#poppyblaze

[clangenrising]

Month 19 - Leaffall

Content Warning: This piece includes content that may be triggering to some viewers. See this post for details.

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Sagetooth gasped sharply and lurched upright as a cold touch to her forehead pulled her up from a thick, inky blackness. She looked around at the bed of hastily gathered wildflowers and the cats clustered nearby and wondered aloud, “How long have I been out?” 

None of the cats even acknowledged her. Close by, Branchbark and Ospreymask loafed side by side, completely unaware she had spoken. Ospreymask leaned weakly on Branchbark, a patchwork of cobwebs plastered over her dark pelt and Branchbark’s eyes were raw and red. More cats sat nearby, all of them somber and quiet in the pre-dawn light. They looked miserable and something foreboding stirred inside Sagetooth at the sight. 

“About an hour, I think,” said a familiar voice. Sagetooth turned her head to see Poppyblaze standing nearby. At her feet lay Lakepaw, stiff and cold and decorated with morning glory and goldenrod flowers. 

“Oh,” Sagetooth said simply. 

“Yeah,” Poppyblaze grimaced. “I’m sorry old friend. I wasn’t expecting to come for you for a while.” 

Sagetooth’s gaze drifted down to the apprentice laying beside her own body, over which she now stood. “She died to protect me,” she said. “Poor kit.” 

“She gave quite the fight for her age,” hummed Poppyblaze. “Are you alright if I wake her now? We really should be going.” 

“Of course,” Sagetooth said, then inhaled sharply with memory. “Wait, I have to check on something!” She quickly hopped over the flowers woven around her feet and headed for the healers’ den at a brisk pace. 

“Don’t go far!” Poppyblaze hissed worriedly. “It’s not safe!” Sagetooth twitched an ear dismissively and continued into the den. There was nothing that would hurt her here and she had important things to do. 

As she stepped into the den, the blood that covered the floor made her pause. Even though every scent felt like it was miles away, she could pick up on the pungent odor of blood and urine -- and not just the expected amount of urine that came with the dead. Stepping further in, she found the herb stores in disaster, every herb tossed to the floor, shredded, and sprayed by the rogues. She curled her lip in disgust.

“Honorless brutes,” she muttered under her breath, shaking her head. Turning away from that mess, she marched purposefully around the corner to Oddstripe’s empty nest and sighed in relief when she saw the small lump underneath the back corner. The horsetail and juniper she had hidden there was safe. She had no doubt Oddstripe would find it eventually. There wouldn’t be another death like Nightfrosts. 

Set at ease, she turned back and padded out into the clearing where Poppyblaze was standing with Lakepaw’s spirit in the middle of the circle of mourners. Poor Lakepaw was softly weeping into the guide’s starry fur. 

Sagetooth padded over and said, “There, there, Lakepaw. It’s going to be alright.” 

Lakepaw looked up at the sound of her voice and sniffled. “I’m so sorry, Sagetooth,” she whined. “I promise I tried my best.” 

“I know,” Sagetooth smiled. “You were a brave warrior.” Lakepaw sniffled again and rubbed a paw over her face, managing to return her smile, just a bit. 

“Alright, now, let’s be quick,” said Poppyblaze. “This place isn’t safe.”

“How so?” Sagetooth scowled. “I’ve never heard of anything dangerous in StarClan.” 

“We’re not in StarClan,” Poppyblaze explained, leading they over to the Stoneperch. “We’re in a place called the Parallel. It’s the place where the spirit and the physical meet, and right now, Razor’s ghost is prowling around it somewhere.” 

“What?” Sagetooth couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “How is that possible?! Only Clan cats move on to the afterlife.” 

“Oh, Sage,” Poppyblaze shook her head. “There’s so much you don’t know about the universe.” Sagetooth bristled indignantly. If there was knowledge out there, why hadn’t StarClan shared it with her? Why hadn’t Poppyblaze told her about it before? 

With a flick of her tail, Poppyblaze sent a shower of stars into the sky, leading up in a series of platforms, and said, “This way! Let’s get climbing.” 

“Wowzers,” breathed Lakepaw and Poppyblaze chuckled. 

“I like you, kid,” she purred. “Now, come on.” She gave Lakepaw’s rump a nudge with her nose and the apprentice hopped up, easily leaping from platform to platform into the sky. Sagetooth hesitated, shifting her weight. 

“You can’t make a slope of some kind?” she asked. 

Poppyblaze laughed and said, “Just give me one jump, yeah?” 

Sagetooth sighed, grumbling under her breath, and bunched her legs beneath her. It had been a long time since she’d properly jumped and she was not looking forward to it. Still, if Razor was loose somewhere around here, she’d be much better suited to jumping than fighting him. She leapt and was amazed to find herself easily and painlessly landing on the first platform. Her eyes sparkled in wonder and she glanced down at Poppyblaze who laughed again.

“See? You don’t have a body anymore so no more joint pain! Pretty cool, huh?” 

“It’s very nice, yes,” Sagetooth purred to herself, stretching out each leg experimentally. 

“Great, now let's go, go, go,” urged Poppyblaze, hopping up beside her. Sagetooth nodded and started ascending. She was buzzing giddily at the freedom in her movements, in the way she could coordinate her limbs and move them without the aching resistance she had grown used to for the last few years. 

Over their heads, Lakepaw cried out, “Wowzers! Look at the world from up here!” 

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” grinned Poppyblaze. The higher they climbed, the more Sagetooth had to agree. The world was a stunning mess of mauves rustling in the breeze. A hint of orange had just started to peek over the eastern horizon and the contrast took Sagetooth’s breath away. 

“Hey, what’s that?” Lakepaw asked. 

“Hm?” Poppyblaze perked her ears. She and Sagetooth followed the apprentice’s gaze to the south. Standing in the grass, not too far from camp, several smudges of glowing red broke up the peaceful purple landscape. 

“Oh, that’s not good,” Poppyblaze swallowed. 

“Razor?” Sagetooth asked. 

“Yeah, I think so. I’m going to check it out. I need you to stay here, okay?” She looked at both of them sternly and said, “Don’t go up without me and don’t try to go down under any circumstances, understood?” 

“Yeah,” Lakepaw’s fur was standing on end as she nodded.

“Absolutely not,” Sagetooth huffed. “I’m coming with you.” 

“Oh, Sage, my stubborn, stubborn friend,” Poppyblaze’s expression was some mixture of distress and admiration. “Now really isn’t the time for this.” 

“If it isn’t safe for me to go along then you shouldn’t be going, you reckless fool,” Sagetooth stood her ground.

Poppyblaze sighed. “I guess that’s a fair point. Alright, fine. Stay here, Lakepaw, we’ll be back soon.” 

“Okay,” Lakepaw’s voice was shaky. “Please be safe.” 

“We will be,” Sagetooth assured her, then looked at Poppyblaze and gestured for her to lead the way. Poppyblaze took a careful step forward into the open air and when her paws moved away, there were starry platforms in their wake. Sagetooth fell into step behind her and they set out over the fields towards the red shapes. 

As they drew closer, Sagetooth started to make out the silhouettes of cats. A tall grey tabby stood in the center of the group, flanked by a cream tabby she-cat, a black-furred tom with white paws, and a pair of blue and white cats with notches in their ears. All five of them had the same shimmery pelts as StarClan but the stars were red tinged or dull and grey. 

“What are so many cats doing in the Parallel?” Poppyblaze whispered to herself, halting to observe them from a short distance behind and a tree’s length above. 

“That big one, is Razor, yes?” Sagetooth asked in the same hushed tone. She’d never seen the rogue’s body, too busy with healing the wounded, but she had heard the stories. She could see the gaping wound in his throat dripping ichor as he hunched over in the grass. He looked like stories of Dark Forest ghosts but that didn’t make any sense to her.

“Mhm,” nodded Poppyblaze. “He destroyed Darkmoon and EarthClan’s guide and tried to destroy me.” 

“What’s he doing?” asked Sagetooth. Both she and Poppyblaze squinted at Razor who was doing something with his paws over a space of fresh churned earth. He hooked his claws into something and pulled up dragging a new glowing red shape up from the dirt. In horror, Sagetooth watched the face of a cat burst from the ground, choking and gasping for air as Razor hoisted his spirit up by the scruff. The cat scrambled to his feet and stared around, eyes wide, chest heaving, and Razor smiled with a deep rumbling purr that Sagetooth could just barely hear. 

“Welcome to the land of the not quite living, Harry, ” he said, slapping the new cat on the back. 

“Oh, no,” Poppyblaze swallowed. “This is bad. This is very bad. Where’s Bakari?” 

“Who?” Sagetooth couldn’t help but ask. 

“What’s going on? Where are we?” the newly dead cat panted. “Who are they?” Sagetooth’s stomach dropped as he looked directly up at her and Poppyblaze. Razor cocked his head and turned in their direction. When he saw them, a terrible smile spread across his face, made all the more gruesome by the ichor seeping between his teeth. 

“Oh, look,” he purred and the whole group of cats turned to look at them, “It’s my little friend. I never did catch your name, sweetheart.” 

Poppyblaze bristled and twitched her tail against Sagetooth’s flank. “We’re leaving,” she whispered. “Now.” Sagetooth didn’t need any further prompting, quickly, she twisted on the starry platforms and started bounding back to where they had left Lakepaw waiting. Poppyblaze was close on her tail.

“Come now, don’t be like that!” Razor jeered after them and a couple of the other cats laughed. “Come on down so we can get friendly!” 

“This is very bad,” Poppyblaze hissed under her breath. “Worse than I thought.” 

“How so?” Sagetooth tilted her ears backward in curiosity. 

“How to explain…” Poppyblaze hummed thoughtfully. “So, when a creature dies, their soul is trapped inside their body. If left there, it rots and disappears, just like the rest of them, but if someone disconnects them from their body, they can live for effectively eternity, given the right conditions.” 

“Right, as long as they’re remembered, they resist fading away,” Sagetooth nodded. 

“Not exactly,” Poppyblaze said, “but that’s not really important right now.” Sagetooth twitched an ear in irritation, wishing Poppyblaze would stop saying confusing and ambiguous new things, but held her tongue so the guide could continue. “Separating a soul from a body is a tricky process, one that guides have been teaching each other for countless millennia. It looks like, somehow, Razor has figured out how to do it, or how to brute force it at least.” 

“Alright,” Sagetooth frowned, trying to put the pieces together. “So now, instead of wasting away, the kittypets’ spirits will be stuck on the Parallel with Razor where they can harass spirits waiting to go to StarClan?”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Poppyblaze said to Sagetooth’s frustration. “Usually, Bakari comes and collects the non-Clan cats in this area, but for some reason, he hasn’t been doing that.” 

“Who is this Bakari you keep talking about?” Sagetooth grumbled. 

“The guide for feline souls,” Poppyblaze’s tail began to twitch, “exempting Clan cats who have their own guides.” 

“But that’s not-” Sagetooth grit her teeth. “That doesn’t make any sense! Only Clan cats persist after death. That’s how it’s always been!” 

“Sorry, Sage, but that’s just not true,” Poppyblaze shook her head. “Everything has its own guide -- cats, dogs, mice, birds, beetles, twolegs. Everything! There’s even a guide who collects the plants! He’s a big ol’ thing with a prehensile nose and the shaggiest fur you’ve ever seen. Name’s Frost. Lovely guy, excellent conversationalist.” 

“Poppyblaze!” Sagetooth snapped, lashing her tail. They were almost back to Lakepaw now and she turned around to glare at the old spirit. “Enough about the plants! I still don’t understand what’s going on!” 

“It’s a lot to understand,” said Poppyblaze sympathetically, “but I’ll try to summarize.” She shifted her posture, collecting her thoughts, and said, “Alright, so Bakari usually collects the spirits of cats from outside the Clan. Every so often, a creature with a particularly strong will can separate themself on their own -- that’s how the first guides were created and it's what I assumed Razor had done. When I ran into him the first time, he said that he’d already destroyed two other cats and since EarthClan’s guide had never returned from gathering Darkmoon, I assumed they were the cats he’d destroyed.

“But this is so much worse. I think he destroyed Bakari when he tried to take Razor to the next life. He’s obsessed with getting back to his body like Goldenstar did and said he was going to keep killing cats until someone showed him how.”

“Oh,” Sagetooth swallowed. “That’s definitely not good.” 

“And that’s not all,” continued Poppyblaze. “If he’s only killed two cats and they were Bakari and Chestnutsprout, then Darkmoon is missing. He could be here on the parallel or he might be lost in the Clouds! Who knows!” 

“Then we need to get back to StarClan,” Sagetooth said. “They have to know.” 

“Agreed,” Poppyblaze chewed her lip. “Come on, let’s grab Lakepaw and get moving.” They padded quickly over the remaining distance to where Lakepaw was waiting dutifully for them. 

“Is everything okay?” she called as they approached. 

“Everything’s fine, dear,” said Sagetooth.

“Not really,” smiled Poppyblaze, “but we’re all safe for now. Let’s keep climbing, okay?” 

“Okay,” nodded Lakepaw and they all started up the platforms again. 

Sagetooth glared at Poppyblaze. “You didn’t have to worry the kit like that.” 

“She deserves to hear the truth,” Poppyblaze shrugged. “Or would you prefer I hide things from her like StarClan hid things from you?” Sagetooth’s anger fizzled immediately. 

“I suppose I’d rather not lie to her,” she sighed. After a moment she asked, “Why did StarClan keep the nature of things a secret? What harm is there in knowing other creatures have spirits that linger just like we do?” She trusted that there was some explanation, that StarClan had made the choice with good reason, but she couldn’t think of what it could be.

“A lot of them don’t know,” Poppyblaze admitted, “not any more at least. And the cats who do, well, you’d have to ask them, but I suspect they thought it would keep the Clans in line.” 

“In line?” Sagetooth sputtered. “What are you talking about?” 

“Well,” Poppyblaze hummed, “if you think that leaving the Clan means you lose your chance at the afterlife, you’re a lot more inclined to stay in the Clan, aren’t you?”

Sagetooth scowled. “I suppose.” This was very troubling. Wasn’t that for the best though? Leaving the Clan was tantamount to death. The poor young cats who were seduced by the lives of kittypets or rogue lovers were abandoning their homes, their traditions, their families. But still, even if their spirits existed after death, they didn’t get to hunt in StarClan’s forests so why lie? Wasn’t the outcome the same either way? The whole situation didn’t sit right with her at all. 

“Alright,” Poppyblaze said, as they neared the lower reaches of cloud cover. “We’re about to head into the Clouds, alright? It’s pretty maze-like in there and easy to get lost so make sure you stay where you can see me and let me know if you need to stop or slow down, got it?” 

“Yes ma’am,” Lakepaw said, eyes wide with awe. 

“Fine,” Sagetooth huffed, still deep in thought. This wasn’t what she had imagined her voyage to StarClan would be like. Still, she resolved to make the most of it and so set her shoulders and raised her head proudly. There would be time to get to the bottom of things and she was going to, that much was certain.

[kitemask]

more symmetrical headshots from @threeclans

commissions open

characters: poppyblaze @spookyc / lilyfrost @thesurfingraichu / reedwhisker @rosaagora / minkcloud @smallfire

[warriors-but-cats-die]

windclan — year twelve — allegiances

leadership

leader: duskstar (8y). ginger tom with amber eyes.

deputy: hurricanefang (6y). white tom with grey patches and teal eyes.

seer: flametail (5y). tom with broad shoulders and blue eyes. (apprentice: birchpaw)

warriors

brightshore (8y). small, scarred, dark she-cat.

echofang (7y). white tom with black and grey patches, banded legs and tail, and teal eyes.

gorsetail (7y). very pale she-cat with grey patches.

needlewing (6y). clever tom.

sequoiabird (6y). slender, fluffy, white tom with very pale ginger patches and teal eyes.

breezepelt (6y). massive, lean black tom with amber eyes.

heathertail (6y). lithe, light brown tabby she-cat with wide, smoky, heather-blue eyes, and sleek, soft, and thick fur. she has a long scar.

cariboustripe (6y). sleek tabby tom.

fireye (6y). white tom with ginger patches and teal eyes.

poppyblaze (6y). tom with mottled ginger patches.

woodglow (5y). large, thickset, cream tom with pale stripes, good battle tactics, and orange eyes.

sugarfoot (5y). thin, brindled, dappled she-cat with teal eyes. (apprentice: galepaw)

thundershine (5y). red tom with dark stripes and orange eyes.

cypressfall (4y). she-cat with yellow eyes. (apprentice: shadepaw)

baywillow (4y). long-furred, white tom.

ashdawn (4y). clever she-cat with hazel eyes.

greystep (4y). tom with a black-tipped back and green eyes. (apprentice: maplepaw)

hopberry (4y). tom with dark spots and amber eyes. (apprentice: leafpaw)

oatclaw (4y). intimidating, brown tabby tom.

dusksky (4y). she-cat with orange eyes. (apprentice: pinepaw)

emberfoot (4y). grey tom with darker paws.

furzepelt (4y). grey and white she-cat.

cottonfoot (3y). blind brown she-cat with copper eyes.

ashface (3y). heavy red tom with hazel eyes.

featherpelt (2y). tabby she-cat.

deerwing (1y). she-cat with red patches.

springnose (1y). tom with a mottled pelt.

cariboutail (1y). she-cat with yellow eyes.

queens

whitetail (10y). energetic she-cat. (kits: sierrakit, sprucekit, pumicekit)

elders

halofur (9y). grey she-cat.

[wizhound]

more warriors ocs

[sprucefur]

okay so basically...poppyblaze is sprucefurs kit

[claw-moon]

I think we have similar brains bc I have an oc named Poppyblaze

ooo poppyblaze is a really cool name

[confessionsofawarriorcat]

CONFESSION TIME: My first WC roleplay Online (oh yeah, cringy school kid gang) was on Worldcraft (a Minecraft rip off) I absolutely STALKED the Dreamclan server. My first WC OC was a calico girl named Poppyblaze, then I moved into Tiny the Rogue (except no spaces) and then that evolved into me RPing a fucking BADGER. We had deep ass lore with TinytheBadger who ended up having a son and all this djfjf. Long confession short I still think about it to this day both cringing and in nostalgia

.

[clangenrising]

Month 15 - Newleaf

Content Warning: This piece includes content that may be triggering to some viewers. See previous piece for details.

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Battle with Razor Pt. 9

Poppyblaze jumped from the stars and fell slowly, gracefully, down to the Parallel, and alighted above Darkmoon’s fresh grave. She squinted, sniffed around, and frowned. 

“Where did you go…?” she hummed to the night air. 

Starting out, she padded deeper into EarthClan’s forest, senses open to any traces of lingering spirits. Usually, Chestnutsprout tended the spirits of EarthClan, but Darkmoon had yet to appear in StarClan’s forest and, when Poppyblaze stopped to think about it, she hadn’t seen Chestnutsprout around either. Something wasn’t right. 

She wandered closer to the battlefield, listening to the rustling leaves and letting intuition guide her. If I were a lost spirit, where would I go? she thought. Often, spirits lingered around the place where they died, drawn to it even if their bodies were moved afterwards. Perhaps Darkmoon, the proud and determined deputy, was refusing to leave. Chestnutsprout had been even younger than she was when he died and had retained a very youthful personality. Poppyblaze could see him struggling to assert himself over a stubborn soul. 

The battlefield was empty now, blood soaked but empty. Luckily, mortal blood had no scent in the Parallel so, when Poppyblaze opened her mouth to scent, all she picked up on was the sharp smell of a soul. 

She padded towards it, sing-songing, “Hello?” A small voice squeaked frightfully from the bushes and she cocked her head towards it. 

A spectral squirrel poked its head out of the greenery and said in chitteri, “Oh, it’s you.” 

“Evening, Climber,” purred Poppyblaze, flopping down on her side to appear less threatening. 

The squirrel, Climber, twitched his glittering tail in annoyance and looked back into the undergrowth to say, “It’s alright, little one, this one’s harmless.” 

“A-are you sure?” said a faint little voice. 

“Harmless as a leaf,” Poppyblaze said in chitteri, “I guide the cat spirits, I don’t hunt.” 

“She’s in more danger of talking your ear off or smirking so hard she passes out,” grumbled Climber, clicking his teeth. A tiny little squirrel spirit emerged from the foliage, eyes wide, tail trembling. The poor thing couldn’t have been more than a few months old. Poppyblaze smiled but that didn’t seem to help at all.

“Do you need something,” asked Climber, squinting at her, “or are you terrifying my charge because you’re bored?” 

“Right, sorry,” chittered Poppyblaze. “I’m looking for a charge of mine who seems to have gone missing. You seen him?” 

“No,” Climber frowned. “I don’t loiter around in the Parallel like you hunters do.” 

“I don’t loiter,” laughed Poppyblaze, rolling onto her back. “I lounge.” 

Climber rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m quite busy so-”

“Did you hear that?” squealed the soul next to him, twisting around to look off into the trees. Poppyblaze perked her own ears and rolled back onto her belly to sit up, alert. Climber scrambled a few tail-lengths up the nearby tree trunk and scowled into the darkness, starry tail gleaming. 

“There’s definitely something,” he squawked, “It’s here, in the Parallel with us. I don’t like it.” He scrambled down and circled his charge protectively before scooping them up in his teeth and darting up a tiny, starry trail into the sky. 

Poppyblaze stood up and perked her ears but whatever was approaching had gone very quiet except for its wet, ragged breath. The fur on the back of her neck prickled nervously and she edged backward, away from the trees, just in case.

A moment later, a dark shape loomed out of the trees, treading straight through the foliage as if it weren’t there, something which any dead cat could do but which few did because the sensation was akin to walking through mud that could touch your insides as well as your outsides. The cat was a large and thickly furred blue tabby with ghostly pale eyes and an enormous, bloody gash in his throat that oozed thick, black blood and bile. Every so often a fat drop splattered onto the ground as he lumbered in her direction. 

“How,” the tom rasped and then coughed, black liquid seeping out from between the teeth on his lower jaw, “do I go back?” 

Poppyblaze narrowed her eyes and lunged at him with claws drawn. The spirit laughed, a mean, wet sound that sent blood pattering onto the ground, and surged forward to try and catch her in his teeth. His movements were sluggish and she easily danced around behind him to tear her claws through his form. Unlike flesh, a soul was easy to tear and she dragged her claws from his shoulder to his tail. The wound bled dark fog into the air. 

“There you go,” she smirked. “I think it’s time you dispersed.” 

“I killed the last two spirits,” hacked the tom as he turned to her, “but I’ll spare you if you tell me,” another wet cough, this one shaking loose some bile from the hole in his throat, “how to get back. If she did it, so can I.”

Poppyblaze’s smile died immediately. “Sorry. Cats like you don’t get to go back.” 

“I’m not supposed to survive a wound like this either, right?” he chuckled darkly. Poppyblaze glanced over at the wound and realized in horror that it had already started stitching itself back together. That definitely wasn’t normal. 

“Well aren’t you a special boy,” she said, backing up a few steps. “What’s your name?”

He trudged after her, laughing to himself. “This doesn’t have to get nasty, sweetheart. Just tell me what I want to know.” 

“Not my area of expertise,” she shrugged. “I deal with the cats who stay dead.” Crouching down, she waggled her hips to get ready for a sprint. 

“Then I guess I’ll have to kill you and see who comes looking,” snarled the spirit. 

Poppyblaze wasn’t going to let that happen. She sprang towards him and he reared up, teeth ready, but she flicked her tail and a barrier of starlight appeared before his face. He slammed into it just before she leapt off of it and onto another, higher platform. 

“Good luck with that!” she cried as she hurried upwards, making sure to dismiss the lower barriers before he could follow. The tom roared furiously and prowled beneath her, pale eyes burning with rage. She slipped into the Clouds, leaving the Parallel behind, and paused to catch her breath. 

This was not good.

[clangenrising]

Month 13 - Newleaf

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Smokyrose felt herself being pulled from a deep, cold, suffocating kind of sleep. After a terrible eternity of being still and empty, a breath of night air bloomed within her chest. She opened her eyes and sat up, feeling light and floaty in the darkness of… wherever she was. 

“Easy, there,” said a voice next to her. “You’ve been still for a while.” 

She turned to thank the cat but the words vanished from her tongue the moment she saw the stars glittering in the small, ginger tabby’s gorgeous fur. The last few moments of her life swelled back into her memory like the breaking of a dam and she gasped, shoulders tensing instinctively. 

Her new companion offered a lopsided, sympathetic smile. “Yeah… I’m sorry it took so long. I had trouble finding you.” 

Smokyrose looked around and found herself standing above her own crumpled body, tossed unceremoniously into some dark passage between two huge two-leg nests. Past the edge of the nests was a thunderpath glowing under bright amber light. She wandered towards it, absorbing every strange detail as best she could. 

“Where are we?” she asked. “I don’t recognize this place.”

“Honestly?” said her guide, bounding out to stand beside her, “I don’t know. They must have moved your body after you died.”

“Oh, no,” Smokyrose gasped. “Songdust! Is she alright? Have you been sent to collect her too?” She glanced over her shoulder to confirm that there wasn’t a second body laying just out of her vision. Thankfully, there wasn’t one. A cat with a notched ear was picking his way down the alley, looking for food, and frowned at the sight of the body before hurrying off down the street with a grim set to his jaw. 

“She’s still alive,” the StarClan cat said. “There are cats looking for her in this world and the next.” 

“I should join them,” Smokyrose said. “She’s in this mess because of me.” She looked down at her paws, feeling foolish. She should have listened to Goldenstar’s warnings. Now Songdust was in danger and her poor girls were all alone. She closed her eyes with a wet, mournful sigh and wished that StarClan would look after them. 

“She knew what she was agreeing to,” the cat said gently. “Come on. We can start looking.” She swished her tail, scattering starlight that solidified into a series of platforms reaching ever upward. 

Smokyrose looked up at them and nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”

[clangenrising]

Is Frost a Mammoth!?

Oh my gosh it would be so funny to see a StarClan cat see a ghost mammoth I'm just imagining the spirits of little animals climbing all over him.

Bingo, a Columbian Mammoth in specific!

And that is a lovely image but Frost only collects the souls of plants and most animal spirits are frightened of him when they first see him. As it is, Poppyblaze is the only one who really talks to him these days.

[clangenrising]

Month 10 - Leafbare

“They still need me…” she said, starry paws standing over the fresh dirt of her own grave. “I can’t just leave them.”

“You hold on too much,” grinned the little cat beside her. “That’s what got you in the end - the need to sink your claws into too many things at once.” She swished her tail and sent a wave of starlight spiraling up ahead of them. It twirled into the sky, creating a series of patches that led ever upward like the canopy of a starry tree. Nightfrost had to admit, it seemed very, very inviting to climb. 

“Besides,” her guide purred, leaping onto the first of them. “We’ve got work to do.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“The living aren’t the only ones who need to make big changes.” The little cat’s grin widened. “You’re the first cat who was alive for Goldenstar’s era. I’ll need your help if we want to convince them her changes are for the best.” 

“Goldenstar’s era?” Nightfrost chuckled. “You make it sound so important.” 

“It is,” shrugged the guide. “Now come on! Sunstar is waiting.”

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[clangenrising]

Month 3 - Newleaf

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“Hey, hey,” a small warrior with speckled ginger fur called from up in a tree, “You’re new here!” She lept down, leaving a trail of glittering star light in her wake. A cheeky grin spread across her features as she straightened up. “And not in the usual way. I would know.” 

“It’s my first time,” nodded the young apprentice she had spoken to. “My name is Sagepaw, I’m RisingClan’s new healer apprentice.” 

“RisingClan!” purred the StarClan cat approvingly, “Always been my favorite. You must be very proud.” 

“What, that it’s your favorite?” huffed Sagepaw. “I don’t even know you, I’m hardly going to burst with pride because you said I should.” The starry cat snickered, arching up on her toes as her tail curled with some emotion Sagepaw couldn’t read. 

“You’re smart,” she said with a glint in her eye, “I like that. My name is Poppyblaze. I’m probably the oldest cat here.” 

Sagepaw tilted her head, curiosity piqued. “Oh really?” 

“Yep! Older than anyone you’ve ever heard of.”

“Even Risingstar?” Sagepaw asked.

“Oh, yes. Risingstar was practically my protege!” Poppyblaze puffed proudly. 

That made Sagepaw’s ears press flat. “Right… and I should believe you… why?” 

“Cause I’m your elder,” Poppyblaze said immediately, rearing onto her hind legs. “Haven’t you heard StarClan’s word is law?”

“Yes, but you strike me as a liar,” said Sagepaw bluntly. 

“Ough,” Poppyblaze fell over backwards, clutching her chest as if struck. “You wound me, young Sagepaw! Kits these days, so disrespectful!” Sagepaw huffed, only barely amused. 

“You should act worthy of respect if you want any,” she grunted, batting at Poppyblaze’s huge fluffy tail. From the ground, the starry cat’s grin widened. 

“Good!” she rolled over and flicked her tail under Sagepaw’s nose, tickling enough to make her sneeze. “You already know the first lesson.”

Sagepaw glared, rubbing furiously at her itching nose. “The first lesson? The first lesson of what?”

“My first lesson,” Poppyblaze smirked, bounding to her feet. “Never listen to StarClan just because they say so. Most of these cats are so stuck in their heads they forget they’ve been dead for ages.” She started to circle Sagepaw who turned with her, wary. “They don’t know any better than you do most of the time. Remember that, Sagepaw, and you’ll do very well for yourself and your Clan.” In a blink, Poppyblaze was gone. The world fell out from under her and with a gasp, Sagepaw woke up. 

Likewise, Sagetooth snapped awake in her nest. Her fur stood on end in the same way it did when waking from a dream at the River of Stars. She lashed her tail a bit, eyes scanning the bits of her den illuminated by faint moonlight, and eventually decided to get to her feet. She pressed a few firm licks over her shoulders, trying to soothe herself to little avail. Maybe a walk, she thought, maybe I’ll take a little walk. She took a step forward and hissed in pain, reminded suddenly of her unfortunate sprain. 

“Rotting son of a flea bitten-!” she clenched her jaw and pressed her injured paw to her muzzle. Slowly, she took a deep breath and let it out, then began to carefully limp her way out of the den. It didn’t occur to her that Scorch’s nest was empty until she ran into the rogue in the entrance to the den. 

“Oh,” Scorch pulled back, tail stiffening upright. 

“Where have you been?” Sagetooth huffed, made irritable by her pain.

She could see Scorch readjusting her posture to something more demure as she licked her whiskers and collected her thoughts. “I was talking with Goldenstar, she had some more questions for me. I hope that was alright.” Sagetooth believed her, but even still a prickle of distrust ran down her spine. As she saw it, Scorch preferred to be the cat she thought you most wanted to speak to in that moment and that irked Sagetooth to no end.

“I’m not your mother,” snapped the healer. “Talk to whoever you like, why should I care?”

“Right, of course,” Scorch dipped her head in a bow, tail curling between her legs submissively. “I’m sorry I bothered you, Sagetooth.” At least she had remembered to stop saying ‘your grace.’ Sagetooth let out a disdainful mrrp and started to limp past Scorch into the night. She didn’t look back to see how the other cat reacted. She knew she would never catch a real glimpse of her while Scorch knew she was looking. Her eyes instead flickered over to Goldenstar’s den beneath the Stoneperch. There was no sign of Goldenstar and Sagetooth concluded she must have stayed within her den to think about what Scorch had said. 

She didn’t trust it - this stranger coming into their camp, taking advantage of their hospitality, and then telling them to rearrange their entire way of life just because she found it ‘cultish’. What did she know? She hadn’t lived their life, hadn’t walked among the stars or hunted under their watchful gaze. She didn’t know just how much holding fast to their traditions had pulled them through the Red Gut terror of the last season. Sagetooth found hot tears threatening to spring to her eyes and she quickly limped out of camp, dreading the thought of being seen in such an embarrassing state. 

She stomped unevenly through the grass and found herself slightly calmed by the sound of the blades rustling in the breeze. It wasn’t long before she felt all the fight drain from her as fatigue took its place. Slowing to a stop, she sighed and sat down, letting the waves of grass dance around her. Sometimes those waves whispered of the future but tonight they were unintelligible. Sagetooth wished that they would speak to her, give her an omen to warn her Clan against the words of that conniving ginger rogue. 

A different voice spoke instead. “Tch, tch, tch… You’ve forgotten my lessons, old friend.” Sagetooth looked up to see Poppyblaze in a deep stretch. 

She sighed again and said, “I am old, aren’t I…” 

“Ancient,” Poppyblaze joked. “Old enough that you seem to have decided to ignore everything I taught you.” Sagetooth rolled her eyes, having hoped she could change the subject.

“You sent me that dream, then?” she asked, one ear twitching. 

Poppyblaze frowned and stepped closer. “Yes! You needed a reminder!” She lifted a paw and bapped Sagetooth on the forehead, much to the healer’s irritation. “What was the first thing I taught you?” 

“You said I already knew the first lesson,” Sagetooth retorted, “You didn’t teach me anything.” 

“What was the lesson?” pressed Poppyblaze. 

“Not to listen to dead cats who think they know better than me,” Sagetooth growled.

“To question your elders!” cried the dead cat, throwing her head back in frustration. “To stop taking tradition as truth!” She sighed and lowered her gaze again to meet Sagetooth’s eyes and there was a softness there, a pleading that she hadn’t expected. “When did you forget?” 

“I haven’t,” she said, looking away as Poppyblaze’s starry eyes started to make her pelt prickle. “What makes you think I have?”

“The new cat,” Poppyblaze said firmly. “You were fine with her until she started poking at StarClan and now that she’s brought a different point of view to Goldenstar’s attention, you act like she’s the enemy.” 

“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Sagetooth’s teeth clacked angrily. 

“How can you be sure?” asked Poppyblaze. “Is it so crazy to think other cats might have good ideas? Or are you so stubborn in your old age you think you have nothing left to learn?” 

“I know how she makes me feel!” Sagetooth snapped, rounding on Poppyblaze again. “Is that not enough? She spits on our traditions, on the path I’ve spent my life pursuing. Am I not allowed to be upset about that?” 

“You can be upset, kitten,” Poppyblaze soothed and Sagetooth grit her teeth at the demeaning tone, “but after you’re upset you must learn. Growth isn’t fun but it’s good.” 

“Growth,” Sagetooth laughed bitterly. “She doesn’t want growth, she wants to see our traditions die.” 

Poppyblaze sighed and turned away to leave. “Take it from a cat who’s already dead,” she said finally, “growth never stops unless you stop it. You’d do well to let your Clan keep growing.” She started to pad away and with every step her outline became fainter and fainter until she was gone. Sagetooth sighed again, alone with the night and her thoughts. She tilted her gaze up to the stars and watched them intently until she found her answer.

[clangenrising]

Who's your starclan guide? Do you have lore for them?

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Her name is Poppyblaze. She was 18 moons old when she died and she's been around for a very long time. For some reason though, despite the fact that no one knows how she died anymore or even what Clan she was in, she refuses to fade, lingering around and keeping eyes on the cats still living beneath StarClan's gaze.

Sagetooth has had a lot of conversations with her and even considered her a good friend back when she was a younger cat, less busy with Healer work.

Who is Poppyblaze? Why has she stuck around so long? What is she waiting for? Will we ever know?

Only one way to find out...

[clangenrising]

For the Poppyblaze voice, maybe Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle or Grey Delisle as Daphne Blake?

Twilight is too nerdy for Poppyblaze, too earnest. Plus, Tara Strong has recently come out strongly against Palestine and that's really soured my opinion on her :((

As for Grey Delisle as Daphne, this is close but... not quite. We're circling it though, I can tell. Something just a little more impish I think.

25 Rising Bucks to you!

[clangenrising]

fantastic job on the recent updates they were absolutely incredible to read, smokyrose’s death was absolutely crushing in a good way! not sure if this counts as a question which delves into spoilers so of course feel free to not answer, but will smoky and currentseeker reunite in starclan? does current know smoky died even? i was a bit surprised that she wasn’t the one who collected her spirit but i hope the two can get back together again, maybe both watch over poor fogkit and slatekit from the clouds. the angst here is really juicy, loving it.

Thank you! I worked really hard on them and the rest of the stuff coming out this month so I'm really glad it hit right.

And yes! Currentseeker and Smokyrose are reunited in StarClan, same with Sunstar and all of their other Clanmates. In my head, each Clan has a specific cat who functions as their StarClan guide and they're the only ones who can really travel to Earth on a regular basis. There's a chance that cats can get lost and stuck without a guide and there's also a chance that StarClan cats who aren't properly trained as guides can get lost if they try to go back on their own. Poppyblaze is RisingClan's guide and she's the one who makes sure dead cats find their way safely to StarClan, especially when they die far from home like Smokyrose did.

[clangenrising]

Month 5 - Greenleaf

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Oddstripe took a deep breath as she made her way up the mountain in Sagetooth’s pawsteps. Her jaw worked silently with nerves as she stared at the rocky slope, its well worn stone stained auburn by the last dregs of sunlight draining out from the sky. She felt absolutely sick, in no small part due to the fast Sagetooth had said would help her find her way to the Silverpelt. Communing with StarClan on an empty stomach was apparently a part of the ritual, but she had abstained on her first visit for fear she wouldn’t be able to feed her kits. 

She hadn’t dared to risk it this time. Thankfully, the kits were beginning to eat on their own now, because she couldn’t bear the idea of being the only one who didn’t receive a vision again. 

Was it her? Was it because she was an outsider? She had been puzzling for the last two weeks over whether or not there was something she needed to do to gain their favor. Sagetooth had gently laughed at her suggestion of a prey sacrifice, dashing Oddstripe’s hopes of some sort of mystical solution to her problem. The older Healer had assured her that the fast would be sufficient to bridge the gap between her and StarClan’s hunting ground. Still, Oddstripe couldn’t help but worry it was her fault somehow, that she wasn’t made for this sort of thing, that she was built wrong. That had to be the reason right? Why else would four other cats swear they spoke with the dead when she dreamt only of darkness. 

Sagetooth must have smelled the distress coming off of her because she turned around as they reached the mouth of the cave and frowned sympathetically. 

“Are you doing alright, Oddstripe?” she asked. “We can stop if this is too much for you.” 

“Oh, no!” Oddstripe blurted immediately. “No, I’m fine. Just… nauseated.” She looked down at her paws guiltily. 

“That’s alright,” Sagetooth said, laying her tail against Oddstripe’s flank. “You learn to tune it out eventually. It’s normal to feel sick the first few times.” 

“That’s good,” sighed Oddstripe, although she didn’t feel comforted much at all. 

“Try to clear your mind of worry,” Sagetooth advised. “If you meditate and empty your thoughts, you’ll be more attuned to StarClan’s guidance when it comes, okay?” She smiled and Oddstripe forced herself to do the same. 

“Okay,” she said. 

“That’s the spirit,” purred Sagetooth. She turned and led the way into the dark and winding tunnel ahead of them. Oddstripe took a deep breath and followed into the terrible unknown. 

Eventually, the dark tunnel opened up and Oddstripe was once again astonished by the sight of the glimmering cave before her, its glowing blue ceiling reflected in the water making a replica night sky. It filled her with wonder. Just like last time, she was struck with the unquestionable sensation that this place was deeply magic. 

The feeling that she didn’t belong here wasn’t far behind.

Tangletooth was waiting for them already. The ginger tom sat by the water, staring at the reflections with a foggy look on his face. Sagetooth cleared her throat as they entered and he straightened with a sharp inhale. 

“Ah, Sagetooth!” he smiled, turning to face them. “And your new apprentice!” He looked Oddstripe over with a frown of confusion before asking, “What was your name again?” 

“Oddstripe,” she supplied with a warm smile. 

The elderly tom nodded, body bobbing heavily with the movement. “Yes, that’s it. Oddstripe. Glad to have you joining us again. How are your kits doing?” 

“Oh, very well!” she purred, worries disappearing for a moment. Sagetooth sat down and folded her tail over her paws with a small smile on her face while Oddstripe continued. “Floodkit got a few scrapes trying to play around the Stoneperch but he’s recovering smoothly. Oh, and Sparrowkit has been bringing me flowers trying to help me with my work, he’s so sweet.” 

Tangletooth chuckled and the conversation continued this way, the two of them talking about nothing back and forth. Every now and then Sagetooth interjected with a short correction or addition, but for the most part, Oddstripe chatted pleasantly with the SkyClan Healer. She’d always enjoyed the conversations she’d had with older cats. There was something so sweet about the way they plainly spoke their minds. She was enjoying herself so much, she was startled when another cat emerged from the tunnel.

“There you are,” Sagetooth said, tail twitching. “I was starting to wonder if we should start without you.” 

Stormwhisper, the handsome young EarthClan Healer licked his whiskers nervously and said, “Apologies, I got held up treating a bee sting.” His eyes flickered over Oddstripe before purposefully fixing themselves on Sagetooth’s face. Oddstripe felt her empty stomach twist.

Sagetooth shook her head with a scoff (at whom, Oddstripe wasn’t sure) but Tangletooth said, “Where’s Blazingbrush?” and looked around as if she were hiding somewhere in the cave. 

“Oh,” Stormwhisper swallowed, “She won’t be coming. She has a stomach ache and is isolating, just in case. I sent her some herbs yesterday.” He licked his whiskers again and shuffled his paws. Sagetooth squinted. 

“Mm,” hummed Tangletooth, “That’s for the best then. StarClan willing, it isn’t Red Gut.” Oddstripe’s ears perked. She’d heard a lot about this deadly plague from both of her teachers and the thought that it had returned was frightful to say the least. 

Clumsily, she echoed the prayer. “Y-yes, StarClan willing.” Sagetooth and Stormwhisper both glanced briefly in her direction and her ears flattened shamefully. Was that wrong? She shouldn’t have said anything at all.

“Well, in that case, let’s get started,” Sagetooth said. “I have no major updates to share. A few of our herb stores have been ruined by the heat but I don’t think we’ll need any assistance in replacing them.” 

“Likewise,” Tangletooth nodded, “Nothing of note in SkyClan.” 

“And my only news was about Blazingbrush,” concluded Stormwhisper.

“We should make sure to be ready if it is Red Gut,” Sagetooth said. “Have you made any arrangements with her if it is?” 

Stormwhisper blinked in surprise and quickly said, “Uh, no, but I’ll talk to Poppybird about it. I’ll send an apprentice to spread the word if it’s Red Gut.” Sagetooth huffed in what Oddstripe recognized as irritation at incompetence. Despite knowing it wasn’t aimed at her, she straightened her posture and tried to comport herself with dignity. 

“Good,” said Sagetooth curtly, “Make sure you get that handled promptly, yes?” 

“Of course,” Stormwhisper nodded hastily, looking thoroughly chastened.

“Alright,” she said, looking around at the others, “Shall we then?” 

“Yes, I think we shall,” nodded Tangletooth, turning back to the river. Oddstripe felt her chest tighten. The moment of truth was upon her and she suddenly had a desperate need to find more excuses to delay the inevitable. Sagetooth stepped up beside her and put on a smile.

“You’ll be alright,” she said softly, “Just let go of your thoughts and put your soul in StarClan’s paws.” Oddstripe didn’t understand how she was supposed to ‘just’ do that, but she nodded anyway. She just had to trust in StarClan. How hard could that be? One by one, the four Healers bent to drink from the icy cold river and then settled down in the well worn places where Healers had slept for generations. Stormwhisper settled down on the other side of Oddstripe from Sagetooth, his eyes lingering on her. 

Oddstripe quickly looked away and curled up, closing her eyes to avoid meeting his gaze. Soon, she could sense Sagetooth’s breaths slowing beside her and Tangletooth’s snores started to echo across the slick cave walls. Oddstripe tried to will herself to sleep but couldn’t seem to get out of her own head. She shifted, repositioned, tried to find a more comfortable place, but nothing seemed to work. She groaned. Why couldn’t she do something as simple as falling asleep?!

Suddenly, Stormwhisper’s voice pulled her back from the precipice of a spiral. 

“Can’t sleep?” he asked in a hushed voice. She turned to look at him, large ears flicking forward. He had an awkward smile on his face, not what she had expected to see. 

She let out her tightly held breath in defeat. “Yes. I hope I haven’t kept you awake.” 

“Oh, not at all,” he said, glancing past her to Sagetooth’s slumbering form briefly. “I was actually hoping to talk with you one on one.” 

“With me?” she asked, completely blindsided. 

“Yeah,” he said, smiling as he shuffled closer. “Sagetooth said you were taught by a Clan Healer. Did she ever tell you her name?” 

“Um,” Oddstripe tried to pull her thoughts back into a manageable shape, “I think it was Redleaf?” Immediately, she saw Stormwhisper’s face light up. 

“Do you know where she is now?” he asked eagerly. “Where she might have gone?” 

Oddstripe frowned in thought and tried to seriously consider his question. “Maybe? I think she was planning to head into the mountains, or at least the foothills. Why? Did you know her?” At this, Stormwhisper blushed and looked down at his paws and Oddstripe realized her mistake. “Oh, of course you did! She must have come to these meetings, right?” 

“Yes,” he nodded, licking his whiskers again. “She was Sagetooth’s last apprentice. We were… good friends.” 

“Really?” asked Oddstripe. “Sagetooth hasn’t mentioned her at all. She hasn’t even asked about her.” She frowned some more. Why hadn’t Sagetooth been interested in her old apprentice?

“They had a falling out,” he said softly, glancing at Sagetooth again. “She cursed StarClan and Sagetooth doesn’t take that sort of thing lightly. She was fuming for at least two moons after it happened.”

“Oh, wow,” breathed Oddstripe, following his gaze. “Why would she do that? Redleaf, I mean.” She looked back to him, trying to remember the stubborn young calico who had taught her how to do more than deliver kits and pull out thorns. Suddenly, Oddstripe could see Sagetooth’s paw prints all over Redleaf; her short, confident instructions; her no nonsense demeanor; even the specific ways she organized herbs or wrapped cobwebs around a wound. She pictured the two of them in the Healer’s den, trading witty jabs and stripping branches of their leaves. It almost made Oddstripe smile before she remembered that they had parted on bad terms. 

“It was the Red Gut…” Stormwhisper said solemnly, head tilted in a sad look of remembrance. “Redleaf couldn’t believe StarClan hadn’t told us what was coming. They’d warned us of a dangerous disease, but Redleaf was furious that they hadn’t given us more specific instructions to avoid the worst of it. She told me that she finally saw StarClan for what it was, ‘a throne for fools who thought themselves gods.’” He shook his head and shrugged. “I couldn’t convince her to stay, especially not after the fight with Sagetooth.” Oddstripe’s heart went out to him. Clearly, Redleaf’s absence weighed heavily on his mind. 

“Anyway,” he said, shaking his fur a bit, “you said she was heading into the mountains?” 

“Oh! Yes, I think so,” replied Oddstripe. “I met her in the second moon of Leafbare and she stayed with me until the second moon of Newleaf. She said she needed to…” she paused to remember the exact wording, “see more of the world before she settled down.” 

“I see,” he hummed with a frown. 

“I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful,” Oddstripe winced. 

“Oh, no, you’re fine,” Stormwhisper said, suddenly looking up. “I’m just… thinking.” She sat quietly for another moment before adding, “Uh, please don’t tell anyone I asked you about her. Sagetooth would have my tail if word ever got back to her.” 

“Why?” Oddstripe asked, brow furrowing. “What’s wrong with worrying about your friend?”

Stormwhisper laughed anxiously and swiped a paw over one ear. “Uh, how to explain… I was maybe a little too close to Redleaf for Sagetooth’s liking. We’re not supposed to have mates, Healers, and we’re especially not supposed to be mates with cats from other Clans.”

“And you were mates?” Oddstripe breathed, enraptured by the detail. 

“No, no,” he blushed, waving a paw in front of him. “Sagetooth just thought I was trying to court her apprentice. She’s never really liked me much.” 

“Oh,” Oddstripe glanced back at Sagetooth, still sleeping peacefully beside her. 

“Like I said,” Stormwhisper said, “please don’t tell her I asked you.” 

“I won’t,” Oddstripe promised. 

“Thank you,” Stormwhisper sighed with relief. After a moment, he shifted, tucking his paws beneath him, and said,  “We should probably get to sleep before the others wake up.” 

“Right,” Oddstripe felt her stomach churn again. “You don’t have any tricks for getting there, do you?” 

Stormwhisper considered it and then smiled sympathetically. “Don’t stress it too much. They’re not gods or anything, they’re just cats who traded their earthly bodies for different gifts. You’ll fit right in.” 

“Right,” she said again, tone grimmer. “Thanks.” 

“Of course,” he said, settling down to sleep. “Good luck, Oddstripe.” 

Oddstripe nodded, ears pressed back, wishing she felt any more confident than before. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let it out again. She curled her tail over her nose and tried to breathe deep and slow, counting as she did. Soon enough, sleep overtook her. 

~~~

A surprisingly warm and gentle breeze stirred Oddstripe’s fur. She tried to ignore it, but it seemed so out of place in the cold wet cavern, that she couldn’t help but peek one eye open to look for the source. The sight before her took a few seconds to register completely.

She was sat on a flat smooth stone that looked out over the grasslands of RisingClan but the landscape was dyed a deep indigo hue. Each blade of grass glowed with starry light and the stone beneath her paws was a bright shining white. Oddstripe sat up suddenly, eyes snapping wide open to take it all in. 

“I did it!” she gasped, looking around. 

“You did it!” cheered a cat sitting at the base of the rock. Oddstripe jumped, scrabbling to avoid falling to the ground, and the shining ginger she-cat giggled. 

“Welcome to the SIilverpelt, Oddstripe” she said fondly, standing up. “My name is Poppyblaze. Let me show you around.”