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Post by Fawn on Jan 18, 2019 12:44:39 GMT -5
Frozenrain86 Moons // Warrior-Queen // StoneClanEagletalon's death was like an open wound simultaneously felt by every cat in the Clan. They walked gingerly, especially around those who claimed kinship to the fallen warrior. Even now, as her mate recovered from wounds of the soul as well as the body, they were looking to him for guidance - for reassurance that Clan life would continue on as normal.
Even without two staple members.
Frozenrain stepped forward to meet the tide of uncertainty, and offered gentle words or familiar orders to anyone who needed it. Smokestorm was shaken to her core, so Frozenrain did not push her, merely reminded her that her role as deputy would still demand that she act, even if no cat could blame her for wanting to curl up in her nest till next season.
While the sunhigh patrol set out, Frozenrain's baby blue eyes found the mouth of the apprentices' den; both her daughters were safe within those walls, at least from outside dangers. Minkpaw, however... Sometimes she was a danger to others, if her temper, if her energy wasn't directed someplace else.
"Minkpaw," Frozenrain called. Beetlepaw flinched awake, visibly scowling until he recognized Frozenrain in the entryway, then quickly averted his gaze, curling back up into a tight ball.
She's been taking out her grief on everything that moves. I hope Beetlepaw hasn't suffered too much. Frozenrain's tail flicked, unhappy with the way her daughter chose to mourn. "Minkpaw. You and I are hunting together, this morning. Meet me outside of camp." These words were accompanied by a soft nudge of her muzzle into her daughter's cheek, wanting it clear that there was no way Minkpaw could have missed her summons. Note: Takes place five days after the Greenleaf Gathering! Backdaed to Leaf-fall 3: Gusts shake leaves intermittently throughout the day, strong and gentle breezes take turns sweeping across the land. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2019 14:51:53 GMT -5
I wanna taste love and pain,
wanna feel pride and shame.
Since Eagletalon's death, Minkpaw hadn't gone out training at all. How was she supposed to train without her mentor, huh? Woe to the few warriors that had offered to take her, thinking she might like the distraction, that she would be grateful for their offer. Trying to take his place. That's all they were doing. Maybe they were hoping her father would assign her to them instead. They wanted their own apprentice, they didn't really care about her or how she was feeling. Or they wouldn't have offered.
After the third tongue lashing on the second day, they had stopped, mercifully. However, that meant her anger had to be redirected to others, and most of the time that meant her denmates. Beetlepaw was always an easy target, even with his stupid sister always stepping in to save him. Honestly. If he couldn't even deal with her, how was he ever going to be a warrior? Cicadapaw needed to stop treating him like a helpless kit.
She did at least leave Palepaw alone, recognizing that the other she-cat's loss was maybe, possibly, greater than her own. Of course she'd never really done much to Palepaw. She'd been friends with her brother, so she left her alone out of courtesy to him, mostly. She had liked spending time with Ashpaw and she hadn't wanted to jeopardize their friendship. Then he'd gone and died. Minkpaw was starting to think this friend thing wasn't worth it if they were just going to go and die on her.
And her father was recovering from his wounds too. He'd been hurt bad by those dung-eating foxes. Who was she going to lose next? She curled more tightly in her nest, eyes squeezed shut against the possibility of her father's death, one he wouldn't come back from. She didn't hear her mother's first call, her attempts at blocking out everyone and everything working for a few heartbeats. But her ears flicked up as her name sounded a second time and then her mother's familiar scent hit her as the older she-cat leaned down to nudge her cheek.
She lifted her head, blinking after Frozenrain as she padded away. Unhappily, she pushed to her paws and plodded after her mother, feeling hollow. Her face screwed up in disgust as the desire to curl up with her mother like she was a tiny kit again passed through her. She wasn't some dumb kit that needed her mommy whenever anything went wrong. Pausing at Frozenrain's side where her mother was waiting for her, her tail flicked back and forth and she stared down at her paws.
Eagletalon should be taking her hunting.
The fur along her spine rippled and her claws flexed as another wave of anger washed over her. But her family would never be on the receiving end of her fury, and as she was unable to lash out at her mother, grief pushed through instead and she turned and buried her face into her mother's plush fur, ashamed and hating herself for acting like a kit, but she couldn't stop herself from seeking her mother's comfort, “He should... Eagletalon should.... We.... I don't... I don't want to train... with anyone else!”
Wrapped in your regret,
what a waste of blood and sweat. Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Jan 27, 2019 14:55:38 GMT -5
Frozenrain86 Moons // Warrior-Queen // StoneClanMinkpaw's grief was raw and aching, like an open sore. Frozenrain had emotionally braced herself for whatever Minkpaw chose to do to express her sorrow, and yet Frozenrain's throat still tightened as her daughter buried her face into her fur. If she could remove all of StoneClan's pain somehow, the old queen would have done so by now. At any price. Any price to see her kits with their hearts healed and their spirits restored by so steep a loss.
"We're not training, my little love. I am not here to replace Eagletalon." Frozenrain purred, her voice soft and delicate, aware she was treading on thin ice. Her tongue rasped between Minkpaw's ears, grooming the daughter that looked so much like her, yet had an energy that rivaled Frozenrain's and Hawkstar's combined. "Today, you and I will hunt together to honor Eagletalon's memory. He taught you everything you need to know, anything I have to share with you, Minkpaw, will simply add to the lessons Eagletalon has already given. You are his apprentice, Minkpaw, and it will be his teachings that make you a warrior, not mine."
Eagletalon had laid the foundation, and this unfortunate change in mentorship could never undo those memories. Frozenrain found a smile, feather-soft and private, just for Minkpaw. "You do not have to endure these feelings alone, Minkpaw. Your father and I, Herondive, and especially Eagletalon's kin, all feel this hurt. Alone, it truly would be unbearable. I love you, little one. We will endure this hurt together. One day at a time." |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2019 21:14:53 GMT -5
Minkpaw allowed her mother’s affection, eyes closed as Frozenrain’s tongue lapped between her ears and for a moment she was a kit again with nothing to worry about but her next big adventure. Slowly her pale blue eyes opened, staring down at her paws as her mother spoke softly beside her, and she leaned into the older she-cat’s fur slightly, taking comfort in the contact. Her gaze misted over again and she blinked to clear her vision, taking a deep, shaky breath and letting it out. Eagletalon’s training would make her a warrior…. She had never really cared before. Becoming a warrior was an inevitable achievement in her mind, but not one she was in any rush to attain. At some point she would prove that she had learned all the things an adult Clan cat was supposed to know and her father would see fit to give her a new name for it. It seemed like all the other apprentices were fixated on that day, but Minkpaw had never cared when it would come, as it only came with more expectations and responsibility in her eyes. But if she delayed now, it felt like it would only reflect poorly on Eagletalon’s teachings. Her ears flicked irritably at the thought and for a heartbeat she half imagined he had gone and died just to motivate her to actually focus on her training rather than troublemaking. In that heartbeat she wanted to refuse to let herself be manipulated by silly thoughts of real or imagined plots against her carefree lifestyle, but she found she didn’t have it in her to do anything but give in. It was the last thing she could do for him, wasn’t it? She would earn her stupid name and then she wouldn’t have to feel guilty like she’d failed him somehow. She took another long breath and stood a bit straighter, though she still keenly felt the weight of the loss of her mentor and uncle. One day at a time, her mother said. Still faintly annoyed that somehow in death the old tom was convincing her to actually behave, her tail flicked a few times behind her and she turned to Frozenrain with a determined look, “If we’re hunting to honor him, then we better catch a lot of prey.”
Fawn |
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Post by Fawn on Mar 4, 2019 21:53:46 GMT -5
Frozenrain86 Moons // Warrior-Queen // StoneClanThat familiar energy returned, channeled and shaped into a look of determination not often seen on Minkpaw - at least, not for any benign reasons. Frozenrain purred her encouragement, sweeping her tail to indicate the whole expanse of StoneClan's territory. "You may choose where we hunt. I recommend near the mountains, but again, it's your choice."
She favored the edge of StoneClan's territory for a variety of reasons. She and her daughter had pale coats that allowed them to blend into the rocky terrain well, and it was often cooler, away from the flatter, more sun-lashed scrublands StoneClan called their own. Frozenrain had had enough of the greenleaf heat, she found hunting in cooler weather to be far more comfortable, allowing her to stay out longer.
How long would they hunt, however, before Minkpaw got bored?
Frozenrain, ever a patient, proper mother, took in her daughter's demeanor with quiet observation. Eagletalon's death was a tragedy they all felt deeply, but Frozenrain saw it as a bittersweet opportunity. Loss could tear families apart - or, preferably, it could bring them closer. She and Minkpaw seemed to have little in common, Frozenrain and Snowpaw of a more similar disposition, but Frozenrain was not the kind of mother to let that dictate how much support she gave her kits.
Minkpaw was hurting, no question. Frozenrain was adament about letting her daughter know she was always here for comfort and emotional security when Minkpaw needed it most. You and I aren't very similar, but that doesn't change how much I love you, my little one. Frozenrain's eyes carried a mother's love, but the words that came next were calm and focused on their self-imposed hunting challenge.
"Have you caught mountain prey before? There was a time when StoneClan lived in the mountains, and I learned a different way to hunt."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2019 11:28:49 GMT -5
As her mother gave her free reign to decide where they would begin their hunting expedition, Minkpaw considered her answer for a moment. They were closer to RainClan territory here. Heat or no heat, she didn’t particularly want to get her paws wet. Her fluffy tail flicked in consideration and she glanced off in the general direction of the LightningClan border. She could really use a run-in with her favorite LightningClan apprentice to blow off some steam, but that was all the way across the territory, and she really didn’t want to trek that far in the greenleaf heat either. Lynxpaw was safe for today. Nevermind if she’d even be out and anywhere near the border. Frozenrain asked another question and she turned her attention back to her mother, ears pricked with mild interest, “Mountain prey?” Of course she knew about the time StoneClan had spent in the mountains. Every cat knew about it. It was all the elders ever seemed to want to talk about. RainClan and LightningClan had chased them from their home and they had found some weird group of cats in the mountains that helped them until they finally returned and won their home back from the dirty foxhearts. “What do you mean, a different way to hunt?” she blinked curious blue eyes at her mother, focusing on that, on the task at paw, because if they didn’t go back to camp with tons of prey then Eagletalon would laugh at her, and probably threaten to make her practice her hunter’s crouch for the next moon or something. Her ears flicked back for a moment and she glanced away, I’ll show you, gray muzzle. My crouch is just fine.
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