WindClan: Life Before 2023's Fire

[teddy.]

A singular thud of his stumped tail was enough to indicate the annoyance of the elegant boy.

Great fuffy one? Oh who in Stars name did this little bundle of dirt and grit think he was!

A second thud.

"I don't know if my name should even be kind enough to grace your ears. Clean them out of Stars knows what and maybe I'll consider letting you gain my acquaintance..." The words were as sharp as a hawks talon, a fearsome edge to them that oozed intimidation. Moonchaser was not one to be messed with.

With blood already being to sizzle, it was soon boiling at the mention of the surprisingly deep cut. He stomped a paw onto the ground, flexing claws into the dirt. "RABBITS! Hares! Floppy eared little balls of scum," The snarled from his lips echoed out.

"They're stinky and fast and definitely not worth the energy yet here we are, eating them as if they were the finest kibble in the entire forest! I've had the best meals your little pea sized brain could never imagaine! The fact rabbit has landed on my tongue is a utter disgrace, I say! A DISGRACE!" He gasped for air, So flustered by the topic white curls were pushed up into his pretty slim face. The dainty tom was now twice the size by pure anger alone.

@chaton

[Moon Lily]

Originally Posted by Moonraven

Another kit she hasn't seen in forever. It was weird not seeing certain kits for a long time, even the shyest of kits like to get out of the nursery once in a while. It wasn't until she saw the kit's back legs that everything clicked for her. Curiosity rather than pity lite up Twilightstar's eyes as Crinklekit dragged herself around on her front legs, smiling and happy.

"Thank you, tiny one." Twilightstar purred while touching her nose to the kit's ear. What was up with flowers? She couldn't eat this! Or well she could, but wouldn't taste good. Taking the flower from the kit, she set it down beside her while standing up to inspect Crincklekit's hindlegs. "You don't come out of the nursery much. Do your back legs hurt when you move around?" The leader pondered, sniffing the tiny cat's feeble hindlegs as if looking for any open sores or wounds. They looked weak and frail from the lack of use.

Crinklekit gazed up at Twilightstar, her green orbs growing huge as she watched the yellow flower travel from her paws to the spot beside the light-furred leader. Allowing a small grin to break out on her maw, she purred in satisfaction. It was only after this had happened that she realized how nervous she was. She was standing in front of the clan leader, with her weirdo-schmeirdo legs and dumb flower. What if she didn't like the flower? It was always a possibility. The kit beamed in delight at her thanks, settling down.

"S'okay!" She chirped, emitting a small giggle as the older she-cat touched her ear to her nose. It tickled! Looking back at her dead-legs as the leader gazed down at them, she prodded them with an angry paw.
"Sometimes! On' I got a huuuge scwatch an' it huwt a LOT. An', an ugly...bwus...bwuise! They'we just mad at me. But when they'we happy again, I will wun and jump and fight like a wawwiow!" She exclaimed, glaring at the pair of limp limbs from the corner of her eye. They were annoying, but she loved her dead-legs. She just wished they could get happier sooner rather than later. She was jealous of her siblings and the way they could dive and tackle each other. She wanted to play with them, too!

[Moonraven]

Originally Posted by Slushie

Sheeppaw

[ @Moonraven ]

The lump in his throat attacked him again and he turned his head to the side to cough. So... that's what this was about? His paws were beginning to prickle. Technically he had dropped a few hints, so that wasn't a lie at all. But he also knew that he had apparently managed to get on the nerves of two Clan leaders, and whether it was on accident or not, he knew that was a bad thing to have on his record.

He rolled his shoulders back and sighed, mind working as he tried to figure out how to word this without sounding like a smartass. "Miss Twiglight - or, whatever your actual name may be, because I'm sure what Stagpaw told me ian't it - I did hint at my mentor never being around. But perhaps I acted too quickly, jumped to conclusions... that sort of thing. I should have waited and tried some more, not just run off." Was that a little more formal and far more polite than he usually spoke? Yeah, maybe, but the words were just flowing from his mouth on their own. He didn't have time to worry about what they sounded like.

As for his tail... He flipped it over his paws and stared. "Maybe I misread things," he murmured after a moment, partly to himself. And maybe his mind had made things up entirely. But it was too late to go back and fix that now.

He raised his head to blink at her again. "I'm sorry. I know it seems like I lied, and I know you hate that. I mean, come on, the last two cat who did it ended up dead or exiled. But... does me fighting the raid come even a little bit close to proving I'm not keen on leaving WindClan? If I had wanted to run away, if I had felt like i needed to, I would have. But I'm here now, and injured on your behalf." His gaze flickered to the wound on his shoulder and back again.

So he has chosen death! Twilightstar unsheathed her claws and curled her lips to expose her fangs. The fur along her spine bristled and a cold stony glare carved itself into her green eyes.
"You have to be the most disrespectful and ignorant nincompoop I've ever met." She spat at him in a frosty tone. How the hell did he not know a Clan leader's name? Especially the leader of a clan he wanted to stay in. She could understand if she had been a newer leader or something like that, but she's been WindClan's leader for several moons now. Messing up a deputy's name, fair enough, but a clan leader? Come on!!! Had this cat lived underneath a rock or something. A very selective few got away with the Twig nickname, and this damn dunderhead wasn't one of them.
"I have no idea what you're getting at, I don't care if your mentor was never around, I just told you..." She drifted off shutting her eyes and shaking her head. She didn't think there was a cat dumber than her apprentice, Sheeppaw had proven her wrong. It might just be with her, but he seemed to have a problem with authority among thousands of other issues.
"You think I'm worried about you running away?" Yeah, no that's not what she was worried about at all. She'd be ecstatic if he ran off, she's never wanted a cat to go missing as much as she did right now. Twilightstar wasn't going to even get into the little guilt-tripping thing he was trying to pull.
"You frustrate me beyond words, it's too a point where I don't even understand why I try sometimes. I hope ThunderClan has better luck with you cause that's literally the only hope you have left if you want to remain in a clan." Twilightstar was done, she had no patience for this at all. "I want you out of WindClan." He had his chance and he utterly blew it just because he didn't know her name.

Originally Posted by Fawnhearted

“My mate was giving birth and the camp was left undefended, i’m sorry Twilightstar, but I do admit that i fought off two cats before hand, as well as helping out some of the apprentices, I thought i saw some cats head in the direction of our camp, and i couldn’t tell if they were Windclan or Shadowclan”, he paused momentarily before adding “I apologize for my actions, but I will never regret watching my kits birth and defending the camp”, He finally stopped to look at his leader and wait for a snappy reply as he expected.

Where to even start here? "So you left you left your apprentice alone to fight all by himself against ShadowClan because your mate was giving birth and you truly believed that some ShadowClan warriors were going to split off, leave their clearly outnumber clanmates all alone to go all the way over to the WindClan camp and launch an attack all by themselves?" That was ridiculous and it sounded ridiculous to her. If he had been so worried about that he should have stayed in the camp in the first place.
It wasn't the fact that Twilightstar particularly needed him, WindClan had done fine, it was that he had tossed aside his responsibility as a mentor and left Smokepaw by himself. How would he feel if they had brought the young cat's body home?
"The camp was fine and even if you hadn't been there it would have been fine. There were enough experienced queens in the nursery that could have helped Nightleaf if needed. You have a duty as a warrior and a mentor to your clan." Why the hell was she even having this discussion?
"Congratulations on becoming a father, but if you think that takes priority over being a warrior and a mentor then you're not fit to remain in my clan, or any clan in my opinion."Friends, family, and anything in between, all of that came after the clan.
If he wanted to do nothing but worry about his kits and his mate, he could do that as a loner. "You can think solely about yourself and your family outside of WindClan." Would she exile him for being selfish? Oh, hell yes! There was no I in Clan. "Either get your priorities straight or leave."


-----
@CheetahPelt @Pigeon
"A raid with ShadowClan is not a time to teach an apprentice who is so inexperienced." Twilightstar began her lecture and glanced at Coyotepaw as she arrived.
"You." She snapped short and sharp at Coyotepaw. "You weren't supposed to be there. What in the world made you think that could just barge into a raid and distract your mentor?" These two were lucky they'd be getting off with a tongue lashing. Without waiting for Coyotepaw's response she continued.
"Whitesong, if you wanted her safe you should have sent her over to Coldamber and Snailswirl, not dragged her around with you. She could have gotten hurt or killed and you would have blamed yourself." Not a great way to start off as a mentor.
"Coyotepaw, you know you weren't allowed there. You are nothing but a burden and a hassle to your mentor without proper training to take care of yourself in battle. He can't protect himself if he was worried about you the whole time." Her irritation melted away with each word. She felt a little bit better now that she got that off her chest.
"Do not let this happen again, better yet, Whitesong, you should go and do some battle training with her so none of us have to have this talk again." That was it she was done with her little rant.

[Abyssopelagic]

Shockholly's eyes slid to Honeysage, a slight frown tugging at her mouth. She'd been worried this was about the raid, but she wasn't sure this was much better. Not to mention their confusion about why they had been called up with the others.
Oh.
Was it about how long it took for them to become a warrior?
Their eyes slid over to Twilightstar, briefly before directing her gaze to she wasn't staring. They weren't sure if they should be nervous.

@Moonraven @Starfall

[dino.]

Sheeppaw

[ @Moonraven ]

His fur bristled and he lurched to his paws, taking several hasty steps away from Twilightstar as his ears flattened against his skull. Stars on fire, what had he said to cause such a reaction? He opened his mouth to blurt something out, something that would probably be just as stupid as the thing he had said last, but he never got the chance.

He flinched away from here, bringing a paw close to his chest so he could fend off any strikes she would try to send his way. Stagpaw and that Mushy cat that he STILL didn't know the name of because he hadn't bothered to learn it flickered through his thoughts. He was gone. Outcast. Without them.

There was nothing he could do about it.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm going!" he yelped. He spun on his heels and rushed out of the den, sparing only a brief wide-eyed glance over his shoulder at Twilightstar before vanishing from sight.

[Fawnhearted]

Originally Posted by Moonraven

So he has chosen death! Twilightstar unsheathed her claws and curled her lips to expose her fangs. The fur along her spine bristled and a cold stony glare carved itself into her green eyes.
"You have to be the most disrespectful and ignorant nincompoop I've ever met." She spat at him in a frosty tone. How the hell did he not know a Clan leader's name? Especially the leader of a clan he wanted to stay in. She could understand if she had been a newer leader or something like that, but she's been WindClan's leader for several moons now. Messing up a deputy's name, fair enough, but a clan leader? Come on!!! Had this cat lived underneath a rock or something. A very selective few got away with the Twig nickname, and this damn dunderhead wasn't one of them.
"I have no idea what you're getting at, I don't care if your mentor was never around, I just told you..." She drifted off shutting her eyes and shaking her head. She didn't think there was a cat dumber than her apprentice, Sheeppaw had proven her wrong. It might just be with her, but he seemed to have a problem with authority among thousands of other issues.
"You think I'm worried about you running away?" Yeah, no that's not what she was worried about at all. She'd be ecstatic if he ran off, she's never wanted a cat to go missing as much as she did right now. Twilightstar wasn't going to even get into the little guilt-tripping thing he was trying to pull.
"You frustrate me beyond words, it's too a point where I don't even understand why I try sometimes. I hope ThunderClan has better luck with you cause that's literally the only hope you have left if you want to remain in a clan." Twilightstar was done, she had no patience for this at all. "I want you out of WindClan." He had his chance and he utterly blew it just because he didn't know her name.




Where to even start here? "So you left you left your apprentice alone to fight all by himself against ShadowClan because your mate was giving birth and you truly believed that some ShadowClan warriors were going to split off, leave their clearly outnumber clanmates all alone to go all the way over to the WindClan camp and launch an attack all by themselves?" That was ridiculous and it sounded ridiculous to her. If he had been so worried about that he should have stayed in the camp in the first place.
It wasn't the fact that Twilightstar particularly needed him, WindClan had done fine, it was that he had tossed aside his responsibility as a mentor and left Smokepaw by himself. How would he feel if they had brought the young cat's body home?
"The camp was fine and even if you hadn't been there it would have been fine. There were enough experienced queens in the nursery that could have helped Nightleaf if needed. You have a duty as a warrior and a mentor to your clan." Why the hell was she even having this discussion?
"Congratulations on becoming a father, but if you think that takes priority over being a warrior and a mentor then you're not fit to remain in my clan, or any clan in my opinion."Friends, family, and anything in between, all of that came after the clan.
If he wanted to do nothing but worry about his kits and his mate, he could do that as a loner. "You can think solely about yourself and your family outside of WindClan." Would she exile him for being selfish? Oh, hell yes! There was no I in Clan. "Either get your priorities straight or leave."


-----
@CheetahPelt @Pigeon
"A raid with ShadowClan is not a time to teach an apprentice who is so inexperienced." Twilightstar began her lecture and glanced at Coyotepaw as she arrived.
"You." She snapped short and sharp at Coyotepaw. "You weren't supposed to be there. What in the world made you think that could just barge into a raid and distract your mentor?" These two were lucky they'd be getting off with a tongue lashing. Without waiting for Coyotepaw's response she continued.
"Whitesong, if you wanted her safe you should have sent her over to Coldamber and Snailswirl, not dragged her around with you. She could have gotten hurt or killed and you would have blamed yourself." Not a great way to start off as a mentor.
"Coyotepaw, you know you weren't allowed there. You are nothing but a burden and a hassle to your mentor without proper training to take care of yourself in battle. He can't protect himself if he was worried about you the whole time." Her irritation melted away with each word. She felt a little bit better now that she got that off her chest.
"Do not let this happen again, better yet, Whitesong, you should go and do some battle training with her so none of us have to have this talk again." That was it she was done with her little rant.

Blackfeather stopped. “Your right my apprentice should have been my first concern as well as my clanmates”. He wasn’t going to bother giving excuses, they didn’t matter, he realized he shouldn’t have treated his apprentice like a warrior, they were still training.

[Arie]

-- @Lynxpaw @Beau @Rainquail --

How did you pluck marigold? "You just pick it off right?" Pumapaw actually answered Heathernose's question... and of course she was right! She was always right! She couldn't be wrong. And her question was even proved right when she watched that other cat completely regard the warrior and just rush to begun plucking off the flowers. See? She'd been correct! Picking up her own pace into a run, the cream molly made her own way over and begun plucking the flowers before looking around. "How many should we get?"

[Arie]

-- @Rani @~Cloud --

Uh oh. The cat was not lonely? Stagpaw was confused, he was like sure that these were the symptoms of loneliness. Being alone. Not being happy... that was what Twig had been before he found out she suffered from loneliness. "The battle wasn't that bad! And its been like.... a quarter moon since the battle. I was injured in it!" he gestured with his tail to the scratches on his hindlegs that were still wrapped in cobwebs, mainly to prevent more bleeding and to prevent dirt from getting into it. "I did a lot in it too! So you can't use that excuse with me." Nope, wasn't going to work. Sitting down properly he stared at Crowpaw and poked his grey or well... darker grey? Stagpaw couldn't define between the shades of grey that he saw. Never could have. The world was grey. And the kid had accepted it. "I just saw the fact that you're lonely and loneliness makes you feel sad and do bad things." At least it did with Twig. And then a kit came over? Stagpaw's blue eyes - not that he would know they were blue - brightened up at the sight. Another one he could corrupt? Maybe! Tips on being an apprentice? Exchanging a glance with Crowpaw, the russet pointed apprentice decided... that this wouldn't be all too horrible of an idea. They would be able to keep Crowpaw from being lonely and teach someone else! "We can teach you can't we? Yeah!"

[Starfall]

Honeysage
@Moonraven @Rainquail
The tabby could only let out chirps as she listed things he needed to work on. Shuffling his paws as she continued to talk, he nodded his head multiple times. "sorry." he muttered as she stated he was sensitive. At her question he tipped his head to the side, thinking about what to say. How to say it. Whether or not if he said it, if he would dissapoint her, make her angry. After a few moments the tan feline looked up to look at the Leader. "I-." he paused. "I will try my best...but. I'm just worried that my best...won't be good enough." he said after a bit. "I, I keep trying. But I don't seem to get anywhere, I'm just...m" he trailed off and lowered his head again. He couldn't think of what to say, couldn't think of the words he wanted to say.

[Arie]

Originally Posted by RedHead

Quicksilver was impressed with Pumapaw's quick acting, getting out of the way of his attack. She was learning, that was for sure. It may have been a close call, but she still was getting better.
Quicksilver then watched as she stopped and looked at him, the expression on her face clearly frustrated. Quicksilver gave her a small smile, tail-tip twitching as he awaited her movement. When she came barreling towards him, Quicksilver did the same, running straight at her as well. He was expecting a head-on collision, so Pumapaw's switch of position to ram him with her shoulder caught the tom off-guard. Her much stronger push caused Quicksilver to stumble backwards a bit, falling right onto his rump. Big blue eyes blinked in surprise at the movement, the tom was clearly stunned.

She'd done it! She'd actually done it! Instead of continuing the fight the cream molly decided to celebrate her victory just briefly. "I did it! I actually did it!" He was going to smack her for that for sure but hey, she'd done it! And done it good! Pumapaw was extremely satisfied with herself and the move she'd managed to execute. So maybe that was how she should fight? Use her... strength. And burlier body structure to knock over cats. Walking over to Quickass though she sat down in front of him and couldn't resist patting his head with his paw. "Did I hit you a bit too hard there?" Was she mocking him? Yeah. He did the same to her so it was totally, one hundred percent justified! It always was. Even if it wasn't Pumapaw would come up with an excuse that would make it justified so he better just take it in the head or knock her over. Not that she doubted he would knock her over for that, she wanted to savour her victory for a bit. "So that's what I do? Just ram into things?"