The Starcave

[Fawn]

Originally Posted by CheetahPelt

Otterstone pursed her lips and shook her head at Fawnsqueak. “I’m not barging in, I’m saying hello. It would be impolite to linger around the edges of a conversation. Like someone I know.” She gave a pointed look to the spotted tom, before turning away again. She may have inserted herself, but it would almost be rude not to, having a jellyfish in any conversation was just awkward!

(Sorry it’s short, I’m tired lol)

((no worries!))

Fawnsqueak held his tongue on the disagreement. It wasn't what she said that made the difference--whether it was "hello" or "I hate you all" to start, it was saying something instead of politely waiting her turn. It was no inconvenience to just hold tight until the others were done speaking to address them, but Fawnsqueak imagined the disruption could interfere or cause them to become uncomfortable. It wasn't as if the greetings couldn't be held back a couple seconds.

Her "like someone I know" simply drew a sigh from him, and he sent another apologetic glance to the other medicine cats. It was intentional that he hadn't stirred their bad blood in front of them, and he guessed he didn't genuinely expect the same courtesy. "It might," he teetered, smile pained, "possibly be more... professional to save your shots at me until we're back in RiverClan. Consider it like, uh, a time to brainstorm them and then you can unload once we're somewhere more private? It's just, I don't really think these guys want to hear it." Fawnsqueak's cheeks were flushed from the secondpaw embarrassment of having to tell her this at all, a cat several moons his senior and his own mentor. Explaining that it wasn't appropriate to toss childish jabs at him in front of their peers was something a kit could understandably slip up with since they had no clue what was socially okay, but for a fully grown medicine cat...

Oh stars, it was going to be a long night.

[wren]

Coyotesnarl almost didn’t recognize the little- err large firecracker. Echopaw had doubled in size and stood a staggering two head above Irisflame. He almost couldn’t believe exactly what he was seeing. He swallowed awkwardly his eyes darting between the two she cats as if it wasn’t real. He jerked from his trail of thought to focus briefly on Irisflame. Both she cats seemed tense, he felt almost awkward sitting there.

”I meant to ask actually. Or I suppose I meant to thank you for it. I hadn’t got the chance to use it. I originally thought it could have been greencough but it appears I was mistaken. I’ll bring it up with the others once they have arrived.” he couldn’t identify the sickness, granted Thunderhowl had left patches in his knowledge. Though hopefully through experience the other medicine cats would know.

As he settled to examine the behemoth of an apprentice once more he was interrupted with chatter. Otterstone to be precise, unnaturally cheery for someone in the company of those who thought she was incompetent. Or well.. himself. His tail curled in a rather irritated way as she bathed in like a badger stepping over conversation and with that half assed greeting. He couldn’t help but feel slightly pleased the she cat had been drawn to be so curt with him. He’d left a longing impact from his last visit.

His eyes caught Fawnsqueak too, again the tom looked rather unamused being here. Honestly he couldn’t blame the poor thing either. Embarrassed by Otterstone and dragged to a meeting that held little significance other than a social event.

“Bickering? Oh starclan I would die to hear you two fight it out, nothing could please me more” his sarcasm dripped like venom from the tongue. “But sadly I actually have pressing things to bring up if that doesn’t infringe on your time table?” his eyebrow perked staring at Otterstone. He liked to see her squirm under pressure. With a flick of his tail that tense stare was gone and he returned his gaze to the gathered medicine cats ignoring the new comer. He would be introduced if Lionwhisker cared too.
@NIGHTOWL @Dust @Moon Lily @Wings @CheetahPelt @Dipper

[Dust]

Condorpaw still felt... unsure, but he would give way - even with all the strange smells and noises coming from the cave. Ugh, he hated going through the darkness. Following after Lionwhisker and into the cave, Condorpaw immediately felt his fur stand on end, bouncing up onto his tippy toes as he gained sight of the other cats around them,

"Intruders!" He would hiss quietly to his mentor, eyes wide as he scanned the crew... though it was easy to see his confusion as Lionwhisker began to greet them. With a grumble in his throat, Condorpaw tiptoed his way over to Lionwhisker, nudging his pelt,

"Why are we just sitting here talking, shouldn't we do something?!"

@NIGHTOWL @Moon Lily @Dipper @Wings @wren @CheetahPelt

[Wings]

[ @wren @Dust @NIGHTOWL @Moon Lily @CheetahPelt @Dipper ]
-Echopaw-

The silvery couldn't help but smile at Irisflame, it was impossible to stay mad at her for long. And her grudge on her mentor didn't last long either. Rolling her eyes softly again, her eyes flickered over to Lionwhisker. She liked him the most for sure, Otterstone was nice and all and she was neutral with Fawnsqueak and Coyotesnarl.
Standing up, she trotted over, smiling and it wasn't long before she noticed Lionwhisker's own apprentice. Who looked to be around her age but, she was of course bigger with her huge stature. "Hi Lionwhisker!" She smiled, slowing to a walk when she got close. Though, her gaze soon turned into a mixture of annoyed amusement. "Nice to meet you too." She snorted back. "I'm Echopaw, Irisflame's apprentice. You must be Lionwhisker's?"
She glanced over at Coyotesnarl, and gave an invisible wince remembering she had gave Dewpaw a good slash on the cheek. He had deserved it though, what ever punishment she had gotten.

[Moon Lily]

[ @Dipper @CheetahPelt @NIGHTOWL @Dust @wren @Wings ]

Irisflame grinned back at the silvery figure of her apprentice, the burden that had previously rested on her back evaporating. It felt good to know that at least the young she-cat felt like she was able to forgive her. The older she wasn't the sort that came across as a cuddly, cheery one. Being a cat that after on impluse, the forgiveness that she'd earned would often go extinct the moment she opened her maw.
"No, it's fine! Come around when you can, some of the Shadowclanners are complete idiots. ...but a new 'cough? Sounds interesting. Probably worth bringing up." Fluffing out her blue-grey pelt, she turned to spot more shadows fluttering around the den. She rotated further to classify them as the two Riverclanners. Ah, Flirt and Deerboy. Fawnsqueak seemed a bit out of it, his gaze distant and slightly clouded. He looked distracted by something beyond her comprehension, something she couldn't quite grasp by reading the emotions in his vacant face. It wasn't as if she could, anyway, due to her lacking in the empathy department. Features contorting into a small frown, she shook her head softly before she cleared her throat to speak.
"You okay, Fawn? You seem a little...you know." She commented, raising a thin brow. Exchanging a glance with Otterstone, she wondered if the old molly had anything to do with it. She paused a moment before beaming at the three-legged medicine cat, dipping her head in greeting."Nice to see you too, Otterstone." it was only seconds later that two new faces poked through the door, one the old face of Laddie, and the other the tentative face of a young apprentice. A new medicine cat apprentice? This was bound to be exciting. There seemed to be a new one every meeting, at this point. Sooner or later Coyotesnarl would have to choose his. It seemed Grump would be the last to do so, something she was sure he would take great pleasure in. She didn't see him as an apprentice-lover.
"Eh, I'm good enough. Things have been stressful." She shrugged, looking off to the side in a casual sense, "But yes, Echopaw is huge. She's already much taller than me, which isn't saying a lot, but still!" She exclaimed, head shaking vigorously in awe.

As noticeable tension grew between the two Riverclan medicine cats, she gave an irritated flick on her tail and drew herself up to fill height. She looked between the two, gaze stern.
"Both of you, be quiet! I don't know what your situation is, but this is the Thunderclan scrap's first meeting. First impressions are way off, everybody. And you're right, random-Thunderclan-apprentice-I-do-not-know, we shouldn't just be sitting here talking. Fawnsqueak, that was respectful of you to stay silent, but really, you can just come on over. And Otterstone, don't jarr him about it." She mewed, Her gaze flickering from face to face. They were both snapping at each other's necks like hungry dogs, for Starclan's sake! Nodding to Coyotesnarl, she squared her shoulders. "Right, pressing matters..." She parroted, settling back down. She tapped the earth with impatient claws, her blue orbs floating all over the place. She couldn't wait to just get this night over with. She had a warm nest waiting for her and a secret stash of honey back home with her name on it.

[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak's heart sunk at Coyotesnarl's response, but he couldn't reasonably expect anybody to extract a cry for help from his consoling of Otterstone. He didn't know who Coyotesnarl was addressing in his sarcasm--just him, just Otterstone, or both?--but he defaulted to the latter, biting the inside of his cheek. Yeah... this was not going well, despite his attempts to just-- have a normal evening, albeit a quieter one to avoid this mess. Inwardly, he reviewed what he'd said in a scan for bickering, most of his responses diffusions that'd apparently fanned the flames or came off incorrectly to the rest. What should've been a mundane (but pointless) meeting was turning into his thesis for dropping out of the next one, because if it was Otterstone alone, she probably wouldn't lash out as frequently.

Jaw set, he turned his gaze to the shimmering mineral and kind of wanted to just smash his head into the thing for numbing brain damage or maybe getting knocked straight into StarClan like the others had demonstrated last time. Guilt rippled through him for the implication that smacking his head into a stone was a better pastime than this, yet they'd both yield about the same results he supposed. Just the stone-thing wouldn't take as long.

Fawnsqueak tipped his head at... at Irisflame. That was her name, he was pretty sure. He was disheartened by her inconsiderate response, raised an eyebrow at it and couldn't help but wonder if she'd actually heard the exchange. Playing this off like it was an evenly-distributed immaturity on both sides was illogical and ...fairly offensive, downright insulting, however he was inclined to believe Irisflame's past interactions with Otterstone colored her to be inclined toward leniency. Fawnsqueak didn't have that benefit. All he got from her was his behavior operated on the same level of Otterstone's. It circled back to his previous thoughts of medicine cats and hypocrisy, and he wasn't impressed but thought better of calling attention to it with Irisflame's newly-acquired agenda to push the meeting as fast as possible despite her seemingly casual approach prior to this. He could get on board with that, no matter how flimsy it came across as to Fawnsqueak, and he waited with a blank expression for direction to either resume this social hour in StarClan or Lionwhisker's introduction of his guest.

@CheetahPelt @NIGHTOWL @Dust @wren @Wings @Moon Lily

[Leucos]

@wren @Moon Lily @CheetahPelt @Dipper @Dust

Why was everybody so...different tonight? Was it because something has gone down at the gathering? His stomach had a uneasy feeling for once in his life..hopefully things got calmer once he got back home.
He smiled at Echopaw as She walked beside them "aye. You look like you can be a medicine cat already!" he meowed with a tail swish.
"and yes this is my apprentice ! His name is Condorpaw and we have already done his ceremony . We still have yet to go over training but the last few days have been a bit awkward .." he told Echopaw and irisflame. He highly doubted the others were interested right now..so he let them be.
"also condorpaw..these are your friends and colleagues ...not intruders ..heh...But good job at keeping your guard up!" he meowed.

[Dust]

God - this cat was HUGE! Even propped up on his tippy-toes, it still felt like the feline, who had introduced herself as Echopaw, towered over him. In fact, Condorpaw felt himself slowly retreating further behind Lionwhisker, especially as every cat in the general vicinity glanced towards him. His mentors confirmation that these were in fact """"friends"""" made his skin crawl with embarrassment. With a huff, the apprentice attempted to force his fur flat, head dipped down as he shuffled his way forward, mumbling under his breath,

"Yeah... I'm Condorpaw..." Narrowed green eyes shifted among the grouping of cats - his head spinning with all their yelling and what not. Condorpaw hadn't realized how dramatic some of these cats were! His tail battered the ground behind him upon hearing Lionwhisker's comment. It felt almost impossible for him to burn harder than he already was - but somehow it happened.

"Err.. Hello."

@wren @Moon Lily @CheetahPelt @Dipper @NIGHTOWL

[Wings]

[ @wren @Moon Lily @CheetahPelt @Dipper @NIGHTOWL @Dust ]
-Echopaw-

Echopaw noticed Condorpaw's hesitance, or what seemed like hesitance. "Well... that's Irisflame, Coyotesnarl, Otterstone, and Fawnsqueak." She pointed to the different medicine cats respectively, turning back to Condorpaw. It would be nice to have someone her age here, even if she was a heck of a lot bigger that them.
Then, she turned around, beckoning the brown tom over with her plumed tail. She sat down in front of the huge crystal with her back to it. It's shine made her silver spotted tabby fur blue tinted and she smiled back over to Condorpaw. It was nice to finally meet a not-idiot tom her age.

[Dust]

Slowly, but surely, Condorpaw made his way from behind Lionwhisker, still keeping a cautious gaze on Echopaw, though it would shift as Echpaw introduced the other felines gathered around. Irisflame. She seemed nice enough, at least she had greeted him earlier... Coyotesnarl. Eugh. Condorpaw had to suppress a shudder at the ghastly sight of his face.. though there was a part of him curious to find out about his scar. Otterstone. One of the cats who had been yowling for some reason or another. Fawnsqueak. Condorpaw would raise a brow at their empty expression. Did they not want to be here?

Well, now that the introductions were done and over with, Condorpaw would glance back at his mentor with a bit of uncertainty before following Echopaw's beckon. A part of him still felt unsettled. These cats all smelled different, Irisflame and Echopaw especially putting him on edge. They both smelled like the cats that had attacked ThunderClan moons ago. Would they have been there...? Or approved of it? Leaning closer to Echopaw, Condorpaw would grumble quietly under his breath,

"What are they all yowling about anyway?"

@wren @Moon Lily @CheetahPelt @Dipper @NIGHTOWL @Wings