#lightclan!magicpaw

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"Magicpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?" Lightrunner spoke out from atop the rock, pride gleaming in her eyes.

"I do."

"Then, may Starclan shine upon you like a warm ray of light. From this day forward, you will be known as Magicburst. LightClan will forever honor your loyalty and determination."

As the clan cheered Magicburst's new name, with Birchpaw being among the loudest, Mousepaw felt her belly wrench with distaste. She'd never gotten along with Magicburst, not even when they were kits, and she was... weirdly jealous of his new status as a warrior.

Even now, as their clanmates moved to congratulate the new warrior, Birchpaw would not shut up about him.

"Can you believe that? Magicpaw's a-- I mean Magicburst is a warrior now! I mean, he deserves it, he beat that twoleg up real good! I wish I could've seen it!"

"I wish you could've faced the twoleg instead," Antpaw rolled his eyes with a laugh. "No offense, Birchpaw, but you've been talking about this for days. You sound like a moonstruck kit."

"I--" Birchpaw's fur fluffed up on the defense. "I can respect a warrior of my clan, can't I?"

"Yeah, but it's painful to listen to all the time!" Antpaw laughed, putting on his always-funny-and-accurate Birchpaw impression. 'Magicpaw this, Magicpaw that! Magicpaw's so cool! I wish he'd sweep me up off my paws and carry me off into the sunset~!'" If Birchpaw was embarrassed before, she was mortified now.

"I- I do not talk like that! S-Shut up, he's gonna hear you!"

"You do kinda talk like that, though," Mousepaw finally chimed in, giving her sister a sympathetic smile, though her brow furrowed. "But... Magicburst's... kind of a jerk, you know? He still hisses at me, like, all the time."

"Mousepaw's right!" Antpaw huffed. "We're siblings! We've all gotta be on the same team! So are you with us, or against us?"

"Th-That's not fair!" Birchpaw huffed, tail lashing. "Of course I'm on your side, I just... well, I wanna make other friends too, y'know?"

Mousepaw stayed quiet, averting her eyes.

"Well, then, how about this!" Antpaw puffed up a little, his tone making Mousepaw a bit nervous. When Antpaw got himself all riled up, Birchpaw was usually quick to follow... and it usually landed them all in trouble. "I've got a plan. One that'll show Lightrunner that we're all ready to be warriors."

"We haven't been apprentices for that long, though..?" Mousepaw pointed out softly.

"Doesn't matter! If warriorship is about achievements, then... well, let's give her some!"

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Magicpaw receives his warrior name, Magicburst.

The remaining apprentices are whispering about some sort of plan.

Honeypurr attempts to share some motherhood tips with Pepperfrost. Pepperfrost does not seem very interested.

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As Magicpaw wandered the territory, he found himself muttering grouchily to himself. He'd gotten used to sleeping alone in the apprentices' den, but now that Honeypurr's brood had reached six moons and had their apprentice ceremony, they were taking up all of his space! Not only were there too many of them, but they were all so loud, and they kept roughhousing and rolling on top of him while he was trying to sleep!

He wasn't sure how much more of it he could take. If only Lightrunner would make him a warrior already... Magicpaw didn't want to get in trouble for starting fights again, and of course, everyone would take the younger apprentices' sides if he tried to teach them a lesson.

As he approached the border, Magicpaw froze to a halt at the stench of a twoleg nearby. Was there another intruder? ...No, this twoleg was on the other side of the thunderpath. He crouched behind the cover of the bushes, trying to figure out what the lumbering creature was up to.

Then, upon further inspection, he gasped. He had a kit in his paws! Magicpaw couldn't tell whether or not the kit was in danger, but either way... he didn't want to risk it! The warrior code says to always protect kits, right? Well, Magicpaw was a warrior in spirit, and he was not about to let this slide.

"Put that kit down! Leave it alone!" He yowled, rushing across the thunderpath and charging at the threat. In seconds, his claws raked through the weird outer skin of the twoleg, and it let out a loud shout of surprise and fear. Shocked, the twoleg dropped the kit, and it landed with a soft 'fwump' into the powdery snow.

"Yeah! That's right!" Magicpaw hissed, biting at the twoleg's ankles. "Get out of here! This is LightClan territory!"

The strange twoleg bellowed in terror, and Magicpaw gave him a few more rakes of his claws before the twoleg ran away, its nonexistent tail between its legs.

Magicpaw spat at the pavement, fur fluffed up with anger and pride. He'd driven out a twoleg all on his own! The clan would be so proud of him; surely he'd earned his warrior name now!

"Awawawa--"

Oh, right-- the kit. Magicpaw watched for a moment as she flailed in the snow, struggling to get up out of it so that she could stand. With a huff of second-hand embarrassment, Magicpaw scooped her up by the neck scruff, then carried her safely to the other side of the thunderpath before setting her down.

"Ptoo!" The kit spat out a bit of snow from her mouth. "That was cold!"

"It was snow," He informed curtly, tipping his head. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm Mips!" She squeaked in response, shaking herself off.

"Uh... that's a weird name. Are you a kittyp-" He paused. If she were a kittypet, she wouldn't know what that meant. "-a house cat?"

"Yeah!" The kit was already prancing about on her little paws. "I was at my house with my sisters and brother an' then these big-people came an' poked us around with their big fleshy paws! An' then this BIIIIG guy scooped me up and took me right outside! Golly, it's so cold out here! Part of it he stuck me right in his pocket! But then YOU came along! Wowie! You kicked his big dumb butt! Are you a super-hero-cat?"

Magicpaw hardly understood a word the kit was saying, but at least she seemed alright. But, Stars, if he thought Antpaw was loud...

"Uh, no, I'm not a 'super-hero-cat'," He informed, puffing out his chest. "I'm a warrior-cat! Gonna be, anyway. I'm Magicpaw."

"Oh! Oh! Cause your paws is magic?"

"Uh- something like that?"

"Can you take me home Mister Magic-Paws? I'm hungry!"

Uh. Magicpaw glanced around awkwardly, trying to figure out where this kit had even come from. Apart from the farms, there weren't a whole lot of twoleg dens around. Her home must be pretty far away...

"...Tell you what. I'll take you back to my clan, and you can eat something there. The grown-ups can figure out what to do with you there, okay?" Without waiting for the little kit to respond, he started to lead the way back to camp, clearing a path through the snow for her with his tail.

"You mean you're not a grown-up?" She gasped, running along at his heels. "You're like the biggest kitten I've ever seen! Am I gonna be big like you soon?"

"If you eat plenty of fresh-kill, you might?"

"Haha! I like your funny words, Magic-Paws!"

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Magicpaw chases a twoleg off of LightClan territory, freeing a young kit from its grasp.

The kit introduces herself as Mips.

Magicpaw brings the kit back to the clan for her safety.

Lightrunner is surprised by the story as Magicpaw tells it.

Birchpaw is thoroughly impressed after overhearing about Magicpaw's bravery.

Lightrunner decides to change Mips's name to Bearkit in honor of her stubby tail, and she allows her to join the clan.

Magicpaw believes this incident has gotten him closer to his warrior ceremony.

Birchpaw is eager to squeeze every detail of the encounter with the twoleg from Magicpaw. He tells the story proudly, and the two grow a little closer.

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"Race ya there?" Birchpaw suggested with a grin, eager to head off to their destination. "Three-two-one GO!"

"Wha-!" Antpaw watched as his sister darted across the thunderpath, not even waiting for him to be ready first. "Hey! No fair! You got a head start!" He called out, taking off after her in seconds.

He was faintly aware of Mousepaw calling out to them to wait for her, and- even farther away- Lightrunner warning them to be careful on the path. It was fine, he figured; monsters rarely came by this direction, anyway. It was why Honeypurr had suggested their little outing in the first place.

His heavy breaths formed thick puffs of mist in the air as he raced after Birchpaw, willing all of his strength into his legs and his lungs. As his sister disappeared around a bush, he thought the race had surely ended, and he had already lost. But he would still give it all he had!

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Antpaw, Birchpaw, and Mousepaw are taken on an evening trip to nearby hunting grounds to practice their hunting skills. They are chaperoned by Lightrunner and Honeypurr.

Mousepaw catches a snake.

Antpaw spots a strange rock structure in the distance, but he doesn't get an opportunity to investigate.

Birchpaw catches the most prey out of the entire patrol. What a rush!

Antpaw is bummed out that he didn't win the prey-catching contest.

Pepperfrost tries to distract herself from her grief by hunting. She's especially productive, despite having kits to take care of.

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"Beware.... Beware..."

Lilacdream's feeble whimpers deeply troubled Lightrunner, who had noticed the young healer acting strangely once again. There was no cough this time, suggesting that there may still be hope yet, but the paranoid murmurs that Lilacdream uttered left no room for relief.

"Either she's the unluckiest cat in the forest and she caught The Sickness again from a different source," Stormflower determined matter-of-factly, "Or this is some terrible relapse. Odd... I've never seen this happen before."

"Well, what do we do? Do we have any more of those beetles left?"

The spotted cat furrowed her brow in thought, staring off into space for a moment before focusing once more on the sick cat.

"We have more beetles in case of emergency, but... I worry the beetle method might not be as potent as I thought." She swiped a paw over her muzzle to clean it. "The beetles may bring a cat back from the brink of death, yes, but for the best results... we must have actual herbs."

"B-But-- it's leaf-bare!" Lightrunner squeaked in a panic. "All of the plants are dormant!"

"Yes, but... I may know of a distant place where the herbs grow year-round." Stormflower closed her eyes in thought. "According to the cats I spoke with on my travels, there's a greenhouse about a half-day's trek from here. If we hurry, and if they have the herbs we need... we may have time to treat her before her Sickness gets worse."

"W-Well, what are we waiting for, then?!" At even the inkling that they might be able to save Lilacdream, Lightrunner jumped to her feet. "I'll gather a patrol. We must leave as soon as we can!"

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Lilacdream has been plagued by The Sickness once again.

Lightrunner selects Honeypurr and Magicpaw to send with Stormflower to the far greenhouse.

After Stormflower chooses some traveling herbs to keep her companions' energies up, the cats depart on their expedition.

The cats meet a young, golden-furred kittypet named Maggie along the way. She confirms that there is a greenhouse in the area and gives the group directions before heading home.

Eventually, the patrol locates the greenhouse that had been described to them.

The patrol discovers a new location: Far Greenhouse

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"Psst! Ly! You awake?"

Lilacdream woke to a harsh, excited whisper in her ear. She lifted her head and squinted, able to blearily recognize the rough shape and color of her sister.

"...I am now. What's the matter?"

"I gotta tell you something!" Pepperfrost purred, dropping the snake she'd brought along, probably as an offering to make up for waking her so rudely. "I wanted you to be the first one to find out!"

"I'm... listening..." Lilacdream lied, closing her eyes groggily.

"I mean it!" Her littermate huffed impatiently. "It's really important. I need you to come here."

"Fine..."

Lilacdream dragged herself out of her nest and trudged over, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes.

"Here, give me your paw!"

Without feeling the need to ask questions, Lilacdream offered her paw to her sister. Without missing a beat, Pepperfrost moved the extended paw over to the side of her belly, pressing Lilacdream's paw against it.

"Your... belly is damp, were you laying in a snowy nest?"

"Shh! Quiet. Wait for it."

Lilacdream reluctantly fell quiet, wondering what Pepperfrost was getting at... until she felt a subtle movement coming from inside of Pepperfrost's belly. Instinctively waking up, she yanked her paw away with a gasp.

"Pepper, you're..?!" '

"Yeah!" Pepperfrost was beaming with an excited glow. "I wasn't sure at first, but... I'm expecting kits!"

"Pepper..." Lilacdream faltered for a brief moment. She was, of course, overcome with joy; she was going to be an aunt. But, at the same time, she... worried. Especially considering their current circumstances.

A stir in the nest next to her own startled Lilacdream into neglecting the rest of her sentence, though Pepperfrost of course was not fazed. Stormflower had been sleeping in the healer's den as well when the tortoiseshell entered, and now...

"...You two are loud..." The older she-cat mumbled.

"Oops! I'm sorry, Stormflower." Pepperfrost laughed awkwardly. "I was just so excited about--"

"I heard you the first time. You don't need to repeat yourself." Ouch, shot down. "Celebrate all you like, but be careful. Kits born in leaf-bare are harder to care for. I can only pray nothing bad happens to them."

"Pssh..! Don't be such a downer." Pepperfrost laughed off the healer's advice, quickly hyping herself up once more. "C'mon, Ly. Let's go eat in the clearing! Wouldn't wanna keep Ms. Grumpy from her beauty sleep."

"Alright, alright..."

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Pepperfrost reveals to Lilacdream that she is expecting kits.

Now that Pepperfrost will be moving into the nursery, Magicpaw's training falls on the rest of the clan.

Lightrunner teaches Magicpaw how to fish.

The clan has an overabundance of frogs, toads, and minnows, leaving no cat hungry.

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As dawn rose over the thoroughly-snowed territory, Magicpaw was beginning to worry. After their training the previous night, Pepperfrost had asked him to head back first... something about wanting to "enjoy the night air" a bit longer. Magicpaw had been waiting for her, hoping to show her the prey he caught on the trip home, but...

...Pepperfrost hadn't come back. Magicpaw waited, and waited, and waited, and now it was sunrise. Only now could Magicpaw catch his mentor's scent approaching, and he quickly hopped up from his resting place and ran to greet her.

"There you are!" He half-hissed, sniffing her over to make sure she was okay. "Y-You took a long time to come back, so I thought..."

"Hey, take it easy, buddy!" Pepperfrost sidestepped him briefly, grinning. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stay out so late, really! It was just so peaceful out there, I--"

"Ew!" He exclaimed suddenly, recoiling at a new scent he hadn't picked up on until closer inspection. "You reek of kibble! Were you at-"

"Sh-sh-sh-sh--" As his mentor shushed him, Magicpaw reluctantly bit his tongue and shuffled back. He hoped she had a good explanation for this.

"It was just a little bite," She whispered, glancing around as though she hoped no one would hear. "I was hungry, and the prey was all asleep, and..!"

"Going into the farmhouse is one thing, but... eating kittypet food, that's..."

"Against the rules, I know," She huffed. "Jeez, you really need to calm down. It's no big deal. Everyone tries it at least once. You've eaten it before, too!"

Magicpaw's ears grew warm at the mention of his kittypet origins, but he scoffed to try and save face. "I was a kit then! You're a grown-up!"

"Exactly, which is why I get to do what I need to, and you get to follow orders."

"But I-"

"No buts!" Pepperfrost interrupted, leaving Magicpaw fuming. "You're just an apprentice. I get why you're mad, and I won't expect you to understand, but please... just trust me on this one, okay?"

Magicpaw's belly twisted in frustration. The longer he remained a dumb apprentice, the more he began to realize how irresponsible grown-ups could be.

Instead of humoring the argument any longer than he needed to, Magicpaw turned and stormed off. Honeypurr had been reminding him to keep on top of his temper lately, but his mentor was making it far too difficult.

"You're my favorite apprentice!" Pepperfrost shouted after him.

"I'm your ONLY apprentice!" He shouted back.

Sigh.

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Pepperfrost goes missing overnight, and when she returns, she smells of kittypet food. Thankfully, only Magicpaw notices.

Lilacdream notices a twoleg on the edge of the territory and runs to camp for backup. Lightrunner then chases the twoleg away.

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It was Lilacdream who first felt the flicker of ice on her pelt, having been in the middle of a grooming session when she noticed the drifting snow above. She looked up at it, purring softly. While she had certainly seen snow, there was a new magic about it. Now, there were more cats to enjoy the serene atmosphere with.

The kits were the second, third, and fourth cats to notice, respectively. Lilacdream watched from afar as Antkit, Birchkit, and Mousekit began excitedly pouncing at snowflakes, giggling amongst themselves and roughhousing.

Honeypurr's litter was so rambunctious, even, that they almost crashed right into Stormflower as she passed. The spotted healer didn't seem to notice nor care, ignoring the altercation like she had already gotten used to this sort of thing. How many leaf-bare seasons had Stormflower seen, Lilacdream wondered? She and Pepperfrost were still rather young, so she knew that Stormflower had been around a lot longer than them. Perhaps the healer had just been around so many kits frolicking in the past that she'd expected this? She'd even wandered off into her nest to take a nap...

As the snow began to stick to the forest floor, the kits only grew more eager to play and run around. It was good that they were so excited, pouncing and dancing amongst each other like this. They would be apprentices soon, according to Lightrunner. Soon, their prancing and playing would be gradually replaced with patrols and hunting. Lilacdream hoped they would enjoy these final days of freedom while they still had the chance They were kits, after all.

...Just watching made Lilacdream resist the urge to stick out her tongue and catch a few snowflakes...

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The first snow has fallen. The clan is celebrating by prancing about in the fresh blanket of white.

Pepperfrost teaches Magicpaw some snowy battle techniques.

Honeypurr and Lightrunner chat about the weather in passing.

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As punishment for his needless aggression, Magicpaw had been put on guard duty for the healer's den. His orders? Keep the kits away from The Sickness. But really, he was just glad he could keep an eye on that weird spotted she-cat, to make sure she didn't try any funny business.

Still, Magicpaw was... admittedly, a bit remorseful of his initial aggression... now that she was working hard to help Lilacdream, that is. He tried to pretend like he was disinterested, but not only was the stranger squishing together all kinds of weird substances for her own ailment, but she was crushing... a beetle? Where did she even get that?

"...What are you doing with the beetle?" He asked reluctantly, avoiding looking at her now.

"I'm crushing it up."

"Why?"

"Because it will help heal the sickness," She explained simply, continuing with her work as they conversed. Oddly, the she-cat didn't seem fazed by his presence, even though he had been the one to injure her in the first place.

"How come? It's just a beetle."

"Well..." She sighed, proceeding to delicately feed the insect to the weakened, writhing form of Lilacdream. "This bug, and a few others, have special properties that bring a cat back from the brink of death. If you use them wisely, and in the right situations, they can save lives."

Woah... Magicpaw tried his best to pretend to be disinterested once more, snapping his trailing gaze back to the clearing outside the den in an attempt to mask his awe.

"That sounds dumb."

"No. Unrealistic, maybe, but not dumb."

Once Lilacdream had been coaxed into ingesting the remains of the beetle, the healer's body tensed. Then it shuddered, and then... a long sigh. Magicpaw, out of the corner of his eye, watched his clanmate's rest go from distressed to peaceful in mere moments.

"How did you do that?!" He exclaimed suddenly, jumping to his paws. So much for playing it cool. "It's like she's all better!"

"She will be, but she needs her rest first. Please lower your voice so she can do so."

"Oh! Sorry."

Now that Stormflower was finished with Lilacdream, she took the paste of herbs and honey she'd prepared and slathered it on her own wound. "This will heal fine now, too, thanks to your clan's supplies."

"...Sorry about that."

"No need. You were defending your border. Who am I to hold a grudge?"

"...A miracle worker?"

At this, the strange cat let out a quiet laugh, low and raspy, like it was the first time she'd laughed in a long while.

"Maybe, young one. Maybe."

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Thanks to important beetles and Stormflower's expertise, Lilacdream will make a full recovery.

Lilacdream must recuperate before she can continue her duties.

Stormflower treats her wound. She will make a full recovery.