garden party ⚘ orangeblossom

[Dandelionwish]

Would it be strange to say he felt more at home the past few moons here in SkyClan than he ever did in WindClan. The moors were once a place a sanctuary but too much blood had been spilled and his paws never stayed clean; he sometimes missed racing across the rolling hills, tending to his clanmates, his time as a healer was cut short by paranoia and foolishness and one day he wished to see Sootstar again if only so he could watch her fall from the throne she so desperately built beneath her of bodies and iron, laced in thorns. One such thing about SkyClan he had never really understood though, was the daylight warriors. On a surface level he knew what a kittypet was, but them coming back and forth from the camp struck him as strange and he remembered pondering of Butterflytuft's neck bandanna and its purpose because such things were just strange to him. It was the only time he felt out of touch with his new home and there were many cats he could seek out for information but one in particular caught his eye as he scanned the camp.
The deputy. Orangeblossom. A fierce faced molly, the scars he recalled being told were the result of clashing with Badgermoon at the border during that wretched herb raid. If he had held his tongue, if he had not lamented his worries, his old clan would not have sang for blood. In a way it was his fault the white and orange she-cat had been maimed so, it was hard not to feel guilt seeing those deep gashes curving around her muzzle, but he swallowed it down and approached on light steps with a smile.

"Evenin' miss Orangeblossom!" Ora, as her clanmates called her endearingly, but he didn't think himself quite on that level yet and didn't want to be too familiar with the deputy, "Ye got a moment or two ye can spare a poor fool some learnin?" Mismatched eyes watched her carefully, up close he realized how much taller he was than most of SkyClan; long lanky brown limbs and a tail that seemed almost serpentine in its length. "Wanted to ask 'bout them daylight warriors? What can ye tell me on'em? Fraid I only know a little.."

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[Ooc]
- @orangeblossom
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[Orangestar]

A chirp, only half familiar, makes Orangeblossom pause in grooming the fur on her shoulder. Even with new joiners, it isn't often that the deputy's name has a miss politely tacked on to the front of it, a twang in the speaker that could only belong to Dandelionwish. His scent is fading to that of a SkyClannerquite nicely by now, no longer reeking of the moors when he's surrounded by pine needles and bramble bushes. She nods at his question; if he wanted to learn something, it was part of her job to answer as best she can. Daylight warriors, huh? Good thing she knew about those. And, since Dandelionwish would be staying in SkyClan, it made sense that he should too.

"Makes sense, SkyClan is the only Clan in the forest that has them; I'm sure WindClan's opinion was overwhelmingly negative on the idea despite recruiting rogues." She blinks at him and gestures for Dandelionwish to sit down, taking a moment to organise her thoughts.

"Daylight warriors are both warriors and kittypets; they live and hunt with SkyClan during the day, and return to their twoleg nests at night. That's about all most cats know." She peers at him thoughtfully. "It was a, um ... well, a thing before SkyClan was even a thing; when the pine colony occupied this part of the forest, we used to regularly have kittypet visitors who learned to hunt and fight with us. Just for fun, mostly, something to keep their paws busy with until they could go home for the night; but it wasn't as important that they know how to defend themselves against other cats back then." Her torn ear twitches involuntarily, a dark pelt smelling of the marshes crossing her mind like a shadow, but she continues. "Rain didn't mind, as far as I remember and it gave us more playmates. But when SkyClan was formed, though a lot changed, it made sense to keep that. Blazestar used to be a kittypet before StarClan called, and a lot of us - including me, even though I've never stepped paw in a twoleg den - have close kittypet relations. My mother is a daylight warrior, as are my younger siblings, and my mate used to be too." It's the first time she mentions Ashenclaw without stumbling over her words, but the tight feeling returns to her chest and she takes a moment, pretending to gather her thoughts. Had Dandelionwish ever met Ashenclaw? Probably not.

"What else ... we don't worry about daylight warriors being disloyal to SkyClan. Since we're so close to twolegplace, and every other Clan greets them like this-" she screws up her nose- "SkyClan is pretty much the only option they have if they want to experience Clan life. And, since the majority of us are very kind to them, they have good experiences here and show us loyalty in return. We do worry about them getting trapped in their dens and never coming back, though; after WindClan raided our camp for herbs, we lost a couple of warriors who were injured because they went home. Thought they'd come back after the blizzard, but they never did."

It was domething else she'd worried about with Ashenclaw, but he'd decided to stay with SkyClan that night. Their conversation about fate surfaces, and the deputy makes a small noise of gruff amusement. She shakes her head, but curls her tail around her paws as she settles in to continue the discussion.

"Any questions so far?"

— info

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  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

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[Dandelionwish]

"...ye'd be surprised at that. Don't think I saw too much on the rogues, figure folks saw'em as better than kittypets somehow." Sootstar had died to one, apparently, but their danger was more valued than the pride of accepting in collared cats with two-leg scent, it never made sense to him really.

He listened to the explaination of a past he had never heard much of before. Those in WindClan were mostly of the Marsh Colony and even if otherwise they did not speak of the Pine Colony often if at all. His own mentor had once come from SkyClan, a part of him had wondered if he'd see her here but he supposed not. Still, it was nice hearing that this group of cats did not view ones background as a source of their weakness, that they accepted any cat no matter their origins. He had struggled as a barncat in WindClan at first, rowdy and loud and constantly told he smelled of horseplace. All things his younger self had let roll off his back without a worry.
He tries to imagine a clan where not all cats had to fight, that the ones who could defended the ones who couldn't; it was so unlike the moors. Dandelionwish twirled his wheat stem between his teeth thoughtfully before giving a smile, "Ye talk about yer clan with such compassion." He observed, tone soft, "Just nice to see is all."
He didn't want to make a big deal of it, but he had longed for WindClan to be full of cats just as passionate to their clanmates regardless of anything else. He had once thought to soften their claws, but they only sharpened them on him instead. The chocolate limbed tom's ears twitched slightly as he considered his next question, wondering if it was rude or not or if he should just go for it.
"....ye all wear them collar things often? See cats who ain't yer kittypet kin with'em too. Pretty common ye'd say?" And adding on with a grin so his intentions were suddenly clear, "...ye think ah can get one o'them bandannas in a nice green?"
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