It's Going to be Okay [c]

Coyotegrin had returned only one sleep ago, but the restlessness of her youth kicked her out of her nest from rest. The news had barraged her as soon as she returned. Tigerstar had gone missing as well, leaving the young Rapidfire to balance it all. She had just finished her meal and cleaning up herself when a warrior came to fetch her. They explained that Rapidfire wanted to go on a walk and to meet her outside the camp entrance. With a nod, she swiftly completed her cleaning and started padding to the entrance. Most likely, Rapidfire was going to ask for advice - something Coyotegrin would freely give.

Clearing the exit to camp, the senior warrior found the Deputy-Leader waiting for her.

"I hope I didn't keep you long. Would you like to walk to the Lone Stump?" The Lone Stump was somewhere Coyotegrin had avoided for so many moons - more moons than any cat in the clan had been alive. It was much too painful for all this time, but perhaps it was time to face that fear.

As Coyotegrin approached, Rapidfire greeted her with a happy smile and a wave of her tail. It was good to have Coyotegrin home, especially now given all things happening.

"Not long at all, and sure Lone stump works great" she agreed and began to lead them in that direction.

As they went towards their destination she broke the silence, Coyotegrin was indeed here for advise and the new leader was not shy to ask for exactly that.
"recently, everything has happened very fast.  Faster than I thought it ever would have" Part of her hadn't felt ready at all for this, but then again she had become deputy young as well and had learned to figure it out, perhaps now would be no different. A growing part of her was confident she would be able to do this, which was nice because there was not really a choice now.

She glanced at her senior most warrior in the entire clan. "Having you back has been a relief"
In Coyotegrins initial request to leave, it was Rapidfire that spoke that she supported Coyotegrins mission.  The missing family had not been found an unfortunate result to be certain but they had taken their shot. Coyotegrin was home again and that was what mattered.

"The coming moons we will have a lot of work to do. And, while I feel I can do my best here at home, I am anxious for the gatherings. The other clans and all. I have to make a good first impression... hopefully an impression showing that we are strong and want no wars or conflict."


She looked at Coyotegrin, so much experience she held, Coy had been to lots of gatherings, seen lots of the ways the other clans responded to things. "What do you know about the other leaders? Is there things you would advise on this topic?

Coyotegrin shot Rapidfire a weary grin as she started talking and praised her for being back. At least one cat in the clan besides her sons were happy. She listened quietly to the Deputy-Leader's small vent and took a second to contemplate it.

"Well, ShadowClan is not an option for any sort of allyship. Firstly, Leopardstar is a weak leader, and even when I left the clan was in shambles after Nightstalker left. Their numbers have been dwindling and that may make them desperate for any upper hand. WindClan has battled ShadowClan in the past after a failed alliance." Coyotegrin left out the exact details of it all... While she did regret making the alliance in the first place, she still deeply believed that the failed alliance was due to stupid young warriors refusing to follow rules... But they were all dead now- not surprisingly. She kept her face cool and smooth as she continued.

"I believe our best bet for an alliance would be Poppystar in RiverClan. They are a strong clan, but Poppystar seems reasonable, kind. I haven't spoken to her or her Deputy directly, but from observation they seem very similar to you. I know RiverClan has enemies of sorts with SkyClan and ThunderClan and I see no reason to believe that they would have allied with ShadowClan. So perhaps, once you've received your name and lives, a small trip to make friends outside of a Gathering would be a good place to start. Feel them out. I do believe they would receive you well, especially with a small party of yourself and one warrior and one apprentice. They would understand your need to not go alone, but a small party would hopefully ease their worries about an invasion. Perhaps with a peace gift of some sorts... A rabbit as a symbolic gesture." Coyotegrin concluded her rambling with a shy smile towards Rapidfire and a shrug as they neared the Lone Stump. Unease and grief settled in her belly but she tried her best not to let it show.