[RedHead]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Mercurykit was aware that his name was strange, but he had never appreciated other cats pointing this out. When Quailpaw spoke, he gave her a look, but made no response until a few minutes later. "My parents were Thrushflight and Caramelblood - birth Mother was Fawnflower. Should give you an idea of how screwed up my family is." His biological Mother was despised by him, and most of his siblings, his birth father was gone, and his remaining father was rarely seen. His siblings weren't often around anymore... Mercurykit hadn't seen Silverkit, or Cobaltkit, in quite a long time. While he hadn't been very close to his sister, Silverkit, his brother, had been a much closer friend. "That's quite an ambition." The tom was half-impressed by Quailpaw, mainly because she had confessed to being half-blind and the runt, and yet she was faster and stronger - according to herself.

He supposed she would know that, if you were outrunning and winning in fights, then you were likely faster and stronger. Mercurykit himself was more of a thinker when it came to fighting, rather then jumping right in. But for him, saying that you were going to be the best wasn't quite as smart. Perhaps he could help Quailpaw - she might be older, but she could have done with a filter. Sometimes keeping quiet about your opinions was best, even though he silently agreed with her when it came to the words she shared about StarClan and Surgestorm.

"I agree. They've had their time. But, you should learn to keep your maw shut about things like that - since Singenight's gone, there aren't many cats who share your opinions on our beloved medicine cat and precious StarClan. Maybe a time will come again when someone like Singenight will lead the Clan and make us stronger, feared and respected by the other Clans, and then we'll see where their StarClan gets them."

Knowing her opinion, he knew it was fine to speak like that. Besides! Mercurykit was keeping his voice low, making sure that she was the only one who could hear her words as a smirk spread across his maw. Oh yes, he liked this she cat. Now, if he could help her - or she could help him, rather - things would move along. His father would be proud of him. His siblings would be proud. And their feelings were the only ones that Mercurykit truly cared about - like, ever. "Sometimes saying nothing at all is twice as powerful as giving your opinion freely." He added in a lower voice, partly to himself, partly to Quailpaw. This was true. If you watched and listened, taking in everyone's personal views, you could use that against them in the end... when the time came for you to do so.

Quailpaw had heard of Thrushflight and Carmelblood- and she admired them. Not over the top, but enough to give them the respect they deserved. Something the tabby feline didn't dish out too often. "Sometimes having a family like that is what makes you stronger." She herself had come from a pretty screwed of family. With a mother who could be the whole Dark Forest herself, and siblings who did nothing but taunt and tease her. The only cat she had loved from her family was her father. And now he was dead, killed by a Dusk Syndicate cat. And Quailpaw knew that she would never forgive that cat or their relatives for what they did. Her father had been the only happiness she had left, and they ripped him away from her. And her adoptive mother was dead too, killed a few moons ago by a horrible sickness. She didn't know where her adoptive brother was, she hadn't seen him recently. The two were growing apart anyways. Sure enough, Quailpaw knew full well what it was like to come from a screwed up family.

At his comment about her "ambition" Quailpaw made no response, simply just nodded her head in silence. She wasn't the gloating type. Sure, she did it here and there, but what was the point of it? But as he advised her about her statement, she stared at him for a moment. Is a kit giving me advice? But she did agree with him. If she said things like that too loud, then the clan would start to question her loyalty. Not that she had any real loyalty. It was all fake, a facade that she put on so she could hold on to the protection of the clan until she was old enough and strong enough to go live on her own.

"Yes, I was only a newborn kit when Singenight was leader, but I know that he was a very respected leader among cats with minds of ambition and strength." But I wouldn't have pledged my loyalty to him. That was Quailpaw's policy. if she didn't trust anyone, she wouldn't have to fear the thought of getting that trust broken. Because there was no trust to break in the first place. Plus, if she didn't trust anyone, then she wouldn't get particularly close to anyone, and they wouldn't be able to use that as a weakness. Quailpaw had found out ways throughout her kithood and apprenticeship to find ways to eliminate any weakness own her own she found.

At his last piece of advice, Quailpaw thought about his words for a moment, rolling them around in her mind. She got two things out of it. One, Mercurykit was wise beyond his years, and two, maybe he could become some sort of... Ally to her. The tabby had never known there were still more cats with her mindset in Windclan. While he may not have her exact mindset, she figured his views were at least somewhat similar to her own. "I'll have to keep that in mind."

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@starfall
{Cloudedkit and Scorchingkit}

A small cream-colored pelt could be spotted curled up near the edge of the clearing. Cloudedkit's pale blue eyes were open wide, the only indication that he was not sleeping. Otherwise, the kit lay completely motionless, curled up in a tight ball. Ever since his mother, Searwhisper, had disappeared, Cloudedkit had become more and more closed off to the world. Sure, he still talked to others, but he never went up and initiated a conversation anymore. He wanted to make sure that the cats currently in his life wanted to stay there, and to do that, he had decided that he would sit at the edge of the clearing, and see who makes an effort to approach him and come talk to him. Those who did, he could start to trust. And those who didn't? Well... They would be losing a valuable friend.
Uncurling from his ball to stretch a bit, Cloudedkit closed his eyes for a moment as he let out a large yawn. An older kit, he was about the size of an apprentice. Cloudedkit wasn't larger or smaller, he was completely an average-sized tomcat. But then again, average size seemed to run in his family. His very... different family. With his father off being a rogue and doing who knows what, and his mother disappearing, Cloudedkit felt like his already small family was shrinking and becoming even more unstable. But Cloudedkit wasn't sure what to do to hold it together. He just hoped one of his littermates knew how.