private walk the gauntlet ࿐࿔ clatter 𓆟

[lichenstar]

✦　˚ 　✧ ˚　.˚　✦ 　✦

CLAIM THE BURIAL I SEEK IN DREAMS FLOWING RIVER CEMETARY ✧

• The bell tolls a warning... in the form of a ruddy pelt missing. It is the first... and RiverClan has a penchant for taking lives in groups. They creep through wind-swept reeds like snakes... comfortable between the shade of the fronds. The brightness of green leaves and clear skies deceives them as a normal, shining spring day... it is just another casual evening. Waterfall gaze tumbles towards her clan-mates with a tired sort of nervousness... fear nags at her toes, little pin-prickle feelings that grow in number until it stings. Its grows so agitated, it threatens on sparking a furious demand to be left alone- to give up on doing this with the company of others, send them all home where they're safe. It's the only place they're safe...
  
  She had lives to spare now. She could spare them. Could spend them saving them.
  
  Her throat is painfully tight when she swallows.
  
  "They... used to put these... thin strings... between the trees...." It is a memory that feels so distant and squeezes painfully in her chest- Smokethroat had found himself strung up into the canopy by one of them... one that Lichentail had failed to find when tasked with looking for them. He'd been so angry with her... if looks could kill she was certain she'd have died that day. There is a sore comfort in that glower now... it is so dearly missed.
  
  "I'm.. worried it'll... happen again." A bent tail lashes as if to prove her point, a passive display of a heightened agitation. Paranoia marks her paw-steps in the jerky, quick movements. A heavy draw of breath in... followed by a sharp exhale... anything to relieve the tension between her shoulders.
  
  There is a scent on the air that is oddly tangy... it's unfamiliar... but does not ring any immediate alarm bells... it is masked with a heady scent of prey and with so many kits in the nursery to be fed, she is not willing to ignore it for some minor oddity. Raising her tail in a signal to pause, the lynx point creeps a bit further ahead, scoping out the undergrowth before encouraging her party to continue onward. There is a bird... it doesn't move... but it is there... and she can catch it if she tries.
  
  First and foremost their goal should be to bring back whatever falls into their paws... So she lunges for it, not realizing the unnatural sheen of what she'd thought to be branches of the foliage. Whatever holds this dead bird in place jostles under her touch and as quickly as she'd sunk her teeth into it, there is a loud clatter behind her. Panic strikes a horrendous crescendo between her ears, whirling to flee to find those corded, copper-scented branches barring her way... they do not line the dirt below her and she scrambles at the edges with gouging demand for freedom.
  
  Freedom... freedom that had been promised and was already threatened with being stolen. "It's a trap! Scatter!" There was no telling how many more were hiding all around them... if she could even dig the corners of this stiff-vined box out enough to wriggle out underneath it. But she wouldn't forsake her clan-mates to the same fate.
  

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  // putting ooc note here for visibility
  [ there are other traps scattered around the area- wire cages, some baited and others operating under the basic "bump-it-and-it-falls" mechanic. feel free to fall victim to traps, escape, or try to free each other <3
  this takes place AFTER the gathering
  edit: tyis is technically an event thread so SPLAKE!!!]

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• about
  speech hex code ✧ #6368A5
  ooc notes ✦ there are other traps scattered around the area- wire cages, some baited and others operating under the basic "bump-it-and-it-falls" mechanic. feel free to fall victim to traps, escape, or try to free each other <3
  this takes place AFTER the gathering
  tagging ✶ @FOXTAIL @Tigersplash @BEEPAW @turtlepaw @otterbite @salmonshade
  penned by tieirlys
• ˚　　★⋆. ࿐࿔　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 .
  　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　 　　　　 ੈ✧˳·˖✶ ✦　　˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚ ★⋆. ࿐࿔
  　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　 ✦　　​

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[salmonshade]

Troutsnout is missing. An unfortunate thing, really, a good warrior snapped up by Twolegs just like that... As they walk, look out at the territory with slight suspicion and scanning for twoleg activity, she hums as Lichenstar explains what had happened a while ago. She remembers, vaguely... When Twolegs were here last time, too, and maybe its a ritualistic thing for them every year... Whatever it was, they need to stop. Lichen signals a stop and she tilts her head, eyes trailed on her. She springs forth and theres a loud noise that widens her eyes. Something comes crashing down on top of them and for a second Salmon can swear her heart skips a few beats. They're trapped, now... Trapped.

Everything starts back up in slow motion and then it hits her like a twoleg monster, suddenly acutely aware of the blood rushing in her ears, of the trap, of the potential danger around them. "Lichent- Star!" Salmon barks out in alarm, stumbling over her words in her panicked state. Scatter- they yelp but she's slinking forwards to be there besides them because Salmonshade was sure Hazecloud would be upset if they returned without her mate, without their leader. And both of them, she could call both of them a friend, cats she could trust, cats she enjoyed the company of- she cannot upset one or the other, nor could she leave one or the other behind. She would do the same for any of her friends. "Hold on, hold on- I got you, you're coming home with us." near desperation laces her tongue as she scans the trap over and over again, trying to find the easiest and fastest way to free her caged friend. Maybe if they dug under it? Too heavy to lift, maybe- with more cats, perhaps it'd be more plausible... No way around it or over it.

She grits her teeth, jaw aching with the sudden dull pressure. I'm not leaving you behind. "We're gonna get you out," or at the very least I will try. She is no Windclanner, nor is Lichenstar, but maybe if they dig deep enough...

𝙼𝙰𝚈𝙱𝙴 𝙸𝚃𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙸𝙻𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 ଳ⋆｡˚ 𝙼𝙰𝚈𝙱𝙴 𝙸𝚃𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝚁

• 
  ❥ salmon ,, salmonshade
  ❥ cis female ,, she/her ,, 39 months
  ❥ warrior of riverclan ,, mentoring riverpaw
  ❥ fluffy & dainty chocolate tortie smoke with white, blue eyes
  ❥ "speech, fd9367" ,, thoughts
  ❥ lesbian ,, single
  ❥ smells like warm flowers & freshly cut grass
  ❥ chibi by pin ,, penned by chuff

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[turtlepaw]

come along with me​

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How lucky Turtlepaw was today! Lichenstar had asked her to go on a special patrol with her! Snakeblink must have told her how good of a job she had been doing in training and her leader wanted to see it for herself. The apprentice trotted behind the others in their party. She was the youngest by far, and it made her feel extra honored to even be considered. Ahead of her, Lichenstar signaled them to stop and Turtlepaw stopped obidiently, nearly bumping into Beepaw's butt. She watched as Lichenstar tasted the air, and the apprentice mimicked her leader. Whatever they were scenting it was good!

Lichenstar trailed into the bush and Turtlepaw felt excitement in her chest. They were hunting! Snakeblink had told her recently that she was getting better. Her paws itched to show it to Lichenstar. Maybe if she went back towards whatever that good smell was, she could get a huge piece of prey to show off. Giddy, the apprentice turned tail and stalked into the undergrowth behind her party.

Through the undergrowth a weave of shiny silver branches clung together and glinted in the sunlight. She'd never seen anything like it! Maybe she could grab Beepaw to see this after she grabbed whatever smelled so good. Turtlepaw cautiously approached and spotted twoleg trash filled with the delicious smelling goop she had scented earlier. Interesting! She padded forward eagerly to grab the stuff, but felt the air change around her.

The shiny branches had dropped down and enclosed her. For a moment, she panicked. Her feet moved before her mind and her face was crashing into the trap, over and over and over. The smell of her own blood filled her nose when the stiff lace of the trap cut her nose. She cried out in frustration and pain at the sensation. Again, she crashed into the bars. This time she was weaker as hopelessness filled her muscles. Her cries grew quieter and small sobs piddled out of her. She had never felt so small.

The undergrowth near shook violently and Turtlepaw felt herself instinctively crouch. Her fur puffed all around her, and a hiss leaked from her jaws. A twoleg's face appeared in the undergrowth clumsily followed by their body. The cooed in odd garbles and grunts, and their body stooped to get a closer look at the trapped feline. More cooing. She let out her biggest scariest growl and hiss, but it didn't seem to phase the hairless creature. Suddenly, it lifts the trap, and before Turtlepaw can run off, has grabbed her scruff and shoved her into a new container. More panic flooded her system and she crowded the entrance to the new trap, shoving her paw out to try and reach for something. "Lichenstar! Snakeblink! Please!" She knew her cries were useless, but she just wanted someone to hear her before they took her away.

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‎‎┌── ooc ⋆⋅☾⋅⋆ info ──┐‎

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  speech color
  ooc: the poor baby's being shipped off :( fyi, turtle's trap was a good distance from the others so there is still more time to escape, get trapped, and all that good stuff.
  
• TURTLEPAW ✩ she/her/hers, apprentice of riverclan, 6 moons (ages every 1st)
  ⭃ stocky silver charcoal tabby. tail is a stub. energetic, naive, dim
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / roughhousing and wrestling encouraged / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by muddly ↛ @/muddly on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[FOXTAIL]

These twolegs crossed have the line. It has been unnerving to have them wander around in their territory like they own the place; stealing their fish and riding their sea monsters on their river. With each day, their presence feels stronger than the last, and the young warrior feels on edge as he follows after Lichenstar. He feels off without Pebblepaw's presence at his side— he has became so used to taking Pebblepaw out everyday— but he had a gut feeling to keep his apprentice behind... He didn't want to go against his gut— RiverClan just lost Troutsnout... a hardworking and devoted warrior, easily snatched up by twolegs. No RiverClanner— whether a fully trained warrior to an apprentice— can possibly be prepared to take on a twoleg. They always seem to have a trick up their sleeves, and are quick to adapt. They befriend monsters— more than just monsters found on the thunderpath & the water— and seem to have a hunger for more land. He wishes when they trespass into clan territory, they wouldn't leave their trash lying around— drifting in the breeze, in their rivers, etc. But they seem to be creatures that don't particularly care about the world they live in.

Foxtail was merely an apprentice last Newleaf, but if he looks back he can remember twolegs disturbing the clan.... harming and trapping clanmates. The warrior never got caught in a trap as an apprentice, but he still feels on edge as he pads after Lichenstar. What if they steal more of us? The thought runs through his mind as Lichenstar lifts her tail to stop the patrol. His nose twitches as he catches the unfamiliar scent too, but the scent of the prey overwhelm in. As she gives the okay to proceed, his olive green eyes land on a mouse fox-lengths away from him. he doesn't seem to notice that the mouse is carefully placed in a camouflaged cage... that is just waiting for a victim to walk far enough in it. He crouches low to the ground, making sure his tail doesn't drag on the ground. He stalks forward, and uses his muscles to leap forward.... right as their new leader is swallowed by unnatural branches.

"It's a trap! Scatter!" Lichenstar's panicked voice reaches his ears right as his claws make contact with the mouse, and suddenly he hears a crescendo behind him. He whirls around with bristled fur, eyes widening at the bars that surround him. No no no! He can feel his paws trembling, and he hates how cold and hard the bottom of the cage feels. "Help!" He cries out to his clanmates, and momentarily freezes at the loud footsteps from behind. He barely gets to whirl around before his trap is lifted into the air, olive green eyes landing on a twoleg. He tries to hiss at the twoleg that holds his cage, but the cage sways unevenly, and the warrior slides to the cage's opening mechanism. His body leans up against it, his fur on edge.

Unbeknownst to him— and to the twoleg— the very trap door that was meant to keep him in didn't lock properly. It would be a problem for the twoleg, but for the RiverClanner it's a blessing in disguise. The cage door breaks open with his weight against it, and suddenly the warrior reunites with freedom as he falls out, quickly twisting his body to land on his paws. He doesn't waste a moment to race away from the twoleg once his paws hit the ground, his eyes locked on Salmonshade. He feels relief that she hasn't fallen into a trap, but his heart races hard. He and his clanmates are in serious danger. It was a blessing from StarClan that the twoleg trap he was in malfunctioned— that twoleg had already been on the move to take him away! "L-Lichenta-Lichenstar!" Foxtail cries out as he skids to a stop, eyes scanning the trap. They.... They have to find a way to get her out! They just lost Smokestar, they can't possibly lose her too! He digs alongside Salmonshade, and he hopes two cats is better than one to get her out. He digs and digs, but his ears prick at a younger voice....

"Lichenstar! Snakeblink! Please!" Turtlepaw's voice screams out. His head whips in her direction, eyes widening in horror as she's shoved into a more secure trap. He doesn't even get to blink, before her cage is trapped in a monster, his ears flattening to his cranium. "No! Turtlepaw!" Foxtail yowls, and he wishes he could come to her rescue, but it's already too late by the time he looked over. Tears swell in his eyes and he turns back to digging at Lichenstar's trap, trembling as a monster begins to rumble and wake. I'm so sorry Turtlepaw.​

𝐨𝐨𝐜 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭

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  credit to skaicraft (via insta) for the artwork <3
  
• Foxtail

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  warrior
  warmhearted
  timid
  experience: trained
  backstory: [HYPERLINK]
  biography: [HYPERLINK]
  credit to kabliahk via insta for the chibi <3
  

  cisgender male [he / him]
  eyes: green
  pelt: cinnamon/chocolate
  fur length: long
  parents: dawnflower and redfur (riverclan npcs)
  19 moons
  

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[otterbite]

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- It wouldn't be out of turn to say Otterbite is not at all surprised that Lichenstar had selected someone of his caliber to attend her little entourage. Plenty of the twolegs madness had been spotted from even their campbound Clanmates- dogs, smoke, water-led monsters, trash. It never seemed to end with each passing day what trouble they could bring.

The lynx point spoke of days that are only foggy in memory to him. He had been a kit during those times, hardly aware of what lay beyond the island and thus he doesn't listen very intently. If it was problem of the past than surely it would remain that way. Unless StarClan really, really hated them. Which, truthfully, felt that way. There was no mercy given for Smokestar despite so many lives he had (he had to have nearly all of them still, right?). But with Smokestar's death also squandered the day Otterbite envisioned him in the shadow Lichenstar now cast. Gone were the days Lichentail would have perished and he would be named in her stead.

Thought of his lost potential glory distract him from the chaos that has unfolded in what felt like a snap of a second. Suddenly Lichenstar as barred in some strange copper embrace, Turtlepaw left in a similar state. Even Foxtail, though only for a moment as the tom somehow freed himself.

"Leave her!" Otterbite snapped at the tom while he scrambled back from his collapse. Turtlepaw was a lost cause, she would have to figure it out herself. Instead he encouraged the tom to remain with Salmonshade to free Lichentail, and he approached the
twoleg that tried to take Foxtail with bristling fur and bared fangs.

"I'll lead it away! Just get her out of there, don't screw it up!" A furless limb reached down and he darted forward, right in between it's legs. He could hardly hear anything over his own adrenaline as he felt the tip of his tail barely escape its grasp, zigzagging between the other traps to lure it further away.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── IM OUT OF CONTROL ⋅❁⋅ OH, HOW I BURN FOR YOU ──┐‎

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• 

• 
  OTTERBITE ✩ he/him, warrior of riverclan, thirteen moons.
  ⭃ scruffy blue/black chimera with a white tail-tip and green eyes. noticeable kinked whiskers
  ⭃ adopted son to pikesplash // former apprentice to coyotecreek
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay requires permission / / underline and tag when attacking or making an action toward
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by beatae ↛ gonkpilled on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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