[Fawn]

Lionstar

The crown is getting heavy
But they've written my name in the stars

"Any sign of him?" Lionstar's voice carried over the brook feeding TreeClan's forest. He stood on the opposite side of the brookbank, as if guarding the many routes to their camp nestled in the woods behind him. The patrol forded the brook, Brackenstride shaking his pelt and his head. "Just snow and rabbit droppings."

Lionstar's son was one of a handful of cats given the task of checking the perimeter for signs of Magpiewing, and this included StarClan's Claws. He had a second larger patrol near the deer path, just in case Magpiewing thought he could stir up trouble with their neighbors. Lionstar scowled. The TreeClan scent on the traitor's pelt couldn't fade fast enough.

Brackenstride flicked the last of the water off his paws, leaving his father to his brooding thoughts. The rest of the patrol did likewise, signs of fatigue evident in their dragging paws and low-slung tails. It had been a long search, and done early in case the clouds held their promise of rain. Rain, as any good tracker knew, washed away scents.

Lionstar watched Brackenstride strike out for his nest in the warrior's den, movements still stiff from the explosive battle with NightClan almost a half-moon ago. At least, Lionstar noted with a father's relief, he no longer smelled like herbs and dried blood. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed him to do such a long patrol, but he'd wanted to honor his son's faith in his own strength.

Lionstar let his face relax, trying to unfurrow his brow and loosen tensed muscles along his back and spine. Newleaf was arriving, thank the stars. He'd had enough of leafbare's trials; the battle, Magpiewing's betrayal, Ravenstorm's death, and the unfortunate situation with Flamelight... Lionstar had survived the winter, but not without a few more silver hairs than before.

I've been building up all these kingdoms for so long
It's good to be king

99 Moons || TreeClan || 301 Words || Abyss

Notes:

Newleaf 3 - Rain has replaced snow, pattering down on the territories in gentle soothing rhythms, leaving behind puddles.

It's been about a week-and-a-half since Magpiewing's exile, and two weeks since the Deer Path battle.

[Abyss]

It was known by all of Treeclan that patrols would become more frequent. After the battle with Nightclan and the traitorous nature of the now banished Magpiewing, the clan needed to be on constant edge. Never once could any of them risk not being alert. If there was even the slightest chance that Magpie would attempt to return, they needed to be ready. But they also needed to be a step ahead. Which was why there were currently multiple patrols out and about, looking for any signs of the traitor.

It was actually a relief when Foxfire heard her name called to join one of the patrols. Magpie had become a threat to both her and her clan, so she wanted nothing more but to tear him apart if they did catch him in their territory. Throughout the time that her patrol was out, the deep red she-cat did remain a short distance away from the other cats. They needed to cover more ground, but also stay nearby in case they did find him. Though, if she were the one to find him, he would likely be breathless by the time the other cats got to her. That was what would happen in her mind, at least.

As the patrol neared the Sparkling Brook, Foxfire glanced off to her left towards where the rest of the patrol, including Lionstar, were walking. She took note that the large russet tom had stopped at the brook and began to send the others of the patrol back to camp. Despite the others growing tired and wishing to return to their nests for a rest, Fox found herself wishing to stay out, though that was normal for her. In her eyes, they needed to keep checking. They couldn't risk missing anywhere that any certain rogues could get in. She couldn't deny that she was slightly tired, but she wasn't one to stop working just because of a little fatigue. She wasn't weak like some of her clanmates.

She let out a sigh as she turned and walked towards the brook where she realized Lionstar was still standing. Even though he was still there, it almost seemed as if she didn't notice him. She merely walked over to the pool of water and crouched down, lapping some water from the pool with her amber eyes closed. The tip of her tail twitched behind her, her legs were just tense enough that they could lift her in case she heard anything, and her ears were perked and constantly rotating in search of any sounds that were out of the ordinary.

As she finished her drink and lifted her head, cold water beginning to drip from her chin, her narrowed amber eyes found themselves looking at the red tom from the side. "Lionstar, do you believe that rogue will try to return?" She asked, her voice very clearly allowing a growl through as she made sure to say 'rogue' rather than address Magpiewing by his name.

____________________________________________
Words: 499 | Fawn | Notes:

[Fawn]

Lionstar

The crown is getting heavy
But they've written my name in the stars

"Yes," he replied immediately. "Magpiewing reminds me of another rogue, a cat before you were even born. His name was Grayowl. They both share a need to disturb TreeClan any way that they can." A wariness touched by fatigue crept into the lion-like tom's voice. "Cats like that cause trouble for the sake of trouble. I don't expect him to stroll right into camp, but if an opportunity presents itself to disrupt TreeClan's peace, I'd bet a nestful of owl feathers he'd take it."

Lionstar recounted every moment he'd had with the black and white tom, combing over Magpiewing's words and trying to dissect the meaning underneath. There was another kind of darkness lurking in Mockingbird - Magpiewing's mate, and the daughter of the aforementioned Grayowl - and it very well could have spread to their offspring, like an infection. Owlstrike was effortlessly polite, Appleshade constantly vouching for her former apprentice and singing his praises. Ravenstorm had been a complex individual, and her death had been a thorn in his throat for the sheer absurdity of the circumstances. Berrythorn seemed average, and though Mockingbird seemed to dote on her remaining kits - including Adderpaw, Yewfang and Hemlockpaw - Lionstar got the sense that she wasn't as invested in Berrythorn as the others.

It had not been so long that Adderpaw, Yewfang and Hemlockpaw had left the nest. Mockingbird seemed, at least, to have strong maternal instincts. Maybe he was overthinking things? Placing resentment and suspicion where it didn't belong.

And yet, Lionstar's paranoia had proven itself valid for the second time in his many long moons. The tom came back to the present, careful to keep a grimace off his face as he refocused on Foxfire. Golden eyes drew level with Foxfire's as he spoke. "Magpiewing and Grayowl - if he's still alive - are patient cats. We need to stay vigilent, even when the rest of the Clan suspects the danger has passed."

I've been building up all these kingdoms for so long
It's good to be king

99 Moons || TreeClan || 318 Words || Abyss

[Abyss]

Lionstar’s response was immediate, something that Foxfire noticed and almost felt a burst of bravery from. His outright statement that he thought Magpie would return was all Fox needed to justify always being on alert. She always was anyway, but this gave her a reason, or excuse, to give to someone should they ever ask. But she listened to the rest of the tom’s explanation as well. She had heard the name Grayowl mentioned in the past, though she never really paid much attention. If there was a chance that he was no longer alive, she had no reason to know who he was.

There was a silence when the tom finished speaking. The narrowed amber eyes of the Warrior looked towards him momentarily, ready to speak her own opinion on the case of Magpiewing. But she found that the Leader was staring intently ahead of him, lost in thought. There was a slight ping of irritation that rippled through her, but she pushed it aside for now. She leaned down to the water again, choosing to lap up a few small drinks instead of dwell on what he was thinking. When he did speak again, her eyes looked to him, but she didn’t lift her head. He stated that Magpiewing and this Grayowl figure were very patient and that they should always be on alert, even if the rest of the clan wasn’t.

I am always alert. Any chance I would get to tear into a threatening rogue is worth the constant restlessness. She would have stated this out loud had it not been for the hesitation in her mind. Surely Lionstar already knew that this was the way Foxfire was on a daily basis as it was. She had spent many moons showing what kind of cat she was, outwardly anyway, as obvious as possible. There was no need to try to show herself off more so than she already did. But a thought did occur to her that she had increasing curiosity about. It wasn’t often that she sought out the opinions of other cats, but her wonder outweighed this. She lifted her head from the water and looked directly to Lionstar, the pupils in her eyes quite thin and her eyes themselves narrowed, a look of curiosity, hatred, and almost intimidation laced through.

“And what of Hemlockpaw and Adderpaw? Every cat in the clan saw what he did and heard what she said as Magpie was banished. What are we to think of them?”

____________________________________________
Words: 418 | Fawn | Notes:

[Fawn]

Lionstar

The crown is getting heavy
But they've written my name in the stars

"They're apprentices," he said, voice grim and deep. "I might take action against them if they were young warriors, but they are not. I believe Hemlockpaw to be as much a victim to his father's sadistic games as Ravenstorm was. Adderpaw..." Lionstar's mind filled with the visage of the eerie, detached tortoiseshell kitten. She had inherited her mother's thousand-yard-stare, but it lacked the... false warmth? False friendship? Of Mockingbird's. This was a kitten that did not go to any great lengths to fit in, or behave in any way that wasn't true to herself. It was concerning, and yet he could not name any warning signs beyond her last exchange with Magpiewing.

"I can't blame her for her heritage," Lionstar conceded. "Or the relationship she had with him. You may know better than most how difficult family dynamics can be." The divorce between Scorchwing and Rowanflower was but one of many domestic disputes he'd dealt with other the moons, but it had stood out to him at the time. That kind of instability in a family was difficult to work through - perhaps why Foxfire's vehemence and unforgiving viewpoints had formed the way they had, and her brother's demeanor was much more amicable. If the relationship of their parents had not soured so significantly, perhaps the she-cat before him would be... different.

Lionstar wasn't critiquing her. She was a valuable warrior and a part of what made TreeClan, TreeClan. He would never know the details of contention between Scorchwing and Rowanflower, and he didn't need to. They had not wronged the Clan in any significant way, and he did not suspect their children ever would. Grayowl's descendants were different, but they were still young. Too young to be pointing such a harsh, accusatory eye on them by their own Clan leader.

The golden tom's tail flicked. "They will not be punished, but they will be watched. As much for their sakes as well as TreeClan's." When he looked to Foxfire, it went without saying that he expected her vigilance on this matter. He'd said as much to Gorsetail, Pumafang, Falconstorm, Timberfrost - and any other cat that he trusted to be neutral but observant on this matter.

I've been building up all these kingdoms for so long
It's good to be king

99 Moons || TreeClan || 365 Words || Abyss

[Abyss]

F O X F I R E

There it was again. That ping of irritation. The deep-red she-cat listened as her Leader spoke, but the meaning that came through his words were not to her approval. She had things to say, her own input into this situation, but she knew to wait. Wait until his piece was said. It would, in a way, force him to listen to what she had to say. As she listened, her tail, hidden behind her, lashed side to side. She almost felt the urge to laugh at his mentioning of Hemlockpaw, but she held back. And then he got to Adderpaw. He did pause, which in her mind meant that he had been thinking about the young she-cat’s actions previous to now intently. What he said caused her tail to do a very quick lash in a circle around her, but she forced herself to calm down as he added something else. He made mention of her own family and how they interacted.

Her narrowed amber gaze turned away from the large tom and towards the water. Her own family, split nearly in half due to certain...circumstances. Even though she didn’t mean to think of so, the thought of why her family had split only caused both anger and confusion to grow slightly within her. Her father had been teaching she and her brother valuable lessons and had even been intent on turning her into the Deputy and future Leader of Treeclan. She and her brother were, questionably on his end, cats that any mother should be proud of. Yet it was these reasons that caused her mother to reject her father and attempt to completely remove him from the lives of his own offspring. How was she not proud that he was teaching them what he was? It weighed on Foxfire’s mind occasionally, but now was not the time for that.

She lifted her head once again, her chin raised in a stance of pride and confidence as her eyes redirected back to Lionstar. “Apprentices or no, all cats that aren’t kits must learn to take responsibility for their actions eventually. This is only my opinion, but the two of them chose to follow under the messed up intentions of their father. They could have chosen not to, had they seen him as a Treeclan Warrior and not just a father. But now they are where they are because of the choice they made, so they should accept however their clanmates see them.” As she chose the next words she was to say, her pupils narrowed thinner, nearly as thin as a blade of grass. “One can only hope they don’t take after him more than they already have.”

When the tom spoke again of keeping an eye on the two of them, she almost snorted. As if nearly every cat in the clan wasn’t already keeping an eye on them after the scene that they were involved in. As much as the sarcasm nearly spilled from her jaws, she knew to contain such thoughts. She hated to, but she knew that being in the presence of the current Leader meant she had to “behave”, in a sense. She nodded to his statement, turning back to the water in front of her paws. She had been watching the two of them since it happened. That wouldn’t be stopping any time soon.

WORDS: 561 | Fawn | NOTES: -

By Cotton of Template HQ