Make sure to congratulate Versailles on their promotion from c-mod in training to fully fledged chat moderator! They've worked very hard, and we can't wait to see where they go from here!
The golden tabby let out a sharp exhale, feeling some sort of relief in Moonprace's words. Perhaps he was a bit too hard on himself. After all, his mood had been rather sour after the last couple emotionally-charged days. But as his brother asked about the depth of his interaction, heat flooded his ears and drew them back. "Well, I... I mean, I didn't even get the chance to talk to her," he replied sheepishly, averting his gaze. He knew he had no reason to feel embarrassed or ashamed around his own kin, but after the past couple days he couldn't help it.
"What if I mess up with him? You know how I get with training. I'm not the best fighter by any means, and hunting... well..." Sunchaser trailed off, letting his words hang in the air open-ended as he switched gears. Him having an apprentice was his higher up on the list of concerns. It was well known in the Clan, his obsession with love rather than training to excel as a warrior. He just wasn't that kind of cat.
And while worrying about what the first training session with Fizzlepaw would look like, Sunchaser couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the thing that tugged at his heart the most...
Turning his gaze to the sky above, he mulled over what could possibly go wrong next in his life. He knew he needed to eventually find Sunpoppy to apologize - and explain that he hadn't meant harm by his question the other day at the Windswept Plains. Dropping his head to look for the pale-furred tom, his heart sank to see him sitting with Hareflood. Of course. "What should I say to Poppy?" he sighed, crestfallen as he slunk down a bit back into his haunches. "I think I really messed up the other day, blabbing about Kestrelflame. Oh, Moony, why can't I be like you? You always seem to know what to say!"
Shadowkit was sitting in the clearing, observing his clanmates with his blind blue eyes. He black melanistic fur made him stand out on the sunny day, but he didn't care. He always stood out wheather is was his blindness or his color, or even his ability to see 5 seconds into the future. (OPEN)
Softkit was just running around, which was good as she needed to get rid of energy, but then she noticed the melanistic kit, and was a bit confused, so she went over to the kit. "Hi, who are you?" She mewed, her tail moving like crazy, she was clearly on a bit of an energy craze.
Darkfire smiled at Mosswhisper, who wasn't looking at him. He didn't take too much time to worry about it, as Goslingpaw had made her way over as well. He purred at the two younger cats, noting that Iciclepaw didn't seem to be very enthused. He nodded.
"A tour of the territory does seem first on the list. We'll go out after the meeting ends, alright?" he asked her. He brushed his plumed tail towards Mosswhisper's shoulder. "Feel free to join us with Goslingpaw if you'd like," he offered. He was glad to see that perhaps Goslingpaw and Iciclepaw would become friends. It would be nice to train with Mosswhisper. Darkfire had mostly trained Halfpaw by himself.
{ Sorry for all of the mentions, I slow it down @Starfall }
GoslingPaw vigorously nodded, "Yay! Moss Mentor, pleaseee, can you come!" She begged. The little siamese kept her eyes wide, still begging, but visually.
He walked over to a grassy spot and sat down with the vole. His mouth was practically watering the whole way over there. The vole smelled amazing, and best of all, it seemed fresh. Although to be polite, Sunripple waited for Cedarleaf to come over to start eating. It had been a while since they had last eaten together. Of course while she was walking over there he had to think of a conversation starter. Eating in silence wasn't something he enjoyed much, especially when it was with someone he cared about.
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Never tried prey before? That's right… Bluekit was just that: a kit. He gauged the much younger feline's age, then decided, "I think you're old enough to try some. Not too much, but a taste." Lionpaw led them out of the nursery, then inquired, "Is there a specific prey-creature you wanna try out first?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cobra
➵ Lightningstrike ⚡
Lightningstrike's tail fell from his back, landing behind her. She sat down and curled it around her paws, wincing at Lionpaw's curiously perplexed look. Great. This conversation was.. just great. She was embarrassing herself to the point where she could barely look at the tom, and he was just.. confused by everything she did. This was why she never talked to anycat. In fear of it ending up like this - a total disaster, and a complete mess for both of the cats. She briefly considered going to hiding, perhaps running over to ShadowClan and (a) join it and let Dawnstar scar her or (b) just ask her to kill her. Alas, neither option was suited to her needs at the moment. She still had a little time left before she needed to flee.
And, oh, stars. Regretting her last words, Lightning unknowingly buried her head in Lionpaw's pelt. "Ugh," she groaned, her mouth suddenly filled with soft golden fur. She raised her head, a startled expression on her face. "Sorry," the scarred cat muttered before bringing her head to the ground and whispering something like "imsuchafoolugh" and trying not to sniffle or cry. Such behavior was below her. "I meant sleep in the canopies - far away. Unless.. your desire was.. to rest close? I mean, you're just an apprentice - no offense, so.. and don't worry! I can smuggle you out, actually, I'll make sure your ceremony isn't delayed again. Oops."
Ah.. that was cool? Did Lightningstrike really want to start was family, though? She would be a pretty crappy mother, to tell the truth. "I would say the same," she spoke slowly, "but I don't have any friends. May I ask, who is this friend of yours? Do they already have plans on.. starting a family?" Of course he wanted to be leader. Every apprentice who'd ever cared wanted to be leader. "Yeah, well, I seriously doubt you'll get that far - no offense. I wanted to be leader." She flung her head up and let out a roaring laugh. One that was obviously forced. "Does it look like I'm even close? And trust me, Lion - it's not fun. It's a big job. Buckyboy's cracked from the stress, if you haven't noticed."
The tomcat startled when Lightningstrike buried her head into his fur. Ah… well this just got a little more awkward. And here he'd thought they'd already passed the maximum capacity for strangeness in a single conversation…
He contemplated clearing his throat, but luckily, Lightningstrike noticed her mistake and fixed it without the need for additional prompting. Obviously, the she-cat was embarrassed. Who wouldn't be after all that? Lionpaw thanked the existence of fur; no one would see that his ears were burning.
"I… It's alright?" the golden-furred feline attempted to reassure. "I don't think you're a fool." After all, Raven had always gone on and on about his own foolishness, idiocy, lack of common sense, etcetera, etcetera, and he'd turned out alright, hadn't he? Though she might need to work on her self-restraint, Lionpaw thought to himself wryly, referring to the molly who presently had her head tucked to the ground.
"I'm an apprentice who's way overdue for their promotion," he corrected. "Felines younger than me already have mates, so I don't think 'just an apprentice' is the best phrase to use considering my age." Once again, the abyssinian thanked his fur. "I meant sleeping in the canopies far away," he confirmed hastily, wanting to move the conversation along, preferably to a subject that didn't involve trees. "And… no smuggling. I'd rather not risk it. Again."
He smirked. "I think… my friend would rather stay anonymous. You might've met him super long ago. He used to be part of ThunderClan, and he's around your age. Say… when you were seven moons or so. You might've seen him around way back when." Lionpaw continued, "As for starting a family, definitely. He's gonna fight it, but there are way too many cats waiting for something to happen, and he isn't one to disappoint." He never had, and he better not this time, either. The abyssinian wanted to see those kits eventually.
"No offence taken," Lionpaw reassured. "Though you might've misheard me—I said that I didn't want to be leader. Buckstar has his paws full. Really, the only sane leaders that ever have it easy are those of the riverdwellers. It makes me wonder if they're really that powerful or if they're just really good at playing pretend."
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Last edited by nocturnal; February 7th, 2021 at 05:00 PM.
Never tried prey before? That's right… Bluekit was just that: a kit. He gauged the much younger feline's age, then decided, "I think you're old enough to try some. Not too much, but a taste." Lionpaw led them out of the nursery, then inquired, "Is there a specific prey-creature you wanna try out first?"
~Bluekit~
Bluekit followed him. "Maybe mouse? I've seen a lot of cats eating that." Bluekit mewed. His eyes shined. He was going to try prey for the first time! He wished his dad could be there with him to experience the moment with him. He wished he even knew his dad. But it was fine. Lionpaw seemed like a good friend to share the moment with.
Softkit was just running around, which was good as she needed to get rid of energy, but then she noticed the melanistic kit, and was a bit confused, so she went over to the kit. "Hi, who are you?" She mewed, her tail moving like crazy, she was clearly on a bit of an energy craze.
Shadowkit whipped around a bit surprized that he wasn't alone anymore, but then calmed down when he scented Softkit. "Hi, I'm Shadowkit." The small tom repleid. "I can tell thar=t you're Softkit." He added.
Shadowkit whipped around a bit surprized that he wasn't alone anymore, but then calmed down when he scented Softkit. "Hi, I'm Shadowkit." The small tom repleid. "I can tell thar=t you're Softkit." He added.
Huh, how did he know? That was cool! "Woah, how did you know so fast, er, Shadowkit, wasn't it?" She said gleefully.
Kestrelflame's ears twitched as Lionpaw talked. Was he saying he had nothing to learn in life? As much as she hated the idea, she was fairly sure lied taught cats’ things until they died. However, that was not the point. He was pointing out that he had gone though more than she had. That he was born a loner and run from his home, even if he did join the Clan that ran him off originally. His point was that he had a harder life than her so she could not teach him a life lesson. Or that was what she gathered. “At this point, it does not mater no.” She agreed with his statement about who had originally owned Victory woods.
As the tom went on Kestrelflame just sat there. It was true that cats assumed apprentices knew less, that was because it was the rank for learning, once you were done you were supposed to move up in rank. Not be an apprentice and fully trained. That was why she was puzzled why the tom was still an apprentice.
When the subject was turned to kits and queens Kestrelflame raised her brow. What did she know about queens and kits? Kits looked like a pawful but she did not know how much they really were. Only kit she had even interacted with was the Fizzlekit that had come up to her and asked her questions a bit ago. “I would not know, you spend time with them, are they hard to watch?” She asked him. “It would appear they are hard to watch with them getting out of camp. That, or the warriors are just not doing our jobs in protecting the kits.” Kestrelflame would add. She was not sure, personally the calico had never caught any kits outside of camp, but maybe that was because she didn’t hang out close to camp when she was out and about.
When she was out, she liked to go deeper into the forest and get some more quiet territory to work in. Out there it was easier to carry out a planned hunt or solo battle practice with herself and whatever she decided her target was. At times thin air, other times she would use a shrub. It sounded pathetic when there was a whole Clan of cats, she could spar with but really it was her swap off form training in the Dark forest. A way to train without Clanmates and without the whole being evil thing that came with the Dark forest.
Upon hearing Lionpaw’s “hey” Kestrelflame drug herself from her thoughts and focused on him again. Wait, seriously? How could his formal mentor fail multiple times to tour the territory? “You have not had a proper tour? That is an important part in training. To know every detail, you can about your territory so you can protect it properly.” The calico pointed out. Maybe he had been on enough patrols, but had he really been in every single area of the territory? Been told about it and shown the things every warrior should know? That, Kestrelflame was not sure about, however part of her was excited that she could use that according to plan. Or try to. “Well,” She started. “We could go on a tour of the Clans territory, or we could go over to Buckstar and ask him why you are not a warrior.” Kestrelflame suggested. Either way she was probably going to go to Buckstar at one point or another and ask for herself but why not offer to go now and get it over with. “That or we just do formal training, you know teach you the way ThunderClan does things instead of loners and rouges.” The calico would add tossing her paw. She did not know at this point.
[So sorry this took me forever...]
His ears twitched as Kestrelflame's remark pulled him out of his thoughts again. This conversation was making him think, and he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. Usually, Lionpaw simply spoke, leaving the pathway from his mind to his maw unfiltered, but with Kestrelflame, he had to double check what he wanted to say—partially because he didn't want to offend her too badly, and partially because she asked some seriously thought provoking questions.
"No," the abyssinian responded, "kittens aren't hard to watch at all. They're eager to prove their worth, though, and some warriors I've met are completely useless!" His expression morphed into a scowl as he recalled, "A few moons back, two kits left camp. It wasn't because they slipped past the warriors. They walked straight into one! And guess what he said: 'just come back alive.'" It was outrageous! A warrior letting kits into the territory and telling them to come back alive. He should've at least accompanied them or something!
Now, one could point at Lionpaw's occasional escapades and say the same thing, but that was different. He only left camp for a good reason. Chasing after upset apprentices or reigning in overenthusiastic kittens, for example. Besides! Lionpaw could defend himself. To ban him from freedom regardless of rank was like saying that warriors couldn't leave camp alone during the most peaceful newleaf to date! And if he hadn't left camp, the younger felines he went after might've died… and he'd witnessed two deaths too many.
"Eh… I'd rather not ask him," Lionpaw replied. "He has his reasons, and I'll figure it out eventually." Other than the constraints placed upon them, being an apprentice wasn't too bad.
His glare hardened upon hearing 'the way ThunderClan does things.' "I know how to be more ThunderClan than some of your lesser warriors," the tomcat retorted. "Do you know the first move I ever learned? It wasn't the Forepaw Slash or whatever you call it. I put my paw out and went straight to the Lightning Strike." Lionpaw continued somewhat bitterly, "I didn't know it was called that until I met a thundercat in the woods. He wanted to kill me, but I convinced him otherwise. That cat taught me everything I needed to know about clan life before I even stepped paw into your camp. He's the reason I joined. And in the end, I made a better thundercat than him."
Just in case the information would get someone in trouble, Lionpaw added truthfully, "You won't find him. He's not here anymore." Then, the apprentice grinned again, the cheerful mask back on that always fooled everyone… because he was actually genuinely happy; there was nothing false about it. "So, tour of the territory," the abyssinian prompted. "I've been to Herondive Hollow, Smallpines, the Training Cave, Firefly Grove, the Weeping Tree, Sunkissed Creek; and out of traditional clan territory, Cattail Pond during the last fire, Victory-Rogueland Woods, the majority of the Outskirts, and some of the Twolegplace—I don't ever want to go there again."
He took a breath, then listed, "So! I need to check out the Thunderglade and Muskrat Mire." Lionpaw glanced at Kestrelflame strangely. "Wait… is that seriously it? I'm not missing anything?" Without waiting for her response, the apprentice mused, "Wow, ThunderClan is tiny."
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Please do not bump unless it has been over a week.
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Re: ThunderClan Clearing
