Other Side [Coyotegrin]

The air was warm as Brackenwing gingerly limped from the elder's den, settling in a warm patch of sunlight near the entrance. Whisperear was asleep, leaving the den quiet, so she'd carefully made her way outside. Her ears still rang occasionally, mostly when it was quiet... Which the camp thankfully wasn't. Usually that would've annoyed her, but since her idiotic decision to go to the gathering, the general busyness of the camp didn't seem anywhere near as aggravating as it might've been. The latest round of patrols were returning to camp, though the elder only flicked an ear in their general direction to show acknowledgement.

Coyotegrin walked into camp with the patrol she was leading, her expression neutral. As she flicked her eyes over the camp to assess what to do next, they landed on Brackenwing. Swallowing back the anxiety that swelled in her chest, the warrior changed course to intersect her old friend. "Brackenwing, can I talk to you?" she said in a quiet hush, motioning to the other side of the camp.

Brackenwing had been preparing to do... absolutely nothing when a small she-cat broke away from the returning patrols, heading in her general direction. Definitely not heading toward Brackenwing herself, the elder thought. Certainly not. Not after their falling out, when the pair had avoided each other this long. But Coyotegrin was indeed heading toward Brackenwing. Confirmed when she asked to... talk? To her?

Brackenwing tried not to let her surprise show, and nodded slowly, rising to her paws. "It's... been a minute, Coyotegrin." Her surprise had given way to awkwardness, paws shifting almost unsteadily. She was sure that Coyotegrin hadn't forgotten Brackenwing's harsh words to her or Shrikestorm, and while Coyotegrin herself hadn't approved of some of Shrikestorm's actions recently, the elder and warrior hadn't talked in a very long time. Brackenwing would have been content to simply continue on as things were, but if Coyotegrin wanted to talk, she would at least hear her clanmate out.

"A long minute, Brackenwing." The she-cat said awkwardly. It was odd thinking of Brackenwing as an Elder, they were the same age. Whisperear was even weirder since they were her apprentice/child... Rumor has it they were together. Coyotegrin cleared her throat and continued on. "I wanted to talk to you... I am sure you heard that Shrikestorm and I have separated. I wanted to apologize for certain things. I believe the meeting we had in the den did not go well. There were miscommunications on our end that didn't help the situation in addition to how the original situation was handled. I'm not sure exile, in hind sight, was the proper decision. And I hope it has been obvious that I did not especially approve anything that followed this situation." Her paws shifted below her.

For the second time, Coyotegrin managed to surprise Brackenwing, throwing her into uncertainty. "I hadn't, actually." She admitted. The affairs and relationships of her clanmates were not something she tended to pry into, especially when those in question she'd held a strained relationship with, herself. "Good for you." Shrikestorm was incompetent to a dangerous level. It was only a shame Coyotegrin had not seen that earlier. Perhaps that wasn't the only thing that led to the deterioration of that relationship, but it wasn't Brackenwing's place to pry.

"I know you didn't approve of more recent things that have happened. I don't blame you for that." She recalled the other she-cat's quiet words at one of more recent clan meetings, though Brackenwing had been too swept up in her own fury to respond to her at the time. "No, that meeting didn't go well. The miscommunication-" Lies, she wanted to correct, "-and coming home to our friend exiled... We just wanted to make it back home and wound up in a viper's nest, it felt like." Brackenwing shook her head.