black skies, changing to blue [c]

Badgermask lay curled in a large, furry heap in her lone corner of the warriors' den, where she had been for most of the day. She was seeking shelter, not just from the heat, but also from her feelings... namely, the feelings about ThunderClan's newest additions... her brothers. They'd been easy to ignore when they were tiny, squirming beans in the nursery, but as they grew older, bolder, and apprenticed... she knew it would only be a matter of time before she had to interact with them. She wasn't sure she was ready. When she was a young kit, Badgermask had always wondered what it would be like to have siblings. Now, she did, but it wasn't the same. Because these kits only shared half her blood, and while it was, to Badgermask, an important half - after all, she loved her mother dearly - it was also a reminder that things had moved on. That she should be moving on. Past her hatred for Asylum, past her grief for Pinefrost. But she wasn't ready to let go.

Tears pricked the dappled warrior's eyes as she lay there, and she swallowed hard. Suddenly, she couldn't stand to be here, not in this den, not in this camp... Badgermask rose to her paws, heat pulsing through her, and shoved her way into the camp, headed for the entrance before she had to see any of them, but a pale-brown tabby pelt caught her eye and without even stopping to think about it, she threw herself into Thrushnose's, burying her head into her mother's shoulder. "W-will you go out with me?" she asked quietly. "Out of camp? Hunting? Something?"

Outside the camp’s bramble walls, Thrushnose spat out a mouthful of squirrel bones and began to dig, her broad paws unhurried. A pile of refuse wasn’t usually peaceful, but she had to take what she could get. Her past few moons had been one whirlwind after another. First having kits, as much (maybe more) of a surprise to her as it had been to everyone else; then raising them, with the accompanying chaos; then watching them roam and complain about being confined to camp, a sentiment that echoed all too sharp within her. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, she’d been thrown from nursery life straight into deputyship. But things were changing. While nothing could be done about her temporary position, Sleekpaw and Stoatpaw had graduated from the nursery; now, they had mentors to wrangle them. Today was hers.

With the bones buried beyond any kits’ reach, Thrushnose returned to camp, eyes set on a distant shady patch. Halfway there, someone charged into her. Her mind processed the pelt before her eyes did, and she bent to lick her daughter’s ear (or what she could reach of it). A thorn of concern wedged itself between her ribs. Badgermask was many things; “quiet” was not among them. But Thrushnose only understood how to work with what she knew for certain, and so she answered, “A hunt would be perfect. Where were you thinking?” She’d been too busy for too long. A day out the territory with her daughter, hunting for bugs or squirrels or whatever happened across their path, seemed like a step in the right direction.

"I don't know, just... somewhere," came Badgermask's muffled voice from where she'd wedged her face into the other she-cat's shoulder. Finally she pulled away, eyes wet but refusing to shed anymore tears. She melted into appreciative silence, following her mother outside the camp. She felt a bit guilty, admittedly, as it seemed that Thrushnose had only just returned to camp, and here she was, asking her to go out again. She'd almost resolved to change her mind, and say they should go back, when she glanced sideways and met her mother's concerned gaze.

You've blown it, good job, she chastised herself, the lump in her throat growing with each passing second. Through the pregnancy and the kit-rearing, the warrior had tried to seem happy, to support Thrushnose despite her own feelings about the matter. And here she was blubbering like a scolded kit.

A fat beetle crossed her path, and Badgermask halfheartedly swiped at it, her claws hooking the chitinous shell and sending it tumbling a fox-length away. She hesitated, and stared at it for a moment, her mind elsewhere, before she finally turned to look at Thrushnose. "Have... have I been a good daughter?" she asked, her voice trembling. It was a selfish question, and one that put the other she-cat in a terrible position, she knew that, but some selfish, immature part of her begged to know if Stoatpaw and Sleekpaw had been some sort of replacement.

A crackling of branches above them interrupted any response the deputy could have formed, and Badgermask instinctually looked up, her ears flattening in shock as a bundle of black and gray striped fur dropped out of the tree above them. The raccoon landed with a surprised huff, and for a moment, she and the creature stared at each other in equal shock, but in an instant the raccoon had puffed up defensively, and its clawed hands lashed out at Badgermask's eyes. She whipped back just in time to avoid serious damage, but the thing's claws sliced right through the skin on the bridge of her nose.

Badgermask tried and failed to catch a beetle. Raccoon took offense to that. Raccoon used Quick Swipe against Badgermask, dealing 20 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Badgermask:
25/45 HP
157/160 SP

Thrushnose:
100/100 HP
280/280 SP

Raccoon:
30/30 HP
290/300 SP

The member 'JJ' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'Hunting Dice' : 10

Though her outings tended to be more scheduled than this, Thrushnose was not swayed in the slightest. Every new thing she noticed worried her more. “Then we’ll do ‘somewhere.’” Not so far from camp that they’d run into one of the day’s patrols; not so close they’d have company. They ducked through the tunnel of brambles and into the forest, Thrushnose leading by a pawstep when the path widened enough for them to walk side by side. Half of her pulled toward the maze of trees, insistent the atmosphere would loosen up once they got to the actual hunting; that was what Badgermask had asked, sort of. The other half urged her to stay. To be patient, and trust the silence would draw out whatever needed to be said. Stars, she hated waiting at times like this. Among her current options, though, it was the best by far.

A beetle trundled across the path. Thrushnose watched it roll away, then turned with one ear twitching toward her daughter. That did nothing to prepare her. Her expression turned from concern to bewilderment as she stared, stopping cold in her tracks. There was a gut answer…buried underneath a hundred other things. What? Why? Where is this coming from? Did something happen? She opened her mouth to pick just one of them, to possibly understand Badgermask’s question the tiniest bit better—

A bundle of matted fur landed with a thump in front of them. Thrushnose’s mind, still snagged on "a good daughter," did not respond. She stood there with her claws sheathed, utterly silent as the raccoon bristled.

It surged forward and swiped at Badgermask’s face, then, and Thrushnose snapped back to reality. Taking one’s focus off an opponent never ended well, she knew that, yet she still glanced aside long enough to take in her daughter’s wide green eyes—and the line of blood beneath them. Beneath. A minor injury. Relief shot through her. “Careful,” Thrushnose breathed. As she set her gaze on the raccoon again, her fear, now defanged, shifted to anger; she delivered one swipe across the beast’s masked face, a second, a third, blood welling under her claws with every blow.

Thrushnose used Rending Front Paws on Raccoon, dealing 17 damage and using 25 stamina.

Thrushnose
100/100 HP
255/280 SP (-25)

Badgermask
25/45 HP
157/160 SP

Raccoon
13/30 HP (-17)
290/300 SP

Badgermask reeled back on to her haunches, warmth spreading down her face, and flattened her ears with a surprised hiss. She didn't get the chance to react before Thrushnose was barreling into the thing, slashing and swiping until the raccoon, with a pitiful, overwhelmed bray, turned and fled. Badgermask didn't care enough to pursue it - it was clear to her that the thing had reacted out of fear and surprise, not menace, and so she was willing to allow it to live.

The warrior brought a paw up to brush against the new wounds on her face, and the pads came away wet with blood. She stared at it for a second, and then shifted to rub her cheek against her mottled shoulder, turning back to her mother with an apologetic expression. "Sorry, that was a stupid question, I just... with everything lately..." she trailed off, looking uncomfortable. "You've got more to worry about than my insecurities, I know." Blowing air from her nostrils, Badgermask turned away, thick tail flicking in irritation at herself. What was she even doing? Thrushnose had her duties as deputy to worry about, two new apprentice-aged kits, and here she was, complaining about nothing. "We can... let's just go back home. I don't think that raccoon is going to show its face around here, again."

Apparently, this raccoon was more sensible than most. Thrushnose hardly had enough time to raise her paw again before it fled into the woods, wounded, but not fatally. Still bristling, she watched the undergrowth sweep back into place. She’d have to warn her father before some hapless apprentice ran across it. Organize a patrol to bring it down, if necessary. …Later. The snarl dropped from her face, giving way to worry, and she turned to search her daughter’s fresh scratches again as if she knew a single herb that might help. Half of her mind murmured about things like blood loss and infection, but the rest—

“We’re not going anywhere.” It came out harsh, hurried. Thrushnose’s shoulders slumped. Her parents were good at this. Pinefrost would have been good at this. It was something no cat could train for, and because of that, she floundered. She sucked in a breath. “Badger. I want to worry about you. No matter what it is. I’m your mother before I’m anyone’s deputy. But I…I can’t help with things I don’t know.” She sat in the dust, then, her tail coming up to curl over her firmly-set paws. “Did something happen?” That she needed to ask at all made her stomach clench—it wasn't as if she'd been playing deputy in a different forest, she hadn't even left ThunderClan territory—but she kept her gaze fixed on Badgermask.

"No, I-" Badgermask turned away, irritation spiking the fur on her neck. Why had she even said anything? She pawed at her face, refusing to show the moisture that gathered at the corners of her eyes, and wishing it would just go away... the tears, the anger, the feelings. Unable to sit still, and knowing that if she'd inherited anything from Thrushnose it was probably her mother's stubbornness, Badgermask just settled for an anxious, frustrated pacing, her claws worrying the ground as she repeated a line over and over again.

"Nothing happened." She refused to look at Thrushnose. "Well, Asylum happened," she spat the word like it was poison on her tongue. "And then they left, and they've been gone longer than they were even here, really, but still..." her voice had lowered to a whisper, and she paused at the end of her line, staring out into the trees. "It feels like everyone forgot." Forgot what? She didn't say, couldn't say, not yet... A butterfly captured her attention, and her eyes followed it as it landed on a flower and started to drink, fanning its colorful wings. Sudden anger filled the young warrior and she pounced forward, paw swinging upward to rake across the insect. One wing shredded, and it flipped sideways to the ground, fluttering helplessly. Badgermask stared down at it, pity and regret filling her. Why had she even done that? Another paw came down, crushing the thing and putting it out of its misery, and the dappled warrior swallowed hard, her fluffy haunches dropping to the ground.

"You haven't forgotten, right?" Badgermask's voice was low, and pitiful, with just the barest hint of accusation. It wasn't fair, this question she was asking, and she knew that, but Badgermask had realized and accepted that she was a selfish creature, and she needed to know. "You haven't forgotten about dad, right?"

The member 'JJ' has done the following action : Dices roll

---

'Hunting Dice' : 2

Throughout it all, Thrushnose waited. Her gaze shifted only to watch the butterfly, torn, pitch sideways to the earth. She twitched forward, then, but Badgermask reached it first, leaving her to settle back as unease rolled through her. Her daughter’s voice was quiet, hardly even sharp at its edge. And it stung. It slid a single claw into Thrushnose’s chest and withdrew to let the wound bleed. There was a correct answer, and there was an honest one, and just for a moment, she forgot about being right.

“I thought I could, for a while.” It felt like prying all the little bones out of a fish. “I thought I had to, or else I…” Thrushnose raised her head to look, not at Badgermask, but at the trees beyond. “Every time a warrior complains about someone sneaking bugs into their nest, I remember. Every time I sit alone at a Gathering. Every time I look at Ferretnose, or at you.” That Badgermask sat here right now, alive and safe and a warrior without her bloodline’s shadow hanging over her, was a reminder of Pinefrost at his brightest. “He was… He’s still my best friend.” Maybe that was a strange sentiment considering they’d been mates in ThunderClan’s eyes, but that had never been the truth, not between them. She loved him; they’d run out of time long before she unraveled how. Thrushnose waited for the pressure behind her eyes to subside. “He always will be. I could never—I will never forget that.”

With the silence came awareness, carrying tiny thorns of regret within. For all that it had been a genuine answer, it was also too much, too suddenly, piled on top of a cat—her daughter—going through quite enough as it was. Thrushnose cleared her throat and was gratified to find her voice had steadied. “We keep going because…honestly, we don't have a choice. But we don’t forget. I don’t think anyone does.” That was…easier. Better.