paragraph"how are you feeling today, tawnyrose?" the herbalist asked, and the queen's whiskers twitched, though he couldn't be sure if it was from annoyance or amusement. truth be told, he didn't care much either way.
paragraph"good morning to you, too, merlinsong," she said, and the herbalist flicked his ear, not missing the edge to her tone. highgarden's queen was stretched out, her stomach swollen with her kits, which were due any day. around them, the camp was a bustle of activity, as with every morning, as bluetcrest and softglow worked to sort out patrols. while waiting for their mentors, stagpaw helped show seedpaw the proper way to balance her weight in a crouch, and rabbitpaw was grooming her fur, offering small comments to their work, though she kept sending glances to where birchflame was speaking to bluetcrest. ferretwhisker had ushered her kits out of the nursery to stretch their legs, and quillkit took off, elkkit and beechkit hot on his heels. ferretwhisker called after them, but didn't appear too concerned as the seedlings weaved their way expertly through the knights and roses who carried on with their mornings.
paragraphmerlinsong let out a sigh and took the space beside tawnyrose, wrapping his tail neatly around his paws. "i'm just trying to do my job, you know. i want to make sure that you and the kits are healthy," he said, and tawnyrose finally met his gaze. bright green met a more muted green, and the queen cracked a crooked grin.
paragraph"you two are so alike, you know. both so committed to your duties, always putting others before yourself," she said, and merlinsong knew exactly who she was referring to. as if by reflex alone, he tore his gaze from the queen to track where softglow was speaking to otterfur and hurricanejaw. a laugh rippled through the trio from something hurricanejaw said, and the knight jostled otterfur's shoulder companionably, who rolled his eyes and nudged him back, friendly and amicable. all the while, softglow laughed, his eyes closed from the force of it, happy and carefree for just a moment.
paragraph"do you love him?" tawnyrose asked then, and merlinsong blinked, snapping back to turn to tawnyrose, who regarded him through half-lidded eyes. "he loves you, you know. he never had to tell me, but i figured it out a while ago." she tipped her head up, to the blue expanse of sky up above. "the way he looks at you, he turns towards you like a flower looks for the sun. like you were the one who hung the stars in the sky," she said, and merlinsong couldn't help but duck his head, feeling his fur flush. at that, tawnyrose exhaled a breathy laugh. "so you do," she said, and it wasn't a question. when merlinsong nodded, she sniffed absently. "he puts up with a lot, he deserves something to make him happy. you make him happy," she added, and merlinsong swished his tail against the ground.
paragraph"what do you really care, though? the way you treat him sometimes... like he's just a pawn in your games," he said, and tawnyrose didn't even have the decency to look sheepish.
paragraph"everyone is a pawn to anyone else, merlinsong. you're just aware of the game i'm playing. but everyone has a motive for the things they do, and you're naive if you think otherwise." merlinsong still must not have look impressed, for she rolled her eyes and pointed her nose towards betonypetal and where she was chatting with clovershine. "you see two cats who are friends talking. i see one cat who needs acceptance from someone, needs the validation to know that he's doing something right. and i see another cat with a crush, who wants to be nice so that he'll like her back and see how perfect for him she is." tawnyrose turned back to merlinsong, her brow raised, though he met her gaze without flinching. "i'm not saying that it has to be a master plan, or even a good plan. but everyone has a motive for what they do. so, what game are you playing, merlinsong? what's your motive?"
paragraph"i'm glad that i don't think like you do," merlinsong said in lieu of an answer, and tawnyrose shrugged.
paragraph"you're the trickster, and you know it. you like crafting puzzles and stories, talking cats in circles and being amusing. but what do you get out of it?" she asked, and when it seemed that merlinsong wouldn't answer, she let out a bored sigh. "i feel fine, merlinsong. good thing, too, we'll be moving camp soon."
paragraphimmediately, annoyance and frustration turned to concern, and merlinsong stared at tawnyrose. "we can't," he said. "ferretwhisker's kits are still young, and your kits are going to be here soon," he said, though this time it was tawnyrose's turn to look unimpressed.
paragraph"then the knights will have to carry her kits, and we'll have to get to the tower before i have my kits. i'm not risking the floods," she said, with a hint of finality that merlinsong knew better than to argue against. there was no winning when tawnyrose had her mind set on something, he knew, and especially not when it had to do with the spring floods. not when they all heard the stories of just how much damage could be done, how deadly it could be.
paragraphso, instead, merlinsong dipped his head and stood, made to turn away. at the last moment, though, he paused and turned back to her. "do you love him?" he asked, and, again, there was no need to specify who he was referring to. birchflame had approached the thorns and was speaking to rabbitpaw. "do you love him, or is this just a fling that we're all trying to cover up?" he asked, and tawnyrose turned her face away from him.
paragraph"i lost everyone i once loved in a flood seasons ago, merlinsong," she said, flicking her tail. "everyone i cared about, gone." there was a rawness to her tone, one that the herbalist had never heard before, and it nagged at him, as if this was the first time he had ever heard something genuine fall from tawnyrose's mouth. "i don't remember what it feels like to love someone, not like you know. but, this is the closest i think i've felt in a long time." she said, and merlinsong had nothing to say in turn. so, instead, he dipped his head to her and called out across the clearing to get spencer's attention, to go and tell him of the preparations they would have to make.
paragraphthe deaths had been too much for wolfthorn to handle. he was tired of seeing bodies laid out in the bearclan camp to be mourned. from the bear, from viperstar and his loyal deputies, wolfthorn's heart felt heavy with loss. even if he hadn't been close to some of the deceased, he still felt full with pain, when he thought of the families who lost time and time again, when he thought of how many stars in the night sky blazed with the spirits of those that had gone on, their faces already fading from his memory. still, nothing had prepared him what happened next. nothing could have prepared wolfthorn for rosemist's death, and the crushing knowledge that he'd been unable to safe her.
paragraphthe guilt followed him like a shadow, to know that he failed her and her kits, to know that, no matter how hard he tried, it hadn't been enough. it ate at him, twisting his stomach with nausea that evolved into a consuming pain like nothing else, following like a shadow during the day and visible in the bright stars in the sky at night. after the fire, watching more of his clanmates die, knowing that he was powerless to stop the deaths any further, wolfthorn had to leave and move on, to find a new home. the bearclan he knew, the bearclan he had committed himself to for so many moons, brought him only more guilt of what he had been unable to stop. events of horror replayed endless through his mind, and he could only hope that putting as much distance between himself and the ruins of his former clan would erase the sting.
paragraphthrough snow, he walked. he walked when it was dark, he walked until his paws felt swollen and raw, he walked until his eyes drooped, until he was too tired to put one paw in front of the other. at last, when he thought that his body would finally give out from exhaustion and over-exertion, after he sat back on his haunches and stare up at the streaks of dawn that painted the sky, laced with pink, purple, and a light blue, wolfthorn blinked his eyes against the sight of towering mountains and rolling fields of flowers beginning to come into bloom, rising up above the harsh winter snows. he blinked, blinked, blinked, and only then realized the silhouettes coming closer, headed in his direction. slowly, the shapes gained form, became distinctive, until at last a sleek black and white tom called out to wolfthorn.
paragraph"are you hurt?" his voice called out, and wolfthorn shook his head, though he couldn't be certain that the patrol saw the gesture. the thought crossed wolfthorn's mind that, somehow, he'd stumbled across another clan's territory. by the time wolfthorn managed to steady himself, sure that he wouldn't collapse and that he still had his voice, the patrol was on top of him. the lead tom had a distinctive mark on his nose, and he asked again: "are you hurt?" he asked.
paragraphwolfthorn merely shrugged his shoulders, not even sure of himself. "i've been walking a long ways," he said instead. "where am i?" his eyes traced over the patrol that surrounded him. besides the leader, there was another black and white tom, definitely younger, still growing into his long legs and long fur, and a third tom with a spotted tabby pelt flicked his tail. however, it was a tortoiseshell who answered him, her eyes sharp and piercing.
paragraph"you're on highgarden territory," she said, and wolfthorn blinked at her. "please state your name and where you come from." there was a very formal air about her, the sort of tone that allowed no room for insolence. she was the sort who was listened to when she spoke, the type who asked questions and received answers.
paragraph"i'm from bearclan," he said, and the lead tom pricked his ears.
paragraph"bearclan?" he ached, and wolfthorn nodded once, affirmative. immediately, he felt the tension around him release, and the highgarden patrol relaxed, though the lone stranger couldn't tell exactly why until the same tom tipped his head to the side. "you must know otterfur, then," he said, and wolfthorn's exhaustion fell away, replaced by hot rage and anger at the very name.
paragraph"of course," wolfthorn said, forcing his jaw to lax, the keep the fur at the back of his neck from raising, though the molly shot him a searching glance. "i haven't seen him a few moons, it's good to know that there's a friend here," wolfthorn added, and the youngest tom smiled broadly at him.
paragraph"he's at camp right now, i think," the young tom said, and the spotted tabby hummed his acknowledgement, agreeing, though it was also a distracted sound.
paragraphthe tortoiseshell turned her gaze back to wolfthorn. "what did you say your name was, again?" she asked, and wolfthorn had to hesitate at that. he thought of all that he had lost, all those he let down. he thought of rosemist, of his nephews, of the rest of bearclan, either dead or in shambles. wolfthorn had failed them all, left the survivors because he couldn't take the sight of them anymore. wolfthorn had done all of that.
paragraph"direfang," he said after a beat, and the molly shrugged. but she didn't understand. wolfthorn had failed those he cared about. but direfang, he would make up for wolfthorn's mistakes, would confront otterfur for all of the wrongs he had caused over the seasons in bearclan. otterfur was to blame for so much of the hurt and pain, and now direfang would make sure that he would pay for it.
paragraphslowly, the clan gathered together in formation to begin the travel across the territory through the rose pass and north towards the old tower and the secondary camp. already, merlinsong and bluetcrest took tawnyrose with birchflame and sagecloud to the secondary camp, as a chance to get highgarden's queen there safely and at a time when they wouldn't risk the floods, and hopefully before her kits were due to be born. the very thought of anything happening to their queen or any of the future heirs sent a ripple of anxiety through the clan, but by midday, sagecloud returned with the news that they reached the secondary camp safely, and that the path was clear for the clan to begin trip. sand so, by sunhigh, the clan set out together, with softglow leading the group with hurricanejaw and mapleshadow as the senior clanmembers to cover the flanks and report back to the king of any news from the rest of the ranks.
paragraphferretwhisker walked towards the middle of the cluster, surrounded by several of the knights and roses who helped carry her kits, since they were still small enough to be carried in shifts, not yet large enough to handle the trip in any reasonable time if they expected to make it to the camp before sunset. pythoneyes walked at her flank, speaking to daisykit and briarkit, who seemed to be handling the stress of the journey and the travel itself with ease, keeping up as the clan moved together and listening intently to their adoptive father telling them a story from their old clan.
paragraphto her other side, flickersky was talking to maplelily, who had been trading carrying dewkit with bassflow, who carried the kit now while maplelily rested. such was the sight for the rest of her kits as jaytalon had elkkit by the scruff of his neck, otterfur carried quillkit, and dippernose carried harrierkit, and clovershine passed beechkit to betonypetal. however, when bassflow passed dewkit back to maplelily for her turn, flickersky smiled at ferretwhisker. "they seem to be handling this very well," flickersky said amicably, and ferretwhisker couldn't help but agree. her kits usually had boundless energy, often wrestling and tumbling with one another constantly, though now she was grateful that they seemed to behave, as even quillkit didn't stir any trouble for dippernose as the black and white tom carried him the distance.
paragraph"i think they like all of the attention," ferretwhisker said, letting out an easy laugh. "they've started listening to briarkit and daisykit talk about mentors and training, and i think they've gotten it in their heads of which knight they might like to be trained by, or how they want to be the best hunters and fighters in the clan. so to now have the attention of all of the different knights and roses while going off to a different part of the territory? it's exciting for them," she said, and flickersky nodded, letting out a laugh as well. recently, ferretwhisker knew, news had spread from how flickersky was expecting kits of her own, and ferretwhisker noticed that the small molly was beginning to fill out over the moon, and that she should be expecting a denmate in the secondary camp when they arrived. ferretwhisker knocked her shoulder gently against flickersky's. "you must already be getting excited to have kits of your own, right?" she asked, and flickersky let out another laugh, sweet and genuine, when she ducked her head, suddenly and uncharacteristically shy.
paragraph"definitely. seeing you and your kits, and even the way pythoneyes is with his kits. it's sweet. i never thought that i would be a mother but this... it'll be nice," flickersky said, and ferretwhisker purred, happy for the younger rose.
paragraph"you never mentioned who the father is. is it a secret?" ferretwhisker asked after a moment, and flickersky paused long enough to consider this before shrugging her shoulders.
paragraph"not really, he's from the shadowed kingdom," she said, and ferretwhisker nodded, prompting her further to talk about her mate. "well, let's see... his name is stormshroud. he's quite handsome, and we met at a gathering a few moons ago and... i don't know, we just clicked. and then we started saying hello during patrols, and we met up a few times," flickersky continued, and ferretwhisker purred, touching her nose to flickersky's cheek. "i told tawnyrose, too, and she's been very supportive about it, especially since we said that it would make our alliance with them stronger because the kits will have our shared heritage. i wasn't even thinking about that, though. i just - i like him a lot, you know?"
paragraph"what matters is that you're happy," ferretwhisker said, and purred again when flickersky nodded, trying and failing to hide her smile. "that's what i mean. good for you," she said.
paragraphthere was a beat of silence before flickersky nodded towards ferretwhisker. "i don't know, i feel like this is a bad question to ask but... you've never mentioned your mate..." she said, trailing off after a moment, and ferretwhisker managed a tight smile, though it felt like a mask.
paragraph"no... i guess i haven't," ferretwhisker said, before clearing her throat and looking down at her paws. "i met him when i was a young warrior, when he came to our clan. he was strong, and quickly became one of our leader's favorite warriors. you know, one of the inner circle," ferretwhisker said, though she couldn't meet flickersky's gaze and maintained her glance down at the ground. "anyway, i fell in love with him pretty quickly, you know, and he figured it out. he was always able to know what i was thinking. when our leader died," she paused for a moment, swallowing thickly around the lump in her throat. "when thrushstar died, montgomery was given the leader position, and he didn't really have time to start a family, so we waited for a few moons. and then i became pregnant afterwards." ferretwhisker felt bile rose in her throat from the pile of lies, but flickersky's green gaze was even, curious if nothing else.
paragraph"can i ask what happened to him?" she asked, and ferretwhisker worked to retain the same sad smile.
paragraph"he died," she said. he's dead to me. the words died on her tongue, and flickersky ducked her head.
paragraph"i'm sorry, ferretwhisker," she said, so softly, and again, so genuine, that ferretwhisker couldn't help but press against her flank, and flickersky rested her head against her shoulder.
paragraph"it's alright, you didn't know," ferretwhisker soothed, though her stomach roiled from her own lies and guilt. "let's be friends, huh? we'll help each other with our families, how's that sound? and i want to hear more about this stormshroud. what does he look like?" she asked, to distract herself from looking through the crowd to where hornetshade's striped pelt was visible. and instead she focused on the warmth of flickersky beside her, focused on the sound of her new friend's voice, on watching her kits be passed between roses and knights around her. she focused on the knowledge that she made the right choice.
paragraphat last, it seemed that life seemed to be returning to highgarden's territory, and anticipation for the warm moons ahead bought joy to the clan. each day, several patrols were sent out to check the water levels of rose lake, the queen's gulf, and the various rivers and streams, but the clan had settled in their secondary camp for the time being, and obsidianwing felt a new jolt of energy coarse through him as he trailed after smokemane, who he had been paired up with for the afternoon's surveying patrol. he snapped quickly from his thoughts when smokemane paused and glanced back him over her shoulder. "i would've asked to get paired with someone else if i knew you were going to drag your paws all day," she teased, and obsidianwing grinned before he bounded to catch up with his friend.
paragraph"you're so dramatic," he teased in return, bumping his shoulder against smokemane's, though she barely budged, instead shooting him a toothy grin. "i do not drag my paws."
paragraph"you tell yourself that," smokemane shot back, moving a step ahead and beginning to drag her paws awkwardly, in a display that was clear over-exaggeration. "then you move like a lopsided badger. so if that's not dragging your paws, then i don't know how else to say it in a way that doesn't sound mean," she said, and obsidianwing growled teasingly, darting to catch up with her. she tried to duck out of the way, but he managed to hook his paw around her leg and send her stumbling, but the momentum dragged obsidianwing down with her. together, they rolled for several paces across the ground, until they came to a stop, lying side by side, laughing the entire time.
paragraphit was only when they were left entirely breathless, that they turned to face each other, and obsidianwing felt his heart beat against his ribcage, like a trapped bird trying to escape. he tried to swallow the feeling down, but it persisted, growing only stronger when smokemane met his glance and smiled, this time gently, sweetly, like she had a secret that she wanted to share with him. "you know, i'm glad to have you on patrols now, since you're done training warblercry," she said at last, and obsidianwing nudged his nose against her shoulder, letting out a chuckle when she prodded him in the flank with her paw. "even if you do drag your paws. you're fun to patrol with, and now you're not as busy."
paragraph"the training was fun, but i'm not much of a teacher, i don't think," obsidianwing said, shrugging his shoulders. "warblercry made it easy, thoug, she was a fast learner and already had some experience from her last clan," he added, and smokemane nodded once. when her silence persisted, obsidianwing sat up and shook a clump of dirt from between his ears. "i would've thought that sunglow would be your favorite partner for patrols, i'm surprised that you two didn't get paired up together today," he said, feigning nonchalance. smokemane followed his lead to sit up, and she bobbed her head from side to side, thoughtful.
paragraph"i love my brother, of course, but he's been acting so weird lately," smokemane said, then let out a quiet laugh. "i think it's because of how much time he's been spending around tigergaze, it's making him awkward. he has a massive crush on him, it's getting pathetic at this point that he won't say anything to admit his feelings," she added, and obsidianwing managed a tight smile in return, mindful of the way his heartbeat pounded still.
paragraph"it's pretty obvious that tigergaze likes him back, though," obsidianwing said, and smokemane nodded emphatically, her whiskers twitching.
paragraph"i know! and i told him that the other day," she said, and they stood up to finish shaking out their fur. "i said to him 'you know, you are tigergaze...' and you would've thought i said something horrible to him, the way he started stuttering and flushing and stumbling over himself. like nothing i've ever seen before. and all of the times we've been dragged along to hang out with them and warblercry and hornetshade." smokemane let out another laugh, pausing just long enough to reach forward and help obsidianwing pull a burr from his fur.
paragraphhe cleared his throat, adverting his gaze until she stepped away. "you would think that they would've confessed by now, with the way they've been acting," he said, before returning the favor and helping remove a snagged twig from her flank, not noticing how smokemane flushed, her pelt growing warm. instead, she mumbled her agreement before perking up.
paragraph"we should help them!" she said. "you know, like drop hints, push them together a little bit. give them the final nudge they need so they can get together and all that," smokemane said, and obsidianwing didn't even have to consider it. it meant more time to spend with smokemane, and that was all that mattered to him. and seeing two of his friends come together and be happy? that would be an added bonus, if nothing else.
paragraph"let's do it!" he said, and together they continued down on the path down towards rose lake, spending the rest of the patrol concocting different ideas to push tigergaze and sunglow together.
paragraph"- and she's okay with this?" softglow asked, unable to help but crack a smile at the familiar twinkle of mischief in those pale green eyes, and merlinsong shrugged his shoulders, glanced to bluetcrest who shook his head in turn.
paragraph"you already know the answer to that," bluetcrest said simply, though merlinsong didn't look concerned in the least.
paragraphinstead, the herbalist let out a carefree laugh and tossed his head to indicate the direction of the nursery, where ferretwhisker was beginning to herd her kits back into the nursery. "she'll have to get over it. the fact that she's not in the nursery now is enough to concern me. where someone could watch over her, where ferretwhisker could keep her company," he said, and bluetcrest let out a laugh at that.
paragraph"oh, don't worry, she's never alone," he said, and the trio exchanged a knowing glance. at if on a cue, a familiar ginger pelt flashed in softglow's peripherals, and bluetcrest blew out a long sigh. "flickersky said that she would keep her company during the ceremonies, and softglow'll be with her tonight, right?" bluetcrest asked, and the king nodded once. "good, that's settled then. i'm going to check on pythoneyes, make sure they're all ready to go," and then the attendant whisked away, leaving softglow and merlinsong to stare at each other for a long beat of silence until, at last, they shared a loud laugh.
paragraphwhen they finished, merlinsong blinked gently at the king. "are you ready?" merlinsong asked, and softglow rolled his shoulders, feigning nonchalance.
paragraph"sure how hard could it be? it's just a few words, thanking the gods, a few mentors, and then it'll all be over," he said, and merlinsong chuckled, softer this time, more personal. he ducked his head to butt it against softglow's shoulder.
paragraph"confidence, even fake confidence... it looks good on you," merlinsong murmured, so quiet that the words were nearly lost under the chatter of the clan in the clearing, coming together for the ceremonies. "you're going to do great," he said, blinking warmly at softglow, who couldn't stem his tender purr. the words on his tongue couldn't be allowed to escape, not when there was so much balancing on his shoulders. but, for a moment, he felt lost in merlinsong's gaze, more at ease than he'd been in seasons. merlinsong gave him confidence, made him feel like he could do anything he set his mind to. i love you, he wanted to say, but had to settled for replacement words.
paragraph"thank you," softglow said instead, and merlinsong's small smile told him that he knew what he meant to say, knew everything that went through softglow's mind. he knew, and he meant it too. merlinsong dipped his head to the king before backing away when bluetcrest returned with pythoneyes, who was busy fussing over briarkit and daisykit, laving his tongue over their ears to smooth down their fur, until briarkit finally ducked away from their adoptive father.
paragraph"i think we're good," briarkit teased, and pythoneyes smiled bashfully, but his tail was kinked over his back, pleased. softglow caught daisykit's smile, and it only broadened when bluetcrest nodded to softglow.
paragraph"we're all ready, then, so you'd better get going before tawnyrose escapes flickersky," the attendant said, and softglow managed a chuckle before turning away from the small group to climb up to tawnyrose's usual perch to overlook the clan. his shout rang out through the clearing, drawing the stragglers in from the warmth of their dens. his eyes scanned the clearing, from where briarkit and daisykit were looking up to him expectantly, to where direfang had joined the back of the crowd, watching with a curious air of detachment. at last, softglow found merlinsong in the crowd, and the herbalist's smile shone brighter than the setting sun set against the camp, ducking behind the mountains that flanked them.
paragraph"since merlinsong has decided to keep tawnyrose trapped in her den, i'll be taking over the ceremonies for today," softglow began, and he felt a bit of the tension trapped between his shoulders ease when laughs rose from the crowd below him. he drew in a deep inhale and blew the air out through his nose, slowly, until the clan settled again. "briarkit, daisykit, today marks a big day. when clovershine and betonypetal first brought you into the clan, you barely said a word, and then pythoneyes came to highgarden... and ever since, he's come to tawnyrose and i to make sure that we're giving you the best mentors to help you hone your skills and help you grow into the best roses highgarden will ever see. with the gods' grace, you are ready to start your training," he said, and turned from addressing the entire clan to look to the pair of young mollies. "briarkit, daisykit, from this moment on until you are named as full roses of highgarden, you will be known as briarpaw and daisypaw." he allowed for a brief pause, and the clan let out a brief round of cheers. daisypaw shot a glance over her shoulder to where pythoneyes was beaming widely at the kits, though briarpaw kept her eyes forward, attention focused on softglow. she leaned forward slightly, anticipating what was to come next.
paragraphsoftglow nodded to briarpaw first, who straightened up at the sound of her name. "briarpaw, your mentor will be jaytalon," softglow announced, and the young knight jolted from where he was sitting with sandstrike and privetears. his eyes widened and he blinked up at softglow, stunned, until his friends nudged him forward to where briarpaw was waiting at the front of the clearing, her whiskers trembling with excitement. "though young, jaytalon is a mature knight who has many stories and experiences to tell. and pythoneyes tells me that you're a fan of stories, and i believe that his energy will match yours," softglow said, and the mentor and thorn touched noses. then softglow smiled down at daisypaw, who watched her sister fondly, though shuffled her paws when silence fell. "and daisypaw, your mentor will be sunglow. he, too, is also young, but he has an eye for the fine details and has already grown into a well-rounded knight. don't underestimate him, because even those who are more soft-spoken have a lot to say, and i have no doubt that you'll listen to everything he says," softglow finished, and cheers echoed around the clearing, reaching a crescendo, when sunglow padded through the crowd, eyes round from surprise and wonder, to where daisypaw was waiting for him, touching her nose to his shyly.
paragraphby the time the cheers had started to die down, softglow had already descended from the perch, and shook out his fur. he turned to look as the clan clumped together in groups, breaking apart to either congratulate the new mentors and thorns, or to carry on with previous tasks. softglow peered through the crowd to find merlinsong, though the herbalist was speaking to spencer, and softglow settled for the moment, figuring that his friend was busy, that they would speak later. instead, he was interrupted when a flash of ginger fur caught his peripheral vision, and he twisted to where birchflame was standing, waiting. the large knight flicked his ear once. "can i have a moment?" he asked, and softglow nodded. together, they moved away from the rest of the crowd to a quieter corner of the camp.
paragraph"you said merlinsong is keeping her in her den," birchflame said, shuffling his paws nervously, not wasting any time to cut to the issue. softglow couldn't help but respect him for that. "is there anything wrong?" he asked, and softglow shook his head.
paragraph"she's fine," softglow assured birchflame, who eyed him carefully. softglow blew out a long sigh. "really, she's fine. it's just getting close, and he does't want her pushing herself and risking anything. he's been the same way for ferretwhisker, and he's already causing a fuss over flickersky. the queen is fine," softglow said, though birchflame's eyes continued to bore into his own.
paragraph"you would tell me, if there was something to be concerned about, right?" birchflame asked, and softglow shrugged.
paragraph"maybe," he answered honestly. "or maybe not. you're not supposed to be concerned, not unless the rest of the clan knows too."
paragraph"softglow -" birchflame began, his expression finally beginning to soften.
paragraphbut the king flicked his tail, not letting him finish. "i'm just being honest. i'm helping you both here, okay? i don't need to do any of this, you know? the clan doesn't want me to be king? that's fine with me, i don't care about power or position. not when it means that everyone else gets to step on me to keep secrets and try to get their own power," softglow said, keeping his voice measured and controlled so that only birchflame would be able to hear him. to an outsider, it would just appear that they were having a normal conversation. he paused, but birchflame stayed quiet this time, so softglow shrugged his shoulders. "but i know that she needs to be queen for herself, and she asked me to help. and since i'm not cruel, i'm doing what i can, even if it means putting aside what i want. so just let me do my job, and i'll tell you if you should be concerned, alright?" softglow said, nodding when birchflame lowered his head in turn. "alright. the queen is fine, just annoyed that merlinsong is keeping her cooped up. so stand by for now, and bluetcrest or i will tell you when something happens." with that, without waiting for an answer, softglow turned on his heels away from birchflame to tawnyrose's den.
actions
[ advent note (added 1/31/20) ] redeeming kitechaser as 25th advent cat. will be added in next post
[ added cats ] wolfthorn from here. renamed direfang
[ consumption ] highgarden eats two finches and one squirrel
[ kitting ] tawnyrose is due, birchflame is the father. merlinsong stays back to assist her, and gives her x1 stick
[ patrol 1 ] bluetcrest, betonypetal, maplelily, smokemane, iguanaspots, and warblercry
[ hunt 1 ] bassflow, erasmus, dippernose, otterfur, sagecloud, and hornetshade
[ hunt 2 ] softglow, mapleshadow, swiftheart, tulipstream, tigergaze, and foxspark
[ hunt 3 ] clovershine, obsidianwing, wolfhowl, pythoneyes, direfang, and sandstrike
[ training ] stagpaw and seedpaw learn fighting
seedpaw learns hunting
[ herb hunt ] spencer
[ notes to mod ] i ask that no one die on patrols though injuries are fine xx queen
tawnyrose, 35m, ♀
the wayward queen
- mate: birchflame
- due: now
king
softglow, 37m, ♂
the lost king
heir
name, age, gender
attendant
bluetcrest, 39m, ♂
the wayward's attendant
herbalist
merlinsong, 42m, ♂ - 5sp
spencer, 37m, ♂ - 5sp
roses & knights
otterfur, 71m, ♂
direfang, 67m, ♂
sagecloud, 53m, ♀
mapleshadow, 51m, ♀
erasmus, 49m, ♂
hurricanejaw, 47m, ♂
maplelily, 45m, ♀
bassflow, 45m, ♂
newtmask, 44m, ♂
dippernose, 44m, ♂
pythoneyes, 40m, ♂
tulipstream, 36m, ♀
birchflame, 36m, ♂
betonypetal, 34m, ♀
clovershine, 33m, ♂
smallheart, 33m, ♂
swiftheart, 29m, ♀
obsidianwing, 26m, ♂
jaytalon, 24m, ♂
smokemane, 23m, ♀
sunglow, 23m, ♂
tigergaze, 22m, ♂
sandstrike, 20m, ♀
hornetshade, 19m, ♂
privetears, 18m, ♀
cougarstrike, 16m, ♂
racoonslip, 16m, ♂
foxspark, 16m, ♂
wolfhowl, 16m, ♀
iguanaspots, 16m, ♀
warblercry, 16m, ♀
lyrewhistle, 15m, ♀
name, age, gender
thorns
stagpaw, 9m, ♂
seedpaw, 9m, ♀
rabbitpaw, 9m, ♀
briarpaw, 7m, ♀
daisypaw, 7m, ♀
name, age, gender
roots
ferretwhisker, 40m, ♀
- kits: elkkit, beechkit, harrierkit,
quillkit, dewkit
flickersky, 33m, ♀
- mate: stormshroud, shadowed kingdom
- due: 2m
name, age, gender
seedlings
elkkit, 3m, ♂
beechkit, 3m, ♀
harrierkit, 3m, ♀
quillkit, 3m, ♂
dewkit, 3m, ♀
name, age, gender
wilted
name, age, gender
name, age, gender
allies & enemies & borders
here
medicine
here
prey
total x108
mouse | x4 | 1 servings
vole | x10 | 1 servings
squirrel | x9 | 2 servings
rabbit | x14 | 2 servings
big fish | x6 | 3 servings
finch | x10 | 3 servings
mentors
hurricanejaw, stagpaw, 2
smallheart, seedpaw, 1
birchflame, rabbitpaw, 2
jaytalon, briarpaw, 0
sunglow, daisypaw, 0
mentor, thorn, 0
deceased
here
family trees
here
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
credit goes to the cac staff & artists for all color-ins and lineart xoxo
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![]☾](https://img00.deviantart.net/4b32/i/2008/154/7/0/running_cat_stock_by_garnet_star.jpg){kind=link}
