#hickoryskip

my first time animating EVER!!!! this is hickoryskip :3 this took me like 12-15 hours LOL.

i made this to apply for the ravenpaw noid map which i did get a part for! (im 31) im so excited hehe.

animation and compositing: toonsquid

background art: procreate

sound and misc editing: imovie

the full video is linked below on my yt

Was gonna make a Darktail and Hickory story and....forgot that I already did

WHICH MEAN I CAN ENJOY IT OVER AGAIN!

Anyways here it is:

Cats raced toward the camp entrance. Sedgeshell hissed at them, pushing them back. “Give her space, for Starclan’s sake!”

“How did you find her?” Bluefeather, Gorsedaisy’s brother, asked. His tail twitched with nerves and impatience. He was looking over Sedgeshell’s head, waiting for his sister.

“She found us!” Lightpaw chirped from his mentor’s side. 

“Where has she been?” Stormfleck inquired. 

Cuckoostar pushed through the crowd and stopped in front of Sedgeshell. “Is she okay?”

“We don’t know,” Sedgeshell admitted. “We saw her heading for the camp, but I’m not sure if she knew where she was. She looked dazed, and she was bleeding. Aspentalon, Oatflight, and Drizzlespots are bringing her now.”

“Back up more, then!” Hickoryskip snapped. “She’ll need a clear path right to our den. And don’t go asking her questions until I’ve checked her over!”

Marblegaze held her breath. She returned to the nursery, curling around her kits whilst never taking her eyes off of the entrance. After Redjay’s betrayal and murders and the flood that had swept through all the territories, the Clan needed a miracle. Thank you, Starclan, for guiding Gorsedaisy back to us. 

The leaves began to rustle. Her head shot up, watching intently. Oatflight padded out. Her ears were twitching and she seemed alarmed. Brokenpaw followed her. Behind them was Gorsedaisy and the rest of the patrol. 

Marblegaze couldn’t hold back the gasp that had escaped her. Gorsedaisy’s fur stuck out in wet clumps in every direction. Her lighter spots were stained darker, almost unnoticeable against her black pelt. Marblegaze was too far to tell if it was muck or blood, and she was shocked to see singed fur on the end of her tail, surrounding red skin. How had she been burned during a flood? Sorrowfully, she took in the scars that marred the medicine cat’s face as she was led to her den. In spite of Hickoryskip’s warning, she desperately wanted to embrace Gorsedaisy, to listen to what on earth happened to her and make all the pain go away. 

It was not at all how Marblegaze had been expecting Gorsedaisy’s return to be like. She would be joking, ask the Clan if they really thought that Starclan would allow such a great medicine cat to die. She would be glad to be back to the Clan, of course, perhaps share prey with them as celebration for her return, maybe put aside her duties for the rest of the day and play a kit-like game with the younger warriors. She was not supposed to be…. 

She had looked so wrong. A wet, red-tinge that reflected what Marblegaze could only call horror glazed over her darkened, empty eyes. What had happened to her? Stars, what had happened to her?

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Official Hickory ref!

he was Myrtle’s mentor and victim and Gorsedaisy’s apprentice. I want to explore their relationship more..

also gonna be adding ‘Sprouting Thorns’ to character sheets from that era

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Gorsedaisy -- Hickoryskip -- Myrtlewing -- Cedarfern --Redscar -- Mossheart -- Molepelt -- Sloefur -- Redthistle -- Sagewhisker

Redscar was the medicine cat when Flowerstar (and possibly Snowstar?) was leader, so he wouldn’t have been right after Myrtlewing. 

Also because there was no medicine cat in Shadowclan after Myrtle left (Hickory was either way too elderly or died), they likely had to get someone from another Clan to help. 

Probably not exactly continuous, but gives an idea

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Molepelt is the mecicine cat during Cloudstar’s Journey, AKA when Skyclan leaves the forest.

Sloefur appears in Mapleshade’s Vengeance, which takes place after Skyclan leaves

Redthistle was medicine cat during Goosefeather’s Curse

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Putting them together:

Under Hailstar’s and Cuckoostar’s reigns, Gorsedaisy was medicine cat

Under Stormstar’s reign (and possibly Cuckoostar’s), Hickoryskip was medicine cat

Under Alderstar’s and Stormstar’s reign, Myrtlewing was medicine cat

Briefly under Alderstar’s reign, Fernpaw was a medicine cat apprentice

Under Rainstar’s reign, the medicine cat was Cedarfern (formerly Cedarsky)

Under an unknown leader’s reign, Mossheart was medicine cat. The deputy at the time was Silvermask. It is unknown if he became leader, but for the sake of consistency, let’s say no. Other leaders at the time were

Under Dawnstar’s reign, Molepelt was medicine cat

Under an unknown leader’s reign, Sloefur was medicine cat. Other leaders at the time were Oakstar of Thunderclan and Darkstar of Riverclan

Under Houndstar’s reign, Redthistle was medicine cat

ooh ooh ooh!

I think that it was most likely a warning (very cryptic and vague) about basically keeping him away from Myrtle, because if he wasn’t nearly as close to him, and further if he didn’t feel so isolated from the rest of the Clan, he wouldn’t have become a killer and may have actually been quite the noble warrior/leader

BUT Gorsedaisy didn’t care. After all her trauma with the barn, being haunted, and Redjay, all she sees is a cat destined for evil. She knows that StarClan believes there’s a chance for him, but she doesn’t.

I mentioned it before, but she secretly told Shimmerstone to stay away from him because Sweettree’s sickness was contagious (it wasn’t), leading to Alderkit catching greencough. That REALLY lowered everyone’s view of her. They didn’t think she did anything deliberately, they just thought she was too out of it because of whatever she experienced during the flood or perhaps because of her age or an unnamed mental problem.

Eventually her apprentice, Hickorskip, went to the leader suggesting he make Gorsedaisy retire

But then he died too, and she was traumatized and grieving and empty again.

And she couldn't do a thing about it.

Because no one believed her about Myrtlewing.

And he got to walk around the camp with no consequences or suspicion at all.