development chrysalis // asking about the code

[SUNSPARK]

It's clear now that there's things that she doesn't understand. She thinks... if she really thinks about it, it's always been that way. Only, she was so set on trying to make Riverclan work for her that she completely failed to consider that maybe... she'd have to make herself work for RiverClan. Brookpelt had made it clear when she had first joined RiverClan that she was a bratty, irresponsible cat. That he was done with her. All of this had been true... to an extent, but how much had she actually tried to learn outside of what she had through osmosis? Through what she already understood as her heart as requiring of respect? That mothers and kits were special, that Elders had served their life and deserved rest, that Leaders and Medicine Cats and Deputies were ranks chosen by things she couldn't understand, whose jobs were the most important -

But somewhere in that line of thinking, it had never extended further. To warriors who served diligently. To adults who were faulty. To kids who were... annoying; to lead warriors who stuttered over every word he spoke, and demanded respect she wasn't sure how to give.

In a lot of ways she's been avoiding the third-wheel feeling of being someone who wasn't clan-born. To avoid the things she didn't understand by clinging tighter to the things that she thought that she did.

But she told herself RiverClan was going to be her home. She told herself that she wasn't allowed to abandon it at the first sight of trouble. And with the nip of frost in the air that has her pelt fluffing out a little bit, she sits in camp, thoughtful. "Hey..." she eventually speaks out loud when she can't wrap her head around it anymore. To no one in particular, the first person she sees nearby. "Who made the warrior code anyway? Why'd they have to make it?"​

 

[Lilacbird]

do you wanna know how it feels ​

With the new addition to the nursery, and so many others- she always found herself busy. Lilacbird wanted badly to split herself in three or four sometimes to give the kits the attention they deserved. And to be able to watch the others at the same time. Their ever curious mind that dragged them to explore every corner of camp. And with the recent amount of orphans... They needed someone maternal just as anyone else. Remembering copperkits weeping pained her heart badly.

Her thoughts were broken as a young orange molly pinpointed her out, practically calling her over. Pawsteps drew to a stop, to turn tail with her fluffy head occasionally looking over her shoulder. A flick of her ear to register she listened, before directing attention back to the apprentice.

Sunpaw, she believed the name to be- she was brought in not too long ago, and had a sharp tongue. But she was a hard worker, in the queens opinion, better than her- she believed. "Th-the idea of th-the warrior c-c-code was made b-by ..." She put a paw to her chin in thought, carefully thinking. She had been here when the clans formed, before finally smiling at the apprentice. " Well, the first, was made b-byEmberstar... A p-previous Thunderc-clan leader .." she murmured.

She didn't mind filling in the blanks or answering questions- that's what warriors were there for- but.. wasn't her mentor Foxtail? Oh-

The puzzle pieces clicked as she realized the she cat before her had been the scene of an outburst. But she held no ill regard, apprentices were to learn. "The leaders seem, when... They have a p-problem, to... Make these rules for their own clans safety. Our v-very own c-cicadastar made the third law... B-but they are v-very important. C-cats have died," she lets out a shudder, her ears folding back. "Many... Young c-c-cats have suf-suffered , and some g-grew tired of mourning ch-children..." Lilacbird murmurs softly, her stuttering only worsening at the thoughts of the deaths. She remembered Blazestar had said that when he implemented the six moon law...
​

do you wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me
she/her ⋆ 45 moons old ⋆ lilac tortie with blue eyes ⋆ information

 

[SUNSPARK]

Lilacbird is nice. She always has been. Sometimes Sunpaw has thought that if she had been born in RiverClan, she would have liked Lilac to be her mother. That if she could put an image to the person who had given birth to her, to that voice she can only vaguely remember, they would look like this molly too. It's not like they have a necessarily strong bond - they've spoken maybe only a handful of times. But her demeanor is something that has always struck Sunpaw. So she's an easy person to ask.

ThunderClan had started this. And now she's trying to remember, what she's been told about the code. It's still something she has to think through; it's not an instant recall like it might be for some others. And for once she's glad of the slower speaking style of a stuttered voice, isn't aggravated by the desire to get to the end of the sentence because she's thinking. Hard. And Lilacbird's own pauses give her time to do just that.

"That makes... sense," she mews, because it always had. There were so few rules, and they were all of a caliber like this. To prevent death, to prevent disease, to prevent cats from being just... miserable. Her ears flick at the mention of Cicadastar. The only 'star she's known is Lichenstar, but Lilac is older than her by a fair margin. How long has Lichenstar even led? There are gaps in her knowledge.

"I'm... glad that we're not letting cats just go off and die," she comments. Because she has to say something in return to Lilac. But there's still something...

Where in the code does it tell us to respect elders and those of a higher rank? she wants to ask. But it's a poorly worded question that has her brows scrunching down, trying to think of how to reword it. Because she's not so vain that she thinks she doesn't have to respect anyone but herself, but there seems to be such an... understood culture here that that's how things are done.

"And..." she attempts rather slowly. "How is it decided that some cats get to be 'Star or... when Warriors can retire to Elders and... Things like that? Is that a rule too or just... something everyone knows?"​