private POST TENEBRAS LUX \ cindershade

[EMBERFLOWER]

It's a rare opportunity that Emberflower gets her sister alone these days. Before Cindershade's promotion, she'd sometimes successfuly pestered her dark-coated littermate until she'd finally given into Emberflower's demands. There isn't much time, now, for sunbathing or casual swimming. Not only does Cindershade have an apprentice, but she shares Buckgait's old position with the other lead warriors. She carries the brunt of their leader's paranoia and rage, and Emberflower worries she can see some of that darkness reflected in Cindershade, too.

Has she changed since being granted power within the Clan? Emberflower isn't sure. She knows her sister has always been a capable warrior, but there seems to be something else, too -- a violent streak fed too much blood. The pale rosetted she-cat worries for Cindershade, worries the war RiverClan wages against the other Clans is slowly corrupting her -- but she can't say that.

She had managed to get the black-spotted she-cat out for a late night swim, and she doesn't want to immediately piss her off and send her storming back to camp or into solitude. Emberflower knows her littermate too well. She has to choose her words, and her tone, carefully.

"You sure have been busy, since Buckgait went to the nursery," she says, her tone casual. She dips into the water with grace, short but sturdy limbs propelling her into the deeper dark waters. "I feel like I hardly see you, now, and we live in the same Clan!" Hazel eyes flare teasingly at the shadowy lead warrior, willing her to open up and knowing it's easier said than done.

// @Cindershade​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

 

[Cindershade]

It felt like moons since she had gazed upon the delicate features of her sibling, meeting her welcoming hazel eyes with steely green. Cindershade had been quite busy as of late, along with the other lead warriors since Buckgait retired within the nursery, too busy for idle chatter and casual swimming like before. Apart of her misses those days, where her and Emberflower would splay lazily against the flattened stones of Sunningrocks or lazing wistfully along the currents of the river, casually talking about nothing or even groaning at her siblings' light teasing. It's something the lead warrior has grown used to—becoming less sensitive to her jests. In a way, it feels normal now. Secretly she welcomes their banter, but of course, that'd never pass by blackened lips of the shadow that walks beside her.
With Cicadastar on the brink of war, Cindershade had been aboard that train with him. She'd follow him anywhere, as she did from the marsh group with her sister in tow. There was no sense of cold bloodlust within her, only a strong force of retribution that burned her veins. She only wanted her clan to be happy, wanted them to be strong; and if that meant they had to fight, had to pull themselves back from the muck and grime—then so be it. Perhaps those were dangerous words, a willingness to do whatever it took—even being a merciless assassin if she had to. Her gaze flicks to her lighter counterpart, settling on her rounded face. Yes, whatever I must to keep you safe as well.
She stands along the edge of the shoreline as Emberflower wades into the murky waters, watching her with an undivided attention. You sire have been busy, since Buckgait went into the nursery. "Yes," She begins as her shaded paws fine the crisp coolness of the drifting river. "Since Cicadastar hasn't chosen a new deputy, it falls upon the lead warriors until he does." When will he choose? She adds on wordlessly, wading further out where Emberflower resided. Her jaw sets at her next comment, though a twitch of her lips indicates the smallest of smiles. "I know. It's been rather—eventful, lately. RiverClan has had quite the target on our backs." Her eyes shift into a colder expression now, mulling over the WindClan raid and then Sunningrocks, the clean up of their old camp, Ashpaw's and Gloompaw's disappearance. It was all so much. When will RiverClan have a chance to thrive? A chance for peace? The shaded molly sighs, letting her buoyancy keep her afloat and relaxing. "How have things been with you recently? Have you been practicing those battle moves I showed you? I want you to be prepared—" For war. Cindershade doesn't need to finish it, her sister would know what it meant. Emberflower wasn't much of a fighter like she was, but the rosetted warrior wanted her to at least try—at least be sure to know how to defend herself.

​

[ SILENCE IS DEAFENING ]​

 

[EMBERFLOWER]

Cindershade's watchful eyes cause the fur on the back of her neck to prickle -- not with discomfort, but with nostalgia. It's easy to slip into their roles, familiar and faded as paths worn into dust. Soon, her shadowy-pelted sister slips into the water beside her, letting the tension roll off of her in palpable waves.

"Yes, since Cicadastar hasn't chosen a new deputy, it falls upon the lead warriors until he does." There's a flash of something in her littermate's green eyes -- is that ambition, or is Emberflower imagining it? She smiles cautiously, pushing herself away with powerful limbs. Water churns beneath her paws. "It's been so long. Moons." She's curious about how much Cindershade knows. "Will he choose one soon?" She tilts her head. "Who do you think it will be?"

She could see her sister making a fine deputy, but then, she imagines any of the lead warriors would be worthy successors to Cicadastar. Emberflower might be biased, of course. Even as kits in the nursery, she'd been the serious one, the one who'd paid most attention during lessons involving combat and stealth.

Emberflower rolls about in the water, humming to herself. "We do have a target on our backs, don't we?" Her plump body bobs easily, keeping her afloat. "I wonder... if we didn't put it there ourselves, sometimes." She admires her Clanmates, but their tongues are as troublesome as their claws, and their pride can easily morph into arrogance. Emberflower has been guilty of this herself.

Cindershade asks her quite seriously if she's been practicing her battle moves. "I want you to be prepared," she begins, but she stops herself. Emberflower's smile dies, but there is still amusement in her hazel eyes. "I'll never be you on the battlefield, Cindershade. But I can make it on my own. I promise."

She hesitates, swimming a bit closer to her littermate. "Do you think..." She trails off for a moment. When she begins again, the worry is clear in her expression. "Do you think we'll be raided again soon?"

RiverClan has lost too much. Emberflower does not know if they can bear much more, though she suspects Cindershade would know better than her.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​