That entire interaction left Hornetkit dizzy, starclan, swimming, not swimming? Real world, this mouse head and here they were in a place that looked all too familiar. Home. Well in a sense. Having died a few weeks after being born didn’t give you much of a chance to really settle in did it?
As she was shaken freely off of soot dudes back into the dirt she couldn’t help but let out a few sneezes. Gee! You’d think you could be a little more gentle with kittens. She sat herself up and quietly groomed down the fur on her chest. Introducing yourself to new cats was a special moment, and appearance could make or break it. “What now?”
A quiet hum dancing on his tongue, Fawnsqueak was in the midst of a leisurely stride into the clearing when all daydreams were banished from his mind instantly because right there, a few fox-lengths in front of him, was Coyotesnarl. The Coyotesnarl, not just any old Coyotesnarl. The one and only! The guy himself. His paws firmly planted into the ground. He gawked, jaw falling open. Pupils were reduced to pinpricks until becoming entirely blown, his gaze widening to the point befitting of his name. A black hole big enough to capture the stars in their shimmering depths. Even his rabbit-tuft of a tail had puffed in surprised excitement.
Involuntarily, a squeal spilled him. And how couldn't it?! Coyotesnarl! The very tom Fawnsqueak attributed most of his knowledge to and had initially aspired to be like, a dream that'd faded not from any irrelevancy but because Fawnsqueak carved his own path (never would've happened without him, he swore it.)
The mere thought of Coyotesnarl's attention straying from Lionstar to him caused a wildfire flush to warm the skin under his pelt, and a goofy grin broke out over his muzzle. "Coyotesnarl," he greeted, endearing and breathless, mostly to himself in a confirmation that he wasn't just hallucinating. He cleared his throat to say it again, more enthusiastic, as he bounded over in restrained joy. "I can't believe it--you're here!" It was the jubilation of the reunion that had Fawnsqueak rolling forward onto his toes to reach Coyotesnarl's jaw where it was scarred and maimed, hesitating for the briefest of moments before booping a little pink nose to the exposed flesh. And like that, he retreated.
Ears tilting back shyly, his pulse hammered in his throat as he scuffed up a spot of grass. His eyes darted downward and his voice cracked over the afterthought, "It's nice to see you."
Fawnsqueak's gratitude spilled out in a giddy, nervous laugh that he cut off abruptly by coughing again. Ugh, he was doing that a lot lately. "Soo," he began, hanging on the syllable as his paw scuffed at the ground. "It's about Sootflare, who.. you know him. Your son, that guy?" Fawnsqueak knew he was stalling, knew he had to jump right in and suck it up. No pussyfooting around. That wouldn't solve anything. "I just, was sort of wondering if you'd noticed anything about him recently that maybe.. was irregular? Like, in his behavior. I don't know. It was-- he talked to me, kind of recently and it was .. weird." Once the thought dump was out, he gulped in a shuddering breath to peek expectantly at Aspensky, curious. It was only then that it occurred to him their relationship may not be the typical father-son bond and could be complicated, might not even be on good terms. Which.. would render this a waste.
Aspensky
__________
Aspensky couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh in return. The nervousness was cute - he could see how so many of his clanmates had so easily taken a liking to Fawnsqueak, "Yes, I do know my own son, fortunately."'Two of them, apparently.'
"As for him acting... irregular lately. Yes, I have noticed. He's been a bit of a jackass, frankly, no need to dance around the word if it's true. I'm certain he hasn't been taking care of himself either. I'm not sure what's gotten into him but we had a bit of a talk the other day, once I got him to stop avoiding me, and... well, I'm not sure if he'll take anything I said to heart but we'll just have to see. " He sighed and shrugged towards the medicine cat. The standing of Fawnsqueak's relationship with Sootflare was none of his business but it did give him a little bit of hope to see someone else noticing the change.
- - - - -
Quote:
Originally Posted by BreadTurtle
“What!” He snapped sticking his head awkwardly out of the apprentices’ den. GlowPaw steppes our of the den, moss still his golden fur. He clearly did not give a single crap about looking good. “I’m busy sleeping in a den full of stupid little furballs!” He shout a bit of amusement was in his voice but it was extremely hard to detect.
"Discussion time is what!" chirped Aspensky in response. Fixing Glowpaw's attitude clearly wasn't going to be a one-day endeavor and it would do no good to start getting irritated now. So, he sat patiently with his tail over his paws and a smile on his face,"Get over here, we have some talking to do."
- - - - -
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rainquail
Cricketchirp rolled out of his nest, grumbling a bit, and onto his feet. He stood there for a few moments, blinking rapidly to hopefully get the gooey tired feeling out of his eyes.
Once he felt he had transitioned from sleep to wakefulness, he padded out of the den and into the camp clearing.
Sootflare
__________
"There you are!" Sootflare padded over and closed the gap between them, "I'm not sure what you've been taught so far but we're going to start with some battle training today. At first, he had planned to have a sit-down chat with Cricketchirp about what he had learned so far and what he still need to know but that sounded downright dull and it had been a while since Sootflare had a good spar. So, battle training it was. Hopefully Cricket would be prepared.
There was immense delight in how flustered Coyotesmile seemed to be. Lionstar wasn't saying anything that wasn't true.. and he was surprised his darling Coyotesmile seemed taken aback by his praises. What kind of savagery did WindClan hold? It was a fleeting thought based on how they didn't seem to recognize Coyotesmile's brilliance. Lionstar saw a Shining Star, a cat who had shown logic and reliability in the past. Someone who could get things done, right, the first time. "My tastes are exotic in the sense I like my cats good looking, and oh Stars, do you look good enough to eat." Another smooch at his cheek, and then he was back to business.
Well, if only for just a moment. "I can't imagine liking the herb things, ugh!" Lionstar wrinkled his nose in distaste. They stank, tasted gross, and seemed like a hassle to remember. Cobwebs seemed like the only thing that actually mattered-- at least to him. He had some kickass slapping-them-on-wounds skills. "Absolutely disgusting. Don't know how you could do it for so long." That, and be good at that-- though that was nothing against the abilities of medicine cats in general. It just felt like.. too many fell short of expectations. "I'm glad WindClan's fairing well nowadays. The waters were rough for some time.. it's a shame that donor of mine did your Clan such a disservice." By this point, Lionstar had gotten over the "Blazingstar father thing" and determined that the dead cat did not earn the title of Fatherhood. Lionstar hardly knew the guy, and it appeared he was a lesser leader in the grand scheme of things with how WindClan's downfall continued under his authority. Terrible.
"RiverClan's been doing well for a while," Lionstar couldn't help the puff of his chest as he spoke. "Of course, that's no surprise. We run a tight shift here and I don't care for cats uninvolved in their Clan or duties. Incompetence has damaged the Clans long enough: keep your paw firm and your head open, and WindClan will remain in good shape for seasons to come under your guidance. Slack off.. and that's when the ground slides under you faster than BlunderClan over there." Lionstar vaguely beckoned in the direction of ThunderClan's territory. "Such a disgrace."
Oh! A FIGHT! YES! YES! YES! Lionstar LOVED him some fights. Maybe he needed to drop in on the sidelines with some baby turtles and enjoy the view. Though he wasn't involved in this skirmish, he could at least have some fun with it. "I was hoping you'd say that!" It reflected his thoughts at the previous Gathering. "I can't be the only cat in the forest with a bone to pick with ShadowClan, I'm glad the other Clans aren't putting up with her toad-dung and letting her push them around. That gross frog is too arrogant for her own good. 'My apprentice shredded yours for no reason but it's justified' my tail! If that cat was in my Clan, I'd have his pelt lining my nest for his disobedience and recklessness. You don't condone that behavior if it's not something you approved beforepaw, and I doubt Icebrains was looking to pick a fight with your Clan. The cannibal she got out of you guys likely scared her off you." This was stupid in a million ways, but Lionstar didn't care too much. He was fired up over the other leader because he didn't like her, plain and simple. The only Clan outside his worth liking was WindClan.
"The Gathering night, huh?" Absolutely intriguing. Lionstar played a similar move in the past when he first raided ShadowClan: but the difference was, he caught them before they left for Seastones. ShadowClan would be settling in after the journey, guards lowered and weary from staying up a good portion of the night. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to strike.. and the thought of Icebrains being taken by surprise made his mouth water from excitement. "That's beyond a fair play, darling. Think about it: ShadowClan isn't known to play nice. They're a Clan of brutes, uncultured pigs who will rip you open and leave you for the birds. They have no consideration for life and will likely not show you mercy. Keep your guards up, and look after each other: I've lost a few cats to their dog-like ways and I'd like to see you two back in one piece." That was referring to Coyotesmile and Twilightstar, respectively. He liked them both a lot, even if he didn't care for Twilightstar's goblin-like appearance.
And ohhhh, Fawn. His dear Fawn. Pinefawn, the Fawniest of all Fawns and his one true Fawn. Yes, he had a lot to say about his best buddy in all of the world. "He is a good medicine cat!" Lionstar wholeheartedly agreed with a little curl of his tail. "The greatest RiverClan has had.. thanks to you." This was with a sly little wink. He knew Coyotesmile had to have helped Fawn learn herbs, it only made sense after the raid Coyotesmile helped with because Otterstrike sucked. "He's doing well, quite well. He has adjusted to his new position and our Clan-mates are actually taken care of under him. Otterstone.. I have restored her old name-- did you know she was an Otterstrike? I sure as hell didn't. But now she is. Anyway.."
[ @wren, @Dipper ]
He trailed off at the sight of his dearest Pinefawn. Squealing away like an excited kit playing a game, though something twisted in his stomach at the knowledge it wasn't because he saw Lionstar. Oh, no, not him. Not the golden handsome Riverboss, because that wasn't allowed in Fawnland. The excited expression Lionstar wore temporarily cave into something of a frown, because he watched as Fawnsqueak all but skipped over to Coyotesmile to give him a cheek boop and Lionstar was left out of it.
He was left out.. of it. The affectionate gesture was not meant for him, only Coyotesnarl-- and although Lionstar enjoyed the WindClan tom, he couldn't help but feel disappointed and a bit envious. WHERE WAS HIS BOOP, FAWN? Yes-- he was fine Coyotesmile got one, who wouldn't boop that lovely snoot? But he was left out, and that didn't sit well with him.
Forcing himself back to brighten up, he regarded both Fawnsqueak and Coyotesmile after he cleared his own throat. "Yes, well. As nice as it is to see you, Coyotesmile, you might want to let Fawnsqueak here know why you've come. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to lend his assistance to you." It took everything in his power to not grit his teeth through those last words.
Cricketchirp nodded and followed after Sootflare. "Hunting, mostly. I don't believe Doeflame ever got around to actually teaching me much."
He blinked, realizing just how accusatory that had sounded. "She also had another, actual, apprentice, so she could have been focusing on them."
It still sounded like she blamed him and really, after she had abandoned him halfway to Lionsbeach, he kind of did. There wasn't any other way to put it. He was infinitely glad Sootflare didn't seem the type.
+ @hope +
Rainsplash was laying on a rock in the camp, his ice blue eyes both defensive but flat at the same time, slowly taking licks to his side. He still seemed to just not let go that little apprentice, Loonpaw. Oh, where was she? His tail swiped to his side as he stopped grooming, laying his head on his paws with his ears flattened back, sorrow in his eyes.
__________________
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Firehawk exited the nursery when he was called, gaze immediately resting on the kits Sootflare was dropping off. "Oh, aren't you just adorable!" He cooed to the duo, affectionately stopping above them to lap at the top of their heads. "What're your names, sweethearts?"
[ @Starfall, @wren -- not mentioning rom since they're on hiatus now! ]
Re: RiverClan Clearing
