A change of Clans (Slitherpaw, Maskedstar)

[mystic]

Leopardpaw
^{I can resist anything but temptation}

Leopardpaw looked behind him. The camp was mostly deserted, so there weren't a whole bunch of cats rushing at them and asking them why they were here. Or more to the point, why she was here. Slitherpaw, after all, wasn't BreezeClan. The scent of mud and cold clung to her fur. But Leopardpaw knew that would wear away in time. She would smell like any other BreezeClan cat. Leopardpaw smiled down at her and told her to stay close as he padded towards the leader's den.

"Maskedstar?" he called. "I've something to ask you." he said. The thing was, that he had broken the code and taken a mate outside his clan. However he didn't want his kits to grow up away from him. Where if anyone dared call them "halfclan" he couldn't rip the hides off the offenders. Already fatherly love and the desire to protect what was his own was swelling in his chest. How could things change so fast?

[Kelby [♥]]

Maskedstar laid on his back, cool soil pressing into his fur as he stared upwards, squinting his eyes to examine dust particles as they floated effortlessly about him. A partial light filtered through the heavily wound branches of the leaders den. They were thicker than the ones that sheltered the nursery even, for they had to be strong enough to hold the heaviest of leaders during clan ceremonies and meetings. Ocean-flecked eyes considered this, glancing from place to place, spotting little faults in the structure of his den. The newly made camp and it's tightly wound tree-shelters were intricate, yes. Perhaps he should strengthen all of the dens to be that thoroughly protected. If there was an attack, it would be more work to repair them, though it may shield his warriors from further harm. After all, that was more important than even a moons worth of extra paws pitching in. The nursery, at least, he would see to being redone. His thought pattern was broken as he heard a voice call to him - Young, he noted, and anxiety seemed to creep it's way into Maskedstar's belly. There was something odd about the tone in, who he recognized to be Leopardpaw's, voice. "Come in." He called, licking his paw and swiping it over his ear as he sat up hastily, shaking flecks of wet dirt from his coat. He should at least be presentable.

[/blockquote]

[jayfeatherfan]

Slitherpaw crept into camp after Leopardpaw, trying to keep as close as possible. As she followed him towards the leaders den, she found herself with racing thoughts. Should she have stayed in her own clan? At least a bit longer? Should she have just told the truth and accepted the consequences.
No, she didn’t have the time to second guess at the moment. She had made the choice. Not to say that she regretted it; oh no. Along with the racing fear, there was excitement. She was exited at the prospect of kits, and at the prospect of being able to see Leopardpaw all the time. This was a good thing for her, and Slitherpaw knew it.
She waited for Leopardpaw to tell her what to do next as Maskedstars voice called them inside his den.

[mystic]

Leopardpaw
^{I can resist anything but temptation}

Leopardpaw ducked into the den. "Ummm..." he began. He flicked his tail and looked at Slitherpaw, then at Maskedstar. "This is Slitherpaw. She wants to join the clan. She isn't happy in MarshClan." he paused. "and I got her pregnant. Crowstar wouldn't like halfclans. I don't want my kits to be away from me. So I asked her to come back here with me. I know you're a fair cat." he paused. "and I love her. I don't want to be apart from her. We're both old enough to be warriors." he added. "I know you'd understand. Please don't send her away. Don't make a liar of me." His long tail lashed back and forth and he gazed at his leader with worry on his face.
"If you don't let her join, I'll leave. She and I, we belong together. It's fate. I know it is. We're one soul. And she has my kits. I know she'll be good for BreezeClan"

[Kelby [♥]]

Maskedstar's ears pricked as he picked up an odd scent. MarshClan? Alarm setting in, he narrowed his eyes as Leopardpaw stepped into the den. "Who is this?" He demanded, raking his gaze over the small she-cat. She seemed timid, and he slowly let his fur lie flat as Leopardpaw spoke. He glared back at the apprentice. "You may be old enough to be a warrior, but you are not. There is reason for that, Leopardpaw. You cannot even finish your training, what makes you think you are at all prepared for kits?" He asked, stepping forward to better examine the young cats. He noticed the slight scent of milk that clung to this Slitherpaw he spoke of. Kits having kits. What kind of clan are you leading? He heard the harsh voice of his mother in the back of his head. Shaking her from his conscious, he let his guard down slightly. It couldn't be changed now. Whatever reckless decisions these two had made, there was kits involved, and they were innocent of any crimes. Shaking his head back and forth, Maskedstar's fur ruffled as he licked his chest thoughtfully, his ears open. "Don't threaten me." He warned, but his voice wasn't hostile. Just exasperated. What kind of cat did he think he was? Maskedstar sensed immediately, that by even risking bringing that cat here, Leopardpaw knew he was going to take them. Was he really that predictably soft-hearted? His thoughts wavered. They needed members, but would he appear weak by accepting such mutiny into his clan? Leopardpaw was already kittypet blood. Thinking so cruedly is the type of thing that makes bad leaders. He reminded himself in a softer tone. He himself was 'forbidden' to be alive. He could sympathise with the two. At least they were attempting to make the life of their offspring good. BreezeClan was good, and a proper place to raise them. Leopardpaw was not brought up in a clan environment - it was easy for him to stray from it. This Slitherpaw, he did not know the history of. If he allowed their kits to be raised in BreezeClan, though, he could make sure they were properly looked after and taught everything there is to know about being a warrior from an early age. That was most important. "Do you think such rash decisions can be made so quickly?" He hissed under his breath, trying to bring himself back to the matter at hand instead of thinking it out further. Turning his back to the two, he examined the branches again, and thought back to the nursery. What good was mending it if there was no queens?

"Alright. She may stay. But you hear me," He started, turning back around to face the two, and making direct eye contact with them both back and forth. "Leopardpaw, you are to train. Your evaluation is at the end of the moon. If you do not pass, I will rethink your capabilities as being a warrior, and even more so a father to the kits you've put in your mates belly. Slitherpaw," He meowed more softly, having less quarrels with this new cat, "You are young. You may be in love, but you are young. Kits might not have been the best choice for you. For either of you. It can't be helped now, but once they are nursed, I want you to train as well. Knowing MarshClan, you're probably well equipped to fight. How are you with hunting, with medicine, with younger cats?" He asked, going through her possible future positions in the clan. If she turned out to be a good mother, perhaps she could be a steady queen.

[jayfeatherfan]

Slitherpaw lit up immediately. He didn’t seem very happy about it, but she hadn’t expected him to. This was absolutely great! She nodded at everything he said, accepting his conditions.
“Well,” She said to answer his questions, “I know a few herbs, but not a lot. I have been told I’m good with fighting, but my hunting skills are pretty normal.” She ignored his comment on kits. Not because she didn’t agree, but because she did. She felt that the agreement went unsaid.
“And, I seem to get on better with younger cats than older ones.” She finished. She could guess why he was asking her these questions; he wanted to know what good she could be to the clan. She flicked her ear hopefully; this was going to work! She could feel it in her bones. She and Leopardpaw could make this work. All she had to do was stay on Maskedstars good-side.

[mystic]

Leopardpaw
^{I can resist anything but temptation}

Leopardpaw nodded. Deep in his heart he knew that the fact he was still a 'paw at 16 moons was his fault. However his arrogance made him refuse to admit it. His ears flicked back, then forward. The chance of being made a warrior. He hoped he would be given a good name. The tom nodded. At least his mate would be allowed to stay in the clan. He didn't think he could live without her. The tom flicked his tail and looked at Maskedstar.

"Yes sir." he mewed, trying to sound meek. He did his best to hide the icy, irritated undercurrent to his speech. Then he looked at his leader. "I have one more request. The kits may be mocked if their mother is still a 'paw." He mewed. "She is like me, she is 14 moons. I know that Shadowblaze of MarshClan is the same age as her. And that brute was made a warrior." he smiled at his mate. "I'm sure she is much more worthy and honourable than he is."

[Kelby [♥]]

"If you were so concerned with her reputation, than maybe you should've waited for warriorship before mating with her. Or better yet, find a she-cat in your own clan. You have bees in your brain for even suggesting that." Maskedstar snapped at the spotted tom in front of him, his gaze turning harsh. He was being incredibly kind as it was to these two kits, no other leader would even think of accepting either of the mousebrains into their clan. At least, not Leopardpaw. If it weren't for knowing that Slitherpaw and her young would leave if he was banished, Maskedstar would've been tempted to tell the useless lump of fur to get out of his den, and more importantly, out of his clan. All he did was eat and complain. "She can work for her warrior name after they're born and nursed. I won't make either of you a warrior just because of your circumstances. You put yourselves in your position. You have to be just as skilled in everything as all of my other warriors. You both need a few more lessons in following the code, before you can even think of getting a new name. I set my expectations high, and you have so far failed me in more ways than one." He half growled, challenge raising in his eyes as he stared into Leopardpaw's. This wasn't anything that concerned Slitherpaw - But her mate was an arrogant apprentice with a disrepectful tendency to speak up. Maskedstar would very quickly put a stop to that, if this imbicile was to continue to live in his camp. He wasn't going to be pushed around, or forced into doing anything that he thought was wrong. Giving them warrior names now, despite the trouble it may relieve, was against his morals as a leader.

[mystic]

Leopardpaw
^{I can resist anything but temptation}

Leopardpaw's fur bristled and he let out low snarl. It wasn't his fault that he was mentored to the laziest cat in the camp. And as far as he saw he was the best warrior in the clan. He could hunt better than any apprentice, he was the most powerful of them all and he knew it. It was just the leader that didn't see the greatness he was destined for. His tail lashed, and he narrowed his eyes. It was only good sense that kept him from saying something completely stupid. The tom laid back his ears and stalked out of the den with out so much as by-your-leave. Looking over his shoulder he called. "Are you coming love?" He asked. "I'll get you nicely set up on the nursery and find you feathers and soft rabbit fur for your nest. No silly moss for you. And I'll add sweet flowers so your pelt smells wonderful." He purred to her. With a mate to care for he started showing real interest in his clan duties. Prehaps siring kits was the best thing that had happened to him.

[Bear]

Well we aren't an MMORPG, so I don't know how to do that. ^^; There's an RP section on the forum for stuff like that.

This thing with rotating dominant dragons sounds like something in the right direction. I don't know how it will affect the server though, will have to ask Thaz more about that.

I said before we can't add another stage like the Sage. There's no items designed for that level and it wouldn't extend the game much at all. Not to mention it would mean that people with huge amounts of resources will be able to get even more resources which is kinda contra-productive.

We already raised the lottery winnings, it's meant to be insignificant because you have nothing to lose, only gain. It's already calibrated by how many rankpoints you have.

Pre-generated messages and interactions with dragon has been rejected as well for a simple reason. People would want more and more options in this interaction and we would have to add more text on the dropdown menu. This cycle would NEVER END. Soon enough the dropdown menu would be filled with pre-generated options and pre-generated dragon responses... It would be a huge useless mess.

Ingame map has been suggested, but doesn't that mean Thaz has to draw the map and then program all the options for everyone to explore? ^^; I think you're asking way too much on that one. Especially if you wanna include finding items in there which would ruin the item creation process, resources which would negate the dragon resource production, etc.

Dual element dragons is something that would be nice yeah. But as you said, recolor combinations of these would take forever indeed. Well, we would also have to program how all these productions of elements work and interact with each other. That's a huge undertaking and would mean changing parts of the game CORE drastically...

OKEY that's one way of doing it indeed! That would certainly save some time and would be doable. I'm gonna add this dual elements and Sage stage to the concept list. It might work nicely for another concept I was planning regarding lvl 110 dragons. ^^ But I'll see about dual elements because that needs more polishing and thinking, would require lotsa work too.

Ingame map is also something I could add to the list, but a simplified version. I'll incorporate it with another concept I had planned.