Welcome to The Boreal! We are a Warriors roleplay set in a cooler climate based on taiga, boreal forests, and surrounding areas, with four original and unique clans inhabiting the territory. To read more about our setting and to join in on the fun, get started here!
Site News
1/3/21 - Happy New Year! Check out the most recent announcement here!
12/21/20 - Congratulations to our new MudClan leader, Mignightstar (played by blue)!
12/19/20 - High rank auditions for MudClan leader closing on December 21st!
In-Character News
High ranks are open! Post in the audition thread to apply.
Seasonal
It is currently early leafbare, so the weather is starting to get cold and the few deciduous trees are losing their leaves.
As much as Bitterpaw appreciated the insulating character of the camp's stone foundations, the rock itself was not, by any stretch of the imagination, cozy. But FloodClan optimism was enough to make a den out of any rock, and the clan's camp was a testament to that attitude.
Which is to say, Bitterpaw appreciated her forebearers' decision to outfit the outcropping with copious amounts of moss and other soft, scavenged materials, but she would certainly appreciate such a decision more if she hadn't been tasked with cleaning all of it up. Not that it was strictly her task, as she had technically taken it upon herself after seeing both of her brothers saddled with the duty, but the fact that such a job had to be done at all was, frankly, a bit of a bummer. Bitterpaw tried not to dwell on this thought and to instead focus on her reason for partaking in the first place. Spending time with Furypaw and Gloompaw was always worth a little extra trouble. Even if Furypaw was a little overprotective at times, even if Gloompaw was a little cold at times, they were still family, and...well. But no family is perfect, thought Bitterpaw, Might as well make the most of our time together.
And so Bitterpaw decided to take to cleaning out the elders den's old moss with as much enthusiasm as she could possibly muster, poking her head through the den's opening to survey the situation. The golden light of the mid-afternoon sun snuck through chinks in the den's walls, casting dramatic shadows across the stone and moss. It fell in pools on the floor, illuminating the motes of dust in the air and giving the sleeping elders something of a halo. Wait, they're sleeping? realized Bitterpaw, Bother. It was one thing to have to clean around elders who may or may not be feeling especially grumpy, but there were few universal truths in life that paralleled the inviolable fact that an elder whose sleep has been disturbed ranks high on the scale of grumpiness.
Bitterpaw's eyes moved past her sleeping, sunlit clanmates to the far side of the den where a pile of old moss lay, discarded in the den's least-inviting corner.
Well, it was nice of them to set it aside for us, at least.
Bitterpaw withdrew as quietly as she could, easing herself away from the entrance and from the rumbling snores that she was surprised not to have noticed before anything else. She really did have to focus more on noticing her surroundings, but it was one thing to hear such an admonishment from her mentor and another to realize it of herself. She flicked her tail a few times as if the movement could brush away the embarrassment. I'll learn, she resolved, before turning to look at her brothers.
"So, they're sleeping." She tried to speak softly, her voice coming out as barely more than a whisper. She hoped the snoring from inside the den wasn't drowning her out. "Maybe if we all go in together they won't be too angry at any single one of us?"
Furypaw was no stranger to this- he was saddled with these chores a lot, as if cleaning dirty moss would magically make him listen to his mentor. Pshh- as if THAT'D happen any time soon. He'd listen to his mentor when they stopped treating him like some misbehaving little kit!
Furypaw didn't know why Bitterpaw had decided to tag along. Gloompaw had been assigned to these chores the same as him, but Bitterpaw had come of her own volition. Is she really that bored? He thought Or maybe she's just trying to be a good sister. He appreciated the thought, no matter the case.It was far better than being completely alone- and although he'd never admit it aloud, Bitterpaw tended to be better company than Gloompaw. He loved them both dearly, but Gloompaw tended to be- well- Gloomy. He remembered faintly when this hadn't been the case.
Maybe if Aspenstripe had actually-
A low rumbling of snores coming from the den made his ears prick, and poking his head into the den only confirmed what he'd dreaded. The elders were still sleeping. Really? It was already sunhigh! He supposed they didn't have anything better to do, but STILL! At least the moss was already piled in a corner- maybe they could slip in and grab that moss without facing the wrath of a grumpy old crone awoken from their slumber.
"Hopefully they're deep sleepers." He'd reply, speaking softly- though quietness had never really been his strong suit- "Lets just be quick. Maybe they won't even wake up." He didn't want to have to deal with grumpy elders- his mentor was already enough for him to have to deal with.
[attr="class","skulloverlap"]love doesn't discriminate between the SINNERS and the SAINTS
[attr="class","skullbody"]Dirty moss again. What a great start to the day. Gloompaw whipped around and stomped away from his mentor without saying a word. He headed toward the elder's den. As if dirty moss was supposed to teach him how to be a good warrior!
[break][break]On his way there, he spotted his two sibling also heading in the same direction. No doubt they had been assigned to the same duties. Briefly, he considered ditching his duties and leaving it up to his two more competent siblings. Yet no matter how much he hated apprenticeship, it was certainly better than being trapped with Aspenstrike and other mewling kits in the nursery. He might as well do what he was told.[break][break]
It was unsurprising that Furypaw had been assigned moss duty again. But Bitterpaw... Gloompaw could not fathom why that obnoxious molly wanted to tag along on such a disgusting duty. Barely acknowledging the two siblings, he peered into the elder's den. He heard Furypaw and Bitterpaw's remark about disturbing the elders, to which the exasperated Gloompaw rolled his eyes pointedly. He strode into the elder's den, leaves crunching beneath his paws and claws scraping against the ground, without a care in the world for whether his movements disturbed the grouchy elders. He was doing them a favor, for StarClan's sake. Why did it matter if his job went well? His mentor was mad enough at him already. [break][break]
Ignoring his two more cautious siblings, he stepped over the snoring elders and scooped down to clean out the old moss. How generous. Those old furballs had even set it aside for them. At least they had made his unpleasant job mildly easier.
[break]
[attr="class","skullinfo"]275 WORDS / @zero snailemail
Poised to dip her head in agreement with Furypaw's suggestion, Bitterpaw startled somewhat as her eyes flicked over to her other brother. Gloompaw's eye roll had caught her attention, and she winced slightly at the now familiar expression. It might not have been half bad if Gloompaw's scorn had been more general, more of a commiseration than a condescension. But no, that wasn't how things worked between the three of them, not really. Bitterpaw had felt the pointedness of his exasperation, accustomed as she was to being the target of it. Sharing that weight with Furypaw in this instance did little to disperse the sentiment, and Bitterpaw's gaze dropped to her paws in embarrassment. I should have realized that argument wouldn't convince him, she thought.
With her gaze cast downwards, it took a moment for Bitterpaw to realize that Gloompaw had actually entered the elders' den. It was only the first crunch of leaves underfoot that drew her attention back to the entrance, through which she saw Gloompaw's tail disappear. Bother! she thought, wincing again with each crinkling leaf and scraping claw. It's like he's trying to make as much noise as possible, Bitterpaw despaired. But she had just resolved to bear the brunt of the elders' annoyance in solidarity with her brothers, so there was little else for her to do but to shake her head and follow Gloompaw into the den. She paused momentarily to throw Furypaw a sheepinsh look.
"Hopefully they're deep sleepers, right?" she said, mirroring Furypaw's earlier optimism. The optimism was more strained now, with Gloompaw's racket punctuating the statement.
Turning back towards the den, Bitterpaw eased her way through the entrance again, making an effort at stealth even after Gloompaw's disruption. She saw that he had a large bundle of moss scooped out already, but sighed softly at the sight of the pile remaining. It'll probably take a few trips, she considered glumly, But the sooner we start, the sooner we finish. With this thought driving her, Bitterpaw padded towards the far side of the den, taking care to avoid the already trampled-on leaves. She crinkled her nose at the smell of the dirty moss, and shook her head as if to clear the smell before reaching down to clear a part of the pile. With her disgust at such heights, it was no surprise that it took her an extra few moments to realize what had changed in the den...
Furypaw responded to Gloompaw's eye roll by thwapping him with his tail- not very hard, but certainly enough to get the point across. He supposed moss-duty was enough to put anyone in a sour mood, but really? It seemed like nowadays he was constantly in a bad mood. Just like the elders that are sure to wake up any moment now. He thought at the sound of crunching leaves and loud, uncaring steps.
He'd return Bitterpaw's look with a small, somewhat awkward smile. "Y'know, Gloompaw and I can probably handle this ourselves." He'd meow, offering Bitterpaw an out if she wanted- she was just here to be helpful, after all. She didn't deserve to be yelled at just because Gloompaw's acting up.
He'd follow his siblings into the den, now uncaring of any noise he made considering how loud Gloompaw had been. He picked up a large wad of moss, glaring at the pile of remaining moss as if that would make it magically pick itself up and throw itself out. His snout wrinkled- ugh, that smell was AWFUL. How did you even get moss to smell that bad?
He turned around and found himself meeting the grumpy, freshly-awoken gaze of Wigeonfang, a notoriously grumpy elder. "Sorry." He'd mumble through the wad of dirty moss. He didn't really mean it- what did he have to be sorry for, he wasn't even the one who woke them up. Still, if he wasn't at least somewhat polite, Wigeonfang would surely become unbearable- though that was likely regardless, to be honest.
[attr="class","skulloverlap"]it TAKES and it TAKES and it TAKES
[attr="class","skullbody"]Gloompaw felt his brother's tail thwap upon his back, to which he responded in a short and low growl. Furypaw was always acting like he was a model apprentice. It only fueled Gloompaw's annoyance. He gave a second eyeroll, more visible than the first one. He pointedly turned around, carrying the wad of dirty moss with him. He threw out the moss aggressively, spitting and choking, trying his best to clean out the foul and sweaty smell from his mouth.[break][break]
He didn't know why his sister Bitterpaw was so eager to tag along. What was so good about this job anyways? Was she such a kitten that she needed her brothers to take care of her? [break][break]
Every time he reentered the elder's den, he continued to make as much noise as he liked. Finally, it seemed like Wigeonfang was getting the gist of Gloompaw's bad attitude. Upon returning to the elder's den once more, it appeared Wigeonfang began to berate them for being noisy. Drowning out the grumpy elder's useless comments, Gloompaw continued to claw at the stack of soiled moss. However, the ruckus quickly woke the rest of the elders as well. With a mouthful of stinky moss, Gloompaw glanced at them and could not help but let out a smirk of amusement.[break][break]
"Well, good morning to you too," he meowed evenly, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
[break]
[attr="class","skullinfo"]230 WORDS / @zero snailemail
Bitterpaw huffed out a small sigh at Furypaw's reply. Of course her brothers could handle themselves, of that she had no worry. But it wasn't about whether or not they needed help, it was about solidarity, kinship, the bonds of familial love and all that. Maybe those things were a bit much to expect from anyone who had Aspenstripe as a mother, though. Even Bitterpaw herself was working more off of theory than any practical experience. Not to mention the looks on her brothers' faces, Furypaw's snout wrinkled in disgust, Gloompaw's mouth contorted in revulsion, which made Bitterpaw wonder if perhaps cleaning up dirty moss was...not the best bonding activity.
But I'm already here, and backing out now would just make things more awkward. So she made some faces of her own at the lingering taste of old moss and ducked back into the den, cringing again when she realized just how many of the elders they had woken up. All of them, it seemed like, or very nearly. And of course Wigeonfang was among them, making a racket of their own with a series of somewhat vulgar complaints. Bitterpaw admired the elder's creativity, if nothing else. Wigeonfang's tirade was interrupted by Gloompaw's sarcasm, and Bitterpaw felt her stomach drop. Oh, why did he have to antagonize them...
She forced a smile and pretended to ignore her brother's sardonic tone. "Yes, good morning!" she said brightly, still keeping her voice relatively low, just in case. "Thank you for piling the moss all in one area, by the way!" A little extra gratitude couldn't hurt, she figured, and it was genuine in any case. With that out of the way, she scooped up another pile of dirty moss and headed back for the entrance. The pile was starting to dwindle and with it Bitterpaw's excuse for spending some time with her brothers. Judging from Gloompaw's growl, it would be exceedingly difficult to encourage any more time spent together without a chore to force the matter. Bitterpaw took a cursory glance around the den.
"Is there anything else you would like us to take care of that's not in the pile?" She tried to keep her tone light and avoid the gazes of both Gloompaw and Furypaw. Please don't be angry with me. The worst case scenario, she figured, was that they abandoned her to do extra tasks that she alone volunteered for. But there was also a chance that they stayed to help, assuming the elders actually had anything in mind. Knowing her clan's elders though, Bitterpaw was sure they would think of something.
