camp HEAR IT SIZZLE — left behind

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

Raccoonstripe sits near the gorse tunnel, peering into the forest beyond. The treetops are frosted with starlight; the moon herself is round, pregnant, ready to burst and shower ThunderClan with silver fire. Camp is quiet; those cats who had gone to the Gathering have been absent for at least an hour now. He exhales; in the cool newleaf air, his breath plumes like smoke from a dragon’s nostrils. He imagines those who’d left them behind—his mother, anger furrowing her brow as she attempts cordial words with Orangestar; Burnstorm, sitting amongst the deputies where Raccoonstripe should be; Gentlestorm and Dawnglare, padding side by side, still fuming after his theft.

The dark tabby lifts his face toward the sky, marveling at the moon. It seems to watch him, a single pale eye, a mimicry of his mate’s. Like Nightbird, does the moon judge him? Like his mother, does it see his deeds as misplaced, misdone? Raccoonstripe stares back at it defiantly. He has done what is necessary to feed his Clan, and he would do it again—regardless of what he’d told Howlingstar.

He hears a shuffle of paws from behind him. Tufted ears swivel; he turns, dipping his head in greeting to whoever had disturbed his solitude. “I wonder if there’s trouble tonight,” he murmurs to no one in particular. If there is, well—ThunderClan would stand strong, as they always have done.

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

• ooc: this thread takes place during the Gathering!
• 
• Raccoon . Raccoonstripe, he/him w/ masculine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 37 moons old, ages realistically on the 5th.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring Thistlepaw ; 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.
  
  

​

 

[Flamestar]

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊ The moon shone high above the camp, illuminating the clearing with ease. She could remember a time when she dreaded the gatherings, feeling out of place among the large amount of cats. But now, it felt foreign watching Howlingstar take her clanmates, leaving her behind in the camp. While she watched her clanmates leave, longing had tugged at her heart. She desperately wanted to follow them, to distract herself for one night. To bury herself into her job that she hadn't done for moons now.

Quiet paws approach the dark tabby from behind. The tom hadn't exactly been quite popular as of lately after his recent trip across the border, and while she didn't approve of his action, she did not hate him. His pelt had been chewed enough over the topic, so she would not bring the subject up. Instead, the queen would sit beside him and lift her own gaze to the moon. "You know Smokestar, I'm sure he could find trouble. Can't trust a hair on a Riverclanner's back." Her ear flicked distastefully as she imagined the tom bringing up Sunningrocks. Thunderclan had been victorious many moons ago, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before they grew bold enough to try to steal it back.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── MY DARLING ⋅✩⋅ WHO KNEW ──┐‎

• 
  
  
  

• 

• FLAMEWHISKER ✩ she/her, deputy of thunderclan, 33 moons, ages on the 20th
  ⭃ LH red tabby with low white (masks black tabby, carries dilute, solid)
  ⭃ widowed mate to flycatcher / / mother to: falconheart, stormfeather, sparrowpaw, sunkit, mothkit, scorchedkit, and squirrelkit
  ⭃ 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.
  

​

 

[Scorchedkit]

Scorchedkit could often be found trailing after Flamewhisker. If it were possible the child would be her mother's physical shadow. Quiet paws come to a stop as she listens, ears twitching at the conversation happening overhead but her gaze travels to the gorse tunnel. This was her second time watching a group leave for the gathering and she couldn't help but wonder how long they would be gone this time. Not that she had anyone to wait for. Last time she stayed up until Falconheart came home. But it seemed his recent mishap with Skyclan kept him from attending, much like Raccoonstripe himself. "Are Riverclanner's the least trustworthy of the remaining four clans?" The totie asked, diverting her attention back to her mother first, then to Raccoonstripe, waiting for their opinion. She'd never heard her mother say anything negative about Skyclan before. So it left her to assume that between their two neighbors, the river-dwelling cats were the ones to steer clear of. ​

̶̶̶̶  «̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ «̶ ̶̶̶   thunderclan kit / four months / she/her  ̶ ̶ ̶»̶ ̶̶̶ ̶ »̶ ̶̶̶  ​

 

[lily pad]

Lily Pad never minded being unable to attend a gathering. Sure, she was stuck at camp, but so was Tansyshine, and there was always something to do around camp anyways. Plus, hearing the gossip second hand was way more enjoyable than sitting through a gathering herself, exchanging fake niceties. This moon, especially, Lily wasn't sure she would be able to bear it. With the loss of Wolfwind, hearing Howlingstar announce her death to the clans and being forced to endure the hollow sympathy of the other clans. She supposed it would have been nice to inform Lakemoon herself, however she doubted Lakemoon would even be in attendance, not with the loss of Lilybloom. She had kits to look after now. Kits. Lily Pad was a grandmother. It still didn't feel real, that her daughter had become a mother now.

Staying behind also allowed her to keep watch over her baby brother. Not that he needed it; Lily knew he would be fine, of course. But she also knew that the judgement of their clanmates, especially that of his own family, had to sting. She followed not far behind Flamewhisker and Scorchedkit. "That he could," she responds to Flamewhisker with a roll of her eyes. At Scorchedkit's question, she laughed. "Not all RiverClan cats are untrustworthy, but there is... tension, I suppose."

She turns to Raccoonstripe, smiling at him gently. "How are you doing?" She understood why he had instructed his patrol to hunt across SkyClan's border. While it wasn't a choice she approved of, he had faced enough judgement from the rest of the clan. He didn't need it from her too.

 

[THUNDERGLEAM]

Thundergleam eagerly awaited the day she would attend a gathering- desperately, she wondered how much longer her trial period would take. How much more there was to do before she was to seize her destiny?

She supposed, as she drifted toward the little crowd, that Raccoonstripe was not happy with being left behind... but she would not have expected Howlingstar to act any differently SkyClan was a cherished ally, and the Code's importance had been laid upon the ivory molly's conscience as heavily as Stormywing could manage. It seemed... antithetical, confusing, that a lead warrior of ThunderClan would break the Code. And yet, he had done it for their kittens... precious, precious life. To stop them suffering... oh, it was bathed in a grey light, this act!

"I have always heard worse about WindClan than RiverClan," she murmured dreamily, remembering the stories Father had told her about WindClan's aggressive characteristics. They seemed not as bloodthirsty as Father had always claimed, though... and RiverClan not as neutral as she had always thought. ​

penned by pin ☾​

 

[badgerstripe]

The last time Badgerstripe had attended a gathering, she was publicly humiliated in front of all four Clans. Never again, she swore. She'd never look at that wonderful full moon the same way. She would never again mingle kindly with the other Clans, for her face was a stain on all good ThunderClanners.

It infuriates her that Raccoonstripe does not suffer the same fate. He had explicitly broken the code, and she can't help but fear that he won't be afforded the same consequences as her. It fills her with envy.. but she holds her tongue, tonight. The truce would extend to the camps of all Clans. She could not make a spectacle of her own emotions - not tonight.

He wonders if there's trouble, and Badgerstripe scoffs in response. "Always trouble. Can't trust 'em as far as I could throw 'em." Them being, explicitly, Smokestar and Sunstar. She does not forget the aggression of their neighboring Clans, even if one boasts new leadership. Only a matter of time before they start killing cats at the borders and stealing kits. Perhaps it was in their blood.
​

♡ — OUT OF CHARACTER ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗ CHARACTER INFORMATION — ♡

• speech is #FB8B24​
• 
  
  
• badgerkit badgerpaw BADGERSTRIPE
  ━━ WARRIOR of THUNDERCLAN | 15 MOONS ,, ages every 21st
  ━━ NPC xx NPC | SIBLING to n/a — sibling adopts here!
  ━━ MATE to none | PARENT to none
  ━━ MENTOR to none | MENTORED by BURNSTORM​

 

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

The deputy is the first to approach him as he watches the gorse tunnel longingly for any traces of activity. Raccoonstripe turns gratefully to Flamewhisker, whose expression remains neutral, bathed in moonlight. "I'm sure he's biding his time over asking for Sunningrocks back," he agrees, his whiskers twitching disdainfully. It had certainly been long enough, and the RiverClanners' eyes were pointed when he caught them staring at the sunwarmed stones from across the riverbank.

Flamewhisker's little daughter toddles closer, asks if RiverClan is the most untrustworthy of the Clans. Raccoonstripe mulls this over for a moment. "We trust only ThunderClan at the end of the day," he tells her seriously. "Every Clan has their own best interests at heart." He'd teach his own brood the same, and suspects Flamewhisker would have similar advice for her young daughter. ThunderClan always comes first.

Lily Pad's appearance causes Raccoonstripe's gaze to soften momentarily. He greets his sister with a friendly bump of the head against her shoulder. She claims that not all RiverClan cats are untrustworthy, and he thinks of Lakemoon, Lily Pad's daughter. Raccoonstripe's heart twists for his sibling, knowing it must not be easy to hear slander about her kit. Little Wolf had often felt the same, with Fireflypaw and Howlfire residing in SkyClan. "I'm... I'm okay," he tells her, offering her a tired smile. "I'm keeping myself busy, at least."

The strange one, the pink-eyed outsider, drifts closer, remarking that WindClan had always been the more treacherous one in the stories she'd heard. Raccoonstripe leers at Thundergleam for a moment before meowing, "WindClan had a tyrant for a leader before Sunstar. They are just as untrustworthy as the rest of the Clans." His dark eyes narrow; what would an outsider know about the importance of Clan loyalty?

And then young Badgerstripe appears, and Raccoonstripe nods his head at her assertion. "Any of them could start trouble at any time. We should always be prepared," he says.

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

• ooc: —
• 
• Raccoon . Raccoonstripe, he/him w/ masculine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 37 moons old, ages realistically on the 5th.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring Thistlepaw ; 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.
  
  

​