09.30.2019 → There has been some exciting changes on CD lately! We've added a new monarchy to the groups of cats on the islands, as well as restructured the boards a bit to allow for some space - thus, redrawing the map! We've also promoted Nifty to Global Mod! There are some auditions open right now for JungleClan Deputy as well as for all of the new Kingdom of Mokuhau high ranks - Artemis
09.12.2019 → Unfortunately Elaedria is stepping down as administrator due to life being too busy to keep up! The site will be going through some restructuring in high ranks as well due to this. Effective immediately, the word count is now 100 minimum. Some more changes will be coming in the future - members have been emailed a survey to help us figure out what to change and how to get better. Thanks for your patience! - Artemis
WEATHER
Year 55, Scorching Sands 09.05.2019 → The temperatures of the islands are a steady 98° F on land/ high 80s in water. There is almost no breeze, the sun is uncomfortably warm.
Prey during the day is pretty scarce due to the heat, however is quite active after the sun goes down.
Lost in the dense jungles of scattered islands, facing perils unimagined by their ancestors, are three warrior groups - The traditional JungleClan, descendants of the original clans carried aboard a twoleg contraption from their home long ago and breaking new ground on old beliefs. Second, the curious TidalClan, made up of kittypets who chose to abandon their long since passed twoleg civilization ways for those of true felines. Lastly, the mysterious Tribe of Twisted Roots, hidden in the mist from others with their strange ways and a deeper knowledge of the land around them. Together they must learn how to take their fate into their own paws if they wish to survive this land of erupting mountains and roaring waters.
Join our crew and dive into an island-based Warriors roleplay - a twist on the original series by Erin Hunter. We are a semi-literate site with a minimum of 100 words per post.
The air felt heavy. From the tree tops and off of the river that twined its way between Jungleclan and Tidalclan territory, a steamy mist hung in the air, partially obscuring the sky and softening the details of the picteresque island. The air was also heavy with something else. Of course, Kraiteye knew it was a possibility that he would be placed on patrol with Taropetal, but well, he usually volunteered before that could happen. Or Eelpool or Barnacleleap were present to keep her company, chattering away while Kraiteye moved awkwardly in front or behind them.
Except Sharksong had saw fit to create this... particular combination for an early morning border patrol. And well, the black and white tom couldn't find any reasonable excuse not to.
So Kraiteye padded, trying to focus on anything else but the childhood friend who walked just a few tail lengths from him. The grass on is paws. The sound of the water as they wound themselves along the river. He was even tempted to start a conversation with Coralfrost, just to have something to break the silence, something that wasn't the nervous energy crawling up his spine and settling, like a tick in his brain.
He was so focused on appearing to be nonchalant, leaning into his own natural stoicism and penchant for long drawn on pauses, that he wasn't doing a particularily good job of focusing on actually patrolling the border. He could barely pay attention to the own movement of his body, so it was inevitably, really, that one of his paws got tangled up in some of the dense jungle brush, sending the tom tripping and scrambling to regain his dignity, only narrowly avoiding planting his face straight into the dirt.
"Oh! Um. Uh, sorry there. Let's keep a move on, shall we?" He said, his voice colored with embarassment but somehow, impressively, managing to keep a relatively even tone. Perhaps an infuriatingly even tone.
tag: Rosa, diesel ooc: please be kind to my awkward boy
It was about this moment that Taropetal was wondering if she had somehow offended their ancestors.
She knew Sharksong wasn't to blame; the deputy was new, busy with learning his new position as well as how he fit in it. She couldn't expect him to know every small nuance in the navigators. Especially not one that wasn't as well-known as others, such as the friendship between Newtstripe and Tinystar. No, this one was much quieter, younger.
One that kept her eyes on everything but the tom sharing the patrol with her and Coralfrost. Even without looking at him directly she could feel the tension thick in the air between them; she half-expected to hear the crackle of thunder with how suffocating it felt with every breath she took. Still, she was clueless as to what exactly had happened. All she knew was that this was one of the few patrols she and Kraiteye had shared since she became a navigator, and she couldn't help but feel the dull edge of resentment as a glance in his direction yielded still no recognition of her presence.
About to turn towards Coralfrost, she was distracted by the quick sounds of undergrowth being disrupted, ears swiveling before her gaze did. The she-cat paused as Kraiteye seemed to fight gravity itself, trying to suppress the sudden, slightly mean-spirited mrow of amusement bubbling in her throat.
"Probably best," Came the toneless reply instead, Taropetal refusing to focus too long on him and instead directing her words towards the unfortunate she-cat caught in their mess. "Though doesn't the border head deeper into the jungle than this?" A flick of her tail indicated further into the undergrowth, her words reflecting a certain...urgency she felt.
Though...
Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity...if only he would speak to her. "You okay to go on?"
she wasn’t one to partake in gossip. it was boring, and held no weight in the greater scheme of things, but she also wasn’t deaf and some cats talked loudly about their issues. she wasn’t ignorant to the tension between her two patrol mates, and while she had agreed to go along like any good warrior would, she hoped that they could get it done and over with quickly so that they could all move on. the last thing she wanted to do was be stuck with two cats that couldn’t stand each other. coralfrost hadn’t the foggiest idea what it was about the two that made everything awkward, but she really didn’t like it. and if she was sent as a buffer, well, sharksong was a mouse brain.
the scrawny fighter trailed a few rabbit lengths behind the pair, observing them with criticism, and almost laughing to herself a few times at their stiffness. perhaps if they just talked, it would relieve some of the tension that was brewing between them, thick enough that she swore she could taste it upon her tongue. gods give me strength. the prayer was accompanied with an eye roll as kraiteye jumbled his paws and almost took a header into the earth, stopping her in her tracks to avoid the carnage. she looked from him to taropetal as they exchanged a few words, but she kept her own mouth shut. the worst possible thing right now would be to chime in and get caught in the crossfire of whatever was going on between them. then again, she felt obligated to do something to break the awkward silence.
“maybe, just an uhm suggestion, but uh,” she started softly before taropetal spoke up, asking the tom if he was alright. a raise of her eyebrow was the response. kraiteye looked fine to her, sounded fine, judging by his tone. it seemed like taropetal was the one with the issue. “let’s just uh, keep going? there’s still a lot of border to check out.” clearing her throat before she spoke, she stepped up to the other warriors, painfully aware of their larger statures, and feeling once more like an apprentice. “you’re uh, uhm, ok, right kraiteye?”
If a cat could blush, well, Kraiteye would probably be beet red. It was bad enough to nearly faceplant in front of your crush- not that Taropetal was his crush, of course not- but to be the one who had sort of taken the lead. Well it was embarassing! But Kraiteye had never been one to be in touch with his emotions, preferring to bottle them up, to exist like the eye of the storm. If the eye of the storm was tangle-footed enough to trip over some roots like a mouse-brain.
Both of the she-cats turned their eye on him. Upon hearing Taropetal's voice, Kraiteye swallowed, whipping his head to stare at Coralfrost instead. The younger she-cat was safer, much safer to concentrate on. "Yes, yes. We should go deeper into the jungle. Although, I do believe that the territory does follow the river, at least for a little while longer."
Kraiteye hated to disagree with Taropetal. It was bad enough, existing and knowing she was displeased with him. She always had an... intensity to her. It could make you feel important, or well, miniscule. It made him feel sick, as if he had eaten a spoiled meal.
"I am fine. Thank you for your concern, Coralfrost," he mewed, his voice softening a bit as he lost some of the edge that came with being embarrassed. Of course, it was still in his Kraiteye tone, which tended to be even, but the tom knew Coralfrost didn't agree to any of this, to the awkwardness or the fighting. She needed someone to be a good example. Kraiteye couldn't help the shift in him, almost fatherly, depending on who was watching. It was in the very least friendly. Or friendlier.
tag: Rosa , diesel ooc: please be kind to my awkward boy
Taropetal was well-versed in hiding her emotions. They hadn't been the easiest for the she-cat to connect with in the first place and having them rejected had spun them further out of reach of her paws than ever before. She had grown used to the dull ache that skittered along the edges of her anger, the angry burn in the center of her chest that never had a chance to express itself. Anger at her life, at this situation, at how Kraiteye so easily disregarded her after what she thought had been moons of friendship if nothing else.
But the blatant disregard of her words did not draw her into the physical recoil instinct told her to use. It would be so easy - ears flattened, fangs bared, fur rising along her spine with the beginnings of a challenging growl in her throat. No, none of that useless nonsense. It would not help anything short-term much less later on if they did somehow manage to patch things up between them. Besides, it would not do to allow such a young fighter get caught up in their mess. It simply wasn't fair.
Still, she couldn't help her eyes narrowing, gaze burning into the tom's pelt before she pointedly looked to Coralfrost as well, acting as if she hadn't heard her 'friend' at all. Fine. If he wanted to play that way, she could do the same. Hopefully, her fellow she-cat wouldn't feel too overwhelmed by their dual attention. Or, at least, would understand that perhaps this would cut through some of this awkward tension. "You're right. We should keep going. Shouldn't let ourselves be slowed down." She said, tail flicking irritably as she glanced up towards the sky. The morning, though cool, wouldn't last forever.
It irritated her to know that Kraiteye, of all cats, had been right. "Why don't you lead Coralfrost? You seem to know how to stay on your paws."
How did she always wind up in these situations? For a she-cat that avoided conflict at all costs, she often found herself stuck in the middle of others turmoils. There was clearly something going on beneath the surface with these two, and man, oh man, did it make her uncomfortable. Kraiteye had ignored Taropetals’ comment, and directed it at her instead, and it took everything in her power not to laugh nervously and flee the scene. The young warrior opted for a sheepish smile instead, mumbling that she was glad he was fine, but whether it was loud enough for the other two to hear was questionable. She wanted this patrol to be over, like yesterday. She just hoped that this wouldn’t devolve into a squabble with her in the middle of it. She backed away slightly, glancing between the two of them, her gaze falling on Taropetal who was also focused on her. Eyes widening as she addressed her, Coralfrost laughed nervously.
“N-no. That’s fine.” She responded sharply, her tone high pitched, her aversion to being in the spotlight evident in her large green eyes. It was one thing to participate in a patrol with other warriors, but it was completely different to lead one. She also wasn’t entirely sure that she would be able to stay upright with the other two dogging her paws. It was a recipe for disaster whichever way you cut it. “I think one of you, uhm, should lead. You’re the older warriors.” Another nervous chuckle and she dropped her gaze, falling silent. Perhaps if she just remained quiet for the rest of the patrol, the other two would forget about her. She prayed to the Gods that this would be the case.
