coming home to you | flame

[Flycatcher]

Although Flamewhisker had been a frequent visitor to the medicine den, Flycatcher had missed being able to go for walks and hunts with her. More than that, he missed just having her presence near him. Even when Flycatcher couldn't find the time to slip away for a walk or hunt, he could always find the time to curl up next to his mate at the end of a long day and share a brief conversation with her.

After assigning morning patrols, Flycatcher was quick to seek out his mate, having already opted to spare some time out of his day to catch up with his mate. It didn't take him long to find the familiar bright orange form of his mate, and his tail went up in greeting as he bounded over to greet her. "Ready to head out?" He asked, inclining his head as he spoke. The plan wasn't to travel far, but instead to find a secluded area close to camp where they could sit and talk and hopefully not be disturbed. "Sorry it took a while, I was pondering on who to send on the dusk patrols."

@Flamewhisker ​

 

[Flamestar]

It was a strange feeling, being on the outside of the medicine den, while her mate was recovering. It was a feeling she did not like...even though his injury was just a minor paw sprain, she still felt guilty and responsible. She had laid awake many nights, without his presence by her side to comfort her, her mind left to run wild. There were many different scenarios that could have happened that day...they had gotten lucky. If something had happened to him, she wasn't sure that she would be able to function anymore.

She had been waiting for him to join her after assigning the patrols for the morning. As he trotted over to her with his tail up, she trilled in greeting, and nodded in response to his question. There was an advantage of her mate being the deputy, they didn't have to worry about planning their walks around their patrols as much as their clanmates did. "It's not a problem." she said as she turned and lifted a paw to start walking to the camp's exit. "It's a lot of work, keeping track of who goes where and when." the first few patrols she had assigned had been a little hard to keep track of at first, but they had started to come more naturally the more she had done.

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[Flycatcher]

"Mhm, tell me about it," Flycatcher purred in amusement, as Flamewhisker made light of how hard it was to keep track of the patrols. As he followed his mate out of camp, walking close by her side, he couldn't help but reflect on it some more. Like Flamewhisker, he too had struggled with his first few patrols and keeping track of which cats went where and when. It was a miracle he hadn't made numerous mistakes on his first attempts. Luckily, he had learnt well from watching Howlingstar assign patrols when she was still deputy and when he had briefly filled in for her.

When they find a secluded spot, Flycatcher lets his mate sit down and get comfortable before he joins her. He is quick to begin grooming her, rasping his tongue along the back of her neck and finding it quite gritty. "You haven't taken up tunnelling like a WindClan cat have you," Flycatcher teased playfully. He lets the joke play out for a moment before turning the talk to more serious matters. "How is Acornpaw's training going?" He asks softly[, mind wandering to the young charge currently under Flamewhisker's care. "I feel bad for missing training with Shinepaw but he seems to be conducting himself well enough. He's quite different from how Roeflame and Burnstorm were but I'm excited to see what sort of warrior he shapes up to be." Shinepaw still had many moons to go before he reached warriorhood but Flycatcher was still intrigued to see where life took his new apprentice. Sometimes it felt strange only having one apprentice now, but it just meant Shinepaw would have a lot more attention on him moving forward. "Speaking of apprentices I cannot believe Falconpaw and Stormpaw are almost of an age to receive their warrior names!" Despite the enthusiasm in his voice, there's a hint of wistfulness too. Their kits grow more and more each day, and though they'll soon be warriors, Flycatcher sometimes cannot help but remember them as the tiny bundles of fur they once were.​

 

[Flamestar]

When they found a nice spot to talk, she sat down and flicked her tail around her front paws. She feels his tongue rasping over her pelt, and a soft purr starts in her throat. He teases her, comparing her to a Windclan tunneler. She turns around, and shoots him a playful glare, before shaking her head and smiling. "Acornpaw and I practiced battle moves today." she responded as she lifted a front paw and drew her tongue over it. "She's coming out of her shell...I think she will be quite the warrior someday." It felt strange starting from scratch again. Jaypaw had been a fresh slate, but with his disappearance, he had never finished his training. When she had been reassigned to Cloudyfur's mentor, the other Molly had already begun her training, so she just had to build upon the fundamentals that were already where. It had been moons since she had to think about teaching a brand new mind. As he spoke about Shinepaw, she took the opportunity to start to groom his fur while she listened.

When he changed the subject to their kits, she paused his grooming, and lifted her muzzle to the sky for a moment. "They are growing like weeds." she said, closing her eyes for a brief moment, before returning to meet his. "Time has just flown by...it seems like yesterday that they were chasing my tail, and riding on your back." Lilykit and Butterflykit should be here too... it was hard to not speak those words, but she knew he could probably tell what she was thinking. He could read her like a book. "I wonder what their names will be." she had a few ideas of her own...Stormheart, or Stormblaze were names that she had considered for their daughter. She was brave and headstrong...For their son, she liked Falconfeather. Of course, it was up to Howlingstar in the end...but it was still fun to imagine.

She shuffled her paws for a moment, trying her best to not lick her chest fur out of habit. "Do you think they would feel hurt if we had another litter?" It was something she hadn't considered until she had seen Mousepaw's outburst when Sunfreckle had found out that he was expecting. She would like to believe that her kits would be excited to have siblings, but she wasn't entirely sure.

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[Flycatcher]

When Flamewhisker makes a comment about them growing like weeds, Flycatcher nodded his head in agreement. It really did seem like yesterday when they were so small and innocent, being left wide-eyed out of the nursery by Flycatcher to see the camp and their clanmates. "I'm sure Howlingstar will find the perfect choices for them when the time comes," He responds when she ponders what their names will be. He has pondered on it a lot as they've gotten older and their warriorhood grows ever closer. Much like how Flamewhisker had felt the pang for their lost children when speaking of how much Falconpaw and Stormpaw have grown, Flycatcher feels it now when speaking of names.

Butterlfykit and Lilykit have never really left him, a sentiment he is sure his mate shares. When he looks at their surviving children, he can't help but think of the lives their daughters might have lived. The personalities that might have shone through. He has his own little ideas in his head. Butterfly, would have been very much a free spirit like his sister who inspired her name. Lily was more of a shy creature, kind but nervous, keeping close to her siblings. What would their names have been had they lived to become warriors he wonders.

"I..." Flycatcher hesitates to give an answer to his mate's question immediately. "Who can really say how they'd react until that actually happened." He gives his mate a conspiratorial look. "I like to think they'd both be happy though. I can certainly imagine Stormpaw fussing over them."​

 

[Flamestar]

"Well..." she started, stopping to shuffle her paws momentarily. She looked down for a brief moment, before raising her gaze to meet his again. It was no secret that she she had been hanging around the nursery a lot lately, playing with the clan's kits in her downtime, and hunting for the queens that resided within the den. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately." It was hard not to. It was nearly impossible to walk through the camp without being pounced on or be swarmed by kittens. "I know we talked about waiting until Stormpaw and Falconpaw were warriors but...I think I would like to have another litter...before leaf-bare this time." Her ending comment was laced with a light chuckle. Their last kits had been born in the worst time of the year...their clanmates had done everything possible to ensure she and the kits hadn't gone too hungry, but she had felt guilty each time one of her hungry clanmates visited her.

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[Flycatcher]

The idea of having another litter was something which Flycatcher and Flamewhisker had discussed in the past. Of course, both of them would have loved to expand their family, but the loss of their daughter and all the struggles ThunderClan endured had put them off. They had suffered so much already and neither was sure they could handle another loss.

When Flamewhisker reveals she would like another litter, Flycatcher was both surprised and not surprised at the same time. The time spent around the nursery had not gone unnoticed by him. She had always been good with kits and seemed to be on good terms with most of their current nursing queens, so a part of him had attributed her presence there as being down to that as opposed to a desire to have more kit. "I would like another litter too," Flycatcher smiled, purring as he spoke. He leaned his head against hers so his chin was resting atop her head. "And yes, preferably before leaf-bare this time." Like Flamewhisker, he chuckled a little at the memory, though he also knew of the potential risks of what could happen with a litter born in leafbare.​