#bushmask

[elementclangen]

Moon 132-Newleaf

Newleaf was supposed to be a new start.  Everything was going so well.  Chasingskip (44) had announced that she was expecting kits, thrilling Chervilcry (111) who’s excited to have Grandkits.  However, the excitement was short-lived after Needlepelt (35) was found dead near the ChaffinchClan border.  ElementClan had just made peace with their neighbors.  Do they want to start a war again?  Caterpillarmallow (82) feels like she has lost a tail, or a limb, or a shadow.  She relied on Needlepelt, trusted her, and contemplating moving on from the loss seems impossible.  Caterpillarmallow trembles, tearing at her nest, unable to sleep as she broods over Needlepelt’s last moments.  Did she suffer?  Was she scared?  Was there something Caterpillarmallow could have done to better protect her co-worker?  She can’t shake the crushing guilt.  Frostheart (35) is shocked that she and Gladepaw (8) are the only surviving members of Brightfalcon and Bushmask’s family.  How did their large family dwindle to so few?  Caterpillarmallow’s grief has been making her testy.  She snaps at little Rustkit (1) and gets in a fight with her that Chervilcry ends up breaking up.   Meanwhile, Lupinefrost (15) has been developing a bit of a crush on Frostheart.  He stays up all night thinking about ways to impress her.

Meta: With the death of Needlepelt, Conegoat is now Gladepaw's mentor

[silentclan]

silentclan, 73 moons

mistypaw and sunpaw are given their warrior names: mistycliff and sunwillow.

while on herb gathering patrol, lichenspots comes across puddleblur and their newly born kits: jumblekit, splinterkit, and wisteriakit. they are all brought back to camp.

daisy is caught breaking the warrior code.

petalgaze and snakebelly have become mates.

fernflake succumbs to their wounds and passes on to starclan.

spiderpaw is given their warrior name: spiderfreckle.

flitsplash and hickorycloud have a litter of two kits: garlickit and whorlkit.

larkkit, nightkit, whirlkit, daisykit, and applekit are made apprentices, and are assigned daisy, strikeshade, shadowmark, fallingspeck and nettleclaw as their mentors, respectively.

gravelshade and thistlefur have become mates.

hemlockbriar returns to camp with two kits: frondkit and hatchkit.

barleykit and rosekit are made apprentices, and assigned brambleheart and sunwillow as their mentors, respectively.

mousefern decides to come out of retirement to become a mediator for the clan.

gillypaw and fumblepaw are given their warrior names: gillybird and fumbleface.

whistlekit is made an apprentice, and assigned frecklestripe as their mentor.

jumblekit, splinterkit, and wisteriakit are made apprentices. splinterkit decides to become a medicine cat apprentice under lichenspots, while jumblekit and wisteriakit are assigned fumbleface and yuccaflight as their mentors, respectively.

sporepaw is given their warrior name: sporecloud.

benito is found by snakebelly and bushmask after giving birth to two kittens: waterkit and gingerkit. they are all brought back to the camp to recover.

nimblerose is round by bushmask and thymepatch after giving birth to three kittens: basaltkit, palekit, and erminekit. they are all brought back to the camp to recover.

sunny joins the clan after being abandoned by their two-legs. they decide to adopt a more clan-like name: sunshadow.

garlickit and whorlkit are made apprentices and assigned gillybird and pikeleap as their mentors, respectively.

puddleblur was attacked by a dog and killed while on patrol.

daisypaw is given their warrior name: daisyleaf.

larkpaw, nightpaw, whorlpaw, applepaw and rosepaw are given their warrior names: larkrush, nightflake, whorlivy, applefrost, and rosespot.

frondkit and hatchkit are made apprentices, and are assigned daisy and honeydapple as their mentors, respectively.

crescent, a loner, is found injured and taken back to the camp to be cared for, but later dies of their injuries.

barleypaw is given his warrior name: barleyscar.

[elementclangen]

Moon 126-Leaf-fall

The Clan cannot escape tragedy.  Although the war with ChaffinchClan seemed to be winding down, the weather decided to take a turn for the worse.  A flash flood washed through camp, destroying dens and taking lives.  Gentle (113) was ill from the poison, and couldn’t move fast enough.  Gardeniapaw (9) and Midgepurr (23) were trying to help him to safety, but all three of them perished.  When the nursery flooded, Cressfreckle (42) and Graysong (39) tried to get Airclaw (68) and Gladekit (2) to safety.  Unfortunately, being so close to kitting, Airclaw didn’t have the endurance to make it.  And Graysong had never been a great swimmer.  The two of them drowned, but Cressfreckle managed to get the kit to safety.  Luckstripe (63) also perished, but got all three of his kits to safety.  Flightkit (5) and Lilykit’s (5)  untrained water magic may have helped them survive.  Bushmask (136), being an elder, required a lot of help to get out.  Flinttooth (27) and Timberfleck (23) were trying to save him, but all three of them drowned.  The last founding member of the Clan was gone. Stonefreckle (109) saw them go under and tried to swim back to help them, but was hit up against the rocks by the current and died.  Finally, just when the rest of the survivors had almost made it to safety, Cressfreckle saw Faiththrift (47) reaching for Yuccastar’s (105) paw.  Yuccastar stepped back, and let the other star-blessed cat get washed away by the flood.  The entire Clan is in grieving-they all lost someone-but Chervilcry (105) is especially impacted by it.  She wishes that she could have done more to stop the flood with her water powers.  But she is just one cat.  Maybe if Shardfrost were alive she would have been able to turn the tides.  But Chervilcry has never been that powerful.  Frostheart (29) and Needlepelt (29) seek comfort in each other, as the only survivors of Brightfalcon and Bushmask’s kits. Cressfreckle curls up with the bodies of his mates one final time, vowing that his loves’ memories will live on through him and Gladekit.  And that he won’t let Yuccastar kill again.  Peakspots (95) is shaken by the loss of his brother.  He seeks out the company of the kits and begins to feel safer with the powerfully star-blessed Lilykit around.  Steppepaw (9) has been made a Healer apprentice instead of a warrior apprentice.  With the loss of two Healers, the Clan will need more.  But she can’t help but feel like the Clan is trying to replace Gardeniapaw.

Meta: Yes, Airclaw was supposed to have her kits this moon. She died before she had them. Also, since Gentle was Steppepaw's mentor, he died and then she became a medicine cat apprentice, her new mentor is Needlepelt.

[elementclangen]

Moon 125-Greenleaf

When Cressfreckle (41) tells Airclaw (67) and Graysong (38)the news, they are shocked.  And grieving.  Graysong curls tighter around Gladekit (1), determined to protect his son.  The three decide then and there that they will find a way to bring Yuccastar (104) down.  And they also make another decision.  They don’t want to wait any longer for this, as their chance with Yellowcreek was stolen from them.  The three decide to all become mates.  Their relationship may have started because they all fell in love with Yellowcreek, but now they love each other just as much.  And Airclaw’s kits will be as much Graysong’s (and Yellowcreek’s) as Gladekit is Cressfreckle’s and Airclaw’s.  With his mates both in the nursery, Cressfreckle sneaks out at night to sleep with them.  Gladekit wakes up mewling, missing his dead brother and father, and Cressfreckle bumps heads with him reassuringly.  Outside of the grieving family, clan life is trying to find a new normal in its bereaved, war-torn world.  Conepaw (8) is still bossing cats around, annoying Chasingskip (37).  Faiththrift (46) is annoyed with how Graysong’s been acting-it’s like he’s forgotten that he’s also Healer and needs to do his job, not just dote on his kit.  Flightkit (4), despite her previous refusal to have anything to do with Yellowcreek’s kits, offers an olive branch in the form of grooming a hard to reach place for Gladekit.  Fry (32) is shocked by his new Clan’s decision to exile kit.  He argues with Bushmask (135) over whether it was right or not.  He’s not sure he wants his kits to stay in this Clan.  Luckstripe (62), also being new to the Clan, is shocked by the exile as well.  He and Fry have been spending time together and chatting about their thoughts on clan life.  Cressfreckle overhears them talking and wonders if, maybe, they’d believe him if he told them about Yuccastar.  Luckstripe’s kits are star-blessed, and Yuccastar has killed a star-blessed cat in the past.  He would probably want to know.  Frostheart (28), despite knowing better, catches a sick rabbit, leading to herself, Gentle (112), Amethystdapple (52), and Midgepurr (22) getting poisoned.

Meta: I was so upset over the fact that Yellowcreek died before he had a chance to officially get together with Cressfreckle and Airclaw that I manually went in and made the two of them mates with Graysong. And had them adopt Gladekit.

[elementclangen]

Moon 124-Greenleaf

The Clan has been hit hard this moon.  First, a ChaffinchClan attack on Brightfalcon (167) cost the beloved elder her life, starting a war with ChaffinchClan.  Then, in what should have been a joyous moment with Airclaw (66) announcing that she was expecting kits and picking out a nest in the nursery next to Yellowcreek’s (51), with Cressfreckle (40) and Graysong (37) right beside her, Yellowcreek started kitting.  Early.  Too early.  He had two kits but had lost too much blood.  Nothing Graysong, Caterpillarmallow (74), or Needlepelt (27) could do could save him.  Maybe he could have saved himself if he hadn’t been so afraid of his magic.  In the end, the prejudice he faced because of his magic was what cost him his life.   Yellowcreek lived just long enough to meet his kits surrounded by the cats he loved before he passed.  And was surprised to find himself in StarClan, not the dark forest, being greeted by the dark-cursed cats who came before him:  Shadestar and Skydawn.  They welcomed him with open arms, but he still wishes he could be there for his family.  Airclaw, Cressfreckle, and Graysong all spend the vigil curled up next to Yellowcreek’s body.  Cressfreckle and Airclaw never officially became mates with Yellowcreek, but they hope that he knows they loved him.  Romantically.  Airclaw manages to hold it together for the vigil, but breaks down once she’s alone.  She curses the world that took Yellowcreek instead of her.  Cressfreckle sobs the whole night long.  He wishes he would just wake up from this nightmare and his best friend and love would be next to him.  When the sun rises after a sleepless night, he dwells on how this is the first morning of his life that he and Yellowcreek have not shared.  Graysong grabs some foliage from Yellowcreek’s nest, comforted by the scent of his mate.  It comforts him as he curls around their kits and manages to drift off into sleep.  The Clan is also hit hard by the loss of Brightfalcon.  She was the oldest cat in the Clan and beloved by many.   Bushmask (134) doesn’t know what to do with the loss of his mate.  He can’t believe that she and so many of their kits are gone.  At least she, Stormrush, Antlersky, and Rosemaryquake are all reunited in StarClan.  Yellowcreek’s kits survive the kitting and are named Fumblekit (0) and Gladekit (0).  Gladekit got Graysong’s earth-blessing and is already making the plants around him grow to hide him so he can sneak up on the older kits.  Fumblekit on the other paw. . .well, the plants seem to grow towards him as well.  But Caterpillarmallow is surprised when she checks in on him to see steam rising from his pelt as well.  And he’s not glowing. . .she looks at Graysong, who curls his tail protectively around his son.  He knows.  She immediately goes and tells Yuccastar (103) that one of Yellowcreek’s kits is dark-cursed.  Yuccastar, so much less sure of herself than they used to be, decides that, as is tradition, the Clan will vote on what to do with the kit.  Graysong is not allowed to vote, as the kit is his own, biologically, and nor are the other kits.  But no other cats are excluded from the voting.  Despite the support of Yellowcreek’s other friends and loves, the Clan votes to get rid of the kit, leaving the final decision of how to do so up to Yuccastar.  She says she’s going to exile him, and takes him away from the warmth of Graysong’s nest and his brother.  But once she’s far from camp, she breaks the newborn kit’s neck.  Cressfreckle, who had followed to see if he could find a place to shelter the kit, watches.  Later, in a dream Yellowcreek tells him about what really happened to Judaschaser and Rindlefish. Yuccastar is a murderer.

Meta: So. . .this is a heavy moon. I almost cried when I saw that Yellowcreek had died. And then Fumblekit. . .Per the game's rules, an insecure leader will let the Clan vote on whether to keep or get rid of the kit. I went through and decided which cat would vote what, and, based on that, getting rid of the kit won. For the sake of the story, I had Yuccastar initially decide to exile Fumblekit (which is a death senetence for a newborn kit in and of itself), but, once she thought she was out of sight of the Clan, I decided that she would most likely kill the kit. And Cressfreckle took Yellowcreek's place as a witness. This moon was hard to write and I did my best to include any trigger warnings I could think of in the tags. Let me know if I missed anything.

[elementclangen]

Moon 121-Newleaf

The Clan can’t seem to escape loss.  After slowly fading for many moons, the elder Darkpetal (160) was found dead in his nest.  Bushmask (131) and Brightfalcon (164) are saddened by the loss of their friend so soon after the loss of their children.  Tremors wrack Brightfalcon’s body as she dwells on how Darkpetal won’t see another morning.  Bushmask goes over the best moments he shared with Darkpetal in his mind, again and again, until he’s certain he’ll remember Darkpetal forever.  Airclaw (63) misses her father and wonders how she’ll move on without him.  Cressfreckle (37) and Yellowcreek (48) comfort her.  In light of their losses, ElementClan and FurledClan have decided to end the war.  It had devolved into a stalemate and both sides were able to find common ground.  Despite the end of the war, Chervilcry (100) is busy.  She pulls Midgepurr (18) aside and asks him quietly about his crush.  He looks at her confused.  What crush?  He doesn’t have one.  Peakspots (90) has been worried that Cressfreckle is spending so much time with his mate instead of going on patrols.  This leads to a fight between them that Chervilcry has to break up, and Yellowcreek starts complaining about him behind his back.  Although not all is well in their romance.  Cressfreckle wants kits, but Airclaw isn’t quite ready yet.  She wants to see how their relationship progresses before taking the step into parenthood.  Chervilcry also helps them work through it. The final member of the quadrangle, Graysong (34), has noticed that his mother is having a hard time and surprises her with some of her favorite herbs that he grew.   Sadly, while on a patrol, Pythonrush (18) is killed by a thunderpath.  Flinttooth (22) is a little shaken that she couldn’t save him, but isn’t that torn up.  She wasn’t super close to him.  However, instead of shrinking this moon, the Clan actually grows.  A tom named Luckstripe (58) and his newborn kits have joined the Clan. He and one of his kits, Mothkit (0), are fire-blessed.  Chervilcry has to put out a small fire Mothkit starts in the nursery.  But the other two. . .are star-blessed.  And one of them, Flightkit (0), is so powerful that she almost blinded Caterpillarmallow (71) when she inspected the kits.  The other, Lilykit (0), is slightly less powerful, but still pretty strong.  Yuccastar (100) is intimidated.

[elementclangen]

Moon 119-Leaf-bare

As the war with FurledClan continues, it claims its first casualty.  Antlersky (77) was on a patrol and fell into a pit trap set by FurledClan warriors.  It was layered with earth-blessing shaped spikes that impaled her before she had a chance to get out with her air magic.  Brightfalcon (162) is shocked by the loss of her eldest daughter so soon after the loss of her son. She sits vigil that night as grief fills her heart.  In the days to come, Brightfalcon barely stirs from her nest.  Bushmask (129), too, is devastated by the loss of his adoptive daughter.  He worked so hard to earn her affection, and he’s glad for the time they had together. He searches for cats to help but, when no one needs anything from him, he breaks down, wailing uncontrollably and cursing the world that took Antlersky instead of him.  Caterpillarmallow (69) mourns the loss of her mate.  She knew they might not always be together, but she didn’t expect them to be separated so soon.  She visits Antlersky’s grave, bittersweetly recalling all the happy memories they shared.  There is a bright spot amidst all this grief.  Graysong (32) and Yellowcreek (46) have become mates!  Yellowcreek can’t believe he’s so lucky as to have a cat that cares about him as much as Graysong does, and Graysong appreciates Yellowcreek’s help in coping with his brother’s loss.  Now they just have to see what Airclaw (61) and Cressfreckle  (35) think about polycules. . .Peakspots (88) is still recovering from his injury.  But when he’s recovered, he hopes he doesn’t end up going on a patrol with Stonefreckle (102).  For some reason, he’s never been very close with his older foster brother.  Maybe he’s jealous that Stonefreckle got more time with Nightingaletree.  Or maybe they’re just too different to get along.  Speaking of cats not getting along, Gentle (106) feels like Yuccastar (98) has been relegating the powerless cats in the Clan to useless tasks.  He brings this up with her, but the two of them just fight and end up resentful of each other.  Meanwhile, his kits are also having some tension.  Timberfleck (16) is jealous that Midgepurr (16) got to fight in a border skirmish when he didn’t.   He wants to serve his Clan too!  ElementClan seems to be the Clan of the wind-blessed cats, as another former loner named Amethystdapple (46)  has joined the Clan with medium-strength wind powers.  

[elementclangen]

Moon 118-Leaf-bare

The combination of leaf-bare and the war is wearing on the Clan.  Brightfalcon (161) is devastated by the loss of her son, just a year after she lost Rosemaryquake.  She’s not sure she wants to go on in a world where her kits are dead.  Can’t she just go back in time to last leaf-bare, when they all were still alive?  The war with FurledClan has led to ElementClan having to adopt new routines.  Yuccastar (97) has their strongest wind-blessed cats flushing up drifts of snow on the borders and often puts Peakspots (102) on border patrols, so that any cats who remember Nightingaletree see her son is still out and fighting.  But after a border skirmish leaves him with a bad wound, he has to take a rest in the healer's den.  In his absence it doesn’t hurt to have Yellowcreek (45) do a little dark-cursed demonstration.  Just so they don’t forget who they’re dealing with.  Yuccastar has also recovered from greencough and came out as nonbinary, using she/they pronouns.  They seem to be having a bit of a mid-life crisis and doubting herself a lot more than they used to.  Meanwhile, Antlersky (76) is getting along with her brother, feeling the need to bond with her remaining siblings after Flurrypelt’s loss.  Meanwhile, the quadrangle cats are bonding.  Cressfreckle (34), Airclaw (60), and Graysong (31) had a nice talk while eating, and Cressfreckle purrs for a long time at one of Airclaw’s lame jokes.  However, Yellowcreek is taking some time by himself. The demonstrations haven’t helped Yellowcreek’s reputation with some of his clanmates.  He notices that cats like Bushmask (128) and Flinttooth (19) have been nervous around him lately.  He wishes they would just relax and that Yuccastar wouldn’t ask any more of him.  But he decides that he won’t stop using his powers to protect his Clan, if that’s what Yuccastar thinks is best.

[elementclangen]

Moon 117-Leaf-bare

There’s a lot happening in the Clan, between leaf-bare, the war, and the love quadrangle.  The war with FurledClan has made tensions high.  There have been several border skirmishes, but thankfully no battles.  Yet.  With the onset of leaf-bare, disease has come to the camp.  Both Gentle (104) and Yuccastar (96) have come down with it.  Caterpillarmallow (67) wishes that Graysong (30) would be more helpful in healing them, but he’s been using his powers to grow lavender instead.  Hey, Yellowcreek (30) said that he likes them!  Bushmask (127) decides to step in and is reminding Graysong how important his job is, such as through telling him about the various times Brightfalcon (160) had wished her powers were strong enough to heal others like Graysong can.  Graysong gets it.  But still.  Yellowcreek.  And there are some cats who still don’t like the dark-cursed cat, most notably Flinttooth (18), who Graysong overheads complaining about his friend.  How dare she!  Meanwhile, Faiththrift (38) uses her star-blessed powers to scare off an enemy patrol.  She thinks the Clan should throw a celebration in her honor.  Yuccastar is annoyed.  Sadly, on a patrol with Peakspots (36) , Flurrypelt (30) gets too close to twolegs and is crushed when one of them starts a monster unexpectedly.  Graysong feels bad that his brother died after they had grown so far apart.

Meta: Technically, Flurrypelt was just captured by twolegs and not killed. But the game treated it like he was dead and I treated it that way too, so I decided that he was killed instead of captured. He died anyways three moons later while lost.

[elementclangen]

Moon 115-Leaf-fall

Well, the Clan has solved one leg of the love quadrangle.  It’s actually the side that few cats expected to come first: Airclaw (57) and Cressfreckle (31).  Airclaw loves how Cressfreckle balances her out.  Where she can be impulsive and confrontational, he is calm and relaxed. Where she enjoys getting out of camp and going for a hunt, Cressfreckle would rather stay and watch over the kits.  She loves that about him.  And she’d be okay if he loved other cats too.  She knows she does. . .Yellowcreek (42) is a little shocked that his friend and crush now has a mate.  He has to go on a long walk, alone, at night to process it.  Meanwhile, Antlersky (73) is realizing that she’s now a senior warrior, and that younger cats are annoying.  Cressfreckle never does anything, and Frostheart (18) is always stealing the best prey.  Don’t these cats know respect!  Her mate, Caterpillarmallow (65) is much more appreciative of the young cats, especially  her fellow Healers.  Needlepelt (18) fought off a rogue while gathering herbs the other day.  And she’s not even a warrior!  Impressive.  Yellowcreek feels like he’s finally starting to find his place in the Clan.  He chatted with Yuccastar (94) (who he’s still a little afraid of-she is a murderer, afterall) and feels like he understands where she’s coming from better.  She’s afraid of losing power after gaining it.  It doesn’t excuse her murdering Rindlefish and Judaschaser, but it does explain some of it.  He’s definitely hesitant to expose her, though.  Flurrypelt (28) and Graysong (28) keep drifting farther apart.  The brothers used to do everything together, but now it feels like Graysong is closer with their sisters than he is with him.  And being the only water-blessed warrior, Flurrypelt feels out of place.  He can’t hear Bushmask (225), Frostheart and Antlersky as they whisper to each other over the wind and he can’t play ‘rockball’ with Brightfalcon (157) Graysong, Needlepelt.  He just doesn’t fit in with the rest of his family seems to have.

Meta: By 'few cats' I mean me. I did not see Cressfreckle x Airclaw coming. I thought it would be Yellowcreek and Cressfreckle who got together first, because they've had romantic like for each other the longest (since moon 98). But Cressfreckle and Airclaw are pretty cute together too.

[elementclangen]

Moon 113-Greenleaf

Finally, FINALLY, Needlepaw (16) has been made a full Healer.  Her name is Needlepelt, in honor of her emotional maturity.  She’s compassionate and great at diagnosing cats.  Despite her near non-existent earth-blessing, she’ll make a great Healer.  And she’s not the only one who’s been given her full name this moon.  Pythonpaw (10)  has been made a warrior early!  Peakspots (97) has proven his mettle as a mentor, and Pythonpaw excelled at every task put before him.  He’s been given the full name of Pythonrush and honored for his zeal.  Bushmask (123),who has grown quite reverent of star-blessed cats, makes sure to welcome Faiththrift (34) into the Clan.  It can’t hurt to be on good terms with her, right?  His daughter, Antlersky (71), is less thrilled with the newer cats in the Clan.  Especially Gentle (100).  How is he better than her at hunting!  It’s not fair.  Darkpetal (152) has been hanging out with Flinttooth (14), spreading rumors.  He tells her that Graysong (26) has been acting weird, spending a lot more time than normal with that dark-cursed cat.  Graysong has indeed been spending more time with Yellowcreek (40). . .and staying up late at night trying to think of ways to impress him.  Aww.

[elementclangen]

Moon 112-Greenleaf

Flintpaw (13)  has finally been made a warrior!  She has been named Flinttooth, honoring her hard work.  And she has worked hard.  It felt like she was under a lot more pressure to perform well than Frostheart (15), who was made a warrior earlier, just because she was powerless.  It’s not fair.  And it means that she can’t afford to spend time with Yellowcreek (39), unlike the other cats her age. She even turns up her nose at a gift he gives her.  It’s bad for her reputation to be seen with a dark-cursed cat.  Now that they’re both in the elders’ den, Bushmask (122) and Brightfalcon (155) are enjoying spending more time together.  They even went on a nice moonlit stroll.  Their daughter, Antlersky (70), has been a little concerned lately about Moorleg’s (24) violent tendencies, especially how hard she’s been on her apprentice, Midgepaw (9).  She talks to her about it, and they gain a better understanding of each other.  Moorleg really just wants to protect the Clan and enable Midgepaw to do so as well.  Or so she tells Antlersky. . .Midgepaw himself feels like he’s been struggling lately.  His power level is just so low that he can’t do most of the exercises Moorleg gives him.  And she’s an intimidating mentor to work under. Meanwhile, Antlersky's mate is enjoying spending time with Antlersky’s family.  Caterpillarmallow (62) loves getting to know her nieces and nephews, even ones that she doesn’t work with, like Flurrypelt (25) and Frostheart. While on a patrol, Peakspots (81) finds a kittypet.  Who appears to be. . .glowing.  A star-blessed cat!  He brings the kittypet, who takes the name of Faiththrift (33), back to camp and presents her to Yuccastar (91) with excitement.  Yuccastar is. . .less than thrilled.  She just got rid of one star-blessed cat.  And now here’s another one!  At least she’s weaker than Yuccastar.  Although that look in her eyes says that she may be trouble. . .

[elementclangen]

Moon 111-Greenleaf

After serving the Clan for many moons, Bushmask (121) has decided that it’s time for a rest.  He thinks fondly of the Clan he knew when he was young, as well as the Clan he has come to know in his old age.  He remembers playing with his sister as apprentices, using his powers to hunt in cold leaf-bares, grieving the loss of his sister, falling in love with Brightfalcon (154), and raising their kits together.  He’s excited to spend the rest of his life in the Elders' den with her.  Cressfreckle (27)  has been spending time with Graysong (24) and Yellowcreek (38) lately.  He really enjoys the time he spends with the two of them.  And he’s glad to see that Graysong has been getting along with Yellowcreek, even remembering his favorite piece of prey.  Graysong’s brother, Flurrypelt (24), is not as big of a Yellowcreek fan.  He thinks the dark-cursed cat is weird and annoying. Graysong ignores his comments, even when Flurrypelt splashes him with water to try and get his attention.  Meanwhile, in the apprentice’s den, Flintpaw (12) still feels like she’s struggling in training.  She can’t even pass it off as being powerless-Pythonpaw (8) doesn’t have magic and he got praised by Yuccastar (90).  What is she doing wrong?  Frostheart (14) is feeling a bit separated from the rest of the Clan.  Their friendliness and constant nagging are just getting at her.  She wants to escape.  So she goes on a patrol, all by herself.  And meets up with a loner, an older she-cat named Swallowbelly (101) with an injured tail and a medium strength water blessing.  It’s nice for Flurrypelt and Chervilcry (90) to have another water-blessed cat in the Clan.  Maybe Chervilcry will even get some help with mediating!

[elementclangen]

Bushmask's Elder Sprite

Bushmask; Wind-blessed tom with a power level of 51 (medium); Righteous and a renowned hunter

And the youngest founder officially has his elder sprite now. How weird. He's just a little baby in my head. Oh, and he got an accessory since you last saw his sprite (on moon 3! Wow)

[elementclangen]

Moon 108-Newleaf

With leaf-bare over, life in the Clan seems to be looking up.  Cats are recovering from the grief of losing Rosemaryquake, and Bushmask (118) has even been making an effort to get along with Yellowcreek (35).  His son seems to like the dark-cursed cat, so Bushmask can give him a chance.  Darkpetal (147) enjoys entertaining the kits by telling stories to them.    Flurrypelt (21) is also enjoying spending time with the kits.  He feels relaxed and happy around them.  Flintpaw (9) is less relaxed and happy. She’s still having a bit of a hard time with training.  She feels like she’s falling behind, and other cats are noticing.  Airclaw (50) offers to help, since her littermate, Sunjaw, was also powerless.  Somehow that doesn’t make Flintpaw feel better. Yuccastar (87) is watching as Judaschaser (129) seems to be gaining popularity in the Clan.  Cats like her and the young warriors look up to her.  More than they like and look up to Yuccastar.  That bothers her.  A lot.  She decides to do something about it.  She invites Judaschaser to follow her out on a patrol.  They head to a remote part of the territory, right on the border with another Clan, and Yuccastar attacks.  She lunges forward and, before Judaschaser can react with her magic, rips out her throat.  Yuccastar returns to camp, leaving Judaschaser’s bleeding body on a patch of snow. Yellowcreek had seen his former mentor leave camp with Judaschaser, and, knowing what she did to Rindlefish, decided to follow her.  He watches her murder Judaschaser while hiding in the bushes.

Meta: So, I'd been mediating Judaschaser and Yuccastar to hate each other, and both their dislike bars were completely full. With Judaschaser being an elder, I was worried she would die of natural causes before Yuccastar killed her, and I didn't want to wait too long and lose that story thread. So I manually killed Judaschaser and decided that Yuccastar had killed her. And that Yellowcreek, with his horrible luck, had seen it again. For story reasons.

[elementclangen]

Moon 107-Leaf-bare

Despite being an old lady, Judaschaser (128) is still an agile cat.  She manages to land on her feet nimbly after slipping on an icy rock.  The other cats account her dexterity to her star-blessed status.  Yuccastar (86) is jealous.  Bushmask (117) and Brightfalcon (150) have developed the kind of relationship that Brightfalcon didn’t have time to develop with Stormrush.  They go on walks, admire each other, and dote on their family.  Brightfalcon’s happy to have achieved this life for herself, in spite of everything she’s been through.  She does miss Rosemaryquake and Stormrush, but she still has the rest of her loved ones.  Speaking of whom, Graysong (20) has not been thrilled with how Yuccastar has been running things.  He’s even been complaining about her behind her back.  And she overheard.  Flurrypelt (20)  however, is a fan of Yuccastar.  He glares at Graysong, but his brother doesn't notice.  Pythonkit (4), who is stuck in the healer's den after he got frostbite from sneaking out of camp, has been watching Flintpaw’s (8) training.  He’s a little worried that his own training, as a powerless cat, will be difficult, and asks Flintpaw for advice.  She doesn’t have much for him.  It’s just hard.