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nettleclanstale · 5 months

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MOON 70

NOTES:

-Pebblecatcher retires.

-Cloverlight, Badgerfall, and Whimsybeam earn their full names.

-Perchwish, Snowypoppy, and Princessbramble are expecting kits.

-Yewkit recovers from greencough.

Relief flooded through Badgerfall's body as the first rays of sun made themselves visible through the trees. Her silent vigil, along with Cloverlight's, had been rather uneventful.

Rustling from the warrior's den caught Badgerfall's attention. Mothflower crawled out from the bush, shaking out his pelt and blinking the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning!" Badgerfall called, her eyes lighting up with joy. Her vigil was over!

The tom froze, looking at Badgerfall with wide eyes. It was as if he had seen a ghost. After a few seconds, he relaxed, sighing in relief.

"Oh, Badgerfall, good morning. You scared me!" Mothflower glanced around camp, then his voice dropped to a whisper. "You're not supposed to talk, yet. You must wait for Meadowbreeze to dismiss you…"

Badgerfall stood up straight, silently nodding.

Mothflower chuckled.

"Don't worry, he'll be awake soon," He stated, turning to Cloverlight. "Tempestpool will be out to dismiss you, also." With that, he padded off, out of camp.

As the sun rose higher, more cats began to stir. Badgerfall shifted her paws anxiously, casting glances towards the warrior den entrance.

It wasn't long before Tempestpool exited, yawning and stretching his legs before striding over to Cloverlight and touching his nose to her shoulder.

"Congratulations, Cloverlight. Your vigil has ended." He purred. Turning his head to Badgerfall, his dipped his head in apology. "Meadowbreeze will come soon." He hastily meowed before walking away, gesturing for Cloverlight to follow.

Badgerfall let out a sigh as her sister padded away, and continued to wait. Finally, Meadowbreeze came out of the den. He immediately padded over to Badgerfall, and nervously touched his nose to hers.

"I'm sorry for the wait," He awkwardly meowed, before clearing his throat. "…Your vigil is over. Congratulations."

Badgerfall dipped her head. "Thank you."

Meadowbreeze flicked his tail, turning away. "Get some rest. You earned it." Was all he said as he left.

Badgerfall stood, her legs feeling like mush as she awkwardly stretched and let out a yawn. Her paws felt numb, and the snow beneath the spot she sat had long melted away. A chilly leaf-bare air swept through her body, and she shivered.

Giggles could be heard coming from the nursery, and Badgerfall watched as Bramblekit ran out, followed by his littermates Robinkit and Yewkit. She was relieved to see Yewkit active and doing so much better, his kithood having been stolen away by an awful case of greencough.

"We're gonna be apprentices next moon!" Bramblekit chirped, running in circles in front of the nursery before leaping into a small pile of snow with a soft poomf. "I'll be the best warrior ever!"

"Not if I do it first!" Robinkit teased. She looked back at Yewkit, swishing her tail at him. "You're gonna be a warrior too, right?"

"Of course I am! I'll be better than both of you!" Yewkit crouched, wiggling his rump before leaping onto his sister and biting her ear. Robinkit squealed, before beginning to engage in a mock-battle with her littermate.

"I don't think it's fair to make it a competition." A new voice said. Brackenberry padded out of the nursery after her kits, looking back inside. "Come on then, Squirrelkit. You too, Flamekit." She meowed. The exhaustion on her face was clear, just barely masked with a gentle smile as two more kits followed after their mother.

Badgerfall approached Brackenberry, who flinched when she arrived.

"Oh, stars! Badgerfall, you scared me!" Brackenberry exclaimed. "Hello! Congratulations on the warrior name, it's very…" She cleared her throat. "…Fitting."

"Thank you." Badgerfall peeked into the nursery, a purr escaping her as she saw Hazybloom curled in his nest, his side slowly rising and falling. Curled up at his belly were his own two kits, Owlkit and Rowankit. "Only a few more moons until the nursery is empty..."

"Oh, no, quite the opposite." Brackenberry chuckled, sitting down and sweeping her tail to the other side of her body as Squirrelkit pounced onto it, earning a surprised squeak from the young tom as he stumbled to the ground. "We'll be getting new litters soon."

"What!?"

"Mhm," Brackenberry let out a purr of amusement, leaning down to give her fur a few licks before looking back up at the she-cat. "Snowypoppy's expecting a second litter, and...Perchwish and Princessbramble are also going to be bringing kits to the clan."

"Oh, how exciting." Badgerfall found herself glancing towards the clearing, where Perchwish and Princessbramble were chatting. The two toms were laughing to each other, batting at each others' faces. "Wait, how..."

"Don't ask." Brackenberry shook her head. "Now...I can tell you're exhausted from your vigil." She waved her paw in a dismissive yet playful way, chuckling. "Go, get some rest."

Badgerfall nodded, bidding the ginger queen and her kits goodbye before heading off. On her way to the warrior's den, movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

A very groggy Whimsypaw entered camp. She was followed by Twigsplash, the large she-cat lumbering after her apprentice. Despite her thick fur, her exhaustion was evident.

"Whimsypaw!" Badgerfall exclaimed, rushing over to her sister and pressing her head against her fur. "How did it go? What's your new name?"

"...Whimsybeam. My name is Whimsybeam now." Whimsybeam half-heartedly gave her sister a nudge, before padding to the medicine den and looking over her shoulder. "Sorry, I'm just...I'm so tired. Please, let me get some sleep."

"Oh. O-okay! Bye, Whimsybeam, congratulations!" Badgerfall meowed after her littermate, forcing a smile before continuing on her way to the warrior's den.

A new nest had already been built for her. Letting out a pleased purr, Badgerfall sunk into the soft moss, curling up.

When she finally drifted off to sleep, her mind was filled with pleasant dreams of starry fields.

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residents-of-the-darkforest · 1 year

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Dark Forest Residences: Crowpaw & Weaselpaw

Crowpaw

Aliases / Nicknames: Slimy Crow, Spoiled Brat, Lazy Brat

Gender: tom

Sexuality: heterosexual

Family: Finchblaze (mother), Stormpuddle (father), Petalpaw (sister), Weaselpaw (brother),

Other Relations: Darkfrost (first mentor), Webstripe (second mentor), Hailstrike (third mentor)

Clan: BushClan

Rank: apprentice

Characteristics: snarky, lazy, misogynistic, looks up to his brother and Webstripe

Murder Motive: kills those who talked bad about Webstripe, kills to impress Webstripe

Number of Victims: 8

Number of Murders: 8

Murder Method: forcing others to choke on moss, biting necks

Known Victims: Bearpaw, Maplepaw, Hawkpaw, Cloudmane, Juniperleap, Smokefleck, Adderlight, Hailstrike

Victim Profile: apprentices and elders who talked badly about Webstripe, his third mentor

Cause of Death: impaled through the eye/skull with a branch, killed by Petalpaw

Cautionary Tale: Even temporary mentors must be chosen wisely--just a little bad influence may irreversibly change an apprentice's life

Story:

Webstripe was the best mentor Weaselpaw and Crowpaw could have ever asked for!

They had never been too fond of their original mentors, Firefeather and Darkfrost. Firefeather was a loud and stupid oaf of a cat, and Darkfrost was nothing more than a spineless coward. And they were both weak, preferring to obsess over their mates and their new kits!

Why did queens deserve so much respect anyways? They were useless! All they did was sit around and pop out kits! Why couldn't they have gotten mentors who actually cared about the Clan?

StarClan must have been listening to their prayers, because soon their wish was granted. Crowpaw was freed first.

Darkfrost's stupid spawn had all been killed by a hawk, and the weakling was so caught up in grief that he was killed in a battle with OceanClan a mere week later. Crowpaw was giddy as is, but then Fennelstar did something right for once in her life and made Webstripe Crowpaw's new mentor.

Weaselpaw and Crowpaw had both wanted Webstripe for their mentor initially--he was independent, dedicated to the Clan, and put she-cats in their place. Crowpaw's dream had finally come true! He was so happy, he didn't even care that Darkfrost's idiotic mate Redflower died in her sleep of a broken heart the next day. They could be happily useless and idiotic in StarClan together, for all Crowpaw cared.

And Weaselpaw didn't have to wait long either, for just a mere moon later, history repeated itself. Firefeather's useless spawn were all killed by a fox, and Firefeather succumbed to grief so bad he was killed in a battle against OceanClan not long after! Weaselpaw was worried about getting another lame mentor, but then brave, noble Webstripe offered to mentor him as well. The brothers were very close, after all, and with the war killing so many cats, they were short on mentors anyways. Webstripe was more than happy to ease the burden of picking a new mentor for Fennelstar.

The brothers were overjoyed to have the same mentor, one they had looked up to since kithood.

They were so happy, they didn't even care that Firefeather's mate Briarclaw died in her sleep of a broken heart the very next day, like her sister Redflower before her.

They were all useless anyways.

Webstripe was the perfect mentor. He was everything Weaselpaw and Crowpaw could have asked for. He made them feel respected and powerful, and validated all of their thoughts on their old mentors.

Real toms didn't have time for she-cats. Only those who focused on themselves were worthy of being true Clan cats.

Those four moons were the best moons of Weaselpaw and Crowpaw's life. Nothing could ruin this for them!

They were proven wrong in the worst way possible one fateful noon-high in Greenleaf, when a soaking wet Sunnyheart strolled into camp, grasping the limp, bloody body of a silvery-white tabby in her jaws.

Webstripe was dead.

Weaselpaw and Crowpaw thought it couldn't get any worse, but then Sunnyheart called a Clan meeting and revealed to the Clan how Webstripe was the one to kill Darkfrost, Redflower, Firefeather, Briarclaw, their kits, and Sunnyheart's own kits--Webstripe's nieces and nephew. She spoke of how jealous Webstripe was of the toms, how much he lusted over the she-cats, how he was so in love with Sunnyheart in particular, so jealous of his own brother, Thistletail, that he killed their kits and almost killed Thistletail too.

Overnight, Webstripe turned from one of the most beloved cats in BushClan, a contender for deputy, into a reviled and hated tom, the butt of every joke. It made Weaselpaw and Crowpaw seethe with anger. It wasn't fair! Why couldn't they see that Webstripe was trying to do the Clan a favor by getting rid of soft hearted-toms and useless queens?

And to rub salt in the wound, Fennelstar made Berrymoon and Hailstrike Weaselpaw and Crowpaw's new mentors. Two she-cats. Did Fennelstar think they were jokes? What was she thinking, making two she-cats their new mentors?

It had to be part of some kind of agenda, to humiliate them for daring to still care about Webstripe!

Weaselpaw and Crowpaw had been mulling over these thoughts when their younger denmates, Bearpaw, Hawkpaw, and Maplepaw, came strolling in like they owned the world. They were laughing and talking about how much of a loser Webstripe was, how they always thought he was a weird loner of a tom.

Weaselpaw and Crowpaw snapped.

Nobody appreciated Webstripe anymore.

They would make them all pay for not appreciating him anymore.

They would show Webstripe that there was someone out there who still appreciated him.

They were surprised they weren't caught, what with how loudly they ripped up the moss and how loudly those weaklings screamed. But not even seeing the siblings' father wail over their cold bodies was enough to satisfy Weaselpaw and Crowpaw. It only made them angrier. There were weaklings still to be removed. And the message hand't gotten through yet.

Berrymoon and Hailstrike had forced Weaselpaw and Crowpaw to go give moss to the elders. They stood their ground, not wanting to be bossed around by she-cats, but relented when they threatened to tell their parents. So they stomped into the den, planning to just drop the moss down and call it a day. The elders could do it themselves, after all. They shouldn't be so lazy just because they were old.

Instead, they stumbled into a conversation between Cloudmane, Juniperleap, Smokefleck, and Adderlight. A conversation about Webstripe.

Smokefleck and Adderlight were calling Webstripe so many awful names, and Cloudmane and Juniperleap were trying to tell them that Webstripe was already getting what he deserved in the Dark Forest. How dare they say that?! Webstripe should be celebrated in StarClan for his deeds! It was them who weren't getting what they deserved!

Thankfully, with how fragile they were, it was much easier to shove the moss down their throats. But the message still wasn't getting through. Their efforts weren't being appreciated at all, least of all by Berrymoon and Hailstrike.

They had the gall to take Weaselpaw and Crowpaw out for solo training and reveal that they knew what they had done, and that they were done putting up with this behavior.

As soon as they finished talking, Berrymoon and Hailstrike were going to tell Fennelstar everything, and Weaselpaw and Crowpaw would never become warriors. In the heat of the moment, Weaselpaw and Crowpaw had to improvise.

But they still pulled it off.

They waited until Berrymoon and Hailstrike had turned their backs to return to camp before leaping at them and sinking their teeth into their necks. It was a move Webstripe had taught them. They hoped they were making him proud.

Unfortunately, Weaselpaw and Crowpaw had forgotten to account for one thing.

Their stupid spoiled brat of a sister, Petalpaw, was taking her warrior exam at the same time as their little "talk" with their "mentors,” and the smell of fresh blood brought her into the clearing just in time for her to catch Weaselpaw and Crowpaw red-pawed.

They thought they could take her down easily, her being a weak little she-cat and all.

Oh, how wrong they were.

Weaselpaw

Aliases / Nicknames: Slimy Weasel, Spoiled Brat, Dumb Brat

Gender: tom

Sexuality: heterosexual

Family: Finchblaze (mother), Stormpuddle (father), Petalpaw (sister), Crowpaw (brother)

Other Relations: Firefeather (first mentor), Webstripe (second mentor), Berrymoon (third mentor)

Clan: BushClan

Rank: apprentice

Characteristics: dumb, arrogant, misogynistic, close with his brother, looks up to Webstripe

Murder Motive: kills those who talked bad about Webstripe, kills to impress Webstripe

Number of Victims: 8

Number of Murders: 8

Murder Method: forcing others to choke on moss, biting necks

Known Victims: Bearpaw, Maplepaw, Hawkpaw, Cloudmane, Juniperleap, Smokefleck, Adderlight, Berrymoon

Victim Profile: apprentices and elders who talked bad about Webstripe, his third mentor

Cause of Death: impaled through the skull with a large rock, killed by Petalpaw

Cautionary Tale: Even temporary mentors should be chosen wisely--just a little bad influence may irreversibly change an apprentice's life.

Story:

See Crowpaw.

Additional Information:

--Submission by @starfalcon555

--From Star: “I had to mess with the timeline of Wesbtripe's story a little to make this work, so now Webstripe's first two litter-victims were born at the same time and killed one moon apart! I also retconed Redflower and Briarclaw to be sisters to make it work - they were the kind of sisters that had to do everything together, including having kits lol.”

--Bearpaw, Hawkpaw, and Maplepaw were all names they originally considered for Weaselpaw, Crowpaw, and Petalpaw, hence them being littermates too. Their father is Sunnyheart's brother, hence why they were so keen to talk shit about Webstripe.

Smokefleck was Darkfrost's father, and Adderlight was Firefeather's mother, hence why they were so keen to talk shit about Webstripe.

Cloudmane and Juniperleap were mates, and they were the parents of Berrymoon and Hailstrike, hence why Berry and Hail were able to figure out so quickly that Weaselpaw and Crowpaw were behind their murders.

--Weaselpaw and Crowpaw were seventeen moons old when they died, their warrior ceremonies being delayed to the constant changes in mentorship as well as them being brats who didn't put in work.

Petalpaw's mentor was Thistletail, and her own warrior ceremony was delayed due to Thistletail's coma causing her to fall behind in training. She wasn't close to Weaselpaw and Crowpaw at all - they bullied her a lot as kits - but she still cared for them and always hoped they would change somehow. She only killed Weaselpaw and Crowpaw out of self-defense (she was trying to use the rock and the branch to shield herself) and she regretted killing them until the day she died.

--Petalpaw’s warrior name isn’t known yet, but she becomes Thistlestar's second deputy after Sunnyheart's passing!

--BITCHES BITCHES BITCHES. You knew once you saw ‘misogynistic’ that they were gonna be SHITFACES.

And you KNOW they’re gonna get their asses handed to them in the DF. That attitude will not fly.

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