Meadowclaw smiled before looking onwards dramatically, a trait she'd inherited from their mother.Her fur ruffled in a slight breeze. Tentatively, war and peace incarnate stood side by side and said it was time to fight."May StarClan bless our claws."(Sc-Ecc- Meadowclaw's already been busy!)
Valleystorm gave a small smile, "Let's do it" she said, standing up next to her sister. She was grateful that her words had some effect on Meadowclaw. It warmed her heart to know that she could help in any way. She was grateful that the outcome of this emotional mess was that the two were closer now, than they ever were before. Possibly the closest relationship that Valleystorm had had with any cat, and that thought made her happy.
Meadowclaw's mind was a fuming chimney of ideas about herself, but the fire was quelled to a manageable volume by Valleystorm's concerned words. The she-cat was pacified and turned towards her sister, clarity startling. The world snapped into focus.
Starclan, she thought, I thought I was the one that had a way with words.
"Valleystorm," she said, the moment touching and soft, "thank you so much- I-I think I know what I need to do." she looked to the west, towards Raven's Fortress. "I-I just have this awful feeling that I need to go and help. If-if you'd like, I'd love it if you would come with me," she said, spur of the moment. She realized after the words left her mouth what she was asking and snapped her jaw shut.
Startled by her sister's sudden outbreak, Valleystorm almost flinched. It felt as if her heart broke a little seeing Meadowclaw in such pain, she had never seen this side of her before. Her whole life she had seen her sister as being a strong, intimidating cat. And while she could be rude at times, Valleystorm had always looked up to her confidence and power. She put her head down and rest her tail on her sister's shoulder. "Whats done is done, we all make mistakes" comforting others was never something she was good at but she was going to try really hard this time to help. "No matter what happens not, its all in the past, we cant change that. All we can do is look ahead and see where we can try to change that. Some things may not be fixable, and that's just the way of the world, but you have to work with that you've got. While others may not be, I'll always stand by you. I forgive you for anything you think needs my forgiveness. Worrying about the past is pointless, its much better to focus on the present and future" her voice was shaking slightly by the end, but she hoped her words could reach Meadowclaw and comfort her, even if it was only a little.
Meadowclaw's teeth ground together at the answer- circumstance, essentially, was what Valleystorm and Meadowclaw both knew to be the response. "I have so many regrets about those days," she said softly, "From one day to another, the way I treated my own brothers and sisters. . . " Meadowclaw's paws became cold with realization, her ears hot. The way she'd yelled and ignored Valleykit, Plateaukit, Mountainkit, Beachkit, Tundrakit, and Pricklekit was the same way she'd just subjected her entire family to her will within the camp. It was a reach, but to Meadowclaw, the parallels were suddenly shocking.
"Oh StarClan, what've I done!" she cried out suddenly, claws digging into moist earth, "Valleystorm- I'm so sorry-"
The question was quite a shock, and left Valleystorm speechless for a few moments. It took her another few moments to think of an answer, "I think, that while she might not have showed it very much, she liked you a lot. When you left with Pricklegaze, she was pretty sad, and you coming back made her very happy. She didn't realize what she had until she lost it" she tried her best to explain. "And you having kits with Pricklegaze made her so happy as well, because she was seeing her two favorite cats together." she smiled, leaning against her sister a little, "And the logical reason is that she choose you because you could continue her legacy, and I couldn't, because I never found a mate, but i think there is a lot more reasons behind why she choose what she did, more than we could ever imagine" she finished
Meadowclaw sighed, deciding to be outright, "Why do you think mom chose me to take her place- rather than you? You're so much kinder. Prettier, too- I've always wondered why you never found a mate," she said, doubt filling the cat's eyes as she looked into Valleystorm's. All of her self-doubt was stemming from her decision to keep her family home from a battle- a decision that two had ignored.
Her smile faded a bit as she sat down next to Meadowclaw. She glanced at the mouse, before looking back up at her sister, "Of course, what'g going on?" she asked, the sudden change of mood worrying her slightly. She pushed it to the back of her mind, focusing once again on Meadowclaw's yellow eyes.
Meadowclaw followed and congratulated Valleystorm on her catch.
"I could never move that quick," she said, quite solemn in her tone. She sighed as she sat down right where she was, looking down at the mouse's corpse. "Valleystorm, could I ask you a question? There's a lot on my mind lately and its as good a time as any," she said.
Valleystorm nodded, "It seems so" she agreed, following Meadowclaw through the territory, looking up in the trees for any prey, occasionally seeing a bird fly across the sky. She took in the beauty of the scene, the new life sprouting up from the dirt and in between the roots of the trees. A flicker of movement caught her eye in the root of a tree, and she instinctively crouched down, smelling the mouse as she crept closer. She pounced on it, catching it within her paws and killing it, before picking it up and turning back to her sister, smiling proudly.
Meadowclaw had lost part of her stealth when she'd lost her forelimb; her lunging gait in its staccato rhythm ensured that birds moved away before the two had even a chance to set chase- a fact Meadowclaw was oblivious to.
"Must be a quiet day," she said, frowning, "Maybe we need to go further?"
"Alright," Slushgaze quickly bounded off into the direction that they had come, straight to camp. A quick jolt of lightning told him that he was going the right way. He began to plot the fastest way back to camp, and after a ways of running, they made their way back to the camp. (MC Camp?)
"Alright, we should head back." Grousethorn decided after a while. His stick was draped with cobwebs, but even so, he worried that they'd tear off in the journey back. He carefully respositioned it in his mouth and started back.
"Good idea," Slushgaze dove around, looking for a long thin stick. Starting from the other side of the enormous tree, he started to prod the roots. Soon, it was covered in a thin layer of cobwebs.
"I don't know, but we need to hurry. They'll want it regardless and it's better to be early or not needed at all, than to make them wait." Grousethorn replied, picking up a stick in his teeth and pushing it down into a knot in the roots of a tree. When he pulled it back out, it was coated in a few strands of cobwebs and he tried again in another spot.
Slushgaze started to search for the drier areas where rain couldn't reach. "How much time do you think we have?" He pawed at the mud, "Before they run out back at camp?"
"StarClan light our paths..." Grousethorn muttered under his breath as the old, bleached-white tree came into view through the gloom of the stormy forest. He started to nose his way through the underbrush, searching for still-standing cobwebs through the puddles.
As they got closer, every dip, every hill- everything started to become familiar. There it was, the majestic tree, illuminated by the light of the moon. He started to crawl through the forestry, there had to some dry cobwebs somewhere!
Meadowclaw smiled before looking onwards dramatically, a trait she'd inherited from their mother. Her fur ruffled in a slight breeze. Tentatively, war and peace incarnate stood side by side and said it was time to fight. "May StarClan bless our claws." (Sc-Ecc- Meadowclaw's already been busy!)
Valleystorm gave a small smile, "Let's do it" she said, standing up next to her sister. She was grateful that her words had some effect on Meadowclaw. It warmed her heart to know that she could help in any way. She was grateful that the outcome of this emotional mess was that the two were closer now, than they ever were before. Possibly the closest relationship that Valleystorm had had with any cat, and that thought made her happy.
Meadowclaw's mind was a fuming chimney of ideas about herself, but the fire was quelled to a manageable volume by Valleystorm's concerned words. The she-cat was pacified and turned towards her sister, clarity startling. The world snapped into focus.
Starclan, she thought, I thought I was the one that had a way with words.
"Valleystorm," she said, the moment touching and soft, "thank you so much- I-I think I know what I need to do." she looked to the west, towards Raven's Fortress. "I-I just have this awful feeling that I need to go and help. If-if you'd like, I'd love it if you would come with me," she said, spur of the moment. She realized after the words left her mouth what she was asking and snapped her jaw shut.
Startled by her sister's sudden outbreak, Valleystorm almost flinched. It felt as if her heart broke a little seeing Meadowclaw in such pain, she had never seen this side of her before. Her whole life she had seen her sister as being a strong, intimidating cat. And while she could be rude at times, Valleystorm had always looked up to her confidence and power. She put her head down and rest her tail on her sister's shoulder. "Whats done is done, we all make mistakes" comforting others was never something she was good at but she was going to try really hard this time to help. "No matter what happens not, its all in the past, we cant change that. All we can do is look ahead and see where we can try to change that. Some things may not be fixable, and that's just the way of the world, but you have to work with that you've got. While others may not be, I'll always stand by you. I forgive you for anything you think needs my forgiveness. Worrying about the past is pointless, its much better to focus on the present and future" her voice was shaking slightly by the end, but she hoped her words could reach Meadowclaw and comfort her, even if it was only a little.
Meadowclaw's teeth ground together at the answer- circumstance, essentially, was what Valleystorm and Meadowclaw both knew to be the response. "I have so many regrets about those days," she said softly, "From one day to another, the way I treated my own brothers and sisters. . . " Meadowclaw's paws became cold with realization, her ears hot. The way she'd yelled and ignored Valleykit, Plateaukit, Mountainkit, Beachkit, Tundrakit, and Pricklekit was the same way she'd just subjected her entire family to her will within the camp. It was a reach, but to Meadowclaw, the parallels were suddenly shocking.
"Oh StarClan, what've I done!" she cried out suddenly, claws digging into moist earth, "Valleystorm- I'm so sorry-"
The question was quite a shock, and left Valleystorm speechless for a few moments. It took her another few moments to think of an answer, "I think, that while she might not have showed it very much, she liked you a lot. When you left with Pricklegaze, she was pretty sad, and you coming back made her very happy. She didn't realize what she had until she lost it" she tried her best to explain. "And you having kits with Pricklegaze made her so happy as well, because she was seeing her two favorite cats together." she smiled, leaning against her sister a little, "And the logical reason is that she choose you because you could continue her legacy, and I couldn't, because I never found a mate, but i think there is a lot more reasons behind why she choose what she did, more than we could ever imagine" she finished
Meadowclaw sighed, deciding to be outright, "Why do you think mom chose me to take her place- rather than you? You're so much kinder. Prettier, too- I've always wondered why you never found a mate," she said, doubt filling the cat's eyes as she looked into Valleystorm's. All of her self-doubt was stemming from her decision to keep her family home from a battle- a decision that two had ignored.
Her smile faded a bit as she sat down next to Meadowclaw. She glanced at the mouse, before looking back up at her sister, "Of course, what'g going on?" she asked, the sudden change of mood worrying her slightly. She pushed it to the back of her mind, focusing once again on Meadowclaw's yellow eyes.
Meadowclaw followed and congratulated Valleystorm on her catch.
"I could never move that quick," she said, quite solemn in her tone. She sighed as she sat down right where she was, looking down at the mouse's corpse. "Valleystorm, could I ask you a question? There's a lot on my mind lately and its as good a time as any," she said.
Valleystorm nodded, "It seems so" she agreed, following Meadowclaw through the territory, looking up in the trees for any prey, occasionally seeing a bird fly across the sky. She took in the beauty of the scene, the new life sprouting up from the dirt and in between the roots of the trees. A flicker of movement caught her eye in the root of a tree, and she instinctively crouched down, smelling the mouse as she crept closer. She pounced on it, catching it within her paws and killing it, before picking it up and turning back to her sister, smiling proudly.
Meadowclaw had lost part of her stealth when she'd lost her forelimb; her lunging gait in its staccato rhythm ensured that birds moved away before the two had even a chance to set chase- a fact Meadowclaw was oblivious to.
"Must be a quiet day," she said, frowning, "Maybe we need to go further?"
Grousethorn stuck close on Slushgaze's heels as they made the journey back to the camp, his teeth clamped firmly around the stick.
"Alright," Slushgaze quickly bounded off into the direction that they had come, straight to camp. A quick jolt of lightning told him that he was going the right way. He began to plot the fastest way back to camp, and after a ways of running, they made their way back to the camp. (MC Camp?)
"Alright, we should head back." Grousethorn decided after a while. His stick was draped with cobwebs, but even so, he worried that they'd tear off in the journey back. He carefully respositioned it in his mouth and started back.
"Lead the way?" He requested.
"Good idea," Slushgaze dove around, looking for a long thin stick. Starting from the other side of the enormous tree, he started to prod the roots. Soon, it was covered in a thin layer of cobwebs.
"I don't know, but we need to hurry. They'll want it regardless and it's better to be early or not needed at all, than to make them wait." Grousethorn replied, picking up a stick in his teeth and pushing it down into a knot in the roots of a tree. When he pulled it back out, it was coated in a few strands of cobwebs and he tried again in another spot.
Slushgaze started to search for the drier areas where rain couldn't reach. "How much time do you think we have?" He pawed at the mud, "Before they run out back at camp?"
"StarClan light our paths..." Grousethorn muttered under his breath as the old, bleached-white tree came into view through the gloom of the stormy forest. He started to nose his way through the underbrush, searching for still-standing cobwebs through the puddles.
As they got closer, every dip, every hill- everything started to become familiar. There it was, the majestic tree, illuminated by the light of the moon. He started to crawl through the forestry, there had to some dry cobwebs somewhere!
"Alright," Grousethorn nodded and stepped back, letting the younger cat take lead of the patrol with a slight dip of his head.