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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11.06.2022 The site has been transformed into an archive. Thank you for all the memories here!
Here on Classic we understand that sometimes life can get difficult and we struggle. We may need to receive advice, vent, know that we are not alone in our difficult times, or even just have someone listen to what's going on in our lives. In light of these times, we have created the support threads below that are open to all of our members at any time.
When Doefreckle came back to life, it was dawn. It was gentle. His eyes opened with the meaningful weight that comes from awakening already fully conscious, your head clear and your thoughts slow and calm. The sun was just beginning to rise over the rabbit meadow, the golden sunlight brushing away the mist and warming his fur. It made the ginger patches in his coat glow a soft auburn. Birds sang quietly in the birch trees across the river; the water gurgled past peacefully; insects rustled through the grass beside his head; the world was tranquil and easy and quietly, gently alive. Doefreckle lay there for a long, long time, breathing slowly. Just breathing. He gazed straight ahead, blinking every few moments. The air was sweet and fresh with green growing things. A light breeze made the heads of the snowdrops around him bob and flutter. A ladybug buzzed past and settled on his nose, crawling up the bridge towards his eyes. He went cross-eyed for a second, looking at it, before he finally let out a soft little huff of laughter and sat up; the ladybug flew away in the direction of the wildflower meadow.
Doefreckle shuffled into a sitting position, hopping his good paw in close and letting his broken one rest on the ground. He looked around. For a long moment, all he did was sit there. Then, finally, quietly, he burst into tears. Relief flooded his chest - relief, and joy, and gratitude, and grief, and horror. He sat there, and as he cried, tears dripping off his chin and onto the flowers beneath him, he imagined the trauma of the last two years went with them.
He was alive. He was here.
He wiped his nose on the back of his good paw, letting out an embarrassed little laugh like he was making fun of his own show of emotion, and pulled himself to his paws. Breathing in the warm morning air with a shuddery gasp, he raised his eyes to the sky, brows drawn upward in a soft, happy little frown, and began to limp towards the SummerClan camp, smiling as he went. Strangely, as he went, it didn't occur to him that everything would have changed. In his mind, it was all the same. In his mind, he'd just slip right back into the life he'd left two years ago. Call it trauma, call it blind joy, call it a tragedy; to Doefreckle, in that moment, there was nothing more beautiful than being gently, peacefully, fully alive. Behind his eyes there was something haunted, something broken, something grieving and suffering and lost and bewildered - the two years he'd spent as a wandering ghost weren't going to leave him be, and he had many miles to go before he could lay that horror to rest - but right then, in that gold-lit meadow, the happiness won out. It was the most foolish he'd ever been.
GidgetGal i finally made the thread! come ruin his morning with ratstar c: ♡
It was a perfect day in Summerclan. Granted, Ratstar considered everyday in Summerclan - shower, snow, or shine - to be a perfect day. And he had every reason to think that way. How much had his life changed for the better in the year and a half since he became leader? He'd found everything that his childhood had refused him; a beautiful home, a clan that looked up to him, a mate that (despite her wandering eye) genuinely loved him, and kits that (blood relation notwithstanding) he loved and who adored him. Never had it occurred to him that that blessings of Summerclan that he'd received had been on the back of someone else's curse.
Yes, life in Summerclan was perfect. Almost. Something seemed...off, today. Try as he might, the brown tabby tom had barely gotten a wink of sleep; constantly tossing and turning in his nest. Instead of a deep, restful slumber, he drifted in and out of consciousness, like waves cresting over the shoreline. If Poppymask wasn't still in the Nursery, she would've definitely kicked him out of their beech tree hollow by midnight and told him to get a grip. Sleepless nights weren't an uncommon occurrence for the Summerclan leader, though it was definitely weird that he hadn't slept at all by the time the morning sun peaked over the mountains. When he noticed it was finally dawn, Ratstar gave up on getting any sort of rest for the next few hours, and instead decided that a crisp morning jog through the Deep Lands to the river would keep him alert enough to perform his morning duties. However, as he bent down to get a drink of water, a sudden motion on the other end of the bank caught his eye. Ratstar lifted his head in surprise as an unfamiliar face stared back at him.
"Oh! Good mornin'!" He meowed, waving his tail in greeting with a friendly, albeit tired smile on his muzzle. "What brings ya t' Summerclan?"
Doe froze as soon as he saw the other tom, though he didn't seem to notice him. As the stranger crouched to lap at the river, Doe padded closer quietly, studying him from the opposite bank; they were separated by the quiet, burbling water, glistening in the golden morning light and reflecting in pretty rivulets on the tree trunks. A small frown darkened his expression as he watched, jaw setting and eyes growing uneasy; something stirred in his gut, some... idea that there was something fundamentally wrong. He tried to push it aside, but he couldn't.
When the other tom caught sight of him and greeted him cheerily, Doe just eyed him for a long moment more, chin slightly raised. The seconds stretched away, the silence broken only by the whisper of the river at both their paws. It was incredibly rare to see Doe hostile, to see him cold; now was one of those times. All the sunshine melted away, all the softness and joy and openness. Maybe it was his own fault; in fact, it almost certainly was. He continued to ignore the feeling in his gut, continued to ignore the voice that seemed to circle and whisper all around him, from all the trees and flowers, this is wrong. This is different. This is all different. Open your eyes - this is not the SummerClan you left. Open your-
"I-" He fell silent almost as soon as he spoke up, mouth settling shut once more. He had been about to introduce himself as Doestar, but finally he listened to the feeling screaming itself raw in his stomach. "Who are you?" he asked instead, voice quiet and emotionless and eyes no warmer. But there was something in them worse than distrust, worse than aggression - there was fear.
Complete, terrible fear.
The world stretched away in front of him, everything small and fragile and weak, all of it quieting to this one, tiny moment. His heart seemed to slow, to stop.
Somehow, he already knew what the answer would be.
If Ratstar noticed that something was wrong, it certainly didn't show in his demeanor; calm and casual, with that friendly smile never leaving his muzzle for even a moment. It was obvious the stranger was a bit skittish, like he hadn't expected to meet another cat here - perhaps he didn't know anyone else lived here? That would definitely be weird, considering that Summerclan had marked borders an' all. Maybe he should send a patrol to double-check everything? But no, that couldn't be it. The cat on the other side of the bank looked like a kit that had been caught sneaking out of camp. He looked almost as if he was scared of Ratstar himself. Now that was a funny thought. Oh, hang on!
"Ah, I see now! You're 'ere t' meet somebody, ain't that right?" Now everything made sense; being on Summerclan territory so early in the morning, the scared and defensive reaction of seeing a cat he hadn't expected - clearly, this stranger has some sort of rendezvous with one of his warriors. The tabby tom let out a soft chuckle, trying his best to reassure his nervous counterpart. "Don' worry there, pal, ya ain't gonna get into any trouble. We don' judge 'ere. I can even lead ya t' our camp t' find whoever you're lookin' for, if you'd like." Rising to his paws again, he nonchalantly stretched in the morning sun before turning to wait for Doe's reply, the silence stretching on for a couple of seconds before he suddenly remembered.
"Oh, right! Ya asked fer my name, didn't ya? How rude o' me. I'm Ratstar, leader of Summerclan. What's ya name, pal?"
(doe: trying to go through a traumatic realisation. rat: can i get you a glass of lemonade? on the house! LASBHDLIAKBSDAS STOP IT WE'RE TRYING TO HATE YOU STOP BEING SO ENDEARING AND SWEET)
Doe listened to the other tom's misguided tirade with an air of irritated, impatient exasperation, tail-tip twitching back and forth as he waited for him to finish. If this were any other time, Doe would have been sweet and obliging, giggling it all off and thanking the tom for his open-hearted kindness and striking up some cheerful conversation to match. Now, with this air of foreboding settling over him so fiercely it was suffocating, some sort of protective instinct of self-preservation had taken over him, as though the seldom-used sensible part of him had gently ushered aside all the sunshine and murmured, 'we'll take it from here, little one. This is about to be a tragedy. Close your eyes and turn away.'
And then that name.
That name.
Doe almost staggered. He didn't. He was stiff and ice-cold and staring, shoulders set and head silent. Ratstar. Leader of SummerClan.
Leader of SummerClan.
Standing there in that awful silence, he could have done a thousand things. He could have gotten angry, could have snapped and snarled and raged at Ratstar - not for any fault of his own, but because he dared to exist, because he thought this was his home, because he thought that title was his to have, because he looked so comfortable and so happy and so peaceful and he had no right to any of it. It was his. He could have wept. He could have just turned away and left this all behind. He could have, he could have, he could have. Wasn't that just his entire life?
Reality seeped under his fur. Two years. It had been two years. He'd known that. He'd always known that. Things had moved on. Everything. He'd watched it all happened, through the mist and the loneliness and the cold. He'd watched funerals. He'd watched Chim leave. He had just never noticed a new leader pick up his -star and fix it to his own name.
Exhaustion suddenly flooded through him. He almost sagged to the ground, almost gave up then and there. He was so tired.
But finally, he answered.
"Doestar," he replied quietly, all the fight and hostility gone from his voice. He was gazing down at his paws, lost and fragile and apologetic. I'm sorry, he seemed to be saying, without even realising it. I'm sorry. "Leader of SummerClan. I came back." It sounded... It didn't sound enough. It sounded both absurdly momentous and small as a mouse. It sounded like the sort of thing that didn't need to be said, that shouldn't be said. Ghosts didn't come back. Maybe they did. Maybe they weren't as stupid as him; maybe they turned from the window and left their family within in silence. "I'm sorry for disturbing your morning. I didn't mean to." It was the sort of thing you'd say when you were about to turn around and walk away; maybe that's what he meant to do. But he didn't. He just stood there, staring down unseeingly at his paws with two years' worth of grief, of confusion, of loneliness, of loss ebbing up inside him.
(doe: having an existential crisis & probably a panic attack. rat:✨howdy here, partner✨~! doe: how did you do that with your mouth.)
...What?
Ratstar's single eye slowly grew wide in complete shock as the strange- No. As Doestar explained himself. He knew who Doestar was, of course he did; when he first became leader of Summerclan, all he ever heard about were his three predecessors: Fairystar, his immediate predecessor who had granted him one of his nine lives, Ravenstar, who hadn't given him a life, but had still been present that day - Graythorn had pointed her out in the crowd of starry cats specifically - and the leader in-between the two, Doestar. A leader who he had heard plenty about, but had never seen. Was this cat really him?
Without hesitation the tom bounded across the river on the stepping stones, landing effortlessly at Doestar's side as the current Summerclan leader circled him curiously and checked his scent. He stopped mid-sniff in confusion. That...couldn't be right. This cat didn't smell like anything but Summerclan, as if he'd never left the territory in all this time! "How that even possible?" He murmured to himself, looking almost unnervingly pensive as he observed the calico feline in front of him. But as quickly as it came, the shadow of concern vanished, and Doestar was met with an even bigger grin, if that were even possible. "Ya know what? Who cares!? It's really you! This is incredible! I ain't the only one no more!"
It had been the one thing that had plagued Ratstar front the very start. He hadn't been a clan cat when Starclan chose him to take over Summerclan; he barely knew anything about them, let alone how to be their leader. From the moment he received his nine lives he had been playing it by ear, doing what he thought was right and what could help the cats that depended on him, but he was never truly sure. And while everything had ultimately worked out for the better, it had been a long, tough road to get this far without anyone to guide him. But Starclan had surely heard his prayers today! Doestar was probably the only cat alive who understood his struggles, who knew how to care for Summerclan, who could look over his leadership and tell him honestly what he was doing right, and what he needed to change. Finally, finally, he had someone who could teach him.
Ratstar was so delighted that he didn't even notice Doestar's meek apology, instead purring ecstatically. "Come on! Let's get ya back t' camp, pal! This calls fer a proper 'Welcome Home' celebration!"
(HAHHAH. god i love ratstar so much, this should be illegal, he's just such a wholesome boy. and omg it would be so good if rat like, made doe his unofficial advisor so he's just this tired, quiet, downtrodden guy trailing after the oblivious leader and giving snide comments when he asks for advice. but eventually they end up friiiiiiends and doe gets one step closer to healing and putting the past behind him and it's cute and sweet, i cry. hakuna matata baby)
Doestar took a hurried step back as Ratstar bounded across the stepping stones, just managing to choke out a flustered "oh, well, I- hello," before the... other leader was sniffing around him. God, what were they meant to be? He stood uncomfortably still, too bewildered to protest, picking his paws up and turning his head this way and that as the other tom completely invaded his privacy. When Ratstar paused in confusion, Doe subtly bent his head and gave his own fur a little sniff - but he couldn't smell anything other than earth and his own familiar scent. He was so utterly floored by Ratstar's cheerfulness - no, it was more than that; his joy, his relief, to see someone he'd never even met - that he forgot to be stand-offish or grumpy, briefly forgot even his own pain. He could only get in a few confused words here or there - it's really you! "Yes, it's really me", with a completely befuddled little frown, still following Ratstar around with his head, because they were having a heartfelt reunion? - before Ratstar was inevitably continuing on.
At the other leader's comment about not being the only one anymore, Doe let out a completely bewildered little exclamation of breath, looking around quickly like he was asking someone, anyone, for help - he opened his mouth to ask 'only what?', but he didn't get the chance before Ratstar was practically herding him towards camp.
"Oh, I, well, I don't know-" He slipped away from the one-eyed tom, limping a hurried little circle so he was now facing Ratstar from behind him, in the opposite direction to camp. The river gurgled along beside them. "I... Listen, I have to admit I'm a little... confused. I hadn't imagined the current leader would be so... delighted," he forced a bright grin, letting out a nervous, breathy little laugh, "to see that a former one has come back from the dead. And I can't imagine that SummerClan will just, y'know, welcome me with open arms - I was dead." He stared at Ratstar like he was trying to impress upon him the fact that death was usually permanent. "I know they're all about free love and cheer but won't that be a bit much, even for them? I don't even know how to cope with it and it's me. And why are you being so nice to me?" The last question - the real one - was said a little louder than the others and with a deep frown. "Obviously I can't be leader now," it didn't feel obvious; he still hadn't processed it, wouldn't for a long time, if ever (at that moment the very thought of it felt impossible); he was just saying it because it was the right thing to say, "but aren't you at least a little..." He didn't even know what to say. Jealous? Threatened? Afraid? He searched around for the right word, opening and closing his mouth as his eyes darted about. Finally, like he was trying to force a shred of normalcy into the conversation, he finished in a gush of breath, "Unnerved?"
(OMG I AM SO SORRY I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THIS THREAD T-T)
Ratstar was so caught up in his joy and relief at meeting another leader of Summerclan that he had been completely oblivious to Doestar's growing unease, until the other leader had to literally stop him and outright question the one-eyed tom's unexpected reaction. The tabby tilted his head to the side, still clearly confused by the line of questioning. "What? Ya thought I'd be mad o' somethin'?" The idea of being mad, or, Starclan-forbid, jealous, was a completely foreign concept to Ratstar. How could he be jealous or threatened by someone that he just met? Was Doestar worried the clan might try and make him leader again, now that he returned? To be honest, the thought of stepping down made Ratstar's heart ache a little, but it wasn't like becoming leader had been his choice in the first place. But no, Doestar had just admitted he didn't want the job back, so what was the issue here?
"Listen, Doestar," he meowed, his voice growing surprisingly more serious than before as he stared down his counterpart. "I don' really know what ya been through, an' I ain't gonna pretend that I understand the hows and whys o' any o' it. All that matters is that ya were one o' us, and now you've come back home. If there's anythin' I've learned from ya clan since I first came here, it's how important home can be. If ya feel too uncomfortable goin' back, I'll leave ya be, but I know fer certain that there are cats in camp that have never stopped speakin' highly o' ya; Mudthistle, Crimsonlife, Pantherclaw, an' a whole heap o' others. They'd be thrilled t' have ya back, regardless o' the circumstances. And I...I'd be thrilled t' have ya with us again, if you'll accept me."
(that's okay!! we can end it after my reply if you like and start another with them whenever we like, where they can be weird friends c: maybe rat, crow and doe all together, weeks later in the present <3)
This entire interaction was just the both of them taking turns being bewildered by the other's reaction. At Ratstar's genuine - and he could tell it was genuine, which just made it all the more confusing, because it felt like this tom couldn't have lied even if he'd wanted to - surprise at the suggestion he ought to be mad, Doe just stared at him, at a loss for words. Maybe it said more about Doe than anything, that his first response to having a former leader return and pose a threat to his reign and stability would be possessiveness and insecurity so he assumed everyone else would be the same, that it was just the universal expectation. Did Ratstar just... genuinely not feel that? Was he the one acting like a child? This was just... He felt suddenly tired, like the two years of not sleeping had finally caught up with him because of the amount of self-questioning and emotions he was going through right now. No one could be as kind as Ratstar. One of them was in the wrong. Doe told himself it wasn't him, tried to reassure himself. It felt flimsy.
When Ratstar's voice grew more sombre, Doe raised his head and met the other tom's one-eyed gaze, looking suddenly very tired and small and miserable. Uncertain. He held Ratstar's eye as he continued - even when he wanted to look away; even as emotion lodged itself in his throat and made it hard to swallow; even as tears welled in his eyes, because he was back, he was home, he could let go, he could breathe. Home. All those familiar names he'd thought he'd never hear again, each one of them sending memories crashing over him... Ratstar's speech made his heart feel like it was going to burst, from grief and loss and frail, fragile, hopeful happiness all at the same time. It was everything he'd needed to hear to make him stay, everything he'd wanted to be told. Whatever happened between him and Ratstar now, whatever SummerClan ended up being like, he would never stop being grateful for that moment. "Thank you," he murmured, so quietly, and it felt both like giving in, like an admission, like validation of his claim to SummerClan, and not enough. He hated this new leader, and he owed him everything. If you'll accept me. To put that little illusion of power back in Doe's paws - it was the best thing Ratstar could have done. "We can try," he replied softly, drained and broken and offered the chance to heal, and it sounded like thank you again.
Just for that tired walk back to the camp he'd left so long ago, head bowed and paws heavy, he'd set aside his animosity towards Ratstar; it could start again once they got there, but right then, just two leaders, if he were to lean against him for support as they trudged across the meadows in silence, he would trust Ratstar not to tell.
