Moon 1

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As the two cats climb the slope away from everything they’ve ever known, Moonpaw sends a fervent prayer to StarClan as thanks for sparing her brother.

She watches the strong shape of his shoulders as they move under his pelt, carrying him up the mountain, the swish of his tail as it guides her forward, and knows that without him, she’d have lain down in that cave and let the darkness have her. Without her clan – without her brother – she’s nothing.

With only the moonlight and twinkling Silverpelt to guide them forward, the mountain seems ominous and threatening in the dark. Outcroppings of rock throw insidious shadows over them, spires of stone stab high into the sky and curve like the talons of an eagle. Fogpaw lowers his nose to a scraggly shrub that clings stubbornly to the unforgiving landscape and adjusts his course for the border of their territory. Moonpaw slinks after him, head low and ears flattened nervously against her skull.

She scents it before she sees it, the border with their neighboring clan strong with the scents of foreign cats. “We’re here,” Fogpaw murmurs, brushing a comforting tail over Moonpaw’s back before stepping forward, claw-tips straddling the edge of the scent-marks denoting the line between territories as he lifts his head and caterwauls into the night.

After the sound of his announcement fades across the mountainside, he turns to look back at Moonpaw, his cobalt eyes round and unsure. The line of his body is bold, his tail and head held high, but Moonpaw has grown beside him since their nursery days. She knows that he’s nervous, even if he’s not showing it outright. His eyes shine with apprehension.

Just then, a clatter of pebbles alerts the pair of them to movement on the other side of the border. Moonpaw presses herself to Fogpaw’s flank, body tense, as the shadows melt away to reveal three neighboring patrol cats, alerted by Fogpaw’s yowl.

“What is your business at our border so late at night?” The largest of the cats spits, unkindly, flanked by the other two of his clan members. His eyes flit between the two siblings, sizing them up with an unimpressed frown.

“Our home has been destroyed, and our clan with it,” Fogpaw explains. Moonpaw feels unsteady under the wary gaze of the other cats and wants to sink her claws into the rock beneath her pads for a sense of balance, but refrains, not wanting the action to be interpreted as a threat. “We ask that you welcome us into your clan. We’re only apprentices.”

The large cat bursts into laughter, his voice rough and mocking. The two cats beside him snicker, the three of them exchanging amused glances.

“As if we’re going to accept you scrawny rejects into our clan,” the large cat continues to laugh, his sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight as he grins. “You’re no more than rogues now, if what you say is true. We don’t take in rogues.”

“You better scram, before we make you,” one of the other cats says. His muscles are thick, bulging under his pelt, and Moonpaw hasn’t had nearly enough battle training in the scant few moons she’s been an apprentice to feel ready for a confrontration. Even if she felt as though she could take on this single cat should she need to, they’re outnumbered. “We don’t take kindly to rogues trespassing on our territory.”

Fogpaw scoffs, affronted, and Moonpaw’s fur spikes along her back, a lightning bolt of fear racing down her spine. “We’re not on your territory,” Fogpaw spits, gesturing between each of their groups. “We’re still on our side of the border.”

“You don’t have a clan anymore,” the third cat jeers. “What border?”

Fogpaw bristles, tail lashing furiously, and the other cats get to their paws like they’re ready to make true on their threat to run them off. “Fogpaw,” Moonpaw murmurs, brushing her tail along his side. “Let’s not do this. We should leave.”

Fogpaw spares the other cats one last, angered look, and then turns tail and stalks away, calling for Moonpaw to follow. The mean laughter of the clan cats echoes behind them as they turn the corner and head down a slope that hugs the mountainside, loose pebbles clattering away under their paws as they make their way down.

Rogues. Moonpaw shivers, hastening her step to keep up with Fogpaw’s furious pace. “What are we going to do now, Fogpaw?” Moonpaw asks, anxious. “We don’t have a clan anymore.”

“We are the clan,” Fogpaw reminds her. “We are NimbusClan. And what we’re going to do right now is hunt, because I’m starving and we need to keep our strength up.”

What about the Warrior Code? Moonpaw thinks to herself, padding after Fogpaw as the terrain levels out and they find themselves in a sparsely wooded clearing she’d only passed through a couple times when out with her mentor. Will StarClan punish them if they eat outside of the camp?

They’re the only two cats left, so StarClan surely will understand their need. There are no other cats to bring fresh-kill back to. Moonpaw settles into a crouch at the base of a tree, tucked between the roots as Fogpaw slinks behind a bush and scents the air for prey. Exhausted, hungry, and grieving, Moonpaw doesn’t have the energy to hunt right now, so she watches her brother flick the tip of his tail as he stalks across the ground, the light of the moon that filters through the sparse trees flickering against his dappled pelt.

Fogpaw works hard to catch them dinner, chasing a squirrel halfway up a tree and just managing to sink his teeth into its tail. It shrieks an alarm call into the quiet of the night, but Fogpaw pulls it from the tree with a hard tug and lands nimbly on the ground, giving it a swift bite to the neck to silence its cries. He drags the fresh-kill over to where Moonpaw crouches and noses it towards her.

When she doesn’t eat immediately, eyeing him with worry, he shrugs and tucks his paws under himself. “You eat first. Everything that’s happened this evening has given me a stomachache.”

Moonpaw drapes her tail sympathetically over her brother and tears the squirrel into equal portions for them, pushing Fogpaw’s share towards him. “You said it yourself, we have to keep our strength up. Eat at least a little.”

He flashes her a small, quick smile and digs in, the two cats pressed side by side as they eat. Disposing of the remains of their meal so as not to attract any scavengers, Moonpaw spots a hollowed out log for them to spend the rest of the night in that shelters them from the mountain winds. It’s nothing at all like her nest back home, the bark hard and cold beneath her pelt, but it’s safe for now and at the very least, she has the comfort of her brother’s warm body pressed up against hers to help lull her to sleep.

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clangen warrior cats wc waca moonpaw today is not that day moon 1 nimbusmoon fogpaw fogpaw looks different in every single panel oh my god one day i'll figure out how to draw him

Moon 7

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“All that’s left to do is to find some more cobwebs for you, bring you water-soaked moss, catch us both something to eat…” Moonstar ticks each item off on her claws, recounting the list in her head for the sixth time since waking. She’s been going over it since the sun rose, making sure she won’t forget anything her brother may need while she’s out. “Are you feeling okay?” She asks, reaching a paw towards his cobweb-covered flank. “Does it hurt at a–”

Fogfreckle’s tail easily flicks up between them, blocking her paw. She leaves it hanging awkwardly in the air between them for a heartbeat, confused, unable to tell if he had done that on purpose or not. “Really getting into that leader mindset, huh?” Her brother mews, and though there’s a slight smile to his mouth, his words fall flat as they reach her ears.

On purpose, then.

Moonstar blinks at him, trying to remember where her thoughts had gone before they’d been so succinctly cut off. “I’ve got to stay on top of things with my deputy out of commission, yeah?” She mews lightly. Her neck fur prickles with unease as the smile drops fully from Fogfreckle’s face.

“Yeah.” His voice is painfully blank. He turns his muzzle away from her, as if the boulders crowding in around them are somehow more interesting to look at. “S’pose so.”

Moonstar fidgets from paw to paw, unsure of the sudden tension stifling the two cats in the crammed space. She runs through her mental list yet again, turning each item over in her head like smooth pebbles to see if any of the contents could have pricked at her brother in a way she hadn’t considered. Try as she might, she can’t figure out how the term ‘water-soaked moss’ would have been able to turn his mood sour.

“You’re being really brave about this,” Moonstar starts, switching tactics. Her brother is still staring blankly into the darkness, turned away from her. “Sticking it out through the pain like this. I know it must hurt.”

She reaches out a paw once again, intending to rest it against his flick, but his ears flick backwards and he pushes himself out of reach. Her paw drops, the confusion at his attitude starting to morph into a hurt that yanks at her like brambles.

“I’m not a kit anymore, Moonstar.”

“...Yeah, I know,” Moonstar mews slowly, feeling like she’s padding on thorns. “You’re– you’re my deputy! You’re–

“Could you just leave me alone?” Fogfreckle curls into a tight ball, wrapping his tail over his nose. His shoulders are sharp in the dim light that issues from the crawlspace entrance, the fur along the back of his neck spiky and agitated. Moonstar frowns at the shape of him in the gloom.

If he doesn’t want her emotional support, fine. She swallows down the ball of hurt that is lodged in her throat like a bird bone and lets it out with a rough sigh. Screw her for trying to be helpful. He can rot, for all she cares, as long as he stays here and stays out of trouble.

She stalks towards the entrance of their makeshift den, shoulders brushing the boulder above her. “I’ll go get your moss.”

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clangen warrior cats wc wc oc waca moonstar moon 7 fogfreckle nimbusmoon fog's proportions are aaaaall over the place just. ignore that idk why his face is giving me so much trouble

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nimbusclan

3 months ago

@ranchclan get over here so I can make fun of your cats, too

Your tags on ranchclan's latest post made me laugh so hard I had to draw something for it

both going for their leaders, too. solidarity

IM OBSESSED WITH THIS THANK YOU!!

Poor Lemonflower… at least his crush is dating someone alive. Clawstar is just hung up on her ex <3

@ranchclan our poor rizzless guys

Tags

ranchclan fogfreckle nimbusfanart direclan moonpool IM CRYING THIS IS SO GOOD MOON AND FOG JUST THERE TO WITNESS THE RIZZASTER IS SENDING ME i can't stop laughing oh my god

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nimbusclan

1 month ago

Boughclan even made the pfp for the server! We'd love y'all to join and hang out with us and other creators in this community! 💖

clangen comic community discord

hi folks! @direclan, @nimbusclan, @ranchclan and i got together and created a general discord for folks in the clangen comic community. this discord isn't centered around any of our comics or around the game itself--it's for artists, writers, and fans alike to get together to hang out, make friends, and check out each other's work.

we're aiming for this to be a mutually supportive collective of folks who love clangen and the art that derives from it. if this sounds fun to you, please feel free to join us!

Tags

ooc ccc

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nimbusclan

5 months ago

I ended up busier than I expected and have been occupied with family for the holiday, but I'm itching to get the next update out soon!

I also downloaded a new art program to play around with the text boxes a little bit, so that'll be exciting to figure out 👀

Tags

ooc the cat comic brainrot is so bad its all i want to do but i have other obligations auuugghhooouugh my current art program doesnt offer a text option so ive been adding it in post hopefully this will make it a little bit easier for me

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nimbusclan

3 months ago

comic cancelled, Moon and Fog live at the ranch now

A little bonus for @nimbusclan to show Milkfur Can be nice lmao

Tags

ooc moonstar ranchclan jk i haven't even introduced them to The Horrors yet THIS IS SO CUTE LUCKY I'M STILL NOT OVER IT

159 notes View Post

nimbusclan

2 months ago

Hi friends! I'm wondering if uploading page by page instead of by moon would be preferred by readers or not - what do you think?

(For reference, current moon updates average about 3 or 4 pages)

Tags

ooc

22 notes View Post

nimbusclan

2 months ago

From the ask game - 📝 What do your notes look like?

(your comic is gorgeous btw the traditional mixed media thing is SOOOO COOL)

Hello, thank you!! I've loved following the Nimbus duo 🥺

For notes, I have a big messy doc where I just screenshot + paste game events that I find interesting / important, sometimes with little notes added on

From The Ask Game - 📝 What Do Your Notes Look Like?

And then I have a neater doc with notes on characters, worldbuilding stuff which wont come up for like. months lol but. , etc. My memory is pretty shot so as the clan gets up to like 9, 10 members I need some notes to keep all their personalities & relationships straight lol.

For the comic itself, once I've played far enough I'll jot down a general story arc for those moons to give them a direction, & take rough notes on the events & emotional arcs of the main characters for that storyline. Then I break that up into events going moon-by-moon.

THEN I write out scripts for each moon more in-depth, referencing my rough arc outline & the events that happened that moon for flavour (I'm finished rough scripts for this whole first arc, though a few still need a bit of work to make them. gooder).

Then on to my really janky thumbnails, and then I'm ready to actually draw the page!