ϟ ThunderClan ϟ The Fierce and Caring ϟ |☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁| ϟ

(Fox! Bloop. Need me to repost?)

@ Fox there is a post for you in Wind plus a response for you here :3 )

Darktail laughed and nodded towards Midnightstream, "They think you're a great warrior! Don't worry about them. They can both be a bit much sometimes so don't panic if they come try and tease you or something. They're doing it out of love I promise."

Shadowblossom shook her head with a smile, "Us? When are we ever not approving of good clan cats. She'll realize soon enough she's safe from us. "Skyblossom at that point didn't care much for me, so I suppose you didn't have much to worry about either." she replied with a sigh. Shadowblossom had always loved her mother, but Skyblossom had lost too many pieces of herself by the time her daughter had grown into a warrior. No matter how much time she had tried to spend with her mother, Skyblossom always had an excuse ready on why she needed to be somewhere else.

(Bloop here ya go fox)

Boop)

Thanks ^.^)

Ghostscreech turned towards the RiverClan border once they left camp, easily falling into a steady pace for everyone to keep up with. He looked around the forest, glad that it was healing from the fire, although it hadn't been green for long once leafbare had crept in. Ghostscreech's tail-tip twitched as he thought of leafbare, hoping that these hunting patrols to the Twolegplace would keep them from starving this season.

Eclipsestorm noticed Autumfall's look and gave her fellow warrior a shrug, following after Ghostscreech as he led them towards the border. It was strange to see those two on the outs, but she wasn't going to let that distract her. "Think there will be a RiverClan patrol out and about?" She asked, trying to break the tension.

Sunthroat gave a nod of approval as Dawnpaw stood in front of the stone, "Anything you are able to jump off will work." He said, standing firmly in front of his apprentice. "I'll stand here for now, try to land on my shoulders, alright?" The senior warrior got into a steady stance, ready to bear the weight of Dawnpaw landing on him.

Owlfrost padded out of the warrior's den, shaking some clinging moss off his pelt. Sitting down to groom his pelt, Owlfrost glanced around the camp, taking in the daily activities going on. He needed to get out of camp sometime, maybe go hunting and try to find some prey in the forest.

Frostmoon followed along, her steps heavy and her eyes staring forwards as though trying to distract herself. Lately, she had been wondering if it was worth trying to fight accepting that Ghostscreech would probably be better off with a different cat at his side. She was awkward and could hardly hold a fun conversation with clanmates. She tried so hard to be as straight laced a Warrior as she could. Her mother was such a respected cat, her father just as much, she always felt like she hadn't made them proud, and the thought of that always pushed doubt into herself. She took a deep breath, not sure what to do or think.

"If we do, I'll be the first to tell them they stink." Autumnfall huffed, before she gave a thoughtful hum. "You know. I wonder if we'll get a chance to snag the rocks back soon. Earthstar's surely getting too heavy to climb them anyway, may as well hand them over." She half-joked, not noticing Frostmoon's light tensing of her shoulders.

"Alright!" Dawnpaw called back, squaring his shoulders as he gave an excited and determined breath. He lunged forwards, jumping off the rock, but with far too much eagerness. He sailed too far to the side, landing on nothing but the ground with a thump of his paws and a noise of effort from the firm landing. He stood and shook his pelt, embarrassed. "Oops..."

Mothsong had her back to most of the camp, sitting in a corner of the camp where a few of the small willow trees extended their long branches more and more every year. Leafbare had stripped them of their leaves, leaving empty strands of branches that swayed dimly in the cold wind. At one point, she remembered them blooming from the ashes of the fire, one or two of them surviving the flames and managing to live again. She remembered Willowpaw's excitement when he saw them, even after the fire had blazed through. Willowpaw's hope and excitement simply at seeing life had cracked through Mothsong's jagged shell, and for the first time in a long time she had a reason to feel proud of being a Thunderclan Warrior again.

Willowpaw was gone now, and the leaves on the willow trees were gone too. This time, Mothsong didn't feel angry. She felt sad, and alone, and wished she could have seen things the way he did, been a more fun and more adventurous mentor, just for him. She curled her tail around herself and hunched her shoulders.

(I have everyone open!)

Plumfur returned from a hunting patrol with a small mouse in her jaws. It wasn't much, but she found herself appreciating it since it was the middle of Leafbare. She spotted Dapplenight near the camp walls and approached, dropping the mouse in the fresh-kill pile first. "...Working on the walls?" she quietly spoke.

Aspenfall looked up from the herbs he was sorting and looked relieved. "Does SkyClan need them?" he asked, a question that only medicine cats could get away with answering. SkyClan wouldn't openly admit weakness, but he figured Peachdapple may have seen something while in their camp.

Plumfur took a quick look at the bracken walls. It looked like Dapplenight had been working on them since she had left on the hunting patrol. Noticing his shaking, she fluffed out her fur and brushed against him. "Would you be willing to take a break and share some prey?" she asked, feeling slightly hungry after the hunt.

Aspenfall nodded in approval. If the two Clans cooperated peacefully, they could account for the herbs missing in their respective territories. "I hope we won't need that much catmint. It's always a blessing when cats stay healthy in leafbare." he commented.

Darktail laughed, bumping into her shoulder. "My parents would genuinely be delighted to, but on your own time. No need to rush."

Shadowblossom nodded, getting onto her feet. "Sure, prey has been scarce so I don't know how successful my hunt will be, but maybe we can bring a good meal to the happy couple." Shadowblossom looked over her shoulder at Midnightstream and Darktail, the mischievous look returning in her eye.

Darktail joined her in her nervous giggling. "I guess so! I mean I think we can just continue being how we were before, but maybe just. Um. Sit closer together and stuff right?"

Shadowblossom shook out her pelt as they walked, glad Yarrowcloud had gotten that pesky thorn out of it earlier on. "Perhaps. Mice seem to be the only thing hanging around still. I don't think the stream has frozen over yet but it's getting close. I saw some ice floating down it a couple of sunrises ago."

“Sunningrocks might have to wait.” Ghostscreech said over his shoulder, “At least until we gain our strength back. A fight in leafbare won’t do us any good.” He added, slowing as the neared the border. (We can continue on the border page if you would like.)

Sunthroat’s whiskers twitched in amusement as Dawnpaw shook his fur out, “That’s alright. This isn’t something one can get on their first try.” He said, “Come on, let’s go again. Focus on where you want to land, don’t lose sight of it.”

Owlfrost spotted Mothsong under the willow branches and huffed a sigh. The normally fierce she-cat had been acting differently since Shadeclaw’s deception, but even more gloomy since Willowpaw had passed. He moved towards her, his ear flicking as he wondered why he cared about Mothsong acting this way. “What are you doing hiding back here?” He asked, stopping as he reached her.

“…We’ll need to get it back, sooner or later.” Frostmoon mewed suddenly, finally looking up at Ghostscreech, more upset than she wanted to admit, but hiding it behind a firmness. “Riverclan surely must think they’ve got the upper paw… they probably think Starclan has blessed them immaculately.” She muttered, trying to hide from Autumnfall’s sudden staring at her.

The older she-cat looked at Frostmoon, suddenly seeming to burst with realization. A hint of sympathy filled her eyes, but it was soon covered by an awkwardness as she then looked at Ghostscreech.

“Right.” Dawnpaw nodded quickly, determined this time to get the motions right. He bunched his muscles and leaped again, timing his spring better and this time managing to land on Sunthroat’s shoulders, albeit a bit wobbly.

Mothsong lifted her head as Owlfrost approached. She turned her head slightly to face him, before she turned back to look at the willow trees again. “Willowpaw used to sit here before training and watch the willow branches sway. I always thought it was pretty pointless, but then he told me that he liked the way he could reach up and catch them. He liked the way they just… existed.” She suddenly reached one of her paws up to grasp at a leafless swaying branch.

“He was such a good, happy apprentice. He worked hard, did everything right, always woke up on time, and yet he still was able to see the bright side of everything. A cat like him… stuck with a cat like me.” She rasped, quiet and stony, before she shook her head. “He took the anger out of me, and now that he’s gone, I just don’t have any left in me to feel at all. I just feel… tired.” She turned away a bit, almost ashamed to admit such a vulnerable thing to a cat she knew she was once so harsh towards.