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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2016 23:36:39 GMT -5
I have changed, I have changed, just like you, just like you...
Ashpaw thought a visit to her father was long overdue. She had been warned about the Purists, and she wasn't sure if any of them would recognize her, if they would simply attack her, thinking her a complete stranger, or even if they did recognize her, if they would care. They had broken from the rest of the Clan, rejected their leader, it was hard to say just what any of them would do about anything at this point.
She did not tell any cat where she was going. She didn't want to be talked out of it or given an escort, and she didn't want any cat to worry. She wanted to do this by herself. As she made her way toward the wooded cove where the Purists made their camp, she wondered how her father would receive her. Her entire litter had had a bit of a strained relationship with Whitewater, due to conflicting feelings over Icepaw, but Ashpaw felt as though she was closer to her father than her brothers had been. She had tried to understand him, though she had never really gotten much chance before following Icepaw into the mountains.
The scent of other cats grew stronger as the wooded cove came into view, and as she neared, two cats stalked from the undergrowth with ears flat and teeth bared, demanding her name and business. Her tail flicked once behind her, dismissing their hostilities, but she knew better than to show how little she cared for their display. Instead she dipped her head in respectful greeting. There was no need to anger them needlessly when all she wanted was to speak with her father.
“I am Ashpaw, daughter of Whitewater. I have recently come back from the mountains and would very much like to see him,” she mewed calmly, looking the two over. She did not recognize either of them. One of them raised their head, looking less hostile. He seemed to know of her, at least. The other cat looked younger, perhaps he had been a kit, or been born after she left. He looked to the older cat questioningly. After a moment, the older tom flicked his tail, indicating that Ashpaw should follow, and the younger tom waited for her to pass before following after her.
She was more confident now that she would be safe, at least for now. These cats would have no idea which side of this dispute she was on. For all they knew she had come to join them. She would let them wonder, and if they asked outright, she would tell them only that she had come to see her father... and perhaps to hear the Purist's side of things. It should keep them happy enough with her to start with. She wasn't sure about her ability to leave after she had seen Whitewater, but she didn't plan to speak with him at the cove. It would be easier for her to leave if it was just the two of them out in the territory, and she wanted the privacy as well.
A number of eyes fell upon her as she stepped through the makeshift camp entrance, followed by the younger tom behind her. The older tom told her that Whitewater was out on a fishing patrol before ordering the younger tom to find Swanfeather. He told her to sit and wait, and stood watching her closely, clearly not willing to quite give her the benefit of the doubt. So she sat, curling her tail around her paws, and looked around at the cats that were staring at her. Her ears angled forward as she spotted a few she recognized, but she wasn't sure it was appropriate at the moment for her to call out to them. And besides, she didn't even know the right names to call out, as they had been apprentices when she disappeared.
I'm still alive, I'm still alive, I cannot apologize, no....
Hellion Fawn Phoenix @sparrow Amber I tagged all of you because I know you play PC Purists and might want to throw them in. Also a cat went to look for Swanfeather to tell her about the visitor so I figured she might wanna show up at some point lol
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Post by Fawn on Sept 7, 2016 13:56:27 GMT -5
Lotuswhisker33 Moons, She-Cat, RainClan Warrior ------ The return of Cobragaze and Mothfoot normally wouldn't have interrupted her grooming regiment; however, when they brought a strange cat with them who smelled strongly of the mountains, Lotuswhisker ceased her interest in her tail, sitting up. Why do you look so familiar?
That the stranger was waiting for Whitewater sparked something in Lotuswhisker's memory. Getting to her paws, her sea-green eyes searched the tabby-and-white face for any kind of recollection. "Ashpaw? Is that really you?" When did you get back? Where have you BEEN? The whole Clan had thought Ashpaw died, along with Creamtail and Peachflower and Icepaw... It had been a huge family tragedy; Lotuswhisker suddenly thought of Jaycry, how he had lost his sister too...
In no time at all, her Clanmates started whispering, murmuring quietly amongst themselves, Lotuswhisker catching snippets of surprise and bewilderment at Ashpaw's presence. Some of the younger warriors and kits did not recognize her at all, and found her strange mountain scent confusing.
She really did smell... unusual. One whiff and Lotuswhisker's mind conjured tall mountain peaks and pebbled landscapes, rocky and unyielding. Why stay there so long? Scenting the air again, delicate nose lifted slightly to catch Ashpaw's smell on the soft Greenleaf breeze, Lotuswhisker didn't detect anything unusual in terms of health.
The tabby she-cat seemed fine, though she smelled of bird feathers and mice. Woodland prey. Has she been staying with other cats before now? Lotuswhisker had never been exceptionally talented at masking her curiosity, and it was clear in the alert expression on her pretty, dark features that there were a dozen questions perched on her tongue like a swarm of bees.
Word Count: 275 WordsTags: @zen Notes: |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2016 12:54:31 GMT -5
I have changed, I have changed, just like you, just like you...
She fought the urge to stand back up, to move closer to the cat that had called out to her, not wanting to alarm her 'guard' or any of the other cats around her. She had been told to wait here and she didn't want to upset anyone by disobeying that order. She was in uncertain territory at the moment and she couldn't do anything to jeopardize her visit if she wanted to see her father. But Ashpaw's ears did angle forward again, her gaze fixed on the cat that had called her name, digging back in her memories, “Lotus... Lotuspaw?”
She knew -paw wouldn't be right, but it was the only name she had. She was sure whatever her new name was, she would offer it soon enough. Lotuspaw and her sister Willowpaw had been the same age as her own litter. They had grown up together. With two brothers in her own litter, it had been nice to have some she-cats her own age to play with. Her ears twitched and she glanced around, “Is your sister here? How is she?” Hopefully her curiosity would not be taken as nosiness by the rest of the Purist camp. She simply wanted to know how her old friends were doing.
Her tail twitched, the only sign of her frustration that she could not contain. She finally returned to her Clan only to find it broken, unable to freely speak and catch up with any cat she wanted, even her own father, being escorted as though she might be an enemy and having a guard sit there watching her as though she was a warrior from a completely different Clan come to visit. This was ridiculous. How had RainClan come to this? Were they even RainClan anymore?
I'm still alive, I'm still alive, I cannot apologize, no.... Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Sept 10, 2016 8:39:31 GMT -5
Lotuswhisker33 Moons, She-Cat, RainClan Warrior ------ That Ashpaw remembered her sister’s name quickly endeared Lotuswhisker to the other she-cat, even as her memories of the white she-cat with tabby markings were slow to trickle in.
Lotuswhisker's soft purr filled up the distance between them, proud to introduce herself and her sister under their earned names. It felt so long ago, but it really had only been a pawful of moons since they had become warriors.
”I’m Lotuswhisker now, and Willowbreeze is here too. Are you staying in the other camp?” The words felt strange on her tongue like a bit of river mud mixed in with a bite of fish.
The other camp. It was the only way to distinguish the wooded cove from RainClan’s original camp. Calling it ‘the old camp’ wasn’t true, there were still cats living there who called themselves RainClan even if they weren’t pureblooded RainClan.
If any cat came to visit, such as Ashpaw, then they would go to the other camp first. With any luck, visitors need never know about the split RainClan was suffering from. As far as outsiders were concerned, any cat present was here because they were hunting or patrolling or performing some other warrior duty.
No one needed to know that this was their home now.
On a more serious note, Lotuswhisker stepped closer, adding in a hushed voice with the guard looking on. ”Are you back in RainClan for good? If not, then please keep quiet on what’s happening. We cannot let the other Clans know, or they’ll take advantage.” Especially NightClan. Those shady foxhearts across the border would take a mossball from a kit just for laughs.
Word Count: 272 Tags: @zen Notes: |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2016 21:56:54 GMT -5
I have changed, I have changed, just like you, just like you...
Lotuswhisker and Willowbreeze. She repeated the names to herself to help her better commit them to memory. Especially since she wouldn't be seeing the other she-cats every day, which she was reminded of when Lotuswhisker asked her if she was staying in the other camp. Her ears flicked back briefly, wishing she hadn't asked. She would have to address it sooner or later, she knew, but she would have rather saved it for later.
“I am, currently,” she replied, keeping her tone neutral, adding that oh so unnecessary word 'currently' to make any cat listening wonder if she wasn't perhaps thinking of joining them, to plant doubt in their minds that she might be siding with the loyalists. She didn't want to lie to them, but she had become rather adept at this game from her time in the mountains and if it would keep her relatively safe here while she waited for the chance to speak with her father, then she would play it here as well.
There was really no avoiding telling them that she was staying there. Of course that would be where she would go when she returned to RainClan. She hadn't a clue the Clan had split, it was the logical place to go. Hopefully the cats here would realize that and wouldn't hold it against her, but seeing as they had been unreasonable enough to split the Clan in half, she wasn't holding her breath.
Lotuswhisker stepped forward, lowering her voice, and Ashpaw perked her ears forward to hear better. “I am planning to stay, but even if I weren't I would never do anything to compromise RainClan's safety,” she mewed, her tail flicking dismissively. She was staying so it wasn't exactly an issue. She cast a quick glance at her guard, trying to think of a safe topic of conversation. Her ears angled forward again with interest, “So, I've heard all sorts of things from the other camp.... Why did you come to this camp? It was quite a shock to return to the Clan only to find it split in half. I'm just trying to make sense of it all....”
I'm still alive, I'm still alive, I cannot apologize, no.... Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Sept 14, 2016 20:22:04 GMT -5
Lotuswhisker33 Moons, She-Cat, RainClan Warrior ------ Lotuswhisker's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't really expected Ashpaw to ask her that sort of thing... Tail-tip flicking with unease, she resisted the urge to look at her fellow Purists, as if Ashpaw had broached a forbidden subject and she needed permission to share her thoughts on it. She hadn't always felt like that; in the beginning, there was a sense of righteousness, of comradery that had dwindled down to bitterness and hatred, lately. Wary of Leopardyowl or Petalfall overhearing, Lotuswhisker chose to answer, speaking from her own heart.
"I don't think Timberwing should be Clan leader." It was the same answer she had given Jaycry, when he'd asked. And it was the answer she truly believed. "I think RainClan should be led by a cat with proper ties to the Clan."
What horrible rumors have you heard about us, Ashpaw? Lotuswhisker tried to find the answers on her former friend's face, but there was nothing but her own speculations reflected back at her. If the Purists were saying and thinking nasty things about the Loyalists, then she'd bet a school of minnows the Loyalists were doing the exact same thing. Everything's gotten so ugly lately. Lotuswhisker resisted the urge to sigh; instead, Ashpaw's response held her attention.
Did she agree? Did she disagree? Her brother, Rushwhisker, was a rather fair, reasonable tom. He preferred to give everyone and everything a chance; that's why he had been given Frozenpaw as his apprentice. Lotuswhisker... She admired her Clanmate's compassion, but there were some cases where it was entirely possible to be too lenient. RainClan's leadership seemed like one of those things. Razorstar had been easier to accept; better a loner-born cat than a former NightClan warrior. After what they had done to Sandstar... It was insult to injury.
Even if Timberwing had cut her ties to her old Clan, was it truly possible to forget them? NightClan was a part of her, just as RainClan was a part of her and Willowbreeze and Swanfeather and even Ashpaw. Ashpaw had been in the mountains for moons. She had returned. Did that make her any less of a RainClan cat? Of course not. She had been born here, had friends here, was taught the Warrior Code here. Lotuswhisker would've sooner given her vote to Ashpaw than to Timberwing.
Word Count: 394 WordsTags: @zen Notes: |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2016 10:05:17 GMT -5
I have changed, I have changed, just like you, just like you...
Ashpaw had to admit that... that wasn't such an unreasonable request when it was put as simply as Lotuswhisker had put it. It wasn't necessarily that Lotuswhisker, or any of the cats here, hated Timberstar because she was from NightClan. It just stood to reason that the leader of a Clan should perhaps have at least SOME blood ties to it.
Razorstar had a RainClan mate and kits before his death, despite being loner-born, but Timberstar had remained rather isolated in RainClan. She had taken apprentices, but beyond that, she hadn't formed her own blood ties to the Clan. Ashpaw didn't personally feel like that made her less suitable to lead them, but she could at least see where Lotuswhisker was coming from.
If she was being honest with herself, she would prefer someone RainClan born to lead them too, but she wasn't about to start a rebellion over it. There were preferences and then there was... insanity. And besides, she didn't feel like she deserved much of a voice on anything going on in RainClan after her moons spent away. She wasn't here when everything happened, and she hadn't even known Timberwing that well before she left. And now the old she-cat was sick and Ashpaw feared she would never get a real chance to get to know her at all.
She imagined if the situation was reversed and a RainClan cat had somehow ended up in charge of NightClan. She nearly snorted at the thought. That likely would go even worse than it had for RainClan, from what she remembered of their marsh-dwelling neighbors. “I see what you mean...,” she murmured, for she did, even if she didn't agree with the way the purists were going about showing their displeasure. The Warrior Code said the leader's word IS the Code. Razorstar had chosen Timberwing to succeed him. That was the end of it as far as Ashpaw was concerned.
Before she had left RainClan, she didn't think she would have been so diplomatic. She would have shouted down Lotuswhisker and the entire purist camp for being disloyal, for weakening RainClan, questioning Razorstar's choices as leader, and so many other things that had initially run through her mind when she had found out about the split in her Clan. But there were a lot of different opinions about a lot of different things in the mountains, and she experienced perspectives first hand that she never would have even thought about, had she she never left her Clan.
She had thought of herself as open-minded before she left, but she hadn't been. Just because she had accepted her deaf brother didn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. He was her brother, of course she had accepted him. She wasn't so sure she would have so readily accepted a deaf cat had she not been related to them, now that she was older and could see the truth of her past self. She was grateful for Icepaw's presence in her life, however brief it had been, for she was certain he had made her a better cat than she would have been without him.
She sighed, “This is all so crazy. I never dreamed I would return only to find my Clan divided. I could not greet half of my friends and family upon my return.” She blinked at Lotuswhisker, for she had considered her a friend, moons ago. And Whitewater was here somewhere. Her own father had joined the purist camp, left her poor mother behind, wondering about him every day as if she didn't have enough to wonder about. Peachflower and Creamtail were still gone. She did not dare try to tell her mother about Icepaw's death. But she would tell Whitewater, even though she wasn't sure if he would care or not, with the way he had treated her brother.
I'm still alive, I'm still alive, I cannot apologize, no.... Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Sept 27, 2016 7:11:53 GMT -5
Lotuswhisker33 Moons, She-Cat, RainClan Warrior ------ "It's still a blessing that you returned home, even with the Clan in the shape that it's in," Lotuswhisker mewed, and she dared call upon old bonds of friendship when she lightly touched Ashpaw's shoulder with her thin brown tail. StarClan had brought Ashpaw back to the Clan for a reason; Lotuswhisker knew the she-cat would side with her brother Rushwhisker (she would have, if she was in her pelt), but that didn't mean StarClan hadn't granted her safe passage to return home because the Clan was in desperate need of pure-blooded cats.
Even my blood is a mark against RainClan. Lotuswhisker vehemently ignored this, and swept her tail away from Ashpaw's shoulders, suddenly envious of the she-cat's claim to pure blood status. If she could erase the truth from the minds of her Clanmates, if she could carry the burden of that knowledge alone, Lotuswhisker would have done so in scarcely a heartbeat.
"You've been away so long, I suppose you won't know about Goldpaw, Frogpaw and Berrypaw. They were born here in the cove, to Mothfoot and Poppyflame." Wanting to show that not every Purist here was in any way bad for their desire to see a more pureblooded cat in charge of RainClan, Lotuswhisker glanced around the wooded cove for a glimpe of tabby or ginger fur. "Berrypaw? Goldpaw?" She mewed, ignoring the curious glances of the other Purists. "Come and meet a friend of mine!" Lotuswhisker smiled, selfishly stealing a bit of happiness for herself through Ashpaw's appearance at the camp.
It wasn't often those apprentices would get the chance to meet a non-hostile Timberwing supporter. This divide troubled her; Clanmate against Clanmate was no way for a Clan to survive. Lotuswhisker felt the need to do her part to preserve relationships, even with a cat she barely knew anymore. "Brace yourself," Lotuswhisker cautioned with a teasing tone. "They'll have plenty of questions for a cat that survived the mountains."
Word Count:333 Words Tags: @jem @dreamer @zen Notes: Tagging Berrypaw & Goldpaw in case they want to hop in. ^^ |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2016 9:53:16 GMT -5
Berrypaw
The calico tabby she-cat had just finished building a nest for herself in the apprentice den and was going again to look for her mentor and ask what she was supposed to do next when Lotus whisker called her over.
It had been a crazy last few days, from her apprentice ceremony to learning the weird pseudo - borders of the territory. Her mentor insisted that she would actually see the borders and scent different clans soon, but it was dangerous because of the blood traitors that stalked the territory. Yet even so, what little chances she got to be out in the territory and doing new things, she really enjoyed them. She had avoided all the areas her mentor and the older clanmates had mentioned might be frequented by blood traitors and had muttered with her siblings about what could possibly be going on. There was curiosity, yet also fear at the prospect of encountering a non Purist Rainclanner, and so when Lotus whisker called her over, she approached hesitantly, uncertainly. After all, if she was to meet someone, it would be a cat not from the camp since she knew everycat there. Berrypaw remembered the haunting nightmares she had had as a kit, the black forms of huge monster cats, seemingly made out of pure shadow with eyes as red as blood and fangs twice as long as their claws. She had always woken up whimpering after the dreams, huddling closer to her siblings in the darkness.
But the shecat that stood there beside Lotuswhisker looked like any normal Rainclanner. And although her scent was tinged slightly differently, it wasn't foreign just… disconcerting. Berrypaw hadn’t even realized her hackles had been raised and she had been slightly arched in fear and uncertainty. With a sheepish grin she flattened down to normal size and posture. Stepping up to the odd she-cat, Berrypaw bowed her head respectfully, at her. “Hi, I’m Berrypaw…” Berrypaw glanced at Lotus whisker in uncertainty. How was she supposed to talk to this cat from the other Rainclan? Weren’t they impure? Didn’t they deny the basics of the warrior code? How could she be friends with one of them?
@zen Fawn |
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