Oh yea... I sorta lost the apprentice.... hopefully thats not like an issue?

Birdchaser

Hunting was, unfortunately, still a necessary part of Clan life. Hungry stomachs wouldn't be stalled by the forest's upheaval, and as reluctant as she was to allow any member of SkyClan out of her sight, Birdchaser understood the necessity of it. It was almost comforting in a way, too. It was like something normal; they could just keep going through the motions, keep pretending this was their stony camp, keep acting like twolegs didn't just bustle out of sight. It was effective and routine, and hunting helped keep everyone's paws busy. Hopefully it helped to distract them from everything, helped to provide them some small comfort. Despite its importance and the flicker of hope routine provided, Birdchaser's stomach still spun when she watched the patrols she'd organized depart.

She hadn't felt well enough to join one for the afternoon. Her leg pained her, and some sort of cough had settled into her chest. She had planned on trying to join an evening patrol. The day was starting to lengthen, and the early patrols should be returning soon. She'd been scanning the treeline anxiously, counting heads as well as mice as cats started to return. There was a particularly long stretch before one pair returned... she was starting to get antsy over it, heavy paws kneading the ground to dispel some of the nervous energy. She had half a mind to get up and drag herself into the woods in search of them (even though she knew patrols just got delayed sometimes, and it was not immediate cause for concern-- still, she worried) when a grating voice hit her ears.

She had never been fond of Stormwatcher. He was insistent upon skirting his duties, ignoring her summons; on making himself fat off the hard work of his Clanmates while he dozed through sunhigh. She did not have a clear reason to dislike him beyond his attitude, but his mere existence worked each of her nerves.

With creeping slowness, Birdchaser turned to glower at the tabby who approached her, pale eyes narrowed to slits. Her thick tail thumped against the ground hard, and a hushed "Do not call me that." rose out of her throat. She had not even had the chance to name a deputy yet, let alone travel to Highstones. Nor was she done mourning, or the rest of the Clan. She hadn't even made a proper announcement about Briarstar's whereabouts yet. The insensitivity and audacity-- Birdchaser's hackles rose and on instinct, her claws flexed, pressing into the frosty ground.

Bad news.Wanting her eyes off Stormwatcher anyway, and her concern refreshed, Birdchaser took the moment to glance in the direction he'd arrived from. There was no tuxedo trotting after him, nor any sign of the little tom anywhere else in the clearing. Immediately, her heart started to pound, hammering hard enough against her ribs to make her feel nauseous. She was not even given a moment to pray to StarClan her fears were untrue before they were confirmed. Oh, Crookedpaw, no... No, no, no...

She was stunned there, for a beat. She did not know what to say, to think, to do. Another one of their Clanmates had been lost under her care. Another Clanmate stolen, with no certainty towards whether or not he would ever return. Her stomach rolled, and the nausea in her became so fierce she had to close her eyes and swallow hard to keep herself from turning up bile onto the grass. When she opened her eyes, Birdchaser looked for Rainpaw. He would be devastated. They were so, so close. They had found each other early; she had watched them become fast friends, growing attached at the hip immediately. Everything in Birdchaser wanted to scream and sob and sink claws and fangs into who or whatever cursed them like this. He did not deserve this loss; Crookedpaw did not deserve this fate; SkyClan did not deserve this torment. And what was she to do? She was one cat, just as frail and transient as the rest of them. She was expected to shoulder this burden though, anyway. Crookedpaw, come home, please... please, please, come home... Birdchaser begged silently.

The blessed stretch of silence Stormwatcher provided after his condolences that allowed Birdchaser to pray was unceremoniously shattered by the horrible, horrible sound of his voice. Though she had not had the wit or energy to speak upon delivery of the news, his next address stirred a different corner of her heart. The bundle of anxious nervous that sat in the pit of her stomach flickered and went roiling. Hot fury seared through her limbs, and she thought briefly StarClan had taken her sight. Rage consumed her so fully she was not aware of her paws moving under her and she did not fully see the tom in front of her when she rose to storm towards him.

"I said, do not call me that!" There was no crescendo, no rise to her voice; she was starting at a scream. Birdchaser had gotten directly in front of Stormwatcher. Her nose was only inches from his; through her haze of red she could see the rustle of his long fur from her labored breaths. "You feather-brained brat! I have warned you about the traps-- I have warned all of SkyClan! The twolegs that have been marching around barely a fox-length from where you sleep warned you! It's not my fault you are so stars-bent on ignoring every single word out of my mouth! Do you have nothing but mud and feathers between your ears? Or are you just determined to act so willfully stupid so that you can march up to me, announce that you lost an apprentice, and then get all wheedling and try to act as if its on me?!"

Birdchaser was roaring at him, and the strain of her yowling made her throat and chest burn. The aggravating cough that was creeping up on her rose, and her tirade was paused for a suffering coughing fit she tried desperately to muffle. When she recovered from it, she shoved closer, shouldering hard against Stormwatcher to push him backwards. Every hair on her body was standing on end, making Birdchaser look twice her size, and she'd stretched herself out to stand at her full height. She was as big as her mother, a towering creature, but rarely did her disposition match her appearance. Now, with her fur swelled and her lips pulled back to reveal each of her dangerous teeth and her tail whipping violently behind her, she looked as properly dangerous as she was born to.

"You try succeed at doing one, one! of many things I've asked at you, and you can only manage that long enough to make it out of Fourtrees. You couldn't even bring the apprentice home, Stormwatcher! How many hunting patrols have you gone on? No, don't answer that. You can't even get your pathetic tail out of your nest before sunhigh. Let me ask a different question: how many patrols have you seen return with less cats?! How could you take such a simple task and screw it up so egregiously?" A muffled voice of a cat better than her tickled the edges of Birdchaser's consciousness. It was not loud enough to pierce the anguish and fury that she felt. She did not care if this was unbecoming of SkyClan's new leader; she did not care about pretending that she was a good person.

Birdchaser's focus had returned, just enough for her to catch Stormwatcher's eyes bowing away from her and towards the nests they had cobbled together. It did not matter that his attention flitted back to her in an instant; she had a point to make, even if it was a point taken too far. "Look at me when I am speaking!" The bellow thrummed through her chest. She had felt despair before, had felt anger coursing through her pelt many, many times. Nothing compared to the white-hot feeling that spurred her rambling now. Too much had been placed upon her shoulders too fast. One drowsy leaf fluttering onto a cairn had toppled the entire structure.

"And then you have the nerve-- the nerve to ask me who's left. Who is left?! Use your eyes, Stormwatcher! StarClan gave them to you for a reason! Do you hear you own name? Watcher? Do you even know what that word means?" Another coughing fit wracked her, but Birdchaser stammered through it, unrelenting. "Since you cannot bring yourself to care about the importance in a name, and you cannot put yours to good use, surely you would not mind if I stripped yours from you. Give me a reason. Give me just one more good reason, and you will be Stormcrier for the rest of your days, and I will shove Stormcrier into one of those traps with my own paws and leave him there until there is nothing to return to." The coughing had sputtered into a nasty, aggressive snarl. It was such an aggressive and vicious noise, one filled with so much revilement it shocked Birdchaser out of her reverie. She had not realized how far she had gone. She had not realized she was capable of such exhausting and all-consuming emotions.

A wheezing sigh rattled its way out of Birdchaser's lungs. With painstaking reluctance (she wanted to bury her claws in Stormwatcher more than anything) she took a few paces back, allowing them both a few more inches to breathe. Now that she had caught up with herself, her breath started coming in fast and painful bursts. Birdchaser swallowed hard and set her jaw tight enough she could hear her teeth grinding against each other. Her next words were finally quieter than a yowl; they came in a low and rumbling tone, like the roll of thunder to signal an oncoming storm-- or one that had just passed. "What. Direction. Did the twolegs take him."

Rainpaw had been lingering near Birdchaser. Ever since he was a kit, it was not an uncommon sight to find him lingering somewhere near Birdchaser’s shadow, finding comfort in her presence even if they weren’t directly interacting. He’d finished his own patrols and duties for the day, and so he was just… waiting. He had asked Birdchaser if she knew where Crookedpaw had gone off too, and then he waited once he had his answer. He had wanted to tell Crookedpaw about his day. He hadn't eaten yet, as they tended to share their evening meals together. It was a part of their routine, to tell each other about their days after they finish their duties and can settle down together. The longer he was waiting for Crooked to come back, the more on edge Rainpaw became.

His ears flicked at the sound of his name in an unfamiliar voice, turning to face the source of it. He padded a little closer from where he was perched in an out of the way spot. He recognized the cat that had addressed him as Stormwatcher. He didn’t really know Stormwatcher, and like with most cats he didn’t know personally, he had very little opinion on the tom.

His ear flicked at the sound of Birdchaser’s growling, starting a little at the use of ‘Birdstar.’ He didn’t think that was how that worked. Briarstar was coming back, wasn’t she? He may not be an expert at clan customs, still learning all the little social rules even after all this time, but he was pretty sure you weren’t supposed to call someone by the ‘star’ name unless they officially became leader.

What he did know is that Crookedpaw went out with Stormwatcher, and what he noticed immediately is that there was a distinct lack of a achingly familiar black and white pelt trailing behind the warrior. Rainpaw’s heart skipped a beat and he straightened up, bicolored eyes suddenly very fixated on Stormwatcher, especially at the mention of ‘bad news.’

Where was Crookedpaw?

Rainpaw sucked in a breath as Stormwatcher talked, freezing in place. His ears rang. “Crooked is…?”The words were a tiny, barely audible whisper. No. No, no, no. Not Crookedpaw. Please. Rainpaw couldn’t take that. Emotion stronger than anything Rainpaw had felt in moons washed over him in waves. ‘He will be missed. I’m so sorry for your loss.’

'He isn't gone! He can't be gone, right? He'll come back. He has to come back. He can't be gone. He can't! He isn't dead. He'll come home. Right? Right?? Please let him come home. Oh, Crooked, please come home...'

A tiny part of him whispered that he shouldn’t be surprised at the loss. The lingering doubt in the back of Rainpaw’s mind that insisted he was destined for tragedy grew, and he wondered if he was bad luck. If every cat he cared for was destined to be ripped away, one way or another, just because he was near them.

Rainpaw shook from head to toe, breathing coming out ragged. He was hardly an emotional cat. He felt brief flashes of things like anger, irritation, stress, fear, but most of these things washed away the moment he removed himself from the situation. Sometimes, if he was lucky enough, he’d even feel things like joy, usually from Crookedpaw’s presence or the high of seeing a shine of pride in Birdchaser’s eyes. He’d never felt such intense rage as he felt right in that moment.

He dug his claws into the dirt as he stared at Stormwatcher. He felt a sudden and vicious urge to attack him, to force him into one of those traps, to do- to do SOMETHING until his friend was home. He didn’t care if it was logical or fair right then. All he knew was that Crooked was gone and he couldn’t do anything against Twolegs. Stormwatcher? That was a different story.

Of course, before he got the chance to act on any of these feelings, before he could even open his mouth, Birdchaser was speaking. No, not speaking. Shouting. Rainpaw flinched, so startled by his mentor’s anger that he shrunk backwards, ears laying flat. He wasn’t afraid of Birdchaser, but he had never seen her angry before, and certainly never heard her raise her voice like that. It startled him so much that the lump in his throat he’d felt at the news turned into tears stinging his eyes.

Maybe Rainpaw could feel satisfied at the way Birdchaser was tearing Stormwatcher down, but his rage was gone as quickly as it came, and all the yelling just made the storm inside of him grow. He wanted to go to her. He hated seeing her so upset, and he winced at the slight drag when she breathed in, the way her body trembled as she held in a coughing fit. He’d noticed the lingering cough she’d developed recently, and it’d had him on edge.

When Birdchaser finished her tirade with a low rumble, the dam broke.

Rainpaw remembers the last time he cried, but it had been so long ago he’d forgotten the feeling. His whole world had come crashing down on him that day, his family torn away from him and his home gone, but he hadn’t cried since Birdchaser found him. Even when he had those brief moments of sadness, even when he thought about what he had lost, even when he had learned about Crimsonflame’s death, he hadn’t been able to manage tears. They just didn’t come, no matter how sad he was.

He jolted in place when the hot tears began to run down his fur. He didn’t sob, even though his shoulders trembled as one rose up in him. He rubbed his face on his shoulder, staring down at his paws as tears began to fall fast and hard. He couldn’t breathe for a long moment, shuddering in place as he just… cried. He wanted to wail, wanted to beg for Crookedpaw to come home, wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all, but nothing came. He remained silent and, aside from his trembling, completely still, as tears dripped steadily onto the frosty ground.

He could faintly hear Lightningpaw’s voice, but he couldn’t decipher her words or bear to lift his head. However, his head snapped up as Blackbear leapt past him, flinching once more and scrambling a few steps back at the sudden movement, his breath hitching. He watched as Blackbear dove for Stormwatcher and he ducked out of the way. He couldn’t even find it in himself to blame Blackbear for the reaction. Crookedpaw was her apprentice. And he knew from experience that the result of spending any time in the tom’s presence was a deep and intense affection. Still, the situation felt so out of his control, that it made another wave of fear so intense that it made him feel sick wash over him.

Stormwatcher was talking again, but Rainpaw could no longer hear him. He just stared, breathing hard, and still crying.

Birdchaser

No sooner than she had stepped away and growled out her question, a large form barreled past her, smashing into Stormwatcher with aggressive force. Birdchaser blinked a few times, not quite registering what had just happened or who had barreled forth out of the crowd. But– ah, that was Blackbear. Of course it was Blackbear; she shouldn't have even needed to think about it. She sighed, watching the other warrior shove the tabby against the earth. Alright, yes, she had just screamed and raved at Stormwatcher, but it was another thing to actually leap at him. It wasn't just a tackle, either: Blackbear looked like she had intent to kill, claws forcing up pinpoints of blood and teeth flashing near to the tabby's neck.A call to stop was waiting on her tongue, but Stormwatcher had kicked himself free as Birdchaser was opening her mouth. Her eyes narrowed as he spoke. "Blackbear has a right to be emotional over another warrior losing her apprentice," she hissed darkly. There had been an attempt to keep her voice level, but it trembled with rage despite her efforts. Glancing more pointedly at her former apprentice, she went on, "Though she's mouse-brained for attacking a Clanmate in the middle of Fourtrees, and right in front of me, no less... Well, right idea, wrong execution. But either way," Birdchaser stamped closer again, standing beside Blackbear to nudge the molly backwards, "stand off, Blackbear. He can't feel any remorse if he's dead, and you're useless if you are."

Stormwatcher turned, starting to walk away, grumbling something as he went. Something about not being welcome. Though most of Birdchaser's fur had started to flatten, her tail remained bristled, and it started to lash more fiercely at that. Not being welcome. She couldn't keep her claws from pressing into the ground underpaw. If one moment of incivility was enough to have him running scared, she wondered what StarClan had been thinking when they gifted him to SkyClan. "Be back in this clearing before nightfall. I expect all three of us to know how to act like respectable warriors by then." She wouldn't stop him from leaving. If he lingered and Blackbear chose to kill him, well, it was out of her paws. She hadn't told her what to do. Sighing, Birdchaser jostled Blackbear again, nudging both of until they had spun in a semi-circle and were no longer facing the treeline where Stormwatcher was disappearing towards. It was then that she saw Rainpaw: oh, Rainpaw. Her heart tightened. Even after everything, she had never seen Rainpaw cry. She had known Crookedpaw was dear to him as his friend, but to see him so caught up in grief over it that it had brought him to silent tears...

Birdchaser's pelt itched with the violent desire to spin on her pads and barrel into Stormwatcher and shred his pelt from him.

Instead, Birdchaser just sighed, leaning close to Blackbear. "Are you going to go looking for him?" She murmured. She imagined Blackbear wanted to. Stormwatcher had given him a direction, even if it there could have been anything laying between them and wherever Crookedpaw had been taken. But they had been given a direction, and Blackbear obviously cared for her apprentice. She was stubborn, too. "I'll let you go, but I won't let you leave right now. Wait a few days, give some of the other warriors a chance to look in that direction and make sure it's safe. To make sure you're strong enough to leave the Clan for a few days." She knew better than to argue with Blackbear. It wasn't that she wouldn't listen; sometimes though, it was easier just to pick her battles, even if she was picking the wrong ones. This was such a poor and idiotic situation. She couldn't really believe she was giving Blackbear the assurance to go on a death mission. "But you aren't going anywhere unless you promise to return. To return with both of you."

Without waiting, Birdchaser stepped away, moving over towards Rainpaw. Gingerly, she sat beside him, allowing her shoulder to brush against. For a moment, she just sat there quietly, willing the lingering fury out of her system in hopes Rainpaw wouldn't feel her rage, even if he had seen her vicious display. After a little while, her tail curled, brushing lightly against his hindlegs, and she found something in her to say. "He'll come home, Rainpaw. We're going to bring him home." It didn't feel like enough, but she didn't know what else she could possibly say. In favor of struggling with more of her words, Birdchaser bent her neck, resting her chin silently atop his head.