....... So Mudhound was gathering cursed. The situation unfolding in front of them was proof enough, the warrior was gathering cursed to not ever have one go their way. Or perhaps this was normal, and everyone was cursed. .....This proof was simply as bitter and horrifying as deathberries though.....
The maine coon mix's mouth dropped open in shock as they spotted Cracklepaw walk into the seastones with his putrid burden and the sickened look in their eye only grew as things unfolded. The giant warrior shook briefly, a cold shiver wracking their frame as their tail tucked close in a strange sort of fear. Fear of the reaction to this, of the action itself, in the realization of exactly who they were living with. Fear at what not just Cracklepaw, but thunderclan did. Because didnt Bumblestar just condone these types of things at the last meeting, even if she didnt condone the publicity in a gathering.
Folded ears were pinned as much as they could be and the tripods paw rose to cover their mouth as they gagged once, minute tears welling at the edge of their eyes.
Dear starclan. Dear starclan what had been done here tonight and done long before to lead to this point. And why did Cracklepaw not even seem to regret or understand the reactions to his action.
A new fear washed over Mudhound as they watched the mounting reactions of the other clans. Was there to be blood? Was this supposed safe meeting now a blood bath in wait? They didnt fear for themselves, or even for their sister though she stood too close to the beast watching with yellow eyes. No it was for the apprentices, her Lotuspaw and the little Sprucepaw especially. He was here, dear starclan no Mudhound would not let anyone hurt him.
Eyes fixing on the tom from where they sat more on the edge of the gathering the warrior called out, loud enough to be heard but not their bellow that demanded alls attention. "Sprucepaw! Sprucepaw darling come over here! Why dont you sit by me its....." Safer, better, less loud and horrifying. No no, dont scare him. "Nice and comfy here! You can bring your friend if you want!" Mudhound did recognize the other thunderclan apprentice, they could shelter here to by the maine coon mix. Idly they wondered if he still held his dreams of being a hornet now, seeing the horrors following Bumblestars orders had, in a way, wrought. The methods were bad but this was death desired.
A sickening thought Mudhound tossed aside for focus on the present. Once (if) Sprucepaw approached they'd comfort and protect him, ask if he wanted to leave with them even, the tripod wouldnt begrudge him if this had tainted the gathering. If Sprucepaw wanted to leave they would and if he wanted to share Mudhound's nest to stay away from the obvious monster he shared a den with, so it would be and would be offered.
Mudhound would feel bad about leaving their conversation partner though, and that potentialed thought refocused the thunderclan warrior on their conversation partner.
"I..... I am so, so sorry you had to see that. That was.... Horrible and not ok and I promise Im not ok with that, nor is the clan." They flinched at a realization "....Most of the clan..... Starclan that was......." They drooped "If you dont wish to talk to me anymore, I understand. One rotten prey taints the bunch and all that..... Thank you for joking with me though, I really enjoyed it." They did and didnt want this to end but bitter berries and rotten prey and putrid pelts could more then ruin an evening against all wills.
@gs29513(your choice on if deadmoon pulls away)
@Alchemist Kitsune @Starfinder(and your choice if you two shelter with mudhound! ignore me if you dont wanna) #Air
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Crowtooth is Deputy of Windclan, If he's needed mention me at any time~
Have a kittypet/outsider who needs healing? Vm me!
*-Lichenpaw-* 3/100
she/her | 7moons small and scruffy calico she-cat with one blinding eye
"Nice!!" The apprentice cheered, her voice squeaking to a higher pitch towards the end of the word, though if she was at all embarrassed by this she didn't let on. At the comment about WindClan smelling good, Lichenpaw couldn't help the purr that rose in her chest. This cat really was sweet, maybe they could be friends now? WindClan wasn't at war with ThunderClan, so maybe having a friend and ally over there wouldn't be such a bad thing!
"My mentor, Sleethound, didn't say anything like that to me, but I wouldn't have missed it even if i was confined to camp!" It was nice having a friend to talk to, especially someone who could match her energy a little better. Littlepaw was great, but a little timid and unwilling to go on any daring escapades. Oh! How fun would it be to have meeting between borders! As long as they didn't cross over, neither of them would technically be breaking any rules so they wouldn't get in trouble unless someone found out. "I'll have to ask Sleethound to take me on our border tours as soon as I can and maybe then we can talk to each other still when it's not a gathering!" She was so excited by the prospect of this, that the calico completely neglected to ask if Sourpaw would even want to. In Lichenpaw's mind, that was already a given so there was no need to confirm.
And then... the disaster at the front happened and Lichenpaw, watching with more curiosity than anything else, couldn't help but shudder at the sight of the cat pelt. The cat who brought it was an apprentice? Cracklepaw his name was... and he claimed to be the one to do... that to that poor cat. Lichenpaw could retch at just the thought of it. She was fierce in her own right, sure, and she didn't think she'd ever be one to shy away from battle, but to do that to a cat after you'd already killed them felt a little too much for her sake.
"Uh," she hesitated, uncharacteristic unease making her paws tingle, "Bumblestar looks real upset now... I don't envy you having to go back to camp after this gathering..." Unconsciously, she shuffles a claws length closer to her new friend, feeling an odd protectiveness for the ThunderClan apprentice.
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{Sleethound mention - @/saturn }
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SourPaw
[She/Her|Trans female|Lesbian|Thunderclan]
SourPaw giggled at her voice squeaking.
"Oooo! Yes! I would love that!" She purred and smiled.
The she-cat was confused with LichenPaw's next words but when she turned as well she saw what LichenPaw was talking about. SourPaw stared at CracklePaw with horror.
"Why would anyone do that?" She murmured her gaze following Cracklepaw as he exited the area.
Face turning pink with unease.. or perhaps it was leftover embarrassment, Berryfrost flicked her gaze towards the starry night sky, swallowing the lump in her throat. How the heck was she supposed to respond to someone with as boisterous a personality as Firestorm?
The other warriors' words were getting more bold by the minute, and now, after hearing that remark on biting, Berryfrost just wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole. "Thank..." She trailed off awkwardly, wondering what she was supposed to say. "..you?"
Nope, that hadn't been right at all, because now Berryfrost felt like she was melting, ears turning red with shame. "Um.. How. Are you?" That was good to say, yes? Ah, the speckled damsel was even worse at communicating than before. She really needed to find cats aside from Snowybreeze and talk to them more often.
Larkfire
She/Her | Shadow Fiend & Beefed Up (T1) Purrk
Well, Larkfire hadn't been exactly expecting to be approached that fast. Amber hues instantly flicked towards the tom that'd rescued her not too long ago from being stuck infinitely in an idiotic pitfall. What was he called again... ah, she'd never caught his name. How embarrassing. Then again, she'd been busy trying to get her ass saved. Really, the whole falling-into-gaps-and-needing-a-savior thing was getting old now. Larkfire was damn right tired of being the damsel in distress, mind you. Hear that, fate? Stop meddling, you unnecessary meddler!
Staring at the ThunderClanner approaching, Larkfire realized belatedly that her eyes were narrowed against her will, and had to blink a couple times to stop glaring as if he was the reason for all her plights. Good health, ha. She was going to go strangle crowfood or something after this. Speaking of food... and crows... gah, it's been too long since Larkfire had eaten crow. Actually, nevermind. Thinking of any kind of bird made her want to puke all over again. Why was she even named Lark? She didn't think larks would taste very good right now.
Ugh, stupid stomachbug.
Pursing her lips for a moment, Larkfire realized she'd gone silent for too long, and swung her head back in Yarrowcrest's direction, belatedly picking up on his name. He was sorry? Gosh, she was being let off the hook easily for being a total dimwit. Eh, that worked fine by her. She didn't want to have to chip down her pride any more than necessary.
"You reckon larks taste worse than crows?" Oh. Damnnit, there went her nonchalant air. She had not meant to say that at all. It was word vomit, or something like that. Vomit seemed to be the light of her life, recently. All kinds of it. Ew. She still needed to find out why. "That's not what I meant to say." She spoke eventually, grimacing slightly. "I'm Larkfire..." Oh, bleeding burning skies. That name just got ten times more awkward after what she'd blurted.
Stars rest her soul. Her very, vomit-inclined soul, that was.
Firestorm
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Firestorm laughed lightly at Berryfrost’s reaction. Her inability to come up a proper response to her joking threat was amusing to her. ”Oh you’re very much welcome Berry~” she said with a playful wink. The other cat was so adorably awkward and the new warrior was unable to stop herself from teasing her some more.
”Oh I’m just fabulous,” the orange she-cat said with a dramatic wave of her paw when asked how she was. ”I saw you over here all by your lonesome, and I thought to myself ‘See there is a girl that needs to have some fun’ and here I am! I’m the fun! Sooo, how’re you doing Berrywerry~?” Firestorm asked cheerily. There was something going on by the Seastones apparently that involved what appeared to be ShadowClan and ThunderClan, but that didn’t interest her. If she focused on it too hard the headache that she’d manage to push away through sheer willpower would come in like a storm and she did not want to vomit in front of all of the clans like this.
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Little Disclaimer: I live in EST (UTC-5) and my sleep schedule is completely messed up, so posts may be erratic My Characters
Sharpclaw had been waiting patiently for the gathering to start. It seemed like RiverClan was last this time. He sighed, pulling his tail closer to him so he could groom it while he waited for the River-rats to arrive. He stopped mid-lick when the putrid stench of death filled his nose, and a ruckus of caterwauling echoed around him. 'What in StarClan?' he thought. Sharpclaw whipped his head to the front, craning his amber eyes around the crowd of cats. His jaw dropped once he'd found what all the commotion was about.
All eyes were on Cracklepaw as he carried what looked like a heap of dark-colored fur in his maw. He watched as the off-white apprentice dropped the clump of fur, grinning as he crudely revealed it to be the pelt of a ShadowClan warrior. A warrior that he claimed to have killed with his own two paws. Sharpclaw brought his jaw back up, curling his lips back into a sneer. To think, that someone from his own clan had not only savagely murdered another warrior, but had gone as far as to skin the poor thing's pelt and show it off like some trophy during a gathering! In just one night, ThunderClan had proved to be no better than ShadowClan to the entire forest.
Sharpclaw stood as two ShadowClan warriors approached Cracklepaw, and Mapleface jumped in to defend him. Just when he thought the situation couldn't get any worse, one of his own had to go and defend the vile little psychopath. 'Let 'em be attacked! Let 'em face the consequences of his actions!' he thought. Cracklepaw could not get away with this. It was only right that ShadowClan be the one to punish that wretched excuse of a ThunderClanner for what he'd done!
He never really liked Mapleface from the start, but now, as he watched her jump in to protect that- that wicked creature, any inkling of likeability drained away from the she-cat. It didn't matter a flying dung to him that they were related. In this moment she was just as bad as Cracklepaw, defending him from the punishment he so clearly deserved. Sharpclaw wouldn't have blamed any Shadowcat should they have succeeded in attacking him. Hell, if he weren't such a moral cat he would have done it himself!
Sharpclaw always made an effort to never escalate a situation, always keeping his mouth shut as tensions grew and clanmates argued. But this was something the striped tom couldn't just sit back and watch. He couldn't stomach the thought of allowing that fox-hearted monster to walk back to ThunderClan unscathed. It revolted him to think that such a sadistic and vicious cat had been living with them this entire time.
And even worse, that brat had admitted that this wasn't even his first kill, and certainly wouldn't be his last. Maybe ThunderClan really had killed Ivysnake then. If it were true, then ShadowClan had every right to declare war against them. It wasn't impossible for the tomcat to come to terms with the accusation anymore. Not after learning that an actual ThunderClanner had admitted-- no, bragged-- about murdering and flaying some innocent ShadowClan warrior. At least, Sharpclaw assumed they were innocent. Whatever that warrior had done couldn't possibly have warranted THIS!
He was already storming over to Cracklepaw until Bumblestar stepped in, ordering Mapleface to escort him home. "No! Let 'em be punished here! Right here at the gatherin' so everyone knows that ThunderClan don't condone this behavior!" he snarled. He knew he wasn't acting rationally right now, but he didn't care. The striped tom shook with rage, his glare now pointed at Bumblestar. This was all her fault. If she had never given out the order to kill then...
Oh, what was he kidding? Bumblestar was only half to blame for this. That cat was dead because Cracklepaw chose to kill them of his own free will. He wasn't some kit with no distinction between right and wrong. He was quite nearly a warrior, 10-11 moons if Sharpclaw remembered correctly. That monster was the only one who was at fault for this. But still... as the leader, it was Bumblestar who would have to shoulder the responsibility for her warrior's actions.
What sort of punishment would Bumblestar even give him? Cracklepaw deserved a more severe punishment than just camp restrictions and den cleaning. Personally, Sharpclaw would have chosen to have him exiled, or at the very least never allow that filth to become a warrior. The brat didn't deserve such an honor after what he'd done. Clearly, that vile apprentice had no honor or general respect for life, as was made clear by his obvious lack of remorse. Sharpclaw was seething now, sheathing and unsheathing his claws repeatedly. It was all he could do not to sink them into anyone.
He forced himself to take a few deep breaths. It would be immature of him to worsen the situation. Cracklepaw had already taken his leave. There was nothing left for him to do. "Nevermind, forget I ever said anythang," He huffed. He couldn't believe he had actually spoken out against his leader, and at a gathering no less. He dropped himself back down, ears pinned and claws still flexing. He turned his attention to Dawnstar as she spoke her mind on the matter. He could tell she was furious by the way her tail lashed behind her, but the way she spoke so nonchalantly about the situation made his blood boil.
Now he didn't know who to be angry at. Dawnstar had just witnessed a ThunderClanner drop the pelt of her clanmate right in front of her, and the first thing she does is basically say 'I told you so' to Bumblestar. Was he going crazy right now? Then again, how did he expect her to react? She was from ShadowClan after all, and a tyrant at that. It made sense that she wouldn't give a single whisker about just one of her clanmates dying. Great stars, she was probably excited about it, because now it meant she could both humiliate ThunderClan and justify her own clan's behavior and declaration of war.
Sharpclaw ripped his eyes away from her, locking them on the stars above. He couldn't stand looking at anyone without feeling the urge to snarl at them. He had never felt so disgusted and enraged in his life, and to make matters worse he was starting to get a headache from it all. He just wanted to escape from all this bloodshed and tension. No... he wanted to talk to someone about this. All of these thoughts and emotions were making him feel sick to his stomach. He just wanted to spill his guts to someone... that sounded gross but you get the point. Maybe Drizzlecloud wasn't all that wrong in setting up group therapy for the clan.
Shadefrost's grin left him the second his clanmate touched him with her tail. Was this some type of signal? If it was then what did it mean? Was Darkcloud finally starting to warm up to him! If so then... Hmm. Nah, on second thought, that didn't really seem too likely. At least not this soon in the game. It was probably something else, like "hurry up before I just leave you all together" or "you're getting on my nerves stop it". In fact now that he put it that way, it seemed more and more like what she was trying to say. Well if that was the case then, "Sorry, I'd love to stay and brawl with you, but... Oh who am I kidding I hate fighting weak opponents. But tell you what, if you're so eager to die then I'll meet you at the border after the gathering alright? Alright. Now if you'd excuse me, my beloved is waiting for me."
Darkcloud
Darkcloud narrowed her eyes beloved? Honestly this cat was so annoying but she didn't say anything she just silently stalked over to an empty spot near the edge of the clearing. But Shadefrost saying he'd fight that cat at the border seemed stupid to her was there really any use in it she doubted Elmshadow would waste herbs if her knew what happened and she'd tell him if her asked.
Nightgaze
Nightgaze's fur was bristling so much now she looked like a thistle "Ha! Fine we meet at Herondive Hollow then we see who's really weak!" she growled boldly she was ready this was a battle for her pride and Thunderclan even if she got punished for it she didn't care.
Rufflepaw was glancing around the place still taking in the appearances of different cats and the two different clan scents floating around. Thank God Riverclan wasn't here yet since he didn't have to smell the fish scent yet. That wouldn't stop them from eventually showing up if they did that. So far it seemed like they weren't going to show up at all, every clan was here so far besides them. Blue eyes blinked as he glanced around again once he felt done staring at the seastones, leaders seemed boring at the moment. As he turned he came face to face with an apprentice? He is pretty sure they are one, have to be since as far as he was aware only clan cats were allowed at the gatherings. Rufflepaw took a whiff of the air around him to see which clan this guy was from but all he got was a nose full of garlic. Which had him pawing at his nose at the strong smell, what was with all these clans with these strong scents?! First was Riverclan with the fishy smell now it was this guy with the garlic scent. Wait, which clan did this guy belong too! "Hi, I'm Rufflepaw" he sounded a bit skeptical as he stared at Dreampaw. The ginger tom wasn't sure how to handle this guy, he could suppose he came in with Thunderclan since he popped up right when they did so whom else could he be with. He flicked his bushy tail as he contemplated asking the other just to confirm his thoughts, but was that rude if he did? Oh well, he was going to ask anyways might as well suck it up and deal with whatever afterward. "I'm assuming you're from Thunderclan? You came in around the same time they did" he raised a brow waiting for an answer if he got one. As he sat there tail flicking back and forth once in a while, he could feel eyes on him briefly, at which he had seen it was his mentor when he looked back. Guess he was going to be watched by his mentor during this gathering, that was fine he would see how good of an apprentice he could be! Since he found whom it was staring him down, he returned his attention back to Dreampaw momentarily before looking back at the Seastones. At the sound of someone speaking loudly as they approached the leaders, the tom flicked his ear once more before he looked for the voice. Rufflepaw had no idea on earth who this guy was, but he sure was prideful to approach all the leaders like that. No outward reaction to the apprentice's actions so far, since he talked about trespassers. What the hell was he talking about, all he's heard while he was still in the nursery and now in the apprentice's den was how Thunderclan kept trespassing onto their territory! Blue eyes widened when he caught sight of the pelt being shucked at Dawnstar's feet, He had no idea who that warrior was but he was smart enough to know it was one of their clanmates, especially judging by his clanmates reactions. Now he looked like a puffball, he was furious how could that stupid tom do that and be smug about it? If he was sure that his mentor wouldn't be mad at him, Rufflepaw would of ripped his tongue out. Instead, the newly made apprentice sat there and dug his own claws into the ground, he had no power here to do anything. Glancing at the corner of his eye he finally noticed Dreampaw still there again, he had forgotten about the possible thunderclanner. Since he wasn't sure if this guy was one or not he choose to inch away from the other he didn't feel like sitting next to one single thunderclanner tonight.
Dreampaw opened his mouth to apologise for the smell, explain its purpose, but all that came out was a slightly apologetic grunt or mumble. Well, that hadn't gone right, but at least the other apprentice's pelt wasn't glowing like it normally would. The ShadowClan cat introduced himself as Dufflepaw... Rufflepaw. Stars, his mind was already drifting. He dipped his head in a friendly way. His clan? Yeah, it was ThunderClan. He was about to speak again, when he caught the direction Rufflepaw had directed his focus... And was distracted again with all the chaos. What is going on? I can't see properly... If he were in his own world, he would just soar over the heads of the other cats, but for now he would have to settle for shifting around until his view was not blocked. He vaguely recognised the yowling cat as one of his denmates, and he had... A pelt? Dreampaw felt confused. Why was everyone shouting now? What was happening? His brain listed several possibilities, his favourite being that the pelt was the softest one in the world and that everyone wanted it for their nest. If that was the case, he wanted it too! But it didn't seem right, because there were loads of angry cats, and it didn’t look that comfy, so he decided not to shout out. He heard shuffling beside him, and turned back to see Rufflepaw a bit further away, and remembered the other apprentice's question. "Yeah, I am in ThunderClan."
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Ain't much that I know what to put 'ere...
"And that, my friends, is how a revolution dies." - Haymitch
Last edited by MockingRabbit; August 18th, 2023 at 09:02 AM.
SourPaw
[She/Her|Trans female|Lesbian|Thunderclan]
SourPaw giggled at her voice squeaking.
"Oooo! Yes! I would love that!" She purred and smiled.
The she-cat was confused with LichenPaw's next words but when she turned as well she saw what LichenPaw was talking about. SourPaw stared at CracklePaw with horror.
"Why would anyone do that?" She murmured her gaze following Cracklepaw as he exited the area.
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*-Lichenpaw-* 4/100
she/her | 7moons small and scruffy calico she-cat with one blinding eye
Lichenpaw shuddered at the disaster happening up front, it truly was a horrible display. Was that apprentice out of his mind? It was one thing to do something like that in general, but to do so at a gathering? Was he absolutely mad? Colluding with Dark Forest cats and all that junk? Whatever the case she did not envy the position he had put himself in. Lichen had gotten into her fair share of trouble, but there was nothing that could bring her to do something like that, so vile and cruel and then waving it around like a sick trophy of your own self satisfied justice for something so minor as a border crossing? That could be solved with some yelled words and a few claws to the flank. There was no need to kill and then make a mockery out of that needless death by doing something as messed up as skinning it.
"Well, anyways" she said, drawing out the last word in hopes to get her mind off of it, "I hope it's not always so, uh, how do I put this? Chaotic? Uh.... vile? As whatever that display was in your clan. If it was I might just suggest running away to WindClan!" She stuck out her tongue and giggled at the end, hoping she got across the fact that she was joking... well, mostly joking.
Nightgaze sighed loudly she was so bored and there were so many Shadowclanners she hated it! Growling quietly the small black she-cat rose to her paws and padded quickly to the farthest and darkness point of the clearing avoiding every cat and sat down sulking angrily.
OPEN
Fawnpaw
"Everyone is so hostile!! Is this all about the war?"
Fawnpaw asked, sitting close to her mentor, hoping to feel safer. "I haven't been in the clan that long, and I'm already in a war.."
Fawnpaw was shocked about Cracklepaw's entrance, but the smell of blood and decay excited her. 'Stop!' She screamed in her mind. She shouldn't like the smell.
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My characters thoughts and actions are not my own. They are simply roleplay characters and reflect nothing of my person and who I am.
Darkcloud narrowed her eyes beloved? Honestly this cat was so annoying but she didn't say anything she just silently stalked over to an empty spot near the edge of the clearing. But Shadefrost saying he'd fight that cat at the border seemed stupid to her was there really any use in it she doubted Elmshadow would waste herbs if her knew what happened and she'd tell him if her asked.
Nightgaze
Nightgaze's fur was bristling so much now she looked like a thistle "Ha! Fine we meet at Herondive Hollow then we see who's really weak!" she growled boldly she was ready this was a battle for her pride and Thunderclan even if she got punished for it she didn't care.
Shadefrost began to hum a fun and loud melody as he followed Darkcloud, clearly attempting to drown out Tiny Twin's voice. He didn't care for what she had to say anymore, though from how heated he was able to make her get with just a few words, he had an idea that she'd accepted his execution offer. When Shade finally settled himself down next to the beauty beside him, he said in a low voice, "Man, that was fun. I'm going to have a field day clawing that weakling of a squirrel to pulp.
Silverlightning sat by himself, boredom slowly taking hold over him. Well the Cracklepaw thing was a little interesting, but that was over now and no one seemed to be dying or fighting, so he saw no point in fanning the flame. Even if he did agreed with the rest of his clanmates, and think that the apprentice should be executed right now instead of sent home to be reprimanded.
Re: August Gathering
