camp DOWNWARD DESCENDING - intro

[BERRYSNAP]

Tensions within Windclan were higher than ever, and Berrysnap found herself with an increasingly higher level of pent-up frustration and aggression. Those who fell in line with their deputy seemed to be unaware of how critical it was to do as Sootstar ordered. Too many of their clanmates were disloyal and refused to act as she called for. Personally, Berrysnap couldn't be bothered to see right from wrong in the situation. What was wrong with the way that Sootstar was handling things? If the other clans wanted to speak with Starclan, couldn't they find a way to do so within their own territory? Starclan wouldn't have placed the moonstone within their territory if it wasn't mean to belong to Windclan, and Windclan alone.

Her tail would lash as two npc clanmates began arguing (seemingly out of nowhere but then again she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to anyone other than herself; or those who agreed with her point of view.) drawing her attention to the argument. Of course, Littlestep was throwing insults to Haretail, once again proving the division to the clans. Feeling the sudden need to insert herself into the situation, she'd take a position beside Haretail, ready to defend the older warrior who was a well known Sootstar loyalist. "What are ya' yappin' about now? Don't you have something better to be doing than insulting Haretail?" Claws would unsheath with the annoyance in her tone, eagerly waiting for the stupid molly to slip up so she'd have a "reasonable excuse" to inflict harm upon her.

With Sootstar's new ways, a little bit of "fun" wouldn't hurt anyone. Surely she wouldn't be punished for defending Windclan's rightful leader?

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[sparkspirit]

Was it obtuse of Sparkspirit to not understand the problems? On an instinctual level, the very foundation of who he was, he didn't understand why the two sides could not simply coexist the way that they had the entirety of his life. Maybe the rest of WindClan was blind to the cracking pieces beneath their paws, but not him. Not when his family fractured and ran, when he witnessed his father figure run off. Not when his blood was so kind but his mind was sharpened by Sootstar's most trusted. If he could learn to live with the warring sides, could the rest of them not do the same? There's something naive about that. So pathetically innocent of him.

It's still why his stomach curls at the barking of arguments that now filter through camp. His ears shift slightly back, head low towards his paws. It's best to just let them work it out. It shouldn't escalate any further between the two of them. But Berrysnap steps in, and any hopes of that immediately spiral. There was no helping any of them. "Don't you have anything better to do than stick your whiskers in another cat's conversation?" he questions without ire, though his heart leaps up into his throat at the possibility of making a mistake here.

𝘛𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘓𝘌𝘋 𝘐𝘕 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘞𝘖𝘙𝘋𝘚 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘐  ･｡ﾟ  🗲  ╱╱ 11.07.2023 𝘊𝘈𝘕𝘕𝘖𝘛 𝘚𝘈𝘠 ˊˎ＜

• OOC. —
• 🗲　　. 　 ˚　.  SPARKSPIRIT. HE - HIM - HIS. 14 MOON OLD MOOR RUNNER OF WINDCLAN. VERY LOYAL TO HIS CLAN. PENNED BY REVELATIONS.  ————
  
  
  ——  a trim mock tortoiseshell tom with mostly black fur splashed with the occasional patch orange. he has a singular white mark on the back of his neck shaped similarly to a lightning strike, and a small scar across the bridge of his nose. his eyes are a shocking electric blue.
  

  ✦ ECHOLIGHT x ELMBREEZE. ADOPTED BY YEWBERRY. BRIGHTFAM, BUT SOMEWHAT ESTRANGED DUE TO HIS LOYALTY TO WINDCLAN. ————————

• "speech"

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[hollowcreek]

( ✧ ) Infighting and clashing retorts were not often rewarded with Hollowcreek's attention the longer tensions rose. He saw himself fit to act only when necessary, only when those truly close to his heart deserved his support and despite his ignorance to where Bluepool herself lied, he felt thankful he did not have the hardship of finding himself split in the middle. His loyalties had been clearer than crystal but that was long before the fall of Sootstar's psyche. A powerful entity was a beacon for opportunity, and he was no better than a moth.

A pale stare watched with hidden interest at Haretail and Littlesteps bickering, stubbed tail twitching when Berrysnap invited herself into their dispute. The flickering glint of claws against the dirt caught his eye but he did not move, did not speak, instead pretending he was far too caught up in de-feathering his meal.

Sparkspirit took his chance to mediate. The black tabby felt it fruitless to intervene, better yet let them hash it out with teeth and claws until they felt better but the orange patched tom was true to his name. A tired sigh announced his abandonment to his prey as he approached, shaking his pelt to rid himself of the pressure of this confrontation. An encouragement for his peers to do the same.

"Or take it outside. Some of us are try to eat- in fact, maybe we'd all be in better moods on full bellies. Hmm?" Not everything needed to be an argument, not everything had to be met with teeth. If Hollowcreek followed StarClan he may have prayed his Clanmates knew when to simply move on and ignore one another.
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( I SEE YOUR COLLARBONE ; AND WANNA LOSE CONTROL )

 

[juncoclaw]

-ˋˏ ༻☽༺ ˎˊ- Juncopaw was sinking her teeth into a rabbit, blissfully ignorant to the sounds of bickering that rang throughout camp. If she weren't so hungry this evening, she might have stopped to listen, entertained by the chaos that Haretail and Littlesteps were reaping against each other. But, for now, she's able to tune them out, until their voices begin to rise as insults are thrown.

What started as quiet bickering was quickly growing, with now two more cats jumping in to 'attempt' to de-escalate the situation: didn't they know they were only making it worse. At Hollowcreek's words, Juncopaw let out an annoying sniff of approval as she bit off another piece of rabbit. "For once," she muttered, then swallowed her prey, "I agree with you."

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── I AM THE ANGEL ⋅❁⋅ SENT DOWN FROM ABOVE ──┐‎

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  JUNCOPAW ✩ she/her, moor-runner apprentice of windclan, seven moons.
  ⭃ an antagonistic silver tabby she-cat with green eyes.
  ⭃ mate to no one. daughter to former gin rogues. apprentice of mocking-grin.
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by ixora ↛ @.ixora on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[SNAKEHISS]

Snakehiss did not find himself having much of an appetite these days. The world around him seemed so bleak all the time that it was hard to even stomach anything. Blood, death, more blood, tensions wound so tightly that they could snap. Speaking of which, an argument between two clanmates had broken out right in the middle of camp. Snakehiss thinks of his recent altercation with Sedgepounce. Their fight truly had no reason to spiral, but Snakehiss was the opportunistic type. Attempting to assert dominance over the other moor runner was only a means of keeping his place on WindClan's social hierarchy, even with how blatantly corrupted it was under Sootstar.

The black tom sits quietly, watching the interaction unfold through an apathetic, half-lidded stare. Even the loyalists were calling Berrysnap's interference unnecessary; Snakehiss found himself thinking the same, but then again... perhaps this could be another opportunity. "As far as I'm concerned, they've made it our business." Snakehiss says with a shrug. Berrysnap could insert herself into the fray if she so wished; in fact, he was surprised that others weren't challenging Littlestep as well. Sootstar's followers always seemed overly eager to showcase their bloodlust and undying devotion to the Moor Queen.

He narrows his eyes in Sparkspirit's direction. The red-splotched tom has never explicitly stated his support for Sootstar and never seemed to hang too closely around the loyalists, but he has not exactly spoken out against the leader as his kin has. Was he masquerading underneath the shadows of neutrality just as his father was? Would it be only a matter of time before he broke his silence? Not that Snakehiss cared, nor should he care. If he had to, he would put him down as he did Sedgepounce. Sparkspirit may have saved his life, but he was not willing to risk his reputation in WindClan for the other's sake. "Let them make an example out of Littlestep. Dinner and a show, yeah?" The dark-pelted tom hummed with a flick of his tail.

₊ ⋆ * ⊹ ₊ ☾ —— 𝙞 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚

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  ✰ SNAKEHISS
  —— he/him; moor runner of windclan
  —— bisexual; single; not looking
  —— long-limbed black tom with green eyes, a small white chest patch, and a notable bite mark on his right foreleg
  —— "speech", thoughts, attack
  —— link to full tags; @ on discord for plots.
  —— penned by beatles

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[DUSTWHISKER]

Dustwhisker isn't quite certain what ignited the argument between Haretail and Littlestep, but the tunneller knows for sure that the ruckus the two are causing is rather obnoxious, and rather the distractor from the meal in front of him.

It's more so Littlestep than Haretail, he supposes - he would like to eat the quail in front of him in peace, however WindClan is anything but, these days. An unfortunate divide, between those like him, who see their leader for who she is, and those who'd rather listen to StarClan of all things. Had they not learned, what listening to StarClan does? Had they not lived the same season he just had?

Interjection from both sides fuels the bickering, grows it into a tiresome fuss as Dustwhisker wishes he'd chosen a different place to eat. Not that it would've given him more peace, if these two had anything to do with it.

"Dinner and a show?" he echoes Snakehiss before shifting his gaze to the two nearby. Well, that would make petty insults less... annoying, he supposes, if it were turned toward entertainment instead. He takes another bite of his quail, contemplating it. "Might as well, if it shuts 'em up."
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[RATTLEHEART]

Though the tunneler had been becoming more and more outspoken against the worst parts of Sootstar's reign, Rattleheart would be lying if he said even he wasn't getting tired of the constant arguments breaking out in the middle of camp. For the most part, he'd taken to just blocking it out when his clanmates got truly unruly, instead choosing to focus on closing his eyes and relaxing. He just wanted to take a nap before he went on more patrols later, not listen to useless bickering that didn't actually contribute to the situation at hand. What would Haretail and Littlestep's conversation even amount to, when it wasn't as if either of them could influence Sootstar or her actions? It wasn't as if they had the power within the clan of Sunstride, and they didn't seem like they were smart enough to actually be involved in any plans like himself or Scorchstreak. If they were, they wouldn't be bickering about such things in the midst of camp, where anyone could hear them.

Ears flattened and eyes closed, the tunneler was trying valiantly to simply ignore the insults that were being tossed back and forth. It seemed like he was actually succeeding, up until Berrysnap and the others decided to offer their two cents. A heavy sigh left him as he finally pushed himself up from his dozing position, glaring in the direction of both Haretail and Littlestep. "Really, I wish they would just take it out on a patrol or something. Then they can jab back and forth while actually contributing something. As is they're just interrupting everyone's day." Not only his precious extra sleep, but also the meals in camp that everyone else was trying to enjoy. Though his pale gaze did drift down to Berrysnap's unsheathed claws, a sharp frown twisting his muzzle as he noticed the violence gleaming in her eyes. "Still. A simple argument isn't anything to have a proper fight break out about. That would be idiotic, possibly taking important resources from Wolfsong when leafbare is coming up." It isn't intended as a direct jab at Berrysnap, and instead just as a message in general to the crowd - including to Haretail and Littlestep.
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[ PENNED BY EO ]​