|☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁| Windclan: The Swift & Loyal |☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁|

Palegaze hummed. "Hmm...basically it means Shadeclaw took over as leader of ThunderClan by force, without being deputy first or going through StarClan," he said.

Palegaze sighed. "It's...very complicated; a bit too much so for a territory tour. Let's move on, shall we?" He began to pad back uphill, to where the Twoleg's bridge spanned the river and the falls crashed from the gorge.

Palegaze fondly rolled his eyes, looking around the moor before smirking. With long strides, he raced to the nearest patch of tall grass, leaping into its center and sending leagues of grasshoppers fleeing into the air with a laugh.

Palegaze laughed, his voice warm and deep as it carried on the wind. Sure, it was important to teach Beanpaw about being a warrior, but...hey, he liked to have fun too. He pounced after a grasshopper or two of his own, his pupils round and tail lashing in excitement. And if anyone asked, he was just testing Beanpaw's reflexes!

"Well, I like you, Beanpaw," Palegaze replied honestly, warmed by the young cat's innocence. "I think you will be a wonderful apprentice and warrior someday." He sat up, clearing his throat. "Now, even though that was fun, we should probably keep moving."

He began to lead them uphill again, stopping a fox-length from where the cliffs dropped off into the gorge.

"Extremely," said Palegaze. "But remember - it's also secret. The other Clans don't know about tunneling, it's something unique to only us and it can help keep us safe."

Palegaze shook his head, looking across the gorge to RiverClan's territory. "No. A least, not to my knowledge," he clarified. "Who knows what secrets other Clans may have!"

Palegaze cringed. He didn't want his apprentice's head full of things like that, but he also didn't want to go against what his father was telling him. "Well, you can't believe everything you hear, especially if you can't really prove it," he said tentatively. "Many cats are...resistant to change, and will have a lot of opinions regarding changes in leadership. Northstar in particular was an incredible, long-standing leader, so she left pretty huge paws to fill when she died."

He began to pad along the length of the gorge, still staying away from the edge with Beanpaw on the side facing the moor. "Cedarstar has a lot to prove, especially to cats who only see him once a moon at most. But we can't judge what we don't see; we don't know who he is in his own camp with his own Clan."

“Surely not!” Juniperpaw fretted as she padded at her sister’s side. “Or all kinds of cats would be banished now! Oh, I couldn’t ever call out anyone in public like that!” She bristled at the terror of the idea, of how Echowing had brought attention all on her and Skyclan and Shadowclan. “That was awful!”

Beanpaw was trying to hide more and more yawns the closer they got to camp. He attempted a smile when Palegaze spoke to him, but he glanced downward with the thought that maybe he didn't want to join anymore gatherings. Fuzzypaw and Whorlpaw were nice, he told himself. And that ThunderClan apprentice. Maybe...he could go just to see them next time and not for the tension.

“…Maybe they’ll go out there, where the sky flies past the mountains.” Juniperpaw glanced over at where the mountains just barely scraped over the camp wall. The gentle apprentice gave a sad yet wistful sigh. “Or maybe they’ll slip away and become loners in the Twolegplace… do you think they’ll be happy together, even if they’re out there alone?” She whispered.

Palegaze watched Beanpaw tiredly pad away, a contemplative frown on his face. Spotting Eclipsesky, he padded over to his cousin. "Hey, Eclipse," he said softly. He gave the former medicine cat a comforting lick between the ears.

Eclipsesky looked up at Palegaze as he approached, giving his cousin a weak smile. "Hi Palegaze. That was a wild first gathering for poor Beanpaw huh."


"I don't think she would, but Shadowclan looked surprised at Cedarstar's reaction. I don't think they thought he would either." Larkpaw replied, "Swiftstar is still young though, Mama will have lots of time before she's leader."

Larkpaw's eyes widened at Juniperpaw's mention of them getting in the tunnels, "Do you think they're small enough to fit in our tunnels? Cedarstar made it sound like they were big. I'm sure Swiftstar wouldn't go out of camp alone knowing they're out there. Maybe you and I will train together more. I doubt we'll be allowed to go out in small groups right now."