Softsong | 17 Moons | Warrior | 30/30 | Camp | Mentions: Aldershade, Mosspaw, Quietshadow(ID), Whorlpaw(ID), Pebblesplash, Clearsong, Honeyfrost, Open!

Softsong almost held his breath as he waited for Aldershade's reply. When he heard the quietly murmured words he felt like a badger had been lifted from his shoulders and his heart soared in his chest. He joined his mate in purring and could not properly express how happy he felt. He nodded against the taller warrior's chest, if he was honest with himself, Aldershade was the only reason he had come back. He listened with his breath caught in his throat as Aldershade proclaimed his love and admitted to his flaws, but he did not care about his flaws, it was a part of the warrior he loved. "Aldershade... You really mean that?" He asked, his voice thick with emotion. If there was one cat who could make him feel so many things, it was this one. Not that he minded.

He was vaguely aware of the battle going on around them, and he just prayed that the dark forest cats would leave them alone for a while longer. He curled his tail around Aldershade's in return, enjoying their small moment of calm before the storm. "Let's find each other after the battle, we will talk about this day while apprentices clean our ticks out when we're elders." He purred, leaning his head up and licking Aldershade's nose sweetly. "I'll see you after the battle, I love you." He emphasised the last part with an affectionate nuzzle to his mate, then reluctantly went off. He spotted Mosspaw with Whorlpaw and Quietshadow. His pelt bristled a little as he was reminded of the embarrassment of his scolding a quarter moon ago, but he forced it away. This was not the time.

The black and white warrior quickly rushed over to him, making sure to stay well out of the way of the Dark Forest cats as he went. He was unaware of any of their previous exchanges, but he felt like he needed to give some words of encouragement to his apprentice. It would be in passing though, as he spotted Honeyfrost back. He had to apologise to her for snapping like that, even if he had been in the right. Just in case anything happened to either of them, he did not want to have bad blood between them. Or perhaps he should apologise to Pebblesplash first? She was close to Clearsong. He had been meaning to compliment Clearsong's beautiful eyes for a while now, so he could approach the siblings first. Of course, after he had given his words of encouragement to Mosspaw. "Just remember your training and you'll do fine. You're a strong and capable cat, and with Quietshadow close, you're a strong team." He assured, slyly giving Quietshadow a hidden compliment.

Before any more exchanges could take place, he sprinted over to Pebblesplash and Clearsong. He hoped he was not intruding, and if he was then that was too bad. "Pebblesplash, I'm so sorry that I snapped at you that one time. It was the wrong place at the wrong time. I hope you can forgive me." He apologised. It was sincere, and he dearly hoped that the short-tempered she-cat would forgive him. Should she die in this battle, he would feel awful. "I should have apologised earlier, but I never found a good time." He explained to his lack of an apology before all of this. He then turned to Clearsong. "I've been meaning to say this for a while, your eyes are beautiful." He complimented. He looked over to Honeyfrost and ached to apologise to her, as he felt like she was the one who deserved it the most. He gave a curt nod to Pebblesplash and Clearsong, then almost sprinted over to her.

"Honeyfrost!" The black and white warrior called. "I wanted to apologise for snapping at you before you left. I should have picked a better time and chosen my words with more care." He mewed, hoping to spark a small conversation so they could both forgive each other and move on. He felt the same as he had with Pebblesplash. He did not want to experience her dying without knowing that he did care about her as a fellow warrior and a friend. It was unjust.

Snowstorm/echo | 30 Moons | Medicine Cat | 30/30 | Camp | Mentions: Horsetail(ID), Mumblepaw(ID), Stripecloud, Stormberry, Open!

Snowstorm was so focused on Stripecloud that he had not heard Horsetail approaching, so practically jumped out of his fur when he heard the sandy coloured tom speak. He looked over at him for a few heartbeats, letting the surprise wash over him before pressing his ear back against Stripecloud's chest. "For now it seems like a cough, I'll have to observe you for a while to determine what kind of cough." He concluded, hiding his worries about greencough. It seemed bad enough as was, no need to worry the poor warrior in case it was preventable. He jumped across a nest to the herb store, noticing that the oldest deputy was in the den furthest away from everyone. He made a small note to check on him later. With that, he picked up the tansy he wanted and leapt back to Stripecloud. "Chew this up and swallow. Mumblepaw will bring you some juniper berries later, make sure to eat two." He ordered, making sure his voice was loud enough for Mumblepaw to hear.

With that, the white tom stepped away from his patient and headed over to the large tom at the back of the den. "Large powerful tom such as yourself already tucked in a medicine cat nest? He greeted, settling close to the other tom. "Something must be bothering you terribly to not be out there fighting." He observed cleverly. While he had seen the tom out and about several times, he still could not place a name to his face. It was Storm, like his own suffix, but Storm what? Stormbush made sense, as the deputy was quite large and fluffy, like a bush. He flicked his tail to distract his thoughts and focused back on the deputy, attentively listening to him.

Clearsong | 20 Moons | Warrior | Healthy | Camp | Mentions: Pebblesplash, Softsong

Clearsong felt Pebblesplash lay her paw on his own, Just like when we were apprentices... he reminisced. Before she stepped back to look at him. He could see she was scared from the look in her eyes to the way her paws twitched slightly on the ground. He looked back at her, ducking his head and lowering his voice, "Terrified, honestly." He said with a grimly amused huff.

He looked up to see a black and white cat approaching, smiling as he recognised it to be Softsong. Suddenly, he remembered when they were all apprentices, working together to catch prey for the clan under guidance of their mentors. Clearsong always felt a slight competition between him and the younger warrior, he was great at fighting, whereas Softsong was more of a hunter than him. He came back to attention in time to hear Softsong call his eyes beautiful.

Clearsong flattened his ears, growing warm from the compliment. He gave his chest fur a lick, but before he could compose himself, the tom had dashed off to comliment someone else: another thing he used to always do.

Hawkstrike|14 Moons|Injured|Warrior|Camp|Mentions: Pebblesplash(ID)

Hawkstrike stood up from the spot Pebblesplash had led him to. I can't do this anymore, the fear, the dread, the everything... Too much emotion, I can't do this. Hawkstrike looked around. No one was paying attention to him, at least he hoped not. The tom ran off into the forest not wanting to deal with it anymore. It was a cowardly move, but he didn't' care anymore. He just wanted to get out of here.

Stripecloud|17 moons|Sick|Warrior|Camp|Mentions: Snowstorm, Raindrop

Stripecloud could sense the worry that came from Snowstorm. Yes very helpful. I feel so much better now. He made sure the words didn't slip out but if he had said them around they would be snappy. Striecloud thought back to why he got this. Was it from sneaking off with Raindrop in the middle of the night.
(FlashBack)
Stripecloud shivered in the cold den. He always hated winter. Maybe if he just went outside and ran around a bit? But it was cold and scary out there. Stripecloud prodded Raindrop awake.
"Huh?" She looked up at him her eyes tired.
"Do you wanna go from some late night hunting?" The tom asked. Maybe after running around a bit, he would tire himself out. Raindrop let out a tired yawn and stood up.
"Sure, I'm awake anyway." Stripecloud led her outside both of them careful not to wake any cats up.
"I know a good area follow me." He felt a shiver go down his spine as the temperature seemed to drop. He felt cold, so he broke into a run checking behind him to make sure Raindrop was following. Stripecloud slid to a stop making Raindrop crash into him. Stripecloud let out a bowl of laughter as he saw Raindrop struggle to get up.
"Oh was that funny?" Raindrop laughed looking at Stripecloud.
"Maybe just a little." Raindrop got up and charged playfully at Stripecloud. He ran and the two chased each other around playfully enjoying the cold night.
(End FlashBack)
That wasn't the only night they did it though. He let out a sigh laying down. Snowstorm had walked off. He looked over to Raindrop. Was she gonna get sick too? If he got green cough was it going to spread throughout the camp? If it did it would be all his fault. He let out another hacking cough into his paws. It was worse than all the others. He let out uneven breaths his head laying on his white paws.

Pebblesplash|20 moons|Heathly/Minor Injury| Warrior|Temp. Camp|Mentions: Clearsong, Softsong
————
Softsong came up so suddenly, Pebblesplash jumped. He apologized, called Clearsong’s eyes beautiful, and sprang off.
Why is he sorry? I should be. she thought, slightly amused.
”Gotta love your eyes, Clearsong!” she laughed, ”Defiently not going to forget that anytime soon.”
She looked up, laughter dying as the real world pressed back in. Not the time for laughing.
As a quick gesture of ‘hey I love up’ Pebblesplash pressed herself against him like they used to do when it was cold. Of course, it wasn’t that cold, but the fear made it awful.
”Promise you’ll be careful, okay?” she said on a serious note, looking him in the eye.

Clearsong | 20 Moons | Warrior | Healthy | Camp | Mentions: Pebblesplash

Clearsong flashed Pebblesplash a feigned indignant stare, "Hey!" He whined, the beginnings of a purr rumbling in his throat. He flicked his tail, "I know my eyes are gorgeous." He interjected, lifting his chin.

"Promise me you'll be careful, okay?" His sister had said as she leaned against him, the tone becoming more serious. Clearsong looked at her for a moment, trying to think of something witty, however "I will." was all that escaped him. Pebblesplash had always been better with that stuff anyway.

"If anything, my opponents will quake in fear at my size alone! Although I wouldn't want to pick a fight with Stormberry either, that cat's like a badger!" Clearsong stopped his rambling when he realized him making light of the situation might be a bit rude. He touched his nose to his sister's, "Trust me, I'll be fine. You have to promise me the same, though. I refuse to have this be one-sided."

Lionkit|Kit|3 Moons Old|Healthy|Mentions Directly: Maplekit/Starlingkit, Bloosomheart|Mentions Indirectly: Snowecho, Horsetail|Location: Nursery

Lionkit looked back, into the nursery and at his sister. The kit thought for a moment, over the words Maplekit had said. She said that Starlingkit wanted to go over there, this made the young tom pause for a bit. Lionkit still felt a bit weird, when his sister spoke of Starlingkit wanting something. He had gotten used to it, just a bit, in the passed days though. "Well....", Lionkit started, but was quickly cut off, when he was suddenly picked up by the scruff of his neck.
"What?", he said, looking up to see who had picked him up. The young tom's ears flattened, as he and Maplekit were told to stay inside. He shook back and forth, as Blossomheart wobbled him inside again. Was she hurt?', Lionkit wondered. "But..", Lionkit started, as he was placed back on the ground and turned back around to argue with the warrior. Before he could though, his blue eyes wandered over the she-cat's wounds. Who could hurt her like that? She said that it was dangerous outside, where there enemies outside? Was the clan fighting someone? He wanted to say all of this, but instead, the only thing that came out was, "You should have Horsetail or Snowecho look at that." He felt concern for the warrior and the rest of his clanmates, Lionkit wanted to fight, he wanted to fight and protect the clan. Looking to the ground, Lionkit shuffled his paws. If he was only bigger and older, then he could help.

Pebblesplash|20 moons|Healthy/Minor Injury| Warrior|Temp. Camp|Mentions: Clearsong (D), Quietshadow, Earthquake, Slateleaf (anxious cat OwO) (ID)
————
Pebblesplash could only nod, looking back up at him.
”I will. I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”
Then she snickered at the comment on Stormberry.
”Badgers would be afraid of him,” she said.
But once again, the real world came back. Pulling away, she stood next to him instead.
”Thanks for that… I needed some reassurance. My moral is low right now, especially with the obvious disadvantage. I love you, not matter what happens…” she trailed off, hoping she wasn’t rambling on.

Scanning the crowd, Pebblesplash looked for a black pelt. Out of all the cats here tonight, Slateleaf scares me the most. Her thoughts, once again, returned to Bluestripe. Was Slateleaf targeting hers/Clearsong’s family? Was Quietshadow in danger? Was Earthquake? Was Clearsong? Hopefully not. Would Slateleaf kill the cat that helped her? Probably. I hope not. She better not. She blinked, surveying the scene. Shadows were still everywhere, on everyone.
”I guess the battle goes on…” she murmured half to herself, shoving down fears and anxiety.

Whorlpaw | 8 Moons | Apprentice | Healthy | Camp | Mentions: Mosspaw, Quietshadow, Softsong (ID), Clearsong, Pebblesplash

Whorlpaw gave a nod of agreement at Mosspaw's suggestion, watching as the tom began to lead the way before following behind. She glanced around every now and then as she walked, she couldn't help but feel nervous. 'Why did Clearsong leave me alone? What kind of mentor leaves their apprentice at a time like this?' She thought. Though she did have Mosspaw with her and hopefully soon the others will be by their side too. She tilted her head as Mosspaw looked over at her. "Oh come on, I'm not gonna get lost or something." She chuckled, showing a toothy grin as always.

She jumped back in surprise as Quietshadow made her way over, scolding her and Mosspaw. Whorlpaw's paw clawed at the snow in frustration. 'Quietshadow...' She murmured quietly. It's not like they wanted to out in the open, they. "Quietshadow," Whorlpaw mewed the older she-cat's name blankly. "It's not like we were trying to be out in the open, in fact we were trying to remain hidden so that we could safely get to the apprentices den and see if any apprentices could be there." She would continue on, her frustration growing as she did. "If you're so worried and since we're 'defenseless', stay with us and protect us like a warrior should. If the only reason you came over here was to yell at us then let me tell you this Quietshadow..." She would pause for a moment, walking over to the older she-cat and looking here straight in the eyes. "Keep your smelly breath in your dirty mouth and get out of our way before I do something I might regret." Whorlpaw would growl lowly, blowing into the warrior's face before stepping back and looking to her paws. She let out a small sigh, she felt as if she got a huge weight off her chest. Her head looked over to Softsong came over, speaking to Mosspaw for a small while before running off. She then remembered how Softsong was Mosspaw's mentor, soon she began to think of her own mentor. She wanted to know where Clearsong was. 'He better not have gotten himself injured.' She would grumble. Her eyes began to look elsewhere, searching for the tom. After a bit of looking she was able to see Clearsong, as well as Pebblesplash with him. He seemed to be perfectly fine, he didn't seem to be in any pain or such. So why did she still want to go over there? She'd frown slightly before turning her head back over to Quietshadow and Mosspaw. She muttered a few words to herself before speaking to Mosspaw. "I want to see Clearsong. You should continue to find the others, perhaps Quietshadow will keep you safe?" She mewed, looking to the warrior with narrowed eyes. She then turned away from the two and began to walk.

She would walk slowly, her green eyes on high alert as she did. 'You're going too slow, just run!' She hissed to herself. But wouldn't she draw attention to herself if she were to run? She would probably be spotted if she was too slow as well. Whorlpaw broke out into a faster walk, and soon she began to run. She ran for as long and as fast as her paws would let her. When she finally reached them she instantly hid behind them, coughing and breathing heavily from exhaustion as she looked to the ground. She took in a deep breath before looking to Clearsong. "Clearsong! You're not dead!" She managed to say before turning to Pebblesplash. She gave the gray she-cat a small grin. "It's frightening out there, you know?" She mewed. "Clearsong, I know you told me to find the other apprentices but... I think you have a terrible apprentice." She let out a sad chuckle. "I currently only found Mosspaw, and I left him Quietshadow. I said a few bad things to her but the weird thing is, I don't regret a single word I said to her." She'd say. "The rest of the apprentices. What if they're being hurt right now? What if they're dead? Did I kill them?" She looked away for a moment. "I don't know what to do, I really don't and that frightens me." Whorlpaw finally said. "I'm also sorry for ruining any conversation you two were having before." She would add as she looked at the both of them before looking to her paws.

Stormberry - 34 moons - Co-Deputy - Healthy - Medicine cat den - Mentions: Stripecloud (ID), Snowecho

Stormberry twitched his one in tact ear when he thought he might have heard his name spoken by some cat outside the den, but he tried not to think about it. His hearing was becoming so faint, it was hard to pick up what any cat might be saying unless they were close to him. His attention was drawn more when Stripecloud hacked away with his cough, however, and it made him curl his tail tighter around his body. Much as he wanted reason to stay away from the battles outside, he didn't want to get sick either. The last thing he needed right now was to feel any worse than he already did.

The large tom lifted his broad head when Snowecho finally came and started speaking to him - it had been so long since they last talked, but it didn't seem to have bothered the medicine cat. He huffed quietly at his remark, as he watched him settle down. Still, it soon was confirmed that there was concern behind his question, too.

"Many things are bothering me, not that any cat might care." He grumbled cynically, before he buried his head back under his front paws. "I've done a lifetime's worth of fighting recently, I just want to rest now. Maybe violence and blood makes the younger cats happy, but I've had enough of it." The deputy explained, not thinking there would be any consequences for his decision to stay out of things for now.

"I'm not exactly the cat I used to be, you know that."



Aldershade - 17 moons - Warrior - Healthy - Camp - Mentions: Softsong, Olivepaw (ID), Pebblesplash, open!

Aldershade couldn't help but smile a little at Softsong's question. He wasn't a cat that talked much, and he usually only spoke when he felt he had something important to say. He wouldn't have said such things to any cat unless he truly meant them.

"Of course I mean it." He mewed softly, licking Softsong's cheek fluff affectionately.

His momentary peace was shattered, however, when Softsong suggested that they should meet after the battle, rather than staying together and keeping safe. Oh, couldn't they just stay here, or go to the medicine cat den and curl up until it was safe to come back out? Usually it would be the black and white tom that would suggest running to safety, but his recent experiences must have changed his mindset. Whether that was for the better or the worse, he didn't know. He sighed quietly, before bumping his head against the older tom's.

"If that's what you want. Just promise me you'll keep safe. I won't be able to cope without you." He murmured at last, trying to keep the lump in his throat from making him choke on his own words.

Watching Softsong run off, he forced his mind to turn to his new apprentice, Olivepaw? Where had she run off to in all this chaos? He couldn't see her anywhere, and it made him nervous. Still, he was too frightened to search for her on his own - he knew he couldn't win in a fight against any Dark Forest cat. Curling his tail in anxiety, he noticed Pebblesplash seemingly on her own, looking just as nervous as he felt. He may have been a solitary cat, but when he was frightened, it was still good to have some cat close. He trotted over to her, trying to keep his eyes off the shadowy figures that threatened them all.

"Hi Pebblesplash..are you okay?" He asked, flattening his ears slightly. He doubted anyone was really okay with what was going on right now, but it seemed like the best thing to ask.

Quietshadow | 46 Moons | Warrior | 30/30 |Temp. Camp| Mentions: Whorlpaw, Softsong, Mosspaw
——
Quietshadow sighed, nodding to Softsong before he left. Whorlpaw started speaking. A rant. Against her.
”Not the first time,” she muttered. Obviously, many cats hadn’t been… pleased with her return. Of course, that was expected. And when she defied the leaders in favor of her kits…
It’s been a fun quarter moon.
At least she had bonded with Pebblesplash. A little. Enough so she didn’t have to feel like a complete failure.
Still.
”Okay, apprentice den? When you’re ready, let’s go,” she said to Mosspaw.

Pebblesplash|20 moons|Healthy/Minor Injury| Warrior|Temp. Camp|Mentions: Clearsong, Whorlpaw, Aldershade (D), Quietshadow
————
Pebblesplash looked over to see Whorlpaw approaching. She dipped her head in greeting to the apprentice. Personally, she thought the apprentice had quite the temper. But who was she to judge?
”I said some mean things, ...but I don’t regret it!” Pebblesplash spaced out for a few minutes and heard Whorlpaw describing her mother. Or rather, what she said to her.
”Watch it, that’s my mother,” she snapped, glaring at Whorlpaw.
Aldershade walked up, asking if she was okay.
”Um… kinda? Better then Hawkstrike and other cats who have family here… that they didn’t know about,” she mewed, ”What about you?”

Mosspaw | 10 Moons | Apprentice | Minor Injuries |Camp | Mentions: Quietshadow, Softsong, Whorlpaw

Mosspaw's eyes widened slightly when he saw Quietshadow bounding towards them. The memory of the ceremony flashed briefly in his mind, and he flattened his ears a bit when she spoke. "We were trying to find some of the others, but..." He trailed off when he saw the familiar black and white pelt of Softsong materialize out of the chaos. Relief washed over him, and he offered his mentor a tentative smile at the words of encouragement. He opened his mouth to respond, but the older tom was already gone, weaving his way expertly through the battle-filled clearing.

When he turned back, Whorlpaw was up in Quietshadow's face, hissing angry words. Mosspaw flattened his ears at the sudden display of hostility, memories of the fight with the sandy-colored Dark Forest cat still fresh in his mind. Just the thought of the fight made his injuries ache anew. He nodded mutely as Whorlpaw addressed him, then glanced back up to Quietshadow warily, afraid of drawing the older she-cat's ire.

They grey-and-white tom swallowed nervously as she addressed him, but she fortunately did not seem to be angry after Whorlpaw's rant. "Right..." He murmured, turning and stepping as quickly as he dared towards the apprentice's den. Each stride sent pain shooting up his foreleg, causing him to limp slightly. The punture wound where the Dark Forest tom had bitten him was still oozing blood, leaving little droplets trailing behind him in the snow.

His green-gold gaze swept across the clearing as he moved, searching for a glimpse of a familiar face, a flash of distinctive fur. His worry grew with every passing moment he saw nothing. What if the other apprentices weren't at the den? Maybe they were hurt somewhere, bleeding, alone... He shuddered, chest constricting painfully, then realized he had stopped, his claws digging into the frozen ground as if to anchor himself. The apprentice drew in a breath and gave his head a tiny shake, then forged onwards, furiously tamping down his emotions.

Softsong | 17 Moons | Warrior | 30/30 | Camp | Mentions: Honeyfrost, Open!

Softsong was happy when he heard that Honeyfrost forgave him, and indirectly apologised for what she had said. At least that was all in the past and they could both move forward now. He quickly noticed that she was injured, frowning a little at it. He nodded a little at her request. "I can do that, Snowstorm should be free now. If he's not, then there's always Mumblepaw and Horsetail." He mentioned, looking around. "Let's avoid battle if we can, then I can stand guard outside of the medicine cat den." He added on. He had nothing against standing guard, he would actually like it. Standing guard for the cats he liked would be a nice change to his past history of only fending for himself or running away. And he did want to prove himself.