WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[Glitch_Candle]

Originally Posted by FrostCat

Dustypaw padded out of the apprentices den, stretching. She was bored. Maybe someone would like to talk to her. Or go hunting.
//Open//

as rippleshade walked from hunting, she was tired. She was willing to go hunting again, due to it being very fun. "come on Dustypaw," she says, "Come hunt with me."

[Socks]

Bearkit squinted at the sunlight as he stepped out of the nursery into the clearing, he hadn't stepped into the light in quite some time and his light eyes stung because of it. It wasn't particularly cold, but his short baby fur still fluffed up upon feeling the wind on his body.
But despite all this, he had a mission and he was going to accomplish it! His tiny body quivered with pent up energy and he had to stop himself from jumping like a rabbit around the clearing. No, today was rock hunting day! A full day of searching the area for the prettiest stones he could pick up in his mouth. What would he be doing with these pretty stones, you may ask. Well, he'll be decorating with them, of course.
Everything was planned but he met one roadblock; he couldn't find enough stones all by himself, he needed some cat to search with him! So with that thought, he started looking for a suitable cat to drag into his activity.

[Madelaine]

Daisypaw had finally calmed down and felt it was time to return to her former clan. It had been many moons ago, but that didn't mean anything. The once small cat was now bigger and stronger than she was. She had plenty of time to grow. The bengal cat remembered a couple of days ago why she had joined Windclan to start with before. She hated being a rogue.

Her adopted mother had treated her horribly anyone could understand that. she remembered the day when Leopardpaw was exiled then killed. She had finally become free of her and her torment. Daisypaw looked around in hopes to find Twilightstar. She was still leader right? Its been that long she wasn't sure.

// @Moonraven; \\

[Moonraven]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

She didn’t know what to do. Her body just acting on its own. Tense, yet trembling. She couldn’t even get her eyes to open. Glued shut by the memories she never wanted to relive. None of it made sense to her. Nothing had, ever since Shellkit left things just fell apart. ShadowClan took over, cats died, Echopool- her own mother- left her, Heronkit and Weaselskip disappeared. Now Littlepaw was gone, stripped from her before her eyes. Only he didn’t have a chance of coming back… It just, frustrated the young apprentice. She didn’t know what to do, how to do it, or even how to feel anymore.
Rainpaw felt tossed about, her emotions fighting her, making her feel cold. She was so cold. It hurt. Her heart hurt. Making her eyes spill over with tears. Her sobs drowning out some of her wildly confusing thoughts. Not that she wanted to hear them anyway. Twilightstar spoke to her, the sound followed by movement, making her force her eyes open. Her yellow gaze clouded by tears, making it a struggle for her to see. She didn’t know what to expect, Rainpaw didn’t even know what to expect from herself anymore. Yet, as she stood trembling in front of the leader, she didn’t even consider what was next.
As Twilightstar began cleaning her, Rainpaw initially flinched, a sharp- yet shacky- inhale indicating her fear. She froze, aside from the tremble, holding her breath just enough to hold off the sobs. It had been far too long sense some cat tried to help her clean her fur. The sensation making her want to cry for a whole other reason. Why were things so confusing? Everything. Death. Life. It was all just confusing.
“I-I don’t… want him in Sta-arClan!” Rainpaw sniffled trying her best to hold in her sobs. “I want him... here!” And her sobs returned, voice cracking as she tried to speak. Littlepaw wasn’t supposed to be in StarClan, he was supposed to be in WindClan! They were supposed to become the best warriors in WindClan together. Rule the moor and fight to keep their home happy and beautiful! He wasn’t supposed to be in StarClan! He wasn’t!
Claws dug into the ground as she tried to calm down. She really tried, however her small frame still shook, eyes still refusing to dry. “Littlepaw… he- he didn’t need to die…. We- we... we were going to- to be warriors together. N-now he can’t…” Her breathy words were cut off by her own sobs. “H-he can’t be a wa-warrior i-in StarClan!” Rainpaw cried out. She didn’t want him gone, he wasn’t supposed to die! They weren’t supposed to be separated… they were supposed to stay best friends forever.
Mustering up some courage, Rainpaw lightly stepped towards the lilac molly. She hesitated, not sure if she was allowed to get closer to Twilightstar or not. She didn’t know. She didn’t know anything at this point. Just that she didn’t want to feel cold, didn’t want to feel like she was. She didn’t want her heart to hurt, or her body to tremble. She didn’t want to feel so alone. “C-can I…?” She asked, timidly. Was she allowed, was she not? She didn’t know, yet she moved anyway. Not waiting on a response Rainpaw took another shaky step and buried her face in Twilightstar’s fur. Her tears still fell, bones still shaking. However, she felt safer. Just being against and hearing another cat’s heartbeat was reassuring. Twilightstar was alive, warm, breathing, that calmed her fears.
Even so, Rainpaw felt like the hawk had its claws in her heart, trying to take it like it took Littlepaw… It wasn’t there, but the pain remained.

Twilightstar kept quiet as she watched the younger cat struggle. It wasn't the first time she's dealt with a distressed clanmate, and she was sure that it wouldn't be the last. Once upon a time, she had the most troubling time connecting to her clanmates, as a warrior it had been easy to keep her distances from the cats in her clan. All she had to do was hunting and fight here and there, but nothing truly forced her to form any type of bond with any of the cats around her. It had almost been easier took keep every cat a tail length away, but now it was harder. She couldn't be the same cat she had been when she was a warrior, her clan required more.

Littlepaw's death should have been another cat now living in StarClan, but it wasn't that easy anymore. Rainpaw's sadness and grief were so raw and exposed that it caused her physical heartache. Heartache is a whole-body response, from the stress systems to the heart and brain function. They are born to make loving bonds and to suffer when they break. This is nature's way of teaching them to stay loyal, to stay in love. Some try to avoid it through casual love, yet then they miss out on the kind of bonds that keep society functioning and well. To love is a risk and so, if another takes that step with you, they are serious and placing their heart in your onwards care. Whether it be friends, family, mates, or any other bond, there was so much risk in making them, but also so much reward.

Drawn out of her troubling thoughts, her nose twitches after she inhales that fear scent. She instinctively wanted to draw away from the apprentice, wondering if this was a bit too much for her. Twilightstar stopped what she was doing and waited on her. The leader remained silent to listen to Rainpaw as she sobbed and spoke, sounding so pitiful. There was nothing she could say at the moment to ease the pain, so she didn't. Littlepaw didn't deserve to die, a lot of cats didn't deserve to die, good, loyal, upright, cats. But they still did and it wasn't fair, but life was rarely ever fair.

Twilightstar found herself momentarily unresponsive as the apprentice pressed her face into her chest. Her tail curled itself behind her as she held her breath for a heartbeat and then released it. She could feel a natural burning sensation in her eye, but she shoved it aside and concentrated on Rainpaw. At times like these, every little thing reminded her of him, but he wasn't here. Dismissing the feeling with a flicker of her whiskers, Twilightstar sighed softly and rested her chin on top of the apprentice's head between her ears. Her tail draped itself over the small quivering back and stroked it up and down gently. She let Rainpaw just cry for a while, it was good to get it out.

"It's going to be hard," She spoke after Rainpaw's settled a little more. "There will be days where you wake up and you'll want to go look for him before remembering he's not here anymore. Or there will be days when you do remember and you just don't want to do anything. The heartache and the grief will be so overwhelming at first that it might physically hurt and all you can sense is the pain. It will feel like you lost a part of yourself, the part that makes you smile and laugh and happy, like all the joy you found in life died with Littlepaw. It'll be hard to let anyone in for a while and it's going to be rough for a time but it'll be okay, you'll get through it." Twilightstar explained caringly and sympathetic. When a heart is truly broken, the health of the body and brain needs time to recover. There aren't any magical medications or salves for the heart, yet only the healing that tranquil space, time, and the love of others may bring.

"It will take time, a lot of time, but each day will get a little easier. It doesn't seem like it now, but it will. The gaping hole you feel where your heart should be, probably won't ever be completely fixed cause you'll never find anyone who can replace him, but it will mend itself. The pain will ease and you'll keep all the fond memories you have of him close to your heart. He's not gone, even if you can't see him all the time, he'll be watching over you. If he can't be a warrior in StarClan, why not try your hardest to become the best warrior you can be for the both of you?" Rainpaw needed to try looking forward to something or, without a strong will, she'd fall into depression and that was hard to shake. It was almost isolating even when surrounded by so many, she'd feel so alone, and Twilightstar would like to spare her from that.

"I'll try and help you get through it as best I can, whether you need cry, or talk, or you just don't want to be alone, you can come to visit me in my den. I won't be going anywhere." It was hard to find someone stable, within life, cats seemed to come and go these days. She understood that, but she was trying harder ever to just be there for her clanmates. She needed them as much as they needed her.

Originally Posted by Kunaiskrill

“I- feel like I can’t be a warrior.. I’m so bad at fighting!” He fretted. “I- feel like me true passion is in herbs.”
@Moonraven

"Being a warrior isn't just about fighting," Twilightstar told Duskfern, flattening her torn ear as she spoke. "Not everyone is good at every single thing that makes up a warrior. I don't consider myself the greatest fighter, and I'm sure there are cats that hunt far better than I could or are faster than me, that doesn't make me any less of a warrior, everyone has their flaws." No matter what cats' thoughts, no one was perfect.

"I can understand your passion, but your path to walk is that of a warrior, Duskfern. I've heard nothing from StarClan about finding a medicine cat apprentice and Peachfrost has expressed her desire to learn more before trying to teach anyone herself. You can take care of herb patrols if you'd like, but unfortunately, that is all I've got to offer you."

Originally Posted by -Skyfall-

@Moonraven

"Aw, you've got lot's of visitors because everyone likes you!" Mushroomkit said with a small giggle. He copied her movements and rested his head on his paws, looking at her with that cheesy grin. Still. Did he like any warriors? As a possible mentor? Um..... no. He barely knew any warrior! Well, there was Sparrowflight's sister. He liked her. What was her name again?
"I don't know. Like, I know a cat, but I forgot her name."

"You think so," The leader chuckled filled shortly with joy. Mushroomkit was quite the sweetheart, she was sure that whoever mentored him was going to be lucky. The fact that he mimicked her was adorable. Kits seemed to enjoy copying, she supposed that how they learned. Twilightstar was often too lazy to mimic anyone as a kit.

"You know a cat but you forgot her name. Do you know what she looks like?" Her fluffy tail flickered behind her as her green eye glimmered with curiosity. "Don't kits go exploring around camp anymore and picking out the best warriors to be their mentors anymore?" Her mother often enjoyed telling her stories about her older brother and his daring pursuit of finding the great warrior and WindClan and making them train him.

"You should tell the kits in the nursery that they should focus on finding their future mentors instead of trying to sneak out of camp."

Originally Posted by Tiabirb

Visiting the leader hadn't been planned in her agenda for the day. No, she had planned to take Wildpaw for hunting practice after sunhigh. But with her being summoned to Twilightstar's den, knowing full well why, Swiftfire was feeling a little more annoyance towards her younger brother and her apprentice than she usually did. She had been tasked with his training, and she felt that he was doing everything in his power to negate her methods, disobeying her and running off on his own. Well no more.

Swiftfire had found whatever hole her three-legged apprentice had curled up into to hide, and she had carried him like a kit all the way back to camp and right up to Twilightstar's den. Entering with her apprentice's scruff clamped firmly in her jaws, she cleared her throat and set Wildpaw down. Swiftfire hadn't said much to him, if at all. But the fact that she had wordlessly hauled his sorry little no-tail here to Twilightstar's den was enough to tell anyone what was going on.

"Twilightstar," Swiftfire meowed, dipping her head to the WindClan leader, "We're here. What was it you needed to speak to us about?" Her tone was calm and quiet, so quiet that it wasn't difficult to see the smoldering anger behind her pale yellow eyes. Swiftfire already knew what Twilightstar was going to address. Sitting down and curling her tail over her paws, Swiftfire waited, keeping a paw ready to pin Wildpaw down if he decided to try and flee this very important discussion.

(permission from Rxmulus to powerplay Wildpaw for this post)
@Moonraven
@Rxmulus

That was quite an interesting sight. Twilightstar couldn't help but clock her head just slightly to the right and blink her solo eye as Swiftfire carried Wildpaw into her den much like a mother carried their kit. Twilightstar wondered if that put a straight on Swiftfire's neck. The leader's mother would often do the same to her when she had been an apprentice and proved to be a little too much for her mentors to deal with. Twilightstar's past trouble and Wildpaw's current were two very different types of trouble, though.

She bowed her head in greeting to the pair and then got right down to business as soon Swiftfire came to her with a question. "So the first time it was the destruction of the apprentice den, which I did truly think was an accident, but now I'm wondering. So I let you off with a warning," Her green eye locked onto Wildpaw as she spoke. "But then I get a report from a clanmate that you used strawberry juice and pretended to be injured, and thus scared her halfway out of her fur." She did not bother hiding the exasperation in her voice.

"I don't understand how that prank was supposed to be funny in any way, shape, or form. Perhaps I just do not understand your sense of humor." Twilightstar mewed, turning her over to Swiftfire. "Were you aware of his little prank?" She questioned drily, scowling.
@Rxmulus

Originally Posted by Rippleshade

@Moonraven Rippleshade walks into Twilightstar's den. She has a question. She starts off. "The Clan is hungry. We need to find another source of food. One hunting patrol i've been on tried hunting prarie dogs. maybe we can try that?"

Her attention is captured by Rippleshade as the warrior stepped into her den with something obviously on her mind. "Prairie dogs?" She mused, trying to recall if she's heard of them or not. "Are you sure?"
(Not certain if they have prairie dogs in Maine, I don't think we do)

Originally Posted by Fawnhearted

Seedheart sat down in the clearing, a little worried about her Leaders announcement. She was slightly angry at Wolffang, the new deputy. He was a bit hotheaded, and seemed to not be the most kindest Tom, pausing to consider this she added in her head. “Then again most toms aren't the best”. She didn't discuss it openly, but she was bisexual. She was reconsidering that bit though because most of Windclans toms were a bit..how should she put it? The Guardian was generally more focused on her clan at the moment though.

Realizing Twilightstar had jumped down and left she padded to the Fresh-Kill pile. Waiting until the cats Twilightstar had called to her den left, Seedheart looked at the choices the pile offered, hoping the leader would enjoy some of the prey that her clanmates had caught, and a few kind words.

A few rabbits, a small hare, two chaffinches that must've been on Moor and a few other scraps of prey. Seedheart carefully took a good sized rabbit and padded towards the leader den.

“Twilightstar?", she called softly before trying to step into the den. If the molly was sleeping or busy she would leave it out here, she wanted to make sure she didn't interrupt her.

(Mmwahaha @Moonraven you can never escape me!! XD)

She found herself in quite the predicament. She knew that when she settled on him as deputy, he would not be perfect, but out of all her former deputies, she didn't think her clan's ever had a reaction as terrible as they have to Wolffang. Twilightstar didn't feel exactly like she's made the wrong choice but felt like she could have picked someone a little better.

Unfortunately, unlike where she had been certain on her past choices, Wolffang, as bad as it sounded, had been chosen purely due to the fact that she didn't have anyone better. If she could have honestly found a slightly more amicable choice, she would have chosen them. Their views are too different, he was not the one she wanted to take hold of WindClan's future. She's lost far too much, gone through so much, just to keep WindClan on its paws after every situation. She's pushed through all of her trauma and remained standing even when all she wanted to do was run. The next clan leader, she didn't need them to be identical to her, but they should strive to make WindClan better for all no matter their looks or bloodline, they needed to stand united.

Wolffang wasn't that cat, so it would be a while longer before she could rest. She just needed to tough it out, things would get better it always did. One ear angled itself towards the entrance of her den at the call. This voice has been making frequent visits to her, it made the leader wonder what was wrong now. "Come in, Seedheart." She chirped, sitting up in her nest with a soft yawn.

Originally Posted by BILL.

Her scars were cool! But Fernpaw didn't linger on them long, distracted from them by her questions. "Yeah, she looks like a Bearpuff!" Being big and fluffy, that was. Come to think of it, most cats were bigger and fluffier than him. She just seemed.. More.

"Friend?" Hmm, Fernpaw liked to think he was friends with everyone. But, he hadn't seen the Bearpuff in some time, and.. he didn't really know her. Not like he knew Fish Cat, and how Fish Cat was secretly a squish under all that sourface. ".. No." Perhaps one day he'd get to see her squish under all her sour. "I saw her a couple times when she was here, she was nice to me." But she wasn't nice to Twilightstar if her scars were from her. Fernpaw would need to contemplate that a bit.

Oh, his training! "It's going great! Owltalon took me to the borders, and I got to meet some Thundercats! One was shiny and super nice, and the other was.." Kind of a killjoy. "More like a snow cat, cold."

He'd include the Fish Cat, but he technically wasn't part of his training. It was in the Beforetimes when he had less known freedom.

The joys of a kithood with a stolen leader and no one paying attention.

What the heck did a Bearpuff look like? Twilightstar's only eye twinkled with a mix of amused confusion. It must be like Stagleech and his floof monsters, or whatever it was he liked to call those sheep. Apprentices had incredibly active imaginations.

As Fernpaw went on and explained that they weren't friends, but she was n-n-nice to him. She almost laughed, she barely kept it in, causing her whiskers to quiver underneath the strain to keep it in. Nice! Either Dawnstar had been very sick, Fernpaw didn't know what the word nice meant, or most likely, the leader had been fishing for something from him. There's no way Dawnstar was even close to the same word as nice to anyway without some reason. She silently thought to herself, attempting to wrap her head around this new problem Fernpaw had presented to her while paying attention to his chatter.

It was great to hear that he was getting along with Owltalon, she had been worried... er... that wasn't really the right word. Apprehensive, hmm, something like that, with the placement. Truthfully, she was like that with every mentor and apprentice pair she put together. She never knew if it would flop or not, rarely do apprentices and mentors stick together till warriorhood, it was sad. She hoped the two stuck together through thick and thin.

"I thoroughly enjoy how you describe cats." She purred after a smile, it was like getting a glimpse of how he saw the world through his eyes. Twilightstar wasn't even going to bother trying to ask for names, she doubted she'd get the correct one.

"Did you tell Daw--Bearpuffstar," she correct herself for some silly reason, "that you came from StarClan?"

[Raven~]

Originally Posted by Rippleshade

as rippleshade walked from hunting, she was tired. She was willing to go hunting again, due to it being very fun. "come on Dustypaw," she says, "Come hunt with me."

Dustypaw shrugged. "Ok," She agreed. She knew Rippleshade, and she knew Skyleaf wouldn't mind her going out. "Lead the way," She meowed.
@Rippleshade

[Mercury]

Originally Posted by Kyrieknight

"You sure?" Crowspeck wasn't convinced. He looked Halfmask over, circling them. "Are you sure?"

Halfmask nodded earnestly, nudging Crowspeck in as playful a mood as they could muster, trying to keep their voice steady. “Aw, you know I’m fine.” they gave a small smile, feeling like a blatant liar. “Now, really, those rabbits are all going to be settling down for the night by the time we get to the border. We should hurry up.”

[Kunaisoul]

Duskfrost looked to her. “I-“ he looked to her. ”what more- why is-“ he stammered. ”Im fine!” he growled, stomping out of the den.
@Moonraven

[Pand1440]

Maplebird looked curiously at the trans tom-kit with curious orange eyes. "What's his name?" she meowed quietly, still staring at the adorable ball of sand-colored fluff. If Quick is nursing this kit too... will she have enough milk for the others?!?

[ @Peril]

[whatzername]

Originally Posted by Panda1440

Maplebird looked curiously at the trans tom-kit with curious orange eyes. "What's his name?" she meowed quietly, still staring at the adorable ball of sand-colored fluff. If Quick is nursing this kit too... will she have enough milk for the others?!?

[ @Peril]

Quickfrost
She smiled, His name is Desertkit. Apparently, from what I've gathered, his biological mother didn't respect his chosen gender and actually refused to call him son so insistently that he cried when I called him sweetie. she said with a small frown. Then she noticed Maplebird's expression. What's with that face? You look a little worried.

[Tiabirb]

"Of course not, Twilightstar." Swiftfire felt a prickle of annoyance that Twilightstar expected her to know, when her apprentice liked to disappear constantly on her. "I would have never allowed him to endanger and scare his Clanmates like that if I had known about his antics. He acts on his own, isn't that right, little brother?" The fury in Swiftfire's voice was dwindling, but it was still presence and radiated from every hair on her pelt. Why couldn't he just listen to her? Why did he insist on being so...so wild?

"I don't plan to make excuses for him. He needs to understand that thinking before acting..." She let her gaze drop to Wildpaw, her eyes narrowing, "Is something every warrior needs to do. Apprentices too." She wasn't going to say sorry either. Most of the time, mentors did take some fall, but both of these times Wildpaw had acted on his own, without so much as consulting her, or letting her know where he was. She felt guilt for him, but Wildpaw needed to take some responsibility too. They were supposed to be a team, a unified front. Mentor and apprentice, sister and brother. If she couldn't even control or temper him just a little bit, it made it just that much more difficult in the long run.

@Moonraven @Rxmulus