private I'D RATHER BE SURE YOU KNOW I'M THERE (berry)

[HOWLINGSTAR]

// @BERRYHEART !!

The den feels so different now, less suffocating, less dangerous. With that she-cat gone, and with her son inhabiting the space, the deputy can enter the den feeling at ease for the first time ever. She pushes through the fern tunnel leading up to the shelter, blinking warmly as she pauses to admire it. Berryheart has always been so organized, and she can already tell he's put his own touch on the herb stores that were left over. In her maw, she holds a bundle of moss, a delivery. Purr rumbling in her throat, she moves towards the tortoiseshell sitting by the small pool of water and places the mouthful at his paws. "Sloepaw gathered this today for some nests, but there was some leftover," She explains, straightening herself once more.

How strange - even the scent of the den seems different. Perhaps it's all in her head, but still she can't help but to look around with curious eyes. Never had she paid so much attention to the details within this cracked boulder. She'd never noticed how soft the grass is, how the ledges of the stone stick out to be just the perfect shelves for herbs...it's perfect and inviting and it all belongs to her son now. Turning her attention back to him, a slow murmur finally breaks the silence. "How are you feeling...? We haven't really talked about...all of this, yet." ​

 

[BERRYHEART]

Like instinct, the voice of his mother combined with the den in which he stood sent his worry soaring. But moss- the mention of her apprentice's name- it was a simple errand. Still, a funny errand for the deputy to be carrying out, bringing him supplies- usually it was young apprentices, slapdash with their offering, soon to leave for more exciting endeavours. These thoughts were no complaint, however- he was glad to see his mother, and made it clear as he turned, askew gaze overtaken with a blink of gratitude.

It was not often Berryheart chose to articulate his feelings, let alone give them as an answer... a dappled tail beckoned Big Mama, asking her to take a seat without words. This circumstance made him feel childlike, almost, but certainly not in a negative way. Silence followed her question for a few long moments, quiet that she would likely recognise as deep contemplation. Without knowing exactly what he was to say, Berryheart could not justify wasting his breath.

"I'm well." A simple answer, its shortness promised elaboration- to which he offered. "There's a lot I don't know. I'm not used to that." His mind felt muddled, something he was entirely unused to. All the responsibilities that he was to take on stared down at him, looming shadows glaring and circling. But he would not let himself be eclipsed- it was not just himself he would let down, now, but the entire Clan. Prophecies, remedies... they would come to him bolstered with clarity in time.​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

A soft hum is all she gives as a response at first, amusement glittering in her eyes as she glances from him to the herb stores. "That is true," She replies in her gentle tone, reaching out to paw idly at a stem that's fallen out of place. "I'm sure you haven't a clue what most of these even do." There is laughter in her voice as she looks back to him. He's always been so calm and collected, so sure of himself. Even now, when he has just been thrown into a den full of herbs he may not even know the names to, he is relaxed (to her eye). "You know Beesong, and Bonejaw. They can help you, maybe." Bonejaw....isn't a cat Howling Wind can say she's ever liked. Beesong was far more favorable to meet. But a teacher is a teacher, and there is a shortage of herbal knowledge within the clans.​

 

[BERRYHEART]

A hum of agreement buzzed from him- he indeed did not, she made no fool of herself with her guess. Their names came to him easily, but it had never been a mission to know what they did... his erratic whims had not yet happened upon that idea before the stars had written his destiny. Was hindsight not both a blessed thing and a terrible curse? What he should have done was now null and void, never brought forth to reality. Pointless pondering on it, really- but he could not help the wander of his mind. Never had he been able to.

Names fluttered forth from his mother's maw... familiar sounds. One was common with what the Executioner had bade as she had fled the borders, and the other was an old comrade from their home in the marshes, the very feline for who's sake he had been placed into this position. Perhaps... he was to meet with them soon, anyhow. Inquiries could be given then. Hooded eyelids mostly hid the shift of his pupils, flickering from the ground to Big Mama in a rare display of noticeable uncertainty. "Maybe... but I don't even know what it is that I don't know." A strange way of phrasing it, perhaps. But how was he to know what he would encounter? He paused, contemplative. Suddenly the tortoiseshell felt childish in a different way. Small, seeking the fur of his mother's chest for comfort. He was back there. "I'm worried I'll encounter something I've never heard of, and then..."

Crooked jaws clattered shut, voice trailing to nothing. Worry... to verbalise it was to perpetuate it. And yet, he had fallen into the trap. ​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

Unfamiliar indeed, to see the look that flashes through his gaze. He's doubting himself. And as he does so, he comes closer, and the mother can only embrace him with all the love she has always offered him. A white-dipped paw lifts to wrap itself around his frame, holding him to her chest as a purr rumbles in her throat. "You will learn all there is to learn," She murmurs gently, placing her ivory chin atop his mottled head. "The other medicine cats will help you, I'm sure of it. Besides, there's never been a thing you couldn't figure out once you've put your mind to it." She pulls away a bit to peek at him, amusement glittering in green eyes. Her son has always been one of the most intelligent cats she's ever known. If there's any ThunderClanner she trusts in his position, it's him.​