Spidersilk's Replies

Here is an index of every scene chronologically that Spidersilk has been involved in. The writing belongs to the respective owners of each character, and there is no claim being taken over it, this is for documentation purposes only.

## Arc 1

12/16/22 Introduction

*Setting: Elder's Den*

Deep inside the Elder’s den, shadowed by the soft heathered walls, a long-furred damsel laid with her nose tucked underneath her paws, chest rising in a calm fashion. White tipped paws curled over each other as the damsel slept, though they twitched on occasion as if the feline was dreaming of rolling hills and prairies, her paws propelling her forward across the vast greenery. A soft, pleased smile lay imprinted on the feline’s muzzle, her dreams wrapping her mind in a warm hug of joy. As she smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkled, her nose scrunching into a little button. Her ears lay down across her head, ear tips flattened and blending with the rest of her fur. Her tail lay around the entire collection, laying atop her paws and hiding the bottom half of her muzzle in a fluffy storm of fur. The only thing that stuck out of this comfort perfection was her right leg. Disheveled and pushed away from the rest of her body, it was twisted in a painful-looking fashion, her paw twisted almost backwards. Her claws peeked out from their pads, as if permanently stuck in the position. Laying across her thigh was a gaping bite, made from a creature of a particularly-large size, sharp canines making the largest indent in the flesh. Throughout her body lay large slashes and other indents from a jaw, though most were faded and covered by at least a small amount of fur. It had been a while since the event that caused these marks, or at least a few moons, but the pain still clung to them like an unshakable memory. Ignoring the leg thought, Spidersilk seemed to be deep asleep without a care in the world. Simply by the level of comfort that was shown in her position, and the little movement that she portrayed, it was obvious that the damsel had been sleeping for quite a while.

Likely since mid-afternoon, perhaps momentarily before the second patrol departed. Deep within sleep, her dreams were full of fantasies and hopes.

Her sleep was particularly undisturbed for quite a while as evening transformed to night, the leaf-fall season outside dropping the temperature as soon as the sun began to fall in the sky. As bright orange gave way to cool gray, sleep held its grasp on her mind. On occasion, her body would twitch, changing positions, though her leg would stay still. It seemed nothing could disturb her in this glorious sleep, one of peace and perfection that would hopefully last forever. The damsel let out a breath of air through her mouth, similar to a sigh of peace.

But outside, a shrill yowl sounded, one of terror and exclamation. Unbeknownst to the sleeping damsel, it was of Blizzardclaw, who now stood guard at the camp entrance. Instead of waking Spidersilk, her dreams were transformed. With a simple yowl, her dreams became dark and crude, the rolling hills and prairies turning into bodies of cat and coyote alike. She found herself tripping over limb and tail, rolling down the bodied prairie. Screams and yowls of pain and terror echoed through the hills, overpowering the damsel until she was forced to halt in her running, bringing paws to her ears to force the sound from entering them. She winced, her face scrunching up as she willed the sound to stop, the nightmare to stop. Spidersilk yowled, a forceful attempt at shaking herself from her dream, and thankfully, her wish was granted. She awoke with a start, panting and shaking, the fur along her spine and tail bristled and angry. She took a moment, a single moment, to collect her breath and peace, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply.

She forced her fur to lay flat, shaking it out as she used her front legs and uninjured back leg to stand, though it was more of a hop to a standing position. As she came to a standing position, her injured leg lowered to the ground, beginning to drag behind her. She let out a forced exhale through her nose at the feeling, and refused to even look back at it. She let her gaze wander as a distraction.

A nest or two away lay Rubyfire, a small and well-muscled Maine Coon with small, golden eyes. Her limbs lay spread out in a relaxed position, though her eyes were open. As the two elders met eyes, Rubyfire blinked a silent greeting, before turning her head away, a silent dismissal. Spideresilk let out the faintest of a sigh, turning her head to the den instead.

She was interrupted as the terrible sound of branches snapping and cracking under a huge amount of pressure sounded from outside the den. Startled, the damsel jumped, taking a step backwards. Her ears perked upwards as she attempted to figure out the source of the sound. A huge growl followed the snapping, and she heard various yowling sounds from her clanmates, unmistakably. What in Silkstar’s name is going on out there? She hurried forward, dragging her injured leg behind her as she neared the entrance of the elder’s den. Ducking her head, she peered outwards, hearing Rubyfire begin to stand as well. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to such darkness, but after a second, she noticed a massive black and white clump of fur standing in the center of the clearing. Its claws and teeth were stained red with a sticky liquid, its eyes wide and furious.

Spidersilk tensed, feeling her entire body grow numb as she recognized the beast. Badger.

She didn’t have a second to think, to process the beast in front of her, before it began stepping backwards, it’s massive paws coming down on the earth like the booming claps of thunder. It let out a low growl of annoyance as cats began rearing up to defend the camp from the danger, some even leaping onto the black-and-white furred beast’s back and latching on. In anger, it began swinging it’s paws in the attacker’s direction, but soon, his arm drew close to the Elder’s Den. Spidersilk’s eyes went wide, and attempted to prepare herself to bolt away. However, as she attempted to put weight on her back paw out of habit, she felt it crumple beside her. She flopped down onto her belly, and was forced to watch as the paw hit the soft weavings of the den. As claws tore through woven heather and moss, the entire infrastructure of the den came crashing down upon the elders.

As it came down, a massive, unbelieveable weight was thrown upon her body, and she couldn’t help but let out a ear-piercing screech. Her head hit the damp earth as the brambles pinned her lower body to the floor.

Panic ensued immediately. Within seconds she felt the grasp of fear begin to tear at her fur, the part of her mind that made the decisions. Her mind became a black hole, a void that dragged in every thought that made sense. Claustrophobic terror was eating at her senses, her mind. The pinning weight on her backside seemed to grow exponentially, becoming an unstoppable dread that just didn’t stop growing. Anxiety sparked in her chest, flaring until it grew into a fire. She felt her breath leave her, her heart-rate growing quicker as she found it harder and harder to get a full breath. Darkness swarmed her vision like the coming night, blood pounding in her ears. She attempted to squirm, to free herself from the catastrophe and be let loose, but she couldn’t. Without the use of her secondary back leg, she could not get the traction to push herself out of the mess. She felt tears brimming the edge of her vision and she shut her eyes fiercely. This is it. I’m dying. Despite the seriousness of that idea, a comfort washed over her suddenly, feeling as though a cat from the beyond came to hug her. Cormorantcry… The thought was a whisper underneath all the panic, and she couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps she would see him now, finally.

🛑 SPOILERS INCLUDE POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING, GRAPHIC EXPLANATION OF DEATHS 🛑

But as her panic decreased and she felt the lowest level of calm, she began to turn her attention towards the battle that was unfolding in front of her, and felt the panic return, stronger than ever before.  An apprentice, once of beauty and strength, was being torn to bits in front of her, and she felt bile rise in her throat. The badger’s claws were ripping through flesh, bone, and muscle, exposing insides that should never been seen. Blood flew in every direction, along with torn pieces of flesh and fur. The earth around the killing was stained with blood, covered in pieces of the once-alive apprentice. The badger’s eyes were furious as it reached its muzzle down and began ripping through skin with teeth. Spidersilk felt a spasm of disgust ricochet through her body, and she had to fight with every ounce of her being not to vomit. She shut her eyes fiercely, feeling the tears return. Why, StarClan, why? What have we done to deserve this?

Before long, more met the paws of the badger, seeming as if they would soon overpower it. But the badger was relentless. When Acacialight and Smokestone stepped up to battle the badger from behind, they were surprised as the white-and-black furred beast began to take hug steps backwards, drawing nearer and nearer to the two. Quite suddenly, the badger’s paw landed atop Smokestone’s head and  Spiderwilk watched as the molly’s head was obliterated underneath the heavy paw. Her black pelt squished and crackled as tendons, bones, and muscles were snapped in turn as the beast’s heavyweight came crashing down. Her head was indented, skull mangled and misshapen while the rest of her body was a bile-rising mess. She felt vomit rising up her throat, and she forced her every being to shut down.

She couldn’t handle this- watching from the bystanders when she should be fighting alongside them. She should not be an elder. IF it wasn’t for Danwstar and her grumpy entitlement, she would still be a tunneler, rising and battling beside her clanmates till her last breath. She let out a yowl of fury and continued to squirm, scramble anything to force her way out of this debris and battle. As she moved, she felt the sharp ends of the den walls and ceiling begin to pierce and scratch her fur and pelt, and she let out another yowl of pleading. Please- someone help us! She had no idea what the state of Rubyfire was, and she hoped she was alright and not suffocated by the debris. She felt a sob threaten to shake her body, and she swallowed with intent, with begging.

*Windsear:*

Windsear's heart was thrumming. Just as fast as they'd arrived on the scene, the badger had as hastily fled and made it's way scrambling across the length of the moors. Though he'd bunched his muscles to spring after them, the soft chuckle escaping Carrionsaunter and a few other's maws were enough to remind him of their presence. Spinning on his pads, he stared in stunned horror and awe at the scene before him. The badger had ravaged through the camp. His heart caught in his throat as he peered around towards the limp bundles of fur. Bayblossom, Sagepaw... And oh, poor Smokestone! The black molly lay crinkled like a crushed leaf near the camp entrance, he hunched away and settled down where he was, his shoulders jutting from his pelt as he fought for air. Dancingwhisper and Brightskip were safe, he could see the pair shaking dust from their fur and spinning around to face their clanmates, their eyes mixed with the same feeling he was plastered with. How could we have been so slow? Windsear's heart felt torn, it swelled his body with heat like he was filling with it's blood. Why had he wanted to hang back for Dawnstar? If they'd returned sooner, could they have prevented all of this from happening? His claws flexed into the ground.

He wasn't a fighter, he wasn't even one of the strongest cats the clan had to offer, more he was talented. But what use was his talent for hunting and his popularity among his clanmates when they were being ravaged back at camp? He felt guilt overwhelming him, so he quickly sat up and forced himself to work.

He joined in on the yowl, his voice a haunting cheer that did not attempt to hide his blistering sorrow. He ended his after a relative reverb, his octaves trembling and his tongue flaring to force the capacity of his lungs. The song was one sung for each victory, though it drew somewhat less haunting than the one sung for the coyotes, it was still a petrifying sound, chilling him and his clanmates to an eerily frozen position as they focused their being to attention towards the stars. For Silkstar, for Dawnstar! Sunlit Prairies reigns victorious! He willed on the spoken words usually spoken during the victory, though the defeaning silence caused by Dawnstar's absence was enough to make him falter. His warm gaze was dulled with sorrow, brimmed with tears as he peeked around the clearing.

Petalpaw's pelt was visible with the kits in the nursery, who had been let go but were prevented from leaving the nursery. Featherpaw raced around anxiously with horror-stricken eyes as she tended to her clanmates, with the heavily injured cats being forced off to see the more talented Peachpurr, the only cat able to tend to such wounds in such a trying time. Rain plastered blood into the center of the clearing, collecting into puddles and soaking cats who planted paws within. Acacialight was eerily still, and he caught the bright gazes of Tansypaw and Skyrose, who seemed to check on one another before spinning to face other cats that meant the most to them. Thankfully for them, they gathered their loved ones and friends close, though Acacialight and Tarragonglaze did not get so lucky. His heart broke for them as well as the cats who now stared blankly over the bodies of their slain kin, some huddled while others sobbed heavily into their fur. The only cat who didn't have some cat mourning them was Blizzardclaw, though there did seem to be movement from somewhere around his pelt.

The Elders! His heart sunk. Had any cat gotten the elderly molly pair out of their den? The Elder's den had been completely destroyed, with Blizzardclaw flattening something that squirmed beneath. He was on his paws and pelting towards them within a heartbeat, using his jaws to rip free clumps of debris until he saw a thick, dark-grey head with a tattered ear.

Spidersilk! Her soft, feathery fur rose to tickle his nose, and he could scent her anxiety now. Scrambling back on his haunches, he shouldered open a gap and used his jaws to pull Spidersilk free, supporting her opening with his forehead and pressing his shoulder against her side to steady her exit. She scrambled out beside him, tugging with sharp claws out of the exit with Rubyfire speeding up behind her, squeezing her body out the second she caught sight of a gap to escape. Windsear blinked in surprise, but held steady until the pair had departed before he allowed Blizzardclaw's body to continue crushing the remains of the den. He sat back with a huff, his dark-red pelt flecked with heather and his small nose splintered from overgrowth. He spun his head to face the two, his eyes igniting with concern.

"How long were you two under there, are you alright?" He breathed, his whiskers quivering as he eyed the pair warily. Before they had a chance to reply however, Tauntingtear's heavy body ripped into camp, the scent of death that overwhelmed the clearing somehow growing even more threatening. Sickness rose in his throat, and he craned his neck around to face the source, only to let out a horrified gasp and collapse into himself, his brow twisting until his face was contorted into petrified pain.

Dawnstar!

He felt claws rake across his heart. His friend, his leader, the cat he'd sworn to give his life to protect... Her beautiful body was mangled. Though her beautiful pelt was still in tact, her head swivelled and craned unnaturally and her eyes were glazed over and cloudy only briefly before Tauntingtear had rose a paw to close them. Windsear felt his heart swelling with grief. No... I knew it! We never should have left her alone with that wretched thing! What kind of clan cats are we?! Guilt thrummed in his chest in a pounding pace of pain like paws attempting to break into his chest. Dawnstar of all cats, the most selfless cat he'd ever known- she'd willingly given her life for them? But why? He forced his claws into the ground, his muzzle twisting painfully. By now Acacialight had crouched over and was trembling over her body, wailing and sobbing as violently as any daughter grieving should. It only taunted him more. She's so young! He couldn't believe his eyes. Silkstar, how could you allow this? Would Lavendersnow return with answers? Why wouldn't Starclan attempt to warn them? He raked his claws across the sand in his swelling wrap of emotions, though he tried to force his body to steady, he felt himself swaying. We trained together, we shared the same den. Why am I seeing her dead so soon? Why would Starclan allow a leader to die so soon? And why hadn't she come back already? And where's Lavendersnow?

There were plenty of questions to be answered, and he figured they'd start the second another set of paws strummed into camp.

He craned his neck to see Lavendersnow, who arrived though her expression only lit with faint surprise. Her maw never twitched as she padded slowly into camp, her movements almost static as she eyed each edge of camp, her blue eyes swam with thought as she paced herself through the scene. She must know, then. He thought, assuring himself with a lap on the chest. Starclan did have something to say on it. Why else would she seem so... Calm? His ears twitched at her exchange with Acacialight. By that point, cats had gathered around, staring in combined awe for Lavendersnow and whatever news she might have to share about Starclan's thoughts on the attack, as well as a heavy, stunned grief for the lost leader. The scene brought over plenty of attention, much of which Lavendersnow had never been quite fond of. She was quick to shrug away, blocking her gaze as she forced her mind immediately to work. He faltered slightly, capping his own gaping maw and shifting uncomfortably. Right. There's work to be done, why am I so concerned about the word of Starclan when there's injured cats here?

He craned his neck back towards Spidersilk and Rubyfire, who he had not left the side of. He pressed close, sniffing them over and eyeing their pelts carefully, his eyes swimming with mixing thought and concern. "Are you two alright?"

*Rubyfire:*

Rubyfire grunted as she bunched out her stiff muscles. Her gaze scanned the entirety of the den, registering its flattened and destroyed nature at the paws of the badger. Sighing angrily she focused back on the tentative warrior, wincing as she finally released her hind leg from the protection of her underbelly and noticed a gash of blood running vertically across it. It was painful, but she had to admit the feeling of fighting off the badger replenished her old warriorhood all over again. “It is nothing to worry about *dear* the real question is if you’re ok.” She replied with concern and began sniffing the young warrior as she had done for her a moment ago.

*Spidersilk:*

Panic consumed the elderly dame’s mind like a steel trap, vicious claws tearing through every thought she had. Her body began to turn against her as the sharp edges of the den walls turned into her enemy, and she couldn’t help but feel as if they were closing in on her, turning and glaring with an intensity she could not match. She felt a claustrophobic feeling claw its way up her throat, escaping her mouth with a silent cry; a mouth opening with no sound following. Sobs racked her body, shaking her limbs and only causing the brambles to close in further, threatening to suffocate the elder. Her breath quickened, as her terror grew, a flame that consumed all it touched. She reached her limbs out as far as she could, her claws unsheathing to tear at the brambles, hoping and begging that somehow she would cut through. She screamed and cried for her paws to obey, to be her servant in this moment of pure and unmeasurable terror. She felt her heart beating in her ears and her chest, rapidly growing quicker as her panic grew. A lightheaded feeling took hold of her senses as she lost full awareness of what she was doing. All she could feel was the fear that consumed every other thought, the feeling becoming a black void that took in all, spitting out nothing but distress. Her voice felt raw, the cries scraping and clawing at her throat as she begged for someone to hear, but even she knew that the screams of cats and badger alike overpowered her own. As it became harder and harder to take a breath, darkness grew at the edges of her vision.

Her body and actions became slow, sluggish. Even her thoughts seemed to slow to a speed that felt unmoving. Her panic seemed to lower in intensity, but acutely aware of what was happening, she realized that she was losing consciousness. The storm inside her mind became calm and slow as consciousness began to escape her grasp. A gasp took a hold of her heart as the pain from the brambles seemed to disappear entirely. She was suddenly freed from the feeling of the walls closing in on her, or even the feeling of her paws against the dusty earth. She felt herself falling, falling through a space of emptiness, her eyes beginning to close and eyelids growing weary. But as the sound around her grew fuzzy, she clearly heard brambles and branches being torn apart, at the feeling of being lifted from the mess…

‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

The next thing she knew she was laying on the earth outside of the dusty earth, coughing and sputtering up air she didn’t know she had. The weight of the collapsed den was gone, and she felt the wisp of cool-night air on her back, fluttering through her long gray fur and cooling the pelt that had grown hot with anxiety. She felt her chest rising and falling, breathing that was calming and normal. She could no longer hear her heartbeat in her ears, but felt the steady and slow pounding within her chest. The lightheadedness that had once taken hold of her senses was gone, and she wiggled her paws and ears. An eternally grateful feeling took hold of her as her senses returned, the feeling of freedom exciting her so that she attempted to stand, putting weight onto her back leg. Within milliseconds, she was back on the floor, a scream of pain shooting through her twisted leg. She raised her head, fur burrowed in a wince as the pain faded. Getting to her paws again, she made sure to avoid the use of her back leg, hopping off of it and relying on her other paws. Beside her, she noticed Rubyfire getting to her feet as well, an annoyed grumble splitting her muzzle. A bloody gash ran vertically across the elders underbelly, but otherwise her denmate seemed to be alright. Taking a moment, Spidersilk scanned her own body. She was pleased to note that though she had many minor scratches across her pelt, no serious harm seemed to have been done. Her gaze swung to the amber-furred warrior beside them, who had now seemed to drag his attention towards them, sniffing the two for injuries and worries.

‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Spidersilk immediately stepped away from the affectionate gesture, a growl rumbling her chest.  “ Let off, kid. I’m fine. “ She scanned the feline from head to toe, and immediately recognized him as Windsear; the show-off. A dramatic eye roll registered in her features, and within moments it seemed she was back to her old self again. “ Nothing like a lil’ enclosed space to spark one’s claustrophobia. No worries whatsoever. “ Though her words seemed lighthearted and held a self-deprecating joke, her tone was icy. She once again looked over at the warrior, this time inspecting his features and body language. His chest was rising quickly, and it was obvious that he had been a part of the battle that had seemed to settle down. Small gashes lay across his chest and his tail drooped behind his torso, but otherwise, he seemed to be just fine. Though she had entirely convinced herself he was indeed fine, worry lingered in her heart for him, and silent thanks to him for saving her. Though her personality was definitely on the grouchy side, it was clear through her expression that she was truly thankful.

She let her gaze leave the two beside her, and focused on the clearing instead. Her gaze scanned the ground and within seconds of catching a glimpse of the blood soaked clearing and bodies strewn in every direction, she gasped and felt her heart freeze.

‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Flashes of snarling and bloody teeth, pinned ears, and howls took hold of her thoughts. The clearing in front of her flashed and became darker as a new beast inhabited her mind. She found herself somewhere different, but familiar. She remembered the moment vividly, watching as cat-like beasts prowled the clearing, pouncing and leaping at clanmates as they tore through their flesh. Excited yowls and yips from the coyotes filled her ears. She recognized she was on the ground below the highrock, and felt a numbing yet agonizing pain in her left leg. Looking down, she recognized its twisted and broken form,  bones protruding and pushing against the skin and flesh within her leg.  Looking down at the sight, she felt bile rose in her throat and had to use every part of her not to be nauseous. She lifted her gaze, and a spark of familiarity flared within her as she recognized her mate, his strikes victorious and well-placed. Despite the pain she felt, she cheered as loud as she could, pride swelling in her chest as she watched Cormorantcry fight off two coyotes, his gaze focused and teeth bared. She smiled as he ran in another direction, and attempted to lift herself, perhaps even find a way to walk off the injury. Surely it wasn’t as bad as it looked? But as she lifted her gaze to find a place she could leap back into battle, she found the snarling face of a coyote staring back at her. It was huge, much bigger than the rest, and blood stained its teeth and claws. Terror seized at her heart and took control of her brain, forcing her to use her limbs and attempt to push herself away, but pain screamed out at her as her left leg became in use. She fell onto her back, useless at the face of death, and let out a hopeless cry, a beg for help. The last thing she saw before shutting her eyes was the coyote leaping towards her and a tuxedo blur of fur coming between her and the attacker.

‎‎‎‎‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

She opened her eyes immediately after she had closed them, no longer seeing either figure. Her gaze flew in every direction, searching for the coyote or the tuxedo feline, eventually finding the latter on the ground next to her. Using her front paws to drag herself towards him, a grin spread across her muzzle as she recognized Cormorantcry. Opening her mouth to express her thanks, she was stopped in her tracks, mouth hanging open as she noticed the  gaping wound at the tom’s neck, blood spilling from the opening. She gasped, rushing forward and grapping her mate’s head gently, lifting it towards her.

“No, no please. You’re gonna be okay. Cormorantcry, please don’t go!”

\*”It’s alright, my love. It’s alright. You’re life will forever be more precious than mine.”

“No, please. Cormorantcry you can’t leave me! I need you-”

“Shh, my love. You will be alright. I will forever love you, and I will watch you from above until you join me.”

“But-”

”No, do not worry about me. Stay here, live here, until you cannot. I will always love you…”

Spidersilk gasped as the moment flashed away, the scene becoming a blur as she returned to the present, only welcomed by the worried faces of Rubyfire and Windsear. She could once again hear her heart in her ears and the quick breath through her nose. She lowered her haunches and let herself collapse onto her stomach, focusing on relaxing, but she couldn’t. Tears brimmed to the edge of her vision, terror and agony and grief she could not hide. She covered her head with her paws and sobbed silently, unable to wish away the memories that clung to her so fiercely.