Welcome to Dark Tides and Storms, or simply, Hyacinthclan!
Please read before you proceed!
Some basic information about what this blog is, and will be, and is prone to updates.
You can call me Tina (nickname off my main tumblr), or whatever nickname you'd like off this blog.
This is a horror blog. I am not an artist, so there will be little art, but I am a writer. Trigger warnings are:
Violence, death, sickness, injury, blood, natural and unnatural disasters, supernatural elements, creepy and disturbing details, animal death, kitten death, suicide, mentions thereof, and body horror, and descriptions thereof. If these things aren't for you, please click away or proceed with caution! You are responsible for yourself!
This will loosely follow my ClanGen clan, Hyacinthclan, though a lot of the story will just be whatever catches my fancy, and cats might get extended lives because ClanGen cats, in my experience, like to die at the worst times.
The story starts with Moon 27, as I wanted the clan to be established before I started the story. Earlier moons will be used as flashbacks if I feel it is necessary.
Feel free to ask questions!
Occasionally, polls will be held to help the story along.
Reblog if you like, just don't repost!
I don't care if you do fanart, honestly amazing if you feel inclined, knock yourselves out. :)
Updates will be sporadic, my attention span can be like a gnat when I have different projects going on.
Current allegiances can be found here.
Moons can be found under #moon [insert number]
Mystery Guest Moons can be found under #moon ???
The clan history can be found under #backstory
Terms used by the clan will be found under #hyacinth info
Asks can be found under #chiral network
Any cat you're interested can be found under #[insert full name] Just remember that some cats started out as kits and 'paws, so you might have to modify for the suffix!
Though Kinkclan was more or less the furthest clan from Hyacinthclan, Flintfur had been more than happy to come help out when Dapplestar had requested it at the Gathering. It was an unusual request, to be sure, but sharing skills and such, especially in this time, wasn't a bad idea.
Hyacinthclan had brought their own ideas and knowledge when they had come here, and developed new skills and such after they had settled. The other clans had their own and in this uncertain world, gaining more knowledge was always for the best.
Kinkclan territory was a far cry from Hyacinthclan's, the ocean far away, the scent of it only faint on the breeze if it blew in the right direction. There woods were thick, thicker than Foggyclan's, rolling up into the hills and filled with many little creeks and streams.
Their territories were far enough apart that they were likely to never meet in battle, not with Weedclan and Foggyclan in the way, so Goldstar had permitted him to share some fighting techniques and such. Hunting techniques had been some of the largest points shared so far, along with a few combinations of herbs and so forth.
Flintfur had been here for five days so far, and he was enjoying himself. Wiggity Wack had accompanied him, and Kinkclan had been kind to them, and very welcoming. Almost as much as Foggyclan, their one solid ally, and having good relations with another clan was never a bad thing. Especially when Ferretclan had often been leaning more in favor of Weedclan, and there was still animosity between Hyacinthclan and Weedclan.
At the moment, Flintfur was on patrol with Canarywing, his Kinkclan counterpart, and they were venturing beyond Kinkclan's borders. The rainfalls had hit their herb supplies like they had hit Hyacinthclan's, and there had also been loner activity around the herbs that Canarywing had wanted to investigate. A singular loner it seemed, and Flintfur was more than happy to tag along.
He'd never been this far north of Hyacinthclan, at least not in this particular spot, and he always been curious.
Canarywing was also easy company, showing him around the territory with cheerful ease, and she was a good deputy besides. Her mate, Irisfoot, had cheerfully taken to Flintfur while Canarywing was busy, and their litter of five kittens were adorable. They reminded Flintfur of when Yellowpaw and Quailpaw had been new and small, and he and Goldstar had spent nights in the nursery together.
Right now, he followed Canarywing through the unclaimed lands, her golden pelt obscured by protection- Really, she looked like she and Goldstar could be littermates, which amused him. Of course they couldn't have shared blood and Canarywing's features were stronger than Goldstar's, but their pelts together, ginger-and-white-marked, were oddly similar.
They were alert, herb slings draped across their bodies, and Flintfur found it odd now that there were no conch horns to be had. Both Foggyclan and Kinkclan had expressed interest in them, and Flintfur had promised to discuss it with Goldstar.
Kinkclan and Foggyclan, at least, had rainwatchers as well, but Hyacinthclan had come to lean on the conch horns, as they were good way to alert everyone at once, even those out of camp. Sharing the shells and the information wouldn't harm Hyacinthclan in the slighest, but Flintfur never presumed to make decisions without consulting his mate if possible.
It was a slow walk, searching the landscape that had become patches of various seasons, checking for herbs and any sign of the loners, but it was enjoyable, at least. He and Canarywing fell into easy conversation, and Flintfur recalled a time where this would have resulted in harsh punishment in the old clans.
When the war had gotten bad, even associating with cats from other clans under truces had been frowned upon, and Hyacinthclan had formed of necessity of the remnants who had been tired of fighting.
They walked for a time, gathering herbs they came across, and the further they went, the more things seemed a little different. There was just a different feel to the places where the clans hadn't claimed their territories, though Flintfur was not truly sure how to describe it. They padded along, Flintfur catching the faint scent of another cat, though it was clear they hadn't passed this way in at least a day.
All the same, he and Canarywing followed the trail as best they could, moving from open ground into trees, but the trail was difficult. They fond the remains of a bird, but it had been picked clean, nothing more than bones and feathers and several days old as well.
"I suppose it is just a hungry loner passing through." Canarywing said, staring down at the bird.
"Most likely." Flintfur agreed.
Lester and Wasp had been loners themselves, after all, and so had the parents of most of the younger generation of his clan. So long as they didn't take too much prey or cause harm, Flintfur saw no issue with them, and he was glad that Kinkclan appeared to feel the same way about it.8/15/2026
"We can't begrudge a loner coming through a territory from time to time, and this is beyond the border, obviously. But it does annoy me when they ignore the markers, you know?" Canarywing said, already trotting away.
"I know. But the loners we encounter often join our clan rather than cause trouble." Flintfur said, not mentioning the group of rogues who had killed Amberpaw.
It wasn't necessary, and they had never seen them again.
They were still talking when the wind shifted, blowing down from the hills, and Flintfur caught the scent.
"Rainfall!" he exclaimed, and Canarywing cursed.
They were beyond her territory, so she didn't know any hiding places, and lacking anything better, they darted through the trees.
A hollow, a hole, anything would have been good, they just had to find it. Their paws pounded the ground and Flintfur looked around wildly, finally spotting a gaping opening beneath a tree.
"There!"
"That looks like a badger set!"
"I don't smell one!" Flintfur said, and he didn't.
He paused at the entrance, but no, there was no scent of badgers or foxes or anything like that. He plunged in, Canarywing on his tail, and they skittered away from the entrance, just to be safe. When they were far enough away, they stopped, allowing their eyes to adjust, and though he could not see it, there was some kind of hole aside from the entrance providing light.
Moments later, the rainfall hit in a torrent, pounding down through the leaves that quickly shed beneath their strange power, and Canarywing let out a huff of relief.
"GET OUT OF MY DEN!" a voice suddenly yowled from behind them, Flintfur whirling.
They were in some sort of main den, and tunnels branched off it; it was from one of these tunnels that a cat was standing.
He was ragged-looking, his brown tabby pelt ruffled and missing in patches where he was scarred, one ear tattered to the point it almost wasn't there. His hackles were raised and the smell of him matched the scent that had been around the bird's remains, Canarywing beginning to hiss.
Flintfur raised his tail and stepped forward.
"We didn't mean to intrude in your den. We were merely seeking shelter from the rainfall. Once it passes, we will leave." Flintfur said calmly, dipping his head respectfully.
The tom hissed, lashing his tail, but he didn't demand that they go out into the rain.
"Fine, but you're staying here. I don't need all that dirt in my den." he hissed out, sitting himself down to keep an eye on them.
"Thank you." Flintfur said and the cat glared.
He didn't say anything, just watched them, and they watched back, not saying a word. The rainfall lasted a bit longer than Flintfur expected it to, and as they waited, a voice suddenly spoke.
"Who are you?" it said, small and cautious.
Turning his head, Flintfur saw another cat emerging from one tunnel, fear in his scent but curiosity in his eyes. He looked to be a bit older than Yellowpaw and Quailpaw but no older than Amberpaw, his face split sharply down the middle between dark brown and golden ginger. A scar marred his brow and his ear was knicked, the divide continuing down his whole body, becoming evident as he slid further into the main chamber.
"Daddy?" he prompted, looking at the cat.
The cat's head swiveled sharply and he glowered at the kit, who shrank down under the gaze.
"Get back to your nest, Briggs. These strangers are none of your concern." he growled, lashing his tail.
"Bu-"
"Don't question me, you brat! GO!" the cat snapped, rising to his paws.
The kit- what an odd name he had- skittered away and disappeared down the tunnel, Flintfur feeling his protection-crusted fur stand up.
"There's no need to get mean. It's natural for kits to be curious, I have two about his age-" Flintfur began, hating how this cat had treated the kit.
He understood being afraid of strange cats in your den and near your kits, but that was no reason to lash out at your kit.
"You shut up and mind your own fuckin' business. He's my kit, and I didn't ask for your input. You don't mind yourself, you can go right back in the rain." the tom snarled, turning his glare toward Flintfur.
Flintfur snapped his mouth shut and Canarywing brushed his flank with her tail, warning him to do nothing, and it made Flintfur want to growl. But they didn't know what was going on, this cat might not have been bad to the kit all the time. He could have just been scared on top of angry, determined to protect his own.
So he stayed silent, hoping he was right about that, and when the rainfall ended, the tom all but chased them out. They went and hurried away from the den, Flintfur glance back but he didn't see the kit or the tom watching them. They didn't stop until they were well out of hearing range.
"Well, he's definitely not one of the pleasant ones. I'm just glad he didn't make us give up the herbs." Canarywing said, glancing over her shoulder.
"He might have just been cautious of us." Flintfur said, though he was doubtful. "I hope."
"Even if he was being mean to his kit, Flintfur, what are you going to do? Go in and steal him? Fight his dad and take him back to your clan? He might not want to go. It might not be what you think." Canarywing said, though he could tell that she didn't like it either.
"I..." Flintfur said, trailing off.
He didn't know what he could do. But he didn't want to leave that kit there, if things were bad. Of course, he couldn't know if it was bad, and he knew Canarywing had a point, but...
"Come on. Let's get back and get the med cats the herbs, report to Dappledstar." Canarywing said, her voice having a somewhat forced lightness to it.
She was already padding away and Flintfur had no choice, following after her. He didn't like to leave, though, and he glanced over his shoulder one last time before padding after her.
TW/CW: Mentioned animal death, body horror, dead body, cremation
Her litter was missing.
No one noticed right away, but when patrols were called, their absence was noticed. Lester didn't think much of it, not until Almondfern came into the medicine cats' den looking for them.
"Are your kits in here putting on protection?" he asked, looking around a little anxiously.
"No. Why?" Lester said, looking up from the dose she was preparing for Tulipscratch.
Plumsong was currently helping Morb with some exercises to keep her front legs strong.
"We, uh, can't find them. They're not in any dens or down at the water, and no one is out on patrol now." Almondfern said and alarm prickled through Lester.
She had been in the den all day save to grab some breakfast, she would have seen them.
"They haven't been in here at all." she said, forgetting about the herbs she was preparing.
Lester felt her tail bush up a little, fear sliding into her. Because obviously, her litter had snuck out of camp. What else could they have done? Where else could they have been? And without protection... They knew to find shelter at the slightest hint of a rainfall, but they never left camp now without protection for a reason...
She swallowed hard.
"Lester, it's all right. We'll organize patrols and find them. They might be new apprentices, but they're smart. They know what to do about rainfalls and Unseen, and have since they were kits." Almondfern said soothingly, though she could tell he was worried, too.
"Go. We can handle things here." Plumsong said and Lester didn't need to be told twice.
She raced to put on protection as Almondfern went to inform Goldstar of the situation, and patrols began to be divided, cats putting on protection.
Almondfern was in one patrol, Laurelbright in the second, and Stoneleaf in the third, and Lester joined Almondfern's patrol with Quietback in the lead, Buzzardglide joining them.
Quietback carried the conch and Lester felt worry and anxiety fill her as Goldstar issued instructions, she and Skypelt then leading the other patrols. They were sent toward the beaches, Skypelt and her patrol heading toward the other territories, Goldstar and her's heading in the general direction of the lighthouse.
They spread out but stayed in hearing range of each other, and searched carefully. Eventually, they picked up the scent of her kits, and Lester felt a sense of relief go through her.
"It looks like they could be headed to the Beach of Stars." Quietback commented, sniffing at the grass.
"We hadn't taken them there yet, but they were keen to go. I think they were hopeful in connecting with Starclan." Almondfern piped up and Lester wanted to laugh just a little.
In relief, because they had found them, and it could have really just been as harmless as wanting to connect with Starclan. Lester had her doubts about the powers o the starry clan, but her kits could believe whatever they wanted, and they seemed to share many of their clanmates beliefs. Of course they would want to see if the ancestors could reach them, even if they hadn't reached anyone in a very long time. They were just kits, after all, barely six moons, so curious in a world that had suddenly gotten so much larger.
They began to head that way, following the scent trail, and it was clear her kits had come this way some time ago, had been missing longer than anyone had noticed. But they were headed for the Beach of Stars, and Lester was still anxious, but she felt herself relaxing just a little bit more.
Until they saw the clouds, that was.
They were still a good distance from the Beach of Stars when Quietback spotted them rolling over the ocean, directly toward the beach, and Lester's fur fluffed up when the scent carried on the sudden gusting wind, because it was a rainfall, not a normal rain. Thunder and lightning to go with it, a big storm, the biggest rainfall she had seen.
Quietback sounded the conch and the rest of them began to move, Lester frozen.
"Lester, come on! We need to find shelter, just in case!" Quietback said, stopping as Almondfern and Buzzardglide dashed toward the trees.
Lester felt something in her chest seize.
"It's over the beach- my kits-" she stammered out, wanting to plunge forward into a run.
Quietback must have realized that, because he dashed over to her and seized her scruff in his teeth, hauling her back.
Lester didn't fight him, because she knew he was right, but her heart was pounding as he dragged her to shelter, and Quietback kept himself pressed against her. They waited it out, and it was massive. It didn't come at them, luckily, but it struck a swath as large as the Beach of Stars, pressing up into the hills. Seasons came and went in a quick cycle and when it was over, the land was a mess of new-leaf and green-leaf, but that was better than leaf-fall and leaf-bare.
The storm disappeared as quickly as it had come and they searched the sky for rainbows, but when they saw none, they broke free of cover. Lester didn't even hesitate, didn't try to find the scent trail; she just ran for the beach.
The others were on her tail and they reached the soaked expanse of black sand, making their way down, and then Lester spotted Leafpaw and Chickpaw. They were crying and crouched over something, and her paws kicked up sand as she flew toward them.
"Leafpaw! Chickpaw!" she cried and they turned toward her in a daze.
She still couldn't see what they were in front of, not clearly, and she skidded to a halt in front of them, checking them frantically, but their ginger pelts were untouched.
"Oh, babies, oh, you worried me so much!"
"Mama-"
"Mama, we... Mama..."
"Where is your brother?" Lester demanded after checking them and Chickpaw let out a wail, burying his head in her shoulder.
"Lester..." Quietback said and Lester looked at what her sons had been crouched over.
The soaked body of an old, thin cat rested in the sand, limp and streaming water, and Lester stared. She didn't understand, she didn't know why Chickpaw was sobbing so hard, it didn't make sense.
Quietback cautiously nudging the body and Lester saw a patch of brilliant ginger fur, untouched by the rain, and Leafpaw swallowed his sobs.
"He got caught in the storm, Mama." he whispered and collapsed on the sand.
Lester stared at the body, and it took her a few moments longer to realize what Leafpaw meant, what...
"No. No, no, that's not... No..." she whispered, creeping over to the body.
But the shape of the face, the shape of the body... It was Whimsypaw. Older, yes, turned white by the rain, but it was her Whimsy.
Lester stared, not breathing, not... Not doing anything except staring at the changed, strange body of her son for a long moment. When the keening sound started, she thought for a moment it was Leafpaw or Chickpaw, but then she realized it was her. She staggered forward and fell across Whimsypaw's body, pulling him close, beginning to sob.
"No, my baby... My baby..." she cried, and she didn't know how long she cried.
Leafpaw and Chickpaw pressed against her, mourning too, and Lester tried to pull herself together, because they needed her, she was worried by how shocked and dazed they had seemed when they had arrived. But she couldn't. She couldn't let go of her kit, she couldn't stop the sobs and the cries tearing themselves from her throat, and she wasn't aware of what the others were doing. She didn't realize that Quietback sent Buzzardglide back, nor did she see him comforting Almondfern, who was shedding tears of his own. Buzzardglide returned with Goldstar and Plumsong, and Plumsong was the one who pulled her away from Whimsypaw.
"Plumsong, no, please-" Lester cried, but he pulled her away, and away from her other kits as well.
"Lester. Lester, look at me." he ordered, she did.
She sniffled and stared at him, feeling dazed, her ears ringing.
"Your other kits need you. Whimsypaw needs to be burned. We'll hold a vigil for him afterward, but right now, we can't hesitate in case the Unseen come. You don't have to go, but Whimsypaw needs to be taken to be burned." he said firmly and Lester stared at him some more.
She balked at the idea of throwing Whimsypaw into the flames, but something in her reared up at the idea of not being there when it happened.
"No! No, I'm goin'. I'm takin' him to the Burnin' Caves, I am not leavin' him alone!" she hissed, feeling her fur rise despite the crusted protection.
"You can, but you need to get yourself together." Plumsong said sternly and Lester had the impulse to smack her claws across his face.
She restrained herself, and she remembered Flintfur being brought back to camp after he had died. Whimsypaw didn't even get that, but she understood why not, in the back of her mind. The circumstances were different.
She took a deep breath and quelled her tears, pulling herself together as quickly as she could.
"Could... Could I take him with you? He is- was- my apprentice." Almondfern asked her when she approached Whimsypaw's body, voice cracking.
Lester nodded and Goldstar and Plumsong were issuing instructions and Buzzardglide volunteered to come as well, considering the length of the journey.
"Mama... Mama, can we come?" Chickpaw asked, his voice trembling.
Lester couldn't deny them that, but she had to send them back to camp to get protection. They couldn't travel without it. Quietback sat with them and Buzzardglide promised to return with the kits, Goldstar and Plumsong promised to break the news to the clan.
This left Lester and Almondfern sitting beside Whimsypaw's body and they were silent, both grieving. Lester fell apart on the sand and it would only be later that they asked Leafpaw and Chickpaw what they had been doing. For now, all she knew was that she had almost lost all her kits and one of them was dead, and her heart was breaking. How could Whimsypaw be dead? She knew the rainfalls sped up time, and had heard the stories of that deer before she had joined, but she had never imagined...
Eventually, Buzzardglide brought her kits back and they had slings with herbs and some of the dried meat. From the smell of their breath, Plumsong had treated them for shock, and Lester ate her own dose before they set out. Buzzardglide carried Whimsypaw first; she was a tall and broad she-cat, and the weight was nothing for her.
Over the course of the journey, all three adults would take turns or bear his body together, and the apprentices would trail after them, they and Lester all staggering from shock and grief. Buzzardglide and Almondfern hunted and made sure they ate, and Lester curled up with her kits when they stopped at night, trying to keep herself together.
They reached the Burning Caves sooner than she had thought they would, and one of the Firewatchers spotted them as they were climbing up the path. Not one Lester knew, a warrior from one of the other clans, and the pale-speckled cat didn't move from their post.
"Buzzardglide?" they called out, and Buzzardglide lifted her head.
She was currently carrying Whimsypaw, Almondfern making sure he didn't slip, and Leafpaw and Chickpaw pressed closer to Lester. They had never met a cat from another clan before.
"Sparrowtail." Buzzardglide grunted and Sparrowtail leapt down to join them.
"Is that Jackdawnudge?" Sparrowtail asked softly.
"No. It's one of our apprentices. We'll explain after the burning. Goldstar would have sent messengers to the other clans by now." Buzzardglide said and Chickpaw whimpered.
Sparrowtail's mouth gaped open, but the tom closed it just as fast, and lead them the rest of the way.
Tumbledaisy and Petalcurrent had come to take their turn as Firewatchers just before, and Lester felt something squirm in her stomach at the realization that two of their clanmates didn't know. She didn't... She took a deep breath and nudged her sons forward as Sparrowtail went ahead to alert the others, a bit of apprehension in her. She hadn't been to the Burning Caves before, though maybe they should make sure all the cats in the clan, warriors or not, were familiar with this place.8/3/2026
She followed Buzzardtail in, her sons pressed against her, and the smell of smoke and fire made Lester want to back away, but she pressed forward. It was larger and brighter than she had thought it would be inside, but it was certainly unfriendly. The fires weren't immediately at the entrance, but they were close enough that the heat hit them before they were far. Lester let herself be guided through everything, watching as Buzzardglide set Whimsypaw down, and Sparrowtail led them to the living caves, though a cat was tending the fires.
They followed and met the other Firekeepers, cats from all clans, and Tumbledaisy and Petalcurrent rubbed against Lester, Leafpaw, and Chickpaw, clearly shaken but offering comfort. Lester explained about the rainfall, because she was not going to make her sons recount it. Everyone was clearly made uneasy by this, some clearly frightened, but it was also not a surprise that the rainfall had done this.
Goldstar had told the other clans about that deer Lester had heard about, after all.
After that, they wasted no time. There was no telling when an Unseen might come. A Kinkclan senior warrior, Alderfoot, lead them back to the Burning Cave and Lester swallowed hard.
"You don't have to do it, young'un. I'll get him into the flames." Alderfoot said when she hesitated beside Whimsypaw's body.
"I'll do it. I just... We need a minute." Lester said, swallowing hard.
The others backed up respectfully and Lester crouched down, pressing her nose into her son's fur. Her breath caught and Leafpaw and Chickpaw did the same, Lester dragging her tongue over Whimsypaw's pelt. She groomed him, because the journey had not been kind to him, and she didn't want him to be burned looking messy. They let her, but finally, Buzzardglide rested her tail on her shoulder, and Lester nodded.
She picked up Whimsypaw with Buzzardglide and together, they walked to the edge of the pit of flame. Lester didn't want to throw her baby into tem, she didn't want to burn him, but the body wasn't Whimsypaw anymore. He was in Starclan, hopefully, and his body was nothing more than a shell, empty and not him.
It wasn't him.
She repeated that over and over as she dropped his body into the flames and they backed up to a safe distance, Leafpaw and Whimsypaw pressing close to her when they had settled. And then, to her surprise, Alderfoot opened his jaws and began to sing.
"This one night, this one night
Every night and all.
Fire and sleet and starry light
And Starclan receive thy soul.
When from life away thouest past,
Every night and all.
To starry wood thou come at last,
And Starclan receive thy soul."
He continued the strange, haunting song, and Lester listened, realizing it spoke of the journey to Starclan. The words were strange and she wasn't sure if she believed in Starclan, but in this moment, she wanted to. Whimsypaw had and she hoped those starry cats were real, because if not...
They sat there for a long time, she and her kits, and the Firewatchers stayed with them, until, finally, they drew them into the living caves. Alderfoot's haunting song still filled Lester's ears and she was glad to settle in the nests, making sure her kits ate. They curled together, and they were left alone respectfully, Lester beginning to groom them.
They were crying and so was she, and she did her best for them, the two of them pressing so close. There was a stark gap where Whimsypaw should have been and Lester tried not to think of that, because her living kits needed her. And she knew that that gap would always be there, in some way or another.
Finally, when they were both groomed and all three of them exhausted from crying and grief, Lester asked the question she had wanted to for days. She hadn't asked it before, but she knew Goldstar would ask them when they got home, and she didn't want them to feel pressured or anything.
"Why were three at the beach?" she asked quietly, wondering if it was wrong to ask now.
But it had been several days already, and she hoped the worst of the sting had faded.
"We... We heard you and some of the others... Talking about a monster." Chickpaw whispered, gulping.
Then they both spilled out what they knew about the thing that was coming or lurking in the ocean, and Lester's fur stood on end. No, no, no. They weren't supposed to know, they weren't... She listened as they said they had gone looking for it and were trying to lure it out of the ocean, and everything else.
The fight, and how they had left Whimsypaw at the water, and by then they were both sobbing. Feeling guilty for leaving him there by himself. Lester comforted them, because it hadn't been their fault, it hadn't been, and she drew them as close as she could.
"Shh. Shh, it wasn't your fault, babies. Never. It was just an accident." she soothed, grooming them until the sobs had subsided.
But then... Then... She had to ask.
"Did it come?" she whispered, fearing the answer.
"I don't know, Mama. We couldn't see a lot from the shelter, and Whimsy was staring at something, but... But I don't know. I didn't see it but he was so afraid." Leafpaw replied, burying his face in her shoulder.
Lester could say nothing, just nuzzled them, and she wondered if Whimsypaw had seen something. If that monster was real, not just a vision of somethin to come... She knew it was coming. But she didn't want it to come now. Not yet. Not... Not for a long time. There was no way to tell from the kits' description, though, and she didn't want to push it. She soothed them and kept her fears to herself, and kept them close.
"Mama... Mama, is that monster real?" Chickpaw whispered, looking up at her.
"I don't know, baby. I don't know." Lester answered, licking his ears, wishing she could answer him. Or at least know enough to firmly lie.
Chickpaw burrowed against her and she kept them close, swallowing hard, watching over them as the others eventually returned, watching them until she couldn't keep her head up any longer.
-
Lester, Leafpaw, and Chickpaw have been struck with heavy grief.
7/23/2026-8/9/2026
*Song used is an adjusted version of the tradition song Lyke Wake Dirge
Goldstar- a long-furred pale ginger tabby and white she-cat (six lives left), clan founder; mate of Flintfur, mother of Yellowpaw and Quailpaw (90M)
DEPUTY:
Skypelt- a long-furred masked gray tabby she-cat, clan founder; adopted mother of Amberleaf (77M)
MEDICINE CATS:
Plumsong- a masked ginger tabby and white tom, clan founder (119M)
Jackdawnudge- a white-and-dorsal-striped pale ginger tom, clan founder; adopted father of Petalcurrent, Gillfeather, Tumbledaisy, Civetbeak, and Buzzardglide, mate of Yellowlily (136M)
Wasp- an unusually dappled dark gray she-cat, former loner; adopted mother of Branchkit, Mulberrykit, and Hazelkit (62M)
Lester- a white and speckled dark-brown she-cat, former loner; adopted mother of Leafpaw, Chickpaw, and Whimsypaw (47M)
MEDIATORS:
Aphidrise- a long-furred pale gray tabby and white tom, clan founder, former warrior (40M)
Wiggity Wacks- an unusually spotted light brown tom, former kittypet (77M)
WARRIORS:
Quietback- a golden tabby and white tom, clan founder (46M)
Stoneleaf- a gray/cream tortie she-cat, former loner; mother of Tulipscratch and Fogvalley (101M)
Petalcurrent- a gray tabby she-cat (migraines) (32M)
Gillfeather- a dark gray tabby she-cat (bad eye); adopted mother of Pumaspot, Laurelbright, Almondfern, and Furledseed (32M)
Tumbledaisy- a pale tabby she-cat (blind) (32M)
Civetbeak- a black tabby tom (partially deaf, lame leg) (32M)
Buzzardglide- a dark gray tabby she-cat (32M)
Confetti- an unusally spotted golden-brown she-cat, former barn cat, Morb's half-sister (48M)
Morb- a long-furred golden-brown ticked she-cat, former barn and lighthouse cat (76M)
Pumaspot- a speckled light brown she-cat (18M)
Laurelbright- a dorsal-stiped dark brown and white point she-cat (18M)
Almondfern- a long-furred ginger ticked tom, mate of Softflight (18M)
Furledseed- a dark gray tabby she-cat (18M)
Amberleaf- a short gray tabby and white tom (scarred) (15M)
Tulipscratch- an unusually spotted dark gray she-cat (13M)
Fogvalley- a speckled dark gray tom (13M)
APPRENTICES:
Yellowpaw- a long-furred golden/dark brown tortie she-cat, apprentice of Goldstar (formerly Flintfur) (11M)
Quailpaw- a long-furred speckled gray and white tom, apprentice of Gillfeather (11M)
Leafpaw- a dark ginger tabby, apprentice of Laurelbright (6M)
Chickpaw- a golden tabby tom, apprentice of Stoneleaf (6M)
QUEENS AND KITS:
Softflight- a long-furred dark brown tabby and white she-cat (Foggyclan warrior, Almondfern's mate) (18M)
Branchkit- a white and gray smoke she-kit (3M)
Mulberrykit- a white and dorsal-striped black tom (3M)
Hazelkit- a brown smoke and white tom, (3M)
ELDERS:
Yellowlily- a gray smoke she-cat, clan founder; mate of Jackdawnudge (138M)
DEAD:
Starclan:
Gorgeminnow- a brown and white patched tabby tom, former medicine cat; Starclan guide (76MA, 118MD)
Flintfur- a long-furred dark gray tabby tom, mate of Goldstar, father of Yellowpaw and Quailpaw, former deputy; died after a rainfall caused his wound to bleed excessively (87MA, 4MD)
Ashtalon- a large dark gray masked tabby tom, clan founder, mate of Cospespots, father of Shrewkit, Firkit, and Amberleaf, former warrior; died after a tree branch impaled him on patrol (36MA, 12MD)
Copsespots- a lithe white she-cat with ginger markings, clan founder, warrior, mate of Ashtalon, mother of Shrewkit, Firkit, and Amberleaf, former warrior; died of blood loss after kitting (33MA, 15MD)
Whimsypaw- a ginger tabby tom, former warrior apprentice; died of old age after being drenched by a rainfall (6MA, 0MD)
Firkit- a white, ginger, and brown calico she-kit, died of kitten cough (0MA, 15MD)
Shrewkit- a brown tabby she-kit; died of kitten cough (0MA, 15MD)
Mistkit- a silvery gray and white tom, adopted kit of Almondfern; died of exposure after being found abandoned (0MA, 1MD)
Unknown residence:
Fallen- a pale gray tabby she-cat, former loner; birth mother of Petalcurrent, Gillfeather, Tumbledaisy, Civetbeak, and Buzzardglide, (105MA, 32MD)
Sapling- a silver marbled tom, former kittypet and later loner; birth father of Pumaspot, Laurelbright, Almondfern, and Furledseed (102MA, 14MD)
Palethicket- a ginger tabby she-cat, exiled warrior of Ferretclan; birth mother of Leafpaw, Chickpaw, and Whimsypaw; died while protecting her kits from an Unseen (30MA, 6MD)
Swampflood- a dark gray and white smoke she-cat, loner of clan descent; birth mother of Branchkit, Mulberrykit, and Hazelkit (46MA, 3MD)
UNKNOWN:
Mystery Entity- a mysterious dark-colored, dripping black tom (presumably) with glowing golden eyes and long black tentacles; haunts the ocean, Amberleaf's In-Between, and dreams; motives unknown, age unknown; perceived by the clan to be a monster and/or a warning from Starclan, potentially the cause of the Stranding
Rivensea- A white masked she-cat with slightly darker markings; kit of Skypelt and unknown warrior; currently stuck in her dreams (possibly dead), left behind as a kit with Twolegs after the old clans fell due to illness (40+M)
Many, many seasons ago, there was a time of great unrest among the clans who shared the territories of old. For a long stretch of moons, there had been an abudence of prey and herbs, and the clans grew unusually large, with many kits and apprentices and warriors to match. The clans grew so large that they all had second camps to support and shelter their members, so long and wonderful were these seasons.
But this time of peace and plenty could not last forever, and when it ended, the size of the clans meant that food supplies quickly dwindled, and herbs ran out faster than the medicine cats could cure their patients.
Unrest and hunger turned to violence and fighting, fueled first and foremost by fear. Twolegs had also contributated to the time of plenty ending, first coming with their monsters and beasts and tearing apart portions of territory, and the land on the edge of it. This scared the prey and ruined emergency herb supplies.
To make matteres worse, this area was abandoned, the Twolegs taking their monsters and beasts and vanishing as quickly as they had come.
Almost everything they had brought was taken away, leaving nothing but scarred, barren earth and deep, dangerous trenches with tunnels between them. No prey came there, no herbs grew, and during rainfall, the water pooled and flooded the area, making it dangerous to venture there.
The violence first made itself known as borders were violated and ignored, all in the pursuit of prey and medicine, clans stealing from each other as often as they could when their territories failed to support them.
Cats died of sickness and hunger, kits died at their mothers' bellies, elders rejected the respect and prey they were afforded in favor of letting the queens and young eat. Huge graves were dug by the able, as there was little time to bury individuals before the next grave was needed, and waiting bodies threatened more illness. Any intruder was attacked without mercy, even if they were nothing more than a scrawny, starving apprentice. Some died, and others were left with wounds that bloomed with infection as the herbs ran out.
Alliances formed and were shattered just as quickly, until it all caught like a forest fire.
It was in the barren, damage place left by the Twolegs that all clans met, all their able warriors meeting under the pretense of a peaceful negoiation. Not all the clans came with violence in their plans, their warriors brought as a precaution for some, others because there was not an innocent warrior or apprentice among them, and clearing the air of their crimes seemed to be the way to go.
No one remembers now how it started, or who started it, exactly. But there was an ambush on those waiting for the others, and it descended into one of the most brutal wars in our history. The partially flooded trenches and tunnels left behind were utilized in the battle, to both escape and attack. Ground collapsed beneath struggling paws as the muddy earth gave way, blocking passages and burying warriors.
Others were thrown in and did not necessarily die, but limbs were broken, and enemies swarmed the fallen as soon as they struck the ground.
The stagnant water soon darkened with blood, and the ground bled as well beneath paws as the battle raged, the ground too sodden to drink it down.
Bodies were left where they fell, and no clan dared to retreat. There were few left in the camps to defend those who remained, and if they fell there, if they retreated with enemies on their tails, there would be no one to stop the slaughtering their vulnerable.
Leaders gave many of their lives as Starclan watched in horror, unable to stop the chaos, greeting the new members of the starry clan and doing their best to soothe and comfort.
The battle raged into the night, and come morning, those who remained were too exhausted to continue. They tried, afraid of what their remaining enemies would do, but all were too tired, too injured, to do more more than hiss and swipe.
And it was here, in the remains of the battle, in a time where they would be seen and heard, that Starclan intervened. Respected members from each clan came down in the light of dawn and condemned the battle- They did understand it, but so many had fallen or would fall from their injuries that Starclan felt shaken to their roots.
They bade each clan to form a truce, to raise no claw to each other for twelve moons, to help each other in the wake of this incredible tragedy. And though it was hard, though they were all afraid and hurting, the clans obeyed.
Together, the survivors buried the dead in a meadow just beyond the battle field, placing all their bodies together, speaking their names to each other, and shoveled the dirt on them when the last body was placed in the earth.
After that, the survivors returned home. And for the next twelve moons, they worked together to survive. Smaller, broken, hurt, but alive, the clans survived, and though the memories of this time soon faded to nothing but cautionary tales told by elders, it has never been allowed to be forgotten.
Something tugged him. It stirred him from the nothingness in his mind, pulled him from it, and it was like a... Like someone had slid claws down his spine. It was wrong and instrusive, and he didn't know what it was.
Was it...? For the briefest moment he thought it was yelling. Like someone calling. He didn't... He couldn't hear the words, but he got the sense of wrong. It wasn't... No... It... But maybe... Just maybe...
He heeded the call. He wasn't sure if he had a choice in, though. The tug was violent and he grasped it, and suddenly he was answering it, though by his will or someone else's, he didn't know.
He was wrenched from the blackness that surrounded him and suddenly found himself rising to his paws in the waves, black streaming around him, voices meeting his ears.
He was in the ocean, the water licking at him, already a tug threatening to drag him back beneath the water, into the waves and the darkness that swallowed him.
On the shore stood a cat. A cat he didn't recognize, small and ginger, staring at him in terror. He stared back, a sense of desperation clawing at him, and he fought the pull, fought the waves, dragged himself toward the cat.
He could hear a rumbling sound and it was growing darker, lightning flashing, but it didn't matter, it didn't matter, he needed-
"WHIMSY! WHIMSY, RAINFALL! RUN!"
"WHIMSY, IT'S A RAINFALL YOU NEED TO RUN! RUN! RUN!"
He heard the yowls of other cats, but he was focused on the one in front of him. He needed... But there was danger. Danger was roaring toward them and too much was churning inside of him, but it was burning in him, he needed- he wanted-
"Help... Give me... Free me... GIVE..." he growled, dragging himself further, reaching out desperately toward the cat.
He could smell their terror, see their indecision, and if he could only reach them... If he could reach them...
"RUN! RUN, RUN, RUN! WHIMSY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"Free me... GIVE... GIVE ME BACK... I'm sor-" he whispered as the storm bore down, as the waves pulled at him even more fiercely.
The cat wasn't moving, frozen with terror, just like the others, but he couldn't let him go, he needed him, he needed one of them-
He needed to be free. He needed to be free, he needed to go back, he needed- he needed- he wanted-
"Free me... Give... GIVE... GIVE..."
"WHIMSYPAW!"
The cat turned and fled, making him snarl in fury, clawing against the water, and the storm hit.
The rain battered him but otherwise did nothing, though it did something to the cat. Bleached their fur, made them grow, and he stared. He stared and the sight of the bleached fur made something in him well up, though he couldn't name it.
The cat, struggling through terror and pain, was suffering, and he fought against the waves, the pull, stretching out his tentacles, because they were in danger. They would be safe here in the water and then maybe he could... Maybe he could-
The ocean wouldn't release him.
He couldn't put his paws past the surf and the tug was painful, digging into him, ripping, black flowing, and all he could do was watch as the cat tried to flee, the rain changing them.
All he could do was watch as the ocean pulled him back with claws hooked into his spine, sand sliding beneath his paws, as the cat collapsed on the sand, as the others he couldn't see wailed, and he felt something ripple across the sand, through the pull, through him.
The ocean yanked and pulled him beneath the waves and he clawed and fought, if not for the shore for that odd ripple, but it wouldn't release him.
The ocean pulled him down, and the blackness swallowed him whole.
Whimsypaw had his chin resting on his paws, glaring across the clearing from the apprentices' den. He didn't mean to glare, exactly, but he was in a bad mood, and while he knew it wasn't fair, he couldn't help it.
He had just become an apprentice half a moon ago... And it looked like he was going to need a new mentor already. A pawful of days ago, Hyacinthclan had gotten a new member.
Softflight. A Foggyclan warrior, often a Firekeeper, and now... Almondfern's mate. Apparently, they had made kits at some point, and she had arrived asking shyly to join, her flanks already swollen her unborn litter. A moon along, Mama said, and next moon, she would have her kits. Which meant that Almondfern would be busy with his kits; Softflight might be birthing them, but Almondfern was nuts about kits.
Whimsypaw had heard the stories of how Ashtalon-the-greatest-warrior-the-clan-had-ever-had had stayed in the nursery with Amberleaf up until the day he went out again for the first time and got himself killed. He knew Almondfern was going to do the same.
And it wasn't fair.
Not that Almondfern had neglected his training once since Softflight had come. No, he had was an even better mentor than Laurelbright and maybe even Stoneleaf, despite his soft nature. Even if one of the patrols they had gone on had been to get stuff for Softflight's nest.
He liked Almondfern, he had gotten the best mentor out of him and his brothers. He didn't want to be assigned a new one.
As he moped, watching Almondfern sunning himself with Softflight, a paw draped over her belly, Chickpaw came and draped himself over him.
"Don't pout, Whimsy." he consoled, squishing the air from Whimsypaw's lungs.
"I'm... Not..." Whimsypaw said weakly, because he knew very well what he was doing.
"Are too." Leafpaw said, smirking.
He sat down beside them and began to groom.
"...Yeah." Whimsypaw grunted, scowling.
He shifted his gaze to where Amberleaf and Yellowpaw were circling around each other, practicing some battle moves, and Whimsypaw wondered if he would be able to get Amberleaf to teach him. He was a good fighter (probably because he was Ashtalon's son) and Whimsypaw admired his abilities. He wanted to be that good a fighter when he was a warrior, he wanted to be so good the clan would compare him to Ashtalon because he was that skilled and good, not because he was the cat's son.
"Can we talk about it?" Chickpaw whispered suddenly, going still across Whimsypaw's back.
Whimsypaw knew what 'it' was. Shortly after their ceremony, they had been putting on protection, and overheard the medicine cats talking. Something about a monster in the ocean. A monster with a cat-shape, and tentacles, that brought weird black stuff with it. They had stayed quiet and listened, and as far as they could tell, no one knew if this thing was real. If it was here or if Starclan had sent them a warning about something to come in the future. Jackdawnudge had smelled terrified of it, recounting it in detail they were lucky to have gotten, and Chickpaw had been frightened ever since.
Whimsypaw and Leafpaw, on the other paw, were fascinated.
He glanced around, but there was no one near them. A beautiful day with no rainfall, everyone was taking advantage of of the sun. Yellowlily had Wasp's litter entertained with a game of mossball, and Quailpaw was out with Gillfeather, getting salt. Their mom was showing Fogvalley and Pumaspot how to skin prey. They were safe.
"Yeah." he said.
"Do... Do you think it's real? Do you think it's here?" Chickpaw asked, shuddering against Whimsypaw.
"How would we know? You can ask Mama, but then you have to say we were eavesdropping." Leafpaw said, dragging his paw over his face.
"I just don't like knowing, okay? What if it comes into camp in the middle of the night?" Chickpaw said and Whimsypaw squirmed beneath him.
"They said it's only in the ocean. Only near the Beach of Stars." he reminded his brother.
"But what if it doesn't stay there? The ocean is right over there!" Chickpaw said, staring at the water nearby.
The camp was far enough away that only the worst of storms would flood it, and their inlet was sheltered from those with the curving cliffs and rocks further out, breaking up waves and blocking winds. But the ocean was nearby, all the same.
"Then the Rainwatcher will see it. And Goldstar's den is closest, it would get her first." Leafpaw said calmly.
"You know what would be great?" Whimsypaw said, sitting up and dumping his brother off him.
"What?" Chickpaw asked.
"If we find out if it's real or not! Then the clan will know if the monster is real and we'll be prepared, and we'll know if Starclan is really still there." Whimsypaw said as the idea occurred to him.
"How do we find that out?" Chickpaw demanded, and Whimsypaw paused.
"I... Uh..." he said and his ears drooped.
But he did want to know. What if this monster in the ocean was the reason behind everything bad that happened? The rainfalls, the Unseen, the weird prey, all of it? If they found out if it was real, then the clan could do something about it, and the world could go back to normal. And Whimsypaw and his brothers would be hailed as heroes, of course, but that wasn't really on his mind.
He knew their birth mother had been killed by an Unseen, sacrificing herself so their mama could get away with them, so they would be safe. And though he had never known her, it made something in Whimsypaw boil with a rage he couldn't explain.
He loved Lester. She was the best mom in the whole clan. But he also desperately wished they had gotten to know Palethicket, that she was here with them, too. She and Mama had been friends, after all, they would have still had Lester in their lives.
He said all this to his brothers, and they were in agreement. Even Chickpaw, who worried and fretted. Whimsypaw knew he was being a little manipulative, because his brothers felt the same way about Palethicket, but he didn't care.
They devised a plan; they'd sneak out of camp after sun-high, when most of the clan would be resting and avoiding the high point of the sun. A patrol or two would be out, but that was it. Their mentors were going to take them on evening patrol; plenty of time to investigate the Beach of Stars and sneak back. If anyone noticed, they could just say they had been resting in one of their hiding spots around the camp; even Lester didn't know them all.
They waited and it seemed to take an eternity, but, finally, the camp settled enough for them to do. The only downside was that they couldn't put on protection or grab a conch to take, but they would be careful. It was lucky that Tumbledaisy was Rainwatcher again, though, because Whimsypaw was certain otherwise they would be seen.
They were smart about their sneaking, though. Whimsypaw snuck out by climbing over the driftwood branches along one wall; there was a patch of berries that grew there anyway, and he and his littermates liked to eat them. Leafpaw wandered down to the waves; as an apprentice, he was allowed to do that alone. Chickpaw snuck out through the dirtplace.
They separated and regroup, and crept through the territory to the Beach of Stars.
Whimsypaw had only been here once, and he didn't like it. The black sand was creepy. It looked endlessly smooth and dark, and the cliffs ringing it were high and dark as well. Driftwood was washed up against the base of the cliff they were slowly climbing down, which had many crevices and cracks, and Chickpaw whined when he cut his paw on a sharp rock.
"Lick it!" Leafpaw scolded as he cried, sighing and doing it for him when all Chickpaw did was whimper.
Before they went onto the empty stretch of sand, they scouted the area, looking for shelter from rainfalls. The crevices and cracks and overhangs looked good, and so did the driftwood, which had a little sand hollow beneath it.
After that and making a few test runs, they began to investigate. None of them knew how to find this thing. Now that they were here, Whimsypaw was feeling uncertain. But they looked over every part of the black sand and the cliffs, searching for clues, for anything.
Leafpaw called out to Starclan, and that gave Whimsypaw an idea. He raced down to the surf and his brothers followed, watching as he plante his paws and took a deep breath.
"If there's any monster in there, show yourself! We're warriors of Hyacinthclan, and we're going to defend it!" he declared, his yowl booming out of him.
Soon all three of them were yelling, heckling the thing in the waves, because surely any self-respecting world-ending monster would come see who was insulting it.
For a while, it was fun. Whimsypaw and his brothers started doing their best to come up with the worst insult and most fierce-sounding battle yowls, but after a while...
The wind picked up and though it was warm and salty, a chill raced down Whimsypaw's spine. Clouds slid over the sun. Suddenly the fun was gone and their shouts sounded pathetic, and he could swear even though they had already been taught about the tides and when to expect them to be high and low, the tide was getting higher before it should be. Just a little, but he was sure it was getting further up his legs than before.
Chickpaw whimpered.
He was the first one to stop yowling, but Leafpaw soon stopped, and as the waves grew rougher, Whimsypaw's voice faltered.
"Whimsy, I don't like this." Leafpaw said quietly.
"It's fine! We're fine. The weather is just changing." Whimsypaw said with confidence he didn't feel.
"I think we should go." Chickpaw said, scuffing the sand.
"Yeah. Yeah, I don't think it exists yet." Leafpaw agreed, his fear-scent meeting Whimsypaw's nose.
"We should try just a little longer." Whimsypaw said; he was not going to be a coward.
The waves seemed to come in especially hard just then and Leafpaw broke first, skidding backwards.
"Whimsy, we're going back! This isn't fun anymore!" he said loudly and Whimsypaw whirled.
"FINE! Be a coward. I'll find out if the monster is real or not, and the clan will be thanking me! I'll find out if we can stop the thing that killed our mother!" he said, that rage boiling up.
"Mom died because of an Unseen, not some monster from the ocean."
"The monster caused the Unseen!"
"We don't know that!"
"What else could be doing it?! You don't care, do you? You just want the world to keep being bad and cats to get eaten and for the thing that ate Mom to still be roaming around waiting for the next cat to eat!" Whimsypaw burst out and Leafpaw looked stricken.
"Please don't fight." Chickpaw said, shoving between them.
"We're going, Chick." Leafpaw said and turned, storming away.
After a minute, Chickpaw followed. Whimsypaw didn't. He was mad now and he didn't know what to do with that rage he always felt thinking about what had happened to Palethicket, and he wanted to yowl. So he did.
He glanced and saw that his brothers were sitting further up the beach and against the cliffs, watching from in front of one of the little caves, waiting for him but having no part, but he didn't care.
He kept yowling, taunting, screaming, and then... And then...
A strange sense, a feeling, slid over him, and Whimsypaw blinked, his fur standing up, and that was when he saw it. A black shape emerging from the waves, things rising up from around it, black washing up over his paws, cold and burning and wrong...
He stood, frozen, staring at the... The... The monster rising out of the waves, staggering, closer than he had expected, jerking toward him, as if it was clawing through the water as well as using the tentacles to drag itself along.
He didn't... He didn't...
"WHIMSY! WHIMSY, RAINFALL! RUN!"
"WHIMSY, IT'S A RAINFALL YOU NEED TO RUN! RUN! RUN!"
His brothers were screaming at him and the scent of a rainfall, metallic and odd, met his nose, the only thing making him look away from the monster.
A rainfall was bearing down on them from over the ocean, getting faster by the second, and terror filled Whimsypaw to his core. The monster was coming closer and he could hear it.
"Help... Give me... Free me... GIVE..."
He wanted to move. He wanted to run. He needed to run. But the rainfall was too close, and- He didn't know what to do. The monster was right there, the rainfall was coming, he was too far from the carefully scouted shelter, made bold by that false courage he'd had, he could try to run but he wouldn't- Could he dive in the water?
He knew the water would protect him, but that awful black stuff was burning coldly over him and making him cringe, and the monster was staggering closer, fighting against some invisible pull, and he- and he-
"RUN! RUN, RUN, RUN! WHIMSY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"Free me... GIVE... GIVE ME BACK... I'm sor-"
The monster was coming. The rainfall was coming. And Whimsypaw didn't know what to do.
Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as the storm rolled over the water and Whimsypaw stared into the glowing, golden eyes of the monster. It seemed to be staring straight into his soul, and the command in its voice, as well, as the pleading, made him pause for a moment.
"Free me... Give... GIVE... GIVE..."
"WHIMSYPAW!"
It was the desperation and fear in his brothers' voices that roused him, along with the thunder, and fear tore through him as the monster crawled further up the beach. The water might protect him, but he couldn't- what if it got him- what if it was a new type of Unseen-
He turned and ran, racing up the beach, but he couldn't outrun the storm. He wasn't fast enough.
The rainfall hit before he had made it more than a few tail-lengths and the icy downpour hit him so hard he nearly fell, but he kept running. He kept running for a few steps, but then the pain began.
He stumbled and fell, yowling in pain, in shock, his body contorting with the pain, and he didn't understand, for a moment, what was happening. It felt like his skin was ripping, his bones were popping, like he was going to burst out of his body.
As he struggled, Whimsypaw realized that wasn't quite right, as he tried to get up and realized he was bigger. He was bigger, his limbs were getting longer, his paws getting bigger, he was growing. He had no protection on, nothing to block the rainfall, and already he felt like he was as big as his mama. He was aging, he was- he was- he was-
Terror filled him along with the pain and Whimsypaw tried to get up, but his new body was hard to control, impossible to control, and he staggered, the rain coming down hard and past. The hills beyond the beach were turning yellow and browning, and he glanced over his shoulder, seeing the monster was still standing in the surf, but its tentacles were reaching toward him, it's eyes fixed on him.
The rainfall was still pouring down but had no effect on it, but it was on Whimsypaw, and he had to keep moving. He staggered, trying to get in control of himself, but as fast as he moved, the rainfall moved faster. He couldn't... He wasn't...
He ran as fast as he could, struggling with the unfamiliar feel of his body- it seemed to be changing every second- but he didn't... He couldn't...
There was strength and no idea how to use it, and then were was weakness, and he collapsed on the sand.
Now he could see his brothers, huddled in one of the large crevices they had scouted out, and they were staring at him, eyes huge with terrior and horror.
Whimsypaw didn't beg them for help, didn't call out for it. Because he didn't want this to happen to them, even though he wanted help, he didn't want this to happen, he didn't want to die, he didn't- he didn't-
He collapsed on the sand, soaked with rainfall, unable to push himself up, unable to run the last few tail-lengths to shelter. He couldn't move... He couldn't... He couldn't...
Whimsypaw found himself standing a black-sand beach, like the Beach of Stars, but he knew... He knew it wasn't. It couldn't have been; his brothers weren't here, there was no one here. No one but him. He examined his body and found it was just as it had been when had woken up this morning, the size of a six-moon-old apprentice, the fur still bright ginger instead of white.
He... He... Where was he? What was going on? He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be here.
He wanted to go back, he had to go back. Even as something tugged at him, pulling him instinctively toward the waves of the gray ocean water, but he rebelled.
Whimsypaw wasn't going to go. He wasn't going wherever the feeling was tugging him.
He wanted to go back. He had to go back. He didn't want to be here. Where were his brothers? Were they okay? What about the monster? The thoughts raced through his head and Whimsypaw turned away from the ocean, tugging against the tight pull, struggling toward the land behind.
Starclan, please let me go back! I have to go back! I want to go back... Please... I want to go back...p
🌙 Heavy or light sleeper, what are their dreams like? For Amberleaf?
Thanks so much for the ask!
Depending on how much he has done during the day, Amber is typically a lighter sleeper! If he's worked hard, it's harder to rouse him, but he isn't *too* heavy or light of a sleeper.
BUT, if he is having a nightmare involving terrible things and so forth, as he shared with Yellowpaw in a previous moon, he isn't being woken up easily. He'll be nearly impossible to wake up, and wake up quite suddenly as well.These dreams will involve the ocean, prey with black leaking from their eyes, the limp shapes of cats floating in the water, and even waves of black and Mystery Entity as well. And, other times, he'll be visited by Rivensea. He can not wake up from these dreams on his own, Rivensea always has to 'eject' him.
As for the nights when the horrors aren't visiting him, Amber probably has normal cat dreams, and wakes up relatively easily.
I had some questions I wanted to edit, some I wanted to add, so here’s round 2 of the Clangen Ask Game! Most are phrased in reference to clangen comics or fan writing, but this can apply to whatever clangen/clangen-adjacent media you create!
For the cats, please include a cat you’d like to answer
🎨 Favorite Hobbies?
🌙 Heavy or light sleeper, what are their dreams like?
🐀 Favorite Prey?
🌿 Favorite herb?
🎉 Favorite Holiday/Seasonal Event?
👯 Wild circle of friends, or a few close ones? Who’s their best friend?
🌳 What does their family tree look like?
⚡️Special powers or abilities?
🌷Quirks or other mannerisms?
🎯 What do their life goals look like? Deputy, Leader, Medcat, a family?
🏠 Would they ever consider becoming a kittypet?
🐾 What do they think of nearby clans/groups?
🪲What do they value the most?
🌲Favorite location on the territory?
🌧️ Favorite weather?
🧹 Favorite and least favorite clan task/chore/patrol?
🙀What do they fear the most?
✨ What is their relationship with StarClan like?
🍀Secret they’re hiding?
For the clan
🏞️ How did your clan start?
📜 How does your clan’s warrior code differ from other clans?
🎭 Does your clan have any specific traditions, rituals, or holidays?
🌌 Does your clan believe in StarClan, or another sort of afterlife?
💥 What’s the most dramatic event in your clan’s history?
🗿 Does your clan have any important or physical artifacts they keep?
🗣️ Which cat is the biggest gossip in the clan?
👑 Your leader and deputy disappear into thin air, who takes over?
⚔️ Who is the best and worst fighter in the clan?
🐾 Best and worst hunter?
🌟 Which cat has the strongest StarClan/Dark Forest connections?
🔮 Which cat is the most superstitious?
⚰️ What are your clan’s death rituals?
🛡How does your clan choose new deputies?
🌠 Are there any cats in your clan who don’t believe in StarClan?
🐱 Who are some of the cats outside the clan, and what is the clan’s relationship with them?
💔 Which cats have the most complicated relationship with each other?/make you go feral?
🎆What do omens/messages from StarClan look like to your cats?
For the World
🗺️ What does the territory look like? Any unique landmarks?
🐇 What are typical prey you’d find in the territory? Rare or unusual prey?
🐺Typical predators?
🦌 Are there animals that the clan can’t or won’t hunt?
🏘️ What is the twoleg activity like?
⚠️ Are there any dangerous areas cats have to avoid?
🏵Areas that are considered cursed or sacred? Your clan’s equivalent to Moonstone/Moonpool?
🌋 What sort of natural disasters happen here, any that have significantly changed the landscape?
❄️ What is the most challenging season for your clan?
🪴What herbs are most important to your med cats? Rare or magical herbs unique to your world?
🪵 What natural resources does your clan collect for tools, rituals, decoration, etc.?
For the Author
✍️ What inspired you to make your clangen comic/ other media?
⏩ How far ahead do you play in clangen? How far ahead do you draw/write?
📝 What do your notes look like?
⏳ What sort of deadlines or rituals do you follow to keep yourself on schedule?
⛔️How long are you planning on making your comic? For as long as you feel like it, or is there a set end?
🎲 How close to “canon” clangen RNG do you follow?
🔄Do you let clangen fully control names, or do you interfere? Where do you get inspiration for names for warriors and kittypets?
❔Do you have any suggestions for people looking to start their own clangen blogs?
💘 Any cats you ship? Any non-canon/crackship/oddball pairs?
™️Who is your saddest little guy?
😻Which cat would you steal to be your kittypet irl?
🐈 Are there any characters currently based on your irl pets?
🌀Out of context spoilers/WIP?
🏔Lore you’ve been wanting to share but haven’t gotten a chance to?
✏️Who’s your favorite character to draw/write?
❤️ Which character does the audience seem to love that you weren’t expecting?
🌍 What are some of your irl inspirations for the lore/worldbuilding of your comic?
💭 Fan theories or headcanons you love? How much does audience interaction change the events of the comic?
🤝 If you could collab with any other clangen creator (or just want to shout out your favorites), who would it be?
This also might just be me, but be sure to give your favorite creators time to draw or write their responses! Don’t be discouraged if it takes a minute
The rainfalls and oddities of the world couldn't chase away the heat of greenleaf, and Goldstar currently had some refuge from it in her den, though the day was not yet hot. The hollow in the petrified tree sloped downward, keeping the den cool in the heat and warm in the cold, but there was enough light spilling through the entrance that she could see.
The clan was doing well, despite everything. Morbius and Tulipscratch were still in the medicine cats' den, but Goldstar was confident that their group of medicine cats would be able to do everything a cat possibly could for them. Lester's revelation with preserving prey was a blessing from Starclan, and now they had cats gathering more salt left behind from the tide pools so they could have stores of meat in case prey became scarce again.
Lester's litter would be apprenticed today, and in three moons Wasp's would be, and next moon her own kits would be warriors... Goldstar felt overwhelmed by it all sometimes. And right now, thinking of how her kits would be warriors in a moon, her heart ached for Flintfur. She hoped he was in Starclan. She hoped he could see their kits, even if they were cut off from Starclan. She also hoped he approved of the names she had in mind for their kits; they were ones they had jokingly discussed while she had been pregnant.
As she sat and thought, preparing herself for the ceremony, a shadow darkened the entrance of the den, and Goldstar was pulled from her thoughts.
"Goldstar, may I speak with you?" Aphidrise asked, a nervous air around him.
"Of course." Goldstar said, sitting up.
Aphidrise sat down across from her, and Goldstar could not help the fond feeling that welled up in her at the sight of him. He had been barely more than a newborn when they had discovered him on their journey here, a moon when they had settled, and he was just a little older than the clan. He had come far from that little parentless kit who had more or less become the entire clan's.
"What do you need to talk about?" she asked, looking him over.
He was usually so calm and collected that his nervousness made her worry that something was wrong.
"I don't want to be a warrior any longer, if you allow it. I would like to become a mediator." Aphidrise said after taking a deep breah.
"A mediator?" Goldstar echoed, surprised.
"Yes. I've watched Wiggity Wacks and listened to what he does, and I think I would be good at it. I would also like to try a different approach than he does. He waits for cats to come to him, but that didn't work very well the apprentices." Aphidrise, and Goldstar knew what he was talking about.
She had hoped, back when they had all been 'paws, that Pumaspot, Almondfern, Laurelbright, Furledseed, Amberleaf, Tulipscratch, and Fogvalley would approach the mediator themselves and sort out their differences. She knew pushing things could make it worse- Several times when she had pushed with Ashtalon and Quietback during a few spats it had made it worse. They had never gone to Wiggity Wacks, however, and Goldstar knew a skilled mediator should be able to step in and help solve it. It just wasn't how Wiggy Wacks did things, however.
"Of course you may become a mediator, Aphidrise. I would never dream of stopping you. Do you want a ceremony?" Goldstar said with a purr.
Aphidrise would be good at this. He was so good at speaking, at being level-headed, and he always observed his clanmates carefully.
"I'm forty moons old, Goldstar, I don't need a ceremony. Just an announcement would be fine. I don't want to steal the day from Lester's kits, either." Aphidrise said, smiling, the nervousness gone.
"I don't think you would be stealing the day, but it is whatever you want." Goldstar said and got up, rubbing her head against Aphidrise.
"I'm proud of you, little kit." she murmured, as she had when he had been tiny and new.
He chuckled and rubbed her back, and then exited the den shortly after. Goldstar was left alone with her thoughts again, and she was honestly rethinking the mentors Skypelt, Jackdawnudge, and Yellowlily had helped her pick.
Stoneleaf was the main issue. Wasp's litter didn't need milk any longer, did not need a queen with them all day, but they were only three moons old. It was early for a queen to leave them, though Yellowlily had said she was more than happy to stay in the nursery with the litter. The elder's den was lonely, after all, and it wasn't every night that she and Jackdawnudge got to share a nest, depending on how the medicine cats divided up the duties.
Stoneleaf had expressed interest in having an apprentice, but circumstances hadn't given them many kits, and Stoneleaf had also said she had no desire to mentor her own kit. She shook her head; it would work out. Stoneleaf was a good cat, and she could pass invaluable wisdom and skills off to one of Lester's litter.
Laurelbright and Almondfern, on the other paw, were different stories. They were younger warriors compared to others, but Goldstar had been watching them, and they were calm, fine warriors who had a lot to offer, things unique to themselves and the things their mentors had passed to them. Skypelt had trained Laurelbright and Gillfeather had trained Almondfern, and both of them were fine warriors. Their apprentices would pass on the best things they had learned to their own apprentices.
It would all work out, even if Pumaspot and Furledseed might feel left out, and an apprentice was just what Almondfern needed, Goldstar thought. He wouldn't let down a cat who needed him, even if he was still grieving Mistkit. Gillfeather and Jackdawnudge had both suggested it, and Goldstar had been considering him as a mentor before either way.
She waited, watching the camp, and just before sunhigh, she called the meeting. Lester was fussing over her kits, the ginger toms' pelts sleek and gleaming, and Goldstar climbed onto the lowest branch of the petrified tree, looking down at her clan.
Seeing them all here, naming new apprentices, it all gave her a sense of hope she wanted to dig her claws into fiercely to keep it. She prayed no rainfall would come today; the apprentices deserved a good first day in their new roles.6/25/2026
"Before we begin, I would like to announce to the clan that Aphidrise has decided to take up the role of a mediator alongside Wiggity Wacks. If you have need of a mediator, please, speak to either of them. I know they will guide the clan well." Goldstar announced, which drew cheers and congratulations.
Aphidrise beamed, and she gave them a moment before moving on.
"And now, for the ceremony. As you all know, Lester's kits have reached six moons, and they are ready to be apprenticed. Whimsykit, Leafkit, Chickkit, please, step forward." she said, and the littermates all walked politely forward.
They were quivering with excitement, however, that much was clear, and Lester looked ready to burst with pride.
"Starclan, I ask you to look down on these kits. They have reached the age of six moons, and are ready to begin their training. Until they earn their full names, they shall be down as Leafpaw, Chickpaw, and Whimsypaw." Goldstar continued; not the traditional ceremony, but she did like to change it up.
And changing up the order of the names would stop the young toms from squabbling about it later.
"Almondfern, you are a younger warrior, but you are a fine cat. Your calm and patience are traits the clan admires about you, and I know you will guide Whimsypaw well." Goldstar said and the ginger tom looked surprised.
But he grinned and approached his new apprentice, touching noses with him, and they sat together, Whimsypaw leaning over and whispering something to his new mentor.
"Stoneleaf, your kindness and nurturing nature have been an asset to the clan, to many of our young cats, and I know they will serve Chickpaw well."
Chickpaw crashed into Stoneleaf when they went to complete the ceremony, headbutting her in the chest and knocking them both over, and mrrows of laughter rippled through the clan, Chickpaw looking horrified.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he exclaimed over and over as Stoneleaf picked herself up.
"I'm all right, Chickpaw, don't worry." she assured him, touching his nose.
But she did look winded, and they sat with Almondfern and Whimsypaw, Almondfern leaning over to check his Stoneleaf.
"Laurelbright. Your observant nature and dedication make you a fine warrior, and are qualities I know you will pass on to Leafpaw." Goldstar finished and the clan began to cheer.
They yowled the names of the new apprentices into the sky and Lester touched noses with each of her kits, Goldstar closing the ceremony and leaping down. She heard some of what Lester was saying.
"Listen to your mentors, and don't be reckless. And ya know, even if we're cut off from Starclan right now, your mama is watchin' over all of ya. She is so proud of ya, and so am I." she was saying and Leafpaw was frowning, as if he was not convinced that Palethicket was indeed watching them.
Skypelt called out to organize patrols and the new mentors and apprentices went out together, Goldstar watching it all. She let out a heavy breath and she had hope, this gave her so much hope and happiness, but she was also afraid of losing it.
"Goldstar, may we have a word?" Plumsong asked as she watched the patrols go to coat themselves in protection.
"Of course." Goldstar said, following him to the den.
Fogvalley and Confetti were currently sitting with their respective siblings, telling them about the ceremony, and Goldstar joined Plumsong and Jackdawnudge in the far part of the den, sitting down in front of the toms.
"Do you have any more clarity on Wasp's dream?" she asked, glancing between them.
"No, Goldstar." Jackdawnudge said with a shake of his head.
Goldstar wasn't too worried about it, even if she was honestly surprised about Quietback potentially taking leadership of the clan one day. He was a good cat, she had watched him grow from a kit into a fine warrior, but he would not have been a cat she picked for it. She was more worried about the tentacled cat coming from the sea, and she didn't know whether to be happy or not about the idea of not having to face that herself, by the sounds of it.
"You know how the first Unseen was a queen I found dead with her kits." Plumsong asked and Goldstar nodded.
"We were only able to tell that because she had extra toes on her paws. It is clear that cats, at least, are able to become Unseen, but we don't know how many or how, exactly. My thought was to make each cat's pawprint distinct enough to tell... Just in case. So we can try to understand it better." Plumsong said and Goldstar tilted her head at the thought.
"Distinct how?" she asked, though her mind was churning.
She did not like to think of any of her cats becoming an Unseen, and Flintfur... She didn't want to know if Flintfur was a monster now.
"By making a mark on a cat's pad or pads that would leave an impression in their print. A scar of some sort. Then we record the pawprints here, and if an Unseen with a matching mark is encountered, we know." Plumsong explained and flicked his tail at a barren wall in the den.
"What do you think? I think it could cause a lot of unnecessary pain and infections." Jackdawnudge asked and Goldstar had to ponder it for a minute or so.
"It does sound like a good idea." she admitted. "If there is a way to stop it from happening to cats and we learn how it happens through this, it would be a good thing. Even if knowing... Even if knowing that our cats became monsters would be hard."
Plumsong looked satisfied.
"How do you propose to make these marks?" Goldstar asked.
"Biting the pad, or cutting it with something sharp. In all honesty, something hot with a distinctand pressing it to the pad would be ideal, but we were lucky to have a lightning strike for the Burning Caves. I do not think we will get that lucky to have a personal fire near camp for it." Plumsong replied, grimacing.
"Try it on me first." Goldstar instructed; she didn't want anyone else to go through it needlessly.
"I'll find something sharp. It might be better than teeth." Plumsong said, rising.
He disappeared into the stores and Jackdawnudge and Goldstar looked at each other.
"I wish this wasn't an idea we had to think of." the old tom meowed.
In that moment, it struck Goldstar how old Jackdawnudge was. He was hunched and ragged with age, his muzzle whiter than the rest of his pelt, and he moved stiffly. He looked tired and defeated, and looked at the pad of his paw as if imagining a mark there.
Goldstar moved over and pressed her pelt to his, trying to offer comfort, though she knew it would be only temporary. With how the world was now, it would be little and not last long. But she pressed against him and let out another breath.
Maybe it had been the ceremony making her think of the ones her kits would soon have, maybe it had been inevitable, but Goldstar's grief for Flintfur had hit her and stuck to her like a burr. She couldn't shake the sadness, the longing, the wish that he was still with her.
He should have been here to see their kits become warriors. To see them have kits, if they chose to. And yet, now she didn't even know if he was in Starclan.
The thoughts and grief dragged at her, and the day after the ceremony, Goldstar went for a walk in the territory alone. She was coated in protection, limping from the attempt to scar her pad, which was wrapped tightly in dressing to prevent infection. She wandered far, leaving Skypelt in charge for the day, and she headed past the Beach of Stars, toward the beach where whale meat sometimes washed up.
The bones of the last one were still in the sand and she sat among the bones for a time, staring up at the enormous things, trying to distract herself.
"Oh, Flintfur... Can you see us, my love? Do you see the fine warriors our kits almost are? Are you watching over us even if our connection to Starclan is lost? Did you even make it there?" she whispered, staring up at the sky.
It was too early for stars and the clouds held no answers. Neither did the waves or the sands, and she moved on, wandering further. At this rate, she might not make it back to camp until morning, but she had told Skypelt she might not be back until dawn.
As she walked in the hills and the greenery that was mismatched, birds suddenly stopped calling, and took flight. A metallic odor came on the wind, and she peered at the sky, seeing a fast-approaching mass of clouds.
A rainfall. She was out in the open, on the part of the hills where there were few trees, and her heart leapt in her throat. She turned, racing toward the trees, glancing at the sky, and she didn't make it before the rainfall hit. But her protection was enough, thick enough that the rain didn't instantly wash it away, and as she raced for the trees, she saw a rainbow appear in the sky. Not a normal one; it was shaped like a circle, perfect in that manner, but the colors were inverted as well.
Remembering the last time an Unseen had been encountered- Flintfur's death- had carried a sighting of such a rainbow, she froze, because that meant... That meant...
There was an Unseen.
She could not sense them as Amberleaf could. She remained frozen, wanting to press herself to the ground and muffle her breathing, as Yellowlily had discovered to do, but she was in the open. Her protection would wash away and leave her exposed to the rainfall; it was a heavier one.
So Goldstar took the risk. She crept low on her belly through the vegetation, like she was hunting, like she was stalking enemy warriors, going as quickly and quietly as she could. But she wasn't quiet enough. As the rain fell, the vegetation flourished and died, and at a particularly bad moment, her paw landed on a dead bit of it, crackling sharply beneath her pad.
It was obscenely loud and she stiffened, heart pounding, and then the ground began to vibrate. She turned her head and saw pawprints appearing on the ground, filling with black puddles, and they were heading straight toward her. Muffling her breathing wasn't going to work. She took a deep breath, and bolted.
She ran as fast as she could, racing for the trees that grew leaves and lost them in a shower of red, orange, and brown as she headed for them, not daring to look back.
Goldstar had nearly reached the trees when something suddenly seized her by the loose fur of her back and she was ripped off the ground, moving high rapidly. She screeched and thrashed, clawing, fighting for all she was worth, one thought going through her head throughout it all.
Please don't be Flintfur. Not Flintfur. Not Flintfur. Please, Starclan, oh please don't let it be Flintfur.
She was tossed up into the air and was in sudden free fall, the ground rushing toward her as the rain poured down, and then- Pain exploded in her body, and her life winked out.
It was a familiar sensation; she had lost two lives already. What happened next was unexpected.
Instead of waking in Starclan, as she previously had, she woke on a beach. At first, she thought it was the Beach of Stars, but there were no rocks out in the water, the hills behind her were different, and no cliffs rose to cup it. The sand was black, though, and the ocean lapped at her paws, reflecting the overcast sky and looking gray.
Rising in confusion, Goldstar looked around, trying to make sense of what she was seeing, where she was. The water licked at the sand and that was when she saw it: A ghostly form of herself, walking into the sea.
It was her life, the remnant of it, like what lingered in Starclan until she lost them all. Goldstar could only watch in confusion as the echo of her life waded out into the water and kept going, going deeper and depper, and then it was gone.
Just as suddenly, everything turned white, and Goldstar bolted upright again, her body aching, the air smelling of smoke and tilled soil and something else. She was disoriented again, looking around, and it took a moment for her mind to register was she was seeing. There was a crater in the ground, perfectly circular, and at the bottom was a pawprint, filled with black. She was about three-quarters of the way to the top, laying in the flattened soil, and she staggered upright. The rain was gone and the air was silent, and her head was spinning. Her protection was in shambles, but her body and coat appeared no worse for wear.
Carefully, body screaming with pain, Goldstar hauled herself from the crater, looking at it, unable to understand what had happened. The Unseen had gotten her, had bitten her, had eaten her... And that would have caused a Silencing.
But here she was, alive, in one piece, one life shorter but whole, and there was a crater in the ground. And unlike last time, she hadn't gone to Starclan. There had been that... beach.
Her mind was spinning and she wanted to sit there, dumbfounded, but she knew better. Instead, she picked herself up and made her way back to camp.
She met a patrol going the way she had come as she headed home, lead by Quietback, Buzzardglide, Aphidrise, Civetbeak, Gillfeather, and Amberleaf on his tail, and they all stared at her.
"Goldstar, what happened?" Quietback asked, looking alarmed.
"I... We need to go back to camp." Goldstar said, her voice coming out rough and dazed.
They obeyed and eyed her, following her back to camp, Pumaspot pacing anxiously back and forth at the entrance when they arrived. She looked equally alarmed but kept her post as they made their way in, Goldstar dismissing the patrol.
She summoned Skypelt, Quietback, and Yellowlily to her den with all four medicine cats and they crowded in, everyone confused and alarmed.
"Goldstar, what happened?" Yellowlily asked her, sniffing her worriedly.
"I... I met an Unseen." she said and all the cats stared at her.
Haltingly, she explained what had happened the best she could, and they were all alarmed and confused, and Skypelt frowned at the mention of the strange beach.
"Was it not Starclan? You saw your life." she said, head tilted.
"It didn't feel like Starclan. It was... It was something else. And I could feel my life... Moving on. Like it always does. But it was different, like it was taking longer. Then it went into the ocean, and I woke up in the crater." Goldstar said, shaking her head.
Quietback looked like he wanted to get up and pace, but there wasn't room despite how spacious the den was.
"Why did the Silencing cause a crater like that? Was it because of your lives? Are they getting stronger? Was that Unseen different than the others?" he said, tail lashing in agitation.
Goldstar could not answer, but she had the same questions. She ended up summoning Amberleaf, not to ask him about the Unseen but to ask him about what it felt like when he died and came back. She felt bad for asking him about it again, knowing it must have been unpleasant, but Amberleaf answered without protest.
It was not the same, not exactly, but some of what he described did seem similar, Goldstar had to admit.
She dismissed him and Amberleaf left without another word, and, in the end, Goldstar summoned her mediators.
She sent Aphidrise to Foggyclan and Wiggity Wacks to Weedclan, Wiggity Wacks taking Quietback with him. Aphidrise hadn't been formally announced to the other clans as a mediator, but they were on good terms with Foggyclan, and it was Weedclan that concerned Goldstar.
She sent them with a message asking the other leaders and one of their medicine cats to meet her at the Pool of Five Oaks tomorrow night, close to moon-high, and she hoped they would agree. She hoped the meeting she had in mind wouldn't be disasterous. It was unusual for leaders and medicine cats of other clans to speak about the leaders' lives and such, but if any were willing, she had to know. She had to know if they had experienced this too, or if it was a new development, or if it was just her.
She believed that the only way to survive this was to work together, though she was aware not all the leaders would see it that way, and even then there would still be information they wanted to keep to themselves. So she sent the mediators and waited, hoping nothing befell them as they went, and it was well into the night when the three returned.
"Weedclan and Foggyclan will come, Goldstar. They sent cats to Kinkclan and Ferretclan." Wiggity Wacks reported and Goldstar nodded.
"Thank you. Get some rest." she said, letting out a heavy breath.
She could hardly sleep, her mind whirling, and, eventually, two shapes appeared in the mouth of her den.
"Mama, can we sleep here?" Yellowpaw asked, her eyes glowing in the darkness.
Quailpaw was with her, looking sheepish, and Goldstar nodded.
They were eleven moons old, too big for this, really, so much bigger than when she and Flintfur would sleep with them tucked between them. But she welcomed them and she breathed in their scents, cuddling them close, grateful they had come.
She needed this.
They were still there in the morning and Goldstar tried to go through the day as normal, but she was feeling anxious about the meeting, and she was relieved when, as night fell, she and Plumsong coated themselves in protection and headed out.
They were the first to arrive at the Pool of Five Oakes, but the journey was long, and the other clans would be here soon enough. Foggyclan, whose camp was closest, was the first to arrive, Snowstar having Shardstep with her, their light pelts hidden by protection. They greeted each other and Shardstep began to tell Plumsong how Cloudrunner had stayed behind because the senior medicine cat's joints were acting up.
Next were Curlstar and Pinestrike, the medicine cat looking at them all suspiciously, and Goldstar had never liked the medicine cat. She couldn't help but notice how... Old Curlstar was looking; he was the oldest of the leaders, yes, but she hadn't really thought about it until now.
Runningstar and Birdtail arrived with Dapplestar and Tansynose, and after polite greetings were exchanged, they all turned to Goldstar.
"What is this about, Goldstar?" Runningstar asked as Pinestrike flicked his tail.
"Yesterday, I encountered an Unseen. It caught me, and I lost a life." Goldstar said bluntly and surprise rippled through the assembled cats.
It was unusual for the information to be shared, but she went on, explaining the encounter and what happened, the new Silencing the strange beach.
"I know it is unusual, but have any of you had an experience like that? If not with the Silencing but the beach when you lose a life?" Goldstar asked, surveying the other leaders.
"Yes." Curlstar answered after a long moment, letting out a raspy cough.
"Curlstar!" Pinestrike hissed, his claws sliding out for a moment.
"We are all in this together, Pinestrike. There is no point in keeping it a secret, and leaders all lose their lives. Yes, Goldstar, it was as you described it." Curlstar said, glaring at his medicine cat.
"I saw that beach as well." Dapplestar said and Goldstar let out a breath.
"How long ago?" Plumsong asked, glancing between the two.
"Half a moon ago." Dapplestar answered immediately.
"Five days." Curlstar replied, shoulders hunched.
Goldstar nodded, a feeling of relief going through her, though this was not necessarily a good thing.
She did confess to losing a life after Flintfur had died, and how she had gone to Starclan, not this beach, and while the leaders were aware that she had lost at least two lives, she was not going to confess that it was three. She still needed to have some secrets about her lives, even if she needed to share this.
"So this is a recent development." Birdtail murmured, kneading the ground.
"Was it Starclan? Or was it somewhere else?" Shardstep asked, beginning to pace.
"It didn't feel like any part of Starclan I'd been to." Curlstar grunted and Goldstar and Dapplestar nodded their agreement.
It had been somewhere, but it hadn't been Starclan. Tansynose joined the pacing, and they all began to discuss and theorize about this.
"Your lives walked into the ocean, and we know the echoes of lost lives linger in Starclan until a leader loses their final one. You all stayed on this beach, and then the life went on into the ocean. Could it have been traveling to Starclan without you?" Plumsong eventually said and they all looked at him.
"We were dead. Where would that place be, if not Starclan? Even if it didn't feel like it... It wasn't the Place of No Stars either." Dapplestar asked with a frown.
"Presumably, your lives went on to Starclan without you. But you, as a living cat... Couldn't." Pinestrike said, speaking for the first time since Curlstar had spoken.
"So, what, it's... A place between the living and the dead?" Shardstep asked, nearly slipping into the pool.
"It makes sense." Snowstar said after a long moment.
"So this place... This beach... Is where these two places meet? But why now? Why have we never seen it before?" Runningstar asked, lashing his tail back and forth.
"Why were there never Unseen before? Silencings? Rainfalls? These odd dreams and cats who can sense Unseen and the like? Something happened, moons ago now. Maybe here, with us, or maybe with Starclan. Something beyond their control." Plumsong retorted.
"Whatever it is, it has changed the world, and cut us off from Starclan, and Starclan from us. I do not know if we can solve it. If we can fight it. We can survive it, at least, and right now, all we can do is learn from it and try to survive. Until we get some hint from Starclan, an omen, a prophecy, or something similar." he continued and Goldstar knew then the medicine cats would not be sharing Wasp's dream with the others.
It seemed a lot to accept, that there was now a divide of some kind between the living and the dead like there had never been before, but it made sense. It wasn't like they could kill a cat and see if it happened for anyone other than leaders, and even for Amberleaf, thigns were different. Of course, his life wasn't given ack to him by Starclan. Perhaps the ability that allowed him to die and revive had been, but they had no way of knowing.
"Could that be what makes Unseen?" Birdtail asked thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" Snowstar asked, tilting her head.
"I mean, if this beach, this... Divide exists for every cat, not just leaders, and they have to go through the ocean to get to Starclan, what happens if they can't make it through for some reason? Maybe that's why they come back as Unseen. Because they can't find their way to the stars." Birdtail explained and they all got quiet.
Again, there was no way to know for sure, but... This was when Plumsong brought up the paw-marking idea to the others. It was a grim conversation, but like with the protection, the other clans agreed.
They stayed for quite a while, discussing the place they were now calling the Beach, because there was nothing else to call it. They discussed it and the Unseen, and the other things that had been happening. Goldstar knew they were all holding things back, but at the same time, she had never had such a frank conversation with all the other leaders at once. Not since Hyacinthclan had first arrived, and Snowstar hadn't been leader back then.
But they had clans to get back to, and they all had the shared feeling that they had been pushing it with the rainfalls. Not that they were so common they were guaranteed to be hit with one on the way home or even talking here, but they were unpredictable.
They parted peacefully and on the walk home, Goldstar looked at Plumsong.
"Plumsong, even with Wasp's dream... Do you think any of this will end any time soon?" she asked softly.
She didn't want to die. She didn't want Skypelt to die. But if the world could heal, could right, under Quietback's leadership, she would gladly give her lives for that.
"Frankly, no." Plumsong said, his exhale seeming to rattle his entire body.
He looked at her, his eyes seeming to glow in the dark, and he looked sad, and tired. Most of all, he looked tired.
"The world is broken, Goldstar. And it's only going to get worse. Even if it gets better, this isn't the worst of it. Maybe it's just my opinion, or maybe Starclan is managing to give me some of an idea, but... No." he said gravely and they stood there for a moment in a thick silence.
But only for a moment because, desptie everything, they had a clan to get back to.
6/20/2026-7/1/2026
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The clans have discovered the existence of the Beach
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Other clans:
Runningstar: Lean brown tom, leader of Weedclan
Dapplestar: Large tortie she-cat, leader of Kinkclan
Curlstar: Tall, skinny cream tom, leader of Ferretclan
Snowstar- Delicate white she-cat, leader of Foggyclan
Tansynose- Pale gray tabby she-cat, Kinkclan's medicine cat
Pinestrike- Huge dark dappled tom, Ferretclan's medicine cat
Birdtail- Small Brown-and-white she-cat, Weedclan's medicine cat
Shardstep- Muscular ginger tom, Foggyclan's junior medicine cat
We had 48 people submit quilt blocks for our pride quilt for this month's event and we've created an awesome spread representing the clangen creator community's pride. As usual if you have a question about who drew a particular square we can probably identify them for ya :3
Cover art for the story drawn by me! Featuring Amber, Mystery Entity, and Amber's (currently) mysterious companion. Title done in the style of the Death Stranding logo, title of the piece from the slogan on the posters.
I do not consent to reposting or AI usage in any manner of the art, but reblogging is ALWAYS welcomed!
