#turtleclan lore and Legends

[taleofturtleclan]

Lore Piece #1: Marking The Passage Boulder

A/N: Not sure how often these are going to be, but I'm going to occasionally post these when I have some lore that I can't or don't want to work into one of the stories.

The marking of the Passage Boulder is a tradition that developed organically within the group that would eventually become TurtleClan. When the survivors of the wreck made their den, they left their paw prints in mud on one of the boulders of their den as a sort of proof that they had survived. When Foam became old enough to join them, he added his mark to the boulder, and by the time Splash graduated, the beginnings of a formal ceremony were taking shape.

Though the first Passage Marking we see occurs immediately after Spindlefleck’s graduation ceremony, this is not always the case. For the Passage ceremony, each cat must gather earth from a place of significance to them on the territory. “Significance” is loosely defined–Splash selected soil from near his favorite set of boulders to bask on. Some cats will even choose to crush a favorite flower petal in with the earth that they gather. Regardless, some cats prefer to wait until after their Warrior ceremony to gather the soil they will use for their Passage Mark, treating it as a period for reflection on their new status. The marking of the Passage Boulder by a new Warrior typically occurs within a day of the ceremony, unless it is raining, in which case it occurs as soon as the rain stops. If the old layers of mud coating the mixing slab have been completely washed away by rain, the first ceremony to occur thereafter is sometimes called a “Lonely Passage” or a “Solo Passage”, because the freshly mixed mud will completely lack residue from any previous ceremony. Some cats interpret this as a bad omen for how the new Warrior will get along with their Clanmates, whereas others believe it is a sign that the new Warrior is destined to forge a path for others in some way, be it as a leader, a skilled fighter, or a talented mentor.

[taleofturtleclan]

MOON 9

“You asked me about the stories I knew, once.”

Tidechaser’s words were so abrupt that Dustjump nearly leapt out of her skin. As she’d gotten to know the tom better, Dustjump had realized he didn’t really mean to be cold or unsettling, but by the tides, he was bad at starting conversations.

They’d been walking in silence through the forest, checking under bushes and in rocky crevices to see if any herbs had survived the first chill of leafbare. Anything to help Foam and Brokenmast. The first three spots they’d checked had yielded nothing. Neither of them had wanted to admit this was a hopeless endeavor, but it was hard to find anything to say without circling back to that topic, so they hadn’t said anything at all. Until Tidechaser had dropped this on her.

“What?” Dustjump said absently, her thoughts still wrapped up in the conditions of her two patients.

“The story I told Brokenmast in your den. You seemed interested in it, and you asked me if I believed in that and the other stories I knew,” Tidechaser clarified.

“I suppose I did.” It was a noncommittal answer, but Dustjump wanted Tidechaser to get to the point already.

“I thought you might want to hear another one. It might… take your mind off of things.” He added, with all the delicacy of a falling tree.

“I suppose,” Dustjump sighed. Tidechaser’s stories had seemed so important to her all those moons ago. She’d been so sure that they were connected to her dream of Pearl, somehow. But that had been before she’d had real problems to worry about, like Foam’s greencough and the possibility it might spread to Brokenmast. Now it all seemed so… kit-like. Thinking that Pearl’s spirit had been trying to speak with her. Since that night, Dustjump had been back to the still, starry sea in her dreams, but Pearl had not been there. She wondered if she had missed some sort of chance, or if it had ever meant anything at all in the first place. She forced herself to abandon these useless thoughts, and listen to the tale that Tidechaser was beginning to weave.

“Once upon a time, on these very beaches, lived two brothers by the names of Kai and Hoku. Kai was the older of the two, and Hoku the younger. Hoku was always getting himself into trouble, and Kai was constantly getting him out of it. The brothers had lost their mother just after Hoku had been born, so Kai had raised him alone, and his young brother had become his entire world. Every morning, Kai and Hoku fished the tidepools for their breakfast while the water was low, Kai making sure that they left well before the tide started to come in. One day, Hoku woke before his older brother. Kai had spent much of the previous night looking for his troublesome sibling, who had gotten stuck up a tree. Feeling guilty for the trouble he always caused his brother, Hoku resolved to hunt the tidepools alone, so that when Kai woke, he would have a meal waiting for him. Hoku set out, his spirits high, but when he reached the tidepools, he found that the fish were much harder to catch alone. Usually, one brother would wait on the edge of the pool while the other swam in the water to scare the fish towards him. Alone, the fish evaded Hoku with ease, and he grew frustrated and stubborn. The sun had risen higher into the sky, and Hoku knew that the tide was already starting to come in, but he was certain that he could still make a catch before high tide hit. ‘Surely if I try for a short while longer I will catch a fish, and Kai will be proud of my skill,’ he reasoned to himself. Hoku dove and dove again and again, and each time came up empty pawed. Finally, he found a fish with an injured fin, fat and slow, and he was able to grasp it in his jaws. But just as his head broke the surface, Hoku saw a huge wave cresting over the edge of the tidepool. In his eagerness to make a catch, he had lost track of the time, and high tide had arrived without him noticing. Hoku tried to swim for shore, but the wave caught him up, dashing him against the rocks and washing him out to sea.

When Hoku awoke, he found himself on the shore, cold but free from pain. Embarrassed, with his tail low, he headed back to the den he shared with Kai to explain his most recent accident to his older brother. When he arrived, Kai was just beginning to wake. ‘Kai, my brother, I am ashamed, I tried to catch a fish for you to eat, but I was caught in the tide and washed up on the shore,’ Hoku lamented. Kai did not respond to his words, and Hoku grew angry. ‘Kai, my brother, I know I am younger and weaker than you, but I only wanted to help. You should not ignore me so.’ Kai did not answer. 

As Hoku opened his mouth to yowl angry words at his brother again, Kai finally spoke: ‘I wonder where my brother Hoku has gone, and what manner of trouble he has found himself in this time.’ Hoku felt a prickle of fear, but pushed it away with his anger. He leapt in front of his brother, back arched, fur fluffed.

 ‘Kai, this joke does not amuse me! Do not pretend you do not see me when I stand before you in our den!’ 

‘I will search for my brother Hoku, and when I find him we will hunt land prey together. The sea is too rough to fish today.’ With that, Kai stepped forward, passing through Hoku’s form as if he was not there at all. It was then that Hoku knew that he had joined the Realm of Stars, never to touch the land of the living again.

All through the day, Hoku watched as Kai searched for him, calling his name again and again. He did not eat, he did not rest, not even when the sun fell below the horizon and day passed into night. When the sun rose again in the morning, Hoku began to fear. Kai still had not slept or eaten, single minded in his search to find his young brother. ‘Kai, my brother, you must eat and sleep, for you shall never find me, I am gone,’ Hoku pleaded, but Kai could not hear him. As the sun rose high into the sky, Hoku could not bear to watch any longer. He parted from his brother and dove beneath the waves to seek out the creatures of the ocean, for since they do not live upon the soil, they are not bound by the laws of the land of the living. Hoku first sought out a Deepest One to answer his plea: ‘O great Deepest One, you are wise and mighty and have been known to help mortals, will you please carry a message to my brother Kai, to tell him that I am dead and that he must stop searching for me so he may eat and sleep?’

The Deepest One responded: ‘Little Landbound one, I am sympathetic to your plight, but my body is too large to come close to shore safely, I can not carry your message.’

Hoku thanked the Deepest One anyways, and sought out a smaller creature: ‘O swift Fish, you are small and can swim close to shore, will you carry a message to my brother?’

The Fish responded: ‘Cat-creature, you and your brother hunted my kin for your meals, if I carry your message your brother will surely feed on me, I will not help you.’

Hoku was disappointed, but sought out a creature that he had never hunted: ‘O great Fanged One, you do not fear my kind, will you carry a message to my brother?’

The Fanged One responded: ‘Fur-beast, I am a great and mighty predator, all who swim the ocean tremble before me, what reason have I to concern myself with your messages?’

Hoku knew he would not convince the Fanged One, and left. He thought to himself about the creatures he had asked for help, and their reasons for refusing. He needed a creature that was not too large, was not hunted by cats, and was not a predator. Hoku thought and thought, and finally found the answer. He sought out his final candidate, and asked him: ‘O most ancient Green Turtle, you have no reason to fear a cat’s claws, you can travel to land as you please, and you do not concern yourself with hunting prey, will you carry a message to my brother?’

The Turtle responded: ‘Little cat, you have given me no reason to hate you. You and your brother have not hunted my children, and my life is long. I will carry your message.’

Thrilled, Hoku asked the Turtle to tell his brother that he had gone to the Realm of the Stars, and that he must eat and sleep. The Turtle set out, and Hoku waited a full turn of the sun before she returned. Eager, he asked her: ‘Might Turtle, did my brother receive the message? Is he eating and sleeping again?’

The Turtle responded: ‘Little cat, I shared your message with your brother, and he did eat and sleep, but he mourns deeply for you and blames himself for your death.’

Hoku was taken aback by this news. ‘My death was no fault of his, for he always told me to return from the Tidepools before high tide, it is I who did not listen. Kind Turtle, will you bring my brother this message?’

The Turtle agreed, and Hoku waited another turn of the sun for her return. When she arrived, he asked her: ‘Dear Turtle, is my brother’s grief soothed? Has he ceased blaming himself for my death?’

The Turtle responded: ‘Little cat, I shared your message with your brother, and he no longer blames himself, but he is saddened that he will never see you again. Caring for you was his life’s purpose, and he is lost now that you are gone.’

‘This will not do!’ he cried. ‘I wish for him to find a new purpose, for his life is his own, and he shall see me again when he joins me in the Realm of Stars. Wise Turtle, will you bring my brother this message?’

The Turtle sighed, for she had carried two messages already. Still, she responded: ‘Little cat, I will bring your brother this last message, but after that, if you wish to speak with him, you must do so yourself, for I must find a beach to lay my eggs.’

Hoku understood her reasoning, but not her advice. ‘Benevolent Turtle, what do you mean? I cannot speak to my brother, I have tried and my voice no longer reaches his ears, for I have left the Land of the Living, and my breath no longer stirs the air.’

The Turtle blinked her deep eyes at him. ‘The way of speaking with the Land of the Living is a secret of the sea creatures, but I will share it with you, for I can tell your love for your brother is true. You have stars in your fur, do you not?’

Hoku looked down at his pelt and saw that it was true.

‘The light of your stars can reflect on the water. When the sun is high they cannot be seen. But if you wait for night and stand above the water, their light will reflect in the ocean. In this way, us Turtles guide our children to the ocean after their first hatching, even if we are long gone. For you, if your brother sees the reflection of your stars and truly believes with all his heart that you are there, then your worlds will meet and you may speak for a time.’

Hoku followed the Turtle’s instructions, and the Turtle went to find Kai to give him the knowledge she had shared with his brother. When night fell, Hoku stood above the Tidepool where he had drowned, ruffling the stars in his pelt. Kai peered down into the water, and with a gasp, Hoku’s image appeared to him. ‘Kai, my brother, do you truly see me?’

‘Hoku, I see you, I hear you, and my heart overflows. At last, we are reunited!’

The two brothers felt joy beyond compare at their reunion, and they talked for a time of everything that had happened since Hoku's passing. But as light began to fill the sky, they knew their exchange must end, at least until another night bright with stars.

The Turtle, who had been watching the exchange, dipped her head, sensing things were coming to a close. ‘My work here is done, and now I must go to find a beach to lay my eggs.’

The brothers turned to her as one, and Kai spoke: ‘Esteemed Turtle, this gift you have given to us is beyond compare. We can never repay it, but we would give you a small gift in return: lay your eggs here, upon my beach, and I will watch over your nest until they hatch, and guard their way as they seek the ocean.’

For the first time, the Turtle showed true joy. ‘You say that you can not repay me, but many of my children are taken each year as they seek the sea. The lights of the Twolegs distract them, and many hungry beasts prey upon their fragile bodies. If you would guard them, you would repay your debt and more. As thanks, I offer you this: if ever you or your descendents are lost on the way to the Realm of Stars, me and my kin will seek you out and guide you on your way, as you have offered to do for my children.’

And so it was that Kai and his descendants became the first Star Seekers, protecting the Turtles who helped him reunite with his lost brother,” Tidechaser concluded.

Dustjump was speechless. What Tidechaser had described… it was almost exactly like her dream of Pearl. Had she been unable to hear her old friend simply because she did not believe that she could really be there? Could it be that simple? Her mouth felt dry, and she paused to lap at a puddle, wetting her tongue. “How… how true is that story?” she breathed.

Tidechaser shrugged. “I’m not sure. The brothers’ hunting technique, though, it's the one most cats along the shore use today.”

It was true. When Tidechaser had taught them all how to fish the tidepools, that had been the method he’d focused on. “And… and the rest of it?”

“Who can say?” Tidechaser cocked his head. “And why do you want to know?” He’d trusted her by sharing this story with her. Trusted that she would treat it with respect. He deserved the same sort of trust from her end. Give and take, just like the ebb and flow of the tides themselves. He’d never ask for that trust outright–Tidechaser was direct in some ways, circumspect in others. But she’d learned that flowing with him rather than trying to batter down his walls got the best results moons ago. She took a deep breath. “A while back, I had this dream…”

A/N: Whew, this was a long one! Fun fact, baby sea turtles do actually find their way to the ocean for the first time by following the reflection of light, particularly starlight/moonlight, off the water--its why human lights can be such a problem for them, and why many beach communities have strict lighting ordinances around hatching season. Anyways, I took that piece of real world inspiration and thought about how turtles that follow starlight might appear to cats that worship the stars, and this story took shape!

[taleofturtleclan]

MOON 5

“And can you extend and retract your claws for me?” Dustjump watched intently as Brokenmast screwed up his face in concentration, toes trembling with effort as he tried to unsheathe his claws. For a moment nothing happened, but then the golden tom’s feet jerked, and his claws shot out for just a moment before disappearing back into their sheathes. 

“Excellent!” Dustjump exclaimed, her flicking back and forth with excitement.

The spotted tom collapsed back into his nest, panting with the strain. His eyes shone with pride, but there was a shadow of fear that never quite left his gaze. “That was hard,” he gasped. “Before my accident, I didn’t even need to think about unsheathing my claws. I could just… do it. Will I really be able to walk again one day?”

“I can’t promise anything,” Dustjump warned gently, “but you are regaining mobility. Just a few days ago, you couldn’t unsheathe your claws at all. I suspect your mobility will continue to improve for quite some time. Whether you’re able to get all the way to walking again, well, that’s in the paws of fate.”

“Your future is carried on Change’s wind,” a new voice, deep and smooth, rang out from the entrance of Dustjump’s den, but she did not jump. Tidechaser had come for another visit. Dustjump turned away from Brokenmast, trying to hide her smile. The big silver tom had been visiting Brokenmast in her den every day for the last quarter moon. He padded quietly into the den, coming to sit beside Brokenmast. 

“Tidechaser,” Brokenmast greeted warmly, straining up to touch noses with the new arrival. Tidechaser shuffled his paws at the unexpected contact, but did not look displeased by it. Dustjump slid around one of the jagged boulders in the corner of her den to give the two toms some space, and to count out her remaining supplies in the herb store.

 “What were you saying?” Brokenmast’s voice still reached her easily behind the boulder, but, well, if they hadn’t wanted her to listen, Dustjump supposed they would have whispered.

“That your future is carried on Change’s wind. It’s an old saying amongst the loners around here. The tale must be as old as the beach itself,” Tidechaser replied.

“A story?” Brokenmast’s voice rose eagerly. “From you, Tidechaser? I’d love to hear it, if you’ll share.”

“I’m not much of a storyteller,” Tidechaser admitted, “but I’ll share it with you all the same, if you’d like.”

There was a brief pause before Tidechaser continued. “My mother always told me that once, all cats knew the way their lives would play out. The winds of Fate pushed and pulled the tides, constant and reliable. Cats would watch the waves, and could read their futures clearly in the push and pull of the ocean. Every cat knew each moment of their life before it happened. Who their mates would be, how many kits they would have, even the day they would die. But one cat, a tom whose name is long forgotten, despised how predictable life was. There was no joy, no sense of adventure for anyone. Because every cat knew how their lives would go, no cat had any freedom. Determined to change this, the tom sought the Deepest Ones, ancient beings that live beneath the waves,” Tidechaser paused here, and Dustjump found her ears straining to hear the tom’s next words.

“I don’t remember exactly how the next part went, only that it was difficult for the tom to convince the Deepest Ones to grant his wish. Eventually, though, the tom found a Deepest One who had grown bored of life beneath the waves, and yearned to walk among the creatures of the land. In this, the tom found an opportunity. He offered to give up his body to this Deepest One, granting the creature’s wish in exchange for it’s power and immortality. The bargain was struck, and when the tom’s body emerged from the waves, he was no longer the one inhabiting it– instead, his soul bounded across the waves, rippling the water and carrying a new wind behind it. The tom began to run, and the wind in his wake battered against the winds of Fate, making them swirl and shift in new ways. From that day on, cats could no longer read their futures clearly in the waves, and all that had been foreseen was now subject to change. Some cursed the tom for that, for disrupting the bountiful futures they had seen laid out before them, but others thanked him– queens who had seen their kits' deaths in the tides suddenly found new hope, and cats who had been deathly ill found themselves with a chance to recover. Eventually, the tom’s original name was lost to time, and he became known only as Change. And so, when fate seems grim, remember that Change and his disruptive winds are out there, dashing about, stirring each cat’s life so that no future is inescapable,” Tidechaser finally fell silent.

“You sell yourself short, Tidechaser,” Brokenmast sounded breathless. “You’re a great storyteller! Do you have any more?” he sounded eager.

“Many,” Tidechaser purred. “Stories of cursed creatures that lure cats to their graves on stormy nights, stories of birds that could speak to cats, even stories of spirits sending messages through the reflection of starlight off the water,” Dustjump froze, her blood running cold, her paws beginning to shake. “But none for today,” Tidechaser finished casually. “You need to eat, and I know you won’t do it if I’m filling your head with old shorecat legends…”

Dustjump didn’t listen to the rest of their conversation. Her mind was filled with memories from her strange dream of Pearl, of seeing her reflection in the starlit water though no cat was there. It would be foolish to think any of that had been real. When a cat died, they were gone for good. Her dream had simply been the result of her missing the life she’d had before. Hadn’t it? Despite her best efforts, Dustjump couldn’t quiet her racing thoughts. 

“Tidechaser,” she meowed, poking her head around the boulder where she’d been sorting herbs. “I need more dandelion, and you know the jungle better than I do. Would you accompany me?” It wasn’t a complete lie. Tidechaser did know the territory better than any of them, never mind that Dustjump had memorized where all the best patches of common herbs were moons ago.

“Of course,” Dustjump thought she heard a note of satisfaction in his reply, but she didn’t dwell on it.

“We’ll go now,” she said brusquely, brushing past him on her way out of the den. “And do make sure you get something to eat, Brokenmast. I’ll be checking with Shell to make sure you did.” Dustjump didn’t pay attention to her patient’s mumbled reply, he might complain about it, but she knew he’d do what she asked. Right now, her mind was occupied with the image of Pearl, wreathed in Starlight.

Out in the jungle, Dustjump allowed her pace to slow while she pondered how to broach this subject with Tidechaser. Just because he’d been sharing old myths from the area didn’t mean he actually believed them. Would he think she was crazy if she told him about her dream? Or would he have an answer for her?

Finally, she worked up the courage to speak. “That story you were telling Brokenmast,” she began hesitantly, “do you think it’s true?” 

Tidechaser cocked his head thoughtfully. “I think that there are many things beyond the understanding of mortal cats,” he said finally. “I think that there are powers greater than us, that push and pull on our futures in ways we will never truly understand. I don’t know if there’s really a spirit called Change running around out there, shifting our fates with his winds, but I think its a good way to understand things that would otherwise seem inexplicable. So I suppose, in that sense, I do think the story is true.” His words were slow and measured.

Dustjump licked her lips. “A-and the other stories you mentioned? Do you believe in those as well?”

“Some of them,” Tidechaser meowed. “Why do you want to know?”

What was she doing? She couldn’t tell him that she thought she’d seen a spirit cat’s reflection on the water in her dreams. He hadn’t said outright that he believed any of the stories at face value. What if he thought she was raving mad?

“No reason,” the lie tasted bitter on her tongue. “I’m… curious about you.” That was true enough, at least. “You’ve lived with us for moons now, but I feel like I hardly know you. You’ve never really told us anything about yourself.”

“There was no reason to,” Tidechaser meowed coldly. 

“I’m not trying to pry,” Dustjump said gently, pushing away thoughts of her strange dream. “I know better than most cats that the past can be precious. I don’t blame you for keeping some things to yourself. But, well, today in my den, that was the first time I really felt like I was seeing beyond the mysterious stranger. Is there… anything that you would feel comfortable sharing with me?” 

Tidechaser relaxed visibly. “Well… I was born on the cliffs above the beach, on a wet and windy day. I had two littermates, and…”

AN: We are almost done with Moon 5 I promise