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Moonraven
Twilightstar seemed so kind to her. Ashfeather had had some experiences with the leader before, but she still felt somewhat... surprised? Was it just because it was the Clan leader? Twilightstar had been the leader for such a long time... not for all of her life, since she vaguely remembered Brightstar. Was that her name? It was pretty difficult to remember. But Twilightstar was the one who stood out the most to her. She had been the one to delay her apprenticeship after that stupid move when she'd followed a hawk... had helped to rescue her during the coyote attack... had made her into an apprentice... had also made her into a warrior... and the last time they had officially talked was back not too long after her ceremony. With the whole Blackhaze thing that sent skitters down her spine.
I felt like I should get used to being blamed for things that I didn't do, especially with Featherwhisker and Rosebriar, she silently admitted to herself. An image of Windpaw, the apprentice who Twilightstar had assigned her before she'd gotten pregnant, also flashed in her mind. She had grown and developed so much... but had she? Had she really? She still had all of her guilt, her anxiety, her "oh poor me, I'm useless and everyone hates me" demeanor.
Sucking in a deep breath, Ashfeather attempted to pull herself out of her thoughts and focus on Twilightstar. When the lilac-furred leader started talking about how she appreciated her reassurance, but then some sort of feeling stirred deep within her shrunken stomach as the leader continued, talking about blaming herself. Ashfeather wanted to say something else, but kept her jaws shut. Was there anything she could say to make the leader better? Probably not. After all, she wasn't the best at giving reassurance.
I feel like I'm the one who everybody thinks needs reassurance, she thought. She wanted to say something, but continued listening to her leader.
Luckily, the awkwardness of her just standing around was fixed by Twilightstar. She was shocked that the leader was fine with sharing her nest. With her good eye, she glanced at her tail. One of the ugliest features about her, she supposed. It was too long, too broken, too bony... it went everywhere, like a lightning bolt a blind kit had scribbled into the sand. Quickly, she turned her attention to Twilightstar and gave a slight nod of her head, despite her surprise. Was she worthy of sharing a nest with the leader?
Just listen to her, she thought.
Anxiously, Ashfeather went over to the nest, shifting to the side to give plenty of room between her and Twilightstar. Hopefully, she didn't mess up the nest. She also hoped that there was enough room - she remembered back when she and Flameclaw had shared a nest, and how bits of her tail would poke into his side. She didn't want to make Twilightstar uncomfortable, especially after she'd been kidnapped by Dawnstar. The small and skinny she-cat didn't take up too much room, but her horrible tail took up extra. Pressing herself into the ground, she eyed the rabbit. Should she take a bite? Before she did, she glanced up at Twilightstar and mewed,
"Thanks... thanks, Twilightstar. I know that stuff has happened, but... but you're a good leader. You've been really... n-nice to me."
Summoning her confidence, she took the partially eaten rabbit, glanced at Twilightstar as if making sure it was okay, and took a bite. She had worried about her messy eating messing up the nest, so she moved the rabbit a bit more to the side and shielded her face from the WindClan leader. Her crooked jaw took a crooked bite from the rabbit, and once it was in her mouth, she pushed the rest of it back toward the leader. Her jaw ached - it had been a while since she'd eaten prey - and she chewed. The taste was so good, and her stomach rumbled in desperation. However, Ashfeather kept her head away from Twilightstar and shifted again as to not let any prey-drool drip onto the nest. Finally, after a lot of awkward chewing, she swallowed and promptly licked up the prey-drool so that it wouldn't make a mess of Twilightstar's den.
I probably have the worst manners of any WindClan cat, she thought with a jolt, her awkwardness increasing by about 50%.
Licking one round paw, she drew it over her aching mouth, making sure it was clean, before turning back toward Twilightstar.
"It tasted g-good," she meowed, her voice sounding worse than normal. Her jaw had gotten a little looser since she'd taken a bite out of the prey, but that was to be expected. Ashfeather had already taken one bite, and her stomach rumbled, asking for more. However, should she really humilate herself, or have horrible manners, in front of the Clan leader? Maybe she could try cutting into the rabbit with her claws to make eating easier, but then blood and fur would just be everywhere.
(Sorry for the paragraphs of dialogue!)
Re: WindClan Nursery
