Dawn...star? She had a weird name too? But a cool name nevertheless! "Dawnstar," bouncekit repeated, the name sounding foreign on his tongue. He would get used to it however. The fluffy kit tilted his head at the words that followed. Dawnstar had helped him, so why shouldn't he follow strange cats? But she would probably get mad if he did... "Okay, I promise I won't!" he purred, shuffling his large paws.

The nursery was for him so he could bother queens? That wasn't something he heard. To be fair, he had just been left to his own devices since arriving, and has just been bumping into cats and figuring it out as he went along. Nobody really told him what to do and that he was supposed to talk to the queens about all his questions. Oops. He didn't expect the large cat to launch into a speech, but Bouncekit didn't mind the knowledge, so he listened intently to every word she said. It might help him navigate Clan life.

So the first thing she explained was what a clan was. Joint belief in ancestors. That was...tricky. Back when he was Aslan, his mother never told him of any of his ancestors. Only that they lived and died. Boom. That was it. But the concept was intriguing. And doing everything together sounded nice to the young cat as well. And the fact they had a code made it cooler. Because that meant they weren't just groups of wildcats who had no sense of honor or rules - they actually had rules and guidelines to follow. So he was lucky to end up in the Shadow Clan needless to say.

And the next topic was the ranking system - a hierarchy as Dawnstar explained. So from what she said, Bounce would be part of his name forever. Huh. He didn't know why he would be named bounce, but he liked it anyway. And the second part - for him his kit part of Bouncekit - was going to change. Kit made sense, and the meaning behind Paw for the trainees was a really nice one in the young cat's opinion. And warriors had their name be something else? That was cool. So that meant Silentpaw, one of the herbcats, was an apprentice. Since he had a paw at the end of his name. That explains a lot now.

Mentors were next. Cats who trained the apprentices in their way to become a full warrior in the clan. That sounded cool! Bouncekit was excited for his apprentice ceremony now - he would get a mentor who would teach him all the ins and outs of clan living. He could really use that now. Hey, he was 4 moons. Would dawnstar maybe let him be an apprentice early? He would have asked, but he didn't want to be rude and interrupt the leader when she was taking time to explain everything to him. As she continued, Bouncekit grew more intrigued. The fact mentors were held to a standard and could be replaced in an instant if they weren't doing their job gave the young tom some assurance. Although the downside was chores. To be fair he had never done tasks, although his mother told him of having to do things when she lived alone. Can't be that hard if his mother could do it, right?

Next, the warriors! Bouncekit adjusted his posture to an upright sitting position, his small ears directed to the leader. These were the cats who were the foundation of a clan - he couldn't ignore it! A smile crept on his maw as she spoke of the duties. Soon he would be a big and strong warrior too! He would hunt everything for the clan and fend off every threat!

Then Dawnstar went ahead and talked about queens. Warriors who carried and nursed kits, like him! So that would have meant his mother would have been classified as a Queen, since she took care of Bouncekit (Or Aslan, as he was called Pre-ShadowClan). Apparently there was also a queen who always stayed a queen. That must be Nightshiver, since the leader stated her as a 'Forever Queen' earlier. Maybe the large kitten should take a look around the nursery and ask the molly some questions.

Oh, the leader moved on once more! The next cat rank they covered was an Elder. So basically, as the big cat put it, kits but... old? The tom tilted his head to the side, but didn't interrupt. Oh, stories! He was so going to stop by the elders den sometime in that case. Although he wasn't looking forward to the Bossy part.

And now High ranks. The cats who controlled the clan from the tipy tipy top. He thought it was cool how the leaders had their name end in Star. Like Dawnstar! He wondered what the other leaders were named. Thunderstar, Riverstar, and Windstar? He would probably call them that until he found out the leaders actual names. Then the deputy was below the leader. In ShadowClan's case, it was Mistlewhisker. Bouncekit silently memorized the description he was given for the Shadow Clan's deputy and made a mental note to talk to her later. And how did she lose an eye? That had the large cat curious. And so Mistlewhisker was basically Mistlewhiskerpaw, since Dawnstar said they were like a trainee leader. So once Dawnstar passed, Mistlewhisker would become Mistlewhiskerstar? That was a long name.

Herbcats! She was talking about the herbcats he had told her about. Medicine cats. Healing the clan. He had gotten a basic gist of it from Silentpaw, but the shadowcat one wasn't as talkative and wouldn't answer questions like the other one did. And from what he could hear, Shadowcat's name was actually Sleepysunrise. That made more sense. Sleepysunrise was a pretty name. But it was weird when she said they were supposed to communicate with their ancestors. So they talked to the old cats? Other than that, he couldn't think of any other way, since cats older than the elders were dead. Can't really speak with dead cats.

And the final one she went over was the clan's elites. For the one he called home, they were known as Enforcers. His amber eyes widened. So if he became one of the best of the best, he could land a spot in the Enforcers?? He wanted that. That would be so cool! As Dawnstar described the Enforcers leader - or rather, commander - Bouncekit remembered seeing him around camp from time to time. He would have to go bug him about the rank later. Andddd that was it!

Bouncekit purred once Dawnstar finished speaking. "So there are four clans - The Thunder Clan, the Shadow Clan, the River Clan, and the Wind Clan - each follow the warrior code and do everything together. And are also bound by a ranking system where cats work their way from kit to apprentice, where you get a mentor to teach you warrior stuff, to warrior. And cats who have kits are called Queens, and have one forever queen, you called her Nightshiver. And then elders are the old ones who are basically kits minus the age. And then the high rank has you, the deputy who becomes leader once you die, and the herbcats. And then the elites known as Enforcers, who help out the higher ranks, and their commander is named Hawkbite!" he said, summarizing everything he had just been told, a smile on his maw.

"Thank you Dawnstar! I'm really excited for Clan life now, I can't wait to become a warrior and maybe even an enforcer, since I'll try to be the best of the best," Bouncekit purred, puffing out his fluffy chest. "I won't let you down. Oh, one more question, I promise! What do you mean by ancestors? You said we believe in them, and that the herb cats talk with them. So do they just speak to the elders? That's not a lot of cats, considering most cats older than the elders are dead," he spoke, tilting his head to the side.

[ @Undertaker - i did not mean for 1.3k words,,, oops ]

https://i.ibb.co/KcyfMkyb/Dishbug-ba...ring-small.png

ׂ╰┈➤ Sleepysunrise ✘ Shc Medicine Cat ←
☽ She/Her, 14 Moons ✧.* Petite dark semi-long-furred feline with white tufts across her body, white freckles and piercing blue eyes ☾
Shadow Fiend * CALL ME MONSTER * Silk Spinner * Purrk


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She had insisted on going alone. Her paws were still mildly bloody from the fight, her fur still speckled with the red liquid and her throat patched up by layers of cobwebs meticulously placed around the scarring, holding a thick poultice beneath it. It itched, it was uncomfortable, but not as awful as having to report this incident. It was so, so loud in her mind, she couldn't hear her own thoughts. She could hardly hear the clearing buzzing around her, distracted only by what she had to do. Her walk here had been a bit wobbly, blame it on what she just went through. It felt like she was still within that fight, her body tingling and on edge at every little thing that came a bit too close. Sleepysunrise stood before the den, clearing her throat before speaking (argh, that stung).
"Miss-- Miss Grandmama..?"

Her heart was beating loudly in her chest, but Sleepysunrise cast aside her nerves when permission came from inside. She took a breath, recalling his words. To stay calm, to not let her warring mind show, to remain in control of her emotions. She couldn't let her grandmother doubt her. Ducking her head with a light wince, Sleepysunrise came inside, expression demure, if shameful.

The den was dark and lightly illuminated. She could only guess that her grandmother might be alarmed or upset with the sight of her - it didn't cross her mind that maybe, in some universe, she might be concerned. A heartbeat passed and Sleepysunrise didn't speak yet, she felt the words heavy on her tongue but struggled to admit to her defeat. Her gaze cast down to her paws, steady on the ground, then upwards at her grandmother.
"I was.. I was out gathering herbs. An outsider trespassed, and attacked me."

She paused. She did not want to admit to her defeat.
"It overpowered... me. Then, Rookfire came, to my aid. I'm sorry, I didn't defeat it. Rookfire chased it back to the outskirts."
She sounded each word out carefully, reconstructing the events with reluctance and an unwilling calmness. She shifted her weight, paws coming together and eyes averting for a few select few moments; then she looked back up, trying to gauge her grandmother's reaction to the events that transpired, preparing herself for the judgement and berating that was bound to come. She had never lost a fight before, and the shame settled deep within the young cat.

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⊹ [ @Undertaker - Dawnstar | @/mention - Character ] ⊹


https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca88...d8iT_uY755Ro6Q