[taillow]

Redhawk
She/they | 29 moons | Ultimate Predator • The Collector • Kitty Softpaws [inactive]

Oh. So Foxpaw couldn't speak? That was alright! It didn't bother Redhawk in the slightest and she grinned at Foxpaw's signed reply. "It'll be l-lots of fun," she nodded, keeping a note to learn some paw gestures later. Foxpaw may not be deaf it seemed, but the warrior wanted to make an effort to communicate with her in whatever way she preferred.

As the meeting continued and the mention of what had occurred in the nursery was brought up, Redhawk flattened her ears. So Tawnykit had passed away... She let her disheartened green gaze fall briefly, taking a deep breath to steady the ache and unsteadiness she felt in her heart. Too young... why had a snake bite done that? As far as she could recall they had never inflicted fatal damage in the past... at least the rest of the camp had been patched up. Foxpaw jumping behind her was a shock, and immediately Red fluffed out her tail and went to wrap it around where they were behind her as a sign of comfort.

Silentpaw's death was not news, and despite the uncomfortable feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach at the mention of the, ahem, cause... Red did her best to shrug it away. It was for the greater good. A tough decision that had to be made. Yeah... yeah. She just wouldn't linger on it much. Heronsnarl was new, and her gaze lifted back up in surprise. She'd fallen into the sinkhole? Truly devastating. Drizzleclouds words were a comfort, but the fact that only the warrior was spoken of, and not the kit or apprentice (as disrespectful and unruly as it appeared she had been), made Red slightly frustrated.

...That frustration became amplified when a voice lifted towards her ears, and her head shot over to where Sunpaw and Shadowshine were. Memories of her apprenticeship and all of the trials and tribulations... of watching the 'paws of the Clan be treated less than dirt. She waited until a moment or two passed before looking to Foxpaw with a soft gaze. "Stay here," she told her apprentice, still unsure if she should get involved.

It was that thought that made it easy for her to decide. That thought of "someone else will handle it" was exactly what had caused the warrior's of ThunderClan to fail not only her, but several other apprentices. She couldn't recall how many mentor's she'd had, how often she'd had to ask for training when she hadn't wanted to. No. This would not continue.

Another warrior had interfered, but Red was already moving. Her paws, starting to shake a little, were already planted just beside the trio. She had been seated close enough to the interaction that she didn't have to travel far. "D-Don't you dare bare y-your fangs o-or swat your a-apprentice again!" she barked in what she hoped was an intimidating voice (that did happen to shake a little). Whatever punishment she was trying to lay out was absurd, and it had Redhawk's eyes narrowing. Though her legs visibly shook and it was clear she was nervous, she continued. "As f-far as I can tell, you h-have done nothing to earn SS-Sunpaw's respect. F-Furthermore-" her heart was hammering in her chest but by the stars it was too late to back down now "-If t-that's your approach to mentoring, t-then I sss-suggest you find a q-quiet corner of the warrior's d-den to crawl into and l-let those who a-actually care about t-the youth of ThunderClan t-to take over."

There. She'd done it. She was shaking, visibly upset as the memories from the past generation flooded her, but she'd done it. No tears this time, which Red would later count as a win. She hadn't raised her voice, she hadn't snarled or said mean words. But the reddish-brown warrior would be damned if she let another warrior talk like that to any apprentice, let alone one they had just been entrusted to train.

[ @SpiritWolf_yt @Shellwhisker @FrostyGalaxy - since sunpaw is there! ]