YOU WILL LET ME DOWN, DOWN, DOWN — rogue invasion

[ROGUES]

The only sign of change is a delicate splashing of water upon stone. Underneath the cover of hazy night and pinprick stars, drenched rogues pad upon RiverClan's shores. With heads low and eyes glinting, they bound one-by-one across the stepping stones and through the shallows until the crunching upon the pebbled waters' edge gives way to slipping sand and finally to dirt. They gather at the branching of streams, unknowingly close to the nursery that rests tightly against the sedge wall. Wraith-like phantoms with only ill intentions, fattened and made sleek by the very waters they now threaten.

The eerie quiet does not last long. Once the last paws have padded to the edge of RiverClan's camp, their preparations are finished. Bodies crouched low, two rogues break off from the group and into a sprint. A dozen tail lengths, only a few seconds, and they are upon the guards. Rough paw pads press down upon the throats that release warning yowls. Plenty of noise, but all of it too late.

Like flame and flood they spread through camp. More of them than the warriors had seen so far, and more than the healthy remnants of RiverClan could dream of fighting off now. One among the tide seems healthiest, long claws unsheathed and yellowed fangs bared in a warlike snarl. She steps up and addresses the healthy cats now filtering out of their dens with a voice rivaling any leader's strength: "Pretty home here! If only you could protect a place like this as well as it deserves. Luckily...we can."

One by one the rogues step closer to her. Forming ranks, shoulder to shoulder with violent mirth in their eyes. "It's time you leave. Before we have to prove it to you."

The rogues will engulf RiverClan, and none who stand in their way will survive the deluge.

---

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The rogues are too many to be driven out or fought successfully, but feel free to powerplay your OC getting pinned, defeated, or driven out! Anyone in RiverClan may post, but please wait for @CICADASTAR before you double post!​

 

[carawaysong]

carawaykit awakens with a yawn, there was so much noise outside. the only light that crept into the nursery was from the moon, so why could she hear strange voices? the tabby squeezes out from her tightly formed family asleep and on quiet paws she carries herself to the entrance.

camp is flooded, filled to the brim with cats she had never seen before. but why were they here? this was not their home, even if a scary looking molly stood strong and proclaimed that it should be. were they being forced out? carawaykit's chest quickened as she stood frozen, half illuminated by moonlight. as fighting would break out all around her, she stood terrified of what was to come.

luckily, her small stature made her difficult to notice at first. until a nasty rogue reared it's head from behind the den, getting up into her face with a menacing growl. and although she hissed back as intimidatingly as she could, as soon as it died in her throat carawaykit was skittering back into the nursery, front paws jabbing into the flanks of anyone still asleep. "get up! there are mean cats here, they want to take camp!" what exactly they could do she didn't know, although blissfully unaware of many things her sick and dying clanmates weren't one of them.

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‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── ooc 《✧》 info ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

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• CARAWAYKIT ✧ she/her, kit of riverclan, three moons
  ➺ carawaykit is a pretty longhaired silver tabby kitten with green eyes and a lithe frame. born into riverclan, she loves her home and has a deep fascination with becoming a warrior to provide for it. a highly spirited and adventurous kitten, she enjoys playing games and pushing boundaries.
  ➺ willowroot x poppysplash ↛ sister to bumblekit, tidekit, mosspaw, hazepaw, antlerpaw, and buckpaw
  ➺ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ➺ penned by vayle ↛ @vayl3 on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[CICADAFLIGHT]

✦ | sleep is hard enough for cicadapaw to earn, though hard days of training alongside his father have made it easier, and when a racket wakes him it's with teeth bared. jutting canines peek over his lips as he sits up in his clumsily made nest, claws digging into the moss. yowls and noise ring out and his fangs curl in a natural snarl, because who the hell thought they had the right to wake everyone up at this godforsaken hour? claws still unsheathed, he stumbles out of the apprentices' den with a shadowed brow, matted head swinging to and fro.

jittering pupils swing to the yellow-fanged leader, dripping unfamiliar cats surrounding her. their night guards are on the ground, paws to their throats, and her voice is a resounding yowl. drenched cats flank her in a row, eyes alight with violence. he knows what his father would do and he tries to act the part, his voice a tiny rasp against the might of the rogues—because really, he's still a child. cicadapaw shouts, "you—you can't! you can't make us leave!"

as they begin to break rank, he makes a stumbling charge, but he's not yet trained for even a moon. the rogue, dark-furred and heavy of claw, swats him with a single easy swing. blood wells up on his shoulder, pain following a heartbeat after, and dual eyes widen in shock. cicadapaw whispers, "you hit me." he gets to shaky paws and bares his teeth, and though riverclan's own ranks are rising up around him, they are as skinny and dull-eyed as he is.

one of the kits is menaced by a rogue and though cicadapaw turns his clumsy white-dipped paws towards the nursery, another strike comes towards him. the rogue's paw swings flat against his gaunt face, and though no wound is opened, he feels the impact reverbate throughout his skull. the boy's head whips sideways, blood dripping down his chin, and he spits a milk tooth onto the ground, gaze raw with horror as the rogue shoves him down. he searches the melee for his fathers, spitting blood onto the earth, screaming, "cicadastar! smokethroat!"

ooc ✦ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 ₊ ⊹

• ooc:
  

• 

• 

  ( CICADAPAW ) ✦ APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN.
  x he / him ; 3 moons.
  x son to cicadastar and smokethroat ; brother to beepaw & starlightpaw. under his father's instruction, pending iciclefang's return.
  x a skinny, unsightly black-and-white tom with curly fur and heterochromia ; can be described as difficult, at best.
  x currently in an era of internal conflict, rebellion, and rage spurred by the rogue invasion. unsure of who he is, cicadapaw is finding solace in anger.

• disclaimer: it's important to note that cicadapaw is not always in a stable state of mind. his view of the world may not always be accurate to objective reality, which may include seeing things that are not genuinely there, reading motivations or thoughts from actions that are not actually implied, and making assumptions or jumping to conclusions. this is not an attempt at metagaming, powerplaying, or mischaracterization, and is not legitimately true or correct to reality or what your characters actually think or believe.
  
  it will always be noted in the post if he is seeing something that isn't actually there. all opinions & thoughts are ic only and do not reflect my thoughts and opinions as a writer.

​

 

[otterbite]

A joyous dream of racing through reeds and splashing into a fully-stocked river of fish had held Otterpaw down in his sleep. Precious moments caught with the occasional twitching paws and whiskers as the delightful fantasy played, paws clutched around a prized salmon that earned him an even greater reward. Praise and shouts from faceless cats that greeted him upon return. Cicadastar, warped and twisted in his imaginative state relinquished his position, admitting the tom was superior to his own skills. Claws scraped against stone as he turned to face an endless crowd before him.

Otterstar! Otterstar! Otterstar! Ott- "-erstar... Otter..." Sleep-laden mutterings were disturbed by more sinister intentions.

He began to stir at the sound of one of the camp guards alarm and snapped to full attention when Cicadapaw rose from his nest. He followed the younger cat out into the scene before them. Shadows hidden from the moonlight infested their camp just as the plague had, pelts bristling and teeth bared. Claws had already swiped and cut through the air, cut through fur and skin. Otterpaw winced seeing Cicadapaw the first victim of their aggression and at once aggression took over.

"HEY! Turn around and fight, coward!" He spat at Cicadapaw's attacker as they turned away, capturing the rogue's attention and he launched himself at their haunches. Teeth and claws grip onto a soggy pelt, earning a trophy yowl of pain. Otterpaw's maw opened to a vicious grin at the sound, digging further in. His advantage is of course short lived. Otterpaw had never been in a real fight before, only mock battles between his own denmates. There was hardly any sign of anticipating another rogue coming to their friends rescue, and the surprise shocked him as teeth buried into his scruff, ripping him off his prize. Claws dragged over the first rogues coat in a defiant grip and he felt blood coat his paws, drawing another agonizing yowl.

Another pull and Otterpaw was ripped away, left to squirm in the second rogues grasp. Sharp green eyes grew wide as the first rogue returned for revenge and rounded back to throw a hefty paw against his chest. The second rogue let go, allowing the other cat to pin him with claws pricking against his chest. Otterpaw desperately tried to kick up and swipe at the air, but the rogue was a hulking beast compared to him, his attempts to escape fruitless in the face of someone much more experienced.

-- @coyotecreek ​

RIVERCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ BLUE-BLACK CHIMERA ✦ 6 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[Petalnose]

It was a peaceful night, albeit her refusing to rest to wick away her nightmares once more. The stars glimmered and she watched like she always had. It was almost a routine for her, she was sure she could almost memorize the patterns of stars that dotted the black inked sky and the amounts of breaths she took until they fell into a deeper pattern; inevitable sleep sweeping the stars into nothingness and then into nightmares.

That wasn't the case for Petalnose for this peaceful night. Slowly her eyes were closing and head sinking to the ground, but pawsteps and scent of the unknown filled camp and she shot up faster than the wind hares. The nest between her paws was ruffled and spread through unsheathed claws, hoping to stir her fellow clanmates and her loving mate into alarm. The tabby female charged out of the den. She didn't need to walk too far to see the threat...

They were everywhere. They were surrounded. Engulfed.

Her fur instinctively rose in hostility, her ears flicking and pinning at the supposed leaders words. "Leave?!" She challenged, teeth baring into a snarl and muscles bunching under her pelt as she began to approach the voice of the group.

A large grey furred feline jumped in her way, a blockage and she paused, a hiss erupting from her jaws. There was no fear in her eyes but so wasn't the rouge's. Rage burned underneath her pelt and glinted in her mix-matched gaze. This was her home. This was her peace. This was all she knew and all she loved. No..no she won't lose it. She'll fight for it. She'll die for it. "Are you all demented!? How would you last anyway!? You'd drown. You'd starve. You.. pieces of -" Her claw swung in a flash towards her victim. She pierced skin, felt it tear under her claws in satisfaction. She moved quickly to the side to dodge a heavy claw flown in return.

Although, she met the ground.

Another black furred rouge had tripped her, teeth meeting her back paw and roughly letting it go. She was outnumbered.

Her second of freedom was false. As soon as she rolled to slash her claw she was pinned by the first rouge and a claw drug across her face. Silence was met for the pain. Blood dripped down her face. Lashes fluttered quickly in attempts to wick away the flow but it was only successful for a blink. I can't see.

She rabbit kicked and pushed as much as she could which had finally freed her but with a slash met to her neck. Stumbling.. blindly. She shook her head to see through the blood. Breath.. focus. A figure she could only see for a moment but then red. There was so too much red. A snicker met her jaws despite her misfortune, catching her balance, "You're going to pay."

//Planned to be turned away! :3 @Aspenhaze

Ftm: Petalnose has a deep claw mark across her face and neck. Bleeding is causing her temporarily blindness until she is patched up.

Tags​

 

[Aspenhaze]

Aspenhaze finds themself having trouble sleeping properly, as they got their fair share being cooped up in the medicine den. Moments of peace are never something the tortie point takes for granted, but they are still taken by surprise as an unfamiliar scent fills the air. It almost feels too soon for the rogues to get this bold…but things have become truly dire.

Hackles are raised as they are threatened to be chased out of their home once more, and Aspenhaze is quick to jump into action, just as much as their mate. “This will never be your home. These waters will drown you!” Even with how surrounded they all are, how much of a threat they’re in, they aim for one of the rogues.

They’re still not up to par, as while they try their best to outwit their chosen enemy, their body is still trying to heal. It’s not too long before they’re pinned down, hissing in pain from the force. They’re not totally useless however, and they manage to scramble away before there’s any more damage to their body.

Their mate is not as lucky. Aspenhaze’s blood runs cold as they see so much of Petalnose’s own blood dripping. She’s not out of commission, but it still makes their mind flash with how badly things could still get. They know her well, she would die for her clan. Aspenhaze would say the same, but right now, they only care about protecting her.

They rush over to Petalnose’s side, putting themself between her and her attackers. Their attention is on her as they say, “We have to go, my love. I’m not watching you die here.” They can get their land back, but she cannot get her life back. Aspenhaze hopes she listens, and prays to StarClan that they can help her escape while she cannot see.​

 

[Nettlepaw-]

Carawaykit... why was she prodding at him? The boy flattens his ears, hisses and rolls over to go back to sleep. If not for the urgency in her voice, and the sound of hissing and snarls just outside, he might have simply done just that. As realization floods him, Nettlekit jolts from his nest, "Whaa- ?" He looks around wildly, sightless eyes finding nothing but blurred light and shadow. Carawaykit's fearful words finally begin to sink in.

"WindClan!" Nettlekit curses. It had to be them, right? They had attacked camp before, though he had not been born into the world just yet. He only knew of stories in regards to WindClan aggression, but given the animosity toward their neighbors, Nettlekit could only assume WindClan had returned for more blood. "I'm ready to be an apprentice." The boy declares, tiny claws unsheathing into the dirt. He begins his clumsy trek toward the nursury's exit, determined to prove his worth as a warrior.

If he helped fight WindClan, Cicadastar would have to make him an apprentice!
​

OOC NOTES . ◭ . CHARACTER INFO

• ooc : — ​
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  nettlekit . nettlepaw . nettle?
  

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  — kit of riverclan
  — tom, he/him; unknown sexuality
  — two moons; ages realistically
  — born blind in both eyes
  — npc x npc, sibling to bristlekit
  spacer
  

  ---

  spacer
  large in size, his paws are, perhaps, a bit too big for his sleek form. creamy fur coats his frame, marred by muddy hued stripes and milky eyes of leafy green. white splashes the tip of his tail, and each paw seems dipped in cotton.
  ↳ lynx mink with low white & green eyes
  spacer
  

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  spacer
  ( + ) intelligent, determined ( / ) ambitious ( - ) callous, manipulative
  — will start fights | will end fights | will flee | will not show mercy
  — peaceful powerplay permitted
  spacer
  

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  ​

 

[lichenstar]

⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆

---

It had been a means of self-soothing, to sit quietly in her nest that night and reorganize the feathers that adorned it. At first she thought to pull them in order by color but soon found it frustrating to squint between shades of blues and yellows. Moving a dark colored corvid's feather to the head of her nest, she thought fondly on the sickly medicine cat and how she wished to keep his thoughtful judgements close. A paler feather is twisted into the moss where her belly would be closest, dreaming for a time when she might have another tasty bite of a big plover. The soft, sweet smell of the peonies had since been allocated to help the ill, a thoughtful design of Ratpaw's she'd willingly relinquished her prizes to. Smaller feathers of tinier prey like thrush and finches lined the back, hoping to keep her warm in the coming chilly months, spread out to give her more space to sprawl and be comfortable. Nestled among the dry moss, a simple, smooth stone that had been fished from the bottom of the river with delicate selectivity... held between her pink paw pads now with gentleness, left to think and be at peace in the silence of sleeping bodies.

The sudden, strangled cries of the guards that sat a watchful vigil signal the end of a time of comfort. A time where someone else might find her bed to be a fitting stolen home... Where the time and love and attention that went into it would be destroyed, disrespected, thrown into disarray. It wouldn't be the same again. Not ever.

Peering out of the woven den with wide eyes and pupils narrowed to pinholes, the threats are made pointedly and quickly, regardless of the outcry that came from her clan-mates. Much as she willed it to be arrogance that fueled those rogues, their numbers made the warning one backed with heavy fire. Cicadapaw and his siblings had hardly begun to experience the world and its true cruelties and all too quickly, his burst of indignant fury found him a quick lesson to reality; no one cared what was fair.

And at the end of the day, StarClan could not protect them from mortal troubles.

Petalnose and Aspenhaze had lunged into the fray with Otterpaw, blinded by pride, denial, confidence... Though one could easily recognize the staggering difference in numbers, they still rushed in to stem the tide in vain. "We have to..." Was it even her call? She was a lead warrior but would it be mistaken as deserting to sound the alarm to retreat, to abandon their home they'd only just gotten back?

Rushing back to her nest, she ripped aside the recently lain bed to grab the rock she'd been storing, "Everyone out, now!" Pray the warriors did not hesitate to listen... She firmly grabs her prize and hares from the den, beelining past her clan towards the den that held their weakest. A rogue intercepts her path with a bloodthirsty grin spread across its maw in the face of the ashy molly's low growling. Running towards them, they clearly hadn't expected such a blatant head-rush and in that moment of surprise, she leaps over their head, racing past before they'd have a chance to react. Tucking her secret away near the sedge-lined entrance, the blue molly pressed her nose inside with staggering urgency, searching wildly among the whining bodies for their medicine cat. He had to survive, they didn't have options...

Anxiously, she looked towards Mudpelt and Steepsnout, could they walk if they had to? Did they even know they were still here... waiting behind fever-blind eyes for the familiar ice-gazed girl they both loved and trusted to save them? "Ravensong, is there another exit to your den? We need to leave... quickly...." Peering around the walls, anxious for a break among the sturdy structure where she might be able to dig out a hole to escape... If the rogues knew they were weak, did they know about the yellow-cough, would they hunt their ill for easy sport? She'd need all the distraction that Petalnose and the other healthy warriors could provide, whatever time they could buy... Her companion's shrieks warning of revenge said they wouldn't last much longer...

---- interacting with @RAVENSONG !!​

 

[coyotecreek]

( ★ ) he finds himself once again caught up in watching the sky, something he has been prone to do recently. he sits in the shadowed corner he always sits in, silently missing the warmth of a companion (who will remain nameless), watching the stars move across the expanse of void. when pebbles crunch under paws and guards fall with cut off screams at the claws of bristling strangers, coyotecreek is awake and alive. fire floods his veins as the scarred molly proclaims her victory, and a snarl will creep across his maw. confusion and anger mix as cicadapaw is thrown about, as other warriors leap into the fray. the riverclan tom bounds into the clearing, fur fluffed up, odd eyes wide. he feels his hind legs scraped by passing claws and will turn to find baleful yellow eyes staring at him from a hissing brown tabby. “intruder!” he’ll yowl. “cowardly foxheart!” he lunges to sink his claws into the tabby, feeling blood squelch in his grasp as he pierces the flanks of the tom. they tussle about, spitting and hissing as equally matched muscles strain against each other.

coyotecreek breaks away for a heartbeat, gasping for air, his teeth stained with blood. it is utter chaos in camp, and his gaze flicks from cat to cat before his stomach lurches. otterpaw scrambles at the mercy of two heavily scarred rogues. worry for his apprentice spikes in coyote’s stomach and he abandons his fight, streaking through the writhing bodies to slam into the cat keeping otterpaw pinned. he pulls the feline off of his apprentice, bones crunching as the rogue slams into the earth, stunned. coyotecreek bares his teeth at the other rogue, flashing out a paw, and the rogue chuckles. “bold little clan cat!” they sneer, and coyote helps his apprentice up as lichentail calls for a retreat. “otterpaw, i don’t care if this is the only time you listen to me, but i need you to get out. go get your friends and leave camp. now.” he ducks to touch the boy quickly on the head with his nose before turning to face the other rogue. “pick on someone your own size, crow-fodder!” snarling, the tomcat lashes out and scrapes at the rogue’s flesh before turning tail and leading them away from the young cat.

loosing the rogue in the crowd is relatively easy, and coyotecreek heads straight for the medicine den, fear locking his heart in place. “lichentail, what can i do to help?"

// interacting with @otterpaw and then @lichentail ​

 

[Moonbeam]

Yelling and demands caused Ratpaw to wake, head shooting up from her nest as fur rose along her spine in alarm. This wasn't like when Carawaykit had been bitten by a snake, there was a mass panic and a lot of yelling for cats to get out. Quickly she got up, prodding the apprentices around her to get up as well before head peeked around and tail puffed at the sight before her. Rogues. Rogues were in the camp and she wasn't good at fighting. Warriors were yelling for apprentices and other warriors to leave, and Ratpaw found herself frozen in place for a moment.

What was she supposed to do? She was an apprentice that was still growing, had only been training for two moons and in that time she had gotten good at fishing - not fighting. Swallowing down her fear she ran forward, trying to head for any exit she could get to - her first instinct being the entrance to camp where the Rogues were - before she felt a hard push to her side and she was on the ground, claws digging into her side as she was held down.

"Wrong way." The rogue hissed as he held her down, the wiggling of the white apprentice proving to do nothing but cause the rogue to press down harder in an attempt to get her to stop. "Help!" She called out as frustrated and scared tears welled in her eyes - she was useless, couldn't even get out of the paws of a stupid rogue.

ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ I thought that love would stay a mystery

• Snakeblink is planned to help her!
• 
  ⋆ ratkit - ratpaw - rat???
  ⋆ female - she/her - 5 moons
  ⋆ homosexual - too young for relationship
  ⋆ apprentice of riverclan
  ⋆ attack - speech - thought
  ⋆ penned by tikki

​

​

 

[BRISTLEPAW]

Yowls and howls wake the young tom his slumber and he is slow to rise. Groggy he doesn't understand what is going on, at least that is still his brother shouts about Windclan. Windclan? Puzzlement pulls against the tom and he tries his best to make his way over to Nettlekit. "Windclan? Are....are you sure?" Caraway seems quite upset too and he isn't sure what to think. There is so much going on and he tries to get in the way of his brother, to stop him from going out there as more screams are heard and voices he has never heard before sound out. The smell is almost dirty and he shakes his head. "We...we shouldn't go out. It could...it could he dangero-" Just as he is about to finish he feels something grab his tail. It is a shock to his small system and for a moment he doesn't even say anything. The world is all topsy-turvy and it spins. He feels like he might he sick before he lands with a harsh huff outside of the nursery. His chin rebounds off the ground and teeth shake in their gums. For a moment he is still before he smells the acrid breath of a rogue. It reeks and he scrambles up and away as quickly as he can.

What is going on? There is so much movement but everything seems slowed when he stares at this other feline, grinning at him. "Get...get away!" He doesn't know this cat, not at all. He doesn't know them and he puffs his fur up to try and look bigger. But all that earns him is a laugh at his antics. And he sees it, a paw raised to strike him and he can only close his eyes in sudden fear.
​

OOC NOTES . ◭ . CHARACTER INFO

• ooc : — was trying to stop @Nettlekit , now he needs some saving ​
• 
  

  bristlekit - tom / 2 moons old / riverclan kit / aspiring warrior

 

[SMOKESTAR]

A cold chill settles along his back, he's rigid with the ice that freezes along his spine and creeps down into his bones; Smokethroat remembers WindClan's raid, the flood waters that rose up to claim the camp, too often had RiverClan been forced from their home, attacked in their nests - his blood boils and the ice melts. He wants to sink his teeth into any of these wretches and tear them open, he wants to show them that he and his clanmates were not to be pushed around. His immediate instinct is to fight, snarl, go down in a blaze of glory for his clan but he can't. He can't do that, not right now, leaving them all to struggle as he quenched his own thirst for battle was not befitting a deputy; he was no reckless lead warrior anymore, he couldn't throw his life away for the sake of mere combat alone and they were clearly out numbered.
There were too many, like ants they swarmed and though they might put down one or two they would surely lose more cats than these rogues would in the chaos.
He hears his name rise up in a pitched warble of a cry, the voice immediately familiar and with a lunge he is bounding across the camp to slam into the rogue pinning his son, teeth barred and snarling as he swings a claw to its face and leaves a mark it won't soon forget but though he longs to chase after the rat as it dashes away from him in surprise he turns to grab Cicadapaw by his scruff roughly and hoist him up to his feet, "Find Beepaw and Starlightpaw, leave! Follow Petalnose and Aspenhaze out!" He can only faintly hear the dilute warrior's remark to leave, understands that like himself Petalnose wanted nothing more than to tear into the crowd of invaders with tooth and claw. But they couldn't, they couldn't, it was too much.
A head dips, nose shoves into his awkward child to encourage him onward to escape - Beepaw was not far from here, he had told her to linger for a later patrol so she was in the midsts here somewhere. He regrets not beginning combat training immediately, but unlike Iciclefang his daughter didn't need to have the insolence beaten out of her first so he'd been lax; a mistake. Lichentail is hurrying to the medicine cat den, they had so many sick cats including their own healer - his single orange eye darts across the camp to the nursery. Stars, once a blessing to have so many new kits in the clan it was now a curse. There was no way his friend and only queen was going to manage getting all of them out safely alone.
With a pivot he is rushing to the nursery, sending the few rogues who had stopped to investigate hurrying away with a snarl and swing of his claws, they didn't seem too keen on bothering with smacking kittens when they'd come for food and to drive them out, "Nettlekit, Bristlekit, get up, get ready to go-!" He nearly trips over them both, stepping into the den, "Willowroot!"
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
[Ooc]
Picked @CICADAPAW up & scared the rogues around the nursery, he's looking for @willowroot
​

 

[BEEFANG]

₊· ͟͟͞͞➳˚❥ Beepaw had been awake and watching as the events before her would begin to unfold with both of her ears laying flat against her skull. The fur along her back beginning to rise as she watched rogues slip into their camp and the head of them beginning to say that they should leave... This was her home. The shouting of Cicadapaw catching her attention and the way one of those bastards had strode forward to strike her brother not once but twice makes her blood start to boil and her claws unsheathe though she manages to take a deep breath seeing Otterpaw already strike her brother's attacker, it doesn't end well but Coyotecreek comes to the blue toms aid. The call for help reaches her ears as she whips around to see Ratpaw pinned down by one of the rogues and she feels helpless, she didn't know enough battle training that could possibly assist her here yet it doesn't stop the ugly feeling that keeps blossoming in her chest. An anger that was born of both fathers wrath. Her usually wide, owl sized pupils shrinking into small slits when a rogue steps in the way of her vision and blocking the stark molly from her sight.

She lifts a paw to swipe at the rogue nearly missing but can feel her claws graze against flesh for a heartbeat and Beepaw can hear the hammering of her heart in her chest watching as a few droplets of blood hit the ground, the rogue hissing in pain. The molly having managed to claw at its nose and the anger begins to slip from her as regret takes its place, she wishes she could have done more but simply darts away in time to feel its claws get at one of her back legs causing her to nearly trip but she catches herself. The apprentice rushing into the crowd of cats and using her size to her advantage before nearly crashing into Cicadapaw, her bicolored gaze locking with his own "Where's Starlightpaw?" She asks with voice trembling in the slightest before pressing her muzzle into her brother's neck gently unable to stop the stinging in her eyes as tears threaten to spill "Oh Cada... Are... Are y-you okay?" She wishes she could've done more to protect her friends, her family, and clan yet... She's helpless.

Beepaw glances at the blood that's dripping from her injury that didn't appear deep even if it stung but took a deep breath and uses her head to nudge her brother "Let's g-go..." She prays to Starclan to let them run into Starlightpaw before a rogue ends up doing so, she moves forward noticing Smokethroat had gone to the nursery and turns her gaze back to Cicadapaw.

/ interacting with @CICADAPAW & looking for @STARLIGHTPAW

𓆟. ° .• . WHEN DOES A RIPPLE BECOME A TIDAL WAVE?

• 
  ❥ 3 moons old
  ❥ riverclan apprentice
  ❥ sexuality unknown; single
  ❥ sister of cicadapaw & starlightpaw
  ❥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ❥ easy; still learning how to fight
  ❥ peaceful powerplay allowed
  ❥ penned by bosstaurus

​

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

The rogues swarm into the camp like a tide of nightmares — dark shadows that Snakeblink can barely make out in the night. For a second, he can almost believe his tired body has finally bypassed its usual insomnia and succumbed to sleep, that this is a bad dream born of his anxiety. Then one of the rogues speaks up, and that comforting illusion shatters under the pressure of her booming voice.

He bristles, claws digging into the ground and teeth bared, crouching as if to pounce. Instinctive and foolish reaction that he mentally berates himself for even as a rumbling threat picks up in his throat. What are you going to do? Fight them off?

He’s not. None of them are: there are too many of them for their depleted, weakened numbers to face. But especially not him.

The camp explodes in a flurry of scuffling and yowls, warriors darting to and fro as some try to take the rogues head-on and others already jump to evacuate. Half-blind in the darkness, his eyes dart from the guards, to the nursery, to the kits and apprentices in the middle of it, searching for his apprentice, trying to devise a way to get them all out, all at once—

Help!

Snakeblink’s whirlwind thoughts grind to a halt at the shrill call. He spins on his paws, darting across the tail-lengths separating him from its source, a shadow in the grass. A flash of white: Ratpaw’s fur, half-blocked from view by the bulk of a rogue pinning her down.

Keeping low to the ground, the lead warrior approaches on quick, quiet paws, his ears distractingly tracking the chaos around, the possible approach of another enemy. The rogue is big; well fed on the spoils of their territory; but a coward, to target a younger cat. And, crucially, he has his back on Snakeblink. Swallowing down a growl, he pounces, flinging himself on top of the rogue. His claws sink into the bigger cat’s sides and his teeth close on his shoulder to secure his grasp as he braces himself and wrenches his weight to the side.

They go tumbling off Ratpaw in a tangled heap of paws, the rogue yowling in indignation. The impact knocks the wind out of Snakeblink’s chest. He struggles out from underneath the rogue’s body as the other twists around like an eel, his teeth snapping a whisker’s breadth from the tabby’s face.

Snakeblink kicks himself away, rolling back into a crouch and ready to bolt. ”Ratpaw, run! Follow the others!”

With one last swipe at the rogue, he scrambles away from the entrance, leading the incensed rogue away from their primary escape route. ​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• Looking for @CARPPAW, Helped @Ratpaw and currently pursued by a rogue
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 45 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[CARP-PAW]

FIGHTING IT IS HOPELESS ————————————​

​

Carppaw hadn't been sleeping fitfully. Normally, she rested without issue, but some kind of dwelling itch in her stomach kept her half-awake. The growling of hunger. She hadn't been hungry before, not before now, and it sucked. A soft sigh left her as she sat herself up, but the sudden rush of noise caused her ears to perk out. Just like discovering corpse, she was knocked out of her drowsy state. Shouts were coming from everywhere, and the stench of rogues was upon them.

Carppaw stepped out of the apprentice den in a state of shock- or wonder? She wasn't sure. Her trinkets were still tied to her body, but her ghost blue eyes were searching the camp. Rogues pinning and tussling with her clanmates. Kits with too far of a bravado, trying to attack the 'Windclanners'. But these weren't Windclanners- not, these were fox-hearted cats who sought to steal their camp and territory from them. Where would they go? What happened now? There was a sound that knocked Carppaw out of her stupor.

Her grandmother's calls had her head turn slowly. The only noises she could hear right now- the rush of her own blood, and the yowls of her grandmother. Duck Call was putting up her best fight against a rogue. Carp's paws started to move on their own, before her paws were drumming into the ground. With a sharp scream, the apprentice leapt at the rogue, talon-like claws digging into the rogue's shoulders and trying to fling him aside. It was highly akin to what Snakeblink was doing, but she wasn't succeeding. The rogue dipped and tossed her off, Carppaw flung into the dirt. Duck Call's shouts lifted higher, trying to get help. What help was there, when everyone was preoccupied already?

Carppaw's breathing struggled, and she rolled onto her belly. She had to protect it. She knew she had to- white-hot pain was carved from her side over her back. A shrill noise left her, one of pain and disbelief. "You really think you could defeat me?" The rogue snarled, pinning the apprentice from squirming away with his other large paw. Carp's mind was buzzing, and her eyes lifted to where Duck Call was standing. Well, had been standing. She had turned tail and run. Some part of Carppaw was disappointed. Was she being abandoned, her fate left to the paws of this rogue? Did her grandmother just.. leave her for dead?

Tears pricked at the corners of Carppaw's eyes. As Duck Call slipped out of camp, the chortle- the snicker, the absolute sneer from the Rogue still carving her back open brought her back to the current situation. "I think you'll be the first to die, little fish. Bye bye." Carppaw's eyes squeezed shut, ears flattened against her head, breathing beginning to race. She was going to die. Everything hurt, her back hurt so bad, and she was going to die. The shell and feather tied to her body weighed against her like a hundred stones.

// tldr; carp is getting severly injured while grandmama leaves her for dead! @salmonshade is going to rescue her!

"speech"
​

——————————————————————————————— sinkin' in your ocean ​

 

[willowroot]

( ☾ ) it is not the noise from camp that first awakens the queen. truthfully, she is far too exhausted for her own good. she has swept her tail around her children and passed out, gentle snores filling the den. so it is not the crackling of pebbles or the sharp yowls of the guards, but rather the movement in her nest that causes her to wake. she immediately hears the threat, clambers from her nest as quickly as she is able with three kittens still slumbering, hissing "carawaykit!" in a low whisper. the girl is jabbing at her fellow kittens, waking them and generally riling them up. nettlekit squirms out of his nest, toddling towards the exit and willowroot snatches him up in her teeth, scruffing him as quickly and gently as she can. she'll place the boy back in her nest, but the minute she turns, she sees bristlekit vanishing, a small squeak from his jaws as teeth snap around his tail. with the fury and speed of lightning, the queen is out, slamming into the rogue that has dared touch one of the river's children. the rogue drops bristlekit in surprise, a growl rumbling in their throat. "bristlekit get inside, now!" the queen yowls, not worried about her tone, driven purely by fear.

she crouches low outside the nursery, determination in every fiber of her being. rogues pace outside, hissing insults and jabbing their paws into the unprotected weavings of the nursery walls. willowroot has never felt this helpless. she readies herself to go down swinging when a massive paw bowls the rogue in front of her over, sending them crashing into their friend. smokethroat, eyes embers and flame, rears up, a knight in shining armor. willowroot hisses, back arched to defend, and it takes her half a heartbeat to even recognize the man, blinded by fear as she is. he yowls out for her and she almost cries in relief. "smokethroat!" she'll howl back, lashing wildly with her tail for him to follow. with this, she ducks back into the nursery, beginning to gather every kit in her own nest. "children, follow your deputy. do not dare wander off," willowroot hisses, eyes flashing. she will scruff nettlekit and begin pushing her brood towards the exit.

// interacting with @Smokethroat
herding all kits - @carawaykit @Bumblekit @TIDEKIT. @Troutkit @reedkit @BRISTLEKIT ▪︎ , holding @Nettlekit ​

 

[Cricketchirp]

( ✩ )　 It's all happening too fast. RiverClan is under attack - rogues, flooding the camp like the river itself, teeth snapping and voices taunting, and Starlightpaw has never tasted real battle before. His eyes blow wide and dilated, full-body shaking and snapping his head from side to side, trying to make sense of the chaos. There's too many of them, screaming and fighting. Clanmates weave around like swarms of fish, blood dotting the sand and soil.

It's dizzying. Starlightpaw can hardly remember that they're not supposed to be frightened. They're supposed to be able to handle this, all of them are, they're RiverClan and they're star-blessed (Starlightpaw themself is enough proof) and they will not fall to sickness or rogues.

She's played war before, as a kit. This is different. Starlightpaw gets lost in it, swept up, finds themself before a cat much bigger than themself. A snarling creature whose face they do not know, pelt dotted with scars and eyes gleaming with - malice? Desperation? Triumph? Starlightpaw's head ticks to the side, whiskers twitching, and they find themself lost for a moment staring at the cat.

Then they're being grabbed by the scruff and tossed like a piece of prey.

Pebbles dig into her sides as they skid across the ground, grasping at nothing in search of purchase. His legs don't seem to work right as the apprentice tries to scramble to his feet, awkward limbs bending all the wrong ways, shaking grown to near-convulsing. He thinks he's scared, maybe. It's an emotion altogether unfitting for such a holy thing. Disgusting, unwelcome, shameful, humiliating. It makes them angry. Another rogue is coming to meet them, and Starlightpaw cannot stop themself from running.

Too many cats swirl around him; they can hardly distinguish clanmate from enemy. But there; a voice. "Where's Starlightpaw?" They chase the sound. "I'm here," pants a voice too panicked, too sharp. "I'm here, 'm here, 'm here," she repeats frantically, heart rabbit-fast and eyes moon-wide. There's something distant in their starry eyes as they hesitate, wanting to bury their face into their siblings fur, find their parents and cling to them, hide like a little kit, and yet.

"You're hurt, Cada," she breathes tonelessly. Blood drips drown her brother's chin and its mesmerizing, and Starlightpaw feels like their chest is collapsing from the weight of it. "You're hurt, bleeding, you - they hurt you." Anger bubbles up from their chest, a cloying powerlessness clogging their throat. These vile, uncaring creatures hurt Cicadapaw, and Starlightpaw is too small and too scared to do anything about it.

"We can't - we have to stop them, they're..." Tears prick at Starlightpaw's eyes. "We gotta stop them. Have to. Can't just let them hurt you." A whine creeps into their voice, entirely unbecoming. It only fuels the frantic fire in their chest. "I can't let them hurt - hurt everyone! I gotta stop them, I don't wanna run --" And yet Starlightpaw isn't moving. Glazed eyes turn to the fray, and yet Starlightpaw cannot will themself to move.

They don't want to run, but they know they can't fight. Frozen in place beside their siblings, Starlightpaw feels very, very small.

AND POINTED SKYWARDS ✩ SCRAPE THE HEAVENS ! 【 10.2.23 】

• //
  ​

• "SPEECH"

• ✩ 　⁺　₊ 　⋆　STARLIGHTPAW.　APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN.　HE / SHE / THEY.
  3 MOONS & AGES ON THE 12TH.　PENNED BY SATURNID.
  
  

  

  ✩ — A WIRY, CURLY-FURRED BLACK SMOKE WITH CLOUDED BLUE EYES.
  

  
  SMOKETHROAT xx CICADASTAR. LITTERMATE TO BEEPAW & CICADAPAW.
  
  MENTORED BY PETALNOSE​

​

 

[LILYBLOOM.]

Lilybloom is sleeping soundly when all hell seems to break loose. The peaceful night is shattered by yelling and fighting. It doesn't take long for Lilybloom to mobilise, quickly hurrying out of the warrior's den to see for herself what was happening. She sees clanmates and strangers alike fighting, hissing, and yelling. Fear and anger threaten to overwhelm her in that moment. She cannot believe the audacity of these rogues to try and take their home. Lilybloom thinks that they are lucky not all of their warriors present, or they would be surely sending them running with their tails between their legs.

Unfortunately it seems they will not be driving the rogues back tonight. Cats are already beginning to evacuate, and though Lilybloom wants to fight for her home, she knows it will be foolish to do so. Instead she puts her efforts into helping what cats she can, standing by if anyone needed assistance or to distract one of the assailants temporarily.​

 

[RAVENSONG]

Lichentail is met with a hiss.

The scrawny dark-furred medicine cat had found the strength to haul himself up and pose intimidatingly at the entrance of the den with his back arched and fur raised. A fervor burned in his narrowed eyes as he stood in front of the other sick cats, tail brushed.

"WindClan!" He snarled, hesitating only when Lichentail's familiar blue eyes showed themselves. "What do they want?" He spat, too blinded by fever to tell that the intruders were not, in fact, a Clan at all. All at once, memories of WindClan's assault on their camp relived itself in his frayed mind. There was no more Hyacinthbreath—no more need to terrorize kits and elders.

He stared at Lichentail incredulously. "Leave?" His snappish voice cracked under his dry throat. "What do you mean leave? You're giving up?"


speaking to @lichentail
tagging the other sick ones for visibility @MUDPELT @Steepsnout @Stalkingpaw.

☾₊ ⊹ темная ночь — dark is the night

•  
• 
  RAVENSONG of RIVERCLAN
  — LH BLACK POLYDACTYL MALE (CARRYING CINNAMON, DILUTE) a tall, slender creature with pitch-black feathery fur, large ears, and a sharply angled skull held up in an aloof manner. smells of dried herb, speaks with a low and rumbly accent and walks with an elegant slinking gait.
  
  — born in twolegplace and orphaned at a young age, he joined riverclan at its inception and began training as a drypaw warrior known for a bitter temperment until beesong made him his medicine cat apprentice. after his mentor's untimely death, he had been named ravensong at the moonstone, young heart revitalized with anger and guilt. he is a somber and thorough medicine cat that guards every word spoken in the confines of his den.
  
  — secretly loves "the stars but not so much what inhabits them"
  — openly suffers from chronic migraines
  — single, but "it's complicated"

​

 

[Hazewish]

TRAVELER, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED (AND NOW YOU MUST GO) ⋆⁺₊⋆

Hazepaw is sleeping in her nest — no late-night escapade for once. She’s still looking for someone fun to go with. But it’s fine: the shadow of yellowcough hanging over the forest has taken some of the fun out of it, anyhow. And she’s never been this well-rested for training!

Good thing, too, because as chaos erupts in camp they realize that training is about to become very relevant very quickly. Haze waits with bated breath, listening to the voice of the rogue leader. Then the screaming starts — their mother, yelling for their kits — and Haze tears out of their nest after the other apprentices, sending moss flying everywhere.

They almost immediately run into a wall of fur: a rogue standing right outside the den, blocking apprentices from coming out. ”Are ya goin’ to play nice, or am I gonna have to drag ya out myself?” The loner asks, deceptively mild, looming over Haze with a cold smile. They puff up in response, baring needle-sharp teeth in a silent snarl and swiping at the rogue’s face to make her step back. They’re hyper aware of the apprentices still inside — the rogue cannot get in. Wait, is Catfish inside?

Haze twists their neck to peer inside the dark den, searching for the other molly. They’ll protect her; they’ll protect all the apprentices inside and then she’ll see they’re not—

Distracted, they do not see the rogue’s larger paw coming for their head before it’s too late. Though her claws are still sheathed the blow sends them sprawling, briefly stunned and their ears ringing, wondering how they got here in the first place. The rogue’s teeth close over their scruff, making them yelp in pain. Their paws scramble against the ground, reaching for the den as she starts roughly dragging them away from its entrance and towards the river’s edge.

// ooc: looking for @Catfishpaw and getting her tail handed to her by a rogue who's currently planning on throwing her in the water!

[⋆]​

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