This is a Warrior Cats Fan Project based on the game ClanGen (@officialclangen ), basically my take on a warrior cats story inspired by a pixel game's events! Below are a list of resources for you, the reader. Please look over these resources before asking a question. Thank you for coming along for the ride, I hope you enjoy yourselves and feel welcome.
You can also find my on my main, @rowanfalls, and my art blog, @ashleyrowan
Chronological Order
If you'd like to start at the beginning, you can do so here. Every Canon Post now has a set of links that look like this: "Prev | First | Next" that you can use to navigate through the story.
You can also find a complete list of all Canon Posts in chronological order, sorted by month and year, here. This doesn't include asks, memes, or fan art, only pieces that contain canon story content.
Tag Lists and Trigger Warnings
RisingClan is proud to employ Trauma Informed Storytelling. As a safety tool, I use a series of tags to warn readers about upcoming triggering content as well as a system called Heavy Content Alert over on @clangenrising-alerts, all of which can be found explained in detail here.
As well, a list of tags that I use to categorize content like AUs, advice, and so forth can be found at that same link.
Patreon and Ko-Fi
RisingClan is free and will always be free, but if you'd like to support me financially, you can do so on my Patreon and my Ko-Fi! This support is greatly appreciated and helps me continue to create great work for RisingClan. Keep in mind that if you use the Patreon or Ko-Fi apps, there will likely be a cut of your donation/subscription taken for the appstore and that using the desktop sites will ensure that I receive the full amount as intended.
Allegiances
A list of characters and their allegiances, like those listed at the beginning of every Warrior Cats book, can be found here. This list stays up to date with the most recent piece so beware of spoilers.
FAQ
Below the cut is a list of some of the questions I frequently receive and their answers. Please read this whole list before sending an ask as any questions already covered by the FAQ will be deleted.
Q: What happened to the Real Time gimmick?
A: In October 2024, I had a mental breakdown because I was trying to do too many things to unrealistic standards. I took a hiatus for my mental health and, when I was ready to return, my readers voted that I should start posting as soon as possible rather than wait all year so I could resume the Real Time gimmick. From January 2025 on, posts are no longer posted on the day in canon when they happen.
Q: What are your ClanGen game settings?
A: I play the Stable Version, Expanded Mode. I do not allow mass extinction events, romantic interactions with former mentors, or first cousins to be mates or have romantic interactions. Pregnancy does not ignore biology but same-sex adoption is increased. Cats are allowed to breed with cats that aren't their mates. Experience based graduation is turned on (although some of the story was played before it was an option), cats will never retire due to a permanent condition, and warriors and elders are able to choose to become mediators.
Q: Do the other Clans have safe files in your game?
A: Yes, although I don't follow the events of those games as strictly as I do RisingClan. They are here to support RisingClan's story so if something that happens in another Clan would distract from the story or changing an event might better tell the story then I will change that event. However, the City Cats do not have a save file as most of them are created specifically for plot purposes. I have a save file I use to help generate sprites/design ideas for the City Cats but I don't follow the events or relationships in it at all.
Q: Will you show us the character sprites/relationship tabs?
A: No, I won't. I was more open to the idea when I started this blog but as things went on I realized that I preferred the freedom of not having to stay strictly to the sprites in my designs, especially now that I'm making RisingClan genetically accurate. As well, some sprites contain spoilers like missing limbs that I don't want to share. I also play so far in advance that it isn't possible for me to show you everyone's relationship tabs since that data is no longer accessible once a cat dies. Also I got a new computer and now I can't get ClanGen to work so I couldn't access my files if I tried. :(
Q: How are the RisingClan cats genetically accurate?
A: I have a spreadsheet that keeps track of the genotypes of every cat in RisingClan (and some of the cats outside of RisingClan) and whenever kits are born I make sure that the kits are possible given the parents involved. Because ClanGen is not genetically accurate, I will be deviating from the sprites when necessary but I also intend to edit my save files to be genetically accurate when I have the time so that we don't drift too far from the sprites over the generations.
Q: What art program do you use?
A: I use ClipStudio Paint (a friend bought me the full version a while ago) and I love it. Highly recommend if you have the money (or if you can find it um.. second hand, as it were).
Q: Why hasn't my ask been posted yet?
A: All answered asks are put into the queue and spaced out to pad the space between writing pieces. If I am receiving a lot of asks, it may take a couple weeks for your specific ask to get posted. If that time goes by and I still haven't answered it, I probably deleted the question because it was already answered by the FAQ, it made me uncomfortable, or it was needlessly antagonistic.
Bonus: You made a typo in the last piece!
I appreciate people pointing out typos for me since I don't have any beta readers but I also don't like posting those corrections very much. If you see a typo, please send it in an ask but know that once I see it and fix the typo, I will delete the ask. This means that if there are any questions or comments you want me to see and post, they need to be in a separate ask from the typo correction or I will delete them. I don't want to delete your lovely comments so make sure you send a separate ask!
Do you have a question that isn't on the FAQ? It might be in the FAQ tag, try checking there too!
Hey guys, I almost got scammed just now and I want to give y'all a warning and a heads up to keep an eye on any suspicious activity.
Out of nowhere, I got these suspicious messages:
The situation seemed plausible so I was ready to take steps to prevent my account getting banned. But then, they sent me this:
And that's when I got suspicious.
NO website customer support will ask you to message them on a separate website!!! EVER!!!
I looked it up and apparently this is a scam that's going around on tumblr where they take your account AND try to trick you into giving them money on top of it!
I'm glad I caught it but I know it was only because I have educated myself on how scams work. That's why I wanted to share this with you guys, in case they go through my followers or other warrior cats blogs and try to scam them too. I'm pretty sure the account that messaged me was stolen this way because the posting habits look legitimate if outdated. (Btw, Please don't harass them for this reason and others)
TLDR: New scam going around, NEVER message someone pretending to be website support on a different website or follow a link someone you don't know sends you.
Take care of yourselves out there, and maybe share this around to make sure no one gets taken advantage of. Thanks <3
Patreon Update: Discord Server and Streaming Reward
As of today, all paid members will receive access to a brand new, Patreon only Discord Server! This server is mostly a way to facilitate streaming but there is also room to chat and talk about RisingClan. All current members should have received an invite.
That brings me to my next announcement.
As of today, instead of producing quarterly Season Illustrations, I will instead be hosting Monthly streams in the Discord server where I will play Genemod Clan Gen or Draw live (and maybe other things if people have suggestions). All paid members can watch the streams but only Sunrise members get to speak in the voice chat (at least until I get too many patrons to make that feasible, but I don't see that happening for a while).
I hope this makes it feel more rewarding to be supporting me financially. I really do appreciate all the support and I want to make sure you're getting things out of it <3 Thanks for sticking with me all this time.
Question about Patron Rewards by RisingClan on Patreon. Join RisingClan's community for exclusive content and updates.
New post on my Patreon asking if the rewards I'm providing could be better. Please head over and give your feedback even if you're not currently a patron, I wanna know what everybody thinks!
Question about Patron Rewards by RisingClan on Patreon. Join RisingClan's community for exclusive content and updates.
New post on my Patreon asking if the rewards I'm providing could be better. Please head over and give your feedback even if you're not currently a patron, I wanna know what everybody thinks!
Ohhhhhhhhh this entire time I thought School Friends by Now Now was a cute wlw pining song, a "will they? won't they?" type thing.
This entire time it was an abusive straight song 😭😭???? Damn I suck understanding songs /j
Hahaha i mean technically we don't know the gender of the person the song is about but yeah to me it reads like a song about someone who doesn't treat their partner right.
Thats okay though! Media analysis is a skill you have to practice. I usually start by just pulling up the lyrics and reading through them to really figure out what it's saying.
By the time they returned to camp, the sun was setting and Pantherhaze was starting to feel feverish. His vision had slightly improved but he felt so ill that he kept his eyes closed anyway. Oddstripe gave him some dandelion leaves and told him to get some sleep and Fogstalker said she was going to try and find something to cast a protection spell, whatever that meant. He thanked her anyway and eagerly went to bed.
That night was all in and out, shifting restlessly between confusing, fleeting dreams and half-wakefulness. At one point, he thought he heard Fogstalker and Slateheart arguing in whispers nearby but, by the time he woke, he wasn’t sure.
“How are you feeling?” Russetfrond asked when he managed to hobble out of the den in the late morning.
“Um…” Pantherhaze squinted around the camp. His vision had mostly returned to normal, although certain patches of grass felt like they were fuzzy, in two places at once. His paws were still clammy and despite having overslept he had very little energy.
He settled on, “I’m hanging in there.”
“Fogstalker says you got cursed?” Russetfrond said, raising a brow skeptically. “Sparrowsway says he didn’t get a good look. What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Pantherhaze said genuinely. He let his vision fog as he tried to recall details about the incident. “The coyote had been scratching things on the ground and it was threatening Fogstalker and… I don’t know, I just got the feeling that it was about to do something so I threw myself in the way and then…” He frowned, his head tilting towards his shoulder, gaze falling over the blurry grass. “There was a big flash of light and I felt sick to my stomach, like I’d been thrown from a high place suddenly and, when I opened my eyes, everything was double.”
“A flash of light?” scowled Russetfrond. “No one else mentioned a flash of light.” Pantherhaze looked up to see him sheathing and unsheathing his claws in thought.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “that’s just what I saw.”
“It’s alright,” sighed Russetfrond. “You just focus on feeling better, okay?” He gave Pantherhaze a few licks around the ears and Pantherhaze closed his eyes and sighed into the feeling. It had been a while since they’d shared tongues. He missed it.
After a moment, Russetfrond pulled away and said, “I’m off to check on the boys training but I’ll check on you when I get back, yeah?”
“Okay,” smiled Pantherhaze, shivering suddenly. Russetfrond gave him a concerned frown and touched noses with him before heading out.
Pantherhaze got breakfast, then went back to Oddstripe who confirmed that he did, in fact, still have a fever.
“Get some rest,” Oddstripe told him. “Let me know if you feel any worse, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, feeling weary and disappointed. He wanted to do something for the Clan, not be laid up in bed. Still, he reasoned that the sooner he got better, the sooner he would be back to helping out. So he went back to bed.
Fogstalker was there, lifting up the moss of his nest. “Oh! Sorry,” she said. “I was just putting a ward under your nest to help you sleep.”
“A ward -- that’s like a spell?” he asked, feeling very warm under his fur.
“Yeah,” she said. “Oh, is that okay? Sorry, I should have asked.”
“It’s fine,” he said, too tired to care.
Fogstalker smiled apologetically. “Okay. I’ll hurry up.” She finished arranging poppy petals in a little circle she had drawn into the dirt. In the middle was a small pile of crushed thyme and the smell was honestly very soothing.
She dropped the moss back down and smoothed it out, then turned to him and said, “There you go. That should help you sleep peacefully. Hopefully it can flush whatever Hui-che did to you out of your system.” She winced and gave him a little, hopeful shrug.
“Thank you,” he said, moving to settle into his nest. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out with the coyotes.”
“It’s alright,” Fogstalker sighed. “I don’t think I approached it right. I’ll figure it out.” She shrugged again. “Get some sleep.”
“Okay,” he said, curling up into a tight little ball. He took slow deep breaths and tried to relax and soon enough he drifted off to sleep.
---
Pantherhaze was standing in a thick, white fog, or rather a tunnel made of fog. The walls and floors and ceilings were fog, yet when he took a step forward or poked a wall with his nose it gave resistance as if it were moss instead. He opened his mouth to scent the air but the only smell was fresh water.
For lack of something better to do, he started walking. He came to a fork from which split two identical fog tunnels. He cocked his head, glanced back and forth between them, and tried a cautious, “Hello?” His voice was swallowed by the walls, leaving him in an unnerving quiet.
“Hello?” he tried again, louder this time.
Nothing. He sighed and tried to pick between the tunnels, looked over his shoulder and considered going back, when suddenly--
“Hello?” the faintest sound of a raspy voice carried down the tunnel on his left.
“Hello?” he said, ears snapping upright. He quickly made his way down the tunnel towards the voice. “Hello, there?”
“This way!” the voice was getting louder. “I’m here!” It sounded like a tom and that tom sounded relieved, elated maybe.
“I’m coming,” called Pantherhaze. He took another turn and suddenly found himself nose to nose with another cat, much sooner than he had expected given the volume of his voice. Shock hit him like a pawful of water to the face.
“Darkmoon?!” he gaped, eyes wide.
In front of him stood the former EarthClan deputy, his speckled black fur slightly rumpled and unkempt, adorned with a coating of glittering stardust. Darkmoon stared back with a naked surprise that Pantherhaze had never seen him wear when he was alive.
“Pantherhaze?” he croaked. “Oh, no. Are you dead too?”
“I- I don’t think so,” said Pantherhaze, suddenly worried. “I thought I was just having a dream.”
“A dream…” Darkmoon mumbled to himself, eyes roving erratically over the tunnel walls. Pantherhaze’s brow furrowed in concern.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Darkmoon twitched an ear dismissively. “You look solid. Not like the rest of us.” He looked Pantherhaze up and down after he said it, like he was confirming what he’d said with himself.
“The rest of us?” Pantherhaze asked. “Are we in StarClan?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Darkmoon shook his head. “Come, I’ll show you. But stay close. It’s a maze. You’ll get lost if you’re not… not careful.” His eyes flickered over the space some more, only increasing Pantherhaze’s level of concern.
Before he could say anything, Darkmoon turned around and headed deeper into the tunnel, muttering to himself. The walls seemed to swallow the words and, as Pantherhaze followed, he realized their pawsteps made no noise either. He wondered -- if this was real -- how long Darkmoon had been in these strange, silent tunnels.
“Up, here,” Darkmoon grunted beneath a tunnel that went into the ceiling and hopped up, claws shedding scraps of cloud as he hoisted himself up. Pantherhaze looked down the featureless tunnel ahead of them with a growing unease in his stomach.
“Hurry up!” said Darkmoon impatiently. “Don’t get lost.”
“Right! Sorry,” Pantherhaze called with an apologetic smile and hopped up behind him.
After a few more turns, he started to hear very soft voices.
“-eventually. We have to be close to finding a way out.”
“Maybe. Or there is no way out.”
“No. No, there has to be a way out.”
Darkmoon took a right at a fork and suddenly, they were in a small, round chamber with several branching paths splitting off of it. The two cats snapped to attention as they saw him, one of them freezing where he had been pacing.
“You’re back,” he said, identifying himself as the first voice. He was a smallish, young-looking, masked brown tabby with sharp, green eyes. The cat behind him was larger and well built with a flat muzzle and white fur that made it hard to distinguish him from the wall. They both glittered with pinkish starlight. When the first tom’s eyes landed on Pantherhaze, they widened, and he added, “and with company.” Both of the toms tensed slightly.
“This is Pantherhaze,” said Darkmoon, stepping to the side to let him in. “He’s a Clan cat like me. Pantherhaze, this is Harley. That’s Twister.”
“Nice to meet you,” Pantherhaze said, slightly reeling by the sight of more cats in this strange place -- loners to boot.
“He doesn’t look dead,” observed the larger cat -- Twister.
“No,” Harley agreed, eyes narrowing calculatingly. “No, he doesn’t. What brings you to the Clouds, friend?”
Pantherhaze blinked. “The Clouds? Like literally?”
“Yes,” Darkmoon nodded. “You’re supposed to travel through them to StarClan but without our guides, we got lost.”
“Without your guides?!” Pantherhaze’s tail bristled in concern. “What happened to them?”
“They were attacked,” said Harley. “By a cat twice Twister’s size.”
“Razor,” growled Darkmoon.
“Razor?! He- Okay,” he was trying to stay on board with everything but he was learning a lot in that moment. He’d always been told that cats outside the Clans ceased to exist after death but here he was, talking to two loners who were dead about a dead rogue who had attacked their StarClan guides -- or, was it just guides? He shook his head, overwhelmed.
“He killed mine,” Darkmoon said. “Turned him to stardust in one swipe. I… I ran, like a coward.” He looked down at his paws in shame and Pantherhaze frowned sympathetically.
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Harley soothed, stepping closer. “We did what we had to do.”
“Yeah,” nodded Darkmoon. “Right.” He seemed shaken, despite his attempts to calm himself.
“So how did you get here, again?” asked Twister, pulling them back on topic.
“Oh!” Pantherhaze blushed in embarrassment. “I… I’m not sure. I just went to sleep and woke up here?”
“That’s- That’s it?” frowned Harley. He wore a petulant little scowl that completely took over his face.
Twister flicked Harley with his tail who glanced at him and seemed to remember himself. He shook his head and pulled a more relaxed expression onto his face, but the calculating edge returned to his eyes. He cocked his head to the side and approached Pantherhaze to get a closer look at him.
“Are you… here? Like physically?” he asked and then, without waiting for a response, raised a paw to bat at Pantherhaze’s ears. Pantherhaze flinched backward but Harley seemed satisfied by the result. “No, look at that, I passed right through him.”
“Interesting,” frowned Twister.
“What does that mean?” Darkmoon growled, mostly to himself.
“I don’t know,” Harley squinted and began to pace again. “This is quite the puzzle…” Pantherhaze blinked a few times, completely overwhelmed by everything that was happening, but let Harley think instead of asking questions.
After a moment, the tabby stopped and asked, “How long has it been? Like what time of year is it?”
“It’s hard to tell the time here,” Darkmoon added, looking at Pantherhaze.
“Oh, uh, let’s see…” he thought aloud. “You died at the end of Newleaf, right? Now, it’s nearly Leafbare of the same year.”
Darkmoon sighed in relief, a tiredness evaporating from his eyes. “Not too long then.”
“Leafbare,” Harley frowned, “which season is that?”
“Uh, the one with snow,” Pantherhaze offered, and Harley nodded seriously.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “Let me think.” There was a long stretch of quiet where Harley paced and muttered to himself, his voice being soaked into the clouds around them, and the others sat and watched.
Eventually, Harley said, “Okay. I think we just don’t have enough information. What we need is for you to try and figure out how to get back here again and see if we can learn something about it when you do. Until then, we keep trying to map the tunnels and see if we can figure anything out on our own.”
Twister rolled his eyes. “Great, so the same as always.” Harley’s tail rippled angrily and he pressed his mouth into a thin line as if he were trying to resist a scowl which seemed to amuse Twister greatly. Pantherhaze glanced awkwardly at Darkmoon but the former deputy was frowning at the floor, lost in thought.
Harley spoke again. “Does that sound like something you can do, uh…”
“Pantherhaze.”
“Yes,” Harley smiled. “Panther Haze. Do you think that you can try and help us out?”
“Sure,” Pantherhaze said, straightening up with the responsibility. “I mean, I’ll try.”
Harley’s smile flattened slightly in frustration but he nodded. “Well, I suppose that’s all we can ask for.”
“StarClan,” Darkmoon said.
“What?” Harley’s ear twitched as he raised a brow.
“You have to tell StarClan,” said Darkmoon, looking up at Pantherhaze. “The River of Stars. Someone has to let them know we’re here, maybe they can find us.”
Harley shifted awkwardly. “Maybe… We don’t know what they would do to Twister and I.”
Pantherhaze frowned and took a step closer. “They won’t do anything to you, I’m sure. I’m sure they would help you try and… get wherever you were supposed to be.” He screwed his mouth to the side as he tried to think about what that would actually be. This whole interaction had left him with so many questions about an afterlife he had never really questioned before.
“We’ll see,” said Harley, clearly unconvinced.
“StarClan will know what to do,” Darkmoon said determinedly.
Harley sighed. “If you say so. Let’s just hope something changes soon. I don’t know how much longer I can-”
Pantherhaze sat up in his nest with a sharp gasp.
“Sorry!” winced Yellowpaw around a mouthful of moss, his hind paw shooting up and away from Pantherhaze’s tail.
Behind him, Bluepaw tensed. “Yellowpaw! I told you to be careful!” It looked like they were in the middle of changing out the nests.
“I said I was sorry!” whined his brother. “It was an accident!”
“It’s fine,” Pantherhaze said quickly, lurching to his feet. “What time is it?”
“Uh, nearly sundown, sir,” Bluepaw said, straightening his posture.
“Is Goldenstar around?”
“I think she’s getting ready to leave on patrol,” Yellowpaw said.
“I have to speak with her!” Pantherhaze hurried towards the entrance to the den, then turned around suddenly and added, “Don’t touch my nest, okay?” Both of the boys flinched in surprise.
“Uh- okay!” Bluepaw said. “We won’t!”
“Thanks,” sighed Pantherhaze. If Fogstalker’s ward had done anything, he didn’t want to mess with it. He had to try and get back to the others somehow.
He hurried out of the den, slightly nauseated but energized by his mission, and cast about for sight of Goldenstar. He eventually caught sight of her talking with Russetfrond and Branchbark on the edge of camp and he threw himself into motion to close the distance between them.
“Goldenstar!” he shouted, completely devoid of any concern for how frantic he looked. All three cats turned to look at him with varying degrees of concern and surprise on their faces.
“Pantherhaze, is everything okay?” she asked, stepping towards him.
“The boys didn’t wake you did they?” scowled Russetfrond.
“No, they’re fine,” he lied immediately. “That’s not important. I had a vision!” All three cats started.
Goldenstar asked, “A vision? What happened?”
“I’ll get Oddstripe,” Branchbark offered and bounded off to the Healer’s den.
Pantherhaze watched him go but didn’t wait to answer Goldenstar’s question. “I don’t know exactly what it was, it didn’t feel like a sign from StarClan or anything. I woke up in this strange place, they called it the Clouds, I think…” He frowned, trying to remember the little details of his encounter.
“They?” asked Russetfrond. “Who’s they?”
“Oh! That’s the crazy part!” said Pantherhaze. “Darkmoon! A-and a couple of loners, dead ones.”
“Darkmoon?!” Goldenstar gaped. “But it wasn’t a sign from StarClan?”
“No,” he shook his head. “He said that- that Razor had killed his StarClan guide? And he and the loners were stuck in this place between here and StarClan.”
Oddstripe and Branchbark arrived at that moment and Oddstripe’s big eyes were wide with amazement. “A place between here and StarClan?”
“Razor killed a StarClan guide?” growled Russetfrond uneasily. “After death?!”
“Apparently,” Pantherhaze said to both questions. “And whatever guide was supposed to take the Loners wherever they were going.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Branchbark said. “Loners and rogues are destroyed when they die.”
“Well, I might have dreamed it all,” said Pantherhaze, “but it felt weirdly real. Darkmoon told me to send someone to talk to StarClan and see if they can find them from the other side.”
“Darkmoon? Oh, this is fascinating,” said Oddstripe. “I’ll gladly go and talk with StarClan. Please, tell me everything, from the beginning.” He laid his tail over Pantherhaze’s back and started to guide him towards the Healer’s den.
“Of course,” he nodded and fell into step.
“Do you think this has something to do with the coyotes?” Goldenstar murmured to Russetfrond as they left.
“I don’t know,” he shook his head. “I’m skeptical but this feels too strange to be coincidence.”
“We should tell EarthClan,” she said. “Send someone to fetch Stormwhisper.”
“On it,” he said, and the two parted, Goldenstar bounding to join him and Oddstripe.
“I have a feeling you’re going to be answering a lot of questions for a while,” said Goldenstar with an apologetic smile.
“That’s alright,” Pantherhaze said. “If I can help, I want to.”
“Just let me know if you feel unwell,” said Oddstripe. “Your recovery still takes priority.”
“Alright,” he said, but he honestly couldn’t feel a single symptom. He was tired, sure, but he’d been completely revitalized by his vision. Despite the troubling implications, this was exciting. This was the kind of thing they told stories about! He just hoped he would be able to get them all to a happy ending.
School Friends by Now Now reminds me of GoldenScorch to me
Some lyrics have to be omitted though
Fitting lyrics however:
"You have a girlfriend, but she's not your girlfriend" Scorch not wanting labels
"She'll try to do everything just right for you" Goldenstar
I definitely don't think this is a GoldenScorch song but I can totally see how just like the vibe of it feels right.
But this song seems to be about someone who wants a noncommittal relationship where his girlfriend does everything for him and has sex with him but wants nothing and puts up with however he treats her and tries to please him. Great song but hopefully not how Scorch treats Goldie lol
Wow! This update means i won't be able to see when people interact with my art after its been reblogged even once. That takes so much of the fun of writing out of it for me.
I'm considering moving RisingClan to another website. It would be a hassle but if it means I get to interact with my fans properly, maybe it's worth it. I'm open to suggestions.
@staff you really ought to undo this shit. This is heinous and ugly and it makes me not want to engage with your platform. Why the fuck would you do this???
everyone who sees this, submit a support ticket. you go to Help -> Support, mark "feedback," and let them know how you feel about this change and whether this is likely to make you use the site less or more.
they added a wall-of-text disclaimer saying not to use the um, feedback form to submit, uh... feedback. so. take that under advisement i guess as you're deciding whether to click the link above and continue to put reports into their clearly overwhelmed system letting them know that you can't just make the site worse and not accept user feedback and expect to retain your user base. or something. who gives a fuck
Wow! This update means i won't be able to see when people interact with my art after its been reblogged even once. That takes so much of the fun of writing out of it for me.
I'm considering moving RisingClan to another website. It would be a hassle but if it means I get to interact with my fans properly, maybe it's worth it. I'm open to suggestions.
@staff you really ought to undo this shit. This is heinous and ugly and it makes me not want to engage with your platform. Why the fuck would you do this???
Fogstalker had never been so deep into a forest. She had thought the Cornerstones were thickly wooded but these trees and bushes made them feel breezy by comparison. As Dawnbird led the patrol on a winding path between dry, orange bushes and the thick trunks of skeletal trees, Fogstalker couldn’t help but feel anxious any time the foliage brushed up against her whiskers.
She, Pantherhaze, and Sparrowsway had been joined by Dawnbird -- who had been on the patrol that had sighted the coyotes -- Bogmist, and Orangestar. The group walked quietly, ears straining to try and catch any sounds that might not have been caused by the eerie wind rustling against the few remaining leaves. Fogstalker kept thinking she had caught something moving only to realize it had been the shadow of a branch swaying back and forth. As they walked, her fur began to prickle in a tingling line up her spine.
It seemed that she wasn’t the only one feeling unsettled.
“We’re almost there,” Dawnbird said after scenting the air.
“I don’t like this,” muttered Orangestar. “It’s probably nothing but this is… this is where we killed Razor.”
That made Fogstalker stand up straighter. “Really? That does feel important, somehow.”
“Surely, it’s just a coincidence,” said Sparrowsway.
“I don’t know,” she shook her head. She felt it in her gut, that this was too significant to ignore. If it was Hui-che, there had to be some magical reason she chose the place. She screwed her mouth to the side to think of what it could be.
A sharp yip ahead through the trees snapped her out of her thoughts. The patrol froze, tails bristling.
“Coyotes,” whispered Bogmist.
“Don’t worry,” Fogstalker said, “I’ll handle this.” She padded deeper into the woods, ahead of the patrol. She could see a break in the trees ahead, maybe a small clearing.
“Fogstalker, no!” Sparrowsway hissed quietly but she ignored him.
“Hui-che!” she sang, trying to remember how the notes of it went. “Hui-che, it’s me! Your magic cat friend!” There was rustling up ahead. She glanced back at the patrol to find them all paralyzed. She curled her tail invitingly and said, “Come on, it’s gonna be fine.”
Very carefully, Pantherhaze moved to join her and the others carefully followed his lead, although the EarthClan cats shared a few worried glances. Satisfied, Fogstalker returned her attention ahead of her and ventured calmly through the trees.
“Hui-che, are you there?” she called again.
“Frog-paw?” sing-songed the familiar voice.
Fogstalker couldn’t help but grin and pick up her pace. “Yeah! Although, I have a new name now.” She broke through into the clearing, a small gap between the trees a few fox-lengths across which was made to feel smaller by the two coyotes standing in it. Behind them, against the roots of a large tree, there were signs of digging, the beginnings of a den.
Fogstalker recognized Hui-che instantly, with its ginger points and curious smile, but the second one was completely new to her. He was more grey than it was, bigger than it too, and wore a dark scowl -- or at least, what she thought a scowl might look like on a coyote’s face.
“Hey-lo, friend!” chirped Hui-che. “Good to seeing you again.”
Fogstalker nodded and said, “You too! Who is this?” She jutted her nose towards the second coyote.
“This Auch-lo,” said Hui-che, singing his name with a different melody than its own. “Heart-mate. We nest make-ing here. Good, rotting magic touch-ing here. You feel it?” It sniffed at the ground and grinned, yipping something in its language.
Fogstalker scented the air but didn’t notice anything immediate. There was a slight unease in the air, though, prickling at the back of her neck. “I think so,” she said, “but I’m not as good at hunting it as you are, I think.”
“Mm,” Hui-che nodded. “Show-ing you, sometime.”
“Yeah, okay,” Fogstalker smiled. Orangestar cleared her throat, which reminded Fogstalker why she was there. “Oh, yeah! I came to talk with you on behalf of my friends.” She gestured with her tail and the patrol behind her shifted uneasily.
“Bee-half?” Hui-che cocked its head to the side, eyes narrowing.
“Um, I talk for them,” Fogstalker tried to clarify, brows furrowing.
“Mm,” Hui-che hummed, shifting its posture.
“This is Orangestar,” Fogstalker said. “This is her territory. Her nest is nearby. She asked me to come talk to you about finding a different place for you to go.”
Hui-che was squinting at her with what felt like a scowl on its long face. “You chase-ing us? Make us run-ing?” It swiped a paw over the ground in front of it, brushing mulch to the side. Behind it, Auch-lo started to circle sideways. Bogmist and Orangestar tensed and adjusted their stances. Fogstalker could feel the tension rising dangerously.
“Well- No, we don’t want to chase you,” she said, stepping closer. “But if you stay here there won’t be enough food for everyone, yourself included.”
“We leave grass nest-ing ‘cause you ask-ing!” yipped Hui-che with a jab of its muzzle towards Pantherhaze. “We friends! But you chase-ing us! All cats chase-ing us!” Again, it swiped a paw through the mulch, clawing twice across the line it had previously drawn, its eyes locked on Fogstalker the whole time.
“I’m sorry,” Fogstalker said. “I know it probably feels like we’re targeting you. But cats already live here, this wouldn’t be a good place for a nest anyway. We can help you find a new nesting spot, though!”
Hui-che seemed to process about half of what she said. Shaking its head, it said, “No. Is perfect nest-ing spot! Strong rotting magic here! Show you!” The patrol was bristling, ready for a fight. She had to stop this now.
“It’s okay,” Fogstalker said, moving closer, “Let’s just calm down, okay?” Hui-che bared its teeth and lifted a paw, glancing briefly down at the mulch at its feet so Fogstalker lowered her tail non-threateningly and slowly blinked at it as she took another step.
“Fogstalker, wait!” Pantherhaze shouted and lunged for her. Hui-che slammed its paw down on the ground just as Pantherhaze threw himself in front of her and Fogstalker gasped at the rush of nausea that flooded over her like a physical wave. Pantherhaze cried out and her tail bristled in fright.
“Pantherhaze? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” She poked her head forward to check on him.
“Did it hit him?” Dawnbird asked.
“I don’t think so,” said Sparrowsway tensely. Pantherhaze was grimacing and stumbled back into Fogstalker, pawing at his face.
“Are you okay?” Fogstalker repeated, trying to look at his eyes.
“I- I don’t-” he looked up at her and around the space, swaying unsteadily. “Everything is double.” He blinked heavily, his head continuing to sway and wobble as if unconsciously.
“What did you do?!” Fogstalker turned on Hui-che, feeling tears starting to form in her eyes.
“Show-ing you,” snapped Hui-che. “Magic strong here. You see.”
Auch-lo barked something and Hui-che nodded. “Cats leave-ing. Now.”
“What do we do?” Bogmist asked Orangestar quietly.
“I’m gonna be sick,” moaned Pantherhaze.
There was a long beat before Orangestar said, “Let’s go. We’ll figure out a plan in camp.”
Fogstalker was burning with rage, hot tears spilling down her face. She had to work to pull her claws out of the mulchy earth and start guiding Pantherhaze away. Even as she did, she glared over her shoulder at the coyotes with seething bitterness. Auch-lo had rejoined Hui-che in the middle of the clearing and was licking its muzzle. Hui-che spared Fogstalker a glance and then turned away to start scratching shapes into the ground around the edges of the clearing.
“What happened back there?” Sparrowsway was asking, drawing Fogstalker’s attention back to the others.
“A spell,” she said, choking down her anger. “I don’t know what kind.”
“A spell?” Bogmist frowned. “That’s not- Spells aren’t-” She shut her mouth, frustrated.
“StarClan can do amazing things,” said Dawnbird. “Maybe there are other ways to perform miracles.”
“It’s got to be Dark Forest magic,” said Orangestar, “right? I mean that was where Razor died, that can’t be a coincidence.”
“Razor wouldn’t go to the Dark Forest, though,” frowned Sparrowsway. “He was a kittypet.”
“Maybe it’s just related to death?” Dawnbird suggested, but she didn’t sound sure.
“Are you okay?” Fogstalker asked Pantherhaze again. He’d been quieter than usual, his head ducked and his heart hammering against her side.
“I feel… gross,” he said lamely. “Every time I open my eyes I see double and its swimming and moving. I think I need to lie down.”
“We’ll get back to camp as soon as we can,” she assured him. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“What are we gonna do about the coyotes now?” Dawnbird asked eventually.
“I don’t know,” said Orangestar. “We don’t know what they’re capable of and even if they didn’t have… powers, fighting them would be risky.”
“It’s almost Leafbare,” frowned Bogmist. “We’re gonna be short on prey, especially with two coyotes in our territory. And if they have pups in the spring…”
“Maybe SkyClan will let us fish their rivers again?” Dawnbird said but the other EarthClan warriors shook their heads.
“No, that was a special circumstance,” said Bogmist. “We’re on our own.”
“I’ll talk to them,” promised Fogstalker. “And I’ll see if the other mediators have ideas on how to make peace with Hui-che. I- I’m sure we can work something out.”
“We’ll see…” Orangestar said but Fogstalker got the impression she didn’t have any hope it would work.
What color collar does Mystique have, if she wears one? (I’m going to be sending a few nonsensical asks today teehee)
If Blue and Yellow were pets, what would their pet names be?
Does Blue remind Scorch of Razor? Or does he not look enough like him, from what I can see he looks somewhat similar (large, blue, tabby) he just doesn’t have white spotting, he is still a baby so she might not think of the resemblance.
You can check her character ref for the exact color, but its a deep autumny orange.
I don't think Bluepaw reminds Scorch of Razor, at least as big as he is right now. He's also just nice and sweet and so doesn't really evoke his uncle at all.
As for Blue and Yellow having kittypet names IDK! I try not to think too hard about what if names like what if this character got a warrior name or whatever. Feel free to make stuff up!
Head over to my Patreon to purchase the full illustration for yourself, or subscribe at $5 a month to get access to all of them so far. Each season comes with its own illustration, plus you get sneak peeks a day before a piece goes live!
Thanks again to all my Patrons! You absolutely do NOT have to be giving me money, especially with my snail's pace upload schedule, but you do and it really means a lot to me.
You can also buy all of the illustrations for $10 if you don't want to pay the monthly cost! There's 7 illustrations total, currently. One day, probably when I finish the story, I want to put them all in a little print book and sell those, but who knows when that will be.
Anyway, thanks everybody, I love you all so much <3
Loved the newest update!! Bluepaw and Yellowpaw are so sweet and my girl Aldertail becoming a mentor was unexpected, but honestly a great choice since it should definitely help her with her confidence and interactions with others! I'm so curious as to why Russet chose her specifically though 🤔 i wonder if he thought that since she's from the city and how horrible and traumatic of a life it was and the family she lost would be a good deterrent if the greenlings ever got curious about their mother and other heritage? Guess we'll have to find out! And I will be eagerly waiting to see how it unfolds :] Thank you for the newest update!
