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cappuccino-bear · 4 months ago

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Gravelwing's Blood, a Warriors Ccinocats one-shot

This is my first oneshot in my Warriors rewrite AU I call Ccinocats, of which I plan to do more.

In this fic, the event of Cloudtrail's arrival in Thunderclan, at the time Cloudy, is told by the perspective of Gravelwing, reflecting on the events that have happened to her and her family.

Main cast (all characters that have a speaking role or are mentioned often)

Warrior Gravelwing who was Gravelface, a big spotted gray tabby with a white bib, mostly white feathery tail and tired teal eyes, she/her (canon Brindleface)

Warrior Stoatrun who was Stoatleg, a short but stocky brown tabby with horizontal stripes that cover his eyes like a “mask”, a cream colored underbelly, long ears and jovial lime green eyes, he/him (canon Runningwind)

Primehunter Lilyflurry who was Lilytuft, a lanky white cat with grey patches in a “pants” pattern, whispy fur, longer fur on his face like a mask and narrow yellow eyes, he/him (canon Whitestorm)

Junior Warrior Fireheart who was Firepaw, a short fiery orange cat with a blaze of white on his scruffy snout, one white paw, round ears whose tips flop outwards and intense green eyes, he/him (canon Fireheart)

Cloudy, a small, pure white, fluffy and curly kitten with a tiny pink nose, stubby legs, round ears whose tips flop outwards and baby blue eyes, he/him (canon Cloudtail)

Nurse/Senior Warrior Doeyell who was Doespeckle, an old, spotted golden tabby with a white throat, long neck fur, a scarred paw and serious amber eyes, she/her (canon Speckletail)

Deputy Tigerslash who was Tigerclaw, a muscular black marbled tabby with a scarred snout, very long claws and proud orange eyes, he/him (canon Tigerclaw)

Leader Bluestar who was Freezing Hailmoon who was Hailfur, a gray cat with darker “pants” and forehead with a long scar over her shoulders, slim legs, curved ears and narrow dark blue eyes, she/her (canon Bluestar)

Junior Warrior Sandstorm who was Sandsnout, a light brown tabby with faded horizontal stripes that cover her eyes in a “mask”, a beauty mark on her muzzle, powerful legs and serious lime green eyes, she/her (canon Sandstorm)

Warrior Twigsplinter who was Claytail, a light brown tabby with dark horizontal stripes, an unusually long tail, one split ear, a dark brown crest and playful teal blue eyes, he/they (canon Longtail)

Shunned Deputy Maplehawk who was Mapletail, a stocky tortoiseshell with a long red tail, a red ring around his scarred eye, a bite mark on his flank and tired amber eyes, he/him (canon Redtail)

That chilly morning Thunderclan's camp was quieter than usual. Patrols had already been organized and sent out accordingly, the two cooks had been preparing a hearty soup for the main meal of the day, and the retirees cozied up against the warm wall adjacent to the ovenrock. Marigoldkit and Thornkit, the two students, had just finished pushing the snow away from the middle of the clearing and were now cuddling each other in their nests.

The bleak sunshine made the frost on top of the leaves melt in the whole forest, and from the ivy curling around the roof of the nursery small drops fell into a puddle on the ground.

That puddle is where Gravelwing had been staring at since she'd woken up, the constant ripples in the slowly expanding body of water. In her own mind those tears belonged to her as well, even if she'd already spent too many in the previous days to spare any more in that very moment.

—

Gravelwing's name had been on everyone's tongue for a moon and a half, since she'd officially declared her pregnancy and temporary retirement. Stoatrun stood next to her that day, in front of the whole Clan, while the Warriors cheered at the news of new kittens, a warm hope to thaw the cold of Leafbare.

The celebration was accompanied by sharing tongues and platters of roasted mouse, if staler than usual- it was the coldest moon, they couldn't be picky.

Bluestar had even volunteered to help set up her nest in the nursery once again, but Doeyell, helpful and diligent as ever, got to it first before the ceremony was even over, so that very night the new expecting cat could sleep in a bed of downy feathers and soft poplar fluff from the Newleaf before.

The following days, she'd gotten visits on top of visits from sunrise to moonfall, first a brief one from her apprentice Fireheart giving her congratulations, then Frostflash, her loyal friend who’d brought her a plate of eggs cooked in their own shells, then Sparrowcurl, the future kits' grandfather. Every time, they'd hold back their tongue about the boar in the nest, never asking why she thought to have children again, after what happened to her other mate.

Stoatrun’s presence during the visits might have helped them keep the questions away, but she knew of the whispers outside, as if the culprits were ever out of earshot, on her loyalty to the Clan compared to her traitorous, and announced dead ex-mate.

She knew, deep down, she both missed him, yet wanted to spit at him for his betrayal, yet again wished he was next to her and Stoatrun like he should be, after he could answer why, why did he do this...

Once, Sparrowcurl noticed her tensing up while she started to spiral and left hurriedly, while her mate licked her neck fur to bring the same comfort she's done to her own kittens many times, and when she snapped out of it, the moment turned into one of reciprocated grooming.

Mousebite came in a while later, holding a bag full of trinkets to play Hopperscratch together, and by then she was already much calmer. She even ended up winning, to her clanmate's chagrin.

Her eldest children, Twigsplinter and Sandstorm, were always the last to visit. They waited until the dusk patrols had been sent before doing so, every day, and they only exchanged a few words during that time, if not to ask if their parents needed anything in that moment. It hurt, but Gravelwing understood, even if bitterly, because of how their family had fractured, it would take a long time before it'd feel right to not have one of their parents here.

Maybe it'd never come, but she held out hope that the new kittens could help with it, as her nose was buried in Stoatrun's fur while she drifted off to sleep.

Bogsnarl, a half-moon after she’d moved nests, had called her for her first serious health check up. It was as annoying as she remembered the first time it happened, with prodding and turning and poking all around, but Lynxpelt's presence, seeing how the young cat wanted to learn and memorize every herb and every question, made it more bearable, even a little fun to see her be quizzed by her new mentor on the procedure.

Until the very moment the medic asked the apprentice, kindly (and Bogsnarl was seldom kind), to fetch Stoatrun. A knot had twisted in her throat the second they were left alone.

And she found out it was a ghost pregnancy.

She knew it could happen to anyone, that no spirit was wishing ill upon her for it, that no comment should be made on her in regards of unloyalty or heresy, but in an instant cool, composed, calculating Gravelwing just yowled her pain for all to hear, uncaring of the rest of the world.

Her chance at a new family, a possible new normal, a feasible good thing was gone, yet it had never been there in the first place without her knowledge.

She'd still need round-the-day care, she still had milk at the end of it, but no kneading kittens to drink it, and an empty nest while Stoatrun needed to go on patrols despite the sorrow that weighed him down too, and the overwhelming feeling of grief for what it could have been.

And now, for the past moon, she'd been sleeping in the nursery, her teats still full of milk but her belly deflated, like her mood.

Anytime she'd step out to participate in amy activity the whisperings began again, and although it had been a moonsliver since Bogsnarl had officially declared her fit for work again, she knew the moment she'd go out someone would tear the nest in the nursery to pieces for its components, and the sense of dread anytime she even thought of going back to her nest next to the other Warriors made her legs wobble.

It got harder to groom herself everyday, looking at her own body made her shiver from head to tail, so Stoatrun would be the one to do so every time he'd come back from patrols. The time they spent together was silent, afraid that every question they'd pose would be met with nothing more than a tense breath and awkward silence.

Less cats visited her, now, no more joyful games or silly chats, and while some of it was probably Bogsnarl shooing them away, she couldn't decide if the other reason outweighed it.

Because she could hear the grumbling of stomachs, the shivers and chattering teeth just outside the bramble wall even while it was covered in thick snow. And the quiet remark of "someone here is doing nothing to help" stung just as much as if it was said directly to her face.

Her role was important. She should be out there hunting and tanning skin and lining the walls with bark, but nothing helped her feet move.

—

Her trail of thought was interrupted by the sound of shuffling from outside. Some gasps filled the silent camp suddenly, someone growling at another loudly before a third cat shushed them again. Gravelwing was confused, but then a booming, harsh, and wrathful shriek from Bluestar silenced most of the voices.

She wondered, as she looked up from the puddle to glance at the leader and a gaggle of cats who made their way towards the Highrock, what could be so serious that everyone was either whispering or yelling about it. When they moved out of view, she questioned if the worried whispers came from an imminent attack, despite no physical commotion or strange scents filling the air, but then the sound of pawsteps came closer and closer to the nursery entrance.

She could catch some bits of a conversation between Doeyell and Lilyflurry, their words hushed, but clear as day she heard the word "kitten" being spoken.

Her ears strained, wishing to listen more, to know how she might have to feel, until a small orange head peeked in: Fireheart holding a ball of down feathers in his mouth. She didn't question it, still hiding in the darkness, as the many cats now walking in the entrance were cloaking the inside of the nursery from the cold light.

Then the Primehunter Lilyflurry stepped inside, coming closer, his wispy white fur catching small rays of sunlight from behind.

"Gravelwing, would you be willing to wean this kitten here?" Lilyflurry asked, and Gravelwing's teal eyes grew wide until she recognized how the bundle of down dangling from her former apprentice's jaw had eyes and a mouth and a tiny little nose between all the fur.

Said Warrior, with a worried expression, pushed himself further inside, his head hung low to better show the tiny kitten, as if he'd realized a second too late that the grieving queen could not tell what it was.

And even if that wasn't enough, the little thing gathered a long breath and mewled as loud as it could, waking up the cat in front of it from the state of trance she'd been living in, lasting entire moon phases.

Fireheart and Lilyflurry didn't need to wait for a spoken answer as the kitten was grabbed hastily, then placed inside the nest and shielded between Gravelwing's body and her plumy tail.

Up close she could see their features better, underneath the fluff: their squinty eyes were still kitten-blue, the color of Brightleaf skies, their ears still closed to the sounds of the world, and their fur was even more dense and white and curly than previously imagined, barely letting two kneading paws peek out of it. Shifting around to keep them even closer she began to wordlessly lick their fur backwards to bring back more warmth in the body.

A sigh of relief from both of the cats standing in front of her made Gravelwing look up again, and in that moment it'd been as if the gravity of the situation hit her- Fireheart had just brought her a kitten in need of a mother.

Looking back down at them she noticed how their ears, even if still closed, had the same notch in the center that Fireheart owned, which let the tips of them flop sideways. For a moment she wondered, as if to deny reality, that it might have been Lilyflurry’s kin somehow, with the blinding white of their fur, but those ears, and the tuft of fur sticking up from the top of their snout, and the curls which Fireheart also had in his cheeks cleared who was truly related to them.

Before she could ask, however, all three cats turned around at the bemused call of "hold up!" By Doeyell, who entered by shoving the Primehunter and Junior Warrior to the side, making them almost stumble in the unused nursery nests.

"Gravelwing dear," she began, her voice serious but sweetened by worry, "in your current state are you even sure you'd want to keep a kitten that won't be of your family? Since Bluestar decided that the task of True Parent falls upon.... this other grown kitten." The last sentence was accentuated by a growl as she turned towards Fireheart, who in turn stood still and proud even if his ears pinned themselves back.

"And let him starve? I told you, his mother wishes for him to be raised in a Clan, and Bluestar agreed. You're the one that taught me the whole Clan takes care of the kits!" He growled back at the senior warrior. "Or do you think Bogsnarl should go invent a new herb mixture to let me produce milk instead?"

"Still, it does not change the fact that this here is not her kitten, nor was he born to a Clan, and Gravelwing here might not be comfortable with it!" Doeyell replied, and the Senior Warrior and only Nurse realized she'd just hit a badger's nest with a beehive by saying that to Fireheart just as he hissed back.

"How DARE you of all cats! I proved that I'm loyal to death for Thunderclan because you thought my previous life was too soft! This kitten here DOESN'T HAVE ONE! He was born two moonslivers ago, so what does he have to compare, the taste of milk?!"

Feeling that a fight might start between the two hotheaded Warriors, Lilyflurry put a paw firmly between them. "This is the nursery," He hissed under his breath, but both Doeyell and Fireheart's tails were lashing madly, two pairs of green eyes locking and exchanging venom, despite the reminder they'd just been given.

Gravelwing believed that as soon as the white warrior would blink both cats would be tearing at each other's whiskers, and that was the last thing she needed to see that very day, yet words caught in her throat- what if something she'd say to one would set the other cat off? She cared about both dearly, her friend and her apprentice, and she didn't wish for animosity between them, but now it was coming to that, fast, in front of her and a kitten.

A cough from just beyond the entrance interrupted them, and suddenly all cats inside stood straighter as a result of it, quieting down and interrupting the fight for a moment. Even the kitten quit squirming for a second as Bluestar and Tigerslash strode inside the den, the leader walking right up to Gravelwing.

The queen moved to stand up, but a whisker-twitch from Bluestar beckoned her to stay comfortable, despite the tension she held in her gaze and shoulders. Tigerslash stopped just behind her, glaring intermittently at both Fireheart and the furball of a kitten at her belly.

"Have you agreed to wean the kitten, Gravelwing?" She meowed. "Of course she did!" "Of course she didn't!" Fireheart and Tigerslash answered in unison, then the Deputy growled at the young Warrior, who answered at the aggression with a huff. The Leader however shot back a stern look, silencing both, and despite her cold equanimity her deep blue eyes glared daggers at both of them.

"I asked the question to Gravelwing," she pointed out, "and the only answer that is to decide the kit's fate is hers. If she denies her milk to him we'll find another solution, if she accepts him then she'll wean him, but nobody else's opinion on my decision to let the kitten in Thunderclan will be questioned or defended by anybody but me. Understood?"

Gravelwing's heart leapt in her throat at the realization that this decision was not being forced onto her. The kitten would not go hungry, she knew that, there were ways to induce milk in a cat and, if nothing else worked, bloodsoup wasn't hard to make even if it wasn't ideal.

It was her decision to care for him, and Doeyell was a little right: it would probably hurt a lot, the idea that this wasn't even her son in the Clan's tradition because Fireheart was the True Parent, this could not replace the kittens she could have had if things were better...

But looking down at him, his wriggling limbs, and Fireheart's ear notches on the tiny white head, she thought of how her Apprentice would strut around camp with his first hunt's reward, his ears wiggling up and down with the bounce in his step.

She remembered his kindness when the Retiree Leopardgrowl wouldn't remember his name and believed he was Seedstep, of all cats, of how he was not rude or blamed the sick cat despite no-one ever teaching him what timerot was.

She remembered how, when she showed him how to tackle opponents to the ground, he had immediately apologized once he'd gotten it right when trying with her because, how he was apologetic thinking she'd hit her head too badly.

She thought of how he listened to her cry pathetically about the Disgraced Maplehawk, saying how much she missed him despite how at the time he had actually been just across camp, yet invisible in the prison den.

How her entire family cried when Firepaw had to say that her ex-mate, from being a prisoner, died a hero because he tried fighting Shadowclan's thieves with Ravenscruff, long enough for Fireheart to run to safety.

How they gathered around and had their own vigil because there was no body and half the Clan still thought he was too guilty of treason, and how he also cried with them for a cat he would have only known as a criminal.

She remembered how, the day he was named Fireheart, and she cheered his name so loudly with all her lungs, he specifically ran up to thank her for teaching him so well, and she said the Clan would need more cats like him.

And at her belly, there was a cat he would have to raise alone, and she thought again of how the Clan needed more cats like him now more than ever.

"Yes, Bluestar. I want to help wean the kitten." She mewedlooking back at the Leader with a resolve to life she had not felt in moons.

A sigh of relief came from both Lilyflurry and Fireheart, but Bluestar only answered in a curt nod, then turned around to leave.

"Bluestar!" Doeyell called, but the Leader didn't even look back at her, "will the kitten even have a formal introduction? Or a Clan name in three moons?"

Bluestar turned around then, but stared at the kitten, not at who she was supposed to answer. "He has a name already and was welcomed to the world before, there's no need for it."

—

Stoatrun had almost tripped on his own paws when rushing into the nursery, and his mate had to kindly remind him that there was a kitten sleeping before he woke up the owls, too, with his shocked yelling. He was briefed on what happened after his hunt, and simply wanted to see the kit.

Gravelwing was ready to stand her ground on her decision, but knew he, of all cats, would be the most opposed to any argument of leaving a kit to starve.

Inside the nursery was Fireheart, too, crouching in one of the unused nesting spots. Gravelwing did not invite him to stay, but she had no reason to send him away. He just stared at the kitten, who was for all intents and purposes his son now, with worry wrinkling his brow, as if at any moment he might sprout wings and flitter away and he'd be the one to have to catch him.

Stoatrun positioned himself so the junior could still see while licking his mate's fur, and would intermittently bend down to nuzzle the kitten as well, who was now half asleep and unmoving, except for the rise and fall of his sides.

"Bluestar said he's got a name, yes?" The queen finally broke the silence, looking at her former Apprentice, who nodded in response.

"His mother named him Cloudy, since he's.... well, like that." Fireheart answered, not tearing his gaze from his son and nephew, looking at the soft curls of his white fur.

"Hold on, y’know his name? What ’bout his mother?" Stoatrun inquired, and Fireheart stiffened all of a sudden before looking down, dejected.

"My sister," he muttered, "She was pregnant, gave birth, showed up with Cloudy here and told me to raise him."

"She's a kittypet, correct?" Gravelwing asked, again, and if the Warrior could look more mortified he might have as he scrambled back on his feet.

"I-I just... I still feel so othered, Gravelwing,” He admitted. “You all have families, and mates, and parents and children and kin in here, and the moment I lost Ravenscruff, and Maplehawk, and now Cricketpurr’s friendship... I was alone... I met Princess only once before the last new moon, by accident, but then you moved in here, and felt so sick and sad, that I just couldn't bear it to come and ask for help for my small problems....

“So I'd go in her den, look after her five- five of them- five kittens so she could stretch her legs, because her folk was never home.... and then today she tells me she wants to make sure she could see at least her firstborn grow up not far from her, and that this way a piece of my family would be here with me, and maybe I would not feel so miserable, and I didn't stop her because she's right!"

He looked up with dark streaks of tears under his eyes. "I never forced her, you have to believe me, I never stole him, and I never wanted to put the Clan in danger... I'm just so lonely, Gravelwing...."

A strong set of paws pulled the standing Warrior closer to the other three cats, and his head was nestled just below Gravelwing's. Stoatrun, even if less warmly, laid his head on Fireheart's back, and both were purring to him for comfort.

"That’s all a lot to go through," Stoatrun muttered, "and y’even made time for me, after Lynxpelt got hurt, but you sound like you haven't had a break since you became a full Warrior, so maybe you should, let it go a bit maybe? Like, I know you found a distraction- a good one mind you- well, maybe not the best technically, since it was traitorous to speak to your kittypet kin-"

A small groan followed. "What my mate is trying to say," Gravelwing cut in, "is that we get how that would be stressful and lead you to feel this way. And we're sorry this is happening, and that you felt like you could not come here."

She leaned in to lick the top of his head, her voice dropping lower with her purrs. "I know I was going through a lot, and I probably still am, but Fireheart you are nothing short of family here, if not by blood then by heart. My nest will always have space if you ever need it, both for you and little Cloudy here, so don't be a stranger just because you're out of apprenticeship."

Fireheart still looked unsure, yet shuffled closer to the both of them, sighing and laying his tail over their fur. The older Warriors did the same, and now, all curled around each other and the kitten, they collectively had some time to rest their bodies and spirits from the emotions.

Not long after, two other cats trotted inside the quiet nursery, long after Cloudy had begun to sleep soundly, belly full and paws in the air. Sandstorm was the first to dare getting close and look at the kitten by her mother's belly, but made no comment.

Twigsplinter was another story, the young Warrior having gotten over his head one too many times in front of his family and having gotten away with voicing his ideas easily before.

"Are we... sure we want this eyesore in here?" He mustered every inch of self control, of which he had little left, to ask the question without adding unnecessary adjectives, but it was to save them for the next sentence, when nobody had yet answered him.

"I mean, he's so white he might blind the prey away from here! And with the kittypet blood we might as well-"

The Gravelwing of the morning before might have been too tired, she might have let her son continue even if unhappily so, she might have even let those comments be said about her, but right now, in a flash, she was half a step away from his face, growling quite loudly and leaving Stoatrun to faceplant in the nest.

"Son, I'll do my best to tell you this in a way you won't forget without making your ears evenly scratched," she hissed, looking now taller, bigger, as he shrunk down and curled his long tail between his legs.

"If you were about to imply we "might as well" do something other than feed him, I would be the first and last in line to tell Bluestar to find a way to drill the Code of Kittens in your head, since I made you working ears last time I remembered. And now that you mention it, in the same way you have Windclan blood through your father and loner blood through me, this kitten has kittypet blood like his True Parent, and Fireheart was the one to rip your ear tip after you tried beating his defenseless brother."

"Mother," Twigsplinter tried interjecting, but Gravelwing just growled louder.

"I was not finished! Call any kitten eyesore or worthless again and I might just throw you out of here myself! How dare you, I thought I had raised a valorous Warrior but it seems something crawled in your head to have you say such idiotic things!"

Sandstorm, a now awake Cloudy, and their respective fathers could only look as Twigsplinter was almost swallowed up by his mother's fury, and if anyone outside of the nursery heard they might think the bramble walls were about to burst from the noise.

A second passed, and the stiffness in Gravelwing's body faltered, until her fur had laid back down normally and her posture was straighter than a tree.

Her son, on the other hand, seemed to try to make themselves even smaller than before.

Sandstorm stuck her tongue out at her brother in an act of defiance. “Also Twigsplinter, my mentor and primehunter Lilyflurry is just as white as that little furball, so ask him how he blinds prey with his fur, maybe it helps him catch it!”

She shut herself when her mother turned around, but still had a smug expression.

"Apologize." she simply hissed, pointing with her head to the nest behind her.

Twigsplinter peeked their head around, trying to hide the tremor in their body, to see Fireheart with his eyes blown open at the display of righteous anger. His father had a similar expression, but changed it to feign disappointment in him. Sandstorm was still smugly grinning. A nudge to his foot shook him out- Gravelwing looked calmly furious, like storm clouds thundering but only threatening to rain down.

The young Warrior then stood up, wobbled to his orange clanmate and his son, and bowed his head down, muttering a "sorry" under his breath.

“Louder." His mother demanded.

"Sorry." He answered, louder as he was asked, but then felt himself being shoved down into the nest, with his face right between Fireheart's paws.

"Good," Gravelwing stated, taking back her place in the cuddle pile, letting her mate climb with his front on her back once again, and dragged down the rest of her lanky son so they was splayed in front of her before she began grooming their fur harshly, as if they were still a kitten. Sandstorm and Stoatrun both giggled, and Twigsplinter began complaining of an injustice and how "it's no longer necessary."

"What's not necessary?" Fireheart asked, and Sandstorm pushed herself close to him before answering.

"When Maplehawk..." a small pause from her followed, but she shook her head and began again, "when we were kittens we'd fight all the time. And when it happened, he'd make us sit down, apologize, then would pull all of us back in the nursery to sleep it off. He said it's because our hearts beating together made them, and us, less angry and more united."

"It was because otherwise we'd throw pinecones at each other for hours," Twigsplinter muttered, but his sister shushed him.

"Was effective," Stoatrun purred, reaching to lick his daughter's ear, "or we wouldn't have such smart kittens, you'd have both bonked y’brains out with those cones."

Fireheart snorted at the idea. "So you're telling me Sandstorm has a better aim?"

Alternating complaints and laughter followed the declaration, with Twigsplinter playfully jabbing at both their sister and clanmate, saying he actually got faster at dodging them.

The chatting, over the next hour, died down, as the sun reached its highest point and all six cats, in that nest, fell asleep over each other, a mix of purrs and snores in the warmest part of the day.

Gravelwing dreamed of family. Not of her a year and a half younger, with little cream kittens still called Long and Lean scampering about, one gray kitten named Lush- or Pebblekit if she’d lived long enough, of Stoatrun without his neck scar, of the previous Deputy touching noses with both her and their mate.

She dreamt of Stoatrun, a suckling white kitten, Sandstorm and Twigsplinter, and Fireheart, nothing short of her son, if not by blood then by heart.

#Ccinocats #warrior cats rewrite #warrior cats #warriors #warrior cats fic #CcFirestar #CcCloudtrail #CcGravelwing #CcStoatrun #CcSandstorm #CcTwigsplinter #ccinospeaks #tw pregnancy #tw phantom pregnancy #tw loss #tw death #tw grief #ccinowriting

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warriorcatsauclan · 10 months ago

Text

AlderSky AU Part 3

Meanwhile, back with the 4 Lake Clans...

Things have gone to fox-dung to put it mildly.

Sparkpaw is devastated after Alderpaw is taken by the Twoleg during the Quest for SkyClan and Sandstorm’s death. This is exacerbated by the fact that no one seems to grieve over her brother - even Bramblestar does not seem too torn up, though Squirrelflight is taking it harder than her mate, but not as hard as Sparkpaw.

She also notes that no one in ShadowClan seems to care about Needlepaw, but all of Sparkpaw’s thoughts and emotions are occupied with her brother.

Leafpool is still sent to ShadowClan to be their temporary Medicine Cat and train a new one. A patrol is sent out to try and locate Alderpaw, and possibly Needlepaw and SkyClan.

A few days later the patrol returns unsuccessful. After talking with Squirrelflight, Bramblestar declares that Alderpaw is probably not gonna be able to be found. This sends Sparkpaw into a flurry of grief and anger, as - to her ears at least - her father has basically all but declared Alderpaw a lost cause and good as dead.

She has a hard time focusing on her training after this, causing Cherryfall to be frustrated with her.

Sparkpaw does not pay the rogues/the Kin much mind during this time, thinking of them as the other Clan’s problem since they have not attacked ThunderClan yet.

Everything pretty much progresses the same as canon for a bit:

Sparkpaw becomes a warrior - named Sparkpelt (like in canon).

Puddleshine becomes ShadowClan’s new Medicine Cat.

The Kin takes over ShadowClan.

Rowanstar, Tawnypelt and Tigerheart take refuge in ThunderClan camp.

With the three ShadowClan cats in ThunderClan camp, Sparkpelt is snappy. She thinks that Rowanstar is wimpy and is not doing a good job as a leader.

During this time, Sparkpelt bonds with Lilyheart’s kits, Honeyfur, Leafshade and Larksong, but she grows particularly close to Larksong.

The gentle tom is always willing to listen to the orange she-cat, but is always willing to give advice and give Sparkpelt a new perspective on the situation.

It is actually thanks to these talks with Larksong that gets Sparkpelt to begin to plan and be more active in bringing Darktail down.

Sparkpelt is the one who sees Darktail tell Onestar, then sees Onestar call the retreat. Sparkpelt is furious at Onestar at this and she agrees with Mistystar that it was Onestar and Rowanstar’s fault the battle was lost.

She brings this up with Larksong, who, after listening to Sparkpelt vent, suggests that Darktail told Onestar something that might be either a threat or some kind of blackmail. Sparkpelt considers this, but also wonders what on earth Darktail could have told Onestar that made him so afraid that the WindClan leader called a retreat?

Sparkpelt does have the dream/vision of Echosong dying. She sees her brother, who she calls Alderpaw not knowing that he has his full name. She does not think that this is a vision, though, as she is not a Medicine Cat, she thinks this is just a weird dream of her missing her brother.

Sparkpelt brings up her dream to her parents in private. Bramblestar and Squirrelflight both think that the dream is just Sparkpelt missing her brother, but Sparkpelt brings up she does not recognize the other cats. This does give Bramblestar and Squirrelflight pause, but Rowanstar comes into the den and asks to speak with just the ThunderClan leader and deputy. Sparkpelt rolls her eyes as she exits the den.

Sparkpelt notices Dovewing and Bumblestripe talking at Purdy’s vigil.

Sparkpelt can’t help but think about Alderpaw ever since she had the dream. She talks to Larksong about this, as well as Honeyfur, who reassures Sparkpelt that her feelings of anger over Alderpaw’s disappearance and that no one is doing anything are valid. She tells the orange she-cat that she would feel the same way if it was Larksong taken. This does make Sparkpelt feel better, but it also makes her even more determined to find her brother - but she acknowledges that they will have to deal with Darktail first.

Sparkpelt & Larksong begin to put together a few patrols to try and spy on the Kin. It shakes out to one patrol of Sparkpelt, Stormcloud, Cherryfall, Ivypool, Minnowtail, & Curlfeather and another of Larksong, Honeyfur, Fernsong, & Lizardtail. The plan is for Sparkpelt’s bigger patrol to be the more obvious scouts, while Larksong’s smaller patrol sneak into the camp to rescue any prisoners.

The reason that the cats do not tell the leaders, deputies or Medicine Cats is because they are too busy arguing amongst themselves about their next attack.

The plan works. While Sparkpelt and her patrol battle the Kin, Larksong’s patrol manages to get The ShadowClan elders, Oakfur & Ratscar, ShadowClan queen, Snowbird, and her 3 kits, Gullkit, Frondkit & Conekit, and the RiverClan prisoners, Brackenpelt, Reedwhisker, Mintfur, & Icewing.

The leaders are amazed when the patrols return with the freed cats.

It is noted that Fernsong helped the tired and weakened Snowbird with her 3 kits.

Bramblestar asked Sparkpelt what happened and Sparkpelt explained that Bramblestar and the other leaders were just standing around doing nothing. Bramblestar tries to say that that is not what they were doing - but that pushes Sparkpelt over the edge. She snaps at Bramblestar that he has done nothing. He did little to find Alderpaw - his own son and a Medicine Cat apprentice - and he has let Darktail run rampant and all he and the other leaders have done is talk and lose battles.

Larksong interferes. He tells Bramblestar, a bit more calmly, that Sparkpelt is not wrong. He calls Bramblestar and the other leaders out on how poorly they have handled the situation, pointing each leader out on what each did wrong. He repeats Sparkpelt’s points about Bramblestar, before turning to Rowanstar and telling him that his poor leadership led to the Kin infestation in the first place. He does tell Mistystar that she has not done much faults - that she is honestly handling everything the best she could. But that does not mean that she is also guilty of inaction. He then points out that it was Onestar’s hasty retreat that led to them losing the recent battle.

The leaders are shocked, but ultimately humbled. They then agree to go to WindClan and figure out an actual plan of attack.

A patrol of Bramblestar, Sparkpelt, Larksong, Tigerheart, Dovewing, and Mistystar goes to WindClan to either talk or drag an explanation and plan out of Onestar. Onestar agrees to go with them back to ThunderClan camp to explain and plan, but on the condition that all of WindClan come so that no cat is left unprotected. They all agree.

When they get back to Thunderclan camp, Onestar explains to the leaders, deputies and a few cats (Sparkpelt, Larksong & Dovewing), that Darktail is his son and that he is on his last life. Sparkpelt wants to snap at him for his cowardliness, but Larksong interview, telling Onestar that he inadvertently causes a lot of suffering for the Clans - and that now is the time to make it right. Onestar hears this, and for the first time in a while, a fire lights within his eyes.

#warrior cats #wc #warrior cats au #wc au #sparkpelt #larksong #bramblestar #squirrelflight #squirrelstar #waca #jayfeather #thunderclan #onestar #vision of shadows #alderheart #shadowclan #dovewing #wc fanfic #aldersky au

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nanistar · 2 years ago

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if i did an avos rewrite. it would be firestar coming to sparkpaw and telling her about skyclan and saying it’s time for skyclan to join the clans around the lake. sparkpaw tells jayfeather about her dream and he directs her to sandstorm, who tells her about it, and decides to lead her there. sparkpaw insists her cringefail brother comes too, hopefully to get him some experience (he is a warrior apprentice and not banished to the med den for being so fail) needlepaw finds the patrol and comes too, so it’s grandma and 3 kids, and the 3 apprentices are all become friends.

sandstorm leads them to skyclan and they find darktail and his guys but sandstorm has a bad feeling about them, and refuses to work with them. they go off looking for the real skyclan and find them (instead of going home and then leaving again in a few books) and darktail catches up to them. sandstorm lays down her life fighting for skyclan then, maybe she’s protecting baby twigkit and violetkit (who are not randomly abandoned and are not pov characters) or maybe to give them all a head start at getting away. either way she goes out fighting for skyclan, and glimpses of her spirit guide them back to the lake.

spark and alder return to the lake with skyclan in tow, but sparkpaw is having mixed feelings about skyclan now because her beloved grandma died for them, and now that they’re back at the lake there seems to be nothing but turmoil caused by bringing them back. alderpaw advocates aggressively for them, which drives a wedge between the siblings. skyclan is there to advise shadowclan against letting darktail close to them, but they are stubborn and rowanstar sucks so they ignore the warnings and get taken over. riverclan does not get taken over. needletail is there to give a POV from shadowclan as things get worse. darktail’s gang+shadowclan take over the territory that thunderclan cleared for skyclan’s temporary camp, which adds more tension. onestar is being aggressive and paranoid towards the other clans, especially skyclan, but doesn’t seem interested in what’s happening in shadowclan. needletail (pretending to be on darktail’s side) figures out the relationship between darktail and onestar, and tells sparkpaw, and her and alderpaw go to confront onestar on their own and he kicks them out, but he dwells on their thoughts.

thunder, sky and riverclan leap into a big final battle against darktail, some shadowclan cats turn on him but some don’t out of fear or new loyalties. needletail tries to take on darktail alone, but she ultimately dies, the last thing she sees is alderpaw and sparkpaw desperately trying to help but they’re being held back by either darktail’s posse or clanmates who know that they would just die if they go over there too idk. just when hope seems lost, windclan comes running in and saves the day, with onestar catching darktail by surprise. i like the way they both go under and then never resurface so that can stay.

sparkpaw and alderpaw get their warrior names together, alderheart and sparkstorm, after their grandparents. in needletail’s honor they both aggressively advocate for warrior code reform, and for the clans to move the borders over so skyclan can have territory. maybe there’s some issues with shadowclan trying to reconstruct itself, and there’s some fighting between shadow and skyclan or whatever but the whole juniperclaw thing doesn’t happen, and skyclan doesn’t try to leave again.i think shadowkit is what finally stops the fighting between the two. but the point is. sparkpelt is important the whole time, and skyclan is there too.

#i hate avos #you can rb this if you want idc

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gougarpaw · 1 year ago

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“I think Dawnkit will be the best fighter, if only she listens to what her mentor tells her once she’s apprenticed. Right now she doesn’t listen to any cat.”

Dawnpelt is a pale cream-furred she-cat.

notes:

- Daughter of Tawnypelt + Rowanclaw, sister of Tigerstar and Flametail, spouse of Crowfrost, mother of Strikestone, Sleekwhisker, and Juniperclaw

#dawnpelt #warrior #shadowclan #temporary thunderclan #starclan #darktails kin #prisoner of darktail #ghost cat #molly #d names #wc designs #alt text #nugs art tag

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sagesden · 1 year ago

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A new cat comes to Thunderclan

Bluestar came back with her patrol and a guilty looking Swiftpaw and a cat many have seen before at gatherings, Yellowfang, the Shadowclan medicine cat. Bluestar calls for a clan meeting and says she had found Swiftpaw giving prey to the Shadowclan cat and he would be on elder duty for a moon. Bluestar then had asked Yellowfang what she was doing here and Yellowfang had explained that Brokenstar had exiled her for speaking out against him and it had shocked Bluestar deeply that a leader would be so harsh and Says that she is welcomed in the clan until the next gathering where they will talk to Brokenstar.

Yellowfang has joined as a Temporary medicine cat

#clangen #warrior cat au #warrior cats #thunderclan au #bluestar #swiftpaw #yellowfang

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afalconfromalcyoneus · 10 months ago

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Adderfang 🐍

Went a bit crazy with the markings on this guy. He's Spottedleaf, Redtail, Leopardfoot, Willowpelt, and Patchpelt's dad. Did you know all those characters are siblings, bc I didn't. He mentored Thistleclaw and was mates with Swiftbreeze, also he was temporary deputy if the wiki is right.

I don't really remember this guy, like at all even though he's apparently in Tallstars's Revenge and Crookedstar's Promise, the only Pre-Arc 1 Post Dotc SE I have read. I'm guessing he's just a name in the allegiances, I might see him more if I read Bluestar's Prophecy or some of the Novellas set in Thunderclan at the time he was alive?

Trigger Warning for a Snake photo!

Just thought I might add the references I used for Adder's design. Here you go.

For Body Markings (highest quality image I could get grr):

For the Facial markings (European Adder!!):

#warrior cats #warrior cats designs #warriors designs #wc #wc designs #adderfang #my art

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the-owl-tree · 2 years ago

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i think the punishment for killing another warrior and breaking the code should be temporary exile: you want to fight like a rogue then you'll live like a rogue.

but i think the more interesting part of having consequences is showing who can skirt around them. Lionblaze is said to have been temporarily exiled after killing Russetfur and, at first, the other Clans are impressed (and somewhat smug) that ThunderClan imparted justice onto not only their strongest warrior but a member of the Firekin line. Of course, their attitudes swiftly change when Lionblaze is found to be in ThunderClan territory with a patrol, very much not exiled...

#warrior cats #deer rambles #see lionblaze skirting consequences would be more interesting if it was intentional #his reputation as unbeatable and-#since thornclaw insists there's a nepotism thing going on but there's not really any canon proof of that #so why dont we just expand on it anyways #-there actually being some privileges of being a leader's kin

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doomedcousins · 6 months ago

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CINDERHEART TEMPORARY DEPUTY GOD BLESS THUNDERCLAN I LOVE MY COUNTRY

#ivypool's heart liveblog #ok now kill off ivypool and make her a permanent deputy please. please .please #CAN WE GET CINDERSTAR 2024

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kiskivmiske · 11 days ago

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Spec-evo-esque warriors AU, far into the future. Humans have apparently driven themselves to extinction, and cats, landlocked on Bri'ish islands, eventually took over the ecosystem as cats are an invasive species. After taking warm spots of native species, they evolved and adapted to different environment, replacing:

ThunderClan: bobcats, foxes, badgers.

RiverClan: beavers, otters, seals

WindClan: deer, pigs, foxes

SkyClan: owls, hawks

ShadowClan: mustelids

Tribe of Rushing Water: whereabouts unknown (yet)

The Sisters: whereabouts unknown (yet)

Contains mentions of nuclear war.

_____________________________________

Prologue

The morning was chill and misty. White plumes stretched across the meadow, from the Ruins all the way to Highstones. A couple of hawkfinches, quarreling over a piece of prey filled the air with constant clicking.

Reedpaw shifted in her nest made of rye stalks and stretched her front paws forward, flexing her long sickle claws. A rush of cold wind flew over her head, blowing away a clump of gray storm clouds. She noted to herself, that the past few moons rains have poured more and more often. On one paw, it promised a rich harvest of catapples and barley, on the other paw, wet soil made it harder to hunt. Not without her hooves sinking in it. RiverClan were probably thrilled, though. Their main waterway flooded and more fish went inland from the Sun-Drown-Place.

But WindClan wasn't all that happy, being forced to build temporary shelters. Unlike RiverClan, who naturally possessed broad webbed paws to traverse mud and sludge, WindClan had thin slender legs and narrow paws with three hooves and a big hooked claw on each one. They were born to run on a solid surface. At one point, their leader suggested they stop being nomadic and build a camp on the outskirts of the Ruins, on the elevation, but the elders were concerned about food running out. Traveling all the way around Highstones in leafbare weather was proven to be difficult. Although hooves allowed to climb steep slopes of Highstones, slippery snow threatened to throw anyone down the chasm at any given moment.

Reedpaw stood up, looking around. She noticed her sisters, Goldenfrost and Appleleaf sharing a moleworm at the edge of the apple forest. A strange structure made of rocks towered above them providing shelter from the wind.

"Hey!" Goldenfrost waved her short white tail. "We have some freshkill reserved for you!"

Reedpaw found moleworms disgusting, with their long hairless bodies and large yellow teeth on eyeless faces. She was more of a mushroom type. A catapple would be rather nice, too. Or a hare. But they haven't seen a hare herd in a long time, so they had to resort to whatever the soil gives them: bugs, moleworms, groundsparrows, wheat, barley, nuts, and, of course, catapples, their favorite treat that is always abundant.

Reedpaw wrinkled her nose, thinking of the way to reject the hairless treat politely.

"No, thanks, I'm not hungry yet," Reedpaw shook her head, nodding at the woods. "I was just about to take a walk through the forest."

"Make sure not to run into one of those creatures who build those nests!" Appleleaf whispered. "Shrikebeak said they are still out there!"

"Shrikebeak is a compulsive liar, and we all know that. Warbringers had destroyed themselves moons and moons ago."

"Warwho?" a small gray kit rolled out of the nursery tent. While apprentices and hunters did sleep under the sky, kits had to be contained in tents, in case a murder of crows decides to pay a visit.

"Warbringers, Daffodilkit, " Appleleaf repeated patiently. "They are creatures from ancient times. With no fur, walking on two legs and paws with opposing thumbs much like SkyClan's. They tamed creatures made of metal and built nests so high they reached the sky. Long ago, more moons than we can count, they dominated the world. They brought our ancestors here with them. But their reign didn't last long. Way too ambitious for their own good, they tried to get more and more land for themselves. But there's only so much land in this world you can have. They started to fight each other. Using their technology, they crafted a weapon that sowed mushroom clouds all over the world. For years this land was shroud in darkness. And when the clouds dissipated, warbringers were no more. Our ancestors survived. Five clans: Thunder, Sky, Wind, Shadow and River. Before the Lasting Snowfall they fought each other for every piece of prey. But after it, they decided to make peace, unless they wanted to go extinct, too."

"Why are we called that, then?" Daffodilkit tilted his head to the side.

"We are called WindClan, because we are light and swift like wind. ThunderClan are huge, with strong paws that make the ground shake as they walk. SkyClan live in treetops and soar from one tree to another like birds. ShadowClan are accustomed to the darkness of a long cave system they live in. And RiverClan is pretty self explanatory. They hunt in rivers and lakes."

"I haven't seen any of them, really."

"That's because our island is way too big. We are divided by a larger distance than before. You know what? Legends say, long ago this place was the home of our ancestors. Where we live now was the cradle of all WindClan. The Ruins belonged to ThunderClan and ShadowClan. And the Stone Forest," Appleleaf gestured at tall structures resembling trees without bark or branches, "was RiverClan's land. But as Warbringers went extinct, we took their territories, adapting to them in our own ways. The only reminder of those twoleg creatures are statues of them."

"That's so cool!" Daffodilkit shouted in awe. "I would like to see the Ruins myself! I want to see the statues, too!"

"I can show you," Reedpaw nodded. "But not right now. You're way too small! We don't want you to be snatched by a dog, do we?"

"What's that?!"

"Large vicious beasts. Long ago, they were loyal servants to Warbringers. Now, they survive on the remains of their masters' civilization."

"Awh," Daffodilkit dipped his head in disappointment. "But if I become an apprentice?"

"Then, I guess, you can come with us," Reedpaw smiled, nudging the kit with her nose. "Don't be that sad about it. Ruins are pretty boring, actually."

Reedpaw froze, her large years perked up. Something was moving behind them in the underbrush. Something big and heavy, at least twice an average WindClan hunter. Ferns rustled and a massive creature with broad frame and massive paws went into the sunlight.

"A dog!" Daffodilkit shrieked. "Everyone run!”

Chapter 1 "Expedition"

"Spongepaw!"

Anemonepaw jolted upwards, hearing the commotion outside. She stepped out of her den on the side of a tall cliff. Majority of RiverClan hunters and crafters were just stirring awake, gathering their spears and tying off floating platforms from posts. Warbringers left a lot of trash behind, which barely decomposed. But it was surprisingly useful for making flotation devices for prolonged hunting campaigns. Crafters tied those weirdly shaped bubbles together with ropes. These platforms were also used as a base for nests, in case the sea level rises. Anemonepaw and her mentor, Waverun, also had one in their herb storage.

Young apprentice carefully made her way down the granite cliff and onto the beach. Her brother, Spongepaw, was arguing with two hunters: his mentor Sharkbite and his friend Squidspots.

"What was your assignment, Spongepaw?" Squidspots hissed, lashing his spotted tail resembling a gray octopus tentacle.

"Catching fish," sandy yellow apprentice with faint brown spots responded.

"And what did you bring here?" Pale gray Sharkbite continued, his blue eyes now two narrow slits.

"I brought fish!"

Squidspots pulled out a transparent clump of jelatinous substance out of freshkill pile.

"Jellyfish. Is. Not. A. Fish, " he said slowly, accentuating every word.

"But it has "fish" in it!" Spongepaw objected.

"But it's not a fish."

"Is starfish a fish?"

"No!" Sharkbite shouted.

"Stop yelling at him, he's trying his best!" Anemonepaw's older brother, Kelpfur stood between Squidspots, Sharkbite and Spongepaw, putting his big paw on Squidspots' head, pushing him away. "Sharkbite, you're his mentor. How is he supposed to learn if all you do is yelling at him?!"

"Fine!" Sharkbite scoffed. "Look, Spongepaw. Take everything that ends with "fish", but doesn't have fins out of the pile and toss it back into water."

Apprentice nodded and started picking small orange starfish out of his basket. Then, he threw out something big and brown.

"What did you do?! You foambrain!" Squidspots yowled.

"You said throw out everything that ends with fish. So I threw out crayfish."

"You can keep crayfish! Now go get it back!"

"I'll help him," Anemonepaw meowed shortly, walking past two hunters.

She jumped off a sandy shallow into the darker crevice, using an empty shell to push crayfish away from its burrow, while Spongepaw crawled from behind, trapping it into a basket.

"Good job," Kelpfur put his tail on Spongepaw's shoulder as he climbed back on a shallow.

"I wish I could train with Anemonepaw," the apprentice complained. "She knows how to stand up for herself."

"Squidspots and Sharkbite are just being obnoxious because they finished their apprenticeship earlier. I'll talk to Eelnose and hopefully she'll remind them who our leader is," Kelpfur finished his sentence by sitting down to lick his webs. It usually meant that he's done talking.

Two siblings continued on their way along the shoreline, looking for any crabs to catch. Sun was already high enough, and Anemonepaw's white pelt was glowing, probably bright enough to see from the camp. The only dark spot on her body was her red nose and slightly brighter golden area around it. It was unusual for RiverClan, where the majority had dull brown, gray or dusty colors. Apart from that, she was absolutely normal, with typical sturdy paws, long body, big head with arched nose and a powerful square jaw with protruding fangs.

"So, what's the plan for today?"

"Waverun told me to wait for her to finish sorting herbs. When Pipersong comes back, she's going to take me inland, to a neighbouring RiverClan colony," Anemonepaw stopped for a second to press her tail against left side, away from the sun. Her thick strong tail was almost furless, just like anyone else's, but her lighter color meant a bigger risk of sunburn.

Spongepaw froze, wrinkling his nose. With a loud caw, a big black bird landed on the beach. It held a rather large crab, breaking its shell with a thick hooked beak.

"Do you think it's edible?" he whispered.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure if we can take it down. Perhaps, we should stay hidden," Anemonepaw responded, pushing her brother into the reeds.

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

Everyone in RiverClan was big and sturdy, but had second shortest legs of all five Clans. They could leap from platform to platform, even if they were far apart, but ultimately lacked agility for vertical jumps. If attacked from air, they would have a very hard time defending themselves.

The bird hopped along the water, looking around for prey. Then, suddenly, Spongepaw felt wind on his pelt and a massive black shadow swooped over him. He shrieked, covering his head, but the shadow ran over him, colliding with an enormous bird of prey, sinking teeth deep into its throat. It was a big feline, much larger than any RiverClan, with long but sturdy legs, big round head and long fluffy tail. Fur was dark brown with thick black stripes.

"Ah, it was yours?" the stranger dropped her prey, meowing apologetically.

"No, we were just hiding from it. You aren't going to hurt us?" Spongepaw blurted out.

"Of course not. If I wanted to, I'd aim for two tasty apprentices rather than this old corvid. I'm Dillpaw, ThunderClan's herbalist's apprentice."

Anemonepaw had never seen a ThunderClan, but assumed they aren't much bigger than the others. Looks like she was wrong. Dillpaw, being an apprentice, was gigantic even compared to their leader, Eelnose. She had thick fur, in some places as hard as pine needles. Whoever tried to bite them, probably had to suffer from sores all over their snout and palate.

"I'm also a herbalist's apprentice! I'm Anemonepaw, and this is my brother, Spongepaw."

"What's that?" Dillpaw tilted her head to the side.

"What exactly?"

"Things you were named after."

"They are..." Anemonepaw paused for a moment.

"They are sea creatures, " Spongepaw continued for her. "Anemone looks like a plant, and sponge is like a... a morel mushroom or a squishy rock with holes, but Kelpfur said they're actually animals, like worms. And dill is that fluffy plant, right? By the way, are you looking for plants?"

"Not really, just wanted to collect some spiderwebs."

"You aren't from far away, are you?"

"No, ThunderClan lands start after that column," Dillpaw nodded at a piece of ruins on the edge of the cliff. "This is the only piece of land where we have an opening to the sea, because it floods the swamp. And you, RiverClan, as far as I know, hate swamps."

"True!" Spongepaw nodded. "We hate stagnant water."

"And we like mushrooms that grow in this humid environment."

Anemonepaw wrinkled her nose. How could anyone eat mushrooms? They're slimy, stain paws and have a disgusting smell! But, as she knew, ThunderClan weren't fans of a meat only diet. Their thick fur and skin even protected them during raids on wild bee hives. Honey would make any other Clan violently nauseous, but for them, it seems, it was a nice treat.

"You need spiderwebs, huh?" Spongepaw shifted his attention for a second to reach out and grab a big crab. "Waverun usually travels across the Highstones to fill her storage."

He put his prey between his powerful jaws and cracked the shell. Then pushed it towards his sister.

"Here, have something to eat. I don't remember you taking anything out of the pile. Regarding the spiders, I think she mentioned the underground ruins."

"I think I remember that place. You mean the old Warbringer hideout? With a broken door?"

"She said something about a cracked rock at the entrance, I assume that's it."

Anemonepaw nodded at her left side. Waverun was approaching the three with four empty baskets dangling at her side.

"Here, you'll carry these," she took off two baskets and pushed them towards Spongepaw. "Sharkbite told me to take you with us. I'll teach you how to fish in rivers."

Waverun used to be a hunter before. After partially losing her sight, she decided to join old herbalist Pipersong in his den. Their colony was rather large, and one healer wasn't enough for them. Waverun considered taking another apprentice from Finsplash's litter when they are old enough, just so she could make even bigger expeditions without the fear of a sudden epidemic.

"Are you going with us?" Anemonepaw asked, noticing that Dillpaw got up.

"Yes, I really need as much webs as possible. Don't worry, I've got," she pointed at a dry purple plant in her fur, "enough thyme on me. Hillsnow has three assistants in his den.”

"Before we go into the woods, remember: always look down. Snakes blend well with fallen leaves. And do not attempt to eat berries without my approval," silver tabby waved her white tipped black tail, leading the group. "There are two kinds of yew bushes. One is called deathberries. Only one of them can kill an adult hunter. Only the red part is relatively safe to consume. The other kind is called flameberries. They were cultivated by ThunderClan healers and have smaller, wrinkled seeds. They must be consumed whole in order to kill off parasites in your guts, if any other herb is ineffective. It's also poisonous, but only if you eat a dozen at the time."

"Why are they called flameberries?"

"Because, when you use a dirtplace after them, your lower intestines feel like they're burning," Waverun pointed at a small bush, growing in a long shady hollow, stretching along their path. "Look at these berries," she said.

"These would be flameberries? Right?" Spongepaw moved closer to look at wrinkled seeds.

"No, there are dry berries from last year. Flameberry bushes usually don't have leftover seeds, because snowtreaders peck them out. Birds are immune to their burning component. To distinguish them, you'll have to break one of their berries between two rocks. If its smell makes you cry, that's flameberries. If not, deathberries."

"The more you know," Spongepaw pushed the branch away from his face, as if the bush could attempt to forcefully part his jaws and feed him poisonous seeds.

The forest changed to two steep gray cliffs with a waving path between them. The healer put one paw on a boulder and looked up.

"Thank you for letting us through your land. May your spirits find peace," she whispered, before turning towards three apprentices. "A great tragedy took hold over this place before the Lasting Snowfall. Warbringers launched a weapon, targeting their colony on the other side. But, due to some mistake, it struck Highstones. There were not only our Clans, but also the Tribe. And this is the place where they used to live."

"You mean- they exploded?" Spongepaw whispered.

"Exactly. Either that or they went deep into the cave system and were buried alive."

Spongepaw shivered, wrapping his tail around legs.

"Each time we pass through Highstones, we must pay respect to the deceased," Waverun continued.

"May your spirits find peace," Dillpaw, Anemonepaw and Spongepaw said in unison.

"Watch your step and don't try to look down the path," the healer instructed. "You will feel dizzy and fall."

Jagged peaks of Highstones towered above a narrow dusty path. Very few grasses and bushes chose cracked gray cliffs as their home. Several yellow spots of rockfoils dotted the mountain on the other side of a gorge. As the group went around a cliff, Anemonepaw saw a massive pit in the ground. Highstones were levelled in an almost perfect round shape. The hollow, surrounded by mountains, was covered in lush vegetation, with one blue dot of a lake in the center of it.

"Long ago you could get sick by being there," Waverun said. "But now it's harmless. This lake produces mud that can ease joint pain. And its water can kill some skin infections. But you can't drink it."

"Is it still poisonous?"

"No, but it's very salty. All five clans visit this place in the newleaf to rest and chat."

"Can we go there now?" Spongepaw asked.

"It is forbidden, unless you're a healer. You see, this hollow is swarming with small animals. Mice, birds, squirrels, frogs, lizards, hares..."

Anemonepaw narrowed her eyes. In the golden light of the setting sun she could see dark splotches moving around the lake. Hare herds! So dense they covered the landscape.

"We let all the animals live here in peace, so we don't overhunt them," Dillpaw finished. "Especially hares and bushgoats."

Anemonepaw could feel her mouth watering at the mention of small ungulates inhabiting mountains. But she brushed it off, intently looking at the path beneath her paws. Three gray birds with leftover white fuzz on their chest ran on a slope above them, but she didn't want to risk falling down for a couple of snowtreaders.

"Look, you guys! A turtle!" Spongepaw lifted his claw, pointing at a rock-like creature grazing on a patch of foliage. Spongepaw dropped in a hunting crouch and slowly moved towards prey.

"That's a tortoise, not a turtle," Waverun shouted. "And you're not supposed to hunt it!"

"Why?" Spongepaw turned around to look at their healer before he heard an angry hiss. Tortoise straightened its wrinkled neck and clicked big pointy beak. The next moment, it charged at Spongepaw. Apprentice rolled back just in time. Tortoise snapped the air in the exact same spot were Spongepaw's throat was a moment ago.

"Because they're omnivorous!" Waverun replied.

Spongepaw rolled away and jumped up, breathing heavily. Anemonepaw circled around the distracted reptile, grabbed its exposed neck and broke it using her strong jaw. The animal went limp, its legs sliding in the dust from underneath its body into a laying position.

"Prey's on!" she huffed, breaking the carapace.

"I think it's enough adventuring for one day," Waverun breathed out in relief. "Eat up and let's find a place to rest."

The group got away from the path just in time. With a loud clap a flashes of white light up the mountain. Rain, a slight drizzle at first, soon turned into a strong torrent, capable of washing anyone off the cliff, coupled with a freezing wind.

As soon as Dillpaw finished her share of prey, she dropped on her belly at the entrance. Spongepaw was spinning in circles, shaping a pile of dry plants into a more comfortable nest, while Anemonepaw and Waverun examined plants lining up the wall.

"I've never seen this vine," Waverun admitted. "Remind me to get some on our way back."

Anemonepaw reached out to touch the plant, but hesitated, looking at it with distrust. A new flash of lightning made it easier to see thick vines which resembled dried goat veins. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she backed away, sitting on the nest next to her brother. Tired, both of them quickly drifted to sleep.

Spongepaw shivered, waking up. It was still dark, but Anemonepaw and the others were nowhere to be seen. The air felt cold, and the smell reminded him of damp earth. The rain was still falling. There was no way anyone could go out in this weather! Spongepaw's gaze stopped on a tree growing just outside the cave entrance, which was particularly odd. He didn't remember seeing any trees since they left the shore. Spongepaw got up and slowly, carefully, approached the tree. How is it growing on a hard rock?! Where do its roots go? Then he realized: the tree had to roots at all. Just a cut log with branches, standing upwards on the edge. Before Spongepaw tried to touch it, another boom of thunder shook the air, knocking him off balance. The tree shook, too. Spongepaw froze, expecting it to fall on him, but the trunk rocked away from him, plummeting into the void below. He could hear a faint splash below as it fell.

He woke up, feeling Anemonepaw's tail poking his side.

"The rain's over. We need to move, carefully," she whispered.

"Isn't the path too slippery?"

"That's why we must be careful," Anemonepaw nudged her brother. "C'mon, Waverun said we must move!"

Spongepaw slipped out of the cave, following slowly walking Waverun and Dillpaw. He sunk his claws deeper, trying to get a better grip. Thankfully, because of strong wind, this side of the path was protected from rain, going around an overhanging cliff. Waverun looked tense, as if something scared her enough to make her leave the safety of their cave in the middle of the night. Her head was hanging low, back arched, tail tucked between her legs.

"Can you at least tell us what's happening?" Anemonepaw pleaded.

Waverun stopped to point at the overgrown crater. In the middle of it, just by the lake, there was a small flickering orange light.

"Fire. I know only one creature who can wield fire," the healer said, her face as dark as the stormcloud above them. "Warbringers

#random stuff #warrior cats #warriors #warriors au

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