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Post by froscogo on Jul 31, 2012 13:52:03 GMT -5
Dragontooth gave a tight smile to /his/ clan and called out to them as he started charging forward, "Try to hunt along the way, we will need our strength" The soft green leaves above his head reminded him of the stark contrast that they were going to face. Foxwit followed closely behind his brother, with the fluffed up Marbleclaw. She was determined to avenge the apparent /deaths/, she couldn't even think of the word, of her young clanmates. When a nest of adolescent squirrels was disrupted, the three warriors scrambled to grab as many as they could before the prey scampered away. ---------- Willowrain watched her clanmates disappear into the forest, holding her breath tight she prayed that they would all return to her.
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Post by Frisby on Jul 31, 2012 14:07:29 GMT -5
Wolfecho loped along with the others, wincing slightly at the painful burns from the night before. He had his misgivings. How could their ragtag band save Starclan? With a grimace, he realized that even if they didn't make it back, they would have noble deaths. But these young cats.[/b] The tom couldn't help but direct some of his frustration at Dragontooth. It was unwise sending cats so inexperienced against the Dark Forest, even if the situation was dire. The Dark Forest. If the thought sent chills down the spine of a full grown warrior, how would a novice respond? Perhaps their naivety would protect them. A sickening feeling filled the tom's stomach as the grassland became marshy and the sound of the river swelled before them. The ominous-looking stone would soon be before them.
Asterfire panted as she brought up the rear of the group. In her mouth she carried a wad of chervil leaves. The curer didn't believe she'd be able to take them into the realm of the dead, but it was worth a shot. Her den had a good amount of chervil, and though she hated wasting herbs, this was the most dispensable of their stock. Anxious, she caught up to Foxwit, drawing comfort from the cool presence of the warrior. She longed to ask how much farther they had to go, but the herbs choked her mouth.
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Post by froscogo on Jul 31, 2012 14:21:26 GMT -5
Foxwit blinked down at the Curer, her pelt was dappled in an array of colors. He held one of the squirrels in his mouth, and noticed that Asterfire's mouth had herbs crammed into it. /Can those herbs somehow protect us?/ Dragontooth stopped before the river where the huge asteroid had lodged. He dropped his catch of prey and waited for what little cats the clan could offer to settle and eat quickly. Only four squirrels were caught and the clan would have to share them together.
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Post by Frisby on Jul 31, 2012 21:32:43 GMT -5
Wolfecho stared at the prey with a slight frown. It would serve as little more than a snack shared five ways, but it was generally a bad idea to eat too much before a battle. Trying not to seem to piggish, he sidled past the other cats and hooked a claw into one of the squirrels. "Does anyone mind?" He grinned sloppily and took a cautious bite, eyes flickering about. The tom jittered slightly, disguising the anxiety he felt under a smile.
Asterfire swallowed. She usually didn't eat with her clanmates, since Willowrain made a good companion over prey. The tip of her tail twitching slightly, she edged towards the play and glanced over to Foxwit beside her. "Share?" she suggested quietly, clearing her throat.
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Post by froscogo on Jul 31, 2012 21:58:15 GMT -5
Foxwit sat up and nodded once, his whiskers twitching in a tight smile. He always enjoyed honing his battle skills but he, ironically, couldn't stand battles. He merely like how he was able to master his muscles and preform so many combinations, it was like dancing. But the thought of being squeezed into a throng of slashing yowling enemies churned his stomach into a tight knot. He swallowed his timid mouthful carefully, not really hungry at all. ---- Dragontooth ran his dry tongue over his bushy whiskers. He looked around the five warriors. "Ready?" The squirrels were eaten and there was no point in drinking the murky stagnant water that was backed up by the huge asteroid. His muscles tired from having hardly any rest, they stiffly pushed him to the top of the rock. When the rest had gathered, he crouched over one of the many rain-filled divots and lapped at the shockingly icy water. As the claws of sleep raked his hide he called out, "I know we can do this, DayClan shall restore peace to the skies, DayClan shall bring the dawn of hope upon their hides to the choking night..."
Everything faded into a pricking darkness, chills dancing through the air...
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Post by Frisby on Aug 17, 2013 14:24:25 GMT -5
The air seemed dry and hazy as they hiked, the ground slowly rising up to the great crags of The Ridge. It seemed to coat their throats, parching them, even though they had stopped for a drink at the river only a short while ago. The climbed silently, wavering and feeling as if each stepped sapped their last reserve of energy from their muscles. Soon the trees closed in around them, but even then, out of the glare of an unforgiving sun, the weariness did not abate. Mistedstar came to a halt, panting. Charcoalstar continued for a short while, and then realized she had stopped. He turned, trying to gather the breath to suggest a rest, but before he could, she collapsed.
His senses came back to him as if jolted by electricity. The tom darted to her side. Her grey fur seemed dusted, and her eyes remained open slightly. Mistedstar's pelt appeared entirely still but no--it rose and fell ever so slightly. "Mist? Mistedstar?" He licked her cheek and nudged her eyes shut, staring in horror and numbness, completely unarmed and at a loss.
What to do?
He sat, staring out over the Maze through the trees beyond.
After some time he found the strength to stand, limbs leaden as they were, and dragged Mistedstar to a sheltered spot at the base of a tree. He lingered for a few moments and then turned, stumbling back downhill towards DayClan camp.
---x
With all the cats gone to save StarClan, the forest was as quiet as Willowrain had ever heard it. She jumped as the sound of stumbling pawsteps reached her from beyond the bramble passage. "Who's there?" she called out.
Charcoalstar raised his dusty head, staggering to a halt when he heard a familiar voice. So there still was life left in this world. Everything seemed so empty. "Charcoal..." The word rasped from his dry throat, and he hesitated to use the ending of his name, for was it really his own now? "The cat that was your leader."
Relief spread through Willowrain and she rushed out to meet him. At the sight of his ash-covered body she brushed up alongside him, to help him make it to the curer's den. "Where's Mistedstar?" she asked sternly.
Charcoalstar gave in to Willowrain's support, breathing heavily and trembling from exertion. "She's--she's fallen. Near the base of the Ridge...she just fell and seemed alive but so still..." His eyes focused on the clearing, and then he trembled from fear, emotions frayed as they were. "What happened to the clan?" He slowly recognized the soft sound of breathing behind him and saw the bodies lined up on the den, and terror crept over him. "I saw them at the river, just like this. Dead but not."
Fear widened in Willowrain's eyes. She nudged Charcoalstar into the den, and began to treat his burns. The methodical task at hand made it easier to explain everything that had amounted since Charcoalstar had left.
Mind cleared somewhat, but the terrible desperation within him just as present, he pronounced the only course of action he could think of. "The StarTree. It's the only place we can find answers, if there are any to be had."
Willowrain nodded as she shoved thyme leaves into Charcoalstar's face. "If we're going on that kind of journey, we'll need to rest and heal a bit more first. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now."
Charcoalstar hissed, sitting up, empowered by the clarity of his decision. "No! We cannot wait for this. I will take these herbs, but look at the cats about us. This is the death of both Clans hanging in the balance, and if we wait too long our way of life could meet its demise. The journey will not kill me. Letting the clan die, letting Mistedstar die; that would."
Willowrain nodded at first, but then shook her head as she found her voice welling up inside her. "I am your medicine cat, Charcoalstar, and as your medicine cat, I order you to rest tonight instead of straining your body till you become like the others."
Charcoalstar snarled, but he found no words to respond. She was right; if he joined Mistedstar in the dark sleep, he could be no use. The tom bristled and sank his claws into the ground, half blinded by frustration and a desire to renounce leadership once more and head off along--but instead he mastered himself and ate the leaves. He glowered at Willowrain and then stalked to the entrance of the den, wanted to be as far from the semi-lifeless forms as he could. Giving a tense sigh, the tom sat and curled up.
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Post by froscogo on Sept 3, 2013 18:28:31 GMT -5
In the early morning, Willowrain had gotten up and prepped the sleeping Clancats for the journey to Startree. She shoved their bodies deeper into the cave, setting them on what moss she had been able to find. The curer had set up herbs for the cats to eat if by some miracle they woke when she and Charcoalstar were gone. She wet their tongues and made sure that she could hear all of their heartbeats, bittersweet relief crept into her pelt with every warrior and apprentice that clung to life. Finding nothing more within her power to do, Willowrain padded quietly out of the cave to see if Charcoalstar was ready to begin their quest.
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Post by Frisby on Sept 8, 2013 21:19:07 GMT -5
Charcoalstar sat a little ways away from the mouth of the curer's den, looking in as Willowrain worked, a fogged expression on his face. He had begun to see the value in her words the night before, though he couldn't fully acknowledge that truth. The tom's dreams had been shreds of incoherent yowling and confusion, and though he awoke as sore as he had fallen asleep, the grating tension in his mind had eased some. He sat, watching and waiting, the noise in his head muffled into a shell-shocked silence. Soon, he knew, the terror and pain would come crashing back down.
Charcoalstar rose to his paws as Willowrain approached. He peered past her into the darkness, feeling a chill enter at the thought of what they were doing. What dire circumstance was this, that they had to abandon their injured? The tom sighed. Things used to be so different. Trees encircled the camp, but he imagined the Maze reaching up from the earth, a jagged graveyard for old memories.
"Let's go," he meowed quietly, turning and hiding the stiffness in his step.
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Post by froscogo on Sept 29, 2013 14:30:27 GMT -5
The sun climbed steadily as the two cats made there way towards Startree. Being out in the open calmed Willowrain slightly, she had never like having her view of the sky shut out by towering frames of the Maze. The sky was so different now than the night of falling stars. Yet there was still a feeling of foreboding in the cold cloudless blue and silent bursts of wind that chilled the medicine cat's skin though he pelt. In all the terror of the past few days, she had forgotten that leaf bare was fast approaching. Willowrain looked up at Charcoal(star), thinking of something to talk about but carried on without saying anything, deciding that the windblown silence was better than the trivial matters that were burned away by the asteroids.
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Post by Frisby on Oct 10, 2013 23:03:10 GMT -5
Charcoalstar's fur fluffed against the cold air that sifted through the grassy plain spread before them. He could feel places where fur had been singed off and the breeze cut through, sinking its numbing fingers into his skin. He glanced sideways at Willowrain, wondering why, of all cats, it was the two of them who were left to make this dismal journey. He ducked his head and lapsed into thought, realizing he knew very little about Willowrain's past. That was how it was for so many though; they had spent their days looking to the present and future, so whatever darkness hid in the past was easy enough to ignore. His mind inevitably drifted to Mistedstar, fear pestering him. The days were growing cold. Would she last on her own, out in the elements? His whiskers twitched nervously and he increased the pace of his strides, determined to make good time. Already he could see the tree on the horizon. Yet, as they drew near, his pawsteps grey hesitant. What could StarClan say? If the fall of meteorites had not been an indication of their rage, what had it been?
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Post by froscogo on Oct 21, 2013 16:48:18 GMT -5
Willowrain licked her nose, taking in the scents off the wind. Despite the cold she enjoyed smelling all of the grass and shrubs that lay spread out between her and the Startree. She had just stepped beyond the shelter of a bush when a frigid gust of wind spooked her and nearly knocked her off her paws. Embarrassed and flustered she crouched on her haunches and gave her chest fur a few quick licks. "The wind is definitely getting colder as the sun goes down. By nightfall it will be freezing, I hope we don't get a frost!" She closed her eyes, thinking of the rest of the clan, how exposed to the elements they were...
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Post by Frisby on Jan 7, 2014 13:41:13 GMT -5
*timelapse*
It was night when they reached the Startree. Charcoalstar stared coldly up at the distantly blinking stars of Silverpelt above them. It was a cloudless night and the wind cut sorely through his pelt. After a moment he lowered his gaze to the old crooked tree and felt a sensation of dread. What would they find there? What could StarClan possibly say? He glanced to Willowrain, wondering if she felt any of the same apprehension.
Willowrain hopped to the base of the tree. She settled on her haunches and looked over her shoulder at Charcoalstar. "Well, here we are." She tried to keep her voice steady, apprehension clawing at her stomach.
Charcoalstar dipped his head mutely and turned his attention back to the roots, where, in a few moments, he would be deeply unconscious. At least he wasn't the only one uncertain about things. Flexing his claws uneasily, he crept to the nook at the base and flicked his tail at Willowrain. "See you after." He touched his nose to the cold bark and felt consciousness draining like warmth from his body.
Willowrain nodded once and did the same. She felt her mind drifting away like the could of breath from her nostrils as she fell into sleep.
Charcoalstar knew the dream had begun when he felt a change in the air, a deep black emptiness on all sides. He sat up, feeling the substance beneath his feet and after a moment realized his eyes had been closed. As he blinked at the shadowy world about them he became aware of a pale light in the distance, growing in intensity like a star approaching them--he flinched involuntarily and glanced quickly to his left where Willowrain sat, illuminated by the glow. When he glanced back, the silvery light had solidified into a feline form, perhaps a tabby, whose pelt glittered and flickered as he breathed, watching them with frighteningly deep eyes. Within them glittered a thousandfold more stars than Charcoalstar had ever seen, turning slowly around a dark center.
His voice echoed deeply like the creaking boughs of an old oak. "Welcome my friends."
Charcoalstar took half a step back, overcome by the marvel of this creature. He was silent a moment, until the expectant gaze of the star-tom stirred him to voice his confusion and wonder. "Who-what are you?" He cast a glance to Willowrain, wondering if she had ever dreamed of this cat before. He suddenly felt very naive.
"I am Silverpelt. The ancestor of all warriors. The first to reach the stars."
"Why has StarClan punished us so?" Willowrain asked. Charcoalstar also bristled slightly, insulted by the calm and welcoming manner of Silverpelt in the face of what they had suffered.
"It is not StarClan who has punished you--indeed, they are as in grave danger as your clan."
"But StarClan is indestructible!"
Charcoalstar felt a coldness creeping through him. He was hardly a leader. How could he save StarClan?
Silverpelt lowered his gaze. "Your clan has been taken to the realm of the Dark Forest, where the outcasts from StarClan reside. It is filled with cruel warriors who hunger for revenge, and the fall of asteroids has opened a passage for their entry into the world you walk. They must be destroyed--for if your clan falls, so will your ancestors, and the night sky above your land will be as bleak and dark as that of the Forest itself." He paused. "You must enter the Dark Forest yourself and rally your forces against the enemy. Force them against the boundary with StarClan, and your ancestors will destroy them for good. Those of your own rank must not die." He expression darkened. "For if they do, then the hellcat's path is clear to possess the body of that fallen warrior. The transformation is permanent." Silverpelt shifted and a sense of wonder shook some of the darkness that had accumulated in Charcoalstar's mind. "You must head east of your camp to the river. There you will find the vacant bodies of your clanmates, and the asteroid that has transported them to the Forest. Touch your noses to the stone, and you will join them. But hurry. It will not be long before the Dark Forest cats seek to claim your warriors' bodies as their own."
Silverpelt turned his attention to Willowrain. "Come, we must gather the ranks of StarClan and ready them for the battle."
Silverpelt's words suddenly filled Willowrain with warmth and courage. Her paws no longer trembled as she followed him into the light. She stopped as her fur started to disappear. "Good luck Charcoalstar."
Charcoalstar raised his head and blinked into the consuming brightness. "Thank you," he murmured quietly. Then the darkness folded over him.
- - -
Charcoalstar woke to the cold, stiffly standing and fluffing out his pelt. He glanced around in the dark, but Willowrain's huddled form was no longer beside him. He glanced into the deep darkness, bewildered, but there was no trace of her. He stood silently a moment, then glanced wonderingly up at the stars. She was in good paws, somewhere. Taking a cold breath, he padded homewards.
By the time he reached the camp, dawn was spreading over the sky, but he continued on until the burble of the river filled his ears. There. He spotted the odd, deathly still wreath of cats about the misshapen asteroid. What had put it in their minds to seek the stone, instrument of so much destruction? He padded warily up to it and leapt to its summit, avoiding the water that now burbled on either side of the stone. Giving a final look to the forest around him, he took a slow breath and lowered himself to the stone, lapping of the condensation that filled its crevices. A clammy feeling swept over him, and he tumbled into a sickly sleep.
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Post by Frisby on Jan 3, 2015 15:40:20 GMT -5
((from Dark Forest RP)) Wolfecho snarled as he forced Silence into a retreat, backing him up against the translucent wall. The black tom's claws tangled in Wolfecho's long fur, and they tumbled both, dangerously close to the border. At the very edge, Wolfecho broke free, pummeling Silence in the stomach and sending him across. He was gone.
He pulled himself slowly to his feet and blinked--at the late afternoon light. The river gurgled noisily nearby. He blinked a few times. "Dragontooth?" he remembered seeing his brother, locked in battle...What had happened?
---
Willowrain looked up from another warrior, relief washing into her eyes. "Wolfecho! Thank goodness, I wasn't able to see the end of the battle, my body woke before then." The slim medicine-cat stepped over Marbleclaw's stiff form and sniffed over the gray warrior's body. "It doesn't seem that any of your injuries followed you back. How is your energy?"
Wolfecho's eyes snapped on to Willowrain, startled by her presence. "Well, I guess we won." He glanced down at his pelt, surprised to see it unmarred. "I am--I would enjoy a nap. It doesn't seem quite real..." He noticed the other unconscious cats. "Are they...still there?" He padded, somewhat unsteadily, towards the others, sniffing their pelts.
Newflight gasped and snapped his eyes open. When he tried to get up, his paws tangled, numb, and he rested back into the grass. "Ethre?" he meowed, looking around him. Willowrain stepped up to Newflight, and began licking his legs to get the blood flowing again. She glanced back to Wolfecho, "I think so, I haven't checked everyone. I just had enough time to drag everyone off of that rock and away from the water." She nosed Newflight to his feet. "You can check on Dragontooth and Mudd, Wolfecho. If you want, they were the ones I didn't get to."
Wolfecho padded over to Dragontooth first and sniffed his pelt. It was warm, and he could see the slow rise and fall of his pelt. He nudged his brother with a paw and Dragontooth grunted quietly.
"Hmm," Wolfecho mumbled, drifting over to Mudd. Immediately he realized something was wrong. He watched her flank for movement, but she was still. The grey tom glanced over his shoulder. "Willowrain," he called quietly. "I think...Mudd..."
Willowrain leapt from Ethre's body over to the sister. In a glance, the she-cat agreed. She dipped her head and thought for a moment. "Wolfecho, if... if you and your body is willing, it would help me a great deal if you brought Mudd to the burial place. We can lay her to rest later. Priority goes to the cats that are still alive."
Wolfecho dipped his head wordlessly and nuzzled under Mudd's cold pelt. Her body was still soft and slumped over his shoulders. With careful steps, he padded up the slope away from the river and towards the beginnings of the ridge.
Phoenix sat up slowly and watched Wolfecho pad away, trying to force the name into his memory. /I am Dragontooth,/ he thought, bemused. He blinked a few times, realizing the slight difference in what he was seeing was due to the fact that the sight in his left eye had been restored. /Willowrain,/ he thought, looking over at the she-cat and flicking his tail.
Willowrain's ears pricked and she turned to see Dragontooth rising and blinking at his surroundings. "Oh good! Dragontooth, I was worried that we were going to have to choose a new leader. I didn't see how the battle ended, Newton and Ethre seem to be alright, and I'm sure Marbleclaw shall recover." she sighed, twitching her tails at the huddled forms. She looked back to the orange tom, eyes wide. "What happened?"
/Leader?/ Phoenix smiled. "Have you no faith in my fighting abilities, Willowrain? It was a hard fight, but a fight won. The cats of the Dark Forest were expelled to the border and destroyed. I do not think we will have much trouble from them, ever again." His eyes flickered over to the sleeping cats, and then to Wolfecho, wondering if indeed his fellow exiles had been destroyed, or if they had followed him here.
--
Charcoalstar sat. The camp was empty but for a few cats unconscious in the medicine cat den. He guessed the others to be at the river - and Mistedstar - she was at the mountain, where she had "passed on" to the Dark Forest with the others. He flexed his paws. His injuries had not been retained, but his limbs were weak and the walk from Startree had weakened him enough. He padded to the mouth of the medicine cat den and curled up, trusting in Mistedstar's ability to find her way back.
--
Ethre awoke, and immediately felt the difference in her throat. She was as she had been before the episode in the forest. The she-cat stood slowly and looked to Newflight, not sure what to think or feel. They were back, they were alive, but not, she knew, her sister.
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