Sharing tongues in trying times (open)

Laying near the freshkill pile, Daisyflame finished up a mouse he'd picked from the pile. His meal wasn't anything spectacular and was pretty chintzy, to say the least, but his clanmates eating a decent meal always came first, even if that meant he went to his nest with a grumbling belly. Though, now that he thought about it... while Leafbare had been rough with its cold, firm grasp on the clans, ShadowClan had been seeming to fair for themselves as of late. Thornstar had come down with her illness but seemed to be improving, his daughter, Tulipfang and other younger members of the clan had earned their warrior names, and him and his beloved mate, Ravenmist, had been blessed with another litter. StarClan continuously watched over them, and he couldn't have been more thankful. Letting out a yawn, the fluffy warrior stretched out his paws in front of him, unsheathing his claws as he flexed his paws. If only life could always be this tranquil and simple.

Flintshard laid sprawled across the Jaggedrock, one of his legs dangling off the edge while his chin rested on his forelegs. His gaze was unfocused, sometimes shifting toward the movement of the Clan going on with their daily lives but he would soon grow disinterested and get lost in his own thoughts. He was...Tired. With Thornstar ill, even more responsibilities was on his shoulder and how little rest he tended to get even when he tried to sleep meant that he felt more tired as ever. But he would survive, it was his duty and he...Liked it, in some sense. He could help shape ShadowClan into the vision he saw, help make amends for their past actions and rectify how the other Clans viewed them.

There was another flicker of movement, his gaze automatically focusing on it to see that Daisyflame was finishing off a meal from the freshkill pile. His own stomach rumbled in acknowledgement of the idea of food, noting that he hadn't actually eaten anything today and so he pushed himself to his paws and jumped down to the ground. He took a moment to stretch out, curling his tail over his back before he padded over. "...May I join you, Daisyflame?" he asked as he picked up a frog from the fresh-kill pile, stepping over to the tom. It wasn't like him to seek out company but...Well, he did suppose he ought to know how things was going on in the Clan. There was only so much information he could gather from watching. As much as he hated sharing tongues, it was the best way to get an idea of how the Clan was feeling.

Perking his ears as the sound of some-cat approaching, Daisyflame lifted his head to see Flintshard approaching. "Of course, please do," he invited, motioning towards a spot next to him for the deputy to rest at. He was surprised the younger tom had decided to join him at all, considering he wasn't much of a talker, but it was no matter. He was happy to spend time with any of his clanmates. "So, how has Leafbare been fairing for you?" the white and ginger warrior mewed with a soft smile resting on his maw.

Flintshard nodded his head as he settled down next to the warrior, curling his tail to his side as he started to chew on the frog he had brought with him. His ear twitched at Daisyflame's question, shrugging his shoulders. "Busy. But well enough," he answered simply. With all the apprentices, the deputy had his work cut out for him to make sure all of their training was going well while attending to his own duties in sorting out patrols and training his own apprentices. And of course with Thornstar being sick, her duties had fallen upon his shoulder as well but despite it all, it was nothing he couldn't handle. "ShadowClan is growing, that is all I can ask for. And how have you been?"

Glad to know that the deputy had been faring well, even with Thornstar ill and the season keeping its firm grasp on the clans, Daisyflame smiled. "I've been doing well as well. Ravenmist is doing fine after her recent kitting and is soon to get back into the groove of things and her warrior duties, though I know resting in the nursery was more than beneficial for her," he chuckled, glad his mate got some much deserved rest and hopefully relaxation.

Jaggedkit had just finished grooming herself from head to tail in the nursery when she heard her father and the deputy of Shadowclan talking about what was going on within and outside of the clans. "Father!" she squeaked running towards Daisyflame and Flintshard. "Can I come and talk to? One day, I am going to be the leader of Shadowclan!" she stated proudly and looked up at her Father. "May I join in and listen to what is going on around the clans? Please?"

Rolling her eyes as she followed Jaggedkit out of the nursery, Briarkit walked up to her big brother with the fur on her chest puffed out. "Mama said I can go out whenever I want to now, Flinty." Knowing how much her brother would absolutely hate the nickname, she took every opportunity presented to her to call out to him with it, no matter his reaction. "I just thought I'd let you know about it, since it's your job or whatever to keep up with your Clanmates, Flinty." The rather large she-cat wasn't actually entirely sure if that was exactly what he was supposed to be doing, but if she was right she figured it would make her look pretty cool.

Sitting down next to Daisyflame, the tabby she-cat looked down at the mouse he'd been working on. Personally, she didn't actually see the appeal in mice. She preferred the fat lizards and frogs her mama had been letting her and the other leeches eat recently, as they were the most fun to eat - especially when her other siblings cringed in disgust. "Do you eat the tails on those, Daisyflame?" Briarkit was somewhat curious about that- she hadn't seen her mama or any of the visitors eat an entire mouse on their own, let alone the tail.

Jaggedkit looked at Briarpaw with slight discust. "Well, at least you know you can go outside. I will my father would let me go outside without any super vision." She said sourly looking at her father Daisyflame.

Flinthshard nodded his head quitely as Daisyflame spoke fondly about his mate, happy to hear that Ravenmist was doing well but also sorely missed being able to add her paws to patrols. ShadowClan needed all the warriors they could but he also couldn't really push Ravenmist to focus on her warrior duties when she had kits to tend to. They would just have to make due. Speaking of kits.. Flintshard glanced over as two young kits padded up, recongizing the both of them. His whiskers twitched as Jaggedkit proclaimed that she was going to be leader one day, finding that claim to be rather...Unbasis as there was no telling how things would ever turn out but held his tongue on the matter.

"...Of course, you may join us," he said, before his gaze slide to the other kit - his younger half-sister. His ear twitched at the nickname, his expression darkening for all but a second. It...Reminded him to much of his uncle, of his fondness for nicknames... The Clan had never been the same since they had lost the light he had brought, but to bring up how much it...Hurt to hear the nickname didn't seem right to do to a young kit and he simply nodded as she happily proclaimed that she was free to explore the camp as she so wished. "If Thornstar says so. Just don't get into trouble, Briarkit," he warned before he spared a glance at Daisyflame, knowing that the tom would be much better at handling the kits than he would.

Jaggedkit looked at Daisyflame and then at Flintshard. "Flintshard, why are you giving my father those looks?" (Why does he look at my father like that?) She thought with a flick of her ears.


OCC: how do you all make your posts so long? For some reason, I can't seem to do that...

Purring as Jaggedkit ran out and joined them, Daisyflame's attention was diverted from the black kit when Briarkit joined them. She proceeded to chat with Flintshard and then turned her gaze to him as he finished licking the blood from his white maw. Her question was a good question, he'd give her that.

"They're not the tastiest part of the mouse, but in Leafbare, I try to eat as much as possible with every meal, so that I don't waste what StarClan has blessed us with," the fluffy tom mewed with a smile to the curious she-kit. Turning his gaze back to his kit, his ears perked at his question. His daughter didn't have a filter yet, that was for sure. "He's probably wondering how I'm able eat so much and not fat like a Kittypet yet," Daisyflame chuckled, deciding that he'd best answer for the deputy since he wasn't the talkative type. Lifting a big paw, he placed it down on Jaggedkit's head and rubbed it back and forth, messing up the dark fuzz on the she-kit's head. "Or, how I got blessed with such an amazing little warrior," he purred, leaning down and nuzzling his muzzle against Jaggedkit's cheek in a playful manner.

Jaggedkit puffed out her chest. "I am the best she-cat in every liter that you and mom have ever had!" she declared. "Aren't I dad?"