Pondpaw looked up at Tuftedtusk, feeling the weight of his words. The thought of RiverClan returning made her stomach twist, but Tuftedtusk's steady presence and comforting touch helped to ease her nerves. She nodded, her blue eyes reflecting both determination and a hint of anxiety.
"I'll be ready, too," she replied softly, trying to match his confidence. The idea of facing RiverClan was daunting, but she knew she had to be strong. For her Clan, for Tuftedtusk, and for herself.
"Do you think they'll try to come back soon?" she asked, her voice laced with curiosity and a touch of worry as she glanced in the direction of RiverClan's territory.
Flytail
39 Moons
He/Him
Owlthroats brother
Logical,Strict loyal hardworking
Flytail’s sharp eyes cut through the bustle of the camp, finally resting on the small, frantic figure of Palepaw. The young apprentice’s excitement was palpable, his tiny paws darting here and there as he tried to locate his mentor amid the sea of cats. With a frustrated huff, Flytail pushed through the crowd, his voice cutting through the din with practiced authority.
“Palepaw! Over here!” Flytail’s call was firm, aimed at reining in the young tom’s wild energy. He watched as Palepaw skidded to a halt, his wide eyes locking onto Flytail’s with a mix of eagerness and nervousness. The older tom’s gaze softened just a fraction, but his voice remained stern.
“If you can’t settle down, you won’t get anywhere,” Flytail said, his tone brooking no argument. “Being an apprentice isn’t just about getting out of camp and frolicking in the woods. It’s hard work, responsibility, and learning the ways of the Clan. There’s a lot to cover, and if you’re too busy bouncing around, you’ll miss out on everything you need to know.”
He motioned for Palepaw to follow, turning on his heel and heading towards the edge of the camp. “Now, let’s get started. The real training begins today, and it’s not going to be a walk in the park. We’ll delve into everything you need to become a true ShadowClan warrior. Keep up, stay focused, and you might just make it through without too many scrapes and bruises. Are you ready to learn?”
In only took a moment for his mentor to appear out of thin air. His name was called and Palepaw eagerly turned around to see a large warrior with dark fur. As fast as rabbit on the run, Palepaw settled down neatly. Or as neatly as he could with his chest puffed out. He was ready. He's so ready. He's been waiting for this day since...forever!
He took glances at his mentor. Flytail, he was called. Palepaw better remember that. Almost commander-like and Palepaw was here to learn all his mentor knew about being warrior. He sat straight up with a bright smile sprawled across his face, "Yessss, sir!"
And with that, Palepaw's apprenticeship had began. He carried his little legs along with Flytail, trying to catch up to the older warrior and match his fast pace. Every stride meant a couple of leaps and bounds for Palepaw, and he didn't mind at all. It's was fun, and one day he'll learn how to be quick too.
"Wowww, real training today!" Palepaw eyes sparkled, he couldn't believe it. They could start today! It made sense now that the restrictions were being lifted, but he didn't know it would be this soon. Palepaw flashes a big toothy smile. He's glad his first day as an apprentice wasn't going to be boring. "Yes sir! I'm ready to learn! What, what are we doing first? Territory tour? Warrior Code? Or, or, or hunting!"
~ BRIARSPLASH ~
very large & fluffy dilute gray tortie she-cat with goldish-green eyes; just a scratch
[ shadowclan enforcer | she-cat | 27 moons | abrasive, standoffish, loyal ]
~
Briarsplash listened along to the meeting, her eyes narrowing in alarm at the announcement of Rainpaw's passing. Found... dead? Just like that? The nature of the death was blunt, almost mysterious, though she wasn't one to go sticking her nose around to ask about it. She allowed a moment of silence for the 'paw, frowning at the idea of the loss of a young life in the Clan.
Then the news about a kit being brought in... hmph. The situation with the outsiders was rather... curious. But at least the kit wound up here as opposed to the squirrels, the rabbits, or the fish who were still in shambles. Speaking of the fish, they might've returned already, eh? Wonder if they'll come back for blood or are gonna cower in their nests this time, having learned their lesson.
When the meeting was dismissed, the large warrior let out a huff and stood to her paws, going off on her own for a bit in the camp.
Mudslide wasn't feeling good. News now made her drowsy and no more alert than she was before. Dawnstar's increasing frustration was starting to scare her and she now knew what Roachflare meant when he pointed out the sudden edge to her demeanor. Mudslide hadn't wanted to attend but she was worried she'd miss something important even if she didn't really feel like absorbing any information under an amber gaze cat was almost as cut throat as her mothers. Out of all the clans why did she settle for this one? From what she'd heard Windclan had a comfortable amount of tolerable cats. But then Mudslide would get comfortable, she'd let her guard down, she'd make to many connects (one was the only exception) and then when they all eventually died or turned their back on her, what would she do then? Crumble away? Shadowclan was the right choice, the choice that kept her on her paws or else she'd be wallowing in more guilt than she already had.
Maybe if anycat looked hard enough they could see the distress lining her eyes, the red veins branching out into her gaze from sleepless nights. So she closed her eyes. They couldn't see it then, couldn't call any attention to her. She could melt away, she could disappear. So when she had to slip away with the hopes of something more nocat would care enough to kill her before she could truly run away. When she did, she'd have to take Roachflare with her or she wouldn't leave. As much as Squeak's meant to her it had been so long. What if she wasn't the same? Would she still fight for her?
"Hello."
Mudslide gave her large ears a twitch. Then another. And another. Until her eyelids slid backwards and she turned her iris from the Grimpeak to the stranger. Ah, Rookfire. She gave the enforcer an acknowledging bow of her head, the whiskers on her muzzle twitching. Had she sat next to him? She gave a quick glance at her paws. Maybe she did.... Stupid.
mudslides simple answer shouldnt be a surprise to rookfire but he was still mildly disappointed the molly just wouldnt reveal any more of herself, no twitch in expression, opinion or anything else rookfire could actually put a paw on as fact. the only things he knew for sure were her friendship (or maybe more) with roachflare, the fact that she existed in shadowclan, and was probably around his age. no more, no less.
rookfire cleared his throat, unknowingly preparing for the most awkward question ever to escape his maw without thinking about it properly first,"so, how was growin' up 'round here?" wow. marvellous. spectacular even. he truly possessed so much social skill it couldnt be contained by his simple body. he should just leave. yes that would definitely make it better, he had all the best ideas today! somewhere between amused by how horribly this was going and mad at his stupidity, rookfire shifted, turning his attention to dawnstar momentarily. ashkit, blablabla, wasnt that the annoying one? oh the white kit he talked to a few sunrises ago. the lifted restrictions..hm
no more apprentices for him (though he wasnt surprised, he already had two to look out for and wasnt even sure if he was allowed more than them), but mudslide was assigned mosquitopaw (which was quite the weird name in his opinion. "aye, your first apprentice?" rookfire grinned, boldly assuming he hadnt simply missed their first one and overplaying the awkwardness of his last question with irrational confidence. if he thought about it for a second longer, he was sure mudslide had been a warrior when he joined shadowclan, making him missing her first apprentice or more pretty likely.
a quiet and quite surprised sounding "oh" escaped him when his own name fell, immediately switching from silly to serious, ah yes yewkit, another one he didnt really like. what was the other thing? rainpaw dead..he didnt know who that was, though he could almost swear it was one of lostsparks children, it felt odd to be stated without reason at all. however, he was sure it was safe to assume it was something more natural than murder, if dawnstar was lifting restrictions and only warning of riverclan for now.
__________________
"i wish things were different, but it werent us who changed."