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Fogfreckle’s body hits the ground hard, rolling halfway down the slope as Moonstar slides down after him, pebbles skidding out from under her paws as she rushes to his side.
“Fogfreckle?” Moonstar’s voice wavers as she reaches him in a spray of stones, hovering a scraped paw gently over his bleeding body as she hesitates. He’s just lying there, chest rising and falling shallowly, as blood oozes from thick punctures along his back that stains his pale fur red. Should she roll him over? What if his bones are broken? He’s not dead, by the grace of StarClan, but she’s no medicine cat – she has no idea how close he is to death or how much worse she’ll make it if she tries to move him.
The circling shadow of the eagle drifts over them with another ear-splitting, screeching cry, and Moonstar’s fear makes the decision for her. She grabs Fogfreckle by the scruff of the neck and begins to haul him farther down the slope. She doesn’t want to injure him more than he already is, but she knows it’ll be worse if they’re caught out here on the open mountainside once the larger predators in the area catch scent of his blood and come to investigate.
Fogfreckle doesn’t make a single nose of pain as she pulls him through the dirt. She drags him as far as a tumbled collection of boulders and stones, squeezing into a space between the rocks that is just big enough for Moonstar to fit her body through and drag Fogfreckle in after her. The space is tight, without a lot of room to move, and Moonstar has to swallow panic and bile as the walls seem to press in around them.
“This is best,” she says aloud to herself, “foxes or fishers can’t reach us in here. It has to be here.” The self-soothing doesn’t do much to abate her claustrophobia, but Fogfreckle makes a pained noise in response to her voice and all thoughts of herself vacate her mind.
Fogfreckle whimpers as Moonstar licks his wounds clean, flinching as she clears dirt from the punctures with her rough tongue. She doesn’t say anything while she works, but she nearly sags in relief with every flinch and whimper from her brother. He’s okay. He’s okay. He’s alive and he’s okay.
“Stay here,” she says at last when she’s cleaned most of the blood and debris from his fur. It’s still oozing sluggishly from his wounds, bright and wet. “I need to find cobwebs. Do you think you broke anything?”
“I don’t think so,” Fogfreckle murmurs, voice weak and faint with exhaustion.
“Reckless,” Moonstar murmurs back, licking his forehead once. “Alright. Okay. Stay safe. Please, please, stay safe. I’ll get us help, okay? I’ll find someone to help.”
Moonstar scrambles out from under the claustrophobic press of rocks and pelts back up the mountain, swerving trees and boulders and leaping roots as she climbs higher and higher. Panic and grief strangles her thundering heart, pushing her to run faster and faster until her legs are burning. She reaches a break in the pines, a ledge buffeted by the wind, and yowls at the top of her lungs until her voice runs ragged.
“HELP! SOMEBODY, HELP! PLEASE! HELP!”
Her voice echoes back to her across the mountain, mimicking her fear. When it fades, there is only the sound of the mountain. Wind in her ears, the rustle of leaves in the trees, insects that hum in the sun. A sob escapes her, then a full blown wail, and her body collapses beneath her as the lack of response presses against her.
They are alone. At sunrise, she awoke as the leader of this clan, and at sundown she is so terribly, horribly, awfully alone.
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so yeah despite two redesigns, im redesigning coldcrash again. im personally leaning on C. but I'm gonna give you all a choice as well cause democracy is fun :D
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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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this is on my list of favorite moons
and hey, tidalclan has its official leader now
im sure there’s nothing to worry about
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Moonstar gasps awake, sitting up so fast she rams her head into the thick underside of a low-hanging branch that she and her brother had spent the night taking turns sleeping under. They’ve been doing that, taking turns – who knows what things are lurking out here in the dark, so far from home.
If they can't go back, does it still count as home?
“Ow…” Moonstar groans, a sharp throb pounding against her skull. What a way to start the morning.
Fogfreckle ducks his head underneath one of the branches, sweeping past the leaves to gaze curiously at his sister. He tilts his head questioningly, mouth open to ask what’s wrong, when the words die on his tongue and his eyes widen.
“Fogfreckle!” Moonstar mews excitedly, leaping to her paws. “You’ll never guess what happened!”
“Your– your forehead,” Fogfreckle croaks. “You… were visited by StarClan?”
“What about my forehead?” Moonstar asks, confused and distracted. She presses a paw against her head to see if perhaps she’s bleeding, but her paw doesn’t come away warm or wet. The rest of her brother’s words filter to her slowly through the dull throb of pain and the fog of the early hour. She pouts. “Yeah, Star– how did you guess so quick?”
“There’s– your forehead. You have a star. A leader’s star.”
Moonstar’s pout deepens. “Well. That kind of steals my thunder.”
“Moonpool, what happened?”
“Moonstar now, actually.” Moonstar grins. “StarClan visited me in my dreams and granted me my nine lives. Isn’t that crazy? I didn’t even have to– there was no–” Moonstar’s tongue can hardly keep up with everything that’s swirling in her brain, the experience of her leader’s ceremony playing back to her as if memory and not just dream. “NimbusClan lives on, Fogfreckle. In us, just like you said. We’re to lead NimbusClan into its new future.”
“‘We’?” Fogfreckle asks weakly, jaw slack with disbelief.
“Of course, ‘we’!” Moonstar laughs, bounding closer to her brother. She feels so full of life, coursing through her like the widest, wildest river. “I wouldn’t be here if not for you, you know that. Besides, what’s a leader without her deputy?”
“Deputy?” Fogfreckle repeats, dumbstruck.
“What are you, a raven?” Moonstar laughs. “Yes, deputy! As leader, I’m appointing you as deputy of NimbusClan, Fogfreckle.”
Fogfreckle swells with pride, pale chest fluffed out as he inhales a shaky breath. “I– yes, Moonstar. Thank you.”
“Don’t get all formal on me, now. You’re my brother first, deputy second.”
“So, we really are still a Clan.” He grins, then the expression fades from his face somewhat. His eyes take on an earnest shine. “Did you… I know you’re not supposed to talk about the ceremony, but… when you visited StarClan, did you… did you see our parents?”
Moonstar smiles gently, heart squeezing painfully in her chest. Dad had told her to tell Fogfreckle that their parents miss him, too, so surely StarClan won’t be displeased if she shares just that much? “Yes. I saw them. Mom and Dad. They told me to tell you they miss you.”
Fogfreckle hiccups, stepping close to push his head hard against Moonstar’s.
“I wish you could have seen them too,” She adds in a whisper, nuzzling into his dawn-warmed fur. The sun is just starting to crest the side of the mountain on its way up, crawling lazily into the sky. Greenleaf heat creeps on silent, soft paws across her pelt. It’ll be humid later, but for now, it’s pleasant.
“Maybe they’ll walk in my dreams one day, too.”
“I hope so.” Moonstar presses one more smile into his fur and then pulls back, squaring her shoulders in what she hopes is a leaderly fashion. It’s only her brother, but she may as well start getting used to playing the role. “Alright, deputy. What’s our first order of business?”
Fogfreckle grins. “How about breakfast? I could go for some eggs.”
“Perfect idea.”
Both cats stretch out their paws and take off, bounding up the mountain.
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finally some neighbour interaction
im the kind of warrior cats fan who haaaates when newcomers keep their old names. In the game, Sega did take on a more clan-like name while keeping his own, and I liked how it sounded so I kept it. However, Melona joined with her old name and I don't really like that. so name change :D (also another reason why i dont like millie in the books >.>)
fun fact: Sunheart was Redstar's apprentice :D
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sega needs to put his work in and stop yapping
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✏️Who’s your favorite character to draw/write?
Ooo that's a bit of a toughie
In terms of writing at least, I'm so attached to my main three, but I'm gonna have to say Coldcrash is first with Shadestar and Lightchaser close behind. Coldcrash started as this wide-eyed, excited kit going on an adventure with two apprentices to becoming a medicine cat who is especially connected to StarClan and feels weighed by what she knows. She still feels unsure about how best to go about it, with only being able to ask the other medicine cats every half-moon. She's still very much growing into her own, and I'm enjoying watching that happen
As for drawing, I have to say Larchmask. she just feels so flowy and fun to draw! Plus her color palette is just chef's kiss.
There's another character i love drawing but they can't be revealed yet shhhhhh
[ Moon 4 ] [ Longdays ] [ Part 1/2] ] ⊲ [ First ] | [ Previous ] | [ Next ] ⊳
[ ??? has healed from his claw-wound. ] [ The Strays don't have enough prey for next moon! ] [ ??? catches the scent of a red fox. Tracking it, he finds the animal feeding on tallfolk scraps...] [ Proceed ] ⊲ [ Do not Proceed ] [ ??? realizes that Freckle would put her life on the line for him. ]
are you using expanded or classic for this clan?
I’m using Expanded for some of that good ol ✨flavor✨
A blog dedicated to my unhealthy obsession for pixelated cats! Things may go horribly wrong or horribly right, so grab your seatbelts
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