[Ghost the Undead Goddess]

Owlmind

LightningClan || 72 Moons || Deputy

The lanky feline lay curled tightly within her nest, not nearly as excited about stepping out of the warmth of the Warrior's Den as some might be. Leafbare was the hardest season of them all, but for cats with thin, short pelts it was practically hell. The aging feline swore the cold and snow would be the end of her one day. 

She'd be lying if she said she didn't miss the familiar warmth of her brother in the nest beside her, back when he was still deputy rather than the leader of Lightningclan. Luckily, she happened to have a fairly delightful spot near the center with the other senior warriors, the cold not nearly as terrible as the ones closer to the entrance of the den.  

Giving a small groan, Owlmind lifted herself from her nest to give each long limb a stretch before shaking herself out. The Oriental feline pushed through the stinging pain of her shoulder as she made her way silently and carefully through the den. 

The forms of Nutfur and Windspirit stirred to life as Dawn Patrol called their names, the deputy not missing the sluggish movements of the normally early rising pale tabby warrior. It seemed to be a normal thing for the last few moons, which pricked at Owlmind's curiosity but it didn't seem to be effecting the free spirited she-cat's duty to her clan. 

For now. 

Owlmind slipped through the frosty morning in the open space of the Lightningclan camp, her quick trot keeping her nimble paws from staying submerged in the snow below for too long. Wide, golden pools focused on the apprentice den's entrance before she easily slipped within the hole with the sounds of snoozing youngsters enjoying their dreams. 

Though she tried to remain bias when it came to her three daughters, the gray coated warrior couldn't help the warmth of pride that rose within her chest as she laid her unreadable gaze upon each sleeping forms. Goldenpaw and Greenpaw curled up together as they were nest neighbors, but Goosepaw was father away. 

She'd always been prickly, even as a newborn squirming at the curve of her belly. 

Subtly, the former queen touched her nose to a golden ear and then to a tabby ear without awaken either she-cats before turning her attention towards the youngster that could easily be considered Owlmind's little clone. Leaning down, the older feline mimicked Goosepaw's actions from a pawful of moons ago. 

Noses touched softly before Owlmind lifted her head to run her prickled tongue against her daughter's forehead before meowing in a quiet, though raspy tone. "Wake up Little Bird." She doubted the gray apprentice needed much to stir from her slumber, always pleased to have her paws doing something rather than nothing. 

Flickering her long tail, the gray deputy shifted before making her way from the closeness of the den and back out into the frigid moorland air. Owlmind waited near the entrance to the moorlands beyond the walls of the Lightningclan camp, her picks for patrols passed to Sunnyheart so that he could give out commands while she was with Goosepaw.  

Wisdom. Courage. Strategy.

Abyss Hellion (Sunnyheart) @jet (Greenpaw) Ginger (Goldenpaw) || 537 Words

[Abyss]

Dreams had a way of making one contemplate their future. Would they grow to be one of the best Warriors? Would they one day become the next Deputy or Leader? Would they eventually fight a battle that would determine their clan’s fate? Or would one never be successful, remaining a mere pawn in the eyes of Starclan? Deep questions, as they were, could never really be answered, for one could never predict the future. Many cats felt the need to know these answers and thought of them often.

Goosepaw was not one of them. Not normally, at least. Her dreams were typically filled with scenes of battles, of large hunting patrols, of Warrior ceremonies. But this morning was slightly different. She was indeed dreaming, and it was in fact about a ceremony, but it was not that of becoming a Warrior. No, this was different.

Bright green eyes stared onward amongst the crowd of Lightningclan cats as a figure climbed upon the Hill Top. A feeling of pride swelled in the gray Warrior’s chest as the cat that appeared above her showed their face. Short gray fur, a long tail, narrowed eyes, and a serious expression. Owlmind had the appearance of a strong and renowned Leader, taking her perch on top of the Leader’s den. A sideways glance at the cat next to her reminded her of the position she was in. Her uncle, previously known as Redstar, sat next to her with his head lifted in pride. Her gaze reverted back to her mother, waiting for whatever words she had to say. She watched as Owlmind took in a deep breath, getting straight to the point of this meeting.

“I say these words before Starclan...so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice.” Her eyes scanned the crowd of cats. Finally, her mother’s gaze landed on that of Goose. She was silent for a few moments before she finally spoke. "The new Deputy of Lightningclan is Little Bird.” Confusion swept the gray Warrior’s face. Owlmind’s voice sounded much closer than she was, almost as though she had said it right in Goose’s ear. Yet she was not that close. And her actual name was not Little Bird. So why…?

The scene went black as eyes slowly began to open, being met with a combination of darkness and distant light. Blurred vision watched as a silhouette left her side and exited the den, only a brief flash of gray revealing itself before the cat disappeared. She blinked a few times to shoo away the blurriness, muscles slowly flexing within her shoulders and back as she unravelled herself from her curled position within her nest. As Goosepaw got to her feet, quickly stretching out each leg as they one by one stepped out of the nest, her eyes scanned the area around her. Many of the others were still asleep, which she found pleasing.

Eyes directing back to the entrance of the den, the lanky gray she-cat padded through the maze of sleeping bodies before emerging out into the camp. A shiver ran down her spine as the coldness of Leafbare hit her, causing her tail to lash once in irritation. This season was a hassle. Way too cold, not enough prey, and too little of fur to keep one warm. Green pools landed on that of Owlmind, a cat that was highly relatable even without being her mother. Goldenpaw and Goosepaw both had more fur than their mother, and Goose had inherited most of her attributes from her mother. Her short fur was a pain in the tail, but it wasn’t as if she could change it. Not like she would want to. There was a sense of confidence with being able to say that she was basically a smaller version of the Lightningclan Deputy.

“Hello mother, ” she growled, her voice being another way that she was like her mother.

I give what you deserve.

APPRENTICE |LIGHTNINGCLAN

Ghost the Undead Goddess / 657

[Ghost the Undead Goddess]

Owlmind

LightningClan || 72 Moons || Deputy

She couldn't help the bubble of amusement that rose within her chest upon the arrival of her middle born, though it didn't physically show upon the Lightningclan deputy's features. Wide amber pools slowly ran over the growing apprentice with an unreadable, studious expression.

Of her three daughters, Goosepaw was the most similar in overall appearance aside from the differences in eye color. Both she-cats were lanky, gray orientals with long narrow faces and large ears that set upon their heads. However, what amused the older of the two more than anything was the low rasp that sounded more like a growl when it came to the  youngster's tone of voice. 

Owlmind herself held a raspy tone, she always had such a voice even as a young kit. It was something fairly unique to her, and she was proud of the fact that Goosepaw had a slightly different variation that was unique to herself. Not to mention it seemed to add to her character and rather abrasive personality.

Flicking her long tail, the former queen finally lifted herself to her nimble paws once she was done with her quick assessment. "Goosepaw." That familiar rasp fell from the older feline's gray maw as she gave a small dip of her head in greeting to the youngster. "We'll be traveling the mountain border, but we'll go by tunnels so we don't freeze out paws in the snow." 

There was a flicker of one of those wide ears, showing the faint but obvious distaste Owlmind had for the soft, cold powder and the chilly weather of Leafbare. 

As for their destination, Owlmind had chosen the unrivaled border simply because it was the least active and safer for smaller parties to journey along. They kept it scented to keep loners or rogues that had strayed into the valley away from their moorlands, and occasionally scattered prey could be found among the cracks and stones due to lack of active hunting by the clan. 

Perhaps the two Orientals would get lucky and bring some prey back home to their clanmates. "Ready to go?" The senior warrioress asked, moving to pad through the entrance of Lightningclan's camp as the wind greeted her upon entering the wide open moorlands, the chill quickly finding it's way to her bones through her thin pelt.

She hated the cold.

Wisdom. Courage. Strategy.

Abyss || 398 Words 

[Abyss]

As she reached Owlmind’s side, the very briefly noticed her mother’s eyes scanning over her, though didn’t think anything of it. She listened as the older she-cat’s raspy voice spoke, saying that they would be patrolling their border along the mountains.

This actually somewhat surprised the gray Apprentice. Most patrols she found herself on were taken along the borders of Stoneclan and Treeclan, mostly to ensure that their fellow clans weren’t up to anything. Though, when she considered it, Treeclan was likely busy dealing with their Nightclan affairs about now, so they shouldn’t be a problem. And then Stoneclan...who knew. At this point, she didn’t know what the relationship between her own clan and theirs was like, nor did she care. As long as they didn’t do anything that Lightningclan would make them regret.

She lightly nodded, fangs momentarily baring at the coldness that her mother mentioned. Even where she stood she could feel the slight numbness that came with the snow, making her pawpads sting. Once they started walking this would likely go away, but it was still a pain to deal with.

As the she-cat asked if she was ready, Goosepaw nodded, following her mother out of the entrance to the camp. She too felt the cold wind hit her, sending many shivers down her body and making her tail tense up. As much as she wished that she didn’t have to go out into the snow like this, she knew that she had to. It wasn’t like it could be made a rule for the fluffier cats of the clan to go out during Leafbare and not those with shorter fur. All of them had to do their duties for the clan, even if that meant nearly freezing to death.

While the cold was indeed on her mind, as it often was around this time, she found her mind wandering to something else quite quickly. That dream…

Why did she have it? She had never before had the desire to become the Deputy, nor had she ever really considered what it would be like. Yes, her uncle was the clan Leader and her mother was the Deputy, but that didn’t mean she saw herself in either position one day. In truth, she didn’t know what she wanted with her future. She knew she wanted to become a Warrior. No, she would become a Warrior, even if the relationship between her mentor and she was a little bit...prickly. But beyond that, she wasn’t sure. Did she want to remain a Warrior for her whole life? Did she want to live her life mainly training Apprentices? Did she want to become Deputy?

“Mother…..did you ever want to become Deputy before you were made into one?” The question was a little bit sudden, but there was something about it that stood out. Of course, Goosepaw’s typical growl accompanied her question, but her voice was more quiet and thoughtful than normal, and her eyes remained aimed towards the ground as she spoke and walked. Maybe talking to Owlmind about it would help get rid of these thoughts. Or only make them keep coming back. Whichever came first.

I give what you deserve.

APPRENTICE |LIGHTNINGCLAN

Ghost the Undead Goddess / 529

[Ghost the Undead Goddess]

Owlmind

LightningClan || 72 Moons || Deputy

Wide ears flickered in different directions in an attempt to keep up with the sounds around them. Not only for the sake of possible predators driven hungry due to lack of prey during Leafbare but also in case a mouse or a curious hare decided to make it's presence known. Any scrap of fresh meat was better than what was currently on the pile. 

She hoped the group hunting teams she sent out for the day would return with promising mouthfuls. 

The lanky gray feline had to force herself not to shiver as another frosted breeze pressed against her short coat, sinking down to her bones and causing that ache within her shoulder to throb. She'd be glad to see Leafbare and all it's powdered snow, return to the warmer moons of Greenleaf, It was an unfortunate event that it was only destined to return in the future. 

Owlmind listened to the rough rasp of her daughter, only drawing her wide amber hues from the rising mountains to the young gray feline by her side once Goosepaw was finished with her question. She wasn't expecting quite and inquiry from the middle kit of her brood, though it piqued her curiosity. 

Did Goosepaw want to know simply because she was curious about her mother prior to being known as the Deputy of Lightningclan. Was there a possibility that the young gray feline herself was having ambitious thoughts in attempting to climb the high ranks herself, or was she simply making conversation in an attempt to connect with her mother. Could she possibly be taking notes, figuring out how to better her future with the known success of her mother?

It was always the different thought paths that Owlmind enjoyed exploring when she analyzed different cats. Her daughter won no reprieve from her perceptive mind, nor was she the only one of the three that the aging Deputy had picked apart within her head.

The former queen was well versed in reading those around her.

"I never had any desire, no." Owlmind finally parted her silvering jaws to respond to Goosepaw, her tone a softer and more proper rasp than her daughter's rougher tone. "All I wanted was to learn and to teach, to mold apprentices into well rounded and impressive warriors of Lightningclan." 

A mentor, a teacher, a guide within the young moons of apprentices was something Owlmind had always desired and favored above ambition. Throughout her long service of her moorland clan, the lanky feline had trained several warriors, proudly watching as they earned their name and rank among their clanmates.

Within her time as a mentor, she had only lost one apprentice, a young silver tabby by the name of Silverpaw, who had heroically given her life to save another. May she hunt happily in Starclan...

"But, you know, that's what a deputy and a leader are. They are the mentor of the whole clan, they guide and nourish growth within their clanmates." Owlmind continued after a while, flicking that long tail of hers as she reflected on the mass clan training she had recently implemented within Lightningclan in preparation and protection in case war came to their borders.

Strategically, the aging deputy had chosen one of the best fighters in the clan to train and aid in battle practice. Meanwhile, she had also chosen the original cat who revived the tunnel system to train slender, small cats to tunnel and remain hidden during border watches. Even one of the best hunters in the clan had gained a position where he aided in adjusting and perfecting other's hunting skills.

Everything she did, she did for the betterment of the clan, for the safety of those beneath her grayed wings.

"Where is this question coming from, Little Bird?" 

Wisdom. Courage. Strategy.

Abyss || 638 Words 

[Abyss]

There was a silence that set in after the gray Apprentice spoke her question, a silence that she almost welcomed. She did not expect her mother to answer, truthfully. She did want to know the answer, but didn’t expect some in-depth description of her experiences or previous wants. She was curious about her mother, but was willing to accept whatever wisdom the older she-cat had to offer.

As that familiar rasped tone spoke, a single green eye looked up towards the Deputy, ears slightly rotated to listen. It was somewhat of a surprise for Owlmind to say that she hadn’t wanted the position, for, in Goosepaw’s mind, she was perfect for it. But the reasoning that the she-cat provided both aided and refuted this thought.

Owlmind had merely wanted to train Apprentices to become Warriors, members of the clan that the rest of the clan could be proud of. On one paw, it made sense for her to have no wish other than to be a mentor. She was a good teacher, and had trained many Apprentices already, and she was good at it. She didn’t have to become Deputy in order for her to be a mentor, for everyone knew that she was talented as she was. But on the other paw, as she stated, that was basically what a Deputy was. They were a teacher, a cat trusted by the Leader to handle the smaller duties of the clan and to oversee the training and upbringing of the younger generations. While a Leader wasn’t quite the same, they were very similar, they merely had quite a few other things to focus on.

Her eyes returned to face ahead, considering her mother’s words. Owlmind had not intended to become the Deputy, but she had been promoted to it because Redstar knew that she was a perfect fit for that position. It was not because they were brother and sister. It was not because she had asked him to be promoted. It was because Owlmind was seen as the optimal candidate.

A single ear flicked as the older gray feline spoke once more, asking where the question had come from. It was hard to explain really.

“I had a dream this morning, before you woke me up. A clan meeting had been called. I was already a Warrior, sitting in the crowd next to Redstar, and you were the one that made the announcement.” The gray she-cat went silent for a moment, eyes narrowing in a mixture of confusion and almost troubled. “You were announcing a new Deputy. And...you had looked at me.”

She went silent once more, still contemplating in her head why she would of had such a dream. “I’ve never thought about or wanted to become Deputy one day. All I want is to become a Warrior.” Thoughts clouding for a moment, the Apprentice’s claws unsheathed, digging into the ground as she walked and a growl erupting from her throat. “I can’t figure out why I had it.”

She was frustrated. She wanted to know why she had it. It had been bugging her since the moment she woke up, and anything that was this much of an annoyance caused her temper to flare.

A scent suddenly made its way onto her tongue, her ears perking and her paws stopping where they were. Green eyes scanned the area around them, pupils narrowed and watching for any movements. She didn’t spot anything, but she surely smelled it. Rabbit.

With snow covering the ground and pressing down much of the typically tall grasses, it was harder to blend in and use the scent of the grass itself to cover one’s own scent. But this also meant that it was easier to spot prey, if it happened to be in the open.

The gray Apprentice slowly bent her legs, lowering her torso closer to the ground as her paws redirected her to the right. Without turning her head, her eyes watched either side of her in search of the rabbit. When she finally did catch sight of the rodent, not too far ahead of her, her body froze, lowering closer to the ground. It was digging at the snow, pulling at the grass that was hidden underneath. It was probably looking for any herbs it could find, since everything was hard to find when buried under mostly frozen water.

As soon as the rabbit’s eyes had turned away from her, the she-cat’s body shot forward, leaping towards the rodent with claws unsheathed. She felt her claws slide into the rabbit’s back, causing the creature to begin letting out a high pitched squeal. But with it trapped underneath her, Goosepaw quickly bit at its neck, the squeal ending just as quickly as it had started. Removing her paws from the freshly killed body, her jaws remained around its neck as she lifted its motionless form and walked back towards where Owlmind had been.

I give what you deserve.

APPRENTICE |LIGHTNINGCLAN

Ghost the Undead Goddess / 823