PrankFox

Clans of the Coast

The prospect of the three of them trying to tell two clan leaders what to do made Lionpaw snort. "Even if we were warriors I doubt we'd be able to march up to them and say what a fish-brained idea it is." He was still somewhat unsure if it would even be viable in the long run, but at the same time he did see the convenience to the idea. They had more allies to help them in the event they got into a fight with either RainClan or DarkClan and they didn't need to worry about the border with FireClan anymore. They could share prey and herbs with each other, and the fact that they could make genuine friends in FireClan now without having to worry about potentially needing to tear their pelt off was nice.

He could see the trepidation in both Frostpaw and Reedpaw, but he couldn't help the little bit of excitement at the idea. Sure it was rude to march into camp and steal someone else's prey, but he was sure they would get used to it. If Dawnstar thought it was a good idea then it must be ok right? Whitestar thought it was a good idea too and that was a pretty solid vote of confidence in his opinion. He lifted his head up as Frostpaw spoke about finding her mentor. He wasn't sure where Cranesong had gotten off to, but Reedpaw's mentor was sitting with his brother. Redtalon was walking into camp with Tinysplash and Otterfang off of what he assumed was a patrol and Dawnstar was actively talking to Embersky under the shade of the heavy driftwood that made up the leader's den and perch for meetings.

Reedpaw gave him a curious look, unsure as to what they older apprentice was getting at dragging them along to speak with her mentor, but she just shrugged her shoulders as Lionpaw hauled himself onto his feet. He shook the sand out of his golden pelt and padded after Frostpaw as she approached the long-furred black she-cat that was her mentor. Lionpaw had always admired the silent sort of strength that she seemed to possess, but he was glad she wasn't his mentor. He liked Cranesong, she would at least always tell him what he was supposed to do on the day to day.

Green eyes swept across the three apprentices, with a hint of confusion, as they padded up to her. "Of course Frostpaw," she sat and wrapped her plumy tail around her paws, "What's troubling you?"

「 Persona: Reflections 」

Mentions:@Ambra

There was no way that Kenzan could even try to get a word in edgewise as the girl he had crouched next to started to ramble about what had happened. Well, at least they didn't actually see it happen. He resisted the urge to cover his ears as she squealed about germs getting on her clothes. He didn't even bother trying to say anything when another second year showed up and told them that they needed to get away from the area in case the killer was still around. He scoffed quietly at the notion; having looked at the body the blood was dry and the eyes were filmy which told him that the guy had been there for a while, at least several hours. He wouldn't really call it a perk, but having an officer for a father meant he knew more about decay than he really should at his age.

"I don't think we need to worry about that," he muttered quietly, though he acquiesced to Asumi pulling at his shirt, if only to get her to let go of him sooner, before stopping and staring at the first year that decided it would be a good idea to touch the body on the ground. He didn't need to say anything as she was berated by the same second year who had been talking this whole time. It was honestly exhausting the amount of words that she was able to string together all at once. Especially when she was trying to explain what had happened to the two officers that arrived on the scene. Either drawn by the scream or the cellphone in the hands of one of the other second year boys. He easily stepped back and let that same boy take over trying to comfort the frantic girl in front of him. That was decidedly not his area of expertise and all he really wanted to do was get back on his way to the bookstore.

A sigh dragged itself free as the officers said they needed to go down to the station. This is why I don't get involved in this kinda shit. He didn't resist when they told him to get into the second cruiser. He didn't address either of the other people with him as he plopped his backpack onto his lap and stared out the window until they got to the station. He could almost imagine a ride along with his father, had he not been shoulder to shoulder with some second year. He was familiar with the protocol and the station, though it was smaller than the one in Tokyo, but more or less the same.

---

The questioning was standard, despite the vague aggression from the officer who was doing it. It wasn't helped by his generally indifferent recounting of the, maybe, two minutes he'd been at the scene before the officers showed up. Still, he wasn't lying and that much was obvious so he was let go without much of a fuss. His only concern was that they would call his mother. That would end incredibly poorly at best, and absolutely horribly at worst. He pushed himself to his feet from where he had been comfortably reclining in one of the chairs in the lobby as the head detective came around and told them they could leave. It was all the standard fanfare he had expected, and oddly comforting in its familiarity despite being questioned for a murder investigation.

He had adamantly tried to refuse going to Chen's house. He didn't know any of these people and that alone was making setting him on the verge of shaking hands. Arguing with Asumi got him nowhere though and so he, begrudgingly, trailed behind the other students as they walked. Better to just keep his head down, be polite, and make sure that he could get out of the situation without making a fool of himself. Easy enough. Maybe. The promise of free food, that he didn't have to make himself, and the fact that he didn't want to go home was a good enough reason to tag along. He had no reason to stick around if they were going to study as Chen said, but at least dinner would be nice.

The Yurazen Prince - A Tale of Redwall

Still here as well!

「 Persona: Reflections 」

Mentions:@FalloutJack

Kenzan turned his attention from the downpour outside back to Hakuro, a curious look on his face at the foreign currency. It only lasted for a moment before he understood the coin flip to decide where to go. Well that's one way to make it easy. He gave a nod as the bookstore was agreed upon. He didn't really want to get wet, but at this point he had agreed to it, and he wasn't about to back out now. Of course the rain had to increase in force as they bolted from the cover of school to the much more inviting interior of the bookstore. He was grateful for at least the little bit of protection that his hood gave him, but they were both drenched by the time they stepped inside. The jacket was quickly removed, he hated wearing wet clothes, and took the towel from Hakuro when it was offered with a mumbled thanks.

It immediately set Kenzan more at ease being in the familiar interior of the bookstore, not that it really changed much about the bland expression that usually had residence on his face. The multiple shelves of books that lined the store, occasionally interspersed with small tables that could be used for studying or reading, which is where he usually posted up. Just those few things pretty much packed the building to the very edges.

"I imagine books," he responded to Hakuro's question with a dry tone. He gave a friendly wave to Kudo, who recognized him from the moment they stepped inside, before finding one of the chairs to sink into, despite the dampness of his clothes. He pulled the books free from his bag and was grateful he had the brains to spend a bit more money and get one that was water resistant. A quick gesture to the chair across from him indicated that Hakuro was more than welcome to join him for as long as he liked. He fully planned on spending the rest of the day, until the store closed at least, holed up working on whatever it was that needed to get done for class.

---

April 24th, 2025

Mentions: Asmumi @Ambra, Akira @DJAtomika, Masashi @Zombehs, Hoshiko @Fabricant451

One of the nice things about running early in the morning was that Kenzan didn't have to deal with his mother as he shuffled around the house. He kept quiet enough to not wake her up while still making sure he had everything for the day. Thankfully the rain from a few days ago was enough for Mother Nature and she had decided to leave the city alone for the time being. Headphones in he ran a few laps around the block before popping back to his house to grab the backpack from the front porch, no way in hell he was running with that thing on, and made the walk to school.

It was an easy day, for 3-A anyway. He heard from some of the other students about the chaos that was going on in 2-B with their history teacher. Nice thing about being quiet and out of the way meant that people were more likely to talk with him around since they assumed he wasn't listening. It was something other than the Prime Minister at least, but he couldn't believe that this Miss Okomoto was threatening to expel an entire class over something as petty as a unflattering drawing. He'd gotten into his fair share of scraps with other students over the years when it came to stupid shit like that. Taking anger out on people who were unrelated to a problem and didn't deserve the ire, but school administration was not something he was really willing to tangle with at this point. He had barely any time left before he could get out of the house and he wasn't going to let some second year teacher screw that up.

As the school day finally came to a close he watched lazily as Hakuro immediately stood and left the room; tapping away at his phone in a way that indicated to Kenzan that he was working on something. It wasn't his problem though, unless is classmate asked for something, so he grabbed his bag and headed out the front of the school to start making his way...somewhere. Not home, maybe back to the bookstore for the rest of day like usual. He popped in his earbuds before starting his music and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat. He let himself zone out; completely emptying his mind of anything that was causing stress as he walked towards the residential district.

The scream that echoed throughout the area was enough to push past both the music and complete dissociation, which was impressive in its own right. He ripped the earbuds free, now fully alert, and quickly began to move in the direction that he heard the scream from. The last time he'd heard something like that he'd been on a ride-along with his father in Tokyo and someone had gotten shot a couple streets over. It had not been a pleasant experience, but he never really thought about it anymore until this moment. He wanted to stay out of the whole mess with Okomoto, but of course leaving school would drag him into something else. He could just ignore it, but every bone in his body told him that he needed to see what was happening.

He rounded the corner to a small side street to see several second years that he recognized from school. Just in passing, but still. One of them was sitting on the ground, slightly shaking from what he could see, and the others were still standing nearby the trash that was piled to the side. He didn't know any of their names, at least not off the top of his head, but he jogged over to crouch next to the girl who was sitting on the sidewalk. "Hey, you alright? What the hell happened?" He glanced past the other three as the smell hit and he grimaced. Yep, just the same as what happened with his father all those years ago.

「 Persona: Reflections 」

Mentions:@FalloutJack

Hakuro's response took Kenzan a bit by surprise, not that it showed in the indifferent expression he always wore, since most people didn't have the inherent respect to not bother him. Even when it was obvious he didn't want to be. "Fair enough." He knew his classmate was a bit...odd, but he didn't have reason to dislike him. Besides Hakuro was in the drama club and that bunch had always been strange to him. Not that he was really one to talk, he hunkered off in the hard to see places around the school and didn't talk to anyone in more than short sentences.

He watched lazily as Hakuro wandered over to the doors to look out and didn't bother standing until he was addressed again. He pulled the hood up on the gray jacket he was wearing and hauled his backpack off the ground from where he'd tossed it. He still wasn't completely sure if he even wanted to deal with another person, but he'd already agreed and it was impolite to back out now. Besides, if he said he was with someone else maybe his mother would stop pestering him.

"The bookstore will let us hunker down for a while," he glanced at Hakuro out of the corner of his eye for a brief moment before looking back out the doors, "I've never had an issue waiting out storms there before." He wasn't sure if his classmate was fishing for information, but it honestly didn't really matter. Wasn't like there was anything he could really do with it. He didn't need to know just how much time Kenzan spent sequestered away amongst the shelves of the bookstore trying to avoid imposed responsibility or schoolwork. Nearly past closing on more than one occasion. Just another reason be annoyed with the new rules brought on by the death of the Prime Minister.

Personally he hadn't really spent much time at Watanabe's, but he had no problem going and looking around. It was one of those locations that had always been on his radar, but he'd just never found the reason to go. "Honestly, either one is fine. Anywhere is better than hanging around the school." or going home. He pulled out his other earbud, not that it had been playing anything anymore, to shove them into his pocket. They were fairly expensive and the last thing he needed was them getting rained on. One last check to make sure he'd tucked everything that could potentially get damaged by the water he prepared to brave the weather.

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

The shaking and heaving hadn't stopped even as Sora made it outside. He followed Lumi's lead and slid onto the ground and could feel the catch of his breath as the fear subsided into grief. He pressed his own body up against his sister's, desperate for some kind of comfort as he stared blankly at the wall in front of him. The tears were silent as the wet the fur around his eyes and across his face. It both had and hadn't hit him that he was the last remaining brother in their family. Storm was dead and Cane was...whatever that beast was now. He didn't know if he would be able to face his family after what had happened. It had been him that had allowed the two other brothers to come in the first place, because he didn't want to get in trouble, and now they were dead.

He nodded shakily in agreement with Lumi, "Me too." He pushed himself up onto aching paws, and hoped that the shaking in his legs wouldn't send him over the edge of one of the narrow paths that they needed to traverse to get back home. He froze as Lumi reminded him that they would have to tell the rest of their family what had happened. "But, we can't just say nothing. They'll ask where Cane and Storm are, and they'll find out if we lie." He didn't want to get in trouble, he didn't want to be kicked out of the house and told to never come back. The shaking returned with a vengeance and it almost forced Sora to sink to the ground again.

It took more willpower than he thought he had left at that point to fight back another wave of tears. He took a step forward and helped Lumi onto her feet. "Lets at least get home. We can figure out what to say on the way." He was the oldest brother, the only brother, and he wasn't about to let them stay out in the cold any longer than they already had. He let a shaky sigh escape as he stared into the darkness for a moment longer. They couldn't even get Storm's body, it was too dangerous, but he tried not to think about it too much.

He bumped gently into Lumi's shoulder to get her moving as they walked on weary paws back in the direction of home. He didn't want to think about what awaited them there, but he also knew that they had to go home at some point. It was their only option other than going back into the cave and hoping to meet his brother, or running away from Sunspear entirely. He wasn't sure if either of those were better options, but his heart weighed heavy and he just wanted the warmth of his nest at this point. Maybe it would all be a bad dream.

Clans of the Coast

Lionpaw might be somewhat dense, but he could tell that Frostpaw wasn't happy with his presence. Still there wasn't really anyone else around to talk to, so he wanted to stick around despite the tail lashing he could see. He could also tell that he'd hit a sore spot by asking when she was going to get her warrior name. He frowned as well though when she said she didn't know where her mentor was. "That's weird, she didn't tell you to go out hunting or say you were gonna train today or something?" Cranesong always made sure to come to him and tell him what it was that they would be doing. Her glare was making his pelt prickle slightly, but he knew that she didn't really mean anything by it.

He immediately tensed when he saw her fur start to bristle and went to ask her what was wrong when she spoke. His head swiveled towards the entrance to camp as the FireClan cat strolled up like there wasn't a problem with him wandering into another clans camp. His jaw went slack as Brightflow just snatched the seagull from the top of the fresh-kill pile. His brain caught up to the action though and he perked up, "Did you not hear? At the Gathering last night Dawnstar made an announcement that FireClan and BreezeClan were merging into one clan," his tail waved across the sand, "He's allowed to be here, but that also means we could walk over to their camp and take their stuff without getting in trouble."

It was rude to take the seagull that Frostpaw had just caught, but someone else in the clan could've done the same thing. No one else seemed to be bothered by it, he wondered if Dawnstar had called a clan meeting while they were out training to let everyone who wasn't at the Gathering know what was going on. Either that or the word had gotten around camp and Frostpaw had just missed it.

"Maybe Dawnstar will say something? I don't exactly know how the whole thing is supposed to work, but I think that there's basically no borders between us anymore," he shrugged, "We're the same clan now." He looked over to where Reedpaw was staring at Brightflow as she came padding up to the other two apprentices.

Her mouth was turned downwards, "This is super weird. I don't think I'd want to just wander over to FireClan and hang out with them." She shook her head, "I hope Dawnstar knows what she's doing."

「 Persona: Reflections 」

Mentions:@FalloutJack

The message from his mother was promptly ignored as Kenzan leaned back against the wall to begin the mindless scroll on social media to see if anything at all had changed. It seemed that most people were still obsessing over the death of the Prime Minister, so it was more rapid scrolling to get past the massive threads of conspiracy to find anything interesting. There were a few discussions of some new games that had come out, but it wasn't really worth reading the opinions that no doubt started an argument in the thousand comments.

He paused for a brief moment on a lengthy thread about someone blaming aliens for the suicide of the Prime Minister that was paragraphs upon paragraphs of bullshit. Amazing how much people will do to avoid their own problems. It had gotten the point that it was getting amusing and losing the actual fear and concern over what had happened. He was so desensitized to the topic now it didn't even phase him, not that it really had in the first place.

Eventually he gave up on social media and sat to listen to his music and play one of the many mindless phone games he had to pass the time. He was pretty sure that the rain wasn't supposed to stop, but he had hope the weather as wrong. He didn't need it to stop, just lessen enough that he wouldn't get yelled out by his mother for tracking water into the house.

His thoughts stopped their wandering and turned to confusion when he received the message, in haiku no less. He stared at it for a moment in befuddlement. The hell? It took him a couple times reading over it to come to the realization that the only person that really knew him, and would be dramatic enough to send a message this way would be the same drama club member of his class.

"You really couldn't have just asked in a normal way?" He pulled one of his earbuds out, "Sure, why the hell not. Don't have much else better to do." He wasn't usually inclined to agree to hanging out with any of his classmates, but he didn't really want to hang out in the school by himself for several hours.

Clans of the Coast

There was a small amount of concern prickling at Embersky's mind as he looked around his clanmates on their walk back to the shore. He could see the rage in many of them, especially the two brothers. He knew that Dawnstar didn't want any kind of war. She had told him that explicitly and had said the same thing during the Gathering itself. He knew that the clan was upset about the way that the other two had reacted, but he hoped that they would be able to hold in their rage. The last thing they needed was a war when they were trying to advocate for peace and unity across all the clans.

A smile crossed the older toms face as he saw his apprentice relax a bit. He was worried about what Albatrosspaw's reaction would be to the whole thing. He expected the nerves but he had feared anger that they hadn't told him, despite the fact that he was a member of the family just as much as the rest of them. "I'm glad you understand. I'll try to keep you a bit more in the loop from now on if I can."

He just hoped that everything went alright in the coming moons. If they could perhaps convince the other clans to at least be civil they might have a chance. Just maybe. If anyone could convince the other clans that this was the way forward, the way to a more prosperous future for all of them, it was Dawnstar. His mother might be called manipulative by some of the other clans, but he knew that she had the island's best interests in mind. She just wanted her clan to be strong. He would have to speak with her again though, just to make sure he knew what she had in mind.

It was a beautiful morning despite the chaos that was the Gathering the night before. Lionpaw had been lucky, or unlucky depending on who was as, to be there and see everything go down. It still make his pelt prickle with excitement when he thought about all the tense stares and arguing that had happened on the ledge between the leaders. He knew that he should probably be more concerned about what had happened, and the fact that both the other clans were probably tempted to fight against Dawnstar now that she'd made this alliance. He'd chattered excitedly to Scorchpaw until his brother had looked like he was about to smack him so they could go to sleep.

He was sitting off to the side of one of the clearings a little ways up the beach nearby where the tidepools formed. The area had been ringed off with stone and driftwood to make a sort of ring where the apprentices could spar. He had already finished for the day, but he wanted to wait for Reedpaw so that they could walk back together. He let his mind drift as the sun warmed his golden fur. His ear swiveled backwards as he heard a seagull squawking further up the beach. Someone out on hunting patrol most likely. Thank StarClan that's not me. He was abysmal at hunting on the sand. Everything shifted underneath his feet too much and he could never get enough push to hit his target. He knew he just needed practice, but it still sucked.

Once Reedpaw was done he sprang to his paws, "Looking a little sloppy today Reedpaw," he teased the silver tabby, "I could give you a few pointers you know," he bumped his shoulder with her as she scowled at him. He knew there was no heat behind it, but still ducked as she swiped at his head with a sheathed paw.

"Shut up Lionpaw. You're bigger and stronger than me," she gave him a sly smile, "How about I offer you some pointers in hunting? Seems like you're still kinda sloppy."

"Oh really? That'd be great!" Lionpaw told the other apprentice, either oblivious to the fact she was teasing him, or perfectly aware of what he was doing. It was hard to tell, but the glint in his amber eyes suggested the latter. He laughed at the surprised expression on her face as they finally pushed their way through the rocks and grass into camp still chatting brightly. Lionpaw looked around camp to see who was out and about that he could talk to. Waveheart lounged on the sands outside the nursery keeping careful watch on her three kits as they tumbled about. They were getting big, almost old enough to be apprentices themselves, but not quite yet. He didn't see his brother, but he did see Frostpaw by the fresh-kill pile and trotted over to her.

"How's it going Frostpaw?" He asked the older apprentice. "Has Nightwater told you when your assessment is gonna be yet?" He wasn't sure exactly how it was decided when they became a warrior. He was pretty sure he remembered it being whenever your mentor thought you were ready, but he was pretty sure age had something to do with it as well. Still, he wanted to see a warrior ceremony and Frostpaw was one of the best of them in his opinion.

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

Sora just heard Lumi call out to ask if they were leaving when it was drowned out by the sound of Storm next to him and the sudden scream of pain. The two brothers started to back away in fear, eyes wide, as the form of their baby brother continued to grow. Sora didn't want to leave Cane, but he couldn't bring himself to move forward towards him. His paws felt like lead and he could feel his whole body trembling as the blood pounded in his ears. Storm still stood next to him, but the grayish Eevee looked even more terrified than before, yellow eyes wide as saucers as he stared in horror at what their brother had become.

He stood stock still and couldn't even hear what Lumi was saying. It was muffled and distant as he stared up at the massive Vaporeon that was once Cane. This is what the adventuring team had been talking about. The stones turning the Pokemon that touched them into massive beasts that were nearly impossible to fight. The dripping fangs, massive claws, and swinging axe-like tail left no room for the imagination as to what would happen if they stuck around any longer, but he just couldn't move.

"Don't go near him!" Storm called out to Lumi as their sister moved towards Cane. He flinched as the beast roared, but could see the fear now holding both Sora and Lumi rigid in place. He watched as the huge, clawed paw raised into the air and bolted towards where Lumi was. The movement pulled the attention away from his sister, just as he wanted, but his eyes went wide for just a brief moment before the claw slammed into him instead.

The roar snapped Sora out of whatever paralysis had taken his body and his head snapped over just in time to see his annoying, grouchy brother get thrown into the wall like he weighed nothing. The snap echoed around the cavern and in his ears and he rushed over just as quickly as Lumi did, breath hitched and heaving as he stared down at the limp form. Yellow eyes wide with fear in his last moments, and the sight burned itself into Sora's brain with a vengeance.

He didn't even register the tears that were building in his eyes as he stared blankly down at Storm. Why? Why? Why? The constant mantra played over and over in his head as everything that had just happened finally caught up to him and he let out a wail of grief. He wanted to throw himself on the ground, over the body of his brother, but he couldn't as the snarl reached his ears and he had to duck behind one of the stones as Lumi slipped through Canes paws.

The scream from his sister drove the fear forward enough as he peered out from behind the stone at the slavering jaws of the creature. It shook its head from the impact against the wall and turned yellow eyes onto him. There was no semblance of the sweet little brother there anymore, and he waited a moment, staring at it, before bolting towards the entrance. The howling roar put speed into his paws as he felt the ground shake as the beast lumbered towards him. He could very nearly feel the heat of its breath on his tail as he squeezed into the crevice just as the claws clashed into the stone where he once was.

Nothing registered as he followed after Lumi at a breakneck pace until they burst out of the cave entrance. He could still hear the angry howls echoing inside though it was slightly muffled by the stone and sound of the river that ran through the ravine. Sides heaving he turned and stared back into the cave, "What...what was that?"