RiverClan Territory

[CactusHeart]

Originally Posted by Ombre Party

Honeykit followed close by, sunlight meeting their eyes much faster than it had on the way down. The sun was setting, and they'd already been gone for half the day. Her mother was going to freak! "Cactuskit, we have to kit back!" She cried, giving her stiff muscles a short stretch before sprinting towards the camp.

CactusKit sprinted after her (Clearing?)

[Pluto]

Originally Posted by CactusHeart

CactusKit sprinted after her (Clearing?)

(nursery)

[Mauve]

Originally Posted by Celestial

(( so much loss. Rowan just currently lost her son gorsekit and I'm planning on having her have lost him during this walk so... Ehh ))

It most likely wasn't the time to have brought up her former clan or leader, but if she wasn't going to confront it she wasn't sure how heatherfur was going to heal from it. The clans had been at war for some time now, although it was thunderclan and windclan war had seemingly gravitated to riverclan and windclan. Fallenstar had strongly expressed his disgust in the fact windclan had attacked thunderclan with the power of two clans and an unfair advantage. Her muscles rippled at the memory of fallenstar and blazingstar getting into it at the previous gathering. Allowing the thought of war to slip away she allowed her shiver to get flicked off the end of her tail. The orange and white tabby padded through the foliage only listening to heatherfur, the pain that seemed to circulate the she cat was deafening. Rowanflower slowed her pace again in order to fall into step with the windclan she cat one more time. It was clear to see she had both cabin feaver and a tad of homesickness. Despite having only met heatherfur the day previous she allowed her tail to settle on the tabby so haunches as they walked side by side sharing the silence with each other for a singular moment. The sorrow being emitted from heatherfur was only confirmed as she began to speak again.

' ' wether or not blazingstar hates you, all of riverclan will be behind you ' ' she said gently turning to examine heatherfur closely ' ' I cannot guarantee they do not hate you, nor can I say they do, the only thing you can really do is ask. But I don't suppose you'd ever want to do that ' ' she added briefly allowing a yawn to pull on her jaws and squint her eyes. It wasn't her first time with a Cat who radiated such a deep emotion such as heatherfur was doing now. It reminded her of tumblestep, it was almost sickening to think about the grey tom now and the relations they shared. She flicked an ear trying to dismiss the thoughts and focus on heatherfur. Her tail gently swished by her ankles as she padded down the ditch and up the other side with little to no effort.

As the river came into view she allowed the scent to fill her mouth and cause a brief head rush, it was the freshest scent found anywhere, not even the winds on windclans moor could compete with riverclans fresh mountain runoff in newleaf. The river would run through the lan washing away all of leafbare with it, it even seemed to wash away the feeling of anger towards blazingstar and the way he had looked at the young cat at the gathering... Maybe even the hanging sense there was depression in the air. ' ' you a riverclan medicne cat who's never swam before ' ' she finished her question turning to face heatherfur with a raised eyebrow. Whatever heatherfur planned to say next rowanflower refused to hear, it hurt her to know many of the cats in her life appeared so broken and almost self hating. She slipped down onto the sand allowing the cooling effects of it cool her paws before she settled down on a few river rounded pebbles off to the side. ' ' it shouldn't be hard for riverclan cats ' ' which you are. ' ' but drypaws... I'm not really sure how that works ' ' she said with a faint hint of amusement in her voice. She couldn't stand the idea of a riverclan cat who's never swam before, made her skin crawl with some unknown feeling. ' ' we can't have a medicine cat who can't swim.. Now can we? Once we get that windclan scent washed out. You'll be one of the best riverclan medicine cats I've ever seen ' ' she meowed encouragingly.

It had been quite some time since Heatherfur had felt actual companionship. Not since she had left WindClan, and while there were some in RiverClan who accepted her without hesitation - mainly because they had no other choice with no one to heal them - she didn't feel close to any of them yet. Not like she was sure Surgestorm had with each member of WindClan. Medicine cats were suppose to have a special bond with their Clanmates, someone that they could rely on and trust blindly to keep them healthy. With this recent loss hanging over her head, the tabby felt even more disconnected from her Clan. After all, Surgestorm wasn't RiverClan. She was sure this clouded opinions on her across the board, but Heatherfur couldn't bring herself to care. But when she felt Rowanflower's tail land across her back, something shifted. A small, faint trace of kindness blossomed around her stone of a heart, and for once she felt as though someone might actually care about her as more than just a medicine cat. The last cat she had expected this to be was Rowanflower, of course, given that Fallenstar still didn't trust her all that well. But it was something, and Heatherfur wouldn't question it when it was the one thing she needed the most in the midst of all the grief and loss she was suffering.

"I just hope that StarClan knew what they were doing when they led me here," she murmured, mostly to herself but it was just loud enough for her companion to hear if she listened closely enough. Now as they stood at the edge of the passing water, a new nervous feeling over took Heatherfur. She carefully followed behind the deputy, her paws sinking into the cool sand beneath her. She hadn't ever really felt sand before, the closest being the soft dust in the WindClan nursery from years of being smoothed down by countless paws. "I guess it wasn't really a priority since rabbits never swam either," the tabby joked, figuring that masking her pain with humor was the best way to avoid it for the time being. Her pale green eyes studies the pebbles before her and she cautiously lowered her haunches down, the cool surface of the stones foreign to her bushy pelt. She knew at one point this would become natural for her, and perhaps even exciting, but now that she was just mere whisker lengths away from the current, its spray reaching the edge of her fur, she began to second guess her previous notions.

Heatherfur turned her head to look from the water before her to Rowanflower, her whiskers twitching. "I guess at some point I will need to learn. I wouldn't be much use to any cat right now if they were to drown," she agreed, nodding as she spoke and focused her gaze back onto the current. It looked fast, as though if she were to stick one paw in it would carry her down the bends and away from the safety of the shore. Heatherfur knew this wasn't the case, however she hadn't ever really been this close to a body of water in her life that she could remember - there were no streams on WindClan's moors. "Are you offering to teach me?" she asked the deputy, this time keeping her eyes on the river. A part of her was excited, half of her heart wrapped up in the anticipation and the thrill of learning a new skill. But the other half was coated in fear as she absentmindedly stuck a single paw towards the water. It's cold current washed over her paw and the medicine cat quickly drew it back, eyes widening in shock. It was enough to momentarily cut through the dark clouds of grief that hovered over her, and she shook her head slightly. "Oh, StarClan, you didn't prepare me for this," she gasped, her heart starting to race just a bit faster.

[Flares]

Originally Posted by Raven & Co

Yukon smiled at her as she told him that she had missed him much more, he wasn't gonna argue with that, sitting here with her made him forget everything, being with her made him more than happy, he simply couldn't put it into words. The feeling of their noses being pressed together brought something he had never felt, an emotion he simply couldn't explain, it made his heart flutter and made him feel like she was the only one out there, and, in fact, she was the one for him. The tabby smiled some more as she spoke about about how Ripplekit practiced huntings poses and all that, he was pretty happy to know that his step-son was already practicing. "Good to know that our little Ripplekit is already training a little, I'm really happy to know that." The loner said happily, he hadn't even met him yet, and he was already refering to him as their kit, he was surprised as she almost pleaded to bring Ripplekit along. "I was actually thinking the same exact thing, if I am to be his step-father, it would be better to be with him as much as possible." He mewed softly and met her gaze once again. "I'm already all excited about meeting him tomorrow." He admitted, keeping the beautiful she-cat close to him and purring loudly, even though his missing eye and shredded ear, this tom still had a heart, and a big one at that.

(sorry I was so long, I got sick and this was a planned busy week irl ^^;; )

Smiling even brighter, she purred and licked his cheek again. The pride in his eyes for Ripplekit, the fact he thought the same thing, his excitement... She found it amazing he already loved the boy as much as her. "That's great, I can't wait for tomorrow to come." Laughing from the excitement she stayed close to him and enjoyed the moment, breathing in his scent before she would have to go back.

[Starfall]

Originally Posted by Mauve

Heatherfur was glad to hear that the leader at least knew what one of the most basic herbs - perhaps once she knew more she could pass a bit of the information off to him. Not that she was planning on going anywhere - where could she even go after everything that had happened? - but it would be nice to have a partner or companion to bounce around knowledge with when Daydream wasn't available to train or speak with. "Perhaps, once I know more, we can learn about their whereabouts together," she offered, a slight smile gracing her maw as she looked over at Fallenstar. She hoped that over time, she could learn to admire him as she had Blazingstar. Though, it could never happen in the same way. The way she felt about the WindClan leader - and, perhaps, still did feel a bit - was unlike anything she had experienced. But the time for that was over, and Heatherfur knew she couldn't get it back. She definitely knew that she wasn't going to bring it up to Fallenstar. Right now, being the best RiverClan medicine cat she could be was her main priority, and telling Fallenstar about how she still missed the WindClan leader was not the way to go about that.

As the anger she had already suspected Fallenstar had towards the other Clan leaders grew in each word he spoke, Heatherfur was surprised to find the hackles on the back of her neck rising. Call it the last bit of remaining loyalty to her former home, or her unspoken feelings towards Blazingstar, but a spark of anger flared within the tabby's heart. She wanted to jump to his defense, and say that he'd had no choice - Snowstar had taken his mother hostage! They had been stealing prey during a time when WindClan needed every scrap they could get. As she opened her mouth to reply, he seemed to calm down a bit with his next statement. I think the only foolish one here was Snowstar... Too young to lead a Clan by my count, she thought. "I don't think you're foolish for doing so," she mewed, picking out each word carefully. It felt wrong to not address his obvious disdain towards her former home, but if Heatherfur wanted to blend in, she would have to bite her tongue for now. "What is foolish is allowing it to continue. There has to be a point where enough cats are lost that... enough becomes enough."

Her tone wasn't harsh, nor was it trying to pick apart the black tom's decision to ally with ThunderClan. It wasn't her place to question that. But she hoped that she might be able to offer insight that hadn't been there previously. She continued to walk alongside Fallenstar, though had slowed her pace to match his. Her head was turned to the side, watching him as they walked - being a WindClan warrior had given her good paw-eye coordination and she didn't necessarily need to watch where she walked every couple of seconds. "I think it's brave that you led RiverClan into a battle that didn't affect RiverClan at first. It wasn't something you had to do, and I admire that dedication to your Clan," Heatherfur mewed, nodding in his direction. It was brave, and Fallenstar had no need to involve RiverClan, but he had. That spoke something of his character, and Heatherfur wasn't about to just dismiss that. Putting herself in his paws, she wasn't sure what she would do - alligne with ThunderClan or stay out of it.

His pink nose wrinkled. She still smelled like a rabbit chaser. Hopefully that'd change soon, but she also had a hint of a herb scent sticking to her, taunting him. He wasn't used to the medicine cat being almost as tall as him. He was still used to Juniperpaws small, petite build bouncing beside him. Too much space was being taken up, too much was being filled in the space that was between him and Juniperpaw. The tom kept his gaze on the path ahead but swiveled the ear closest to the medicine cat. As she spoke he felt a wave of something pulsate through him. It was warm, made him think of old, happy and fuzzy memories. He wouldn't mind it, she seemed to be nice the only thing that was off about her was that she still smelled like a Windclanner. "That would be nice." he stated, giving her a swift glance from the corner of his eye. Than everything flashed in his mind, the troublesome topic he and Cedarsprint spoke about, Passionstar coming to him wishing for an alliance. "...but we all have our own duties." he wouldn't be able to, not with everything that was going to happen. He had a sinking feeling in his gut with each and every passing day that something horrible was just around the corner, and he couldn't keep ignoring it either.

He had forgotten that she was formerly a Windclan warrior, fierce loyalty and the willingness to live and die for her clan still coursed through her veins. Just because Starclan told her to come to a new clan didn't mean she changed loyalties that split second. He let out a forced, airy, chuckle and shook his head, brows knit together, worry and anger clashed in lapis hues. "If I didn't start...I wouldn't have had to try and end it." he pointed out. "Besides, it's too late to pull back now, the wounds have been distributed, and their deep." He didn't understand why she didn't understand. He couldn't just pull his clan out now, try and save what was left of the clan he was tearing appart. Too much was at stake. "For a second...I forgot you weren't a Riverclanner." it left his mouth before he even realized it "Er well...I'm sure you know what I mean. I wasn't trying to be rude." he sighed. They had only just begun to get to know each other and he was already messing it up. Typical.

Than Heatherfur continued. Which surprised him, usually that was the end of the conversation. He was scolded than they moved on. End of story. She told him that his intentions weren't bad at first, not that his intentions were ever supposed to be bad...they were always for the better of the clan, always. "I couldn't just sit by and watch as queens, elders, and kits could have gotten hurt. What if it was my clan? That and it was a fox hearted thing to do. Attack a clan in their own clearing!" he growled, once again, getting too passionate about it. This time he caught it early on and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. Fallenstar shook his head and let out a chuckle, in his own mind, both felines were at fault. Snowstar overreacted, and Blazingstar...well I'm sure if he asked they would have provided. Of course he heard of the warrior that killed Windclans deputy...but that wasn't specifically Snowstars fault. You can't control you clanmates, Blazingstar of all cats should know that. "Both were wrong." he stated, and he wanted to leave it at that.

[Gone]

Originally Posted by Flares

(sorry I was so long, I got sick and this was a planned busy week irl ^^;; )

Smiling even brighter, she purred and licked his cheek again. The pride in his eyes for Ripplekit, the fact he thought the same thing, his excitement... She found it amazing he already loved the boy as much as her. "That's great, I can't wait for tomorrow to come." Laughing from the excitement she stayed close to him and enjoyed the moment, breathing in his scent before she would have to go back.

Yukon smiled and remained pressed against her, his tail going around her and finding its way around her tail. "I can't wait either, and knowing he's kind of like me, I'm sure we'll get along amazingly well." The tom mewed and burying his nose in her fur and breathing in her lovely scent. "Time without you passes by so slowly, it almost hurts." He admitted and nuzzled her, the image of the three of them being together flooding his thoughts.

[Mauve]

Originally Posted by starfall

His pink nose wrinkled. She still smelled like a rabbit chaser. Hopefully that'd change soon, but she also had a hint of a herb scent sticking to her, taunting him. He wasn't used to the medicine cat being almost as tall as him. He was still used to Juniperpaws small, petite build bouncing beside him. Too much space was being taken up, too much was being filled in the space that was between him and Juniperpaw. The tom kept his gaze on the path ahead but swiveled the ear closest to the medicine cat. As she spoke he felt a wave of something pulsate through him. It was warm, made him think of old, happy and fuzzy memories. He wouldn't mind it, she seemed to be nice the only thing that was off about her was that she still smelled like a Windclanner. "That would be nice." he stated, giving her a swift glance from the corner of his eye. Than everything flashed in his mind, the troublesome topic he and Cedarsprint spoke about, Passionstar coming to him wishing for an alliance. "...but we all have our own duties." he wouldn't be able to, not with everything that was going to happen. He had a sinking feeling in his gut with each and every passing day that something horrible was just around the corner, and he couldn't keep ignoring it either.

He had forgotten that she was formerly a Windclan warrior, fierce loyalty and the willingness to live and die for her clan still coursed through her veins. Just because Starclan told her to come to a new clan didn't mean she changed loyalties that split second. He let out a forced, airy, chuckle and shook his head, brows knit together, worry and anger clashed in lapis hues. "If I didn't start...I wouldn't have had to try and end it." he pointed out. "Besides, it's too late to pull back now, the wounds have been distributed, and their deep." He didn't understand why she didn't understand. He couldn't just pull his clan out now, try and save what was left of the clan he was tearing appart. Too much was at stake. "For a second...I forgot you weren't a Riverclanner." it left his mouth before he even realized it "Er well...I'm sure you know what I mean. I wasn't trying to be rude." he sighed. They had only just begun to get to know each other and he was already messing it up. Typical.

Than Heatherfur continued. Which surprised him, usually that was the end of the conversation. He was scolded than they moved on. End of story. She told him that his intentions weren't bad at first, not that his intentions were ever supposed to be bad...they were always for the better of the clan, always. "I couldn't just sit by and watch as queens, elders, and kits could have gotten hurt. What if it was my clan? That and it was a fox hearted thing to do. Attack a clan in their own clearing!" he growled, once again, getting too passionate about it. This time he caught it early on and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. Fallenstar shook his head and let out a chuckle, in his own mind, both felines were at fault. Snowstar overreacted, and Blazingstar...well I'm sure if he asked they would have provided. Of course he heard of the warrior that killed Windclans deputy...but that wasn't specifically Snowstars fault. You can't control you clanmates, Blazingstar of all cats should know that. "Both were wrong." he stated, and he wanted to leave it at that.

It was a foolish hope to think that her and Fallenstar could spend much time together like a mentor and apprentice would; he had a Clan to lead, and Heatherfur had only just finished learning the basics of herb healing. The molly had knew even before she asked that there was still much to learn about Fallenstar and more trust to gain before he would feel as comfortable around her as he did Juniperpaw. It was the hole that Blazingstar had left in her heart that had made her come forward with the question. After all, Heatherfur had been born a warrior, bred and trained to follow and fight under the direction of her Clan leader. She knew in due time Fallenstar would become that to her, but a part of her was inpatient, wanting it to happen right then and there. Give it time, she thought to herself, flicking her tail tip back and forth as she thought. She wanted to comment more on it, but the moment and conversation topic seemed over, so the molly swallowed her words and decided to perhaps save them for another walk.

Was it too late to pull out? Heatherfur couldn't really understand the logic in this statement, though she also wasn't a Clan leader. A medicine cat's duties were far removed from that of a leaders, though they were correlated. If Fallenstar led RiverClan into any unnecessary battles, Heatherfur would be the one scrambling to put the pieces back together. "I don't think any wound is ever too deep to patch up," she offered, remembering her own experience with forgiveness and moving on. She had done so with forgiving Blazingstar and his involvement in her father's death. Perhaps it was more difficult between Clans, but not impossible. "I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that peace and forgiveness, even at this stage, are not unattainable. It will take time, just as with anything," she mewed out loud, deciding to not step around the delicate precipice of this opinion of hers. "Perhaps it's more difficult between Clans, as you never want to look weak in front of the others, but I think there is a certain strength in forgiveness. In calling for peace. It takes a certain character to look beyond the status of ranks and realize that fighting sometimes isn't the best option." It was weird to hear the way these words rolled off of her tongue so eloquently. After all, part of her make-up as a warrior was to defend her Clan with tooth and claw if necessary. Maybe being in a position where she was meant to heal wounds instead of inflict them had changed her perspective a bit.

A bit of a shock traveled through Heatherfur though as he mentioned her not being a RiverClanner. It wasn't necessarily an insult to her, at least she didn't take it that way. Heatherfur had heard about everything there could be in her first few days in the Clan. Her fur still held a hint of the moorland, but the more she worked with patience, the more the smell of marigold and flowers stuck to her pelt. "It's alright, I understand what you meant," she replied, looking over at Fallenstar with shimmering pale green eyes. Just like the first thought that had come to her when he had shot down the fact that they could learn the herbs together, it would just take time. Her scent to wash away, for her to be close to Fallenstar, all of it. "You know, I'm kind of excited to be apart of RiverClan. The other day, Rowanflower taught me how to swim," she mewed, deciding to change the subject. She wanted to discuss something light and airy with the RiverClan leader. It didn't have to be all business between them all the time. If Heatherfur truly wanted to get closer to her leader, she knew that discussing the current state between her new Clan and her former Clan.

[zinfranny]

Originally Posted by Mauve

@Inglewood Binks

A brief look of confusion overcame Dawnpaw's upbeat expression, but she quickly silenced it. "Oh. Well, maybe you could teach me?" she inquired, her tail waving in the air behind her. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't yet introduced herself, and for all she knew this could be an enemy feline. But his fur smelled of RiverClan, so she was safe to assume that he was a warrior - or maybe an apprentice? His size didn't convince her that he was a full blown warrior. "I'm Dawnpaw by the way! I don't think I've met you yet! I just had my first training session with my mentor - her name is Wolfdancer. Do you know her? She's the best!" she squeaked, excitement once again flashing through her blue eyes. "What's your name?" Dawnpaw didn't realize how flustering speaking that fast might be. She just felt happy to be out of camp, and ecstatic that she had found another Clanmate to enjoy it with.

chivewhisker listened as one dawnpaw's long bouts of dialogue drew up once again. pretty soon he was just watching her mouth move, and this was where the red tom looked back to what he was doing, hiding his paws beneath himself and staring intently at the river's edge.
"oh, i'm chive." he meowed without looking at her and without awareness his actual name now; chivewhisker. his eyes didn't break their circumspect stare-down, looking for the opening where his paws could reach in as though the lapping water were a beast not to be played with. and as quick as chivewhisker's muscles could do so, he dipped his arms in the water with his head cocked back to avoid some sort of danger and reeled backwards in triumph and with dripping forearms.

[BEAR.]

Originally Posted by Mauve

A sudden pang of grief struck the dark tabby, and surprised Mud. It had come out of nowhere it seemed. His brother's son had been carried away by nature... That would've made this kit Mud's nephew. I can't miss a cat I never met, he thought to himself, trying to push the thought of it to the back of his mind. "I'm sorry to hear about that, Tash- Firehawk," he answered, as flashes of losing their mother swirled about in his mind.

But at least Mud had been right about one thing. Just the thought of it was enough to send shrills of curiosity spiraling down to his paws, washing away the momentary sadness. His tailed curled up behind him, and he grinned in Firehawks direction. "Ah, so I was right!" he boasted out loud, his entire expression lighting up. "What's her name? Do you guys have any little rascals together? I bet you do," he purred, prancing forward a bit, his grin widening as he made his way closer to his brother.

"When do I get to meet this lovely lady of yours?" he asked, tipping his head to one side as he watched Firehawk through glittering green eyes. He wanted to be able to see this new mate with his own two eyes, and the cat who had made his brother go from free-range loner to homebody, able to confine himself and follow a set of rules laid out by a Clan. "Have you told her about the rest of your family?"

(i suck at responding in a timely manner)

"Ah..." For a change, Firehawk almost seemed overwhelmed by his brother's reactions. The subject had quickly gone from his previous relationship and kits to his lovely current mate. "Her name is Iceflower, but no, we don't currently have kits." Perhaps in the future, but for right now they were content without them. His own insecurities about his parental skills likely didn't help.

As for meeting her, all the warrior could do was drop his shoulders in a shrug. "That may require you to become one with the 'boring Clan cats', considering we don't take kindly to outsiders barging into our camp." Besides, he knew his mate wouldn't be comfortable if he dragged her to a border to meet a sibling he hadn't seen in seasons. "She knows." A small pause in between his words. "It never mattered to her. It's in the past now."

[vellichor]

Originally Posted by Raven & Co

Yukon had heard the she-cat and didn't look scared or surprised as she aknowledged him, or well, found him in this case, he spun in her direction and revealed to her his missing eye and shredded ear. "I'm a loner, not a rogue, a rogue has once been part of a clan, which I haven't." The tom said and met her gaze, he felt like playing with her a little as she told him that, if he was smart, he wouldn't be here. "Therefore, you are saying that you're not smart?" He asked with a grin, though, by the way she had put it into words, what he said made sense, if those who were here weren't smart, this meant that she wasn't, there wasn't specification if he needed to be a clanner or not, it was just 'If you were smart, you wouldn't be here in the first place.' The tabby calmly sat, his fur laying flat, he simply watched her, and with what he had lived, a clan'cat wasn't really scary to him. "I also kind of guessed you were from RiverClan, you smell like my adoptive mother." The tom admitted, parting his jaws into a yawn.

“Mangier than a rogue; that’s how I mistook you. My bad,” Honeyglare purred, not sounding at all apologetic. In fact, this was a great way to let off some steam. She was jolted back to reality when the tom started to mock her back. Rather than let this get under her skin, she decided to go with it. “If that’s what you have to tell yourself to sleep at night.” She ended with a shrug of her shoulders and an innocent grin, intentionally showing her fangs. She wanted to poke at this cat, then drive him out. What fun would it be to simply shred him to pieces? Well, it would be very fun. But why not poke at him, then shred him to pieces? Something about what the loner had said intrigued Honeyglare. ‘Adoptive mother? Wouldn’t that mean he was from the clans?’ She decided not to ask. That would only be good for him. Besides, the tom probably wouldn’t tell her anything.