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A flaming sword of burning righteousness and also fire!
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Post by ♏aple♢ on Oct 18, 2015 23:51:04 GMT
When you get to the end of your rope, Tie a knot and hang on.
The air grew colder day by day. Hour by hour. Second by second. Leaf-Bare was well on its way, and in the mountains, it struck early and hard. They had to be prepared for the first snows any day. Cedarclan had to stock up on food. They had to build their walls higher- reinforce their dens. Gather more moss, gather more ferns, gather more herbs. All on top of regular patrols, ceremonies, kit-rearing and apprentice training. With no apprentices, warriors had to preform the duties that should belong to the youngest of the clan, alongside their own. Though they were large, each and every cat was putting in twice their usual workload.
Yes, Cedarclan was busy.
Their warriors were occupied and tired. Their leader, perhaps the most of all. She worked day and night to make this clan a better place. After her daughter's injury... She had no choice. Starlingfur had to make this camp safe. She had to make it unpenetrable, from both inside and out. She had to make sure that her family would have enough food to survive the cold season, and that her clan would have the same. She had to moniter her deputy's recent unsavory behavior while checking in with her medicine cat's recent reports of illness, all while teaching and playing with a litter of her own. Not to mention the recent business with Marshclan. What would they do of a murder getting off nearly scot-free? What would they do of sick kits and ailing warriors? What would they do when they couldn't even count on their own guards to keep kits inside the camp?
With impending snows that would rise double the size of even the tallest of cats, their best might not be good enough.
But they had to work. She had to work. Starlingfur had to do everything in her power to make sure that her clan would survive the coming Leaf-Bare. That her family would have a clan worth growing up in. No- she would make sure that they would flourish, if possible. She had made this promise when she'd taken on the mantle of leadership, and Starclan if she wouldn't keep it.
Sitting back from her work, Starlingfur sighed. The sun was rising, and the air was cold. The blue gray sky chilled her thin pelt to the bone. Her kits had fallen asleep perhaps an hour ago, tucked safely and warmly in their nest. Thank Starclan that the nursery was the most fortified den in the clan. The apprentice's den on the other hand... Starlingfur looked down on her work with a frown. A mesh of roots, covering a deep and wide hole. It was fine for Green-Leaf, but in Leaf-Bare... The drafts could be deadly. And with Poolkit looking to be made an apprentice so soon, they would have to fortify things like these. Mistlekit and Rosekit would follow not long after. And Starlingfur would not be having the youth of her clan freeze to death.
She'd spent the past hour weaving brambles through the roots. Her paws were stuck and bloody, and her copper eyes drooped heavily. Most warriors of the clan were asleep now. She was doing this alone. But the daytime, it now seemed, was the only time when she was free from other responsibilities. No cats to check up on, no kits to play with (no matter how she loved them. No matter how, if she had her way, she would spend every waking moment with them.) No patrols to set up, no assigned duties to preform. During these hours, she could get work done in peace and quiet. Even if... Aformentioned work... Wasn't going the best, with eyes ringed like an owl's and paws as heavy as stone. But she would work. She would get this done. Or at least.. make a good bit of progress on it. She had to. For Poolkit. For Mistlekit and Rosekit. For Shrikekit, Ternkit, Hawkkit.. And of course, Flickerkit. For the future of their clan, and their continued survival through Leaf-Bare. She would deal with all the bloodied paws and tired eyes that she had to.
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Post by Kibbles on Oct 21, 2015 18:42:19 GMT
Bramblenose walked back into the camp with three mice hanging by their tails. He dropped them in the Freshkill pile and looked at it. He would have to ask Starlingfur if he could be on more hunting patrols, instead of border patrols. they would need all the food they could get. This wasn't going to cut it. Maybe he would speak to Starlingfur about it in the morning. It was late and she was probably asleep.
He turned and was a bit surprised when he spotted her working on the apprentices den. She should be asleep with her kits, not working this late. He'd go take over for her, paws stepping as lightly as ever.
So he walked over, blue eyes alert as he looked to see what she was doing. Weaving brambles into the roots. She must be trying to keep the cold out.
"You should take a break, Starlingfur. You aren't going to have paws at the pace you've been working the past few days."
He sat beside her, grabbing a bramble and weaving it into the roots as well. He didn't have any particular emotion on his face. He was focused, like always. Focused and alert. Patient with his work, carefully and delicately weaving the brambles and roots together so that there weren't any holes in the walls. As he did so, he spoke again.
"You know, there are other ways to keep cats warm in the dens. I used to skin my prey and use the fur as some of my nesting when I was a rogue," he meowed, glancing at the queen for a moment before he began weaving another bramble into the roots.
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A flaming sword of burning righteousness and also fire!
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Post by ♏aple♢ on Oct 24, 2015 3:17:54 GMT
When you get to the end of your rope, Tie a knot and hang on.
At first, she didn't hear.
With eyes hazy as fog and paws busy as skittering mice, Starlingfur was on autopilot. Over under over under. Ignore the pricks. Ignore the sting. Try not to fall asleep. But for a she-cat with such a drowsy disposition on the best of days, this was...
"-have paws at the pace you've been working the past few days."
The tabby she-cat looked up. Brown fur, blue eyes. Starlingfur blinked once- twice- trying to recall the tom's name. There were so many cats in Cedarclan. Starclan, it had taken her seasons to learn every cat in Duskclan's names when she'd first joined the clans. And now... Wait. He sat beside her, blue eyes focused. He was... helping. The shape of his face in profile...- Bramblenose. That was it. The tom who had brought back Rosekit and Mistlekit. Starlingfur nodded.
"... I appreciate your... assistance, Bramblenose." she murmured, turning away from him and back to her work. Back to her paws, which were admittedly stinging. She-.... she had been working hard, hadn't she? Hah. Her younger self would have laughed, seeing her like this now. Working her paws to the flesh, staying up beyond hours. A younger Starlingfur had taken any chance she could get to minimize her workload. Taken any chance she could get to sleep. Any chance she could get not to have to see that morning sun. And now look at her. It was almost funny. No- it would be, if there hadn't been so much preparation to do. The leader shook her head with a sigh. Over under. Over under.
And then, Bramblenose was talking. Starlingfur half listened, mostly focused on the movements of her paws. But after a moment, she stopped. Other ways to keep cats warm...? That piqued her interest. The queen looked at the tom from the corner of her eye, urging him to go onward. And then.. ".... Skinning... Prey?" Starlingfur blinked. With certain types, they had to do such things in order to eat them. But to use the fur for bedding... "Wouldn't it rot?... What of the blood?" She questioned in spite of herself. Starlingfur... had never even considered such a thing. All her life in the clans they had used moss, save for the journey. And during her rogue years, she'd slept on whatever was available. She had never even heard of such a thing as taking the pelts of prey and... sleeping on it. But the idea was... hm.
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Post by Kibbles on Oct 28, 2015 17:45:31 GMT
Bramblenose smiled a bit, a rare sight to see. But he glanced over at his leader as she continued to work. She was a good leader, a good cat. She was always so busy; taking care of leader duties, taking care of kits, doing things just by herself. She needed to slow down or she would slowly kill herself from exhaustion. And Cedarclan didn't have a cat who would be nearly a good as Starlingfur. Nor would they want anyone else as their leader at the moment.
"Starlingfur, it isn't my place to tell you to stop. But I advise you to. You're just going to make yourself weak from exhaustion and leave yourself open for sickness. And Ravenface doesn't need anymore cats in her den. Nor does Cedarclan need their leader in there. Please, stop working."
He worked just as carefully and quickly as she did. He moved skillfully, as if he had made many dens before. His eyes were alert, like always. His face focused and stern with concentration, yet ears turned slightly towards her so he could hear what she said. And when she asked him about the fur, he nodded once.
"Well, there's a process to it. Obviously you have to get the skin off the animal. Once that happens, you let the hide soak in water. Just enough so it isn't stiff, but no longer. If you let it soak for too long, the fur will start coming out. Once that happens, you should lay it out on a stone, so the skin is facing up and the fur is against the rock. After that, you use your claws to clean off whatever muscle and meat that was still there. And once you its clean, you grab a sturdy, straight stick, and roll it against the hide. Put your weight onto the stick so that it helps squeeze the rest of the water out. After that, you put it in the nests. They'll stay fresh until new-leaf. And we'll make more throughout leaf-bare so that we can always have more."
Throughout that whole description, he continued to work. His paws moved swiftly as he finished yet another bramble and then started another.
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A flaming sword of burning righteousness and also fire!
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Post by ♏aple♢ on Oct 29, 2015 23:25:09 GMT
When you get to the end of your rope, Tie a knot and hang on.
When Bramblenose's words reached Starlingfur's ears, she paused. Her mind worked slowly, taking its time processing that statement. Exhaustion. Was Starlingfur exhausted? Yes. She worked day in and day out for this clan. For her kits. For the future. But... what kind of future would they have, if she fell ill? Perhaps it was an overconfident thought. But something within Starlingfur's heart felt uneasy at the idea. She.. was their leader. She wanted to do all she could for this clan. But if... maybe Bramblenose was right. Starlingfur sighed, pulling back from her work. Her paws seemed to sing with relief as she released the bramble tendrils. Ravenface had enough to deal with right now, without her adding to her workload. She could... keep working come sunset. Inwardly, Starlingfur felt a mixture of shame and relief.
Perhaps all she'd needed was a cat to tell her that she could stop.
The leader watched the younger warrior weave the brambles deftly through the roots. His paws worked quickly and efficiently- graceful but practical. Experience was clear in his movements. And also in his words, as he began to speak his methods of skinning prey. Tired as they were, tabby ears listened with interest as Bramblenose explained. It sounded as though it were... a complex process. But one that.. could be quite useful. No- more than useful. In the harsh Leaf-Bare months where moss was rare and dry moss even rarer? It could be a neccesity. Starlingfur blinked. In the days of Dawnclan, they had struggled in moss-bare nests to keep themselves warm against the cold snows. But this... This could be... just what they needed.
Starlingfur paused once Bramblenose stopped, making sure that he had finished speaking. And then slowly, she nodded. "This skill... Could you teach it? To your fellow warriors and apprentices? To... me?" she questioned him now, tired copper eyes sharp. The wheels of her mind were already churning. Leaf-Fall was coming to an end. They would have to work quickly, if this was an option. But if Bramblenose could teach them this skill... They might just stand a chance.
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Post by Kibbles on Nov 3, 2015 1:44:58 GMT
Bramblenose actually snorted and cracked a small smile at the question. Could he teach it? What kind a question was that? "Of course I can teach it! Any skill can be taught. Just tell me when," he said, finishing another bramble. His blue eyes glanced over to look into Starlingfur's copper ones. He could see her thinking. And he shook his head as he looked back at the work he was doing.
"It ain't hard. Just takes some time. And patience. No one is gonna skin the prey very well the first go around. Its gonna take some time," he said. He remembered back to the first time he had tried, when his father had taught him. It had been horrible. Most of the pelt had been ripped into shreds. But everything got better with practice.
Of course, with Leaf Bare basically on them, they didn't have much time to practice. But they would do what they could and Bramblenose would stay up as long as he could skinning prey if it meant cats could live.
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A flaming sword of burning righteousness and also fire!
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Post by ♏aple♢ on Nov 3, 2015 18:14:47 GMT
When you get to the end of your rope, Tie a knot and hang on.
Practice and patience. As all hard-learned skills took to learn. Starlingfur listened quietly, and then nodded. Of course it would take time. Time... would not be on their side. Leaf-Bare was nearly upon them. But if it meant that they could find some way to survive its harsh winds and deep snows.. Starlingfur would try anything. "I will.. broach the idea with our senior warriors, and if they agree, then I will speak of it during the next ceremony." she meowed finally. Her copper eyes, tired as they may have been, were thoughtful. Intrigued. And just a bit hopeful. But mostly... yes, they were just tired.
Starlingfur had sat down. She now rose to her aching paws, pricked and bloodied. They hurt. Starclan, her entire body ached. It had been so long since she'd gotten a full night's rest... But... Starlingfur looked to Bramblenose. Still weaving expertly. Still working diligently, despite it being past the hour what a warrior should have gone to bed. But... she wasn't one to talk, was she? No, she snorted in realization. She wasn't.
"I am... returning to the nursery. You should.. take your place in the warriors den as well." She meowed quietly, lingering for a moment before turning away. Bramblenose... was right. She could not run on fumes, resting only when the claws of exhaustion finally dragged her under. Starlingfur.. had to look out for her own health. For her clan's sake. For her family's sake. Starlingfur looked over her shoulder once, as she padded back towards the nursery.
No kits. No family. A loner by all means. Yet he'd already done so much for Cedarclan. No- continued to do so much for Cedarclan. Bramblenose.. was a rare tom, and a fine warrior.
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