DuskClan | The Skytrees

DuskClan's Skytrees are located near to their border with WaterClan, and near to the Gathering Island. Part of the old LeafClan territory the Skytrees are only half the amount they used to be, with the cleared half now a Greenleaf Twolegplace. The Skytrees are always full of birds however as most of them are tall, hardwood trees such as tall oaks, beech, ash, and willows, their branches are higher up and it takes skilled climbers to get to them.

Tigerstorm walked into Skytrees, looking around to see some trees down. He paused, unsure of what to do. Why did this have to happen on my first moon of being deputy.

Willowpaw skidded to a halt, chest heaving while she glanced around. The sights of the trees soothed her, and she padded to the base of one, curling up against it. She was exhausted, eyes blinking slowly while she struggled to stay awake. She wanted to wait till the patrol got there, to see if everyone was okay. Her head lifted and she looked toward her siblings, waving them over with her tail. 

Softecho waited until they reached the Skytrees to answer Emberpaw. "I'm alright, just worried for the others," she mewed and licked her apprentice's ear, then nudged him toward Willowpaw. 

Palesmoke sat and waited for Sootpaw, tail twitching with anxiety. Dawnflower had mentioned what had happened to Heatherdawn, and the sand colored tabby figured it'd be best if she was close to her apprentice. Dawnflower, meanwhile, set Kitekit by Kindleflame, who set Wisteriakit down beside her sister.

Riverswoop padded over to his mate, licking her ear. “I’ll take first watch,” he mewed softly. “Make sure you’re all okay.”

Tulipsnow shivered at the cold, pausing before she passed to Tigerstorm. “It’s going to frost. We need to sleep all together and keep the kits and apprentices in the centre, otherwise they’ll freeze.”

Blizzardpaw padded over to the outskirts of the gathered cats, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws. The blue-eyed she-cat looked around, glancing at the other apprentices and watching the cats murmur to one another. She felt of small twinge of envy, wishing she had a family to share tongues with.

Mistypad perked her ears, overhearing Tulipsnow and Tigerstorm talking. She crouched down, tucking her paws under her chest and puffing out her fluffy, long-furred coat, thankful for its warmth during such cold weather.

Standing next to where Mistypad had settled, Larchmask looked around the gathered cats and spotted Blizzardpaw looking alone. "Oh you poor thing," he murmured. "Hey Blizzardpaw, you can come over here with me and Mistypad!" He beckoned her over, welcoming the young apprentice. He would hate to have any cat be alone, especially on a traumatic and cold night like this.

Sunpaw decided to go next to Blizzardpaw, not wanting her fellow apprentice to be cold. “Blizzardpaw, i’ll stay next to you as well... if you don’t mind.” She mentioned to her, fluffing up her fur to keep warm. 

Meanwhile, Firefall stayed unconscious, her thoughts going wild as she tried to wake up but her head was throbbing. All she could dream of was the ground cracking open beneath her paws as she stood on a cliff. She couldn’t move as she watched her clanmates fall through right before her eyes and get buried under rocks. She tried to cry out, spotting her best friend, Crowtail, as she watched him get covered in dust. 

Ooc: Firefall having a nightmare about another earthquake and not being able to do anything.

Tigerstorm nodded in agreement to Tulipsnow. "Everyone, gather around. We must sleep together to stay warm. Kits, apprentices and elders are to be in the middle, to stay warm." He said.

Willowpaw lifted her head, parting her jaws in a wide yawn. She moved to curl up in the center of the cats, accepting Kitekit when Kindleflame held her out. The tortoiseshell kit squirmed into the apprentice's fluffy fur, and she rasped her tongue between Kitekit's ears. 

Kindleflame lied down near Willowpaw, eyeing the apprentice as she fell asleep curled protectively around her kit. She glanced to Wisteriakit and leaned over to pull her closer. "Try and sleep, love."

Blizzardpaw, about to decline the invitation as politely as she could to the welcoming elder, felt Sunpaw press up against her. She awkwardly nodded to the apprentice, maintaining eye contact with the ground. "Okay," She replied, crouching down to huddle and get warm, "Thanks."  

Mistypad chuckled at Blizzardpaw before watching as the clan settled down to group together. She shivered as a cold wind swept in, ruffling her fur, and huddled up to Larchmask.

Sunpaw nodded, curling up next to Blizzardpaw. She made sure her fur was fluffed up, to help keep both warm.

"Coldfoot?" Tulipsnow padded around the group huddled beneath the bushes, towards the medicine cat and still unconscious Firefall.

Robinstar followed into the Skytrees, eyes scanning over everybody. Maybe she should make an announcement? Yeah. Probably. She looked around for an easy-to-climb tree, jumping up it and hesitating as she tried to count to make sure everybody was here. It looked like everybody had it sorted already, actually, and she was tired. Even after that short compulsory nap she just had. This hadn't happened before, clearly, and for once she wasn't 100% sure what to do. Well, "once". She hopped back down from the tree, shaking her head and moving over to the crowd.

Mistypad raised her head, blinking her blue eyes to adjust to the dark as she noticed a cat walk in. "Robinstar?" She meowed, partially to herself, but gaining attention from a few cats around her.

Tulipsnow's ears pricked. "Robinstar!" she mewed, padding over to the leader. "Are you all right?"

Larchmask looked up from his drowsy state at Mistypad's voice. He saw his leader walking into the crowd. "Robinstar? Where were you?" Concern flickered in his eyes, waking him up fully.

Robinstar's eyes widened slightly as the three cats greeted her, and she looked over them all quickly before replying. "I'm fine, or, as fine as somebody can be in this situation. I got held back a little," she answered, not wanting to say she'd lost a life yet. It wasn't embarrassment (it was a little embarrassing) but everybody was scared enough after the shaking. They'd lost a lot and didn't need something else to add on to that. "How many are injured? Have we found everybody?" she asked, eyes drifting over to Tulipsnow. "And do you know where Coldfoot is? Or Tigerstorm, Scorchthicket?"

Coldfoot pricked his ear at Robinstar calling his name and padded towards her. "Do you need something?" he asked.

Fallowpaw shivered as a cold breeze rattled the trees. "I wish we were in our nests right now, it's freezing!" she chirped.

Ebonyrose scanned the area they were in, looking for materials that could be used as a nest.

Dustpool sat next to Mistypad, watching Robinstar closely as she twitched her tail a little. She hated having to leave her home, remembering when she was in LeafClan and had been in a separate home. She didn’t miss those days, but thought of them often.. after a few moments in her own thoughts, she began to groom her friend’s ears. “Hopefully we’ll be back in camp soon. My bones can’t take much running and walking.” She groaned, pausing to lick some fur on Mistypad’s head before laying down next to her.

Tigerstorm limped towards Robinstar, looking at his leader. "Did you need me, Robinstar?

“Oh, there you are. Uh, yeah, yes, I need to speak to you both in private,” Robinstar answered, gaze flicking between the two before her tail swayed to the side and she padded away from the crowd so they weren’t in hearing distance. Waiting for them to come over, she shook herself to sort out her fur a little and tried to work out a way to say what she needed to say. Sorry, I died. Moving on, who else is dead, injured or missing?

Tigerstorm limped over to his leader, following her away from the crowd. His shoulder had started throbbing instead of burning. 'I better ask Coldfoot to look at it in a moment.' He thought, sitting down and listening intently to his leader.

Mistypad nodded in agreement with her friend. After a few seconds of watching the high ranks discuss, she decided to lay down as well next to Dustpool. She tucked her paws under her chest, her tail curling around her fluffed out body. "Hmph, too bad I can't hunt anymore," She huffed, "Once it snows I'd be blendin' in right with it and some prey would walk right up to me!"

Melodyfrost hung back from the crowd of cats, struggling to keep warm with her short fur. However, the she-cat kept a stern face, hoping to hide her miserable shivering, and instead padded over to Ebonyrose. "I can't believe we're stuck here," She complained under her breath, glancing over at the nearby two-leg dens.

Larchmask laid on the other side of Mistypad, resting his head on the ground. "Yeah, I miss hunting," he murmured, closing his eyes. He tucked his forepaws under his chest, his paws aching from the cold.

“You won’t be the only one blending in.” Dustpool muttered, her gray and white pelt a little dull from not grooming it. She fluffed up her fur more from the cold, keeping next to Misypad as she felt her eyes getting heavy. She didn’t want to go to sleep just yet, as she wanted to wait for her other fellow elders.

Quake wrote:“Oh, there you are. Uh, yeah, yes, I need to speak to you both in private,” Robinstar answered, gaze flicking between the two before her tail swayed to the side and she padded away from the crowd so they weren’t in hearing distance. Waiting for them to come over, she shook herself to sort out her fur a little and tried to work out a way to say what she needed to say. Sorry, I died. Moving on, who else is dead, injured or missing?

Tulipsnow frowned a little. "Robinstar, you're hurt."

Ebonyrose nodded awkwardly. "Hopefully they don't bother us," she sighed, "I'm looking for a place where we can sleep."

Coldfoot flattened his ears at Robinstar. "I need to check and make sure everyone else is okay, so please be quick with this," he grumbled.

Daisypaw let out a broken whimper, pawing herself forwards to Sootpaw and enveloping herself around him. She wrapped her tail around her brother, eyes clouded over with pain. "Mom... s-she's..." she swallowed. "She tried saving me."

Hickoryshadow sat down icily. He was void of emotion, his movements icy. Heatherdawn... Heatherdawn... His ears were flush against his head. He wasn't here to save her. He could have saved her. He was the one who should have been spared. He ripped into the grass with his claws.

Coalpaw watched Willowpaw from a distance, anger lacing his stature. He kept close to Whispermist though, not wanting to confront her.

Willowpaw nodded tiredly in agreement with Fallowpaw. "Too cold," she muttered and fluffed out her fur, nudging Kitekit back to her mother. The shekit scrambled over to Kindleflame and curled up with the queen. "At least we have our clanmates to keep us warm," she added, nudging her sister softly.

Scorchthicket helped his patrol back to the Skytrees after a long night of navigating the crumbling territory. He carefully helped to set Bramblepaw down, struggling to stay on his paws. "Coldfoot, Tulipsnow," he rasped, legs shaking and his eyelids drooping. 

Willowpaw glanced up and her eyes widened. "Bramblepaw!" She nudged Fallowpaw and Emberpaw before darting over to the other apprentice, sniffing at him. When the deputy nudged her aside, she settled on watching with clear worry.

Palesmoke shook out her fur, rising from her place beside Dawnflower, who was slowly waking up herself. The sisters didn't speak, and simply parted from each other.

Kitekit shivered against her mother's fur, nuzzling closer to Wisteriakit to try and soak up extra warmth. Kindleflame watched them worriedly, licking each of their heads. 

Softecho glanced up to look for Adderfang, heart leaping into her throat. She darted over to her friend, bumping her head softly against his. "Are you okay?" She mewed.

Bramblepaw groaned lightly, his shoulder crunching beneath him. His migraine increased at the voices around him, and he couldn't open his eyes because of the blood that crusted them shut. "Where's Riverswoop?" he did his best not to let his voice waver. "Sco-Scorchthicket? What's going on?" he whimpered.

Hawksky let out a breathy cough, trying to get the last of the dust from his lungs.

Fallowpaw padded behind Willowpaw. "Bramblepaw are you alright?" she called.

Coldfoot flattened his ears, rising creakily to his paws. 

Ebonyrose padded from the tree hollow she had slept in, blinking sleepily.

Tulipsnow padded over, frowning a little but not having slept a wink. "Can you carry him to the bushes, please? It's still cold," she fluffed her fur up.

Larchmask started awake at the new rush of cats and voices. "What happened?" he mumbled, trying to shake the sleep out of his eyes. It took him a minute, but he remembered the earthquake. The elder froze, the trauma from the previous night coming back. "Soulclan... Mistypad, wake up! There's an injured apprentice!" He prodded his denmate's side, ears flat. Was Bramblepaw okay?

Dustpool growled in her sleep at Larchmask being loud, but she opened her eyes at the mention of an injured apprentice. She nudged Mistypad gently and slowly stood up. “You don’t have to be so loud.” She mentioned, a sharp edge in her voice.

Tulipsnow flattened her ears at the noise everyone was making. "Now," she instructed the warriors crowding around her. "Or I'll send you all to Robinstar and the deputies to go on patrol."

Bramblepaw whined at all the noise, his head ringing. "Tulipsnow, it really really hurts.." he whispered, biting his bottom lip. "Why does it hurt so much? Can you make it stop? Please?" he whimpered, pulling open his watery eyes to stare at the medicine cat apprentice.

Scorchthicket leaned down to help Bramblepaw up, supporting most of the apprentice's weight. Carefully, he lead him to where Tulipsnow instructed, yawning.

Robinstar yawned as she woke up, stretching out and feeling a shiver run through her body. She blinked away the cold air, head ducking as she tried to wait for her eyes to be less frozen. Whether it worked or not was another problem altogether. Alright, Robinstar, time's up. Go help everybody else. She looked around, trying to see who looked the healthiest. She noticed Scorchthicket coming back and padded over, tail flicking from side to side. Thank SoulClan for long fur helping her that little bit in the cold weather. "How did it go?" she asked, assuming he went on patrol.

"Everyone stand clear! We don't want to crowd him!" Coldfoot ordered. Hawksky slipped past the elderly medicine cat, hoping that the nicks of his pelt and the dust coating him would be enough to convince them to let him stay.

Fallowpaw fell back obediently at the medicine cat's command.

Ebonyrose watched the commotion, not wanting to get in the way.

"Hawksky and Bramblepaw almost died in the ravine. My patrol and I had to practically walk on the tips of our paws, Robinstar," Scorchthicket mewed quietly to the leader, rolling his shoulders back. "We need to check damages and find out the worst places, but I can guarantee that the cliffs aren't safe anymore." He kept his tone lowered, intending for only the leader to hear.

Tulipsnow licked the apprentice's ear. "It'll be okay," she promised, believing her words. She looked back at Coldfoot. "The poppies in the Bird Song trees," she suggested. "We need a patrol."

Riverswoop looked up towards the commotion from where he was laying, helping to shield the queens and elders from the cold.

Coldfoot snorted, then trotted to the group of cats waiting outside. "We need poppy seeds!" he called, "Anyone who's fit and knows what a poppy looks like, head to the Bird Song Trees to search."
"I can go," Ebonyrose volunteered.


Hawksky looked at Tulipsnow, blinking to adjust his vision in the dim lighting of the hollow. "He was injured before the rocks fell," Hawksky wheezed, his lungs still aching from the dust.

Riverswoop stood and padded over. "Poppies?" he mewed, frowning a little.

Tulipsnow glanced at the warrior. "Okay, that's good. But you need to drink some water, it sounds like you're choking."

"Amber colored, six petals, you'll know them when you see them," Coldfoot sighed.

"Water's the furthest thing from my mind right now," Hawksky purred, "Feels like I'm drowning."

"I'll go to collect some too," Softecho volunteered, shifting her weight on her paws. She twitched her ears backwards, settling back down while she waited.

Scorchthicket coughed and wheezed, padding out from the hollow to drag in deep breaths of the cold air. "We need to build a temporary camp," he called, amber eyes scanning the gathered cats. "I need a patrol to help gather the supplies to build it."

Coldfoot nodded. "You three then. They should be in scattered patches. The seeds are in large pods," he explained, "Pick the pods off and bring them back, I don't need the flowers."
Ebonyrose nodded to Coldfoot and began to head towards the Bird Song Trees, not looking to see whether the others were following.

"I can help!" Fallowpaw chirped, darting to Scorchthicket. "I saw a bunch of branches when we were walking here last night."

Softecho purred and nodded, trotting after Ebonyrose with a hint of caution in her steps.

Scorchthicket nodded to Fallowpaw. "Good to know some were seen," he mewed and glanced up to see if any warriors would volunteer.

Riverswoop's ears pricked, and he followed Ebonyrose and Softecho with his tail held high.

Sootpaw stayed in his makeshift nest, eyes open and watching but not participating. Mom...


Tulipsnow scoffed. "You've got dust in your throat. Keep choking on it, fine by me."