Twi' is..." He mumbled, then his ear twitched as "Twistar" called to her clan. He looked over at the leaders for a moment before looking back at Littlepaw. The young tom had been hoping to talk a little bit longer.
"Good luck, then. I hope you guys are able to get rid of those traps and stuff. Make sure you tell me what your warrior name is next time!" Ashpaw said. Sure, it might be announced... but maybe he would run into Littlepaw before announcements even started again. "And if you tell me your name is Littlemedicine, I'm definitely making fun of Windclan for your weird names!"
[Sorry for lateness!]
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My characters' thoughts, emotions, and actions are simply descriptions and roleplay and do not align with my personal thoughts, emotions, and actions.
PM, VM, or just mention me any time if you want to rp! Check out my character bios!
Leechscar sat back on his haunches as Quietjay came to. He glared at the tom so intensely that it was a shock he didn't faint again. The fury remained silent as Quitejay got his bearings back and waited to hear what caused him to drop like that.
"Overwhelmed? Overwhelmed by who? Lilacbird, your clanmate?" Leechscar asked in a low tone. He could feel eyes on his pelt, and it took a great deal of restraint to keep from whipping around to glare at the watchers.
"Quietjay, you shouldn't be at the Gathering if you can't handle being around the other clans. A smart warrior knows his limits. You've made a spectacle of yourself and WindClan." But most importantly, Twilightstar. Leechscar shook his head and rolled his broad shoulders as he stood up.
"Take a moment to gather yourself, and then you can return to camp with me. If this happens again, I'll recommend to Twilightstar that you be banned from all future gatherings. You're not a kit. You're not even an apprentice. We're not going to be running around babysitting you. You're a warrior, start thinking like one." Leechscar didn't raise his voice or bother with shouting. His tone remained steady and calm, but stern. He was harsh, but not as harsh as he would have been if they had been home. The last thing he needed was Quietjay crying.
Leechscar's head snaps to the right as Strawberrypaw shows up. He had forgotten about her for a heartbeat. He looks over at the group she had been with and finally notices that one of them was bawling about something or other. It didn't look like it was Strawberrypaw's fault. Leechscar decided to ignore it.
He blinked at the question, unsure what she was asking. He looked over at Quitejay and slowly understood what she was saying. Before he can speak an answer, her voice changes. Leechscar's ears jerked to attention, and his head canted in curiosity. The fury had heard that cats could mimic voices, but had never experienced it in person. If used correctly, he could see it as a decent battle tactic for infiltration, though not a standard practice among the clans.
"I bit him, carefully, on the tail to wake him up after he fainted. You do not bite your clanmates for fun or just because you feel like it. Our fangs and claws are meant to be pointed at threats and enemy clans, dislikable clanmates don't count. On rare occasions, like this one, we can use our fangs to help a clanmate. Only on cats who have passed out, do not bite sleeping clanmates." Leechscar explained with a cautious glint in his green gaze.
He wasn't sure if it was common knowledge that a bite to the tail could wake a fainted cat without pestering the medicine cat. He had only just learned it indirectly from Badgerbait, but he figured it'd be a decent knowledge to spread. He flickered his tail tip in front of Strawberrypaw, careful to make sure the scar on it wasn't near her. He only had a thin layer of tough scar tissue protecting the bone, so fangs connecting to it would hurt a lot.
"Bite, carefully, don't draw blood or cause any lasting internal damage. A quick nip is all that is needed." Normally, he wouldn't allow a cat to bite his tail. But since he was trying to impart a lesson and knew she was one of the Biting Brats in WindClan. It was only fair that he ensure she was biting correctly. Twilightstar's call for them to head home resonated in his ears. Finally.
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siggy art by redshiftreign
Dawnstar is the leader of ShadowClan. She has a semi-closed den policy as in do not enter without asking permission first or her fangs'll greet you. ShadowClan Resources ||| Dawnstar ||| ||| Kit Curriculum Finder
Dawnstar was up on her paws the second the pretty birdy finished her announcements. She leaned down into a stretch and half glanced at Owlstar when she asked about something. Dawnstar's eyes followed hers, spotting the cat that was passed on the beach. It wasn't hers, lucky it wasn't, she would have toss their ass in the ocean. You wanna pass out at Gatherings, you're gonna drown.
"Not mine," She says two seconds before Bunnystar announces it's one of her clanmates. Scorpionpaw's loud yowl reaches the mother's ears and has her upper lip twitch in the start of a snarl. She hadn't a clue what she was yowling like that for, but caught the end tail of it and saw that Weepingpaw was crying. Emberpaw was there playing peacemaker to whatever squabble Weepingpaw and Scorpionpaw were having.
She may have been able to ignore the whole thing if she hadn't noticed the bunny in the middle. If this were over a bunny apprentice, she'd start making her kits sit in front where she could keep an eye on them. As Twilightstar started leading her clanamtes home, Dawnstar did the same.
"Home," she roars to her clan as she leaps down from the stones. She turns and catches her mate's eye as she glances at the deputy. "Take the lead, I'll catch up." She sighs before padding towards her Parasites.
"You can explain why he's crying while we're walking home." The massive feline watches the departing WindClan apprentice join one of her clanmates while she lowers her head and grabs Weepingpaw by his scruff. Once he started crying, it was hard to make him stop. He doesn't do it as often, but it was still a pain to deal with. Dawnstar knew better than to make him walk while sobbing unless she wanted him running into a tree or falling into a ditch.
Hauling the crybaby up with little trouble, she makes her way out of the gathering, ordering her kits to follow with a lash of her tail, the woes of motherhood.
siggy art by redshiftreign
Dawnstar is the leader of ShadowClan. She has a semi-closed den policy as in do not enter without asking permission first or her fangs'll greet you. ShadowClan Resources ||| Dawnstar ||| ||| Kit Curriculum Finder
"Dream came up and spray painted her cats on the wall" Sol came up and put some cookies on the ground to munch on. Crane spray painted a rainbow and wrote LGBTQIA+ rights!
The Alleyways, loner, rogue, and kittypets' only apartments (as far as I'm aware): https://warriorcatsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1759328#post1759328
Re: April Gathering
