I’d sing a song, that’d just be ours / rag & toad

[ROEFLAME .]

ROEFLAME — break the air to feel the fall.
The walk home from the patrol had been uneasy, with Roeflame unnaturally quiet the entire way.
Her thoughts were thundering, hammering against her ears. Shadowclan knew- and Roeflame didn’t trust them one bit to keep their noses out of Thunderclan business, not where Cinderfrost was involved. Wolfwind had sparked something, a new thing for an already frustrated Ragwortpaw to mull over.
When the patrol would finally reach camp, Roeflame would be one of the last to enter, holding Ragwortpaw behind as well. "We’ll get Toadpaw, and then I’ll tell you anything you want to know." The promise was one she would try to keep as best she could, though she was unsure if she was even ready to say what she knew out loud, her heart hadn’t mended the way it should have yet, the night in Howlingstars den still sent her emotions reeling.
Ragwortpaw in tow, Roeflame would check the apprentices den first.
"Toadpaw? We need to talk. It’s important."

@RAGWORTPAW @TOADPAW
"speech"

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[TOADHOP]

Toadpaw's day has been busy, back at camp. With his chores and one training session already done, he's still due for another round of training later in the day.

Exhaustion has begun to creep up on him and the brown tabby finds himself settled into the depths of the apprentice den, about to take a quick nap in between sessions with Stonepool. Only, it seems his rest will have to wait, as Roeflame appears at the entrance of the den.

"Hmm? Oh, hi, Roeflame," the tom blinks, night-blue gaze looking up at his adoptive sister as she speaks. They need to talk. It's important. Perhaps he won't be napping after all. The apprentice rises from his nest, a long stretch following.

"Okay. Here?" he asks with a tilt of his head, "About what?" What could be so important to interrupt his nap?
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[RAGWORTPAW]

RAGWORTPAW ♀​ ​

Her mind is heavy as she follows Roeflame back into camp, so much had just happened... She had not expected mentioning her mother could've led to so much fighting- she finds herself frustrated with her clan. How much would she have to poke until they told her all the details of her mother? What did they know that she didn't? Was Salamander really not the she-cat her daughter thought she was? Roeflame promises to reveal it all with Toadpaw's presence. Instead of excitement dread weighs in her heart, but she must know. Who was Salamander truly? Whose blood was it that ran through her veins? To Toadpaw, whom was still blinking sleep from his eyes, she meows, "About... mom."

 

[ROEFLAME .]

ROEFLAME — break the air to feel the fall.
She lets Ragwortpaw answer her brothers question with a small decline of her head, unease prickling along her spine, Wolfwind had already told Ragwortpaw a dark truth, would it be on Roeflame now, to tell the rest?
Silently, she tosses her head over her shoulder towards the entrance, a non-verbal cue for them to follow.
She wouldn’t lead them too far out of camp, picking her way along the bottom of the ravine until she was satisfied to the seclusion of their spot.
"Ragwortpaw brought up mom while we were out by the Shadowclan border, some things were said that made me realize it was time for me to tell you guys all I could, you’re old enough now and I can’t keep shielding you guys from it." She began, her tone walking the thin line between solemn and soft, unusually serious.
The cinnamon tabby would take a seat in front of the two, eyes flickering from one face to the other.
How do I even begin?
"Cin-Salamander found me at the border when I was barely old enough to walk. She was known as Cinderfrost then, she saved my life, and eventually took me in. She loved me as though she were my birth mother, and I loved her as I would a mother. She was gentle, caring, and everything I needed as a child- that was the Salamander I knew, but her being my adoptive kin did not come without consequences." Roeflame sucks a heavy breath in between her teeth, eyes forced to look downcast. "I didn’t know why, but I was shut out by the queens as I grew, ignored by the other kits. I would hear gossip about both myself and her, and she wouldn’t give me anything but vague explanations. When I was newly apprenticed, Pitchstar came to our border. I- I wasn’t supposed to be there… it was all happenstance. He claimed Cinderfrost had tried to kill their medicine cat, attacked her." She pauses, finally sparing her two siblings and cautionary glance, reading their expressions for only a heartbeat. "She didn’t deny the accusations, didn’t fight to stay. At the time I didn’t understand why she seemed so… indifferent, so willing to leave me behind. A couple of moons later she sought me out, told me about you guys, and asked me to take you back to Thunderclan." An exhale.
"By that time, the isolation and gossip I was subjected to was overwhelming, I defended her every chance I got, I shunned Emberstar and Flycatcher, angry for taking away my mother. There was a time the apprentices forced me to sleep outside. I couldn’t risk you guys ever having to go through that, when I brought you back I told only Howlingstar in confidence, and kept your lineage as discreet as I could. You were so young… I could never fully explain it to you." Shame burns at her cheekbones. "I only recently found out why I had been treated the way I was, why she had been exiled without a second thought. It’s true she was dedicated and loving, but she was also vengeful and felt as though she had been wronged, and the incident with Shadowclans medicine cat was not the first."
That is all Roeflame can bring herself to say about Cinderfrost’s crimes. The warrior looks away for a moment, trying to stuff down the emotion that balled up in her throat.
She wouldn’t say more until she could gauge Toadpaw and Ragwortpaws reactions. She knew she’d need to warn them about Shadowclan, but her tongue has gone dry, and she needs a moment to be silent.
"speech"

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