ShadowClan Grimpeak

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Mousepaw |

Doing his best not to eavesdrop further, the gray furred apprentice kept his gaze forward, rounded ears perked up and alert, focused solely on the leader. As much as Mousepaw cared for the well being of those he loved and considered family, he respected their privacy. Whatever they wanted to talk to him about, they would in time. And if they didn't? Well, he would provide what support he could, regardless. Respecting privacy and keeping his ears pricked and alert in order to know when to give his friends some well deserved love were two totally different things, after all, heh heh.

It was for this reason, however, that he turned to Shadefrost with surprise, if not a hint of skepticism. Had his auntie dismissed him and told him to leave her alone? That sounded doubtful, as his auntie normally did not dismiss cats that way, and his mentor would probably not listen to her anyways. The dark warrior's first words perplexed him further, not for the tom's knowledge on the matter - Mousepaw had never made it a secret when he disliked a cat - but by his open acceptance of his knowledge of this fact. Along with... taking some responsibility for it?

As much as the young apprentice disliked this warrior, he couldn't say he fully agreed with the sentiment of not having been much of a mentor. In actuality, he'd been the exact same mentor his previous one had been. Probably better, as a matter of fact. This one hadn't tried to crawl his way into his heart to rip it out and abandon him the way the previous one had. He'd been honest from the get go. Mocking him at the start. It had been... annoying, but refreshing. At least this cat wasn't pretending to be what he wasn't. Something Mousepaw could begrudgingly - and never out loud - respect.

The gratitude for saving him - or rather attempting to, it had been a team effort really, that he'd been incapable of getting anywhere anyways - also perplexed the younger tom as he finally turned to face Shadefrost, his verdant hues holding a befuddled expression. He didn't need to be thanked for that. Mousepaw was a ShadowClan cat, same as Shadefrost. His opinion on the cat did not matter. He would leap in defense of a clanmate every time if he could, disregarding who it was.

Was this not something Shadefrost knew? Was this something that had never been afforded him? He'd been a warrior for how long now? Longer than Mousepaw had lived, that much he knew. Surely someone had shown him the true loyalty and honor that comes with being a clan cat?

But what if no one has?

A little voice nagged at the back of his head, a voice he was quick to ignore. Because that just didn't sound right. No matter how many cats had disappointed him in his life, he'd always found cats that were the brightest of stars, shining bright with love and care, loyalty and friendship. Cats that had clung to him and refused to give up on him even when he'd been at his darkest point. Everyone had that... right?

The tap on his head breaking him from his musings, Mousepaw blinked, his nose wrinkled in a half formed, half hearted snarl. One he couldn't bring himself to fully enact as doubts clouded his mind. He'd been wrong before... thinking cats were good and caring only to be betrayed. Could he have been wrong with Shadefrost? He didn't think so. Not with the murder at the gathering, or his attitude at the battle. But the doubt had wormed its way to the deepest recesses of his mind now, and it refused to let go.

The tom shrugged as he saw the dark furred warrior withdraw, opening his maw to respond, only to be interrupted by the leader's news. News that took any thought of his current conversation out of his mind. Ivysnake was dead. The medicine cat apprentice was dead. She had been killed. By ThunderClan.

The snarl that had refused to form just moments before emerged, a low growl rumbling within him as he stared at the leader, his pupils nothing but slits. He had no strong opinions on the medicine cat apprentice, having never spoken to her. She was his grandfather's apprentice, but Mousepaw had never judged others based on who they were related to or who they were apprenticed to. You couldn't help such things. If it had been her task to heal others, then Elmshadow was the only cat she could have apprenticed under. Simple as that.

But to have had her killed? By ThunderClan? He'd thought it had been just the leader. What with the skinning of the apprentice before. His thoughts on this had shifted after the battle. After the way that wayward warrior had kept attacking Hawkbite despite the fight being over. It had been dishonorable and despicable, to have kept at it after your leader had given you the command to stop. To attack a retreating enemy. An act of complete cowardice.

And now to kill a medicine cat? Who needed help against foxes? Mousepaw would be ready for the next battle. No more mercy. The next time he struck at a ThunderClan warrior, it would be a strike to kill.

Mousepaw barely heard the words the leader spoke after this, blood roaring in his ears as they lay flat on his head, nostrils flared in barely contained rage. Taking a deep breath, knowing he wouldn't be able to enact any sort of vengeance on the rats that lay just across the border from here, the muscular apprentice shook himself, fur fluffed up in agitation, but the snarl slowly leaving his face regardless. Ears perking up, the apprentice barely caught on to the last few bits of the announcement. This one pertaining to apprentices, so he assumed it would be best for him to take note regardless of how he felt. He couldn't be blinded by emotions, after all. Shadowfur had taught him that. Bleh.

Anger aside, it seemed his needs to complete his apprenticeship were changing. If anything, he was more than ready to become a warrior by now! He'd had plenty of experience during night training. His Auntie Larky had always taken him out during the night for hunting and battle training. He preferred the dark, anyways. All pelts looked the same under the dim light of the moon. He didn't have to worry about his horrendously gray pelt standing out amongst... well, amongst no one anymore, he supposed.

His family was all gone now. All of them. Except his despicable grandfather and his lovable sister. He no longer stood out among them. Not really. There was no more golden fur to cuddle up to. Not anymore.

Shifting his paws as he tried to rid himself of some of the still lingering irritation, Honeysuckle began shrieking up a storm. Had... had that queen gotten moss stuffed in her ears? Dawnstar hadn't said anything about queens or elders training apprentices? Had she? He had tuned out the meeting for a bit... maybe she had?

That didn't sound right, however. What good would that do? The queens obviously were taking care of their kits. Everyone knew that. Even Dawnstar did. That's why there were permanent queens and everything. Still, without all the information - that he wouldn't quite admit to not having just yet - it would be impossible to step forth and silence the hysterical molly. Best give the benefit of the doubt... in case Dawnstar truly had said something along those lines, he guessed.

-

@Levi 99 [Shadefrost]

[JackHunt_17]

Cougarbite found these changes made sense so he nodded

[Red Dawn]

Blackhawk
Shadowclan warrior


He nodded, these changes could be good...

[elaif]

:*: Vulture'fang:*:

Listening to the news, Vulture'fang slipped into the crowd; finding himself a little later to the party than expected. Taking a seat towards the back of the fray of cats, the battle torn warrior felt his ragged ears twitch as he took in everything. Ivy'snake was dead, foxes were running rapid through their territory, and the squirrels were causing more and more trouble.... Hmm, what else was new?

These 'issues' seemed to play on repeat, whenever the waters of trouble had settled, something else would arise and cause another turmoil. And that was just another day in the life of Shadowclan.
Yeah, sometimes a little drama was fun, but this was constant. Every meeting someone seemed to die, and every meeting the issues were never resolved. Sighing mentally at the thoughts, he slipped into a distant state of mind.

Good lord... This place was a mess some days.

[Toya Todoroki]

Salamanderskull rolled his eyes... on the matter of kit classes, he'd rather a warrior do it, rather then queens who should instead be focusing on parenting and keeping kits out of trouble, and loud elders that should be resting not running about with their long winded speeches.

thank the stars he was not a kit anymore, otherwise he'd have thrown a complete fit.

But He Wasn't, So the matter didn't concern him, at least now he'd never have to worry about what all those idiots where doing... especially the Elders if they were anything like HIS grandfather...

now that cat could drive even the most sane cat insane in just an hour of listening to him and dealing with his antics...

Salamanderskull just shook his head to clear away those thoughts for another time.

Back to the Matter at Paw, Those Thunderclan Raats, Needed to Pay, no one should EVER dare to kill a medicine cat...

(open)

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Hawkbite]

The warrior listened silently, his claws still digging into the ground as he worked his frustration out about Ivysnake. He'd have to show Dawnstar his latest gift once this meeting was over, she'd probably appreciate it more now than before. The scent of Woollyfeather brought him out, he turned his head to look at the warrior, a kind expression entered his gaze before they were saddened again. He'd simply enjoy the company his companion brought. It was some sense of comfort during the chaos.

The new announcements about the reassignments of Kit Classes was strange, but reasonable. The queens and elders weren't doing anything else, so this was the perfect way to provide for the clan during their free time.

His gaze shot towards Honeysuckle and her outrage. Amusement twitched on his whiskers, momentarily distracting him from the Ivysnake incident. So, the warrior spoke up over the enraged queen. Perhaps voicing the things some other cats were thinking? Perhaps to poke the bear a little and see how Honeysuckle reacted. "That's a splendid idea! Queens and Elders teaching kit classes! It's a great way to provide for the Clan when you can't go out and hunt or fight!" He spoke, his gaze was resting solely on Honeysuckle in that moment. "Perhaps your kit will learn something when you bring them to your classes. Or y'know. . . Nightshiver would be a lovely babysitter while you're away for a few minutes," Hawkbite spoke, his gaze turning towards Dawnstar without another word.

@Abyssopelagic @Galaxy_

[Abyssopelagic]

Woollyfeather was grateful for the distraction from her thoughts when Dawnstar spoke again, continuing the announcements. She couldn't say that she disagreed with queens and elders being the primary lesson givers, but she had been excited to start on the Life Skills class.
It was just one class, so.... she shouldn't be as disappointed as she was. Besides, being placed as a sub for the class meant she'd still get a chance to occasionally teach that class.

She sighed deeply as a queen spoke up against the change, and Hawkbite corrected her assumption.
Well, so much for a drama free meeting. Especially now that Hawkbite has spoke up. She couldn't leave him without back up, now could she.
The lilac point, unlike her friends indirect response, fully turned to address the molly in question.
"Honeysuckle, she is not asking you or the elders to train the apprentices. She asked you to take over kitten classes. Classes that are meant to prepare kittens for clan life. Kits are a shared responsibility, not just the ones related to us, else we'd hardly be a Clan."
She tried to sound as understanding as possible.
"You wouldn't even be leaving camp for most of the classes. Even if the rest of the queens are busy, there are more than enough warriors to ask to watch your kits while you take over a class."
This was a strange thing to be arguing about.
"I have managed to balance warrior duties and raising my own kit. A class or two whenever a kit shows interest shouldn't be too hard to find time for."

[ @SuspiciousMindz ; @Galaxy_ ]

[Tecumori]

Cloverkit
Shadowclan | Kit | He/Him | 3 moons
a brown tabby with green eyes, white paws and nose blaze

As Dawnstar finished speaking she already faced a protester. The brown tabby didn't understand why this was such a bad idea. The elders and queens didn't do much besides lay around in their nests, eating and chatting with each other. So what harm would a few lessons do to them? Cloverkit could only hope that the new teachers would be nicer or just as nice as the first.

(Activity Post! Please Don't Interact!)

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Image of my oc was created using Clangen Cat Maker

[poppy]

Turtlesong was officially never going to have kids. Not only would she have to take care of her own ankle biters, she'd have to be forced to interact and teach other cat's children. Yeah. No thanks.

[Pitou]

**Elmshadow**

Ivynake's news was not news to the medicine cat though he was still reeling over the dream, yet another prophecy given too late. The medicine cat apprentice was no normal medicine cat and Elmshadow would generally find himself believing that if she'd been killed then she'd done so honorably. He could not find it in himself to fault a clan for killing a medicine cat if she was fighting like a warrior. But for Thunderclan to have attacked even as a fox nearby was fighting the rest of the patrol, it was dishonorable. Thunderclan would pay indeed, though Dawnstar's concerns for the fox felt well placed. Elmshadow was rather tired of patching up wounds from fox attacks. If Shadowclan was not safe within its own borders then they had no business starting wars just yet, his supplies and now just himself could only go so far.

The lessons was the next to be addressed. He liked teaching the kit curriculums, it gave him just another excuse to be watching out for some of the kits, a pastime he did often as a warrior to scout for potential among Shadowclan's young. But he had to concede that with the upcoming changes and war on the horizon, the gaps in his knowledge recently being exposed, he could use the unburdening. As of yet he didn't know anybody who he'd trust teaching such knowledge but he decided that one last lesson with a queen or elder to pass on his teachings, he would potentially be grateful for the assistance. That was a matter for tomorrow's concerns though.

**Cougarivy**

@Abyssopelagic @SuspiciousMindz @Galaxy_ [For the mentions]

The mottled black and white enforcer flexed her claws in the dirt. War was coming and fox hunting was organizing. A shiver ran up her spine, seizing her healing shoulder. She shook off the stiffness and focused her attention again. It was Honeysuckle who caught the most of it though. Her sharp blue eyes rolled exaggeratedly. Maybe leaving kit teachings to queens wasn't as good of an idea if all the kit-makers had as much fuzz in their ears as that one did. Wasn't listening one of those things queens were supposed teach their young? And yet the kits were frequently getting in trouble. What good were the queens if they couldn't watch over their young before and now are so lazy they're complaining about doing anything else for the clan? She looked up but Hawkbite's words made it over the din. A smile cracked the commander's face. Woollyfeather then beat Cougarivy to actually addressing the feather-brained queen. Lucky, Honeysuckle, Cougarivy wouldn't have been quite so nice about it, the outraged queen sure hadn't given any benefit of doubt before shouting her empty head off. No matter, the enforcer didn't figure it'd be productive to continue laying on the lazy queen and rather decided to stay seated beside her mate and kept her eyes on the disturbance in case she was needed.