OakClan"I love you too, Creamflower." Sunflare gave his mate a loving lick over the head before turning his attention back to the ceremony before them. The next to be apprenticed was Poppypaw, to Dawntrail, and Sunflare nodded approvingly. He didn't doubt that their firstborn son would be a challenge for anyone to mentor, but at least Dawntrail was a powerful, experienced warrior; calm and patient, but stern, Sunflare wouldn't have chosen anyone else himself.
Dustpaw ducked her head sheepishly as her brother cried out her new name, but she couldn't hide a glint of pride in her eyes. It was nerve-wracking, being the center of attention for even a moment, but didn't feel...bad. Besides, her brothers being with her made everything a little less stressful. She gave a nod to her new mentor and followed her back into the crowd, making sure to stay as close as she could without actually brushing against the she-cat's pelt. When Poppykit became Poppypaw and was apprenticed to Dawntrail, she instinctively opened her mouth in anticipation of calling her brother's new name, but snapped it shut before anything could come out, unsure if she was supposed to cheer the new name now or afterward. Poppypaw had cheered hers right away, but then again he often got carried away. Still, her eyes shone as she watched her brother touch noses with his new mentor. Dustpaw didn't know Dawntrail very well, only that she was an older, well-respected warrior of the clan. She seemed nice enough, if a little intimidating...but Dustpaw was glad she'd gotten Dappleleaf.
"I never said you didn't deserve one," Tigerblaze responded calmly, wrapping his tail around his paws. "All I'm saying is that I know how easy it is for young newly-mates to get carried away. Nothing personal. Don't get defensive." The large tom's eyes traveled from Weaselstripe to the ceremony at paw. Poppypaw had been apprenticed to Dawntrail, the second oldest warrior after himself. She was a skilled and experienced warrior, no cat would dispute that, although Tigerblaze thought it odd that she be given another apprentice so soon after her last. At 14 moons old, Hazefire was only a moon younger than Jackdawstrike. Once again, Tigerblaze glanced at his own former apprentice, then at Fawnkit, the last of the kits to be apprenticed, and the kit that he had brought to camp six moons ago. Six moons seemed a long time ago by now, and yet Tigerblaze still remembered the night as clearly as if it had been just last night. He had been tracking Artemis's--now Dovespirit's--scent through their territory and into Twolegplace when he'd stumbled upon Southstar's. The EagleClan leader's scent had led Tigerblaze straight to him, conversing solemnly with the same kittypet the OakClan patrol had met earlier that day in Artemis's neighborhood, before leaving with one of the kittypet's kits, who Tigerblaze could only assume had been fathered by Southstar. It was shortly after Southstar left that Tigerblaze had confronted the she-cat, but rather than receiving answers, he'd received Fawnkit. The kittypet had seemed troubled and desperate for him to take the tiny tom-kit, something Tigerblaze found most peculiar. What kind of she-cat simply gave her kits away to a stranger, to a tom she didn't know? All the more so if that tom lived the dangerous life of a warrior in the wild as opposed to the safe, soft one of a kittypet. Perhaps if that tom was the kits' father, but even so, most queens were fiercely protective of their kits...and yet Fawnkit's mother had practically begged Tigerblaze to take him. He could tell from the queen's demeanor that she hadn't simply been trying to rid herself of the responsibilities of a mother; there was a mix of love and sadness in her eyes whenever she'd looked at her son, something that Tigerblaze had never seen in his own parents' eyes, followed by pain when she'd parted with him for the last time. And yet there was something else in her gaze, something...wary, fearful almost, as if she suspected danger lurking around the corner. It was that fearfulness that had ultimately convinced Tigerblaze to agree to take the kit, if for no other reason than to keep it alive.
Now, as Poppypaw and Dawntrail moved aside, all eyes were on Fawnkit. Though Sunflare and Creamflower treated him no different than their own, Tigerblaze knew that the young tom would have to work twice as hard to prove himself. OakClan didn't normally take in cats from outside the clan, after all--Fawnkit and Dovespirit were two of the most recent exceptions. But it had been the senior warrior's hope, from the night he brought the tiny tom-kit home, that he would one day grow up to be a powerful warrior of OakClan, as Jackdawstrike had, to prove himself to the clan, but also to prove that Tigerblaze's decision to bring him to the clan at all was a wise one. There was a lot at stake, and it was for this reason that a part of Tigerblaze hoped he would be chosen to guide the young tom himself. If Dawntrail was given another apprentice so soon, then why couldn't he?
"I remember that, too," Riverstripe replied, chuckling at the memory. He had become an apprentice only two moons before Elmshade and Robinwind, and he remembered well how excited the she-cat had been when it finally came time for her to join him in the apprentices' den. But if Elmshade was Poppypaw's counterpart, then Robinwind was Dustpaw's. The medicine cat had always been a bit skittish and reserved, but he had a good heart. "I was somewhere in between," he went on, reflecting on his own apprentice ceremony. "I was excited...I didn't want to stay in the nursery any longer, that's for sure. But I was really nervous, too. I guess that's normal though, huh?" He couldn't hold back a purr of amusement as he watched Poppypaw's tail flick back and forth in excitement when he touched noses with his new mentor. "Dawntrail is going to have her paws full with that one."
Despite having just asked Raccoontuft the question, Splashfeather wasn't prepared to answer it herself. "Pfft, no way." The words came out of her mouth by instinct, before she had a chance to really think about whether or not they were true. The truth was she hadn't really considered it before. She would have to find a tom she could happily settle down with before she could even think about having kits, but...
Just then, as if sent by StarClan, Ivypaw approached the three. Splashfeather's eyes brightened up. "Hey, Ivypaw!" she purred. Though they saw each other every day, she felt like it had been moons since they'd actually spoken. Their lives had gone in such different directions that it had been getting harder to stay connected. "It feels pretty good," she admitted, although she felt bad for doing so. She knew how much Ivypaw had wanted to be a warrior and she felt a pang of guilt whenever she remembered that she was able to enjoy the life Ivypaw was not. She nodded in agreement with Jackdawstrike's statement. "Yeah, we wish you could join us." Her ears pricked with interest when her denmate asked if Ivypaw and Robinwind would be going to the Moonstone soon and added, "Oh yeah, are you finally going to get your full name? It feels like it's been forever!" Ivypaw was the same age as Jackdawstrike, yet she was still an apprentice three moons after he had been made a warrior. Splashfeather didn't think it was fair, but she knew medicine cats did things differently than warriors, so it wasn't really her place to talk.
EagleClanSouthstar nodded, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I knew cats would question my decision--Deertail most of all. But I want him to realize that, whatever happened between him and Foxcloud, it isn't the kits' fault. They're good kits, and I know they'll make good warriors, like you said, if given the chance. I want Deertail to give Eveningpaw that chance--and for her to give him a chance to move past his bitterness. That reminds me..." He paused, his tail tip twitching hesitantly, before continuing. "Daydream, I know your intentions are good, but I don't think you should be as close to Foxcloud and her kits as you are. I understand you and her are good friends, and there's nothing wrong with that. But surely you understand how it looks, don't you? Especially considering everything that's happened in the last few moons, it's really easy to point claws. I don't want claws unfairly pointed at anyone in this clan--Messfur and Swiftbadger have already taken the brunt of that, thanks to their pelt colors." He added quickly, "I know you're not the father, Daydream, but I don't want anyone else to think you are...and I don't want you to become one. Those kits already think of you as their father, and if you let them continue to think and call you that, not only will it spread suspicion in our own clan, but outside of it. What do you think will happen if rumor spreads to OakClan that one of our queens cheated on her mate with our medicine cat, or that a medicine cat fathered a litter of kits at all? I want you to think of your own reputation, but also of the entire clan's." He paused once more, trying to think if there was anything else he should add. "And besides that, you need to think about the morality of it all. Whoever the kits' true father is, the fact of the matter is that Foxcloud was unfaithful to Deertail. She went behind his back to mate with another tom, covered it up, and lied about it to him; and not just to him, but to the entire clan, for moons, until she couldn't anymore. Do you really think, after all of that, that she still deserves to have a tom by her side, acting as a mate to her and a father to her kits? I feel bad for them too, but she made her decision, and she needs to live with the consequences of that decision. Think of Deertail, if nothing else. It isn't fair to him."
"Oh--" was the first word that dropped from Littleflower's mouth when Redpaw spoke to her, surprised that Swiftbadger had said such a thing...but pleasantly so. Still, she didn't want to get her hopes up. She looked from the apprentice to his mentor, and saw that he looked a bit embarrassed, as if he were an apprentice who had just been caught taking prey before the elders and queens had eaten. "Oh, of course," she agreed with him when he explained that the siblings would probably prefer to go together. She couldn't relate--she had never gotten to know her own siblings--but she was sure it was true. Littleflower was ready to accept this as the only reason Swiftbadger had wanted to take their apprentices together, but when she met his gaze, she could've sworn there was something else there.
No, don't be silly, she told herself.
He's just being polite. He's not going to act like he doesn't want to go together if his apprentice does. She mirrored the smile and gave a small nod. She would play along. "Alright, great! Let's go, then. I'm sure Brightpaw and Wrenpaw will be happy to have you two come along." With a whisk of her tail, she turned and bounded back to the rest of the patrol. She was happy to have Swiftbadger come along...but as much as she wanted to believe it was because he wanted to, and not just because his apprentice wanted to, she couldn't.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Darkclaw meowed back. While he said it mostly to reassure his denmate, he was confident it was true. Anyone could tell that Deertail wasn't happy to be mentoring one of Foxcloud's kits, but for as bad a state as his former mentor had been in the past couple of moons, Darkclaw knew the tom would be a good mentor regardless.
He was one to me, anyway, even though I didn't treat him like it. Yes, Darkclaw thought frequently of how difficult he had been as an apprentice. Even now, as a warrior, he felt he never deserved to have Deertail as a mentor. He'd wanted to make things right...but then everything fell apart. Darkclaw had been right in the end, about love, about family never working out, but he hadn't wanted to be, and now there was no chance to make things right. He just had to accept it. It was Quiverheart's voice that drew him back to reality, alerting him that they had already made it to the river. "Looks like we are." He fell silent once more, but this time he focused all his senses on their surroundings, pricking his ears and scenting the air for any trace of prey...or intruders.
"Alright, sounds good," was all Nightwish said as she padded back to the rest of the patrol. Blazefrost was a cooperative tom, and he made for relatively pleasant company, but secretly Nightwish wished he was a little more opinionated, even on something as small and insignificant as where to hunt. The young warrior seemed indifferent to, well...almost everything, and she knew why. But for as much as she wished she could help him, she had no idea how to start. Messfur and Browntail met them halfway, and she acknowledged them each with a nod of her head. "We're ready when you are." She followed Messfur's brief glance to the nursery, and though she didn't see anyone, even a mouse-brain could figure out who he was looking for. Yes, Messfur and Stagleap had certainly been close as of late. Stagleap had become pregnant suddenly, with no apparent mate, at least at first. But as time had passed, she and Messfur had grown increasingly closer, and now everyone assumed that he was the kits' father. He sure looked and played the part--and yet it was a bit strange, how they had only started spending time together
after Stagleap had become pregnant, at least to Nightwish. But she supposed it was none of her business. "Let's get out then, shall we?"
Eveningpaw nodded, but said nothing as she padded after her new mentor, still not sure what to make of him. She stuck close to Bramblepaw the whole time, comforted by the brush of his pelt against hers. She froze mid-step when Deertail held up his tail to tell them to stop, nearly bumping into the ginger-and-white tom, and quickly took a step back just to be safe before opening her jaws as instructed. Almost immediately, a foul stench hit her mouth and she shut it again, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Is that the Thunderpath?" she asked. "It smells terrible, whatever it is."
"Well, we'll be apprentices soon enough," Emberkit mewed back, tottering slightly as Sorrelkit bumped into him. They were two moons old, and kits became apprentices at six moons, so that meant...well, Emberkit was sure it meant they didn't have much longer to go. "Maybe we can ask Dad if we can play outside the nursery for now," he suggested. He had only overheard part of Pinekit and Applekit's plan, but judging by the sound of it, they weren't too keen on playing in the nursery anymore either, and there was no way Russetswirl was going to let them go out in the forest. Emberkit didn't particularly mind either way, but he did want his siblings to be happy.
It couldn't hurt to ask, he decided, and padded up to Russetswirl himself, winding affectionately around his father's legs. "Dad, can we please stay outside the nursery a little longer? We won't leave camp, I promise."
by CJClaire » Thu Dec 17, 2020 10:06 am 
