[Rose]

Mapleface
She/Her

Mapleface had been settled in her nest inside the Nursery, keen jade eyes fixated on the camp exit from where she sat. The last thing she wanted was for her brother to sneak out when he wasn't supposed to. It'd risk both his reputation, his sanity, and a tad more if he were demoted. Above all, a demotion would insult Cracklepaw to no ends, it would bring his morale down, and Mapleface didn't want to see her beloved little brother getting hurt.

She'd kept her brother cooped up in the Nursery when everyone had began leaving, not wanting him to feel left behind since he wasn't able to go. But now that the Camp was mostly desolate, and Cracklepaw had looked utterly disgusted to be spending time with her in the Nursery, she'd let him go with a warning not to leave camp. And so, that was why Mapleface sat in sights of the Camp exit, to make sure her brother wasn't attempting to leave. Every so often, she poked her head out of the Nursery to look around and make sure her little brother hadn't snuck out another way. But that just left her feeling guilty afterward, for not putting faith in him when it turned out he was still in ThunderClan's Clearing.

This was one of the moments Mapleface had returned from one of her quick check-ins. But the second she settled back into her nest, a heart-wrenching yowl uttering her name had her jerking back up with alarm, tufted ears swiveling frantically. Her baby brother! He was hurt! Without wasting another moment of thought, the red queen retracted herself from her kits and lurched out of the nursery, emerald green hues flitting around in search of her muscled brother. Her search was in vain, but Cracklepaw's voice reached her ears once more, resounding from the warriors' den, and Mapleface found herself putting on a burst of speed she'd not knew she'd had, heart hammering painfully in her chest.

[ Powerplay perms given by Leafí ]

"Crackles-!" Mapleface yelled frantically as she stumbled blindly into the den, not waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark, only to collide headfirst into her little brother. Brother and sister went tumbling in a heap, and thankfully enough, Mapleface landed on top, which allowed her to hop to her paws and lean over Cracklepaw, brows furrowed with concern. "Are you hurt, are you-" Expelling a breath as her eyes adjusted to the dark, Mapleface felt her expression morph into grief, seeing her usually stoic brother in such a state.

"Crackles." She whispered softly, dropping to the ground beside him and attempting to draw him into a hug. "Shh, you're okay. I'm so sorry." In a few moons, her baby brother would probably be bigger than her, and Mapleface didn't know how to keep protecting him -- It was getting too much, caring for her beloved brother and kits now. If only... If only her ex had stuck around longer, had cared about having kits. But Mapleface's trash choice in choosing partners was her fault, not anyone else's. Limbs tightening for a moment around Cracklepaw, Mapleface let him loose, in case he wanted to get up. She was fairly certain the warriors' den was empty, but she didn't want to embarrass him anyway.

"What do you.. need help with?" The tortie-point asked softly, blinking around the den at the state of the nests. Oh, stars, what had he done?

[ @Leafí - Cracklepaw ]