Leaf-bare's Toll [Open to all SunClan cats]

[Winter Sunflower]

For all that of which could be said, perhaps Ashstar spoke the wisest when she had proclaimed as a younger cat that the weak could be wiped out with the swipe of a paw. Though those words had been harsh, unfeeling, and cruel, they were also a reality which all of nature's creatures feared. It awakened the primal instincts of animals, forcing them to defend themselves or fight. Since everyday was a challenge for survival, the weak were often discarded or left behind. Only the strongest could make it through the day and unfortunately, when Leaf-bare came, is brought with it death and disease, making surviving an even more difficult challenge.

When the cold winds swept through clan territory and brought its long periods of darkness, it was as if with the coming of the gloomy, black nights, came a sweep and stroke of death. Truly, a weak cat could be wiped out with the swipe of a paw. Or in this case, the metaphorical paw of Leaf-bare. Perhaps this ought to have been the season when the clan cats united. For they all felt the bitter sting of Leaf-bare. But rivalries were hard to overcome and instead of being smart cats and aiding each other, they often bickered over stolen prey, territory, etc. Since it was Leaf-bare and prey was even more scarce, the fighting was often more intense than if it had been the season of Greenleaf. What foolishness it was to fight when a more deadly, unstoppable force was bent on murdering them in their sleep. However, such was the primal instincts of animals.

"And such shall be our downfall," the silver cat murmured as she gazed into the warriors den.

The leader of SunClan, the calm and collected Ashstar, was resting quietly under the shade of a rare tree, which had settled itself in the middle of SunClan's camp. She watched her clan with sad, green eyes. Everyday, the SunClan leader fretted over her clan's problems. She saw that her clan had decreased in numbers after Leaf-bare hit them. Such was a terrible time... Many kits had lost their lives due to the greencough. Ashstar honestly feared for the worst for her clan. Even though it was Newleaf, the number of kits had not increased terribly. The less members they had, the more vulnerable they became.

"Please, StarClan. What shall we do?" Ashstar rose her head to the sky and mournfully whispered into the soft air.

[Sunny]

OOC: Winter Sunflower , are you setting this topic in the time of leaf-bare? Or is it newleaf and the after affects of leafbare? It should be the latter because we like to put our topics in the corresponding time as accurately as possible. And I know you'll hate another admin telling you, an admin, what to do. Sorry!

IC: Gorsefern saw his beloved leader, sitting alone. When cats had that look in their eyes they were thinking about something deeply. Something bothering them. He ducked his head low and padded over to her. "Hello, Ashstar," he murmured respectfully. "How are you? Is something bothering you?" He sort of knew what was on her mind - it was on every SunClan cat's mind. The after affects of leaf-bare left SunClan to its weakest. Personally, he wanted to make the suggestion of doubling the guards at Guard Hill, but he was very shy of making suggestions like that. That was another part of his illogical personality. He always chose the wrong decisions - well, not necessarily wrong, but he could make a much better choice. This time, though, he expected Ashstar to figure it out herself. She was a smart cat.

[Silver]

Silverstripe padded into camp carrying a rabbit, placing it on the small fresh kill pile, with so many of her clanmates getting sick and almost nobody being able to go out and hunt for the clan or bring water for those that were sick, during leaf-bare she had taken the responsibility of doing both for her clan both at day and night, even if in the later she wasn’t really good. She couldn’t sit and see her clan suffer like this, she just couldn’t!

Her usually shiny and silky fur had turned dirty and shaggy, clearly neglected by the young warrior, her eyes reflected a clear lack of sleep and she was a bit too thin, though not enough to be starving…barely. More than once she had been scolded for neglecting herself like this by her clanmates, who tried to force her to return to the warrior’s den so she could get some proper sleep or eat and drink something. However, as soon as they got distracted and looked somewhere else, when their gaze returned to where the young warrior was she was no longer there, or anywhere to be seen. Twice the small patrols sent by Ashstar to patrol the territory and hunt had found the young warrior in the middle of the field after that after she had passed out because of extreme exhaustion and had to carry her back to camp. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t caught greencough during this period. Either she was really lucky or StarClan had decided to protect the selfless warrior, maybe even both.

Now that Newleaf had arrived…well, let’s not lie, Silverstripe wasn’t really any better. Her clanmates were slowly starting to regain health, but the memory of those that had died was still fresh in her mind and she didn’t want to see anyone else die again…she already had to endure way too many deaths, spend too many painful nights sitting vigil as she shared tongues for a last time with the ones that once had been her friends, bury both warriors that she had come to respect and small kits that died way too soon. She wasn’t going to let that happen again, she would bring food to keep her clan fed, she would bring water so they could drink and if she noticed the herbs on the medine cat’s den starting to run out, she would go fetch more so both the medicine cat and the apprentice could focus on healing the clan. Her own needs could wait.

She lifted her tired gaze to meet her clanmate’s and smiled at them, trying to look strong and well rested when she clearly wasn’t “Ashstar, Gorsefern” She meowed respectfully as a greeting, her voice a bit hoarse even with her attempts to make it sound normal.

[Winter Sunflower]

Tags: Sunny, Silver
OOC: It is after Leaf-bare.

The air carried the scent of their grassy plains. A warmth coated it as well. The pile of prey seemed higher. The moon seemed to leave earlier while the sun was becoming more and more the companion of the sky. All of this ought to have pleased Ashstar. However, when she looked towards the nursery, it appeared empty, with only a few kits to inhabit the usually crowded den. This Newleaf should have restored SunClan to full numbers but that was not the case. The number of kits barely increased - most of them had been born in Leaf-fall or Leaf-bare and barely any of them had made it through the chilly weather. Since there were already a low number of warriors, it left SunClan crippled. Some warriors had to do the work of two or three and it was very tiresome. If another clan attacked, Ashstar was not sure they would win.

To be always optimistic. To never doubt in her abilities. That was what her mentor had taught her. Unfortunately, Ashstar was not a very optimistic cat - quite the opposite, actually. Ashstar was known for her cynicism. She was often a very pessimistic character who tended to dampen the mood of her clanmates without really meaning to do so. She tried to be a good leader and act confident but in all honesty... Ashstar was anxious. She was unsure. She did not place much confidence in her decisions. She feared that it would be her fault that her clan would fall. It already seemed like that, considering how few cats had survived Leaf-bare. The thought almost made the usually strong she-cat cry. No. She wouldn't cry. She had to stay strong for her clan.

She sighed, starting to feel the overwhelming sense of exhaustion. Ashstar had worn herself over her clan's problems the night before so she had gotten little sleep. It was affecting her body and thought process, slowing both down. Nevertheless, throughout the day and into sun-high, Ashstar had fought off the wave of sleep which constantly bombarded her senses. She reasoned that every moment spent sleeping was a wasted moment which she could be using to help her clanmates. Ashstar really was only making things worse for herself but she was too worried to go to sleep, though she badly needed it. It was quite apparent by her appearance alone. She did not look well, not was she well.

Ashstar tensed when a calm, deep voice interrupted her daze. She forced her muscles to relax when she recognized the voice to be one of her warriors, Gorsefern. She smiled sadly, slightly comforted by his concern for her wellbeing. "I'm fine. I guess I'm just troubled by our decreasing amount of cats. We do not have many warriors and we do not have many future warriors either. It's quite worrisome. If another clan were to attack us..." Ashstar explained, her voice clearly troubled.

"I fear our warriors may not be able to keep up with caring for our clan forever. They are becoming tired," she thought, gazing with troubled eyes towards one of the younger warriors. This particular warrior had been found to over exert herself far too much. Just one glance of the she-cat told Ashstar that she was not regarding her health in any way. Instead, all her worries rested upon her clan. An admirable trait which was evolving to be very suicidal for the over-working warrior.

"Silverstripe, what have you been doing today?" Ashstar softly asked. Her leaf green eyes searched for Silverstripe's colored orbs.

[Sunny]

Gorsefern nodded in agreement. Her comment deeply disturbed him. He had been trying to avoid actually talking about this subject for a while, but he wanted to lift some weight off of Ashstar's shoulders. Sometimes talking about troubling things helped other cats. He sighed. Although he knew that she was very smart and knowledgeable, he had sort of hoped that she wouldn't have noticed the weakness of the Clan. Of course, their vulnerability was extremely obvious, so his wish was totally un-granted, but hearing her say it was heart-breaking. What could they do to save the Clan? SunClan was usually very strong, but the last leaf-bare was horribly evil to them. Probably the worst leaf-bare in history for SunClan. He remembered all the tales from the elders about their worst experiences with leaf-bare, but they were elders, so obviously they had exaggerated. By the time this leaf-bare was decades old, it would probably include monsters and bears, it was so realistically terrible.

When Silverstripe joined the two cats, he almost nodded again. She was living proof of SunClan's troubles. Her tail and ears drooped, and her shoulders were unfit for any more weight. Gorsefern sighed. "Hello, Silverstripe," he said softly, trying to hide his pity. Although SunClan cats were weak, they still had some dignity, and he knew that no one in SunClan wanted to be pitied.

[Silver]

Silverstripe looked at the camp entrance for a couple of seconds without saying a single word, clearly trying to decide between going out again and talking with her clanmates. With a deep sigh and a smile she padded towards them, maybe staying for a bit wouldn’t be that bad, plus, in the current situation trying to raise her clan’s mood probably would be really helpful. Who knows? Maybe she would start feeling a bit better as well, and she really needed it.

She sat at their side. Talking and not sound too tired or hoarse would probably be a true challenge for her and she knew it, but even if the two cats were trying to act normal she could see the hidden worries and pity in their eyes. She really didn’t cared, she was fine…she was fine…she had to be fine, her clan needed it “I was just hunting, Ashstar, the fresh kill pile was getting a bit low” She meowed, trying to make it sound casual, like something that any cat would do in her place. She, however, was careful to not tell her that she had been out hunting since the previous day, not even putting a single paw inside the warrior’s den since then, nor taking breaks to eat or drink anything. If she did she knew that she would be forced to stop and probably even escorted inside the warrior’s den to sleep after her clanmates had made sure that she ate and drank something, this wouldn’t be the first time that happened after all “I was planning to go and bring some wet moss right now”.

She looked at the medicine cat den as she spoke, wondering how her sick clanmates as well as the medicine cat were doing, she probably should walk and ask them if they needed anything. If she hadn’t already it was because she knew that if fooling a warrior was hard, fooling a medicine cat in her current state would be impossible “Prey is still a bit scarce, but I’m sure that as Newleaf goes on, their numbers will increase”.

[Winter Sunflower]

Tags: Sunny, Silver

Everyday was another day counting down to the demise of SunClan. The cats of SunClan were all thin, skinny, and worn out. It seemed everyone was either sick, worn out, or dead. Though prey was abundant, there were not enough warriors to hunt. As well, there were a few border issues which had been encountered on patrols. It was painfully obvious how unwell the whole clan was and Ashstar wished they could just miss the next gathering. Their weakness would be apparent to all the clans, putting SunClan at too much of a risk. No, that was unadvisable to show the other clans how sickly they were. The other three clans would feel confident enough to attack SunClan at its lowest point. Honor meant nothing to the other leaders. If it came to survival, they would do anything they could to live.

Ashstar was tired. She definitely should have taken the time to actually rest the night before. But she had been insomniac so she had not been able to put her mind at ease and fall into a temporary, blissful, unconscious state. Too many questions - some unanswered and others obvious - forced Ashstar to linger through the dead of night contemplating. Repeatedly the questions "Will we survive?", "Why us?", "Why me?", "What are we going to do?", "What if SunClan falls?" echoed across the infinite space of idea and thought. What even energized Ashstar more was what haunted her. The impending doom of her beloved clan which cats called SunClan. And according to the other clans, it was an evil clan. So if there were any survivors after SunClan fell, they would not be treated kindly. If there was one thing Ashstar valued over her clan, it was her clanmates.

And as she watched Silverstripe with acute, green eyes, she felt concerned. No, not just concerned. Far stronger than that. It was obvious that she was trying to hide her hoarse voice. Despite the fact that none of SunClan was well, none of the others furs compared to how raggedy Silverstripe's was. The she-cat really needed rest. It was far too apparent. And she, Ashstar, was going to make sure Silverstripe got it.

"And let me guess, you haven't had either food or water and you have not slept in a while. You're of no help tired, sick, and obviously needing food. The rest of us do not come close to being as sick as you, Silverstripe. I also know many of the others have told you to get some rest but you ignored them. So, as your leader, I order you to get some sleep. You'll be staying in the camp today. Do not do any chores, either. And for goodness sakes, don't starve yourself! The rest of us aren't completely unable to hunt for ourselves and one extra cat! Truth be told, the rest of us are far more capable to hunt than you. And besides, if you continue to push yourself this hard and you faint while hunting - which I know you will, as it has happened many times - it will only hinder us, as we will have to find you and then drag you all the way back to camp!" Ashstar proclaimed.

[Sunny]

Gorsefern nodded in agreement to Ashstar's words. They were very true.... Silverstripe needed rest. He had never seen another cat in SunClan look that raggedy before. And he thought that he was super tired! "Yes, really. You look, no offense, horrible. You need some sleep." He hoped his little comment didn't come out as mean, but she truly did look horrible. A pang of jealousy hit his heart as the foolish and selfish part of him came out. He wanted to be pitied. He wanted people to feel bad for him and he struggled "bravely" through his sorrows. But he, of course, didn't say that out loud, and pushed the feeling away. Gorsefern sighed, and looked around, trying to change the heavily guarded subject that was pushing his clan down.

OOC: Sorry for short post

[Silver]

“Mouse-dung” Silverstripe was regretting not going out to fetch the wet moss now, she should’ve guessed that trying to hide her hoarse voice wasn’t going to be enough to fool her clanmates. She knew that her physical appearance wasn’t exactly great, but she wasn’t expecting it to be bad enough to make the two cats notice how tired she was. Yeah, she knew that more warriors were slowly joining the hunting parties and patrols, but even she knew that it wasn’t enough, and with more cases of greencough turning into blackcough even during Newleaf she felt that she wasn’t even doing enough to help her clanmates. She just wanted this terrible curse to be lifted from SunClan’s territory, for everything to return to normal, see warriors sharing tongues in the clearing, elders stretching under the warm sun, kits playing inside the nursery, apprentices going out with their mentors to train…she missed those old times, and now the camp was just way too quiet…way too lonely. If any cat from other clan came here now they probably would even think that SunClan had decided to leave this camp and move somewhere else, with only some cats around here gathering whatever was left behind.

She lowered her ears and looked at her paws as Ashstar scolded her for not taking care of herself. The words she used weren’t exactly new, as she had heard some of her clanmates say something similar to her, yet they hit a harder than theirs, probably because they came from the leader and not just another warrior. She looked at Gorsefern, hoping that he would support her somehow, but quickly gave up on that hope as he decided to side with Ashstar, concerned for her wellbeing. She sighed deeply, upset, before answering “I’ll stay in camp…” She clearly didn’t liked the idea of stay in camp and do nothing but take care of herself for the rest of the day, even if she obviously needed it, but she wouldn’t dare to go against Ashstar’s wishes, even less a direct order “Can hum...someone else bring the wet moss? And maybe ask the medicine cat if they need anything? I think they may be a bit too busy to go gather herbs by themselves lately” She hated having to ask someone else to do the work she had planned to do that day, but she wouldn’t be able to get any real rest if she wasn’t sure that it was done.

[Tuna]

Adderfang emerged from the warriors den with moss being dragged by his paws that he was too lazy to pick up all the way. He finally shook it off, looking back into the den to admire his work. He had cleaned it out and put new bedding in. It always felt so much better to sleep in fresh moss, and a good nights rest is what everyone in the clan needed. He turned his gaze back to camp and let his body contort into some stretches, his tail making a slow curl over the top of his body. His muscles were visible through his pelt and moved under his fur as he got back to a resting standing position, taking a long look at the camp. He noticed Ashstar, Gorsefern, and Silverstripe all huddled together under the tree at the center of camp and they all looked kind of run down. He knew he heard some scolding going on when he was cleaning the den but he couldn't make out the words, and he saw Silverstripe had her head bowed. His observant self begged to investigate the mini-gathering.

Adderfang walked over slowly, his shoulder blades poking high above his spine with each step that he took. His head was lowered and his tail almost dragged on the ground; he wasn't using the energy to lift it in greeting. "I'll do that later" he mewed to Silverstripe, catching the last of what she was saying. He had gone hunting in the morning and did the den just now, but after a quick rest he would be good to go hunting for herbs. His tall ears flicked backwards as he approached the three cats and sat down, his body language tense. He hated other clans viewing SunClan as weak and right now that was exactly how they looked. "What's with the pity party?" he mewed, looking between the three cats with his striking blue almond-shaped eyes. His face was sharp and it looked like his lips were pursed, and although this was just his natural state, he was getting a depressing vibe from these three which didn't put him in the best mood.

[Winter Sunflower]

Tags: Tuna, Silver, Sunny

Ashstar flicked her tail in annoyance. Didn't this cat understand what no chores means? And to think she was having to enforce the very same thing that any other cat would never try to argue against. Any other cat would be very jealous that Silverstripe was being given a break from all work! They would all be very jealous. Ashstar loved her clanmates but she was still stern and in SunClan there was no idling around for long periods of time. Everyone had to be busy. Unfortunately, unlike the other clans, SunClan did not have many cats but they had lots to do. That meant everyone had to pitch in. But not to such the extend Silverstripe was doing! She should have only tried to help to the best of her ability. She should not have attempted to perform past what she was able to manage.

Ashstar glanced at Adderfang. She appreciated that he was going to put Silverstripe's concerns to rest. However, she did not the tone he was using. Ashstar's leaf green eyes swooped angrily to Adderfang. Her eyes blazed, full of fury. "This is not a pity party. It's more like a necessary intervention," Ashstar explained, keeping her voice surprisingly level, considering how upset she was right now.

[Sunny]

Gorsefern felt a bit uncomfortable with Adderfang's tone, and even more-so when his leader made a retort. Yes, he understood how Ashstar felt about what Adderfang said, but he also knew that Adderfang was as depressed and worried as the rest of the Clan. First of all, this probably made him a little more jumpy and snappy than usual anyway, and second of all, snappishness was simply his personality. He pushed between his Clanmates, mewing quietly, "Guys... Stop it. We're all worn out and tired. We can't be arguing. Ashstar, I'm sure he was just feeling like that under pressure of all the work that he had to do. We're all a little cranky and out-of-sorts, so.... Let's give each other some slack." He sighed, and stepped back, looking at the ground.