A little more bonding (Closed)

I guess I’m stuck as an apprentice forever. Mistpaw thought to herself as she lay in the cool shade of the apprentice’s den. She didn’t miss Dawnkit look of interest when she declared herself as an apprentice. Is it because I’m not doing well? Huffing in annoyance, Mistpaw decided to explore camp more. As she poked her head into the warrior’s den, the tabby spotted her brother, Bloodstrike. “Psst. Bloodstrike. Meet me outside.” Today, she decided to ask him more about his kits. After all, she was an aunt now, wasn’t she?

Bloodstrike wa fast asleep... and sleeping hard when she called out to him. He only woke because he realized in his dreams that Mistpaw's voice was real. His eyes fluttered open and he raised his head from his paws.

"Is everything okay?" he whispered. He forced his tired body to get out of the den and he focused his sleepy eyes on Mistpaw. He quickly licked a paw and swiped it over his face.

"What's up?" he asked again, his voice still croaky from sleepiness.

Mistpaw grinned as her brother lumbered over towards her sleepily. “I wanted to talk about your kits. And congratulate you, too. Do I also need to smack you to your senses? You look...terrible. Tired.” Though she didn’t show it much, Mistpaw was concerned. “Also...how long do you think I’ll be stuck like this? An apprentice...your kits are already catching up as one.” The cream and gray tabby sat down, wrapping her tail around her paws.

Bloodstrike took in her words and needed a moment to register them. Oh right... it had been awhile since he had seen Mistpaw. They were both so busy with their duties and worked opposite schedules... it was no wonder they hadn't had a chance to talk.

"Thank you." He smiled a sleepy smile. "I'm always tired now Mistpaw. Kits are... well hunting and fighting is a lot easier than raising them. Smokefeather is worse off and I feel so bad for her, but I have duties and she understands that." Upon her questioning, Bloodstrike frowned and reclined into a sit.

"Dawnkit said something, didn't he?" The hackles on the back of Bloodstrike's neck rose. That kit... why was he always attacking someone, whether with words or paws? "I don't know, Mistpaw. I've seen you hunt and I've seen you fight. If I was in charge, I would have held your ceremony a long time ago. Maybe this is something you need to bring up with Foxfire." He too had wondered that though, but he never wanted to hurt Mistpaw's feelings.

Mistpaw shrugged.  “Well...he didn’t really...say much. Just...looked at me with interest like he disapproved or something...and some of your kits were kind of...disrespectful to Redfall.” Mostly Dawnkit and Dustkit, I’m guessing. Mistpaw shrugged. “Spottedstar is kind of busy, especially in this heat. I guess he just doesn’t have the time. I’ve been training a lot with Foxfire. I think he thinks I’m ready.”

Bloodstrike was disappointed, but not necessarily surprised. He knew Dawnkit was one those who let his mouth run... a lot. Dustkit was another. Primrosekit was sweet as ever and Beechkit probably reminded Bloodstrike of himself the most. Disrespectful to Redfall? Really?

"I have a good feeling that I knew who may have been disrespectful. I will deal with them both in the morning." Dustkit was a typical bratty teenage cat, but Dawnkit seemed borderline out of control. Beechkit wasn't much better, but at least Bloodstrike understood her when she vented her frustrations at him.

"I'm sorry that your first experience around your nieces and nephew were so negative." He paused a moment, wondering if he should share his insecurities, but this was Mistpaw! He could tell her whatever he wanted.

"I have done everything I can think of to punish Dawnkit for misbehaving, I even whacked him with my paw pretty hard on a few occasions. He whips around and glowers at me, but that's it. He continues to do what he wants to do. I can't find a way to punish him effectively and Smokefeather is at a loss too. I don't know why he's like this. I don't know where we went wrong."

Mistpaw shook her head, before sighing. “Brother, none of you two gave birth to him that way. Look at you, and look at me. We may be siblings but our personalities are far from the same.” Shifting closer towards him, Mistpaw flicked her tail onto his back comfortingly. ”I think that the best cats you can ask for parental advice would be our own parents. Wolfcall and Blossomstep. Dawnkit would have to respect the deputy, right?” It wasn’t like her to comfort her brother, most of the time, it was him comforting her. “Try to be gentler to Dawnkit, maybe. Take them out to explore camp.”

Bloodstrike was.... actually pleasantly surprised by Mistpaw's advice. She was wiser than she let on. If it wasn't for her shyness, more cats would probably discover that for themselves. It took a lot of the guilt he'd had on his shoulders off. She was right... the way Dawnkit was probably wasn't a result of their parenting. Primrosekit was sweet as could be, after all. A gentle approach.... actually wasn't something Bloodstrike had thought of. How he hadn't thought of it, he didn't know, but it was worth giving a try.

"That actually helps." He said honestly and gave her a loving smile. "Thank you Mistpaw. I'll try that." Hopefully it would work. He was at his wit's end and honestly could not wait for Dawnkit to become Dawnpaw and let him be someone else's torment for awhile. A part of him also felt guilty for thinking that too, though.

"So what's been new with you? Fight anymore owls lately?" He asked with a chuckle. It was okay to laugh now, right?

Mistpaw shook her head and laughed. “No owls to fight, thankfully. I’ve just been doing camp duties. I’ve talked to Spottedstar a few days ago. He offered me some prey and we just talked. I guess...that’s all that’s been happening to me. Rather uneventful I would say.” She shrugged, before glaring at the sun as if it was the cause to all of her problems. “And don’t even mention the heat. I don’t know how all the cats with thicker pelts survive in green leaf. I’m literally dying in it, even if my pelt is as short as can be.”

Bloodstrike couldn't keep the look of surprise off of his face. He stared at Mistpaw for a second, clearly... bothered by something. "Spottedstar talked to you? When did he do that?" His frustration edged his tone, but his anger was not at Mistpaw at all. At the mention of the heat, Bloodstrike didn't have much to say about it. It was awful, but he seemed to tolerate it much better than the other cats did. Especially poor Smokefeather...

Mistpaw thought about it some more.  “Well...it was some time ago, but he did. Just asked some casual questions. About my apprenticeship, what my mentor is teaching me, all that.It’s really bothering me, even your kits could see it. Dustkit and Dawnkit, they were commenting about me still being an apprentice. They also angered Redfall and seemed to not show any respect towards their elders. I’m worried about them, how they’re going to act when they grow older.” Mistpaw bit her lip, hazel eyes shining with worry. “Don’t worry, Spottedstar didn’t ask a lot, it’s not that serious.”

Bloodstrike couldn't help the twinge of jealousy in his heart. Why did he feel jealous? Maybe it wasn't jealousy... he didn't know. Maybe it was betrayal.

"It's just that... the first time we talked it didn't go well. He said he'd talk to me again later after we were both calm but he hasn't spoken to me since. Maybe he realized that he had been an absentee leader and was trying to make up for it by talking with you." He couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth, but he didn't regret saying them. Bloodstrike was willing to apologize, but he was most certainly owed an apology too. Another thought crossed his mind. Was he refusing to promote Mistpaw to warrior to get back at Bloodstrike? Would he be that petty?

If that was the case, then Spottedstar could forget about an apology. Bloodstrike would be counting down the days to when the old leader finally kicked the bucket, even if he was the one who had to make it happen.

Mistpaw blinked, then blinked again. Her ears twitched in confusion. “He talked to you?About what? Did he hurt you? What happened?” Her voice grew panicked and Mistpaw immediately scanned his form for any sign of injury. “I’m so sorry I didn’t know, Spottedstar was so nice to me...did he hurt you?” Something like anger rose inside of her and the small gray tabby forced herself to squash it down. Mistpaw forced herself to relax. Bloodstrike probably wasn’t hurt, maybe Spottedstar just wanted to talk. Calm down, calm down... Mistpaw scratched at her neck in frustration.

Bloodstrike's fur raised at the memory. It was not a happy one, but he didn't want to get Mistpaw all riled up like she was already.

"No one got hurt," He assured her. "He just talked down to me is all and I didn't take it very well. I tried to bring up my concerns with my own clan as well as the others and he was very... dismissive. It just wasn't a good day that's all." He shrugged as if it didn't bother him anymore, but it definitely did. He didn't want to go into detail, because if he did he'd be in a full blown rage all over again.

Mistpaw nodded, calming down again. “Okay. That’s good. Thank StarClan, I was about to charge in and—“ She broke off and groomed herself, knowing that she would never be able to do that. Which you should probably change, Mistpaw. Be more social. Sighing, Mistpaw’s mind drifted back to Bloodstrike’s kits. “You should keep an eye on them.”

OOC: AAAA I’m sorry for this short post I’m on mobile.