Open 1:5 🌾 talking about other clans

[MAREMANE]

This is not coincedental. There is no way that five cats have had the same delusional event. Maremane's paws freeze when she thinks about it too long. She wants to live in the belief that Dustystar is going through fire-induced psychosis, hallucinating her new lives, the ancestors of old guiding her to reshape them.

She sits near their prey pile, dragging up a plump field mouse. The talk of other Clans has become more and more popular, still obscured by their newness to WindClan's eyes.

"There's RiverClan…" she notes, musing aloud as her tail lashes. They had been wary, confused, but not threatening. "SkyClan…" She pictures Hawkstar and her knight with their air of nobility. "ThunderClan." How could she forget that first impression? Her brows knit as she tries to remember the Clan of the child they'd found on their moors. It had been a bigger deal that the smelly apprentice was freed than where she had come from.

Shoulders jolting in realization, she murmurs, "ShadowClan."

"Surely there can't be more. They'd have to have the territory size of a pebble to fit in… here." Wherever here is. Maremane doesn't know jack shit about the other Clans, except for whoever she'd met at the time. Their own borders could reach miles away. They could have hundreds of cats, but with the amount present at their discoveries, she doubted they could be that expansive.

"It's…" she gives a whistling exhale. "A fucking lot still."

She craves the stress of a fight, but WindClan is still recovering from their last great enemy. They didn't need to keep track of claw wounds alongside their healing lungs and flesh. Still, her teeth itch with tension, claws working the ground without much thought.

 

[Dustystar]

✪ Align my Heart, my Body, my Mind​

indentDustystar lounges atop a smooth stone, casually cleaning her paws. Now almost two moons from the fire, her paws have healed well. The burns and blisters have all but disappeared, leaving only a few silver scars on the soft pads of her paws. The short fur is still sparse, having not yet grown back all the way. Seeing the marks of that tragic event fade away with time was a great relief.

indent It was also a relief to have her story be corroborated four times over by the other clans and their leaders. Still, she has a hard time believing this all.
"Do you think they've been here long? I can't imagine they've been here our whole lives and we've never noticed them before." She knew Sablestar was local, at the very least, but how long had he been 'Sablestar'? How exactly long ago had their ancestors come to him with the same dream they delivered her. "I s'pose Sassafraschill could have told us as early as before the fire, if he'd had the thought." Granted, if Dustystar had been in his position, she would have just assumed the little tuxedo tom was talking nonsense. But he could have at least told them all about it, even if it did end up being nothing.

indentDustystar rubs between her eyebrows, attempting to smooth the deep furrows. If Skyclan or Thunderclan didn't kill her, Windclan just might. She takes a deep breath, pushing Sassafras out of her mind. There was no time to worry about past mistakes when there were more pressing issues on the horizon.

indent"It's good to know we have allies in Shadowclan. We'll be leaning on their support sooner or later I'm sure." 'Good to Know' was an understatement. Knowing one of her kin had gone through similar trials and come out a proud and triumphant leader soothed her nervous heart. She'd surely have ask him for advice. "Based on your and Tinytail's story, I doubt we have much to worry about from Riverclan. It's Thunderclan and Shadowclan that we should be looking out for." From Maremane's description, Pikestar sounded a bit... well, to but it bluntly, he seemed a bit spineless. She'd yet to meet the tom, but based on how far away his territory was, she was sure it would be awhile before she ever had the chance. Hawkstar, on the other hand, made her nervous. She'd heard stories of a strong willed and commanding leader, with loyal cats by her side. If Skyclan decided they wanted Windclan gone, they would have a hard time resisting. With little info to go off of, she had to assume Thunderclan was much the same.

indentAs late comers, the odds were stacked against them.

Dustystar - 26 moons - Windclan Leader

 

[Meadowpaw]

Sitting in the dark waiting on the stars
Thinking through all the places that you've been

.

Delicate paws worked tirelessly to tuck a new flower into the soil, pressing it gently into place and covering it with a blanket of dirt. From where she knelt beside the garden bed, Meadowpaw caught pieces of the conversation. She didn't need to hear every word to understand the tension.

In Meadow's head, it didn't make sense. Why would anyone want to hurt them? These cats hadn't done anything to warrant such fear, at least not yet. She didn't share the same wary edge as Dustystar or Maremane. But that didn't mean she was stupid, either.

Mama used to tell stories about the terrifying things that happened beyond the white fences. Those tales never fully snuffed out Meadow's curiosity, but they did keep her close to home.

But even still, the cats they met couldn't be that different from them. If Deadwood could exist in that dark place—someone so very kind in his own way—then surely not all of the cats from other clans meant harm to them? Meadow didn't fault her clanmates for worrying. They just wanted to keep everyone safe.

Meadowpaw peeked up from the garden, brushing soil from her paws before slowly waddling over to the gathered adults. Her gaze flicked up to Dustystar, then to Maremane before quietly settling in the grass.

"Do you think they would really try to hurt us?" She wouldn't be able to protect anyone, not after what the barn fire did to her. "I mean, couldn't we try to get along rather than fight?" But that didn't mean she should stay ignorant. They'd almost lost everything once, and she'd never imagined something so horrible could happen until it did.

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

8 MOONS

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WINDCLAN

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SONG

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bio

 

[Dustystar]

✪ Align my Heart, my Body, my Mind​

indent"That would be awfully nice, Meadowpaw. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the rest of the clans are thinking the same way." Dustystar was only going off of assumptions and hearsay, but it sounded like the patrol from Thunderclan, at least, wasn't too happy to see them, and took no time chasing them away.

indent"Who knows, maybe they'll surprise us. Goldenroar had said Hawkstar was eager to talk, right? Maybe they could become allies." Was Goldy even around? Dustystar scans the camp, looking for the tom, but her eyes settle on Meadowpaw instead. Her nice white paws are dirty.

indentDusty is tempted just to scoop her up and lick away the dirt, like she would with Chickpaw, but she doesn't think Meadowpaw would be nearly as receptive. Besides, she's plenty capable of cleaning herself. Dustystar fixes her eyes on Maremane, so that she stops thinking about it.

Dustystar - 26 moons - Windclan Leader

 

[HoneyflowerHoneyflower's icon]

Slow Down, Just Breathe

"Some cats," Honeyflower calls from her spot, pausing from picking her tail free of burrs. "Are like my brother, Meadowpaw. Anyone that's not family or a close friend is a possible threat. They just want to protect those close to them, you can't really blame them." Granted Sassafrass could probably stand to be a little more tactful about it but trying to convince him of that may as well be like trying to talk to one of the horses at the farm.

Green eyes scan their camp, expression soft. "We don't know what these other clans have been through, we might never know. But I don't think that should keep us from giving them the benefit of the doubt. Acting... ...defensive from the very start might do the opposite of what we need right now."

Maybe she was being naive, but Honeyflower couldn't imagine any of their new neighbors outright attacking them so soon unless Windclan struck first. And that was something she was sure no one was too keen on doing. As barncat they'd all been peaceful; she hoped they could stay that way as Windclan.

xxx

All We Have Is All We Need

Tags

Honey

✿—Moor Runner Of WindClan
✿—She/Her
✿—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
✿—Dilute Calico Shecat With Green Eyes And A Floppy Ear
#a4e1ba

 

[Pebblespaw]

PEBBLEPAW

You taught me the courage of stars before you left. How light carries on endlessly, even after death

Pebblepaw listened quietly, his smile stretched a little too wide, too polished. It didn't quite reach his eyes anymore, hadn't for moons now... But he'd gotten good at almost making it look like it used to. Close enough that most didn't question it. As the others spoke, of clans, of territories, of bloodlines, his ears twitched, eyes flicking from one face to the next. River, Sky, Thunder, Shadow. Four clans. Five, with them. That was… a lot. A lot of names. A lot of cats. A lot of things to learn. He'd tell faer all about it when he found faer. Because faer was still out there. Just lost. Not gone.

" It is a lot! " he chirped, his voice pitched just a little too high, a little too cheerful, not quite like his own. His tail lashed behind him, an outlet for energy he couldn't name. Sassafraschill. Pffft. Faer's warrior name would've been way better. Pebblepaw almost said it aloud, almost laughed, almost. Instead, he tilted his head and blinked slow. Funny, wasn't it? That he was an uncle now? Was that how it worked? A small giggle slipped up his throat, and he swallowed it with a shrug and a flick of his ear. Sablestar had seemed cool.

" No need to fight if cats stay nice to each other. " he hummed after a moment, his voice gentling into a soft purr that caught oddly in his throat, like a stone skipping across water before sinking out of sight.

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[MAREMANE]

Maremane tilts her head, unsure at Dustystar's question. It seems like the other Clans had sprung up at varying times. After all, they have their own protocols for cats at their borders… Except for RiverClan, whose leader watched her demolish a meal practically on the scentline. She wasn't sure that ThunderClan wouldn't have her as bloody as the rodent she had eaten had she ended up on their border instead.

She blinks at Meadowpaw. The idea of there being something colossal and infinitely painful coming to a head between them and another Clan makes her nauseous, if only when she thinks of younger cats in the midst. Maremane finds something darkly exciting about the idea of combat, putting her large form to use, being her own sword.

That becomes way less glorious when she sees Meadowpaw's existing wounds, the heaviness behind the eyes of a child.

WindClan has been born of devastation. As much as there is a jackpot of cats whose anger she can bank off of to feel more alive, Maremane restrains herself.

"Yes," she agrees with Honeyflower, ignoring the relatability of her description of her brother. Sassafraschill fights often, and fights loud. Maremane wants to roll her eyes at it, but is she any better? "It's tense.. They probably have more to lose than us. But showing defensiveness sounds like showing weakness right now. The weather is warm now. Prey is everywhere, and we have our own land to explore and discover." Maremane would rather prioritize putting her time towards wandering beyond the prairie and scouting what their limits were. This bizarre meeting of new groups when she barely wants to say hello to cats she's known for moons made her want to dig a tunnel tall enough for herself and block the entrance.

"I don't think we should let them take advantage of us, though." Her eyes narrow at the ground. Maremane didn't ever think coming near a border would be that deep, until claws were brandished for even breathing towards one. Pebblepaw's cheery demeanor cuts through the seriousness of their pondering. Maremane's shoulders hunch, ears heating at having spoken so much on their neighbors.

"Should we prepare and practice more fighting, just in case?" She glances at Dustystar, observant. They need experience… even if nothing ever happens. Maremane has no intent to assign herself to a task Dustystar doles out immediately, but she wants the opportunity to silently judge her character and her predictions of hostility. She guises it under the want for an opinion, as serpent-like as it is. "Or do you reckon that possibility is too far off…"