Locustcrash

History

Kithood [0-6 moons] >

   Locustkit was born to Mizzlebark and Leaftail, along with Grasshopperkit, Cricketkit, and Cicadakit. Mizzlebark doted on their four kits greatly while Leaftail was often away on patrol or other duties while preparing for the upcoming leaf-bare, he always found time to spend with his mate and children in the evenings.
Locustkit often looked forwards to those moments while she and her family were together again.
A new herbalist apprentice was chosen from one of the older kits when Locustkit was just a moon old. There was a strange tension around the camp regarding what happened to the herbalists before, Locustkit didn't really understand it, but sometimes Mizzlebark and Leaftail would talk about it, especially as they would often need to visit Yewberry and his new apprentice regarding Cricketkit. Though her sister seemed healthy, it had been apparent for quite some time that she didn't experience the world in quite the same way, never responding when Locustkit called her name or to any sound really. This was something the adults called 'deafness' and Mizzlebark and Leaftrail started spending their evenings together practicing something called sign language.
Locustkit was slow to pick up on it, but she made an earnest effort.

One evening while Locustkit and her siblings were still young, a cat they'd never seen before approached them suddenly. She didn't see where the cat had come from, it seemed like they'd just appeared out of nowhere- but Mizzlebark was immediately on edge. This was... Someone they recognized, and not in a good way. Mizzlebark shouted for the kits to go.
Grasshopperkit had taken the lead, grabbing Cricketkit by the ear and ushering them along. Locustkit and Cicadakit followed, and they hid behind one of the vacant dens. Locustkit peaked out from around the corner and saw Mizzlebark and the stranger fight fiercely- the stranger seemed to do the impossible at times, and maybe she was just confused and terrified, but she could have sworn the cat was floating at some points. She cried out when Mizzlebark fell and started running towards her parent- only then the cat turned to her.

Locustkit watched in terror as the cat came closer, promising to make it quick. When Leaftail appeared and lunged at the stranger. He fought the stranger viciously and though he suffered injuries, he managed to get the upper paw. When he dropped the stranger to the ground- the cat vanished into nothing. Not a trace was left behind. Nothing except for... The injuries left on Leaftail's flank, and the body of Mizzlebark.

It had all happened so quickly, by the time the first cat arrived to see what had happened, everything was already over. Instead of coming to a fight, their clanmates found the father and kits wailing with grief over their loss. Though the kits tried their best to explain it- things were so frightening and confusing, and the cats looked to them like they were saying nonsense. Still no one could explain what had happened to Mizzlebark. But while Leaftail was treating his wounds, some wondered if he might have harmed his mate himself. Locustkit quickly corrected the rumor whenever she heard cats speak it, but cats seemed to treat Leaftail much more warily as he couldn't explain the attack.

Leaftail moved into the nursery afterward and stayed with the kits for the rest. He was still grieving deeply, but he wouldn't let anything happen to his kits.  Though their peaceful times together were through, it would only be the beginning of their family's story.

Apprenticeship [6-12 moons] >

   In the midst of leaf-bare, Locustpaw and her siblings were made apprentices. She was assigned to an agile young warrior named Birchbee. The pale-colored tom was nice but rather lax about training. Other apprentices commented how lucky she was to have so much free time, but Locustpaw didn't feel lucky. She found herself needing to advocate for herself and her learning. The more Birchbee pushed her training aside for other things, the more Locustpaw would grow frustrated. Eventually, Locustpaw brought her concerns to the clan leader, and it was discussed if she would be reassigned.
With the threat of losing his first apprentice over his shoulders, Birchbee finally started to take his role seriously, and Locustpaw found herself thriving under the more structured instruction. Her favorites had to be combat training, though it seemed her mentor didn't quite share her love for it, he was able to find her appropriate sparing partners and partnered with other warriors to show her a variety of different battle moves.

As Birchbee started keeping her busier with apprentice tasks and training, Locustpaw found herself seeing her littermates and family less often. It was amazing when she got to go on patrols or joint training sessions with one of her littermates, but it very rare to get all of them together.
Leaftail had a solution. Her father coordinated with the leader and deputy so they could all be assigned to the same patrol once every moon. Locustpaw couldn't say they got too much work done on those patrols, often staying out later than intended and getting distracted showing one another the new moves they'd learned from their mentors. These patrols were such a treat, Locustpaw couldn't help but look forward to them each moon.
Slowly but surely, it seemed like their family was finally able to heal.


Locustpaw started having a rivalry with another apprentice, Darterpaw. The she-cat was a constant annoyance to her, and Locustpaw never hesiatied to call the other molly out of her mistakes and not cater to her whims as so many others did. Their rivalry escalated quickly. Too quickly.
Locustpaw will admit that it was probably a mistake. Darterpaw barred her claws and teeth first, but Locustpaw was the one to go a bit further than just having a quick scuffle. When the two were separated, they were both sporting new gashes on their pelts. Locustpaw was confident in that she was the victor of their little scuffle, but she was ashamed she'd let it get that far.

Darterpaw and Locustpaw remained rivals, but they did learn to co-exist a little better. It helped finding some common ground while they were being treated by the herbalists, and they never 'scuffled' like that again.

Locustpaw and her siblings were approaching their warrior assessment and ceremony when it happened. In the middle of the night- there was shouting and screaming, and cats were all panicking. The stream in the middle of camp quickly rose, and the current was unforgiving.
Locustpaw hurried to wake Cricketpaw, and then the four of them followed the calls for evacuation together. The ground was slick, and Locustpaw found herself stumbling a few times, but they were nearly at the camp entrance with the others.
Grasshopperpaw was suddenly knocked off his feet- his body quickly disappeared under the current. There was screaming, and Locuspaw thinks it might have been her own voice she heard as she tried to process what she'd witnessed. She searched the surface for any sign of her brother, nearly diving in after him, but Cricketpaw yanked at her ear, tears in her eyes as she signed that they needed to keep moving and find their dad.

Grasshopperpaw never resurfaced. Any hope Locustpaw held onto that he might still find his way out again was quickly fading as the clan regained their barring together, sheltering at the old two-leg cabin.
Reedstar and Yewberry had also been lost in the flood, leaving Piketongue and Briarshade to take on the role of leader and herbalist respectfully. Even Darterpaw had been killed in the flood. She might have been a thorn in her side, but Locustpaw couldn't feel anything but cold numbness at the mention of her likely death.
When Pikestar did their warrior ceremonies, none of the remaining siblings felt too much like celebrating.

Warriorhood [12 - 32 moons] >

    Locustcrash was named for her fighting prowess, and possibly her more abrasive nature too. She knew it was her mentor Birchbee who recommended the name to Pikestar. The tom tried to joke with her about what she could do now that she wasn't stuck with him, but Locustcrash wasn't really in the mood for it. So Birchbee gave her a hug, and told her that he would still be around if she needed him. And that was it.
Locustcrash didn't seek out to talk to her former mentor again. Despite his assurances, she didn't feel up to accepting them after everything that had happened.

Her siblings were named Cricketwhisker and Cicadahowl, and the family, cut down to four, all planned to patrol together just one last time. It was a bittersweet event, and Locustcrash wasn't sure she could bring herself to do it again. But... at least they owed it to Grasshopperpaw to say a proper goodbye to that part of their life.
Most of the patrol was spent in silence, but Leafdrift was sure to have them do something as tribute together. Something special for their hard work and in honor of Grasshopperpaw's and Mizzlebark's memories.

Pikestar named Thrushbriar as her deputy, and when the clans decided on a quest to try and reconnect with Starclan, Pikestar chose to send her own apprentice and two warriors to accompany the group.
Shortly after the group left, an earthquake occurred- something that had never happened before and shook the clans to their core. Many cats were injured, including Leaftail, who was confined to the herbalist's den for some time. Others were killed- and no one could guess how well the cats sent away on the quest were doing.

On the bright side, all these new revelations finally helped Locustcrash make sense of Mizzlebark's death and silence any cruel rumors about her family. Okay, so it's not that bright of a bright side, but maybe resolving an old wound could help them heal new ones in the future. Maybe.

When Locustcrash was sixteen moons old, she was assigned her first apprentice. Antpaw was a shy minnow of a cat, but put his all into training even though he seemed absolutely terrified of disappointing her. His sister Troutpaw was assigned to her sister Cricketwhisker, and the two were able to coordinate a lot of joint training sessions for the two of them.
A moon after, Cicadahowl was given his first apprentice as well.

After six moons of being in and out of the herbalist's den since the earthquake, Leaftail finally passed on. Something was wrong internally, and every time they found a way to manage his symptoms, he would worsen and need to start all over. Briarshade had done all she could and finally had him take something to make his death as painless as possible. It hurt; the slow process had left her exhausted. But at least this time, Locustcrash and her siblings could tell their father goodbye.

Locustcrash was admittedly distracted while she and Antpaw were out working on the young tom's swimming and stamina. Even so, she wasn't sure she would have been able to foresee what came next regardless. A great monster of a fish surfaced just long enough to grab the apprentice and drag him down.
Locustcrash dove in and tried to find him- she searched until her lungs burned for air. And even then she'd surface gasping before diving under again and trying desperately to do something- but she couldn't find him. Not the fish or any sign of Antpaw.

When Locustcrash returned to camp soaked and exhausted, she set out to find Antpaw's kin to inform them first. She found Troutpaw and Cricketwhisker conversing in sign language and laughing together. Troutpaw looked confused to not find her brother by Locustcrash's side- and Locustcrash dutifully informed the two of what had happened.
Troutpaw was crying, saying she had to be lying, and Cricketwhisker- her usually gentle and wise sister, barred her claws in teeth at her in a rage before leading Troutpaw away.
Locustcrash sat on her own during Antpaw's vigil.

The cats returned from their quest, all alive but scarred and with empty paws. They hadn't found Starclan on their search but instead brought back some rogues who were now staying around Cloudclan.
It was frustrating- Locustcrash wanted to hit something. But she knew it wasn't the quest cat's fault for everything that had happened. And really, by the looks of them and the stories they told, they had given it their all. It was a miracle they came back alive at all, and that should be commended.

Sometime after Troutpaw was named Troutripple, and Cicadahowl's apprentice Fishpaw was named Fishsplash, Locustcrash found herself on a patrol with both of her siblings. It was... nostalgic. Though things were tense between her and Cricketwhisker since Antpaw's death, a part of her believed the three of them needed this.

Halfway through the patrol, Cricketwhisker pulled her aside to talk. Her sister surprised her- she apologized for how she'd handled things before. That it wasn't Locustcrash's fault and she shouldn't have taken it out on her the way she did in the moment, that she'd been feeling awful about it this whole time.
Locustcrash had stood there frozen whilst reading her sister's signs before the information hit. She... should have known. Cricketwhisker could never hate anyone. Locustcrash cried and hugged Cricketwhisker, and apologized to her as well.

The three of them reached the bathing boulders, a place where Pikestar had the clan patrolling more often. And Locustcrash thought she heard something over the border. It struck her as... Odd. Motioning for Cricketwhisker to tell her something was up, Locustcrash hopped onto the boulders and peered over to see what was happening on the other side.

Whatever conversation that was happening came to an abrupt end, it was silent for a moment, and then something lunged-
Multiple cats- ghosts, attacked the patrol. It was a difficult fight, much trickier than fighting a living enemy. Locustcrash thought she saw someone else leaving while they struggled against the spirits.
Things were looking grim for the three cats until the sounds of a Hailclan patrol started approaching on the opposite side of the border. Then the spirits vanished completely.
Not sure what was happening and unable to trust the other clan's patrol after what she'd heard, Locustcrash hid from the patrol until they passed, and the three started to limp back home together.
Cricketwhisker succumbed to her injuries before they made it back to camp.

It wasn't long after Cricketwhisker's death that things finally changed.
The ghosts were put back where they belonged, Locustcrash prayed to Starclan that the ones who attacked her family had been forbidden entry and forced into the dark forest instead. The veil was repaired, and Starclan was restored, though her own faith in them was not. It was just her and Cicadahowl now. 

Locustcrash was later be given her second apprentice, a young tortie named Nettlepaw. The energetic and cheerful apprentice reminded her of her sister, and that hurt. Maybe Locustcrash was a bit harsh on the young molly as they trained together, but she wanted to see this child thrive.
If a new age of peace was truly to come at last, then please, let this one cat experience it all. Locustcrash hadn't been Nettlepaw's mentor long when she realized she would do just about anything to make sure that Nettlepaw got to live a full and wonderful life of their own.

A badger attacked the nursery and left an apprentice in critical condition. Locustcrash was appalled to hear about this, and how the deputy and several warriors were now recovering from lighter but still serious injuries. It was fortunate none had died in the event, but it still hit too close for comfort. Locustcrash still remembered being a small kit and watching Mizzlebark die and Leaftail be injured protecting her. She shuddered at the thought of the same happening to other kits in the nursery.

It can be said her decision was made right then, that she would become a caretaker so she might stay in camp and protect all future kits from witnessing such traumas again. But she didn't vocalize this to anyone. She still had her own apprentice to be there for to guide and protect until the end.

Ironically, this same incident inspired Thrushbriar to step down as deputy and take on the caretaker role himself. Gullwatcher was appointed as his replacement.
With the old deputy in the nursery, perhaps her goal had been accomplished without her? She would continue to passively keep an eye on how things went now that she was actively considering the change of role for herself.

While she was focusing the greater portion of her attention on Nettlepaw's growth and development into a warrior, many small events occurred.
A kit was lost and later found.
Another warrior chose to take on the caretaker position.
Two apprentices were lost in a snowstorm.
The elder most caretaker died while helping the clan search for them.

Leaf-bare was not kind to anyone. And though it was true the clans were experiencing fewer hardships and heartaches now that order between life and death was restored, things were still far from what Locustcrash would consider perfect.

Even so, she managed to succeed in one goal at least. She stood proudly when Nettlepaw passed her assessment and was named Nettlesong. 

Caretaker [32 - Present moons] >

  When Locustcrash approached Pikestar about being made a caretaker, she was sure she had shocked the leader quite a bit. But her request was granted, and Locustcrash moved her nest into the nursery.
There weren't many kits yet, and the ones there took a lot of time to get used to her presence, often seeming frightened by her appearance. Locustcrash didn't seem to pay them much mind, and some cats wondered why exactly she was there when she didn't indulge the little ones much in play or story, wearing a frown on her face much of the time and staying almost like an inapproachable statue.

Her first moons as caretaker, she spent as a silent guard watching over the little charges, only sometimes breaking that silence to scold them for playing too rough or too near the stream.