SUMMER LOVE RUN DRY (reveal)

[FORESTSHADE]

Her mind is a whirlwind as Forestshade tries to decipher all the scents and sounds she heard back in camp. She recalls how frightened she had been, being unable to see a strange danger that had everyone else screaming and running. A smell she couldn’t recognize, the rumble its paws caused in the earth unfamiliar to her. Overwhelmed, she’d relied on her clanmates to get her out and she’d never felt more helpless since she was a kit. Pathetic. Now, she resides in the smelly tunnel, crouched in the shallow water that travels through it. The acrid stench of the thunderpath fills her senses and she tries her best to focus on the words of nearby clanmates, but her stomach is beginning to flip from disgust.

She’s known for about a quarter-moon now. Something inside her was changing, growing. They’re Vulturemask’s, obviously. Not that he’ll ever know, nor will any ShadowClanner. Her bulky build and thick pelt has hidden her secret so far, as it’s too early for her stomach to truly swell, but with everything going on it’s difficult to hide every symptom.

The patched she-cat can’t hold it back any longer. The smells, the overwhelming situation, the rumbling of monsters over her head, the feeling of water lapping at her belly and paws…

She vomits suddenly, shoulders hunched as a gagging sound escapes her. Trying her best to turn away from her nearby clanmates, the warrior groans and sits against the curved wall of the tunnel in an attempt to keep her haunches dry. Great….just great.​

 

[STUMPYSPOTS]

STUMPYSPOTS ♀​ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ ♡​

Life in ShadowClan was miserable. The heavy winds, the twoleg junk, WindClan, and the bears. Many had quickly taken to feeling homesick, they were still on their land yet this tunnel was not camp… Even when the bears left and they could go back, what would they have to go back to? The dens had been ravaged, destroyed by the black-pelted beasts gigantic paws. She was about to drown in these thoughts until the sound of gagging hits her ears. She swerves around to find Forestshade, the tortoiseshell was knelt over and vomiting near the outskirts of the tunnel. Her first thought was, bad piece of fresh-kill. Entirely reasonable in the marshlands, it was far from uncommon. She pads over, her paws intentionally stomping in the mud to signal to Forestshade someone was approaching her. ”You good, Forestshade? Think a drink would help? Can go grab some moss and get’cha some.” She offers, her tail swaying gently as a breeze rolls through the damp tunnel.

 

[Magpiepaw]

The sound of wretching makes him flinch, but it is more to do with the sudden noise itself than its source. Magpiepaw had long since stopped feeling any particular way to illness, injury and death and he worries perhaps it has left him with little understanding or mortality. Chilledstar is swatted like a fly by one of the harbingers and rises again within the day, but Ghostpaw is found belly up from swallowing water. Nine lives mattered, whereas most cats had only the one; he wonders if it is a testament of true strength to outlast a leader in such a way or if it is only an insult to the stars. Regardless, the black and white apprentice wanders over, bumping into Stumpyspot's side as he comes to a stop next to the crushed face she-cat and his wide violet-tinted eyes hone in on Forestshade's hunched form as well.
"Shall I fetch Starlingheart?" He asks, voice piqued and singsong, uncertain and curious. The question is more for the older molly aside him than the sickly tabby figure shivering before them. The tunnels were far from the most comforting yet he could not help but notice most the clan seemed especially unsettled being here. It was before Magpiepaw's time that they once lived within this very hollow during the burning of the great sycamore, that this was the place that for so long haunted Pitchstar's nightmares; clueless abnormality that he was he didn't question the unease, only accepted it. These tunnels were haunted, how so he could not say, but maybe they spread an illness that infected cats like a plague.

​

 

[mossblood]

i'm always the outcast, i'll take the blame
▵the first night you met me, you forgot my name▵​

---

His ears pinned to his head at the sound of retching. Sounds and voices carried and echoed in the two-leg made walls of the tunnel, so secrets that could be kept in camp were harder to keep here. Mossblood slowly trudged over to the source of the painful noise. Forestshade was the clanmate in distress it seemed. He could tell the molly was made uncomfortable by her actions. Stumpyspots had already offered her kind service to the warrior and Magpiepaw to find the medicine cat.

Mossblood chimed in, trying to downplay the act while simultaneously drawing attention. ”Wow! I bet you feel better now. No worries. Maybe try going for a walk? I think I got this.” The tunnels could get stuffy. They did good at keeping the season’s strong winds off their backs, but air flow was only one direction in this dim place. By ‘got this’ he meant he’d flick a lazy paw a couple times into the water that sat in the tunnel in an attempt to splash clean his clanmate’s vomit.

Spoiler: ◣ TAGS ◥

◸ general info ▵ appearance ▵ persona ▵ relationships ▵ interaction ▵ background ◹

• 
  name ▹ mossblood
  

  ↳ named prefix "moss" for his dull brown-grey fur. given the suffix "blood" for connection with his clan and his variable intensity.​

  gender ▹ male - he/him
  age ▹ 12 moons
  

  ↳ ages real time on the 1st of every month ​

  sexuality ▹ bisexual
  
  clan ▹ shadowclan
  rank ▹ warrior
  
  created on ▹ june 1st 2023
  toyhou.se ▹ link!
  penned by ▹ @starsheep
  ​
• 
  short description ▹ a dull brown-grey spotted tabby tom with a cream underbelly and bloodshot green eyes; his medium length fur is unkempt and wild
  
  physique ▹ he stands shorter and is smaller than an average tomcat with a lithe and skinny body
  notable features ▹ his green eyes are often noticeably bloodshot; his fur is known to be unkempt and somewhat unhygienic and poorly groomed
  eye details ▹ his eyes are a cool green color and shaded by detailed effeminate lashes
  
  scent ▹ has a distinct musty scent; cool, mildewy, stale and damp
  voice ▹ has a short and informal manner of speaking paired with a flat tone; his voice is an unemotional tenor
  
  demeanor ▹ he carries himself on dainty and oddly graceful paws; he has an ability to blend into the background when he wants to; he usually has a soft but vain grin on his maw but his his eyes hold a kind of tiredness within them
  
  ​
• 
  personality traits ▹ a tad superiority complex / selfish / skeptical of starclan / rational / spontaneous / unhygienic / unpredictable / relaxed / unambitious / crafty / nihilistic / sometimes tactless / flexible
  
  alignment ▹ neutral evil
  mbti type ▹ ISTP-A, 'the virtuoso'
  hogwarts house ▹ slytherin
  
  likes ▹ living in the present, swamps and water, cricket sounds, recognition, novelty, fishing, comedy
  dislikes ▹ long-term commitments, being rushed or pressured, ghosts, hard deadlines, boredom, large open spaces, visiting the medicine cat
  
  ​
• 
  generation ▹ gen 1
  status ▹ single / crushing on no-one
  
  partner(s)/mate ▹ n/a
  parents ▹ elmstripe (npc) x minktail (npc)
  siblings ▹ briaroath (npc), owlhowl (npc)
  offspring ▹ n/a
  
  mentor ▹ dustburn (npc)
  apprentice(s) ▹ none
  
  friends ▹ none; open to friendships!
  enemies▹ none; open to enemies!
  
  relations notes ▹ WIP for now until more relationships are formed~
  
  
  
  ​
• 
  interaction notes ▹ get along well with most cats and can form many acquaintances however it can be difficult to become a close regular friend of his given his complicated nature / he is often looking for other to participate in activities with / he is loyal to shadowclan and his clanmates but will look after himself first / tends to be perceived as cowardly in physical altercations and he can be passive even in tense situations / will flee fights if the outcome is disputable / he holds few strong convictions and so his enemies are not usually plentiful but it is not difficult to find his faults / he has an uncommon type of charm with his relaxed, open, and spontaneous attitude / powerplay of peaceful and non-violent actions allowed / all character posts & opinions are IC and not OOC
  
  adept at ▹ good swimmer - he has practiced traversing the thick swamp waters, skilled stalker and good at going unnoticed if he wants to, navigating and seeing at night, remaining calm under pressure or in crisis, speaking his mind, he tends to be easy to get along with
  inept at ▹ he has a wavering will and low endurance, he has a dislike for speaking in front of large crowds, he struggles with reading others' emotions and delicate situations
  
  stats ▹
  

  strength ◆◇◇◇​

  stamina ◆◇◇◇◇​

  speed ◆◆◆◆◇​

  charisma ◆◆◆◇◇​

  intellect ◆◆◆◆◇​

  
  

  hunting ◆◆◆◆◇​

  swimming ◆◆◆◆◇​

  climbing ◆◆◇◇◇​

  fighting ◆◆◇◇◇​

  
  ​
• 
  kithood ▹ mosskit was part of the first generation of kittens to be born under the newly established shadowclan. he grew up in the forest shaded swamplands as his only home. his childhood took place within a turbulent time and under briarstar's and pitchstar's reigns. he had two siblings, owlkit (npc) and briarkit (npc), that he was raised alongside with by his parents elmstripe (npc) and minktail (npc).
  apprenticeship ▹ At four months of age, mosskit became mosspaw. he was trained and disciplined by the clan collectively until the age of eight months when he was formally assigned his mentor, dustburn (npc). he often tried to sneak away from dustburn's training and meetings with him but despite rough and unproductive patches he managed to graduate to a full-fledged warrior. he was now known as mossblood.
  12 moons - current ▹ at current, mossblood is a new and inexperienced warrior of shadowclan. he is serving under the new leadership of chilledstar and trying to deal with the new responsibilities that come with his warrior name.
  ​

​

 

[GECKOSCREECH]

thanks to the narrow and confining space they find themselves in, forestshade's obvious retching echoes throughout the tunnel causing quite a few heads to turn in startlement. some crinkle their nose and look away while others show some concern for the torbie she-cat who was hunched over against the nearby wall looking a little more sickly than usual. there are alot of things that could be the cause of her nausea, stress, spoiled prey, the overwhelming grime and stentch that came with the tunnels or maybe it's something entirely different and such a possibility has brows furrowing for a moment before releasing.

stumpyspots, magpiepaw and mossblood are partially surrounding her when geckoscreech approaches the scene, rounded ears flicking as each of them offer or suggest a form of aid in hopes to ease forestshade's currrent ailment. "go ahead and fetch starlingheart." she mews, briefly shifting her focus to the black and white apprentice. "the last thing we need right now is someone getting sick." and it's true, they're already dealing with this awful weather and those beasts that are running amock in their camp so if someone falls ill then they'll be shit out of luck seeing as there is no herbs around to treat it. ​

∘₊✧ ONE LAST LIFELINE, I'M HANGING HIGH. ✧₊∘​

 

[Starlingheart]

If the black and white she cat said that she was doing fine with the current situation she had found herself in she would be a liar. Being here, without her herbs, it makes her feel like a kit again. Once again she crouches in the tunnel to the thunderpath, useless, unable to do anything but sit back and watch. Her eyes fixate on the paws in front of her, inky black tipped with snowy white. If her mind starts to wander to the thunder path outside she would reel it back in.

When she sees Forestshade empty the contents of her stomach, Starlingheart is almost tempted to do the same. It would certainly stop this dizzy nauseas feeling she was getting every time her eyes accidentally wandered to the tunnel entrance. She closes her eyes and forced herself to take deep breathes, hoping that will settle her stomach.

Her ears flick as she hears her name drifting in the stale air, it’s hard not to overhear conversations in such a confined space, especially when words bounce off the walls and, though she feels as if she doesn’t have the energy, she pushes herself to her paws and makes her way over to the small group."I-im here" she says quietly as she comes to stand beside Magpiepaw, tail flicking his shoulder momentarily in a friendly greeting. For a moment she wonders if Forestshade is thinking about her too, about Briarstar. Starlingheart had lost a mother that day, but the tortoiseshell she cat had lost too. She had lost her mentor.
​

 

[FORESTSHADE]

Paws smacking loudly against sludge signals the arrival of Stumpyspots. “Please,” She rasps in response to the offer of fresh water. She’d be damned if she drank from the disgusting stream that ran through the tunnel. “No need.” She doesn’t need Starlingheart because she’s not ill. A paw waves dismissively, her ears falling to the side as she turns to face her clanmates, unseeing eyes downcast. Mossblood’s words do make her feel a bit better - she’s glad the situation is downplayed because it is no big deal. I’m not sick.

Geckoscreech orders Magpiepaw to retrieve the medicine cat and Forestshade gives a big shake of her head. No one is listening. Starlingheart arrives anyway, evident by her herby scent and stammery voice. Giving an exasperated sigh, the warrior lashes her tail, muttering, “I don’t need you, because I’m not sick. I’m pregnant, you frog-brains.” Anyone who knows her well would know she doesn’t aim to actually insult them. She’s typically this sarcastic to all of her clanmates. Despite the desire to withdraw from her clanmates in shame and embarrassment, she stands strong as a boulder, unmoving with her ears forced forward. She is Forestshade. She has nothing to be embarrassed of. And her clanmates will never know they’re half-clan, so why be ashamed?​

 

[Yarrowpaw]

Yarrowpaw had never been in this place before. At just four moons, his life was too new to have overlapped with ShadowClan's previous trials and residency in the tunnels. Perhaps this worked in his favor, as it meant that he had fewer bad memories to contend with. Moreover, considering that the start of his apprenticeship had overlapped with their beary unpleasant expulsion from camp, he was relatively used to being confined in one space. It was rank down here, though, and the scents which circulated through were much less pleasant than those of the nursery. The chocolate tabby had been nibbling on one of his forepaws, laying near Leafjaw - who appeared to have nothing to say to their apprentice beyond a vague "keep an eye out" - when he heard retching and a sudden flurry of conversation. Better than chewing on my own foot. he mused, pushing himself upright and trotting cautiously towards Forestshade and her company of ShadowClanners.

Talk of sickness made his blue eyes narrow with concern, but a swift correction from the queasy she-cat herself transformed his expression into one of surprise and excitement. "Ooh! More kits?" if he were older, and possessed more social graces, perhaps he would've thought to say "congratulations" or "I'm here if you need anything" - but as it was, he could only think of the prospect of more kittens in the nursery. Then they'd be apprentices, like him, and then they'd be warriors! And more warriors was always good for ShadowClan. "Are you gonna keep the dad secret, like my mom does?" Yarrowpaw inquired, settling down a safe distance from the pile of vomit and returning to his important paw-gnawing. He paused, mouth half-open, before adding, in a tone of concern, "Wait, you can't have kits in here. It's gross in here, and there's no nursery."​

 

[orchidbloom]

It seems Orchid was right. Even though it was so long ago, Ribbitleap's sickness has rubbed off and her, despite the distance she had stayed at. And… With the sickness on Orchid, it means it rubbed off on their mentor. They jitter around nervously as Forestshade spews the contents of her day out. "Forest- Forestshade? A-Are you okay?" they stammer out, remaining by her side as their eyes grow as wide as the sun. Whats wrong with their mentor? Orchid opens their mouth to speak until Forest answers for them.

I'm pregnant. It sends a selfish chill through Orchid's body, and they want to throw up. They want to teeter outside of the temporary camp and cry, but they can't, and the only thing that gives it away is the widening of eyes. Selfish! It cries, as she begins to think of all the times that Forestshade will want to be with her kits rather than them. "Really...?" their voice doesn't waver for once, it surprises them with how calm they sounded. Orchidpaw wants more than anything to keep their mentor, despite how rough their training was. Despite everything, Orchid still looks up to Forest, and they release a shaky breath with a shudder. "What're you gonna name th-them?" and theres their stutter again, wincing at how nervous they sound. Idly, she wishes she could be as cool as Forest right now. She half nods with Yarrowpaw’s statement about her not able to have kits in this tunnel, agreeing.​

"speech"​