Twistedpaw padded along with the rest of the group. Her legs burned, feeling as if they were made of stone as she stumbled, her mangled tail making her lurch this way and that. It was an effort to keep up with the others. Her breath came in weak, gasping pants, rasping oddly between her misaligned teeth. But she couldn't let herself get left behind. They were in an unfamiliar land where the sights and scents were nothing like the home Twistedpaw had known her whole life, the home that had been razed to the ground by scorching flames. So, she pushed onward despite her muscles begging her to stop and rest. I knew I should've eaten something this morning. Batglare would be very mad if he found out. But I wasn't feeling hungry, and there were so many other cats by the fresh-kill pile... Twistedpaw's paws tingled as her pelt pricked guiltily. Still, I should listen to my mentor. I'm a bad enough apprentice as it is.
She didn't want to be left behind, but the thought of interacting with her Clanmates made fear spark within her and her pelt burn with a vengeance. She couldn't stop thinking of her accidental naming of Starry Meadow, the beautiful bed of wildflowers that was to be WindClan's sacred burial grounds. I didn't deserve to give it that name, Twistedpaw thought, feeling guilty and nauseous as she remembered the gentle approval of Twilightstar, Leopardsong, and Wolffang and all those eyes burning into her. Such an important place, and it was named by me, a disgrace to StarClan, to WindClan, to every normal cat. Her paws shook. What if I've made StarClan mad? What if my Clanmates are upset with me? They hadn't said anything, but maybe they'd had more self-control than Willowsky and were staying quiet out of politeness.
The small black apprentice trembled, her hunger and exhaustion forgotten. She hardly saw who was around her; it was a miracle she didn't crash into anyone. Rather, she kept her working eye focused on the tails of Brightpaw and Mousefern, needing their closeness, their comfort. I don't know what I would do if they weren't here!
Eventually, they came to a stop. Twistedpaw was too scared to look up and see the faces of her Clanmates, so she tasted the air. A musky odor flowed over her scent glands... Trees? Leaves? She blinked, realizing it was cooler and darker here. She sniffed again. Rich prey-scents bathed her tongue. Her empty stomach rumbled, and she flattened her tiny ears against her head in supreme embarrassment. I hope nobody heard that! Twistedpaw gave her chest fur a few quick licks. She just wanted to curl into a ball and disappear, but... Her Clanmates were here. She couldn't leave them and wander off into unfamiliar territory. She was here to learn, wasn't she? So, she lifted her head, shoulders hunched, trying to make herself as small as possible.
Twistedpaw's eyes widened as she took in the open patch of woodland. Trees towered above her, slick, sunset-colored leaves rustling against coarse brown bark. She hadn't seen many trees before, having lived in the open moor her whole life. She'd only spotted them across the border or the odd one that grew in WindClan territory. Now it seemed they were including a patch of woodland in their borders. Will WindClan like it? she wondered anxiously. At least there's a lot of prey here... But the trees were odd. They closed in on her, looming and threatening. Twistedpaw pressed closer to Brightpaw and Mousefern. She didn't like them. They were scary.
These will be our hunting grounds? Twistedpaw swallowed. But... what about the open moor? She didn't dare open her mouth, though, instead gazing around with wide eyes and a fearful expression. Though the herbs... The territory was full of them. She felt a flicker of relief. Cowtuft and Lightningpaw won't run out. When Twilightstar asked for name suggestions, the she-cat stayed quiet. No way was she going to name anything else. Twistedpaw still felt terribly guilty about naming Starry Meadow, a sacred place anointed by a wretched cat. So why did she feel a flicker of pride when she thought about the warmth in Twilightstar's voice and her leader's smile?
@Omari (Mousefern) @RedLeif (Brightpaw) @Moonraven (Batglare and Leopardsong mentions)
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Some of my characters think or act in ways I disagree with. Please understand that I do not support or condone these thoughts or actions.
「☆」 THE GENTLE GIANT 「☆」 ╰► COWTUFT he | him ★ massive white tom with black splotches and floppy ears + scar over his neck, burned hindleg, x-scar marks on shoulders; left green eye and right blue eye ★
ೃ⁀➷ [ open ! ]
The medicine cat never knew how isolating this path was. Perhaps it was a fault of his own. Cowtuft was friendly, outgoing, but he never sought out deeper connections. Fixated on healing his clanmates. When he was younger he sought out all the information possible. He still did, but there was a less dire need. Maybe it was the loss of his mother -- Cowtuft considered her lost. Stormwatcher. The fire had taken her but there was no body to be found. Still, it made him realize he had not one friend in WindClan. (Fallownose and Twilightstar were dear to him but they did not know his favorite color and he did not know theirs. )
The thought was horribly sad and he didn't understand how to repair this dire situation. The thought of getting close to someone filled with the unease of knowing they might pass away in his nest a moon later. Life was unpredictable, but at some point he had taken a step too close to isolation and there was no one.
It was why he was outside of camp. Cowtuft was searching for herbs. Nothing particularly in mind, just herbs to have on paw. Things to find, things to smell. Lightningpaw was back at camp that he felt comfortable enough to allow himself this small peace. He loved WindClan and its land. Beautiful and bountiful.
Sometimes, sometimes, he believed he had never took the time to be a kid. He tried to be grown that now when he was physically grown (actually, he still found himself growing) there was a gap. Something missing.
He shook his head gently. Right. This was supposed to be relaxing. A sigh, a very tired sigh, fell from his lips and he simply.. crumbled to the ground in a heap of fur. Trees loomed over him and the gentle song the birds sang were comforting...
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❝ hold on tight to this time,
this place 'cause everything you know will be erased.
you were born inside your head.
and that is where you'll be when you are dead. ❞ -- currently on a hiatus until further notice --
꒰ pronouns.cc꒱
Last edited by wolfie; July 24th, 2023 at 06:15 AM.
✩ Nyx ✩ She / They
very dark grey kitten with three black spots adorned with white speckles; heterochromatic muted blue and mossy green eyes
ততততত
Oh dear. Dear oh dear. A tiny heap of fur, dark as the night, fluffy as a lamb and small as an ant, was happily scurrying around the open plains. She'd snuck away once more from her mummy (you know, the one little bit of misbehaving she allowed herself), trying to reach the ancient willow tree she called her secret base. But! Oh But!! It had begun raining on her path and, the poor poor child, soaked to the bone, got lost in the heavy downpour. A true tragedy, for she hadn't the faintest clue where she was now. But! That did not matter. The rain had long since stopped, and little Nyx had yet to realise she was lost, yes yes.
They were happily running around now, long fluffy fur even fluffier than normal as it began slowly drying up in the heat of the warm sun. She looked like a true puffball, now! And she was so happy! She was having fun running about, looking at her silly reflection in the little puddles that adorned the ground; very giddily at that. She'd see a puddle, poke her head over it, giggle, and then run to the next one, blissfully unaware of what dangers her surroundings may offer them.
That is until the little moon saw something. It was big, it was fluffy, and... It looked like Nathy! Kind of. But! But! It had ears, it had a tail, and it had four paws. But the ears looked different. They were all... Flop. Oh, oh! Kind of like her own ear - the overgrown thing that sometimes flopped over. Was this another.. Uhm... Whatever they were? Whoooaaaa. Mesmerized by the idea of it being another one like her, Nyx hid behind a little rock, definitely thinking she couldn't be seen. But ever the curious one, she carefully poked her dark head over the stone, mismatched eyes gleaming in the sunlight as she observed the flop down.
Oh no!! Her flowers had looked all flopped over when Nathy fell onto them and hurt them... Was the big thing hurt? Hurt wasn't good, no no. Not at all. The little kitten pursed her lips, a biiiiig crease forming across her brow as she had to make an important decision. Mummy always said stranger danger, but! If the stranger was hurt! But! She wasn't even sure if it was like her! But did that really matter? She liked playing with the birds and squirrels near her tree, and they weren't like her. Oh no, she shouldn't discriminate, no no! Of the big thing was hurt, then she had to do the checky on them; yes yes.
Cautiously stepping away from their stone, little Nyx quiiiietly sloooowly stepped close, and closer, and closer. Until eventually, she stood really near the big thing, looking up with droopy doe eyes. "... you. alright? Flower ... hurt?"
The little kitten's head tilted curiously, expression now relaxed as they silently looked up at the big thing with care. They paused for a few moments, thinking deeply before pipping up again with a smile. "Nyx ... help!"
Cliffjumper noticed Cowtuft looking a little lonely. The guardian approached the medicine cat calmly, a playful smirk on his face. "Hey there, Cowtuft," he mrowwed cheerfully, "and hello there, little one. Don't think I've seen you round here before, hey? I'm Cliffjumper and this is Cowtuft." He reached to pick up the little kitten, but didn't want to scare them.
@x ghostie @Estelle
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"Do you and Barley have kits?" - Bella
Had it really just been this morning that she had received her apprentice name? Couldn't have been, it seemed so long ago! Her legs were practically falling off trying to keep pace with Mousefern. It looked like Twistedpaw had already dropped back, and Brightpaw had only just registered that before they were suddenly in the shade of a tree. A tree? But they were in WindClan territory, and WindClan didn't do trees. Brightpaw frowned up at one, spotting a nest in its branches.
"What type are they?" she asked her mentor, the tiredness apparently disappearing as she padded up to the roots and sniffed around. Not that knowing the name would mean much to her, but it might be useful to know one day.
It was strange being surrounded by the tall plants, she hadn't really seen trees before when she was in camp, but she guessed that it would be even stranger for older cats who had been around the territory more, and now had to adapt to hunting in woodland. "Will I learn to climb them?" She thought of ThunderClan and ShadowClan. They had loads of trees to practice on.
She looked at her sister. "It would be fun, don't you think?"
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Ain't much that I know what to put 'ere...
"And that, my friends, is how a revolution dies." - Haymitch
The deputy let out a low huff of amusement at Scorchedfang's words, beckoning him to follow with a flick of his tail. "You're a member of WindClan now, it won't matter to them. If it does, then they can speak to me," he said, assuming that the other tom was worried about his status as a former Outsider.
"How have you been settling in? I haven't gotten to see much of you, which is quite the shame." It was part of the reason Fallownose had only asked Scorchedfang to come on the patrol to Sunset Grove with him. That, and he had missed the other tom despite not knowing him for that long.
What a strange concept to him. Being a part of something.. a unit, that was not truly a family but tried to pretend. Granted, Fellcone's perspective of family was skewed. He did not remember his well, just glimpses of imperfections and hatred. "How terrifying! They will quake in their paws, having to speak to the handsome devil of a deputy." The thought was amusing, actually. Fallownose was as intimidating as a mouse - though perhaps that stemmed from Fellcone being a beast, or how he had experienced far worse than anything Handsomefellow could dish out.
Regardless, he brought up a compelling question. How was he faring? "It.. is different. I spent a long time alone, so being around many cats is a considerable change." It was not necessarily a bad thing, just something to get accustomed to. "The Clan has been pleasant." Quiet, which he did not personally favor. Fellcone had a faint glimmering of something more lively-- alert, ready to face whatever the world had to offer. When blood spilled into a dark clearing, and power reigned supreme. Twilightstar did not scream power to him. She leaned more passive, trying to stay out of trouble.
These were things he would not voice. Not yet; he did not believe he had a say so soon after being invited in. Besides, he did not know how Fallownose would handle being told they needed to fight more things. If he was happy with the peace, who was Fellcone to ruin that? "It has been a shame. We should get out more often.. just the two of us." A sly wink, his tail flicking with the intent of running it against Fallownose's chest. "So, this is Sunset Grove?"
The small opening in the woods was pretty, but Fellcone's attention fell on movement below a tree. In a flash, he was on the move - dropped to a crouch, gliding across the floor like a professional. The forest felt closer to a home than any field, and soon enough he was close enough to leap. The sparrow he spied saw him too late, trying to flutter to freedom as his paws closed around it and he killed it with a quick nip. Crack!
"You're up, sugar." He spoke through a mouthful of feathers, sitting up before he dug a brief hole to bury the bird in. Anything to keep it safe.
A soft breeze swept across the woodland, and Starryeyes felt it gently tug at their fur. They closed their eyes and sat quietly for a moment, giving themselves time to simply breathe and feel at ease. After perhaps a minute, they reintroduced their eyes to the world through a series of slow blinks.
Now content, they turned to their sibling, who they had been looking forward to dragging here. Starryeyes thought the place was marvelously peaceful; quiet, but not too quiet; open, but not too open — a pleasant contrast from the large majority of WindClan’s territory: plains, plains, and more plains. Alongside being more aesthetically pleasing to look at compared to dirt and pale grass, the trees here provided ample shade from the unforgiving sun, whose growing heat they hadn’t yet gotten accustomed to.
The lil guy waved his tail, a small gesture to get Tallsmoke's attention before he spoke so that he wouldn’t be breaking the silence too abruptly. “Hello ^^;” he greeted, his voice mellow.
“I suppose we’ll be doing this as a pair instead.” She mew, whiskers twitching almost unnoticeably, as she turned to Owlpaw. She wasn’t necessarily upset, just trying to understand the odds of having a cat back out of a patrol twice in a row; she chalked it up to bad luck, in the end. “Ready?” She searched the apprentice for any sign of confirmation before leading the way out of camp and to their destination.
———
Sunset Grove. She still wasn’t completely used to it, but it was definitely growing on her after her participation in the Boot Camp. She wasn’t here to teach apprentices how to hunt though, she was looking for herbs. “Cowtuft asked us to find Cobwebs, Yellowbells and—or Sunfuzzies.” She turned to face Owlpaw before speaking, though she was already glancing around in search of what she had listed. Not knowing of Owlpaw’s herb knowledge, she decided to just repeat what Cowtuft had told her. “Cobwebs aren’t too hard to find—bushes, crevices, trees—once you find them you just need to get a stick and wrap it around the end.” That’s how she’d always done it, but if the apprentice did otherwise she wouldn’t mind.
She thought back to the flower the medicine cat had showed her, eyes narrowing in concentration in the process. “Yellowbells are similar to buttercups, thin petals and all that. Sunfuzzies have thicker petals—they look just like their name.” She gave herself a short nod, eyes returning to Owlpaw. “Look around, don’t stray too far, and just grab what you can find.” She said with a soft nod, aimed at the apprentice this time, and stood up with a swish of her tail.
She meandered off a bit, keeping an eye on Owlpaw before comfortably padding off, never too far, and always within hearing or scenting distance of her patrol mate; the last thing she wanted was for a young cat in her care to get hurt, or anything of the sort. … There were cobwebs here and there, but she deemed the herbs a bit more important and kept looking. Her efforts eventually paid off, and she did find a nice cluster of the herb Cowtuft had showed her and grabbed a mouthful of the Sunnyfuzzies, careful not to damage any part of the plant too much.
╚══════════════╝ +3 Sunnyfuzzies
OOC: Wasnt sure how many of the herbs I should/can take, lmk if the amount I chose is a problem. :3 /gen
@Woodlow [ Mention for Owlpaw. ]
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Character(s): Tigerblush [TC], Longmoor [WC], Orangeslash [SC]
【 I'm in school currently, so replies will be slower and shorter--sorry for any incoviences this causes. 】
Owlpaw didn't know a thing about herbs, or at least no more than any other apprentice. He did know what cobwebs were though, and decided to start searching for those first. He grabbed the nearest stick he could find and scoured every bush, crevice, and tree until he spotted a few cobwebs to collect. +2 Cobwebs
Now that he had found some cobwebs, he guessed it was time to search for those yellow flowers Longmoor was talking about. He didn't know what a Yellowbell or Sunfuzzie would look like besides the fact that they were probably both yellow. How was he meant to tell the difference? Oh well, it may not matter since he was supposed to grab one or the other anyways.
Owlpaw went over and picked the first yellow flower he saw and took it over to Longmoor for examination. The flower was yellow of course, with over a dozen petals all layering over each other. Its stem was a tad thicker than other flowers, and the center had these strange darker yellow strands sticking out of it. +1 Dandelion
@GANDERGOOSE (I don't know what a Sunfuzzie is, but if a dandelion happens to be the same thing then yay!)
[+2 Cobweb] [+1 Dandelion]
Image of my oc was created using Clangen Cat Maker
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"If I had more time, I would have written a shorter post~"
Last edited by Tecumori; August 10th, 2023 at 05:00 PM.
Re: Sunset Grove
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