Cedarstrike would have absolutely clutched her pearls if she had pearls or apposable thumbs. That was embarrassing for Spiderthroat, she bet. Stars, it was embarrassing for her watching it. She leaned in toward Mountaintalon with wide eyes. "How long do you think it's going to take before he gets to live that one down?" She paused. "... Also, did you know he had kits?" Gracious, she must have been living under a rock...
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You've had to walk a dark and terrible path alone.
Great StarClan. Noisy little things, aren't they? Whatever Cedarstrike had said before was completely lost in the shouting of children. Mountaintalon's ears flipped forward as he watched the duo descend on, apparently, their father. He shot Cedarstrike a sideways glance.
"I hadn't a clue, to be honest with you." And... that was genuine. Spiderthroat really didn't seem the type to want kits (and also looked to be getting up there in age, to boot), but that first one was practically the spitting image of him. "From the sounds of it, he hasn't exactly been involved, either."
Birdpaw
ShadowClan Apprentice
she/her | 9 moons | 75/100
[Grey-blue tabby with dark blue overcoat, white underside and amber eyes] Purrks: Lyrebird's Lullaby [PERMANENTLY ACTIVE], Don't Mind if I Do!
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Fool ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
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[Sleepysunrise - @Estelle ]
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Birdpaw walked alone to this Gathering, the eldest remaining of the Ark Children right in the thick of the swarming ShadowClan bodies as the clan headed towards the Sea Stones. Feeling a little more down today than usual, Birdpaw was content to sit by herself and space out while the leaders talked, but a familiar pelt settling by itself changed her plans.
Birdpaw padded up to Sleepysunrise, taking up the space next to her and tucking her lower half under her body so she was laying snuggled up to her elder sister's flank. Birdpaw didn't have the smarts to read people, but Sleepysunrise's usual stoic nature had been shifted subtly ever since Grandmother had her kits. Aunts and Uncles! Younger than she was! Birdpaw thought that idea was a little silly. She hoped that some of them would want to hang out with her--she could teach them the best games, the best places to hide in camp, and all the best prey. She'd help them get along, too. So they wouldn't disappear like her siblings had.
Birdpaw nosed Sleepysunrise's shoulder, watching the Sea Stones with vague interest. "Hi Sleepysunrise~" She trilled in a vague rendition of Sleepysunrise's own voice. It was a display of high affection in Birdpaw's case; using someone's voice. It meant she felt comfortable and safe with them and had taken them into her inner circle.
Cricket'Paw was halfheartedly listening to Burnedpaw explain his mentor to Wavebreaker, though she didn't retain much of the information, however, then the apprentice seemed to turn his attention to Cricket'Paw herself. You're not scary... Burnedpaw didn't seem to be saying it as an insult, and actually added to his original statement on how she could be. "Yes, but I don't want to be scary..." her voice slowly drifts off, Quailfeather had been scary, and he had tried to take her away from Amberdew. Never in her life would she become someone like that. "I don't think cats ever mean to turn out scary, sometimes circumstances prevent you from staying all soft." It certainly had done it with Quailfeather.
Burnedpaw had appeared to have moved past the question, asking if in fact Wavebreaker was her mentor, slowly she shook her head. "No, just a friend, my mentor is Rosehawk." Bouncepaw seemed to be enjoying listening to them, as he hadn't spoken in awhile. Moving past her thoughts and hard memories, she looked to him. "Who is your mentor?"
Bouncepaw agreed with Cricketpaw and Burnedpaw. Cricketpaw didn't look scary, she more looked cool. Her voice was too nervous to sell the image, though. Bouncepaw nods as the two cats speak, then as Cricketpaw asks who his mentor is, he stops.
Cricketpaw must not have heard when he spoke. Which was understandable, since the Gathering was big and noisy, and Bouncepaw didn't speak very loudly.
"Bluestrike," He meows again, "My mentor is Bluestrike. He's over there." Bouncepaw flicks his tail respectfully towards the cat who's sitting down amongst the other Windclanners. "He's really good at teaching, and hunting." He adds. "Or maybe it's because I'm bad at it." The last sentence is meowed sheepishly.
Looking to Bouncepaw's mentor she nods. The other apprentice expresses how his mentor is very efficient in hunting and teaching, then shares a bit of his own doubts. "I'm sure you're amazing at it, besides, you still have lots of time to perfect it. I remember trying to catch my first fish, I got scared when it flopped while I was carrying and I dropped it and slipped. I had a bruise on my leg for days and I still can't look at fish without feeling it move, bleh." it might have been a slight over share, but she hoped to humor Bouncepaw and Burnedpaw.
"Clearly not. The little ones don't seem to have much sense of... Discipline or decorum. Yet." What were they, like a month? They had plenty of time to get with the program, so to speak. "........... Glad it's not me though." She mused. A shame! That would never be her children up there acting a fool. Or so she thought. That was yet to be seen...... u_u "Now he's gotta do a walk of shame out of here, which is just..." The she-cat was not about to get into how all this probably looked to the other clans. Perhaps Riverclan would steal the show and make a laughingstock of themselves somehow.
__________________
You've had to walk a dark and terrible path alone.
Bouncepaw agreed with Cricketpaw and Burnedpaw. Cricketpaw didn't look scary, she more looked cool. Her voice was too nervous to sell the image, though. Bouncepaw nods as the two cats speak, then as Cricketpaw asks who his mentor is, he stops.
Cricketpaw must not have heard when he spoke. Which was understandable, since the Gathering was big and noisy, and Bouncepaw didn't speak very loudly.
"Bluestrike," He meows again, "My mentor is Bluestrike. He's over there." Bouncepaw flicks his tail respectfully towards the cat who's sitting down amongst the other Windclanners. "He's really good at teaching, and hunting." He adds. "Or maybe it's because I'm bad at it." The last sentence is meowed sheepishly.
Looking to Bouncepaw's mentor she nods. The other apprentice expresses how his mentor is very efficient in hunting and teaching, then shares a bit of his own doubts. "I'm sure you're amazing at it, besides, you still have lots of time to perfect it. I remember trying to catch my first fish, I got scared when it flopped while I was carrying and I dropped it and slipped. I had a bruise on my leg for days and I still can't look at fish without feeling it move, bleh." it might have been a slight over share, but she hoped to humor Bouncepaw and Burnedpaw.
"Fish are so slippery and hard to catch, I was surprised at how so many Riverclan cats seems to catch them easily," Bouncepaw meows thoughtfully to Cricketpaw in response. He doesn't laugh at her words, he had experiences much more embarrassing than that, so embarrassing that he was not going to tell, "But I guess it's not easy for even Riverclan cats. Thanks for the reassurance, that was kind of you."
Then, seeing Bluestrike pad into the fray, Bouncepaw turns his head towards his mentor. "Bluestrike!" He meows.
"Well I'd say that's a good thing for me. No competition."
His yellow eyes stared unwaveringly at Scorpionsight for a moment before he busted out into a laugh. "Sorry, Scorps. This ThunderClan tom has time to go before he's locked down!" He teased once again, using a huge paw to swipe playfully at her ears. As he was laughing, a waft of fish scent washed over his nose, and a slightly familiar dark pelt shoved past him, glaring at him as they did ( @burntToast ) He blinked, brows furrowed at the rudeness. 'Wait...that's that RiverClan warrior that was basically the size of an apprentice!' He remembered, eyes widening.
He opened his jaws to say something cross, but the RiverClan tom was already...hobbling away. Raggedear smirked, turning back to Scorpionsight. "You see that one's leg? That's what happens when you cross ThunderClan. When you cross me." He muttered darkly, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. He was sure that Mudsmoke had just been trying to make a point that they were back, but it didn't change the fact that Raggedear had been the winner of their exchange. He had to admit though, he was at least impressed by the fight Mudsmoke had put up. He wrinkled his nose. "Though I'll give it to him, he left me some fish-smelling scars to remember him by." He mewed with a twitch of his ear, swooping his head down to lick at the healed wound on his shoulder.
( @/burntToast - just for the acknowledgment huehue )
Scorpionsight-She/Her
26 Moons
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"Good thing I don't plan on crossing you any time soon." She joked. She doesn't usually joke. Wow, Scorpionsight, the first cat you start to open up to is from another clan, great job!
Before continuing, she noticed two little kits had somehow snuck into the gathering, and were trying to bother the ThunderClan deputy.
"Wow, okay, that's unexpected." She commented "They're cute little things, though."
She actually liked kits, they were super adorable. Maybe she should interact with some in her clan, soon.
"Spiderthroat clearly needs to spend time on discipline." Mountaintalon tapped his tail against the ground disapprovingly. "It isn't that difficult. My children turned out well." His daughter did, at least. The others? He had no idea where they had ended up, but they weren't worth the thought if they hadn't managed to stick around. It actually made things easier for him in the end, if they stayed gone.
Which brought to him a thought.
He glanced at Cedarstrike again. "Have you ever considered having children?" It was framed as a passive question, asked purely out of curiosity.