Backwritten Camp a man of many tricks and tools ──✩°｡⋆⸜ return

[juniperstar]

juniper

at some point everything had gone numb. Asterkit's sniffling couldn't be ignored... but the ears that swiveled towards his noise did not actively receive it. her teeth had nestled themselves carefully into his scruff, hoisted him up off the cold ground, and made the long trek back home in relative silence. any questions asked could hardly be answered around his fur anyways... but even if she could, Juniperstar isn't sure how to answer half of them. why didn't he take me? when will Magpiekit and Dreamkit be back? you didn't tell us we weren't all coming back!

I don't know. I don't know. I didn't know.

a thousand unsung mourning hums, kept locked in the quietus of a caged heart. creeping back down the slope into ThunderClan camp, it is hard to even recognize the sting of paws that had spent so many exhaustive hours walking. it is barely the tiny hours of sunrise now... and all the spotted she-cat wants to think about is tucking her son into bed, warming his snot-covered, freezing nose with her tail and taking a long rest.

it wouldn't be permitted, not with the staggering loudness of just how quiet her procession is. no boisterous twin, no wide-eyed warbler.... only a sneezing symbol of solitude. carefully, he is deposited at her feet with an exhale of relief to be rid of the weight of carrying him, nudged tenderly in the softest furs behind his ears. "Alright, my flower... we're home now. Let's get you into the nest."

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• this would've been... about a week ago... the 19th? juniper took the kids out to meet sablestar and is only coming home with asterkit </3
  @ASTERKIT

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan nine lives remain

  ignore me

 

[rowanpaw]

☼ Rowanpaw stops in the mouth of the medicine cat den at the sound of the entrance to the camp rustling with the tell-tale noise of someone's arrival. She looks over her shoulder to see– Juniperstar? And a snivelling Asterkit, placed at his mother's feet. But his siblings… his siblings, which should be there with them, surely– where were they? Her mind immediately goes to the worst option, worry and fear bubbling up in her. She hurries to meet Juniperstar, eyes flicking towards Asterkit and his snotty nose.

"Juniperstar," Rowanpaw starts anxiously, "where's– where are the other two…? Magpiekit and Dreamkit, are they still– are they back in your nest, or are they…" or are they dead, she wants to asks, but cannot bring herself to. So much death, all the time, all around her. "Do I need to get Serpentberry?" She asks instead– asking for solutions instead of answers. Of course they're alive; they're a little worse for wear, that's all. They're right behind her, still making their way down to the camp. They have to be.

creator, you destroy me

you know my hunger well.

• ooc: -
• 

  rowanpaw, 9 moons, thunderclan apprentice
  russet furred she-cat, lawful neutral
  healing and soft powerplay allowed

 

[GHOSTSTRIKE]

I WON'T SMILE, BUT I'LL SHOW YOU MY TEETH

​

---

Ghost made it a point to stay out of his clanmates personal business. Who was doing what and with who wasn't much of his concern-- under normal circumstances. He couldn't say he wouldn't have had an opinion if he'd known what Juniperstar had planned for her kits when she wandered out of camp that night with them, though, and he couldn't say there'd be much sympathy in his heart when he learned the truth of what happened out there. He imagined he wouldn't be the only cat to feel that way, either.

Currently though, as his dark eyes landed on the shecat and her single, teary-eyed charge, Ghost only felt a prickling of dread. His initial thought would be that she had encountered a predator out there, but she and her kit were too put together for that, no sign of blood or ruffled fur or the exhaustion that came with running for your life.

And yet, the look she wore was unsettlingly familiar.

What did you do? he wanted to ask.

Though maybe the more accurate question would have been, 'what did you allow to happen'?

Rowanpaw was the first to reach the mother and her now singular kit, a ball of nerves and concern over the missing children, and yet none of it was reflected in Juniper herself. The second sign that something was horribly amiss.

Ghost remained where he was, clearly alerted to the apprentices fussing but making no move to join in himself. If there was an issue-- a threat- then Juniper was making no move to alert any of them. Somehow, he had a feeling if a fox had just snatched her young she'd be a lot more vocal or openly affected. It was enough to keep him as an uninvolved bystander for now, entirely willing to let his clanmates do the prying.
​

---

thunderclan warrior- male - a towering dark tabby with a white mask and dark amber eyes.

​

 

[THUNDERFLASH]

When he steps up next to Ghoststrike, sighting Juniperstar and Rowanpaw and Asterkit and none of Junie's other kits, he thinks he knows. He believes he does, anyways. Asterkit isn't screaming or wounded, Juniperstar isn't barking for warriors to go help, to kill the thing that killed her kits. No, she isn't. Thunderflash's expression darkens the longer he stands there, watching Juniperstar get stopped by Rowanpaw, his skin crawling. It felt like bugs itched and poked at his very flesh, demanding he speak to her, to ask what happened. He didn't need to. Rowanpaw had that handled.

Vision swept from Serpentberry's shadow to Juniperstar's eyes, pointed look staring for a long moment. He resists the urge to curl his lips up and backwards, ears flattening against his skull regardless of how poised he holds his face. The storm guard shifts his eyes towards Ghoststrike next, who's watching on just as hard as he, but that ever-bored expression coats his face. "Steamin' shite." He utters, turning on his paw and heading out of camp without a second glance to Juniperstar.

___________________ YOU'VE GOT MY BODY ☆ FLESH AND BONE, YEAH ___________________

• "speech"
  // in and out :3 ic opinions ofc!
  

• 

• THUNDERFLASH he/him, thunderclan storm guard, twenty one moons.
  ☆ a sh/lh chocolate tabby with low white and stunning baby blue eyes. stands of average height with a 'mohawk' and spiky-shaped mane.
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[burningdawn]

The matters between the two leaders are delicate, far more than the politics that brew between the two factions they lead; Burningdawn is never bold enough to push. Anyone with an ounce of confidence and self-respect within themselves would not refrain from raising questions and expressing frustration. His eyes land on Thunderflash — the Sun Guard steps beside Ghoststrike first, only after Rowanpaw worries over the lack of kittens, and he mutters something that Burningdawn doesn't quite catch.

Anxiety churns in Burningdawn's belly. What more is to come? Juniperstar had been feeling down ever since... well, everything, really. Most of the Clan is trying to move on. She looks more stuck than ever.

More than anything, he wants to ask what happened. Wants a full description, from the very moment Juniperstar left camp with her young. They all deserve to know. If Asterkit's sobs are anything to go by, then the news are far from good. His lips remain tightly sealed though. Compared to ThunderClan's leader, he may as well be a mere ant, a necessary but easily replaceable part. She would surely explain on her own terms, if it's important... right?

 

[Heartkit]

HEARTKIT OF THUNDERCLAN

" Mama... Mama...! Juni's back! Dreamkit's back! Asterkit and Magpiekit too! " Heartkit's sleepy voice rang out as she tumbled from the nursery, her fur still ruffled from sleep. Her bright eyes, full of drowsy excitement, flickered over the gathered cats, landing on Juniperstar with a hopeful look. She trotted forward, blinking away the last traces of sleep as she plopped down in front of the ThunderClan leader. But as her gaze swept the group, something felt... off.

Her small brows furrowed. She could see Asterkit, but where were Dreamkit and Magpiekit? " Are they playing? " she asked, head tilting in innocent confusion. The silence that followed was too heavy, too still. But Heartkit didn't notice. She gave a small laugh, glancing around once more. " Dreamkit! Magpiekit! " she called, pushing herself up onto unsteady paws. " I'm still sleepy, so I won't be very good at hide-and-seek! You can come out now! We can play later! "

She took a few tottering steps, peering behind Juniperstar as if expecting her missing denmates to leap out at any moment. But there was no movement. No playful giggles.

Only more silence.

" Magpiekit...? Dreamkit...? " she squeaked out in a tiny, wobbly voice as she looked back up to Juniperstar, ears pinning to her head. Where were her friends? Where was Dreamkit with the pretty eyes..?

Here I am, so young and strong——･ﾟ✦​

･ﾟ✦ —— Right here in the place where I belong

 

[juniperstar]

juniper

Rowanpaw is upon her swiftly and with questions that speak to great concern, of a fear that is reasonable. she shakes her head to quickly dispel it, eager to assuage her anxiousness. "They're safe," is the answer offered, carefully preened down to the simplest explanation. there is no need to detail the entire exchange, not when the promise of their return was imminent. Dreamkit and Magpiekit were gaining a new perspective, they would not inherit the war of their forebearers, would be able to roam and love both halves of themselves. it wasn't something to fear.

Heartkit approaches in sing-song tones in search of absent friends and the spotted she-cat cannot help but grimace against the unexpected damage that Sablestar's witty word-craft had allowed. if she'd known he'd suggest something so forward- would she have done anything differently? "They'll be back, dear heart, no need to cry." she reaches low to press her nose into the wobbly-lipped kit's cheek in an effort to stubbornly ignore the gouging stares of adults who would cast their own judgements.

they had no discipline not to lash their tongues at her about her personal life anyways... she'd hear their complaints sooner or later.

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan nine lives remain

  ignore me

 

[rowanpaw]

☼ Juniperstar's words do very little to make Rowanpaw feel less anxious– almost nothing at all, in fact. They're safe? But she can't see them, and neither can Juniperstar. How can she know they're safe when they're not here? She sees Thunderflash brush past them, frustration painted on his features. Heartkit comes tumbling, asking where her friends are– Rowanpaw's eyes are still locked on Juniperstar's face, trying to decode her expression. They'll be back, she says, and Rowanpaw's ears flick again, frustration now bubbling up in her too.

"Back from where, exactly?" Rowanpaw asks, maybe being too stubborn, too outspoken in questioning her leader– but they were just kits, and they were gone, and Juniperstar was being cryptic instead of telling the truth, and Rowanpaw hates few things more than she does lying. "Where are they, Juniperstar?"

creator, you destroy me

you know my hunger well.

• ooc: -
• 

  rowanpaw, 9 moons, thunderclan apprentice
  russet furred she-cat, lawful neutral
  healing and soft powerplay allowed

 

[Magnoliapeak]

𓆝 . ° ✦

Rowanpaw is probably the last cat Magnoliapeak would want to approach Juniperstar first upon her return with only one of her cousins in tow. And that is not because Rowanpaw is anything short of compassionate or justified, but because Magnoliapeak can nearly feel the unease radiating off of the medicine cat apprentice. So much so that she nearly snaps her own neck looking over her shoulder to see Juniperstar coming through the camp entrance, dropping what she had been doing completely. The leader herself looks resigned, but it's the crying of Asterkit accompanied by the absence of Magpiekit and Dreamkit that drives her to stand.

She looks hard at her aunt. Juniperstar's words do little to assuage her fears. Safe...? "If they are safe then why aren't they with you?" the words spill from the warrior's mouth before she can quite stop herself. A crack in the dam of her resolve. Magnoliapeak nearly bites her own tongue off to shut herself up. For a fleeting moment, she wonders if Serpentberry was right. Is Juniperstar too weak of will to lead them? Magnoliapeak physically shakes her head to rid herself of the thought. That's too much conjecture. Too many assumptions made based on the fears of herself and her clanmates. And so, Magnoliapeak faces Juniperstar fully, and repeats the question that's already been asked several times: "Where are my cousins?"

"SPEECH HERE"

✧ ° . ✶ . ° ✧

ooc Information

• ooc: —
• 

  MAGNOLIA — SHE/HER ･ 21 MOONS ･ WARRIOR & THUNDERCLAN ･ PENNED BY CARAT!

  dilute tortoiseshell with amber eyes. here too.