Warrior Cat Clans 2 (WCC2 aka Classic) is a roleplay site inspired by the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Whether you are a fan of the books or new to the Warrior cats world, WCC2 offers a diverse environment with over a decade’s worth of lore for you - and your characters - to explore. Join us today and become a part of our ongoing story!
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sorry I got excited and as you can tell, I’m very bad at titles Another terrible sleepless night, Sunflowerpaw noticed after what seemed like moons of huddling in his nest. His green eyes lay wide and and alert, no matter how much he tried to close them. Why couldn’t he just get a decent nights sleep for once? The ever haunting darkness swallowed him up, it’s claws enclosing in his stomach. He felt sick. The shadows kept moving, swirling blots of darkness. His heart began to hammer in his chest, hammering until it hit the jackpot of anxiety.
The fluffy calico tom got to his paws, his legs shaky and unbalanced. He had to go. The walls were closing in, the darkness moving closer. His breathing got heavier, quicker. He stumbled out of the apprentices den, his head spinning as he entered the dim moonlight. He was going to die. That was it. Goodbye world, you kind of sucked!
Doestar, it seemed, had developed insomnia. It had gotten a little better when he’d moved out of the old leader’s den – too many expectations in those walls, too many lingering memories of past leaders far greater than he. It had never felt like his; and now, beneath the leaves of the beech tree and the drooping mandarins, he felt like he could breathe. It wasn’t a terrible sort of insomnia this time, he supposed; now, he was awake because, for the first time in moons, he felt free, in control, able to move and think and exist without being bound by centuries of history and countless leaders staring down at him from the stars and finding him lacking. Out here in the cool moonlight, with the fresh air that smelled of citrus and water and sun-baked earth, surrounded by drying flowers and darkness, he felt like himself. He raised his gaze to the stars and closed his eyes, breathing in a deep lungful of night air and smiling to himself. Everything was going to be okay.
Or maybe not. He opened his eyes and glanced over at the sound of stumbling pawsteps, ears pricking up. Sunflowerpaw staggered out of the apprentices’ den, wild-eyed and gasping for breath; in an instant, Doestar was on his paws and at his side. “Sunflower,” he murmured softly, “hey.” He bowed his head to try and catch the apprentice’s eye and settled beside him, hovering a paw over his back – his first instinct was to touch and comfort, but he reminded himself that some cats responded differently to fear and didn't like to be crowded. “Bad dream?” he quipped instinctively, but his voice was airy and worried and the joke came out sounding uncertain, smile weak and eyes wide and searching.
Barely registering who it was that was near him, helping him, comforting him, Sunflowerpaw leaned into the awaiting touch. His breathing, still going a mile a minute it seemed, slowed to a more manageable hyperventilation. Words were blurred to his ears, distant sounds across his ocean of panic. He slowed, trying to breath deeply like he had taught himself. The world was coming back to him, slowly, but surely. Sitting down, Sunflowerpaw finally looked up to this new cat and immediately got back up. He stumbled back, dipping his head in a rushed respectful-panicked way.
“Doestar!” He squeaked, his voice going weirdly high pitched. “N-no. Or—maybe?” Good job Sunflowerpaw! You alerted the leader to your little stunt, an inner voice taunted, making his fur stand up again. How could he tell the leader—the Leader with a capital L—that he was scared of the dark? A kitten’s fear, one he should have gotten over a long time ago.
“Yeah, I guess I-I did. Sorry I disturbed you! I know you need sleep, sorry. I usually don’t get them this bad anymore, promise. I—uh—uhm—I’ll g-go now.”
Now your talking his ear off? The poor guy is suffering in your presence, just go to your nest already.
Whisking around suddenly, Sunflowerpaw went to make his way back to the apprentices den.
When Sunflowerpaw leaned into his touch, Doestar felt himself soften, worry and second-hand pain leeching into his heart like slow, gluggy water; he rested his chin between the apprentice’s ears and forced a soft, calming purr, glancing between the stars above and the apprentice against him with a concerned little frown. Even when he felt Sunflowerpaw’s heart and breathing slow, he stayed where he was, wanting the apprentice to be the one to let him know when he was ready to let go; if he needed to be held like a kit till sunrise, Doestar wasn’t going anywhere, and he didn’t want him to feel pressured to be alright if he wasn’t.
And then the apprentice realised who it was he’d sought comfort from. Doestar smiled softly at his panic, letting go of Sunflowerpaw where he’d had his forepaw rested against his back and drawing it back to him. He wrapped his tail neatly around his paws and let out an amused purr, watching calmly. Doestar! “Sunflowerpaw!” he gasped back teasingly, brows shooting upwards for a moment before his expression settled back into a crooked grin. It made him a little sad, a little embarrassed and anxious and desperate, to think that someone could see him as so different, so superior because of a name and a title, that they would react like this; he was just him — a normal, painfully average, self-destructive mess — nothing special. But, at that moment, his heart was too soft to feel truly upset.
“I don’t need sleep,” he replied, voice gentle and quiet as he stood up and padded a few steps after Sunflowerpaw. He stopped with one paw in the air, head tilted slightly and tail-tip twitching slowly behind him. “And don’t apologise for feeling what you feel. There are so many things you’ll feel in years to come, and so many that I think you already know, and you’ll only hurt yourself more by making yourself feel guilty for having them. No one is okay all the time.” He grinned weakly and let out a soft huff of a laugh. “Even me.” He went to take a step closer, then stopped, placing his front paws together as daintily as he could with one of them bent so terribly out of shape. “Do you want to talk about it? I talk a lot but I’m also quite a good listener.” He smiled gently, even if the apprentice couldn’t see it.
The apprentice stopped, staring in the direction of the apprentices den for a moment before turning around. He turned to face Doestar again, staring at the ground in front of the tom’s feet. No one is okay all the time. Sunflowerpaw took a few tentative steps towards the leader. Considering the leader’s suggestion for a few moments, he stayed silent. Shaking his head he said a soft, “Not now,” and sat in the grass in front of Doestar. He had hoped his panic would have left him exhausted and finally able to sleep—but apparently, as he now get fully awake—he was going to be up a while.
Doestar smiled softly, waiting quietly as the apprentice made his decision. “We don’t have to talk about it ever if you don’t want to,” he replied gently, offering a lop-sided smile. “Must be a bit weird, having a lil’ impromptu therapy session with your leader. God, I would never have felt okay with talking to Burningstar about anything when I was an apprentice — I still wouldn’t, even now that I’m leader. She freaks me out.” He shuddered jokingly and turned back to Sunflowerpaw with a gentle smile; he was silent for a moment, simply letting the apprentice breathe, before he continued. “Do you wanna go for a walk? Stay here and just be quiet? Run away? Be left alone? You tell me what you want to do and I’ll make it happen. Sleeping is for losers anyway.” He grinned, but his eyes were soft and worried.
He laughed quietly, letting his fur lay flat and a purr rumble in his throat. “A bit weird, yeah.” Relaxing a little, Sunflowerpaw got to his paws and stretched. “Well, all of those options sound good right now. But a walk would be nice.” His heartbeat finally slowed to its usual pace and his breathing was clear. He sucked in a deep breath. He laughed again, a soft sound that spoke a gentle happiness. “Anywhere is good, just not near a lot of flowers. They make me sneeze.” He wiggles his little pink nose. Kind of ironic, considering he was named after a flower.
He smiled softly at the apprentice’s laughter, relieved to see he was feeling calm enough for at least that. “You live in SummerClan and you’re allergic to flowers?” Doestar let out an amused purr, eyes twinkling softly as he nudged Sunflowerpaw playfully on his way past and led him towards the camp entrance with a flick of his tail. “Okay, so, no wildflower meadow, no forest, no... boy, you’ve really ruled out most of the territory, huh?” He grinned back at the apprentice, slipping out through the gorse tunnel — “hold your breath; flowers here, too” — and into the cool night air. Long, black shadows washed over the ground, cast by the pine trees above them.
Doestar lowered himself into a long stretch, sinking his front claws into the earth and shaking himself out before standing back up and smiling down at the younger tom. “Lead on, sweetpea — not too quick, though. Dodgy paw.” His smile widened, calm and gentle; he’d take tonight at whatever pace the apprentice needed to set.
Ducking out behind Doestar, Sunflowerpaw let out a small nervous laugh. “Yeah, I know, not ideal. It’s only a lot of flowers that make me sneeze, one or two or three are fine. Looking nervously at the y’all shadows and swirling darkness, he took a tiny step back. Wondering if maybe this was a bad idea and he should just go back to his nest, he sucked in a breath and continued on. Sunflowerpaw stopped just in front of Doestar, he waited for the other tom to take the lead. No way could he lead his leader, they were called leader for a reason and didn’t need some dumb apprentice taking them everywhere. Looking back at the tom, Sunflowerpaw smiled a little smile. “Thank you.” He said quietly, turning his attention back to the darkness, and he still smiled regardless of the prickling feeling of being watched.
Doestar watched the young tom with a small, worried frown, interrupted only by the soft smile he offered when Sunflowerpaw glanced back at him briefly; a heartbeat later, the frown returned. He glanced around at the darkness surrounding them - and realisation dawned on him.
"You know," he began cheerfully, motioning with his head towards the hill on the other side of camp and waiting for the apprentice to fall in step beside him before he began walking, taking the lead after all, "I used to be so scared of the dark when I was little. I'm talking, seriously scared. One--" He broke off into a warm little laugh at the fabricated memory; it wasn't true, but Sunflowerpaw didn't need to know that, "One time, my brother tried to make me sneak out of camp when we first became apprentices and I got about two steps out of camp before running back to my mama. And this was in NightClan. NightClan! We were nocturnal! No one knew what to do with me. The second the sun went down, I wouldn't leave my mother's side - moonigh patrol? Spot of night-time hunting? No, thanks, I think I'll die instead." He let out a soft purr, making sure to stay close enough to the apprentice that he didn't feel alone in the darkness. "Wild times."
Hot embarrassment flooded his pelt. He was so obvious! Following just a bit behind the leader, he mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. At least Doestar somewhat related, and he couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at his story. At least he wasn’t in NightClan. Falling in beside Doestar, he pressed his thick calico pelt against Doestar’s. They were similar in a lot of ways, he noticed.
“It’s just, I’m too old to be afraid of the dark. What if I never get over it?” He stared at his little white paws as he walked, lowering his head as embarrassment still stung his pelt.
Doestar ducked his head to smile sweetly at the apprentice when he pressed against his side, the younger tom's fur soft and thick against his short pelt. "Noo, rubbish!" he replied immediately, nudging Sunflowerpaw's shoulder with his. "Too old? Like it or not, you're still a baby - there's soo much time to get over a few fears here and there. I did. Mostly. I'm still a bit scared of ducks, but they're just so unpredictable! And loud! Come outta nowhere." He laughed nervously; that fear was real. "And I'm scared of being caught by something and having to run, because I can't. I'm scared of public speaking, so clan meetings and gatherings are the absolute worst and I usually have about seven panic attacks before I even begin, and I've never been a huge fan of dragonflies. Very sticky, aren't they?"
He smiled and touched his nose gently to Sunflowerpaw's ear, watching him with a soft, calm gaze as he slowly led the way up the night-dark hill. "Everyone's scared of something. I'm scared of a few more things than most, but that's my own problem." He laughed, grinning lop-sidedly for a moment before his expression softened once more. "And if you don't get over it, well, so what? No night-time patrols for you, that's all that means."
Sunflowerpaw didn’t say anything for a few long moments, stretching the silence until he could gather his orderless thoughts. “I hate public speaking, too.” He said after a while. “Well—I don’t hate it, it can be quite enjoyable, but it makes me so nervous. I—it’s like—“ he couldn’t find the right words to explain it, trying to grasp at the loose strings in his mind, but they wielded nothing. He found himself, in the company of his leader, sharing his petty fears and weaknesses for no reason other than he needed to bombard this tom with his problems. “I’m scared I won’t ever be anything, that my stupid fears and weaknesses will get in the way.” His eyes watered slightly, but he blinked them away aggressively. “I can barely sleep at night, how am I suppose to get up every morning?” He seemed lazy, sleeping throughout the day, his exhaustion too much to try and stay away. Maybe he was lazy, and was just using sob excuses as cover up.
Doestar was more than happy to pad in silence for a little while, drinking in the night air and the scents of nearby the wildflower meadow that alway seemed so much more alive once dusk fell. When the apprentice finally spoke, he let out a soft little purr. “Well, see, you’re already braver than I am — public speaking, enjoyable? I could never.”
When Sunflowerpaw’s eyes welled up with tears, he resisted his first instinct — to cuddle up against him and brush the tears away — and instead gently knocked his cheek against the apprentice’s. “Y’know, now we’re really getting to the ugly truths.” He exhaled a quiet laugh; it went against his entire being to discuss his own fears and traumas so openly — he was so used to burying it deep and plastering on a cheerful smile instead — but the younger tom needed to hear that even leaders — especially leaders — felt insecure.
He drew in a breath and continued, pawpads tingling with nerves. “I’m terrified of the same thing every single day. I’m terrified that I’m not good enough to lead this Clan. I’m terrified that my paw will mean I can’t defend them if they need it, and that I wasn’t the right choice, and that StarClan made a mistake in choosing me, if they even did in the first place. I’m terrified that I won’t ever get over my own ghosts, and that I’m a bad brother, and that I’m just going to let everyone down like I always have, but that this time, cats could die if I do. I’m terrified, all the time. And I envy the cats who aren’t, but I don’t understand them. And that’s... y’know what? That’s okay. We’re all scared. You’re scared, I’m scared — the whole world is scared of something, and the whole world thinks they’re not good enough. But d’you know what? You are. Me? I dunno, we’ll see. But you’re good enough, and the fears will fade, and you’re going to make an incredible warrior if that’s what you want to be. And if you figure out how to stop being afraid, you gotta tell me, because I don’t know.”
He smiled shakily at the apprentice, heart thudding against his ribcage at the awful, wonderful honesty. He felt freed and exhilerated and far too vulnerable, and he worried suddenly that all that had been far too much to put on an apprentice’s shoulders. He let out a loud breath and shook his head, smiling down at his paws faintly as he limped along.
Taking in Doestar’s little speech, Sunflowerpaw considered it. It made him feel better, he was a bit more confident in front of the leader and now was able to meet his eyes. “I promise, I’ll find a way, and I’ll tell you every last step.” He said, his voice bolder now. “And, I think you’re an amazing leader.” He added, padding beside Doestar slowly. “So . . . Where are we going now?” He asked after moments of silence, looking up at the moon. He still felt watched, studied, judged, in the dark, but he felt a bit bitter pressing his pelt against Doestar’s.
And, I think you’re an amazing leader. Doestar smiled, as touched as he was embarrassed, and bowed his head to hide his pink ear tips. He didn’t quite believe him, but it meant more than he could say to hear the words out loud. “We’re, uh— I don’t really know.” He raised his head and looked around with a laugh, grinned crookedly as he got his bearings; they were halfway up the hill, on their way to the waterfall, but he wasn’t really feeling that direction at the moment. “Mmm...” He spun in a small, slow circle, mentally mapping out the territory and rating them on a scale of 1–10.
“Wildflower meadow?” he suggested at last, looking back at the apprentice with his ears held high. “It’ll be lighter than under these trees — and if you’re feelin’ really brave, I sometimes like to scare myself like a kit and sneak over to the witch’s house, see if anyone’s home.” He suddenly remembered he was apparently an amazing leader and forced a calmer expression onto his face, ears relaxing. “But that’s irresponsible and awful and I shouldn’t be leading apprentices into trouble.” His whiskers twitched against a smile.
“The wildflower meadow sounds good,” he said, deciding that he’s, he could deal with a stuffy nose for a little bit. “The witches hut? Oh, I never wanna go near that thing. It gives me the shivers.” He softly laughed. “I like going near the lake, it’s very pretty, but everything in SummerClan is beautiful.” Yes, he was very prideful of his Clan. It was where he was raised, where his loyalties lay, he kind of had to be. “I doubt any other Clans has our beauty.” He purred, but knew that may not have been exactly true.
“Yeah, they don’t,” he agreed with a prideful little purr, feeling a little smug as he tucked the apprentice’s words away in the back of his mind and mentally set a reminder to tell Shadedstar that the next time he saw him — no cherry blossoms, no worries. “The lake it is — wildflower meadow’s on the way, anyway, so ha-ha, world, we can do both.” He let out a silly, mock-taunting laugh at the thought of one-upping the universe and turned to head down the northern side of the hill.
“So, what’s, like, your biggest dream in the whole world? Something you wish you can someday do, even if it sounds completely insane and it would probably make your parents super mad? And don’t say be happy, because duh. I’ll go first. I think it would be kinda neat to be a kittypet for a day — there, I said it. I’d also like to be able to fly. And eat a cloud.”
“A kittypet? That’s a bit odd, but I get the curiosity. And I wonder what a cloud would taste like.” Growing a little awkward at the mention of parents, Sunflowerpaw though for a moment. Biggest dream. What was his biggest, weirdest dream? “I wish I could. . .” He trailed off, “I’m not sure. I wonder what space is like. I wonder what it’s like to live on the moon. Or what being a twoleg is like.” He said finally, pulling out random thoughts from the top of his head.
