#halfmoonclan

TWs

- child abuse (sexual, physical, emotional) *

- self harm and suicide

- mental illness

- murder, including murder of children

- domestic violence and sa*

- queerphobia, ableism, and other bigotry

*the act itself of csa / sa will NEVER be shown. i will portray the aftereffects and trauma of it, but you will not be seeing or reading about the act.

i will not take criticism through anon. if you want to tell me i'm disgusting for processing my trauma, say it with your chest. otherwise you'll be laughed at.

solsticepaw hadn't really explored the forest at all. she was still reeling from being alone for what? three moons now? wow.

she'd found a nice hollowed out tree to hide in, a nest of moss and feathers becoming her new home. but she was awoken from her peaceful nap, by the cries of another cat. blearily, solsticepaw wiped her eyes and poked her head out of her tree den. a faint, pitiful mewing could be heard.

oh, stars.

she hurried towards the sound, then stopped in her tracks. a tiny kit was laid on its side on the ground, making weak cries. its side was deeply cut, blood coating it. solsticepaw tried to remember her time she'd spent trying to convince the medicine cat to take her on as an apprentice (to no avail). she knew a few things. she started to hurry away to find cobwebs.

"NNNOOOOO! NO! NO!" the kit wailed, making a much louder sound than she had before. solsticepaw turned around.

"YOU STAY!" the kit pleaded, tears in her eyes.

"i- i need to find- i'll be back, okay?" solsticepaw didn't know how to deal with this. but she did intend to come back- she wasn't heartless. she looked nearby for cobwebs, trying to shut out the kit pleading for her to return. once she'd amassed a decent glob of sticky webs in her paws, she came back.

"stay..." the kit's begging had quieted, as if she was giving up.

"i'm staying. i'm sorry." she approached carefully, and started to press the cobwebs against the wound. the bleeding wasn't so bad, some of it had closed up from time.

"ow! ow! nooo!" the little scrap whined.

"i'm trying to help- hey, what's your name?" solsticepaw asked, hoping to distract her as she worked.

"...'m hazel." the kit sniffled.

"i'm solsticepaw. do you... have anyone who's looking for you?" she asked carefully. something told her not to pry, perhaps her own experience.

solsticepaw stiffened. she understood.

"do you want to come with me? i have a hollow tree. it's really cozy." she offered.

"and you won't leave?" hazel asked.

"of course not. c'mon, let's go." she gently picked the kit up by her scruff, and brought her to the hollowed tree. solsticepaw plopped her down in a comfy area, then curled up next to her.

"why are you named solsticepaw? that's weird." the kit said bluntly.

"i'm from a clan. have you ever heard of a clan?" solsticepaw asked.

"a... clan? no. what's that?" hazel made her eyes really big.

solsticepaw paused. how could she make clan life sound less scary and awful than what she'd lived through?

"well, different cats do different things, but everyone helps out. and everyone has a special name that changes when they get older." she started.

"why aren't you with your clan? i wanna be in a clan! take me there!" hazel complained.

"uhm. my clan was mean. but... if you want, we could make a new clan that's nice." solsticepaw offered reluctantly. anything to help the poor thing feel better.

"ooh! ooh! how does that work?" hazel asked.

"well, you'd be called hazelkit for now. when you turn six moons old, you'd be called hazelpaw like me. then when you turn twelve moons, you'd get an even cooler name. and... i think the clan could be called... halfmoonclan. 'cause there was a half moon last night. is that okay with you?" solsticepaw leaned down to ask, getting on hazel's level.

"yes! we can be a clan, and you'll never leave, and i'll never have to be alone again!" hazelkit cheered.