sensitive topics it's a trophy of your worth | the encounter

[Patchpaw [in.]]

THERE'S A WORLD THAT WAS MEANT FOR OUR EYES TO SEE​

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She's the leader, I have to tell her--this is important! But what if I'm making a mistake? What if all I'm doing is causing more tension between clans? I don't want to cause another border skirmish, especially not like the fight with SkyClan... Despite her reluctance and the insistent questions, the cave entrance of the leader's den faced her quite suddenly and the High Rock loomed over her short head. Patchpaw nervously glances back at her mentor, who had encouraged her to talk to Emberstar in the first place.

If you tell her, he will find out, the small voice in her head hisses, and you will never see the light of day again.

Her toes dig fiercely into the ground, forcing her to tear them from the dirt to keep moving. She hesitantly pushes through the hanging moss and vines that cover the den's entrance, and the cold does not follow her, instead pushed back out by the protective draping fronds. From there, it would only take a quick greeting to gain the leader's attention, but regret tears at her heart like the awful claws that once descended upon her face; she was bringing only more pain to her mentor, to Emberstar, and the rest of the clan. How would she react to this, Patchpaw hadn't a single clue, but she desperately hoped the leader wouldn't take it too harshly.
You've already told Rabbitnose, it continues, it's too late now. If you do not tell her, he will, when he has already been tearing himself to pieces over your own actions!

I have to make this right.

"Emberstar? I hope I'm not intruding on anything, but I--I wanted to talk to you about my accident."​

 

[emberstar]

IT WENT FROM A SPARK TO AN OPEN FLAME ⋆⁺₊⋆ Emberstar did not like spending much time in her den. It was far too lonely for her tastes. She far preferred being out and about in the camp, spending time with her clanmates. Leafbare, unfortunately, had forced her inside to shelter from the cold.

Her ear flicked as she laid in the back of her den.

A head pushed through the moss at the entrance and she bounced to her paws, eager to greet her visitor. She would take any company she could get right now, no matter the news they brought. Especially given it was Patchpaw, after what had happened she felt obliged to help the girl any way she could.

"Not at all! Come in, come in." The leader encouraged, gesturing for the apprentice to sit with her with a flick of her tail. She wanted all her clanmates to feel welcome to talk with her any time.

//sorry for the late reply! ​

 

[Patchpaw [in.]]

THERE'S A WORLD THAT WAS MEANT FOR OUR EYES TO SEE​

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//you're perfectly fine!

Patchpaw, encouraged by the leader's warm and welcoming greeting, steps forwards deeper into the den. There's a hesitance in her footsteps and her wary ears flatten as she sits down just across from Emberstar, tucking her paws and tail in tightly to herself. She holds her head high, facing Emberstar with a wary worry in her eyes, the scars across her face all too reminiscent of the encounter.

When she attempted to speak, though, no words dared come out of her mouth, and that persistent fear wormed its way into her heart.

"...I don’t want to cause any trouble. I just—“ No matter how hard she tried, every time she attempted to speak about it, the words slipped from her throat and her tongue hung limply like a dead mouse. Finally, she sighs softly and glances off to the side. ”I couldn’t help but wonder about something, Emberstar. That cat from the RiverClan patrol we met… Bonemouth, was it? I—I don’t really remember their name. They said something funny, about ShadowClan. They said not to trust ‘em. But I guess… I didn’t really understand it, and…” She couldn’t continue, instead staring off out towards the rest of the clan.
"There's something else, too. That--that cat I met... he was a ShadowClan warrior. He said so himself."

It was noticeably already taking a huge toll on her, and she dug her claws into the moss below her to keep herself from backing out now.​

 

[emberstar]

IT WENT FROM A SPARK TO AN OPEN FLAME ⋆⁺₊⋆ Patience was an active choice for Emberstar. It did not come naturally to her, she had been taught to be always keep moving since before she could remember. Those lessons had kept her alive, when she was on her own.

Not so much as a leader. Now she had a community to help and to help her. She had exhausted herself before learning that action could not be her first and every recourse. Her position had worn her down, and she had aged more than she had in the rest of her life in just a couple moons. It was strange, to think of how much this clan had changed her.

All this history colored her patience.

As Patchpaw spoke, slowly, haltingly, Emberstar was attentive. Overly so. She nodded encouragingly at every phrase and interjected into the silences that the apprentice left between them. "You aren't causing trouble." Emberstar reassured in one such instance.

Boneripple's words had stuck with her. Though she had already known to be wary of Shadowclan, their leader had made that evident enough, but it unsettled her that their former medicine cat would speak of her old clan like that. To hear that Patchpaw's attacker had also claimed to be from Shadowclan...

Emberstar's ear flicked, but she tried to hide her worry.

Patchpaw's anxiety was evident enough that it didn't escape even her notice. She attempted to touch her tail to the other molly's side to comfort her. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention." ​