a silly little fanblog to appreciate the unique incredible god-playing experience that is @you-are-starclan 🌟 follow for reblogs of updates, fanblogging, and art with starry cat vibes bc yasc has got me obsessed with that lol 🌟 open for submissions 🌟 credit to @ box-o-foxgloves for the gorgeous icon art! 🌟 run by @abnormalpsychology / Zoe from the Discord :) 🌟 formerly yascenjoyer (I still enjoy YASC tho obviously. lmao)
im like if a girl was {undefined variable}. im like if a girl was [fragment missing]. im like if a girl was (editor’s note: the author’s invocation of the word “girl” in this context is idiosyncratic, perhaps metaphorical) im like if a girl was im like if a girl draft deleted! im like if a girl You have reached your free article limit! Subscribe now to continue reading. im like if a girl was [THREAD LOCKED] im like if a girl (ENDING EXPLAINED!) im like if a girl Unusual activity detected, please highlight all the pictures of bicycles. im like if a girl I don’t respond to prompts that could be deemed offensive, and so I am unable to carry out the request. im-like-if-a-girldeactivated03092023. im like if a girl we are unable to take your call at the minute. im like if a girl isn’t registered under that name. im like if a girl could give you her date of birth. im like if a girl oh yes we have you under […]. im like if a girl LOST CONNECTION
wildfires, a lunar eclipse, and infrastructure worries follow the clowder in their sixteenth summer...
more under the cut!
-hydrangea retires from her position and stomp, hoot, click, and chirp graduate! dmitri comes over to attend hydrangea's retirement ceremony.
- the morning after the graduation, smoky is gone. patrols are sent out but nobody is able to find them. it appears they left on their own volition. click is heartbroken and unsure if they can be the clowder cook on their own, straying from their duties.
- summer wildfires come and go throughout the season. nobody is hurt (except for midnight who gets an ear burned off) but the wildfires do seem to damage a lot of the outer pinewood mall's building structure and the nearby foliage.
- one day, euth, streetlamp, and stomp are on patrol together (euth only being there out of nervousness something would happen) and a tree, weakened from the wildfires, falls on and kills stomp. jessica and whistle are beyond heartbroken
- centipede takes this as a sign from starclan that the minimum patrol number should be increased to five. behind its back, however, touchstone and paeonia decide not only to not increase the number in Clowder Law, but unofficially allow individual patrols so long as they get them approved by the deputies ahead of time...
- in brighter news, the clowder got to witness a lunar eclipse midway through the season!
- patrols are pointing out weaknesses in the pinewood mall building- there's gashes in the sides, and some of the support beams have been weakened by the floods and fires over the years. however, centipede stubbornly refuses- the pinewood mall is Safe, and anything outside of it is Not Safe as previously demonstrated....
------
CATS:
- centipede, nonbinary, 93 moons. leader of the clowder. humorous, wry, sensible, smart; but unimpressed, co-dependent, egotistical, fretful. is still always worried about safety.
- paeonia, female, 47 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. is sure it's fine for her to go against centipede's demands.
- touchstone, female, 77 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. agrees with paeonia, which is not always a given.
- bracken, male, 71 moons. studious, gentle, intelligent, determined; but stubborn, inexpressive, overly-focused, distant. got his whiskers all curly from the wildfires.
- acorn, female, 43 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. has a special bond with dawn in particular.
- zornia, male, 25 moons. intelligent, curious, scientific, patient; but cold, awkward, hyper-focused, easily disinterested. largely focused on his own work and hasn't paid attention to much else.
- tulip, female, 79 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. worries about enmity recently....
- enmity, nonbinary, 61 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. keeps seeing inkwell's ghost tell faer something about 'the mall is going to collapse' but fae are not sure whether to believe him.
- honey, female, 95 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. is overwhelmed with her new role- she never felt like she was the perfect mother, despite everything.
-bumble, male, 65 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. feels inadequate recently.
- drizzle, female, age 157 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. feels nostalgia for when speck was the leader.
- the sunteller, male, 142 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. seems to understand and empathize with centipede.
- goshawk, female, 129 moons. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. helps paeonia and touchstone work against centipede.
- euth, female, null. starclan's vessel. friend of... who ? always somebody else. null 8739847298
- hydrangea, female, 118 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. is unsure how she feels about retiring.
- jeremy, male, 83 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. likes making fun of centipede behind its back.
- harley, female, 79 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. caught a snake in the garden but killed it before it could bite anybody.
- vixen, female, 73 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. feels weirdly sad about blondie still but doesn't know why.
- nacnud, male, 71 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. is happy to have another guard with him to pick up the slack.
-slate, female, 65 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. thinks about auburn every day.
-squab, female, 65 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. has been leading a lot of patrols recently.
- finch, female, 56 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. is happy that paeonia and touchstone reinstated solo patrols.
- whistle, nonbinary, 51 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. hasn't left their bed since stomp's death.
- jessica, female, 47 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. puts flowers on stomp's grave daily.
- reggie, male, physically age 47 moons but mentally age 146 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. is looking forward to paeonia's kids being apprenticed- it's been so long since he felt anticipation for something.
- titmouse, female, 47 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. teaches paeonia's litter swears.
- midnight, male, 44 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. misses his left ear.
- sepia, female, 38 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. has been working on a little rock zen garden recently.
- mercury, male, 35 moons. athletic, quick, bold, mischievous; but impulsive, dubious, irresponsible, compulsive liar. still leaves from time to time on solo patrols without notifying anyone.
- carnelian, male, 34 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. is still friends with chirp even now she's graduated.
- coal, female, 34 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. has nightmares about something bad happening to the clowder.
- blondie, female, 33 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. brought back some deer antlers for decoration purposes.
- natasha, female, 32 moons. smart, observant, passionate, persevering, but paranoid, easily-angered, aggressive, spoiled. doesn't like the idea her mom is old...
- clover, female, 25 moons. loving, bubbly, observant, cuddly; but annoying, over-talkative, easily-manipulated, worrying. freezes up sometimes when she's asked for advice.
- cypress, male, 21 moons. smart, assertive, persuasive, logical; but ruthless, domineering, argumentative, egotistical. keeps sneaking up on centipede and enmity to startle them for fun.
- warbler, male, 21 moons. supportive, eager, strong, good listener; but enabling, dim, bullying, selfish. thinks cypress's jokes are hilarious.
- cranesbill, male, 21 moons. clever, dry-witted, tactical, observant; but shy, grudge-holding, lonesome, snobby. is relieved he can go back to being on his own, but he notices that the mall infrastructure is crumbling.
- smog, nonbinary, 16 moons. friendly, observant, philosophical, protective; but paranoid, isolationist, judgy, possessive. is sure that inkwell would be able to make sense of everything right now.
- streetlamp, male, 16 moons. sharp, analytical, humorous, creative; but ruthless, manipulative, selfish, prone to lying. is unsure how to feel about stomp's death.
- hoot, male, 14 moons. devoted, loyal, plucky, witty; but sardonic, envious, opportunistic, gluttonous. feels mixed emotions about stomp.
- chirp, female, 14 moons. theatrical, creative, supportive, enthusiastic, but self-centered, aggrandizing, callous, spotlight-hogger. tells the best stories.
- click, nonbinary, 14 moons. caring, protective, curious, maternal; but shy, defeatist, worrywart, overly-attached. was seen whimpering alone in the cook's den.
- paeonia's litter, 4 moons.
STARCLAN POLL HERE
THE PINEWOOD MALL WILL COLLAPSE EARLIER THAN IT WAS MEANT TO AT THE END OF SUMMER 18.
some move on, and some don't, as the clowder enters its sixteenth spring...
more under the cut!
-smog and streetlamp have graduated! it is a lonely ceremony without their father, but midnight and acorn are there for them.
- meanwhile, paeonia has a litter of kittens with midnight. she starts to realize, though, that it seems midnight cares much more about the idea of family than he does about his relationship with her.
- soon, word gets out about what midnight did to auburn- auburn ends up telling sienna, who tells everyone. auburn may not be trusted, but sienna sure is, being the clowder matriarch. midnight is punished by being relegated to grunt work for the season, and while paeonia doesn't cut him off entirely she does restrict his access to his children.
- enmity has noticed fae can no longer leave the clowder boundaries- when they do, it appears as though some force pushes faer back in, a wall fae cannot see or overcome. this is because enmity has won starclan's favor! ... and so is now restricted to clowder territory so nothing happens to them.
- auburn has been tormented with nightmares- of rats, of midnight, of the creek where comet died and cottonmouth snakes. it's decided eventually by the medics and deputies that she is not for for clowder life and would be happier somewhere else. sienna, her mother, elects to go with her, and the two travel onward to the human houses in hopes of being taken in.
- in sienna's absence, honey becomes the new matriarch! ... leaving clover as the one clowder social guru, which overwhelms her...
-slate thinks inkwell's death is suspicious. nobody noticed or saw one of the clowder's starseers get hit by a car, for that long? something seems... off, here.
- meanwhile, enmity has realized fae can now see... the ghost of inkwell, who is taking the opportunity to judge and intimidate faer. yay! .... ?
- centipede has introduced some new Clowder Laws:
19. If a cat leaves camp and is missing by sundown, a search patrol must go out in search of them for safety.
20. Cats cannot patrol on their own, patrols must consist of 3 or more cats.
21. All cats must check in once a season with the clowder medics for safety.
- rule 20 gets some backlash, as cats like being out on their own. but centipede is pretty firm in the decision here, which is rare for it.
- on haunting patrol, smog gets into a fight with a cottonmouth snake, but before the snake can bite and potentially kill them blondie cracks its neck and kills it. the incident makes smog rethink some of their biases regarding non-cat clowder members, if not entirely.
- euth comforts the sunteller over gianetta's death and his loneliness. however, she keeps herself at a distance- the sunteller can be clingy when he's emotionally desperate, and .... euth has a thing about hating clinginess. she's seen these cats before, with golden fur and passion in their veins. and she's seen what happens when you get too close to a star....
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CATS:
- centipede, nonbinary, 90 moons. leader of the clowder. humorous, wry, sensible, smart; but unimpressed, co-dependent, egotistical, fretful. still relies on its deputies to do most clowder work for it, even now that it's taken a somewhat more active role in things.
- paeonia, female, 44 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. worries about her children more than she lets on.
- touchstone, female, 74 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. seems to be glad for everyone that auburn is gone.
- bracken, male, 68 moons. studious, gentle, intelligent, determined; but stubborn, inexpressive, overly-focused, distant. has been enjoying seeing his clowdermates more often recently with the new law.
- acorn, female, 40 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. has been bonding with midnight's children already.
- zornia, male, 22 moons. intelligent, curious, scientific, patient; but cold, awkward, hyper-focused, easily disinterested. loves dumping information on clover about all the new stuff he does as a medic now.
- tulip, female, 76 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. misses inkwell more than she lets on, even if she never quite understood him.
- enmity, nonbinary, 58 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. is constantly afraid the ghost of inkwell is going to do something to faer somehow.
- honey, female, 92 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. wishes sienna was still here for advice.
-bumble, male, 62 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. has been really bonding with bracken again recently.
- drizzle, female, age 154 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. feels sad that she's the oldest cat in the clowder now.
- the sunteller, male, 139 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. sometimes still seized by nightmares of his old god.
- goshawk, female, 126 moons. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. gives paeonia all the advice she knows.
- euth, female, null. starclan's vessel. friend of... who ? always somebody else. null 8739847298
- hydrangea, female, 115 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. she sees dmitri at the border all the time, but she still does miss him.
- jeremy, male, 80 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. likes making fun of centipede behind its back.
- harley, female, 76 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. nearly got into a fight with a loner recently!
- vixen, female, 70 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. has struck up a friendship with one of the kittens in the new litter.
- nacnud, male, 68 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. has been teaching hoot everything he knows!
- smoky, nonbinary, 63 moons. smart, studious, dedicated, passionate; but mysterious, detached, cold, manipulative. has been seen at the edge of the clowder borders, thinking about... something.
-slate, female, 62 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. seems suspicious of enmity....
-squab, female, 62 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. still goes to honey for advice on so many things.
- finch, female, 53 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. is sad she won't get to do her morning solo hunt again.
- whistle, nonbinary, 48 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. tried to inspect a steel can found on clowder territory only to get their head stuck in it.
- jessica, female, 44 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. particularly gets along well with chirp, but tries not to show her favoritism.
- reggie, male, physically age 44 moons but mentally age 143 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. has started feeling something new recently... is it fulfillment?
- titmouse, female, 44 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. likes babysitting for paeonia now and then, although she's ever wanted kittens herself.
- midnight, male, 41 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. has taken his punishment, but seems angry about it.
- sepia, female, 35 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. likes tending to the gardens alone- sometimes harley is... a little much.
- mercury, male, 32 moons. athletic, quick, bold, mischievous; but impulsive, dubious, irresponsible, compulsive liar. seems rather secretive about what else he gets up to recently.
- carnelian, male, 31 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. has one of the best mentor-apprentice bonds with chirp.
- coal, female, 31 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. misses her aunt sometimes, even if she never quite understood her.
- blondie, female, 30 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. is happy smog seems to have gotten over some of their biases but still doesn't feel super friendly about them.
- natasha, female, 29 moons. smart, observant, passionate, persevering, but paranoid, easily-angered, aggressive, spoiled. likes pulling mean pranks on others with cypress and warbler's help.
- clover, female, 22 moons. loving, bubbly, observant, cuddly; but annoying, over-talkative, easily-manipulated, worrying. is so overwhelmed with her new responsibilities.
- cypress, male, 18 moons. smart, assertive, persuasive, logical; but ruthless, domineering, argumentative, egotistical. has an annoying laugh.
- warbler, male, 18 moons. supportive, eager, strong, good listener; but enabling, dim, bullying, selfish. kind of guy to say 'hehe, yeah boss!' when cypress makes fun of anything.
- cranesbill, male, 18 moons. clever, dry-witted, tactical, observant; but shy, grudge-holding, lonesome, snobby. is angry he can't go out on his own anymore.
- smog, nonbinary, 13 moons. friendly, observant, philosophical, protective; but paranoid, isolationist, judgy, possessive. has been thinking and reconsidering a lot of things recently.
- streetlamp, male, 13 moons. sharp, analytical, humorous, creative; but ruthless, manipulative, selfish, prone to lying. still goes out on his own because he thinks it makes him look cool.
- stomp, male, 11 moons. smart, passionate, optimistic, charming; but egotistical, impulsive, cruel sense of humor, prone to lying. goes out on his own too because he admires streetlamp and that's what streetlamp does, so....
- hoot, male, 11 moons. devoted, loyal, plucky, witty; but sardonic, envious, opportunistic, gluttonous. is mad that stomp idolizes streetlamp so much.
- chirp, female, 11 moons. theatrical, creative, supportive, enthusiastic, but self-centered, aggrandizing, callous, spotlight-hogger. likes saying tongue twisters with click.
- click, nonbinary, 11 moons. caring, protective, curious, maternal; but shy, defeatist, worrywart, overly-attached. is worried about their mentor sometimes- they just seem... you know, spacey.
- paeonia's litter, 1 moon.
after a two month hiatus so the writer could focus on college (and then feel like catholic levels of guilt about) the clowder returns with family drama, an advisor disgraced, and the prospect of what could have been....
more under the cut!
-jessica and whistle's litter have been apprenticed! stomp has gone to slate, click to smoky, hoot to nacnud, and chirp to carnelian. it seems auburn is particularly critical of carnelian getting an apprentice when 'he's so young'.
- cranesbill, cypress, and warbler have graduated! cypress and warbler almost didn't graduate on time because of their troublemaking but they managed to get through just fine. however cranesbill does not get along with and ignores them
- with comet's death, the decision has been made to allow zornia to be a medic, although it seems this decision is not popular among comet's family members.
- while on a solo hunt, milk ended up getting into a fight with a stoat. he won, but got a nasty cut to his shoulder that ended up getting infected. the medics tried their best but ultimately milk died of the infection a few weeks later
- the court territory is totally empty and so the clowder takes it over as theirs. however it's a bit of a walk from the main territory so this might be a good idea for a sister camp if there are too many cats in camp
- reggie has been made the clowder's teacher who will help all apprentices! he's so pleased. he hasn't been this happy since oli died.
- paeonia and midnight have recently been discussing having children in the future. midnight really wants them, but paeonia is less certain- however it seems his persuading is convincing her.
-one morning, gianetta is found cold in her nest. it seems a heart attack took her in the night. the sunteller is distraught most of all, but he's comforted by euth, the strange newcomer to the clowder who seems familiar for reasons he can't entirely name. however euth keeps her distance from him. even now she seems afraid of her own claws.
- speaking of, euth is a wonderful mentor, and streetlamp has been won over despite his father's warnings. blondie... isn't as good of a mentor; not on purpose she's just absent-minded and doesn't really know what to do with smog. smog disrespects her more and more, which pleases inkwell- distrust is the key to life, after all, when your god is so powerful and so knowledgeable of all the things that can kill you.
- sepia seeks out tulip for grief counseling in re: her sister lavender. some cats deal with that sort of thing better than others and sepia has never really been the same since that night on the far side of the mall all those moons ago. tulip is kind, and understands- she went through similar things, albeit not at such an intensity, when giuseppe died, and she understands the open questions that sepia has about her father, as tulip also didn't really get closure on her old man either.
- well things go well until enmity figures out what's going on here and feels so wildly rejected. why would sepia go to tulip? enmity can see lavender! lavender is here in the mall with them forever and ever! starclan has sent her to be a ghost roaming these halls for eternity! but when enmity tells sepia these things it just backsteps sepia's progress and makes her feel worse. later enmity and tulip get into an argument about it, which hurts faer feelings even further. they don't entirely understand what they did wrong
- euth, knowing of auburn's jokes about paeonia (even though she wasn't there at the time... some joke this strange newcomer has eyes in the back of her head because it's like she knows everything) decides to go and inform paeonia and centipede of the matter. after some discussion it's decided that auburn will be demoted from her position, but not exiled. both paeonia and centipede are content with this, although touchstone wishes auburn was exiled entirely. in addition to her advising duty, she refuses to hunt or leave territory, and keeps the clowder up at night when she screams during her nightmares. recently auburn has started to swear of things that aren't there and has become more and more isolated out of her fears. 'you can't have that sort of thing in a clowder,' touchstone says, 'if you let it sit they'll rot it.'
- auburn's demotion is a public ceremony. she is not given much sympathy by the clowder except for sienna, goshawk, tulip, sepia, and slate, who comfort her. she spends the night pacing and gets no sleep.
- paeonia tells midnight that while she's okay with auburn remaining in the clowder because she feels sympathy for her, hearing that a clowdermate was joking about her death has made her doubt having children in the future again. midnight is not furious at her, allegedly.... but he is with auburn.
- one day, blondie and smog go out for a hunt together- smog dragging his feet and saying it's not necessary, they already know how to hunt, this is soooo stupid. from afar, inkwell watches them, following their scent trail a good fifty yards back- he doesn't trust blondie. her teeth are too long and her snout is too sharp. and he doesn't trust his god, either, even if he believes in their power so faithfully
- inkwell lets his thoughts ruminate at a particularly bad time. he doesn't see the car on the curve in the road until it's too late, and he and the car swerve the same direction. he's... alive, but in so much pain
- then out of the corner of his eye he sees enmity, out on a mission from the medics to find a certain herb this side of the territory. 'enmity!' he snarls. 'please! you have to help me!'
-but enmity just sort of stares at him, eyes wide with fright. 'please! please!' inkwell begs and tells faer about his children, his siblings, the clowder, how he's the only one who knows what their god is really like, how he will forgive faer of everything if fae goes to find help or brings him back to camp. but whatever he begs it is not enough to overcome enmity's freeze. enmity doesn't mean to but fae return to camp and don't tell a soul. it would be too much- and oh, god, what if someone thinks they did it on purpose?
- inkwell is found cold and hard on the ground by the road the next morning, some yards away. it seems he tried to drag himself back to camp but was unsuccessful. the medics cannot know for sure if he would have survived had he gotten back to camp.
- enmity watches, silently, swearing to never tell anyone of what happened that day.
- meanwhile, midnight hates auburn, and the grief over his brother's early death makes him worse and worse. both his parents, his brother - all he has left now is his sister and paeonia, and even then acorn is too busy sometimes. in midnight's eyes, auburn took the possibility of his children from him, and when you get angry enough you want to get revenge somehow for it. so one night he finds her pacing away from camp, as she sometimes does when she becomes convinced the camp is full of rats out to kill her. he attacks her, snarling. he doesn't want to kill her or anything- just give her a warning. none of his blows are enough to kill but he does snag her shoulder into another scar. she has so many though by this point that it does not seem unusual.
- auburn takes the blows.
- she does not fight back, and she doesn't tell anyone of the incident come morning.
-------
CATS:
- centipede, nonbinary, 87 moons. leader of the clowder. humorous, wry, sensible, smart; but unimpressed, co-dependent, egotistical, fretful. feels guilt over auburn but does not comfort her, knowing it must protect its deputies.
- paeonia, female, 39 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. notices her mate midnight is so... strong. she should find it attractive. she's not sure if she does.
- touchstone, female, 71 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. seems to be rekindling her old flame with slate...
- bracken, male, 65 moons. studious, gentle, intelligent, determined; but stubborn, inexpressive, overly-focused, distant. absorbs himself into his work, but at times he and tulip still reminiscence about their father. the more he thinks about him the more at rest he feels.
- acorn, female, 37 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. felt really at peace doing inkwell's funeral but worries for her niblings.
- zornia, male, 19 moons. intelligent, curious, scientific, patient; but cold, awkward, hyper-focused, easily disinterested. is so, so excited to be a medic!
- tulip, female, 73 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. wants to do more to help others but even now she isn't sure what.
- enmity, nonbinary, 55 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. seems to be scared of faer own shadow recently.
- sienna, female, 90 moons. kind, people-pleasing, eager, precautionary, but attention-hogging, overprotective, self-centered, anxious. she is the one who notices new scars on auburn's shoulders. she is furious.
-bumble, male, 59 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. is kind of glad zornia is a medic because zornia was so good at his job it made him feel inadequate.
- drizzle, female, age 151 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. often tends to gianetta's grave.
- the sunteller, male, 136 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. has started getting close to drizzle recently.
- goshawk, female, 123 moons. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. worries about her former apprentice.
- euth, female, null. starclan's vessel. friend of... who ? always somebody else. null 8739847298
- hydrangea, female, 112 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. has started to think about retiring but she doesn't like the thought.
- honey, female, 89 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. has recently become really close friends with touchstone.
- jeremy, male, 77 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. feels a particular bond with warbler.
- harley, female, 73 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. is there for sepia, even though she never feels like an adequate cat to help.
- vixen, female, 67 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. before inkwell's death, she was seen arguing with him about blondie's capability.
- nacnud, male, 65 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. is so thrilled to at last have an apprentice.
- smoky, nonbinary, 60 moons. smart, studious, dedicated, passionate; but mysterious, detached, cold, manipulative. the way they talk to click, you'd think they'd be planning on leaving the day of their graduation. hm.
- auburn, female, 59 moons. protective, imaginative, observant, strong-willed; but stubborn, quiet, ignorant, paranoid. is so scared of rats being in every wall and every corner.
-slate, female, 59 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. tries to be there for her sister, even now that life has pulled them apart.
-squab, female, 59 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. still doesn't get along that well with warbler or cypress- but cranesbill, at least, has always been a mama's boy.
- finch, female, 50 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. often goes over to the blitz border to talk with davey and catch up.
- whistle, nonbinary, 45 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. hopes one of their kids will become an 'ann-tro-pahlagist' like them.
- jessica, female, 41 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. sometimes whistle will show her a human object that looks oddly familiar, and... then the tenuous link disappears like something from a dream.
- reggie, male, physically age 41 moons but mentally age 140 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. loves teaching his best hunting tricks to the new apprentices.
- titmouse, female, 41 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. lowkey hopes auburn just gets up and leaves eventually, but does see some of herself in her now.
- midnight, male, 38 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. sticks to his guns and often tends to inkwell's grave.
- sepia, female, 32 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. the thought of lavender's ghost roaming the earth keeps her up at night.
- mercury, male, 29 moons. athletic, quick, bold, mischievous; but impulsive, dubious, irresponsible, compulsive liar. has been seen with someone else at the border recently.
- carnelian, male, 28 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. now that he has an apprentice he is realizing that just maybe he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about sometimes.
- coal, female, 28 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. worries auburn is right- what if there ARE rats in the walls?
- blondie, female, 27 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. doesn't really want smog as an apprentice.....
- natasha, female, 26 moons. smart, observant, passionate, persevering, but paranoid, easily-angered, aggressive, spoiled. often flirts with cypress and warbler- she likes seeing them get mad at each other.
- clover, female, 19 moons. loving, bubbly, observant, cuddly; but annoying, over-talkative, easily-manipulated, worrying. worries she isn't good enough and doesn't know what to do when there are arguments, unlike her mother.
- cypress, male, 15 moons. smart, assertive, persuasive, logical; but ruthless, domineering, argumentative, egotistical. likes holding his paw out to trip other cats over.
- warbler, male, 15 moons. supportive, eager, strong, good listener; but enabling, dim, bullying, selfish. thinks he's smarter sometimes than cypress (he isn't).
- cranesbill, male, 15 moons. clever, dry-witted, tactical, observant; but shy, grudge-holding, lonesome, snobby. likes being alone in the mornings.
- smog, nonbinary, 10 moons. friendly, observant, philosophical, protective; but paranoid, isolationist, judgy, possessive. worries inkwell's death was their fault somehow.
- streetlamp, male, 10 moons. sharp, analytical, humorous, creative; but ruthless, manipulative, selfish, prone to lying. has been particularly argumentative since his dad died.
- stomp, male, 8 moons. smart, passionate, optimistic, charming; but egotistical, impulsive, cruel sense of humor, prone to lying. thinks streetlamp is just soooo cool.
- hoot, male, 8 moons. devoted, loyal, plucky, witty; but sardonic, envious, opportunistic, gluttonous. was really close with stomp as kittens but now that he is gravitating over to streetlamp instead hoot feels jealous.
- chirp, female, 8 moons. theatrical, creative, supportive, enthusiastic, but self-centered, aggrandizing, callous, spotlight-hogger. loves to do tricks and flips in the air!
- click, nonbinary, 8 moons. caring, protective, curious, maternal; but shy, defeatist, worrywart, overly-attached. feels like they have a really close bond to their mentor.
worries, suspicion, and a new patch of territory mark the clowder's fifteenth autumn...
more under the cut!
-it is decided enmity will become the clowder's next starseer! fae are so excited for the role and they love when cats come up to faer with questions. it makes fae feel so... influential. inkwell doesn't trust the new starseer and seems very suspicious of faer broader intentions.
- enmity tries to assure auburn one day by mentioning they see a spirit that looks sort of like laurel, wandering the mall aimlessly. so it's sort of like she's there!.... this does not help auburn at all.
- inkwell's kittens have been apprenticed to blondie and euth! inkwell doesn't like the idea of a cat who just joined having say over his son's education, but euth seems strangely knowledgeable about the clowder and its history and everyone seems to trust her decently enough. still, inkwell can't shake his feeling that something feels wrong here, and although he trusts blondie more sometimes he gets a glint of her teeth when she yawns and he shivers at the thought. even though touchstone and centipede decided on the mentors, he thinks starclan had to have meddled here somewhere, and he tells his kids to keep themselves safe and aware.
- euth tries to befriend clover, although she doesn't like the way it feels like something is dragging her towards the young cat. however, their different self-esteem and dependency issues don't mesh very well and they don't get along.
- many of the clowder's members feel ill this season, likely some seasonal flu or another. it's autumn, after all. centipede, midnight, sepia, clover, the sunteller, nacnud, and drizzle are all rendered unable to work for some time, although they all get better eventually.
- comet goes out in the night during a storm to retrieve additional herbs for the illness. it's fine, he's the senior medic after all, he knows how to do this. and perhaps he would have done just fine collecting, but the slippery ground makes him lose his footing and fall into the stream that runs on the north side of the clowder's territory, and he is found drowned the morning after. zornia and sienna take his death especially hard.
- zornia wants to be promoted now that there's room but when he brings it up just days later, sienna snaps at him for it.
- centipede has a dream where it meets stormfog, speck, and wheat; previous leaders of the clowder. stormfog tells centipede to get a grip; leadership requires tough decisions but also a warm fierceness to protect those in need. speck tells it to take care of itself and mind its health, because a clowder cannot function with an incapacitated leader. and wheat... oh, wheat's seen that fear in its eyes before. they know that fear. don't focus on others, wheat says, after a long moment of thinking how to sum it up. the more you try to please the more you'll drag yourself down.
- centipede talks with goshawk about the dream. she understands, and tells it that really it's doing just fine, although it could stand to help out more with duties. for the rest of the season centipede picks up more slack.
- centipede chooses not to implement auburn's suggestions for new laws. auburn is... upset, about this
- vixen and hydrangea go to see the coyotes, with protection from coal and slate!... and it turns out the coyotes are hostile. they don't really get a word in before they are chased off, and auburn finds them, where she reports them to centipede.
- 'i mean, we can't really do anything, auburn,' centipede says. 'they didn't do anything against clowder Law. we can tell everyone to watch for coyotes but that's about it.'
-but auburn knows how to play at centipede's strings a bit. 'what if they track the scent down? what if they realize where we live and attack us right here, in the center of camp?'
- 'enough,' says centipede, taking in auburn's words a bit more than maybe it should.
- later on in the season slate is attacked while on patrol at night. she is OK but has some scarring and lost a paw, and her tailtip was mangled enough that acorn had to amputate it. slate did not get a good view of her attacker. this fuels auburn's paranoia further.
- centipede tries not to listen to auburn and even at one point threatens her with demotion. but auburn's words stick to it, and even though it doesn't follow her on surface level her words keep it up in the middle of the night from time to time.
- meanwhile, a patrol discovers that much of the path to the court's former territory, long held by rogues and loners, has been abandoned. it looks like the clowder is getting new territory! maybe someone should go over to the old bar where the court lived to see if another camp could be set up there.
- the deputies came up with a 'teacher' role, an additional cat in charge of appointing apprentices and teaching basic knowledge; sort of like a smaller version of goshawk's ideas when she first became leader. however they are unsure of who to appoint as this role.
- (centipede feels some envy about the role, it has to admit...)
----------
CATS:
- centipede, nonbinary, 84 moons. leader of the clowder. humorous, wry, sensible, smart; but unimpressed, co-dependent, egotistical, fretful. is a bit haunted by the look in wheat's eyes in its dream.
- paeonia, female, 36 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. prioritizes her role as the deputy over everything.
- touchstone, female, 68 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. is relieved centipede is doing more work finally.
- bracken, male, 62 moons. studious, gentle, intelligent, determined; but stubborn, inexpressive, overly-focused, distant. isn't entirely sure how to feel about comet now that he's passed.
- acorn, female, 34 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. got really nauseous doing her first amputation.
- tulip, female, 70 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. doesn't entirely understand inkwell's concerns but tries to hear him out.
- inkwell, male, 34 moons. curious, creative, enterprising, cunning; but greedy, selfish, opportunistic, manipulative. tells his children to keep their eyes and ears open.
- enmity, nonbinary, 52 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. loves feeling important!
- sienna, female, 87 moons. kind, people-pleasing, eager, precautionary, but attention-hogging, overprotective, self-centered, anxious. tends to defend auburn even more fiercely since comet passed.
-bumble, male, 56 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. feels a bit useless next to zornia but doesn't tell anyone.
- zornia, male, 16 moons. intelligent, curious, scientific, patient; but cold, awkward, hyper-focused, easily disinterested. comet secretly told zornia he was his favorite of the medics and nurses before he passed.
- drizzle, female, age 148 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. likes watching sunrises with the sunteller and gianetta.
- the sunteller, male, 133 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. has been enjoying the sunrises again- for a long time, he was scared and awestruck, but now... now it feels different.
- gianetta, female, 123 moons. strong, gentle, bubbly, agreeable; but awkward, insecure, passive, doubtful. tells jessica and whistle's litter stories about cats named aster, nemorino, and dandelion.
- goshawk, female, 120 moons. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. sees a lot of her younger self in centipede.
- euth, female, null. starclan's vessel. friend of... who ? always somebody else. null 8739847298
- milk, male, 109 moons. extroverted, charismatic, clever, crafty; but lazy, rebellious, non-committal, selfish. helped nacnud and jeremy rebuild the apprentice den when it gave out this season.
- hydrangea, female, 109 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. can't say she's learned anything - she still wants to see what is going on outside the territory.
- honey, female, 86 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. is always there for centipede even though it's busy.
- jeremy, male, 74 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. helps warbler and cypress play mean pranks on their brother.
- harley, female, 70 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. has been debating having another litter with jeremy now that they are older and wiser. (or... wiser-ish, in jeremy's case.)
- vixen, female, 64 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. shares hydrangea's cautious optimism.
- nacnud, male, 62 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. was seen having an argument with warbler.
- smoky, nonbinary, 57 moons. smart, studious, dedicated, passionate; but mysterious, detached, cold, manipulative. hopes that they will get one of jessica and whistle's litter as an apprentice next season.
- auburn, female, 56 moons. protective, imaginative, playful, strong-willed; but stubborn, impulsive, ignorant, paranoid. joked to reggie about how it wouldn't be such a bad thing if paeonia got caught in the same stream that claimed comet's life, only to not understand why reggie reacted angrily.
-slate, female, 56 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. is OK but has had some trouble adjusting to three-pawed life.
-squab, female, 56 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. has a rather tense relationship with her children, except for cranesbill.
- finch, female, 47 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. gets along really well with cranesbill and shows him all her best tricks!
- whistle, nonbinary, 42 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. tends to confuse their kids by using overcomplicated words when they explain things to them.
- jessica, female, 38 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. gets along particularly well with chirp, who hides in her arms when thunderstorms happen.
- reggie, male, physically age 38 moons but mentally age 137 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. still can't shake the feeling something is off about the new clowder member.
- titmouse, female, 38 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. has been starting to get annoyed with auburn.
- midnight, male, 35 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. has been asking paeonia about kittens recently.
- sepia, female, 29 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. wonders if she should seek a starseer out to connect to lavender.
- mercury, male, 26 moons. athletic, quick, bold, mischievous; but impulsive, dubious, irresponsible, compulsive liar. thinks he's much cooler than he actually is.
- carnelian, male, 25 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. likes leading patrols because it makes him feel important, even though he's rather young.
- coal, female, 25 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. tends to share auburn's concerns about things.
- blondie, female, 24 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. is a bit intimidated about teaching an apprentice.
- natasha, female, 23 moons. smart, observant, passionate, persevering, but paranoid, easily-angered, aggressive, spoiled. joins in with cypress and warbler's schemes.
- clover, female, 16 moons. loving, bubbly, observant, cuddly; but annoying, over-talkative, easily-manipulated, worrying. got on midnight's nerves recently and feels bad about it.
- cypress, male, 11 moons. smart, assertive, persuasive, logical; but ruthless, domineering, argumentative, egotistical. it is a really good thing this creature does not know what a rube goldberg machine is because he would be INSUFFERABLE otherwise.
- warbler, male, 11 moons. supportive, eager, strong, good listener; but enabling, dim, bullying, selfish. likes to be cypress's "on it, boss" guy.
- cranesbill, male, 11 moons. clever, dry-witted, tactical, observant; but shy, grudge-holding, lonesome, snobby. still looks down on his two siblings.
- smog, nonbinary, 7 moons. friendly, observant, philosophical, protective; but paranoid, isolationist, judgy, possessive. on the surface they go along with blondie but they do not trust a word the fox says.
- streetlamp, male, 7 moons. sharp, analytical, humorous, creative; but ruthless, manipulative, selfish, prone to lying. euth cannot entirely get ahold of him; he is too quick.
- jessica and whistle's kittens, 5 moons.
centipede adjusts to the position of leadership and new cats consider new roles in the clowder's fifteenth summer...
more under the cut!
-there have been heavy rains all season. some cats worry that the combination of a new leader and heavy rains is meant to be an omen that centipede will turn out a lot like wheat, and they are hesitant about their new leader. reggie, titmouse, jeremy, hydrangea, vixen, natasha, and squab in particular all seem to cast their doubts on the new leader, and gianetta, drizzle, and goshawk all worry about the appointment of paeonia as deputy- she's still quite young, is it too much for her?
- paeonia however seems to be doing well, although she is noticing she is doing a lot more work than the past deputies seemed to, and her littermates are a bit more distant with her. she has less time to talk to her friends in the clowder, except for midnight, who seems concerned by her level of dedication. paeonia however thinks things are going great!
- squab's children have been apprenticed! centipede had touchstone figure out who matches who best, its reasoning being that touchstone was a popular candidate also (as the vote was more or less split) and therefore she should get to have influence. squab however thinks it's laziness. anyway, warbler has gone to jeremy, cypress to titmouse, and cranesbill to finch.
- in addition, clover and zornia have graduated! clover however feels out of place- she really likes caring about others' emotional states and helping out, but she doesn't have the same natural intuition for things that honey does, and other cats sometimes just find clover's attempts annoying.
- speaking of, honey knows midnight has a crush on paeonia but understands his worry that she is too busy for him. now is not the time to confess, she advises, but wait for an opportunity.
- a statue has geen gifted to the clowder in honor of dove! it is of a dove carrying an ember in its talons. the eternal flame element means it will be a useful heat source year round, especially into the winter months.
- whistle and jessica have had a litter of kittens! their names are stomp, chirp, hoot, and click. both seem very stressed out by the responsibilities given to them but are doing fine, especially with sienna's guidance
- zornia and sepia have been working together recently and have discovered lots of new ways to use herbs and their different effects on cats! .... although zornia is a bit ill from using himself as a test subject.
- enmity reports seeing things to the medics, and they refer faer to the starseers. enmity specifically remembers having seen... something that almost looked like both the dead apprentices laurel and lavender somehow. tulip understands- this has to be lavender/laurel's spirit, as they share one through reincarnation. inkwell thinks that starclan is punishing lavender/laurel's spirit, while tulip wonders if it's meant to be a secret test of character befitting her understanding of starclan as a trickster. enmity likes being involved in secrets, and the amount of attention fae are getting feels... good. really good.
-tulip asks enmity if fae would be interested in becoming a starseer, as it seems enmity's apparent clairvoyance is a gift not unlike that of a previous starseer- tulip never knew him herself, but from what she was told by her mentor, he could hear the whispers of starclan and the dead and use them to make decisions. enmity declines for now, feeling some amount of pressure, but the idea excites faer in a way things have not excited the spangled cat before.
- a strange ... cat ? is found on the territory and asks to join the pinewood clowder. she seems weirdly knowledgable about the clowder despite being new ("new"?) and she doesn't act much like the others. but unlike what might have been seen, generations ago, she is less afraid of being herself... and more afraid, maybe, of what else is out there, of the knowledge that her intravenous fluid is a puppet string. meet euthami- oh, euth. she makes it very clear she just goes by euth.
-she's... changed. once yellowed fur has turned to brown, then dark brown, then black, and grown across her flank. she's both more feline (in that she knows better how to mimic them and come across as though she were Real) and less feline (in that she's more accepting of what she is not). she is much less interested, however, in making friends. what were once aspirations became peers became... what is it now? pets? animals? something she knows she will outlast? and even then now she thinks starclan wants her to befriend, and .... she's gone down that past before.
- the sunteller is one of the only ones that thinks he's seen her before- but, no, that cat had a different fur pattern and felt more... ethereal. that had to have been an apparition. some other cats wonder why she's so like that cat who murdered goldenrod, that cat named... what was it now? oh, it is hard to remember when all those who were there are dead. still others think she reminds them of that cat that the late deputy aster reported to have known. but... no, couldn't be that either. she'd be old now, if not dead.
- but euth has one small comfort: the ant hill she had fallen in love with has been moved to the pinewood mall camp by starclan, and she bonds with clover and enmity over their shared love of bugs.
- there's something wrong with her, reggie thinks. it's the eyes. there's something about the eyes.
- meanwhile, hydrangea has officially been appointed ambassador to the blitz clowder! titmouse thinks it's just because she's mates with their leader. 'it sort of is,' says centipede, 'but she's good at it so it's okay.' this attempt to rectify the situation appears to offend hydrangea a bit. hydrangea and vixen work together really well and make a good team. but anyway, it seems the blitz clowder is doing well, their numbers starting to grow once more; and now that the dust has settled the two clowders are allies and trade partners once again. goose, lilac, and dmitri are all doing well. goose congratulates paeonia on her spot as deputy and paeonia thanks them, but then goose wonders why titmouse and reggie seem unimpressed with their sentiment. also, davey visits this season, and he's brought someone (or someones, rather) with him!
-davey's mate is silverblue, a refugee from a strange group called the yellow-eyes clan which recently had a tense political situation. silverblue's brother fell out of favor with their ruler, and the whole family was in danger of being exiled for it. so silverblue chose to travel here, along with her sisters and father, and fell for davey's earnest kindness. now they are raising a family! jeremy and harley are kind to their grandchildren but hate the thought they're old enough now to have grandchildren.
- vixen is curious about the coyotes that live on the edge of the clowder territory. however she is being told not to approach them because clowder cats have been killed at the hands of coyotes in the past.
- with honey's help, carnelian gets a private moment alone to express his feelings to blondie. she confesses that she feels attraction to him, too... but she also likes mercury, and isn't sure how to proceed. however apparently honey used to know some cat who had multiple mates and it was fine enough as long as the parties involved were super communicative. and so blondie is now mates with both carnelian and mercury!
- meanwhile, auburn has been really going through it this past season. the losses of both her apprentices, her apprentice-aged half sister, her brother, and her near-death at the hands of the same thing that killed her brother weigh on her heavily, and she has become quite antisocial recently. however she and centipede get along well- as centipede starts getting more and more fretful about leadership, she both soothes it... and seems to add to its fears. they enable each other in a very strange way. centipede appoints auburn as an advisor, not a deputy in line for leadership with command over the clowder but as someone with a different perspective who can help the leader. auburn suggests adding two new additions to clowder Law. centipede mulls them over:
No cat can leave clowder territory on their own. Only groups of 4 or more can leave clowder territory.
Hunting patrols of one are not allowed- cats must hunt in pairs of two or more.
-they're good rules, it thinks, but it doesn't want there to be even more uncertainty. it wants to be a good leader. it can be a good leader. it's going to be the good leader that some of the clowder members think it can be. right?
- ... right?
-----
CATS:
- centipede, nonbinary, 81 moons. leader of the clowder. humorous, wry, sensible, smart; but unimpressed, co-dependent, egotistical, fretful. spends more time worrying than it does doing some days, but it hopes that's okay.
- paeonia, female, 35 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. doesn't seem to see any problem with being delegated more duties.
- touchstone, female, 65 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. resents centipede just a little bit...
- comet, male, 85 moons. enterprising, aware, clever, talkative; but exploitative, selfish, manipulative, antagonistic. has been really clicking with zornia as of late.
- bracken, male, 59 moons. studious, gentle, intelligent, determined; but stubborn, inexpressive, overly-focused, distant. feels a special connection with clover.
- acorn, female, 31 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. likes to tell stories to streetlamp and smog.
- tulip, female, 67 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. worries about the glint in enmity's eye when she asked faer about being a starseer.
- inkwell, male, 31 moons. curious, creative, enterprising, cunning; but greedy, selfish, opportunistic, manipulative. worries that if he tells his children to not have faith in starclan they will be worse off for it...
- sienna, female, 84 moons. kind, people-pleasing, eager, precautionary, but attention-hogging, overprotective, self-centered, anxious. seems to approve of auburn's clowder ideas but is having trouble reaching her when it comes to her emotional state.
-bumble, male, 53 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. was getting along so well with squab's kids but now cypress and warbler bully him because they think it makes them look cool.
- zornia, male, 13 moons. intelligent, curious, scientific, patient; but cold, awkward, hyper-focused, easily disinterested. has written up a list of poisons and antidotes.
- drizzle, female, age 145 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. worries about centipede's mental state but doesn't know how to approach it with that.
- the sunteller, male, 130 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. really wants to get to know euth better.
- gianetta, female, 120 moons. strong, gentle, bubbly, agreeable; but awkward, insecure, passive, doubtful. has just felt really tired recently.
- goshawk, female, 117 moons. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. tries to offer centipede advice; it takes it from her but she starts noticing auburn has more influence.
- euth, female, null. starclan's vessel. friend of... who ? always somebody else. null 8739847298
- milk, male, 106 moons. extroverted, charismatic, clever, crafty; but lazy, rebellious, non-committal, selfish. stubbornly refuses to retire.
- hydrangea, female, 106 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. is delighted with her new position but still apprehensive of centipede.
- honey, female, 83 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. is always there for centipede even though it's busy.
- jeremy, male, 71 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. gets along with warbler really well!.... too well, actually.
- harley, female, 67 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. is she really that old? she's worried. sure she's happy davey's happy but still....
- vixen, female, 61 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. was seen arguing with auburn about clowder safety.
- nacnud, male, 59 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. likes spending time cleaning up around camp :)
- smoky, nonbinary, 54 moons. smart, studious, dedicated, passionate; but mysterious, detached, cold, manipulative. wants an apprentice so they can pass on their skills and then leave the clowder.
- auburn, female, 53 moons. curious, imaginative, playful, strong-willed; but stubborn, impulsive, ignorant, no attention span. somehow makes centipede both more and less anxious.
-slate, female, 53 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. is starting to rekindle her old romance with touchstone.
-squab, female, 53 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. is frustrated at how cypress and warbler often act out and behave badly.
- enmity, nonbinary, 49 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. keeps thinking about all the attention fae got in the starseer den....
- finch, female, 44 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. understands cranesbill; she's happy davey is happy but feels strange how he and her have grown apart in adulthood.
- whistle, nonbinary, 39 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. is so excited to be a parent!!! (and so worried, too.)
- jessica, female, 35 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. let whistle name the kittens as she's very bad with the naming of things.
- reggie, male, physically age 35 moons but mentally age 134 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. seems rather distrustful of euth.
- titmouse, female, 35 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. seems conflicted about auburn's approach to clowder safety...
- midnight, male, 32 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. still has nightmares about the road from time to time but is getting better.
- sepia, female, 26 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. wishes she could see lavender again- lavender was the good sibling, after all, sepia was just the other one.
- mercury, male, 23 moons. athletic, quick, bold, mischievous; but impulsive, dubious, irresponsible, compulsive liar. likes to play pranks on the deputies.
- carnelian, male, 22 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. often courts blondie with songs and dances, which she doesn't understand but finds charming.
- coal, female, 22 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. voted against her own mother because she worried something would happen to her if she became the leader.
- blondie, female, 21 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. is really feeling content recently.
- natasha, female, 20 moons. smart, observant, passionate, persevering, but paranoid, easily-angered, aggressive, spoiled. likes making fun of centipede.
- clover, female, 13 moons. loving, bubbly, observant, cuddly; but annoying, over-talkative, easily-manipulated, worrying. often doubts her own abilities.
- cypress, male, 8 moons. smart, assertive, persuasive, logical; but ruthless, domineering, argumentative, egotistical. seems to have the same interest in traps titmouse has but privately thinks they could work much better.
- warbler, male, 8 moons. supportive, eager, strong, good listener; but enabling, dim, bullying, selfish. likes being cypress's partner in crime when they get up to mischief.
- cranesbill, male, 8 moons. clever, dry-witted, tactical, observant; but shy, grudge-holding, lonesome, snobby. thinks his siblings are idiots but also feels bad he doesn't fit in with them as well.
- inkwell's kittens, 4 moons.
- jessica and whistle's kittens, 2 moons.
for the first time in years, a new leader rises to the ranks...
more under the cut!
-goshawk officially steps down from leadership on the first morning of spring, and the clowder votes that evening. it takes a while to tally up the votes, and it comes down to only a 4-vote difference, but centipede is elected leader of the clowder!
- centipede does not seem to like this at all. goshawk assures it that it'll do fine. centipede isn't sure about her conviction.
- centipede also doesn't like no longer having goshawk to rely on- sure, she's still there in camp and still attends patrols and the like despite officially being retired, but it isn't the same and she is no longer its superior. so for their new camp deputy, centipede appoints paeonia. she's goshawk's kid, right? and she's a natural leader, right? that should do fine! paeonia is excited about the opportunity but a little intimidated given her young age.
- centipede largely relies on the deputies' opinion for things, and is very easily swayed by clowder opinion to an extent rivaling how goshawk was when she started out. time will tell what becomes of this new ruler and what direction it chooses to take.
- a bunch more centipedes have been seen on the territory than usual- it appears starclan approves of this choice, at least.
- centipede also decides to appoint sienna as a matriarch, in charge of all things to do with the nursery and raising kittens until they are apprenticed. she seems really comfortable with this position and really enjoys it, and she gets along with the medics and bumble swimmingly. for a long time sienna and comet were distanced, but it seems they are closer than ever now.
- not long after centipede ascends, dove is discovered dead in his nest one morning by drizzle and tulip. it appears he passed away peacefully in his sleep. the last of the clowder founders has gone to join the heavens, and with him a certain era ends- anything before drizzle's memory is relegated to the world of tall tales and passed down stories. the kittens still speak of that foolish young cat goldenrod, or the kind deputy olive, or the duke that terrorized the clowder; but now nobody can remember what they looked and sounded like, and each time the stories are retold they get ever taller.
- zornia has realized he does not feel like a molly anymore, especially after talks with drizzle and slate (who understand him especially well).
- inkwell one day is surprised with a litter of kittens from an outsider molly he had had a brief fling with; initially he had asked her to raise them (so they would be out of the gaze of starclan and immune to its seduction) but her situation changed and she was no longer able to. sienna helps, but inkwell has little idea how to care for children.
- nacnud has earned the gods' favor and been blessed by starclan to live a long, happy, healthy life! he is not aware of this yet. he goes to approach that stage gravel-like tom, and manages to ask him what's up. the tom responds: he's been given the appearance and memories of a cat named gravel, but he doesn't know how or why, and he isn't sure that's him anymore. remembering how gravel told him of sharing the memories of some other cat named cobble, nacnud figures this is just some strange heavenly phenomenon, and lets the cat go leave the territory to live his own life free of the shadows of those before.
- while on patrol one day, in the quiet rain, finch and vixen find another fox! his name is mercury and he expresses interest in joining the clowder. he and blondie get on like a house on fire!
- ... much to carnelian's dismay.
- auburn and laurel still do not get along very well. laurel wants so desperately to explore, while auburn doesn't let her go on her own unsupervised. one night laurel decides to sneak out to explore beyond pinewood territory on her own: she's smart, after all, or so she thinks, she can handle herself and knows how to get back home. she wanders off into the woods behind the clowder, eyes open wide, excited with possibilities and the world beyond... only to get caught up in a fight with a cottonmouth snake, who lands a clean bite on her side. laurel manages to kill the cottonmouth shortly afterward, but the pain is burning. she makes it back to camp, albeit barely conscious and swollen; she dies from the venom some time afterward.
- her death is hauntingly similar to lavender, citrine, and zircon's deaths some seasons ago. both auburn and tulip are especially broken by this, auburn because she feels like history has repeated itself, and tulip because she could not give lavender's reincarnation a better chance. auburn becomes militantly overprotective of everyone else, especially kittens and apprentices. with sienna's backing, auburn successfully campaigns centipede into making a new part of Clowder Law:
18. No apprentices can leave camp without supervision.
-laurel's siblings pretty quickly accept the rule given the passing of their sister. but time will tell if future apprentices abide by this rule or not.
- somewhere, on the border, euthamia waits. she's looking for someone- some cat named feste. she doesn't really remember very well who he is, she just knows she has to look for him. she knows it's starclan's will. it's not that she's angry about that, though, or sad, or even happy. it just is. it's the way of the world.
- however, she overhears dove's funeral, and the sound pricks her ears. no cat alive remembers who she was in the clowder. no cat alive knows what she did all those years ago, or if they do they don't know it was her.
- she could always go back, she starts to think. she could always go back.
-------
CATS:
- centipede, nonbinary, 78 moons. leader of the clowder. humorous, wry, sensible, smart; but unimpressed, co-dependent, egotistical, fretful. centipede has always been great at giving advice to others- but doesn't know how to give itself advice.
- paeonia, female, 32 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. is adapting surprisingly well to being a deputy, but it seems that the clowder doubts her because of her relatively young age.
- touchstone, female, 62 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. is honestly a little disappointed she didn't become leader, but it's fine, she can live with that.
- comet, male, 82 moons. enterprising, aware, clever, talkative; but exploitative, selfish, manipulative, antagonistic. has been quite social recently!
- bracken, male, 56 moons. studious, gentle, intelligent, determined; but stubborn, inexpressive, overly-focused, distant. is there for tulip and is a comforting presence for her even though the rest of the clowder is a little intimidated by him.
- acorn, female, 28 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. wants to be the best aunt ever and is much more excited about inkwell's kittens than inkwell is.
- tulip, female, 64 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. often tends to laurel and lavender's graves.
- inkwell, male, 28 moons. curious, creative, enterprising, cunning; but greedy, selfish, opportunistic, manipulative. worries about the influence starclan will have on his children.
- sienna, female, 81 moons. kind, people-pleasing, eager, precautionary, but attention-hogging, overprotective, self-centered, anxious. seems to be pushing for more 'safety' rules added to clowder Law.
-bumble, male, 50 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. takes really good care of squab's kittens.
- zornia, male, 10 moons. intelligent, curious, scientific, patient; but cold, awkward, hyper-focused, easily disinterested. is really fascinated by different kinds of poisons especially in the wake of laurel's death.
- drizzle, female, age 142 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. is really quite relieved her father had such a peaceful death.
- the sunteller, male, 127 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. worries at times about his legacy.
- gianetta, female, 117 moons. strong, gentle, bubbly, agreeable; but awkward, insecure, passive, doubtful. is always there for tulip; even now tulip is her little kitten.
- goshawk, female, 114 moons. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. is so happy to get to relax for once after seasons.
- milk, male, 103 moons. extroverted, charismatic, clever, crafty; but lazy, rebellious, non-committal, selfish. sometimes wishes he had another apprentice even though he knows he's quite old for that.
- hydrangea, female, 103 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. seems critical of centipede's decisions so far.
- honey, female, 80 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. defends centipede's every decision- it is her oldest friend after all!
- jeremy, male, 68 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. thinks the clowder should build a snake-killing trap, which titmouse agrees with, but now might not be the time to suggest that.
- harley, female, 64 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. really dislikes the new addition to Clowder Law and worries it'll be made more extreme.
- vixen, female, 58 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. feels sad that blondie doesn't rely on her so much and has her own friends now, but she doesn't know why she feels that way.
- nacnud, male, 56 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. miraculously never seems to get that ill even during spring allergy season.
- smoky, nonbinary, 51 moons. smart, studious, dedicated, passionate; but mysterious, detached, cold, manipulative. seems quite lonely besides titmouse, and even then 'same disability' is not a good baseline for them to get along on.
- auburn, female, 50 moons. curious, imaginative, playful, strong-willed; but stubborn, impulsive, ignorant, no attention span. often stares out blankly into nothing.
-slate, female, 50 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. likes giving paeonia advice, but seems less certain of centipede's leadership.
-squab, female, 50 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. has been starting to feel a bit better but is still finding it hard to connect with her litter.
- enmity, nonbinary, 46 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. keeps trying to insert themself into other cats' more private moments.
- finch, female, 41 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. leads many hunting patrols.
- whistle, nonbinary, 36 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. is discussing starting a family with jessica.
- jessica, female, 32 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. worries over whether she'd be a good mother or not.
- reggie, male, physically age 32 moons but mentally age 131 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. it only took a day for him to start criticizing the new leader- old habits, of course.
- titmouse, female, 32 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. feels awkward about having proposed fox traps in the past now that there are multiple foxes in the clowder.
- midnight, male, 29 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. has a crush on paeonia.
- sepia, female, 23 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. has been having a lot of lavender-related nightmares recently.
- mercury, male, 20 moons. athletic, quick, bold, mischievous; but impulsive, dubious, irresponsible, compulsive liar. unlike blondie he says he never feels bad about being weird!
- carnelian, male, 19 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. feels really rejected by blondie even though she was never aware he was in love with her in the first place (which is crazy because he's so OBVIOUS about everything).
- coal, female, 19 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. voted against her own mother because she worried something would happen to her if she became the leader.
- blondie, female, 18 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. loves having another fox in the clowder!
- natasha, female, 17 moons. smart, observant, passionate, persevering, but paranoid, easily-angered, aggressive, spoiled. did not attend laurel's funeral.
- clover, female, 10 moons. loving, bubbly, observant, cuddly; but annoying, over-talkative, easily-manipulated, worrying. has nightmares about snakes often.
- squab's kittens, 5 moons.
- inkwell's kittens, 1 moon.
the clowder gets ready for a leader's retirement as some express doubts about the future...
more under the cut!
-natasha has graduated to being a full citizen of the clowder! (she actually failed some of her final assessments but was able to successfully convince enmity to pass her anyways.)
- tulip's kittens have been apprenticed! zornia has gone to bumble, laurel has gone to auburn, and clover has gone to honey.
- zornia is still technically a nurse's apprentice but she is being taught much more intensive medicine than nurses usually would be, thanks to her interest. she is a quick learner and especially gets along well with comet
- laurel meanwhile is having some problems with her mentor. laurel has always enjoyed going off on her own and exploring by herself, and is naturally extremely curious about the world around her with a bit of fearlessness to match. meanwhile auburn has fears about keeping her apprentice unmonitored due to citrine's death some seasons ago and tends to be a little obsessive over laurel's safety. this has led to some arguing and laurel only getting more rebellious
- it appears flurry has gone back to living with the blitz clowder.
- the clowder tries to find out where silt went off to, as well as that strange gravel-lookalike that nacnud mentioned seeing on the border. however the clowder is unlucky with each of these goals... at least for now
- goshawk is showing both centipede and touchstone more about certain leader duties and how to do them so that way when she retires soon they'll know what to do. centipede privately expresses to goshawk its fears: it doesn't want to be leader, and it once thought leadership would be fun but deputyship is already so much. goshawk is rather frustrated that centipede didn't levy these concerns earlier, but tells centipede that she didn't really particularly want to be leader either, and while she can't say she thinks she is a particularly good leader the clowder has more or less stayed together throughout her reign. centipede is still uncertain.
- a few days before squab has their kittens, marigold dies of an infected wound gotten on a patrol. it doesn't help that the birth is rather traumatic and it is only due to multiple assisting medics that squab and her litter all survive. squab doesn't show much interest in raising her kittens because of all this, but at least honey, bumble, slate, bracken, and gianetta are all there to help out when it gets too much for her
- velvet meanwhile starts developing strange lumps in their stomach. the medics are not able to help before their condition drastically dies and they are found dead in their nest one morning.
- brought on by the death of their parent, midnight finally has an (embarrassingly public) breakdown about his fear of cars when he is gently asked in camp to go patrol a side of the border that intersects with the road. inkwell makes it worse, telling at him not to blow up like that 'lest starclan finds out and has fun'. paeonia however helps him, as she's had similar experiences with her sister titmouse after she was attacked, and the two of them decide to work together on midnight's fear. paeonia doesn't hear much advice from peony on this, but it turns out peony doesn't know how to help and is afraid of making it worse.
- blondie feels like an outcast. sure, she has friends and cats she gets along with, and she has family in the form of vixen (although at times she is frustrated with how hands off vixen can be), but she really wishes there were other non-cats in the clowder who might appreciate her differences and understand her better.
- honey has successfully gotten whistle and jessica together as a couple! now that natasha is graduated and those to are together enmity feels particularly lonesome, however
- the clowder is happy that goshawk will get to retire- but they worry for the future. what will the clowder look like under the next leader?
~~~~~~~~~
CATS:
- goshawk, female, 111 moons. leader of the clowder. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. despite everything, she feels okay with how her leadership went.
- centipede, nonbinary, 75 moons. humorous, wry, sensible, earthly; but unimpressed, snarky, egotistical, snobby. thinks that if it isn't picked leader it'll ask to be an advisor again.
- touchstone, female, 59 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. tries to focus on being the best potential leader she can be.
- comet, male, 79 moons. enterprising, aware, clever, talkative; but exploitative, selfish, manipulative, antagonistic. really clicks with zornia.
- bracken, male, 53 moons. studious, gentle, intelligent, determined; but stubborn, inexpressive, overly-focused, distant. tends to casper's grave when he can.
- acorn, female, 25 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. isn't sure how to be there for her brothers.
- tulip, female, 61 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. worries about laurel's arguments with auburn.
- inkwell, male, 25 moons. curious, creative, enterprising, cunning; but greedy, selfish, opportunistic, manipulative. has come to realize that 'starclan' is really just a bunch of cynical humanlike intelligences playing at some sort of game, but nobody believes him when he broaches the idea.
-bumble, male, 47 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. is trying to reconnect with bracken, but it's a little awkward now given the marigold-squab situation.
- dove, male, 146 moons. interpreter of starclan. gentle, soft-spoken, caring, sensitive; but cowardly, passive, slow-witted, bumbling. has really felt at peace with everything recently.
- drizzle, female, age 139 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. notices that zornia doesn't seem entirely comfortable being called a she.
- the sunteller, male, 124 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. likes to joke around with gianetta and the apprentices.
- gianetta, female, 114 moons. strong, gentle, bubbly, agreeable; but awkward, insecure, passive, doubtful. has been getting along really well with the other retirees.
- milk, male, 100 moons. extroverted, charismatic, clever, crafty; but lazy, rebellious, non-committal, selfish. still likes leading patrols even though he's not the deputy.
- hydrangea, female, 100 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. spoils natasha a little bit... okay, a lot.
- sienna, female, 78 moons. kind, people-pleasing, eager, affectionate, but attention-hogging, melodramatic, self-centered, anxious. understands and defends auburn's position completely.
- honey, female, 77 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. is so happy to have an apprentice, her and clover get along so well!
- jeremy, male, 65 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. has gotten better at understanding titmouse and hopes to campaign to get her an apprentice soon.
- harley, female, 61 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. gets along with zornia because of their shared interest in plants.
- vixen, female, 55 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. likes to brag about herself and all her crazy adventures before she joined the clowder (about 25% of which actually happened).
- nacnud, male, 53 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. likes to give horse-rides to the kittens.
- smoky, nonbinary, 48 moons. smart, studious, dedicated, passionate; but mysterious, detached, cold, manipulative. has developed a rather cynical sense of humor.
- auburn, female, 47 moons. curious, imaginative, playful, strong-willed; but stubborn, impulsive, ignorant, no attention span. is really just frustrated with laurel, even though she wants to get along with her apprentice so badly.
-slate, female, 47 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. likes to lead the hunting patrols.
-squab, female, 47 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. has nightmares over the birth of her children now and then.
- enmity, nonbinary, 43 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. keeps thinking someone is out to get faer.
- finch, female, 38 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. gets along really well with titmouse.
- whistle, nonbinary, 33 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. type of cat to say stuff like 'gee whiz!!!' when jessica kisses them.
- jessica, female, 29 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. thinks whistle is just adorable!
- reggie, male, physically age 29 moons but mentally age 128 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. shares his sense of humor with titmouse and finch.
- paeonia, female, 29 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. likes taking care of things, she has to admit, even if she's not the best at it.
- titmouse, female, 29 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. tells some really good stories she learned from touchstone.
- midnight, male, 26 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. often has nightmares about cars and trucks.
- sepia, female, 20 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. sees a lot of her sister in laurel...
- carnelian, male, 16 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. has a crush on blondie but doesn't know what to do about that- he's a cat and she's a fox and they're different animals and it wouldn't even work....
- coal, female, 16 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. secretly is afraid something will happen to touchstone if she becomes leader.
- blondie, female, 15 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. wishes that vixen would connect emotionally more with her.
- natasha, female, 14 moons. smart, observant, passionate, persevering, but paranoid, easily-angered, aggressive, spoiled. has a weird rivalry going on with laurel.
- zornia, female, 7 moons. intelligent, curious, scientific, patient; but cold, awkward, hyper-focused, easily disinterested. likes to research all the different herbs and what they do.
- laurel, female, 7 moons. adventurous, enterprising, confident, ambitious; but petty, bragging, entitled, aggressive. really wants to explore beyond the territory, her mentor be damned.
- clover, female, 7 moons. loving, bubbly, observant, cuddly; but annoying, over-talkative, easily-manipulated, worrying. just wants to make everyone else around her happy.
the clowder successfully(?) vanquishes a threat as the leaves turn crisp...
more under the cut!
-carnelian, coal, and blondie have graduated to full citizens of the clowder!
- the clowder is trying to help titmouse as much as they can, especially smoky, cheddar, and jeremy. blondie refuses to help however, although she doesn't make a statement about it.
- one day while returning home from a hunt auburn is attacked by rats for the kill. she is saved by sienna, who won't let another one of her children die, especially to the same thing that killed auburn's brother. auburn has been really down recently...
- one day the tension between silt and smoky finally blows over and they have a massive, screaming argument. in the morning silt is gone and no cat can figure out where they went. will they return? who knows.
- a while into the season bracken returns to the clowder! he has finished mentoring an apprentice so the blitz clowder can have a medic..... and, in addition, casper has passed away. goshawk, sienna, the sunteller, gianetta, and casper's children attend the funeral, but that's about it.
- in private some time later bracken told tulip of an unusual request from their father on his deathbed: he wanted starclan to send him to hell, because at least there he'd be able to comfort his damned father.
- tulip is monitoring her kittens and thinking of what might be the best apprenticeship paths for them. zornia is really interested in medicine, but as there are three medics tulip keeps directing her to be a nurse like bumble (partially because the medic den would otherwise be crowded and partially so nobody figures out the whole reincarnation deal). zornia doesn't want to be a nurse, however- she wants to be a medic.
- it also appears that, like many other white kittens with blue eyes, zornia is completely deaf.
- nacnud swears he sees a little cat that looks just like gravel on the horizon, but the cat runs off before he can greet them.
-the clowder decides to spend more time tracking down frederick- clearly he's still a threat and must be... for lack of a better term, eliminated. goshawk decides feste cannot be given a second chance, because of the nature of his collusion, but she doesn't want the clowder to kill him.
- once the clowder gets a good idea of his whereabouts (which take a while, as phlox has taught frederick very well how to hide) a patrol is sent out, led by milk, consisting of cheddar, nacnud, paeonia, blondie, bumble, jeremy, reggie, and finch. the hope is that at least through sheer size alone- nine on three- they'll be able to overwhelm the opposition and kill frederick. cheddar in particular is really zealous about killing frederick, seeing it as their chance to 'avenge their daughter'.
- as thunder rolls in the dark purple sky, they encounter frederick, phlox, and feste by the road, and successfully corner the three of them. frederick and phlox in particular fight dirty, but ultimately they are no match for this kind of overwhelm. phlox is nearly killed at the mercy of blondie's jaws, but manages to slip away, gravely injured but conscious.
- cheddar sees opportunity- opportunity to stop frederick and to make a Good Statement about how much they love their daughter. they've heard of a deputy long ago who eliminated a threat by tricking him to follow her in front of a rolling truck. just maybe...
- meanwhile, frederick sees opportunity too. he knows his chances of making it out of this sort of ambush are slim. but- hey, if he dies just traumatically enough, he can stick his ideals to feste in the smoothest maneuver. so he gives in, pretends to go along with it, fighting cheddar in a pin-lock and pretending to not realize cheddar was dragging them both into the road.
- the car comes- frederick stares directly at feste, yells 'THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT TO DO TO US, FESTE, THIS IS WHAT THEY'LL DO TO YOU TOO-' and then a white van comes along the path. another second and it is over, the two bodies twisted into one another with the force of the tire wheel
- cheddar didn't have to sacrifice themself. and neither did frederick. but a sacrifice can be a statement... can it?
- paeonia and feste momentarily stare at each other. is that the same pain in both their faces? another moment and feste has run off the territory, carrying phlox with him. who knows if they will ever be seen again.
- cheddar's death is generally seen by the clowder as well-meaning but totally unnecessary. paeonia and titmouse both feel a lot of guilt over it. goshawk is particularly affected, for the first time in a while she stays in her den all day, staring at the wall.
- finally she comes out to address the clowder and make a statement: at the end of winter, she will retire, handing the reins to one of her deputies. she's getting old now, not Old old but old enough she doesn't feel like she's the best leader these days. she had hoped to spend that retirement with cheddar, but it wasn't to be.
- centipede doesn't want to be leader. it's scared by the announcement- perhaps in prior years it wanted the perks it saw in leadership but now it feels like so much, and centipede is afraid it'll buckle under the pressure. touchstone is scared too, but less- she feels certainly more capable than centipede does, but she isn't sure she'll be the best of leaders
- and that's the question the clowder is left with as the days turn short and black: who shall be the next leader of the pinewood clowder?
-------
CATS:
- goshawk, female, 108 moons. leader of the clowder. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. wishes she had someone who understood leadership struggles to guide her.
- centipede, nonbinary, 72 moons. humorous, wry, sensible, earthly; but unimpressed, snarky, egotistical, snobby. kind of hoped it could somehow become an advisor again and out of the running for leader.
- touchstone, female, 56 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. still has nightmares about feste every so often but is very close to coal and carnelian.
- comet, male, 76 moons. enterprising, aware, clever, talkative; but exploitative, selfish, manipulative, antagonistic. healed auburn's rat bite wounds.
- bracken, male, 50 moons. studious, gentle, intelligent, determined; but stubborn, inexpressive, overly-focused, distant. hopes his dad has found peace, wherever he may be.
- acorn, female, 23 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. tries to get to know bracken better as she hasn't seen him in so long.
- tulip, female, 58 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. tries to be a supportive mother for her kittens.
- inkwell, male, 23 moons. curious, creative, enterprising, cunning; but greedy, selfish, opportunistic, manipulative. thinks that the clowder should know about the whole reincarnation thing but won't push it.
-bumble, male, 44 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. is really excited to see bracken back again!
- dove, male, 143 moons. interpreter of starclan. gentle, soft-spoken, caring, sensitive; but cowardly, passive, slow-witted, bumbling. was haunted by nightmares of his mother's death recently...
- drizzle, female, age 136 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. tries to be there for dove as time seems to move on without him.
- the sunteller, male, 121 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. misses casper dearly but doesn't elaborate on his grief to others because it feels so complicated.
- gianetta, female, 111 moons. strong, gentle, bubbly, agreeable; but awkward, insecure, passive, doubtful. helped bury casper and picked the spot for him.
- milk, male, 97 moons. extroverted, charismatic, clever, crafty; but lazy, rebellious, non-committal, selfish. seems to have soured his opinion on cheddar after cheddar's death.
- hydrangea, female, 97 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. has decided to stay in the pinewood clowder with natasha.
- velvet, nonbinary, 81 moons. caring, sensitive, leisurely, understanding; but lazy, ineffective, overly-calm, fearless. tries to understand what inkwell talks about with starclan but is totally lost the whole time.
- sienna, female, 75 moons. kind, people-pleasing, eager, affectionate, but attention-hogging, melodramatic, self-centered, anxious. is rather overprotective of slate, auburn, and sepia.
- honey, female, 74 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. wishes at times she had an apprentice.
- jeremy, male, 62 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. still tries his best with helping titmouse build traps.
- harley, female, 58 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. has recently grown a new type of flower in the garden! exciting (for her and sepia and not really anyone else).
- flurry, male, 57 moons. humorous, boisterous, brave, athletic; but witless, exaggerating, selfish, loud. wants to go back to the blitz clowder.
- vixen, female, 52 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. is proud of blondie for her fighting... although blondie feels uncomfortable about it.
- nacnud, male, 50 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. is still curious about that cat who looks so much like gravel.
- marigold, nonbinary, 50 moons. flashy, creative, witty, talkative; but egotistical, gluttonous, envious, bragging. is thrilled at squab's big news!
- smoky, nonbinary, 45 moons. smart, studious, dedicated, passionate; but mysterious, detached, cold, manipulative. keeps to themself after silt leaves.
- auburn, female, 44 moons. curious, imaginative, playful, strong-willed; but stubborn, impulsive, ignorant, no attention span. spends a lot of time to herself...
-slate, female, 44 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. is particularly close with coal.
-squab, female, 44 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. is pregnant with marigold's kittens!
- enmity, nonbinary, 40 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. keeps worrying they're secretly somehow Bad at mentoring.
- finch, female, 35 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. is one of the best hunters in the clowder at the moment.
- whistle, nonbinary, 30 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. has a crush on jessica.
- jessica, female, 26 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. has a crush on whistle (neither of them know it's reciprocated).
- reggie, male, physically age 26 moons but mentally age 125 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. tries (awkwardly) to be there for his biological siblings, knowing how hard it was for him when caron died many seasons ago now.
- paeonia, female, 26 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. wonders if she should have done something to stop cheddar's choice.
- titmouse, female, 26 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. seems downright angry at cheddar...
- midnight, male, 23 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. this season has NOT helped his fear of the road, he doesn't even go near it now.
- sepia, female, 17 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. tries to be there for auburn but doesn't know how to be.
- carnelian, male, 13 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. likes to teach the other clowder cats songs.
- coal, female, 13 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. very close to her parents.
- blondie, female, 12 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. doesn't like that the clowder seems to have realized her fighting powers.
- natasha, female, 11 moons. smart, observant, passionate, persevering, but paranoid, easily-angered, aggressive, isolating. knows how to play enmity like a damn fiddle sometimes.
- tulip's litter, 4 moons.
touchstone makes a difficult decision, tulip discovers a new truth about starclan, and titmouse must undergo a change of perspective in the clowder's fourteenth summer...
more under the cut!
-goshawk has added a new clowder law, in honor of blondie! the law reads: Non-cat animals can be allowed in the clowder only if they understand Cat to some extent. now more non-cat animals like blondie can join the clowder if they so wish.
- natasha and lilac reach apprentice age. lilac wants to go live with their father in the blitz clowder while natasha decides to stay in the pinewood clowder. natasha is apprenticed to enmity!
- at the apprenticeship ceremony auburn tries to intervene saying it simply isn't fair that she wasn't given a new apprentice. auburn has been very wracked with grief over citrine's passing but unfortunately she tends to lash out at others to express it.
- on the longest day of summer, to boost morale, the clowder decides to have a massive festival celebrating the season, with everyone invited! it goes over very well. yaaay!
- silt decides on their own to stay with the clowder, especially for smoky's sake because smoky says they don't have anyone else. sounds healthy!
- one day while out on patrol alone robin is hit by a car. velvet mourns very openly (to the point it makes some other cats uncomfortable) while her children are very quiet about it. acorn leans often on comet for support, who often was not a very good cat for these sort of things but zircon's death has softened him these days.
-a strange omen is discovered: one of titmouse's traps has caught a titmouse, even though the bird's body doesn't fit this particular trap. titmouse is a little paranoid about it.
- tulip has never really been interested in romance or having a mate, but she has come to want children, and a loner passing through the area agrees to surrogate by her. now she has three beautiful kittens, who she names laurel, clover, and zornia!
- tulip notices that there three kittens have eerily similar personalities and behavioral traits to the apprentices that died last season, and comes to the conclusion starclan has reincarnated those three. maybe this is what they do with kitten souls now, she thinks. however, between all the cats affected by the tragedy and how it could affect them differently, she chooses to keep starclan's doing a secret so as to not complicate things. after all, she knows what happened to her father in his youth.
- one day goshawk spends a lovely sunset with cheddar on the building rooftop watching the purple sky over the trees and the first stars appear in the distant east. the nights have been so wonderfully clear this season. paeonia sees her parents from a distance, and peony's voice, guiding her once more, tells her something. tell goshawk i'm sorry. not today, not now. but at some point tell her. ... i don't think i can do that to her myself.
- one morning, titmouse gets up nice and early (as she always does) to go inspect her traps (as she always does). she goes along her route, springs them open, empties their caches... and then she thinks she hears something behind her. before she can react two cats are on her in an instant, one clawing at her shoulder while the other starts to scratch her face. she reacts quickly and tries to throw them off, but she is both outnumbered and too late, and with one slash of the claws titmouse's vision goes dark and there's thick throbbing pain across her eyes
- her shrieking, however, saves her, and a patrol of reggie, carnelian, cheddar, and nacnud come out and drives the two cats- frederick and phlox, it turns out- away, saving her life. but it is too late for titmouse's vision; frederick has clawed away her eyes and she can only see vague shadow and light. she is rushed back to camp and nursed to the fullest health she can be after such an incident.
- the incident does away with much of titmouse's old self. she still has that crude sense of humor but now she's quieter, softer. she doesn't work on her traps anymore, despite jeremy and vixen asking her to, and when she does it's very slowly, dictating to jeremy how to put them together. she doesn't tease blondie anymore, and she fears feste because he "smells like them". she whimpers in her sleep.
- a day or two after the incident, tulip and goshawk get visions from starclan- at first hazy, then full- of feste and frederick colluding and working together, including feste mentioning titmouse to the older tom. tulip and goshawk present their evidence to touchstone and centipede.
-touchstone feels bad for him, her first child, and she feels like she failed him even though she couldn't have known what would happen with yarrow. but she agrees with the rest of the group; this is enough to exile feste for, and hopefully he can figure his shit out on his own some day. feste is exiled one dewy morning, and he spits and mutters on his breath as he leaves- clearly this is touchstone's fault, or goshawk's, or titmouse's; anyone but himself. and then he is gone. patrols look for him, and frederick and phlox, just to make sure that they aren't on clowder territory anymore, and they come up empty-pawed.
- smoky helps titmouse adjust to living without sight and the two strike up a good friendship. silt, who just decided to stay in the clowder solely because smoky said they had nobody else there for them. again, sounds healthy!
- the day after she exiles feste, touchstone spends a wonderful evening with her two remaining children, and the sky is full of stars, so many that touchstone swears she's never seen that amount at once. it's absolutely beautiful. she loves coal's patience and carnelian's wit. this is it, she thinks. this is what i live for.
- a while later, on a patrol, nacnud and gravel are gently teasing each other about their climbing abilities, and gravel decides to climb up a tree to show off. alas, however, gravel falls and hits his head badly. the medics do what they can but it's too late. nacnud is wracked with guilt about the whole thing.
- jessica and whistle get on really well!... so well enmity feels like fae are being left out.
- some time into the season the pinewood clowder learns that cassie died very shortly into her leadership because of her advanced age, and dmitri will now be the blitz clowder leader. because of this he can no longer visit hydrangea and natasha as frequently as before.
- still, some cats look for frederick. he's an active threat, they reason. he couldn't have gone away for long. thick tension sets in the air.... a tension just begging to be broken.
-------
CATS:
- goshawk, female, 105 moons. leader of the clowder. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. tries to talk to sepia and coal to tell them she knows what they're going through.
- centipede, nonbinary, 69 moons. humorous, wry, sensible, earthly; but unimpressed, snarky, egotistical, snobby. likes assisting... doesn't like being left to its own devices however.
- touchstone, female, 53 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. has nightmares from time to time about feste.
- comet, male, 73 moons. enterprising, aware, clever, talkative; but exploitative, selfish, manipulative, antagonistic. isn't sure how to help acorn but tries her best.
- acorn, female, 20 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. is taking robin's death particularly hard.
- tulip, female, 55 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. worries about the fate of her reincarnation children.
- inkwell, male, 20 moons. curious, creative, enterprising, cunning; but greedy, selfish, opportunistic, manipulative. is the only one who tulip has told the reincarnation thing to.
-bumble, male, 41 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. help pried a thorn out from jessica's paw.
- dove, male, 141 moons. interpreter of starclan. gentle, soft-spoken, caring, sensitive; but cowardly, passive, slow-witted, bumbling. likes the feel of sun on his face.
- drizzle, female, age 133 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. likes telling stories to tulip's kittens.
- the sunteller, male, 118 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. still unnerves some cats when he ambles about camp.
- gianetta, female, 108 moons. strong, gentle, bubbly, agreeable; but awkward, insecure, passive, doubtful. helps give tulip parenting advice.
- cheddar, non-binary, 103 moons. compliant, chatty, extroverted, a quick learner; but disloyal, inattentive, forgetful, two-faced. listens to their daughter go on and on and on about making traps. wants to rip frederick's heart straight out of his chest.
- milk, male, 94 moons. extroverted, charismatic, clever, crafty; but lazy, rebellious, non-committal, selfish. said to cheddar he'd kill frederick himself if he could and then remembers he failed to do that twice.
- hydrangea, female, 94 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. worries about dmitri now that he's the leader, but is also considering moving to the blitz clowder to always be with him (although she wouldn't until natasha graduates).
- velvet, nonbinary, 78 moons. caring, sensitive, leisurely, understanding; but lazy, ineffective, overly-calm, fearless. misses robin deeply.
- sienna, female, 72 moons. kind, people-pleasing, eager, affectionate, but attention-hogging, melodramatic, self-centered, anxious. visits lavender's grave often on her own.
- honey, female, 71 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. likes to gossip about stuff with hydrangea and centipede.
- jeremy, male, 59 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. isn't as good at titmouse was with trap building but tries his best.
- harley, female, 55 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. tries to be there for titmouse also.
- flurry, male, 54 moons. humorous, boisterous, brave, athletic; but witless, exaggerating, selfish, loud. sometimes misses the blitz clowder.
- vixen, female, 49 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. teaches blondie how to scam other animals in a bind.
- nacnud, male, 47 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. feels so absolutely awful about gravel's death.
- marigold, nonbinary, 47 moons. flashy, creative, witty, talkative; but egotistical, gluttonous, envious, bragging. sometimes flirts with squab.
- silt, nonbinary, 41 moons. quiet, determined, experimental, philosophical; but lonesome, selfish, easily-annoyed, projects on others. has been passive aggressive towards smoky.
- auburn, female, 41 moons. curious, imaginative, playful, strong-willed; but stubborn, impulsive, ignorant, no attention span. often claws fistfuls into the dirt.
-slate, female, 41 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. tries to be there for her two remaining children and touchstone.
-squab, female, 41 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. seems to reciprocate marigold's flirting.
- enmity, nonbinary, 37 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. enjoys having an apprentice but gets very nervous about the situation.
- finch, female, 32 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. is one of the best hunters in the clowder at the moment.
- whistle, nonbinary, 27 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. tells everyone about all the strange inventions humans make.
- jessica, female, 23 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. is often the only one who understands what whistle is talking about half the time.
- reggie, male, physically age 23 moons but mentally age 122 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. really enjoys mentoring!
- paeonia, female, 23 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. is very close with goshawk and takes after her in a lot of ways.
- titmouse, female, 23 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. has been very quiet despite herself recently.
- midnight, male, 20 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. takes robin's death hard and has developed a fear of cars.
- sepia, female, 14 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. likes tending the gardens by herself...
- carnelian, male, 10 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. tells the best tall tales.
- coal, female, 10 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. follows carnelian's lead and has become extra close to him.
- blondie, female, 9 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. tries to fit in with the other apprentices but doesn't always do so easily.
- natasha, female, 8 moons. smart, observant, passionate, persevering, but paranoid, easily-angered, aggressive, isolating. sometimes ends up pushing her mentor enmity around instead of the other way.
- tulip's litter, 1 moon.
an accidental tragedy, siblings in mourning, unique newcomers, and a familiarly convincing stranger mark the clowder's fourteenth spring...
more under the cut!
-touchstone and slate's kids have been apprenticed! citrine has gone to auburn, carnelian to reggie, coal to paeonia, and zircon to comet.
- reggie is excited to have an apprentice; the last one he had was a young cat named woodchip who perished in the flood and never completed his apprenticeship... some seven years ago, now. (with this reggie realizes only a handful of cats still in the clowder remember the flood. most of the clowder either arrived to the group later or weren't born yet. reggie does not like this realization at all.)
- out of the bundle of new apprentices, citrine is the most showoff-y, carnelian has a gift for music and is rather creatively-inclined, zircon thinks he's much more mature than he really is, and coal is the quiet one who keeps to herself amidst her more talented siblings
- titmouse, guided on by strange visions she receives from starclan, has been making more and more... interesting prey traps. a lot of them seem to put the prey animals in way more stress than they should, with drawn-out deaths and slowly impending dooms. no matter, though, they work; although centipede is a bit alarmed by the occasional screams they hear on the horizon. on a good note it turns out the traps' effectiveness makes them a hot trading commodity, which works out great for vixen's businesses!
- one day, vixen trades some of titmouse's traps to a wandering fox, who rewards her with... an entire fox kit. apparently this kit, while born to the same litter as her half-siblings, was the result of an affair the mother had, and the mother's mate does not want this kit in his den any longer. before vixen can respond the fox is already off on his way
- vixen is able to get the clowder to accept the kit, who's name is blondie on account of her uniquely-sandy fur. the clowder is hesitant but as multiple cats know how to speak fox by now and foxes are more or less on the same level of intelligence as cats, goshawk accepts it... so long as vixen takes care for the kit herself. as blondie is roughly apprentice-aged vixen takes her on as an apprentice.
- titmouse's traps have unintended side effects, however. one day feste is ambling about minding his own business when one of the traps triggers and snaps itself shut around his head, its grasp burying into his skin. the more he tries to get it off the harder it grabs onto him. "help!" he tries to scream, but the trap has taken ahold of his jaw, and further more he is too far away for anyone in the clowder to hear him.
- but someone else does hear him. suddenly feste sees two cats, so similar to him in shape, approach. 'hang on, boy, you're going to kill yourself if you keep up like that.' the tom of the two instructs feste to sit down and stay still, and to gentle his breathing. the molly, meanwhile, works to unhook the contraption. she is not as nimble as titmouse but she is able to effectively disarm it with one hook of the claw, and the whole thing clatters open
- 'you saved my life,' feste says. them he looks up now that he can see more clearly. it's frederick... and phlox, two of the cats the pinewood clowder just fought against. but they're so kind to him, and they seem to accept feste on a level that the other pinewood clowder cats never did, as they listen to and understand his woes
- frederick explains his philosophy to feste. 'all living creatures,' he explains, 'are inherently selfish. our first instincts are always to hurt, to escape, to throw everyone else in the fire for our own sake. that's instinctual. feste, the whole world is full of corruption-everyone should suffer because it's the only thing that dispels selfishness. the pinewood clowder doesn't care about your problems but i do, and i'll walk you through how to make the world around you better. all things in this world are fixed. all things in this world are broken. the pinewood clowder clings to starclan as if it were some kind of hope against that litany, but as you and i both know starclan is as selfish as all the mortal beings below them.'
-'... most importantly you can give them real meaning. you can remind them of the things out to get them. terror, fear, prayer- these are the only real emotions besides selfishness. the only things that give lives meaning. and you want to make the world a better place, no? then follow my lead.'
- frederick does genuinely care about feste. now that yarrow and gerber were gone feste is the only other relation besides phlox frederick still has. but sometimes affections are warped through the lens of belief. so it's always been.
- frederick also asks for the name of the cat who endangered feste with her traps in the first place. titmouse, frederick repeats, feeling the name on his tongue. i'll remember that.
- feste cares about his newly reunited family in return. when patrols search for frederick, feste does not tell them of his whereabouts.
-one day, a horrible accident happens
- lavender has always been a curious wanderer. one day she finds a really cool part of the abandoned mall that has been avoided by the pinewood clowder ever since part of it collapsed inward and cut off some apprentice's tail off however many years ago. she asks sepia to try and come with her, but sepia declines, so lavender has citrine and zircon come along instead
- all seems to be well and the group spends a couple hours playing in the dangerous, unsteady area; swinging off the pipes on the walls and ceiling and climbing the rubble. however, soon citrine starts to feel like something is wrong. she argues with the other two about going back... and then something rumbles, and a load of metal and concrete falls on citrine, crushing her to death nearly instantly
- the other two apprentices scream and run, but their jostling only makes it worse. zircon is impaled by falling rubble and lavender slowly suffocates under a pile of fallen debris. by the time a patrol finds them it is far too late and the three young souls are on their way to judgement. it's a horrible accident.
- the apprentices' deaths lead to lots of grief within the clowder- all three of them had their whole lives ahead of them. touchstone is on shakier ground with silt- lavender was silt's apprentice and their responsibility, and they should've been watching her because now lavender's foolishness led to touchstone's children's deaths also. auburn lashes out at paeonia, it's unfair her apprentice lived when hers didn't. sienna is used to this sort of grief; memories of hickory being torn apart by rats visit her nightmares regularly anyway. sepia thinks it's all her fault because she was always the less talented sibling and she should've been the one to die instead. for the first time in his life comet is afraid of what death can do. grief is a complicated thing.
- the clowder is never as alive as it is when it is scared and grieving, feste notes.
-however the season does not end on such a downward note. near the end a young calico tabby cat arrives to the clowder looking for refuge after having lost their prior home. the newcomer, whistle, is particularly fascinated with humans- they'd never been a pet themself, but something about the way humans go about things is so interesting to them. they, jessica, and enmity form a little friend group of weirdos, and it seems the three of them get along wonderfully...
-------
CATS:
- goshawk, female, 102 moons. leader of the clowder. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. is trying to reach out to sepia.
- centipede, nonbinary, 66 moons. humorous, wry, sensible, earthly; but unimpressed, snarky, egotistical, snobby. hopes they won't become leader when the time comes.
- touchstone, female, 50 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. tries her best to do her role duties but is taking the situation hard.
- comet, male, 70 moons. enterprising, aware, clever, talkative; but exploitative, selfish, manipulative, antagonistic. he's never really feared death like this before. it feels strange.
- acorn, female, 17 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. tries to be there for comet.
- tulip, female, 52 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. tries to find solace in starclan even though she knows they're a trickster god.
- inkwell, male, 17 moons. curious, creative, enterprising, cunning; but greedy, selfish, opportunistic, manipulative. loves to make up arguments in his head and then win them.
-bumble, male, 38 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. tries to help out as best he can.
- dove, male, 158 moons. interpreter of starclan. gentle, soft-spoken, caring, sensitive; but cowardly, passive, slow-witted, bumbling. was worried recently because he forgot his sister's name.
- drizzle, female, age 130 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. helped bury zircon at the funeral.
- the sunteller, male, 115 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. says he's recently been getting along with a strange not-entirely-cat who understands him.
- gianetta, female, 105 moons. strong, gentle, bubbly, agreeable; but awkward, insecure, passive, doubtful. is close friends with the sunteller.
- cheddar, non-binary, 100 moons. compliant, chatty, extroverted, a quick learner; but disloyal, inattentive, forgetful, two-faced. listens to their daughter go on and on and on about making traps.
- milk, male, 91 moons. extroverted, charismatic, clever, crafty; but lazy, rebellious, non-committal, selfish. is kind of relieved to no longer be a deputy.
- hydrangea, female, 91 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. has been doing a great job at being a mother.
- robin, female, 75 moons. intelligent, caring, loyal, protective; but biased, calculating, impatient, argumentative. has been seen holding on extra tight to her children when interacting with them.
- velvet, nonbinary, 75 moons. caring, sensitive, leisurely, understanding; but lazy, ineffective, overly-calm, fearless. leads the charge when it comes to finding frederick.
- sienna, female, 69 moons. kind, people-pleasing, eager, affectionate, but attention-hogging, melodramatic, self-centered, anxious. tends to be quiet when she is suffering.
- honey, female, 68 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. tries to help but isn't very good at being a therapist...
- gravel, male, 68 moons. soft, introverted, creative, academic; but uneasy, cynical, mercurial, intolerant. tries to be there for sienna even though they are not mates anymore.
- jeremy, male, 56 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. gets along really well with titmouse!... unfortunately for everyone else.
- harley, female, 52 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. isn't sure how to reach out to sepia.
- flurry, male, 51 moons. humorous, boisterous, brave, athletic; but witless, exaggerating, selfish, loud. has a crush on tulip.
- vixen, female, 46 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. seems to be more of a 'cool older sibling' than a parent to blondie, even though it's unclear that is what blondie needs.
- nacnud, male, 44 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. tries to take care of everybody as best he can.
- marigold, nonbinary, 44 moons. flashy, creative, witty, talkative; but egotistical, gluttonous, envious, bragging. tries to be there for touchstone but doesn't know what to say.
- smoky, nonbinary, 39 moons. smart, studious, dedicated, passionate; but mysterious, detached, cold, manipulative. is afraid silt will leave them and the clowder.
- silt, nonbinary, 38 moons. quiet, determined, experimental, philosophical; but lonesome, selfish, easily-annoyed, projects on others. wonders if with tragedy after tragedy they're really meant to be here in the clowder.
- auburn, female, 38 moons. curious, imaginative, playful, strong-willed; but stubborn, impulsive, ignorant, no attention span. is often angry at paeonia and reggie for no clear reason at all.
-slate, female, 38 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. has shut up and kept to herself recently.
-squab, female, 38 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. enjoys hanging out with centipede and her mother honey.
- enmity, nonbinary, 33 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. is so happy to have a friend group! but is also secretly afraid of becoming the third wheel and hopes jessica and whistle don't get along super well on their own...
- finch, female, 29 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. wishes davey were here with her instead of in the blitz clowder but respects his wishes.
- whistle, nonbinary, 24 moons. book-smart, curious, kind, detail-oriented; but street-dumb, inept, socially awkward, clumsy. gets along really well with jessica in particular.
- jessica, female, 20 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. despite not really knowing any humans that well she seems to know a lot about why humans do certain things.
- reggie, male, physically age 20 moons but mentally age 119 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. is actually a rather good mentor and has bonded really well with carnelian.
- paeonia, female, 20 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. takes solace in peony's advice when it comes to mentoring coal.
- titmouse, female, 20 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, cruel, impatient. likes to bully blondie by talking to her in cat idioms and metaphors and then talking down to blondie when she inevitably doesn't understand them.
- midnight, male, 17 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. obsessively makes sure the rest of the apprentices are safe.
- feste, male, 16 moons. sharp-witted, good-humored, charismatic, independent; but insensitive, troublemaking, cruel, rude. thinks often about philosophy but in a like, negative and Not Good way.
- sepia, female, 11 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. has been taking everything extremely hard.
- carnelian, male, 7 moons. smart, creative, theatrical, persuasive; but absent-minded, frivolous, impulsive, loud. tries to cheer up sepia but not very successfully.
- coal, female, 7 moons. thoughtful, loyal, persevering, honest; but shy, nervous, overprotective, obsessive. has pretty much just shut down entirely and deals with the situation by pacing.
- blondie, female, 6 moons. patient, caring, curious, idealistic; but naive, self-doubting, awkward, cowardly. worries that the rest of the clowder secretly dislikes her even though she knows that's ridiculous.
- hydrangea's litter, 2 moons.
a rather anticlimactic battle underscores the clowder's winter season...
more under the cut!
-dmitri and hydrangea have had a pair of kittens! dmitri names the older one natasha and hydrangea names the younger one lilac. they hope the two can become a symbol of two clowders allying again one day
- flurry has been convinced to stay with the clowder and now believes in starclan! dmitri meanwhile doesn't believe in starclan still and is on the fence despite the clowder really wanting him to stay; he worries at some point the blitz clowder will need him.
-lavender and sepia have been apprenticed to silt and harley!
- inkwell, midnight, and acorn have graduated! feste is held back for a moon because of his poor behavior... which just makes feste even more mad.
- the clowder has prepared for frederick's inevitable attack, sharpening battle moves and planning out tactics. however, some cats like touchstone, jessica, enmity, and silt object: touchstone because her parent died the last time there was a battle, jessica and enmity because they've never seen a battle before and are scared, and silt because they can't bear the idea of accidentally killing someone again. sitting next to each other, touchstone and silt realize they have more alike than they thought they did.
- comet is out gathering cobwebs one day when a bolt of lightning from a blue sky misses him just by a tail-length or so. he is okay but the heat from the bolt singes his whiskers off. he is later made aware that starclan nearly voted to kill him and only spared him by a few votes. comet has learned a lesson about acting out starclan's life and death wishes, it seems, and he requests that acorn and bracken take good care of milk especially. (both are confused knowing comet finds milk annoying as sin.)
-nacnud starts receiving strange dreams of someone else's memories. asking around he discovers this cat was named duncan. he shares the memories with honey and sienna, and the two cats look... at peace about the whole thing.
- paeonia really wants to be leader, more than anyone else in the clowder except for maybe lavender (who is an apprentice and doesn't know what leadership is like besides that it's cool) and auburn (who keeps her ambitions to herself).
-one day, paeonia is chatting with her mother goshawk, about all her hopes and dreams, and how she someday wants to be clowder leader. 'it's a stressful position,' goshawk admits. 'there is a lot of reward but it's very stressful. your heart wants what it wants, but do be careful.'
- out of the corner of paeonia's eye, she sees... a stranger? certainly not a cat she knows- a compact, plump molly with black-and-white fur and piercing olive-green eyes, her form translucent and fading out of focus at the edges. she looks... shocked? touched? it is hard for paeonia to read her expressions.
- that night paeonia wakes up to somewhere dark and featureless, and there before her is the same black and white molly. the molly introduces herself; her name is peony (paeonia's namesake) and starclan has selected her to be a guide for paeonia. you'll see me around, now and then, peony says. maybe i can teach you what i was never able to learn in life.
-honey has noticed bracken's crush on bumble, and has arranged for both of them to spend a nice dawn patrol with just each other so they can realize their feelings for one another. however, just as the two are about to set off, there's a yowl, a call for battle from milk... alas! it seems frederick and the blitz clowder have planned out their surprise attack!
- however, frederick is a poor planner. not only have agnes and her most recent litter left the blitz clowder out of fear after what happened to lightning, but the pinewood clowder is much larger and has prepared this time around. the clowder is able to cut through the blitz clowder like wet paper, even without additional help of cats like touchstone and silt.
- at one point frederick starts to chase after goshawk. before goshawk can fight back however milk barrels into frederick and purposely distracts him. goshawk is spared frederick's wrath but milk is badly injured.
- at one point gerber starts to taunt and corner paeonia. she struggles against him; he is stronger than she is, and he has much more malicious intent. he slices the bridge of her nose with his long, yellow claws. for a while paeonia stumbles and is about to give in, when she hears that same voice of the mysterious tuxedo cat, measured and dignified and strangely regretful: focus on one claw, your favorite one. feel its energy. now look; you see that spot at the bottom of the vocal cord? focus, aim, and then grab it with your claw and pull down. he will not hurt you after that.
- paeonia does just so, and splits gerber's chest wide open. he shrieks, struggles, curses at her; and as he's about to lunge once more his eyes dull and he falls lifeless into his own blood. his body collapses in on itself as a last rattle dribbles out of his throat. paeonia is shaken but still alive. she hears the same voice say something, just too quiet for her to understand: i'm so sorry, gerber.
- the battle stops when the both sides realize that frederick must have realized his side was losing, as he has deserted his forces. blitz clowder member cinder lies dead on the ground alongside gerber; his death was not purposeful but the wounds were too much for him to bear. much of the blitz clowder is trembling and injured, and they do not have a medic to go back to- which claims the life of caramel too not long later.
- no one knows where frederick went. or phlox, for that matter, who vanished alongside him.
- peace terms are drawn out between the two clowders. cassie, a longtime blitz clowder member, apologizes for letting things get so bad, and steps up to take the leadership mantle. she offers the role of the second to... dmitri
- dmitri worries about his pinewood family and the blitz clowder. ultimately he steps up to become the new second. he and hydrangea are still mates and he will drop in and take care of his kittens every so often; he just won't always be physically there. he and hydrangea will let the kittens decide where they want to live when they are older.
- goose also decides to go to the blitz clowder- part of them still hungers for something beyond the clowder. half of them finds the blitz clowder new and exciting while the other half finds the group oddly familiar. they fit in quite well here, too. they're happy. goshawk is dismayed one of her children is leaving but at least she will see them around every so often.
- casper leaves with goose, as does davey- davey because he wants to help them and the scared, hurt looks on their faces break his heart, casper because (as per his own words) 'nothing awaits me here in pinewood'. it is interesting; even though casper isn't related to his father harlequin and has a different genepool they share similar traits- the same corpulent body, the same big tomcat cheeks, the same hunched posture... that same tired look in the eyes, the look of someone who has seen death many times now and is only staying away from it out of awareness it wouldn't be a rest.
- during peace negotiations comet and sienna learn their mother chestnut who had joined the blitz clowder many seasons ago passed away earlier this season and because of the hostility between the two clowders at the time they were not told and could not bury her. the two spend a long night awake and huddled against one another.
- the sunteller chooses not to rejoin the blitz clowder; after all most of them resent him by now. he plans to set off on his own when dove and gianetta approach and tell him they'd welcome him as a retiree. so he retires. for the first time he is actually somewhat happy.
-some days pass. then one day during a clowder meeting (milk has something to say) bracken steps up. 'i've thought about it long and hard, and... the blitz clowder needs a medic. someone should heal the wounds we inflicted on them, now that frederick's reign is over and we are peaceful once again. i will leave, live with them as their medic, and return once i train a medic there and am confident in their decisions. ... and i also need to make sure someone is there for my father. i worry about him.'
- many cats are upset, as bracken was many cats' favorite medic. but nobody stops him; it is his choice to make and they are all tired of argument now.
- milk also has a decision to announce he's stable, now; comet took extra care with him and patched up his wounds. he's recognized that his near-death experiences have largely been because of his own foolishness, and he is starting to think that he is not fit to be a potential clowder leader, especially as he is starting to get long in the tooth himself. so he willingly steps down. in his stead goshawk decides to appoint touchstone as the new patrol deputy. what should be a happy occasion has a damper put on it by feste, who rants about how touchstone didn't raise him and now he doesn't have anyone left. feste is quickly told off by gravel, who has largely been hands-off in his approach but has gotten sick of the young tom's grudges, and feste runs off to grumble about things.
- 'stupid, stupid, stupid, it's all stupid,' he says to himself. his father dead, his mother chose not to raise him (as he was always meant to be yarrow's kid) but is now busy with her new litter when she passed on him, nobody else on his father's side is still alive or in the clowder and nobody bothers to understand him, just yelling at him more and more...
- unbeknownst to feste, his uncle and great-aunt are watching him from afar and whispering.
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CATS:
- goshawk, female, 99 moons. leader of the clowder. excitable, eager, kind, capable; but overprotective, solitary, easily-manipulated, insecure. feels a bittersweet presence at times that she cannot decipher.
- centipede, nonbinary, 63 moons. humorous, wry, sensible, earthly; but unimpressed, snarky, egotistical, snobby. has started to get back down to earth when it comes to their deputyship and is taking it slower.
- touchstone, female, 47 moons. silly, witty, observant, rebellious, but selfish, obnoxious, loud-mouthed, gossipy. tries to not let feste bother her.
- comet, male, 67 moons. enterprising, aware, clever, talkative; but exploitative, selfish, manipulative, antagonistic. seems to have a lot stronger of a faith in starclan now.
- acorn, female, 14 moons. empathetic, encouraging, silly, nurturing; but anxious, over-emotional, easily-manipulated, buckles under pressure. tries her best to help but her constant asking everyone if they need anything gets a little annoying.
- tulip, female, 49 moons. kind, open-minded, affectionate, loyal; but naive, anxious, passive, easily-manipulated. likes engaging in philosophical conversation with inkwell and the sunteller.
- inkwell, male, 14 moons. curious, creative, enterprising, cunning; but greedy, selfish, opportunistic, manipulative. has a more cynical view of starclan than tulip but still thinks the clowder should worship them.
-bumble, male, 35 moons. athletic, good-humored, friendly, caring; but boastful, bellicose, argumentative, fearless. is taking bracken's absence harder than he thought he would.
- dove, male, 155 moons. interpreter of starclan. gentle, soft-spoken, caring, sensitive; but cowardly, passive, slow-witted, bumbling. has recently been involved in activities around camp!
- drizzle, female, age 127 moons. kind, silly, soothing, nurturing; but ineffective, overly-soft, foolish, awkward. knows bracken is going to do a great job.
- the sunteller, male, 112 moons. passionate, engaging, charming, dedicated; but paranoid, possessive, short-tempered, detached. doesn't know how to react to being taken care of sometimes.
- gianetta, female, 102 moons. strong, gentle, bubbly, agreeable; but awkward, insecure, passive, doubtful. likes helping out around camp without the amounts of responsibility.
- cheddar, non-binary, 97 moons. compliant, chatty, extroverted, a quick learner; but disloyal, inattentive, forgetful, two-faced. looks forward to someday retiring with goshawk at their side.
- milk, male, 88 moons. extroverted, charismatic, clever, crafty; but lazy, rebellious, non-committal, selfish. spends a lot of time in the medic den as the medics look over his new scars.
- hydrangea, female, 88 moons. curious, brave, hard-working, witty; but gossipy, dramatic, two-faced, opportunistic. secretly hopes her kittens stay in the pinewood clowder.
- robin, female, 72 moons. intelligent, caring, loyal, protective; but biased, calculating, impatient, argumentative. is so proud of her litter!
- velvet, nonbinary, 72 moons. caring, sensitive, leisurely, understanding; but lazy, ineffective, overly-calm, fearless. says they'll wallop frederick if they ever see him again.
- sienna, female, 66 moons. kind, people-pleasing, eager, affectionate, but attention-hogging, melodramatic, self-centered, anxious. has made great friends with nucnad.
- honey, female, 65 moons. bubbly, talkative, romantic, feminine; but naive, frivolous, melodramatic, overly-sensitive. is sad she won't be able to pair bumble and bracken up now.
- gravel, male, 65 moons. soft, introverted, creative, academic; but uneasy, cynical, mercurial, intolerant. was seen arguing with feste and trying his best not to slap his former apprentice.
- jeremy, male, 53 moons. well-intentioned, athletic, humorous, team worker, but unintelligent, egotistical, pathetic, unnerving. has a rather mean sense of humor sometimes...
- harley, female, 49 moons. loud, goofy, rebellious, sharp-tongued, but reckless, trouble-causing, scheming, impulsive. is a bit angry with davey for his decision but tries not to hold it against him.
- flurry, male, 48 moons. humorous, boisterous, brave, athletic; but witless, exaggerating, selfish, loud. is interested in hearing more about his great-grandmother, stormfog.
- vixen, female, 43 moons. proud, quick-witted, surefire, detail-oriented; but paranoid, overconfident, selfish, has attachment issues. has started to look around the territory border for groups to trade with.
- nacnud, male, 41 moons. warm, optimistic, compassionate, selfless; but hasty, witless, loud, disorganized. it turns out he makes for a really great friend!
- marigold, nonbinary, 41 moons. flashy, creative, witty, talkative; but egotistical, gluttonous, envious, bragging. is really happy for touchstone as they get along really well with her.
- smoky, nonbinary, 36 moons. smart, studious, dedicated, passionate; but mysterious, detached, cold, manipulative. is just happy all the frederick drama seems to be over with.
- silt, nonbinary, 35 moons. quiet, determined, experimental, philosophical; but lonesome, selfish, easily-annoyed, projects on others. has forgiven touchstone just as she's forgiven them.
- auburn, female, 35 moons. curious, imaginative, playful, strong-willed; but stubborn, impulsive, ignorant, no attention span. despite being impulsive she knows when to keep quiet.
-slate, female, 35 moons. smart, observant, eager-to-learn, people-pleasing; but timid, conspiratorial, hesitant, enabling. has promised auburn will mentor citrine next season.
-squab, female, 35 moons. sharp-tongued, witty, observant, honest; but egotistical, snooty, vain, sarcastic. thinks bumble should skip camp every so often to go meet up with bracken on the side.
- enmity, nonbinary, 30 moons. excitable, friendly, enthusiastic, and deeply empathetic; but socially awkward, impulsive, anxious, and forgetful. keeps trying to make a friend group to mixed results but gets along well with jessica.
- finch, female, 26 moons. curious, sharp-tongued, clever, quick learner; but suspicious, lazy, opportunistic, a slacker. still keeps in touch with davey via their mind-bond.
- jessica, female, 17 moons. independent, clever, observant, sharp-witted; but quiet, self-loathing, aggressive, rebellious. no longer remembers much of her human life at all.
- reggie, male, physically age 17 moons but mentally age 116 moons. adaptable, crafty, independent, introverted; but boastful, insecure, detached, fickle. has finally realized he's all alone now.
- paeonia, female, 17 moons. witty, talkative, boisterous, friendly; but insufferable, impolite, impulsive, blunt. has been told by peony not to mention her to her mother.
- titmouse, female, 17 moons. dextrous, intelligent, enterprising, curious; but absent-minded, fickle, disorganized, impatient. likes joking about feste having 'fatherless behavior'.
- midnight, male, 14 moons. quiet, determined, analytical, gentle; but ruthless, manipulative, single-minded, overprotective. tends to keep his opinions to himself.
- feste, male, 13 moons. sharp-witted, good-humored, charismatic, independent; but insensitive, troublemaking, cruel, rude. wanders around on his own often.
- lavender, female, 8 moons. confident, enterprising, caring, ambitious; but petty, bragging, entitled, aggressive. is so excited to be an apprentice!
- sepia, female, 8 moons. polite, quiet, observant, dry-humored; but cowardly, submissive, self-doubting, hesitant. is less excited than her sister but tries to follow lavender's lead.
- touchstone's litter, 4 moons.
- hydrangea's litter, 2 moons.