#cardinalpaw

[illadvisedart]

made some concept art for how i imagine my clangen territory :3

in the cave is hollowclan (my original clan!!). in the forest is birchclan, up over the hill in the meadow is wildclan, and bugclan is across the stream!!

#all my sillies omg #cats from left to right (for thr most part) are #mushroompaw #mantispaw #<= my MC omg babygirl #cardinalpaw #peakfade #canarypaw #pythonpaw #and #gingerpaw #warrior cats #warriors #clangen #clan generator #hollowclan #birchclan

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

@starfalcon555

when Applepaw arrived in the Dark Forest, Cardinalpaw/ember was younger and thought that this apprentice that came from the LIVING was SO COOL and wanted to hang out and ask about the Clans all the time and Applepaw was very put off by it

you expect the Dark Forest to be evil and bad and grim and if you’re Apple’s age, you probably expect to be surrounded by a bunch of bigger brutes, and then there’s someone younger than you thinking you’re the coolest cat ever

#applepaw #cardinalpaw #cardinalember #cardinalapple

[songfawn]

Cardinalpaw!! "Red falling, red feather, red skies and red stains. Black ashes, black clouds, black lies and black feigns. Upon the roost, the shadow of jays reign until the cardinal flies again.

#Cardinalpaw #warrior cats #my art #oc art #oc lore #headshot

[strelles-universe]

Strike the Match - Chapter 8: Growing Concerns

“She’s so thin.”

“I can’t believe any faction would treat an elder like this.”

Cardinalpaw hummed his absent agreement - the return to the barracks had been incredibly slow. Nettleflower’s leg slowed her down and Asterdawn hadn’t seemed inclined to rush her - on the other side, Deerleap was so thin that she had no energy reserves left. By the time they’d made it to the ridge, Lionbelly was just short of outright carrying in her - something she refused to allow to happen even as her legs trembled with every step forward. As for Quietpaw… they’d ended up needing to stop mid-way back, catching a pair of small birds for her after the third time her stomach turned and rumbled loudly enough to be heard. 

Upon returning to the barracks, Cardinalpaw had volunteered to ensure the survival of Deerleap (who he wasn’t quite certain would make it through the season) and Nettleflower while Jackdawpaw had eagerly insisted that he could help Quietpaw settle in. As it was, the thin cadet remained curled in on herself; sitting just a little ways from the other cadets who were sprawled around their stump. Now that she’d eaten, she seemed content to just listen to the discussions happening around her.

“Do you think it has anything to do with the invasion on the Galespun?” Cardinalpaw voiced aloud, the thought having rattled around in his brain since the announcement when they returned.

“How bad was it Ravenpaw?” Wrenpaw demanded.

“Awful,” said the lanky tom, flattening his ears. “Everything reeked of the Fennyield - and there were a few cats trying to live in the hollow. We couldn’t smell Galespun anywhere - even in the barracks.”

“They were trying to live in the hollow?” Cardinalpaw echoed.

“Yes but Galespun territory is terrible if you don’t live there. I didn’t see a single stream the whole walk - I bet the Fennyield couldn’t find any water either.”

“And going to the river risks clashes with the Shorerisen,” he murmured to himself, rolling the concept through his head. 

“...underground.”

“What was that?” Chaffinchpaw asked as they all turned to the Galespun cadet. The dilute tortoiseshell watching with a cautious expression, as if unsure she wanted to reiterate her point.

“The water. It’s underground,” she explained, ducking down.

“...that explains everything,” Chaffinchpaw said aloud, her tail swishing across the ground. “If the streams are underground… no cat is crazy enough to go looking for water in tunnels with no guide - what if they flood?”

“Didn’t Our Storm say Fennyield territory is muddy?” Cardinalpaw jumped in, springing from her concept. “Wet-grounds would keep Fennyield cats from trying to burrow - the chance it floods is way higher than in the Galespun. And with wet mud, the tunnel entrances could collapse and trap them inside.”

“So if all the water is underground, they’d have to leave,” Chaffinchpaw concluded.

“Which means the Galespun was chased out for nothing,” Wrenpaw scowled.

“Not for nothing - they still got some hunting territory,“ Cardinalpaw pointed out. “And anyway with the Galespun gone, the Stormborn will be their next target. There’s more to gain from invading us - Snakerocks, good hunting territory, above ground streams…”

“Skua Raggedjaw will have a lot to answer for,” Jackdawpaw said, narrowing his eyes. “No way Our Storm will just let him get away with driving off another faction.”

“And may the Souls get him too,” Chaffinchpaw grumbled, tucking her legs beneath herself. “It’s been a tough couple cycles for everyone but no other faction has needed to push another out.”

“They’ll get what they deserve,” scoffed Jackdawpaw, rolling his yellow eyes. “Sure they got territory but Fennyield cats don’t even know how to hunt on the moor - may Slysoul starve them for their greed.”

“Larkwing is worried,” Ravenpaw sighed, glancing towards the clearing. Larkwing had gone into Asterdawn’s den with the rank heads and thus far, none of the cats have come back out since. “The Skua has always been a pain in the tail, aggressive too but he’s so prideful of Fennyield territory… he wouldn’t push another faction out.”

“The Skua may not be the source but he’s their leader,” Jackdawpaw said stubbornly, swishing his tail. “He has to know what his legionaries were doing.”

“...well maybe Raggedjaw isn’t The Skua anymore,” Cardinalpaw said slowly.

“But they would’ve told us and the Galespun if he lost his lives,” Chaffinchpaw said.

“I mean, what if he was overthrown?”

A silence settled over the cadets. Looking around at the faces of his denmates, it was like Cardinalpaw had claimed the sky would rain mud from the clouds themselves. A flicker of confusion passed through him - had it never occurred to anyone else that their leaders could be ousted by the faction itself? He searched his memories - doesn’t the Stormborn have something about deputies standing up to bad leaders?

“But-but what kind of cat would just attack their own leader?” Wrenpaw asked with horror. “And why?”

Cardinalpaw flicked his ear, “Power, a grudge, manipulation tactic - there are a lot of reasons to attack a leader.”

“...but that’s so amber-hearted,” Ravenpaw whispered, pinning his ears back against his head. 

“Didn’t Pineheart challenge the Mad Star?” Cardinalpaw asked, half-confused and half-exasperated.

“Yeah but the Mad Star was… you know, mad! He starved his own faction, pitted his cubs against each other, tried to start a war with the Shorerisen and a bunch of other stuff!” Jackdawpaw objected. “Skua Raggedjaw was a dung-head but he wasn’t evil!”

“Well maybe the cat who took over was evil,” Cardinalpaw said with a sigh. “Whoever the Fennyield is following right now was evil enough to attack an entire faction in their the barracks, invaded their dens and attacked elders - he wouldn’t care about ousting a leader to get the position.”

“But leaders have nine lives granted to them by Meadows under Moonsoul’s blessing!”

Wrenpaw shuffled, “...well, what’s nine lives to an entire faction of cats?”

They exchanged uneasy glances.

“You guys were there - did you see if it was Skua Raggedjaw?” Chaffinchpaw demanded of Quietpaw, her voice held a slightly desperate edge. His denmates seemed deeply disturbed by the idea that anyone would attack their own leader like that.

“... I didn’t see anything,” Quietpaw admitted, shuffling with obvious discomfort from the attention being directed to her. “I was too busy trying to get away - they were dragging all the cadets away to do Souls knows what to them. Brownpaw was dragged right from our den by his leg.”

“Temekur watch us,” muttered Ravenpaw. “We’ll only know the truth at the next Gathering. If it’s not Skua Raggedjaw… who’s in charge? His heir was his son - they must have-have taken care of him too…”

“If that’s true, we know why Deerleap and Nettleflower ran away then,” Chaffinchpaw said grimly, flexing her claws. “If Nettleflower tried to defend her leader and failed, she could’ve retreated and maybe Deerleap went away with her?”

“Why run? She’d still be a valued member of the Fennyield,” Cardinalpaw said - the monarchs of the Stormborn were certainly pampered after all.

“The Fennyield has Executioners for certain crimes,” Ravenpaw said grimly, his lessons as a diplomat being displayed at the forefront. “If Raggedjaw lost, then anyone who defended him would have to swear new fealty to the Skua of the Fennyield or be deemed traitors. Treason is an executable offense.”

Cardinalpaw’s muscles twinged, “Flames - we better be on guard then. How many other loyalists have scattered? What if they come looking for them?”

“I am not looking forward to these extra patrols,” Jackdawpaw groaned, stretching his forelegs. “I smell double dawn patrols.”

“Look on the bright side - if the Fennyield does attack and we push them back, we’ll be made legionarys for sure,” Wrenpaw purred and nudged Chaffinchpaw. “Wouldn’t it be cool? We’d get awesome names from defeating the Fennyield - Chaffinchclaw maybe?”

“Or Chaffinchstrike,” she grinned in response, her expression taking on a wistful air. “...dad would love it. He would be the loudest cat in the crowd.”

“...yeah,” Wrenpaw agreed softly, shifting towards her. “He’d be so loud cats would tell him to shut up.”

They shifted into a gentle silence for a moment, no-one willing to disturb the two of them until a loud yowl rang across the clearing. Cardinalpaw sighed to himself, regretting his decision as he turned an irritated look in the direction of the sound.

“You better go feed the bone-bang,” Jackdawpaw teased, turning his ear away from the yowling.

“You’d think she would be nicer since you’re feeding her” Chaffinchpaw grumbled. “Typical Fennyield - no gratitude.”

Cardinalpaw rose to his paws, stretching his front-legs out in front of him as he flexed his toes. Nettleflower’s yowling was  a bit rude but Deerleap had eaten most of the rabbit given to them. She’d needed it, the elder was going to need at least a few moons of consistent feeding to put on some healthy weight but Nettleflower had to still be hungry. He trotted over to the ukennva, ignoring the way Longtail attempted to jeer at him from the side-lines and selected a robin. Turning, he headed back to the place the molly had been placed.

As they weren’t exactly prisoners, Asterdawn and the rank heads had all agreed that it wasn’t worth the time and effort to dust off the prisoner’s barracks - especially when they didn’t have enough spare legionarys to guard the place. With Deerleap so old and frail, it was decided that Spottedholly should watch her as she regained her strength out of worry for the high chances that the molly got sick. Nettleflower on the other hand - though still clearly starving - was in much better shaped and as a result, was placed in plain view of the legionaries and elder’s dens so if she tried anything, every fully trained legionary in the barracks could put her down. 

Unfortunately, not only did this give her something to prove, it also gave her an audience to prove it to.

Nice as Cardinalpaw was, he wasn’t going to tolerate her bad attitude towards him. So continuing to ignore the taunting of Longtail, he settled a tail-length from her; a paw placed upon the feathered prey and kept it close to his paws. He started grooming his chest pointedly ignoring her when she tried yowling even louder.

“I am not feeding you until you’ve stopped yelling at me,” Cardinalpaw said idly, dragging his tongue across his paw.

“This is humiliating,” she spat at him, her tail lashing. “I may not be a Fennyield cat anymore but I still have my faction!”

“I don’t care about your faction, I’m just here to feed you,” Cardinalpaw said, rolling his eyes.

“Why do you even care - just leave me alone! I’m not so crippled I need to be watched by the likes of you!”

“You aren’t in your territory anymore - you either eat what I bring you or you starve,” he said bluntly.

She stared at him, her ears still pulled back as she flexed and retracted her claws. On one paw, Cardinalpaw knew that whatever it was she went through would make her wary to trust him - especially with being in the center of an enemy the barracks. On the other paw, the shouting and snapping was getting tiresome when he was already drained of energy so he’d like to put an end to this as quickly as possible. 

“...fine,” Nettleflower growled, staring down at her paws. 

Cardinalpaw tossed her the robin, watching the molly catch it before it could land. The starving queen tore into it the second she could, devouring it like it would return to life and fly away from her. With a swish of his tail, he dipped his head to inspect her injured leg. Spottedholly had patched the bite marks with cobwebs and spread a strong smelling poultice along the leg. The muscle around the limb twitched, but given that she was moving it, it was at least not broken.

Still, I can’t imagine it feels very good, he muses to himself.

He walked to Spottedholly’s den, looking around for the tortoiseshell molly. He didn’t see her so he walked deeper in, poking his head into the overflow den. His guess was proven correct, the mender was working her way through a small collection of herbs with the elderly molly just within reaching distance if necessary. Cardinalpaw chirruped, announcing his presence as he made his way over.

“Did you need something Cardinalpaw?” she asked with a kind, if tired smile.

He nodded, “So - do you have anything for Nettleflower’s leg? It looks like it still hurts.”

“You bit her good kitty,” Deerleap voiced from her nest.

Cardinalpaw glanced at her while Spottedholly rose to her paws, likely to look through her herb storage. From the sleek and shiny patches smeared across her pelt, the elder had more than just starvation at her paws. None of the patches were too large but they were big enough to be spotted easily - not a cut from brambles or thorns but potentially the markings of claws or a rough fall. His ear twitched as Spottedholly returned with a small bundle of herbs in her mouth.

“It’s very kind of you to look out for others - even when they’re not being very nice to you,” Spottedholly told him.

Cardinalpaw ducked his head in sheepish embarrassment, “Yeah well, she needs the help. Although it is getting annoying to hear ‘kitty this’ and ‘kitty that’ every time I was to help.”

Spottedholly paused in her inspection of Deerleap, a slightly conflicted expression crossing her face before pale green eyes fell on him.

“...what is the right word?”

“Huh?” Cardinalpaw blinked.

“What’s the right thing to call you? I’m a faction cat, a Stormborn cat to be specific and you’re…”

“Oh,” said Cardinalpaw a bit surprised. Four moons into his stay with the Stormborn and Spottedholly was the first cat to ask, to seem to care. “...akyeŕai. It means ‘sun born’ - and you guys are akyeedan, faction born.”

Spottedholly nodded, seeming to be absorbing the words, “I’ll be sure to remember that.” She pushed the pouch of herbs towards him adding, “These are poppy seeds - give her a few to ease the pain. Bring it back if she seems like she’s taking too many.”

“Ya anesina,” slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. He couldn’t help it - the warm kindness in her voice despite the exhaustion in her form was just so familiar. He half-expected to look up and be met with golden brown fur and a gentle tail rested across his back.

“What does that mean?” Spottedholly asked as Cardinalpaw slipped around her.

Cardinalpaw paused still within earshot and glanced over his shoulder, “... older sister.”

Cardinalpaw trotted from the den, a sense of faction filling his chest as he committed the spark of joyous delight breaking through the haze of sadness on Spottedholly’s face to memory. 

He hoped Mottletail was happy.

| | |

“Here.”

“Thanks Cardinalpaw…”

Cardinalpaw flicked his tail - Nettleflower still insisted on insulting him but lately they seemed half-hearted, as if she was going through the motions rather than truly meaning it. A good thing really - she seemed less and less stressed out with every passing day which would help with her recovery. His paw touched the damp, slightly disheveled moss that made up her nest with a slight frown.

“We should move your nest,” he mused aloud, eyes flitting across the clearing as he tried to decide on a location. “All this water can’t be good for your creaky old bones.”

“I’m not old!” Nettleflower snapped, glaring up at him from the vole she was swallowing.

Cardinalpaw ignored her, instead slowly beginning to shift the nest towards an overhang not far from the nursery. He’d have to replace the moss later anyway, but the new location would do. He wasn’t too worried about the cubs - Asterdawn had claimed Nettleflower was a queen herself so he figured it wasn’t too much of a risk. And besides, as gentle and kind as Brindleface was, the Head Sitter would absolutely shred any cat who so much as coughed at the nursery threateningly. She and the other sitters would likely be quicker than the guards on the defense.

His ears pricked at the sound of innocent giggling and false snarling, an amused expression crossing his face as he watched the cubs scamper about.

“Feel my claws Styrman!” shrieked one of Daisyflower’s cubs. The cinnamon molly lunged forward, tackling her squealing brother.

“Oh no!” wailed her target dramatically, squirming free of her hold. “The Stormborn is too fierce! Retreat Shorerisen!”

‘The Shorerisen (made of Frostfang’s larger cubs)’ started to scramble back towards the nursery on unstable paws. One of them - a little curly furred tom - tripped over his own legs, tumbling head over tail into Nettleflower. The molly jumped reflexively whipping her head around to bare her teeth.

“Watch it!” she snapped.

The tom squeaked in fright and darted over to Cardinalpaw, hiding his face between his legs. Cardinalpaw ducked his head and gentle scooped him up, carrying him back to the nursery where Frostfang had scooped the rest of her cubs up. Cardinalpaw set his bundle down earning a grateful expression. The white furred molly shot a mutinous glare at Nettleflower, pressed her nose to Cardinalpaw’s cheek then vanished into the nursery with her son.

“Daisyflower’s cubs are getting restless,” Cardinalpaw remarked neutrally, returning to Nettleflower. “It’s about time they start shadowing cadets.”

“Just keep them away from me,” Nettleflower mumbled.

Cardinalpaw tilted his head, “Our Storm said you have your own cubs right?”

“...not anymore Cardinalpaw. The Fennyield have not been a good-place for cubs.”

Cardinalpaw frowned at her sad expression and the way she slunk by him, climbing despondently back into her nest. She didn’t even seem to mind that it was still damp from the morning dew. Whatever had chased her from the Fennyield seemed to be catching up to her. He wondered if her cubs had gotten sick or if they were angry with her for siding with Skua Raggedjaw if their theories about a take-over were true. He pressed his cheek to her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her - she’d been annoying, grouchy and an around pain in the tail these last few days but it hurt to see her so saddened. 

“Thanks Cardinalpaw,” she sighed, sinking down a bit further into her nest. “I - could you ask Spottedholly for frog-bile? These fleas are killing me.”

Cardinalpaw trilled his affirmative before pulling away, bounding for Spottedholly’s den. This time the long-furred tortoiseshell was in the front clearing, sorting through the various herbs laid out before her paws. 

“Sivaŕai Spottedholly,” he called to her in greeting.

She perked up, turning to him as she sounded out, “si-vo-rai Cardinalpaw.”

“Close,” Cardinalpaw encouraged her. “Sivaŕai.”

Since their little discussion about heritage, Spottedholly had taken to learning a few words in Sivake. She was cautious when she first asked, unsure if she was allowed to learn (apparently the faction’s own Old Tongue was only spoken fluently by menders and sacred ranks) but had jumped in all four paws first when it became clear that Cardinalpaw was happy to teach her. It felt good to have someone in his faction so interested in his home and culture before the factions - even better, her efforts had begun to be noticed by his denmates. He’d even caught Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw practicing one night in their nests when they thought he was asleep. Spottedholly was steadily getting better - mostly she seemed to stumble over the purred sounds. 

“Sivaŕai,” she recited.

“So-ya!” Cardinalpaw purred to her proudly.

“This is harder than I thought,” she laughed lightly, swishing her thick tail. “It felt easier when I was an cadet. Did you need something Cardinalpaw?”

“Just some mousebile for Nettleflower.”

“The fleas are finally showing themselves hm?” Spottedholly mused, rising to her paws. She led the way back towards the gap in the entry-clearing that Cardinalpaw had deciphered led into the herb storage, returning with another small bag (this one smelling of boar leather). Cardinalpaw wrinkled his nose at the pungent was familiar scent touching his nose - the first time he’d smelled mousebile, he’d been torn between gagging and being delighted at finally recognizing the source of the musky undertone that tangled with the chamomile scent that made the faction’s odor so distinct.  “Now remember, you only need a little dab to kill the fleas. Place the moss back in the pouch and return it to me or pass it off to another cadet when you’re done. Then wash your paws in a stream not with your tongue. You’ll be cursing Treesoul to your grave if you try to clean the quick way.”

“Of course,” Cardinalpaw said, giving a dramatic shudder as he remembered Wrenpaw neglecting to heed that suggestion. His denmate had gagged the entire night, refusing to eat before he slept and went on dawn patrol hungry. Cardinalpaw would never do that to himself. “Yekiyai Spottedholly.”

He grasped the strap of the bag between his teeth, darting back out into the barracks. He dodged around a couple cats heading for the gorse tunnel and settled back beside Nettleflower. He took the moss, combing through her tangled mess of curly fur searching for the fleas she mentioned while she stared blankly into the distance. A twinge of concern prickled at him and he made a mental note to mention it to Spottedholly - it had been happening more lately and he thinks it was linked to the poppy seeds. He flexed one of his claw, using the curved edge to cut through some of the thicker tangles that he knew for certain couldn’t be freed with only a rasping tongue. It was tedious but from the gentle sigh she released when he was finally able to reach the base of her fur, he thinks it was worth it.

A slightly chilly breeze broke through his coat and his thoughts turned toward the impending suminahrak.

If the Fennyield situation extended for long enough, Nettleflower and Deerleap would likely have to be moved to the prisoner’s the barracks. It would be the only place that satisfied his factionmates of not letting the two ex-Fennyield mollies linger in vulnerable areas of the barracks while also protecting them from the impending snow-fall. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that; the Prisoner’s Camp wasn’t what Fireheart would consider far but it wasn’t exactly close either. He’d heard older cats talk about snow before and if it was truly as bad as it sounded, it would be harder to deliver herbs to them.

“I think that was the last one,” Nettleflower said, dragging him from his thoughts and back to reality. She stretched a little yawning as she twisted around, sniffing her pelt curiously. “Thanks for that maggotpaws, I can handle the rest. Go do whatever it is you cadets do.”

Cardinalpaw purred his goodbyes to her, allowing the molly to begin finishing the task of grooming her pelt. He was leaving the mender’s den again, ready to head off to one of the many streams that rain through Stormborn territory when he was intercepted by Lionbelly.

“Where are you off to Cardinalpaw?” the golden tom inquired.

“Just cleared Nettleflower’s fleas.”

“Ah, off to the nearest body of water then. I’ll let you go, but please try to find one or two things to add to the stash.”

“The stash?”

Lionbelly flicked his thickly furred tail, “Our Storm refuses to let be chased from our home but the fate of the Galespun means we must then be ready for a siege. If we must spend our time trapped in our own the barracks, the Fennyield will not starve us out.”

“Ah,” said Cardinalpaw. It made sense when it was laid out like that though it felt strange for him to be included in such plans. As the second-youngest prince, he often wasn’t included in war-talk like this. Combat and great kingdom security was reserved for his sisters - even if Ahasra had had to fight for her right to be included, it was very transparently a molly thing. Joining the factions was now putting him in the position of having to know all the stuff his sister had been learning herself. “I’ll bring whatever I can carry.”

Lionbelly gave him an approving nod, dismissing him to dart off from the barracks.

It didn’t take him long to find one of the shallow streams flowing peacefully across the ground. He slipped right in, letting it drench his paws and clean any lingering stench of mousebile from his fur. He dropped to the ground, rolling through the water with a light purr as he soaked himself thoroughly, water dripping from his pelt alongside any lingering moss and dirt from being in the cadet’s den. He sat up, drawing his tongue swiftly across his flanks to dry himself; water rippling around his paws slowly.

He was just stepped out of the stream, coat now fluffy and soft from the proper bath when Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw appeared standing on the ridge above him.

“Uh…” said Ravenpaw, eyes roving over his friend.

“I always thought he was a Shorerisen cat,” Jackdawpaw claimed. “Ever since we talked about Siyeyim - look at his spots!”

Cardinalpaw laughed at Jackdawpaw’s dramatics, walking towards his friends. He flicked some of the water from his paws at them, both of his denmates immediately jumping back with a hiss as Cardinalpaw added, “I was cleaning Nettleflower’s fleas before I came out.”

“Oh mousebile then,” said Ravenpaw with a grimace while Jackdawpaw gagged dramatically behind them. “Good for fleas, terrible for your tongue.”

“You licked it?”

“Wrenpaw dared him,” Jackdawpaw said, snickering. “You were out from a dawn-patrol and we were bored so we were doing stupid dares. He regretted it.”

“It was gross,” Ravenpaw agreed, wrinkling his nose with disdain.

“That was your fault,” Cardinalpaw laughed, earning a shove from his friend.

“So did you get told not to come back without prey too?” Jackdawpaw asked, his fluffy tail curling over itself in thought. “Lionbelly practically pushed me out of the barracks.”

“No in those words but it was implied,” Cardinalpaw admitted.

“Wanna help us then?”

| | |

“Are these are?”

“...dock leaves?”

“Correct - well done Cardinalpaw!”

He purred a little at her praise straightening up. He, Ravenpaw and Jackdawpaw had had a very successful hunting spree. This being the second in only a few days, the hunters had begun jokingly ribbing him about his intentions towards becoming the next head hunter. Jackdawpaw’s words seemed to have held true - with all the rabbits they’d been finding in Stormborn recently, it was unlikely the Fennyield was catching many of them. As it was, all three cadets had dragged one home, draped across their backs with a couple of smaller creatures dangling from their mouths. After being thoroughly praised for their work, Asterdawn had rewarded them with a day off.

Jackdawpaw had gleefully darted off, taking the chance to get a good nap in while Ravenpaw spread his wings as little, choosing to spend time with the slowly settling the Galespun cadets who now insisted on helping their hosts prepare for attack.

Cardinalpaw however had chosen a different route.

With the forest covered in dangers and the understanding that menders can’t be everywhere at once, Stormborn cadets were all taught how to at least recognize most common herbs to be capable of fetching them. They’re even taught how to dress basic wounds to minimize the chances of wounds getting infected before a mender could get to them.

Spottedholly was very patient with him, not getting upset when he confused some herbs with each other; offering small tips and tricks to remembering the minute differences between each of them. She didn’t mind his struggles in remembering what they all did either, just giving him time to think until he could recall for himself and she would praise his efforts anyway. She put the large, slightly rounded green leaves back with the rest of the herbs she planned to leave to dry, grabbing a different collection of small little black seeds.

“Last one,” she said encouragingly.

Cardinalpaw’s ears perked up - he knew these at least.

“Poppy seeds,” he identified, a triumphant note in his tone.

“Correct,” purred Spottedholly. “And they’re for?”

“Dulling pain and encouraging sleep,” Cardinalpaw recited. 

“Well done Cardinalpaw,” Spottedholly praised him, turning to set the poppy seeds back into the little pouch she’d poured them from. “You would be a good healer.”

Cardinalpaw’s tail swished as he opened his mouth - he appreciated the praise but being a mender wasn’t in his dreams. Memorizing herbs was one thing but the other aspect - the actual healing part - wasn’t something he was interested in. He planned to say this, attempting to untangle his tongue into a way of communicating his intentions when a hot feeling flooded his body.

His muscles locked up and he found himself frozen in place, a shudder rolling down his spine as he blinked furiously ahead. His eyes darted about in panic, trying to figure out what was happening when a flick of a tail caught his eye. Suddenly released from his equally abrupt petrification, Cardinalpaw whipped around; arching his back in fright. Cats made of shadows - dark and featureless no matter how hard he tried to focus crawled from the ground, charging through the barracks tackling cats make of billowing smoke. Green eyes darted about trying to make sense of the scene - who should he help? Should he help? Was this even a battle he could win?

A distraught scream echoed through the air and he startled, turning with bared teeth towards the sound and reached-

Cardinalpaw’s gaze abruptly focused, a highly concerned Spottedholly staring down at him. His legs felt shaky and weak, like he’d been on a sprint only seconds before. He trembled for a bit longer, his eyes stinging like when he was a cub and rubbed ash on his face by mistake, dropping to the ground; flopping on his side. He squeezed his eyes closed tightly, his stomach rolling in his nausea. He grasped at the ground for a bit as the heat clawing through his body began to cool, returning to his usual temperature.

“That was a vision.”

Cardinalpaw looked up tiredly, his flanks still heaving from exhaustion. He blinked tiredly, slowly trying to climb to his paws; swaying a little as he tried to balance himself. 

“What?” he asked her blearily, his mind catching up.

“That was a vision,” the healer repeated delighted, though she pushed a lightly damp ball of moss before his muzzle. He accepted it gratefully, lapping weakly and enjoying a deep sigh of relief at the cool water touching his tongue. “You’re a starseer.”

“A what?” he asked.

“A starseer - a cat naturally attuned to the Souls who speak through them!”

He stared blankly for a moment before he translated the truth of the matter - visions and gods speaking through him?

“By the skies,” he groaned, lashing his tail in annoyance. He’d hoped that after coming to the factions, his odd dreams and feelings would stop. And now, he didn’t even have Ahasra to complain about them to and feel heard when she complained about the chilling feeling she gets at random during the day. “This is supposed to only happen to the ovisha.”

“We have to tell Asterdawn,” Spottedholly said eagerly. “And since you don’t have an official pathway it shouldn’t be too hard to get you reassigned-”

“No!” Cardinalpaw blurted out worried, his exhaustion burning out quickly. “I don’t want to swap!”

Spottedholly looked immediately disappointed, her tail slowly lowering from its position of delighted eagerness.

“...you don’t want to be a mender?” she asked.

Cardinalpaw shuffled a little before sighing, “...not really. Seeing cats in pain makes me feel queasy. And I like training as a guard.”

The tortoiseshell seemed even more disappointed - which made him feel bad - but she nodded reluctantly all the same.

“... I still have to tell Asterdawn,” she sighed, glancing towards the entrance. “Starseers have to be reported. But I won’t make you change tracks if you don’t want to.”

Cardinalpaw sighed in relief, “Thank you Spottedholly.”

She ducked her head down, touching her nose to his with a gentle purr. Tension bled from Cardinalpaw’s body at the confirmation that she wasn’t angry with him - he liked spending time with her. Every day she reminded him more and more of his eldest sister - protective, kind and gentle with a fierce streak that others should be wary of. He would hate for this to have ruined what they had. She opened her eyes and pushed a small pile of herbs towards him.

“Take these,” she insisted. “And then get some rest. We can try to work out whatever you say later - you’re dead on your paws.”

He nodded tiredly and pressed his nose to her shoulder in one last show of thanks before staggering from her den. He yawned loudly, ignoring the chuckling from the cats around him at his display of exhaustion and bee-lined for the cadet’s den. He stumbled to his nest between Jackdawpaw and Ravenpaw - already asleep, leaving a place just for him. He stepped inside the gap, curling into Jackdawpaw’s thicker warm coat as his eyes drooped.

He purred to himself when his friend instinctively cuddled closer and fell asleep.

| | |

Kingdom Translations

So | Yes, a sound of affirmation

Akyeŕai | A cat born in the Shining Sun (lit. sun born)

Akyeedan | A cat born into the Soul-Guided, (lit. clan born)

Yekiyai | Thank you 

So-ya | Well done, great; a general expression of encouragement (lit. ‘yes yeah’)

Suminahrak | Fall, the harvest season; (lit. harvest peak)

Ovisha | Crown heir, the one who will inherit the throne

Kingdom Culture

Revolt | The (New) Shining Sun was founded on the backs of a rebellion and it feels weird to Cardinalpaw that others wouldn't consider it a viable solution

---

Empire Culture

Amber-Hearted | Referring to the empire god Amberspirit, often referred to as the Savage Side of a legionary; they hold the domains of fear, cruelty, bloodlust and nightmares; amber-hearted refers to a cat corrupted by or acting in accord to Amberspirit’s ways - cruel or violent

Frog-Bile | All of the factions use a different animal's bile to handle the various biting bugs that ail them and it's this difference that gives them their recognizable faction scents.

---

Allegiances | Previous | Next | First

#strelles au #strike the match chapters #strelles ravenpaw #strelles jackdawpaw #strelles quietpaw #strelles chaffinchpaw #strelles cardinalpaw #strelles wrenpaw #strelles nettleflower #strelles spottedholly

[calronhunt]

more Kibby cats + some rambles (below the cut if you just wanna look at this quick drawing)

when Cardinalscar was a young apprentice he got hurt really badly by a badger (that gave him his signature scar), a lot of the clan really didn't think Cardinalpaw at the time was going to make it. the two healers gave it their best shot anyway, and the one that cared for Cardinalpaw the most was a healer apprentice named Heronpaw (who is Cicero's mentioned Dead Parabatai in the epilogue of COB).

Cardinalpaw was able to pull through and stablize, but because of the severity of the wound, he was kept locked up in the med den for a very long time. over the course of his stay, heronpaw and him became very very close friends. Cardinalpaw does develop feelings for Heronpaw (unknown to him, because he's asexual and just has a hard time discerning romantic feelings from platonic feelings). Even after Cardinalpaw was all better and continued his warrior training, he would still help Heronpaw out anyway that he could and if he had any extra time.

Now, a couple of moons before Cardinalpaw became a full warrior, an epidemic of greencough surged through the clan that killed a large chunk of the population. The first two victims were both healers of Shadowclan in the process which is why it spread so awfully and took so many. Cardinalpaw was devastated by the passing of his friend Heronpaw. Once the epidemic had run it's course, and the last cat passed away, Cardinalpaw was given the warrior name Cardinalscar. For a while the clan didn't really know what to do, with no healers and barely any cats, how would they be expected to survive? Cardinalscar didn't really seem to care about that though. The devastation of losing his best friend (and crush) ate away at him and he didn't really care about what happened to the rest of the clan.

Then he adopted Olivekit, just an abandoned kitten he found while he was half-heartedly hunting one day. He took the kit in, and it really turned his mentality around. This kit didn't deserve to die because of some sickness or some other preventable cause. And he realized that out of anyone in the clan, he probably knew the most about herbs from listening to Heronpaw talk on and on about his job. and a couple of days later he asked the leader if he could try to be the healer of the clan. and he was allowed to do so because like. what did the clan have to lose!

#wc!cob #my art

[the-wereraven]

Why did Hail and Peacock go to the Darkforest instead of StarClan?

*pitter patters up to you really fast*

OKAY sit down and let me drop some lore on you my good buddy ol pal friend chump little meow meow skcurngly pal-

Peacockstar, while she wasn't the worst nor the best leader in regards to how she led the clan's *survival*, she was insanely verbally abusive to her children, Cardinaltail and Vulturepaw (then Cardinalpaw and Vulturekit). She insulted them often, and one instance raised her claws at Vulturepaw. (We won't talk abt the dad bcs I haven't thought of lore for him yet-) She purposely misgenders her clanmates, with Cardinaltail being the main target (they're non-binary), and brushes it off when she's corrected or called out. Additionally, she's exile any cats that got too vocal abt their opinions abt her. In fact, she chose Robinstar as her deputy then bcs she viewed Robinstar as a pushover. AND she would have her clanmates kill any exiles, kittypets, and generally any non-Clan cats that are found or scented on FlightClan territory.

Hailstar was a tyrant, ruling SolarClan with an iron first until his children staged a coup against him. In SolarClan law, criminals of the highest degree don't get buried, instead their (dead bodies) are thrown into a ravine known as Traitor's Abyss, where the sun never reaches. However, Hailstar would have any cat that upset him thrown down. Alive. He led a quiet and submissive Clan, as they feared being thrown into the ravine. Hailstar also generally didn't really care abt things that didn't affect him directly, his heirs were the ones who did most of the work, and he brushes off many complaints or concerns brought to him. Push any further and you'll get threatened at best. He was also very unfaithful, having multiple litters with multiple mollies and being a deadbeat dad to ALL of the kits. (Polarstar is from the last litter Hailstar had.)

#thank you for asking abt my former leaders :D #i love talking abt my character lore #friend draak #wereraven's clans #<- placeholder name #tw misgendering #tw verbal abuse #tw cheating #just in case

[kubfoo]

commission i did for @lyvenex of their character for @talesofgladesglory, cardinalpaw!

Patreon | Ko-fi | Commissions | Shop

#warrior cats #warrior cats oc #wcrp #commission #op #mart #togg #full res on patreon and kofi for $5 and higher! #aaaand id in arl :-) #alt.

[the-skiesdivide]

Monsteragrove . He/Him . ThicketClan Healer . Clairvoyant

Mother: Unknown(Deceased) Father: Unknown(Deceased) Mentor: Larchfall Apprentice: Cardinalpaw

In total contrast to his mentor and fellow healer, Monsteragrove is an easygoing and fairly sociable cat, if not a little bit cryptic. Born with the power of Clairvoyance, Monsteragrove has a tighter connection to StarClan and The Dark Forest, as well as The Divide; many other cats share this power with him, and have been known to get together and ensure peace in the afterlives and the Clans. Monstera is no different.

Invested in the idea of healing from an early age, it was no surprise when(honestly though continuous harassment from Monsterakit) Larchfall took him on as her apprentice. Monstera is still young, but the duo of healers has decided to take on an apprentice, Cardinalpaw; Monstera primarily leads her training, but figures that a third healer would be helpful to the growing Clan.

#Monsteragrove #ThicketClan #healer #warrior cats #wc #wc oc #warrior cats oc #secondary character #refs #The Skies Divide

[idontliketomatoesleavemealone]

Leader                Iceheart [Lady Tremaine] - colorpoint she-cat with blue eyes

Deputy                Midnightmoon [Anthony Tremaine] - dark brown tom with green-hazel eyes, mentor of Sunnypaw, adoptive father of Riverkit and Foxkit

Healer                  Poppybriar [Anastasia Tremaine] - dark ginger she-cat with green eyes and white paws, mentor of Wildpaw, mother of Nutkit, Snowkit, Luckykit, Wolfkit, Smokekit, and Daykit

Warriors

Windflower [Drizella Tremaine] - black she-cat with green eyes

Rabbitpounce [Anne Tremaine] - cream-colored she-cat with amber eyes, mentor of Cardinalpaw, mother of Foxkit

Blazesky [Stella Tremaine] - pure white she-cat with bright green eyes, mentor of Quietpaw

Apprentices

Quietpaw [Hannah Tremaine] - black she-cat with yellow eyes 

Sunnypaw [Dizzy Tremaine] - bright red tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Cardinalpaw [Rosie Tremaine] - dark ginger she-cat with dark green eyes

Wildpaw [Lou Tremaine] - brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Queens

Midnightmoon [Anthony Tremaine] - dark brown tom with green-hazel eyes, adoptive father of Riverkit and Foxkit

Poppybriar [Anastasia Tremaine] - dark red she-cat with green eyes and white paws, mother of Nutkit, Snowkit, Luckykit, Wolfkit, Smokekit, and Daykit

Kits

Nutkit [Ellie Tremaine] - cream-colored she-kit with amber eyes

Snowkit [Loomy Tremaine] - pure white she-kit with blue eyes

Luckykit [Felix Tremaine] - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Wolfkit [Emma de la Cruz] - dark gray she-kit with green eyes

Foxkit [Zoey Tremaine] - bright red tabby she-kit with amber eyes 

Smokekit [Frankie Tremaine] - dark gray, almost black tom with blue eyes

Daykit [Nellie de Vil] - chimera she-cat with a half white, half black face with one blue and one green eye

#disney descendants #descendants as warriors AU #warriors

[darktreeroots]

cardinalpaw’s confusion

important characters:

cardinalpaw - a yellow cat with a red back and green eyes. 

whisperpaw - a icy blue cat with gray patches and bright amber eyes

“I mean, Beefur’s enough of a mom for both of us, right?” Cardinalpaw says, prodding Whisperpaw with his paw, only for the tom to stop eating, mouth still full of food as he stares back at Cardinalpaw with amber eyes. 

“Uh, did I say something wrong?” Cardinalpaw asks as Whisperpaw quickly chews before swallowing, fear making his fur prick out. He doesn’t want to ruin whatever they might have—

“Just who do you think my mother is?” Whisperpaw asks him, tilting his head and blinking with amber eyes. 

“Ah, well.” Cardinalpaw says, stumbling over his words, “I thought? You didn’t have one…anymore…?” He trails off, fur prickling with shame as Whisperpaw continues to stare before the other cat’s expression changes in an instant just for him to start laughing. 

“Oh! Oh!” Whisperpaw mrrows between laughs, trying and failing to muffle his laughter with his hands. Cardinalpaw flicks him with his tail, forgetting to respect the older apprentice for just a moment in favor of saving his already tattered pride, “You thought—oh you thought!”

“Quiet.” Cardinalpaw hisses at the normally-silent tom, pulling down his ears, “There’s no need to laugh at me so much.”

“I apologize but,” Whisperpaw starts laughing again but manages to pull it successfully this time, “Why do you think my mother’s dead?”

“Because I’ve never seen you stick around one of the female warriors for long. And it’s not like Icefeather eats lunch with only one cat or something like that.” Whisperpaw flicks his ear, a smile still on his face. Cardinalpaw chooses his words carefully, if for no other reason than to make sure that he doesn’t make a fool of himself again, “So. I thought you didn’t have one anymore.”

“Not everyone is as present as Beefur.” Whisperpaw reminds him and yeah, Cardinalpaw can agree with him on that. Beefur did remain in the nursery still even though her kits had been apprentices for two moons. She claims that it’s to give them a nice place to rest, but everyone knows that it’s because the nursery is the place with the best bedding. 

No one really bothered to complain, after all it wasn’t like Beefur was really a warrior. 

“I know that, but at least she’s present.” Cardinalpaw exists, kneading the ground for a moment before his paw touches a cold stone and he recoils, “I didn’t even know that you had a mother until right now. And you aren’t that much older than me!”

“My mother simply decided to leave the nursery once we were weaned off milk. And we’re seven moons apart, I’ll have you know! That’s plenty older!”

I wouldn’t say that so confidently if I were you. Cardinalpaw thinks at the other apprentice, who Cardinalpaw is nearly the same size despite how close Whisperpaw was to stopping growing. 

“Fine. I apologize. But then, who is your mother?” Cardinalpaw says. 

Whisperpaw opens his mouth to respond before his eyes start to glow and instead he says, “How about you guess? My mother is in camp right now—” Right before Cardinalpaw is about to refuse and save himself some embarrassment—“I promise to get you some salmon if you get it right.”

“Salmon are in MarshClan territory at this time of year.” Cardinalpaw tells him immediately, “I’m not a stupid kit anymore.”

“I promise I’ll get you a salmon if you guess right. I’ll give you three chances.”

“MarshClan isn’t even our neighbor. I won’t let you put yourself in danger for a stupid bet.”

“Then I’ll get a cat from MarshClan to do it! I can get friends there. Please?” Whisperpaw asks and Cardinalpaw stares at him. Whisperpaw was known for being quiet, in fact the first time he heard Whisperpaw speak loud enough to be overheard was barely a half-moon ago. Even then it was a single word of warning because ThinleafClan cats were coming to chase them back over the border. 

He doesn’t even know how Whisperpaw expects to convince someone to get him that salmon but to say that now would be like stealing a mossball from a kit and crushing it underpaw. 

“...Fine.” Cardinalpaw agrees finally, “But I’m not letting yourself get in trouble for this salmon when I eventually win it.”

“You have to win it first.” Whisperpaw says. He does not smirk, but Cardinalpaw can hear it in his voice so he shoots him a quick glare before getting up and looking around camp. 

He realizes quickly that Whisperpaw wasn’t giving him any leeway by choosing only the cats in camp, it was nearing noonhigh so the morning border and hunting patrols had already left camp and returned. The only cats that weren’t in camp right now were a few mentor-apprentice pairs taking advantage of the short moment of downtime for training. 

“Okay. So…first of all, definitely not Vaststar, Bloodfur, or Canopymist.” Cardinalpaw says, looking at the she-cats one by one. Vaststar is resting in the shade of the Highrock, chatting idly with Mistmoon who looks as nervous as always. Bloodfur is tearing apart a canary while Canopymist is carrying a huge dripping piece of moss to the elder’s den. 

“Why not them?”

“Well, Canopymist and Icefeather are always arguing for some reason or another, and I don’t think they’d ever be mates. I can’t imagine Icefeather choosing to mate with her.”

“Especially not considering that they’re kin.” Whisperpaw says lightly, “Though neither of them like to talk about it. Or talk about how they’re kin either—don’t ask.” Whisperpaw says, cutting Cardinalpaw off before he can do just that, “It’s a sensitive subject. Let’s just say, Canopymist is certainly not my mother.”

Oookay then. 

“Well, Bloodfur also isn’t your mother. First of all, you look nothing like her and I think I would know if we were kin.” Cardinalpaw says, gesturing to all his red fur, “I feel Foxbelly would have mentioned it if Bloodfur was your mother.” He says jokingly, while not saying what’s really on his mind: And she’s so awful that I could never believe that she’s your mother. 

“And Vaststar is. Vaststar. She seems too…too her? Too regal?” Cardinalpaw stumbles over his words to try and explain himself. He hasn’t been to a Gathering yet but he can’t help but wonder if all apprentices thought that their leader was so far away. Vaststar was calm and caring, but she was also distant. She ruled over the Clan, but not quiet within it.

“And also you look nothing like her. And Icefeather isn’t around her much, so not her.”

“All good, but you’re not actually guessing who my mother could me.” Whisperpaw points out. 

Cardinalpaw groans, “I’m getting to it, I’m getting to it. Just to make sure—not an elder?”

“Not an elder.” Whisperpaw confirms, “So, first guess?”

“Uh, well I’m crossing out Shadeswallow because you don’t have a single ounce of black on you—Leafscratch?”

Whisperpaw shakes his head, “Try again.”

“StarClan help me.” Cardinalpaw mutters under his breath, “What’s the punishment if I lose?”

“Oh. Uh.” Whisperpaw thinks it over, having clearly not considered that bets tend to have two sides, “You have to…I dunno? Make my nest for me for the next moon.”

“Next moon!” 

“Okay then,” Whisperpaw says with a flick of his ear, “You have to do my apprentice duties for the day.”

“May I remind you,” An older voice interrupts as Dovestorm raises her head to look down at the two apprentices, “Whisperpaw doesn’t really have apprentice duties anymore because he’s on his last moon of apprenticeship.”

Cardinalpaw gives Dovestorm a deep glare as Whisperpaw ohs and nods. 

“Just trying to help.” The older she-cat says before giving them a toothy grin with her heavily scarred muzzle, “Don’t mind me. I won’t say anymore if you don’t want me to.”

Good. 

“Thanks, Dovestorm!” She flicks her ear. 

“How about I get you a rabbit?” Cardinalpaw offers, giving Dovestorm a quick quiet look. The scales are still heavily skewed in his favor but now it’s not as if Cardinalpaw is getting away completely free if he manages to mess up. 

Whisperpaw nods, “That sounds good. Now you have two guesses left, you should get to it before Waspheart comes back and you have to go out for training.”

“I know, I know…” Cardinalpaw groans, scanning camp once more. His task would be much easier if Icefeather was less friendly—he’d be surprised if the tom wasn’t capable of being mates with every she-cat in the clan, “Uh, Snowbriar has your eyes.”

“And that’s it?”

“You look a lot like Icefeather, give me a break.”

“If you didn’t know, Skypaw and Wolfpaw are my littermates.”

“Oh, shut up.” Cardinalpaw hisses, “I know that.”

“I was just making sure.” Whisperpaw says with innocent eyes. Cardinalpaw swears he’s being mocked though. 

“Got it.” He mutters through gritted teeth, closing his eyes for a moment to think. 

He was looking for a she-cat, between the age of an elder and an apprentice, who was currently in camp. That was his starting point, so he had to narrow it down more. Whisperpaw was an icy-blue with some gray patches, very similar to his father except while Icefeather had stripes, he had patches and stripes. He also had bright amber eyes, while Icefeather had blue ones. 

Going farther, Wolfpaw was a gray and orange tabby with blue eyes and Skypaw already had an impressive mane not shared by either of her brothers and very light gray fur with darker gray patches. And blue eyes. 

So I’m looking at the things that didn’t come from Icefeather…if only they looked more like their mother! Cardinalpaw despairs, I need a she-cat with color patches, amber eyes, orange fur in some places, and a mane? And maybe she can have white fur too?

Cardinalpaw is still thinking when someone pounces on him, using all their—her body weight to pin him to the floor. 

“What are you thinking about?” Yellowpaw says, leaning over to speak directly into his ear as Cardinalpaw fights to throw her off, “I’m not getting off you until you tell me.”

“He’s trying to figure out who my mother is.” Whisperpaw says. Yellowpaw looks around for a moment, searching for who spoke before figuring out that it was Whisperpaw. 

And then she says, “...You have a mother? Alive?”

“She’s in camp right now.” Whisperpaw says with a mrrow, “Do you want to guess too?”

“No, I’d just guess it too easily.” Yellowpaw says, before huffing when Cardinalpaw kicks her stomach, “Fine. I’ll get off. Even though you didn’t answer me.”

“Thank you for your kindness. StarClan should welcome you. Right now.” Cardinalpaw huffs before turning away from his sister as she settles beside him, “Now be quiet and let me think.”

“Do you want help?”

“You’re going to ruin it so no I don’t want.” Yellowpaw huffs a bit but does keep quiet as Cardinalpaw looks around camp one last time, looking for a she-cat that fits the description he needed.

“Is your mother Badgershriek?” Whisperpaw shakes his head once last time and Cardinalpaw groans, sinking to the floor as Yellowpaw begins asking question after question but he ignores her, placing his paws over his ears to block her out as Whisperpaw gently answers her questions. She keeps on talking, clearly taken by the novelty of Whisperpaw’s broken silence. 

“Then who is your mother?” 

“MOM!” Whisperpaw calls out suddenly, voice ringing through the entire camp. 

Then he starts coughing, because even that was too much for him. 

“...What is it?” Says the most unlikely cat, breaking away from her meeting with the deputy to look over at Whisperpaw, her son. 

Vaststar looks over at them with an expression that clearly says I do not know what is going on here and I am not sure that I want to know. 

“Do you need to see Clawstem for your throat.” She asks, as a statement.

“No, mom.” Whisperpaw says, lowering his voice back down to normal levels, barely louder than Dovestorm’s laughter, “Thank you.”

“...You’re welcome.” Vaststar says with a flick of her ear before she turns back to Mistmoon, swallowed up by important leader-deputy things in moments. 

“Vaststar?”

“She’s your mother?” He and Yellowpaw say in turn, before turning to each other and nodding before they say together: “Her?!”

“Yes. And I’m not sure what’s so confusing about it.” Whisperpaw says, shuffling his paws, “She’s the Clan leader, of course she can’t be around Icefeather much. They’ve been like this as long as I can remember, although Vaststar was already deputy by the time she had us.” He shrugs, “And my eyes come from her mother.”

“How did none of you get green eyes?” Cardinalpaw points out with an irritated huff. 

“I asked that once. She told me that she thinks that since that eye is in one of her orange patches, that it’s been discolored. She doesn’t know how, but she told me that she thinks that eye should be amber, not green.”

Cardinalpaw lets out a loud groan and sinks down even father, thinking about how much work it was going to be to find Whisperpaw that bird. 

“I would never had guessed her, even with the eye thing.” He admits, “It’s not like she pays special attention to you guys or whatever.”

“We spend a lot of time with her.” Whisperpaw points out.

“That’s because it’s your last month of apprenticeship. You have to spend a lot of time with her or else you won’t become warriors.” Cardinalpaw points out back, with no small amount of snark in his voice, “And it’s not like she eats with you or anything like that. I think I can count the number of times I’ve seen you talk to her on one paw.”

“Well, I could count the number of times I’ve needed to see her on one paw. She’s busy often, but I know that if I have a problem that Icefeather couldn’t help me with, I could go to her.” Whisperpaw shrugs, “She knows that we can ask her for help whenever.”

Cardinalpaw swallows his next retort. 

It just seems…wrong, for all a parent to be is someone to run to when you need help. Yes, it was good that Vaststar was there for them when they needed it, but what about if they didn’t know it yet? What if Vaststar had a perspective on things that her kids didn’t. 

Well it seemed like they could go to Icefeather instead but…it just seemed. Slightly wrong. Beefur could be smothering with her affection, but at least he was only telling her to back off instead of asking politely for her attention. Foxbelly was no Icefeather, clearly because you couldn’t be as careful and have as much freetime as Icefeather while taking in a rouge as a mate, but he was still a good father.

Vaststar was just. There. She was leader but not a mother at the same time. And Cardinalpaw knew that must be possible because it was Vaststar. She was one of the youngest leaders the clan had seen in a long time, it was possible that she was even younger than Heronstar when he took over MarshClan. She ruled her clan like it was second nature, she kept her head effortlessly high. 

Yet, being a mother was something she expended no energy to even attempt?

She seemed to like her children, and even if she didn’t spend much time with Icefeather she seemed to be on good terms with him too. It was simply odd with no other way to describe it.

Cardinalpaw pushes down his misgivings as he swipes Whisperpaw’s shoulder, “I guess I owe you that rabbit.”

Whisperpaw laughs at him. And then soon after, with him.

#warrior cats #warriors oc #allseeing eyes close #vaststar #whisperswipe #cardinalback

[residents-of-the-darkforest]

What if Applepaw dates Trillpaw/flea or Cardinalpaw/ember

maybe Chukarpaw/vole?

#tunnel family #applepaw #df applepaw #trillflea #cardinalember #chukarvole

[wildinstyl]

Final art fight attacks! One mass attack n one lil one.

Cats, left to right!:

-Thawpaw by Clownhound on discord

-Shrike by @relic_crown

-French Fry by me!

-Cardinalpaw by uwu on discord

-Beampaw by Jeweledbug on toyhouse

-Shepard by TheLemur on discord

-Oceanpaw by @SignetViolet

And Nala (second pic) is by Aho_lai on insta

#wildinstyl #art #cats #oc #digital painting #warrior cats #cat #artfight #wither #mass attack #warriorsofthecliffside #warriors rp

[strelles-universe]

Strike the Match - Chapter 9: The Mastery Assessment

Cardinalpaw put his paw over his mouth, trying to stop himself from yawning too loud even as his vision blurred in his attempts to focus on Asterdawn. It seemed that vision in Spottedholly’s den had been the trigger for his dreams to become restless again. Every time he started to relax in his nest, his dreams would twist and morph creating monsters and madness that would shake him back into alertness. At first his dreams only featured vague silhouettes, potentially the ones he’d seen from the Sight in Spottedholly’s den.

Then they escalated.

If the dreams from before had left him tired, these left him panicked. Now he was being attacked by shadow figured clawing their way from the ground near the gorse tunnel. He attacks them sometimes, but his claws never seemed to connect, always passing right through the attacker’s body only for their teeth to connect in his skin. A pained wail would ring through his ears, its voice filled with rage tinted grief as a warm flash would encompass him before she would go toppling to the ground. No matter how fast he ran or how many times he twisted, claws would find their way into his shoulder and he’d be slammed to the ground, attacked by another; claws piercing his belly and it stung as the world grew fainter and fainter-

“Are you alright Cardinalpaw?”

He jolted a little, blinking tiredly up at his mentor as she watched him with eyes full of concern. Spottedholly had done as she’d promised and told her about the Sight he’d had and she’d called him into her den that morning. He’d been worried that she would be transferring him after all, that it didn’t matter what he wanted - to his surprise though, she’s asked him gently how he’d felt seeing the vision. She’d let him lean against her and talk about what he’d seen, empathy and sadness poured from her very being and Cardinalpaw wondered what she’d experienced of Sights to be so distressed by his.

“Just tired,” he said honestly. He’d had odd-dreams most of his life and sadly, this wasn’t even the first time he’d been killed in one. He shudders remembering the first dream he’d had of it happening - a flash of teeth and claws, a thick coat of white screaming nonsensical things to him already injured and running, running- he shakes his head again. “Bad dreams. I used to have them a lot but I’ve been so tired from training I guess my brain hasn’t had the energy to make any.”

Asterdawn made a sound of concern in her throat but she nods all the same, “You and your cohort were very busy yesterday so today is a short one. Just one assessment and some rank-specialty training then you may rest.”

“As assessment?” Cardinalpaw asked, perking up.

“Yes,” said Asterdawn. “It’s time for your Foundations Mastery Assessment. You’ve been a cadet for almost four moons now and despite the catch-up you had to do, you’ve advanced well. You should have mastered the basic skills that any legionaries should have - hunting, stalking and defense stances. If you pass, then we will begin to focus on training your elanki.”

“Elanki?” Cardinalpaw said, a bit of his tiredness lifting.

“The powers granted to us by the Mauwas,” Asterdawn purred to him. “When Nettleflower used her claws to attack you, that was her soulspark - unaligned but still very powerful.”

She means makai, Cardinalpaw connected immediately, nodding in understanding to her words. He flexed his paws a little in excitement - makai was usually restricted to Guardians as most cats from the kingdom simply weren’t able to manipulate it. He and his siblings had already received basic training in using it to defend themselves given that they were heirs and assassination attempts were still possible but they’d never really gone beyond learning to sense when someone else with the ability to manipulate it was nearby.

“I’ll get to do that too?” he said, trying to inject some energy into his tone.

“Yes but only if you pass your foundations assessment,” Asterdawn chuckled at him. “Do you remember which rule that was?”

Cardinalpaw quickly starting running through the Legionary’s Charter in his mind, sifting for the correct one. These spontaneous prompts about the Legionary’s Charter were becoming ever-more frequent - it wasn’t even just from Asterdawn; it was the entire faction insisting on it. Everywhere he turned, he was asked to spout rules from the Conventional Regulations at every chance. He’d be insulted if he wasn’t aware that his cohort were being treated the same way - Jackdawpaw complaining just recently about receiving a lecture for forgetting one of the Conventional Regulations again.

“I’ll give you a hint,” Asterdawn said, taking note of his hesitation. “It’s not one of the Conventional Regulations.”

“Oh,” said Cardinalpaw immediately. It was obvious in hindsight, but the random quizzes had a way of making his mind blank from easy questions. “Then um… the Cadet Regulations rule um…”

He thought about it.

“Eight?” he guessed.

“Correct,” said Asterdawn, nodding at him with approval. “Rule 8 - a cadet should not start learning to use their Mauwa-elanki until they’ve mastered the foundational basics.”

Cardinalpaw wondered if he was going to be expected to be capable of reciting each of the Regulations nearly word for word too or if that was something only the leader was expected to do.

“When will the assessment start?” he asks instead.

Asterdawn tilted her head towards the sky, letting her blue eyes find the sun, “At sunpeak. That should be long enough for you to eat and speak with your friends.”

Cardinalpaw nodded determinedly - he would pass this assessment with shining colors.

“We’ll retrieve you when it’s time so don’t fret,” Asterdawn told him, leaning down towards him. “Eat and rest Cardinalpaw.”

He waited for her to press her nose gently to his forehead to dismiss him before he rose and walked towards the ukennva. Another yawn broke from his jaws as he sniffed at the prey, trying to decide what he wanted to eat.

He was settling down with a shrew tucked between his paws (partially motivated by the idea of adding the feathers to his nest), a bleary-eyed Jackdawpaw crawled from the cadet’s den; glowering up at the sky mutinously followed by a yawning, shivering Ravenpaw. His friends spotted him and in a testament to his exhaustion, Jackdawpaw walked right by the ukennva as they flopped down beside him.

“Tell Sunsoul to close her eye,” Jackdawpaw moaned, throwing a paw dramatically across his face. “It’s too early for it to be so bright.”

“You’re up early,” said Ravenpaw, easily ignoring his best-friend with the practice of growing up with him. He ducked his head, drawing his tongue across his chest slowly as he worked the sleepiness from his body. It was nice to see truthfully, Ravenpaw was rarely this calm and relaxed when he was fully awake. 

“Dawn patrol,” Cardinalpaw reported, licking blood from his lips as he readjusted his sparrow. “Fennyield are getting bold - if we’re right about Raggedjaw, the new Skua is testing borders.”

“Testing them?” Jackdawpaw said, tilting his head.

“Seeing how far they can go before we respond,” Ravenpaw explained to him, returning his gaze to Cardinalpaw. “Did you see any?”

“No, only smelled them. Our Storm’s going to bring it up at the next Peace-Gather.”

“Good,” said Jackdawpaw firmly, reaching out to steal Cardinalpaw’s shrew. He was batted at in response, the gray tom rolling on his back dramatically in response. “We have enough to worry about already.”

“The Styrman handled the attackers,” Cardinalpaw reminded his friend gently. Jackdawpaw had been part of the dissenting crowd on Ravenpaw’s behalf - not that the ruddy tom blamed him, his friend had been forced to see both himself and Ravenpaw in states of disarray. “They’ve been punished.”

“They ambushed you after we already won,” Jackdawpaw hissed, an uncharacteristic noise from the usually light-hearted tom.

Ravenpaw rested his tail on Jackdawpaw’s back as Cardinalpaw shuffled closer to him, allowing their pelts to brush against each other. 

“We’re okay now,” Ravenpaw told him gently. “It was a battle - cats get hurt. It wasn’t honorable but if we held grudges for every ambush, we’d never stop warring.”

Jackdawpaw huffed but leaned into their comfort all the same. They remained silent until Cardinalpaw could feel his friend’s tense muscles relaxing again.

“Enough of the politics,” Cardinalpaw said, flicking his ear. “We have other things to worry about - Our Storm says we have an assessment today.”

“Another assessment?” Ravenpaw yelped, sitting straight up. “Already?”

“Foundations Mastery Assessment,” Cardinalpaw confirmed, another bemused purr rumbling in his chest. “If we pass, we get to work on our elankis.”

“Really?!” Jackdawpaw said, his bad mood completely forgotten in the face of elanki-training. 

“Yep.”

“Awesome!” purred Jackdawpaw, kneading the ground. “I’m going to be the fiercest guard when I can train my elanki!”

Ravenpaw glanced towards the cadet’s den, “Maybe we should wake Chaffinchpaw and Wrenpaw so they can eat.”

“Nah, they had moonpeak patrol,” Jackdawpaw told him. “I’ll bring them a couple of robins.”

Cardinalpaw winced in sympathy - if there was a worse patrol to be assigned to than dawn patrol, it was the moonpeak patrol. Especially if you didn’t know beforepaw and used up a lot of energy during the day. He finished off the last of his shrew as Jackdawpaw quickly darted back towards the ukennva, to scoop up the birds as promised. He hummed lightly in satisfaction as Ravenpaw began to tell him about the dream Jackdawpaw had the night before.

| | |

“Your first task will be hunting.”

Cardinalpaw nodded, flexing his claws into the soft bark of the mossy-log he was sitting upon while his mentor stood before him.

“Unlike the Corrections Assessment, there are specific prey you will be seeking,” Asterdawn asserted. “You will need a mouse to prove your quiet paw-steps, a bird to show you’ve learned to move swiftly and either a frog or a minnow to show your willingness to hunt unusual prey to feed your faction in desperate times.”

Cardinalpaw wrinkled his nose - hunting another frog meant he would defintely be pushing through mud again. He mourned his pristine pelt even as he nodded his understanding. His mentor chuckled - clearly she’d chosen frogs specifically to challenge him. 

“Additional points can be gained from rare catches such as porcupines, boar piglets and even adders - but be careful. These creatures are extra credit for a reason - all of them can be very dangerous. There is no shame in retreat to prevent yourself from being badly injured or killed.”

Cardinalpaw bobbed his head in understanding - he wouldn’t seek out any of those creatures on purpose anyway. He’d met one cat who’d been skunked when he was younger and swiftly decided he wanted nothing to do with the creatures. As for boar…

He shuddered at the mere idea.

“Your range is from he to the Neutral Stretch,” Asterdawn instructed him. “When you’ve finished your hunt, bring your prey back to the barracks to be distributed by the Head Sitter - then come straight to the Sandy Hollow for the next leg.”

He expressed his agreement then watched as his mentor strode off - not heading back to the barracks but intentionally vanishing so that she could follow him. He waited for her to leave both his eyesight and earshot, licking his paws passively to begin his assessment. Waiting had it own advantages, giving him time to pick up on the prey in the area. The conversation he had with Asterdawn had chased off the creatures closest to them. He lifted his head, opening his mouth to take in all the scents drifting through the air - this was an assessment testing his knowledge of the basic skills after all, he would be doing everything to the letter.

As usual, it didn’t take him long to catch scent of a mouse somewhere in the forest. He took a moment to figure out which direction it was coming from before setting off.

Cardinalpaw forced himself to move slowly, pulling on every lesson he’d had about mice up to this point. It was taking him moons and migrations to reach his quarry but it was better than moving too quickly, stepping too hard and missing the creature in front of Bluestar. It was fairly unnerving how such a large cat was capable of disappearing so thoroughly into the woods, that even his focused tastes of the air caught not the faintest scent of her on his tongue. 

He pressed on through the bushes, allowing the leaves to drag across his back. It served a dual purpose - to make it sound like the wind was shaking the trees and to prevent the branches to snag in his fur, yanking at his pelt. He stepped around the fallen leaves, leaping up and shimmying across logs and rocks to minimize as much crunching as he could.

It felt like it took a moon and a half before he could finally see his target - a little brown mouse with small, rounded ears resting on its haunches. It was near completely engrossed in the maple-seed it was clutching in its tiny paws. 

Cardinalpaw pushed down his excitement, staying low to the ground. Thus far, everything was in his favor - the wind was blowing towards him, the mouse’s back was towards him and only sporadically looked around as if certain in its safety. He had just entered pouncing distance and was bunching his hind-legs together to strike when the wind changed direction, blowing directly towards the mouse. Firepaw lunged in the same heartbeat that the mouse sat-up in, quickly slamming his paws around the rodent to keep it from charging off into the forest. His teeth connected in its neck and the mouse died instantly.

“Phew,” Cardinalpaw sighed, shaking off the nerves that had blossomed seeming the mouse ready to retreat. Maybe he would get extra points for catching it after the wind changed?

“A bird or a minnow,” Cardinalpaw mused aloud, thinking. Frogs and minnows would admittedly be easier to find than birds - all he had to do was search for a body of water and search the shore-line. They tended to stick to a few specific pools on Stormborn land. If he went for those first, he would be caked in mud longer which would be uncomfortable but could potentially disguise his deep red coat. On the other paw, he would probably be so itchy; he’d scare off any birds he came across.

After a bit more deliberation, he decided to find birds first. He would be too uncomfortable to focus if he let himself be smeared with mud for so long.

Decision made, he pricked his ears; listening for any sound that could indicate a bird - ruffling feathers from preening, flapping wings as one landed, bird-song and the rhythmic tapping on a tree. Birds were noisy creatures whose mere existence made up a large portion of the blissful ambience of the forest and if you followed the sound, you’d find one soon enough.

Before long, he’d found himself on the Neutral Stretch - something that made his pelt prickle with satisfaction. He didn’t know if Asterdawn was being gentle on him by allowing this particular section of territory to be involved in his assessment but he wouldn’t prod a gift-goose in the flank. Wild birds were frequent guests on the stretch, resting in trees and hopping around the ground in search of left-over seeds the gardens discarded. 

Sure enough, it only took a moment of slinking around to see a small chickadee eagerly swallowing some of the spilled seed scattered on the ground.

Cardinalpaw immediately dropped into a crouch, creeping forward into the brush. He chattered a series of soft warbling sounds, enticing the creature to look up. He kept chattering, keeping to the pattern he’d heard birds sing of this song as the creature hopped closer and closer to his hiding place. It was cub’s play to lash out quickly, smacking the chickadee to the ground, stunning it. He pulled himself through the bushes to kill it properly. 

He twisted around, preparing to bury it only to be abruptly bowled over. Cardinalpaw yelped loudly twisting as he fought back against his attacker. He kept his ears flat against his head, hissing as he swiped at his attacker’s face.

The ambush ended as quickly as it started, the attacker immediately putting distance between them with a startled, “Hey, calm down it was a tackle! I won’t do it again!”

Cardinalpaw’s ears immediately pricked, hostility dying immediately. He rolled to his paws as the soothing scent of charcoal, ashweed and silvermint touched his nose. Sure enough, he came face to face with a familiar silvery rosetted molly with deep cornflower blue eyes.

“Ahasra!” he called in delight, his tail immediately shooting up in greeting. She purred loudly as he tackled her, licking her forehead and purring hard in turn.

“Hi Soŕi! I saw you hunting so I waited until you caught the chickadee - how’ve you been? I’ve seen you a few times on patrol but I’ve been so busy training and you looked so focused I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Dawn patrols,” he tells her with a chuckle. “The bane of my existence.”

“You look stronger,” she remarked, giving him a once-over with critical eyes. He shivered a little, a little vulnerable to the intensity of her scrutiny now that they’d been apart for so long. He gave his chest a self-conscious lick. “Leaner too… do you even eat there?”

“Of course,” Cardinalpaw chuckled - he understood where she was coming from though. He’d probably burned away the last of his kitten-fat with all of the physical activity he was involved in. “But we spend so much time running through the trees like Taihakida is snapping at our tails that it’s all burned away.”

“Yikes,” his sister winced, pinna pulling back. “I hate running.”

“Ahasra, you run all the time.”

“Doesn’t mean I like it,” Ahasra told him with her whisker’s twitching. “My body always wants to run - hates walking - but I assure you that I hate every second of it.”

He shoved her lightly with his paw, rolling his eyes fondly at her antics.

“So how’s training going?” he inquired. “You look stronger too.”

And she did. 

When he’d left his sister, she wasn’t exactly scrawny but a life-time of being forbidden from doing anything too strenuous had shaped her. Her face had been rounder than his and his siblings, her belly a bit plumper and her legs soft - in short; she looked like a slightly taller cub. Now, though her face was still round there was a bit of an angle to it, long slender legs revealed the outline of muscle even through her long fur and when she rolled from beneath him to stretch, he could see the other smaller ones flexing across her back.

He was proud of her - he knew how much work would’ve had to go into her training for her form to have changed like this.

“Training been great,” Ahasra purred. She gestured smugly to a sewn on golden-orange patch on her collar near the tag identifying her as a squire. “I’ve got my first pin already.”

“Really?!” Cardinalpaw gasped, moving forward to inspect it. He purred even harder, pressing his cheek against her. “That’s so blazing ‘hassi! How did makira react?”

She puffed out her chest, fur bristling slightly with excitement as a joy brighter than the day sky twinkled in her eyes, “I’m pretty sure that’s the first time she’s ever been proud of me!”

“I knew you’d get your stripes faster than anyone!” Cardinalfire purred harder, nudging his sister affectionately. “I’m proud of you nipuyu. You’re gonna scorch this world.”

A look of embarrassment crossed her face as Ahasra ducked her head, never very good at handling praise and compliments. She pressed her face into his neck a bit more firmly - it was odd to be the taller one, after spending so long in the Stormborn. He dragged his tongue between her ears gently.

“...yekiyai  anasiŕo,” she murmured into his fur. “You’ve always believed in me.”

They took a moment to bask in the warmth of each other’s presence, enjoying being close again. Cardinalpaw breathed in his sister’s scent, missing her even more dearly though she stood beside him. Just looking at her, he felt like he’d missed out on so much of her growing up - it had only been a few moons and yet…

“Well, I’ve got to get back to my assessment,” Cardinalpaw said, reluctantly stepping back. He made sure to memorize her new appearance as best as he could. 

“Assessment?” his sister echoed, realization dawning on her face. “You’re in the middle of an assessment? And you stopped to talk to me instead of telling me to screw off?! Sori you ash-brain finish your assessment! We can talk again later!”

He laughed at her scolding tone as hos baby sister darted back to where he’d dropped his chickadee, bringing it back and placing it in front of him.

“Thank you,” he purrs. As much as he cared about his assessment, he’d needed this - his sister was quite a sight for eyes as sore as his. He wished their brother could be there - standing beside her like a shadow but his absence panged in his chest, reminding him that things were different. “Tell the others that I love them and I miss them but I’m happy.”

“And safe?” she prompted.

He chuckles, “As safe as a cat could be around here.”

| | |

“Grooming again Cardinalpaw?”

The ruddy tom glanced up, tongue half out of his mouth paused where it was dragging at the base of his tail. He flicked his ear at the approaching for of Jackdawpaw and chewed at the base of his tail, discarding a thorn and continuing his bath.

“He’s been grooming since he got here,” Chaffinchpaw said rolling her eyes. “At first I thought he was just cleaning the mud, but there’s not been a speck of it in a while.”

“Old habits die hard,” Cardinalpaw grumbled around his fur. As if he’d ever go around looking like an abandoned badger cub when he had a chance to fix it. “Image is important.”

“But you groom so much your fur’s gonna fall out,” Jackdawpaw snorted.

Cardinalpaw stood up, shaking out his mid-length glossy fur allowing it to fluff out a bit. He gave his paws a little shake each, dislodging any dirt that could’ve built up on them; examining them for mud between his paws. Much to his pleasure he was as spotless as if he was still part of the Shining Sun. He would have to find a shallow stream to finish off his scales but for now, he was as clean as he could be.

“If I look bad, it reflects badly on my family,” Cardinalpaw explained to them. He knows he’s a bit more obsessed with his appearance than his factionmates but it had been bred and branded into him. A prince should look put-together no matter how they felt and no matter the circumstances. The lesson had been parroted to him day after day until he and his siblings had sickened from hearing it. “I don’t mind, I like my pelt.”

“Sounds like a lot of work,” Jackdawpaw grumbled, eying his own coat.

“It is,” Cardinalpaw admitted. “My sister’s fur is longer than mine and she hates grooming it.”

Jackdawpaw shivered, clearly remembering Ahasra’s long, silken coat.

“I’d hate to be her in the warm seasons,” Chaffinchpaw murmured.

“Her fur is silver - she’s fine.”

“That’s cold Cardinalpaw.”

He was interrupted from responding by Ravenpaw bounding down into the Hollow, trotting over to them with his ears flattened to the sides of his head.

“Hey Rave,” Jackdawpaw greeted happily, raising his tail in greeting.

“Hi,” Ravenpaw mumbled, his legs trembling as he sat beside them. He shook his head as if dislodging errant thoughts looking distressed, “I’m going to fail. I missed my shrew.”

“You’re not going to fail from one shrew,” Jackdawpaw soothed, running his tail down the lanky tom’s back. He pressed more closely against him, their pelts brushing reassuringly. 

“But I missed!” Ravenpaw hissed. “I waited too long and I saw me and got away!”

“Maybe you’ll get a half-point for knowing what you did wrong,” Chaffinchpaw offered. “Callastorm saying knowing why you failed is half the battle to later success.”

“And Larkwing isn’t heartless,” Cardinalpaw added. “Sometimes even hunters come back with nothing - one missed shrew isn’t the end of the world.”

As Ravenpaw tried to absorb in their reassurances, taking in shaky breaths; Wrenpaw came pelting into the clearing panting. Cardinalpaw glanced at the sky - it was already late in the day, so the brown tabby had been cutting it close.

“I-I’m last?” Wrenpaw panted, looking at his denmates.

“Yeah - Chaffinchpaw was first. As usual,” Cardinalpaw sighed.

Chaffinchpaw just smirked, flexing the claws on her right paw smugly.

“I hope I don’t lose points for being last,” Wrenpaw fretted, sitting down.

“That wasn’t one of the penalties.”

They all glanced up - it seemed their mentors had followed Wrenpaw to the Sandy Hollow. Asterdawn was in the lead with Callastorm, Larkwing, Titfeather and Lionbelly following behind her. Titfeather had been given the responsibility of finishing Wrenpaw’s training in the wake of Mottletail. He was Callastorm’s own cadet before Chaffinchpaw and it showed in the tom’s calm temper and patient disposition. He was so dramatically different from Chaffinchpaw that Cardinalpaw was a little curious as to how much Callastorm must’ve struggled to adapt to Chaffinchpaw’s more aggressive, stubborn demeanor.

“You’ve all done well,” praised Lionbelly, bringing him back to the present. “A few mistakes but that’s to be expected of cadets.”

“You’ll receive your final scores after the sparring portion of this assessment,” Asterdawn informed them. “Now, let’s begin!”

| | |

Cardinalpaw flopped into his nest, stretching out his sore muscles with a sense of satisfied exhaustion. His cohorts followed his lead, stumbling to their own nests yawning and flexing their claws in turn. Quietpaw had taken up residence in their den with them although she’d been excluded from the assessment, Asterdawn had elected to continue their cadetships. The Stormborn didn’t have any ranks that would equate to escorts but Quietpaw had been ushered into the nursery under the gentle guidance of Brindlewing. As it was, the guest cadet had curled up together in a nest they built for themselves; resting as they weren’t used to the Stormborn’s working period.

Gales rarely allowed work to pass into the dark hours, their days beginning as the sun rises and ending as it sets. On the contrary, Storms have their cats split in half with some of them being primed to end their days at noon and others who start their days at dusk. Rarely did they perform official tasks at sunpeak, this period often being considered personal time. The two Gales had been on that morning’s dawn patrol followed up by a hunting patrol.

 Though his body ached with bruised from thumping against the ground in both the sparring session and the encounter with his sister, it was laced with the pleasant sensation of a job well-done. Cardinalpaw had ended his assessment with an accumulative 19 points - he’d gotten nine points for the skills and motions he’d displayed during his hunting. He’d then gotten an additional five for the wind changing directions mid-hunt - he’d purred to himself with pleasure when that had been announced. He’d ended up losing a point for stopping to talk to Ahasra - sometimes he took in stride despite the disbelieving expressions from his cohorts and the other mentors when Asterdawn mentioned it - but otherwise, he’d done well.

Then moving into the combat portion of the assessment, he’d earned another three for his battle stance and adaptability. 

Chafinchpaw had gotten her full nine hunting points as well, but then, Callastorm levied her with an additional ten for a repeat performance of catching a bird mid-flight - this time, she’d caught two at once. Netting six point in total for her sparring, Chaffinchpaw took the lead as the most successful cadet. 

Ravenpaw wasn’t far behind netting 20 points because the lanky tom had neglected to mention that in exchange for missing the shrew, he’d caught an adder.  He’d improved more on his style of combat too, the dodging and weaving he’d done being more focused and interspersed with sharp, decisively jabs towards Chaffinchpaw’s rib-cage.

Jackdawpaw lagged behind meeting with Cardinalpaw, he’d caught all three of the necessary prey but was still relying heavily on his strength and size in battles. This ultimately resulted in him losing his spar with Wrenpaw leaving him with 17 points.

“The passing score is ten,” Asterdawn had announced making all of them heave a sigh of relief. “So long as you caught at least two of your assigned prey and showed improvement in battle skills, you would be able to pass. As all of you have met these requirements, I am pleased to announce that all of you are now permitted to move onto rank specialty training.”

“I can’t believe we’re already working on elanki,” Jackdawpaw purred. “I don’t even care that we don’t get to do the cool stuff yet.”

“What do you mean?” Chaffinchpaw inquired.

“Lionbelly already told me we don’t get to use sun-blessed elanki until we have the basics of normal elanki,” the gray tom grumbled, the tip of his tail twitching. Their cohort all groaned in unison, some of the excited energy dying down a little. “At least the unaligned elanki are still cool.”

“And dangerous,” shuddered Cardinalpaw, his mind shooting back to the incident with Nettleflower. “Elanki can melt through wood.”

“Melted?” Ravenpaw squeaked, leaning back a little.

“She practically sliced it in-half.” Cardinalpaw insisted.

“Elanki is really scary.”

“Well you’re not supposed to use them lightly,” Chaffinchpaw said, flicking her tail dismissively. “Elanki can kill - so we only use them in real battles. And they make us wait so we’re responsible.”

“I say they should demonstrate by clawing a rock,” Cardinalpaw proclaimed with another - slightly exaggerated - shudder.

“If you think that’s scary, you should see star’s elanki - paam told me about the first time Our Storm used hers. He said it was like lightning had come to life and fought for us,” Chaffinchpaw insisted.

“Count me out - if I ever see lightning charging at me, I’m running away.”

“Good thing you’re on our side then - don’t betray us and it’ll never charge you,” snorted Wrenpaw resting his chin on his paws.

“What are the other star elanki light?” Cardinalpaw inquired, drawing his tongue between the toes of his front-paws.

“I’ve never seen them,” Chaffinchpaw admitted. “From what I understand, Our Storm went to war against the Fenns once and used her cloak - since then, we’ve not seen claw nor whisker of the other factions on our land.”

“We Storms haven’t had to worry about invasions since Our Storm became our star,” Ravenpaw agreed and Cardinalpaw felt himself puffing up with faction. That was his mentor they were talking about - his mentor who was so fierce, no legionaries from any territory would be brave enough to fight her. “Her strength intimidates them so we’ve been focusing on the famines.”

“And the stillborn,” Jackdawpaw murmured sadly.

The den fell silent, any lingering levity vanishing from the weight of his words.

“I still don’t understand,” Jackdawpaw said in a whisper. “What did we do wrong?”

“I don’t know, but someone must’ve done something,” said Ravenpaw, eyes dropping to his nesting material. “Slysoul is merciful and Moonsoul is kind - they wouldn’t take our cubs for no reason.”

“You think it’s because of the Fenns?” Wrenpaw suggested. “They chased out a whole faction.”

A pause as all sides considered this.

“... the famine does seem to be affecting everyone but the Shorerisen again,” Ravenpaw mused, stifling a yawn.

“So this could last until the Galespun come back.”

“Or until the Skua is deposed,” reasoned Chaffinchpaw. “It was his idea after all.”

“It’s late,” Jackdawpaw murmured, settling down in his nest. He swept his large tail around himself, settling into the high ends of his cozy nest. “Who knows if we’ll be dragged out on a dawn patrol tomorrow - let’s sleep.”

“It would be nice,” mumbled Quietpaw without bothering to open her eyes.

Cardinalpaw snickered with the rest of his cohort as they all got comfy. His exhaustion clutched onto him and he was swept away into the land of dreams quickly.

| | |

“Well done Cardinalpaw - now aim for the rock.”

He took in a deep breath, feeling the power thrumming through his veins. He’d been trained to observe the flow of his makai since he was only about 3 moons old but he was being taught to put it into action. He felt the energy flowing though himself and focused on the circuit centered in his paws, pressing lightly against his toes but flowing back into the wider circuit with no-where to go. He reached in himself and directed it outwards, pushing it to follow the new track created by unsheathing his claws.

He watched his claws take on a bright but focused glow, wrapping around each digit.

Cardinalpaw hobbled over to the rock he was focusing on careful to keep his balance before he surged forward with as much energy as she could spare with a, “ha!”

His claws caught slightly on the rock but rather than glancing off and leaving thin, white lines on the surface; his claws had sunk in, dredging relatively deep gouges.

“Well done,” praised Asterdawn making a purr rumble out of his chest. He was very proud of the markings that seemed more fitting for a slice of wood than a hard set stone. “Soon you’ll be on your way to using it in active battle.”

“Skeis,” muttered Cardinalpaw. That goal seemed further off than the second sky, he was already tired and that was just while using it standing still.

“Using elanki is very draining - your reserves will increase as you mature but you should always be very careful,” his mentor lectured him. “How much do you think is left in your well?”

Cardinalpaw gave himself a little shake and closed his eyes taking deep breaths to calm himself. His heart pounded in his chest loudly in a deafening sound but that just made it easier to find his flow - the well was centered in the chest, caught in a creature’s lungs and heart. It felt somewhat normal but seeing it wasn’t the way to tell anyway - he reached out and tugged gently on the well.

A painful burning sensation spread through his heart and lungs not unlike when he first started on the forest sprints making him tremble a little in response to the pain.

“None,” he reported to his mentor, wincing as the elanki pulsed through his lungs. “If I try anything but following the current, it starts burning.”

Asterdawn frowned a little but nodded.

“Then our next focus will be on moderation and controlling the flow of your elanki,” she informed him. “You used far too much for that one swipe - you should always have a bit left over in case of emergencies.”

“Like an ambush?” Cardinalpaw asked.

“An ambush,” she agreed. “Or an enraged boar interrupted by the battle or a fallen tree that you need to cut through to free yourself. There are many ways your elanki can be of use so you should always try to spare some for these situations.”

Cardinalpaw nodded obediently - it made sense enough to him. Besides, the pain that came with over-extending his elanki wasn’t worth it.

“Now take some time to rest Cardinlpaw - you will be attending today’s Peace-Gather alongside Ravenpaw and Jackdawpaw.”

“What about Chaffinchaw and Wrenpaw?”

“Chaffinchpaw is not allowed to attend this Peace-Gather for fighting with a cadet of the Shorerisen and Wrenpaw had volunteered to stay back with here.”

“Oh, alright,” Cardinalpaw agreed easily, taking the moment to stretch his legs forward.

He padded after his mentor from the clearing, shaking his paws out every few steps as his toes tingled from the strange sensation of using his makai. It was not unlike the feelings of nettles and needles felt when he laid strangely on his paw.

“You can get a draught from Spottedholly to handle the stinging sensation,” his mentor told him when she noticed him walking a bit stiffly. “It will be a long-term companion until you are used to using your elanki.”

He gives her a mew of thanks - the information would be useful but as it was, the second they were fully in the barracks he flopped down beside the cadet’s stump. He licked his paws, attempting to wash away the stinging by himself as he watched Lionbelly and Larkwing immediately sweep his mentor away into a meeting.

A pang of jealousy touched his heart.

He wished he could spend a bit more time with Asterdawn like the other cadets did with their own mentors. Jackdawpaw wasn’t to be envied as he was now adjusting to Lionbelly’s new status as lieutenant preventing the golden furred tom from spending as much time with his cadet as he used to but Callastorm went out hunting with Chaffinchpaw every day and Larkwing dedicated his non-dawn patrol mornings to lounging with Ravenpaw. Even Titfeather spent sunpeak wrestling with Wrenpaw in the clearing, laughing and pawing at each other.

He understands that his mentor is busy - that she’s always in meetings about soothing the relations between the factions, tending to their territory and ensuring the relationship between the Stormborn and the surrounding loner lands remained at the very least neutral. Her job was important - as important as the duties and responsibilities he had back in the Shining Sun but he wishes he could spend more time with her anyway.

He sighed mournfully, intending to move further up on his forelegs to continue his grooming when a sharp pain shot through his tail.

“Ouch!” he yelped, whirling around with half unsheathed claws.

He came nose to nose with a small cinnamon furred molly whose tail was raised proudly in the air.

“I did it!” she declared.

“Lynx?” Cardinalpaw blinked, thinking back to the bundles of energy that regularly darted throughout the clearing. Four moons old and she and her brother were already both complete menaces upon on the faction with their sneak attacks - Cardinalpaw was just the latest in a long line of victims. “Leave my poor tail alone!”

“Or what?” she challenged.

Cardinalpaw growled playfully, giving her a teasing snap of his teeth. The little molly squealed darting off towards her brother - Wolf - who watched with awe as Cardinalpaw came trotting up to them.

“You got a cadet,” Wolf said, tilting his head back to stare up at him.

“Yeah Cardinalpaw’s my friend now,” Lynx boasted. “And he’s showing me real cadet moves.”

At that, Wolf immediately began demanding that Cardinalpaw teach him ‘ the cool stuff’ too. The ruddy furred tom stifled his laughter merely offering to teach the two cubs a proper hunter’s crouch. He was bombarded with excited squealing as the two cubs dropped to their bellies beginning to squirm across the clearing as Cardinalpaw corrected their stances.

“Make sure your tail isn’t dragging, but don’t let it stand up like a tree,” he lectured, watching Wolf immediately slam his tail to the ground.

Cardinalpaw shook his head fondly - they would be four moons old soon, old enough to begin following his cohort to the Sandy Hollow to shadow their training sessions. It didn’t hurt to start them on their lessons early. His gaze drew up to Daisyflower, resting by the nursery with her paws crossed over each other while she watched her twins fondly.

“You’ll make a good mentor one day,” she tells him.

Cardinalpaw’s pinna twitched sheepishly, and turned away as his ears heated up. Seeing as the twins were thoroughly distracted with their hunting crouches, now playing a game of ‘hunters,’ he padded back over to his spot by the cadet’s stump and settled down again. His time, content to watch the cubs play.

---

Kingdom Translations

Nipuyu | A common nickname for a runt (lit. little-little)

Yekiyai | Thank you (informal)

Anasiŕo | Older brother

--

Kingdom Notes

Moons and Migrations - A common phrase used to mean that someone is taking a long time to perform a task, often with the implication that a flock of birds could’ve migrated and returned in the time it took for a task to be completed

Taihakida - The Traitor and Turntail, a greedy weasel that’s said to have been the instigator for many of the world’s worst wars and chaos pre-connection era. It’s said that Taihakida may have lost his physical form but can now whisper in the areas of creatures when they are alone causing doubt, spreading gossip and implanting concern.

---

Empire Translations

Elanki | The internal magic used by the creatures of the world, within the factions; it is a combative energy

--

Pride Notes

Ukennva | The collection of recently hunted food available to the faction (lit. fresh prey)

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Allegiances | Previous | Next | First

#strelles au #strike the match chapters #strelles cardinalpaw #strelles jackdawpaw #strelles wrenpaw #strelles chaffinchpaw #strelles wolfkit #strelles lynxkit #strelles ahasra

[mandareeboo]

BurrowClan Allegiances!!

First draft allegiances!! With some fun facts at the bottom:

BURROWCLAN: Leader: Brown- big-furred brown she-cat Deputy: Petalclaw- scrawny brown and white tabby tom (sometimes called Petal) Medicine Rabbit: Hemlock- ancient-looking cottontail buck Apprentice: Finchspots- crippled sandy yellow molly. Fallen Bird.

Diggers: (Cats who sturdy and expand the tunnels)

Brightberry- golden tabby tom 

Snailfur- scrawny gray tabby tom

Ravenface- black molly

Apprentice: Cardinalpaw

Beetlecloud- silver and white tabby molly

Haywhisker- black and white tom

Jaggedwing- dark gray tabby tom

Hunters: (Cats who slip into TreeClan to hunt)

Cougartail- golden tabby tom

Starlingheart- black tom with unnaturally kinked tail. Fallen Bird.

Apprentice: Hummingbirdpaw

Moleleap- pale gray molly

Leafblaze- silver tabby molly

 Apprentices:

Hummingbirdpaw- sandy yellow tom. Fallen Bird.

Cardinalpaw- ginger tom. Fallen Bird.

Queens:

Sparrowstrike- black and white striped molly with unnaturally bent leg. Fallen Bird. Mother to Gorgekit (ginger molly) and Rootkit (black and white striped tom).

Elders:

Seedfang- muscular brown molly with scraggly whiskers.

Ash- tiny gray tabby tom (Originally named Ashwillow)

Sage- black and white molly (Originally named Sage-eye.)

FUN FACTS:

All elders are stripped of their suffixes unless they’ve done smth considered ‘bad’ in their time as warriors

Finchspots is Hummingbirdpaw and Cardinalpaw’s mother. They left TreeClan to support her.

Brightberry and Cougartail are twins

Brown’s warrior name was Brownheart

Most of the Hunters are ex-TreeClan bc they prefer the open air more

Starlingheart’s tail doesn’t stop him from climbing as long as he paces himself

Finchspots has always wanted to be a medicine cat, and gets along well with Hemlock

Sparrowstrike was pregnant when she fell and lost part of her litter

Petal was a kittypet

Seedfang is Brown’s mother

#Warrior Cats #Warrior Cats OCs #BurrowClan #Brown #Petalclaw #Hemlock #Finchspots #Brightberry #Snailfur #Ravenface #Cardinalpaw #Beetlecloud #Haywhisker #Jaggedwing #Cougartail #Starlingheart #Hummingbirdpaw #Moleleap #Leafblaze #Sparrowstrike #Gorgekit #Rootkit #Seedfang #Ash #Sage #Falc talks #I'll probably add more cats earlier #I recognize I need to expand my allegiances per Clan lol

[the-spited]

Local himbo gets a redesign :))))

#cardinalpaw #Hunter Apprentice #apprentice #duskclan #Warrior Cats #warrior cats oc #Warrior Cats OCs #warrior cats blog #wc design #wc art #wc oc #WC OCs #wc #the spited

[morningmask27]

young people that join windclan, two siblings cardinalpaw and finchpaw

#morningdraws #cardinalpaw #finchpaw #i still need to find the warrior names #but they'll eventually come to me #right now i'm really proud of these two #they casually destroy cat genetics but they are adorable and i love them #cardinal looks the most like a tortie #finch is a chimera light brown tabby - red tabby #both have pink eyes #their twoleg owners were probably pissed when they went out #met ravenpaw and then joined windclan #they losy a chimera cat #that must hurt