WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[goddess of ducks]

Originally Posted by Opal

"Only sunhigh!? Dear StarClan, it feels like twilight!" Nimblewhisker groaned, not knowing why he felt so tired and worn-out, "I swear sometimes the days pass so slow!" He whined, pouting as he softly glided his sheaved claws against the ground.

"Hey!" He then added somewhat sadly, "Leaving so soon? We've hardly talked four minutes! Am I that bad of company?" Nimblewhisker mewed giving his paw a nervous lick.

Aspenburr chuckled at the oms statement. The Tom was right. It did seem like the day was just dragging. There was nothing extremely exciting going on, even though there was a constant threat of war or invasion from Thinderclan especially. “No no I’m not leaving. Not yet. Besides when I do leave to go hunting I was already considering to ask if you wished to join me. Besides I think it would be nice to have some company. Especially if I were to run into some defensive Thinderclan cat or something.” He meowed quickly, feeling a bit bad for giving the implication that he was going to walk away from their conversation.

[Brilliance]

Originally Posted by Mystical

Is that what training feels like? She doubted it. Her best friend was the cat who was "training" her. There was no way it felt anything close to being trained by an actual warrior. Mothpaw assumed that he was doing about the same thing his mentor did, so that was the same. But she believed there was definitely something that felt different about being trained by a warrior rather than your best friend who was still an apprentice. "I know." The molly said, realizing that he was probably copying everything from what his mentor did. She was sure he had made noise when he had first learned the hunting crouch. Most apprentices did. They weren't perfect. She knew she was lucky she hadn't actually been stalking prey, so it didn't really matter, but she was still upset that she had made a rustling sound. She knew she was upset only because her best friend was teaching her. It would be different with a warrior. She felt like she needed to do stuff better. She knew he would never joke about it, it was a serious matter but she couldn't help feeling slightly stressed. Mothpaw pricked her ears, opened her mouth and quickly caught the scent and sound of the shrew. She nodded happily, and watched him approach the shrew, carefully, not stepping on a twig of some crunchy leaves. She watched with wide eyes, as it was her first time ever seeing anyone catch anything. "I was!" She purred excitedly as he came back. The shrew may have been on the smaller side of things cats hunted, but something about seeing a cat hunting for the first time made that not matter at all. Mothpaw felt a slight sinking feeling in her stomach as he showed her the stick. She hadn't expected to be able to catch the first shrew or mouse or rabbit she saw, but she had assumed that after she learned the hunting crouch she would be able to try it on a real animal. That's what you get for not asking for a new mentor mouse brain! She thought. But the calico molly did not allow her disappointment to show as she stalked forward towards the stick, trying her best to do exactly what Lynxpaw had done when he was hunting the shrew. She did her best to place her paws in perfect places, and to not rustle the grass. When she was closer to the stick, she took one other step forward and pounced, she aimed to land her full body weight on it, and when her unseathed claws touched it she instantly reached down and bit it where she assumed the neck of the creature would be. Than she looked up at Lynxpaw, waiting for him to say something.

Lynxpaw may have been an apprentice, but he took everything in account of what Hunterfang taught him because Hunterfang was his role model. To Lynxpaw, Hunterfang never done anything wrong. He was practically Starclan’s gift to the clans, and everyone should respect and honor him. Everything he recited to Mothpaw came from his own mentor, as much as he could recall. He was quite the dreamy lad, so many times he hardly listened to what he was being taught. This resulted in him being scolded. Lynxpaw didn’t like to upset or fail Hunterfang, so it made him want to work hard. This didn’t deter the tigger from being the fun loving cat he was; he was having a ball with mentoring his best friend. He just wished he had an audience of ladies that could see his impressive mentoring skills. When he told Mothpaw to hunt the stick, as it would help her practice, he continued to coach her until he felt that she was ready to hunt her own prey. Lynxpaw stared down at Mothpaw, imagining her as one of the younger apprentices that lacked the skills of hunting and battle; which she did. She was almost like a kit in his eyes when he watched her practice her hunting crouch and attack the blended stick. She almost reminded him of himself. The embarrassing part of that memory was the fact that it took him a lot longer to prefect the hunting crouch as Hunterfang taught. Repeatedly, Lynxpaw rustled too much noise, losing the prey. Sometimes he tripped over his own paws because his tail wasn’t placed correctly. Mothpaw was doing a lot better than he had done when he was first apprenticed. “Good job!” He purred, praising the calico female. “You think you’re ready for the big deal?” His whiskers twitched, excitement coursing through his pelt. “I remember the first time I went hunting. Caught a scrawny rabbit!” He bellowed, eyes sparkling bright of the happy moment. A first hunt was always memorable to any cat. He didn’t know if Mothpaw was ready, but he wanted her to try. Even if she didn’t succeed, she should always continue to practice and never give up. Lynxpaw didn’t want to see Mothpaw deteriorating like his mother was. Lemonspotted shouldn’t even have an apprentice, and at the rate Mothpaw was going, she was sure enough gonna end up like the delusional, bossy feline. Suddenly, Lynxpaw shivered, letting off an expression of disgust. Mothpaw won’t end up like mymother! She’s too smart for that lifestyle. “If you think you’re ready, try to follow small game. You don’t wanna catch anything too expert for you. I’d suggest to look for moor mouses. Those things are everywhere, I’d tell you!” Lynxpaw let out an exasperated sigh of frustration. He didn’t like mice, and found them extremely annoying, but those critters were around.

[Cosmo]

Originally Posted by Zero to Hero

"Then, from now on... until you earn your full name, you shall be known as Oriolepaw." Surgestorm relished the moment, letting a few seconds tick by for the clan to absorb all of what was going on and because he knew that this would be his last and probably only time hearing and speaking the words of a medicine cat apprentice ceremony. His gaze returned to Oriolekit after observing the expressions of those who stood below him. "Tonight, we must travel to the moonstone so that you can be accepted by StarClan." With those words, and one last smile to a newly named 'paw that was now under his guidance, he turned his gaze back to Blazingstar.

@Suspiciousmindz

Oriolepaw watched as the medicine cat, her mentor's gaze turned to the leader. She too turned to look at the leader and waited for him to say something. She didn't know what the leader was supposed to say. She hadn't known what Surgestorm was going to say either. But she was aware that he was probably going to say something about the moonstone. She knew that the moonstone and StarClan were very important parts of being a medicine cat, as well as healing the clan. She knew that apprentices had to be accepted by StarClan and she was so glad that she was getting to be a medicine cat instead of a normal warrior. Fighting had never appealed to her.

[NightWarrior4Life]

Originally Posted by Radler

Sandpaw sat near the fringes of the moor, waiting for his mentor to arrive. He flexed his claws playfully in the frosty grass, swiping the frozen droplets of few off. Boredom gnawed at the edge of his mind, though the sun had barely moved in the time he had been waiting. To Splashbreeze's credit, Sandpaw did show up a lot earlier than the time they had arranged. Sandpaw fidgeted for a few moments longer and straightened himself up, tucking his tail neatly over his paws, he wanted to look his best for when his ginger mentor arrived. @NightWarrior4Life

The bushes rustled and SplashBreeze stepped out onto the moor, his ginger pelt standing out against the frosty white grass. "Hello Sandpaw! Are you ready for your first lesson? Today we will be learning some basic fighting moves. Before we start, do you have any questions or concerns or...anything I should know?" he asked, tilting his head inquisitively.

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by Owl

Windcrest looked away shyly as the warrior had mentioned that the spot beside him in the warriors den was always open, and that she was welcome to sleep next to him anytime. Her fur prickled as she thought of always sleeping next to him and how it could become a routine for the both of them to sleep next to one another. Normally, warriors slept beside their mates or their best friends if they didn't have a mate. That was sort of the norm in clan life. Windcrest had always slept beside Leopardbreeze and Butterflywing but she had always disturbed their slumber so she told them not to worry that she'd sleep elsewhere and to not feel bad about it.

Smiling to herself thinking about her friends, her supportive two friends, she let out a small sigh before shaking back to reality as Duskflight had said something. Only catching the last part of his sentence, she nodded quickly as to not show that she had spaced out. Her ears flicked back in embarrassment, practically giving it away she had somehow managed to get lost in though. Then she noticed the warrior's gentle eyes crease with worry and concern, the alertness in them surprised her. "I'll be f-fine." She reassured him. As he grasped her leg between his teeth, the feline flinched ever so slightly at their sharpness, sucking in a sharp breath the she-cat's eyes glazed over thinking about how her parents had abused her. Trying her best she swallowed, willing herself to calm down. The quickness in her heart slowing down as the warrior moved her leg. It hurt, enough to take her mind off of the past. She breathed slowly, the pain slowly easing away as the joint became mobile again. Suddenly, a pop came from her joint and all pain washed away. The pressure built up between her joint in her leg finally giving way to the movement.

"Thank you!" She purred looking up at him, pleased that her leg finally felt better. She almost forgot the warrior was present and she felt her body heat up. She hadn't intended to purr or even proclaim her happiness by bursting out with a 'thank you'. She cleared her throat. As if StarClan had wanted to make it worse, Windcrest's stomach let out a loud growl. Hunger tugged at her stomach, the emptiness caused her stomach to cramp.

Before he had left, he had had a few friends that he would sleep by in the warriors den, Blazingstorm- Blazingstar now, was one of them. But of course that was a long time ago, most of his past friends had their own mate and own friends to sleep to at night now, and Blazingstar was the very leader of Windclan, he wouldn't be sleeping in the warriors den anymore so he really had no one. It was whoever decided they were too tired to sleep anywhere else, or didn't have any friends or a mate to sleep next to. And he didn't mind that, though he did like the thought of having the same cat there constantly rather than a new one every night. He liked the thought a lot, so he offered it to her. Now whether she'd take the offer or not would be another story. He quietly hoped that she would, but wouldn't be terribly hurt if she decided not. She was her own cat and could do whatever she wished to do. He wouldn't push it.

A long moment of silence went on as he did what he could to help her leg, so much that he figured that she hadn't heard what he said, and a few moments of analyzing her and he could confirm that. She had spaced out. He chuckled internally as she flicked her ears in embarrassment, trying to figure out what he had said before deciding to just say something and hope it was the right thing to say in response to what he had said. Her reassurance made him relax a bit, he wasn't as stiff as when he first started doing the stretched to her leg, but that didn't take away his alertness. He would still make sure that she didn't show any major signs of pain, which she didn't seem to do. When she did flinch, it was only minor and he could narrow it down to just stiffness and an uncomfortable pressure, nothing that he should worry about. And when the leg finally popped, he blinked a bit in surprise and cautiously let go of her leg as she visibly seemed to relax. That must have done the trick! Soon enough, she purred out her thanks to him, which he smiled lightly and nodded his head. "My pleasure!" Duskflight's ear swiveled slightly as he heard a rumbling from her direction before he let out an audible chuckle.

"I suppose we should go get something to eat huh? I don't think that was my stomach, but it's certainly going to be that way soon." His head turned slightly to look in the direction of the fresh kill pile before he looked back at her, slowly standing up. "Would you rather me fetch some food, is your leg okay now?" Despite how relaxed she looked and the sound of her leg popping, he couldn't be completely sure that she was okay to walk now and needed that reassurance before he could fully relax.

[wolfie]

Originally Posted by Opal

"D-did you h-hear about T-tawnykit?" Gorsebird rasped, her mind wandering to her poor kitten. It had all happened so quickly. Her tail instinctively wrapping her slightly swollen stomach silently cursing herself for not even being able to protect her own kits from danger, "She l-l-look so l-l-little when the e-elders took her out of c-c-camp." She wept, shaking as memories of the morning and how the tom-cat had been nowhere in sight, "It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair..." She wailed, as her pelt twitched rather violently and she covered her eyes with her paws not wanting to make eye contact with Stormglare when he put two and two together.

@Spiral Whirl

Stormglare blinked, ever so slowly he came up with two things. She was dead or taken away. Neither seem good. Not to mention the way Gorsebird was reacting, it wasn't good. "Oh.. oh, my." He mumbled, his eyes widened. His baby was probably dead. It had to happen while he was outside of the camp. He cursed himself one thousands times, then he cursed Starclan. The stupid starry cats that probably caused this. He didn't know how to comfort his mate, saying okay wouldn't work when not even him believed it. Stormglare wrapped his tail around her, or trying to. Pulling her closer, he licked the top of her head. "I-I shou-uld have been there. I'm sorry. " He mumbled to her, only for her to hear. He didn't care she was strange and defective. Tawnykit was his kit, he loved her. Stormglare didn't even want to know how she died or looked after it. His eyes were squeezed shut like he was in pain yet he was, his heart seem to be squeezed by vines that made it bleed. It really wasn't fair. Nothing was fair these days. He licked the top of her head in a comforting way. At least he had Streamkit and Gorsebird, right?

[Tavvi]

Originally Posted by Spiral Whirl

Stormglare blinked, ever so slowly he came up with two things. She was dead or taken away. Neither seemed good. Not to mention the way Gorsebird was reacting, it wasn't good. "Oh.. oh, my." He mumbled, his eyes widened. His baby was probably dead. It had to happen while he was outside of the camp. He cursed himself one thousand times, then he cursed Starclan. The stupid starry cats that probably caused this. He didn't know how to comfort his mate, saying okay wouldn't work when not even him believed it. Stormglare wrapped his tail around her or trying to. Pulling her closer, he licked the top of her head. "I-I shou-uld have been there. I'm sorry. " He mumbled to her, only for her to hear. He didn't care she was strange and defective. Tawnykit was his kit, he loved her. Stormglare didn't even want to know how she died or looked after it. His eyes were squeezed shut like he was in pain yet he was, his heart seemed to be squeezed by vines that made it bleed. It really wasn't fair. Nothing was fair these days. He licked the top of her head in a comforting way. At least he had Streamkit and Gorsebird, right?

"StarClan hates me!" She bawled, wanting to just see her beautiful kitten one last time, "T-their probably going to kill Streamkit a-and Tempestkit and Heronkit and Ramkit t-too!" Gorsebird mewed, knowing that it was pretty dumb to name her kits before they were even born when something could very well happen but not at all caring, "You should h-hate me! Because of m-me, our baby is dead! Our little kitten is dead! Our Tawnykit is dead!" She quivered, pushing her muzzle into his neck, "It should have been me instead! At least then I would be able to feel at peace and not have everything ache and h-hurt." Gorsebird said meaning every word as dull pain seemed to coat her body, "And, I just d-don't want any more of our precious babies to d-d-die Stormy!" Gorsebird said bleakly.


@Spiral Whirl

[And now I'm just internally hearing 'It's Quiet Uptown' from Hamiltion]

[BluBunnie]

Originally Posted by Tazzy

“Your fine!” She mewed with laughter “Talk as much as you want! Are you ready?” Featherpaw pointed her tail towards the entrance. If he wasn’t ready she would wait patiently tell he was.

Redpaw smiled and stood, "Yeah, I am ready to go!" He purred.

(Ypu can just start in the territory and mention me!! Sorry for the short reply))

[SuspiciousMindz]

@Zero to Hero @Mystical

Blazingstar watched as the ceremony took place. His eyes were bright with happiness that Surgestorm was finally taking on an apprentice. It showed that WindClan was still growing and growing stronger by the day. Oriolepaw would hopefully have a long time to learn from Surgestorm. As Surgestorm turned his attention back to him, Blazingstar stepped back forward. "The good wishes of all WindClan will go with you on your journey tonight," he spoke, speaking for the clan before waving his tail to end the clan meeting.

[Midgefur]

[ooc: @Lefty the bear
No hurry, I'm going to a big family dinner soon.]

Feathery tail sweeping gently over half-melted snow and withered bits of leaf and grass, Snailflower left the protected clearing of camp and trotted out towards the training moor. She occasionally stopped to glance over her shoulder for Bluepaw, but just in case the younger cat was running late, she stopped on the top of a short hillock to wait. The slushy rain from the storm had subsided for the moment, but a sniff of the mild air relayed only the smell of more humidity on the horizon- they would probably get a good downpour during the night.

A little nervous at the aspect of training her first apprentice, the chocolate she-cat couldn't help but fidget a bit, only to disguise it with stretching. Leaning back, Snailflower rolled her shoulders and tossed her round head to the side with a quiet crick. Hopefully Bluepaw wouldn't mind if they just worked on hunting, with so many wounded and drenched cats from what was meant to be the gathering, there were a lot of hungry mouths to feed.