HemlockClan’s territory is made up of evergreens, only a few deciduous trees here and there, bordered by WolfClan and LightClan. The forests, especially the West and East dense forests, are incredibly dark. The other Clans think they might have night vision because of how easily they hunt in the forests, but really they’re just used to the shadows. The Lynx’s Cave once belonged to a lynx who was friends with one of Hemlockseer’s kits. They slept together there every night and when they passed, they were buried together there. That cave now marks the HemlockClan graveyard.
The deep pond is where the Clan fishes during the hot months. During Frost, the cats play games on the ice.
HemlockClan cats avoid the Wolf Hills.
Aboveground Camp
HemlockClan’s camp consists of three of the tallest hemlock trees in the territory. The three trees are the leader, warrior, and apprentice den. When a new apprentice is named, they lay on the forest floor until they learn to climb up to the dens. While the leader’s den has a hollow where the leader sleeps, the warriors and apprentices all sleep on the branches of the trees together. The elders’ den and nursery are both made up of maple shrubs, which turn beautiful orange and red colors during the colder months. The queens usually choose to wait to go to the nursery, some even waiting until their kits are born, wanting to keep climbing the hemlocks and sleep in the branches.
Unlike most of the Clans, the medicine den actually leads into the underground camp, where they keep their herb store. The den is just under a large rock, dug out by the first HemlockClan healer. It’s rumored that they kept digging until they hit the cave underneath and put their herbs there. They were named Moledigger by Hemlockseer for their talent.
The sunning stones belong to the elders’. Other warriors are only allowed to stay there if invited by an elder.
Underground Camp
The underground camp is similar to most of the underground camps in the other Clans. The campfire is close to the elders’ den to keep them warm, brought down to embers at night to keep the plants enclosing their den safe. The medicine den connects to the aboveground medicine den. They place large ferns over the whole Moledigger dug out to keep it warm from the Frost air. The nursery is one of the warmest dens besides the elders’ den, stuffed full of moss and plants to keep the kittens warm. The leader’s den is in a small cave in the wall, elevated from the rest of the camp. This is where the leader addresses the Clans.
Lore
HemlockClan was founded by Hemlockseer, one of Luminous’ eight kits. Hemlockseer always blended in with the shadows with their dark brown pelt. Having come from the same litter as Caveseer, they could see very well in the dark, making it easy to hunt in the shadowy evergreen territory. They also learned from their mother how to climb even the tallest trees. Luminous gave them their favorite forest as a gift, and Hemlock fell into a deep love of the trees, along with the rest of their Clan. They grew stronger when they were in the trees, even believing that they had lose their ability to hunt outside the forest. HemlockClan cats dislike being outside the forest and avoid open areas unless they have a specific reason, such as going to gatherings.
It’s believed that every HemlockClan cat inherited Hemlockseer’s eyesight, able to see in the shadowy forest well.
