#hatchswipe

Spirits are high in the Clan as it coasts into greenleaf.  For the first time since Bumble (117) has been in the Clan, the Healer’s den is empty! The head healer celebrates the occasion by coming out as a trans she-cat!  Go Bumble!   Bumble has noticed that Blizzardpaw (10) is feeling lonely and spends some time hanging out with him in the healer’s den.  She hopes that he knows that he’s valued.  Bumble wonders if Aries (106) feels the same way she does and spends some time eavesdropping on her.  The only thing she overhears is Aries complaining to Hopcurl (58) about how she wishes her clanmates would just solve their own problems.  Hatchswipe (85) spends some time with her old friend Kestrelcreek (129), catching up on the news.  Embershell (58) and Hopcurl are also doing some bonding time.  The littermates spend some time sparring and exchanging stories about their kithood.  They miss their parents and Echoarch, but they are so glad to have each other.  Some cats aren’t so lucky.  Like Ryepaw (10), who wonders if he’ll ever see Gravelkit again in StarClan.  Do dark-cursed cats even go to StarClan?  Hopcurl comforts him and reassures him that yes, dark-cursed cats do.  Her grandmother and great-great grandfather were dark-cursed and are both in StarClan. !  Most of the time, Sofanthiel (129) tries not to dwell on her kittypet past.  But, every now and then, she wonders what happened to the twolegs who abandoned her.  She doesn’t wish them ill.  Them doing that led to her joining the Clan, which is one of the best things that ever happened to her.

Despite their differing opinions of Dapplemuzzle (36), Hatchswipe *84) and Embershell (57) are still sisters.  They spend some time together and Hatchswipe appreciates how nice Embershell is to her.  Blizzardpaw (9) is proving to be a bit angsty.  He’s always sitting in a corner of camp, glaring at the world.  Longpelt (53) finds the way he acts increasingly uncomfortable.  Blizzardpaw is just feeling a little left behind in the healer’s den and worries that he hasn’t been performing up to Bumble’s (116) standards lately.  Despite the early promise he showed, it seems like Bumble is ignoring him in favor of Tansypaw (9).  No matter how many herbs he grows, Blizzardpaw just can’t seem to do enough. It looks like Bumble and Aries (105) might have a little romance going on.  Aries admires Bumble from afar and Bumble realizes that he and Aries have more in common than he used to think.  Bumble seems to be making new relationships and reforging others this moon, because he and Aphidwhisker (36) are actually getting along better!  He still hasn’t forgotten his suspicions over her role in Boulderflood’s death, but he finds that she is tolerable to be around.  Being a healer apprentice doesn’t mean that Tansypaw escapes the unpleasant apprentice tasks and she ends up picking burrs out of Kestrelcreek’s (128) fur.  She supposes it is nice to hear the elder’s stories, though.  Sometimes, Dapplemuzzle feels a little lost as deputy.  But when she’s feeling that way she makes sure to focus on doing her best to honor her Clan and leader.   She also continuously proves how skilled of a warrior she really is.  While on a hunting patrol, Dapplemuzzle and Ryepaw (9) use a cloak of shadows to hunt nocturnal prey, bringing home a huge amount for the Clan.

Hatchswipe (83) continues to support Dapplemuzzle (35).  When the deputy needs a break to go rest her aching joint, Hatchswipe covers for her.  She also comforts her, reminding her that Skipneedle (Dapplemuzzle’s aunt) also had a weak leg and was a fantastic deputy.  Embershell (56) does not share Hatchswipe’s opinion of Dapplemuzzle.  She thinks that Dapplemuzzle is doing a terrible job as deputy.  Meanwhile, Aries (104) is annoyed with Sofanthiel’s (127) kit and bickers about something trivial with Ryepaw (8).  In the healers’ den, Tansypaw (8) is still figuring out how to do ‘bedside manners’.  She complains about how annoying Longpelt (52) is to have as a patient.  Where Longpelt can hear.  Bumble (115) scolds her gently (although he secretly agrees that Longpelt can be annoyingly stubborn).  Bumble also wonders how Aspenpaw is doing, as he has two of his siblings as apprentices.  Aspenpaw (8) is enjoying a bit of downtime and is batting at a beam of sunlight with Ryepaw.  Sofanthiel is also interested in how Aspenpaw is doing and wants to go on patrol with him.  Flailvalley (30) doesn’t notice.  He’s too busy thinking that Ryepaw will be chosen to go to the gathering instead of Aspenpaw, because he’s been struggling as a mentor.  Seemingly forgetting that Ryepaw can’t go to the gathering anyways, because he’s an unproven dark-cursed cat.  Despite putting on a happy front, Ryepaw has been dealing with a lot lately.  He’s missing Gravelkit and he’s worried about what the other Clans will think of him.  He’s been having nightmares because of it.  Dapplemuzzle reassures him, saying that it doesn’t matter what other Clans think of him; ElementClan likes him.

Hatchswipe (76) and Kestrelcreek (120) are still close.  Kestrelcreek appreciates how Hatchswipe makes sure to spend time with her in the Elder’s den.  Hatchswipe, and others in the Clan, are excited to have kits again.  New life is good, especially after their recent losses.  Aspenkit (1) reminds her a bit of herself when she was young, and she thinks that Ryekit (1) is so sweet.  He always wants to tell her about the worlds he dreams up in his head.  Blizzardkit (1) has been hanging around the healer’s den a lot has has picked up on Bumble’s (108) dislike of Aphidwhisker (28).  So he’s surprised when Aphidwhisker says something he can actually agree with.  Aspenkit and Tansykit (1)  have teamed up to annoy older cats.  Aspenkit has a great time splashing them with water while Tansykit plots.  Apparently, it was too much to hope for Ryekit’s dark-curse to remain undiscovered.  He tells Hatchswipe a story about how he killed a fly the other day and gives her a demonstration of some fire magic.  It’s just a spark, but it’s enough that other cats see and his secret is out.  Bluestripe (106) is sympathetic about Sofanthiel’s choice. She almost wishes that she could have hidden her powers when she was a kit.  It would have saved her a lot of pain.  Gravelkit (1) has picked up on the fact that there’s something going on with Ryekit and is practicing her menacing growl so she can protect her brother if need be.  Additionally, one of the things Aspenkit has been annoying cats with is talking about a weird dream about darkness and death and one darkness consuming the other darkness and it really doesn't make any sense.  Peatfeather (43) appreciates how Ryekit is always one of the first to volunteer for a difficult task.  Seeing as she thinks he’s powerless, she hopes that she’ll get him as an apprentice.  Sofanthiel (120) is still dealing with her rough kitting and is grateful for the help that Dapplemuzzle (28) has been offering her.  She thinks that Peatfeather is rude, though.  On the other paw, Embershell (49) likes Peatfeather.  She’s always trying to get her to go on adventures with her.   However, Embershell’s adventurous nature proves fatal.  While on patrol together, Peatfeather sacrifices herself so that Embershell can get to safety. 

In exciting news for the Clan, both Sofanthiel (117) and Aries (94) have announced that they’re expecting kits!  Maybe Sofanthiel and Kestrelcreek (117) did a little more than flirt. . .Kestrelcreek never thought she would find love again after her mates died, and she is a little confused over how she’s feeling about Sofanthiel.  She asks Dawnstar (112) for advice.  Because he’s totally the expert on romance.  With Kestrelcreek coming to him for advice, Dawnstar feels more positive than ever that his Clan loves him.  He’s doing a great job as leader.  Hatchswipe (73) is also looking out for Kestrelcreek and teases her friend after she misses a catch.  She’s starting to feel more back to normal and tells Dapplemuzzle (25) a hilarious joke.  Sofanthiel makes sure to spend some time with Croucheye (39).  The two find that they really enjoy each other’s company.  Kestrelcreek watches, and is glad to see her daughter happy.  With Aries having kits, some cats are gossiping about if their other parent will be a kittypet. It’s a little annoying to Aries.  She’s done nothing but be a loyal clanmate and mediator to them.

Healer’s den: Longpelt (beak bite), Aries (pregnant), Sofanthiel (pregnant), Hatchswipe (grief stricken)

With ElementClan having a new leader for the first time in most cats’ living memory, the other Clans are testing them.  ChaffinchClan has been crossing the border lately, and Aries (76) visits them to try and resolve the disputes.  She doesn’t make any progress.  Burdockbeam (26) catches Hollowpaw (11) talking with a loner but, when she confronts him about it, he talks back to her and claims that she shouldn’t judge because she’s half loner herself.  Bluestripe (85) is happy to be around her kits.  She’s glad that the Clan seems to be more accepting of dark-cursed cats than it was when she was young.  It continues to move in the right direction.  Despite being mean to his mentor, Hollowpaw puts on a thoughtful facade when dealing with Hatchswipe (55) and makes sure to grab her something from the fresh-kill pile.  Burdockbeam feels like he’s probably just planning another prank.  It’s what she would do.  Aries also may be encouraging Hollowpaw, or maybe the mediator just wants to reconnect with someone from her past, because she offers to sneak along the border with him. Pebbletuft (43) also helps Minnowkit (2) sneak out of camp, meaning that she was much more successful with it than her siblings were last moon.  Aphidpaw (7) decides that she can’t let Hollowpaw have all the fun and comes up with a plan to sneak out of camp with Cherviljumble (115).  It doesn’t work, mostly because Bumble (87) catches them and makes Cherviljumble go back to her nest to continue to heal from her broken leg.  Scorchkit (2) watches the older apprentices with excitement.  She can’t wait to get to leave camp and wishes that her clanmates would stop babying her already.  Despite him being a little stand-offish lately.  Flailkit (2) and Minnowkit really like Petalfrost (22).  They check in on him and hide behind him in their games of hide and seek.

Instead of processing her grief, Creekstar (134) has decided to spend time with the middle-ranked warriors.  She makes sure to share prey with her son and tells a joke to Greenrapid (36) that makes her laugh.  Bluestripe (55) is still not a fan of Creekstar.  She thinks the leader is very stuck up and rude. In the wake of tragedy, Hatchswipe (25) and Kestrelcreek (69) have become the best of friends.  Kestrelcreek really appreciates how helpful Hatchswipe is around camp.  She always seems to be busy doing something!   Almondback (51) decides to take Kestrelcreek on a nice date and surprises her with a pretty wind show.  She’s a little perplexed, but appreciates the gesture.  Whorlstorm (25) is not doing as well in the Clan as her sister is.  She doesn’t get along with Sweet Marmalade (65), her adoptive father, and thinks that Cavecatcher (38) never does anything.  Whorlstorm does like Nettlestripe (49), though, and goes on a nice long walk with him.  The newcomer to the Clan, Sofanthiel (69), is surprised to hear about all the hardships that Whorlstorm has been through recently.  She’s a little worried to learn that Clan life isn’t as easy as she thought it was.  She also wants to get to know Nettlestripe better.  The Clan also welcomes another new member.  Nettlestripe and Cavecatcher find an injured former loner by the thunderpath and bring him back to the Clan.  His name is Alderflight (36) and he’s powerless.

Healer’s den: Alderflight (head damage), Creekstar (grief stricken), Dawnfreckle (grief stricken), Whorlstorm (stomacheache)

Lakepelt (87) is trying to convince Creekstar (133) to take better care of herself.  Creekstar is not in a mood to listen and is instead annoyed by what she interprets as Lakepelt’s ‘negative comments’.  Lakepelt can’t help but feel like the hard times are not yet over for ElementClan.  She just feels an overwhelming sense of dread.  Kestrelcreek’s (68) friendship with Hatchswipe (24) continues to deepen, and she is proud of how the younger cat is handling herself.  Dawnfreckle (62) is also quite close to Hatchswipe and feels safe with her around, even though she’s powerless and he’s dark-cursed.  She’s just a very reassuring presence.  He also likes spending time with Cavecatcher (37).  The younger cat has been feeling a little down with all the loss in the Clan recently, and Dawnfreckle knows just what to say to make him feel better.  A good joke heals any ailment (or so he says).   As the most senior warrior, Kestrelcreek is trying to set a good example for the young cats (not that there are any cats under two years old. . .)  In some much needed good news, the Clan has gained a new member!  The powerless former kittypet Sofanthiel (68) joins and is excited to start a new life.

Healer’s den: Creekstar (grief stricken), Dawnfreckle (grief stricken), Whorlstorm (running nose)