Paean is a semi-literate Warriors roleplaying site with an emphasis on depth of character and effective plotting, set in a new territory with the four original Clans. It was orignially created in September 2016, and has experienced many different iterations. Paean once featured three tribes-- who may or may not return-- and a whole lot of worldbuilding; it is our hope that its newest form delivers in terms of quality!
We offer a detailed history, frequent plots and plenty of character-- all at After Dawn hope to see you join!
Mac
Admin
Xeno
Admin
Kaleb
Moderator
OPEN!
LOOKIN' PRETTY
vacancies
The second MODERATOR spot is open.
Thunderclan and Riverclan MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE are still open.
Both clans are also in sore need of a DEPUTY.
All clans but THUNDERCLAN are lacking in STANDARD RANKS!
MAY 21-27 There's been a surge of members, now, and about eight high positions are left. Kaleb has ascended to the moderator position-- kudos!
JUNE 1-16 Nearly all HR spaces have been filled, although some may be reopened due to inactivity. Several roleplays have begun-- plot 001 is now getting into gear. The second moderator spot remains open, and Sonorous is now Paean's principal theme.
Maybe 'cause I'm a dreamer, and sleep is the cousin of death.
Yarrowpatch had hurried to follow him, though the physical activity definitely wasn't appreciated.
Nothing too strenuous, of course, but it was still quite annoying to actually do when she had woken up so soon ago. Her paws ached a little, but she finally was moving at the pace that could be considered appropriate for a cat of her Clan.
(If she were alone, she would've probably let off a torrent of curses, but she had dignity, damnit!) Still, she followed him on the trail dutifully, passing the sparse heather bushes and rabbit setts alike.
Sometimes Yarrowpatch wished they lived in a forest as dense and lush as Thunderclan's, or in a small wood like Riverclan's Grovewood, at the very least.
Windclan felt like it was lacking, if you got what she meant? Besides, they were approaching her patch, and she could tell by the heavy scent of herbs (probably catmint,) filling the air.
"We're almost here, Scorchstar," she mewed,
"Though I'm sure I've been able to scent a little prey around here. I shan't take too long? Is there anything that's been troubling you?"
Padding through the moors, he found it soothing. The coarse grass was familiar under his paws as the trail was as well. Scorchstar trotted alongside his medicine cat at an easy pace. Well, it was for him. After a moment, he slowed, seeing her struggling sightly.
His amber eyes scanned his territory with eagerness as he searched for possible prey along they way.
The leader slowed to let her take the lead as she mewed. Falling behind to pad at her hind quarters, his ears pricked as she spoke again. "Not that I can think of." He mewed, head tilted.
"We've been recuperating well. No sicknesses have come to you?" That's what worried him most. They didn't need any kind of sickness swamping there camp while they were still rebuilding from the flood. While their prey was still breeding and restocking their home.
Maybe 'cause I'm a dreamer, and sleep is the cousin of death.
“None that I can think of either, then,” she said easily, nodding as her whiskers were pushed aside lightly, the breeze tousling her curled pelt. There had been few patients in her den, aside from the occasional complaint of a thorn in one’s paw, or some slight sniffles, all minor inconveniences in the scheme of things. Yarrowpatch had a softer introduction into the world of being Windclan’s main healer than most, she was sure it’d been bound to get worse.
“Not if you mean an illness of mind, though. My only complaint is that Lilycloud isn’t still here to guide me in Starclan’s ways,” Here she tittered, though it sounded more tense than anything, “But I’ll cope. It’s just the way things are.”
Ducking between two thicker heather brushes, she ducked into the lush patch of herbs that she and many other medicine cats had toiled in the few years that the Clans had resettled. This fertile garden had seen more than enough, but the ghostlike scent of her mentor that permeated it made it feel like home. Yarrowpatch barely contained a purr as she approached their small stock of poppy-- she was sure Dappledghost was not lacking in it, but no matter, it’d do. Turning to face her leader once more, she asked, “Do you know how to harvest herbs without killing the shoot, Scorchstar?”
"You are a splendid medicine cat, Yarrowpatch. I'm sure you will do just fine. Lilycloud would be proud."
While he doubted his words did much to comfort the molly, it was the best he could do. He tended to be awkward when it came to feelings and reassuring others when it wasn't spontaneous. The tomcat followed her beneath the heather, crouching, rather than ducking as she had. He was a bit larger than the she-cat.
Scorchstar's ears pricked as they trotted for the patch of herbs. Well used and easily providing more help to the Clan cats that lived in the area. Her inquiry made him turn, amber eyes glinting. "I'm afraid not. However, if you show me, I would be glad to help."
He moved closer to her, ready to observe and learn so that he may assist.
Maybe 'cause I'm a dreamer, and sleep is the cousin of death.
She rolled her eyes at the compliments; she'd heard this enough times, already. Still, contrasting her feelings and inwards actions, she raised her tail and nodded again.
"Thank you, Scorchstar." Yarrowpatch purred. Beckoning him yet closer with an incline of her whiskers, she squatted lower, right next to a small tansy sprig.
"I'm sure you know what this is. Watch closely, and if you do plan on visiting the nursery, I wouldn't replicate what I'm about to do. Tansy is very dangerous to nursing cats."
Lowering her head to one of the buds, she nipped at it; it was a clean cut, without any mess, nor tearing. With a mouth full of one or two leaves, she flicked her ear towards him.
"You see? The same can be done with any flowering plant than those with thorns; I wouldn't concern myself with the poppies, nor the nettles. I'll train my apprentice in that."
Doing as she asked, the tomcat indeed watched closely. Crouching, his head tilted as he looked over movement. The trick was at the bud, it seemed. Tail flicking, he stood and glanced at her as she spoke again.
"Is it just these then?" He asked, motioning to the flowers, the tansy. "How many do you need me to collect?" He felt like a pushy apprentice, asking all these sorts of questions, but he wanted to help and needed to know.
Scorchstar's ears fluttered in the slight wind that blew around them. Taking in a deep breathe, he almost hummed. A rabbit was nearby, but he dared not leave his medicine cat alone. Not so close to the border. Not with tensions high.
Maybe 'cause I'm a dreamer, and sleep is the cousin of death.
"Well..."
Yarrowpatch squinted, her face contorting into a more awkward expression as she mulled it over, tail flicking behind her. The catmint and poppy were things she could cover, being closest to the tansy, of course, but there was probably some other herbs that he could frolick around in, or whatever while she got down to business.
Making some larger bundles wouldn't be difficult, and as there wasn't really anything missing, she could go for the general staples at the moment. Maybe Scorchstar could help her out with something more advantageous, still?
"Maybe you could help me out with the burdock bush, just get the leaves? No-one will get an infection so soon into Greenleaf, so I'll come back for the roots later.
I need some chervil, but it's... growing rather close to the Great River this year, and I, well... I can't believe I'm saying this, but we'll need to skirt near the border.
It's.. a bad time, but I'm nearly out, yes, and I'd like to pass around packets to some of the newer-generation Clanners in case they catch the sniffles because their families have been exposed only rarely to our brand of sickness."
Unsheathing and resheathing her claws, a classic tell of her anxiety, she flicked an ear. "I know it's stupid, but it's a really terrible time for anyone to contract illness. The hot weather will mean cats will take to the water, and what will it mean for us if the other three Clans blame an epidemic on us? We'll be extinct, Scorchstar. Riverclan has been rearing for a reason of attack for a long, long time."
He thought over her words carefully. If she wished for him to gather the leaves from the burdock, then he would. She kept speaking though and his ears flattened as she rambled on. Yarrowpatch's words sent a shiver down his spine. As she mentioned, RiverClan was indeed looking to blame them for anything, something he would have to settle at the next Gathering, if he could.
However, at the moment, he needed to reassure his medicine cat and Clanmate. "If the herbs are needed, we'll come back tomorrow with a patrol. Despite RiverClan's urge to pounce at us for any little thing, we won't be breaking the code by gathering herbs for our Clanmates. I will go as well, to insure your safety and our Clanmates. Any patrol to question us would seem rather foolish."
While it would be rather feather-brained for any patrol to question why they were gathering herbs on their territory, he didn't doubt RiverClan would do it. If they needed the herbs though, it would be a necessary risk he would have to take. And Scorchstar would gladly take it.
"As for a possible epidemic," His tail flicked as he carefully thought over his words. "We can never know if one would happen or not, but we would not be at fault. Illness travels in odd ways. By air, by water, by prey. No cat can ever be certain how it was obtained, unless a source was tainted. Sick cats drinking water cannot be condemned for others getting sick, if we don't know how the possible illness moves."
The wind buffeted his fur once again, and a soft sigh past his lips. He understood the paranoia that his medicine cat had, he shared it. He questioned himself at night, wondering if when RiverClan might decide they wish to just attack without proper cause, though he was positive his Clan would never give them one. It all gave him a headache.
"Now why don't we brush this 'What if' talk aside, and gather the herbs we can for now, hm?"
Maybe 'cause I'm a dreamer, and sleep is the cousin of death.
She flicked her ear, barely heeding his words as she turned to continue harvesting some catmint. Despite his 'kind words', she had no particular feeling towards their true meanings. "Worse things have happened for more foolish reasons," Yarrowpatch muttered. "Why don't you ask Starclan why they let the flood happen?" Her tail lashed, though that could not be explained away by the wind. Her impatience had made her antsy.
If Riverclan threatened them again, so be it. She wasn't blind, of course. Though Cottonstar had the edge over Scorchstar through her age, her experience, her steady rise to leadership in comparison to his quiet takeover amongst the wails of grieving clanners that could be seen as a silent show of strength and true leadership by some and the actions of a warrior barely out of apprenticehood by others. What did she know, though? She was just the medicine cat, and one who gained her name all too quickly, as well. All she knew was that Windclan was in bad shape, and all they could do is pray that Starclan would hear their plight.
Considering the way everything else had gone, Yarrowpatch was weighing up her chances. Still, hastily jostling in some more kind deference was some way to regain what little trust Scorchstar had for her. No need to gain a reputation for cynicism so fast. "I suppose. But you never know, you know; anything can happen. Still, there's no need to waste resources we don't need, do we? We'll walk that path when we get to it."
She flicked her ears, curling into herself ever so slightly as the wind wheedled around them again. "Alright. Let me get the poppy seeds, and I'll get the burdock with you."
Her snappy response was something he was growing used to. Ears flattened, he lifted his head from the leaf he was about to cut for her. They have been close in age, but he would not let her disrespect him in such manner. He needed to prove himself to her, and to the Clan. If that meant being harsh sometimes, so be it.
"I am not the one to speak to StarClan for guidance. That is apart of your job, just as it is to gather herbs. If you wish to know to know so badly about the flood, ask them yourself." Scorchstar knew his rise to power was quite odd, compared to the other leader's. he knew he was young, but that did not make him a fool.
The other Clans would do well to remember that, as well as his own Clanmates. His tail lashed behind him as he bent again to cleanly snap off a few leaves of the burdock plant. If Yarrowpatch wished to question him, so be it. As long she never did so in front of their Clan, he didn't care what she uttered to him. He needed his Clan t back him, and he was sure he could do it, with or without the stubborn molly.
"Do what you please. I will gather what I can of these and then we shall head back."
Maybe 'cause I'm a dreamer, and sleep is the cousin of death.
Oh, so her damage control hadn't done anything? A pity, surely. Surely. As Scorchstar spoke, Yarrowpatch felt her feelings towards him chill and solidify further.
Merely standing there and taking the slight scolding, she continued to nip at the poppy heads in front of her, having moved away from him significantly in some sort of preemptive defense. Yarrowpatch wasn't deaf, after all. She knew of the tom's pride, and her sharp words had somewhat of a habit of scoring wounds on some cats' egos.
"You don't think I've tried?" she snorted, her mouth curling with the words.
"I never pegged you for a fool, Scorchstar. I've tried harder than any cat this side of the river, I can tell you that much."
Merely turning back to her busywork, her hackles bristled, a clear sign that she wasn't going to be compliant for much longer. Her tail was lashing, now. How dare he shut her down like that? Insisting on having the last laugh?
She hated it, but she could say nothing: no, she would not say anything. Not immediately, at least. He hadn't earned the right nor the trust to know that she had tried to gleam some answers but came up with nothing every time.
They had lapsed into silence, now, and she found herself regretting her words, but not as much as anyone else would have. Faking anything resembling respect for him was going to be painful, especially at gatherings, but she'd rather not be all but flayed alive once they got to camp. Or whatever they would do. It wasn't often such flagrant disrespect was shown, was it? Yarrowpatch liked to call herself a trendsetter, though.
Her disrespectful tone made the fur along his back rise, though he force it down soon after. If she wanted his respect though, she would have to show some in return. At the rate she was going though, Scorchstar was already trying to figure out how he would get through his leadership with a medicine who didn't even try to assist her leader.
He didn't seem to think he came off of a fool, but if that's what the crud molly thought of him, so be it. He merely answered her doubts with a harsh tone. He would not stand for her attitude and he doubted he would be volunteering to help her out again anytime soon.
A snort passed his muzzle as he rolled his eyes. "Obviously." The tom huffed. You better get out of that habit. He thought. It made him think that she might do something in the future to betray him and it made him wary. He would not hesitate to exile a medicine cat for treason, even if it left his Clan vulnerable. All the Clans would learn to respect him, especially his own.
"We're heading back to camp. Let's go." Leaving no room for argument, he grabbed what he had picked from the burdock plant and moved to the leave the patch.
![O, how my heart sings, The bugle sounds, another Paean begins, And the stars twinkle in their places. [ TO BE UPDATED. ]](https://i.imgur.com/eWNOt3g.png){kind=link}