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Post by Dagegen5 on Jul 10, 2018 16:15:45 GMT -5
The RebukedA warrior cats Fanfic
| Synopsis | On the open grasslands of the Midwestern prairie, two groups of cats have made their home among the buffalo and tall grasses. CloudClan and FieldClan have rested here for many season cycles, blessed by their ancestors who reside in the heavens to send down the clouds to touch the earth and powerful rainstorms to quench the life below. Recently, they have been in almost constant conflict, their battles turning deadly over a strip of land called the Sandbar. FieldClan has also cut off all contact to StarClan per their leader's demand, leaving CloudClan inherently suspicious of her motives.
The Rebuked follows two characters, the shunned ex-deputy of CloudClan, Grayfur, and the controversial deputy of FieldClan, Honeyfire. Stripped of his title and warrior name after his insubordination during a battle between the two clans, Grayfur must strive to gain favor in the eyes of his clanmates as his isolation and despair grow faster than he can hope to control. Honeyfire is the first deputy of FieldClan to not descend from the long and prosperous line of familial leadership that Phloxstar reigns from; she faces scrutiny from every angle and finds her loyalty under fire at every waking moment.
All the while, a murderer walks among the clans, leaving dead bodies in their wake and sparking yet more tension between the already bitter enemies. Comments: This story will contain multiple perspectives! || ALLEGIANCES ||
|| CLOUDCLAN ||
LEADER Torrentstar – A pale gray tabby tom with bold marbled stripes and one yellow eye. The left side of his face is deeply scarred with a missing eye.
DEPUTY Floodclaw – A ruddy red tabby she-cat with bright green eyes.
MEDICINE CAT Flurryfoot – A dilute calico she-cat with bright hazel eyes.
WARRIORS Hailrush – A large long-furred silver tabby she-cat with marbled stripes and pale amber eyes. Apprentice: Dustpaw
Sleettail – A medium-furred silver tabby tom with a white chest and belly and hazel eyes.
Drizzlegaze – A watchful gray tabby tom with cool green eyes and a scar laced pelt.
Frostpool – A white she-cat with pale blue eyes.
Wildeye – A brown tabby tom with one amber eye and one green eye. Apprentice – Lightningpaw
Surgestrike – A brown ticked tabby tom with pale yellow eyes.
Thunderblaze – A large golden tabby tom with a white underbelly and chest. Pale green eyes.
Brightsky – A large solid cream tabby she-cat with yellow eyes. Apprentice – Flashpaw
Gustcloud – A dark gray she-cat with white tipped paws and tail and amber eyes.
Burstflame – A bob-tailed tortoiseshell tom with white paws and underbelly
Galewhisker – A black tom with piercing green eyes. Apprentice: Mudpaw
Stillblossom – A mute black she-cat with green eyes and white tipped tail.
Breezeheart – A black and white tom with pale green eyes.
Fogfang – A thin blue-gray lynx-point tom with bright blue eyes.
Miststrike – A pale gray tabby she-cat with a white tipped tail and white locket on her chest. Green eyes. Apprentice: Windpaw
Icestep – A white tom with gray tabby patches across his flank and face and hazel eyes.
Showerlight – A pale gray tom with green eyes
Puddlefoot – A pale gray she-cat with green eyes
APPRENTICES Windpaw – A wiry cream tabby tom with white paws and belly. Yellow eyes
Lightningpaw – A golden tabby she-cat with white underbelly, chest, chin, and legs. Amber eyes.
Flashpaw – A white-furred she-cat with a blazing red tabby tail and patches of red tabby fur on her flank and forehead. Pale amber eyes
Dustpaw – A dusky dark brown tom with faintly ticked tabby markings across his sides and bright green eyes.
Mudpaw – A brown and red tabby tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes.
QUEENS Snowflower – A long-furred white she-cat with gentle amber eyes. Mother of Spottedkit, Blackkit and Whitekit.
KITS Spottedkit – A calico she-cat with large black and orange splotches and hazel eyes.
Blackkit – A black tom with yellow eyes.
Whitekit – A white tom with pale green eyes.
ELDERS Squallblaze – A very old, dark blue-gray tom, fur speckled white with age, with pale amber eyes. Has a lame front foot that causes a consistent limp and cataract-covered eyes.
Rainwhisker – A blue-point she-cat with gray-blue eyes. The gray fur has covered most of her legs, chest, face and flank with age
THE REBUKED Grayfur – A gray tom with white fur on his chest, chin and paws and pale yellow-green eyes. Originally called Rumblestorm.
Stripedfur – A lithely built brown tabby she-cat with long legs and amber eyes. Four scars across her left eye; blind on the left side. Originally called Dustwhisker.
|| FIELDCLAN ||
LEADER Phloxstar – A pale blue and cream mottled she-cat with a white belly and paws and copper eyes.
DEPUTY Honeyfire – A bright golden-cream tabby she-cat with orange eyes
MEDICINE CAT Chicorylight – A long-furred gray tom cat with pale green eyes.
WARRIORS Antelope – A flame-point she-cat with bright blue eyes. Slightly cross-eyed. Apprentice – Brightpaw
Stagwhisker – A brown tabby tom with light green eyes.
Oakfang – A chocolate tabby tom with a silvery ruff of fur around his chest and pale amber eyes. Apprentice – Crestpaw
Cedarthroat – A gray tabby she-cat with a silvery ruff of fur around her chest and hazel eyes.
Astersong – A gray tabby tom with a white undercarriage and pale green eyes.
Yarrowstorm – A cream tabby tom with white paws and undercarriage. Copper eyes. Apprentice – Wrenpaw
Garlicbelly – a large, white tom with a black tail and black splotches on his head with yellow eyes.
Oniontail – a white she-cat with a brown tabby tail and tabby splotches on her head with blue eyes. Apprentice – Medowlarkpaw
Goldenrodheart- An orange and black tabby tom with copper eyes and white tail tip,
Waspstrike – A mottled black and orange tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes.
Beetuft – A brown and orange tortoiseshell-tabby she-cat with black tufts of fur on her ear tips and green eyes.
Balestep – A cream tabby cat with green eyes
Cricketear – A black she-cat with a kinked tail and green eyes Apprentice – Sparrowpaw
Antpool – A brown-tabby tom with white paws and green eyes
Beetlefang – A brown-tabby she-cat with amber eyes Apprentice – Duskypaw
Flamewhisker – A red tabby she-cat with bright green eyes.
Emberclaw – a red tabby tom with amber eyes.
APPRENTICES Medowlarkpaw – A golden and brown mottled tabby she-cat with green eyes.
Sparrowpaw – A long-furred brown tabby tom with a silvery ruff of fur around his neck with green eyes.
Wrenpaw – A light brown tabby tom with amber eyes.
Crestpaw – A white she-cat with blue eyes. Deaf
Duskypaw – A black and white tuxedo tom with yellow-green eyes.
Brightpaw – A white she-cat with black and orange splotches on her flank. Blue eyes.
QUEENS Foxtailfang – A brown and black tabby tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes
ELDERS Applejaw – A cream tabby tom with green eyes.
Mottlestep – A black and red tabby she-cat with copper eyes.
|| CATS OUTSIDE OF THE CLANS ||
Jackal – A very large tortoiseshell Maine Coon she-cat with bright green eyes
Ricky – The twoleg farm kittypet. A young brown tabby tom with a white undercarriage and pale yellow eyes. ||| Notification Squad |||
|||| Directory ||||
POST ONE: Synopsis, Allegiances, and Misc. POST TWO: Clan Introductions and Lore bits POST THREE: The story begins. POST FOUR: *save* POST FIVE: *save* POST SIX: *save* POST SEVEN: *save* Comments: This is subject to change as I progress in the story c:
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Post by Dagegen5 on Jul 10, 2018 16:16:27 GMT -5
The RebukedA warrior cats Fanfic
| CLOUDCLAN LORE | Names play an important role in CloudClan life, signifying both the personality of the cat and their outward appearance. These cats strive to let their enemies know who and what they are with nothing more than their own name – as such they garner heavy and impactful names that can strike fear into the hearts of others. If a cat happens to change in appearance – gaining noticeable scars or injuries, fur begins to turn gray – or change in personality – such as a sudden surge of bravery or ferocity – a cat's name may be changed. This is a common tradition and is done entirely with the consent of the warrior.
Further, these cats worship the changing skies above their prairie homeland, finding the tumultuous winds and torrential rains to be signs of StarClan. The ultimate connection to their ancestors is the revered tornado, a majestic display of the natural elements working to bring the heavens to touch the earth. To honor their past ancestors, these fierce clan cats use name prefixes that are based on the weather and storms. Wanting names that reflect both the personality and appearance of the kits, CloudClan parents refuse to name kits anything more than the color or pattern of their pelt and wait for them to grow and gain a name that is better suited for them. Therefore, a kit’s apprenticing ceremony is much more than just a rite of passage, it is also a naming ceremony.
Punishment is a public matter and a chastised warrior will have their entire name revoked in place of the color or pattern that best suits their pelt. Their suffix will likewise be replaced with -pelt and -fur, seen as ordinary and unremarkable. Their title in the clan is immediately taken away and they become known as a rebuked cat. Exile still exists but it is reserved for only the most heinous of crimes; warriors will become rebuked by the clan when their apprentices die in battle, or they flee from a fight through cowardice, but a murder or betrayal will deem a cat unfit for clan life and they will be treated as an enemy.
Those who have been rebuked by the clan can retain their title through trials, but they never seem to obtain the status they used to have.
Comments: I am very willing to answer any questions anyone has... this isn't really comprehensive by any means! Mostly just to explain their names and stuff || FIELDCLAN LORE ||
FieldClan is in the middle of a paradigm shift; Phloxstar, sick and tired of what she sees as the clan’s old and archaic ways, is slowly changing how the clan conducts their life. Much like CloudClan, FieldClan had a system that would rebuke warriors of their name and title, leaving them socially isolated by the entire clan as punishment. Their names, however, simply remained the prefix they were assigned at birth and their suffix would be dropped. This was Phloxstar’s first decree as leader; she reinstated the rebuked cats as warriors with new names and dropped the tradition altogether. Punishment is now dealt with on an individual level.
Where CloudClan takes pride in their closeness to StarClan and spiritual connection with storms that touch the ground, FieldClan is most prideful for the natural knowledge of the land; their ancestors were responsible for the most if not all of the information known about herbs, prey, predators and neutral wildlife between these two clans and they are quite vain of that fact. Most FieldClan cats have a basic understanding of what medicines look like and which ones to use when sick or injured, making herb gathering as simple as hunting for warriors. Poultices and special traveling herb mixes are strictly medicine cat tradition, however. Ancient FieldClan medicine cats are often revered more than ancient leaders, even in CloudClan, as they are responsible for the discovery of medicine across the prairie and heralded as the saviors of the Clans. It could be argued that the modern FieldClan has somewhat lost this tradition, as Phloxstar has an authoritarian grip on them and has severely restricted communication with StarClan.
Unlike their counterpart, FieldClan does not have a strict naming policy for their members; they place emphasis on the importance of the suffix as opposed to the prefix, and they are simply named after anything that a cat can encounter in their life. Parents are free to determine a prefix at birth that represents a kit’s appearance or circumstance of birth. Parents do, however, seem to favor themes for their kits and will name a litter after flowers, birds, insects, etc; siblings can easily be picked out as soon as their names are called.
Family plays a vital role in how the clan operates; generally, a role is passed down through family ties and it is a strict tradition for leaders to make their relatives deputies and medicine cats. Phloxstar, again, shifted this tradition by promoting Honeyfire as deputy, who is unrelated to her. This has caused quite a bit of tension among the clan.
Comments: Again, questions are welcome! I'm always willing to delve into Clan lore! c: ||| MAP and important Locations |||
TERRITORY MAP
FIELDCLAN TERRITORY is in olive (green highlighted) CLOUDCLAN TERRITORY is in yellow (red highlighted) NEUTRAL TERRITORY is in highlighted blue SHARED TERRITORY is highlighted orange
A better description of the landmarks is in the works!|||| Directory ||||
POST ONE: Synopsis, Allegiances and Misc. POST TWO: Clan Introductions and Lore bits POST THREE: The Story Begins POST FOUR: *save* POST FIVE: *save* POST SIX: *save* POST SEVEN: *save* Comments:
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Post by Dagegen5 on Jul 10, 2018 16:16:39 GMT -5
The RebukedA warrior cats Fanfic
| Prologue | A clear night had broken through the day’s storm clouds and the moon sat above, cut in half. Its light still touched the open fields and tall grasses. It kissed the open rock faces that flanked either side of the north with the pale light of midnight. The gusts from the day had long since passed over the open grassland, having buffeted the inhabitants for hours on end with sheets of rain and encouraged by the jolting bursts of light across the sky that seemed to fracture the steel gray sky. Despite this calm, more clouds had built on the horizon, encircling the prairie with towering clouds, swollen and pregnant yet with more rain.
Still and silent, a gray calico sat atop a stone monument looking across the flatlands as she stared intently at the silver moon sitting in the calm, clear portion of the sky. She was on the highest point around, save for the spires of rock in the distance which were much too treacherous and deadly for any cat to climb. The landscape around her rolled gently with hills and pale-yellow grass, gently pulsing in the night breeze. A whoosh of air cascaded as a mild gust swept across these fields and the feline closed her eyes when met with it; like a dying breath, the land was still once more.
The she-cat’s tail ticked lightly as she tried to flush her frustrations away; a long day of meditation had passed by her by and nothing useful in the slightest had come from it. Her pelt was damp from the previous storm that had passed by and pummeled the land – she thought it had perhaps been a sign, but there was nothing out of the ordinary for her to interpret; she was forced to conclude that the storms were just a normal, everyday occurrence in the moons of Highsun.
Despite her efforts at remaining level-headed, she was becoming increasingly annoyed by a scrabbling sound that had arisen, much like claws on rocks. She assumed that it was a mouse scuffling around the rubble below, desperately trying to find a morsel of food. Perhaps it was a lizard, scurrying away to hide for the night. Either way, she wished it would stop so she could focus again.
As the sounds grew more audible, she quickly identified that grunts were accompanying scuffing noise. Her ear flickered as she realized that someone was climbing up.
“I’m glad you’re still here,” a gruff voice called, strained it seemed by the apparent climb required to reach the height that she had found. The she-cat seemed unamused, almost, as she swiveled her head to look at the source. At least the sound would cease.
A hulking tom-cat had pulled himself atop the plateau, his gray tabby fur shining in the dim light. As he pulled his head up, the silken glint of scar tissue on his face flared in the moonlight; its only match was the one remaining eye in his right socket, glowing dully yellow as he fixed it on the calico she-cat. His chest heaved and settled as he did his best to catch his breath.
“I heard you scuffling all the way up here,” the she-cat replied calmly, glinting her eyes playfully at the presence of the new cat. She let her gaze tighten as she looked acutely over his large form. “You and I both know that you’re getting too old to climb the Stormwatch, Torrentstar,” she grumbled lightly. Her voice had become stern as she reprimanded him, but she simply let her tail twitch and refocused her attentions to the heavens, “Without help, anyway.”
The tom was far less amused at her comment, and he gave a light huff in a touch of defiance. Something about the air that this she-cat carried, however, prevented him from doing anything further. Instead, the tom padded forward and carefully sat next to her. He delicately twined his tail around his massive front paws and turned his own gaze towards the clear sky. Torrentstar snorted lightly at her, “I won’t be denied a connection with StarClan, Flurryfoot, even if one day it kills me.”
“But you’ll interrupt a medicine cat’s meditation?” she chortled playfully, flicking his shoulder with her mostly-gray tail. “I have to speak with StarClan too, bisonbrain.” Despite her words, Flurryfoot was more-or-less thrilled to have the company of another soul; unable to connect with their ancestors in the slightest, the she-cat had grown impatient and had been looking forward to departing soon anyway. Torrentstar’s presence was welcomed.
The leader’s whiskers twitched with a touch of mirth, but he didn’t speak. Instead, he seemed focused elsewhere, intent to gaze at the land below.
Moments passed as the air had grown quiet and stiff; Flurryfoot could suddenly taste the tension that had arisen. It seemed that something was bothering him, but the medicine cat couldn’t quite see past the wall that he put up; his expression was obscured by the sizable scar that engulfed the left side of his face and had long since consumed his eye and ear.
Torrentstar shifted slightly. “FieldClan has taken the Sandbar again,” he rumbled lowly, flicking his remaining ear.
A ripple of shock propelled down the she-cat’s spine and her heart pulsed. “What?!” she whispered harshly, her mind reeling. Flurryfoot pulled her eyes away from the skies and looked at her leader in alarm; at last she noticed the blood that clung to the older tom’s neck.
“The stream is a clear border between our territories… yet Phloxstar continues to push us for that spot of land. She’s succeeded once again.” Torrentstar’s tail lashed violently as he pulled it away from his paws. “I cannot let FieldClan walk all over us like this… that territory is far too close to our camp,” he hissed with venom. His yellow eye had locked onto the small portion of land to the northeast, wedged between the fork in the stream leading to the ridge of tall rocks.
“How long ago was it?” Flurryfoot inquired, standing to her paws anxiously. She ignored his concerns for the moment, other responsibilities flooding her mind. “How many are hurt? I need to get back and –“
“No; no one is hurt; do not worry,” the tom interrupted, waving his tail at her. His eye remained focused outward.
“What?” she asked, finding no response from the tom. Flurryfoot plopped down again, wrapping her tail around her paws as her confusion threatened to throw off her balance; how could such a significant battle come away with no casualties? She caught her breath and tried to calm the twisting gyre in her stomach. It wasn’t needed, after all. Her hazel eyes lifted to meet the leader’s empty left face. “But… your neck. Did you…” the she-cat couldn’t finish the statement without feeling her breath hitch in her lungs.
“Yes… I lost a life.” The leader spoke calmly – gently even – as he turned his vision towards the fretting medicine cat. He spoke nothing else but exchanged a knowing glance with her. Flurryfoot’s ears flattened with disappointment and her heart ached.
“Phloxstar challenged me today… and I lost. Horribly,” Torrentstar continued, his voice heavy with shame. Flurryfoot heard the humiliation that laced his words and pressed her fur to his in comfort; it was no secret that the grizzled old tom held the burden of every battle he lost – a weight that had grown sizable in his long life. “FieldClan overpowered one of our patrols on the sandbar but sent them back with very few injuries and a message for me – a threat. I was to face her in a duel or our entire clan would pay the price.
“The agreement was, with my victory, her clan would leave the Sandbar. With my loss… we would never touch the territory again. Had it been a clean battle, one of skill, perhaps I’d feel more content with her victory… but she didn’t hide any of her ill intent – she went straight for killing blows with me, nothing else.” The tom shifted and cleared his voice, “Phloxstar is much younger than I am; while not stronger, she is… much faster. It was only a matter of time before she got to my throat.” It seemed difficult for Torrentstar to recount his experience, as he shuffled from side to side.
“Torrentstar,” Flurryfoot murmured, her shoulder pressed onto his, “she manipulated you…” The medicine cat did her best to reassure the gray tom, hoping to soothe his shame. “She knew she could take you down; the deal was always in her favor.”
“Was I supposed to let warriors die in our petty fight!?” he suddenly spat. The gray calico didn’t flinch at his ferocity; she understood that he was a prideful and valiant fighter, subject to his heavy emotions. His venom was not directed at the medicine cat. “I know what she did… and I will not acknowledge her deal. I refuse let CloudClan look weak, not under these slimy conditions…” Torrentstar paused for a moment, letting his anger simmer down to a low point.
“I’m sure she thought I was on my final life… that’s why she made such a ridiculous bet. I won’t forget the way her smug glare was wiped off her face when I stood to my paws…” the leader snarled, his fangs glinting sharply in the moonlight.
“She blames us for the murders in their clan… They’ve lost three warriors in the last moon,” Flurryfoot quavered, not excusing Phloxstar’s behavior, but understanding it, “Chicorylight isn’t allowed to speak to me any longer; it makes these meditations difficult...” Her ears twitched as she thought of the blue-gray tom’s isolation and made a silent prayer in hopes that he was doing alright
“I can think of no worse form of disrespect than to accuse another clan’s warriors of murder,” Torrentstar hissed and Flurryfoot couldn’t help but agree.
“I’m in agreement… all they know is that a cat is responsible,” she mumbled her own tail twitching. Her face fell slightly. “I am both thankful… and suspicious that our clan hasn’t had anyone killed.” The calico turned towards the sulking tom, her ears laying low. “Is… Is that bad of me?”
Torrentstar’s shoulders slumped in defeat and he sighed, “No; I find myself thinking the same thing. Well, unless that makes me bad as well. I.. I have looked at my own clanmates with distrust, trying to determine who could commit these murders in cold blood… perhaps there are multiple cats.” The tom’s voice grew dark as his gray tail swished across the dust-laden rock surface, stirring up a small puff of dirt. “Of course, as I accuse my own clanmates of murder, I can’t help but think that perhaps the problem lies within FieldClan itself.”
Flurryfoot nodded gently at him, her tail hesitantly moving to touch Torrentstar’s now dust-filled one. “It’s not smart to assume that the problems stem from our clan… not without considering FieldClan and rogues as well,” she mewed blinking up at the massive leader.
Torrentstar’s tail gingerly twined itself with the medicine cat’s, seeming to settle his spirits and soothe his rising anxiety. He nodded to her words in agreement but held his tongue; the tom seemed to be weighing the importance of his response. He stayed quiet for a long while, and Flurryfoot enjoyed the feeling of closeness with her leader, a purr of joy threatening to push its way from her throat.
When he finally spoke, he only breathed gentle words, “It seems that there is nothing to do at this point… Keep your eyes peeled and I’ll do half as much –” he wiggled his one good ear and twitched the scarred half of his face, “– we just have to put our minds together. We’ll solve this mystery, I’m sure of it.”
She rolled her eyes, almost snorting at his cheesy statement. The old tom’s one eye glinted gently at her and she had to admit that Torrentstar had managed to quell some of her own fears. “Bisonbrain…” she chuckled, pressing her pelt to his. She felt the gentle pressure of the tom returning his affection.
As the moon hung in the sky, sending silvery light down to touch the earth below, Flurryfoot gently realized how large their world was. They had never touched the land that lay on the horizon – what purpose did it have for them? – and she assumed that they never would. She felt a little ill, having sat atop the Stormwatch for an entire day, staring out, above and below, contemplating and waiting for StarClan’s connection. Without a single sign of achieving this goal, she still felt small and insignificant in comparison to the vast open around her. And so, although unwilling to let her tail go free from the embrace that the two cats had made, Flurryfoot stood to her paws and made a decision.
“Let’s go back to camp; I’ve spent the time I’ve needed up here.” She stretched and yawned loudly, feeling the muscles in her stiff frame loosen a little for her climb down. “How about you? Are you ready?”
The tom hummed a little for a moment, replying when it seemed as though he had caught his words. “I suppose so... I originally came up here hoping that StarClan had revealed something to you… something about how to handle this situation in our paws. I suppose I got impatient waiting for you to come back.”
“Being concerned about the future of your clan is something that never has to wait,” she reminded him. “Unfortunately, StarClan was quiet for the day; it happens.” The medicine cat tried to speak as though the silence hadn’t bothered her. She snorted after a moment, “Wait, you weren’t planning on coming up here, despite losing a life? Only because you wanted to know what to do?!”
The large tom rolled his eye, standing to his paws. He rolled his shoulders in a shrug and rumbled lowly, a change from his previous tone. “I knew you were going to act like a hen about it; I’m fine now and it would have been just fine if you found out back at camp.” Torrentstar stretched his limbs and shot Flurryfoot a playful glance. “And don’t try to play it off like you weren’t worried earlier,” he teased, flicking his gray tabby tail across her nose, “I saw it plain as day on your face.”
Flurryfoot huffed at him but knew better than to argue against what was true.
As the two cats gathered themselves up to depart, Flurryfoot held back a touch, her whiskers perked and eyes wide. Her medium-length fur had split down her spine, stirred by a gentle breeze. Her ears fluttered lightly as the air built in strength; at last, a gust had spiraled around the Stormwatch, whipping some of the dust and debris upward in a gentle dance. It surrounded them, eventually closing in; the medicine cat sneezed gingerly as the dust tickled her nose. She shook her head and laughed a little to Torrentstar. He gave a soft smile back, rolling his one eye.
“The first sign that a storm is on its way,” he chuckled, “A light, twisting breeze that builds.”
Flurryfoot had frozen in place at his words, hazel eyes glittering as she stammered, trying to find a response. Of course! It had been staring her in the face for the past few hours. The entire day had been a culmination of events for interpretation. She turned towards the CloudClan leader her gray tail bottle brushed in shock.
“Such a stormy day… and now the sky is clear,” the she-cat murmured, her breath soft and almost non-existent; a sound not at all reflective of the excitement that had riddled the she-cat’s fur. “We have more storms on the horizon too. After all day with nothing from StarClan… then the breeze… I’d been staring at it all night!” she murmured to the leader, her hazel eyes glittering in revelation.
Her voice grew somber and confident – louder even, “Cloudclan… All of us… We’re in the eye of the storm, Torrentstar... we must tread carefully in the coming moons.”
Comments: I'm hoping for a weekly update! Fingers crossed~ || Chapter 1 ||
The morning sun had begun to creep further into the sky as Rumblestorm welcomed back the dawn patrol, having watched them pick their way around the stream bend. They shuffled, with dejected gazes, into the CloudClan camp, a rocky hollow surrounded by short-growing trees and shrubbery. At the forefront of the group, a larger, silver tabby she-cat; she quickly found her way over to the deputy and greeted him plainly.
“Hailrush,” he greeted back somberly, dipping his head. The tom’s pale, yellow eyes laid half-lidded as he listened to the she-cat report the day’s findings, doing his best to ignore the critical stares that the older warriors held plainly on their face.
“The marker along the new border by the Sandbar is heavy; FieldClan has obviously doubled their patrols to ensure that we cannot cross it without knowing,” Hailrush informed him, “I would highly discourage taking apprentices along that border; it’s another battle waiting to happen.” Her sharp yellow eyes drew across the smaller deputy, staring at him with what he assumed was contempt.
Rumblestorm nodded in agreement with the silver tabby, doing his best to ignore the slight look of disgust from the senior warrior. “Understood; I will ensure their safety,” he mewed, projecting his voice confidently. Hailrush dipped her head, almost unwillingly, and flicked her tail to the patrol she had led, commanding them to disperse. She strode away from Rumblestorm, her tail twitching gently as she made her way over to the apprentice’s den.
Rumblestorm sighed to himself once he was alone, his chest and throat tight in anxiety. He was doing his best to conceal his emotions; it was unfitting of a deputy, he thought, to act on his insecurities when he had so many responsibilities in his paws. Yet, the tom was fully and painfully aware of the way in which his clan had started to treat him; Hailrush, it seemed, had even cast him as an outsider. His former mentor.
He couldn’t help it as his mind traveled to the previous night, recalling the crowds of cats in the two clans. They had gathered on either side of their respective ferocious leader, while Torrentstar and Phloxstar stared at each other in contempt. The crowds shouted jeers and howls to the other side, many unsure about how to conduct themselves in such an odd situation – such a hostile meeting without unsheathing claws was foreign and unheard of. This… deal that Phloxstar had conjured up – it didn’t sit well with Rumblestorm; the tom knew he had been told to stand down at any costs… but he recalled his claws slipping in and out of their sheaths, anticipating something more than staying put.
Phloxstar and Torrentstar called for their clans to settle and they met in battle, clashing in a fury of claws and teeth. It was clear that Torrentstar was the stronger of the match, but he couldn’t seem to land his blows or manage to get her into a solid hold. Phloxstar remained quick on her paws and made effective use of the tom’s blind side, wearing down the older leader. It had been the most frustrating thing that Rumblestorm had watched and his paws continued to itch to redeem the battle that his leader was clearly losing.
The blue and cream she-cat danced around Torrentstar until she could manage to land a killing blow; it was a swift end to the battle after that point. The clearing buzzed with an uneasy silence, every cat waiting for the CloudClan leader to stir. Rumblestorm felt a pit form in his stomach; the grueling thought still plagued his mind; what if his leader didn’t get up?
“Phloxstar’s taken a life! FieldClan has won!” – the statements echoed in his head much how they had echoed out across the dead silent clans. The proclamation from a young FieldClan warrior had quickly blinded the deputy with rage and he could barely remember how effortlessly his paws had carried him towards his enemy. He roared as though he was a leader, calling his clan to fight and Rumblestorm pummeled the warrior, locking her to the ground under his weight. He heard the cries of his clanmates, pleading him to stop, and he felt the shoves of other FieldClanners as they tried to free the pinned warrior; it seemed no one wanted a war that night.
It had been Torrentstar’s aggressive howl that pulled him out of his fury; he abruptly let go of the struggling warrior, who fled with her tail between her legs. The anger that had laced his leader’s gaze still made Rumblestorm’s heart leap in terror, even at the mere thought of it. When Torrentstar lifted his gaze from his deputy, he gave a disgusted look at the stunned Phloxstar and turned to the clan at his back. “CloudClan, retreat!”
He knew that those words would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Rumblestorm had begun to pace as he recalled the previous night, not paying much attention to his surroundings.
“Hey Bisonbrain!” a voice called out to him, clearing some of the thoughts that clouded his mind. Rumblestorm swiveled his head, finding Gustcloud, his only sibling, padding closer to him. “You look like you’ve got your tail twisted in knots over here,” the dark gray she-cat sneered playfully, bumping her shoulder to his. “What’s eating you?”
“You’re either as dumb as a pile of rocks or you just want me to humiliate myself to you,” Rumblestorm scoffed, his ears flattened as his own gray pelt burned with shame.
She shot him a more sympathetic look and softly spoke, “Yeah… that was a stupid question. I should have asked, “how are you doing?”” Gustcloud mewed sorrowfully. Rumblestorm would have laughed at her in a different circumstance; his sister was an awkward thing, but she did her best to fit in. Sometimes it came out as sickeningly overbearing, even if she meant well. Gustcloud flicked her tail for him to follow her to a more secluded part of camp, where others couldn’t overhear them.
He followed his sister, eyes cast to his white paws and his whiskers drooping. “That’s still a stupid question,” he sighed as he walked behind her. Despite this, he felt as though she was still the only one he could rely on.
As they approached an isolated corner of the camp, the tom took a deep breath, ready to answer Gustcloud’s concerns. The clean trickling hum of the nearby stream flooded his mind and made him feel numb to other sounds. “What else am I supposed to say? My entire position in this clan is at stake; surely my position as deputy and as a warrior. I… There’s no way that Torrentstar is going to forgive me…”
Rumblestorm couldn’t help but notice the shift in his sister’s demeanor; she grew increasingly uncomfortable and her paws shifted under her. A familiar burn crept across his ears. “I… I guess you’re right. I hadn’t thought...” she stumbled, unwilling to meet his gaze. The dark gray warrior had to steel herself; she tried to comfort him. “E-even if… that happens… Y’know, you were always so talented at everything as an apprentice… I’m sure you’ll become a warrior again in no time!” she fretted hopefully, “You’ll just have t-!”
“Will you still be able to look at me when I’m rebuked?” he hissed, his eyes flaring with a mild temper as he interrupted her, feeling sick at how his own kin stumbled across her words. “Will you still be able to even call me your brother!?”
Gustcloud was silent, her amber eyes looking at her brother with near shock and pain. Even then, they held a touch of uncertainty at Rumblestorm’s questions, as if she didn’t know how she would end up viewing him. She tried to subtly look around before continuing. “O – of course I would! You’re my kin!” she whispered to him, hushing her voice as if she didn’t want anyone to hear.
“Don’t lie to me,” he hissed again, his eyes burning and face warm, “I know how you feel about the rebuked; you revile them just as much as I do. You don’t know how you’ll feel about me!”
Gustcloud’s eyes glazed over with regret at her stumbling, quiet words, “Rumblestorm…” she cajoled with an expression twisted with grief and pain.
She looked as though she wanted to continue, but was interrupted by a loud, booming call from the entrance of the HighRock, “Rumblestorm – to my den immediately!” She caught glimpse of the battered leader, Torrentstar, and her breath hitched.
“Save it,” he growled at his sister with a lashing tail, stalking off towards the leader’s den. Rumblestorm swallowed as he strode away from Gustcloud, sulking still. He wondered if he should have been gentler with his words, gingerly realizing that he had unleashed a lot of his frustrations of the day on the cat who was likely going to be his only ally after he met with Torrentstar.
The deputy didn’t have much time to dwell on this, however, as he stood at the cusp of the leader’s den, a shallow hollow dug out from underneath a boulder and two halves of a fallen trunk, one sunken slightly into the ground near the entrance and another propped up against the rear of the tall stone that the leader called meetings at. The log, however, was heavily rotted, and filled the den with a musty-fungal scent – it was stifling to be in. He imagined Torrentstar liked it that way.
As soon as the leader had seen him coming, he had retreated back inside, awaiting Rumblestorm to join him. Gulping in anticipation, he pushed his body low to the ground and shuffled underneath the log, some of the old wood crumbling into sawdust on his back. Now inside, it took the tom a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dark. The stone ceiling seemed to materialize above him as his eyes gathered the small amount of light in the room.
The old and grizzled leader stared at his deputy sharply with his one eye, wide and flaring with the anger he had stewed upon over the night. His tail-tip ticked in annoyance. As the second-in-command, Rumblestorm was quite aware of Torrentstar’s temper and he was no stranger to being on the receiving end of it. This, however, was a vastly different circumstance.
Torrentstar’s breathing was level and nearly calm, his fur was flat and single ear forward – ready to listen. His face hadn’t been creased in blind rage and he laid down with his paws tucked under his chest and belly. He possessed the utmost control over his emotions for this meeting, Rumblestorm realized. He couldn’t help but shrink down submissively when faced with this and he felt small – despite the fact that he took up more room. There was just something utterly terrifying about the notion of a controlled and deliberate reprimand from his fierce leader.
“You disobeyed a direct order last night,” Torrentstar stated as soon as Rumblestorm had settled himself, the leader’s lone eye staring daggers straight towards the cowering tom. Silence rippled across the den.
It took Rumblestorm a moment to realize that he was to respond and even longer to muster up the courage. “Y-yes,sir,” he quavered, despising the sheer apprehension and cowardice his voice held.
“You jeopardized your entire clan by hastily attacking a FieldClan warrior and nearly ruining an agreement made by your direct superior,” the leader clarified, staring intently for the gray tom’s meager response.
“Er, yes sir.”
Torrentstar’s ear flickered and he straightened himself by sitting up, now towering over his deputy. “You were to ensure the peace between the clans while Phloxstar and I dueled, yet you blatantly ignored this. The rest of the clan should see the deputy as the ideal image of a warrior, Rumblestorm, not as a reckless boar. Do you realize the severity of your actions?”
“Of course, sir.” Rumblestorm’s ears flattened as he looked away from his leader’s sharp gaze.
Torrentstar shoved out a deeply annoyed sigh and averted his eye from the tom in frustration. “You’re acting meek and humble; it’s out of character and pathetic,” he hissed, shifting the topic away from the previous night. “I at least expected you to stand up for yourself, not crawl on your belly to me. Your punishment will not be lesser because of it; you know this, correct?”
“I… I understand…” Rumblestorm gulped, his ears burning hot with embarrassment and shame. He had to swallow his terror in order to form some sort of apology, however; some sort of response with substance. “I’m… I’m sorry about my actions; I was overwhelmed by anger and fury and I wasn’t thinking straight. I… I thought you were on your last life… It excuses nothing, of course, but I wanted to defend your honor.”
“My honor pales in comparison to the safety of this clan,” Torrentstar growled, his tail flickering fitfully. “No single cat is more important than the well-being of CloudClan; if I had fallen in that battle, then it would have been your duty to carry the clan forward, not to pick petty fights after you were ordered to stand down. If I had died last night, you would have carried your entire clan into a war where more cats would have died.” The leader’s voice had grown in a crescendo, at last reaching a shouting volume.
At his tone, Rumblestorm felt something bubble up in his chest – an uncomfortable feeling that reminded him of the moments before he leapt at the FieldClan warrior. “My actions might have been reckless, Torrentstar, but at least I wanted to make CloudClan look strong. You aren’t going to actually honor this deal, are you?” he cried, “I know you want to keep the clan safe, but at what cost? We can’t sit on our tails and let FieldClan walk all over us like this; Phloxstar wanted to kill you, not make a deal!”
Rumblestorm knew that his words likely surpassed his position by a long shot. They were crass and accusatory and he almost expected to face Torrentstar’s wrath and become pinned underneath the larger tabby’s weight. He matched the gaze of the tom’s lone yellow eye, noticing how Torrentstar’s brow creased and his lips curled into a snarl; he braced for impact.
When older tom spoke, however, his voice remained calm with a touch of gruff annoyance. “Your actions clearly show me that you are incapable of being a leader and making decisions for this clan; you are even too brash and irresponsible to even be a warrior. My decisions on what to do with this… ‘deal’ will not involve you any longer.” His last words caused an eerie silence to settle in the stone hollow, thick and heavy.
The deputy felt his blood run cold. He knew that it was bound to come, but he was still not prepared to deal with the feeling of it.
The tabby tom pulled himself up to his full height and towered over Rumblestorm, causing him to shrink down even further into the dirt. His words rang clear and full of spite. “You will no longer be CloudClan’s deputy. Your name is no longer Rumblestorm. Get out of my den, this instant. I have important matters to attend to.”
He felt cold and lost as Torrentstar dismissed him, his entire body numb and shaking. The meek tom picked himself up with his white-tipped tail low and bottle-brushed submissively. He squeezed himself flat through the den’s entrance again and escaped quickly, leaving the last bit of dignity that remained in the dirt.
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The ominous presence of the large, foreboding leader standing atop his smooth HighRock was generally enough to cause a few cats to gather. His booming voice lured the others. “May all cats old enough to hunt prey gather beneath the HighRock for an important Clan meeting!” Torrentstar roared.
He knew that this meeting would be about him; as such the now nameless gray tom had tucked himself near the back of the camp, far away from the warrior’s den and the gathering crowd. He was doing his best to remain as small as possible, avoiding his sister and even his apprentice, Mudpaw, who had sought him out for training after he exited the leader’s den. He couldn’t look either of them in the eyes, let alone hold a conversation.
The nameless tom lifted his eyes to the HighRock, still shaking, and awaited his leader’s sermon.
“Last night, we witnessed treason; your deputy disobeyed my authority and will be removed from his position immediately. This action alone is a vile and reprehensible violation of our way of life. We cannot tolerate this sort of behavior, especially in the face of the mortal danger that FieldClan puts us in. This individual was willing to start a full-fledged war without a second thought of the repercussions!
“From here on out, the cat in question cannot remain as the deputy of CloudClan and his warrior position must be fully revoked. The name he has earned through the strife and achievement of every warrior and apprentice is no longer becoming of him; he will be known as ‘Grayfur’ from this point forward -- may StarClan remember it always. He will be rebuked by every single soul and will resign himself to the den reserved for those who have failed the clan and warrior code. Here he will be shunned by us and our ancestors, if until he can prove himself to be a loyal CloudClan warrior again.”
The rebuked tom’s body continued to lay low as eyes slowly trickled over to gaze at him. Hisses and yowls erupted from the crowd as they expressed their own disdain for the foolish tom; his ears laid flat as his clanmates solidified his new name and rank within their memories – he was no longer one of them. He wondered if it would take them long to call him Grayfur or think of him as such.
“We have more formalities to cover,” Torrentstar called, pulling the stares from the rebuked back to him and quelling the cries of condescension. “Grayfur leaves behind two vacant positions with his irresponsibility. His apprentice, Mudpaw, will be further mentored by Galewhisker. He has shown himself to be a virtuous, loyal, and skilled warrior; I trust that he will be able to pass these skills down to Mudpaw and undo any wrong teachings that she may have received.”
The shivering rebuked couldn’t help but glance at Mudpaw as the leader spoke, trying to gauge the young tortoiseshell’s response. Her own expression seemed distraught and confused as if she didn’t quite understand what was occurring. Her face had contorted to an unappealing mix of horror and anger; she tried to shoot a concerned, almost grievous glance at her old mentor, but he had already locked his eyes to the ground under his paws. His ears burned in shame as Torrentstar allowed for the two cats to meet and conduct the customary ceremony between new apprentices and mentors. The silky black warrior, Galewhisker, shuffled his paws nervously, unprepared in the slightest to receive a new apprentice; in general, they both seemed mildly taken-aback by the announcement.
The gray tabby leader watched Galewhisker and Mudpaw end their formalities, now sitting close to one another, and cleared his throat before roaring out his next announcement. “We also require a responsible and mature deputy who will eventually lead us through these perilous times. I say these words before StarClan, so that the storms of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of CloudClan is Floodclaw!”
A dark ginger tabby stepped forward, her green eyes glittering as the clan cheered her name. Her chest was puffed out in pride and her ears were forward in anticipation. She bowed her head respectfully to Torrentstar. Her kits, Mudpaw and Dustpaw, bounded towards her, cheering loudly for their mother and Surgestrike looked on with nothing but pride for his mate.
Rumblestorm… Grayfur had never felt more insignificant; the celebration of a new deputy clearly outweighed the announcement of his rebuke. He had to admit to himself that it should be expected to be as such – a new deputy was a joyous announcement, even in the face of reviling the ex-deputy. Yet, he couldn’t help the ache of pain he felt as he saw Mudpaw’s own grin – so quick to wipe off the looks of shock earlier; she was like every other cat and had forgotten him.
In an instant, it even seemed like every single memory of his presence within the clan had been erased – no cat bared to acknowledge his presence.
As Torrentstar’s final roar echoed out across the camp, dismissing the gathering, cats clambered away; a few congratulated the new deputy, who was still pressed closely to her family.
When the meeting had passed and the crowd had thinned slightly, the tom shuffled meekly towards his sister, managing to catch her as she was making her way to the warrior’s den. She looked distraught, with her fur standing up along her spine and her eyes were glazed with a mix of confusion and sorrow. He stopped her and stared, pleadingly almost, at Gustcloud. His yellow eyes were desperate, hoping for some sort of comfort. “I…” he didn’t know where to even start.
The gray she-cat seemed to shift nervously under his gaze, her darker amber eyes filled with terror as she flickered her stare between the warriors that were close by. “Look, Rumbl –… Grayfur… Don’t… don’t make a scene. Just g-go to the rebuked den. Like you’re supposed to,” Gustcloud croaked, never once meeting his eyes. She quickly and quietly ducked into the warrior’s den, entirely missing the cracked expression of anguish that had spread across Grayfur’s face.
The tom stood for a few moments, feeling his chest grow tight; he looked around, almost expecting others to stare at him. Warriors continued to move past his frozen body, attending their tasks and duties.
He was met by no lingering eyes.
Comments: Early update! c: ||| Chapter 2 |||
Planned for July 30th Comments:
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