Unease [OPEN]

The sun was inching toward the horizon, casting long shadows across the camp as Swiftspirit padded in with a hare dangling from her jaws. Setting the catch on the fresh-kill pile, Swiftspirit turned, finding a spot to sit near the edge of camp. Her ears flicked at a few snatches of random conversation, the warrior unable to not focus on what was being said despite her efforts. Daystar had chosen Goldenfang as her deputy and had traveled to the moonstone, and naturally, that seemed to be the popular topic of conversation alongside that disaster of a gathering.

Swiftspirit wasn't a particularly pious cat. She'd never prayed to any ancestors, though her brush with Starclan at the moonstone had shown her that they were very much real and at least had some sort of power. The gathering, much as the skeptic within Swiftspirit wanted it to be coincidence, didn't feel like such. The sky had been perfectly clear, not a cloud in sight until those two apprentices had fought. Lightning, fire, rain, all happening impossibly fast. Despite the circumstances and animosity between their clans, Swiftspirit had to wonder how that Skyclanner was faring now, if she'd even made it out of fourtrees, that was. The Windclanner had seen the huge molly tumble to the ground, and that had been the extent of it as she'd turned her attention towards getting out of fourtrees with Dayspring, Ashfall and the rest of their clanmates. It was obvious that the medicine cat couldn't have escaped unscathed.

Maybe Skyclan would learn something about starting fights. Maybe that mouthy Riverclan apprentice would learn to hold her tongue.

Somehow, Swiftspirit found herself doubting both of these things. The explanation that Bloodstrike had given for all the clans to hear hadn't painted Windclan in a favorable light, and Lilacstar being unable to speak would only prove to the other clans that they were weak-willed and spineless. Daystar had done the best she could under the circumstances, but Swiftspirit still worried about what the future would hold. Losing herself in these thoughts before attempting to sleep wasn't the best idea, but Swiftspirit couldn't seem to help it as her gaze drifted towards the setting sun.

Henpaw was stretched out in front of the medicine den, enjoying the last few rays of setting sun. It was golden, the light, turning everything it touched to gold. The calico’s idle gaze settled on a pelt she knew well by sight. Swiftspirit. Mmm. Languidly, Henpaw set her head on her paws and allowed her thoughts to wonder about the she-cat. She rather fancied she’d been born a loner. A scar on her shoulder suggested a life of trouble, but she seemed peaceful enough now, although slightly troubled.

As the emotional support whatnot of the Clan, Henpaw should go over and ask what was on her mind… but as a lazy apprentice, she thought over what she knew about the she-cat. Ashfall’s friend- and that in itself spoke volumes. Ashfall was… Ashfall. Her friends were good cats. And… if Ashfall’s friend was troubled, Henpaw really should talk to her.

With a quiet sigh, the calico rose to her paws, selected a bird from the fresh-kill pile, and trotted over. “Mind if I sit here?” She asked. On closer inspection, she didn’t look that troubled. It was her body language from a distance that made her seem uneasy. At any rate, she wanted to know Ashfall’s friends better.

Ryesnap's gut was only just starting to unfurl, his stomach just starting to unflip, in the wake of his beloved mentor's apparent death. Even when the search began, he knew they wouldn't find Fawnstep alive. A cat like that didn't stay out for a long evening stroll and fail to return. He was already anticipating the blow when they stopped searching. He slipped quietly into his grief. He suppressed his weeping. He was as noble as he could be. That's what Fawnstep expected of him. Ryesnap took a whisker of blame for the tom's death, in the part of his brain that was superstitious and kitten-like. It was his failure to be the warrior Fawnstep expected him to be that killed his mentor, this part of his brain said... not any outside cause. If only you had been a little less of a thorn in the paw of this clan! If only you hadn't been such a sourpuss! Imagine the seasons he could have lived if you hadn't broken his spirit with your horridness!

It made him feel ugly and broken. However, guilt was an incredible motivator. There stood a pair of quiet, troubled looking cats. Swiftspirit was close to Ashfall, and he knew that it made her trustworthy company to keep. Maybe troubles were something they had in common, Ryesnap figured optimistically, and he inched out towards them. He turned his ears towards them, blinking in a vague kind of greeting, and stooped down to sit beside them. Mustering up the only thread of conversation he could think of, he whispered: "I heard about the Gathering. Was it as bad as everyone's sayin'?"

Mild exhaustion painted the tom's features as he slowly made his way back into the camp with two plump hares hanging firmly from his jaws, having been out and about for most of the day. At first it had started as a normal hunting outing but that had quickly turned into him running a few laps around the territory, senses ever open for danger. However after some time enjoying the wind on his face, he finally slowed down his pace and just began to take a calm stroll for the rest of the evening. He had a lot to think about after all. Also, now that his feelings were no longer overwhelming, he was finally able to lighten up easier and once again enjoy the little things.

After depositing his catches on the prey pile, the silver-furred warrior let out a big yawn, limbs stretching until he no longer felt them ache. His green eyes lazily scanned the camp and soon they lingered on three familiar figures near the edge of the camp. Curiosity got the best of him and he padded right over to the trio. He hadn't spoken much with Swiftspirit or his nephew Ryesnap for quite some time. Henpaw was with them too and Silverlight was also rather interested to chat with her some more. She was usually busy with her medicine cat duties but usually made time for her clanmates. He was proud of how for she's come.

"Hey guys! What's the topic for today's chatter?" he greeted with a lopsided smile as he approached. "Mind if I join in? I'm finally finished with my hunting. Took a bit longer than usual cause I got distracted." He offered them a sheepish shrug as he awaited their answer.

Swiftspirit glanced over at the sound of approaching pawsteps, blinking at the apprentice. "Of course," She nodded, waving her tail in invitation. Swiftspirit could recall seeing her around camp and hearing her name passed about, but even had that not been the case, the sharp scent of herbs would have given her away. Henpaw, Smallbean's apprentice. She hadn't interacted with her much, though there had been a few cats Swiftspirit hadn't interacted with much recently. She'd spent a lot of time wrapped up in her own thoughts recently, and maybe conversation would help.

Right on cue, a second cat was making his way towards them

"Hey, Ryesnap." It had been a while since they'd really spoken, she knew that he and his sister had been... upset... after Dawnhawk's little reveal, and nobody could blame them for that. Dawnhawk's actions weren't his kits' fault, and anyone who would look down upon them for that was simply foolish.

Ryesnap asked about the gathering, and Swiftspirit nodded. "I think I challenged fate when I asked about getting through one gathering without drama, and I lost." Her words were snarky, but Swiftspirit was being genuine. "Lilacstar couldn't speak... Dayspring had to do the announcements from the base of the great rock."

"There was a Riverclan apprentice... The one Wolfstar attacked during the battle. She kept trying to antagonize Skyclan's medicine cat, even her own clanmates were trying to get her to stop. Bloodstrike said he wanted no problems during the gathering, and she continued." Swiftspirit rolled her eyes, remembering the mouthy apprentice. Cloverpaw, she thought the name was, but wasn't sure. Swiftspirit had understood her point, but disagreed about how she'd went about it. "Bloodstrike decided to tell the forest exactly what Dawnhawk did. In detail." She grimaced at the memory, Bloodstrike's words made her stomach twist even now. To think that Dawnhawk had attacked Skyclan's camp while they'd attacked Windclan... He'd killed innocents, cats that were defenseless. There was no excusing that. And now the forest knew what the tom Windclan had sheltered had done. They knew that Windclan's leadership couldn't make proper judgements on the cats they allowed into the clan, and they knew that Windclan had so easily been deceived, just as much as Skyclan had been betrayed by their own. Lilacstar couldn't even speak, and Swiftspirit understood exactly what that would have looked like to the other clans because she had had the same thoughts watching that display.

Daystar had done what she could, but would that damage control be enough? She wasn't sure.

"I'm just glad that none of our cats were seriously injured when that branch was hit by lightning."

She spotted Silverlight approaching, and gave the tom a friendly smile, "Hey, how's it going?"

As Henpaw sat, Ryesnap came over to talk- Ashfall’s brother. Ashfall’s brother was automatically alright. Henpaw stayed silent as Swiftspirit told him about the Gathering. It had been chaotic, what with the fire and the cats almost dying and the whole SkyClan existing thing. Since she’d been at the Gathering, she focused on her bird, a nice plump one she’d selected carefully from the pile. “SkyClan’s deputy was sitting on the Greatrock,” she reminded them. “Wolfstar might be seriously ill.” She mused over that for a moment, staring at her bird and hoping some cool StarClan omen thingy would come out of it. Nothing happened. This appeared to be a regular bird. Henpaw stared at it as though she could force an omen out by sheer will.

Silverlight’s voice snapped her out of it. “Ello, Silverlight! We’re talking about the Gathering. You know, the whole fire lightning StarClan trying to kill SkyClan’s medicine cat. All that good stuff.” She nodded with a barely hidden smirk, and moved over a bit so he’d have room to sit. “That doesn’t look like distracted,” she mewed, nodding at the hares. He’d caught more than some cats could when their tails were on fire.

The tom's eye twitched as Swiftspirit revealed the story, winding through the events without much detail. He was glad of it. He didn't want to know how WindClan had reacted to Dawnhawk's list of sins, nor did he want any more insight than he already had. Ryesnap was happy to be over it. Over it all. Over the moon and the stars, that's how far he'd like to be over it... He tried not to budge in his expression, though his lips pressed against his teeth with all that it took to avoid making a run for the hills.

"Yeah, you don't gotta tell me about that stuff. I'm fine anyway. Totally cool. Real good with it. Besides, I already know he's a jackrabbit-bottomed—er, Henpaw, don't go repeating that," he huffed. "But... lightning? The tree?"

Henpaw spoke up next. "Good!" Ryesnap blurted, perhaps a little too excitedly, "Look, Henpaw, if Wolfstar gets sick, it'll be the best thing that's ever happened to that clan. For a clan to be that lawless, I think it's gotta come from someone."

Sensing his own outburst, Ryesnap quickly added, "You hear what they say about us, anyway, 'n' it's not any nicer."