be prepared { Falconheart }

[Flamestar]

〔✦〕After Fallowbite and Palefire departed, Flamewhisker had been doing her best to remain out of sight. If she were caught, she would play it off as she was hunting, but if one of Skyclaw's followers went to look for Fallowbite they would know something was up. She kept praying for the rain to break, but so far the clouds held strong. The sooner their trail washes away the better. Plus, if anyone went looking for them, they would have nothing to follow to know for sure they were gone.

For now, the red tabby was hiding out in an abandoned fox den. The scent of fox was stale, but still strong enough to disguise her scent from any passersby's. She would return to camp, but she wanted to wait until closer to Fallowbite's return. They had left just a little while ago, so she knew it would still be awhile before they all arrived. A familiar scent traveled down the tunnel, one that she knew well. Her ears perked up, and slowly she peaked her nose out of the hole. He smelled alone, but she needed to double check.

"Falconheart" she hissed, "are you alone?"

She waited for his confirmation before crawling out, casting her gaze cautiously around them before stepping forward and pressing her nose to his shoulder. "You need to return to camp." She took a step baick, meeting his gaze. "I've sent Fallowbite and Palefire to retrieve our clanmates. Upon their return, we are taking Thunderclan back." It was really happening. She couldn't wait to sink her claws into the murderer's pelt. He had ruled over Thunderclan for far too long, unrightfully so at that. She would not stand for it any more. He would step down, or she would die trying. I could die today. It was a thought that had kept her awake last night, but she was content with the possibility. She couldn't sit back and allow his rule to carry on, to watch her clanmates be belittled and treated like mouse-dung. If she were to die fighting for her clanmates freedom, she would be at peace. I would be with Flycatcher again...

"Before you go-" she stopped, closing her eyes for a moment. "I need to tell you something." Moons ago when she had left for the journey, she had a similar departure with her mate. She had been certain that would be the last time she saw him, and in this moment the danger felt more real. Skyclaw had already slain Howlingstar, and she did not have the nine lives of a leader yet. "I am so proud of you...your father would be too. I am sure he is smiling down at you right now, admiring the brave warrior you have become." She paused, fighting back a single tear that threatened to fall. "Thank you so much for helping me with your siblings...I couldn't have done it without you. If...If anything happens...don't be sad. Tell your siblings to not be sad."

"I'm so glad Howlingstar assigned you to mentor Bugpaw. I know she will become a hardworking, strong warrior like you."

even on my weakest days ( I get a little bit stronger ) //

• ooc. @FALCONHEART
  
• FLAMEWHISKER —— deputy of thunderclan , mentoring none . storm x lily . littermate to nala, smokey, and nemo ✦ penned by icey !
  ✦ afab / she/her / 36 moons & ages every 20ᵗʰ
  ✦ widowed / heterosexual / closed to romance
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— difficult in battle
  
  ✦ “speech”, 'thoughts', all opinions are in character
  ✦ tags — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  
• 
  
  

  a longhaired red tabby with low white and green eyes. flamewhisker's fur is a vibrant hue of red, riddled with thick classic tabby markings. her fur is medium in length, and she has a large, feathery tail. her chest, belly, tail tip, and her paws are dipped white. flamewhisker's eyes are a dark, deep shade of green. her shoulder has a large scar on it from a fight with a dog. she also has a shredded ear from a disagreement with a loner during her time alone before joining thunderclan. on particularly cold days, or sometimes before a major weather change, she will walk with a slight limp from her shoulder injury.

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[FALCONHEART]

𓍊𓋼 He’s given Bugpaw a break—again. It isn’t that he’s unhappy with her, necessarily, but all his love for his younger siblings can’t entirely shroud the frustration that he’s felt with some of them lately. Between Squirrelpaw and Bugpaw, one of them is going to get themself hurt (or worse) with their continued antics. He’d thought he was teaching Bugpaw, at least, to be quiet in order to stay safe… but he’s not exactly leading by example, is he? He shakes his head, his annoyance turned inward once again. He kicks absently at the dirt, lost in thought, until he’s interrupted by the sound of his name being hissed from somewhere nearby. He whirls around, shoulders tensed, teeth bared—ready for a fight, for an ambush, for anything. Then his gaze catches on bright red fur, warm green eyes, and he relaxes slightly. Every muscle in his body still feels tense, prepared, but his hackles settle back into their usual flat state as his mother asks if he’s alone. "Yeah." The word grates at his throat, stress ringing out clear even as he attempts to keep his voice low.

The touch of Flamewhisker’s nose to his shoulder is enough to allow Falconheart to settle fully into a more relaxed stance, claws finally retracting. He needs to get back to camp, she says, because she’s finally done it. She’s found a way to save ThunderClan. She’s sent Palefire and- "Fallowbite? She sided with him," he protests, "how are you sure you can trust her?" The shaggy-furred warrior had betrayed the clan already, but he knows that his mother wouldn’t trust it without certainty. Or maybe Flamewhisker is just desperate, and she’ll feel even more betrayed when Fallowbite returns with Palefire’s blood caked into its pelt. (Why does that thought sting so much?) He needs to get back to camp, and soon. He turns, but she calls him back.

Before he goes, his mother tells him to wait. And when he meets her eyes again, he knows that she’s about to say something that will hurt. She’s going to tell him that she might not make it, and that she’s proud of him and she’ll always be proud of him even when he’s buckling from the weight of trying to keep his siblings safe all on his own. The words come just as he expects them to—she’s proud of him, and so is his father. He isn’t a brave warrior, not like she says… but it doesn’t matter. He’d managed to make them proud, somehow, and that’s enough. She tells him not to be sad. An impossibility. He’ll be crushed if she dies, and he can’t in good faith ask his siblings not to be sad, either. "Nothing’s going to happen to you. Stop it," he says, but he doesn’t actually stop her from finishing what she has to say. He doesn’t want to think of her… of her dying. But it’s a possibility, and he’d rather die himself than lose his other parent without getting to say goodbye.

Finally, she mentions Bugpaw, and finally tears spill from his eyes. He treasures his apprentice, even if she’s a pawful and then some. He’d do anything to keep her safe, to keep her close. "I’ll keep her safe, no matter what happens to you. I’ll keep them all safe." And suddenly, he isn’t talking about just his siblings. He’s talking about his clan, because if Flamewhisker is to die, then the mantle of both her strength and Flycatcher’s will be passed down to him. The son of two deputies, forced to live up to his parents’ legacy without either of them at his back. It would be miserable, but the alternative would be to place the weight upon one of his siblings—and he could never do that.

heaven knows 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 how hard i’ve tried

• ooc: —
• 
• FALCONHEART ❯❯ he/him, thunderclan warrior
  ⭃ shorter than average cream tabby with white spotting. seems gloomy and has few friends, but is a hard worker and never neglects his duties.
  ⭃ son of flamewhisker and flycatcher ; brother to stormfeather, scorchedpaw, bugpaw, sunpaw, squirrelpaw, sparrowpaw
  ⭃ mentoring bugpaw
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted
  ⭃ penned by foxlore

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