Back to where it began

It was a stiff wind… one that ruffled her fur in the most aggravating ways possible. She already looked like a wind-swept bush losing its leaves by the time she’d reached the Lone Stump, and took a moment to rest in its shelter. How long had it been since she’d spoken here? She felt old, and tired, like the energy was slowly draining from her limbs. No, she told herself, leaning against the bark. No, it is simply the talk with the apprentices. You’re young. It’s just an off day.

She could still remember the way she dug her claws into the bark- the marks were still there. She could still remember the way her heart was heavy. She could still remember the brilliant blaze of overwhelming joy that followed her father’s words.

“Make me proud.”

Had she- had she done that?

No.

No, she hadn’t. She’d let a silly disagreement come between her and her brother… and she- she didn’t know how to fix the chasm between her and Sootpaw. They’d been- they’d hadn’t been close as kits, but… now… she didn’t know how he thought. Of all the cats in WindClan, he was the one she knew the least, despite being her blood kin.

But in a way, yes, yes she had made him proud. She was solid. Safe. Secure. Anchored by a web of threads- threads of family, friends, fond memories ingrained into the territory. She’d made up with her brother- mostly. She’d owned up to her mistakes.

She hadn’t done too bad of a job, now, had she?

A single paw reached out lazily and she slowly rose back to her feet. Standing on her hind legs she could just see over the stump- and there, still, were the clawmarks of a hot-tempered apprentice. But they weren’t the only ones- there were tiny wisps of fur caught in the bark, long slashes made by cat claws, even a crude scratching of a cat. This stump told a story as diverse and tangled as her own, she realized. Maybe she should slow down more often, bank the fire. There were many things out there to be wondered at that she’d never noticed.

When Timbersun stepped out of camp that day, he hadn't expected for his paws to lead him to the lone stump. He had stepped out of camp just to get away from the chaos that were his kits. Timbersun loved them, but they were young, loud and annoying. As he climbed up the slight hill towards the stump, he caught a scent. He paused for a second. "Hentooth...?" He murmured, stepping closer to the stump. Was she here? Why was she here? Why would she want to go here?

Then he realised he could ask those questions to himself. Why was he near the lone stump anyway? As he padded closer and the scent became stronger he realised it wasn't his imagination or remembering when his sister and he were apprentices talking to... Father. The moment Henpaw revealed Mother was never coming back and he couldn't believe it, he refused to believe it. No. Don't speak of mother. Don't think of mother. Father's words had been stern.

That was also the day Hentooth started acting less like a sister and more like a... protective medicine cat. Because that's what she was becoming.

That's what she was now.

Seeing black, white and ginger fur almost made him stop in his tracks. No, today wasn't then, today was now. No more scary news, no more horrible mothers that don't care about their own kits. He had kits of his own, and a sister that was a brilliant medicine cat... and Swiftspirit. He swallowed his own breath, filled with worries that built up on that day. "Hentooth! H... Hello, erm... Fancy seeing you here, hm?"

He felt like an apprentice again, though he really didn't want to.

She reached out a paw and lazily scraped it along the edge. How long- how quickly- the days went by. The days went by long but the seasons went by fast. Was it only the day before she’d talked to the apprentices? No, no, it couldn’t be. And what about- what about confronting Tawnyflare? At that her claws sunk into the bark. Had she- had she ever told her brother exactly what happened? How Tawnyflare was… she was almost kind. But Hentooth- Henpaw, then, had only seen her shattering the Code. Maybe-

She was thinking nonsense. Hare-brained. Tawnyflare was a murderer. And she was dead. There was no reason to linger on her; none. The Code was important to follow- oh, she did have a lot to talk to Daystar about.

Her ears pricked at a familiar voice; deep, though, and strong, in a new way. Had hers changed? No- she was still spunky and firey, and her voice wouldn’t change until it started cracking from old age.

“Hey,” she greeted with a flick of an ear. She hadn’t- had she been alone with Timber? Since the eagle? She went down on all four paws, shaking out her fur. Two startlingly similar pairs of green eyes met- one with fire smoldering in its depths, no matter how languid the owner was currently, and one kind. But strong. He wasn’t the apprentice she’d tried to protect from the eagle- much less the kit she’d come up with stories to please- stories of how Tawnyflare was surely out there fighting off SkyClan, stories of how much she loved her kits.

She had always been the oldest one. The strongest. Now, though- was that true? Mistypaw’s words still reverberated in her head. How- she’d thought she’d buried those thoughts. When Ashfall came to comfort her. But now- all it took was a few biting words from a horse-dunged apprentice. A true WindClan cat wasn’t made of feathers!

Feathers- the shadow behind Timber- distinctive- her eyes widened, her maw opened to call out to him-

Something dug into her back, long talons raking her side. Of course. The sun was behind her- the shadow deceptive- but weren’t all shadows deceptive?

The pain threw her out of her doubting thoughts and straight into fighting mode- angered by everything that had happened recently. She spun on her hind paws, sinking her teeth into the eagle’s wing and bartering it with her paws. She’d chipped her fang on this same eagle. This was the one that had broken her relationship with Timber, one now just starting to heal. She dug her teeth in deeper, managing to pull the eagle to the ground.

Eagle used Talon Strike, dealing 6 (7-1 Moor Runner) damage and costing 10 stamina. Hentooth used Snap and Desperate Blows, dealing 14 damage and costing 12 stamina.

Eagle
26 HP / 40 HP
115/ 125 SP

Hentooth
27/33 HP (+3 HP due to meddie buff)
68/80 SP