Ok...it felt kind of nice to NOT write 2020 LMAO. Welcome to 2021! To kick off the brand new year, we're introducing a round of updates, including new bio and forbidden romance rules, our Secret Santa reveal, OTM winners and nominations, our monthly patrols, and a fun new infectious disease! So make sure to check out the January Announcements for all of the new content! As we leave 2020 behind us, we hope everyone is able to put themselves first this year and practice self-care! Here's to another one! Let's write some cats!
The Apostles is a warrior cats roleplay based in northern Wisconsin. On Lake Superior, the wild cats have made the Apostle Islands their home. It is on these islands - Rocky Island and South Twin Island - that the clan and tribe cats have lived in a peace and harmony that ebbs and flows with the tide.
But as the tides turn, so does the truce that binds them to one another; and as the water raises, a darkness follows, an evil that will end in bloodshed and violence.
In the twilight, snow melts, where the lake’s breeze kept land warm. In the pastel kissed hues, subtle washes broke and vanished. An alabaster tom, pelt tickled into tiny parts, fought an oncoming wind. [break][break] “Brisk”, he called back awkwardly to a pair of jade eyes. [break][break] They were passing the cliffs on a dawn patrol and Mothpaw had made a detour. Though a patrol of two would be unlikely in most situations, Mothpaw had volunteered to scout the outer edges alongside his mentor. Thievingstar was complacent enough to not reject- this was likely due to the locations of their route. The cliffs dissolved at the edges of Thistleclan territory. There, no enemy clans lined their borders. And there, foxes and bears were found sparse as new-leaf promised the habitation of two legs (where at the outermost pinnacle a few two leg nests resided, though Mothpaw himself had never seen them occupied). And there, breath-taking views of a morning sunrise. [break][break] “So, uhmmm”, Mothpaw cleared his throat. They had not exchanged any words on this excursion. Though, this was not particularly rare given the dynamics of their relationship. Mothpaw’s face kindled a slow fire as rose tones flushed. [break][break] “I kind of…wanted to talk to you”, he mumbled after a lengthy pause. The tom sat with an erect, overly confident posture, his honey eyes plastered on the horizons. Long whiskers dangled and a lengthy tail swept tightly over his paws, hiding their kneading motions. Mothpaw didn't dare look behind him, but he could hear the soft paws of the she-cat, his mentor, Lilypad come up beside him. Is she looking at the cliffs? Is she looking at me? The apprentice gulped a stony swallow as his ears strained to catch the slightest indications of her movement.
Lilypad followed her apprentice from a distance, enjoying the scenery. The feel of the cold morning air. Today was like any other day to her with a slight difference. Today she was scouting other parts of the ThistleClan territory that were not bordered by enemy clans. She was asked to do this by ThievingStar and of course Mothpaw volunteered to come with. At first Lilypad felt that he should stay on camp for a bit longer but their leader agreed that he could come with. She didn't argue with her, and deep down she knew that Mothpaw would be ok on this trip. She was just feeling overprotective as of late.[break][break]
As they reached the cliffs, she scene always took her breath away. She had only been out here a handful of times since she became a warrior. And only once when she was still an apprentice. This was am area that two-legs inhabited on occasion. She sniffed the air and from what she could tell, there hadn't been any up here in a while. Most she smelled was a few old cat smells. Possibly just kitty-pets.[break][break]
Her attention was drawn back to Mothpaw as he sat with his back turned to her. She observed the way he was sitting, he seemed nervous about something. Or he was trying not to be. She took a few more steps until she was beside him. "What is it?" She asked in a calm, almost soothing voice. She took a seat next to him, touching his flank with her tail. She started to wonder what could be on his mind that they needed to talk about.
As the tom looked at the gracious and paradoxical figure of the she-cat, toned but lithe, he had come to notice how skillfully she mirrored in the warrior art. A smile of pleasure crept across his face and it seemed to linger there, suspended with the casted hues of this skies pastel cloak. Their hints of purple and rose refracted a sweet melody that tangoed amidst his furs, his honey eyes exaggerated by the purples that beckoned his yellows. [break][break]
"Lilypad", the tom said, his pelt rising as he watched her approach quite close. His feelings of insecurity had not quite passed but he knew that he should breath. And so he did, his eyes closed so that his lids succumbed to a heavy lull. [break][break]
The tom submerged himself in his senses. Like, the waters deep call, bear-lengths below. The distant chatter of birds. The lapping of wind-chopped waves. The whisper of breeze through the foliage. The clattering of barren branches. The warm, subtle breathing of his peaceful mentor. She was OK with him here, in this silence.
[break][break]
"I'll be right back", Mothpaw turned to Lilypad and spoke in a creamy hush, sneaking an anxious glance. "I won't go far, you won't lose sight of me, I promise". With that, he leapt in two quick strides before submerging his alabaster frame into the depths of a nearby bush, its leaves left shuffling like ghosts as he disappeared into its belly.
[break][break]
Ah, just where I left it, the tom purred to himself digging to the center. Cradled in a nest of twigs and branches, a small object nestled itself untouched. With delicacy, the tom grasped it in his jowls and struggled out of the bush. With a single shake, he attempted to rid his pelt of the stray leaves that clung to his pelt, though the warm smell of sap cascaded its' sticky claws down his flank in hungry, lustful strides.
Lilypad sat in a comfortable silence with her apprentice. The weather was somewhat nice for a change and she wanted to enjoy it for as long as she could. Even though she was only out here cause of orders, she was going to enjoy this moment. She waited patiently for him to speak what was on his mind. [break][break]
When he finally did it was to run off into a bush. "What is he doing...." she wondered as she kept her eyes on him. She was surprised to see that there was still foliage on the said bush that hid her apprentice from her sight for just a few moments. In the area they were in, this did worry her a bit. No telling if there were any two legs around or their beasts they brought with them. [break][break]
When he finally emerged, she was about to stand. But decided against it. She instead stared intently on the bundle in his mouth. "Mothpaw, what do you have there?" She tilted her head in confusion as she watched him approach. "That better not be some two leg food." She thought to herself as she continued to watch. She had heard of other cats eating two leg food and their health declining from it.
"here", mothpaw finally mewed, his eyes bountiful with arcane wonder. "i found it. left over from a twoleg kit, they were shooting them with flicking motions and screaming with joy- when they hit the others quite like it- but none as beautiful. i was watching them there, on a patrol, and the little twoleg shot this right into the brambles", the alabaster tom used a single swopping motion, to reveal a tiny, glistening orb. "the prettiest one. funny right?"
[break][break] the marble, was verbatim parallel to the immersive green of the spotted she-cats eyes, where the sun kissed its' angle-less form and caused a radiant glean to dapple the earth with its striking reflections.
[break][break] "i thought that, well," the tom started as a rosy blush hugged the arches of his cheeks. "well, you know. how you always said- that no one could ever get your eyes right. like, they would always say they were like trees. or, the lake. or.... a frog," mothpaw's nose scrunched at the word frog; a giggle squeezed through his lips. "i know your mother named you lilypaw after the lilypads of the wetlands but... i would like to think, that we are all just an interpretation of another's perspective. and, in my perspective, your eyes are the color of this here," his own honey eyes, dappled by the sherbet hues of the sun, flickered towards the small orb he let rest static between them. "a gift." he mewed softly. mothpaws felt his whiskers drag across the dusty ground as he tapped the marble ever so slightly with his nose. it rolled towards her with a lethargic ease before landing at her paws. "i don't really understand it, but i think i like you a lot." he echoed his thoughts, before being seized by a lightning-strike tightness- a tightness that swelled inside his chest and wept with hugging tears of his waterline. what, what am i doing. my heart, it's already breaking.
L Lilypad looked down at what Mothpaw had brought to her from the bushes. It worried her that he would be that close to twolegs of any size, but she was proud of him that he wasn't spotted by them. Deep down she wondered just how close he had gotten in the first place... She wouldn't think of that now. Right now she was enjoying this moment with her apprentice. [break][break]
This was the first time anyone had given her a gift. And he was right, of all the things that described the color of her eyes, none of them came close. But this creation of the twolegs came the closest to the actual color of her eyes. What made it even more special was that it looked like the eye of a cat. She was starting to wonder if it was an eye... Then her fears were proven wrong as he pushed it closer to her. [break][break]
Leaning down, she pressed her nose to the surface, it was solid and cool like the air around them. She tried not to jerk upright at his next words. About him liking her. She took a calming breath before sitting at her full height. She looked him in the eyes as she spoke. But before she said anything, she paused. How was she to word this? This was her apprentice, a cat that she felt close to that has stronger feelings for her then she does for him... She had to let him down gently. But how? [break][break]
"Mothpaw, I cannot accept your feelings for me. I do care about you, not only as my apprentice, but as my friend." She gave him a lick on the head, "You're the first cat to give me a gift and I will treasure it always." She felt terrible inside for doing this to him. She knew to a point of his feelings, but didn't expect to hear them in this way. [break] [break]
"I can't return your feelings in the way that you want, but I don't want this to turn you away from opening up to another she-cat around your age." There were plenty of young she-cats out there, plenty of chances for him to find the one. "I will keep this gift as a token of your friendship and I will look on it fondly always. That is if you still want me to keep it." She wasn't going to assume anything after she had just crushed his hopes.
He watched her with thoughtful eyes- the alabaster tom- as Lilypad pushed her spotted nose into the marble’s surface. Mothpaw flourished with awe, its crystalline glass had gifted her the same fate as the dusty forest floor, a shower of sprinkling highlights that bounced across the bridge of her nose, and struck the furs of her cheeks. He squinted, shielding his eyes from the light. The sunset played with the glass in collaboration with her dreamy gaze, where lids phlegmatic, but posture curious, the soft she-cat took her time to explore it’s wonders in this serendipitous setting. [break][break]
Words carried on through the soft, warm winds as he made his bubbling confession. Though, the she-cat soon appeared startled, alarmed, she rose to her feet and embarrassment once again seized him. Mothpaw inhaled slowly alongside her, allowing his shoulders to rise, then fall with his breath. Grounded, the tom blinked back at Lilypad, a small smile caressing his cheeks. Then, no longer needing to travel far, the she-cat stroked the furs of his head with a single, swopping stride. He flattened his ears, not out of discomfort, but respect to expose the vulnerability of his position- her apprentice, a small, younger tom that she had groomed into a (soon-to-be) warrior with patience, and love. [break][break] “I figured…it would be something like that”, Mothpaw mewed back, his tone bittersweet. “But, I guess. I just felt like you should know anyways. I’m sure it was obvious but I just, it made me so nervous to keep it inside. You’ve been there for me, through everything”, Mothpaw mewed, his gaze locked into the distance. The clouds were striated in haphazard bellowing wisps. Large, welcoming pillows that collected the skies color parade. [break][break] “Of course I want you to keep it”, he continued, honey eyes intent. “I don’t care how my love transforms; it’ll always be there. And I’m sure…it’ll take the form we need it most”, Mothpaw purred through tangy pools of saliva that collected amid his throat, their saline unforgiving as the tears that streamed in silence. But, a smile plastered his face, as his long tail rose to playfully surprise his mentor behind her ears. He flicked her, moving away so quickly, as if nothing had even happened. someday you’ll find someone special, he mused, both their gazes locked onto the rising sky. and someday, maybe me too.
