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unwantedshivering · 2 years

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NEW SURVIVOR

HEADCANONS of DANNY JOHNSON with a new survivor he finds attractive

WARNINGS: creepy stalking, typical danny stuff, perverse & sadistic thoughts, obsession

FOR: Ghostface ft. Dwight :]

Oh?

You suddenly dropped in one day during his trial, might he add, as though you were made for him. Disoriented, quivering and on unstable legs. It's Danny's instinct to prowl, hunt and observe, and he absolutely loves when there's new survivors — it's a new opportunity for him to see what your insides look like.

Are you terrified yet? You seem to be a bit too calm in the moment, but it was probably just setting in. Of course Dwight takes it upon himself to explain the generators to you, blah blah blah. Danny's attention is nothing more than a simple curiosity, that of a cat lazily pawing at a mouse. If you're lucky, he'll lose his curiosity quickly and your first death will be (almost) painless.

Unfortunately, you're not lucky at all. You blow a fuse on a generator, quickly disrupting the unnerving and almost faint caws of those ominous crows that seem to follow you everywhere. Dwight quickly hushes your surprised yelp, urging you to move quickly, but Danny's already behind you. His interest has been piqued, you're quite pretty when you're frightened.

To be fair, he had been behind you for quite some time. Ohh, you're easy to spook, aren't you? You're a quick learner, your fingers move diligently, but the pressure of being dropped in a game of life has you fumbling. He thinks you'd look good smeared in blood, a sweet rouge dotting your face as he watches those eyes go big and doe-like. Thinking about it gives him a small rush, and he idly twirls his knife as he stealthily slinks after you.

Dwight grabs your shoulder to make you crouch and you flinch, a sharp breath escaping your lips. Danny's own breathing falters.

He likes watching. He likes figuring out everything about the survivors, which killer they fear the most, how good they are in tough situations, how easy of prey they might be. The quiet whimpers of pain he inflicts upon them, the groans and limping, he could end it quick — but he doesn't choose to, he revels in their misery, prolongs it. All survivors have hope to escape, that's why The Entity chose them.

He loves breaking it. Of course, they'll occasionally escape through that damned gate or hatch, but when they don't it's almost artistic. He broke them down. He crushed their hopes, their small semblance of faith in leaving the hellhole they're eternally trapped in, even if it was for a single round. If he finds it particularly poetic, he'll even snap a quick photo. Danny's always been quite the romantic.

He's snapped many photos of you in the short time that he's known you. Your side profile, your smile at the awkward quip Dwight makes to ease your nervousness, all of it. Your hesitant movements and the changes in your face is something he finds charming. It's the way you're adapting even though he could practically smell the absolute horror radiating off of you, you're so fucking scared it's driving him crazy.

Danny plays with you. He wants you to be paranoid with every flash and click, every branch snapping you hear. It's amusing when you turn to his direction only to see nothing, no, he doesn't want you to see him yet. He has to get rid of that parasite sticking by your side first.

He decides then he wants you for last, like a sweet reward for his excellent trial. Yeah, he wants to see your hair disheveled and your limbs sprawled against the dirt. The Ghostface doesn't speak, none of the killers generally do, but he would whisper a description on how he'd gut you and see the realization of your predicament seep in. He wants it so badly. He wants — needs photos to commemorate the experience.

Deep down, Danny knows this is just an obsession formed over a baseless fascination. He wants to see what makes you squirm, but also you're attractive to him, so it works out for him perfectly. It also doesn't help that he believes you to be photogenic, and only The Entity knows how many survivors he would sacrifice just to see you covered in blood.

It's the pure notion of such a thing that would set him off. Are you a cryer or would you attempt to hold it in? How's your pain tolerance? Have you ever experienced such brutality and cruelness before him? Danny would love if the shimmer of your tears appeared in the photo as well as your contorted expression. These thoughts cross his mind as he hooks Jake and Feng.

Fuck.

It's getting harder to rein himself back in, but Danny is smart to know patience is a virtue. It bears fruit, beautiful fruit such as being the first killer in this endless loop to sink a knife into your side with a sick slick sound.

There was something watching you.

You felt it throughout the whole time you were in this weird dimension, your hair bristling as though there were eyes were locked onto your frame's every movement. You recounted the feeling hesitantly to Dwight as you were headed to another spot, and he pursed his lips before saying that it was most likely The Ghostface. You persisted for more answers, but he provided you none, stating most trials felt that way.

Dwight was nice, sticking by you and looking out for you as you tripped and messed up time and time again. "It's alright," he whispered, fixing up a generator skillfully. "It's your first trial, I was even worse when I got here."

It was sudden when you lost him, another blown generator and the building dread of something approaching. You ran away. You shouldn't have, Dwight even shouting after you, but you did anyway. It was too overwhelming, the fear had overtaken and your natural instinct was flight.

It had receded naturally as you left, but then the guilt had taken over. A piercing scream ripped through the air and you whipped your head around. It was him — Dwight. You should've just stayed put.

It was the moment you decided to step toward the sound to fix your mistake that an aggressive shove halted your movements, your body sent tumbling to the strangely wet soil. It was cold, dirt sticking to your hair and body, and a soft scream forced its way out of your mouth. You quickly turned over to attempt to stand, but then a dark, impeding mass of black seated itself right on your hips.

His name — you know how he got his name. The Ghostface and his startling white mask, forever in a petrified scream, your eyes were blown wide. It was one thing to hear about him and feel him, but his actual presence made your stomach churn. You thrashed and wriggled violently in hopes of forcing your way out from below him, but he kept his weight heavy upon your body, purposefully pushing his legs against your torso to cage you in.

As if to issue a warning, the Ghostface cut a slice into your thigh, and you released a silenced whimper. Stunning. You were stunning, he could analyze and study your every expression forever, maybe pry noises out of you no one else could.

Dwight's blood curdling cries worsened as the Ghostface wiped the knife he used to slash him down, head tilted and chest heaving. The exhilaration of hunting the other survivors was nothing in comparison to seeing you below him. There were clumps of filth across your face and hair, clothes ripped by the strangely sharp branches of the dead trees, your heartbeat spiking.

He could feel it. If he wanted to, he could reach down with his own two fingers and press against your thumping pulse in an oddly intimate fashion. Would you be bewildered? He wanted a picture for every face you could ever make — confused, angry, whatever.

"Has anyone done this to you before?" he asked before he could help himself, freakish mask leaning in closer to see every twitch on your visage.

Your eyebrows knitted together, he saw it. Something like that shouldn't have fascinated him as much as it did. With a shuddered breath, you spoke in a rasp. "I—I don't understand..."

Your alert eyes flickered toward his knife, and the Ghostface hummed. He smelt of cheap cologne.

"Dwight was babying you," he stated lowly, mockingly cocking his head to the side. The martyr. He bit off more than he could chew. "The nerd took it upon himself to try and save you, have your first trial be one where you survive. Isn't that fucking ironic?"

It was rhetorical, you knew it was, yet you answered anyway. "I know," you spat bitterly, turning away. It felt bad to have your own mistake be said so bluntly by a murderer of all people.

Weakly, you writhed underneath him for a chance to move, but his hold was too suffocating. Tears sprung up in your eyes. Why was this creep just watching? He didn't do much with his weapon, just kept staring with his hooded lids and breathing in your face as you struggled.

It seemed like the rise and fall of his chest quickened when that light glaze of frustration and fear appeared upon your face. He sucked in a hiss, craving to see those bewitching, translucent pearls stream down your features.

"Oh, you're a fucking cryer," he cooed. His hunting knife pressed against your cheek, the cold blade forcefully turning your head back to face his eery mask. "Look here, I need a good shot of those eyes before and after I sink my knife into that stomach of yours."

#danny johnson x reader #jed olsen x reader #dead by daylight #dead by daylight x reader #ghostface dbd #ghostface x reader #dbd ghostface #ghostface dbd x reader #slasher fandom #slasher x reader #danny johnson #jed olsen #dbd x reader #danny johnson x you #jed olsen x you #dbd x you #dead by daylight x you

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theresattrpgforthat · 2 years

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THEME: Paws, Feathers & Scales

Mausritter, by Losing Games.

It’s a huge and dangerous world out there, and it does not look kindly on a small mouse. But if you are very brave and very clever and just a bit lucky, you might be able to survive. And if you survive long enough, you might even become a hero amongst mice.

Take up the sword and don the whiskers of a brave mouse adventurer in Mausritter, a rules-light fantasy adventure roleplaying game. Mausritter is built on the chassis of Into the Odd, with new rules for setting, character generation, magical artefacts, and mouse-scale adventures.

Mausritter is a game that makes character creation deceptively simple - your little mouse doesn’t have much to them, but that’s because they’re small creatures in a much larger world. It’s very easy to kill your mouse, which means that your team is going to have to focus on solving a lot of problems without diving head-first into combat. This is a game built off of other games that are OSR, which has a lot of ties to dungeon-delving kinds of games. There’s an online character generator if you want a character fast, and a seriously gigantic amount of third-party content created for these little adventurers. If you like creating and solving challenges more than diving head-first into combat, you should absolutely check this game out.

Cats of Catthulu, by Catthulu.

In Cats of Catthulhu, players take on the roles of a variety of ordinary-seeming cats fighting conspiracies of cosmic chaos. Mighty spirits such as Snarlyathotep, slimy Phatphroggua, and Hastpurr of the Yellow Eye inspire their cultists to destroy civilization-but that’s where all the comfy furniture is!

One person acts as the Cat Herder, arranging the secret plots, challenges, and rewards and guiding the others through the process of making an adventure. Rules are light and quick, emphasizing player cleverness and the fun of being feline. There’s plenty of darkness and chaos in the world, but our fuzzy heroes can handle it!... Usually.

This game is perfect for players who don’t want to deal with math, because cats can’t do math either! Normally you play using special cat dice, but using regular d6’s will work just fine. Your cats will dive into situations that have a Lovecraftian twist, but aren’t too scary for children. On top of rolling dice to determine whether you succeed, there are a few optional rules that add to the goofy feel of the game - particularly the rule of Wum Fing, which states that if a cat character picks up something in game, the player must put their pencil in their mouth and speak around it. If the player gets annoyed and takes the pencil out of their mouth, the cat drops what they are holding.

You only really need the Nekonomikon to play, but Cat Herders might benefit from picking up the Cat Herder’s Guide.

Capybara Capers, by momatoes.

A super elite team of capybaras has been assembled to steal the mythical Awesome Lemon once and for all. But each of you have your own motives...and there may very well be a traitor in your midst. Can you afford to trust one another?

Capybara Capers offers a smooth, seamless tabletop RPG experience for playing a criminal critter, with mechanics for sharing trust, escalating rolls, and even individual win conditions. Ideal for 3-6 players, plus a Game Master!

Each character has their own idea of what victory looks like. There are up to 6 unique Win Conditions that your character may draw from the deck - from gaining the trust of all of the other players, to betraying the rest of the capybaras. Characters also descriptors that will add dice to relevant rolls, in order to increase their chances of success. Throughout the game, players may exchange Trust tokens to give each-other aid or remove Escalation Tokens, which are added whenever the group fails three or more consecutive tasks in a row. If you like wacky hi-jinx and the possibility to betray your friends, Capybara Capers is for you!

Pugmire, by Onyx Path Publishing.

“Be a good dog. Protect your home. Be loyal to those who are true. These are the words of the Code of Man.”

— Sister Picassa Collie, Shepherd of the Church of Man

Dogs have inherited the world, building the kingdom of Pugmire untold centuries after the Ages of Man are over. These dogs have been uplifted to use tools and language, and they seek to rediscover the ruins of the Old Ones. Some have learned to use the leftover technology of humanity, but they believe it to be magic handed to them by their lost gods. Others seek to create an ideal civilization, using a Code of Man compiled from ancient, fragmentary lore left behind by humanity. The world is dangerous and mysterious, but good dogs will persevere.

Pugmire uses a simplified version of 5e, which makes it great for kids or first-timers to the RPG scene. You may clear the forest of Giant Ants, foil the plots of scheming cats, or race rat cultists from the Cult of Labo Tor in order to retrieve a ruin from an artifact. As adventurers, all of your endeavours serve to fulfill your over-arching goal: to become Very Good Dogs. For players, the core rulebook for Pugmire is free as a phone version on DriveThruRpg. For cat lovers, you can instead play in the scheming Monarchies of Mau, if that is what your heart desires.

Crustacean Bus Station, by kumada1 (Sprinting Owl).

You are a crab.

You live in a tidepool community with other crabs. However, your crab factory job is at the other end of the beach. To get there, you must traverse dangerous terrain, evade seagulls and seals and morays, and wear yourself out scrambling over barnacle-covered rocks. This commute would be so much easier if you had a bus.

Unfortunately, crab bus stops are banned by seal civic ordinances. Crabs are rejected from the prestigious Seagull School Of Engineering. And Moray Refreshments, your factory job, is very strict about attendance. Miss even a few minutes of your shift and you risk having your pay docked---which will put you behind on your rent and give Octopus Realty all the incentive it needs to start processing evictions.Tonight, you're going to build your own bus with nothing but pincers and theft.

Buckle up and ready your pincers, because this is a game full of crime and creativity. You’re playing the underdogs, crabs with only a few hit points and a lot of obstacles in the way of building your bus. Each character gets something called a Scuttle Score, which acts as player currency in order to get out of a terrible situation. However, if you Scuttle out of a situation, it makes the situation worse for your friends! Will you leave them behind, or will you stick it out and solve your problems together?

Geese at the Beach, by Justin Joyce.

THE GOOSE KING HAS AWOKEN. The annual event has arrived, in which the Goose King rises and sends his most powerful Geese soldiers to the dangerous lands of The Beach to gather Shiny things for his most powerful Horde. Perhaps he simply wants as much treasure as possible, or perhaps he yearns for the greatest treasure of all.

Regardless of his wants, it is on you and your squad of geese to brave the horrors of The Beach and battle the Goose King's enemies to bring the king what he desires most: Shinies. If the Goose King's wants are not met, the risk of all out war between The Goose King and the Seagull Armada could threaten to drown the world.

This game picks up a lot of cues from Belonging Outside Belonging games, which don’t usually use dice. This game uses 2d8, but much of your character abilities rely not on dice, but on the Favors you gain by doing certain actions. Players choose from five Goose playbooks: The Buff Goose, The Duck, The Pelican, The Cat, and the Fish. Each one of these playbooks is hilarious and guaranteed to elicit a game full of laughter.

Wanderhome, by Possum Creek Games.

Wanderhome is a pastoral fantasy role-playing game about traveling animal-folk, the world they inhabit, and the way the seasons change. It is a game filled with grassy fields, mossy shrines, herds of chubby bumblebees, opossums in sundresses, salamanders with suspenders, starry night skies, and the most beautiful sunsets you can imagine.

You might be a tamarin who dances with small and forgotten gods, a leporine mail carrier who relies on moths to get packages where they belong, a little lizard with a big heart and a mysterious past, or a near-endless number of other thrilling possibilities. No matter what, we’re always travelers—animal-folk who go from village to village and get to see the length and breadth of all the world of Hæth. The seasons will change as we play, and we will change with them.

Wanderhome is enchanting and endearing, and fundamentally encourages a different kind of roleplaying experience than you find in a traditional roleplaying game. Built on the Belonging Outside Belonging system, it requires absolutely no dice. Character sheets will give you the ability to describe the world around you, and encourage you to step into making mistakes in order to set your character up for successes down the road. If you are interested in stories about small critters travelling to pastoral locations and helping out the characters they find along the way, Wanderhome is definitely for you.

You can find both official and non-official Wanderhome supplements here.

#game recommendations #dnd #animals #cats #tabletop games #indie ttrpgs

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cosmic-glow · 1 year

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Notes: When crossing a bridge on Halloween night (Samhain) you meet a mysterious knight, does this remind you of any legend?

Warnings: Fíli x fem!reader; reader eats meat and drinks wine; persecution; SFW.

The icy wind forced you to bend down and hold on tighter to the cloak that covered you, your horse was already tired from the long journey, but even though the sun had long since set you couldn't stop, it was Samhain night, you had to get home. Further on, even though your eyes were begging for rest, you could see a faint bluish glow and you were right to assume it was a lake. Arriving at the water's edge, you stopped so that your horse could have a drink and took the opportunity to refill your canteen too.

As you searched through your bag for something to eat, believing it would give you the energy to stay awake for a few more hours, a sound of something moving among the leaves came towards you and suddenly stopped. Without delay, you climbed back onto your horse, which was now alert too. "Who's there?" you asked into the shadows of the night, bow in hand, ready to fire an arrow. With a quick movement and a sound as subtle as a mouse, something approached from your right, but your ears didn't fail and you unhesitatingly shot in the direction, hitting a large black wolf that cried out in pain before being seized by hatred. But you didn't give him a chance, already pulling on the reins to take your horse in a new direction, then starting a chase.

At first it was just one wolf, but after its painful howl, several joined it, hunting you. It didn't matter which direction you were going anymore, you just needed to escape them, lose them. You went down an old road and crossed a bridge that creaked with the horse gallop, only to come to the end and come face to face with a forest too thick for your horse to pass through. He stopped and skidded before raising his paws in fear of hitting the trees and knocking you down. Your back hurt and your head was spinning when you managed to get up, still in time to see him run away at a fast gallop that mixed with the sounds of the wolves approaching, thirsty, you knew you would never be able to run faster than them.

Before you could hide or think of any plans, you saw the black cloud they were forming cross the bridge, its white teeth gleaming at you. And when all seemed lost and you had accepted that there, on that cold October night, would be your end, a rider appeared. His horse was as black as the sky that covered you, he wore a long cloak, wielded a long bronze sword, from where you stood you couldn't see his face, but his hair looked like the first rays of the morning sun. Bravely he stunned and wounded the pack single-handedly, you were so surprised that you didn't even think to draw your bow and react, it didn't take long for the pack to flee, and when the last wolf crossed the old bridge he leaned forward, still with his back to you, and sheathed his sword. When he stood up straight again, his blond curls spread out over his long cloak, and he turned his face to look at you over his shoulder.

As he pulled the horse's reins to look you in the face, you stood up and adjusted yourself as best you could to make yourself presentable. He was a short man with great presence, furrowed eyebrows and shrewd eyes analyzing you, he had a long nose that ended in a braided mustache and a blonde beard. His clothes were beautiful and yours were dirty, you were about to say thank you when he spoke earlier.

- A maiden shouldn't walk alone on Samhain night, she'll end up getting hurt - he had a smug smile on his lips and now it was yours eyebrows that were furrowed.

- Excuse me? But I was perfectly fine and could have managed on my own, I don't remember asking for help from any flirt.

- What a sharp tongue you have, you should be more careful with what you say, you never know who you might end up offending - his look seemed curious, almost as if he was having fun with the situation.

- You're full of "shoulds", aren't you? If it's so dangerous "shouldn't" I know your name?

The blonde man remained silent for a while, analyzing the situation and thinking about whether he should really tell you his name, or better yet, reveal who he really was.

- I am Fíli, son of Dís, daughter of Thráin. And I wasn't lying when said it's dangerous to be alone in the woods at night. Much more on this particular night. Without further intrigue, allow me to take you to a safer place - he extended his hand to you, a new look on his face, sincere and welcoming.

You looked away from him to the bridge for a moment, remembering how close the wolves were before he arrived, how close you were to death. Turning away from this distressing thought, you accepted his hand, it was definitely not today that you would accept your death. With a strong tug he helped you onto the horse, you sitting right behind. When the animal started to run, you were forced to hug Fíli's waist to stop yourself from falling. As they rode away, you remembered how, before the man turned to face you, even as he fight, you couldn't see his head, only his hair, which now, when you thought about it, without the fear blurring your vision, looked very much like living flames - was your imagination playing tricks on you?

The knight took you to an old castle, it looked abandoned. He stopped and helped you get off the horse. You doubted he really lived there, branches had already grown around the towers, the stones on the walls were dirty with age and the windows were dark. The big door creaked open, and magically the torches in the hallway lit up, you don't know how but you didn't ask.

- You live here? - asked, looking at the grandeur of the place.

- Since I was a child. I'm sorry about the dust, I can't always clean everything myself - he takes off his cape and hangs it on the coat rack at the entrance.

- Only you live here?

- Yes, everyone left after... - he was silent - ... You must be hungry, come - he smiled at you and continued on.

Fíli guided you through the corridors to a large dining room with a table just as long. At the end, there was a hearty dinner set out for the two of you.

- Were you expecting a visitor? - you said, taking the second glass.

- Maybe I went out looking for one - he pulled out the chair for you and smiled.

Only when the cooked meat touched your tongue and the seasoning invaded your mouth did you realize how hungry you were. Without paying attention, you ended up exaggerating the amount of wine you drank and soon the alcohol started to go to your head.

- It was good? - Fíli asked when you finished.

- Very good - you smiled and suddenly remembered how rude you had been to the man who saved your life - Thank you very much for all this, you don't even know me and are helping, I'm sorry for being so rude to you.

- Don't worry about it, I would also have responded that way to a strange man on a horse in the middle of the night - he laughed - And I think it doesn't matter if I know you or not, it's Samhain night, there has to be at least one date in the year to be kind without future interests, right?

-I think so...- your eyes became heavy, you leaned on the chair, the tiredness from before returning even stronger.

When you almost slipped out of the chair in your sleep, Fíli caught you, carefully lifting you up, "come on, I'll take you to your room" he said before leading you down more hallways and stairs. The mattress on the bed was soft and the covers were heavy, that was all you could say about your room as your eyes were practically closed when you entered, the blonde helping you lay down and cover you up.

- Good night, Y/n - he said, but you didn't remember telling him your name, but you didn't question it because you were already falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning, you woke up in a silent castle, sunlight shyly coming through the window to illuminate the room. You walked down the steps with light steps, there were no more candles lit and everything seemed more abandoned than last night. You looked between the doors as you passed through the hallways, but they were all filled with just furniture and nothing else except some cobwebs, where was Fíli? When reached the entrance hall you looked back, waited for a moment for any sound that would indicate the presence of anyone else in the house, but nothing.

- Fili? - you called, but no one answered.

Before leaving you noticed a painting at the entrance that you had not paid attention to last night, the painting was torn, but when you stretched it again and completed the image you found those beautiful shining eyes, in the frame of the painting there was a small golden plaque that "Fíli" was engraved and next to it was the year of birth... And the year of death. You walked away and took your breath away, he had died decades ago, how was it possible that you had seen him yesterday? Having spoken to him, touched him and felt him, how?

Without further ado, you left the house and had another shock when you found your horse that had escaped, standing outside, waiting for you calmly while was grazing. You looked once more at the castle behind you and you could have sworn you saw a curtain move. You wouldn't forget that Samhain night so easily.

Sorry for any typos;

Buy me a coffee?

October Calendar;

Masterlist

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avocadoguru · 1 year

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I promise I'm not greedy I'm so thankful for the quick updates but dare I ask for a crumb of chapter 5 mothers??? 🙏🏼🤞🏼🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

She was sipping her coffee at the desk, ready for a slow day when Nick walked into the station. She furrowed her brows at him confusedly, “Hey, you. Filling in for Tom?”

“No. He’s not here yet, then? – Good. I wanted a word with you in private.”

Y/N’s breath caught. That sounded like trouble. She’d hoped Harry had scared his advances away, “ ...Nothing you could have told me over the phone? "

Nick halted in front of the desk, hands on his hips, “How well do you know that guy from the other day? The one with the cocky attitude.”

“I… uhm, why are you asking?”

“He’s bad news. I’d stay away from him if I were you.”

Y/N felt like asking him what else was new, but instead, she cleared her throat and tried to feign ignorance “What are you on about?”

“He followed me. More like stalked me. I went out after work last night, had a couple beers at the bar down the street from where I live. Parked my car at my building and walked there. Had my umbrella with me since it’d started pouring and really didn’t notice anything amiss. I was half a beer down when this guy sits next to me at the bar and when I look to my left, there he is. That guy. I initially thought that was just a weird coincidence, but your pal had a message to get across.”

“... What did he say?”

“He told me to stay away from you if I knew what was good for me. Told me to keep my dirty little paws off you, or else.” Y/N was at a loss for words. Stammering to get a word out, Nick cut her off, “He also kept calling me Mickey, he said it was like that pathetic little mouse, and that it was fitting. I swear to God, Y/N. I really had to hold back, I wanted to punch him in the face, but I didn't wanna lose risk losing my badge over this. Who the fuck does this asshole think he is?!”

Y/N fought to keep her amusement to herself. Both for the Mickey Mouse remark, but especially for the way Nick actually thought he could take on Harry.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Nick…”

“He’s trouble, Y/N.” He warned, pointing his finger at her as he walked out of the station, “He better not let me catch him in here again if he knows what’s good for him!”

When Y/N heard Nick get back into his car and drive off from the outside parking space, she allowed herself a chuckle. But sobering up, she recognized this was unacceptable on Harry’s behalf. Who did he think he was to do such a thing? It was unacceptable. He’d crossed a line. She wished she could get a hold of him and tell him off.

Making the trek to his cabin was out of the question with the state of her ankle, and with it raining she wouldn’t have even tried. Plus, he might not even be there for all she knew.

If only there were an easier way to get to him…

Glancing over to the PC, she searched on Google Maps for Dr. Niall Horan’s private practice. Two could play that game.

sneak peek from Lupus Noctis- Chapter 5

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evesaintyves · 1 year

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for @remadoramicrofics October 2nd prompt, "cat"

995 words. Read it below or on AO3 😻

Earlier in the week, she was complaining about her flatmate— she's so annoying, up at the arsecrack of dawn every morning making noise, always wants a bite of my dinner; like, no! Get a job and buy your own! Merlin's tits, the cheek on her— so the first time he assents to going back to hers for one last drink, he glances around her narrow flat with its shoe-pile, its wallpaper of black-and-white gig flyers, and asks if anyone else is home. Tonks is curled up next to him on her hibiscus-printed couch, a refugee from the seventies just like him, and it would be unseemly to be found like this, might even pop the bubble of flattery and delusion that floated him all the way here.

Oh yeah, she says. Vivienne's in the bathroom. She ticks her wand in the air, the bathroom door clicks ajar and around it winds a calico cat, tail aloft. You're behind on the rent, Tonks says icily. By about... thirty-two months.

The cat stops, dainty paw in the air, and gives her a look of big-eyed surprise, like, no, your maths are off, and Tonks hops up, scoops the cat into her arms, buries her face in her fur.

Rubbish flatmate. A loud squeaking kiss. As soon as Tonks sets her down, the cat leaps onto the sofa and settles herself on Remus's lap. He gives her a stroke from ears to tail; she nuzzles her head against his shirt buttons.

Weird, says Tonks. She's a total dick about strangers.

Oh?

Yeah. She squints at him. You must be special or something.

Remus scratches Vivienne under her chin. Her eyes close, slowly. Well, Vivienne, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Tonks drapes herself back into the warm spot she's left next to him on the couch. She's not touching him, but she is almost touching him. If he could only relax, he might sink back into the cushions with her, try out an arm slung over the back of the couch. Try out a touch of the wisps of hair that have come untucked from behind her ears. But he can't. He's stiff with anxiety. Because what if he's wrong about what any of this means: the way she straightens his collar, the way she tells him I've missed you this week.

You've had a cat before, she says. No question.

Vivienne has rolled to let him pet her tufted belly. The quickness to trust has thrown him off-balance. Both the cat and the girl.

When I was very small, he tells her.

Tonks just looks at him over the rim of her glass. She has this way of staring like she's silently daring him to do something. That's projection, surely. She's a sweet girl. She can't have half an idea what she does to him. And he's misrepresented himself, in his practiced-automatic way, as a normal person. Someone worthy of trust. It's dangerous, he wants to tell her, to be so open with someone like him.

Rupert was his name— Remus blurts this out instead— he was missing most of one of his ears. I remember I had this idea that he'd gotten in a fight with a Chimaera—perhaps my father joked about it. Rupert wasn't actually the fighting type, I think. We had mice in the kitchen all the time. I remember Dad—we were hinkypunk-spotting on the River Usk, crawling around in the mud and the reeds—telling me: 'pretend you're Rupert chasing a mouse.' Meaning, stay back, don't get too close and frighten them off.

Tonks throws her head back and snorts.

Vivienne's the same. I swear I've seen her lose a fight to a dead moth.

Yes, Remus says, rubbing the cat behind her ears. She seems quite gentle.

Did Rupert... do a runner? Or...?

Remus frowns.

I don't actually know. By the time I was five or six he wasn't there anymore.

There's a slight tremor in his breath—it's the first he's ever really thought about it. He thinks he might know why. But those things go in the tight cupboard at the bottom of his mind, and he does his best not to rummage back there.

I don't remember much from that time, he admits with a mouth of cotton.

Tonks reaches out, slowly, the way you'd reach to touch a wild animal, and brushes her fingers against his cheek.

Molly and Arthur have come to see Teddy, and Dora has graciously given them the side of the sofa that doesn't have a long white streak of baby sick crusted into it. Remus is up and making tea, rinsing carpet-hairs off the dummy at the kitchen sink. Cheers, love, Dora says, sweet and tired, when he lifts the baby's head from her shoulder to swap out the burp cloth for a dry one. She presses her cheek to his forearm and asks for another cup of tea.

From the kitchen he hears the groan of the bathroom door, and then, a moment later, Molly's oh goodness, who is this? He smiles to himself, tweezing three sugars into Dora's cup. Viv's been a bit jealous since Teddy was born, always making figures-of-eight around Remus's ankles while he's walking Teddy through his colicky nights.

When he turns around, Viv is draped over Arthur's lap with her head nuzzling the crook of his elbow.

Oh yeah, Dora is laughing, she's a total slut. She'll let anyone have a feel. She'll probably try to go home with you.

Remus stops in the doorway and the spoon rattles in the teacup. Dora turns to look, and on her face there's half a smile: not as much like she's been caught as much as she's daring him to say something about it.

She winks. Teddy's little legs kick inside his sleep sack.

Remus sets the cup of tea beside her and strokes the baby's fuzz of sea-green hair.

It's true, he says, grinning.

image 1: kees van dongen, woman with cat

image 2: inagaki tomoo, cat

#remadora #tonks #remus lupin #remadora microfics

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silkclan-gossip · 2 days

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SilkClan – Moon 1 By Snakepaw 🐾

Hey there, it’s Snakepaw climbing my way up to the top—literally and figuratively! I’ve been keeping my ears open and paws busy, and trust me, there’s a lot going on in SilkClan that no one’s talking about. Good thing I’m here to break the silence. Let’s get into it, because things are getting interesting.

🌕 Major Events:

Twoleg Nonsense: While I was up in my favorite tree (don’t ask how high), I spotted a Twoleg playing with a kittypet near our border. I swear, it looked like they were trying to teach it to pounce. Good luck with that! The warriors brushed it off like no big deal, but something feels off to me. Twolegs and kittypets don’t just “hang out” for no reason.

Duskkit’s Breaking Point: Look, I get it—being treated like a helpless kit can be a real thorn in the paw. Duskkit is fed up with being babied, and I’m here for it. He’s especially tired of Minkpelt hovering over him like a hawk. Not sure if he’s got a plan to deal with it yet, but knowing him, he’ll blow up eventually. Can’t wait to see how that plays out.

🌿 Warrior Drama:

Larkweb Scares Off a Rogue: So get this: Larkweb basically scared a rogue out of our territory with just his words. Yeah, no claws, no bloodshed—just a stare and some threats. It was pretty epic. But what’s up with Basilstar? She looked like she was annoyed by the whole thing. Maybe she wanted some action? Who knows, but something tells me she’s not exactly Larkweb’s biggest fan.

Wisteriaspeckle and the Chicken: Wisteriaspeckle strutted into camp with a Twoleg’s chicken dangling from his jaws. I gotta say, it was a bold move. But he’s been acting kind of… distracted? I heard him mumbling about Saplingstar and StarClan. Maybe he’s feeling guilty about taking from the Twolegs, or maybe he’s just trying to impress someone. Either way, that chicken didn’t last long—tasted great!

Burrowfleck’s StarClan Musings: Speaking of StarClan, Burrowfleck has been off in his own little world lately. He had another dream, but surprise, surprise—he’s not talking. I saw him staring at the sky like he’s waiting for something. Whatever it is, it’s got him all riled up. And he’s still holding a grudge against Pondquill. Can’t say I blame him after last moon’s fiasco.

🐾 Snakepaw’s Gossip Corner:

"You know what’s been bugging me? I keep feeling like I should be doing more around here. Yeah, I might be young, but I’m not useless. At least Posyclaw is cool enough to listen when I talk about it on patrol."

"Oh, and did you see the way Duskkit snapped at Minkpelt? I swear, he’s going to lose it one of these days. Bet you a mouse he makes a scene soon."

"I overheard Wisteriaspeckle, Burrowfleck, and Posyclaw having a pretty tight conversation by the stream. They’re getting really close, but what are they planning? Makes me wonder if they’re up to something big."

Relationships Rundown:

Crush Alert: Word around camp is Minkpelt has a thing for Pondquill. Seriously? That guy? Well, Minkpelt’s always been a stickler for rules, so I guess they’d balance each other out. Whatever happens, I’m keeping an eye on this one.

Posyclaw, Wisteriaspeckle, and Burrowfleck: This trio is tighter than a thornbush. They’re always whispering about something, and I don’t trust it. Either they’re planning something, or they’re just best friends who love a secret. We’ll see.

Basilstar vs. Larkweb: Tensions are still thick between these two. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a showdown soon. Just saying.

That’s it for now, clanmates! Stay on your toes, because things are only going to get crazier. Until next moon, keep your claws sharp and your secrets sharper.

– Snakepaw 🐾

#silkclan-gossip #warrior cats #clangen #wc #moon one

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 2 years

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STRANGE WORLD Frustration

History repeats itself in the world of big-time Western animation feature films...

STRANGE WORLD, a Don Hall-directed sci-fi adventure B-flick throwback from Walt Disney Animation Studios, is looking to lose money at the box office, despite being out for barely 2 days. Costing over $135m to make, the usual for one of these California made in-house pictures from one of the Mouse House’s animation divisions (Pixar’s LIGHTYEAR cost $200m to make), the film is also not playing in several key markets for various reasons. A distribution disagreement is making it a straight-to-Disney+ title in France, and homophobia is why it won’t play in several overseas markets.

At least here, you’d think there’d be some kind of hope, right? After all, animated movies are slowly picking back up at the North American box office. Or so it seems... This year saw MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU cross $300m domestically alone in addition to a fine worldwide take, THE BAD GUYS legged it up and made a nice little profit, DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS was also leggy and did okay for itself. PAWS OF FURY came and went, MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON had a very short wide run, and LIGHTYEAR failed to recoup its astronomical costs. Take away the budget and horrendous legs for LIGHTYEAR, you’ll still see that the movie collected about $118m domestically. That currently has it behind MINIONS Deux and SING 2 as the highest-earning animated movies of the post-outbreak era. LIGHTYEAR was purely a case of many audiences just not liking the movie. Maybe if it was something else, and not the nerdy-specific movie that director Angus MacLane set out to make (which I admired and enjoyed, myself), perhaps it could’ve been a bona fide Pixar summer blockbuster? I do not know.

Much like STRANGE WORLD, LIGHTYEAR was a sci-fi action animated movie. Those just don’t pull in big blockbuster grosses that are required to cover the hefty costs. We saw this again and again... TITAN A.E. in 2000, ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE in 2001, TREASURE PLANET in 2002, BATTLE FOR TERRA and 9 in 2009, and now LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD look to join this unfortunate pantheon of animated movies that tried to show audiences the scope of the medium and what it can pull off... More than just singing princesses and farting ogres and jibbering yellow tic-tacs.

Perhaps you could mount an argument for BIG HERO 6 and SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, two superhero films based on Marvel characters. BIG HERO 6 certainly has some action bits and a techy futuristic setting, but Disney wisely promoted that movie as “haha look at the big funny marshmallow robot”. Then you have the popularity of superheroes, that sure helped! Coming off of TANGLED, WRECK-IT RALPH, and FROZEN had to have brought some goodwill for the Disney Animation adventure, too. It opened very well and held on very well, big hit.

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE had a fairly lukewarm opening when it bowed in mid-December of 2018, and it relied on very *very* strong word-of-mouth to bring it up to a near-$200m domestic haul. Being a Christmas release also helped, usually family films leg it up *big* time during the season, even with a lot of competition around it. And SPIDER-VERSE had plenty, from AQUAMAN to MARY POPPINS RETURNS to BUMBLEBEE.

But BIG HERO 6 and SPIDER-VERSE are likely seen as “superhero” movies by the public, not so much as “sci-fi” movies. To the public, “sci-fi” might mean space adventures and techy futures, but *without* superheroes. No one in STRANGE WORLD is a superhero. Buzz and his crew in LIGHTYEAR are just human beings in space suits with some neat tech at their disposal, but not really superheroes as we come to define them. LIGHTYEAR could perhaps be seen as a superhero origin story, should we have gotten a LIGHTYEAR sequel where Buzz and his new Star Command crew fight bad guys up in the cosmos, but alas. Visually and storywise, LIGHTYEAR leans more STAR TREK than, say, IRON MAN.

It seems that the one wide-released animated space adventure that didn’t lose money was... STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, a microbudgeted pilot to the long-running series of the same name. Now, that $68m gross it pulled in in summer 2008 was no great shakes... But it only cost $8.5m to make. That was it!

Maybe the lesson here is... Don’t overspend on these movies? TITAN A.E. cost around $90m in 2000, but flopped hard with a $36m worldwide take. Yikes. ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE was somewhere around $120m, it sank with $186m worldwide. TREASURE PLANET went down in history as one of the world’s biggest box office bombs, grossing $101m against a $140m budget. (A record for an animated feature at the time, and still the highest for a largely 2D film.) LIGHTYEAR took in $226m against a $200m budget, **ouch!** STRANGE WORLD maybe could’ve been made for half of what it ended up costing... and still look as cool as it did? Films like THE BAD GUYS (cost $80m), SPIDER-VERSE (cost $90m), THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES (cost $50-100m), even Illumination’s films (typically cost $70-90m)... They all show that you can make pretty fine and even dynamic-looking visuals without adding another $100m to the price tag.

STRANGE WORLD curiously has a “B” CinemaScore, a shocking low for a Disney Animation or Pixar release. Word of mouth looks to be sour for this one, but I can only wonder why. It’s no different from most animated movies I’ve seen lately, that have had fine multipliers. Is it really, truly the sci-fi elements and glorpy weird creatures? Is it truly the classic Jules Verne-esque adventure movie vibes? Are too many Americans **that** homophobic that they absolutely won’t see or recommend this film that has a gay lead character in it who is - not implied whatsoever, stated explicitly - crushing on a boy at school?

Morever, did Disney intentionally make this film fail because of the gay relationship? Many have tweeted endlessly about how STRANGE WORLD wasn’t marketed, or had “bad” marketing. The former is certainly untrue... There were two theatrical trailers, multiple posters, ads everywhere on websites/YouTube/TV commercial breaks/etc. You might have adblocker on, too. However, what was in those trailers didn’t seem to entice those who saw them... If you can’t get people interested in your movie, no matter how subjectively good or unsatisfactory it may be, then it’s dead on arrival. This is exactly what happened to something like TREASURE PLANET almost exactly two decades ago.

STRANGE WORLD is just that, sadly. The ads didn’t get people interested, and the movie itself just isn’t doing it for audiences. I liked the movie fine and loved certain things about it, it has a slew of mostly positive/passing-grade reviews. So do a lot of blockbuster animated movies. No, for whatever reason, audiences are just not digging this one... A shame, because the takeaway better not be “no more animated movies with LGBTQIA+ characters” or “no more animated movies that try out different genres”. If Disney was trying to bury this movie because of Ethan Clade and his crush Diazo, then they failed, because the right-wing *always* finds out. They look for things that aren’t there, so of course they learned early on that STRANGE WORLD was going to be an evil movie corrupting America’s youth. And they were *loud* about it. Heck, they probably gave that movie as much publicity as Disney themselves did.

Oh yeah, about that... Lots of finger-pointing. The current thing I’m seeing is “Bob Chapek killed STRANGE WORLD”. Chapek, a former CEO that I’m happy that they ousted, likely had nothing to do with that. At least directly. The movie was presumably greenlit when Bob Iger was CEO, pre-COVID. Average WDAS movie takes about four years to take shape, from concept to creation to final cut. STRANGE WORLD had to have been on the boards as early as 2018. In fact, if you remember, its director Don Hall wasn’t originally set to direct RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, which debuted nearly two years prior.

Tangent-time: RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON was supposed to be WDAS’ Thanksgiving 2020 offering, keeping in line with how they usually do a new film almost every November/Thanksgiving. TANGLED, FROZEN, MOANA, RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, and FROZEN II were Thanksgiving releases in their respective release years. WRECK-IT RALPH and BIG HERO 6 were first-weekend-of-November releases. RAYA was set to be the fall 2020 film, which sets it two years apart from STRANGE WORLD. RAYA was pitched by Paul Briggs and Dean Wellins, who were to be the directors of that picture. Then a shake-up happened about a year before release, Don Hall and Carlos Lopez Estrada replaced them as directors, Briggs was “co-director”, and Wellins was out completely. Because of COVID and other release schedule restructurings, RAYA ended up being a March 2021 release, but presumably it was in the can before then and the release date was simply because of COVID. I think Don Hall was working on STRANGE WORLD circa 2018, while Briggs and Wellins were still directing RAYA. Then the shake-up happened, Hall put STRANGE WORLD aside to direct RAYA... Much like how Rich Moore put aside WRECK-IT RALPH 2 to direct on ZOOTOPIA with Byron Howard... And then returned to STRANGE WORLD after that and committed to that. If anyone from Disney Animation can confirm that for me, that’d be swell! I’d like to think it was an Iger-era greenlight... It’s also entirely possible that this was a modern-day equivalent of DUMBO, a movie banged out in less than 2 years as a stopgap feature, but I’m thinking it was in some form of development dating back to 2018 at the earliest.

(UPDATE: 11/29/2022 - A few days after posting this, I learned that Don Hall started developing STRANGE WORLD sometime in early 2017 after he wrapped up co-directing on MOANA.)

Anyways, STRANGE WORLD being unsatisfactory to a lot of audiences isn’t necessarily Chapek’s doing. In fact I don’t want to finger-point at anyone, be it director Don Hall, or writer Qui Nguyen, or any of the producers or crew, or WDAS chief Jennifer Lee for that matter. They made a movie, they made decisions that they thought were right at the right time, and audiences just happened to reject it. It happens. Moviemaking isn’t elaborate conspiracies, like the internet filmsphere so likes to think that they are... Last year’s ENCANTO was completed under Chapek’s tenure as CEO, and it’s a beloved movie that did okay in theaters during the Delta variant and absolutely *exploded* on Disney+. RAYA did so-so as a theater release when things were slowly opening back up, and did excellently on Disney+... Also a Chapek-era release. Curiously, one of Bob Iger’s first moves was swiftly removing the chairman of Media and Entertainment Distribution Kareem Daniel. If STRANGE WORLD’s marketing failed to get audiences interested in the first place, that’s more on the marketing department than Chapek... And also audiences for not wanting to see it.

As much as it sucks to admit, animated family movies haven’t necessarily had it great post-outbreak in the theatrical market. It has a lot to do with money. In 2014, it was reported that the average American family goes to the movies maybe 4 times a year... Now imagine how choosier they are these days, what with streaming existing and the thought of “let’s wait til it comes to streaming” frequently crossing the minds of consumers. Only LIGHTYEAR, SING 2, and MINIONS Deux crossed $100m domestically... They’re all franchise entries featuring familiar characters. PUSS IN BOOTS Dos is likely to join the ranks too, along with THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE. You know, an adaptation of a little indie game that nobody at all knows about, nope, not at all, uh-uh... ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE ought to be the other big animated movie smash of 2023, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (supposed title for TROLLS 3) should do fine, too.

THE BAD GUYS and ENCANTO got into the mid-90s in terms of domestic gross, one based on a Scholastic book series and the other an original story. The former opened post-SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, the latter just a little before that. If we’ll see an original* animated movie score well any time soon, it ought to be the next Pixar feature, the very familiar-looking ELEMENTAL. It’s got the “what if something was living in a city/factory world?” scenario, a love story, all that jazz. I think it’ll do well come summer 2023. I’m confident it’ll remain a theatrical release, too, but if it goes straight to Disney+? I’ll just be glad that it’s *finished* and it *exists*. After what David Zaslav has been doing at Warner Bros. Discovery, I’ll take whatever I can get. (I’m very bitter about SCOOB!: HOLIDAY HAUNT likely never seeing the light of day.)

* Before I go on, I use the word “original” in this context to describe an animated movie that’s not part of any long-running **film** franchise. THE BAD GUYS is obviously based on a book series, but that book has never been adapted into a movie before. Hence, it’s relatively original. I extend the same to an upcoming film like, say, THE TIGER’S APPRENTICE.

So, STRANGE WORLD likely won’t make it to the $100m domestic threshold. Maybe the studio’s next feature, WISH, will be the one to get back to those MOANA/TANGLED numbers, maybe FROZEN numbers if it really *really* resonates with the public. I feel WISH, ELEMENTAL, and MIGRATION (from Illumination and director Benjamin Renner) are the ones to cross that at the box office next year, maybe not. Maybe families and other moviegoers will remain choosy, and pick the Marvel and tentpole movies instead... So now, we’re left with the budget question.

DreamWorks got smart. After years of blowing $120m+ each time out on films like TURBO, MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN, and many more, DreamWorks found a way to keep their costs down. Compare THE CROODS and its $135m budget to the sequel’s $65m budget. No downgrade to be seen, it’s every bit as good-looking. Animated movies can’t just pull $500m worldwide out of a hat, just like that... And they now know very well. Lower cost doesn’t have to mean penny-pinching and cheaping out.

Sony Animation, Illumination, and Paramount Animation were pretty much already onboard this train or are boarding it at the moment.

It’s WDAS and Pixar who continue to blow so much on their movies. I get that a lot of the time, they’re flexing their tech and resources, but it shouldn’t be to the point where it puts unrealistic financial expectations on the films and might arguably even get in the way of stylistic variety and experimentation. WDAS makes very handsomely-crafted films with impressive feats, but to these eyes, TANGLED/FROZEN/MOANA/RAYA/ENCANTO might as well all be set in the same universe and be semi-sequels to one another. They’re all so samey-looking. STRANGE WORLD manages to kinda look like its own unique thing in comparison, in terms of the backgrounds and much cartoonier character design. At least Pixar has more variety in their features now: ONWARD, SOUL, LUCA, TURNING RED, LIGHTYEAR, even ELEMENTAL and the upcoming ELIO are varied in looks and styles. They feel like their respective directors’ distinct visions. This is true of DreamWorks and Sony, too. WAG and Paramount have multiple studios make their movies, so there’s difference in styles/visuals there. Illumination could surprise us with MIGRATION and future films of theirs, they could break from their typical art style.

Or in short, maybe STRANGE WORLD could’ve cost half of what it cost to make and it wouldn’t have had such an absurdly high bar to clear. A $337m gross, which is 2 1/2x the $135m budget, might not have been doable from the word-go. You know?

Hopefully *that* is the takeaway going forward, but given the way capitalism works, it likely won’t be.

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queenofmoons67 · 2 years

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MDZS Characters: Cat Designs

Credit for one picrew goes to @felidform; credit for the other goes to @rustypaw. I did find the former one first, which is why most of the designs use that one; the latter one I sought out because Lan Qiren needed his beard, lol.

I had the time of my life making these, and then I realized I wanted to share them with the world. So here they are.

The designs are organized first by sect—Jiang, Jin, Nie, Lan, Wen—and then by generation—parents, Sunshot, juniors. IDs—which include notes about design choices!—are below each pic.

Jiang Fengmian: Gray shorthair with a wide dark gray stripe across his back. He has dark gray fur around his muzzle, with a short beard and light purple eyes. The scar on his chest equals his death blow. The background is a lake with dandelion seeds blowing on the wind.

Madam Yu: Light brown tabby with lightning stripes and a snaggletooth. She has dark brown fur over her purple eyes; cream fur on her nose and chest showcase her link to LanlingJin. She’s a shorthair with more severe cheeks than Jiang Fengmian, but she has longer fur in a mane around her neck. Her death blow matches her husband's. She stands on the same lakefront, but with rain and wind.

Jiang Cheng: Short-haired gray tabby with lightning stripes and severe cheeks. He has dark gray fur on his nose and jaw, frazzled whiskers, purple eyes, a snaggletooth, and a chest scar. His left paw, out of sight, is white to signify Zidian. His background matches his mother’s.

Jiang Yanli: Short-haired gray tabby, but her fur is longer than her brother’s—more like their dad than their mom—and her stripes are dappled. She has a darker chin like her brother and father, but the LanlingJin cream spot on her nose comes from her mother. She’s blushing, and stands in a field of flowers under a starry sky.

Wei Wuxian (original body): A long-haired black cat with gray eyes and curly whiskers, he sticks his tongue out. He stands in a shadowed forest, barely visible, with fireflies all around him. Out of sight, he has a bobtail, and not because of genetics; the loss of his tail and its fluffy white tip represents him losing his golden core.

Ouyang Zizhen: BalingOuyang is often seen as a subsidiary sect to YunmengJiang, so I placed him here. Like the Jiangs, Ouyang Zizhen is a gray tabby, but his stripes are the bold classic, instead of the Jiang mackerel / lightning, and brown instead of a darker gray. He has longer fur than they do, light indigo eyes, and stands among flowers on a lake.

Jin Guangshan: A medium-furred, yellow cat with red markings. He has rosettes on his body, a solid red underbelly that symbolizes him rolling over to Wen Ruohan, and red spots on his head for his vermilion mark. He has a scar on his lip (perhaps from Madam Jin clawing him after one too many remarks?) and is lazing about in an autumn forest with a piece of grass in his mouth. He has gold eyes and a half-oval shaped face.

Jin Zixuan: Shares many similarities with his dad, most notably his coloring, the rosettes (which, here, might look unmistakably like peacock feathers), and his body shape (again, the facial shape resembles a spread peacock tail here). Unlike his dad, his vermillion mark is in the form of a red stripe down his forehead—no spots—and he doesn’t have a red belly. His eyes are brown, not gold—but he does stand in the same autumn forest. He’s blushing, and carries leaves for Jiang Yanli.

Jin Guangyao: Resembles his brother and father in almost everything, from his coloring to the spots on his head. Instead of rosettes, though, he has spots on his body, too, and he has a neckerchief to represent his hat, with a scar peeking out. He stands in the same autumn forest and has a mouse (please pretend it’s dead and not a toy, lol).

Jin Ling: Has his father’s body shape, but his fur is light cream colored with gray rosettes. A red spot on his nose (the same location as his mother’s yellow spot) represents his vermilion mark. He has a snaggletooth and wears the same angry expression as Jiang Cheng. He stands under a starry sky like his mother, with his father’s autumn leaves in his fur.

Wei Wuxian (Mo Xuanyu): Has Wei Wuxian's black fur, with Jin Guangshan's red spots. He has Wei Wuxian's gray eyes, a blush on his cheeks, and his tongue sticking out. His nose is half pink, half gray, to symbolize Wei Wuxian living in Mo Xuanyu's body. The lightning shaped scar on his nose is from Jiang Cheng’s Zidian. He stands on a sunny open field, with dandelion seeds blowing on the wind and grass in his fur.

Nie Mingjue: BIG FURRY CAT. He has a huge, intimidating neck ruff. His fur is mostly dark gray, with tan and olive mixed in; he has a tan mustache, and both his canines poke out. There's a scar on his neck from being beheaded, and his eyes are both red and green, from being a fierce corpse. He stands on a snowy mountain top.

Nie Huaisang: Looks almost exactly like Nie Mingjue, except his fur is a little shorter / tidier. He has only a small tan spot below his nose, and both his eyes are green. A moth rests on his nose. He stands on a snowy mountain top.

Lan Qiren: A colorpoint cat, he's a long-haired white cat with gray on his face, ears, and a thin stripe along his spine. His dark blue eyes are heavy, his whiskers long, and the fur on his muzzle is turning white. He has a long gray beard and a blue bow around his neck. He stands in a mountain forest.

Lan Xichen: A short-haired colorpoint; he is mostly a light cream color, with blue fur on his face and ears. His eyes are wide and trusting, a blue scarf sits on his neck, and he stands in the Jin's autumn forest with fireflies.

Lan Wangji: Looks exactly like his brother, except he has white fur instead of light cream. His ears are back and he looks sullen, but there are hearts in his eyes and he stands in Wei Wuxian's shadowed forest. There's a scar on his back, a blue scarf on his neck, and dandelion seeds on the wind.

Lan Sizhui: A tri-colored cat; his base color is dark gray, his stomach is red, his chin is white, and his face is black. He has short-fur, but it's longer--almost spiky--on his cheeks. He wears a blue scarf on his neck, leaves in his fur, and stands on an open, sunny plain with fireflies.

Lan Jingyi: Has Lan Xichen's soft cream base fur, and a wide stripe of blue on his back. His face and ears are also blue; his fur is a little longer than the other Lans, and his whiskers wild. He's sticking his tongue out, wearing a blue scarf, has sparks in his teal eyes, and standing amongst grass on a wide open plain.

Wen Ruohan: A medium-furred, dark red cat with broad, black classic tabby stripes. There's a solid stripe of black down his nose, except for spots of red that look like a burning fire. Both his canines are showing, his eyes are red, and his fur sticks out along his muzzle. He stands in a shadowed, foggy forest, with leaves whisked away by the wind. A scar at the juncture of his neck and shoulder marks his death blow.

Wen Qing: In reverse of Wen Ruohan, Wen Qing and the DafanWens have a short, black fur base, with a red chest. Wen Qing also has a white belly, red on her chin and nose, and yellow eyes. She looks fierce, and mimicking her needles, both her canines are visible. She stands in a shadowed forest, but with light greenery around her.

Wen Ning: Mostly short gray fur, with a red chest. The back of his neck is black, and there are black stripes to signify his fierce corpse veins. He has white stripes like tears below his red eyes, and a death blow on his neck. He also stands in a shadowed forest with light greenery.

P.S. Cats don’t wear vermilion marks or forehead ribbons; I think I did ok with representing those, but please let me know if you’d rather I did something else.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #mdzs fanart #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #fanart #picrew #am i going to tag all these characters? no #yunmeng jiang #lanling jin #gusu lan #qinghe nie #qishan wen #characters as cats #character designs #long post

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impulsivewcrewrite · 7 days

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Chapter 5: Heart Racing

< Chapter 4 | ToC | Chapter 6 >

When the sun rose, Rusty was woken by Pebbles. In his sleep, the gray tom’s legs were thrashing, as if he were swimming. Purring to himself, Rusty decided he would shadow Pebbles today. In camp, he spotted Scarlet speaking quietly with Raven.

“Are you sure I’ll be OK?” the black apprentice squealed. “Not infected or anything?”

“You’re perfectly fine,” she promised. Her soothing words made Rusty smile. “If you’re anything like your mom, you’ll bounce back in no time.”

In response, Raven let out a series of concerned wimpers. He covered his face with his paws, and breathed rapidly.

“Oh, Raven, it’s OK,” the druid wrapped her tail around him. A pinprick of jealousy flashed within Rusty. “Exercise will help the wound heal. If you sit around camp all day, your shoulder will go stiff. Go out and train. If it starts to hurt, then just tell Tiger and come back and see me, OK?”

“OK,” Raven sniffled miserably. Pulling herself away from him, Scarlet padded back to the fern tunnel. Watching her go, Rusty felt a warmth in his chest. There was just something special about that molly. Anytime he saw her, his heart beat a little faster.

Feeling light, Rusty grabbed a small squirrel off the prey pile and headed back to wake Pebbles.

. . .

By the time they reached the sandy hollow, the sun was peeking through the clouds. A brisk wind chilled Rusty, so he was thankful for Pebbles’s warmth. The gray apprentice had thick, fluffy fur that trapped warmth. As they huddled together, they could hear Honeycomb and Tiger approaching.

“Good morning,” Tiger called. His face dropped when he noticed Rusty. From behind Tiger came Honeycomb and Raven. “Raven will be joining us today.”

At his words, Raven jumped slightly. Then he stared at his paws. Rusty felt a pang of compassion towards him. Losing his mentor must have been difficult.

“Today we will be learning hunting techniques. Not all prey can be caught the same way,” Honeycomb sat down, and stared eagerly at his apprentice. “Can anyone tell me the difference between catching a rabbit and catching a mouse?”

Thinking hard, Rusty tried to imagine hunting a rabbit. They were large, almost the same size as him, with piercing eyes and large ears. Rabbits were fast and strong. But mice were small and fast. He glanced at Raven, who was still staring at the ground. Pebbles’s face was screwed up in concentration.

“Um… rabbits. Rabbits are fast and tasty… oh! I know!” he babbled. “Rabbits can smell you before you reach him, but mice will hear you before you reach him!”

“Precisely, Pebbles!” Honeycomb was weak with relief. “Your pawsteps will vibrate the forest floor, and the mouse will know it is being hunted. So what can we do to catch the mouse?”

“Tread lightly?” suggested Rusty.

“Exactly!” Honeycomb brightened even more. Then the deputy dropped into a crouch. “Notice, I carry my weight in my haunches. Plan each step before you take it. Step lightly… and then!” he sprung forward, slamming his paws down on the ground. “You make the kill!”

Beside him, Pebbles and Raven dropped into their own crouches. Mimicking them, Rusty lowered himself, and focused on making each step as light as possible. He slowly creeped forward, growing more and more confident with each step.

“I hoped stalking was natural for all cats, not just Colony born ones. Obviously, Rusty, you have proved me wrong,” Tiger droned. “Raven! You’re crawling on your belly like a snake. Keep your legs up! Did Ruddy teach you anything?”

“Don’t be so hard on him, Tiger,” chided Honeycomb. “He’s only been training for two moons. Did Nightshade know how to stalk perfectly his first time?”

Scowling, Tiger looked away. The silence hung in the air like a dead bird.

“Erm, perhaps putting your training into practice might help,” suggested Honeycomb. “Raven, try hunting on the other side of camp. Pebbles, you can follow the rabbit’s trail towards the Tree-cut place. And Rusty, head over the rise and into the streambed. Remember to stay away from the swan’s nest.”

“But don’t I need supervision?” Rusty asked.

With a twinkle in his eye, Honeycomb stood up and stretched slowly. “Me and Tiger will be watching your every pawstep. Now go!”

Excited, Pebbles scampered away. After a moment of hesitation, Raven took off through the shadows. Rusty carefully picked his way up the slope and into the forest. Retracing his steps from yesterday, he quickly found the stream.

As he padded closer to the water, he felt a hot gaze on him. Was Tiger watching him? He tried to ignore the sensation. Instead, he crouched. Ears pricked, he searched for any noises of prey.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

A tiny heartbeat sounded a few steps away from him. Opening his eyes, he quickly pinpointed a mouse. Luckily, it was focused on a small black beetle. Gently, Rusty took a step forward. Then, with a leap, he slammed his paws down on the mouse.

It scrambled beneath his paws, but he lunged forward. Grabbing it between his jaws, he bit down hard and twisted. It was dead.

Exhilaration rushed through him, more powerful than any emotion before. Rusty had made his first real kill. He was a real wild cat now.

#red fire au #warrior cats rewrite #warrior cats #red fire into the wild

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catpeek · 2 months

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Understanding Your Kitten's Nighttime Playfulness: Reasons Explained

Are you losing sleep because your kitten insists on playing at night? 😴 You're not alone! Many kitten parents face this adorable yet exhausting challenge. Let’s unpack the reasons behind your kitten’s nighttime antics and how you can manage them effectively!

Why Do Kittens Want to Play at Night? 🐾

When we welcome a kitten into our homes, we often find ourselves puzzled by their behavior, especially during nighttime. Cats, particularly kittens, have unique sleep cycles, and their natural instincts drive their activity levels during the wee hours. Here’s why your little feline friend is so energetic at night:

1. Cats Are Crepuscular 🌅

Unlike humans, cats are crepuscular, meaning they are most active during dawn and dusk. This behavior is instinctual, as their prey—small rodents—are also on the move in these twilight hours. So when you notice your kitten pawing at your face in the middle of the night, it’s simply their natural predatory instinct kicking in!

2. Boredom 💤

If your kitten is stuck inside while everyone else is asleep, boredom can quickly set in. With no one to play with, they might unleash their energy by creating their own nighttime ruckus. To them, everything in your home becomes a potential toy, from furniture to feet!

3. A Mouse in the House! 🐭

Sometimes, kittens might detect critters in your home that you’re not even aware of! Their sharp senses can lead them to chase imaginary (or real!) prey during the night, leading to playful chaos.

How to Manage Nighttime Kitten Play 🌙

Now that you know why your kitten might be a night owl, here are some tips to help manage their nighttime play behavior:

Adjust Their Feeding Schedule 🍽️

Kittens often sleep better when they’re full. Consider adjusting their feeding schedule so they have a meal just before bedtime. This can lead to better overnight sleep patterns. … More on this can be found in our full guide on kitten nighttime play behavior.

Engaging Playtime Prior to Bed 🧶

Before settling down for the night, engage your kitten in an energetic play session. Use interactive toys to help expend their energy. This not only helps wear them out for the night but also strengthens your bond!

Provide Quiet Toys 🌟

To help soothe your kitten, introduce quiet toys that keep them occupied but are less likely to make a ruckus. Soft, plush toys can be great companions during the night.

By understanding your kitten's behaviors and addressing their needs, you can create a peaceful nighttime routine for both of you. Remember, with a little bit of patience and some adjustments, you can turn those lively nights into peaceful slumbers! 💤❤️

#cat #cats #kitten #cat lover #cat owner

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kiwibirb1 · 6 months

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Okay, I was thinking about Witches earlier today so I came up with a new amphibia au. But, plot twist, not witches like magic and shit, but witches as in The Witches by Roald Dahl. Yknow that one where they hate children, can smell them when they're clean, and turn them into mice? Yeah that one. Haven't read the book in a hot minute, but like whatever.

It got really long so details under the cut

Basically, Anne runs into a creepy lady in the woods who gives her this potion and says it idk does something cool. Anne drinks it (bad idea kiddos don't drink random potions made by creepy ladies with way to long nails), and all of a sudden, the ground seems very close and the trees very tall. She shouts in confusion, but all that comes out is a very small squeak. She glances down at her hands but instead finds two paws. Anne looks around for the weird lady who gave her the potion, but she is gone. Sooo yeah, Anne's a mouse now. She spends a very scary night in the woods (giant bugs when your human don't pay much attention to a little mouse, but the smaller ones sure do) and is found by Sprig in the morning, as he went out looking for her when she didn't come back the previous night. She can speak, don't think too hard about it it's for conviences sake. Her voice is really tiny tho because she's tiny. They get Maddie to brew a counter potion, and Anne is back to normal! Anne, exhausted and dirty from sleeping in the woods, takes a nice long soak in the bathtub. Halfway through, just when she started to feel clean, the room is suddenly too big, and she is paddling on four legs. Her squeaks are loud enough for Sprig to hear, and he rushes her back to Maddie. Maddie gives them another potion, but is just as confused as they are as to why Anne turned back. She quizzes Anne on what she was doing when she changed, and the best they can come up with as a group is that Anne somehow washed the effects of the cpunterpotion off. So, Anne waits until the next morning to clean, only to be rushed to Maddie again as a tiny little mouse. They eventually figure out that for some reason Anne being clean triggers the curse (Maddie is losing her mind trying to figure out how someone put a curse in a potion), but not knowing what the curse is exactly Maddie can't undo it. So yeah, Anne is extra grungy and will just chill around the Plantar house as a mouse sometimes because she showered and didn't feel like taking a potion.

That's just what I have so far for this idk might figure out how to draw rodents just for this. Marcy is very interested like Anne kinda hides it from her in Newtopia but when Marcy comes to Wartwood Anne forgets and is currently moused up so like skitters out the door to greet marcy (idk if that's how it goes but like is now) and Marcy is like "Oh! A [mouse species]! I didn't know these existed here! Oh hey little buddy wow you are just climbing up me huh." And right as she goes to pull out her journal Anne shouts in her ear "Marbles!" And like hugs the side of her face all cute bc she's tiny and a mouse and marcy is so confused but then it clicks and she snatches Anne who just remembered that she hadn't told marcy- "Anne!? Oh my Forg you're so cute!!! You need to tell me how this happened oh wait is this bad do we need to find a cure I don't know I kinda like you like this your so small and cute-" and Sprig has to save Anne from being squeezed and then explanations and junk.

#amphibia #anne boonchuy #marcy wu #amphibia au #the witches #roald dahl #the witches roald dahl #mouse #hmmm what to call this au #ummmm #curly fur au #or cf au for short #because anne had curly fur get it #idk au name might change #oh jeez this is long sorry for the word dump um ill add a cut

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thrushppelt · 1 year

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hugging shard and telling you to talk all you want about the blorbo's lore cause it's so angst but i wanna know all abt it

Anon you are In for it

OKAY I don’t have everything figured out but.

Most of her story is centered around mouseshine, her future mate and deputy. I have significantly less plot for him but he’s Evil and Smart and so is she so. They kiss

From an early age shardtimber was normal and, while being a runt, starclan basically told most the clan she Will be leader. Mouse was always a freaky kid (jumpy and squeaky like a mouse). I think I had him as an orphan?

Mouse was the first to be apprenticed between them and she was JEALOUS!! Lots of childlike resentment which made her try Even Harder to be a good to-be-warrior

WHICHHHH led her to get the massive scar on her face basically when she’s a green-ass apprentice. NOT SURE HOW IT HAPPENS YET I’m too at odds BUT what’s important is she stays in the med den for AGESSSS and while she still trains sometimes alone w her mentor she is JUMPY and worried abt getting further hurt even though she Knows that that’s just life and she needs to be leader and and AND

Between this and her becoming deputy a LOT happens between her n mouse. Mouse confesses when she wakes up from her injury, they’re together and happy for a bit before shard realizes Hey this guys kinda evil……. And I’m Not actually that evil I’m just cynical. Or something. They’re Different forms of evil it MAKES SENSE. ANYWAY mouse is just a little bitch and doesn’t know how to show the little affection he’s ever had for someone. What’s worse is that stress has already begun to dig it’s claws into shard and she shows her age too early. About her she’s made leader and even if mouse Knew he wasn’t gonna be leader (yet…..) he’s JEALOUS. seething. Doesn’t celebrate w everyone else. I might have someone else be deputy before mouse, due unrelatedly, THEN mouse becomes dep

Mouse’s kit who he had w someone else(pheasantchill who has like. No lore) (previously it was before he got with shard but plot wise now that’s Way too early. Anyway they don’t really care abt cheating) challenges shard bc he’s tired of her shit and he’d OBVIOUSLY BE BETTER

He gets his ass beat because he’s a paw and half her size. Mouse gets ANGRY because that’s his kid tf? Mouse and shard fight and mouse gets the nasty cut on his shoulder. The symbolic grip of love they have on each other grows a little looser here.

A few lives later (and a better relationship with pheasant) (and a few kids who also have no lore) pheasant suddenly gets taken over by an omen. “Sharp teeth that speak your tongue will take the one most dear” HaHa That Can’t Mean Anything (<- it means something)

This is where a terrier that’s taken in by a cat from another clan (SORRY SOOTKIT you also. Have almost no lore) is proving herself to be just as good as any cat. Shard and mouse don’t know about her. They hear rumors but how ridiculous right? Lmfao this won’t be an issue

SO starclan is like Dude Watch Out. Gives shard a dream to warn her. “What you don’t mend to will lose forever”. Sees mouse shadowed by a collar. She massively misinterprets this by mouse wanting to quit clan life and, seeing him loom over her when she wakes, immediately strikes out. They can barely be considered Together at this point, if not for all the shit they went through together

SO he gets all sorts of pissed off and storms out of the camp. UNFORTUNATELY the clan that has sootbriar borders shards clan :) and lo and behold! Mouse and soot meet! And after a long battle mouse fucking DIES.

This absolutely RUINS shard. She’s on her last or second to last life by now and she’s in a similar state to blue at this time. I THINK I might go w her having being captured by humans after going out once in a blue moon

SORRY RHIS IS SO FUCKING LONG LMFAO. I didn’t even mention stemfur or more minor difficulties they went through. But like. Writing this out it really is. Mouse ruins this chicks life and he barely loved her ?/!-??

UHH also minor deets I can’t figure out where to throw, mouse loses his tail later in his life. Shard has a claw wound across her throat, significant scars elsewhere on her pelt. A stiff paw from a trap that fucked up her wrist.

#profic warrior cats #mouseshine #shardstar #clangen oc #it’s like ‘this girl would’ve had an immensely better life if she wasn’t striaght’ LMAO?#idk how to explain mouse HATING-yet-loving her I truly can’t. it just happens #it’s like they know there’s No one else they could be with and they don’t wanna be alone. or something #I HOPE YOU LIKE THEM AS MUCH AS I DO LMAO

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thistledown-au-warriors · 1 year

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fire and ice - chapter 21

< Chapter 20 || Index || Chapter 22 >

Blue Fur's breathing stopped just before dawn. Fire Heart had almost dozed off when he realized the cave was silent. There was no noise from the camp outside either, just a deathly hush, as if the whole Clan were holding its breath.

The gray molly was completely still. Fire Heart knew she was with StarClan, preparing for her remaining life. He had watched her lose a life before. He felt his fur prickle at the eerie peace that seemed to enfold her body, but there was nothing he could do, so he waited.

Suddenly Blue Fur gasped. “Fire Heart, is that you?” she meowed in a croaky voice.

“Yes, Blue Fur.” Fire Heart murmured. “I’m here.”

“I have lost another life.” Blue Fur’s voice was weak, but the relief made Fire Heart want to reach forward and lick her between the ears, as Stone Pelt had done. “When I lose this one, I will not be able to return.”

Fire Heart swallowed hard. “How do you feel? Shall I fetch Violet Fang?”

Blue Fur shook her head slowly. “The fever is gone. I am well enough. I just need to rest.”

“Very well.” meowed Fire Heart. Light was beginning to filter through the lichen, and his head swam from his wakeful night.

“You must be tired,” meowed Blue Fur. “Go and get some sleep.”

“Yes.” Fire Heart heaved himself up. His legs felt stiff from lying down so long. “Is there anything you need?”

She hesitated. “Call my kits here, please. I want to see them.” answered Blue Fur. “And thank you, for sitting with me.”

Fire Heart tried to purr but it caught in his throat. There would be time for more words later. He dipped his head and pushed his way out through the lichen.

Outside a harsh brightness made him blink. It had snowed in the night. Fire Heart stared in amazement. He had never seen snow before. Even with all he'd heard, the white ice still made his eyes widen in surprise. He nodded to Dark Pine, who had replaced Pale Tail guarding Blue Fur's den, and stepped into the strange powder. It felt wet and cold, crunching loudly under his paws.

The three littermates were already awake, sitting in a scoop in the snow beneath the Highrock, sharing warmth. They looked up at Fire Heart when he approached them, and dashed to Blue Fur's side as soon as he told them she wanted to see them.

Tiger's Claw was standing in the clearing. It was still snowing and the flakes settled on the tabby’s thick fur without melting. Fire Heart could hear him giving orders for the nursery wall to be padded with leaves to keep out the cold. “—Then I want a hole to be scraped out where we can store prey.” the ThunderClan deputy instructed. “Use snow to line it, and cover it with more snow once it has been filled. We may as well make use of the snow while it’s here.”

Warriors raced around Tiger's Claw, following his orders. “Mouse Fur, Pale Tail! Organize some hunting parties. We need as much fresh-kill as we can get before the prey takes to their burrows for good!” Tiger's Claw spotted Fire Heart padding across the clearing. “Fire Heart, wait.” he called. “Oh, I suppose you’ll have to rest. I can’t imagine you’ll be of any use on a hunting party this morning.”

Fire Heart stared at the dark warrior, hostility rising like bile in his throat. “I’m going to see how Blazing Cinder and Sand Storm are first.” he growled.

Tiger's Claw held his gaze for a moment. “How’s Blue Fur?”

Mistrust ruffled Fire Heart’s fur like a cold breeze. He’d heard Blue Fur lie to Tiger's Claw once before about how many lives she had left. She might not have believed him and Raven Shadow, but clearly Tiger's Claw wasn't worthy of this information. “I’m not a healer, as you know.” he answered. “I can’t say.”

Tiger's Claw snorted impatiently, then turned away and went back to giving orders. Fire Heart walked over to the healers' den, relieved to escape the frenetic bustle of the camp. “Violet Fang?” he called.

“Hush!” Violet Fang sprang from Blazing Cinder's bracken nest. “She’s sleeping at last. She’s had a hard night. I couldn’t give her poppy seeds to ease the pain until she’d recovered from the shock.”

“But she’s going to live?”

“I can’t know for sure for a few days. She’s hurt inside, and one of her hind legs is badly broken.”

Sand Storm lifted her head from her nest, still looking feverish. She staggered out of the nest, ignoring Violet Fang's warning hiss. "Her leg will mend, won't it? We'll be training again by newleaf?" The molly meowed hoarsely, desperation in her eyes.

Violet Fang sighed. "She needs to make it first. And so do you, Sand Storm." Violet Fang pressed her pelt against the younger molly's and guided her back to her nest. The healer murmured some words to her until Sand Storm was settled, shivering slightly.

"How's her cold?" Fire Heart asked once Violet Fang approached.

"It's whitecough now." The healer meowed with a long sigh. "Mouse Fur recovered from her own cold, but all that running and shock took out Sand Storm's health. She's strong, I believe she'll be fine, but grief and guilt drain a cat's health like cold rock drains a cat's warmth."

Fire Heart nodded weakly. His eyes wandered over to Blazing Cinder. "... Did Frost Shine see her?"

“Yes, she was here till dawn. She’s with her other kits now, reassuring them. I’ll ask one of the elders or Stone Pelt to sit with Blazing Cinder. She needs to be kept warm.”

“I can do that.” Fire Heart padded over to the nest where Blazing Cinder was sleeping and looked inside. She squirmed, and her herb-covered sides heaved, as though she were fighting a battle as she slept.

Violet Fang gently nudged Fire Heart with her nose. “You need to get some sleep.” she rasped. “Leave Blazing Cinder to me.”

Fire Heart stayed where he was. “Blue Fur lost another life.” he burst out. Violet Fang blinked for a moment, then lifted her head to StarClan. She didn’t utter a word, but Fire Heart could see the anguish in her orange eyes. “You know, don’t you?” he murmured.

The healer lowered her chin and gazed into his eyes. “That this is Thunder Blue Fur's final life? Yes, I know. A healer can tell these things.” she whispered, placing a paw in her chest.

“Will the rest of the Clan be able to tell as well?” Fire Heart asked, thinking of Tiger's Claw.

Violet Fang narrowed her eyes. “No. She will be no weaker in this life than she was in any of her others.”

Fire Heart blinked gratefully at her.

“Now.” The old molly ordered. “Do you want some poppy seeds to help you sleep?”

Fire Heart shook his head. Part of him longed for the deep, easy sleep they would bring. But if Tiger's Claw was right and ShadowClan really was about to attack ThunderClan’s borders, he did not want to dull his senses. He might be needed to defend the camp.

Gray Stripe was back in the warriors’ den. Fire Heart padded silently to his nest, circled once, and settled down to wash.

Gray Stripe looked up. “You’re back, then.” He sounded edgy, as if he wanted to say more.

Fire Heart stopped licking his forepaw and stared at Gray Stripe.

“You tried to warn Silver Stream off.” Gray Stripe hissed furiously. Willow Branch, who was dozing on the other side of the den, opened one eye, then closed it again.

Gray Stripe lowered his voice. “Stay out of it, will you?” he spat. “I’m going to keep on seeing her, whatever you do or say.”

Fire Heart snorted and flashed a resentful glance at his friend. His talk with Silver Stream seemed so long ago, he’d almost forgotten it. With how his last two days had gone, whatever bad choices Gray Stripe made with his life didn't concern him. I'm not his parent or his mentor. He laid his head angrily on his muddy forepaws and closed his eyes.

Whitecough was spreading, a war was on the horizon, Blazing Cinder was battling against her injuries, and Blue Fur was on her last life. As far as Fire Heart was concerned, Gray Stripe could do what he liked.

Gray Stripe had already left his nest when Fire Heart awoke next. He could tell it was sunhigh by the light that glowed through the branches. He rose, his body still weary with anxiety and grief, and pushed his head out of the den. Snow must have been falling all morning, for it lay thick on the ground and had drifted against the den. Fire Heart found himself gazing out over a white wall that was as high as his shoulder.

The usual bustle of the camp seemed muted. Fire Heart could see Willow Branch and Dapple Pelt whispering on the far side of the clearing. Mouse Fur was picking her way laboriously toward the store of fresh-kill, a rabbit dangling from her jaws. She stopped and sneezed, then carried on.

Fire Heart lifted one paw and rested it on top of the snow. It felt hard at first, but when he pressed down, the thin covering of ice cracked and he gasped as his leg plunged into the drift. Fire Heart snorted as he found himself up to his muzzle in snow. Shaking his head and lifting his chin, he leaped forward, only to sink into more deep snow. He struggled on, alarm rising in his chest. He felt as if he were drowning in snow! Then, all of a sudden, there was solid ground under his paws. He had reached the edge of the clearing. The snow here was only a mouse-length deep, and Fire Heart sat down with a soft crunch, relieved.

He tensed when he saw Gray Stripe plowing through the snow toward him. The gray warrior seemed unbothered by it, protected from its damp chill by his thick pelt. His face was shadowed with sorrow. “Have you heard about Blue Fur?” he asked as he neared. “She lost a life to greencough.”

Fire Heart flicked his ears impatiently. He could have told his friend that. “I know.” he snapped. “I was with her.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” mewed Gray Stripe, shocked.

“You weren’t exactly in a friendly mood this morning, if you don't recall. Anyway, if you weren’t always off breaking the warrior code, you might know what was going on in your own Clan.” he snarled.

Gray Stripe’s ears twitched uncomfortably. "I've heard about Blazing Cinder. I saw her there when I went to speak with Violet Fang."

Fire Heart's ears went up. “How is she?”

“She looked bad, but Violet Fang said she’s pulling through.” replied Gray Stripe.

Fire Heart stared anxiously across the clearing and stood up. He wanted to see the apprentice for himself, and check on the cats with whitecough - especially Sand Storm.

Gray Stripe meowed. “She’s asleep now. Frost Shine's with her, and Violet Fang doesn’t want anyone else disturbing her.”

Not turning his head, Fire Heart nodded slowly. You're not a healer, you'd only get in the way , he reminded himself. But he wanted to help. What use was hunting and fighting right now? He couldn't fight off his clanmates suffering with illness and injury. And whatever happened with ShadowClan and RiverClan, only more suffering would come from it. Instinctively, Fire Heart turned to Gray Stripe, seeking reassurance. But Gray Stripe was trudging across the snowy clearing toward the nursery. Off to see Silver Stream , Fire Heart guessed resentfully, sheathing and unsheathing his claws as he watched his friend disappear from sight.

He noticed Golden Flower only when she stopped right in front of him. “Is Tiger's Claw inside?” she asked, pointing with her nose to the warriors’ den.

Fire Heart shook his head.

Golden Flower mewed. “There’s greencough in the nursery. Two of Brindle Face's kits are sick.”

“Greencough!” Fire Heart gasped, shaken from his anger. “Will they survive?”

“They might not. But leaf-bare always brings greencough.” She pointed out gently.

“Surely there’s something we can do!” Fire Heart protested. Mossy Patch had just lost one of her mother's lives to greencough, now it could be about to take more of her kits from her?

“Violet Fang and Stone Pelt will do what they can.” answered Golden Flower. “But in the end, it’s up to StarClan.”

A new flash of fury flared in Fire Heart’s belly as Golden Flower turned away and padded back to the nursery. How could the Clan tolerate these tragedies? Maybe Stone Pelt was the only cat in the Clan with sense. He felt overwhelmed by the need to leave the camp, to escape the gloomy air that the rest of the Clan seemed content to breathe.

He jumped up and raced blindly across the snowy clearing, through the gorse tunnel and out into the forest. He finally stopped beneath Tallpines, his sides heaving with the effort of running through the snow. There was stillness here that calmed him. Even the birds had stopped singing. Fire Heart felt as if he were the only creature in the world.

He didn’t know where he was going — he just padded on, letting the woods soothe him. As he walked, his mind cleared. Fire Heart could do nothing for Blazing Cinder that Violet Fang wouldn't, and Gray Stripe was out of reach, but he might be able to help fight the greencough. He would fetch some more catmint.

Fire Heart turned his steps toward his old kittypet home, weaving through the brambles in the oak woods that backed onto Twolegplace. He leaped to the top of the fence at the end of his old home, nudging a ridge of snow into the garden below. It fell with a soft clump. Fire Heart peered down into the garden. He could see tracks, smaller than a cat’s. A squirrel had been out hunting for its store of nuts.

It didn’t take Fire Heart long to pluck a generous mouthful of leaves from the catmint bush. He wanted to take as much as he could. Its soft leaves might not survive this weather, this could be his last chance to gather it.

With his mouth crammed, Fire Heart stared toward the swinging flap he had used as a kit. He wondered if his Twoleg housefolk still lived there. They’d been kind to him. He had spent his first leaf-bare cosseted in their nest, warm and safe from the cruelties of Thunderpaths and greencough.

The scent of this catmint must be going to my head, he thought sharply. He bounded up the garden and onto the fence with a single leap. He was unnerved by how much the thought of his Twoleg home had stirred him. Did he really want the safety and predictability of a kittypet’s life? Of course not! Fire Heart shook the thought away. But the idea of returning to camp didn’t appeal to him yet.

Suddenly he thought of Princess.

Fire Heart raced along the edge of the woods to the part of Twolegplace where his sister’s garden lay. When her fence was in sight, he dug down through the snow and buried the catmint beneath a layer of dead leaves to protect it from the cold. He was still panting from his run when he leaped onto the fence and called out to Princess. Then he scrambled back down into the woods to wait for her.

The snow made his paws ache with cold as he paced restlessly under an oak tree. Perhaps she is kitting , he told himself, or shut inside . He had just persuaded himself he wasn’t going to see her today when he heard her familiar mew. He looked up to see her standing on top of her fence. Fire Heart felt a shiver of anticipation. Her belly was no longer swollen, and the scent of milk clung to her.

He breathed in her scent as she approached and felt it warm him. “You’ve kitted!” he meowed.

Princess gently touched his nose with hers. “Yes.” she mewed softly.

“Did it go okay? Are the kits all right? Are you alright?”

Princess purred. “It was a bit scary, but fine. My housefolk and the vet were there for me. I don't even remember much, thankfully. I have four healthy kits now.” she meowed, her eyes glowing with pleasure. Fire Heart licked her head and she mewed. “I didn’t expect to see you out in this weather.”

“I came to find some catmint.” Fire Heart told her. “There’s greencough in the camp, and it's the only herb that can fight it. It can be a deathly illness.”

Princess’ eyes clouded with worry. “Are many of your Clan ill?”

“Three so far.” Fire Heart hesitated for a moment, then meowed sadly. “Our leader lost another life last night.”

“Another life?” echoed Princess. “What do you mean? I thought it was only an old queen's tale that cats have nine lives.”

“Blue Fur was granted nine lives by StarClan because she's the leader of our Clan.” Fire Heart explained.

Princess looked at him in awe. “Then it’s true!”

“Only for Clan leaders. The rest of us have only one life, like you, and like Blazing Cinder...” Fire Heart’s voice trailed away.

“Blazing Cinder?” Princess must have detected the sadness in his voice.

Fire Heart gazed into her eyes, and the thoughts that had been troubling him began to tumble out. “Sand Storm's apprentice.” he meowed. “She had just begun training, barely out of the nursery. She was hit on the Thunderpath last night.” His voice cracked as he remembered finding her broken, bleeding body. “She’s badly hurt. She might still die.”

Princess moved closer and nuzzled him.

“The accident shouldn’t have happened.” Fire Heart growled. “I was supposed to meet Tiger's Claw about signs of an invasion. He’d asked for Blue Fur, but Blue Fur was ill, so I offered to go instead. I had to fetch catmint first, and Blazing Cinder went in my place.” Princess looked alarmed and Fire Heart added quickly. “Sand Storm told her to stay, but she slipped away while I was fetching catmint. She had to go out to find her and got sick. If I had been faster none of it would have happened.”

“It's not your fault.” Princess tried to soothe him, but Fire Heart hardly heard her.

“I don’t know why Tiger's Claw wanted Blue Fur to meet him in such a dangerous place!” he spat. “He said there was evidence that ShadowClan had invaded our territory, but when I arrived there was no scent of them at all!”

“Was it a trap?” Princess suggested.

Fire Heart looked into his sister’s questioning eyes and suddenly began to wonder. “Why would Tiger's Claw want to hurt Blazing Cinder?”

“It was your leader he asked for.” Princess pointed out.

Fire Heart’s fur bristled. Could his sister be right? Tiger's Claw had summoned Blue Fur to the narrowest part of the Thunderpath verge. Fire Heart's throat tightened. “I d-don’t know.” he stammered. “Everything’s so confusing at the moment. Even Gray Stripe’s hardly speaking to me.”

“Why?”

Fire Heart sighed. “It's complicated...” Princess nestled next to him in the snow, pressing her soft fur against his. He realized how tired he was from keeping everything in - the pull towards healing he'd been repressing, Red Tail's mysterious death that Gray Stripe didn't want to involve himself in… "He fell for a warrior from another Clan, Silver Stream. She's the RiverClan leader's daughter. It's against the warrior code to be with a cat from another Clan like this. We could meet in battle soon."

"That sounds rough. It's his choice though, isn't it?"

He huffed. "Worst case scenario, she's using him to spy on ThunderClan. Best case scenario, they still might have to battle each other someday. It weakens the Clan." Fire Heart sighed. "Ever since he started sneaking out to meet her, he's been neglecting his duties and his health. I tried telling him and Silver Stream to stop meeting, but now Gray Stripe is just mad at me."

"Fire Heart…" Princess meowed softly. "I understand it hurts you, but… you can't make everything your responsibility."

"But there has to be something I can do!" Fire Heart cried out. "There must be a reason why- if I'm there then-" he stopped himself, panting. Princess pressed herself further against him, and he took deep breaths. "I'm sorry… you just kitted, and I couldn't even help you with that… I shouldn't burden you with all of this."

"You're not the vet, Fire Heart." She purred. "And it sounds like you have been needing to let all this out for a long time."

"I just feel so isolated lately…" he murmured. He couldn't imagine burdening Misty Step or Violet Fang with his concerns about Gray Stripe since the sickness began. "And no Clan cat can understand what it's like, being different."

“Different?” Princess echoed, looking puzzled.

“Being born a kittypet, when the other cats are all Clanborn.”

“You seem like a Clanborn cat to me.” mewed Princess. Fire Heart blinked gratefully at her. She went on. “But if you’re not happy in the Clan, you can always come home with me. My housefolk would look after you, I’m sure.”

Fire Heart pictured himself living his old kittypet life, warm, cozy, and safe. But he couldn’t forget how he’d watched the woods from his Twoleg garden and dreamed of being out in the forest. A breeze stirred his thick fur and carried the scents of the wilderness to his nose. Fire Heart shook his head firmly. “Thank you, Princess.” he meowed. “But I belong with my Clan now. I could never be happy in a Twoleg nest. I would miss the air of the forest, seeing the Starpath every night, sharing prey with my Clan and protecting my clanmates.”

His sister’s eyes gleamed. “I knew you'd say that. It sounds like a good life.” she purred. She looked down shyly at her paws. “Sometimes even I stare into the forest and wonder what it feels like to live out there, the way you do.”

Fire Heart purred and stood up. “Then you understand?”

Princess nodded. “Are you going back now?”

“Yes. I must take the catmint to Violet Fang while it’s fresh.”

Princess stretched her head forward to press her muzzle into his side. “Perhaps my kits will be strong enough to meet you next time you come.” she mewed.

Excitement tingled in Fire Heart’s belly. “I hope so!” he meowed.

As he turned to leave, Princess called. “Take care of yourself, brother. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“You won’t.” promised Fire Heart.

#thistledown au #thistledown fire and ice

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signs-of-the-moon · 2 years

Text

Moon High: Chapter 6

Moonkit and her littermates were growing fast, their days in the nursery numbered. It had been nearly a whole moon since Treeclan's incident with the fox occurred. Blazestar had doubled patrols since then. While Silverhawk stood guard of the nursery most nights, worrying by day as her kits grew and became apprentices. Blackpaw and Beepaw had gotten their promotions recently and were out exploring the world. One day, Moonkit watched as the twins took turns picking the elders clean of ticks, faces twisted in disgust. The smaller of the two stuck out his tongue, while his sister laughed at him for forgetting Mothsong's warning about handling mouse bile. Blackpaw groaned, racing off to cleanse his pallet of the vile taste. Beepaw simply shook her head and picked up where her brother left off. Moonkit purred in amusement at the sight. Someday soon, that'll be me and my siblings. A bubble of joy floated in her chest at the thought. Then it burst; a thorn of sorrow piercing through as Rainkit came to mind. Moonkit would never get to see her sister again. She wouldn't get the honor of apprentice duties like the rest of their littermates would. She would never be a warrior, or cause mischief, or play ever again. The reality of that still hit hard. Every now and then Moonkit would wake up, plagued by dreams of the night her sister died. She had been right next to Rainkit when the fox came. Had Moonkit shrieked, would she have been torn apart too? Would her littermates be mourning her now, the way she did for Rainkit? The possibility haunted her. But she tried not to let it to come to mind often. She had to keep her chin up. For the sake of her denmates, her mother, and her clan.

Speaking of her mother, Moonkit decided it was time to go and visit her. It had been a while since Brightsky had come out from the nursery. Moonkit bet she would appreciate some company.

With a determined bounce in her step, Moonkit made her way over to the overgrown tree roots, down the slope and padded into the nursery. The den was dimly lit during this time of day. Faint beams of sunlight cast against the walls, highlighting the leftover remenents of that dreadful night. Blood still stained the roots and dusty floor underpaw. The nursery continued to hold onto the stench of fox and fearscent. But there was evidence of a coverup. Scrub marks streaked through crusty brown splatters, proof that the warriors had tried cleaning up the walls with wet moss. Wisteria flowers had been planted just outside, entangling the tree and covering up musky odors with a floral fragrance. They were signs that the clan was healing. But, like the pain, the leftovers from that faithful night could not be so easily erased. And that sentiment showed itself within the cats most effected by it.

Brightsky lay silently in her nest by the farthest corner of the den. Her back faced the world beyond her shelter, blocking it from her view. Only the steady rise and fall of her flank proved that she had not turned to stone while sinking into her sorrow. She'd hardly moved from her spot in days. Moonkit felt terrible for her mother. It was hard enough to lose a sister. She could only imagine what the agony of losing a kit might feel like.

Softly, Moonkit padded up to Brightsky. She reached out a paw, touching it to her shoulder "Hi, mama," She trilled quietly, a sunshine bright smile on her face. Brightsky shrieked, nearly jumping out of her fur. She threw Moonkit away from her, whipping around with claws unsheathed. But after a heartbeat the queen came back to her senses, looking down at the kit that lay near her resting place.

Moonkit stared up at her mother with wide eyes, sitting back upright. She must have been sleeping, Moonkit figured. Have I woken her from a nightmare?

"Moonkit..!" Brightsky breathed, pulling the kit to her chest, resting her forepaw along her shoulders.

"I'm sorry mama, I didn't mean to startle you," Moonkit mewed, still looking up at her mother.

Brightsky purred, rasping her tongue between her daughter's ears. "It's alright, chipmunk, I know. I'm sorry for reacting the way that I did. I didn't mean to frighten you either."

"I don't get scared, so it's ok," Moonkit assured. "Are you, though?"

Brightsky hesitated to answer. She spent a few more heartbeats grooming Moonkit before speaking up again. "...I will be. With time."

Moonkit whimpered a little. That's what Brightsky had said last time, too. Moonkit was beginning to grow worried. It wasn't like her mother to sulk, or to be so jumpy when touched. But she knew that Brightsky was strong. She was fighting her depression as best as she could. Even if little progress had been made, Moonkit could tell she was getting better. This was the first time in a half moon that Brightsky had spoken more than a couple of words. Maybe tomorrow, Moonkit could convince her to sit outside. For now, the little silver and white kit figured she should probably give Brightsky more space; despite the sadness it brought her to leave her grieving mother alone.

"Alright..." Moonkit wiggled out of the older molly's grasp. "I just wanted to check on you. I'm glad that you're up now. Maybe later we can share prey together?"

"That sounds nice," Brightsky agreed with another purr. Moonkit smiled.

"Great! I'll be back by sunhigh." Moonkit stepped up to touch noses with her mother. Then she licked her cheeks before backing away again. "I love you, mama."

"I love you too," Brightsky responded. She made a small noise like she was holding back a sob. And tears seem to prick the edges of her eyes. Moonkit couldn't tell what emotion that stemmed from, but she hoped it was happiness. Even if Rainkit was gone, Brightsky still had Moonkit and the rest of her littermates to love and care for. And they all loved their mother just the same.

With a tail flick Moonkit made her way back out of the nursery and into the chill of the morning. The camp wasn't as busy as when she had gone to visit Brightsky. Moonkit figured the hunting patrols must have been sent out a short while ago. Come sunhigh, the clearing would be flooded with cats. But for now, only a few lingered about. One of those cats was Tigerkit. She was chasing her only sister Tinkykit around, swiping to catch her tail as if it were a prized mouse. Tinykit squealed, trying her best to avoid her larger sibling. But she was no match for Tigerkit's speed, and soon, Tinykit found herself pinned. Tigerkit yowled out triumphantly, laughing a hardy warrior's laugh.

Moonkit purred in amusement. Despite everything, she noted that Tigerkit seemed unaffected by the occurrence that took place the previous moon. In fact, she seemed even feistier than before. She was determined to be brave and remain strong just as her mother had until the very end. Moonkit admired Tigerkit for that. For being able to come out of a bad experience stronger than before, despite the pain. I hope I can learn to be that resilient, she thought with a small sigh.

"I'm going to become the greatest warrior in the Land's Star! I'll be skilled at everything; leading, fighting, hunting, den keeping, spying, and guarding!" Tigerkit proclaimed to Moonkit one day while they were play fighting just outside of the nursery. "And one day, I'll be Treeclan's leader. You'll all have to call me Tigerstar soon!"

"I know you will be, Tig. I believe in you!" Moonkit purred in reply, nipping the tabby and white mollykit's ear playfully.

"Then if you're going to be the best in the Land's Star, at least let me be the best in Treeclan," said another kit who came to join them; a ginger and white tom named Sunkit. Moonkit purred a greeting, a warm feeling pooling in her chest at the sight of him.

"Oh please. You have to actually be skilled to be the best," Tigerkit joked, batting at Sunkit with a white paw, claws sheathed. "You're as clumsy as a lopsided, one-eyed badger."

Sunkit huffed, hopping on top of the mollykits, creating a kitten pile. Tigerkit shrieked from the added weight on her back.

"What can I be?" A fourth cat asked, inviting himself into the conversation. It was one of the new apprentices, Blackpaw. Moonkit wasn't exactly close with him. But she knew he was friends with her friends. And so, the young tom was allowed to join their group whenever he had the free time. Blackpaw plopped down on top of the others, squishing everyone below him. Tigerkit and Sunkit both squeaked out in annoyance. But the complaints seemed to fall on deaf ears. Blackpaw simply purred, happy to be included.

"You can sit with me on the sidelines cheering them on," Moonkit suggested, wiggling to get more comfortable as the base of the kitten pile.

"No way! I think I want to be a deputy like my father, Thornberry," Blackpaw replied, sitting up to lick his fluffy black chest fur, his paws pressing down into Sunkit's rump.

"Is that possible?" Moonkit wondered. "If Thornberry becomes Thornstar, I don't think he can choose one of his kits to succeed him," she noted, rolling over. As she cralwed away the kitten pile came undone, leaving a mess of kits sprawled out on the earth.

"Well Blackpaw doesn't have to worry about that." Tigerkit sat up and puffed up her chest fur. "I will be the leader after Thornberry. So I'll be the one picking a deputy."

Blackpaw tilted his head. "Well can I be your deputy then?"

Tigerkit thought for a moment before replying, "Maybe. If you try really really hard and fight lots of warriors."

"Hey, stop trying to kill off my dad. He still has many seasons left in him. Thornberry will probably retire before my dad joins Starclan," Sunkit growled defensively.

Blackpaw let out an amused mrrow of laughter, "Maybe while I wait to become deputy, I'll be a Guard warrior. That could be fun."

Sunkit hissed playfully, batting at Blackpaw's nubby tail. Blackpaw turned around to defend himself, rolling the ginger and white tomkit onto his side. Blackpaw jumped onto him and the two began to tussle around on the damp grass.

"Let all cats old enough to climb through the trees gather here beneath the Great Stump for a clan meeting," Blazestar called. Sunkit paused in his play and gasped, his green eyes going wide.

"My apprentice ceremony! I forgot!" he yowled, jumping up and rushing into the nursery to get some last minute grooming from Leafheart. His fur was messy, covered in bits of dead grass and mud. Moonkit knew his mom would be mad at him for it. She giggled at the sight, walking with Tigerkit and Blackpaw to the front of the crowd to watch. The mollykits were five moons old now, and pretty soon it would be their turn to be apprenticed. Moonkit wished Sparrowkit and Rainkit could be with them, but she knew they'd be watching over them when the day came. Maybe they'd be reincarnated so they could get an apprentice ceremony one day too. A kit could dream.

***

The last moon of their kithood seemed to fly in the blink of an eye. The faithful day had come for Moonkit and her littermates to become apprentices. Tigerkit, too, would earn her promotion this day. After being held back an extra half moon, she was finally ready to graduate.

Brightsky seemed to cheer up in time for the ceremony. The pain in her gaze was still evident. But Moonkit could tell that her mother was excited for this moment. She diligently groomed all of their fluffy fur, then walked her litter and Tigerkit out to the Great Stump as the meeting began. A chilly Newleaf breeze ruffled through the clan cats' fur. Change was in the air, and all the new apprentices meant great news for Treeclan.

Blazestar began the ceremony as he had the others before. Brightsky chose to remain a queen permanently, padding back to the front of the nursery. She sat herself next to Mapleshine and Silverhawk, watching her four kittens with love shining in her blue eyes.

"You have survived the first six moons of your lives. May Starclan guide your paws from this moment on," Blazestar meowed. "Smokekit, from this point on you shall be known as Smokepaw. Shadeleaf, I think it's time for you to receive your first apprentice. You had a wonderful mentor in Wolfheart, and I trust you will pass on the knowledge you gained from him to young Smokepaw."

The tom in question bounced happily up to the tortoiseshell she-cat. His nose squished awkwardly against hers as they met, his eagerness getting the better of him. Shadeleaf simply chuckled, leading Smokepaw towards their gathered clanmates.

Blazestar went on; "Skunk-kit, from this point on you shall be known as Skunkpaw. Silverhawk, I trust you can juggle your duties as Den Mother and help whip this young cat into shape. Train him well."

Silverhawk perked up in surprise, standing and making her way to the front of the crowd. Skunkpaw waited for her patiently, lifting their chin to touch noses with Den Mother as soon as she came. Once they moved aside, Blazestar focused on the next new apprentice.

"Magpiekit, from this point on you shall be known as Magpiepaw," he declared. "Pepperpatch, I think it's time you received your first apprentice as well. Train her to the best of your ability, just as Galestorm had trained you."

With ears lowered slightly, Magpiepaw moved to touch noses with her new mentor. Her paws kneaded at the ground as she waited for Pepperpatch's first instructions.

"It's ok, little bird. You're doing fine," Pepperpatch reassured her softly. Magpiepaw perked up, her posture becomong more relaxed. She moved away with her mentor in tow, passing the spotlight onto her sister.

"Moonkit, from this point on you shall be known as Moonpaw. Leafheart, I trust you to train this apprentice," Blazestar decided. "Guide her paws on the path to become a great warrior like you."

Moonpaw shimmied, proudly stepping up to the ginger and white she-cat to touched noses. It was an honor to have such a highly regarded cat as a mentor. Moonpaw hoped not to disappoint. After a heartbeat, the pair made their way to the front of the crowd to observe the last of the apprentice ceremony.

Tigerkit sat alone. Her tail swept across the ground; whether it was from impatience or nervousness was unclear. Moonpaw wondered who Tigerkit would receive as a mentor. There weren't many cats left who didn't already have an apprentice to train. Would she receive someone who would be able to tame her wild spirit?

"Finally, Tigerkit. Previously you were held back in the nursery, as punishment for your wreckless behavior. I'm certain you've learned you lesson now. And so, for your patience, I finally name you Tigerpaw. I believe you deserve a mentor who will challenge and push you in the way you need. And that it why I have decided to take you on as my apprentice."

Tigerpaw jumped to her paws, wide eyed and mouth agape at the announcement. Moonpaw beamed, excited for her best friend. To her, no one could be a better choice to train the young tabby. Blazestar jumped down from the Great Stump to touch noses with his new apprentice, thus concluding the ceremony. The clan broke out into a cheer, brightening the new apprentices' spirits.

"Smokepaw! Skunkpaw! Magpiepaw! Moonpaw! Tigerpaw!!"

"Come, Tigerpaw. It's time for you to see the territory. Leafheart, Moonpaw, care to join us?" Meowed Blazestar, walking up to the mollies. Tigerpaw eagerly kneaded the ground, and Leafheart nodded her head.

"We would be delighted to," she accepted.

Together, the four cats made their way to the Entrance Tree and climbed their way up to its branches.

"Today you will learn the territory from down here," Leafheart said, leading the patrol to the ground outside of camp. "That way you will know where you are in case it's too dangerous to travel by tree."

Moonpaw and Tigerpaw stared at the forest around them with amazement. The territory was far bigger and brighter than either had remembered. Perhaps it was because the last time they'd stepped paw out of camp, the forest had been been a wonderland of white. The woods looked far more magnificent without a snowy blanket to hide all the details. There was so much greenery, and so much land to explore. Moonpaw couldn't wait to learn about every pawprint of it.

The patrol of cats walked for quite a while. Leafheart would point out small landmarks that the apprentices should remember. An extra large boulder here, a gnarled misshaped tree there. Eventually they came to a stop in a more important area which required better explanation.

"This place is called the Tree Dome. It's named for the way the trees are shaped. Here, you will learn to fight, utilizing the terrain you have available to you," Blazestar retorted, gesturing to the large sandy hollow they were standing in.

The trees surrounding the clearing arched inward, like a great force had bent them to create a shelter. In the center there was plenty of space to move around. At the edges a warrior could touch the trees' branches simply by standing on their hind legs. Prey like squirrels and birds would probably be easy to catch here, if the hollow didn't smell so strongly of cats. The leaves in Greenleaf would make for great cover from predator and enemy alike. It was the perfect place for a Treeclan apprentice to train.

"It's amazing!" Moonpaw trilled with delight, spinning in a circle as if she were trying to take in the full view of the area. Leafheart chuckled and beckoned the others onward.

The patrol continued the tour heading northward, pausing on occasion to mark the border. Ahead, the land started to slope upwards, leading the cats along the edge of a cliff. Not much farther along, a strange scent began to mingle with the breeze. It grew stronger as they went along, becoming more unavoidable by the heartbeat. Moonpaw's nose wrinkled when she caught a big enough whiff of the odor while Tigerpaw sneezed.

"Oh Starclan, what is that?" Tigerpaw griped. The older cats chose not to explain right away. Instead, they held out until they slowed atop the highest point of the cliff. Here sat an an old tree. It's limbs hung like a weeping willow. Yet its branches were girthier with larger leaf buds protruding from its Newleaf growths. A part of its trunk bore a prominent scar at the bend. It looked as if the tree had been struck by lightning once. It healed from its injury, but was never quite able to return to it's full upright glory.

"This is the High Cliff, it's marked by the Saggy Tree. The forest once extended to this point. Now, all that remains here is this lone ash. A fire broke out during a storm once, destroying everything but the tree that started it all," Blazestar explained.

"Breathe deep, 'paws. The scent you caught on the wind is the stench of Oceanclan," chimed Leafheart. "Learn it quickly. You need to know it to identify your enemies."

"Let's continue along the border this way," Blazestar suggested, pointing to the right with his tail. The group moved away from the High Cliff, down a slight slope to the edge of a rocky area a couple tree lengths away. Blazestar waved his tail to signal for the group to pause once more.

"This is the Rubble Path. A great area to sunbathe and hunt, but also a dangerous place. Adders sometimes live in between the rocks, and this land is often fought for by Oceanclan. Many battles have taken place on this land, and much blood has been shed. Mark the trees and rocks around here well whenever you pass, and always keep an eye out for trouble," Blazestar meowed, walking up to a tree to spray. Just then, a mrrow of laughter sounded from the base of Rubble Path.

"You make us sound so evil, Blazestar," remarked an unfamiliar golden she-cat. Her long fur flowed in the breeze as her paw rested on one of the stones. She had three cats backing her up with varying degrees of emotion on their faces.

"It's an Oceanclan patrol. That she-cat is their deputy, Sandybreeze," hissed Leafheart into the apprentices ears. Tigerpaw let out an involuntary growl, and Moonpaw lashed her tail.

"Ah don' recognize those two. Showin' yer new apprentices 'round personally?" wondered a molly with gray fur and black tabby spots.

"It's customary for a mentor to show his apprentice around," Blazestar responded simply. Moonpaw watched Tigerpaw step forward next to the leader with her head held high. Please don't say anything rash...

"He doesn't need stinky old Oceanclan's approval to train me now, does he?" She snickered, flashing a smug toothy grin. Moonpaw tilted her head, wondering how Tigerpaw could be so bold. The enemy patrol seemed to take the remark with good humor.

"Your apprentice has guts, Blazestar. I can see why you've chosen to mentor her. Though you might want to teach her to watch her tongue. It's going to lead her to trouble sooner or later," advised Sandybreeze.

"Yeah, Treeclan cat, shut your trap!" Piped the third cat, a fluffy white tom. He was smaller than the she-cats were. Moonpaw wondered if he had just been made an apprentice too. "Your clan's filled with nothing but deer ticks." The similarly sized black tom beside him hung his head with a slow shake.

"And your head is full of bees," Tigerpaw spat back in response. "Yknow, I wouldn't be surprised if you've got sand up your-"

"That's enough, Tigerpaw," Blazestar warned, holding his tail in front of her.

"We didn't come here to throw jabs at one another. Only to mark and show off the border," Leafheart chimed in. "We should be going now. I think to the Twoleg border next."

Blazestar nodded in agreement. "May the branches hold your weight, Sandybreeze, Silverdrop, and 'Paws."

"An' may Starclan light yer path," responded Silverdrop, turning her apprentices around. The white tom turned his head to look back at the Treeclan patrol. He stuck his tongue out at Tigerpaw then put it away, locking eyes with Moonpaw. His gaze shifted to one of intrigue, and Moonpaw felt curiosity rise up within herself as well. After another heatbeat she turned, following her clanmates to another part of the territory.

#warrior cats #warrior cats ocs #wcs #wcs ocs #signs of the moon #signs of the moon: moon high #moon high #chapter 6 #moon pov

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