tunnels RETROGADE [🌒] tunnel expansion choice

[WINDCLAN]

ROCKWALL! LEFT OR RIGHT? ╱ 25 post milestone
───── ATTENTION ! This choice has consequences and will affect the progress of the new tunnel.

Getting started was hard work, but the tunnelers have begun to see progress! No cat can say they're anywhere close to the twoleg bridge, nor the RiverClan border, but they're on the right path to complete the expansion before leaf-bare.

When creating tunnels this big, however, trouble is bound to peak its head out to snicker.

Paws scrape dirt off of stone. Frowns and groans of displeasure erupt across the digging cats. Looks like continuing forward isn't an option, they'll have to dig around the stone ground, who knows how long that's going to take!

Before they continue forward a decision must be made, do they continue on left or right?​

 

[Mouseflight]

This was the second time this week that Mousepaw was digging and had come across something that he wouldn't be able to easily go through, this time however it was not something he could try to chew through, and he knew that. When his claws hit stone, large ears pinned back as a surprised - and slightly pained - hiss could be heard through the dark tunnels. The noise alone made him coil back, not to mention the vibration that coursed through his paw. Getting a few quick rasps of his tongue, the apprentice put his paw down onto the dirt before moving his face forward, sniffing around the rock for a moment before sitting back up, shaking his head and turning towards his fellow tunnelers.

"There's too much rock here," He'd quickly growl out, annoyance clear in his voice at yet another thing trying to stop them from their StarClan-given right. "We need to go around, and I think we should go to the right - that way." He began to move his way over to the right so that they could dig over in that direction. Was he the lead tunneler? No, he wasn't even a warrior, but he knew that they should go that way. "Wolfsong said it was a sign from StarClan we should dig the tunnel, right? So even StarClan recognizes we're the best and we're always right, so that's why we should go this way." It made sense.

OOC INTERACTIONS ✧.·:·.*

• [ooc]
• windclan (sootstar) loyalist
  dirty fighter/will aim to kill
  will bully anyone (some more than others)
  

  
  

  likely to attack first
  powerplay peaceful actions okay
  ping if needed in a thread
  
• 
  8 months old
  ftm calico -- he/him
  tunneler apprentice
  
  large ears
  always looks grumpy

​

 

[BLUEFROST]

The feeling of her paw pads scraping against stone is startling. One moment the earth gives beneath her weight, and the next it yields with all the strength of Outlook Rock. Bluepaw blinks, frustration clouding her green gaze. “StarClan, you don’t want to make this easy for us, do you?” She huffs, her cheek fluff brushing her shoulders and chest as she leans away from her post. She turns to her fellow tunneling apprentice, to where Mousepaw studies the obstruction. ”Right,” he says, though his reasoning is poor to her. What sense does that make?

“The left looks easier,” she says, stubborn, though truly both look the same to her. “Perhaps StarClan is testing us and wants us to pick the less obvious answer.” She tosses her head, praying some of that god-given intuition is serving her right.

✧ INFO.

• optional mentor tag @SOOTSTAR
• 
  — bluekit . bluepaw
  — she/her, apprentice of windclan
  — bisexual ; single
  — long-haired blue she-cat with white and green eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — art by Meg

​

 

[SCORCHSTAR]

The calico huffs out her annoyance to the entire patrol as dark, dirt-dulled claws scrape against stone. Truthfully, she’s surprised that this is only the first roadblock that they have met on their way to digging the new tunnel. But, of course, it is an irritating obstacle all the same. Stone cannot be dug through—or at least, not with claws or even teeth—and they have no choice but to go around it somehow. The obvious answer is to dig in one of two directions, but Mousepaw and Bluepaw each give conflicting directions to dig in. "Either way should be fine," she states with a shrug. Surely it will make no difference whether they choose to go right or left around the blockade; either way, it will be more work than digging straight forward, but plowing straight on is clearly not an option.

As a lead warrior, Scorchstreak is aware that her opinion on the matter stands above that of the other non-lead tunnelers, but just as with the planned tunnel entrances scattered across the territory, she wants to hear the input of others before the group makes a decision. Perhaps some tunnelers prefer to make left turns in the dark over right turns. She does heave a sigh at Mousepaw’s reasoning for wishing to dig right, but Bluepaw’s reasoning is not sturdy either.

The she-cat turns to glance back at the rest of the cats, partially obscured by the darkness of the tunnels. "We can put it to a vote, I suppose." The suggestion is a passive one, but she hopes to see agreement on the faces of the cats closest to her. It only makes sense that the majority should decide which way to go from here.​

[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]​

​

 

[WeepingWillow]

calm and collected, she keeps her composure
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

WeepingWillow did not complain. She was rather complacent, however did already manage to have a small outburst of agitation as an apprentice who was digging beside her managed to knock loose patch of dirt down, coating them both in dirt. Sure, she had only growled, which was not as extreme as it could've been, but she had decided the best course of action was to move away from said apprentice. Her eyes usually shielded by bangs, blinked consistently even still, trying to get the flecks out. Good thing she did not need to see, but it was a pain.

As they called a bit ahead about stone blocking the way forward, her eyes rolled. Left or right. A debate she was unenthused about. She did not know her real belief in starclan, but it was another thing engrained into her by her parents. "Right." She put a random vote in, just wanting this decision to be over. She didn't have a feeling that any which way would matter. It would get them to the same destination at the end, right?

​

​

thought speech​

 

[LUCKYPAW]

By now, most of the novelty of digging out the new tunnel has worn off for Luckypaw, and it feels more like any other regular task, especially considering there's still plenty of distance to cover. Not that he'd expected things to go quicker, of course - only so much ground can be covered even by the more experienced tunnelers, he's learning - but it's starting to seem so...menial. It doesn't help that he still feels just as uncertain about his own abilities to help out as he had at the start, relegating himself towards the tail end of every group to let the more skilled cats take the lead. He feels more confident in spending more time shoring up the walls than just digging, anyway, and it makes him feel a little better to be able to check himself that everything around him feels sturdy. At the moment, he's working on widening a thin bend of tunnel, stretching up to clear away a patch that's bulging out when his claws catch on something (a particularly thick clod of dirt, or a rock, maybe?) and suddenly dirt and dust is raining down atop his mind. Luckypaw freezes up, eyes squeezed shut as he waits for something more, for the earth to swallow them all up in the wake of his treacherous mistake, but the sensation never comes. No shouting, no panicked frenzy trying to escape - only a twitch of his nose, and then a sneeze, sending the cloud of dust about him back up and into the air.

Though his racing heart struggles to quiet, it's quickly clear that he did not, in fact, doom them all, instead only knocking a bit of debris loose. Embarrassment heats his pelt up, and he's quick to start at the growl emanating from the shadows beside him. So focused on the fear of burying the whole group alive, he'd momentarily forgotten he'd been working beside Weepingwillow, and evidently he wasn't the only one caught up in the small plume of soil. "S-sorry..." he tries to placate, even as he hears the sound of the tunneler moving away, clearly trying to find somewhere to dig away from his own hazardous work, and really, Luckypaw can't blame her. Disheartened, he's slow to return to the area he'd been digging out, gently running his paws over the wall in the darkness to make sure he didn't snag on anything else when he catches wind of the debate going on a little further ahead. Something about too much rock, and a vote as to whether they go left or right. He's hesitant to voice his opinion at first - after all, it's hardly much more than that, barely founded on any real experience - but at the end of the day, he's still helping dig the tunnels, right? "Um, I agree with Mousepaw - right," he chips in, green gaze trailing in the direction he'd heard the fellow apprentice's voice. The logic made perfect sense to him; if this truly was the right decision to dig this tunnel, then surely they should continue onwards to the right​

[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​

 

[RABBITCLAW]

To be honest she was pretty pissed they couldn't dig straight through because that's less work for the lot of them, but of course, life just seemed to make them want to work harder. If they had the ability to break through stone she would suggest to keep digging straight through, but even with the catpower they had, it wouldn't be possible to break stone or stones. It would be more futile for them to force their way through anyhow, yet who could blame her? Was it so bad to groan over the fact that they had to dig another way? Mousepaw suggests that they dig to the left bringing Starclan as evidence that they should dig right because this is their right. That's a stupid reason. If Starclan really loved us they would've made sure these blasted stones weren't here in the first place!

Bluepaw then says they should go left also bringing Starclan into this. In all honesty both reasons are shoddy at best, but what do they know? Either route they decide would be a mystery on what they would face unless it was actually dug. Both left and right at this point in this time could be easy, just as it is hard. Scorchstreak chips in and voices her thoughts in either should be fine, but that they should put it for a vote for the sake of fairness. She can't help but let out an annoyed groan at the decision, but she would still do her part despite it all.

Assuming Bluepaw and Mousepaw put their votes in it was an event vote already. Weepingwillow says right followed by her nephew who adds in that they agree with Mousepaw. Guess it'd be my turn now. "Bringing up Starclan eh? if Starclan really wanted to make things easy for us, they wouldn't make us run into these stones 'ere. We'd be digging straight through. If Starclan really favors us, then we would be given one clear path," she meows her thoughts to the others. Some might roll their eyes in the darkness at her lack of vote, but she would quickly assuage their annoyance by quickly adding, "Left I'd say. Either way we'll keep digging soon enough."​

 

[SOOTSPOT]

Sootspot's usually pale body was coated in mud, both procured by his own black paws and kicked upon him by Tunnelers who did not realise how close he had gotten to their hind legs. He supposed he should consider himself lucky that none of the pebbles thrown his direction had been cutting - a long time had passed since the chimera had seen his own blood and he wished to keep it that way as long as he could. Tail-lashing at the interruption to the digging, Sootspot pricked his white-tufted ears toward the conversation happening ahead. A vote? StarClan, no one was going to get anything done if they were leaving it to a vote. He let out an insulted huff and weaseled past a smaller feline to see his options, squinting in the dark. Left... or right... There was no difference on the surface, was there? "No one gets to prove their worth by being unchallenged." He replied to Rabbitclaw, mouth twisting as he tried to hide his agreement. There was a possibility a leaderless StarClan had allowed unworthy cats into its mix, tainting the luck of his home and making even simple tunnel expansions difficult on the claws.

"And I am feeling very challenged," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head as if ridding it of cobwebs and flashing a large smile towards the few cats who'd taken up the front of the patrol. "I would argue left, so it seems we are undecided," he grimaced softly, refusing to cast his gaze towards anyone in particular. Three right, three left: Had he not been opposed to democracy, he may not have made things so awkward. "It would be slower, but may we commit Tunnelers to both sides? A wrong turn may halt our progress anyways." He breathed in through his nose, trying to pick up on any smells that may tell them where they were in the territory. All that he could detect was earth and worms, and his clanmates, all huddled together like kits in leafbare. If he didn't fear the entire tunnel collapsing in on him, then he'd favour digging straight up to see where in StarClan's name they'd gotten to so far.

​

 

[✧ Marmotbite.]

♢​♢ THE BEST MISTAKE YOU EVER MADE ♢♢​

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marmotpaw & 09 moons & female & she/her & windclan tunneler apprentice​

---

For a while, the girl is lost to contemplation. Really, this tunnel brings only one challenge after another - starclans will or not, it's beginning to irritate her just a bit. And she she stares at the rock, mismatched eyes absent, unfocused - only snapping to attention when someone is stupid enough to brush against her - teeth snap in warning as she bristles, but they escape unscathed by her powerful jaws."Left," she finally says, words slow - "When you get lost, when there is no air current to follow, you should always keep left, flank pressed to the earth, until you find your way again," those are the words her mentor had once given her, the advice she'd committed to memory once upon a time as she spent day after day doing nothing but pacing, wandering the pathways with only her whiskers and her memory to guide her, until she knew the belly of the earth as well as her own body, her own blood.

— it sounds so fuckin' beautiful when you say my name ♡

• Actions && "Speech," && ' Thoughts/Quotes '
  
  ooc: —
  tw/cw: —
  
• 
  — a shockingly tiny she-cat with pale blue and cream ticked tabby fur, save for a single patch covering her right eye that is brown instead, and mismatched green-orange eyes. she has heavy scarring along the entirety of her left side, from her face all the way down her chest, belly, and flank; which has been there since kithood. she is a twitchy little thing, known for her bad attitude and an unfortunate habit of biting when startled.
  
  — physically medium && mentally medium
  — non-violent powerplay allowed && healing powerplay allowed && minor injury powerplay not-allowed
  — please attack using [b][color=#9ab973]action here[/color][/b] and tag account

 

[WINDCLAN]

ROCKWALL! LEFT OR RIGHT? ╱ 25 post milestone
───── RESULTS ! 4 votes left - 3 votes right. Left wins!

After debating back and forth using logic, faith, and gut instinct, the tunnelers come to a decision to continue on to the left. Paws eagerly begin to scrape at the earth. The sun sets and the moon rises, they've made decent progress, but when returning to work the second day they're met with a surprise...

TO BE CONTINUED...​