Post by DELAWARE on Jun 21, 2023 4:05:00 GMT -8
 [attr="class","twfpttitle"]DAYBREAK [attr="class","twfptnotes"]event fifteen [attr="class","twfptnotes"]bloodclan [attr="class","twfptnotes"]open type / setting-based [attr="class","twfptnotes"]premise |
[attr="class","twfptcontent"] [attr="class","twfpth1"]THE EYES OF THE CITY [attr="class","twfpth2"]rest on a warehouse. It's the morning after the attack on the factory, and in the early hours of pre-dawn, the news cuts like jagged lightning through the streets. Everyone has heard something, it seems: an ambush in the dead of night, rogues killed, rogues survived, BloodClan killed, BloodClan survived, a kit killed, a kit survived. An attack in cold blood, whisper some, a cycle of revenge to make the whole world blind - and nobody disagrees. But who won?, they wonder, and for a while, no one has an answer. The details emerge slowly, gradually, painfully. It's carried by survivors as they flee the city in shock and grief. It's shared by hollow-eyed witnesses to the aftermath, who sneak into the factory and find only death and drying blood and worst fears confirmed. It's lived by the Clan cats who wait in the warehouse, sleepless, and see their patrol return, victorious but defeated all the same. It's heard by those who are startled awake by the enraged screams of a cat so far past fury he finds immolation, and the black hole of silence after his cut-off cry. By the time the first rays of sunlight brush the horizon, the story is clear enough. Someone even gives it a name: the New Year Massacre. There are survivors on both sides, but barely. No matter BloodClan's casualties, there is no doubt they annihilated the rogues. And the rest of the city, never unified in anything, agree decisively upon this - BloodClan has finally crossed the line. Preparations are made to deal with them, swiftly and without remorse, and the grim, forty-strong patrol of city cats that enter the warehouse - bound temporarily to each other by this shared mission - are only held back by a single fact: Axel is missing. The perpetrator, the leader, the one responsible for guiding BloodClan back into the darkness they'd left behind years ago, is nowhere to be found. The city cats learn, from frantic BloodClan cats who are not only confused and grieving but now also pleading for their lives, that at the end of the fight, Tinsel appeared. That she told Axel something and he flew into a rage, killing the rogues in sight before running from the factory. That Tinsel followed him, and that no one has seen them since. "No one has gone to look for them?" someone asks, and in the quiet but honest response that follows, the city cats realize that although Axel scared them, it was nothing compared to the fear he'd inflicted upon his Clan. "We wouldn't dare." And so they wait, the BloodClanners huddled in the middle of their home, exhausted and unresisting, surrounded on all sides by cats ready to do what needs to be done. And when they have nearly all resigned themselves, they hear it: faint at first, growing louder - a regular, squeaky metallic sound, approaching the warehouse - accompanied by the sound of tired paw steps. Faces turn toward the warehouse entrance, and time itself seems to freeze as the creaking stops outside the door, two fateful possibilities hanging in liminal instant before they merge into a single future. Tinsel comes through first, dragging with her a lifeless black-and-white body that everyone recognizes: Axel, blood still congealing from the strike that ended his life. She's followed by the source of the creaking, and for a moment, everyone wonders if they've hallucinated, because that's Axel, isn't it? - but Axel never had a strange metal contraption strapped to his back legs, Axel was not so thin or sharp-edged, Axel did not have green eyes that, reluctant to lift at first, were now widening in horror at the sight before them. There's a rush of recognition for those old enough to remember, followed by outright disbelief and suspicion. After all, the cat before them is supposed to be dead, killed years ago when rogues attacked the warehouse. But Piper is no ghost. He and Tinsel explain the story, quick and urgent but straightforward: that Tinsel pretended Piper was dead at the end of the rogue fight; that in reality she whisked him and Moss away to the mountains; that the action had been taken because of their senseless rivalry, in the hopes that some distance would prevent the fracturing they were causing the Clan; that no one had expected Axel to arrive, nor the disaster that followed; that Tinsel had been waiting for the chance to bring Piper back, ever since, but there had not been a good enough moment - and he had not been strong enough - until now. Tinsel is the steady calm to Piper's faltering certainty. It's her, ultimately, and the unmistakably dead body of Axel before them, that finally convince the city cats. For all that has transpired, Tinsel has a good reputation in the city, a trustworthiness not given but earned. And it's Piper's begging, as close to prostration as he can get, that finally convinces them to leave BloodClan untouched for a single year. They impose caveats, of course; Axel's body for one, a smaller territory for another. The demands are numerous, but even the most intense - a weekly inspection by a representative of the city, to make sure BloodClan is following the rules - are accepted by Piper and Tinsel. The rest of BloodClan swallow their pride and stay silent for the negotiations, aware that this is their only hope for a future. It is mid-morning by the time the city cats leave, bearing the body of Axel among them. In their wake the Clan relaxes, ragged, shaky, tension releasing in one great rush. Nobody is happy; they have just watched their medicine cat and a resurrected stranger of a leader sign away their rights for an entire year. But they are relieved, which is different. Some, in spite of everything, are even hopeful. And as daylight spreads through the winter-bound city, slow and golden, they begin to rebuild. [attr="class","twfpth1"]2018: THE FIRST YEAR [attr="class","twfpth2"]a year of internal healing Every year is painful, but the first year is the worst. Bound by the restrictions imposed by the city and under intense pressure not to step a single centimeter out of line, Piper and Tinsel keep their Clan on a short leash. Some cats, unable to handle the scrutiny and limits on their every action, leave the Clan. Others are driven away before they can cause harm, though under the new leadership, no one is killed. The few that do meet violent ends are those picked off by rogues, since not everyone is happy with the uneasy truce that has been brokered, but when BloodClan does not react, the city cats crack down on their own. Still, the situation is a depressing one. For the first few months, the Clan fractures and dissolves more than it reforms. And yet the winnowing, awful as it is for everyone involved, serves its purpose. By late summer the Clan is beginning to settle. Though they are smaller by half, as they look around at one another, they realize they are stronger for it. Everyone who remains is invested, body and soul, in BloodClan. Tinsel establishes a therapy service; Piper requires everyone to attend at least once. Support groups spontaneously form, the Clan allowing themselves, at last, to confront their past and forge a community from it. Various committees to improve the warehouse are created: one to increase accessibility, one to re-design the interior, another to tidy up the exterior. The efforts carry through the fall and winter, and by the end of the year, the Clan is fragile but steady. Even if they aren't ready for a storm, they can at least survive bad weather. [attr="class","twfpth1"]2019: THE SECOND YEAR [attr="class","twfpth2"]a year of diplomacy Though the city cats recognize and respect the work that BloodClan has done, and are willing to release the Clan from the strict conditions of the year previous, they remain reluctant to trust the Clan entirely. A year of intense negotiation ensues. Spring is spent determining the BloodClan borders; summer brings a brutal reckoning from victims of Axel's rule, demanding recompense. The entire fall is dedicated to discussing resources and what rights BloodClanners have once they leave their territory. Winter offers no reprieve: every group in the city, it seems, wants a chance to talk with BloodClan. Piper and Tinsel are not aggressive but they are resolved, compromising on many points but holding firm on others. Some conversations go smoothly, most result in nothing and a plan to meet again, and more than a few are more like a verbal fencing match than any proper conversation. Even the kittypets get in on the action, complaining about BloodClanners breaking into their homes and gardens and shops and stealing their possessions. Unable to handle the sheer volume of requests alone, Piper and Tinsel request volunteers from the Clan to join them as diplomats. By the end of the grueling year - and then some - the Clan is exhausted from their efforts. Tinsel and Piper have not slept properly for months; the diplomacy team is no better off, and though the rest of the Clan has made it through intact, they, too, are showing signs of wear from the prolonged absences of their leader, medicine cat, and the more tactful, problem-solving members of their community. But in the end, they are successful. They reach peaceful agreements with the rest of the city, ones that require them to compromise but not concede BloodClan's rights. Small issues continue to arise - an inevitable part of coexistence - but BloodClan's survival has been ensured. [attr="class","twfpth1"]2020-2021: THE THIRD AND FOURTH YEARS [attr="class","twfpth2"]the years of recovery With their safety secured, BloodClan finally turns their attention to the business of true recovery. They continue to build upon the foundations they established in 2018, improving the warehouse and getting used to their new relationship with the city. 2020 is still tense, with the Clan still sensitive to the scrutiny of the city cats - many who seem to be hovering, just waiting for a mistake - but 2021 is far better. The Clan relaxes enough that they finally, truly begin to feel like a Clan again. Apprentices sleep through the night; warriors are no longer afraid for their life when traveling the territory. The quiet from the sudden absence of humans helps; though initially bracing for the worst, BloodClan relaxes quickly when they realize they are under no threat. Some cats even pick up hobbies, turning their long-held dreams into reality. Tinsel starts an herb garden nearby the warehouse, finding and tending the seeds and, finally, the plants that grow. Others prefer to engineer, building ramps and storage areas and even beginning construction of a walkway between warehouse buildings. Still others turn towards education and storytelling, crafting an oral legacy of BloodClan's history that can be passed down through generations as a sober reminder not to repeat the same mistakes while also embracing the events that shaped them. And though the Clan is still small, they begin to have their first new members - not many but a few, drawn by the story of the Clan, deciding to stay because of the community they find. All small changes, for sure, but each one a sign; and on more than one occasion, a BloodClan cat blinks themselves awake in the morning only to wonder if they are still dreaming, for surely, this contented Clan - this peace - cannot be theirs. [attr="class","twfpth1"]2022-2023: THE FIFTH AND SIXTH YEARS [attr="class","twfpth2"]the years of exploration But it's no dream, and Piper's actions in mid-2022 prove it. Reassured by condition of the Clan, he begins to look outward, sending small teams of cats to explore the world beyond the city. Some travel to Oceanside, others to the mountains; a couple linger in the immediate area, journeying into the suburbs and the countryside. They bring back new stories, ideas, relationships and resources, and the Clan grows richer for it. Convincing the rest of the city is more difficult; there is an uproar when they catch wind of the exploration patrols, and it takes many conversations and a lot of time before they finally believe BloodClan is acting in good faith, not ill intent. Only the forest stays unexplored, BloodClan sensitive to the four Clans and the less than ideal relationship that has formed, over the years and several Gatherings, between them. Nobody can fail to miss, however, the news that Clan cats are arriving in the city, captured by humans and terrified out of their minds. For now, Piper and Tinsel have instructed BloodClan to stay far away from the situation, unwilling to draw attention to themselves and risk everything that the Clan has worked for. But they are watching carefully, sharing late-night conversations; and though no BloodClanner knows exactly when, everyone can sense that soon, the city will meet the forest once more. [attr="class","twfpth1"]AND IN THE MEANTIME, [attr="class","twfpth2"]there is life to live. A hard-earned life, engraved on bones and imprinted on hearts. A peaceful life, grown from corpse-fertilized soil and watered by blood. A secure life, granted by sacrifice and bestowed by murder. A loving life, emerging defiant from the cracks between revenge and hate. A second-chance life, one they thought they'd never get. A life to make the most of. A life worth living. |
[attr="class","twfptnotes"]joni niemelä [attr="class","twfptnotes"]ruixue fu [attr="class","twfptnotes"]© DELAWARE |
It's been going on since I arrived!
