[spade]

Originally Posted by poppy.

Ok. Ok. Yeah. She could do this and come out of the den. She would go into the den, talk to her buddy, then leave the den but not the Clan. He wouldn't cast her out of the Clan because of this, right? Birdpaw peered into the leader's den, a rush of anxiety tingling in her paws. Like she was stepping on a floor of pinecones, she tip-toed into the leaders den. She had to have faith in her buddyship, and that he would be understanding. ''Kestrel?'' She called nervously, then, with a sudden trill of realization, ''star!'' She added, flattening her ears. ''Kestrelstar!'' The name felt foreign and twangy on her tongue, she usually called him Kestrel, or Kessy, or Buddy. Kestrelbuddy was a good name too. She liked that one the most.

The little cat, feeling the ground shake- or maybe that was just her paws shaking, took a sudden, flying leap into the nest (DEFINITELY not landing on Kestrel's tail...) beside her leader, and flopped down next to him. His nest was nicer than her nest. Maybe she should inform him of this. He was already at the top of the hierarchy tree of RivercatClan, and she and the other apprentices were still trying to climb higher, but without a comfy place to sleep, they wouldn't be able to be the best they could be!

''You know, Kestrel, your nest is- I mean, Kestrelstar, hahahahaha whoopsies- your nest is heavenly, and personally, I would like a nice nest too.'' She blinked her wide blue eyes at him, then froze. Oops. What had Silvernight told her about that? Oh. Yeah. Hehe.''But I'm definitely not saying that, because Silvernight told me that was a rude thing to say, so I would really appreciate it if you forgot I ever said that, but you know... if you DON'T want to forget, and actually consider the whole 'comfy nest for Birdpaw' thing, I'm not gonna stop you or anything like that...''

Why was she in here again? Furrowing her brow, she rolled onto her belly, soft, fluffy underside facing the top of the den. Oh, this nest was amazing. ''How could you ever be grumpy with such a wonderful sleeping place?'' She mumbled. Oh YEAH.

Sitting up, and moving out of the nest, she sat past the edge and stared imploringly at him. ''But that's not the POINT, because I got sidetracked again and that's not okay. I wanted to talk to you about something, but I don't want you to be mad at me or stop liking me or even kick me OUT, because then that wouldn't be very good. But yeah, I have to tell you something, please?''

@arden

Usually by this time Kestrelstar was up on his paws and weaving in and out of camp. Checking on things, surveying the territory - all part of his duties as the Clan's leader. But today he felt a headache right when he woke up, so the leader had been spending extra time staying in his nest. It was soft and comfortable ever since his recent trip to Cattail Pond to fluff it up a little. It was nice and perfect and -

Hearing a voice at the entrance of his den, Kestrelstar barely had any time to react to the flying leap that was Birdpaw. A startled squeak came from him as he watched her land square on his tail, sending a short stab of pain up his spine. Quickly he pulled it out from under the eager apprentice and had to force his expression to not glower down at her. "Birdpaw, hello," he greeted, though his jaws were clenched a bit. He had to remember that she looked up to him, as did some of the other younger members of the Clan. And for stars sake, he had to start to realize that he couldn't just be the grumpy tom they knew him to be.

As the chatter continued, Kestrelstar focused on making sure the forced smile stayed on his face. Her inquiry of his nest as compared to the apprentices den amused him, as they had access to the same materials he did if only the work was put into it. "I'm sure there are some feathers lying around camp that you could collect," he pointed out as he lifted a hind leg to do away with a scratch. Maybe he could find a warrior to host a nest-making event, something for the apprentices to do while leaf-bare mounted around outside them.

It seemed as though the nest topic was just a distraction, as Birdpaw put it. Regarding her with mild curiosity, Kestrelstar placed his leg back down underneath him and covered his paws with his tail. "What's on your mind?" he asked, disregarding the comment of him kicking her out.

Originally Posted by Papaya

// @arden

>Goosefury<

His brows lifted slightly as Kestrelstar spoke. A Shield, missing - that was no good. He'd never really spoken to Fierceroar and couldn't say he'd really noticed her absence. A shame, really - these cats were given an important responsibility of protecting RiverClan from the inside and then neglected to keep up with it.

"I would be honored," he responded. "I like to think I was decent at keeping up with my Lionheart rank and I'll have no trouble doing the same as a Shield. I'll keep these cats in line, no problem."

As Goosefury accepted his request, Kestrelstar gave him a simple nod. "It will be announced at the next meeting. Thank you, Goosefury." The leader rose to his paws and gave a shake of his fur.

Originally Posted by Dizerel

As they laid side by side for that brief moment, two friends just sharing their woes, she was brought back to simpler times. Out in the territory sharing stories or eating together. Or one of her favorite memories, setting up a huge event on snowball hill and challenging all of Riverclan to get to the top! It only took up about half a day but that was the best half-day of her life. Which reminded her of something else she wanted to ask, but that was for later.

Ears perked as Featherpaw was mentioned. A bit of guilt coursing through her about the incident she had that she still told no one about. Maybe she could talk to Snakeheart about that later? "Well I have only had about a moon or two with Featherpaw so far. I think I did a good job with Fierceroar though. I am so proud of the warrior she has become. Sorry, shield that she has become." Remembering the esteemed rank that her previous apprentice got. "I... try my best to teach them that you can fight battles without claws. I know it may not be in the best interest to the clan, but we should have warriors that aspire to prove we are more than just a group of cats who claws anyone that crosses our borders." Turning away. A bit ashamed. While she hadnt forced it onto either of her apprentices, she focused almost all battle training on defensive techniques, and constantly reminded the apprentices that diplomacy should always be attempted first. Was that right to do? Especially now with Featherpaw, Juni had been avoiding battle training with her new apprentice for nearly a moon just out of fear of if something bad could happen again. "If.... If you dont want me to do that, im sure I can manage. Helping give apprentices a reliable mentor is more important than me trying to reaffirm my own beliefs by proving them vicariously."

As they now stood in front of eachother, Junipersong got a special little sparkle in her eye at the mention of that. "You know, I never lost hope in you. Not for a single second. I knew you would come through. Everything is a learning experience, after all. You may dislike me saying it but... I hope that even someone as crazy and far-gone as Dawnstar might eventually be able to learn and turn themselves around."

Kestrelstar had almost forgotten that Junipersong had finished out Fierceroar's training as well. Yet another reason to enlist her help in finishing the training for apprentices. She was a solid member in the Clan, well known and respected by the younger generation. "Fierceroar has proven herself time and again to be a warrior RiverClan can be proud to have," Kestrelstar agreed, nodding his head as he spoke. Featherpaw was... she was a little more on the softer side, but he was glad to hear things were going well. "Yes, fighting without claws... While I know we have some differences there, I can appreciate that you are instilling that in RiverClan's youth. It is something I wished I'd had in a mentor."

Shifting so that he was positioned in a more comfortable, more settled in seat, Kestrelstar gave a quick lick to one of his paws and drew it over his face. It was nice to just sit in here with his friend, and it made him feel like a simple warrior once more. Gone was the weight of responsibility, the ever mounting tasks that never seemed to be finished. Right now, in this moment, the leader felt content and... maybe even a bit happy. It was a nice and welcome feeling after many moons of turmoil.

A knee-jerk reaction that he couldn't help; his fur bristling at the mention of Dawnstar. Anger clouded yellow eyes in dark storms, but he resisted the urge to unsheathe his claws. He had since put behind him the ShadowClan leader's cowardly attack under the concealment of nightfall, simply due to how well his patrols and Splashleap had fought back in his absence. But even though he had not retaliated - and did not plan on doing so - his mind was always awake with ideas on how to tear the tyrant down from her crooked throne. "If Dawnstar can turn herself around, I'll believe anything," he replied with a snorted laugh. Turning his yellow gaze to Junipersong, Kestrelstar smiled. "Maybe you can use your no-claws tactic on her at the next Gathering and get her to see the light."

Not lost on him was the comment about not losing faith. Kestrelstar's yellow eyes sparkled with gratitude, his heart feeling warm in the moment. Many had forsaken him, had cast him out and still regarded him with heavy distrust, but Junipersong... She seemed to have never forgotten who Kestrelstar really was. Sometimes the leader was convinced she knew him better than he knew himself. "Thank you for coming to visit me. It was... nice."