[Ghost the Undead Goddess]

Owlmind

LightningClan || 72 Moons || Deputy

At least the weather wasn't completely unbearable as the sun happily sat within the sky above, but that didn't stop the senior warrioress from feeling the cold sink deep into her thin, gray pelt to latch to her bones beneath. It even caused that uncomfortable ache within her shoulder to bother her with dull irritation. The only warm comfort she got during this season was the nest she had deep in the middle of the warriors den.

And even then, she still grew cold most nights.

Nimble paws led the rather thin looking feline towards the entrance to Lightningclan's open camp, pausing as a morning hunting patrol emerged from the moorlands beyond the safety of the walls. Amber pools flickered over each windblown, lanky feline and was pleased to see a small mouse dangling from Cardinalpaw's jaws as well as a hare from Palescreech's. It was always a good sign when hunting patrols returned with warm prey, even if it was a small amount it was enough to raise moral.

It brought hope despite the dim moons of Leafbare and prey-less nights.

Flicking her long, thin tail towards the Medicine Cat's den, Owlmind parted her gray jaw to speak in that familiar, raspy tone. "Good job guys. Cardinalpaw, why don't you take that mouse to Kindleflare and Tigereye." The fresh apprentice gave a nod with a tired gaze before slowly trudging his weary paws towards the heavily herb-scented den. The deputy soon dismissed the three other warriors before turning those wide, amber pools towards the apprentice den where she spotted the large, golden furred form of her daughter.

"Ready, Little Warrior?" Owlmind called out in a soft rasp once the growing apprentice finally made her way towards the gray feline's side. Though it was her job as deputy to overlook training and preform warrior assessments, it didn't mean she couldn't spend some time with any of her three kits on occasions without the weight of responsibility. The aging warrior had been a busy cat within the clan from the time they were old enough to be weaned from her milk, this gave her the time to get to know Goldenpaw, see the young she-cat she was becoming as she grew within the clan among the moors.

The strategical she-cat had approached her oldest daughter's mentor, Sunnyheart, the night before about taking the young golden apprentice out for the day. It relieved some duties for the proud and hard working warrior, not to mention some free time to spend with his mates and young kits.

Nodding her head forwards, Owlmind gave her daughter free reign to leave and lead on their two cat patrol. Everything had been quiet and calm on all borders, and if they needed any help there was a warrior posted at each border out of sight from their rivals across the invisible line that surrounded the moorlands. It wasn't technically a border patrol as it was more or less just the two of them trailing the cold grasslands while talking and spending time with each other.

Though she tried not to be bias as deputy, she was still a mother under the strict general facade she was well known for.

Wisdom. Courage. Strategy.

Ginger Hellion (Sunnyheart) || 544 Words

[Ginger]

Goldenpaw had been practicing her patience. Ever since her mother had told her that they would be traversing the territory together on this day, the golden-furred she-cat had been doing her best to keep herself from distracting her from other duties. Most nights, Goldenpaw would stay up longer than the other apprentices to practice keeping vigil like the other warriors did.

It used to make her tired, but she was getting acclimated to less and less sleep. This day had been no different. After waking up a long time before the other apprentices, Goldenpaw simply sat there, focusing on her breathing while staying alert for movement outside of the den. She was becoming rather good at it.

After the other apprentices had risen, Goldenpaw made her way outside of the den and sat herself down again, practicing patience. Staying away from the meager fresh-kill pile. Owlmind would come for her when it was time. 

"Ready, Little Warrior?"

Goldenpaw was more than ready, but now she was filled with a sense of calm from her vigil the entire morning. Green eyes looked up and met her mother's. "I was born ready."

After Owlmind nodded to give Goldenpaw control of the "patrol," the large she-cat widened her eyes in slight surprise before heading out of the camp. Goldenpaw wanted to see the many borders. She wanted to understand them, commit them to memory, and learn about them. 

She had a general inkling of where the Open Woods were, so the long-furred apprentice began to make her way there. "Why does TreeClan want to fight NightClan, but not us?" 

If a clan were so aggressive towards another, wouldn't they be aggressive towards all of them?

---

283 words
Ghost the Undead Goddess

[Ghost the Undead Goddess]

Owlmind

LightningClan || 72 Moons || Deputy

Her paws had led her over the wide moorlands and through the vast tunnels underneath for several long, enduring moons. The lanky gray she-cat was well aware of the direction in which her golden furred daughter began to lead them as the snow crunched softly beneath each paw-step.

Treeclan's border was on low alert at the moment, as they were more preoccupied with their other neighbor within shadows, Nightclan. Patrols were less busy than they were among the border shared with Stoneclan, though it didn't stop the aging deputy from keeping a cat posted among the open woods at all times.

Mudpelt was currently the warrior with eyes upon the forests beyond. 

Owlmind didn't take short-cuts when it came to keeping her clan safe. Even if they weren't currently involved in valley wide politics or problems, that didn't mean there wasn't a possibility of them spilling over into Lightninclan. The gray feline had taken precautionary measures the second the other clans began to jump at each other's throats. 

Nightstep was in charge of training and disciplining those within the art and skills of battle training whereas Brightpool taught the swifter and sneakier cats the knowledge and skills needed for border watching and tunnel traveling. 

She did what she could as deputy beneath her brother's reign as leader. 

Flickering a large, wide ear to listen to her daughter, Owlmind reflected over the question for a moment before parting her gray jaws to give a rasped reply. "We offer no reason for aggression." Those unreadable amber hues shifted to watch Goldenpaw near her, curious about her daughter's curiosity. 

The oldest of her three had always shown a different type of restraint when it came to the clans around them. She wanted to learn and experience, and  war had always been on the forefront of her mind for the last few moons. Was it simply because of young excitement about the situation itself, or was she wanting to seek deeper knoweledge on the subject in hopes of understanding it. 

Did Goldenpaw wish to become a strategist like Owlmind herself, or did she want to learn to counter it in a way it would never happen again?

It was always different scenarios that ran through the brilliant deputy's mind. She went through life that way, questioning and re-questioning, examining and looking through different possibilities It was only fair for her to assume that Goldenpaw picked apart things in a similar way she did by the way she held herself, by the way she acted. 

Owlmind was extremely proud of her large formed daughter. 

"Treeclan and Nightclan have been rivals and enemies for as long back as any elder can tell you of history. It's within their nature to fight and claw at each other, especially if they refuse to let history continue rather than alter it." The older feline spoke again, this time her long tail wavered behind her as the two continued to slowly pad through the snow covered moorlands. 

"There are others with such heated history, like us and Stoneclan." Though Owlmind had no negative feelings or thoughts towards their neighbors within the scrublands, it didn't prevent the fact that she had engaged in a brutal life long battle with them alongside her clanmates. She did not seek conflict, never had, but she had always had the wisdom to prepare for it.

"I can tell you that Lionstar was pushed into this. He is a courageous tom, the leader of Treeclan but he would not send his clan into needless bloodshed unless it was his last resort." Which is how it should be, violence was hardly the answer to anything, but sometimes it was the only thing needed in certain situations.

There was obvious respect within the aging she-cat's voice as she spoke, similar to the way she had spoken of Hawkstar when scolding Crowface during the gathering after the old tom's death. She found no need to bewitch her words, to lie about their neighbors in an attempt to breed hatred and animosity when there was no need for it. 

Hatred bred war. War bred fear. Fear bred hatred. How horrible the cycle seemed to be. 

Wisdom. Courage. Strategy.

Ginger Fawn (Lionstar) || 707 Words

[Ginger]

Did LightningClan really put forth no aggression towards TreeClan? It seemed strange that a TreeClan, a clan capable of great amiability towards one clan, was also capable of such hate towards another. Was it really in their blood to hate NightClan? Was it really in LightningClan's blood to fight with StoneClan?

Which one was natural: peace or war? Or was that the wrong question to be asking... Which one was natural: victory or defeat? Was it more important for someone else to suffer defeat by your own claws, or was it more important for everyone to win?

To Goldenpaw, the answer seemed obvious. Why couldn't the clans learn forgiveness in order to create a world where everyone won?

"What if we could ... push out of war?" While it was not articulated the best, Goldenpaw was curious. How was it that there wasn't a stronger desire making the clans fight to end wars instead of win them?

Goldenpaw was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even realize when she stepped on a medium-sized creature. "Oh!" It immediately hopped up and began to speed away. Without even thinking, she went after it, her legs straining to push her as fast as it was moving. To push her to be faster than it was moving.

Summoning everything she had, Goldenpaw leaped forward with her strong hind legs and landed square on the mid-sized rabbit. The force of her landing caused a loud CRACK, and the rabbit was dead. It must have been a juvenile, for it was much smaller than a mature rabbit. It would still feed someone. 

The large apprentice picked up the rabbit and looked to her mother, beaming with pride. Her first kill! She padded over to Owlmind, then dropped the rabbit in order to speak again. "What can I do to improve?" Already, she was looking for ways to grow. There was always room for improvement, and Goldenpaw knew that there was lots of room for her.

---

330 words
Ghost the Undead Goddess

[Ghost the Undead Goddess]

Owlmind

LightningClan || 72 Moons || Deputy

It was curious, listening to her eldest daughter wonder and decipher the world around her. Goldenpaw was still young, but already she showed the wisdom of an aged cat and the morals of one who had seen years of hard war and many deaths. She had always been intuitive in that sort of way, and the aging deputy had always been aware of the intense skills of observation she used when watching older, respectable warriors. 

Even those who weren't in Lightningclan.  

The gray oriental had been impressed with Goldenpaw's questions and keen interest when it came to a conversation the former queen had with Rainclan's deputy, Emberlight. It brought a wave a pride washing through her narrow chest, despite her ability to remain bias, she couldn't deny that she was still their mother. And as such, she felt the maternal pride that one should at the growth of their offspring. 

Goldenpaw would go far in her life, perhaps one day even climbing to the rank of leader. 

Owlmind went to part her dilute muzzle to reply when a hare darted off from near where her daughter was padding. The natural urge to dart after the bobbing white rodent was quelled as Goldenpaw moved faster than her aging mother. It was times like this, when she was around any of the three daughters, did she realize the moons were slowly closing in on her. Each creak of her joints in the morning, the old ache within her shoulder...

How much longer would she be there, guiding and molding the minds of the future.

The slender feline was pleased to see Goldenpaw take down the hare with a swift pace. Lowering her haunches into a sitting position, the deputy waited as her daughter trotted back towards where she had left Owlmind in a speedy frenzy. Wide amber pools flickered with faint flames of pride as she noted the golden apprentice's first kill. With her interest in training, it wasn't uncommon for her to speak with all the assigned mentors in an attempt to keep up with their wards' progress. 

The previous conversation dropped for now, the general like molly flickered her long, thin tail before wrapping it around her paws. "You did well keeping up with him." A praise as not many swift-footed warriors could catch up to a frightened hare they weren't prepared for. Though soon to be followed by some sort of constructive criticism as there was always room for improvement. 

"You should always be aware of your surroundings, even on the safety of the moorlands." The deputy started in that familiar rasp of hers, amber pools watching Goldenpaw with a now unreadable expression across her narrow face. "I was curious to see when you would notice that rabbit, I caught his scent not to far back." It wasn't a gloat, it was an example of how her daughter still had much to learn. 

She didn't expect any apprentice to pick it up their first time, let alone their second time. Being careful and patient was a virtue learned from season after season, it was no difference with natural skills such as hunting and fighting. "I'm sure Kindleflare and Tigereye would enjoy your catch... Unless you'd rather share it with your sisters." There was a faint twinkle in the elder she-cat's gaze, knowing the first kill could be special depending on the cat. 

Wisdom. Courage. Strategy.

Ginger || 572 Words 

[Ginger]

Goldenpaw nodded solemnly at her mother's constructive critique. She would not have caught the rabbit had she not stumbled on it. While it was good to interact with one's clanmates, it was also important to stay vigilant at all times. If not, she could miss important details. If it had been a prey-scarce season and she had missed a rabbit due to not staying aware, then her clanmates would starve. 

She had to always be her best. Not for herself, but for her clan. 

At the suggestion of keeping the rabbit for herself and her sisters, Goldenpaw shook her head. That rabbit was not for her. Not when the healers of the clan still had not eaten.

"Kindleflare and Tigereye deserve a good meal for all the hard work they put into this clan."

She looked at her mother with perceptive eyes, looking at her flank in particular. Her mother had always been skinny, but she seemed a little more skinny than usual. Had she been eating? Or was age finally starting to take its toll on her?

"As do you," she added.

---

183 words
Ghost the Undead Goddess