WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[Moonraven]

Originally Posted by shortstack

The apprentice took a couple moments to regain her composure. Attempts to comfort her on the part of her leader were certainly not expected but appreciated all the same as she took several deep breaths to slow her racing heart. This was not how she expected this meeting to go. Any particular cat, she asked. Stars, what was his name again? Brindlejaw had said the name when they were talking. Frozensong? Coldmelody? Coldsong! That was it. Coldsong Coldsong Coldsong.

"Ah..." she began, taking in another hiccup-y breath. Her tears left matted streaks of fur down her face but when she met Twilightstar's gaze again, she seemed significantly less troubled. It helped to get all of that off of her chest, "The loud one? Coldsong, I think. I know that sounds weird because a lot of our clanmates feel like he's a nuisance but -... I feel like he can stand up for himself?"

Twilightstar had to push aside her desire to clean the apprentice's tear-streaked face. She couldn't quite wrap her head around whether this desire was from a strange material instincts she-cats had, something she had merely picked up from her mother, or just something she wished someone had done for her when she felt so hopelessly alone? The leader figured she could just be projecting onto Yewpaw which she couldn't decide if that was bad or not right now. Coldsong's name tore her away from her selfish thoughts and back to the apprentice.
"You want Coldsong?" There was an undetectable amount of surprise in her voice. As the tom's recent actions and words played in her head she slowly came to an understanding. Beyond Coldsong and even little Elderpaw, not many had spoken out against Icestar. Even Brindlejaw's response had been rather lackluster. Coldsong hasn't been as loud as of recently and he certainly did know how to stand up for himself. Even though things hadn't gone that great with his last apprentice, she couldn't exactly blame him for that.
"Okay, I'll announce it at the next meeting." Twilightstar said, drawing a forepaw up over her face after licking her paw to keep from cleaning the apprentice up. "Feel better now?" She wondered, noticing how Yewpaw seemed less trouble at the prospect of getting Coldsong as a mentor.
"You should come to me sooner if you're having or have any troubles or worries, I know I'm clan leader but I am one cat." Twilightstar had her mean streaks, moments of utter insensitivity, and could just be downright horrible here and there with her bouts of sarcasm. However, she did take her role as the clan leader somewhat seriously and wanted to help where she could.
"I'm not the best clan leader but I do want to take care of WindClan. That includes you too, Yewpaw. So don't bottle your emotions, my den is always open if you want to talk." Twilightstar suddenly realized that she was a hypocrite considering all she did was bottle her emotions up, but Yewpaw was different and didn't have an entire clan resting on her shoulders. Twilightstar knew she could carry this weight it was just a little rough sometimes. Yewpaw's apprenticehood should be more carefree, hopefully, Coldsong could give that to her.

Originally Posted by Shimm

The tortoiseshell nodded. Yeah, it did sound like Icestar to get some kind of 'message' through that her clan was the most strong or at least to be feared. But to attack Thunderclan just because the new leader didn't want to keep that secret alliance? What was up with that anyway, did no one else think that was alarming? Icestar could offer secret allegiances to the other leaders and lead them on to believe she had their backs when she could plot them against other clans or perhaps attack them? Shaking his head the deputy pushed the thought out of his mind as he listened to the other information she was sharing. Yes, keep our heads down and noses clean. Windclan already suffered enough..."I agree." Nodding to show his support in her idea to stay out of the drama and to worry about their own clan.
Letting out a sorrowful sigh, "I presume that Yewpaw has spoken to you about getting a new mentor?" The defeat in his ember eyes shined as he brought up the subject that kept the tom up at night. "During the invasion I was too caught up in saving the queens, kits, and elders to think about my own apprentice. I saw her with some warriors and assumed that she was alright." Lightly scoffing at the stupid decisions that brought him to this point. "It never occurred to me that Yewpaw saw me as her safe space and the lack of battle training made her feel scared at that moment when she had neither. We recently talked and she requested a new mentor. I'm not going to ask you to deny that request. I fully understand Yewpaws wishes and I will support them." His heart felt heavy as a stone. He let down his apprentice and scarred her for life to a point that she couldn't even look at him.

She was pleased to see that Brindlejaw was on the same page as her. A bolder cat might have wanted to try and capitalize on the feud with ThunderClan and ShadowClan to cause some trouble. WindClan was nowhere near ready to deal with either of those clans just yet and they couldn't rely on RiverClan forever. One day they'd be able to fight their own battles. As an old leader once said, "No matter what trials we must endure, WindClan will last forever." Twilightstar was sure there was more to that quote, but she disliked the first part and so hadn't bothered remembering it.
As Yewpaw was brought up, Twilightstar twisted her ears and gave the tom her full attention. This was what was bothering him. Unfortunately, Twilightstar couldn't related to Brindlejaw. She has never wanted an apprentice and the only reason she got that vexing hairball, Whisperpaw was because she was more or less forced too. Thinking of him, he hasn't been bothering much for training... not that she'd take him. That was way too much work for her. Uh, she was getting totally off-topic here.
Brindlejaw's story pretty much aligned with the weepy apprentice from earlier. Now then, how she should go about talking about this without reprimanding him for taking care of the kits and queen, which she was pretty sure she had ordered, and not watching out for his untrained apprentice. She couldn't think of any way to go about it other then he should have had Yewpaw helping him assist with the kits and queens. That way he could keep an eye on both. Although, since it was already in the past and Brindlejaw appeared to have already beaten himself up over it, maybe she should not add gasoline to the fire. She didn't want him doing something stupid.
"If you already understand and regret your actions I won't add any comments. Try not to feel too bad, Yewpaw has already spoken with me and will be getting Coldsong as her new mentor. She seemed a little better after our chat." Twilightstar wasn't certain if this...trama of Yewpaw's would stay with the apprentice for the rest of her life or not, however, she prayed the apprentice would learn how to deal with her fears or shed them all together so she could help those with similar problems in the futures.
"Keep your chin up, Brindlejaw. We all make mistake and we learn from them. Coldsong will take care of Yewpaw from now on. In time, when you get your next apprentice, learn from what you did wrong with Yewpaw, and try your best to find a balance between caring your clan and your apprentice."
Twilightstar was okay in the comfort department, she wasn't always certain if what she said helped or hurt a cat, but only time could tell.

[Doom]

Originally Posted by Shimm

Wow this Young Blood couldn't have excepted the white lie? Maybe I should just tell him the truth Scoffing inwardly at his thought Brindlejaw thought for a moment that Coldsong would understand. But he was there too...
The tortoiseshell kept quiet for a few moments longer, debating if he should open up or not. "I blame myself for the Coyote Invasion." At last he said what was eating himself up from the inside. The one thing that caused the tom to avoid his camp, his duties. Nightmare's keeping him up and the guilt eating him alive. The thoughts and deaths driving himself crazy.

That answer made the fur along his neck rise. "You blame yourself for what a bunch of tail-chasin' coyotes did?" he huffed, "I was there too, don't be so selfish."

As the two approached their destination, Coldsong lowered his voice, but he kept close to Brindlejaw so he could hear him just fine. "Besides, it won't do you any good wallowing over the bad things that happen to WindClan. The Clan is in a rut right now, but the only way we can get out of it is to push through it. We need someone to look up to when we're weak" he looked over at the deputy, "and that someone is you. But your lack of activity and drained-attitude is making you very unpopular right now."

Coldsong flicked his ear and dropped into a hunting crouch. "I'm not a very popular cat in the Clan either, but I still do my job and try to carry WindClan. I like to think that even if cats don't like who I am, at least they'll appreciate what I do for them."

He looked back at Brindlejaw one last time. "You're the deputy, Brindlejaw. I expect you to do the same, if not better."

[chaton]

Originally Posted by S-oft

Lupinpaw listened closely with his large droopy ears, nodding his head slowly in agreement. He chuckled as he remembered his own past in her spot, "Well you know, some cats have the idea of a life in a Tom or mollys paws a fleeting thought... They don't hunt down one of the very few trans cats in the entire clan to ask about to," He chirped his words, keeping them soft and encouraging, "Well, from here? We can try different pronouns... nothing is official until you say it is, the power is in your paws, Rookflight."

Rookflight nodded softly, her bad ear flopping in front of her face in the process. "The thought of trying different pronouns is strange, but it also brings this odd feeling of happiness to me... as if it was meant to be this way." The warrior smiled at the prospect of it all, leaning down afterwards to give Lupinpaw a friendly nudge. "And, also... thank you for being willing to have this talk, Lupinpaw. It is quite eye-opening to speak with a cat who has such experience on the matter, especially one who I could even consider family in my own eyes."

[rhi]

Whisperheart

Whisperheart padded softly to the entrance of the leader's den. She gaped her mouth slightly, the scent of Twilightstar hitting the roof of her mouth.
"Twilightstar." She warrior addressed her leader respectfully, dipping her head. "I hope everything is well with you." She became speechless suddenly. Choking on her words. She blinked wide, amber eyes and swallowed.
She felt her fur prickle as she watched Twilightstar, settled nonchalantly in her nest. How could she feel uneasy about a leader? She quickly gave her head a shake, tossing off the strange and disrespectful thoughts of her clans' leader.
"Things are going well under your guidance and leadership." She continued, speaking with calm confidence. "I would like to ask for more responsibility from you." She let the silence hang in the air. "Although mentoring Silverpaw is quite the pawful..." the she-cat shuffled her paws, gaze shifting to the ground, "I feel as though I need to be doing more for my clan."
She looked to Twilightstar's eyes. Her soul and spirit were so invested in WindClan, she hoped her leader could see this.

woo hoo lezz go @Moonraven (whisperheart truly wants it all, she admires ancient warriors/starclan)

[Doom]

"Twilightstar?" Coldsong poked his head into the leader's den, dipping in respect when he caught her attention.

"Just popping by to say I marked and patrolled all the borders today. No sign of anything unusual."

[The Cannibal]

@Socks

Boulderpaw puffed out in relief as Duskmoth seemed satisfied with his answer. If he had been asked what he had smelled, he would not have been able to answer. Turning his head to focus on where his mentor was pointing, he squinted to see better, but ultimately didn't actually see anything. "Rabbit..." He recited the name of the prey and took a deep whiff again, trying to focus in on the smell and tie the name to it.
Boulderpaw was nearly too invested in tying the name to the smell, he almost didn't hear Duskmoth say that when hunting rabbits, you needed to block them from going down in their burrows. He caught it at the very end and eagerly nodded as he had listened the entirety of it. "Block them from going down." Flicking his tail back and forth, he took another deep whiff, murmured 'rabbit', and mentally recited he needed to block them from.. Running? No that wasn't right, block them from going down into their hole.
He was falling behind no though, Duskmoth had said something about the wind, but he was too busy committing those first things to memory to fully pay attention. He tuned back in when his mentor said they'll need to train running. "Running. Will I.. Get better? If I keep doing it? And that smell was rabbit.. We need- I need to block them from going down their hole's..." Scrunching up his face, he cautiously looked back up at his mentor, seeing if he had got everything.

[duckie]

Originally Posted by Fae

Coldsong dipped his head in greeting to Yewpaw, appreciative of her attempt to meet his terms and be quick about it. "I've been wanting to discuss what Brindlejaw has taught you. Anything I need to know before we begin?" He narrowed his ears on her, interested.

Yewpaw
__________

"Well," she began, tail tip flicking absently, "Brindlejaw and I didn't really... get to any training? I was put on a patrol or two with him but they didn't really get finished..." She shrugged as if to indicate it wasn't that big of a deal. In reality, though, she was a 9 moon old apprentice without a lick of training and begged the question of whether or not she would ready for a ceremony any time soon.

[Doom]

Originally Posted by shortstack

"Well," she began, tail tip flicking absently, "Brindlejaw and I didn't really... get to any training? I was put on a patrol or two with him but they didn't really get finished..." She shrugged as if to indicate it wasn't that big of a deal. In reality, though, she was a 9 moon old apprentice without a lick of training and begged the question of whether or not she would ready for a ceremony any time soon.

Coldsong shook his head and gave an irritated sigh. "I shoulda guessed Brindlejaw didn't do anything with you..."

"No matter," the warrior stood and allowed himself one last good stretch, straining his words a little as he did so, "you're my apprentice now. I'll treat ya like a real apprentice – no more sitting around in the den all day. We start training every sunrise, and if you show immense improvement and loyalty, I'll give you a rest day every now and then."

Shaking his fur after he finished stretching, Coldsong turned and began heading out of camp without warning, expecting Yewpaw to follow. "Since Brindlejaw failed to teach you anything more than what our territory looks like, I'll be showing you how to defend yourself."

[RedHead]

It's okay honey, just wipe your tears away, you're gonna be alright." Mooselily encouraged, allowing her tail to help and wipe a few of the young tom's tears from his face. She then turned to Pumapaw, who seemed desperately trying to explain herself. "Roughhousing is normal, yes, but not when it leads to cryin'. Now I want ya both to apologize to each other, alright?" She gave Pumapaw a stern look before turning to Lupinpaw, giving him the same stern look. "Lupinpaw probably didn't mean to hurt you hon, and you probably didn't mean to hurt him... as badly as you did. But retaliatin' ain't the answer when it comes to small arguments among clanmates."

@S-oft @Arie

[RedHead]

Originally Posted by .Bread.

Snailkit looked up at Mooselily. "Yes I would!" she squeaked excitedly. The young kit wanted to learn how to do a real hunting crouch.

Mooselily nodded as Snailkit agreed, a wide smile crossing her maw. "Alright. I'll show you what a hunting crouch looks like, and you try mimicking it. Then I'll come 'round and give you a few pointers once I see it, kay?" The queen then dropped into a skilled hunting crouch, one signature of Windclan cats, with their legs stretched out further and poised to spring into action and run at top speeds. "Now you try." She meowed, to Snailkit, holding the position so that the younger feline could copy it to her best ability.

Originally Posted by Beau

@RedHead
Flurryheart ducked into the clearing, trotting over to the freshkill pile. He dropped his catch onto the pile happily, glad to see that the recently meager selection of prey had grown. It looked nearly regular size again! He shook his breeze-blown fur contently, relishing the left over feeling of moor wind in his fur. The fluffy tom loved few things more than the feeling of racing over the moor. Maybe he should’ve been named Moorheart! Chuckling to himself, the tom grabbed a small rabbit to munch on and turned to find a place to relax. Before he could move, though, he spotted the lounging form of Mooselily and decided to see if she wanted some company. He grabbed a second rabbit and made his way over, dropping both by her paws.
“How are you today, Mooselily?” He asked in his naturally gruff voice, clearing his throat and hoping he hadn’t come off hostile, “I was wondering if you might want some company.” Flurryheart gestured to the two rabbits with his best attempt at a friendly smile. He noticed the messy fur on his silver striped leg and realized that the wind must have messed his fur up more than he’d thought. The tom felt heat rise to his ear tips at the realization that his fluff must have formed a wild mane around his head like it sometimes did in stiff wind.

Mooselily cracked open her eyes as she heard someone pad up, opening them fully and turning her head upward to meet the tomcat's gaze. "Hey there Flurryheart. I'm doing quite dandy, thanks for askin'! How about you? How're you doing?" Though as he eyes adjusted to the sun and she got a better look at him, she gave a little snicker of amusement. "Someone looks like they need a good grooming, fluffy." Mooselily meowed, tail flicking in amusement. "Come here, let me help you." She reached out her paws and padded the ground next to her, gaze stern and leaving no room for argument.