Posts by jackdaw!

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    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;]@THRUSHSTAR.


    [font=plantin][size=12]The two looked so frail, so tired, but it wasn't SkyClan's duty to take care of everyone. It wasn't SkyClan's duty to help cats who could fend for themselves; although they had previously taken in a number of abandonded kits, this situation was different. This time there was a moher.


    Tatteredpelt was out hunting. Winter would be drawing to a close soon, but until it did, they needed all the aviliable hunters they could get. The large tabby knew that he ought to have taken Briarpaw out with him - she could use the experience - but he wanted some time alone. For all that he talked with his clanmates, Tatteredpelt always felt better after a solitary walk.


    His leg ached, and he was about ready to limp back to camp when he smelled loners. Curiosity lighting his gold eyes, the scarred tom approached the trio. Wasppaw had already started talking to the strangers, voice laced with concern. Tatteredpelt couldn't hold back a sad smile: his grandson really was suited for life as a medicine cat.


    Brierlight's explanation brought a frown to his face. Tatteredpelt held little love for ThunderClan, and dispite not being of SkyClan origin himself, he wasn't too pleased with faced with former ThunderClanners in the Clan. "Why don't you return to ThunderClan?" he rasped doubtfully.
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    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]To say that Tatteredpelt had been worried when Stumpypaw disappeared was mild. His family was what had drawn him to SkyClan, and as the moons went by, there seemed to be less and less of them. Snowbloom had died, and he barely saw Stonejaw anymore. Their kits barely seemed to be around anymore - and Stumpy had disappeared. His scent had faded from the forest, and although he'd slowly grown to accept that his grandkit simply wasn't there, Tatteredpelt couldn't fully make peace with the fact.


    And now, after all that heartache and worry, Stumpypaw had returned. Drinking in Stumpy's scent (and wincing, because he smelled of twolegs), the brown tabby demanded, "What happened?" If he sounded angry, it was anger born of anxiety. He did not want to lose another family member again. "Where were you?" He had been with twolegs, obviously - what Tatteredpelt really wanted to know was whether or not the tom had willingly abandoned his clan to become a kittypet.


    A sigh falling from his maw, the feline sat and quietly admitted, "I missed you, Stumpy."
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    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]But why would SkyClan wanted defectors? The air within Tatteredpelt's mouth soured as he opened his maw to ask the question. Blinded as he was by his distaste for ThunderClan, even he recognized the hypocrisy in the question. If SkyClan wouldn't accept anyone who had once belonged to another clan, he'd have to leave to. He'd have to see if RiverClan would take him back or if he'd have to live as a loner again. Besides, he was grudgingly forced to admit that he understood the shecat's reasoning. What wouldn't a parent do for their children? What wouldn't he do for his, despite the fact that two - one now, he had to shakily remind himself - only barely accepted him, and another outright hated him? Little Robinkit seemed to care for his mother, but he couldn't understand how much his mother had to love him.


    Although his whiskers twitched with amusement as he glanced down at the tall kitten, Tatteredpelt didn't answer him. Instead, sighing softly, he backed down. "I'll take you to Thrushstar." It was her decision in the end anyway. She might well refuse them; if she didn't, he'd have to try his best to bite his tongue and treat them cordially - and he excepted no small amount of trouble with that.
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    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]It was dark when Tatteredpelt left the camp, giving a soft nod to the curious looking guard standing by the exit. He didn't make these nightly jouneys very often, but when his heart ached too much, the ragged tom found himself heading toward the spot where the elders buried the dead. There was no saying for certain exactly where his loved ones were, but he got around that. He regarded the whole clearing as their gravesite, and in a way, it probably was. His paws carried him toward the burialsite mechanically. Even if Tat didn't go often, he went often enough that he didn't need to think about the way.


    "Hello, Sedgeclaw, Snowbloom." His voice was soft. He couldn't be sure that his mate was buried here and hadn't been carried back to RiverClan, but even if she was in RiverClan, the same stars that shone there shone here. "I miss you dreadfully. The Clan's not the same without you." That was his customary greeting, but no matter how many times he said it, it still rang true. Life would never be the same without them. That wasn't to say that it couldn't still be good, but it would always be different. "Wasppaw became the medicine cat apprentice. You must be so proud, Snowbloom. I suppose you see him when he visits the moonstone every half moon. You'd love him, Sedge. You'd love him so much. And Stumpypaw's back. He was missing - stolen by twolegs. Now Briarpaw's gone. I'm worried for her. Whereever she is, watch over her." The maine coon stopped, and for a long moment just stared at the ground before finally rising. "Goodbye, my loves."

    With that, he turned to head back to camp.
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    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]It felt wrong to be here, but until Thrushstar was found, Tatteredpelt would have to step up. The tom was, frankly, worried. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of the leader in days, and neither had anyone else he'd questioned. She'd simply disappeared from the forest, as though the ground had opened and swallowed her up. The heavily scarred deputy thought the worst. Thrushstar was family due to being Stonejaw's mate, and his family was slowly disappearing. She might be injured, or stolen by twolegs, or - and he didn't want to think it - dead. Wherever the leader was, he thought of of this as her spot, not his. He'd always had the vague expectation that he'd retire before anything happened to her.


    "SkyClanners, gather around the cottage for a Clan meeting." Tattered had purposely left out the bits excluding kits: this was something that had to be told to everyone, and perhaps, unlikely as it was, a kit somehow knew what had happened to Thrushstar. Tatteredpelt had only barely managed to drag himself onto the roof, and his stiff leg ached from the effort. If Thrushstar couldn't be found - if he had to make more meetings, Tattered would have to seriously consider changing the meeting spot, untraditional as that was.
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    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]So Tat here is going to visit StarClan for his lives soon, and he needs some cats to give them to him. They'd ideally be either SkyClanners or RiverClanners (which is his birth home), new or pre-existing. Once you sign up, you can post [here].


    Someone's also free to play his dead mate, Sedgeclaw, giving him a life.


    1. Robinthroat - selflessness
    2. Snowbloom - forgiveness
    3. Sunstar - courage
    4. Runningpaw - determination
    5.
    6.
    7.
    8.
    9.
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    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]His Clan gathered below him, and Tatteredpelt would have been lying if he said that this didn't make him uncomfortable. Some of the faces before him reflected the worry he felt. That shouldn't come as a surprise, but somehow it did. "As you know, Thrushstar's been missing for the past few days." His daughter-in-law was missing, but even if he was sure that she was gone, now wasn't the time to grieve. "I want to send out a patrol to search for her. If anyone knows anything about what happened, now would be the time to speak up." As deputy he was supposed to organize border and hunting patrols, not patrols for missing cats. Not patrols for missing leaders. The words were heavy on his tongue, and didn't that make sense? His heart had grown heavier and heavier over the past few moons, so why not his words as well?


    (Perhaps Wasppaw had been right to worry for his mental health.)


    "If we can't find her, I'll go to the moonstone with Wasppaw. Maybe StarClan has something to say." He wouldn't ordinarily go with Wasppaw, but if they couldn't find Thrushstar, he'd probably have to step up as leader. True, maybe StarClan would have a solution, would know what happened, but if they couldn't help, why waste a journey?
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    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]The process of finding a mentor or apprentice for your character can get a little sticky. Hopefully, this thread can deal with all the problems that spring up by creating an organized list of cats who need mentors or apprentices. If someone on the list catches your interest, feel free to tag them and work something out. (If you'd prefer not to be tagged, mention that in your post.)


    MENTORS:
    - Foxdancer
    - Rosetail
    - Jaycall


    APPRENTICES:

    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]Tattered didn't even need to ask for volunteers; already Foxdancer, Nightcrow, and Minnownose were calling out that they wanted to help. If Nightcrow sounded disrespectful, Tatteredpelt couldn't begrudge him that. Thrushstar had been his brother's mate. He'd known Thrushstar for far longer than he'd known Tatteredpelt. Old shame welled up in the maine coon, and he had to glance away from his son's muscular figure. "Foxdancer, Nightcrow, Minnownose will form the search party," he agreed. Foxdancer was the most senior warrior of the group: she'd be in charge. As Wasppaw approached, mentioning Briarpaw, Tatteredpelt froze. Another cat he'd failed. His granddaughter and his apprentice, and she was similarly gone. He'd been trying not to think of her, but now, with her kidnapping out in the open, he couldn't ignore it. "Good idea," he meowed, trying to keep his voice steady. "Check there and near ThunderClan." His hostility toward the other group was well documented. It made sense that his suspicions fell on them.


    His yellow eyes fell to Wasppaw, and he continued, "Wasppaw, I'd like you to come with me to see if the leaders of the other clans know anything." That was a risky move: one of the other groups might take this as weakness and decide to attack them. Only a mousebrain launched an attack in leafbare, though, so he hoped that they'd be fine.
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    [center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]Glancing at Cloudpaw, Tatteredpelt hesitated. She did have a point, but he didn't want to send the blind apprentice to the twoleg place without cause. After a moment, the tom shook his head. "Perhaps if the patrol thinks Thrushstar's there," he answered the former kittypet. "Otherwise, I want you here." The patrol looked about ready to leave, so he nodded once to them, sending StarClan a quick prayer that they find Thrushstar soon.


    It was good to see Audenine, but for entirely selfish reasons, Tatteredpelt didn't want him to come along. He wanted some time alone with his grandson - some time when Wasppaw wasn't busy organizing herbs. He wanted to see how the tabby was holding up, considering all he had gone through. He wanted family time, but if he was going to be SkyClan's leader, he had to remember to put the clan first. After a steadying breath, he told the medicine cat, "If you like."


    // yep! I'll make one by RC and tag you two - it's be great if Wasp could make one by TC and Audy by WC (or the other way around), but if not I can make those too
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