juniper
canonically; december 8th
the pain doesn't ebb... there is not enough time to grieve. not when the task had be laid in her hands like a ceremonial sword. you must change them... mold them into what they need to be. ThunderClan. strike the hammer down to fix the fracture in the blade... sharpen it against the whetstone coated in his blood. try not to sweep over it, lest the cold of your tears crack the searing hot steel. but all she wants to do is cry... even as she stands amongst the sympathetic and familiar faces of cats she has known for moons... she fears their power in numbers. the power of discontent and what it had created in the darkest reaches of their forest. Sable's faction of furious followers..
i beg for your patience... i beg for your loyalty...
could they smell weakness? would they strike like eager dogs too?
"ThunderClan...?" it is a hesitant call for their attention, knowing they must also be reeling under this revelation... and would soon grow more confused by what change would be demanded of them. her voice hardly holds the confidence it needs in moments like these, nothing quite so high spirited as Hawthorne- Thornstar. it should be him standing here.
"StarClan has laid instructions before us.. how to find our way back to what being a clan really is. How to embody ThunderClan as we should be... It requires change." her stomach twists, another reminder of what more will be new, what other change will be force fed down her throat. "Like me... like Juniperstar... you'll take on new names... Ones that define you within these forests... You will not be stars... but warriors with your own names, your own identities..."
her eyes water just to speak of something so hopeful... to know this was the world that they'd waited so long to foster. one of community and unity. that she would be responsible for helping them find their places within it. "I.. I can't do it all at once," she professes, sniffling against the persistent ache to just sob. "We'll start slow... okay? Please just... bare with me..." her brows pinch together, a pained smile forced upon her face in a bid for compassion. she shouldn't have to ask.. she probably didn't need to but felt compelled all the same.
"Some of this will be... easier... those under six months will have 'kit' added to their names. We we'll care for them as we always have.. together. Just until they're old enough to take their first steps into the world with us... Then we call them apprentices, the novices that learn from us, that shadow us to understand how to survive; they'll be -paws. But those of you who've lived long enough, learned enough... you're warriors... the bravest in the forest, like Coffeestar said. That hasn't changed... but you'll need to take on more... a fitting suffix to define you."
would that make enough sense? should she have asked more questions? did Thornstar even understand what he had relayed to her well enough to offer her advice? When will I see you again? When is soon? who would this medicine cat be? why hadn't he just told her then?
"Pandora... you are the image of new-leaf mornings.. and radiate kindness... You'll be known as Dewshine." she practically winces away from the uncertain glances that go exchanged, as if they are barely withheld beasts that hunger for a chance to usurp her. to strike her down just as her mate had done to her best friend- without remorse... without relent. "Owl... you're harsh and impassioned... you'll be known as Owlbark." the crowd hardly lessens and the task grows more daunting with each face she recognizes in need of a name... a purpose... a fate carved out by her own tongue. "Yarrow... find joy in our successes, keep your spirit high... you'll be Yarrowhop. Tulip... your patience and caution are in careful balance... you will be Tuliptail."
she pauses, waiting for the uproar of disdain for such names, some sort of pushback that this isn't who they are. that they cannot be forced by her will nor StarClan's. but no such riot begins... and hesitantly she presses on just a little more. "Water Snake..." it'd be too easy to just stop it at that... to not give him a chance to shed the past... her heart aches to stare Serpent's brother in the face and know she has let him down too in some way. that his sister will never be the same... that she could not prevent the absence his nieces and nephew would feel. "You are watchful, cautious... and prepared... you'll be known as Snakeblink."
"Plume... you fought well to defend your clan-mates and for that I name you Plumestrike. Plover... you have the strength to weather any storm you are willing to face... I name you Ploversnap, for your eager heart. Crying Dove... you are an image of gentleness and beauty... I see no reason to change you... Cryingdove fits you perfectly."
"Dusk... you bring a needed softness to those who need it... you'll be Duskcloud. Thunder..." her voice cracks, reminded of the last joke Thornstar had tried to make to her. she'd pushed it off so easily, too quickly... if given the chance would she go back and laugh at it, so he knew she cherished all his silly antics? would he be a better leader for ThunderClan for his name alone... it was a stupid question. she missed it terribly.
"Thunder we're fortunate you survived.. you fought valiantly.. may your paws always strike true under the name Thunderflash." she lifts a paw to her head, nursing a headache that had been barraging her after a sleepless night fraught with emotional turmoil and physical exhaustion.
"I'm sorry.. I'm... I need more time for the rest of you... I promise you'll all have names soon... For now just... take care of each other. I'm sorry-" she stands abruptly, quickly departing the camp in an effort to save face.. to hide the fact she is overcome with the urge to spill her guts on the floor again.
the pain doesn't ebb... there is not enough time to grieve. not when the task had be laid in her hands like a ceremonial sword. you must change them... mold them into what they need to be. ThunderClan. strike the hammer down to fix the fracture in the blade... sharpen it against the whetstone coated in his blood. try not to sweep over it, lest the cold of your tears crack the searing hot steel. but all she wants to do is cry... even as she stands amongst the sympathetic and familiar faces of cats she has known for moons... she fears their power in numbers. the power of discontent and what it had created in the darkest reaches of their forest. Sable's faction of furious followers..
i beg for your patience... i beg for your loyalty...
could they smell weakness? would they strike like eager dogs too?
"ThunderClan...?" it is a hesitant call for their attention, knowing they must also be reeling under this revelation... and would soon grow more confused by what change would be demanded of them. her voice hardly holds the confidence it needs in moments like these, nothing quite so high spirited as Hawthorne- Thornstar. it should be him standing here.
"StarClan has laid instructions before us.. how to find our way back to what being a clan really is. How to embody ThunderClan as we should be... It requires change." her stomach twists, another reminder of what more will be new, what other change will be force fed down her throat. "Like me... like Juniperstar... you'll take on new names... Ones that define you within these forests... You will not be stars... but warriors with your own names, your own identities..."
her eyes water just to speak of something so hopeful... to know this was the world that they'd waited so long to foster. one of community and unity. that she would be responsible for helping them find their places within it. "I.. I can't do it all at once," she professes, sniffling against the persistent ache to just sob. "We'll start slow... okay? Please just... bare with me..." her brows pinch together, a pained smile forced upon her face in a bid for compassion. she shouldn't have to ask.. she probably didn't need to but felt compelled all the same.
"Some of this will be... easier... those under six months will have 'kit' added to their names. We we'll care for them as we always have.. together. Just until they're old enough to take their first steps into the world with us... Then we call them apprentices, the novices that learn from us, that shadow us to understand how to survive; they'll be -paws. But those of you who've lived long enough, learned enough... you're warriors... the bravest in the forest, like Coffeestar said. That hasn't changed... but you'll need to take on more... a fitting suffix to define you."
would that make enough sense? should she have asked more questions? did Thornstar even understand what he had relayed to her well enough to offer her advice? When will I see you again? When is soon? who would this medicine cat be? why hadn't he just told her then?
"Pandora... you are the image of new-leaf mornings.. and radiate kindness... You'll be known as Dewshine." she practically winces away from the uncertain glances that go exchanged, as if they are barely withheld beasts that hunger for a chance to usurp her. to strike her down just as her mate had done to her best friend- without remorse... without relent. "Owl... you're harsh and impassioned... you'll be known as Owlbark." the crowd hardly lessens and the task grows more daunting with each face she recognizes in need of a name... a purpose... a fate carved out by her own tongue. "Yarrow... find joy in our successes, keep your spirit high... you'll be Yarrowhop. Tulip... your patience and caution are in careful balance... you will be Tuliptail."
she pauses, waiting for the uproar of disdain for such names, some sort of pushback that this isn't who they are. that they cannot be forced by her will nor StarClan's. but no such riot begins... and hesitantly she presses on just a little more. "Water Snake..." it'd be too easy to just stop it at that... to not give him a chance to shed the past... her heart aches to stare Serpent's brother in the face and know she has let him down too in some way. that his sister will never be the same... that she could not prevent the absence his nieces and nephew would feel. "You are watchful, cautious... and prepared... you'll be known as Snakeblink."
"Plume... you fought well to defend your clan-mates and for that I name you Plumestrike. Plover... you have the strength to weather any storm you are willing to face... I name you Ploversnap, for your eager heart. Crying Dove... you are an image of gentleness and beauty... I see no reason to change you... Cryingdove fits you perfectly."
"Dusk... you bring a needed softness to those who need it... you'll be Duskcloud. Thunder..." her voice cracks, reminded of the last joke Thornstar had tried to make to her. she'd pushed it off so easily, too quickly... if given the chance would she go back and laugh at it, so he knew she cherished all his silly antics? would he be a better leader for ThunderClan for his name alone... it was a stupid question. she missed it terribly.
"Thunder we're fortunate you survived.. you fought valiantly.. may your paws always strike true under the name Thunderflash." she lifts a paw to her head, nursing a headache that had been barraging her after a sleepless night fraught with emotional turmoil and physical exhaustion.
"I'm sorry.. I'm... I need more time for the rest of you... I promise you'll all have names soon... For now just... take care of each other. I'm sorry-" she stands abruptly, quickly departing the camp in an effort to save face.. to hide the fact she is overcome with the urge to spill her guts on the floor again.
- hello gamers! i'm going to be doing all the namings in this thread over various posts. i'll put the ic date at the top so you know when your character would've been named since i think it'd be difficult and silly to do it all in one go. please make sure to message me @tieirlys on discord with requests for warrior names if they are not already publicly accessible (listed on the mega roster) otherwise i won't know what to name you !!! thanks so much... and here's to the start of thunderclan!
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juniperstar
leader of thunderclan
nine lives remain