[Deleted]

Galebird
The Voice of Reason
Once upon a time our world was on fire and I loved to watch it burn
Wild and reckless, never any limits, guess I had a lot to learn
Cause fire turns to embers, embers to ashes that blow away too soon

---

Stretching out joints and muscles, the older she-cat flicked the ears atop her head before shaking out her white fur, dropping bits of moss to the ground. It was a new day, with a cool breeze to knock out the heat of the sun as the wide, yellow orb rose into the sky. The Dawn Patrol had already returned and curled up in their nests before the warrioress had awaken.

It wasn't often she was able to sleep in, and so she treasured the extra moments of shut eye, which put her in a rather fabulous mood. Running her tongue over her stark white pelt quickly, the senior warrior have her fur a good clean before exiting the Warrior's den. Cool, deep amber eyes flickered over to the Apprentice's den where three of the younger cats were probably still snoozing away.

She had asked their mentors if she could take them out for a day, and of course they agreed to her question without hesitation. Trotting over, Galebird let her voice echo through the smaller Apprentice's Den as she called out their names in a sing-song way. "Blazepaw, Mudpaw, Gustpaw."

Stepping back, she took a seat, waiting for the three to join her for their hunting expedition. It had been a while since the older she-cat had spent time with the three younger toms. She had been close to their mother, Dovesong, who had pasted some moons ago with their sister, Galekit. She had grown closer with the toms as she felt a different form of their pain, since she had lost two of her three kits, leaving only Bramblethorn to grow as a Lightningclan Warrior.

The older she-cat's eyes glanced over at the small Fresh-Kill pile, with a senior warrior and three sharp minded apprentices, they could probably bring back loads of prey, and they were going to head over to the Star Field, where the rabbits loved to play in the tall grass. Movement caught her eyes as the three toms and brothers drifted from their nests.

"Come on sleepy rabbits." Galebird said in a mocking tone, amused that they were still asleep when she had called to them, though the motherly tone in her voice gave way that she wasn't being to hard on them. Flicking her tail, the white she-cat bounding towards the camp entrance, heading towards the Star Field as she waiting for the three apprentices to catch up.

---

Now everything after you is like having wine after whiskey
It went from do anything for you babe to you don’t even miss me
Once you’ve tasted a love that strong you can’t go back
And you can’t settle on anything less

Phoenix
Fawn
Fate Admin

[Fawn]

Mudpaw
10 Moons. Tom. LightningClan.

Given that it was usually Redstar who came to fetch him from the apprentices' den in the mornings, it was with the expectation that he would see her when he rolled up and out of his nest, not wanting her to think he wasn't taking her mentoring seriously. At first, he'd found it unnerving that Redstar would seek him out personally, rather than send a warrior to pass along a message to have him meet her someplace; it certainly took a little of the mystique out of the position. As it turned out, Redstar was just like any other cat, she could have easily passed for one of his mother's friends, and Mudpaw wasn't sure how he felt about this. In the studious young mind of the brown-furred tom, he had somehow built up an illusion of the cat chosen by StarClan to lead them; expecting a cat who had been rightfully all-knowing and with reserved, quiet compassion with no small amount of dignity, Redstar had surprised him.

"I'm awake," he responded to the sing-song voice outside the den; the fact that the voice was asking for Blazepaw and Gustpaw as well should've been the tip off, but it was the disappearance of a bright white tail from the entrance that finally caught his attention. It was someone familiar to him, but not someone he went hunting with often; if he'd seen the white fur and not heard the matronly voice, he would have suspected Brightpool, his older cousin, coming to collect them for some sort of apprentice assessment. Wracking his drowsy brain as he shook the bits of moss from his pelt, the proper name rushed up to meet him as he took a couple of short steps into LightningClan's camp, seeking out that solid white tail. "Good morning, Galebird. Are we having an assessment?"

Polite in tone, somber of gaze, the 10 moon old apprentice had maintained his manners since kithood, and regarded it as one of the few things he still had that reminded him of Dovesong. Should I wake those two up? Even as he considered doing so, his wide, round brown paws were carrying him after the senior warrioress, finding himself unexpectedly comfortable in her presence despite not knowing her as well as he probably should have. She was his mother's friend, after all. Not necessarily in the spirit of meanness, Mudpaw began to trot to keep up with Galebird, intending to leave Blazepaw and Gustpaw to wake up on their own if they hadn't already done so.

There would never come a time when he didn't feel responsible for those two, but this wasn't Redstar who was leading him out towards the Star Field, it was Galebird, he wasn't feeling a rigid sense of formality around the senior warrior that he did with the Clan's leader (just because Redstar was relaxed during their training didn't mean Mudpaw was). As far as his brothers were concerned, they'd just have to play catch up, use their noses and their brains for once to follow their scent trail out of camp and into LightningClan territory. Mudpaw had not yet developed a taste for white lying, so when they did catch up to him and questioned him about why he hadn't woken them up - he'd probably tell them the truth, but Galebird's presence might save him from the consequences of a brief scuffle or a clawing around the ears.

Word Count: 571 Words
Tags: @ghostlight

[Phoenix]

WE'RE ALL OK UNTIL THE DAY WE'RE NOT

“Wha-? I’m – I’m awake.”

There was nothing quite like the confusion of being roused from a deep slumber, and yellow-green eyes half opened, unfocused with sleep and blinking at the light streaming into the den. A groan escaped him and he made little effort to move, perfectly comfortable where he was. It was warm, and he had been having a pleasant dream involving doves and pigeons, and he really did not want to move. He yawned widely as someone next to him shifted. Yes, he should probably being doing that, too. But his eyes felt so heavy – he would just close them for another moment – very briefly, just to gather himself for a second before he would wake…

Something jolted him awake, and he shot upright, nearly hitting his head on the roof of the den. There was something he needed to do. Someone had wanted him – how long ago was it? “Foxdung,” Gustpaw cursed under his breath as he looked around. He hadn’t meant to fall back asleep. Usually that didn’t happen. Usually he was better at getting up, usually because someone reminded him. His gaze fell upon Mudpaw’s empty nest. I’m late. I’m late. Someone wanted me earlier. I’m late. Who was it? Blood suddenly racing, he leapt from the apprentice’s den and was momentarily blinded by the bright sun that shone high in the sky. Blinking, he cast a look around the camp – no, it was not slightly panicked at all – and saw only cats going about their business. Gustpaw kneaded the ground with his paws, something like faint dread beginning to coil low in his gut. Please don’t have it be Darkcloud. His mentor was great, but the apprentice was mostly sure that the older tom would not be particularly pleased by Gustpaw’s desire for more sleep.

“Foxdung.” He tried to think back. Whose voice had woken him the first time? It had been a feminine one, he decided, admittedly relieved when that ruled out the possibility of it being Darkcloud. What she-cat would have asked for him? Frostfire, perhaps? Or maybe Galebird? The latter seemed the more likely answer, for he was not as close to his older sister as he was to Mudpaw and Blazepaw. But speaking of siblings--

“Icewhisker! Icewhisker! Wait a second!”

The pale warrior paused and turned at the sound of his name, blue eyes lighting upon his younger brother. ”Hello Gustpaw,” He greeted pleasantly, head tilted slightly to the side. ”You look flustered. Can I help you with something?”

“Yes, Icewhisker. Actually, have you seen Galebird at all today?”

”Galebird? Yes, I have. Gustpaw, I was wondering: do you know why the sky is blue? I had thought earlier that perhaps it’s because--”

“It’s blue because it’s blue, Icewhisker. Where did Galebird go? And did she have anyone with her?” A part of him regretted his short words when the older tom looked faintly hurt.

”I saw her leaving camp. Your brother was following.”

Relief burst through him at the straight answer. If Icewhisker knew where they were, perhaps he was not that late. “Thanks, Icewhisker. Listen, I’ve got to go, but maybe--” a brief pause “--maybe a little later you can tell me about the sky, okay?” He did feel a little bad.

After receiving a brief smile in response, Gustpaw turned and jogged lightly out of camp. Scenting the air, he picked up on Mudpaw’s and Galebird’s scents and began to follow them with relative ease.

Gustpaw | LightningClan | Apprentice | Audience of One - Rise Against

THE SURFACE SHINES WHILE THE INSIDE ROTS