[IC] The Rise of WillowClan

[savannahssu]

Interacting with: @solokolos @Shadow Dragon @The Elvenqueen @Hazelrah @PrankFox

The first shaft of sunlight woke Fernstar and the brightness made her shrink back into her nest for a heartbeat. It was dawn, and she knew there would be a lot to discuss with the Clan today. She sat back on her haunches and began to clean her fur, while watching Frogkit and Honeypaw's flanks rise and fall in their sleep; she would wake them soon. She was glad for the warmth they provided through the cold leafbare night. She finished the last few licks of her chest fur before turning to Honeypaw and prodding her side. "Honeypaw, wake up. There's a lot to discuss today." When the apprentice finally began to stir, she said quietly, "Wake Frogkit and come down to the clearing. I'm going to call a Clan meeting." She jumped down from her den and shivered as her paws touched the frost covered ground. She shook out her pelt and tried to ignore the drastic shift in temperature as she padded towards the Highstump. Maplestream was the only cat in the clearing, guarding the nursery entrance. Fernstar decided she would give the first piece of prey the dawn patrol caught to her as a reward for her overnight post. She leapt up to the top of the Highstump rather clumsily, still not quite fully awake. The woods were so quiet this morning, she almost didn't want to yowl her meeting call; but she had to in order to wake her Clanmates. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highstump!" She gazed up at the sky, slowly brightening as the morning went on, as she gathered her thoughts and waited for her Clanmates to make their way out of their dens and into the clearing. She had a lot to say.

[PrankFox]

Mentions: @savannahssu

Duskwing was pulled from the heavy claws of sleep by Fernstar's familiar yowl. As much as she wanted to stay snuggled deep in the moss and feathers of her nest it wasn't like she could ignore the call of the leader. Instead she huffed out a sigh and stood to stretch out her slender legs. She gently prodded Stormheart since she knew the silver tom would probably sleep through the meeting if she gave him the chance. He'd been out hunting quite a bit the previous day so she couldn't exactly blame him.

She slipped through the entrance to the warrior's den, not surprised that she was one of the first up and out. She gave Maplestream a nod as she passed by the nursery. She was more than willing to help, but she certainly didn't envy the other she-cat having to sit outside in the cold the whole night. She padded towards the Highstump and cleared away a bit of the snow and frost with her claws before settling down. She wrapped her tail over her paws and turned her pale green eyes to Fernstar.

Hopefully Moosepaw would be awake as well since it once the meeting was over she would be taking him out for his assessment. Given that it was winter she knew that it would be a tough one, but she trusted her apprentice's skill well enough.

The paw that prodded his side was lightly swiped at, but it was already too late. Stormheart sighed heavily and blinked open his eyes, squinting at the light of the early dawn sun. He fought back a slight shiver as he stood and shook the remaining moss from his fur. He just caught sight of Duskwing slipping out of the warrior's den and blinked in confusion. Why had she woken him up so early? He stuck his broad head out of the den and saw Fernstar standing on top of high stump. Ah, that would do it.

He shuffled his way out of the den and looked over to the nursery where he could still smell the strange cats from the day before. The thought of them still made his pelt bristle nervously. He sent Maplestream a shy smile, "Morning," he mewed softly as he put a bit of a quicker pace to his step to get to the Highstump. He settled onto his haunches nearby Duskwing and looked around to see if anyone else was awake and making their way to the meeting.

It would've been nice to sleep in, but he figured that if Fernstar was calling a meeting this early it must be important. He shuffled his paws slightly in the snow. Maybe it would be what they were doing about the strangers. He didn't like them being in camp, but then again he had been a loner before he had been welcomed in, so maybe they would stay. The idea made him uncomfortable, there was just something he didn't like about the way these cats acted. Still he would follow Fernstar's orders and if she said they would stay then so be it.

[solokolos]

Moosepaw

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A sharp voice brought Moosepaw out of an uneasy sleep. His long dense fur meant he woke up warm despite the winter chill, though the unfamiliar surroundings did stir some strange emotions. Moosepaw had enjoyed the routine offered by the clan, taking comfort in the small constants. The clan always needed food, the clan always needed patrols to mark the edges of their territory, things like these were consistent. Now though things had become unstable, the natural balance disrupted. Strange that he was already sleeping in the warrior's den, strange that he would soon take his warrior assessment to prove he belonged there, strangest of all the cats in the nursery. Moosepaw rose and stretched his stiff muscles, the cold air working against his efforts. After a particularly large stretch, he padded forward into the camp proper.

The camp was slowly gathering for the meeting, and a sense of urgency was clear in the movements of all present. Moosepaw was not one of the first, nor one of the last, and he had not taken time to groom. He Sat down in front of the Highstump and began the process of smoothing his thick fur. As he cleaned he payed attention to the forest around them, trying to calm his nerves. He breathed in the scent of the cats around him, and of the clearing itself. Light frozen dew clung to the plant life scattered in the clearing, and to the grass underpaw. It would be colder in the shaded parts of the forest, meaning that prey would be loud on unmelted snow. His dense wide paws would mean his steps should remain silent if he distributed his weight properly, an advantage when prey was so scarce.

Moosepaw finished his grooming and gazed up at their leader, wondering what news the day would bring. Wondering also if he would be able to show Duskwing all she had taught him. Failure would not only doubt cast on his own abilities, but on Duskwing's efforts to teach him. The latter was more upsetting than the former.

[The Elvenqueen]

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WillowClan Warrior’s Den ---> WillowClan Camp

interacting with: @Hazelrah's Stonefall, @savannahssu for plot/technically Fernstar for the Clan meeting! Mentions of Maplestream, Moosepaw and Duskwing and Stormheart
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Spidernose had been curled up in her nest beside Stonefall’s - in fact it was a surprise they weren’t sharing a nest at this point… - and snoring quietly, peacefully asleep until their Clan leader’s summoning yowl cut through the foggy blanket that had dulled her senses for the night. Stirring with a wide, gaping yawn, the she-cat delicately stepped from her nest and paused to stoop down and nudge Stonefall’s head gently with her own to rouse the deputy with a gentle mew of, “Hey, Stone…wake up, Fernstar’s calling. C’mon.” not wanting to nag him, however, it wasn’t like they were mates or anything like that, for StarClan’s sake, Spidernose then left it at that for now and padded out of the den. However, before joining the others she also stopped to survey their surroundings. The cream and brown she-cat’s thinner fur immediately fluffed out against the biting cold morning breeze that ruffled through it once she’d left the relative warmth of the den, and she fought down the urge to shiver, instead reaching her forepaws out in front of her and digging her claws as much as she could into the partly-frozen earth beneath them to give herself some leverage as she arched her back in a stretch.

Straightening up again, Spidernose trotted briskly over to the space beneath the Highstump where Fernstar held their Clan meetings, mewing quiet “G’morning!” greetings to the other cats who had begun to gather there, she settled herself into the spot on Maplestream’s other side from Stormheart, being sure to leave enough space for Stonefall to join her once he’d woken up too. Spidernose turned to seek out Duskwing and Moosepaw in the crowd too, twitching her whiskers at the young tom too, she knew he would be having his warrior assessment today which was no doubt a time of both nerves and excitement for him, however she also knew Duskwing had taught him well, and hopefully he would pass without any problems. Then, not wanting to stare too long and make Moosepaw uncomfortable, she turned her gaze upwards towards Fernstar, and behind the leader, her den where she knew Honeypaw and Frogkit had slept that night, hoping they were kept safe from the rogues in Fernstar’s care.

Surely, they were younger and therefore just a bit slower to rouse than their older counterpart and the Clan’s warriors, and the fact that she hadn’t seen them yet this morning was no reason to worry, she kept telling herself. But both Frogkit and Honeypaw were quite important to her, even if Honeypaw had only been her apprentice for a day and a half so far, she’d still found herself developing quite the soft spot for the spunky little she-cat. And of course, she’d promised her mother that she’d look after Frogkit so she couldn’t let anything happen to her little sister…
But she was worrying for nothing, Spidernose reminded herself, even though the rogues were still in camp, there was no way they would have been allowed anywhere near Fernstar’s den! So there was no possible way they could have hurt the younger she-cats.

[Shadow Dragon]

Blackpelt: Base of Highstump

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Blackpelt twitches in his sleep, and looks around in his dream. The dark, heavily wooded and starless forest is all he can see. He begins slowly padding his way through the thick brush, and listens for any whispers or sounds. Aside from the wind, he hears very little. Untill he hears a loud growl, as if it's right behind him. He jolts awake, and looks around frantically for a moment, his fur puffed up. He breathes heavily, and slowly sits up, waiting for his limbs to stop shaking. He groans, sore, then begins slowly licking his pelt clean, trying to calm himself down. He begins rummaging through his herbs, eyes bloodshot and weary, and he looks over when he hears Fernstar yowl for a meeting. Then he begins to walk towards Highstump, pausing for a moment at the entrance of his den. His eye twitches, and he slowly walks out of his den, looking up at Highstump with his half-lidded eyes, betraying his weariness and sheer exhaustion.

He groans softly, and paws at his ear for a moment, then settles down near the back of the group in a small patch of light, ears pricked up. He licks his lips slightly, and wraps his tail around his paws to try to hide his shaking. He looks across the group of cats, eyes flicking between muzzles as he searches for anyone who looks out of place. He looks up at Fernstar, then down at her den, wondering if Frogkit and Honeypaw were still asleep. He looks around, and tilts his head slightly. I wonder what Fernstar's going to do about the rouges...... He sighs, and looks at the group of his fellow clan members gathered at the base of the stump.

[savannahssu]

Interacting with:@The Elvenqueen

Sunfur dragged his tired body out of his nest in the Warrior's den, feeling as limp as a piece of fresh kill. He had been roused from his deep sleep by Fernstar's call for a Clan meeting, and as he was about to exit the den he stopped to call out to Stonefall who was not yet out of his nest. You would think the Clan's deputy would have been the first to respond to his leader's call... Sunfur observed. As he padded out into the clearing, the sunlight glinting off the snow was almost blinding, and he averted his eyes to the base of the Highstump. His eyes fell on Spidernose, and the empty space next to her. He lifted his head and gave Fernstar a nod as he sat down in the empty space between Maplestream and Spidernose. He twitched his whiskers and purred quietly, "Morning Spidernose! I had an amazing idea I spoke to Fernstar about yesterday, I'm sure she's going to talk about it. And you'll be able to help!" Teaching the Clan to hunt in the treetops wasn't going to be easy, but he felt that he would be serving his Clan and honoring their ancestors by teaching an ancient hunting method. He would be proud to do it; and he hoped he and Spidernose could grow closer as she taught with him...

[The Elvenqueen]

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WillowClan Camp, The Highstump

interacting with: @savannahssu’s Sunfur Mentions of Fernstar and Frogkit
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While she awaited for Fernstar to start the meeting as the rest of the cats of WillowClan gathered, Spidernose took the time to give herself a quick groom. She brought one of her forepaws up, gave it a few licks, then passed that paw over the closest ear. And when she was satisfied that was done, Spidernose began to do the same for the other side of her face. The she-cat turned her head as she heard pawsteps padding up to join her. Spidernose couldn’t help but feel a tug of disappointment as she realised it was Sunfur and not Stormfall. Though she didn’t treat the ginger tom unkindly, and twitched her whiskers back at Sunfur as she purred out a cheerful greeting. “Good morning, Sunfur! Stonefall still not awake yet? I wonder if we should be worried, I did shake him when I woke up…” she mused, turning her head to look back over her shoulder at the entrance to the warrior’s den. Was the deputy getting sick? She felt her gut twist with worry, and couldn’t help but send a prayer up to StarClan that her hunch was wrong. She didn’t know how she’d feel if anything bad happened to Stonefall…

The cream she-cat’s ears perked up as Sunfur mentioned speaking with the Clan leader the night before. It had to have been about their little hunting trick that they’d tried out the night before. Her first reaction was one of apprehension, That means having to go back up the tree, huh… That had been quite a frightening experience. However, Spidernose did believe Sunfur was onto something and if more of their Clanmates could perfect the technique then it meant WillowClan would have more options for hunting birds during winter, which would keep the fresh-kill pile stocked… This might be worth it. And Spidernose was quite sure that with more practise, leaping out of the tree like that wouldn’t scare her as much. So, if Fernstar did want her and Sunfur to teach the others, she’d be more than happy to pitch in.
“Oh, really? You think she’ll like it? Well, we might have our paws full for a while if that’s the case!” she giggled, playfully nudging Sunfur’s shoulder with her own. “But sure! If you need me, I’ll be happy to help out!”

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Fernstar’s Den ---> WillowClan Camp, the Highstump

interacting with: @savannahssu’s Fernstar, mention of Honeypaw, Spidernose and Sunfur
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Hearing the steady, growing chatter of the other cats below the Highstump finally roused Frogkit from her slumber. The little tortie-point kit gave a wide yawn, showing all of her teeth, for a second as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. Beside her, she could still hear Honeypaw snoring, and rolled her eyes a little. Springing up to her paws, Frogkit began to poke the apprentice as she called her name in an attempt to wake her up. “Honeypawwww, Honeypaw! Wake up, lazybones! Fernstar’s calling a Clan meeting!” she frowned as her companion still didn’t stir, and gave an annoyed huff. The kit bent down and nipped at Honeypaw’s ear with her teeth, not hard enough to draw blood or leave any sort of mark, but tugging on it enough that Frogkit hoped it might wake Honeypaw up. “C’moooon!! We’re gonna be late!” she complained, and when the older she-cat still didn’t respond, Frogkit gave up. She didn’t want to miss the Clan meeting, even if she technically wasn’t old enough to catch her own prey just yet… she almost was and Frogkit wasn’t about to miss out on a cool announcement just because Honeypaw was sleepier than a hibernating badger!

So Frogkit left Fernstar’s den, trotting right up to where the Clan leader was waiting for the rest of the Clan, her tail shot up into the air as she chirped a greeting. “Hiya Fernstar! I’m awake! Honeypaw’s still sleepin’ though, I tried to wake her!” she giggled in amusement, much to poor Spidernose’s horror. Frogkit jumped a little in surprise, flattening her ears at her older sister as she heard Spidernose hiss to her: “Frogkit! Get down from there, you’re not the Clan leader!”

[savannahssu]

Fernstar’s yowl shook Felix from his sleep, and for a moment he forgot where he was. It wasn’t until he glanced upwards at the scraggly walls of the WillowClan nursery and saw Heather curled next to him that he remembered. Otis was curled against the back wall of the den, not needing the warmth of another cat’s pelt. Sometimes Felix wished his own fur was as thick and long as Otis’, despite how much extra work it would be to groom. He sat up and nudged Heather’s flank with his forepaw. “Heather wake up. We need to see what Fernstar is going to announce.” As she stirred, he padded over to Otis and woke him as well before thrusting his head out the entrance of the nursery. The cat who had been assigned to guard them was sitting on her paws not too far from him and a couple other Warriors were gathered in front of the fallen tree stump in the center of the clearing. The Clan leader seemed strong and well rested, despite the cold and the barren fresh kill pile. Her head was lifted against the blinding sunlight as she surveyed the camp. He could tell that she was waiting for the rest of the Clan to gather before she spoke. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Heather and Otis followed and carefully slipped out into the clearing, keeping towards the bramble walls of the camp. The cold air startled him and he shrunk towards Heather for warmth.

His ears twitched in amusement as the small kit they had met last night scrambled and scratched her way up onto the Highstump next to Fernstar and squeaked in delight as she looked down on her Clanmates. Just as the Clan leader noticed, a different she-cat leapt to her paws and meowed in a stern tone for the kit to get down. The kit spun in a small circle, her fur spiked against the cold, then hurled herself off the stump before Fernstar could say anything. The she-cat, Felix thought he remembered her saying her name was Spidernose, hooked the kit with her tail and pulled her into her under-belly. The Clan leader met their eyes and dipped her head before meowing “Good morning. How are your wounds doing? Did the herbs from Blackpelt help?” Heather nodded and emphatically replied “Yes, thank you.” before giving her forelimbs a few licks. Otis was quietly surveying the camp, and in the relative silence, Felix wondered where the Clan deputy was. It seemed the tom in second command should be the first out of his nest when his leader called This Clan seems very disheveled. . . Felix thought with a glint in his eye. He concluded it would be best for them to appear respectful and wait for the rest of the Clan to gather. He was anxious to hear what this “leader” had to say.