this is my warrior cat AU featuring OCs the headspace made!

sypnosis

it stars Wrenpaw, an incredibly anxious, frustrated long haired she-cat who's been stuck at apprentice status for a long time due to self doubt. her mentor is hard on her, her mother still hovers over her, she has a lot of tramua not worked out. its been hell! wrenpaw has a mental breakdown one night which prompts her leader to interfere. turns out, theres another apprentice from the neighboring clan who's also having a very hard time trying to transition into being a warrior, thus the two are sent off on a journey guided by an elder to find some faith in themselves.

about

This is a pretty theraputic AU (literaly, they go on a theraputic retreat) kinda venting about our personal struggle to transition into adulthood while dealing with parental issues and mental illness.

This AU happens in the future of clans at the lake, where kittypet and rouge recruitment isn't as taboo as it was in the forest. Times have changed and a lot of rules have relaxed. There is not much clan conflict except from personal dramas, clanmates being mischevious or misbehaving, petty border skirmishes or conflict with nature (predators, storms, Twolegs being annoying).

format

I'm writing this by chapters, or through visual elements capturing scenes. I have only written 1 chapter.

until i draw proper refs for everyone, ive used felidaze-felidform's picrew to visualize the cast!

cast

the protagonists

Wrenpaw of Skyclan and Rustedpaw of Shadowclan

Wrenpaw is extremely anxious and doubtful of herself, struggling to accept kindness from clanmates or see that she has posseses talent. She was a kit when her and Adderfang arrived at the clans, and is extremely stressed by her mother's pressure on her to take on important clan roles. She feels suffocated by all of the support just because of her skill competence, which has made her reject all out of fear. She is 16 moons old.

Rustedpaw is extremely gloomy, paranoid and takes any criticsm deep to his heart. His father has always been hard on him, which makes him extremely ashamed and neurotic despite his clannmates being supportive. He has only gotten more hostile and depressed with age due to distrusting his clannmates supportive advances. He is 18 moons old.

their mentors

Jaytalon is Wrenpaw's mentor. Jaytalon is incredibly critical of Wrenpaw given he never let his disabilities, past (son of kittypets) or anxiety keep him from doing his best. He is constantly annoyed with her timid behavior when he knows how talented the young she-cat is. He pushes Wrenpaw hard since Adderfang presses him to do so, atleast the most her can without Adderfang bringing the she-cat back under her belly. He's a bit of an asshole, but says its tough love.

Lightbreeze is Rustedpaw's mentor. Lightbreeze is very chill and supportive of Rustedpaw, kinda like Finn from adventure time was to Simon Petrikov. He's always at the young tom's side, helping keep him company especially when he becomes frantic or needs to rant about his father's latest foxshit. He's very airheaded and ditzy, which foils Rustedpaw's depressed tendencies.

best clanmates

Nightflurry is the little brother of Jaytalon, and best friend of Wrenpaw. He's goofy and promiscuous, getting a kick out of annoying his older brother and clannmates. He doesn't really value clan life as much as his clannmates, finding tasks annoying. He does his best to stick by Wrenpaw's side and encourage her as she deals with her mother and Jaytalon's pressure and tries to get her to loosen up.

Badgerstorm is the best friend of Lightbreeze and a notable warrior of Shadowclan. He is in line to become deputy and aids Lightbreeze in mentoring Rustedpaw due to the difficulties the young tom has. He's pretty cutthroat, deadpan and intimidating, atleast until he gets around Nightflurry. These two are in love with eachother and constantly sneak out of their clans to fuck.

parents

Adderfang is Wrenpaw's mother. Adderfang was pregnant with Wrenpaw when Skyclan came to her rescue as she was found on the border being ambushed by a fox. She was then made a warrior in the clans and gave birth to Wrenpaw. Adderfang does't settle for shit, which is what quickly made her a valued warrior of Skyclan. She's highly respected despite chronic illnesses and PTSD. However due to her health issues, Adderfang is unable to do much consistently and is instructed to spend time in camp. She did not allow Wrenpaw to go to the apprentice's den until she was 8 moons old, nor leave the confines of camp. Despite this, she's always urged Wrenpaw to strive for greatness, as the entire clan sees it in her.

Ivystrike is Rustedpaw's father. Ivystrike is deputy of Shadowclan and incredibly charasmatic and tatical. He is annoyed when warriors slack, well, if he likes them then it's alright. He stays on tasks and respects his leader a lot, and wants his son to either find his connection to Starclan or follow in his paws. Ivystrike coddles Rustedpaw a bit, sometimes a little too much. He's been scolded by the leader for not giving the young tom breathing room at times.

the leaders

Branchstar of Skyclan is pretty chill. They're pretty diplomatic and encouraging to all clanmates, and maybe a little soft. They avoid disicplining warriors at all costs unless neccessary, having remembered their days of being a bit of a hassle.

Toadstar of Shadowclan is mostly a goof. She takes being a leader seriously, but overall has good humor finds ambitious warriors inspiring. She really loves frogs and toads, and has one she keeps in camp and bans anyone from even thinking of eating.

Branchstar and Toadstar are pretty friendly to one another, having been friends before becoming leaders.

the guide

Swallowshard is an elder with medicine cat history from Riverclan that was willing to take Wrenpaw and Rustedpaw on a retreat, given she was previously one of the Park cats. Along the journey, she allowed Nightflurry, Lightbreeze, and Badgerfang to come along for protection. Not much is known about her, but she's pretty kind and relaxed, unphased by the timid cats reactions. She's a bit of a swiss army knife of a cat.