camp LOST IN THE THRILL &. april 13th meeting

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

chilledstar did not want to go through with a meeting right now. not when the disappearing of the sun sits in their brain so freshly. not when many apprentices sit healing within the medicine cat den, when they should be learning and doing what they can become the next generation of warriors to teach the current kits. that's what they wanted to focus on but if chilledstar has learned anything, things that have been true since their youth, life goes on. it goes forward, even when one so desperately wants it to stop. time was not ones friend, nor was it ones enemy, but there was an emphasis on it not being friends with anyone.

"okay, everyone. gather below clanrock for a clan meeting!"

they call out, flicking rain from their ear as it begins to fall again. a quiet reminder that this was meant to be a good thing. more warriors joining their ranks, nothing too terrible upon the bad news except for maybe... no. no. they'd deal with that when it came to that. cross that thunderpath when they'd come to it. right now... they needed to get through this meeting.

"we are going to start with the not very cool things first. the brief disappearance of the sun has... us questioning a lot of things. the stars seemed to have bless us with the heavy downpours of rain, giving us frogs and full bellies. stars only know how long its been since every last one of us have been able to have a full meal and not go to bed hungry. so, it clearly wasn't us. whatever, or whomever, caused starclan to be mad, it couldn't have been us. we will discuss this further within the counsel, and whenever we do find out who did this, who pissed off starclan that bad, we will handle it."

they needed to move on. they let it known that this catastrophe was not, nor could it possibly be the fault of shadowclan.

"moving on... there was a badger in the territory that has wounded some of our best. it came back after trying to kill ashenpaw, flintpaw, scalejaw, and smogmaw. now pipitclaw, forestshade, lilacfur, and sharpshadow have had a run in with it. be careful. travel in groups. and don't let the thing kill you. we have enough warriors down. speaking of... owls seem to be a bit of an issue, these days. they're being a lot more unfriendly. briarpaw and screechpaw are currently recovering from an owl attack. so... just make sure they eat good and watch the skies."

they pointedly look towards the old mentor of basilpaw, lip pulled back.

"and on the mention of an owl, it seems that spiderwing believed that he could get away with lying to us all about an owl attack upon his apprentice. we know that's not true and that's why he has been effectively not allowed to have an apprentice and will not for the foreseeable future as he can't seem to keep his filthy paws to himself. I will not tolerate the hurting of your apprentices. I do not give a fuck what you think you're doing. you are supposed to mentor. nuture. be better and stronger while showing them how to be better and stronger than you without hurting them. he will be punished accordingly and if I catch a single cat hurting an apprentice, whether it is your apprentice or not, I will hurt you personally just so you can see how it feels to feel helpless. basilpaw, you will now be my apprentice unless i decide you would be better off with another mentor."

they clear their throat with a shake of their head. that was it for that. now, for the warrior ceremonies.

"alright. okay. better news. better news to focus on. so, ashenpaw. swanpaw. garlicpaw. applepaw. all of you, step forward."

they pause, letting the young cats step forward, a twitch of their ears following a deep breath in and out.

"you four have been through more than enough and come out as excellent cats on the other side. true shadowclanners, ready for the world that has never been kind to you. still, you're loyal. strong. and you've done what you know how to do. you've survived. so, the four of you... I've watched you grow. it's truly been an honor, and I hope you grow up and I hope to one day watch from the stars and see one of you up here on this rock, with star attached to your name. with that being said... do you all promise to be better than all of us at this? strive to be the next generation of warriors who know better, do better and are better than the last? to learn from each other, while helping the next set of your apprentices be as good, and better, than you?"

they wait for their responses, looking over each and every one with a stern nod of their head.

"good. then from this point forward, ashenpaw, you will be known as ashenfall. to fall is not a bad thing, but a good one. you have gone through a lot of bad, and you've risen above. you pushed through, and you always will. you're stronger than you know, ashenfall. swanpaw, you will now be known as swansong. you are tranquil and you bring a peace to this clan that we truly could not be... that I could not be more grateful for. you grace us with your joyful life and I hope you continue to do so within warriorhood, swansong. garlicpaw, you will now be known as garlicheart. for your heart is as big as your smile and personality, and you are brave above all. you have always been, and I hope you will continue to be, garlicheart. and applepaw... your name will officially be applejaw. you have a mouth on you and you know how to use it properly now. you bite, and you're not afraid to bite. and you're tough, and a damned good warrior. who you thought you were does not define you, but who you are now does. and you're a great cat, applejaw."

they scan over each of the apprentices with a sigh.

"per the new code, you four will be sitting vigil. you will guard the camp, and do nothing more. you will not eat. you will not sleep, you will not talk. you will simply guard. you may be new warriors but you're important to the ranks, and use this time to think with the stars. now... if there is nothing further... you're all dismissed."


// alright yall ! quick summary of the meeting!
- mentions of the eclipse and how the supposed omen will be handled!
- mentions of the frog increase!
- mention of the badger and owl attacks and who have been injured or effected as a result!
- mention of spiderwing's abuse of power and punishment! basilpaw is now being mentored by chilledstar!
- warrior ceremonies naming garlicheart, ashenfall, swansong, and applejaw!

there will not be individual shoutouts this month, but rather an entire clan shout out! if you are on the census and active, this is your shout out! the end of the semester is rolling around for many of us, causing us to be less active and more focused on our studies and irl which is completely and totally fine! irl always comes first! I hope all of you do well with your finals, if you're in school, and I hope the rest of you are doing okay! I am proud of each and every one of you and your contributions to making shadowclan a lovely place!

if you feel I have missed something, let me know asap! I will fix it, no problem!

———————---***ALL OF MY FEELINGS ARE GONE***———————---​

I LEFT 'EM ALL ON THE FLOOR✧ MAN WHO'S TO BLAME IF YOU DON'T LOVE ME NO MORE

•  
• — black feline with a white marking across their face, a white chin, a white right front paw, and blue eyes. chilledstar is covered in scars, the most prominent ones being the one across their face, and the one across their neck.
  — 45 moons old; ages the 3rd every month
  — they / them pronouns
  — aromantic / homosexual ; currently not looking / looking
  — child of JAGGED and RAVEN
  — shadowclan ; loyal to shadowclan ; other info if applicable
  — mildly difficult to befriend ; trusts barely anyone; trusts no one outside of shadowclan
  — "speech", thoughts, attacking
  — peaceful powerplay allowed

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[APPLEJAW]

Good luck for ShadowClan... She wonders how long that will last.

And then the thought is quashed, discarded as if it were old bedding. Fresh moss and feather lay ahead of her now, in her leader's— her mentor's steel gaze. In moments, she would step over the line that marked apprentice tasks, marked behind held by the jaws of her mentor. Chilledstar's gaze would not be leaving her fully... but it would see her as what she really was.

A gentle pattering of rain slowly soaks through all of their coats. If leaves the ends of thick plume damp. Rolling past her cheeks, it tests the face of stone that she wore. She would not allow any twitch nor tic. As rain coelleced at their feet, it pooled into the shallow puddles that had already been left around camp. One glance is all it would take to glimpse herself in her reflection.

She needed no such thing, to know who she was.

What levity the teeming of frogs did give them— Applepaw would fight tooth and nail to keep that streak going. The blotting of the sun had resembled a new moon, and perhaps that's what StarClan meant. Change beyond the scope of a new dawn, and a new moon. Blended together, it could be something incredible.

Even though it is all the more likely that StarClan feared the newly appointed Sunstar, perhaps as much as, or even more than they did Soostar. And sometimes she wonders if Granitepelt still lingered nearby...

He didn't matter.

He didn't, but— It's not too difficult to look amongst the crowd and picture him, a gnarled grey shadow amongst the onlookers. Would he be proud, she wonders. Or would he look on in disgust?

Chin up. Shoulders squared. A practiced stance keeps her tail held high. It is static past her ears, the sounds, the smells. That is, until Chilledstar looks at her.

For the last time, Applepaw steps forward.

I've watched you grow, says Chilledstar. Applepaw's embarassment is gone with a flick of her ear. and I hope to one day watch from the stars and see one of you up here on this rock, with star attached to your name... Just briefly, surprise crosses Applepaw's face. A meek little part of her shakes her head. Won't you always be here? it asks, as if ShadowClan has not seen the most leaders of any clan. Louder than, she corrects herself. It will be me.

Do you all promise to be better than all of us at this? It's all that she's ever wanted to do. strive to be the next generation of warriors who know better, do better and are better than the last? It's all that she's ever wanted.

Clipped and short. The response a respectable warrior ought to have: " I do. "

Ashenfall, Swansong, Garlicheart. They fit her siblings in ways she cannot describe. It's hard, not to tear her eyes away to glimpse each of them as they are named. Her eyes are on Chilledstar. Her mentor is the last thing Applepaw would ever see.

And she is Applejaw. And she is a great cat.

She dips her head, and then she raises it to the sky. In an odd moment of abstraction, she wonders if the sun would once again be blotted by darkness.

It is the final moment of weakness she would ever allow herself, to think, Halfshade, Comfreypaw... Do you like it? The rain drip - drip - drips, steadily still onto the bridge of her nose. Deep past the clouds in the sky, she would tuck the memories of Comfreypaw and Halfshade both.

one track mind, one track heart ( if i fail i'll fall apart )

• 
  

• SHE / HER

  APPLEJAW.
  ༊ FORMERLY APPRENTICED TO GRANITEPELT CHILLEDSTAR OF SHADOWCLAN.
  ༊ ELDEST SISTER TO SWANSONG, ASHENFALL, AND GARLICHEART ( halfpaw, thornpaw, laurelpaw )
  ༊ currently 12 moons old as of 4.15.24. ages every 17th.

  ic opinions! she's mean <3

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[THORNPAW]

In the aftermath of the darkened sun, Thornpaw found herself less enthused about traveling. News of enemies lurking at their neighbors' borders felt eerie, despite ShadowClan being blessed with safety on their side. The frogs had come bountifully, yet the ominous terror brought by the darkness lingered. Mess after mess seemed to pile up at every meeting, and her head shook solemnly at the grim state of affairs. The news of Spiderwing's actions sickened her, and she felt a twinge of empathy for Basilpaw. Passing a heated glance to the disgraced mentor, her own muzzle mirrored Chilledstar's, disgusted and ashamed to share space with such a cat.

Her attention was pulled back as the ebony and white feline continued speaking. At last, some good news surfaced, and Thornpaw's heartbeat quickened. Sitting near her siblings, she looked up at them with a gentle shyness rarely afforded to those outside her family. Most of her growing moons had been spent dodging and evading their attempts at connection. Now, she couldn't imagine a world without Swanpaw's gentle advice or Garlicpaw's playful nature. Applepaw and Ashenpaw were a different story; Thornpaw hadn't ever felt a real connection towards them, even in her earliest memories. A part of her wished there had been something more, but she knew it was moot to push.

Silently, she observed as each was gifted their names, finding them exceptionally fitting. They're warriors now, and I'll be one someday too. She mused, her eyes widening in awe at the idea. When she had become an apprentice, it was jarring, but now she had a taste of the future. I wonder what my name will be? Eagerly, she cried out their names, ensuring her voice was heard amongst the growing cheers. "Ashenfall! Swansong! Garlicheart! Applejaw!" Even if she didn't always see eye to eye with her older siblings, she was proud of them. They'd all been through plenty of heartache, and she wasn't going to put down a happy moment.

Once Chilledstar called the meeting to a conclusion, she stayed put for a heartbeat, hoping to get a chance to speak with the newly named Garlicheart and Swansong.​

 

[Garlicheart]

Garlicpaw didn't know what to think about the sun disappearing. It was weird. But it came back, right? That's what matters. Maybe Starclan just accidentally moved a rock in front of it. Regardless, her mind was focused on more important things. Today was the day. The day she and her siblings became warriors. So much has happened these twelve moons, things she wished never happened at all. The bears, the sickness, Halfshade's death.... Her little siblings kidnapping.... It was a lot. But she likes to think she made it through okay. There is still pain in her heart, but she's learning to push forward.

As Chilledstar calls them forward, she's uncharacteristically quiet and still. She feels the weight of their words and listens attentively. Was Halfshade watching? Was she sitting with them now, smiling proudly at them? Garlicpaw wanted to believe she was. Even after what feels like forever, she still misses her mother dearly. But now she has the strength to walk forward into the future, knowing that Halfshade is watching from the stars. Chilledstar thinks so highly of them, to want to see one of them on the leaders rock. She doesn't think she's leader material... Applepaw would be the best choice. But she will make Chilledstar proud. She will make everyone proud.

"I do." She swears. She will make Shadowclan proud. She will bring the light of joy to the marsh that it deserves.

Her ears perk at her name, and now she is Garlicheart. Tears mist her eyes and she smiles at Chilledstar with the smile as big as her heart and personality that they spoke of. They speak of her bravery, and she realizes... It's nice to be regarded as something other than silly. She loves being silly, but Chilledstar sees so much more in her and it threatens to make the happy tears in her eyes spill over.

If Chilledstar wasn't up on the rock, she would give them the biggest hug right now.​

 

[Swansong]

⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ 　The day of the stolen sun looms heavy over the clan, even as StarClan has once again granted them the blessing of light. It sits, lingering, in the back of Swanpaw's mind. To send such an omen, the day before her warrior ceremony... It must mean something.

She only wishes the stars would speak to her again, truly. Her dreams are fuzzy, too often lost upon waking. Her paws are guided in sleep so rarely now, and seemingly directionless in their wanderings - but she knows better, of course. She thinks sometimes that she can hear the voices of the stars just as she is falling asleep, though she can never make out the words.

If she could hear, would they tell her? What to do now, where to go? How to fix - everything?

Her apprentice ceremony had been heralded by ill times too. Bears, then, looming beasts. Her mother had been there to protect her, been there to groom her fur so she looked pristine for her naming. She prepares carefully for her warrior ceremony. Not a single fur out of place, just as Halfshade would have wanted. Does want; she is surely watching now, after all. They keep themself nice despite the drizzle that pulls their fur downward, the mud collecting at their feet. It is an uphill battle.

Swanpaw breathes in. Breathes out, slowly. Turns a distant gaze upon the Tallrock, upon Chilledstar.

They deflect blame. It cannot be us. And yet, and yet. When have the stars ever shown kindness to the marshlands? The frogs are the first blessing they have seen, Swanpaw knows not to take them for granted. If Chilledstar wants to hope then they can hope; Swanpaw will wait with bated breath for the tragedy to come.

The stars have cursed the swamps, yet they favor Swanpaw. They have brought her so close to them, suspended her inbetween life and death. A ghost among living cats, psychopomp and martyr. She has suffered near-death if only to be reborn.

She does not dread this moment as she did apprenticeship. Chilledstar's wish for them to better, do better than all their elders... They know this is what they are meant for. A light in the darkness. Of course it is far easier to imagine Applepaw upon the leaders' rock, of course that is where her mind first goes. But... maybe she is meant for something great, too. Would it truly be so bad, lead their clan, a guide to the living as the stars are? The voices in the night have been calling her, they always have. She can finally see it know. She knows not where her paws are destined for, but there is a certainty to her voice as she breathes her vows. "I do," spills soft as down from her lips, steely in its resoluteness.

And she is named Swansong.

She is named for peace, for joy and tranquility, commended by the leader herself. This, she thinks, is a calling she can uphold. She will bring this peace to ShadowClan in whatever way she can. She will be bright as the soft glow of the stars, she will guide them like a beacon, shield them like a gentle wing curled around the ever-starving marsh-cats. In bounty and in famine, this will be her goal.

Her smile is bright as she accepts this, the final gift bestowed unto her in her metamorphosis. A warrior, now... It fits far better than she ever thought it could.

‎‎┌── WE FOUND TWO DEAD SWANS ⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ AND FILLED THEIR BODIES WITH FLOWERS ──┐‎

• 
  

• 

  
  
  "SPEECH"
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• 
  SWANSONG　☁︎　she / they, apprentice of shadowclan, twelve moons.
  ➳ a pale, silky-furred cream tabby with droopy blue eyes.
  ➳ dreamy and detached, more ghost than cat. known for her perpetual sleepiness.
  ➳ halfshade x smogmaw, littermate to applepaw, garlicpaw, & ashenpaw.
  ➳ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ➳ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[ASHENFALL]

˚₊‧ ⛧ Ashenpaw is well-groomed, he made sure that he would be for this moment, though careful brushing of tongue has the drizzle attaching to his fur and weighing down his whiskers. He is sitting as still as he can, blinking coolly at their leader atop the rock, and he tries his best to be excited.

He wanted to be happy, and in some ways, he nearly was. He was relieved that the apprentice's den — recently overcrowding with the clan's babies and all their noise and stink along with — was now behind him. He was content with the knowledge that he was deemed worthy enough to join Shadowclan's ranks as a fully respect member. And he was grateful for the relatively smooth landing to his apprenticeship by Smogmaw's side. Happiness, though? Hmm... Happiness was an elusive creature. For whatever reason (star-determined or some side effect of his murky, aimless life choices), Ashenpaw could not pin down happiness like some sort of framed-and-displayed insect, it buzzed too high over his head to trap between two paws. Too much of a cynic, he would reason, too many thoughts in the brain to make room for hollow bliss.

Relief would do, he decided.

The sun snuffing itself out (and its subsequent re-animation) had him feeling itchy beneath its high-perched stare. A part of him was pissed off that the sun would pull a stunt like that just to freak everyone out for a few minutes, but as his sister (out-there as she tended to be...) insisted that it was indicative of something going very wrong, and as the clan murmured about it being a sign from Starclan that they were displeased with everyone... His discomfort sat like a heavy stone in his gut as he tried to figure out how his earthly self could possibly rectify this. His mind trailed onto gravestones in various states of cared-for, and to the slain and disappeared among them. What was he supposed to...?

Chilledstar's words are something of a comfort, as they commend them for their strength, their survival, and attests pride at having watched them grow. They mention wanting to see one of them with -star attached to their name, looking down from the sky, and Ashenpaw can only feel chills (excuse the pun). He, decidedly, does not see Applepaw atop the rock. He thinks about Chilledstar, hounded by death and violence and watching them bleed more than any other cat was able to bleed. He thinks about Smogmaw, fixed to be next at the plate, Death's rabid hounds frothing at the chance to rip into him nine times like they did with Briarstar, like they did with Pitchstar, like they're doing with Chilledstar. He cares about his sister. He does not imagine her up there.

And suddenly, he's being prompted. He's asked if he will be better, if he will be good, and if he will make the next generation of apprentices even better than he. Ashenpaw doesn't know what he will be, and wonders if that disqualifies him from answering. What should he say? Should he-

"I do."

Oh. He just said it anyway. That settled that, at least....

He's first up, and Ashenpaw spends his last moments as Ashenpaw gazing up toward Chilledstar, though he's distracted by a stray sunbeam, peaking briefly out from its blanket of cloud overhead and glinting into an amber iris. Then, as if by magic, he is Ashenfall. He's fallen, and he's gotten up, he is something resilient, commended for a strength that still seems to elude his own perception most days. He wonders if he would be able to recognize the cat that they speak of, should they meet. Not that it would matter, he was Ashenfall, and Ashenfall was he.

//CW: DISCUSSION OF GRIEF//

His sisters are given their names, Swansong, Garlicheart, and Applejaw, all fitting to their character the way shells were unto their snails. And Ashenfall is hit suddenly with the newness of it all, and the finality of it. He was never going to go back to being Ashenpaw, it was fenced off and sealed away sturdily in the past. His new name was borne to reflect upon everything Ashenpaw faced, but it still twisted his stomach to confront the change, the symbolic discarding of his -paw.

Ashenfall hadn't changed, or he thought he hadn't. Not really. When everyone moved on, he remained rooted where he was. A sentinel, he was. He didn't want to walk away, he refused to forget. To be unrooted from his place, to be forced to confront that time has gone on, that he has changed... He had become someone she didn't know.

He didn't want to sit here anymore.

The overwhelming feeling squeezed at his chest and throat as the clan around him cheered their names. Chilledstar dismissed them, and he hoped his dipped head appeared more respectful than downcast, but drew in shaky breath and muttered to one of his siblings sitting near him, "Sorry, I'm-..." He couldn't say any more, he didn't know what it was that was wrong with him exactly. All he knew was that if he remained here, he was about to ruin the vibe for everyone else.

Eyes trained to the floor, Ashenfall attempted to make his leave with murmured "s'cuse me"s and half-apologies, slipping through the entrance of camp.

YOULL ASK WHAT CAN I DO? ⭒☽⛧☾⭒ AND THERE WILL BE NO ANSWER

• OOC: out ! (also hes just like standing right outside camp he didnt go far!)
• 
• 
  — ashenkit . ashenpaw . ashenfall
  — ftm transmasc. he/him. 12mo warrior of shadowclan. formerly mentored by smogmaw
  — muted blue torbie w/ pale blue and amber eyes
  — smells of rainsoaked fern and swamp milkweed
  — all ic opinions!
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — pfp by meg, fullbody by antiigone, sticker by saturnid
  — penned by eezy
  

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[BASILPAW]

Basilpaw attended the meeting as he sat down at the far back on the complete opposite side of camp to where Lividpaw already had find his spot. His eyes stared up at the leader but his attention didn't stay for a special long time. The talk about the disapperance of the sun were hardly a concern of his. In fact he find it cool how it had just disappeared like that. Whoever was on starclan's bad side better watch their backs!. Good thing shadowclan was on starclans good side.

He was already bored not really interested to hear about the badger and owl attacks that had happend. He was just glad to hear that Pipitclaw hadn't ended up hurt. Basilpaw's attention had drifted down to his paws as he started to flex with his own claws, in and out they went as he played with them under silence. That was the only entertainment he had to amuse himself with....and oh. Spiderwing's name got brought up!. Basilpaw blinked and looked up again his gaze started to search through the crowd after his mentor, former mentor now. He was lucky to find them a bit away. Spiderwing watched with anger over their sentence as they sat alone and not with their usual friend group. The spotlight had been taken away from them now.

Chilledstar really had alot to say...like wow they were really roasting Spiderwing in their seat!. It was all well deserved. Spiderwing had this all coming for them. Basilpaw was genuinely suprised over how much attention this had brought up all for his sake. He had to make sure to keep this in mind for the future.

He had to admit he hadn't been paying much mind to who his new mentor was going to be to him it wouldn't change anything. Didn't meant he not would get suprised to hear that Chilledstar had decided to mentor him themselves but only temporarily. The moment they find somebody else they would just pass him on, was that it?. Basilpaw grinned. If that was the case he for sure wouldn't make it easy for them. Lets see how long it would take before even the leader themself would get sick and tired of him.

And there was that. The meeting contunie on to the warrior ceremonies for this meeting. Basilpaw would watch each one of them receiving their warrior names. He couldn't help but to think back on a previous conversation with his brother and what their warrior names would be....Basilpaw dug his claws into the dirt and his grin grow far more wide. "Ashenfall! Swansong! Garlicheart! Applejaw!" he shouted out with the rest although he tried to be louder then everyone else...like always.

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