Eagleheart| Warrior | Tom | 5 years and 8 months
Tagged: Silverstar, Cloudnose, Rosethorn, Smokepaw; Poppystep
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Eagleheart returned from the dawn patrol in silence with Smokepaw slipping through the entrance in front of him, while Cloudnose and Rosethorn were in a similar state of quiet behind him. The latter pair were calm simply out of dreariness- the dawn patrol was never very chatty (unless his daughter, Gingerpaw, was involved). Smokepaw never spoke much at all, and he himself was not one to make idle chatter unless the silence was awkward. Luckily, all three cats were generally amiable and good-natured, so he wasn't the least bit uncomfortable with the silence between them. Smokepaw paused briefly to drop his catch, a starling (it had basically flown right into his face), before nodding to the rest of them and vanishing into the apprentices' den. Rosethorn behaved similarly, though her goodbye was verbal, before quickly returning to her nest. Cloudnose moved to follow, but paused and turned to look at Eagleheart. "You should talk to Silverstar." He murmured quietly, so no one else could hear, before heading into the camp and following Rosethorn to the warriors' den. Eagleheart heaved a heavy sigh. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Silverstar- he very much liked the she-cat, and he wanted to get to know the warrior who his old friend had deemed worthy to take his place. And yet, he also couldn't look at that High Rock without remembering a dark, broad tabby tom standing there with a proud amber gaze. He had stood in that warm light for his entire life- first as a friend, then as a competitor, and then a friend and advisor. How could he stand the same way in such a different light, made of blues and greens? He steeled himself against his turbulent emotions and ventured into the camp, heading for their new leader. He made his way up the rocks slowly, to give her time to tell him to stay on the ground if she wished him to, hoping she had no hard feelings for him over taking Smokepaw out. He had figured that she had enough on her mind without worrying whether she was paying her apprentice enough attention. He suspected Smokepaw understood too, he seemed quite wise for such a young cat. As the thought of young cats crossed his mind, he glanced over at the nursery, where Poppystep was sitting as she did every morning, enjoying the quiet morning. Looking at her belly, he was reminded of the kits that would be arriving within the next moon and a half. He couldn't help but smile at the similarities. "Your litter was the first to be born under Owl's leadership." He said with a nostalgic fondness in his eyes. "It was a really big deal to him. He said he kept having dreams, something about an owl carrying a very important cat with a forest on his pelt, and the owl's wings stopped and he fell and let go of the cat, but a silver bird came up and caught the cat and kept flying. Kestrelcry and I- you remember him, right? The grouchy old medicine cat from when you were a kit? Well, he and I kept telling him it probably meant something, and the old fool didn't listen to us. Not even when a little she-kit with a silver pelt was born and his dreams oh-so-coincidentally stopped at the same time." He smiled, shaking his head. "He never did want to face the future. Remember what he used to say?" The tabby and white tom chuckled and imitated his fallen friend's carefree voice. " 'I've got nine lives to live and nine lives to lose, and I'm gonna live 'em by losin' em'.' " His tailtip twitched nervously, but he kept going, hoping she would appreciate knowing that there was another cat who had known the last leader just as well as she did. Misery loves company. "I think he knew, though, at least a little bit. I think that's why he didn't push me when I said no to being his deputy- he knew the job was destined for someone else." He paused, glancing at her carefully, his golden eyes calculating but gentle. "He always kept up-to-date on your training progress and such, but he avoided you, mostly, until you proved yourself to be a great warrior. I'm not sure if you ever noticed that, but you should know it was because he cared about the clan too much to obey a prophecy blindly. He wanted your chance at leadership to be his own decision, not just the stars'. He just happened to agree with them."
Poppystep | Warrior/Queen | She-cat | 1 year and 6 months
Tagged: Dapplepool; Silverstar, Eagleheart
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Poppystep was up with the sun as usual, and she made her way out into the clearing to enjoy the peace and cool air of the dawn before cats began their various activities. Her warm, inquisitive gaze fell on their clan's new leader, and softened with concern as she saw the worry on Silverstar's face. It had been only a quartermoon ago that their old beloved leader, Owlstar, had fallen, and the whole clan was still hurting from the loss. Some of the older cats were hurting especially. Speaking of... movement from the corner of her eye distracted her, and she turned her head to see Eagleheart making his way over to the leader. She flicked her tail, trusting the intelligent warrior's words of comfort more than her own, and satisfied that their leader would have a trusted shoulder to lean on. Eagleheart had been one of Owlstar's close friends since apprenticeship, and she had heard rumors that he had stepped down in their race for deputyship (an event long before she was born) to save their friendship. When Owlstar had to replace his first deputy, he had apparently offered Eagleheart the position in private. Yet again, the strong warrior had declined, this time because in the case of Owlstar's death, he would never be comfortable replacing him. Silverstar had been Owlstar's third, last, and second-longest deputy, lasting for a full four seasons. Her own apprentice ceremony had been only a few days after the death of his second deputy.
At that, her mind went to her swollen belly, and she let out a purr as she felt movement inside. She padded across the clearing to the massive boulder which hid the entrance to the medicine cat's den, and made her way in for her morning check-in. "Hey Dapplepool." She greeted loud enough to wake the sleeping she-cat, but not so loud as to disturb anyone outside the den. She smiled cheekily but with a friendly light in her eyes. She had spent two moons in the nursery with the young medicine cat, and they got along quite well, as far as she was concerned. "Any nice dreams?" She questioned.