At least there was that, though it did nothing for the pit in his stomach. Wolfhive dropped his head in acknowledgement, mind still whirling from the unfortunate news.
It just felt unreal.
Wolfhive wasn't used to grief. He wasn't use to genuine loss, his only experience being when Bumba died some moons ago. It was an emotion he struggled with... didn't quite understand, but this...
He didn't know what having a sibling was like, but if there was ever a word he'd use for Springlight it'd be that. Sister.
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Re: ThunderClan Stormcrest
Lavendersong and Creepingpaw, sitting side by side amongst their gathered fellow clan mates, listened to their fearless leader intently. Upon hearing the news, Lavendersong dropped her gaze in respect, her bright grey eyes glistening with sadness.
"May she rest peacefully with StarClan..." She purred softly to herself, her long haired black tail resting over her paws as she sat in her grief.
Creepingpaw felt his fur grow hot with anger towards the feathered beast that killed Springlight. His emerald colored eyes glinted with silent rage, his claws digging into the earth to mitigate his anger. The Egyptian Mau apprentice's tail lashed. How could this have happened?! Now the clan is left with no Medicine Cat... He couldn't help but want to go punish that owl himself.
Lavendersong, sensing the anger seeping from Creepingpaw's pelt, brushed her tail over his shoulder to soothe his temper but he flashed her a stern, serious gaze.
▪︎Sproutfleck▪︎ ▪︎The Bronze Knight▪︎ Purrks: Beefed Up T1 | The Collector ____________________
The Spotted Tom opened one eye from where he had been lying (as he had grown accustomed to first seeing what the problem was, then actually waking up) in the sun. The voice was quite clearly his tabby spotted leader, and his eyes almost immediately drifted toward the blood on her paws. Oh, violence. Yay. Standing up quickly (as it's best not to be slow when violence is involved or you might be victim), Sproutfleck stretched his eyelids open to keep himself awake as he padded up to the stone, glancing again at the blood on Bumbles paws again. Forcing his verdant hues away, he noticed that beside him Orangeblossom seemed to be having a panic attack. But it was different than pinepaws because pinepaw had become his son tick.
"Hey, uh... you good?" He asked the tom with a sideways glance. "you seem to be choking on air." Dang, there goes his people skills. But it WAS true, the floppy eared feline was looking... not too good, honestly. Did he need the himelick maneuver? The Bronze Knight didnt know how to do that. Best learn soon though because it would be very kestrelpaw to choke on air and die. And then he would just sit there in confusion. Get your crap together, man! Turning his head, he cast Kes a look. What was-- ohhh, she totally did something. Sigh. "I know what you did. Fess up." He told hed sharply. He actually had no idea what KesStress did but maybe it would guilt her into admitting. He turned back to Orangeblossom. Geez, he didn't look happy at allll. "Sorry. Kids." He sighed with a shake of his head.
____________________
@Dolomedes @Rose [he knows what u did fess up /silly]
When Sproutfleck instantly figured her out, Kestrelpaw let out a yip of alarm and hunkered down, ears pinning back against her skull. "I didn't do anything, honest!" She yelped softly, guilt bubbling in her chest. "Yet." The molly mumbled. Yeeaaaah, she was not much of a secret-keeper. Nobody trust Kestrelpaw with any secrets. Like, ever. But Sproutfleck was still staring at her all disapproving-like and he already totally knew what she'd done and Kestrelpaw didn't handle stress well and- "I-only-dug-a-teeny-tiny-hole-in-the-back-of-the-den." She blurted on a petulant whine. "I'm sorrryyyy, please let me be a warrior, pleaseeeeeeeee."
The beige apprentice pleaded. . . but her look of pleading fizzled out a moment later as two things happened at once.
'Reassignments first. Fireflypaw, with Sproutfleck' and 'Springlight is dead.'
Kestrelpaw's face had gone slack with shock at the first announcement, but the second made her pale with fear. Blood? A scent trail? No Medicine Cats? No bodies? Her mind was being bombarded with thoughts, but first- "You didn't tell me you'd get another apprentice!" Her voice came out a little squeaky, brief jealousy, hurt, and betrayal flashing across her face before she shook her head. She couldn't be selfish anymore, she was grown up now. She had to be the better cat... right? Blinking rapidly to clear the embarrassing tears she felt beginning to form (was Mr. Fleck replacing her?), Kestrelpaw lifted turquoise hues to her mentor's verdant green ones.
"I... I mean, that's good! Right? You have a new... apprentice!" Insecurities of not being good enough flooded in, but pshaw! Who was she kidding?! She was the best apprentice ever, just like Sproutfleck was the best mentor ever! It made sense. She was just going to be a warrior, so now Mr. Fleck got to train a new cat! Exhaling shakily as she re-collected herself, Kestrelpaw beamed up at her mentor with pure joy, her smile slightly wobbly with emotion. "I'll have you know I'm still the best apprentice you'll ever have!" She declared, chest puffing out with pride. Yeah, that was more like it. This Fireflypaw wouldn't ever replace her. Nuh uh, not on her watch. She would be a warrior soon! Kestrelpaw; 1, Fireflypaw; 0.
Regardless, Kestrelpaw kind of... didn't want to be around when Mr. Fleck's new apprentice came over, so she... well, Kestrelpaw sidled away, and then conveniently used Creepingpaw as an excuse to signify that she was totally not avoiding seeing her mentor with a new apprentice. (In summary, Kestrelpaw just plopped down beside the poor unsuspecting apprentice and proceeded to pretend to look interested in whatever he and Lavendersong were talking about).
Ravenpaw-She/Her
5 Moons
base by xutaes on DeviantArt
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After thinking a bit more about the fact of the lack of a medicine cat and how she could help out more somehow, Ravenpaw came to an abrupt thought.
Springlight was related to Sunpaw, right?
Somehow, someway.
She should probably check on her.
Ravenpaw’s eyes searched the clearing for her brightly colored friend.
She spotted her, face stuffed in tail.
That wasn’t a good sign.
Ravenpaw was probably no good at comforting, but she was going to try her best.
The dark colored apprentice made her way over to sit by Sunpaw, placing her tail over her back.
She wasn’t going to ask if she was doing okay, she obviously wasn’t. She could hear the sobbing now that she was beside her.
“I’m here for you.” She said. The truth, the best words she could offer.
If Sunpaw ever needed to talk, lean on her, anything, she would be here.
@Kix
[not the best at comforting, but she’s trying! <3]
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Re: ThunderClan Stormcrest
"I swear, I'll find whatever did this and rip them limb-" Creepingpaw growled fiercely before Lavendersong quashed his hot temper with a few licks to his head and muzzle. The young apprentice meowed in protest, but Lavendersong purred with patience for the hot headed tom.
"Better leave it to the warriors and Bumblestar to figure out what's going on.. she meowed between licks, "So keep working hard and you'll be a warrior very soon..."
Among the anger and confusion, Creepingpaw's ears twitched at the distance sound of Kestrelpaw's voice before she joined the pair. Normally, he wouldn't care to read into others' feelings, not like he was good at it very much but he could sense the insecurity radiating from her fur.
"Kestrelpaw, hello!" Lavendersong dipped her head greeted her warmly, her voice still tinged with grief from the loss of Springlight. "I'm sure Sproutfleck has his paws full with two apprentices, but I have no doubt your naming ceremony is coming up, Kestrelpaw."
It was rare for Sprucejumper to be in camp during the day. He preferred the outdoors. Climbing trees. No eyes on him. It's not like he communicated with the cats in ThunderClan as a whole, so might as well be productive outside if there was nothing to do in camp. No walls to fix or nests to make. It wasn't exactly like he was especially attached to the nursery, either, having had no queen lay claim on him as a foster kit in his short stay there, so visiting the residents there and making small talk wasn't really on his list of daily activities. Oh... who was he kidding? Making small talk was simply not in his list of any activities, period.
It was, however, one of these rare instances that he found himself in now. Alone and grooming his long fur when Angry came rushing in with the speed of a monster. The scent of blood instantly hit the former kittypet's nose, and his deadpanned gaze looked up, following the tiny leader as she clambered up the rock. Had she killed someone else? There was no outsider scent on her. No scent belonging to the other clans, either. Naturally, he simply assumed someone had gotten on her wrong side, which was... not that difficult judging from what little he'd seen. If this was the case, however, she seemed to be in no hurry to inform them who had been executed, as apparently apprentice reassignments were being handled first.
He almost spaced out while the reassignments were made. No sense in keeping track of who was training who. His last apprentice had gone missing. Vanished into the wind without a trace. He'd never even managed to find him to get acquainted with him... and stars had he tried. Certainly more than his first mentor had with him, in any case. Still, that didn't take away the fact that he had failed that training. Had nothing to show for it. Angry was probably looking for warriors who were older, in any case. Had more experience and were more... verbose. Sprucejumper was not made to be a mentor, evidence clear by his most recent foray into the subject matter. Surely he had no reason to stress out over the leader making the same mistake twice.
Turns out the tabby seemed to have higher hopes for him than he had given her - or himself - credit for. Either that or she hated his guts, which was quite frankly a much more likely possibility. The mere thought of him somehow being in her good graces was laughable. And here he had always aimed for invisibility. To simply not be under her radar at all. So much for that dream. Of course, there was also the potential for this... Sunpaw to be the one who had earned her ire, being saddled with him as a mentor to torture both of them. Eyes narrowing slightly at this thought, emerald hues swept the meeting spot, focusing on the younger cats gathered there, hoping to spot one, any, that seemed to maybe be this apprentice he'd been paired up with.
It was subtle. Blink and you miss it, but he spotted her. A ginger tabby, fur as bright as the sun. Which... explained the name, he supposed. Seriously... these clan cats and their names. Half the time they made no sense and the other half they made too much sense. Like his name. Sprucejumper. Ugh... If it wasn't for the fact that The Boulder was so clearly proud of him having earned his name he would still go by his more respectable, sensible kittypet name.
The young warrior half lifted himself, ready to go meet up with this paw. Wondering just how exactly he was meant to teach her. He wasn't the talkative type like his previous mentor and current only friend in the clan was. He wasn't the type to chat. Anything that needed more than a word to be said was meaningless. A waste of time and energy, anyways. Cats didn't really like listening to what you had to say, regardless of what they claimed, so why waste your time and theirs? But maybe... maybe he could teach by action? Paw see warrior do? Yes... he could see that working out. If the tabby was willing to work with him.
Of course, any plans he had been making were tossed out of his mind, the next news catching even him out of guard. Blank eyes slowly grew round as the blood scent on the leader was explained. The herb cat was dead? Oh... well that was... Unfortunate. He had no strong feelings towards the calico. She had been pleasant enough, he supposed. Had never sent him out to trapped, horrible, nettles of stinging pits of hell like her mentor had. Aside of that, however, he had no real personal investment in her. But... her being gone. That was not good for the clan. Who was meant to keep them alive if they got injured? If they got sick? Were they just meant to die now? And what of the owl? Would they be hunting that down? Seemed like the smart thing to do. Take it down while it was sleeping. Climb that tree and take it down like prey.
Of course, another tom voiced this question, and soon it was decided they were hunting the thing down. Making the territory safe again. No one was to go out alone... Okay, that part was less fun. Honestly, the only reason he'd even cared to get a stupid name change was to be able to go out alone. Whatever... He supposed he needed to take Sunpaw out, anyways. Now that the meeting was over. And besides, he could always ask The Boulder to- Nope. Never mind on that. Angry was calling all Hornets to her. Fantastic... Welp, suppose taking out his apprentice was the first thing to take care of, then. Alone. Without another cat there to act as a translator for his eternal silence. This would be fun. If fun meant horrible and painful, that is.
"Sunpaw," the young warrior drawled, walking towards the ginger tabby as his face settled back into its usual mask of indifference.
Mudhound
Thunderclan Hornet | They/them | 35 Moons
Bilingual T2 | Flock Together T3 | Rapid Recovery | Beefed up T3
The hornet was just.... Frozen in shock Springlight, miss feather-fluff herself was dead and gone? The sweet little cat who wanted to help everyone despite all the anxiety in her? Mudhound had known she was rattled, distant, a bit not there since the battle but had choked it up to Drizzlecloud resigning which was a shock enough.
But she was dead and gone and even little Wolfpaw at their side felt distant because she was killed by an owl of all things, when all the once Springpaw had wanted as a gift from Mudhound had been a great big owl feather that probably still lay in the medicine cats den.
Perhaps they shouldve said something, anything to reassure their apprentice but through all this the hornet couldnt really muster much but to curl a bit more around Wolfpaw in silence until the meeting was called to an end and they were summoned. "I-I.... I guess I need to go, I.... Stay in camp Wolfpaw until I have time to teach you about owl safety, just in case. Ill protect you if its us but predators tend to target cats with a 'limp'. Ill be back in a bit."
Hopefully feeling more stable and less flat.
"I swear, I'll find whatever did this and rip them limb-" Creepingpaw growled fiercely before Lavendersong quashed his hot temper with a few licks to his head and muzzle. The young apprentice meowed in protest, but Lavendersong purred with patience for the hot headed tom.
"Better leave it to the warriors and Bumblestar to figure out what's going on.. she meowed between licks, "So keep working hard and you'll be a warrior very soon..."
Among the anger and confusion, Creepingpaw's ears twitched at the distance sound of Kestrelpaw's voice before she joined the pair. Normally, he wouldn't care to read into others' feelings, not like he was good at it very much but he could sense the insecurity radiating from her fur.
"Kestrelpaw, hello!" Lavendersong dipped her head greeted her warmly, her voice still tinged with grief from the loss of Springlight. "I'm sure Sproutfleck has his paws full with two apprentices, but I have no doubt your naming ceremony is coming up, Kestrelpaw."
Saddened thoughts flying out the metaphorical window as Lavendersong spoke up, her soft tone breaking through the film that had settled over Kestrelpaw’s mind, the patterned apprentice looked towards the queen, a hesitantly hopeful smile stretching over her maw. Safe to say, she needed to smile more often - and genuinely, without holding back.
“Hi Ms. Song.” She mrrowed back, not taking care to note she was probably speaking over Creepypaw’s head (unless he was taller than her — which, okay, she was a fairly short feline) because he was unfortunately between herself and the warrior. Unfortunate for him, one could suppose. “Mr. Fleck… yeah.. He’ll be busy now.” Her smile fell, briefly, but re-emerged upon Lavendersong’s comment of her naming ceremony. “Oh, that’s right! I’ll be getting my name soon! At the next meeting, hopefully!” The fluffy apprentice puffed up with pride at the thought of being a warrior. “I wanted it to happen at this meeting so I could be nine moons and get my name… but I guess since this one is just about… yknow, Springlight’s…” she hesitated. It didn’t sit right with her that ThunderClan no longer had a Medicine Cat. “Death. I’ll get my ceremony next meeting for sure.”
Alpinepaw's eyes widened at Bumblestar's news of the 'dead' Springlight. Her breathing quickened and she closed her eyes. She then thought, "Great Starclan...At least Drizzlecloud's still around. But, she won't help as much as before."
Her muscles stiffened while she was thinking hard. Oh no. Maybe, she was going to have some case of heightened anxiety. Poor Alpinepaw. The young cat opened her eyes and looked around wildly.
Apprentice reassignments first. Only made Nightgaze more anxious. What had happened? That was all she wanted to know no matter how insensitive it seemed. Scratching lines into the ground as names were called out, the amount of predictions only grew. A border skirmish? A rogue group threating their safety? What was it?!
"Springlight is dead"
Her mouth fell open. Of all things...the medicine cat had been murdered? Nightgaze had never been close with Springlight but she'd seemed nice. She would be missed, especially since she was a clanmate. Clanmates were family and when their life was taken from them too early they must be avenged. An ideology that had been held even more strongly since Fawnpaw's death. The monstrous bird that took away the healer would be brought down by Thunderclan claws. That was a promise.
While questions were asked, the small warrior processes everything; it took her a while to take in big tragedies like this. No medicine cats. That was bad. No doubt. But the cats closest to the lost one probably wanted to mourn before thinking about all of the more mainstream problems. Oh, and a no going out alone rule. Made sense.
And so the dreadful meeting ended. Slowly rising to her paws, Nightgaze was about to retire to the warriors' den until the call lf her name made her halt. Blinking in subtle surprise at Bumblestar she wondered why she was being asked to join a presumably important and serious meeting. Then she remembered. Wolfhive had asked her...had she been accepted? Hesitating a momemt, she turned around and followed the other few cats to the leader’s den to discuss...some really major stuff, she supposed.
Re: ThunderClan Stormcrest
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