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Post by Treeheart on Dec 27, 2022 22:47:39 GMT -5
(So my responding post goes here?)
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Post by Goldenstar on Dec 27, 2022 23:35:09 GMT -5
(So my responding post goes here?) Yessum!
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Post by Treeheart on Dec 28, 2022 0:17:03 GMT -5
Chris
The sound of the horn had set his heart pounding.
They'd been told what it meant in their early training. Help was needed, and urgently.
Upon getting there, he found a horrible sight. A terrible tom, bearing down on two mollies and two kits. The pure terror and desperation that surrounded this small group was near jarring, being a tom born within the sweet comforts of the Valley, where the most terrible thing he'd seen was that fox attack that led him here to begin with.
He looked to Thistle, determination filling their shared looks. They were Cloudclan Warriors, now Watchers. They were trained for this.
As the attacker was thrown away from the injured molly, he dove down beside the molly and her kits. The little ones were wailing, huddled together in the snow, close to what he could only assume to be their mother. Not even thinking, he scooped them up. His gaze focused more on the Wall as he waited for someone to come secure the injured, despite knowing he should hurry and get the little ones to safety.
"Mommy!" One of the kit squealed, trying to scurry off of Thicket's back to get back to his mother, despite his little voice already sounding hoarse from tears and fear. "Mommy! Mommy!"
"She's going to be alright," Thickettine tried to coo, slowly backing away from the tustle, still not wanting to leave...
Oh.
This was Pastellight. Pastellight of Inkclan.
As that realization hit, his heart fell into his stomach as he focused back in the hostile being.
Inkclan. Conquered, kept under a cruel rule.
"You're safe now," Thicket breathed, trying to keep his nerves at bay.
And as another Watcher dove in to retrieve Pastel, Thicket turned tail and galloped to get the kits he held to safety. He held his breath, steeling his will, as the kits wailed for their mother yet again.
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Post by Goldenstar on Dec 28, 2022 2:22:34 GMT -5
"Get your ugly face out of here!" Thistlesong snarled as she pummeled Killian's underbelly with her powerful hind legs. The assassin snarled in pain as scarlet drops of blood sprayed the snow and he went reeling backward toward the crest he'd climbed up. Tawny spat at him and lashed her tail.
"Tell your boss you failed! Four moons and you could never catch a lame molly, a rogue, and two young kits! Some killer you are!" she kicked some snow at him as Killian disappeared over the cleft. The anger on Tawny's face melted into concern as she turned on her paw and bolted over to Stella.
"Hey, hey you. We made it." She gave her friend a poke. "Come on. Wake up, Pastellight. Come on."
Stella shifted a bit and forced her eyes open. "Brightpaw?" she whispered before she drifted into unconsciousness again. Tawny's eyes darkened with worry but Thistlesong came to her side just as a team of other Watchers came down to aid the she-cat.
"Pastellight?" Thistlesong whispered in disbelief. "Dear Stars, what happened to you?"
"We'll catch up later," Tawny told her urgently. "She really needs to see a healer or a medicine cat or whatever it is you guys call them. I'll catch you up in a bit."
---
Once safely up at the Watcher Camp, Karedynn had instructed Woodtremor on exactly what to do to patch up Pastellight. It had been over a moon now since Twilightmoon herself went missing and the Watch feared she had been killed while out looking for herbs. With Demonmark missing, the white stag was their only healer. He was trying to teach some of the others the best he could, but the healing remedies of an old dear was absolutely no comparison to a trained medicine cat. But with some warm water from the springs, some cobwebs, some honey, and some peppermint, Stella slowly woke up to find she was surrounded by familiar faces. And had both of her sons tucked against her side asleep. She could hear Tawny talking somewhere in the distance and slowly got to her aching paws. Desertpaw groaned when his mother moved but immediately nudged Dustkit awake out habit. They had learned, virtually from the moment they opened their eyes, that if mother was on the move- they had to follow her. Now, the twins stuck close to her side as the once-pretty she-cat limped her way across the clearing and toward the sound of Tawny's voice.
"And then this morning, we woke up and headed out. We've been trying to get here for so long, but neither of us are valley-born and we don't know the way. And then... Oh! You're awake!" Tawny bolted over from where she had been talking to the mass of Watchers and she ran into Stella and nuzzled her chest lovingly. "I was so afraid I'd lost you."
"We weren't going to let that happen," Woodtremor told her as the Captain padded over to the she-cat and offered a small, welcoming smile. "It's good to see you again, Stella."
"You too, Woodtremor," she greeted fondly before finding her gaze fell over the two cats who had saved her- Thickettine and Thistlesong. "You're both Watchers now! I'm so proud of you. Thank you so much for responding to Tawny and rescuing us. We'd all be dead if you didn't."
"But why was Killian after you?" Thistlesong asked as she furrowed her eyebrows. "Was he so eager to kill his own kits?"
"His kits?" Stella shook her head. "No, my sons aren't Killian's. In fact, they weren't sired by a member of the Brotherhood at all..." she shifted uncomfortably. "With that, at least, I am blessed." She looked down at her anxious twins and nudged them both forward. "Boys, come say hello. These are Watchers- they're friends. This little one here is Dustkit and the other is Desertkit. Say thank you to those cats right there. They saved us."
"Thank you for helping my Momma," Desertkit said after a moment, failing to look either Thistlesong or Thickettine in the eye. "Thank you so much."
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Post by Treeheart on Dec 28, 2022 2:44:44 GMT -5
It'd taken a lot of strength, both physical and emotional, to keep the kits from Pastellight long enough for her to be properly looked over. They'd squirmed and fuss, pleading for their mother with weak voices and red-rimmed eyes.
Thickettine had held them, careful just in case they were in as fragile of a condition as their mother, though that turned out not to be the case. The kits were healthy, as healthy as cats who'd seemingly been running for their lives could be healthy. It was clear that the two mollies had made the little ones their priority.
Finally, once Stella was settled enough, Thicket released them. They stumbled over to her immediately, flopping over and crashing into the kind of sleep only the aftermath of high adrenaline could give you. Poor, poor little things.
Tawny's story was definitely a wild, strenuous one. Thicket sat beside his sister and listened for the entirety of it, or at least until Pastel came and made herself known. Relief was clear in his face when the small family emerged, Pastel back on her paws, though still not as steady as one would hope.
Duskkit huddled near both his brother and his mother, a practiced distance from his mother's legs, knowing better than to risk tripping her. Yes, her forelegs were stronger, but even the slightly misstep proved to send her stumbling in the worst of cases.
"Thank you," he mewed dutifully, before his eyes seemed to drift over the sea of Watchers, his little brows furrowing before he looked up towards Stella.
"Momma, where's Daddy?" Though still soft, his words were clearly much stronger when speaking to Pastellight. Of course his own mother wouldn't be a cause for anxiety. "You said he lived in the clan behind the Wall. Is he here?"
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Post by cowbird on Dec 29, 2022 20:32:15 GMT -5
(wait what happened to Twilightmoon???)
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Post by Goldenstar on Jan 4, 2023 11:58:02 GMT -5
(wait what happened to Twilightmoon???) (I'll write a big post about that in a bit. Tragic, beautiful, just what she deserved. <3)
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Post by Goldenstar on Jan 4, 2023 12:14:43 GMT -5
It'd taken a lot of strength, both physical and emotional, to keep the kits from Pastellight long enough for her to be properly looked over. They'd squirmed and fuss, pleading for their mother with weak voices and red-rimmed eyes. Thickettine had held them, careful just in case they were in as fragile of a condition as their mother, though that turned out not to be the case. The kits were healthy, as healthy as cats who'd seemingly been running for their lives could be healthy. It was clear that the two mollies had made the little ones their priority. Finally, once Stella was settled enough, Thicket released them. They stumbled over to her immediately, flopping over and crashing into the kind of sleep only the aftermath of high adrenaline could give you. Poor, poor little things. Tawny's story was definitely a wild, strenuous one. Thicket sat beside his sister and listened for the entirety of it, or at least until Pastel came and made herself known. Relief was clear in his face when the small family emerged, Pastel back on her paws, though still not as steady as one would hope. Duskkit huddled near both his brother and his mother, a practiced distance from his mother's legs, knowing better than to risk tripping her. Yes, her forelegs were stronger, but even the slightly misstep proved to send her stumbling in the worst of cases. "Thank you," he mewed dutifully, before his eyes seemed to drift over the sea of Watchers, his little brows furrowing before he looked up towards Stella. "Momma, where's Daddy?" Though still soft, his words were clearly much stronger when speaking to Pastellight. Of course his own mother wouldn't be a cause for anxiety. "You said he lived in the clan behind the Wall. Is he here?" "Well, this isn't the clan, really. These are the Watchers. They live separately from Cloudclan." She rasped her tongue over Duskkit's ear and lifted her head to meet Woodtremor's gaze. "I hate to be so forward... but is there a chance of us going to the Valley? I want more than anything to see my mother and my siblings. And I want my kits to meet their father." "Their father is... valley-born?" it was Ashrain who spoke, the captain raising an eyebrow thoughtfully- not in any way judgmental- but the gears were still turning. "Yes. I don't know if he even knows they exist. I never got to tell him before the takeover happened. I didn't even know myself until Yarrowpaw..." when Stella spoke of her courageous brother, pain unlike anything else spread across her face and she shuddered. "He discovered them for me. It was because of him that I was able to escape. He saved me- he saved us." She hugged both her boys tightly. Then something nearly hurt entered her eyes. "Why hasn't Inkclan come yet? Why haven't they fought for the captives at the Manor? It's been six moons!" "The valley is flooded," this was Almondthicket who spoke. "Flooded nearly through and through. The winter was so harsh that it froze half the forest." "Stars!" "And your mother had a new litter. She couldn't travel and fight with young kits." "I did," Stella replied almost bitterly but she met Tawny's gaze and the two nodded briefly in understanding. "But that isn't the point. Can we go to Cloudclan? Is it safe to go?" "It is. If you watch where you step," Karedynn replied as the old stag got to his hooves. "I'll lead you." "I'll guide you," Almondthicket offered. Woodtremor offered his cousin an icy glare and Monty rolled his eyes. "Come with me if you're that worried about me, hm?" "I think that's an excellent idea," Ashrain added and Woodtremor nodded slowly. "Fine. I will. It'll be nice to see my family anyway." The co-Captain rolled his shoulders and picked out some Watchers from the frontline. "Whitewood? You and Rockshadow are second in command until Almondthicket and I return." Then Woodtremor looked at Tawny. "What about you?" "I go where Stella goes," replied the scrawny brown cat as she gave her big ears a flick. "So if she's going to the Valley- then so am I! We're a team. And I want to learn to be a warrior so I can protect others. I'm going too." "Heard." Woodtremor and Almondthicket turned on their paws as Karedynn bounded over them and began to scale down the mountain wall. "Tell the leaders we're on our way with a special delivery." "Yes sir!" and then the stag was gone. "Alright boys," Tawny purred to her nephews as she nudged Desertkit and Duskkit along. "Let's get you home."
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