Sisters [Ravenclaw]

She wasn't sure whathad possessed her to stray so close to the Skyclan border. Maybe it was the desire to simply be near other cats who were unlikely to be hostile. Falconmoon came to mind... It couldn't hurt to watch over her family, check in on them and make sure they were safe.

Either way, the sleep-deprived loner found herself scaling the twoleg fence, gazing out over familiar pines and rocky territory below. The days were growing warmer, which was good for the forest and not at all good for Beechfang with her long, thick silvery fur. Good for the herbs though, and maybe she would sneak some over the border to Plumleaf when she next had a chance.

With a shake of her head, Beechfang padded along the top of the fenceline, though her gaze strayed toward Skyclan territory as the fresh scent of cat was carried by the breeze. Family, she thought... "Ravenclaw?" She called softly, hoping that she wasn't interrupting a patrol.

Being a senior warrior had its perks. Being a grumpy senior warrior was even better. Maybe it was because no one wanted to be around her. That was fine with her, though. She'd already lost nearly everything that meant something to her. The love of her life was gone, and her fake kits had already abandoned SkyClan. Her family members were dying left and right, and nothing was the same anymore. Everything felt so hollow. Sometimes she wondered why she was the one alive and Wrenspring wasn't.

Patrolling alone along the far reaches of the SkyClan border, she heard a familiar voice. A light of hope shone in her heart as she recognized Beechfang on one of the twoleg fences. "Beechfang," she called back, a surprising purr in her throat as she headed towards the edge, right where the fence was. "I hope you haven't taken up stock with the twolegs now," she teased.

"I could never," Beechfang purred at her sister's remark. "The last twolegs who tried that got clawed. Hopefully they've all learned their lessons about messing with us." She was grateful to have escaped fourtrees, and grateful that everyone else had as well.

"How have you been? Stars, it's good to see you again, Ravenclaw." She would not admit to how lonely it was, as a loner. She would not.

"Yeah, we sure showed them!" Ravenclaw puffed out her chest with pride, even if she technically hadn't been over there fighting to free their clanmates. She was still proud of the ones from SkyClan who did, though. The other clans, they were fine, she guessed.

"It's good to see you too," she replied, and she really meant it. As a senior warrior, and very senior at that, it was hard to relate with the new breed of SkyClan warriors. It was nice that she was able to at least talk to someone who understood what they all had gone through. "It's... challenging," she admitted, clawing at the ground slowly. "Things are not the same without you and Wolfstar." He may not have been the leader anymore, but she still considered him her leader, at least. "And..." She shook her head, wanting at least one conversation where she didn't have to remember her lost love. "Have you ever considered coming back?" Beechfang may have been banished, but that didn't mean Ravenclaw didn't pine for her to return. Maybe things would change with new leadership, as the moon rose and the tides swept away the days.

"I miss grandfather." She admitted quietly, "We fought plenty but... It's not the same without him, isn't it?" A sigh left her. She had named Wolfblossom after him, and though she had no part in her daughter's warrior name, Beechfang liked to think it was just as much a fitting tribute to her grandparents as much as it was a fitting name for the deputy herself.

"My kits haven't run Skyclan into the ground yet, have they? Stars, what I wouldn't give for them to not have that burden on their shoulders, especially not so young." Beechfang was proud and terrified for them in equal measure. Birdstar had become leader around the same age as Beechfang had been when she became a fully named medicine cat, and had become deputy much, much younger. Plumleaf, medicine cat. Wolfblossom, deputy. Fogfeather... Beechfang gave her head a shake in an attempt to clear it.

"At least dad is in Skyclan again, I suppose that's all I can ask for. Hard to keep an eye on him from here, though." She had been truly on her own once he went back, but being in Skyclan was better for him, she knew that. Still, she worried for the old, irascible tom. "Don't tell him I said this... But could you... keep an eye on him? We're old enough as it is and... I worry about him, after everything." Those moons after the Asylum had gotten to him had been harrowing enough. For all that they had fought and argued, they had been through far too much together for her to ignore that he was still her father. With the dark forest, and mom, and Dawnhawk... And Beechfang had contributed to those problems, too. "I know he didn't go back to Skyclan to retire, and that scares me. And he's been different since..." Since Asylum? Yeah. But there had been a marked shift in his demeanor since they had fought the dark forest... Since Smokefeather's death, since Beechfang's exile. It was hard to even name just one event. since that past newleaf, truthfully.

"If I could, I would go back in a heartbeat." She mewed softly, "But I won't jeopardize my daughter's leadership over my own selfish desires." She sighed, a pause, and then "...If they asked I don't know if I'd be able to say no again." She admitted.

Ravenclaw laughed, a rare sound from her nowadays. "Lucky for us, they have been leading us well. A lot better than our previous leader." It was no surprise that Ravenclaw had a grudge against the previous leader, Briarstar, for replacing Bloodstar and exiling Beechfang. Things were finally shifting back to normal, though it just wasn't the same without Beechfang in the clan as well. The outskirts weren't where she belonged.

"I'll do my best to watch over him," she promised, nodding. It was obvious that Bloodstrike was a different cat, something that had become apparent towards the end of his leadership. He was still her father, though, and she would do what she could to make sure he was as comfortable as he could be. "Though if he doesn't slow down for one moment, I don't know how anyone's going to keep up with him."

"I know," she finally murmured, her tail drooping a bit knowing the dilemma that Beechfang was surely going through. "I'm sure they wouldn't know as long as you don't go to any Gatherings." Honestly, she'd prefer to not go to any either. All it was was the clans pretending to get along, when secretly she knew they all hated each other. Why even pretend to play nice when it was all a lie? They'd be at each other's throats in a moment. "If they do ask you back, though, I hope you do accept. It'd be nice to have another family member there with me."

Ravenclaw's laughter wasn't something Beechfang had heard in a very long time, and it brought a smile to her face. It was good to hear that the clan she was no longer a part of was still doing well, at one point it had felt as if she couldn't take two minutes to herself without something going wrong, and it had taken Beechfang a long time to get over that sense of worry. She wasn't completely over it, but she was glad of Ravenclaw's reassurance.

The assurance that she would watch over Bloodstrike was something Beechfang was also grateful for. "Thank you. I think he's going to need us around and... Well, you know." Beechfang wasn't Skyclan anymore, and their family had dwindled. Out of twelve siblings, how were she and Ravenclaw the only ones left? And their half-siblings had fared little better, if she recalled. She wasn't even sure which of them still lived, beyond Spottedfrog who Beechfang had never gotten along with. Spottedfrog, who had helped free her and her kits from the twolegs. She thought back on that strange conversation with Briarthorn, and there were plenty of words still left unsaid there, too. Perhaps it was too late to make amends, but caring about Bloodstrike was the one thing they had in common.

"He's stubborn, but he can't ignore his body forever. He'll slow down eventually." Or he'd die first, Beechfang didn't say. She didn't like admitting it, but her father was old. She was getting older too and so was Ravenclaw, as strange as it felt, considering Beechfang had watched her younger siblings grow up.

"I definitely don't miss fourtrees. You're still going to those things? Not voluntarily, I imagine." Her whiskers twitched, "If I never see that hollow again it'll be too soon." So much grief in one place, and too much potential for drama, besides.

"I know you're right, but sometimes I think he can outrun StarClan themselves." She laughed again, though she didn't usually invoke StarClan's name. After everything that had gone wrong in SkyClan, her feelings towards their ancestors hadn't exactly been positive. Especially when it came to Wrenspring. If only she could just go to the Moonstone once, just once, and see him again. It wasn't fair that she couldn't, but she decided it was best to keep that little thought to herself.

"Sometimes. I don't really have to if I don't want to, and I definitely don't want to. All the disgusting scents of the other clans? I'd rather not." She wondered how long it would be until the clan began to wonder where she had gone. It wasn't as if she was some high ranking important member, but she was a senior warrior. She didn't want them thinking she had gone senile and had wandered off somewhere. "Maybe I should speak to Birdstar about letting you back in." She smiled faintly as she looked at Beechfang. "I don't want to force you to come back, but it would be nice to have you back. We can look after Bloodstrike together."

Outrunning Starclan... She wondered if Ravenclaw knew how true those words were. Their father had died, multiple times as a leader. During the dark forest's invasion - Dawnhawk's invasion - he'd been strung up on a tree for moons, unable to resurrect. Beechfang had feared that he might not at all. As much as she was loathe to admit it, bringing Starclan back, the sacrifices... They had been necessary. Now though, the old tom no longer had that saving grace. This was his only life to lose, as it was for most of the forest. "Let's hope he outruns them a bit longer. And us, too." She muttered. Beechfang had seen enough dead family members for a lifetime.

"Ravenclaw..." There was almost a hint of a whine in Beechfang's voice, and the longing to be with family that she was spending moons failing to truly hide from them. "You all are determined to be difficult. I suppose we got them from somewhere." She laughed wryly. "If I could do so without putting the clan in danger, or word getting out..." A sigh escaped her.

"You know I prowl these borders more than I probably should. If you ever need anything," Or if Skyclan were in trouble, she didn't say, "you know where I'll be."

Ravenclaw couldn't help but smile at Beechfang's words. It wasn't as if she had worn her sister down and could just drag her back to camp right then and there. It was a start, though, and she would take that. "I'm sure we could put a gag order out. Any self-respecting SkyClan cat wouldn't dare blab about something so important, or they'll have to deal with me." She hadn't had many apprentices since her heyday as a warrior, but she had a feeling that most young cats were scared of her. That wasn't intentional, but probably for the best.

"I do," Ravenclaw nodded. "I should probably get back before they send out a rescue team for me." She stepped forward to give Beechfang a quick nuzzle, smiling. "I'll be back, though. It's been nice talking with you. I missed that." With a nod and a wave of her tail, she began to head back into SkyClan territory. "See you around, Beechfang." She looked over her shoulder one more time, and then she was gone.