The Tales of Poppystem
Sept 20, 2017 22:03:22 GMT -5
Post by ✞~Spottedleaf ~✞ on Sept 20, 2017 22:03:22 GMT -5
Contributors to the story: Hollyleaf ღ, @flamingsparrows, Kätzchen, and myself
This story was inspired by Seri's Warrior Cats Untold Tales series on YouTube. I hosted a join.me, and together the rest of the contributors and I started a WC:UT save file. We created a character, gave her a personality, and decided what her goals are.
Our character:
Poppystem is an average sized warrior of ThunderClan. She is mostly white in color, though she has a gray tail and some gray markings on her body. She has green eyes.
Poppystem is a fierce defender of her clan. She looks up to Preyheart, and she longs to be the clan's deputy one day. The gray and white she-cat strives for perfection on a daily basis, and she is so obsessed with being the clan's future deputy that she is always trying to impress others. Because of this, her clanmates might see her as a show off.
Poppystem is quite adventurous. She likes to explore, and sometimes she will stray from the ThunderClan borders. She never tells anyone about this, however. She fears what it would do to her reputation in the clan if she got discovered by her clanmates, or if someone from the other clans tattled on her for trespassing on their land. Moreover, she fears that if she is discovered, her chances of being chosen for deputy will greatly decrease.
In addition to being a perfectionist and wanting to be deputy, Poppystem has also always been fond of kits. As an apprentice, she would always sneak off and play with the kits when she was not in training. Even now as a young warrior, she still enjoys spending time with them. Therefore, Poppystem would love to be a mother of her own one day. Having spent so much time with them, she has already picked up on some motherly habits and instincts. Whether there is real danger or not, the gray and white she-cat will be very overprotective over all the kits.
Poppystem also really wants to be a mentor to an apprentice one day. However, she understands that she must be experienced and must earn it first. This gives her all the more reason to work hard and do her best on a day-to-day basis. She will often push herself to her limits to try and prove to her clan how loyal of a character she can be. This may hurt her in some ways, but for her, it is the only way to win her clan over.
It was a hot and sunny day in the season of Greenleaf when Poppykit opened her eyes for the first time. She glanced around and spotted a golden-colored queen whose name is Shinefur. "Oh, Poppykit is awake! Come over here, Poppykit!" Shinefur happily exclaims. Poppykit obeys the queen's orders, and she walks over to her. "Great job. It seems that you can walk well enough. Now, why not go play with Treekit?"
Enthusiastic about playing with one of her denmates, Poppykit willingly approached Treekit. Immediately after she approached the small brown-furred kit, Treekit spoke to her, "Hello! My name is Treekit. I wanna be a big warrior like Shinefur is when I grow up. I've heard the elders talk about their days as warriors- it sounds exciting! Battles, hunting, exploring, and leaving the camp. But, we can't leave the camp yet 'cause we're kits and they won't let us. I've tried. They say it's cause of a lot of reasons- twoleg monsters on the thunderpath north of here, ShadowClan spies, scary rivers...Maybe I don't wanna be a warrior anymore. Oh, my stomach hurts...I don't feel so good. Can you tell Shinefur for me?"
Poppykit felt a little overwhelmed as she listened to Treekit's spiel about becoming a warrior. Is being a warrior really that rough? she thought to herself. Despite these thoughts, Poppykit decided that the rewards that come from being a warrior make it all worth it in the end. At this moment, she decided that even with the dangers that may come, she wanted to be the best warrior she can be when her time came.
Poppykit's mood shifted when Treekit began complaining about an upset stomach. Eager to help her friend feel better, she was more than willing to tell Shinefur. She returned to the golden-furred queen and told her that Treekit was not feeling well. Shinefur instructed her to go to the clan's medicine cat Cloudleaf to get some herbs for her friend. After doing so, Cloudleaf gave her a chervil plant.
When Poppykit gave Treekit the chervil, Treekit was pleased. "Oh, thanks a billion! This chervil should help," he meowed gratefully. The tiny, gray-and-white kit placed the leaf in front of her friend, and he eats it. Wrinkling his nose up in disgust, Treekit complains, "Eww...it tastes nasty," but then he perked up and said, "but my stomach isn't hurting anymore. Thanks a ton!"
Feeling happy that she was able to help, Poppykit went back to Shinefur and she informed her that Treekit was feeling better. When she tells her this, she felt and heard her tummy rumble in hunger. She had been so focused on helping her friend that she hadn't realized how hungry she was! Shinefur must have heard her stomach growl, for she gave her a mouse and told her to eat it. Famished, Poppykit obeyed and she scarfed it right up. Now, her belly was full, and she was satisfied, though she was thirsty. The little kit went over to the small pond that was in the camp, and she drank the water until her thirst was quenched.
Finally, while Poppykit was heading back to the nursery, she met Skystar, ThunderClan's leader. Skystar greeted her and informed her about reputation and how it played a role in clan life. Even though Poppykit was very young, she was able to understand the importance of maintaining a high reputation if she wanted to survive.
Six moons later, Poppykit became an apprentice, and her name was changed to Poppypaw. I'm finally an apprentice, which means I'm finally old enough to get out of the camp and learn the tactics and rules to be a fantastic warrior! Poppypaw thought to herself with enthusiasm. She was really looking forward to being able to get out of the camp and hunt and fight for her clan, but most of all, she was looking forward to getting to explore! She had been quite adventurous, and quite a troublemaker, during her time as a kit, and while she was an apprentice now, she had not yet grown out of her stage of curiosity.
Poppypaw was assigned to a gray colored tom named Greystorm. He was a friendly and patient warrior, and Poppypaw enjoyed training with him. On the first day of training, Greystorm taught her how to hunt. As soon as Greystorm gave her instructions on how to hunt, Poppypaw was eager to try it out. To her surprise, Poppypaw managed to catch a mouse on her first try. It was a small mouse, but food was food, and Poppypaw couldn't help feeling proud about it. Even Greystorm had told her that it wasn't very often when apprentices caught prey their first time attempting to hunt.
After Poppypaw practiced hunting some more, Greystorm shifted the training session, and he began to teach her fighting moves. Her mentor had brought a friend with him, and Poppypaw sparred with him until Greystorm felt that it was enough. Once the fighting session ended, the training for the day was over.
Soon enough, Poppypaw became a warrior and from now on, she was to be called Poppystem. Poppystem felt pride rush through her as she listened to the clan chant her name during her warrior's ceremony. She was happy to be a warrior at last, after what seemed like moons and moons of training.
Despite the excitement, Poppystem's first days of being a warrior were a little rough. She struggled to catch prey, and she was often starved by the time she was able to eat, which was only after she caught at least one piece of prey for her clan. She was so desperate for food that she even strayed onto WindClan and RiverClan territories.
Back home, Poppystem has struggled to win two brothers named Hawkwhisker and Wildtooth over. She has talked to them each day so far, yet both still greet her rudely. At first she thought that maybe the two brothers had gotten into an argument and were mad at each other. It was hard to tell, but the young warrior couldn't help but feel that maybe their argument was about her. Were they arguing about who would get to be her mate? Or was their argument about something entirely different? She was so frustrated about this that one day, she decided to give them both rocks as a gift. Neither one of them seemed to like it very much, for they still greeted her in the same exact way as before.
Just as Poppystem thought things could not get any worse, Preyheart ordered her to go chase off some WindClan cats who were crossing the ThunderClan borders. Of course, this wasn't a problem at first. Poppystem was actually honored that she had been selected to join in on the fights going on near the edge of their territories. However, this changed starkly by the time the battle was over. She had accidentally killed a WindClan warrior. Instead of chasing them off, she killed them.
When this happened, Poppystem began to freak out. Oh no! I've killed a cat. Poppystem thought, feeling extremely guilty. She felt anxious and unsure about what to do, for she knew that killing was only to be done as a last result. Sure, Poppystem was only trying to defend herself, but still, she never meant to kill anyone. What will happen if Preyheart discovers this? Will he tell Skystar? Will I get kicked out of the clan? I will never be deputy at this rate! All of these thoughts kept pouring through Poppystem's mind. She was so anxious that she barely managed to eat anything that night, let alone catch anything.
Will anything get better for poor Poppystem?
The next morning, Poppystem woke up not in the best mood. She didn't get a very good night's rest after everything that had happened lately. So much had gone wrong for her, and she had only been a warrior for a small part of Greenleaf! Life as a warrior sure is hard. Maybe Treekit was right when he told me about these hardships, the young she-cat thought. Remembering what Treekit had told her made her have mixed emotions. She felt happier remembering her old friend, but she also felt sad because no one in the clan - or in the entire forest- knew what happened to him. One day, he just disappeared, and no one had seen him since. Everyone just assumes that he is dead now, though who wouldn't after it had been so long?
Knowing better than to mope around and lie around all day, Poppystem forced herself to get up and get moving. She decided to talk to Hawkwhisker and Wildtooth again, though she wasn't exactly sure why. Those two hadn't been very kind to her before. She just couldn't help herself. Just as she expected, both brothers greeted her just as rudely as before.
While Poppystem still didn't feel any better about herself, or about the way the brothers had treated her. Then again, she did give them rocks the other day. Maybe that's why they were in such a rocky mood. Wanting to be the better character, the gray-and-white she-cat decided to be nicer and bring them better gifts. She didn't feel like they were very deserving of anything big, considering how they'd been to her, so she figured that she would give them something small.
Feeling starved herself, Poppystem headed out of the camp and went to hunt. After all, she was not to eat anything until after she had caught at least one piece of prey for her clan. That was her custom, and it was part of the warrior code.
Once she was out, she scented the air for prey. She scented a thrush. Poppystem was not as fond of these white-feathered creatures as she was with other pieces of prey, but she would easily choose it over something such as a toad, and food was food. She formed her hunter's crouch, crouching low to the ground. Her tail was lifted just slightly enough so it wouldn't rustle in the grass and make noise as she lightly stepped toward the bird. Soon enough, Poppystem felt that she was close enough to pounce. Finally, she made the leap, plopped on the thrush, and before she knew it, this kill was a success! She killed the thrush, and it would now become someone in her clan's meal. She picked up the thrush and carried on with her hunt. She missed some mice and a squirrel here and there, but eventually she had the thrush, two mice, and a small squirrel. Now, with her jaws full, she was ready to head back to camp.
When she arrived in camp, she dropped off the thrush and squirrel in the fresh-kill pile. She ate her own meal before she returned to Hawkwhisker and Wildtooth. She gave them both the mice she had caught, and they seemed at least slightly grateful for them.
After she gave the brothers the food, it wasn't too late yet, so she decided to spend time with the kits. She spoke to Shinefur when she walked into the nursery, and when she did, Shinefur asked her to pick up a shiny golden thing that she had spotted along the thunderpaths. Poppystem was really eager to play with the kits, but she wanted to be helpful too. At least, by helping Shinefur, she would be doing something for the kits in the long run.
However, her thoughts shifted a bit as she headed toward the thunderpaths. Once she got closer to them, she saw quite a few of her own clanmates. Knowing that the patrols had already returned for the day, she began to get suspicious. Are they here to look for shiny things too? The kits don't need fifty shiny things between the few of them! Is Shinefur hiding something from them? All these thoughts kept running through Poppystem's head. She failed the mission to find a shiny thing, but it was getting too late.
Too dark to search any more, Poppystem returned to camp. When she entered, she felt nervous about what Shinefur might say to her. Not wanting to deal with the disappointment, she sneaked past the nursery. At last, she reached her nest. Exhausted, she curled up, and she fell into a deep slumber.
Morning seemed to arrive almost as quickly as Poppystem had fallen a sleep the night before. When it came, she rose from her nest and emerged from the den. Just when she was trying to decide what to do with herself for the day, Preyheart approached her. "There were some ShadowClan cats spotted stealing our prey! This is absolutely unacceptable. Go join the border patrol that I sent and chase them off!" he ordered.
Poppystem was excited about getting to go on the patrol, for it had been a while since she last fought. At the same time, she felt nervous because she had heard dark rumors about the ShadowClan cats. Not to mention the fact that she was still being hard on herself about accidentally killing the WindClan cat during her last fight. Hopefully I won't kill anybody this time she thought.
The young she-cat hurried along. Soon enough, she arrived at the battlegrounds where Preyheart told her to go. She was just in time, for the ShadowClan cats and her allies had begun to fight just seconds after her arrival. To their advantage, ShadowClan was outnumbered. Still, those cats put up quite the fight. Her allies must have been novices like herself, for they retreated quickly. Therefore, Poppystem was left to finish on her own.
At last, the fight was over. Poppystem had successfully chased the ShadowClan enemies away from their borders, though she had little health to spare. Painful scratches dotted her body, and she winced with every step she took because that's how painful it was. She dragged herself into camp. Right away, she entered the medicine den to get her wounds treated.
Immediately upon entering, Cloudleaf saw her in the pitiful shape she was in. "My my! What happened to you?!" the medicine cat exclaimed in shock, though her eyes displayed a look of obvious concern. "I was sent on the patrol to chase off the ShadowClan cats this morning. I chased them off, but got beat up in the process," Poppystem explained as the reddish-furred medicine cat treated her injuries. "I can see that you fought hard," Cloudleaf told her soothingly. She finished treating her wounds and instructed her to take it easy for the rest of the day by helping Snowheart, the medicine cat apprentice.
Knowing better than to argue with the medicine cat, Poppystem obeyed. She exited the medicine den. Then, she padded over to Snowheart. She asked the white-colored tom if she could do anything to help him. "Go find some goldenrod and bring it back to me. You should be able to find some nearby," he replied.
With that, Poppystem headed out in search of the herb. While she searched for it, she couldn't help herself. She couldn't resist doing some hunting. She managed to catch a single thrush, and she found two bundles of goldenrod. She found it as easily as Snowheart had described. The bright gold flowers were easy to spot. Once she gathered the herb, she brought it back to the medicine cat apprentice. Snowheart thanked her gratefully, and he told her to go rest.
The following day, Poppystem woke up and while her wounds were not fully healed, they were not painful anymore. She wanted to talk to Hawkwhisker and Wildtooth again to see if their attitudes toward her changed any since she had given them the mice. She wasn't really expecting it, considering how things had already gone, but to her surprise, things had changed. When Poppystem greeted Hawkwhisker, the solid-gray tom gave her a shiny thing! What a great gift, especially with the way he had been treating her lately.
Poppystem happily accepted the shiny thing. She took it and carried it off, placing it behind the Warriors' den, hoping that the thickets would conceal them. She didn't want anyone to find it and take it from her - especially Shinefur. Wait a second, Poppystem thought all of a sudden. It seemed all too coincidental that while she had still not given Shinefur the shiny thing she requested, Hawkwhisker had given her one! What if Hawkwhisker is hiding something? Does he know something about Shinefur that I don't? It was hard to know for sure. She wanted to see if she could get Hawkwhisker to talk about it, but she decided she should wait a bit because she didn't want to seem ungrateful for the gift, if that's even what it was meant to be.
She decided to talk to Wildtooth first. Maybe he would have something to say about it. Poppystem could only hope that Wildtooth wouldn't hide anything from her too. She wasn't sure how either of the two toms felt about her, but they were clanmates, and clanmates should not betray each other. She understood little secrets here and there, but she felt angered when secrets as big as this were kept from her, or her clan.
Poppystem spoke to Wildtooth, but Wildtooth didn't seem to know anything. He seemed like he didn't have anything to do with it by the way he spoke. Wildtooth seemed much more sincere about it, so Poppystem decided that she could trust him. After all, the grayish-brown tom had even bothered to ask how things were going for her when she approached. That alone stuck out to her because she felt that the tom truly cared about her. Sure, Hawkwhisker gave her a shiny thing, but the young warrior wasn't sure if she could trust him at the moment, and that changed the way that she felt about him for the time being. She just felt too suspicious about him.
Wanting to investigate this incident about Shinefur more, Poppystem decided to make it top priority to find her a shiny thing. She had also made the decision that she would not give her the one that Hawkwhisker had given her. That one was hers no matter what, and she was not about to give her shiny thing away to someone who might possibly abuse or misuse it.
Poppystem exited the ThunderClan camp, and she headed toward the thunderpaths. After searching for what seemed like an eternity, she finally found one. Finally! she thought. She picked it up, and she quickly made her way back home. She wanted to give it to Shinefur and see what would happen. Would she ask her for another shiny thing?
The medium-sized gray-and-white she-cat padded back home, and when she entered the camp she took the shiny thing she'd found to Shinefur. Instead of Shinefur asking for another shiny thing like she expected, she asked for smooth stones. Hmm. Not exactly what I expected she thought at first. Then, however, she thought again. Maybe she's asking for something else so she wouldn't sound so suspicious? What is she trying to hide?
Everything with Shinefur was beginning to overwhelm Poppystem, but she couldn't stop here. She was determined to get to the bottom of this.
To be continued...
This story was inspired by Seri's Warrior Cats Untold Tales series on YouTube. I hosted a join.me, and together the rest of the contributors and I started a WC:UT save file. We created a character, gave her a personality, and decided what her goals are.
Our character:
Poppystem is an average sized warrior of ThunderClan. She is mostly white in color, though she has a gray tail and some gray markings on her body. She has green eyes.
Poppystem is a fierce defender of her clan. She looks up to Preyheart, and she longs to be the clan's deputy one day. The gray and white she-cat strives for perfection on a daily basis, and she is so obsessed with being the clan's future deputy that she is always trying to impress others. Because of this, her clanmates might see her as a show off.
Poppystem is quite adventurous. She likes to explore, and sometimes she will stray from the ThunderClan borders. She never tells anyone about this, however. She fears what it would do to her reputation in the clan if she got discovered by her clanmates, or if someone from the other clans tattled on her for trespassing on their land. Moreover, she fears that if she is discovered, her chances of being chosen for deputy will greatly decrease.
In addition to being a perfectionist and wanting to be deputy, Poppystem has also always been fond of kits. As an apprentice, she would always sneak off and play with the kits when she was not in training. Even now as a young warrior, she still enjoys spending time with them. Therefore, Poppystem would love to be a mother of her own one day. Having spent so much time with them, she has already picked up on some motherly habits and instincts. Whether there is real danger or not, the gray and white she-cat will be very overprotective over all the kits.
Poppystem also really wants to be a mentor to an apprentice one day. However, she understands that she must be experienced and must earn it first. This gives her all the more reason to work hard and do her best on a day-to-day basis. She will often push herself to her limits to try and prove to her clan how loyal of a character she can be. This may hurt her in some ways, but for her, it is the only way to win her clan over.
Chapter One
It was a hot and sunny day in the season of Greenleaf when Poppykit opened her eyes for the first time. She glanced around and spotted a golden-colored queen whose name is Shinefur. "Oh, Poppykit is awake! Come over here, Poppykit!" Shinefur happily exclaims. Poppykit obeys the queen's orders, and she walks over to her. "Great job. It seems that you can walk well enough. Now, why not go play with Treekit?"
Enthusiastic about playing with one of her denmates, Poppykit willingly approached Treekit. Immediately after she approached the small brown-furred kit, Treekit spoke to her, "Hello! My name is Treekit. I wanna be a big warrior like Shinefur is when I grow up. I've heard the elders talk about their days as warriors- it sounds exciting! Battles, hunting, exploring, and leaving the camp. But, we can't leave the camp yet 'cause we're kits and they won't let us. I've tried. They say it's cause of a lot of reasons- twoleg monsters on the thunderpath north of here, ShadowClan spies, scary rivers...Maybe I don't wanna be a warrior anymore. Oh, my stomach hurts...I don't feel so good. Can you tell Shinefur for me?"
Poppykit felt a little overwhelmed as she listened to Treekit's spiel about becoming a warrior. Is being a warrior really that rough? she thought to herself. Despite these thoughts, Poppykit decided that the rewards that come from being a warrior make it all worth it in the end. At this moment, she decided that even with the dangers that may come, she wanted to be the best warrior she can be when her time came.
Poppykit's mood shifted when Treekit began complaining about an upset stomach. Eager to help her friend feel better, she was more than willing to tell Shinefur. She returned to the golden-furred queen and told her that Treekit was not feeling well. Shinefur instructed her to go to the clan's medicine cat Cloudleaf to get some herbs for her friend. After doing so, Cloudleaf gave her a chervil plant.
When Poppykit gave Treekit the chervil, Treekit was pleased. "Oh, thanks a billion! This chervil should help," he meowed gratefully. The tiny, gray-and-white kit placed the leaf in front of her friend, and he eats it. Wrinkling his nose up in disgust, Treekit complains, "Eww...it tastes nasty," but then he perked up and said, "but my stomach isn't hurting anymore. Thanks a ton!"
Feeling happy that she was able to help, Poppykit went back to Shinefur and she informed her that Treekit was feeling better. When she tells her this, she felt and heard her tummy rumble in hunger. She had been so focused on helping her friend that she hadn't realized how hungry she was! Shinefur must have heard her stomach growl, for she gave her a mouse and told her to eat it. Famished, Poppykit obeyed and she scarfed it right up. Now, her belly was full, and she was satisfied, though she was thirsty. The little kit went over to the small pond that was in the camp, and she drank the water until her thirst was quenched.
Finally, while Poppykit was heading back to the nursery, she met Skystar, ThunderClan's leader. Skystar greeted her and informed her about reputation and how it played a role in clan life. Even though Poppykit was very young, she was able to understand the importance of maintaining a high reputation if she wanted to survive.
Six moons later, Poppykit became an apprentice, and her name was changed to Poppypaw. I'm finally an apprentice, which means I'm finally old enough to get out of the camp and learn the tactics and rules to be a fantastic warrior! Poppypaw thought to herself with enthusiasm. She was really looking forward to being able to get out of the camp and hunt and fight for her clan, but most of all, she was looking forward to getting to explore! She had been quite adventurous, and quite a troublemaker, during her time as a kit, and while she was an apprentice now, she had not yet grown out of her stage of curiosity.
Poppypaw was assigned to a gray colored tom named Greystorm. He was a friendly and patient warrior, and Poppypaw enjoyed training with him. On the first day of training, Greystorm taught her how to hunt. As soon as Greystorm gave her instructions on how to hunt, Poppypaw was eager to try it out. To her surprise, Poppypaw managed to catch a mouse on her first try. It was a small mouse, but food was food, and Poppypaw couldn't help feeling proud about it. Even Greystorm had told her that it wasn't very often when apprentices caught prey their first time attempting to hunt.
After Poppypaw practiced hunting some more, Greystorm shifted the training session, and he began to teach her fighting moves. Her mentor had brought a friend with him, and Poppypaw sparred with him until Greystorm felt that it was enough. Once the fighting session ended, the training for the day was over.
Soon enough, Poppypaw became a warrior and from now on, she was to be called Poppystem. Poppystem felt pride rush through her as she listened to the clan chant her name during her warrior's ceremony. She was happy to be a warrior at last, after what seemed like moons and moons of training.
Despite the excitement, Poppystem's first days of being a warrior were a little rough. She struggled to catch prey, and she was often starved by the time she was able to eat, which was only after she caught at least one piece of prey for her clan. She was so desperate for food that she even strayed onto WindClan and RiverClan territories.
Back home, Poppystem has struggled to win two brothers named Hawkwhisker and Wildtooth over. She has talked to them each day so far, yet both still greet her rudely. At first she thought that maybe the two brothers had gotten into an argument and were mad at each other. It was hard to tell, but the young warrior couldn't help but feel that maybe their argument was about her. Were they arguing about who would get to be her mate? Or was their argument about something entirely different? She was so frustrated about this that one day, she decided to give them both rocks as a gift. Neither one of them seemed to like it very much, for they still greeted her in the same exact way as before.
Just as Poppystem thought things could not get any worse, Preyheart ordered her to go chase off some WindClan cats who were crossing the ThunderClan borders. Of course, this wasn't a problem at first. Poppystem was actually honored that she had been selected to join in on the fights going on near the edge of their territories. However, this changed starkly by the time the battle was over. She had accidentally killed a WindClan warrior. Instead of chasing them off, she killed them.
When this happened, Poppystem began to freak out. Oh no! I've killed a cat. Poppystem thought, feeling extremely guilty. She felt anxious and unsure about what to do, for she knew that killing was only to be done as a last result. Sure, Poppystem was only trying to defend herself, but still, she never meant to kill anyone. What will happen if Preyheart discovers this? Will he tell Skystar? Will I get kicked out of the clan? I will never be deputy at this rate! All of these thoughts kept pouring through Poppystem's mind. She was so anxious that she barely managed to eat anything that night, let alone catch anything.
Will anything get better for poor Poppystem?
Chapter Two
The next morning, Poppystem woke up not in the best mood. She didn't get a very good night's rest after everything that had happened lately. So much had gone wrong for her, and she had only been a warrior for a small part of Greenleaf! Life as a warrior sure is hard. Maybe Treekit was right when he told me about these hardships, the young she-cat thought. Remembering what Treekit had told her made her have mixed emotions. She felt happier remembering her old friend, but she also felt sad because no one in the clan - or in the entire forest- knew what happened to him. One day, he just disappeared, and no one had seen him since. Everyone just assumes that he is dead now, though who wouldn't after it had been so long?
Knowing better than to mope around and lie around all day, Poppystem forced herself to get up and get moving. She decided to talk to Hawkwhisker and Wildtooth again, though she wasn't exactly sure why. Those two hadn't been very kind to her before. She just couldn't help herself. Just as she expected, both brothers greeted her just as rudely as before.
While Poppystem still didn't feel any better about herself, or about the way the brothers had treated her. Then again, she did give them rocks the other day. Maybe that's why they were in such a rocky mood. Wanting to be the better character, the gray-and-white she-cat decided to be nicer and bring them better gifts. She didn't feel like they were very deserving of anything big, considering how they'd been to her, so she figured that she would give them something small.
Feeling starved herself, Poppystem headed out of the camp and went to hunt. After all, she was not to eat anything until after she had caught at least one piece of prey for her clan. That was her custom, and it was part of the warrior code.
Once she was out, she scented the air for prey. She scented a thrush. Poppystem was not as fond of these white-feathered creatures as she was with other pieces of prey, but she would easily choose it over something such as a toad, and food was food. She formed her hunter's crouch, crouching low to the ground. Her tail was lifted just slightly enough so it wouldn't rustle in the grass and make noise as she lightly stepped toward the bird. Soon enough, Poppystem felt that she was close enough to pounce. Finally, she made the leap, plopped on the thrush, and before she knew it, this kill was a success! She killed the thrush, and it would now become someone in her clan's meal. She picked up the thrush and carried on with her hunt. She missed some mice and a squirrel here and there, but eventually she had the thrush, two mice, and a small squirrel. Now, with her jaws full, she was ready to head back to camp.
When she arrived in camp, she dropped off the thrush and squirrel in the fresh-kill pile. She ate her own meal before she returned to Hawkwhisker and Wildtooth. She gave them both the mice she had caught, and they seemed at least slightly grateful for them.
After she gave the brothers the food, it wasn't too late yet, so she decided to spend time with the kits. She spoke to Shinefur when she walked into the nursery, and when she did, Shinefur asked her to pick up a shiny golden thing that she had spotted along the thunderpaths. Poppystem was really eager to play with the kits, but she wanted to be helpful too. At least, by helping Shinefur, she would be doing something for the kits in the long run.
However, her thoughts shifted a bit as she headed toward the thunderpaths. Once she got closer to them, she saw quite a few of her own clanmates. Knowing that the patrols had already returned for the day, she began to get suspicious. Are they here to look for shiny things too? The kits don't need fifty shiny things between the few of them! Is Shinefur hiding something from them? All these thoughts kept running through Poppystem's head. She failed the mission to find a shiny thing, but it was getting too late.
Too dark to search any more, Poppystem returned to camp. When she entered, she felt nervous about what Shinefur might say to her. Not wanting to deal with the disappointment, she sneaked past the nursery. At last, she reached her nest. Exhausted, she curled up, and she fell into a deep slumber.
Morning seemed to arrive almost as quickly as Poppystem had fallen a sleep the night before. When it came, she rose from her nest and emerged from the den. Just when she was trying to decide what to do with herself for the day, Preyheart approached her. "There were some ShadowClan cats spotted stealing our prey! This is absolutely unacceptable. Go join the border patrol that I sent and chase them off!" he ordered.
Poppystem was excited about getting to go on the patrol, for it had been a while since she last fought. At the same time, she felt nervous because she had heard dark rumors about the ShadowClan cats. Not to mention the fact that she was still being hard on herself about accidentally killing the WindClan cat during her last fight. Hopefully I won't kill anybody this time she thought.
The young she-cat hurried along. Soon enough, she arrived at the battlegrounds where Preyheart told her to go. She was just in time, for the ShadowClan cats and her allies had begun to fight just seconds after her arrival. To their advantage, ShadowClan was outnumbered. Still, those cats put up quite the fight. Her allies must have been novices like herself, for they retreated quickly. Therefore, Poppystem was left to finish on her own.
At last, the fight was over. Poppystem had successfully chased the ShadowClan enemies away from their borders, though she had little health to spare. Painful scratches dotted her body, and she winced with every step she took because that's how painful it was. She dragged herself into camp. Right away, she entered the medicine den to get her wounds treated.
Immediately upon entering, Cloudleaf saw her in the pitiful shape she was in. "My my! What happened to you?!" the medicine cat exclaimed in shock, though her eyes displayed a look of obvious concern. "I was sent on the patrol to chase off the ShadowClan cats this morning. I chased them off, but got beat up in the process," Poppystem explained as the reddish-furred medicine cat treated her injuries. "I can see that you fought hard," Cloudleaf told her soothingly. She finished treating her wounds and instructed her to take it easy for the rest of the day by helping Snowheart, the medicine cat apprentice.
Knowing better than to argue with the medicine cat, Poppystem obeyed. She exited the medicine den. Then, she padded over to Snowheart. She asked the white-colored tom if she could do anything to help him. "Go find some goldenrod and bring it back to me. You should be able to find some nearby," he replied.
With that, Poppystem headed out in search of the herb. While she searched for it, she couldn't help herself. She couldn't resist doing some hunting. She managed to catch a single thrush, and she found two bundles of goldenrod. She found it as easily as Snowheart had described. The bright gold flowers were easy to spot. Once she gathered the herb, she brought it back to the medicine cat apprentice. Snowheart thanked her gratefully, and he told her to go rest.
The following day, Poppystem woke up and while her wounds were not fully healed, they were not painful anymore. She wanted to talk to Hawkwhisker and Wildtooth again to see if their attitudes toward her changed any since she had given them the mice. She wasn't really expecting it, considering how things had already gone, but to her surprise, things had changed. When Poppystem greeted Hawkwhisker, the solid-gray tom gave her a shiny thing! What a great gift, especially with the way he had been treating her lately.
Poppystem happily accepted the shiny thing. She took it and carried it off, placing it behind the Warriors' den, hoping that the thickets would conceal them. She didn't want anyone to find it and take it from her - especially Shinefur. Wait a second, Poppystem thought all of a sudden. It seemed all too coincidental that while she had still not given Shinefur the shiny thing she requested, Hawkwhisker had given her one! What if Hawkwhisker is hiding something? Does he know something about Shinefur that I don't? It was hard to know for sure. She wanted to see if she could get Hawkwhisker to talk about it, but she decided she should wait a bit because she didn't want to seem ungrateful for the gift, if that's even what it was meant to be.
She decided to talk to Wildtooth first. Maybe he would have something to say about it. Poppystem could only hope that Wildtooth wouldn't hide anything from her too. She wasn't sure how either of the two toms felt about her, but they were clanmates, and clanmates should not betray each other. She understood little secrets here and there, but she felt angered when secrets as big as this were kept from her, or her clan.
Poppystem spoke to Wildtooth, but Wildtooth didn't seem to know anything. He seemed like he didn't have anything to do with it by the way he spoke. Wildtooth seemed much more sincere about it, so Poppystem decided that she could trust him. After all, the grayish-brown tom had even bothered to ask how things were going for her when she approached. That alone stuck out to her because she felt that the tom truly cared about her. Sure, Hawkwhisker gave her a shiny thing, but the young warrior wasn't sure if she could trust him at the moment, and that changed the way that she felt about him for the time being. She just felt too suspicious about him.
Wanting to investigate this incident about Shinefur more, Poppystem decided to make it top priority to find her a shiny thing. She had also made the decision that she would not give her the one that Hawkwhisker had given her. That one was hers no matter what, and she was not about to give her shiny thing away to someone who might possibly abuse or misuse it.
Poppystem exited the ThunderClan camp, and she headed toward the thunderpaths. After searching for what seemed like an eternity, she finally found one. Finally! she thought. She picked it up, and she quickly made her way back home. She wanted to give it to Shinefur and see what would happen. Would she ask her for another shiny thing?
The medium-sized gray-and-white she-cat padded back home, and when she entered the camp she took the shiny thing she'd found to Shinefur. Instead of Shinefur asking for another shiny thing like she expected, she asked for smooth stones. Hmm. Not exactly what I expected she thought at first. Then, however, she thought again. Maybe she's asking for something else so she wouldn't sound so suspicious? What is she trying to hide?
Everything with Shinefur was beginning to overwhelm Poppystem, but she couldn't stop here. She was determined to get to the bottom of this.
To be continued...
Please continue soon.
((Thanks Spotted *hugs*)
Can Hawkwhisker be trusted?
