Mossclan; Cats of the Wetlands (Open)

a chuckle escaped the young she-cat, "I suppose you did learn a thing or two in your youth." she teased, her tone laced with a playful affection. Although, all jokes aside, Willowbreeze was genuinely relieved to see Stormstar at least trying to take care of himself. She was still quite young when Toadstar passed away for the final time, but even so she had admired the old cat nonetheless and was fairly sure he would have been pleased with Stormstar's work in place of him. "Just don't start expecting too much of me, or I might lose that precious amount of sleep a she-cat needs to keep a beautiful shiny coat." she retorted, as good natured as ever, though undoubtedly a proud cat in her own right.

The playful banter drew to a sudden close as the form of Sagedream dashed path, almost kicking up enough wind to ruffle Willowbreeze's fur from atop the rock. Here eyes were wide briefly, blinking several times with visible shock as the poor frantic deputy skidded to a halt well past the rock. Although the white she-cat made no movement to get up, she had straightened up in her position, tail flicking behind her with mild anxiousness that betrayed her calm demeanor. She was certainly listening closely to whatever could have distressed the she-cat so. "... Didn't Longnose leave the camp with you?" in light on the realization, she hardly noticed Honeywhisker going about his normal motions.

Ashcloud could probably eat a clan's worth of prey himself in all honesty, Mossclan itself was probably lucky where he lacked retraint in other areas, he had enough of it in this regard. That and it'd be a lot harder to get away with being a pig during Leaf-bare compared to just being lazy during it. A chuckle escaped the tom through bites of mouse over the good-natured attitude of the old she-cat. "I wish I could get the apprentices to run my errands, but I don't think I could get away with it without a good tongue lashing." he exclaimed in a playful manner, knowing full well the patience of his father and siblings could only stretch so far, not that he thought the apprentices themselves would tolerate his requests, "Then again I think even the most ill tempered cat would find it hard to deny a request from you." He added, affectionately but gently bunting his head against the old cat. At least for Russetwhisker, the gray tom could muster something akin to respect.

He did balk at the mere idea he was a more troublesome apprentice than those currently apprenticed, but the twinkle of mischief betrayed any true offense he could have taken to his grandmothers words. "I would argue I was the most well behaved apprentice, I rarely got in trouble for doing anything!" His wording was very intentional, the truth of the matter being it was usually what he wasn't doing that had gotten him in more trouble than not, something that had carried on into warriorhood to be frank. "But I am glad to hear they have been treating you well, you've sure put up with enough of us to deserve it!" he purred with that playful lilt, not seeming too ashamed of the trouble he may have caused among his family if not the clan as a whole.

However, the following statement did catch his interest briefly, glancing towards the center of camp where there was infact a commotion growing. He certainly couldn't HEAR what they were saying but the body language they were giving off seemed to imply something serious. "Huh.. No idea, don't think it's my fault this time."

As much as Willowbreeze enjoyed her tom foolery, the she-cat knew when it was time to actually act like a warrior, immediately pushing herself up to her feet with ease as the feathers she'd been pawing scattered. "As you would have it, Stormstar. You'll barely make it out of camp before I'm done." There was the faintly laced playful arrogance in her words but she left no doubts to the sincerity she regarded her duties with as she lept off the rock gracefully adding, "Be safe in the meantime, Stormstar, and you as well, Sagedream." With those words said, the she-cat began to her task, initially starting at the Apprentice's den where she believed she might meet the most resistence regarding the young cats remaining safely in camp until it was safe. After all, she was not so old as to forget her own desire to take on duties beyond her rank as an apprentice. Her intent from there would be to make her way clock-wise through the Nursery and Elder's den, though this would surely take her time as she assured all the apprentices were actually there. "You are all to remain in camp until Stormstar returns with the Patrol, if you see anyone return to camp before us, make sure to let them know." She would speak, her tone kind but stern as she regarded the apprentices.

The she-cat would back her way out and make the easy and brief stop at the nursery, alerting cats in the clearing on the way. The nursery was far less complicated, noting the two bundles that were the deputy's own kin, Cared for by a gentle older queen for the time being. Sharing the message, she was give an agreeable response and that meant the Elder's were all that remained. It was a pleasure to see Ashcloud and Russetwhisker easily available, even if that meant the tom was likely slacking off again -- Not that it was any of her business. She padded up to the two, dipping her head with respect at first, "Morning, Russetwhisker, Ashcloud. There's been a fox sighted so Stormstar would have all Apprentices and Elder's remain in camp until the patrol's return. Could I trouble you two to let the other Elder's know should they awake?" She explained with a level-tone, though there was an anxiousness to get a move on in the flicking of her tail and the slight shifting of her paws.

Stepping quietly towards her father, she caught enough of the plan to understand her initial instinct had been right. It was a trackers job to track after all, and most of that time the priority would be leading warriors to a threat. Smokefeather doubted Sagedream really needed help finding the light colored she-cat among the forest or the wetlands.

"Only when do we leave?" She replied to the question directed in no way towards her as she padded up behind the group, tone and expression serious as she regarded the leader and his chosen warriors. Including Wildfire. Although Smokefeather cared for all her siblings, she couldn't help but worry about Wildfire's.. enthusiasm, simply hoping her sibling could stay focused.

One thing could be sure, Ashcloud was always grateful for the understanding of the old she-cat, even if it was the characteristic bias of a loving grandmother. Certainly he deserved the ire of his father, and any resentment his clanmates might have harbored, but it had done little to temper his behavior; After all, he was young and wasn't it only appropriate to live how he saw fit in the mean time? Maybe not by clan standards but he hadn't run into trouble he couldn't get out of yet.

"I'd say it's an important part of a Mentor's training to learn how to handle unruly apprentices." He replied, a chuckle rumbling in his throat, "Mind you, I'd argue my sisters were far more.. unruly." He added, eyes sparkling mischeviously as he remembered how Smokefeather and Wildfire had certainly pressed the limits of their mentors in creative ways. One almost expected it from Wildfire, but to see Smokefeather dragging her mentor around like they were the apprentice was a sight to behold. Finally munching down the few remaining scraps from his mouse, he glanced back up at Russetwhisker as cheerily as ever, "That's good, 'cause I wont be letting you escape my constant company anytime soon!" Ashcloud exclaimed, rolling to his side and pawing playfully at the old cat as is mock 'pestering' her.

However, he glanced up as Willowbreeze approached, initially concerned it was time for a scolding. His eyes widened with the realization it was fox related, knowing well the dangers that could pose if it wandered to close to camp. "I'll keep an eye on camp in the meantime, then." he replied, his tone genuine, it wasn't as if he'd intended to go anywhere. After all, he did care about the clan and more importantly the clanmates within it, and if he was meant to join the patrol he was fairly sure he would have already been called over. Not that he thought his father would pick him for something this important.

Dipping her head in gratitude, the white she offered the same in words, "Thank you. I'm sure it will be dealt with fairly quickly, You raised a cat worthy of the position of leader." Willowbreeze replied in a gentler tone, perhaps seeking to offer some comfort to the old cat before departing. "And I'll hold you to that, Ashcloud. If I come back and you're behind a bush with a nice looking she-cat, I'll have your tail." She added, in regards to the tom, though a glimmer of amusement sparkled in her eyes.

"Now, please excuse me." With her message delivered, she backed away from the elder's den and trotted off to reconvene with Stormstar and his fox-hunting party. Well, hunting in the form of looking for it to chase it away. The thought of eating a fox seemed a bit heinous, only because she imagined it'd taste as bad as it smelled. A joke for another time perhaps.

Ever unaware the fuss her absence was causing poor Sagedream, Longnose had made it to the edge of the Dry Forest. However, she had paused over a rather suspicious scene. Some prey bones, stripped clean, had been left displayed openly and the scent of heather hung heavily over them. It was an odd detail to note to be sure, and yet... heather didn't grow this far over. That and it was fairly common knowledge that Herbs were quite effective at covering otherwise defining scents, depending on the herb of course.

The she-cat narrowed her eyes as she inspected them, but she could draw no further conclusion on her own. However, she did make a mental note of it, perhaps figuring it could be worth mentioning at a later time. After all, she imagined the fox itself had already caused a fair stir back in camp.