WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[ProlwerBc]

owlkit was sitting alone in his mother's nest as always, watching everyone else

[Dust]

Originally Posted by Nefarious

Applewhisker burst into the clearing her thick orange pelt ruffled and messy from the restless sleep she had. The senior warrior had always struggled with sleep, leaving her often exhausted or even seeing health defects come into play. The orange tabby shook out her coat with a long deep sigh allowing a breath of wind to grace her fur cooling her down. For the first time in a few moons she actually had something to look forward too, not only had she been avoiding in her mate and kin for the longest time but she didn't seem to find the same sparky joy of youth with any of them anymore, the reality of her kits growing up struck her hard. The she cat than stretched ignoring her close to the heart problems and found herself skipping off towards the apprentices den, her eyes searching the crowd of cats outside for softpaw. Admittedly applewhisker hadn't been paying much attention to the ceremony for her apprentice, the whole thing was over in a blurr, to fast for my old mind, She mused. Picking up her pace the tabby approched the den her eyes falling on a particular apprentice who sat outside grooming their fur. "Softpaw?" she said, using it almost as a question rather than statement.

Upon hearing his name, the young tom hopped up onto his paws with urgency and turned to look at the warrior who had addressed him. "Applewhisker?" He meowed, his voice projecting the same amount of uncertainty. It was obviously Applewhisker. With her now in front of him, he could remember her appearance from the other day. She looked... a bit more rustled than he remembered. Hopefully she isn't weird... Ears slipped back against his skull as the realization that his mentor might not even know it's him swept over him, he nodded briskly and looked at her with soft amber eyes. "Uhm, yeah. I'm Softpaw. You are Applewhisker, right?" His voice was laced with a bit of embarrassment, but rather than shuffle away from the other, Softpaw puffed out his chest and extended his claws into the hard soil. "Sorry, I mean I know you're Applewhisker. I just, mmmm... nevermind..." Softpaw cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, what are we going to be doing today then?"

[Captain]

Originally Posted by Panic! (at the Disco)

@Ryder
Caracalspirit pawed her mates ear. "I didn't imply it was yours," she mewed, nudging his paw slightly away to get a better look at the tiny kit. "As for what to do with it - obviously we care for it. I think I'd be suited for it," she mewed with confidence, heart soaring as a grin appeared on her face. She'd wanted kits for a bit now, and suddenly one had appeared right before her. Okay, maybe it wasn't magic, but it was a coincidence certainly. The only problem was, she wasn't sure how to..actually..be a good parent at the moment. She knew she had to make sure the kit was safe.. and feed it..but otherwise she was clueless. She looked at her mate, then the kit. Well, this was an interesting morning.

As his beloved mate reassured him about all of this, the male’s anxiety about the whole situation seemed to calm down and his agitated fur seemed to settle as he gave the shecat a softened, thankful smile. “Thank you, Caracalspirit.” Hawkfeather mentioned with a gentle purr rumbling in his throat, “I was so worried about all of this, but you always seem to know how to calm my nerves and whatnot.” And that was incredibly true when it came to his constant worrying and overthinking personality - that was just how it was. When his love mentioned that they would care for this kitten, his heart seemed to skip a beat within his chest - was she ready to have kittens with him? Was HE ready for that kind of commitment? He didn’t see why not and she seemed pretty forward for this, which made him feel better about that. The small kitten that was between his paws turned her head over to Caracalspirit, staring at her with round, curious eyes as she gave a tiny squeak-like mewl before tumbling over the Windclan tom’s paws and flopping into the loose dirt in front of his mate, giving a twitch of her whiskers as the dust stirred up around her and the kitten gave a squeeze, shaking her head. Hawkfeather couldn’t help but grow silent as he watched the kitten, deep in thought about things that he could not yet explain.

[Cosmo]

Originally Posted by Constellation

Thea understood what Weaselshade meant by the nursery being comfortable. It had a very soothing effect, an aroma of mixed scented milk coming from every queen. Thea knew certainly well that she smelled of milk since her kits weren’t weaned yet. Secretly, she started to dread the day they would get a first taste of fresh kill. That meant independent...and, the fact that she wouldn’t have kits to nurse. That feeling felt like a stone sinking in her stomach, but she had ignored it. “It is a pleasant place to be.” She replied, warmly, continuing to silently groom him as a mother would to her kit. Weaselshade has smelled like a battle. That burnt mix of the pelts when claws and teeth met flesh. She didn't like that scent, but most likely in a few days it’ll come to pass. She suddenly wanted to ask him just how many cats he fought other than the deputy of Thunderclan. Her ears flicked...that wouldn’t be a good idea, if she was asking for another fight. Since her energy was depleted, and she let all necessary rage on him when he stepped into the nursery. When she caught a few questioning glances from nearby queens. Why were them two so odd? They fought, and now they were...cuddling? Thea glared at them, but she didn't dare say anything. This was their relationship, not anybody else’s. Thea flattened a few hairs sticking up from Weaselshade’s neck, and she pulled away to praise her work. “But it’s not always like this. Sometimes kits can be very rowdy. And, annoying.” Yet, so much love filled her whenever she dotted on her own three. “Just a few days prior, I was chasing Raccoonkit around the nursery to groom him, but he wouldn’t stay still. He’s so terrible! I really wish he would be more like Silhouettekit and Clearkit.” Thea mused, deserpatelt. Clearkit was an absolute angel. She could do no wrong in the mother’s eyes. Silhouettekit had her moment, but she wasn’t always good, yet she wasn’t always bad. Lastly, Raccoonkit was absolutely horrible. Thea was usually stressed out when it came to her son, but at night. When her kits are nestled at her belly, Raccoonkit would somehow crawl to sleep under her chin, and it made Thea’s heart soar. “But, I wouldn’t trade them in for anything in the world.” She purred. It was a silent thank you from her to Weaselshade for giving her the kits. Thea had nodded solemnly when he answered her question. She never been to the warriors’ den much. The nursery always been her home. She was so used to the scent of milk that any other scent was horrifying to her. She didn’t push him to continue on because he looked content in relaxing, so she quietly allowed him to lay there for as long as he wanted. She curled up beside him, laying her head on both her paws. Her eyes stayed trained on her own kits to make sure they were behaving themselves.

Weaselshade didn't answer, he just nodded, staring in the direction of his kits. He was enjoying the quiet of the nursery. He usually was not in a place as quiet as the nursery currently was. The camp was usually filled with gossip about almost nothing important. The warriors den was terrible, and he obviously hadn't been in the apprentices den for a long time. The medicine den stunk of blood and herbs that covered up the foul stench. The territory was calming and he did enjoy hunting with his friends. Out of all those things he preferred the nursery in it's current state, not completely calm, but calm enough, with a milky smell to make it even better. Even though everything wasn't unbelievably calm it was calm enough for him. Calm for after a battle field. "Kits are naturally rowdy, it doesn't effect it too much." He answered, smiling as he thought of how much Raccoonkit was a model of that. The tom seemed to always be rowdy. "From what I've seen Silhouettekit can be a problem as well." He nodded in the direction of where the kits were playing, Silhouettekit once again rebelling against her brother. Ever since she was born she had been that way. Raccoonkit had been pushy, and she had been pushy back. Thea had named Raccoonkit for his coloring, but a raccoon was annoying, so he assumed that was another reason. He assumed there had been more to Silhouettekit's name as well, but he didn't know what or why she hadn't told her more. "Where did you come up with Sil's name?" he asked, hoping that if he put it that way she wouldn't get annoyed and start yelling at him. He cold tell that she was tired, maybe the fight had tired her, which meant less of a chance for her to start another fight about it. Plus, he had worded it politely. He began to groom her between the ears, deciding that she had groomed his back so it would be nice to return the favor. He knew he was partly doing it to be nice so that she wouldn't get upset about him asking about Silhouettekit's name. He assumed it was probably something special to her.

[SuspiciousMindz]

Originally Posted by Zero to Hero

Surgestorm almost growled under his breath as the blood continued to flow as if the cobwebs weren't not there. It was almost as if StarClan was preventing the wounds from clotting - or like the cobwebs were suckng the blood out of the warrior like little individual vampires. I was begining to sink in that he wouldn't be able to save him when the patient in question spoke. The medicine cat listened carefully, his ears straining to pick up his soft words. You're a warrior of WindClan, my herbs are meant to save my clan! He was about to speak up about his first weak statement in protest when Thrushflight spoke again. Instantly, he confused by Thrushflight's choice of words. He couldn't have hurt himself this bad on his own..? Of course his brain went to that conclusion first. However, his body was frozen as yellow orbs met his one eye that wasn't swollen shut. Surgestorm's strong pressure began to ease a bit as a small bit of doubt and dread sunk into his stomach at just seeing that look in his eye - it was just so similar to the looks he had seen moons ago when the clans were being dictated by force. "What do you mean...?" He whispered, his ears tilting backward with fright. He wasn't afraid of the warrior, he was afraid of what he was about to hear.

Thrushflight felt the pressure ease up on his wounds. This caused the bleeding to worsen making his world begin to spin once more. The calico let out a weak laugh before it ended it coughing. His eye shut for a moment so he could catch his breath again and muster out his next few words. He was trying to speak as quickly as he could, knowing he only had so much longer left. "My ma-mate and I," he inhaled. "We cau-sed this war. We kil-killed that ThunderClan warrior," he coughed out, a small smirk crossing his mouth as his good eye opened again. He was clearly proud of himself for all this. All the unnecessary bloodshed. If he and his mate had come clean all those moons ago, none of this would've happened. "N-now there will never b-be peace," he spoke, as his body began to relax. It was physically noticeable. His head lowered fully to the ground. Thrushflight was quickly going now that the pressure was gone from his wounds. There was so much left out of what had happened, yet Thrushflight felt content with leaving it vague like this. However, he wished his clan wouldn't take it out on their remaining kits. They may have been raised similar to their fathers, but they still had no part in it all.

[Charmer]

Thistlepaw was up at dawn, ready to leave with a patrol, preferably the one for the Thunderclan border. He wasn't done with that place yet. Still, he wasn't bothered when he wasn't picked to go. Skyfeather could wait. Right now, it was best to focus. He didn't have much longer for his training. He glanced around in search of his mentor. He hadn't seen her since the battle. In spite of how it had ended, he was sure she would have been proud to see him. Perhaps she had. He couldn't be sure. It was all a jumbled blur of claws and confusion.
@blue jellie

[SuspiciousMindz]

Blazingstar made his way to the Breezerock, making his way to the top with ease. Since the war, the clan had been getting back together and healing. It was a ridiculous war, however, Blazingstar wanted to make a somewhat happier moment out of the situation. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, please gather here beneath the Breezerock for a clan meeting!" he yowled, before settling himself down and awaiting the clans arrival.

@Dust @Mad-Hatter @Celestial
Once there was enough felines around, Blazingstar began. "Owlkit and Softkit, you both have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior names, you will be known as Owlpaw and Softpaw! Your mentors will be Doefire and Applewhisker. I hope they will pass down all he/she knows on to you," he spoke before turning to the new mentors. "Doefire and Applewhisker, you two are ready to take on an apprentice. Doefire, you will be the mentor of Owlpaw, and Applewhisker, you will be the mentor of Softpaw. I expect you both to pass on all you know to these two young cats," he dipped his head to both pairs before moving on to the next ceremonies.

@Mad King @Rose Queen
"Cottonpuff, Rowanhawk," Blazingstar gestured both Rowanhawk and Cottonpuff forward before raising is head to the stars. His voice was loud and clear, performing a ceremony he rarely did. In fact, this was the first name change ceremony he'd done since becoming a leader. "Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the names from the cats you see before you, for it no longer stands for what they are. By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give these cats a new name. From this moment on they will be known as Rowanfury and Cottonmoon, for their suffixes no longer describe who they are. Cottonmoon as matured much from her younger moons and Rowanfury wishes for a new start with a new name," he finished speaking before lowering his head to the two newly named warriors. He gave them both a warm smile before flicking his tail to end the meeting, from there Blazingstar leaped down from the Breezerock and went to continue whatever he was already doing that day.

[NightWarrior4Life]

ShineFlower raced into the clearing, panting but with no major injuries except her stomach scar which she had been dealt During the border skirmish. Her litter mates were there to welcome her home. "What was it like?" AcornFlame asked "nothing bad happened to me don't worry." ShineFlower sighed. "You seem pretty shaken up. You like you've seen a dog!" The grey Molly's sister replied, Bright green eyes blinking curiously with concern.
"I-I'm fine but. I have something you need to hear. Perhaps we should go in the Warriors' den and talk?" The two ginger cats looked at eachother and nodded then turned and escorted their sister to the den, tails waving with pride.

[wren]

Originally Posted by Dust

Upon hearing his name, the young tom hopped up onto his paws with urgency and turned to look at the warrior who had addressed him. "Applewhisker?" He meowed, his voice projecting the same amount of uncertainty. It was obviously Applewhisker. With her now in front of him, he could remember her appearance from the other day. She looked... a bit more rustled than he remembered. Hopefully she isn't weird... Ears slipped back against his skull as the realization that his mentor might not even know it's him swept over him, he nodded briskly and looked at her with soft amber eyes. "Uhm, yeah. I'm Softpaw. You are Applewhisker, right?" His voice was laced with a bit of embarrassment, but rather than shuffle away from the other, Softpaw puffed out his chest and extended his claws into the hard soil. "Sorry, I mean I know you're Applewhisker. I just, mmmm... nevermind..." Softpaw cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, what are we going to be doing today then?"

A short wave of relied washed over the tabby as he returned her name. Thank starclan that I didn't call out for the wrong cat. her smile became genuine her gaze full of love and aged wisdom. The small cat reminded her of her own apprenticeship and asphodelwhisker, despite the appearance they sported the kind of eyes, gorgeous, wide, and some sort of skeptical look to them. She would ignore the toms uncertainty, all apprentices hwhere scared of there first day. Except you. she shook her head. This is not about you. The she cats long bushy tail swept over the snow behind her picking up a few chunks of ice in the tangled mess. She didn't care to clean out her tail as much, there was no use when it was so fluffy. "Well I hope so" her eyes twinkled with amusement as she examined her body jokingly. "Yep. I'm still applewhisker" she anounced proudly before sitting herself down for a moment to lick her chest a few times. She grinned warmly down at the apprentice who stammered and tripped over his own tongue she tilted her head just the slightest bit. "I'm hard to miss, I'm basically a walking ball of fur" she said her eyes twinkling. "Right- serious now, I suppose we could just skip the boring stuff. I'm not up for another border patrol today. Besides I'm pretty sure your noggin still works, don't cross the border when it smells like other cats, got that?" she said softly. Applewhisper seemed almost more excited than the apprentice himself, a chance to get out was far more than just good for the senior warrior. "Up for a little battle practice?" she asked after her gaze had been clouded in thought for a moment.

[Zero]

Originally Posted by Suspiciousmindz

Thrushflight felt the pressure ease up on his wounds. This caused the bleeding to worsen making his world begin to spin once more. The calico let out a weak laugh before it ended it coughing. His eye shut for a moment so he could catch his breath again and muster out his next few words. He was trying to speak as quickly as he could, knowing he only had so much longer left. "My ma-mate and I," he inhaled. "We cau-sed this war. We kil-killed that ThunderClan warrior," he coughed out, a small smirk crossing his mouth as his good eye opened again. He was clearly proud of himself for all this. All the unnecessary bloodshed. If he and his mate had come clean all those moons ago, none of this would've happened. "N-now there will never b-be peace," he spoke, as his body began to relax. It was physically noticeable. His head lowered fully to the ground. Thrushflight was quickly going now that the pressure was gone from his wounds. There was so much left out of what had happened, yet Thrushflight felt content with leaving it vague like this. However, he wished his clan wouldn't take it out on their remaining kits. They may have been raised similar to their fathers, but they still had no part in it all.

Surgestorm sucked in a sharp breath as Thrushflight confirmed his fears. Seconds passed as he remained frozen to the spot, trying to comprehend the new information. Soon enough, he slowly withdrew his paws completely from the warrior's wounds, his eyes glazing over with a rare look of shock and, surprisingly, a hefty amount of rage. How many had died because of this cat and his mate? The medicine cat dug his claws into the soft dirt of his den, grounding himself. It was all he could do to keep himself from digging them into the dieing cat in front of him. These new feelings shocked him to the core, not knowing he was capable of wanting to hurt somebody so badly. This was the most his world had been shaken since the day Bucknight and his companions had taken over. Not knowing what else to do, he held the other tom's gaze as his life began to slip away, his usually soft features of his expression rock hard - his yellow eyes dull. He had no idea what to say, staring into the actually content gaze of this murderer. And then it came to his suddenly, a new emotion rising from the depth of the yellow hues: pity. "I'm sorry," He meowed softly, knowing that he would find his punishment in the afterlife. Then, he backed away, leaving Thrushflight to spend the last few moments of his life cold and alone.