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.
Kraiteye moved quietly on the sand, used to the feeling of the grains sinking and shifting beneath his paws, his legs already strengthened from balancing for many moons. Above him the sun shone in a bleak blue sky as it crawled to the horizon, its beams bright but not unforgiving, not like it would be later, when the sands heated to the point that they burned the skin off the soft pads of Tidalclan feet. Normally he would be skimming the sand, keeping up a light jog, but his pace was slow and even this time.
After-all, it was the first time he had taken his apprentice, Tunapaw out here.
When Kraiteye had been assigned to the young black and white apprentice, he immediately took the responsibility seriously. The young tom needed to be coached, trained, supported, and gently nudged in the right direction if he wanted to become a successful warrior. They needed to work on the basics, the fundamentals. While it may be frustrating for a young cat to face the boring, it was always these building blocks that the cats returned to when it came to surviving and thriving in their harsh island environment. The first night after the ceremony, Kraiteye had stayed up, unable to sleep, as he carefully plotted and planned a course to mold Tunapaw into a worthy warrior. He couldn't fail him after-all.
Right now the tom was leading him to the scattering of black volcanic stones which interrupted the shifting sand of the beach. He turned, setting his green eyes on the younger cat. "We're going to the tidal pools. When the sun rises the rocks are covered by water. When the sun sets, they are exposed."
He turned back to the jagged rocks, which formed pebbles and larger stones now at their paws. Kraiteye began climbing, carefully maneuvering the uneven footing but stopping every now and then so the more inexperienced tom could keep up with him. With a flick of his tail, he gestured to a random spattering of pools, each filled with sparkling, crystal clear water. "What do you see?"
tag: @sovereign note: first training thread! some hunting!
TUNAPAW bumbled along the beach. While the scenery was beautiful, his sense were too overwhelmed for him to admire it right now. His legs were not used to this the way Kraiteye's were. His feet sank into the sand at every step and ambling along took a great deal of effort. Silently, he admired Kraiteye's gracefulness, but every time he attempted to put his foot down quietly, he would end up sinking into the sand again. Tunapaw gave a sigh of both relief and exhaustion as he pulled himself onto the rockier, black volcanic ground. Don't complain, he reminded himself silently. If Kraiteye can do it, so can I.
But the tidal area was no easier than the sand. Tunapaw struggled to get a grip on the wet rocks and occasionally tripped, sending cascades of water, pebbles, and seaweed to interrupt the delicately balanced landscape. The air had a sharp, salty tang that he was unused to and while he was extremely excited to be out of the camp, he had no way of demonstrating his excitement without falling off the slippery rocks. He made a great deal of effort to keep up with Kraiteye, as he wasn't about to test his mentor's patience on the first day.
"The what pools? If they are sometimes covered by water... will we drown if we stay here too long?" he spluttered out a mouthful of grit and seaweed as he reached the edge of the pools. He steadied himself next to Kraiteye and looked into the water. How was he supposed to know what to look? All the pools looked rather similar.
"I see... more rock," he said. "And a crab! Look look look it's a crab!"
The apprentice poked his claw in the water to bother a minuscule hermit crab. It quickly scuttled away, leaving a cloud of dusty water.
"Burrr, too cold," Tunapaw shivered and shrank back, looking at his mentor in plain embarrassment. He then attempted to clean his paw, and retched at the salty water.
Some cats might have found the apprentice's struggles comical, but Kraiteye kept his face trained on calm attention, watching the movements of the younger tom carefully. "Walk along the taller points, they'll be drier," Kraiteye said, balancing carefully on a spine-like stretch of black rock as he skirted the edge of some of the larger pools. Even his apprentice's concern he responded to seriously, although there were long stretches and pauses, time where the air was left to linger.
Kraiteye didn't want to overshadow the young tom. Didn't want him to feel like he couldn't speak up or express what was on his mind. "It is safe to walk here from midday to dawn, although the best time is just after the tide begins to recede," he mewed. It always seemed comforting to him, the solemn predictability of the tide, knowing that it would always rise and fall with a similar rhythm like a heartbeat.
The older cat shifted his weight, settling as best as he could against the uncomfortable knobs of rock while Tunapaw pointed out a scuttling hermit crab. The apprentice went after it, complaining about the chill of the sea water. At this, a small smile did grace Kraiteye's face. He remembered the first time he swam in the sea, and judging by the youth's reaction, the day he taught that lesson would be interesting indeed.
Scanning over the silvery pools, Kraiteye took a few more steps towards a small, oblong disc of water where a dark, mouse-sized fish swam in desperate circles. The tom gestured towards the prey with a flick of his tail. "Some creatures, like that hermit crab, live in these pools. Others get trapped when the water leaves. It is best not to wait too long to check the pools, sea birds also know there is prey to eat in these waters, so you should come here just when the sun reaches the tops of the palm trees."
Making sure that there was plenty of space for the apprentice, the spotted tom settled down, green eyes trained on Tunapaw. "Now I'd like to see you try to catch this fish."
It was precisely because the pools were small, confined spaces that he brought his apprentice out here to attempt fishing. Even if he missed his first few attempts the fish had little opportunity for escape, making this a forgiving experience for new paws.
tag: @sovereign note: first training thread! some hunting!
TUNAPAW probably had a million questions that he did not know how to put into words. He figured he should act more attentive unless he wants more salt water in his mouth.
"Now I'd like to see you try to catch this fish," his mentor said as they sat down next to a pool. Tunapaw shifted uncomfortably.
"Uh... you're not going to like, show me how or give me some pointers first?" he gave Kraiteye a skeptical look. But this young cat was no stranger to making a fool of himself so he figured he might as well go ahead.
The fish wasn't large either, and Tunapaw followed it with his eyes for a while. I probably have to be fast, he reasoned. As the fish drew closer, he used one paw to swipe at the fish in the water. However, as he leaned over, his shadow fell over the water and the fish dove toward the the other end of the pool.
Refusing to lose the fish, Tunapaw then tried to jump at the escaping fish with both front paws, but the pool was slipperier than he thought. His front paws slipped where they landed and he tumbled over into the pool. He couldn't get a foothold and slid onto his back. More salt water got into his eyes and mouth and Tunapaw felt a moment of disgust and disappointment before... flop!
The fish had been startled by his fall and jumped up, landing squarely in his face. Tunapaw quickly stuck a claw through the small wiggling creature and knew he just got extremely lucky. He looked up at his mentor with a mischievous glee in his eyes. At least he got the fish! Wet, messy, and belly-up, Tunapaw let out a mrrow of laughter, "I got it, Kraiteye!"
"Its better for you to learn for yourself," the black and white tom spoke, smiling lightly at his apprentice's surprised expression. Of course the expectation was that Kraiteye would give some long lecture on the technique. But well, he didn't really think his apprentice would pay attention to the whole thing, or he would ingest the words and get overwhelmed.
Instead, Tunapaw hovered over the pools, splashing around, gracelessly, until the fish came flipping up out of the water in an attempt to escape the predator. The young tom hooked it, before turning to show it proudly to his mentor.
"Very good!" Kraiteye said warmly. "I knew you could do it. You're a tidalclan cat after all."
"Now make sure you give it a killing bite, on the back, just above the dorsal fin. The last thing you want is it to flop away once you've put it down." This was a lesson that a young Kraiteye had to learn the hard way, and he distinctly remembered his old mentor, Bubblestripe, chewing him out for the simple mistake.
"Alright, lets try again. There should be more prey in these pools. When you find it, make sure you position yourself towards the sun, so that your shadow falls behind you. Keep your back straight, as well, you don't need to throw your whole body into it. Just your paw is enough." Kraiteye instructed, before pausing and turning his round, attentive eyes back onto the younger tom. "Do you have any questions?"
tag: @sovereign note: first training thread! some hunting!
TUNAPAW smiled at his mentor and gave an unashamed chuckle. He knew very well that his performance had been a mess, but Kraiteye didn't seem to mind. I guess everyone really has to start somewhere, he thought to himself. He made sure to give the fish a good bite as Kraiteye said to make sure it was dead. He didn't exactly know where the dorsal fin was, but he gave it a pretty good guess.
He clawed his way out of the pool, his pelt dripping with salty water. He would have to give himself a good cleaning later, but now was not the time. Tunapaw wanted to give his mentor whatever attention he could; there were few cats who remained so unfazed at his clumsy and mischievous demeanor. Perhaps Tinystar had chosen his mentor carefully.
He did have questions, many of them in fact, but Tunapaw picked a few as to not annoy his mentor.
"Um, the pool is actually, quite slippery," he began. "Would you pin the fish in the water or try knocking it out onto the land?"
As they walked, he also spotted a bright speck of bright yellow in one of the pools. He peered over it, an angel fish flaunted its yellow fin and black and white body. It was smaller than the fish he currently carried.
"Kraiteye look!" he said through a mouthful of fish, "This one's so pretty. Can we eat those too?"
The black and white tom was pleased. It seemed that his apprentice was finally starting to be interested, to be invested in his learning. This was why Kraiteye didn't lecture him. He wanted to cultivate questions and curiosities. Things that not even he, an experienced hunter, might think of to consider. Because when the smaller tom pulled himself, dripping out of the water, there was a question at the tip of his tongue.
There was a beat of silence before the mentor spoke. "Fish are slipperiest when they are in water. If you attempt to knock them onto land, you may not have a grip on them, but you will buy yourself a few seconds to pounce and finish them off."
As they padded among the pools, trying to find another piece of prey for the apprentice to try his paw at, they came upon the small, darting yellow shape of an angelfish. Kraiteye listened, perhaps a little unnervingly attentive, as was his tendency. "A fish this small should only be considered when prey is scarce. When the sand and the waters get hotter. Or the storms drive most other fish away. Then you may consider bringing such small prey home. But for now, its better to let it grow and get fatter so that you may catch it later," Kraiteye mewed, continuing to pad along the rugged outcropping of stone.
There had to be another piece of prey Tunapaw could attempt to catch somewhere in the pools.
TUNAPAW eyed the small yellow angelfish for a moment longer. Perhaps it was not edible, but it was certainly very interesting. By the time he had finished amusing himself over the pretty-looking fish, Kraiteye had gone several paces in front of him. Tunapaw scrambled to catch up, slipping and sliding along the coastline. Pebbles tumbled from where he walked, and he felt slightly ashamed of his clumsy gait compared to his mentor's casual strolling.
A shiny glint caught his eye, and the black and white apprentice was distracted again. He glanced at Kraiteye before wandering away a little to observe the weird shiny animal. To his pleasure, it was a large crab peacefully blowing bubbles in the neighboring pool. Every once in a while, it would peak out from behind the rocks where it sought shelter.
"Kraiteye!" he called loudly, not realizing how far his mentor had gone. "How do you catch crabs? I love crabs! They're delicious!"
He wasn't about to try catching the creature himself. After all, the crab had a set of scary looking pincers. He had never encountered a live crab before, but it was easy to guess that those pincers could hurt him.
As they walked along the pools, Kraiteye's steps measured, graceful almost in the way he manuevered the potentially slippery surfaces and the ever shifting sands and pebbles, his apprentice spotted a crab. Kraiteye turned. Well, that was rather unexpected. But it was a learning opportunity, even if the young tom was much too inexperienced to take on a creature of that size.
Kraiteye paused, turning his wide eyes on Tunapaw. "To kill a crab you must flip it over and delivery a killing blow to the underside of its head. It takes a lot of skill and usually two cats must do it for a creature of this size. Unfortunately, I think it would do you better to revisit crab catching when we've gone over your fighting skills. They use their claws to crush, not to cut as we do. Turtlehop would not be pleased if I sent you back to camp with a broken paw."
The tom paused again though, knowing that he must be careful with his words. He didn't want to incite the young feline into acting rashly later by providing him with a challenge. Even Kraiteye knew how young, eager toms could be. "Perhaps we can find a smaller crab for you to try your paw at. You should be able to handle one about the size of a young rat. Their shells are softer as well, easier for you to crush."
TUNAPAW growled menacingly at the crab. He did not realize it took that much experience to kill one of those creatures. Was it really that dangerous? He had consumed many of these delicious large ones when he was a kitten, and felt slightly embarrassed that he took for granted the hard work of the Fighters.
"Yikes, their pincers really are that strong? Enough to break a cat's paw!" he hissed. He definitely considered going for it anyway, as reckless and brash as his personality was, but for once Kraiteye seemed to move on. Tunapaw decided he better focus on fishing for the day if he was to get anything done. "Do crabs swim like fish do?" the naive young apprentice continued to pester Kraiteye with nonsensical questions as he scrambled after his mentor. He probably should be looking for more fish, but there was simply too much to see and too much to learn.
Splish. Tunapaw accidentally stepped in a small pool of water again. The water was cold, like before, and he almost licked his paw before remembering how salty that was. The water was starting to creep up the beach. "Kraiteye!" he called, slipping and sliding ungracefully along the rocks. His mentor was always a few paces ahead of him, but Tunapaw was not about to admit he was having trouble. "When does the tide come back up? Can we still fish then?"
Kraiteye nodded solemnly at his apprentice. "Yes, especially the big ones. And they are fast. But they are important prey, so you will learn how to tackle them soon enough. The soft flesh is particularily good for kits." In his mind, Kraiteye filed away that for another day, probably when the tom was nearing 9 or 10 moons, when he had gotten large and strong enough to help grapple with the surprising speed and strength of the largest crabs.
The older tom was attentive when his apprentice asked him if crabs swum. "They can. They move sideways, like this," Kraiteye mewed as he sidestepped along the pools, landing one of his paws in a small puddle of water. The look on his face was probably the closest that the tom, with his tendency for stoicism, could get. Still, the moment was fleeting, and soon Kraiteye was shaking the water.
When his fledgling mentioned the tide coming in, and the prospect of catching one more fish, Kraiteye turned his head, assessing the ebb and flow of water with the experience of a feline who had lived and prospered on the beach for his entire life. He was a cat of Tidalclan after-all. "Hm.. we should have enough time to catch one more. The tide can come in suddenly, especially during the Time of Shrieking Storms, but there is nothing to worry about if you remain attentive to the elements." The tom paused again, before he turned back to look at his apprentice. "I'll take a hold of your first fish to make sure it doesn't go off to sea."
The last thing they needed was for Tunapaw to walk into camp empty pawed because of a fledging mistake on Kraiteye's part. He wanted his fledgling to be proud, excited when he walked into camp. tag: @sovereign note: sorry for the delay!
TUNAPAW realized that his mother and other warriors had probably been saving the crabs in the fresh-kill pile for him. Kraiteye just said that the soft flesh was good for kits, and Tunapaw had definitely made it known that he liked crab during his younger days. He looked down and smiled at the ground for a second. That was rather heartwarming, especially considering the effort it took to catch such a creature.
He then watched with surprised amusement at Kraiteye's imitation of a crab. His mentor so far had acted rather stern and unfazed in contrast to his bumbling self. Tunapaw could not help but let out a purr of amusement. Kraiteye even stepped in a puddle! Perhaps Kraiteye was warming up to him after all.
Tunapaw was happy Kraiteye offered to carry his prized fish for him. He was still rather bad at finding his footing and feared dropping the fish back into the sea. His sister and parents back at the camp will be so proud of him when he brings home fresh-kill on his first time fishing! He eagerly handed the fish over to his mentor. Now he could focus a bit more on walking and looking for more fish.
"It's Soothing Skies right now, and the sea already looks rough! What does it look like during Shrieking Storms?" Tunapaw wondered aloud. He could not help his stream of endless questions. The young cat was getting tired though, as the sun began to sink a little lower in the sky.
"Kraiteye, what about that one?" he growled playfully and flicked his tail toward another pool. This fish looked rather similar to the one they had already caught, but the pool was much deeper. Tunapaw was not sure he could really figure out a way to reach the fish, and looked at Kraiteye for advice.
Kraiteye accepted the fish that the young tom had caught, carefully holding it in his teeth so as not to lose it. And, of course, the mentor was feeling pleased that Tunapaw had found his crab imitation entertaining. Kraiteye never really knew how to deal with cats his age. He didn't want to treat him like a kit, and well, fledglings this age were so unlike Kraiteye, a fourty moon fighter. Tunapaw could easily be Kraiteye's son if... well if thing had been different.
But Kraiteye didn't have the luxury of moping about. He had a job to do. When Tunapaw asked about the sea, Kraiteye turned his owlish eyes on his apprentice. "Never, never brave the sea during the time of Shrieking Storms. Right now you see the waves. They are mostly dark, yes? During the time of Shrieking Storms, when the winds shifts and the gods grow angry, the water begins to foam like an angry animal. The wind drives water off of the sea that is as sharp as cat's claws. And the waves themselves can swallow a cat whole." Of course, the dark, ominous words were cut by the fact he had a fish in his mouth, which caused him to lisp even as he mewed. But really, the danger of water couldn't be drilled into the young tom enough, in Kraiteye's opinion. Just the thought of it brought up the fresh hurt of his mother's death.
But it was also not time to think of that. It was time to think of his fledging and all his potential. Tunapaw pointed out a similar fish and Kraiteye nodded, padding forward to inspect the pool. It was deeper, easy enough for a cat his size with his reach, but his apprentice's inexperience and smaller limbs would cause an issue. He would have to wait for it to come near the surface.
"Here, we shall work as a team. I shall scare the fish with my shadow. When it comes swimming towards the edge, you'll need to strike, alright? I will go on the count of three? One.. Two.. Three." With that, Kraiteye leaned over the pool, dipping his paw in to gently splash the water, spooking the fish towards Tunapaw.
tag: @sovereign note: how about we end it after another round of posts ouo ?
TUNAPAW was a fairly sensitive cat, and he recognized Kraiteye's warning had hidden emotions behind it. Despite his usually fun and carefree demeanor, Tunapaw quickly grew quiet as to not probe. It was the first thing that his mentor really seemed to want him to remember, and so he would remember it. TidalClan cats lived and thrived by the water, but perhaps there was something dark and scary about it that Tunapaw was not ready for yet.
But his mentors sadness was only momentary, and a second later Kraiteye seemed completely focused back on Tunapaw's training again. Tunapaw listened intently to Kraiteye's instructions. At the count of three...!
Tunapaw lunged at the fish as it swam toward the shallower end. He had one shot before it swam to the deeper water where he could not reach it. Some salt water splashed in his eye, and Tunapaw recoiled slightly. But he still felt his paw hit the fish's slippery body. Unsheathed claws flipped the fish upwards. It flopped onto land a little further away than Tunapaw intended. "I got it! That was great! You're so smart, Kraiteye!" Tunapaw excitedly fumbled his way out of the water toward the fish. Remembering Kraiteye's instructions, he bit down hard on its spine to stop its struggling. It had been messy work, but it would do. Looking at the fish, he felt his stomach growl a little. The day was getting late and it had been a hard day's work. He was getting pretty hungry.
