#snowstripe

[maplewood126]

Snowstripe

Snowstripe is an old kind she-cat who can no longer walk and requires daily attention from the medicine cats. She was the Mediator before waxfur and was the one who mentored him. Despite her inability to walk she is rather healthy and is bound to see a few more years in retirement. She is mates with Cloudedlake, who takes great care of her and is constantly with her if not busy with other things.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Tunastream and her Windclan gf

Star-crossed lovers....

[moons-of-peachclan]

Prologue - Part 3

[Image ID: Two large text boxes and one small one. The small one in the top left reads "Newleaf - Moon 0." The first big text box reads: Siltroot is too exhausted to visit StarClan and receive his nine lives and dies without them. In the following days, many other cats die from a combination of exhaustion, smoke inhalation, exposure, insufficient nutrition, and illness caused by the above.

The second big text box reads: Ghostpounce, Batleaf, Snowstripe, Drytail, Beetlepelt, Shellflower, Minnowfoot, Thornmuzzle, Heronpaw, Mousefang, Cloudkit, Leafkit, Lilymouth, Amani, and Spiderdrop have died. Lakedapple, Goldkit, and Seri are in shock. End ID.]

Many cats have died. The lead healer scrambles to find who is next in line to be leader. (More below the cut!)

[Image ID: Three cats, two adults and one kitten. Above the first says "++ New Player: Lakedapple. Tom, 78 moons. Strange, guardian, & great navigator." Above the second says "++ New Player: Twilightkit. Tom, 2 moons. Daring, quick to help." Next to the third it says "Dashdawn. Molly, 101 moons. Reserved, great singer. Lead healer."

Lakedapple stands with Twilightkit between his paws and Dashdawn across from him. In the text box, Lakedapple says, "So it's me, then. I'm the leader." End ID.]

It was early in the night when Dashdawn entered the temporary nursery. Lakedapple was curled near the entrance with his paws tucked underneath him and his kit, Twilightkit, safely against his side. For a second Dashdawn thought they were both asleep, but Lakedapple's eyes opened as soon as she stepped inside. He relaxed slightly once he saw her, looking up at the lead healer with tired eyes.

Seri was also in the nursery, a tuft of Amani's fur between her front paws. She was heavily pregnant and sleeping fitfully. Goldkit was laying behind her, in his own nest but still near her body for warmth.

Dashdawn's head lowered with her voice. "Lakedapple... I thought you should know first. Spiderdrop just passed away."

He looked past her more than at her. He was a million miles away-- everyone was. She gave him a moment, and then his eyes focused on her. He looked tired and he sounded it, too. "So it's me, then. I'm the leader."

She shook her head minutely. "Not until you get your lives." A beat passed before she added, "I'm sorry. I know you didn't want this."

Which was an immense understatement. Turtlestar and Siltroot had died, which meant the next best claim was Minnowfoot's, but then they'd died, which meant it passed up the line to some grandfather or other and back down from there to Mousefang, who died. Then it was down to her son Cloudkit, who also died and was too young to inherit anyway-- so back up the line it went to StarClan only knew who else and then to Spiderdrop, his uncle.

And now that Spiderdrop was dead... to him.

"Don't be," he said. "Someone has to do it."

Dashdawn nodded. "Driftstreak and Frostpeak finished a makeshift raft a few days ago, and you're well enough to travel, so we should really go as soon as possible."

Lakedapple looked down at Twilightkit, who was sleeping soundly through the whole conversation. His heart leapt into his throat like a jackrabbit. How could he? What if he didn't come back and left his son an orphan? What if something else got him while he was gone? Ghostpounce would never forgive him for his negligence.

"I can't leave him."

The healer headbutted Lakedapple reassuringly. "It won't be for long. He'll be safe here, Lakedapple." Then, after a long, guilty moment, she said, "We'll leave at first light. I'm sorry."

Lakedapple sat awake like that for a long time, fighting sleep. How could he sleep? He had to protect his family-- this last little piece of it. This last little piece of his mate.

Eventually the moon crawled through the sky and the pre-dawn hours approached. Other cats were stirring and Lakedapple knew he'd have to leave soon or Dashdawn would drag him. He watched his son breathe for a while longer before gently nudging him awake.

"Ba...?" Twilightkit mumbled, his eyes opening groggily. A stab of grief coursed through Lakedapple. He was the mi now, the primary parent-- now that Ghostpounce was dead. It would take both of them a while to adjust to that.

"I have to go for a couple days, Twilightkit," he whispered, wishing with every part of himself that he didn't have to.

Twilightkit yawned and closed his eyes again. He was clearly too tired to really register what was happening, but he still asked, "Mm... Why?"

Lakedapple swallowed hard and tried to sound like he wasn't having one of the worst days of his life. "I'm the leader now. I have to go talk to StarClan."

"Mm... say hi to mi, ok..."

He had to go before he started crying. "I will," he whispered, his voice breaking a little. "Be good, Twilightkit. I love you."

Twilightkit was too sleepy to reply, but he didn't need to. Lakedapple licked the top of his head and picked him up before passing him over to Seri, who was watching the conversation quietly. She looked terrible, but Lakedapple knew she understood; her mate had just died, too.

"I'll take care of him," she said in that odd accent of hers.

Lakedapple dipped his head. "Thank you."

[Image ID: A dark gray background with stars. Lakedapple stands on the right with text underneath that says "Level up! Lakedapple -> Lakestar. Deputy -> Leader." On the left is a Dark Forest cat who is labeled with "++ New Player. Sootdapple. Tom, 28 moons (in life). Flexible, brave pathfinder, & natural intuition." Sootdapple says, "I give you this life for courage. And in your predecessor's absence... I welcome you as Lakestar. Good luck, brother. You're gonna need it." End ID.]

Lakedapple and Dashdawn filled up on prey and traveling herbs before they left. Then, they took the new raft across the thicker part of the river and to the southern bank. This ancient forest had been neutral territory for as long as any history had recorded it-- this forest and everything in it belonged to StarClan.

Dashdawn led the silent journey to the mouth of the Cave of Eternal Night. They weren't forbidden from speaking until they entered, but this was such a somber journey-- and the two cats involved so introverted-- that neither of them had much interest in chatter.

It had been many moons since Lakedapple had seen the entrance of the cave. It was like the earth itself was yawning, pointed teeth and all. Dashdawn paused before they crossed the threshold and began to follow the small stream.

"Stay close," she said softly, "and remember: you can never speak of what you see here or what is said to you. Not even I may learn of it."

Lakedapple nodded, and then the two of them began their descent.

There was light to see by for a while, but all too soon there was nothing to guide them but the wet, cold stone beneath them, the lazy stream to their right, and Dashdawn's memory. Lakedapple knew that there was no deeper darkness than this place, the place where night always lived and the sun never penetrated. It was so dark that if you tried to concentrate on it, you'd almost go mad.

The sound of Dashdawn's pawsteps and the occasional brush of her tail against his whiskers kept him from slipping or straying-- not that there was very far to stray. After what felt like days but could have only been hours, the stream quieted and Dashdawn stopped.

They were at the pool now. They would sleep here for the night and meet StarClan once the sun had risen up above-- until then, their ancestors would be absent from this place.

Lakedapple was exhausted. He'd never had a more dreamless sleep, and when he woke, there was no direction whatsoever. It was as though all he'd ever known was darkness... until he felt Dashdawn's tail brush against his face and he strained his eyes to look.

To what had to be the north of them, there was the thinnest sliver of light, just enough to make the darkness have meaning again. Dashdawn rose and Lakedapple rose with her.

The two of them carefully scaled the flowstone as the stars returned to the Cave of Eternal Night. They glowed all around them, reflecting off of the water or perhaps becoming unique instances. It was a difficult climb, especially since Lakedapple didn't want to dig his claws into this holy stone, but then they were at the small pool at the top.

There was just enough light to see by, like on a new moon. The two of them waded into the deepest point of the pool, where the water lapped at their bellies.

Lakedapple nodded. Dashdawn placed her paws on his shoulders, he took a deep breath, and then she pushed him under.

He realized immediately that the breath had been a bad idea and released it. The faster this was over with, the better-- but he couldn't make himself breathe in, and when he started to run out of air, he started to panic. He thrashed wildly and surely his claws grazed Dashdawn, but she held him firm until he finally sucked in water, felt his head go light, and then it all went black.

Until the stars rushed in to greet him.

Five cats stood in a semicircle around him, all of their pelts threaded with stars. His eyes were wide with shock as he looked at all of their faces-- but he didn't have much time to gawk before Shrubquiver was clearing her throat to get his attention.

He looked at her, stronger than he'd last seen her but not much younger. "With this life," she rumbled, "I give you trust in your own instincts. Know what experience has taught you-- do not blindly trust reason." She touched her nose to his, and pain tore through him-- when it faded, what he imagined must have been the ache of ancient bones was the last to fade.

Next was Batleaf, an old friend. The tom's ears twitched forward and his tail crooked to the left before he sat back on his haunches and made a series of quick gestures with his paws. Lakedapple was always a little slow with pawspeak, but he seemed to understand it better here as Batleaf said, "I give you this life for determination. With it, you will receive the strength to keep going, even if others think you don't have what it takes."

Batleaf touched his nose and the noises Lakedapple hadn't even noticed faded to nothing as the pain rocked through him. All he could hear was his own blood rushing in his ears-- and with it, the certainty that as long as that sound kept echoing through his skull, he could put one paw in front of the other, no matter the odds.

Then it was Snowstripe. Lakedapple hadn't known Snowstripe well, but he was still glad to see him here. "With this life, I give you stability," he said, stepping forward to touch their noses together. This pain was a stiff one, like wind trying to blow him over but his limbs locking firm. Lakedapple instinctively dug his claws in as it washed over him. When his ears stopped ringing, Snowstripe said, "You'll do fine as leader, Lakedapple. Don't worry."

And then... "Ghostpounce," he whispered, his voice hoarse.

Her eyes were flinty as she stepped forward. He knew that look-- she was doing everything she could not to fall apart. "With this life, I give you unity," she said in a voice like she was using every ounce of willpower not to cry. "Teamwork makes the dream work." She touched her nose to his and the agony that ripped through him wasn't only physical. It was emotional, too-- grief doubled over. This would be the last time for a very, very long time that he would touch his nose to hers, and that was a pain that didn't fade away.

Flarefur was next, looking remarkably more alive than he ever had when he'd actually been alive. He gave a shy smile and said, "You're almost done. I'm certain of it. And with that, I give you this life for certainty, so that you will always know your place in the world and what you're supposed to do with it." The ache of this life was a cold one, like one big bruise, or maybe a fever. His stomach turned but he stood strong.

When Lakedapple opened his eyes again, the StarClan cats were gone. Panic suddenly rose in him like the water he'd choked on-- was that all? Where was Turtlestar? Was he going to be stuck here forever?

Then, a familiar scent reached his nose. Lakedapple's head snapped around to Sootdapple, bathed in shadow. Shock, horror, and grief clawed through him better than any enemy warrior.

"Surprised to see me?" Sootdapple asked, a sly grin on his muzzle.

Out of all the thoughts running through his mind, for some reason the one Lakedapple settled on was, "Where's Turtlestar...?"

Sootdapple shrugged. "Off hiding from her shame." Then, his smile returned, but a touch less sinister. "This clan will do well under your leadership, brother. I give you this life for courage-- and lieu of your predecessor... I welcome you as Lakestar."

He touched his nose to Lakedapple's-- Lakestar's-- before he had time to react. This life didn't hurt at all; it just filled him with vigor and made his heart start beating.

"Good luck, brother!" he called, already sounding far away.

"Sootdapple, wait--"

With a laugh, he added, "You're gonna need it!"

...

and then Lakestar was coughing his lungs up on the bank of the shallow pool, Dashdawn vigorously licking his fur the wrong way to get some warmth back into him.

They sat there for a long while so Lakestar could catch his breath, and then it was time to go back.

[wcstarless]

Power of Three AU OC's

Blossomfall & Firefall have another litter shortly after Stemleaf's death. The kits are Burnkit and Flowerkit.

Blossomfeather and Jayfeather have an oops litter during Vision of Shadows. Nightkit, Featherkit and Ravenkit. Tawnystar keeps secret her medicine cat is nursing and nobody knows outside the clan that the kits are Jay's and Blossom's.

Snowstripe and Foxleap have a litter of kits during VoS as well.

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

A Night's End (Nightfly Origin) [Part 1]

“Good catch!” Nightdrift spoke, muffled, around the young rabbit in his jaws as he rounded the hill with Kestralspot and Flydapple. 

Snowstripe’s eyes shone brightly, her chin raised high, or as high as she could raise it with the weight of her own large rabbit. 

“The Clan will eat well today,” Kestralspot observed, licking her lips. 

“Hawksplash will be happy,” Nightdrift put in. “She has been craving–” 

A yowl broke the air, cutting him off. Nightdrift recognized the voice instantly, and his fur stood on end as his heart leaped into his throat. Forgetting the prey entirely, he set off in the direction of the camp, Kestralspot, Flydapple, and Snowstripe hard on his paws. 

When he neared the entrance, he burst through without slowing, and didn’t bother to pick the thorns from his pelt. He ran straight for the nursery, blinded by fear, until at last Rabbitshade stepped into his path and he had to skid to a halt. 

“Is she okay?” He panted, trying to see past the deputy.

Rabbitshade chuckled. “She’s doing just fine. Stars, and I thought I was worried!”

Nightdrift looked around. “Where’s Mintripple? Where’s Coldpaw?”

“In there with her. Coldpaw’s just gathered freshly soaked moss and a stick.”

“A stick? What does she need a stick for?”

Another yowl split the air, making the toms flinch. 

“She needs it for that,” Bugsplash commented from where she sat near. 

“I-is that normal?” Nightdrift didn’t take his eyes off of the nursery, but it was dark inside, and he couldn’t see anything. 

Rabbitshade nudged him. “I’d be more worried if she wasn’t making noise. This is natural, almost every she-cat goes through it, and…most make it through.”

Nightdrift couldn’t hold back the whimper that escaped from his lips. 

“She’ll be fine,” Bugsplash cut in. “Don’t listen to Rabbitshade, he’s as skittish on the inside as you, just better at hiding it.”

“Mother!” Rabbitshade huffed. “Excuse me if I’m worried about my sister.”

….

“You’ll lose your paws if you keep pacing,” Bugsplash broke into Nightdrift’s thoughts. He blinked at her, then behind him, surprised to find a small dent in the earth where he had been walking. 

He sighed, sinking into the ground. But he realized quickly that he was too impatient and worked up to rest, and he stood up again and began to pace in a circle. “How long is this supposed to take?” He growled in frustration. The sun was beginning to sink behind the hills, its orange light casting long shadows across the camp. Mintripple hadn’t moved from inside the den. Coldpaw had emerged only to collect more moss, but didn’t say anything more than “I’m busy” and “she’s fine so long as you let me work on her.”

Nightdrift slid out his claws and tore up the grass. 

“It can take time,” Bugsplash replied. “In fact, I’m fairly sure your deputy here–” she gestured to Rabbitshade sleeping against her shoulder– “and mate took longer. I was exhausted by the end of it, so don’t overwhelm Hawksplash when you can finally go in there, got it? Just lay with her and take in the sight of your kits.”

Kits….Nightdrift had been so worried about his mate, he hadn’t given himself room to truly think about becoming a father. Of course, he had thought about it every second in the two moons leading up to this moment, but he was going to be a father now. Any second, little lives would enter the world…his blood..his little ones…

“Hey.”

Nightdrift nearly jumped out of his fur. He spun around, facing Mintripple. She smiled at him, and he felt an instant wave of relief. She nodded inside. “Come meet your kits.”

Kits…His kits…

Slowly and suddenly dazed, Nightdrift stepped into the den. He was so in awe he was almost numb, and began to worry that he was too out of it to properly take in the sight of his little ones, but the second his gaze met Hawksplash’s–exhausted and pained, but delighted--the numbness dissipated into the air as if it had never existed to begin with. 

“Two kits,” Hawksplash told him as he neared. “One handsome tom, one beautiful she-kit.”

He settled against her back and looked at her belly, where two little kits–two little, precious kits–suckled. They were black just like their mother. Little tiny fur over their little tiny bodies…that had their little tiny paws that wriggled directionless and little snouts that sniffed and little mouths that mewled. 

Nightdrift was so happy, he trembled, and buried his muzzle against Hawksplash’s cheek to steady himself. “They’re so precious!”

“They better be, I worked hard to get them here!” Hawksplash joked. “What should we name them?”

“I…” Nightdrift shook his head. “StarClan, I don’t know. I can hardly think…”

“Me neither,” Hawksplash agreed. 

They continued to watch their kits drink and then sleep for a while longer before Nightdrift decided, “Sheepkit.”

“I..” Hawksplash blinked, eyes shining with grief. 

“She was your sister, and my best friend. It’d be nice to honour her.”

Hawksplash smiled sadly. “I'd love that.” She reached out a paw and brushed it softly against the tom, who was nosing his way under her leg. “For this one, then. The tom.”

Nightdrift nodded, feeling a little light-headed. “What about the she-kit?”

Hawksplash thought for a moment, then shrugged. “StarClan, how do cats do this so quickly? I just want to sleep.”

“Then sleep,” Nightdrift responded, licking her cheek. “We can pick something tomorrow. Heh, it’s not like they’re gonna talk back for a while yet.”

Hawksplash chuckled, a half-hearted giggle that was weakened by her exhaustion. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment longer before she rested her chin on the edge of the nest.

Nightdrift licked the top of her head, gently so as not to wake her. Then, eyes wide with wonder, he leaned over his mate’s side to touch his nose to both little bodies. “Welcome to the world, my kits.”

=================

NEXT

--EDIT: forgot that because Nightfly is trans, he would be born as a gal. Fixed!

--FINALLY got to these stories after the poll!

--Nightdrift's best friend as an apprentice was Hawksplash's sister, Sheeppaw. She died before she could finish their training. Though they were already friends, their grief made them grow especially close, eventually leading to Night and Hawk's romance. He's also good friends with Rabbitshade.

--Bugsplash and Rabbitshade have similarities to how Hawk looks, so I decided that they're related! I also like the idea of brothers-in-law being buddies.

--Can you see where Nightfly gets his anxious behaviour from?

--Rabbitshade (deputy) also gets very anxious, but is much better at hiding it and keeping a calm composure, something that helps him with diplomatic stuff and Clan debates. BUT if you give him enough stress, he gets very tired, which is why he fell asleep.

His design was also made before! You can see him HERE.

--I'm very tired so please excuse any spelling stuff.

@ambitiousauthor

[lil2posh]

@aeselii snowstrip show atl

[sharktankinsights]

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[solosolace]

Ivypelt, Snowstripe, Ghosteyes, and Whitetail

I adopted them from https://www.deviantart.com/jeepers04

[ghostwaffleheimer]

It has occurred to me that I never posted the redraw I did of my old Cove and Quarry refs even though it's been a while since I made them... So here they are because why not (I deleted the original posts apparently idk so no link to those for reference).

So besides the fact that my cats are slightly less ugly and more expressive, the biggest change is that I'm not calling them clans anymore. QC is still sort of connected to the Warriors universe by way of "what if the clans fell apart circa OOTS, the survivors left to create the Quarry Colony, and the 3 plus Hollyleaf ended up becoming the new afterlife." (that's the short version, anyway) Which I guess technically makes this a post-cat-society-apocalypse AU?

Anyway because I am bad at brevity, change log below cut as well as a family tree (I have a version with spoilers but I will not be posting that).

CHANGES:

Mostly a lot of design changes, clarifications on details, and for the tortie/calico characters they got a small reference of their other side because that was something the old sheets were severely lacking since none of them besides Robin are symmetrical. Basic rundown:

Marshflower is a dilute tortie. She looks more like an actual cat that could exist now instead of... well, this.

I decided to go with Robinswoop's second design I came up with. He is also a trans tom.

Honeyshine's name is now Honeysnap, as Cloudkit's warrior name was going to be Cloudshine and I didn't want too much overlap with suffixes.

Brackenkit is also a dilute tortie.

What was once a typo has now become lore for Hallow's name having been changed. That will be addressed as I have a story written for this. Hallowpaw is the lore-heavy character instead of Emberdusk now, really.

Emberdusk and Windsong are both colorpoints, and their parents are to match, though they're not the most realistic I guess. Emberdusk would ideally take more after his mom and be a seal sepia but I specifically wanted him to be dark ginger since he was originally bootleg Wish.com Fireheart.

Some of the apprentices' mentors and who the kits' future mentors are got swapped around, most significantly: Hickorypaw who's mentored by Snowstripe (I think it was Windsong before), and Stormkit will be mentored by Robinswoop when prior it was planned to be Snowstripe.

Turtlestar, Finchpetal, and Applepaw got design changes.

Cricketleap is supposed to be a Havana Brown, having been a housecat, though I'm sure that doesn't come across very well here.

Pebblesplash and his daughter Silverpaw got some adjustments. They (or at least, Silverpaw) also have vitiligo. Cinderkit might as well, though that's not clear yet.

Willowpaw is nonbinary, which I'd always felt like they should be, but never updated any of my notes until I redid all the designs.

Cloudkit! I've been feeling like Cloudkit would be the Cove's equivalent of Hallowpaw (being a primary character in phase 2 of the story with something to set them apart from their siblings) and I want to do something with them eventually. He's a chimera and goes by he/they.

Here is the family tree without spoilers, though this was made before the redesigns and so has the older versions of the cats on it.

[warriors-last-words]

Gift for @wcstarless​

I was originally just gonna leave it at the above pic and name it “bitch baby,” but decided to make this drawing of kits depressing

[maplewood126]

Lostpelt

Lostpelt, formally skywing, is an old and grumpy tom cat who used to have a long fluffy pelt. Under unknown circumstances, he began to loose fur. It just started to fall put the older he got. He is pretty pissed off about it because he is easily cold. Retired Mediator, Snowstripe, made him a blanket out of pelts that keeps him warm in the winter. He hates how much Shrewchatter talks and will do anything to avoid conversion.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Final updates for the Stormstar mate and kit list!

Stormstar's WindClan mate (mother of Sweetberry and Shimmerfrost) is Snowstripe

Stormstar's SkyClan mate (mother of Robinperch and Jaytalon) is Fireshade

these are both names I got from the Gorsedaisy's Nightmare allegiances :3

@ambitiousauthor hopefully this works :3

*quickly writes down*

[tracytigress]

It’s been a while since I drew some tauren, and even longer since I drew this squishy moo!

My old Tauren Druid, Snowstripe! Uncensored version found on my Twitter and FA.

[wcstarless]

On page 241 of "Starless" when Snowstripe said the kits should get out of ThunderClan to give them a better chance, was she talking about the kits getting a better chance or ThunderClan getting a better chance?

Giving the kits a better chance.

[warriors-name-generator]

snowstripe

[spectrumglasslebanon]

Chillin’ wita chillum in chilly weather #chillums #keepyourgerms #snowstripe #sledintoasweetbowlofkush Artist: @zackgalifianakglass (at Spectrum Glass Lebanon)