WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[Skycloud]

Breezepelt raced to camp feeling something churing in his belly....maybe a strong feeling....But for who?

[Silverfur & Co]

Originally Posted by Skycloud

Breezepelt raced to camp feeling something churing in his belly....maybe a strong feeling....But for who?

She sniffed around and dropped into another crouch and found a vole. She went after it slowly but her mind was on Breezepelt.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by windtail

nothing much said rainingtail execpt hunting and patroling and finding out that im going to have to the nursery soon she said srugging
@Topaztaill

~Miststone~
“You’re having kits?” Miststone cocked her head slightly to the side. She remembered her own three kits... or one.
A few moons after birth, Sweetkit and Spottedkit both vanished without a trace. It left the pale ginger tabby and Cricketfire heartbroken. He did everything he could to find their missing kits, but nothing turned up. Only their son, Twigpaw, survived to apprenticeship.
However, when her daughters disappeared, Miststone was so filled with guilt, grief, anger, and all sorts of different emotions, that she failed to love Twigpaw as a son, and now, he wasn’t very close to either of his parents.
That would be something Miststone would regret forever.

[windtail]

~Miststone~
“You’re having kits?” Miststone cocked her head slightly to the side. She remembered her own three kits... or one.
A few moons after birth, Sweetkit and Spottedkit both vanished without a trace. It left the pale ginger tabby and Cricketfire heartbroken. He did everything he could to find their missing kits, but nothing turned up. Only their son, Twigpaw, survived to apprenticeship.
However, when her daughters disappeared, Miststone was so filled with guilt, grief, anger, and all sorts of different emotions, that she failed to love Twigpaw as a son, and now, he wasn’t very close to either of his parents.
That would be something Miststone would regret forever.

yes said rainingtail she knew that miststone had had kits before maybe she could give her some evise.
@Topaztaill

[Moonraven]

Originally Posted by WarriorzFan

"Twi? I have some stuff to say about this recent gathering...You looked really good up there, except for one or two things. First, Publicly Exposing all their faults looked extremely desperate and I think Shadowclan thought so too, and Second, Leaving before Dawnstar had spoken, I know why you did it but it was disrespectful and may look cowardly in Shadowclan's eyes. Lastly, I sort of wanted to listen to Dawnstar's report, not because I sympathize, but all the yelling probably involved would have been hilarious." Elderflare said logically, hoping his leader would understand.
@Moonraven

Um... Twilightstar immediately flattened her ears and Elderflare came in barking at her without so much as a hello. Most cats would get away with it since Twilightstar was rather laid back as a leader, but not when they come with such disbelievable critisim.

"Elderflare, what I said and how it affected others will be different for each cat. While you may have thought it looked desperate doesn't mean ShadowClan or anyone else will. I don't see how it came off as what you say, but to each their own." He was being opinionated, which was all well and dandy, but if he continued to speak like that, especially to a high rank, it could get him into trouble. Twilightstar's had more than enough moons standing on the Breezerock and the Seastones to know how to speak. Twilightstar was all for criticism, but not when it came to how she handled herself when speaking at a Gathering.

"You don't know Dawnstar as I do," Twilightstar didn't think she needed to justify why she had left before the other leader could speak. "I don't see how or why I should care about what comes off as disrespectful or not to ShadowClan. They already see WindClan as cowards, nothing I do or say will change that, but again, you're speculating all of this." He seemed to have forgotten all the disrespectful dung that Dawnstar's had pulled since she set paw on the Seastones all those moons ago.

"You may find her temper funny, but you've never been on the wrong side of it personally or forced underneath those claws of hers. It's not wise to her or ShadowClan lightly." Twilightstar had a healthy dose of fear when it came to Dawnstar, it was easy enough to overcome it, but that fear would always remain in her heart.

Originally Posted by Rani

It was nice to see the leader eating and enjoying herself as much as possible even if it was a small thing it made the warrior happy and feel like he was helping his clan at least some. Twilightstar had been around and leader for Crowtooths entire life really that was something significant even discarding the fact that when they finally managed to get her back from Dawnstar the large and bulky warrior was the one to carry her most of the way back home. It'd been the hardest and more terrifying thing he'd ever done seeing such an untouchable leader so starved and mauled that he'd refused to let Beastspark (where'd that guy go in the end?) take her even when he flagged and the toms breathing grew so strained. But time had healed all the wounds it could and scarred the rest and she was here no longer rail thin and enjoying her prey. It gave a sort of hope things could be fixed in a way...

Eventually she nudged the fat rodent to him for all the hunk of meat refused to move and, ears pricked to take everything in, began to eat some himself. Yeah they werent getting through this thing were they even with the two of them and Crowtooths size fuelled appetite. Eventually though he responded swallowing his latest mouthfull before rasping;
"Huntin down there's both easier and harder if that makes sense? On one paw actually catching them is easier you dont need to chase anything down or stalk them too much which I find easier given if I try to run I'll land myself in the medicine cats den... Plus generally you find the prey in groups too but its much harder to find the prey in the first place and if you dont know the tunnels you risk getting lost. Also prey tends to be more..... Vicious. Its probably because they're cornered or defending their dens but it can be nasty on occasion. It's a different type of hunting to get used to is all."
Skinnier cats or those who relied on vision to find prey on the open moors would probably struggle as much as the skunk striped tom did above down below but thats how things went he supposed. That was ignoring cats general issues with claustrophobia and avoiding cats ins too.

Hearing about the kits was a delight, Crowtooth struggled with younger cats sometimes (Heronkit was a rare exception) but sometimes they did seem nice. Maybe he should try and interact more with the kits in the clan he'd bonded with Creekdash as a mentor and apprentice because they met young, doing the same might help his personal issues in that matter. Ya know, find a kit who wanted to learn tunnelling early who he could tolerate long term and start from there. Twilightstar at least made the idea sound like it would be fun.

"They sound like they take after you at least in part, they certainly sound unique. Might try and visit them at some point if they seem up for it see if Leechkits tongue really is so fearsome." The tunneller didnt really care about respect too much himself as long as cats respected the danger of the tunnels and the high ranks of the clan so wouldnt be fussed by it. Maybe they'd want the remains of the groundhog? Crowtooth had no clue about how kits grew and if they were old enough to eat meat yet. Still one of mollies comments hit harder then the warrior expected and a hint of old pain flashed over his face as he muttered a wheezy "I miss Stagleech...". The weirdo was a true friend when generally the tom didnt have many and the loss ran deep when it was uncovered every so often.

He tried to shake it off at the topic change though, the two where enjoying themselves (at least in the warriors opinion) and it was time to focus. Shame focus could be so easily derailed by a bit of bad news... The scruffy toms ears pinned fully back as his expression dropped into genuine shock and dismay at the news. Maplebird was leaving windclan?! Why, it made no sense! And why didnt she tell him?! They were friends as well as partners in rank with her gone the only cat left he was really close to was Creekdash who was still getting used to being back! This was just hurtful didnt she care?! ......She did care right? Maplebird was his friend a proper friend not just a cat Crowtooth with his lack of social perception thought was a friend......
This wasnt the time for this.

"I- I didnt know about Maplebird that is a bit of an issue." Despite the warrior having wrestled his face back into blankness as soon as he could from his voice it was obvious he was distressed by this. The large warrior kept it steady but it was even lower than his normal deep rasp and more broken than his warped vocal cords usually made his words with the strain of suppressing the emotion from it. Sure the tunneller got better the more he talked and distracted himself but still it was probably a dead giveaway.
"Right finding new tunnellers in training... An event is probably the best bet to get a batch of them as it'd take a lot less time than individual testing but Ive had issues before. The tunnel king game was a roaring success when it occurred but that one was for fun and Im not sure if the skills correlate to being a good tunneller despite taking place in whats now the warren. I did later try and run a hide and seek event like the one you ran so long ago that introduced me to the tunnels but it was kinda a failure with only two cats finding me in the end and they.... They seemed to loose interest when I tried to give them further training. So while I have ideas coming up with a proper plan that wont end in failure if we get some cats down there that arent suited for the task and identifies those that have potential is a puzzle.

I need cats who are brave but not an idiot about it and still cautious. Being too wary means you never go or do anything but charging blindly will lead you nose first into a wall or worse. I need cats with a good sense of direction, how to identify a cave in area and avoid it can be taught but I could be an elder and still not know every path down there much less teach it, getting lost and just never coming out is a risk. Finally I need cats who wont panic under pressure and at least arent completely stupid. Some clanmates kinda freak out when they get down there with how tight it is and dark and stagnant or just make dumb decisions that are risky (Wildpaw) and thats seriously dangerous.... Everything else thats necessary I can teach but those attributes I cant bend on or I risk my clanmates lives."

He grew a bit softer in tone here obviously reflecting on something. "I dont want any windclan cat to die down there... Frankly its a miracle I didnt myself now that I know more and its why Ive been wary to train apprentices until now."
@Moonraven (Why do my replies to you and taker always end up essays this is insane)

Listening to Crowtooth speak while she took another chunk of meat into her maw, Twilightstar attempted to wrap her head around what he was explaining about hunting. It made sense for the prey to be more hostile in their respective dens and the tunnels, she wasn't expecting it to be harder to find prey though. She might have to reacquaint herself with the tunnels again, she could spend some extra time in them to see just how hard it was to track prey down there. In the moor, the scents were wilds, thanks to the wind and the lack of trees to catch the scent on, it could make it extremely difficult for a cat to locate prey by smell alone.

Twilightstar had learned to work with the wind over against it, but even here and there she still had some troubles actually pinpointing a direction with especially strong gusts. In the tunnels, she assumed tracking a scent would be much more straightforward, although the risks of getting lost were utterly understandable. The cats still got lost in their own territory, getting lost in the tunnels would be much worse. As her brain continued to work one piece of the problem, Crowtooth diverges into missing Stagleech. She hasn't heard anyone say his name in a long long while, it squeezed her heart rather painfully.

She missed a lot of old friends and old clanmates. With how the clan remembered them, it was almost like they were never there to start with. Twilightstar was sure that the same would happen with her once her time passed as leader and the next one stepped up, she hated how distant in memories cats became once they were gone or missing. Huffing softly, she lowered her head to take another small bit of meat, ignoring how dry it felt going down her throat and it settled uncomfortably in her belly. This was the life of a clan cat, no one was truly gone so long as they lived on in the memories of others.

Her green eye shot back up to Crowtooth as she caught the faint whiff of distress from the cat. So he hadn't known about Maplebird in the slightest. It clearly hit him harder than he was openly willing to let on. Twilightstar wasn't aware of Crowtooth's social issues, she wasn't close enough to him to be, which would have made her sad if knew, but she could suspect that there was probably some sort of bond between the two cats. A very strong one from Crowtooth's reaction. She had no clue what to say to make it better, she wasn't sure why Maplebriar had gone either. She did know what it was like to lose the few close cats to you though. Especially when they left without warning or saying anything to you. If she had tried to dig a little deeper, she might have found quite the companion in Crowtooth.

He shifted the topic as swiftly as she did though, and her thoughts went the flow of change. She put the event problem to the side, more interested in what he was looking. Twilightstar understood what he was saying, she did, but... "Not that it's my place to say much, but I think you're expecting far too much. You want brave cats who aren't too cautious but aren't too hasty, who have a good sense of direction, who aren't stupid and can handle pressure well and won't be risky." She repeats back to him in a slightly sharper tone tinged with disbelief. "You are asking for a lot without even giving cats a chance, not to mention your contradicting yourself. If I asked for everything you just asked for in my apprentices and warriors, I wouldn't have any or at least very very few."

"You want to find cats based on attributes, that's not going work since those are constantly changing, cats change and they grow through the others they meet, through what they're taught, and through the experiences that happen to them, good or bad. Cats who are brave today, take one good scary and they could be cowards tomorrow. Cats who know how to walk through the tunnels with their eyes close now could take one wrong step and lose their sense of direction completely and easily be brought to panic. Cats who are completely level-headed and intelligent could be thrown into a situation that demands they think outside of the box and take a stupid risk. Cats who cower and panic can find the fiercest of courage with the right motivation. Stupid cats can be smartest at the strangest of times and the smartest of cats can do the stupidest of things at others. Do you understand what I'm trying to get at?" Twilightstar questioned in a more relaxed mew as her stomach unwound itself from its knots.

"Depending on the situation or what the world throws at them, cats who you thought you knew perfectly, can easily do something that you never thought they could or would. Living in a clan itself is a risk, going down in the tunnels itself is a risk, living as we do in the wild is a risk. But we make it work. We train to minimize these risks, work together to fight against these risks." It was hard for her to say, but she wondered if he was scared of being responsible for his clanmates' lives and if that was why he was making what she felt was a rather outrageous request. "Are you afraid?"
(LOL, I'll take that as a compliment (: )

Originally Posted by I draw war cats

“Nettlekit, will be her name” Softsong replied

"Nettlekit is a suitable name," Twilightstar peered at the small cat for a bit longer before turning her head away. "It's been a little since we've had any outsiders join WindClan. Are you going to be staying in the nursery with her, Softsong?"

Originally Posted by TheNyanCatMinecart

~ WOLFFANG ~

Wolffang nodded in agreeance. He gave the cats plenty of time to report back in, so why were so many of them late - or chose not to report in at all? It made no sense to him. All that they had to do was get out there and either patrol a border or catch some prey before heading back in to report to him. It wasn't that hard. He listened to Twilightstar's words about Batscreech. He understood what she meant: he shouldn't exile cats just because they didn't like him. There were plenty of cats who didn't like him, he knew that, but that interaction had really ruffled his fur.

Twilightstar most likely had to deal with that all the time, as respected as she was. There were plenty of sour, bitter Clanmates. He nodded again in reply, knowing that yes, a small exile would do her well. It wasn't just her disrespecting him, though, she'd also been talking something about patrols and reporting in being useless or whatever. "That's true," he meowed in response to all that. Yes, especially with how his first moments of being deputy had turned out, he knew that he'd have plenty of Clanmates against him. "The punishment would do her well, though. It wasn't just her disrespecting me, she was also acting like patrols and reporting in were useless and didn't matter." At least, that's how she had come off to him.

At the mention of other punishments, Wolffang considered it. For cats just being disrespectful, that might work out well enough, although he had a feeling that no matter what he did that wouldn't work too well. Plenty of cats already disliked him, which he hated. Plenty had also grown to respect him, which was what he was working on. If he could earn their respect, then that was his duty. But he just simply meowed, "Yes, Twilightstar, that would work. Disrespect shouldn't be treated like a severe offence, but the cat should learn not to mouth off and treat their Clan like it's just a thing." Tick duty sounded disgusting, but then again, WindClan didn't have many elders.

Wolffang listened to the last of what she had said and wondered if he'd been dismissed, but then Twilightstar mentioned his sister. The tom hesitated, and with a jolt, realized that he hadn't seen her since the dog attack either. In fact, had she even been in the dog attack? When was the last time he'd seen her? "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I haven't seen her since, either. I normally would've gone to check up on her by now, but we... haven't been on the best of terms lately. And I've been preoccupied with the whole patrol situation. I should go and ask Peachfrost at some point, if I haven't seen her then that means that there's a good chance she could have some nasty injuries."

Rosebriar would be really upset if she got a scar. Mentally, he hoped that she hadn't been injured too badly. What would she do if she got badly scarred? Wolffang didn't want to think about it, she was so obsessed with her looks that any sort of fault might break her. She'd been upset enough when she'd gotten that stomach scar, even though it was easy to hide.
@Moonraven

Twilightstar was happy to she that Wolffang got what she was pointing out without her needing to blunt about it. He was getting much much better at listening and understanding, although she got the feeling that some of the stuff she said he still managed to turn into an insult or her somehow judging him now and then. He had yet to learn that when Twilightstar had something judgmental to say, she'd just say it, Leechkit did get that little trait from her, but that kit did it with everyone.

Batscreetch sounded like a pawful, Twilightstar would have to make sure to keep an eye on that warrior when she got back. He must deal with more disrespect than her, Twilightstar was pretty certain it was because she's been here for so long that cats seemed to hold their tongues more when it came to speaking to her. Wolffang didn't have that luxury as she did. He'd probably have to be thinking up more punishments than she did with it.

"I don't want this rank and gaining your clanmates' support to break apart your bond with Rosebriar." Twilightstar informed Wolffang. "She was pretty badly injured the last I saw her, I don't want to dictate how you spend your time, but you should have been the first at her side as her brother." Twilightstar wondered if any of Rosebriar's other siblings had visited her at all. Yet another reason she wanted to reinforce the bonds between her kits, she knew what it felt like to feel alone after getting wounded as Rosebriar had. That molly was as vain as vain could be, those scars would definitely have disfigured her. Most of the other cats had broken limbs, Rosebriar had not gotten so lucky.

"You really don't know how badly injured she was, do you?" Although the words came out even, her tone screamed her displeasure in knowing that Wolffang's has been that distant from Rosebriar. She used to see those two together all the time, it was sad how easy it was for kin to turn their backs on each other. "When you talk to her, try to patch things up between you two," Twilightstar advised if it was this easy for him to cause a rift with his sister, how easy would it be for him to cause a rift with the clan. It might be a good idea for to Rosebriar meet her brats, Lionkit and Beastkit might help chase away some of the depression she was sure Rosebriar was carrying.

Originally Posted by Pheasantflight

@Moonraven

Yes! She wasn't sleeping! As successful as it was, the yawn wasn't the best sign. "I'm sorry if you were trying to sleep." The Snow Bengal slipped inside and sat next to the fluffy lilac leader at the tail gesture. "Let me just start off by saying that I don't have any bad news." That was a good way to start. Silentstorm had thought up that starter beforehand, in order to lead with a lighter voice. "After the last meeting, talking about tunnelers and guardians and what not. I was wondering." She paused and took a breath, unsure how to continue. "What would you want me to do?" Hurriedly, she continued. "I know we don't really know each other, but all I want to know is how I can best help our clan. I'm not just making you choose for me." Swallowing hard, she stood and began to pace. "I'm deaf and it's a hindrance. I'm not going to pretend like I'm special or anything. Because of that, I might mess something up," just like Rosebriar or Wolffang would expect me to do. She finished in her head before turning back to Twilightstar to see how she responded, sitting down again. "Sorry."

"Hmm, I wasn't trying to sleep, yawning is a bad habit I got. I do it even when I'm not particularly tired." Explained the lilac feline, making sure to give Silentstorm her full attention. A smile appeared on her face as the molly made sure to point out that she didn't have anything bad to tell her. That was nice, Twilightstar wondered if her face or eye gave away that she was expecting something bad from her.

Her whiskers shifted upwards as she scrunched her face to express her confusion at the question given to her. She had a lot of cats look to her for direction, came with rank, but she's never had a cat ask for what rank she wanted them in. Twilightstar could particularly feel the anxiety rolling off Silentstorm as the molly got up and begun to pace. This seemed to be more than just looking for a new rank. What was bothering the warrior became a little bit clear after she brought up being deaf and a hindrance. Once Silentstorm settled down with a sheepish apology, Twilightstar's tail weaved around to lightly run along the troubled warrior's back with a reassuring stroke.

"Your lack of hearing doesn't necessarily contribute to whether you'll mess something up. Cats with missing senses or limbs aren't considered a hindrance to me or WindClan. Too many cats forget that the wind blows upon all without pride or prejudice. Whether it be hunting or fighting, or simply fetching or herbs or cleaning out bedding if you contributed to WindClan I don't care what you have or don't have nor how you look or where you came." Twilightstar knew cats were stuck on strong and weak, but so many forgot that there is no strength without the weak. Every cat had a part to play, even the weak. Those stronger should be the ones protecting the weak, not looking down on them or judging them. Having something to protect should make a cat stronger, knowing that you had someone to rely on you, should be a proud feeling when it came to clanmates.

"If you make a mistake it happens, you should not blame it on you being deaf, you'll start to use that as a crutch forever. Cats make mistakes and mess up even with all their senses. No one is perfect." The leader wondered if Silentstorm had been talking with one Rosebriar or Wolffang. Her deputy was getting better with accepting cats, but old habits are hard to break. "Is there some reason you want a different rank?" Twilightstar could understand if she actually wanted a different rank, but she was asking Twilightstar what rank she should go for. It didn't seem like she was particularly passionate or interested in either tunneler or guardian.

[WarriorzFan]

Originally Posted by Moonraven

Um... Twilightstar immediately flattened her ears and Elderflare came in barking at her without so much as a hello. Most cats would get away with it since Twilightstar was rather laid back as a leader, but not when they come with such disbelievable critisim.

"Elderflare, what I said and how it affected others will be different for each cat. While you may have thought it looked desperate doesn't mean ShadowClan or anyone else will. I don't see how it came off as what you say, but to each their own." He was being opinionated, which was all well and dandy, but if he continued to speak like that, especially to a high rank, it could get him into trouble. Twilightstar's had more than enough moons standing on the Breezerock and the Seastones to know how to speak. Twilightstar was all for criticism, but not when it came to how she handled herself when speaking at a Gathering.

"You don't know Dawnstar as I do," Twilightstar didn't think she needed to justify why she had left before the other leader could speak. "I don't see how or why I should care about what comes off as disrespectful or not to ShadowClan. They already see WindClan as cowards, nothing I do or say will change that, but again, you're speculating all of this." He seemed to have forgotten all the disrespectful dung that Dawnstar's had pulled since she set paw on the Seastones all those moons ago.

"You may find her temper funny, but you've never been on the wrong side of it personally or forced underneath those claws of hers. It's not wise to her or ShadowClan lightly." Twilightstar had a healthy dose of fear when it came to Dawnstar, it was easy enough to overcome it, but that fear would always remain in her heart.




Listening to Crowtooth speak while she took another chunk of meat into her maw, Twilightstar attempted to wrap her head around what he was explaining about hunting. It made sense for the prey to be more hostile in their respective dens and the tunnels, she wasn't expecting it to be harder to find prey though. She might have to reacquaint herself with the tunnels again, she could spend some extra time in them to see just how hard it was to track prey down there. In the moor, the scents were wilds, thanks to the wind and the lack of trees to catch the scent on, it could make it extremely difficult for a cat to locate prey by smell alone.

Twilightstar had learned to work with the wind over against it, but even here and there she still had some troubles actually pinpointing a direction with especially strong gusts. In the tunnels, she assumed tracking a scent would be much more straightforward, although the risks of getting lost were utterly understandable. The cats still got lost in their own territory, getting lost in the tunnels would be much worse. As her brain continued to work one piece of the problem, Crowtooth diverges into missing Stagleech. She hasn't heard anyone say his name in a long long while, it squeezed her heart rather painfully.

She missed a lot of old friends and old clanmates. With how the clan remembered them, it was almost like they were never there to start with. Twilightstar was sure that the same would happen with her once her time passed as leader and the next one stepped up, she hated how distant in memories cats became once they were gone or missing. Huffing softly, she lowered her head to take another small bit of meat, ignoring how dry it felt going down her throat and it settled uncomfortably in her belly. This was the life of a clan cat, no one was truly gone so long as they lived on in the memories of others.

Her green eye shot back up to Crowtooth as she caught the faint whiff of distress from the cat. So he hadn't known about Maplebird in the slightest. It clearly hit him harder than he was openly willing to let on. Twilightstar wasn't aware of Crowtooth's social issues, she wasn't close enough to him to be, which would have made her sad if knew, but she could suspect that there was probably some sort of bond between the two cats. A very strong one from Crowtooth's reaction. She had no clue what to say to make it better, she wasn't sure why Maplebriar had gone either. She did know what it was like to lose the few close cats to you though. Especially when they left without warning or saying anything to you. If she had tried to dig a little deeper, she might have found quite the companion in Crowtooth.

He shifted the topic as swiftly as she did though, and her thoughts went the flow of change. She put the event problem to the side, more interested in what he was looking. Twilightstar understood what he was saying, she did, but... "Not that it's my place to say much, but I think you're expecting far too much. You want brave cats who aren't too cautious but aren't too hasty, who have a good sense of direction, who aren't stupid and can handle pressure well and won't be risky." She repeats back to him in a slightly sharper tone tinged with disbelief. "You are asking for a lot without even giving cats a chance, not to mention your contradicting yourself. If I asked for everything you just asked for in my apprentices and warriors, I wouldn't have any or at least very very few."

"You want to find cats based on attributes, that's not going work since those are constantly changing, cats change and they grow through the others they meet, through what they're taught, and through the experiences that happen to them, good or bad. Cats who are brave today, take one good scary and they could be cowards tomorrow. Cats who know how to walk through the tunnels with their eyes close now could take one wrong step and lose their sense of direction completely and easily be brought to panic. Cats who are completely level-headed and intelligent could be thrown into a situation that demands they think outside of the box and take a stupid risk. Cats who cower and panic can find the fiercest of courage with the right motivation. Stupid cats can be smartest at the strangest of times and the smartest of cats can do the stupidest of things at others. Do you understand what I'm trying to get at?" Twilightstar questioned in a more relaxed mew as her stomach unwound itself from its knots.

"Depending on the situation or what the world throws at them, cats who you thought you knew perfectly, can easily do something that you never thought they could or would. Living in a clan itself is a risk, going down in the tunnels itself is a risk, living as we do in the wild is a risk. But we make it work. We train to minimize these risks, work together to fight against these risks." It was hard for her to say, but she wondered if he was scared of being responsible for his clanmates' lives and if that was why he was making what she felt was a rather outrageous request. "Are you afraid?"
(LOL, I'll take that as a compliment (: )



"Nettlekit is a suitable name," Twilightstar peered at the small cat for a bit longer before turning her head away. "It's been a little since we've had any outsiders join WindClan. Are you going to be staying in the nursery with her, Softsong?"





Twilightstar was happy to she that Wolffang got what she was pointing out without her needing to blunt about it. He was getting much much better at listening and understanding, although she got the feeling that some of the stuff she said he still managed to turn into an insult or her somehow judging him now and then. He had yet to learn that when Twilightstar had something judgmental to say, she'd just say it, Leechkit did get that little trait from her, but that kit did it with everyone.

Batscreetch sounded like a pawful, Twilightstar would have to make sure to keep an eye on that warrior when she got back. He must deal with more disrespect than her, Twilightstar was pretty certain it was because she's been here for so long that cats seemed to hold their tongues more when it came to speaking to her. Wolffang didn't have that luxury as she did. He'd probably have to be thinking up more punishments than she did with it.

"I don't want this rank and gaining your clanmates' support to break apart your bond with Rosebriar." Twilightstar informed Wolffang. "She was pretty badly injured the last I saw her, I don't want to dictate how you spend your time, but you should have been the first at her side as her brother." Twilightstar wondered if any of Rosebriar's other siblings had visited her at all. Yet another reason she wanted to reinforce the bonds between her kits, she knew what it felt like to feel alone after getting wounded as Rosebriar had. That molly was as vain as vain could be, those scars would definitely have disfigured her. Most of the other cats had broken limbs, Rosebriar had not gotten so lucky.

"You really don't know how badly injured she was, do you?" Although the words came out even, her tone screamed her displeasure in knowing that Wolffang's has been that distant from Rosebriar. She used to see those two together all the time, it was sad how easy it was for kin to turn their backs on each other. "When you talk to her, try to patch things up between you two," Twilightstar advised if it was this easy for him to cause a rift with his sister, how easy would it be for him to cause a rift with the clan. It might be a good idea for to Rosebriar meet her brats, Lionkit and Beastkit might help chase away some of the depression she was sure Rosebriar was carrying.




"Hmm, I wasn't trying to sleep, yawning is a bad habit I got. I do it even when I'm not particularly tired." Explained the lilac feline, making sure to give Silentstorm her full attention. A smile appeared on her face as the molly made sure to point out that she didn't have anything bad to tell her. That was nice, Twilightstar wondered if her face or eye gave away that she was expecting something bad from her.

Her whiskers shifted upwards as she scrunched her face to express her confusion at the question given to her. She had a lot of cats look to her for direction, came with rank, but she's never had a cat ask for what rank she wanted them in. Twilightstar could particularly feel the anxiety rolling off Silentstorm as the molly got up and begun to pace. This seemed to be more than just looking for a new rank. What was bothering the warrior became a little bit clear after she brought up being deaf and a hindrance. Once Silentstorm settled down with a sheepish apology, Twilightstar's tail weaved around to lightly run along the troubled warrior's back with a reassuring stroke.

"Your lack of hearing doesn't necessarily contribute to whether you'll mess something up. Cats with missing senses or limbs aren't considered a hindrance to me or WindClan. Too many cats forget that the wind blows upon all without pride or prejudice. Whether it be hunting or fighting, or simply fetching or herbs or cleaning out bedding if you contributed to WindClan I don't care what you have or don't have nor how you look or where you came." Twilightstar knew cats were stuck on strong and weak, but so many forgot that there is no strength without the weak. Every cat had a part to play, even the weak. Those stronger should be the ones protecting the weak, not looking down on them or judging them. Having something to protect should make a cat stronger, knowing that you had someone to rely on you, should be a proud feeling when it came to clanmates.

"If you make a mistake it happens, you should not blame it on you being deaf, you'll start to use that as a crutch forever. Cats make mistakes and mess up even with all their senses. No one is perfect." The leader wondered if Silentstorm had been talking with one Rosebriar or Wolffang. Her deputy was getting better with accepting cats, but old habits are hard to break. "Is there some reason you want a different rank?" Twilightstar could understand if she actually wanted a different rank, but she was asking Twilightstar what rank she should go for. It didn't seem like she was particularly passionate or interested in either tunneler or guardian.

“Shadow clan? Those guys? I verbally incinerated one of their apprentices! It was hilarious!”

[Tuftdrawsanddoodles]

Originally Posted by Moonraven

Um... Twilightstar immediately flattened her ears and Elderflare came in barking at her without so much as a hello. Most cats would get away with it since Twilightstar was rather laid back as a leader, but not when they come with such disbelievable critisim.

"Elderflare, what I said and how it affected others will be different for each cat. While you may have thought it looked desperate doesn't mean ShadowClan or anyone else will. I don't see how it came off as what you say, but to each their own." He was being opinionated, which was all well and dandy, but if he continued to speak like that, especially to a high rank, it could get him into trouble. Twilightstar's had more than enough moons standing on the Breezerock and the Seastones to know how to speak. Twilightstar was all for criticism, but not when it came to how she handled herself when speaking at a Gathering.

"You don't know Dawnstar as I do," Twilightstar didn't think she needed to justify why she had left before the other leader could speak. "I don't see how or why I should care about what comes off as disrespectful or not to ShadowClan. They already see WindClan as cowards, nothing I do or say will change that, but again, you're speculating all of this." He seemed to have forgotten all the disrespectful dung that Dawnstar's had pulled since she set paw on the Seastones all those moons ago.

"You may find her temper funny, but you've never been on the wrong side of it personally or forced underneath those claws of hers. It's not wise to her or ShadowClan lightly." Twilightstar had a healthy dose of fear when it came to Dawnstar, it was easy enough to overcome it, but that fear would always remain in her heart.




Listening to Crowtooth speak while she took another chunk of meat into her maw, Twilightstar attempted to wrap her head around what he was explaining about hunting. It made sense for the prey to be more hostile in their respective dens and the tunnels, she wasn't expecting it to be harder to find prey though. She might have to reacquaint herself with the tunnels again, she could spend some extra time in them to see just how hard it was to track prey down there. In the moor, the scents were wilds, thanks to the wind and the lack of trees to catch the scent on, it could make it extremely difficult for a cat to locate prey by smell alone.

Twilightstar had learned to work with the wind over against it, but even here and there she still had some troubles actually pinpointing a direction with especially strong gusts. In the tunnels, she assumed tracking a scent would be much more straightforward, although the risks of getting lost were utterly understandable. The cats still got lost in their own territory, getting lost in the tunnels would be much worse. As her brain continued to work one piece of the problem, Crowtooth diverges into missing Stagleech. She hasn't heard anyone say his name in a long long while, it squeezed her heart rather painfully.

She missed a lot of old friends and old clanmates. With how the clan remembered them, it was almost like they were never there to start with. Twilightstar was sure that the same would happen with her once her time passed as leader and the next one stepped up, she hated how distant in memories cats became once they were gone or missing. Huffing softly, she lowered her head to take another small bit of meat, ignoring how dry it felt going down her throat and it settled uncomfortably in her belly. This was the life of a clan cat, no one was truly gone so long as they lived on in the memories of others.

Her green eye shot back up to Crowtooth as she caught the faint whiff of distress from the cat. So he hadn't known about Maplebird in the slightest. It clearly hit him harder than he was openly willing to let on. Twilightstar wasn't aware of Crowtooth's social issues, she wasn't close enough to him to be, which would have made her sad if knew, but she could suspect that there was probably some sort of bond between the two cats. A very strong one from Crowtooth's reaction. She had no clue what to say to make it better, she wasn't sure why Maplebriar had gone either. She did know what it was like to lose the few close cats to you though. Especially when they left without warning or saying anything to you. If she had tried to dig a little deeper, she might have found quite the companion in Crowtooth.

He shifted the topic as swiftly as she did though, and her thoughts went the flow of change. She put the event problem to the side, more interested in what he was looking. Twilightstar understood what he was saying, she did, but... "Not that it's my place to say much, but I think you're expecting far too much. You want brave cats who aren't too cautious but aren't too hasty, who have a good sense of direction, who aren't stupid and can handle pressure well and won't be risky." She repeats back to him in a slightly sharper tone tinged with disbelief. "You are asking for a lot without even giving cats a chance, not to mention your contradicting yourself. If I asked for everything you just asked for in my apprentices and warriors, I wouldn't have any or at least very very few."

"You want to find cats based on attributes, that's not going work since those are constantly changing, cats change and they grow through the others they meet, through what they're taught, and through the experiences that happen to them, good or bad. Cats who are brave today, take one good scary and they could be cowards tomorrow. Cats who know how to walk through the tunnels with their eyes close now could take one wrong step and lose their sense of direction completely and easily be brought to panic. Cats who are completely level-headed and intelligent could be thrown into a situation that demands they think outside of the box and take a stupid risk. Cats who cower and panic can find the fiercest of courage with the right motivation. Stupid cats can be smartest at the strangest of times and the smartest of cats can do the stupidest of things at others. Do you understand what I'm trying to get at?" Twilightstar questioned in a more relaxed mew as her stomach unwound itself from its knots.

"Depending on the situation or what the world throws at them, cats who you thought you knew perfectly, can easily do something that you never thought they could or would. Living in a clan itself is a risk, going down in the tunnels itself is a risk, living as we do in the wild is a risk. But we make it work. We train to minimize these risks, work together to fight against these risks." It was hard for her to say, but she wondered if he was scared of being responsible for his clanmates' lives and if that was why he was making what she felt was a rather outrageous request. "Are you afraid?"
(LOL, I'll take that as a compliment (: )



"Nettlekit is a suitable name," Twilightstar peered at the small cat for a bit longer before turning her head away. "It's been a little since we've had any outsiders join WindClan. Are you going to be staying in the nursery with her, Softsong?"




Twilightstar was happy to she that Wolffang got what she was pointing out without her needing to blunt about it. He was getting much much better at listening and understanding, although she got the feeling that some of the stuff she said he still managed to turn into an insult or her somehow judging him now and then. He had yet to learn that when Twilightstar had something judgmental to say, she'd just say it, Leechkit did get that little trait from her, but that kit did it with everyone.

Batscreetch sounded like a pawful, Twilightstar would have to make sure to keep an eye on that warrior when she got back. He must deal with more disrespect than her, Twilightstar was pretty certain it was because she's been here for so long that cats seemed to hold their tongues more when it came to speaking to her. Wolffang didn't have that luxury as she did. He'd probably have to be thinking up more punishments than she did with it.

"I don't want this rank and gaining your clanmates' support to break apart your bond with Rosebriar." Twilightstar informed Wolffang. "She was pretty badly injured the last I saw her, I don't want to dictate how you spend your time, but you should have been the first at her side as her brother." Twilightstar wondered if any of Rosebriar's other siblings had visited her at all. Yet another reason she wanted to reinforce the bonds between her kits, she knew what it felt like to feel alone after getting wounded as Rosebriar had. That molly was as vain as vain could be, those scars would definitely have disfigured her. Most of the other cats had broken limbs, Rosebriar had not gotten so lucky.

"You really don't know how badly injured she was, do you?" Although the words came out even, her tone screamed her displeasure in knowing that Wolffang's has been that distant from Rosebriar. She used to see those two together all the time, it was sad how easy it was for kin to turn their backs on each other. "When you talk to her, try to patch things up between you two," Twilightstar advised if it was this easy for him to cause a rift with his sister, how easy would it be for him to cause a rift with the clan. It might be a good idea for to Rosebriar meet her brats, Lionkit and Beastkit might help chase away some of the depression she was sure Rosebriar was carrying.




"Hmm, I wasn't trying to sleep, yawning is a bad habit I got. I do it even when I'm not particularly tired." Explained the lilac feline, making sure to give Silentstorm her full attention. A smile appeared on her face as the molly made sure to point out that she didn't have anything bad to tell her. That was nice, Twilightstar wondered if her face or eye gave away that she was expecting something bad from her.

Her whiskers shifted upwards as she scrunched her face to express her confusion at the question given to her. She had a lot of cats look to her for direction, came with rank, but she's never had a cat ask for what rank she wanted them in. Twilightstar could particularly feel the anxiety rolling off Silentstorm as the molly got up and begun to pace. This seemed to be more than just looking for a new rank. What was bothering the warrior became a little bit clear after she brought up being deaf and a hindrance. Once Silentstorm settled down with a sheepish apology, Twilightstar's tail weaved around to lightly run along the troubled warrior's back with a reassuring stroke.

"Your lack of hearing doesn't necessarily contribute to whether you'll mess something up. Cats with missing senses or limbs aren't considered a hindrance to me or WindClan. Too many cats forget that the wind blows upon all without pride or prejudice. Whether it be hunting or fighting, or simply fetching or herbs or cleaning out bedding if you contributed to WindClan I don't care what you have or don't have nor how you look or where you came." Twilightstar knew cats were stuck on strong and weak, but so many forgot that there is no strength without the weak. Every cat had a part to play, even the weak. Those stronger should be the ones protecting the weak, not looking down on them or judging them. Having something to protect should make a cat stronger, knowing that you had someone to rely on you, should be a proud feeling when it came to clanmates.

"If you make a mistake it happens, you should not blame it on you being deaf, you'll start to use that as a crutch forever. Cats make mistakes and mess up even with all their senses. No one is perfect." The leader wondered if Silentstorm had been talking with one Rosebriar or Wolffang. Her deputy was getting better with accepting cats, but old habits are hard to break. "Is there some reason you want a different rank?" Twilightstar could understand if she actually wanted a different rank, but she was asking Twilightstar what rank she should go for. It didn't seem like she was particularly passionate or interested in either tunneler or guardian.

Softsong nodded, “Yes, I will stay as in the nursery until Nettlekit is apprentice age” They meowed

[Mango]

@FrostCat

Bunnypaw nervously followed her mentor out of camp,” So what are we doing today out of camp?” she asked sheepishly looking at her paws as she kept lifting them one then the other, it was something she had discovered helped her anxiety.

[Raven~]

Originally Posted by Zesty Mango

@FrostCat

Bunnypaw nervously followed her mentor out of camp,” So what are we doing today out of camp?” she asked sheepishly looking at her paws as she kept lifting them one then the other, it was something she had discovered helped her anxiety.

Breezedapple smiled back at Bunnypaw. "I was thinking hunting. You're really good at that, you know. Besides, I've been meaning to hunt today. We can go together. C'mon. Let's go see if we can find a rabbit for you to chase."

[Mango]

Originally Posted by FrostCat

Breezedapple smiled back at Bunnypaw. "I was thinking hunting. You're really good at that, you know. Besides, I've been meaning to hunt today. We can go together. C'mon. Let's go see if we can find a rabbit for you to chase."

Bunnypaw gave a nervous nod,” Alright. I could use the practice.” she meowed nervously to Breezedapple. She was getting use to the hunting thing, but fighting seemed scary when facing a warrior.