Snakefang chuckled slightly at Brokenstream's response and when he turned around. A success as far as she was concerned. Mintwhisper darting forward to see Duskleaf wasn’t much of a surprise, after all, she'd been ill for quite some time after Reedclaw died. Snakefang decided to sit back next to Riftpaw, watching in amusement as Duskleaf didn’t seem to know who Mintwhisper was. As Riftpaw asked the question, Snakefang tapped Duskleaf's shoulder with her tail to get his attention as well. "That's Mintwhisper; our mother." She said, loudly enough for every cat to hear. Maybe that would be a problem for Duskleaf if everyone knew since he was the only RiverClan cat in the family now, Snakefang didn’t even consider that though. She was a ThunderClan cat, so was her mother, nothing odd there.
Snakefang turned her head slightly as a young cat with brown fur roughly the same age as Riftpaw approached. Wait, he did seem familiar…ah yes! "Beaverpaw, how're ye?" She asked, patting the ground with her tail to invite him over.
Oh? And what was going on there? Snakefang perked her ears up to listen closely as another cat approached. Judging by this cat's scent, she was definitely RiverClan. Oh, that was interesting, they seemed very fond of each other. Why was she so interested in other cats' business? Who knows, although Snakefang realised her mother seemed to be as well…
Mintwhisper
50 Moons | She/Her | No purrks
ThunderClan Warrior
Her eyes filled with sadness. Her son didn’t even remember her…could she blame him? Mintwhisper and Reedclaw had agreed not to tell their kits, but Snakefang, being just as nosy as she was, worked it out pretty quickly and followed her out to meet Reedclaw one day. Duskleaf hadn’t known at all until Reedclaw's death. But Reedclaw always made an effort to see his family, always tried to be a father to both of his kits even though they lived in different clans. Was she in the wrong for not doing the same? After all, she hadn’t even seen her son since he was a kit. She never stopped worrying about him though, always tried to convince herself it was the best thing to do.
Then Snakefang did the most difficult part for her and told everyone. Mintwhisper let out a sigh of relief, before turning to look at her son again. "I…wanted to see you, but…" How could she even finish that? "I…I couldn’t…Snakefang told me your father died, I…I wanted to come and see you but…I wasn’t well for a long time…" She turned her head away sadly, noticing Snakefang seemed to be really interested in something, staring at a particular RiverClan warrior with golden fur and rosette markings. Okay, there had to be something interesting. A nosy cat by nature, Mintwhisper also perked her ears up to listen even though it had nothing to do with her. "So what'd ye think's going on, hen?" She whispered loudly to Snakefang, loudly enough that every single cat could hear, but she didn’t realise.
Duskleaf's jaw dropped as Snakefang revealed who this strange ThunderClan she-cat was. His…mother?! How?! He knew his mother was a ThunderClan cat, but always imagined she'd look like Snakefang, after all, he looked like Reedclaw so he always assumed his mother would look like Snakefang. But Mintwhisper didn’t look like either of them, she was a silver tabby. Duskleaf initially felt so confused, what was he even supposed to think? What was he supposed to feel? He just looked on in silence, conflicted, as Mintwhisper went on, saying that she wanted to see him after Reedclaw died, but couldn’t. He slowly stepped towards her again, resting his tail on her shoulder. He didn’t exactly miss her since he never even knew her, but he knew the sadness in her eyes was genuine. After all, he'd come to love Snakefang in some way after finding out she was his sister.
…Speaking of, what exactly was Snakefang doing? Duskleaf glanced over at his sister, who seemed to be intently listening in on Brokenstream and Blueberry's conversation? What in the stars? Mintwhisper seemed to be doing it as well when he turned to look at her, then was quite loudly gossiping? What was with these two? That was just rude! Duskleaf turned around to face Brokenstream and Blueberry. "I'm sorry about them…it seems the ThunderClan side of my family don’t know how to mind their own business…" He said the last part loud enough for Snakefang and Mintwhisper to hear. Although…not that his RiverClan side was any better. Reedclaw was every bit as bad in fact.
very large, muscular, & scarred light brown tabby tom with stark blue eyes and a torn ear; killer aptitude t3 | just a scratch
[ riverclan warrior | tomcat | 55 moons | gruff & battle-hardened, heart o’ gold; loyal to a fault ]
—
Quote:
Originally Posted by RomanticMangoBear
Willowtail looked around with gentle blue eyes. Her eyes clearly searching for Watertail as she noticed Fernpaw. Sweetpaw and Blacksky padding in. All Windclan. Willowtail watched as Daisypaw and Softpaw ran off to talk to Sweetpaw. Willowtail sighed. Glancing around until her gaze landed on a painfully familiar grey coat. Watertail limped into the clearing. His eyes landing on Willowtail. Willowtails blue eyes narrowing as she nodded to Stagheart, "let's do it.." the queen murmured. Willowtail walked to her biological father. Dipping her hesd softly and watching as be copied. "Watertail" Willowtail greeted. Her tone cold and clesrly hiding pain.
Watertail dipped his head, "Willowtail. I see you've grown to a formidable warrior" He murmured. Seeing Willowtails companion he meowed. "And this is?"
Willowtail let a gentle growl come through as she meowed. "This is Stagheart, he's my adoptive father sense you couldn't bother to be there" Willowtail let the resentment in her tone show as she sat with a small wince.
Watertail noticed her wince and raised a catbriw. "So, you never talk to me what's the occasion. Come to ask for something" Watertail meowed. His attitude sickening to the young queen.
Willowtail sighed, "I'll make it short and sweet. I'm pregnant. Your going to be a hypothetical grandfather" Willowtail meowed. Seeing Watertails eyes light up, "Well. Can I meet the tom?" The senior Tom pinned his ears apologetically as Willowtails cold response. "Hes dead" came about . "Oh....well who's going to protect you now? You clearly can't if your bringing your alleged new father to tell me" Watertail sneered.
Nightwhisper Emberpaw and Weepingwillow padded in (tc)
So, yes — the tom known as Watertail was every bit as unpleasant as Stagheart had expected him to be.
He'd been watching silently, stoic expression betraying nothing as he watched the WindClan tom. He almost felt a bit relaxed—almost—when the warrior's eyes lit up. Maybe he would actually say something kind to Willowtail, maybe show actual interest in her life—
Then, that last comment. Stagheart's piercing blue eyes, which had been watchful, now hardened into icy slits. What an audacious comment to make.
"Willow's Clan actually cares for her, so we're more than capable of protectin' our queens — don't you go rufflin' yer fur over that," he meowed dryly, voice sharp despite the cool, blunt statement. "'N if there's ever somethin' affectin' her, such as a crow-hearted excuse of a warrior, then they can answer to me."
Despite the thinly-veiled threat of his words, Stagheart remained calm, torn ear twitching as he scanned over Watertail's every move. Would he retaliate? Say something back? The crueler part of Stagheart, locked away in his past, almost wanted the tom to dare to; of course the RiverClanner wouldn't actually break the Gathering truce, he cared too much about the warrior code and protecting his Clan for that. But my oh my, temptations still ran under the surface, did they not?
But that was when Twilightstar arrived, and Stagheart glanced over, ears pricking; he hadn't even realized, but it seemed Watertail had run ahead of his Clanmates, as well as a few others. He snorted, turning back to Watertail, eyes gleaming in cold amusement.
"Ah, 'n it looks like y'can't even follow simple orders as well, runnin' ahead of yer leader? Go on back home, now... maybe I'll see ya in two moons if ya can keep yer tail on," the warrior sneered back, flicking his tail. Stagheart wasn't much one to be smug, but in this moment it was written all over his face.
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*despite everything, it's still you.
Berryshine is one of RiverClan's medicine cats!
she and Cobwebstorm have a semi-closed den policy.
Cottonpaw
he/him | Windclan Apprentice | 9 moons The Collector - Lucky Duck T2 The Stowaway Child
[61/100]
Cottonpaw almost jumped out of his skin at the sight of another cat, one not Windclan. His nose twitched as he sucked in the scent in the air. A Thunderclanner, he’d never met a Thunderclanner before. But his body was freezing up, he didn’t know if they were truly friendly or not. Or just joking around to be mean and wind him up. He shook his head, nope no time to overthink this. Time to be brave.
”E.Errrr y.yes I’m o.okay I think.” He paused his stutter shining bright as always, he internally cursed himself. ”I.I’m C.C.Cottonpaw, w.who are y.you?” He came off unintentionally blunt, he didn’t mean to sound rude but the words were getting so jumbled inside his head. His entire train of thought had been completely blown.
Acornfall blinked apologetically when Briarmask was startled by his approach, but purred at her greeting. He turned when Briarmask introduced Rosewater, smiling brightly and nodding. He chuckled softly when his mate plucked some moss from his pelt. “Yeah sorry ‘bout that. I took some prey to the nursery before we left but they asked for help with the nests and then I’m pretty sure Spark-kit hit the back of my head with a moss ball.” He let out a hearty mrrrow of laughter. How does he manage to continuously end up covered in moss?
But just as he turned to greet Rosewater, he was stunned by her aggressive greeting. The brown tabby blinked, taken aback by her sudden show of aggression as she threatened him. And then she just continued to try and act friendly? Was she nuts? He narrowed his eyes at Rosewater unappreciative of her clear disrespect. The only thing keeping him from acting more like Mothflame right now, was that this was his mate’s sister. Just because she’s being rude as hell doesn’t mean I have to be. He took a silent deep breath to steady himself before responding. “Firstly, it’s nice to meet Briarmask’s sister.” He mewed, though his eyes remained narrowed.
“And how about showing some decorum? Unsheathing your claws at a Gathering is ballsy even for ShadowClan.” He chose not to say anything of her judging him without knowing anything about him or their relationship. But he would not tolerate being threatened. Certainly not at a Gathering of all places. He wasn’t sure how to take her tone with this…”deal”. What deal? “I don’t need to make a deal with another cat to take care of Briarmask.” He retorted, a single sharp lash of his tail the only sign of the depth of his annoyance at this cat’s attitude problem.
“I fully intend to support and care for Briarmask. I wouldn’t have asked her to be my mate otherwise.” He stated simply, and he meant. It was a simple matter-of-fact. “With or without your deal.” He really didn’t like how Rosewater phrased that. What did this cat think he was? Some kind of fox in a cat’s pelt? Then her mood shifted again…and this time he felt his shoulders heave as they relaxed. Stars this cat was basically Mothflame.
He couldn’t help it. He broke out into a boisterous laugh, waving his tail dismissively in response to her apology. “You remind me of my own sister, she’s that way too.” He chuckled with a warm smile. “No harm no foul.” He carefully returned her heatbutt with a playful and gentle shoulder bump of his own. “Briarmask has many eyes on her, including my own, in ThunderClan to keep her safe. I recognize it’s pointless telling you not to worry, but she will be safe and happy.” There was conviction in his voice and warmth in his eyes as he gazed down at Briarmask. Nothing but pure love in his eyes.
He leaned down to give her a swift and affectionate lick between her ears. While the introduction went…rocky…he hoped they could get along better moving forward. He hunkered down as Briarmask scooted closer, attempting to shield her from the cold winds with his own. “Scoot closer to me if you need to, love. It’s freezing tonight.” He purred softly, wrapping his tail around her protectively. Stars above, he was relieved Mothflame or Silverleopard weren’t there… Last thing he needs is a sibling causing a war between the clans. Wait…where was Dawnstar anyway? Did the ShadowClan leader know her warrior was here early? “I hope you don’t get in trouble for being here early, Rosewater. Should you go find your clan or something?” He asked, his voice holding genuine concern. Rosewater getting into trouble would hurt Briarmask ultimately, and he didn’t want that.
@Streamtail - Briarmask
@PINTO BEAN - Rosewater
@Star - Mothflame - for the mention! :3
@kira - Silverleopard - also for the mention lol.
Cottonpaw
he/him | Windclan Apprentice | 9 moons The Collector - Lucky Duck T2 The Stowaway Child
[61/100]
Cottonpaw almost jumped out of his skin at the sight of another cat, one not Windclan. His nose twitched as he sucked in the scent in the air. A Thunderclanner, he’d never met a Thunderclanner before. But his body was freezing up, he didn’t know if they were truly friendly or not. Or just joking around to be mean and wind him up. He shook his head, nope no time to overthink this. Time to be brave.
”E.Errrr y.yes I’m o.okay I think.” He paused his stutter shining bright as always, he internally cursed himself. ”I.I’m C.C.Cottonpaw, w.who are y.you?” He came off unintentionally blunt, he didn’t mean to sound rude but the words were getting so jumbled inside his head. His entire train of thought had been completely blown.
“I’m cloverpaw!” She mewed but trying to be a bit more gentle when talking, and asks following up“ is it your frist gathering to?” This was her first gathering, she was really excited for it!<3
very large, muscular, & scarred light brown tabby tom with stark blue eyes and a torn ear; killer aptitude t3 | just a scratch
[ riverclan warrior | tomcat | 55 moons | gruff & battle-hardened, heart o’ gold; loyal to a fault ]
—
So, yes — the tom known as Watertail was every bit as unpleasant as Stagheart had expected him to be.
He'd been watching silently, stoic expression betraying nothing as he watched the WindClan tom. He almost felt a bit relaxed—almost—when the warrior's eyes lit up. Maybe he would actually say something kind to Willowtail, maybe show actual interest in her life—
Then, that last comment. Stagheart's piercing blue eyes, which had been watchful, now hardened into icy slits. What an audacious comment to make.
"Willow's Clan actually cares for her, so we're more than capable of protectin' our queens — don't you go rufflin' yer fur over that," he meowed dryly, voice sharp despite the cool, blunt statement. "'N if there's ever somethin' affectin' her, such as a crow-hearted excuse of a warrior, then they can answer to me."
Despite the thinly-veiled threat of his words, Stagheart remained calm, torn ear twitching as he scanned over Watertail's every move. Would he retaliate? Say something back? The crueler part of Stagheart, locked away in his past, almost wanted the tom to dare to; of course the RiverClanner wouldn't actually break the Gathering truce, he cared too much about the warrior code and protecting his Clan for that. But my oh my, temptations still ran under the surface, did they not?
But that was when Twilightstar arrived, and Stagheart glanced over, ears pricking; he hadn't even realized, but it seemed Watertail had run ahead of his Clanmates, as well as a few others. He snorted, turning back to Watertail, eyes gleaming in cold amusement.
"Ah, 'n it looks like y'can't even follow simple orders as well, runnin' ahead of yer leader? Go on back home, now... maybe I'll see ya in two moons if ya can keep yer tail on," the warrior sneered back, flicking his tail. Stagheart wasn't much one to be smug, but in this moment it was written all over his face.
Fernpaw and blacksky returned w watertail
Watertail gave a final snort of his shoulder. "Fine. You can have her. From this moment on Willowtail is not my daughter, nor is Daisyidiot. If they ever call me by a name, or I meet her kits in battle. I won't hold back" Watertail snarled. Lashing his tail as he padded away.
Willowtails ears perked in anger as she snarled, "Good, you were never there for m anyways you old flea! Keep my sisters name out of your filthy maw and don't you dare threaten my kits" willowtail snarled. Her long tail lashing in anger
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Oceanstar is the leader of Beachclan!
"You did a great job today and I hope you smile a little by thinking about me at the end of the day" -Kim Hongjoong
Cottonpaw
he/him | Windclan Apprentice | 9 moons The Collector - Lucky Duck T2 The Stowaway Child
[63/100]
Okay, nice. This apprentice was nice, wasn’t going to eat or shred him alive. Or be mean to him. It was embarrassing, he was older as well but this cat seemed to have enough confidence for the both of them. He felt his face flushing at her question, first gathering, dear Starclan this was his third and he was still acting like a fool. But he wasn’t about to lie to Cloverpaw, this wasn’t something in his nature. Instead he’d be honest, face his embarrassment head on. That surely had to count for something right?
”W..w.well actually t.this is my t.third.” He couldn’t help but shy his face a little when he coughed out his answer. ”I.I just f.find them a b.b.bit overwhelming, I.I don’t usually t.t.talk to cats outside my clan. You’re t.t.the f.first.” He offered up a sheepish grin, tipping his head to the side in a friendly gesture. If only he knew how awkward he looked from the outside, he’d probably laugh then cry for a while. Definitely a little cry.
But this was a growing opportunity for him, learn a little more about the other clans. Get rid of that silly fear in his own head, he’d come back educated and braver. That would certainly be a good thing, time to keep a positive attitude Cottonpaw.
"Well, that's great." He couldn't help but feel a small ping of disappointment. He hadn't had a chance to train with his mentor Havenfade yet, perhaps it's because he's too busy training the other newer apprentices. 'Havenfade hasn't let you down like your other old mentors..yet..' he reminded himself.
Again, he felt embarrassment warm his face. "It's going alright. Hopefully I'll be a warrior soon, it feels like I have been an apprentice for moons." he joked. It hurts a bit that there are warriors younger than him, but he always trys to push his discomfort deep down. He changed the subject with a smile. "Quick test. Can you tell which clan is which?"
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current hyperfixated character - show some love to nectarpaw!
Right when Berryshine had been feeling okay enough not to be weird, Bumblestar had gone and given her that look that made her insides churn. Wolfpaw probably thought she was simply crazy by now, but hopefully in the non-repulsive way. Did that exist? She hoped so.
Regardless, ThunderClan's young medic continued, and the brown she-cat's shoulder fur relaxed further as Wolfpaw seemed sympathetic. It was time for her own expression to soften slightly; that 'alright' seemed rather laden with unspoken burdens. But similarly to him, Berryshine didn't dare prod; that was their business, and if anything was to be of RiverClan's concern, she was sure it'd be made known here. That's what the full moon truce was for, right?
But at that last statement of his initial response, about his full name, Berry's green eyes lit up pleasantly. "O-Oh, how w-wonderful! C-Congratulations," she purred, her soft voice genuine despite her previous tension. Remembering her own naming ceremony was a highlight of the she-cat's entire life, and she fondly recalled the thrill of the promotion and the acceptance from StarClan she'd received. Berryshine assumed much of it had been the same for Wolfpaw—or, well, Wolf-something now, she supposed.
"W-What is it? Or are you saving i-it for Bumblestar to a-announce?" She asked good-naturedly, trying to settle into a more easygoing persona now that the topic had changed. Be normal around the other medicine cats for once, Berry!
At that last comment regarding ShadowClan, Berryshine uttered another mrrow of agreement — it was freezing and her teeth slightly chattered, making her nervous stammer even worse than usual. The sooner the last Clan got here, the better. And... well, would the familiar medics be there, she wondered? Mossfreckle and Rookfire? RiverClan had missed last moon's Gathering and the one before that, Cobs had been left home. The reminder of her absent fellow medic made her fur prickle, but she did her best not to show it, not wanting any questions on why the gray-and-white she-cat wasn't at her side yet again. At least Wolfpaw hadn't asked.
"Mhm... i-if they don't hurry, w-we might be chunks of i-ice by the time t-they show up," Berryshine joked lightly. It wasn't often that the she-cat attempted humor with those she wasn't closer to, not always being the... best at it. Or getting it all the time. But Wolfpaw was proving to be relatively friendly to her; perhaps she and the ThunderClan medic could have a medicinal bond, in a way. Like Mistyshard had mentioned before, how the previous medics from other Clans used to meet every so often under a similar truce, to share ideas and remedies and knowledge... the idea sparked in her head, stirring in her chest. But she kept it to herself for now, deciding that it'd be best until things settled with Cobwebstorm.
Berryshine still didn't know why Owlstar had asked her fellow medic not to come, a constant thorn in her side tonight. Perhaps she could ask her when she got home...
Well, it wasn't a lot, but something was worse than nothing. She gave her medicine cat a look of gratitude, a smile flicking across her muzzle. But, her grin faded as Thunderclan entered Seastones. She wriggled the snow flakes from her maw and returned Bumblestar's gaze with a raise of her striped tail. She could tell the leader was angry, more than usual.
She suspected it was due to Cobwebstorm and her unexpected antics, but she didn't believe that was enough to get her fuming. Something else had to have happened, right? She swallowed stiffly all the same, and turned her gaze to Seastones.
Even if some of her clanmates had chipped away at the ice, Berryshine in particular, no doubt it would be slippery. The Riverclan cat let out an unpleased growl before she trotted up to the stone, wriggled her haunches, and leapt.
Fun fact: snow was not soft.
So much for leaping, she stumbled and slipped as soon as she reached the deputies perch. It wasn't as though anycat would fill it from Riverclan, but Owlstar believed that to be counterintuitive and downright belittling if she did. She wasn't the deputy anymore, and the other clans needed to know that. But... She'd gladly sit in the snow for now, even if the rocks weren't getting any warmer. Thankfully, she didn't land unusually, so her paws were probably fine. Though, she was no medicine cat.
Her attention turned, however, once Windclan arrived. Her whiskers twitched before she padded up to Twilightstar, her tail rising in greeting. She also gave her deputy a glance of acknowledgement and nodded to the both of them. "Sure ya wonderin' why I ain't got nothin', but I was hopin' ta make the exchange at the border. Figured it'd be better if I asked ya what cha wanted herb wise. N' no fish, yeah?"
Something she didn't understand about other clans. Fish was great, not even an acquired taste. The hating swimming thing was something Owlstar agreed on though, she wasn't exactly sleek and her fur was naturally matted. Swimming made her feel heavy and clumsy. And while she could still swim, she disliked it all the same. She sat down infront of the older cat, but not too close, especially since Twilightstar had company with her.
Re: January Gathering
Berryshine is one of RiverClan's medicine cats! 
★