Posts by Sankai

OOC: Fancypost being transferred.

Spirestar yawned and stretched his paws. He had heard the sound of foreign pawsteps coming into the camp, but had remained in the shadows of his den, waiting for the visitor (intruder?) to reveal himself. As he stepped out into the moonlit rocky plain, he realized that HighlandClan's visitor was a she.
"Greetings, traveler. I hope your intentions are peaceful. HighlandClan is kind, but we are not weak," he said, flexing his claws and sheathing them again.
"My clan has no quarrel with you, if that's what you mean," Ospreywhisker replied. "I bear a message for you."
"Well, let's have it then."
"It is for a leader's ears alone."
"What you can say to me, you can say to my clan!"
"I would be in even darker danger if any other cat knew of what I must tell. I can trust you because as a leader, you have no part in..." she lowered her voice, "clan vendettas."
Spirestar growled. This sounded both serious and worrying to HighlandClan. There were, he knew, groups of assassins and thugs within some clans that would go after any cat for the right price. He hoped HighlandClan was free of such taint, but he could not be sure.
"Step into my den," he said warily. "I will hear your need."

"Hey Emerald. I must say, your eyes are..stunning in this light," he said, trying to be suave. "And Cinder...cut her some slack. We've got to hang together. If we're going to hold our own with Fang, we can't be fighting like this!" he said, hoping he didn't touch any deep wound. He was beginning to grow very dissatisfied with their leader and the trail of pain he seemed to leave in his wake.
"If I ran the Strays, things would be different. We'd be free and...whole. Like..." he hesitated. He was letting too much of his idealist heart shine through. "Like other clans," he finished, not wanting to say, 'like the forest clans'. He knew most of the Strays regarded the forest clans as weak and soft, but his sister Steel had told him wondrous stories about her stay with ThunderClan, and the way they valued her and her contribution to the clan.
Not like here, Blade though, hissing a little as he did so.
"Am I talking to myself here? Anyone else want to ram a stick through our leader's head sometimes?"

Blade narrowed his eyes.
"I didn't mean to touch a nerve. If I'm just making things worse for everyone, I can leave. But if our clan is in this kind of turmoil, maybe it's time we rethought a few things. I know I'm going to be thinking," he said with a sigh. He began to slink away, half hoping that someone would stop him.

OOC: sorry it's kinda short lol

Blade looked back at Emerald. He was stressed, but he sensed she needed something from him. He walked back over and gave her a quick lick on the ear. Then he padded off.
He kept walking until he reached Savior's Sinking. He knew it probably creeped out some of the other cats, but he did his best thinking there. Blade had occasionally pondered whether perhaps it was the Strays buried there who spoke to him and gave him inspiration, but he was never that much of a spiritual cat. He pawed at the water frustratedly.
I hope Emerald comes out of all this okay, he thought to himself. Maybe I'm not meant to be here. He contemplated running off to find Steel, his sister. Ever since he was young, he knew Steel would offer him wise advice. But he knew that if there was to be any change, he couldn't leave now, and frankly he wasn't sure if he could find her.
Blade began to pace in circles, letting the cool air caress his fur.
If only I could set things right...start a new beginning.
He wished someone would sympathize with him, would keep him company through his depressed state until justice could be found. He looked up at the heavens.
"Anything! Wisdom, advice, some kind of answer!" he yowled.

Blade jumped.
"Emerald. Hi." he said shakily. There was silence for a moment.
"Sorry if I startled you. I was just...thinking. Out loud," he finished lamely, realizing his mask of edged smoothness had dissipated completely. He decided that honesty would be the best bet at this point.
"I hope I haven't disturbed you. It's just...maybe I shouldn't be in this clan. I have no love of our leader or the way he does things. I mean...I know it's not my place, but the way cats are treated here is hard to take. The birthers, for example! It must hurt you the way they have no right, slaves to the whims of certain toms! It's...I..." he trailed off with an angry sigh, digging his claws into the ground. He looked at Emerald.

Rushingstream walked over to Opalpaw, his new apprentice. It was his first day, and he felt as ready as he could be.

"Nice catch. Sorry I missed you this morning. Want to do some battle training?" he asked, managing a smile.

OOC: Long plot post. Feel free to listen in

Ospreywhisker sat down behind the small trickle of waterfall that was in Spirestar's den.
"I mean no offense, but how do you stand that?" she asked him.
He looked up at the water and laughed.
"I forget you are not a coastal cat. Water doesn't bother us, after we've lived by the sea so long. I find it quite tranquil and relaxing. But that is unimportant. Please tell me your story."
Ospreywhisker cleared her throat, her voice a little shaky.
"I come from DaleClan. We live about four...days...journey away from you. We live in a set of three wooded hills. For many moons, we have been prosperous and..."
"This sounds wonderful, but I'm not seeing your problem," Spirestar said, bringing things back to focus.
"Yes, of course. Well, last full moon...it was a completely normal day, you understand...the patrols hadn't reported anything unusual, but..."
"You were attacked?" Spirestar finished.
"That's just the thing, we weren't. Not physically anyway. That evening the medicine cat had a vision that StarClan commanded him to share with the whole clan. It was..."
"StarClan?" Spirestar asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, don't you know..." Ospreywhisker stopped herself. "No. Of course you don't. I have no knowledge of which ancestors watch over the cats by the sea. StarClan are our ancestors. Anyhow, our medicine cat told of a vicious tribe of half feral cats attacking the camp. They attacked with fire. StarClan told him that this tribe would be coming soon."
"And did they?" Spirestar prompted.
"Not as near as we could tell. What did happen was perhaps more sinister. We were struck...by a horrific plague. None of our medicine cats have been able to heal it."
"That's terrible," Spirestar said with a heavy sigh. His eyes looked pensive, but also pained.
"Yes. And furthermore, this disease affects not only the body, but the mind as well. It eats away at normal mental processes. Cats have been attacking each other, destroying the camp. The few of us who are yet uninfected have gathered in an underground shelter. I was sent to proclaim the news to the first clan I could find, and here I am."
Spirestar nodded slowly. He paced around the den.
"Tell me, by your medicine cat's reckoning, was there any connection between this disease and his vision."
Ospreywhisker nodded.
"He would swear that this plague is caused by the cats in his dream and we are being assaulted by phantoms, but I would rather look for a natural cause. I am a firm believer in StarClan, but it seems foolish to speculate beyond what we are given."

Blade sighed.
"I appreciate the fact you care. There's really nothing any of us can do, is there? I suppose I'd better get on with life," he said, dusting himself off a little.

OOC: sorry for the short post

Bump.

bump

Blade dipped his head to Emerald with an expression as close to a smile as he could manage. He slowly began to walk back towards camp, wondering what he should do next. The clan had seemed rather quiet as of late, and he hoped something would happen soon. He passed Cinder and Soul arguing
Staying out of this he told himself. It's way beyond me.
Then he thought of Emerald again, and a pleasant shiver ran from his head to the tip of his tail.
Maybe I should actually talk to her he thought to himself musingly. He sat down in the camp to watch the sky. He wasn't sure what he was watching for, but he knew it would come if he waited long enough.

"Follow me," said Rushingstream. He began to walk towards the more forested area of the camp. "I know a good place." He kept walking into the distance, following the course of the river until he found the stone outcropping he was searching for.

bump.

bump.

OOC: Thanks. Glad you liked it. Sorry I've been offline for several days.

Spirestar paced the den.
"My heart weeps for you," he said gravely, trembling a little. "But we are far away from your homeland, and we would be just as vulnerable to being infected. I want to help, but I don't know what you would have us do."
Ospreywhisker groomed her fur.
"Whatever you can. The healthy cats will be safe for awhile longer, at least a week, maybe even a moon. Take time to consider a course of action. It is always wise. In the meantime, could I stay with you in the camp?"
Spirestar thought for a few moments.
"I must ask the Noble Council, or get Bridgepath to ask them for me," he said, "but if our watchers and ancestors give their approval, I would not refuse you in your need," he said, dipping his head slightly. "Meantime, come, we'll find you a place."
He padded out of the den, Ospreywhisker following. He flicked his tail to signal for Leopardfur to come over.

OOC: Sorry for inactivity.

Rushingstream padded over to Opalpaw.
"Everything alright? We should begin your training today."

Hi all! Sorry it's been so long, life and school have just broadsided me. Accepted, and sure they can join IC. Welcome to HighlandClan.

OOC: Sorry, school has hit me hard. I'm enjoying myself, but I've been busy.

Spirestar padded over to Leopardfur.

"See to it that Ospreywhisker gets some place warm to sleep for the night. You know how cold it gets in the Highlands. Perhaps the old warrior's den is a possibility. It's a nice shelter, but we haven't had need of it for many moons, since we found our current one," Spirestar explained to Ospreywhisker.

OOC: Where is everyone?

bump