Like Mother, Like Daughter

It was a very chilly morning, but thankfully for Flurryshine her long white pelt was capable of blocking out the harsher chills of the blowing wind. The sky was blanketed in gray, and she could scent moisture in the air. It was going to rain soon.

It was still difficult for the fluffy white molly to move on from Firepaw's death. Her first apprentice was almost like a son to her, just as Dewshine had been like a second mother to her. It had been getting harder and harder to just wake up and go outside everyday, as she had just wanted to curl up in the warmth and comfort of her nest and sleep the day away. But at the same time, the dreams she had of every possible scenario her unconscious mind mercilessly cooked up of her being so tantalizingly close to saving Firepaw from one casualty or another -- drowning, falling over the gorge, starving, being burned alive -- would always keep her awake. She didn't want to think about his death anymore. She didn't want to think about how big a failure of a mentor and a cat she must have been seen as by her Clanmates. She wanted to take her mind off of things.

Perhaps her mother would be able to grant her solace. At a time like this, she felt she needed the comfort and guidance of Snowblossom more than ever. Though they'd might as well be doing something productive as well while they were at it. She would invite her mother for a small hunting patrol at Sunningrocks before the rain came. That would also help in distracting her from her apprentice's death. Hopefully.

Flurryshine found Snowblossom sitting at the mouth of the warriors' den grooming herself before she began her morning duties. She padded over to her and offered her a small, half-hearted smile. "Good morning, Snowblossom. Um, if you aren't too busy this morning, do you think we could go hunting by Sunningrocks? Just you and me?"

The days following their victory against Lichenmask seemed to be growing far more dark and dreary. Without Lakewhisper, and with all of her kits busy, Snowblossom had nothing to do. She regretted not being able to help her Clanmates at the fight, but she knew that she would have frozen up and been no help. Even as an apprentice, she’d never been able to fight well- she’d always been scared, especially ever since their battles with ThunderClan and RiverClan. Thankfully there had been less fights than usual, due to Jaystar’s benevolence (compared to that bloodthirsty Ivystar) and their alliance with ShadowClan, but still the fluffy she-cat found herself with very little but patrols to occupy her time and the growing sense of emptiness within her. So when her daughter approached, asking for a patrol, she readily agreed. Poor Flurryshine, forced to grow up so fast… first falling in love with that traitor Hillfire, having her amazing mentor Dewshine denounced by the Clan as a codebreaker for loving Gingerstripe, and now the loss of her apprentice. Snowblossom herself had never managed to keep an apprentice to warriorhood, so she empathized significantly with her eldest daughter. As they walked off into the forest, she found herself asking, “so how have you been lately?” even though she knew the answer would not be “fine”.

Flurryshine lifted her head and shifted her eyes to look into Snowblossom's, looking quite fatigued. With a soft sigh, she slowly shook her head. "Not good... So much has been happening far too quickly. Hillfire's betrayal hurt me really bad, Snowblossom. It hurt even more knowing Icepaw had to face him in battle. And when I training as an apprentice was cut short when Jaystar demoted Dewshine for falling in love with Gingerstripe I was really scared for her. Lakewhisper, Turtlepaw, Yarrowkit, and Milkpaw are gone, Coldgaze's attitude is making me really worried that she'll get herself into a lot of trouble one day, and to top it all off I was a terrible mentor to poor Firepaw! I had Sunpaw and Sootpaw to care for as they were kits at the time, but I still should have dedicated more of my time to training him. Maybe then he wouldn't have died." She had stopped walking now, whimpering and sniffling, tears dripping down her cheeks. "I-I just feel like such a failure, Mama..." she mewled, feeling like nothing more than a young she-kit by her mother's side, except with the entire weight of the world on her shoulders pressing her down harder and harder into the freezing cold ground, slowly suffocating her.

Snowblossom listened to her daughter, heart breaking as the she-cat lay out all her troubles. Life had been unkind to their family, bringing so much on them in so short a time. Why had StarClan done this to them, brought Lichenmask into the forest as well? "I'm so sorry, sweetheart," she said eventually, voice low and sad. "Hillfire didn't deserve you, but his death was horrible. All the deaths were horrible, and I wish we could have just avoided the fighting entirely. Dewshine should never have been demoted in my opinion, but even though she was forbidden from training you at the end, I know that she still loves you and sees you as a daughter, like I do. I know how you feel about Firepaw, as well... I've never finished training an apprentice to warrior. My two apprentices died prematurely, both of them, and I always felt like I should have done more. But it wasn't my fault, and it's not your fault. There's nothing you could have done. And..."

A few tears welled up in Snowblossom's green eyes. "And I miss Lakewhisper and my darling kits too," she whispered, feeling the pain of their absences anew. "I've always been shy and scared of so much, but Lakewhisper made me feel strong. I needed him. And now, without him... I'm not sure what I am. I'm too weak to be a warrior of RiverClan if he isn't by my side. Shade attacked me when I was alone, and I couldn't defeat him; Lakewhisper had to rescue me. He- that monster threatened you, threatened all of my kits. And I'm not strong enough to do anything about it. I don't... I don't know what I should do anymore." Seeing her daughter's tears, the fluffy white she-cat snuggled against her side, drawing the closest one of her three remaining kits close to her like she would never let go. "All I have now is you... you and Coldgaze and Meadowpaw. And I promise, I will never let anything happen to you."

Flurryshine frowned as she heard her mother speak, sounding so scared and emotionally unstable, almost as if she had forgotten she was openly admitting her insecurities to her own daughter. Not that she minded, though; after becoming a mother herself, Flurryshine quickly learned that parents were not perfect, immortal cats descending down from the brightest regions of StarClan. Like all cats, they felt happiness, serenity, and love, but they also felt fear, anger, and sorrow.

Feeling Snowblossom press herself into her daughter's side, she reciprocated the comforting affection, nuzzling under her chin and drinking in her warm, familiar scent, feeling just as safe and secure within their little bubble as she did when she was no more than a kit without a single care in the world. "I know exactly what you are, Snowblossom. You are my mother. And that's all you'll ever need to be for me. I love you so very much, and I'll do my best to protect you and my sisters, too."

Snowblossom embraced her daughter tightly, feeling the warmth that they shared. Had it really been so long since she was in a nest in the nursery with all her little she-kits? She felt like a young new mother again, wanting to protect her tiny, vulnerable kits... but Flurryshine was a grown cat now. She'd had two litters of kits, fought in battles, and was so much stronger than her mother. And she would go even farther before her mother's life was over. "You strengthen me, Flurryshine," she whispered, a small smile on her face. "I love you so much.... What did I ever do to deserve a daughter like you?" If only Lakewhisper could see her now, could still be with them... that was all she wanted. At least she still had three of her daughters left. And hopefully... hopefully, their family would stay together unlike her own.

"I love you, too, Snowblossom," Flurryshine sighed softly, nuzzling her muzzle into her mother's soft fluffy fur. Stars, what she wouldn't give to just sit here forever and just forget about the world. But she knew she couldn't, and she knew Snowblossom knew as well. They both had a job to do in providing for their Clan. As much as she didn't want to, she pulled away gently from the embrace, and she smiled at the older molly. "We should probably start hunting now. You remember that I used to be a drypaw when I was much younger, right? Well, now I love the water! I may not enjoy swimming as much as everyone else does, but it's so nice to just lay on the riverbank and let the water gently flow over you. It's really bad touch actually, you should try it sometime." As she spoke, she had led the way to the river, stopping before the bank to look down at the water. Immediately she spotted a silver fish swimming against the current, occasionally rippling up to the surface to snack on the tiny bugs that ventured too close to the surface.

"Hey, Snowblossom, watch this." Nestling down on the bank, making sure her shadow didn't loom over the river, Flurryshine watched and waited patiently for the fish to swim closer to her, a paw at the ready. She then lashed out her paw into the water, scooping the fish up with her paw and claws and flinging it high into the air, sending water droplets everywhere. With speed and grace, she leaped up high into the air to catch the fish in her teeth, then twisted around and landed on all four paws with the prey now dangling limply from her jaws. Tail lifted high with pride, she arched her eyes happily, hoping she had impressed her mother with the display.

The member 'Yoshachu Scorchachu' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 2