#storkpaw

Pondstar has had a rough go at it the past 6 moons; though having taken Storkpaw as his apprentice two moons ago, their training has been delayed twice -- first from an eagle which had grabbed the tom, taking one of his lives, and second from Storkpaw getting heat stroke. He doesn't seem to be the best with kits or apprentices.

Fernrose invited an abandoned kittypet into the clan, feeling sympathy for the situation he had been put in. Pondstar wasn't the happiest, but wasn't going to argue against a needed set of paws. He's settling in well into his role as deputy in spite of his young age, and the clan remains supportive of Pondstar's choice.

Bitterrumble took Bushpaw as an apprentice after the molly expressed interest in myths and stories from a young age, endeavoring to meet and converse with StarClan cats long gone. Though he was a bit unsure about taking an apprentice so young, he also missed having living company in the healer's den.

Bushpaw was almost held back a moon for sneaking out of camp as a kit, but it was decided against. Sometimes she feels uncertain if she's worthy of being a dedicated clan healer as her main interest was with prophecies and myths than medicine, but she does her best to meet Bitterrumble's standards.

Adam was a shipyard cat for most of his life, but after falling ill, the humans of the docks took him to the woods. Adam feels indebted to Fernrose and Springmallow, who found him and brought him to their camp. Shortly after being abandoned, he was taken again by different humans; after a 3 moon journey, Adam returned to CypressClan, feeling firm in his heart that it's his home.

Springmallow was with Fernrose when he found Adam on the thunderpath, and also with Bitterndrift when she found Cliffstripe after the wolf attack. His life has been pretty low-key so far, and he's started developing a crush on Bitterndrift.

Bitterndrift meanwhile, has had one hell of a half-year. The moon after Cliffstripe's brief stay, she was given Stumpypaw as an apprentice; unfortunately that very same moon, she got one of her legs caught in a human's trap which has prevented her from getting to do much training with him. On top of that, a moon ago she realized she was carrying kits! Very excited to see where this goes

Stumpypaw is honestly a little upset he hasn't been able to train with his assigned mentor, and even moreso after he was bit by a rogue while on a patrol with Springmallow. This moon made up for it slightly by giving him the opportunity to team up with Fernrose in driving a fox away from a small goat carcass.

Storkpaw is going through it internally. She KNOWS how big of an honor it is to be given the LEADER as her mentor, but she can't help but feel uncertainty in becoming a warrior. She worries that she'll let Pondstar down, and feels a heavy amount of weight on her shoulders.

Faithdance and Stemfish are enjoying their retirement; between all of the commotion with their clanmates and the twos inclination for prophecies and omens, they have much to chat about around camp. I love them both dearly.

Storkpaw slips on rocks and dies.

For those that don't know, I have an OC named Naomi that I developed a while back. The basic gist of her character is that she was once an eleven year old human girl, but following the idea of the film A Whisker Away, she traded her human form away to be a cat. She thought that this would result in a better, easier life than the traumas and struggles of being in repeated foster care.

All in all, it was a lot harder being a cat than she expected. Living on the streets, she was barely surviving. No home, no resources, no friends — until Bluestar (as written by @blxestar) took her in.

The world was quiet, save for the waves hissing on the shore. It felt right, somehow, that everything had gone still during the night's vigil, mourning Storkpaw alongside the Clan.

“...It's almost dawn.” Willetwish was the one to break the silence. Her voice was hoarse and dry, and she swallowed down shame. She had no right to sound so affected- Storkpaw was not her son, and she had to be strong for Algaespring. “We'll take him out to the edge of the territory and let the waves take him to their depths-”

“What is wrong with you?!” Algaespring spat, her fur bristling and her golden eyes brimming with fury. Willetwish snapped her jaws shut, startled. “Do you want my son's soul to be stuck? Did you hate him so much and hide it for so long? You would deny my son his rest?”

“Algae-” Willetwish tried, but the she-cat only snarled, her claws digging into the sand.

“Storkpaw will be buried in the earth, where his life will be able to flow into the plants and thrive. I will not allow him to languish on the sea floor, Willetwish.”

Willetwish lowered her head, her heart hammering. “If he's buried in the earth,” she said quietly, and Algaespring paused to hear. “If he's buried in the earth, he will suffer his last moments over and over again for eternity.”

“...What?” Algaespring took a step back, blinking as her rage gave way to confusion. “No. If he's buried in the sea his spirit will be stuck, unable to move on.”

“In ShoalClan-”

“I am not ShoalClan!”

The silence felt far less fitting this time.

“I'm not ShoalClan, Willet. I don't have the same beliefs as you. Leaving Storkpaw in the sea… It's cruel and demeaning. I need him to rest- I need his soul to return to the earth. I need… I need to do this my way. The TangleClan way. I don't care how wrong you think it is. He's my son.”

Willetwish bowed her head even deeper, guilt sharp as a thorn in her throat. Algaespring needed this, and Storkpaw was her child… but to allow Storkpaw's soul to exist in fear and pain forever was inconceivable to her.