private WE ARE BEAUTIFUL. WE ARE DOOMED ⚘ arrival

[leafhusk]

⚘ "i am sending away every former kittypet for their own safety, under leafhusk's care."

for their own safety…

…under leafhusk's care.

snakerocks is the final landmark they pass. they walk until the oak trees begin to waver, their branches shake in the breeze, waving quiet goodbyes. it's all they can afford. the ground beneath her paws is unfamiliar, and difficult, it is not flattened from seasons of border patrols. her mind drowns out any complaints she may hear from the back, focusing hard at the straight line she is walking in. leafhusk doesn't care if anyone's tired, or thirsty, hungry, whatever. if they stop, it means someone could catch up to them, find out where they are going– she won't risk it. formerly delicate paws, now calloused from moons of warriorhood, begin to ache but she keeps walking. there is nothing homely about where they are going.

'loner lands' is a title that is extremely on the nose. it stretches out in blankets of grass, seemingly unending to leafhusk's simple mind. the grass weaves itself into a land that is not bound by laws. when the stars shine at night, no one looks up at them for guidance. bonds are form out of necessity, or greed, 'community' might as well be a sin. leafhusk's time here was brief, and in the dead middle of leafbare so her experience is thin. some parts of it may seem familiar if she squints, but other than that, this is new.

thunderclan's smell ebbed away hours ago. it is replaced with an eerie staleness, a grim reminder that anything can be out there. leafhusk finally stops in the most flat, open area she could possibly find. it is nothing like thunderclan's territory, but it will have to work. enough shade from greenleaf's heat, and shelter from any weirdo they might come across out here.

"alright, listen up." she turns to face her clanmates. howlingstar is absent, and so is flamewhisker, but she will not act like either. if she even tries to think like either, her muzzle will turn gray. "i am not your mother, so i won't make you to listen to my rules."

"we are nothing like the creeps that lurk in these woods, you are still a thunderclanner, and we will function like one."

"patrols will go as usual, and so will the apprentice's training. anyone may offer to help with that. to keep away predators, fresh-kill will be eaten as is, but i still expect coltkit to be fed first."

her gaze sweeps across the cats gathered before her. she is stern, her tail lashes against the ground. under her care. keep them safe. "warriors will also sleep in shifts so we're not ambushed. when you're patrolling, or taking a stroll, keep your paws to yourself. getting hurt will not go over well. if you decide to fraternize, do not run your maw about why we are here. the council will have my tail if i bring back rogue trouble."

"i am not sure how long we will be here. all i ask is don't do anything stupid. thank you."​

 

[ivorydawn]

This is the first trek she'd made out of camp since Palefire had brought her to ThunderClan. The forest scents are strong beyond their clearing, and every pawstep she makes is noisy and startling. The undergrowth stirs with shadows and odd smells; the tree branches clamber, heavy with squirrels, with birds, with StarClan-knows-what. Her ears are pricked; her nose is turned up, toward the skyline, and her jaws are parted just slightly.

Her first day as an apprentice is not spent exploring ThunderClan's territory, as it will be for Scarletpaw and her other denmates. It's spent leaving the only home she's known since her housefolk had abandoned her, since her mother had been killed by the Thunderpath. Her white pelt spikes at every movement from the forest around her; brown eyes blink nervously toward the Clanmates she travels with.

Leafhusk does not allow them to stop. Little is said as they move through the forest. All of them are solemn, no doubt sharing the feeling of condemnation Ivorypaw carries in her heart.

Soon, they leave the forest behind them. The lands beyond are sparse, blank golden-green fields with little prey-scent on the wind. Ivorypaw stumbles, weary from her journey on paws still uncalloused with training, and finds herself drawing close to Leafhusk as the lead warrior begins to address them.

"We are nothing like the creeps that lurk in these woods," she tells them. "You are still a ThunderClanner, and we will function like one." Ivorypaw nods, her tired eyes glazed with exhaustion and hurt. "C-can someone... show me how to hunt? I... I want to help somehow," she murmurs. She is nothing more than a helpless kit with a new name; she's not had a single second of real training, but she knows she must find it in her to contribute.

Their situation feels bleak, but she does not want to give up hope... not yet.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• Adora . Ivorykit . Ivorypaw, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — 6 moons old, ages realistically on the 16th.
  — mentored by Palefire ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored n/a.
  — thunderclan apprentice. npc x npc, gen 1.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh white she-cat with curled ears and brown eyes. compassionate, righteous, naive, idealistic, self-doubting, self-destructive.

​

 

[ROSETHORN]

Despite the fact that she knew this was for their safety she can't help herself from feeling wary. After all, Howlingstar merely gave them the instruction to follow Leafhusk and that the lead warrior in question would act as their leader of sorts while they were away. Where they would head wasn't disclosed, but she assumed there would be somewhere in mind already. The pace that Leafhusk demands of them is crushing, her paws begin to ache. If her paws ache then that would mean everyone else's would ache as well. She can't help but turn her head to see little Ivorypaw, stumbling to keep the pace. To think, her first day as an apprentice would be met with a departure.

Eventually, after Starclan knows how long they've spent walking... Leafhusk addresses them. That's... An opening statement alright. It's true that Leafhusk is not their mother, but she is in charge of them. I guess we don't have to follow the rules so strictly now, considering we aren't home. We don't have the same safety. Her eyes linger on each cat within their group and it is small. A dark thought comes to mind. If we were all rogues and tried to attack Thuinderclan... She shakes her head to rid herself of such thoughts. In short, they are a pathetic group compared to those left behind in clan. They would be dealt with swiftly.

The rules of their new life are laid and it is different from the one they know. There are many questions she has for Leafhusk in regards to how far they should patrol. What should they claim as theirs if at all? Considering they are supposed to live in hiding, away from their Thunderclan clanmates. What would or should they do if they stumbled upon a clanmate? Overall, her job is going to be difficult. Even more so than usual, but she supposes their joined suffering will bring them together. The lack of sleep and rest is a small price to pay for their safety. We don't want to end up dead.

Little Ivorypaw speaks up and asks if someone could teach her how to hunt. Normally that is reserved for her own mentor, but Leafhusk has said anyone can help with training and therefore she could aid Ivorypaw. It felt wrong to say everyone could be her mentor, but this was a matter of survival. If Coalkit picked up some training as well she wouldn't be surprised. The rules here were different from the clans. "I can help you Ivorypaw." While they wanted to rest, they did need food. She turns to the others, "Who wants to come looking for food?"​

 

[ROARINGSUN]

〔✦〕Despite everything, he doesn't feel any safer. They were a ragtag bunch, now with the looming threat of the exiled circling around the territories, predators and little numbers capable of defending their makeshift camp in the case of an emergency. He was afraid for himself, or course, but also the younger cats who'd been sent away; Ivorypaw had just earned her new name, and Coltkit had just survived a poisoning attempt, now both had been unceremoniously thrown out of ThunderClan's territory as a whole.

Roaringpaw decided he should keep an eye on them for the duration of their stay in the loner lands.

"I can hunt," He speaks up, letting his tail fall over Ivorykit's shoulders in hopes of comforting her ( the same way Howlingstar had, not even a moon ago ). He then looks at Coltkit, the youngest in here, the one who needed to be protected the most. "After we get back, how about I show you some battle moves, @COLTKIT? Then when we go home, you can brag to the other kits ya know more than them!" The apprentice figures the kitten needed some distraction after everything - StarClan knew he did.

I took a little journey to the unknown ( Ive come back changed, I can feel it in my bones ) //

• ooc.
• ROARINGPAW —— apprentice of thunderclan , mentored by leafhusk . npc x npc . littermate to npcs ✦ penned by nocthymia
  ✦ male / he/him / 10 moons & ages every 14ᵗʰ
  ✦ single / orientation & poly or mono / open/closed to romance
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— combat details here / battle notes
  
  ✦ "speech", 'thoughts', all opinions are in character
  ✦ tags — msg on discord (hypmic) for plots — toyhouse
  
• reference image here
  

  a longhaired flame sepia with low white and amber-brown eyes.

​

 

[STORMYWING]

Stormywing's fur bristles slightly in the unfamiliar terrain as she walks alongside her fellow ThunderClanners. The loner lands stretch out before them, a stark contrast to the familiar forest they once roamed. The reality of their situation is settling in, and she can see the unease in the eyes of her clanmates as she looks around at them. Despite the weariness gnawing at her paws, she listens diligently to Leafhusk's orders. She takes a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over the group. She misses home already. She misses her friends. She misses her nest.

But they have to make do. Her striped tail lashes with determination. "I can scout the area. Patrol what I can," She offers, meeting Leafhusk's gaze. Stormywing then looks out at the grassy expanse around them, its unfamiliar vastness daunting. "Whoever wants to come, let's go. Unless, you need anything else from me, Leafhusk." Another look to the lead warrior, this one questioning.
​

 

[leafhusk]

ivorypaw is the first to speak up, bashfully asking to be taught how to hunt. the poor looks like she's about to shake her fur off from stress, but there simply isn't anything to be done about that right now. right now, their only cat who's allowed to lounge about is coltkit. wait— someone's going to have to look after him, aren't they? damn. she chides internally, putting down a reminder to make sure he's not left alone. the boy is on the older side of kithood (maybe? stars, he's about ivorypaw's size… did howlingstar forget to name him?), so there's no worry on the adventurous side of childhood.

her ears twitch as rosethorn offers to teach ivorypaw, and she hums, thinking the molly's lax attitude will help ease ivorypaw's stress. "good. you can go with roaringpaw, i'll stay behind this time." a pang of guilt clutches her stomach for a second, wishing she could see her second apprentice in the field. the flame tom's apprenticeship started in an unorthodox way, and it will surely end that way. everyone she's been reassigned too so far have had a long string of bad luck.

"bring one other person with you before you leave. be back by sunset, hunt if you need food." her eyes meet stormywing's uncertain, cautious gaze– and she struggles not to mimic it. if one of them crumbles, the rest will follow.

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