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Post by Taxx on Feb 19, 2019 21:03:10 GMT -5
Teller of the Mountain Sky The avalanche had caused more trouble than Skyteller knew how to handle and this was exactly why he had never really wanted to be Skyteller. But how could he step down now? These cats, all of them, relied on him to lead them. To have solutions to every problem that arose. Now, not only was he dealing with several injured cats- one of them his Cave-guard Lead- he had lost two. Light had been buried under a pile of stones at the foot of the path, and Mink... Mink had yet to be found under the snow. She was dead and they all knew it, but her body remained unreachable and would until the Time of Freed Water.
Another complication: their hunting grounds lay on the other side of the snow, and it was impassable; the first party to attempt crossing it had resulted in another injury- what had appeared to be a solid surface had hidden a deep hole and Storm had fallen. He was stunned, but not badly hurt, and they had managed to tunnel down to allow him to climb out.
He was worried about them all but he wasn't sure what to do. Green was in no shape to lead the cave-guards, and the path to their hunting grounds was too dangerous. He could think of only one solution, and he didn't like it. But, so long as they stayed out of the Clans' hunting grounds... there was enough valley, surely, to support a small group as themselves. He didn't like it, but he knew the alternative was to starve, and that wouldn't do.
Green and Moon were still lying in nests in his small alcove, resting and recovering from their ordeal, and both worried him. Moon was having nightmares, constantly starting up and gasping about the snow racing toward her; he'd been dosing her and Dusk with thyme, to calm and help them relax- but Green worried him the most. She'd suffered a badly broken leg, and she, quite the opposite, seemed to rarely wake unless shaken.
Leaning over her now, Skyteller checked her breathing; it was steady, not rasping- clear breaths. Which was good, at least, and he let her sleep. He glanced over at Moon, too, tucked close to Lizard, and gave the tabby she-cat a nod before heading out into the main cave.
"Cats of the Tribe, gather to hear what I have to say," he called, sitting just to the side of the alcove, waiting until he had gained the attention of the crowd before continuing. "We have matters to discuss; I don't have to tell any of you of the avalanche, or those injured by it. We can't reach our hunting grounds as a result; we may not be so lucky with the next attempt. So we will need to send our prey-hunters down to the valley, to catch what prey we can find there. If there are concerns, speak them, we will listen."
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Post by Fawn on Feb 23, 2019 2:38:23 GMT -5
Dusk that Shrouds the Forest Home is when you're right where you should be Prey-Hunter, 60 Moons Skyteller wanted to hunt in the valley? It made sense, but Dusk still felt a prickling of unease brush his fur against the grain. Though his sore body protested any unnecessary movement, Dusk stiffly made his way closer to where the enormous pale ginger tom was speaking. "We'll need to be careful," said Dusk, dark, patched ears briefly flattening as he caught the Tribe's whole attention. Being in the spotlight always made him uncomfortable, but the importance of what he had to say subverted his unease.
"The Clans are going to be tense, hostile even, because it's leafbare." Dusk exchanged a glance with Snow, wondering if she mirrored his concerns. "I don't know how it was in LightningClan, but NightClan hunting parties would sometimes go to the edge of the mountains to hunt what we can. If we go to the valley, we'll run into Clan cats. But if we make sure to stay outside of their borders, we'll manage."
There were a few cats muttering nearby, some not bothering to keep their voices down.
"Why are Clan cats so stingy?"
"They have a whole valley full of prey and no avalanches to worry about. They shouldn't care if we hunt a little, just to survive."
"Bah. That border nonsense is why they're always fighting. We have hungry mouths to feed, same as them!"
Us and Them. Dusk's posture suggested extreme discomfort, and he struggled to make his voice heard, feeling his loyalties split down the middle. He wanted to defend the Clans - most Tribe cats didn't understand how the Clans worked or why borders were so important - but not if it meant angering his Tribemates in the process.
"It's—It's complicated," Dusk finished off meekly.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2019 0:56:31 GMT -5
Wolf moved off from where he’d been playing with Lily when Skyteller called the Tribe together, giving his daughter a quick lick between the ears before heading over to listen. The healer’s announcement that they would be hunting the valley got his full attention as concern rose in him over the Clans that lived there. He knew Skyteller had visited a few of them, and that a couple of his Tribemates were originally from the Clans as well, but old fears rose at the thought of going down into the valley, something his parents warned him never to do. Dusk spoke up and all eyes turned to him. This was a former Clan cat, Wolf was interested in what he might have to say about this plan. His thick pelt rippled uneasily as Dusk stated that the Clans would be hostile due to the season. He snorted. From all he’d heard, the Clans were always hostile. Though he knew that wasn’t true from Skyteller’s excursions to meet them, he had yet to see for himself just how different they might be from the stories his parents had told him. The fact remained, the avalanche had blocked their hunting grounds, as Skyteller said. And he would do whatever needed to be done to ensure his daughter, and the cats that had saved her life, did not go without. He turned his gaze back to Skyteller among all the muttering. He didn’t care why the Clans did what they did. None of them were going to change it. “Some of the Clans are friendly with us, aren’t they? You’ve visited with them? Should we stick to hunting near their territories? Would they be more understanding if we ran into them, or accidentally crossed their borders?”
Fawn Taxx |
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GaleClan Leader
GorgeClan Medicine Cat
INVENTORY
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Post by Ghost the Undead Goddess on Feb 26, 2019 5:43:59 GMT -5
Moon
12 Moons || Tribe of Forgotten Waters To-Be
The last few days had been difficult.
Terrifying and a hazy blur from both the inability to sleep due to nightmares and the herbs given by her trusted healer and leader to relax and soothe her erratic mind. The avalanche was still fresh within everyone's mind, especially those who had survived being buried alive within the chilly, unforgivable snow.
Being drawn from the dreamless sleep she had been drugged into, the tiny feline shifted within the nest she currently shared with Lizard. While the green eyed tabby wasn't her birth mother, it didn't prevent the bond that formed between the kit-mother and the kit. And so, the Cave-Guard watched over the small white fluff cloud named Moon, as the fresh To-Be recovered slowly from her ordeal.
Though Lizard silently worried about Moon's mental health once the nightmares were to stop.
Skyteller's rumble brought Moon more from her drowsiness, ears flickering as she retained what was being spoken by the large tomcat. It was a moment before those pretty blue pools of her blinked open, adjusting to her surroundings before glancing up at the brown tabby curled protectively around her her much smaller form. Lizard's attention was trained completely on where Skyteller's voice was coming, barely able to see the back of his stature from where she lay.
With her adoptive daughter's fidgeting, Lizard turned her attention to Moon as green met blue for a moment. With a gentle flick on the white youngster's nose with her tail, the former Kit-Mother lifted her large form from the shared nest and made her way over towards the entrance of the cave so that she could view the meeting as well as see it. After all, she was an experienced Cave-Gaurd, and she would be needed should the Prey-Hunters venture out of unknown territories.
Within a second Moon was pressed up against her adoptive mother's flank, a little unsteady on her paws as she will still a bit drowsy, but nerves and anxiety made her not want to be alone at the moment. The only other cat within the den at the moment was Green, and she was hardly awake from what she understood.
"These 'Clan Cats' may be hostile, but I am not about to let any of our tribesmates go hungry because they don't want to share the prey down in the valley." Lizard finally spoke up in that rough voice of hers, after listening in turn to both Dusk and Wolf, though she hardly gave much of a glance towards the former Nightclanner. She had never been a big fan of the cats who lived in separate clans with aggressive views towards others.
Clan cats...
Lizard never talked about them from the time the two she-cats shared together, but Moon was aware that many of their tribesmates were formerly from these 'clans', they even once bore different names given to them by their own Skyteller... Or rather, they were called leaders with -star at the end of their given name.
Moon found it all rather interesting.
"I'd rather out hunting parties not end in bloodshed, but I'm willing to protect our Prey-Hunters so they can feed those unable to feed themselves." Moon sat and stared up at Lizard as the large feline spoke with confidence. The white feline had heard stories about how brave and fearless, how selfless her adoptive mother was, but it always seemed to impress the youngster every time she saw it for herself.
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Post by Taxx on Feb 26, 2019 14:15:05 GMT -5
Teller of the Mountain Sky Dusk's concerns were Skyteller's own; he had been on the receiving end of suspicion when he hadn't crossed borders; he wasn't looking forward to dealing with the consequences of what would happen if a cat did. He dipped his head to the dark tom to acknowledge his words, ears flicking at the murmur of talk that followed. He glanced over at Wolf as he spoke up, and then at Lizard.
Snow padded to stand at Dusk's shoulder, her tail flicking a bit; she didn't exactly like hearing the Tribe speak about her former Clan like that, but she did understand... knowing the views of both sides was hard. "It would be best to have each party involve a- a former Clan cat. One who understands and could smooth over possible troubles." It was the best solution she could think of, and she hoped it would work.
Skyteller shifted. "Avoiding the Clans' borders is imperative. We can try to hunt by the territories of the two Clans we talked to, but the terrain of StoneClan is most familiar... perhaps we should focus our efforts there." He caught sight of the brief frown on Snow's face before she glanced away and continued, prompting her to speak. "Unless you have another idea, Snow?"
She hesitated, flicking a glance over her shoulder at Ice before continuing. "The valley offers a wider range of prey... I know we rely most on birds here, but there are other creatures we can hunt... but they would require looking further through the valley." Which meant also venturing into territory unfamiliar to the Tribe- woodland along TreeClan, rivers backing RainClan, and NightClan's marshes. She wasn't sure if they could cope with that- or, she realized, if the Tribe would even want to eat creatures they were unfamiliar with.
"Maybe later," Skyteller decided, but gave both Dusk and Snow a nod to acknowledge their input. "River, set up patrols to rotate three prey-hunters at a time to go to the valley. Two trips a day should do... we need prey, but we can't risk pushing ourselves to exhaustion." His gaze swept the cats again and then he shifted.
"Now, with Green injured, I am putting Storm in charge of the Cave-guards until her recovery. Give him the respect you would give Green. Which brings me to our final matter. We will not attend the Gathering of the Clans this season- it is too risky. But I would like to take a small group down to talk to the leaders about our joining them for the Gathering during the Time of Freed Water." Tribe of Forgotten Waters |
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Post by Fawn on Mar 31, 2019 23:25:17 GMT -5
Dusk that Shrouds the Forest Home is when you're right where you should be Prey-Hunter, 60 Moons Order was restored and a plan was presented to the Tribe that would (hopefully) ensure their survival. Dusk stepped forward, following Snow's sage advice and wordlessly offering himself up to join the first hunting patrol if need be. "Should I take Eagle with me?" Dusk sent the question to Skyteller, though he would welcome the input of someone wiser, regardless of their rank. "It might be a good experience for her." Or it might be dangerous.
Dusk recalled the sloping climb he and Peregrine had made when he'd first found his way to the Tribe. Going down could be equally as rough, especially with his body still sore and battered from the avalanche. I feel like a snail that escaped a thrush, but not without a few cracks. Though he longed to curl up in his nest, perhaps with a bit of thyme to keep the stress of uneasy dreams at bay, he needed to play his part.
It was strange - fortunate, but strange - that his status as a Clan cat continued to be useful to his new family. He was glad of it; better that than have his NightClan history be just an awkward conversation topic, something for kits and to-bes to badger him with questions about.
"I'd like to take Dark with me, as well." said Dusk, his cerulean gaze sweeping over to find the distinctive bent ear and somber face of his littermate, Darkblaze - or Lights Blazing in the Dark, as he was now known to the Tribe. Dusk said 'I'd like', as if this were somehow voluntary. But every cat in the oasis, likely Skyteller included, knew that Dark clung to his brother's side tighter than a burr. They had lost much, and Dark was determined to lose no more.
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