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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 10, 2021 21:35:59 GMT -5
Flamestar "We'll give them a while longer." Flamestar meowed. "It probably wouldn't look good on us if they showed up and we had already gone. They're hopefully just a bit late." Snowy Snowy followed Waspbite, falling in behind the leader and in front of Pine. She looked around as they walked, her ears perked. She had been a little on edge since they fought the fox. She half-expected one to jump out at any time, though she also knew her fear was misplaced. Pine Pine wound up in front of Lillyfern and behind Snowy as the group trudged through the territory towards the meeting place. The she-cat would occasionally taste the air as they walked, making sure there wasn't anything strange. She hadn't met the other cats yet and she didn't quite believe that they could be trusted. (interesting. I don't think I've ever seen a bob evans that busy around here. We have a metric ton of Cracker Barrels around here though, so that might be why. Well, good luck to you with dealing with all the craziness that might ensue.)
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Post by Mother Dark on May 10, 2021 21:47:32 GMT -5
Basilwhisker Basilwhisker nodded perking up his ears when he thought he heard something but it was a squirrel climbing up a nearby tree. He clawed at the ground a little bit anxious to get moving.
Waspbite Waspbite moved quickly through the trees and soon arrived near the meetibg place. He then slowed his pace and scented the air. "I think I smell four cats. Be prepared for anything." He started forward carefully looking out for where the cats sat beneath the tree.
(Thanks. I'm hoping going in at 9 means its past morning rush and before lunch. But I remember that when I used to open as a hostess that old people would be trying to open the door before 7 when we would unlock the doors to let them in for breakfast. We seem to get mostly middle aged to old people and they are incredibly rude and or the men like to flirt with me which is so gross.)
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 10, 2021 22:17:48 GMT -5
Flamestar Flamestar breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted the other cats approaching. "They're here." He said, just loud enough for Basilwhisker and the others to hear. He spotted the lead cat, a golden brown tom, and assumed it was their leader. "Greetings!" The ginger tom exclaimed, hoping to ease tensions early. Snowy As they approached, Snowy spotted the clan cats. She recognized their leader, as well as the cat that helped Spider. The other two she had never seen before. Seeing the medicine cat put her at ease. She didn't think these cats would risk her medicinal expertise just to ambush them. (Yeah, old people are weird. I've never seen someone in my family act that way though, so I'm not quite sure why so many think some of the stuff they do is okay, especially hitting on the female staff. You should think of some good comebacks to stuff because they aren't used to women saying something back. My aunt had someone cat call her about a week ago while she was getting gas. She stepped out of the car and the guy shouted, "Hey baby!" And she shouted back, "Hey A**hole!" And that shut him up real quick.)
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Post by Mother Dark on May 11, 2021 9:00:32 GMT -5
Basilwhisker Basilwhisker sat up and sat still as the other cats approached all signs of tension or impatience flowing out of him. He put on a friendly smile and stood up.
Waspbite Waspbite called back a greeting as he approached the other cats. He dipped his head at the ginger tabby tom he thought was the leader of the other group. "Hello. My name is Waspbite. This is Snowy, Pine, snd Lillyfern." He said pointing out each of the she-cats he brought with him.
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 11, 2021 11:59:17 GMT -5
Flamestar Flamestar gave Waspbite a friendly nod. "My name is Flamestar and I'm the leader of Hollowclan." The ginger tom responded. He turned to introduce the rest of his party. "This is my deputy, Basilwhisker, the clan medicine cat, Cloudear, and one of our warriors, Crowflight." Flamestar turned back to Waspbite. "I'm glad we could finally meet. We have much to discuss." Snowy Snowy followed behind Waspbite and eyed the ginger tom curiously as he spoke. These clan cats had kind of weird names, but she didn't really care As long as they were friendly. She looked at the medicine cat, who was sitting just behind Flamestar. I'll have to thank her before we leave. Snowy thought.
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Post by Mother Dark on May 11, 2021 17:12:25 GMT -5
Waspbite "Let us sit and talk then. Though I'm not sure what all there is to talk about." Waspbite said. He moved a little closer to Flamestar and sat. "I guess you should start and from there we can discuss." He added looking around at the cats around him.
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 11, 2021 18:18:05 GMT -5
Flamestar Flamestar nodded as he sat. "As I'm sure you've been aware, our two groups have met quite a couple of times." He started. "Now, we haven't been able to learn much about each other, but what we do know is that there's been a lack of communication and clarification on our borders. As the leader of your cats, I'm sure you understand our need to maintain enough territory that our clan won't starve come leaf-bare. We aren't looking for a fight. War would only harm our two groups, but I must ensure that my clan has what it needs to survive. I hope that we can come to an agreement on this for the sake of everyone involved."
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Post by Mother Dark on May 11, 2021 18:37:03 GMT -5
Waspbite Waspbite sat and listened for a minute the tip of his tail twitching slightly. He watched Flamestar as he talked. "Hmmm. I hsve never thought about keeping a certain territory. We have just been hunting wherever the prey runs best." He said then he took a deep breath. "I guess the scent line is what you use to mark your territory then. We passed by it without any notice to it. I apologize for that." He stilled his tail tip as he noticed that it was moving.
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 11, 2021 22:07:30 GMT -5
Flamestar Flamestar felt relief wash over him. He was glad that there wasn't any argument over the border situation. "I'm glad that we could sort all that out." The ginger tom replied. "There was also something else we wanted to propose." Flamestar glanced over at Cloudear, who gave him a slight nod. He continued. "Seeing as how our two groups are neighbors, we wanted to give you some insight into who we are and see if you'd all be willing to become a clan yourselves. In exchange, we'd be willing to offer you knowledge of the local herbs and how to apply them to treat your injured or sick cats, as well as the many benefits that come with a clan lifestyle."
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Post by Mother Dark on May 12, 2021 5:20:00 GMT -5
Waspbite Waspbite looked a little shocked. He wasn't sure what he expected from this meeting but he sure didn't expect to be asked to change the dynamics of his group. "What exactly is a clan?" He asked curiously. "I want to make sure I understand what you're asking of me and my group."
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 12, 2021 14:18:04 GMT -5
Flamestar "I completely understand." Flamestar replied. "As a clan, we live by a code of honor called the Warrior code. It's relatively simple, but it ensures that the clan can function efficiently, safely and productively. Many rules have to do with protecting the clan or ensuring order within the clan. We train our kits once they reach six moons old to hunt, fight and carry out day to day duties, we ensure that the kits, queens, the sick or injured and elders are fed first, we must patrol and mark our territory daily to maintain strong borders, those sort of things. As a clan, we are watched over by Starclan, our warrior ancestors. Our medicine cat communes with them every half moon and, when a leader is appointed to a clan, Starclan grants that leader nine lives so they can do whatever is necessary to protect their clan."
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Post by Mother Dark on May 13, 2021 16:58:44 GMT -5
Waspbite The leader listened to Flamestar with astonishment. He seemed interested in the code of honor these cats lived by. "Fantastic. This all sounds interesting and like something I want to live by. Please help our group to become a clan." He turned to guage how the others were taking the ideas and smiled at them. He then turned back to clan cats. "I've noticed that Lillyfern and I have names similar to yours. Do you all have names like that?"
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 13, 2021 23:03:18 GMT -5
Flamestar Flamestar was glad that Waspbite had been so receptive. "Simply put, yes, but our names are a bit more complex than they appear." the ginger tom replied. "When a kit is born, their name will end in kit. When they turn six moons old and are ready to become apprentices, kit is then replaced with paw so as to signify their rank. Once they complete their training, they earn their warrior name, which often has something to do with the identity of that cat, for example, my warrior name was Flamepelt. When a cat becomes leader, their name ends with star. I actually just received my new name and my nine lives shortly after we encountered your cats two nights ago." Flamestar looked over at cloudear and then back to Waspbite. "If you are okay with it, we'd love to meet more of your cats and help you adapt to clan life, and I'm sure Cloudear would be more than willing to show what we know about medicine. She could even check up on your injured cat just for good measure."
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Post by Mother Dark on May 14, 2021 10:38:06 GMT -5
Waspbite Waspbite thought for a moment. "Ah that is a complex naming system. I'll try to remember those standards. As for meeting more of my cats I would love for more of our groups to meet but I don't know about bringing you back to camp. It seems sort of dangerous for you to know where ours is. Maybe we can decide to meet back here again. Though if Cloudear would check out Spider again he can't walk this far right now." The tom stood up looking conflicted.
(I was thinking that maybe Cloudear could be like oh Waspbite your second mate Tawny is also pregnant or something if they meet.)
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 14, 2021 14:34:48 GMT -5
Flamestar Flamestar thought for a moment, thinking of solutions. "You all seem like decent cats, and I get being protective of your camp. What if I showed you our camp first, that way you could see first hand how a clan operates and know that we're taking just as big of a risk by doing this as you are." He wasn't quite sure how the clan would react to all this sudden news, but he hoped they'd be receptive. (that would work. Maybe Tawny isn't feeling the greatest and asks Cloudear)
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Post by Mother Dark on May 14, 2021 17:22:21 GMT -5
Waspbite Waspbite shrugged. "Okay. If you're willing to take a big risk too then I'm willing to do the same." He sat back down and waited to see what the others thought. He turned to Snowy. "I know you were helping out spider do you think he should be checked up on again?" He asked the she-cat.
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 14, 2021 18:12:54 GMT -5
Snowy Snowy looked at Waspbite. "His bite is healing pretty well I think, but I could be wrong. I've never tried to treat a wound as bad as his. I've been going off of what she told us last time we met, but if his leg gets infected, none of us would have a clue about how to help him."
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Post by Mother Dark on May 15, 2021 16:19:53 GMT -5
Waspbite Waspbite listened and then nodded. "I guess it sounds like its better off for him to be checked out again just in case." He looked at Cloudear and then Flamestar. Then he looked at Lillyfern. "I think I'm going to make Lillyfern the medicine cat." He announced suddenly.
Lillyfern Lillyfern looked shocked. She stuttered as she spoke. "But I know nothing about herbs." She said incredulously. She then looked a little resigned to her fate. She didn't know yet that medicine cats couldn't have mates bit would be relieved ro hear that.
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 15, 2021 17:07:46 GMT -5
Flamestar Flamestar shot a glance over at Cloudear, seeing his own surprise reflected in the medicine cat's expression. He turned back to Waspbite and Lillyfern. "You know, the medicine cat doesn't just handle herbs. They are also typically the clan's only way to communicate with Starclan. They also have a few more rules than the average clan cat, such as not being allowed to take a mate or have kits so that they can treat every cat to the best of their ability without bias." Cloudear Cloudear spoke up. "I'm not going to lie, being a medicine cat is difficult." She looked Lillyfern in the eye. "But it is worth it. At first, it's a lot of memorizing and organizing herbs, but you'll know everything you're doing is worth it after you stop someone from bleeding to death or save a kit from a bout of greencough. It's a feeling of satisfaction I've never felt doing anything else."
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Post by Mother Dark on May 15, 2021 18:55:03 GMT -5
Waspbite Upon hearing Flamestar's words Waspbite nodded. "I think that Lillyfern is a good fir for that. She is very gentle with other cats. I watched her comfort a dying cat before we became a group." He looked at Lillyfern and nodded. He sat there hoping the she-cat would agree to be his medicine cat.
Lillyfern Lillyfern was looking confused but a little intrigued. She wasnt sure how to feel about Waspbite wanting her to be medicine cat. "Well I guess I do have some experience around the sick and dying. And it doesn't bother me about not having a mate or kits I don't want those for myself anyway."
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 15, 2021 20:25:38 GMT -5
Cloudear "That's good." Cloudear confirmed. "To be honest, that was the biggest issue for me, but I started to look at it a different way. I realized that, in a way, the whole clan was like my kits. I have to make sure they're healthy and they aren't making mouse-brained decisions like trying to walk on a sprained paw." Flamestar Flamestar stood as Cloudear finished talking. He arched his back in a stretch before speaking. "We can meet back here tomorrow at sun-high, if that's okay with you. That way I can give you a look at how our clan operates while Cloudear checks up on your cat and gets Lillyfern started on her training."
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Post by Mother Dark on May 16, 2021 18:21:25 GMT -5
Lillyfern and Waspbite Lillyfern looked at Cloudear for a moment while she spoke and then looked to Waspbite. "I feel like I could help my group but never could I think of them as my kits." She said. She looked calm and maybe a little tired.
Waspbite nodded at Cloudear's words and then at Flamestar's. "I can agree to that. Let us all go to our nests and rest for now." He stood and waited for his cats to be ready to leave before he started to lead the way back to camp.
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 16, 2021 20:49:43 GMT -5
Flamestar "Until tomorrow, then." Flamestar replied with a dip of his head. He gave the rest of the Hollowclan cats the signal to head back, but stopped for a moment. Turning his head over his shoulder, he called out, "And you should probably start thinking of a name for your clan!" with that, he took point and started leading his cats back to camp. When they were safely out of earshot, Flamestar looked at the other three cats. "Well, that went better than expected." Snowy Snowy fell in behind Waspbite, eager to get back to camp and check in on Spider. She started to wonder what the black tom would think about everything. Frankly, she was glad that these Hollowclan cats were generous enough to offer them help, even if she didn't quite get all their rules and customs. At least Spider would get his bite treated.
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Post by Mother Dark on May 17, 2021 21:12:55 GMT -5
Basilwhisker The tom waved with his tail to the others as they left. He then turned to Flamestar. He nodded as the leader talked. "Waspbite seemed quite reasonable. Though I can understand why he was hesitant to want us near his camp. Its a little worrisome thinking of strangers in your home." Basilwhisker said. He got to his feet and prepared to follow Flamestar back home.
Waspbite Waspbite led the way back to camp waiting to see if they were followed. He turned to the others when they got back. "I want you all to rest. Then we will meet them back there tomorrow. You can do what you want til we leave." He looked around and headed toward his den.
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 17, 2021 22:31:39 GMT -5
Flamestar "I agree." Flamestar meowed as he headed towards camp. "I think Waspbite will be easy to negotiate with in the future. He seems like a good cat and he's protective of his cats, as any good leader should be. I don't think we'd have an issue going to war with them unless it was dire circumstances." Snowy Snowy nodded to Waspbite and quietly went to look for Spider. She hoped that he'd be awake, given that he was asleep earlier in the day, but she knew he also needed a lot of rest to recover from his wound, so she wasn't going to wake him if he was sleeping.
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Post by Mother Dark on May 18, 2021 21:12:10 GMT -5
Basilwhisker Basilwhisker sighed in contentment and nodded. He was happy that the other cats seemed okay with becoming a clan though the fact that Flamestar had offered that up as an option for them had surprised him. He didn't know the leader was thinking about making the offer to have Waspbite get his nine lives either. It all seemed odd to him though it seemed much easier to share borders with someone who believed the same way that you did. "I was a little shocked when you asked them to become a clan. I didn't know that was part of the plan." He told Flamestar as he flicked his tail back and forth slowly.
Spider Spider was laying in camp when the others got back from their meeting. He lay facing out across the pond that made up part of the camp wall. He was watching minnows swim by as he munched on a mouse. He was chewing it slowly and took his uninjured paw and swiped at the water making a huge splash and scaring the minnows away. He growled as water splashed onto his mouse and soaked his injured paw. He took another bite of the mouse and swallowed hard before licking his paw dry. The paw was healing slowly but was clean and uninfected. He sighed and finished his mouse in two or three more bites.
(How are you?))
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 19, 2021 11:22:02 GMT -5
Flamestar Flamestar shrugged, turning to look at the deputy. The ginger tom knew the rest of the clan would be just as surprised by the news, and he was sure a few would disagree, but the more he thought about it, the more he was sure he made the right decision. "I debated with myself whether I should have, too." Flamestar admitted. "They aren't clan cats by blood, but if they truly learn to live by the warrior code, it doesn't matter. Thymestar gave his life to save those cats. It just feels right that his sacrifice should lead to something greater than he could've imagined at the time." Snowy Snowy watched Spider for a moment, suppressing a laugh as she watched him splash himself. She didn't want to embarrass him. After a few more moments, she padded over to where he rested and sat next to him, looking out over the pond. "I'm back." She announced softly. "And there's big news." She wasn't quite sure how the tom would react to Waspbite's decision, but she was more focused on the fact that he would be able to get proper treatment for his bite, as apposed to her second hand knowledge and little understanding of herbs. (good! I'm still waiting to hear back from the people I interviewed with, but I'm cautiously optimistic. How's the Bob Evans life treating you?)
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Post by Mother Dark on May 20, 2021 11:25:20 GMT -5
Basilwhisker Basilwhisker nodded. "Whatever you think is best is the way to go. The clan will follow you even if some of them would hsve done it differently." Basilwhisker stood and stretched and looked toward the direction of camp.
Spider Spider jumped a little when Snowy spoke not noticing that she was bext to him until then. He nodded when she said there was big news. "You just got back from the meeting with those other cats right? Were they nice?" He asked his curiosity getting the better of him. He licked his paw again and sighed.
(Good to hear. They are working me pretty hard on the weekends. Its when we are the busiest. I'm exhausted.)
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Post by Fire the Watcher of the vale on May 20, 2021 14:01:36 GMT -5
Flamestar "I hope so." Flamestar replied. He knew there weren't many cats who would oppose him, but he still worried about how they would treat Waspbite and his cats. It was one thing to tolerate their presence, but another to truly accept them. "We should head back to camp. I'll make the announcement in the morning, before we meet with them again." Snowy "They were pretty nice." Snowy responded. "They're going to teach Lillyfern about medicine so we don't have to worry about our cats getting hurt as much and that cat who helped you before is coming to make sure you're healing properly. There's going to be some changes though, it seems. They offered to help us become a clan or something and Waspbite accepted. There's apparently going to be new rules that we're going to have to follow." (oof that's rough. I feel bad for the cooks too. they gotta be pumping out food like crazy, though to be honest I have no clue how many people are cooking at one time at a bob evans. I assume not many.)
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Post by Mother Dark on May 20, 2021 18:11:09 GMT -5
Basilwhisker Basilwhisker nodded and stood ready to follow his leader. He thought qbout how his clanmates might think about making this loner group into another clan. "We don't really know how to make them into a clan do we?" Basilwhisker asked as he waited. He sat down again as he thought wbout what would happen the following day.
Spider Spider listened and sat still while Snowy talked. "I don't know if I like the idea of change. Couldn't these cats just leave us be?" He grumbled and licked his uninjured paw roughly. He didn't want to have to change what he did for some stupid clan. "What do you think about this? And what does Waspbite say?"
(The cooks definitely get rushed and some of the servers are rough on them ifthey mess up on orders. I always thank them. On normal days we have one cook on weekends we have up to 4.)
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