Post by dewbranch on Mar 20, 2024 8:55:48 GMT -5
Opalwhisker's Path
By Dewbranch
( Let me know if you want me to ping you when a new chapter comes out! Just lmk by asking on this thread or pm me!)
Allegiances
Ryeclan
---
Leader :
---
Lilystar - A light red cat with green eyes, one white paw (front left foot)
Deputy:
---
Autumnfire - Brown tom with vibrant amber eyes
Medicine cat(s) :
---
Heronwing - small speckled cream she-cat with pale blue eyes
APPRENTICE : Birdpaw
Warriors :
---
Ivorynight - black she-cat
Splotchtail - white cat with black patches
APPRENTICE : Cloudpaw
Littleshine - small tom with green eyes
APPRENTICE : Raggedpaw
Birchtalon - Brown she-cat with strong back legs
Oakberry - calico tom
Gorseblaze - mottled brown tabby she-cat
APPRENTICE : Bluepaw
Reedfur - dappled tortoiseshell she-cat
Rowandawn - slender flame-colored tom
Apprentices:
---
Bluepaw - light blue-gray she-cat with dark green eyes
Raggedpaw - swift pale tortoiseshell tom
Birdpaw - red tom with pale yellow eyes
Cloudpaw - red tom
Queens:
---
Hollytail — light brown tabby she-cat with pale green eyes (mother to Flamekit, a flame-colored tom with unusually long claws; Opalkit, a pale gray-and-white she-kit; Patchkit, a calico tom)
Elders:
---
Hollowstream - silver tom
FirClan
---
Leader:
---
Stonestar - reddish brown tom
Deputy:
---
Rainthroat - slender cream tabby she-cat with yellow eyes
Medicine Cat(s):
---
Bayfur - spiky-furred mottled dark cream tabby tom
Plumear - red tom with a sliced ear
Mediator:
---
Brackenpelt - slender golden tabby tom
Warriors:
---
Dandelionpelt - mottled tabby she-cat
Emberclaw - slender white she-cat
APPRENTICE: Sunpaw
Echofrost - golden tabby tom
APPRENTICE: Oakpaw
Swallowfoot - long-haired silver tabby tom
Shellpelt - golden tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Violetspot - long-haired brown tabby tom
Apprentices:
---
Sunpaw - long-legged golden tabby tom
Oakpaw - colorpoint she-cat
Queens:
---
Flowerheart - smoky black she-cat with dark hazel eyes (mother to Mistkit, a cream she-kit with dark blue eyes; and Blizzardkit, a dark-colored she-kit)
Fanart:
Prologue:
Chapter One:
Chapter Two:
By Dewbranch
( Let me know if you want me to ping you when a new chapter comes out! Just lmk by asking on this thread or pm me!)
Allegiances
Ryeclan
---
Leader :
---
Lilystar - A light red cat with green eyes, one white paw (front left foot)
Deputy:
---
Autumnfire - Brown tom with vibrant amber eyes
Medicine cat(s) :
---
Heronwing - small speckled cream she-cat with pale blue eyes
APPRENTICE : Birdpaw
Warriors :
---
Ivorynight - black she-cat
Splotchtail - white cat with black patches
APPRENTICE : Cloudpaw
Littleshine - small tom with green eyes
APPRENTICE : Raggedpaw
Birchtalon - Brown she-cat with strong back legs
Oakberry - calico tom
Gorseblaze - mottled brown tabby she-cat
APPRENTICE : Bluepaw
Reedfur - dappled tortoiseshell she-cat
Rowandawn - slender flame-colored tom
Apprentices:
---
Bluepaw - light blue-gray she-cat with dark green eyes
Raggedpaw - swift pale tortoiseshell tom
Birdpaw - red tom with pale yellow eyes
Cloudpaw - red tom
Queens:
---
Hollytail — light brown tabby she-cat with pale green eyes (mother to Flamekit, a flame-colored tom with unusually long claws; Opalkit, a pale gray-and-white she-kit; Patchkit, a calico tom)
Elders:
---
Hollowstream - silver tom
FirClan
---
Leader:
---
Stonestar - reddish brown tom
Deputy:
---
Rainthroat - slender cream tabby she-cat with yellow eyes
Medicine Cat(s):
---
Bayfur - spiky-furred mottled dark cream tabby tom
Plumear - red tom with a sliced ear
Mediator:
---
Brackenpelt - slender golden tabby tom
Warriors:
---
Dandelionpelt - mottled tabby she-cat
Emberclaw - slender white she-cat
APPRENTICE: Sunpaw
Echofrost - golden tabby tom
APPRENTICE: Oakpaw
Swallowfoot - long-haired silver tabby tom
Shellpelt - golden tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Violetspot - long-haired brown tabby tom
Apprentices:
---
Sunpaw - long-legged golden tabby tom
Oakpaw - colorpoint she-cat
Queens:
---
Flowerheart - smoky black she-cat with dark hazel eyes (mother to Mistkit, a cream she-kit with dark blue eyes; and Blizzardkit, a dark-colored she-kit)
Fanart:
( If we ever have any fans feel free to share your art! )
Prologue:
Lilystem left camp, with Flowerbloom at her side. Yarrowstar had died last night. Lilystem could still smell the sickness that had taken his final life. Lilystem had taken many walks through the territory of Ryeclan, but had only been this way four times. The first, when she had been made an apprentice. The second, when she had been made a warrior, the third when she had gotten her first apprentice, and the fourth when she had been made deputy. This was the place where she would meet with Starclan. The two cats were close now.
"Are you sure I'm ready, Flowerbloom?" Lilystem asked.
Flowerbloom nodded. This did nothing to reassure her. The cats ducked into the cave, the dim light quickly being overtaken by the shining river. The Star River. It didn't matter how many times she had seen it, it still took her breath away every time. The Star River was named before the cats had known that they could reach their ancestors by laying down in the water. It had been named for the glowing rocks in the water, for the way the looked like stars when you were looking at them. Lilystem nodded to Flowerbloom, who stood to guard the entrance of the cave. Lilystem lay in the shallow water, and closed her eyes.
Lilystem opened her eyes, in an empty clearing. She had been in the cave before, but she had never been been to Starclan before. The clearing was basic, a grassy stretch of meadow, with the borders of Starclan all around her.
"Welcome to Starclan, Lilystem"
She turned, and came face to face with Yarrowstar. He looked younger, stronger, and didn't smell of the sickness that took his life.
"Oh Yarrowstar, How I have missed you"
Her former leader put his tail to her lips, then touched his nose to hers.
"I give you the life for perseverance, so you may guide you clan through cold leafbares and hard, dry greenleafs"
Lilystem bowed her head, the feeling of a dry tongue and grumbling belly. She looked up as Yarrowstar padded back to the ranks of Starclan cats. Yarrowstar nodded to a cat in the back of the group, and a she-cat stepped up.
"Cloudwater!"
Her mother nodded.
"For your second life I give you love, so you may love your clan as I love my kits"
Lilystem had never had kits, and she had never planned on it. But, the queens in the nursery always looked at their kits with so much love, that she thought this life would be easy, warm. She was wrong. The agony that followed was more than she had expected. She felt the fierceness to protect her clan from every enemy, take every wound they got and give it to herself. When she came back, Cloudwater smiled at her, and padded back into the crowd Every life she got, it came with pain or happiness, and afterward she felt the strength of the new life soak into her. After her last life was given, the cats of Starclan brought their heads to the sky, yowling her new name.
"Lilystar! Lilystar! Lilystar!"
Then a scream split the air. Lilystar looked around, but didn't see anything. Suddenly, she was yanked out of her slumber, feeling her pelt soak into the water. She heard scuffling, and looked to the entrance. Flowerbloom was fighting a dog.
"Flowerbloom!"
Lilystar rushed to her aid, taking a swipe at the dogs muzzle. The dog, now overwhelmed at the prospect of fighting two cats, backed away, running back into the woods. Lilystar turned to Flowerbloom, who had collapsed.
"Are you okay?! What herbs can I use to help? Tell me!"
But Flowerbloom was shaking her head.
"It is my time, Lilystar. Just remember this; On the night of a full moon, a cat will be born. She will seem like an ordinary cat, born to an ordinary family. But, this cat will possess the strength our clan needs"
Then, her medicine cats eyes when blank, and her breath died out. No, no, no! But Lilystar knew that she was gone. With her remaining strength, Lilystar dragged Flowerbloom's body back to camp. Her clan was happy to see her, at first, but when they saw the thing that Lilystar had in tow, their faces filled with grief. Lilystar laid the body of Flowerbloom right night to Yarrowstar.
Later that night, Lilystar was join by the young medicine cat, Heronwing.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save her" Lilystar said. "It should have been me! I have lives to spare"
Heronwing blinked at her.
"No Lilystar. Your lives are there to help the clan through hardships. They are there for you to lead your clan. They are not 'spare lives' because Yarrowstar and Starclan thought that you deserved them."
Lilystar thought about this. Heronwing was right, of course.
"You should get some sleep" Heronwing suggested.
And so, Lilystar went to her new den, Yarrowstar's scent still lingering. It was now, as she drifted off to sleep, that she began to worry about the prophecy.
Chapter One:
Opalkit sat up, glancing around the nursery. Her mother, Hollytail was still sleeping, and so was Patchkit. But Flamekit was missing. Opalkit had only been out of the nursery a few times, with her mother and both of her siblings. But where is Flamekit!? Surely he didn't go out on his own! Opalkit took a deep breath, then stepped out of the nursery.
The sunlight blinded her for a moment. All around her the clan was up and going, cats talking and walking and eating and leaving. There he is! Flamekit's bright pelt stood out in the jumble of cats, and Opalkit padded up to him, stumbling once or twice.
"Flamekit! What are you doing?" Opalkit called, finally catching up to him.
"I'm practicing being a warrior! They get up at the crack of dawn you know." Flamekit said, puffing out his chest. "And so I got up at the crack of dawn! But, I wasn't able to do anything" Flamekit's shoulders sagged. "I wish I was older! Then I could hunt and fight and go on patrols!"
Opalkit snickered. They were only one moon old! Two, if you asked Flamekit. But you could tell how old they were from the moon, because they had been born on the full moon! How cool was that?!
"Well, why don't we clean the elders bedding and listen to a story? I hear the apprentices do that all the time!"
Flamekit agreed, and they raced each other to the elders den. There, they sat down and asked Hollowstream for a story (There was no nest cleaning being done, if you were wondering).
"Why of course" Hollowstream said, tucking in his paws. "Once there was a cat named Max..."
Opalkit loved stories. She loved how they could go anyway the teller wanted them too. Opalkit hung onto every word that came out of Hollowstreams mouth. The story was about a tom named Max who wanted to be a clan cat. Alas, the kits eyes grew heavy, and they fell asleep to the soothing murmur of Hollowstream.
~ ~ ~
"Opalkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Opalpaw. Your mentor will be Oakberry."
Opalpaw smiled really big as the clan called the new names of herself and her brothers.
"Flamepaw, Patchpaw, Opalpaw!"
Flamepaw had been given the mentor of Autumnfire and Patchpaw had been given Clouddrift. Since Clouddrift was the newest warrior, he had to bring the apprentices to the Star River Cave. But, the sun was still up, and they were not expected to go yet.
"Why don't we go tour the territory?" Oakberry asked her.
"Yes! Will Flamepaw and Patchpaw come with us?" Opalpaw asked, jumping around.
As if to answer her question, Oakberry flicked his tail at Flamepaw and Patchpaw, who were waiting with their mentors. The pair joined them, and the patrol of cats left the camp.
Ryeclan territory was mostly trees, where they were anyways. Oak trees and Birch trees, all with lots of leaves on them. As the patrol of cats walked through the territory, Opalpaw couldn't help but marvel and gawk at all the things around her.
"We are now nearing the abandoned rye and wheat field" Autumnfire said.
It was true, Opalpaw could see the tall grasses of the plants. They were tall and closely packed together, so great for hiding. I can't wait to tell Hollytail! But now the sun was sinking, and they needed to head back to camp before the headed to the Star River Cave.
~~~
Opalpaw knew that she was allowed to sleep, but she didn't want to. Her brothers looked wide-awake, and so did the new Firclan apprentices. She was NOT going to be the one that went to sleep. When they had arrived at the cave, cats had already been there! Flamepaw had let out a hiss and tried to fight them, but Clouddrift had held him back, explaining that these were Firclan cats, and that now blood was to be shed here.
It was now Moonhigh. Opalpaw was bored. What was the point of this tradition? The two warriors had their eyes closed, ears pricked. Then a howl split the air, followed by another howl. Clouddrift opened his eyes, and alarmed expression on his face. The two warriors nodded at each other, then turned to their clanmates.
"Listen! You three will lead Mistpaw and Blizzardpaw to the rye and wheat field, try and stay away from the wolves. Shellpelt and I will lead them towards the river, where they will hopefully drown, or lose our scent. Go!'
Opalpaws eyes widened. Wolves? She knew that dogs were common on Ryeclan land, but she had never heard of Wolves before. The five apprentices raced through the trees, hoping none of the Wolves were chasing them. They burst into rye field, panting.
"Let-Let's go a little deeper?" Mistpaw said, panting. She sounded unsure.
But Opalpaw nodded. That sounded like a good idea. They bounded through the tall stalked, until they were sure it was safe. Then, they sat down, panting. The cats stayed silent for awhile, eyes round with fear.
Then, they heard the growling, and dog scent hit the apprentices noses.
Chapter Two:
The dog followed us here! Was all Opalpaw could think of when she first noticed the dog scent. Now they could see it, a huge furry dog with grey fur. Its yellow eyes stared at them, unblinking.
"Run!" Opalpaw finally said.
In their fear, everyone split up. Opalpaw lost sight of her littermates, but Blizzardpaw was at her side. They had gone to the left of the dog. In the distance, Opalpaw heard the dog give out a long howl, than start moving. It howled again, and she realized that it was getting closer. Blizzardpaw's fur stood on end, and he bolted, Opalpaw running right after him. He was faster than she was, so he reached the river first. They both skidded to a stop.
I can't swim! Opalpaw thought frantically. She looked around, seeing nothing. The dog was close now. The two cats ran down the shore, hoping to cross into Firclan territory. Then, the dog was there. It was really, really big. This is definitely a wolf.
"Wol-Wolf!" Blizzardpaw yowled, running away.
The wolf looked him over, then decided to go for easier prey. Which happened to be her. Opalpaw backed as far as she could go, splashing into the shallows of the river. Arg! Why is that so COLD?! The wolf finally leapt at her, and she tried to dodge, but she was too slow. The wolf got its teeth into her hind leg and she shrieked with pain.
Opalpaw turned around, taking a swipe at the wolf's muzzle, leaving a shallow scar across its face. How am I supposed to win?! I don't know any fighting maneuvers! The wolf took a swipe at her again, and Opalpaw fell when its claw racked along her side. I'm going to die...
Suddenly, Cloudrift burst out of the bushes, Shellpelt racing after him. They attacked the wolf together, driving it away with their speed and claw strokes. Opalpaw marveled at the way cats from different clans could work so well together. The last thing she saw before she passed out was the terrified look of the wolf's face as it ran away.
~~~
Opalpaw woke in the medicine den, her wounds covered in cobwebs and a weird-smelling poultice. She looked around the den, only having been there once before, and she had been chased out by Heronwing. Suddenly, she felt the eyes of someone on her. Opalpaw turned around (as best as she could) to look behind her.
"Your finally up! How does your leg feel?" Birdpaw asked, his red pelt smelling of poultices (like the one on her wounds) and other herbs.
Opalpaw blinked at him, wondering how someone could be so cheery while in the medicine den. All she saw was the suffocating walls and the sticky smell of herbs.
"Oh, um it hurts a little bit I guess. Do you have any prey? I'm hungry" Opalpaw said, followed by her rumbling belly.
Birdpaw laughed. "I can get you something" He said, padding out of the den.
Over the next few days Opalpaw slept, ate, and got her wounds re-dressed. The wounds on her pelt were shallow and healed quickly, but the bite on her leg was deep. One night, Opalpaw woke, overhearing a conversation between Birdpaw and Heronwing.
"That leg isn't healing up Heronwing. Is that normal?" Birdpaw asked.
"It is Birdpaw, just slowly. It was a nasty, deep bite. Go get mix some poultice for that wound" Heronwing snapped, but Opalpaw could place the worry in her mew.
~~~
"Can I leave the den today? Please?" Opalpaw asked, eager to stretch her legs.
"Fine, but don't leave the Clearing" Heronwing mewed from the other side of the den.
Opalpaw slowly got up, wincing as she put her hurt leg on the ground. As the sunlight hit her directly in the face, she turned away, waiting to adjust to the sunlight.
"Flamepaw! Patchpaw!" Opalpaw exclaimed, trying her best to run over to them.
They turned their heads, their eyes brightening when they saw her.
"How are you feeling?" Patchpaw asked
"Fine! Just waiting for my leg to heal up!" Opalpaw mewed. "Where did you guys go when we split up?"
This time, Flamepaw beat Patchpaw to answering.
"Me, Patchpaw and Mistpaw went off together. She lead us back to Firclan camp from there. Autumnfire says the wolf probably didn't follow us because it smelled three cats, versus two."
Patchpaw nodded, verifying this story.
Opalpaw nodded, that made sense. Heronwing called for Opalpaw in the medicine den, and she looked back at her brothers.
"Visit me sometime okay? Don't learn too much while I'm recovering!" Opalpaw said, making her way back to the den.
~~~
Again, Opalpaw awoke, hearing the murmuring of voices. But this time, it was Heronwing and Hollytail, Opalpaw's mother. Their voices were so low, Opalpaw couldn't even hear them from here!
"... leg... doesn't.... limp..."
Suddenly, the cats came closer to her nest, and Opalpaw sat up. Hollytail looked sad.
"I'm sorry Opalpaw, but your leg has done all the healing it can. It seems that you will have a permanent limp, for the rest of your life." Heronwing mewed, her voice sad. Opalpaw's leg had been healing progressively over the last moon, with Opalpaw being able to walk without pain. But a limp?
How is a warrior supposed to fight battles with a limp? How is she supposed to hunt, or run for starclan's sake! Opalpaw's shoulders sagged.
I'll try really hard anyways! I will be the best warrior Ryeclan has ever known!