It's been a long day...

[Luminous]

Hawkcatcher

The golden light of early dusk dappled her pelt as the warrior trotted back to camp, a [insert a kind of prey that Ragged likes lol] in her jaws. Usually, her evenings were reserved for walks through the forest or sitting by Firefly Cove on the occasional summer night. Not hunting. But she had been on the lookout for a specific type of prey, and the less it took up of her usual tasks, the better.
Hm, she probably preferred evenings when it came to these kinds of interactions.

Two days had passed since the battle, and despite having left the battle with minimal injuries herself, Hawkcatcher had noticed how busy both healers had been. But she had been meaning to check up on Raggedear ever since the fight.

Akin to a large shadow the brown warrior slipped into the den, amber eyes finding her former apprentice with the signature thorn ear and making her way over. "hey," Her voice was a low grumble like usual as the piece of prey fell to his paws. "how've you been since the fight?"

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@JellyCat

[JellyCat]

◢◣ RAGGEDEAR | 29 MOONS | HE/HIM ◢◣
fluffy, russet tom with yellow eyes, torn left ear, & black paw tips
header by @/burntToast
꧁꧂

Raggedear’s ears twitched sleepily as he heard paw steps come in and smelled… ”Vole!”. Immediately, the russet tom’s head shot up from where it lay on his nest, eyes glowing with hunger. Behind it stood his former mentor, asking him how he was faring after the battle. ”Gee, Hawkcatcher, you sure know how to wake me up in a good mood!” He joked, standing to stretch his back and legs before headbutting her affectionately on the shoulder. Before answering her question, Raggedear sniffed the vole, tail twitching excitedly. ”Let’s share.” He mewed, picking up the limp body and trotting out of the den before settling down to take a bite. After he finished chewing, he pushed the vole towards Hawkcatcher, blinking appreciatively.

”I’m glad to see you. I was worried about you after the fight.” Raggedear knew he shouldn’t have been, he had learned everything he knew from the fierce she-cat. She was more than capable of holding her own, and even the rugged Raggedear wouldn’t be keen on being her enemy in a real battle. ”I’m just fine. I got some new scars- check it.” The warrior proudly puffed out his chest as he displayed the new additions to his character on his chin, cheek, shoulder, and back leg. ”I’ll give it to them, those fish chasers sure did put up a good fight, but they still ran scared from me.” He purred.

”How about you? I bet they went running at the sight of you.” He teased, but he couldn’t hide the worry that sparked in his gaze. His former mentor wasn’t old, and he would be the last to say that she isn’t the warrior she used to be, but he worried the battle may have been too much for her considering the gravity of it.

( @Luminous | yayay so excited for Ragged/Hawk interaction )

[Luminous]

Hawkcatcher

A russet head shot up seemingly as soon as the scent of the prey entered the den, and a little twitch could be seen in the corner of Hawkcatcher's mouth before she settled down. She had never been very skilled in socializing, but it was difficult to be there when someone like Raggedear without learning a thing or two about them.

The comment about being worried about her earned little more than a scoff. "I've gone unscathed through more battles than you've had time to even hear off." His comment was not in a mean spirit, nor was her reply spoken with even a hit of irritation as she went for another bite of the vole. Hm, scars. Faint memories of her first proper fights floated back. The initial pain of the wounds and strange feeling when they didn't disappear like the smaller scratches she had gotten before. Then the pride. Marks of a battle adorning her flank and the urge to have it seen, to show that she had fought. But it was a long time ago. By now, Hawkcatcher had managed to lose count of exactly how many scars cut across her skin, only noticing them occasionally when grooming over the brakes in her pelt.

Whiskers twitched before she could hinder them as her former apprentice described sending his opponent running. "It was the usual, I suppose." Liar. Not it was not. It hadn't been a regular battle, not a skirmish over some border or a normal confrontation. They, not just Thunderclan but Shadowclan and Windclan as well, had burst into the heart of Riverclan and completely driven them out. "Running at the sight of you." The queens had. The kits. Apprentices. Young cats. Cats who were innocent of the crimes of the older warriors. They ran.

Stars, she didn't want to think about this. "But I am fine - glad to see you are as well."

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@JellyCat <33

[JellyCat]

◢◣ RAGGEDEAR | 29 MOONS | HE/HIM ◢◣
fluffy, russet tom with yellow eyes, torn left ear, & black paw tips
header by @/burntToast
꧁꧂

As Raggedear took another bite of the vole, his whiskers twitched in amusement as he chewed, knowing Hawkcatcher’s scoff was not meant in disdain. He purred in response, chewing a particularly tough piece of the vole before he swallowed loudly, a content gasp escaping his lips. ”Unscathed? Where’s the fun in that?” He joked, yellow eyes clearly playful. ”Well, I guess the medicine cats probably wouldn’t like hear me say that. Oops.” He said after thinking for a moment, grinning sheepishly.

Pushing the vole again back towards Hawkcatcher, his eyes narrowed to slits as the sun baked into his pelt, a stalling continuous purr to be heard. His ear twitched as his former mentor seemed not so thrilled to be discussing the battle beyond checking if he was alright. Silence sat between them for a moment before Raggedear gathered the courage to turn his face back to the she-cat, doing his best to keep his expression level.

”You don’t agree with RiverClan’s punishment- do you?” He dared to ask, tail swishing behind him. The tom, himself personally, felt as though they were atoning for their crimes- but then again, he loved the thrill of battle, and could sometimes need help seeing the bigger picture.

He turned his head back away, staring at a leaf that was being thrown around slightly by the wind. ”You’ve never led me astray and you’re wise. I ask what you think because I need to teach others.” When he turned back to Hawkcatcher, his eyes glowed with a bit of pride. ”I was assigned an apprentice, Ivypaw! That gives me two apprentices at once now, but that means Bumblestar must trust me with their training.”

( @Luminous )

[Luminous]

She/her - 68 moons
Massive brown bengal molly with amber eyes

Her former apprentice's comment earned him a little swat of her tail directed at the thorn ears, but the slight playfulness melted her eyes when she spoke again. She should not have allowed the conversation to start there, she understood that much. It was supposed to be a moment to catch up with Raggedear, not ponder the politics of everything that had happened. Then again, trying to avoid politics as a topic was a lost cause when they affected every aspect of a warrior's life.

She allowed the silence to sit over them a moment longer after Raggerear's question, licking her lips and yellow eyes turned towards the vole. Then she straightened up a bit. "I am hardly judgment call of right and wrong, my opinions are as subjective as everyone else's. ... Riverclan's punishment? Yes. They've done more vile things than I can recount-" venom-coated claws, unprovoked raids, the callous killing of not only leaders and warriors but apprentices too, kidnapping, the list seemed endless. "It started a long time ago and I can recall only a few moons of attempted peace. But I am... older than most warriors here, almost everyone has had time to die, leave, or go missing before they get to my age... and I think it's important to keep in mind that many if not most Riverclanners were not even convinced of when all of this began. Even the most recent acts -the killing of Fallownose and the torturing of that apprentice- while horrid were committed by a total of less than five cats." Her gaze had wandered somewhere towards the entrance of the den, watching the fleeting rays of sunset dance in the clearing. "How many kits and apprentices do you think we harmed in that raid. How many more will be injured or die before Riverclan can return."

More silence before she turned back, trying to shake the heavy feeling. "Apprentices you say? Yes, I recalled that -how is their training going."

@JellyCat