#what if the cautionary tale was related to how every new cat who joined the house died

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest Resident: Scooter

Aliases / Nicknames: Scooty

Gender: male

Sexuality: homosexual

Family: Ash (Mother) Snowball (father) Cody (sister), Bella-May (aunt) Whistler, Lamb, Stubs (cousins), Old Jackie (grandmother), Ace (grandfather), Domino (great grandmother), Brutus (great grandfather)

(full family tree [Wooden Teeth])

Other Relations: N/A

Clan: N/A

Rank: kittypet

Characteristics: cold, hard of hearing

Number of Victims: 8

Number of Murders: 7

Murder Method: persuading to drink dangerous chemicals, poisoning

Known Victims: Casper, several rogues

Victim Profile: younger cats his Twolegs brought home

Cause of Death: chewed through a wire and electrocuted himself

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story:

When he was a kit, his mama taught him how to kill a cat with poison.

She taught him how to make a cat plead for mercy, and how to stifle their death rattles even if he couldn’t hear the noise well.

When he grew up, he found a Twoleg, and spent a few good years with it until a new cat joined the household.

He didn’t care for the new cat--a dumb little kittypet who was so desperate to be ’friends.’ So he persuaded the dense little thing to drink more and more strange liquids, until the little thing died and he was once more the only cat in the household.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest Resident: Berrygaze

Aliases / Nicknames: Kit-Killer, Horrible, Pathetic, Skyclan’s Best Father

Gender: tom

Sexuality: bisexual

Family: unnamed mother, unnamed father, unnamed mate, Burcoat (daughter)

Other Relations: unnamed mentor, unnamed apprentice

Clan: Skyclan

Rank: warrior

Characteristics: kills to harm the other Clans, kills for pleasure

Number of Victims: 16

Number of Murders: 16

Murder Method: shaking, snapping spine, blunt force, hunting

Known Victims: Burkit, Bumblekit, Ashkit, Mallowkit, Frondkit, Troutkit, Stonekit, Icekit, Badgerkit, Spotkit, Goosekit, Tawnykit, Flutterkit, Shellkit, Sharpkit, Bushkit

Victim Profile: kits from other Clans

Cause of Death: blood loss, tortured to death, ears torn off, claws ripped out, teeth ripped out, killed by Pinelip and Echoburn

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story:

You would think he was strange after all he’s done, a kit grown in isolation, an apprentice that played with his prey.

But Berrygaze was quite the opposite. He was the popular one, always in charge of games and the one ahead of everyone else in lessons.

He first got the idea as a youngling, He was at his first gathering, and could tell that in spite of the good will that was shared at the news, the warriors were displeased by the announcement of new kits in another Clan.

When he inquired, he was told that it was because although kits are always a blessing, being from another Clan means gaining new enemies. Berrypaw then asked why they didn’t just get rid of the things, and his mentor responded in surprise that it would be cruel.

Time passed, and the question was chalked up to ‘little kid doesn’t understand what he’s saying.’ Berrypaw decided not to ask anyone else, knowing it would only lead to another bad reaction, but still he wondered.

Sure, kits were cute. But then they grew into cats that just might kill you, or someone you care about. Maybe the kits will one day kill your kits.

The first kits were given right to him by Thunderclan warrior, Curlfleck, who he knew to be having relations with his Clanmate. Curlfleck had misjudged timing, and had given birth by the border. Now, she passed them to Berrygaze, begging him to take them to their father so that he may raise them.

Sure, they would have grown to fight on Skyclan’s side, but Berrygaze needed a test. Something to see just how ‘horrible’ it was. 

Waiting until the she-cat was well away, he took the kits one-by-one, holding them by the scruff before shaking vigorously. 

He felt nothing.

No, he realized as he left them there and began to pad away. 

He felt great.

Screw whatever everyone else thought. He could destroy the other Clans by destroying their futures. And maybe, just maybe, in the private corners of his mind, he could enjoy it, too.

The next set were two little kits from Shadowclan. On a stormy night, rainy enough to surely hide his scent, he snuck into the camp and took the kits away. He cracked their heads on a rock and threw them down a small incline. Ran away to have an adventure in a storm and had an accident, poor little things.

Then Shadowclan and Thunderclan took too long to reproduce, so he traveled around the lake, keeping on the outsides rather than by the lake to ensure he wouldn’t be seen. 

Windclan was first. They were easy, two kits already out in the field. He befriended them, convinced them to sneak out again at least once every two nights, and would return to play with them. He wasn’t entirely sure why. Maybe he didn’t want to kill them just yet. Maybe he wanted to play it out.

Maybe he enjoyed the happiness they felt, innocently unaware of the fate that was just moments away from befalling them, enjoyed the fact that at any moment, he could switch his cuddly paws to slashing claws.

After some time, he asked them if they were any other kits in the Clan that could join their games.

Excitedly, they brought back another kit, much younger than them. So he asked them if they wanted to play another game. 

Who wants to play ‘can you get to camp in time?’ With that, he stomped down on the littlest one’s head, crushing its neck. Then he chased the screaming kits. He ran slowly, gaining up to spark terror before slowing down again, grabbing them by the tails and tossing them around before going to the other one, bouncing between them, letting their screams and his responding laughs fill the air, well aware that they were too far away to be heard by anyone.

Not too shortly after, his mate fell pregnant with his kit. He was overjoyed, or was it just another act? When she was born, he supported his mate, and named her Burkit, after one of the kits he had ‘played’ with. It wasn’t out of honour, he simply liked the name. Besides, no one was using it anymore anyway.

He doted on his daughter so much so that their Clanmates referred to him as the Clan’s best father. He could appreciate the dark irony.

He wondered if he really did love his daughter. He certainly felt more affection for the little thing than he did any other kit, and definitely did not want to hurt her, but did he feel love? Or was it just warmth? Just fondness because she was his? Was he capable of something such as love?

Even through these thoughts and having a kit of his own, he continued to haunt the other Clans.

He found that he greatly enjoyed the hunting process. It became habit to gain their trust, get them to bring their friends or littermates if there were more of them, before chasing them around wildly, playing it out while making sure they didn’t stray too far.

Their high-pitched shrieks like prey.

On his last night, he snuck out and followed the sounds of a wailing kit, only to be thrown to the ground by a full warrior. Pinelip tore into him, clawing at him until he could hardly move. 

Then Echoburn padded over, and it was she who explained that they knew what he had done, and that it was their kits he stole. In response, he laughed, and in response to that, they took his teeth. 

Then his claws.

Then his ears. 

Then they asked him if he wanted to play a game. How fast can he run?

Additonal Information: 

--He died on the night of his daughter’s silent vigil.

--Maybe his daughter found out and told Echoburn and Pinelip....?

--The wailing kit was just mimicking, or maybe using prey to mimic the sound.

[gdfalksen]

Books that I’ve spent years writing just for you

You get fun things and I get to eat.         https://www.patreon.com/gdfalksen

The Ouroboros Cycle on going series

You can get all five books in the series so far on ebooks for less than twenty dollars, but if you are someone who needs the physical book it's also available.

The Ouroboros Cycle, Book 1: A Monster's Coming of Age Story    

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B1TIUBU/ref=series_rw_dp_sw

How far would you go to avenge the one you love? Would you go beyond death? Born into the stifling confines of French upper society, Babette Varanus never thought that she would have to answer that question. Surrounded by wealth yet ostracized by her peers, Babette had little interest in love until she met Korbinian, a scandalous German baron with the audacity to regard her as his equal. But when the intrigues of her grandfather's enemies conspire to tear them apart, Varanus will embark upon a journey of vengeance, love, and redemption that will take her beyond the limitations of mortality and reveal to her the dark forces that command humanity from the shadows. Faced with madness, murder, hidden cults, and erudite vampires, does she have the strength to withstand the storm that rises against her?

The Ouroboros Cycle, Book Two: A Cautionary Tale for Young Vampires

https://www.amazon.com/Cautionary-Young-Vampires-Ouroboros-Cycle-ebook/dp/B00JVA07P8

The year is 1888 and a madman is terrorizing the East End of London. But Doctor Varanus Shashavani has far more pressing concerns to worry about than a lunatic in Whitechapel. Her charitable hospital is under siege by gang lords, her English cousins are threatening to steal her inheritance, and her best friend has become obsessed with Gothic novels. To make matters worse, her son Friedrich is associating with an American who talks endlessly of wellness and yoghurt, while her bodyguard is pestering her to return home to Georgia, half a world away. It seems that everyone--friends, enemies, and “Saucy Jack” alike--have conspired to interrupt her work.

But Varanus did not obtain immortality just to have mad killers and distant relations get in the way of scientific progress. Though supernatural conspiracies and all-too-human monsters confront her at every turn, Varanus will stand firm against all odds. After all, she is accustomed to fighting for what is rightfully hers.

The Ouroboros Cycle, Book Three: A Long-Awaited Treachery

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VAYSWM8/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

For a thousand years, the immortal Shashavani have hidden from the world in the halls of their mountain fortress, amassing great stores of knowledge in a haven of academic tranquility. And while Doctor Varanus has never found tranquility much to her taste, even she cannot deny that the peace and quiet make for a pleasant diversion following the chaos of her recent adventures in London. Having left the horrors of bloodshed and wellness behind her, Varanus has thrown herself headlong into the study of the Shashavani condition, determined to learn the secrets of their undying power.

But all is not as it seems in the House of Shashava. As winter snow covers the Shashavani valley and chokes the mountain passes, sinister events are unfolding in the shadows. Whispers of conspiracy echo through the halls. Soon loyalties will be tested and friendships betrayed. Blood will flow. For upon the frozen steppe, an ancient evil stirs and turns its gaze toward the House of Shashava, hungering for power and revenge.

As darkness descends, one question remains:

Do you serve the Winter King?

The Ouroboros Cycle, Book 4: A Sojourn in Bohemia

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ERX8QGK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

It is 1899, and Doctor Varanus is in Prague with her mentor Iosef, both still recovering from the scars of the Shashavani civil war. Iosef has found a reprieve from grief in the study of the so-called “Black Goat” cults, aided by a charming Prussian nobleman and a mysterious bookseller. Under other circumstances, Varanus might regard Iosef’s fascination with occult philosophies as troublingly superstitious, but she has greater concerns. Her wayward son Friedrich has taken up residence in Prague as well, and in the company of artists, revolutionaries, and other such rabble-rousers.

As Varanus endeavors to carry on her research and drag Friedrich back into respectable society, she discovers something sinister may be at work in the Kingdom of Bohemia. Could there be more to Iosef’s occult studies than he or his new friends realize?

Truth or fantasy, a shadow looms over Prague, threatening to drag Varanus and all she holds dear into the darkness of an unending night . . .

The Ouroboros Cycle, Book 5: House of the Far Earth

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074R6GFLB/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

For the past year, Doctor Varanus has languished in the desert, tormented by heat and inactivity, while her mentor Iosef searches for evidence of his so-called "Black Goat cults" in the ruins of Sumeria, aided by an ambitious banker and an incompetent archaeologist. Their purpose: to unearth the lost city of Ekizu, a place only whispered of amid tales of blood sacrifice and dark gods.

But as Varanus's patience wears thin, intrigues within the camp begin to surface, threatening everything she holds dear. An evil watches from the desert, eager to claim Ekizu for itself, while old enemies lurk in the darkness, plotting revenge. And as the great temple is uncovered, they will learn too late the truth behind an ancient warning.

Better that dead things had been left buried, lest all the world fall under the shadow of the Far Earth.

The Transatlantic Conspiracy

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015MA7RQW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

At the dawn of a reimagined 20th century, one girl must become the reluctant symbol of a new world.   The year is 1908. Seventeen-year-old Rosalind Wallace’s blissful stay in England with her best friend, Cecily de Vere, ends abruptly when her father books Rosalind on the maiden voyage of his fabulous Transatlantic Express, the world’s first railroad to travel under the sea. Rosalind is furious. But lucky for her, Cecily and her handsome older brother, Charles, volunteer to accompany her home.   But when Charles disappears and Cecily and her housemaid, Doris, are found stabbed to death in their state room, Rosalind finds herself trapped undersea, in a deadly fight to clear herself of her friend’s murder and to thwart a sinister enemy.

The Hellfire Chronicles: Blood in the Skies

http://wildsidepress.com/the-hellfire-chronicles-blood-in-the-skies-by-g-d-falksen-trade-pb/

In 1908, the world ended in fire.

Humanity, always bad at following orders, refused to die. Now, two hundred years later, what remains is divided between civilized order and lawless frontier. For the citizens of the Commonwealth, the brave pilots of the Air Force are all that stand between them and the dreaded pirate lords of the Badlands. For generations, the two forces have struggled back and forth in an endless cycle of invasion and reprisal. Now that is about to change, and flying ace Elizabeth Steele is about to find herself dragged into a web of intrigue aimed at the downfall of the civilized world.

Nothing that a clever girl with a trusty aeroplane and a charming spy at her side can't handle.

The first book of The Hellfire Chronicles, Blood In The Skies by G. D. Falksen is a fast-paced and gorgeously illustrated steampunk adventure story set in a world of excitement, danger, and aviation. Join Wing Commander Steele of the Commonwealth Air Force as she battles mysterious assassins and bloodthirsty pirates bent on delivering a doomsday weapon into the hands of a madman.

A Cats Steampunk Alphabet

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007W7BSPU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

A is for Airship, for flying is keen. B is for Boiler, turning water to steam. A Cats Steampunk Alphabet is for the velocipede lover in all of us ... seen through cunning feline eyes!

Short Stories

Cthulhu Fhtagn!

https://www.amazon.com/Cthulhu-Fhtagn-Laird-Barron-ebook/dp/B0127TCT8C

The Curious Death of Sir Arthur Turnbridge, by G. D. Falksen

Eternal Frankenstein

http://wordhorde.com/books/eternal-frankenstein/

The New Soviet Man, by G. D. Falksen

The Steampunk Modern and Classic Steampunk Stories

https://www.amazon.com/Steampunk-MEGAPACK%C2%AE-Modern-Classic-Stories-ebook/dp/B00B1M129O

THE CASE OF THE PECULIAR SAFECRACKER, by G. D. Falksen

Altered States Of The Union

http://www.crazy8press.com/books/altered-states-of-the-union/

Red Harbor, by G. D. Falksen

Mine! : a comics collection to benefit Planned Parenthood

https://minecomic.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Legacy by G.D.Falksen art of Marc Hempel 

[junker-town]

Build your perfect ‘Monday Night Football’ broadcast team

“Monday Night Football” has gone through many changes since it premiered in 1970.

“Monday Night Football” is in need of an upgrade. Here’s your chance to pick a play-by-play announcer, color commentator, sideline reporter, rules expert, and the “wild card.”

ESPN will have to go back to the drawing board to figure out who will call Monday Night Football games. Although the New York Post reported in early March that the network was pursuing Al Michaels and Peyton Manning, both have reportedly turned ESPN down. Meanwhile, Tony Romo will remain with CBS, thanks to a huge raise.

It’s possible ESPN has other candidates in mind, but for now, NFL’s venerable primetime showcase will likely continue with Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland, and Lisa Salters.

If that doesn’t excite you, then let’s have some fun instead. We’re giving you the opportunity to build your dream Monday Night Football broadcast team. Below, we listed five candidates for each of the five categories: play-by-play announcer, color commentator, sideline reporter, rules expert, and the “wild card.”

Who are your picks?

Category No. 1: Play-by-play

The play-by-play announcer is tasked with relaying the action on the field to the audience at home — what happened, who did it, and what the situation is.

Bob Costas: He’s left the NFL behind for baseball, but Costas is one of the most versatile play-by-play announcers in the country. He’s covered a vast landscape of sports and hosted his own studio show.

Greg Gumbel: Gumbel’s voice has been a part of NFL broadcasts since 1988. His voice is aural butter, but his biggest accomplishment may be making former partner Phil Simms sound tolerable in the booth.

Andrea Kremer: Kremer has been covering the NFL for over 30 years, starting as a producer for NFL Films in the 1980s. Throughout her broadcasting career, she’s worked for ESPN, NBC Sports, CBS, and most recently, NFL Network. She and Hannah Storm made history in the fall of 2018 as the first all-woman broadcast booth to cover an NFL game. The two have called Thursday Night Football games together on Amazon Prime for the past two seasons.

Sean McDonough: McDonough’s tone is a low, crisp pronunciation, occasionally tinged with the Boston accent he tries very hard to keep shuttered deep in his diaphragm. McDonough rarely raises his voice past bemused, making him the perfect anchor for a broadcast and the ideal straight man for a boisterous color commentator.

Al Michaels: He’s the GOAT. Also he (and Costas) call one hell of a Baseketball game.

Category No. 2: Color commentator

The color commentator takes that play-by-play analysis and gives greater insight into what it means — for the players, for their teams, for the game. They’ve also probably got an anecdote they’d love to share ... right after this commercial break.

Jay Cutler: Cutler was originally supposed to join CBS before Romo, but he was called back into quarterbacking duty for one final, disinterested season with the Dolphins in 2017. He’s now the undisputed star of his wife’s reality show, and that could just be the start of his TV career.

Peyton Manning: The guy from all those insurance commercials was high on ESPN’s wish list before spurning the Worldwide Leader™. Manning is a mostly beloved figure and great talker, so he’ll wind up in the booth someday.

Louis Riddick: Riddick’s playing career spanned the NFL, World League, and original XFL. He was a scout in the Washington organization. Few people understand bad football so intimately. He’s been a rising talent at ESPN since 2013 and hasn’t been afraid to bat back stupid criticisms of current players — even when they come from coworkers.

Tony Romo: Romo stepped off the field and into the booth in 2017 and immediately became a broadcasting star with his impeccable ability to break down action for casual audiences. No one in the game is better at analyzing a defense and then predicting what a quarterback will do next than the former Cowboy.

“Oh, they’re killing it. Usually means a motion and a run out wide to the right.” - Tony Romo before Patriots' play Brady motions; Sony Michel runs ball to right, scores touchdown. pic.twitter.com/PzxyrV2JoO

— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) January 21, 2019

Steve Young: Young is currently on the Monday Night Football pregame show and was floated as a potential replacement for Jon Gruden in 2018. But at the time, Young said that the time requirements and travel schedule for the play-by-play booth were much tougher to deal with than his spot on NFL Countdown. Only Young knows if his circumstances have changed. All we know is his commentary is often smart, thoughtful, and engaging.

Category No. 3: Sideline reporter

This is the correspondent with a direct line to players and coaches. He or she is responsible for relaying insider information to the audience at home. They’re also the ones tasked with staring Bill Belichick in his dead eyes just before halftime so he can give a one-word answer about how the Patriots look.

Rob Gronkowski: Gronk belongs on television. He showed that throughout his bro-tastic NFL career and he’s shined whenever he’s on TV in retirement. A whole game with Gronk in the booth, though? That’d be a little much. But Gronk on the sideline interviewing annoyed coaches at halftime and victorious players postgame would be gold.

Pam Oliver: She’s a legend in her field after about three decades of sports journalism. When the Cowboys’ Leon Lett had one of the most boneheaded moments in NFL history back in 1993, it was Oliver who convinced the reclusive offensive lineman to go on camera for an interview. She’s one of the best to ever do the job and there’s not a chance Belichick or any other coach can intimidate her out of asking the tough questions.

Lisa Salters: Salters has been with the MNF crew since 2012, and quite frankly she’s the best member of the current team. Despite all the changes in the booth over the years, Salters has remained a constant because she’s so good.

Maria Taylor: Taylor’s run as a college football reporter at ESPN has painted her as one of the most insightful sideline presences on television. Making the leap from the NCAA to the NFL’s flagship broadcast would be a well-earned next step.

Tracy Wolfson: Wolfson has been at CBS since 2004. She’s a seasoned veteran with a ton of big-game experience, so she’s without a doubt ready for primetime on MNF. One of her best segments she had was from 2019, when she donned Sam Darnold’s spleen-protecting pads before a Jets game:

View this post on Instagram

CBS sideline report from @tracywolfson on #custompads we did for @samdarnold prior to kickoff b/w the @nyjets & @dallascowboys - Congrats to Sam on his return, glad we could help. #protectionmeetsperformance #football #footballshoulderpads #footballequipment #highschoolfootball #nfl #ncaafootball #xrdtechnology #madeinusa

A post shared by XTECH Protective Equipment (@xtechpads) on Oct 13, 2019 at 7:27pm PDT

Category No. 4: Rules expert

This relatively new addition to the booth — or at least, called up from the booth from a comfortable location in front of a TV screen somewhere — handles all questions related to officials’ calls and no-calls.

Alexa: Amazon’s already a sponsor. Just ask the robot whether it was a catch or not.

Dean Blandino: Blandino is an authority on the game despite a beard that makes him look like Ryan Howard from season three of The Office.

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

He’s served in leadership roles with the NFL, AAF, and XFL, proving his capacity for both innovation and the memorization of several dense rule books.

Ed Hochuli: An expert in both officiating and bicep curls.

Terry McAulay: NBC’s rules expert currently covers both Sunday Night Football and Notre Dame broadcasts. His in-game segments are mostly uneventful and unmemorable, which suggests he’s probably doing a pretty good job.

Mike Pereira: The NFL’s former officiating czar has been a regular on Fox broadcasts. Over the past decade, he’s gone from relatively stiff to incredibly loose on the air, often tweeting about how he’s watching games with a vodka-and-soda in hand. He also once called Jon Gruden a “blowhard” for his Monday Night Football commentary.

Category No. 5: The wild card

A three-person booth is probably too crowded, but there’s nothing wrong with a regular visitor (human or not) who can liven up those Jets-Broncos games on Monday night.

The Booger Mobile: Ideally not with Booger in it.

Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Ric Flair: We’ve only got so many years of Flair left. The man remains one of the greatest talkers out there, even into his 70s. Flair’s already a regular guest in locker rooms across the country, either as a guest speaker or channeled through players. He is both an icon and a cautionary tale, a distinguished voice who could add immediate punch alongside a serious play-by-play guy.

1990s John Madden: We’d need either old video clips, a time machine, or a hologram to capture prime Madden, THE voice of football for anyone growing up in the 90s. His sporadic onomatopoeias were the soundtrack to Cowboys/Broncos dynasties, still-lame halftime shows, and that one video game that made you feel like you should be calling plays every Sunday.

Pat McAfee: The former Colts punter joined ESPN in 2019. He was a color commentator for the network’s Thursday night college football games, and he was with the College GameDay crew last season, too. Let’s just say McAfee isn’t exactly a traditional announcer. During a UNC-Wake Forest game last season, he referred to himself as a former NFL quarterback, and booth partner/former teammate Matt Hasselbeck corrected him:

Pat McAfee in the booth is GOLD (via @PatMcAfeeShow)pic.twitter.com/H14BeruQFm

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 13, 2019

The Monday Night Football cat: The No. 1 highlight of the 2019 MNF season came during an otherwise lifeless Cowboys-Giants matchup in Week 9. Just days after Halloween, this black cat stole the show when it ran out on the field:

THE CAT IS ON THE FIELD pic.twitter.com/goLoWU9oV7

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 5, 2019

And probably cursed a bunch of teams. Bring the cat back every week!

What’s your perfect Monday Night Football team? Let us know in the comments.

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest Resident: Shellgrass

Aliases / Nicknames: The false prophet, Liar, Traitor

Gender: she-cat

Family: Wavegrass (mother), Creekwood (father)

Other Relations: Honeyreed (mentor)

Clan: Starclan (formerly), Riverclan

Characteristics: Killed after death, sent made-up prophecies

Number of Victims: 3

Number of Murders: 2

Murder Method: Convinced living warriors into turning against certain cats

Known Victims: Flurrypool, Softtail, Hayrunner

Cause of Death: broken jaw

Cautionary Tale: Starclan cats must never lose focus on what is most important: protecting the Clans. It is easy to focus on oneself and the time spent in the afterlife, but everyone must remember to be wary of anything suspicious happening in the Clan.

The living are unaware of what Shellgrass has done. Starclan has deemed it too dangerous to apprise them, as they may lose confidence in their ancestors.

Story:

She would guess on multiple occasions why her mother had her. Maybe it was by accident, or more likely to pass on her 'legacy.' What the answer definitely wasn't was to have a family.

Wavegrass did every aspect of parenthood to the minimum of her ability. She would groom Shellkit, but neither were ever comforted during this time, both just waiting for it to be over. And sure, she fed Shellkit, at least while she was still nursing, and Shellkit was fairly sure her mother weaned her onto meat early.

Creekwood was nice enough, but he was a stranger. Shellkit doubted Wavegrass loved him either, only getting together long enough to have a kit. He would visit a few times with food, but it seemed to be moreso out of obligation than affection or love.

Shellpaw hated Flurrypaw. The other apprentice tried to be nice, but Shellpaw would not have it. Flurrypaw was her father's apprentice, and received every ounce of his attention as though they were father and daughter.

Shellpaw knew that it wasn't Flurrypaw's fault.. mostly. She wasn't cold enough to be noticeable. But there was no way she was hanging around that starlight-hog.

She had her own mentor anyway, Honeyreed, and the attention that she-cat gave was more than enough for Shellpaw. Most of the time, anyway.

Shellpaw felt empathetic for Softkit. She was close to becoming a warrior when she found out that Wavegrass would have another kit. She didn't know who the father was, if it was the same tom or not. What she did know, and what mattered, was that Wavegrass would be a mother again.

A neglectful mother again.

Shellpaw was prepared to sacrifice everything to ensure that things were different with her sister. But on the night of her birth, when Shellpaw entered the nursery, she saw Wavegrass holding the tiny bundle in her paws, every flicker in her gaze alight with the love she had withheld from Shellpaw.

Clearly, they were well-enough without her.

It was difficult getting over. It didn't help that no one else noticed the unfairness, only cooing over the new addition to the Clan. Only Honeyreed offered an ear.

It was after their warrior ceremony, after their silent vigil, that Shellgrass snapped. Creekwood had padded over to Flurrypool and stated how he wished she had been his daughter.

Shellgrass left the camp and followed Honeyreed's scent, searching for the one cat she could confide in, who cared for her. She wound up finding her on the border, twirling her tail with Windclan warrior, Hayrunner.

She had leaped out of the bushes, yowling confrontation. Honeyreed had been apologetic, but determined as she announced her decision to join Windclan with Hayrunner.

Shellgrass didn't want to hear it. She turned and ran, running blindly, running anywhere but around the cats that didn't love her. She was a few fox-lengths from the border when she fell over a steep fall, landing on her open jaw, causing it to snap.

She was welcomed into Starclan by absolutely no-one she knew. From there, she watched as Wavegrass loved Softtail, as Creekwood loved Flurrypool, as Honeyreed loved Hayrunner.

And as no one loved her.

It was during these watching obsessions did she overhear Softtail laugh, saying how cool it would be to receive a prophecy from Starclan.

Shellgrass thought that it was very smart.

She sat back as her words caused warriors to turn against Softtail and Flurrypool, chasing them away, causing them to drown in the flooded river.

She was close to doing the same with Hayrunner, but Honeyreed, so determined to protect her precious mate, managed to convince her new Clan to let the medicine cats consult with Starclan, and it was then that the warriors of the stars discovered Shellgrass's game.

Shellgrass was banished, something she had admittedly thought impossible. What did it matter anyways? One territory where no one cared about her was no different from the other.

Except for the pain in her jaw.

Additional Information:

--Shellgrass was named after Wavegrass. She hates this.

--Creekwood, Wavegrass, and Honeyreed all grieved for Shellgrass after her body was found. The levels varied. Honeyreed blamed herself.

--Starclan decided to not tell the Clans of Shellgrass's deeds, but did find a way to announce Hayrunner, Flurrypool, and Softtail's innocence.

--Creekwood did not mean that Flurrypool was the daughter he never had, just that he loved her like one.

--If Shellgrass had a theme song it would be this amazing thing by this ultra-amazing artist.

--The idea for this post was giving by this submission:

The art was old, but I don't like the story that was made for it, so thanks for the new story, anon!