camp CAN'T HELP IT &. punishment

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

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her reason behind her leaving was no longer a valid one. if chilledstar was being honest, they didn't think that there was any reason that would justify leaving. justify any of this. as they paced back and forth, they can't help the way they get frustrated. it may not have been her intent, but sprucepaw was dead now. she wasn't coming back all because ferndance decided to take matters into her own paws and give birth in the marsh. they understand she was scared but they'd all been on high alert. it was a lot more dangerous outside of camp than in, and now her decisions had cost a life.

"ferndance."

they call out, gently looking over the queen to make sure she was alright. she seemed fine enough... physically at least. mentally there was no telling.

"the circumstances of your birth are... far from fortunate. i am very glad that you're okay, and that your kits are okay. but this was... irresponsible. this was dangerous. i am both heartbroken and glad that sprucepaw was there. may she rest peacefully in starclan."

they start with a gentle lash of their tail.

"i am saying it again. i am... really glad you're okay, ferndance. at some point we were friends and maybe one day we will be again but right now... I cannot ignore this. I still don't know how you managed to escape but whoever was guarding the entrance will be punished. and so will you. from this point forward, you aren't allowed to leave camp, and you will have a guard with you at all times. I cannot risk the idea of you leaving, especially when your kits are in your care. the guard will make sure you're safe, and that you stay put. I'm sorry, but this... is the only way we can prevent anyone else from getting hurt."

there was sure to be backlash but what could they do? they couldn't ignore this. they wouldn't.

"your guard may change when warriors have other duties but needledrift will not be allowed to be your guard. that's it. I will let the rest of the clan know... get some rest, ferndance. and if you need anything else... you still can ask me. i care about you, you know."

and with that, they walked off. anyone could throw whatever fit they wanted but... their decision was final.

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@FERNDANCE but no need to wait for her! this takes place after the attack but before the kits offical intro ! please remember that this is all ic! if you feel that ooc and ic are spilling into each other, feel free to contact me !!

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[FERNDANCE]

She had been dragged away from her duties as a mother, and she tried not to let the panic of having to leave her kittens behind show on her features. Fatigue helped, everytime she lifted her paw she felt as if they were being dragged back toward the ground by a Sisyphean boulder, her eyes lingered on Chilledstar but seemed to look straight past them. Ferndance held her head high, doing her best to ignore the leers from passersby - it was a mockery of Chilledstar's own making and she would not be so keen to forgive them for repeating their humiliation of her. The words felt hollow, a reiteration of care that did not truly exist, couldn't truly exist, when she was being punished for being a Queen. She was not a fragile flower to be delicately preened within the confounds of a camp, she was a cat who had tried to do what was best for her unborn children, to give them opportunities to live that the nursery never could have granted.

Her ears shifted as she thought of Sprucepaw's sacrifice, it still didn't feel like a mistake, there were no rules for Queens leaving camp that she was aware of, but... Stars had it been costly. "Escape? What do you mean?" She asked for clarification with fluttering blinks, heavy eyes seeming to grow wider. Ferndance shook her head in disbelief, doubly so when she realised that Chilledstar thought the camp guard shared some blame. Her whiskers twitched, frazzled from exhaustion. "No he won't... he was told to guard the entrance, not the dirtplace." A smile, a stare, all the telltale signs she was not telling the full truth, but the 'just kidding' never came. It would be funny to pin the blame on another, a light spot of humour amidst a dreary day, but she wouldn't sacrifice the few friends she had in ShadowClan to pranks. As her punishment was announced, the cinnamon tabby's head tilted in confusion, her tail wrapping around her paws for comfort. "So... my punishment for leaving camp when I 'wasn't supposed to'... is not being allowed to leave camp while I'm still 'not supposed to'." 'I wouldn't anyways, I would not leave my kittens alone in this place'. When she closed her eyes, she feared they would disappear forever, taken to be Warriors for another clan or eaten by bears or starved by her neglectful clanmates.

She swallowed that lump in her throat at the thought, and shot one final look towards Chilledstar as they made their exit. "You don't care, and I will not chase you to beg for things I know you cannot give me. Enjoy your den Chilledstar, and let me be in mine in peace." Ferndance jumped to her paws and hurriedly shuffled back to check on her kittens.
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[SERPENTSPINE]

the beast crouches nearby, gangly muscle and long, sinewy limbs tucked beneath his body. the clan had been abuzz since sprucepaw’s unfortunate demise ; his chest aches for the youth, the victim of a damned fool now twice over. escaping the nursery, dragging her heavy body out into the badlands and giving birth where any badger, fox or bear could smell her blood scent and come running. he thinks of the creature decorating their territory with gored prey, intestines strung from stones, thin ribs packed with mud. they could have easily been a kit ; the image flashes behind his eye, bunching his lean muscles with a low, simmering anger. for his clan, for the kittens, for chilledstar as they ascend the stone to address them below, far kinder than he would have been.

he had not been there when it happened. a foolish venture into the danger - ridden marshlands. a good thing, he’d say, petulant and snarky as the molly had been since her poorly timed conception. his fathers words ring in his ears ; tall, vein - ribboned membrane flicking backwards is the fool pulls herself pitifully from the nursery. a queen would bite and nip at the heels of anyone that closed in on her brood, their razored tongue a consequence to others, born of the burden she carried.

and here ferndance proves him right ; she turns her chin up and speaks against her leader. serpentspine whirls on her with a wordless, warning snarl. chilledstar sheltered and fed her, provided freshkill to sustain her winter - weaned spawn. his long, snakelike tail lashes hard behind him. enjoy your den, leave me to mine, she says, like an apprentice scorned by their mentor. she seemed to forget who’d staked their claim over the nursery, and the clan, first. it’s absurd. it’s embarrassing the way she whines and simpers before the clan, a lost kitten mewling for its mother. i care, his sibling says, and ferndance cries it’s not enough. filth!

but the spidery tom would not stoop to her level ; he would not put the clan through any more misfortune by unsheathing his claws against a clanmate who desperately needed a cuff over the ears. chilledstar bestowed their verdict and serpentspine whips his head upward, puffs his chest and stands taller, lifting a thin paw off the ground. he ignores her, pointedly, ” fair and just, chilledstar. “ comes his rumbling tone, smoke - tinged and hoarse with its confident, purposeful lift. he cuts a narrow - eyed glare towards the she - cat, pulling his lip back to bare a thick forefang, ” perhaps even better than she deserves, after putting those young lives at risk. “ it’s a direct jab ; open and spiteful, a glimmer of annoyance, frustration gleaming low in sunburst eyes.

the striped queen shuffles off back towards the nursery — serpentspine couldn’t help but think that this would have been avoided, should she have been there in peace to begin with.

𝐌𝐘 𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 . ⊹ . ࣪ ˖ 𓄒 ࣪ 𝙄𝙎 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙊 𝙎𝙃𝙊𝙒

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  SERPENTSPINE ⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𓆦 HE / HIM, YOUNG WARRIOR OF SHADOWCLAN. JAGGED xx SHADOW, YOUNGER BROTHER TO CHILLEDSTAR. FIFTEEN MOONS OLD, SMELLS LIKE BRACKISH WATER & COPPER. PENNED BY ANTLERS ---------
  skeletal black tom with ghost rosettes and blood orange eyes. oil - slick rot & buzz of hungry horseflies crowding sloughing meat, he is born of his surroundings, forged black like the writhing insects that permeate his homelands. shaped in strands of shadow, long and bony ; a coat of scruffy, rosette - splotched obsidian feathering messily over his gaunt form. maned like a viper in shades of salt and pepper, splintering fur cast in a mock hood along a slim, vertebrae - bumped neck. his name has suited him since birth, eased into the world a long, writhing thing, with limbs of stretching shadow pawing blind at the shadowclan muck. his ears and eyelids are thin - membraned, thick - veined and stark against the darkness of his face. a strange, spidering thing ; broad - shouldered and tall in his maturing age, poor posture bringing his serpentine muzzle to a low, drooping hang.
  
  

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[Skunktail]

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Skunktail passes Magpiepaw scurrying back to the medicine cat den with a swiftness he did not see in the wobbly healer apprentice often, it quickly became clear why he was vacating the area; Chilledstar was laying out punishment for Ferndance - Magpiepaw had never really enjoyed being in the midst of such things but the green-eyed tom had no such qualms. He stalked forward with his head raised high to listen, eyes burning with rage at the sight of the still round molly and her aloof and disinterested manner of reply.

"You are an irresponsible fool, you got an apprentice killed because you thought having kits in the middle of the territory away from the protection of the guarded and comfortable camp was somehow the better option? Sprucepaw is dead because of YOU." His voice is cool, steady, the anger there prevalent in the way his shoulders tense and his teeth flash with every word; if he could rip her ears off right now he would, those kits deserve a better life than the madness she has brought them into this world with. A better life than the frosty landscape of leafbare, the hollow of a filthy tree, the exposure to the elements, the risk of certain death the moment they slid bloodied and mewling into the dangers outside their camp.
"You don't like it here? Then leave and quit making us carry the burden of your inadequacy. You should be thanking Chilledstar for their mercy, you should stop acting like a petty child when they have been more than kind to you despite your idiocy." The fact they made a mockery of their entire leaving and then turned it into a pity show of 'you don't like me, no one likes me' was pathetic. Any fool with sense knew queens stayed in the camp, he'd bitten Forestshade's head off for it but she at least had the decency to not risk her children's lives having them anywhere but the nursery.
"...why can't more queens be like Frostbite..." He muttered, tail lashing, the white tom had been dutiful, present and caring in his duties with his litter. He had them in the nursery, during a warm season, stayed with them as they came to apprentice aged. ShadowClan needed more cats like the pale lead warrior and less like this disgrace stumbling away from them.

☆ ———— promise me she's not your world ☆ ———————— 'Cause Andy, you're a star

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  Skunktail
  —⊰⋅ Warrior of ShadowClan
  —⊰⋅ He/Him
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ SH Black & white tom w/spearmint green eyes
  

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[lilacfur]

Chilledstar had met their promise- that Ferndance was in a swamps worth or trouble for what she had done. The pain she had caused. Sprucepaw had been far too young to meet her ancestors, yet he had died the way any warrior may hope to. Honoring and defending her Clan, knowing to the very last breath she breathed was for the sake of her home. A tired sigh exhaled from heavy shoulders as she listened to Chilledstar's announcement, her tail lashing as Ferndance continued to speak out of turn. To still spout that her family was not safe here.

Serpentinespine spoke in favor of his siblings decision and Skunktail stood to defend his Clan.

"My mother would not have been so lax as Chilledstar. placing your kittens in so much danger. Yourself... You should be grateful." She is not as loud as her brother but she understood his frustrations. Ferndance was a repeated offender of disgracing their Clan, endangering it- Chilledstar had been right to demote her if she wouldn't even put trust in her Clan when they were working so hard to become united.

"Wait- Ferndance!!" The molly took a few short steps forward to stop the fawn dusted queen before she couldn't hear her.

"I can understand that Granitepelt and Siltcloud's exiles are... hard to feel safe with." She can hear her own words echoing from the Clans discussion with Chilledstar. "It was unexpected, and the conversation Chilledstar tried to have with us may not have been as satisfying as you wanted. But our anger isn't because we hate you. Our frustration-" Lilacfur glanced to Skunktail.

"Is because no matter who had done what you have, they would be faced with the same punishment. But you act like you receive this treatment because it's you and not because of the life that was sacrificed for you. If you had stayed in the nursery as every, EVERY single queen has before you, Sprucepaw might still be alive. Even if you say its because you don't feel safe here, what harm has been done to you to prove that? We have fed you. Taken the prey from our mouths to provide for you instead, an apprentice has laid down her life for you, what more do you want from us?" ​

[ i need the clouds to cover me ]​

 

[pipitclaw !!]

It was a little presumptuous of him to interject himself into the... complicated machinations of a clan he hardly knew. For all his boundless confidence, he remained blissfully unaware of when his opinion wasn't warranted, respected or wanted... and so he would become a parrot to his father, equally reproachful of the formerly plump molly who had left more than just kitting-blood on her paws. His eyes gleam with a mischievous mockery, searching for Smogmaw; what delight he could take in gloating...

"Pretty crazy you were worried about me getting your clan-mates killed when it was your own milk-fettered madam that managed that just fine," while it is not malicious in its nature, he wants it known that deputy's misdirected mistrust made him look like a fool. The trio of avian brothers had been nothing but exemplary members... had pulled their weight and more, if their skills were honestly meant to be compared to the apprentices they shared a den with.

He lingers aside his father like the tiny bird he is named for, shadowed by star and sky shifting furs while sun-like fires stare with judgment for the dust-color queen who had the audacity to throw herself a pity party. "It's awfully nice of auntie to dumb it down for you but in case you missed the point, I'd be happy to elaborate."

"You've single-pawed managed to perform just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard of," he decrees loudly, without relent, and with no hesitation to continue, "Using the dirt place to escape like you are a prisoner here... You'll have to forgive me but I was quite certain getting 'knocked up' before winter was your choice," He thinks that's the word for it... Little fry had been kind enough to supplement him that knowledge when he'd hissed a question about the 'quarantine for fat ladies.' It is a barkish laugh he shares, though there is no humor to be found in the situation he describes. "An entire, fully trained warrior! Managed to see to it the quick and early demise of one of your youth! A child you were around to watch grow from the worm-size pests you brought home to replace Sprucepaw with- mind you, tut tut tut, that you cannot so easily just swap your little rats for her lost life!"

It is a conniving lecture meant to make the humiliation as clear as day, though as far as the chimera is concerned, he is only dumbing down the facts. He has not a single mean bone in his body but his consideration for his words is entirely lacking. "Pretttyyyyy embarrassingggg if you ask meeee," it is sung like a child's nursery rhyme, meant to soothe despite his grating, insincere smile. "For someone complaining about feeling unsafe here... it almost looks like the only immediate threat here.... is you! Hahaha! And Chilledstar is so kind as to just... set you back in your little nest with your little bugs! And you'd like to lick your wounds like a victim... there's a dead girl you should be licking clean of your mistake instead."

He whirls to look at Chilledstar, who wishes to retreat but he has one, nagging question to ask first. "Tell me, merciful leader... if Snipe... or Hawk... or I... had been equally so stupid... You'd have had our throats, wouldn't you?" He knows the answer.. will not pretend he is yet fully embraced by the clan (that hardly bothers him, he is infectiously kind, he thinks, and that will fix it over time). "Awfully big pity party... for a murderer to be throwing. Hope that helps to clear up where your sorrows should actually be placed... rather than making it everyone else's problem you're a fool."​

 

[scalejaw]

—————————————————【 she/her | menacing 】————————————————

【◈】 Scalejaw stood in silence. Caught between a rock and a hard place, was it? No, that wasn't it, attentive fluffed ears twitching as she listened to the utter conversation at paw. Chilledstar did what any sane leader would do- place a queen who endangered her kits over some suspicions- ones that were taken care of- under guard. It was a kill-two-mice-with-one-claw situation; keep Ferndance and her kits in camp, and keep Ferndance safe. But the rip-roar of accusations and harsh words came to a cacophony.

The only things Scalejaw could agree with was that yes, Ferndance's actions were stupid, and yes, Sprucepaw got killed. Pipit's words were out of turn- grating like the screeching of dying prey, and Scalejaw fought the urge of sinking her teeth into soft flesh. So what soft words did come from Scalejaw lifted and carried like a branding iron. "For a clan that had just agreed to try and do better, this is an awful display." Her words were not directed to Chilledstar- but rather to the stranger, to those in the camp who did nothing but drive the stake deeper into Ferndance's side.

Her ear twitched, and Scalejaw pushed to her paws. "I'm going to get to work on hunting. Prey needs to be caught for the extra mouths." Her words were even, controlled, as she turned and headed towards the mouth of camp. Her words weren't entirely a lie- but she was not going to stick around for any resounding argument. It was.. ceaseless, and stupid.

// out unless stopped

"yuh"

[penned by dallas].

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[MISTMOON.]

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ Mistmoon silently observed, her tail flicking as her gaze peered curiously at her clanmates bicker with a new mother before she sidled up slowly to Ferndance. Her gaze was apathetic as she looked at the older molly but she brushed her shoulder in an attempt of comfort against her, lifting her eyes to look at the others. "Her kits are hungry... would you like to hear them cry more or do you think she understands?" She asked the others gently, ears perked as she fixed them with a look. As much as the nursery made her squirm and she did her best to avoid it, seeing the constant beration of another clanmate, a clanmate who'd accepted their punishment from what Mistmoon gathered, didn't sit right with her. Everyone was against Ferndance and, as much as Mistmoon thought Sprucepaw's death was unfortunate, the impact didn't reach her. Another clanmate dead, it was basically any other day in the marsh as far as Mistmoon figured. This time, atleast, it wasn't another clanmate killing them and instead was a series of unfortunate events.

"I'll get you fresh moss..." Mistmoon murmured to Ferndance, using her tail to gently try and coax her back toward her kits, looking at her with an almost sympathetic look in her neutral face.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── BELIEVE ME, DARLING ☽◯☾ THE STARS WERE MADE FOR FALLING ──┐‎

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  SPEECH
  

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• MISTMOON ✩ she/her;they/them;it/its, warrior of shadowclan, 13 moons old
  ⭃ Small black cat with wispy fur and white mask on face and tips of front toes.
  ⭃ Sister to Badgerbite // N/A
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by Angelkisses ↛ @Angelkisses on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[FORESTSHADE]

Stupid. Absolutely frog-brained, as she recalls calling the former lead warrior before. A dangerous idiot. Forestshade isn't known for her doting parenting around this clan, but stars she'd at least been loving enough to her own kits to grant them a birth that had been safe within their camp walls, safe within the secluded nursery. She sits off to the side, blind eyes narrowed as she listens to Chilledstar bind Ferndance to camp. Serves her right.

Oh, but the accused does not apologize, does not admit guilt to her mistakes, and the torbie is bold enough to scoff. "Why you heartless-" She growls, biting her tongue to keep herself from saying anything she'll regret. Too many others are talking, but she hopes her disapproval is obvious enough for the sarcastic queen to see. "She gets an apprentice killed, and she wants to be mad at Chilledstar? Give me a break," She hisses lowly to whoever is sitting next to her, and her sense of smell tells her it is Pipit.

Pipit, who next goes on a tangent not even she can follow. "Oh, shut your trap, you fool," She mutters. Forestshade likes the tom well enough so far, but stars, this is just annoying. He's got no voice here, less than that of an apprentice as such a newcomer. What else should I expect from Skunktail's son?

Still, he does speak some truth.

It's Scalejaw's words that bring about a rolling of unseeing eyes, an exasperated sigh leaving her jaws. "Sorry we all can't be as superior as you, Scalejaw," She utters in annoyance. The she-cat always wants to be the self-righteous one in the room - StarClan, she is becoming insufferable. "I'll guard first, I guess." The stout woman gets to her paws and stalks over to the nursery, still biting down the anger that rises up in her. Normally, she is not so temperamental, but death always does this to her. It puts her on edge, and right now several cats in this damned camp are testing her patience.​

 

[Hawkstride]

★ ★ ★ Hawk quietly approached the growing mob, brushing his side against his brother's as he watched the scene unfolding before them. He really didn't have much of a place to speak up on this matter, since he'd only just arrived here and didn't know any of these cats very well. He hadn't ever even spoken to Ferndance before and felt it would be unjust of himself to pile on in a situation that he had not been personally involved in. His father was rather outspoken about the whole thing, however, and his chimera sibling seemed eager to follow suit.

"Easy Pip," he murmured quietly in his brother's ear. The last thing they needed was to be punished in a similar manner, or worse, exiled, simply because they did not respect their fragile place here. He did not, however, appreciate the harsh words tossed at his brother by a tortoiseshell molly he had not yet met. Hawk narrowed a glare on Forestshade, though he did not know the she-cat couldn't see it. "In future, I'd urge you not to speak to my brother that way," he bit out, his calm tone laced with a sharp edge. While he might agree that Pipit was perhaps speaking out of turn, he would not allow his brother to be verbally accosted by any cat here, regardless of rank or imagined superiority - especially when they were all more or less reiterating the sentiments uttered by his unruly sibling. His ebony tail flickered across Pipit's flank, a silent warning that the chocolate-masked tom should proceed carefully here.

After a moment's pause he turned his narrowed mossy gaze back to ebony pelt of their new leader, offering an almost imperceptible nod of his head. "Understood, and noted." He would not outright offer himself up to guard the queen in question, as others had; this really didn't feel like any of his business, and he preferred to keep it that way, if possible. Once it became clear the topic was ended and Chilledstar made their exit, Hawk rose to his paws with every intention to do the same. "Let's go," he murmured solemnly to the sibling beside him, having had more than enough of this drama for one day.

// out!