Sibling Conversation (CLOSED for ripped)

Shrikesong padded around ThunderClan camp, as she normally did when she was in a good mood. At least, somewhat. The brown she-cat wasn't as upbeat as she normally was, since Cedarheart's sorrows brought down her mood a little. I should probably talk to Mom sometime soon. The young warrior eventually stumbled on her sister, Kitepaw. "Hey there, Kitepaw," she said. "How has your day been going so far?" Shrikesong didn't know very much about her sister, so it was a good time to talk and get to know her better. After all, they were both in camp right now.

Kitepaw had been absentmindedly plucking away at a skinny sparrow. The creature's slender frame reflected her frame and held just about as much meat on it's bones. But she didn't seem particularly dedicated to the idea of food at the moment. Several thoughts churned through her mind. Between flickers of Jaypaw and sorting through the grief of losing Harefoot, the apprentice found herself wholly disinterested in doing much of anything other than let her gaze drift lazily about the camp. It was a strange mood and one that she was not used to navigating. Perhaps now was merely a time for feeling lost.

She was decided on resting her head on her forepaws and staring down the bridge of her nose before she caught the frame of another cat approaching. At first, the greeting was muffled but she quickly angled her ears to accommodate and tilted her head. It was Shrikesong, a littermate and one of the clan's newly named warrior. There were hints of a smile across her maw for a brief moment before she sighed, "I'm alright. Are you hungry? I can't seem to bring myself to eat it." There were feathers scattered about and she used a slender forepaw to slide it towards the other she-cat.

Shrikesong blinked at the small bird at her paws. She wasn't dying to eat something (if she was, she would have grabbed something from the fresh-kill pile) but she thought she would be alright. "Yeah, I guess I can eat," the brown she-cat said, nibbling at the sparrow. She looked around at ThunderClan camp. With Laurelkit disappearing into thin air and the death of one of the clan's finest warriors, Harefoot, there wasn't a lot to be happy about in ThunderClan recently. "You seem lost in your own thoughts," the brown tabby said to the other she-cat. "I guess I understand why, with all that's going on in the last few sunrises." The brown tabby she-cat was herself not in the best of moods, despite earning the warrior rank that she had desired for so long.

The newly-named warrior took another bite of the sparrow. "I guess we can talk about stuff that's going on in our lives, if you want? I can start, since I was the one who suggested it." The brown she-cat wondered what specifically was on Kitepaw's mind, even if part of her felt like finding out wasn't going to happen. At least I can try. If she tells me she needs help, I can be there for her and try to comfort her.

It was almost a relief, to have the bird pulled away. The responsibility of choking down the sparrow seemed to no longer weigh on her chest. This was one less thing to plague her crowded mind. Shrikesong's company was welcome and relieving. She nodded towards her kin who spoke of recent circumstances. What caused her tail to flick was the way her emotions were so easily read. Kitepaw supposed it had to do with the relaxed environment she was in. Thunderclan camp had always been a safe haven, somewhere that her ears strained less and her head didn't tilt with every brief moment in hopes something wouldn't catch her off guard.

Kitepaw blinked at the suggestion but quickly tipped her head in agreement, "What's been going on with you, Shrikesong? Warriorhood treating you well?" She leaned in and rested her head on her paws, eyes glancing up at the other she-cat. Mentally, the russet apprentice tried to push away the thoughts and embrace the rare, genuine moment shared between siblings.

Shrikesong sighed. She wasn't exactly doing great, even after her promotion. Her talk with Cedarheart made the brown she-cat happier, and she enjoyed having a new apprentice in Badgerpaw as well, but neither compared to the sheer joy she experienced immediately when she got her warrior name. "I'm doing fine, I guess. Just... had my spirits brought down by recent events, just like the rest of us." She believed that she wasn't the only cat to be sadder during these times, since she could easily see it in many other cats' faces.

Of course, she wanted her siblings and mother to be as happy as possible, because that was the kind of cat she was. "How about you? Are you doing well?" She didn't want to push her sister too far, especially because she didn't want to break the sibling bond that they had. However, she also wanted to be there for her sister, and be an open ear to anything she had to say.

There was a brief moment of sympathy across her features before one ear flickered, "I keep telling myself that all warriors pass on eventually. Harefoot lived a long life, just wish I was in more of it." The kithood memories were back. Such a kind old tom he had been. Kitepaw shook her head to banish the thoughts. Dwelling on it would do little to bring him back. Their kin rested in whatever afterlife was out there for him, just like every other cat who'd died before him. One paw stretched forward to gingerly touch her sister's. The lithe pad rested there for a moment, attempting to be reassuring before tucking back into a more comfortable position.

"I fought a Riverclan apprentice the other day. Have you met one yet? They're positively infuriating. I can help but keep thinking about the fact that I let him get in some decent blows on me. Do you think that's why I'm not a warrior yet?" An aggravated sigh left her maw as he claws picked at the earth. Visions of Jaypaw danced through her mind. What an obnoxious creature he was, positively mousebrained. It didn't sit well with her that she was drawn to him in any manner, even if it was merely dreams of meeting him in combat once more. Their skill had been fairly equally matched but using the river had given him the upperpaw. Against her better judgement, the she-cat wanted to race back to the border and challenge him once more, even if she wouldn't now.

Shrikesong nodded after Kitepaw spoke about Harefoot. She remembered bits and pieces of him, but the brown warrior didn't remember much from her early kithood. I feel the same way. I never really knew him that well, and he was my grandfather. As Kitepaw told Shrikesong about the former's fights with a RiverClan apprentice, the warrior shook her head. "Not a RiverClan cat, but I did meet a SkyClan cat when the clan as a whole was living in RiverClan in Sunningrocks." It was actually a while ago, when she was an apprentice herself. She wondered if she was ever going to see Honeypaw again. "I don't think that getting hit by another apprentice should affect something like that. After all, warriors aren't expected to be perfect, even if many of them strives to be it. If you want, I can talk to Nettlestar about your warrior ceremony." She didn't expect Kitepaw to say yes, but at the end of the day it was only an offer, just to show that she was willing to do that for her sister.

A sympathetic nod was all the response she needed. The thought of discussing Harefoot any longer was entirely displeasing. There were better things to discuss than dwelling on the miserable feeling of losing a beloved clanmate and kin. Loss was a part of life for cats in the forest. Discussion of Skyclan's stay with Riverclan was a far more pleasant topic, even if she couldn't fathom the idea of settling into another clan's territory. Wet paws was a miserable idea. She shuddered as she remembered Jaypaw dousing her in river water. Kitepaw flicked her tail before responding. It gave Shrikesong enough time to offer a sympathetic suggestion.

She shook her head, "I appreciate it but I'd rather Nettlestar give me my name when she truly thinks I'm ready. No cat should have to lift me on their shoulders for warriorhood. Besides you have your own things to worry about and I really do want to sharpen my skills more before facing that Riverclanner again." Pads kneaded the ground as she remember their encounter. Despite how hard fought it had been, Jaypaw had bested her and soaked her like a drowned rat. All at once she was enamored with the moment once again. The rise and fall of their heaving sides as they fought back and forth; the raspy allure of his voice. Kitepaw's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she unintentionally muttered the realization, "I think he's handsome."

Shrikesong understood completely. Kitepaw wanted to earn her rank, and Shrikesong wouldn't object to the matter. Kitepaw seemed to have a rivalry with that RiverClan apprentice, and she always seemed somewhat excited whenever she brought him up. Still, when the apprentice called him handsome (which she most certainly didn't mean to say) Shrikesong was caught off-guard.

The brown tabby blinked. She hadn't felt this surprised since... her heritage was revealed. What's going to come up from this? At least, she was pretty sure that something was going to come up from this. "Oh. I... guess that you didn't mean for me to hear that. Don't worry, I'm not telling anybody." Perhaps she'd tell Cedarheart, though... no, she should let Kitepaw do it if the apprentice so desired. Shrikesong had no right to infringe on her sister's privacy. "If you want to talk about it more, I'm always open. If not, that's fine as well." For StarClan's sake, am I messing up a conversation with my own sister? She didn't know, but she awaited her sister's response on the matter.

Her teeth snapped back together in an instant with a soft clack. Embarrassment heated her ears and immediately Kitepaw became flustered. Shrikesong's reaction only worsened the apprentice's condition. Surely her sister didn't genuinely believe that she had fallen for a Riverclan cat? A handsome exterior couldn't compensate for the fact he was a Riverclan tom and an exceptionally irritating creature. With her tail lashing uncomfortably behind her, the she-cat pads began to knead the earth in the most subtle way. There was a frail and tentative silence building. Kitepaw despised that more than the realization that she would have to address the situation.

"There's nothing to tell," she laughed softly, finding that she didn't quite believe her own words as her whiskers twitched, "Just because he's handsome doesn't mean he is anything special. Jaypaw is easily the most repulsive cat I've ever met and far from decent to be around. If anything, it makes me realize why the borders exist... Imagine sharing a camp with Riverclan." The words that fell from her maw were unconvincing but she managed to keep about a light tone as she shoved away the thought. Ending up like Cedarheart was the last thing she intended to do, and she was entirely loyal to Thunderclan... right?