WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[spade]

As he told them he had missed them, Snowypaw felt a wave of relief wash over them. It made them feel safe and secure, knowing that their brother was accepting them back into the Clan. "Of course. Maybe you could even teach me some moves!" they purred, giving his chest one last nuzzle before sitting back. Perhaps, even if they were given a different mentor, they could still train with Wolffang. After all, he was a great enough warrior to have been made deputy, something that Snowypaw knew he worked hard at despite sometimes falling short. They still loved him regardless.

Twilightstar begin speaking then, and Snowypaw quieted down to listen. New apprentices, new assignments... They were getting a new mentor? Fallownose... the name sounded familiar, and their white head swiveled around to look for them. Wolffang was encouraging them to go off and find them, but instead they just shrank back a little, unsure of which cat in the crowd was their new mentor. "I'm sure they can find me," they reasoned, nodding and deciding to remain put.

Wait... Wait no. With widened eyes, Snowypaw looked at their brother as Twilightstar spoke of him stepping down. He was stepping down? Was he going to leave WindClan? It didn't sound like it, and suddenly their heart relaxed again. He gave his speech, a thankful one, and Snowypaw felt tears spring to their eyes. He would always be deputy in their eyes.

Soon after, Wolffang was getting up and padding off, leaving Snowypaw sitting at the base of the Breezerock. Part of them froze, knowing now that all eyes would be on them. Not a feeling they wanted. Quickly, they hurried after their brother, weaving their way in between cats before settling down next to him again, letting their pelt brush his as a way to comfort him if he needed.

// @TheNyanCatMinecart [hi! please don't pp my character having not talked ^^]

[Pitou]

**Toadpounce**

The thin, dark tom smiled proudly at Wrenpaw. It was nice getting new apprentices though he'd noticed there'd been more apprentice ceremonies and reassignments than warrior ceremonies which was a bit concerning.

A new medicine cat was a welcome relief. He hadn't realized how much it'd put him on edge not having a medicine cat until Cowpaw was announced. He'd have a lot to learn and he was young but that would all work itself out in time, at least they had one now who could begin learning everything that needed to be learned.

Wolffang was no longer deputy. Toadpounce was surprised. He wouldn't say it didn't make sense but to actually replace him as deputy felt strange. He bowed his head respectfully to the former deputy then watched the apprentices greeting their new mentors. He realized he should check in on his own apprentice. He hadn't seen Lionpaw since he'd gotten back from serving his punishment for not reporting the patrol he'd taken her on.

[Captain]

Originally Posted by Ritsuka

Splotchpaw mentally huffed. Ew, lectures. He always hated them, even if he didn't get them often, but something told him this would only be the first of many. Oh no... Still, the young apprentice listened to the warrior, and his stance softened slightly. Okay, yeah, maybe he had a point... Not that Splotchpaw would ever admit it. And... He never liked to disappoint those around him, no matter what. And certainly not his mentor, no matter how stinky and grouchy he was.

With a tired sigh, Splotchpaw spoke. "Yeah, I know. The only thing I need from you to make my training easier is that you talk to me: I'm no mind reader, and annoyed huffs and looks don't make it any easier to train under a cat like that. If you really wanna make this apprenticeship a decent one, you'd better pull your fair share in this besides teaching moves and stuff: isn't there more to being a warrior than that? Everyone says so!"

❀ Lotuswhisper (he/him) ❀

➢ In the back of his mind, the maine coon warrior was somewhat hoping that he was finally getting to the younger tomcat. He took note of Splotchpaw’s posture, somewhat relaxing as he began to talk to his apprentice in a calmer tone. Good. That was a start. For Lotuswhisper, this was a brand-new experience. Sure, the large tomcat had been keeping an eye on his littermates for many moons now, but it wasn’t like he was in charge of making sure they became warriors. Listening to his apprentice sigh and begin to speak his mind, it was clear that Lotuswhisper’s previous what about doing things was not going to work. He would need to go out of his comfort zone to train his new student.

“Alright, alright. I hear you,” The burly warrior said, his tail swishing across the ground behind him, “I’ll do my best if you promise to do the same.” Lotuswhisper peered down at Splotchpaw for a moment to make sure he got the message before he heaved himself to his paws, shaking out his thick pelt. “Enough of that then, since you want to see the territory so badly, how about I take you on a tour of Windclan’s land, hm? Would that make you stop trying to sneak out on your own?” He said this, not in an annoyed way, but more of a sense where the dark-furred tomcat was trying to give Splotchpaw what he wanted and also making sure he learned something valuable today.

[Akira]

Originally Posted by masquerade

❀ Lotuswhisper (he/him) ❀

➢ In the back of his mind, the maine coon warrior was somewhat hoping that he was finally getting to the younger tomcat. He took note of Splotchpaw’s posture, somewhat relaxing as he began to talk to his apprentice in a calmer tone. Good. That was a start. For Lotuswhisper, this was a brand-new experience. Sure, the large tomcat had been keeping an eye on his littermates for many moons now, but it wasn’t like he was in charge of making sure they became warriors. Listening to his apprentice sigh and begin to speak his mind, it was clear that Lotuswhisper’s previous what about doing things was not going to work. He would need to go out of his comfort zone to train his new student.

“Alright, alright. I hear you,” The burly warrior said, his tail swishing across the ground behind him, “I’ll do my best if you promise to do the same.” Lotuswhisper peered down at Splotchpaw for a moment to make sure he got the message before he heaved himself to his paws, shaking out his thick pelt. “Enough of that then, since you want to see the territory so badly, how about I take you on a tour of Windclan’s land, hm? Would that make you stop trying to sneak out on your own?” He said this, not in an annoyed way, but more of a sense where the dark-furred tomcat was trying to give Splotchpaw what he wanted and also making sure he learned something valuable today.

Splotchpaw made a face. "Doesn't sound as fun as sneaking out, but sure," he responding, resuming his skipping to the entrance of the camp. "Think you can keep up, or do you need me to slow down for those old bones of yours?" He snorted, a teasing edge in his voice. Ooh, this was gonna be fun.

[WhitesilverQueen]

"You were born when I was a senior warrior. I became an elder when you became an apprentice. Now, I'm disturbing your apprentice duties. You should go"
@Leafspeaker

[bubble[error].]

Originally Posted by Silverspot11

"You were born when I was a senior warrior. I became an elder when you became an apprentice. Now, I'm disturbing your apprentice duties. You should go"
@Leafspeaker

*Tigerpaw mewed a farewell to her mother and went off, a million thought whirling around her head a she searched for Raypaw*

[bubble[error].]

~~Tigerpaw~~

{ @~Gale~ }

Tigerpaw wandered around, calling Raypaw's name. "Raypaw! I've got to tell you something!"

[Madelaine]

-->Pinewish<--

The elderly warrior heard his name get called for yet another apprentice. It was sad that Fluffypaw had gone missing. He enjoyed the tom a lot. Maybe this time will be way better. Pinewish scanned the clearing before spotting the apprentice. He moved over to them. "I promise you I'll be the last mentor. I look forward to working with you.", he meowed. Pinewish would not let this cat down. He would be the mentor they deserved. Sitting down he waited for the meeting to finish. Then hopefully they could begin finding out what she knew.

// @Ravenfrost'; \\

-->Rabbitpaw<--

The molly woke up to noises and realized she was missing the meeting. She ran out and sat down among everyone in enough time to hear what happened. Rabbitpaw wished she was getting a new mentor. She liked Sunshade, but he had only taught her once and that was a while ago. She did ask some cats to help, but she felt it was time for a new one. She'd talk to the leader later. Listening in she heard that the deputy was stepping down. That was sad and then a kit was becoming an apprentice. Cool a new friend!

[Ian]

--Fallownose--
The gray tom perked his ears as Twilightstar told him he was to be Snowypaw's new mentor and dipped his head in acknowledgement. He didn't know the apprentice that well as they had never interacted in the times they weren't missing, but he was still excited to mentor them. He glanced around at the gathered cats before his amber eyes landed on a young white cat which he assumed must be Snowypaw. Fallownose stood from his position and padded over towards them, giving a nod in greeting once he arrived in front of the apprentice. "Snowypaw, I presume? I'm Fallownose, it's a pleasure to meet you and I hope we can get along once we begin training," he purred, hoping it might ease any of the anxieties the white cat had.

As the warrior settled down to sit near his new apprentice he gave a respectful nod to Wolffang and then proceeded to cheer Cowpaw's name. It was good that they finally had a medicine cat, although the loss of the deputy was unfortunate. At least he had chosen to retire and hadn't gone missing or been killed so WindClan would still have a strong warrior defending it.

@spade @TheNyanCatMinecart

--Meadowkit--
The young kit had been batting a mossball by herself at the entrance of the nursery. She had wanted to go over and attend the meeting, but her coughing had made her weak and the lack of attention she was shown by others had caused her to grow skinny and her pelt was matted. When Wind Mama mentioned that coughing was a problem she flattened her ears and stood on weak paws, tottering her way towards her Clanmates. "Wind Mama, Wind Mama! I've been coughing... m'sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Please don't be mad!!!" Meadowkit called before letting out a few hacking coughs after she was done. No more yelling for her, it hurt and made her cough!

[wolfie]

[ anything in italics is cowpaw 'speaking!' he communicates almost always non-verbally through gestures! ]
Cowpaw startled as the voice of his brother took him away from his thoughts for a mere moment. He looks over, blinking in surprise - warmth flooding his gaze with relief to see the warrior. Twilightstar begins speaking and before he redirects all of his attention towards her, he moves closer, attempting to lay his head onto Rockwing's shoulder if that would be alright with the tom. He doesn't reply to his question, not yet that would be rude. Instead, he focuses on his beloved leader.

He begins to wilt like a tulip in late-fall as Twilightstar goes through reassignments. Warriors leaving Windclan without a second trace - Cowpaw must bother to wonder what had happened to them. He hopes they are alright, wherever they must be, and that their apprentices are okay with their disappearances. This is only a passing thought because Twilightstar announces something much more frightening. Cats were getting sick - and ooh boy, he jolts away from Rockwing. Worry seeping into his limbs, this was certainty a situation to worry of! He had to handle this; this was his responsiblity - how hadn't he came to this conclusion? Had he been stuck in his head for this long? Oh no..

These mere worries were able to block out of what followed Twilightstar's previous statement next. It was only when his name began to rise from the crowd he realizes. It does not feel real, he is floating in an abyss - a dream, Cowpaw's heart flies up with happiness. He smiles as brightly as he can, his eyes sweeping over - attempting to meet every one of his clanmates' eyes. He catches onto Bravebird's nod and brims, nodding back at her excitedly! [ @tulle ]

Oh!! This was gee, a lot of cats were saying his name and Wolffang, their beloved deputy was nodding at him!! Truly overwhelming - it brings tears to his eyes, and while Cowpaw returns the gesture. Excitedly nodding his head up and down that it was actually making him a bit doozy - what was this about Wolffang.. nooo.. longer.. deputy?? Hmm?? Hmm?? He blinks, oh no, no, no, .. he would have to give a gift to him. He deserved it after everything he has done for Windclan... Golly, he didn't want to see the tom leave from his position.. [ @TheNyanCatMinecart ]

Rockwing manages to startle him once more as he explodes next to him, "Eep!" Cowpaw squeaks, spinning on his paws to face his brother. He stares sheepishly, leaning over to affectionately brush his cheeks against Rockwing's. He lifts a splotched paw to begin to rapidly tap against his shoulder. I.. did not! I haven't.. known for a while uhm, thank you! Seriously, we must .. talk about this later. It's a whole story! You'll like it, I think. Just, uhm, give meee juust a bit, real quick? Cowpaw gestures, a bit impatiently so. His sentences more choppy than usual - the tom had to.. well, gee, what did cats usually do? He felt this - this needs to prove himself. Cats seemed to be getting sick and.. he needed to uhm, obviously, do something about that.

It did worry him - what would he do if the injured cats and sick cats mixed? Having those combined would leave for more room for health to worsen... Aaa, it would be much easier if he could simply separate them! Yet that was impossible - they couldn't store them in.. another den but...

Cowpaw brightens, his eyes widening - gasping - he dips his head to Rockwing. [ @Naiad ] He had .. an.. idea!!!

The medicine cat spins around, weaving his way through the crowd to get towards the front. His feathery tails flickers back and forth, his heart pounding in his ears... so many eyes were on him.. Cowpaw shoots a paw up into the air, waving it in an attempt to grab Twilightstar's attention. He bounces up and down, grateful for how oversized he was - right! Right! He should!! Goodness gracious, it felt like he was a bunny running about with how he was bouncing back and forth between things. Cowpaw spins to look at his clanmates, smiling at them. He lifts a flat paw to touch it gently against his chin and pulling it away. Right. This wasn't a new thing but - Windclan was going to have to uhm, adjust just a little bit. For,, talking was far from being something they would get a lot from him.

Thank you! I will do my best to meet everyone's expectations. If you ever need me, I will be here, forever and always. It doesn't have to be physical healing, I can just listen if you need it. I'm - I'm very - Cowpaw pauses from signing, tears welting up in his eyes. He quickly wipes them away, very glad to be able to honor this responsibility! I won't let anyone down! It was a simple thing, doubtful anyone would really notice but, he was glad he could offer proper appreciation. With that, he looks back to Twilightstar.

He lifts his paw up again before returning to gestures, Maybe..! Maybe we could.. add an extension to the medicine cat's den? Not.. entirely connected but a place to put sick cats and separate them from the injured ones? Not entirely a new den, either, just maybe near the herb storage? It would be just.. awful if injured cats also got sick - I think.. this would be a way for me to be able to watch over everyone and avoid the risk of .. whatever this is spreading? Cowpaw finishes, chewing nervously on his bottom lip. It was a idea of the moment and ... not entirely planned out but, let's, let's go?