Bonding in the Cold (Tagged)

[Lionhearted]

Tagged: Heron [Doewhisker] 

The chilly breeze ruffled Thrushleap's short coat, making him shiver slightly. The snow had fallen yesterday night, and a thick blanket of it covered WhisperClan camp. The deputy sighed, and half-stomped, half-jumped through the pile to reach the other end of camp. 

The day was still young; the sun had only just risen. He had no way to sit down, and instead stood there in the snow, the wet stuff clinging to his leg fur, waiting for cats to wake up and start patrols. Leafbare had settled in just as greencough had infected most of the warriors; the dynamic duo had not been expected, and Thrushleap was frustrated that he had to run camp himself, with no medicine cat of their own (even though Nightpoppy was here, he still thought of her as another rival), and Fangstar unresponsive. 

Cinderstep's not up yet, and she's taking care of the kits. I'd better not wake her. Adderfoot is still grieving... and Sunfeather is still healing from the sickness. And Lakepounce... I don't know what's up with her. She's avoiding me and she's been very edgy lately. He sighed; his close friends were all in their own world, and he didn't want to disturb them. Looking around, he hoped for another face to show up; perhaps he could make another friend. 

[Heron]

Doewhisker creeped out of the warriors' den, feeling a bit like she needed fresh-air. To be quite honest, she was frightened by the outbreak of greencough and did not like to be cooped up with other cats in the event that she would catch the sickness. So far she felt fine, but her worries were too great to allow her to sleep. The snow was falling in flakes on the tabby warrior's back and she shivered in response. Leafbare! What a terrible time for an outbreak of sickness, none the less an extreme blizzard. Her short fur wasn't doing much to keep her warm, but she found that her fur did get thicker to help cope-- some sort of natural mechanism, perhaps.

Camp was empty except for a sole individual, who's golden pelt she would know anywhere. Not surprised to see this particular cat up and sitting by himself, she padded over carefully, fighting the snow with her small paws. Thrushleap was under a large amount of stress, and Doewhisker felt terrible. He was a deputy working a sick, half-starved clan by himself with no medicine cat. She had thought before what would happen if, by some fate, Thrushleap were to get sick and die. Who would step up and take over?

"Hello," the young warrior mewed upon greeting. Light snowflakes were stuck to her muzzle and whiskers, and she rested her green gaze on the deputy softly. "How are you? Not feeling sick, are you?" Her tone was caring and concerned, more concerned about him than one would think she would be. They were not exactly close friends, but she admired Whisperclan's deputy from afar and the way he balanced his new kits, his position, and himself.

[Lionhearted]

"Hello. How are you? Not feeling sick, are you?" said a voice from behind him. 

Thrushleap turned to face Doewhisker, a warrior he knew the name of, but didn't know completely well. Dipping his head, he smiled politely at her. "Greetings," he said softly. "I'm feeling fine. I was slightly sick, but herbs have healed me. Nightpoppy is a gifted medicine cat. StormClan is lucky to have her. How about you?" 

Doewhisker did not seem like one of those cats who hated him, nor did she seem like the difficult type. She was probably more like Lightningheart: soft-spoken but controlled; mature. Unfortunately, there were more females like this than males. Ha, I could learn something from them. "Want to go on a walk?" he invited, gesturing with his tail. "We could probably have a small stroll before the majority of our Clanmates start waking up. I need a little break, haha." It was true; he had almost no time to relax, but he forced himself to push his own wants aside. If he had learned anything from Frostberry and Goldenfox, it was that the Clan came first. but wasn't he part of the Clan, too? Only a small part, really.

[Heron]

Doewhisker felt glad that he was feeling better, having the skilled strength of Nightpoppy to aide him. but what, Doewhisker wondered, would Stormclan eventually want in return for lending their own medicine cat? The young warrior nodded her head and smiled warmly. "Yes, thankfully I feel fine...I've been trying to avoid the sickness, but I'm not sure if that's possible.." She decided to leave the topic at that, not choosing to discuss the possibilities of losing worthy warriors, kits, and apprentices. Especially not when Thrushleap had kits of his own still in the nursery, tiny and vulnerable during this harsh leafbare.

"Want to go for a walk?" She nodded in response, stepping forward knowing he would follow. She didn't want to mention that, as her deputy, she would walk with him whether she wanted to or not. In this case, though- she did. Pity flooded through her and she nodded in understanding. "You're a very strong cat, and you're doing a wonderful job with these circumstances. You deserve any break you can get." Snowflakes had stopped falling now, and she took it as an opportunity to shake her face and whiskers clean of their stay.

She shivered once, pushing her way out of the camp entrance and out into territory, where the rolling slopes and open fields of Whisperclan opened. The territory around them was eerily soundless except for the small whisper of the leafbare wind. The few trees that surrounded their camp were the only shelter from the harsh winter. Looking out onto the snow covered fields, it was a shame that something so beautiful could be so demanding and take lives easily. "The leafbare can be beautiful, but harsh." She noted, looking at the ginger tom beside her. "As a kit I always admired the snow. Still do. What I don't admire is the coldness." Her small muzzle crinkled.

[Lionhearted]

OOC: "Leaf-changes" are what my cats call the seasons ^^

"You're a very strong cat, and you're doing a wonderful job with these circumstances. You deserve any break you can get."

Thrushleap blinked at her, surprised and pleased at her. It was nice to know that, outside of his friends, cats in WhisperClan still supported him. "Thank you very much, Doewhisker," he purred in gratitude. "And I must say you're putting up a very good fight with the greencough."

"The leafbare can be beautiful, but harsh," she continued. "As a kit I always admired the snow. Still do. What I don't admire is the coldness."

He smiled pleasantly, gazing into the beautiful scenery of the snow-covered WhisperClan meadow. His eyes had a distant look in them, as if he was distracted by memories replaying in his head. However, there were no thoughts chasing each other around; he was completely and utterly relaxed, taking in the whiteness. The leafbare breeze suddenly felt warmer. "The coldness is what makes us stronger," he murmured. "We are required to work harder to overcome this obstacle, this leafbare. It is a more powerful teacher than newleaf or greenleaf. It keeps us disciplined." He sighed. "The positives of something that is often negatively portrayed are difficult to see." He looked at Doewhisker solemnly for a moment, and then turned back to the meadow. "You must stay strong, Doewhisker, and positive. Be optimistic even through the darkest times. There are bad things and good things to everything. You are lucky that you are still a healthy warrior. WhisperClan needs all its strong cats to help it survive. With your aid, we will pull through. but we need everyone's best work to succeed and be the best. I will not give up on my Clan, and my fellow comrades." He dipped his head to the she-cat, smiling again. "You are a dutiful and gifted warrior, and I respect you. Remember, stay strong, and stay positive. Not only for others, but for yourself, too."

He tilted his head. "Leaf-fall signals us that leaf-bare is about to come, and that we must start to make more of an effort. Newleaf and greenleaf give us something to live for. We enjoy our times in those leaf-changes, and we work to survive leafbare so we can experience more newleafs and greenleafs. We can relax then, and let things flow. but now is the time to work hard." Thrushleap heaved a sigh. "This leafbare has hit us particularly badly. but I am confident that we can survive this." They were such a big Clan, it wasn't likely that they could collapse because of this. Still, a small twinge deep inside him tugged at his heart. He remembered what Silverstar had said. Had StarClan really abandoned them? What would the other cats think if he told them this? Would they give up? He frowned slightly, momentarily distracted by the thought. It kept coming back; he wanted to not believe her, because everything she'd done had been thought of as ugly, and her bad deeds had been weaved into stories passed down by elders to give kits a slice-of-life; he had heard those stories before, and shivered. Still, he couldn't help it. Perhaps she was right.

[Heron]

Doewhisker side-glanced Thrushleap as he spoke, noting that his voice and his tone sounded determined yet passive. She was glad to be able to get some alone time with him; she never really had, despite her friendly attitude. She always assumed he was too busy, and she was too busy doing her warrior duties to give him a second thought. The only time she really heard him speak were at ceremonies; most of his time was divided between his personal life, like his mate and kits, and his duty. Doewhisker did not allow herself to think of Fangstar, and the unspeakable hurt she felt by the state that Fangstar was leaving his clan in.

"You are a dutiful and gifted warrior, and I respect you. Remember, stay strong, and stay positive. Not only for others, but for yourself, too." The she-cat felt herself become embarrassed. She hadn't expected such a high regard from him, and smiled sheepishly. However, she remained focused, and clung to his words seriously. Stay strong. She was, in her heart, afraid of letting down her clan. She was afraid of dying, too. She had experience already with cats fallen ill to the sickness, dying in terrible pain. She could only hope that Nightpoppy was allowing her clanmates to die peacefully, giving them some kind of herb or treatment that would make it easier on them. The warrior averted her eyes and looked out at the snow glistening with the rising daylight, all the while allowing Thrushleap's words to pass through her. "but I am confident that we can survive this." She turned toward him and nodded.

"If you're confident, then I am too." Her tail reached out to flick his shoulder affectionately. "How are your kits doing? I will have to make due and visit them, as well as Cinderstep when I can. I hope they are holding out and strong." She purred. While Doewhisker did not have kits of her own, she liked to visit the nursery and play with the kittens that resided there when they did. However, with the greencough outbreak, she wondered if visiting the nursery was a bad idea. If she were a mother she would not allow any visitors, that's for sure; a risk for greencough is not one to take. "If I'm not mistaken," she continued, "most of them look like you. I'll look forward to seeing them as apprentices when the time comes. They certainly have great pawsteps to follow." She mewed honestly and laughed softly.

[Lionhearted]

Thrushleap smiled at her gently. "My kits and Cinderstep are doing very well. I'm extremely thankful that they haven't gotten sick yet." He tipped his head to look at the sky. Is StarClan really watching us now? Please, if you're there, watch over my kits and my mate. Don't let them die. In fact, don't let any of my Clanmates die. They're all important to me.

He shook his head and chuckled slightly when she praised him. "Thank you," he said pleasantly, flicking his tail. "I'm sure that you'll have your own family someday. And I'll be looking forward to that! How is your life going so far, anyway?" he asked, trying to change the subject. Things were so tense these days that it was a relief to talk about something other than Clan issues and deep thoughts. He wanted something light to talk about, even to gossip about.

[Heron]

I had to wait on this reply because I had to find Doewhisker's apprentice....which turned out to be a cat roleplayed by you xD

---

"I'm sure that you'll have your own family someday."

Doewhisker felt herself embarrassed again, the idea of a family far from her mind yet not very far at all. She'd yet to find a real mate, always feeling like she had better things to do than bother with getting close to anyone. She had lived her life so far thinking that fate would be fate, and Starclan knew when they would step in and grant her a family of her own. In the meantime, she liked to visit the kits in the nursery and help the queens any way that she could.

Her life? She thought for a moment, trying to decipher what she felt like the positives in her life were. "Well, nothing really." She purred in amusement at herself. What could she really say? She was a boring she-cat, and that was that! Her long whiskers twitched, the short, stumpy ears on top of her head flattening in worry. "I did get my first apprentice, though. She's quite cute, Ravenpaw. Reminds me of myself when I was an apprentice, you know." The she-cat's grin turned sheepish and lazy, her plump round paws disappearing in the snow as she trudged onward. "I'm glad I get a chance to become a teacher for someone else. I always looked forward to being a mentor." Doewhisker purred in delight. "Even to a cat like Ravenpaw, who likes to interrupt."

[Lionhearted]

"Heh, yeah, she can be a pawful," he sighed. "I've talked to her before- always blabbing her mouth off about something." Thrushleap smiled lightly and flicked at the snow with his paws. "If Ravenpaw becomes a warrior when my kits become apprentices, I'll be sure to give you one! Believe me, they're going to be harder than Ravenpaw, but I think you'll appreciate a challenge, yes?"

Suddenly, his gaze turned rather sad. "Have you heard about those cats who've left? They make me so disappointed. And one of them was Wolf-flight, my first apprentice." he sighed. "They think they're helping the Clan, but they're just being selfish. There's no saying that they won't catch greencough, either. And we've got Nightpoppy to help. So I don't know what they're thinking. If you see them on WhisperClan territory... I'm going to ask you to chase them off. They no longer have the loyalty necessary to be a part of this Clan, and if they're not going to serve it, they might as well be loners. And we cannot welcome loners at this time." Thrushleap stared at her hard. "Well? What do you think? I know some cats might not agree with me, and agree with them. I want to hear your thoughts. And I'm not going to kick you out if you say I'm wrong. I've made many mistakes in the past, and I want to make less."

[Heron]

Doewhisker smiled at him, a deep purr of laughter bubbling in her throat. She paused to shake some snowflakes off of her long whiskers, then rested her green eyes on him. "That would be quite an adventure!" Teaching Thrushleap's kits? How lovely! He had faith that Ravenpaw would likely be a warrior by then, but if not, then that was alright too. She would train any cat for as long as she could to make them the best warrior they could be, as she was taught.

The atmosphere turned rather serious and Doewhisker felt taken aback by his intense gaze. He truly wanted to know what she thought? What *did* she think? The cats that left was a tragedy, no doubt, an act of cowardice. but could she forgive them? Well, yes, she could. "I think that they were cowardly and wrong." She said at last, her voice soft. "And it is the clan's right to deny them a welcome back if they ever do. I think though that a breakout can be quite frightening. I don't... I don't exactly blame them. I'm terribly frightened too, more than I let on." She turned away and looked at the dark clouds above, admitting what she had been trying to avoid.

"It's no excuse, but sometimes fear can run deeper than loyalty. It shouldn't, but it does." The round faced she-cat continued. "Green cough isn't subjected to just the clans. They can easily catch it anywhere, if Starclan wants them too. They've run away from a possible death like a warrior, surrounded by family and traded it in for a cold, lonely death surrounded by nothing."

She was silent for a moment more, then turned back to look at Thrushleap and smiled slightly. "I'm a forgiving cat, though. I leave it up to Starclan as to whether or not they were justified in leaving. You do what you believe is best for Whisperclan, Thrushleap. It's why you're deputy, after all. I will chase them off if I see them, most certainly, because I am just as disappointed as you are. We can't worry over cats that left willingly; they left themselves out of our responsibility as soon as they decided to step across our borders."

[Lionhearted]

Thrushleap nodded grimly, but only half-agreeing to her words. He'd been way too soft in the past. And now it was time to be more serious.

"I can forgive them. but I can't forget what they've done. but they are breaking the warrior code. They are not serving their Clan with their lives- rather, they are only serving themselves, and perhaps each other." he gave a huff. "but enough with this. I'm tired of warriors leaving here and there. If their loyalty is going to waver, then so be it. I'll give them another chance, but this time, they'd better be smart and take it. Otherwise, they can leave for the second time." His tail lashed back and forth; he was getting agitated again, and a light scowl formed on his face. "It's good we still have warriors like you. Loyal, and dutiful. I'll never get tired of emphasizing that."

OOC: Should we end this thread sometime? ^^' and if Doewhisker is going to die, could Thrushleap be by her side?

[Heron]

Ooc; Yes, I was hoping he would be! :3 We can end it here and start up a thread where she is sick in the medicine cat's den, if you'd like. I'm fine with speeding things up so she can give him his life when the time comes.


Doewhisker noticed that Thrushleap was only half-agreeing, but she decided not to press the issue. What more could she do besides voice her opinion? As his tail twitched in irritation she continued to smile and turned to head back to camp, now that the snow was beginning to fall more quickly and the sun had risen quite shockingly fast. Soon warriors would be up and looking for Thrushleap, ready to start their patrols. Her tail reached out to give him a comforting touch as a reminder to stay calm. An optimist at heart, Doewhisker knew the clan would be in good hands with him. No matter what they faced, she was sure the clan would continue to fight under Thrushleap's command.

She nodded. "You have a lot of loyal cats ready to give Whisperclan their last breath. Just keep your eyes out for them, and not for the ones that disappoint so much, if it's possible." Her voice was soft and cool, again shaking her head to rid it of small snowflakes. Her plump paws sank into the snow as she walked, certain he would follow her. She was thankful for this opportunity like no other; to speak with him and get to know him more. She considered him a cat worthy of good friendship, and she was suddenly very eager to watch him grow as a deputy and potential leader. With the way things were looking, she had doubts as to whether Fangstar would be their leader much longer. Looking at Thrushleap, she felt a tang of sympathy for him. A deputy with the weight of the entire clan on his shoulders. Yes, she thought, Thrushleap is good for this clan. Her eyes traveled to the sky, wishing she see the stars and speak to Starclan.

She faced Thrushleap and took on a bit of pounce to her step, her whiskers twitching in an attempt to cheer him up. Her tail stuck out straight behind her. She lifted her paws dramatically to clear them from the snow. "Even Whisperclan cats can't run quick in this stuff," she remarked with an amused mew, playing off of Whisperclan's noted skills: their agility. "We should head back to camp. I'm sure the morning patrol will be ready to go, and your kits are probably awake, too."