stuff

• cause and effect •

writingclan biweekly • 11.23.17
nov. 20th → dec 2nd
you are the leader of skyclan. recently, the four clans outside of skyclan have joined together, creating one large clan known as ____clan. they prompt you to join or there will be consequences, however, being the wise leader you are, you know much about the warrior code so you deny the offer. your clan however, wants to join ___clan so they won't lose much from an upcoming attack by the overpowered clan. because of your denial, the four clans are outraged and demand a battle against each other. what do you do? do you send your pitiful clan into war with four clans at once? or do you join forces with them even against starclan's will?
▁▂▃▄◣⋆ ☾ ⋆◢▄▃▂▁
i strutted to the gathering, the feline who would soon lead the clan and my medicine cat at my side. my dusky ginger and black tail waved in the draft. my clan followed behind me like a flock of sheep. curious junior apprentices, wise elders, and astute senior warriors of all kind mixed in. the felines were of all shapes and sizes. i couldn't wait to attend my first gathering as the leader of skyclan.
the ebony sky was dappled with minute alabaster stars, which danced with joy. it seemed like starclan would be here tonight, i thought, nodding my cranium with satisfaction. the bare bark on the tree-bridge felt strange underpaw, but, i got used to t eventually, until i was wrapping around excessive branches, not even scrutinizing the inky water below.
but, my heart seemed to conclude its regular beating as i heard a deafening spalsh, and a plea for help. i yelped, blindly vaulting into the liquid without hesitation. i had to save my clanmate!
my lithe build made it effortless to swim through the water. i had some training before. punting out with brawny back legs, i reached the feline in only a few strides.
i could see her struggling to keep afloat, making me only want to extricate her even more. grasping her floccose, velutinous pelage between my canines, i swam with great posthaste. i threw her back onto the tree-bridge, both of us coughing and wheezing.
once my vision cleared, i could make out the small build of beechpaw. she retched the charcoal-blue water onto the bark.
i licked her head. "don't do something dull-witted like that again," i growled. but, i had to cut her some slack; it's not like she intended to fall in the water, it just happened.
i forced my clan athwart the tree, i didn't want another episode like that happening again.
i could feel lush greenery between my atramentous pads, a sign that we had reached the island. the scene of the voluminous oak tree in front of me made me gush. i would be sitting there with all the leaders, representing skyclan.
i shook my sodden pelage, i had to look presentable.
sauntering over the higher ranked felines, i extracted my claws into the ratting bark, heaving up it with a great effort. once i got to the top, i was panting and wheezing.
i perched on a thick branch, curling my thin tail around my paws. the other clan leaders seemed to be deep in conversation, and i felt a hint of jealousy turn my veins to fire.
"shall we start?" i heard one of them murmur. the rest nodded in agreement.
"cats' of skyclan!" the thunderous yowl that belonged to squirrelstar of windclan sliced through the tar-black night. his bushy brown tail and sleek, well-groomed calico fur stood on ended. he was visibly excited. "me and the other clans have joined forces, in an alliance. we shall now be addressed as jaguarclan."
my pelt bristled, what were they doing?
another leader, mushroomstar of shadowclan, stepped forward. her frosty blue visionaries swept over the warriors below.
/my/ warriors.
turning to me, her eyes danced with joy. "we would like to know if you would like to join us, wrenstar. we know that leaf-bare is just around the corner, and jaguarclan could provide you with shelter, food, and water." her voice was sweet and smooth like honey.
i spat at her. "i would never do such an inconsequential thing." is turned my back at her. "skyclan have self-respect. we would never disobey the warrior code all for 'food', 'water', and 'shelter'."
"are you sure?" the titanic tabby leader of thunderclan, whiskerstar, snarled at me. i was taken off guard, which caused me to loosen my grip on the branch below, almost resulting in a life-threatening fall. "if you don't join, jaguarclan will attack your piteous clan and leave it with nothing but the flea-ridden pelts on their back." a malicious smile spread across his maw. the feline flicked his cadual appendage, withdrawing himself back to his branch.
"i-i still won't!" i condemned. "i stand with starclan and warrior code. there are supposed to be five clans, not one!"
"okay," the thunderclan leader murmured darkly. "then prepare for war."
i couldn't handle this. "g-gathering dismissed," i yowled shakily, in fact, i don't even recall it as a yowl.
✧ミ
i trudged into my den, my pelt ruffled. i had to contemplate what had ailed the other clan leaders to disobey the warrior code, what made them want /me/ to join their starclan-forbidden clan.
but, my clan seemed convinced.
"wrenstar, why hadn't you listened?" one senior apprentice whined.
"now we might be attacked in the midst of leaf-bare!"
my deputy, the feline who i trusted with my life, even disagreed with me. i could hear her murmuring under her breath.
i glared pointedly at her, my voice sharp and commanding. "if there's anything you want to say, say it right now. i will not tolerate this mumbling, especially to your leader." i snapped.
he outburst seemed to straighten him out.
i sighed, burying my muzzle into the jade moss, trying to drown out the sounds on my rioting clan. i could feel stress turn the tips on my ginger and black pelt gray. but, i didn't give in. no matter how many times my clan would whine and complain, i would /never/ join jaguarclan, even if they planned to skin me alive. i stand with starclan and the warrior code, not for my own egotistical needs.
✧ミ
paranoia plagued my mind the next day, those stupid jaguarclan cat's had gotten to me. i assigned four border patrols in one morning, not a usual occurrence on my skyclan. i flicked my tail with worry, thinking of an averse scene with my warriors scattered, their pelts ripped from their bodies and the life slowly draining out of them. the grass below them would be veiled with droplets of blood.
such pessimistic thoughts shouldn't even enter my mind.
i sat there in the middle of the clearing, hunched over like an elder. silently, i stared at my paws, which scuffled along the cold earth, which would soon be blanketed with a thin layer of frost. i twitched an ear.
"wrenstar? are you okay?"
a sympathetic, velvety voice breathed next to me. i gazed at the feline who had called me. "yes?"
i looked down to see a junior apprentice, who was fidgeting greatly. "y-you said that you were going to lead a patrol with me and my mentor and another warrior," he mumbled. i nodded.
"of course, i'll get on to that. thank you for reminding me."
✧ミ
i inhaled a sharp breath. the sting of the coming leaf-bare hit my muzzle. the two warriors behind me were marking trees, and one of their apprentices was weaving betwixt them, trying to keep up.
i sped over to the nearest tree. digging my unguis into the bark, i cavorted. i hastily wove betwixt overgrown branches, in pursuit of a squirrel.
the floccose-tailed rodent squeaked, and swiftly dashed down the stump. i clawed my way down slowly, leaping down once i was a fox length away. i heard a squeal, and i saw the little apprentice holding the squirrel's limp body in his jaws.
before i could congratulate him, i caught the distinct scent of thunderclan, mixed with a bit of riverclan. whipping around, i crouched down. my tail swished low to the loam, signifying that my patrol should keep low as well.
we stalked through the ferns, which rustled as i saw nine warrior break through, tangling and wrestling with one of my patrols.
my warriors were outnumbered, nine to three.
i let out fierce battle cry, arching my spine and flinging myself at a riverclan warrior. he fought back, hard. i dug my claws into the feline's shoulders, trying to pin him down. he kicked out his hind legs, digging the into my exposed underbelly. another warrior pushed me off.
"let's go," he hissed, blinking at me playfully. i bared my teeth, stepping forward.
"get off my territory, you skunk-breathed, fish-headed, starclan forbidden jaguarclan cat's!" i snarled. turning to the tom, i blinked at him, but not with playfulness. "don't you have a preposessing she-cat in you own clan?" he scurried away, along with the rest of the patrol like a bunch of frightened kits. "hmph!"
whisking around, i held my chin in the draft, along with my tail. stupid felines on /my/ territory, interrupting /my/ patrol. when i get back to my encampment, i'll have a meeting with the medicine cat and her apprentice.
✧ミ
a thick sheet of snow blanketed the earth, burdening me from taking my warriors to the gathering. the full moon hung in the air, watching my pitiful clan trudge through the fluffy alabaster powder.
we had finally gotten across the bridge made of bark, and i forced myself up the great oak. the other leaders stared at my shivering silhouette, and i get a rush of embarrassment pulse through my veins. "shall we start the gathering?" i could see a puff of my own breath. the other leaders nodded.
"jaguarclan has an abundance of kits, and we think that it will be a great pleasure once wrenstar joins us," splashstar, the leader of riverclan turned to me. "i bet skyclan has had a few kits over this past moon?"
i growled at him, a mixture of hostility and intimidation clogged my voice. "n-no. but i bought your fishy warriors-" i turned to whiskerstar. "and your skunk-breath warriors on my territory. i request for you to halt this behavior, and teach your warriors a lesson or two, before i march onto your territory and teach them myself."
"what did you say?" he roared, taking a giant step closer to me. i felt uneasy. "call my warriors 'skunk-breathed' again, and i'll line my best with your fur!"
i don't know why, but i wanted to make him mad. "skunk-breath! skunk-breath! your warriors are skunk breaths!" without hesitation, he leaped at me, both of us collapsing from the branch and onto the cold ground, into the frigid snow. the leap knocked the breath out of me. i don't know what happened after that, i just blacked out.
✧ミ
i woke up on some velvety jade moss. i looked up, only to find swiftpaw staring into the clearing, which my back was turned to. i tried to get up, but i felt a searing pain pulse through my leg. looking back i saw that is was very displaced. i hollered, and swiftpaw payed immediate attention to me.
"what is it?" he cried.
"fix it! fix it NOW!"
he looked panicked, and i glared at him. "don't you know how to fixed a displaced limb? fix it!" quickly, he placed his paws on my disabled leg.
"i've never done this, but i've seen stemtail do this a million times," he whimpered. "but i know that you might feel a bit of pain." without giving me time to ponder, i heard a loud crack come from my leg. i howled at the top of my lungs with pain.
"great starclan, it hurts!" i cried.
swiftpaw's hazy blue oculars grew wide and bulging. "did i do it right? can you move your leg?"
i attempted to get to my paws, which succeeded. stretching each leg in turn, i shook my fur. i flicked my ebony and ginger tail to swiftpaw's shoulder. "thank you," i mumbled languidly.
my tortoiseshell medicine cat hurtled into her den, panting. "wrenstar! i-i . . . ." she collapsed on her side, blood staining her fur. the wound didn't look life-threatening.
"stemfur, what happened?" swiftpaw and i cried in unison.
"i was collecting herbs, and i saw the three other leaders with their deputies. they told me that they were going to skyclan to give you a warning. i lunged at one of them, and the rest of them attacked me. i asked what they wanted to say, and they said that they want to go to war with you for not joining jaguarclan. i told them that i'd tell you, and they left." swiftpaw gave he gave her some water-soaked moss to lap at.
my eyes grew wide. "when did they say this war would be?" i gasped.
"they said three sunrises from now, for you to meet them at the gathering spot."
i felt stress knock me to the ground. "oh no," i breathed. "oh, starclan no." what would i do? i couldn't send my inferior clan to fight the behemoth jaguarclan.
"wrenstar?" swiftpaw examined me with wide, pleading green eyes. "you won't send us into war, would you?" i looked at him, my eyes glazed with pain at breaking his heart.
"i'm sorry, but i have to swiftpaw."
his eyes held nothing but assimilation and respect. i sat down next to him, curling my tail around him. "it's going to be fine," i comforted, my voice melodic and choky at the same time. "it's going to be fine."
✧ミ
today was the day.
the day my clan would go to war.
the day concluding our short-lived lives.
i fearlessly stalked through the ebony night, my pelt bristling and tail held high. the felines of jaguarclan stared at me, crouched. "you ready to fight?" whiskerstar snarled. "because if not," splashstar chimed in. "then you won't be ready for this!" he leaped at me, and with that, the war begun.
i kicked my hind legs into his underbelly, lashing out with both front paws. he takes his claws against my neck, which enraged me. he clawed my cheek, and i rolled into my side, throwing him down. i circled him, spitting at him.
"i bet you wish you never fought-" i was interrupted by a cry for assistance. i whipped around, only to find swiftpaw begging for his life. i giant shadowclan apprentice with sharp fangs had him pinned. i cried and sped forward. "swiftpaw!"
but i was too late.
the apprentice sang his sharp talons into swiftpaw's gullet, running away. i could only watch as his life slowly seeped away into the grass, which was stained with his blood. hot tears streamed down my face. i ran after the apprentice, i had to avenge swiftpaw!
i was immediately tackled by three warriors.
everything went black.
✧ミ
i stared at my body. i had lost my third life. i sighed, and saw the previous leader of skyclan, beetlestar, staring at me. he shook his giant skull with disapproval.
"how could you have let this happen?" he mewed. "how could you have let them create this 'jaguarclan'?" my eyes grew wide and pleasding. i looked down at my paws, tears dripping from my visionaries.
"wrenstar, you know you have to go back, right?"
i shook my head. "no, beetlestar." i mumbled. "i don't want to go back."
"swiftpaw is dead. there is no reason to go back."