[Phoenix]

Gorsetail

Deputy of TreeClan

i wish everyone was loved tonight
and somehow stop this endless fight

If there had been any doubt in his mind that leaf-bare was coming, the past few days completely swept it away. With rainfall and wind followed by more rain and more wind, the single highlight of the season had been, complications aside, the arrival of Lionstar’s and Honeysong’s three kits a few days back. It had been chilly that day, overcast and dreary, but if one were to judge the weather solely by the new bounce in his former mentor’s step and the happiness in his eyes, then surely one would expect that day to have been utterly gorgeous, with a brilliant sun, perfect temperatures, and a pleasant breeze. Gorsetail smiled at the memory as he walked toward the entrance of camp, beckoning to Finchpaw with a flick of his tail, and a warm fondness spread through his chest at the idea of Lionstar curling up with his family on cold leaf-bare nights. The other tom had practically raised or trained half of the clan in one way or another; it was only fair that he finally have the opportunity to start a family of his own.

Unsurprisingly, their leader had been rather absent as he doted on his mate and kits, but Gorsetail did not mind stepping up so that his friend might relax a little for the first time in who knew how many moons. Unfortunately, patrols still did not arrange themselves, and the changing of the seasons meant that everyone was working hard to prepare for the challenges that the most unforgiving moons would bring. Those not assigned to hunting patrols frequently remarked the borders to dissuade both LightningClan and NightClan from getting any ideas, and their spoils from their recent conquest on the latter clan were given particular attention. Admittedly, the act of stepping across the well-trodden pathway still felt a little foreign, but they needed every tail-length of land they could get to feed their growing clan. Although TreeClan had earned themselves a decisive victory, he expected their neighbors to push back and try to reclaim their land before leaf-bare settled in. After all, they, too, needed to prepare for the oncoming season.

Glancing around camp, TreeClan’s deputy kept an eye out for the familiar gray she-cat and small black tom, trusting that neither Moonfeather nor Nightsky would forget that he had invited them both to join him on patrol that afternoon. It had been quite a while since he had been able to truly speak with either of them, especially the latter, and he could not ignore the guilt that accompanied the small suspicion that, for some reason that he could not fathom, the other tom was avoiding him. Heart aching at the thought of becoming estranged from his former apprentice, he frowned slightly before flicking an ear, clearing his thoughts as he turned his attention to his current apprentice.

”Enjoy your morning off, Finchpaw?” He asked with a smile once the ginger feline reached him. Finchpaw had grown, both emotionally and physically, considerably over the past six moons, and it was not without his fair share of pride that Gorsetail looked up at him. As the days passed, it became clearer and clearer to him that the younger tom was nearing the end of his time in the apprentice’s den. ”We’re meeting Moonfeather and Nightsky for a patrol of the NightClan border, but I think bringing one more warrior wouldn’t be remiss. Do you want to see who you can find?” A pause before he added, ”I thought I saw Rowanberry pass by not too long ago…”

Fawn (Lion mention) @zen Justice @calico Taxx

better days | background image

[Deleted]

Bring me the night, tell me it's near,
give me the chance to pretend that you're here...

---

As usual, Nightsky had hunted a majority of the night, making up for the prey he rarely caught during the day. Since dawn, he had been sleeping soundly in the warriors' den, curled up in the nest he had made a little away from the others, toward the entrance, so he wouldn't disturb anyone with his unusual schedule as he was coming or going. If he dreamed, he never remembered them when he woke, but he had been settling into his nest a bit happier most nights, when he'd spent the night hunting with Ravenpaw. He was always learning more about her, she was quite a complex she-cat, and he rather enjoyed getting to know her. It was nice to have a friend.

An insistent prodding against his shoulder drew him slowly from his slumber, until finally he raised his head, blinking blearily around the den. Stonejaw stood looking down at him, a slight frown on his muzzle, “Nightsky, Gorsetail is waiting for you, you know. You've been assigned to a patrol. Did you forget?” Nightsky's ears flicked back briefly, “No, sorry....” He shook his head, trying to clear the grogginess from his mind, as Stonejaw snorted lightly and padded away. Pushing himself to a sitting position, Nightsky rasped his tongue over his forepaw and drew it over his ears and face a few times, trying to wake up a bit more, but the brief washing couldn't clear his mind.

Rising to his paws, a great yawn split his muzzle before he finally headed out of the den, sleepily looking around to spot his former mentor and plodding over. He was about to greet the tom, but another yawn interrupted him. “Mn... sorry, Gorsetail....” He shook his head again, managing to stifle another yawn. He felt like he was going to apologize a lot today. He blinked over at Finchpaw, staring at him for probably an uncomfortable amount of time before blinking again in recognition, “Morning....” His ears flicked back as he remembered it wasn't morning and he looked down at his white paws. No wonder cats thought he was strange.

---

Darken the sky and light up the moon,
so that somehow you'll be here with me soon.

Taxx Justice @calico Phoenix awko taco hahah <3

[Deleted]

Rowanberry yawned and stretched in her nest, fluffing herself up as she moved her body, first to a sit, then to all four paws. She had just returned to her nest after going to make dirt, with an aim to get a little bit of extra sleep before the day of preparing for leafbare began. Prey to hunt, borders to patrol...

She almost ran straight into Gorsetail as she left the den. 

"Oh! Sorry, Gorsetail. Would you like an extra cat for the sunhigh patrol? I feel like stretching my paws, and what better way to do it than by keeping an eye on our borders at the same time?"

Running a paw across her each of her ears in turn, she waited alongside the deputy to see who else had been named to join the patrol, a look of amusement mixed with pride crossing her features as she saw Gorsetail interact with his apprentice. 

As Nightsky padded up to the cats, she dipped her head in a gesture of respect, purring a hello. He looked tired. Hopefully the exercise would be just the thing to wake him up a little.

"Gorsetail, isn't Finchpaw close to becoming a warrior now? How is his training coming along?"

212/ Phoenix Taxx @zen Justice

Rowanberry isn't sure whether she's wanted on the patrol, but she'd like to come anyway

[Taxx]

Finchpaw

So many times it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory

A border patrol sounded great right now, and Finchpaw was up the moment Gorsetail started heading for the entrance to the camp. His tail waved at the older tom as he neared, and he nodded in reply. "Yes, Gorsetail, thank you. How are you today?" He paused at the deputy's side, fur just brushing Gorsetail's. His ears perked up at the mention of finding another warrior- Rowanberry? "I can go look..." he began, only to glance over at Nightsky as he approached, looking almost like he was dead on his paws. Nightsky's preference for night hunting or patrolling was one most of the Clan knew, but it also meant that he tended to spend half the day walking around in a daze. He met the blank stare for a moment before Nightsky seemed to realize what he was doing, and then Finchpaw flicked his tail in a moment of amusement.

Rowanberry appeared in a rush, nearing running right into Gorsetail. Well, at least he wasn't going to have to hunt her down. "I was just going to look for you," he spoke first, dipping his head to the she-cat. "Gorsetail said that having another cat join the patrol wouldn't hurt." His amber gaze flicked to Gorsetail as Rowanberry asked how his training was coming- asking if he wasn't close to becoming a warrior. With any luck, he'd have his name by leafbare. Of course, it was up to Lionstar and Gorsetail, as his leader and mentor, but he'd been learning and training hard- surely they both thought he was ready?

Bouncing a bit now, enthusiasm growing, Finchpaw glanced toward the entrance and flicked his tail at his mentor. "Are we ready?" Well, Moonfeather wasn't yet. "Do you want me to go get Moonfeather?" he corrected himself a moment later, twitching a bit- restless at just sitting here and doing nothing. The sooner the blue-gray she-cat was ready, the sooner the patrol could head out.

Justice
@calico
Phoenix
@zen

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must FIGHT just to keep them ALIVE

[Justice]

Moonfeather wasn't so sure she wanted to go on this patrol. After being asked by her only son about his father, and how badly he'd taken the news that she'd adopted him as her own, her heart was in shambles. She wanted to just curl up in her nest and cry the rest of the day not be around a gaggle of other cats on a patrol that deserved the attention of the cats on it.

But she'd agreed and she was not one to go against her word. So she padded up, late to arrive and ears laid back. She probably looked like she was less than happy at the moment, but there was nothing to be done for it. She'd been crying on and off since the incident with Aspenpaw earlier in the day. She gave them all a weak smile and tried to perk herself up, with little success.

"I'm here. Sorry I'm late Gorsetail."

Phoenix
Taxx
@zen
@calico