#cavestalker

[wickedsrest-rp]

NAME: Hellhound

RARITY: ★☆☆☆☆

THREAT LEVEL: ★★★☆☆ | Strong and hungry, one can be manageable but a pack is a serious threat. Best left to those with supernatural strength. Populations need constant culling by hunters to keep under control.

HABITAT: Often seen in cemeteries and places of death feeding on remains, but can be found in the woods, around town, and Gatlin’s farms and fields. There is a highland population in Seven Peaks.

DESCRIPTION: These adaptable demonic creatures resemble some kind of unholy cross between a hyena and small horse. Most have short, spotted or striped coats and hooves that make a rattling noise with each step they take. Hellhounds are common in areas of high supernatural activity. When their population becomes especially large, it’s a sign that a supernatural threat is looming. They’re pack creatures and often hunt in groups of 6 to 10 individuals; even if you don’t see more than one, you can bet the rest of the group is nearby. Working as a pack, they are strongly motivated to eat whatever crosses their path. 

The mouth of a hellhound is full of strong, serrated teeth for tearing apart prey and crushing skulls, and their bellies are transparent, allowing those who get too close to see what (or who) the hellhound last ate. And they will eat anything, dead or alive. Once their stomach is full, they convert the food into a yellow gas that they can ignite at will, allowing them to breathe fire. This gas smells strongly of sulfur, and permeates the air around them, which earned hellhounds their name. They make a distinct “laughing” or “cackling” sound as they eat. Because hellhounds are so motivated by food, some more intelligent species might employ them as “grunts,” taking advantage of their sturdy and aggressive nature. They have no loyalty and will follow the food, but will not harm other demons.

ABILITIES: Hellhounds are resilient and fast, with muscular bodies that give them impressive physical strength. They can breathe fire after they’ve eaten, but only until their stores of gas have been reduced (this can be seen in their transparent belly); they have an immunity to fire as well. Their sulfuric stench can be so overpowering that it can immobilize those nearby with a strong sense of smell. Hellhounds are ferocious predators and known for their incredible jaw strength, often leaving behind nothing more than bone fragments from their feeding. Because they’re often found in groups, it’s not usually possible for a single individual to take them all out unless they’re spread apart.

WEAKNESS: It’s often rangers and slayers who end up running into and handling hellhounds, but exorcists specializing in demons will know a handful of rituals that can weaken them or keep them out of areas. Hellhounds can be defeated by decapitation, or several strong blows to their bodies. Between their rattling hooves, cackling while dining, and sulfuric stench, hellhounds are not subtle and more than often you can hear or smell them coming.

OTHER VARIANTS:

Hillhound: This shaggy-coated hellhound variant is found at higher altitudes, including Wicked’s Rest’s Seven Peaks. They have icy breath instead of fire, and only eat the living or dead once they’ve been frozen solid, like a popsicle. Hillhounds are more solitary and are only rarely found in groups of more than two. They are larger than their lowland cousins and are inactive on hot days.

Cavestalker: Cavestalkers are solitary hellhounds that come from a population that got lost in Wicked’s Rest’s cave and mine system many years ago, and have adapted and evolved at an unusually fast rate to take advantage of the darkness. Their eyes are large and very sensitive, and they’re smaller in size than other hellhounds, allowing them to squeeze through narrower pathways. On rattling hooves, they follow anyone who is wandering through the underground tunnels, waiting for them to simply perish from dehydration or exposure. They don’t generally attack and will wait many days for their food to be ready. Cavestalkers can’t survive outside of a cave environment, and bright lights cause them pain, which might be why they’ve never been seen breathing fire.

[skyyclan]

Thank you! <3

I'd absolutely love to hear more about your story, please tell more! I'm personally intrigued about a couple details... During the 2nd or 3rd loop, what did Slatewind think was happening? How aware was she at the start of the loops that they were true timeloops? And how much did she change during them, trying to figure out what to do, like did she try to keep to doing the same things with minor differences or did she end up doing a lot of things differently each time?

(Skyyclan here!) You and Slatewind put up a good fight in that poll, it was neck and neck the whole time! I thought for sure Slate would pull through in the end, I didn't expect to win against the arguably way cooler Timeloop protagonist, like that's such a cool story trope to use in a a Warriors story???

If there's anywhere I can read more about Slatewind, I'd love to check it out! :Dc

GG! Your guy is honestly really cool too :D

Slatewind's choice is a very far distance future thing (I have a massive non-warriors project to do!) buuut I would love to talk about it if you have questions :D

Have the nephew mentioned in slates blurb

[prestigious-subclasses]

Prestige Classes

In D&D 3.5, there are almost 300 prestige classes. Shouldn't they all be converted to D&D 5e subclasses? No. No they should not. And yet, here we are. Some prestige classes are ... weird and so might be converted to something other than a subclass, if at all.

A breakdown is below the cut.

Core Subclasses

Arcane Archer

Arcane Trickster

Archmage

Assassin

Blackguard

Dragon Disciple

Duelist

Dwarven Defender

Eldritch Knight

Hierophant

Horizon Walker

Loremaster

Mystic Theurge

Red Wizard

Shadowdancer

Thaumaturgist

Psionic

Cerebremancer

Elocater

Fist of Zuoken

Illithid Slayer

Metamind

Psion Uncarnate

Pyrokineticist

Thrallherd

War Mind

Complete Champion

Fist of the Forest

Forest Reeve

Holt Warden

Mythic Exemplar

Ordained Champion

Paragnostic Apostle

Paragnostic Initiate

Sanctified One

Shadowspy

Shadowstriker

Squire of Legend

Complete Mage

Abjurant Champion

Eldritch Disciple

Eldritch Theurge

Enlightened Spirit

Holy Scourge

Lyric Thaumaturge

Master Specialist

Nightmare Spinner

Ultimate Magus

Unseen Seer

Wild Soul

Complete Psionic

Anarchic Initiate

Ebon Saint

Ectopic Adept

Flayerspawn Psychic

Illumine Soul

Soulbow

Storm Disciple

Zerth Cenobite

Complete Scoundrel

Avenging Executioner

Battle Trickster

Cloaked Dancer

Combat Trapsmith

Fortune's Friend

Gray Guard

Magical Trickster

Malconvoker

Master of Masks

Mountebank

Psibond Agent

Spellwarp Sniper

Uncanny Trickster

Complete Warrior

Bear Warrior

Bladesinger

Cavalier

Dark Hunter

Darkwood Stalker

Dervish

Drunken Master

Exotic Weapon Master

Eye of Gruumsh

Frenzied Berserker

Gnome Giant-Slayer

Halfling Outrider

Hulking Hurler

Hunter of the Dead

Invisible Blade

Justiciar

Kensai

Knight of the Chalice

Knight Protector

Master of the Unseen Hand

Master Thrower

Mindspy

Nature’s Warrior

Occult Slayer

Order of the Bow Initiate

Purple Dragon Knight

Rage Mage

Ravager

Reaping Mauler

Ronin

Spellsword

Stonelord

Tattooed Monk

Thayan Knight

War Chanter

Warshaper

Cityscape

Ebonmar Infiltrator

Crimson Scourge

Urban Savant

Dungeonscape

Beast Heart Adept

Dungeon Lord

Trapsmith

Sandstorm

Ashworm Dragoon

Lord of Tides

Sand Shaper

Scion of Tem-Et-Nu

Scorpion Heritor

Walker in the Waste

Drow of the Underdark

Arachnomancer

Cavestalker

Demonbinder

Dread Fang of Lolth

Eye of Lolth

Insidious Corrupter

Kinslayer

Fiendish Codex II

Hellbreaker

Hellfire Warlock

Hellreaver

Soulguard

Book of Exalted Deeds

Anointed Knight

Apostle of Peace

Beloved of Valarian

Celestial Mystic

Champion of Gwynharwyf

Defender of Sealtiel

Emissary of Barachiel

Exalted Arcanist

Fist of Raziel

Initiate of Pistis Sophia

Lion of Talisid

Prophet of Erathaol

Risen Martyr

Sentinel of Bharrai

Skylord

Slayer of Domiel

Stalker of Kharash

Swanmay

Sword of Righteousness

Troubadour of Stars

Vassal of Bahamut

Wonderworker

Dragon Magic

Diamond Dragon

Dragon Descendant

Dragon Lord

Hand of the Winged Masters

Pact-bound Adept

Swift Wing

Wyrm Wizard

Miniatures Handbook

Bonded Summoner

Dragon Samurai

Havoc Mage

Skullclan Hunter

Tactical Soldier

War Hulk

Warchief

Tome of Battle

Bloodclaw Master

Bloodstorm Blade

Deepstone Sentinel

Eternal Blade

Jade Phoenix Mage

Master of Nine

Ruby Knight Vindicator

Shadow Sun Ninja

Underdark

Arachnomancer

Cavelord

Deep Diviner

Drow Judicator

Illithid Body Tamer

Imaskari Vengeance Taker

Inquisitor of the Drowning Goddess

Prime Underdark Guide

Sea Mother Whip

Shadowcrafter

Vermin Keeper

Yathchol Webrider

Epic

Agent Retriever

Cosmic Descryer

Divine Emissary

Epic Infiltrator

Guardian Paramount

High Proselytizer

Legendary Dreadnought

Perfect Wight

Union Sentinel

[cryptidclaw]

Its always so much fun coming up with fun warrior names that aren't conventional or sound interesting! Please look at some of the ones from my Warriors DnD server, we all love these guys very much

Npcs such as Gloryheart, Bisoncharge, Bluebelldust, Cavestalker, Birdbone, Wolfsnap, Scorchmoon, Pollenpuff, Squashnose, Crittercrawl, Kissingnose, and Volcanoburst

Plus some of the pcs have fun warrior names (some may change, some of these are still apprentices): Voidshift, Passerinefeather, Fawnfluff, Cosmos Storm, Phantomhowl, Riftsight

Like... its just fun coming up with names! They're all just little guys at the end of the day

these are so cool!!!!

gosh you guys are so good at names ...

[skyyclan]

Hi I love rp characters, I care them. This is Cavestalker (brown, mine) and Stoneheart (grey, not mine)

[runaway-art]

[gotojobin]

#HappyEarthDay #HappyEarthDay2019 #EarthDay2019 #EarthDay #CaveStalker #Cave #Stalker Cave Stalker In its hard to live environment the Cave Stalker manages to survive is by using its 2 heads that work together to find its prey. One of the heads evolved in a way that allows to hear the sound waves that are created in the caves and the other head evolved its sense of smell to an incredible level. In total Darkness the Cave Stalker can catch any pray with ease. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwlOGayFrwt/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1nso3n6jqxz73

[twistedtoms]

Curious about your take on my favorite oc name of mine, Cavestalker!

[fatal-rewrites-warriors]

Oughhh I have two I'd love to talk about: Catchingbird and Cavestalker. They're both from a Warriors Adventure Game/Dnd game I've been part of for a couple years now. They both have character arcs that revolve around healing from past abuse/trauma and moving on to being who you want to be for yourself Catchingbird was born to Windclan's deputy at the time, Redflower, who was kinda planning to take over Windclan and was working with an old ghost who was planning to shatter the barrier between the afterlife and the living world. She was born to be raised to be Redflower's perfect heir, but she was quickly pushed too far, even as a kit, and it didn't help that due to her father's family genetics (he's a purebred albino oriental longhair, so he's got some bad genes) she has some disabilities that give her bad eyesight and chronic migraines. She ends up moving to Shadowclan for shelter and gets some lovely found family with her two best friends Finchsong and Pineheart, and though they didn't get along all of the time they were always there for each other through their problems. Eventually, she meets a loner named Salem, and they instantly get along and Catch ends up falling for her pretty quickly. Salem joins Shadowclan with her, and as they grow close and Salem tells her about living as a loner, Catch ends up realizing that she isn't happy or satisfied with clan life for a multitude of reasons. She loves her family and all, but she can't get used to the violence and wants a peaceful life. She and Salem end up leaving to become kittypets and she changes her name to Chloe, and they end up adopting a young stray named Rachel and they get to be happy together <3 (1/2)

yes more clan cats choosing to become kittypets is good

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Eating Everything.”

I am working my way through the list of suggestions that you guys left me, so this is the first installment from a Anon ask. I don’t know if this is what you wanted to read or where expecting to read, but this is what I came up with.

Intergalactic Journal of Biology and Medicine

Humans have one of the most resilient digestive tracts in the known universe. As an Omnivorous predatory species, humans are capable of digesting muscle , fat, carbohydrates (simple and complex), proteins and fibers taking many nutrients and extreme energy from them. Their use of carbs gives us an explanation as to why humans are so powerful because they require a lot of energy to use their bodies. Additionally, the stomach acid of a human is capable of digesting, non-food items though no nutrients can be pulled from it.

Generally speaking, the rule is that if you can eat it, a human can eat it, though, whether it is to their taste or not is questionable.

Furthermore, the human body reactivly ejects toxic substances once detected, so within reason, humans are capable of trying many foods without the negative consequences many of us would associate with sticking foreign substances in our mouth.

There GA intergalactic summit was held, on what was Earth time, November 5th, 4022. All members of the GA council were expected to attend, or at least a representative for every species in the known universe. At this time that would include the Rundi, Gibb, Tesraki, Bran, Vrul, Drev, etc. but worst of all, the humans. 

The Rundi steward, a class of government official who was specifically tasked with dealing with the drudgery of bureaucracy, was not pleased in the slightest. It was primarily his job to put everything together, and depending on how well he did, it could either make or break him in social hierarchy of his species. The Rundi were a primarily governmental planet, everything they did was based upon a structure of hierarchy and rule. Government was the greatest form of service, and Anarchy wasn’t even an afterthought in philosophical debate. The rundi were not capable of anarchy.

It was a planet of politicians in some form or another, every interaction had political underleanings, and their speech was always heavily guarded. For this reason, the Rundi had been the first in suggesting an intergalactic system of government. The terasaki had agreed only upon realizing they would be tasked with overseeing economics, but had benefited from the Rundi system of government seeing as they tended a bit towards social anarchy, a thought that the Rundi had seen as horribly barbaric, especially since their system was based primarily on the equal distribution of goods to support government structure. 

The Vrul had only agreed to join based on their own personal interest in survival. Generally they wanted nothing to do with intergalactic politics and would have been happy to maintain their own peaceful homeworld, but the introduction of other species into the galaxy had offered a great threat to them, and they had decided, out of necessity, to join the GA as being friends with the other species was in their own self interest. In turn that had meant sending their very, very skilled workers to help the rest of the galaxy, and that included their scientists and their doctors, and their mechanics.

And then of course there was the issue of the Drev and the humans, both scarily similar in social hierarchy and temperament. The Drev were warlike and honor bound, but once choosing a leader, they had been surprisingly willing to join in as long as they were given the opportunity to participate in any and all armed conflict that happened to take place across the galaxy. 

The humans….. The humans were another story. There was no one characteristic that helped to identify their motivations. The humans themselves were well versed in war, politics, economics, and science, but they did everything to the extreme. Where the Drev practiced war for honor,when humans waged war, they did it to kill, while the Rundi maintained government and played games within their own circles, the humans played against each other often mixing war and government into one. Their economic practices varied widely, but their current system played for keeps and focused on the greatest accumulation of wealth possible far beyond what the Tesraki did. Then when it came to science, they never considered WHETHER they should do something, but only if they COULD do something. 

And now here the steward was forced into the position of setting up this summit for all the different types of species. The catering alone had been a complete nightmare, and he had been forced to ship different sorts of food for thousands of miles in order to feed everyone in the proper manner. There were some species he did not have to worry about, like the Vrul, who were more plant based and so did not eat, but there were others, and that included the rundi and the Tesraki, who had every strict diet consisting of only very specific foods to eat. He found that he could tack the Drev onto some other species, seeing as their bodies were capable of metabolizing almost any plant as long as it retained a similar structure to human plants and fruit.

However, the humans themselves were the hardest part, because the range of food was so wide, he could hardly determine what was going to work and what was going to be a massive disaster. He honestly didn’t know, different sources said different things, and he couldn't bare to think about putting MEAT on the table…. That was just against his constitutions.

In fact, he was scrambling right up until the council had convened for the evening, and the mass tide of bodies came pouring into the room filling the vaulted ceiling with rockus chatter in dozens of different languages.

He could hear the humans coming a mile off.

The humans and the Rundi had a similar register when it came to hearing, and humans were known to be able to mimic Rundi vocalizations to some degree simply because they generally tended to communicate in deep grunts, hums and guttural vocalizations. The humans, wlel their language was just as varied as their culture clicking, hissing, snapping, humming and grunting filling the air with discordant and somehow, rhythmic quality..

Their presence turned heads.

They walked with the Drev delegation, which was no surprise to anyone. The humans had been unable to send their usual representative due to a social disagreement between earth and its neighboring sister, Mars. So who had they gone and sent….

Them….

The rundi Steward knew all about them….. Crewmembers of the UNSC Harbinger, the widest ranging vessel in the entire galaxy, and home to a crew that was indisputably certifiable. They were the most reckless, most dangerous, and most terrifying amalgamation of creatures in the galaxy somehow including one Drev, and a rather out of place Vrul whose behavior suggested he had caught whatever brain malady had overcome the humans, and was just as insane as they were.

He cringed horrifically at the sight of them.. Humans were a destructive force, and were known to cause chaos and mayhem wherever they went, even at the best of times, so this was bound to get interesting.

The delegates were seated, and the Steward welcomed them with gracious words of introduction he had spent months preparing. It was a very political thing for him to do, and included subtle compliments to all delegations involved, laid down some ground rules but made sure not to undermine the authority of the people he was speaking too..

However, to the humans, the attempt was obviously heavy handed brown nosing, though none of the other delegations seemed to notice.

He invited them in for refreshments and encouraged discussion between the parties.

Of course, the humans weren’t exactly ones to pass up the idea of food and were some of the first to the table examining the contents with great interest even the food that was not theirs. They seemed very amused watching the other delegations pick up their specific food and then move away to sit.

“What is this.” one of the humans commented holding up a rather stringy green tube that wriggled and squirmed in his hand, “Are these worms?”

One of the Tesraki looked over, “No, it’s a Cavestalk, a kind of plant. Probably not to your taste, they are known to be poisonous to other species. In other words, not human food.”

The human raised an eyebrow, “Buddy, humans are the sharks….. Or wait…. Maybe that's the goats of the universe, we can eat anything within reason, and even a couple of things outside of reason if given enough time.”

The Tesraki made a sort of shrug and wave with its large ears and then walked away. The steward watched the humans with a worried expression. It wouldn’t due to allow the humans to make themselves sick on his watch, but it seemed as if that idea was only becoming more and more likely as the humans poked and prodded at the leftovers of other species hardly bothering with the food that had been laid out for them…. Mostly strange fibrous plant materials.

And that is when it came, “I dare you to eat it.” 

The two humans locked eyes, one still holding the wriggling Cavestalk, “What.”

“I said, I dare you to eat it.” The human stuck out his chin at the other human in a primitive position of posturing, “How much do I get if I do.”

There was a moment of thought before, “Twenty credits. I’ll give you twenty credits to eat it.”

“What happens if it poisons me?”

There was a hand wave, “We have a doctor on board, he can just pump your stomach…. Chicken.”

A moment of silence passed between them, and the Rundi steward began moving towards them to stop something horrible he felt was about to happen. He wasn’t fast enough, and before he knew it, the human had thrown back his head and dropped the wriggly green thing into his mouth swallowing it whole like an alligator or a snake. 

People around looked on in somewhat fascinated disgust as the predator’s throat bobbed and he smacked his lips making a face, “Eh, I can still feel it moving…. Eh.” He paused, “Though, taste wise it isn’t so bad kind of like a wiggly asparagus.” After a moment his eyes narrowed, and he smacked his lips again, “Spicy asparagus, uh, that’s really really weird.” 

He reached the table just as the Vrul came running up shoulders squared in a very un-vrul way, “HE LITERALLY JUST SAID IT WAS POISONOUS TO OTHER SPECIES, AND NOW YOU’RE EATING IT! AND YOU OVER THERE.” A human looked up at him from where it had been prodding the Drev coiltree berries, “GET THOSE OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!”

They had attracted the attention of some of the closer tables now who were looking on in entertained confusion and worry.

A human waved a hand, “It’s alright Doc, we have you don’t we”

“I AM NOT THE MAGIC CURE FOR NEUROTOXIN.”

Another shrug, “Well it’s a good thing that I’ll throw up before anything really bad happens.” 

The rundi steward tried to intervene as the humans began prodding through the other food, “Drev can eat human fruit, so I bet these things are like fruit.” one of them pointed out popping the berries into his mouth and chewing with a contemplative look on his face, “Not bad.”

“Please, please, if you would remain within your own food groups.” The Rundi begged. HE was now realizing he should have written up some legal documents to avoid litigation if the humans were to be damaged on their property, but now was too late.

A human waved him off, “Don’t worry, everyone else is done eating, besides.” He Pointed towards the human food, “That's literally a pile of lettuce, I am a man, not a horse.”

“Horses don’t eat lettuce, also that’s not lettuce,it’s spinach.” Another human piped up prodding at a strange squishy red ball sloshing with a strange pink nectar, “This looks like candy.”

“Please don’t put that in your mouth.”

The humans swarmed away from the two dissenting voices. One of them picked up the strange pink orb and licked it. It’s eyes lit up and it bit into the piece wiping pink juice from it’s face as it did, “Ok, this, this is good 10/10 would try again.” And that only caused all the other humans to move over to try one.

“I SAID GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!” The vrul demanded. 

The Rundi steward looked on in horror and worry. Vrul didn’t behave that way, everything here was just wrong. 

A Drev joined the party just then pointing to the pink orb, “I love those, but you should definitely try these too.” 

“No, no they should not.”

He was ignored, and the humans scooted over to look. It was a strange spiral plant in a light yellow color that made  a distinctive crunching sound as the humans bit down. They shrugged, “Sort of just like space celery if you ask me.”

Did these creatures have no sense of self preservation!

A group had gathered around the table strangely amused at the humans, who just ate…. Everything.

The Rundi steward almost keeled over watching his future go down the drain as other species began offering humans food. Whatever it was, they seemed unable to resist putting it in their mouths. A human made a face spitting something back out into his hand, “Ax bleh, tastes like Satan’s feet.” “Quick question. When was the last time you licked Satan’s feet.” “The last time I was at your mom’s house.” 

The humans made strange noises at each other as the Rundi stepped in and began grabbing things from the humans only to find the Vrul to be doing the same, “Stop it! Stop it all of you!.”

The human’s paused, as did the other delegates in surprise.

“STOP PUTTING THINGS IN YOUR MOUTH THAT YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE.”  The intervening silence was broken as one of the humans loudly crunched on one of the pink orbs. Everyone turned to look at her and she just glanced around the group.

“What?” She wondered past a mouth full of food.

A human waved a hand at him, “Keep your shorts on, we promise you won't get in trouble if one of us dies.” 

The Rundi stared on incredulous.

They were going to kill themselves, they were really going to kill themselves.

Maybe it was best if he resigned before being fired, at least he would be able to keep his dignity

[welcometoyouredoom]

ᕦ(ò_ó*)ᕤ

[skyyclan]

Therapist: Manga Cavestalker isn't real, it can't hurt you

Manga Cavestalker: (above)

[skyyclan]

96 with cavestalker

MY BOY

96. Describe your oc in three words. What three words would your oc use to describe themselves?

I'd describe Cavestalker as... Sensitive, Introverted, and Critical/Judgy

He'd describe himself as Solitary, Gloomy, and Selfish

[skyyclan]

Sleepwalk

Hi I finally wrote something for one of my ocs so here it is,,,

Warnings for: Death, blood, injury, dogs, horror, and nightmares. (The deaths did happen, but this is all just a nightmare reliving them)

The night was cold, dark, and a bit drizzly. It couldn’t be much later than midnight.

Startled awake, amber eyes shot open and quickly scanned the stuffy den around him. Heavy, labored breaths were visible in the crisp night air thanks to the bright light from the nearly full moon. The only sounds other than the breathing of the cats around him were the rustling of tree branches that draped over the forest around them all.

Nobody was up at this time of night, not usually. This was the time of night where, if you woke up, it was because you had problems. The troubled staring from the ticked tabby tom aimed at the larger grey tabby tom next to him proved that much. Slowly, tentatively, a dark brown paw was raised and began drifting towards the comforting broad shoulders of the other cat, only to freeze and quickly retreat.

A silent thought shot through Cavestalker’s mind, chastising him for nearly making his problems public again. It made him want comfort so much more, but he pushed them down as he decided to lift himself from the warmth that clung to the nest. Casting one last glance over his shoulder, the lean tom exited the den into the open of the camp’s clearing.

The first thing his eyes landed on was the empty spot where Honeyleaf’s body had once been days before. Even with Stoneheart’s comfort that night, the pain still stung his heart like venom. He could swear he could still scent the smell of death clinging to his pelt from her.  Roughly, he shook his head and forced the memories from the front of his mind, though they continued to cling to the back of his mind like a stubborn tick, slowly draining at his willpower. 

He forced himself from his frozen stance, turning his body away from the sight of the clearing and stalking towards the entrance of the camp. The thorns and branches that lined the entrance, protecting it from unfamiliar cats, scraped harshly against his fur, but he paid them no mind. The calico cat guarding the camp for the night glanced over their shoulder at him, but the look on his face probably told them not to bother him with questions, as they turned their face away from him before he could get a good look at their expression. Shouldering his way past the cat, Cavestalker continued on his trek away from camp and its eerie familiarity. The forest around him was heavy with the sound of rain, the water making everything glisten in the night in a way he had never seen from the forest before. It almost felt like an entirely different forest; it was refreshing.

As he continued walking, the sound of rustling grass and wet pawsteps behind him caused his pace to slow and eventually come to a stop. With his ears pricked, Cavestalker scanned the area around him through narrow, focused eyes. It must be the cat that was on duty. He wasn’t sure who else it could be. His pelt prickled with irritation, he could have sworn they would know better than to follow him. 

Opening his mouth to sneer at the approacher, his vocal chords faltered. He wanted to tell the cat to go away, but as he went to say their name he realized he couldn’t come up with a name to say. His frustrated expression turned confused and suspicious. There were no true calico cats left alive in Thunderclan, only tortoiseshells and torbies.

Ahead of him, the darkness of the forest echoed with approaching, heavy pawsteps. The walking pace sounded strained and slow, but confident and intimidating. The tense air thickened, the feeling of it choking the lone tom.

Though a terrible feeling rested in his gut, apprehension warning him wordlessly, Cavestalker arched his back and hissed at the unknown cat. His usual calm, more collected air that he would have for a battle was nowhere to be felt; only the growing intensity of his now-fearful instincts. All he knew was that he should be scared, kicking-in his fight or flight instincts… and right now, he wanted to fight, defend his clan from this trespasser.

Cautiously, he took a step back in preparation just as a white paw stepped forward into the light as it shone from an opening in the canopy. Long, calico fur draped over a worryingly skinny form duly shone in the light. Pale blue eyes stared ahead at him, almost right through him, chilling him to the bone. 

Recognition shocked him to his core, causing him to shake unsteadily on his trembling paws. Eyes wide, he stood still, staring back at the eyes of his mother, a cat who had died many moons ago. Confusion and fear swirled together, hope flashing in between and clashing with the other two.

Hesitating, he quickly scanned the forest around him. Suddenly the darkness no longer felt familiar and comforting, and the cold was much more apparent. His paws and nose began to sting from the icy chill as the wind changed direction. A strong breeze blew over him from behind his still-approaching mother, the wind lifting her fur and revealing her form underneath, an awful rancid stench suddenly hitting him.

Ribs actually visible, bone and all, pieces of flesh rotting and close to falling off of her body, and skin dry and clinging to what remained of her body. Parts of her were torn and bleeding bright red blood, wounds that looked old and fresh at the same time. The gashes on her neck left behind a trail on the ground as they dripped a constant flow. A cat could not be alive and look like this. At least, he hoped that was true.

“M-Mom?” He mewed in a tight, quiet voice. No response, just the sound of pawsteps following his words.

Taking a few more steps back, Cavestalker was at a loss. He couldn’t fight a cat that looked like that. He couldn’t fight his mother. But what choice did he have? A strange adrenaline coursed through him, urging him to do something, anything. It felt like he had already been in a fight, that he was falling from that high.

A sudden wail pierced the silence, the sound high-pitched and pained. At the same moment, Cavestalker felt his pelt set on fire. He couldn’t help but add to the fading wail himself with a hiss of pain as his once-strong standing position was drained of its energy and forced into a slouch. 

The pain was familiar, those of claw-marks and cat-bites, but he had never felt them at such an intensity before. He felt no blood rushing to heal him and close the wounds, nor any wounds in the first place. Just the pain that they could cause him.

Stumbling, his basic instincts finally made a decision. Seeing as Birchdream had done nothing but wail, still not close enough to lay a claw on him, but cause him this much pain… his gut told him he wouldn’t be able to survive this. He didn’t want to believe it, that his mother would do anything like this to him, not of her own free will, and he still didn’t. She was in pain, just like him, and now they both were relying on only the most basic actions of survival: Fight or flee. 

Casting her one last longing look, he saw as she had stopped moving and moved to sit and crouched in on herself. She released another pained wail, her body trembling from the effort. As the sound reverberated, the pain Cavestalker had begun to feel flared again. That was all it took for him to turn tail and run away through the underbrush.

The wind in his pelt felt icier and wetter the more he ran, the drizzle turning to sleet and the water freezing to his pelt in sharp icicles. The feeling slowed him, the cold seeping away the last of his warmth and making his body beg for him to focus on heating up again. The heat from the pain was still strong, but did nothing to stop his violent shivering.

That’s when he noticed the snow-covered ground directly underneath his paws. The undergrowth around him was still as it was, wet and warm, but anywhere he stepped seemed to change even the weather itself. As he was catching his breath, which now left him in icy clouds, and examining the snow trail he was creating, a branch above him snapped.

His attention quickly switched as his body went to react, but he wasn’t fast enough and the weight of the surprisingly-heavy limb hit him square on the shoulders. The breath was knocked from him, leaving him gasping for more as he laid stunned and disoriented. Scrambling for something to grip and drag himself from under the branch, his paws hit something warm and fuzzy. 

Reaching further to grip whatever it was in front of him, the object lifted itself and moved away from his grasp. Blinking forcefully, Cavestalker tried to focus his spinning vision on the object. It took a few moments, but it slowly shifted into focus and left him with the sight of a dark brown tabby paw stepping away from him. As it moved, a large weight lifted from his back, giving him just enough room to finally fill his lungs fully with air. 

Staring at the cat, his whirling mind first assumed it was Smallflower, then once again recognized the cat as he realized they looked much younger than his clanmate was. The feeling of rushing adrenaline was back, his body fighting against the pain of the wounds and the crushing weight of the branch, as well as his losing-fight against losing consciousness. 

Staring up who he now recognized as Owlpaw, who just stared blankly back at him, another limb above them both creaked a late warning before it, too, snapped. Having no energy to try and move, Cavestalker’s vision flashed to black and his mind went blank as it made contact with him.

Just as quickly as it hit him, he was awake again. He shot up, a heavy weight still feeling stuck to his shoulders, but nothing as bad as the large branches that had once been there. His forelegs buckled and trembled under his weight as he sat up. He could breathe, though his breaths still came in labored gasps. 

Looking around, he saw that he was still in Thunderclan territory, and still in the same area he last remembered being. Next to him, tree limbs were laid on top of each other on the ground. The air was no longer cold, and any snow and ice that had once existed had disappeared. But he was still in near excruciating pain, his ears ringing from the shock of it all.

Looking up to the sky, he stared at the moon, which was still in the same spot as when he last looked. Even the clouds that decorated the sky looked as if they hadn’t moved much at all. It was as if no time had passed at all.

Taking a few moments to gather his thoughts and strength, the warrior looked back in the direction of camp. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but he knew it was wrong and he knew he was in pain. Speckthroat or Yewheart could help him.

Though he was exhausted, he grunted and pushed himself up. His legs wobbled from the effort, and nearly let him fall back to the ground. Grinding his teeth, he steeled himself for a long walk. Each step was uneasy and felt risky, but slowly but surely he made his way closer and closer to home, to camp, to the medicine den. 

The closer he got, the quieter the ringing in his ears got and the easier it was to hear everything around him. The closer he got, the easier it became to hear barking and yowling and screaming. Alarm coursed through his veins, inspiring to stumble as fast as he could towards the danger. 

Camp wasn’t far now, he could see the entrance. Everything was so loud, his pain as strong as ever before, and the feeling of needing to do something still urging him forward. Bracing himself for the worst, he forced himself through the entrance and was met with absolute stillness and silence. No dogs. No cats. Just two little bodies near the center of camp, bloodied and mangled. Spottedpaw and Leafpaw.

The two bodies laid in complete stillness, seemingly frozen in time. But as he approached, they shifted and wheezed. He came to another stop only pawsteps away from them as they pushed themselves to their paws, joining him in standing unsteadily.

As he stared at them, he only barely managed to croak out their names, “Spottedpaw….? Owlpaw….?” 

They did not grace him with words, though in their state he couldn’t expect them to. Instead, the pain he still held from seeing Birchdream flared again, bringing with it both the crushing pain of the branches and the new pains of torn flesh and broken bones. It felt as though a dog had used him as its personal chew-toy.

His head dropped, hanging limply and facing the ground as he stared sightlessly at it, his vision blurred to the point of sightlessness. It was all he could manage to not fall over. The pain was so close to knocking him from his paws, his mind blank yet filled with the feeling of white-hot agony.

“I-I’m sorry! I should’ve been here sooner!” He wailed, voice cracking from the strain. For a moment, his words weren’t met with anything, but he could hear a shaky breath being drawn in from the cat in front of him.

“No, I’m sorry. I truly am, Fireclaw was a strong warrior.”

He stood in silence, still staring at the ground as he regained his vision once again. Fireclaw? No, that wasn’t right, he was talking to Spottedpaw and Owlpaw. They were hurt, they were gone, and he hadn’t done anything yet.

His head was heavy with grief, pain, confusion, and pure exhaustion, but still he slowly lifted it again only to be faced with the pitying expression of his leader. His amber eyes narrowed, confused at the sight. He opened his mouth to question her, but he didn’t have the time as the sight of his leader faded away right in front of him, leaving him once again alone with reignited pains, more of those feeling as if they had been left by another cat.

Unable to keep his composure any longer, having seen his mother and siblings once again and reliving the news of his last sibling’s death, reliving their pain and their last moments, the tom crouched low to the ground.

Tears streamed from his eyes as they closed tightly, sobs racking his body and reminding him of the pain burning as hot as the sun in his body. With each one, his head lowered closer and closer to the ground, but before he met dirt he made contact with fur.

He didn’t need to open his eyes this time, the scent of honey and oak leaves filling his nose and reminding him of one of his most recent losses. “Oh, Ho-neyleaf…” He breathed out, words interrupted with a hiccup of emotion and muffled by her pelt. 

It felt like an eternity, sitting crouched beside his apprentice’s stiff body, wetting her fur with his tears. He wanted to do something, anything, but nothing would work. He couldn’t bring any of them back. He couldn’t tell them the things he had never said. He wasn’t who he had tried so hard to be. He wasn’t a strong warrior who could do anything his clanmates needed.

His thoughts were only validated by the feeling of two familiar pelts moving in to join him, one large and muscular, one small and lanky. Stoneheart and Parrotpaw. Two tails intertwined with his, gentle tongues grooming his fur down and soothing his pain as best they could. It wasn’t enough for it all to go away, everything still hurt, outside and in, but he couldn’t ask for anything more.

The feeling of their closeness brought the warmth back to his pelt. He didn’t dare open his eyes, not wanting to see the sight of Honeyleaf, nor wanting to risk the feeling of his mate and his son leaving him. So instead, he just accepted their touch silently as his tears continued to fall.

The longer he sat there, the weaker he seemed to feel, but it wasn’t unwelcome. More and more he lowered himself to the ground, his head pressed deep into Honeyleaf’s pelt as his consciousness slowly began to fade from him. As he faded from the world, he could swear he felt a new group of cats huddle close and join in grooming his fur. They felt like family.

He twitched himself awake, the movement shocking him from his deep slumber he hadn’t realized he was still in. Groggily, Cavestalker blinked his still-wet eyes awake. They quickly adjusted to the dim light of the warrior’s den, the moon hung high in the sky outside and the drizzle drumming gently on the ceiling above. Groaning quietly, he raised his head from the hard ground it laid on. It gave him a few realizations.

He was hardly on the soft, warm nest anymore, most of his body on the cold ground of the den. A leak in the ceiling above had soaked his paws, making them feel much colder than they actually were. A few prickly pains in his pelt alerted him to thorns that had somehow managed to sneak their way into the den. He went to move and pick them out, but his shoulders felt heavy and ached, yet warm, and glancing over he found Stoneheart’s broad head resting on them in his sleep. 

Careful as to not wake his mate, Cavestalker slid out from under him and quickly picked the thorns out of his fur, luckily none seeming to have broken the surface of his skin too much to cause any worry. Moving them to make a neat pile to deal with in the morning, Cavestalker shifted to climb back into the nest, but paused just before moving. His gaze lingered on Stoneheart’s slumbering form, the tom looking as strong and as handsome even with a bedhead and moss clung to his fur.

As he examined his mate, he noticed a thorn that he hadn’t managed to get hit with himself resting dangerously close to Stoneheart’s side. Narrowing his eyes, Cavestalker imagined a few choice words towards the object. Not going to let you hurt him, thank you very much. Gingerly, he scooped it away and placed it into his pile of pricks with a sigh. 

With that out of the way, the warrior finally slid back into the nest, pressing himself as close to Stoneheart as he could manage without worrying the movement would wake him. Though the memories of the nightmare clung to him, even if they weren’t clear, he focused himself on the rhythmic breathing of his mate and found himself drifting back into a peace-filled dreamscape until morning.

[skyyclan]

I’ve got some new art for a few of my characters to have up for Art Fight this year! Featuring all of my brown furred warriors, all equally adored!

[skyyclan]

Realization Dawns a New Day