High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

**elio** · #**6261** June 27th, 2024, 01:53 PM

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡
ﾟ。 Mossfreckle (ShC)
　ﾟ･｡･ﾟ they/he ~ medicine cat

❦ Reaching out a paw to the dark tabby apprentice that slunk towards his ever growing pile of those he loved, scooping Birdpaw close to his white twinged chest the oriental tom gave her a quick lick between her ears before nuzzling into the top of her head - his chin resting on the top of her small head while the rest remained canted onto the tricoloured molly that resided closely pressed to his freckled side - lanky back legs wrapped around Wispypaw as his feathery tail curled around the blind dark pelted feline although his sole attention remained on the most recent arrival for the moment that was passing between them at present, ”My birdie Princess,” the medicine cat purred affectionally to his niece, ”my love, how have you been?” he missed her and he was trying adamantly to prove he hadn’t forgotten her, that he hadn’t been too busy for her… life was chaotic… but he had always tempered the storms with her by his side and he would - as long as she needed him - remain as firm as the ancient roots that the gaggle of felines now curled within. Starry mind remained reeling but with each comforting presence that came to lay with him Mossfreckle felt the tension ease from his body, with each absentminded word of somewhat heartfelt chatter the spotted tabby could feel his white tipped paws moving away form the ledge even as ten wisping claws of whispering and taunting fogs raked at him and threatened to drag him into the same abysmal voids he had hauled his fatigued body from in these very moment… later… he would deal with this all later but for now he had to pretend like everything was fine, if he was being honest it was all fine at least in the sense that he was living his life to the fullest in this moment regardless of the ache in his bones and the claws of insecurity that made small crimson rivulets across his already tattered heart. Once again harsh tones fell authoritatively on the sensitive hairs within the canals of his large, angular ears and his mossy hues danced for a moment between Hazelstripe, Wispypaw, and Birdpaw before settling in a sole fixation on Rookpaw who was soon to shed her current rank for that which was well deserved, that which she had fought for and earned, her full name and rank as a warrior of Shadowclan. Anticipation coursed through Mossfreckle’s veins as he waited in eager impatience of the events and announcements to come, he was so proud of her, words couldn’t explain how happy he was for her… how happy he was to no longer hate her… well, hate was a strong word but disappointment in the end was a stronger word and that is what had categorised his feelings for her mingled with a seething betrayal and confusion because at the end of the day they had come for him and he had turned Rookpaw away, but he had been honest and she had stood true to the challenge and risen to prove his words true ten fold to the conditions he had set forth.

{ @Dark ~ hazels } { @Kix ~ little shadow } { @alec ~ minky } { @Mica ~ birdie princess }
[ hehe short /w\ ]

**Omari** · #**6262** June 27th, 2024, 02:03 PM

Midnightpaw
Shadowclan
She/her

Midnightpaw was late to the meeting–oops. She slipped out of the apprentice's den quietly, her head dipped in shame at her lack of appearance earlier than now.

She settled herself among her clanmates, although off in her own little bubble as opposed to actually chatting with anyone else. Some apprentices were being named, she noted–at least she hadn't missed much, as it seemed the meeting had just begun.

[Open]

**ophelia** · #**6263** June 27th, 2024, 03:12 PM

[ @Weekend-Wondering ]
Raspberryswirl

The grey warrior sat on the edge of the group as usual, eager to be near the others but not so much that she wanted her pelt ruined by theirs brushing up against hers. Not that it would make much of a difference now. She'd just returned with Dawnstar and the others from Riverclan's territory and hadn't had the chance to properly clean herself. Of course, that meant her fur looked pretty average compared to her clanmates, but that wasn't good enough for the diva.

Her thoughts were occupied by the recent battle. There was a feeling of resentment she couldn't quite pin down. It wasn't directed to her opponent or Bumblestar, although she did feel some annoyance in that regard. And it was only partially towards herself for performing so poorly. Who else could be the cause?

She was startled from her ponderings as Dawnstar called her name. Was it time for the patrol? Raspberryswirl's ears perked up as she tuned in, surprised to hear that it was an apprentice assignment. She had an apprentice already, although Wispypaw was already partially trained and didn't seem particularly interested in interacting with her. The warrior supposed she would have plenty of time for a second.

Raspberryswirl turned her attention to the newly named apprentice as he approached, reaching out her nose slightly to offer the customary tap. But the tom had other ideas, and was already inquiring after her name. He spoke with a maturity beyond his age, which piqued her interest. She had a feeling they were going to get along swimmingly.

"Ah, a gentleman!" she purred luxuriously, bending her neck in a reciprocal bow. "I'm glad to hear your enthusiasm. As for my name, now that you mention it I do feel grateful indeed." She'd never given it much thought, but she supposed she did like it well enough. It was pretty, and she liked pretty things.

The grey and white molly let out a quiet laugh at the apprentice's request. "For an apprentice as delightful as you, I am sure there will be no need for said hell," she assured him. This was excellent. She was going to train this apprentice to the best of her capabilities, and surely that would prove to Dawnstar (and herself) that she was not in fact useless. "We will get started right away," she told him, tapping the ground beside her with her feathery tail to invite him to sit. "Tell me, what have you learned already?"

**Weekend-Wondering** · #**6264** June 27th, 2024, 06:15 PM

Marshypaw
Male / 6 Moons / ShadowClan / Sexuality Unknown
Russet tabby tom with cream-brown fur around the torso, blue and yellow heterochromatic eyes, and a naturally sinister expression

“Well there’s no point to misery without joy, now is there? Just like there’s no point to beauty without brains! That last part is something that you, my friend, need to work on!”
~Marshypaw

✽❀✽

Despite the fact that the general point of training was to… train, Marshypaw was much more looking forward to the sociability portion of it all. He might find a lifelong best friend, an enemy or two, some rivals, some more frenemies… and ooh, maybe even his first lover! There was a wide, wide variety of opportunities, as well as options, for him to seize! Yes, the russet and cream apprentice had a feeling that apprenticeship would bring along some entertaining and interesting things. Not necessarily good, not necessarily bad, but entertaining. To Marshypaw, this was all that mattered. ShadowClan could be burning down in flames, and just so long as the young tom is interested, he is happy to watch it go down. It was not the most healthy mindset for somebody to have, of course, but as polite as he seemed, Marshypaw had never been taught right form wrong, and he did not expect himself to figure it out. All he cared for was the drama, the chaos, and the fun of it all, and if that was missing just label him as dead, because he’d be leaving the clan in search for something bigger, better, and fancier. Fortunately (or maybe even unfortunately) for ShadowClan, Marshypaw did not plan on leaving any time soon, thanks to the amount of interest Dawnstar and her methods of running her clan peaked to him. He would stay loyal for the sole purpose of personal amusement.

Going back to apprenticeship, the newly made apprentice had a strong feeling that the new faces he met there were going to be more interesting than whoever all he managed to bump into in the nursery. They were older, hopefully more matured, and chances were, their personalities would be much more developed. If things went as Marshypaw expected them to, he would be seeing all sorts of new drama when he entered the mob of angst teens. In other words, he had high hopes in what he was to be seeing in his new peers. Marshypaw sighed lightly. Oh, I can only hope that my personality is one that differs from the general public’s… I want to stand out! Whether this be in a good way or a bad way, I do not care… I just want to be seen as… odd, interesting, and possibly even worth EXTRA attention! At that last thought, the tabby apprentice’s face brightened, and his whiskers bounced in a little twitch. That was something to consider… attention! He had received little to none as a kitten, but now that he had the ‘paw’ part of his name in place, maybe he would earn himself some new, oh-so-wanted attention. For the sake of the awkwardness of unexplained sounds, Marshypaw held in a purr, but he was still just as joyful as he would have been if he had released it. Thoughts and things were going perfectly so far! The tabby was enjoying himself! Already, despite the fact that I’ve only just became an apprentice, He added internally. Interesting!

And who knew, maybe Raspberryswirl was just the first cat in his interesting-personality-seeking journey. Her name was fun, her mysteriousness to Marshypaw was fun, was fun, her… nose… was fun, and hopefully her personality would be the same. Looking on the bright side, Marshypaw usually found that cats did not just learn the basic training things from their mentors, because tiny bits of the mentor’s personality was usually passed on alongside of it all. Even thought he had no particular interest in stealing Raspberryswirl’s personality, perfectly happy with his own, Marshypaw was still happy for the fact that this meant mentors usually showed their personality through their teachings. Well, probably- and emphasis on that, because even with the amount of pride he already took in his mentor, Marshypaw still had absolutely know idea what training was like or how Raspberry behaved/felt about having another apprentice to deal with. But there was only one way to find outl now wasn’t there? To introduce himself with as much self-character as he possibly could. Marshypaw planned on making her personality more than clear right form the start, and even though this increased the chances of Raspberry disliking him from the start, he was just fine with that. At least that sort of relationship would be… decently dramatic.

When Raspberryswirl turned to Marshypaw as the russet and cream tabby approached her, he lifted his head and prepared to speak. It was time to show some personality, and hopefully earn some back from the gray and white molly. The apprentice was too busy showing her his personality to notice the fact that she was gesturing for the customary nose-tap, too focused on trying to read her eyes and expression. Eventually, he allowed the she-cat a chance to answer, pausing to listen curiously to what she had to say. The first words he heard from his new mentor were, ‘Ah, a gentleman!’ Marshypaw decided that this was a good start to their relationship. She was kind, and right from the start, she just acknowledged one of his strengths. So when she purred, he smiled softly and dipped his head in respect and gratitude. A gentleman, was he? Well, to Raspberryswirl, that was exactly what he wanted to be. She was kind to him, he was kind to her, give and receive, folks, that’s how it works. Yes, Marshypaw had some sort of obsession with the concept of karma, even if he did not fully acknowledge it yet. Raspberryswirl returned Marshypaw’s now, and the multi-colored tom felt his heart lift. Oh, interesting, she had functioning eyes! She was observant, as well as responsive! When the she-cat told Marshypaw that she was glad to hear his enthusiasm, he thought for a moment. Enthusiasm? Was that a Marshypaw thing? Well, of Raspberryswirl thought so, sure. It was now. He would play the part just fine. His mentor then informed him that yes, she was indeed grateful for her name, and Marshypaw smiled again. “Well, lovely! Isn’t that nice? Confidence?”

Upon hearing Marshypaw’s single request, Raspberryswirl laughed. Happy to see it, Marshypaw told himself, Ah! I’ve humored the lady! Well, that’s a start! Hopefully it won’t be the last time, that is! The tabby young tom perked his ears when he heard the sound of Raspberryswirl’s voice again, listening with pleasure as he listened to her speak. The grey and white she-cat told him that with an apprentice as delightful as Marshypaw, she was sure that there would be no need for any form of hell. Marshypaw nodded his thanks, raising his eyebrows briefly as if to say, ‘Neat!’ before falling back into a moment of thought. Well, that’s nice to know! I’ve never been a big fan of hell, after all. He looked up at his mentor when she suggested that they go ahead and begin now, right away, and just after, he laughed lightly. “Lovely! Well, then, will do!” Taking notice of her feathery tail tapping the ground. After catching sight of her invitation for him to sit, Marshypaw, again, nodded his thanks, and took a seat beside his mentor. She requested that he tell her what all he’s already learned, and right then and there, Marshypaw sucked in a breath. “Oh-! Yes, well…” Honesty above all, honesty above all… that was his personality. His character. “Unfortunately, eh… absolutely nothing!”

Marshypaw wanted to say as much as he could before leaving it at that depressing fact. So smiling, he turned to Raspberryswirl, and addressed the molly again. “However, Raspberryswirl, you play a large role in this, do you not? Yes, I speak the truth when I take admission of the fact that I know nothing of training at the moment, but at the same time, perhaps you could change that soon?” Still smiling, he tilted his head to the side, with a questioning gleam in his blue and yellow gaze. “Anywho, you’re… rather familiar, so I am currently assuming that you have already taken on mentorship of an apprentice… yes? Therefore you might just know what to prioritize when it comes to my, Marshypaw’s, personal training? If you must know, I know nothing about anything, at least at the moment.” Again, honesty above all. So with curiosity still lighting up his stare, Marshypaw waited for a response. But this wait didn’t last longer because quickly, he realized that he had made a mistake. An un-gentlemanly mistake. He had completely forgotten about the tradition of nose tapping. So quickly, he scrambled up onto his paws, stood straight and tall, and leaned forward to allow her to touch her nose to his. “Oh, goodness gracious, my dearest apologies- tradition seems to have slipped my mind! Here, ma’am, let’s start my training off correctly, shall we?!” With a friendly laugh and a brighter smile, he waited again.

✽❀✽

~ @ophelia ~

**Dark** · #**6265** June 29th, 2024, 04:41 PM

Hazelstripe

The Collector: Inactive | Ultimate Predator: Inactive | Kitty Softpaws: (Perm)
___________

Hazels. He called her Hazels. The tricolor she-cat didn’t expect to receive a nickname from the tom as simple as it was, so hearing that filled her with a giddy, bubbly feeling. Smiling softly to herself, she sat in silence as he began to explain what occurred at the battle. When Mossfreckle described the injury that Fogwatcher sustained, she couldn’t help her eyes from widening in surprise. Of course, not seeing the tom did lead her to suspect that something had happened to him, but having his throat slit seemed pretty freaking serious. The way the healer spoke about it though seemed to imply that things were relatively fine and the injury itself was treatable. News about Rookpaw getting injured was expected of course. She knew that if she came across a former clanmate attacking their camp she’d do everything in her power to make sure they didn’t leave the camp alive. It was only natural right? If you dare betray your clan, you deserve nothing short of death.

As she was coming up with different ways to punish any future dissenters, a small weight at her shoulder caught her off guard. In shock, she angled her head to see Mossfreckle resting his head on her. A flurry of butterflies was flying in a thick cloud within her stomach – so much so that she was starting to feel nauseous. Her breath quickened, and she found her fur heating up uncomfortably. She didn’t know how to describe this feeling, nor why the tom made her feel so silly. Was she okay? Did she need to get checked out? She had half a mind to ask him, opening her mouth to do so before they were so casually interrupted.

It was one of the children of the arks (both of who she would make hers, trust) – Lostspark and Darkfall’s daughter. If memory served her correctly then this one was Wispypaw, however, they will henceforth be referred to as “The Interruption” or simply “Interruption” for short. Anyways, Interruption was asking about the strength of the guppies – mentioning that “Grandma” made them seem weak. That was another thing she forgot. The hoard of kits that Darkfall and Lostspark had were in a way related to Dawnstar. That was something she’d definitely have to keep in mind when going after their parents. Mossy seemed to be close to them, so maybe she should also try to get to know them a little bit – if only to get close to the arks and Mossfreckle.

That aside, she listened closely to what the healer had to say. It appeared as though RiverClan, while physically able, was little more than a bunch of kittypets when it came down to their mentality. Disgusting. Weak, and pathetic. Very imperfect. With that description, she was able to see why Rookpaw had left the clan. She wouldn’t want to be in such a place neither. Could you imagine? Being surrounded by a bunch of weaklings? The thought of that alone sent a tremor of disgust through her body, and she forced herself to keep from scowling. Amber eyes caught a small movement from the healer and she noticed that he was looking around the clearing. Following his line of vision, her eyes too laid upon Rookpaw. Eyes narrowed slightly, she watched the two in silence, Mossfreckle mouthing some words to her.

It was in that moment that she decided she didn’t like the former RiverClaner. There wasn’t a particular reason, not one that mattered at least, but she didn’t like the way that Mossfreckle looked at her, nor she him (it didn’t help that she was about to receive her warrior name). She didn’t mind sharing the lanky tom, something she had decided was inevitable, but she also didn’t want more of the attention she so desperately craved to be divided elsewhere. It felt… unfair. Frowning a little, she kept her opinions to herself. She’d have a talk with her Mossy one of these days and let him know that he couldn’t just neglect her so flippantly – a she-cat’s heart was fragile after all.

Another cat interrupted them – this one being Birdpaw (formally dubbed “Interruption 2”) joined their little crowd. This one had the decency to be silent though, sitting on the opposite side of Mossfreckle wordlessly. Once again, the claws of envy wormed their way into her heart at the soft, gentle words that the oriental tom used for the apprentice. She wanted him to talk to her that way. Stars above, she was so pathetic. Mossfreckle was distracted, so painfully distracted and she could tell. From experience, she knew it was hard to keep one’s attention divided amongst so many different things at once, but she had approached him so that it would be on her. And now she had to compete with everyone and everything else.

”You’re so cruel.” Hazelstripe whispered absentmidely. She was not one who voiced her opinions often, a leftover remnant of what her mother did to her, but this… it hurt. She could feel her heart being squeezed in her chest which each glance away, with every word not directed at her. Why was she so possessive over him? Why couldn’t she just take things slowly? She didn’t know. This feeling was foreign to her and she did not like it one bit. This sucked, royally.

Damn it all.

[ @ellie @Mica @Kix @alec Sorry this is so late, real life hit me like a bus – you all get a long-ish post though]

***alec*** · #**6266** June 29th, 2024, 06:37 PM

as dawnstar announced the kits being apprenticed, tickpaw (hey seems like they really did show up), marshypaw, cloverpaw, twilightpaw and fallowpaw (quite a lot of kits for her taste) rookpaw was once again reminded that she had wanted to confront lostspark. as blind (or not so blind) amber eyes met hers and her soon to be former mentor inclined her head in recognition rookpaw half listened to the warriors being announced as mentors before lostsparks eyes shifted to focus on sleepypaw.
rookpaw sat still under dawnstars lingering gaze, having turned her head to look at her leader somewhere between glancing at mossfreckle again and trying to remember the correct name to connect to the dark warrior that had taken their place besides the herbalist. the soon to be warrior swallowed the shallow cough rising in her throat, instead quietly clearing her throat as dawnstar called upon their ancestors, she had seen this enough to know what was about to come and would like to skip the part where her voice cracked in the middle of a word.
the dark feline let the other two apprentices speak first, both answering dawnstars question in two simple words 'i do', rookpaw didnt feel like it was enough. it had been barely four moons that she had been around and this felt worth more than the average promise. "i swear to protect my clan, even at the cost of my life" she confirmed, head tilted up in a half nod for emphasis, as if the wounds she carried, etched in dark grey and white pelt, didnt show the truth already. had she not been so distracted by proving her worth once again, she wouldve probably given squirrelpaw a concerned or maybe simply questioning gaze, but she was riding the high of mossfreckles and lostsparks reactions, the tenderness the tom had shown previously, and maybe she was just a bit hazy from the poppy seeds..

[ super short but again a ginormous thank you @Undertaker ]

***Undertaker*** · #**6267** June 29th, 2024, 07:45 PM

High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

The golden orbs rested on her granddaughter who roused herself from her impromptu nap and hurried over to join the other three apprentices. Dawnstar made it very clear that she was not pleased with her tardiness but would let it slide since it seemed Sleepypaw was still tired from the battle. She put in a tremendous amount of work and showed the valiancy of a warrior, and that alone kept Dawnstar from turning her away as she swore to the oath, with Squirrelpaw not far behind her. Rookpaw, however, took a bit longer than expected to answer. Dawnstar wondered if she was having doubts, but the concern was washed away when she finally got an answer.

"Then I give you your warrior names. Squirrelpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Squirrelrise. We honor your empathy and awareness and welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." The leader padded forth to briefly drop her muzzle between the she-cat's ears atop her head, and then stepped back.

"Sleepypaw, from this moment on you will be known as Sleepysunrise. We honor your determination and loyalty and welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." Dawnstar walked up to the warrior and repeated the process with Sleepysunrise, touching her muzzle atop her head and then stepping back.

"Rookpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Rookfire. We honor your dedication and initiative and welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." Dawnstar touches muzzle to the she-cat head as she finishes with the last warrior. Any doubts she had about Rookfire had dwindled to almost nothing after seeing her fight with RiverClan. Dawnstar would never trust any cat fully, but as she no longer actively suspicious, Dawnstar considered the she-cat a full member of ShadowClan.

"Squirrelrise, Sleepysunrise, Rookfire."The leader started the call and listened for her clanmates to echo it.

Her golden eyes shimmered with her a more pride than usual. As much as she would have liked to let them bask in their new rank a bit longer, waiting on Rookpaw had caused her to fall behind. This meeting was dragging on longer than she would have liked.

"Reassignments. Batpaw and Shadowlight, Sunpaw and Darkfire, Foggymask an Magpiepaw, Sleeyheart and Shadypaw." She was glad that there weren't as many cats in need of new mentors.

#shcmeeting

[For those confused I posted, deleted and reposted, hence the second mention. Sorry if this caused any trouble.]

**Aroogi** · #**6268** June 29th, 2024, 07:56 PM

TUFTEDTUSK
He/Him / Warrior / 28 moons / ShC

---

Tuftedtusk was proud of these cats. They trained hard. With bright eyes, he raised his voice in a chant for the new warriors. "Squirrelrise! Sleepysunrise! Rookfire!" He yowled, tail swishing in triumph. New warriors. Perfect. He thought then of Finchpaw, who had been no where to be seen for a long while. He hoped Dawnstar would keep her word and give him a new one. It seemed his apprentice wasn't going to show.

[ @Estelle @alec @furrensic ; slight mention! ]

**anika** · #**6269** June 29th, 2024, 08:04 PM

SUNPAW

The mottled apprentice’s eyes widened at the mention of her reassignment. Confused, Sunpaw blinked a few times, amber eyes fluttering open and closed again and again until she registered what was happening.

I was reassigned? The dappled Carmel-apricot she-cat’s ears drooped. She had been looking forward to training with Venomstrike. And to Darkfire of all cats? Sunpaw hung her head. Well, this ought to be great.

Forcing herself to meet Dawnstar’s stare, Sunpaw nodded respectfully to her Clan Leader before to getting to her paws and padding through the crowd of her Clanmates as she sought out her mentor.

Darkfire.

Spotting the tom’s dark gray form, Sunpaw picked up her pace and made her way over to him.

“Darkfire,” Sunpaw’s voice was quiet as she meowed a greeting to her new mentor. She sat back on her haunches at his side, wrapping her tail neatly around her paws.

{ @Undertaker // @Windy }

**Angelia** · #**6270** June 29th, 2024, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by isla

SUNPAW

The mottled apprentice’s eyes widened at the mention of her reassignment. Confused, Sunpaw blinked a few times, amber eyes fluttering open and closed again and again until she registered what was happening.

I was reassigned? The dappled Carmel-apricot she-cat’s ears drooped. She had been looking forward to training with Venomstrike. And to Darkfire of all cats? Sunpaw hung her head. Well, this ought to be great.

Forcing herself to meet Dawnstar’s stare, Sunpaw nodded respectfully to her Clan Leader before to getting to her paws and padding through the crowd of her Clanmates as she sought out her mentor.

Darkfire.

Spotting the tom’s dark gray form, Sunpaw picked up her pace and made her way over to him.

“Darkfire,” Sunpaw’s voice was quiet as she meowed a greeting to her new mentor. She sat back on her haunches at his side, wrapping her tail neatly around her paws.

{ @Undertaker // @Windy }

Darkfire had an apprentice? This was new. And his first, ever! The tom barely recalled his own training. "Hello, Sunpaw. Looking forward to start training?" the dark gray tom felt that his voice was too rough, so he softened it in his next words. "I'll look forward to training you. You'll be my first apprentice."
*starting training thread up after this post*