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Fandom CavernClan: Delivering Hope

Ana-Kitsune

Sage In the Making
This roleplay is for Xadieve Xadieve and Ana-Kitsune Ana-Kitsune
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Dustmask shivered. It was a hot summer night but suddenly she felt a chill. She gave her two tiny kits a sniff. Yes, they were safe and sound snuggled against her breast. She took a deep breath. It had been a difficult birth, but it was over now and her kits were here. Still she could not shake the dark feeling in her gut, as though something was amiss. Perhaps it was due to the brightness of the sky? A full moon hung low and lit the ground outside the cave. She had made a nest close to the entrance because after giving birth, Dustmask needed to relieve herself often. The cave was filled with cats, all who would die to protect it against any danger.

Dustmask dispelled her feeling and lowered her head. Closing her eyes and breathing deeply of the scent of her two healthy kits, drifting back to sleep. Her eyes closed and nose filled, she did not notice the fox until it was too late. It was after the kits, but they were buried safely beneath her fur. Instead it decided to take the exhausted queen on. It sank it's teeth into her neck leaping backwards towards the cave entrance, dragging the floundering Duskmask behind. She fought to free herself but the strength was already fading from her body as her windpipe was crushed and blood fell freely from her jugular.

The kits, blind and helpless, cried out. They knew not what happened, only that their mother was suddenly gone. The fox stole away, dragging the now still mother. As the fox receded into darkness the queens eyes glazed over, staring up at the sky and reflecting the full moon. Nobody noticed the fox was even there save for the kits, who mewed relentlessly.

Elsewhere in the cave, a Medicine cat was being given a message by starclan. For the two kits who now mewed so desperately for their mother, would one day be heroes.
 
OWLTAIL


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Location: Nursery
Rank: Medicine Cat
Mood: Stunned
With: Emberkit, Foxkit


Owltail had been sleeping very soundly tonight-- which was a drastic change from how he normally slept. The drop of a leaf could wake him up, and he found it difficult to fall back asleep. Having his apprentice around helped. He had less to worry about, less herbs to count, and some of the weight of being CavernClan's medicine cat was taken off his shoulders. This night, Owltail slept deeply, and for once, he dreamed. He dreamed of a far off place, in a world he didn't recognize, walking with paws that weren't his own. It was a vision, he belatedly realized. The medicine cat hadn't had many visions before, StarClan didn't speak with him all that often.

He stood in a clearing, with soft ferns brushing against his legs, and the clearing around him glimmering with a dull mist. It was odd-- Owltail didn't often visit outside of the caverns, and certainly didn't go outside of his territory. He hadn't seen anywhere this densely forested. A cat sat in front of him, their form somewhat translucent, yet they held an air of dignity. They sat up straight with such a look of pride and wisdom, that Owltail felt the need to bow. Yet, he appeared to be frozen in place, forced to lock eyes with the prideful cat. As he watched, the cat shifted, raising his paw to direct Owltail's gaze towards a glimmering pool beside him, where an image shifted into focus, before it was quickly replaced with yet another image. The longer Owltail observed the pool, the more clear the images became, yet the faster they flickered by. He could see the sun, the caverns their clan lived in, a bright meadow, and a land of shifting sands. It all went too fast for him to process, and he began to feel somewhat nauseous.

"From the darkest pits, where the sun shows no light. To the fields of sand-- where the sun is unrelenting." The voice sprouted up so suddenly that Owltail didn't realize the cat was speaking at first. His voice was wistful and quiet, yet Owltail could hear every word clearly. "The long forgotten reside there. They long for shelter, for life. Let those with eyes of ember and pelts of foxes lead the way." The cat ended his sentence and stood, and stepped over to Owltail, gently pressing his nose to the medicine cats, who suddenly scented a strong scent, the combined smell of copper and fox.

Owltail's eyes snapped open, and he blinked away the remnants of his dream, slowly sitting up. He rubbed his nose with a cringe, trying to get the smell of fox from his dream out of his mind. He could still smell it, as if it was... Owltail shot up straight and turned his nose towards the entrance of his den, quickly realizing that the smell of fox and copper wasn't just a dream. It was real. "Nettlepaw!" He yowled into the depths of his den. He heard a muffled mewl in protest and confusion, and sent a silent prayer of gratitude to StarClan for protecting his apprentice. "Wake up, you lazy little-- you must wake up Cloudstar! But use caution, hurry, hurry!" Owltail insisted as the gray, prickly apprentice groggily got up and out of her nest, moss still clinging to her fur. She seemed confused, not understanding why her mentor was being so irritable this early in the morning, but still obeyed, just a bit too slow for Owltail's liking.

He couldn't linger in his den long, though. Owltail sped out after his apprentice, the smell of copper growing stronger, until he could trace it back to the nursery. "Oh... StarClan help us." He whispered in a choked voice as he cautiously peeked into the den. The smell of fox was strongest here, as well as marks of a struggle, and the source of the blood. He could hear kits mewling, but when he looked in, he couldn't see their mother. Dustmask was missing. Owltail carefully stepped into the den so he could seat himself by the kits, wrapping his tail around them protectively as he looked down at them. A thought popped into his mind as he stared intently at the kits.


Eyes of ember and pelts of foxes.
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(( good time for a timeskip? ))


 
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Foxkit's eyes were wide as she stood within the inner cave and looked up at the peak of the jutting rock path. She had been to a meeting several times before. But only once when kits were made into apprentices, and were given their mentors. Foxkit tried to recall the hazy memory. This time it would be her ascending to the rank of apprentice and receiving a mentor.

The inlet she stood within was blocked off from the main cavern save for a small entrance, just barely big enough for a grown cat to enter. It was located in the very back of the cave and was by far the safest location. It was here that all Cavernclan meetings were held. Though the entrance was small the area within was large. It could easily hold every cat within the clan and many more. A stone jutted out of the sides of the inlet, allowing a cat to ascend and stand atop of it, looking down upon the others within.

That was where Cloudstar was to stand. All the other cat's of the clan stood with their tails to the wall, encircling the center. The deputy and medicine cat were to stand directly beneath the leader. Foxkit sniffed about, smelling the familiar smells of her clan. That was Olivepaw's scent, and Mistycrow there. Sometimes Foxkit liked to imagine that a particular scent she could not name was that of her mother. Though her scent had probably faded by now, it made Foxkit feel like she was real. She existed, and was a part of CavernClan.

The red furred kitten tried to think about what mentor she would want. It wasn't as though she had a choice, but it was still fun to think about. Foxkit thought she might enjoy being Mistycrow's apprentice. The she-cat was anti-social, usually avoiding the other cats of the clan, but friendly. Foxkit didn't mind that, she was the same way in that she preferred to be alone. Perhaps if they were paired together they would get along well.

Coppereyes had been demanding an apprentice lately but Foxkit prayed she wouldn't wind up with him. The large tom was quick to anger, loud and brash. He obeyed the warrior code, but he was unpleasant to be around. Rather than choosing to be alone, like Mistycrow, he was usually left alone. Coppereyes didn't seem bothered by it though, acting as if he was simply too good for company anyways.

Foxkit licked her fur to calm herself. Whoever her mentor would be, soon she would be an apprentice! No more sleeping in the queens den for her. She wondered if her brother Emberkit was nervous as well.
 
EMBERKIT


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Location: Clan Meeting
Rank: Kit
Mood: Excited
With: Foxkit



Emberkit was practically buzzing with excitement. He couldn't speak, he wasn't sure if he even knew how to remember how to form words. All he knew was that he was getting a mentor today! Emberkit had been looking forward to this day from the very second he was born! Exaggerations aside, Emberkit was somewhat anxious. He could get a bad mentor... though, he definitely knew which mentor he wanted! Speaking of him, where was his favorite warrior, anyways?

He scanned the crowd quickly for the ball of energy that was Stormstrike, who really usually wasn't hard to find. He typically never stayed in camp, but when he did, he always stayed in the same places. He was either lounging by the fresh kill pile, hanging around the warriors den to get some extra sleep--not that he ever needed it-- or antagonizing the deputy. Emberkit's eyes fell on the deputy, who was already seated right below where Cloudstar was, preparing for the meeting. His shoulders were slumped, and his expression looked like he had just eaten a bad mouse. Ordinarily, Gorsetuft was very smug, with his back straight, tail high in the air, following the leader around like a shadow. A very prickly, full-of-himself, shadow. The reason why he wasn't feeling his best this time was immediately apparent. A huge tabby warrior was seated beside him, mimicking his pose, and chatting eagerly, his loud voice easily booming across the clearing.

Stormstrike had always been loud. Apparently even when he was an apprentice, he had to sleep outside at night because of how loud he was. Emberkit looked up to him highly, even more than he looked up to Cloudstar. He was so strong, so obnoxious and confident, Emberkit wanted to be like him. Speaking of their mightly leader, the bicolored she-cat caught Emberkit's attention by suddenly leaping up to the top of the gathering stone, and settling down at the edge of it. Crystal blue eyes scanned the audience below her, before she sucked in a quick breath, and called for her clan.

"Let all cats old enough to navigate the caves gather here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting." Her serene voice easily carried through the cave, rebounding off against the stone walls. At her call, Stormstrike straightened up and looked up to his leader, before snorting and walking away from the deputy, who looked utterly relieved. Emberkit excitedly bounced in place for a few moments, before bounding over to his sister, nearly crashing into poor Foxkit in his haste to sit by her. In the corner of his eye, he could see Owltail slipping into the cavern of the clan meeting, to take up his place by Gorsetuft. Nettlepaw wasn't far behind, though she stuck behind, by the rest of the crowd of cats forming. Owltail took a moment to scan the crowd, before his amber gaze paused on the kits, soon to get mentors, and he offered an encouraging smile towards them, which Emberkit returned in full.


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(( you can totally control Cloudstar in your next post if you want to speed along the plot/have more to write about! ))
 
Foxkit flicked her ear to dispel some of her nerves. Of course Emberkit wasn't nervous, she realized. Foxkit was always way more anxious than he. Her red fur stood on end as the clan filed in and stood within the cave, facing the great leader. Cloudstar gazed down at the gathered cats, regal and serene. Her blue eyes landed on the two siblings and they seemed to narrow ever so slightly, perhaps assessing them. Foxkit tried to stand tall but her twitching tail gave her unease away. She swallowed nervously as the leaders gaze moved on. She knew it was unreasonable to think she would be denied a mentor just because she was nervous, but still she wished she was not so weak appearing in front of the mighty leader.

As the last member of the clan filed in (cravensigh who sat down with a huff) A hush fell over the clan in preparation for Cloudstar to speak. "As many of you may have noticed," She began. "There are two kits who have reached their sixth moon and are ready to receive mentors." the she cat spoke at a perfect volume to fill the cave with her voice. All the eyes of the clan turned to Foxkit and Emberkit. Foxkit felt as though her red fur were flames as their gazes seemed to burn though her. "After much consideration I have decided on their mentors."

Foxkit's anxiety took the back seat to her eagerness at last. She shuffled her feet excitedly. Who would be her mentor?! The fact that she was about to start her life as an apprentice was almost to much to comprehend. She hoped it was Mistycrow. However she was so excited at the moment she just didn't care.

"Please come forth young one's." Cloudstar asked. Foxkit tried to walk to the center with dignity, but was so excited she nearly ran there. "Mentors, please come forward." the leader invited of the waiting cats. Foxkit's eyes were on Mistycrow, but she did not move. Instead, advancing to the center of the cave, Stormstrike and Coppereyes came forward. Oh god no. Foxkit thought. Not them!
 
EMBERPAW


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Location: Clan Meeting
Rank: Kit
Mood: Excited
With: Foxkit, Stormstrike



Emberkit could hardly wait for the ceremony to begin, he didn't stay seated when Cloudstar called for the clan meeting, and had to prevent himself from squealing when she began to speak. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Foxkit looking like she was about to have a heart attack at any moment, but how could she? This was the most exciting moment of their lives! There was nothing that could ever top this, so she better not keel over and die in middle of it! As the mentors stepped forward at Cloudstar's call, Emberkit's reaction was the absolute opposite to his sisters. At seeing Stormstrike step forward, he felt nothing but complete joy, and he even let out a tiny snicker under his breath as Coppereyes stepped forward. "Bummer, it looks like you got that old fox-hearted Coppereyes." He giggled childishly, before turning his eyes back to Stormstrike.

Stormstrike seemed just as excited as the kit was, and eagerly sought out Emberkit's gaze so he could widely grin to him. He wasn't much of an old warrior, only around 18 moons, but he already was getting his first apprentice. There wasn't much of a better match for Emberkit's arrogance and constant energy. Cloudstar's noble voice interrupted his thoughts again, causing him to look up towards her. He was startled to find that she was staring directly down at him, her blue eyes piercing into his amber ones, a look of curiosity and pride showing in hers. "Emberkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Emberpaw. Your mentor will be Stormstrike. I hope Stormstrike will pass down all he/she knows on to you." She then hardly even paused to turn towards Stomstrike, who straightened up and returned her gaze, looking like he was even holding his breath.

"Stormstrike, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Eelrunner,--" The sleek tom in the crowd (Emberpaw assumed he was Eelrunner) took a moment to snort and mutter something under his breath, but Emberpaw was just out of earshot to hear what it was. "And you have shown yourself to be energetic and strong-willed. You will be the mentor of Emberpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Emberpaw." Emberpaw eagerly stepped forward, like he had seen other apprentices do at their ceremonies, and straightened up quickly so he could bonk his nose against Stormstrike. He made a quiet grunt in pain, and swatted at Emberpaw with a large paw, before the two stepped aside, so they could watch Foxkit's mentor ceremony. Emberpaw was highly excited to see his sister gain a mentor, even if it was crabby ol' Coppereyes. They could finally leave camp together now, and go exploring! Provided that they had their mentors, of course.

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  • Foxkit avoided eye contact with anyone, trying to seem just as excited about her mentor as her brother clearly was. When the ceremony began he brash Coppereyes sat down in front of the nervous young female. He looked... proud. Thrilled to bits even. He stared down at the young Foxkit with an excited gleam in his eyes. Coppereyes gave the she-cat a friendly and encouraging greeting.

    Foxkit's eyes were wide and her fur was fluffed, she looked like she may turn tail and run at any point. Her petite claws gripped the ground to keep herself from doing just that. As Cloudtail said the began the ceremony Foxkit did her best to play off her disappointment in her the choice for her mentor. When it was time they exchanged a quick, stiff, lick on the shoulder. Coppereyes was still beaming happily. Foxkit was glad that the tom did not appear upset with her as an apprentice.

    "You shall now be known as Foxpaw." The words Cloudstar spoke finally soaked into Foxpaw's anxious revere. She let herself relax alittle and begin to feel good. She was an apprentice now! As Coppereyes walked away, Foxpaw followed closely. Her ears swiveled to and fro as she heard the clan begin their chanting. "Emberpaw! Foxpaw! Emberpaw! Foxpaw!" Foxkit shot a happy look at her brother who sat a few cats away with his new mentor Stormstrike. Most of the clan were congratulating the two mentors and their new apprentices.

    From the corner of her eyes Foxpaw glimpsed Mistycrow. The she cat was cheering just the same as everyone else. However there seemed to be a sadness in her eyes as she watched Foxpaw sit next to Coppereyes. Foxpaw decided it must have been in her imagination. As much as she wished Mistycrow had been her mentor the decision had been made now and both Foxpaw and Mistycrow would have to deal with it.






 
EMBERPAW


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Location: CavernClan Clearing
Rank: Apprentice
Mood: Excited
With: Foxpaw, Stormstrike



As the ceremony came to a close, Emberpaw immediately turned to Foxpaw as the clan shouted their names, and he puffed his chest out proudly, reveling in being the center of attention. When the congratulations had died down, and the clan began parting from their spots in the ceremony, Stormstrike immediately turned to Emberpaw, his tail lashing. Emberpaw could already see the excitement flashing in his bright blue eyes, and he could tell just how exciting his mentorship was going to be. There was no way it could be boring at all, with Stormstrike as his mentor! "So, I'm not gonna bore you with all that traditional mentor stuff, 'kay? You should have heard my mentor, all 'blah blah blah responsibility blah blah,' well, we're not going to do it that way, are we?" He asked excitedly, keeping his voice down for some reason. Emberpaw didn't know why, but he kept flashing a glance over to Cloudstar, who had lied down on the gathering rock, with her front paws hanging off the side. As always, she had the appearance of graceful superiority, but there was something in her eyes that Emberpaw couldn't place. She was still intently watching the apprentices, and it was... frightening, in a way. Like she knew something that they didn't.

"Y-yeah..." He mumbled back to Stormstrike, still distracted by the look on Cloudstar's face. He received a harsh cuff over the ears for his distracted attitude, and yelped as he returned his focus to his mentor. "Hey! You just became my mentor, you can't start hitting me!" Emberpaw wailed, resulting in Stormstrike letting out a loud, booming laugh. It was so infectious, so cheerful, that Emberpaw couldn't help but smiling along. Stormstrike always had that effect on others, it was hard to keep in a low mood around him. "I'm your mentor now, so that means I get to do what I want, no matter how new I am! Now, you go rest, we can train up tomorrow, to make you as strong as I am!" With this, Stormstrike walked off, with Emberpaw playfully swinging at his heels as he went, before he immediately turned to go look for his sister, who was already there, congratulating him on his mentor.

"Foxpaw!" He mewed excitedly, bouncing in place. "How's your mentor? Did you talk to him? Did he claw your ears off yet? How crabby is he? Does he smell as bad as he looks?" Emberpaw asked all these questions in a quick breath, grinning the entire while, seeming rather amused by his offensive remarks. Despite trying his best to be an honest, nice kit, sometimes Stormstrike's mean humor would rub off on him, and he didn't exactly have too many positive influences in his life to rebuke him for this, aside from his sister.

---

When Cloudstar stared down at the new apprentices conversing and chatting eagerly, all she could think of was the prophecy Owltail was delivered when they were first born, six moons ago. Thinking about the words of the medicine cat were frightening to her, and she didn't want to pass that burden onto the apprentices, but... they needed to know their fate. They needed to know for themselves, if not for the sake of their entire clan. She was drawn out of her thoughts by the sound of a cat scrambling up the side of the rock, and she lifted her head to be greeted with Owltail himself pulling himself up onto the rock beside her. Worry was clear in his golden eyes, and she knew exactly why.

"Cloudstar-- for the last time, I must protest." He hissed in a quiet voice, and she immediately turned her head away from him, to show her disinterest. Still, he continued on, and she couldn't help but let out an aggravated sigh. "You can't tell them when they're destined for at such a young age! They're foolish, they're young, what if they--" She wouldn't have any more of this, they had already had this discussion many times. "Don't patronize me, Owltail. I will tell them soon, it is StarClan's choice to decide what must happen next." The leader said, returning her gaze to Foxpaw and Emberpaw. She could see Owltail frowning at her from the corner of her eye, before he turned around, and began to navigate his way back down the rocks. She was just barely able to hear the words he uttered as he began to leave, and it made her fur bristle. "You may just be putting too much of your faith into the paws of our ancestors, Cloudstar."
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  • Foxpaw recoiled from Emberpaw's exuberant questions. She cast a worried glance at her new mentor, to see he was off a little ways talking to Stormstike. Probably congratulating him on the new apprentice. Foxpaw smiled and nudged Emberpaw playfully with her head. "Hush up, mousebrains!" She whispered, "If he hears you we'll both get his wrath!"

    Coppereyes looked up at her at that moment and so she shot him smile. Looking into Emberpaw's eyes her eyes sparkled excitedly, a reflection of his own. "Lucky you. Getting Stormstrike for a mentor! I can't believe I got stuck with grumpy Coppereyes." She snickered. Stormstike would be able to keep up with Emberpaw, if nothing else.

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