We Need To Talk [Closed]

Blizzardshine sighed as she walked out from the warrior’s den and started to look around camp for Hawkpaw. She was planning to take him out of camp with the excuse of a patrol to have a word in private with him regarding everything what has been happening lately, especially the fight between Rockthorn and him. She was aware that Darkstar wouldn’t be happy and she was planning to have a talk with both Rockthorn and Darkstar herself later to defend Hawkpaw, but he was making it a bit too hard for her lately and needed to know what was going through his head to know what she was supposed to do or say at this point.

She still remembered the promise she had made to Pepper and Bat, about how she would take care of the ambitious young tom and help him find his place between the clans. She wasn’t willing to break her promise by letting Hawkpaw get exiled if she still could do anything to save the apprentice from the storm clouds that were threatening to darken the skies of Hawkpaw’s future. But if she wanted to do anything to save him from such thing, she had to act fast.

Hawkpaw hunkered down by a fern to groom his long claws, working the loose outer sheathing away as it had dulled from frequently hitting tree bark during his training. With a twitch of his whiskers, he examined his work, unsheathed claws stretched all the way out to glean in the light. He shifted to attention to washing his face with a paw dampened with licks and then his foreleg. He had too much fur to do everything right then but, he liked to touch it up regularly. Thick fur at such a length would tangle if you he didn't handle it. Straightening his whiskers with the swipe of a paw, he stretched and stood, giving the freshkill pile a glance. He'd need to work extra hard to bring in enough freshkill for Cloudstorm's large litter, even if her choice of mate was silly, the kits deserved to be fat and happy, they were innocent. Perhaps he'd find something for them to bat around on the way.

As soon as she spotted Hawkpaw, Blizzardshine made her way towards him. She usually wouldn’t interrupt other cat’s daily routines like this, but she had no choice this time. If she decided to walk away instead and only bother him when he appeared to be relaxing on his free time, it could be too late “Hawkpaw?” Her voice, though as kind as always, now also held a hint of hurry and worry, reflecting the troubled emotions that fought within her chest “Can you come with me?” Her question, instead of a request sounded more like an actual order. If asked why, she would bring up the patrol excuse, but regardless of the situation the truth would only be unveiled once they had reached a place where they wouldn’t be bothered, and where hopefully nobody would overhear them.

She thought she kind of understood why Hawkpaw would be having all these troubles to fit in with the rest of the clan cats. A life as a rogue raised by someone like Bear would easily force them to act in a certain way through the thought of it being the only right way, but she had to quickly change that mentality on him, or at least make him understand that in the clans such actions weren’t allowed, to avoid future fights like the one between him and the scarred warrior.

Hawkpaw looked up at her and nodded, "Sure.." he tilted his head. "What's this about?" He continued on, "Can we hunt and talk? We need the food piled high now." He said, eying the pile once more. Would they need to build a second nursery for the kit's? They wouldn't fit all of them in the apprentice den either.. What could Blizzardshine possibly want? He had barely seen her since she brought him to camp. They didn't talk much, was it over Falconpaw and his health? The apprentice wasn't up to reveal that secret.

Burmp

Bump

OOC: So sorry! Work has been a true pain lately.

Blizzardshine gave Hawkpaw a weak smile, nodding. She wasn’t sure if hunting during their chat would help or hinder the seriousness of the situation, but it was nice to see him thinking about the clan and interested to help them. With a quick flick of her tail, signaling Hawkpaw to follow her she allowed her paws to carry her to the territory outside camp, following the well-known path to the areas she liked to visit when she needed to spend some time on her own, or needed to think without being bothered.

It took her some time to reach the spot, being unusually silent as she walked, trying to put her thoughts together and transform them into coherent sentences and questions “Falconpaw mentioned that you and Rockthorn got into a fight…would you mind telling me what happened exactly?” Her eyes went from the forest in front of her to the apprentice at her side. She knew a bit about the incident but she was careful to not mention it, not wanting to influence Hawkpaw’s answer in any way.

Hawkpaw followed , keeping pace with her, the lush forest had plenty of young plants growing, plenty of food for their prey to get. When she asked about the fight he huffed. "That rat deserved every bit." He grimaced. "I invited him on a patrol and that's where problems started. He slung insults about my family and lineage. Then, he made a pitiful lie saying he wounded Bear as an apprentice, after that.. well, you know. I had to give him more than scratches to remember me." The apprentice looked at her out of the corner of his eye, yellow and eerie. "I assume this is more than just a deputy doing her job, why do you really ask?"

Blizzardshine listened silently at the younger cat as he quickly explained the situation to her from his point of view. Rockthorn really did sound as the antagonist of this tale, but, as always, she decided to not jump to conclusions and give him the benefit of doubt. Histories could change completely when told by the perspective of two different cats after all “Are you completely sure he started it? Maybe you said something that could’ve accidentally upset him?” In heated situations or around cats that you didn’t like, things could easily slip past the involved cats and Blizzardshine could understand this perfectly. She just wanted to inspect and discard as many options as she could think of to get a good idea of what truly went on between them.

She couldn’t help but chuckle softly with Hawkpaw’s next words, he appeared to be able to grasp on things and notice details way faster than most apprentices of his age, and even some warriors “I’m worried for you Hawkpaw. I want you to understand that some cats probably still doubt you and your loyalty given your past and the respect you have towards the rogue they seem as nothing more than a fox-hearted villain, and getting into fights with your clanmates, regardless of the reason, won’t help you to change their points of view. I promised to do my best to help you and protect you, but I can’t do this alone. I need your help” Her words were soft and slow, she didn’t want him to take this as a scold nor make it seem like she doubted him in any way, but she needed him to understand the position he was in and the risks he was taking “If you want to prove anyone wrong, or change their minds about rogues, violence is not the right way. Through violence you’ll only receive hate and make their points of view towards rogues worsen. You and any rogues we take in are the only way many clan cats will get to know your kind, and what would you think of the ones out there if those that represent them are constantly picking fights and trying to harm those they should be helping?”.

"Well, that's awfully easy for someone who's never had to do this to say. I know about peace. My parents tried that and look where it's got them. My father's been kidnapped by exiles and used as a fighter. My mother's had her home taken so many times. The only way to stop it is to be stronger. ThunderClan thought that too, the whole forest did, remember? Bear was causing trouble and it was solved with violence. I wish it was that easy but, there's no miracle deed I can do to rise up. I'll.. try, Blizzardshine. But, Rockthorn's not going to go unpunished even if I do it myself. I suggest beating me to it. In the meantime.. I don't know. If I don't stand up, I'll be seen as an easy target, I staf up, I'm a pest. What is there to do?" He asked, grooming his whiskers.

Blizzardshine sighed a she heard the words of Hawkpaw, it was clear that they had really different points of view on life, and both had clearly valid points on their end. This reminded her a lot of the talk she had with Scorchfrost when she was nothing but an inexperienced apprentice back at the barn, causing her to chuckle softly to herself “I understand your point, Hawkpaw. I know that peaceful solutions are more often than not a dream that simply out of our reach, I had forced to face that reality many times before…but trying never hurt anyone, and if achieved it can save lives. I just want you to understand that sometimes unsheathing your claws can only bring terrible consequences for you and those that you care about” She meowed before licking the head of the apprentice with a calm smile “And if you ever need to attack, it’s up to you if you want to attack first. However, keep in mind that in a battle, the one that starts it will either be considered either brave or stupid, while the one receiving the attack will be either the victim or the hero”.

He hummed in thought."I take whatever chance I need to,that's what it takes.
Do you agree? Or.. Is there a limit on how far you'll go to do what you think is right?" he asked calmly. The lick on the head made him smile, the sound of rustling leaves made him feel content, green and cool. "Attacking first gives you an advantage. I'd rather be a proactive cat than a reactive one. Get things done, if I can get help, sure, otherwise, I'll do it myself. But- I respect you, a lot, Blizzardshine. Considering that Bear was the last cat I looked up to in particular, that might be an insult to you. When I was a kit, however, he was a fiery cat, motivated. A leader. Even if he lead for the destruction of your clans. I looked for a response from him in everything I did, I wanted to prove myself. He said I was responsible for all of his clan when he was gone, the next leader. The moment he died all the kits were split up, taken by the clans, all the older cats scattered. I suppose I did a bad job, even for a kit. I keep an eye on Barkkit at least... I promise I'll keep in mind what others will consider me. Just promise you'll do the other part and use your own opinions, okay?" he said. "I'll hold back on the claws too. I'll think first, a lot." Hawkpaw smiled at her, one that at a first glance, was nothing but trouble, but, it was apologetic, determined and meaningful.

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