savannahssu

The Rise of WillowClan

@Shadow Dragon I just wanted to ask you, do you know the difference between "in character knowledge" and "out of character knowledge?"

The Rise of WillowClan

@Hazelrah What do you have to say about all that?? xD

The Rise of WillowClan

Interacting with: @Hazelrah

Turning to face the she-cat, Felix padded a few tail lengths forward then sat with his tail carefully wrapped over his paws. Lowering his eyes as the leader spoke, he lifted a paw and began licking it gingerly, surprised that it was still open despite being here since sunrise. Although he was only paying his wound any attention to appear convincing, he began to notice that it did actually hurt a little. Maybe I overdid it with the thorns earlier. . . Setting his paw back on the ground, he made eye contact with Fernstar, dipped his head and meowed, "I'm Felix. I apologize for disrupting your camp so suddenly, we weren't paying attention to where our paws were taking us as long as it was away from the raccoons." Flicking his ears back towards the rear of the den, he introduced his friends. "The white she-cat is Heather, and the brown tom is Otis. We all came from the Twoleg village just outside your borders." Letting his voice lower and his eyes cloud with anxiety, he muttered, "And we don't plan on going back." His mind began to race as he prepared to tell the story he had conjured. I can't mess this up. "My life as a kittypet had always been nice; I was always safe, had a warm place to sleep, and good food until my house folk took in a smaller Twoleg. Things were never the same after that." He pinned his ears back and raised his hackles as he went on. "It chased me around the den, pulled my fur and almost deafened me with it's terrible shrieking. And the worst part is, my house folk never disciplined it! All they did was coo at it and stroke it like a queen with newborn kits. After a while, I started leaving the nest every morning and spending most of the day outside to avoid it. But sometimes, they would go to sleep and leave me outside after sunset. Of course they would always come outside and yowl for me in the morning, but things weren't the way they used to be anymore." Letting his hackles fall, he let out a sigh. "About a quarter moon ago, the small Twoleg startled me while I was asleep and out of pure fear, I swung my paw out and raked its flesh with my claws. I knew then that I couldn't stay there anymore; my house folk would never have forgiven me and I didn't want to be there any longer. So I left and became a loner." Sitting up a little taller, he felt genuine happiness flutter in his chest."That was when I met Heather. She had been living on her own for some time before I left my house folk, and she taught me how to hunt and defend myself." Turning his head towards the beautiful she-cat, he let a grin spread across his muzzle and meowed tauntingly, "Well. . . Somewhat." Heather began nervously licking her chest, casting fleeting glances up toward him every few heartbeats. Turning back towards the Clan leader, he noticed that Otis had padded forward to sit beside him and began to address Fernstar.

In a calm voice, Otis meowed, "I'm Otis. I was a kittypet too, but I didn't have as hard of a life as Felix did. I left my Twolegs because I wanted a different life than the soft uneventful one I had. I wanted to hunt for myself, feel the wind in my fur and fight like a real cat. I ran into Heather and Felix at the edge of the village as I was venturing into the forest. We figured there was safety in numbers and that we would stand a better chance of surviving together, so we decided to travel with each other." Standing up and shaking out his pelt, he flicked his whiskers with irritation and muttered "But it turns out that raccoons are tougher opponents than we thought." Felix was pleasantly surprised when Otis dipped his head and removed a piece of loose fur that was hanging from his chest with his teeth. He pulled it from the tangles and matts of fur around it and let it drop to the den floor. Trying to hide his malevolent excitement, he busied himself for the moment by examining his body and glancing at the wounds he had inflicted on himself. Now THAT is convincing! Otis went on. "Of course we would be very grateful if you chose to use some of your herb store to help us with our wounds, but we understand that your Clan comes first and we will move along if you would like us to. I'm sure we have been far enough away from where we met the raccoons that they wouldn't know where we had gone, and we could head further into the forest and make a camp of our own." Felix studied the leader and her deputy, trying to discern their thoughts after what they had been told. It doesn't matter what they say. We will do what we came here to do.

The Rise of WillowClan

Interacting with: @The Elvenqueen @PrankFox

As Spidernose scaled the large, dead tree behind him, Sunfur turned to Stormheart, and announced the slight modification of his hunting plan. "Stormheart, hunt in nearby areas and see what you can catch. If Spidernose and I don't succeed at bringing down a bird, at least we will have something to bring back to camp. Catch anything you can find; snakes, mice, voles, rats, squirrels. . . Whatever you catch, bring it back to the roots of this tree and bury it under the snow. If Spidernose or I need help we will yowl as loud as we can." Gesturing with his tail for Stormheart to go, Sunfur circled the tree Spidernose was scaling and assessed the canopies above. The tree Spidernose was climbing had long reaching branches that crossed with the branches of others nearby, this would make leaping from tree to tree much easier than relying on strength to close a large gap between branches. If Spidernose can startle the birds from their nest, they will settle on other branches, and hopefully, drop their guard. As he scaled the tree closest to the one the birds nested in, he once again cursed StarClan for giving him a flaming orange pelt. I stick out like a kittypet in a Clan battle! Trying to push the irritation from his mind, he realized he would have to rely completely on stealth if he wanted this to work.

He climbed until he reached the same height as Spidernose and noticed the nest of birds he heard from the ground. The two birds were sitting facing each other in their nest, pecking at their feathers. He positioned himself at a diagonal angle from the nest, closest to the trunk as he could possibly get, in order to retain his balance on the thickest part of the branch. His hind legs were strong, and if he could pin the bird to the branch and land a killing bite, it wouldn't stand a chance. He crouched as low as possible and unsheathed his claws, digging into the branch below him, ready to launch himself forward. Turning towards Spidernose, he arched his tail over his back in the direction of the nest. Now.

The Rise of WillowClan

@The Elvenqueen That post was great! I'm loving Frogkit's personality and Blackpelt is going to have his paws full training her as his apprentice haha @Hazelrah It's VERY good to see you back, and I really hope that things are getting more manageable for you and that you'll be able to post regularly again soon. The main plotline of this story is going to be picking up speed right about now so make sure everyone is reading everyone else's posts and putting effort into theirs. Most of you are doing wonderfully so far!

The Rise of WillowClan

Interacting with: @Hazelrah

While Stonefall explained the rouge's arrival and the actions he had taken, Fernstar studied her paws, not wanting to be distracted by any visual stimuli. She had to admit that trained Warriors failing to detect the scent of racoons, especially scents that were recent, was very strange. Sunfur, Maplestream and herself had lived in this harsh, unforgiving forest for quite some time, and had learned the scents of every creature they shared this land with; predator and prey alike. However, there were a lot of possible reasons her Warriors could have missed the scent trail. She knew it was more difficult to recognize and follow scent trails in leaf bare than in green leaf, as they are quicker dampened by snow, ice and other debris blown by the strong winds. Not to mention, there was a lot going on in the Clan right now. She and Blackpelt traveling to receive her nine lives, the rouges showing up, dealing with Frogkit, and Moosepaw's impending Warrior assessment. Being caught up in the excitement and anxiety that was laden in these events easily distracts cats from being as focused as they normally would be. Everyone was exhausted. These things needed to be seriously considered. She refused to be the kind of leader who is hostile, battle oriented and mistrusting of any cat that stepped paw in her camp. Situations like this needed to be approached with tact and cautious optimism.

As her deputy finished his explanation, she couldn't help but notice how hesitant and anxious Stonefall seemed. It was unlike him to be so distant. Raising her head and locking eyes with the young tom, she let compassion shine through her gaze and reassured him. "Stonefall, what happened today was a difficult situation for any cat to handle, but you did exactly what needed to be done. You protected the Clan's most vulnerable, neutralized the situation, and still managed to help the strangers who expressed they needed it. I can't say I would have done much different myself if it was me they had approached." Running her tail over Stonefall's flank as a gesture of comfort, she grinned and meowed, "I chose you for this post for a reason. Your practical and rational thinking are, and always have been above others, and your loyalty is unflinching." Withdrawing her tail and sitting up straighter, she sternly issued her addendum. "What will make you a bad deputy to your Clan is not a lack of skill, but the lack of ability to believe in your skills. A deputy who is unsure of themselves will never make clear decisions and will create more problems than they solve. A cat who is confident in their position within their Clan stands out, and is part of what makes a Clan strong. You need to act like you know you deserve this position; and the skills to uphold it will follow." Hoping her words would grant Stonefall some confidence, she stood and shook the cold from her fur. It was time to figure out what these roge cats wanted with WillowClan. Quietly padding towards the nursery entrance, she looked over her shoulder and asked Stonefall, "Come and speak to them with me."

Pushing her way through the dry, rough brambles, she locked her eyes on the three disheveled looking rouges who laid at the back of the den. A skinny black tom, a white thick furred she-cat and a strong brown tom all turned their heads and stared at her. She stopped a fox length away from them and sat with her shoulders back. Before she spoke, Needletail's words echoed in her mind just the way she had spoken them in StarClan. "With your seventh life, I give you judgement. The decisions you make for your Clan determine it's destiny, and cannot be wasted. Never let pride, pain or desperation cloud your judgement." Feeling a surge of confidence wash over her pelt, she finally spoke. "My name is Fernstar and I am the leader of WillowClan. My deputy tells me you crashed into our camp scratched and startled by a skirmish with racoons. If treatment for your wounds is what you are seeking, then I will consult with our medicine cat and see if we can spare any herbs. However, I would like to know more about you than your racoon encounter. Tell me, where did you come from?"

The Rise of WillowClan

Interacting with: @PrankFox @The Elvenqueen

Sunfur glanced at Stormheart sympathetically as their small hunting patrol trotted towards the bramble entrance. He was exhausted, just like the rest of his Clanmates, but what was really keeping him going was the hope of biting into a piece of fresh kill. In response to Stormheart's inquiry, he drew in a deep breath and focused all his senses on the surrounding area. When no prey noises or lingering scents reached him, he waved his tail to signal his Clanmates to follow him. He never wanted to come off as pretentious and assume that Fernstar had implied he lead the patrol, but it only made sense considering he had lived on this territory the longest. He was always open to suggestions and criticisms if any cat had them to offer. "Near the roots of large trees is usually where small animals scavenge for nuts and insects. With this much snow on the ground, chances are what we don't find near trees will be underground in their burrows." Sunfur heaved a sigh as he said something he wished didn't have to be done. "We may have to dig beneath the snow to force some prey out of their nests. Anything that surfaces won't be big enough to run fast enough through the snow to escape us, so that's our best shot." Turning his gaze towards the high branches of the trees above, he was able to make out small chirping noises, although not that many. He wasn't sure if the others would be up for this, but birds may be the largest pieces of prey the Clan could hope for right now, and catching even 2 birds and one smaller rodent would be enough to go around until the dawn hunting patrol was sent at sunrise. Suddenly, he had an idea. Lowering his meow, he turned to Spidernose and began to explain himself. "Spidernose, you're the lightest of the three of us. Do you think you could climb this tree and get close to one of the bird nests up there? I was thinking maybe, if you were able to scare the birds away from their nests to settle on nearby branches, Stormheart and I could hide in the canopy and catch them there." He hoped the she-cat wouldn't think he had bees in his brain for suggesting something like this, but the reward seemed more than worth the risk to him, and they were all strong and capable warriors. Fernstar would be relieved if they could make this work.

The Rise of WillowClan

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

At Moosepaw's awkward acknowledgement, Fernstar chuckled and twitched her tail in amusement. "Good." Turning her gaze back towards Duskwing, she relieved the she-cat of her watch-guard post. "Duskwing, you can step away from the nursery. I'm sure that these strange cats don't have the claws to burst out and attack us being so outnumbered. Besides, you and Moosepaw need all the rest you can get. I want you to conduct his warrior assessment at dawn. I trust that you have taught him well, and know exactly what he needs to master. We will discuss his performance when you get back to camp." Raking her eyes over the edges of camp, she noticed there wasn't a single piece of prey to be seen, and she was sure that after all the commotion she had just been made aware of, her cats must be hungry. Glancing down at the crowd she thought about who should leave camp in a hunting patrol. "I'm sure every cat is hungry, myself included. While I discuss with Stonefall about the strangers, Spidernose, Sunfur, and Stormheart go out and catch as much prey as you can. When you return, we will all eat then settle down for the evening." With that, Fernstar rose to her paws and meowed, "That is all." before leaping down off the Highstump onto the snowy ground. As the crowd dispersed, she trotted towards Stonefall and gestured with her tail towards the nursery. "I need to know what's going on with these strange cats. Tell me everything you know."

Warrior Cats Medicine Cat/Apprentice

BUMP

The Rise of WillowClan

@Hazelrah I understand and I'm not stressing about it :) If you need someone to talk to, feel free to DM me. I'm gonna try to get a post up sometime soon as well