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Sept 14, 2019 21:18:32 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Sept 14, 2019 21:18:32 GMT -5
(Hmm...think someone could give us a crash course of what we wrote so we don’t have to go back and read it ourselves ^^’)
The movement to shield Shadowpaw was an instinctual one. Her blue eyes stared icey daggers into the Riverclan tom’s head until he was out of sight. It was only then that she stepped herself back to Shadowpaw’s side silently watching Rainstar slowly approached the clearly conflicted apprentice. Her blood was still boiling with Jaggedscar’s words reining in her ears.Frowning she shook her head. While she might make an effort to understand him before, she couldn’t even extend him that courtesy if he wouldn’t do the same for even his own clanmates.
Holding her tongue she did perk up as she watched their leader move to like his head in an almost reassuring manner. Hazelrunner was equally stunned seeing Rainstar displaying a side to her no Windclan cats had seen in almost a moon. Breathing softly she flicked her ears back smiling softly to herself. It warmed her heart to hear Rainstar acknowledge that he truly was apart of Windclan now. It was that sentiment that blocked out the less hopeful note that this threat they were facing now was almost inevitable. “She’s absolutely right Shadowpaw, you are apart of Windclan.” She mewed softly to her friend before straightening up again to look towards their leader. The moment of happiness disappeared rather quickly. “Windclan needs you there as well Rainstar.” Hazelrunner mewed her mouth forming a thin line as she looked towards the older she-cat.
The she-cat wore a mask of intertwining cobwebs barely holding back the blood that had been running down her face. Even her one still intact eye was covered by a thin film of cobwebs. She was back to being in complete darkness again with the horrible images flashing in front of her. The she-cat’s flank was heaving up and down frantically, like every breath was a fight for her. She slowly lifted a flattened ears towards the sound of the she-cat’s voice. Instinctively she flinched from the sound moving away from the she-cat who was fruitless trying to give her some feeling of comfort. “N-no.” She whispered almost frantically pulling her chin up from the dirt. The medicine cat’s blood was still fresh on her lips. Licking her maw to tasting the metal tan on her tongue. She couldn’t rest. Whimpering briefly she jumped as she felt her back hit the back of the cave wall. Her breathing came out in ragged bursts. She swung her head around in a wild motion frantically pushing her paws in the slippery moss. She could feel exhaustion pulling at the edges of her mind.
Frogstrike dipped his head to both toms as he entered. A sign of respect for two cats who the world would be better off without. “By the grace of Starclan.” The Shadowclan medicine cat muttered as a bit of dark humor. He felt as if Starclan was trying to do everything possible to keep him from coming back here. But, this was his clan no matter how bent and twisted it might be now. Taking in a measured breath he had to do the unthinkable, hold his tongue and keep from digging his own grave. Stepping inside the den he was rather annoyed that he had to hobble in like a crippled elder, trailing blood as he went. Stepping inside the den was as good as putting his neck into a fox trap. One wrong move and it was all over. Why was he mousebrained enough to let a couple of she-cats and a kits convince him to go against his best interests for one she-cat that was going to die anyway. Sitting down he waited for the official interrogation to begin.
“They are the same as they always are.” He left the statement rather vague although the bit of contempt trailing in his words was genuine in the moment. He gave the bite mark on his legs a couple of slow deliberate licks. This was as much of a test for his new right paw cat as it was for the medicine cat. The kind of cats Nightstar promoted were the vile pieces of crowfood that would do his bidding while also not stepping on his tail. “Can’t do much with them or without them.” The medicine cat shrugged as he set his paw down. He wasn’t going to take the bait that easily. He didn’t have a perfect justification for his actions, but he might have something if it came to that. Just hopefully it wouldn’t and he could worm his way out of this without having to give that up.
Cinderkit loudly huffed when both Ebonykit and Cupcake were both rather unresponsive. He was more frustrated with his brother then anything. “Ebonykit...say something..” The tom-kit whined in a high pitch tone as he waddled to his brother’s side with a hitched gait. He lightly prodded his brother with his nose only to hear a sharp, “Cinderkit!” Speckleflower moved quickly across the den to pick up Cinderkit and plop him down on the other side of the nest, despite the fact he was almost the size of an apprentice at this point.
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Shadowstartheleader
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~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Sept 15, 2019 22:12:52 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Sept 15, 2019 22:12:52 GMT -5
(HONESTLY that would be amazing especially that first year of the rp x.x ) Rainstar wished that she had the ability to explain the messy and uncertain future she had seen long ago when Dawnstar ascended as leader, and Nightstar, as her mate began making his presence far more notable in Shadowclan than it had been before. She had seen the shards of darkness for some time before they bloomed into the dark thunderclouds that lay over Shadowclan now. To explain to Shadowpaw the wonder that struck the old she-cat that he had escaped from those clouds and made his way to where Ravenfang had always wanted to bring Dawnstar and her kittens was impossible. It was an amount of coincidence that almost felt impossible; like the stars had guided him into Windclan. Regardless, she was reminded of the vague consideration she gave to Ravenfang sixteen, seventeen, eighteen...who would know how many moons ago?--- "I know how much chaos it would cause! But she has been hinting at the concerns that she has about him. She is scared of bringing anything up to the clan, and that is really all I need to know! Shadowclan is changing, and its already changed enough that Dawnheart is afraid of her own clanmates!"
"Ravenfang, we can't just decide that Dawnheart can leave her clan because she feels like its different. The Warrior Code requires loyalty to one's clan. Until there's some change we can really see, there...there isn't anything that we can truly..."
"We can't doom her to a fate of running a clan that won't hold itself to her values! That is only going to end in disaster!"
"Ravenfang! Calm yourself!" Rainstar hissed as the warrior's passion flared up. He felt he was defending the cat he loved and Rainstar knew that he wasn't likely to be able to detach his feelings from this. "I've always been tolerant of your relationship because Dawnheart has always been honorable, in and out of battle, and I have no reason to mistrust her when she tells you that her Shadowclan mate is going through something startling. But we cannot violate the code pawed out before us so directly without any real evidence to do so!"
Ravenfang began emitting a low growl, but the hard, intensifying glare of his leader made it shut up quickly. He rapidly sorted through a large host of angry thoughts and a pawful of biting bitterness towards his leader. He couldn't forget how lucky he was that his leader knew of his relationship and was accepting of it despite it being in violation of the Warrior Code. He couldn't forget that and lash out at her for wanting to be apathetic to what was going on. But he needed to say something. "Dawnheart doesn't know what to do! She can't give us any proof until something is done, and you know that if something is done that it won't mean anything good!"
Rainstar sighed heavily and turned her gaze away, scanning over the nearby Twolegplace with just a bit of moor left in front of them. She understood the complicated conundrum, and how awful it was for Ravenfang to be caught in the middle of. For her to put him in. "Ravenfang. There's only so much I can bend, but...If she ever showed up on our borders and was desperate for our help, I..." She gave an ultimately discontented sigh. "I just can't chip away at Shadowclan's fibre like that without...without visible reason. The clans will view it very poorly." She turned her head back to look her warrior in the eyes. "Has she told you she needs to do something? Has she given you a statement with such gravity?" His averted gaze was enough to let the leader know what the answer was.
"Ravenfang. Just...we can't destabilize the peace between the clans for her. You have to work with me on this." She took note of the processing that was going on in his mind, the frustrated yet pondering look in his eyes. A slight nod from him relaxed her nerves ever so slightly. "If she explicitly tells you...if she makes it clear that for the safety of her coming kittens, this is necessary...You tell me. I won't hesitate then. But until then...you must trust in her to know her clan and to have her paw on its pulse. She is the deputy for a reason. She is an excellent warrior, and her judgement is sound." She believed Dawnheart would know when whatever quiet changes were occurring were starting to become too concrete.
Ravenfang had to trust in that too. "But if she tells you that its time...then we revisit this." It was a promise she hoped never needed to be delivered upon. "Alright?"
Ravenfang believed in Dawnheart. This was enough for him to feel a little better and to have something to bring to Dawnheart. "Okay."--- But if the stars had guided him to Windclan, it was for her own failure to listen to the voice of a warrior who had seen the danger approaching from the horizon. Two kittens were here and under the protection of Windclan, but the love of her deputy's life had been taken for her unwillingness to break the Code off of his word. Having forgotten Slicky, the injured cats, Jaggedscar, even slipping out of the presence of her clanmates, her gaze drifted to Leafpaw slowly and back to the bewildered Shadowpaw. I...I am sorry I stopped him from saving your mother. I...I don't know if I will ever be able to say that to you. An ache in her heart took her for a few moments, until the silence had grown awkward enough Shadowpaw himself spoke up.
"T-thank you..." He stammered, his own voice conflicted with the uncertainty he felt about his belonging and the complete gratitude that he was realizing he had never truly expressed to the leader. A hiccup in her judgement had made him afraid to approach the leader, from fear of her opinion of him, but her mind seemed to be set on his place here, at least for now. His mouth remained open as if he felt that he should say something more to extend his thanks, but no words seemed good enough and he was left to stare up at her until Rainstar's attention was taken by Hazelrunner. "I understand. I need to return. I am certain Ravenfang has had so much to handle." She gulped. "I lament I had to place this much on him. I could not abandon Slicky and his friends, however." She turned back to Slicky, letting her gaze pass over the several injured warriors. She pulled in a long breath of air, holding it for a few moments as she thought about how injured these cats were. She felt bad just taking her leave and letting them stay there, uncertain if they would be tracked down or not. They certainly weren't going to make it all the way to Windclan. She turned back to Hazelrunner. "I am needed this moment?" She quietly mewed as she released her breath through her nostrils. Nightstar's gaze remained on Frogstrike and the same mocking grin stayed plastered on his lips. Contempt for him was fine as long as Frogstrike's obedience to him was unwavering. He would die otherwise. His ears were tuned in to the slightest changes of tone and the lightest of physical cues. More than anything, he could tell he was measuring every movement, every word. Frogstrike was a calculator, a survivor more than anything. So as much as he wasn't saying anything to incite his disapproved anger, Nightstar could feel the lack of genuineness within Frogstrike's words.
He simply took note of this, then turned his brain back to his new deputy. "Well, I expect that none of my warriors will die for lack of resources. If that were to happen...the consequences might be quite...lethal." He let the word hang around them for several long moments as his grin remained unmoving on his face. "Well, enjoy yourself and hope more warriors don't get injured." He showed his teeth in a smile, then waved his tail in dismissal.Ebonykit gave the beginning of the slightest groan in response to his brother but was quickly cut off by the sharp response of their mother, who availed him of having to response by the pressure of his sibling. A little more wide-eyed and awake than he had been the last hour, he blinked over at his brother, a little surprised by how sharply their mother had responded, and wishing that things would just calm down. Neither of their parents were normal and he didn't like it.
Cupcake's fur fluffed up in fear as Speckleflower sharply chastized her kit, and she backed up a few steps as the large cat stomped across the den and forced her kit away. Her mouth agape a bit, she stared up at Speckleflower with a lot of uncertainty and nervousness about being near the warrior cat now. To some degree she was displaying the nervousness about SPeckleflower that Ebonykit couldn't voice himself.
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Oct 7, 2019 23:40:28 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Oct 7, 2019 23:40:28 GMT -5
Different issues that were facing Windclan, facing Rainstar, had burst forth out into the open here and now. It was almost like watching pollen scatter into the wind. There was no way way to really control where or how far each piece might go. In another time and place Hazelrunner would have been content in the knowledge that Shadowpaw was seemingly being accepted, even if seeming rather abrupt. In another time she would have stepped forwards herself to offer a paw to help cats in need around them. While they weren’t her clanmates they were still cats that were being preyed upon by Nightstar. “I understand wanting to help other cats...” Her voice trailed off slowly frowning as her eyes pulled away from her leader to the injured cats around her and then to the cat at her side. If the world was perfect they would be able to help every cat all at once to make it out of this together, stronger and more united. Slowly the young warrior turned her attention back to the older she-cat. It hurt her to say this knowing what it might mean for the cats with Slicky.
“Ravenfang needs you.” She put careful emphasis on the need for her the deputy had. She opened her mouth as if wanting to say more. She was tempted to justify the need for Rainstar to come back, but stopped herself short. “We all need you. There are things that cannot be put off.” There was nothing light about Hazelrunner’s words. Everyone of them fell from her mouth with weight of a boulder. Ravenfang looked on the verge of falling apart at any moment and now with Russetfur stirring up trouble in the clan there wasn’t any time to waste. The longer Rainstar stayed away the more likely it was that Windclan was going to eat itself alive if given the chance. There would be more than enough cats that would fall in with Russetfur’s way of thinking.
“There is something else too. It has to do with Whispersong’s whereabouts.” Her face contorted into an anxious frown. Keeping her eyes on Rainstar she still flicked an ear towards Hawktail. She had wanted to approach him about this before they arrived at the barn, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. While it wasn’t something that Rainstar would likely be able to fix, as hard as that notion was to swallow, she also didn’t want Whispersong to be ignored. With nothing more left to say she took a half step back looking slightly spent. She gave a slow blink of her eyes drawing out a deep breath.
The medicine cat’s swampy green eyes doing the same as Nightstar seemed to be doing to him. Watching and analyzing the Shadowclan leader’s every movement. Frogstrike knew better than to think his words would be convincing enough for Nightstar, but it seemed to at least be convincing enough to keep the leader’s fury at bay a little longer. It did take the last bit of self control he had not to roll his eyes at the leader’s words. “That’s what I always hope for Nightstar.” He muttered with a slight dip of his head before quickly turning tail to get out of the den as quickly as his aching legs would carry him. The tiny tom sighed when he caught sight of his own bloody pawprints cutting across camp.
It drove home just how many miles he had trekked in one day. Frogstrike wanted nothing more to collapse in his nest with what little energy he might have left. That is exactly what he managed to do. Practically dragging himself back across camp. Reaching the threshold Frogstrike’s glass-eyed stare wandered around the den. Frogstrike’s legs wavered before giving out completely. Frogstrike slumped down against the wall of the den.
The grey tom-kit dangled from his mother’s mouth before Proudpaw came to the rescue, awkwardly weaving between the nests and kits to confront the overreacting queen. The medicine cat apprentice quickly buzzed around the she-cat chattering nervously before Speckleflower finally released the kit setting him close to the nest. Cinderkit sat there dumbfounded on the den floor looking up at his mother astonished. Proudpaw gave the kit a quick look over. Cinderkit awkwardly got to his paws as Proudpaw ushered him back towards the nest.
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Shadowstartheleader
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~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Oct 19, 2019 6:17:18 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Oct 19, 2019 6:17:18 GMT -5
Shards of darkness were drifting about her mind as she was pondering her own failures, but Rainstar could feel the pieces of pollen being spread about the space that hung tensely among them. She could feel the brisk necessity in Hazelrunner's words, the desperation for some form of leadership to return to their clan. Her eyes fixed on Hazelrunner's for a few long moments, she pulled a deep breath into her chest and held it for a few moments, before releasing it slowly through her nostrils, and giving Hazelrunner a clear, strong nod. She understood what her clan needed, even though it meant additional troubles for the rogues...or the, well...the group of cats behind her. For a brief moment it occurred to her that these weren't a simple group of kittypets who scorned their twolegs, but she had to let go of the thought as she felt the pressing gaze of the cats of her clan.
It was sobering to hear from Hazelrunner how Ravenfang was feeling amongst all of this. It was true that she had hoped that Ravenfang was prepared for what this would place upon him...but there was no judgement in her heart as she heard that he needed her in these moments. With the greatest threat of generations of warriors looming above them, she couldn't hold anything against Ravenfang. She could think of many other cats who might think quite differently, certainly more than just the cats of Shadowclan...yet this was truly of no concern to her. In a time when the four clans would of met at the Fourtrees and concerned themselves with the petty affairs of the other clans, she might have been forced to make an issue of her deputy's emotional state--but now, as everything was, she didn't care. Or rather, she wasn't concerned that it seemed he was struggling. Who would not struggle in such a grave time?
But her somewhat resigned and calm disposition changed as Hazelrunner mentioned that there was some information regarding Whispersong. More urgency entered her eyes and she stepped closer to the warrior in front of her. "Have we found her?" She quietly rasped with a weary inhale, a brief glimmer of hope in her voice that slowly gave way to an almost inaudible sigh, picking up rather quickly upon the cues given by Hazelrunner. "I understand." It was a grave mew, perhaps an assumption of the worst possible scenario available to them, as she finally turned to the Pelt behind her.
It didn't seem to be a pleasant conversation. There were a lot of hushed words exchanged between Rainstar and Slicky, but before long, Slicky's voice was raised and the (tense) calm was broken.
"What if they return?!? I can't protect four injured cats on my own!" His voice wove through the air, exhausted and desperate for the only cat who had been there for him, who now was telling him that she couldn't provide him any more help.
It wasn't something that he felt great about, but Hawktail couldn't place the kittypets above his own clanmates. His mouth opened to speak as the kittypet's indigence spewed out before them. "There is a fatal threat to the complete fabric of the clans of the forest, a-..."
It might not have been clear which cat silenced Hawktail--a sharp gaze snapped towards the warriors from both Rainstar and Slicky as he began and abruptly stopped speaking. But to Shadowpaw, and to Leafpaw, the gaze that chilled them more was that of the Windclan leader. Rainstar's fierce eyes seemed to hold nothing more than a sharp command to silence his mouth, and a demand to obey seemed to be communicated through nothing more than the gaze as every cat fell silent within the structure of the Horseplace.
"My heart aches to say this, though I know it helps you none," Rainstar's gaze turned slowly back to Slicky as Rainstar readjusted her expression to one of sympathy. Hawktail's awkward attempts to appease were going to be utterly ineffective--this, Rainstar knew with certainty, from experience. "Words and feelings can not help you anymore, but my clan calls for me. I have been missing for..." Rainstar began feeling something of a dreariness pressing upon her skull. "Many hours. I am sorry, Slicky...But my clan seems to be on the edge, and though yours is none the better...I cannot allow mine to be torn asunder."
Slicky's expression seemed no more content or happy for the explanation given by the clan leader. He turned to look at the injured cats behind him, and then turned back to the posse of cats who were taking away the only paw that had been there to help him deal with this crisis. "Well, go then. I guess I'll just be utter dumpster waste if any of those rotten clanners come my way." There were hard notes of bitterness to his voice, as he felt the desperation and hopelessness of his situation if there were any danger coming his way. He wasn't going to be able to face anything on his own. Rainstar had given him a flash of hope, and now she was ripping it away.
Despite the horror she was feeling sunken in, Leafpaw couldn't help but feel an aching heart as Slicky spoke loud and clear for all of them to hear. Rainstar was desperately needed in her clan, but the leader had left for nothing short of a noble reason by Leafpaw's estimation. It seemed that her help had been truly needed, and Rainstar couldn't object--and now, this kittypet was being left, abandoned, to fend against the elements in whatever way that he could.
The tense silence between them that followed for the next several moments was awful to bear, and she, despite the silent warriors that surrounded her, let her voice ring forward for a few brave moments. "I'm sorry. We really need Rainstar--my father, he...he is supposed to be in charge, but he is..." She tried to find a few words which could summarize the way that she had been feeling about her relationship with Ravenfang. He had almost been shutting her down completely in regards to how she felt, but...she hadn't even discussed that with any other cat. Not even Hazelrunner, really."We can't last without our-"
"Well that's swell! And I'll fight off a whole swarm of cats while you manage your morale! If you're going to abandon me, then just get out! I have wounds to heal!" Slicky wasn't seeing this from their perspective at all, but it was hard to blame him for that. "I don't have time for your excuses!"
Leafpaw's gaze held on Slicky for some time, her eyes wide for a time, before her gaze slunk downwards towards her paws. She had tried to say something to forge an understanding between them--and noteably, Rainstar had not silenced her the way that she had silenced Hawktail--but she wasn't particularly aware of that fact in this moment. She was told what she had to say didn't matter to him, and that was all that she seemed to hear.
Rainstar gave an exasperated sigh, though she felt it wasn't really her right to give one. Slicky was the one who felt like their cats were being abandoned. Her gaze hardened and set on the cat in front of her. "Whether you forgive me or not at that point...as soon as my cats are able, I..." She closed her eyes and felt the piercing gaze of the Pelt before her. "We'll return." Her eyes opened. "This side of the border, we...we will check for Shadowclan, but I will make sure you have no resistance from our end." It was perhaps something of a useless promise to the cat, but even the aged leader felt the weight of the abandonment she was leaving these cats with. She needed to make a note to speak with Thunderclan, that the Horseplace might be needed to hold the survivors of this bizarre strike from Shadowclan and whatever dredges they had stirred in the Twolegplace.
"Just leave already. Leave me to take care of my friends if you won't help me." Slicky turned away from the clan cats, the notes of bitterness within his voice beginning to drip into resignation and hopelessness. For the last short while, he had thought that maybe they could bridge a connection between them and these cats who were so foreign to them. Now, it seemed, their matters were always going to be inferior to those of the clan cats, in their eyes.
There wasn't any sound besides the leader's heavy pawsteps falling upon the floor as she exited the Horseplace structure before her clanmates. There wasn't any look of relief or pleasure on her face as she left behind the cat who wanted nothing more than to protect his own. Hawktail was close behind her, seeming more flustered and frustrated than relieved at the return of their leader. Shadowpaw and Leafpaw didn't exit before Hazelrunner did, or gave them the signal to do so. Neither of them seemed to feel any better than the leader about this, though Shadowpaw seemed significantly occupied by his own thoughts amidst this whilst Leafpaw was more fixated upon the utter dismissal of her words by Slicky.
It was hard to show concern amidst the darkness and the oppression of this environment, especially given the complete and utter coldness that emanated from Frogstrike at almost all moments--but Whispersong's body was soon beside the medicine cat, almost before she could really process that she even wanted to aid him. She lingered about him, nervous to press close to the entrance of the den where he had barely passed, but she nonetheless, seeing the exhaustion in his facial expression, forced herself a bit forward, nudging him quickly and urgently. "Get to your nest at least." It was an urgent hiss, perhaps a teaching of his that had begun overshadowing the unobtrusive and cooperative tone that she would have taken a quarter-moon prior.
It was all a mess of confusion and fear for the kitten of a kittypet as the medicine cat's den was filled with fear, uncertainty, and an aggressive aura emanating from Speckleflower. It seemed the queen had paralyzed Ebonykit, Cinderkit and Cupcake as none of them seemed willing to move a muscle after her display of rearing towards the currently more curious of her kittens. The silence, from all three of them, might have been more telling than anything any of them could have said about how they were feeling in this moment.
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Post by wildcharm on Dec 19, 2019 16:09:56 GMT -5
Hazelrunner hesitated when she saw the brief spark of hope in Rainstar’s eyes at the mention of the missing warrior. Yes, she had been found, but there wasn’t any way to reach her. The grim news was going to have to wait long enough for them to be able to leave the Horseplace, Unfortunately there. Was no way from them to leave peacefully. Hazelrunner’s blue eyes shone with a mixture of emotions flickering in them as she watched the failed attempt of Rainstar to smooth over the tension in the room. It felt as if all the eyes were burning into her fur. She could understand why they felt they needed Rainstar, but Slicky was refusing to do the same. She frowned, taking on a more stormy look to her eyes. They needed her if they had any hope to of holding their crumbling clan and deputy together. The she-cat wanted to drag the members of the Pelts to Windclan camp, show them that they weren’t the only one suffering.
The tall warrior recoiled as Slicky snapped back at Leafpaw. She instinctively moved closer to Leafpaw. It wasn’t any easy thing for the apprentice to admit the fact that her adoptive father was practically unraveling at the seams. In response Slicky just didn’t want to hear it. A new surge of frustration rushed over her. The tip of her tail snaked behind her rear leg. It was difficult to continue to be understanding of a cat for a cat that wasn’t willing to do the same for their situation. Windclan, her clan, needed her. Rainstar was their leader and she was needed now more than ever.
Her tail dropped a little wishing that there was some solution that wouldn’t leave the Pelts vulnerable like they were now. Now was not a time they could afford to make enemies or leaving cats defenseless to any attacks from Shadowclan. All that Rainstar could offer was somewhat empty promises of protection from their side of the border. That wasn’t even a promise that they might not be able to keep...Until the clan was brought back to order they wouldn’t be able to maintain their own borders. The whole thing left her with a hollow feeling in her chest. As Rainstar slowly exited the barn doors the young warrior wearily looked at the beaten down cats around them. The cream point she-cat paused when she looked in Slicky’s direction. With a loud tired breath she turned to the apprentices looking expectedly at her. “Stay close.” Her instructions was calm as she turned to exit the barn.
Picking up a brisk pace she moved out into the open again. Her paw felt heavy and clumsy, but she kept herself moving until she had caught up to the two older cats. With a heavy feeling settling in her chest she looked at the cats around her and then towards their leader looking for her to what to do. “Rainstar. There is some things you need to know before you go back to camp.” Hazelrunner said finally speeding up her pace enough to catch up with her, nearly tripping over her paws in the process. There was Russetfur, Jaggedscar, and Whispersong that all needed to be addressed.
Frog shadow had lost whatever will he had to move his paws any further at this point. Closing his eyes as tightly as he could he waited for the feeling to pass him. All he got instead was a prod to his side and a sharp hiss in his ear. Peeling open one of his eye, he slid a murky green eye towards her. “Alright, alright.” He croaked pushing his paws underneath himself. The smell of blood was already thick on walls of the den his bloody paw-prints only added to the mess of the den. He scrapped his paws along the bottom of the den and only moved far enough in to not be immediately be noticeable. If she hadn’t prompted him to move he would have stayed right there for all the clan to see. “I’m done.” He hissed, almost like a kit throwing a tantrum on the floor of the nursery.
The eerie silence that came over the medicine seemed to bring the queen back to her senses. Blinking repeated she looked at the wide eyed kits staring back at her in shock. Proudpaw was also cautiously watching from the back of the den. “I am so sorry Cinderkit...” She whispered to the more shaken of the two cats. She took a half step away from the three kits. “Proudpaw can you watch the kits? I need some air.” She mewed quietly already retreating before the apprentice could raise any objections. With that she turned and fled from the den.
Proudpaw sighed as he looked around at the kits he had been left with. The three kits looked like they were staring down the eyes of a monster. He was somewhat at a loss for what to do with the kits. Clearing his throat he scooted closer to Ebonykit. While Speckleflower was cooling her heels he decided to keep the kits occupied. “Cupcake, have you tried fresh kill before?” He asked ideally as he collected up the old cobwebs around Ebonykit’s paws.
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Shadowstartheleader
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~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Dec 20, 2019 4:20:28 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Dec 20, 2019 4:20:28 GMT -5
Rainstar's heavy pawsteps continued outside of the barn, knowing that she was going to regret, to some degree, the decision to leave Slicky and these Pelts behind. She couldn't ignore such an imperative as her clan needing her, said so plainly and with their current situation. She couldn't justify ignoring that for anything--such was her true responsibility. But, I...I can't help but... She gave a quiet sigh, shutting her eyes as the group began the path back into the clan territories. The truth was, Slicky wasn't doing anything different than she was. He was just trying to protect and care for the cats he was in charge of--and she couldn't help but lament the fact that the Windclan cats had cone calling at this moment. Well...of course, she hadn't exactly been blind to the fact that her clan needed her when she stepped away to follow the Shadowclan warriors. But it was easy to forget that when cats were bleeding at her paws, and would likely perish without a second set of paws to attend to them.
But the cats she owed her every moment to were here, in need of her back in her position as leader. It didn't sound like Ravenfang was...thriving in the role of leader. Well, there was a reason he was the deputy. Sure, it had been a couple pawfuls of moons at this point...but should Ravenfang be expected to run the whole clan at this point? It didn't seem fair to her that that be the expectation of him. What was she supposed to do when she heard that he might be failing with what he was handling right now? She was only left to send prayers to Starclan that Slicky could come to understand that this was not something she could ignore...even if...there was something else that really couldn't be ignored. Those poor cats--who could tell them that they didn't deserve the wound care they needed?
It was hard to step onward without feeling an increasing sense of hopelessness to all of this. To Leafpaw, it almost felt like a sign of what was to come, as they left behind the in-need tom to take care of the cats all on his own. Were they that far from being left behind themselves? Who was to say that some cat wasn't going to decide that they were worthy of leaving behind? Slicky's anger was sticking with her, a remnant of how weird it felt that they needed Rainstar but that another set of cats needed Rainstar. Didn't they have a right to their leader, to help make sure things were in order? Why was she lamenting taking Rainstar away?
A deep sigh came out of the leader as the tall warrior voiced that there was more for Rainstar to hear before they got back to the camp. It was a double-paw slap, as she knew she had missed a lot in just the short number of days she had been gone--and she had to realize how much she had put on Ravenfang without explanation or reason. Thinking about that she had to put behind the Twolegplace cats and think back to her own clan. "What is it?" Her response was quiet and exasperated. She thought she was ready for some heavy responsibility--she wasn't at all ready for the whole gravity of it.
A quick and hard sigh came from Whispersong as Frogstrike fell to the floor of the den, directly announcing that that was it, she wasn't going to get anymore out of him. Having not made it to the den she felt it was more difficult to actually talk away any concern some cat might have, and that was its own stress, on its own. "Okay. Fine. No more," She mumbled quietly, looking for something to patch up the blood that was seeping from the pads of his paws--and when she found nothing leftover capable of handling it, she growled quietly and turned back to him. She could drag him to his den, but she figured that was going to draw out a less than friendly response from him. If she was even going to consider it, it would be after he drifted off to sleep. Sighing quietly, she drew closer to him. "Poppyseeds? Anything?" She murmured quietly. or, maybe he just wanted her to leave him completely alone.
Shadowpaw felt the weight of the emotions surging through various cats around him as they exited the barn of the Horseplace and began towards their territory once more. He heard Hazelrunner call to Leafpaw not long after exiting, and he concerned himself with how she was doing once more as she gave no verbal or physical response. Was the other apprentice that absorbed in thinking about the Riverclan cat she had offended? Or was this more about the Twolegplacers that they were leaving behind? He wanted to say something, to try and offer some sort of meek consolation, but Leafpaw treaded on ahead and didn't seem tuned into any other cat. Perhaps it would be better if he just shut up.
Cupcake's uncertainty did not seem to leave as the warrior cat excused herself from the den; having been the one cat who had approached her with kindness outside of this strange camp, seeing her with such a forward disposition, paralyzing all three of the kits, left Cupcake uncertain if she should be particularly trusting of any of the cats here. Her attention was finally drawn away from her thoughts as Speckleflower realized her disposition was having some negative impact and stepped away, and the medicine cat randomly asked her if she had ever had any of the forest food. A few moments of silence passed between the four of them, before Cupcake finally determined that it was safe for her to answer this. "Umm..I...the...food..?" It was such a weird word for the forest cats to give to food, but she had heard it in strange, passing conversations before, so she wasn't at a loss. "N-no, I...I've never had it...except...my mom got a rabbit once, and umm...brought it for me..." She blurted, definitely not realizing how agile her mother must have been to match the trained and refined Windclan warriors that worked moons to perfect the art of catching the rabbit.
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Dec 20, 2019 9:51:19 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Dec 20, 2019 9:51:19 GMT -5
They had retrieved Rainstar and no cats had been injured. While that should be seen as a success, she certainty didn’t feel very successful. She felt as if she had swallowed crow food instead. Her stomach was twisting and turning the further they moved away from the the two leg structure. As they did she kept her eyes on the young cats around her. Mousepaw was the last of the cats to exit through the ajar barn doors. After she spoke up she wondered if she should have kept quiet until they had made it back to camp. She visibly hesitated at the very blunt question he leader posed to her. There was no easy way to tell her any of this. The it seemed to be that their whole clan was coming apart at the seams. “None of it is good Rainstar.” She mewed softly, hating the fact she had to say it out loud. This didn’t feel like the right time or place to do this. She knew Rainstar wasn’t ready for everything that was about to be dumped on to her shoulders. Unfortunately time was not a luxury they had. Where in the world to start? Closing her eyes fora moment she tried to snag at one of the tangled threads of thought.
“Speckleflower’ s kits snuck out of camp and were attacked by foxes. Tawnyface and Longshadow are the only reasons they were able to survive. They are in the medicine cat den now.” Hazelrunner explained matter of factly, doing her best to divorce the news from the memories of the kits hobbling back into camp. She couldn’t speak to how the kits were doing now since she had not gone to see them herself. Drawing in a deep breath she fixed her eyes on the leader holding firmly. “Russetfur is causing trouble. I nearly shredded his fur myself. Ravenfang ordered him out of the clan, but he wouldn’t accept it. He won’t leave until he hears your decision.” The young warrior decided to start with things that Rainstar needed to know about within her own clan. Of course there was more she needed to know.
Drawing in a deep sigh she glanced back at the apprentices, more specifically at Leafpaw. “And...” She hesitated again wishing she could avoid having to share this news. “On our way to get you, there was an incident between Jaggedscar and Leafpaw. Jaggedscar wanted to involve Otterstar.” She kept the details brief already knowing that Rainstar would want more details about what exactly was said. Dropping her voice as lowly as she could she moved to walk close to Rainstar and Hawktail. He needed to know this as well. “There’s one more thing. Whispersong.” With a heavy breath she wordlessly looked towards Shadowclan territory. “I don’t know how, but Wildberry found out what happened to Whispersong. She only let it slip today what happened to her.” Sh couldn’t keep the disgust from slipping into her words. “Whispersong is in Shadowclan...being held by their medicine cat.” Even saying it made her want to wretch. She carefully eyed Hawktail. She felt lighter and heavier all at once after sharing everything. The young warrior now only could only watch and wait.
Frogstrike slowly huffed as she finally gave up on her notion of getting him to move any further on his own willpower. His one opened eye watched her uselessly sniff around for anything that might help. There wasn’t anything left, that’s why he had been out there in the first place. He had some herbs stashed elsewhere, but they wouldn’t be enough either. If this kept up Nightstar’s threat was going to become fully realized rather quickly. Grunting he sighed when she came back to him asking if he needed poppy seeds or anything that might actually help. This sudden show of concern was something he didn’t have enough energy to dwell on. “Just poppy seeds. Two.” He muttered softly, it seemed to pain him to even relent on that. There was no way he would be able to make it on his own. The medicine cat wasn’t above accepting health from the she-cat. After a day like today he needed all the help he could get.
Proudpaw didn’t stop to look at the little kit, still having a job he had to do. In the meantime he was just trying to make conversation to get the kits focusing on something else besides Speckleflower’s outburst. Honestly he was surprised it hadn’t come sooner. The kits’ parents had practically become a couple of time bombs, just ready to burst. He flicked his ears in her direction as she answered his seemingly random question. He paused from picking up the old cobwebs, some of them still clinging to his leg and fur on his side. “Wow, that is very impressive for a non-clan cat to do. Most cats from other clans can’t even manage that.” He paused briefly to look down at the kit. Bringing up her mom might be a bit of a sore spot, but it was still apart of her life. Maybe knowing she had done something even some clan cats couldn’t do would do something. “If you like rabbits you are in the right place.” He mewed as he turned his back to look towards his dwindling herb supply.
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
Posts: 617
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Post by Shadowstartheleader on Jan 6, 2020 6:00:07 GMT -5
Hazelrunner laid bare that this wasn't going to be any sort of fun conversation, and despite this, the leader that believed that she was ready to handle the stress that was about to be put on her. Having only just been taken away from the cats who might only be classified as rogues, yet seemed so much more to the leader, Rainstar was expecting that the issues in her clan were grave--and such was confirmed as Hazelrunner told her that none of this information was going to be any good to hear. She didn't pay much mind to readying herself, rather feeling passively ready for bad information, a passive readiness that came with the position of clan leader.
But Rainstar was not ready to hear that two kits had snuck out of their camp--even less that the Shadowclan warrior who had begged her way into their clan had been a part of the group who narrowly ensured their survival. Hearing that foxes had marauded two kittens was beyond awful news, enough to stop her in her pawtracks for a couple of moments to gaze at Hazelrunner. At least, she could hear that the kittens had made it out okay--but it was still surprising to hear that Tawnyface had been instrumental to their survival.
Hazelrunner did not leave much time for the leader to process the previous information before they were padding along once more, and the warrior mentioned the disruptive warrior amongst their ranks. Rainstar tried to prevent from displaying any emotion on her face, but Rainstar couldn't help but feel that Ravenfang had made a snap decision to keep the peace in the clan and Russetfur was doing nothing more than making more trouble. According to Hazelrunner, it seemed the deputy was struggling, and this seemed, to the leader, to be one of the choices made in order to keep the order of the flailing clan. "Well, in that case, Russetfur will not be here long. If he is making it more difficult to handle the situation with Shadowclan, he needs to go, whether he informed us of some betrayal by Amberberry or not." This was not a difficult decision for Rainstar by any means. She believed Ravenfang had the capability to judge Russetfur's actions properly and if he decided Russetfur needed to be gone, she would back him up on that.
Rainstar didn't seem to expect the next piece of news. Hearing that there was an 'incident' involving Leafpaw was surprising to the leader given how much of a quiet and sideline-keeping cat the she-cat tended to be. She wanted to ask more about what had happened, but Hazelrunner mentioning that Otterstar was called upon was enough information to tell her that this wasn't a beneficial situation by any interpretation. Sucking in a deep breath, her gaze turned towards the gathered cats and rested on Leafpaw, who suddenly seemed eager to fade behind Shadowpaw.
But nothing prepared Raisntar for the following news, and despite how impactful the previous news had been, only the news regarding Whispersong made Rainstar's mouth drop open, agape. The first shock was that through some means, Wildberry had known that Whispersong was in Shadowclan. This seemed to imply that Wildberry had some sort of way to get in touch with the current environment of Shadowclan, and this might have been more disturbing to the leader if Hazelrunner hadn't immediately drawn her attention away from that. Rainstar's eyes widened and her mouth hung further open as Hazelrunner voiced mentioned where Whispersong was. That she was being...
"Being...held...?" It was almost a spit of the word from the leader's mouth--the venom in her voice was clear, and the fact she had stopped in her place brought the multiple cats to a stop to witness it. it didn't take Rainstar more than a few short moments to discern what this must have looked like. Though she was the leader of a grand and strong clan, it didn't seem like anything was capable of preventing the nauseous, disgusted look that came to Rainstar's face. She visibly and audibly gagged, turning away from all of the present cats as she thought about the awful violations that Whispersong must have been experiencing. Her gaze fixed upon the ground, her back turned to every cat, she sucked in deep breaths as she focused hard to keep her composure amongst the multiple cats who had seeked her out as a source of order.
She held firm, fighting against the uneasiness and nauseousness of her stomach. She pulled in a deep breath and released it through her nostrils, before turning back to Hazelrunner, feeling as vulnerable as a typical warrior might in facing the disregard for any sort of morality that they were up against. Having a pawful of lives left did not feel like much of anything anymore. Now, it was about what they could change in one life, and what evil other cats could do in one life.
"C-come on. We...we need to get back to camp." The leader had to continue on and focus on some type of goal to keep herself from drowning in the lake of what was almost certainly happening to their lost warrior, and the chaos of their own camp. Stuttering on her own words, Rainstar almost seemed audibly shaken and, perhaps, unprepared for the particular challenged that seemed ready to present themselves to her.
It was only a matter of moments before Whispersong had retrieved exactly what Frogstrike had asked and two poppyseeds were pressing against the mouth of the medicine cat. She made certain he had them down before she stepped away and gazed over him with concern, seeing what she took to be an uncharacteristic willingness to be vulnerable and accept the assistance that he most definitely needed. She wasn't certain there was anything more that he needed, that was also here, but nonetheless she sucked in a deep breath and asked him. "Is there anything else I can do?" She had drawn pretty close without thinking about it and her voice was a whisper, as her voice almost hinted at an element of pleading, to give her a way that she could do something to help him--of course, it was almost certain that there was nothing more, medicinally, that she could do.
Cupcake didn't seem to take the comment negatively, as she was definitely already thinking of her mother in the moment, evidenced by a quiet, sad sigh as she gazed down at her paws. She thought that, maybe, her mother had mentioned that only a few of the strange territorial cats had the capability to catch the rabbits, as fast as they moved, but it hadn't seemed that important then. Now...Cupcake felt like she had never appreciated what her mother did to make sure that she was fed. The kit, almost the age of an apprentice, was already feeling the guilt of taking advantage of the gifts that were natural from another cat, and she fell into a sad silence as she stared at nothing other than her paws.
Ebonykit had struggled to voice himself as his mother seemed to be losing her cool, and the twoleg kit had stolen his voice, but some sort of divine sense seemed to give him the feeling that she was brought down by the comment that her parent must have been something to catch a rabbit. Of course, as a kit himself, he didn't know much about the talent required to catch rabbits, anymore than that only Windclan cats did it, and that was it. Getting the sense that she must have been feeling particularly poor in the moment, the awfully injured kitten finally stirred from his laying postiion on the floor of the den, and took a couple slow, almost crawling steps toward Cupcake. Then, uncertainty struck him and he gazed back, hit with nervousness, at his brother, rather than his mother, uncertain if he should approach Cupcake alone without particularly knowing what he should say in some attempt to make her feel a little better.
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Jan 13, 2020 12:12:42 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Jan 13, 2020 12:12:42 GMT -5
Even though she had warned the leader, Hazelrunner knew that she wasn’t truly prepared for everything being dropped at her paws. It had been only a couple of days since the fight for Riverclan and it seemed like things were only getting more chaotic. There was very little good news to be found in what Hazelrunner was telling her. The young warrior didn’t offer any of her own thoughts when the leader backed up her deputy’s decision to exile Russetfur from camp if he insisted on causing issues for the clan. The young warrior knew she had played her own part in that confrontation, her cheeks burned bright with fresh humiliation about it. Merely nodding she avoided eye contact with the leader, her blue eyes looking down at her paws briefly before swallowing her own feelings as she watched Rainstar continue to absorb all the information.
While, she had tried hard to keep from showing too much outwards surprise at everything, there was no hiding from the fact of what supposedly had happened to Whispersong. Her eyes briefly flickered to Hawktail. She wasn’t sure if he was going to react as poorly as Dogclaw did about all of this. There was no right way to react to the news of Whispersong. Sending a silent prayer up to Starclan the young warrior had to close her eyes and let the feeling of nausea to pass her by. Hearing the leader’s shaken call to proceed back to camp Hazelrunner gave a quick nod of her head.
Stepping forwards she did her best to ignore the spiraling feeling that had settled into her stomach. Following behind the leader she looked around as they went. She almost expected there to be more Shadowclan cats lurking about or cats from Riverclan carrying a message from Otterstar, a message that would likely be hostile. Drawing a deep breath she glanced back at Leafpaw. The she-cat couldn’t help but be nervous for her friend. Every little thing on their own was overwhelming, but when all tallied together it was building up heavily against Windclan.
Shaking her head violently she strode forwards with as much purpose as possible, trying to be able to focus on the simple act of getting back to camp. The walk back across the still soggy Riverclan territory was long and slow. A still came over the cats until they reached the river that separated the two clans from each other. Frowning cast a worried glance back at the apprentices.
Frogstrike barely had enough time to open his mouth before the poppyseeds were shoved into his mouth. Resisting the urge to gag, he swallowed the seeds before going into a coughing and sputtering fit. Grunting he laid there for a couple moments longer. The worn down tom was left staring at the she-cat who was less than a mouse tail away from his muzzle. She seemed so insistent on finding something she could do to help, even though they both knew that there was nothing ore she could feasibly do without depleting what little reserves he had managed to hold on to so far. “Go get something from the fresh kill pile.” The tom croaked, carefully moving to prop himself up on the wall behind him. He gave the Windclan she-cat a second look, seeming uncertain about how exactly to address any shows of concern from her. Deciding to ignore it he licked the blood from his cracked pads. “Don’t stop long enough for any cat to notice you were there.” The tom-cat was still weary of even letting her out of the den more than he absolutely had to. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to drag himself back out of the den to snag something off the already pitiful pile.
Cinderkit’s spirits had somewhat been dampened after the sudden reaction Speckleflower had. Still, he was watching the whole affair not really knowing what to do. The little fluffy kit might want to approach her and offer some sort of way to forget about everything. Sitting back in the nest the end of his tail twitched anxiously from side to side. He blinked when he felt his litermate’s eyes on him. Screwing up his face the kit quickly nodded his head. They needed to do what they could to help her out...even if he wasn’t really sure how to do that himself.
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Shadowstartheleader
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~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
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Jan 14, 2020 3:59:11 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Jan 14, 2020 3:59:11 GMT -5
There was not much more for either of them to say about Russetfur--were any of them going to lament the re-expulsion of the warrior at this point in time? He had been a fair enough warrior in his time, but since the times had gotten hard, it didn't seem like he had anything positive to contribute to the clan. She had hoped to ask him more specifically about the sorts of things he had witnessed, but so many things had happened in the time since Russetfur had made his way back into the camp. And at this point, it sounded like every cat in the camp was already struggling to keep themselves together. Did they need such a aggravating voice in the camp?
She couldn't help but sense the length of the silence between the two of them, and Rainstar's head turned to gaze at Hazelrunner for a few moments. She thought she caught a tint of red in the warrior's cheeks, but she wasn't certain what to make of it, and the awkward avoidant gaze of the she-cat made her take in a breath of air and leave it be for the moment. She needed to get back, to let her clan see she was still there, and to restore some order. She had been struggling a lot with her own headspace in the last several moons...she would have been lying if she said she felt prepared for any of what was coming for them. She had spent much time thinking about her own thoughts, and her own mistakes when Ravenfang forced her to take a step back. She still wasn't clear on everything. Should Tawnyface really be so close to the vulnerable interior of their camp? Were Thunderclan and Riverclan really the staunch allies they needed to back them up in this war? Was there a concrete and clear answer to any of this?
Now, Hazelrunner said there was an incident between Leafpaw and one of their allies. She needed to get right on top of it before Otterstar could seethe on it and think that this was intended maliciously. There was so much to handle now.
"You're telling me that scrawny, young, pathetic morsel of a medicine cat is using Whispersong?" The bark came from behind, from the mouth of Hawktail as the two cats finished speaking, and he had time to let the immediate shock pass through him and fuel the rage he already was feeling at the loss of Whispersong. He had led a two cat assault on a camp that ended up being worthless, and now to hear that Whispersong was the victim of Frogrstrike...
Rainstar gave a heavy and exhausted sigh. She understood that the warrior's rage was building, but they needed to maintain a cool head if they wanted any chance of going head to head with the enemy clan. "It is truly horrible, Hawktail," She spoke with an evenness that came due to her effort to pull herself together to appear strong after all of the information from Hazelrunner. "But this is not exactly...shocking news. I didn't want to think so, but its hard to imagine barbarians not violating their prisoners." The leader displayed zero filter as she spoke these words, leading to a very uncomfortable silence held by both Leafpaw and Shadowpaw, eyes wide as ugly thoughts coursed through their minds, perhaps a little more vivid and realistic in Shadowpaw's mind, having been there.
Hawktail continued on after his leader in silence. It wasn't exactly wrong to say what she had, but that didn't make it any less rage inducing or horrifying. If they weren't all so exhausted, he might have pushed the matter just a little further, shown his anger a little more, but it didn't look like the leader, Hazelrunner, or the two apprentices close by him seemed eager to continue this conversation right about now. Emitting a low growl, he continued on as they began entering the moorlands of their territory.
There were a few long and drawn out moments where Whispersong felt fairly useless as he lie on the floor of the den coughing and sputtering as his body took in the herbs. It was such a strange and conflict-causing feeling, as she had to realize that only a moon ago she wouldn't have lifted a paw to do anything for this Shadowclan cat. He had done so much for her in the shadows and it wasn't something that could really be appreciated in words. And now that he was in pain, she didn't feel she had a way to help.
He interrupted her trailing thoughts of guilt as he tried to give her something that she could do to help her. She sucked in a breath as she4 thought of leaving the den and going so far, so close to the den that housed the leader of this wretched clan as it was now. She quietly let out her breath as he advised her on how exactly to not let this turn into more of a nightmare than this already was.
She didn't say anything, instead turning around and pulling in a breath to try to steel herself. She stepped out of the den and left herself no time at all to take in the camp around her as she padded directly for the pile of prey, a pile lacking in any sort of bounty, probably due to how cutthroat and traitorous these cats were as a default. Now that Dawnstar was gone there was nothing keeping them from hiding and stockpiling whatever they wanted for themselves, probably eating their catch as soon as it was killed.
She picked up the smallest thing she saw on the pile, a semi-plump frog so as to avoid anyone objecting to her taking a sizable piece of prey, and then she turned about and wasted no time making the quick journey back to his den, frog dangling from his mouth. As she padded away quickly she heard a quiet bout of laughter from above and behind her, but she paid it no mind and and hurried into the den once more.
She released a heavily clenched maw, which was followed by a quick bout of hyperventilating as she pushed the frog to just in front of him. The eyes of Nightstar himself, she was absolutely certain, were peering down into her. There was no doubt he wanted to know anything there was to know about his son, and it was incredible to her that there had been no word from the leader as she grabbed the prey. She stared down at Frogstrike, her eyes meeting his for a time as she came to question why she had risked what she had for his sake. It didn't make much sense. She was left without anything to say as she took a couple weak steps back and gently let her legs, which she hadn't realized were shaking as she finally let herself sink to the ground.
Ebonykit let out a bit of a high pitched grunt as he got up fully onto his legs, not liking the feeling his chest wounds were giving him as he struggled to find the will to move ahead. Nonetheless he did and anxiously stepped a little closer to the clearly disheveled and directionless twolegger kitten. "I'm sorry you lost your mom. That's really unfair. But, um...some cats here have dealt with something like that too. I think you could talk with some of them, because in Windclan, you aren't really going to be alone again, if...if you don't want to be." He finished with some uncertainty, like he didn't have any idea about whether what he was saying was right at all. Would a cat like Ravenfang say that? He shot a quick glance back at his brother, though he had no more experience consoling she-kits who had lost a parent.
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Jan 14, 2020 10:02:00 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Jan 14, 2020 10:02:00 GMT -5
Hazelrunner was abruptly jolted from her thoughts at Hawktail’s loud bark that answered the news, after it had really sunk in. She flicked her ears back only offering a slight nod of her head. She didn’t dare try and say anything right away, honestly afraid she was going to start gagging at the thought. Swallowing a deep breath she couldn’t argue what the leader was saying, she just wished she hadn’t said it the way she had. Frowning she turned to look back towards Shadowpaw and Leafpaw, who looked as if they were caught in the lights of a monster.
“Lilyheart acted like she didn’t believe it.” She muttered mostly as a low echo to the discourse the two other warriors were having. None of this sat well with her. Her claws flicked out, sinking into the sand under paw. She didn’t seem inclined to agree with Lilyheart is disbelieving the rumors. Why wouldn’t she? Nothing she had ever seen from the tom suggested that he was anything more than the rest of the filth that was infecting Shadowclan.
Hazelrunner trudged close to the apprentices keeping herself silent for sometime even after they entered the moor. She flicked her eyes up to scan across the sweeping more. She frowned when she saw the distant form of the Windclan medicine cat in the distance. The older she-cat still looked as prickly as she had when she had bolted from Riverclan. Hazelrunner turned her eyes away from the medicine cat as she glanced their way. It left a sick feeling in her stomach thinking that Wildberry had known and had decided not to let the rest of the clan know or at least the cats who had every right to know. It also rubbers her the wrong way to think that Wildberry might be speaking with someone in Shadowclan.
With an exhausted sigh she turned to continue walking, noticeably keeping her distance from the medicine cat as she slowly approached. The tall warrior couldn’t even bring herself to look at her any longer. With a weary breath she picked up her pace. The only thing Hazelrunner wanted right now was to find a dry piece of moss to sink into and get some rest. That wasn’t likely to happen, not when there was too much that needed to be done. Still, it was a nice thought that made her paws pick up just a little bit with each step.
Frogstrike stopped to tilt his head as he watched her rush out of the den as quickly as she could. Sighing he shook his head, thinking maybe he should have also told her not to draw too much attention to herself either. From where he sat he couldn’t see out of the den very far, so he watched her disappear he couldn’t be sure who had stopped to watch her. With a slight spike of pain in his stomach he realized that the whole of the clan was probably watching, especially Nightstar. Suddenly he couldn’t remember quite how to breath When Whispersong reappeared he could finally breath a tiny bit easier. The tom certainly didn’t stop to think about why that was.
It wouldn’t hurt for Nightstar and the rest of the clan to see the she-cat scurrying around fetching prey. Anything to help keep up this little shame they had going on. He stared down at the plump little frog she had put down in front of him. Frogstrike huffed a little to himself as if he disapproval. He nudged the frog in her direction. “Can’t you tell that frog is too big? There’s no way in Starclan I could eat that all by myself.” He grumbled before taking a bite of the frog and sliding it to her. Of course he could probably eat that frog and a few more all alone after a day like today, but he wasn’t going to let her know that. Whatever this was he couldn’t be sure. He definitely wasn’t sure how he felt about the two of them getting more used to the idea of the other. Of course in a place like this they had to do everything they could to help one another out.
Grunting he flopped down on the ground nearby, having to lay awkwardly on his side to keep his paws from touching the ground. “Your clanmates are still as annoying as ever.” The medicine cat muttered quietly before leaning forwards to take another bite of the frog. He didn’t know why he said it, maybe to let her know that her clan was still standing. Not that he should want to give her any comfort or anything and, he definitely did not want to have to explain how he’d come muzzle to muzzle with her clanmates. He’d rather keep his do-gooding as quiet as was possible.
Cinderkit quickly scrambled after his brother, partially just in case he had to keep him from tipping over. He winced a little when his back legs weren’t really willing to work together with his front legs. When Ebonykit spoke Cinderkit sat there, with silent awe at what he thought was a great comforting speech. It sounded just like Ravenfang to him. When he looked to him Cinderkit quickly straightened up to back up what he was saying. “We look out for each other and if you stick around you can learn how to be big and strong like our warriors. No dog will ever mess with you again.” He was fibbing slightly of course, but he didn’t see any problem with a little white lie.
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
Posts: 617
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Jan 15, 2020 4:01:58 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Jan 15, 2020 4:01:58 GMT -5
Rainstar took in another breath as Hazelrunner repeated how Lilyheart had felt about the matter. It wasn't exactly surprising that the Shadowclan cat would feel that way about the Shadowclan tom she had worked with so much, but she let the point rest for the time being. Frogstrike hadn't given her any reason to think he wouldn't go along with the rest of his clan.
She was a bit surprised to catch sight of the medicine cat in the distance, ahead of them on the moors, but she released the breath she had pulled in with a heavy sigh, preparing to greet the cat, uncertain of whether this conversation was going to go particularly well for any of them. She could easily see how prickly the cat seemed to be right now, and what Hazelrunner had told Rainstar was pretty clearly the cause.
Leafpaw's extreme discomfort didn't abate, even as her friend drew closer by backing up from the leader. She hadn't yet noticed the medicine cat in the distance, and she glanced to the side at her friend as she drew closer. Faced with all of the horrors of today, both outside of their control and from her own doing, she couldn't help but feel a horrible sense of dread hanging over her. “Whatever you do please don’t give up. I don’t care how easy it might seem.” Hazelrunner's words echoed back in her head, but they felt ineffective and meaningless right now. Her exhaustion must have come through her eyes, as she wasn't capable of hiding it anymore, if she even had been beforehand.
Her mouth opened and she spoke quietly to Hazelrunner, trying not to make it very audible beyond them. "You look almost as tired as I do. Are you okay?" It was a flat and almost pointless question. They both knew the answer to it. Of course, their recent conversation had tuned her in to the fact that Hazelrunner was struggling as well, but that wasn't hard to guess and she empathized with her friend. She leaned her step a little closer to her and, expressionless, began to gently lean on her friend's shoulder.
Shadowpaw bit his lip as he caught the small comment from Leafpaw. He wasn't sure if Hazelrunner was doing pretty poorly in this moment as well, but Leafpaw seemed fairly certain about the comment and he had a hard time believing, hearing about and re-reporting everything that they had learned was leaving her in a very solid place. He lamented that he wasn't able to do anything to help here, and as he glanced over, seeing Leafpaw leaning against the warrior, he gave the quietest of sighs and silently padded forwards, staring at the ground in front of him. Perhaps he couldn't help and Leafpaw could help her friend, but it didn't leave him feeling very worth their friendship. If only he was aware how similar that feeling was to his sister's.
"Wildberry," Rainstar's voice rang ahead as they were drawing close to the medicine cat, though she wasn't aware of the whole posse being at least four pawsteps behind her as they all remembered Wildberry's current mood and...decisions. As she drew close, the leader's head tilted slightly to the side. "I'm glad to see you...uninjured." The word 'well' had passed through her head a moment, but the leader knew that wasn't the case and might set Wildberry off even further. "Are you returning to camp? I believe that we need to speak." Her voice wasn't aggressive, but certainly stern. She wasn't planning to take no for an answer at the moment.
Whispersong blinked, her eyes widening a little as he huffed and voiced that the prey she had grabbed was not right for him, due to how small of a cat he was. She bit her lip, feeling a mixture of sudden annoyance at putting herself in such peril just to get him the food he requested, only to have him respond like that; yet she also felt like perhaps it was a bad choice to grab such a plump frog, maybe not because he was small but because the cats in the clan had had their eyes on her, and they might not like that it seemed she was retrieving such a big piece of prey; even if they assumed that it was to serve to Frogstrike.
She simply responded with her gut instinct, biting back with a bit of indignance. "Well pardon me for not thinking about the size of your morsel while you're bleeding from your paws and hoarsely begging me for prey!" She hissed at him in a hushed tone, still wary in the back of her mind of the idea that any cat hearing her hissing him out would immediately think he had no control over her. Much like Frogstrike she couldn't acknowledge the concern she had felt and his bitey remark and similar feeling made it easy for her to hide that feeling behind the aspect of irritation.
But it all melted away as Frogstrike grunted about the cats within her clan. She went stiff, the frog still resting at her paws as she stared down at the medicine cat. Her mouth opened after a few moments, but it closed halfway and then parted again as she struggled to find exactly what to say in response. "Are you saying you talked with one of them?" Of course, she had no idea how unlikely the circumstances had been that led him to the clan, but he was letting on that he was more tuned in to them than she would expect, and it was equally unnerving and provided the chance for her to hear a whisper of her clanmates. Only a short time ago she was quietly speaking of matters with Dogclaw and patrolling with the deputy. How quickly she had been taken down and dragged here...it was like her time in her clan was dreamlike, now that she was in this nightmare.
"W-who did you talk to?" She gulped. Oh, all she wanted was to speak to some cat from her clan, to breath Windclan once more and to feel safe within the walls of her camp again. "P-please tell me they're doing okay..." His comment sure didn't make it sound like they were in stellar shape right now.
Ebonykit nodded vigorously, more out of not having anymore to say with confidence, hoping that his and his brother's joint speech would be enough to make Cupcake feel better. He began feeling a prod, like a thorn in a nest, in the back of his head, and he slowed his nodding after just a few moments and, despite this, began feeling the thorn spread from the back of his head, towards the left and right, and he gave a quiet, unhappy grunt. "So um...just...don't worry, be...because..." As the pain in his head seemed to swallow any thoughts left, he saw a blackness starting at the edges of his vision and pushing inwards. He stumbled to the side, awkwardly craning his neck to look at his brother as he fell into the equally sized kitten.
Cupcake seemed uncertain but was ultimately quiet as the two brothers put their combined energies to making her feel better. She couldn't lie, it was hard to trust what they were saying when she did not know them at all, but she would be lying if she said what they were saying didn't, at the very least, sound like a pathway and a shelter for her for the time being; and if they were right, and these clan cats really did stick together and keep each other safe...maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing, though it could never match the twoleg den with her mother.
Then she tilted her head a little as, before he lurched to the side, she noticed the strange expression on Ebonykit's face; more than that, the pupils of his eyes were increasing in size as he began adding on further to what his brother had said. Finally, she saw them roll back into the back of his head, and she let out a high pitched gasp as he fell into his brother, and she couldn't stop from pushing forward on her paws and trying to intercept the fall, though she was a little too far and small to make it that quickly. She tried to push her way partially between them and support the also hurt Cinderkit from letting his brother collapse into the ground and probably reaggravate his wounds.
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Jan 15, 2020 11:51:37 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Jan 15, 2020 11:51:37 GMT -5
As soon as Hazelrunner had seen the medicine cat she had started to retreat away from her. Of all the cats to confront, Wildberry was not one she was able to stand paw to paw with. The day had worn her down. She had tried not to show it, but there was more than just today all of this was slowly starting to chip away at her a little. She would still hold on to her own stubborn sense of hope, she had to keep doing that. She blinked when she heard Leafpaw’s comment. Snapping her head up she turned to looked towards her friend. It might have been easy to deny that fact, she was truly exhausted. Breathing softly she quietly nodded her head. “Yeah I will be okay, it’s just been a tiring day.” Hazelrunner mewed, not sure if she was being entirely truthful right now. “We’ll all be okay.” The young warrior whispered softly leaning her weight gently against the she-cat’s shoulder as well.
Drawing in a deep breath, her friend’s physical support steadied the she-cat in more ways than one. “Shadowpaw.” She mewed softly beaconing him closer as she saw the large apprentice shuffling along behind them. He was still as much their friend. They were all struggling with this. It felt like they should be able to come home victorious having found their leader, but that wasn’t the reality of it. Hazelrunner continued forwards letting out a quiet yawn, doing her best to conceal it as she possibly could.
Wildberry had felt backed into a corner as soon as she let slip that she knew what had happened to Whispersong. She didn’t understand what difference it really made and she wasn’t the only one that knew it. She hadn’t even wanted to know it! But, the Thunderclan deputy had been compelled to tell, as if giving her that knowledge might change something. She knew exactly what that kind of news would do, send cats out on another suicide like the one that had nearly killed Dogclaw and Hawktail. Mouse-brains all of them. Hissing loudly to herself she wasn’t prepared to go back to camp. If she did she was going to skin some cat who might not deserve it. In her mind every cat deserved to have their ears shredded.
Instead of going back to camp she decided to try to collect herbs, but it was slow going as she continued hissing and spitting. She vented her frustrations out into the world. Staring ahead she caught sight of the patrol of cats coming over the hill. She froze when she locked eyes with Hazelrunner and Rainstar leading the patrol. This was no way to improve her mood. The fur along her neck spiked a little as the patrol slowly drew closer to her. The medicine cat stalked her way towards the recovered leader. Amber eyes were blazing as she drew close enough to speak to Rainstar. She didn’t miss the leery looks of the other cats, like she was infected with Greencough. She frowned at her somewhat awkward comment. “I guess I should say the same for you Rainstar.” She muttered bitterly. In her mood there was no cats that were above her ire.
The calico she-cat frowned as Rainstar not so subtly insisted she make her way back to camp so they could...talk. The tone in Rainstar’s voice made it clear what the answer should be. “Of course I am. I haven’t turned feral yet.” She turned to pick up the bundle of herbs she had managed to gather. Without another word she quickly stalked towards camp. She didn’t intend to travel with the group of clearly hostile cats. That was ignoring the fact she was quite hostile herself...Hazelrunner clearly had shared the news of what had happened not only with Rainstar, but the whole of the patrol it seemed. She disappeared over the hill without another word to the cats around her she disappeared over the next hill.
Frogstrike probably should have suspected as much of a reaction to his comments. Rolling his mossy green eyes he did his best to sit up. “For the love of Starclan. There’s no taking it back now! I’m saying a need your help to finish eating it.” The tom snapped back, keeping his voice as low as he could manage without letting any other cat hear him. Even little disagreements could be enough to let the clan know what was really going on. He had been trying to suggest sharing prey, in his own less than direct way of doing it. Huffing he expected that to be the end of things. The small medicine cat was stubborn enough to let the frog rot there on the floor of his den.
He sighed when she finally articulated something to say. Repositioning himself he looked towards her, that was his first mistake. He could see in her eyes exactly what she wanted him to say. Sighing to himself he knew he should have known better than to even mention anything at all. “Talk might not be the right way to put it.” He mewed with a light shrug. It was mostly a lot of taunting and trying to keep himself alive. Especially when Tawnyface had come inches from ripping out his throat. He sighed when she asked just who he’d talked to. He didn’t have their names memorized.
“I spoke to a warrior...Lavender something and his mate. The ancient warrior and then Tawnyface...” He trailed off not wanting to finish that story. Even saying her name in this camp was wishing for death. The medicine cat flicked his tail, hesitating to give her hope that might not even be there. “I didn’t get to see enough to be sure. There is word going around camp that Windclan is doing okay.” He hesitated wondering if he should even be mentioning this. “There are ways to get news from the other clans.” While he had been quiet before his voice was barely above a whisper. His deep green eyes looked to her for a moment.
Cinderkit yelped Ebonykit’s head rocked back and collapsed into his side. Cinderkit wasn’t very stable himself, rocking as he frantically worked to brace himself and keep from sending them both toppling over. “Ebonykit.” He mewed with surprise before Cupcake wedged her way between them to help give support to both of them. He heard a flurry of movement behind him as Proudpaw seemed to realize what was happening. “Lower him down slowly into the nest.” He instructed the kits as he moved to the other side of the kit. Cinderkit swallowed thickly as he carefully nodded, rocking back and forth as he retreated a back a step back. Proudpaw took a hold of the kit’s scruff lowering him gently down back down on to the moss.
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Shadowstartheleader
Friendship Rank 4
~The world may be dark, we may be lost forever, but we stand a chance as long as we're together~
Posts: 617
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Private
Jan 15, 2020 15:35:13 GMT -5
Post by Shadowstartheleader on Jan 15, 2020 15:35:13 GMT -5
Leafpaw didn't say anything in response, not feeling a whole lot of truth in what she said; but perhaps admitting that she wasn't okay would have been the last step to finally losing her composure, so Leafpaw didn't feel any desire to push the matter. She pulled in a deep breath and tried to relax as the two friends leaned on each other, but in that moment she caught sight of the medicine cat in the distance.
She began biting her lip, some anger resurfacing and prickling her pelt as they approached the medicine cat. Her ears twitched as Hazelrunner beckoned Shadowpaw to come over and join them, and her attention was drawn to the other apprentice a few tail lengths away from them, who was visibly sulking. She blinked, uncertain if he was just in a foul mood now or if he had just started sulking because the two of them were leaning on each other. It seemed like a weird thing to get pouty over, and in the back of her mind, Hawktail's mocking repeated itself in the back of her head.
Shadowpaw's attention was caught by Hazelrunner as she called to him and seemed to read the thoughts in his head, beckoning him to come closer to the two of them. He paused for a moment as he saw Leafpaw staring at him with a bit of a strange expression, though it was gone before he could process what it might mean and, slightly uncomfortable, he veered to the side of his path to reach the other side of Hazelrunner. Just as he was quickening his pace to reach the two of them, he realized how close they were to Wildberry, and he took in a tense breath, standing rigid and upright as they came to a stop at front of Wildberry.
Rainstar didn't say a word in response to Wildberry, getting the sinking feeling that trying to speak with the medicine cat might not actually be very fruitful after all. She got the distinctive sense that Wildberry wasn't in a mood of typical crankiness, but that every word spoke to her might provoke more than just a little hostility. Reading this, she was quickly reconsidering whether Wildberry needed to be pushed about this right now. Perhaps it could fall a few places on the list of things she needed to do. "Come on. Let us finish the path back to camp."
Leafpaw's pelt grew more prickly as the medicine cat unceremoniously departed them, clearly in a rush to get away from them. Almost muttering to herself, though it was clear she at least wanted Hazelrunner to hear it, she spoke. "She chooses to keep secrets from us and then acts like we're the plague," the apprentice huffed with annoyance--though a 90 degree turn and a glare back at her from Rainstar silenced the apprentice, making her stiff and uneager to say any more. Once the leader turned back to ahead of them, and began padding forward once more, she released a quiet breath. She felt like she didn't want to be around any cats right now, and that a nice long nap would make everything better.
Shadowpaw couldn't help but frown as Wildberry almost snapped at the leader for daring to ask if she were returning to camp, then turned tail and left them in her dust. He had to wonder if Wildberry's temper was going to be a real problem. The Windclan warriors barely seemed to be standing at this point, and the apprentice felt like the medicine cat was being hyper-aggressive about cats being angry at her for not sharing something important that she knew. It didn't exactly feel fair for her to treat them this way, and it might just be the extra prick to send some cat over the edge.
Whispersong gave a hard look at the prey, about to make a semi-mocking comment about him needing a Windclan she-cat's help to eat, when he said something much more important.
Her eyes bore into the cat as he continued explaining how he had encountered members of Windclan, and her attention was fully on him as he sighed and tried to recall the names which she should have realized he wouldn't have been too focused on. She quietly inhaled as he mentioned the pair of cats, feeling relief at hearing that they were fine, though he didn't mention the...situation that the two of them had been...debating in that moment.
She was a little more surprised to hear that Frogstrike came face to face with Tawnyface. "You spoke with...her?" Her quiet voice admitted her intrigue as she couldn't really imagine the conversation they must have had. "...No wonder you came back in such rough shape."
Ebonykit was totally passed out, though a low moan was emanating from his throat as he practically toppled his brother over. The combined strength of the two kits seemed enough to hold him, but getting him onto the nest when he was all dead weight was another matter. Cupcake, hearing the order from the big cat, looked over to the nest that Ebonykit had been in when she arrived to the den. She was ready to try to keep the kit from falling to the side as Proudpaw took his place and sunk his teeth into Ebonykit's scruff, then bent her legs to help slowly lower him back into the nest. Once he was finally down, her eyes darted to the various wounds plaguing the kitten, uncertain if this meant that the wounds were making him sick. She shuddered a little as she thought to his eyes rolling back and the kit staggering to the side and falling on his brother. It didn't look good.
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Jan 15, 2020 19:02:56 GMT -5
Post by wildcharm on Jan 15, 2020 19:02:56 GMT -5
Hazelrunner didn’t catch the look that Leafpaw and Shadowpaw exchanged as he moved to join them, standing that much closer to Wildberry. Narrowing her eyes she watched the medicine cat snap towards the leader only to stomp off a moment later. Frowning she couldn’t help herself from giving the medicine cat a disapproving shake of her head as she disappeared out of sight. Hazelrunner flicked her ears towards the apprentice. The young warrior couldn’t help, but agree with Leafpaw about the medicine cat. “She wants to feel sorry for herself right now.” Hazelrunner couldn’t feel much sympathy for the she-cat who had been holding on to secrets she had no right withholding from their clan. There was some part of her that wondered if Wildberry blamed her, Leafpaw, and the other cats that had been there for causing her to leave Riverclan. The way Hazelrunner saw it she had no one to blame, but herself.
Sighing softly she shook her head as Rainstar prompted them to make the rest of the journey back to camp. Hazelrunner was relieved there wasn’t much father to go from here. She briefly paused to nudge Shadowpaw gently with her shoulder before making her way forwards. What they all needed right now was some much deserved rest. She kept her eye on the two young cats on either side of her. She sure rest wouldn’t solve all their problems, but it certainly was a start. She did her best to give Shadowpaw and Leafpaw an encouraging smile, but her heavy eyes undercut that.
Wildberry was surprisingly agile when she was up in arms. She reappeared into camp clear of Rainstar’s patrol. If the leader made any attemp to bring her to task now there was a good chance it would lead to more trouble. Slinking into camp the medicine cat slipped through the entrance with little notice. She headed straight for the entrance of her den. While she might have hoped to find her den in relative peace compared to Riverclan’s camp. She had heard about what had happened to Speckleflower and Lavenderfur’s kits, she had hoped that her apprentice might be able to handle the injuries on his own. They hadn’t come to get her or Lilyheart after all. That thought was left behind when she was met with sight in front of her. Cinderkit and one unfamiliar kit were clustered around a nest as Proudpaw was crouched down close to Ebonykit’s limp form. The first thing she saw on the kit was the large tangle of cobwebs stretching across his chest. “What happened?” Wildberry hissed at her apprentice as she stepped into the den. The hiss made Cinderkit nearly jump out of his fur.
Backpedalling away from his littermate, Cinderkit had to scramble to get out of the way and to keep from getting trampled by Wildberry. “He was talking to Cupcake, he got disoriented, his eyes rolled back in his head, and then he fell unconscious.” Proudpaw sputtered quickly moving back to let the more experienced medicine cat take a look. “Get the kits out of here.” She snapped at her already dazed apprentice. The medicine cat didn’t have time to question what the strange smelling she-cat was even doing here. All the calico she-cat knew was that she needed them out of the den while she worked. She made no move to avoid or accommodate for the kits as she moved around to look at Ebonykit.
She watched the camp barrier come into view. The young warrior did walk forwards with a little more purpose. Hazelrunner was one of the last to trickle through the entrance into camp. Coming into camp she was hesitant to enter into the camp that had been steeped in turmoil for the past few days and she doubted Wildberry being back into camp would help with that fact. Casting a weary glance towards the medicine cat den she sat herself down at the edge of the clearing, needing a moment to breath and recollect herself again. She blinked as Proudpaw appeared clumsily ushering out an unsteady Cinderkit and an unfamiliar face.
Frogstrike couldn’t stop himself from giving an bitter laugh. “The only talking we did was me trying to convince her not the rip my throat out.” He sighed knowing that he had caught her interest now. It exhausted him to even think about the events of the day. The more he thought about it the more exhausting it all became. “No, that thanks to the dog I ran into.” The tom explained gingerly licking his cracked pads. There a few gaps missing in his story of course, especially as to how he escaped said dog and then how that lead him to Windclan in the first place. A small part of him wanted to drag it out and let her continue to wonder just what had happened, but he doubted Whispersong was going to let him get away with that.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. Admitting that he had done something remotely helpful was half as dangerous as actually doing it. “And then I come back to that.” He motioned to the blood-stained walls of his den. “I’m convinced Starclan is trying to put me out of my own misery.” The medicine cat grumbled ignoring the simple fact that he had been doing it in service of helping an orphaned kit.
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