private EXPERT IN A DYING FIELD [ lichenstar ]

[willowroot]

( ☾ ) willowroot hasn't entered the willow den since the days of smokestar. not that it's been too long, only a couple moons have passed since her friend's demise, and the rooted den has lingered like the former leader's ghost, becoming cobwebbed and dusty in disuse. she can't blame lichenstar for avoiding it- not even the former leader's kits have dared venture into the hallowed area. it feels wrong, even though they have confirmation that the tomcat is with the stars. it's been that family's home since the clan was formed. moving into someone else's space is never easy. this is what she's thinking about as she pads towards the tree, branches of her namesake tumbling downwards, forever mourning their inhabitants. she understands now why cicadastar had named her after the weeping trees, for she carries that sorrow with her as well as they do. approaching the yawning maw of the den, the smoke former lead shuffles her paws gently against the bark.

a small trout clutched daintily in their jaws, willowroot calls out, managing to make themself heard through the fish. "lichenstar?" they query, tufted ears flicking. upon receiving a response and permission to enter, they will do so, stooping their tall body to slide into the den. it looks different, no longer strewn with bits of moss and clawed chunks of earth from smokestar's pacing, nor decorated with battle plans and the odd feather here or there like in cicadastar's time. berry-stained pawprints litter the walls, small messy ones and delicately placed larger ones. a small collection of shells and other trinkets is placed artfully in the corner, and the nest her leader rests upon looks fluffy and well made. someone is taking care of lichenstar, thank the heavens. it smells like fresh herbs and the unmistakable scent of hazecloud, and with the nest being bigger than standard, willowroot can infer that their leader's mate has moved in.

"good evening," they greet, setting the trout down close to the blue point's maw. "moonbeam said you hadn't eaten yet, so i brought you this," the explanation is short, but there is genuine care in the way they nudge the fish to their leader. "i know company might not be what you'd like right now, so tell me to go if you want." they curl their tail around their paws, gaze finding the river blues of their leader. lichenstar and willowroot have never been super close, but there is an odd kinship willow feels between them two. both had served cicadastar and lichen had served smokestar, both were voices of reason on councils. "how fair your injuries?"

THE ECHOING HYMN ☾ OF MY FELLOW PASSERINE

• // iffy starter but here u go @lichenstar "#91A26C"
  
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  WILLOWROOT ☾ SHE / THEY, WARRIOR OF RIVERCLAN. MENTORING MIDNIGHTPAW. PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a long-haired black smoke oriental with sage-green eyes. smoky long fur coats the length of willowroot's lithe body, cut through with dark ghost stripes. friendly sage green eyes that narrow in an almond shape, and her muzzle and limbs are thin and long due to her oriental heritage.
  

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[lichenstar]

✦˚.✦˚✦˚✦˚ ✧ ˚✦˚✦˚✦.˚✦

CLAIM THE BURIAL I SEEK IN DREAMS FLOWING RIVER CEMETARY ✧

• Even with change, there are grooves within the roots of this den that tell its history. In the grooves are memories... stories and secrets kept in its walls. Confessional and trial... tension and relaxation. The berry paint that clings to those gouges try to say something new, try to bring about a feeling of ownership, that this space is hers and not one inherited from founders she'd sought out for guidance, had struggled to appease. Now it stinks of freshly changed dressings, of her children in their worried, feverish visits, her mate who seems eager to have more space for herself (and more space for the two of them to share).
  
  The sound of their name rouses them from whatever between-state they'd be living in... not quite awake but too fitful to sleep... A single, blue eyes winks open to stare at the shadow shifting around the entrance, recognizing the tone as Willowroot's immediately. "I'm here," her nose scrunches in distaste for her own answer- Of course I'm here... Where else would I be? Shifting uncomfortably in her nest, the lynx point sits up to be a bit more presentable than a belly-up lounging that might expose the real extent of how successful that dog had been.
  
  The smoky molly enters true to her misty colors, a shade with a gift held between her teeth. It glints in what tiny fragment of sun draws through the curtain of greenery, explained as it's dropped at her paws that it's food... a meal. "Thank you..." It is not her preference, really, but a necessity and a kindness she isn't keen to ignore.
  
  She goes on to explain empathy that says they might not even want her presence- it's nice... to be acknowledged, that their time has become something the clan is entitled to, rather than something that belongs to them and should be asked after. "It's alright," truth be told, Willowroot is a reliable source of consistency and comfort... someone who can understand the weight of leadership, even if this not far advanced. Can understand the struggle to balance it and your family. "I don't mind."
  
  She sinks her teeth into the scaly flesh of the trout, eager to satiate the grumbling in her belly. The question of her injuries strikes an anxious chord, a humiliation burning in her chest. So soon and already a life wasted... even Hazecloud had brazenly said so. "No infection... the worst is... over..."
  
  They glance up at the ghost-striped molly, "How are things....?" Another awkward conversational piece...
• about
  
  speech hex code ✧ #6368A5
  
  ooc notes ✦
  tagging ✶
  penned by tieirlys
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[willowroot]

( ☾ ) the gravel-voiced leader murmurs gratitude, and her smoke warrior will dip their head, sage eyes soft with acknowledgment. lichenstar has gone through more than many in her first two moons of leadership. truthfully, willowroot does not envy her- twoleg troubles, bear attacks, a damned fox that had stolen one out of eight lives from her, it's all too much for one cat to handle. watching pearly teeth snap down part of the trout, there is some relief in the shifting stomach of the warrior. at least her leader is eating and up for talking, something she'd not expected upon entering the berry stained den. "aye, that's good," she murmurs in agreement to the statement about injuries. her gaze roams swiftly across the scattered scars and scarring scabs that litter the pale molly's body, noting the sticky poultices are smeared carefully within them.

a question after their own health, and willowroot's gaze will crinkle kindly. "for myself, i'm alright. your leads have kept us all busy," they think of their daughter, who strides about camp with a firm brow and steady pace. "mosspool sent me to windclan yesterday, with my patrol. no trouble there, just petty warriors," and a troublesome apprentice who may or may not be in the elders' den at this very moment. midnightpaw, spitfire that she is, needs to learn time and place. their apprentice is almost eleven moons old, and no matter how capable she is in hunting or fighting, willowroot will be damned if they don't teach her some respect before their assessment. shaking off the picture of their dappled apprentice stalking close to the gorge, willowroot fixes their gaze back upon their leader.

"your clan is managing, lichenstar. we all wish you well," it's true- even without the river queen's steady presence, riverclan marches on. the hole she leaves in their everyday lives has been attempted to be filled by various leads, with varying success. who they really need is a deputy, but willow is fairly certain lichenstar is well aware of that fact. "i hope you know," they begin, pausing to lick their lips as they think out the words. "that should you need anything, you can count on me. on all of us, even," the tufted ear flicks, its torn off counterpart's base moving with it. "you're not alone, no matter how much you may or may not feel it."

because she can remember cicadastar's first moons, when it'd just been him, smokethroat, and herself. the trio of them had managed, both smokethroat and willowroot filling in for deputy, organizing patrols and speaking to other clans. it'd been a difficult time, and even when buckgait had been appointed, cicadastar had never trusted her. willowroot hates to admit it, but she and smokethroat had still shouldered the majority of the burden. as more leads were appointed, less did she feel necessary. she regrets it now, stepping down, regrets leaving her leader to his madness, and not asking to step back up upon smokestar's ascension to the throne. with lichenstar's reign, she feels she may have cemented herself in the warrior ranks, but it doesn't mean she can't do everything she can to aid the woman. vaguely, she wonders if her words put more pressure upon the blue point. her feathery tail twitches, anxiety seeping in. a change of subject is needed... she thinks.

"eveningkit, twinklekit, and horizonkit are growing swiftly. not too long before they join their elder siblings, no?" when mosspool and hazewish had been six moons, she'd worried and fretted over their mentor possibilities. cicadastar and aspenhaze had proved outstanding guides. she can't imagine the pressure lichenstar may feel to choose correctly for her own brood. "it's hard watching them fly from the nest, but those three have got such potential." with hazecloud and their leader as parents, who wouldn't?

THE ECHOING HYMN ☾ OF MY FELLOW PASSERINE

• // "#91A26C"
  
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• 
  WILLOWROOT ☾ SHE / THEY, WARRIOR OF RIVERCLAN. MENTORING MIDNIGHTPAW. PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a long-haired black smoke oriental with sage-green eyes. smoky long fur coats the length of willowroot's lithe body, cut through with dark ghost stripes. friendly sage green eyes that narrow in an almond shape, and her muzzle and limbs are thin and long due to her oriental heritage.
  

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