[taillow]

Cindersky
As the two apprentices conversed, Cindersky brought her gaze up to meet that of the warriors who sat across from her. They did not seem one for talking, but at least the apprentice had introduced herself. "It is lovely to meet you, Spottedpaw," she greeted with a formal dip of her head. Irritation rolled off of Cloudypaw in waves, but gathering etiquette was something they could discuss back at camp. Tensions were not high as they had been with RiverClan, and ThunderClan was in no state to fight - the less heated words exchanged between any of their members, the better.

As the two continued to converse, Cindersky lifted an ear as the leaders began to speak. It seemed that the former leader of RiverClan had returned, seeking shelter in WindClan. That was certainly news, and with a little tap of her paw towards Cloudypaw she encouraged her to turn around and listen.

StarClan. While she took everything with a grain of salt, it angered her to hear how a leader had simply abandoned his Clan. Left them without regard to their future, especially so fresh from leaf-bare. It reminded her of the lack of leadership ThunderClan had during leaf-bare; while Aspenstar had not physically abandoned them, she had in every other aspect that mattered, as had Dogbark.

As usual, there were plenty of new apprentices and warriors in RiverClan, something that stirred a bit of jealousy within Cindersky. Soon, ThunderClan would be that way if she had any say in it. Training was ramping up, and the silver senior she-cat had a plan that was slowly unfolding under the guise of "training patrols". Soon, they would be announcing new warriors at the Gathering, and a cat other than that vile toad of a leader would be sitting in the place the ThunderClan leader normally sat.

Cindersky blinked as Twilightstar responded to the verdict of Sootflare staying in WindClan. While she could see quite clearly the answer was a tentative yes, it seemed the WindClan leader herself almost did not trust Sootflare - which was smart. A leader had to look out for their own Clan first, and Twilightstar was doing just that. Apart from that, there did not seem to be much news other than a new deputy - she did not recognize the name, though - and another death... dealing with ShadowClan. Because of course.

Finally Dawnstar began her announcements, which involved a brief explanation of why ThunderClan was leaderless. Cindersky felt her fur bristle, but she managed to keep her composure calm and unruffled. Now was not the time. Hopefully the other Clans would see right through the diplomatic cat Dawnstar was being right now to who she truly was.

There had been some bickering about a ThunderClan warrior, but Cindersky had been too far away to make any of it out. One glance over towards it informed her that Nectarflame was handling it - and if any cat did not need backup, it was the golden bengal. So Cindersky left the warrior to it and stood as Dawnstar called to bring ThunderClan and ShadowClan home.

But not before her eyes caught sight of a scent unfolding nearby. "Cloudypaw, go ahead and follow ThunderClan home, I will be right behind you," she asked her apprentice, hoping for once that the young she-cat would simply listen and not talk back. With a farewell dip of her head to the RiverClan cats they had been chatting with, Cindersky picked her way around the mass of cats towards where Softpaw seemed to be having a sort of a difficult time in the face of a RiverClan tom.

A sudden surge of protectiveness shot over her and she quickened her pace, though kept any hostility out of her eyes. Her sharp ears caught the tail-end of what Rainclaw spoke - daughter - and while she felt shock ripple through her now was not the time to linger on it. "Softpaw, come now, ThunderClan is heading home," she murmured, drawing her tail soft across her back. Her eyes stayed locked onto Rainclaw, and while they were void of hostility, they were sharp and subtle in their hint for Rainclaw to remove himself. "I believe RiverClan will be leaving soon. You may want to follow your Clanmates home," she added with a nod, standing close to Softpaw.

[ @door~ @WinterMara @poppy. ]