#Deerkit

[forestclan-clangen]

MOON 11 (FINAL)

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Talontooth hunts before dawn, hoping to bring something back for Morningspot.

A poor choice.

(Talontooth, warrior, male, 16 moons. Adventurous)

---

Talontooth had to be honest with himself, for once. Iciclepool taught him how to keep a level head, and to be quick on his feet about it. Surely she didn't teach him these skills only for them to go to waste, right?

But somehow, his instinct to blurt out the first thing that came to his head was totally muffled around Morningspot, and that frustrated him.

He didn't get it. It wasn't always this way. When Cloudthunder found Morningkit and brought her back to camp at just a moon old, he was just happy to finally have a playmate, for once. Oh yeah, sure, for the first moon she didn't really "get" mossball, but once she actually got it, she was the best basket-keeper ever. She planted herself in front of it and kept batting away at the ball and leaping at it like her life depended on it, wide-eyed with fear at the very concept of letting the ball go through. He laughed and had fun around her, genuinely. When she told him she was scared of the stories she would overhear from the adults, about things in the woods - with all of his bravado, he declared that he'd fight off all the things out here. Every fox, badger and root monster. Yeah, sure, he probably couldn't actually do it. But he had no problem saying the first thing that occurred to him.

When they shared the apprentice den together, sure, they still bickered - he remembered when he did the really stupid thing of diving at a raccoon that was trying to steal their food, Morningpaw chided him about it more than Iciclepool did! He teased her and asked if she was scared of their little grabby hands, and made fun of the fat rodent's chittering sounds, enough for Morningpaw to call him a mousebrain with forced anger, and all laughter. He missed that laughter when Warblerkit died - and when her anxieties rose. He really, really missed that laugh.

He couldn't help but slowly shuffle his own nest closer to hers every night. She never objected otherwise. One night he found her head resting near his and his heart almost stopped. He really, really missed her when he graduated into a warrior before her. He was terrified when she was lost with Shiverpaw and Barleywave in the snow storm, and relieved when they found them alive.

Finally, when he watched Morningspot help cook food across camp, he knew he had to actually force himself to do something about it when Deerkit of all cats sat next to him, looked back and forth between Talontooth and Morningspot and went, "Do you like her?"

"What - who - I mean," Talontooth sputtered like a splashing fish and turned on the kit wildly. This - hold on, this kit was a moon old. How in StarClan's many pelts - "Hold on, what did you just say?"

Deerkit just tilted her head at him quizzically. "Hopechase told me a story. It was about Wolfpelt and Dreamwing. Dreamwing liked seeing him cook."

Oh, god, not THAT story. That was literally the fable of a cat missing her chance at love by refusing to communicate her feelings.

Deerkit's ears drooped. "It was sad."

"Err…didn't…Dreamwing become mates with Ollie later?"

"But it's not fair! She liked Wolfpelt!" Deerkit whined. She got to her feet, suddenly looking determined. "I'm gonna be a…a truther!"

Talontooth froze. "Er…a what?"

"A truther!"

"You mean, you'll be honest?"

"Yeah!" Deerkit's copper eyes flew open wide with realization. "I'm honest!" She heard Cottonkit and Airkit call her to come and play with them. She dashed after them, completely ignoring Talontooth's bewildered expression.

After sitting by himself for a while and mulling over what Deerkit said, he had to own up to the truth: yes, he did like Morningspot. And he really had to do something about it. 

So, here he was, a few hours before dawn, hunting for a squirrel. He'd considered waiting until newleaf came around and maybe finding some daisies to surprise her with, but he decided that the longer he dawdled on it, the more time he would have to talk himself out of it. So he decided to catch her favorite prey, start up a fire, and start cooking. He'd wake her up at around dawn, offer her food, watch the sunrise, and then he'd say something. That sounded nice, right? Honestly, he had no idea what mollies liked, but he did know what Morningspot liked, and she liked sunrises and squirrels. Plus, the woods…sadness stung as he remembered being grabbed and tossed aside by the roots before they slithered towards the nursery. He shook his head violently to remove the memory. Poor Cloudthunder…at least, her three kits were happy and healthy, right? He sighed and stood taller. The woods were fed. So, he wasn't likely to encounter anything. And if he did - Iciclepool taught him how to stay alert and aware of the dangers. 

As he left a trail of pawsteps in the snow behind him, he tasted the air for his target. It was mostly just wetness and cold air, tinged with pine needles. But as he kept patrolling with determined vigor, his eyes widened as he caught the scent of a squirrel off the beaten path. 

Talontooth dropped down and began stalking. He could barely make it out in the twigs, but he could see the shape of a black-furred squirrel rummaging near the roots of an oak tree. He stopped as the squirrel's head suddenly rose. The rodent's tail lashed briefly before returning to its digging. 

Talontooth resisted the temptation to shuffle as he came within pouncing range. Almost there…

SNAP! 

Both Talontooth and the squirrel jumped at loud noise nearby, and the young tom hissed in frustration as he watched the squirrel dart up into the tree. Oh, great. Just his luck. He had been looking for one squirrel for at least twenty minutes - 

Wait. 

He stopped his train of thought as he turned to the direction of the sound. That was far too loud to be just a broken branch. Talontooth slowly turned his back towards the tree, his eyes darting the winter night for anything out of place. He kept his nose high and tasted the air. He scrutinized every berry bush and shrub. Something had to be responsible for that. Whether it was a fox or…worse, he would find it. 

After a few moments of continued silence, he became wary. 

He wanted to say that it was likely just a dead tree that snapped. But suddenly, he didn't feel safe out here anymore. He should make his way home. He really, really should not be here. 

Talontooth glanced out into the treeline one last time before anxiously retreading his steps back onto the main path. This was fine. He could retrace his steps back to camp. Not a big deal. He was fine. Everything would be okay. 

Talontooth came to a halt, his pelt bristling on end as the smell of blood and wet earth invaded his senses. Then, there came a voice. 

"DO…YOU…FEEL…THEM?" 

It came from his right. 

Talontooth very slowly turned his gaze to the right treeline. In the rows of black tree trunks and thin layer of snow, a towering mound stood as a black shadow in the landscape. Fear surged through him. What was that? 

"YOU ARE…SO…BRAVE." 

Talontooth froze. The empty, black eyes of the cat skull chilled him further than any leafbare blizzard ever did. 

He felt fear before. At the Twoleg cabin, with the Fake Twolegs. At the storm, and the Pale Herald. At the living tendrils. The idea that Morningspot was lying frozen and dead in the leafbare blizzard. 

This was not anxiety. Not fear for his life. 

This was a yawning abyss calling to him. Like StarClan itself placed their paws on his shoulder and whispered, "It's time to go, now." 

Is this what the squirrel would've felt, beneath his claws? 

Long legs burst from Rootgrove's cavity and rushed Talontooth. 

Talontooth's body moved automatically as air filled his lungs and his legs carried him across the path. Talontooth felt his heart exploding. The sound of snow and ice being plowed aside grew louder. 

Talontooth skidded as he slid down a nearby hill still layered in ice. He screamed as Rootgrove slid past him, one of its long, spindling legs barely grazing him. The monstrous mound crashed into a nearby tree before scrambling back into pursuit. Talontooth didn't dare turn back as he ran towards camp. 

Camp. Camp. Camp - 

Time felt distorted around him as thoughts surged through his head, all at once and not at all. 

He thought of Cloudthunder's kits. Perchpaw. Branchpaw. He thought of his pursuer. 

Morningspot. 

Iciclepool. 

Redstar. 

He thought of the Plentiful Gathering. The camp ringed in spears. The omen. 

The sheer size of the creature. 

Talontooth felt the dread return to him.

It would destroy them all.  

Talontooth veered hard to the right, into the dense treeline. Away from camp. Rootgrove's neck extended and snapped towards Talontooth, barely missing him. The skittering legs of the Woodcrawler charged into the trees after the black cat. 

Over the fear, the dread, the realization of the inevitable - all that remained was the mantra Redstar spoke at the Plentiful Gathering.

"Loyalty, bravery, sacrifice," Talontooth breathed with wide eyes. Rootgrove broke and snapped branches in his charge. Talontooth weaved beneath pine trees and under rocks. Where could he go? What could he even do? Talontooth instinctively thought of the steep incline revealing the view of the lake and the mountains, his first day out as an apprentice. If he could bring it there, and throw himself down the hill, then maybe - 

Talontooth caterwauled as he felt a long, winding leg scratch his shoulder, barely missing him again. He swerved again and leapt through a gap formed by two tree trunks. The beast let out a gargled roar, and the sound of breaking logs, snapping twigs and a horribly loud crash followed. 

Talontooth ran towards the incline. He could hear the thing's ragged wheezing and approaching steps. "Loyalty, bravery, sacrifice…" he repeated hopelessly. 

Long, red tendrils grew out of Rootgrove's body as the Woodcrawler closed in the gap. Talontooth gritted his teeth as he saw the incline and the view of the mountain. 

Loyalty. 

Bravery.

SACRIFICE - 

****

Rootgrove wept. The roots strangled his jaws. Pulled him below. His tears were filled with salt. 

The shifting tendons rubbed against each other as the Woodcrawler retreated into a nearby burrow. Its nerves and tendrils pricked against the roots of the nest, sending primitive words below. Food. Hunger. Eat. Feed. Use remains. Grow. 

As the horrible disease folded Rootgrove's flesh, his fetid vocal chords choked the final words of their prey. 

"DEATH." 

Rootgrove disappeared into the darkness of the den. 

The woods fell silent.

---

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[dailymedkit]

Day 53

The ghost of Blackrock woods

[gaoodm]

i love phighting! nature

bonus

AND HE BROKE

AGAIN.

TOO DEPRESSIVE CREATURE

his honest reaction to deerkit

[txetnoc]

Medicinal set phighting

[littlebloomclan]

Moon 1

He kept the trait Compassionate but also gained Good Hunter and Helpful Insight. Little is just an overall good boy

[cybersvortex]

I decorated this sketchbook with paint, markers, sharpie, pens, and laminated some of my drawings onto it to try and like I dunno. force myself to Not restart when it's not perfect. So ya

just painted version

[mita84620]

Sinomegaceros yabei:-

Sinomegaceros yabei is an extinct species of giant deer that lived during the Pleistocene in East Asia, particularly in Japan and China. It belonged to the genus Sinomegaceros, known for its large size and massive, intricately branched antlers. This species likely inhabited open woodlands and grasslands, where it grazed on vegetation. Its impressive antlers were used for display and possibly in male competition. Like other Pleistocene megafauna, S. yabei may have faced extinction due to climate change and human activities. Fossil remains provide valuable insights into its morphology, behavior, and evolutionary relationships within the Cervidae family.

[rudaartista]

Skelly caught one of those wretched deerkits looking in through her bedroom window on a night the power went out. I hate this thing so much

Version with no motion blur and light mode

[molarbeardoc]

ART DUMP

[badlydrawnphighting]

can we get some windforce gaming up in here?!? *several hundred emojis that i do not have access to because im on PC

/nf/silly

deer huntin sim

[potatototodile]

You are my special @txetnoc

Deerkit....

[forestclan-clangen]

MOON 11 (Part 1)

<< FIRST | < PREVIOUS |

Barleywave recovered from frostbite, but it left scars on his tail and nose.

(Shiverpaw, medicine cat apprentice, female, 11 moons. Loving.) (Barleywave, warrior, male, 40 moons. Playful.)

Morningpaw is made a warrior, given the name Morningspot. Morningspot knows that Barleywave was a great mentor, helping her feel more at ease and better at resolving her inner anxieties. She may still be afraid of the Woods - but she truly, deeply, loves her Clanmates. She will help them however she can.

(Morningspot, warrior, female, 13 moons. Nervous.) (Barleywave, warrior, male, 40 moons. Playful.) (Redstar, leader, female, 69 moons. Strict.)

Olive's kits are finally made apprentices, now Branchpaw and Perchpaw. Redstar isn't too friendly with Tree, but she can't deny their impressive skills regarding the Woodcrawlers, and assigns them to train Branchpaw. Redstar also believes that Hopechase is overdue for another apprentice, and assigns Perchpaw to her.

(Branchpaw, apprentice, female, 6 moons. Ambitious.) (Perchpaw, apprentice, female, 6 moons. Adventurous.) (Tree, warrior, non-binary, 42 moons. Ambitious.) (Hopechase, warrior, female, 93 moons. Playful.) (Redstar, leader, female, 69 moons. Strict.)

Riversnow very sheepishly announces that she thinks, she's not sure, she may have to wait a bit, she...might be expecting kits? Several cats offer congratulations, and ask if Barleywave's the sire. Despite Cloudthunder's intervention, Riversnow is, regrettably, a terrible liar. Barleywave's mortified expression across the clearing also doesn't help.

(Iciclepool, deputy, female, 67 moons. Ambitious.) (Riversnow, warrior, female, 60 moons. Adventurous.) (Barleywave, warrior, male, 40 moons. Playful.) (Cloudthunder, warrior, female, 44 moons. Adventurous.)

Riversnow didn't want to take any of the weird herbs Shiverpaw was telling her to take for her pregnancy. She would be just fine, thank you very much. Despite Shiverpaw's appeal, she rejects them, much to the apprentice's frustration.

(Shiverpaw, medicine cat apprentice, female, 11 moons. Loving.) (Riversnow, warrior, female, 60 moons. Adventurous.)

Talontooth, Iciclepool and Morningspot hunt and catch prey, but there's one rabbit that seems...off. But it's leafbare, and they need food. Talontooth catches it, but later, those who eat it get stomach aches. Tree in particular becomes shocked and poisoned.

(Iciclepool, deputy, female, 67 moons. Ambitious.) (Tree, warrior, non-binary, 42 moons. Ambitious.) (Talontooth, warrior, male, 15 moons. Adventurous.)

Tree trusts Shiverpaw to provide them with the best possible care. As Tree expresses relief, Shiverpaw reads a little too far into their kindness.

(Shiverpaw, medicine cat apprentice, female, 11 moons. Loving.) (Tree, warrior, non-binary, 42 moons. Ambitious.)

Hopechase told Barleywave a hard truth he needed to hear. They speak as they watch Cloudthunder's kits figure out snow for the first time.

(Barleywave, warrior, male, 40 moons. Playful.) (Hopechase, warrior, female, 93 moons. Playful.) (Deerkit, kitten, female, 1 moon. Noisy) (Airkit, kitten, male, 1 moon. Polite.) (Cottonkit, kitten, female, 1 moon. Fearless)

---

"Barleywave."

Hopechase approached the dark tom in a moment of privacy, under the branch of a sagging pine tree, weighed down by snow. She made sure that most of the Clan was either having their afternoon nap, or out patrolling. It was probably the least she could do to make him comfortable, given the circumstances.

Barleywave turned to look at Hopechase, and gave a deceptively pleasant smile. He waved his tail in greeting. "Hey Hope."

Hopechase returned the gesture before sitting candidly in front of him. Her blue eyes simmered with intent. She knew that he knew what she was here for. She could tell because despite the tom's straight face, she could read his nervous tick anywhere. His entire body freezing wasn't exactly subtle.

The dark grey molly decided to rip the pine sap off. "So. Riversnow's pregnancy."

"Yup! Uhh, good for her," he blurted. Despite his lighthearted expression, Hopechase's eyes narrowed.

The tom's eyes had a thin layer of terror. Great StarClan, he was really bad at this.

Hopechase sighed. She knew Barleywave since he was a kit. He was never the type to know how to deal with his emotions. Back when Lakestar was alive, fine, it was a method of survival. Not letting a cruel cat know how you really feel about them was vital. But she was dead now, and this wasn't helping him. The Clan wasn't stupid - they saw how Riversnow often padded after him when she felt nervous around Clanmates. They also saw how Barleywave pushed himself to at least be somewhat vulnerable, if it meant that Riversnow would feel less distressed. Their affections weren't a secret.

Which is why they were quite surprised that ever since Riversnow announced her pregnancy, both of them were avoiding each other like the plague.

Yes, technically Riversnow didn't have to declare the sire. But both of them were terrible at hiding secrets.

"Did you congratulate her?"

"Err…no, haven't had the time yet," he answered sheepishly.

"Are you going to?"

Silence.

Hopechase's pale blue eyes narrowed, then softened. She allowed her brief moment of frustration to pass through her, then replaced it with empathy.

Warblerkit. She had a feeling this was about Warblerkit.

Barleywave didn't like talking about his lost son. He and Riversnow came out and were honest with the Clan about his origins. But nothing else.

Now that Riversnow was pregnant - both parents, in theory, had the chance to try again. Maybe have a happier ending than the one they had with Warblerkit.

Or not.

Of course. Of course he'd be afraid of that.

“Barleywave," Hopechase said softly. She placed a gentle tail on his shoulder. The tom glanced at it. "Look. I'm not going to make any assumptions. Maybe we have it all wrong, and that's possible. But I'm going to offer you some wisdom, if you're willing to listen."

Barleywave didn't look at Hopechase in the eye, but his ear twitched towards her attentively. His gaze was focused on empty space in the distance.

"If you DID sire Riversnow’s kits – then don’t hold back on loving them like you did with Warblerkit."

"What?" Barleywave sputtered, his voice tightened. He laughed nervously, his hazel eyes wide with bewilderment. "I'm - I swear I'm not - "

"If you're not the sire, that's fine. You can ignore everything that I'm about to tell you," Hopechase interjected. "But just in case you may enjoy Riversnow's company and wish to bond with her and her children at some point in time…" Hopechase's whiskers twitched knowingly. "You need to understand that you are allowed to grieve. But if you fear every risk of death and every crisis that will come, you’ll lose sight of appreciating those you love when you're here. Any time spent with people we care about matters in this place.”

The world fell silent around them. Hopechase removed her tail from the tom's shoulder and simply waited. She looked out into the snowy clearing, watching Cloudthunder's kits emerge from the nursery with curious eyes.

Cottonkit, the chocolate tabby with a white underbelly, bravely took a step forward and put both of her paws into the snow. Her hazel eyes were wide with shock, but she didn't pull back.

"...Well?" Airkit asked, the tom's copper eyes sniffed at the snow with curiosity. But he didn't seem eager to take the first step until his siblings confirmed it first.

Deerkit stared at her sister, who still refused to move. She tentatively placed a paw into the snow, then immediately pulled it back and hissed. "Nope! No, nuh uh! I don't wanna! Cold!" Deerkit protested and retreated back into the den. Airkit wordlessly decided that was enough for him, and followed after his sibling.

Hopechase's whiskers twitched in amusement. Then, Cottonkit just threw her head back and started yelling for seemingly no reason, before slamming her face into the snow. Hopechase let out a mrrow of amusement. Ah, small kits.

Barleywave was watching this bizarre interaction with a hint of weight in his eyes. “...But it hurts when they’re gone," he whispered.

Hopechase turned to face him, then let out a sympathetic purr. “I know. I’ve been there. But the thing we always regret the most, is not spending enough time with them when they were here. Trust me. I'm the oldest cat here. I would know.”

There was a silence again as Barleywave stared at the kits again. He watched as Cloudthunder emerged from the den, groggy and tired, her eyes raised in confusion as she watched her very strange kit burrowing herself into the snow. He closed his eyes, then sighed. “...You really refuse to let people mope, don’t you?”

---

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[dailymedkit]

Day 47

Reposting Medkit art I did while on hiatus

I present to you, Polishkit 🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱

[diaswarriorcats]

[snakeclangen]

Moon 0 / Introduction

[littlebloomclan]

Moon 0 - Littlepaw and Deerkit find shelter in a new territory

Hello! This is just a thing I wanted to do, it's fun sharing this kind of stuff and gives me a little drawing challenge to make up a story. If you enjoy it then hooray!

I'm doing the challenge where you start with two cats (no mods, just killed off everyone but these two)