#genemod

(cw: descriptions of panic attacks, shock)

Thistlegaze misses his dawn patrol, too comfortable curled up with Cypresstooth and Tumbleweedkit for the dawn's light to wake him. Glorypounce doesn't mind; she takes his spot with a smile. Though when she returns, she teasingly claims that it's her turn to snuggle a kitten, and playfully "kitnaps" Tumbleweedkit back to his nest, who giggles all the while as Glorypounce gently prevents him from leaving.

"Noooo, but I'm so tired," Glorypounce whines, not bothering to hide her grin. "I need a nap."

This winter is mild, wetter and warmer than usual, and many birds that might have migrated decided it wasn't worth the effort. Hunting patrols don't have to go far to find huge flocks of starlings in the dense scrub brush, and though they're sometimes annoying to catch, a cat's fur tangling in the thorns, no cat is complaining about such a bounty.

Eggplantskip and Glorypounce lean on each other as they return to camp, a blank look in both of their eyes. Spittlebugspeck notices their dazed expressions immediately, and shouts for some cat to get Snowstar. Glorypounce is hyperventilating, and Spittlebugspeck pushes her to the ground and starts counting breaths with her, slowly working to pull her out of her panic. Eggplantskip is somewhat more coherent, shaking but standing, though she quickly falls into Patchbat's embrace when her sister runs over and buries her face in Patchbat's shoulder.

Snowstar demands to know what is going on, and Spittlebugspeck snaps at her that she'll have to wait a few moments to find out, as her warriors are in deep shock. It's Thistlegaze that notices Toadpatch is not with them, even though he'd assigned the three to a border patrol. After a few moments, Eggplantskip manages to pull herself away from Patchbat, just long enough to explain.

"Toadpatch--we were split up. We didn't-- We didn't even hear anything--" Eggplantskip says. It's hard, seeing her so shaken. Even during the aftermath of battles, she'd always been the first one back on the scene, pulling injured cats out, caring for the fallen. "Coyotes. She's gone." No cat pushes her to explain any more.

Later, Zell, trying to distract Dragonflyswan and Tortrixdusk from their sister's death, brings them to the pond for some fishing. But none of their hearts are in it, and they end up doing little but staring into the water in silence. A coyote's yip echoes over the desert; Tortrixdusk flinches into Dragonflyswan's side. Zell presses them both close as they walk home, the tall tomcat's eyes watching the thorn bushes carefully for any sign of movement.

At the Gathering...

Thistlegaze confronts Asterstar over a border dispute, and the two share some heated words and thinly-veiled threats. Ringletsplash tries to approach Pikeshell to talk to her, but Bughowl pulls him away before he can make that bad decision. Patchbat manages to smooth over a miscommunication between some ScrubClan and BoulderClan cats before it can escalate, impressing Sturgeonflare with her eloquence.

In HoundClan...

The old tomcat Duckdrop dies of old age. The former loner was well-loved, and his stories will be sorely missed. Frogriver loves spending time with her younger siblings and hopes to have one of them as an apprentice next moon.

In BoulderClan...

Asterstar comes into the healer's den late one night to find Lemonpatch puzzling with Beetlegorse's runes--the ones he ordered them to destroy, and to forget. The two get into an argument, with Lemonpatch adamant that the symbols mean something important, while Asterstar thinks they're poisoning their mind, just like they had with Beetlegorse.

Asterstar ends up clawing Lemonpatch, losing his temper, and even as they bleed, Lemonpatch laughs cruelly.

"Perhaps it is leadership that poisons the mind," Lemonpatch accuses. Blood stains their white fur, and Asterstar flinches, shocked out of his anger. "If any cat is growing to be like Beetlestar was, it's you."

The nursery is full for only having one queen and kit: Thistlegaze stays by his mate's side, hardly leaving the nursery since his little son, Tumbleweedkit, was born; Thymebush dotes on her daughter and her first grandson, and where Thymebush goes, Splinter follows; Glorypounce finds her way into the nursery most mornings too, bringing Cypresstooth the best prey and nesting materials, or toys she thinks Tumbleweedkit will like once he opens his eyes.

It's a good time for ScrubClan, spirits high as cats celebrate the first kitten born in their camp in many moons, and even Spittlebugspeck is seen smiling more often than not (until he sprains a paw while gathering herbs and quickly returns to his grumpy self; at least it's the dry season and he's not missing much).

Snowstar and Thistlegaze take the youngest warriors out to train, encouraging the four littermates to work on their fighting together. There's nothing quite like a battle pair of littermates who've trained together, patrolled together, played together for all their lives, and Snowstar encourages them to strengthen those bonds. But the real test is for Thistlegaze: Snowstar watches her deputy closely, watches how he works with the young cats, problem solving and diffusing arguments before they can start. It's reassuring, to see him confidently handle such situations. The Clan is in good paws.

Eggplantskip sneaks out of ScrubClan's camp. She's been talking with a loner, who tells her he has a way to procure collars from twolegs. She's been working with him for a few moons, promising to teach him some things if he manages to get her a red accessory that would pop against her light fur, and this moon he comes through. It looks stunning on her, and unlike Splinter, whose choice to wear a collar was contentious, Eggplantskip's new accessory is unilaterally complimented, especially when she explains that she only had to trade a single fighting lesson in exchange.

Patchbat and Eggplantskip have spent most afternoons relaxing together since... forever. Since they were apprentices, at least. There's always been a small hole in their gatherings, where Stoneflyash sat. Patchbat finds herself glancing that direction sometimes, their conversation reaching a lull that was usually filled by their sister. It's a pain that will never entirely go away. There will always be a place for Stoneflyash in the nest.

At the Gathering...

Glorypounce spends a lot of time chatting with both Broomspring and Ptarmiganstar. Both HoundClan cats are subdued, a little more distant than usual, but with a few well-placed words, Glorypounce manages to convince them to trade herbs--and swallow their pride long enough to allow their fledgling healers to take a lesson or two from Spittlebugspeck this spring, once he can more easily travel. Bughowl tries to edge into the conversation, perhaps to offer BoulderClan's help too, but Glorypounce firmly blocks her from making the offer. ScrubClan wants HoundClan in debt to them, not to BoulderClan.

Pikeshell has a good chat with Kuma, while Eggplantskip--who is now well-known to train the younger warriors at the Gatherings--works with Orbweaverfeather to fix his hunting crouch. Frogriver trips over a rock, and Asterstar's chuckle is unmistakable. Kestrelspot hisses at the leader, but has to back off when Poplarrustle comes to Asterstar's defense, putting herself between the two with a challenge in her eyes.

In HoundClan...

The young Marigoldkit sneaks out of the nursery one evening, and isn't noticed missing until the morning. He's found not far from camp, dead and cold. Even in the desert, nights grow cold in the winter. Ratbramble curses himself for not keeping a closer eye on the kits, even as his mates reassure him that he can't blame himself for this.

In BoulderClan...

Dogwoodpaw, eager to replicate her brother's feat and earn her name through combat, throws herself into the jaws of a coyote on patrol. She's too overconfident, too out of position, and her Clanmates can only watch as she's thrown off, dead before the dust settles. Juniperthorn, distressed and coughing, has to be held back by Amazaquitldrop when he hears the news.

"She's gone," Amazaquitldrop murmurs, gently shoving Juniperthorn back. "She's already gone."

Crakefrill feels the world will always be dull. How could StarClan allow Tasselkit to die? Aren't they supposed to protect the young and vulnerable? He feels his faith waning--if StarClan couldn't protect Tasselkit, what power do they have to protect BoulderClan?

(side note but MAN aren't genemod silvers so pretty???)

Looks like they also condensed the profiles a bit, with age moving into the same line as life stage (which is a great change, moving it to be right under gender) and backstory is now right under rank (which also makes a lot of sense).

There should be a few extra patrols, and a lot more relationship event types (iirc polycules and sibling groups got specific events).

Mostly I updated to play around with the early versions of cruel season... hehe

Cypresstooth's pregnancy is not unexpected. The young molly is glowing as she spreads the news. Only Spittlebugspeck reacts negatively, asking Cypresstooth if she really thought this through, making Thistlegaze a father. She bristles at the accusation against her mate--she knew Spittlebugspeck didn't approve of their relationship, but she thought he'd be glad for her.

Sturgonflare's kits take their assessments this moon, and all but Tortrixpaw pass. He blames Snowstar for his failure, claiming she intentionally made his assessment harder than his littermates' in some sort of cruel punishment, and feels betrayed when Pikeshell doesn't agree with him.

"It's my fault," Pikeshell admits. "I know you enjoy a challenge, but we ignored the fundementals and now you're suffering for it. A few weeks of remedial lessons--" Tortrixpaw hisses loudly, his ears flat, and only by sheer willpower does he keep his paws rooted to the ground. Pikeshell expects as much, though, and patiently waits for him to gather his thoughts. He's a smart cat, and she knows he knows this is what he needs. She gives him time to come to the same conclusion, then nods. "We'll do strength training first."

The newly named warriors, Toadpatch, Dragonflyswan, and Huckleberryfeather use their newfound freedom to go on a hunt together. Toadpatch leads the way, leading her littermates to every place they've shared a fond memory during training: the place Dragonflyswan tripped over her paws trying to stalk a mouse for the first time; the pond Huckleberryfeather fell into trying to catch a fish; the burrow Toadpatch thought she was still small enough to squeeze into, where it had taken the warriors an hour to get her unstuck without causing a collapse. It's a good day.

Patchbat has a nice conversation with some BoulderClan cats at the border, where ScrubClan learns they have another litter of newborns. Patchbat doesn't hesitate to share ScrubClan's own good news--the new warriors, Cypresstooth's pregnancy--and the two patrols leave with smiles on their faces.

Thistlegaze, Zell, and Eggplantskip run into an odd-smelling cat wandering ScrubClan's territory. The cat isn't trying to hide, and might have gotten taken by the eagle circling above if Eggplantskip didn't shout a warning. They seem upset that the ScrubClan cats are ruining their adventure, and while they complain about the patrol escorting them off the territory, they don't put up any fight, leaving with a huff of annoyance. They smell strongly of twoleg things, and Eggplantskip tells them they should return to their twolegs before they get themself killed out here.

At the Gathering...

Lynxfeather spends the Gathering asking Thymebush and Splinter questions about Clan history from ScrubClan's perspective, and is enlightened about ScrubClan and HoundClan's historic rivalry and it's more recent collapse. Ptarmiganstar talks quietly and coldly with Snowstar about Spittlebugspeck, but Snowstar defends her healer's reputation and refuses to talk to her about it.

In HoundClan...

Ptarmiganstar loses a life this moon, but she isn't sure to what, and Tickpath isn't healthy enough to diagnose her. She worries her age is starting to catch up to her and becomes reclusive this moon, caught in a dark cloud that seems impossible to lift.

In BoulderClan...

Ringletsplash brings home three kittens to raise with Bughowl, he and bell having found a surrogate queen to carry them. BoulderClan's growth is a great thing, and their cats are calmer than they have been in moons. Unfortunately, however, despite Lemonpatch's attentiveness, Tasselkit cannot survive kittencough. It's a horrible sickness, an unfair one, and Crakefrill doesn't understand why StarClan could allow something so cruel to exist.

Pikeshell takes Glorypounce aside and lets her know that some cats were gossiping about her, saying she must have picked up a bad mouse if she's spending so much time in the dirtplace. Which... isn't true. When Glorypounce presses Pikeshell for more details, she finds it's Dragonflypaw at the root of the rumors.

"Hey, it worked!" Dragonflypaw defends herself. "You told me not to tell anyone you've been canoodling with Spittlebugspeck in the back of the healer's den, so I found a different reason you're not around when cats come to check up on you. Now this is where you say: "oh, thank you, Dragonflypaw, for keeping all my salacious secrets, and being so smart, and beautiful, and--"" Glorypounce silences her with a tail across her face, but she can't help the grin creeping across her face. "Thank you, Dragonflypaw," Glorypounce says, and she means it. "But a bad mouse? Gross." Dragonflypaw sticks out her tongue. "You gotta pick a gross reason, cuz then everyone'll be too embarrassed to ask you about it, and then you don't get caught lyin'."

Snowstar, Eggplantskip, and Huckleberrypaw are out hunting near the HoundClan border when they hear a cat's screeching. Curious, they investigate, and discover Tickpath, the HoundClan healer, barely fending off a pair of dogs. He looks to be alone.

Eggplantskip immediately sends Huckleberrypaw off to ScrubClan's camp for backup. He's not happy to be sent away from the fight, but goes anyways as Snowstar and Eggplantskip run to Tickpath. It's a horrible fight to take: if it wasn't a healer's life on the line, she wouldn't even try to fight this with any less than four of her best warriors at her side. But Tickpath is down with a dislocated shoulder and a bad bite wound, and there's no way she and Eggplantskip will be able to lead the dogs away from him. They'll just have to hold on until backup arrives.

And they do, but not before taking injuries of their own. The bigger dog manages to catch Snowstar by the back of her neck, shaking her violently. Eggplantskip risks her own life to slam the dog's face, freeing Snowstar, but the leader is woozy and bleeding heavily, forcing the pair on the back foot. Luckily, Huckleberrypaw ran into another patrol nearby and Zell, Pikeshell, Tortrixpaw and Fireleaf join the fray, along with Spittlebugspeck, who was collecting herbs nearby.

With overwhelming numbers, the dogs finally give up the fight. Spittlebugspeck instantly moves to Tickpath's side, using what little he has at hand to triage the HoundClan healer before he bleeds out. Beside him, Snowstar collapses in the sand.

"Snowstar is dying," Zell hisses. He's trying his best to keep pressure on Snowstar's wounds, but blood stains his fur. Spittlebugspeck ignores him, focusing on tying a hasty tourniquet onto Tickpath's leg. "Leaders are last to be healed, even my own. Snowstar can come back. He won't."

Sure enough, Snowstar's breathing fades, her flanks going still as she loses a life. With Tickpath stable, Spittlebugspeck moves to her side, cleaning her fur of blood until she suddenly heaves to life once more with a full-body shudder.

Spittlebugspeck orders Zell to help Snowstar back to ScrubClan's camp; she'll be a little weak for a few days as her blood replenishes, but she's fine. He has Eggplantskip help him bring Tickpath to HoundClan's camp, where he informs Ptarmiganstar of what happened. Spittlebugspeck tells Eggplantskip to go home, and moves himself into HoundClan's healer's den, so he can watch over Tickpath personally and make sure he's going to survive the night.

"Snowstar gave a life life saving this idiot, and I'm supposed to let him fall into toxic shock after because no cat here knows how to stop it?" Spittlebugspeck snaps. "I'm staying." Spittlebugspeck wants to stay at least three days, but Broomspring kicks him out after only two. "I really hope you don't treat your own Clanmates this way," Broomspring says coldly. "You're a miserable sack of fur, you know that?"

Pikeshell is marking the border with Fireleaf, Sturgeonflare and Tortrixpaw when they notice twolegs wandering around BoulderClan's territory. As luck would have it, Pikeshell notices a BoulderClan patrol approaching and warns them of the danger. Crakefrill is happy for the heads up and thanks her, trying to get her to maybe come back to BoulderClan, but Pikeshell gently refuses. She'll mention she has an apprentice to train in ScrubClan, but is suspiciously quiet about what will happen in a few short moons once Tortrixpaw is given his name.

At the Gathering...

Huckleberrypaw convinces Toadpaw and Juniperpaw to join him in eavesdropping on the healers. Well, it's not really eavesdropping if they are completely visible lingering nearby. They learn several new words from Spittlebugspeck, who has quite a lot of things to say about Tickpath collecting herbs without an escort, all to do with the tomcat's lack of survival instinct.

Cricketwhisker teaches Tortrixpaw a hunting crouch BoulderClan cats are fond of. Broomspring compliments Eggplantskip on her quick thinking earlier that moon. Thymebush tries to convince Amazaquitldrop to ask Orbweaverfeather out, promising her that they'd make a good match, but she isn't convinced.

In HoundClan...

Frogriver passes her assessments early. The strategic-minded molly had solid plans for anything that could come to pass, and that coupled with her patience and endurance meant she could easily weather any challenge Ptarmiganstar threw her way. Tarantulapaw is happy for her sister, even if she knows it'll be several more moons before she can get her name too.

In BoulderClan...

Tasselkit falls ill with kittencough. Terrified it might spread to the other kits, Lemonpatch takes Tasselkit into their own nest, keeping him warm and spending every spare moment of her time minding him.

Alderkit knows it'll take her more time to learn to balance without a tail to help, and though she's only four moons old, asks Crakefrill to teach her how to climb so she can get a head start. Impressed by her resolve, he helps his daughter learn, and both he and she grow more confident in her ability when she lands nimbly on her paws after falling. Crakefrill reminds her that every warrior falls, but learning how to do it properly shows real mastery, and Alderkit glows under her father's praise.

While on a hunt, Tortrixpaw is too busy stalking a mouse to notice an eagle circling him. Luckily Glorypounce is close enough to save him, though she takes a nasty beak wound to the shoulder in the process.

Huckleberrypaw didn't stay quiet for long. With Eggplantskip's steady coaching (and a well-timed growth spurt), Huckleberrypaw's confidence grows along with his skill. After beating Toadpaw three bouts in a row, Eggplantskip showers him in praise and claims that he might be the first of his littermates to take assessments if he keeps this up.

Cypresstooth and Thistlegaze aren't keeping it quiet: they've been discussing kits. When Thistlegaze assigns some cats extra chores tidying up the nursery, cats don't complain, but agree with knowing glances. Patchbat turns circles around Thistlegaze, cheekily asking if they already have names planned out, while Glorypounce offers to ask Thymebush for advice if Cypresstooth is too embarrassed to. The two are glad they have such good friends.

Snowstar chats with some HoundClan cats at the border, and learns Broomspring initiated a fight with some BoulderClan cats the other day. The deputy has always been a little reckless, but he's not one to start fights from nothing. Concerned, Snowstar thanks Shadowbrush for the information.

At the Gathering...

Patchbat and Cypresstooth heckle Ringletsplash when the tom nearly falls off the deputy's perch after announcements. Tortrixpaw, Toadpaw, and Huckleberrypaw collectively agree that Amazaquitldrop is the prettest cat in all the Clans; she overhears them and nearly flees from embarrassment, but is flattered nonetheless. Dragonflypaw boldly approaches Asterstar to ask if his den is really in an eagle's nest. He chuckles, but doesn't dissuade her of the notion.

In HoundClan...

Broomspring, Ratbramble and Kuma expand their family yet again, as Ratbramble brings home four tiny newborns. Ptarmiganstar worries Broomspring's grudges against BoulderClan run too deep. Luckily no cats were hurt in the small skirmish he started at the border, but it sets a bad tone to be fighting so soon after the Clans made up. Ptarmiganstar isn't expecting to pass on leadership any time soon, but Broomspring's hatred towards Poplarrustle and Asterstar in particular is worrying; she doesn't want her Clan caught in his personal vendetta.

In BoulderClan...

Oriolenip passes of age this moon, the oddly patched molly dying peacefully in her sleep. The hillsides cool, and BoulderClan heaves a sigh of relief as they no longer feel like they're melting in the harsh sunlight.

Dragonflypaw helps Tortrixpaw groom burrs from his fur. She tries to gossip--has he seen the way Glorypounce's eyes have been following Sturgeonflare lately?--but Tortrixpaw is too busy thinking about his training.

"See, Snowstar tends to lead with her right paw, which Pikeshell says is typical for mollies, and that means I should be dodging right--my right--to get to her left side, but it's Snowstar's right hind leg that is weak, so should I be trying to get inside her swing to go right? Even if my left swing is stronger? Or does everything cancel out?" Dragonflypaw rolls her eyes. "How can you still be thinking about this? It's been hours since we finished training!" "How can you not be thinking about it?" Tortrixpaw retorts. "Wait, no. Actually that makes sense. No wonder you always lose spars--"

Sturgeonflare gets her tail mangled by a badger after missing scent in a burrow. Patchbat leaps in to rescue her, distracting the badger so Sturgeonflare can get free, and Cypresstooth lends her shoulder to help the shaken molly back to camp. Sturgonflare has heard a lot about the way Spittlebugspeck runs the healer's den, and he's always been a little distant when giving her herbs, so she's relieved when he treats her gently, despite it being clear that it was her mistake that got her injured.

Cypresstooth is a little annoyed by Thistlegaze, who wakes her up far too early to work.

"I really should get an early start on patrol details. With all the apprentices starting to have a solid grasp of their training, they should be seeded on patrols, get some actual experience," Thistlegaze explains, quickly grooming his fur in place. Cypresstooth groans "It's not even dawn yet," she mumbles, sleep still tugging at her eyes. She tries to grab at his legs to pull him back into their nest, but it doesn't take much for Thistlegaze to sidestep her clumsy paws. "Everything is okay. You can relax too." He dips back in to lick over her ear. "It's alright, I enjoy this. I'm doing it because I want to."

Splinter spends a long time with with Zell this moon. The two toms happen to share a similar schedule, Thistlegaze pairing them together to help close up some old rabbit burrows and mole-trails around camp so no cat twists a paw. It's good work for the two of them: Zell knows exactly how to collapse the tunnels safely, and Splinter has a keen eye for finding them. The two quiet toms enjoy the comfortable silences between them, and even without saying a word, the two settle into a close friendship.

Eventually, Splinter feels comfortable enough to share something he's been meaning to say for a long time now, but hasn't found the words for. During one quiet morning patching mole-tunnels, he knows it's time.

"You were friends with that big orange tom," Splinter says. Zell blinks, surprised by the break in silence, and even more by the topic. "Aeris." Splinter nods. The two work in silence for a few more minutes. "Before the rogues found the shattered stones camp behind BoulderClan, we lived in a gravel quarry south of the RV park." Splinter was usually quiet, but he knows how to weave a story. Zell pauses to listen. "It was miserable there for a whole ton of reasons, but the most terrible was Viper. A small, nasty cat, he lined his nest with fangs of venomous snakes and cats' teeth from his victims. He had a small crew of loyal goons, and let the rest of us starve. "They'll be more motivated to hunt if they're hungry" he used to say. It drove a few off, cats that thought they could make it better on their own, but we were at war with another group of rogues closer to the RV park, cats that were better fed and better trained, and so most of us stayed, too weak or too scared to leave." "The rogue group was all I ever knew. Both my parents were born there--apparently it was better, before Viper. The gravel pit was still awful, sure, but cats kept their prey, we usually had a healer or two, and the boss protected their own from rivals. It wasn't a Clan, but it was better than nothing. Though even back then, cats like me didn't make it long. Sometimes, queens smuggled their runts to the RV cats and hoped someone was willing to take in a charity case. Mostly they left them in the scrub to die." "My mother did neither, even though I was born with only three legs and my brother smaller than a mouse. She kept us both, fought for us both. It was hard, but she managed." Splinter faltered, laughed. "She was stubborn, never could tell her what she could or couldn't do. She turned down the boss when he asked her to be his mate, even though that would have set her up for life." "Slip inherited her stubbornness. Even when Viper took over and I tried to convince him to leave, he wouldn't. He was trying to get cats together, trying to hoard enough prey under Viper's nose to leave them strong enough for a coup, but it was never enough. Then they had the bright idea of raiding a Clan for their prey stockpile. With that, they wouldn't even need to take on Viper and his goons; they could simply wave their prey around and let all the cats flock to his banner." Splinter went quiet, and the two collapsed a few more rabbit burrows, the implications settling along with the dirt and dust. "I saw you and your orange friend wandering the desert from the gravel pit. Then Thymebush told me about the bobcat, about the raid, and I put it together. I thought--I thought you deserved to know why."

At the Gathering...

It's a little odd, how Bughowl pulls Tickpath away from the other healers to talk to him quietly, but most cats don't think anything of it. Tortrixpaw sneaks into a meeting between ScrubClan's and HoundClan's leadership, and overhears Broomspring discussing terms for a possible long-term alliance between the two Clans. Wide-eyed, the young cat flees, and though Dragonflypaw and Toadpaw try to press him on what he heard, he refuses to tell, though he shakes like a leaf trying to contain the secret.

Spittlebugspeck shares a snack and some idle chatter with Oriolenip, happy to share some herb identification tips with her and quiz her when she asks. Patchbat challenges Lynxfeather to a friendly spar, and is awed by his skill when he easily puts her in the dust.

In HoundClan...

Emeralddew grumbles as she's confined to the healer's den again, this time with tick fever. Broomspring, Ratbramble and Kuma spend their evenings relaxing and cooling off in the shade. The three toms have taken to spending their time in puddles to keep cool, which the other HoundClan cats find exceptionally weird. Ratbramble asks Lynxfeather if he needs any help training Tarantulapaw, hearing from Emeralddew that he was looking to recruit some help for battle training, and is taken aback when Lynxfeather aggressively refuses the offer. It's unlike him to be so rude, and Ratbramble is confused, unsure of how he's offended him.

In BoulderClan...

Lemonpatch comes out as nonbinary! They make tons of headway on Beetlegorse's runes this moon, and are close to a breakthrough, they can just taste it. Ringletsplash overworks himself and collapses of heat stroke. Lemonpatch berates their father for being so stupid; he knows to respect the heat and humidity of summer. Dogwoodpaw and Juniperpaw are made apprentices this moon. The younger kits are envious of their cousins and beg to be made apprentices too, and Asterstar jokes that once they can eat a whole quail between the three of them, then maybe he'll consider it.