Sharing Tongues (March 2020)

The sun settled on newly grown grass. A small dry spell meant that the snows were able to thaw in decent time, and now large patches of ground lay warm underneath the welcome newleaf rays. For moons, patrols had been run in ragged cold. Now, the patrols should have been running more light hearted.

Starclan’s ominous message hung like a cloud over the camp. Oakstar himself, uncertain of what to make of it all. The desire for peace didn’t seem like something worth punishment. All he wanted was for all clans to respect each other. Certainly, they’d never get along well enough to live in the same camp, but to be at each other’s throats all the time felt like a useless waste of energy. His white tipped tail flicked leisurely on the grass. Aching paws from a patrol run just recently enjoying the benefit of a warmed rock by his den.

No snakes this time. He checked. With a sigh, he looked around the camp at the various cats around. A smile tugged on his muzzle at the sight of kits playing outside the nursery. Things were as they should be. Peaceful, for newleaf. This cloud felt like it was slowly draining the warriors, and his concern felt valid when he watched a couple warriors come through the tunnel in exhaustion.

He padded over to the medicine den, his amber eyes sought out Dustcloud in the dappled light of the warriors den.
"Dustcloud?" He meowed calmly, as he waited for her answer by the entrance.

Beepaw scuffled his paws anxiously into the ground with his oversized paws as he walked. There was so much to do lately, with the prey returning to the territory in droves. He thought he would glad that Leafbare was over, but in fact, it was the opposite. He had a primal need to pull his own weight... however large he was. It was plenty of weight to pull, and plenty to motivate him. There were so many expectations. The huge apprentice's head hung low to the ground, and he sputtered when a tail thwapped him in the ears. He snapped his head back up and was horrified by what he saw.

Oakstar's large torso was poking out of the warriors' den, and his tail was jerking away from where it had scraped Beepaw's ears. The apprentice cringed with his whole body, the offending ears flipping backward. "Awe, lizard-tails!" he mumbled. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking, uh..."

ThunderClan's leader was well known for his overwhelming kindness and abnegation, but even so, Beepaw felt intimidated by him. The clan was large and encompassing. He had not had many interactions with Oakstar himself. They were of similar size, but the leader had a certain presence that told Beepaw not to screw up this meeting. He scuffled his paws again, and slowly placed one over the other nervously. His claws tugged at the flesh underneath them. Oh, speak, you great big dummy! "Uh, I feel kinda dumb now. I was going to start introducing myself. You know who I am already. Sorry if my ears spooked you."

When his tail brushed something, Oakstar looked back. Surprised to see a rather nervous apprentice. He chuckled as the tom awkwardly spoke, and stepped out of the warrior’s den to stand in front of the apprentice. Truth be told, he didn’t see the brown and white tabby quite enough. It only took a moment to place him when he noticed the shy tom’s eyes.

"Do not worry, Beepaw." He responded calmly as he stepped back. He hoped it would give the younger tom room to gain some confidence. He gestured towards the warrior’s den with an easy smile. His entire posture relaxed and calm. "I was just trying to come up with ideas to help the clan." He added as he sat down. "With all this StarClan business, I feel as though ThunderClan needs a way to brighten the mood a little. I don’t suppose you have any ideas?"

He watched the tom with a curious expression. Dustcloud hadn’t answered, and going into the back of the warrior’s den while a few were sleeping might disturb them. She could be out hunting in the newleaf air. He hoped so, she deserved peace as much as the rest of them did.

The sun was finally back, and the grass was warm again. ThunderClan was bustling with the newfound energy that the changing season brought, the warmth seemingly pushing them into a greater sense of joy. The she-cat just hated whatever it was going on with StarClan at the moment, but she was sure that the Clans would overcome it. They always did, so she had little doubt in her mind that history would repeat itself once again. Delicate grey paws made their way back into camp, Dustcloud herself carrying a sparrow and a squirrel gently between her teeth. Her gaze softened as she spotted Oakstar and Beepaw chatting outside the warrior's den, and she gingerly dropped her prey at the fresh-kill pile and padded over to the pair. Taking a seat next to Oakstar, she curled her tail over her paws. "H-Hello, Beepaw, O-Oakstar." Dipping her head in greeting, she waited for one of them to continue speaking, not wanting to interrupt whatever it was that they were talking about.

Dacedream had been mildly pleased to find herself on Dustcloud's patrol that day; she had always looked up to the motherly she-cat, the old soft-spoken warrior with a kind heart and the ample scars of a true, determined ThunderClan warrior. She had so many stories. Dustcloud had been present for all of Dacedream's stories or else she'd want to share some of her own with the tabby she-cat. Instead, Dacedream would simply try to impress the she-cat with how much she'd learned as a ThunderClan cat and how much she deserved to be there. Not that Dustcloud doubted her... out loud... but... well, maybe Dacedream was doubting herself. She was afraid that if StarClan believed she hadn't earned her place in ThunderClan then she would have no place at all.

Dacedream's strong desire to impress Dustcloud paid off well enough in the form of two chickadees - not the biggest or best fresh-kill, but they were plump enough. She had run herself ragged after all the prey she could find, and her paws were dragging slightly with weariness as she stepped into camp. She followed Dustcloud to the fresh-kill pile, dropping her prey. She looked up to watch the she-cat join Oakstar and Beepaw a short distance away. Beepaw looked awkward, while Oakstar's face was as calm and composed as usual. Dacedream dropped her birds and padded a distance away, not wanting to intrude but also wanting to listen to the conversation being had. In the meantime, the tortoiseshell began to groom herself, keeping her eyes peeled for her sweet kits.

Daisypaw had wandered over after she heard her mother speak. She nodded her head to her father quickly as a greeting. ”Hello everyone!” she greeted her parents, the other apprentice. She watched as Cedarpaw approached. ”Hi Cedarpaw.” she smiled.

Cedarpaw had emerged from the apprentice den, seeing her brother talking to Oakstar. ”Hi Oakstar! Hi Dustcloud! Hi Beepaw! Hi Daisypaw! And hi Dacedream.” she greeted everyone looking to each of them in turn, and looking back at Dacedream for the last part. She flicked her brown tail happily and looked around at them. Beepaw looked a little awkward. Cedarpaw assumed he had done something slightly embarrassing.

Oakstar smiled softly as Dustcloud approached. He immediately stepped forward and nudged her affectionately as he sat down beside her. A deep rumbling purr in his chest as he sat next to his mate. Her simple presence made him feel so much at ease as his tail wrapped around hers. He noticed Dacedream not far behind and nodded in greeting, though she didn’t quite join them.

"The clan has been in low spirits. I’ve been trying to think of ways to lighten the mood a little." His head dipped, reluctant to speak the words he was thinking. That Starclan’s anger had stolen a good amount of light from their lives. His concern for his mate grew as he thought about it, but tried to push it aside as he lifted his head and drew attention to the she-cat that was often a good source of joy and hopefulness. "Dacedream, have you any thoughts?" as he asked the question, he noticed a small apprentice pad over.

Her blue eyes seemed light and happy as she greeted them all, and he chuckled in enjoyment at the interruption.
"Good afternoon Cedarpaw. Are you looking forward to your first gathering?" he asked the jovial she-cat as she padded up to her brother. "It’ll be a big day for you both!"

Almost as soon as Dacedream got herself situated and began to groom her eyes caught Oakstar's as he nodded briefly to welcome her. She felt herself relax almost immediately, knowing she was invited to listen in on the conversation like she'd hoped, and gave the dark tabby tom a polite and pleasant smile in return. The pretty tortoiseshell cat groomed her thick fur for a moment as she mused on Oakstar's words, feeling heavy with proof of his words. Indeed, much of the Clan - Dacedream included - had been more anxious and subdued as of late. It was certainly a direct result of the threat of StarClan's decrees and the crackdown on leaders enforcing the warrior code alongside their warriors.

Dacedream looked up as Oakstar spoke her name, asking if she'd had any thoughts. "Lots of thoughts," Dacedream replied energetically, "but most of them are bbbluuuuuggghhhhh." The tortoiseshell flung herself dramatically onto her side, thumping against the earth and sprawling her legs out to stretch before relaxing again. She heard Daisypaw and saw that she had approached her parents, greeting them kindly. "Hi, Daisypaw!" And a moment later Cedarpaw appeared as well, and Dacedream sat up slightly to greet her, too. "Hiya, Cedarpaw, how are you feeling this morning?" the queen asked her young friend warmly.

"Oh, gee, I don't know if I'm the one you wanna ask..." Beepaw mumbled, letting his eyes dart around Oakstar's face, but never meeting it straight-on. A parade of other cats were fast-approaching, and Dustcloud had emerged. Thankfully, the meek tom wouldn't face the hard questions alone. "Hi, guys."

Dacedream's casual flopping made him feel less nervous. He made himself comfortable in the loose ring of clanmates that was forming and laid one paw over the other. He continued to pluck at the bottom one with his claws in the same way he had before he sat down. Beepaw's tail twitched as he told himself to speak his mind. Nothing came out. He tried again, but the power of will only unclenched his deformed jaw. One last time, and he was speaking. "I'd like to spruce up the camp for Newleaf. The apprentice den keeps getting leaky. With the ferns growing again, we could patch the roof." He looked around briefly to judge the ages of the cats present. Oakstar and Dustcloud would know what he was talking about, he decided. "Ferretnose told me that after the flood, she felt a little better by working together with her clanmates to rebuild camp. That it felt like the forest was at peace for just the one sunrise, because everybody was struggling together. I... I think that's neat."

OOC: I’m not sure if kits can join.

Willowkit sat at the edge of the crowd of cats, and groomed herself, trying to make herself seem presentable. All of the other cats were either warriors, or apprentices, and none of them were familiar to her. As the other cats continued to chat, Willowkit grew slightly uncomfortable.

Mossbloom padded up near the small kit that sat at the edge of the crowd, catching the tail of Beepaw's comment. Chirping quietly, she smiled down to the kit gently, eyes warm with welcome. "Hi there, Willowkit. Do you mind if I join you?" She purred, waiting to settle in until she got a response. "If you would like, Beepaw, there's plenty of ferns near my den, in fact they're practically growing into it! You'd be doing me a favor to take some of them and use it to patch the dens." She commented, tail wrapping neatly over her paws.

Willowkit tilted her head curiously. “Hi, Mossbloom.” She had heard of the medicine cat before, but wasn’t familiar with her. The kind medicine cat was the first one to talk to her, and she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the pretty she-cat.

The new warmth that had filled the forest had set it chattering with life and prey coming out of hiding after the long leafbare that had preceded it. Cherryblossom was always out and about, patrolling or hunting, not that she minded. It was nice to actually be able to find prey easily.

She trotted into camp with a squirrel nearly as big as she was in her jaws, and upon seeing her Clanmates gathering near the warriors' den, she quickly dropped her squirrel on the growing fresh-kill pile and hurried over. Upon seeing Dacedream in the gathering, she began to purr, rubbing against her mother as she approached.
"Hey! What's happening?"

Willowkit shrank a bit. More cats were coming to join the group. Willowkit was known to be slightly introverted, especially with older cats such as apprentices, warriors and medicine cats. She looked up to them, that was for sure, but some of them made her nervous for no reason at all.

Mossbloom settled beside the kit as she shrunk back, silently offering her side as a safe haven for the young one. "It's alright, Willowkit, someday soon you'll be as big and strong as everyone else here, I bet even stronger too! I know there's a lot going on, but take heart, little one. You'll be the best of us all someday." The medicine cat purred softly, green eyes sparkling as she looked at the kit.