man i think it depends

Meet Kelpwhisker!

Once upon a time, Kelpwhisker was the renowned healer of SedgeClan. They were skilled at their job and loved by their clanmates, a testament to their family’s good nature and upbringing. They grew up alongside Sleetstar and Galefoot, which prompted a friendship between the three, something especially strengthened when Sleetleap was made an advisor, the two of them sharing the stress of such high-ranking positions at a young age.

Kelpwhisker’s littermate had a litter of kits when they both were 30 moons old, and due to a difficult birth, their sibling did not survive and only one of their kits made it out alive. Kelpwhisker stepped in as a somewhat of a surrogate parent for the kit, named Algaekit. It was unconventional, but nobody in SedgeClan was eager to separate Algaekit from her only family. Due to her rocky start and unconventional upbringing, Algaekit grew into a risk-taking, impulsive young warrior named Algaemask, who was demoted to a challenger soon after becoming a warrior for severely injuring a JuniperClan warrior in a border dispute.

25 moons ago, Algaemask was on a patrol with some fellow clanmates. An apprentice named Bubblepaw was severely injured in a sea lion attack, and Algaemask put her life on the line to save the apprentice, though it resulted in significant injury to herself in doing so. Kelpwhisker, having only just lost their apprentice Emberflight 8 moons prior, was unprepared to handle such a dire incident. Their herb stores were unprepared and they only had one set of paws when two cats were in desperate need of urgent help. Instead of prioritizing the young apprentice with less blood to lose, Kelpwhisker put all of their effort into saving Algaemask, unwilling to lose their last family member in such a gruesome way. Algaemask survived, but Bubblepaw did not.

Sleetstar, horrified by Kelpshisker’s abusing their position to save their family over another clanmate, stripped them of their position, demoting them to a challenger alongside Halibutsong, the apprentice’s mentor who had refused to save their life. Algaemask, however, was promoted back to a Warrior afterwards once she healed.

Ever since then, Kelpwhisker has been barred from practicing medicine, their position sacrificed for their niece’s life. It was a challenge to adapt to their new rank considering their lack of training in hunting, fighting, or Warrior duties as a whole, but they learned to adjust, especially with Algaemask’s help.

On some level, Kelpwhisker always hoped that a desperation for a healer would force the leadership into reinstating them, knowing SedgeClan couldn’t go on without a healer forever. However, this hope was quickly quelled five moons ago when Sleetstar leveraged LichenClan’s drought into the transfer of one of their warriors to act as a healer instead. Ever since Oakstream took on SedgeClan’s healer position, cats stopped seeking out Kelpwhisker for under-the-table help.

Through it all, though, at least Kelpwhisker had Algaemask. That is, until recently. Algaemask was the first cat to be stuck by the illness that now plagues the clan– despite Oaksteam’s best attempts, she did not survive her illness. Kelpwhisker remains a Challenger, now with no more family left and unable to use their skills to help their clan in its time of need.

Kelpwhisker will be one of the five adoptables available in our Sedgeclan opening on July 11th.

Meet Brightwing!

Brightkit was born to husband and wife Galefoot and Sleetleap, alongside her brother Emberkit. Only a moon after their birth, Sleetleap was promoted to the advisor role at an unprecedented young age of 19 moons old– a feat that hasn’t been seen in any recent SedgeClan history. Sleetleap, humbled and desperate to prove the promotion just, threw herself into her work while Galefoot took over the lion’s share of raising the duo while Sleetleap settled into her new position. Galefoot was a kind and doting, if not sometimes clueless father– he didn’t always do things right, but he encouraged his kits to follow their dreams. For Emberkit, that dream was always obvious– to become the next healer of SedgeClan. Brightkit’s were a little less solidified, but ever since her mother’s promotion, there was always a silent, unspoken expectation with her– you’ll be next after me.

Sleetleap pulled strings with her peers when it was time for her kits to be apprenticed. Emberpaw was made the next healing apprentice, where Brightpaw was apprenticed to the leader at the time, Flowerstar. As their mother gained respect and notoriety among their peers, expectations of the two siblings grew. It seemed effortless for Emberpaw, who fell into healing training with immediate success– he never seemed to understand in the same way when Brightpaw spoke of the stress that came with being put on a pedestal, expected to shine above the rest. She adapted, throwing herself into her Warrior training and SedgeClan’s ideals– but the only cat who ever seemed receptive to her feelings was Galefoot, who took a less actively involved role when Sleetleap was able to step back in with her training.

Brightpaw and Emberpaw both passed their training with flying colors– Emberpaw even graced with receiving his full name early so as to be promoted alongside his sister, a reward for his exceptional talent as a healer. They were named Brightwing and Emberflight, welcomed into SedgeClan as fully-grown cats before they knew it at 12 moons old. Once Brightwing was a warrior, Sleetleap’s influence was only heightened, her mother wasting no time in guiding her to what she would need to do as a warrior to eventually find herself as an advisor, too. While Brightwing always did her best, an early promotion was not in the cards for her like it was for her mother and brother. Nevertheless, she did as her mother told her and continued being the good cat her mother always told her she was.

When Brightwing and Emberflight were 20 moons old, however, things took a turn for their family. Tensions were high on the JuniperClan border– their northern neighbors had their prey run short with a sudden famine and were in desperate need of more territory– territory that held important herb stores that SedgeClan couldn’t give up. While SedgeClan tried to find some form of resolution, JuniperClan insisted time was running out. They met at the border to discuss, but when SedgeClan was unwilling to give them the land they needed, JuniperClan attacked to get what they needed. Emberflight was killed in the dispute by JuniperClan warrior Storkstrike.

Emberflight’s death hit Galefoot and Sleetleap hard. What had once been a team turned into two despondent cats who were grieving in their own ways, Brightwing caught between them both alongside holding her own grief. The divide between her parents was made worse when Sleetleap was promoted to leader only six moons after Emberflight died. Brightwing was promoted to an Advisor role under her mother only a few short moons after that. Brightwing has been spending her days since her promotion trying her best and bouncing between two grief-stricken parents, still unrecovered from her brother’s death to this day.

Brightwing will be one of the five adoptables available in our Sedgeclan opening on July 11th.

Meet Halibutsong!

Halibutsong was born into a large family to two devoted SedgeClan warriors. As the smallest and the youngest of their family, they often blended into the chaos– something they were incredibly grateful for. It was lucky for them they were born into SedgeClan, where being a Warrior shields a cat from needing to fight, because they have always despised confrontation of all types. They struggled with learning how to hunt and understand self-defense tactics, much preferring to stick to the background and tend to camp or watch after kits. Whenever a problem was presented to them, they would immediately yield to the other cats involved, seeking out any way to keep out of conflict.

Eventually, shortly into their warriorhood, they were given an apprentice– Bubblepaw. Halibutsong did their best to do right by their apprentice, but struggled in emphasizing the more rough-and-tumble aspects of being a warrior, especially when it came to anything that involved the unsheathing of claws. Halibutsong avoided the topic with Bubblepaw whenever possible, both conversationally and in training. Halibutsong justified this by saying it wasn’t important for a true SedgeClan cat– all conflicts should be resolved with words and mediation. But Halibutsong failed to consider that there are some scenarios in which words will do a cat no good.

25 moons ago, Halibutsong and Bubblepaw were on a patrol with a few other cats. On one of the shores, a big, black boulder had appeared seemingly overnight. Bubblepaw, confused, ran forward and leapt onto the boulder in a curious attempt to investigate it, only to realize it was no boulder at all. A deep bellow erupted, and Bubblepaw was snatched by the mass from under him. A sea lion pup. As everything unfolded, Halibutsong stood– frozen. They watched their apprentice be brutally attacked by the hulking beast, too terrified to defend the young, unprepared cat from the threat. It was not Halibutsong who intervened, but a Challenger named Algaemask. She managed to rip Bubblepaw away from the beast and escape, but not without severe injuries.

Kelpwhisker, the healer at the time, was able to save Algaemask, though at the expense of Bubblepaw’s treatment– the apprentice did not survive the incident. After the dust had settled, Sleetstar demoted both Kelpwhisker and Halibutsong. The former for abusing their position to save their family over another clanmate, the latter for not protecting their apprentice, leading to the apprentice’s death. Algaemask was promoted once she healed, taking Halibutsong’s place.

Halibutsong’s family disowned them after their demotion, save for Halibutsong’s mother. She stood by her child, despite their actions, and was often the only cat who gave them the time of day. Over time as a Challenger, Halibutsong’s blood relatives dwindled either from age or from tragedy. They remained in their rank, never quite proving themselves worthy of the Warrior rank again.

That was, until the sickness hit SedgeClan. Halibutsong’s mother was one of the cats to catch the illness, and her prognosis was clearly unfavorable. Her dying wish to Sleetstar was to watch her child be promoted before she died, so she could know they would be okay on their own. Sleetstar granted this request, re-promoting Halibutsong to a Warrior before their mother passed. Now they are back in their rank, having done nothing to earn it aside from watching every cat they loved pass, watching things only grow worse for SedgeClan.

Halibutsong will be one of the five adoptables available in our Sedgeclan opening on July 11th.

Meet Oakstream!

Oakstream has a twin sibling, Pinepool to LichenClan warriors Fenstalk and Tawnybite. They were named Pinekit and Oakkit by their parents because they could always be found side by side. The two of them were inseparable through their childhood and apprentice training, even receiving their warrior names together in tandem. Five moons ago, LichenClan was struck with an impossible situation as the river– their primary source of water– slowly dried up. It didn’t take long for tragedy to strike, with many cats weakening as a result of the lack of access to drinking water, as well as the shortage of prey that slowly followed. Oakstream’s sister, Pinepool, was one of the cats hit worst by dehydration. With his sister suffering so much and the situation seemingly not getting any better, things were looking poorly. Snakestar requested water access from SedgeClan until the drought resolved, and Sleetstar agreed– under the condition they send one of their warriors to SedgeClan to act as a healer, as the clan has been without one since Kelpwhisker’s demotion. Because all LichenClan cats are trained in healing alongside their warrior duties, they were the only cats able to provide SedgeClan with this service. 

Oakstream volunteered himself, knowing that if a decision wasn’t made soon, it was possible his sister wouldn’t be able to be saved. Ever since then, Oakstream has been functioning as SedgeClan’s healer, giving up his life as a warrior and a LichenClan to save Pinepool. He’s a bit of a fish out of water now, especially in such a different culture and with his difference in appearance, but he knows it’s all worth it to know he’ll see Pinepool’s face at the gatherings.

Oakstream will be one of the five adoptables available in our Sedgeclan opening on July 11th.

Meet Shrimptooth!

Ever since Emberflight’s death 32 moons ago, tensions between JuniperClan and SedgeClan have been high, especially so when Storkstar was named leader– much to Sleetstar’s dismay. It’s for this reason that it was so shocking when a SedgeClan warrior named Shellsong announced she was pregnant 22 moons ago, and the kits would carry JuniperClan parentage on their donor’s side. Many cats were understandably upset to hear that one of their clanmates would have strayed so far from SedgeClan’s values, especially with a JuniperClan cat. Sleetstar, of course, being one of those cats. Shellsong was demoted to the Challenger rank and forced to give her kits up once they were born two moons later. They were to be nursed by a Warrior instead– the only privilege she was given was the ability to name her children– Crabkit and Shrimpkit.

Shellsong was shunned by her community and barred from revealing the nature of Crabkit and Shrimpkit’s parentage. She was only allowed to speak to them so long as she kept their true nature from them, so as to allow them to grow up believing themselves full-blooded SedgeClan cats. This, of course, only worked for so long. Shimpkit and Crabkit’s foster siblings were quick to tell the duo the circumstances of their birth and mock them for their JuniperClan heritage. While this behavior was quickly corrected, the two siblings were never able to unsee the way some of their clanmates looked at them, no matter how much they embodied the culture they were born into. Heartbroken by the way her clanmates shunned her and from being unable to be with her children, Shellsong hatched a plan to leave SedgeClan in the middle of the night, taking her kits with her as soon as they were big enough to travel. When Crabkit and Shrimpkit were 4 moons old, she attempted to take them both from the nursery and run off into unclaimed territory. Crabkit, resentful of SedgeClan’s treatment, was eager to leave. Shrimpkit, however, refused to leave their home. Shellsong reluctantly left with only Crabkit in tow, leaving Shrimpkit on their own in SedgeClan.

Ever since then, they have been driven to prove themselves the warrior they knew themselves to be capable of, even if they still receive distant, judgmental glances from some of their peers. 

Shrimptooth will be one of the five adoptables available in our Sedgeclan opening on July 11th.

Lionhunt and her (ex?) Shrewstrike!! Hangin out, beatin the heat together like pals do. Just friends, gal pals:)

Hello everybody!

This is a reminder for those interested in applying to SedgeClan that our adoptables will be closing at 12:00am on July 18th, PST!

Make sure to get those applications in before then if you're interested in any of our adopts this time around! Accepted adoptable applicants get to join the server a week early, and all adopts have some fun extra plot points in our upcoming arc!

Applications for SedgeClan are now open!

SedgeClan took immediate notice when the southern river trickled into nothing but dry riverbed, and the ocean replaced the brackish mix where it had once emptied out into their territory. Along their borders, LichenClan cats appeared to wither with their forest, and JuniperClan’s ranks started showing holes where supposedly unwavering warriors once stood. To the relief of the entire clan, calamity avoided SedgeClan and swept through their eastern neighbors instead.

SedgeClan’s territory sheltered them, held safe – though growing saltier – drinking water, delivered plenty of prey into the paws of their warriors, and gave them enough excess to be able to spare herbs and water to LichenClan. In return for the life-saving water, the mountain-dwelling clan was asked a simple favor: a healer.

Just in time too. While the drought did not affect SedgeClan directly, the nature of the territories is a constant tug of war. A mysterious illness plagues their ranks, and with the sole healer of the clan unfamiliar with the breadth of their territory's specific herbs, it has sprawled out of control. The leader and many of her warriors are unable to travel or hunt, so while the fish still swim, there's simply not enough paws to go around.

As if that were their only problem. The other clans grow desperate, and predators have begun to brave the rushing waters that protect their territory. How long can SedgeClan choose peace, before violence is chosen for them?

Prospective members will be able to apply as either one of our five adoptables or with a warrior of their own design. Adoptable applications will close at midnight on July 18th, original character applications will close at midnight on July 25th.

Access information about our adoptables here.

Access information about SedgeClan here.

Access information about Paths Crossed here.

Wanting to apply later in the future? Join our discord waiting room here!

View our application form here.

TORONTONIANS

me and @bughuntermusic are making history by playing the first ever musical event in your beautiful city, breaking the centuries long ban on cool guys

this behavior is nothing new. the global south and everything in it - the people, the culture, our heritage - is seen as nothing more than a decoration or commodity to colonizers. i don't even need to bring up the koh i noor or the entire british museum; these examples are recent and egregious enough on their own.