IT'S BEEN THAT DAY FOR ME ☆ O, SNOW STORM EVENT

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

A sharp chill on the air spelled disaster for Palmclan, a group that had traditionally become used to mild winters, and a gleaming sun in the sky raining down upon them. Some cruel twist of fate had decided that winter would come early this year, and it was something that the whole of the clan was scarcely prepared for. It wasn't for lack of trying, no. Rhinestone had set up plenty of tasks for those around him, doing his own fair share of insulating and prey gathering. However, it was impossible to know how much one needed to plan ahead for, when one had never been forced to endure such a violent storm. At first, it had seemed as though perhaps they would be granted mercy. There was a chill on the air, yes, but Rhine couldn't see any clouds rolling in, nor did he spot any white specks of snow raining down. Despite this, he still ordered the queens to keep their kits within the nursery, and he still made sure that the few NPCs with medical knowledge had plenty of supplies to spare. They couldn't risk making a mistake, not so soon after the last disaster that had struck them so violently and unexpectedly.

The day had progressed on, and for a long while, the entire clan thought that the danger had passed. After all, it was such a nice day. However, their contentedness was not fated to last. It happened so quickly, in such a way that one could blink and miss it. The dark storm clouds rolled in above, dark black and rumbling. Rhinestonestar's gaze moved briefly upwards before he froze, knowing that his bad feeling had been correct. He turned, shouting above the rumbling of the clouds above, "Everyone! The storm is coming in! Make sure you get yourselves safely within your dens!" Despite issuing this warning, the tom made no move to follow his own orders. He couldn't – he needed to make sure that everyone else was safe, before he protected himself. He scarcely had time to finish his shout before the snow began, pouring down in thick windy whips that fell upon the beach, covering the sand and raining down upon camp. He closed his eyes as the wind whipped around him, a hiss of pain leaving him at the bits of ice that had already begun to rain down. It was practically a blizzard.

His heart sank as he opened his pale gaze again, eyes darting around to see that they were still missing several members from camp, even as snow began to cover everything. It was almost suffocating, and he found himself shouting again, shaking snow from his pelt half heartedly, "Anyone out if camp, come back! This is too strong, and you'll end up being seriously hurt! It's too dangerous!" His call rang out through the air, hopefully not drowned out by the roar of the wind. He could only pray to Starclan that those who had made their homes in the boardwalk would be safe as well, with the precautions he had put in place. Of course, as he climbed to the edge of camp to watch for anyone who was missing, he found himself wondering – did Starclan even care for them? After all, if they did, then wouldn't they have protected Palmclan, from the hurricane, and now from this?

( welcome to the official beginning of the second palmclan clanwide plot! this is only the first phase of the plot, and involves a massive blizzard hitting the territory and causing chaos. your character can be inside of camp, or out on a patrol, or wherever when it ended up hitting, but it is now snowing hard, as well as hailing! the massive amount of snow from this event will last for at least three days, so feel free to make opens set after this thread involving your characters interacting with the snow, or reflecting on what happened! )

NEVER OPENED MYSELF THIS WAY
LIFE IS OURS, WE LIVE IT OUR WAY

— Reggan

[SirDio]

Medusa

No. No. No. Nonononononono. NO! Everything was calm. Too calm. Too quiet. Too cold. The hybrid was worried, no, terrified. It seemed even the animals of the forest hid away, even before the storm had rolled in. Staying below ground in the basement of the ruined home, the hybrid took it upon herself to drag a cushion and blanket from the upper levels of the home. Then grabbed another blanket. Thicker. Warmer. She needed it now more than ever.

Then the skies darkened, and Medusa cowered in the basement, before the statue, covered in the blankets and curled up on the cushion, facing outside. Please, she pleaded. Please, let nobody be out in this storm. It was persecution, this storm. Persecution of the masses. Of Palmclan. They did nothing to deserve this. Ice rained from above, hitting the house, rolling into a small pile by the opening of the basement. She did nothing.

Did their wise stars do NOTHING? Did they watch, or were they even there? God, how she wanted to believe the members who devoted their lives to starclan. Cold distracted her, slowed her thinking. God, she was tired. God, she was lonely. Half of her wanted someone to be stranded out there, but half of her hoped to god not. No one deserved to be stranded out there, like her. Sluggish, she shifted her position. Much better. Please, let no one be stranded out there. Please.

[number nine.]

The chill in the air alone was enough to set Number Nine on edge, but things only got worse when the snow began. He was out on the beach, large paws sinking into the sand as he wandered, looking for seashells to potentially paint as spooky decorations – a last minute addition to camp. Unfortunately, the snow came in hard and fast, and Nine could feel it, even through the thick pelt that covered him. He let out a hiss of protest as the winds knocked against him, which only evolved into an outright snarl of pain when he was hit with the first bit of hail. He could hear Rhine's frantic yelling in the distance, and his heart sank as well. So, this was what the boss man had been warning about at that last meeting. Gritting his teeth through the pain of the harsh winds and cutting hail, the jaguar leaped up into the air, letting his wings carry him upwards.

Despite their leader's frantic calls in the distance for everyone to immediately return home, Number Nine remained out in the air. Mainly because, if there was anyone stranded out here, he wanted to be able to help. He was one of the members of the clan who could fly, not to mention his considerable strength. Both of those were useful assets, and he wasn't about to let them go to waste, even through the hail that was colliding with his body. As he flew quickly through the ravaged skies, Nine raised his voice in a roar to be heard above the snow, calling out, "Hello? Is anyone out there! If you can hear me, call out to my voice! I'll be over there to help you get to camp as soon as I can!" He half hoped he didn't hear any calls, just so that he could feel as though everyone was safe – even though that could just as easily mean they were already dead.

HELLBENT ON MAKING YOU LOVE ME TOO

[METEOR]

Quasar squinted. He fought against the strong wind and snow to see, and every glimpse ahead was a battle. But he thought he saw a refuge in the distance. He’d only been to the abandoned house once or twice, and the white blanket enveloping everything obscured most landmarks. He hated following an uncertain guess, but he couldn’t be choosy about shelter. Not when each step numbed his paws.

He breathed the cold in, and every inhale burned his lungs. The cold stung his gums, drying his mouth, and itched his throat all the way down to his chest. His raw throat burned, but he couldn’t scratch hard enough to ease it. Nose numb to the cold, he couldn’t tell if his nose closed from snot or swelling—he’d thwacked his head on branches and plants enough in the blinding blizzard—and he smelled nothing.

The sparkledoggo’s winter coat had yet to grow in. Each gust chilled to his bones, but he dragged himself through the growing snow piles anyway. If he couldn’t make it to the shelter, then he was dead. He knew he’d be dead. When he thought about the real possibility of dying out here, sparks crackled in his chest—exactly like when Stryker fucked with him—renewing his determination. Determined to live, he walked on.

Shivers tormented him. It was hard enough to walk without his legs quivering. But he put one paw in front of the other. He breathed deep inhales, despite the pain, fueling his body.

CRACK! A tree branch fell right in front of him, scraping his nose, but Quasar didn’t feel a thing. The blood seeped out and froze against his purple fur. He had no idea. He only mumbled to himself as he hauled his body over the mess of snow and tree.

Against all odds, he made it. Quasar tumbled through the abandoned house’s doorway, teeth chattering louder than his distressed heartbeat. But the crackling in his chest—in his ears?—in his bones?—screamed louder. He blinked, looked around, and almost shrieked in frustration. The abandoned house had enough cracks in it for snow to infiltrate in, and the shelter was hardly worthy of the appellation.

Luckily, he tumbled into the basement. And, even luckier, he caught his balance right before he started rolling down the stairs. Slowly, he stepped down the stairs, and blinked rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the dark.

“Medusa…?” he said. His teeth chattered. He almost couldn’t make her name out. “I’m… so… cold. Need… a fire.”

His eyes weeped, and he blinked the liquid away. He hobbled to a pile of wood, old, but dry enough and okay. He placed one paw on the pile, and his blue eyes gleamed. The cracking in his chest became a roar, an unintelligible, demanding roar he couldn’t understand. He tilted his head, breathing heavily, as he tried to understand.

The roar enveloped him. It engulfed him like the snow would’ve engulfed his corpse, and he threw his head back and screamed. Lighting zipped over his skin and pulsed through his body in one booming crack.

He fell to the floor. The lightning exploded a third of the firewood on impact, reducing them to almost unusable scrap. But a small portion caught aflame, burning bright and steadily, though the hungry fire would eat up all the fuel if it wasn’t managed. Unfortunately for Quasar, he couldn’t move, and his blue eyes couldn’t… keep… blinking… open.

[member=16168]Medusa[/member]

[sub][W]isker[/sub]

[SirDio]

[align=center][div style="width: 45%; text-align: justify; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: times new roman;"]♡ — She was so god damn close to falling asleep that she didn't react to Quasar's words until he moved to the pile of wood. She struggled to get up -- then she pinned her ears back when he screamed. Panic overtook speed and she rushed to him. The lightning, the explosion, the fire. It scared her. But Quasar's body, still, eyes blinking... She went and grabbed the large cushion. Dragging it to Quasar, she attempted to get his body up on to it. [color=#0C7805]"You're going to be fine, god damnit. You saved both of our asses just then, and I'm sure starclan doesn't give two shits now." The burning fury in her eyes at the supposed wise ancestors burned just as hot as the fire Quasar started. Speaking of which..

Seeing the firepit in that corner of the room, She started dragging the remaining unlit firewood to it, putting the firewood into the pit until it was full, and she set the rest of the firewood aside for later. Then she grabbed one of the burning pieces and carefully placed it on the pit. With it slowly building heat, she grabbed the blankets and covered Quasar in the thick one while she took the thinner one. [color=#0C7805]"You're going to be fine... Once the thaw happens I'll get you to Rhine.. He might be able to do more, who knows. Thank you, Quasar."

[color=#0C7805]"Speech"

[Honeypaw]

[align=center][div style="width: 51%; text-align: justify; font-size: 11pt; letter-spacing: -1px; font-family: georgia;"]Honey had been in her nest when the blizzard hit, suddenly and violently. Her thin fur coat was no match to the bitter cold as the storm pummeled PalmClan territory. She was not accustomed to the cold, let alone snow. Her den was merely a deep hole in the sand, reinforced with rocks and wood. It provided little shelter to the harsh elements, and she feared the snow would eventually build up and completely block her in.

Against Rhinestonestar's command, the doberman crawled out of her den, shivering as the wind and snow pelted her. She looked around, view obscured by the heavy blanket of snow falling down. She padded around camp aimlessly, trying to find others to shelter with. "What do we do if the snow blocks our dens? We won't be able to breathe!" The apprentice called out to the wind, hoping Rhinestone or someone would hear her over the blizzard. She doubted snow was much different than sand or dirt, in that it would block oxygen flow. If someone's den got buried with snow, she was sure that would spell disaster. She could dig people out, but she wondered if it was better to evacuate camp before they were buried with snow. Surely there was someplace in the territory that would offer a little more protection... maybe like the abandoned house in the twisted forest.

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Rhinestone could feel his chest clenching with anxiety as the storm continued to rage around camp, his pale gaze desperately seeking out a headcount. Number Nine was in the skies far above, and he could see several NPCs that looked familiar, but there were several important faces missing. He couldn't spot Medusa anywhere within the crowd, a fact that caused his gut to twist up into unpleasant knots. He had known that the senior warrior was avoiding camp lately, but was she stranded out there all on her own? Part of him wanted to try going out and finding her, but he knew that would be a death wish at that point. The house Medusa usually stayed in was quite a while away, within the forest, and he would have to trek through the snow. Not only through the snow already piled up, but also with the torrent of snow and hail that was still coming down onto them. There was no way he'd be able to make it all the way there, not without serious injury. For now, he just had to hope that she would be alright, even with everything that was going on. Still, he trusted Medusa. He knew that she was strong, even with all of her recent doubts in herself.

Taking a deep breath, the tom then turned to search throughout camp, trying to count all of those that he was able to spot. The absence of Quasar was nearly enough to send him into hysterics, his ears flattening down against his skull. He couldn't lose his son, not after everything that the other had already been through. Especially not after everything that Tree had been through, as well. Once again, the leader felt like rushing out of camp, regardless of the risks that were involved. However, the call of another familiar voice caused him to turn, relaxing slightly when he spotted Honeypaw. At the very least, he could be reassured by the fact that he knew she was safe. Even if she did seem to be panicking – something which he really couldn't blame her for. Emerging from the den he had been searching, Rhine went over to her side, pressing his pelt against hers before he reassured, "Don't worry, we won't let anyone get snowed into their dens. We could try evacuating, but that's even more high risk, especially with this hail coming down. I... I think I've got an idea." He pressed against her for another brief moment before turning, and bolting into his den, evidently going to search for something he thought could help.

After a couple of minutes, Rhine once again emerged from his den, only this time he was dragging several large palm leaves. They were broad and thankfully fairly thick, which was enough to hopefully protect them from the snow – at least until the snow passed. He had originally been keeping them for more palm umbrellas, this was obviously much more urgent, and important. Pulling them over to Honeypaw, he rose his voice above the storm, calling out, "Anyone who can, help me get these leaves secured over the dens! They're thick enough that they'll direct the snow away, and hopefully keep us from any entrances getting closed off." He tried to give his best reassuring look to Honeypaw then, as if asking the young canine to help out as well. He then took one of the large palm leaves, moving over to the nearby den and starting to secure it over the entrance, where it would act as a sort of overhang. He doubted they would work if the storm went on for several days, but hopefully this would pass within a few hours. If it didn't... well, there was little chance they would survive through it anyways.

NEVER OPENED MYSELF THIS WAY
LIFE IS OURS, WE LIVE IT OUR WAY

— Reggan