camp for the stars and all they cover // post-invasion

[HOWLINGSTAR]

// taking place directly after this thread

Once everyone - the survivors, at least - had made it to the top of the ravine, they'd waited in frightened silence. The only sounds that could be heard for hours under the stars is the whines of terrified clanmates, the sniffing of the wolves below, the soft cries of cats who have lost someone beloved, the groans of injured warriors, wounded in their attempt to escape. Together, the clan's hearts pound in unison. It feels like moons before it seems the wolves have finally grown bored of their hunt and, satisfied with the meal they'd killed, they leave as easily as they'd come. The clan does not dare move, though. Not until the sun has begun to rise and the sky is painted in pinks and oranges too beautiful for the morning they bring.

Exhausted, Howlingstar's cheeks are damp with silent tears cried through the night. Sunfreckle is gone. Her friend, a tom who had once served as her lead warrior for his kindness and compassion, is gone. Grief hangs heavy in the air as she begins to climb down the ravine wall quietly. Someone else has offered to take her place carrying Lovepaw back down so the old she-cat can rest, an offer she'd reluctantly accepted with a grateful murmur. She steps foot back in the clearing on shaky paws and immediately sinks into a crouch, eyes shadowed. StarClan, what do I do?​

 

[batwing]

Silence is what encapsulates his mind.

But it is not what finds the clan- silence is not rewarded to them for their survival. The noises of predators below keeps them on edge, just barely aware, bodies hard with tension and minds weak with grief. Batwing isn't unfamiliar with long nights staring at the moon- even the nights on the journey had been tense at time, thick with the fear-scent from dogs or fox or the deep ink of caves they couldn't see in, save for the Shadowclanners. His head turned as Howlingstar sniffled again.

His ears twitched, nose leaning down to account for his mate, for his young. His thoughts had swirled with grief, anger- a need to do something, just as he had always had a need to. A brief shiver left him as the sun crested the horizon, the wolves moving off hours before. "Come now. It's time." He whispers to his mate, to his sons, his daughters. A family. One I cannot bear to lose. His thoughts are sharp and unyielding, and it takes all of his effort to push to his paws. He finds his place underneath Stormfeather once more- whether or not the same team returned to carry her down was of little matter, just as long as two bodies helped him move her.

Batwing's paws were roughened by the ravine's edges as he slowly picked his way to the medicine den, balancing Stormfeather precariously. It was nearly a balance now, ears twitching as he settled her into the medicine den once again. His head dipped to those who came with him to carry her, vision shifting towards Bravepaw as he hopefully found his sick-nest again.

The lead warrior stepped into the clearing, sliding down to slowly step beside Howlingstar. His eyes turned towards the remains of blood drying on the clearing floor, towards what remained of the dens, to what damage the wolves could have done. He is silent for a moment, but his tail gently lays upon Howlingstar's side in support before he speaks, words soft. "I can get a team together to make the shelters safe again. Clean the blood up." Start somewhere. It is what goes unspoken, green eyes moving towards Howlingstar's own.​

​

"speech"​

 

[leopardtongue]

When everyone had climbed up the ravine quietly Leopardtongue had searched for her own kin, eyes wide as she shakily tried to gather them close, looking down upon the camp from this high up spot as the wolves circled and tore through the camp looking for any other cat they could find. Still, when they had left and the sun began to rise at first she had been scared to speak, afraid that if she were to make a sound that they would come back and tear through the camp once more but as Howlingstar climbed down into the camp the queen found herself unable to move until Batwing spoke to her and unwilling steps came to her as she climbed down after the leader and her mate, ears pinned to her head as she looked around the camp, at the carnage, ears pinned as the stench of wolves reached her nostrils. She didn't know how long that smell would stay but she could only hope that it went soon, already sick of it and what it meant.

Looking around at the others she quietly nod her head in response to Batwing's suggestion. Cleaning, making the shelters safe. She could help with that, she could make sure things were well and the nests were made and though she couldn't leave camp - nor did she want to with the wolves out there somewhere - she could help rebuild whatever walls of the dens had been torn down. She looked to the others climbing down the walls of the ravine before she realized it - they were missing some cats. Cats that she hadn't seen within the fray of the camp and she could only fear the worst. She opened her maw to ask about them, to see if anyone had seen them before mouth quickly snapped shut. Badgerstripe, Phloxdawn, Lightflower, and Palefire... they had to be dead if they hadn't been in camp, she only found herself thinking the worst and she didn't want to put words to her thoughts.

DON'T YOU DARE ⊰❣⊱ MAKE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU

• 
• 
  ⊰❣⊱ LH chocolate rosette tabby with yellow eyes
  ⊰❣⊱ 39 moons old; ages the 15th every month
  ⊰❣⊱ heterosexual - taken by Batwing
  ⊰❣⊱ mother of Bravepaw, Cougarpaw, Hazepaw, and Foxpaw
  ⊰❣⊱ easy to interact with ; hard to anger/upset
  ⊰❣⊱ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ⊰❣⊱ hard in combat, focuses more on defensive tactics/protecting
  ⊰❣⊱ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

The sun bleeds like a wound near the treeline, painting the sky ruby. Exhausted earthen eyes lift as Howlingstar shifts from her place and begins to descend the ravine. He heads for Lovepaw, gently heaving him with another cat before the rest of them begin to follow their leader into the clearing. Camp is in ruins—their barriers are splintered and smashed, though mercifully, the dens look relatively intact. Raccoonstripe shudders at the scent that lays thick in the air—blood, gore, and the raw, shadowy stink the wolves carry on their wretched gray pelts. After helping to settle Lovepaw in the medicine cat’s den, the tabby will emerge and survey those who still remain.

“Who all are we missing?” His voice is sharp, despite the dullness that thrums behind his eyes. In Flamewhisker’s place, he is acting deputy, and he has cats to account for. Sunfreckle is gone—that’s something they’d all been made to witness, the snap of powerful jaws around his body. “Badgerstripe, Phloxdawn, Palefire, and Lightflower are still missing… and…” He searches through the cluster of cats, his brows knitting. Were more warriors missing? Why did they seem so few in number?

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: helping carry @lovepaw in the first paragraph
• 
• Raccoon . Raccoonstripe, he/him w/ masculine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 37 moons old, ages realistically on the 5th.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring none ; previously mentored Wildheart, Moonwhisper
  — thunderclan lead warrior. gray wolf x howlingstar, gen 2.
  — currently mated to Nightbird.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh black tabby with white and dark brown eyes. charismatic, charming, calculating, ambitious, shallow, manipulative.
  
  

​

 

[Softsight]

Softpaw couldn't help but shiver despite the sun coming over the trees. How could the wolves so easily just walk away as if they hadn't destroyed so much of ThunderClan and taken lives? They truly were beasts out of legends, and Softpaw hoped that she would never have to see the creatures again. As she shook herself free of being rooted to the ground, her wide eyes looked around as the older warriors began to take roll of who was missing. Where were Whitelion and Spiderlily? Had all the warriors who had gone to help Gentlestorm managed to bring Vixenpaw to safety?

The news that Badgerstripe, Phloxdawn, Palefire, and Lightfire were missing was saddening - they had only just become warriors, and now, it was just as likely that they had been the first casualties of the wolves when they had begun their invasion. Softpaw wanted to retreat to her fathers and sister's sides, but her warriors instincts won out over those thoughts. She stepped forward when Batwing announced that he would put together a party to start rebuilding.

"I'll help with anything that needs doing," she said, tilting her head down respectfully.​

 

[freckleflame]

they hobble back into camp like they’d been burned. slowly, with paws shaking their trepidation against the claw - marked ravine. freckleflame approaches from the rear, lovepaw stretched over her back where, in her daze, she’d taken her leaders place. it’s familiar, this feeling ; weight over her shoulders, dread in her heart. she can’t remember when the apprentice is put down, eased by her fellow warriors as camp comes into view. she hates to look, but she knows she must ; her dad had to be put to rest. his vigil. she would sit at it all night, she would watch the moon with him one last time, she would promise, promise that one day, she would see him again. be it in the stars, in the eyes of a little sunkit, she would. she had to promise.

but where she expects to find a mangled body, a broken clump of ginger stripes and gentle paws, there is.. nothing. a distinct absence — the area around the nursery is marred red, but she trembles to it on stiff, sticky legs. the ground had long - since grown cold, chilling her paws where they meet stained dirt and stone, where the same paws had run and played beneath a warm forest green gaze. the slope of their walls have been crumbled at the edges where wolves had done their best to climb after fleeing cats, where thick, clumsy paws couldn’t quite grasp, only managing to pull dust and dry root down over their dens. amidst it juts vibrant orange. sunburst tufts of bloodslicked fur lie around her like summer grass.

a soft gasp forces it’s way from her throat, something choked and quiet before she collapses — hopes the crimson spikes her underbelly and in some way, he becomes tangible again. she gasps again, and it bubbles into a garbled noise unlike the first. agony runs through her veins like nothing she’s felt before.

her gurgle fades into a low, awful sound — a slow croon like the looping gust of wind shaking the leaves overhead. dead. green eyes haunt her, a phantom lick at her neck. nothing left. she would never see him again. she wouldn’t get a goodbye further than this, the stick of red at her flank and paws, her chin where she lies against it and nearly chokes at the lingering scent of canine. she can’t even smell him anymore. nearby, batwing suggests cleaning the blood up and it’s as if she’s been struck, a sudden tuck of her skull and a loud, shell-shocked hiss in his direction, ” you won’t touch him! “ a low snort in the back of her throat, a puffing inhale of air that has her prepping another defiant hiss. she stands, wobbles, lashes her tail as if he’s insulted her pointedly, whirls around to gesture towards the crimson spatters as if he hadn’t seen it already, ” this is all i have, this — this! look what they did to him, it’s.. it’s..! this is all they left of him.“

claws sink into the earth, both paws digging into where the earth had turned claylike and thick. it clumps beneath her paws, uncomfortable and gritty. it’s irrational, it’s emotional ; deep down, she knows it would fade eventually, whether done by paw or not. she pats some of the dirt into a ball with a frantic desperation, a clump of faded brown and red, ” we have to have a vigil first. he still has to have one. where’s gentlestorm? we have to, before he’s.. “ gone. he was gone.

𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙼𝙴 𝚂𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙴 -`☀︎´- 𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘠 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘈 𝘞𝘏𝘐𝘓𝘌 𝘕𝘖𝘞

• i.
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  FRECKLEFLAME 𖦹 . LESBIAN, SINGLE. SMELLS LIKE SUN - WARMED OAK AND RICH, EARTHY MUSK. EIGHTEEN MOONS OLD. FRIEND & SISTER TO MANY! NAMED A WARRIOR OF THUNDERCLAN ON 8 / 3 / 2023. MENTORING NO ONE! PENNED BY ANTLERS --------------------------------------------
  
  she / her, eldest daughter of rabbitnose and the late sunfreckle. big, fluffy cream - ribboned tortoiseshell with seaglass eyes. larger than life! each and every part of her is broad ; wide in everything from her face to shoulders to her feathered tail, something reminiscent of her father’s kittypet heritage in the square of her chin and hulk of her figure. she appears illusionarily fluff - ridden at first, thickly pelted in shades of fire and soot, long & tangled, knotted with undergrowth — seeming soft and pudgy, and she is.. that figure curving into hard, hidden bulk along heavyset flanks and well - muscled limbs. a characteristic lack of personal space leads her to a slouching, touchy posture, often inclined to lean or bump against her peers.
  

  

  grieving. all opinions are solely in - character and during these times, often untrue or said only in anger.

  
  

​

 

[Chicky]

Chickadeepaw pulls herself up the ravine, her chest heaving and her mind racing. Fear still clutched at her heart, even if @skyclaw is there beside her, keeping her as tethered to the earth as she can be in the moment. Her heads swims. Who should be here? Shinebug, Flickerwing, Whitelion. Where was Whitelion? Surely, he should've been one of the first up and over with his mate and children.

"We have to - we need - who all -" the words are jumbled, spilling over her tongue without rhyme or reason. "My brother, I need to..." desperate golden eyes flick between her clanmates before turning back to Skyclaw, the tether,"I need to make sure my brother is safe." ​

 

[ROEFLAME .]

-ˋˏ ༻ ☀ ༺ ˎˊ-

In the silence, the fear and grief had spoken volumes, the crimson sliver that broke through the night sky not enough to slice through the tension that buckled Thunderclan’s shoulders. There was a lump stuck in the back of Roeflame’s throat, born from the stress that caused her heart to race, the excursion from climbing up to safety when she was just about ready to pop. To conceal the wheeze in her breath as the queen struggled to work around the invisible lump, she had hidden her face within her mates flank.
Now, tentative paw steps lead the tabby molly back to the scene of what was almost a massacre, the stench of the wolves stinging at her nostrils.
Immediately, her council-mates spring to action, Raccoonstripe calling for a head count, Batwing delegating, and herself?
Roeflame felt as useless as ever in her state, her tail habitually brushing against her swollen flank, a frown casting a shadow on apple-shaped features. Her destiny as of now lay in eventually adding another issue to their medicine cats paws, snatching his lavender away from other, needier clanmates.
She inhales.
Hold, hold…
The exhale is shaky, but she manages.
You won’t touch him! Freckleflame snarls, and Roeflame knows the medicine den can wait, that the queen has found a place where she is needed.
So, the tabby is there once more, standing over her friend in a way that is almost unnatural- this shouldn’t have happened.
This is the moment where she should say something- anything- but celadon optics cannot help but get stuck on the carnage that spread in front of the nursery, the mess that was once a role model, a friend.
Ice spreads around the rock in her throat, emotion creeping to her water-line. She couldn’t understand Freckleflame’s pain, not exactly.
Roeflame lets her tail fall, aiming to curl it around her friend’s ribs. Rabbitnose would be here soon, Freckleflame’s littermates, and they would be able to share the empathy Roeflame could not. “I know it hurts, and it’s crushing. I know, but this isn't the way, Frecks.” If the other would allow, Roeflame would attempt to lean down and press her temple lightly to hers, but her own muscles burned and the queen know she would have to lean away soon.
“Sunfreckle was a hero, there will be a vigil, so we… we need to be able to be a part of it, yeah? Can we do that?”
Giving into the demands of her muscles, Roeflame leans back, unsure pupils flickering to and fro as she would search for any sort of receptiveness from the other, or if Freckleflame needed to let her thoughts cloud over for a moment longer.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── SHE BLOWS OUTTA NOWHERE ⋅✴⋅ ROMAN CANDLE OF THE WILD ──┐‎

• 
  Interacting w/ @FRECKLEFLAME
  
  

• 

• 
  ROEFLAME ✩ she/her, Lead Warrior of Thunderclan, twenty-one moons.
  ⭃ petite cinnamon silver ticked tabby with murky green eyes & a small scar over her left eye.
  ⭃ mate to Burnstorm ☀ mentor to Foxpaw, Lightpaw
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted ☀ underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by Noor ↛ @toyangel on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

A tail brushes against her side and she numbly looks up to find Batwing standing there. As Raccoonstripe's authoritative words sweep over her - stars, thank StarClan he's good at that - her ears flatten at the confirmation the brand new warriors are still nowhere to be seen. More tears threaten to gather in her eyes. Too many lives lost, and for what? They were all slaughtered.

She begins to nod silently to the lead warrior before Freckleflame's outburst splits the camp. She sits up suddenly, tired eyes falling on the patched she-cat as she screams and wails. Her father is dead, torn apart before her eyes, before all of their eyes. No one can blame her, not one bit. But still, she gets up and pads closer, her tail sweeping the ground as she tries to find the words. She must. She must help. In a half-broken voice, she murmurs an echo of Roeflame's confirmation, "There will be a vigil. I promise."

She gives Batwing a look. The camp must be repaired and cleaned up immediately. She nods to him, knowing he'll see it done. "The apprentices...take them." She needs the warriors, and desperate eyes find her son. He's always been so clever, so skilled in scripting plans to execute. She tries to meet his dark gaze and nods to him. An order. "We need to figure out how to get rid of them." If they keep going at this rate, nothing will be left of ThunderClan within the moon.​

 

[Flamestar]

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊ Her limbs are heavy as stone as she slowly lifts herself from sheltering Sparrowkit. Like the rest of her clanmates, she had stayed up all night. The memories of Sunfreckle being torn apart played over and over in her mind, and the threat of the wolves below in their camp was too high to risk closing her eyes. She hadn't noticed her son's absence...speaking too loudly to search for him was too risky. The wolves couldn't climb up the ravine...but they had still found the camp...it seemed like nothing would stop them.

Her clanmate's figures were illuminated by the dawn light now, and on shaky limbs she began to assess her clanmates. She knew Stormfeather was safe, she had been waiting when her daughter was brought up along with the others in the medicine den. The longer she searched for her son's cream pelt, the more worried she became. "Falconheart?" she called out, her voice quivering. Her gaze slowly became more frantic, scanning and scanning until she was certain he was not here. "Falconheart? Has anyone seen h-him?" The wolves...had they gotten him too? Her legs were trembling as she imagined her kit being eaten like her best friend had.

The forest around her felt fuzzy, and the voices of all her clanmates seemed to blend in together. She peered over the edge into the camp's clearing. There was blood everywhere...scraps of hair scattered throughout. Was any of it cream? She was too worked up to tell.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── NO DAMSEL IN DISTRESS ⋅✩⋅ DONT NEED TO SAVE ME ──┐‎

• 
  
  
  

• 

• 
  FLAMEWHISKER ✩ she/her, deputy of thunderclan, 30 moons, ages on the 20th
  ⭃ LH red tabby with low white (masks black tabby, carries dilute, solid)
  ⭃ currently mated to Flycatcher / / mother to: Falconheart and Stormfeather
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ will start a fight, will finish fights, will kill (case depending)
  ⭃ link to toyhouse
  ⭃ penned by Icey ! ↛ @icefang65 on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[Rabbitnose]

Rabbitnose returns slower than the others, the amount of grief and pain in his heart causing him to lag behind. But he has to return, and he does so with dread. Choked with tears and shaking on unsteady limbs, he slowly climbs down the ravine and rejoins the clan in the middle of their discussion. He'd join them if not for the grotesque smear of blood and fur in front of him. Freckleflame is already here, just as broken as he is.

Rabbitnose's eyes are wide with pain, grief, and horror at what remains of Sunfreckle. It hurts to look, and yet his neck will not move. Tears keep rolling down his cheeks and his tightened throat prevents any meaningful speech. What was there to say? Nothing will be okay. Nothing will be the same. To give words of false comfort would be just as hurtful. So instead, he lets his tears flow freely as he lays beside Freckleflame, gingerly collecting a scrap of red fur into his paws and pressing his face into it. He lets his sobs flow freely, hysterical and wracking his body. Nothing will ever be okay again.

Any words he tries to speak are made gibberish by his sobs, his cries too powerful to speak through. Memories of Sunfreckle flood his mind, and they only make him cry harder. He will never look into soft green eyes again, never hear his laughter, never cuddle into plush red fur again.

Rabbitnose will never recover from this. His heart is torn to pieces before him, and he can't even swear revenge. He can't kill a wolf, none of them can. He has nowhere to direct his pain, forced to let it tear him apart.

He wants to call Sunfreckle an idiot. A brave, stupid idiot. His beloved died a hero, and he hopes the clan will remember him as one.​

 

[sparrowpaw.]

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ To endure so much tragedy in his short life - StarClan has truly dealt Sparrowkit a rough hand. He had learned what 'wolves' were that night, in a way so terrifying that he was sure he would never forget. The sound, the stench, the cries of fear, it had shaken him to his very core, unlocked a new fear in the kitten.

Despite his fear, Sparrowkit had eventually fallen into a troublesome sleep within Flamewhisker's sheltered arms. It was not an easy sleep, full of stirring and waking every once in a while, but his body and mind were equally exhausted, and his tears have drained every last ounce of energy.

Sparrowkit awoke to the sound of Flamewhisker's grief-stricken voice, calling out amongst their Clanmates. The light was shining upon them now, illuminating the puddles of blood and scraps of fur that littered the camp. He couldn't bare to look, but his curiosity piqued - one look at the blood, and he was sent back to his foster mother's fur with a shudder and whimper.

Falconheart. That was one of Flamewhisker's other kits, one of the warriors. Sparrowkit hadn't met him yet, but the mourn of the firey queen resonated with him. He hoped that, wherever Falconheart was, they were safe.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── JUST THE TWO OF US ⋅❁⋅ BUILDING CASTLES IN THE SKY ──┐‎

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• 

• 
  SPARROWKIT ✩ he/him, loner kitten, 2 moons.
  ⭃ a long-furred white tom with chocolate markings on his ears, tail, and a heart-shaped mark on his flank.
  ⭃ loner heritage. adopted son of FLAMEWHISKER
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by ixora ↛ @.ixora on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[batwing]

Howlingstar's eyes lifted to Batwing's. His face was tight with a grimace- this wasn't good at all. There would be no semblance of good in the next few moments. Raccoonstripe was asking about the warriors that Howlingstar had asked to be on guard. Where were they? There was no blood before Sunfreckle- a sharp inhale came from Batwing's mouth as his head whipped towards the daughter of the warrior they lost.

His ears flattened, immediately apologetic. That... that wasn't how I meant it. Her words pierced the sounds around them, birds quieting- his eyes lifted towards the edges of camp, as if afraid the gray pelted monsters would re-appear on their camp lines. His green eyes dropped back towards Freckleflame, his ears slowly raising back up. Batwing could understand- in the way that he hadn't even been able to witness the death of his parents, his sister, his brother.

Batwing was not rewarded with a vigil for his family's deaths, but that doesn't mean that Freckleflame would be stolen of the same thing. "Gentlestorm will hold a vigil." He had no reason to apologize- Howlingstar was searching for his vision again, asking him to do just as he asked. Roeflame took over what Batwing was unable to speak aloud. His head nodded in response to Howlingstar. The apprentices. Stars. I hope my kits are okay. Okay was a relative term today- survival meant being okay.

"We'll find him, Flamewhisker." It won't be a repeat. It can't be a repeat. Another scene of the journey in his head- he was tired of memories surfacing. He was tired of finding young souls damaged beyond repair, or dying. He couldn't do it anymore. Batwing inhaled sharply, lifting his voice. "Any apprentice that isn't injured, come see me. We need to get camp back to.. back to the way it needs to be." There was no 'normal' anymore.

He turned, padding away from the clump of gathered and worried cats to repair camp, apprentices hopefully following him. ​

​

"speech"​

 

[BURNSTORM]

The keening of his clanmates around him is enough to send Burnstorm into a catatonic state. Sunfreckle was a cat he had grown up with. His mother had raised himself and his siblings in the nursery alongside the ginger tom and his own litter and he had been one of those cats Burnstorm had assumed would always be around, had pictured the ginger-furred tom one day retiring to the elder's den to live out the rest of his life pecefully complaining about aching bones and telling stories to the youth. Now, all that was left of him was fur and blood that stained the earth of their hollow. Their camp they once thought was safe. How foolish they had been to believe a few brambles could protect them, how kit-like it was to think that just because he was enshrouded in his home he would be safe.

It is Roeflame moving that finally breaks him free of his thoughts. He can hear the rasp in her breath, knows that soon she should be made to see Gentlestorm for the precious herbs that would ease the symptoms but... His golden eyes fix on Freckleframe. She had just lost a father and they didn't even have anything to mourn, no body to bury. It is a feeling he is all too familiar with. He pads over to her on soft pawsteps, coming to a halt just behind Roeflame as she offers the other warrior comfort. Words would do nothing to ease the pain, he knows, so instead he opts to say nothing. They would have a vigil, they would bury what little was left, and it would never be enough.

His head snaps to Flamewhisker as she calls out for Falconheart and he can feel his chest nearly cave in. That was two former apprentices missing now. Badgerstrike and Falconheart. Stars, where had things gone so terribly wrong? He digs his claws into the earth in an attempt to steady himself. "We need to go and look for them. The forest is not safe right now" he says with a barely suppressed growl of frustration rumbling in his throat.

( ☼ ) come and take it

• 
  
• 
  BURNSTORM THUNDERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR ; HE / HIM ; BROTHER TO MORNINGPAW, MOONWHISPER, HOWLFIRE, FIREFLYPAW, SKYCLAW & DUSKBIRD ; MATE TO ROEFLAME
  

  A large, sharp tongued, tom with long black fur and golden, oval shaped, eyes.

  ✦ Difficult in battle. A skilled fighter + fights honorably
  

​

 

[Moonwhisper]

—————————————————————⊰☾⊱————————————————————

She should not be as exhausted as she is, she is a well-trained warrior and perfectly fit, but her belly hung low and her paws ached by the time they got back to the camp and it was all she could do to not drop on the spot to rest; unfortunately or fortunately her stubborn pride would not allow it.
Moonwhisper locks eyes with the ground before Rabbitnose and Freckleflame's paws and how red it is, how scuffed the earth and tattered the soil - like Batwing she thinks cruelly and with pettiness that her own mother had not gotten a proper burial so they should both cope and move forward with the knowledge they would meet again in StarClan rather than leave this for the kits to see. Her tails whisks around Deerkit, she had yanked them out of the nursery during the chaos and she could ensure they got back inside it after, "Let's go play a game, I think we need to make a new mossball. One of you tore the last one to shreds." The several countless kits orphaned all at once were a handful already and she was quietly dreading her own litter and hoping they would be much more subdued - with her rearing she expected a little more grace and respect than outsider kits at least.

☾ break all the rules - live like a queen or die like a fool ☽ —— do you care what they think

• Interacting with @deerkit
• 
  
  
  Moonwhisper
  —⊰⋅ Warrior of ThunderClan
  —⊰⋅ She/Her
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ LH Tortiseshell point w/ice blue eyes
  

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[PALEFIRE]

She had known. Starclan, she had known that it was wrong to leave the camp when Howlingstar had specifically instructed them to stand guard. She had known that they needed to stay put. She shouldn't have ever left her place, as defender of her sleeping clanmates, those who put their trust in the new warriors that were supposed to keep them all safe. She hadn't wanted to go, the stars above must know that she hadn't wanted to. But her friends had left her behind and they wanted to explore the forest all alone and she knew it wasn't safe. She had to bring them back before something terrible happened, before... before it was her fault again. She hadn't stopped them before and look, look what had happened. Foxpaw, Vixenpaw, Lovepaw, Joypaw, Sunshinepaw, Bravepaw, all of them in the medicine den with terrible injuries simply because she hadn't been able to convince them not to go.

She didn't want more blood on her paws, more guilt on her conscience. She needed to go after them and make them go back, before anyone found out they were gone. Before the wolves got them and she had to mourn the unnecessary deaths of her closest friends. No one was supposed to know they were ever gone, it was only a few minutes and they had come right back.... No one was supposed to get hurt this time. She tried, damn the stars, she tried!

Palefire had been able to convince her friends to return to camp rather quickly, albeit with more than a little strong-arming involved. In the end she needed them to see that all she cared about was everyone being safe, and she had promised that as soon as the sun rose, they would all go out together on a real patrol for the first time as warriors. Tired as she was, she would go wherever they wanted to go, if that made them happy, so long as they all agreed to return to their post as quickly as possible. And it had only been a short time before they were all heading back to the camp, moonlight on their backs, when suddenly it all started.

The howling, the snarling, the screams of their clanmates and the scent of monsters and death. They were almost to the camp entrance when the chaos had erupted, and they had seen the hulking grey beasts wreaking havoc on their clan. They all wanted to help, Palefire desperately wanted to help, but what was to be done now? They would only serve to feed the creatures' bloodlust if they tried to stop them now. She'd seen the shadows of some of the fleeing cats crawling up the ravine and had whispered for her friends to get back, to hide, to wait until it was safe to go back in. Hours passed but it felt like days as they waited in terror for the wolves to finally leave. Her whole body shook with adrenaline and fear and anger, so much anger but only at herself. This was her fault, they had trusted her to do the right thing and she had failed again.

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Finally it was safe to return and she could see in the cold light of the morning that her clanmates were beginning to do the same. Dread gripped her heart as she lead @badgerstripe, @Lightflower, and @phloxdawn back through the gorse tunnel and into the center of the destruction. The clearing was littered with debris, and her blood froze in her veins at the sight of once-bare earth now stained a sick shade of crimson. Wailing, filled with pain and agony, coming from all around, coming from Freckleflame as she mourned... Sunfreckle? Was he gone? What about the rest? Nightbird? Skyclaw? Were they alive? Her paws trembled as she stumbled towards the shadow of their leader, pale blue eyes burning with unshed tears as they sought answers she didn't truly want to find.

"Howlingstar...?"

[ the four of them heard the wolves on their way back and waited until it was safe to return! ]

 

[ADDERSNAP]

Adderpaw felt as though his muscles were individually being torn off his limbs, wailing in agony and begging to admit defeat as his paws sunk further and further into the sand of the ravine. He was almost to the top, he swore to himself to keep focused on the task at paw. And yet, with each passing time he encouraged himself that it was just a bit closer, that he was almost to safety and away from the horrors that lay beneath him -- it always just seemed so many fox-lengths ahead of him. Bile began to swarm in his mouth and it was threatening to make him pause in his place, to be eaten by those wolves... but it was as though the now sickly looking apprentice had been rejuvenated from the thought. He pushed through the burning sensation that now stung his throat, tongue exposed to the air as he struggled for breath. He wasn't going to make it, was he? Adderpaw would be left with no one surrounding him as ravenous beasts tore at his flesh. He was doomed.

But then the desperate tabby began to feel a sturdy foundation beneath his numbing paw pads, and he allowed himself to collapse just as he reached the top. He would live to see another day. Gasps followed as he wiped his mouth on the ground, not even bothering to worry about the condition his coat was probably in at the moment. Thoughts struggled to form in his mind as he tried to recollect what had just happened in the ThunderClan camp, and all that presented itself was more bile at his paws. Shaking his head, he got to his paws and teetered back and forth for a moment, immediately sitting on his haunches as slowly everything began to pool back into his mind. Death. There had been... wolves hovering over his clanmates that couldn't defend themselves against their enemies any longer, slashed into nothing as though they were prey. And in this situation, they were. They were all the prey, and the wolves were just having their fun. This was going to keep continuing as long as they were here, wasn't it? It wasn't a problem he couldn't ignore anymore. But all of his hope had dwindled that they would get their beloved peace back.

Deciding to make some daring glances at his clanmates, he saw many sharing exchanges of tears and wallows, and after touching a paw to his soaked cheek did he realize that he had been reflecting those same feelings of sadness, of hurt. His heart softened for today, for there was no need for bitter judgement when all were sharing equal grief together. Adderpaw's ears pinned towards Batwing's location as shaky hind legs got into a standing position, limping over towards where the lead warrior could be found. "Aren't they still there? If they are, what do we do? How can we fend them all off?" His tongue was moving faster than his mind as he bombarded Batwing with questions, head reeling, eyes feeling as though they were spinning. He didn't want to go back down there, but he knew he had to. If he was to ever be a true warrior -- a strong warrior -- he needed to prepare himself for whatever he was going to see down there. Taking a deep breath, he just shook his head as it hung to face the ground, voice hollow from his screams. "Nevermind. I'm ready."​

 

[badgerstripe]

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Freedom was every ounce as amazing as Badgerstripe imagined it would be. While Lightflower mostly just trudged nervously behind them, and Palefire keeping the same grim look on her face, Badgerstripe spent most of their walk chattering into Phloxdawn's ear about gossip, duties, and of course all the cool stuff that came with being a warrior. She had really begun to feel that this was the best night of her life.

All her hopes and pride came crashing down when the first howls sounded in the distance. The group went silent, ears perked and gauging what they had just heard. Then, moments later came snarling, wails and cries of fearful cats and hungry wolves. Badgerstripe's world seemed to came to a halt - for a moment, she couldn't hear, couldn't speak. Her heart skipped only one beat, and then pounded as if she had been running for miles. No. Not now..

The group hurried back as quick as they can, and it took all of Badgerstripe's might not to lunge herself into the camp and slash her paws towards the nearest wolf. Her heart twisted with each cry and snap of jaws, cat and wolf alike - as the scent of blood reached her nose, she felt sick. She had to fight, she had to - but Palefire insisted they stay put for their own safety, and by StarClan if she didn't listen the first time, she was going to listen now.

When it was safe to return, Badgerstripe was the last of the group to approach their sheltering Clanmates. With her tail tucked between her legs and her ears flat against her skull, a true embodiment of shame, she averted her gaze from every cat she walked by, but there was no escaping the fear and anguish that radiated off every single one of them. She could not even meet Howlingstar's eyes when they finally found her, restoring some sense of order to the terrified and exhausted cats. Badgerstripe was certain that, after the scolding and utter shame that was to come, after she hears the death count and sees the injuries for herself, she may just wish the wolves have taken her, too.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── SILVER AND GOLD ⋅❁⋅ EVERYONE WISHES FOR IT ──┐‎

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  Badgerstripe ✩ she/her, warrior of thunderclan, 12 moons.
  ⭃ a long-furred blue tortoiseshell with a notable black dorsal stripe and green eyes.
  ⭃ formerly mentored by burnstorm
  ⭃ 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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[Lightflower]

Lightflower trod behind Palefire, a follower as always. Her entire body shook, though her limbs were stiff from hiding for hours. How could she have been so stupid? Reckless? Stars, there were wolves, of course they shouldn't have left. She was shellshocked at best. The howl and screams echoed in her head like a horrible melody. Anything would be better. They returned to the sound of more wailing and sobbing, mostly from the likes of Freckleflame and Rabbitnose.

" 'm sorry," she mumbled to no one in particular. She wasn't looking at the red earth, stained with blood. Or the congregated cats huddled further away. She wasn't looking at anything. How could she focus on one thing when everything was so horrid. Lightflower didn't even feel as though she was in her own body. If I'd just not gone, if I'd just stayed with Palefire, maybe Badgerstripe and Phloxdawn wouldn't have left, and we wouldn't be here right now, she thought. Nausea threatened to overtake her, but she just stared into nothing, almost like a ghost.​

[ MAYBE THIS TIME I'LL WIN ]​

 

[braveheart : ̗̀➛]

☀ . ° ✦ The night had been a slow crawl, clawing it's way through the clouds and stars while hulking gray forms tore the likes of their camp. The freshkill pile must have been decimated to scraps of fur by now. Bravepaw wondered if even Gentlestorm's herb stocks were safe now.

Like a blood-sworn promise Bravepaw had stayed close to Doepaw. Tails entwined he remained at her side all night, only glancing between his Clanmates to see where her siblings were, if Fallowpaw was close by in the crowd. He didn't dare speak even a whisper to call out to his friend as Sunfreckles last words still echoed in his mind. The cost of gathering the attention of those beasts below.

As pale orange light tore across the sky and the Clan began to move back into camp, Bravepaw couldn't hold back the soft sniffle stuck in his nose while he tried (and failed) to hold back tears. Leaning against Doepaw, he shoved his muzzle into her fur as if to hide away from the smattering of blood. His mentors blood.

He's given his life to defend others.

But no one was mad at him for it. Not like they had been about his friends fighting the owl. What he had done was in the name of true honor that was selfless, not for the sake of gaining glory. He knew he would die.

Freckleflame's anger was fiery as her namesake but doused in grief. The kind he had felt when Sunfreckle was first taken away, when he prayed to StarClan for his return. Could he ask them to bring him back this time, too? He knows the answer already but he doesn't want to believe it.

"I want to help." Bravepaw's voice was raspy, strained from his crying. "With the vigil. Please let me help." If he hadn't let his sister rope them all into finding the owl, if he hadn't gotten so injured... could he have done something? Could it have been his life instead?

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ooc Information

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  BRAVEPAW — HE/HIM ･ 5 MOONS ･ THUNDERCLAN & APPRENTICE ･ PENNED BY beatae!

  A Longhaired chocolate tabby/blue tabby chimera with deep blue eyes. Very thick coat that has started to grow into long, wispy curls. Developing into an awkward stage of kitten uglies as the rest of his body grows and changes.

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