#perchclaw

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

ok I wasn't planning on adding this but I love animal fun facts and since a mentioned the "snake jaw" thing twice now I want to share that technically, snakes don't unhinge their jaws!

They have two lower jaws that are disconnected, which helps them to stretch their mouths so much!

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

So Lucky (short story)

“Your nest–” Perchclaw was going to say the words carefully, but Redkit had already tensed up. 

“Sorry! I’m fixing it!” Instantly, she began pushing the moss inward to make it fluffier. 

Perchclaw’s heart weighed heavily at the sight. Redkit had been living with him and Vireosong as their daughter for a moon now, yet she had her moments of fear. Her trauma must have been truly bad, if the need to be perfect or frequent nightmares were any indication.

Too, Perchclaw saw his own fear reflected in his daughter’s eyes, so deeply rooted that he could practically follow the strings all the way down to her thumping heart. It brought him to a horrible place, the Shadowclan nursery, where his mother fed him just enough to keep him alive. He could never be good enough for her, how could he be good enough for a mother who wished him dead? She pushed him away so that he wasn’t even sure she had mourned when the snake had bitten him.

Redkit’s past was the opposite, she was never good enough and that meant extra, horrible attention. Perchclaw had grown apathetic until new, better parents took him in and taught him that who he was was good enough. Redkit thought that everything she did was wrong and could be scrutinized.

“Hey, hey,” Perchclaw began gently. He lowered himself to the ground, tucking his paws beneath him so that he looked as unthreatening as possible–and cringed that he had to make himself unthreatening to his own daughter. Angry, too, at her so-called mother. “Your nest is very pretty. I like the flowers you put in them.”

Redkit’s ears were flat. “You do?”

Perchclaw smiled. “I love how you decorated. Do you think you can find some flowers to put in my nest so we can match?” On the one side, he loved that Redkit felt comfortable to put the flowers in at all now. On the other, she shouldn’t worry that her father wouldn’t like it.

Redkit’s ears pricked. “I know where a bunch are!”

Perchclaw slowly stood, purring. He allowed Redkit to take the lead until they came across a field of differently shaped and coloured flowers. They were rather withered and dull, but to everything else in the Dark Forest, they might as well be as bright as the sun. 

One flower in particular caught Perchclaw’s eye. “Look at this, Red!” He went to pluck it. “See this?” He asked when she faced him. “It’s a white chrysanthemum. It represents truth. Do you know why?”

Redkit shook her head, eyes round.

Perchclaw spoke around the stem. “Because when adults hold this flower, they can only speak the truth.”

“That’s not true!” 

“Try it,” Perchclaw insisted. “Ask me anything.”

“Umm….did you really like my nest?” Redkit’s voice fell shy.

“I loved it,” Perchclaw answered honestly. 

Redkit’s grin, ear-to-ear, was enough to warm his heart so that he wouldn’t be surprised if it burst into flames and turned his ribs to ash. “Was it….was it perfect?”

Perchclaw’s eyes narrowed lovingly. “Dear one, everything you do is perfect. I love you, so I love everything you do.”

Redkit stepped closer, smile happy but eyes slightly frightened, like she was expecting this to be a trick. “Why?”

Perchclaw began to think how to word it right, then decided that thinking would make things too complicated and it was best to just talk and improvise. It would be easy, what he would say was the truth. “Because I had a mom before grandmommy, who was bad and made me feel bad. She made me think that I was bad. I thought that I was bad for a really long time.” The recognition in Redkit’s gaze pained him. “But I wasn’t. I was good, I just had a bad mom. My new parents–your grandpas and grandmommy–taught me that I deserved love anyway, and they loved me. They loved me so much that I began to love myself. Their love was unconditional. That means they love me no matter what,” he added with emphasis. “I am so lucky to have them raise me, I’m so lucky to have brothers and sisters who love me, and I’m so lucky that your dad loves me, and I’m so, so lucky to be able to raise you. I never thought I would have a kit. I thought I wasn’t good enough to take care of anyone. But I am, and I love you so much. Every day I wake up and see you, every single thing you do is a miracle to me because there was once a time that I thought I wouldn’t be good enough for you. I love you so much already, and I hope that I will be a good dad to you, because that is what you deserve.” It was a long, simplified version of things. Still the truth. Perchclaw had to take a breath.

Redkit took several long heartbeats to respond, standing and staring. Perchclaw began to wonder if she was too young to understand when she rushed forward, headbutting him roughly in the chest, and exploded into purr after purr, rubbing her head and chin all along his fur.

When they returned to the den, Vireosong, who had been visiting his sister, watched curiously as his mate and daughter slipped through the log entrance, jaws filled with white flowers.

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@ambitiousauthor

--Fun fact! Red chrysanthemum is what Myrtle gave Alder, meaning love. Family thing I guess?

--Just to be clear, this is just a tiny fib! The white flowers are regular flowers.

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest -- Resembling Deaths

I'm a huge fan of the idea where if someone dies, they resemble what killed them. They won't just show the wound itself, but their body actually changes to incorporate certain signs of their death

Take Perchclaw (oc), for example.

He was bitten by a venomous snake. In the usual version of things, this is seen in the bite mark on his legs.

But in this version of death, he's the one that resembles a snake. Not obviously, no. At first glance, he looks like a cat. He has no scales, he still has his legs. He sounds like a cat, too. You're sure he is a cat. But then you keep looking at him, and you start to notice that something is off. His body is a little longer than that of a normal cat, but maybe he's just a strange breed? Are his fangs a little too sharp, and a little too long? When he eats, does his jaw open a little too wide? When he speaks, you think his tongue might be split, but you can never get a good glance--you're surely seeing things. You hear him hiss, but does it sound almost like a rattle? No, of course not. Surely you're just hearing things (though Perch was bitten by an adder, not a rattle snake, so maybe he doesn't have this part--buy his hisses could sound more like a snake's than a cat's!)

To step away from horror and into some silly, I think it'd also be funny + neat if characters show traits of what killed them in their personality as well.

Continuing with Perchclaw, imagine he just starts to LOVE sunning himself on rocks.

And also maybe he doesn't really notice when he opens his jaws too wide and doesn't understand why cats around him are freaking out.

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A final note to add: they wouldn't show EVERY trait of what killed them. For example, as stated, Perchclaw wouldn't have any scales, and he still has his legs. He also wouldn't have snake-vision, but could find that he can smell things easier when he opens his mouth to do it (but might not think twice about it, since tasting the air is normal).

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Perchclaw belongs to @ambitiousauthor

Tagging: @elementaldeityoffood @liberhoe @wills-woodland-warriors @starfalcon555 @meowstival @indigo-flightly-falls @frightnightindustries

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Resemblance to Death: How Some Characters are Affected

Did not expect to really get into this when I made the post just a few minutes ago but now my energy is BUZZING and I am really interested with how I can decide the affects for different characters, so here's a list!

KILLED BY AN ANIMAL

Perchclaw

CoD: bitten by an adder snake

Physical Characteristics: At first glance, he looks like a cat. He has no scales, he still has his legs. He sounds like a cat, too. But his body is a little longer than that of a normal cat, but not unsubtly so. His fangs are sharper and longer than normal. When he eats, his jaws open a little too wide. When he speaks, cats can see--if they can get a good glance--that his tongue is split. Whenever he hisses, it sounds more like a snake than a cat.

Personality Traits: loves sunning himself on rocks, likes moist environments and places where he can be sheltered well.

KILLED BY NATURE

Alderstar

CoD: crushed by a tree (multiple lives taken)

Physical Characteristics: his claws grow much faster than that of a normal cat, instead resembling the speed of a growing branch, and he has to cut them often so he can walk properly. The goes for his teeth as well (and cutting them is much more difficult). His pelt darkens every now and again, growing out before shedding and allowing the regular golden colour to be seen again (the whole pelt doesn't shed, just the long dark fur. The golden one grows underneath until it pushes the dark fur out). Sometimes parts of his body start to sprout a secondary part. Smaller claws will begin to grow on his claws, smaller teeth on his regular ones, and those are much more painful to get rid of (but if he doesn't, they will grow into a problem). Sometimes when his pelt grows long, it will grow especially long strands--strands of clumps of hair that can stretch from his spine down to the ground. But that's painful to get rid of as well, because it's not just fur--it's his own skin stretching out into tendrils, trying to expand. The fur is simply growing on it.

NATURAL CAUSES

TBA

MURDERED

TBA

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Will add more!

If you have ideas for your own characters or want me to do them for you, feel free to let me know!

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@ambitiousauthor @meowstival @liberhoe @indigo-flightly-falls @starfalcon555 @frightnightindustries @wills-woodland-warriors

(sorry to tag you all again so soon)

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

uhhhhhh I still need to get caught up on the eyes-out and tunnel poly/family lores but ummmm

Any eyes-out cats, what's a plant that reminds you of your favorite cat/cats?

Alderstar:

I suppose it could be stated that the chrysanthemum flowers are an important representation of our family bonds.

First, Myrtlewing gave me a red chrysanthemum, which I THOUGHT was to declare his romantic feelings...It wasn't until we were dead that I found out that it was just a regular gift!

Then Perchclaw carried the tradition when he used white chrysanthemum to bond with Redwillow.

We found out later that red chrysanthemum means 'love and passion,' so technically, Myrtlewing did declare his love, just unintentionally and prematurely.

White chrysanthemum means mourning and grief...I don't think Perchclaw knew that.

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If you haven't read it yet , Sprouting Thorns is a great story for Eye-Out lore! You can also check out my account for bonus Eye-Out stories!

And Gorseheart's Silence contains good moments of him and his own family

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

First I drew the darker version, then I saw a drawing of her and colour-picked from that and left the stripes, then I made the stripes lighter.

@ambitiousauthor which version do you like the most?

I imagine she becomes a sort of 'guardian' of sorts after the apprentices, occasionally joining training sessions to help them defend themselves (and help their confidence). As well, she teaches them emotional things like how to recognize signs of abuse, how to get out of a bad relationship, and how to cope and move on.

Though she is nicknamed as a 'guardian,' she's still the soft sweetheart she was as a kit, and yes, still adorns her nest with flowers.

She is also referred to as an aunt or big sister.

If she finds a young cat that's still in a bad situation, she goes to her dads and they (or sometimes her grandpas) take care of the abuser.

Her scars are from her mother (the claws on her leg look like she was attacked by a badger. That's because her leg was small when she got them).

--

Ref: .:Base:. F2U Cat Base by FuzywuzyDraws on DeviantArt

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

In The Storm (short story)

Perchclaw curled his lip in distaste as rain began to splatter the ground, liquifying the already muddy floor and soaking his pelt, chilling it to the bone as if the perpetually freezing air didn’t already do that. He ducked beneath a cluster of overhanging ferns with Vireosong, who he was meant to be having a romantic walk with.

“Where is this even coming from?” He hissed, wishing it could scare the water away from him. Peering through the gaps in the leaves above his head, he saw dark grey, almost black clouds. There wasn't enough wind and rain to call it a rainstorm, but it certainly was enough to call it a nuisance.

Vireosong tilted his head and gazed up thoughtfully. “A youngling, this one was, making beasts in the mind from the sounds of the sky. Tears of fright fell in the beating rhythm of their onslaught, sheltered only by the dark guardian with inner gold, loving smile warming this one even now, moons with her gone. She had soothed that little one. The rain were tears too, said she, weeps of joy and sorrow our blood sends in comfort and celebration. Odd, this one thinks, to have tears of pure blood spill from eyes who cannot see through these shadows. But brightening too, though dark as it may be, to think this water came from blood, shed by our loving kin. Perhaps, even by the dark guardian. She cannot send her warmth through a sky in which she cannot reach, yet this one feels the embrace all the same, burrowing through flesh and shell and curling around this one’s heart. This one’s mind goes back, now, to those days curled by her love. The heart aches for those long-lost days, but a smile is evident, all the same, for the memories they give.”

Perchclaw listened patiently, ears pricked and working out the meaning of each sentence as they came. Since he and Vireosong had first gotten together, back when they were apprentices, it took a lot of time for him. The first time, he went to his father, Alderstar, for help figuring it out. Now after much practice, he had gotten much better, and could usually respond with only a little hesitation.

He will admit to himself that he does, most often, enjoy the sentences he can’t quite understand. He’s grown to love figuring it out, and he can tell by the gleam in his mate’s eyes that Vireosong enjoys watching as the moment of realization becomes clear on Perchclaw’s face.

Perchclaw nuzzled him now. “Your mother sounds sweet,” he replied. “You deserved all the love she could give you. I’m sure–I know she still loves you, where she is in Starclan. And in the Dark Forest, well, you have me, and Redpaw, and your fathers and sisters, and my family too.” They hadn’t talked much about their mothers before. Perchclaw wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about his own now. Maybe someday. 

Vireosong nuzzled him back. Then, pulling away, he opened his mouth again. His gaze drifted off as he spoke. “Sweet love dies on this one’s tongue as they see a spying bird.”

“What?” Perchclaw tilted his head. Realizing that Vireosong’s drifted gaze was in fact focused on something else, he turned his head to see behind him, and nearly jumped at the sight of Magpieshine, whose face he almost collided with. 

He whirled around. “Magpie! What are you doing here? Can’t you see we’re having a moment?”

Magpieshine smirked. “It was a really sweet moment,” she agreed.

Perchclaw fluffed out his fur in embarrassment. “Yeah? So go!”

“I came to tell you something important, dingus,” Magpieshine said with amusement. “I’m sure your snuggling can wait.”

“It’s not snuggling!” Perchclaw stood hotly. “What’s so important anyway?”

At that, Magpieshine’s eyes brightened. “Drizzlestare went into labor. She’s having her kits!”

“She is?” In an instant, all awkward frustrations evaporated, and Perchclaw shot out of the den, forgetting entirely about his own freezing bones. The rain was still pouring hard. “In this weather? Where is she? Is she okay?”

“I don’t know, mom sent me,” Magpieshine told him, still amused, though more serious. “I’m sure she’ll be fine, she has dad and Fleathistle with her, and her mates. But they wanted family near.”

“May this one attend the arrival of such precious lives?” Vireosong asked, coming up to stand next to Perchclaw. 

“Of course!” Magpieshine beamed.

“But is she safe?” Perchclaw repeated. “This weather is no place for newborn kits, and Grand Dark Kits are still so new, we have no idea what problems they might have! Are they at least somewhere warm?”

Magpieshine poked his shoulder with her nose. “Perfectly warm, worry-wart. Now, how about you stop asking how they are and come see for yourself?”

Perchclaw was already racing off before she finished, stopping only to let his sister take the lead when he remembered that he had no idea where to go.

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--for @ambitiousauthor 

consider it a gift for all the school work you’re doing. Perchclaw, Magpieshine, and Vireosong all belong to them.

--Redpaw is either with her mentor or being looked after while her dads get some alone time. Someone is fetching her as well.

--Perchclaw is a concerned big brother. I said before that I’d be interested in more dynamic between the “first litter” (Stone, Perch, and Magpie [not exactly a litter but it’s easy to say]) and the younger ones. So, here’s a story!

--Yes, the longest part to write was Vireosong’s paragraph. Can you figure out what he’s saying? 00

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

@ambitiousauthor

@wills-woodland-warriors 

So there’s four stories

one shows Perchpaw after leaving the Daycare and being called a ‘problem child.’

one shows Perch after being attacked by Tartail

one shows Goosekit wondering if she’s bad because they look like Tartail

one shows Perchclaw as a Daycare helper

So what if Perchpaw/claw was the one to comfort and talk to Goosekit? Tartail hurt him (which is why he was killed), and Perch wanted the kit to know that she is NOT Tartail. And he’s super nice and caring about it and maybe Goose, feeling better, asks to play and they do

And Fungichomp sees this and later offers Perch another chance, which is why he’s able to occasionally work at the Daycare after being kicked out as an apprentice. And maybe that’s also why he was seen helping out there, because he likes encouraging kits--something no one did for him in life.