#algaeclan

SO i just had an idea and my few newfound follower count has got to tell me if this is good. so get this. (big warning for expand btw, like sorry)

there's a warrior clan in a cave setting ok. they are tigers. they have bioluminescent green pools inside and it's really cool like there's green glowy stuff everywhere. mostly algae but also glowworms and some other fungi.

basically the clan lives in a cave network and the main camp doesn't have any ponds for kit safety. HOWEVER all the clan's territory is confined to the cave network and all the hunting ground is littered with the bioluminescent pools. this is because in the caves, there's less land prey, so the clan has adapted to hunt fish and other animals in the pools (pending more research on animals that would reside there). this also fits because tigers are known to swim for hunting and also just for fun.

there are other clans--thinking a rainforest clan, a plains clan, and like... a treetop clan where their camp is in the actual trees [skyclan wishes they were them] and main clan only shares a border with rainforest and treetops. i think it would be set in thailand somewhere, broadleaf forests or rainforest

name ideas for all the diff clans welcome including the main one, here's what i have so far

algaeclan: would have to be changed once the bio came

glowclan: same as above

caveclan: bit basic? i like the alliteration tho

brightclan: ironic name until bio lol

darkclan: makes sense until bio

now that the logistics are over, time for story!

The bioluminescence in the pools is NEW. like the story prologue is when it begins and the first chapter is like a year or so in. before, they were just normal ass cave pools. obviously everyone's like wtf

cause this clan is not that new. it's at least gone through like 3 leads and a few founders lived in the caves before official clans were formed. so this has never been seen before in at least like 15 years.

so! everyone avoids the pools for a while and tries to hunt miscellaneous mice and spiders (temporary spiders georg clan) but it's not enough to feed the whole clan, it's just scraps. so the clan has to concede and start hunting from the pools.

the most proficient hunters, who dive the most, started feeling strange things. one day, about a half-moon after the clan started hunting pools again, Hawkwasp, one of the best hunters in the clan, didn't come back up from a dive.

The clan was really worried. the best hunters in the clan can hold their breath for 100 seconds at most, so dives are usually quite short. However, Hawkwasp was already down in the water for 10 minutes. no tiger can hold their breath that long, no matter how good a hunter they are.

after an hour had passed, another reputable hunter of the clan (Shineprance) dove to find Hawk despite her clanmates' protests. After around 30 seconds, Shine found Hawk--fully conscious and still hunting the pool. obviously she was relieved, but also confused. what could possibly allow Hawk to spend that much time underwater?

Through pawspeak (which everyone is taught from apprenticeship to both accommodate deaf clanmates and to speak underwater) Shine asked Hawk where he'd been. Hawk asked what she meant. after explaining that she'd been looking for her, Hawk questioned.. "how long have i been underwater?"

After bringing Hawk back to the surface, he confirms that she thought she'd only been down for a minute or so. after it was explained, he was greatly shocked and vowed to never dive again. she has only hunted spiders for the clan ever since.

Over the coming moons, more and more of the clan's best hunters stayed underwater much, much longer than usual. the longest run was around 5 hours. it is quickly realized that something about the bioluminescent algae and plants gave tigers the ability to breathe underwater. The tigers affected, only 5 warriors including Hawk, began to form subtle green gills around the neck/shoulder area. their paws, claws and muzzle areas started to taint green. Some reported pain in the upper stomach.

Despite these concerning effects, the leader and deputy went over the head of both the clan's nurses and encouraged the continuation of using the newfound power. the clan had fallen on tough times before, and they wren't going to prevent hunting from the pools again if it meant they went back to that.

slowly, growths start forming on the tigers affected. algae and moss for one, mushrooms for others, and glowworms for one. Hawkwasp is the only one with spiders. all the affected tigers' eyes turn slightly more green with each passing day.

Before the bioluminescence, the clan relied on small skylights for light from the sun and moon, but now that it's here the skylights have gradually started closing up. no one knows if the entrances, or more importantly exits to the caves will be next.

the affected have started acting.. strange. not like themselves. They've started disappearing into the pools for far longer than when it first started. it began with hours, but they're turning into days. the affected have no sense of time down there. the leader and deputy have instructed no one to go after them--they wouldn't want to obstruct their hunting.

The nurses of the clan attempt to recommend that each tiger dives with at least one other tiger, but the deputy and leader have overrided that and anyone except apprentices may dive alone.

Hawkwasp has not dove since the first incident. However, he still experiences the same symptoms as the other affecteds. It seems that as long as they still dive, every affected tiger will continue to undergo the symptoms. Hawkwasp has grown increasingly aloof, only communicating with clanmates when necessary. Most of the time, she can be found wandering the caves, skirting pools carefully and chasing the spiders that are not already scattered across her pelt.

No one knows what the affected tigers do down there, in the pools. some tigers think they're just hunting. some think they're encountering creatures of the deep. some think they're exploring their new home.