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."
So he had been sort of correct. The new apprentices had indeed affected him, as he was given Shadepaw to train in place of the now-missing Silkpaw. Shadepaw. Seemed calm enough, not hopping about in excitement or overly anxious, probably a good thing. Then again Shrewstep was the type to be hopping about himself, he certainly had at first, but that was another problem entirely. He would at least TRY and match the relatively demure Shadepaw's focus, and maybe allow himself a bit more bouncing about later. Maybe once they got to some battle training.
His catbrows raised slightly at the news of a dead outsiders. Poisoned. That was an odd death, one he hadn't seen much. It seemed like more of a....clan thing to do, honestly. Done in stealth, when stealth was needed, not in the lawless outskirts where it was survival of the fittest, the ends justifying the means. The result was less certain with poison, why not slay them with honor, with your claws. Perhaps the killer was simply a coward, honorless and seeking to preserve their own life regardless of those fallen by the wayside. He wasn't a fan, but it wasn't really his place to pass judgement.
An apprentice dead in their den was a greater cause for worry, though he imagined the death had been determined unpreventable if Dawnstar wasn't ranting and raving about it. She didn't take threats calmly, the cannibal restrictions and their slow removal was solid evidence of that, so he could relatively easily conclude that she thought this an isolated incident. It would be a bit creepy for the new apprentices though, especially if one was forced to take over Rainpaw's nest. The new apprentices. His apprentice. Right. Hello! he chirped, already failing his internal promise to be calm. We'll have a nice look around the territory now that we're free to do that! Well, he'd been free to be out and about as an enforcer, but it had always felt a bit wrong. Now he would have no foolish qualms. @snowflake. (I'll pop a starter up in the territory for the tour, no rush though!)
Shadepaw Pure black pelt; dark mackerel markings; amber eyes
She/her || 6 moons || ShadowClan Kit Agatha Kitty - Silver Tongue - Shadow Fiend
Post Count: 2/100 • Profile • Bio
Shadepaw's ears pricked at the mention of a tour. Yes, that sounded good. A chance to learn about the territory, her territory. And a chance to get to know her mentor better, to set a good impression upon him. Hopefully he wouldn't be too cheerful, sometimes she just couldn't handle so much enthusiasm. If she fails, she fails, and she would have to try again. No amount of optimism would change that. "All right," she said evenly. She gets to train right away, which was a plus. More opportunities since the restriction was lifted. She could prove herself, so her mother couldn't ignore her anymore.
"Are we going now?" She asked, swishing her tail. Not that she was in a hurry, she just wanted to be prepared. And if they were going now, well, that would knock it off her list of things to do earlier.
---
We can go whenever! I'm really open right now, you could just mention me anytime she's needed, or for plot stuff you could VM me
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyme
TIMID TWITCH IN YOUR WIDE EYES
── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✧ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──
MOSQUITOPAW . 6 MOONS . HE/HIM . SHADOWCLAN
And just like that, Mosquitopaw's got his new name, now, bright and shiny and—huh. Dread catches his elation by the tail and yanks it back. He even flinches. An apprentice was found dead in their den??? D...Dawnstar can't say that! He has to sleep in there! His friends have to sleep in there!!
Mosquitopaw whips his head around as if to check that none of those friends have suddenly dropped due to Mysterious Dead Apprentice Syndrome already, checking the cats nearest to him and then peeking back over one skinny shoulder to find Wildpaw's bright orange coat. Everyone appears to still be alive.
Okay.
Okay, cool.
He's sure they won't mind if he just memorizes where they all sleep later on and he's also pretty sure that nobody would mind, much, if the very first chore he decides to prioritize is den reinforcement, since that's relevant and productive-sounding. Who's going to begrudge a decision made to double-triple-quadruple-fortify the apprentice's den against any and all evils? Like, just in case? Nobody. Because that'd be silly. Safety is a good thing and so are chores.
Cool.
Cool, cool.
Mosquitopaw. Oh, yes, that's him now. The lanky creature turns, careful with his paws now that the excitement's had a chance to run its course, and blinks round eyes at Mudslide. There's a kind of preylike caution there, but he'a sure to blink it away quick. Warriors aren't scary. His mentor certainly isn't scary...is she? Mosquitopaw stares. He can't help it. Mudslide seems...she's...is she okay? Remains to be seen. What he does know for sure is that she's just congratulated him, and he needs to respond.
"Um, you t—," he falters. Does he congratulate her back? Or is that...does that make him sound...hrm. "Thank you." Mosquitopaw corrects himself awkwardly. Part of him wants to ask if she's alright. The rest of him wonders if that's a rude thing to ask right now. Maybe she's just like this and he just needs to get with the program. He'd hate to make a big deal out of a misunderstanding...but if she's not okay, then he's rude for not saying anything. Maybe. Right? She just, sort of, seems like maybe she might not be doing great. But what does Mosquitopaw know? Well. Alright. He can at least say something. Something upbeat. Not overwhelming. Neutral-positive. Friendly but not overly concerned. Nice but not patronizing. Normal. Like...
"I-It, uhm. It's." Mosquitopaw clears his throat. "S'gonna be okay." ...Okay, yeah. Sure. He's not sure that fits the qualification of not patronizing and is definitely going to spend the next few days recalling the clumsy statement with an embarrassed shudder, but uh. No takebacks.
She didn't need pity. She needed to get her head straight. Mudslide blinked her blue eyes at her apprentice before cooly lifting up her head and wrapping her tail around her paws once more. Her apprentice had noticed her panic, her anxiety, it made her want to melt into nothing. The tall she-cat just nodded her head in response, large ears catching on sunlight. As much as she appreciated the assurance, she couldn't trust it. Anycat could be malicious, anycat kind. Mudslide couldn't grow another soft spot for a cat, that'd only be setting her up for something that nearly broke her the first time it happened.
Mosquitopaw seemed to be a fine cat. He wasn't loud or brash (which was great) and maybe even a bit jumpy himself. Like Roachflare. Mudslide found herself relaxing her shoulders as false hope welled inside her. No. No. Just train the kid, make him a warrior, then pray that Dawnstar didn't acknowledge her as a living part of the clan for anything else.
The warrior wondered what she should do now. Did she have to sit with Mosquitopaw? Try and strike conversation with him? Both options were just as bad as trotting back to Rookfire. She had heard what he'd said, or tried to say at least. He wanted to know more about her and Mudslide wasn't about to give him an inch. She didn't know him, he didn't know her. Perhaps he was just being friendly, but Mudslide needed to be insignificant and unnoticeable. Rookfire couldn't know too much about her. Though, if she wanted to refrain from getting herself on a list of suspicious cats, spilling some watered down information about herself would probably save her tail from further unwanted attention.
"Soon," Mudslide murmured, making a mental list of the requirements for a Shadowclan warrior. "Sunrise." She elaborated, feeling it would be best if things began ripe and early despite her obvious lack of sleep. Gosh, she really needed to sleep.
Once the she-cat weaved her way back to Rookfire, (the sick and longing feeling came back and Mudslide nearly beelined away from him entirely) she abruptly answered his question about her time in Shadowclan, her voice as hollow and low as ever. "Didn't," she mewed, her gaze far from his. "Loner." She didn't grow up in Shadowclan, she grew up in a broken family. Then she stumbled onto Shadowclan in search of the river that bordered Riverclan, but the marshes had obviously messed her up.
__________________
❝Whatever will be, will be. Don't care what anyone else thinks.❞
-When You Grow Up, Your Heat Dies
Ashpaw excitedly looked up at Dawnstar as they were named an apprentice.
This was it.
THIS WAS IT.
They hadn’t felt this excited in a LONG time, and it was a welcome change!
Now.. who was Elderberry again?
Flytail
39 Moons
Flytail glanced around the clearing and then back at Palepaw. “We’ll get started on the territory tour as soon as this meeting wraps up. It’s important to listen and learn from what’s being discussed here, too. Pay attention and absorb as much as you can; it’s all part of your training. Once we’re done, we’ll dive into the territory details. Until then, try to stay patient.” He gave a faint smile, showing a hint of understanding behind his gruff demeanor.
"Yes sir!" Palepaw nodded, it was time to learn and he's ready for it. Flytail was going to show him around ShadowClan territory, which was something he had longed to visit. Everyday for the past few moons since his birth, or since what he could remember, he had seen warriors and apprentices go in and out of camp. And now, he was going to join them.
Palepaw nodded eagerly and kept what Flytail said in mind.
Re: ShadowClan Grimpeak
Re: ShadowClan Grimpeak
Berrypaw is RiverClan's medicine cat apprentice! 
ashpaw
