[IC] The Rise of WillowClan

[Hazelrah]

Honeypaw: WillowClan Camp

Interacting with: @The Elvenqueen & @solokolos

Honeypaw hesitated.

Spidernose was her mentor, and she knew that her mentor was brave and smart and capable, but Stonefall had said to stay here...

”Are you sure, Spidernose? What if...” the young tortoiseshell mewed timidly, her ears twitching a little. She didn't want to come across as disrespectful, but she was also absolutely terrified that something would happen. She stepped forward, feeling entirely too small next to Moosepaw, and went to push herself up against Spidernose once more. But then Spidernose made it clear she was leaving, turning to head to the entrance of the Warrior's Den so Honeypaw fell back to Moosepaw, sitting poised, her tail lashing behind her agitatedly.

”We can't just sit here,” she finally meowed to the older apprentice, ears flattening on her head in agitation. ”We should go out there. We should fight the rogues. We should do something. Don't you think???”

[solokolos]

Moosepaw

Interacting with: @Hazelrah & @The Elvenqueen

By the light of the setting sun, Spidernose reassured Honeypaw, and tried to instruct her on how to fight. It was basic stuff, rudimentary. It was also great advice, and Moosepaw admired the ease with which Spidernose spelled out basic combat to the new apprentice. The comfort each of the clanmates offered each other warmed Moosepaw more than the modest body heat they shared. It was still hard for the young tom to completely relax, but he gave it his best shot. A small deep purr rumbled through his chest, barely audible in the gentle light.

In the distance Moosepaw heard a small amount of commotion, as footsteps padded towards the warrior's den. His body tensed despite his relaxed position, but he calmed down when he heard Sunfur's voice. Spidernose spoke with Sunfur, and Moosepaw carefully tookin the conversation. As she left the warriors den, his eyes moved to Honeypaw. She seemed unsure of their position, which was not surprising. She spoke up suddenly, expressing her doubts.

"Although it feels wrong, we should be patient. None of our clanmates will be quiet if commotion erupts, and we have to trust their judgement and fighting prowess." Moosepaw said resolutely. Despite the confidence and matter-of-factness in his voice, he shifted into a position he would be more prepared to rise from, muscles tensing and untensing under his fur. "We don't just follow our superior's orders because we of the warrior code, nor because we think we know best. in this case, we follow Spidernose's orders because we trust our clan. We understand what the potential threat is, and we understand our clanmate's capabilities. I don't think a couple of mangy rogues could take down all our clanmates without a sound. Doesn't that sound a bit ridiculous?"

[savannahssu]

Interacting with: @Shadow Dragon

Fernstar tilted her head and widened her eyes when Blackpelt mentioned strange cats in their camp. Rising to her paws after finishing her mouse, she locked her gaze with his and asked curiously, "Who's in our camp? Did you know this before we left?" Her tail lashed in frustration. It seemed as if her medicine cat didn't want to tell her anything. She was unsure of whether or not Blackpelt was just shy by nature, or if he wasn't truly ready for the full duties of a medicine cat yet. Seeing a vision of strange cats arriving in the WillowClan camp while the leader and medicine cat were gone seemed like something that should be spoken of immediately; but that didn't matter now, they needed to get back to camp. "If what you're saying is true, we need to get back to camp; now." Turning away from Blackpelt, she started padding urgently down the very dark path. Glancing over her shoulder, she added curtly "We can talk about training you in some battle moves when we get back to camp and everything has settled down. I'm worried about our Clanmates right now."

[savannahssu]

Interacting with: @The Elvenqueen@solokolos@Hazelrah

Sunfur's pelt bristled at Spidernose's mention of rouges in camp. What else could go wrong while their leader and medicine cat were gone?? It made sense to him now why Stonefall had stationed Duskwing outside the nursery and the apprentices were holed up in the Warrior's den. Tilting his head to glance past Spidernose, he made eye contact with Moosepaw and made sure the apprentice was listening by lowering his voice. "Make sure Honeypaw stays safe while we're gone. When we come back we'll bring you each a piece of prey. Don't go anywhere unless Stonefall says you can." Turning around and nosing his way out of the den, he padded back towards Stormheart. Passing by Stonefall and Maplestream, Sunfur noticed that other than looking frazzled and a little tires, she was okay.Although he was very curious as to where she had gone, he knew that wasn't as important as hunting right now. He would ask her later, maybe over some fresh kill. As he reached Stormheart and Spidernose padded behind, he decided he would try to catch the deputy's eye before they left camp, so he wouldn't wonder where three of his warriors had gone. He looked in Stonefall's direction and waved his tail erratically.

[Shadow Dragon]

Blackpelt: Woods (beyond the borders)

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He shakes his head. "No, I was told about them by one of Starclan. I can't remember his name. All he said was that there were going to be others, soon. I only got a glimpse of them, so I didn't know what it meant." He sighs. "I don't know how to talk to you about any of this. My life is filled with signs, so many that I have a hard time telling future from present. Like how I knew that you were going to get a thorn in your paw half a moon ago, or how Honeypaw is trying to decide whether or not to hide in the apprentice den, or attack the rogues." He speaks so matter of fact, like he prepared this conversation in advance. He sighs, then looks around, confused. "Strange....I could have sworn I smelled someone...."

[savannahssu]

Interacting with: @PrankFox

As Felix and his patrol were escorted towards the nursery, he shot glances around the camp, assessing the space, and hoping the stern looking she-cat accompanying them wouldn't notice. He was surprised to notice that despite the dryness of leaf bare, the walls of the camp and dens looked sturdy. Where did these cats learn to weave dens so well? What was most impressive however, was the large tree on the far side of camp, its branches sharp, dead and dry. Drawing his eyes upward, he noticed a large hole a few fox lengths from the ground. Is that their leader's den? Rolling his eyes to himself he thought with annoyance, You would think these mouse brains were trying to be SkyClan. There was also not a single piece of fresh kill in camp. What kind of Clan is this? They can't even keep their fresh kill pile stocked. Suddenly, an idea emerged through his annoyance. As they reached the entrance to the nursery, Felix let Heather and Otis enter first, then he turned back to face the she-cat who had led them there. Making sure to keep his tone soft and respectful, he dipped his head and asked, "Duskwing was it?" As the she-cat made eye contact with him, he sat on his paws and shook out his fur. "Forgive me if this is none of my business, but I noticed there isn't any prey in camp. As my friends and I stated before, we are deeply sorry for bringing the racoons into your territory, and we would be glad to make it up to you by joining one of your hunting patrol-- going hunting with some of your warriors. Of course you would be able to keep an eye on us at all times. Would you like our help?"

While he waited for Duskwing's response, he noticed a large orange tom who had not been there when they had arrived. He was sitting with another tom and the other she-cat who had greeted them at the entrance. Spidernose? I think that was her name. . . They must be about to leave camp. Maybe I can convince Duskwing to let me go with them.

[The Elvenqueen]

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WillowClan Warrior’s Den ----> WillowClan Camp

interacting with: @savannahssu’s Sunfur, @PrankFox’s Stormheart
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Spidernose, too, passed a lingering gaze over her new apprentice and her denmate, giving both apprentices a faint, reassuring smile before she slid out of the warrior’s den after Sunfur and slunk across the camp. Maplestream seemed okay, at least, so that was good, she hadn’t been hurt. By these racoons, or whatever else was lurking about in their territory. Another possibility, Spidernose considered, was that these strangers had been attacked by something after all, and it just hadn’t been racoons. But that of course left a far more concerning possibility. They couldn’t smell racoons, and little else other than their own scent markers, or the strangers’ scents, nearby the camp. So what was it that could have attacked them?

Well, one thing was for sure, at least if they went out hunting, then she, Sunfur and Stormheart could take a look at it. “Sorry you have to rush out with us again so quickly, Stormheart.” the she-cat mewed a sincere apology to the other tom as she fell in next to him to wait whilst Sunfur tried to speak to the Clan deputy and tell Stonefall where they were going. “You must be tired...but at least Maplestream is back okay, I guess? That’s a huge relief. Did you guys see anything else, while you were out looking for her?” Spidernose asked, wanting to be as prepared as possible for whatever they might see when they went out into WillowClan territory again.

[PrankFox]

Mentions: @savannahssu

Duskwing kept a close watch on the three loners as she led them towards the nursery. Hopefully the furtive glances that, presumably, the leader of the trio were more curiosity about being in a camp like theirs and nothing nefarious. She still hated the idea of allowing these strangers to stay without Fernstar being in camp, but she wasn't going to disobey a direct order from her deputy to keep an eye on them. She hoped the sense of paranoia she felt was tied to the fact that she was tired and concerned about her clanmates than anything actually being wrong. At least Maplestream had returned unscathed as far as she could tell. That was one less problem to worry about and meant that the warriors who were sent out to look for her could hunt or help guard the camp until their leader returned.

As the other two stepped into the nursery she fixed her gaze on Felix. She kept her face carefully impassive as the tom made a request to go out and hunt with them. They came running all the way here and now wished to go back out into the forest where they were just attacked? Hopefully the raccoons would've wandered off by now, but it still felt like a odd request given everything that had just happened. "The offer is appreciated, but that's not up to me. Stonefall is in charge and if he says you're to remain in the nursery then that is where you'll stay. You and your friends are still scraped up as well and it'd be unfortunate for any of those wounds to get infected." She glanced over to where Sunfur, Stormheart, and Spidernose were gathering up to go out on patrol before looking back at the tom. "If Stonefall believes we need help he will let you know," she flicked her tail towards the nursery, "Make yourselves comfortable."

Mentions: @savannahssu @The Elvenqueen

As Sunfur and Spidernose padded back over from the warriors den Stormheart blinked warmly at the she-cat as she stepped up next to him. "Oh, that's alright. Sunfur has been out just as much as I have and the clan needs to eat. I'm sure Blackpelt and Fernstar will be hungry when they get back." He nodded in agreement, "It is a relief, I just wish we knew why she ran off in the first place. Not much, we tracked her scent over to the ravine where there were also some unfamiliar scents; like some cats had slept there. We also found a lot of broken branches with those same scents on them." Come to think of it, what they smelled out by the territory was similar to what was in the camp now, as well as the trail they'd followed back. That was the whole reason they rushed back so quickly, otherwise they would've been out until the sun rose looking for Maplestream.

He turned to look at Spidernose, "Why's Duskwing guarding the nursery? We came back early because Sunfur was concerned about the scent trail leading in the direction of camp, and now she's posted there while we don't have any kits to protect." He could make an educated guess; that whoever these strangers were that they smelled outside of camp had made their way here and that very thought made his fur want to stand on end. Their leader and medicine cat gone, possibly strange cats in camp, and they were about to leave again. Not that he didn't trust Stonefall and the other warriors capabilities but it was leaf-bare and things were difficult as is. He would express his concern, depending on what their deputy told them, but the decision ultimately rested with Stonefall.

[savannahssu]

Interacting with: @Hazelrah

Pulling herself out of her worry, Maplestream directed her attention back to Stonefall and his question about the racoons. She hadn't scented any racoons in the parts of their territory she had been in either, but that didn't necessarily mean the strangers were lying about their encounter. They must have gotten those scratches from somewhere right? Maplestream shook her head in frustration and studied the ground as she answered. "I'm not sure honestly. I wasn't really looking for that. I was more concerned with. . . other things." She let her voice trail off, hoping Stonefall wouldn't inquire further about what she was looking for. He would probably think I have bees in my brain.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maplestream noticed Sunfur, Stormheart and Spidernose sitting together close to the camp's entrance, and it looked like Sunfur was trying to get Stonefall's attention. She noticed that Stormheart looked tired, and part of her wanted to ask if he wanted to accompany her to the Warrior's den for a nap. I can't ask him for that. . . He'll think I'm mouse brained! He can certainly do better than me. . . Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked up at Stonefall, who was much taller than her and asked, "Would it be okay for me to take a nap Stonefall? I'm very tired." Her paws ached as if she had traveled across for moons, and she hadn't realized the pain she as in until now. Maybe Fernstar will be back when I wake up. She hoped.

[savannahssu]

Interacting with: @PrankFox

Felix lowered his head to lick a scratch on his chest and replied casually to Duskwing; "If you say so." Pushing through the brambles to the camp's nursery, he saw Heather and Otis nestled near the back of the den licking their wounds just as he had done. Lying down next to Heather, he drew a paw over his ear and sighed. "I guess we wait here until their leader is back in camp. I hope these cats are decent enough to give us fresh kill." He lashed his tail in frustration and hissed under his breath; "Or they could let us hunt for ourselves." His frustration faded for a heart beat when Heather moved closer to him and her soft fur brushed his. Heather turned her head towards the entrance to the den to make sure Duskwing was still facing away from them, and when she was satisfied, she said quietly; "Yeah. My belly thinks my throat's torn out." A gleam of excitement and mischief lit up her eyes and she drew her lips back in a smirk. "Besides, I want to know every fox length of their territory. Every fox hole and rabbit den." Felix suddenly realized how badly his paws ached from all their traveling and he stretched his claws apart paw by paw in an attempt to relax them. He turned to face Otis and asked, "Are you going to rest? We don't know what we'll need our energy for when their leader returns." His fur prickled with resentment. Even saying the word "leader" evoked feelings of anger and rejection for Felix. They'll pay. . . Redirecting his attention once more, he waited for Otis to respond. Quietly gazing around the den Otis answered, "No, I'm not tired. I'll just keep my ears open and wake you when their leader returns. There should be fresh kill by then too." Satisfied with his friend's response, Felix let out a deep sigh then rested his head on his paws for a long awaited nap.

[Hazelrah]

Stonefall: WillowClan Camp

Interacting with: @savannahssu

Stonefall sighed as Maplestream mewed that she hadn’t sensed the raccoons when she was out, instead focusing on other things, but before he could inquire further Maplestream was asking to take a nap and Stonefall felt guilt rising up through him. She looked absolutely exhausted and as Deputy, he should have noticed that sooner.

”Of course, Maplestream. Rest easy.”

He stood and stretched a little, scanning the camp and noticing Sunfur’s tail waving erratically. The long-legged Deputy trotted over, light green eyes focused on every moment in the camp, every tail twitch, noticing Duskwing sitting in front of the Nursery as he’d asked. He dipped his head in greeting to Sunfur, Stormheart and Spidernose, voice quiet as he asked, ”Sunfur, what’s going on?” Stormheart looked as exhausted as Maplestream had and Stonefall was inclined to send him to rest, but the other tom looked as determined as Sunfur did, and Spidernose looked the same.

Honeypaw: WillowClan Camp

Interacting with: @solokolos

Honeypaw felt a little shame cloud her mind as Moosepaw spoke of trust and duty, shuffling her paws a little.

”You’re right, Moosepaw,” she mewed softly. ”I just so badly want to help. Don’t you? Sitting here doing nothing, it just feels...wrong,” she finished with a quit huff, sitting upright and kneading the ground a little with her claws. Then she stood, her slim body silent as she trotted forward closer to the entrance of the Warrior’s den and looked out over the camp.

Her bright eyes took it all in. Duskwing guarding the Nursery, Stonefall approaching three of the Clan’s Warriors, the lingering air of doubt and anxiety that hung over everyone. Every part of her yearned to be moving, to be helping, to do something.

But she was too young. Too small. Useless.

Anger filled her at the thought of being useless and she turned back to Moosepaw, a determined glint in her eye, her small frame poised and taut, almost regal even though she was so small.

”I can’t just sit here, I have to do something. Are you going to help me or not?”

[solokolos]

Moosepaw

Interacting with: @Hazelrah & @savannahssu

The elder apprentice nodded in affirmation to Sunfur, pride for his clan shining in his eyes. He sat resolutely watching from the entrance of the camp with a rigid demeanor. Then Honeypaw–dear, sweet bloodthirsty Honeypaw. Honeypaw happened. At first he accepted his reasoning, clarifying her intention and her inner turmoil. Moosepaw could relate to that, the feeling of urgency, the desire to want to just do something. That emotion at the pit of your stomach that made it impossible to rest on your haunches. Moosepaw knew he couldn't just insist or repeat himself. Instead he had to bend a bit in his conviction. Maybe she'd listen to a cat that wasn't the same rank as she was, new apprentice though she might be.

"If you'd like, we can talk with Stonefall. I think we should stand guard, but we can ask our steadfast deputy what he thinks is the best move. Would that satisfy your curiosity?" Moosepaw's voice was an attempt at steady, but he was internally conflicted. He wondered internally at the unlikeliness of their situation. These rogues are conveniently timed. Both our leader and our medicine cat are away, and now they appear claiming nonsense about raccoons at our heels and rats in our nest. Could this even be a coincidence? Moosepaw let out a sigh. He was already tired, wired awake at this point only by the adrenaline coursing through his vein. Still, he had a responsibility to watch over Honeypaw. If a fight broke out she was the most vulnerable by far, and so he made a promise to himself to protect her.

[savannahssu]

Interacting with: @Shadow Dragon

"Rouges?" Fernstar's pelt bristled and she stopped in her tracks, whipping around to face Blackpelt. "What else do you see? Is anyone in danger?" Trying with every scrap of mentality she had to calm herself, she tried to put herself in Blackpelt's paws. It must be confusing, living in a world so crowded with messages and omens no one else can see. I don't know that I'd be able to focus on the life right in front of me if it were me. It didn't seem as though Blackpelt had any sort of grip on this curse either. Perhaps with some guidance and reassurance from his leader, and StarClan, it didn't have to be a curse. Letting adrenaline flow back into her paws, she meowed sternly to Blackpelt, "We need to hurry. I need you to tell me everything you see on the way back, but you're going to have to keep up with me." Refusing to sit on her paws any longer, Fernstar began racing through the dark back towards camp, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Blackpelt was following her. It seemed that even though this curse Blackpelt spoke of was causing him anxiety at the moment, with some care and honing, it could be a valuable asset to the Clan. Keeping her ears open for any information her medicine cat would say, she let a sense of duty overcome her. If I have to lose my first life in battle, so be it. I will protect my Clan, no matter the cost.

[savannahssu]

Interacting with: @Hazelrah @PrankFox @The Elvenqueen

Sunfur perked his ears as he noticed Stonefall padding across camp towards them, and glancing at Spidernose he let a snort of exasperation leave his muzzle and muttered, "Nothing except more snow and ice freezing all the rocks by the rapids over. It's so cold no scents linger for more than a sunrise, and we don't know how long ago this supposed encounter happened, or where. It could have happened far past our borders, further then Stormfur and I searched." Sunfur pushed the thought from his mind. There was no reason to worry about that now. If the raccoons showed their beady black eyes in camp, they would receive a muzzle full of claws in exchange. For now, the Clan needed fresh kill, and he was going to make sure they got it. As Stonefall neared them, he stood and gestured to the rest of his patrol. "I was hoping to get your permission to take Stormfur and Spidernose out on a hunting patrol. I don't think any of us have eaten in a while and it wouldn't be right for Fernstar and Blackpelt to return to camp with no prey. It seems like you and Duskwing have the strangers under watch?"

[Shadow Dragon]

Blackpelt: Woods (beyond the borders)

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He nods, and takes off after her. "I hope no one goes into my den while I'm gone. Some of the herbs I keep are deadly if you don't know how to use them. And they are deadly. Like Foxglove. It helps with heart issues, but it can also can kill you by just stopping your heart. If you don't know the exact amount of seeds to eat, normally only one or two, you could kill yourself with them." He shudders, but keeps running. "I have to be careful when I gather plants and herbs. I don't want to accidentally gather water hemlock or death berries. They're fatal if eaten." He keeps running, and pants, trying to catch his breath. "We're. Almost to our border. Only a little more to get back to camp." He stops for a moment to gulp down some air, then takes off again, heading as fast as he can back to his den. He bursts into the camp, fur on end, tail fluffed out like a bush, and dives into his den. He carefully goes over his herbs, making sure that they're all still there. He lets out a breath, seeing that all of them are still where they should be. He then races out, and stops outside the warriors den. "Good. All three are here." He sits down, tail whipping around, betraying his stress and anxiety. "Are any of you hurt? Did anyone eat any of my herbs?"

[The Elvenqueen]

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WillowClan Camp

interacting with: @savannahssu’s Sunfur, @PrankFox’s Stormheart, mention of @Hazelrah's Stonefall
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The she-cat’s ears flicked back slightly as she listened to Stormheart recount what their search patrol had discovered in the territory. Well, perhaps that was when their new guests had encountered these raccoons. Though...if they’d been attacked, surely Sunfur and Stormheart would have smelt the raccoons there, too? Oh, she hoped Fernstar would be back soon, their leader could decide what to do.

Spidernose couldn’t be too mad at the other tom for asking, even if she felt like a mockingbird, repeating the same few sentences over and over. It wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t there when she explained this to Sunfur, though. So, Spidernose filled the other tom in for what she hoped might be the last time. “While you and Sunfur were gone, this group of rogues...maybe loners, I don’t know, came into camp, all scratched up. Said they’d been in a fight with raccoons or something.” she explained, lashing her tail as if to confirm that Spidernose wasn’t sure how true their story was, either, but nonetheless they didn’t have solid evidence to back it up otherwise. They’d just have to wait and see, and hope StarClan would keep WillowClan safe from any nefarious intentions. “Stonefall didn’t want to turn them away because of the warrior code, but we didn’t want to leave them unsupervised, either. Just in case they are rogues that are trying something suspicious, you know? So he assigned them to sleep in the nursery, since there’s no one in the Clan using it right now, and Duskwing’s sitting guard.”

It made sense, of course, better to keep the strangers separated from their Clanmates until they could be sure they were trustworthy. It’d be far worse to let them mingle with everyone and sleep in the warrior’s den, only to find one or more of their own cats had been injured because the strangers had hurt them in the night. As Stonefall was briefed on Sunfur’s idea, the she-cat remained quiet, though she did look across at the deputy and blink at him gently, almost as if she wanted to give him some form of reassurance and say. It’s okay, we’ll be fine...we’ve got this.

[savannahssu]

Interacting with: @solokolos @PrankFox @The Elvenqueen @Shadow Dragon @Hazelrah

Their race back to camp went by in a heartbeat. She was too concerned with the uncertain fate of her Clan to realize how far they had ran, or how tired she was. She stopped a few tree lengths outside the entrance to camp and watched as Blackpelt raced ahead of her and crashed through the barrier yowling concernedly about his herb store. She sat down to catch her breath and compose herself. She would soon address her Clan as a StarClan approved leader, with 9 lives and the holy guidance of their ancestors. It was just past moonhigh and Fernstar gazed upwards towards the stars. It seemed as though the cold of leaf bare made them shine even brighter than they did during new leaf. She closed her eyes and remembered the cats she had seen during her ceremony. Ivypool, Oakheart, Leafpool and Violetshine; they were all so amazing and wise. She was sure it had been an experience she would never forget.

Opening her eyes, she let out a sigh and stared at the ground, her brows in a furrow. Why did Blackpelt start meowing on and on about his herbs when I asked him what he saw? I'm sure it was clear I meant the events he saw in our camp. She wondered if she could have been more clear than she had been, but she couldn't understand why the context around her requests had gone unread. Anxiety spiked in her pelt as she wondered if this would be a repeating problem with her medicine cat. What if one day the Clan is in danger and I have questions for Blackpelt about messages from StarClan that he doesn't answer correctly? The fate of the whole Clan could be put in danger. Snapping out of her thoughts, she shook the anxiety out of her pelt and got to her paws. She had been so deep in thought, she didn't notice her paws had gone numb from the deep snow they had been submerged in. Licking each of her pads in turn, she padded towards the camp entrance and finally pushed through.

Surveying her camp, she noticed Spidernose, Stormheart, Sunfur and Stonefall sitting in a group not too far from the entrance. It looks like they were about to leave camp to go hunting. I couldn't encourage it more. Glancing around the camp, her encouragement was validated by the absence of a fresh kill pile. Why was this not done sooner?. . . Moosepaw and Honeypaw were crouched outside the Warriors den, their heads low and close together. They seemed to be whispering to each other. Fernstar's tail twitched in amusement. What are those apprentices up to? Kits will be kits, I suppose. She tilted her head in confusion as she noticed Duskwing, crouched outside the nursery, with a particularly paranoid look on her face. She seemed to be hypervigilant, tense. I must find out what this is about. Her paws kicked up snow as she hurled herself onto the Highstump, and yowled with a newfound sense of authority, "Let all cats gather below the Highstump for a Clan meeting!" She waited to speak until all her cats were gathered below her, and her chest swelled with pride. Her Clan was being guided by StarClan now. They could survive. They would survive.

[Hazelrah]

Stonefall & Honeypaw

Interacting with: @savannahssu @solokolos @The Elvenqueen

Stonefall glanced over at the empty fresh-kill pile and felt guilt gnawing at him for not thinking of sending out a patrol himself. Too much had been happening with the loners showing up, coupled with his anxiety about making sure everyone was safe while Fernstar was gone...he hadn’t even thought to send out a hunting patrol. Spidernose's kind eyes blinked softly at him and he tried to focus on that, on her comforting scent, on everything about her...not on the yawning pit of guilt that threatened to swallow all of his thoughts.

His tail lashed in a little bit of irritation at himself, ears flicking back for a moment before Fernstar called for a Clan Meeting and he turned his head, gratitude washing over him at her presence on the Highstump.

”Come,” he meowed quietly, trying to mask his shame and disappointment at himself. ”Fernstar is calling us.” He turned to trot over towards the Highstump, lingering a bit near Spidernose, sharp light blue-green eyes glancing at her before turning to face up at Fernstar, hoping that she wasn’t too disappointed in him.

Being Deputy was so much more pressure than he’d thought.

Meanwhile, Honeypaw had been about to retort at Moosepaw about how asking Stonefall didn’t make sense because the Deputy was clearly busy, but then she heard Fernstar’s clear voice and her heart soared. She didn’t even say anything, just darted out of the Warrior’s den, her tiny body bounding forward before skittering to a stop a little bit away from Stonefall, gazing up at her foster mother and leader with affection and pride shining in her eyes.

Then she glanced back and meowed, probably too loudly, ”Moosepaw, come on! Clan Meeting! with no thought for the fact that all of the other cats in the Clan could probably hear the over-eager young apprentice.

[The Elvenqueen]

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WillowClan Camp

interacting with: @savannahssu’s Fernstar, @Hazelrah’s Stonefall, mentions of Sunfur and Stormheart
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It was at that moment, of course, that their leader and medicine cat darted back into camp, and Spidernose’s attention was immediately drawn to the older she-cat as she trotted past them. The warrior had scarcely mewed a greeting of “Welcome back, Fernstar…!” before Fernstar was scaling the Highstump and calling a Clan meeting. When Stonefall beckoned them over, Spidernose mumbled a quick, polite excuse to Sunfur and Stormheart. Well, I guess our hunting patrol will have to wait. This could be important, we should hear it too. she concluded.

Noticing the stone-grey tom hesitating and glancing in her direction, her expression softened sympathetically and she wove delicately through the small crowd of cats as they gathered to come up beside the deputy and settle herself down there, close enough for their flanks to just about brush against one another, and after a moment of thought, she carefully and gently draped her tail over his. That was subtle enough that Stonefall could pull away from the contact if he wasn’t comfortable with it, but still there if he wanted it.

She couldn’t imagine how he must be feeling right now, with everything that had happened during the night, and she couldn’t say for sure what would happen now that Fernstar was back to assess their situation, but what Spidernose could do was offer him comfort in that moment, in the only way she knew how.

[Hazelrah]

Stonefall: WillowClan Camp

Interacting with: @The Elvenqueen

Stonefall had lost himself in thought as he waited for Fernstar to speak, his claws reflexively digging into the cold earth. But then he scented something familiar approaching, turned his head to see Spidernose delicately sitting next to him, her flank brushing against his, and for a moment he forgot about all of his problems. There was only Spidernose’s warm body against him, her tail draped over his tail and he instinctively let out a quiet purr.

He twined his tail a little more tightly around hers, an acknowledgment of the current that had been quietly running between them for what felt like moons at this point. But being Deputy had been a difficult challenge, something he hadn’ tbeen prepared for and didn’t want to fail, so he hadn’t let himself dream. And yet...here she was, as though she knew anxiety and self doubt were coursing through him.

Ancestors above, she really is perfect…

He turned his head towards her ever so slightly, not wanting to draw too much attention away from Fernstar and what she was going to say. He kept his low voice quiet, nothing more than a quiet murmur as he spoke.

”Thank you. And I want you to know that no matter what happens...I will always have your back,” and gave her the softest nudge with his nose to her neck, keeping his tail wrapped with hers as he turned back to watch Fernstar and wait for her to speak, sitting as tall as he could, bolstered by Spidernose’s strength at his side.