The Tunnels Are Trouble [c]

After days in the medicine den, Whisperpaw was finally released back to duties. Coyotegrin had visited them every day since the battle where their voice was lost. If anything, they were her best moments of peace. A granted gift to herself to stop for a few seconds. It was required, anyway. As her mentor and self-proclaimed adopted parental figure. They now walk next to each other, and soon, they made it to a nice ridge. This ridge happened to be her favorite for this time of day, as the sun was settling in for a night's sleep. Its descent had just started, leaving the sky streaked with bands of orange and pink. Springtime clouds slowly crawled across the sky, taking on a very pale pink hue. On the grassy ridge, Coyotegrin settled in. "I thought we could sit and watch the sunset for a few moments, Whisperpaw. Now that the stars are back to guide us, it'll be a nice stroll before a meal and heading to our nests." Her paws pricked a blade beneath her claw, and she pulled it up to inspect it. For the last few days, Coyotegrin has been focusing on the next phase of her plan: figuring everything out about all of her clanmates. Through whispers of conversations passed, she heard that Whisperpaw had ventured into the tunnels. The calico warrior refused to leave this unchallenged and would absolutely not stand for this. However, she knew straight up yelling at the apprentice was undeserved and would only frighten them off her. Instead, Coyotegrin would open up about the trauma of losing her sister, Daisypaw, for the first time.

She almost lost Whisperpaw once, she refused to let it happen again.

Coyotegrin broke her concentration on the sunset to look at Whisperpaw when their quiet voice spoke. It wracked her gut with guilt they were injured in that battle so badly- she should have protected them. She hesitated for a few seconds before speaking in a quiet tone to kind of... ease the moment. "I apologize for that. With Goldenstar having died, I wanted to step in and help Shrikestorm with the clan. It's hard to stop working when the clan needs help." Coyotegrin plucked a blade of grass with her claw and started tearing it on the ground in nervousness. As much as she liked to keep the charismatic mask on her face at all times, in reality her emotions were constantly tugging her each way. She wanted to spend more time with Hawkheart and Whisperpaw, but when your emotions never stop running, its hard to stop your paws as well. She was scared if she stopped her paws, the words would run. In reality, what real trauma did she have that other cats didn't? Everyone had lost loved ones, especially recently. Was she really just weak?

"Whisperpaw, did anyone ever tell you what happened to my sister, Daisypaw?" The calico warrior approached the topic casually and carefully. Coyotegrin didn't want to startle the apprentice or seem like she was angry or controlling. But she just couldn't let it go, the nagging worry she felt ever since she heard of Whisperpaw's adventure to the tunnels with Lavenderdrop. She sincerely wanted to lay one into Lavenderdrop for taking the kit she viewed as her child to such dangerous areas, but, it wouldn't be effective. They had zero connection and it would turn into a whole ordeal and look bad on her.

Coyotegrin took a deep breath of green leaf air and let it out slowly. "Daisypaw was my sister, we weren't close because I was so busy training. But we were reconnecting on the tail end of our apprenticeship. We took a walk, and stumbled across a tunnel. We wanted to explore it." The warrior paused, recollecting the memory into sensible form. "Well, I did. I was proud of WindClan heritage. She was hesitant. All of the sudden, the tunnel started rumbling. I was faster than her. And, Whisperpaw?" Her pelt physically grimaced at the clear as day memory of her sister's last moment. It was her first taste of death, and she had shoved it deep inside to forget it. It was a painful memory. As she spoke her final words, she turned her head away to face the sun.

"She almost made it out. When I turned around from escaping, I watched her body be crushed in the entrance. The weight killed her within seconds. I was trying to dig her out but it was too late." Coyotegrin has mulled over the chain of actions committed that day many times. Was it her fault? She was kicking the support beams. She could have pushed Daisypaw forward? No cat held her liable, but she never mentioned her nudging the support beam. She didn't consider herself a murderer for it, and StarClan hasn't punished her for it. But the guilt still remained. She turned back to Whisperpaw.

"I heard you have gone in the tunnels with Lavenderdrop. I am telling you, well, asking you, as your mentor not to go down there. They are dangerous, and have not been up-kept in many leaders. I couldn't bare losing you how we lost Daisypaw. Will you promise not to go down there again? Please?" Her green eyes were wide and pleading. Begging. When she looked at them, her memory replaced Daisypaw's form with Whisperpaw's.

Coyotegrin sighed and mulled over what Whisperpaw was saying. Was it really fair of her to ban them from the tunnels if that is where they thrived? She kneaded her paws into the grass, thinking. She was truly torn. Finally, she rolled around to her decision. "Can you promise, for now? When things get settled with Goldenstar, I will speak with Shrikestorm about them. Maybe we can get things situated down there, and figure out how to make them safe. Do we have a deal? Is that a fair compromise?" She turned to face Whisperpaw once more, her eyes pleading.