(Hello. Am I allowed to join? I apologize for cutting in the roleplay.)

He hops up the last few rocks, and pads quietly through the darkness, walking forward as if he's been here a thousand times. He blinks when the light suddenly hits his eyes. He looks at the Pool, a perfect mirror of the sky above them, and takes in a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He then crouches down, and whispers, "Drink a few drops. You'll fall asleep soon after, and when you wake, you'll be with Starclan. It will likely be overwhelming, but remember to keep breathing. They're here to guide you, not scare you. Join me as soon as you feel ready." He then kneels down, and laps up a few drops, curling up on the cold stone and falls asleep almost immediately.




He blinks awake, and stands up, looking around, surprisingly calm and collected, and lets out a deep breath. He smiles, and his eyes gleam. "Hello, members of Starclan. I am Blackpelt, Willowclans medicine cat, and blessed with the ability to see into the world of the past cats. This is Fernstar, or, she will be, if you accept her as our leader. We are honored to meet you at last." He dips his head to them. "Please grant my leader nine lives so she may serve her clan, and by those means, serve Starclan."

Stonefall padded towards the Nursery, ears flicking behind him to be sure that he heard the three strangers following, grateful to see Spidernose approaching the Warrior’s den to stay with Moosepaw and Honeypaw. Duskwing was watching the camp entrance and all felt, for a moment, like it would be calm until Fernstar and Blackpelt returned.

But then he heard Duskwing yelp behind him and he whirled, claws out, hackles instantly raised only to see Maplestream pelting towards him, her eyes frantic. He glanced at the three strangers, his mind trying to catch up with even more information being thrown at him. For a brief moment, he wanted to sink into the feelings of anxiety that were coursing through him. But he didn’t have time for that. This was his Clan, his home, and he was charged with their safety.

So he would protect them.

“Duskwing,” he meowed, straightening up a little, not letting Maplestream answer Duskwing’s questions. “Please escort our guests to the Nursery and guard them there. Maplestream and I are going to talk.” He knew that Duskwing was, once again, trying to help but it felt like she was trying to step into the role of Deputy in place of him. He knew that she’d been a Warrior longer, knew that she’d been a member of WillowClan longer than him, and was starting to worry she had doubts about Stonefall’s abilities.

Which didn’t help his own doubts at all.

So he gazed at Duskwing until she nodded and then turned to Maplestream, padding across to the other side of camp, away from the prying ears of the strangers.

“First of all, Maplestream -- it was wrong of you to sneak out like that without telling me, and there will have to be some kind of discipline,” he meowed. His tail flicked a little in agitation as he sat his big body down, positioning himself so he could keep an eye on the camp while listening to her, his gaze lingering for a moment on the Warrior’s Den, where Spidernose and the two apprentices were tucked away. “But we have more important things to deal with right now, so tell me -- what’s going on?”




Honeypaw had woken, feeling a little groggy, to Moosepaw’s nudging. But before she could really understand why he was waking her, Spidernose was entering the Warrior’s den, talking softly to reassure the two apprentices. Honeypaw’s nerves instantly sparked, her small tail shooting straight up as she practically sprinted to crouch in between Spidernose and Moosepaw, looking up at her mentor with wide, unblinking eyes, feeling comforted by the two bigger cats’ bodies. “Why are you watching us? What’s going on?” She glanced up at Moosepaw, wondering if her fellow apprentice was as worried as she was. Probably not, though. He was big and practically a Warrior already, while she was...small. And definitely not even close to a Warrior, much to her frustration. She wanted to lean into his warmth but wasn’t sure if it would be welcome, so kept herself tucked closer to Spidernose, just glancing up at him a little anxiously as she waited for her mentor to answer.

The bulky apprentice glanced back at Honeypaw as she was slowly woke up. Through the narrow opening of the warriors den entrance, Moosepaw could hear Spidernose approach. She spoke reassuringly to the two of them, sounding calm and collected. He was always impressed by how well warriors handled unique situations, and their ability to improvise. Moosepaw learned quickly during his apprenticeship that they weren’t perfect, but he still had a massive amount of respect for them. Honeypaw moved closer to Spidernose, probably for warmth. The bulky tom could see Maplestream rushing into the camp, and found that interesting. The new apprentice asked what was happening and Moosepaw decided she deserved to know. Without thinking, he spoke up.

"There seems to be outsiders in the camp. Rogues, of some sort." Moosepaw’s voice was a bit strained He glanced at Spidernose with an inquisitive look. "That's all I could gather. Was there more?" Moosepaw felt like something was off about this. It might be paranoia, it might be rational, but it felt unrealistic to devise which of the two it actually was.

“Shhh, it’s alright. It’s gonna be okay.” the cream and brown she-cat murmured soothingly to Honeypaw as she felt the smaller apprentice huddle up against her, her fur spiked on end with fear. The warrior didn’t say anything right away, not wanting to worry them further, and ducked her head to rasp her tongue gently across the top of her apprentice’s head, smoothing back some of the fur.

Her ears swivelled as she picked up the familiar voice of their missing Clanmate, and she couldn’t help but sigh in relief, a small bit of the tension in her shoulders relaxing. “Maplestream’s back.” she announced to the two apprentices, trying to keep them optimistic. Moosepaw didn’t buy it so much, it would seem, and as the tom answered the question instead, Spidernose was forced to do the same. “Y-Yes. Some rogues came bursting into the camp a little while ago. Claimed they’d been attacked, but something seems a bit...off, about their story.” she explained, nudging the top of Honeypaw’s head again in reassurance. “Stonefall wants you and Moosepaw to stay with me, just in case something dangerous happens. Don’t be afraid, we’ll be safe.”

Spidernose didn’t want to give them any more details in case either apprentice got some sort of foolish idea and StarClan forbid tried to confront the rogues, or something like that. She flicked her tail to beckon Moosepaw a little closer to them, hoping the signal would be enough to stop the older apprentice from shoving his way past them and out of the den to investigate for himself. Honeypaw was frightened, and she could use the comfort of the older cats around her, right now. “Come sit closer to us, Moosepaw. We’re going to stay in here until Stonefall tells us otherwise, okay? I need you to be brave and sensible for me, for Honeypaw.”

Blackpelt watches as Fernstar becomes a true leader, receiving her nine lives. He frowns when he sees Tigerstar. I thought you were killed in the Dark Forest..... He licks his paw nervously, and waits quietly for the ceremony to finish. He then waits for Fernstar to wake up, then settles down, watching Starclan for a moment. He dips his head to them, then wakes up.




He wakes up, and sighs. He then slowly stands up, and dips his head to Fernstar. "How does it feel to have nine lives?" He smiles, then yawns. "We can hunt on the way back if you'd like." His smile fades slightly, and he walks with her, down the cliff face and onto the barely visible pathway. "I'm glad they accepted you as our leader." He pads along the path, and looks back at her every now and then. "Once we get some more cats to join, I'll need an apprentice. Hopefully they won't share my curse....."

The soft light painted the clearing in long shadows, with the reflection of cat eyes the brightest thing he could see. In a hushed voice, Moosepaw heard Spidernose reassure Honeypaw, though that also seemed to fade into the background. The tom watched the newly arrived Maplestream interact with Stonefall, trying to read the body language of the pair. Spidernose’s reassurance about their safety seemed well meaning but empty. Moosepaw wondered why he felt that way, considering his own emotions. Was it meant more for Honeypaw than him? Spidernose was genuinely trying to help Honeypaw feel more safe. That wasn’t the only reason, though he didn’t know the she-cat well enough to ascertain much more than that.

Moosepaw looked at the warrior and watched her flick her tail to beckon him closer. She spoke about being brave and sensible, and he caught on. Had I been thinking of leaving the den and investigating the rogues myself? It's hard to say, but I am tense. Moosepaw let out a sigh to relax himself, and moved closer so that Honeypaw was between him and Spidernose."We'll be fine. We're more than strong enough to handle a couple of scrawny rogues." Moosepaw attempted, but he realized he didn’t actually believe it. It would be much easier once Fernstar, and Blackpelt returned. The bulky tom settled down, tucking his paws beneath himself, and attempted to groom his ever overfluffed chest fur into some semblance of order.

He opens his jaws, tasting the air for anything edible, and stalks a shrew, pouncing on it, and eating it in quick bites. "I can see dead cats, like I told you before. I can sometimes see when someone will get hurt, like a thorn or a bite, if a she-cat is going to become a queen, stuff like that. Sometimes I see cats arriving in our camp. They're probably there now. I've had it all my life." He looks around. "That reminds me. In the old clans, medicine cats weren't trained for battle, except maybe in Shadowclan. I'd like to change that. I don't want to have to hide away while the others fight for their lives. I need to have a way to keep myself alive so I can heal and tend to the wounded after battles." He sighs. "Is that unreasonable? Or am I just acting on fear?"

The grey tom felt his body tightening with Maplestream’s words, felt his stomach starting to gnaw, like an open gaping wound of anxiety clawing at him from the inside. He knew he’d been harsh, perhaps too harsh with what Maplestream had clearly been through but he’d been so worried. He didn’t know how to address that beyond taking a deep breath as he listened to her, body unmoving except for his tail tip, which he rested gently on her flank, trying to show her that all was well between them, that he’d simply needed her to know that as Deputy, her absence hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Interesting…

He didn’t say anything for a moment, cast his bright light green gaze over to where the strange cats had gone before meowing in a low rumble, ”they said they encountered raccoons, but if you scented them out in our territory, tell me...did you catch traces of any raccoons? Because I was out shortly before, as was Spidernose, and neither of us caught a whiff of them, but since you’d made it out farther maybe...maybe you noticed them?”




Honeypaw looked up between Spidernose and Moosepaw a little apprehensively, her slim body pressed tight against Moosepaw’s large frame. He claimed they were more than strong enough to handle a couple of rogues, but she’d only just been named an apprentice and while she wanted to prove herself, wanted to prove herself more than anything, even she knew that fighting a fully grown rogue would only end in tragedy for her.

And she couldn’t let Spidernose down.

Not so soon.

She wanted to become the best Warrior she could be.

Moosepaw started grooming his overfluffed chest fur and without really thinking Honeypaw started grooming his side, tucking her slim paws under her and reflexively letting out a soothing purr, to comfort herself as much as the other two cats near her.

After a few quiet moments, Honeypaw paused and shifted her efforts to grooming Spidernose’s slim flank, anxiety causing her to knead the ground a little bit despite her best efforts.

”Spidernose?” the young tortoiseshell mewed softly. ”I don’t know what to do if it comes to a fight, but I want to try,” she finished resolutely, giving her head a decisive little nod. ”What should I do? I want to fight for the Clan too. If I’m going to be your apprentice, I want to make you proud.”

Spidernose seemed quite content to sit still and allow Honeypaw to groom through her fur, even if it wasn’t particularly dirty, the repetitive motion would be soothing, she thought, for the younger cat. So she made no protest to it and simply tilted her chin down to blink at her apprentice soothingly. Her ears flicked as Moosepaw spoke, and the warrior made a small noise of agreement in the back of her throat.

Of course, she worried about Honeypaw, and whether they could say the same. She hadn’t had time to give her any battle training, this was her first day out of the nursery, the poor thing. Still, she was sure they’d find a way. Clan cats looked out for one another, and that was what Spidernose planned to do for Honeypaw.

“We can hope it doesn’t come to that,” the she-cat repeated, feeling like she’d said those exact words a few too many times. She ducked her head to give her apprentice’s forehead a quick lick between her ears, as if to offer her her own form of comfort, before her bright blue eyes moved across to Moosepaw next. “But I wouldn’t get over-confident, either. They might be scrawny-looking but sometimes appearances can be deceiving. When we were with my mother, before we found WillowClan, we lost many hunts to “scrawny” cats that we thought we could beat.” she sighed for a moment, considering how best to give her apprentice advice.

The last thing she wanted to do was get Honeypaw hurt. Fernstar would never forgive her if that were to happen. Scratch that, Spidernose was pretty sure she’d never forgive herself if something happened to Honeypaw because of an instruction she’d given the younger she-cat. And as inexperienced as she was, she knew she had to give her some advice just in case she’d need it.
“Okay. I know the thought of being in a battle is scary, but remember things like this. This is our camp, our home. We know it in a way these strangers don’t, which means, if we need to, we can use it to our advantage, duck in and out of hiding spots that they don’t know exist to get around them, or surprise them. Now, you’re small...and we haven’t done much fighting practise, and even if these rogues don’t fight much, they had to have fought off...something, to come in as scratched up as they did.”

Which meant, the best course of action for Honeypaw was to not get too close in with them, if she did, these rogues could crush her in moments. And Spidernose didn’t want that. “If a fight does break out, I want you to keep your claws out, and use them as much as you have to. Don’t let them get too close, don’t try and use your teeth, you’re not experienced enough yet. I just want you to focus on doing whatever you have to, to not get hit, okay? Stay close to me, or Moosepaw, and bring them our way, let us deal with the more complicated brawling.”

Spidernose’s ears flicked backwards as she heard approaching pawsteps, a quick sniff revealing that the cat about to enter the den was none other than Sunfur. Oh good; they’re both back, I assume. Sunfur certainly didn’t look too ruffled, only a little bit concerned, and the reason for that was quickly made apparent as he asked Spidernose to accompany them hunting.

The she-cat couldn’t say she was surprised by the request, after all, they had only caught a few measly prey pieces last time they’d been hunting, before Sunfur had gotten bitten by that snake. So it wasn’t much of a surprise that their fresh-kill had all been eaten already. She was, however, a little nervous about leaving the apprentices by themselves, undefended. “But Stonefall asked me to watch them...” she began to protest in a slightly softer voice, though she knew Sunfur was right; the Clan needed food, too. With a sigh, she glanced down at her apprentice and murmured to the little tortoiseshell. “Stay with Moosepaw. Listen to him. He knows how to defend yourselves, too.” she shot the older apprentice a look next, imploring him to watch over Honeypaw in her stead. “Stonefall, Maplestream and Duskwing are out in the main camp. If anything gets too much, yowl and get them to help you.”

The brown-and-cream warrior gave Honeypaw one last, quick nuzzle, then shifted away from the apprentices to get to her paws and stretch before she padded across to join Sunfur at the den entrance. “Yeah, sure, I’ll come with you! There’s uhh, there are rogues, in the camp, by the way. Just so you know.” she mewed gently, not wanting to leave the tom in the dark since he’d only just got back. “That’s why we’re in here, and why Duskwing’s outside the nursery, making sure they don’t try to sneak off..or into somewhere they shouldn’t be.”