Cliff Clan (closed to new joiners)

(And we are officially open!)

Bonestar walked out of his den, padding down to the clearing below. His sister was in the nursery, and he was padding to the prey pile to get her something. He sniffed around for more prey, just in case. He grabbed a couple mice and ran back up to the den, his large size cutting the distance in half. He walked through the large tunnels, his footsteps echoing. He found her sleeping, and he lay the mice down by her side, licking batkit and Onyxkit on the heads before returning to his own den to lay down and curl up. He closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

(Probably Cherrypetal and Minkpaw, and Wildsong and sinisterpaw)

( lemonshortbread Sounds good. I'll start us off.)

Cherrypetal was rummaging through her stock, a bundle of mint in her mouth. Quiet mumbling could be heard over the rustling. Her paws batted around some ginger and lavender stocks, slowly moving them to the other side of the pile. She kept doing this until only a couple sparse herbs were where her paw had been pushing from. She placed the mint in the pile, drool hanging off her jaw as she sniffled a little bit. She let out a wee sneeze, sending dirt and dust flying.

She picked up a small bundle of Horsetail, and began chewing and grinding them to a pulp, her tongue making smacking sounds. she spat out the glob onto a leaf , and patted at it with her paw. She then grabbed the mint bundle, chewing and grinding that too. She spat that on top of the horsetail, and grabbed both in her mouth. She struggled to swallow but managed to gulp them down. She walked over to her water hole, still sniffling. She took a gulp.

She brought herself back to her thoughts, wondering where her apprentice was. She got up and walked to the entrance of the cave, calling out. "Minkpaw?"


Sinsterpaw was sleeping in the apprentice den, his brother Crookedpaw having already gotten up and not wanting to wake him, had silently slipped away. His dream was feverish, many strange cat figures were around him murmuring and poking and prodding. He groaned and turned over, falling out of his nest. He awoke with a start, noticing that the apprentice den was empty except for him. He blushed and ran out of the cave, nearly running ito his mentor, Wildsong.

Walking near the edge of the canyon, Tangle swiftly raced through the jutting rocks that zig-zagged in his path. He had run this path every day since his first encounter, always in search of the strange cats who called themselves Cliffclan. Sure, there was plenty to do in the forest; loner or rogues to annoy or prey to hunt, but all Tangle was interested in was learning about the cats in the canyon.

Shortsun yawned, having just woken up. The dawn sun was just peeking through the cave entrance as the ginger she-cat made her way toward the freshkill pile. As she decided on a fairly good-sized rabbit, she padded toward where Cherrypetal was calling to her apprentice. Setting the rabbit at the entrance to the cave, Shortsun dipped her head to the medicine cat before mewing, "Would you like to share this rabbit with me before the duties of the day overwhelm us?"

Gray fur flashed against the white snow as Ferret chased after a super-skinny rabbit. She leaped easily over the many boulders in her path as the rabbit darted around them and soon enough she was within pouncing range. She quickly bunched her muscles and pushed against an especially large rock. Landing flat on the rabbit's back, Ferret knocked the breath out of it and killed it with a swift bite to its neck. Then, she picked it up in her jaw and trotted closer to the edge of the canyon, where she had ended up. The rabbit wasn't much, but it would feed her. The shaded gray she-cat noticed cat tracks in the snow where they had traveled toward the bottom of the canyon. She shook her head as she thought of the brown tabby who always had an interest in the cats down there. Placing the rabbit in the snow, she settled down near the edge of the canyon, managing to make out the brown smudge she assumed was the tom.

Shortsun twitched her whiskers as she imagined the cream apprentice still nestled deep in her nest. She took a few bites herself before replying, trying to recall any encounters with the many predators that surrounded them. "There have been sightings, I assume, though I have not seen any myself," she mewed, gazing around. The camp was tucked almost behind a waterfall, which made entering it a bit tricky. Of course, the clan cats were well adapted to the slick rocks, but other creatures such as mountain cats were unlikely to try it. "The camp has stayed safe for many generations. As long as we don't have any adventurous kits, I think they'll be ok. As for the patrols... they're the same. Cold, but entertaining."

As Tangle made his way down the canyon side to the wide entrance, he took a swift turn that led him back in the direction he had come from. From there, he swiftly hopped downward a bit before landing on a small trail that would lead him closer to the clan cats' territory. He wasn't going to take chances though, as he didn't want to be caught up in the middle of a patrol. That much he had learned. So, he leaped upon a rocky ledge that ran along the side of the canyon. It would take him into the territory, but he knew to stop before going too far.

Fiona was carrying her kits in her mouth, trudging through the snow. She groaned , her light grey fur was matted with blood , and you could barely tell parts of her were white . She had two grey kittens in her mouth , one with white. They were mewing pitifully, having just turned three moons . Their eyes were barely open, and were slightly bigger for their size.
Fiona had heard of these cliff clan cats, cats that were better at climbing these mountains and canyons than others . She heard that they lived in a place protected from most elements and predators . She knew she was dying. So this was the best chance at her kits survival.
Nearing the Cliff clan border, she prayed a patrol would come by. She didn’t want to be seen though. They were less likely to take her kits in if she was still nearby. So she set them down near the border , and they screamed as she ran away to hide nearby, tears in her eyes. The mewing broke her heart, as she breathed her last breath.

Lucifer looked around him, mewing for his mama. He couldn’t see anything, but he couldn’t smell if she was nearby either. Mama had smelled like blood and Lucifer got worried . He crawled, looking for his brother fire. He bumped into him, his brother mewing louder than his own.

Fire didn’t know what was happening . He didn’t usually pay attention . All he knew was that mother was gone, and it didn’t seem like she’d Be coming back . He sighed . And meowed again, calling for her .

(I was wondering if one of your cats wants to mentor Swanpaw until lemon gets back?)

Bonestar looked at Shortsun, and stopped grooming himself. He did a long stretch, then meowed. "I'd love to, I was just about to announce one too. It'll be good to remark the borders." He got up, touching his tail tip to Shortsuns flank as he walked by. He nodded to Cherrypetal . "I suppose you'll be needing some herbs?"

Bonestar was expertly climbing up the cliff face, years of genetics aided him. It was much the same for the other two. He was following Cherrypetal, who seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. He started to get out of breath, and paused on the pathway they were taking. He looked to Cherrypetal, who kept going. He ran after her, looking behind him to see if Shortsun was keeping up. The air was cold, and it was slightly snowing so Bonestar shook his pelt to rid it of snow.

Cherrypetal was almost jogging, she didn't know why she just felt like she needed to. She was looking for her yarrow and ginger stalks, she had left some by and old oak tree with a hole at the bottom. I hope that they're still in good condition, I also have some lavender hidden there for anxious queens to put by their nests. They had made it to the top of the cliff face, and cherrypetal didn't stop there. At her pace, her little belly fat she had she could feel jiggling. I should have fattened up for winter more, it's so cold.

She stopped once they reached the forest line, and looked behind her to see if the other two were keeping up.

Bonestar was keeping up with Cherrypetal , and once they reached the forest line he stopped with her.

"The herbs I need are just about past the clan border. " She mewed.

Cherrypetal continued to walk, and found her tree. She stuck her head in the stump, and dug around to find her herbs. Once she found them she picked them up in her mouth, taking her head out of the stump. A faint mewing could be heard. Cherrypetals ears swiveled. She set the herbs down. "Guys what is that?"

(I assume Fiona's body would be so well hidden that the clan cats won't find her, plus the snow would soon cover her up. Also, would the clan cats hurry home with the kits or would they stop when they noticed Tangle's scent?)

Shortsun kept pace with Bonestar as the patrol came to the border. The scent of herbs was noticeable over the blow of the wind as Cherrypetal uncovered them, but there was something else, something warm. She padded along the borderline, searching the undergrowth for signs of movement. And sure enough, there lay two kits squirming together and calling out. "Bonestar, Cherrypetal, over here," she mewed, hurrying across the border until she stood over the kits. Shortsun lay down around them, tucking her tail over their small bodies to try to get them warm.

As Bonestar and Cherrypetal walked over to her and the kits, Shortsun gave a gentle purr to try and calm the wiggling bundles. "Of course we take them with us; it would be against the code to neglect them. I wonder where their mother is..." the ginger she-cat nuzzle the kits closer to her, before standing and taking the gray and white one in her mouth. "Bonestar, maybe we should take them back to camp before marking the border?"

Finally, after not seeing any movement, Tangle stood up on his hind legs to get a better view. And at that moment, a scent wafted up toward his nose. Slowly, he tried to pinpoint what it was and where it came from, but the wind made it hard. The brown tabby leaped down from his ledge and traveled through the forest as the scent became progressively stronger. He hid just behind a bush when three cats came into view.

(I just want to make sure, but is it okay that Shortsun becomes the kits' adoptive mother? And as I assume, Hawkgrip's patrol will find Tangle, right? I was a bit confused with that part.)

Shortsun followed Cherrypetal and Bonestar toward camp, her paws quickening as the waterfall came into sight. She tried to think of who would care for the two kits they had found. Both Daisyheart and Nimblewarrior had their paws full with kits, though she was sure they wouldn't be able to ignore the small kits. She herself was old, but she could watch over the little ones until they were old enough to become apprentices.

Birchcloud looked up from where he had been drifting off when Swanpaw came up to him. He looked around, noticing almost all the warriors were either still in their dens or out in the forest. "Sure, I'm bored anyway," he mewed, standing up and padding to the entrance of the cave.

(No, you're good. They must've been too busy with the kits to see him anyway, lol)

Shortsun padded past Bonestar as he paused at the entrance of the nursery. She tucked herself in one of the far corners in hopes that it would be warmer. Motioning for Bonestar to bring the other kit over to her, she curled up around the kit she had carried and began cleaning his fur.

Birchcloud took the lead as the patrol headed along the canyon. "So, are we hunting or checking the border?" he called over his shoulder.

Tangle watched the group of cats walk away, seeming to carry things in each of their mouths. He took the chance to find where they had camped but tried to stay as well hidden as possible. As a waterfall came into sight, he stayed near the forest edge, not wanting to be easily spotted on the wide stretch of land between the trees and the water.

Shortsun finished cleaning the gray and white kit and moved onto his brother. In between licks, she whispered, "You're safe now." Once she was satisfied that they were clean, the ginger she-cat laid her head on the ground beside them.

Birchcloud nodded to indicate that he had heard Hawkgrip. He quickened his pace until the patrol had reached the far border. After marking a few points along the border, a strange but noticeable scent washed into Birchcloud's nose. He shot a questioning look toward Hawkgrip and mewed, "Hey, come check out this scent."

Birchcloud stayed silent for a moment as he took in the smell. It wasn't the smell of a Cliffclan cat, that was for sure, but it was a bit familiar. He followed the scent for a few fox-lengths before replying, "A loner, probably, but I wonder what they're doing in Cliffclan territory." As the scent progressively grew strong, Birchcloud fluffed up his short fur to look somewhat alarming to the trespasser, and when a brown tabby came into sight, he called out, "Hey! What are you doing on Cliffclan territory?"

Tangle had just begun to turn around to head back to the border when a voice stopped him in his tracks. A smile slid onto his face as he finished turning and starred at the three cats in front of him. "Oh, I just stopped by to say hello," he mewed, keeping his stance relaxed and his voice calm.

Shortsun turned her head when Nimblewarrior woke. "I found them near the border with Bonestar and Cherrypetal. They seemed to have been abandoned and we couldn't find any scent of their mother," she mewed, curling tighter around the sleeping bundles at her stomach.