The New Era: Stoneclaw Land Claim

When he had sought a pride to join and found none, Roderik had been perplexed. Then an idea began to grow in his heart. It started it out as a feeling, which then grew into a hope. Stoneclaw wasn't a land; Stoneclaw was a clan. Somewhere out there, he knew there were others like him in this wolf dominated world aching for a place to call home. They could make it happen; they could find it together. At first he had dismissed the idea... it was preposterous, he wasn't a king.

But... his father had been; and his grandfather before him; and his big sister had been queen alongside his mother. If they could do it, why couldn't he? Why shouldn't he? The feeling inside grew stronger and stronger, until it grew into a battle cry.

And so Roderik passed through the lands, letting the sound of his call echo as he passed, telling all who wanted to hear that Stoneclaw would rise again. He knew he was still young and because of this he saw many a cat frown, shake his head and walk away. He didn't let that deter him. For every few that ignored him, others would share his ideals and decide to join him. Roderik never abandoned his hope, and knew that small beginnings could make great things in time with hard work and dedication. Already, their makeshift gang began to feel like a small clan. Those first few nights sleeping tightly together under the stars reminded him of a time that seemed far away, when he would do the same with his siblings. He wondered where they were, but reassured himself they were okay. He hoped perhaps, if he could rise Stoneclaw from it's ashes again and make it burn bright like a beacon, then more would come. Perhaps his missing siblings among them... and his mother.

They had stopped the night before in a peaceful forest. The moonlight had filtered through the trees as most members of his small group had slept among the ferns that covered the forest floor. They had all feasted on rabbits, that seemed to run rampant through the strange mystical forest as though no predator had culled their numbers in a long time. On the edge of the forest, a vast prairie engulfed in a sea of fog seemed to stretch on forever. Rabbits alone could not sustain a clan; they would have to move on.

"Maybe we should turn back...", suggested one of the travelers.

But Roderik stared at the endless prairie, as though it was pulling him in like a void. "Wait, do you smell that?", he asked in response. Something familiar was on the wind, though he couldn't quite put his mind on it. He needed to find out what it was... and why it pulled him the way it did. As they crossed the prairie, the group almost turned back half way. The strength of the winds that day was nearly enough to knock them off balance as they traveled, but Roderik encouraged them. That feeling in his chest told him he was close to something, though what he could not tell. Then the endless prairies ended, suddenly and almost without warning. Roderik stood at the edge of the cliffs with the others, taking the sights ahead of them. Below, a magnificent beach stretched out from the caves carved into the cliffs and into the sea. The sun shining on the sea caught his attention and he smiled. That was what he had caught on the wind... the smell of the sea; always a comforting presence and a willing source of food.

"This! This is it!"

Here, he felt Stoneclaw would thrive.
He felt the spirit of their ancestors in the wind.
He felt the beginning of something bigger than himself.

"We're home."

Roderik threw his head out in the air and sent his roar, as loud as he could give it, to throw to the sea; to let the elements know that from this day forward, this was Stoneclaw territory.

BOARD INFORMATION
Pack Board Name: Stoneclaw
Pack Board Description: Beyond the forest of beginnings, past the prairies and over the seaside cliffs, live the proud felines of Stoneclaw. In these new lands, the bounties of the sea abound for the clan to thrive.
Moderators: Roderik, The Spirit of Stoneclaw

Subboard #1 Name: The cave walls
Subboard #1 Description: Inside the community cave, the walls are filled with drawings and paw prints and strange symbols left by the humans who came before. We're sure they meant to keep information in this manner. If only we could read their strange scribbles. - OOC Board
Subboard #1 Moderators: Roderik, The Spirit of Stoneclaw

Subboard #1 Name: The bottom of the sea
Subboard #1 Description: The sea gives but the sea takes; such is the way of life. As we walk these paths, we must remember all those who came before and returned to the sea. And we must remember that we too, one day will have to join them. - Archives
Subboard #1 Moderators: Roderik, The Spirit of Stoneclaw

Link to Banner: https://i.imgur.com/WXr9iuz.png

How long had it been since the different species of large cats rallied together to seek out a land to call home? For six long years the golden saber had roamed the land living a solitary life outside of the many wolf packs that littered the endless expanse. He had met a rare few of his kind that had also chose to live their life outside of the packs but he wondered how many eventuallly left to join them. They did offer sanctuary to those of his kind after all; those who either didn't want the life of a loner or couldn't handle the challenges of survival. It was a difficult life style to live afterall but Tiberous chose it because he feared he would loose himself by living amongst those canines who did not know how to value what it meant to be a Saber. Just valuing their their size and strength for their own gains. So imagine his suprise when a young lad came up to him, eyes aflame with determination and purpose, and asked him if he wanted to join him in rebuilding the old pride of Stoneclaw. The large cat was obviously doubtful that the young one was serious about his intent on making a pride. What was their purpose and their desire to restart a pride after so many years of their kind being left to their own devices?

Tiberous interrogated the lad until sunrise and as he had fallen into the clutches of sleep the golden male watched them while going over the information that Roderick had shared with him. The loner had chosen to follow him, to watch them and see what kind of leader they would be, as he traveled far and wide in search of others who shared his dreams of forming a pride. He somehow found himself encouraging the boy king as they faced their trials and disappointments. It had been a long time since the fall of the last pride lands so some where not willing to risk the pain that came with the possibility of his plan failing. However there were those bold and adventurous in spirit who readily join them on their journey and with each successful coercion the lad seemed to become more confident in himself. Tiberous did his part to keep them upbeat by speaking when the silence was akward and boring. Breathing life back into the group with his outrageous stories, jokes and challenges.

The day came upon them when Roderick lead the small gathering into the reach, searching for the land that would be the new beginning for Stoneclaw, with no real plan in mind but searching for a place that didn't reek of wolves. They had traveled for days with no end in sight until they had left behind the marshes and hills heading into the forests beyond. The golden saber had never been so happy to take a break from all the walking as when the need for food caused Roderick to postpone his expedition and let the hungry fill their bellies with the multitude of rabbits that swarmed the area. Tiberous ate four of the things but still felt the need to eat but choose not to since night had fallen upon the forest making it too risky to hunt the shadows due to the unknowns about the new land. Yet Roderick seemed to be transfixed on the fog ridden prairie before them to the point where he seemed to not hear one of their members ask to go back. Why would they turn back now? They had walked for ages to reach this point and Tiberous would be damned if they decided to retrace those steps because of one person.

The saber came up to the lads side and held his head high as he scented the air in search for what Roderick was smelling. He caught the faint hint of salt and the stench of bird droppings. Was this what the boy king was smelling? If so he didn't understand why he was so fixated on it but he didn't get a chance to ask him before the young leader began heading off towards the smell. The golden sabertooth tiger huffed in despair as he knew that the youngster was forcing them to play catch up behind him. The worst part was the wind. God's above was the wind bloody savage in these lands but the lad just called on them to keep moving which made Tiberous half tempted to run up there and grab him by the scruff and tell him that the place wasn't going to get up and walk away from them while they waited for the winds to die down but he had to quickly grab a smaller member of their group who had been pushed backwards by the powerful winds. "You alright," he asked them before he turned his attention back towards the figure of their leader as he stood deathly still just ahead of the group. Not appearing to be bothered by the winds whipping around them. It took a few moments before they reach him and we're able to gaze at the scene that their leader had been admiring.

[Image: autumn_circle_divider_by_cal_vain-da75jbj.png]

#8da399

It had been some odd sort of journey to make it to this point, to feel like you had a reason and purpose, some kind of new found family. Heart would flutter at this thought, but deep down she knew that it was alright, finding security of her own.

When she joined this traveler's group, they had a fair amount of others following after them, felines of all shapes and sizes, though most were admittedly bigger than her. The lynx female had told herself she wouldn't get swept up, and well that worked out about as well as you'd think cause here she was.

Blue and gold eyes looking over the vast golden grass of the prairie, large ears flicking to the sound of crickets at first before zeroing in on the far off sounds of waves rushing to cliff shore. Hm, a cliff by the sea? Attention would turn to Roderik then, brows knitting together in confusion as he asked the group something that probably was a rhetorical question, but a few answered him. "No... wait, smell what?" She admitted, eyes shifting to everyone else, but would then quickly attempt to amend her previous answer, "The ocean? Cause I totally smell the ocean." Her voice sort of quieting toward the end of her statement.

Toes drummed on the ground, trying her best to stand above the tall grasses like the others around her did so easily, it was hard to get a good look at stuff. She could only really see what towered over them, the mountains that formed some boundary on either side and and somewhere far ahead was an ocean she was sure. Ears would perk as Roderik addressed them again, Dogma gave him nothing short of a skeptical look. "This place??? Really?? I dunno... I guess." Taking one little step away from the group and inspecting the ground, and then casting her gaze back to the large male.

"But, you're like the boss here! So, if you say it's home, then it's home." She gave him a nod of her head as she sat down on haunches to rest next to the others. Home? Hm, welcome home.