SQUIRRELPAW she/her. 11 moons. small russet molly with brown markings and yellow eyes.
squirrelpaw was just a teensy bit late to the meeting. her anxiety had been particularly bad this morning and she'd resorted to staying in the apprentices den until she calmed down. now, as she shuffles out of the cave and lingers near the back of the crowd, she just hopes nobody will say anything to her.
the russet apprentice sits, fluffy tail wrapping around her paws as she listens to dawnstar speak intently. lostspark was stepping down? it has to be for a good reason..I don't blame her, she thinks with a twitch of her ear. her interest piques at the mention of mossfreckle finding a new apprentice. she can't deny that she's interested in such a role – let's just focus on becoming a warrior first..., she shakes her head before focusing on the queen of mean again.
her eyes widen, jaw dropping. mistlewhisker..deputy?deputy. immediately, she jumps up, yellow gaze sweeping across the crowd. she maneuvers through cats until she reaches her mentor. tears swell in her eyes, but for once, they're from joy - and pride, because mistlewhisker deserved this. a few slip down her cheeks, but she doesn't seem deterred by it. "congrats," she congratulates, wanting to do nothing more than squeal and cheer like a kit. (of course, she won't - maybe some day she'll get there.) "y-you deserve it." she chirps, a wide grin on her maw. it's possibly the biggest grin the apprentice has ever worn.
there were new additions to enforcers. shrewstep and moonmeadow. in all honesty she's not familiar with shrewstep, but she's been on a patrol with moonmeadow before..they seemed kind. a good fit.
squirrelpaw's heart races as dawnstar says her name (accompanied by many others). the all too familiar feeling of worry snakes around her, but as quick as it appears, it melts away. she blinks, confused, as she processes the information. her?? a guard?? oh, thank you starclan! thank you! she cheers, and an odd (but not completely foreign) blooms in her. confidence. if she was trusted to be a guard of all things, surely that meant that dawnstar thought she was good enough to be one. the mere thought makes her giddy, paws doing little tippy-taps against the ground. she doesn't miss the pride in mistlewhisker's gaze, and honestly..she might start weeping again at any moment. but..wait..goopypaw - how come her best friend isn't a guard, too?
the announcement about the kits causes a frown to appear, brows pinching. how could someone, especially an apprentice, do such a cruel thing? and to kits? her eyes drop to her paws.
her gaze flickers back up to dawnstar, ears perking once she calls up goopypaw. she searches the crowd, eagerly looking for the calico. she'd expected to become a warrior alongside him, but she's not going to let the sliver of disappointment ruin her surprisingly good mood. her, a guard. mistlewhisker, now a deputy. and goopypaw, becoming a warrior. rotpaw, gutspaw, bilepaw..they would all be so proud of goopy! I think..this might actually be the best day ever, she thinks while blinking a few tears away.
SQUIRRELPAW she/her. 11 moons. small russet molly with brown markings and yellow eyes.
squirrelpaw's fur heats up, and she swiftly shakes her head. "n-no need for presents, goopypaw..really.." she reassures. with a hurried whisper of a goodbye, she watches goopypaw approach the shadowledge. her eyes are wide as she listens intently, forcing her paws to stay still as dawnstar went about the process of the warrior ceremony. ears perked, she listens..goopy...goopy...
"GOOPYWHISKER!!"
oh stars, that was loud. she shrinks a little, cringing inwardly at her outburst. but then, barely even a second later, she's scurrying away from mistlewhisker and towards goopywhisker. "gg-goopywhisker!!! I'm...- you'rea guard too! I'm s-ssoo happy!!" she chirps, beaming at the calico. her mind is running much faster than her mouth could but..she's ecstatic. happy, joyous, – "...I'm..proud." yes..that's the word she was looking for: proud. not only had goopypaw become goopywhisker, he'd also become a guard. she has no doubt that he'll become an enforcer soon, too. she blinks away a few unshed tears that had pooled in her eyes. happy tears, of course.
"maybe - maybe we can go a-and find some pe-pebbles together," she suggests, voice dropping to a hushed murmur as dawnstar leaps back onto the shadowledge. settling back down, she takes a seat as the leader moves onto a much more serious matter. so serious, in squirrelpaw's mins, that it has her smile replaced with her usual tight frown and brows knitted. her heart skips a beat in a not so positive way, and suddenly she just wants to curl up in a nest. starclan..does my clan really deserve such dangerous warnings..? please let me clanmates stay safe, even if it means my safety is in danger.., she thinks, biting back a sigh.
and then the meeting was over, just like that. she desperately tries to push the forming pit deep, deep down. there was plenty of good news to focus on!! mistlewhisker was a deputy!! she was proud of her mo – . . . mentor. and her best friend was a guard and warrior now! yippee!
Goopywhisker. His name was Goopywhisker. The calico could do nothing but beam up at the dark leader as she announced his new name for the first time. It was weird having a new suffix... these past 5 moons he'd told himself over and over that he would be a 'paw for life. But now? Here he stood as a warrior of Shadowclan, with everyone cheering his name. The name he had chosen in honor of Mistlewhisker. Oh stars I think I'm gonna pass out... If he was able to, he would catch the deputy's gaze and send her another smile. A smile that told her this name was for her.
As the cheers of his new name rung out, Goopywhisker was surprised by the loudest one. Squirrelpaw. His dearest friend and--- wait WHAT??? Squirrelpaw was shouting?? He couldn't help but peak over his shoulder to confirm, giggling when he spotted her reaction to her own voice. Never change, friend.
Before he could scurry back to his spot next to Squirrelpaw, Dawnstar locked her gaze with his and gifted him with one more announcement. A guard. Goopyp-whisker was a guard. "Woa-Oh! I- will, I mean... t-thank you!" He was a stuttery ball of nerves, but the acceptance from him was clear. Would it be too inappropriate to yippee in front of Dawnstar? The warrior didn't want to find out, instead doing a quick tippy tappy happy dance before finally departing from the front of the crowd.
Immediately he felt a giant weight lift off his shoulders once attention was back on Dawnstar and Squirrelpaw was back at his side again. "That was... a lot." He breathed, lowering his voice for only her to hear. "But t-thank you... for everything. Looking to-gether would be a great way to celebrate our guard...menship? I-if that's the r-right word?" A giggle, hushed and covered by his front paw. No need to draw any more attention to himself, his ceremony was more than enough for the rest of his life.
The final bit of the meeting was less fun, but still caused him less anxiety than his ceremony. A warning from Starclan?? Huh? Goopywhisker gasped quietly at the news. What had they done to deserve Starclan's wrath?? Was it... because of him?? No! That was silly............ right??
@furrensic @Mica (FAMILY!!!)
Mistlewhisker
ShadowClan Deputy
she/her | 40 moons
[Large black cat with a half white muzzle and a pale green eye (left gouged out)] Purrks: Beefed Up T3, Shadow Fiend
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Mistlewhisker looked on as Goopypaw stood proudly in front of Dawnstar, ready to recieve his warrior name. When the name Goopywhisker fell from her leader's mouth and graced the young tom's shoulders, Mistlewhisker felt her heart twist painfully in her chest. Whisker. The twinkle in his eyes as he looked back at her only confirmed it. The deputy's eye burned and she blinked rapidly, pulling up a paw to pretend like she was cleaning her face.
And a guard... how lovely. It seemed Mistlewhisker's suggestion at the Enforcer meeting had not gone unheard. Mistlewhisker cheered his name alongside Squirrelpaw, side-eyeing her apprentice as the young molly shouts his name in the loudest voice Mistlewhisker had ever heard from her. Even the embarassment of being loud did not deter her, it seemed, and Mistlewhisker watched Squirrelpaw scurry over to Goopywhisker to give him a proper congratulations.
The deputy looked up from the pair as Dawnstar continued speaking, though the words uttered by the leader had her good mood fading slightly. A warning from StarClan; one that might prove fatal to the clan if not heeded. Mistlewhisker made a note to speak with Dawnstar after the meeting about this so-called warning. Having to move quickly... in a clan with this many kits, that would be difficult. But they could do it.
As the meeting wound down and cats dispersed, Mistlewhisker padded over to Squirrelpaw and Goopywhisker. The large feline stared down at them with a very small, proud smile. "Well done, you two." She reached down to rasp her tongue over their foreheads. "You have made me very proud." While Mistlewhisker was far from cruel and cold, displays of affection were hard to earn. "Work hard, stand tall." They had already grown up so much since she first met them, and they still had so far to go. She just hoped she would be there to watch it happen.
Re: The Shadowledge
