☼WindClan: Home of the Swift and Loyal |☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁| ☼

"Well done, Frostpetal." Dashclaw purred softly when he spotted the new kit.

"I would show you in the tunnels further down, but it's too risky to take you any further." Harewhisker tapped his nose to Swiftstar's in signal for him to back up. "When you have more training down here, I'll take you further. For now, just get used to the feel of the tunnel walls around camp. Those are what we want all tunnels to feel like."

Dashclaw purred softly and quietly groomed Frostpetal's fur. After being there for Grasslight's kitting, he knew how exhausted Frostpetal must be. He just hope he helped her in some way since Harewhisker couldn't be here.

Harewhisker chuckled. "Of course! You may not think so, but when you've been down in these tunnels as long as some of us, you know how to move to get yourself at the fastest speeds. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to chase rabbits above ground for you moor-runners to catch."

“Both of them look healthy.” Dawnshadow meowed, checking both of the kits over quickly.

"Healthy, beautiful kits." Dashclaw purred. "You and Harewhisker should be proud." He briefly glanced toward the nursery entrance, wondering if anyone had found his brother yet.

"There's another tunnel nearby that I want to check." Harewhisker had Swiftstar back up all the way to the split in the tunnel. "Then, I'll show you a route to the back of the territory. I'm sure you probably want to stretch your legs a bit."

Dashclaw flattened his ears and guiltily glanced away. Harewhisker should've been here instead of him. Already, Harewhisker was mad at him, he just hoped this didn't further the rift between them. "They really are," he muttered lightly. He did agree with her; however he was too distracted by thoughts of his brother.

Harewhisker nodded curtly. "Then follow me." He turned and took a different direction down the tunnel.

(Is anyone going to find Hare to tell him about his mate?)

Antpaw slipped quickly from camp, only after he gained permission and was able to search with Stonepath. His uncle was far more composed than he was, but Antpaw was determined. Stonepath seemed rather disheartened that Harewhisker missed the birth of his kits, but he mewed simply.

“Let’s follow his scent. He and Swiftstar should be out in one of the tunnels.”

Antpaw nodded quickly and exclaimed. “He’s gonna be so excited! He’s a father now!”

Frostpetal purred. "Of course." She looked back down at the two kits by her side. "Harewhisker and I never really talked about names." She said, "And now they're so perfect, I don't know if any name will be good enough."

Swiftstar nodded, letting out a soft cough. Should he tell his mentor the truth? Leaders didn't often reveal when they'd lost a life, but this seemed to be a different circumstance. After all, what if something happened down here and Harewhisker didn't know why Swiftstar was reacting the way he did? "During the fire..." he started, unsure of how to continue. "During the fire, before you and I went back for Dashclaw....Cloverleaf and I were in a tunnel. She had come down here looking for an escape from the smoke and got lost. There was a cave-in." his pelt felt hot at the memory of his daughter's cry as the rocks had rained down on the two of them, and then the utter silence and darkness which could hardly compare to the intense pain. "I lost my first life down here...and at the same time I lost my daughter."

"Any name you two decide will be perfect." Dashclaw chuckled lightly, knowing exactly how Frostpetal felt. That's why he left most of the naming of his kits to Grasslight. He didn't want to risk giving them a name they wouldn't like.

Harewhisker stopped in his tracks, surprise lighting up his eyes. He had no idea Swiftstar had gone through that. Sure, he knew that Cloverleaf had died by the tunnels and it was always heart wrenching to lose a fellow tunneler, but Harewhisker hadn't put two and two together that Swiftstar was there with her and had died with her. He pinned his ears back and guilt tightened in Harewhisker's chest. He should've known that from the start. Swiftstar probably didn't want to relive those memories of losing his first life and daughter--Harewhisker couldn't even imagine how horrible that must have been. "I...I'm sorry, Swiftstar, I hadn't known..." He hesitated in his next step forward and decided in the next moment that checking the sturdiness of the tunnel up ahead could wait. He should probably get Swiftstar above ground. It took time for new apprentices to get used to the tunnels, it would probably take longer for Swiftstar to get used to them since both he and his daughter died down here. "We've done quite a bit today, we probably should get you back to camp."

Dashclaw purred softly. "I couldn't be prouder of them and I hope they know that I support them no matter their choices. Soarpaw will make an excellent moor-runner and Antpaw and Weaselpaw are excelling in their tunneling skills. I know they'll be warriors the Clan will be proud of."

Harewhisker twitched his whiskers. He appreciated Swiftstar's willingness to continue on; however, he didn't want to push the young leader. "With the gathering coming up, I'm sure Blacktail needs you back at camp. Let's head this way." He turned down a different tunnel and used his tail to guide Swiftstar. "Its the fastest way back to the surface. You can head back to camp and I'll continue checking the tunnels so other senior tunnelers and I can decide how to move forward. Besides, the border patrols should be heading back soon and I'm sure you want to hear their reports."

Dashclaw flicked his ear and couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in his gut that Harewhisker would want both his kits to become tunnelers like him. "Whatever they decide to be, they'll be great at it," he said kindly.

It wasn't long until the breeze of fresh air drifted through the tunnel. Harewhisker didn't say another word until they were on the surface. "There." He smiled back at Swiftstar. "We're near the back border." He nodded in the direction of Highstones. "You probably didn't think we went this far."

Dashclaw had to remain quiet at that. He believed he had been doing his part to unite WindClan by becoming a tunneler, but Swiftstar had put a stop to that and knowing that Harewhisker shared a little bit of their father's ideals...He didn't know what kind of WindClan Frostpetal's kits would grow up in.

Harewhisker chuckled in light amusement. "Time gets away from you down in the tunnels sometimes. I know there have been days when I've been down in the tunnels from dawn until dusk." He blinked his eyes a couple times and flicked his ear. "My father used to say all the best tunnelers go blind and he certainly did. I can already tell my eyesight is slipping." He looked at Swiftstar, blinking a couple times in the sunlight. "Everything is blurry, but you shouldn't have to worry about it. You'll learn the tunneler ways, but we won't expect you to go blind for the Clan. WindClan needs a leader who can see after all," he twitched his whiskers in amusement.

Dashclaw let the silence linger and simply watched Frostpetal with her kits. She would be great mother, he knew that for sure, and he knew how much Harewhisker wanted kits of his own--he had even grown more bitter towards him when Dashclaw had kits first. If they both choose to become moor-runners, would that change Harewhisker's love for them? He didn't want to think his brother was capable of that, but he didn't know for sure anymore.

Harewhisker shrugged. "I can't say for sure. I just know you get more attuned to things down in the tunnels than you do up here. That's one of the hardest things about tunneling: you grow more comfortable down the tunnels than you do on the open moor, my grandfather went blind because of the tunnels and the openness of the moor scared him. My father used to say that my grandfather couldn't even sleep unless he was in some sort of a tunnel. That's why there's that half dug hole near the area the elders sleep at."

(Lol, yes)

"You've no need to apologize, Frostpetal. He's my brother." Dashclaw shrugged lightly, but turned his gaze away. "We're just going through typical brother things."

Harewhisker tilted his head in thought. "I suppose you have a point. I guess I never really thought about it. I mean, you go underground when you visit the Moonstone, right? Does that mean you're any less closer to StarClan." Harewhisker paused to look in the direction of Highstones. "I've heard about the journey to the Moonstone, but I never went on it because of the dangers of AdderClan. I think its our closeness to the moonstone that makes us close to StarClan." He looked back at Swiftstar. "I mean, the other Clans have to come through our territory to get to it--even SkyClan, and their warriors claim they're closer to StarClan just because their territory is higher."

(Were you worried that he wasn't going to be? )

Dashclaw didn't say anymore when Frostpetal remained silent. He looked to the den entrance, hoping that Harewhisker would be here soon.

Harewhisker didn't move after his leader. He was still planning on checking the other tunnels. "I haven't. When AdderClan attack the forest, the Dark Forest took over the Moonstone for a time. It was too dangerous for many of us to journey there."