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Post by Hellion on Dec 15, 2018 18:40:26 GMT -5
'Go back before they notice, say your sorry, go back!'
'It could be amazing, maybe there will be a clan cat wandering around,'
Those thoughts and similar once raced around in Stag's head as his paws carried him further away from the mountain. A fading echo of his father's voice joined his inner voice, reminding him of how stupid his idea of visiting the clans, alone no less, was.
Ears flicking back the distant sound of his father's voice, Stag picked his way over the valley. His stamina had increased compared to what he had at the start of his training. Now nearly full grown the brown tom-cat carried himself stronger. His shoulders flexed with each step, strength visible.
His training was hopefully coming to an end but Stag remained indifferent to being a full Cave-guard. It was nice to hold on to the lack of responsibilities required when his training was deemed finished. At 12 moons he enjoyed it, which provided him the chance to slip away.
It never occurred to him to explore the valley, not until he overheard one of the prey-hunters talking about all the different prey animals that lived in the valley. While he had no intention of venturing into a clan home, he felt content with just exploring. Curious by nature he simply wanted to know more.
However, no matter how eager he was to see the world around him, Stag couldn't help but feel the fear bubble in his belly. The churning sensation that reminded him of risky he was, how stupid it was to venture without someone to go with him. He had considered for a moment asking one of his adoptive siblings to join him, but the moment he decided to go they were nowhere to be found. Trusting in his training he followed through with his plan.
Cresting over a small hill, he saw a strange collection of stones. Having heard of the Clan's gathering tradition he felt compelled to explore there. The little tidbits of information he got from both tribemates and former clan-cats was that the area was called StarClan's Claws. Who StarClan was a mystery to him but still he kept walking.
Enter the space his nose itched with the stale mixtures of scents. Closing his eyes at the whirl of scents he tried to breathe through it to avoid the overwhelming sensation. From scents alone, the place was old and probably very important. Having been too new as a to-be Stag wasn't able to go with the tribe to the Clan's gathering but he had heard about the fox attack. Looking around the space he wondered if the remains of the fix still lurked. Distracted by his pursuit, Stag nosed around in search of answers.
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Post by Taxx on Dec 16, 2018 18:55:30 GMT -5
CINDERPAW NIGHTCLAN rather be the hunter than the prey
Border patrol was one of the more dull chores, but it was supposed to instill a solid memory within apprentices where their boundaries lay. Cinderpaw had been assigned to this one with Patchfur, Ashfang, and Wrenstep, padding along after the warriors and pausing whenever they did to just watch one of them add a fresh mark. He stifled a yawn, physically perking up when Ashfang looked at him, but the older tom said nothing before going on.
They were nearing StarClan's Claws, and it refreshed his memory of the two TreeClan apprentices who he and Gracklepaw had fought. He wondered what they were doing now- if they had gotten any sort of punishment for their unnecessarily cruel taunting of his brother. A flash of a pelt through the pines caught his eye and he froze, but it was just a cat. Not one he recognized- a loner? A grunt from one of the warriors pulled his attention briefly toward the three, to see that they'd noticed too, but Patchfur turned to continue the patrol without challenging the stranger. Cinderpaw, however, dropped into a crouch and darted across the border toward him.
He straightened as he padded through the bushes, rustling them to announce himself but saying nothing just yet, sizing up the unknown tom. He was tall- about the same size as Cinderpaw himself, but not quite as stocky. If he was young, though, he might well put on a bit more weight before he finished growing. Tail flicking, Cinderpaw drew in a breath, testing the scents of rock and cold air that wreathed the stranger. But he didn't carry StoneClan scent. "You know, it's dangerous to be alone. Demon would kill you in a heartbeat if he found you." A short pause, before he continued: "My name's Cinderpaw. Who are you, and why are you here?" |
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Post by Hellion on Dec 23, 2018 21:43:20 GMT -5
He caught the fresh scent just before the cat spoke. His head turned toward the direction it came just in time to see the cat arrive. The tom-cat spoke of Demon, titling his head to the side, confusion swept across his face. "Demon? Is that a Clan thing?" He almost at the same time the cat introduced himself as Cinderpaw. His ears flattened with his lack of polite manners. Speaking over someone was a bad habit that he hoped to one day grow out of.
"I'm Stag in Morning Light, but I just go by Stag. I'm from the mountain. I mean the tribe," He clarified awkwardly, taking a few steps toward Cinderpaw, he paused just a few tail-lengths apart.
"I came here because I was curious what the Clans are like. Why are you here? Does a Clan claim this spot? I couldn't tell with all the scents. I'm not a prey-hunter so sorting them out is harder," He explained, glancing around the space. "What Clan do you come from?"
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Post by Taxx on Dec 30, 2018 12:12:47 GMT -5
CINDERPAW NIGHTCLAN rather be the hunter than the prey
Was Demon just a threat to the Clans? Cinderpaw wasn't sure; he had never even seen the lynx despite the warnings that he was out there, waiting to pick off kits and apprentices who wandered off without a warrior. The foxes had been much more of a immediate threat, actively attacking even groups of cats. He was glad he hadn't been at the Gathering that had had to deal with five of them attacking. Cinderpaw shrugged. "I suppose, if you haven't had any trouble with him, he is just a problem for the Clans."
The other tom's name was... strange. Stag in Morning Light. It wasn't the sort of name Cinderpaw was used to; Stag he could understand, from the sturdy frame and the brown pelt, but where did the 'Morning Light' part come from? A Tribe cat, was he? Cinderpaw knew well that the Tribe existed, but he had never seen one before. Besides his name, this tom seemed ordinary enough. Cinderpaw sat abruptly, curling his tail over his paws. So many questions. This tom- Stag- was obviously a stranger. "What do you mean, what are the Clans like?" he asked, but pushed on before Stag 'Morning Light' could answer.
"This place belongs to no Clan, but they gather here once a moon to meet in peace and discuss news. I'm here because I saw you. I belong to NightClan, I'm an apprentice. Are you? And what's a cave-guard?" His interest was piqued now, ears pricked as he leaned forward a bit. "Your name's strange too. What's it stand for?" |
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Post by Hellion on Jan 6, 2019 1:45:05 GMT -5
Stag remained curios on who or what Demon was. From the warning that came from Cinderpaw, he figured it was something worth fearing. Noting the name down to later question his guide or other cave-guards, Stag fixed his attention back on to Cinderpaw. Mirroring the other tom by sitting, Stag's face lit up. The other cat seemed willing to answer all his questions.
"How do you guys hunt? Do you have to worry about big birds in the valley or can prey-hunters go without cave-guards? When you scent borders are you trying to rid yourself of foxes and badgers?" He questioned in rapid succession. Eager to have them answered.
Cinderpaw did answer what the place was, which made Stag look at the area around him in a different way. A place of peace? Did that mean the Clans weren't always peaceful? He had been trained to fight, work with fellow cave-guards to protect their home and tribemates. He never really considered not being peaceful toward another cat. It just seemed pointless.
The other tom asked if he was an apprentice and it took a little bit of processing for Stag to fully understand what he meant. "You mean a to-be? Yeah, I am and a cave-guard is a cat who protect their Tribe all the time. I go with prey-hunters to keep them safe and walk the trails to ensure there is nothing threatening the tribe. My guide is Rose with Crimson Petals, but everyone calls her Rose," Stag the chatterbox, was quick to add clarifications for Cinderpaw. Happy to have an exchange of information and to meet a cat who had such a different point of view to the valley.
When his name was called into question, Stag felt a defensive flare rise in his chest. His mother gave him that name, but he quickly reminded himself that Cinderpaw wouldn't know how important his name was.
"I'm named after the first thing my mother saw after I was born. On the mountainside, she saw a Stag and it was morning time. At least that's what my dad told me, my mom isn't around anymore," Stag answered, his earlier excitement faded slightly as the longing for his mother stirred up. Not that it was Cinderpaw's fault, he just missed her.
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Post by Taxx on Feb 1, 2019 10:44:29 GMT -5
CINDERPAW NIGHTCLAN rather be the hunter than the prey
Cinderpaw's head was spinning; there was so much new information to take in from Stag- a way of life so different from his own, which he'd never even thought about before. Questions and replies were flying like sparrows startled by an over-excited apprentice; Cinderpaw listened to Stag, absorbing his answers and hearing his questions. Cave-guards, prey-hunters, a cat named... Rose with Crimson Petals and this cat's duty to protect other cats, and most interesting of all- the way he had been named... by his dead mother.
Cinderpaw momentarily blanked, staring at Stag mutely for a moment before glancing away, tail flicking. "My mother's dead too; she wasn't strong enough to survive birthing us- me and my brother and sister. My sister, Gracklepaw, was named by her, after our grandmother's mother." It shouldn't have been so surprising; cats died, in battle, from illness, from birth. But to come face to face with a cat who had lost as he had was, for just a moment, so startling that he'd been caught off guard.
Cinderpaw shook out his pelt; he didn't want to linger on that. "We don't worry about birds down here, the biggest ones are owls and they're too little to take anything but a kit." A briefly confused look before he continued, "Why would foxes and badgers care about scent markers? That's to tell the other Clans to stay out of our territory, or we'll shred them. Don't you do the same thing, with the other... Tribes?" |
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Post by Hellion on Mar 7, 2019 0:29:48 GMT -5
Hearing that Cinderpaw was also without a mother, soothed the brown tom-cat. It comforted him to know that despite so many differences that were easily apparent, they had something in common. Even if it was sad. Ears perked upon learning that Cinderpaw had siblings. He thought of his own adopted siblings and wondered for a moment if they would be interested in meeting Cinderpaw. Maybe, a sort of cultural exchange could help the tribe. Stag knew that Skyteller had visted some of the Clans in the time after their arrival, but what happened at those meetings Stag was clueless about. Cinderpaw had mentioned he was from NightClan, perhaps he could ask his clan's Night-teller about interacting with the tribe more. Any information about the valley could help the tribe stay safe, which was his single duty. He made a mental note to talk to Rose about it after he returned, granted he could create a reasonable explanation how he got to meet a Clan cat in the first place.
The mention of an owl piqued Stag's interest. "That's really cool! Not the kit stealing part but the owl part. The lead cave-guard showed me an owl once. It was kind of creepy, especially when it's head turn," A shiver went up Stag's spine as he thought back to the first night he stayed up from moon-high to dawn. The exhaustion that overcame him to the point he almost couldn't sleep and it took his adoptive sister talking to him before he was lulled to rest.
Upon learning the reasoning behind scent markers, Stag's excited expression fell. Violence against another cat over territory? His brow pitched forward in confusion, head tilting to the side.
"We are the only tribe," He answered first before offering back his own question. You fight other cats over a scent marker? What if they were hurt or hungry?" Clearly he was troubled by the idea of a cat being chased or hurt simply because they carry the same scent.
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Post by Taxx on Mar 19, 2019 8:56:52 GMT -5
CINDERPAW NIGHTCLAN rather be the hunter than the prey
Yes, he supposed owls could be strange- creepy. Cinderpaw admired them though; silent fliers at night, stealthy as any NightClan cat as they went in for the kill. He didn't know if any kits had ever been taken by owls, but it wouldn't be hard for them- if a kit strayed from the camp.
Stag's was the only Tribe? "So- you don't have Gatherings? Half-moon medicine cat meetings?" No borders to patrol from other cats, no skirmishes? The Tribe cat's hesitant questions in return stirred a touch of pride within Cinderpaw and he straightened. "We have to. If we didn't protect our borders, the other Clans would raid and steal from us. Keeping our borders marked tells each Clan exactly where one territory starts and another ends, and warns them that if they do trespass, they run the risk of getting clawed for it. Each Clan has their own hunters and medicine cats- if they can't care for their own, that's their problem." He paused, taking in the expression on Stag's face, and shrugged.
"I suppose if it was a true emergency medicine cats might share herbs, and sometimes we have alliances that mean our Clans are more lenient to each other, but we still have to protect what's ours." |
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Post by Hellion on Mar 19, 2019 14:41:26 GMT -5
He knew sorta what a gathering was. There was plenty of talk about the aftermath with the foxes. Enough to fuel a few nightmares for him, not that he told anyone about them. Half-moon medicine cat meetings? That explained the strange scents that seemed to linger in the air on half light nights. He hadn't really thought much of it but it was interesting to know.
Hearing of such violence made his skin crawl. He hadn't considered a lifestyle that included so much aggression. Granted, he when in the thick of defense training he felt fierce and aggressive.
"Maybe it because we don't have other tribes around," He mused aloud, but doubt was heavy in his voice. He tried to push away the idea of causing cat harm without a really good reason.
"I probably don't help that the valley is small. Skyteller said there is five Clan so it might feel little birds in a nest, arguing over worms," He added, shifting his attention around the gathering place. The idea of fighting over resources was something he hoped would never be apart of tribe life.
"Could we meet again? I mean it's really cool getting to know you but I should head back, I'm not a good tracker and I need to be careful not to lose my scent trail back home. Can we see each other in a couple of day? He asked, interested in learning all that he could but not all at once.
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Post by Taxx on Apr 5, 2019 13:27:35 GMT -5
CINDERPAW NIGHTCLAN rather be the hunter than the prey
It was as hard for Cinderpaw to imagine a life without defending what you had against others as it was for Stag Morning-light to consider a life where it was necessary. And, he supposed, each cat varied in their approach: some were more willing to warn while others drive straight to the attack. But the intent was the same: protect your territory at all costs. A slow shrug of his shoulders met the Tribe tom's statement- he didn't know this 'Skyteller' and while he might not agree with the comment, he wasn't entirely sure how to argue the point with a cat who wasn't Clan- who didn't really understand.
Ears pricked and Cinderpaw nodded, realizing suddenly that there was a warrior not far away staring at him and Stag; jumping to his paws, the apprentice gave a short nod. He could already tell he was in for an ear-chewing, and he had no desire to make it worse by lingering. "I'll try," he muttered, and then flicked his tail and turned away. "Now go back to where you came from!" Louder, nose in the air as he strode away from the border and Stag, not looking back as he approached Wrenstep, who flashed a last cool look at the young Tribe cat and then ignored him completely, walking at Cinderpaw's side as the two returned to the rest of their patrol. |
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