#flintfur

Cats: Flintfur, Mystery Guest

He was in water. He had no idea how or why he had ended up here, but he was here, and he wasn't drowning. He was floating, drifting, and he looked around, able to breathe, able to swim. The water was just as Amberpaw had described it, actually, he thought, clear and blue with a white sand floor and just... The ocean.

Flintfur had dove in the ocean a few times, but not long or far, and as he clawed through the water, he paused, watching in shock as whales swam by above him, pale in color, huge, but they had no interest in him. Something tugged in him, like something was holding his tail but deeper, rooted in him, and Flintfur turned in the water, looking, trying to find that tug.

He swam, legs pumping, and then... He saw it. His body. No longer covered in protection, floating limply beneath the waves, and it was oddly washed out, despite the gray fur. He remembered what Amberpaw had said, that he had found his body, that he had touched it and been brought back.

And even as Flintfur thought that, he could see a little black on his body, threading through the fur, drifting upward, some vicious matter he had never seen through, seeping through the fur and drifting upward in the waves. It leaked from the closed eyes and even as he floated there, a few tail-lengths from his body and the possibility of coming back, he stopped.

He wanted to be with Goldstar and their kits. He didn't want to leave them, not yet. He didn't want Yellowpaw to carry those memories with her for the rest of her life. He could go back. He was tempted.

Here’s all the cats who gathered together to make Rumbleclan possible, including their StarClan guide who orchestrated everything!

Starting off with the level-headed and logical leader, Boulderstar! While he wasn't always the leader prior to the journey to reform Rumbleclan, he was chosen by Mistwhisper due to his rational thinking, his careful problem-solving, and his calm demeanor.

He holds a great amount of responsibility and accountability for all of his clanmates, sometimes going hard on himself when things don't go the way he intended. He does his best, though, and looks after his clan's best interests.

Bramblebeard is Boulderstar's chosen deputy! Likely due to being the oldest of the group, Boulderstar imagines that Bramblebeard has the most life experience out of everyone in the group... Even if Bramblebeard's ideas aren't the brightest.

He's very bold and determined to make the right decisions for himself as well as his clan, even if some of those ideas clash with Boulderstar's ideals. He may be reckless, but his heart's in the right place.

Mistwhisper was the first cat to ever receive visions of a brighter future from Rumblestar, the original founder. If it weren't for their combined efforts, RumbleClan wouldn't be in the state it is today. She's hardworking, cautious, and alert of her surroundings, though she can be shy and non-confrontational. Even then, she's more than happy to look after her clanmates and heal them.

If anyone in the clan can agree on anything, it'd be that Rabbitshine is the most outgoing and friendly cat in the clan! She's always willing to help out and very compassionate towards others. She is easy to anger if you aren't her friend, but that's what makes her fiercely protective and loyal to those she loves!

Swanstrike is a skillful hunter and climber. As elegant as she is, she can come across as curt, aloof, and arrogant, but nothing will get between her and her will to provide for her clan, food or otherwise.

Flintfur is always on the lookout, no matter how safe and comfortable the environment around him is. He's anxious, superstitious, and probably hasn't slept in a good while. Regardless, he's one of the kindest and most gentle cats once you get to know him.

Birdflight is as simple as they come; friendly, hardworking, and generally supportive. She's also very creative and clever, trying to catch prey and fend off adversaries in as many new, innovative ways as she possibly can.

Cats: Amberpaw, Flintfur, Jackdawnudge

TW/CW: Mild body horror

His skin itched. Covered in protection, Amberpaw would be safe from a rainfall, but that didn't stop how uncomfortable he was, how his fur was stiff and clumped and sticky, too.

Normally, he didn't care about the protective mixture, but today, everything seemed wrong.

He couldn't apply the purple-tinted stuff himself, not entirely, and his body still tingled from the unwelcomed contact with Skypelt, who always insisted on touching him, on cuddling and licking, when he didn't like it. She was kind, she had always been kind to him, he loved her... But she just didn't understand that the touch of someone else made him want to vomit.

"Keep your tail down, Amberpaw." Flintfur's voice said sternly, making Amberpaw realize he was swishing it around.

He stilled it and crept through the forest, searching for prey, but finally, Flintfur stopped him.

"Come here." he said and Amberpaw obeyed, paws dragging.

Was he in trouble?

"It's alright to be upset, you know. To not be okay. That was a terrible thing that happened. You are allowed to sit out your training for a few days, you know." Flintfur said, sympathy shining in his bright blue eyes.

Amberpaw scraped a paw against the ground.

He was talking about Civetbeak, of course. Civetbeak, who yesterday had taken Amberpaw out training, and come face-to-face with a band of rogues. Civetbeak, who had had to be rushed back to camp, leg mangled, losing so much blood from it and his other wounds.

All Amberpaw had been able to do was hide in the tree his mentor had shoved him up, and then run to camp, hoping Civetbeak didn't bleed to death, and cursing himself for not even being able to bring himself to pack the wounds with moss or find cobwebs before he had run off. Because the thought of touching Civetbeak, even to save him, had been too much.

How could he be a warrior if he couldn't even bring himself to help his injured mentor?

"I should've helped him." he mumbled.

"You did help him."

"I didn't try to stop the bleeding."

"That's not your job, Amberpaw." Flintfur said gently.

"I-" Amberpaw began.

"You got help for Civetbeak when he needed it. You don't know how to pack wounds, and you certainly couldn't have carried him, even if you're a big 'paw. You did everything right. Your parents would be proud of you. Skypelt is proud of you. So is Goldstar, and me, too. The whole clan is." Flintfur said, voice firm.

Amberpaw just stared at the ground.

"Amberpaw, do you want to go back to camp? I'll mentor you until Civetbeak is better, but I'm not going to force you to train or due your duties right now if you don't really want to." Flintfur said, his voice warm and gentle.

"I want to. I don't want to be in camp right now." Amberpaw said and Flintfur nodded.

"All right, then we'll work on your hunting." he said, and there were things Flintfur could teach him that Civetbeak couldn't.

Civetbeak was hard of hearing, after all, and while Amberpaw did his best, someone teaching him how to listen for signs was needed, especially when he might not know what the prey sounded like.

They set out again and the lesson with Flintfur was relaxing, took Amberpaw's mind off things, and it was exciting to learn the things Civetbeak couldn't teach him.

Amberpaw was an okay hunter, but he was determined to be better. And Skypelt was always pushing him. Train hard, learn quick, be the best, because she knew he would be. And Amberpaw wanted to be good for his clan, but he didn't want to be the best. He didn't want to be better than everyone else.

The other appentices didn't seem to think that was true, however, though it wasn't exactly like they had talked about it.

At least Pumapaw, Almondpaw, Laurelpaw, and Furledpaw would be doing their assessments soon, meaning he only had to share the den with Tulippaw and Fogpaw. The older apprentices didn't like him at all and Tulippaw didn't like him much either, but Fogpaw didn't bother him and he didn't bother Fogpaw. But at least the different treatment from his clanmates had been slowly ebbing since he had become an apprentice.

Hopefully, by the time he was a warrior, no one would treat him differently. Though he doubted Skypelt would stop or believe that he wasn't special somehow. That he wasn't destined to be the best, that he was just destined to be a warrior of Hyacinthclan.

Flintfur was much kinder than Skypelt and even different the Civetbeak, but of course Civetbeak was going to be hard on him, because he was his mentor. Flintfur wasn't pushing him like Skypelt would, gently correcting Amberpaw's mistakes, giving him tips.

They caught a few mice and voles and buried them to collect on the way back, going down to the beach to see if there was anything else worth collecting for the clan.

No fish in the shallows or pools, as far Amberpaw could see, but he did discover a large seashell one the way back to the treeline, where Flintfur was looking for birds. It was white and a creamy brown, the inside pink, and he poked it with his paw, wondering if something would come out. It did not, but he was fascinated by the spiraled and spiked object, watching it wobble on the sand.

Feeling like a little kit, he played with it, and gave into the urge to blow into the end of it, as he had with a hollow reed Skypelt had brought him to play with once. To his shock, it let out a loud noise after a few blows, and he leapt back.

"Amberpaw? Amberpaw, what was that noise?" Flintfur exclaimed, racing down from the treeline.

"I, umm..." Amberpaw said, looking at the shell.

"I blew into the shell."

"Did you? Do it again." Flintfur said, head tipped curiously.

Embarrassed, Amberpaw obeyed, and the sound was a little louder this time, vibrating through the air.

Flintfur was looking at the shell intently, his eyes shining in that way they did when he was coming up with an idea.

"What is it, Flintfur?" Amberpaw asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but... We might be able to use this conch. You've given me a brilliant idea, Amberpaw." Flintfur said, but he didn't share it yet.

Instead, he awkwardly picked up the shell in his mouth and signaled to Amberpaw that they should head back to camp. Amberpaw collected the two mice and a vole, and though he wasn't sure how he would carry it, when a rabbit suddenly burst across their path, he dropped the prey and lunged after it.

It was pure luck that he caught it, if he was being honest with himself, and he looked back proudly at Flintfur, heart beating fast.

"Amberpaw, back away from that!" Flintfur exclaimed, dropping the shell, and Amberpaw sprang back.

"Why?" he asked, Flintfur edging forward.

He tipped the rabbit's head with his paw and Amberpaw's fur stood on end, seeing that some black substance was leaking from its eyes.

"Is that... Is that bad?" he asked, pawing at his mouth, worry flooding through him.

His paws were clean and it was only the eyes of the rabbit, but he had bit it, the taste of its blood in his mouth.

"I don't know. We need to get back to camp, now. Leave the rabbit." Flintfur said, then added when he looked at Amberpaw, "You'll be all right. I just want to be safe than sorry. And if there is anything wrong, the medicine cats will fix you right up. Jackdawnudge isn't going to let you go to Starclan for a long, long time."

Amberpaw nodded and traded the shell for the prey with Flintfur, struggling with it even though it wasn't that big, terror pounding his heart now.

When they got back to camp, he was forced into the medicine cat den, and Flintfur took Goldstar and Plumsong to go see the rabbit.

"Do you think the rabbit was sick?" Amberpaw asked Jackdawnudge as the old tom sorted through his herbs.

"I honestly can't answer that, kit. But what I do know is that a lot of strange things have been happening for moons now, and it's probably just that. That whale from last moon? Yellowlily told me it had black coming from its eyes, too. Just didn't think much of it because it came from the sea, and sea creatures are all kinds of strange." Jackdawnudge answered, sorting out the herbs.

He gave a mixture to Amberpaw as a 'precaution' and Amberpaw at all of it, even if it tasted bad, and then sat in the next he had been given, waiting.

"Why did Flintfur want the shell?" he asked after some long silence.

"Oh? That conch? What happened that made that featherbrain bring it?" Jackdawnudge asked, casting a look at the shell.

"I was playing with it. I blew in it, and it made noise." Amberpaw answered sheepishly.

"Then that's why he wanted it. We've been trying to find a way to alert the camp or patrols to rainfalls. Sending a runner or yowling our heads off doesn't work if cats are too far. I saw Twolegs once, blowing into them and making noise. Couldn't hear their squabblin', I was so far away, but I heard that shell." Jackdawnudge answered, going back to his herbs.

That was... Interesting.

Amberpaw studied the shell intently and, eventually, he fell asleep.

In the morning, he was fine. And they had all eaten meat from that whale, after all. But the rabbit had buried, and the warriors were bringing conchs from the beaches, though there weren't many. Amberpaw watched as his clanmates attempted to thread vines around them, trying to mimic how Twolegs did it with things, apparently.

Flintfur praised Amberpaw for finding a way to alert the clan, but Amberpaw only nodded. He was still thinking of the strange rabbit, and everything else, too.

And, to no one's surprise, that rabbit was only the first of the strange prey that would soon be everywhere, appearing in their territory, dripping with the black substance. It wouldn't be the only thing strange about them, either.

8/18/2025- 8/21/2025