#aphidkit

[destinyclan]

Clan Founders - Aphidkit and Mudkit

Name: Aphidkit Age: 2 Moons Fur Length: Short Pelt: Ticked Eyes: Emerald Gender: Male Trait: Know-It-All Skills: Quick to Help

Name: Mudkit Age: 1 Moon Fur Length: Short Pelt: Smoke Eyes: Bronze Gender: Female Trait: Impulsive Skills: Moss-Ball Hunter

[falling-mellow]

Omg 🥹🥹

[elementclangen]

Moon 306-Leaf-fall

Creekstar (160) is shaken.  Something happened this moon that took her straight back to when she was a kit, almost out of the nursery: a badger attack.  Badgers raid the camp and, when Creekstar sees them, she freezes.  All she can see is Songkit’s broken body falling to the ground.  That leaves the rest of her Clan to jump into battle without her guidance.  Downgaze (87) protects his mother and gets her to safety before leaping back into the fray only to find. . .Sweet Marmalade (91) and Alderflight (62) lying dead in a pool of blood.  Brightmouse (81) is a fury of fire in the center of camp, fighting back against the badgers trying to get into the nursery and at Bluestripe (81).  She manages to take down the badgers attacking her, but not before one deals her a fatal blow.  With this being their first battle, the young warriors are shocked, but are able to rally under Hatchswipe’s (51) instruction to drive back the attack.  Although neither of them are as powerful as a star-blessed cat, Echoarch (24) and Embershell (24) work together to drive the badgers back into Burdockbeam (22) and Boulderflood’s (22) trap.  The two of them collapse a hunk of earth on top of the remaining badgers and kill them.  The battle is won, but at the cost of three lives.  Downgaze is especially shaken.  He just can’t get the image of Sweet Marmalade’s and Alderflight’s bodies out of his mind.  He never even had a chance to confess his love to Alderflight.  And he can’t imagine life without Sweet Marmalade by his side.  They’ve been together for so long, and through so much loss.  He struggles-no, refuses-to accept their deaths.  Sweet Marmalade’s kits huddle together and take comfort in each other.  Echoarch comforts Hatchswipe and reassures her that she’ll see her father again in StarClan.  He cared about her, even if she didn't always feel like it.  Kestrelcreek (95) lies next to Brightmouse’s singed body as the Clan sits vigil for her.  Her world has ended with Brightmouse.  She can’t help her bitterness and rage as Brightmouse’s life is recalled at the vigil and she coldly turns away from Almondback (77) when he offers comfort.  She and Brightmouse had so little time together.  They should have had more.  And Brightmouse should have had more time with their kits, who are only apprentices.  Mitepaw (7) and Hollowpaw (7) are a little less energetic with the loss of their mom.  Hollowpaw can’t even think of any pranks to pull.  And then there’s Bluestripe.  When she sees Brightmouse’s body and realizes that she died protecting her, she screams at the sky, cursing the stars who took her sisters too soon.  Before the senior warriors can bury Brightmouse, Bluestripe lights her sister’s body aflame, giving her a pyre worthy of the greatest heroes.  With the new losses in the Clan, Creekstar is feeling a bit ill.  But, in some much needed good news, Hopcurl (24) has announced that she’s expecting kits.  It looks like Creekstar will have even more great-grandkits.  Downgaze appreciates his kits and grandkits.  He’s also glad that Burdockbeam has toned down her pranking during this time of grief and appreciates how nice she’s being to him.  Greenrapid (62) did not get the memo and still hasn’t grown up.  She complains that Copperheart (22) never does anything helpful and should be more like her sisters.  Because that’s not hurtful at all.  Bumble (83) thinks that pregnancy suits Hopcurl and is jealous of how shiny her pelt looks.  Aphidkit (3) decides to be a pain and asks Bluestripe where kits are from.  She makes up a story about eagles dropping them out of the sky.  It’s a way to get her mind off of Brightmouse, at least.  But the Clan is not done with loss yet.  In another blow to Kestrelcreek, Creekstar and Almondback run into a gang of rogues on patrol.  The two fight bravely but are badly outnumbered, and the rogues had dark-cursed cats with them.  They kill Almondback and take a life from Creekstar, leaving before she is revived.  She now has six lives left.

Healer’s den: Bluestripe (recovering from birth, infected), Petalfrost (claw-wound), Nettlestripe (mangled tail), Hopcurl (pregnant), Kestrelcreek (grief stricken), Downgaze (shock, grief stricken), Hatchswipe (sore), Hollowpaw (stomachache)

New personalities: Skymoon (thoughtful, keen eye, and a fast runner)

[pikaclan]

Moon 253

FlightClan + Cherrywhisper is sent to the dark forest for kit murder + Reedsplinter nooooo :(

Mates! + injuries

Grief

LionClan

[fallen-aspenclan]

Aspenclan, the start….

(Reposting from my main blog!!)

[object-vault-9]

Creator, do you remember the names of the characters before they were named after objects?

Firefly Petunia was Valentino, I don't remember why I changed their name since I keep non-warriors names. I think when he joined I was still just renaming everything Gameboy was Nintendo Shale was Ficklepaw Apricot was Aphidkit Milkweed was Milkweedkit Divelight was Wetflash Triangle was Feathertoe Dianthus was Cometdrop Cactus was Poki (I renamed her to Cactus on accident, her being a cactus and being named Poki was 100% intentional) Bowling Pin was Obi Wan (Changed since canon name) Spade was Mudstar Shovel was Amberfur Downy Feather was Flaxfeather Exit was Juniperhorn Timer was Fallenbeetle EMF Meter was Pod Thrift Handheld Radio was Wasp Blue Spruce was Ice Stalk Tea Cup was Rimerustle Splinter, Call of Greatness, Bustopher Jones, Benny, Rufus, Lake, Alpine, and Worm just have their original names Roadflare, Pushpin, Red Ball, Cornerstone, Uranium Glass and Car Key I can't find nor remember Two characters who show up later on are Dasiyecho and Ficklepaw again Characters not listed here were created out of the game and aren't here mechanically. Unless I somehow forgot a vault 9 fella which is very possible

Though the (clangen) versions of the encounters with factions, and with Fox Tail and Bug Spray often happened in game through events Most of these characters I renamed for the "normal warriors" AU anyway, but Spade is still Mudstar there too

[neon-skittles]

One year has passed in RavenClan and perhaps the Clan should not have been named after an animal that symbolizes death because, well:

Sycamorepaw is the StarClan guide so he was there from the start, he used to be a med cat apprentice actually. Buzzardpaw was one of Redcrackle's kits who went missing and was found dead. Cloverpaw, one of Snipstar's many children (side-note: he brought two more kits: Tansykit and Pantherkit), found near the BogClan border. And little Aphidkit was taken by a hawk.

StarClan is just three apprentices trying to take care of one kitten, best of luck to them.

The Clan just keeps running into a fox behind the rocks, often ending up injured. Or they're attacked by a swarm of bluejays. There's just no break for these cats I swear.

Also Slippaw became a warrior and is now named Slipcrackle. His mentor was Redcrackle and they even have the same insecure personality.

[lotus-clan]

LotusClan Year 24

Newleaf

Saplingwhisper traveled to BurdockClan to resolve recent border disputes. It goes well, and he thinks he knows how to resolve the issue for good.

After sneaking out of camp, Gorsepaw is kidnapped by twolegs. The Clan searches for her, but is unable to find her.

A rogue brings her kit named Lizard to the Clan, stating she can no longer care for her.

Pumpkintail has announced she is expecting kits.

Silkpaw is apprenticed to Robinchaser. Meanwhile, Hyacinthpaw decides hunting and fighting isn’t the way to provide for the Clan. He decides to become a medicine cat, and Patchbriar proudly becomes his mentor.

Greenleaf

Pinepeak announced she is expecting kits.

Lizardpaw is apprenticed to Saplingwhisper as the Clan’s future mediator.

In the nursery, Pumpkintail and Mossheart welcome a litter of three kittens. They name them Aphidkit (male), Leafkit (male), and Windkit (female).

Ospreywing, Nettleclaw, and Burrheart receive their warrior names. However, they cannot enjoy the occasion as their sister Gorsepaw is not there to earn it with them. In a sort of posthumous ceremony, Stonestar names Gorsepaw Gorsetuft, hoping she will one day return to them.

Pinepeak and Sootwhisker welcome a litter of two kits. They name them Gullkit (female), and Elmkit (female).

Leaf-fall

Stonestar considers retiring.

Leafkit and Gullkit sneak out of the camp together to explore and get scraped up. Even after they get scolded, they feel proud of their adventures.

Chirpfleck and Frogleap die of yellowcough.

Mistshard retires to the elders.

LotusClan welcomes Silksight as a new warrior. At the same time, they also welcome Hyacinthbloom as the newest medicine cat.

Leafbare

Flowerwhisker rescued Leafkit from a snake, but was bitten and killed in the process.

Hazelshine announces that she is expecting kits.

For many moons, Cherrythorn has continuously been seen meeting with a cat outside of the Clan. No one can tell whether it’s a Clan cat or someone else, but those who see him continue to hide it.

Lizardpaw is named Lizardtail, the Clan’s newest mediator.

Flamedance and Sapsplash have confessed their feelings for each other and become mates.

After catching a sickness, Gorsetuft dies in her sleep. Although worried she won’t reach StarClan even so far away, she sees starry cats on the other side and is welcomed into StarClan. Although she knows she won’t see her family for what will hopefully be a long time, she knows she will be there waiting.

Aphidpaw, Leafpaw, and Windpaw are apprenticed to Sleetstripe, Sapsplash, and Strikewhisker respectively.

In the nursery, Hazelshine and Sharpleaf welcome a litter of two kits. They name them Frostkit (female) and Spicekit (male).

Gullpaw and Elmpaw are apprenticed to Sootwhisker and Rowanshine respectively.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

What if they have a second litter with more specific bug names: 

Earwigkit,

Aphidkit

or super long names:

Grammotauliuskit (Grammo for short),

Sarcophagidaekit (Sarco)

or because Basil killed to feed them, he would aim for the carcass-eating ones:

Cleridaekit

hmmmm maybe all of them 

[blossompuppy]

Finally had a litter together!!! Quail and Skunk have been a long time coming…

Meet our kiddos: Aphidkit, Rolypolykit, and Grubkit!

Aphid and Rolypoly were designed by my dear @kiittenteeth and Grub was by me!

[away-from-anthills]

chapter thirteen-

He tried as hard as he could to ignore the wails of Goldenpaw and Milkpaw as he began his speech.

Antstar had carefully rehearsed this over and over in his head the night prior. He couldn’t do it too naturally, of course, or they could catch onto him. But with just the right intonation- just the right worry-

“Stoatslink’s body, as you may have seen, was discovered in the gorge this morning.”

Antstar could hear whispers from the cats below as they continued to inspect the body.

“His wounds smell like rogue…” he could hear Talonscar whisper. He hoped to StarClan- and whoever lurked above them- that he didn’t smell like what he was convinced he was.

“However, the obvious wounds all over the body lead me to believe that this was no accident, nor did Stoatslink die by falling in. In fact, I think something foul is afoot. Before he died, Stoatslink told me he believed Sparkthistle had not-“ -he had to swallow the sickly lump that was forming in this throat- “had not been killed, but rather… murdered by rogues.”

Again, he tried to ignore his Clanmates’ hushed whispering. But he couldn’t help but fear they already knew, somehow, and that somehow-

“Specifically, I believe, Stoatslink was worried about rogues who live near the Moonstone, who he swore he had seen on our territory. He was investigating the death- as some of you might have been able to tell- when he died. I believe…”

He had to stop his amber eyes from welling up with panic and with grief at his own actions. What have I done?

“I believe the rogues likely killed Stoatslink to silence him. We need to drive them out. It is what Stoatslink would have wanted, and what we need to do in order to keep our Clan safe.”

“Where are they?” growled Rockscratch with anger, and Antstar nearly leapt off the rock with fright until he realized that the russet tabby’s anger was directed at the rogues. “We need to stop them!”

“I’ll come too!” said Juniperfang. Antstar had to admit that Juniperfang made him uneasy. Only a scant few moons ago, the tabby tom had been a loner, a stranger to Clan life. Already now he was one of the more militant cats, and he only scarcely visited the elders’ den to talk to Audrey and Shrike.

More cats nodded in agreement- Spiderfoot, then Emberheart, then Twigpaw. Goldenpaw had ran off into the apprentice’s den, followed by her mentor Webwhisker, Milkpaw was angrily trying to convince Toadpool through her tears that she should join them.

“It’s decided then. Russetfoot-“ Antstar scanned the clearing for his deputy- “Russetfoot, could you-“

Suddenly Whitetooth appeared at the base of the rock and flicked their head back, indicating they needed to talk to Antstar privately about the deputy. Antstar felt panic swallow his heart, but he nodded, trying to keep his cool.

“Alright, then. Rockscratch, Spiderfoot, Emberheart, Juniperfang, Lilystone; I’ll lead you all on a patrol towards where Stoatslink thought the rogues were. Molethroat, Toadpool, Sparrowpetal, Birchshine, Shadeflower; you all guard camp.” He puffed out his chest to look authoritative, although the weight of said chest swayed a bit as it sat atop trembling limbs. “This is a very serious matter, and it only confirms Stoatslink’s suspicions. We need to act now.”

Already WindClan lined itself up for defense. Houndnose and Cherrycloud were taking kits inside the nursery for protection- even Brindlekit, even though she squeaked protests of “But I wanna go get the rogues, too!”

As WindClan shuffled into place, Antstar padded over to Whitetooth’s side. There was a touch of consternation to the white cat’s long-snouted face, their ears attuned back towards the medic den.

“It’s Stripedwing’s litter,” they said quietly. “While it does seem that Aphidkit has healed from the sickness, Dewkit passed away in the night, joining her brother Mousekit in StarClan.”

A cold shock of grief grappled Antstar’s belly.

“The one ill one left is Thistlekit, and he’s so small and feeble I’d be surprised if he made it through. I need to stay here to care for them, and Russetfoot wishes to stay here also.”

“Of course,” said Antstar. In that moment Antstar nearly forgot of all the horror of the night preceding- Stoatslink’s last garbled cry, the smell of the blood, the way the yellow eyes that had once been his stared at Antstar after death. Perhaps he was a murderer now, but Antstar only felt softness for kits, and he always would.

Only after turning away to lead the patrol did Antstar feel uneasy without his constant companion behind him. He hoped the rogues wouldn’t spit out the truth as they were chased out- or, if they were, that nobody would believe them, and that their words would be forgotten like carved sand on the shore.

They set out, into the grass, which was yellowing and thinning with the autumn air. The sky was white, but not sunless; the clouds were thin like an amniotic sac and the sun’s light still peeked through. Still, there was an unnerving feeling to it- Antstar did not want to think about how the sky wore Stoatslink’s pelt color.

“There!” he heard Juniperfang cry, and he turned his dark head to see the rogues. They had not noticed Antstar, but they had become aware of the patrol’s presence. The rogues got up from the dead hare they had been sharing- evidently not their kill, judging from the tinge of rot around it- and slowly advanced towards them. They looked uncannily at Antstar- one of them seemed as if he were about to say something, but the thought came and went- and then Juniperfang leapt- and then- and then-

Antstar could not remember anything more.

He knew, objectively, he had been there. The rogues had been chased off, judging by the boastful cries of Juniperfang and Spiderfoot. He knew he had participated; his paws were flecked with blood and one of the rogues had scratched his snout. One of the rogues had been killed from the group effort, but Antstar could not remember which one and how; he only knew because Juniperfang seemed disturbingly proud of it and Lilystone had told him to shut up. It was as if Antstar’s brain, fed up with the tightropes of panic he always balanced on, had blotted things out; as if the fear that one of the rogues would reveal his secret overtook his memory.

His troubles were not over, however; one turn towards camp and he made out the figures of a SkyClan patrol.

“SkyClan? What are they doing here?” Spiderfoot asked, her voice fraught with suspicion. He narrowed his eyes to get a closer look. He could make out Hopscratch, Pigeonstar’s deputy, talking to Russetfoot about something; behind her were a whole corral of SkyClanners he could only recognize from prior gatherings. Once he stepped into camp and the warriors behind him dispersed to tell their Clanmates about the rogue fight, he caught the attention of Hopscratch’s amber eyes, and she got up from Russetfoot to talk to him.

She was a short, stubby thing, especially unique among a Clan renowned for their flexibility. She was mostly white, with brown patches covering her head and back, and her tail was only about a third of the usual size. Her ears were torn and the fur around her muzzle was slightly bushy, but the most notable thing about her was her back leg. It was small, shriveled, and black; over time it had been worn down to only a stump. Antstar had heard the story why: When she had been born, her umbilical cord wrapped around her leg and strangled it, cutting off its blood supply and rendering it unusable.

Despite her injury however she had grown to be quite nimble. She had to be, after all; nimbleness was SkyClan’s thing as they raced among the treetops.

“Hello, Antstar,” she said, dipping her head respectfully.

Antstar braced himself for attack, but upon realizing potential battle would take a moment he too dipped his head to her.

“Pigeonstar had sent us here with the intent of attack,” she explained bluntly. Antstar looked at the cats behind her. SkyClan was no ThunderClan, but their claws and teeth were sharp; some looked more willing for a fight than others. He could recognize the spotted calico who had attacked him a little less than a moon prior; she eyed him pointedly. “However,” Hopscratch continued, “upon finding out about the tragedy that has occurred this morning, I and my Clanmates figured it would be in our best mutual interest if we did not attack. Besides, I worry that attacks over such personal reasons would ultimately harm us both.”

Antstar tried to apologize for Stoneclaw’s death profusely, but he couldn’t quite get the words out. Hopscratch simply nodded, and then raised a paw to quiet him. “We’ve all done things we regret in the heat of the moment- deaths in battle among them. One of my own children, once, accidentally killed an apprentice in battle, and she was torn up about it for moons. I told her over and over- she didn’t know, it was purely accidental, there was no ill will about it- but even to this day, she’s never quite gotten over it. I would not want the same to happen to you, or to whoever was the one to kill Stoneclaw in the first place. The guilt I saw in her eyes is something I couldn’t wish upon even the blackest of Dark Forest spirits.”

I’m already there, Hopscratch, he wanted to tell her. I’m already there.

But no sooner had she discussed it than she organized the patrol to leave. “There will be no fight today, Clanmates,” she instructed them, and they lined up orderly to go back across Fourtrees and home.

“Should I worry about Pigeonstar in the future?” Antstar asked. Sure, his deputy had stopped him this time- but it was an open secret Hopscratch was considering retiring soon, and whoever Pigeonstar would elect in her place was likely someone younger and less wise to the world around them.

“Pigeonstar? Oh, no. He’ll shape himself around his grief and live with it eventually. It’s his other son you have to worry about.”

And away they went, over the WindClan plains, before Antstar could ask anything more.

“The rogues were… dispatched easily.”

Antstar said his words quickly, trying not to think about how wrong it felt on his tongue. He knew it was right. They killed Stoatslink. They were chased out far beyond the territories. Nothing more and nothing less needed to be said.

But something gnawed at him. He pretended to himself that he had simply never gotten over how tall the Gathering rock was- hell, even on the Tallrock at home he felt a bit queasy- but something whispered to him, in a harsh, lawful tone, that he knew damned well what it really was.

“That’s good to hear,” responded Tulipstar, nodding her head. The full moon gave her white-and-ginger fur a particular glow, maternal but speckled with the chill of the brisk autumn air she breathed. “We extend our deepest condolences for Sandwhisker, Stoatslink, Mousekit, and Dewkit.”

Antstar had to crane his neck to catch his breath. “In other news,” he continued, “despite their- father’s passing- Stoatslink’s daughters passed their assessments with flying colors, and have received their warrior names- Goldencloud and Milknose!”

The rumble of cheers that spilled from below was enough to drown out Antstar’s worries. Away went the grief around him, and Goldencloud and Milknose seemed proud enough of their names to still bask in the cries around them. Antstar, however, still felt uncomfortable talking to them; he wanted so badly to apologize and yet he knew he never could. Even naming them just felt wrong; as if he had killed a mother bird standing over her nest and was now making off with her eggs.

Tulipstar began to speak about her own Clan; since the battle that had claimed the lives of Redfeather and Trufflepelt, they had enjoyed a peaceful moon. The Clan had somehow managed to catch a small deer, and two apprentices had received their warrior names a tad early for it. And finally, Velvetshade had bore two more kits- welcome arrivals, as the RiverClan nursery had not had more than two kits in moons. There was a ripple of cheers for the new names Tulipstar announced- Shortfeather! Lightstone! Gracklekit! Plumkit! Lilackit!- and then attention turned to ThunderClan. Tatteredstar similarly took the time to mourn the two ThunderClan toms that had died in the battle- Rooktalon, she said, would have made for a fine leader had he ever gotten the chance, and Frostsnarl was a very intense fighter who had more than proved his worth. Antstar flinched as he remembered how the tom had attacked him and ripped Trufflepelt in two- and, perhaps even more haunting, how Frostsnarl himself had met his end at dozens of RiverClan claws and teeth. But the old molly had seen more than her fair share of battle, and it all sounded like a script she had said before many times. Onward she went to describe how her Clan had built a new wall of brambles around the nursery to protect it, and how there had been an incident where Gourdfang was taken by humans but had managed to escape- but besides that, life in ThunderClan had gone on as usual, forever preparing for the next in a wheel of the endless battles that defined their lives.

There was sudden quiet- neither the SkyClan or ShadowClan leaders seemed to want to speak. They stared at one another, for the longest time; Currantstar’s emerald eyes boring into Pigeonstar’s teal ones, until at last Pigeonstar stepped forward- although the look he gave Currantstar told everyone that it wasn’t that the flint-gray tom was intimidated, or lacked will; it was that he thought their little silent feud was a waste of time.

Pigronstar looked… tired.

“SkyClan mourns those we lost in the battle as well, Bumbleshade… and-“ -he cleared his throat- “and Stoneclaw.”

Antstar half-expected the tom to go into a long spiel about his son and the life he had, just as Pigeonstar had been eager to talk about his children before, but just as he had touched on the topic he had left it at that. Onward he went to describe new matters. The teal-eyed tom wasn’t the convulsing mess he had been over his son’s body- thank God for that- but he wasn’t nearly as boisterous as he had previously been. He was just as prickly as ever, though. For a moment, a tussle between Weevilclaw and Beetleclaw of ThunderClan and Buzzardsplash of RiverClan interrupted Pigeonstar’s spiel, and he reacted with a sharp cry of “Watch it, dipshits!” before resuming and whispering a private, barbed comment about the three cats’ parentage. SkyClan living had been quiet since the battle; the only new development was that three kits had become apprentices, one of which was training to be a medic. As Pigeonstar described the three, Antstar watched the young cat and her mentor. Whisperpaw was small and excitable, taking in every detail around her and excitedly chattering with her mentor, Honeyfur. Honeyfur had always been a cat with a quiet melancholy nobody could truly describe, but he looked much more lighthearted than usual as his young apprentice skipped and sang and danced around him.

“She’s a force of nature,” the golden tabby explained to Pebblesky and Addertooth. “Not nearly as quiet as her name would make you think!”

Marblepaw watched Whisperpaw with a strange sort of envy. Antstar thought about how he had never seen her laugh and smile like Whisperpaw did. Even as a kit in the nursery, she and her brother Twigpaw were always quite sullen- because of the high likelihood they were the result of illegitimacy, as well as them both being unplanned to begin with, their mother Adderthorn was always cold and distant towards them. She really hadn’t meant to, of course, and she did love them in her own strange way. But she never seemed entirely sure what to do with them, and often she’d spend as much time away from the nursery as possible as she figured it would be better to just not be around than make mistakes. Antstar did remember Marblepaw was happy the day she was apprenticed- but ever since then, ever since she had known the truth of what Whitetooth was willing to do to help their Clan, she had remained still and scared.

Antstar wanted to help her, with every bone in his body. But he knew what would have to be revealed to do so- and he didn’t have the stomach to entertain the idea further.

But he couldn’t linger on the thought longer. Currantstar was taking the stand- and, if anything else, Antstar knew it would be interesting.

The secret of Currantstar’s infidelity had begun to get around, as Whitestone had told ShadowClan about it when he resigned as Currantstar’s deputy. Apparently, this hadn’t been the first time something similar had happened- but the last time, at least, he had no current mate and was merely ShadowClan’s deputy. Specklestar, the prior leader who he had served under, excused him- and privately arranged for the kits that resulted from the relationship to live with their rogue mother and never see the Clans. But now, he had nobody to defend him and hold his paw, and he looked rather like a lost kit. He had aged twelve moons since Antstar had seen him- like a paper structure crumbling under light rain.

“ShadowClan… ShadowClan mourns the loss of our friends from other Clans who passed on in the great Sunningrocks battle. We wish them good hunting in StarClan.”

“Are you gonna mention your kittypet girl?” cackled an old, battle-scarred elder just below him.

Currantstar pretended not to hear. “Over the last moon, Whitestone, my previous deputy, resigned. I have elected former leading permaqueen Gullflight in his place.” That made sense, Antstar thought- he and Gullflight had always been good friends. He recalled something that Shalestar had told him many moons ago before leadership was among even Antstar’s wildest of dreams: A leader’s leadership is truly over when they stop electing deputies that could lead the Clan, and start electing deputies that exist solely to protect and be friends with them.

There was more jeering from the crowd, and Antstar noted that the jeering seemed to bring Pigeonstar some strange sort of enjoyment. Currantstar cleared his throat, his breath suddenly getting shaky. “My… former deputy… asked me to tell the other Clans why he resigned, else he would tell them himself. My deputy-“ -he sped up the words to get them out quick, like ripping off a bandage- “my deputy chose to resign because he walked in on me with a kittypet mate.”

“That’s not all!” yelled a calico molly behind him. “She’s gonna have Currantstar’s babies!”

Pandemonium ensued among the Clans below. There was confusion, betrayal, and a joyous sort of lampooning. ShadowClan cats immediately went off on the allegations: The elders were gossiping about how Currantstar was likely seeing more mollies than just the kittypet he had disclosed, a black tom with scratched-out eyes was excitedly telling Smokebark of RiverClan about how Currantstar had only elected Whitestone as deputy to win favors with his daughter, three ThunderClan mollies were wondering how poor Sleekpetal, Currantstar’s mate, who hadn’t been to the Gathering that day was taking the news…

It was chaos. Only Tatteredstar bellowing “SILENCE!” was enough to get the Clans calm down from the sheer drama of it all- but before the silence truly died out, Antstar heard Spiderfoot over the crowd saying “Well, he should resign, shouldn’t he?”

“Because of this,” Currantstar continued, “I shall be placing myself in self-imposed exile for half a moon, during which I shall hunt for the Clan and the Clan only. Then I will return. In my absence, Gullflight will lead and provide me information about how the Clan is doing.

Fair punishment, if a little short, Antstar reasoned. Then it hit him- Currantstar was probably leaving to go be with Calypso further!

Oh, Stoatslink would have loved this, he thought - but then the guilt washed all over him again.

If nothing else, Antstar thought, it would prove to be a very interesting moon.

The Gathering soon dismissed- ShadowClan first, as they wanted to high-tail it after all of the embarrassment they had suffered on Currantstar’s behalf; then RiverClan, then SkyClan, until finally only ThunderClan and WindClan were left, gathering up their respective cats. Not a word was spoken between Antstar and Tatteredstar, although she did give him a nod of acknowledgement as did he to her. Tatteredstar, Antstar felt, was on another dimension than all the other leaders. She wasn’t just leader of ThunderClan- she was ThunderClan. It was as if the Clan itself could not exist without her- although Antstar did wonder how immortal she truly was, as every moon he had noticed Eelwhisker, her deputy, take more and more of an active role. Was he preparing himself for something more?

No, Antstar thought- no, he couldn’t be. There were two things Antstar was certain would live to the end of the universe- the stars above him, and Tatteredstar.

“Can we talk for a minute?” Antstar watched as a blue-gray-and-white tom approached Tatteredstar, his tail flicking. The WindClan leader recognized him as Cloudclaw, Pebblesky’s son from before she moved to be a RiverClan medic; he always seemed unpleased about something.

“Shoot,” said Tatteredstar gruffly as she organized the ThunderClan elders into a group.

“My new apprentice, Firepaw,” Cloudclaw began, “hasn’t been doing any of his assignments recently ever since he was reassigned to me after the battle. He’s constantly scared of everything, always going on and on about the battle we had earlier and all the blood spilled. I really want what’s best for the lad, I really do; I'm tough on him because I want him to succeed. I worry about his future in the Clan if he goes on like this.”

Tatteredstar nodded. “I’ve noticed. It seems to me the poor fellow’s got war-eyes.”

War-eyes? Antstar thought. He had heard the phrase once or twice in passing, but he had never known what it referred to.

“War-eyes,” Tatteredstar began to explain, “is something that can happen to anyone. Doesn’t happen always in battle either, but it happens there more often than not. You see something that terrifies you, it claws at your mind a certain way… only StarClan knows what and what doesn’t give you war-eyes. Once you got war-eyes, you have to live with it. The slightest things make you jump and re-remember it. It doesn’t leave your mind. Eventually you learn to work around it, and it loosens its grip on you. But sometimes it comes back in waves. My brother- he died many seasons before you were born, of course- had war-eyes. Never quite left him.”

Antstar- or anyone else, really- had never heard Tatteredstar mention her family before. They were all long dead, after all- she was the only one left from her entire generation, born about some seventy seasons ago.

But he knew he had heard that description before. Coalclaw, he thought- of course! Whatever Firepaw of ThunderClan was suffering, Coalclaw had to have had it too. He made a mental note- next time he saw Tatteredstar, he’d ask her about it, and, hopefully, he would know what to do with the haunted WindClan tom at last.

Home was quiet that night, at least.

Stoatslink had been buried for a solid quarter-moon or so now, and so the Clan no longer held the sort of paranoia it had the first couple of days after his body had been found. It had brought them all together, at least- just as Whitetooth said it would. The excitement of the Gathering wasn’t fully removed, as the story of what. Currantstar had been up to spread across camp the way thistles spread across the summer grass.

Antstar told Spiderfoot, Shadeflower and Sparrowpetal about what he had learned from overhearing Tatteredstar- about war-eyes, and how it was likely what Coalclaw was dealing with. Shadeflower and Sparrowpetal looked relieved that there was a term for it, but Spiderfoot was still adamant- if there was a treatment, she reasoned, Coalclaw should have already done the research himself to figure it out and work through it. She said she bore no hard feelings, and truly didn’t want to be the villain; she simply worried about the Clan and the greater good, and if Coalclaw would impede them all. So Antstar took a long night walk with her, over the moors and the plains, they reminisced about the past when Spiderfoot was still just a newly-appointed apprentice and how much she had learned. She’d be a good deputy, Antstar thought, if he ever had to elect a new one and if time lengthened her patience. Antstar reminded her how important her family was- and how she should be kinder to her brother, as Antstar himself wished for a family more than anything in the world.

“But you have your Clan!” Spiderfoot told him. “You have us, we can be your family!”

If only she knew, Antstar thought to himself as the moon, pale as Stoatslink’s fur, stared down at him.

If only she knew.

[destinyclan]

Before Moon 0 (8/8)

"Hey, check it out!" Cranepaw called out to the rest of the group that was just starting to wake up. Oriolespeckle emerged from the cave all of them shared the last night, stretching himself snd yawning, before replying: "Yeah, wow, grass! I've never seen that before!" with tired sarcasm. It wasn't long until he'd noticed what Cranepaw had actually taken such an interest in, and soon he was joining her and pawing at the ground too. "Hey Bouncerise, you gotta check this out!"

The cat in question left the cave soon therafter, as did the rest of the group. They all stared with wonder and confusion at the sight ahead: The grassy field with sandy patches resembled much more a twoleg's nest now. No matter how late in the night it was when the cats arrived here, they all recalled tall grass passing them by as they looked for a place to sleep. But now it looked like someone had used their claws to cut down every single blade of grass, a task impossible for any cat alone. The field of short grass extended pretty far too, forming an almost circular outline, if you count in the patches of sand.

All the cats marveled at this impossible event, safe for Shortgrass, who seemed more busy cleaning her fur and basking in the sun, though not without shooting an occasional glance at the scene too. The apprentices and the two adults, Bouncerise and Oriolespeckle, alike were play-figthing and rolling around in the grass, the noises of which eventually lured Sunnyfeather outside, to ask what all of this was about. She needed no answer though, seeing it for herself. After a moment of being nothing but baffled, she turned back around to the cave, and began gently leading Aphidkit and Mudkit outside to the rest of the clan, keeping them close but letting them play too.

Grousestar found herself more to the backend of this spectacle, retreating to speak instead to Tempesthaze. "It's a sign..." Grousestar muttered, though half to herself really. "Obviously." Tempesthaze replied in a rather monotone manner. It seemed as though she wanted to continue, but Grousestar already bypassed her and approached a formation of rocks, situated next to a hollow tree. Without a second thought, she climbed atop and watched over the cats. Her cats. Her gaze fell onto Oriolespeckle and Bouncerise, who had stopped playing with the apprentices, instead getting up and shaking their pelts, obviously uncomfortable at the sudden presence of Shortgrass. She had approached the grassy field, after taking notice of Grousestar, whom she now viewed with a curious look from her ever so cunning eyes. Tempestpaw seemed to soon therafter join the warriors, leaving behind Cranepaw, who was now talking to the two kittens instead, teaching them what looked like hunting crouches.

Seeing this from up there... it was an undescribable feeling for Grousestar. "Pride" didn't quite cut it, neither did "Love"... but nonetheless her heart felt so full. She looked at these cats and she knew that whatever destiny had in store for them next, this was the right way. And they would all be ready for it. She pondered her own words for a moment, then deciding to gather the group's attention.

"Cats of the group! Gather close by for a meeting!" she called out and sooner or later, the cats complied. Some hesitating for a bit longer, like Oriolespeckle, after Shortgrass passed him by and touched him with her tail, as she picked a more secluded spot. Ears perked and eyes focused, they all looked up at her. Even Tempesthaze, despite sitting right at the foot of the boulder.

"StarClan has spoken! We have reached the end of our journey, and they have marked the borders of our new camp!" Excited whispers emerged from the apprentices, the other cats turned their heads to see for themselves.

"The realization of our new Clan's territorial borders will soon follow suit, I will make sure of that!" Grousestar continued. "But before we begin with making this our new home, there are ceremonies to be held..."

All the heads that had turned prior were now laser focused on Cranepaw and Tempestpaw, who looked confused and excited respectfully. Grousestar decided not to let this bring her off track. "Clearly, StarClan did more than pave the grounds for our new home last night. They also foretold me the answer to something that I had wondered since receiving my nine lives."

Her gaze wandered over to Shortgrass. The black she-cat didnt allow herself a change in expression, Grousestar couldn't know how she felt about what she assumed would come next. Perhaps she didn't know yet? Grousestar put aside her worries soon enough, this was a sign from StarClan, a decision of theirs, so she had no say in this regardless.

"Shortgrass, please step up."

She complied, and now her eyes widened ever so slightly. And it may have just been age, but was there a tremble to her step? A glint of disbelief shimmered through in her unwavering expression, as Grousestar touched noses with her briefly, before announcing to her and the rest of the Clan:

"Shortgrass, you are hereby the deputy of our new Clan. I entrust you with the duties that coincide with this position, as do I bestow upon you the responsibility of leadership, should I not be able to anymore."

An aura of pride and confidence replaced the prior disbelief, as the black she-cat turned around to stand tall in front of the other cats. The congratulatory exclamations of her name that she now expected took their time, Oriolespeckle and Bouncerise looked anything but happy about this decision. They both eventually averted their gaze. Fearfully? Disrespectfully? The two of them wouldn't join in either, when eventually Cranepaw shouted Shortgrass' name and the other cats followed suit. She eventually left her spot on the boulder and returned to the patch she sat in previously. Grousestar didn't seem to take notice of this, though. Her eyes lingered on the loudly cheering apprentices for a while, then she spoke to the clan once again:

"I am certain that the future ahead of us will be grand, though, we will have to build it up ourselves. Step by step, paw by paw, tirelessly. And to ensure a great future, we must look ahead, at who will live on to tell our tales. And we must provide them with the best we can offer."

She now fully looked at the apprentices, who both stared up to her with big eyes. The other cats' gazes wandered over to the two young she-cats aswell.

"Cranepaw, please step up."

Was that a hint of jealously Grousestar spotted in Tempestpaw's eyes? Cranepaw didn't seem to notice either way, virtually beaming with happiness and letting out a purr as she leapt up the boulder to touch noses with her leader. Though, overeager as she was, she seemed to have forgotten that Grousestar would speak first before that. Oops. Thankfully, the leader continued as usual after the initial incident of Cranepaw awkwardly bumping into her. In fact, did Grousestar herself purr a little?

"It is true that I haven't known you for very long, Cranepaw, but from what I have observed of you, you present a very clear picture of yourself. You are playful, cheerful, energetic, and eager to learn. You are you, and you're definitely not ashamed of that."

Grousestar scanned the group, eventually singling out who happened to be the only tom. "Oriolespeckle will be your new mentor. I could see that the two of you have a natural inclination toward each other. It's easy to see why, despite his moons as an apprentice veing long behind him, he seems as playful and humorous as a cat your age. Perhaps he can teach you all that is necessary, whilst keeping the joy of life in the back of your mind."

Finally, they touched noses, and Cranepaw jumped down from the boulder. Oriolrspeckle, equally bewildered and delighted, approached his new apprentice rapidly, touching noses with her aswell, as the cats around them shouted her name. "My first apprentice... this is gonna be so awesome!"

The two of them returned to their spot in the grass, sitting next to each other. Gazing at them, and then at Grousestar with eyes full of anticipation, Tempestpaw's tail lashed around. "Tempestpaw, please step up." Finally, she thought. She bypassed Tempesthaze who eyes her sharply, and did as the leader told. Though, before Grousestar spoke, she did, and in the mose demanding tone possible too.

"Grousestar, I want to become the fiercest, and most feared warrior of all time! I left my clan of birth because I knew I could pursue that dream here. So please, apprentice me to a cat that can make my dream come true!"

Everyone seemed shocked. Bouncerise and Oriolespeckle exchanged short, baffled glances, Sunnyfeather shook her head at the sheer audacity, even Shortgrass, who had moved on to absent-mindedly clean her fur, paused to look over to the boulder again. Tempesthaze's ears layed flat. Truly, everyone seemed shocked, except for Grousestar.

Her eyes had went dark. After a moment of letting Tempestpaw's words echo through the camp, Grousestar's pupils thinned down to slits. She slowly moved, towering over the apprentice who, even if she would never admit it, was a little intimidated at this sight. The leader let the discomfort last for another moment, before finally speaking up again.

"Very well then." she began, her voice so different from how she adressed Cranepaw before. Silky, but very strict. Dangerous. Tempestpaw laid her ears flat unwillingly, the rest of the clan staring restlessly at the events unfolding. "You are certainly confident in your potential, Tempestpaw. And while I won't tolerate anything like this in the future, I agree that you should be apprenticed to someone who can make the most of what you are capable of."

Grousestar saw none of it, only the withstanding glare of Tempestpaw, desparately hiding her rising nervosity, Shortgrass was now watching with very heightened interest. Bouncerise side-eyed her, with a very bad feeling. She then turned to the leader, praying she wouldn't say the words she though she might. And her prayers were heard, it seemed.

"Tempestpaw, you will be my apprentice. I will teach you the ways of the battlefield, and how to act fast in a crisis. I won't teach you how to be the fiercest warrior, but I will teach you what you need to know if you decide that that's what you're going to be. Are we clear?"

Tempestpaw reluctantly nodded her head,touched noses with her new mentor, and sat down next to a relieved Bouncerise. Tempestpaw was anything but relieved, however. Had she just started this journey on bad footing with the leader of all cats? At least hearing the cats cheer for her helped her feel better. Besides, she got what she wanted, right? Fully alert, she eyed the leader curiously, as she hadn't moved nor ended the gathering.

"Lastly... I want to thank all of you." Grousestar seemed to have let go of her more stern voice again, adressing the cats in a manner suitable for a leader. "I look at all of you and I am relieved for this Clan. A part of me wishes that the circumstances could have been better, that the losses suffered could have been mitigated, avoided even." She caught herself before her tone got any more somber.

"But if this is the final way to save the clans, I am glad that StarClan has chosen me. They have chosen all of us. All of you have walked or crossed the path of golden light that led us to our new home. This is no foolish luck, no chance. This is Destiny!"

"We are DestinyClan!"

One after another, the cats joined in, repeating the name of their new clan, voices booming through the treetops and carried by the wind. The whole forest was bound to know who they were.

[elementclangen]

Moon 305-Greenleaf

Bluestripe (80) is not recovering well from giving birth.  This seems to be becoming more common in the Clan, and Lakepelt (113) is wondering why.  She’s determined to stop this from happening more.  In better news, Kestrelcreek (94), Almondback (76), and Brightmouse’s (80) kits have been apprenticed!  Mitepaw (6) is apprenticed to Cavecatcher (63), as the warrior has yet to train an apprentice to a full warrior.  Hollowpaw (6) is apprenticed to Burdockbeam (21).  The star-blessed cats need apprentices if they are ever to be deputies.  However, both Hollowpaw and Burdockbeam being trouble makers could have some. . .interesting consequences.  Hollowpaw has graduated from harmless troublemaking to something grander.  He starts a fight between Croucheye (16) and Peatfeather (17) and watches giggling as they fight.  Mitepaw is also proving to be a little bit of a problem-causer and argues with Sofanthiel (94) in the middle of camp.  She ends up revealing that she saw Sofanthial eating some kittypet food.  The Clan doesn’t know if she’s lying or not, but they decide to keep a closer eye on Sofanthiel anyways.  Burdockbeam is already messing with her apprentice’s sister.  She convinces Mitepaw to pull a prank on a clanmate with her, and then blames the fight on Mitepaw, leading to a big argument that Hopcurl (23) has to break up. Downgaze (86) seems to be working through his feelings about Echomoor and Echoarch (23).  He acknowledges his son with a twitch of his whiskers for what feels like the first time in moons. Boulderflood (21) has taken to spending time with Bluestripe’s kits.  She knows she’ll most likely have one as an apprentice and wants to get to know them.  Aphidkit (2) doesn’t seem too enthused with her, but Dapplekit (2) has grown to like her.  She appreciates that Boulderflood is a lot quieter than either of her sisters.    Petalfrost (17) seems to have noticed that Longpelt (19) has also felt like a bit of an outsider in the Clan and waves to her with his tail when they cross pass.  She returns the favor.   With Creekstar (159) getting older, Dawnfreckle (89) knows that there’s a good chance he’ll become leader.  He wonders who will give him nine lives.  Aries (71) gives some advice to Creekstar on how to prepare the Clan for her passing.  The Clan is full of pranks these days, with Bluestripe playfully pranking Aphidkit.

Healer’s den: Bluestripe (recovering from birth, infected), Petalfrost (claw-wound), Cherviljumble (joint pain)

[elementclangen]

Moon 302-Greenleaf

It is proving to be a hot greenleaf.  Embershell (22) has gotten heat exhaustion (maybe from playing with fire during the hot season), and both Lakepelt (112) and Creekstar (158) have gotten heat stroke.  Despite being sick, Creekstar checks in with Bluestripe’s (79) kits to make sure they’re doing alright.  Dapplekit (1) especially.  She’s just so quiet.  She’s doing fine.  She just prefers to watch stuff rather than get involved.  Downgaze (85) is a little uncomfortable with Pebbletuft (37) as the working healer who’s been in the Clan the longest.  He just doesn’t like the way she acts.  Greenrapid (60) feels like Echoarch (22) has been getting a lot of attention lately and is annoyed with him.  She rants about him to Cherviljumble (109).  Tanglechirp (51) is trying to spend time with his kits, but Aphidkit (1) keeps telling him to speak up.  She thinks it’s funny.  He does not.  Sweet Marmalade (89) spends some time with his grandkits this moon.  Boulderflood (20) has a nice time talking with him and Burdockbeam (20) gently teases him about a feather she stuck to his face.  Mitekit (5) needs a break from Hollowkit (5) this moon (she’s finally tired of getting caught up in his games) and plays with Cherviljumble, who theatrically dies after Mitekit ‘slays’ her.  She’s excited to become an apprentice.  Hollowkit plays with Sweet Marmalade instead and he has to pretend to be a captured warrior of FurledClan.  Seeing all the kits in the nursery is making Bluestripe a bit nostalgic for her childhood, with all of her sisters.  She misses them.

Healer’s den: Creekstar (heatstroke), Lakepelt (heatstroke), Embershell (heat exhaustion), Bluestripe (recovering from birth), Cherviljumble (joint pain)

[elementclangen]

Bluestripe and Tanglechirp's Kits' Sprites

Aphidkit; Dark-cursed she-kit with a power level of 74 (medium high); Attention-seeker and confident with words

Dapplekit; Dark-cursed she-kit with a power level of 64 (medium high); Quiet and oddly observant

And here's Archdapple's kit sprite so you can see how much Dapplekit looks like her aunt:

[elementclangen]

Moon 303-Greenleaf

Bluestripe (78) and Tanglechirp (50) have had their kits!  And both of them inherited their mother’s magic.  Aphidkit (0) is already competing with her cousin for attention and Dapplekit (0), named for Archdapple despite their opposite powers, is content to sit quietly and watch her.  Creekstar (157) is determined to make these new dark-cursed kits feel more welcome in the Clan than Echomoor did, apparently, and is thinking of new ways to care for the Clan.  She seems to be regaining confidence in her old age.  Bluestripe doesn’t feel ready to be a mother, even with Tanglechirp at her side (not that he’s very helpful).  Kestrelcreek knows that her sister-in-law isn’t thrilled with how her partnership with Tanglechirp is going.  She listens in on her to make sure she’s doing alright with her new kits.  Bluestripe is annoyed when she catches her and snaps that she’s fine.  Almondback (74) is exhausted from raising his children and can’t wait to take a nap later.  Hollowkit (4) continues to find new ways to get into trouble.  He said he would cover for Downgaze, but, when the time came, he got Downgaze in trouble instead.  He runs off giggling.  Hopcurl (21) seems to be getting on cats’ nerves this moon and got in fights with both Kestrelcreek (92) and Dawnfreckle (87).  Downgaze (84) is spending some time with his granddaughter and shares tongues with Copperheart (19), getting caught up on what’s going on with the young cats in the Clan.  Despite being new to the Clan, Bumble (80) is already proving to be a dedicated healer.  Copperheart tells her grandpaw that she’s noticed him doing his best to get to know their Clanmates.  It seems that Echoarch (21) reciprocates Longpelt’s (17) crush and is admiring her from afar. . .

Healer’s den: Kestrelcreek (shivering), Cherviljumble (dislocated joint, bruises), Bluestripe (recovering from birth)