We've All Lost Roses[C]

It had been quite difficult, all things said and done, for Mottlestar to be able to fully set aside the prejudices that had been imbued in her towards Windclan since what had happened beneath Shrikestar's reign. Batsong's actions still haunted her nightmares on occasion, and she still felt its effects lingering in distrust to this day. As such, she had put up her guard whenever venturing near them, even if Smallstar had been nothing but a friendly face. Part of her felt he had been too friendly-to the point she could not trust him. But he was not his predecessor, and as such, she had to not let such emotions tamper the potential of the future.

As she had been passing on her own right to search for either Perchstar or Acornstem, it wasn't long before a speckled Windclanner had passed her way. Tipping her head briefly as a response to his greeting, she gave a slow blink to show her amnesty. After all, she'd put her own rules in place to not cause trouble. "Hello there~" Her greeting was friendly, the signature tone the Thunderclan leader took when interacting with any cat showing that she had no desire to be any semblance of a threat. "Is the journey treating you well? Can I assist you at all?" A cat's leader. That was who Mottlestar was. Always looking out for others, even if they did not pledge allegiance to her reign.

Though there were always things that she could be doing, there were certainly times for her to step away from duties. After all, only ever working would be what would drive her into the ground, and she'd already lost a few lives to remind her of that. Starclan was in no shortage of reminders that a leader was still a cat, and that meant taking the time to be a friendly face to those that they passed by during this journey. So as the opportunity presented itself, Mottlestar found herself more than amiable towards the idea of simply seizing the chance for discussion. "I am certainly glad to hear that it's been kind to you, so much tragedy has seemed to run its claws over the forest. We take the blessings where we can find them." Her words were affirmed by a solid nod.

Even if she had to tilt her head upwards to be able to talk to the tom, his gentle demeanor certainly reminded her much of her own. Windclan needed more cats with that kindness. "As for myself? Well, the work never stops. I haven't had to stop yet, though, so I suppose that's a good thing." Even if her hind leg hurt her more often than not, that wasn't something for the tom to need to know. "Though I am sure you know who I am, I'm Mottlestar. I know you're from Windclan- but mind if I ask your name? In all truth I make no promises to remember it, since I know about half the forest, but I promise I'll do my best."