[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

[googlefont=Pavanam][googlefont=Sigmar One]

H

e stared up at the blood-red circle of the moon that hung above the trees, a vibrant eye glaring between the branches at the cats that wove below. Asterpaw wasn't sure what this night entailed. Foxfur had tried his best to explain, mouthing the words Asterpaw needed to make sense of what Pumastar had chosen him to embark on. But even with that unspoken explanation, Asterpaw felt a twinge of blended nervousness and excitement, unable to process what this "gathering" was in his imagination. Mossheart was beside him, his chocolate brown coat rippling beneath the moonlight. The tom was saying something to another apprentice, but Asterpaw wasn't great at lipreading when the other cat was both moving and tilting their muzzle slightly away from him. He wondered for a moment about this concept that other cats could sense something in the world that he couldn't. It had been explained to him that he was born without hearing, but having never experienced it, he had no idea what it was he wasn't hearing. It was so strange to think that other cats could make sound and understand eachother, even when they could not see eachother. What could that possibly be like?

A scent hit his mouth, a terrible odour that made his fur bristle and his claws unsheathe. The same scent of the cats who had attacked his home and his family in the night. Asterpaw was finding it impossible to forgive them for their violent hatred. Mossheart rested a tail against his white shoulder, golden eyes reproachful. Worried. Asterpaw shook the tail away and nodded to him, a promise that he wasn't going to do anything. He wouldn't run away, and he wouldn't fight. He already knew this was supposed to be peaceful, and no violence was allowed to happen so long as the full moon was free of clouds. He glanced up again at the bloodied moon, and wondered if the "truce" he had been lectured about counted when the moon looked so furious.

All at once cats around him were pouring down between StarClan's claws like water. Asterpaw followed, his white pelt glaringly obvious in the dark night, his blue eyes glancing around with a mixture of panic and curiousity. He didn't know what to do, or how to interact with cats he didn't know. Especially cats who... That scent again, that marshy, rotten stench hit his nose, and he flicked his tail and moved away from it, closer to the cats who smelled of fish. He didn't know what to do with himself as he watched Mossheart peel away and plant himself at the base of the huge rock that stuck out as an obvious landmark. Pumastar slithered up on top, his bright orange eyes flashing in the dark even from this distance. Asterpaw was aware of cats moving around him, settling into social cliques. His white ear flicked uncertainly. He wished he knew how to approach them, the strangers. But none of them knew he didn't like to speak, as it frustrated him that other cats rarely understood him clearly. He wished Glacierspring were here.

WORDS ☆ 518 words
OOC ☆ Please join in!! Asterpaw needs his diplomacy. <3

[Abyss]

Rustpaw

Rainclan She-Cat

I'm talking with a big smile

It was strange, waking up when the sun was already high in the sky earlier that day. She had never slept in since she first became an Apprentice, but today seemed to be an exception. Other than the fact that she had remained curled up in her small nest next to Dewfrost’s empty one most of the morning, everything felt surprisingly normal. She had stretched coming out of her bed, spoke a quick good morning to her mentor, and exited the Medicine Cat den. She passed a few Warriors on her way out, heading towards the river that surrounded camp.

As her tongue lapped at the water, a voice caught her attention, dark russet ears perked and rotated to listen in. “It’s been a while since you’ve been to a gathering right?”

Wait, the gathering?
OH! The gathering! That’s tonight!

Amber eyes far wider than their normal roundness, the small she-cat whipped around, back paws sliding into the water for a split second before she trotted rather quickly back to the den. Though she slipped a little bit rounding the corner, her sudden burst of excitement allowed her to catch herself, sparkling gaze locking onto her mentor.

“We are going to the gathering, right?!”

Bright blue pools peered at her briefly and rather unfazed, the fluffy tail that loomed behind her flicking. “Yes. Make yourself presentable before we go.”


Those had been the last words she spoke with her mentor until they began their leave of camp. The small rusty-red she-cat trotted alongside Dewfrost, gazing past the forms of Silverstar and Emberlight in search of their destination. This was going to be her very first gathering, and even though her excitement was hard to contain, she felt she had to keep it controlled under her mentor’s watchful eye.

A brief memory clicked in her mind, from the first time she had ever actually seen Starclan’s Claws. She and Dewfrost had gone out to look for herbs, and she had rolled quite quickly down the hill into the clearing at the center of the stones. That was the day that she had met Ebonyheart and Sagepaw, the Medicine Cat and the Medicine Cat Apprentice of Stoneclan and Treeclan. And not too long after that day, she had attended her very first Medicine Cat meeting, where she was officially inducted as Dewfrost’s Apprentice. Technically that meeting hadn’t been very long ago, but to her it still felt as though it happened just yesterday. And now she got to go to the actual gathering!

As they crested the hill that led to the gathering-place, she was surprised to find that the clearing was nearly the same as the last time she had seen it. Only this time, rather than the sun’s rays shining down on the stones, it was moonlight that danced across the open space. But, other than that, she didn’t see what she had expected to. She had heard how the sacred land would be filled with cats from all of the clans, with the five Leaders and another cat she couldn’t quite remember the details of watching over them. But the clearing was empty. Maybe they were the first to arrive?

Just as the group of Rainclan cats arrived into the clearing, a scent began to tingle across the surface of her tongue. It was actually a familiar scent, when she thought back to her previous meet-ups with Shadowchaser. Just as she and Dewfrost settled into a secluded spot near the Leader’s stone, she spotted that friendly dark-furred feline, as well as the rest of those in his clan, coming from the marshy territory of Nightclan.

Though, before long, cats of all appearances, smells, and directions came filtering into the clearing. So this was what they meant when they said the clearing would be full. It was amazing to think that this many cats lived in the same valley, and this wasn’t even all of them!

Cats began to separate and come together in groups, some meeting with friends from other clans, and others keeping to themselves. With bright eyes, she looked to her white and brown-furred mentor, her gaze rather hopeful. “Dewfrost, can I go explore and see all the cats?!”

The older she-cat was hesitant, but she nodded. “Don’t stray too far.”

A little branch of adrenaline shot through her, small paws quick to twist and turn her towards the plethora of cats. She trotted forward, tail high and flicking joyfully behind her, with those bright orbs scanning the area around her. Her ears flicked at movement out of the corner of her eye, gaze shifting sideways to peer up at where the five Leaders stood. Of course, the first figure she found herself peering at was Silverstar, but she couldn’t help but look at the others as well. A dark-pelted tortoiseshell, a tall and lanky gray, another gray feline who seemed younger than the other, and finally a very scary-looking black cat. She couldn’t quite pinpoint who belonged to which clan, but all of them were rather eye-catching in their own way.

Pushing past this distraction, she stepped forward, only to turn and find that she was only a claw-length away from stepping on a fluffy white tail, nearly running into the owner of said tail. She quickly did a small jump backwards, eyes widening at the cat in front of her. They were a pure, vibrant white that she was sure would be blinding in the daylight. But in moonlight, they almost looked shiny silver.

“Oh, hello! I’m sorry for almost stepping on you! I am-” She paused, lightly tilting her head. Something seemed...different. Familiar, actually. She didn’t want to automatically make an assumption, so she waited until they responded or looked at her, if they noticed at all.

but they haven't got a clue.

964 | ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 | Notes

[Deleted]

Currantpaw

Female Apprentice of NightClan

This was just so surreal to the tortoiseshell she-cat. It was her first gathering, and there was a orange-red moon in the sky. The only thing that she couldn't seem to figure out was if that was a good or bad thing. She didn't want to really waste her time trying to figure out whether or not it was or wasn't either. She knew that she needed to break out of her shell, but if she was to do that, she had to talk to someone, anyone. But, there was the problem, she didn't exactly know how to start something off like this without making a giant fool of herself.

It really was bound to happen. But, she couldn't rely on Stoatclaw and Ebonypaw to carry her own paw through these things. So, she had to figure it out on her own. She was silently glad that her brother wasn't brought along with tonight. That made things a little bit easier for her, to not have to worry about that. Currantpaw looked around, trying to find someone who didn't look like they would smack her for attempting to talk to them. That was one of her biggest fears. She saw some cats, and decided to just go over to them.

One would be willing to talk to her right? Of course, this new greeting possibly wouldn't do. The new greeting was something that she is thoroughly embarrassed about. Why? Because on her way over to the other cat, she tripped on her own paws, went rump over her head and tumbled into the cat instead. "Oof, I'm sorry..." She quickly rolled to her paws and padded away a few steps, just incase she accidentally hurt the other cat.

Thinking. "Speaking."

288

♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 Abyss

notes: please let me know if I need to change anything

[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

[googlefont=Pavanam][googlefont=Sigmar One]

A

sterpaw kept his bright blue gaze fixed up at the leaders, who seemed to be chatting among themselves on top of the high-rock. Pumastar was a fearsome sight, and even now that Asterpaw had begun training with the inky black tom, he still felt a thrill of alarm as his imposing teeth flashed in the night. Cats wove around him, a crowd of contrasting colours and powerful scents. He felt isolated in the midst of them, like a lone leaf washed downstream. He spotted a group of young cats chatting amongst themselves, heads bent together, smiling. He stood to approach them, then sat down again with a defeated ‘plonk’. It was too awkward.

It was a while before he noticed that someone was watching him. He didn’t know how long she had stood there, but when he finally turned his head, a russet-brown she-cat was staring at him with expectant golden-brown eyes. Her fur was thick but short, like his, quite pretty. He realised from her expression that she must have said something to him, or tried to get his attention, and he felt his fur bristle slightly with embarrassment. His white tail, which he had no idea had come dangerously close to being trod on, waved in the air in a friendly greeting. She smelled vaguely of water… and fish. He almost wrinkled his nose, but at the very least, she didn’t smell marshy like the NightClan cats did. He lifted a white paw to gesture vaguely towards his large white ears, but wasn’t sure if that helped much. He probably just looked out of his mind to her.

He felt a sudden, indescribable urge to ask for her name, and was mustering up the courage to actually do it when something collided with his flank. He launched himself into the air in a blur of white, bushed up fur, his tail sticking straight up in alarm. Claws unsheathed, blue eyes wide with a blend of shock and outrage, he turned to face his attacker. A tortoiseshell molly blinked at him, looking more like an innocent party than a vicious enemy. He would have relaxed if she hadn’t smelled so strongly of NightClan. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, and he edged backwards, closer to the RainClan apprentice, his whiskers trembling with anger. He felt she had done it intentionally to embarrass him, and it worked, he felt ashamed of his display of alarm. None of the other TreeClan apprentices had jumped out of their pelt at the slightest touch. He began to groom his fur back into place, keeping one eye open and fixed on the NightClan tortoiseshell in case she tried anything else.

WORDS ☆ 444 words
TAGS ☆ Abyss @caelia

[Abyss]

Rustpaw

Rainclan She-Cat

I'm talking with a big smile

It took a little bit of time, but the bright white cat finally turned their head to look back at her, a surprised look crossing their face. If she was truthful, she couldn’t quite tell if this was a tom or a she-cat, and she didn’t want to be rude and assume. But it was not this lack of knowledge that caught her off guard.

Rather than speak to her in return, she watched as one of their paws lifted, lightly motioning to their ears. This action brought forth a memory in her mind, back to when she was a kit. Luckily, she hadn’t grown too old to forget this memory just yet, if she ever did. That was the same motion that Frozensong had performed, only with her tail, when they first met, indicating that she couldn’t hear what Rust had said. That meant that this young cat in front of her was like Frozen! They were deaf! Not quite something to be necessarily excited for under normal circumstances, but she couldn’t help but feel a little bit of excitement course through her. She would get to see if she could understand another cat who couldn’t speak’s way of communicating!

Strangely, against what she had expected, the cat began to open their jaws as if they were going to speak. But rather than do so, they suddenly jumped, alarm flashing across their face. It wasn’t until they jumped that she spotted another cat, seemingly the same age as her or around the same age, behind them. Her ears perked, unsure of what had happened, but she was led to presume that the approaching tortoiseshell had ran into them, or had stepped on their tail like she almost had.

Wide amber eyes looked back and forth between the white cat and the tortoiseshell, slightly at a loss of what to do. She just barely caught the most recent addition to the little meeting speak, a feminine voice apologizing for whatever she had done. Ok, so the white cat was deaf and the tortoiseshell wasn’t. This was...kind of a difficult situation. But, she had to think positively. She was meeting new cats! And, based on the different scents that came from both of them, they both were from other clans.

“Oh, hello!” Her words were first addressed to the tortoiseshell, but her gaze shifted, looking to the white Apprentice who now stood at her side. She leaned forward slightly, tilting her head more into the other’s field of view in an attempt to get their attention. With a comforting smile, her fluffy tail lifted, very slowly making contact with the frightened cat’s flank, brushing their fur together. Frozensong had done this in the past to comfort her, so perhaps it would work for them too?

She glanced back to the tortoiseshell, smile still on her face. “It’s ok! I think this cat is deaf, so they didn’t hear you!” She tried her best to sound optimistic about the situation, despite the rather passive-aggressive appearance the white cat at her side now took on. Why did they react the way they did? Maybe they really just didn’t like getting scared?

Her amber gaze met that of the other she-cat’s own yellow, a smile crossing her jaws. “I’m Rustpaw, of Rainclan!” She then turned, looking to the white cat once more. She waited until they met her gaze once more, if they did, before she attempted to mouth out her name to them as well, attempting to move her mouth in a more clear fashion as to what she was saying.

but they haven't got a clue.

599 | ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 @caelia | Notes

[Deleted]

Currantpaw

Female Apprentice of NightClan

Well, this was going swimmingly in Currantpaw's mind. Not only did she accidentally tumble into another cat, but she startled them and now was basically being watched like an enemy. She looked from the white cat to the red tabby and she lowered her dome a little bit looking at them. She was attempting to apologize, and find the words to do so at the same time. Only, the white cat was deaf? That was going to make things hard. She's never dealt with a cat with deafness before.

"I-I'm Currantpaw... of NightClan..." She looked at the white cat and lowered her gaze and head some more, hoping that it showed that she was sorry. "I really am sorry... I.. tripped over my own paws..." Maybe by admitting that she was at fault and how it happened would help? Perhaps Rustpaw knew of a way to communicate with the other cat where Currantpaw didn't? She didn't know, but after a few moments, she straightened up a bit, but didn't move any closer to them.

She already felt like she had done wrong, she didn't want to make it worse. She also didn't know what else to say. This whole socializing thing really was difficult. "Umm... this is my first gathering..." Was that an appropriate thing to say? Didn't she hear correctly that Rustpaw was the RainClan Medicine Cat Apprentice too? She'd inquire about that later, maybe. Right now, she turned her gaze back to the white cat. "Wh-what's your name?" She was hoping that the other cat was at least able to read lips.

If not, this might be harder than she anticipated for her first attempt at a conversation with another cat. Or in this case, two other cats.

Thinking. "Speaking."

291

♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 Abyss

[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

[googlefont=Pavanam][googlefont=Sigmar One]

T

his other cat seemed to be watching him with a certain aura of confusion and interest, and Asterpaw wondered what was going through her head as she watched him. He felt odd, like he was being scrutinised, and he didn’t like the senstation. He hoped the other cat wasn’t passing judgement on him or something. With that small gesture of his paw, he noticed with surprise that the other cat’s eyes had seemed to light up with excitement. He wondered what that meant. Cats from beyond the forest were strange, but… interesting. With an elegant flick of his tail, he kept one eye on the rust-coloured she-cat, much more interested in her than the NightClan cat that had blundered into him. After all, the tortoiseshell was still his enemy in his eyes, truce or no truce. She couldn't be trusted.

Suddenly the rust-coloured she-cat was leaning forward, her friendly face taking up most of his field of view. His paw dropped down from his mouth, blue eyes meeting amber. She had a smile that spread to her eyes, a show of genuity that Asterpaw couldn't help but like. She would make a better denmate than Glacierspring's mouse-brained sisters, that was for sure. Her dark-tipped tail brushed his flank, but instead of jumping at the contact, a feeling of ease settled over him. His white fur flattened, each angrily bristling tip coming to a rest along his back. He heaved a sigh, reluctantly looking at the tortoiseshell and pushing hard to drain the malice from his own gaze. When the other cat finally caught his attention again, she was mouthing something. Asterpaw found with a surge of relief that she wasn't difficult to read at all, and that he know knew her name. Rustpaw. Losing the courage he had previously built up to attempt to speak to Rustpaw in front of the NightClan apprentice, he mouthed his own name instead. “Asterpaw. TreeClan.” There was a scent of herbs wafting around Rustpaw, a scent that he certainly recognised. “Medicine cat?” He mouthed slowly, a more difficult pair of words to read, which was why he took his time enunciating.

As much as Asterpaw didn't trust NightClan cats, the tortoiseshell she-cat that had knocked into him couldn't seem less threatening. She had her head lowered in what appeared to be an ashamed stoop, and he found himself twitching his tail slightly as suspicion tugged at the back of his mind. Was she just pretending to be meek? How could such a bashful-looking she-cat come from NightClan of all places? Weren't they all supposed to be... his gaze flicked to the black and orange molly that slunk up the great rock, her fiery gaze visible even from this distance... like that? Doubtful, he still repeated his name to the NightClan apprentice when she asked for it. “Asterpaw.” He hoped that they wouldn't misread his attempts to mouth his name and thing his name was something ridiculous. He'd never really had to communicate his name to anyone before, every cat in TreeClan knew his name already and there was no need for him to try and non-verbally convey it.

WORDS ☆ 524 words
TAGS ☆ Abyss @caelia