camp UNDERSCORES ♱ [ DISCUSSION ]

[SHARPSHADOW]

Not just their prey, but their land is tainted, apparently... Their cats are sick. Their medicine cat knows nothing. Well, that part isn't new...

A small, petty part of her calls to do nothing but sit pretty, while she still serves as a Lead Warrior beneath Ternstar. If he apparently cared so little— apparently exuded it with ever breath he took, with every step he made, hell, every patrol he sent out— he should show Ternstar what an uncaring soul would truly do. That is: laze around, speak to no one, not care what's the matter with their territory, so long as he isn't the one sick and his belly is full of carrion. He could wait and see just how well things would go without him...

She's not that kind of person, though. ( ...And the terrible truth is that nothing would change. He wasn't ready to be faced with that, not yet. ) The place at Ternstar's side— he mentally traces it over with a smudge. He had more important things to worry about today.

Sharpshadow sits in camp's clearing, ears pricked to the voices of any that would listen. "The land is tainted," he says, a barebones repetition of Marbleleaf's omen. The one thing she could seemingly do is interpret the word of StarClan. it wasn't nothing, he supposes... "There must be something we can do. Would StarClan tell us if there's nothing we can do?" He regrets asking it the moment it leaves his mouth. For all their sanity's sake, it may be best the question goes unanswered. "The prey rotting— it's like it's getting... sick." Things like whitecough seemed to come from the cold... And once a cat catches it, other cats could begin to. Could they really prevent something like that? A mouse with the sniffles, or...

 

[VULTURESONG]

It was tiresome. All that had been thrown at them. If one told her that Ternstar had sprouted wings by some curse placed on Starclan, she would believe it. Only for the simple matter that Shadowclan only had horrendous news as of late. Normally she would thrive in such conditions, yet it quickly became lonesome without the inane glee of some... Unsavory members of their clan. The moment relief seeps through her bones at the imagery of laughter and pelts brushing together, her expression falters as stormy blue look down upon white paws. Oh Starclan I am losing my mind.

A white ear flicks in the direction of a disgraced warrior. My, you look terrible. They had spoken a while ago in the medicine cat den, when she had been made to rest for days. Unfortunately, her pristine figure had been marred by Roaringsun. A searing reminder of her loss and the shame of being spared by an enemy. I suppose we are alike in such endeavors. Disgraced. Unfortunate. Seen as fools. Make no mistake, they are not friends. For what reason why the other even bothered to speak with her is unknown. However, they hadn't spoken since then.

Listening to Sharpshadow has not brought any grand revelations. It had been clear long ago that the onyx warrior cared deeply about Shadowclan. For some reason. Nevertheless, she waits for her to finish. And when he has, she begins by answering his question. "I think it does not matter regardless of the answer given. If they were to tell us we have no salvation, then are we to give up? Resign ourselves to death?" In truth she does not understand why many of them regard Starclan so dearly. She is knowledgeable and has grown up learning of Starclan's important. However, it felt sickening. The clans dependance on the stars. However, she rather not get into a foolish debate over the matter with stubborn cats.

More important matters were at paw. "There is something we can do. Though, you appear to be hesitant, Sharpshadow. You know very well that our land is tainted. Thunderclan, Windclan, Riverclan, and Skyclan's lands remain untainted. The answer is simple. We must hunt in lands that are not of our own." She forgives the former deputy for not voicing such ideas, as it is a dangerous one. They had fought Thunderclan not too long ago and lost. If anything their position has gotten significantly worse since then. ​

 

[Swansong]

No inch of the marshlands remains untouched. Rot hangs like a spectre, its dregs lingering in the gnarls of every branch. They tower like those terrible trees in the tainted land of the dead, and the scent of decay is thick. Bloated bodies float in marshwater, prey turned before its time.

And yet, amidst the corruption, Swansong is as still as ever. Like the untouched surface of a pool, like marble carved pale and pristine. Her eyes retain that half-lidded coolness, her face that careful blankness. She listens to the cowed, ragged former deputy without looking his way. A swish of her tail disturbs the marsh-grass lightly, and her ears angle. Soft words creep from between pale fangs, considering. "Mm... We have seen illness before, but... Nothing so terrible..." Nothing so whole, so encompassing.

Punishment. A plague upon their lands. Too long have they let rot fester within their ranks, too long have they covered their ears and cursed the stars above for their own misfortune.

And yet - the dead still speak. They plead to those who will still listen, even as their offers of salvation dwindle into quietude. "You are correct, Sharpshadow. They... StarClan does not abandon us yet," she states slowly. The sign is proof enough of that; a smile curls the new deputy's maw. "We must... be our own salvation..." Prove that they are not so faithless, not already so rotten as to lay down and fester with their prey.

She shakes her head at Vulturesong's words. She may be willing to break the code in the face of ThunderClan's injustice, but it is no permanent solution. "We cannot steal forever... There is... some way out of this, there must be..." Glassy eyes drift over to the pair. "Yellowcough had a cure. No disease... is without hope..." Even if the stars cannot show them the solution this time... Her paws twitch. She knows it must be there, knows she must act in their stead.

Her head tilts, considering Sharpshadow's words. "It is only our prey..." A pause. "Our land... This sickness... Could it come from the swamp itself...?"

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SWANSONGㅤ BIOGRAPHY ㅤ/ ㅤTOYHOU.SE
★ demigirl ( she / they ) ㅤ& lesbian, mate to poppyglow (npc'd)
★ㅤ 24 moons old & ages realistically, every 17th of the month
★ㅤ warrior of shadowclan for 12 moons
★ ㅤhalfshade x smogstar ㅤ& littermate to applejaw, ashenfall, garlicheart
★ㅤ ㅤmentored agaterain, swallowflutter & mentored by skunktail, sabletuft
★ㅤ penned by saturnid & ㅤmessage saturnids on discord for plots!

"SPEECH"

 

[Amberhaze]

AMBERHAZE

HE/HIM SHADOWCLAN LEAD WARRIOR

Amberhaze sat anxiously at Sharpshadow's side, a place that he seemed to take up much more often these days... he was afraid, his expression almost always contorted into something much uglier than what was standard for him. Teeth gritted audibly within a tightened jaw, the words of his clanmates swirling around his head like a swarm of angered birds after having wandered too close to their nest. There were suggestions, contemplations about the underlying cause of their demise voiced through hushed tones and spats of urgency. It was unfortunate, but even more terrifying, to have to fight a battle where their enemy could not be seen.

"S-Swansong's right." A bitter admission upon his tongue. "We c-can't rely on the other clan's for their r-resources for long, they'd c-catch us eventually. It- It should be a l-last resort, something to be- t-to be used sparingly." He didn't want to consider it at all, really, but what other choice did they have? Crowfood was just as toxic as the rest of their rations, unsustainable for any warrior, apprentice, and kit alike. How much would they need to consume before they began to waste away from the inside out as well?

"Our land... This sickness... Could it come from the swamp itself...?"

It was the only thing that made sense, what with the other clans being seemingly unaffected. Of course they would be. Just our luck, always being the bearer of ill will and... and curses. But how could they find it, this supposed affliction that infected the roots of their trees, the peaty earth beneath their feet, the flesh of their prey? They couldn't see it, couldn't hear it, couldn't-

Wait.

He remembered something. "Hey uh- h-have you guys ever noticed that t-the prey... it- it smells kind of... wrong? Like- e-even before it's gone completely rotten, b-before the scent of d-death sets in. It doesn't s-smell... natural. Like there's s-something inside of them, before they die."

ooc:

—

accordion

Amberhaze is a black oriental shorthair crossed with a cornish rex. He has a sickly looking build with a rat-like tail and unnaturally wide ocher eyes.

npc x npc / sibling to wormwatcher / other kin unknown
mentored by wormwatcher / mentoring lostpaw
21 moons old as of 02/21/2025

penned by sloane

 

[BOUNCEPAW]

As an apprentice, she doesn't have much footing when it comes to the discussions of her superiors. Especially when among those voices were lead warriors and ShadowClan's deputy. Still, conversations held where her ears can listen will recieve her attention… just so long as they weren't terribly boring.

Revelations are made about their current predicament. Their prey was quick to befell cats into the medicine cat's den, it seemed everyone who remained healthy was a ticking time bomb, someday soon, they too would fall sick.

Bouncepaw butts into the conversation when Amberhaze points out that their prey smells wrong, even before death settles in and they have time to rot. "I've noticed, too!" She chimes, "I try to hold my nose for awhile when I bring prey back to camp. It just—just doesn't smell right." Her whiskers twitch with discomfort, "I don't understand. Why would that be?"

ღ

BOUNCEPAW . BIOGRAPHY / TOYHOU.SE
✦ female (she / her) / heterosexual, single
✦ 8 moons old / ages realistically, every 1st of the month
✦ apprentice of ShadowClan
✦ Myrtlefoot x Bristletooth / littermate to Juniperkit
✦ mentored by Batchaser
✦ penned by ava / message av.a on discord for plots!

Bouncepaw is a warm, brown she-cat with black tabby markings caging her fur. She has a broad muzzle and big, cream colored paws. White fur cascades from her chin and flows all the way down to pool at her underbelly. She has big, owlish, hazel eyes.

 

[Snowlark.]

[ ༻❄༺ ] Shadowclan's land, tainted... that would be their luck, huh? The lead warrior silently listened in to the conversation, his yellow gaze calm while he listened to the words toss around, Sharpshadow expressing that their land was... tainted, something wrong with it while Vulturesong recommended stealing and then Swansong mentioning how they couldn't steal forever which was true.

Yet what Amberhaze says made Snowlark's ears perk slightly in curiosity. The pray smelled bad? Even Bouncepaw had noticed it too and the warrior hummed as if to think deeper into the matter. Maybe it wasn't their land? Could it be the pray itself? But then again... the pray lives on this land too meaning whatever is affecting them is affecting their warriors as well.

"Our pray is also sick then, meaning whatever it is that is affecting them is affecting us as well" he breathed out. So what could they do? It seems in this matter, the best option was to just continue stealing. Their pray is sick, tainted by the land before them, and the other land isn't experiencing the same situation as they are. Maybe Starclan has truly given up on them making a frown slip onto his maw
was Shadowclan doomed to fall?

❄

SnowlarkㅤBIOGRAPHYㅤ/ㅤTOYHOU.SE
✦ Trans FTM (he / him)ㅤ/ㅤBi-sexual/Demi-Romantic
✦ㅤ18 moons oldㅤ/ㅤAges on the 3rd
✦ㅤLead Warrior of Shadowclan for 5 moons
✦ㅤHailfreckle x Mudsplashㅤ/ㅤN/A
✦ㅤmentoring Frozenpawㅤ/ㅤmentored by Mirestar
✦ "Speak" ❄ Thoughts
✦ㅤpenned by Rynnarooㅤ/ㅤmessage Rinnaroo on discord for plots!

A pale blue sepia lynx long-haired tom where the majority of his body is covered in white, pale yellow eyes that are normally unreadable by most. His sole blue ear was nicked from an accident that happened to him as an apprentice, something he carries with honor. Snowlark is considered strange by most due to his usual "stoic" tones underlined by his immaturity at times, be it pulling pranks on others, to making out-of-pocket jokes or moments of outbursts of anger, Snowlark is strange but isn't one afraid to be blunt and tell one how it is.