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

(FOXXXX <3 )

The gentle enjoyment that Yarrowcloud had felt had instantly shattered into an ice cold shock as Hollowpaw demonstrated a move he had not seen in a very, very long time. He watched Dawnpaw startle back with surprise, and while the younger tom’s eyes glowed with amazement at Hollowpaw’s sudden move, Yarrowcloud didn’t feel the same sense of awe.

The elder felt dread and anger and emotions he thought he had finally locked away after all these moons fill his veins, and he hobbled to his three good paws, voice raised with a frantic demand.

“Hey. Hey! Who taught you that move, Hollowpaw? When did you learn that?!” He demanded, more sharp and upset than he had ever sounded to the she-cat before.

Dawnpaw startled at Yarrowcloud’s sudden shout, pulling to his paws and stepping back with confusion, eyes wide. Why was the elder suddenly so angry, and frantic?

Scarletpaw bristled, both confused at how Hollowpaw had been able to pull off such a cool move, but also not all that happy with how Yarrowcloud was suddenly lumbering towards the hollow.

Hornetstrike was quiet for a moment, looking at Slatesight with wide yellow eyes, before he purred lightly, shaking his head. “I’m the one who should be thanking you. When I was brought to Thunderclan in that awful blizzard, I remember one of my earliest memories being curled up right next to you, and Nighteye, and Cloudpaw.” He spoke Cloudpaw’s name with a twinge of sadness, before he continued. “I felt so alone when I was younger, I didn’t know who I was or where I came from, but you were there for me the entire time. My first and greatest friend. Nothing could ever repay that, you know?”

For a moment, he wanted to admit that long held secret he had, that he had loved Slatesight as deeply as he had Mapleleaf, and as he did Whiteblaze, but he found himself keeping it inside his chest. After all, he was happy with how things were now, and trying to complicate that would be the last thing he wanted. Instead, he chuckled.

“Sometimes I can be wise, I promise.”

Hollowpaw flinched and skidded to a halt at Yarrowcloud’s sudden sharp words towards her, turning her face towards him and flattening her ears against her head. What had she done wrong? She had performed the move almost perfectly! She had never heard such a sharp tone come from the elder before and it had startled her quite a bit, “I.. I learned it from…” the blind apprentice trailed off, unsure of how to answer Yarrowcloud. Hollowpaw couldn’t exactly tell him that she had been learning battle moves in her dreams, and she couldn’t say that it had been Silentflare who had taught her when he was standing right there to contradict her lie. She flicked her tail nervously, trying to think of a way out of this situation.

Ghostscreech had been watching silently, impressed with both Dawnpaw’s and Hollowpaw’s progress. He turned his head sharply at Yarrowcloud’s sudden interruption, confused as to what was wrong. “What’s going on?” He asked, flicking his ear. The deputy gave Lightningstar a questioning look, wondering if he knew why the elder was reacting this way.

Hollowpaw seemed to shrink back into herself as Yarrowcloud continued to snap at her, taking a couple of pawsteps back. Why was he so angry with her? How could a single move make the normally calm Yarrowcloud so upset? Suddenly, Hollowpaw felt her own rush of anger and pulled herself up to her full height, her tail lashing in annoyance. “So what? It’s just some stupid mouse-brained battle move! And it worked too!” She snapped. Her face turned towards the elder, her fur bristling slightly.

Yarrowcloud bristled, big and ferocious even amongst his many injuries, though he did not feel it towards the apprentice or his brother. Hatred filled him, realizing that surely Silentflare had learned it from Wrenflight. Who else had Wrenflight clawed over to his side, just to hurt him? To hurt Thunderclan? For a moment, Yarrowcloud wanted to blurt out his accusation, speak Wrenflight’s name and shout at how Silentflare could possibly train under such a horrible cat…

And yet… He felt Lightningstar’s eyes on him. After Shadeclaw, how could he possibly put Silentflare in a position to be accused of going to the Dark Forest? Even now, Yarrowcloud felt his heart ache at the thought of Silentflare being punished in any regard. Yarrowcloud was done having his life be torn apart by the hateful bitterness of his father. This was the final stone in the pond for the elder.

So instead, Yarrowcloud scolded sharply, the lie bitter on his tongue as he hid what he really wanted to say.

“She’s far too young to be learning advanced moves like that! We’ve seen what happens when cats too young are made to train too hard!” He didn’t mention Shadeclaw or Tigerpaw, but the implication was there. “If her claws had slipped out, she would have slashed Dawnpaw’s face!” He tried to control his internal anger and fear at his father’s influence, trying to sound like just another concerned older cat.

“She didn’t have her claws out, I promise!” Dawnpaw pleaded, trying to de-escalate, but flattening his ears gently as Yarrowcloud didn’t seem to hear him.

Scarletpaw scowled fiercely, ready to stomp over, though she stopped when she saw Silentflare defending Hollowpaw. Hmph. All good he was doing, when Hollowpaw had said he hadn’t been training her well. Had he suddenly started full force?

"No matter where you came from, you belong here in ThunderClan. I am sure StarClan agrees, if not me and Whiteblaze and everyone else." Slatesight assured, sounding more confident about this than he had about pretty much anything else in the past few moons. "And I think you are wise. We learn a lot from each other. If not for you, I would still be struggling with hunting and fighting."

Slatesight's ears perked as he heard a distant yell in the forest. "Did you hear that?"

Willowsong stood awkwardly beside the apprentices as she waited for the groups to switch out, she glanced curiously at Ghostscreech, wondering what happened to cause the fighting.

Blizzardstorm settled at the edge of the clearing to stretch as he waited for the switch to occur, shaking out his paw as he prepared to demonstrate several fighting maneuvers again.

(lemme know which group I can through Stumppaw in then ) 

Slatesight frowned in concern. “I wonder if the apprentices are arguing. It sounded more like an angry yell rather than a pained yell.” he remarked, able to tell the difference from experience. “We can start walking that way. If anyone needs help, I can still help provide aid.” he nodded to Hornetstrike.

(Imma just reply and keep it going until Fox can hop on lol)

"I've never doubted that, but it's not a matter of pride! Your mentor should know better! That move is cowardly! It always has been!" Yarrowcloud snapped back at the young she-cat, inwardly feeling a sharp pang hearing his own voice. He had never snapped at Hollowpaw before. In fact, his time spent with her had always been kind and caring. He had kept her warm when she was tossed out of camp by Shadeclaw, and brought into the banished group of himself, Eagleclaw, Emberfluff, and Autumnfall. He had treated her runny noses and let her play with his large paws as she explored the cold world with no sight. Not once had he ever doubted her ability to be independent and grow into a dedicated Warrior. But, the fear he held of his father's influence reaching the cats he loved made him emotionally charged.

His muzzle stung, where the faint scars from moons and moons ago served as the reminder of the last time he had seen his father use that move, when he had used it on him during his vicious attack on Yarrowcloud before Yarrowcloud had been forced to lurch away to dodge another strike, and Wrenflight had soared over the rocks and down to his death, bloody and angry even in his last moments. The memory still haunted him, and the attacks his father had used on him reeked of cowardice and pain. He couldn't bear to see Hollowpaw use it. 

Frostmoon gave a curious look, having never seen Yarrowcloud look so angry. She didn't like how he and his brother seemed to be facing off again, but this time Hollowpaw was also bristled. What had happened?

Hollowpaw had hissed again, ready to respond with a sharp retort when both Silentflare and Lightningstar had interrupted and lashed her tail in anger and annoyance. Turning sharply on her paws, Hollowpaw stomped over to Scarletpaw and sat down with a huff, trying to force her fur to lay flat again. So far, this training session was not going well at all and now she was just ready for it to be over already.

Ghostscreech sighed in relief once Lightningstar had stepped in and stood up to greet Sunthroat and the others, "Alright. It's time for the apprentice's to switch groups." he said, addressing everyone to try and quickly ease the tension. "Sunthroat, I would like us to switch as well. If you don't mind, could you show Pebblepaw some of the basic battle moves?" He asked the former deputy.

Sunthroat gave a nod to Ghostscreech, still confused as to what had caused Yarrowcloud to yell at Hollowpaw the way he had, "That's just fine with me." He said, giving Pebblepaw a kind smile.

Willowsong wished Pebblepaw and Mistpaw good luck quietly, standing back as the new apprentices gathered for the hunting portion.

Stumppaw lingered near Scarletpaw and Hollowpaw as the groups switched. Her eyes were still trained on the spot where Yarrowcloud and Lightningstar had vanished into the undergrowth. "Well that was weird." she announced to no one in particular.

Blizzardstorm shook his head with a sigh, hoping the rest of the training session would go smoothly.

(Willow, you can throw Stumppaw on the hunting group if you would like ^.^)

Once the apprentices had switched places, Ghostscreech gave a nod to Sunthroat and turned to Frostmoon and Willowsong, "Come on, we can take the apprentices to the Great Sycamore. I'm sure there will be plenty of prey near there for us to catch." He suggested.

Lightningstar nodded to Ghostscreech before moving to leave the sandy hollow. He didn’t speak for a few moments, waiting until they were out of earshot of the training ground before stopping to look at Yarrowcloud. “Yarrowcloud? What was that? Why did you get so upset?” His voice had no edge to it, only concern.